Speed Test

January 20, 2018:

As Professor Zoom scouts the planet, he has a run in with Astrea -the first serious oddity he's seen- and gets curious.

Lower Manhattan - New York City

The southern end of the island of Manhattan is the seat of Wall Street and City Hall. Bounded by the Hudson on the west, the East River on the east, and the harbor to the south, it's a veritable mosaic of smaller, storied neighborhoods that fill in the patchwork south of 14th street. From the arts-friendly, boutique-laden, gentrified areas of Greenwich Village, SoHo, and TriBeCa, to the tenement dwelling, immigrant-filled, working class districts in the Lower East Side, Bowery, Little Italy, Lower Manhattan is one of the most diverse places in the city. Just about anything can be found here, and often is.

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

New York. No matter what Earth you're on, it's usually the same. Unless you're on one of the Earths where the Joker killed Lois and Superman turned into a tyrant. Those ones usually have New York in rubble from the war.

His seeming final destination has Eobard touring his new reality though… the only evidence of his passage a red streak behind him that those with /incredibly/ sensitive senses can pick up, let alone follow. Professor Zoom is most interested in getting a good look at the various heroes of this Earth. Some of the others have been pretty standard with minor differences… but Astrea? This one is new to Eobard, and a few seconds after spotting her, Zoom stops at the end of the block where she's moving… for all intents and purposes seeming to appear out of thin air, literally.

Professor Zooms yellow friction suit is blurred in vibration that can be heard from close range… with red lightning trailing behind him from the direction he came from. Arcs of it dance around him within a foot of his personal space, and his eyes glow red, almost alight with it, though the lenses.

For all intents and purposes, he's nothing but a red, glowing blur that's barely visible to the naked eye.

*

Looking around the area, Astrea is starting to better understand this world, though she has had a hard time getting around and still hasn't deviated from her normal outfit. She has at least been offered some degree of sanctuary and food. However, she only goes there briefly before being out and about again. It's not in her nature to stay inside. As she is walking though, something seems to ping her senses. Something off about the world around her and then she spots a strange red blur in the distance. She stares at it and on instinct her hands are already on her weapons. She is staring down toward the thing, watching it with unease.

"What are ye now? I keep being told things I see are not beasts and yet I keep seeing things that color me otherwise." She shifts a food slightly and seems to be in a readied stance. Something perhaps Eobard might notice, given his hyper senses, would be just how gracefully she moves with those weapons and that suit. It's almost like none of it is slowing her down, indicating she might be either highly trained or, more likely, a step above human.

*

None of her weapons concerns Eobard on a threat level.

She herself might be of genetic interest, but that's a big if.

No, Eobard is more interested in her clothing, and those weapons.

Zoom.

One second he's there, the next there's a trail of red lightning, and Zoom is about five meters behind Astrea. His voice is distorted by vibration, just as his body is. "Well well… you look like something out of one of my old holovids." Zoom! He's back in front, another trail of that red electricity… which is starting to bounce around him, electrifying his surroundings. "You're an interesting one. You're from one of the ruined Earths?"

*

And with that the pistol is in her hand and the strange hammer is in her right hand. A hafted weapon with a hammer piece that seems to act as a fulcrum for a blade folded against the haft. It looks almost like the blade could be extended or whipped around if need be. It's unclear unless examined closer or she uses it. She seems to follow him to a degree, definitely faster than a human but she's no where near as fast as Zoom. Her feet dancing a little as she prepares and then states, "I don't know what ye mean, ya strange thing. Are ya man or beast?" She aims the weapon where he is but strange keeps her pistol pointed slightly away, almost back as she speaks, "Come on then, speak up. Man or beast?" Her right eye twitches a little as she stands there watching him. Her voice has a strangely irish lilt to it, though old irish, definitely not modern.

*

"Now you're boring me."

There's a rush of wind… and a faint hint of an electrical sting as Astrea feels her weapons yanked, across her outfit. Over, and over. She can sometimes almost try to grab him or simply counter him, but his reaction time is so extreme he compensates fairly well.

