The reports've been rolling in - bugs, all over the South and
spreading. Bugs and Kudzu vines and killer bees and mosquitos and
cockroaches and spiders and pests of all sorts - rats and lizards and
rodents and vermin of all kinds. It's like they all suddenly decided to
reproduce like randy rabbits, and they're in *everything*. There're frogs
in the bathrooms and locusts in the backyards, there're spiders in the
beds and bats in the attics, and rats in the cellars and mosquitos in the
playgrounds. And roaches in the kitchens, oh baby baby.
	More horribly than the pests, though - which in and of themselves
are reminiscent of the biblical Plagues, or so the sidewalk doomsters are
fond of saying - are the sicknesses. People are coming down with illnesses
which completely debilitate them, and the hospitals are full. Worse yet,
people are dying in their homes, quite surprised to find that tylenol's
just not enough to keep that fever down and antibiotics just aren't able
to combat the virii that are attacking their bodies and breaking them
down. People are literally falling apart and rotting where they die, not
getting found until they're in advanced states of decomposition. It's
disgusting, actually.
	THey say it's not the heat, it's the humidity - but in Florida,
where the horror started, it's both *and* the smell. The entire area
smells terrible, like something died in a hidden place. It's like that
scene from L.A. Confidential where the cop goes in the old lady's basement
and she thinks it's a dead rat but it's a dead guy. In downtown
Tallahassee (such as it is), there've also been reports of the variety and
intensity of the diseases being quintupled; the heroes have been given
this information and told to run with it, so to speak. It's likely,
sources believe, that the responsible party - as the others have seemed to
have parties behind them - is centering on this place.
	Also, when everyone gets there, there's this...breeze. It
dissipates the heat, but people say it brings the sickness, as well. Other
people say that the sickness is a blessed relief from the bugs and rats.

	His name is Wally West, the Flash, otherwise known as the Fastest
Man Alive. But, it should be known that today, now, that this is not fast
enough.
	he's been running ragged, all over the world, here and there
attempting to do three things. The first is to deliver Batman's message to
as many heroes as he can. Bigtime, smalltime, cape, no cape. Anyone who
wants to do good and who will listen, and hopefully those that Wally can't
reach Oracle will. The second has been to try and help as many people as
he can, without stopping to think about himself or most anything else,
because if he does slow down, well, he could come to a stop. And right now
he can't do that. The third thing is to find Bart who's been... missing.
It's Thanksgiving, and despite the world crisis, this si a time for
family. Wally's never had a family, one of his own, outside of his
costumed 'family'. That is until Bart came along. And so while wally
really doesn't have the time to search for Bart, that's where his thoughts
lie. Even as he moves alongside unquestionably his closest and dearest
friend, his sister, Donna Troy. Aka Troia. He's glad to be out here with
her, and not say like Superman or batman. yes, this is crunch time, panic
time, and in a situation like that he's glad to be 'working' with Donna,
because he doesn't have to wear his mask (even though it is on) to
function. She'd see through it anyway.
	But she might have a hard time seeing through the decontamination
mask he's got strapped on. skidding to a stop, he pants a little. it's
been a long while since he's worried about food or res,t not that he
really needs them right away, thanks to his mainlining of Speed Force.
"Well, there's another hosiptal helped. Sort of. Supplies delivered.
But... it's not enough." This is bad, D, really bad. And speed isn't
helping here, as if anything, things need to slow down in Florida, to give
people time to recover. if only that were possible.

	Why this day....of all the days?
	She's seen the news reports. Gotten the intel. She's checked and
double checked the facts. And Donna Troy knows things are bad. Very, very
bad. Even now, while Wally's thoughts are with his missing cousin, Donna's
own are definitely not on the job at hand. A dangerous thing, but on en
route to where they need to be, not a life threatening one. She was
suppose to be having Thanksgiving Dinner with her son, Robert. As well,
her stepdaughter was suppose to be there, and naturally, her ex-husband.
Thankfully, she wasn't about to let Terry's presence deter her from a day
of 'family'. Even though they haven't been one for sometime now.
Technically speaking, she's not late. Yet. And only the legions of hell
could keep her from her son right now...and from the sounds of the reports
she's received, that's exactly what seems to be the case.
	She stops even as Wally does, hovering for a moment before
dropping to the ground beside him. "I know, I know...." She says to the
Scarlet Speedster, letting out a breath. "We have to help finish getting
this area evacuated and see if there's any way to get this infestation
wiped out and the area decontaiminated." Her voice sounds a little stuffy
through the mask, a precaution only, but when you don't know what you're
doing with, every little bit likely helps.

	It's a good thought, wearing protective masks and being careful in
their decontamination, but not all of the virii are airbourne. Some of
them are contact, some of them are transmitted through bodily fluids, some
of them are - well, you get the idea. They're all over the map.
	More icky, possibly, is the fact that the bugs really -are-
everywhere. You've had to practically swim through them to enter
buildings, and you crunch them underfoot with every step; the rats,
traditionally disease carriers, scurry around every corner and eat
whatever food and rotting meat they run into. It's more than an
infestation. So much more. Even as Wally and Donna pause in their efforts,
talking, the insects and vermin multiply. When you're stopped, you can
hear it even better - in addition to the moans and cries of pain and
disgust coming from just about everywhere, there's also a low, chittering,
horrific hum. The hum of billions of buzzing wings and clicking mandibles
and rubbing fly feet. Honestly, it's gross.
	Then - then the breeze becomes apparent. It wasn't a lie - and it
dances on the edge of perception. It brings with it a momentary pause in
the hum, a momentary gap in the insects - but also a wave of nausea.
There's something wrong with it. Three, four times, the breeze passes, as
if alive and checking them out. Something - it seems like Wally *should*
be able to...it *could* be a person, but it's so fast; it's definitely
faster than Wally. And who could possibly be faster than the Fastest Man
Alive?

