Post by The Wonderful Wachter on Nov 2, 2011 22:11:49 GMT -5
Ultimate Spoilers #4
Under the Purple Hood Pt 4
The Quick and the Blond
Ridiculous. The bulls shouldn’t even be here. Shouldn’t have done anything without our permission!
Detective Catalina Flores had done more investigative work in the past few hours than she had for a month. It had started down at the docks, not an unusual place to build a case in Blüdhaven, and stretched across the city to a dumpster shaped hole in a druggie’s apartment until it ended at shattered third floor window another two blocks away. She, her partner, and the boys in blue had followed the path, marked off the strange foot imprints and craters, and kept track of anything odd. Long work. Work that should have been done completely under the watchful eye of more than a single pair of detectives.
The warehouse was completely legit, though the gunshot residue and slugs said otherwise, belonging to the Desmond family; specifically the one son they thought above board in producing cheap, generic pharmaceutical supplies across the nation. Looked like an elephant had crashed through there though the feet had to belong to small woman. Empty pill bottles and packages were strewn everywhere. Not a single security guard on duty when they got there.
Then there had been the witnesses and more footprints. This was either the work of a baby Bigfoot with a decent pair of sneakers or could be solved by Cinderelling all the Blüdhaven population… or at least they could narrow it down to those who own that specific brand of shoes… if they had the resources. But no, apparently it was the work of a hooded figure. Not the fictitious Red Hood but someone in a golden one that reminded everyone of a man they couldn’t quite recall.
Catalina sifted through the glass, thinking she had found one with blood on it but quickly realized it was a trick of the light. The uniformed boys had taped it all off, clearing a sizable area for her to do absolutely nothing in. She had more than a few admirers among the Blüdhaven PD and they were taking the opportunity glance at her out of the side of their peripheral. Long legged, tan-skinned, breasts more fitting for a playboy centerfold than her uniform back when she worked the beat. It was a wonder at all why she joined the Force in the first place. But… it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Her brother went into law. She could at least try to enforce order.
“Seems,” her partner surprised her from behind, she spun to see him slyly putting something decidedly bottle shaped and not cash in his coat pocket, “the man who puts that Gregson lad you had a fling with to shame led the hooded perp on a merry chase across town in order to get the Aquistas all riled up. Nothing more than a few insurance claims and boys being boys that we have to worry about.”
“Grayson,” Catalina corrected automatically. “And it wasn’t a fling. We dated. Once.” She glared at her partner, at his smirk. “Soames, what did you put in your pocket?”
“Ah, that?” He waved it off without a worry. “For my blood pressure. I’m still fit as a fiddle for nights out on a town with you my wee lovely lass.”
Catalina didn’t believe him. She never believed him. But there was nothing she could do. Not now… Not yet.
~~~
“You gave me three days!” exclaimed Gordon, surgical supplies skin deep inside Stephanie’s arms. “Three days! I told you I’d handle this.”
The conversation floated in a cloud above Stephanie’s head. She was coming down from her highs and lows finally but her teacher had given her something for the pain. Everything seemed so far away and blurry. Happy happy yet not happy pills. Steph laid on a gurney, one older than her, Gordon on one side and Kid Flash-Flash-Speedy-Whatever on the other. They were having some sort of argument. A part of Stephanie knew she should be worried about Gordon losing her temper while performing surgery on her arm.
“That was until I learned of the missing Wind Elemental the JSA captured,” KF, seemed the best designation given her childish tone, shot back sarcastically. “Do you have that handled too?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” clink of glass in a pan, “And when Jade gets here tomorrow, my real work will start.”
Something on strings, ah Flash’s shoes, dangled over Stephanie’s head. “Looks like the girl scouts started without y—“ a tremor entered KF’s voice. One she fought to control and was somewhat familiar to the girl on the gurney.
Another clank then Gordon put the surgical tweezers down and began cleaning the wound before suturing. “Can’t kick the habit, can you?”
“Go to hell, Babs.”
“I was there once. Think I still am. I dimly recall you trying to be a hero worthy of the mantle and failing quite miserably in fact.”
“I’ve told you time and –“
“I don’t care about what happened to me, Jess.” No sense in hiding names when Stephanie could use a computer to find it out on her own. “It happens. My dad warned me. Your dad warned me. The Flash and all the JSA warned me. It happens in our line of work. What puts me in Hell is having to see you, to hear your voice, and how you just won’t grow up. You are—were my best friend. I forgave you a long time ago for not saving me… but…”
The fog over Stephanie started to lift and through it, she could see Gordon’s face frozen in a look of indifference as she nevertheless closed the wound in her arm while KF twitched every few seconds, as if her body was vibrating still, eyes alternating between tears and fury. Her fists clenched. She looked like she was about to hit something but years of restraint held her back. The pair had such history, such a painful past, that for Gordon to just not care… It had to be the ultimate betrayal.
More twitching. Maybe she has her own Hourman pills.
“I have grown up!” screamed KF. “I’ve saved more lives, more crimes, stopped the deaths of –“
Gordon had a knack for interrupting. “Then why are you shivering? What’s going on with Wally? Why are you still holding yourself personally responsible for my paralysis?” KF started to speak but Gordon stopped her with a glare Stephanie recognized from class. “You are not the Flash yet you wear his boots. You are not the Kid Flash yet you act like some rebellious teenager. You avoid Jay like the plague so that he won’t discover the truth. For the love of god, Impulse does more heroics when he’s bored than you do while on duty.” Gordon set down the rest of her sewing equipment, finished. Then she met Jess’s eyes and Steph thought she could see the sparks meet in the middle but that was probably the meds.
“You,” from her body language, Steph guessed Gordon had readied her killing blow. “You become more and more like your birth father every day.”
Two things happened in a flash. First Jess was on the other side of Steph and her slap sent Gordon flying out of her chair. Second, Cass having read the same body language as Stephanie, had forced KF to join their teacher on the ground, electrically charged sword pressed into her throat. The smell of singed flesh and snarls of anger filled the air.
For a long time, no one moved. KF seemed content to stay where she was, meeting Cassandra’s deadly stare. Gordon pushed herself up with her arms and strangely, Beth helped her back into her chair once it was righted. The woman stared down at her friend, not reluctance which kept her from calling Cass off. The act of tilting her head to see exactly what all was happening proved too much for Stephanie in the end and she had to focus on not puking on her former childhood hero since it might have hit her new friend.
“Um…” Charlie’s airy voice cut through the tension. “The Oracle Network is up. They’re waiting on you, Babs.”
It was enough. Gordon signaled for Cassandra to release the far-more-powerful superhero. Then, not bothering to look at her former friend, she wheeled herself over to the waiting computers and holograms. The night was not yet over.
~~~
Chester slinked into one of the rundown, abandoned apartment buildings he used as a staging ground all across Blüdhaven. Sweat dripped off his body by the boatloads, his clothing drenched and clinging to his lean form like a second skin. He was more tired than he’d like to admit. Yet at the same… he was overjoyed. He had obviously taken on someone with super powers. Hourman’s if he had to guess. And he had come out on top.
But there had been some setbacks. His vision flashed to the dumpster crashing through the brick, of how he barely dodged the death blow… of how the terrified child inside never stopped screaming. In that single moment, he didn’t know who he hated more; the child’s parents or his stalker. It was a gross abuse of power… It went against the unwritten laws most superheroes operated by.
