Cisco chuckled. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d care for that. Still, it gives us a better chance of maybe finally triangulating where the Weather Wizard is actually located! I’ve been trying to do it strictly using the data we have for when he’s active. Now with this I can possibly use the storm itself to triangulate using his subconscious—”
“I’ll just take your word for that and hope you can accomplish it swiftly. Anything I can do to speed it along?”
“Nope! Just keep running. The storm’ll do the r.est!”
The Flash blinked. “Wait. Am I being used as bait so that you can get better readings?”
“Pretty much,” Cisco answered, not sounding at all guilty.
Eyeing the storm again, Barry scowled. “All right. Just make sure you find what you need as soon as you can. Maybe Caitlin can—”
“Uh… she had to step away. I told her to go take a break for a bit. She didn’t sound well.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, just me and H.R. here for the moment. We got your back, Barry. Don’t you worry!”
Thunder boomed ominously. “Sounds like it’s starting up again, Cisco.”
“Better run like you mean it.”
“Oh, I will. I will.” The Flash inhaled, then, with a last look at the swirling heavens, charged into the chaos.
Thunder rolled and the storm stirred to greater fury again. As the Flash neared some of the taller buildings downtown, lightning struck around him.
“Not getting a second chance,” the Flash commented as he evaded the bolts. “Going to have to try harder than that, Mardon—”
One bolt hit the towering office building he was just racing up to. Despite the thickness of the safety glass, dozens of huge panes shattered. Shards flew everywhere.
The Flash circled around, ready to deal with any sizable piece nearing the ground. Due to the storm, there were few pedestrians out, but there were a handful of cars in each direction. He also knew that he had to check inside to see if any harm had come to anyone in the offices—
Then, before the deadly shower of glass could fall very far, a powerful wind swept the fragments up as if they were simply leaves. Barry tried to keep an eye on the glass as it spun around and around, then the spinning stopped, and for one incredible moment the gathered fragments hung suspended in midair.
The Flash shook his head. “Uh oh…”
“What’s going on there?” Cisco asked anxiously.
“I think—”
There was an ear-shattering boom. The Flash felt an exhausted tingle run through him.
The jagged pieces of glass shot in every direction.
* * *
Joe West would have rather faced a biker gang than his daughter’s frustration with him over his decision not to hide, but despite that he had finally agreed to meet with her for dinner. For the most part, the meal had gone well, if in a frosty way. Neither he nor Iris had wanted to be the first to broach the subject of Mark Mardon and so they had turned to any subject that could give them the pretense of a happy meal.
Unfortunately for Joe, the detente didn’t last long enough for him to finish what had been a pretty good dessert.
“Dammit, Dad! Were you going to try to avoid telling me? I heard that he was seen near police headquarters!”
Joe swallowed a forkful of cheesecake. “Who?”
“Mardon! The Weather Wizard of course! Please don’t play games with me!”
“We have no official confirmation of Mark Mardon near the building. Barry reported seeing someone on the roof, but he couldn’t make out who it was.”
“Well, who else could it have been?” Iris demanded.
“Have you forgotten just how many metahumans we’ve had the misfortune of confronting this last year alone? It could’ve very well been one we haven’t met yet.”
She leaned back and took a sip of her wine. “I hope that’s not supposed to reassure me. Don’t think Mardon is the only thing that concerns me about your job since the first metahumans appeared. He just represents the worst possible situation involving them. He personally wants you dead.”
“I’ve had a lot of men want to kill me, sweetheart. You know that.”
“But none of them could literally control the weather.”
Joe took another bite of cheesecake. “Technically not true. His brother had similar abilities. Just not as focused.”
“Thank you. That doesn’t make me feel better either.”
“I don’t know what I can tell you. Here.” He pulled out his cell. “Got you and Barry on speed dial… Heh, I guess Barry literally. I’m not going to let him carry me off to some safe house, but he knows we can reach each other nearly as fast as he can run. Got your brother’s number set the same way. Reminds me. Haven’t talked to him in a couple of days. He okay?”
“Wally’s fine,” Iris quickly answered before taking a longer sip of her wine. “Never mind him.”
“Listen. I can give you all kinds of reassurances, but I doubt any of them will work. There’s also more to this than just me. I know you worry about Barry. I worry about Barry. But just like me, he’s going to do what he has to do. If you love him, you’ve got to accept that.”
“Dad—”
“Barry’s one of the most intelligent and capable young men I know. I wouldn’t have allowed him to court you if he wasn’t.”
That made Iris truly smile for the first time since they had gotten together here. “‘Wouldn’t have allowed him’? You wouldn’t have had a choice. You’ve never had a choice where Barry and I were concerned.”
He chuckled. “How about moving on to another subject? I tried to call you yesterday around lunch, but got your voicemail. I didn’t bother to leave a message.”
“Oh!” She took a look at her phone. “You did. I was with Caitlin. She called me wanting to do lunch. She sounded as if she needed to tell me something, but we spent most of the meal… Well, a lot like we spent the bulk of this one. She didn’t seem well.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I’m not quite sure. I’ll be seeing her again soon. Hopefully, she’ll be better by then.”
