Post by Doctor Fate on Feb 12, 2012 11:45:11 GMT -8
Progress. It can be measured in fits and starts. Civilizations thrive on it, and so do individuals. It's the measuring stick used to compare all mankind and its creations, throughout time.
Nobody knew that better than the citizenry of Keystone City. In the early 1940's, Keystone had forged itself (both literally and figuratively) into one of the BIGGEST industrial centers in the country, making its mark in areas such as Iron and Steel forging, automobile manufacturing, coal mining, and the development of machinery tools. It didn't take long for Keystone to earn the nickname "The Blue-Collar Capital of the U.S." -- a proud title any native son or daughter of Keystone was more than happy to share with a newcomer.
Keystone had its share of problems, though, just like any other big city. Alot of the progress the city achieved was undercut by the forces of crime and corruption. The police did what they could to protect the citizenry from a seemingly endless supply of criminals and power-hungry maniacs who wanted to take more than they deserved, but they couldn't do it all.
That was where The FLASH came in.
Nobody knew exactly where he came from, and, in point of fact, his very existence was a bit of a mystery, in the beginning. The people of Keystone were, after all, down-to-earth folks who believed in what they could see and touch, and the Flash didn't seem to fit into EITHER of those categories.
Over time, though (and with the corroboration of various police and government officials --most of whom were either saved or assisted by him), the idea that there was a man who could move seemingly faster than the human eye could follow, faster even than the speed of light, became a staple of Keystone. Keystone had its own super-powered guardian angel, and Jay Garrick was proud to call Keystone his home.
Over the course of his illustrious career as the Flash, Jay Garrick protected the populace of Keystone, and the country, from threats both incredible and mundane. For every two-bit thug, con-artist and power-hungry mobster he put behind bars, there seemed to be a revolving door bringing in all manner of degenerate ego-maniacs and crazies who came to town with one goal: to be the one who bested the Flash. For the most part, these gadget-wielding mad scientist types were writing checks their egos couldn't cash. A few of them stood out, however.
On occasion, some of the more dangerous of these self-styled "rogues" would team-up and pool their resources to plot the demise of the Flash, only to fall victim to the inevitable clash of egos that kept such teamwork from ever being profitable for very long.
That was, until the Fiddler, the Shade, and the Thinker pooled their resources and did what no villain before them ever had ever accomplished: They STOPPED the Flash.
In so doing, though, they nearly destroyed Keystone. The three villains used their various powers and devices to pull Keystone out of phase with the rest of reality, erasing even the memory of Keystone from history books, while keeping the populace, including the Flash, in a nearly comatose sleepwalking state. It took the intervention of the second Flash, Barry Allen, to free Keystone and Jay from this sheltered reality, and subsequently incarcerate the 3 rogues responsible. But the damage had been done.
DECADES had passed since Keystone had vanished from reality, and in that time, Keystone had become obsolete, its forward progression stunted by the acts of ego-maniacs whose only thoughts dwelled on humiliating the Flash.
True to their innovative spirits, though, the populace of Keystone grabbed the challenge of rebuilding their industry by the proverbial horns, and Jay Garrick, his identity no longer a secret, was once again reminded why he was proud to call Keystone his home. He would see to it, from that point on, that Keystone's future would indeed be bright.
Doctor Fate mused on the history of his friend and colleague, Jay Garrick, as he flew across the Midwest, to Keystone. He wondered to himself what kind of twists and turns his path would have taken, had Jay never come out of his "forced retirement", inspiring Fate and his other colleagues to do the same. Perhaps he and Inza would have simply retired, settling down and raising children in the relative safety of the tower.
Odds are , he would definitely NOT have found himself flying to Keystone, in an effort to divulge what part (if any) Jay played in the apparent theft of the Orb and Helm of Nabu.
Kent smiled and sighed at the thought of retirement from beneath his half-helmet, but he knew such thoughts were sheer folly.
FATE was seldom that kind, to him or anyone.
Resigning himself to the task at hand, Doctor Fate approached Keystone stealthily. He couldn't help but notice how oddly... Quiet... Keystone was, and it was unsettling. The sounds of factories and industrial machines were all present, as were the sounds of people milling about and cars motoring across town, but something was missing.... and then he heard it.
