Generation Vigilante

Collapse: Part 2

Bella, Natalie, and the Adaptoid holding Frost neared the location of Oliver Queen's memorial statue, where the breach point was meant to be located. "Okay, we're nearly ready," the Adaptoid claimed. "All we have to do is -" He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his chest. "Tommy!" Natalie shouted in panic before Bella reacted the same way, as well as Frost, who was now awake. "What the hell just happened?" Frost asked. Bella looked at him with relief. "You're okay," She said before helping him up. "But he's right, what was that?" She asked the Adaptoid. "The damage to this reality is affecting us greatly," He replied. "Tearing us apart along with it."

Natalie looked at the Adaptoid in confusion. "Yeah, you created this place," She stated. "But why isn't it affecting me?" She questioned. The Adaptoid looked at her. "Because unlike you, they're not from this world," He explained. "They can't act as if it's some regular crisis event." He added. Frost looked at Bella while trying to process everything around him. "What did I miss?" He asked. Bella looked at him, worried due to what had happened before he passed out. "What's the last thing you remember?" She questioned. Frost thought for a moment and noticeably had a look of sorrow and fear. "Frost, what was that place?" Bella asked, knowing he was thinking about where he was trapped. "I don't know," Frost responded. "I've never seen that place before." He claimed. Bella shook her head in denial. "Everything we saw and heard were from your memories," She told him. "Your own dead body was in a greenhouse." She added. "I'm telling you, I don't know," Frost snapped.

"All I felt was this pain, like my world fell apart, and I let myself go down with it!" He stated as a tear rolled down his face. "Now I can't stop feeling like this," He stated. "And i don't know why I am in the first place." He said. The two of them were silent before Bella hugged him. She had never seen Frost like this before, and it worried her. "We're gonna figure this out," She assured him. "But right now, we need to get to our world." She added. Frost nodded in agreement. "Let's get your boyfriend back." He said. Just then, Bree and Matt arrived and looked relieved to see the group.

Natalie had heard over the comms about Gwen. "She’s really gone?" She questioned. Bree looked at her and nodded with regret. "Where's Koda?" She asked. Koda raced in with Rayne, and Natalie prepared to fire a vibe blast at him. "Wait, he's with us!" Bree shouted. "It's true. He saved me and tried to save the others." Rayne confirmed. Nat placed her arm down. "Tried, where are Leo and Frankie?" She questioned. Rayne shook her head. "They're gone, Natalie." She stated before explaining what had happened. Natalie shook her head and looked at Koda. "What did you do?" She asked in anger. "Yes Koda, what did you do?" A voice spoke from behind the group.

Everyone turned to see the mysterious speedster phasing where she stood. "You really couldn't decide where to put him, could you?" She asked the Adaptoid. Bella looked at him. "Who is that?" She questioned. The Adaptoid looked confused and shook his head. "I have no idea," He admitted. "Which means I never put her here." He explained. They then watched as the remaining members headed to fight off the speedster. "Nat, wait," the Adaptoid said, stopping Natalie from following. "We need you to open the breach." He stated. Natalie hesitated for a moment before agreeing. The Adaptoid pulled out the crystal and threw it towards the statue. "Go for it!" He shouted. Natalie did as he said and used a vibe blast to transform the crystal into a breach that seemed to be collapsing on itself. "It's unstable, I don't know how long I can hold it!" She exclaimed.

Frost took the warning and immediately went through. Bella began to follow but paused for a second and turned to the Adaptoid. "Will Tommy know about any of this when we find him?" She asked him. The Adaptoid walked over to her. "It's hard to say," He admitted. "But it could be possible." He suggested. Bella nodded. "Just in case then." She said before leaning in and kissing him. An image of a building flashed through her mind as she did. "Good luck, Bells." The Adaptoid told her. Bella nodded and raced through the breach just before it closed. The Adaptoid started to tell Natalie to close the breach but turned to see his teammates lying on the ground. The phasing speedster was now right by him. "What too cowardly to show your face. The speedster let out a chuckle before she stopped phasing, allowing Tommy to see her true appearance. "This doesn’t make sense," He said in surprise. "Why are you doing this?" He asked before the speedster phased her hand into his chest like the others, instantly killing him along with destroying the world as she raced through the breach before it finally closed.

