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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 9:22:43 GMT
December 8th 13:03 Blüdhaven The incessant ringing of Bart’s mobile threatened to turn concern away from his current objective, if he turned his attention away for even a second he could end up running into a wall or something. Now where had he put his phone? It wasn’t like Kid Flash’s uniform was designed with pockets in mind so logically there was only two places it could be and naturally the first place he checked was his gloves.
“Ah ha!” he said as the small mobile was produced from his right glove. Bart glanced down at the screen and in the moment he saw it he could already recognise the caller ID, it was Joan Garrick. Aw man, Bart had forgotten to tell her he was on his way back. Given the circumstances, he couldn’t exactly answer the phone so he went for a text instead, glancing down at the screen every split few seconds before pressing send.
But this time when he looked up, he could see the faint silhouette of someone in the distance of an alley. It wouldn’t have mattered to anyone else but with Bart’s speed he would be straight into that person before either of them knew it. Kid Flash dug his heels into the ground in attempt to gain some friction on the damp surface and shouted out a warning. “Watch out!” he called.
Before there was a chance to react, Bart had lost his footing and was already on the floor, feet away from the person who stood unharmed. He groaned and rubbed his hip where he had landed. Stupid winter, always icy and wet, it was hard to get around when you relied on traction. “Don’t run while on the phone, right.” He muttered to himself before looking up at the person he almost collided with.
The other person was a boy who didn’t appear to be much older than Bart, maybe by a few years or so but near enough. He was definitely taller too, wheras Bart himself was only five foot five. He got back onto his feet and smiled cheerfully, not even falling would get Bart down. “Hey! I’m errrr-“ he hesitated for a moment. Oh right this secret identity thing, super cool. “-Kid Flash.”
It was in Bart’s personality to make friends with basically anyone he met, or at least to try to. Although Bart wasn’t for the faint hearted, he was quite difficult to deal with for long periods of time which was evident in the way some people, even some teammates reacted to him, which was more often than not with an eye roll or groan. But having come from such an atrocious timeline, there was so much more to be happy about in the past, freedom was one of those things.
Getting side tracked yet again, Bart didn’t notice the phone vibrate this time as he was practically buzzing himself. “I’m sorry for the scare but it’s the rain, you know?” he shrugged. “But what can you do about it.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2015 1:28:40 GMT
Puddles occupied the Bludhaven streets and clouds covered the sky. The city wasn’t as busy as it normally was, but for Cole, that was a good thing. Even though he was wandering aimlessly, he didn’t feel like dodging crowds of people. It had been a dull week, and Calor was looking for some excitement. There was always something happening in that particular part of town, and Cole was sure he could entertain himself there. He just needed to find something to do.
The rain fell gently from the sky, and the wind picked up slightly, making the atmosphere even colder. Cole put his hands in his pockets, putting his head down as the water started dampening his black hair. If he was going to find something to do, he needed to find it fast. Sighing, Cole turned down an alley. To the best of his knowledge, that stretch would lead to Main St: the busiest street in Bludhaven. There was literally never a dull moment there.
Calor was halfway down the alley when he noticed a blurred figure rushing toward him. He blinked, trying to focus on the object until he realized that seeing it wasn’t his main priority. Whatever it was, it was heading straight toward him, and fast. ”Watch out!”
Cole quickly took a step out of the way, and in a moment’s notice the figure, apparently a young man, slid down to the ground.
Eyes wide, Cole took a step toward the kid, both confused and concerned. ”What the…”
“Don’t run while on the phone, right?” the boy said, before looking up at Cole. Calor tilted his head to the side slightly. Why was that guy running anyway? It had been drizzling all day. There was no need to be running, no wonder he fell. After getting back on his feet, the younger teen smiled. “Hey! I’m errrrr- Kid Flash. I’m sorry for the scare, but it’s the rain, you know? But what can you do about it?”
Cole furrowed his eyebrows. What kind of name was Kid Flash? Calor then glanced down at the new kid’s uniform and suddenly put the pieces together. Kid Flash wasn’t a name, it was a codename, and this kid wasn’t your neighborhood Joe, he was superhuman.
