“Got a problem,” Cisco warned.
“I think I already see it.”
“I’m talking about you. You left here up to about eighty-two percent ability. You’re now down to seventy-six, five points of that down since you got to Iron Heights.”
The Flash had not had a moment to consider his own situation, but now made aware of it by Cisco, he realized that he did feel slightly more tired. Until now, he had chalked anything to being struck. “How fast am I draining?”
“Too fast. It’s accelerating. You’re down another point already since I told you.”
“Great.” The Flash kept an eye on the circling whirlwinds and their missiles. Something did not seem right, but he couldn’t yet put a finger on it. “Cisco—”
The whirlwinds converged on him, the air now filled with scores of spinning, deadly objects of massive size.
Barry moved. As the first piece of debris neared him, he took a running start toward it. Calculating its trajectory, the Flash jumped.
He landed atop the piece, then held on as he and it soared around the whirlwind. As it neared another good-sized fragment, the Flash jumped.
From his new perch, Barry tried to judge where next to leap. With any luck, he hoped to escape the ring of whirlwinds soon—
As quickly as they had formed, the powerful winds died.
The Flash found himself dropping earthward. Quickly adjusting, he readied himself for a leap toward safer footing—
The whirlwinds returned. The unexpected shift sent the Flash stumbling off.
For a moment, he plunged toward the ground. A sudden swelling of the whirlwind caught the Flash and sent him spinning around with the refuse.
Out of the corner of his eye, the speedster caught glimpses of the other whirlwinds as the automated searchlights of Iron Heights briefly touched on them. To his surprise, the other tornadoes again ceased. Only the one in which the Flash flew continued on.
More lightning then revealed that the remaining whirlwind was also moving. Barry watched as the landscape below him shifted back to that of downtown.
What’s he up to? Barry wondered as he tried to maintain his equilibrium. The Weather Wizard had already had ample opportunity to kill him. Why not simply do it? He recalled some of the comments by both personalities, comments urging the Flash to stronger effort. That and the draining the Flash suffered even now meant that whatever Mardon desired, he still needed his adversary alive—
A crackle of lightning lit Central City as bright as day.
The whirlwind ceased.
The Flash instinctively twisted around. He managed to get his feet on a plunging piece of wall. From there he leaped to a girder and then across its length before jumping to a nearby rooftop.
As the speedster paused, he heard the multiple crashes of the refuse from Iron Heights below him. Peering down, the Flash breathed a sigh of relief that the streets in the vicinity looked absolutely empty due to the increased instability of the storm.
Another crackle of lightning swept over Central City again… but this time its fantastic illumination did not fade.
Startled, the Flash looked up to see why… only to discover that it was no longer lightning keeping the city aglow.
It was a single distant figure high above all but the tallest buildings… A single figure that had to be the Weather Wizard aglow like a sun.
22
Caitlin eyed Cisco’s efforts with an expression of both concern and hope across her face. “Are you sure we shouldn’t wait a little longer?”
“No. The coordinates I gave Barry should’ve been right on the mark. We need to finish with you so that you’ll never have to go through this again. Then we can work on the com link for Barry.”
“But won’t this always happen when the Weather Wizard’s active?”
Cisco said nothing. Instead, he made a few more programming adjustments, then stepped back.
“Is that it?” asked Iris.
“That should be. Honest. I swear this time. Maybe.”
“Oh!” Caitlin gingerly touched her forehead. “It’s… It’s out of there.”
The others looked puzzled, Cisco finally asking, “What is?”
“I didn’t even really know it until now. All this time it’s as if something was sitting on my mind, pressing down on it… but not now. Not anymore.”
Cisco did a calculation. “Since shortly after they last locked Mardon up and started using that last system to keep him in check?”
“Yes… Yes, that would be it.”
“Yeah, that’s probably when it started making changes in him… Which reminds me, gotta go. Barry’s been awfully quiet the last couple minutes.”
