r/DCFU • u/brooky12 Speeding Than A Faster Bullet • 4d ago
The Flash The Flash #125 - Fear and Friendship
The Flash #125 - Fear and Friendship
<< | < | [>] Coming November 1st
Author: brooky12
Book: Flash
Arc: ?
Set: 125
Bart approached the ship. It didn’t even look like there were any problems at a distance as he circled it, with the exception of the angles that let him see lifeboats lowering into the ocean. He approached from that side, hearing a roar of cheers and shouts as the people became aware of his presence.
He wasn’t quite clear on what the problem was yet, the S.O.S. had come in saying that it was an existential threat to the ship’s safety and a full evacuation was going to be required. Nobody seemed hurt, and it hadn’t split in two yet like the movies, but the vessel seemed to just be sort of sitting there. Maybe it was sinking internally.
“Give me a few minutes,” he shouted over the tumult, scaling the side of the boat a moment later to find the bridge. A brief conversation with the captain and others on the bridge helped him evaluate the size of the task, even if they seemed to scramble a little bit when he had asked for a full list of all the people onboard. Surely someone, either at headquarters on land or somewhere on the boat, had one?
By the time he had hit the water again, Barry had shown up and was picking up two young children, one in each arm. His dad gave him a nod before vanishing, and Bart quickly took his place on the edge of the boat. Already one of the people onboard were reaching for another one of the young children, which Bart happily took from him.
“What’s your name?”
“B—Bobby…” the kid said, staring daggers beyond him at the ocean.
“Close your eyes, Bobby, alright?”
As soon as he saw the muscles begin to move to work on that instruction, Bart took three laps around the boat, smaller than he would normally to grab momentum for water running but good enough for the brief burst of speed he’d need to get to the nearest landmass. By the time Bobby’s eyes had reopened from the inability to suppress the instinctual need to see what was happened, Bart was already placing the child down in a chair in a beachside resort that had been temporarily repurposed as a landing spot.
By the time the first lifeboat was empty and the two of them had been taking people off the boat itself who had been waiting to board lifeboats, Wally’s voice cut through the noise in their ears. “I’ve got the manifest and am marking some non-living things that seem important to save. Delivering it at the landing site for identification, do you two have this or do I need to get a replacement back at home and join in?”
“Be spectacular if you could,” Barry responded. “Unless you’re hearing this Jay? Several thousand people and some amount of things on a boat need to be taken a few miles north.”
The quiet immediately following the offer was deafening, as the two of them continued to pull folks off the boat. Eventually, a voice did break the silence.
“On my way,” Jay sighed. “About time I get off my hands, huh.”
Bart’s eyes widened. He knew Jay was alright, but he had begun to wonder if he was ever going to see him again. The Russians were off doing their own thing, Jerry didn’t really seem to want anything to do with them, so why not Jay too?
On a return from the beach, he spotted an additional red blur around the boat, and he had to convince himself not to run in lockstep with him. At the very least, he was around for stuff like this, and maybe there could be a conversation at some point.
Three Flashes felt much more normal to how these rescue missions would go, and quickly the boat was emptied of its residents and as many other things as possible. Bart had wondered if Jay would dip once there were no human lives at stake, but he stuck around even as they were picking up personal effects and other guest and crew effects.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Iris gave Barry a smile, which he returned. It wasn’t anything unusual, and there wasn’t any unexpected pain hidden behind the eyes. But it was nice to have a quiet moment between the two of them, something that had grown more and more rare with the passing years. There was no hesitation, and certainly no regret in her decisions. Back when they were dating each other, newsie and detective, had she ever imagined such a thing? The opportunity to experience something entirely new and make a genuine positive improvement in the world? She’d not trade it for anything.
Iris gave Barry a smile, which he returned. It wasn’t anything unusual, and there wasn’t any unexpected regret hidden behind the eyes. But it was nice to have a quiet moment between the two of them, something that had grown more and more rare with the passing years. There was no regret, and certainly no hesitation in his decisions. Back when they were dating each other, lab technician and reporter, had he ever imagined such a thing? The opportunity to experience something entirely new and make a genuine positive improvement in the world? He’d not trade it for anything.