Eyes wide, Cole tried to process his thoughts. What was this guy doing here? He couldn’t decide if KF was a hero or a villain, but he knew one thing was for sure: his power had to be lightning manipulation. The name Kid Flash and the strike symbol on his uniform made that perfectly clear. The fact that he was running so fast logically proved that he’d had training of some sort. Now Cole just had to figure out what team he was from. You see, Calor had been keeping track of the villain and hero groups around the United States. He wanted to know who to avoid and who to befriend when it came to alliances. Some villain groups were known to recruit super-powered people for very bad reasons, and if anyone found out about Cole’s secret abilities, he wanted to avoid being on their target list. He wasn’t going to be making friends with the bad guys. The best way to figure Kid Flash out would be to get to know him, Cole decided. So he returned the smile.
“Texting while running is definitely not a good idea.” He gave a slight chuckle. “I’m Cole. Are you from around here? I’ve never seen you before.”
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2015 17:07:32 GMT
Rain was the worst, snow was a lot better, it was more fun and it certainly provided a softer landing whereas rain was just wet and made clothes stick to you which he proved when tugging on the front of his shirt to wring out some of the water.
“I’m from Missouri, Central City to be exact.” He said although his accent betrayed him since he hadn’t grown up there, but that was a long story and not one he was willing to share with anyone.
Apparently Cole had never heard of Kid Flash or maybe even the Flash by the sounds of it but to be fair it was a bit far East for that maybe. Not wanting to be met with a blank stare, Bart quickly interjected.
“Ya know, Kid Flash! Fastest boy alive!” he said, darting between different points around Cole at impossible speeds. “Grandson of the Flash, fastest man alive, protector of Central City! You know him right?” he asked, not really expecting people outside Central City to know who Kid Flash was, but the Flash was well known, or at least more well known.
Not being known was all part of the gig, the only bad thing was when he was mistaken for the previous Kid Flash, Wally. Even though they looked nothing alike, it had still happened, some people probably didn’t even know there was a new one. Civilians would remind him of events Barry and Wally had taken part in and he would politely have to remind them that he wasn’t the same Kid Flash.
“Anyway I was texting because I was supposed to be home ages ago but I got distracted and now I’m late which is a first, but I told my family where I am so they can stop worrying.” He smiled and slid the phone back into his glove. “Hey why are you out down here? You’re not a mugger are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Suddenly it struck him, the dirty streets, the all too familiar smell. “Oh duh! This is Blüdhaven! Nightwing’s city! Oh I haven’t seen him in so long, but he probably wouldn’t want to see me, oh yeah that might be a bit awkward, but I hope he’s alright.” He said very quickly, rambling on to himself.
Bart held his hip that he fell on, addressing Cole again after rambling to himself. “Great, still got a thousand miles to go as well.” He said before peering up the side of his shirt to see the damage. “aaaand it’s healed, brilliant.” Having super speed had more benefits than it seemed.
“Sorry, got carried away again.” He apologised before switching the topic yet again. “Oh I love making new friends! So do you live around here?“
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2015 23:29:36 GMT
“Ya know, Kid Flash! Fastest boy alive! Grandson of the Flash, fastest man alive, protector of Central City! You know him right?”
Cole tilted his head to the side slightly. He couldn’t quite place who the Flash was, but he had certainly heard the name before. He was a part of one of those teams, right? The Service League or something similar. That would mean he was a good guy, right? The Service League was devoted to helping people.
Fascinated, Cole wanted to know more, but just like that, the fast-paced kid was already changing the subject.
“Anyway I was texting because I was supposed to be home ages ago but I got distracted and now I’m late which is a first, but I told my family where I am so they can stop worrying.” The smiling young man put his phone into his glove. “Hey why are you out down here? You’re not a mugger are you?” Cole chuckled at the question. “That depends on the day,” he mumbled, barely audible.
“Oh duh! This is Blüdhaven! Nightwing’s city! Oh I haven’t seen him in so long, but he probably wouldn’t want to see me, oh yeah that might be a bit awkward, but I hope he’s alright,” Kid Flash said to himself quickly, so fast that Calor could barely understand. Cole had never seen someone with so much energy before. He was so fast-tracked, it didn’t make sense. Maybe the electrical charge from his lightning abilities was effecting his atoms to the degree of super-charging them. After all, that was the only logical explanation.
Cole then noticed Kid Flash holding his hip where he’d fell, and the older teen started questioning if he was actually okay or not. When KF had jumped up so fast, Calor never thought to ask if he was alright.
Cole was about to inquire about whether or not Kid Flash was hurt, but before he could, the latter spoke up again. “Great, still got a thousand miles to go as well.” He said before checking on his wound. “aaaand it’s healed, brilliant.” Brown eyes wide, Cole was suddenly very confused. Did Kid Flash just heal himself? How was that even possible? Calor didn’t know what to think or say, he was amazed.
