Bart Allen has died, living out his days in the afterlife of the speed force like all of the deceased speedsters before him. Living out his wildest dreams of being a hero, Bart has lived a life of loneliness for quite some time, until the arrival of the mysterious Jase, who arrives one day with no clue of who he really is.
Taking the young speedster under his wing, Bart starts to find a new purpose in his afterlife, until a dark force begins to threaten everything. Now Bart and Jase are traveling through the inner worlds of the speed force to solve the mystery of who is trying to destroy everything they care about.
Taking the young speedster under his wing, Bart starts to find a new purpose in his afterlife, until a dark force begins to threaten everything. Now Bart and Jase are traveling through the inner worlds of the speed force to solve the mystery of who is trying to destroy everything they care about.
Lucas and Bart sat down at the bar in the old tavern, which was void of any sign of life except for the two speedsters. Lucas reached under the bar and grabbed a bottle of the most expensive stuff, along with two shot glasses.
"Here's to new friends," Lucas said as he poured the whiskey into the shot glasses. The two toasted as Lucas threw his drink back before slamming the glass down onto the table. Bart, however, started choking. "It's an acquired taste; you'll get used to it."
"I need to find Jase," Bart said in a raspy voice after Lucas slapped him on the back.
"The boy's fine, he can't get into trouble here," Lucas promised him. "After all, it's just the three of us."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jase had his face pressed against the glass of the old-time toy store, staring in marvel at all the toys sitting inside. Behind him, a dozen masked bandits, all of them armed, were ready to pounce on the boy. Before they could get to him, Jase had zipped into the toy store to look around.
"Wow," Jase said as he looked at everything. He picked up a jar of marbles and shook it, listening to the rattling sound before setting it back down a little too close to the edge of the table. He rushed over and grabbed a kaleidoscope, looking through it and seeing all the bright colors swirling around. "Cool, and I don't even have to lick a mushroom to see it."
As the boy stared through the kaleidoscope, the bandits rushed in, just as the jar of marbles fell off the table and shattered on the ground. As the bandits headed toward Jase, they slipped and fell in a pile as Jase put down the kaleidoscope.
"You guys should really be more careful," Jase said as he stepped over them, rushing toward his next destination.
# # # # # # # # # #
"The one thing I hate about drinking is that you can't actually get drunk," Lucas said as he slammed another shotglass down on the table. "All these years and I'm still not allowed to forget about everything I've lost."
"What was her name?" Bart asked, seeing the pain in his new friend's face.
"Annie," Lucas said as he stared into the bottom of his shotglass. "She was tough, smart, beautiful, and she was the only person who loved me despite knowing what I really was. She could hold her own in any fight and didn't take any guff from no man. I loved her with everything I had. No, I loved her more than that."
"What happened to her?"
After a few moments of silence, Lucas slammed back another drink. "Four years we'd been together, trying to build a life together. We were even expecting a son, but the night our baby was born..."
"Did she die during childbirth?"
"Mauled by a bear. But she gave as good as she got. She fought that bear tooth and nail to keep our son safe. I've got that bear's hide on my cabin floor as a reminder."
"It had a bite taken out of it,"
"I told you, she was a fighter," Lucas said. "Didn't take long for me to realize the boy had powers. Had to teach him how to control them. At four years old, he was already smart as a whip, wanting to be like his daddy. But that night with the storm... that was the last we ever saw of each other."
"We'll find out what happened to him," Bart promised as Jase ran into the bar. "What's the rush?"
"I gotta use the bathroom," Jase said as the bandits charged in. "Oh, yeah, and those guys are after me."
"Friends of yours?" Bart asked as he stood up.
"Ain't no friends of mine," Lucas told him as they charged forward.
The first bandit went to hit Bart, who uppercut him and sent the bandit flying over a table. A second one grabbed Bart from behind as the third went to punch him. Bart vibrated out of his grip as the punch sent the second bandit flying back into the bar, where Jase was sitting on top of it. The boy smashed a bottle over the bandit's head to knock him out.