“Barry…” Iris murmured. She turned after Cisco but did not leave Caitlin’s side.
Caitlin touched her hand. “Go. I know you want to be near in case there’s something to hear. I’ll be fine.”
“If she needs something, I can get it,” offered H.R.
“Thank you.” Iris hurried to Cisco.
H.R. studied Caitlin. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
She leaned back. “As well as we all are right now. You know what will happen if Barry can’t stop Mardon.”
He nodded. “Yep. We all go together.”
Caitlin nodded and closed her eyes.
* * *
The Flash eyed the tiny figure. He had always been impressed by Mardon being able to use the wind to fly, but he had never believed the Weather Wizard capable of hovering so high.
He waited a moment to try to judge what Mardon might do next, then realized that it was his move to make. The whirlwind had not stopped randomly. The Weather Wizard wanted the Flash to come to him. Again, Mardon was pushing the speedster to exert himself. The Flash could only assume that it helped the other metahuman drain him faster.
And for what? Barry wondered. The Weather Wizard’s plan to bring his brother back from the dead was a mad fantasy. Mardon could not possibly succeed—
But that, the Flash realized, didn’t matter. What mattered was that Mardon believed he could.
The Flash focused on the buildings around him, judging their distances and heights.
He darted off, heading toward one of the tallest buildings in the area. Zipping through the entrance, the Flash soared up the eighty floors to the roof in less than a second.
But there he stumbled. His breath escaped him. The Flash was unable to stop himself as he fell to his knees on the roof.
“Barry!” Cisco called. “Barry! You just dropped to sixty-five percent! Are you all right?”
“Just need—just need to catch my breath. I felt that, Cisco. I felt that drop.”
“Listen! If you keep up at that rate, you’ll only have a few minutes before you’re helpless. Wait there. We’re going to have to tell Wally to get over.”
“No! You need Wally. If I fail, he’s going to have to get you out of Central City before it’s too late. Speaking of which, how’s the other plan going?”
“Still on it. Should be workable any moment!”
“I’m counting on that!”
His breathing normal again, the Flash renewed his search for Mardon. He saw the distant figure and swore. The Weather Wizard had shifted position.
The Flash studied the building closest to where his adversary floated. He made a new judgment call based on what he saw, then, without hesitation, descended the skyscraper.
* * *
“Wake up,” croaked a strange voice. “He’s coming up for us, Mark. Just as we wanted…”
“Clyde?” the Weather Wizard managed. He didn’t notice that both his voice and that of his brother sounded much alike. “What did you say?” A howling wind rose, smothering other sounds. Although he didn’t sense it, the wind rose and fell and rose with his racing heartbeat.
“The Flash. He’s coming for us. It’s time. It’s all got to end here, remember?”
Mark slowly opened his eyes. It didn’t surprise him to see that he was floating high
in the sky. Nor was it any shock that he glowed like the sun in the midst of the violent storm. It all felt very natural. “If the Flash is on his way, shouldn’t he be here already?”
“Funny. You were always the funny one, Mark. Of course it’s a lot easier to be funny when you’re alive.”
The Weather Wizard winced. “I’m going to change that, Clyde. I’m ready. I’ll bring you back or—”
“Or die trying?” his brother finished.
The Weather Wizard turned his gaze in the direction he believed the voice was coming from. Out of the corner of his eye, he briefly glimpsed a whirling form filled with dust and other minute refuse. However, by the time Mark finished turning, it was to find Clyde patiently watching him.
“He’s coming,” Clyde reminded the Weather Wizard.
“The Flash…” As he looked down, Mark rubbed the spot where he had been hit. His eyes narrowed in utter hatred. “I can feel him. He’s feeding me just like the storm is.”
“Why don’t we greet him, Mark?”
“Why don’t we?”
A simple thought was all the Weather Wizard needed to make the wind drop him to a lower level. Now he skirted the top of the nearest building, waiting.
