Annual #1: "Eulogies"

Two months ago, the invasion still in full swing:

You think he could hold back? Not share what he just learnt, what he was there to experience and mourn himself? His friend had died within the hour, he’d defeated the villainous Gravyn, and now… He has to head back to the cities, help fend off the aliens, but first, he had to make one stop, and tell one person the news that his own wife would weep to hear.

“Mrs Garrick.” The elderly woman turns from the television set, her old eyes gazing towards the white clad superhero, the costume strange, flickering, but always recognisable as the fuzzy form of Keystone and Central’s own Flash, the police scientist known as Barry Allen appears in her living room. “Joan…”

“Barry! What’s… Why are you…” Her eyes widen. “My Jay. My Jay.”

She knows without words.

“He saved the lives of every man and woman on the planet. He ran himself to death… Went too far into the speed force to come back…”

“My… My Jay…” She looks at the younger speedster, her eyes wide and full of tears. “My poor… My…”

“He told me to tell you…”

She looks up, holding in her tears for a moment, and then shaking her head. “You don’t have to. I know. I always knew... Jay loves me and when… When he gets back, I’ll… I’ll tell him to his face, I love him too.”

Barry smiles slightly, and then shakes his head. “He’s gone, Joan.”

“Barry… You know that Jay ran with some… fantastic people in his time, and one of them was… Was The Spectre. And so I know that there… There is a God, and if he is listening… I’ll meet Jay again, either in this life or the next. Now… Now go. Your world needs you.”

“Let me take you to safety, Jay would have… Would have wanted that.”

“Of course.”

The vault door opens and Barry and Joan are welcomed by Curator Myles holding a freeze gun and Iris Allen gripping a heat gun in her hands. Barry looks at her, and she drops it instantly, recognising her husband beneath the flickering white costume instantly, and then turning to Joan as she steps into the room and sits down on a red coach.

Iris steps towards Barry and he runs his hand through her hair. “Jay… Jay didn’t make it?”

“He sacrificed himself.” He takes a deep breath. “Have you heard from Wally?”

“I’ve seen news reports. He’s with the Titans… In Metropolis.”

“I… I have to get back to the cities.”

“Don’t you die on me now, Barry.” She kisses him and he kisses her back, tears filling his eyes. “Not now.”

“I promise. No more death. Never again.” He vanishes, leaving Dexter Myles, Joan Garrick and Iris Allen in the safety of The Flash Museum vault.

A new statue would have to go up in the ‘Fallen Heroes’ display, thinks Myles as he pours himself another cup of coffee. Damn, that’ll be hard work.

Chapter One: Ever In Denial

“I can’t do this.” Barry Allen looks to his wife and then shakes his head. “I can’t do this, it’s too… Oh God…” He wipes a tear from his eye and then looks at the love of his life.

“Baby…” Iris smiles slightly, and puts her hand on his face, and brings his eyes up to hers. “You can do this, because this is what Jay would have wanted.” She pushes down her black dress, straightening it out, and then looks to the door as a loud knocking echoes outwards from it. “That must be Wally.” She smiles and walks over to the door, and then opens it. “My…”

“Mrs Allen?” The man smiles awkwardly from behind his thick glasses, and then leans into the house slightly. “I’m Clark, I think we’ve met…”

Barry looks up and smiles, waving his hand for him to come in. “She knows Clark. She knows.”

Iris looks at Clark Kent and then nods her head. “Oh, well if that’s the case… I need to talk to Barry, regarding the appointment we made for before the funeral…”

Barry’s eyes darken. “Kid Eternity? Is there news, has he called up Jay yet or was he not able? Is there still a chance…”

Clark puts up his hands and shakes his head. “No, sorry Barry, worse news than that… he’s in Midway city ER, someone beat him near to death in a graveyard with a truncheon…”

Barry stands suddenly and flickers from view, his red costume appearing on him in an instant.

“Let’s go.”

Barry looks to Iris and then shakes his head apologetically. “I’m sorry love, but Eternity was going to help us put a coda on all this, to get closure on Jay’s death…” He looks to Clark and then smiles slightly. “Or his therefore lack of.” Clark nods and then removes his black jacket.

“Can I leave my stuff here, Mrs Allen? I hate leaving my clothes outside, and I don’t’ want to waste time and take it all back to Metropolis…”

“Clark, call me Iris, and if you go to the spare room down the hall on the left, there’s a chest of draws you can leave your stuff in.” She smiles and points in the direction of the room.

“Thank you.” He follows her finger and then ducks out sight, leaving Iris and Barry alone for a moment.

