The Speed of Sight

Part 8

A nervous tension ran through Alli as they pulled into the neighborhood where Brad and Rebecca Fritz lived.
"You alright?" Hal asked, sensing her feelings.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous." Alli replied. They pulled up in front of a large, brown, brick house. There was a group of kids playing outside. One of the children said something to the others, then ran inside. Alli, Hal, Steve, Tony and Barry (the Flash's secret identity) stepped out of the car as a man and a woman came out onto the front porch. The woman had a tall and slender form and had blonde hair. The man was wearing glasses and was slightly taller than the woman. He had brown hair and blue-grey eyes.
The man looked quizzically at the group then said, "May I help you?"
"Yes, we are hoping you can." Barry said. "We were wondering if you knew Aaron and Kelly Slate. They were genetic scientists, so we hoped that you may have known them at one time."
The woman looked slightly scared then cleared her throat and replied, "Do you mind me asking how you know who we are, and what your business is with them?"
Steve stepped forward slightly and put a hand on Alli's shoulder. He looked the woman in the eye and said, "We were doing research on the Slates and their experiments for a project." He paused for a moment, then resumed, "We saw your names and figured out that you too were genetic scientists, and hoped that you might have known them and could give us more information."
The man looked right back at Steve and questioned, "And what are your names? We generally don't give information about our colleagues to strangers."
Tony quickly said, "I apologize, we should have introduced ourselves. My name in Tony Stark, this is Barry Allen, Steve Rogers, and our students, Alli and Hal. And may I confirm that your names are Brad and Rebecca Fritz?"
The woman answered calmly, "It is very nice to meet you all. You are correct, I am Rebecca and this is Brad." She paused, then said, "Regarding the Slates, what has your research shown you so far?"
Steve replied, "We understand they were working on a joint project with Arkham Asylum's Dr. Harleen Quinzel. And we know that, sadly, they were killed in a bombing at the Gotham City Hospital."
"Yes, that was quite a tragedy. We were all affected by their loss." Brad said. "We will try to help you as best we can. We can sit on the front porch and talk." Together they walked to the front porch. It was large and airy, with brown wicker furniture and a large fan on the ceiling. The walls were open on two sides, exposing a view of the front yard on one side, and a line of trees on the other. They all chose a seat, Barry and Tony sitting in separate chairs, Alli, Hal and Steve sitting on a couch opposite the one where Brad and Rebecca sat.
Once everyone was seated and comfortable, Brad began to question the group, "So, why do you need this information? I understand you are teachers?"
Tony and Steve exchanged an awkward glance.
Steve tilted his head and said, "I suppose you could say we are teachers, in a way. But our purpose today is to assist the authorities in this bombing case. We believe that we may know who set the bomb."
A nervous hush fell over the room. Rebecca's eyes looked to her husband, then she turned her whole head towards him, quickly adding, "I just made a fresh pitcher of lemonade this morning. I think I'll go get some for us." She hurried inside. There was an awkward silence as they waited for her to return.
A few moments later Rebecca emerged with a round tray holding stacks of glasses and a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade. She poured each person a glass, going around the room until she came to Alli. As Alli reached out to receive the glass, Rebecca froze.
"Is everything ok?" Alli asked.
"That mark on your wrist... where did you get it?" Rebecca said with intensity. She had spotted the dark tan heart on the inside of Alli's right wrist.
"It's a birthmark. I've had it all my life. I know it's pretty strange. People ask me about it all the time." Alli said.
Brad slowly walked over and said, "It's more than strange... We've seen that before." He and Rebecca had confused looks on their faces, that seemed, at this point, to match everyone else's.
"What is it?" Steve asked, worriedly.
Brad and Rebecca seemed hesitant to respond, but they each took a deep breath and Rebecca answered, "Hannah Jenson was a research assistant for the Slates. She developed a type of "storage" device, a chip, that could be implanted under the skin and read through a tattoo above the skin. Her prototype shapes were a lightning bolt for men... and a heart for women." She glanced at the mark on Alli's wrist.
Alli was shocked. She felt dazed and confused. What was on that chip? Was it information about where she came from? How she got to the Marvel universe? And who put it there? There were so many questions swirling around in her head, that it began to hurt.
Hal noticed the color draining from Alli's face and put a hand on her shoulder.
