dc_misc:

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." 

headofthedemon:

Damien Wilson watches as his technicians monitor the progress of the machine as it begins to power up. Jai West is performing without issue and Damien stands with his mother and sister,  watching as the clock approaches midnight. This project is the culmination of decades of work, going back to his grandfather's experiments. Ra's al Ghul had a sweeping vision, Damien agreed, but he allowed too many small details to remain to chance, such as his ongoing issues with Batman.

Bruce Wayne's death was an issue, but Terry McGinnis was going to be a problem, as would Wayne's daughters and other partners.  The Outsiders would come for him eventually, too. He had no doubt that he could stop them as they came, but an en masse attack would be harder to stop than a piecemeal one. Hence, tonight's experiment.

"Master, the Machine is ready for use. The Denver sub-station is also up and running. America should be protected from the experiment." Lloyd Simmons says.

"Excellent. And Mr. West's status? " Damien asks.

"He's performing optimally." Simmons says.

"Very well. Proceed." Damien says, looking over to the reddish-yellow blur inside the cylindrical machine beyond the glass. The power from Jai's exertions was captured and fed into the machine, allowing it to operate at such a high level. The young man was a generator of immense energy. If he survived this effort, Damien would use him again, or perhaps one of the other speedsters his people had been tracking.

"Morgaine, this year is nearly over. Do you have any resolutions, my sister?" Damien asks.

dareyoutorun:

Jai West doesn't need to be able to think clearly to know that he's in bad shape. His brain feels as though it's floating in toxic waste. He doesn't know how many times they've drugged him or forced him to run, but he's sure it's a lot. They feed him well-enough, but whatever they're lacing the food with slows his normally high-speed thought processes to tortoise speed. Irey could probably run faster than he can think right now, and it sucks.

And every other day, /he/ shows up to talk.

Today, Jai has started the morning by puking up his breakfast. He's lying in the puddle of his own vomit when the Boss (and that's all he can be, because everyone runs to do what he says on command) shows up for their talk.

"You look...dapperrrr....today." Jai slurs in the man's direction.

dareyoutorun:

Jai West should have been at JLA headquarters with the others, but a few things conspired to keep him from doing so. First, his tutoring session with Mitzi Storm ran /way/ over the time limit they'd set because Mitzi was having issues with Trigonometry. Jai patiently explained everything a few times and Mitzi seemed to get it, culminating in her being able to finish several of the equations on her own.

Mitzi was so thrilled at her progress that she kissed Jai out of sheer joy.

He was in no hurry to tell Traya about /that/, so when the guys said they wanted to go to Big Mack's for burgers, Jai was all for it. He figured he'd get a quick dinner in, catch up with Traya for a bit, then go home and talk to Mom about his report on the American media and its influence on society.

Once dinner was done, Jai was ready to tell Traya what happened, despite all of his friends' advice to the contrary. They all thought it was a better idea for him not talk about it, especially since they were still using Traya's name with air quotes. He really had to get her to come to the school sometime and show his friends up.

He walked down the street to an alleyway, ready to run for it when his cell phone rang. Lookign at the Caller ID, he sees Mom calling him.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?" Jai asks.
 

( Read more... )

rightontarget:

To say that Lian's flight to Star City had been unpleasant was a bit of an understatement. No, there wasn't any turbulence or natural disasters that made the flight unpleasant, but the fact that she had to run to the bathroom more than she bargained on or the that she felt that her stomach was going to turn inside out that made it awful for her.

And Lian didn't get airsick. Ever.

When she arrived at her hotel, Lian was so tired, she collapsed right into bed.

Only to wake up the next morning to sprint into the bathroom to throw up.
( Read more... )

rightontarget:

Lian had been in the workout room when Damien called her, saying that he had something important to show her.

After jumping in the shower and changing quickly, she made her way to the lab where he asked her to meet him.