New Charges

By Michael Weyer

Obviously, it helps if you've read "Infinity Crisis" before this. My take on a new twist with a couple of characters I figure can fit into the world of the Arrowverse so all comments welcomed.

Freeland had never been known as a quiet city. But in the months since "The Dusting," it had gotten even rougher. The chaos of half the population vanishing then returning was still being felt and the city had more than a few burned out buildings to attest to the long-lasting damage. But, as with any moment of urban upheaval, it didn't take long for criminals to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit.

Thus, Jefferson Pierce found himself dealing with a pack of thugs who had figured an abandoned garage was a good place to run a gun-smuggling operation. By this point, he was almost tired of it; charging in with lightning flaring around him, a few threats then putting up with the barrage of bullets. Frankly, after that entire mess on that other Earth, taking on a bunch of stupid punks with guns was a downright relief.

He'd just taken down the last of them when the communicator in his ear buzzed. He touched a finger to it, letting his voice take on its usual echo. "What can I do for you, Chief?"

"Deputy Chief," Billy Henderson's voice came through the communicator. "It would have been nice to get a heads-up that you had a new partner."

Jefferson frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm a crack house over at 64th. Well, former crack house. We arrived in time to find them all on the ground and shocked."

"Not me, I'm across town."

"I know it's not you. They thought it was when some kid comes in blasting off lightning bolts."

That got Jefferson's attention. "Say what?"

"That's what they're saying. Might be a teenager, might be 20s. Either way, he's zipping around on a flying disc…"

"You're making this up."

"Have I ever joked with you?" Jefferson had to take that as the truth. "Just going by what they said, kid is flying around and zapping them before charging out." He paused. "You really didn't know?"

"Trust me, only one partner right now."

Henderson sighed. "It's getting crazier, isn't it?"

"Looks like. All we can do is stem the tide."

"Huh, listen to you. Almost sound like a teacher."

"Accidental," Jefferson quickly covered. "I'll keep an eye out." He clicked it off as he shook his head. His old friend was right in one regard: Things were definitely getting crazier these days.

Usually, when a principal is arrested in front of his students for drug possession, it would require a long stay away, even after said principal was cleared. But when half a school vanishes and returns, a school board is only too willing to let some rules slide to get back in charge someone who could handle it.

In the last few months, Jefferson had realized the Dusting had changed a lot of folks. Obviously, those who had been taken and then returned had been affected in various ways. For some, it was a wake-up call as Jefferson had seen a few cases of arrogant jocks now humble and a former "queen bee" now a serious student. But it also went the other way. A few folks took their brush with death as proof to enjoy life in any way and forget the rules. Throw in the usual antics of a tough school and Jefferson had been fighting a wilder battle than usual to keep order.

It also meant Jefferson doubling as history teacher and thus giving a lecture on the Civil War to a half-bored class. He was turning to make a point when his eyes fell on one student clearly asleep in the front wall. "Miles!"

Miles Morales jerked a bit in his chair as he sat up. A handsome teen, he was also quiet, pushed by his thin frame in the usual uniform. Jefferson had known the boy to be one of his best students but in the last few weeks, he'd been clearly dropping off in class even though his science teachers insisted his work was still top notch.

"I'm aware you'd rather I just show a movie but I want to get this out myself," Jefferson dryly stated.

"Sorry, Mr. Pierce," Miles apologized.

"I'm for the movie," piped up a voice in the back. "Maybe the new Dwayne Johnson flick?" Jefferson narrowed his eyes as Virgil Hawkins smirked from the back. He had seemed to get a new attitude in the last few weeks, one Jefferson wasn't approving of. His hair was in dark dreadlocks and a smirk seemingly planted on his face. "Miles will want some Nicolas Sparks crap."

Laughter came over the class as Jefferson glared at Miles. "I'm teaching about an event that freed our people from slavery. I think it might be best you pay attention."

"Sure we're all that free?" Virgil fired back.

