|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:30:40 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:33:01 GMT -5
The Flash
Issue 1: "Time Flies: Ice Cold Man..."
Written by Charles HoM
Cover by JFJ
Edited by Brandon Herren |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:37:51 GMT -5
I’ve thought about the origins of my power… My… ‘Super speed’… But things occur to me… What if the world… The universe… is moving slower than me? And I’m the only… ‘Normal’ man there is? Oh wait. Hold that thought. I see a woman jumping off a bridge… I run fast, a red blur through the streets. I hear the slow extended gasps of people who see me… (You have no idea how irritating it is to hear people shout “Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Flllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssh” whenever I’m around…) I run across the river connecting Keystone and Central City, and vibrate my legs, floating atop the murky waters below, and catch her, and without missing a beat she’s back on the bridge, her eyes closed, hands covering her face. She eventually notices she never hits the water, and looks around. I smile.
“Ok. Nothing can be so bad that you want to push yourself off a bridge… But if you correct me, I’ll walk away right now and leave you to it.” I lean against a girder, and smile again. “Penny for your thoughts?”
She looks at me, shock and amazement spreading across her features, and gasps. “I… I didn’t jump… A guy… Pushed me…” She collapses to floor, the stress of the event overcoming her. I look around. “Anyone see who pushed her? Come on!” An old man points over to the Keystone side of the bridge, and I start running.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:38:22 GMT -5
Meanwhile!
“Come on, Snart… Just… Back off…” The man staggers away, blood trickling from his nose. “I’ll pay… Tomorrow.”
“Not good enough. You pay now.” Leonard Snart punches the man again, blood covering his knuckle-duster. “I know you’ve got the three grand.”
“I was gonna double it for you! The Keystone hockey team… I was gonna’ put it on them… Gotham ain’t got a snow ball’s chance in hell… I was gonna’ get you more…”
“Not good enough. But I’ll take your advice…” Snart hits his man again, knocking out three teeth and his consciousness. “Keystone and Gotham, eh? I like the sound of that.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:38:49 GMT -5
Well, that was somewhat easy. Some guy steals a woman’s purse, trips her over on a bridge (stupidity) and the runs back to the Keystone side. I trip him up, and then wait for the cops to arrive. My amigos… My colleagues…
“Chyre… You alright this lovely morning?” I smile.
“Hrgh… Well, Flash… You caught another one… Save us the paper work sometime… eh?” I know how irritated some officers get at my presence in the city. I stop crime, leave them to clean up… But I was recently appointed an official officer of the law by the mayor himself. What would happen if they found out the truth? That Barry Allen is the Flash? I worry about that some days. I worry too much. Because they won’t find out. I won’t let that happen. I look around, and run.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:39:17 GMT -5
“Barry Allen’s what?!”
Iris shushes her best friend, and leans in close. “He asked me to marry him. Two nights ago… And now… Sue, we’re engaged!” The two giggle slightly and Sue Dearbon asks to see the ring. “Wow! That’s so…” Sue looks around for a moment, then looks over to Iris. “How’d he afford a rock like that, Iris?”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:39:38 GMT -5
Ok, ok… I can’t really afford such extravagant jewellery on my less than satisfying paychecks… I can barely afford the personalised stationary I get… Heh… But… I have friends… In very high places… There is this specific one… Nice man… And we went on a trip… Out of town… Because in this line of work, the villainous subterranean criminals can't work out of a nice quite place like Smallville… And I found the perfect diamond ring… And it was free… Well… He crushed it with him bare hands to make it… But basically… Free.
Alright. I’m avoiding the truth. That man, I don’t know if you know him, is one of my closest colleagues in my other line of work… His name’s Clark… And we were below Metropolis… Because there were these guys, enslaving the inhabitants of this... Underworld… Because they had access to all the sewer tunnels of the city, meaning instant access to wherever they want. Luthor Towers, Daily Planet, whatever. I can’t remember the specifics… When we sent them away for a long stretch the inhabitants awarded us anything that we wanted. Clark got some good will, as per usual and I… I found the perfect diamond for the perfect ring. And I she loves it, so all is well in this world... And under it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:39:57 GMT -5
He was some friends he says… But I don’t care how he got it… Because it’s beautiful… And I trust him.” Iris stretches her hand and examines the diamond ring… “I can almost see… When I look closely… Little bolts of lightning… But it’s just a trick of the light I’m guessing… But wow… He must really love me…”
Sue taps Iris on the head and laughs. “Duh.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:40:58 GMT -5
“Who loves who?” A man in a dark purple suit slides up next to the women, and smiles. His long red hair shines in the light, and he has a twinkle in his teeth.
