Title: Admissions and Emissions Characters: The Flash, Arsenal, Impulse, the Beheader (Bedwetter), and Jay Garrick New York: Greenwich Village Since the era of World War I, the image of Greenwich Village has been that of a bastion of urban bohemians, a place where anything goes in terms of music, clothing, thought, and behavior. Indeed, its reputation for tolerance is well-established, having been a center of counterculture activity since the Beat era of the late 1950s. But the Village defies easy categorization, and a walk down Bleecker Street today, past the legendary coffee houses where Bob Dylan used to play, will probably only kindle nostalgia for a world not totally overrun with tourists. Once a magnet for every manner of starving artist, poet, and anarchist, the Village is now such an in-demand place that most would-be world-shakers simply can't afford to live there. Greenwich Village is the center of New York's gay community, especially in the area around Christopher Street, which, like San Francisco's Castro Street, has become synonymous with gay life. Roy Harper is walking along all but holding up Wally, with Jay at our side. Wally chuckles a little to Jay, as he looks to him, holding his head with one hand and his other braces himself off of Roy, "Oh, seeing it wasn't the problem. I saw it coming a mile away, Jay. Nothing is wrong with my eyes..." And then he pats the swelling goose head on his forehead a little more. "But, again, what was the brick woman's name?" Jay Garrick says "Ugh, Artemis. You should have been able to *duck* it easily Wally. *Are* you okay?" Chuckling, Roy manages to say, "She is one of Dinah's friends... Artemis, and I tried to warn you both about her from the git-go." His mirth leaves him as he hears the concern in Jay's voice. Down the street a ways is the headquarters of the newest incarnation of the Teen Titans, and you note with some chagrin that it's probably the origin of what sounds like the world's loudest eighties rock party. As you get closer, the music very suddenly clicks off, there's a muffled yell, and a door slams. Through the twilight atmosphere provided by the lamps, you can't really see that far, but you can barely make out a figure slipping silently out of the front door and shutting it quietly behind him/her. "Okay, besides the fact that I am growing a second head here, Jay?" And Wally just grins to Jay, turning to look away from Roy but ... in that brief instant he lets the grin slide, to give Jay a rather serious look. Something *is* wrong, but he will talk about it later. Not here. But, then, looking to Roy, Wally is grinning again. "I suppose you did, but I just had to see what this Artemis had in her. She just seemed so ... well, strong." And he grins at himself as no other word seems to find. But, then it is hard to think with all the throbbing and the n noise. Noise? Wally looks to the Titans HQ. "Bart?" Not that he is close enough to be heard, but... "Jay?" He asks. Want to go see what is up? Jay Garrick looks at his watch. "It has been a long day, I'm sure you two are better to deal with this than I right now. Roy, watch over him. Wally ... we *will* discuss this later." The dark, hard-to-see figure flits silently down the steps, disappearing into an alleyway. A low, hurting keen comes from inside the building, and all is silent again. Five seconds later, there's a warning hiss, and an explosion -- from one side of the building! Looks like the kitchen (dammit!) "Of course, Jay, of course..." Wally knows that he has to talk to Jay about all of this. In time, but not about Roy. "What the?!?!" The explosion. Danmit. "Roy, quick, go after that figure that ducked down the alley. I'm on the HQ." And with that he pushes away from Roy, pushes away the pain in his head, and runs, at normal speed, towards the HQ. Roy Harper's eyes follow Wally for a moment, then realize they really shouldn't be able to follow him at all. With a concerned frown Roy runs towards the alley and the sneaking figure, his eyes wide for trouble and his blood still pumping from the confrontation in the club. It's definitely the kitchen side that's now on fire; low, dark flames lick at the gaping hole in the wall, about seven feet from the front doors. The entrance itself is pretty much unharmed, but the fire'll have to be contained before anything else. Once inside, there's an overwhelming smell of smoke and burning plastic, with a nasty under scent to it that /could/ be charred flesh - or just leftovers en flambe'. The alleyway seems deserted at first glance, and it's clearly a dead end. Up, down, side to side -- there aren't any doors, and no dumpsters to hide in or anything. There's only a stack of crates and a rotting couch, leaning up against the far wall...and about ten feet up, now, a quickly disappearing rope which leads up to the roof of the building next to the Headquarters. Wally curses. Why? Because with all of that damn smoke and fire there is no way he can find the extinguisher. He isn't familiar with this base yet to know where it is. Damnit! And that smell ... he can't wait for the police or the fire department. Damnit! !! Really having no other choice, Wally ... hesitates a moment, in the main entrance, shielding himself from the flames, but then ... a split