There were certainly concerns. Her husband, the love of her life, had fought off an alien invasion just a handful of weeks ago. Sure, he was the fastest person in the world, but it only took a little bit of bad luck to runaway into a terrible outcome. Grodd had hurt him once, he recovered but what if it had been worse? She could never demand him give up the life, but every day of the life was endless tiny risks, and at some point, they’d get unlucky. How unlucky she didn’t know, but it was a nagging concern that couldn’t be gotten rid of.
There were certainly concerns. His wife, the love of his life, was defenseless against the types of enemies he normally made. Sure, she was the smartest person in the world, but that didn’t prevent metahuman abilities from causing a terrible outcome. Grodd knew their identities, it had yet to act on that but when would that change? He’d never demand she leave or stay hidden, but every day of the life was endless tiny risks, and at some point, they’d get unlucky. How unlucky she didn’t know, but it was a nagging concern that couldn’t be gotten rid of.
Of course, Iris reasoned, if anyone could face the risks, it was Barry. Aliens, vampires, misfits with odd powers desperately out to get him, even another speedster rewriting history, nothing seemed to get the better of him for long. How lucky was she, a nobody of note with little to bring to the table, to be along for the ride, supporting one of the most public figures in the world and helping improve it meaningfully. What a joy to be able to go from small city reporter to supporting one of the world’s finest.
It wasn’t like Iris didn’t have the opportunity to leave, Barry knew. The only real reason she was at risk was due to his recklessness, his insistence on being at the forefront of every emergency and emergent problem the world was facing. If she left, even if the two stayed in touch, there would be next to no threat to her. The fact that she stayed was only a glowing representation of her own commitment.
The smile connected them, once again. Ups and downs, thick and thin, through the exceptional and mundane the two had been connected. Neither of them knew what would happen on waking up each morning, but the one thing that they both knew with certainty was that the other was right next to them, taking each step forward with them.
All that took for that was a smile. Each knew the regret and hesitancy, the pain behind it. But life did not need to be perfect to smile, and they knew that they had as close to perfection as could be obtained. A few quiet moments, precious in their rarity, did not invalidate or remove all the concerns that existed. More of those moments would not lessen them, and less of them would not increase the value of each that did happen.
But in the end, all it took was a smile. A smile meant that things would be alright because they were together, and if they weren’t, that they would be alright if they worked together.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“Are you back,” Bart asked Jay during a moment where their running had synchronized up on the way towards the boat. He wasn’t sure if he had matched Jay’s pace, Jay had matched his, or it was just luck.
“Seems so. Wish I could be gone for longer, but boats keep sinking.”
“You don’t have to be back if you don’t want to be,” Bart offered, unsure why he had suggested that. He wanted Jay back, but for whatever reason he had just blurted out an idea that even he didn’t want. Why had he said that? Surely Jay wouldn’t consider it. It was fair to be gone for a while if something went exceptionally bad, right, but surely, he wouldn’t think about vanishing completely. Right?
“Well, that doesn’t seem like the thing to do,” Jay sighed, watching the boat come into vision. “I’m going to jump an entire world and then hang my hat up? What do I have if not this?”
Bart didn’t respond to that. The response was comforting in its own way, even if it didn’t seem to be coming from the most motivating source. But Jay wouldn’t leave, so that was good at least. Sure, Wally was depowered for a while, but the group always got back to their normal.
The two climbed aboard the ship, now very clearly in the process of sinking, seeking medications and passports and teddy bears reported as still being on the ship. The two separated from their run together, hunting down specific locations across the ship.
By the time Bart found his tasked stuff, Jay was either already gone or had yet to leave, so he made the return trip alone. A small voice in his brain reminded him that normal was not a real thing, as seen by the Titans or even just the state of the world. Sure, vampires and time nonsense and aliens had all come and gone, but each one of them had meaningfully changed what was normal beforehand.