Jefferson's glare grew harder. "Boy, don't press me. Trust me, I know how lucky we are to be at the spot we're at. There are places we wouldn't have that right."

"There's still folks running us down," Virgil fired back. "Hell, still that statue at the college they just put right back up after Thunder took it down!"

"That was their choice," Miles replied. "Don't go acting like everyone who's white is the enemy, Hawkins."

"Good advice," Jefferson replied. He looked at both young men. "How about we settle down so I can continue the lesson? Unless you'd like to add another detention spell?" Virgil groused but settled down.

Thankfully, the rest of the period passed without incident. As the bell rang, Jefferson watched as Miles seemed to be limping slightly. "You ok?"

Miles started but nodded. "Yeah just a little fall in gym."

"Really?" Jefferson crossed his arms. "That's funny. I just talked to your gym teacher and he said you were showing it before that period. Along with some bruises on your back."

Miles waved a hand. "It's nothing, really. Just a bike fall."

Jefferson sighed. "Miles, I know it's been rough the last few months. We all felt the Dusting majorly, even those not taken. It's just…if there's something going on…"

"There isn't," Miles cut him off. "Just…I have to go." He walked out as Jefferson watched him leave.

"Hey, Other Jeff!"

Pierce was leaving the school when he turned at the familiar voice. He broke into a smile at the bald-headed man with glasses coming up to him. "Other Jeff!" he laughed as he saw Jefferson Davis come up. The two exchanged a strong handshake. "Been a while, how are you?"

"Ah, handling it," Davis stated. "It was rough when the Dusting hit. Having Miles and Rio just…go like that…"

"I know just how you feel," Jefferson assured him. "I was with Anissa when it happened." He shivered. "I'll be taking that sight to my grave and that's without Lynn and Jenny too."

Davis nodded. "Thank God it wasn't for long. But I'm doing my best to handle the aftermath. Just here to pick up Miles."

Jefferson pursed his lips. "On that…Listen, Jeff…I've been hearing stuff on Miles. His attitude, he seems more distracted…"

Davis sighed. "Yeah, I know. He's moodier at times, tired most of the day and I'm pretty sure he's been sneaking out of the house. I want to press him but…"

"You're not sure how to," Jefferson stated. "Believe me, I know. Like I said, Anissa and Jennifer feeling it too. They don't like talking about what really happened to them. And I can't say I blame them." He looked to his old friend. "But…I've also had teachers talking about how Miles is showing up with some bruising on his back, his arm, a black eye…."

Davis' eyes widened. "Wait, you don't think…"

"Of course not," Jefferson quickly said. "I've known you and Rio for years, I know you'd never lay a hand on Miles." He sighed. "But these things have a way of getting around. I know firsthand what it's like to be accused of something you didn't do, I'd hate to see it happen to you."

Davis sighed. "Thanks, Jeff. Just worried about him. You hear about kids who have been losing their way and acting up since it all happened, I don't want that to be Miles."

"Jeff, I've known you long enough to know you can lay down the law if you have to." Pierce smiled. "Just don't be afraid of it. If there's one thing I know…sometimes you have to be a bit more direct with your kids."

"Thanks, Jefferson," Davis nodded. "I'll make sure he doesn't cause trouble." He walked off as Jefferson hoped he'd be right about that.

"Remind me again, why we're letting a couple of strangers in here?" Gambi asked, obviously unsure. He, Jefferson, Anissa, Lynn and Jennifer were gathered in the basement of Gambi's shop which doubled as his lab. The man pushed his glasses up his nose as he looked to his old friend.

"You said Anissa and Jennifer are showing pushes in their powers since they came back," Jefferson replied. "I may trust you, Peter, but we need a bit more advanced knowledge."

"You trust them?" Lynn asked.

Jefferson smiled. "They helped me get all of you back. So yeah, I trust them." He heard the door opening and called out. "Down here." There was a pause before a pair of people came down. One was a handsome Latino man in light jeans and a jacket while his female companion had a professional dress on. "Gang, meet Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow of STAR Labs."

