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The Justice League has finally made its way to the silver screen!
and it falls flat on almost every aspect.
Don't get me wrong, I love a fluffy, disposable action movie as much as the next guy, let me tell you that I would have found almost zero enjoyment in this film if not for seeing it with a friend so we could at least vent to each other and laugh at how outright terrible some of the scenes are..
Before I get too far into the bad stuff in the movie, let me tell you what I liked.
The moments with flash in the Speedforce, these were very visually striking. I especially like the one during the Superman fight when Supes turns to see him. Generally Flash and Superman Clicked together as well.
The only one of the many "jokes" that actually made me laugh, was the sight gag with Superman carrying the building.
The music cue for the John Williams Supes theme when he punches Steppenwolf.
There was one shot with Aquaman diving off of a dock with a wave warning sign in the foreground I thought was cool.
NOW
everything else.
Let's do it a character at a time because that is the best way of doing it I am able to think of.
Batman:
Absolutely awful. I have no idea what happened here. Ben Affleck in this movie is so bad that I'd honestly say he isn't as good as Kilmer if this was the only movie id seen him in. there is also so much about the character that doesn't make sense as well. How does he know that the Parademons smell fear? Why does he wait a full year, days before the attack before gathering the league to stop it? why the fuck did he build the flying fox? What purpose would it serve in Gotham?
Wonder Woman:
Is pretty mediocre here. the only thing keeping the character afloat is Gal Gadot, but even then is just kind of present.
Flash:
Despite having cool moments in the speedforce, Ezra Miller manages to be the second to worst character in the film. this seriously wouldn't be a problem with me, but is he actually autistic? He says so much random shit in this film, and it is very apparent that he is written as comic relief, but random does not always equate to funny as is very apparent here.
Aquaman:
Not the worst here, but still pretty bad, is super passive when it comes to plot, the only thing you'd lose is the mother box being in Atlantis. A little tangent here, but I can't get over the part where fucking Aquaman says like "Yeah Batman" while he's talking to Bruce Wayne, and the extras they walk past visibly look as if they heard him, and when he goes in the water he calls him Bruce Wayne, with the same people in an earshot. whether they speak English or not, is stupid.
Green Lantern:
oof
Superman: I really like the direction they took the character in. He is not brooding in here and feels like a real genuine Superman. The upper lip is super distracting though.
Cyborg:
Cyborg is far better than he deserves to be. He is the only character I could actually relate to, he is surprisingly very well acted. probably my favorite character, and I am shocked to say that.
Steppenwolf:
God awful. He looks like a World of Warcraft villain and the CGI on his face is just as bad. His voice is actually pretty cool though.
This movie is so bad that it makes me appreciate BvS and Suicide Squad.
that speaks for itself right there
At least it's more coherent than suicide squad, surprisingly so with having twice as many directors.
I get its a big event for JL fans, but I just can't see enough entertainment value to neglect the flaws in it.
don't give me this shit like these movies are for justice league fans either, because they aren't. comic fans alone do not crush the box office.
in conclusion, it's a bad movie.
share your differing opinions below, because I know they're out there.
The Flash - Using a suit that harnessed the 'speedforce' to go back through time, this traveller from the future is now stuck in our time with amnesia to boot. He appears to move faster than light but is in fact slipping through pauses in time to move from place to place.
Aquaman - Arthur Curry was a naval officer whose ship was caught in a storm in the Atlantic. The sole survivor of the wreck, he was rescued by the secretive Atlantaens and given abilities that enabled him to survive in their community. Arthur would later use his military knowledge to prevent a rebellion, and win the hand of the King's daughter.
Wonder Woman - Diana Prince was the daughter of a greek tycoon. On her attempt to fly solo around the world her plane crashed in the Amazonian jungle. Saved by a mysterious tribe of warrior women, Diana was restored to full health and more. She returned to Greece to reclaim her father's fortune, then emigrating to the USA where she used her new powers and fortune to fight for the oppressed.
Superman - Captain Clark Kent was NASAs first astronaut to attempt a flight that would take him beyond the edge of our solar system. When the experiment went wrong he was frozen in space, eventually being brought back to life when his pod crashed into a planet called Krypton. On his return to earth he discovered the Kryptonian restoration had given him almost god-like powers. He would take a job as a journalist at the Daily Planet whilst maintaining a secret identity of 'The Superman' to fight for truth and justice.
The Batman - Bruce Wan was only a young boy when he witnessed his parents murdered. His father was a successful cantonese businessman, but had many enemies. Bruce was left afraid and alone, and lived on the streets of Hong Kong until taken in by a kindly old man. Trained to survive he would learn his father's death was connected to the mysterious 'League of Shadows'. On inheriting his father's fortune at the age of 18 he would devote his life to becoming a scourge to the evil that hid in the shadows, as 'The Batman'.
Martian Manhunter -
An alien known as J'onn J'onzz, isn't actually from Mars. His ship crashed to earth in 1947, now known as 'The Roswell Incident'. He has numerous otherwordly abilities, including flight, telepathy, telekinesis and shape-shifting.
The Green Lantern - Alan Scott, a collector of antiquities, came into possession of a magical lamp whilst trekking in the Himalayas. When, at a moment close to death and in an attempt to warm himself with the lantern, he unlocked it's ancient power, his lifeforce became entwined with the lamps own 'Greenforce'. Now using the lantern he can harness this energy, the lamp's light granting him mystical powers and the ability to create green light constructs, he can also phase his body through solid objects and travel at the speed of light.
Now, united by the fact that they've all been given a 'second chance', this group or extraordinary survivors seek to protect earth and its inhabitants from those that would seek to harm it, by bringing hope and justice to the oppressed.
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This is my entry to Sam K Bricks' alternate Justice league contest. www.flickr.com/groups/3910356@N21/
Jetting between Dublin & Holyhead, the view from the stern of the Irish Ferries Dublin Swift catamaran, its journey time of 1 hour 49 minutes all thanks to four Caterpillar 3618 diesel engines which have a maximum speed of 33 knots / 61 km/h or 38 mph.
Meanwhile at the Nemo Docks... *
Aquaman: I'm at Paprihaven Lake. Now that I know what I'm looking for, my sonar relay has spotted it.** It's deep and well camoflauged. I'm going to need to get my trident back at the Hall of Jus-
fwwwooooosshhh!!!
Aquaman: -tice.. and, thank you Flash. Okay, got my trident, going in.
Batman: If this operative has taken such pains to hide it, it will be well defended.
Aquaman: Yep. Good thing I'm ready for a fight. Like I said, the Nemo Docks are crazy quiet, given the chaos going on in the city.
Superman: Aquaman, this is your area so just let us know what you need as you progress. We'll make sure you have it. Do you think it would be good to go ahead and have Power Girl with you?
Aquaman: Karen's company is always a delight, but she's in action like the rest of you. I'll let you know if I need back-up.
Wonder Woman: Speaking of which, I'm with Hal now and this Juggernaut fellow is... well, we may need back-up too.
Superman: Really? Even with you and Hal there?
Wonder Woman: Plus Lina and Space Ghost. I don't know yet, I'm just about to engage, but he's giving off big 'major hitter' vibes.
Green Lantern: She's not kidding! ***
__________________________
* See the wonderfully convenient Map of Paprihaven!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/20400598379/
** "It" is Ming the Merciless' underwater headquarters, revealed in issue 1576!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/49306369392/
*** As the other heroes have found out in Chapter 23, Juggernaut is a handful!!
One of the new additions in the Sideways comic, that is one of many speedster's struck by the Speedforce storm. Looking forward to reading Sideways coming out in a couple weeks! It's gonna be good!
Something spontaneous that I photographed and shared to Patron a few months back. There wasn't anything beyond this, but I thought it was pretty cool. Kudos if you can recognize the original panel this was inspired by :)
(Uploaded Exclusively To Patreon August 2018)
***
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!
2018 has been a crazy year for me! Having to do my best maintaining uploads while waiting on figures throughout the year, while also working two jobs on top of running the Patreon account!
If I thought I didn't have free time before, I'm impressed that I can get anything done at all! :P
Anyway, I'm sure you all remember last year I shared some of my favorite bonus posts from Patreon over the course of 2017. I felt like you all really enjoyed that, so here's only a teeny tiny fraction of what I've shared to Patreon in that time! (Plus a bit from the end of 2017)
If you like what I do, or the art that I put out to the world, I encourage you to join my Patreon page to see 100% of the work I put out there. It takes time and money and sweat and tears and blood (on more occasions than I'd like to admit) :P
If you too would like to be part of the club, be sure to join me over there and you'll get to see all of this stuff (plus more) as it's posted through-out the year! In 2019, I already have new projects scheduled including photoshoots for The Dark Knight Interrogation Room, More Dr Fate, Iron Man and Captain America, New Brickheadz, New Frontier Batman, Shazam etc... and these will be available to you first, plus bonus content for each of those uploads :)
So just think what you're missing out on! Think of what's to come! Help support the content you see here, and join some of our other flickr friends!
Here's a very special thanks and a happy holidays to all of you!
