Drowned in Sin (Shadow)(Double XP)

I assure you boy, I am no copy the imposter Redline groaned out in response to Jake's quips. His cheekbones twisted upwards, betraying the ear to ear smile hidden beneath his mask. But let me ask you, who do you think it is that you're defending? A heavy puff of the noxious green gas slithered through the vents in the man's mask before dissipating into the air.

The comment seemed to stir Redline from his fear momentarily. All at once he realized that the boy was standing in between himself and the phantom of his past. In an instant Redline was in front of the boy, one claw to his face, the other pointed defensively at his enemy. Get out...of here kid this was not a suggestion but a command.You don't know...what we're messing with here...and believe me...you don't... he was cut of by the clack of the imposter Redline's own bladed shoes against the metal floor. What was that you were saying Redline? Trying to save the boy like you've "saved" so many others? A low and broken cackle croaked from within the man's chest. Redline visibly shuddered at the sound. He turned his face back to the boy, his faded blue eyes pleading with him to listen. Run...get back to the ship...find...a way out Scott's breathing became more labored as his anxiety grew.

Again the click of bladed feet against the floor as the phantom took another step. Does your sidekick know of OCEAN I wonder? About the people who trusted you who you let die at the hands of a traitor you dared to call a teammate? The imposter was clearly enjoying this half coughing half chuckling as he dredged up the dead and the past. What about the people who have died by your own hand Redline? Not for your little crusade against evil, but because they furthered your own ends your own gluttonous desires.

The imposter Redline's dull eyes rolled in their sockets before coming to rest on Jake. If you knew a quarter of the things that this man has done in his lifetime you'd not so willingly put yourself in harms way for him boy. You see he likes to think of himself as a broken man, but he and I know that's not true. Don't we Redline? Scott turned from the boy to face his phantom, hoping that the person who saved him would heed his warning and get out of here while he still could. You aren't some broken crusader trying to purge the world of evil. You enjoy the violence, the turmoil, the killing. Somewhere deep down in you, that part where I used to live, you love doing what you do. There's no denyi...

That's...ENOUGH! Redline bellowed, doing his best to stand firm as he screamed at his doppelgänger. But immediately his lungs betrayed him, giving way to a series of coughs and wheezes. After a few moments, Scott doubled over, his left hand holding his chest, the other reaching to his mask to administer his medication.

Still having trouble with that? the phantom rasped out, it's voice growing ever more hoarse. It seems that's just one of the many perks of finally ending my own man. With that the imposter removed it's mask, revealing it's wrinkled and greeting lips. A deep breath filled the things lungs as it let its mask hang below its chin. Then it exhaled, letting loose a thick cloud of dark green gas. It crawled over the floor and hung in the air with a faint hiss as it slowly encroached on Jake and Scott. Redline could only step backwards as the deadly cloud dissipated just in front of him. His damaged voice trembled with fear as he spoke. How? Scott began, knowing that the answer to his question might be more horrifying than he wanted to know. How are you...even here Flatline? The imposter Redline smiled at this, revealing it's decayed mouth and mostly rotted out teeth. Im so glad you asked it cackled the monstrous grin never leaving its face. You see the higher ups in Hell were more than happy to get even just a piece of you, but as you know their a greedy bunch. They wanted more, they wanted your whole wretched soul. Obviously I was more than willing to help. All I needed was a vessel a body with a connection to you to enter this world in. Flatline took another step, his dull eyes seeming to glaze over in sadistic glee. Did you know you had a daughter Redline? The question froze Scott in place. The tense of his darker self dropping his heart into his gut. He had a daughter...

If the mask Jake wore could show his face, it would be of confusion. Startled beats of his heart as Flatline spoke, he could only look at both of them, before him was a green breathing thing of ugliness and behind him was a man who had a dark past, a dangerous past. A past you didn't walk away from quite so fast and whatever that strength was from before, it slowly shambled, deteriorating piece after piece. Jake almost gave up, decided, this was too much, that he should listen to Redline and run, go home, pretend this never happened, give up the suit, give up the power. And try to live his life as normal as he could be, as normal as his mother wanted him to be. As normal as he despised being.

Jake was broken out of the thought when finally, Flatline showed his face, and his foot was just gathering the strength to leave, as the green gas crept towards them when Flatline said something that triggered Jake. Hell. He came from hell, he was dead, he came back, did hell exist? Did demons? Did angels? Jake didn't exactly believe it yet he felt so strange, listening as Flatline spoke, he was meant to be in eternal punishment, Why wasn't he Punished. But that wasn't the worst of it, that was the the topping of this disgusting creatures frosty layer, no. The inner darkness of this beast was, he took away a broken mans daughter before he even met her.