Lucas plowed past two of the bandits, clotheslining both of them to the ground before he slid under the fist of another. Lucas kicked his legs from behind, sending the bandit flying forward onto a table and shattering it.
As the remaining six headed toward them, Bart jumped onto a table, grabbing a chandelier and swinging it around the room, kicking two of them through the window. Lucas spun circles around one, causing him to get dizzy enough to fall backward after a single punch. Bart and Lucas just smiled at each other as they rushed toward the next two, using a combination of super speed hits and kicks to take them out, but as they fought, they didn't realize the last bandit had grabbed Jase and was rushing out of the bar with him.
"He's got Jase!" Bart shouted. "Get back here with my little buddy!"
"Who are these guys?" Lucas asked as they rushed out the door.
"I have a feeling they're connected to that storm," Bart said as he looked up into the sky and seeing the dark clouds rolling in. "Son of a bitch."
"I see him!" Lucas shouted. "Up ahead."
The bandit had Jase under his arm as a vortex of yellow, red and orange energy opened in front of him. He got ready to toss the boy in when Bart snatched him out of the bandit's arms while Lucas shoved the bandit through the vortex, closing before the speedsters could follow him.
"That vortex could have taken us to whoever's causing this," Bart said.
"Or into a whole heap of trouble," Lucas told him. "We didn't know what was on the other side. Probably a million of those guys."
"That storm's going to wipe everything out here," Bart said as he pointed up. "We have to go. There has to be an exit here somewhere."
"The old goldmine," Lucas told him. "It's one of the few places I've never really explored while I've been here. If it's hidden anywhere, it's there."
# # # # # # # # # #
Soon, the trio found their way into the speed force, once again not knowing which way to go since their surroundings looked exactly the same as before Bart and Jase entered Lucas's world.
"It's beautiful," Lucas said as he looked around at the never ending energy. "This is what's outside of my little world?"
"It's the speed force, this is the energy source for all speedsters," Bart told him. "And that storm is destroying it all."
"And someone has to be behind that storm," Lucas said. "You said that Whip is here somewhere. How do we find him?"
Jase closed his eyes and held his head up as he started turning around and pointing. "That way. We have to go that way."
"How do you know that?" Lucas asked.
"I-- I don't know, I just know that whatever we're looking for, it's that way," Jase told him.
"He was right about having to go to your world," Bart told him as he followed Jase. "The kid's got intuition, I say we follow him."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Oh, Bart, how much longer do you think you can run?" the one behind the chaotic storms asked. "My hold over the speed force continues to grow by the hour. I just need the boy to complete my plans. This time, you can't foil my plans, Bart Allen. This time, I will destroy you for good."
# # # # # # # # # #
Bart, Lucas, and Jase ended up in a small suburban neighborhood that looked shockingly familiar.
"It-- it's Manchester," Bart said as he looked around. "This is the place where I ended up when I started my training under Max Mercury."
"Looks boring," Jase said as he found a fire hydrant. "Can I lick that?"
"Stop licking things!" Bart told him. "If this is Manchester, then this must be Max's part of the speed force. I think we're in the right place. MAX!"
"You don't have to yell, Bart, I sensed your arrival," Max Mercury said as he suddenly appeared behind the trio. Bart instantly hugged his former mentor. "I know, Bart, I've missed you, too."
"Whip?" Lucas asked as he got closer. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Lucas," Max said as they shook hands. "It's good to see you again, too. And who's this?"
"Max, this is Jase, my new friend," Bart told him. "He just showed up one day with no explanation."
"I had pizza!"
Max just stared the boy down, not knowing what to make of him yet. He shook it off and looked at Bart. "It's about time you got here. We're all in danger, we have a lot to do."
# # # # # # # # # #
Max led them inside the house, which looked exactly the way Bart remembered it, right down to the picture on the wall that looked exactly like Bart's part of the speed force.
"Home," Jase said, his lip trembling a little.
"I have to be honest, Max, I kind of thought this picture would be what we'd find here," Bart told him.