But a truly grateful thank you goes out to JamPotStudios, Phoenix Custom Bricks, Sara Ahh, Fan Xu, Metrix, | Jonathan |, DoctorLate28, ParisCustomBricks, Taylor Mazzone, My Mom, and of course a very special thank you to my first Patron (who's still with me today), Mr Anthony Scott himself! :)
You all do so much and help keep the lights on here in the photography studio. I couldn't have made it as far as I have now without you guys! :)
Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to all you champs! See you in 2019! Woo! :D
***
Patreon: andrewcookston
Instagram: a.cookston.photography
Twitter: @acookston_photo
Facebook: andrewcookstonphotography/
This built was inspired by one of the photos made by Andrew Cookston. He created a similar practical effect with lego pieces and I wanted to try it out the effect myself!
What do you guys think? Like the effect? I might start using it where I have more room in my photo instead of simply creating a photoshopped effect.
In a Silver Age Flash story, Barry's lab assistant Patty Spivot was exposed to the same chemicals that turned Barry into the Flash, plus a few extras. Her newfound powers backfired in some weird ways, basically causing every attempt to earn the Flash's respect to turn into a horrible disaster. Oh that Silver Age, dripping with misogyny!
I've been hoping to make a Patty minifig in the form of her speedforce-powered motorbike-riding alter ego Hot Pursuit, but I guess some dreams just die, don't they? I've been trying to make figures based on characters I can't name in Sporcle quizzes, and this one hit first. Sorry!
Fisrt of all, apologies for the recent inactivity, I haven't had a lot of characters made and was stalling to upload them, also I've been busy with school, but I'll get more stuff done this week. Now, I've wanted to make this version of Reverse Flash for a while, I was worried about how he would turn out, but I love the end result.
"Look out!" Flash shouted as Clock King drew a gun and switched on his time altering device. "Think fast!" he mocked as he began to fade from Grayson's vision. Barry only had miliseconds before that gun would go off! He watched as Tockman's device altered the speedforce around him. "Com'on Barry gotta think quick!"
The stakes have been risen and William Tockman is no man for negotiation. What is Flash going to do to save his friend? Will he stop the shot in time?!
We'll just have to wait till tomorrow and see ;)
Nearly done with these guys now. Personally, I'm not a great fan of the helmet. Normally, it'd look good, but it looks a little too futuristic for the time this Flash was around in. And I nicked him from another thing, but we'll ignore that. Probably should have used a miners helmet, but oh well. As always, lemme know what you think :D
Flash I
A college student with a bright future, Jay Garrick was going to make something of himself. He'd studied hard, and was determined to make it. This was until a stupid mistake almost cost him his life. While taking a smoke break in the laboratory he had been working in, Garrick inhaled heavy water vapours, which transformed his body chemistry in many ways. He could run at incredibly fast speeds, and heal at inhuman speeds. He knew he had to use his new powers to help people, knowing he could do more with his new powers than he ever could as a scientist.
So he donned a red and blue suit, and began his career as the Flash. Using his scientific knowledge, he was able to build a helmet to shield himself from the extreme forces exerted on his body whilst running at superspeed. He began his crimefighting career as the Flash in 1938, a year before the outbreak of World War 2. When war broke, Jay chose not to sign up for the army. As a scientist, it was not necessary. Instead he took up the role of the Flash almost full time, keeping America running. From basic things like keeping the postal service running, to running errands for various state governments.
Once the war was over, Jay cut down on his time as the Flash, so that he could spend more time with his wife, Joan. However, he had become somewhat of a national hero, and was approached by Superman, Wonder woman and Captain Marvel in 1953. They asked him to join a new superhero team, the Justice Society of America. Naturally, Jay was thrilled to be serving the nation alongside the Super-trinity. Alongside other super powered beings, Jay continued his fight against crime, and the evils of the world. However, there was a shock coming.
After the murder of Kent Nelson, the first Doctor fate, the league began to Splinter. In 1962, Jay Garrick retired. He was getting older, and wanted to spend his twilight years with his wife Joan.
But this retirement was brought to a swift end when in 1979, young Barry Allen was involved in an accident that through some kind of cosmic coincidence, gave him the same powers Jay had. Confused by these new powers, Barry found Jay, and begged him to help him master his powers, and become the second Flash. Although originally against the idea, Jay came round and helped Barry to master the speedforce. In 1984, Barry was ready to take up the mantle of the Flash. Jay was satisfied at the job he had done, and went back to retirement. He passed away in 1989, peacefully, at his home on the outskirts of Central city, at the age of 73. Although he had access to Luthor-chem life extenders, he always refused. When asked why, he responded with "God put us on this Earth, and it's not up to us to keep him waiting"
Cobb stirred his tea slowly, his other hand tapping against his thigh erratically, as his eyes scanned the room for any sign of the card. "It’s not coming, is it?" he spoke at last.
"No," Nygma confessed. "I don’t think so."
"It’s a shame, we made a real connection this evening," Cobb said, reaching into his robes and grabbing a round detonator.
"Don’t!" the group yelled in unison, but it was too late. The gloved fingers made contact with the device and then- Click.
Nothing happened.
"That’s not right," Cobb stammered.
"Yes, it is," Kuttler's voice rang out. "I’m afraid there will be no nuclear holocaust tonight. At least, not one in Gotham..." he added hastily, his eyes drawn to the still smoking remains of Havenrock.
"Noah," Drury exclaimed jovially. "My knight in lilac spandex! You saved us!"
"Yes, I suppose I did."
Nygma straightened his tie, and raised a grateful hand towards his colleague. "Thank y-" he began, only to be cut off. Kuttler punched him across the face, hard. For a moment, Nygma was concerned that he had learned about his daughter's death, or perhaps even their role in Havenrock.
Instead, Kuttler merely scowled. "That's for my mug! There’s a lipstick stain I’m not getting out!
Sionis glanced at him warily. "Are you sure that’s all you’re mad about?"
"Yeah, why?" Kuttler snapped back suspiciously.
"No reason."
Cobb shifted around in his handcuffs anxiously. "What happens now?" he asked. "You’re going to execute me?" he presumed.
"I don’t do that," Drury stated.
Cobb nodded, smirking slightly. "Yes, of course. That’s more your wife’s thing, isn’t it?"
"Ok, maybe I can make an exception," Drury began, a hand on his holster.
"Go ahead," Cobb retorted. "It’d be doing me a favour. A quick death!"
Riddler tutted at them condescendingly. "I’ve got a better idea."
————————————
Arkham Forest. Two Miles Away
A yellow blur burst through the forest, it's source racing towards the Arkham ruins. Cobb would be dealt with,
The bullet hurled through Thawne's shin, his momentum interrupted, he was thrown along the hard ground.
"Getting slow in your old age?" a voice asked.
"Miss Gaige," Thawne coughed. "What a surprise, albeit far from a pleasant one."
A guttural scream bellowed from behind them. For a second, Thawne's red eyes shifted to his natural blue, his voice grew higher as his anxiety mounted.
"Get out of my way," he snarled.
"No," Miranda said firmly, her hand pressed tensely against her scabbard.
"Oh, I see," Thawne nodded disappointedly. "Why should you even care," he grunted. "He wasn't even blood."
The voice screamed again, and Thawne's voice shifted back to panic. "I'm taking that card," he stated.
"No," Miranda repeated.
Thawne's body crackled with red lightning. "I really don't have time for this..." he chuckled. "Who's stopping me? You? Those idiots in the Asylum upstairs?"
"That."
Thawne tilted his head around, and took a step back. The figure was thin and gaunt; skeletal, rotting flesh hung from its' bony body, and it wore a Flash costume. Black, with red fins and boots. Its' dead, white eyes latched onto Thawne and with a inhuman screech, and though he made a final, desperate run from it, it tackled him to the ground, and forced it's hand around his skull.
He knew, that in his current state, he had no way to fight it, that this was it, but he struggled and screamed until his last breath regardless. And as the Black Flash did its work, and the last traces of the speedforce was drained from Thawne's veins, the yellow suit fell to the ground. Empty. And as quickly as it had arrived, the Black Flash was gone once more.
Miranda crouched beside the last remnants of the Reverse-Flash, held his ring in her hand, and hurled it swiftly into the air.
~
Jules- Get in.
Cobb- You can’t lock me up!
Riddler- Why not? You’re obviously not of sound mind, you destroyed one city and threatened another. All over a piece of laminated card.
Drury- *snort*
Cobb- Oh do you find my predicament amusing Walker?
Drury- A bit. But that’s not why I’m laughing. It’s your cell mate.
Cobb- What about him?
Drury- See, after Blackfire destroyed this place, all the inmates either escaped or died. Except him. His cell door must’ve gotten stuck
Cobb- Hilarious
Drury- Don’t you get it?
Cobb- No.
Drury- He’s called *snort* Getaway Genius! Hahahaha! Getaway. Genius. Hahahaha!
Blake- But that was... two years ago! How are you alive?
Genius- I ate some things I’m not proud off
Riddler- I don’t want to keep you in here -but- it’s too perfect!
Genius- It’s ok man, I get it. It’s like Mr Freeze dying of hyperthermia
Drury- Ah, he’s such a good sport! Don’t worry man, we’re giving you some company
Genius- Thanks.