“Hope so—”
There was yet another crash of thunder. The restaurant shook and the lights briefly went out.
Joe signaled the waiter. “And there’s reality returning. Sounds like the storm is getting more violent again. Let’s get you home. In fact, maybe I should give you a ride and tomorrow we can pick your car up.”
“Don’t be silly. I’ll be all right. I can certainly drive the short distance. I made it here, didn’t I?”
“I know better than to argue, but I will follow you, just to make sure.”
“And I know better than to argue about that. Fine.”
Despite the renewed intensifying of the storm, the drive back proved much smoother than either of them had expected. Iris pulled in, then, umbrella in hand, ran to her father’s vehicle.
“There’s no sense for you to get out. Go home. Call me when you get there. And drive carefully.”
“You just get inside! Go!”
She gave him a smile. “Goodnight, Dad!”
Joe sat where he was, watching until Iris disappeared inside the apartment complex. He grinned, happy the gulf between them was shrinking: maybe Barry and Iris could do the same soon.
Lightning lit up the vicinity. The rain became a downpour again.
“Damn,” Joe muttered. “I knew it couldn’t last.”
The lightning flashed again… and in his rearview mirror Joe saw a figure standing behind the car.
He had the car in park and the door open with a swiftness the Flash could have appreciated. In the space of a breath, the seasoned detective stood facing the rear of his vehicle, his gun already drawn.
There was no one there.
Entirely ignoring the rain, Joe surveyed the area. Seeing nothing, he climbed back inside.
In doing so, Joe missed the ominous form descending to the ground with arms spread wide.
The Weather Wizard’s expression was an open symbol of the hatred he felt for the man in the car. Bolts of lightning played around Mardon, each the result of his burning fury.
He had only just landed again when something made Joe look back one last time.
“Damn!”
Mardon waved his left hand to the side and a fearsome gale struck the detective’s vehicle, shoving it hard against the curb. The force threw Joe across the seat.
Without hesitation, the Weather Wizard swung his right hand to the opposing side. Joe’s car slid that direction, this time going over the curb and colliding with a lamppost. Electricity crackled as the lamp first buckled, then toppled over onto the vehicle.
Joe attempted to reach the passenger door, but a third gust not only pushed his car free from the live wiring, but sent it tumbling across the street. Joe went tumbling with it, his gun finally slipping free in the process.
The car shook madly. Thunder echoed, all but deafening Joe. It almost felt to the detective as if he were trapped in a storm cloud; not an impossibility, he knew.
Joe managed to remove his phone. Unfortunately, the car shook harder and the device slipped free before he could hit the panic button Cisco had installed on everyone’s phone for just such emergencies. The phone dropped near the gas pedal.
Throwing himself after the phone, Joe did his best to partially wedge himself between the wheel and the pedal. He kept one arm thrust downward, hoping that the limited space left would mean the phone would slide to him.
Again, the car slid to the opposing curb, colliding hard. As every bone in his body shook, the detective started to suspect that Mardon was trying to torture him before finally striking the fatal blow.
The phone slid near. Joe grabbed for it.
His elation at retrieving the phone dissipated when he saw that someone was trying to call him and that the someone was none other than Iris. Joe tried to disconnect, but couldn’t quite adjust his grip enough to do it.
“Hang up, hang up!” he muttered. Joe prayed that Iris would give up and just go to bed. The last thing Joe wanted was for Iris to decide to leave her apartment and look for her father. Mardon had thus far kept his obsession focused on the detective alone, but it certainly would not mean much to the Weather Wizard to add Iris to his list.
The call attempt finally ceased. Joe continued to pray that Iris would just go to bed. All that mattered now was for him to try again to hit the panic button.
His car spun hard in a circle.
The shift in forces was so abrupt that once more Joe lost his phone. Swearing, he tried to grab it again, only to have it slide under his seat.
“Damn!” Joe forced himself up. As he did, the car swung around to face Mark Mardon. In the almost constant flashes of lightning, Joe could see the Weather Wizard smile darkly at him.
And then he saw something—or rather someone—else just behind Mardon’s left shoulder. A shadowy figure to whom the rogue appeared to be listening. The Weather Wizard nodded to the figure, then looked again at the trapped detective.
Mardon winked at Joe.
The car began spinning violently, propelled, he suspected, by a powerful whirlwind. Spinning and yet still moving quickly in one dread direction.
Joe caught glimpses of the thick wall that grew closer with every circle. Gritting his teeth, Joe pictured Iris one last time.
The car shattered as it struck the wall hard.
6
The Flash stared at the sinister downpour, well aware of the chaos and carnage it would cause if left unchecked. Barry couldn’t anticipate where every dangerous piece would fly, but he could hazard a good guess as to their range. The moment they started flying, he ran.
The cars driving along the streets were his first goals, these were the closest of the targets carrying potential victims. Barry judged which would be out of range, then leapt on top of the first of those that he knew would never make it to safety. Even for someone who could run as fast as he could, the number at risk was daunting.