“Sorry, got carried away again. Oh I love making new friends! So do you live around here?“ Kid Flash asked. Cole couldn’t believe this kid’s ability. Did he have more than one power? Was he using another form of excellence to heal himself? Did the Flash have the same powers? There were so many questions, and Calor couldn’t even begin to ask them. “Uh, yeah. I live down that way.” Cole pointed in a general direction, still seemingly distracted by all of his thoughts. “You said your family was waiting for you? Does that include the Flash? You said he was your grandfather, right? You must’ve inherited your powers from him, unless your powers differ in any way. Genetic or synthetic?”
Cole hated to inquire things in such a way, but he genuinely wanted to know. This kid had it all figured out, and yet Cole couldn’t even figure out how to control abilities. This was a once in a life time chance to learn more about an actual superhero with actual superhuman abilities. He needed to discover anything he could.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2015 17:26:15 GMT
Bart could tell by the look on Cole’s face that he didn’t have a clue who Bart was talking about and he wasn’t quite sure how to explain it in simple terms because there really wasn’t anything simple about it.
“Basically he’s just some dude who got struck by lightning and now he has these awesome powers.” He said with a shrug. There really wasn’t much more to it than that and it was seventeen years ago so he didn’t really expect Cole to know.
In a moment he was gone but back before Cole finished his sentence and with a hot dog in hand too. “Hyper metabolism.” He said in clarification to his momentary disappearance, not wanting to seem rude but he did eat almost constantly, but that was his own fault since he mostly ate junk food instead of anything lasting.
“Ah cool, I like Blüdhaven, it’s… cute.” He said before taking a bite of his hot dog.
Oh right, Bart mentioned the Flash being his grandfather, one of the many things that had managed to slip out his mouth. It didn’t really matter, no one would suspect him being a time traveller but it would certainly make things harder to explain when there were only twenty seven years between him and his grandfather at this moment in time. He wasn’t even going to bring up his parents, considering they weren’t even a year old yet.
“Yes… my family… I- um live with my grandpa.” He said uncertainly. For someone so quick, he wasn’t quite so quick at improvising. Besides, there was no need to drag anyone else into this besides Barry who was already widely known as the Flash anyway.
“Correct. I inherited them from him, I have the exact same powers as he does. It’s not much, I mean I’m hardly superman but anything you can do, I can just do it a lot faster.” He said before holding out his arm and vibrating it so it was the right frequency and he simply reached into a nearby wall before pulling his hand out again and turning back to Cole. “Such as running, talking, healing and moving in general. I can also change my frequency to match air which is why I can move through solid matter. Pretty neat, huh?”
It was nice meeting someone who didn’t just want to use him for once. Some civilians in Central City used him as a means of communicating with the Flash or they were just so in awe that they didn’t care about Bart at all, but this kid was nice, until a thought suddenly struck Bart and he turned to Cole. “You aren’t a runaway, are you?” he asked.
Runaways had been notorious for being abducted for potential meta genes and the ambiguous answer about Cole’s home earlier gave reason for concern.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2016 3:37:50 GMT
“Yes… my family… I- um live with my grandpa,” Kid Flash stated, and Cole could hear the hesitation in his voice. It was hard to place what was causing his uncertainty. Calor figured it must be one of two things. Either there was a negative reason as to why KF lived with his grandpa, or there was more to the story than the kid was willing to tell. Cole didn’t question it, there were plenty of his things in his own life that he preferred to keep to himself.
“Correct. I inherited them from him, I have the exact same powers as he does. It’s not much, I mean I’m hardly superman but anything you can do, I can just do it a lot faster.” Cole watched as Kid Flash stuck his hand into a nearby wall before taking it out unharmed. Calor’s jaw dropped in surprise. It was nearly impossible to comprehend all of the capabilities of this superhero. Cole didn’t even know that phasing through objects was possible, yet here he was watching it happen.
“Such as running, talking, healing and moving in general. I can also change my frequency to match air which is why I can move through solid matter. Pretty neat, huh?” the younger teen continued.