Cobb- But... you can’t! You can’t!
Ragdoll- And thus, the threat has concluded!
Blake- Hey Doll, nice mask!
Ragdoll- Quite. This has been a near perfect day.
Drury- Who wants ice cream?
Ragdoll- I stand corrected. This has been a perfect day!
Drury- Hey Gar? Yeah, Cobb’s been defeated. I know, we haven’t talked in weeks! Listen, I’ve got some rhubarb crumble with your name on it!
Gar- Don’t play with my emotions.
Drury- I’m not! I’ve got it right here.
Gar- Son of a bitch. See you at Lenny’s?
Drury- See you at Lenny’s
Eraser- I didn’t hear you ask me about that.
Drury- C’mon man. Apple and cinnamon.
Eraser- Ah, what’s the harm in opening for a few hours? You better deliver on that ice cream.
=======
"So you're back," Waller tutted. "Just in time to clean up my 'mess' as per usual..."
"Was it worth it Waller? Havenrock?" a voice called out.
Waller played with the card, and sighing, placed it back onto the desk.
"Of course not," she replied. "These things never are. You know, I'm not the monster you think I am.
"Tell *them* that," the voice said back. "The people of Havenrock, Mayor Hady, all the others"
"Are you saying, that, in my position you wouldn't do the exact same thing? If you had the chance to bring *them* back?" Waller asked the visitor.
His eyes narrowed. "The people I care about? They wouldn't be in Hell. And, you know that yours aren't either."
...
Waller slung the card against the wall, and sighed heavily. "Damn you."
=Simon's Apartment- Before=
*Simon was moving the last of his stuff. Most guys his age couldn't wait to move out of their family's house, and find their own place, but after everything- The Tournament, Garth, Charaxes... Simon couldn't wait to get back. He was taking one last glance at the dingy, one room flat, when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, he found himself face to face with a blonde haired, kind faced man, a gold ring on his finger*
Barry- Simon. Hi.
....
Simon- You're the Flash.
Barry- Please, call me Barry.
*Simon had been to his wedding recently, but he was really more Emi's friend, Simon was just her plus one. He reminded Simon of Jay in a lot of ways, his optimism, his enthusiasm, but looking at him right now, Simon could see the seriousness behind his smile*
Simon- How can I help you?
*Barry's smile fades, and he bows his head*
Barry- Simon. We need to talk.
===Thawne's Lair- Now===
Thawne- Bridget, Bridget, Bridget... Hmph. I suppose I should have killed her when I had the chance, but then.. then I would've been back at square one- no leads.
Simon- But- we know who did it, don't we?
Thawne- Don't be stupid. Pike's IQ is average at best, she's *far* too emotional, let alone intelligent enough to unlock the secrets of time travel. That narrows it down though. There's very few time travellers who would actually lower themselves to mercenary work... Then, discounting Speedsters- not even the most reckless speedster would allow the Speedforce to be left so vunerable, that still leaves us with a few possible options. I'll get back to you on that. Presently? We need to work on your tech.
Simon- Why?
Thawne- We're talking about a time traveller who knows what they're doing, making precise strikes in history to ensure their work could only be undone by their own hand. Therefore, a pair of tights and some incredibly bulky shoulder armour isn't going to do much good. I mean, just look at this helmet! Feels more Bat than Bug if you were to ask me. Hmph. Curious.
*Examining Simon's helmet, Thawne plucks out the voice modulator*
Simon- That's sensitive-
Thawne- This modulator... feels familiar.
Simon- Hey, I remember that! I used a-
*Embarrassed, Simon stops himself. Thawne runs the device through his fingers*
Thawne- Go on.
Simon- ... I used a Darth Vader voice changer.
Thawne- Oh. That's disappointing, if not somewhat predictable. And yet-
Simon- You have Stars Wars in the future?
Thawne- Tch, Simon, of course we do, those films never stop. Now-
*Left on the table, Simon's phone begins ringing. Growling at being interrupted *yet* again, Thawne swiftly grabs it off the table and thrusts the screen at Simon's face, his voice snapping to one much more business-like*
====Gotham City====
Emi- Are we going to talk about that?
*Arrow gets on his bike, his face darkened by the hood now pulled over his head*
Emi- Ollie, talk to me!
Ollie- What's there to say?
Emi- Well, for starters, you tried to *kill* him!
Ollie- You tried to kill Tockman. You tried to kill Onomatopoeia. Hell, you *actually* killed Komodo.
Emi- Ok, that's not fair at all, that's-
Ollie- How's it different Emi? He mocked Roy!
Emi- To get a rise out of you, c'mon Ollie, can't you see you're giving him what he wanted?
Ollie- I don't think he wanted a broken nose.
*He revs up the bike*
Emi- Ollie, stop!
Ollie- I'm done Emi! Roy's killer's still out there, I'm not going to-
*Beep*
...
Ollie- What was that?
Emi- It's nothing.
Ollie- Emi.
...
Emi- *sigh* It's Walker. He's escaped.
...
Ollie- Then what are we waiting for?
Emi- Just...
Ollie- Just, what?
Emi- Don't break *all* his ribs. Not without me.
*Ollie turns back, surprised*
Emi- ... Like you said, Roy deserves that much.
*Ollie throws her a slight smile*
Ollie- You've been spending too much time with Damian.
===Thawne's Lair===
Thawne- Do you know this number?
*Simon shakes his head*
Thawne- Hmm.
*Thawne answers, holding the voice changer close to his mouth*
Thawne- This is the Bug. Who's calling?
*The caller answers, and Thawne addresses Simon*
Thawne- It's "Zodiac" from "The Gang"
Simon- I have a gang?
Thawne- It appears so.
Simon- And Zodiac's a part of it?
Thawne- Seems that way.
Simon- I'll... I'll take it.
*Thawne turns his attention back to Zodiac*
Thawne- I'm busy.
Simon- Oh- Oh, could you at *least* put it on speaker phone? please.
Thawne- The things I do for you....
*Thawne rolls his eyes and puts Zodiac on speaker*
Zodiac- Please boss-
Thawne- Would you look at that, he calls you boss.
Zodiac- It's Walker boss, and he's pissed
Thawne- Oh, whatever did you say to him?
Zodiac- Nothing!
*A gunshot rings out on Zodiac's end*
Zodiac- Well, I may've made a *slight* remark.
*Completely indifferent and uncaring, Thawne cuts him off*
Thawne- Sorry. I have to go.
*Despite Zodiac's pleas, Thawne ends the call, and looks back at Simon, knowing exactly what's going on in his head*
Thawne- Don't try it.
Simon- That's my Dad, maybe I could-
*A flash; the colour in Simon's cheeks fade, his breathing gets heavier as Thawne tightens his grip around his companion's throat*
Thawne- Listen to me *very* carefully.
Simon- I
*Simon thrashes his arms about, struggling*
Thawne- I said *listen*! This *isn't* your world. He *isn't* your father. So don't go sauntering about on a wild goose chase, trying to talk down a father who neither knows or cares about you. This, is the mission, not some twisted family reunion! Do you understand?!
Simon- I- gah-!
Thawne- You. Aren't. A. Hero. You never *will* be. There's no Lightning Bug Museum in the future. There will never be a Statue at your grave, or a signal in the sky, you won't be *remembered!* Not in this time, not in mine! Electrocutioner is more respected than you will ever be! Electrocutioner! You belong to me. You will do as *I* say, when I tell you to do it! Or when all this is said and done, I will find you. I will find your father. And I will make your life hell. Heh.
*Thawne drops Simon back to the ground, sufficiently pleased with his rant*
Thawne- So... Do we have an accord?
Simon- Y-yeah.
*Simon presses the button on Thawne's motherbox, pilfered when he was thrashing his arms about, and before even Thawne can do anything, an echoing "boom" fills the night, and Simon is gone.*
Thawne- Hmph. What an idiot.
==Carson Manor==
- Hey, it's Fred Carson! -
- Drink the elixir -
- The Cockroach! -
- Oh, it's just you Carson -
- Sit your ass down -
- Pyg will make you better! -
- The Legion of Ted, eh? -
- We have a lot of catching up to do -
*The voices, the visions continued- remnants of a life Carson never had, yet, they felt real, those were real feelings, real rage boiling in his blood, what the hell was happening to-*
Bridget- Dad? You ok?
...
Carson- Heh. Never better kid. What is it?
Bridget- You were just-
Carson- I was just what?
Bridget-... It's nothing, I was just going to tell you there's been a Lightning Bug sighting, Zodiac's place. I... love you Dad.
*Carson smiles, a massive, boyish grin, then kisses her on the forehead. The visions were clearer now, moreso than they'd ever been*
Carson- I love you too.
Inside the house of Commander Steel, Doctor Mid-Nite is still looking for some clues as to who did it and some evidence. While he's looking at the table with the blood stains he feels a small breeze. He looks behind him, as a bolt of lightning runs past him.
Charles: "Speedster. Jay, is that you?"
The bolt of lightning runs past him again. Charles grabs his moon darts and prepares for a fight.
???: "It's not Garrick. You could in fact say I'm the reverse. Perhaps even his biggest rival."
