dc_misc (dc_misc) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2010-12-31 23:36:00

Entry tags:

alina vasquez, dinadan palmer, inactive - angie holt, inactive - j'anna j'onnz, inactive - lian harper, inactive - sindella zatara, iris west, npc - mitzi storm, npc - tim drake, plot - "blackest night", plot - "the future is a memory"

New Year's Dead (New Year's Day, Open to reactions)
The information has been coming in from around the world since 1:00 am EST. Each news outlet tells the story in a slightly different fashion, but the facts remain the same: at some time after 12:00am, planes on five continents fell from the sky, cars slammed into each other in traffic and regular people going about their every business simply fell over unconscious for no discernible reason.

"This is Austin Davis for the Daily Planet. The only word that can adequately describe what has happened is "catastrophe". Information is still coming in at this time, but it seems that most of Earth's inhabitants seemed to lose consciouness for exactly two minutes. In that time, planes,c cars and buses crashed, pedestrians were hit where they lay, and the world fell into chaos. Even now, the death toll is nearing the double digits and still climbing.

Stranger still is that the survivors, this reporter included, all report having a lucid dream of some kind during their black-out. Few dreams were alike, but one common thread unites them all; each person spoken to thus far believes they saw a relative or friend or lover who passed away some time ago returning to speak with them and offer advice. Many are shaken and unable to understand the meaning of these visions or why they were given.

The heroic community has leaped into action valiantly, aiding in relief efforts, but many are asking if the heroes knew about it in advance. Moreover, may are asking why America remained unaffected by the blackout. Thus far, no portion of the United States has reported any crashes or loss of life due to the blackout. We will bring you more on this story as it develops.

Austin Davis for the Daily Planet, London."

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

dc_parent
2011-01-01 06:34 pm UTC (link)

Wally West learned in his teens that his speed could do immense damage if he ran as fast as he could at all times. For years, he'd practiced staying within a certain limit in populated areas so that he didn't cause additional damage in battle.

Today, he nearly forsakes all of that training in the effort to get to his son. It's a running joke that the World's Fastest Family is often late to many things. Uncle Barry was frequently late for dates with Aunt Iris even after he obtained his speed.

I cannot be late today. I will not be late today.

As soon as Wally gets to the Atlantic Ocean, he pours it on, racing headlong toward Africa faster than any instrument can track.

One and one-half minutes after picking up Tim Drake's call, the Flash is standing amid the ruins of a scientific complex. The damage was catastrophic. Metal was strewn about, while walls had collapsed inward or fallen altogether. The smell of smoke and charred flesh permeated the air.

Jai could have outrun an explosion. Even if he'd been at the heart of it, he still could have gotten himself and others to safety...

And then Wally saw the first of many corpses among the ruins. He tried to lift some of the debris, but he's only the Fastest Man Alive, not the strongest.

He turns on his communicator.

"Attention, Justice League of America...I have a Code Red at the following coordinates. If you're not already involved in relief efforts elsewhere, I could use you in Capetown." Flash says.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 06:45 pm UTC (link)
	"Daddy?" Iris stopped next to her father. Her face paled when she saw the debris. "Daddy...Jai got away, right? He got away?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-01-01 06:52 pm UTC (link)

Wally is listening as Kyle, Dick, Donna, Victor and Garth all inform him that they're on the way to help him out. The Titans share a communications channel with the League, so the others got the message in minutes.

Wally wanted to tell Kyle to stay home and be with Jenny, as they'd just lost Mickey, but his old friend was the Green Lantern for a reason. He never backed down from anything, no matter how difficult.

Iris' words break him out of his momentary rise in spirits. He turns and looks at his daughter with displeasure.

"Irey, I told you to stay at home. You need to go home and sit with your mother right now, young lady." Wally says, his tone coming across far more harshly than he intended. He didn't want her to see this, see all of these dead people that they couldn't save.

He didn't want her there if his worst fear had indeed come to pass.

"Honey, I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be here. I asked you stay at home for a reason." Wally says.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 06:55 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm not going anywhere," she said sternly, folding her arms over her chest. "I have to be here, I have to see if Jai's okay. I have to make sure he's alright. I can't just sit at home with Mom, waiting...." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-01-01 07:03 pm UTC (link)

Wally could /order/ her to go home. If that didn't work, he could pick her up, throw her over his shoulder and run her back home and it would only take a minute.

But that was a minute that Jai didn't have, and...Iris was still hopeful. Twins usually knew when something was wrong with the other, right? If Iris still had hope, then Jai had to be alive. Wally held on to that thought, because anything would drive him nuts.

"All right, if you're going to help, you need to listen to me Iris. This looks like a bad explosion, but we both know how fast you and your brother are. Still, if he didn't have a lot of time, he could have been thrown by the force of the blast.

