Unconscious Freakshow littered the ground as
a very confusing tableau spread itself out in the old 5th Column base. Two
nearly identical figures traded blow after blow, dodging kicks and punches
aimed at each other by split second adjustments at speeds other fighters would
find all but impossible to manage.
Rainbow Flash grimaced as she swept a high kick at the other fighter's face, only for the dark purple and gold clad fighter to duck under, rising up into a punch aimed at her solar plexus that was almost fast enough to make contact as Flash shot backwards, bumping against a wall from the speed she'd flown backwards to dodge.
The other fighter wasn't hard to predict, but that in and of itself was the problem. She was wearing Flash's face, as well as the dark hued version of Flash's normal hero costume that she'd put together after Jackie'd noted that the speedster couldn't sneak past a comatose Hellion if she'd tried. And Flash had to admit that, on this crazed alternate of herself, the colors definitely looked to fit the villainous figure that Nance had painted her as on their first meeting.
***
"Arrest me?" Flash squawked in indignation.
The agent regarded her coolly from behind reflective government issue sunglasses, though Flash could see a hint of irritation in his expression. "Don't be coy, Rainbow Flash. The robberies out by the Great Lakes. The technicolor explosion in Arizona that nearly killed several hundred people when it scrambled every aeronautical navigation system for five hundred miles? You may think that no one noticed you, that we were all too dumb to connect things only your powers could do to the incidents, but then you have the gall to show up in Paragon City and pretend to be a hero?"
Flash's hackles had been raising for most of the conversation, but Nance's acid tone had driven her over the edge. "I didn't do any of that. Go ahead, asshole. Try and arrest me and see how it works out for you."
Nance's face twisted in a slight smirk. "Somehow, I figured you wouldn't come quietly. That's not your style, is it? I've got several hundred agents that can swarm this spot the minute I give the signal. Do you really want to cause an incident like that? Or were you hoping for one?"
Flash snorted, settling to the ground from where she'd unconsciously started hovering, before taking a faint defensive stance. "Bring ‘em on, Jackboot. I think my self-defense case will stick a lot more than your wild theories."
Nance's hand hovered for a moment, about to raise, when his phone rang. The agent glanced at the caller ID (Adair, J, Flash noted), before answering. If anything, the government agent's face became even less pleased as he listened, before he nodded once and hung up. "Fine. It looks like my superior believes you and thinks that this whole thing must be the result of some other you," he said, sarcasm practically dripping from the end of the sentence. "Personally, I've heard "it's my Praetorian double!" excuses far too many times in the last year, but in this case, it's not my call. You want to clear the books with S.A.M., however, we're going to need to find this other you. Otherwise, I don't have any other suspects."
Flash's fists tightened slightly, but she sighed, settling her stance back into a more neutral one. "Fine. But don't think I'm particularly happy to be helping you out, jerkface."
Nance's smile looked about as amused as Flash felt. "On that point, Rainbow Flash, we can agree."
***
The investigation had led through an entire gang of Freakshow that apparently answered to Flash's evil double, as well as another good double of herself that apparently had trailed her evil double into Paragon. Flash hadn't really thought through the implications of so many versions of herself across the multiverse, beyond the fact that she was obviously upping the average awesome level of reality by existing so many times across it. However, when she'd met her impostor, Flash had been surprised to find that not only did she fight as well as Flash did, but that her powers were identical as well. Which had led to this standoff.
"This dance has been rather amusing, Flash, but I really do have better things to be doing," her double hissed as she pressed the attack. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick. You can die and then all the people you care about will be left to my..." she laughed nastily "...mercy. But I'll take care of them. You can trust me on that. Especially the cowgirl. She'll be delicious."
And for a split second, Flash's double found herself looking at where her opponent had been. A second later and she was careening across the hallway, hitting the floor every couple feet as Flash used her evil twin as an impromptu skidboard before jumping off as she slammed into the other wall.
The darker Rainbow growled as she stumbled to her feet, even as part of her boggled. Flash hadn't been anywhere near that fast before. How could they have misjud-
Her thoughts were cut off as a rapid series of kicks sent her stumbling backwards into a sloppy guard as Flash hit her, blurring in her vision to the point that the darker fighter couldn't even reliably see her opponent at all, reacting more to the air pressure of Flash's rapid strikes than anything she could see.