Charles: "It can't be."
???: "Yes, it is."
Charles gets punched in the face and the assailent stands before him.
Charles: "Clarice. How are you alive?"
Rival: "The negative speedforce does wonders for your age."
Charles: "Did you do this? Did you kill Commander Steel?"
Rival: "Sadly not. One of my co-workers did. Shame I didn't get the chance, but you will do nicely as well."
Charles: "There are more assasins..."
Rival: "You guys decided to team up, why shouldn't we."
Charles: "The other JSA'ers are on their way, Clarice. You won't have enough time. You either have to kill me, or run away."
Clarice: "Hm. I think I can manage both."
Before Charles can make another move or say anything, Rival vibrates his hand through Charles' body. Rival immediately runs away as Charles lies there bleeding out, not being able to reach his JSA communicator as that was knocked away from him after he bluffed that his team mates were on their way. As he tries to crawl away, the children of the JSA arrive at the house.
Pieter: "Charles!"
Pieter rushes over to Charles and he looks at the wound.
Pieter: "It went completely through. I can't fix this."
Pieter looks hopefull at Jesse.
Pieter: "Can you run him to the hospital?"
JQ: "I- I can't. I'm not connected to the speedforce, so I wouldn't be able to bring him into Flashtime with me. The running would only make things worse. I'm sorry."
Pieter: "No, no, no!"
Rick turns to Jesse.
RT: "I've looked an hour from now, Jess. He won't make it."
JQ: "There needs to be something we can do."
Charles: "There is *cough* nothing you can do. Pieter and Jesse are right. *cough* The wound is too big, and the running would *cough* make it worse."
Pieter: "Charles. I- I can't do this. I can't lose you. I can't do this on my own. You were there for me when my parents were murdered. You taught me how to use my blindness to an advantage. You saved me, and took me in... I can't do this without you."
Charles: "You don't need me anymore, Pieter *cough*. You have grown so much. I have basically taught you all I know. You can do this on your own. It looks *cough* like *cough cough* you made new friends too, haha *cough*."
Pieter: "As you told me to.."
Charles: "Don't give up when I'm *cough* gone, son. Keep living this life. Keep the lega- legacy go- go- going..."
Pieter: "Charles! No..."
TC: "He's gone man..."
Jesse: "Pieter..."
Rick walks over to Pieter, putting his hands on his shoulder.
RT: "I'm so sorry man..."
Pieter Cross. Orphan, doctors assistant, superhero... and lost.
Some evil speedsters the have faced against the Flash. From L to R: Zoom (Hunter Zolomon), Reverse Flash (Eobard Thawne), Godspeed (August Heart)
'Barry… and Malcolm?' Jay thought, looking at the chores list. 'I must be in the new guy's house. Now the question is, where.'
Jay stepped out of the kitchen, spotting a small boy laying on the living room sofa. A rag was laid over his head with a blanket pulled over his body. Sitting at the edge of the couch, by his feet, was an older woman, maybe mid thirties. She idly rubbed the boy's back as the two watched television.
"Malcolm, sweetie?" the woman asked, gaining the attention of the boy. "Are you ready for lunch?"
'So the boy is Malcolm,' Jay noted, watching him shake his head. 'That must be his mother.'
"Can't we wait for Barry?" the boy asked, pouting slightly. "He had to go to school today, so we should at least wait for him."
"Sweetie, Barry didn't have a fever this morning," the mother explained, bringing herself to a stand. "Besides, you know your brother, he'd cry about having to miss school even in an emergency."
'So this boy had a fever, and his brother didn't,' he thought. 'Where is dear old dad?'
"I guess…"
"Well," the mother said, kissing him on the forehead and walking over to the kitchen, "you guessed right."
Jay watched the woman start the oven burners, placing a pot onto the blue flame. His eyes drifted back to the boy on the couch, now sat up with the rag hung around his neck.
"Hun," the mother called, looking over her shoulder, "chicken noodle or plain noodle?"
The woman stood for a moment, reading water in the pot. "Hun?" she asked, turning around. Jay turned with her, shock filling his core.
"Oh my god, Malcolm!?" the mother cried, rushing into the living room.
On the couch where the boy had been sitting was a pool of blood, nothing left but the crimson liquid and his clothing.
'What in God's name?' Jay thought, scanning the room. His gaze locked onto the cracked open door, the slight black energy left around the area. 'No… it couldn't be…'
"Malcolm!!!" the mother screamed on her knees, her hands clutching the bloodied pajamas.
Like a flash of lightning, a black figure entered the room. Jay's heart sank upon recognizing the dark aura.
"Clariss!" he shouted, sparks of golden lightning dancing around his finger tips.
The figure looked up, it's glowing red eyes narrowing at Jay. A large smirk spread across its face, the white of it's teeth shining against it's shadowy body.
"A ghost from the future," it said, vocal chords in constant flux. "Too bad I'm not a ghost…" The figure disappeared, appearing back an instant later holding a kitchen knife. "I'm the reaper."
The knife was shoved into the woman's heart, her screaming silenced moments after. Her body fell to the floor with a thud, blood oozing out of her chest and onto the carpeting.
It had to be him. The only man he's met with that dark of an aura, the only man with that malice filled smile. Edward Claris… had murdered these two people.
"Mom… Malcolm," a young voice called from outside. "School let out early!"
Jay's head turned back to the chore board, staring at the name at the top of the list.
Barry.
"M-m-mom?"
Jay watched in horror as the figure smirked at the boy, dashing up to him. He stopped in front of the boy, standing tall before dashing out of the house.
Jay's eyes fell to the boy, widening. He was covered in a yellow aura, an almost golden light.
It was him, he was the one.
Jay took a step forward, holding out his hand, letting out his own lightning.
-^-
Barry shook his head slightly, the world around him foggy. Looking down, he found himself sitting in a lake of some kind. The water was a pale grey, however, only a few inches deep.
"Where am I?"
"Good, you're finally awake," a voice spoke. Barry looked around, spotting a glowing red figure across from him. "It's nice to meet you, Barry."
"H-how do you know my name?" Barry asked, crawling backwards.
"Calm down, son," the figure said, it's arms raising to a surrendering position. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I just would like to talk."
"T-talk… I don't even know who or… what you are!" Barry fired back.
The figure looked down, cursing under its breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was still like this," it apologized. "My name is Jay Garrick."
Barry was hesitant, but stood up slowly. "Right… and you know me how?" he asked, brushing off his pants.
"That… is complicated," Jay said, Barry returning a sigh. "Look, I'll try to explain things the best I can."
"Okay… you can start with explaining whatever… this is," Barry said, motioning to the fog and water around him.
"This place is known as the Speed Force… well, a facet of it anyways," he explained, bending down and touching the waters. "It's something similar to a dreamscape."
"What's the, what did you say, Speed Force?" Barry asked, scratching his head. "And what does it have to do with me?"
"The Speed Force, hmm," Jay said, his hand moving to his chin. "The Speed Force is a force of nature, like Time and Space. Only difference is, the Speed Force is alive. It has been, for centuries, millennia. Maybe even since the dawn of time itself."
"Why do you sound so unsure?" Barry asked, an eyebrow raised.
Jay began to chuckle at the words. "It's because I am, actually," he explained. "I've only learned bits and pieces over my many years, but it's still a mystery to me."
"Okay, a cosmic entity…," Barry said, with a nod, "so what's it got to do with me?"
"Well… well I think it'll be better if I show you," Jay said, the fog between the two of them clearing.
In its place were five silhouettes, all with distinctive glows around their bodies. The first was almost shadowlike, fully blacked out, but the other four were clearly visible.
"Who… who are they?"
"they are all those who have made a connection to the speedforce," Jay said, a streak of golden lightning extending from his hand like a pointer.
"Not much is known about this first one; Savitar, the God of Speed," Jay explained, pointing to the blacked out figure.
"Savitar… like Savitr, the Hindu God of Motion?" Barry asked.
"Uh… I guess?" Jay responded. "Like I said, not much is known about him. What I do know is that he was the first to tap into the speedforce.
"Moving on, Johnny Chambers, a soldier from the 1800s known as Johnny Quick," Jay explained, now pointing to the blond man in red. "I'm sure you've heard about him, he had a cartoon based on him."
"I thought that sounded familiar, Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle, right?" Barry asked.
"Bingo. On to the next," he said, moving the pointer to the man with the orange aura. "This is Whip Whirlwind, a hero of mine. He was around during the late 1800s, a true hero."
"What happened to him?" Barry asked.
"I… I'm not sure, actually," Jay said, his voice lowering. "He disappeared after assisting in the first World War.
"Enough about that, this next one was actually a chum of mine," Jay said pointing to the next figure. "Eddie Jones, the Black Vulcan."
"Eddie Jones?!" Barry asked with shock on his face. "Black… Vulcan… Vulcan Veggies…"
"What is it?" Jay asked, confused.
"I… It's nothing… don't worry about it," Barry said, shaking his head. "Continue?"
"He and I were on a team together way back in the day, it brings back some great memories," Jay said, sighing slightly. "He went off the grid once he left the team, he's still probably kicking somewhere."