	Okay, this is gross to consider and all, but it's the truth...
running through all of this is difficult as sin, for a couple of reasons.
First off it's hard to see, but more importantly, squiching as many bugs
as he does, the trends on his boots get slimy, mucked and thus he loses
traction. And in Flash's business, that *is* his business. so, please
forgive him as he shakes off his boots, literally. *Yuck*.
	"I know, Donna, I know... I just... sometimes i wish I could give
others my powers, my metabolism. Perhaps then they could speed this out of
their own sytems or something I just..." he doesn't know and really, he
has no idea where to begin...
	But then as the 'winds' whip up, wally just shrugs them off
until... that is, until he blinks suddenly. "Bart...?" jesus, could it...
"Bart!" Wally's in an instant frantic now, seemingly at nothing. "Where
have you been?! I know you want to help but please, you've got to get a
mask on or something Bart..."

	Donna is really trying very hard not to notice the muck and mire
all around. Despite her disgust, she is thankfully blessed with an
Amazonian constitution, but even so...she noticably keeps from putting her
hands anywhere, and much like Wally, occassionally is trying to shake a
few things off her boots. "By the gods...." She mutters to herself. And
surely, only the gods themselves could have sent such...well...pestilence.
	"Let's just finish casing through this area and then we can -- "
But its at that moment that the vile winds seem to pick up. Even just the
touch of the breeze just feels...foul. Donna lifts her arm almost
instinctively as if to shield her face and tries to turn away from the
direction that it eminates from. "Okay, let's get -- " But once more, her
words are choked off from her by Wally's very own. Her head whips around a
bit, looking, searching with sapphire eyes. "Bart? Bart's here?"
	
	The wind doesn't stop for a good solid five seconds, but you can
hear a laugh coming from all over. It's creepy - but also sort of campily
so. I mean, -everyone- and his brother's heard omnidirectional villainous
laughs, which is exactly what this is. But you have to give the kid credit
for trying, honestly.
	All of a sudden, it does, and the bugs come back in force. They do
squelch underfoot, certainly, but they also fly around and creep up over
the skin of anyone silly enough to be standing around. It's like a river
of insects, worse than in Joe's Apartment, worse than the snakes in
Indiana Jones. Oh - and our narrator forgot to mention the fact that
there're snakes, too. All of the creepy crawlies that people love to hate
are out, overwhelming the cats and birds of prey and running rampant.
	Someone who's definitely not running, though, is the kid in the
black leather jacket, wearing Wally's and Barry's symbol. And wearing a
*lot* of black - and no mask. None at all, not even one to conceal his
identity, which is pointless anyway since everyone knows who he is. No -
most importantly, he's not wearing a protective mask. Yeah, there's Bart -
crouched at about eyelevel, on the base of a local statue. He's grinning,
and his arms are resting on his knees, hands idly hanging. "Mask? Why
would I want to wear a mask, Flash?"
	The kid holds out a hand, tilting his head slightly - there's a
golden glint from his forehead - and watching as a couple of big flying
bugs land on it. He eyes them for a moment and speaks again. "It took you
long enough to get here. I considered leaving...then *did* leave! Multiple
times! But I came back, because I figured you'd show up wherever it was
worst." Bart closes his hand, crushing the bugs contained therein; there
doesn't seem to be a speck on him, otherwise; he drops the crumpled
carcasses and smiles again.

	Raising a red-gloved hand to shelter his eyes instinctively, even
though his cowl already shields them, Flash is swamped by that flood of
bugs. Battered back he doesn't have a chance to get a running start, and
he's too busy trying to pinpoint Bart that he doesn't vibrate to become
intangible enough to be unaffected by them. So, staggered, he is spun and
dropped to one knee. But as the sea of incests parts, there int he middle
is a sight wally hoped he would never come to see. Not that he ever
dreamed something like this would happen, but... it's just...
	"NO!!!" Not Bart, Jesus Christ... anything, anyone* but Bart. How
many times has Wally sacrificed himself? It's become annoying how many
times Wally has died for the sake of others, trying to preserve them and
attempting to justify himself to himself, through martyrdom. And what he
wouldn't give right now to be the one Bart was looking to. "...no..." He
knew Bart was missing, but he'd hoped, dreamed, prayed that Impulse was
just out helping people, doing heroics, like the kid is meant to do. Wally
knows, unlike anyone else, what kind of hero Bart Allen is meant to become
and now... this it... just... "NO!!!" He doesn't want to believe this. He
*can't* believe this. It just isn't right. It isn't fair.

	"Rhea, help us...." Troia can only blink and take two cautionary
steps back, but even as she does so, she is shaking off a critter, well,
more than a few, who decided that crawling up her leg was as good a
passtime as any. Her eyes are focused on one point first. The figure
crouched at the statue. The rather familiar looking figure of,"...Bart."
What is he doing here...what is he doing, period.
	Troia knows whatever it is, its no good. She can feel that in her
very marrow. She looks now to the Flash, and the expression she sees
behind that mask makes her want to flinch. She sidesteps to come up next
to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, and even as she does so, the
strength of his emotions become even clearer to her, her chest clenching
in a twin pain to that which Wally must surely be feeling right now.
	She's almost at a loss for word, but with the little display with
the bugs, Donna's forehead wrinkles even as she doesn't release her grip
on Wally's arm, refusing to leave his side and hoping perhaps she can help
ease the turmulutous emotions rolling through him. But its hard when she
herself is in shock. "Bart...." She ventures tentatively,"You're not the
cause of all of this...." He couldn't be. How could he be?