Jake wasn't sure what he felt, disgust? Fear? Anger? it was a strange mix of all of them but he knew now why he wore this suit, why he chose to use his powers, because of Monsters like this one. Looking at Flatline, Jake's eyes were hard and angry, if hell released him from his rightful place in punishment then Jake would send him right back to where he belonged. "I'm sorry. I haven't quite introduced myself." Jake would begin walking towards the revolting creature known as Flatline, his hand once again, curled into a fist. "My name is Zaap. And you say you escaped hell? THEN I'M GOING TO SEND YOU BACK." With that angry promise, Jake would begin running at Flatline, knowing full well the man would be faster then him, but that was okay, he just needed the right moment to strike. And by god he would get it even if it meant breaking every bone in his limbs but Flatline just stood there and so Jake went to test, did they truly have speed, with a burst of his own speed, Jake would run up to Flatline and deliver a left hook right to there face, the full force of his strength.

A bone shuddering crack reverberated inside the glass dome as Jake's fist made devastating contact with Flatline's face. Redline had been too terrified, too shocked to even act. And even as Scott's red companion approached his other half that fear chilled him to the core. Flatline had never even moved, never even flinched. But in the agonizingly long moment before contact was made, Redline could see Flatline move, knew what he was doing. A twisted smile briefly cracked the mangled maw of Flatline, his gaze shifting beyond Jake and back to Scott. With Jake's hand suspended in the air, mere inches from his face, Flatline expelled a gout of toxic gas directly in the red clothed crusader's face. Then the pop, that bone shattering pop.

Flatline's body was rocked backwards, stumbling from the impact into a cloud of his own making. For second his form would be concealed, the damage left to in unclear. But his cloud of gas quickly dispersed, and the true horror of their situation became apparent. As Flatline's formed emerged from the cloud, the first thing that would draw Redline's attention would be the head. It was rotated almost a full 180 degrees, the hood of its uniform having twisted with it, concealing most of the head except for a long tuft of black hair poking out from the right side. Scott instinctively reached up to his own head, needing to confirm that he was in fact bald. But why then did Flatline have this long matted hair?

Reaching up both hands, Flatline would grab the chin and crest of its head. Bone and sinew audibly scraped against eachother as it quickly torqued its head back around to face them. The jaw hung limp and when the grissly thing let go, its head fell unnaturally to the left side. It's long dark hair spilled out from the hood that now lay wrinkled across its neck, the skin of which was oddly creased and twisted.With Flatline's head now in full view, its features became more apparent and the meaning of its previous words became obvious. Though the suit was undoubtedly Flatline's, the evil entity was now in the body of a woman...Scott's daughter. A rotten dry laugh scratched out from Flatline's damaged throat though no movement came from her shattered jaw.

Meet Selina! she croaked, the sound seeming to come from some dead hollow chamber inside the ruined body. Again there was no movement from the mouth, just that hollow resonance, but her body continued to move and gesture as though it's head was not dangling worthlessly over her shoulder.

She was partial to the same vices as you in your youth Redline. It taunted now, and though Redline had no reason to listen to his adversary he knew it to be true. Something deep inside him told him that Flatline would not fabricate something like this. That it would only hurt him if it were true.

Oh how she loved her drugs, and she had a metabolism like her daddy. It took a potent dose to t claim her life but we both know that no one mourns one more dead junkie. The corners of flesh at her mouth bent upwards in a ruined mocking smile. Scott had a daughter, Scott had had a daughter. But here she stood before him, ruined and mangled by the evil that he had unleashed on the world. Hot tears ran down his face as he crumbled, the tips of his claws clanging lazily to the floor as he fell to his knees. The tears came in streams now as he sobbed, his chest heaving.

You...monster the mourning father could barely eek out as he convulsed uncontrollably. His body screamed for him to ask how, to ask why, to curse the very could that could let something like this happen. But he knew that his God was not to blame, it was himself. He had created this ocean of sin and now it seemed his undertaker had come to drown him in it. His head hung low with guilt and sorrow. The only indication of his head beneath the hood were the tears falling from his face and dripping to the floor. All the while Flatline stood, soaking in the misery of his other half before finally Redline spoke up.

