The Flash Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  Also Available from Titan Books

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  CLIMATE

  CHANGELING

  ALSO AVAILABLE FROM TITAN BOOKS:

  FLASH: THE HAUNTING OF BARRY ALLEN

  by Clay and Susan Griffith

  ARROW: GENERATION OF VIPERS

  by Clay and Susan Griffith

  ARROW: VENGEANCE

  by Oscar Balderrama and Lauren Certo

  ARROW: FATAL LEGACIES

  by Marc Guggenheim and James R. Tuck

  GOTHAM: DAWN OF DARKNESS

  by Jason Starr

  GOTHAM: CITY OF MONSTERS

  by Jason Starr

  CLIMATE

  CHANGELING

  RICHARD KNAAK

  SERIES DEVELOPED BY GREG BERLANTI,

  ANDREW KREISBERG, AND GEOFF JOHNS

  TITAN BOOKS

  THE FLASH: CLIMATE CHANGELING

  Print edition ISBN: 9781785651434

  E-book edition ISBN: 9781785651441

  Published by Titan Books

  A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

  144 Southwark St, London SE1 0UP

  First edition: August 2018

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  Copyright © 2018 DC Comics.

  FLASH and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

  WB SHIELD TM & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s18)

  TIBO40872

  Visit our website: www.titanbooks.com

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

  CLIMATE

  CHANGELING

  1

  Thunder rolled, shaking S.T.A.R. Labs and making Cisco Ramon tightly grip the arms of his chair. The lights flickered and the screen he had been staring at for the better part of an hour dimmed. Cisco swore under his breath in Spanish, then relaxed when the weather settled down for the moment. Rubbing his hands through his dark, shoulder-length hair, he began looking over the system.

  “How are we looking, Cisco?” came Barry’s voice over the com link. “Just give me a location and I’ll force his hand!”

  “All systems are go,” Cisco replied in a much more confident voice. “Got every city Wi-Fi hotspot monitored, all 4G and 5G tapped, and I’ve even hooked into Photogram in case he tries to pass things through there!” He leaned back, put his hands behind his head and grinned. “All we need to do now is wait for you to drive Snapshot into using his phone! Rigged or not, it’ll run through one of those!” Cisco looked back. “Where’s Caitlin, H.R.? She won’t want to miss this! It was her who caught on to him using his phone to pass on an imprint of his mind so he could control his victims!”

  “She mentioned something about a headache; said she’d be right back.”

  “Good! She’ll want to be here, especially after what he tried to do to her friend Darla.”

  As Cisco momentarily shut off communications, thunder shook the building again. Cisco let out another quiet oath.

  “I wasn’t aware you were afraid of storms,” H.R. commented companionably from the table to Cisco’s left. The thin, middle-aged man grinned sympathetically then took a sip from his coffee mug before adding, “You know, they say it does wonders to talk these things out. Now, I’m no psychiatrist—at least not on this world or the one I came from—but I’m definitely a good listener and could maybe still give you some suggestions—”

  Leaning forward again, Cisco double-checked the system to make certain everything was running properly. Without glancing at H.R., he replied, “Not the storm, not exactly. Usually, they don’t bother me. Just when they get a little wild like this one.” Cisco tapped another button. “Yep. All systems perfect. Sometimes I even impress myself, which I have to tell you is getting harder and harder with all my illustrious achievements!”

  “‘Sometimes’?” H.R. returned, with a look of false shock. Setting the mug down, he tried to look knowledgeable, something from which his very casual shirt and jeans detracted. Despite the twenty-plus-year age difference, it was Cisco who was in charge when the pair were alone: it was Cisco who knew S.T.A.R. Labs as if he had built it himself, not H.R., who merely wore the identical face—and body—to the man who had actually created the futuristic facility.

  They were joined by a smartly dressed attractive young African-American woman with long dark hair who currently had her cell phone pressed against her ear. She nodded, then said, “Great, Dad. I’ll let them know.” Hanging up, she told the others, “Dad’s got the truck set up. He’s given me the coordinates. If Barry gets Snapshot, the truck’s ready to secure him, thanks in part to the equipment we provided.”

  “Cool! Great, Iris!” Cisco replied. “That’s the last piece. We’re ready.”

  “How’s Barry doing?”

  “All set. Grab some popcorn and take a seat!”

  “Let me see,” H.R. murmured, still caught up in his conversation with Cisco. “A storm. Lightning. Thunder. Rain. It was a dark and stormy night—”

  Cisco gave him a look. “Really?”

  “Sorry. As a writer I couldn’t pass that up.” H.R.’s brow furrowed. “Damn it! I am dense. Now I know what’s bothering you! Mark Mardon! The Weather Wizard!”

  As if in response, yet another round of thunder nearly deafened the pair. The power remained constant but Cisco’s brief scowl did not go unnoticed.

  “It is Mardon. He’s still safely locked up in Iron Heights, isn’t he?”

