Bart Allen, having sacrificed his life during Flashpoint, now lives within the Speed Force, living out his days being the hero he always wanted to be. When the mysterious Jase arrives, it starts an adventure that propels the two through the Speed Force, outrunning a mysterious storm that's destroying everything in its path.
Having found Max Mercury's personal part of the Speed Force, Max realizes something about Jase that could change everything...
Having found Max Mercury's personal part of the Speed Force, Max realizes something about Jase that could change everything...
Central City
The Rogues were in the middle of a bank heist, having just used their various gadgets to blow open the bank vault. As they headed inside to get the cash, they realized that the money was already gone.
"What the--?"
"Oh, don't worry, boys, the money's safe in another bank not too far from here," the Flash said as he appeared behind them. "Think of it as a trust fund."
"Think of that as your last joke, Flash," Captain Cold said as he fired his cold gun. From the Flash's P.O.V. the blast came out extremely slowly, to the point where he could wait several minutes for it to reach him. Then it would just be a matter of quickly disarming the Rogues and tying them up.
But today, the worst possible thing happened.
As the Flash got ready to move, he quickly realized that was moving at normal speed. By the time he saw that his powers weren't working, he'd been frozen by Captain Cold's gun.
# # # # #
"What do you mean Jase isn't human?" Bart asked as he looked up at his mentor. "He's real. I've held him, I've felt his heartbeat. And I've seen the kid eat an entire buffet in one sitting."
"Bart, I don't know what Jase is, but I do know that he's not human," Max told him. "The speed force is off-kilter, and it has something to do with him."
"Bart, you did say the kid just showed up out of nowhere," Lucas reminded him. "Not knowing how to talk or act like a person."
"That doesn't mean that he's destroying the speed force," Bart said. "I mean, when I arrived in the 21st century, I didn't know how to read or eat with a fork. Jase is a good kid. He's my friend, and I refuse to believe that he's the one doing all of this."
"Why don't we just talk to the kid?" Lucas suggested. "He has to know something about where he came from, right?"
"You think I didn't try to ask him about what he remembers?" Bart said as he looked between them. "The first thing he remembers is waking up in the field, then taking off when he saw me. He lived in the forest until the next time I saw him. And you think--"
"Bart, I know he has something to do with the destruction that's happening," Max told him as they heard a noise and turned around to see Jace standing in the doorway.
"Do you think I'm... a bad guy?" Jase asked, his voice shaking.
"What? No, it's just... you showed up randomly just before these storms started and--"
"I'm not bad!" Jase shouted as he took off running.
"Dammit," Bart said with a sigh as Max got ready to take off after him, but Bart grabbed his arm. "It won't do any good, Max. He's the fastest thing I've ever seen. Faster than Wally."
"It's not like he can go anywhere dangerous in here," Max said.
"Yeah," Bart laughed. "Unless those guys who tried to kidnap him in Lucas's world show up here."
"Wait, what?"
# # # # #
The tears that were falling down Jase's face as he ran flew off and into the wind as the boy picked up speed. How could they think that he had anything to do with what was happening? Jace loved living in the speed force, why would he want to ruin it? As Jase ran, he started getting hungry. Jase stopped, wondering where he could get something to eat . That's when he noticed the slice of pizza laying under a box, being propped up by a stick.
Jase raced toward the pizza but stopped. "Wait, something's not right here. Is this anyone's pizza?" Jace was met by silence, then after a few seconds dived right on in.
# # # # #
"I just hope the kid's okay," Bart said as he raced alongside Max and Lucas. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to him."
"Remember, Bart, Jase isn't--"
"Real or not, he's my little buddy," Bart told Max. "I care about him, and I don't want to see him hurt."
"Up ahead!" Lucas shouted as they saw the same bandits from Lucas's world, with one having an unconscious Jase slung over his shoulder.
"Those guys again?" Bart asked. "Let's get 'em!"
"Wait, Bart, hold back," Max said as he grabbed Bart's arm. "They can take us to whoever is behind all of this."
"So, what, we're just supposed to let them take Jase away?" Bart asked. "Screw that!"
Bart took off running towards the bandits, who were heading toward a portal. Bart plowed right them, sending them flying like bowling pins to get to the bandit who was holding Jase.
"Let. Him. GO!" Bart shouted as he darted toward the last bandit.
# # # # #
"Oh, Bart, you simple-minded fool. I'm prepared for you this time."
# # # # #
Before Bart could reach the bandit, he held out his fist with a brass knuckle on it. As Bart ran into his fist, an enormous electric shock went through Bart's body. The young speedster screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. A portal opened as Max and Lucas rushed to Bart's side.
"Is he?"
"He'll be okay," Max said as he saw the portal starting to close, the bandits having had already gone through. "We have to move!"
"What about Bart?"
"There's no time," Max said as he looked down at Bart. "If I trained him right, he'll be able to find his way to us. Come on."
The two speedsters ran through the portal, just as it closed, leaving Bart laying on the ground.
# # # # #
"Oh, isn't that adorable? They think they can just rush in and save the day. Sorry, old man, even you can't stop me this time."
# # # # #
"Max? What's happening? I can't see those guys anymore!" Lucas shouted.
"Something's shifting in this tunnel, I can feel it," Max said as the two continued to race forward. "We need to get out of here before--"
Everything suddenly went dark for the two speedsters.
# # # # #
Some time had passed before Bart opened his eyes and started to sit up.
"Max?" Bart asked as he looked around the empty street. "Jase?"
Bart stumbled to his feet and found he was still too weak to run. Making his way back to Max's house, Bart fell onto the couch, passing out again. More time had passed before Bart finally regained consciousness, wondering how long he'd been unconscious.