"Hey, pleasure." Cisco grinned to shake Anissa's hand. "So, you're Thunder, huh? Not a bad name…" He looked to Jennifer. "And you…well, your dad's already Lightning so maybe…Bolt? Black Bolt? I mean, your dad's already got the black thing going…"

"Cisco," Caitlin snapped. She shook her head. "Sorry but he tends to let his mouth run off a bit too much."

Jefferson smiled. "I'm used to it. Thanks for coming."

"Hey, you save the multiverse together, that's a bond," Cisco intoned. He nodded to Gambi. "We did some checking on you, pretty daring stuff."

Gambi sighed. "I'm not proud of what I did. At least with Jefferson…It feels like I'm making a difference."

"Trust me, I know all about atoning," Caitlin remarked.

Lynn crossed her arms. "So you two are…powered too?"

In answer, Caitlin's eye turned pure white as her skin took on a bluish tone. She held up a hand to let the air in it turn into ice. "Whoa," Anissa said. "Killer Frost."

"Actually, thinking of changing it," Caitlin said as she led her appearance go back to normal. "Not sure of just Frost but maybe Ice or something."

"Moving on," Jefferson quickly said. "I am glad you could come by, sure Central needs help."

"Ah, Flash has it handled for now," Cisco intoned. "But we owe you so we're here to check things out. Can we get started?"

The next hour was filled with a variety of tests and Gambi, Cisco and Caitlin sharing a batch of technobabble that had Jefferson wincing. Anissa was first as they tested her lifting some large weights and the "stomping" move she preferred. Despite her protests, Jennifer also had to test some of her electrical charges while wires were attached to scanners to enhance the studies.

"The output is amazing," Caitlin intoned. She looked to Jefferson. "She might be able to outdo you in terms of power."

"We've been looking more into your town since the revelation of the whole evil lab thing," Cisco announced. "It's pretty interesting how we're finding new metahumans around."

"Like the Spiderman," Jennifer said.

Jefferson, Cisco and Caitlin all looked at her in surprise. "Who?" Cisco asked.

Jennifer pulled out her phone, tapping it before bringing up a video from an internet site. It was clearly from a handheld camera, shaky and not the best focus. But it showcased what looked like a lithe figure leaping about, firing some odd material from his hands at a car full of men in masks. He was leaping to avoid gunshots, landing feet first on a wall and seemingly sticking to it. He was clad in a tight dark suit with a makeshift mask covering his entire head.

"Damn," Cisco remarked. "It's just like him."

Caitlin shook her head. "One of the first things we did when we got back was to do some searches. Only a handful of Peter Parkers on our Earth, none in Freeland and none near the age of him."

"Maybe not," Cisco replied. "Then again, there are differences in worlds. Maybe it's just another guy got powers the same way."

They watched as without warning, the man seemed to vanish. The thug about to attack him looked around in confusion before he was sent flying back. The masked figure returned and let out a burst of energy at another attacker.

"Okay, neither of those the Spider-Man we know had," Caitlin noted in wonder.

Gambi was interested as well. "I know we talked the possibility of powers being spread but this is...something."

Anissa raised an eyebrow. "So between him and this other lightning guy, sounds like we've got competition."

Her father was more serious. "It also means two rookies out there with no idea what they're doing. With the gangs still in a frenzy, they can cause more problems than we think."

"Maybe we can track them," Caitlin suggested. "If that other guy is using electrical powers like you do, we can find the signature."

Cisco nodded as he headed to the computers. "Obviously, it can't be the same frequency…"

"Because his body chemistry is different than Jefferson's," Gambi understood as he joined Cisco.

"Bingo." Cisco was tapping some keys. "Wow, nice scanner setup."

"I figured it was better to keep track on Jefferson and Anissa."

"Which is not at all creepy…." Anissa muttered under her breath.