It started as a high pitch whine, and then, as it got closer, Doctor Fate could hear what sounded like an unearthly strong gust of wind, or a small localized tornado. When it finally became recognizable, Kent quickly cupped his hands over his exposed ears, before he could be deafened by the sound of the Flash, Jay Garrick, running so fast as to break the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.
Kent followed the source of the sound as best he could, and eventually caught a glimpse of the after-image of a certain red and blue blur, evidence of where Jay had BEEN, rather than where he actually WAS. It took some time, and a little bit of mental "tinkering" with the Amulet of Anubis, but Kent was eventually able to focus on where the red/blue blur was.
Doctor Fate frowned at what he saw.
Jay (or his red/blue blur facsimile) was doing something very UN-Jay-like. He was whipping up a tornado in the center of town, wreaking havoc with pedestrians and motor vehicles alike. While trying to process what was going on, and what action he should take, Fate saw the "blur" move towards the local police station, battering down its doors with hurricane force winds. As he saw policemen fly out of high windows left and right, Fate hastily cast a spell of slow levitation on them (easy enough to do, even without the Helm of Nabu) and cursed his hesitation.
He had scarcely cast a spell transforming the tornado into a harmless tiny toy top, when he saw the "blur" moving headlong towards Keystone's only recently established nuclear power plant, and a chilly calm filled his veins. He couldn't just REACT to this.
As he focused his concentration on what he hoped wouldn't be his FINAL interaction with Jay, his mind calmed. With a calm and focused mind, came the ability to use the Amulet of Anubis properly. Deceptions became easy to perceive, and in the blink of an eye, Fate knew what he had to do.
Flying unhesitatingly into the blur's path, Doctor Fate braced himself and, taking a deep breath, landed a super-strong UPPERCUT squarely on the jaw of the then-conscious blur.
Fate then watched as his target flailed unconsciously through the air, landing a good quarter-mile away, to reveal the inert body of Dr. Edward Clariss, also known as the rogue "Rival."
As Fate flew closer to him, satisfied that his perception had indeed been correct, Rival's faux-Flash helmet (the presence of which had alerted Fate to Rival's impersonation attempt) landed with a loud clang 10 feet further away. Startled by the noise, the dazed Rival nearly jumped up, only to find that Fate had bound his body in unbreakable mystic chains.
Years earlier, the then-ordinary Clariss, after finding a way to duplicate the accident that gave the Flash his super-speed, tried to take revenge on the scientific community for ridiculing his theories by using his own super-speed to destroy Keystone, and subsequently, the Flash. His revenge was short-lived, however, as he learned to his dismay that his powers, artificial by nature, were only temporary. After being imprisoned, Rival's powers returned, but when he tried to destroy Jay a second time, he inadvertently crossed into the Speed Force dimension (where all natural speedsters actually get their speed from) and found himself trapped there. When he finally got free with the help of one of Doctor Fate's old enemies, Johnny Sorrow, he was horrified at what had happened to his body.
As his powers were artificial in nature, the Speed Force, rather than invigorating him, DRAINED his life energy. He had emerged back in the real world as a mere husk of a man, looking as though he'd aged some 80-plus years, even though he'd only been gone about 50. HIS progress, it seemed, had been halted indefinitely.
Enraged at this and the seeming LACK of aging on Jay's part, Rival then dedicated his life to making Jay's life a living HELL.
Had Fate not intervened on behalf of his old friend, Rival's attempt to discredit Jay by impersonating him may have succeeded in doing just that.
Standing over the now prone and helpless body of Rival, Kent couldn't help but grin and fold his arms triumphantly over his chest.
"When will you LEARN, little man?"
Ceasing his vain attempts to break free of Fate's mystical bonds, Rival then surprised Fate by looking up and grinning evilly.
"LEARN, you say? I don't need to learn ANYTHING, because I know something YOU don't know!"
Before Fate could react to Rival's matter-of-fact statement, a familiar sound of wind rushed to a sudden stop beside him.
Kent turned in surprise to find his missing friend, Jay Garrick, in his full Flash red-and-blue uniform (minus his Mercurial helmet, of course). What's more, he hadn't come alone.
Placing him down on the ground gingerly, after having carried him all the way to Keystone from Gotham City, both Jay and Kent had their hands full holding back an enraged Alan Scott from the helpless Rival.
"Where IS it, you MANIAC?
WHERE did you take my RING?"
