NOVEL WEB Chapter 9: The Concept of Speed Casting.
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Chapter 9: The Concept of Speed Casting.
(General P.O.V)
Barry wasn't an idiot. Well, according to Iris he sometimes could be, but that was mostly due to his bad relationship with keeping time.
But, he was far from an idiot.
He knew something was off with the boy. And it wasn't just because of his confession of killing Fire and Ice.
Him and Fire had briefly dated, before they both realized they were better off as friends. Besides, dating a co-worker would complicate their work relationship.
But that hadn't meant she wasn't important to him.
Which complicated things with his team.
The Flash was a hero. A symbol of morality.
He wasn't supposed to feel such negative feelings for anyone. Especially a 10 year old boy.
But Barry had lost too many precious people to care. His mother, his father...
But even so, when he realized he was being rude and downright antagonistic to Batman and Black Canary, he decided to take a walk or rather a run around the world, to cool off as only he could.
Just as he was crossing the Saharan desert, he heard Batman's distress call through his ear piece and immediately turned back.
In a few breaths he had crossed the ocean into North America, and was blitzing through Rhode Island while headed to Mount Justice.
And only as he entered through the building and into the Interrogation room, did he realize he was justified in his suspicions.
It took only a slow second to gaze around the room and notice the state of it, and his fellow league members lying on the ground- hurt.
The initial shock got him.
Even for the fastest man in the world, that brief moment cost him. And the silent and seamless activation of Shade's shadow portals was too unexpected to dodge.
Still caught in his running pose, the Flash was frozen stiff, and the darkness of passing out due to suffocation promptly claimed him.
When next he opened his eyes, it was in a dark clearing in the forest.
A blood red moon hang from the sky, illuminating the ground in a wash of scarlet colors.
Around him were exactly 13 figures dressed in hoods with a strange inverted Infinity symbol, chanting in what sounded like Latin to him.
He was tied to something that looked like a cross, and the hefty power dampening collar on his neck prevented him from activating his speed.
"What is this?!"
The Flash demanded.
"Who are you people? And why am I hanging from a cross? Even for nutjobs the symbolism is a little TOO ON THE NOSE!!"
His frustration was evident in his words and tone. But that did nothing to stop the chanting.
And Barry was even more horrified when the ground below them in the small clearing, begun to glow with a yellow formation of circles.
He instantly recognized what this was. Magic. Oh hell no.
He redoubled his efforts, trying to loosen one of his hands in a bid to reach for his costume's in built defenses.
Useful, especially in the event of having his powers suppressed.
There was a certain place in his outfit he could press to release a small burst of E.M.P.
Just enough to fry the inner components of the power dampening collars. Then with his powers active again, he could kick everyone's ass and arrest them for turning him into a rendition of Jesus' death.
"I apologize for the rough treatment."
A familiar young voice spoke from the back of the hooded figures.
The chanting came to a sudden stop.
The hooded figures made way for 2 people, both of them fairly young.
The tallest of them was a boy who wore a black suit with coattails, had black hair, red eyes and what Barry could only call as the 'evilist sneer in the world'.
He also had a cat on his shoulder. And lastly, the boy looked roughly 15.
"Ooh look at that Teekl! Angel wasn't lying, he actually caught one!"
The red eyed boy clapped his hands in glee as he watched The squirming Flash.
The cat meowed in what Barry would describe as disinterest.
"I wonder how a Hero looks like on the inside."
The boy on the other hand mused, seemingly even more invested in Barry's health. Or rather it's complete opposite.
"With his flesh stripped and his bowels hanging from-"
Just as Barry's horror was about to reach its peak, a hand landed on the red eyed boy's shoulder, cutting off his words.
"Klarion, I hope you're not planning on turning my prey into your little passion project."
Angel said in an even voice.
Klarion seemed to gulp as the temperatures in the surrounding areas started going haywire.
Barry found himself buffeted by a heat wave one second and a blizzard the next.
"A-ah, that would be going against our agreement."
Klarion stuttered, sheepishly scratching his head while chuckling nervously.
"I always keep my word, right Teekl?"
"Meow!"