Just do it he commanded, a defeated man. End me...get it...over with. Flatline perked up at this, standing straight her shoulder's tensing as if almost confused. Awh did I break poor little Redline? So soon? A sadistic kind of joyous laugh cackled from inside the mockery that had once been Scott's daughter. The joy in it was spine tingling. But you brought a guest, and we can't exclude him from the fun.

In a dark green burst Flatline was gone from where she stood. In a instant, a trail of thick dark noxious gas trailed straight for Jake. The scraping of metal against the floor would grind out as Flatline whirled like a ballerina on her toes before Jake with her arms extended. The dark cloud swirled in a vortex around her as the blades aimed for Jake's throat with each passing spin.

The green gas that had exploded into Jake's face pushed him back after his fist made contact and as Jake tried to move out of the cloud, the air he breathed felt toxic and horrid and soon he found that his throat felt like it was slowly constricting and he began to cough. He landed on his knees as he brought his hands to his throat, his chest, finding it harder and harder to breath as the seconds ticked yet, he didn't stop looking at Flatline. Flatline, who still stood after that, Flatline, who's head was twisted all the way round, broken, yet it just twisted it back, a disturbing scene to endure.

The worst of it was it was still talking without the use of it's mouth.. This wasn't science, this was magic, it had to be. Which would mean that the undead being he saw before him was.. Was truly from hell. Jake tried to stand as a new coughing fit was brought from his lungs, trying to force whatever was constricting his lungs out yet it wasn't working, breathing became a harder task each and every breath. He fell on his side, the fit growing worse and worse yet still he fought to stand himself to get back to his knees but that's when Flatline said something disturbing and Jake looked to the vile creature again. He couldn't quite see the speedster till a literal vortex of death came right at him, bringing his arms up to block, Jake planted a foot firmly on the ground and pushed away just as the storm closed in on him, the sharp pang of warmth and pain cut across both of his arms as he flew backwards, hitting the ground hard as he rolled till he stilled on his back near Redline, his eyes on the roof of the dome they were in.

He couldn't fight a speedster, not a zombifyed dead speedster, he needed to be able to hit the thing with his red energy, turn the thing to dust, if it didn't have a body, then the spirit would be forced out... An idea sprung into Jake's mind as he began coughing again and looked to Redline. "Oi... Take him... Up there.. And drop him.. Trust.. me." Jake said hoarsely between coughs and wheezes as he pointed to the very top of the dome, he sounded almost like the old man at this point thanks to Flatlines toxins yet his accent still remained, which was still a surprise. "He.. Needs.. To be.. Punished.. So get off your... Ass. And drop him up there." Jake Finally said as he slowly got up, his feet finally both on the ground as a fine red energy began to grow along his costumes right boot, becoming more and more chaotic as it grew, cracking the ground below his foot, Jake would keep the red energy as stable as possible till his plan could be enacted. Now he just hoped Redline would man up and do what he asked, other wise he would be fighting this fight alone and with one less foot.

Redline clambered to his feet as his feet as he watched Flatline assault the boy. All at once his sorrow for himself was replaced with pure protective instinct. But as he got his bearings beneath him, he was already watching the red suited child as he was flung backwards by the force of Flatline's attack. It was disorienting to watch. For so very long that entire world had moved so slow to Scott, even when facing off against others with relatively impressive speed. But now, seeing someone move on equal footing with himself, he could barely keep up. Years of living in slow motion had left him vulnerable to his own speed. The thought was terrifying.

With force his compatriot crashed to the floor, his forearms bloodied from Flatline's terrible claws. Damn kid Redline thought menacingly, his eyes quickly turning back to his whirling opponent. What the hell was he to do? This kid had no business going up against Flatline and he would surely not be prepared for the horror he would inflict. Scott knew it all too well. That malice, that sadistic hate used to be a part of him. It still was in a sense, but it was channeled now, focused, like redirecting explosive force into propulsion for a rocket. But there would be no redirecting this opponent. She knew the way to Scott was through the kid, Zap as he called himself. And right on cue the kid spoke up.

Redline's eyes went wide with rage as he turned on his heels to the boy. THIS he started, eyes boring holes in the kid is why I...work alone...and why you...shouldn't be doing this...in the first place! His words were venomous daggers at the kid. She can hear you! He couldn't believe it. Even if the kids plan would have been viable, it went right out the window as he announced it for all to hear. Flatline chuckled at the center of the dome as she spun down to face the two heroes, clearly this was amusing her.

