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The Savants — A Flarrowverse Elseworld Tale (1/1)

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  • The Savants — A Flarrowverse Elseworld Tale (1/1)

    The Savants — A Flarrowverse Elseworld Tale (Expanded, 1/1)

    Author’s Note: I’m expanding this story from an earlier version, as these characters spoke to me again. It’s 1602 words. Thanks for reading.

    For the first time in two centuries, I, who was Ra’s al Ghul, stood thunderstruck, as my son’s Herald fought his nemesis, The Time-Wasp. My son, Al Sah-him, had repeatedly assured young Allen that nothing short of his enemy’s utter demise would suffice. Allen, being the willfully naive child savant that he is, thought he knew better. Couple my son’s indulgence with the woeful security at the laboratory his young friend had lately called home, and I stood thunderstruck, as my son’s Herald fought his nemesis, The Time-Wasp.

    When all seemed lost, my son employed the Shards. (My son thanked General Eiling for their use before he had him executed.) My daughter, Nyssa, who is just as indulgent with this Speedy, as she is with her new sister, fretted: “Husband, shouldn’t you have sent The Shards to Ramon for counter-programming?”

    “They can’t be programmed or counter-programmed, Wife,” he replied. “They respond to hyper-kinetic energy indiscriminately.”

    “What is to prevent your Herald from sustaining grievous injuries?,” she asked.

    “Nothing,” my son replied.

    A minute later, both Herald and Time-Wasp were writhing in their blood. My son’s Horseman, Sarab, dragged the offending future-dweller away, finishing him in his weakened state with copious ax blows. Nyssa rushed to the Herald, cooing: “Do not worry. We have the recording that will exonerate your father safe, and a cabin has been prepared for his recuperation.”

    Half an hour later, I watched as my little savant physician (whom I named Frost rather than Snow) tended the Herald’s wounds. She bit her lip, and I knew she was pensive. “Fear not, child. Evil has been replaced with death.”

    “Yes, Sir,” she answered quietly. “In time, though, death must be replaced with evil.” Chilled, I took her small, cold hands in mine and commanded her to explain. She complied: “When Al Sah-him first fought being your heir, he wasn’t just running from his fate, he was running from Barry’s too.”

    The situation was no clearer to me, as she continued: “According to Professor Stein before his death…” Her beloved Prometheus had become Icarus. The deaths of her husband and all-but-father, resulting from “matrix destabilization” still haunted her. “Your prophecy was subsumed by the time loop in which Barry and Thawne were trapped.”

    “…When my son and the Herald first crossed paths,” I said, realization dawning. Frost perceived how the existential shock numbed my senses, and she bade me sit.

    “Yes,” Frost confirmed. “Al Sah-him came to understand what Barry would require of him as Ra’s al Ghul. Thawne’s death would only close the loop in the present. He will still enter the loop in the future.”

    “…And only Ra’s al Ghul,” I said wistfully, “aided by longevity granted by the Lazarus Pit, will live to see the Time-Wasp’s future, prevent collateral damage, and bear witness for the unavoidable dead as the Time-Wasp closes the loop.”

    “Yes, Sir,” she verified. “Time travel, the long way. Al Sah-him was overwhelmed.”

    “Christ Jesu,” I invoked softly. “Then, Al Sah-him threatened Star City, and young Allen agreed to become his Herald in an alternative ascension covenant.”

    “Exactly, Sir,” she replied. “Barry saved the city in which their destinies became fixed, and he ensured that Al Sah-him would have company for part of his journey toward Thawne’s future.”

    “He shall have company for all of it.” I addressed the Herald, who had remained respectfully silent, while I conversed with Frost. “I’m sure my son will grant you the boon of the Lazarus Pit.”

    The young people exchanged cryptic glances, and the Herald rose from his convalescence. Frost handed him a white rat, and the Herald asked me to escort him to the Lazarus Pit. Once in the chamber, he explained: “Al Sah-him graciously allowed Caitlin a small supply of the water for experimentation. She discovered that non-human bio matter caused the water to react.” The Herald placed the rat in the Lazarus Pit, and the liquid fizzed.

    “Yes,” I said, “the water notes different species, but it has no effect on them.”

    In response, the ever empathetic Herald, who acted always to spare pain, caused me pain by taking off his glove and placing his hand in the water. The liquid fizzed. The water did not recognize him. My son would not have his company for the whole journey. I was unaccustomed to having my will thwarted. I realized, however, that in this new age, in which old dark magic mingled with even older dark matter released by new science, incongruous experiences must be borne.