The Cat immediately meowed in agreement, even going as far as to nod its head. It was as if the boy called Klarion and his cat were scared of Angel, Barry noted.
"Good."
Angel patted the taller boy before turning his eyes to The Flash.
Barry found those cold dead eyes staring into his own, very different from the mischievous and cheeky stare the boy had when he was in their custody.
Angel nodded, as if he had come to a sort of decision with himself.
"As I was saying, sorry for the rough treatment, Barry."
The Flash was shocked.
"How do you know that name?!"
He hissed through clenched teeth.
Angel just shrugged as he answered.
"We know all your secret identities. Superman is Clark Kent, Batman is Bruce Wayne-"
He stopped, snorting at the aghast expression on the Flash's face.
"I could continue but that would be a waste of time."
Angel took in a deep breath.
"I'm sure you have questions. But I won't indulge you. I know what monologuing does to the best laid plans."
He walked closer, stopping right at the foot of the cross.
"That said, it's only right that you understand what is happening."
A smile that was no less evil than what Klarion could pull off appeared On Angel's boyish face.
"To put it in simple terms, you will die so that I can be reborn into a force of true power. Rejoice Speedster, your worthless life, finally has a purpose to serve."
(Angel's P.O.V)
A bad encounter with Cheetah and Wonder Woman showed me what my biggest weakness was.
It was in Bwunda and the mission this time was strange. Even by Savage's standard.
Apparently an African God called Urzkartaga was causing trouble for some of Father's business in the region.
The Sub-Saharan area had diamond mines that were owned by Father. And as a result of said God rampantly kidnapping girls and women from the surrounding tribes, Father's interests had suffered due to the lack of Manpower.
There was also the threat of the kidnappings catching the attention of the authorities, which would bring to light our dealings in the area.
That was a big no-no, as the diamonds generated billions of dollars each year.
With such a big operation on the line, I was sent in to give a warning to Urzkartaga. Just a warning. Apparently even Gods were beholden to the will of Vandal Savage.
Personally I would have killed Urzkartaga but orders were orders.
Of course a warning from someone like Vandal Savage was something like losing a hand or an eye.
That said, turns out this God was the real thing. He was unlike any other self proclaimed gods who were all bluster and no power.
It was a common theme in the super hero/villain world, after all.
The amount of people who stumbled upon a little bit of power up, either through a homo magi bloodline, alien or magical items, metagene or the other dozen ways you could become powerful in DC, was not a small number.
Too bad most were too weak to be useful, or the power went to their heads and they grew conceited.
The only fate that awaited them was getting busted by the heroes and a one way trip to Belle Reve or getting killed by other villains.
That's besides the point.
Basically, Urzkartaga was not someone whose power had gone to his head and corrupted him.
He was very much a God. Just not a fighting one. Not to say he was weak though. Far from it.
What he had lacked in pure firepower he'd made it up for, by having these man-wolf creatures that attacked anyone that appeared in his territory.
Oh and apparently, he had Cheetah protecting him. She was part of his harem(about the only thing I could agree with the God. He had his priorities straight at least)
Yes, that Cheetah. One of Wonder Woman's most powerful villains.
She had shown me what my biggest weakness was.
I couldn't hit her. She was so fast that even Flash Freeze, the attack I had used to immobilize the fastest Speedster in the planet, had failed.
Fire missed her completely, only burning the trees around us.
Despite having control over Flames and Ice, they might as well have been useless if the attacks were slow enough that someone could dodge.
I only escaped getting torn apart by the feral cat-woman by surrounding the zone closest to me with heat and cold mana, turning the zone into an Elemental storm.
Still, with Shade's help, I did manage to 'procure' a hand from the God, leaving a message that the Immortal was displeased.
Again, Urzkartaga is besides the point.
What isn't, is my need to shore up one of my biggest weaknesses.
Which is why the Flash, the Speedster with the deepest connection with the Speed force was so useful to me.
By using Klarion's Chaos magic and my Atlantean Mages expertise with magic formations, I was planning to steal that conduit for myself.
With the Speed Force on my side, my Pyrokinesis and Cryokinesis would evolve, at least in terms of casting speed.