Barry felt an uneasy feeling in his gut, but he didn't want to speak on it, he'd rather not give Jay false hopes.
"And that brings us to the most recent person connected to the speedforce… myself," Jay said, pointing to the final figure. "For fifty years I acted as a superhero, The Flash."
Barry's eyes widened, "You… were The Flash?"
"Did you not see the silhouette next to you?" Jay asked.
"I was paying attention to the order," Barry explained, rubbing his neck.
"Y'know, I already like you, kid," Jay said with a chuckle. "Like I was saying, for fifty years I was known as the fastest man alive, however I didn't make a connection to the Speed Force until… until my last days as the Crimson Comet."
"What do you mean?"
"On my last mission… I… I accidentally murdered a supervillain named Mateo Mardon, he was known as the Weather Warlock," Jay said, his head tilting downwards. "I erupted in golden lightning and simply couldn't control it… from what I've gathered, similar phenomenons have happened with all the others."
"Does it mean something?"
"It's like I said before, the Speed Force is a living entity," Jay explained, his lighting pointer aiming towards Barry. "That means, it grows and changes over time. It was merely a child all that time, but now?"
Barry's eyes widened looking down to his hand, lightning dancing around his forearm. "It's… it's an adult now?"
"I think… no, I know…" Jay said, the lightning disappearing, his body slowly fading from the plane. "You'll be the first to truly master the Speed Force, Barry."
Barry reached his hand out, but his vision flashed a bright light. When his eyes opened, he was in a medical cot.
"What… happened?" Barry said aloud, holding his head. 'Was that… was that a dream? It felt so… real.'
"You tell me, Barry," a familiar voice called. Standing in the room was Harrison Wells, the Warden of Iron Heights Penitentiary. The man helped Barry greatly with visiting his father from a young age. "You had me worried for a little while."
"Mr. Wells!" Barry exclaimed, sliding off the cot. "Did… did I faint? How long was I out?"
"Like I said, I'm not sure what happened, all I know is Gregory found you unconscious outside the visitor center," he explained, sighing lightly. "He'd thought an inmate had done it, almost went on one of his rampages."
"I'm sorry about that… I don't know what happened," Barry said, rubbing his temple. "My head was hurting really bad, then I had a super strange dream… then I was here."
"Well… if you're alright, you best be going home," Harrison suggested, pointing to the clock. "It's already 5:00."
"Right, thank you Mr. Wells, I'll see you around."
As Barry left the room, his mind went back to the dream. 'There's only one way to find out,' he thought. 'I hope you're open, Mr. Jones.'
NEXT TIME: Weather Wizard Unleashed!
Hit and miss
What looks like a bolt of lightening streaks through the streets of Gotham. It winds and twists through the streets, the alleyways, until finally, it settles in the docks. Two figures have been following the bolt: The Amazon, and the Emerald knight. They have a mission. A mission from God. Well, the next best thing. The two figures descend from the sky and approach the bolt, now standing still, but crackling with electricity. The speedforce is a pathway to many abilities, some considered by many as unnatural. Superspeed, phasing, even time travel. Barry Allen, the Flash, knows all these powers well. He calls out to the Amazon and the knight. "This is the place. It's the closest match to the location Nygma gave us".
The Amazon nods and signals the Knight. They rise, before flipping in mid air, and diving into the ground. It shakes, as if an almighty force had struck it.
Cracks form in the ceiling of the base. Then, suddenly, they break open, like wounds, spilling dirt and rocks. The Flash is the first in the room. As always, Barry Allen likes to be the first. He circles the room before slamming on the breaks, sending powerful gust of wind whooshing around the room. The other two, Wonder woman and Green lantern descend, like gods, from the break in the ceiling. They land, their feet gracefully touching the floor, as if they are weightless. They're ready for a fight. The Amazon has looked forward to this. But she is left disappointed. The base is empty, deserted.
"Shit" the knight mutters under his breath. This is bad. He knows how the Amazon gets when facing any kind of disappointment. He takes a moment, deciding whether it is worth speaking, saying that no one is here. He knows that she is one to take out her anger on others. Although he wasn't there, he heard rumours about what she did to Hawkgirl. It is the Flash who is first to speak. "They're gone, took everything with them".
Wonder woman is angry. She has disappointed her lord, and if there is one thing Diana hates, it is failure. She rips her helmet of her head, flinging it to the floor. "Flash, search through that door" she snaps as she steps towards it, fists clenched. She grabs the mighty iron door, at least 6 inches thick, and rips it open, the metal wrenching and squealing as she does so. The Flash zooms through the doorway, or what's left of it.
Throughout all this, Green lantern remains silent. He has decided that the best course of action for him is to remain silent until he finds anything worth mentioning. So, he floats up, and begins scanning with his ring. He knows he'll find nothing, but he scans nonetheless. He floats around the room, his ring making feint blipping noises as it flicks through different modes. Thermal, X-ray, even geiger counter. Nothing emerges. The base has been abandoned for some time.
The Flash returns, racing into a chair and reclining. He has found nothing. There is no sign of hostiles, as he expected. "Nothing, looks like they've been gone for a while, I'd estimate about a week."
Wonder woman clenches her fist, fury burning in her heart. She has failed, and she does not tolerate failure, even her own. She slowly walks back across the room, stooping low to retrieve her helmet, hardly breaking pace. Anger and hatred burning within her, she ascends the steps, towards the doorway. Without warning or expectation, she slams her helmet covered fist into the doorframe, smashing through concrete with an almighty cracking sound. Nygma is a dead man.
=The Fireflies' Lair- Carson Manor=
*He was lying. He had to be. They couldn't be dead. Not Uncle Gar, not Miranda... But with one more glance at Bridget, Simon knew Carson was telling the truth and realised exactly what had been changed. By now Bridget was backing away, slowly at first*
Carson- -hate to be the bearer of bad news kid, really, but hey- could be worse, eh?
*It wasn't the man's fault, not really, but after dislocating his thumbs and breaking free from his bonds (another trick picked up from his counterpart no doubt), Simon couldn't help enjoy the beating he gave Carson, even if he was sure he was trying to apologise in-between punches to the face. The chime of the elevator meant Bridget had escaped, but, his jetpack meant that wouldn't be much trouble. There was only one thought on his mind- revenge.*
======
*How could he remember? thought Bridget, Chronos said no one would, yet the rage on his face proved otherwise. Flamethrower at the ready, she was primed to take him down. Then she heard the crackle of lightning behind her. She saw the yellow glow, and for the first time in a long while, Bridget screamed*
=====
*This had to end. Now. Any argument, any valid point Bridget might've held was gone in Simon's eyes. She'd killed them, his family, even if just indirectly. What about Axel? Kitten? He felt certain that Cammy, his youngest brother didn't exist anymore and that made him angrier than ever. But then, it stopped. The anger, the rage, it all dissipated, it melted away at the sight of *him* and in it's place came dread. And shear terror*
???- Oh don't worry Ms Pike I'm not here for you... but all the same-
*His hand was vibrating, like some kind of saw, aimed directly at Bridget's chest. That image was forever burned into Simon's mind, that same hand was plunged into his own chest not so long ago and and just as he was sure that he would do it- kill her as effortlessly he killed him, the figure stopped, and looked directly at Simon*
Thawne- Happy Holidays, Bridget.
=====*Thump*=====
*Once again Simon found himself handcuffed, the strong smell of coffee and the indistinct chatter indicating to him he had to be in a cafe... but why? Opening his eyes revealed the focus of so many nightmares sat right across from him, as though he were an old friend- not Simon’s one time murderer: Eobard Thawne- The Reverse Flash. He may not be wearing his yellow suit, but those piercing, inhuman red eyes could belong to no one else*
Thawne- I must say, if there's one thing this time does better than mine, it's the coffee.
*Thawne gulps it down hungrily. Simon begins to wonder.... The Flash mentioned Thawne was from the future and so, consequently he often met him in the wrong order. Was this what was happening now? From the way he addressed Bridget, he knew her, which surely meant he heralded from Simon’s time, after all The Arkham Moth no longer existed here. Was this Thawne, the one who worked with Lex Luthor and Scarecrow, from before the Signal Man Crisis, from before he killed-? Well, he certainly didn’t recognise Simon, not the way he expected him to. There was yet another reason for his behaviour though- one Simon didn’t want to think about- Thawne didn’t know him, because he was simply forgettable. Indeed, Thawne seemed far more interested in his Christmas Latte*
Thawne- Aaaah, lovely spot. That hint of cinnamon *mwah!* Now, about those tachyons...
Simon- What-?
*Before he could blink, Thawne had moved, now sitting right beside him. Simon’s stomach lurched.*
Thawne- Tachyons. You're covered in them. And yet you're as ordinary as they come.
*Simon attempted a sarcastic remark, but found him incapable of getting the words out*
Thawne- Of course, of course, you must still be shaken up. My name, is Eobard Thawne, but it’s more likely you know me as-
Simon- You’re the Reverse Flash.
*Thawne looks a little taken aback, but soon contorts his face into a mirthless smile*
Thawne- Why, yes, although admittedly I prefer “Professor Zoom”, I think you'd find it a better expression of myself. But... enough about me.