Which meant who he had faced was an amateur. A fact made all the more obvious with the wake of destruction left behind. The powers were new, if his or hers at all.
And then there had been the loss of Jay Garrick’s shoes. Not a big one according to Cluemaster. Before he had left for the evening, he had concluded it had been a waste – albeit a tad fun – of all their day. The shoes were worthless for whatever their superiors wanted them for. The most they could, and that’s what the crew cared about, was fence a decent price on the black market. He might get in trouble for sacrificing them but…
He made his way to his specific apartment for Chester, shaking out his hair and shrugging out of the clothes he didn’t feel comfortable in. His fingers were pulling at his mustache in front of a dingy, cracked mirror when a vibrating noise came from back in the single bedroom. Sighing, he left the facial hair there, knowing a shower was not in his near future.
He entered the room quickly. More than good manners encouraged the haste. The phone was only called by those you could not afford to miss. Grave consequences were in store for if you did. He yanked it out of his coat pocket. “Yo. Chester here.”
“Honewell. Boss needs to see you. Be there five minutes ago.”
A longing glance at the shower with the roaches crawling over the tub… “Understood.”
Boss didn’t mean Cluemaster. No. It was someone much worse; someone who was a true criminal and blight on the city. It was Boss Blockbuster.
~~~
Crime scene photos hovered in a circle surrounding the women. Intermingled about them were the logos of four separate voices in the Oracle Network. The first was simply a question mark. The next was almost as basic, an old fashion quill. The third was a bit… unusual to say the least. It was a pipe crossed with a banana. The final, Steph wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed to be a cyclone of sand never quite taking the form of a man. They never gave names though it was obvious KF and Charlie knew each of them while Cass had an air of familiarity about her.
Cass was such a friend. She held a steadying hand on Stephanie to keep her leveled yet simultaneously positioned the pair – and her stun saber – between KF and Gordon. The girls were in the thick of things now, and though she was loathed to admit it, Gordon knew Stephanie could prove to be a valuable asset in this discussion. Plus… with the four girls within reach, it kept them from sneaking away before being properly punished.
The discussion was above the head for only Charlie. The young red head’s face was twisted in a confused frown, having a hard time following the voices when she could only really pay attention to her guardian. The only time she seemed to come out of the funk was when the Quill spoke. Then she’d blush and try to hide it.
Beth, on the other hand, listened like a hungry predator. Steph could see in her eyes that putting on Cold’s parka and using his gun had awoken something in the honor roll student. It provided her a sense of purpose, of risk taking that would challenge her very being. Never for a moment did Stephanie believe she had altruistic motives in helping. This… this was all about thrill and curiosity. Rebellion.
Videos of the heist played with lowered audio. Stephanie recognized her father’s voice with relative ease though it was not clear enough to be used as any sort of evidence; especially with his face hidden. The back of her muddled head wondered if anyone else would recall his dulcet tones from his days as a quiz host.
“If you recall, I stated the shoes were the intended target from the second we learned of the sock clue,” remarked the Question Mark morosely. “The four of you told me it was yet another one of my outlandish conspiracy theories.”
KF snorted though no one smiled at the gesture. “Who the hell in their right mind would think the power of the Flashes comes from their shoes?”
"Well... There was that one time Pied Piper captured you and stole your boots, thinking it'd keep you locked up." answered Gordon without missing a beat. For a second, the two older women were friends again, sharing a laugh from their past. Then the steel door slammed shut.
“Yes, and we’ve apologized for that, can we please move on?” The banana ignored the side comments of the women. “The Cluemaster has left us yet another clue and I for one would not wish to be one step behind him again. It’s humiliating to be outwitted by a man with such horrid taste in hats.”
“Hear that, Sandy? Chimp doesn’t like your hat.” Quill joked earning a blush from Charlie.
Sand remained silent but Stephanie started to have a guess at who he was.
Gordon hit a few keys without needing to look and suddenly a 360 view of the crime scene popped into perfectly replicated holographic existence. The scene played out from start of the heist to the leaving of the clue and her Father’s speech until he left all the hostages in a dreamless sleep. The Oracle Network seemed to focus on the clue “of metal minds and men” all but Banana overlooking the importance of the positioning of the ‘n’ in men. However, Stephanie’s mind was elsewhere.
It became obvious a few seconds into the discussion after the Question Mark asked about the supposed “Metal Men” made by some mad scientist that they were getting nowhere and yet, Gordon did not seem to be paying attention. Her eyes were on Stephanie, able to see the gears clicking behind those blonde bangs of hers. As Stephanie squinted, a theory on her lips, her teacher hit the mute button and waited in expectation.
The meds kept Stephanie from blushing when all five pairs of eyes focused in on her.
Okay. Think. This is dad. It’s obvious… it is isn’t it? That he doesn’t want to be doing this. Even from his treatment of the shoes, it’s more he’s putting on a show. Leading someone on. Cain? No don’t look at Cassandra, keep your eyes on the hologram. The clue. Cluemaster… Cluemaster. There’s more than one clue!
“Seems to me that the Cluemaster is becoming more elaborate with his clues. First the elementary school cyclone sent to STAR Labs. Then the sock to Jay,” Quill’s words came out as complete bull to Steph’s ears. He was just talking to fill the silence, knowing that they had been muted. “Why now? Why would he leave a written clue?”
Shut up. Shut up. Let me think. More than one clue. More than one clue in the clue… But where else.
“Can you,” Stephanie leaned forward, once again trying not to vomit up her lack of dinner, “replay my dad’s speech?”
Gordon nodded and unmated the conversation. “Boys,” there was a derisive emphasis on the way she said boys. Probably based on their inability to agree with each other. “I’m going to replay Cluemaster’s speech. I think he may have hidden something there.”
“Ladies, gentlemen, and especially you children of young ages,” cried Cluemaster, grandstanding and holding the shoes aloft. “I sincerely offer you my apologies for ruining this lovely day of yours and no doubt causing you years of debt because of therapist rates. Why I remember my first trip to the museum. It was in the second grade too,” he added looking at the students. “Learned all about the Manhattan Project and those involved with it. Enlightening experience. Made me want to go home and invent a way to fly without a plane but alas fickle fate gave me a different sort of genius.”
Stephanie knew the intended target before her father had finished the word ‘second.’
“Starman!” she shouted in complete epiphany.
The chorus of confusion followed her exclamation.
“Excuse me?”
“Who was that?”
“It all makes sense…” Stephanie was starting to recognize the Question Mark’s voice… it was reminding her of a TV anchor.
“Lightning strikes the tower…” the last one came from the sand icon. Only he did not seem confused. A glimmer of sadness filled his voice.
Gordon noticed it too. “What was that, Sandman?”
“Nothing you need to worry about just yet.” His tone suggested he was trying to be consoling but failing miserably. “I’m happy you finally found her.”Now Stephanie was just a little bit creeped out even if it was the famous Sandman speaking about her in such a way. “Would you like to explain why Starman is the intended or should I?” once again, his tone was not what his words should have meant. He did not care about the answer.
“Uh…you?” Stephanie was suddenly bashful. Her baffled brain was intimately aware that by the time she figured out the why, it’d be well past midnight. Speaking of time, her eyes looked for any sort of clock, wondering if it was past her curfew yet.