A single missed blow was all it took and the fight was over, dust rippling out in a shockwave as the force of the blow sent the darker Flash slamming into the wall. Flash walked over to her double, before kneeling down and picking her up by the collar. "Who the hell are you, and why are you trying to steal my face?"
"The face doesn't matter," her double coughed, even as a sickly green glow bathed them both, causing Flash to drop her and take a step back. The double pushed herself to her feet even as green flame flickered around her, burning away the purple jumpsuit first, before continuing to sear away flesh, feathers, and hair. Inhuman, faceted eyes locked with Flash's as burnt, twisted black chitin and replaced human skin, gleaming fangs coated in toxic green saliva forming words that no longer sounded remotely human as a viper's tongue shaped them. "And as to who we are...the first of many."
The twisted mockery of human form rasped a laugh as it took in Flash's expression. "Yessss.... you see what you have uncovered. We are everywhere, and you can trust no one. When the time comes, all will bow before Her. In
the meantime...enjoy your victory. We are legion.
You'll never find us all."
The twisted creature laughed even harder as the flames flared, consuming it, and leaving the room plain and normal again. If it hadn't been for the singed place where her double had been standing, Flash would almost have chalked up what she'd just seen to taking too hard a hit to the head.
"-ash, come in! Rainbow Flash, this is Nance. Report on your status!"
"Flash here..." she said, shaking herself. "My double's gone."
"Define gone."
"She set herself on fire when it became clear she was going to lose, and just disappeared. I dunno if she's dead or not, but she's not here anymore," Flash said flatly.
"I... see. I hate this city some times."
"Tell me about it," Flash said, but her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't help but hear the echoes of the thing's last words.
You'll never find us all.
***
The omnipresent buzzing and chittering as green flame flickered over hard black stone and glistening green slime reminded her of home, but the comfort was only faint as the drone prepared to report on her failure.
The twisted black throne of stone and webs at the far side of the room stood in shadow, only the drifting of the blue gossamer hanging over its edges indicating that its occupant was even there, the black of her Majesty's armor blending perfectly with the murky shadows.
"My Queen... we regret to inform you our mission...has failed. The hero was tipped off. She came for us and forced us to reveal ourselves. We beg your forgiv-"
The drone never saw the enormous black jaws within the sudden flare of green fire. She simply ceased to see anything as they severed her body at the waist, chewing the remains for a moment before the liquid darkness slithered back to the form on the throne.
"Hmm... we forgive you, my loyal drone. The distrust you may have fostered in one so loyal is the best that could be hoped for, given your failure. Your knowledge shall be passed on to the rest of the Swarm," She hissed as Her claws tapped at the edge of throne's arms. "Attendant."
"Yes, your Highness? " a drone said, scuttling out from a hole in the wall.
"Inform the rest of My will. We are to divide, and then we shall conquer , " She hissed, even as emerald eyes cracked open to look at the
floating image of the city hovering amid green flames before her. "And have them be alert. I will have need of a Proxy if I am to attend to this Myself."
"Yes, your Highness."
***
Jackie had once thought she would do anything in order to see her kinda-sorta girlfriend stay still and quiet for more than three seconds. However, as the country girl walked out onto the balcony of the apartment that Flash called home, the wind whistling around her on its way through Steel Canyon's chilly New England night, Jackie had to admit that watching Flash look out over the night in a silent brood was just plain unnatural. Still, nothing to it but to do it... "Hey."
"Heya. Bit cold out here for you," Flash said quietly, glancing over her shoulder, before stiffening slightly as Jackie wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist, her tension plain in how her wings stiffened. Jackie just held the position, as new and odd as it felt to her, until the flier's nervousness calmed. Jackie wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in this situation, but something was bothering Flash... and that meant it bothered Jackie too.
"What's wrong?" Jackie asked. "You're as jittery as a horse sitting out in pasture before a thunderstorm."
"I dunno what you mean," Flash said, getting a look from Jackie.
"Flash, y'keep that up, and maybe people will stop thinkin' I'm the worst poker player in our group," the country girl noted.
"...I guess so," the flier said with a faint laugh. "....promise you won't think I'm crazy?"
Jackie turned Flash around to face her, aware somehow of how important the seemingly flippant question was. "You've got my word."
Flash looked uncomfortable at how serious Jackie had said that, but after a moment of silence, the flier started to talk again. "It all started when this guy, Keith Nance, tried to arrest me..."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."
a very confusing tableau spread itself out in the old 5th Column base. Two
nearly identical figures traded blow after blow, dodging kicks and punches
aimed at each other by split second adjustments at speeds other fighters would
find all but impossible to manage.
