PRESENTS

#1
FEATURING

"A Day in the Life"
by Kell Carpenter
barchettaboy@yahoo.com

Keystone City, 6:00 am:

Jay Garrick yawned. He had shut the alarm clock off almost before the first buzz had a chance to sound. He pecked his wife Joan on the cheek, whispering an "I love you" that her sleeping mind heard after he'd been in the shower for 20 seconds.

Jay took longer than usual, spending an extravagant 2 minutes under the hot spray. Even with his supernatural youth, his bones ached a little more every day. He smiled to himself as he toweled his hair dry at super-speed.

"You can only hold back Father Time so long, I guess..." He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. He shaved and patted his face down with after-shave balm (noting he was almost out, he made a mental note run by the little shop in Paris later for another bottle).

He dressed in navy-blue Dockers, a white Oxford shirt and a red pullover sweater. As he combed his hair, he looked at his outfit in the mirror and chuckled again. Try as he might, he just couldn't resist the red-and-blue color scheme that was so closely associated with him.

Jay checked his watch. He scolded himself for taking such a long time to get ready: "You're getting old, Jay..." He reset the alarm for Joan, pecked her again on the cheek and was out the door.

Gotham City, 6:25 am:

In the alley beside the Gotham Café, a strange glow lit the gloom. It began as a small green glow, then flashed brightly. As the emerald glow subsided, Alan Scott stepped out of the alley. He wore khaki pants and a green sweater.

Checking his watch, Alan noted the time. He pulled his coat tight against the cold and pushed through the café door. As usual, Jay was already at "their" table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading his fourth or fifth newspaper.

"What's up old man?" Alan teased as he sat across from his oldest friend. "Anything of interest going on in the world?" He motioned to the waitress and she nodded, pouring him his own cup of coffee.

Jay folded the last of his stack of papers and placed it on his "finished" pile. "Not too much. The right-wingers are stirring up controversy in Austria again; that's the most troublesome thing I've seen today." He pulled a copy of the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag from the stack, pointing to an article containing Simon Wiesenthal's opinions on the matter.

"Yeah, I've been watching the Web on that one..." He shook his head as he took his first sip of hot coffee. "...their leaders aren't anywhere near the status of der Fuhrer yet, but it does bear watching, I'll agree."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Listen to you - 'the Web'. Next thing you know, you'll be wearing an earring and listening to that speed metal noise..." He gave a grin to his friend.

"For your information, Grandpaw, 'speed metal' is out now." His furrowed brow eased and they shared a heartfelt laugh. "Thanks for keeping this going, Jay. I don't know what I'd do if we didn't have breakfast at least two or three times a week." The furrow returned and he looked studiously into his coffee cup.

"What's on your mind, Alan?" Jay wore a look of concern.

"It's probably nothing, Jay. Jenny-Lynn's moved out of Kyle's and headed off in some snit*..." He looked up at Jay. "...and I know she's an adult, but I'm her father. I'd just like for her to confide in me once in a while."

*In Neil Gow's excellent Jesse & Jade#1 at the AS2K site - Read-it-already Kell

Their waitress brought Jay his breakfast: three omelettes, ten pancakes, two breakfast steaks, five slices of toast, two milks and three orange juices. Alan shook his head again.

"When are you going to slow down, Jay? You're still eating like it was 1941..." He winked and placed his order.

Jay shrugged and dug into his meal. "I'm just taking it one day at a time, Alan. I can't help it if my metabolism is two or three times yours. Curse of the Speed Force, don't you know..." He smiled as he stuffed a forkful of steak into his mouth.

"Well, I found at least one thing you still do slowly..." Alan teased as Jay deliberately chewed his mouthful of food.

"Hey, you have to take some things slow, or you miss out on the enjoyment." He wiped his mouth and leaned in toward Alan. "And that goes for certain other things as well, if you catch my drift..." He gave his old friend a conspiratorial wink and went back to attacking his food.

Alan's eyes went wide. "Why, Jay Garrick! Does Joan know you're out ruining her reputation?" He smiled slyly and leaned across himself. "Well, I've not gotten any complaints from Molly about my 'youthful exuberance' either...!" He gave his own wink.

The two of them laughed out loud, causing the waitress to eye them suspiciously as she brought Alan his oatmeal and toast.

After she left, Jay smiled. "Made you forget all about your worries over Jenny-Lynn didn't I?"