It took a few moments for Cisco and Gambi to make some alterations and soon the scanner was bouncing around the city. A beeping sound came out as the computer map showed a flashing dot. "Huh. Looks like it's happening now."

Jefferson looked over his shoulder. "East side. That's Bangerz territory."

"Why is it people think adding a 'z' to a name somehow makes it cooler?" Caitlin asked apros of nothing.

Jefferson and Anissa exchanged looks as they headed for the nearby locker areas. "We'll have to race there fast."

"I can get you there faster," Cisco offered.

"You need help?" Caitlin asked.

"Not yet," Jefferson intoned. "But make sure you keep an eye out. I know Central is home to crazy stuff but Freeland can be a bit more dangerous than you'd expect."

The warehouse was a large one, once a factory before its company went out of business. Now, it had been turned into a makeshift drug-dealing area used by the local gangs. Right now, it was the sight of a pitched battle as several dark-garbed men fired a variety of guns at the figure floating about on what looked like a garbage can lid shimmering with light.

He was clad in a dark park of blue jeans with a matching t-shirt and a long blue coat that flapped behind him. A mask covered his face although it seemed a bit roughshod and showed his spiked black hair. His hands glowed as he threw one out. A beam of energy came over a nearby pipe, lifting it off a table to smack into one of the gunmen. Another fired a blast but the youth threw up an energy shield to deflect the shots.

"I told you, don't start none, won't be none!" he yelled out. "So you guys started this!"

He was ducking a blast when a window from above smashed in. Leaping through it was a young figure in a tight dark suit with a makeshift mask, landing right on top of one of the gunmen. Another attacked and the young man held up a wrist. Something fired from his wrist, a thick strand that hit the man's gun. With a tug, it went flying out of his hands as the figure attacked, showing a red spider pattern on his jacket.

"Hey!" the other youth snapped. "Who the hell are you?"

"Call me Spider," the figure replied. "And who are you? Kid Lightning?'

"I'm calling myself Static," the youth snapped back. "And I don't need your help!" He fired a blast to knock a gunman back.

"Really? Because the guy there says otherwise." Without warning, Spider shot out another line of that odd web of his to strike the face of a gunman behind Static, blinding him. He leapt forward to punch him down.

"This is my bust!"

"Dude, you're not a cop!"

"Neither are you!"

"Are we really going to debate legalese when we're both wearing masks?"

"Legalese? What are you, grad school?"

"I am hoping…"

A smashing sound got their attention and they both turned to see a figure stalking into the main lab. He was a large man whose beefy body was clad in a tight orange jacket opened to show his muscular chest. His hair was in short dreads and his eyes glowed with power along with his fists. "So I take a big push to get into the game and now I've got some would-be heroes coming after me?" He shook his head. "Bad news, kids. You're gonna be examples of what happens when someone messes with…Holocaust."

Spider and Static exchanged long looks before looking back at the man. "Holocaust?" Spider asked. "Did you even bother counting how many levels of insulting that nickname is?"

In answer, the man threw out his fists which erupted in bursts of flame. With a yelp, Spider leapt upward as Static leapt to the side. Holocaust fired more blasts, Spider leaping about the city to avoid them while Static used his powers more to dodge them off. He threw a blast of energy but Holocaust created a shield of fire to block it before firing off another burst.

"You must be a winner at barbecues," Spider intoned as he fired a line of webbing. He cursed as it burned in the aura of the man.

"Lame, dude," Static remarked as he fired another electrical blast. "I'd be going more for how easy it is to call him flaming. Especially in that outfit."

"Huh. That is better."

Holocaust snarled as he slammed his hands together, creating a shockwave of fiery energy. Both youths gasped out as it knocked them off their feet. Holocaust grinned as he stepped forward, his hands burning hotter. "You wanna be a winner in this life, ya gotta get your hands dirty."