*Another flash, Thawne’s now right behind him*
Thawne- See you, Mr Van Cleer, are the real enigma. Like I say, Tachyons, they must have somehow shielded you from the temporal changes in time- which can only mean you have friends in high places, isn’t that surprising? You of all people. Killer Moth’s son- a wannabe hero in one timeline, an enforcer for I want to say Black Mask(?) in the other
*Simon finds his voice, if just for a moment. He couldn’t let Thawne continue to torment him*
Simon- It's, um, the Great White actually.
...
Thawne- Oh lord it's worse than I imagined.
*Simon ignores this remark and gets to work undoing his bonds, wondering just how many times he’d have to dislocate his thumbs today. Yet, Thawne presses a button and the cuffs immediately electrocute Simon*
Simon- Aaargh-!
Thawne- Yeah, don't do that again. Now, I like a time travel romp as much as the next person, but, frankly, I don't quite appreciate being on the receiving end. This time? All wrong. And since those *idiots* irreparably damaged the speedforce I can't even go home!
Simon- The speedforce is broken?!
*No. That was the only way he could fix all this... If he had just found The Flash, gotten him to restore time to how it was *supposed* to be, and save Uncle Gar and Miranda then it would be over by the end of the day. Now? What could he hope to do? He didn’t exactly have the knowledge needed to build his own time machine*
Thawne- Oh don't look so glum. There's more than one way to skin a cat... I’ve materials at my warehouse, but we’ll have to be... quick.
*Thawne gets up, but something Simon says stops him*
Simon- There's something else... There's things I say, or do, that isn't me... Like it's someone else talking, like the other me, the one from this time is trying to-
Thawne- You're being assimilated.
Simon- I’m- what?
Thawne- How best to explain it? You don't belong here, not in this time- you're an aberration, not meant to exist, not like this, so reality is trying to slot you in.
Simon- What happens then? Once I'm “assimilated”
*Thawne speaks, quite casually*
Thawne- You'll cease to exist. You'll be replaced, by the you you're supposed to be, White Shark's cruel, smug enforcer, destined to continue on with his sad little life until finally, some angry rival puts a bullet in his brain. Merry Christmas.
Simon- Then why's it not happening to you?
Thawne- Well for one thing, I'm from the future, there's nowhere to put me, not like you. And the other... I'm dead. At Iris West's hands of all people, that's irony for you!
...
Thawne- That's a in-joke, you wouldn't get it.
==Arkham Asylum: Guard Quarters==
"Let me see! Let me see!"
“Careful, you’re crumpling them!”
"Ooh, such wonderful emotions! Delicious, frozen expressions!"
Abner Krill’s face was pressed against the microwave, like a child’s at the zoo’s red panda exhibit, as he waited for his cocoa to be ready; the room was small, modest, and utilitarian, which had suited the Asylum Guards just fine in the past. Hayden and Billings had cornered their newest member, Mister Camera, and were clearly enjoying themselves as they perused through the shoebox he’d retrieved from the 'Bug House.' The microwave pinged, and Krill removed the steaming mug from inside.
Billings had spotted a particularly erotic photo from the pile and grabbed it, bearing a crooked smile as he rubbed his thumb across the edge. "My my, is that lace? That naughty little bug girl… Rather nicely composed too...”
Krill snorted from the sidelines, as he stirred a sixth spoonful of sugar into his hot cocoa. "You don't know dick about composition, you peg legged twat."
"I'm a filmmaker, Krill, an auteur, I picked up a few things,” Billings replied condescendingly.
"Mm. About filmmaking or alcoholism? 'Cause, didn't it bomb? Like, bomb so bad the suits sent you to rehab? Twice."
Billings spun around, photo still in hand. "Now, you listen here, you pimpled prat! That was entirely out of my hands!" he scowled, his face turning a deep scarlet. "The Society completely dicked me over! Class A censorship from small-nubbed pricks! If I was allowed to tell my vision-!"
"Stop it! You're dribbling alcohol onto them!" Sims clutched Billings arm, protecting his precious photos from Spellbinder’s spit.
The squeak of rubber on metal broke up the argument. The crackle of lightning kept it that way. Crane sat in the doorway, two tired, mismatched eyes and a downturned mouth peeking out from behind his burlap mask; Zoom stood behind him, fists balled. "Cease your juvenile ogling, you primitive pack of apes, you all have work to do," Crane chastised the group. They didn’t need to be told a second time; Sims exited first, carrying the shoebox under his arm; then Hayden, kicking the ground defiantly; Billings shuffled away last, wiping the rim of his flask with his cuff.
Zoom however, stayed rooted to the spot, his blurred gaze fixed on Krill. Crane stared at him suspiciously, then wheeled himself away.
"Yeah?" Krill eyed the Speedster expectantly, slurping his hot chocolate from an Arkham-Branded mug.
“I haaaaaaaaavea job foryooooooouuuuuuuu,” Zoom slurred. “Offthe record.”
Krill smirked back, a greedy glint in his eyes. "Will it pay?"
"Ohyes."
==GCPD==
A group of four entered the GCPD; security was lax as of late; with so many dead and even more injured, it was easy for Chuck, Gar, Joey and Bridget to slip in through the roof; Chuck went on ahead to check out the interrogation room and gather clues while the three pyros lingered by the cell block. Confused, Joey looked at Ted Carson, still held behind iron bars.
"Joker didn't want him?" he whispered to Gar, conscious not to upset Bridget.
"Would you?" Gar answered back coldly.
“Laugh it up, Bug Boys,” Carson growled at the duo. “I’ll get outta here, and I’ll kill you all.”
“Hn. And I thought some time to yourself would give you space to reflect,” Gar stared at him, flicking his lighter shut. “Guess I figured wrong.”
“Ah, but it did. ‘Cause now I know what to do. No more schemes. No more plans. No more lousy, two-faced partners. I’m just gonna burn it all down.”
Gar’s brow shifted slightly. “Good luck with that,” he scoffed, stepping aside. As he did so, Carson finally noticed his daughter. His jaw slackened, his eyes narrowed, his puffed-out chest deflated, at the sight of this final, crushing betrayal.
"Bridget?" he choked, struggling to process her presence.
Bridget fidgeted with her hands, avoiding her father’s gaze. "Dad..." she began to defend herself, but nothing came out. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.
"You're with them now, is that it?” Carson scowled. "Figures.”
Gar exhaled, stepping back in front of Bridget defensively. "You, are an idiot,” he remarked. “A big, shiny, Megazord of an idiot."
"Careful," Carson warned.
"Oh, please! If you were any sort of a husband or father, if you ever cared for your wife, for Bridget; for Jumbo for crying out loud, you'd have gone back to your family as soon as you'd woken up, when you were resurrected that very first time. Or the second time. Or the third. Or the fourth. But no, you just had to get revenge on your killer, on a drunk fuckin' driver, no matter what! You couldn't let it go that the great "Ted Carson" got punted 100 yards by Killer Moth in his bright purple Mothmobile. If that were me, if I had died, and somehow, through divine, demonic or whatever that crap was, intervention, I'd run back to my apartment, I would hold my little girl in my arms, and I would not let go. But look at you! You! You let yourself get so fucking consumed by vengeance that you let it all slip away.
Drury didn’t ruin your life. He didn’t destroy your family. By the way, he didn’t put you in Arkham either. You did that all on your own."
Finished, Gar stormed off, Joey in pursuit. Yet, despite every fibre of her being telling her not to, Bridget lingered by the door to her dad’s cell.
“Go on then,” Carson growled. “Run back to ‘daddy.’”
But Bridget didn’t. She couldn’t. Despite everything he’d said and done, despite her newfound loyalty to the Misfits…
He was still her father.
~-~
Chuck knelt beside an upturned table in the interrogation room, peeling off a scrap from an orange jumpsuit that had been caught on the edge. ‘Drury…’ he lamented quietly. Amongst the glass, and the trails of dried blood, he found something else; a single Joker card pinned to a sheet of A5 paper. The door behind him opened, signifying Gar and Joey’s arrival.
“Anything?” Gar asked, not expecting a whole lot.
"Looks like he left a note,” Chuck replied, noticing some writing on the back.
“What's it say?” Joey inquired.
Chuck cleared his throat, and began to read: "225g plain flour, two teaspoons bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, a pinch of cinnamon, 75g unsalted butter, 100g soft brown sugar and 100g golden syrup. To decorate: one bar of dark chocolate, finely grated."
"I- I think it's a shopping list."
~-~
The group walked back the way they came, despondent over their lack of leads. Carson remained in his cell, but something had changed in his demeanour, an underlying quiet malice. Dragging behind, a voice called out to Chuck from the cell diagonal Carson’s. A cold, refined voice that Chuck had hoped he’d heard the last of:
"Charlie?"
Chuck turned around: Julian was standing by the bars, a quizzical expression on his face.
“You look healthy,” Chuck replied, perhaps a little more venomously than he had intended.
“Your poison has worked its' way out of my system, yes. As you can see, the GCPD is rather short staffed at the moment,” Julian observed, a slight, malicious smile on his face.