	It takes a lot to get Cassandra Sandsmark grossed out. Seriously,
it does. It takes a super-duper, major disgusting thing for her to freak
to the point of totally gagging out loud. It also takes an incredible
amount of suffering for her to approach anything that even remotely looks
like -bugs-. It isn't to say that she's particularly /afraid/ of them,
it's just that.. she just doesn't really -like- them. At all. No way.
N'uh-uh. Bugs rate about as low on the totem pole of disgusting as vomit
and other such notably gross things. So why on earth is she approaching
the state of Florida, much less the most run over part /of/ Florida? Well
. . . . she hasn't spoken to a particular team mate in awhile, not since
the trouble started. She found out both Flash and Troia were going to be
there.. or at least, she /hopes/ its correct - and thought.. hoped ..
where they were, Bart would be. A small, hand held radio kept her updated
(and entertained) as she flew from Metropolis down to Florida, it also
warned her on stopping by the nearest Army Surplus store to collect a gas
mask. The /last/ thing she needs is some sort of disease to infiltrate her
body, giving her some sort of strange cold or flu, /guh/. (Plus! What if
she breathed in a bug, or worse -ate- one! YUCKO!!!)
	For the most part, /Wonder Girl/ isn't near the scene, at least
yet, she's fighting through a thick invasion of flying bugs, that have her
screaming through her protective mask about bugs, and their relationship
to the lowest thing possible. Such notable phrases like; 'GREAT HERA', and
'ZEUS' also are part of her current self conversation; though Cassie
fights through the sudden upheaval, about to consider this a loss, how can
she stop so many bugs!? Who had thought there would be so -many-!? It's
going to take more than strength to combate these menaces - only miles
away from the group (not knowing she is to begin with), the young Amazon
Wanna-Be turns sharply right, moving out towards the ocean.

	"No, no, no," sighs Pestilence, straightening, brushing his hands
off and rolling his eyes. "You sound like a broken record." He pauses.
"Records are the ones that break, right? Except I don't really get that,
they're made of vinyl and vinyl bends...at least as far as *I* know. Oh
wait, unless they started saying that when they were still made of that
bakelite stuff. That would make sense. You drop that stuff and it shatters
like glass. Incredible." Oh, it's Bart all right. No facsimile could run
off at the mouth like that. "Anyway, no, 'no', Wally. This is the end,
brah, you've got to accept that. Plenty of people here," he continues,
jumping down from the pedastal into a suddenly apparent clear spot and
starting to walk forward, clasping his hands behind his back, "in Florida,
I mean. They're pretty accepting. They know it's their fate, and they're
being really great about it. But you...you come in here and try to fight
it. Undoing all my work!"
	He's speaking quickly, but slow enough for non-speedsters to
understand. And he's just sort of sauntering, as the bugs and vermin clear
a path before him - even so, however, there's a telltale blurriness to
him. He's keeping a high vibration going - untouchable. "That's not very
supportive of you. You know my teachers have been a little upset with your
apparent lack of effort on my part - and this only proves their fears. You
don't care a bit about my work, do you? Not in school, and not now. Too
little and too late with that one paper, Wally."
	Pestilence - Bart - turns quickly and faces the two heroes, eyes
narrowing as he gazes at Donna Troy. "Bart? Actually, you can call me
Pestilence now. Or Plague. But Pestilence works better, since I've got the
bug thing going on, see? Not just the diseases, though I'm pretty good at
that. Did you hear about what I did to Washington? The Capitol, I mean.
Impressive work, if I do say so myself." He pauses. "This is all most
definitely my work."

	"No, Bart, I..." He what? How can he appreciate this? It's a
pervsion, to the fullest extent, in so many ways. bart is the one that was
so full of life, the one that has yet so much to accomplish. Just recently
the speedsters learned something, that in the coming future bart will be
known as the greatest Flash ever. Not Wally, and in truth, that was a
welcome thing to Wally. And now... Looking away from Pestilence,, and upt
o the woman who touches his arm, Donna can see just how shocked Wally is,
how hurt, how scared. What can he do here? This is Bart. This is is
family, this is blood. Drawing upon his closest friend for support, he
stands now, his hands at his side. His fingers curling to fists. "...don't
like this," he concludes, fromt he sentence he attempted to start before.
"This isn't right. This isn't you talking." It is you, but it's not. How
is it that the kid that marvels over the toaster one morning, or the way a
catipillercan look like a twing, just suddenly turn to get enjoyment out
of something like this? Wally refuses to believe it. It's the only hope he
has. "This isn't you," he repeats. "I'll save you. I'll find some way to
end this. And save you. This can't go on, and it has to end." But in no
way, in Wally's equation of that happening, is he prepared to allow for
your death. "Do what you may, Pestilence, but your infection of what you
are doing with Bart... all of it, all of this, it has to stop. It will
stop." Gawd, do his words sound as desperate to others as they do to
himself?
	As Pestilence shimmers so does Wally for a moment. he's attempting
to pinpoint that vibration.

        Its been all over the news. Disease, infestations, horrible, foul
discoveries and happenings. And it seemed to start, or at least stem from,
Florida...Tallahassee to be precise, at least if all accounted reports are
reliable.
        While that's not all, news reports have indicated odd happenings
all over the world, this one is closer to home, at least geographically
speaking. Besides, its on his way back East...sort of. For someone who can
fly faster than the speed of light, its merely a quick, emerald jaunt up
and into orbit, then a second jaunt back down to the panhandle of the U.S.
        His form covered in an NBC suit of glowing green. The bulky, stiff
looking material is quasi-transluscent, showing the muted blacks and
whites of the costumed, Emerald Warrior beneath, while the rectangular
face-plate shows his features in only the faintest shade of green. Those
jade-tinted features are set in a deep scowl, his crab-mask pinching
tightly around his brow.
        "Okay...that's just...yuck," he mutters as his masked gaze surveys
the area. The veritable blanket of vermin and rodents, the clouds of
flying, biting, and stinging insects. The latter gathering along the
surface of his jade-colored, sealed suit.
        "Wow...and /I/ thought my apartment in Seattle had bug
problems..." he trails and pauses as he approaches, hovering for but a
moment as he absently waves away an in-your-face cloud of critters. Its
not a question of /can/ he do anything about the horror of it all. Rather
its one of just /what/ he should do first.
        "I wonder if Woody Allen's doing any of the voices for these
things?" he then quips as a decision is made. And the Green Lantern soars
lower, 'off-the-deck', trailing a tracking, ribbon of green, while he
conjures forth both a rather large, emerald energy, child's sandbox
shovel, complete with a fat spade, a short, stout stem, and a thick
handle, and a massive, jade-hued fly-swatter, easily the length of a
luxury car, with the swatter almost the width of the street. "Someone
needs to call Termanix...badly."
        While his gaze searches for those in need, the swatter will float
ahead of the shovel and come *squish*ing down on a collected mass of bugs,
while the shovel will simply be used to dig into the carpeting of bugs,
its blade intended to push down and scrape along the street, while its
mass would plow through and pile up. All in an attempt to clear a path for
rescue workers.
        Its about that time that his questing gaze catches a splash of
familiar, brilliant crimson and his midnight-clad companion amidst the sea
of mottled brown and shiny black chitin...
        "Flash? Donna?" he mutters, far too distant and to himself to be
heard, though his direction banks, the emerald swatter and shovel
constructs following suit.