"You needed that place more," Max told him. "But unfortunately it's been destroyed. Like it was never there."
"Then you know what's going on?"
"I'm piecing it all together a bit at a time," Max said. "Right now, I'm still missing a lot of the big picture, but I do know that someone is controlling this darkness. Whoever it is, they're spreading their control over the speed force for their own purpose. But for what reason, I still can't figure that out."
Jase came downstairs, dressed in one of Bart's old outfits and sneakers. Outside of the mixture of shaggy orange, red and yellow hair, and the orange eyes, he was almost a spitting image of Bart Allen.
"Do you mind if I speak to Jase alone for a few minutes?" Max asked. "I'd like to get to know this mystery boy."
"Just don't let him lick anything," Bart told him as he looked at Lucas. "I'll show you around."
"Are you like my Grandpa?" Jase asked.
"Sit down with me, Jase," Max told him. "Meditate with me, maybe I can figure out where you came from."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Times sure have changed since I was alive," Lucas said as Bart showed him around the town. "So this where you became a hero?"
"Where I started, at least," Bart said as they stopped in front of his old school. "This is I met Carol, my first girlfriend, and my best friend, Preston. I haven't seen either of them in forever."
"Did she break up with you?" Lucas asked.
"After I had to move in with the Garricks after Max disappeared, we tried to make the long distance thing work," Bart told him. "But even though I could be back here in seconds, we just couldn't do it. We both agreed to see other people. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."
"At least you still had your best friend,"
"I haven't talked to Preston since I moved away," Bart told him. "Plus, you know, I died a couple times, makes it hard to keep in contact."
"Bart, come back to the house," Max's said over a loudspeaker. "I have something."
"Let's roll," Bart said, not realizing the storm clouds overhead.
# # # # # # # # # #
Max met the boys outside as they returned to the house.
"Where's Jase? Is he okay?"
"He's upstairs playing your old video games," Max said. "How much do you about this boy, Bart?"
"Just that he showed up one day," Bart said. "He was basically a 12-year-old baby. He couldn't read, write, or talk at first, but he picked everything up within days. He's pretty smart outside of the wanting to taste everything part. And he's really sweet and kind, he's like a little teddy bear."
"He's not human, Bart," Max said.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't know where this boy came from, or why he came to you, but Jase isn't human," Max told him. "He's not real. He's something far more dangerous. I think he's the reason why the speed force is being destroyed."
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Here's to new friends," Lucas said as he poured the whiskey into the shot glasses. The two toasted as Lucas threw his drink back before slamming the glass down onto the table. Bart, however, started choking. "It's an acquired taste; you'll get used to it."
"I need to find Jase," Bart said in a raspy voice after Lucas slapped him on the back.
"The boy's fine, he can't get into trouble here," Lucas promised him. "After all, it's just the three of us."
# # # # # # # # # #
Jase had his face pressed against the glass of the old-time toy store, staring in marvel at all the toys sitting inside. Behind him, a dozen masked bandits, all of them armed, were ready to pounce on the boy. Before they could get to him, Jase had zipped into the toy store to look around.
"Wow," Jase said as he looked at everything. He picked up a jar of marbles and shook it, listening to the rattling sound before setting it back down a little too close to the edge of the table. He rushed over and grabbed a kaleidoscope, looking through it and seeing all the bright colors swirling around. "Cool, and I don't even have to lick a mushroom to see it."
As the boy stared through the kaleidoscope, the bandits rushed in, just as the jar of marbles fell off the table and shattered on the ground. As the bandits headed toward Jase, they slipped and fell in a pile as Jase put down the kaleidoscope.
"You guys should really be more careful," Jase said as he stepped over them, rushing toward his next destination.
# # # # # # # # # #
"The one thing I hate about drinking is that you can't actually get drunk," Lucas said as he slammed another shotglass down on the table. "All these years and I'm still not allowed to forget about everything I've lost."
"What was her name?" Bart asked, seeing the pain in his new friend's face.