“That ‘poison’ is meant to help you, Julian,” Chuck responded. “You’re sick.”
“Yes, of oh so many things… You never understood Diaxymine, Charlie. It’s not a solution, it doesn’t suppress my darker half and worse impulses. It never did. It’s a flood. Drowning me in remorse. Burying me in sorrow and pity and regret. Is this how it is for you? For the Misfits? Knowing that despite how hard you try to better yourself, the things you’ve done, those terrible terrible things will stick with you, forever.”
“Yes.”
“How can you bear it?” Julian inquired, in a tone that revealed an underlying pain.
“By trying my hardest, doing the best I can.”
“Then surely, you understand why I tried to free you from that burden? From that pain? To escape from that baggage and be your truest self?” Julian asked softly.
Chuck took a step towards the exit and opened it. “No,” he called back. “And I never will.”
==<???>==
Emerging from a kaleidoscopic vortex, Krill and his charge stepped forward onto weightless ground, only to be hit by a blinding wave of white light; They were standing in a void of white clouds, lit up by bolts of coloured lightning. The only sounds were the faint rumblings of thunder in the distance. Krill lowered his goggles over his eyes and began scanning for signs of life. "Thought you said this place was a prison?" he squinted.
Zoom looked out at the howling wilderness. "Itis."
Krill frowned. It didn't look like a prison. It looked like Cloud Cuckoo Land, and Zoom’s non-committal responses weren’t helping matters. He peeled a dot off his chest, and hurled into in the endless void, hoping it could find something his scanners couldn’t. They were standing in something elemental; Krill knew that much. Something ancient. Something ethereal.
Something wrong.
As they walked (that's right, walked not ran), something changed in the air, the fluffy white clouds all around them turned grey, as though they were travelling into a hurricane of swirling wind. The sounds of thunder overhead became louder. The lightning changed too, gone was the rainbow of colours, only one hue remained, angrier, more aggressive than the rest: Red.
And the further they walked; the more anxious Krill became. "Where are we? What... what have you done?" he asked, uncharacteristically uncertain. Shaken.
"Zoom. Where are we?" he asked again.
"Thislesson isbeyondme. Ineed someone toshow me the way,” Zoom whispered quietly, merely raising more unsettling questions.
"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU TAKEN ME?!" Krill bellowed, his entire body quaking; tiny globs of spittle flew out of his mouth and landed on Zoom's face. He ripped two dots off his shoulders and pointed them at Zoom’s face, both glowing with neon energy.
"Iwould nooooooot do thaaaaat ifiwere youuuuuuuuuu,” Zoom wagged his finger back and forth.
"Yeah? Why the hell not?" Krill demanded, his eyes bulging.
"Youuuuuuuuuuuuu'll unsettle the wraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiths."
Krill’s arm fell by his side, the energy dissipating from his fists. Realisation had set in, and grovelling even quicker. "Oh... Oh, God. I... I was loyal. Didn't betray you, didn't tell Bats or the Kite-Man shit. You don't... You don't have to do this. Please, don't do this."
Zoom cocked his head to one side, a motion that could almost be described as pity. "Youmisunderstand, Aaaaaaaaabneeeeeer. Thisis not apunishment. Thisisa leeeeeeeesssoooooooon."
"Lesson." A word that anyone who had ever been on Zoom's receiving end had learned to fear. But Krill wouldn't stick around for the demonstration, he reached for the dial on his belt, and then a final, gut-wrenching twist of the knife: The belt was gone.
As Krill struggled to reconcile what had happened, Zoom raised his hand, and his heart beat even faster than before: all his hopes of escape vanished at once. Dangling from Zoom’s wrist was his red belt. Krill had never even noticed he'd taken it. Zoom’s syllabus was at last revealed with one haunting phrase: "Suuuuuuuuuuuuurvival ofthe fittest."
"No. Please. I'm not like the rest of the psychotic grunts who lube themselves up over LiveLeaks or nuke cities for jollies," Krill chuckled nervously, sweat across his pimpled brow. "I'm... I'm like you."
Before Zolomon could answer, a third voice broke through the fog; calm, arrogant, evil. "Oh, Abner, I don't think we're alike at all.”
“Quite the reverse, actually."
Krill tried to offer a pitiful rebuttal, but it was too late: Lightning bolts wrapped around his wrists like manacles, dragging him deeper into the void, his corporeal form fading, then for a moment: silence.
The Storm had accepted Zoom's offering. And then all at once, red lightning shot down on the spot Krill had been standing prior, forming a yellow silhouette. "In academic circles, this is what we'd call a 'teaching moment,' Mr Krill,” the figure smiled, his image becoming clearer; he looked like Zolomon but his uniform was a brighter yellow, his build was leaner, his red irises were exposed, and he was smiling. The Professor, was in.
“Class dismissed.”
Zolomon offered his mentor Krill’s belt; the device clicked as Thawne fastened it around his waist; a portal opened, but more destructively than before; without its true master, the circular vortex was jagged, unstable. But the Reverse-Flashes didn't need long. Faster than you could blink, they were gone; and the portal folded in on itself, leaving the Speedforce quiet once more.
==Keystone City. West Residence==
Wally West closed the door to his daughter Irey’s bedroom, then sped downstairs, yellow lightning trailing after him. His wife Linda was on the sofa, who, upon spying him, raised a bottle of non-alcoholic wine off the coffee table.
“Kids asleep?” she asked slyly.
“Yep,” Wally smirked; in an instant, he was sitting beside her on the sofa. He held up a glass and she began to trickle wine into it.
“Merry Christmas, Mr West,” she kissed him on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas, Mrs Park,” he smiled back cheekily, reciprocating with a longer smooch on the lips.
Then suddenly, Wally stumbled back, clutching his head as images flooded his head. The glass hit the floor, shattering on impact, and staining the floor a blood red.
"Wally? You OK?" Linda knelt beside him, placing her arm around him comfortingly.
"I... I don't know."
At the Tower of Fate, the rest of the JSA is gathered. The team now known as the All Stars, comprised of their children and students, has sent them there for their own protection. Two JSA members have already been murdered, and they are all still in mourning.
Jay to Liberty Belle: "You know... Henry was one of the first. I've known him since the Cold War, when Fate assembled the group to rescue us. We've never lost contact."
Libby: "You were all close to each other. It's understandable. You've been through a lot. Lost a lot of friends..."
Jay: "Way too many. The first Mr Terrific, the first Starman, Johnny Thunder. Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Spectre were reincarnated and all, but it's just not the same. And now Charles and Henry... You see, it's way harder to cope with it, since I have a reason to live longer. Henry and Charles didn't have the privilege of the speedforce, the starheart, the helmet of Fate, nine lives or Kryptonian features."
Libby: "I see what you mean..."
As a silence falls, Fate teleports into the room. (Injustice year 3 style)
Fate: "We've been breached!"
As he says that a portal opens and two bolts of magical lightning come out of it, hitting and incapacitating Doctor Fate and Power Girl. After that Mordru, Shadow Thief and Sportsmaster enter the tower.
ST: "Good idea to take out the heavy hitters first."
Mordru: "You two know what to do. Shadow Thief, you and me cover Sportsmaster, while he retrieves the package."
ST: "Let's play!"
Shadow Thief takes out Liberty Belle rather quick as Mordru blasts Wildcat, Mr Terrific and Atom Smasher with some more bolts of lightning. Liberty Belle retaliates and punches Shadow Thief and Green Lantern smashes him with a construct. Sportsmaster throws a disc at Liberty Belle, but Lantern intercepts and gets hurt in the process as the disc exploded into small slivers of wood.
ST: "Totally forgot he sucks against wood."
At that point Sandman appears behind him and doses him with his sleeping gas, but Mordru opens a portal and throws Sandman into the Dreaming. Starman uses his rod to keep the portal open, but in turn gets knifed by Sportsmaster, but Sandman manages to get out before the portal closes. At this point Flash, Liberty Belle and Hourman are the last ones standing. As Flash runs at Mordru, he takes the lightning from Jay's Speedforce energy and throws it at Liberty Belle who gets slammed into a wall. With Jay distracted, Hourman takes on Sportsmaster but loses and gets taken hostage. The three villains then stand together as Green Lantern tries to get one last shot at the them, but Mordru opens a portal and they disappear. Jay stands up and looks horrified at the defeated JSA. He manages to wake up Starman, as his knife wound isn't as bad as it seemed.
Jay: "We... What the hell just happened?!"
Star: "We were surprised. There's nothing we could do about it. It was smart of them to take out Fate and Karen first. Then the smartest of our group, another muscle and a martial artist. They were well prepared."
Sandman tends to Lantern's wounds.
Sandman: "They were really well prepared. Sportsmaster had a disc with wood slivers in them. I thought everyone forgot about that."
Jay: "Well they didn't. Wes, try to wake up Kent. He is our only ticket out of here. Ted, you take care of Alan. I'll warn the kids. When Fate wakes up we need to help them."
Jay takes his communicator and contacts Jesse.
Jesse: "Jay? What's wrong?"
Jay: "We've been breached. They took Hourman..."
Update my Wallace West Kid Flash minifig, so he has an actually cowl like the official Flash and my Custom Wally West figure!