There was a crackling of energy as suddenly a blue hole appeared in the air next to the group. In a flash, Black Lightning and Thunder were there, Lighting already blasting electricity at Holocaust. Thunder slammed a fist against his face, wincing at the heat off him but still able to handle it.

"Black Lightning? Dude, kick!" Spider called out.

Static was also grinning. "And Thunder too! Damn, she's even hotter in person!"

Lightning grunted as he felt Holocaust slam into him. Even with some electrical protection, the heat was intense. He knocked the man back before attacking with another blast. Thunder let out one of her stomps to knock him off balance but he recovered quickly to punch both back. Thunder hissed to her father. "Call me crazy but maybe bringing the ice lady along would have been a good idea…"

Lightning shook his head. "This is our town, we handle our own."

Thunder just sighed as Holocaust moved in again. Behind them, Static leapt up and threw out his hands. A flow of energy came over a nearby console and Static grit his teeth as he lifted it up. He sent it flying over to smash into Holocaust, the man wincing before turning to fire a blast of flame. Static and Spider leapt out of the way to avoid the explosive blow.

Spider leapt over to push Thunder out of the way as a blast of fire flew past her. "Sorry!" he said to her as they fell onto the floor. "Was that too forward? I mean, I know ladies like to be independent and didn't want to be insulting and that's really true of how you can crush me in your arms and I didn't mean that the way it sounded…"

Thunder just tossed him aside as she rolled to avoid another blast of fire from Holocaust. Lightning was firing his own electrical blasts as Holocaust stood up to them, marching over to knock him back with a blow. Spider winced at that before looking to Static. "Hey. Your powers…are they pure electricity or magnet too?"

Static gawked at him. "Dude, do I look like I know what I'm doing?"

"Just asking."

"I can levitate metal stuff, that count as magnet?"

"Force fields too." Spider paused and nodded. "Okay. Got a plan, follow my lead."

"This is not prom!"

"Not that…never mind." Spider leapt forward, firing off his webs at the ground under Holocaust's feet. He managed to cut them off and then hand the open ends to Static. The other youth blinked but then took them. "Hit a field!" Spider said and Static instantly knew what he was trying to do. A glow flowed over the webs and to the metal plate Holocaust was on. Grunting, Static pulled both physically and mentally and the plate suddenly came loose.

Holocaust gasped in surprise as he was sent off balance, the plate flying into the air. He fell off of it as Static threw out another energy, forming a thin glowing field around his body. Lightning threw out his hands and electrical bolts hit the field. Holocaust howled in pain as he felt himself charged up. Static let the field drop and Holocaust fell downward. Thunder had a proud smirk on her face as she smashed a fist into his face. He flew into a table and collapsed in a heap.

"Damn," Spider whispered. "That actually worked!"

Lightning tapped a finger to his communicator. "Call Henderson. Tell him to get some help here and bring some pretty strong cuffs." He looked over at the two men before him. "So…Static and Spider."

"Sounds like a bad rap group," Thunder stated.

"Mr. Lighting, sir, it's an honor," Spider said. "I mean it, really, such a huge fan."

"Same here," Static had to admit. "Even if you could be doing more for us." He grinned at Thunder. "And you? Man, how come you're not smashing up statues and stuff, that was awesome!"

"And wrong," Lightning stated. "Just because you have power doesn't mean you do whatever the hell you want."

Static snorted. "Spoken like a guy playing the status quo."

"Boy, I was fighting for us long before you were born," Lighting snapped. "Don't press me."

Spider slapped Static on the shoulder. "Dude, you're embarrassing me!"

"Oh, shut it!" Static snapped. "This is the real world, pal, not some crappy Sparks romance flick!"

"Nicolas Sparks? What is this, I've never heard anyone in this town talk about his movies and now you're the second guy in…" Spider stopped and cocked his head. "Wait a minute…" In a fast move, he yanked the mask down and stared at the figure revealed. "Hawkins?"