Every second he's running around her, that red electrical charge builds around her as well, dancing, but not touching her. Yet. He's going for her gear only, it looks like, so fast that he's a red streaking blur to barely anticipate.

*

At first, she simply seems to swing the hammer left and then right, "Beast it is…" She states and then she whips around for another swing. She concentrates a moment and he might notice a strange twinge go through her as she seems to start to still and then she leaps from left to right, actually seeming to roll and dodge with incredible grace and alacrity. It seems she's making it harder if she can help it to touch her or her stuff.

When he reaches in he may be able to dodge even as she fires off a shot from that pistol. The shot is loud, incredibly loud. Like a pistol going off and when it slams into the wall nearby (or him possibly) it hits with the force of a sniper rifle, "You're a fast one, but I've faced speed before."

*

Hammer cocks at his level of awareness are painfully slow, so he can dodge the bullet easily. When Astrea starts to speed up though, Eobard stops five meters away… that red electrical charge that built up suddenly going wild and cooking off explosions from the gas tanks of some nearby vehicles… seeing snow everywhere, along with scrapnel.

"You can call me Professor Zoom… and you've never faced someone as fast as I am." The man suddenly stops vibrating his body, though the red glow of his eyes through the lenses remains, as does the voice distortion. She can get a good look at his yellow friction suit, and the red lightning bolt on front. "Now you're getting interesting again. You need a warm up time to reach your potential?"

*

A look at him and she blinks at him, tilting her head as she watches him, "Professor Zoom?" She tilts her head to the side, "Only professors I know of dabbled in thigns beyond their ken and ended up destroyin' themselves and all around." She nods her head and then looks at him, "You the same, Professor?" She then looks him over and states, "And ye are certainly fast. I'll give ya that but it isn't about reachin' potential. Just learnin' my opponent's movements and improving." She shakes her head, "Nothin' more or less." She then takes a quick step back and idly looks him over again, "Not a scratch…you are fast."

*

"'Beyond their ken' is a small minded phrase for people who don't want to take the risk to learn how to control or contain real power." Professor Zoom observes as he stands there, "I'm a Professor of the field of Speed Force theory where I come from. That study led me to this power." Again, one second he's there, and the next he's behind her, by five meters, "Your weapons are… an idle curiosity, but I wanted to see what sort of condition you're in. I might only have been at less than 1/20th of my full speed, but being able to keep up -even barely- with that is impressive. Usually only the Flash can manage that feat." Then, he looks to her weapons, "Your weapons fire answered my questions, though. You're from one of the stranger Earths, with those weapons."

*

If he looks at the result of that fired weapon, he'll see that it certainly is no normal pistol. She looks at him carefully and takes a step to the side to keep looking at him, moving with an almost casual grace. Walking like what is happening is merely a day to day thing. Weapons held at her side and yet there's a tension there belying the preparation of action. She tilts her head, "1/20th?" She then states, "And yes, I'm not from here." She shakes her head, "I was sent here. For what I know not but I know now that you are no beast. However, I do not know your danger. I will say, beware that which you don't know. Many from where I am, have become nothing more than mindless savages due to it."

*

"I'm /very/ fast." Professor Zoom states, vaguely. "You're fast, for a human." Zoom notes… then he disappears, this time literally. There's no red streak. He's simply… behind her, in a split second. "Those things are enhanced, in some fashion, I'd bet." If she tries to turn to meet him, he's not there anymore, either. Now, he's toying with her, keeping out of sight as he just… zooms around her as he speaks.

*

At first, she turns to his voice. Naturally moving to meet a foe only to find him not there. She then idly starts to still again, her grip tightening on the weapons at her side. Her breathing seems to slow and she seems to almost be, accepting of this being a fact already. Her reaction being that of someone who has seen something strange and then simply accepted this oddity as reality. Her gaze doesn't even try to follow him completely as she states, "My weapons are the tools of a hunter, but they are not what makes them strong." Her eyes idly trail before her, scanning slowly for signs of movement as she waits, "Ye are quite fast, indeed. Are you quite done as well?"

*

"Done? I haven't even started. I'll grab your guns later, I have more important things to do."

This time, Astrea can see the red streak, faintly, as Professor Zoom runs out of sight.

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