As the first wave of shattered glass reached the Flash, he went into action. Those pieces small enough for him to grip he plucked out of the air, then carried over to the curb where they would do no harm. Those too large for him to grasp properly he studied with a calculating eye, noting the angle at which they fell and where they would likely land. Once certain of his estimations, the speedster then hit each at just the right spot with his hand, sending the jagged projectiles spinning away.
Four, five, seven, twelve, twenty cars and more. After the thirtieth, the Flash looked around and found, to his relief, that the rest would be safe.
Without hesitation, he headed to the office building from which the shower of glass had originated. Racing through the ruined entrance, he ran up the eighty floors of emergency stairs to the top. There the speedster checked every office, locating those that still had employees and others in them. One by one, he carried each innocent to safety without them even realizing they were moving. Floor after floor the Flash ran, until finally he had the building cleared.
When that was done, he returned to the streets and raced around, locating every person inside and out who stood in the path of the glass spray. Time after time, Barry either plucked deadly shards from the air or battered them aside so they hit the streets or walls without harming anyone. The effort proved a much more complex one than with the cars; the speedster had to check not only the sidewalks, but the fronts of stores and restaurants, alleys, and subway stairs.
As he gathered everyone, the Flash couldn’t help wondering what the Weather Wizard was up to this time. Random violence had been more Clyde Mardon’s way. Mark generally used it as a means to achieve goals… but what was the goal of this? Barry had expected his adversary to attack him while he was trying to save innocents, but thus far Mardon had attempted nothing. That made no sense whatsoever to the speedster. Considering how possessed the Weather Wizard had been where the Flash and Joe West were concerned, it seemed to—
Barry swore. “Cisco! Do you hear me?”
“I’m with you! What’s up?”
“We need to locate Joe! Check anywhere he might be. Now!”
“On it!”
As the Flash ran, he also tried to think where Joe might be at that moment. Joe was not on duty, which meant the possible locations multiplied. Naturally, the first possibilities that came to mind involved Iris and Wally too, but there were so many more. Time, though, was of the essence, even for the—
“Cisco! His phone! He’s got to have it on him!”
“Already checked! I tried to ping it, but no luck! The weather’s interfering with that too!”
Barry continued running, though he was not quite sure where. Part of him wanted to make certain Iris was also safe, but—
Iris.
She had already been one of the most obvious choices on his list, which made the chance that Joe was with her more than worth checking out.
“Heading to the apartment, Cisco! If he’s not there, I’ll try Wally!”
“Gotcha! Already checking some of his hangouts! I’ll let you know the moment I find anything!”
The Flash sped through Central City, the people and the storm both frozen fixtures as he raced toward the apartment. Still, despite time seemingly stopping for the Flash, he knew that not only did it proceed, but the Weather Wizard had purposely set him up to use valuable seconds while the rogue went after Joe West.
The apartment complex came into sight—
—And so did the fact that Joe’s car not only hung high in the air, but was also just about to crash headlong into a very solid wall.
Barry picked up speed. He used momentum to let him run up the wall Joe was about to hit and reach the driver’s side door. The Flash tore open the door and pulled him from the car.
He brought the detective over to a spot near the apartment complex entrance, then stopped.
“Damn—” Joe blurted, his arms covering his face in expectation of the collision, then he looked up a
t Barry, seemingly dazed.
“Barry! How did I end up here? How the hell could even you have been able to—”
Behind them, there was a loud, horrific crash as the detective’s car hit the wall hard. Despite being sturdy, the vehicle shattered against the wall. Fragments flew everywhere.
“Go get Iris!” the Flash ordered Joe between gasps for breath. “Go get her and hide! Do not let Mardon see you!”
“Are you all right? What just—”
But the Flash had already turned and headed back to the crash, racing around seeking any innocents in the path of the debris. He moved two people, then went around plucking or battering smaller pieces of the car before they could hit other people.
When everyone was inside, and outside seemed secure, Barry turned to where he expected Mardon to be. Instead, atop a store to the right of where Joe’s vehicle had met its untimely end, he once more caught sight of a murky figure.
“Not getting away this time,” the Flash swore.
Yet no sooner had he thought that, then a fierce hailstorm struck all around him. Instead of pursuing the figure as he had hoped, Barry found himself having to dodge the savage onslaught.
He recognized his terrible mistake the moment he moved. The hailstorm had left him with but one logical path and he had taken it. Too late the speedster realized he was doing exactly what Mardon wanted.
“Whoa!” A whirlwind that the Weather Wizard had likely conjured up at the same time as the hailstorm stood directly in the Flash’s path. Mardon had correctly calculated that with the Flash’s attention on the hail, there would be absolutely no chance he would notice something all but invisible before he ran into it.
The whirlwind threw the Flash and several pieces of debris high into the air. As it did, over the din of the full thunderstorm the Weather Wizard’s laugh resounded like thunder.
“Run here, run there, run everywhere!” Mardon shouted madly. “Appreciate your help, Flash! I won’t be able to do this without you! Only fitting though, I guess, since you’re partly at fault in the first place!”
The Flash had no idea what Mardon meant and didn’t try to figure it out. Instead, he looked for any solid surface, be it a wall or even—
The Flash Page 8