{For the back story on this .... development, stay tuned for the intro blog for Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, coming to a forum near you sometime this month! }
Nobody knew that better than the citizenry of Keystone City. In the early 1940's, Keystone had forged itself (both literally and figuratively) into one of the BIGGEST industrial centers in the country, making its mark in areas such as Iron and Steel forging, automobile manufacturing, coal mining, and the development of machinery tools. It didn't take long for Keystone to earn the nickname "The Blue-Collar Capital of the U.S." -- a proud title any native son or daughter of Keystone was more than happy to share with a newcomer.
Keystone had its share of problems, though, just like any other big city. Alot of the progress the city achieved was undercut by the forces of crime and corruption. The police did what they could to protect the citizenry from a seemingly endless supply of criminals and power-hungry maniacs who wanted to take more than they deserved, but they couldn't do it all.
That was where The FLASH came in.
Nobody knew exactly where he came from, and, in point of fact, his very existence was a bit of a mystery, in the beginning. The people of Keystone were, after all, down-to-earth folks who believed in what they could see and touch, and the Flash didn't seem to fit into EITHER of those categories.
Over time, though (and with the corroboration of various police and government officials --most of whom were either saved or assisted by him), the idea that there was a man who could move seemingly faster than the human eye could follow, faster even than the speed of light, became a staple of Keystone. Keystone had its own super-powered guardian angel, and Jay Garrick was proud to call Keystone his home.
Over the course of his illustrious career as the Flash, Jay Garrick protected the populace of Keystone, and the country, from threats both incredible and mundane. For every two-bit thug, con-artist and power-hungry mobster he put behind bars, there seemed to be a revolving door bringing in all manner of degenerate ego-maniacs and crazies who came to town with one goal: to be the one who bested the Flash. For the most part, these gadget-wielding mad scientist types were writing checks their egos couldn't cash. A few of them stood out, however.
On occasion, some of the more dangerous of these self-styled "rogues" would team-up and pool their resources to plot the demise of the Flash, only to fall victim to the inevitable clash of egos that kept such teamwork from ever being profitable for very long.
That was, until the Fiddler, the Shade, and the Thinker pooled their resources and did what no villain before them ever had ever accomplished: They STOPPED the Flash.
In so doing, though, they nearly destroyed Keystone. The three villains used their various powers and devices to pull Keystone out of phase with the rest of reality, erasing even the memory of Keystone from history books, while keeping the populace, including the Flash, in a nearly comatose sleepwalking state. It took the intervention of the second Flash, Barry Allen, to free Keystone and Jay from this sheltered reality, and subsequently incarcerate the 3 rogues responsible. But the damage had been done.
DECADES had passed since Keystone had vanished from reality, and in that time, Keystone had become obsolete, its forward progression stunted by the acts of ego-maniacs whose only thoughts dwelled on humiliating the Flash.
True to their innovative spirits, though, the populace of Keystone grabbed the challenge of rebuilding their industry by the proverbial horns, and Jay Garrick, his identity no longer a secret, was once again reminded why he was proud to call Keystone his home. He would see to it, from that point on, that Keystone's future would indeed be bright.
Doctor Fate mused on the history of his friend and colleague, Jay Garrick, as he flew across the Midwest, to Keystone. He wondered to himself what kind of twists and turns his path would have taken, had Jay never come out of his "forced retirement", inspiring Fate and his other colleagues to do the same. Perhaps he and Inza would have simply retired, settling down and raising children in the relative safety of the tower.
Odds are , he would definitely NOT have found himself flying to Keystone, in an effort to divulge what part (if any) Jay played in the apparent theft of the Orb and Helm of Nabu.
Kent smiled and sighed at the thought of retirement from beneath his half-helmet, but he knew such thoughts were sheer folly.
FATE was seldom that kind, to him or anyone.
Resigning himself to the task at hand, Doctor Fate approached Keystone stealthily. He couldn't help but notice how oddly... Quiet... Keystone was, and it was unsettling. The sounds of factories and industrial machines were all present, as were the sounds of people milling about and cars motoring across town, but something was missing.... and then he heard it.
It started as a high pitch whine, and then, as it got closer, Doctor Fate could hear what sounded like an unearthly strong gust of wind, or a small localized tornado. When it finally became recognizable, Kent quickly cupped his hands over his exposed ears, before he could be deafened by the sound of the Flash, Jay Garrick, running so fast as to break the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom.
