Fanfic: One Year Later...
I cannot name fics for anything. Anyone comes up with something better, let me know. X3
Title: One Year Later
Rating: PG
Pairing: Piper/Trickster
Summary: One year has passed since the Trickster's death, and Hartley Rathaway finds himself in for a surprise.
Cross-posted to flash_rogues
One year...It's been one year since...since he died. There was no funeral, and his body was left to the ravages of the deserts. Well, most of it, anyway. The rest of it burned up on that damned Apokolips. I'm not a killer, despite what the media would have you believe. But taking out that vile man, that Deesad, was one of the few things I find myself not regretting. And there had been a lot of it this year. While everyone else was picking up the scattered shards of their lives, I turned myself in to the KCPD. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I'd helped the Rogues kill Inertia. A boy. Not that he was in any way innocent, but that didn't make my decision any less awful. I stood by and let them kill Bart Allen, the third Flash, well, fourth, to defend the twin cities. From the various gossip going around, it appears that not only has Bart come back, but Barry Allen as well. Barry was never easy on us, he didn't think of it as a game, he saw it as a job, a duty. With him gone, there'd been no spark in crime, and I found myself assisting and even befriending his nephew, Wally West. The Flash. Well, another one, anyway.
He'd been one of the closest people in my life. He was the first person I opened up to about my sexuality, and it gave me the courage to open up further. Although, telling the Rogues was probably not the best idea I'd ever had. Especially not with someone like Digger around. From the sounds of it, even the infamous Captain Boomerang had made his way back form the grave. Yet it was still a surprise when Wally showed up at my cell claiming that a man calling himself the Trickster had shown up in one of the mental insitutes near Central City. They had been notified at the station, but rather than checking it out for himself, Wally came to me. He said it would be easier to ID him with another set of eyes, but knowing Wally, it was just an excuse to get me out of this cell for a few hours. At first, I was quite anxious. Happily anxious.
When we arrived at the hospital, that anxiety turned sour. I've never liked hospitals. With all of the operations I had as a child, the stark white walls always felt so hollow and lifeless. I could hear various patients screaming and babbling to themselves, the sound alone was maddening. Wally got us checked in and we were lead down another bright corridor. We walked in silence, though Wally occassionally tried to break it, asking me if I was sure James had really died, and maybe he wasn't as dead as I thought. I told him he had a bullet through his heart and brain and I watched him decay for days before I finally worked up the nerve to sever his hand. That brought on the silence again, and, for once, I was almost happy for it.
Almost.
The nurse explained that we would need to talk softly, and that he was a little eccentric, so we should brace ourselves for random loud outbursts. I wasn't looking forward to it. It couldn't be him. It was probably just another madman that idolized a symbol and tried to make it his own. I wanted to go back to my cell. It was dark and quiet, but even it would be more relaxing than this encounter. I spoke to him through the door. It was thick, probably iron or lead, with a little window at about eye level. I couldn't see anyone, but there was little of the room I could see. It was padded, and an awkward pink light gave it an eerie glow.
"James...It's Piper..." I used his name, it's not like it would do any good, but I wanted it to be him, despite the horrible twinge at the bottom of my heart. "...are you-"
"I'm not James." Well, that was obvious. His voice was low, but I could still hear it. It almost did sound like James, but his voice was twisted, mad.
"James Jesse was the Trickster. It's not right to trick people like that. You-"
"And why not?!" That hurt. Going from such a low whisper to shouting at the top of his lungs. He sounded amused. "I am the Trickster!"
"No...No you're not..." Could I even talk a madman out of believing he's someone he's not? I felt like I had to. It only seeme right, even if it was futile. "James...James is the Trickster...James...James was..." I could feel the tears well up. Damn it, why did I let Wally talk me into this? He gave his life for me. That selfish, homophobic bastard jumped into a shower of bullets for me, and there wasn't a damned thing I could do to repay him. If only-
"PRANK?!" It was almost deafening, his voice, but I would have chosen even that when I saw those familiar baby blue eyes pressed up against the glass. They were mad, insane, crazed...But they were his...They were-
"JAMES?!" I lurched backwards, Wally's cries of concern were lost on me as I stared back into the face of my dead friend. I was losing it. I had to be. There was no way-
"Prank! You've come at the right time! Quickly! Get me out of here! We have so much to do!" I could hear the grin in his voice, even though I couldn't see it. His hair was longer, past his ears, and matted. But it was him. There was no mistaking it now. Underneath the madness, I could hear his voice. How many times had those chords woken me up during our flight? All of the bad puns and homophobic jokes, even the softness. Right before...light...Wally...Prank?...floor...darkness....
I woke with a bright light overhead. Had I died of shock? No...Wally's face told me all too well that I was still among the living. Whether previous events were a figment of my imagination or not was yet to be determined. He explained that the man from the hospital had prints that matched James, and he figured that, if it was him, maybe seeing me would shock him back to his original state of mind. So Wally knew all along? That was a horrible thing to do to someone, and I told him so. He apologized and busied himself peeling an orange that the nurse left with a tray of breakfast. Silence again. Damn it, Wally.
Linda came by later on, and the twins as well. I was in the hospital, the medical one, for almost a week. It seemed a little long, but I have a feeling Wally didn't want to see me go back to my cell. Truth be told, I wasn't looking forward to it either. When it finally came time to go, Wally was the one to escort me. Friend or not, he was the Flash, and if he wanted to escort a prisoner, then he was going to get his way. Besides, I find myself pretty low-maintenance. But as we passed through the hospital exit, all hell broke loose.