"Annie," Lucas said as he stared into the bottom of his shotglass. "She was tough, smart, beautiful, and she was the only person who loved me despite knowing what I really was. She could hold her own in any fight and didn't take any guff from no man. I loved her with everything I had. No, I loved her more than that."
"What happened to her?"
After a few moments of silence, Lucas slammed back another drink. "Four years we'd been together, trying to build a life together. We were even expecting a son, but the night our baby was born..."
"Did she die during childbirth?"
"Mauled by a bear. But she gave as good as she got. She fought that bear tooth and nail to keep our son safe. I've got that bear's hide on my cabin floor as a reminder."
"It had a bite taken out of it,"
"I told you, she was a fighter," Lucas said. "Didn't take long for me to realize the boy had powers. Had to teach him how to control them. At four years old, he was already smart as a whip, wanting to be like his daddy. But that night with the storm... that was the last we ever saw of each other."
"We'll find out what happened to him," Bart promised as Jase ran into the bar. "What's the rush?"
"I gotta use the bathroom," Jase said as the bandits charged in. "Oh, yeah, and those guys are after me."
"Friends of yours?" Bart asked as he stood up.
"Ain't no friends of mine," Lucas told him as they charged forward.
The first bandit went to hit Bart, who uppercut him and sent the bandit flying over a table. A second one grabbed Bart from behind as the third went to punch him. Bart vibrated out of his grip as the punch sent the second bandit flying back into the bar, where Jase was sitting on top of it. The boy smashed a bottle over the bandit's head to knock him out.
Lucas plowed past two of the bandits, clotheslining both of them to the ground before he slid under the fist of another. Lucas kicked his legs from behind, sending the bandit flying forward onto a table and shattering it.
As the remaining six headed toward them, Bart jumped onto a table, grabbing a chandelier and swinging it around the room, kicking two of them through the window. Lucas spun circles around one, causing him to get dizzy enough to fall backward after a single punch. Bart and Lucas just smiled at each other as they rushed toward the next two, using a combination of super speed hits and kicks to take them out, but as they fought, they didn't realize the last bandit had grabbed Jase and was rushing out of the bar with him.
"He's got Jase!" Bart shouted. "Get back here with my little buddy!"
"Who are these guys?" Lucas asked as they rushed out the door.
"I have a feeling they're connected to that storm," Bart said as he looked up into the sky and seeing the dark clouds rolling in. "Son of a bitch."
"I see him!" Lucas shouted. "Up ahead."
The bandit had Jase under his arm as a vortex of yellow, red and orange energy opened in front of him. He got ready to toss the boy in when Bart snatched him out of the bandit's arms while Lucas shoved the bandit through the vortex, closing before the speedsters could follow him.
"That vortex could have taken us to whoever's causing this," Bart said.
"Or into a whole heap of trouble," Lucas told him. "We didn't know what was on the other side. Probably a million of those guys."
"That storm's going to wipe everything out here," Bart said as he pointed up. "We have to go. There has to be an exit here somewhere."
"The old goldmine," Lucas told him. "It's one of the few places I've never really explored while I've been here. If it's hidden anywhere, it's there."
# # # # # # # # # #
Soon, the trio found their way into the speed force, once again not knowing which way to go since their surroundings looked exactly the same as before Bart and Jase entered Lucas's world.
"It's beautiful," Lucas said as he looked around at the never ending energy. "This is what's outside of my little world?"
"It's the speed force, this is the energy source for all speedsters," Bart told him. "And that storm is destroying it all."
"And someone has to be behind that storm," Lucas said. "You said that Whip is here somewhere. How do we find him?"
Jase closed his eyes and held his head up as he started turning around and pointing. "That way. We have to go that way."
"How do you know that?" Lucas asked.
"I-- I don't know, I just know that whatever we're looking for, it's that way," Jase told him.
"He was right about having to go to your world," Bart told him as he followed Jase. "The kid's got intuition, I say we follow him."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Oh, Bart, how much longer do you think you can run?" the one behind the chaotic storms asked. "My hold over the speed force continues to grow by the hour. I just need the boy to complete my plans. This time, you can't foil my plans, Bart Allen. This time, I will destroy you for good."
