Warp Speed (A Flash and Arrow crossover Fanfic)

Mindbender

     Iris West was typing away ferociously on her computer. An armored truck robbery had been thwarted no less than an hour ago, and she was determined to be the first to cover the story. Her fingers flew all on their own as the latest escapades of the Flash were transported onto her blog. She heaved a dreamy sigh as she pressed publish, drifting into La-La-Land. Leaning back in her chair, Iris tilted her head back and closed her eyes, thinking of the rugged speedster who had saved her life on more than one occasion. She swayed gently on the rolling wheels of the chair.

    "Blogging again?" asked Ella, a fellow reporter. A knowing smile was playing across the blonde's face. Iris grinned back. "Maybe just a little bit." She answered, pinching her thumb and forefinger together.

"Just don't let the boss see you- agh!" Ella's jibe was cut off as she sank to her knees, clutching her head. Her usually jubilant expression was contorted in pain. Iris dropped down beside her friend, her hand on her shoulder. "Ella? Ella you're scaring me. Ella what's wrong?"

    Ella pushed away from Iris, still screaming. Her fingers tore at her hair, as if trying to claw out the source of her pain. She staggered over to the window- which wouldn't have been an issue if the window hadn't been forty stories up. Iris looked on in horror as her friend spilled out over the ledge. "ELLA!" She screamed.

    Iris ran to the window, afraid of what she would see. She breathed a sigh of relief as a flash of red lightning snatched the woman up a moment before hitting the ground. She turned around to let her co-workers know, but froze as she saw a man standing there.

    He was dressed in dark clothes, with a black cloak (really?) hiding his features. When he spoke his voice was deep and hypnotic, but chaotic at the same time.

    "If any of you makes so much as one move to phone the police, you'll all be joining her."

    "Au contraire," quipped a snarky voice.

As Iris whipped around to face the speaker, she expected to see the familiar face of the Flash. She was shocked to see a figure dressed in armored black leather (seriously, why?). The voice filtering out from the new vigilante's helmet had the same warped tones of the Flash, complete with an eerie echo.

    "Bast," Sneered the man. He took an aggressive stance, muscles bunching. His jerked back in supposed alarm as the vigilante refused to move. His mouth--the only thing visible beneath the hood--was parted in shock.

"Not this time. You'll have to get your hands dirty here Mindbender." Bast said, tapping the mask. Growling, Bast lashed out at Mindbender.

Metallic claws swiped just inches from the his face, followed through with a sweep kick to his Achilles tendon. Mindbender lunged back, flicking his head toward another office worker. The poor man instantly took a wild swing at Bast, who grabbed his arm and tugged him towards the armored chest, driving his elbow into his neck.

    The man passed out on the ground with the brutal movement, Iris wincing with empathy. Bast's arm shot out as the next person came on. This one was merely tossed aside like common trash. A woman was the crud beat out of her when the Flash finally arrived.

The Flash zoomed towards Mindbender, only to stop dead and grip his head as a searing pain hit him. He sank to his knees, screaming. Iris started toward him, but stopped as Bast's face whipped towards her. The message was clear: 'keep your distance.' Iris backed down.

    Bast wasn't done, though, suddenly spinning around and clocking Mindbender square in the jaw. The distraction bought Flash enough time to regain sanity, and he was on his feet in an instant. He shot towards the pair, but his fist was intercepted by Bast's face, who had been jerked in front of the villain at the last second. Mindbender was smirking as he jumped onto the fire escape.

Bast cursed (which sounded really weird with the voice modulator) then followed Mindbender onto the fire escape.

    The Flash looked to Iris. "Are you alright?" He asked. She nodded, blushing. The Flash shot her a brief smile, (she thought--he was blurring his features again) then ran out of the room and after Bast.

...

On the roof of the next building, Bast and Mindbender were going at it. Blows were traded at speeds only Barry could track, each more vicious than the last.

    However, Bast eventually gained the upper hand. Mindbender was writhed under a clawed hand, which gradually curled tighter around his throat. Bast pressed harder, snarling. "Urgh!" Mindbender gurgled.

    The light in Mindbender's eyes was almost completely gone when the Flash barreled into Bast. Bast snarled furiously, slashing at him. Barry latched onto his wrist, flesh tearing as Bast rammed a heel into the small of his back. He sank to his knees, groaning with pain. Bast growled "stay down," and stalked away from the gasping speedster.

Unfortunately, Mindbender was already gone when Bast turned around.

    Bast once again turned on Flash with reinvigorated fury. Barry's leg was twisted with a deft snap of the wrist. Bast leaned in close to the writhing speedster, whispering: "I just broke your ankle. You get in my way again and I'll snap your other one. Then we'll see how you run as the fastest man alive with a limp."

When the Flash could finally see straight Bast was gone.

...

    Bast stepped into the apartment, shoulders slumped in defeat. Stepping into the bathroom, Bast removed the mask. Long, black hair rolled down in waves, and she stared at her furious face in the mirror. She glanced at the picture of five teens smiling in front of an orphanage, her among them. A tear rolled down her cheek, and gently brushed it away with one knuckle. Hoarsely, she whispered, "I'm sorry."