The Legends of Forever by Barry Lyga (books to read for beginners .txt) 📕

Canary drew in a breath, and the light on her choker went a deep black. Dig didn’t want to imagine what this particular iteration of her sonic powers would do to him, but the comment about turning someone’s bones to jelly rang in his memory like a strident church bell.

Despite the pain from his ribs, he lurched up, scrambling to unholster his emergency backup weapon. Maybe if she was using the intense black version of her power, she couldn’t also deflect bullets like she’d done before. He could possibly save Dinah and the rest of the city.

At the cost of his own life.

Which . . . was less than ideal. He had a wife and a child he loved. He had dreams for his future.

But John Diggle had always been willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. That drive had taken him to the military, to A.R.G.U.S., to serve as Oliver Queen’s bodyguard . . . and then to take on the mantle of Spartan when Oliver’s superhero lifestyle demanded some backup.

He had never imagined himself dying on the street under a threatening cloud of robot bees while fighting an alternate-reality version of one of his best friends, but then again, who ever got to pick their death?

“Hey, you!” he shouted, drawing her attention from Dinah. “I bet Earth 32 is glad to see you gone!”

She swiveled to regard him, her expression unchanged save for a slight narrowing of the eyes. She knew he was baiting her, but couldn’t help herself.

“I’ve killed men for less,” she told him.

“Well, get ready to kill me for more.” He opened fire.

The recoil set his ribs on fire and he jerked to one side, firing wide and missing her. Still, she had to dodge, losing her balance for a few moments. That gave him just enough time to race to Dinah’s side. She was groggy but awake, her face speckled with droplets of blood from flying pavement.

“I should have called in sick today, Dig.”

“You and me both, Dinah. C’mon.” Groaning in pain as his ribs flared, he helped Dinah to her feet. Only a few feet away was one of the wrecked cars, a possible refuge for a few moments.

“You hear that?” Dinah asked, her voice alive with panic.

Dig tried to answer, but the world was filled with a shrieking, high-pitched tone that swallowed all other sound. He clapped his hands over his ears and dropped to the ground atop Dinah just as the sound intensified. Every bone in his body shivered.

The car he’d thought to use for cover . . . melted.

He’d never seen its like before. The steel and glass of the car vibrated for a moment, then began to run like molten wax, oozing sluggishly until it formed a liquefied mass of color and glimmering melted glass before them.

“Oh, this is not good,” Dig mumbled.

Dark Canary smirked and inhaled deeply. The choker flashed its black light.

Pop!

“Never hit a lady!” Ambush Bug shouted, and decked Dark Canary with a sweet right hook. She spun around on one heel, knocked off-kilter by the force of the blow.

“Never, ever!” Ambush Bug said. “Oh, wait. Oh, darn.” He struck a pose, forefinger to his chin, thinking. “I always thought that was specifically referring to nobility, so you couldn’t hit, like, Kate Middleton. But maybe it’s supposed to mean all—”

“Ambush Bug!” Dig couldn’t believe he was warning off the lunatic who’d started all this nonsense, but Dark Canary’s choker was heating up and her expression as she glared at the Bug was not friendly.

Pop! Pop!

Ambush Bug appeared behind Dark Canary and tripped her. Her sonic blast went awry, blowing a hole in the ground before her. Hot tar fountained up into the air.

Dig and Dinah helped each other to their feet, each using the other as a fulcrum to lever up. “You ready, Dig?”

Dig’s ribs hurt too much to answer, so he just nodded, and the two of them charged forward while Dark Canary was distracted.

Together they tackled her to the ground. Dig leaned hard on her cheek with an elbow, pressing her to one side so that her sonic scream would be misdirected if she tried to use it. Meanwhile, Dinah slapped a set of S.T.A.R. Labs meta-dampening manacles on her wrists.

The choker light dimmed, then dulled, then went out entirely.

It hurt to draw in a deep breath, but Dig did it anyway. He deserved it.

A few feet away, Ambush Bug applauded. “Well done, brave members of the Fightin’ Arrows!”

Dinah rose on shaky feet. She cleared her throat and puckered her lips, ready to scream her Canary Cry. “Don’t move.”

Ambush Bug chuckled. “Look! Nothing in my hands!” He raised empty hands, palms out.

“Why did you save us?” Dig asked.

“How else were you going to get out of this? You were totally outclassed. I’ll be going now.”

“Wait!” Dig shouted.

“One twenty-five!” Ambush Bug shouted back and pop!’d away, just as Dinah let loose and hit nothing but empty air.

27

Barry had time-traveled before. More than once, and via more than one method. He’d used his own speed, magnified by Kid Flash’s speed, and he’d also used the futuristic Cosmic Treadmill. Each time, he’d experienced the thrill of the run, the pound of his feet, the stretch and burn of his sinews as he raced through the time stream.

But this was the first time running with the vibrational frequencies and energetic waveform of ten thousand speedsters at his back. He did not so much run as find himself propelled forward, churning his legs in order to keep his balance and direction stable. It was the difference between swimming in a pool and surfing a tidal wave.

He ran, trying to stay just ahead of the throbbing wave of vibrational energy that the Earth 27 speedsters had generated for him. It buffeted him and pulsated against him from behind, shoving him unrelentingly forward. Nothing could stop him, he knew. With this much power behind him, with such impossible velocity at his disposal, he could run to the End of All Time, tear through the