Titans Resistance #16

You run.

Keystone City is a blur, a thin phantasm of physics, a mathematical ghost almost not to be realized.

These are the moments when you feel most alive and most free; no battles, no responsibilities.

Battles are pretty fun too, though. And certainly provide their own kind of thrill. But when you run, no one is trying to hurt you. It is just you, running with the wind. With the wind? You create it, outpace it, leave it behind as an announcement that you were there.

You are the Flash....you are the fastest man alive.

And God help any that stand in your way.



Two men, one old and one young, snuck through the shadows by the silver-trimmed nightclub.

“This ain’t our normal kind of target,” the younger man whispered.

“Which is rather the point, my young friend,” returned the older, his voice sage with experience. “Our adrenaline-soaked adversary will not think to look for us here. Not, at least, until we are long gone.”

“You’re the boss.”

“No need to be so formal, my young friend.” The older man had a rich chuckle in his voice. “Now, let’s begin--”

“I’m afraid the Flash isn’t available right now,” Robin’s dry voice cut through their patter. “But I trust we will serve?”

“What the--?” the younger man said as the older one cursed.

The two costumed villains turned and stared.

Robin, Anarky, and Argent stood poised and ready.

“Who are these idiots?” The older man asked.

“Dead!” the younger one shouted, and hurled a boomerang. A blast from Argent knocked it away.

“The Reflector and Commander Boomerang,” Robin said dryly, as he and Anarky closed on the older villain. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“Whereas you will die with no coups to your credit,” Reflector replied, and suddenly there were six of him.

“You don’t keep up with the news outside your own little city, do you?” Anarky sneered behind his mask. He lunged at the Reflector, taking out his mirror images one at a time.

The Reflector just smirked, and replenished his copies. Anarky scowled and attacked again, Robin coming in with an attack of his own.

Argent, meanwhile, was facing off against Boomerang. The orange-clad villain hurled three, four, five boomerangs at her. She blasted each one with a bolt of silver energy. Getting angry now, the young Rogue switched to explosive boomerangs, which only made Argent angry enough to blast him directly after taking out his projectiles. Commander Boomerang howled and went down.

“No!” said Reflector, seeing his young friend fall. Anarky and Robin were taking down his remaining reflections. Knowing his time was running out, he pressed a button on his belt. There was a flash of brilliant light, and he disappeared.

“Well, we’re one for two,” Robin noted.

“More like nothing for nothing,” Anarky countered. “We came here to find Flash, not fight his Rogues.”

“You’ve got that right, at least.” Robin activated his communicator. “Terra, any luck on your end?”



“Yes and no,” Terra answered.

Green Lantern and Supergirl stood over three Markovian spies, lying bloody and beaten.

“We found the people we need to warn Flash about instead,” Terra went on. “Some of them, anyway.”

“Progress, of a sort,” Robin answered. “Well, interrogate them if you can.”

Terra nodded and broke contact without answering further. She wished Ravager were here...but the corsair queen saw no reason to come this far inland into America unless there was a really big fight in the offing. There was always a chance they might encounter that Green Arrow she had met, but Terra didn’t consider it likely.

“We just have to keep searching,” she said to the others. “Truth is though, he’s a super speedster; he won’t be found until he wants to be found.”

“Yeah,” Lantern agreed dispiritedly. “He must be moving at speed if my ring isn’t picking him up, or maybe not even in the immediate area. I could go up high and do a full scan--”

“No, that’s all right. We’ll keep looking down here. Come on, let’s go.” Terra summoned a rock, and the three of them flew off, keeping relatively low.

There was a blur, and then Flash materialized around a corner, frowning thoughtfully at them. Then he vanished again.



“Remind me again exactly why we’re looking for this guy?” Anarky asked. “Surely you don’t want any more volatile personalities on your team?”

Argent had to giggle at that. Both vigilantes were pleased to hear it; ever since joining them, the little Italian girl had been far too serious.

In answer to Anarky’s question, Robin shrugged. “I’m not specifically looking to recruit him, if that’s what you mean. If he wants to come along, so much the better. But we’re here because we’ve heard there’s an unusually high preponderance of Markovian spies in this city, more so than anywhere in the States except perhaps Washington itself. I want to know why, and I hope to warn Flash of what he’s up against.”

“I presume your information about the spies is from your big Bat boss.”

“Partially. But also from some radio transmissions Ravager intercepted.”

Anarky deflated a bit. “I wish she was here.”

“That makes two of us,” Robin agreed.



What none of them saw was a wizened old man staring at them out of a second floor window of an old brick building.

The building was old, and disused, or at least it appeared so. Certainly the lower floors were abandoned. But up here, all was comfort. Wood paneling, plush furniture, even a space heater in the defunct fireplace.

It wasn’t actually the season for heating actually, but the occupant of the room required it. Everything around him was cold, cold enough to form ice. The heater kept things warm and dry.

The Reflector appeared in a flash of light, holding a wounded arm.