Still got that chip on your shoulder for the kids eh? that hollow voice rang out again, this time accompanied by a torrent of chocking smoke. If I was still in there, you'd have killed him for that. You've grown soft old man. Then off she was again, this time bolting at Scott. His eyes clambered to follow the motion but damn she was fast.

In a blur she tucked into a roll then sprung off her hands feet first as Redline. Using his own speed, he sprinted straight at the oncoming attack, sliding to a knee and thrusting one of his claws into the space above him. As Flatline sailed overhead, Scott's claws traced a ruinous like down her back, filleting the stiff flesh as he slid along. Flatline screamed out in pain as her feet collided with the edge of the dome and immediately began carrying her in a curve upwards. At the same time, Redline was dealing with his own problems as he slid headlong into the noxious fog left in Flatline's wake. However thick the stuff appeared, it was made of extremely fine particles, slipping though the filter's in Scott's mask. Alla t once he felt his chest seize and his lungs clench like tight fists. Panicked gasps croaked from his throat and the veins in his neck bulged from the strain. Frantically he reached to his mask and delivered a burst of life saving medicine. As he heard the mist enter his mouth he heaved with all his might, attempting to bring just some of the medication into his strangled lungs. But none came. He could feel his swollen throat ease its tension but the lungs would not budge. A choked gurgle came sickeningly from his throat as he doubled over on to all fours. Gasp after struggled gasp rocked his body as he threw every muscle he had into opening his lungs. Reaching up once more he delivered another dose, desperately praying now that he would not meet his end. For all his talk, all the thoughts of death he had endured in the past year and the despair he had felt just seconds ago, he knew in this moment that he did not want to die. There was fear for his life yes, of pain and of suffering, but that was not his drive here. No, he had to live, not to save his own hide, but to save the kid.

Jake wasn't sure what to do, he got Redline active but in the same amount of time did indeed say his plan out loud which at the time couldn't exactly be helped, the kid felt like he was coughing to death and so he stayed back and watched the two speedsters go at it, feeling helpless. Even if his eye couldn't quite keep up, he was starting to catch glimpses now, white and black blurs such as Flatline jumping over while Redline went under.

Yet even then his vision began to show white spots as he gave another cough and looked again, a second later after that up and over, Redline had been caught in the gas and he didn't look good, worse then the what Jake felt. A clang behind him told him that Flatline was behind him, he didn't know what she was doing but what he realized was that he wasn't going to be able to enact his plan. Jake had began to give up on fighting when his mind came up with something else, something new. Something he never would have thought of if it wasn't for what Flatline had done just a mere minute ago. A vortex of green gases and blades.

Jake's plan was simple, use his red energy and flexibility to start spinning, spin so much he would start to gather wind. So much wind that in this enclosed space he would be pushing everything back that couldn't gain traction. Giving one last wretched cough, Jake planted the foot that hadn't gathered any red energy down and with a prayer of hope, Kicked off his red energy foot, raising it to a almost round house kick as he began to spin. Jake knew he would never be as fast as these two, he was like a rock in water compared to them, sinking slowly as they flowed around him but with a kick that practically shattered his leg, he was as fast as them, maybe not as fast but close enough, close enough that he couldn't see anything except for the blur of wind, his leg, what felt like bare skin being whipped by that wind that gathered around him, creating his own vortex, a whirlwind kick. A kick he hope would push the gas away and knock Flatline off balance, even when his consciousness threatened to go out, the pain growing not just from his leg but his chest and lungs and head, he hoped his newly formed plan worked for both there sakes.

Scott felt a sudden trembling in his hands and knees. Was that the first sign of the end? Were his limbs giving out beneath him as the oxygen drained from his lungs. No that certainly wasn't it. The trembling was coming from in the floor. It had been brief and intense but with Redline's incredibly slowed perception of time he had felt it. Looking up he had no idea what he'd see. And though his lungs still betrayed him and he gasped for air, his curiosity overtook him. At the end of the domed room, his red suited compatriot had fired off from his right foot and was now engaged in a ballerina like twirl. It was reminiscent of something that he or Flatline may have attempted, but lacked the bodily control that the two of them possessed. What resulted was a topsy-turvey twirl, the boy's body and leg spinning out on an axis at his planted foot.