  Iris suddenly looked anxious. “He’s still there, right?”

  “Of course he is… I think he is… Let me check… Just to be sure.” Cisco tapped a finger on the desk, then returned to the console. Typing in a few words, he waited. With a bit more relief in his voice than he realized—but that H.R. noted with a frown—he replied, “Yep! Still safe and secure! Guess it paid to make sure the prison got some of that marvelous tech I used to create the Wizard’s Wand. Right now Prisoner Mark Mardon is slumbering away the storm. Hmph! Figures he could sleep through this.”

  “Thank goodness!” Iris smiled as she relaxed.

  H.R. took up his mug again. “So, that’s that fear dealt with! Maybe I missed my calling! I must be a psychiatrist or psychologist or maybe a talk show host on some Earth!”

  “Or just plain nosy on most,” Cisco quipped. Dismissing the prison directory, which he did not mention he had broken through top-level security in a matter of seconds to breach, Cisco returned to the task of updating the lab’s syste
ms. “Considering what we’ve faced over the last few years, we should all be basket cases. Each time I think we’ve seen every power a metahuman could possibly have, a new one pops up!” He typed in a few brief corrections to the program he had been studying. “’Course, if not new ones, the worst ones seem to repeat. Like Mardon and his brother. Never seems to end.”

  H.R. saluted him with his mug. “You guys deserve a medal for remaining as calm as you have! I’ve only been here a short time and I’m already frayed at the edges half the time!”

  “If anyone deserves a medal, it’s Iris,” Cisco countered. “Or maybe Caitlin. She’s—”

  “She’s what?” asked a feminine voice from the doorway.

  Both men looked up at the pretty brunette woman entering the room. Roughly the same age as Cisco, Caitlin Snow was every bit his match in intellect and Cisco was more than happy to say so. Even more than a match in some ways. Caitlin was very much the clinical scientist. She was dressed neatly and fashionably, only the odd bracelet on her wrist seeming out of place. As Cisco watched, Caitlin instinctively adjusted the sleeve of her thin leather jacket so that it covered the bracelet. She smiled at him, then at H.R. and Iris before eyeing the nearest window. “Wow! It’s pouring out there… and getting worse by the moment.”

  “Yeah.” Cisco swung back to the console. After a moment’s perusal, he hit the ENTER key. “The lab central system program is fully updated, by the way. Had time to do that too, genius that I am!”

  “Gosh. So sorry I missed that fun—” Suddenly wincing, Caitlin put a hand to her temple.

  “Are you all right?” H.R. asked, rising.

  “It’s just that migraine. It’ll pass. Since this storm started, my head’s been pounding!”

  “Thought you were going to get some aspirin.”

  “I got distracted. Kept looking forward to teaching Snapshot what it’s like to play with people’s minds. I didn’t miss that pleasure, did I?”

  Cisco chuckled. “No, that game is about to commence!”

  H.R. rose. “Let me get you some aspirin anyway. I’m little use as it is here and you deserve a ringside seat.”

  “That’s sweet of you. Thanks!”

  “I’ll go with you, H.R.,” Iris interjected. “I guess I’m a little too antsy to sit just yet.”

  “Happy to have the company.”

  As they left, Caitlin sat down next to Cisco.

  He took a close look at her. “Your eyes are a little bloodshot. Maybe you should’ve gone home.”

  “And miss this? I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but I’m looking forward to the payback. Darla deserves that.” She smiled. “My migraine will be nothing compared to the headache he’s got coming.”

  At that moment a new round of thunder shook the building. Once more the lights flickered.

  But Cisco paid little attention to all that, more concerned with how Caitlin had reacted to the latest crash of weather.

  Exhaling, Caitlin noticed him staring at her. “What?”

  “Let me see the bracelet.” Without waiting for her, Cisco took her wrist and pulled it close. He touched the top.

  “Cisco—”

  “Readings normal. Good. No power manifestations?”

  “Cisco—”

  “Caitlin? Don’t lie to me.” He tapped the bracelet. “Just answer.”

  “No. No manifestations.” Caitlin smiled. “Thanks for the concern. And thanks for the bracelet.”

  “Just so long as it keeps doing its job—”

  Once more it thundered harshly and once more Caitlin rubbed her temple.

  Cisco rubbed his chin. “This storm is really touching you. That’s odd. Ever have that happen with a storm before?”

  “No. Never.”

  “Never. Of course, never. Let me check something else.” He swung around to the computer and brought up another program. Cisco typed in the information he had and waited.

  “What are you doing? Is there something about the storm and me?”

  “These readings don’t make any sense.” He input the data again. “The storm shouldn’t have these levels. These look more like…”

  She slid next to him. “Look like what? Don’t leave me asking questions!”

  “Here’s your aspirin, Caitlin—and we’ve got a metahuman problem, don’t we?” H.R. asked, clutching the aspirin as if it had suddenly become a badly needed weapon.

  “Something go wrong with the setup for Snapshot?” Iris asked.