“I think that Joan might be rubbing off on you.”

She shakes her head and takes Barry’s hand. “You saw Jay die, remember Barry? He was absorbed into the Speed Force… Or whatever you call it… Because that’s how fast he had to go to get rid of that machine that was causing disasters all over the world. He’s gone.”

Barry smiles slightly. “I thought the same baby, but I live in a world where magic is real, where aliens can bend steel in their bare hands, where Amazons are formed from clay and gifted with powers from gods, so ever since I began thinking like that, thinking about the impossibility that is MY life… He might not be dead Iris, he might be in the Speed Force, trapped maybe, I don’t know… But we’ve got to have faith, you know? All these emotions I’m feeling, the thoughts speeding through my head…” He looks her in the eye. “I’m going from depression to electrified happiness at the thought at him being alive… I’m just going with what the Speed Force is giving me, the good and the bad… But I need to keep the hope alive that he’s alive, somewhere, somehow.”

Iris smiles as Clark Kent emerges from the spare room, clad in the red and blue of his uniform.

“You do what you have to Barry, I’ll be here.”

He kisses her gently and then turns to Clark who nods slightly. “I’ll race you.”

“Whaa--” Before Superman can finish his surprised utterance Barry is away, and so the Man of Steel shrugs and then vanishes in a flash of light, chasing off after the Scarlet Speedster.

“He’s in denial.” Iris shakes her head, looking at Wally, her nephew. “He can’t see it though. He’s blaming it on the Speed Force or whatever, his powers… He’s the same man but… More intense.”

“I thought about the same thing, as soon as I heard that Jay had died, Aunt Iris. I was going to run to Kid Eternity and make him bring him back to life. I was thinking of looking for The Spectre, Zatanna, Dr Occult… Even John Constantine for God’s sake… But what would they do? Say he’s dead? Prove it?” Wally rolls his eyes slightly. “Kid Eternity would bring back an ideal of Jay Garrick, not his true self. It’s ridiculous but you’ve just got to let Barry do this, learn that he can’t beat everything, can’t win this race.”

Iris smiles. “You’re a mouth, you know that Wally?” She laughs and hugs him, and then turns to his friends in the living room. “So… Who are they exactly? Is that a model?”

Wally laughs with her and smiles. “No, that’s Kory. Koriand’r. She’s an alien princess… That’s Donna, she’s Amazonian royalty, like Wonder Woman…” He points to Dick and Roy. “That’s Dick Grayson, you remember him?”

“I used to bake you cookies whenever you came back from your little flights of fancy…” She shakes her head. “I sound like an old woman, don’t I?”

Wally places his hand on hers and shakes his head. “But you’re not. And they were tasty.” He licks his lips and points to Roy, who’s looking quite shifty. “That’s Roy Harper, Ollie’s sidekick. He’s… Going through a rough patch.”

“Oh right, what… What’s wrong with him?”

Wally smiles, shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter.” He looks around, and then turns back to his aunt. “So, did Barry say when he’d get back?”

Iris smiles weakly and shakes her head. “No… We can only wait.”

Wally nods in agreement, and then stands. “I’m gonna’ talk to the others…”

“Oh, honey, question… Which one’s Rachel?” Wally blushes at the words and then nudges his head in the direction of the corner, where a quiet, dark haired girl stands dressed all in black.

“Go… Go now.” She smiles and he shakes his head.

Chapter Two: Funeral March

There was no body, because the death was… Wasn’t… Real, as such. Barry nods at these thoughts, and feels the black armband below his shoulder. He ran himself out of existence. What a way to go. The newly-formed Justice League rebuilt the Flash statues when they helped with the rebuilding of Keystone and Central, they filled the rumble filled lake back up with water, and now they’re all here to help mourn and celebrate the passing of a great man. He can hear the rumbling outside as people begin to be seated.

“Kid.” He turns, a familiar face by the door.

“Ted, how are you?”

Ted Grant, AKA the Wildcat, nods slowly, and smiles. “Can’t complain. We’re all here kid, and I was told not to wear my costume… Alan and Ted were a bit adamant about that… But then again…” He pulls up his shirt, revealing his old costume. “I never cared to swear off the old duds, you understand?”

“The Justice Society, here?” Barry eyes widen.

“We wouldn’t miss the passing of a friend.” He smiles a bit more, reminiscing with his words. “A brother.” He looks around and then steps inside the room, closing the door behind him. “I want you to know, kid… You ever need help, help your new League can’t provide, you call on us old timers, alright?” He laughs for a moment. “Or me, I’m always up for it. Rex maybe too, but he’s running his company… I don’t know.” He shakes his head, and rolls his eyes, scratching his stubble covered chin. “I don’t know what I’m talking about Barry, but if you need a hand. You call me.”

