Episode 16 - Flash Fanfiction - Gotham's Gladiators

Chapter 17

Barry was led blindfolded to what he knew was the arena. He was anxious to see who he was up against, not to mention if he used his speed and people caught a glimpse of who he was, his cover would be blown. He promised himself, the minute his cuffs were removed, he would phase his entire body to become unrecognizable...and regardless of whom it was, he would keep running and hopefully they would just continue to miss him. No matter what, Barry would not kill his opponent, even if it killed him.

As he waited for his handler to remove his cuffs, he heard the commentator speak. "Ok folks, this match will be something a little different. Tonight to even up the match we will be removing our speedster's cuffs after we remove his blindfold. This will give his competitor an equal advantage." Barry felt disappointed that his idea had been taken from him. The commentator introduced him as simply just 'Barry from Central City' and then his opponent as 'Kara the Kryptonian.'

As Barry's blindfold was removed, he felt sick to his stomach, and then his cuffs were removed, as were hers. "Kara..." he gasped at the young child. The word Kryptonian chilled him to the bones. "No..."

She hesitated, she didn't want to hurt him, he knew it. The two just stood there, Barry didn't even phase as he thought he would. They must have been standing there for a while, for the commentator to speak up. "It seems that our contestants don't want to fight, folks. We're going to have to encourage them... Maybe the threat of the detonation button will do the trick..."

Kara's eyes grew wide, and her face pale. Just as she had heard the commentator speak, lasers shot forth from her eyes and aimed right at Barry. "Run, Barry... Like your friends said you would..." she said quietly.

As if an alarm bell went off within him, Barry ran as fast as he could, circling the cage that they were in. But just as Kal-El had done in the alternate reality, she ran behind him, chasing him.

As Barry got faster and faster, he saw something from the corner of his eye. He felt that maybe he had seen something that wasn't actually there.

But then as he continued to run, with the young girl directly behind him he turned to the inner of the circle. Two figures had descended from the rooftop and were in the very center of the red and yellow lightning vortex that he and Kara had created. He instantly recognized them both.

The Green Arrow and Gotham City's caped crusader – the Batman. On the outside of the vortex time had merely stopped, which caused a little confusion with the newest arrivals, as for them time hadn't been altered in the slightest.

"Barry? What's going on here? You're fighting little girls, now?" Oliver called out to him.

"It's great to see you too, Ollie. We've been planted with chips that will be detonated if we don't fight. You need to take out the handlers. They have the remotes. Our handlers should be beside the ring. Hey, where did your friend go?" Barry asked, as he noticed that Batman had disappeared.

"Who knows with that guy? Don't worry, Barry. I'll find your handler for you. If I can get out of here that is!" Oliver said, looking around at the laser and lightning tornado that he was in.

Barry got the point and stopped running. But as he did, he remembered the laser beam that was being shot from the young child's eyes. She hit him when it was too late to realize. Barry fell to the floor unconscious.

Astrid emerged onto the arena, just as she saw Barry fall. She ran over to him and checked his pulse. It was very faint. She had seen the laser strike him from his head to his feet and the child collapse to hers at realizing what she had done.

"Cisco! You're going to have to call the paramedics and GCPD immediately, Barry's hurt!" she called out.

"Already on it, Skywalker... How did you go with the security system?"
Before Astrid could answer she heard the click of a gun and could feel the metal on the back of her head.

She attempted to cause a mind scream only to find that it had not worked. She turned around to see the man who was standing behind her.

"You should be dead, Miss Sutherland." Carmine Falcone told her. Astrid looked around her. The Batman and Oliver Queen were both busy fighting. They wouldn't be able to help her.

This man before her was wearing some sort of technology that was protecting him from her powers. "What can I say?" Astrid began, "I'm not that easy to kill. And if you shoot me, we have enough witnesses to send you to jail for a long time."

"Oh I don't intend on shooting you..." he said as he pulled out a button with a remote control attached to it. She wasn't sure whose chip that it controlled.

Nonetheless, Astrid focused her mind on the handlers outside the ring. There were many of them. It took a lot of concentration, the last of her energy. But she managed to direct them. 'Free the fighters, disable their detonation chips!' She commanded.

It worked. She and Falcone watched as the fighters all had their restraints removed from outside the ring.

But Falcone didn't move. "Stupid idea, girl." he said "One click off this button and either the girl could die... or your fast friend here."