It was not a long wait. A blur suddenly formed on the roof of the nearby skyscraper. It paused, finally coalescing into that very familiar, hated red costume.
“The Flash…” the Weather Wizard muttered.
“Mardon, I’m going to try one last time to make you see sense!” the speedster called from the skyscraper roof. “You won’t be able to bring your brother back! All you’ll do is kill yourself and probably most of this city too!”
“He’s lying to you, Mark.”
“Of course he is.” To the speedster, the Weather Wizard declared, “If I have to take the entire city with me, I will, Flash! It’ll be worth it to make Clyde live again!”
The Flash looked frustrated. “Mardon, have you really ever looked at him close? You saw me run through him! He’s not real! Your power and your pained mind made him—it—in your brother’s image! That’s not Clyde and it’s not Clyde’s ghost! All you have floating next to you is whirlwind full of loose debris your subconscious has formed into something that looks vaguely like your brother!”
“No!” The Weather Wizard sent a massive gust of wind toward the Flash, who quickly shifted to the other side of the roof where he had some protection.
“Don’t just kill him. Not yet.”
Breathing heavily, Mark looked at his brother and hesitated. For just the briefest of moments, he thought that he saw something other than Clyde. Something… not real.
Then Clyde became Clyde again. Guilt filled the Weather Wizard. He shook his head, and eyed his brother grimly. “Let’s get this done.”
Clyde said nothing, answering only with a smile that, had he paid any attention, the Weather Wizard might have realized was a mirror image of his own.
* * *
The Flash kept himself pressed against the protection the rooftop provided. As he waited out the gale, he activated his communications device. “Cisco? Does it work yet?”
“You are good to go, dude… Once you get close enough!”
“Just leave it to me!”
Three bolts of lightning struck the building next to where the Flash stood.
“Did something unusual just happen?” Cisco asked.
Barry snorted. “Define unusual.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I keep forgetting what kind of lives we have now. We really need to come up with a new word. Anything different from what we’d expect from our unfair weather friend?”
“Nothing physical, unless you mean the enhanced wind.”
“No, I have that. Did he cast anything?”
The Flash considered. “Can’t think of anything. I tried again to make him realize that Clyde was dead and that all he had next to him was some self-made construct of wind and dust and—”
“Wait! Did he react?”
“He still is! The wind!”
Cisco made a clicking sound. “Still hasn’t tried to kill you? I mean at this moment.”
“If looks could’ve done it, he would’ve… That was just before he created the wind. You should’ve seen his face…” The Flash considered. “It was almost as if just for a second, he finally believed me!”
“That’s got to be it! There was a marked fluctuation at that point. Things dropped down to less-than catastrophic!”
Barry took a peek around the corner just in time to see the Weather Wizard beginning to approach. “Cisco, if what you’re saying is true, I’ve got an idea: one I need to try quickly. Mardon looks nearly burned out. He can’t last much longer—”
“That’s part of our problem, yeah.”
“But listen. I think it’s also giving us our best chance. Mardon’s straining to control everything. It’s been taxing on his mind. I think he may actually be becoming more susceptible to hearing the truth. It might also let me get near enough for you to send the signal.”
“You’re going to try to beat him by forcing the truth on him? Dude, you’re the fastest runner alive, not the fastest shrink! I don’t—”
“Just trust me… and pray!”
“Listen, Barry—”
But the Flash had no more time. He dodged around the other side of the roof and came around while the Weather Wizard seemingly hovered in place due to the Flash’s speed.
“Going to take a couple of big chances here, Cisco,” he called as he paused just enough to measure distances.
“Just what do you—” was as far as Cisco got.
The Flash took a few steps back, then ran off the building.
Now having to trust to momentum, he lost some of his speed advantage. The Weather Wizard began to move forward as if through tar. Slowly, Mardon turned toward him, the rogue’s eyes rising in rage.
Barry reached out and, praying he had made the right calculation, attempted to seize “Clyde”.