Alan shook his head, smiling as he swallowed his first spoonful of steaming oatmeal. "You did, at that. Must be why I still let you hang around with me after 60 years..." He winked again.

Jay became serious again. "Alan, I'll speak to Jesse if you'd like. They're staying together out in California, so I can have her..." Alan held up his hand.

"Thanks, Jay, but I'd rather Jenny-Lynn contact me on her own. She will soon enough, I'm sure." Alan stared into his oatmeal as he stirred, then looked back at Jay. "But thanks all the same. I appreciate it. Really."

Jay smiled a wistful smile. "Any time, m'friend, any time..."

Keystone City, 8:00 am:

Jay was in his recliner watching Headline News when Joan came downstairs, rubbing her eyes. She was wearing a robe over her nightgown.

"I didn't hear you come in, Jay. How's Alan today?" She ran a hand through his hair, leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Jay took her hand and looked up into her eyes. "He's doing pretty well, I think. Worried over Jenny-Lynn's sudden departure for sunny L.A., but okay all the same."

She smiled wistfully. "Jay, are you ever sorry we didn't have children? Does it ever bother you?" Her eyes searched his face.

He stood and took each of her hands, lacing their fingers together. "Joan Williams, I regret not one moment of the time I've spent with you. The only regrets I have are the times when we were forced to be apart..."

He leaned in and kissed her, and they moved into an embrace. When the kiss broke, she leaned back and looked at him. "Wanna come upstairs and have a good time, sailor?"

Jay laughed. "You know it...!" He picked her up and they were upstairs in less than a second.

9:30 am:

"I'll see you at noon, hon. Got a few errands to run..." Jay was out the door and racing across the countryside.

California, 10:00 am:

Jay ran one of his many routes, seeing America between Keystone City and the Sunshine State. He took an arcing zigzag route, heading south, then north till he hit the Mexican and Canadian borders at several points along the map.

Jay usually took the cross-country run quicker, but he felt like sight-seeing a bit. And, of course, there were the usual unscheduled "helping hands" he gave along the way.

He had paused for thirty seconds at Mount Rushmore to save a park ranger from falling to his death.

Add in another two minutes for an assist on a search-and-rescue with Phoenix firefighters at a four-alarm fire in a woefully run-down nursing home. In addition to that, he spent ten minutes signing autographs and reliving memories with some of the residents he'd rescued.

In Idaho, he'd taken a minute and a half and helped round up a herd of runaway cattle on an acquaintance's farm.

He made it to L.A. with a few minutes to spare. He had given Jesse and Jenny-Lynn until 10:30 to get their nap out and stood at the door buzzing for entrance. When there was no answer, he left a note on the front door and began a route around the world.

As he raced across time zones, he thought about Jesse. She'd been unusually evasive of him. He tried to remember the last time they'd seen each other, surprised at how long it had been since they'd spoken.

Finally, he remembered that he'd seen her last in Atlanta. There'd been some sort of shooting there and Wally, Bart and he had zoomed over from Keystone. As soon as the dust settled and reporters were all over the three of them, he'd spotted Jesse on the edge of the gathered crowd...being ignored*.

*Again, see Jesse & Jade#1 - Fanboy Kell

Cursing himself for being short-sighted, he realized that she'd intended to handle the situation herself. Years of being in the public eye had somewhat dulled him to what being a young hero could be like.

It was different for Jesse than for him or Wally or even Bart. Wally had made headlines for the last few years, and Jay had welcomed the dip in publicity it gave him. Bart...well, Bart tended to draw attention without even trying...!

But for Jesse, she had lived in the shadow of her father, Johnny Quick...and her mother, both as Liberty Belle and as Libby Lawrence Chambers. Jesse hadn't had much of the publicity being a hero brought and, being young, probably wanted just that.

He had to admit that whenever there was a gathering of speedsters, Jesse was the least sought-after by the media. He sighed to himself and resolved to talk to her when she'd had time to cool off.

Noticing his surroundings, he slowed a bit. He'd taken less time than usual, lost in thought instead of making stops along the way. Checking his watch, he headed for his next destination...

Paris, 12:00 pm:

Jay thanked the shop's clerk and left with his purchases. He checked his watch and scolded himself for taking so long. He tucked the package inside the bag he carried for long trips and headed for home.

Keystone City, 3:00 pm:

Jay closed his book and leaned back in his recliner. Just recently, he had started spending as much time in the afternoons here at home with Joan. He had become aware of how much time he spent off running somewhere, leaving her home all alone.