“Wait, don’t you da—“ Quill was cut off in mid sentence. His logo blinked out of existence at the same time as the Question mark.
“This is probably the most obvious series of clues Brown has left behind yet,” Stephanie didn’t register any surprise that he knew her father’s identity. “He’s going to great expense to be caught. Possibly because of his family, possibly because he doesn’t want to be doing this. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter at this point in time. Everything from his speech to his written clue and especially the positioning and lower case of the N in men leads to only one possibly conclusion.
“Ted Knight worked on the Manhattan Project years ago, though only a select few are supposed to know this fact. He was the first Starman while there is now a second Starman. Seems complicated and random yet in conjunction with the positioning of the clue in relation to Maryland in which Opal City is located and the clue itself, it leaves Starman, or more likely, a version of the gravity rod as the only choice as Cluemaster’s next intended target. A gravity rod that allows one to fly.”
Beth frowned, not a good look on her. “What does the “n” have to do with anything?”
“Knight.” Cassandra answered simply. The first word Stephanie could recall her saying for hours.
“Correct. Now never interrupt me again.” The aging hero didn’t hold any malice towards Beth. Just annoyance at not being allowed to finished. “What I find dis—“
“Is there is high chance of a leak in the JSA, Watchtower, or someone hidden from their past that has come out of the ductworks,” concluded Banana in a cheery accent.
“Hmph.” Sandman grunted. “You have this handled Oracle. I hope you and your new team manage to apprehend Brown before he does something from which there is no coming back.”
“Team?”
“Goodbye, Barbara.”
“Wes—“ the logo blinked out, leaving Gordon speaking to no-one. She sighed in restrained anger. “Did you have to antagonize him, Chimp?”
“You know me, I’m like your father. Can’t stand the man. Has all the manners of a Gorilla. I’ll leave you to work out the specifics. I don’t think I’ll be able to get to Maryland in time to help but you can call if I’m needed.”
The Oracle Network flashed out of existence, leaving the two women and the four girls all alone in the empty Watchtower. For a second, Stephanie held out the hope of being left unpunished, of being allowed to continue to help. The second didn’t last long.
Gordon spun her chair and looked at each girl in turn, her glare slightly more intense on Stephanie and Cassandra than it was on the other two. Beside her, KF crossed her arms and glanced down her nose at the four of them. The older women were not happy. Not happy in the least.
“Thank you for your help tonight,” Gordon’s tone was dismissive but Stephanie wasn’t paying attention to her. She could only see the minute shivers of KF. “But my agents,” stern look in Cass’s direction, “will be handling the rest of the matter. I’m sorry Stephanie, but we have to take down your father.”
The girl in question nodded, thinking she caught the flash of a needle entering Jessie’s arm but it happened in a blink. Probably a hallucination. “I understand but –“
“No, you cannot help. Beth, please take the other two home. Charlotte,” the tiny redhead winced at the use of her proper name. “You’re grounded.”
~~~
As expected, yells awaited Stephanie the moment she walked in through the door. It wasn’t from her father. He was indeed back as based on his favorite pair shoes being near the couch but he was nowhere in sight. Nor was it from Jolyn who could only offer Stephanie pitying looks. The screams came from her mother. A doctor, a well paid doctor with her own private practice, Crystal Brown was a stern, severe woman when one deviated from rules and regulations. It was amazing she ever fell in love with Arthur in the first place.
“Where have you been?!?” With the pain killers still somewhat in her system, Stephanie had to stifle a laugh at the vein popping out of her mother’s head. Considering most of her patients had blood pressure and stress problems, you’d think Crystal would have had a better handle on her own.
“Studying,” answered Stephanie.
The grin might be a mistake. Stop smiling. Stop it. Your father is a supervillain that is gonna be put in federal prison and have to worry about dropping the soap. Don’t smile. It’ll give everything away. She’ll realize you’ve made plans to ignore everything Gordon ordered you to do. Hey since when did we get a new lamp?
Her mother said nothing for minutes that stretched into hours. Then her fingers closed about Stephanie’s chin and forced her daughter to meet her eyes. “What did you take!?”
“Nothing!” Shouldn’t have asked for the extra medication.
The pinch became harder. Would have hurt had Steph not been on cloud nine. “Don’t lie to me. You didn’t answer your cell. You didn’t call. It’s close to midnight. And you certainly would never study with Beth Kane. Tell me what you took, Stephanie Crystal Brown!”
A door opened from across the living room. Her father had either been summoned by Jolyn or the shouts of her mother. His jacket was in his hand; face a mask of hidden emotion. He looked at the mother and daughter with obvious surprise. Arthur arched a brow in genuine confusion and handed Jolyn his coat unconsciously as he approached the pair.
“What’s going on?” He glanced back and forth between his wife and daughter, eyes noticing the wary way the latter held her arm.
“Your daughter is past curfew without ever calling,” Crystal began, her tone ever increasing. “And she’s lying to me. Just look at her eyes, at her cheeks. She’s on something.”
Arthur gave his wife an incredulous look before gently prying her hand away from their daughter. “I think the redness on her face is your doing, honey.” He winked at his daughter, not for a second believing she was on drugs. “I think you’ve been watching a bit too much Cougars of Jersey.”
“Don’t give me that, Arthur. I know that look. And I can tell when my own daughter is lying. She was not studying.”
“I see,” the patriarch of the family gave a sigh that meant he knew he could not win. “Stephanie, sweetie, did you take something.”
“Yes. I got sick. It’s not drugs. I wasn’t smoking. Just over the counter stomach meds.”
“And were you studying?” he asked gently.
“No,” for a moment, Stephanie felt the need to gamble. If her father was as quick as her… “I was with Jason. He gave me a ride on his motorcycle around town. It… wasn’t as fun as I thought it’d be. The world swam and I puked all over his back.”
Arthur smiled but it was slow and never quite reached his eyes. He gave her an appraising look, one that would appear to be that of a father trying to judge the veracity of his daughter’s statement but she recognized it as something more. “See. Perfectly reasonably. She was with a boy.”
“Boy?” Crystal screeched. “Todd is a man! He’s not a boy and he should be nowhere near our daughter.”
“Settle down. Stephanie admitted she lied. And from the looks of things, she’s been punished enough for now. Let her go to her room and rest then talk about grounding her tomorrow.” He reached for his coat from Jolyn who was there and ready. “I’ll be back in a bit. Something came up with that account I’ve been working on.”
Crystal didn’t want to let it go but even she could see her daughter was in no shape to take in anything they said. She sighed and stormed off into a different room in the first floor, leaving Stephanie alone with her father as their maid had done what she was best at and made herself scarce.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
Arthur smiled and leaned down to kiss his little princess’s cheek. “I should say the same to you.” He patted her arm purposely and watched her wince then left an extremely confused Stephanie staring down at the floor, tears in her eyes.
~~~
With all the unruly students sent to home – or in Charlie’s case, her room – the two women waited silently in the grand underground cavern that made up Watchtower. The pair had been friends, best friends, BFFs since almost the second Jay had taken Jessie in all those years ago. Their relationship, their connection, was second only to Jessie’s and Wally’s… yet the former had managed to ruin both in the span of a few years. In looking in her eyes, a bit of bit of mist started to leak out of Barbara’s before she slammed shut the reinforced steel door that made her Oracle. Personal feelings couldn’t come into play.