"Hey!" Virgil Hawkins snapped as he tried to pull the mask back on. "What the hell, dude?" He reached over and yanked the mask off of Spider and stared in shock. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me? Morales?!"

Miles Morales scowled at him as he took the mask back. "Surprised?"

"Um, yeah," Virgil snapped. "You're crap in gym class, you can't even play dodgeball right! Since when can you dodge bullets?"

"It's called a secret identity," Miles snapped. "Which you just outed!'

"You outed me first!"

"You don't even know what that word means!"

"I read!"

"Comic books don't count!"

"HEY!" The two jumped as Lightning glared at them, his arms crossed. "You two and me are gonna have a nice talk."

Both youths looked at each other and swallowed.

"This...is it?" Virgil intoned as he looked around the lab.

Miles had the same dubious reaction. "I kept thinking of Black Lightning's secret lair, I was thinking more high tech."

"I was thinking more fly," Virgil responded. "You know, Shaft meets Superfly."

"You do know that entire era of movies was incredibly insulting for us."

"Each their own."

Black Lightning crossed his arms again. Thunder was looking them over while Caitlin was in her icy persona and Cisco with his shades. "Let's start with the basics. How'd it happen?"

The two youths looked at each other and sighed. "Few weeks back," Virgil began. "I was…dusted and it was after I came back that I was turning on the TV. Next thing I knew, I was blowing out the entire neighborhood. They said it was a freak transformer blowout but…I knew it was me. Then suddenly, I've got keys, the remote control and silverware attaching to me. Took a bit to get the hang of it and then…well, things were just so nuts I thought I could do some good."

Miles nodded. "Ditto. I come back and next thing I know, I can climb walls and this." He held up a hand and clenched his wrist, letting a small strand of webbing come out. "The Spider thing just…seemed to fit."

Caitlin moved in, peeling the webbing off to examine it. "Huh. Organic polymer, turns solid on contact with air…" She looked to Miles. "How long does it last?"

"An hour and then it just dissolves," he answered. "Took a bit to figure out how to make it work like it does but it just felt natural. The stun blasts and the invisibility are trickier, really not sure how the latter works."

Lightning sighed. "Listen…I can more than appreciate what you two are doing…but running around like this is going to get you killed."

"We handled Holocaust," Virgil snapped.

"You got lucky," Lightning snapped. "This is not some YA novel where the teenage kids are the heroes taking on the world and always coming out on top. This is dangerous. If I hadn't showed up, you might be dead right now."

"How's that different than you?" Virgil fired back. "You didn't have training, you weren't that older when you went out for the first time." He nodded to Thunder. "She's not that much an adult yet you let her tag along."

"I don't 'tag along'," Thunder snapped. "I'm his partner."

"If you think I'm stopping, think again," Virgil went on. "Unless you're planning on reporting me to the cops, I'm still going out there."

"So am I," Miles added. He then blanched. "Um….as long as you don't tell my dad, that is."

Lightning looked at them both, taking in their stances…and felt like he was looking at two versions of the young, angry man he'd once been. "All right. But if you're going to take this seriously…then you're going to need training. Serious training. With your powers, your tactics, all of it. You two basically need a super-hero schooling and I guess I'm elected for it."

"And why?" Virgil snapped. "Why the hell should we trust you? Or listen to you?"

Lightning looked at them both. Then, he pulled back the goggles while also dimming the electrical aura around him. "Because it's my job."

Virgil and Miles both stared with open jaws. "Mr. Pierce?" Miles blurted out. "You…you're Black Lightning?!"

Virgil shook his head. "No way. I mean…you're not that cool!"

Thunder giggled as she peeled her own mask off. "That was exactly my reaction."

Miles' jaw dropped further. "Anissa? Holy crap….my dad would freak out about this."

"Which is exactly why he doesn't need to know," Jefferson said. "I know it can be rough but if you're going to do this, it might as well be right."

Cisco coughed as he came up. "Plus, we can help with the outfits. Believe me, already thinking of how we can work the designs better and help with your powers."