  “No, that’s all good to go still! I don’t know what we have here.” Cisco studied the readings for the dozenth time.

  Caitlin picked up on his growing concern. She bent toward the nearest console and started typing. “Anything we should warn Barry about?”

  “About what? Let me try to make sense of this first. He’s got enough going on helping out people caught up in this storm.” Cisco tapped a button, updating the readings. If anything, they looked even more peculiar… and yet familiar. “Reminds me of something—”

  The system began beeping.

  Cisco returned to the computer. “Looks like it’s show time! Smile, Snapshot! You’re on Capture Camera!”

  “Cisco!” Despite her initial reproving tone, Caitlin smiled. Turning to her own console, she grabbed a headset.

  Still grinning, he switched on his own microphone. “Got ’em, Barry! Here you go!”

  * * *

  The Flash raced through the city, purposely avoiding the address Cisco had given him. He needed Snapshot to commit himself. Once that happened, the plan would fall into place.

  “He just hit SEND!” Cisco called.

  “Get him, Barry!” Caitlin added.

  “I won’t let you down, Caitlin!” The Flash braced himself. In a moment he would have to be virtually in the same place—or rather ten places—at the same time.

  Cisco’s voice came over the link. “They’re answering! Ready for all coordinates!”

  “Ready, guys!” the speedster responded.

  Cisco and Caitlin fed him the addresses. Barry picked up speed. Suddenly, he was on the north side, in a bank that had just closed. A well-dressed businessman—the bank president, in fact—had his cell just out of his pocket.

  The Flash seized the phone and raced out of the bank. Not even a second later, he was on the west side, where a young woman in military garb was just pausing by a bus to grab her mobile. Barry snatched it and moved on. The Flash darted back and forth across Central City, gathering phones before the users could actually see what they had been sent.

  Except for the last one.

  The figure leaned against a wall protected by a wide overhang. As the Flash neared, he got a good look at what was apparently just a teenage boy… providing one paid no attention to the silver eyes.

  Gritting his teeth, Barry seized his cell phone. Up close, he could see that the boy’s normal eyes were still in part there. Snapshot had not yet taken control.

  The Flash had no need to see what each of the metahuman’s victims had been sent. Snapshot’s “selfie,” along with its hypnotic eyes. Snapshot’s images were a variation of the old superstition that a photo captured a person’s soul. In this case, though, the electronic image sent a bit of Snapshot’s mind to each of his victims. Anyone who opened the attachment and stared at the image became his puppet for several hours. Snapshot had used his abilities for revenge and then profit, stealing secrets and other things of value through his victims.

  Caitlin’s friend had been one of those victims, later accused of theft and more. Thanks to the crew, she had eventually been cleared, but Snapshot had remained at large.

  That was about to end.

  Cisco and Caitlin sent Flash the final coordinates. They had had trouble tracking him thanks to Snapshot rerouting all his calls, but Cisco had finally set up a program to counter that measure. This time they knew exactly where Snapshot was.

  The tall, gaunt metahuman with the shock of silver hair stood inside a decorative gazebo in the middle of the c
ity park, wraparound sunglasses on despite the darkness. Other than the hair and sunglasses, Snapshot was dressed fairly normally, in a leather jacket, jeans, and boots.

  The Flash had made the mistake of looking into those actual eyes once and had barely shaken off their hypnotic effects. This time he knew exactly what to do.

  He tore off Snapshot’s sunglasses and tossed them aside. Before the spectacles could even drop, the speedster began circling his foe. As he did, he set the open cell phones at eye level.

  The Flash slowed just enough to be able to see the reaction.

  “What the—?” Snapshot’s silver eyes widened. He gaped and tried to look away. Unfortunately for him, he looked right into another phone with his image staring back.

  Snapshot froze.

  “It worked like a charm, guys!” Barry called as he slowed to a halt. He caught all of the phones, making sure to keep the one Snapshot had ended up staring at in front of the metahuman’s gaze. “He had as strong a stare as we thought, much to his bad luck right now.”

  “That should keep him good long enough to bring him in and have something more permanent done to keep his eyes under control,” Cisco cheerfully replied. “Here’s the coordinates for the truck. Joe and the police will take over for you as soon as you get our friend secured in the vehicle.”

  “Got it! Hang on!”

  Hefting his prisoner, the speedster raced Snapshot to where Joe waited. The journey was so quick that the captured metahuman didn’t even have time to register that the phone was no longer in front of his gaze.

  “One in the bag?” asked Iris’s father. Detective Joe West might have been twice as old as Barry, but as a veteran lawman with an earnest desire to keep justice in Central City, he had stayed as fit as most of the younger officers around. Coat pulled tight to fight against the weather, he pulled out a pair of the cuffs developed to hold those with meta powers, and snapped them on.

  Snapshot shook his head. “This—what?”

  The Flash took a visored helmet from the truck and set it on the villain’s head. The opaque visor entirely obscured Snapshot’s eyes.