	"Pestilence...." She turns the name over in her mind, but Donna
doesn't seem inclined to contest that particular title considering what
they are all surrounded by. But since when did disease and infestations
become part of Bart Allen's power repitoire? She does exchange glances
with Wally briefly, and there's that silent exchange of knowledge that
comes from having worked with each other for over a decade in situlations
that are less than...ideal.
	And with that, Troia let's her hand fall from Wally's arm and
takes a few steps back even as the man begins to vibrate as she knows
exactly what he's attempting, and she's ready to back him any way she can.
Its only a moment before she is hovering a few feet in the air. "You know
we can't just let you run wild across the country causing all this misery.
Why are you doing this...what are you hoping to accomplish?" And who
could've possibly forced the teenager into something like this, because
surely, he was forced.

	Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Bart's all of a sudden sitting
on the statue itself - it's one of those greenish metal public sculptures,
of a guy in old-looking clothes on a horse. Probably Ponce De Leon or
something - god, who would name their kid Ponce? That's terrible. But the
kid - he leans back against the metal guy, idle smile on his face. "You
don't like this, Wally? That's too bad. That's really too bad, because I
could care less whether you like it or not. And really, you can knock it
off with the sprockin' cheesy B-flick nass you're flinging my way - 'Do
what you may, Pestilence, but your infection...' Valor! I can't even
finish that, it's so bad. Who's writing your script?"
	Suddenly he's standing behind Wally and Donna - between them and
Kyle, and he's got a different vibration going. He seems to be switching
them every half a heartbeat. And if Wally would stop and listen for a
while, he'd be able to pick out the tune to 'It's the End of the World as
We Know It' by REM. Talk about cheese. "You don't have much of a choice,
Troia," he says frankly, then pauses. "Donna. Oh, Donna, Superboy - I mean
War - still has your panties, by the way. But anyway, you really can't
stop us. We're preparing for the end of the world. Surely you're familiar
with the concept of apocalypse? The Greek version - I can't remember its
name, sorry. But you know all about it, I'm sure."
	He's moving way too fast - every time he decides to go someplace
else, he -really- goes someplace else. It's like he's not even running.
Normal speedsters seem like they're teleporting, to normal people. Bart,
to Wally - it seems like he's teleporting, he's going that fast. The
speed, along with everything else, is obscene. All of a sudden - again -
he's standing off to the side, watching Kyle's approach. "Most people
don't have crabs on their FACES, Lantern," he calls to the hero.

	Crud. Just... crud.
	The Flash is scared. Yes, he's a hero and he's been one his whole
life. Well, since age ten or eleven. But never before has he faced this,
or anything like this. Ever since he 'took over' for Barry he's been the
fastest there is, and now... well, he just knows this isn't the case. One
day he expected Bart to outrace him, as this is the nature of the
speedsters. It's like a marathon in that the person running the next lap
is always the faster one. But like this?
	That's it, Donna, keep Bart occupied. Keep him talking.
Distracting a speedster is normally the best way to go in beating one. And
with Kyle here to help now, well... "Forgive me for not shouting out the
appreciation at seeing you, pal, but as you can see... well, the hands are
full." Hello, Green Lantern, how nice it is to see you back. Wally *is*
glad to see Kyle. He just doesn't have the time to show it. He's
concentrating, y'see, or rather, you can't see what he's focusing on, but
Wally can. "I could say the same for you, Pestilence. Your dialogue is
something like that of a bad 70's horror movie. Ooh, creepy. Now do the
arms crossed on your chest sitting up in a coffin trick..." And then Wally
moves himself.
	Looking not at Pestilence, Flash focuses on Bart's speed aura, and
that should tell him where Bart is or going to go. And what's Wally's
trick? Why counter vibrating to 'It's The End of The World As We Know It',
to hopefully nullify Pestilence's vibrations to make the thing solid. So,
if someone is following up, hopefully they can get a solid blow in.

        Soaring up the street, his swatter and shovel combination tearing
through the vermin blanket, the Emerald Warrior uses this moment to get a
better appraisal of the situation. Wally's just gone blurry
and...wait!...there's a someone else there too. Kyle frowns behind his
sealed suit's face-plate, while he squints, straining, but unable to
discern the identity. Distance and blurring effect mingling together and
equating ignorance.
        Not that it really matters, with Wally and Donna here...with two
of the.../the/ Titans here, its likely not good, and quite possibly even
the root of all this.
        Kyle may not have been at this long, he might be "inexperienced",
especially compared to those present, but he's not stupid. No sense in
going and making a dramatic entrance that draws...whoever blurry-boy is
down there...and then his sneak is ruined.
        "Considering your company," he retorts, assuming a great deal,
"that's awfully hypocritical." His approach angles up, now, pausing in
mid-air, the ring on his right hand glowing brightly, even through the
jade of his constructed suit. The wide-eyed whites of his mask prove sound
indictation of his recognition of the leather-clad teen. "Bart...?" he
questions, as a degree of uncertainty sinks in, his gaze flashing to
Wally, then to Donna, questioning. He shares neither their years of
working together, nor their unspoken communication, although he does offer
the Flash a rapid smile, admitting, "Not quite the entrance I'd hoped
for...its missing the spotlights and fireworks."
        Gone now are the swatter and shovel, but in their place he
conjures up a giant, emerald hiking boot. The grooved and nocked treads
come crashing down on another collection of vermin, splattering them flat
on the pavement. It may be an impotent show of possible might, but it
beats laying the smack down before he knows exactly what's going on.
        "I've got no clue what's going on here," he says as that huge boot
of jade God comes crashing down with a tremendous thunder, "but 10-to-1
you're the one who left out the ham-salad and ruined /all/ of Florida's
picnic...and that's just not allowed."