Cole could merely nod in response, trying to remember everything said up to that point. If Kid Flash changed his own frequency in order to move through matter, then could he change the same frequency of other objects by holding onto them? It was like every statement the hero made brought more questions to mind. Calor could only imagine how amazing Kid Flash’s life must’ve been. He had everything. His grandpa understood his powers and probably spent time teaching Kid Flash how to use them. Not only that, but heroes are good leaders. Kid Flash must’ve been from a structural home where people actually care about one another. Plus, they were given the open opportunity to save lives every day. How cool was that?
“You aren’t a runaway, are you?” Kid Flash asked. Cole was shocked by the question. He hadn’t been expecting anything so direct.
Calor, though not a runaway, was still on his own, and he didn’t want anyone to find out about that. He felt as though he could somewhat trust his new friend, but he was aware that anything that Kid Flash had said could’ve easily been a lie. What if this kid was secretly some type of robot sent to track down new superhumans? “No!” Cole said quickly, he’d been caught off guard and he frantically struggled to think up a convincing lie. “I’m not a runaway, what am I? Twelve? I live with my aunt. Are you a runaway? Maybe that’s why your family keeps calling you.”
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most tactful response, but Cole only acted out of fear. If someone found out about him, he’d be in deep trouble. Still, he felt guilty for accusing Kid Flash of running away like an apparent “twelve-year-old” would. ”I mean, it’s fine if you are. People run away all the time right?” Cole really wasn’t good at this. ”So yeah, it’s fine.” He gave an awkward smile. ”I’m not judging you.”
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2016 11:07:47 GMT
Bart smiled at Cole’s reaction to his powers. It must’ve been exciting for someone who had never seen it before, but Bart had lived with them his whole life, including family members who had the same abilities too, it didn’t mean much anymore.
It wasn’t like he liked lying but there was no need to bring the Garricks into this. Barry could look out for himself, and apparently everyone else, but Joan and Jay were the ones who needed protecting this time, both of them were almost one hundred years old.
But the thought of Cole being a runaway brought many questions to mind. There were so many meta-humans now that you had to think twice about everyone you thought you knew, and it was the League’s job to make sure those meta-humans didn’t fall into the wrong hands.
With Lex Luthor opening hospitals for people to better understand what they were experiencing, there was a fine line between who the meta-humans should trust and more often than not they trusted the doctors in lab coats rather than the strangers in spandex.
“Hey! You don’t need to get so defensive, okay?” he said before sighing. “I’m clearly not a runaway, besides if I was I wouldn’t be out in this.” He said, indicating to the bright clothes he was garbed in. Bart had come all the way from Missouri to visit a friend, but that was another story.
Clearly by the way Cole was speaking, there was something more to his story and Bart respected that since he knew how it felt, but it wasn’t just about that. If Cole had powers, knowingly or unknowingly, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
The lie wasn’t quite convincing but neither was the one Bart said earlier and he wasn’t called out for it so he wasn’t going to call Cole out on this one. Even if he wasn’t a meta-human, he was still in danger, abduction numbers had been rising for research on meta genes.
“What’s your address then? I’ll talk to your aunt.” He said. Realistically he could’ve checked out every address in Blüdhaven before Cole could even leave the alleyway. But it wouldn’t come to that.
His approach may not have been the best one so he took on a much calmer tone when he spoke to Cole, trying to explain that he wasn’t one of the people he should be avoiding. “I’m not going to hurt you, but it’s not safe. They’re abducting people, street kids, to use for meta gene experiments.”
Bart wouldn’t leave until he got some answers and there was no chance Cole could out run him. “I’m just like you, really. We’re both just teenagers.” Except for the fact he could run at super speed and manipulate his frequency, he was pretty normal.
Then another thought sprung to mind, and it was a ludicrous idea but if it was true then it would mean a lot more. “Are you a meta-human?” he paused and rephrased the question. “Do you have powers, I mean.”
Maybe Luthor had already had his hands on this kid and that’s why he was on his own, probably not but he wouldn’t know until he found out some answers and Cole seemed pretty defensive about that.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 17:50:36 GMT
Cole couldn’t quite work his way around this situation, and his anxiety was rising as the kid asked more questions. Who did he think he was? This stuff was personal; why did Kid Flash want to know anyway? What was his gain? At first Kid Flash had come across as a very friendly young man, and he still seemed that way, but the fact that he was inquiring everything so directly led Cole to believe that he wasn’t just searching for answers. Why would he want to know if Cole was a runaway? Why would he question whether or not Calor truly lived with his aunt? Why would he want to know so much about Cole’s powers? Those weren’t just normal, everyday questions. That is specific information. One thing kept Cole from starting a fire and running away, and that was the simple fact that Kid Flash was young. He was right when he’d said they were both just teenagers, and Cole hated to admit that Kid Flash was probably less of a threat than anyone else in Bludhaven. All of a sudden, Calor was struck with a thought. What if Kid Flash himself had been abducted by villains? He was young and he had superpowers. Plus, he was asking direct questions that an average kid wouldn’t need to know. If Kid Flash had, at some point, been abducted by villains, then that would mean that those villains were using him to recruit other superhumans, right? That would mean that Kid Flash was in danger, because those villains were using him for the wrong reasons.
