Post by Spider-Man Beyond on Oct 7, 2007 19:31:53 GMT -5
E8: Flash #6
Written by Jollyoldsaint
Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond)
John Fox was in the field again. The flowers were dead, but he recognized the area. He also knew that his birth implants should have kept him from dreaming. Dreaming was a sign of insanity; it meant that John was losing stability. Hell, thought Fox, this whole thing better not have been a...wait. Hell? Shouldn’t that be number 3,421? Why weren’t my thoughts rerouted?
"You are slow, aren't you?" a man whispered in his ear.
"What in the eleventh layer of Argraxelius IV's quantum triblax core?!" John shouted without taking a breath. He spun around, but found no one. There was no sign of movement over the wilted flowers.
An off-dream can happen, but... it was that lightning, Fox thought. Fried the bio-inhibitors. Or was it being temporal shifted out of a concussion? Or the kid slamming me into that wall?
A gloved hand tapped John's shoulder. John turned once again, this time seeing a man in a white acrobat's costume. He wore blue gloves and a matching bandanna with eyeholes. He was also needlessly balancing on one hand a few yards away.
"It was the lightning," the man cheerily confirmed. "A part of fate as guided by mortal hands... or someone thinks that. I'd say it was the other way around, myself... but time will tell. Or it already has. You never know with this ol’ gal. She found you well before the storm, though. The bolt was just a symbol, something to give her a straight line. She’s rather fond of that one, the lightning… could never follow why. But since the feeling’s hit home, she can act through you. It works the other way around, of course. Keep that in mind, it’s how I dragged you here.”
John covered his eyes.
"No, no, not you... you started this mess! More than the Supermen, more than the Aqua-folk, more than anyone! It was you! You're the reason I was homeless and unemployed for a whole Earth-time day! You and your comics, your toylines, your more successful knock-offs! They scared the letter W out of people! Then came the drones, countermeasures my biono-spleen! They were a workforce! They… no, you killed America IV’s economy!"
The stranger in white leapt backwards.
"I know, I know. I’ve read all about your so-called troubles, John. Believe it or not, though, the only things I’ve killed were colonists and Nazis. And whatever you think of me, I’m your only friend in a foreign land. The others don’t see a scrap of hope in you."
"What others? Why me?" Fox asked.
John felt a sting on the back of his head. The strange man looked away, spitting on the ground.
"'Why you, why you?'" The man in white sneered. "Don't you know how pathetic you sound? If you want answers, then fight for them! Punch, kick, trick, survive... run with the winds and you’ll learn how to turn them! God knows what, but there has to be some useful trait in you. You can’t just turn your back on all thi-"
"Watch me!"
Fox punched himself, trying to leave his horrid dream and die with dignity in a horrid reality.
The acrobat tapped his left foot, still managing to move in silence.
"Do you really only care about yourself, John Fox?"
"Yes! Thank you for understanding! Now tell me how to get out of thi-"
Before John could finish, a blue-gloved fist paused an inch from his face. Blinking, John attempted to push the hand aside. He then felt another sting on the back of his head.
"I was like you, John. When I was nine. But you'll change... you'll learn what you have to do. Just like I did. 'Till then, do this old man a favor and stay alive."
The white-dressed man vanished before Fox could speak.
John looked at the false sky.
"...The Living Whirlwind, eh?"
On that, John woke up.
* * *