“Oh hey, Ralph…” Sue Dearbon yawns slightly, and continues talking to Iris.
“Ladies, ladies, no need to whisper, I’m right here…” Ralph smiles widely, and sits onto a seat next to Sue. They give him disgusted looks and he smiles. “I’m kidding. How are you two today?” Sue looks to Iris, and Iris looks to Sue. Sue then proceeds to grab Iris’ hand and show Ralph the ring.
“He did it! He finally did it!” He jerks up and laughs. “I told him he could do it!”
“Oh greeeat, Ralph.” Sue rolls her eyes and laughs. “Ruin the moment.”
“So where is that hunk of man?” Ralph leans back, looking around the restaurant for Barry. “Late?” He smiles as the two ladies laugh slightly.
“Hunk of man?” Barry slaps Ralph on the back of the head and sits next to Iris, kissing her softly. “I worry about you, Dibny…”
“You’re not the only one…” Ralph smiles and leans over to Sue. “But don’t worry, Barry is always second best to my one and only Sue…” Sue looks at him and finally gives in, kissing his cheek.
“Stop it, Ralph… Let’s just have lunch, yeah?”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:41:31 GMT -5
On the other side of town, trouble brews…
The old docks, disused and falling apart… But if you look closely, on the roof tops…
Someone watches.
“This looks interesting….” The yellow Flash watches intently, as events unfold, his voice undistorted, yet his form still flickering in and out of view.
“What we got, geeks?” Leonard Snart walks in, and slaps one of the men on the back.
“Ey, Leo… What haven’t we got? We… heh… We picked up a shipment of something’s heading to Gotham… And you know what we found?”
“I have no idea, Sam, but come on, share.” Leo smiles slightly, awaiting the big reveal.
“Freeze guns.” Sam Scudder smiles broadly, and shows his friend the purple devices.
“Are you $%!££ing me? Seriously? Freeze guns?” Snart picks up the device and looks it over slowly. “How they work, Scuds?”
“Point, click, pray.” Sam leans back and watches Leo examine the gun. “A beauty, no?”
“Yeah, Scud… Hey, Joar…” He shouts the name of Joar Mahkent, another member of the gang. “Don’t move. Freeze even.”
“What? Leo, don’t-” Snart fires the gun, encasing his comrade in ice.
“Jeees-es!” Leo puts the gun down and rubs his eyes. “Muzzle flash and a half…”
Scudder quickly grabs all the guns, leaving one on the table, and puts them in a disused locker. “I ain’t letting you have all of them, Leo. One at a time… I’m always here… Bring a bit of cash next time, this one’s on the house.”
“I should be thanking you…”
“Here.” Scudder throws him some blue glasses, thick, plastic rimmed with small slots to see through. “They’ll cut out the flash… But think about this… You shoot someone… They ain’t gonna’ see who it is. You’ve got the perfect weapon… Alive or dead… They’ll still be stone cold…”
“True.” Sam Scudder turns his back on Snart, and starts fiddling with a small device on the table. Leo raises the gun slowly and pulls the trigger, and a blast of energy bursts from the nozzle of the ice gun and hits his friend. Len smiles slightly, and when the snow flakes clear, examines his handiwork.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:41:59 GMT -5
“On one knee and everything, and he just comes out and asks me… no skipping around the point, no drawn out ‘we’ve been going out for blah de blah…’ he just asks me… And I said yes…” Iris smiles, and hugs the arm of her fiancée. “I love you, Barry Allen…”
“I love you too, Iris West.” The two kiss, and Ralph looks over to Sue, who smiles.