This week we saw season 3 of “The Flash” wrap up! Let’s take a look at what happened (NOTE: SPOILERS ARE AHEAD):
CHARACTERS: There were so many good characters and so much character development! I especailly loved Caitlyn, Cisco, HR and Julian’s arcs; we got to see Caitlyn’s fall from grace and redemption, as well as a more serious side to Cisco dealing with his best friend’s betrayal. To be honest, I didn’t like HR and Julian at first, but I grew to love them as we saw that Julian was more than an annoying coworker and HR was more than a dumb “genius”; when HR died, I was literally on the edge of my seat, I didn’t see them killing him off, but they did, and his motive was believable. He got to be the hero he wanted. I really loved Wally’s character too, his journey to become the Kid Flash was cool to watch; he fulfilled his dream. The only negatives about the characters were that I found Cisco annoying at the beginning of the season (I know he was completely justifed in being angry at Barry, but it felt dragged out), and I found the characters of HR and Julian annoying at the beginning too.
STORY: This has got to be my favourite season of the Flash. They brought in past characters who we didn’t think we’d see again, especially in the Speed Force episode, which was one of my favourites. The Speedforce is one of the more mysterious things in the Flash, and we got to explore it. I loved how they really dove into Barry and Iris’ relationship and how much it would mean if she was taken from him. This season not only was a great superhero show but a good mystery, you didn’t know almost until the very end who Savitar was, and it was mind-bending trying to figure it out how the whole paradox-thing with the Time Remnant worked. Some other great parts were the switch HR pulled, I definitely didn’t see that coming, and in the very last episode where Team Flash actually tried to help Savitar. I loved the dynamic between Savitar and Caitlyn, and it was interesting to see how Flashpoint affected everyone, which brings me to my o gripes: we hardly saw anything of Flashpoint. While I didn’t want it to be a whole-season issue, I felt like they really teased it only to have it all solved in 45 minutes. I would have liked to see at least 1 more episode involving it, and seeing more of Flashpoint. The last 10 minutes of the finale should have been saved for the first episode of season 4, in my opinion. I wish they could have just left them where they were, and had saved the whole part about him running into the storm for season 4. Other than that, I thought the story was well done and well written.
VILLAIN: Hands-down Savitar is my favourite villain so far. He was menacing, driven, and, when you came down to it, he was just a normal guy who had been hurt by his friends. He wanted a place of belonging, but couldn’t have it, so he decided everything would belong to him as a Speed God. I actually really felt bad for Savitar, being abandoned by Team Flash and all. Also, the whole Time Remnant thing was genius, I never saw it coming. Plus the metal suit was so freaking cool! The only issue I have–and this isn’t really with the character himself–is that I thought the scars were a bit much, it felt like a copy of Two-Face. I wasn’t against giving him scars, but I thought the way they did it was sloppy.
So, there we go: “The Flash” delivers another amazing season, not failing to satisfy. I give it 8/10. What did you think? Let me know in the comments, and have a good day. (PS: Happy 40th, Star Wars!)
Picture creds to the Official Flash Instagram page
First off, I want to thank everyone for their entries. You all did great with your entries, so much so that I may have to eventually bring in more than 1 into my CCR story at some point. Anyway, here's the results.. Congratz to the winners! Here are some honourable mentions. Smash-Dragon by Rednas (Love the combination especially), Old Timer by Lego Creationist (Quite Dapper) , and Crimson Racer (Speedforce fueled vehicles is an intriguing concept) by Harrison Hill. I'll get started on making the figures and the shoutouts ASAP.
3. Prismatic by BrickTailor. Honestly was the front runner for quite a while. The possibilities with the combination of his powers is intriguing. He also has flaws with the fact he can only draw upon 3 colours at a time.
2. Firewall by Slight of Brick. The fig, while having a simplistic design, works for the character. Loved the power choice, as it's surprisingly uncommon.
1. Dim Reaper by rwBricks. Everything about this entry was great. The name was spot on, and the combo's really work for the character. But what I especially loved was the backstory. The way Harold becomes Dim Reaper is intriguing, while being tied to one of the more uncommon Flash villains.
Charles arrives at Henry's house and he sees an A.R.G.U.S. vehicle already outside. He enters the house and he sees agents Michaels and Gunn covering up the body, with Mister Terrific analysing the place and Power Girl talking with Hank Heywood, aka Sarge Steel. Charles walks over to them before inspecting the body.
Charles: "Hank, I am so sorry for your loss."
Hank: "I could say the same for you, Doctor. For all of you."
PG: "Are you sure you're alright Sarge? You just lost your father."
Hank: "Gotta keep it professional now, Power Girl. It is of upmost importance that we find his killer as fast as possible. Mourning comes later."
Charles looks at Karen with a worried look.
Charles: "I'll leave you to it then."
Charles walks over to the agents and Mister Terrific.
Charles: "Agents. Michael."
LM: "Good evening Doctor. We are sorry for your loss."
Charles: "Thank you miss Michaels. I appreciate it. What do we have?"
MrT: "Multiple stab wounds, coming from his own kitchen knife. He probably wanted to protect himself, but it appeared he just chose his own murder weapon."
Charles walks over to the body and he lifts the cover.
Charles: "Hm. Stab wounds in the chest. Bruises all over his body. Fractured ribs. The old man still had some fight left in him."
MrT: "Was he talking about retiring to you too?"
Charles: "I believe I was the first one he told. Such a shame..."
Terrific looks at Charles and he sees a small tear dropping from his eye.
MrT: "It is okay Charles."
He clears his throat and whipes away the tear.
Charles: "We should get to work. Have you prepared your T-spheres already?"
MrT: "Wanted to let the agents do their work first."
DG: "You should be good to go."
MrT: "Thanks, mister Gunn."
As Michael launches his T-spheres, a car can be heard stopping in front of the house. Nate steps out of the car and he runs inside of the house.
NH: "No, no, no! Don't tell me it's true! Dad?!"
Hank: "I'm sorry, son. Your grandfather is dead."
NH: "I was gonna visit him tomorrow..."
Nate looks at his father who looks extremely cool under the situation.
NH: "What the hell are you doing?"
Hank: "What?"
NH: "You are doing nothing! Not even crying, not mourning! You're just standing there like some kind of big shot!"
Hank: "Watch your tone Nate."
NH: "Don't act all tough on me! Your dad was just murdered! My grandfather! SHOW SOME GODDAMN EMOTION!"
Hank: "I'm here working my ass off, to find his killer! You want to cry and mourn? Sure! Go ahead, and let me do something useful!"
PG: "Enough! Both of you!"
NH: "Screw you dad. Good luck with your investigation. If you need me, I'll be mourning my grandfather."
Hank doesn't even look at his son anymore as he leaves.
Hank: "Nothing to see people. Just get back to work."
Charles looks at Michael.
Charles: "Kids..."
MrT: "The kid lost his grandfather, he'll pull through. How is Pieter doing?"
Charles: "Fine. I told him he should interact with the other JSA children more."
MrT: "You sure? After what happened with Rick?"
Charles: "He has to make friends. He hasn't met Jack, Grant, Tom or Sandy yet. If he can make a good first impression on that front."
MrT: "That's true."
Charles: "And he is friends with Jesse, so that helps. I guess. I don't understand those modern ways anymore with Spacebook and Flapchat."
MrT: "You mean Facebook and Snapchat?"
Charles: "Those too."
MrT: "You've been getting old as well, Charles. Have you been thinking of retiring?"
Charles: "Sometimes. I don't have the speedforce, a magic helmet, connection to the Dreaming, or a mystical ring to keep me fit. Hell, I'm even blind. I have been thinking about it, Michael."
MrT: "What holds you back?"
Charles: "Pieter. He's not ready to take over yet."
MrT: "You want him to take over as Doctor Mid-Nite?"
Charles: "Who else?"
Hank: "We are all done here. I got orders that you took the body for a closer examination?"
MrT: "That is correct."
Hank: "Keep us updated."
MrT: "We will. Charles, are you coming too?"
Charles: "I'll stay here for a while. Collect some things, looking at everything for one last time."
PG: "Need me to help?"
Charles: "No, my dear. It's all fine. I also want to be alone for a moment."
MrT: "We understand. We'll prepare the body at the base."
Terrific and Power Girl head to the JSA base, as Doctor Mid-Nite stays behind, and sheds a few more tears for his fallen friend.
Custom Godspeed lego Minifig made by BrothersFigure. Far superior to the one I made a couple months ago, haha.
My custom lego Godspeed Minifigure!!! I worked with sculpting material for the first time ever and for what if it's worth I think the cowl/head turned out pretty cool. I plan on making a more refined ver in the future as I'm still not 100% satisfied with how it looks.
Shot from costume-themed TFCD shoot with model Ryan Godman (Model Mayhem #1021851), June 2012, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The goal was to shoot a Barry Allen Flash in Center City Philadelphia. The shooting was great fun--an early Sunday morning popping about all over the city with Ryan in a special-ordered, Chinese-made costume! The post work, however, was complete Hell. (Never again. Ever.) D.C. Comics owns all rights to this character.