Brad looked at them and said, "We are able to read the chip, if you would like for us to. If you will, follow me inside." Hal gently guided Alli inside and down a flight of stairs. The others followed behind them. They came to a large door, and when they went inside, they found a complete laboratory with a small window high up on the wall. Brad opened a cabinet and pulled out what looked like an inventory scanner, like the kind you would see an employee using at a grocery store. "Your wrist please?" Brad coaxed.
Alli hesitantly held out her wrist for him to see. Rebecca quickly added, "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." Brad held the scanner over the tattoo until it beeped. Immediately a holographic projection appeared above the scanner. It was Hannah Jenson.
"Hello, my name is Hannah Jenson. You may already know me, but if you don't, I was the research assistant of Aaron and Kelly Slate. Today the Gotham City Hospital was bombed. I know this because I was on my way to the hospital to congratulate the Slates on the birth of their daughter, which had occurred the day before. As I was about to turn onto the street where the hospital was located, I noticed an infant crawling along the street. I stopped immediately and picked up the child and realized she had a hospital bracelet on her wrist identifying her as the child of the Slates. It is highly unusual for a newborn to have the ability to crawl, so I knew something must have happened. I remembered that almost a year ago during one of our experiments, a beaker of chemicals had spilled on Kelly. It didn't seem to cause any harm or have any affect on her so we dismissed it. Now I could see that this accident had, in fact, affected her. It was shortly after that incident that she discovered she was pregnant.
"I got back in the car with the child but suddenly the hospital exploded. I heard the sound of squealing tires, and when I looked I saw our partner, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, speeding away. It was at that moment that I realized the child was not safe here. Though I was shocked and grieved at the death of the Slates, I knew I had to get their child to safety. As I tried to formulate a plan, I heard a jet engine overhead. It was the Justice League, or to be more specific, 3 of the Justice League: Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. While they were investigating the scene, I grabbed my medical equipment and snuck on board the jet, along with the Slates' daughter. I had heard rumors that they were able to travel to different dimensions using portals. I thought if I took the child to one of these dimensions she would be safe. I quickly hid myself as the Justice League boarded the ship and took off for the Watchtower. I desperately hoped the baby would stay asleep and not alert them to our presence. It seemed like an eternity but we finally arrived. I waited for several minutes after the Justice League exited the ship, then carefully searched through the Watchtower for the portals. We passed by a conference room and I overheard the heroes talking about the bombing and who had done it. I had a clue but couldn't risk them knowing I was there. The baby began to squirm so I quickly chose a portal. Above the door was a red sign with a white letter "M." I whispered in the baby's ear to comfort her and flipped the switch beside the door. It started to hum louder than I expected. I heard the heroes stir and rushed through the purple, swirling doorway. There was a bright flash of light and then I found myself in a place I'd never seen before. As it turned out, it was the city of New York. I found a newsstand and gathered information about a local superhero agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. and learned that their founder Nick Fury lived nearby. I found this quiet alleyway, where I am now, and quickly recorded this information. I will embed it into the child's wrist using the equipment I brought and lay her on the doorstep of his house and ring the doorbell. I feel certain they will take good care of her and hope they will discover this information and one day allow her to return to Gotham when it is safe so she can discover her past. I will attempt to return to Gotham through the portal and alert the Justice League of my suspicions about Dr. Harleen Quinzel and the bombing. I must hurry and implant the chip before the baby gets too hungry, so I will end this recording. Goodbye." With that the hologram fizzled and disappeared.
A stunned silence spread around the room as everyone tried to cope with what they had just heard. Alli felt lightheaded and gripped Hal's arm. Was it true? Were her powers really just an accident? Was she really brought through the portal to be kept safe? She had spaced out for a moment, but then scrunched her eyes shut and regained focus. When she looked up, she noticed that the Fritzes had tears brimming in their eyes. Alli wondered why, but didn't feel that this was the time to ask. No one knew what to say, so they all sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity.
Steve notice the tears in the Fritzes' eyes and said sympathetically, "I'm very sorry, it must be difficult seeing Hannah, after she's been missing all these years. And being reminded of the death of your colleges."
Rebecca turned to him, her eyes full of tears, some sliding down her cheeks, and said, "It's more than that." She paused, looked at Brad then said, "We weren't sure that we could trust you, but now we know for sure that you are on our side."
In the brief pause that followed, Hal suspiciously asked, "Your side? What side?"
Rebecca said, "You most likely won't belive me, but knowing who you are, Alli, we have to tell you. We... we are the Slates." The faces of the group already had looks of confusion on them from the hologram, but now they became expressions of pure bewilderment.