I'm going to make a circuit of the area around here about two miles out, then move it to three. I want you to tell Kyle, Dick, Victor, Garth and Donna what I'm doing when they get here, okay? I want you to look around, too. Do not try to lift anything, and do not do anything that would get you hurt. If Jai is here and he's in pain, he may not be able to tell you so.

So we need to slow down and make sure we listen for him." Wally says.

"Can you do that for me?" he asks.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 07:14 pm UTC (link)
	Iris nodded. Something didn't feel right...but still. Jai could still be alive. She really hoped that he was. "Yes Daddy," Iris said, nodding. She went about looking through the debris, keeping her eyes peeled for her brother. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-01 07:16 pm UTC (link)
	Wally prays that he's doing the right thing and takes off to look for clues to his son's whereabouts. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_misc
2011-01-01 07:25 pm UTC (link)

Help arrives shortly after...along with the end of the search.

Iris is the first person to notice it. A twisted lump of charred silver with a lightning bolt attached to it. She would recognize it as the chain that Michael Choi gave her brother for their birthday a few months ago.

Not far from the chain is a hand buried under massive amounts of rubble. Working carefully, Green Lantern and Donna move aside a twisted metallic frame, shards of glass and several steel beams to uncover a semi-charred corpse.

Still there are tufts of dark-brown hair about the male figure. There's still some doubt that this could be Jai until Kyle's ring confirms it, along with all of the medical data Victor's kept on everyone's children over the years.

Iris is the first person to discover her twin brother's body among the wreckage.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 07:27 pm UTC (link)
	Iris dropped to her knees, a huge knot forming in her stomach. "Daddy! Daddy!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-01-01 07:33 pm UTC (link)

Kyle leans down to try to gently guide Iris away from her brother's body. He's already acutely familiar with the pain of losing a child, but this, so soon after Mickey's death just seems unfair.

Garth has lost Cerdian. Arthur lost Cait. He and Jenny lost Mickey and now Wally was losing his only son.

Why was this happening?

"Iris, your dad is on his way, sweetie. Why don't you come over here and stand next to me, please?" he asks, looking to Donna and the others for help. This was no place for a young girl.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

dc_parent
2011-01-01 07:39 pm UTC (link)

Wally is back in seconds, but upon looking at the scene before him, his face twists in confusion.

Somewhere, deep in his stomach, he knows it's Jai. He knows that he knows, but he can't Iris see him fall apart.

He shakes his head.

"Keep looking. We can't be certain this is Jai. Tim Drake's information says that this Damien Wilson guy is a psycho. Who knows how many other kids he's kidnapped? We need to keep looking." Wally says, trying to keep his voice firm.

How am I going to tell Linda about this? How am I going to tell Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry or Bart? he wonders to himself.

Without warning, Wally's knees buckle and he finds himself crawling toward his son among the debris.

"Jai...buddy...I'm so sorry." Wally says, his eyes tearing up as he gently pulls his little boy into his arms. Jai never hurt anybody. He was just a kid who loved math, Star Wars, his family and his girlfriend.

He was just a little boy who loved being carried when Dad ran around the world at top speed. Who loved real Chinese food. How could someone do /this/ to him?

"How could someone hurt my boy?" Wally asks quietly, cradling Jai's body.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 07:41 pm UTC (link)
	"No," Iris shook her head, "No, no, NO!" She started to cry, her entire body shaking as she sobbed. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-01 07:43 pm UTC (link)
	Donna clapped a hand over her mouth, fighting her own tears. First Cait, then Cerdian, then Mickey, and now Jai. Why them? No parent should have to outlive their child. "We'll find them Wally," she said, "We will..." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-01 07:49 pm UTC (link)
	The second he got home, he was going to Kory track down Mar'i and make sure that she was safe. He put an arm around his friend's shoulder, looking at the boy in his arms. "Kyle...take Iris home." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-01 08:01 pm UTC (link)
	"Good idea, Dick." Kyle says, looking sadly at Wally. He understood too well what his friend was going through. Still, Iris didn't need to remember her brother this way. "Come on, Iris. Let's get you home to your mother." Kyle says, wrapping an emerald protection field around the two of them. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-01 08:03 pm UTC (link)
	"No!" Iris shoved him away. "I don't want to go home! I want to...I want to..." She lost the power to speak, as she broke down sobbing again. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-02 03:23 am UTC (link)
	"Iris, please go home with Kyle. I'm going to make sure that your brother is taken care of and then I'll meet you there." Wally says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catchmeifyoucan 2011-01-02 03:30 am UTC (link)
	Iris shook her head. She didn't want to go home. If she went home, then it was all real. And she didn't want it to be real. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	dc_parent 2011-01-02 03:54 am UTC (link)
	"That wasn't a request, Iris. Go home." Wally tells her again. (Reply to this)(Parent)

(Read comments) -

scribbld is part of the horse.13 network
Design by Jimmy B.
Logo created by hitsuzen.
Scribbld System Status