The murky figure did not react, just as the Flash had hoped. More to his relief was the fact that as he and his target came together strong winds seemed to pop out of nowhere and keep the speedster from plunging into the city.
Despite their abrupt appearance, the Flash had calculated their presence from the start. If “Clyde” was essentially a construct of wind, it had to be a strong one to maintain any substance for so long.
“Clyde!” the Weather Wizard roared.
“Do you see now, Mardon? Do you see the truth?” the Flash shouted as he sought to balance.
With “Clyde” no longer in human form, the whirlwind from which he had been created now expanded to several times its original size. The Flash kept himself just off the center, using the spin to create an area of near stability for him.
“What’s going on there, Barry?” Cisco shouted. “Mardon’s readings have suddenly gotten even crazier, believe it or not!”
The speedster had no chance to reply. He and the whirlwind began dropping. At first, Barry feared he would plummet to his death, but the descent abruptly slowed.
The reason floated above. The Weather Wizard wore a murderous expression as he descended after the Flash.
“You’re trying to take him from me again!” Mardon cried. “I won’t let you do it! I won’t fail him again!”
“I’ll take you with me!” The Weather Wizard added in his “Clyde” voice. “You, him, and everything! I’ll take everything with me!”
“Are you listening to that, Mark Mardon?” The Flash asked. “Are you listening to yourself? You can’t bring him back! All you can do is destroy yourself and everything around you!”
“Lies! I can do this!” The Weather Wizard twisted in midair. As he did, the whirlwind that had been “Clyde” began to condense once more. “I just needed enough power!”
“It won’t be enough, Mardon! It’ll never be enough! Your brother is dead. We didn’t want it to happen, but he forced it! This isn’t even his ghost, just you trying to make him exist through your
own voice!”
“You’re not making any sense,” the Weather Wizard retorted.
The Flash might have thought he was getting nowhere if not for the brief glimpse of uncertainty he caught in his adversary’s face. Barry knew that he remained in a precarious position. Right now, he hovered high in the sky, held up only by the powerful whirlwind the Weather Wizard believed to be his brother. If the Flash convinced Mardon of the truth, the speedster had very limited options as to what to do if the Weather Wizard abruptly dismissed the whirlwind.
Mardon continued to hover a short distance above him, the glow radiating from him adding an even more monstrous aspect to the already twisted figure. The Weather Wizard looked like nothing less than a nightmare version of himself, a cadaverous ghoul someone had set on fire. Barry hazarded a guess that Mardon was literally skin and bones and that he had lost at least a quarter of his mass since he had escaped Iron Heights. His lips had curled back from his teeth and his hair stuck out wildly in every direction. The ever-growing contrast to what Mark Mardon had once looked like was an unnerving reminder of just how close the situation was to culminating in utter destruction.
“He’s trying to make you turn from me, Mark!” the Clyde voice suddenly warned Mardon. “He’s trying to kill me again and you’re letting him!”
Mad as the declaration was, it had some effect on the Weather Wizard. The whirlwind condensed more, almost trapping the Flash within it.
Then, to the speedster’s surprise, Mardon bent over as if struck in the gut. Tightly clutching his sides, the Weather Wizard shrieked in agony.
A ripple spread across Central City. The Flash could describe it no other way. A ripple. As it crossed over the city, street lamps in many places blew out. The ground shook as if from an earthquake. The wind was so strong that the heavy sheets of rain now fell nearly sideways. Lightning played everywhere.
And the whirlwind that had been “Clyde” exploded in every direction, leaving the Flash suddenly in the air with nothing to keep him from dropping to his death.
Yet, nearly as quickly, the whirlwind re-formed into something vaguely humanoid. The Flash barely had time to drop before one large appendage stretched forth and enveloped him.
A guttural sound erupted from it—or rather from the Weather Wizard, who still provided a voice of sorts for it. The appendage rose, taking the Flash with it.
The Flash Page 28