second later he does something he told himself he wasn't going to do. Excelling past normal speed, Wally is once more The Flash, zipping about the HQ in a blur, fanning his arms with precision to put out the flames with generated air and the like, as well as clear the smoke. With long strides Roy does his best to cover the ground between him and the rope before it snakes its way good-bye. Using both the piled crates as a starting point and the couch to spring him higher, Roy does his best to snatch the rope and climb it. Inside the HQ, Bart is nowhere to be seen. Outside, sirens can faintly be heard approaching; someone must have called 911. It's only the left side of the building that has any damage to it, but there's damage enough. Wally's efforts succeed, and the smoke clears, and the flames are squelched. But that disturbing smell is still there, hanging in the air as heavily as a moldy drapery. The blast seems to have originated, incidentally, from the kitchen sink. As soon as Roy's weight tugs at the rope, there's a surprised yelp from above and a panicked clatter. Almost instantly afterwards, the person above starts sawing at the rope with a non-serrated blade, probably a pocketknife. Wally can feel it coming on. The change. He has been pushing his speed to get this fire out, and quick. But still, something remains. The unknown. Bart. Where is he? So, Wally, despite his better judgment, pushes the speed further, and further, searching *very* quickly for any trace of Bart... ...and Wally can stop, should stop, had better stop, because there's a familiarly large, stubby hand reaching out from underneath a pile of rubble and what's left of the kitchen table. It doesn't move. And he does, after about his third sweep of the base, which at the speeds he is moving now, takes less than a second. Ohgawd. Thoughts that act faster than light compel Wally to reach out for that hand, and pushing aside how his hand may or may not appear, Wally then speed tosses all of the debris aside, to free the figure that is trapped underneath, in the matter of yet another second, if that. Hand over hand, Roy's body lifts up the rope as if floating, the practiced ease and his strength quite obvious. Once nearing the top, instead of attempting a grab for the ledge he grads for the hand holding the cutting knife. The table shielded the kid from most of the masonry and wood, which is very good, but it also cracked him one across the head, which is very bad. Bart's most assuredly unconscious, which at this point is good, because he's pretty badly burned. This is all at first glance. At second glance, he's also bruised as hell, and bleeding heavily from a slash across his chest. Outside, there's another startled yell, as Roy catches the knife-wielding hand. The person holding it is surprisingly light, and has the smell of blood about him. If it's light enough, or you're close enough to see, it's a boy wearing a ski-mask. He has blood on his hands, and is now way too terrified to move. And faster than thought now, The Flash is in action. The medical kit is found and used in such a blinding pace that it cannot be seen. medical journals, if needed, are used, and tossed aside, all before the next bandage is even opened. Wally isn't sure how much he works on Bart, or how long. he just knows how fast he has to go. How fast he has to be. Near instantaneous. And so, energy crackles about Bart as soon he is bandages, properly, rapped and treated, as best as can be done. And only then, as Wally finishes with the last of the preparations does he see that his hands are a sparkling golden-yellow and black energy... With a shake and quite a bit of pressure to disarm the boy, Roy quickly scans the area to find any other fleeing targets.... ...but there aren't anymore fleeing targets. There was just this one kid, who looks like he thought he had it all planned out...and by his white face, the sickly sweet smell, and the puddle underneath him, he doesn't know how to handle fouling up. No pun intended. It's not that far down, and that there couch is pretty darn handy. Moving slowly anyway, and infinitely slowly to a speeded-up Flash, Bart's fingers curl around the stiff bandages covering his hands. Then very suddenly, as if jolted awake by a nightmare or a cattle prod, he inhales sharply, and starts to cough like a maniac. Then he winces, and proceeds to do so at every cough until he subsides, breathing carefully and shallow, eyes still shut. Roy Harper looks around, then down at the dripping kid and shakes his head ruefully, "First rule when taking on the Titans, Bedwetter... never on a full bladder." With this out of his mouth he shoves the kid off the roof to land on the couch, and eyeblink later Roy is next to the kid, with his hand clamped tightly about the kid's neck to lead/push/carry the kid back to the HQ. The kid's only whispered protest to Roy's moniker for him is a feeble, "Be/header/. Not Bedwetter." "Bart?" The voice is Wally's, even though it is a little more hollow, airy and higher pitched. Still, there is the easy mark of desperation in his voice. Come on, damnit, come on! And now Wally doesn't stop excelling, his body already had started to change back, but now he stays still yet continues to pump out the juice. and that energy