Kent followed the source of the sound as best he could, and eventually caught a glimpse of the after-image of a certain red and blue blur, evidence of where Jay had BEEN, rather than where he actually WAS. It took some time, and a little bit of mental "tinkering" with the Amulet of Anubis, but Kent was eventually able to focus on where the red/blue blur was.
Doctor Fate frowned at what he saw.
Jay (or his red/blue blur facsimile) was doing something very UN-Jay-like. He was whipping up a tornado in the center of town, wreaking havoc with pedestrians and motor vehicles alike. While trying to process what was going on, and what action he should take, Fate saw the "blur" move towards the local police station, battering down its doors with hurricane force winds. As he saw policemen fly out of high windows left and right, Fate hastily cast a spell of slow levitation on them (easy enough to do, even without the Helm of Nabu) and cursed his hesitation.
He had scarcely cast a spell transforming the tornado into a harmless tiny toy top, when he saw the "blur" moving headlong towards Keystone's only recently established nuclear power plant, and a chilly calm filled his veins. He couldn't just REACT to this.
As he focused his concentration on what he hoped wouldn't be his FINAL interaction with Jay, his mind calmed. With a calm and focused mind, came the ability to use the Amulet of Anubis properly. Deceptions became easy to perceive, and in the blink of an eye, Fate knew what he had to do.
Flying unhesitatingly into the blur's path, Doctor Fate braced himself and, taking a deep breath, landed a super-strong UPPERCUT squarely on the jaw of the then-conscious blur.
Fate then watched as his target flailed unconsciously through the air, landing a good quarter-mile away, to reveal the inert body of Dr. Edward Clariss, also known as the rogue "Rival."
As Fate flew closer to him, satisfied that his perception had indeed been correct, Rival's faux-Flash helmet (the presence of which had alerted Fate to Rival's impersonation attempt) landed with a loud clang 10 feet further away. Startled by the noise, the dazed Rival nearly jumped up, only to find that Fate had bound his body in unbreakable mystic chains.
Years earlier, the then-ordinary Clariss, after finding a way to duplicate the accident that gave the Flash his super-speed, tried to take revenge on the scientific community for ridiculing his theories by using his own super-speed to destroy Keystone, and subsequently, the Flash. His revenge was short-lived, however, as he learned to his dismay that his powers, artificial by nature, were only temporary. After being imprisoned, Rival's powers returned, but when he tried to destroy Jay a second time, he inadvertently crossed into the Speed Force dimension (where all natural speedsters actually get their speed from) and found himself trapped there. When he finally got free with the help of one of Doctor Fate's old enemies, Johnny Sorrow, he was horrified at what had happened to his body.
As his powers were artificial in nature, the Speed Force, rather than invigorating him, DRAINED his life energy. He had emerged back in the real world as a mere husk of a man, looking as though he'd aged some 80-plus years, even though he'd only been gone about 50. HIS progress, it seemed, had been halted indefinitely.
Enraged at this and the seeming LACK of aging on Jay's part, Rival then dedicated his life to making Jay's life a living HELL.
Had Fate not intervened on behalf of his old friend, Rival's attempt to discredit Jay by impersonating him may have succeeded in doing just that.
Standing over the now prone and helpless body of Rival, Kent couldn't help but grin and fold his arms triumphantly over his chest.
"When will you LEARN, little man?"
Ceasing his vain attempts to break free of Fate's mystical bonds, Rival then surprised Fate by looking up and grinning evilly.
"LEARN, you say? I don't need to learn ANYTHING, because I know something YOU don't know!"
Before Fate could react to Rival's matter-of-fact statement, a familiar sound of wind rushed to a sudden stop beside him.
Kent turned in surprise to find his missing friend, Jay Garrick, in his full Flash red-and-blue uniform (minus his Mercurial helmet, of course). What's more, he hadn't come alone.
Placing him down on the ground gingerly, after having carried him all the way to Keystone from Gotham City, both Jay and Kent had their hands full holding back an enraged Alan Scott from the helpless Rival.
"Where IS it, you MANIAC?
WHERE did you take my RING?"
{For the back story on this .... development, stay tuned for the intro blog for Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, coming to a forum near you sometime this month! }