Even though they had both been exposed to energies that gave them more youth and vigor than "normal" people their age*, he was very aware that the time they had to spend together was precious.

*It happened in All-Star Squadron Annual #2 - Reminiscing Kell

Even if he only spent the afternoon in the same room with Joan reading, they were together. She was crocheting in her own chair and she looked up when he leaned back.

"Good night, Mr. Hero..." She smiled and gave him a wink.

Jay stretched and winked back. "Good night, hon...”

He had also begun to take naps. Father Time must indeed have been moving onward, because Jay had never felt the need to take naps. Shrugging to himself, Jay closed his eyes and napped, dreaming of younger days.

Opal City:

The Shade looked out from his veranda. Opal City had been fairly quiet. For the Shade, that also meant boring. He sipped absent-mindedly on some absinthe and reflected back on some of the adventures he'd had during his career as a "super-villain".

He laughed, amused by the sobriquet. "Super-villain, indeed. Ah, but those were some of my best years since I acquired my...abilities. Especially the jousts with Jay Garrick. What amusing diversions we had...!"

Cocking his head, he sipped again from his glass. "I wonder if dear old Jay is up for some more merriment? Perhaps I'll invite myself over to play again soon..."

He smiled again, and drained the pungent green liquid from his glass.

Keystone City, 10:00 pm:

Jay finished brushing his teeth and turned off the bathroom light. Joan was sitting up in bed, reading the latest Mrs. Pollifax. She smiled at him and marked her place, setting the book and her reading glasses on the table by the bed.

He walked over to the bed and kissed her on the cheek. He went to the light switch and flipped it, in bed well before the light winked out.

He stretched and rolled on his side, closing his eyes. He opened them when he felt Joan whispering in his ear.

"Again? You're wearing me out, woman..." He smiled and embraced his wife, the two of them sharing a loving laugh.

Elsewhere:

A malformed blob moved through the red mists.

It flowed without form, appearing to struggle as it moved. The ether of its surroundings provided no stability from which to draw strength. It searched desperately for a way out of its hellish prison.

It was not a mindless substance. It had great intelligence. Its thoughts centered constantly on why it was here and on who had imprisoned it.

One way or another, it would return to Earth. It would return, and it would have its revenge on Jay Garrick...

NEXT ISSUE:
What's up with the Shade? Who or what is that blob? Why does it want revenge on Jay? Come back next time as a little more is revealed...

Fast Talk:

Hello! Welcome to the inaugural issue of DC Heroes' BRAVE & BOLD. Some of you may be here and asking “What the-? Didn't I see this stuff at the All-Star 2000 site before? What gives?” Well...

After lots of soul-searching and discussion with several friends in the fan fiction community, I decided that -for personal reasons- I fit in a bit better in the DC Heroes world than at AS2K. I decided not to pull the issues from the AS2K site, since it would definitely affect some folks' work adversely. So, with minor differences, the first five issues of this story appear on two separate fan fiction projects' sites.

Next question: “Why an anthology? Wouldn't you rather have your own series, like at AS2K?” Well...

When I finally decided to move, it was agreed that with my current slower pace of writing, an anthology title would probably be a better fit for me...at least in the beginning. If it looks like I'm going to be able to write on a more regular timetable, I'll look into the possibility of a regular series. Until then, I'm content to go this route.

Well, enough of that stuff. What follows is what I wrote in the first AS2K issue of The Flash. It gives an idea of where this whole thing is going. It's still accurate, and gives a pretty good picture of what these characters mean to me. Read on:

Well, here we are, one issue into my perspective on the original Flash. "My perspective"? Why should the way I look at the character be anything special? Well...

I've always seen Jay Garrick as, well, Jay Garrick. He's one of the first heroes to go public with his identity, as well as being one of the first heroes, period, in the Golden Age.

That makes him, in my mind, one of the most together heroes around. He's always seemed cool and collected, even in the face of the worst odds. Add to that his long-term relationship with his wife Joan, and you've got the recipe for (I think) one of the most interesting character explorations in comics.

Over the course of this series, we'll examine exactly what life is like 60+ years into the hero business. We'll also explore some of the issues surrounding senior citizens (health issues, death, marriage roles), since Jay and Joan are in that age range. Like I said, different...but hopefully a good different.

Enough rambling from me. Let me hear from you: tell me whether or not you like where you think this will lead, that kind of thing. Write me and give me your opinions!