Caitlin nodded. "We've got a lot of experience with newbie metas. Actually could turn it into our own cottage industry if we wanted."

Lightning smiled before looking to the young men. "Let's make this clear," he said. "This will not be easy. Your lives are going to be on the line and if I have to be hard as hell, I will be. Follow my lead and you'll be okay but don't think I'm taking it easy on you in any way."

Virgil and Miles exchanged a look and then nodded together. "We're in."

Jefferson nodded. "Good. Get home now. Tomorrow…school is in session."

"You've been waiting years to say something like that, haven't you?" Cisco had to note.

"Are you sure about this?" Lynn asked. She was leaning on the kitchen counter, watching as Jefferson finished his meal. "They're kids, Jeff."

"So's Anissa."

"No, she's a kid to you because she's your daughter. We've known Davis and Rio for years, you really want to put their son in danger?"

"He put himself in it first," Jefferson replied. "And he'll keep it up for a while. Same with Virgil. At least I can help them train and prepare and avoid problems. At least I can help them stay alive."

"Still…"

"Lynn, I was the only one out there when I started. Looking back, I wish I had someone there to help me out. Not just with my powers but my attitude, it would have saved me so much trouble and avoided a lot of mistakes. I can be that for them."

Lynn cocked her head. "Why are you really doing this, Jeff?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Miles is smart, Lynn. Truly brilliant in sciences. Virgil has an attitude but he's smarter than he seems too. He's had a rougher time since his mom died but I really think he can be a great kid. They just have so much potential, they just need to understand it. They might be real heroes, Lynn. If I can't help them reach that, who can?"

She smiled at him. "Always the teacher, no matter what." She hugged him tight. "I'll support you in this. Just make sure it doesn't blow up in your face too badly."

He gave her a light kiss. "I'd promise but we both know that's not much good these days."

"I feel like an idiot," Miles sighed as he tugged at the tight suit around him. It was almost all black with a red spider in the middle, strand of web-like colors trailing into red streaks across the chest and arms. A smaller spider was on the back while his mask has the same streaked pattern.

"A lot better than your last one," Virgil fired back. His outfit was more stylized as well, a tighter blue suit with gold cuffs and the mask tighter with specialized goggles over his eyes. He kept the long blue coat while the front of his suit boasted a yellow lightning bolt in a circle. "I'm convinced Cisco just had one of the old Flash outfits recolored."

"Focus," Black Lightning stated as the trio stood on a roof facing a warehouse. "The Bangerz are clashing with some new gang and are beefing up their weapon stocks. Gambi got us the intel on the location so we can hit them before they move the guns out. I take lead, Static gets from the east and Spider up top."

"We know the plan," Virgil insisted.

"Double-checks are always important," Jefferson replied. "So don't be flashy."

Static smirked. "Dude, I can't help it, flashy just comes naturally."

"So many ways I can take that statement," Spider noted.

Lightning hid a smile as he moved, taking the nearby fire escape stairs to head toward the warehouse. Spider held up his hand and clenched his fist. The specialized shooters Cisco developed helped the web line fire out much better than usual, hitting a nearby pole and letting him swing out. Static lowered the metallic disc Caitlin had created for him and stepped on it. With a flow of power, it lifted up as he flew out to join the other two on the attack.

Some distance away, a figure slowly seemed to flow right out of the shadows. His form was dark with purple tinges, only white irises where his eyes should be. One could make out the outline of tight locked hair and what looked like a jacket and jeans but it just seemed to flow amid the darkness of his body. So, Lightning's got partners now. Good. They can take out the competition and let me take over.

And with a smile that was lost in the shadow, Ebon once more vanished into the darkness.

This one not meant to be as long and not as packed as the others. But still felt it a good follow-up to the Miles bit. Adding Static Shock to Black Lighting's world just makes perfect sense and the idea of him and Miles as mismatched partners just fits. All comments welcomed as usual.