runs rampant, about Bart and The Flash. To one so attuned to it, it might be enough of a kick to kick in and speed up healing rates, but right now Wally isn't even remotely thinking of such things. But, no matter what, Wally is getting frantic, desperate, as he looks to and holds Bart. "Bart?!?!?!" Come on! The youngest speedster clenches his fists, now, and tries again to take a deeper breath, then catches himself as he almost gets into a coughing fit again. He opens his eyes, gripping Wally's arm tightly, and then his eyes widen. Considerably. "Wally..?" he whispers hoarsely, uncertainly. Roy Harper keeps the kid moving towards the HQ, having no idea what is going on inside, his hand clamped around the punk's neck. As he nears the entrance that Wally used, Roy calls out, "Wally... everything OK in there? Bedwetter and I are here to help... I think B.W. has a bit left to fight the flames with, dontcha Squirt?" Growling, the punk tries to twist out of Roy's grip, his faculties somewhat regained after being repeatedly insulted. "Dammit!" he yelps, voice breaking, "I'm the Beheader! You're supposed to fear me! Leggo or I'll kick your ass!" Uncertain? He can see that reaction in your eyes, and then he looks to himself to see what you see...your hand passes right through his arm, or what was his arm. His face is featureless, being a mass of shifting energy patterns, his eyes a bright burning yellow, with fanning flames of energy about him, mainly about his head. He just ... goes. That is speed force, and Wally is it right now. Energy. In shock, in horror, Wally is then *gone*. Away from Bart. Whisking past Roy and Squirt. Away... Roy Harper sighs a bit and says, "Beheader..." then idly grasps one of Bedwetter's nerve centers in his neck, which temporarily renders everything below the neck completely numb, "Off with yer head... The Squirt yelps again (he does that often, no?), and goes limp. Ehn. Dead weight. Yelling, cussing, angry dead weight, but heavy and limp as a drowned kangaroo. Glancing around a bit after seeming to get blow past by some red blur, he calls out again a bit more concerned, "Wally? Hey... everything OK in there?" Dropping Bedwetter on the doorstep, Roy heads in to find his former teammate. As soon as Wally disappears, the bandaged Bart's eyes go wide again and he stretches a hand out after him, as if he could've caught him. "Wally..!" he whispers again, panicked and awkwardly clambering to his feet. Silly boy, even in the sorry state he's in, he tries to run after his cousin...but ends up stumbling, and falling back to the ground. He shamelessly starts crying, shoulders shaking, afraid and hurting and suffering acute adrenaline crash. He wouldn't care if /Dinah/ saw him like this, at this point. Doesn't matter. There is no Wally there to reply to you, Roy, just as there is no Wally to reach out to, Bart. By now he is ... someplace far away, waiting, in terror, in shock and horror to ... become himself again. Once that happens he'll be back. While away, Wally just hopes that Bart will be alright, and that in time, Roy may forgive him, and perhaps didn't even see him as he was. Seeing the younger speedster, and his sad state of affairs, Roy head over to help the suffering youth. With a strong arm, the archer guides Bart outside to the doorstep where the cussing and spitting Bedwetter was left. All the while, Roy is talking in low tones to Bart, trying to ascertain if Bart needs more assistance, figure out what happen, and most importantly, where Wally is. All that Roy can get out of the incoherent Impulse is that Wally's gone. There's also something bizarre about a human torch, but that can probably be chalked up to one too many comics and a whopping dose of delirium. The boy obviously needs to go to the hospital. Roy Harper sighs a long sigh at Wally's apparent disappearance, the cussing Bedwetter, and the hurt Bart, then pulls out his cellular phone and dials the authorities and gets an ambulance for the youthful speedster. While waiting, Roy garners what info he can from the Bedwetter as to the reasoning for the ill-fated attack. "My buddy Martin got in with this guy, right? He said he'd pay us good if we got rid a' that jackass Impulse, and then Marty chickened out and told the guy to go to hell, and the guy's mook shot him fulla holes. I didn't wanna be a sieve, so like, I said I'd do it. Ya happy now?" The words come out all in a rush, and grife, if the kid hasn't seen Dick Tracy one too many times...but at the end, he looks over distastefully at Bart and spits out a disgusted, "An' it didn' work anyways.." Roy Harper grabs the kid by his collar and yanks him up nose to nose with the angry archer, "You consider yourself a lot luckier that Marty that it didn't work out, Bedwetter." The angry heat coming out of Roy's eyes at the current situation is more than enough to convince BW of the truth of Roy's words. At that moment, the rescue squads and all finally show. It seems they'd gotten lost, how lovely. (Gotten lost? They know New York like it's their backyard. Maybe someone's been screwing with their raaaadios...) They do paramedic-type things and cop-type things, and take Bart and Bedwetter away, and ask Roy questions, and check for structural damage, and stuff like that. ----------