# # # # # # # # # #
Bart, Lucas, and Jase ended up in a small suburban neighborhood that looked shockingly familiar.
"It-- it's Manchester," Bart said as he looked around. "This is the place where I ended up when I started my training under Max Mercury."
"Looks boring," Jase said as he found a fire hydrant. "Can I lick that?"
"Stop licking things!" Bart told him. "If this is Manchester, then this must be Max's part of the speed force. I think we're in the right place. MAX!"
"You don't have to yell, Bart, I sensed your arrival," Max Mercury said as he suddenly appeared behind the trio. Bart instantly hugged his former mentor. "I know, Bart, I've missed you, too."
"Whip?" Lucas asked as he got closer. "Is that really you?"
"Yes, Lucas," Max said as they shook hands. "It's good to see you again, too. And who's this?"
"Max, this is Jase, my new friend," Bart told him. "He just showed up one day with no explanation."
"I had pizza!"
Max just stared the boy down, not knowing what to make of him yet. He shook it off and looked at Bart. "It's about time you got here. We're all in danger, we have a lot to do."
# # # # # # # # # #
Max led them inside the house, which looked exactly the way Bart remembered it, right down to the picture on the wall that looked exactly like Bart's part of the speed force.
"Home," Jase said, his lip trembling a little.
"I have to be honest, Max, I kind of thought this picture would be what we'd find here," Bart told him.
"You needed that place more," Max told him. "But unfortunately it's been destroyed. Like it was never there."
"Then you know what's going on?"
"I'm piecing it all together a bit at a time," Max said. "Right now, I'm still missing a lot of the big picture, but I do know that someone is controlling this darkness. Whoever it is, they're spreading their control over the speed force for their own purpose. But for what reason, I still can't figure that out."
Jase came downstairs, dressed in one of Bart's old outfits and sneakers. Outside of the mixture of shaggy orange, red and yellow hair, and the orange eyes, he was almost a spitting image of Bart Allen.
"Do you mind if I speak to Jase alone for a few minutes?" Max asked. "I'd like to get to know this mystery boy."
"Just don't let him lick anything," Bart told him as he looked at Lucas. "I'll show you around."
"Are you like my Grandpa?" Jase asked.
"Sit down with me, Jase," Max told him. "Meditate with me, maybe I can figure out where you came from."
# # # # # # # # # #
"Times sure have changed since I was alive," Lucas said as Bart showed him around the town. "So this where you became a hero?"
"Where I started, at least," Bart said as they stopped in front of his old school. "This is I met Carol, my first girlfriend, and my best friend, Preston. I haven't seen either of them in forever."
"Did she break up with you?" Lucas asked.
"After I had to move in with the Garricks after Max disappeared, we tried to make the long distance thing work," Bart told him. "But even though I could be back here in seconds, we just couldn't do it. We both agreed to see other people. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."
"At least you still had your best friend,"
"I haven't talked to Preston since I moved away," Bart told him. "Plus, you know, I died a couple times, makes it hard to keep in contact."
"Bart, come back to the house," Max's said over a loudspeaker. "I have something."
"Let's roll," Bart said, not realizing the storm clouds overhead.
# # # # # # # # # #
Max met the boys outside as they returned to the house.
"Where's Jase? Is he okay?"
"He's upstairs playing your old video games," Max said. "How much do you about this boy, Bart?"
"Just that he showed up one day," Bart said. "He was basically a 12-year-old baby. He couldn't read, write, or talk at first, but he picked everything up within days. He's pretty smart outside of the wanting to taste everything part. And he's really sweet and kind, he's like a little teddy bear."
"He's not human, Bart," Max said.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't know where this boy came from, or why he came to you, but Jase isn't human," Max told him. "He's not real. He's something far more dangerous. I think he's the reason why the speed force is being destroyed."
TO BE CONTINUED...