Bella reached the other side, alarmed to see another woman she hadn't recognized talking to Frost. The woman had black hair and brown eyes with darker skin. "You must be Bella," She said upon seeing her. "Wyn has spoken highly about you." She claimed. Bella looked at her, unsure of what she meant. "I'm sorry, who's Wyn?" She questioned. "I am," Frost responded. "I took up Frost, but Wyn is my given name." He revealed. Bella was confused as she looked at the woman. "And who are you?" She questioned. The woman smiled. "My name is Crystal," She replied. "I'm a Psynergen like Wyn." She stated. Wyn rubbed the back of his head at the comment. "No one actually knows about our species anymore." He confessed to Crystal. "You said you were a Metahuman." Bella stated to Wyn. Wyn nodded. "I've said a lot of things," He claimed. "At least what I figured would make more sense." He explained. "More sense than what?' Bella asked.

Wyn looked to Crystal, who nodded as if giving approval. He then turned back to Bella and took a breath. His eyes glowed a different color than usual, a light blue instead of the usual silver. The same glow appeared on his ears as ice fragments formed and made them more pointed, along with giving him slight elf-like features. "You could do that this whole time?" Bella questioned as she tool it all in. Wyn shrugged. "Among other things." He added. Bella smiled and shook her head. "I know you probably don't want to talk about this right now," She admitted to Wyn. "But we need to talk about what we saw back there." She stated. "Look, I told you I don't remember that place!" Wyn exclaimed. "You were never supposed to," Crystal admitted with a knowing look. "I hoped you'd never have to relive anything from that world." She stated. Wyn and Bella turned to Crystal. "You know about that place?" Bella questioned.

Wyn thought for a moment and figured out what she meant. "You erased any memory I had of it," He stated. "Whatever life I had there, why?" He asked. "It was the second time, actually." Crystal admitted. When Wyn first came to the new timeline, Crystal and other Psynergens had already been there for a few years. Wyn had eventually crossed paths with the others who had hidden from the world. "After you found us, we could see how traumatized you still were by the events of our time," Crystal explained. "We thought erasing the memory and sending you to a world without the supernatural would keep you safe," She continued before pausing. "Only we made a poor decision that nearly cost you your life." She admitted, assuring it would not be done again. Bella looked at Wyn as they were both trying to process everything. "What did you do?" She asked Crystal. Crystal was about to respond but then shook her head. "That's not important anymore," She stated.

"Wyn, you sensed it when you were in that system, didn't you?" She asked. Wyn nodded, revealing he knew what she was referring to. "It came after me as a copy of Charlie." He stated. Bella thought back to when Charlie appeared in the Framework. "His eyes were purple instead of silver," She told Crystal. "Does that mean something to you?" She questioned. "That wasn’t just any form of power." Crystal warned. Wyn then got wide-eyed. "Tommy, The Forbidden could've gotten to him," He claimed. "And if that’s the case, then we need to find him and fast." He stated. Bella nodded and went over to a computer and seemed relieved. Before leaving for the Framework, she had placed a system to track Tommy's whereabouts. "Looks like his story isn't much different here," She told Wyn. Her smile soon faded after reaching a recent file. "Oh god." She added. Wyn walked to see what was going on. "Is that a patient report?" He asked. Bella nodded. "And to make it worse," She replied as she pointed to a logo on the file. "This record is from Arkham Asylum." She stated.

Arkham Asylum...

Tommy was sitting in the middle of a cell with a Metahuman dampening collar so he wouldn't be able to use his Canary Cry. He looked straight ahead at the door, running scenarios in his head for how to get out. On the other side of the door, a member of staff was observing him when a streak of red lightning rushed by and stopped beside him. The speedster from before was now in the asylum. "You know it's a matter of time before they find where you're hiding." She warned. The man smiled. "That's the idea," He replied. "With him as bait, I can finally rid the world of those creatures." He explained before turning to the speedster. "Lockwood has always been week since Tommy came around," the speedster claimed as she looked at Tommy. "Luckily for us, I know her better than anyone." She said. This was Bella Thawne, an exact copy of her darker side. "Then you know what we must do." The staff member said as his eyes glowed purple. "Don't worry, the screamer will be ready for you when the time comes," Thawne replied. "Just need to push him a bit further." She added, knowing exactly what to attempt next.