JLA Watchtower (Archive)

There's a glowing blur of red and yellow light shooting through Bludhaven. It's not as familiar a sight there as it is in somewhere like Central or Keystone City, but most people know who it is that leaves an intangible yet thick trail of those colours along roads and sidewalks, across lakes and through parks. The Flash builds up speed as he tears towards the Gotham River, and then runs straight across the surface of the water, arriving at Gotham Docks a split second after he started running.

Barry looks behind him, and within a microt his grandson is with him. He holds a finder to his lips as soon as Bart appears, as there are voices in the docks of Gotham. The voices are chanting. For once, Barry creeps slowly as he makes his way towards the source of the chanting. A warehouse. There are no windows, as is befitting of most warehouses, so he slides one of the doors open a fraction to look inside.

Dock workers, sailors, men and women from around the area all lay flat on the ground, on their stomachs with their heads raised. Their bodies all point in the same direction, and they all strain to look up at the effigy of Darkseid that sits on top of a standard packing crate. There doesn't appear to be a master of ceremonies, so there's no point interfering with the mindless cultists. Not given the possibility that one of them may raise an alarm. Barry silently closes the door again, and turns to Bart.

"Probably about a hundred people in there, all chanting that they'd die for Darkseid. As far as damage assessments go, I wouldn't call this a good start. At least they're not hurting anyone though." Barry sighs, and wonders where they should head next. "I wonder what the other scouts have found."

In a scene reminiscent of the one from Terminator, where Arnie pulls up from a crouch, crackling with lightning and totally nude, Barry Allen... appears. Except he's not nude; he's wearing scarlet and gold, and the uniform fits him perfectly. There's a flash to the past -

"Have to keep running..."

Opening his eyes, he sees a room covered with alien art, sculptures and a massive timepiece in a state of disarray. Smoke has filled the room. A man with clock faces on his broken spectacles lies in an unconscious heap some distance away. Barry shakes his head. This is a lot to take in. He walks over to the man, and makes sure he's alive. Whoever he is, he's had a lucky escape. A high explosive went off and the concussive blast must have knocked him across the chamber and into a wall. Another flash -

"Have to keep running... No matter how much it hurts..."

The timepiece makes a pathetic *ting* *ting* *ting* sound before ceasing, and collapsing. Something in time has changed. Barry looks at his uniform and realises it's him. Something has occurred to make him come back. He remembers dying, being absorbed by the speed force -

"Have to keep running... No matter how much it hurts... Time... Feel the time stream around me-"

How is he back? The destruction of this time device has made someone at some point in the years since his death do something to bring him back. But how? And why? He speeds out of the chamber and into a corridor, out of the corridor and into a trophy room. He speeds out of the trophy room and into a special containment room, and out of the containment room into a locker room, and then a meeting room, and then a monitor room.

"Iris..."

He sees faces he recognises as he speeds through the Watchtower, everything coming back to him. The Green Lantern, Hawkman, Wonder Woman. Everyone. His friends. His allies. The Justice League.

"The Watchtower is under attack..." The Flash speeds through the rooms he's visited, picking up villains as he goes. Captain Stingaree, the Eel, Stallion, Killer Wasp, Brutale. Some he recognises, others he does not. He ties them together and dumps them right in front of Hal Jordan.

"You've really let this place go to the dogs, Hal."