	Pesilence? War...? End of the world? Oh, Phoebe... But then, she's
turning as Bart seems to just appear behind them. "My...what?" Troia
blinks as she hears the name of Superboy linked with war...and what's this
about her underwear? Oh, wait. That's right. Nightwing said he as good as
knew who the prank culprits were, but she was really hoping to give the
juvenilles the benefit of the doubt. She'll have to remember to have a
chat with Jesse later. Still, she's the one trying to do the distracting
here, thankyouverymuch.
	"I know all about it, Pestilence. Its just that we're not about to
allow you bring about the wanton destruction of this world, no matter what
sick delusions you may be under...." And her eyes find it nearly
impossible to follow his course as he's behind them, to the side, or
wherever else he chooses to be. Her blue eyes narrow once more as she
still readies for action, letting Wally take the lead in this situation.
	Then she turns, following both Wally and Pestilence's gaze to the
Emerald Warrior. "K - Green Lantern," she says in more than just a bit of
surprise. And the giant boot of doom is definitely something signature she
can attribute to the young hero. Still, she can't hide her smile as she's
defintely glad to see him. They're going to need all the help they can
get.

	In the mind of a teenager, this is a good idea... for any number
of solutions ran through her mind, all starting with a simple question.
How do you kill a bug? There are a number of solutions that come to mind.
Squishing, of course, is the most obvious. However, you can only squish so
many with your bare fists and feet, not to mention that is just utterly
disgusting and there isn't any way on earth she can clear billions of
insects at once. Thus, there is option number two, insecticide, bug
killer. Oh sure, there are any number of things that can kill bugs, and be
safe to the environment, but how many can /Cassie/ get ahold of? Beyond
the can of raid that is safely stowed in her jacket pocket, saved for
'emergency' situations, dousing the entire state in bug spray would be
better used by those that can fly over and spray from the air. Next, we
have the more obvious forms of destruction, dousing them in gasoline and
lighting them on fire - however that would most certainly destroy an
entire city, and who knows who or what all else. Creating whirl wind or
large gusts of wind - great idea, but not exactly safe, and highly
unavailable for Wonder Girl. Thus; you come to the Cassie solution,
collect one of those enormous, sealed water towers, fill it with ocean
water, and literally douse an area with it. Bugs, at least, /most/ bugs,
have not yet learned how to breath under water, much less get any kind of
grasp, much less be able to swim when a gushing amount of water goes
sloshing through the streets, clearing a way for people to get out. Hey!
It may not be perfect, but Wonder Girl doesn't realize there are a; people
there, b; people she cares about there, nor c; her plan does have a few
flaws. (She's young, she'll learn. Maybe.)
	Considering Cassie started this long before Bart, Donna, and Wally
started .. it isn't /too/ unreasonable for her to be here only a few
minutes after things really get going.. After all. . . It takes only a few
minutes for her to dash towards the ocean, a few more to collect the water
tower and fill it, a few seconds of pause to ponder why there are so many
dead things along the beach. (Must be another oil spill?) A few seconds
more to grunt and lift the now extremely, insanely heavy water tower up. A
few seconds /more/ to ponder why the hell she's doing this again? A few
seconds more after that to take off - and by the time she's in the air and
heading towards the city of Tallahassee . . . she still doesn't know that
Bart, nor Superboy, nor Dolphin . . . are creatures of viciousness and
evil! (Nor does she realize she's heading towards her . . . doom?)
	
	"Wonderful harmony, there, Wally - but it's supposed to go 'Time I
had some time alone'," responds Pestilence, singing the last part. As he
speaks, he's holding up a hand and stepping to the side - and he catches
Wally's punch. Catches it. And he holds the hand, speaking all the while,
speaking to Donna and to Kyle, and yes to Wally. "And I've always talked
like this, Wally - or didn't you notice that, either? There's an awful lot
you don't notice, isn't there? Like the fact that I'm faster than you -
and that I can get you really sick by touching you." His voice is almost
sad, here, but then he grins, sparing Wally a glance, still not letting
go. The Scarlet Speedster should be feeling atrocious around now - growing
fever, nausea, vertigo, and a fearful pain clenching from the inside.
	The kid looks down at Donna and Kyle, now. "You know that every
time I blur, I'm setting this stuff free in another city, right? I mean,
you're not that dense, it can't be lost on you. I could be dashing off
between words, giving your best friends tuberculosis - or smallpox - or
even gonorrhea. Sprock it, lemme just add a little immediate postprandial
upper abdominal distension in for flavor, huh?" He glances at Wally again,
offering a grin. "You like that? That's a Star Trek quote."
	Utterly ignoring Kyle's accusation and Donna's psychological
pandering, Bart raises his eyebrows when the Amazon starts to call the
Emerald Warrior by his proper name but only gets the K out. "I KNEW it! I
KNEW you were Clark Kent!" He looks around for reporter types, but doesn't
find any. "Damn...why's the media always dying miserably when you need
them?"

	How can he not notice a greta many things in this moment? Which is
worse? Being subjected to the full blunt of Pestilence's powers, or
knowing that this entity is making Bart do this, in control of Bart? But
then Wally's brain really isn't thinking much of anything as he feels as
though he is on fire, as though he is cold and clamly, itchy, convulsing
and a great many other thigns all at once. In Pestilence's touch Wally
suffers, at superspeed. why? well, with Wally mainlining Speed like he
does, and Pestilence holding that touch,all of Pestilence's infections are
sped into Wally's system that much more quickly. "Urk... urk... urk..."
	That's about all Wally can cay, as he feels himself falling. And
shaking. And whatever else his body is going through. he finds himself
lacking any strength, any motivation to move, let alone fight back,
especially as he gains an *instant* fever. A high one. One that shocks
even his system to hell. He's in a bad way. A really bad way.
	As he crumples at Pestilence's feet, unable to move, vibrate, or
do anything much of anything, all he can do is weakly look up at 'Bart'.
The whites of the eyes of his cowl wide, silently asking just one
question. Why?
	