Calor shifted uncomfortably, trying to think of what to say. This type of situation was never easy. Every possible way out of this situation was wrong. Starting a fire would expose his abilities and possibly burn Kid Flash, being honest would likely get him abducted, and running would be useless against someone with super-speed. His only other option was lying, but the truth would come out eventually, and likely make matters worse. Then there was the concern that Kid Flash himself was an abductee of villain kind. What would Cole do if he was? There’s no telling what kind of torture the villains inflict on their captives, and Calor wouldn’t know how to help the kid in this situation. Cole sighed. “Do I look like a ‘street kid’ to you? My aunt is on vacation in Morocco,” he mumbled. He wasn’t very good at lying convincingly, but he was giving it his best shot. “I don’t have powers, and I don’t even know what the meta-gene is, so I’m probably useless to whoever these people are.” That was halfway true. He did have powers, but he had no idea what this meta-gene stuff was about. Calor scanned the area, trying to make sure they weren’t being watched. “But who are ‘they’? You said ‘they’ are abducting people, and I need to know who they are,” Cole said in a hushed tone, to avoid being heard by the potential villains who could be listening in. Kid Flash was probably wired with microphones and tracking devices. ”Are you…” Cole was hesitant to even ask this question, but he had to. There was no other way to know. ”Were you abducted by villains? Is that why you were worried?” Cole was now whispering, genuine concern written across his face. ”I can help,” he added. ”You just have to tell me the truth.”
If Calor could get more information, he’d be able to find out if he was truly in danger, and more importantly, if Kid Flash was in danger. They could work from there to remain safe. It would all depend on KF’s reaction. If the kid became nervous, that would be confirmation.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 19:50:06 GMT
It was understandable that Cole was on edge and Bart didn’t want to seem like he was interrogating the other boy, though it was too late for that clearly.
Bart highly suspected that Cole was on his own by now which meant danger for him and those he loved, if he had anyone left that is. He wasn’t sure what he could do to help Cole if it came to it, he would probably get put in the custody of the state unless he had powers, but that was a whole other story.
The lies probably weren’t anywhere near as convincing as Cole had hoped them to be, but Bart had to give him credit for trying nonetheless. There must’ve been something he truly wanted to hide if he was going to such lengths to protect it.
“The Light. They’re really bad people, if you can even call them that. They abduct people to use as experiments or as weapons.” Bart said, letting more of his serious side slip out. “You’re just more at risk because if you’re on your own you could vanish and no one would know.”
It didn’t seem like his approach was working, now he was the one being accused of being abducted. There wasn’t an easy way to explain it, any of it, himself, the Light, none of it really made any sense as far as a normal person was aware.
“I wasn’t abducted, no. I work on a team with other people like myself. I work with er- Superman! You’ve heard of him right?” he asked, hoping that there was more of a chance of him having heard of the Man of Steel rather than the Flash.
“No you have to tell me the truth. For your own sake and for the sake of anyone who might care about you.”
In a gesture to show trust, Bart pulled his mask from over his head to reveal his face. There was no chance Cole would have a clue who he was, but it was an attempt to show he wasn’t any different to any other teenager. “My name’s Bart and we’re not all that different. You have to trust me, if not for me then for someone you love or someone who loves you.”
Of all the team, Bart was the most frivolous with his secret identity, there was no need for them where he came from but that didn’t matter here.
If he could get Cole to trust him enough to uncover what he had lied to protect then maybe he really could help him. Maybe he had powers and that’s what he was protecting, there was only one way to find out.
“I could just as easily run you to Mount Justice to see the rest of the team, or well the ones that are there, if I wanted to so better talk here rather than across the country.” He joked before returning to his serious nature.
“I’m not who you should be afraid of. I want to help, it’s my job to. If I wanted to hurt you I would’ve done it by now, can’t stand waiting.” He said casually.
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