Rainbow Flash grimaced as she swept a high kick at the other fighter's face, only for the dark purple and gold clad fighter to duck under, rising up into a punch aimed at her solar plexus that was almost fast enough to make contact as Flash shot backwards, bumping against a wall from the speed she'd flown backwards to dodge.
The other fighter wasn't hard to predict, but that in and of itself was the problem. She was wearing Flash's face, as well as the dark hued version of Flash's normal hero costume that she'd put together after Jackie'd noted that the speedster couldn't sneak past a comatose Hellion if she'd tried. And Flash had to admit that, on this crazed alternate of herself, the colors definitely looked to fit the villainous figure that Nance had painted her as on their first meeting.
***
"Arrest me?" Flash squawked in indignation.
The agent regarded her coolly from behind reflective government issue sunglasses, though Flash could see a hint of irritation in his expression. "Don't be coy, Rainbow Flash. The robberies out by the Great Lakes. The technicolor explosion in Arizona that nearly killed several hundred people when it scrambled every aeronautical navigation system for five hundred miles? You may think that no one noticed you, that we were all too dumb to connect things only your powers could do to the incidents, but then you have the gall to show up in Paragon City and pretend to be a hero?"
Flash's hackles had been raising for most of the conversation, but Nance's acid tone had driven her over the edge. "I didn't do any of that. Go ahead, asshole. Try and arrest me and see how it works out for you."
Nance's face twisted in a slight smirk. "Somehow, I figured you wouldn't come quietly. That's not your style, is it? I've got several hundred agents that can swarm this spot the minute I give the signal. Do you really want to cause an incident like that? Or were you hoping for one?"
Flash snorted, settling to the ground from where she'd unconsciously started hovering, before taking a faint defensive stance. "Bring ‘em on, Jackboot. I think my self-defense case will stick a lot more than your wild theories."
Nance's hand hovered for a moment, about to raise, when his phone rang. The agent glanced at the caller ID (Adair, J, Flash noted), before answering. If anything, the government agent's face became even less pleased as he listened, before he nodded once and hung up. "Fine. It looks like my superior believes you and thinks that this whole thing must be the result of some other you," he said, sarcasm practically dripping from the end of the sentence. "Personally, I've heard "it's my Praetorian double!" excuses far too many times in the last year, but in this case, it's not my call. You want to clear the books with S.A.M., however, we're going to need to find this other you. Otherwise, I don't have any other suspects."
Flash's fists tightened slightly, but she sighed, settling her stance back into a more neutral one. "Fine. But don't think I'm particularly happy to be helping you out, jerkface."
Nance's smile looked about as amused as Flash felt. "On that point, Rainbow Flash, we can agree."
***
The investigation had led through an entire gang of Freakshow that apparently answered to Flash's evil double, as well as another good double of herself that apparently had trailed her evil double into Paragon. Flash hadn't really thought through the implications of so many versions of herself across the multiverse, beyond the fact that she was obviously upping the average awesome level of reality by existing so many times across it. However, when she'd met her impostor, Flash had been surprised to find that not only did she fight as well as Flash did, but that her powers were identical as well. Which had led to this standoff.
"This dance has been rather amusing, Flash, but I really do have better things to be doing," her double hissed as she pressed the attack. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick. You can die and then all the people you care about will be left to my..." she laughed nastily "...mercy. But I'll take care of them. You can trust me on that. Especially the cowgirl. She'll be delicious."
And for a split second, Flash's double found herself looking at where her opponent had been. A second later and she was careening across the hallway, hitting the floor every couple feet as Flash used her evil twin as an impromptu skidboard before jumping off as she slammed into the other wall.
The darker Rainbow growled as she stumbled to her feet, even as part of her boggled. Flash hadn't been anywhere near that fast before. How could they have misjud-
Her thoughts were cut off as a rapid series of kicks sent her stumbling backwards into a sloppy guard as Flash hit her, blurring in her vision to the point that the darker fighter couldn't even reliably see her opponent at all, reacting more to the air pressure of Flash's rapid strikes than anything she could see.
A single missed blow was all it took and the fight was over, dust rippling out in a shockwave as the force of the blow sent the darker Flash slamming into the wall. Flash walked over to her double, before kneeling down and picking her up by the collar. "Who the hell are you, and why are you trying to steal my face?"