“Think we should leave? Let these two love birds be?” He smiles and she nods, taking out her purse and leaving some money on the table.
“See you two later.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:42:26 GMT -5
I slow my perceptions. It’s a skill I’ve recently developed… And I kiss my girl for what seems to be a relative hour or so. She slowly moves away and smiles, and looks at her watch. “Oh hell…”
“What, babe?” She hurriedly heads for the door.
“Wally! He’s coming to stay… And I’m due to meet him at the station! Damn and crap!”
“Hurry… I’ll pay here and see you two tonight for the hockey and then dinner?”
“Of course…” She blows a kiss and he staggers back, feinting being hit. She smiles and runs out the door. Wally West. Her nephew. The light of her life… He’s a troubled kid… Teachers at his school in Blue Valley said he was a bit slow but I know better. I’ve seen the bruises. His dad beats him. Comes from a bad home… Rudolph West doesn’t mean what he does… He’s a depressive… But there is one thing I know for sure about Wally West. He’s a fan of The Flash. So I pay the bill…
And I run.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:42:58 GMT -5
“Len, Len, Len… Oh how foolish of you…” Sam Scudder smiles and socks one to Leonard Snart’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. “You think I’m stupid enough to turn my back on you… and a weapon like that? I take precautions… Like this little device.” He takes out a small mirror from his pocket and shows Len the reflection. Len gasps and watches a reflection of Sam, laughing at him. “Get out of here.” The mirror buzzes and glows for a moment, then sucks in Len, who vanishes from sight.
The yellow Flash nods slowly from his vantage point. “Everythingismovingalong smooooothly.” And with that, he vanishes from existence. For now.
“Argh!” Len Snart is spat out of thin air, and hits the ground hard. “Scudder, you £$%^&**!” He looks around, and discovers he isn’t in Keystone anymore… “What the hell? He sent me… To Central? with that little pocket mirror? Wow… I’m gonna’ kill that guy.”
“Nooooooo. You will not.” A flash of yellow materialises in front of Snart, who quickly raises the freeze gun, and swings it around widly, ice materialising out of the nozzle, towers of frost spreading over the garbage of the alley, whilst quickly looking for the source of the voice. “Yooou mustttn’t hurt yourrrrr commmrrraaaadeeeessss… You mmusssstttttt joooooinnnn together… And defeatttt… Theeee Flllaaaaash…”
“I don’t know who you are…” Len’s voice breaks, and he coughs, covering it. “But I ain’t no man’s pawn…”
The yellow light flashes around the alleyway, but never in the same place twice, causing Len to get quite spooked… “I kkknooooowwww thaaaaaaaaaaat Leeeeoonaaard… Youuuu willlll guuuiiidddddeee thhhheeeeeemmmm toooo vvvvicctttooooory…”
“Who? Lead who to victory?”
“The Rogues.” The yellow flash vanishes again, but then materialises in front of the villain. “I am Zoom. The Reverse Flash. You are Captain Cold.”
“I…” Len thinks back to his military career, thinks back to his training and slowly smiles. “I’m Captain Cold…”
“And you and I must talk…” Beneath his mask, the yellow flash, this… this reverse Flash… smiles…
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:43:23 GMT -5
“Where is she…” Wally West sits on a bench outside of the train station, and shakes his head.
“She’s running a bit late, son.” Wally turns to see something that near makes his fall over.
“Y-You’re The Flash!” Barry nods, clad in his red uniform, excess energy crackling off him.
“You’re Wally West. I’ve been told about you…” He smiles.
“H-How did you… Who told me… y-you about me, sir?”
“Barry Allen told me. Nice guy, he is. Friends with your aunt I think…”
Wally looks down at his hands, and then looks up. “Yeah… Yeah he is.” Wally’s face darkens and Barry nods slowly.
“Anyway, you’re Aunt is running a bit late, so I thought I’d come keep you company.”
“Cool!” Flash sits next to the red haired kid and salutes passers-by.
“How you been Wally?”
“I’m… I’ve been ok, thanks…” Wally smiles and rummages through his bag, until he pulls out a worn photo of The Flash. “Could you sign this?” Barry takes the photo from Wally and smiles.