    I, who was Ra’s al Ghul, later beheld the incomprehensible. My son’s Herald was trapped in a mirror. We had removed to S.T.A.R. Labratories where young Ramon had “cobbled together a thing,” allowing Allen to communicate within his new confines.

    My son was also taken aback. “You’re going to have to start this conversation, Barry.”

    “You were right, Al Sah-him,” said his Herald. “The covenant is as necessary as you envisioned. Damien Darhk is employing meta-humans.”

    I endeavored to suppress my rage and my shame, as I faced my son. “So, the Time-Wasp’s loop wasn’t the only impetus for your arrangement. You have spared me as bait for some snare?”

    “Correct, Father,” said Ra’s al Ghul. Then, he turned to Frost. “Cisco was preoccupied building the communication device for Barry, but he told me you could attend to this situation.”

    “Yes, Al Sah-him,” she assured. “I’ve been practicing.”

    Frost was the loveliest, saddest creature I had come to know in quite some time. With her Firestorm quenched, she was cold with no remedy. He could warm her, balance her. Without him, however, she leeched heat from her surroundings in order to live. Her ability manifested more like an illness. I understood with new clarity why my son had assigned her to my care. He needed an aging man, beyond the Lazarus Pit’s help, kept alive to entrap his nemesis. He also needed to give Frost, beyond the Lazarus Pit’s help, a condition to focus on apart from her own.

    Frost applied herself, working in tandem with “another thing invented on the fly” by Ramon to lower the temperature of the Herald’s glass prison. The ice she generated was a breathtaking display of her power and of her love. I finally understood, all these years later, that the two could go together.

    The Herald used his speed to vibrate through the freezing mirror. “Thanks,” he said, his teeth chattering.

    “Good,” replied my son. “Get warm, while you tell me where Father, Nyssa, Frost, and I need to be for the next phase.”

    The next phase involved traveling to a skyscraper in Star City. Ra’s al Ghul filled in the details en route. “Barry may have the tactical capacity of a lemming relative to us, but he compensates for that with marvelous lateral thinking.” My son outlined the Herald’s elegant solution for calling out Damien Darhk.

    It occurred to Allen that Darhk’s stolen supply of Lazarus Pit water would have lost its effect on him as it is had on me. Realizing this, Darhk would have no further reason to hide his water from me. Instead, he would likely choose to place it in plain site to taunt me. To test his hypothesis, the boy sped to all known HIVE holdings, placing his ungloved hand in various water sources at each location. We now stood in front of the lobby fountain that fizzed at the Herald’s touch. My son had come home to clean up my mess. I inwardly thanked him and the Herald for having the foresight to spare this city through their covenant, so I could finally end my foe.

    Indeed, Fate and Damien Darhk smiled upon me. That smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, as he surveyed the scene. Frost had frozen the water within the fountain, and we were surrounded by the braziers we had brought to supply Frost with heat. “Is that the fat lady I hear singing her “Song of Ice and Fire?” Before the cackle died in his throat, Frost had frozen his hands. Those conduits of his dark magic shattered in front of his disbelieving eyes. Collecting his wits, Darhk made to summon his minions. Frost blocked standard and meta-humans alike with walls and shards of ice. My son, daughter, and I expertly killed those few who managed to reach us. I faced my old friend.

    “You fool,” he said. “This is merely a temporary setback. I still have my talismans — the sources of my power.”

    “You may have your talismans, Damien,” I answered. “I have my son. He was marooned on Lian Yu, where he encountered a mage, who taught him a spell. This spell will counter any magic possessed of an opponent and end his life.”

    “That spell is merely a legend, millennia older than we are,” Darhk replied. “Even if it is real, it’s said he who casts the spell must die along with his enemy. You haven’t got the stones.”

    “Haven’t I?,” I countered, intoning the incantation. As my life ebbed away and Darhk’s did likewise, I heard my children converse and saw the Ring of the Demon’s Head change hands.

    “Thank you, Husband,” said my daughter. “I release you and promise to honor our dear Herald’s covenant. Thank you for making me part of a family.”
    Last edited by Raissa; 06-16-2017, 05:00 PM. Reason: Expanded The Story

  • #2
    I'm bumping this. Inspiration struck, and I've expanded the story. I didn't want to waste bandwidth by starting a new thread. Narrative economy is our friend in both story structure and delivery. Thanks again for reading.

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