        Yes, he's facing off against a legion of insects and Wally's
cousin. Yes, he is entirely unsure of how to proceed...he doesn't want to
hurt this guy, but at the same time he /is/ causing the torment of
hundreds of thousands of people. All said, however, that doesn't stop him
from giving Donna a warm smile and an acknowledging nod, "Nice to be seen,
Donna."
        Not quite how I wanted to say hello at all, he silently scolds
himself, although this is neither the time nor the place for thoughts
along those lines. Then, his emerald-shimmering form gives a zip and a
zag, trailing his ribbon of green, as he arcs higher, his ring-hand fisted
and leading the way. He pauses then and looks back down at Bart and Wally
tangling, although his astonishment and brief moment of pause has nothing
to do with the family squabble. "I'm /not/ Clark Kent!" he shouts out,
likely only solidifying the teen's belief in his fervent disagreeance.
        Then it hits him...Wally's got the kid momentarily distracted and
immobilized, must move quickly. Thusly, the boot vanishes, leaving a nice,
absolutely huge, chitin-inlaid bootprint on the ground. Instead, the
Emerald Warrior wills a giant, green, dragon, its great wings flapping,
its serpentine neck outstretched, its huge maw open wide, while trickles
and traces of greenish flame leak from the corners of its mouth. The great
emerald beast swoops down, that neck craned low, all in an attempt to
gobble up the younger speedster before he disengages from his kin.

	"Wally!" The rest of the quips of Bart's are rather lost on Troia
as she watches her best friend succomb to...only the gods know what.
Immediately, she ceases her hovering and hits the ground running to
Wally's side, heedless of whatever verim are still in the and intent on
only one thing...getting to the Flash. And its only a moment before she is
at his side, trying to scoop him up from his fall and get him away from
this creature...whatever it is...that is controlling Bart.
	Even as her arms go around Wally's form, she can feel his
trembling and the heat of his fever that is already ceasing him hard and
strong. Tears immediately well up in her eyes at the state Wally West
finds himself in and for a moment, she's stunned into inaction. But only
for a moment. Donna's eyes are like glittering stones as they bore into
Pestilence, but then she's moving, easily able to handle the weight of the
Speedster as she's intent on getting the man to some semblance of safety
several yard away...and into the air, her flight taking her not so very
far from Green Lantern himself.
	
	She'll huff, and she'll puff, and .. well .. she'll get there
eventually! (Water tower in toe) It's time like these when Wonder Girl
really desparately wishes she could have borrowed Diana's gauntlets. (You
know the ones that grant the wearer ten times more strength? In Cassie's
case, put her on par with Wonder Woman herself?) Yeah! Those. She wishes
like anything she had /those/, for then she wouldn't quite be as out of
breath as she zips over the horizon. She doesn't notice The Green Lantern,
doesn't notice Flash, or Troia, or even Imp.. Pestilence, all she can see
is a sea of . . . bugs, and slimey things, and things that go bump in the
night, and ugly things, and .. just typical really nasty, gross, putrid
vermin. (Cause she isn't close enough to notice that green dragon,
naturally..) The breath inside of her mask makes all kinds of strange
noises, *shweeep* *fwoosh*, to her mind, she sounds like Darth Vader, only
higher, like pitch or something. The thought brings some comfort, she
doesn't normally like to do things alone, in fact, she hates it worse than
anything /else/. Unfortunately, there are just some times when you have to
do somethings you don't like. Still a few miles away from the group,
towards one of the large infestations of bugs, gallons of ocean water are
dumped, the waves streak through the streets, swishing like a flash flood
across the area, pouring down from the water tower, quickly, and
effectively.
	It's only after the last drop has trickled out .. does Wonder
Girl's gaze flicker towards the horizon, taking note of a large, green ...
dragon? WTF? Err.. Cassie means, 'by Zeus, what is that!' Thus ... tossing
the water tower to one side, it's finally time for a -Wonder Girl- to
arrive on the scene.. Just give her a few minutes .. .. she'll be there..
*huff* *puff* *fwooosh* *fuuumpah* *fuuumpah*.
	
	Pestilence glehs, stepping back as he lets go of Wally, making a
face. "Come on, don't ralph all over my boots...that's disgusting." He
looks up at Green Lantern, stretching, cracking his knuckles, and yawning
as the dragon passes through him. What the -- oh! Yeah, that's right, he
can vibrate, can't he? Physical assaults - unless he's *really* distracted
- aren't gonna do a lot of good. But there're really only a few people
that can hold his attention that long. Only a few - and especially one.
	"Sheesh, Clark, protest a little more, why doncha? It's all right
- there aren't that many people left alive here anyway. The only people
gonna find out are the people who already know," he addresses the Emerald
Guardian with a sympathetic smile. As Donna snatches up his cousin, Bart
crosses his arms, watching. Letting her take him away before he's
finished. Letting him live. Then he inclines his head toward the horizon,
reaching up and scratching his nose. "Looks like you've got some
company...someone either really big and shaped like a water tower, or
someone who thinks they're doing some kind of good...ahaha. Sheez."
	Jumping down off of the statue base again - he really likes it up
there, apparently - the kid glances at the clock up at the top of a nearby
bank. "Listen, it's been a barrel of laughs - and believe you me, it's
great entertainment; you guys really oughtta charge for this stuff - but
it's getting close to That Time. I've gotta see if I can meet up with the
others real quick." A beat. "Oh, and you might want to consider hair dye
if you don't want anyone else thinking you're Clark Kent. I mean, for
pity's sake, it's not like it's hard to put together. Glasses. Grife!"
	