"The face doesn't matter," her double coughed, even as a sickly green glow bathed them both, causing Flash to drop her and take a step back. The double pushed herself to her feet even as green flame flickered around her, burning away the purple jumpsuit first, before continuing to sear away flesh, feathers, and hair. Inhuman, faceted eyes locked with Flash's as burnt, twisted black chitin and replaced human skin, gleaming fangs coated in toxic green saliva forming words that no longer sounded remotely human as a viper's tongue shaped them. "And as to who we are...the first of many."
The twisted mockery of human form rasped a laugh as it took in Flash's expression. "Yessss.... you see what you have uncovered. We are everywhere, and you can trust no one. When the time comes, all will bow before Her. In
the meantime...enjoy your victory. We are legion.
You'll never find us all."
The twisted creature laughed even harder as the flames flared, consuming it, and leaving the room plain and normal again. If it hadn't been for the singed place where her double had been standing, Flash would almost have chalked up what she'd just seen to taking too hard a hit to the head.
"-ash, come in! Rainbow Flash, this is Nance. Report on your status!"
"Flash here..." she said, shaking herself. "My double's gone."
"Define gone."
"She set herself on fire when it became clear she was going to lose, and just disappeared. I dunno if she's dead or not, but she's not here anymore," Flash said flatly.
"I... see. I hate this city some times."
"Tell me about it," Flash said, but her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't help but hear the echoes of the thing's last words.
You'll never find us all.
***
The omnipresent buzzing and chittering as green flame flickered over hard black stone and glistening green slime reminded her of home, but the comfort was only faint as the drone prepared to report on her failure.
The twisted black throne of stone and webs at the far side of the room stood in shadow, only the drifting of the blue gossamer hanging over its edges indicating that its occupant was even there, the black of her Majesty's armor blending perfectly with the murky shadows.
"My Queen... we regret to inform you our mission...has failed. The hero was tipped off. She came for us and forced us to reveal ourselves. We beg your forgiv-"
The drone never saw the enormous black jaws within the sudden flare of green fire. She simply ceased to see anything as they severed her body at the waist, chewing the remains for a moment before the liquid darkness slithered back to the form on the throne.
"Hmm... we forgive you, my loyal drone. The distrust you may have fostered in one so loyal is the best that could be hoped for, given your failure. Your knowledge shall be passed on to the rest of the Swarm," She hissed as Her claws tapped at the edge of throne's arms. "Attendant."
"Yes, your Highness? " a drone said, scuttling out from a hole in the wall.
"Inform the rest of My will. We are to divide, and then we shall conquer , " She hissed, even as emerald eyes cracked open to look at the
floating image of the city hovering amid green flames before her. "And have them be alert. I will have need of a Proxy if I am to attend to this Myself."
"Yes, your Highness."
***
Jackie had once thought she would do anything in order to see her kinda-sorta girlfriend stay still and quiet for more than three seconds. However, as the country girl walked out onto the balcony of the apartment that Flash called home, the wind whistling around her on its way through Steel Canyon's chilly New England night, Jackie had to admit that watching Flash look out over the night in a silent brood was just plain unnatural. Still, nothing to it but to do it... "Hey."
"Heya. Bit cold out here for you," Flash said quietly, glancing over her shoulder, before stiffening slightly as Jackie wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist, her tension plain in how her wings stiffened. Jackie just held the position, as new and odd as it felt to her, until the flier's nervousness calmed. Jackie wasn't sure what she was supposed to do in this situation, but something was bothering Flash... and that meant it bothered Jackie too.
"What's wrong?" Jackie asked. "You're as jittery as a horse sitting out in pasture before a thunderstorm."
"I dunno what you mean," Flash said, getting a look from Jackie.
"Flash, y'keep that up, and maybe people will stop thinkin' I'm the worst poker player in our group," the country girl noted.
"...I guess so," the flier said with a faint laugh. "....promise you won't think I'm crazy?"
Jackie turned Flash around to face her, aware somehow of how important the seemingly flippant question was. "You've got my word."
Flash looked uncomfortable at how serious Jackie had said that, but after a moment of silence, the flier started to talk again. "It all started when this guy, Keith Nance, tried to arrest me..."
---
"Oh, silver blade, forged in the depths of the beyond. Heed my summons and purge those who stand in my way. Lay
waste."