“Babs…”
“I know. They’re going to ignore me.” A fraction of her frown curled upside down. “Remind you of anyone?”
For this, Jessie had to look away, her features torn. “If I could… If I could… We never should have walked this road. Great power? Great responsibility? A joke. It would have been responsible of me, of Barry, to never have donned the yellow and red then…”
“Barry needed you,” Barbara’s voice was colder than absolute zero. She had learned, from personal experience, mistakes happened when heroes started to question themselves too much, to deviate from the mission. Such regret was as much to blame for the dissolution of their friendship as all of Jessie’s other actions combined. “You reminded him of the glee of speed, the joy… How to smile when the cards were down.”
“I was a kid! They’re children!” Jessica’s scream echoed about the emptiness filled with might was be the tombstones of heroes too dumb to fully put up the tights. “This?” She zoomed to Cold’s parka that had been left where Beth placed it, “I should never have faced this! I… I… still remember how fast I had to go when Barry… when…
“How fast I still have to go.” The Scarlet Speedster looked up, a maniac grin crossing her face. “You can’t send Jason to Maryland. Jack is bound to ignore him through sheer male stubbornness. Send me. I can do it. I’ll stop Cluemaster in the act. We can end this now… Before the girls can form some plan, before they put themselves in danger.”
Barbara met the bloodshot eyes of Jess. She knew the reason. Probably one of two who knew exactly what caused the tremors and Jessie’s instability. How Wally could stand it… Well, he couldn’t stand it, that’s why their engagement fell through. That was the point. Jessie had no one. Her biological father was a monster. Barry was gone. She was terrified about what Jay might think of her in this current state. And Impulse… Bart was about as emotionally reliable as a pile of bricks swirling around on the edge of a cyclone.
Jessie was alone.
“Jess…” Those eyes, those eyes red through tears and… “Fine. I’ll trust you this one time. Cluemaster is just the type of rogue you’re used to. But swear,” Barbara stressed the word, “swear you’ll get Jack’s help as backup.”
Only a flash of red answered Barbara. “Have faith!” For once, Jessie almost sounded cheerful. For once, the joy she once held as Kid Flash was back in her voice. But Barbara knew… she knew it was all an act.
~~~
Ha. Mom doesn’t want me to go to the Olympics. Doesn’t want me to try for Wimbledon. Wants me here to parade around for the cameras while she sleeps her way through all the twenty-something males of Jersey then fine. I’ll live with that. I’ve found something better.
Beth’s smile, some would say bordering on sinister never left her lips from the moment she dropped the girls off to the second she walked into the elaborate mansion her mother had received in the divorce. For all of two seconds she debated homework and decided it would have to be done. There was a reputation to hold but for now… She glanced about the house, not bothering to call out. Her mother wasn’t home. Almost never was.
She raced up the stairs two steps at a time, dashing for her room. Her door was closed, as always, but with gleeful pleasure she opened it to a room that might as well have been a house. She didn’t care for all the finer things. She was a bit like her cousin Kate who had practically been raised as her sister her entire life in that way. The fact that her bedroom was in reality a suite of rooms was just something she dealt with. . . And a good place to hide a boyfriend back when he had been around. Then of course there was the room that was dedicated to all her trophies and awards earned over the years.
The main room was neat and uncluttered; containing her bed, her vanity mirror, and computer desk. A few shelves held books that hadn’t been opened since the invention of the kindle yet not a line of dust was in sight. Pale moonlight highlighted her destination. Her computer
Obviously she could have checked her phone before getting home but ever since the ordeal with Watchtower, it had been scrambled. Likely a precaution of that overly paranoid Gordon who at the same time was too trusting to lock down the weapons of super villains and heroes alike. It booted up instantly.
Skype loaded.
She frowned. He wasn’t on.
She hastened to check her mail, her frown increasing. Tom had sent an apology mixed with the sycophantic words of love and consolation. Told her that he’d be available tomorrow. He had traded times with a corporal who had just had a baby.
The words sank in. She could understand that. Tom had always been so kind and caring. He had put up with her bitchiness and haughty attitude, seen through the image she tried so hard to project. He loved her… at least she thought he did. On her side of things, there was definite affection and a need for him. One that grew every day he was overseas.
She settled back in the chair before opening up her schoolbooks. Was it Tom that made her want to enlist? Or did she want to follow in Kate’s footsteps and try to help people.
No. Beth remembered how her heart raced as she used Captain Cold’s gun. The sheer thrill of taking on crime and risking her life. It wasn’t that she wanted to save Stephanie. Stephanie was an idiot, borderline retarded, in Beth’s honest opinion. It had been… fun.
Her pencil tapped lazily against her AP Calc textbook. Her eyes focused on the page, distancing herself from the feelings so as to get back into Preppy Class President with the Perfect Grades mode.
The strange scent behind her and the voice that followed nearly caused her to scream. “Steph and Cass report that both of their fathers are gone. I’ve already helped Cass sneak out and follow as the Blackbat.”
Chair spinning around, Beth faced Charlie. The redhead looked flustered and exhausted but otherwise fine.
“Good.” Beth’s grin was almost feral. “I was worried we’d have to wait.”
~~~
The meeting had been enlightening to say the least, in Chester’s opinion. Duke and he had been the only two to survive the encounter with the hooded vigilante willing to show up and from the sounds of things; those who fled would be tracked down shortly and dealt with. No mercy there. They deserved whatever Blockbuster had in store with them.
Beside him walked the form of Arthur Brown the Cluemaster. Gone was the disguise. In its place was the face of a defeated man though it was something that could only be seen deeply hidden behind the eyes. Duke had been promoted, or rather, sidelined for a special project. That left Chester as the only one who had Arthur’s back in the coming heist now that the under-the-table specialists from Mark Securities had been brought in. A suggestion made by the so called Calculator to better help Cluemaster now that their timetable had been lessened and he had lost eighty percent of his men.
Plus, KnightCorp would be far more difficult than STAR Labs.
Arthur waited until they were outside the building to speak. Far away and down the street. His demeanor suggested Chester should continue to follow him. The older man carried himself like a much younger one yet Chester found himself wishing a bit of the Cluemaster’s good cheer would bleed back through. It wasn’t.
Chester heard a click and his hand went immediately to his pocket draw out his gun but a look at Arthur proved this to be unwise. In his hands he held a small cylinder. Black. Almost looked like a lighter.
“Bugs,” he stated in a hollow voice.
Ah… He had to say something that made him worry that Blockbuster or more likely, the Calculator was listening. “Okay.”
“I don’t know why you’re here, Chester,” the name wasn’t said with a sneer but it was said with the knowledge that Arthur knew it was an assumed identity. “I haven’t figured out what sort of game you’re playing at… yet.” Which meant that if he had the time, Arthur would. “But I only have two things to tell you.”
Easing his hand out of his jacket to prove that he remained unarmed, Chester nodded for Cluemaster to continue.
“First. You’re off the heist. Second. Look after my daughter. Let no harm come to her, Chester, or I will break out of prison just to kill you.”
Arthur clicked the strange cylinder again and took off at a brisk walk, whistling airily, uncaring about the dangerous part of town he was in. Chester could not speak, not even if he dared now that the Cluemaster had turned off the jammer. Only intense training kept the surprise from registering on his face. He turned on his heel in a diverging direction, focused on keeping Arthur’s final order.