	A shaking, shivering, convulsing mess, there doesn't seem to be
much left to The Flash that Pestilence left alive. Or maybe because
pestilence knows The Flash so well, and Flash's metabolism, Pestilence
knew just what kind of fate he had sentenced Wally to. HIs body is going
through hell. About several thousand kinds thereof, all at once. But his
speed is working to make sure than those diseases and infections don't
kill him. That means he's tettering right along that edge, and will be for
days most likely. If Wally had any idea where he was right now he'd be
sure to thank Donna, but hopefully his appreciation will show in his now
losing it all over her completely. He's a mess. An absolute mess. An
unwilling messenger in what is to come? The last image in Flash's mind is
the only one he's seeing right now. Pestilence looking down at him...
satisfied?
	
	What is the first thing that Cassie sees upon arriving at the
scene. Is it Donna and Wally? Nope. Is it The Green Lantern? Nope. (Though
hell, she'd love to have his autograph..) The Dragon? Nope... The first
thing she notices is ... Bart. In all his studly attire.
"IIIIMMMMMMMPPPP!" The words are ringing out of the gas mask and through
the air as Cassie streaks straight for him, speaking faster than a
speedster .. (almost) a series of yells can be heard, at least through the
audible whine of the gas mask. "Manohmanohmanohmanohmanohman!
I'veBeenSoWorriedAboutYou! TotallyLoveTheOutfit, WowDoYouEverLookHot.
Woah! HotIndeed. And here I though the /Kid Flash/ outfit was beyond the
beyond, you are looking -totally- studly. Why the change? Anyway,
manohmanohman, by /Zeus/ I've been worried.. These bugs have totally been
the pits.. /Disgusting/. Utterly -grooooss-. I totally can't wait for a
shower and a change of clothing, but .. " You know, unless someone stops
her, Cassie's going to just fly right, straight, true, and quickly to
Impulse's side. (Awww.. young love?)

        Green Lantern can only frown as his dragon soars through the kid,
but doesn't want its creation to go to additional wasted effect. So, as
the massive, jade-scaled creature flies through Bart's insubstantial form,
it belches forth a gout of green flame, quickly blanket, flash-frying a
good area of bugs, the flame being kept just hot enough to crisp chitin,
but not near hot enough, or prolonged enough to set blazes.
        Then, as Ba...Pestilence mentions something about a water tower,
Kyle's head snaps up, following the gaze and frowns deeply. All that
water...what if there are people along those streets...or in the lower
levels of those buildings?! But, dammit, he's here...not there. Maybe
Superman or someone better capable with saving the world can be
there...please?
        "Hi, Donna," he says rather meekly, his emerald dragon flying up
behind him, then vanishing, as she hovers up nearby, Wally in her arms. It
doesn't take a long glance to see just /how/ bad off the Titan is, leaving
the Emerald Warrior to rather lamely add, "You'd better get him back to
your Tower."
        Then there is a blurring of movement out of the corner of his eye,
and Kyle's head snaps in that direction, his eyes wide as he spots a
speeding Wonder Girl heading straight for the plague-laden Pestilence.
"You /really/ don't want to do that!" he shouts a warning, a hand held out
and up, while a giant-sized, brilliant emerald, and solid as a steel wall,
octagonal sign simply *appears* in front of the reuniting Cassie. Though
she might be going to fast to read it, it does say, rather plainly, in six
foot tall letters:

                S T O P

	Troia just holds Wally close to her still, her grip on him quite
firm, but gentle as she still hovers in her flight. Its clear she's
distressed, the worry is all but etched on her features, "Its going to be
all right, Wally. I promise...you're going to be all right." She won't let
him die, he can't. He just can't. Her vision grows into a blurr as the
tears just continue to well in her cobalt gaze. And at the sound of her
name, she looks up at Kyle, and swallows hard, but even as she opens her
mouth, she can't speak.
	At last, she can only nod meekly. First thing's first. But before
she can start off toward safety. Their haven, she turns, seeing the the
form...hearing the voice. And seeing the trajectory. Oh, Rhea.... "Wonder
Girl, no!" For the briefest of moments, the name sounds so strange on her
lips. She's only ever seen Cassie in combat once before and even then she
was only introduced to her just afterward. But still, that feeling easily
passes as the new wearer of that mantle has certainly grown on her in such
a short amount of time considering. But then as Kyle's stop sign shows up,
she exhales in relief.
	
	Was it satisfaction the Scarlet Speedster saw in the eyes of
Pestilence? Or was it just a coldness - a lifelessness? No matter how much
he borrows from Bart Allen, Pestilence is still a Horseman. Still a
personification of evil, still the embodiment of the fears produced by
people of plagues and of vermin. He's Bart - but at the same time, he's
most certainly not Bart, and if you get close enough to look into his
famous amber eyes, you can see that. They're the eyes of a dead man.
	As the superquick supercute leatherjacketed Embodiment of Plague
of the Apocalypse watches the heroes and prepares to leave, however, he
sees who the water-tower person is, too. And his eyes widen, then narrow;
he issues an Aquamanlike command to the buggses in the area to concentrate
on 'Clark' - I mean Lantern - and break his concentration. And he flashes
Cassie a cheerful, classically Bartlike grin. "Ca-- I mean, Dub-Gee! What
a coupla jokers these guys are. Come on, gimme a lift outta these bugs,
willya? Talk about skank!"
	