"I know... I know, it sounds like a joke doesn't it?" Brad began, "But it's true. We barely had time to hurry down the fire escape before the bomb went off." He rolled up his sleeve on his left arm to reveal red, twisted burn scars. "This is from the explosion. Rebecca... I mean... Kelly, has one on her back. It barely missed her spine."
Kelly reached towards Alli, then stopped and said with a choked voice, "Oh, Alli, we've missed you so much. We didn't know what had happened to you! We looked for you everywhere. And we've continued looking, not just for you, but for Hannah and Harleen. But we couldn't risk her finding us first.  That's why we had to change our identities. We were trying to stay safe, to protect our children, our research, and our livelihood."
The group that was with Alli stared at the Slates. No one could truly comprehend what was just said. During the hologram Steve had moved behind Alli and had put his hands on her shoulders; now he gripped them tightly. Kelly wiped her eyes then continued, "Alli, I can't wait for you to meet your siblings. They will be so happy to meet you." She looked at Steve, Barry, and Tony. "Thank you for bringing our daughter back to us."
Alli's heart dropped. Did they expect her to move in with them, forever? Alli stammered for a moment then slowly and sorrowfully said, "I... I can't stay. This, Steve, is my dad. Hal is my best friend, and Mr. Stark is a close friend and a mentor. I don't want to leave them. Not that I don't... I mean, I'm sure you're... um..." she looked around uncomfortably, then continued, "What I mean is, I am SO happy to have found you! It just might take some time to get used to all of this." She looked down as her parents faces fell.
Aaron looked at Steve and said, "Thank you for taking such good care of our daughter. She is very respectful and has become a beautiful young woman." He looked at Alli, then continued, "I understand. It must be hard, having all this thrust upon you at once." He paused, took a deep breath then added, "Come on. Let's go out onto the front porch and get some fresh air." They all followed him up the stairs, still silenced by shock and disbelief. They slowly marched through the hall and out onto the front porch. The children outside were playing an energetic game of kickball. One looked up and waved, then was promptly tagged with the ball. Alli and the rest of the group sat down on the front porch and watched the game. When it was over three of the children came to the porch as the others dispersed to their various homes.
"Kids, this is Alli." Kelly began. "Alli, this is Elizabeth, our oldest at twelve years old."
Elizabeth held out her hand and warmly greeted Alli saying, "Hi there. It's nice to meet you."
"And these are my boys," Kelly continued. "Andrew who is ten, and my eight year old twins, Carter and Matthew." She paused with a worried expression and said, "Elizabeth, did Matthew already go inside?"
"No ma'am, he's right—" Elizabeth stopped abruptly and turned in a circle. "He was here just a second ago. Maybe he went to Ms. Samatha's to play with Ron?"
"No, they're out of town, remember?"
Aaron was already down the stairs and calling, "Matthew! Matthew! Where is he? Matthew!"
Everyone else rushed down the stairs and began looking. Alli, Hal, Elizabeth and Kelly went around to the back of the house to search for Matthew. When they turned the corner, Hal gasped and stretched his arms out to block them. Elizabeth began to scream, but Alli clasped a hand over her mouth before she could. Alli peered out to see what had caused them to react. What she saw made her want to scream as well, but she bit her lip instead. A mysterious figure dragged a writhing Matthew into the woods behind the house. "Don't make a sound." Hal whispered commandingly. "If he hears you, he'll either kill Matthew or take off running. If he does, we may lose him."
Carter ran around the corner and yelled at the top of his lungs, "MATTHEW! WHERE ARE YOU?"
The villain's head shot up and he glared at them. He then whacked Matthew across the head with his fist and took off running with him. Elizabeth's face was soaked in tears and she crumpled to the ground with a cry of agony, as Kelly screamed an agonizing, ear-splitting scream.
Suddenly, Alli ducked under Hal's arm and burst forth into a run that turned her body into a blur on the landscape. She shot across the yard and into the woods, as fast as lightning, and began quickly dodging trees to catch the villain. As she came closer, she noticed that half his face was burned and twisted in a gruesome way, and part of his cheek and jaw bones were showing. He turned his head around to look at her and his eyes went wide with fear. She jump-kicked him and heard a cracking noise, then she grabbed Matthew before the man fell on him. She stopped running and observed the man as he lay unconscious on the forest floor. The others had heard the commotion and come running to see what had happened.