I’ll try, Arthur, but Steph won’t make it easy on me.
Under the Purple Hood Pt 4
The Quick and the Blond
Ridiculous. The bulls shouldn’t even be here. Shouldn’t have done anything without our permission!
Detective Catalina Flores had done more investigative work in the past few hours than she had for a month. It had started down at the docks, not an unusual place to build a case in Blüdhaven, and stretched across the city to a dumpster shaped hole in a druggie’s apartment until it ended at shattered third floor window another two blocks away. She, her partner, and the boys in blue had followed the path, marked off the strange foot imprints and craters, and kept track of anything odd. Long work. Work that should have been done completely under the watchful eye of more than a single pair of detectives.
The warehouse was completely legit, though the gunshot residue and slugs said otherwise, belonging to the Desmond family; specifically the one son they thought above board in producing cheap, generic pharmaceutical supplies across the nation. Looked like an elephant had crashed through there though the feet had to belong to small woman. Empty pill bottles and packages were strewn everywhere. Not a single security guard on duty when they got there.
Then there had been the witnesses and more footprints. This was either the work of a baby Bigfoot with a decent pair of sneakers or could be solved by Cinderelling all the Blüdhaven population… or at least they could narrow it down to those who own that specific brand of shoes… if they had the resources. But no, apparently it was the work of a hooded figure. Not the fictitious Red Hood but someone in a golden one that reminded everyone of a man they couldn’t quite recall.
Catalina sifted through the glass, thinking she had found one with blood on it but quickly realized it was a trick of the light. The uniformed boys had taped it all off, clearing a sizable area for her to do absolutely nothing in. She had more than a few admirers among the Blüdhaven PD and they were taking the opportunity glance at her out of the side of their peripheral. Long legged, tan-skinned, breasts more fitting for a playboy centerfold than her uniform back when she worked the beat. It was a wonder at all why she joined the Force in the first place. But… it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Her brother went into law. She could at least try to enforce order.
“Seems,” her partner surprised her from behind, she spun to see him slyly putting something decidedly bottle shaped and not cash in his coat pocket, “the man who puts that Gregson lad you had a fling with to shame led the hooded perp on a merry chase across town in order to get the Aquistas all riled up. Nothing more than a few insurance claims and boys being boys that we have to worry about.”
“Grayson,” Catalina corrected automatically. “And it wasn’t a fling. We dated. Once.” She glared at her partner, at his smirk. “Soames, what did you put in your pocket?”
“Ah, that?” He waved it off without a worry. “For my blood pressure. I’m still fit as a fiddle for nights out on a town with you my wee lovely lass.”
Catalina didn’t believe him. She never believed him. But there was nothing she could do. Not now… Not yet.
~~~
“You gave me three days!” exclaimed Gordon, surgical supplies skin deep inside Stephanie’s arms. “Three days! I told you I’d handle this.”
The conversation floated in a cloud above Stephanie’s head. She was coming down from her highs and lows finally but her teacher had given her something for the pain. Everything seemed so far away and blurry. Happy happy yet not happy pills. Steph laid on a gurney, one older than her, Gordon on one side and Kid Flash-Flash-Speedy-Whatever on the other. They were having some sort of argument. A part of Stephanie knew she should be worried about Gordon losing her temper while performing surgery on her arm.
“That was until I learned of the missing Wind Elemental the JSA captured,” KF, seemed the best designation given her childish tone, shot back sarcastically. “Do you have that handled too?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” clink of glass in a pan, “And when Jade gets here tomorrow, my real work will start.”
Something on strings, ah Flash’s shoes, dangled over Stephanie’s head. “Looks like the girl scouts started without y—“ a tremor entered KF’s voice. One she fought to control and was somewhat familiar to the girl on the gurney.
Another clank then Gordon put the surgical tweezers down and began cleaning the wound before suturing. “Can’t kick the habit, can you?”
“Go to hell, Babs.”
“I was there once. Think I still am. I dimly recall you trying to be a hero worthy of the mantle and failing quite miserably in fact.”
“I’ve told you time and –“
“I don’t care about what happened to me, Jess.” No sense in hiding names when Stephanie could use a computer to find it out on her own. “It happens. My dad warned me. Your dad warned me. The Flash and all the JSA warned me. It happens in our line of work. What puts me in Hell is having to see you, to hear your voice, and how you just won’t grow up. You are—were my best friend. I forgave you a long time ago for not saving me… but…”
The fog over Stephanie started to lift and through it, she could see Gordon’s face frozen in a look of indifference as she nevertheless closed the wound in her arm while KF twitched every few seconds, as if her body was vibrating still, eyes alternating between tears and fury. Her fists clenched. She looked like she was about to hit something but years of restraint held her back. The pair had such history, such a painful past, that for Gordon to just not care… It had to be the ultimate betrayal.
More twitching. Maybe she has her own Hourman pills.
“I have grown up!” screamed KF. “I’ve saved more lives, more crimes, stopped the deaths of –“
Gordon had a knack for interrupting. “Then why are you shivering? What’s going on with Wally? Why are you still holding yourself personally responsible for my paralysis?” KF started to speak but Gordon stopped her with a glare Stephanie recognized from class. “You are not the Flash yet you wear his boots. You are not the Kid Flash yet you act like some rebellious teenager. You avoid Jay like the plague so that he won’t discover the truth. For the love of god, Impulse does more heroics when he’s bored than you do while on duty.” Gordon set down the rest of her sewing equipment, finished. Then she met Jess’s eyes and Steph thought she could see the sparks meet in the middle but that was probably the meds.
“You,” from her body language, Steph guessed Gordon had readied her killing blow. “You become more and more like your birth father every day.”
Two things happened in a flash. First Jess was on the other side of Steph and her slap sent Gordon flying out of her chair. Second, Cass having read the same body language as Stephanie, had forced KF to join their teacher on the ground, electrically charged sword pressed into her throat. The smell of singed flesh and snarls of anger filled the air.
For a long time, no one moved. KF seemed content to stay where she was, meeting Cassandra’s deadly stare. Gordon pushed herself up with her arms and strangely, Beth helped her back into her chair once it was righted. The woman stared down at her friend, not reluctance which kept her from calling Cass off. The act of tilting her head to see exactly what all was happening proved too much for Stephanie in the end and she had to focus on not puking on her former childhood hero since it might have hit her new friend.
“Um…” Charlie’s airy voice cut through the tension. “The Oracle Network is up. They’re waiting on you, Babs.”
It was enough. Gordon signaled for Cassandra to release the far-more-powerful superhero. Then, not bothering to look at her former friend, she wheeled herself over to the waiting computers and holograms. The night was not yet over.
~~~
Chester slinked into one of the rundown, abandoned apartment buildings he used as a staging ground all across Blüdhaven. Sweat dripped off his body by the boatloads, his clothing drenched and clinging to his lean form like a second skin. He was more tired than he’d like to admit. Yet at the same… he was overjoyed. He had obviously taken on someone with super powers. Hourman’s if he had to guess. And he had come out on top.
But there had been some setbacks. His vision flashed to the dumpster crashing through the brick, of how he barely dodged the death blow… of how the terrified child inside never stopped screaming. In that single moment, he didn’t know who he hated more; the child’s parents or his stalker. It was a gross abuse of power… It went against the unwritten laws most superheroes operated by.