“Sure thing, Wally.” The Flash looks around, and then smiles. “I haven’t got a pen. Be right back.” He vanishes for a moment, leaving the photo in mid air, and returns seconds later, with a pen, quickly grabbing the photo before it moves at all. “Ok… To my biggest fan Wally, best wishes, The Flash.”
Wally looks at The Flash’s hand for a moment, then at his face. “I… uh…”
“Wally!” Iris West comes running over, and hugs the boy. “So sorry I’m late, I got caught up in traffic…” She smiles broadly and Wally nods. “Hope you didn’t feel like I forgot you!”
“Nah, The Flash kept me company.” Wally smiles broadly.
“What? The Flash? Here?” Iris looks around, but the man in red cannot be seen. “Are you pulling my leg?”
“Whoa… That was fast… He’s gone!” He looks down at the photo in his hand. “Look… He signed this!”
“Wow! Who knew the Flash did courtesy calls?” She laughs slightly.
“He said Barry told him to come.” He looks at the photo and then at Iris. “Did he?”
“Who knows with Mr Allen? Anyway, have I got news for you…”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:43:52 GMT -5
He paces the floor. It’s late, he has a meeting, and the other party has yet to turn up. “George…” He mumbles to himself, and then looks around his office. At the sound of footsteps he looks up and starts shouting. “Harkness! Ged in here!” He taps his desk as the man bursts through his office door.
“Sorry aba’ tha’ mate. Sorry I’m late an’ all tha’.” George Harkness smiles pathetically. “Wha’ did ya want?” His Australian accent is thick, but with a blunt edge developed from being in America for a bit too long.
“Late every day Harkness! I don’t know why I employ you…”
“I’m sorry Mr. Wiggins! I’ll try ‘arder. Sure I will. Anything for you, sir.”
“Promises do nothing. You shouldn’t have become complacent. You were a good employee before… The accident.” George’s features harden.
“Don’t you dare bring my wife and son into this, you maggot!”
“Get out now, Harkness! You’re fired!” W. W. Wiggins points at the door, his eyes red with rage. “And a man like you… How a woman could love you enough to have a child with you… It’s beyond me. That poor woman… Claire, wasn’t it? She must’ve been a saint to put up with you…”
Harkness explodes with rage, and dives at his ex-employer, and puts his hands around his neck. “How dare you! How dare you utter her name!” Wiggin’s hands scrabble on his desk, trying to find a weapon to defend himself with, to get the man off him, and he finds something sharp. He brings it down on the man on top of him, splitting his head open, causing blood to pour out “Argh! You bastard!” Harkness grabs the blade from his hands, and drives it down in the old man’s throat, causing blood to spray everywhere... He looks down at the weapon grasped in his hand, and sees it’s the boomerang he gave as a gift to the still warm corpse on the floor.
“Oh bugga.” He rips his sleeve and wraps it around his bleeding head, grabs some whiskey from Wiggins’ desk and pours it over the corpse, and around the office. “Sorry mate. But it’s gotta’ go da’hn like this.” He flicks open his zippo, and drops it on the floor, not before cutting the smoke alarm and sprinklers wires, preventing them from dousing the flames. George Harkness stumbles back as the flames shoot up, and then leaves the building, and his old life, behind.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:44:49 GMT -5
“You have a plan?” Len looks around the old warehouse, and then at the flickering body of Zoom.
“I am the engineeeeeer of the Flasssssshes downnnnn fall.” The yellow Flash removes something from his uniform, a small book. “I knoooooow eeveeeerythiiiing.” He throws it on the table in front of them, and smiles. “I knoooow his liiiiifes story….”
“’The Life Story of The Flash; Written by those who knew him.’ ‘Hell is this? This for real? Who the hell are you then?”
“I am the future that the Flash will eventually face.” Zoom smiles beneath his mask, and then flickers from existence.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Nov 15, 2005 21:45:11 GMT -5
To be continued!
|
|
|
|
Post by mockingbird on Jul 31, 2011 12:17:26 GMT -5
To let us know what you think of this issue, please visit the letters page here!
|
|