The violent spin stirred the air in the dome and began churning out a violent wind. Redline could feel it as he turned to face the boy. Over and over he twirled, with every pass the intense vortex gaining speed. Suddenly Scott felt his lungs inflate like two fleshy balloons as the air in the room was forced into his lungs along with the medication that had become trapped at their entrance. All at once he gasped a mighty gasp and felt the strength reenter his limbs. At the same time the mighty wind continued to pick up, forcing the contents of the domed room ever outwards.

Taking both hands, Redline his metal blades deep into the floor, keeping himself from being pushed by the gale force winds into the glass dome. Flatline however was not so lucky. Having been halfway up the dome when the winds from Jake's attack started, she lost all footing and was sent careening at the dome behind Redline. She his with a heavy thunk. Scott imagined it was the kind of sound a fish hears when a monstrous human decides to tap on the glass of a fishbowl. That sound was accompanied by the sound of breaking bones and an audible moan of pain from the pinned Flatline.

Good job kid Scott commented, genuinely impressed by his ingenuity in a pinch. He had provided all the opening Scott felt he would need. Tucking his head against the buffeting winds, he felt his hood fly from his head, revealing the dark black cerberus of a tattoo that wrapped around his head. But he couldn't care about that now, all he could think of was how to get rid of Flatline. It was going to be risky, it was going to be dangerous, but it just might save the kid from the monster that was Scott's other half.

With a heave, he withdrew his claws from the floor and was carried backwards with immense force feet first at Flatline. His toes pointed blades aimed directly at the pinned monster's chest, he turned in midair to look her directly in her cold dead eyes. I'm sorry Selina he thought taking in as deep a breath as he could. I wish I could have been a father to you. Then his feet collided with Flatline's chest, a horrible popping sound breaking from her chest. But he force continued to carry him through and he felt his feet collide with already cracked glass dome. And propelled by the boy's wind, Flatline and Redline went tumbling through the hole in the glass and were sucked into the dark cold ocean before it began racing inside the dome.

Out in the cold, Scott could feel the crushing deep all around him. Immediately he began to regret his decision. The pressure was maddening, and he could feel the air begin crushed from his lungs. Get out kid he thought, realizing that he had lost track of Flatline in the swallowing blackness. Get out and never look back.

Spinning, spinning, spinning. Jake's thoughts degraded as time went by, he couldn't feel yet he felt like as a fly while also wanting to vomit like nothing. He was confused and distraught and.. tired. So tired. It would be seconds later he would begin to slow down before completely collapsing, tired and weak. Jake would lay in the cool before a fit of coughs erupted in his chest and he turned over, unstrapping his mask and vomiting. It was then that Jake realized he was in water, rapidly raising water. Looking up, he would see where the water poured in and so he looked for Redline or Flatline yet found them no where.

It all became clear in that few seconds, his plan had worked, but now his foe and companion were both in the deep of the ocean. A frightfully black deep. Strapping his mask back on, Jake would raise to both feet before falling face first into the water with a gasp of pain, a reminder that the cost for such a move was the loss of his leg. Not that it was gone, just bear, red and bruised.. and bloody. Adrenaline was most likely the only thing keeping the pain bearable as Jake rose to one foot and began hopping towards the hole that most likely led to a deep, dark, scary place but the only place that would had to have Redline, it had to be. "Your durable Jake, no matter about it. But this place is deep.. deep under. There's gonna be a lot of pressure on you. And With a broken leg, your not gonna be able to swim well. So Just jump in. Grab the silver costumed speedster and let the water pull us back in. Easy, simple yet Great plan... Please work." Jake said as he closed in, feeling to water pushing against his leg. Planting his hands on the ground, Jake would aim for the hole, take in a deep breath before using his single leg to jump right into the torrent of water, hands down the scariest thing he had ever done.

First thing he noticed was the cold, it was cold as cold could be and he felt heavy, all that pressure.. his lungs felt it the worse but he couldn't give in now, not when the glint of a silvery figure in sight, he began to push with one foot, slowly but quickly reaching Redline's back and tightly grabbing onto his hood before pushing back towards the life saving rush of water as they would be quickly thrown back into the dome.

Free of the pressure and able to breath again, Jake would pick up Redline by his suit and start dragging him along till the man decided to walk himself, crawling along himself with his broken leg dragging behind. "Wakey Waky Redline. We got a submarine boat to get to." Jake would say in between a small cough as he went along.