Which meant who he had faced was an amateur. A fact made all the more obvious with the wake of destruction left behind. The powers were new, if his or hers at all.
And then there had been the loss of Jay Garrick’s shoes. Not a big one according to Cluemaster. Before he had left for the evening, he had concluded it had been a waste – albeit a tad fun – of all their day. The shoes were worthless for whatever their superiors wanted them for. The most they could, and that’s what the crew cared about, was fence a decent price on the black market. He might get in trouble for sacrificing them but…
He made his way to his specific apartment for Chester, shaking out his hair and shrugging out of the clothes he didn’t feel comfortable in. His fingers were pulling at his mustache in front of a dingy, cracked mirror when a vibrating noise came from back in the single bedroom. Sighing, he left the facial hair there, knowing a shower was not in his near future.
He entered the room quickly. More than good manners encouraged the haste. The phone was only called by those you could not afford to miss. Grave consequences were in store for if you did. He yanked it out of his coat pocket. “Yo. Chester here.”
“Honewell. Boss needs to see you. Be there five minutes ago.”
A longing glance at the shower with the roaches crawling over the tub… “Understood.”
Boss didn’t mean Cluemaster. No. It was someone much worse; someone who was a true criminal and blight on the city. It was Boss Blockbuster.
~~~
Crime scene photos hovered in a circle surrounding the women. Intermingled about them were the logos of four separate voices in the Oracle Network. The first was simply a question mark. The next was almost as basic, an old fashion quill. The third was a bit… unusual to say the least. It was a pipe crossed with a banana. The final, Steph wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed to be a cyclone of sand never quite taking the form of a man. They never gave names though it was obvious KF and Charlie knew each of them while Cass had an air of familiarity about her.
Cass was such a friend. She held a steadying hand on Stephanie to keep her leveled yet simultaneously positioned the pair – and her stun saber – between KF and Gordon. The girls were in the thick of things now, and though she was loathed to admit it, Gordon knew Stephanie could prove to be a valuable asset in this discussion. Plus… with the four girls within reach, it kept them from sneaking away before being properly punished.
The discussion was above the head for only Charlie. The young red head’s face was twisted in a confused frown, having a hard time following the voices when she could only really pay attention to her guardian. The only time she seemed to come out of the funk was when the Quill spoke. Then she’d blush and try to hide it.
Beth, on the other hand, listened like a hungry predator. Steph could see in her eyes that putting on Cold’s parka and using his gun had awoken something in the honor roll student. It provided her a sense of purpose, of risk taking that would challenge her very being. Never for a moment did Stephanie believe she had altruistic motives in helping. This… this was all about thrill and curiosity. Rebellion.
Videos of the heist played with lowered audio. Stephanie recognized her father’s voice with relative ease though it was not clear enough to be used as any sort of evidence; especially with his face hidden. The back of her muddled head wondered if anyone else would recall his dulcet tones from his days as a quiz host.
“If you recall, I stated the shoes were the intended target from the second we learned of the sock clue,” remarked the Question Mark morosely. “The four of you told me it was yet another one of my outlandish conspiracy theories.”
KF snorted though no one smiled at the gesture. “Who the hell in their right mind would think the power of the Flashes comes from their shoes?”
"Well... There was that one time Pied Piper captured you and stole your boots, thinking it'd keep you locked up." answered Gordon without missing a beat. For a second, the two older women were friends again, sharing a laugh from their past. Then the steel door slammed shut.
“Yes, and we’ve apologized for that, can we please move on?” The banana ignored the side comments of the women. “The Cluemaster has left us yet another clue and I for one would not wish to be one step behind him again. It’s humiliating to be outwitted by a man with such horrid taste in hats.”
“Hear that, Sandy? Chimp doesn’t like your hat.” Quill joked earning a blush from Charlie.
Sand remained silent but Stephanie started to have a guess at who he was.
Gordon hit a few keys without needing to look and suddenly a 360 view of the crime scene popped into perfectly replicated holographic existence. The scene played out from start of the heist to the leaving of the clue and her Father’s speech until he left all the hostages in a dreamless sleep. The Oracle Network seemed to focus on the clue “of metal minds and men” all but Banana overlooking the importance of the positioning of the ‘n’ in men. However, Stephanie’s mind was elsewhere.
It became obvious a few seconds into the discussion after the Question Mark asked about the supposed “Metal Men” made by some mad scientist that they were getting nowhere and yet, Gordon did not seem to be paying attention. Her eyes were on Stephanie, able to see the gears clicking behind those blonde bangs of hers. As Stephanie squinted, a theory on her lips, her teacher hit the mute button and waited in expectation.
The meds kept Stephanie from blushing when all five pairs of eyes focused in on her.
Okay. Think. This is dad. It’s obvious… it is isn’t it? That he doesn’t want to be doing this. Even from his treatment of the shoes, it’s more he’s putting on a show. Leading someone on. Cain? No don’t look at Cassandra, keep your eyes on the hologram. The clue. Cluemaster… Cluemaster. There’s more than one clue!
“Seems to me that the Cluemaster is becoming more elaborate with his clues. First the elementary school cyclone sent to STAR Labs. Then the sock to Jay,” Quill’s words came out as complete bull to Steph’s ears. He was just talking to fill the silence, knowing that they had been muted. “Why now? Why would he leave a written clue?”
Shut up. Shut up. Let me think. More than one clue. More than one clue in the clue… But where else.
“Can you,” Stephanie leaned forward, once again trying not to vomit up her lack of dinner, “replay my dad’s speech?”
Gordon nodded and unmated the conversation. “Boys,” there was a derisive emphasis on the way she said boys. Probably based on their inability to agree with each other. “I’m going to replay Cluemaster’s speech. I think he may have hidden something there.”
“Ladies, gentlemen, and especially you children of young ages,” cried Cluemaster, grandstanding and holding the shoes aloft. “I sincerely offer you my apologies for ruining this lovely day of yours and no doubt causing you years of debt because of therapist rates. Why I remember my first trip to the museum. It was in the second grade too,” he added looking at the students. “Learned all about the Manhattan Project and those involved with it. Enlightening experience. Made me want to go home and invent a way to fly without a plane but alas fickle fate gave me a different sort of genius.”
Stephanie knew the intended target before her father had finished the word ‘second.’
“Starman!” she shouted in complete epiphany.
The chorus of confusion followed her exclamation.
“Excuse me?”
“Who was that?”
“It all makes sense…” Stephanie was starting to recognize the Question Mark’s voice… it was reminding her of a TV anchor.
“Lightning strikes the tower…” the last one came from the sand icon. Only he did not seem confused. A glimmer of sadness filled his voice.
Gordon noticed it too. “What was that, Sandman?”
“Nothing you need to worry about just yet.” His tone suggested he was trying to be consoling but failing miserably. “I’m happy you finally found her.”Now Stephanie was just a little bit creeped out even if it was the famous Sandman speaking about her in such a way. “Would you like to explain why Starman is the intended or should I?” once again, his tone was not what his words should have meant. He did not care about the answer.
“Uh…you?” Stephanie was suddenly bashful. Her baffled brain was intimately aware that by the time she figured out the why, it’d be well past midnight. Speaking of time, her eyes looked for any sort of clock, wondering if it was past her curfew yet.
“Wait, don’t you da—“ Quill was cut off in mid sentence. His logo blinked out of existence at the same time as the Question mark.