Kelly looked white as a ghost, yet relieved at the sight of Matthew, who was lying unresponsive in Alli's arms. Kelly opened her mouth and slowly shook her head. She blinked several times, then said, "I— You— I mean— Oh Alli, what just happened?"
Hal looked around, then said, "Let's get Matthew inside, then we'll explain everythi—. He's gone!" Hal pointed to Two Face, or rather, the spot where he had been. In his place was a smashed pile of leaves.
"What just happened?" Alli said.
"I don't know," Steve said. "But we should really get Matthew inside."
Alli nodded and handed Matthew to Aaron and they maneuvered their way out of the woods and to the house. They brought Matthew inside and laid him on the couch. Kelly wet a cloth with cold water and dabbed his forehead with it in order to clean a cut he had received when he was knocked out.
"So," Aaron began. "what happened out there?"
Kelly was staring at Matthew with a concerned expression when she said, "We had come around the corner to the back of the house, when we saw Matthew being carried off by Two Face!  He heard us, knocked Matthew out and ran with him. Alli ran after him, but there was something about it that was different. She was running so fast, like a bolt of lightning or something." Her voice trailed off and she resumed staring into Matthew's face and gently dabbing his forehead.
Alli cleared her throat and slowly said, "I do run differently, really differently. I— I have super speed." She shrugged her shoulders dismissively, hoping to ward off the shocked looks she knew she would get. It didn't work. Carter, Elizabeth, Andrew, Aaron and Kelly all looked at her with matching surprised expressions on their faces. Hal sidled a little closer to Alli, which made her feel more comfortable with all the people staring at her.
"You have super speed?" Andrew marvelled. "Are you a super hero?"
"Well— Uh, actually, yes. I am."
"WHAT?!" Andrew and Carter lept to their feet and began to drown her in questions.
"Woah woah woah!" Alli laughed. "Slow down! One at a time!"
Carter quickly asked, "What's your name? What does your suit look like? Have you fought in a battle before? Do you know any famous heros?"
Alli laughed then quickly began to answer their questions, "Okay, okay. But before I tell you the answers, you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about me, understand?" They nodded to her with bright eyes and she continued, "My superhero name is Strobe. I have a blue and white suit with an eye mask. Yes I have fought a few times, and yes I know some famous heros." She smiled at their shining eyes and bright smiles.
"What superheroes do you know?"Andrew asked.
"Now, that I can't tell you." Alli replied with a serious tone. "You see, the heros I know want to keep their secret identities a secret. If I told you who they were, it might not only put their identities in danger, but it also might put you in danger as well." The boys looked disappointed, but they slowly shook their heads in agreement. Matthew began to stir and the focus was finally lifted from Alli.
"He's waking up." Aaron said.
"Whe—where am I?" Matthew breathed. He opened his eyes then winced at the pain from his wound.
"Shhh... it's ok, don't try to move. You were knocked out in the woods behind the house. You're safe now." Kelly soothed.
"Mom, dad, is that you?" Matthew croaked.
"Yes it is, we're here. Don't worry."Aaron said. He then turned to the group from Marvel and asked, "Should I take him to the hospital? If I do what will I tell them when they ask what happened? 'My son was knocked out by the notorious villain Two-Face, and my daughter, that I didn't even know WAS my daughter, ran up and knocked him out?'"
"I was part of the Army for a while," Steve said, "so I can see what I can do." Steve looked over the wound. He peered at the cut, then concluded, "The cut isn't deep, so it won't require medical attention. It is possible that he has a concussion though, based on the size and color of the bruise around the cut." He was referring to the purple-black bruise the size of his fist that had appeared since the accident. "I would suggest getting him checked out to err on the side of caution."
"Thank you for your input." Kelly responded. "I guess we should get going then. Aaron, you stay here. Elizabeth and I will take Matthew to the hospital." As Kelly was getting ready to leave, the ground began to vibrate, then the whole house was shaking.
"Hal", Steve commanded. "Get everyone to the basement, and stay there until we call you. Barry, grab all the pillows, blankets and cushions you can find. Alli get all the non-perishable food and water you can get. I don't know what the damage will be, or how long you will need to be down there. Once you are done, everyone else meet back upstairs. Tony and I will take care of everything else." Everyone nodded, then began their assigned tasks.
Alli gathered as much as she could, as quickly as she could. She knew exactly what was happening. They were under attack.

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