“New vigilantes have come to town!” he spat without preamble. “They took down Boomerang!”

The old man nodded sadly. “I saw some myself, fighting some thugs down below.”

Reflector blinked. “Did you?!? It’s even worse than I thought, then. This is bad, Max. Very bad. Flash has violated our truce. It’s time to go to war.”

“Not so hasty, Jay. Things look grim, I agree. But I think those vigilantes were looking for something particular. Maybe Flash, maybe something else. In any case, our first step in rectifying the situation is getting Wally out of custody.”

“Yes, of course, you’re right,” Reflector said, mastering himself. “May I use the secure line?”

“By all means.”



You race through the city, your city, a blur of power and grace.

You did not expect other costumes to come here; there hasn’t been any other heroes in this city since your predecessor retired.

You have warm memories of the old woman; she sits quietly now in her retirement home, her mind and memories fading. It makes you sad, but at least she finished her career a triumph, and is remembered as one of the great terrors of the Rogues of this city.

Who are these vigilantes? Why are they here? You don’t need any competition, or worse, any “help”. Certainly not from someone who is not a speedster, and doesn’t know the territory. And speedforce knows how the Rogues will react to this. Not that you care about their opinions personally, but certainly you don’t want them upping the ante by recruiting outside muscle in retaliation. And that is something you do not need.

Time for some damage control....



Professor Barry Allen was leaving Keystone High when there was a beeping noise in his ear. He touched his bluetooth. “Yes?”

Listening to the voice of the Reflector on the other end, Barry scowled. “New masks in town? And they captured him? Well, rest assured I’ll take care of that!”

He stormed off to his car, but the Flash was waiting for him.

“Problems?”

“Out of my way, speedfreak,” Barry all but snarled.

The Flash waved a hand at him. “Easy, mister mad scientist. I just wanna talk.”

“So talk.” Barry crossed his arms.

“These new kids that came to town? Nothing to do with me. I didn’t call them. Dunno what they’re after, but I’ll ask em to leave.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” Flash nodded.

“See to it that you get them out by the weekend, or the Rogues will retaliate.”

“I have every intention of doing so....but don’t threaten me.”

“That wasn’t a threat, it was prediction based on the evidence--”

The Flash waved a hand again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.” He was gone in a burst of speed.

“Idiot,” Allen seethed.



Robin and Terra’s groups met on the outskirts of town.

“Still nothing,” Robin said by way of greeting.

“Same here. How much time do we have?” Terra was looking around anxiously, frowning.

Robin shrugged. “No way of telling. We may have months....or no time at all.”

Terra fretted. “I knew mother wouldn’t wait long before going on the counter-offensive. I just wish we knew what they were doing here!”

“They clearly haven’t been here long. Not really integrated themselves into society,” Anarky pointed out.

Terra nodded, but remained worried. “They’ve got the training for it, which makes me wonder what they were waiting for.”

“Maybe infiltration in the traditional sense wasn’t their plan,” Lantern murmured thoughtfully.

“We can’t know,” Robin said. “All we can do is warn the Flash. Anything more concrete will have to follow on from that.”

Terra sighed. “Sometimes I just wish we could rest....”

Robin took her hand. “You above all know why we can’t.”

“Yes,” she sighed, and buried her face in his shoulder.

“Awwwwwwwww,” Anarky sneered from behind them.

“Shut up,” Lantern muttered.

“Human love is so glandular,” Supergirl said.

At that, Robin and Terra jumped apart guiltily, and Anarky and Argent laughed.



Barry Allen stepped into the Keystone City police precinct where Wally was being held. They had several “special” cells for holding Rogues.

“Doc! Good to see ya. Caught another one of them rouges. Commander Boomerang, this time.” The fat-bellied policeman grinned affably at Barry.

Allen raised an eye. “Yes, I heard. Want me to run some tests on him?”

“Not yet. Let our boys work him over a bit more first, heh?”

“You’re the boss.” Allen left the cop behind him. He was well known in the KCPD; he had helped on a number of cases. All part of his cover, and sometimes he legitimately helped, when some out of town villain muscled in on the Rogues’ territory.

Even so, he couldn’t get too close to Wally’s interrogation room.

Yet.

He sat down at an abandoned desk and closed his eyes.

Wally, he sent telepathically. Hang in a little while longer. I’ll get you out soon as I can.

Roger that, Wally sent back, his mental images tinged with pain, but don’t leave it too long; they’ve moved up to the phonebooks now.

Barry winced. I hear you. Soon.

He touched the handful of chemical vials in his jacket pocket.

Very soon.



The Titans were still considering what to do next when Flash zapped into reality in front of them.

They stared at him with his grim expression, his sleek black and green costume, and the dangerous gleam in his eye.

“I don’t know why you’re here,” Flash said coldly, “But I don’t want your help. Get out of the city.”

All of them tensed, but Robin put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It was never our plan to stay,” he began. “We just wanted to warn you--”

“I don’t respond well to threats,” Flash rumbled.