“This is probably the most obvious series of clues Brown has left behind yet,” Stephanie didn’t register any surprise that he knew her father’s identity. “He’s going to great expense to be caught. Possibly because of his family, possibly because he doesn’t want to be doing this. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter at this point in time. Everything from his speech to his written clue and especially the positioning and lower case of the N in men leads to only one possibly conclusion.
“Ted Knight worked on the Manhattan Project years ago, though only a select few are supposed to know this fact. He was the first Starman while there is now a second Starman. Seems complicated and random yet in conjunction with the positioning of the clue in relation to Maryland in which Opal City is located and the clue itself, it leaves Starman, or more likely, a version of the gravity rod as the only choice as Cluemaster’s next intended target. A gravity rod that allows one to fly.”
Beth frowned, not a good look on her. “What does the “n” have to do with anything?”
“Knight.” Cassandra answered simply. The first word Stephanie could recall her saying for hours.
“Correct. Now never interrupt me again.” The aging hero didn’t hold any malice towards Beth. Just annoyance at not being allowed to finished. “What I find dis—“
“Is there is high chance of a leak in the JSA, Watchtower, or someone hidden from their past that has come out of the ductworks,” concluded Banana in a cheery accent.
“Hmph.” Sandman grunted. “You have this handled Oracle. I hope you and your new team manage to apprehend Brown before he does something from which there is no coming back.”
“Team?”
“Goodbye, Barbara.”
“Wes—“ the logo blinked out, leaving Gordon speaking to no-one. She sighed in restrained anger. “Did you have to antagonize him, Chimp?”
“You know me, I’m like your father. Can’t stand the man. Has all the manners of a Gorilla. I’ll leave you to work out the specifics. I don’t think I’ll be able to get to Maryland in time to help but you can call if I’m needed.”
The Oracle Network flashed out of existence, leaving the two women and the four girls all alone in the empty Watchtower. For a second, Stephanie held out the hope of being left unpunished, of being allowed to continue to help. The second didn’t last long.
Gordon spun her chair and looked at each girl in turn, her glare slightly more intense on Stephanie and Cassandra than it was on the other two. Beside her, KF crossed her arms and glanced down her nose at the four of them. The older women were not happy. Not happy in the least.
“Thank you for your help tonight,” Gordon’s tone was dismissive but Stephanie wasn’t paying attention to her. She could only see the minute shivers of KF. “But my agents,” stern look in Cass’s direction, “will be handling the rest of the matter. I’m sorry Stephanie, but we have to take down your father.”
The girl in question nodded, thinking she caught the flash of a needle entering Jessie’s arm but it happened in a blink. Probably a hallucination. “I understand but –“
“No, you cannot help. Beth, please take the other two home. Charlotte,” the tiny redhead winced at the use of her proper name. “You’re grounded.”
~~~
As expected, yells awaited Stephanie the moment she walked in through the door. It wasn’t from her father. He was indeed back as based on his favorite pair shoes being near the couch but he was nowhere in sight. Nor was it from Jolyn who could only offer Stephanie pitying looks. The screams came from her mother. A doctor, a well paid doctor with her own private practice, Crystal Brown was a stern, severe woman when one deviated from rules and regulations. It was amazing she ever fell in love with Arthur in the first place.
“Where have you been?!?” With the pain killers still somewhat in her system, Stephanie had to stifle a laugh at the vein popping out of her mother’s head. Considering most of her patients had blood pressure and stress problems, you’d think Crystal would have had a better handle on her own.
“Studying,” answered Stephanie.
The grin might be a mistake. Stop smiling. Stop it. Your father is a supervillain that is gonna be put in federal prison and have to worry about dropping the soap. Don’t smile. It’ll give everything away. She’ll realize you’ve made plans to ignore everything Gordon ordered you to do. Hey since when did we get a new lamp?
Her mother said nothing for minutes that stretched into hours. Then her fingers closed about Stephanie’s chin and forced her daughter to meet her eyes. “What did you take!?”
“Nothing!” Shouldn’t have asked for the extra medication.
The pinch became harder. Would have hurt had Steph not been on cloud nine. “Don’t lie to me. You didn’t answer your cell. You didn’t call. It’s close to midnight. And you certainly would never study with Beth Kane. Tell me what you took, Stephanie Crystal Brown!”
A door opened from across the living room. Her father had either been summoned by Jolyn or the shouts of her mother. His jacket was in his hand; face a mask of hidden emotion. He looked at the mother and daughter with obvious surprise. Arthur arched a brow in genuine confusion and handed Jolyn his coat unconsciously as he approached the pair.
“What’s going on?” He glanced back and forth between his wife and daughter, eyes noticing the wary way the latter held her arm.
“Your daughter is past curfew without ever calling,” Crystal began, her tone ever increasing. “And she’s lying to me. Just look at her eyes, at her cheeks. She’s on something.”
Arthur gave his wife an incredulous look before gently prying her hand away from their daughter. “I think the redness on her face is your doing, honey.” He winked at his daughter, not for a second believing she was on drugs. “I think you’ve been watching a bit too much Cougars of Jersey.”
“Don’t give me that, Arthur. I know that look. And I can tell when my own daughter is lying. She was not studying.”
“I see,” the patriarch of the family gave a sigh that meant he knew he could not win. “Stephanie, sweetie, did you take something.”
“Yes. I got sick. It’s not drugs. I wasn’t smoking. Just over the counter stomach meds.”
“And were you studying?” he asked gently.
“No,” for a moment, Stephanie felt the need to gamble. If her father was as quick as her… “I was with Jason. He gave me a ride on his motorcycle around town. It… wasn’t as fun as I thought it’d be. The world swam and I puked all over his back.”
Arthur smiled but it was slow and never quite reached his eyes. He gave her an appraising look, one that would appear to be that of a father trying to judge the veracity of his daughter’s statement but she recognized it as something more. “See. Perfectly reasonably. She was with a boy.”
“Boy?” Crystal screeched. “Todd is a man! He’s not a boy and he should be nowhere near our daughter.”
“Settle down. Stephanie admitted she lied. And from the looks of things, she’s been punished enough for now. Let her go to her room and rest then talk about grounding her tomorrow.” He reached for his coat from Jolyn who was there and ready. “I’ll be back in a bit. Something came up with that account I’ve been working on.”
Crystal didn’t want to let it go but even she could see her daughter was in no shape to take in anything they said. She sighed and stormed off into a different room in the first floor, leaving Stephanie alone with her father as their maid had done what she was best at and made herself scarce.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“Be careful.”
Arthur smiled and leaned down to kiss his little princess’s cheek. “I should say the same to you.” He patted her arm purposely and watched her wince then left an extremely confused Stephanie staring down at the floor, tears in her eyes.
~~~
With all the unruly students sent to home – or in Charlie’s case, her room – the two women waited silently in the grand underground cavern that made up Watchtower. The pair had been friends, best friends, BFFs since almost the second Jay had taken Jessie in all those years ago. Their relationship, their connection, was second only to Jessie’s and Wally’s… yet the former had managed to ruin both in the span of a few years. In looking in her eyes, a bit of bit of mist started to leak out of Barbara’s before she slammed shut the reinforced steel door that made her Oracle. Personal feelings couldn’t come into play.
“Babs…”
“I know. They’re going to ignore me.” A fraction of her frown curled upside down. “Remind you of anyone?”