I didn't even realize I was in the air until I saw a bird fly by my face. My first instinct was to strike whoever had ahold of me, but it was a good thing for both of us that I was able to stop myself. As I looked up, I met the eyes of my old friend. James had spiked his hair with some sort of colored gel, and did a horrible job of it, leaving bright purple patches in his otherwise sunny blond hair. I felt sick. And not just from the color scheme. He wore what I could only describe as an outfit pieced together from scraps of various circus costumes. A double diamond-style mask covered his brow and the tops of his cheekbones, but this one didn't white out those blue eyes. I felt trapped. I had no weapons on me, and being so high up, attacking him wouldn't do either of us any good.
"James, I-"
"Are you still going on about him? I don't see you for a year and already you've moved on! I'm disappointed, Prank!"
"My name's not-"
"It's that creep in the bright red suit, isn't it?! Well, now, don't you fret, Prank. I'm back, and everything'll be just fine once I rid us of that 'James' fellow!"
"That was the Flash-oh, never mind." I sighed and let him take me wherever it was we were going. I could see a red blur zipping between the streets below. Thank god Wally was following us. I wasn't sure what James was capable of in this mindset, and I really didn't want to be alone when I found out. He finally stopped, landing on the roof of an old toy factory. Well, at least one thing hadn't changed. James was still a kid at heart.
He pulled me inside and began furiously shifting through various articles of clothing. This place was kind of creepy. Old dolls with their eeys falling off, clown faces, abandoned toys. It was downright spooky. I let out a yelp when James reappeared in front of me. He was holing a garment as tacky and pieced together as his own.
"Hurry, Prank! Get changed so we can get rid of that red menace!"
"I-I'm not wearing that!" I took a step back, he took two steps closer.
"Come on, it'll be just like the good old days!" Did he even remember the 'good old days'? Obviously not.
"Look...Trickster...You need to turn yourself in...You're sick! You need help, and-" He completely ignored everything I was saying, and started pulling clothes off. I could feel the heat in my face as I tried to maintain some order. Thankfully, he left my under garments and socks. I watched him cut up my old clothes with some of those scissors that make the shaped edges. "Hey! Those are my-"
"There! Now you have to wear it!" I was frustrated, tired, and half-naked, so, with a sigh, I picked up the awful garments and slipped into them. They were a little tight, and looked like they'd been made for a woman. I'd grown my hair out this past year, but...James didn't really think I was a woman, did he? ...Right...Tightly dressed with a lunatic who didn't remember the differences between a man and a woman. I sighed and looked up at him. He grinned brightly and ran past me into a pile of old toys. I heard him tinkering for a while before he finally emerged with some sort of...teddy bear timebomb?
"When that crimson fool gets a load of this, they won't be able to find half of him!" He let out a horribly maniacal laugh and, as though on que, Wally rushed into the factory, snatching the bear away from James. By the time I'd heard the explosion, Wally was back and James was in handcuffs. He looked entirely dumbfounded. The police arrived a few minutes later, along with Linda and a change of clothes. I never wanted to see polka dots again in my life. They were putting James into one of the cop cars, and he was screaming.
"Prank! What are you doing?! Help me! Praaaaaank!!!" It hurt to hear him scream, even more to see the expression of betrayal on his face. Oh James. You'd have to grow up sometime...My sorrow must have been apperant because the Wests were immediatly around me. I buried my face in Wally's chest and let the stress of the past week roll out in sobs. This was too much. I was overjoyed that he was back, but he wasn't James. Not in any real sense. He was just a shell.
A black car rolled up beside us and Gregory Wolfe stepped out, looking entirely too pleased with himself. "Well now, Hartley. I think it's about time you came back, don't you?" I could feel the rage in Wally as his arms tightened around me. I had to go. It was only right, and besides, I did what I was told to do, and had time out of my cell. It would be fine. Lonely, but fine. They put me back in handcuffs and sat me in the back seat of the car. Wolfe was still talking to Wally when the sounds of struggle caught my attention. Before I could turn to where it was coming from, there was a loud thump on the top of the car, proceeded by James appearing a few yards from Wally. There were more than a few obsenities flowing out of Wolfe's mouth.
"No! Not him! Not now! Will this day ever end?! It's scum like you that keep Keystone-" I zoned out to the rest of his words. James' voice came to my ears. He was looking at me, confused, and...something else...
"...Hartley...?"
Hartley...He called me Hartley...Just like that time...Oh god...I could feel the tears come back. I jolted the door handle up with my knee and pushed myself out of the car. I hit the pavement first, but picked myself up before Wolfe could grab ahold of me. I was still in handcuffs, I was going to run right into him, but I just wanted to reach him. My face hit him first, and I pressed myself against his chest. His heart was pounding, just like on the train. He stood completely still for what seemed like hours before I finally felt his arms around me. My knees gave way, whether in some stereotypical lover's twist, or from sheer exhaustion, I couldn't tell. But he lowered me to the ground and held me close to him as I wept. Behind us, I could hear Wolfe raising hell, and Wally telling him to go there.
Finally, my curiousity overpowered the joy in my heart and I looked up at him. He had a bright grin on his face, all hints of his previous madness had vanished. His grin reverted to a smile, and I must've looked like a total fool next to him, even despite the purple hair gel and clown clothes. Only one question came to mind.
"How-" He chuckled before I could finish, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"It's like I've always said, Hart..." I felt my hands fall to my sides and he held the handcuffs up. "Nobody tricks the Trickster."
He grinned, and I returned it. Specifics aside, I couldn't care less how he came back. It was a shock, but when his lips touched mine I could swear that everything in the world was singing. There was music everywhere, and it was beautiful. He was beautiful. We were beautiful.