The Knight and Knave (BirdFlash)

4. The Gala

Renegade had targeted the gala of Gabrielle Quinn, a man of unimaginable wealth and power. Throw a brick at a building in downtown Central and the odds were that Mr. Quinn owned it. His galas were always the perfect assembly of wealthy, powerful men and women. The perfect target for a villain.

Renegade had the entire gala under his control, robbing everything of value from the people of power, inciting fear in those who profited off the suffering of the lower class.

"The heroes will stop you, don't think you will get away with this treachery." Mr. Quinn said, regaining a small amount of confidence. Dick turned around to face the billionaire, a smile growing on his face.

"Oh, I bet they will." The villain teased, walking towards Quinn.

"You're nothing more than a pathetic villain." The man hissed. Dick stared at the man in silence before losing himself to laughter. His cackle echoed throughout the ballroom, sending chills down the hostage's spines. After calming down, he knelt next to the man.

"A villain? That's how society has marked me? Isn't a villain determined by perspective? In my view, it's you who are the true evil." Renegade avowed to the group of affluents. "Tell me, Mr. Quinn, how much money have you laundered this month? Mrs. Jones, when was the last time you paid your taxes? Senator Newman, don't think I haven't noticed you. Do you want to tell everyone how you altered the votes for the past three elections? You all call me a villain yet I'm the one delivering the justice no one has served." Renegade stood and glared around the room of terrified millionaires.

"Corruption needs to be elim-" Crash! The villain was cut off by glass raining from the skylight. From the shards rose, The Flash. (Now, Wally usually isn't the kind of guy to not rush into things without knowing anything, but Batman radioed him on his way over and said he needed to understand the situation before doing anything)

"Surrender Renegade." Flash said, eyeing the room to check the hostages.

"Well, that was dramatic." The villain scoffed. "I always thought you weren't one for property damage." The villain looked up at the destroyed skylight.

"If it means stopping evil, I'll let it pass." The hero said, stepping out of the glass and walking toward the villain. The two circled each other, reading who'd make the first move.

"You excuse your treachery, yet when I have fun I'm the bad guy," Dick remarked.

"When I break things, I don't kill people." Wally said, getting in a running stance.

"Touché, little hero." The villain grinned, pulling his knife and pointing it towards the hero's throat.

The Flash attacked first, charging at the villain. Renegade jumped over a table, rolling to the other side dodging the attack. The hero stormed the table. Dick rose from behind it, a grin painted across his face. Wally stopped as soon as he saw the hostage in the criminal's arms, a knife pressed against her throat.

"Come any closer and the girl gets it." He threatened, slowly walking around the table.

"Let her go Renegade, she has nothing to do with this," The Flash ordered, holding his hands out.

"We all have our part to play in the master plan," Renegade explained, creeping towards the balcony doors.

"What master plan." Flash was cut off, the balcony doors shattering with a large burst of wind.

Artemis jumped through the new entrance and kicked Renegade in the head. The villain dropped the girl and fell to the ground with a loud thud. She jumped onto him, pinning him to the ground, holding his arms behind his back. In seconds the entire building was flooded with police.

"Flash, get the cuffs!" Artemis yelled. Without hesitation Wally took handcuffs from his secret pocket (fanfic magic). Renegade squirmed as they detained him, fighting to get away to no avail.

"I see you finally invited a third wheel on our date, Flash," Renegade grunted while being jostled against the ground. Artemis looked at the other hero confused.

"He's just like this, always a snarky comment." Wally explained himself, not trying to reveal anything. Flash lifted the villain to his feet. In a matter of seconds, Renegade was taken by the police and led out of the building. The streets were filled with the flashing lights of police vehicles and cameras alike. Everyone wanted to see the sight of what they dreamed of, the arrest of the city's worst. Renegade was finally going to be locked away.

Flash was left to watch his lover be taken away, small amounts of guilt sneaking into his mind. He never really thought about what would happen now; he never thought they'd catch him. He tried his best to keep those thoughts from conquering his mind.

He answered question after question from interviewers and posed for fans and photographers. Posing was all he could do. Posing to be happy, faking the joy of catching his rival...his lover. After hours of interviews and reports, Wally could finally go home where he could be alone with his thoughts