For this, Jessie had to look away, her features torn. “If I could… If I could… We never should have walked this road. Great power? Great responsibility? A joke. It would have been responsible of me, of Barry, to never have donned the yellow and red then…”
“Barry needed you,” Barbara’s voice was colder than absolute zero. She had learned, from personal experience, mistakes happened when heroes started to question themselves too much, to deviate from the mission. Such regret was as much to blame for the dissolution of their friendship as all of Jessie’s other actions combined. “You reminded him of the glee of speed, the joy… How to smile when the cards were down.”
“I was a kid! They’re children!” Jessica’s scream echoed about the emptiness filled with might was be the tombstones of heroes too dumb to fully put up the tights. “This?” She zoomed to Cold’s parka that had been left where Beth placed it, “I should never have faced this! I… I… still remember how fast I had to go when Barry… when…
“How fast I still have to go.” The Scarlet Speedster looked up, a maniac grin crossing her face. “You can’t send Jason to Maryland. Jack is bound to ignore him through sheer male stubbornness. Send me. I can do it. I’ll stop Cluemaster in the act. We can end this now… Before the girls can form some plan, before they put themselves in danger.”
Barbara met the bloodshot eyes of Jess. She knew the reason. Probably one of two who knew exactly what caused the tremors and Jessie’s instability. How Wally could stand it… Well, he couldn’t stand it, that’s why their engagement fell through. That was the point. Jessie had no one. Her biological father was a monster. Barry was gone. She was terrified about what Jay might think of her in this current state. And Impulse… Bart was about as emotionally reliable as a pile of bricks swirling around on the edge of a cyclone.
Jessie was alone.
“Jess…” Those eyes, those eyes red through tears and… “Fine. I’ll trust you this one time. Cluemaster is just the type of rogue you’re used to. But swear,” Barbara stressed the word, “swear you’ll get Jack’s help as backup.”
Only a flash of red answered Barbara. “Have faith!” For once, Jessie almost sounded cheerful. For once, the joy she once held as Kid Flash was back in her voice. But Barbara knew… she knew it was all an act.
~~~
Ha. Mom doesn’t want me to go to the Olympics. Doesn’t want me to try for Wimbledon. Wants me here to parade around for the cameras while she sleeps her way through all the twenty-something males of Jersey then fine. I’ll live with that. I’ve found something better.
Beth’s smile, some would say bordering on sinister never left her lips from the moment she dropped the girls off to the second she walked into the elaborate mansion her mother had received in the divorce. For all of two seconds she debated homework and decided it would have to be done. There was a reputation to hold but for now… She glanced about the house, not bothering to call out. Her mother wasn’t home. Almost never was.
She raced up the stairs two steps at a time, dashing for her room. Her door was closed, as always, but with gleeful pleasure she opened it to a room that might as well have been a house. She didn’t care for all the finer things. She was a bit like her cousin Kate who had practically been raised as her sister her entire life in that way. The fact that her bedroom was in reality a suite of rooms was just something she dealt with. . . And a good place to hide a boyfriend back when he had been around. Then of course there was the room that was dedicated to all her trophies and awards earned over the years.
The main room was neat and uncluttered; containing her bed, her vanity mirror, and computer desk. A few shelves held books that hadn’t been opened since the invention of the kindle yet not a line of dust was in sight. Pale moonlight highlighted her destination. Her computer
Obviously she could have checked her phone before getting home but ever since the ordeal with Watchtower, it had been scrambled. Likely a precaution of that overly paranoid Gordon who at the same time was too trusting to lock down the weapons of super villains and heroes alike. It booted up instantly.
Skype loaded.
She frowned. He wasn’t on.
She hastened to check her mail, her frown increasing. Tom had sent an apology mixed with the sycophantic words of love and consolation. Told her that he’d be available tomorrow. He had traded times with a corporal who had just had a baby.
The words sank in. She could understand that. Tom had always been so kind and caring. He had put up with her bitchiness and haughty attitude, seen through the image she tried so hard to project. He loved her… at least she thought he did. On her side of things, there was definite affection and a need for him. One that grew every day he was overseas.
She settled back in the chair before opening up her schoolbooks. Was it Tom that made her want to enlist? Or did she want to follow in Kate’s footsteps and try to help people.
No. Beth remembered how her heart raced as she used Captain Cold’s gun. The sheer thrill of taking on crime and risking her life. It wasn’t that she wanted to save Stephanie. Stephanie was an idiot, borderline retarded, in Beth’s honest opinion. It had been… fun.
Her pencil tapped lazily against her AP Calc textbook. Her eyes focused on the page, distancing herself from the feelings so as to get back into Preppy Class President with the Perfect Grades mode.
The strange scent behind her and the voice that followed nearly caused her to scream. “Steph and Cass report that both of their fathers are gone. I’ve already helped Cass sneak out and follow as the Blackbat.”
Chair spinning around, Beth faced Charlie. The redhead looked flustered and exhausted but otherwise fine.
“Good.” Beth’s grin was almost feral. “I was worried we’d have to wait.”
~~~
The meeting had been enlightening to say the least, in Chester’s opinion. Duke and he had been the only two to survive the encounter with the hooded vigilante willing to show up and from the sounds of things; those who fled would be tracked down shortly and dealt with. No mercy there. They deserved whatever Blockbuster had in store with them.
Beside him walked the form of Arthur Brown the Cluemaster. Gone was the disguise. In its place was the face of a defeated man though it was something that could only be seen deeply hidden behind the eyes. Duke had been promoted, or rather, sidelined for a special project. That left Chester as the only one who had Arthur’s back in the coming heist now that the under-the-table specialists from Mark Securities had been brought in. A suggestion made by the so called Calculator to better help Cluemaster now that their timetable had been lessened and he had lost eighty percent of his men.
Plus, KnightCorp would be far more difficult than STAR Labs.
Arthur waited until they were outside the building to speak. Far away and down the street. His demeanor suggested Chester should continue to follow him. The older man carried himself like a much younger one yet Chester found himself wishing a bit of the Cluemaster’s good cheer would bleed back through. It wasn’t.
Chester heard a click and his hand went immediately to his pocket draw out his gun but a look at Arthur proved this to be unwise. In his hands he held a small cylinder. Black. Almost looked like a lighter.
“Bugs,” he stated in a hollow voice.
Ah… He had to say something that made him worry that Blockbuster or more likely, the Calculator was listening. “Okay.”
“I don’t know why you’re here, Chester,” the name wasn’t said with a sneer but it was said with the knowledge that Arthur knew it was an assumed identity. “I haven’t figured out what sort of game you’re playing at… yet.” Which meant that if he had the time, Arthur would. “But I only have two things to tell you.”
Easing his hand out of his jacket to prove that he remained unarmed, Chester nodded for Cluemaster to continue.
“First. You’re off the heist. Second. Look after my daughter. Let no harm come to her, Chester, or I will break out of prison just to kill you.”
Arthur clicked the strange cylinder again and took off at a brisk walk, whistling airily, uncaring about the dangerous part of town he was in. Chester could not speak, not even if he dared now that the Cluemaster had turned off the jammer. Only intense training kept the surprise from registering on his face. He turned on his heel in a diverging direction, focused on keeping Arthur’s final order.
I’ll try, Arthur, but Steph won’t make it easy on me.