	To be a part of a group of people she's worshiped, adored, and
watched from the moment she could say 'superhero' is the single thing that
Cassandra Elizabeth Sandsmark has ever desired, ever wanted. She's come so
far in the past two years that she's associated with them. She started out
as nothing more than a child without powers, but with dreams, hopes,
aspirations and desires. She started out as a scrawny weakling, filled
with so many wild ideas - and she met up with her favorite heroine, Wonder
Woman. In that fateful meeting, Cassie met new friends, and she met new
enemies. She became the subject of a bad guy's quest for vengeance over
Wonder Woman, and eventually got to travel to Paradise Island. It was
there that the Gods deemed her worthy of a gift, a wonderful, magical,
incredible opportunity to take all of her dreams, all of her desires, and
all of her goals and make them true. She became what she'd always
worshiped; a superhero. The trouble is, you find out all sorts of things
are not as easy as it may seem, though the one constant, the one thing
that she has always managed to rely on, the one /person/ she has always
trusted and loved both as a friend, and more - that person has always been
Bart Allen, Impulse. She's been worried about him, ever since the entire
Kid Flash thing, the future, and everything else ... and now that he's
there, and alright, and safe, and sound and ... and ... and a sign appears
in front of her, a green sign, a strange vision that looks distinctly like
'Stop'? Stop?? Stop. Stop!
	She doesn't stop, in fact, Wonder Girl continues streaking past
the sign, why should she stop? Who does this creep think he is?! What the
heck does he want? What can he gain? What can he get? What is his game?
Why should she stop? If Bart's in danger, than she needs to be by his
side! She needs to be there! Next to him, beside him, protecting him, as
he would her.. No. Sadly. It is /not/ Green Lantern that stops her. She
may respect, worship, and adore these heroes, but her own team mates, her
own friends, they will always come first, they will always be in her mind,
and in her thoughts. They're a team, and even if TMS is not the Titans,
and Wonder Girl is /not/ Donna Troy - (who is in Cassie's mind,
perfection) she will do everything for her friends, and especially one in
particular; the one that she nearly approaches, she nearly gets close to..
It's only Donna's voice that does save her, it's only Troia's exclaimation
that swerves Wonder Girl from getting close to Bart, swerving her course
from the youth, almost in the 'nick' of time, still several meters in the
air above him, to hover herself meters away.. unsure. Donna better talk
quick, cause Cassie's close to doing as Bart asks.. Though she does get
out a curious. "Dub-Gee?"

        Let the vermin come. The Emerald Warrior has been preparred for
that from the start. That's been the whole point behind the NBC suit. See,
being Green Lantern, he'd been smart enough to assume that if he came down
here and started mucking with whatever the problem was, /eventually/ he'd
get the attention of whomever was responsible. And he'd heard of the bugs,
the reports had been filled with them. So he came preparred. Let the
vermin come.
        And they do, though they find themselves scampering and clinging
to an emerald sealed suit, one that covers from the top of his head down
to his boots. And so to do the bugs cover him. In a matter of moments, his
form is becoming little more than a humanoid shaped thing, a thing
comprised of bugs and shifting patches of glowing green.
        While he was preparred to repell a swarming of insects, yes even
something as potentially grotesque as this, he hadn't considered them
covering his face-plate...and thereby obscurring his vision.
        In frustration that sign does vanish as he swipes at his face with
an emerald energy "gloved" hand, swatting away enough of the insects to
see. "That's it!" he shouts out, having had far more than enough. Rather
abruptly, his constructed suit begins to expand, balloon outward, further
repelling the insects even further away, his own body still encased in a
rough, jade-hued nimbus.
        At the same time an emerald carpet...a flying carpet, zips down
behind Wonder Girl, hopefully clipping her behind the knees and swooping
her up here with he and Donna (and the comatose Wally). "Leave bug-boy
behind," he urges. Explainations can be made later...right now, there's a
Titan to be concerned about, and a...hero-gone-rogue ?...to contemplate.

	Donna has absolutely no intention of relinquishing her package,
because much like Cassie, her friends. Her teammates. Her family. They are
important to her. And as Cassie comes to a halt, Donna seems to be able to
breath easy again and she flies closer to the younger girl, her eyes
boring into the thing that is apparently trying to trick the treen.
"Listen to me," she says to Wonder Girl. "I know what he seems like...what
he looks like...who he is...but whatever is going on here, Impulse is not
in control, here. Isn't that right, Pestilence?" But she doesn't bother
waiting for a reply, her gaze hard. Though there is a worry there. A
compassion.
	"Please, Wonder Girl...just move behind me. Don't touch him,
whatever you do." And then she blinks hard again before the tears threaten
as she clutches Wally a little closer to her. "Please believe me, I would
never lie to you. But if you go with him, you'd be in the gravest of
dangers, and by Rhea, I won't let that happen." And her voice speaks with
an absolute truth that is hard to name. But then the swooping in the
carpet forstalls any further words if there were more forthcoming.

	Hands reaching out, eyes going wide with alarm, Pestilence - who
for the life of you, looks and acts exactly like Bart - pleads with panic
edging his voice, "Cass - don't leave me! I don't know what's wrong with
them - maybe they're posessed or something. You gotta help me - it's too
hard to run on these things, I slip all over the place and I'll -never-
get out! I don't even have a mask, if I don't get out of here soon, I'll
catch whatever it is that's going around!"
	He sounds piteous now, and terribly shocked, like he was being
betrayed by his best friends. "Lantern, I...don't...what are you doing??
Donna - how can you call me that? I've never done anything but help, or
try to help you - and it's like you don't even think I'm human anymore!
Wonder Girl, you gotta believe me, it's me - Bart!"

	She doesn't know what has happened.. she doesn't understand what
is going on, but for Wonder Girl, for Cassie - the single most important
things right now are Donna and Bart. Donna is asking /Cass/ to trust
/her/, Wally is in a really bad shape . . . and she's just been whisked
away by a flying /green/ carpet. And Bart - Bart is pleading with her..
asking her, desiring her help. Confusion. Pain. Which to choose? Who to
choose? In the end, her decision is not easy, nor is it the one that she
might have taken if the fact Wally was not in so bad a shape. "I.. " She
begins.. "Bart, I ..lo.. I love you, and know you wouldn't.. /Bart/
wouldn't.. " Her voice halts.. a glare sent towards.. well .. space in
general, as she stutters out more.. "But .. but I trust Troia, I trust
her, she wouldn't lie to me, she wouldn't .. she wouldn't .. lead me
astray. I don't know what is going on, but I also know you can vibrate,
and you can get yourself out of any kind of bug mess.. And.. Flash's in a
bad way and.. and I trust Troia.." She repeats, trying to get her head
clear.. before she's off like a shot, carpet knicked or no, Wonder Girl
shoots into the sky and flies away as fast as she can. She doesn't go with
Donna, and she doesn't pick up Bart. She heads out, by herself, alone.