Everything was blackness. Scott pressed his hands hard against his eyes, futilely trying to prevent the immense pressure from reaching their delicate tissue. He could feel them being squeezed, compressed like the rest of his body. The pain was unimaginable, his head was swimming. This would be his end, he knew it now. But even as he accepted his fate, preparing to let the air in his lungs go to make it all end he felt something yank on his hood. Perhaps it was Flatline, coming up for one last insult before he was swallowed in the inky depths. He turned, trying to see the source of the motion but what he saw surprised him.

It was his red suited companion, swimming like mad back towards the dome. He would be screaming at him right now were it not for the agony he was experiencing from the pressure. But it seemed the boy's plan was working as Redline felt the current from the rushing water pulling the two of them towards the dome. He could already feel the pressure subsiding as they passed the threshold of the cracked dome. But they weren't safe yet.

Just as he waist cleared the dome, Scott felt something wrap around his bare ankle and stop him hard. The rushing water crashed over his body as he was held in the wake, pulled on one end by the boy and by the unknown force outside the dome. Looking down through the crashing water he knew what he would see but even still was terrified. Standing with both feet planted on either side of the hole out in the crushing depths was Flatline. Her form was barely visible except for the red streaks on her suit but her icy grip was like a vice. Yet despite the water and the distortion of her form, her ragged voice came through as clear as ever.

You'll never escape me Redline she was calm, unphased by the stress of the situation. Even as she spoke Redline could feel some sort of cold darkness creeping a line up his leg before settling in his core. A parting gift from me to you. Until we meet again... and with that her grip released and Redline and Jake went tumbling into the rapidly filling dome. Even with Flatline's grip gone, he could feel her touch still in him. There was something else there now, like a cold black tentacle wrapped around his heart. It caught him, swirling his mind back to murder and drugs from his days in the Hellhounds. One after another these memories rushed through his head as though he was experiencing them again.

Then it was all gone and he was back in the real world, the boy's voice calling him back to the waking world. This is not good he thought as he once more became aware of the situation. The dome they were in was rapidly filling, no doubt the tunnel through which they had entered would similarly be filling.

Can you walk? he questioned to the boy who still seemed to be under the effects of Flatline's toxin. We need...to head back...up the tube. He commanded, lifting the boy's arm over his shoulder on the side of his possibly broken leg. With as much effort as possible he heaved forward, wading through the water and entering quickly pressurizing tunnel. They needed to get back to the surface and soon.

When Redline finally got up, he helped Jake walk, which was good because the water was starting to get way too high for his liking. "I can hop. Walking is out of the... Question." Jake said as he hopped along as best he could in the rising water. He did not want to die here, not after what they just did to drown that thing. "Think.. you can run along the wall or water. I'm rather durable so whiplash shouldn't be much a problem. And we can get.. to the sub.. faster.." Jake began to falter in his words as a growing pain in his leg began to pulse, growing stronger and stronger each passing second.

Guessing the adrenaline from that whole event must have been wearing off enough to start showing the true pain of his mangled leg, Jake bit his lip hard to hold back any sign of weakness along with taking his mind off the pain, super-speed would at best not be good for his leg but it was quick and he hopped Redline would run them. It was better then wading though the water while there possible death came closer and closer.

Hang on Redline commanded, ducking down for a moment to allow Jake to grab on. Then in a flash he took off, the added weight from his fellow suited freak pulling hard on him as his legs pounded along the walls of the long tube. His chest heaved as he propelled them up the interior. He could feel his veins pulsing in his head. There had already been so much stress on his body tonight and this was just one more. Pushing through the tightness in his chest and the burning in his legs he exploded out from the tube and back into the sub, screeching to a halt on the metal floor.

The sound of the dome filling and collapsing echoed out from the passageway. If they had waited only a few more moments, they'd have been crushed in a torrent of glass and water. But the nightmare wasn't over yet. With the dome broken, the entry tube began to rapidly fill with water.

Keep moving Redline commanded, more to himself than Jake. They needed to make their way to the bridge and force this thing up to the surface...and fast. His eyes scanned the area around them, darting with Jake on his back from point to point, trying to find the control room. Luckily his speed won them the day he burst onto the bridge. What he found inside however was not what he expected.

There was no fight, no guns at the ready inside. Instead, every man and woman in the room bowed their heads as they entered, as though they had been expected. Redline one of the soldiers spoke as he calmly approached him. You are expected at the helm.

Wha... was all he could get out. What the hell was going on? Not an hour ago he had been slaughtering these people. Now they spoke to him like he was their captain. He couldn't even pilot something like this. What sort of trick was going on here.