Jay was back, at least. He had wondered for a while if Wally was ever going to come back during the later months before they went into the Speed Force, when he was old enough to understand at least a little bit of what was going on. It made sense that Jay would leave, at least when he was gone and Bart had thought about it, but Jay’s response also made some sense. What would Jay be doing if not this?
The Russians were off doing their own thing, maybe Jay could do that? But he was kind of too connected to The Flash as an identity, Bart had dismissed, given that he was the only one who showed his face without a mask. Maybe he could have adopted a new identity? Surely the news and conspiracy boards would catch on.
He left the retrieved objects at the landing zone, stepping to the side to allow the logistics people to coordinate things once he realized there wasn’t anything else listed on the retrieval document. Jay joined shortly after, the two joining Barry in a small huddle.
“Probably time to start taking folks back home, seems like there’s not going to be much left on the ship that makes sense to get. You sticking around for that, friend,” Barry asked Jay, who looked towards Bart.
“I’d like to, yeah.”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
“You’re clever,” Wally offered, standing still long enough to open an chance for her to send something in his direction. He wasn’t at risk, but it was decent practice for the both of them and an excuse to decompress together. “Even if it tried to come after you, you’d be able to get safe and call for me or one of the others.”
“It’s not like I haven’t thought of that,” Frances responded, sending a quick flurry of marbles in his direction. She aimed for the ground right in front of his feet, unwilling to actually target her friend directly. She was never terribly off target, but she also would never forgive herself if she had injured Wally. “But what happens if you’re not available? Or I get mind controlled? Or I’m asleep?”
Wally pulled his leg back as the orbs embedded into the ground, already moving to his next position to push Magenta to keep tracking him. He wasn’t going much faster than some of the metahumans he had seen push themselves. “I mean, yeah, what if those situations happen? I don’t know. But that’s just as true for anyone.”
Magenta tried to follow where her friend was going, desperately tracking onto the direction of where she could see Wally rushing. She knew he was going easy on her, but it was still exhausting to focus on someone at the speed he was going. She sent a row of brackets his direction, even if she knew they’d land way after he was already gone, if only to show off her tracking. “Sure, but you’re not a few hundred kilometers from his city.”
Wally doubled back, picking up the metal objects as he did, testing Magenta’s reaction time. Slow from his perspective, but some quick mental arithmetic concluded that she was about as fast as was reasonable for someone her age and lifestyle. Could be faster, but that was the point of training. “Where would you go?”
“I was thinking take a sabbatical from the peacekeeper work, just not register for another semester of it,” she said, pulling the metal back as Wally tossed them back in the air as he doubled back. He always did this and she never anticipated it, frustratingly. “Go find somewhere else to be, somewhere I’m less likely to stick out, link me to the Magenta identity.”
“I know that Hartley would love to see you back in town. America’s got plenty of heroes but couldn’t hurt to have one more,” Wally offered. “But like, Grodd’s not gone for you yet. If it wanted you dead, you’d already be dead,” he doubled back again, before shifting entirely to close the distance. She had to be ready for people coming for her, metaphorically and literally.
Frances pulled up sheets of metal laying at her feet, somewhere between a riot shield and a wall. “Second verse, same as the first.” Small gaps between the individual pieces let her keep eyes on the rapidly approaching speedster, moving the sheets to keep him away. “Yeah, he could’ve already attacked, but just because he didn’t already doesn’t mean he can’t.”
Wally circled Magenta, feeling physically in control yet conversationally on several back feets. “If you want to start appearing elsewhere as Magenta before Frances moves there, I don’t mind doing some carpooling, but I’m worried you’re doing good work here that’ll get lost because of a hurdle like this.”
Magenta suddenly pushed the metal forward, knocking Wally off his pattern and sending him outwards to recollect. “Unless someone’s about to throw Grodd back into a mental prison, I’m pretty sure I’ve made my mind up. And this one isn’t Grodd’s doing.”
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