“Not a threat,” Terra sighed. “A warning. Lots of Markovian spies in town. More than there should be for any reason. They want something; we don’t know what it is.”

Flash leaned back, considering. “Wait....you’re the ones that did that big hit in Europe, ain’t ya?”

All of them nodded. “That’s us,” Robin agreed.

Flash frowned. “Well, you have until the weekend to help me figure out what’s going on with them. After that, I’ll do it on my own. And in the meantime, do not clash with the Rogues again. They are my concern.”

“Geeeeee, you’re welcome.” Anarky sneered.

“I can handle them without you,” Flash retorted.

“Look,” Robin said. “We didn’t come here to argue with you or fight you. Just to take out the Markovians.”

Flash nodded. “All right, I’ll check in with you periodically. Let me know what you find out--”

An explosion rocked the ground, sending them all stumbling. Flash cursed and was gone in a second.

“Great, we don’t know if it’s his enemies or Markovians,” Anarky groaned. “Do we follow him or not?”

“Not all of us,” Robin decided. “Lantern, go up high and scan. Call us if we should get involved. Meantime, I think I need to apply my detective skills.”

“This will be interesting to watch,” Anarky muttered.

Robin turned slowly and stared at him. “Don’t tell me you doubt my abilities in that department?”

“No,” Anarky assured him. “I’m genuinely curious.”

Robin realized that Anarky was being honest......because Anarky wanted to learn how his mind worked. He was not reassured. “Right, let’s go.”



Commander Boomerang stepped out of the hole that had been blasted in the side of the police precinct building. Barry had gotten him out, but soon Flash would be here.....

Sure enough, a super speed punch knocked him down. His vision swam and he had a hard time getting up. But this moment was not unanticipated.

Flash loomed over him. “I have enough problems today without you idiots--” he began, but that was as far as he got. Seemingly from nowhere, a splash of acid was thrown in his face.

Flash screamed and went down on his knees.

Another splash of a different fluid hit the ground next to him. He took an uncertain step in his blindness and fell over.

An invisible hand helped Boomerang up. “Drink this,” a disembodied, hoarse voice said. Boomerang drank it without question, and faded from view almost instantly.

Boomerang felt a coarse-yet-familiar hand find his own, and smiled invisibly.

“We have to get out of here,” the hoarse voice said. The now-invisible Boomerang didn’t argue, he just let the voice lead him away.



Less than a minute later, Flash got up.

He was angry.

Very, very angry.

His fast metabolism was already healing the mild acid burn to his eyes and face. His eyes tingled as his vision came back. He blinked furiously, eyes watering.

The injury itself was no real concern, as it was almost gone already. And the sting to his pride as Boomerang had escaped was not much either. He was the fastest man alive; as always, it was only a matter of time.

No, it was the fact that the acid had burned away most of his mask; exposing his identity. He had vibrated on the spot, faster and faster, blurring his features and concealing his identity, as his predecessors had done before him. But the blow was clear; a calculated insult to his security.

And he knew who had done it, oh yes, he knew.

Barry Allen had no costumed name, no identity; he was the Rogue’s “man inside the establishment”. He was their supplier, their ally, their go-to guy. He was related to Boomerang, and had looked up to Reflector as a child; a man from whom he had learned many of his tricks.

It had not been wise of Allen to threaten his secret so, after asking him to have the clear the meta-human vigilantes out of town.

He was a man of his word; he had promised to clear the vigilantes out of town by the weekend. So he would make doubly sure to help them find out what they wanted before then.

There was no choice in trying to use his speed to find Allen or Boomerang; if he ran around searching for them, he would either miss them entirely, or just vibrate through them without ever knowing they were even there. Oh, he could hit their safehouses, but that would just distract from the matter at hand.

He raced to one of his safe houses for a new costume, then blurred to the place where he had seen the “heroes” last. They were there no longer, but with his speed, it was easy enough to find them.

They were somewhat surprised to see him. He was pleased by that.

“Back so soon?” the red-robed one with the golden mask asked.

“Yeah....you were right. My original deadline still stands....but I will help you find what you seek before that time.”

“For both our sakes,” The leader put in.

“For all our sakes,” the blonde girl added.

Flash nodded. “As you say. Tell me about these Markovian spies you found....”



As the vigilantes talk to you, you nod; clearly the presence of Markovians in your city is part of some larger plot, though what, none of you is yet sure.

The Rogues will complicate things, and you have not forgotten that you will need to revenge yourself against Allen for his treacherous attack.

But quick strikes of vengeance and cunning are your specialty, and you will find a way. You will use these vigilantes to your advantage. It is quite possible that not only will they help you against this infiltration, but you may even be able to use them to hurt the Rogues in some way.

You smile to yourself as the talk goes on. Yes, this will work out very well.

You are Thaddeus “Rusty” Thawne. You are the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive.

And God help anyone that stands in your way.



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