The sub was set to descend automatically, however it had no return function. The man spoke, almost like he anticipated Redline's confusing an questioning. None of us has the training to pilot the sub. Either you save yourself and all of us, or we all die at the bottom of the ocean. His words rung with a solemn truth. This is what they had been resigned to. They would each of them die to get him to pilot a sub. It was so bizarre. For the life of him Redline could not understand why this series of events had been set up. But there was little other option.

Keep an eye...on these men he told Jake as he let him down from his back. They make any...kind move...do what you have to. He didn't want to have to give such an order to the boy, but he couldn't watch his back and drive this thing. And with that he stepped to the controls and hoped that inspiration would strike him.

There were was something to super speed, it was a cool feeling, the wind rushing behind you, the blur. But for Jake, speed wasn't his friend, mainly for his leg, which was red raw and possibly had a bone snapped. As they flew though the tube, Jake bit his lip even harder to keep down any complaints from the pain, the taste of blood entered his lip in heavy amounts and began to dribble down his chin and past the training mask he wore.

Finally they began to slow down as they made it into the sub, alas it didn't end as Redline continued to move quickly, Jake's leg twisting in all sorts of ways from the movement till finally they did stop, with what was in front of them enough to distract Jake for a moment, seemed this whole enigma was planned, with them asking Redline to pilot the sub. Soon enough, Redline put Jake down to which he was thankful but all too soon a sullen reminder of the pain arose and he held back a yelp as he let his leg sag uselessly, his one good foot keeping him standing as he planted his back on a wall and stared at all the soldiers. "You... Heard... Him... No... Move.." Jake got the words out and held his fist up but knew he was little threat, he was bullet ridden suit wise, he had a steam of blood running down his neck from his mask and his leg bare and mangled along with a pounding pain in his head and body that just asked him to let go.

These guys if lucky could take him down easily, so he just hoped they kept to themselves and that Redline could actually pilot this thing, otherwise.. Jake didn't want to think about it, they'd get out of here, it'd be no problem, no problem at all.

Dumfounded Redline slowly approached the console. He might as well have been trying to read a map blindfolded. All the nobs and levers, lights flashing in brilliant reds greens and yellows but none of it made any sense. He wracked his brain, trying to find some solution to the situation but his mind was clouded. Every few moments his head would swivel around the room, eyeing every last one of the crew on the deck. They had weapons sure but there was nothing threatening in their stance. And their eyes, the looks in their eyes froze Scott's blood in his veins. Every last one of them was looking to him expectantly, anxiously, all of their hopes and dreams and lives were being put willingly in his hands. They were like children, on edge expecting their father to protect them from the danger that no doubt could be felt in each of their hearts.

Their father...the thought shocked deep into Scott's gut, making him visibly wince. Once more he felt the loss of a daughter he never knew. What had she been like in life? Was she happy? Did she wonder where her father was? And most of all he wondered about her end, if she suffered. Flatline was a cruel being and it was not beyond the vile thing to torture an innocent just to cause further harm to Scott.

The pain in his gut intensified. Shocks of icy agony ripped from within and gripped his heart in the throws of his mental anguish. It was pulsing now, dark chill in his chest. And with each pulse he felt...different. He could not place the feeling but it was dark and familiar, the sort of unbridled relief one feels after giving into a habit after years of sobriety. A rush of endorphins further elevated this sensation as Scott stood upright. Then came the visions, bright red flashes of hims hands gripping at the controls of the submersible. His physical body followed suit, as if by muscle memory. Where this sudden burst of knowledge was coming from he had no idea but he was too busy riding the wave to think on it now.

Around the command deck the me and woman cheered as the large craft creaked to life, first pulling itself from the ocean floor with an audible creaking then rising ever so slowly back to the surface. All the while Redline's hands worked like those of a seasoned captain, every move precise. Cheering erupted as the first beams of light broke the blackness of the depths. They were going to make it out. It was going to be okay.

The sub broke the water with a splash back in the harbor where it had first submerged. As Redline made the final machinations at the helm, a drop of thick dark blood slowly oozed its way from within his nose. All at once the red flashes were gone, the feeling of euphoria as well. Both were replaced by a splitting pain in his skull, like it was being pried open from within. His hands shot to his head as eh fell to his knees, unintelligible grunts bursting from between his clenched teeth. Then there was only blackness as his limp body collapsed to the floor. A nearby man moved to the passed out Redline, scooping him up in his arms before walking over to Jake.