“Ted--” Barry shakes his head, and grimaces, just like Superman did to him. “I think… I think there might be a chance that Jay is still alive.”

Ted pauses for a moment, his hand on the door handle. He turns, his eyes gazing over his shoulder. “Of course there is.” He opens the door and steps out, and then closes it after him.

“I’m glad you could make it today, to celebrate the life of my predecessor, the man who’s name I have taken on as my own as I too follow in his foot steps as a speedster. I’m talking about the Flash, the man who ran with the legendary team of heroes known as the Justice Society of America in the 40s, during the Second World War and afterwards. He sacrificed his life for this planet, and--” He pauses for a moment, his eyes vibrating slightly. “And…” He shakes his head, a headache overcoming him for a moment. “I’m sorry…” He grimaces, holding onto the stand on the stage.

Ted turns to Alan. “What’s going on?”

Alan shakes his head, confused. “I don’t know. Trouble maybe.” He leans down for a minute and whispers to one of the men in front of him, right on the front row.

“Superman… Something might be wrong.” Superman turns and looks at Alan, his super hearing picking up the warning. Wonder Woman also turns around, picking up the warning, and she nods at his words.

“I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen…” Barry straightens. “Thousands died during the crisis that shook the world those months back, and the Flash was just one of many heroes who sacrificed their lives for the greater good during the fighting. If any of you remember, we stand on the site where he and myself battled a Apokoliptian warrior known as Gravyn, a villain so foul it took our combined might to put him down, but we did… At the loss of my friend’s life.” He shakes his head, a familiar ringing in his ear. “But he saved the twin cities, and he saved the world, and he gave me the courage to fight in the battles that came afterwards, here on Earth and up on Apokolips itself, high in the sky, shoulder to shoulder with my friends and colleagues in the newly formed Justice League, a team inspired by the great teams before us, such as the Justice Society themselves. We follow their example and fight the good fight…” Barry’s eyes widen as the noise intensifies, and he suddenly knows what it is.

He turns to Kid Flash, sitting next to Nightwing and Raven, and stares at him intensely. “KID FLASH! COSMIC TREADMILL INCOMING!”

The yellow clad young speedster nods, he himself suddenly feeling the presence of something emerging. A rumble moves through the crowd as they question what’s going on, and Superman and the rest of the Justice League head for the stage. “Something’s coming! Something big!”

A massive lightning bolt crashes through the sky and rattles down the massive statue of Jay Garrick, and then the lightning spreads, hitting patches of grass and causing reality to shimmer slightly as people begin emerging from the time stream! Barry raises his fists, but then his eyes widen even more as he suddenly realises what’s going on.

“What is this, Flash?”

“Their costumes, Superman… They’re… They’re… The Flash!”

Hundreds of speedsters step off their cosmic treadmills, and reality fluctuates slightly, and then they stand in front of the stage as one man steps forward, his costume blue, but a lightning bolt insignia emblazed atop it anyway. “Flash of this era, we have come to pay our respects to one of the founding fathers of our lineage… I am John Fox, and I too am a Flash, from the far future…”

The sight is astonishing for everyone, these men, women and strange aliens all clad in similar costumes, all resembling the Flash, all so unbelievable yet… The link that all these people share, the Speed Force, it speaks to Barry, and as it whispers to him, telling him the truth, the hero shakes his head, looking at Superman for a moment. “This… Is amazing.”

Batman grimaces. “Convenient.”

John Fox nods. “When your time came, Bat-Man…We visited your funeral procession too.” Batman’s eyes widen. “But that is not yet. Good luck with your coming battles.”

“Hrm.”

“We apologise for the enormity of our group, but we all wanted to pay our respects, you understand?”

Barry nods. “You… You’re family. You’re all welcome.” John smiles at his predecessors words, and then turns to the others, who all nods and move to the side of the stage.

“Please, continue--”

Barry smiles and turns to the men and women around him, all so ready to back him up and support him when he needs it. He’s among friends here, and this Justice League… Will help him find the truth. “Simply, I think the best thing for me to say about the Flash would be to follow his example, do all you can to help others, do your best, and be true to yourself. I’m not going to say he wouldn’t wanted this and wanted that, because I personally don’t know what he REALLY would have wanted, I don’t read minds, but that much I know. Try your best, and don’t ever give up the race.”

Barry smiles and then looks around, and a gentle applause begins, and then echoes throughout the park and then the city.