Take him from here the man spoke, a sense of relief and satisfaction in his voice. He'll need his rest after that.

After effort of keeping his hands up in case the men attacked, seemingly wasted for there docile, waiting nature. They didn't want to die, but they had no choice but to wait and hope that the man in the controls could do this. Jake had to hope he could do this, other wise... Other wise Jake wasn't sure. However, with a shudder, the boat sub started to lift, rising from the ground and continuing upwards and all Jake could do was give a heart felt sigh and relax against the wall, his arms dropping to his side as he waited.

Soon, he could hear cheering among the ranks, as hope seemed to be in the air and flourishing, Jake however did not share there excitement. He was hurt, hungry and tired. All he wanted to do was go to sleep and wish the pain away but he knew he couldn't do that, not when he was far away from home, not when he was so badly hurt his mom would quite literally have a fit at the sight of him, he needed rest.. Beautiful rest.

Jake would have quite happily dozed off if not for the sudden voice ringing in his ears and he turned his head to it, a man spoke and he didn't quite hear him but Jake got the gist of it, take Redline. Needs rest. Grunting, Jake took the fellow white clad hero with one arm and easily lifted him over his shoulder, Jake almost had forgotten that tired or not, he was super naturally strong, which made this whole situation easier then what he thought it would be. Hopping on one good foot, Jake began to make his way out of this cursed boat, up the stairs, through the door, across both the top deck and the bay all the way to the street, it was almost night by the looks of it.

Setting Redline down against a wall, Jake would sit beside him, easing himself down slowly as to avoid any more pain from his broken leg and with that, he began to doze off, all of his energy gone from that last trek. But he couldn't sleep yet and so he licked his lips, the copper taste of blood invaded his senses and he gripped onto his broken leg, pain shooting up and down his body, all in an effort to stay awake, to make sure Redline would awaken safe rather then at the mercy of whoever passed by the two, one dressed in red the other silver. "Wake up you.. bloody.. bloody asshole.."

Redline's eyes fluttered as Jake propped him up against a nearby building. No coherent thought came to his mind, only fuzzy murmurings echoing in his skull. Where was he? Who was he? Flatline? No that didn't seem right. The Silverfish? That was closer, murderer. No! Yes, a murderer but not the silverfish, not anymore.

Suddenly his eyes shot open appearing as pitch black orbs in his sockets. Then the darkness would recede, inky blackness seeping into his iris before disappearing. Then suddenly he was back in his body, in an aware state of mind. He shot to his feet on high alert, chest heaving with exertion. His clawed hands hung tense at his side, ready to strike out at whatever foe came from the surroundings. But of course there was none. He was no longer in the boat but out in an alley not far from the docks.

Redline's head swiveled, finding the boy who had helped him escape his metallic prison slumped over in the alley. His leg was bleeding and he held it gingerly betraying the pain that clearly radiated from it.

Are you alright? Scott croaked out, finding blood on his lips that had drained from his nose. A hand instinctively rose to wipe it away before remembering that he was still in costume. Deal with it for now he told himself, lowering the hand back to his side.

Jake watched as Redline shot up onto his feet, surprising Jake as he had stated to think that the speedster had taken a much more serious blow before but maybe that was just Jake's imagination. Seconds later, Redline asked if Jake was alright to which Jake gave a sore laugh. "I'll... I'll heal.." Jake quietly said before giving Redline a angry glare, rising from his seated position to stand on his good leg, both his hands planted firmly on the wall behind him to keep balance.

"You... You broke.. I may be young.. Inexperienced.. and afraid.. But when I had to.. I broke my leg so you had an advantage, I struck while you cried. I planned while you sat there... Broken.. So don't you dare say I shouldn't be a... 'Superhero.' Jake lifted from the wall to do air quotes before leaning back into the wall with a groan, all too well remembering that the man said they were having a conversation about this, so Jake was. But he was also ending it.

"If things like Flatline are out there.. Then there need to be people to fight... To fight that threat. No matter how old, how young. The whys and the reasons. The name or the clothes we wear.. So you are going to leave.. And I am going to lie to my mother about why I won't be home tonight and why my leg is broken. And I am going to keep getting into this costume, no matter how broken it is or I am. I am going to keep fighting. Because I have the power to, because when others can't, I can." Jake managed the words before sliding slowly back to the ground, heaving and taking long, pained breaths. "Now... Get... I need time to think.." Jake said at last, closing his eyes to think, letting his body relax for this night was not over for him, not even close.