"Max?" Bart asked as he stumbled to the kitchen. "Lucas? Where is everyone?"
And that's when it all started coming back to him. The bandits had taken Jase, and when Bart tried to save him, something electrocuted him. Max and Lucas must have followed Jase to where ever the bandits took him.
"They left me all alone," Bart said as he slumped back into a chair. "They ditched me. They're probably saving Jase right now. They probably don't even need me."
Bart headed upstairs to his old room, seeing Jase's western clothes laying on the floor. The boy was probably beyond scared facing some terrible force right now.
"No, Jase does need me," Bart said. "I don't care who he is or where he came from, he's my friend, and he needs me. Don't worry, Jase, I'm coming to save you."
Bart sped out of the house, wearing his red hoodie, red jeans, and boots. He started picking up speed as he headed for the exit into the speed force, hoping he'd be able to find where Jase had been taken.
"Come on, Bart, focus," the speedster said to himself as ran through the endless energy of the speed force. "Jase is counting on me to find him. I can do this," Bart closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on Jase. "Come on, little bro, where are you?"
# # # # #
Over two dozen henchmen stood at the ready, all of them waiting for the moment when Bart, or anyone, tried to come through. Their orders were to destroy anyone or anything that even tried to make a rescue attempt.
Soon, the sound of crackling lightning was heard, and from out of nowhere a red blur burst in. Bart was picking up speed as he ran, going from bandit to bandit like a human pinball, punching each one with the force of a hundred men. As he struck each bandit, they fell back and imploded with a burst of speed force energy. And as quickly as the fight began, it was already over, with Bart standing alone and overseeing two dozen piles of ash.
"BART!" Jase shouted from the inside of a large glass chamber.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll have you free in no time," Bart said as he tried to run, but found his feet were stuck to the ground.
"I don't think you will, Bart,"
"That voice," Bart said as he tried to move. "It can't be."
A series of super fast punches suddenly struck Bart, causing him to cough up blood before he knew what was happening. As the speedster raised his head after spitting out more blood, he saw the form of Thaddeus Thawne standing before him.
"Inertia," Bart said through gritted teeth.
"Hello, cousin," Inertia smirked. "It's been a long time."
"Not long enough," Bart told him. "Where are Max and Lucas?"
"I sent those losers to the far end of the speed force," Inertia told him as he punched Bart in the stomach again, sending him doubling over in pain. "Even at top speed, they'll never make it back here before I finish my plans. And by then, they, and everyone else in the speed force will be long dead."
"You're behind the storms," Bart realized. "You're the one destroying everything."
"Not destroying, rebuilding," Inertia said. "Once I've wiped the slate clean, I'll rebuild the speed force as my own personal haven. I, and I alone, will be the sole speedster in the universe. The power will belong completely to me. I've already begun to master the energy that my storms have been collecting, which allows me to do all kinds of neat things. Like, for instance, keeping you stuck in place. But soon, I'll be able to do much more. Like turning you into a permanent statue, like what Wally did to me the last time I had you murdered."
Inertia yanked down Bart's hoodie and punched him in the eye. "You'll be forced to stand in one place for all eternity, watching me take over everything. Earth will be mine, and with the speed force under my control, there will be no one who can touch me."
"Barry and Wally will--"
"They're already powerless, you dimwit!" Inertia laughed. "They've been cut off from the speed force for at least a few hours, along with everyone else on the outside. And with Max Mercury on the deep end of the speed force, that just leaves you."
"And what do you want with Jase?" Bart asked. "Why are you dragging him into this?"
"He's a major part of my plans, Bart," Inertia told him as he looked at the boy trapped in the glass cube. "You see... I made him."
TO BE CONTINUED...
The Rogues were in the middle of a bank heist, having just used their various gadgets to blow open the bank vault. As they headed inside to get the cash, they realized that the money was already gone.
"What the--?"
"Oh, don't worry, boys, the money's safe in another bank not too far from here," the Flash said as he appeared behind them. "Think of it as a trust fund."
"Think of that as your last joke, Flash," Captain Cold said as he fired his cold gun. From the Flash's P.O.V. the blast came out extremely slowly, to the point where he could wait several minutes for it to reach him. Then it would just be a matter of quickly disarming the Rogues and tying them up.
But today, the worst possible thing happened.
As the Flash got ready to move, he quickly realized that was moving at normal speed. By the time he saw that his powers weren't working, he'd been frozen by Captain Cold's gun.
# # # # #
"What do you mean Jase isn't human?" Bart asked as he looked up at his mentor. "He's real. I've held him, I've felt his heartbeat. And I've seen the kid eat an entire buffet in one sitting."
"Bart, I don't know what Jase is, but I do know that he's not human," Max told him. "The speed force is off-kilter, and it has something to do with him."
"Bart, you did say the kid just showed up out of nowhere," Lucas reminded him. "Not knowing how to talk or act like a person."
"That doesn't mean that he's destroying the speed force," Bart said. "I mean, when I arrived in the 21st century, I didn't know how to read or eat with a fork. Jase is a good kid. He's my friend, and I refuse to believe that he's the one doing all of this."
"Why don't we just talk to the kid?" Lucas suggested. "He has to know something about where he came from, right?"
"You think I didn't try to ask him about what he remembers?" Bart said as he looked between them. "The first thing he remembers is waking up in the field, then taking off when he saw me. He lived in the forest until the next time I saw him. And you think--"
"Bart, I know he has something to do with the destruction that's happening," Max told him as they heard a noise and turned around to see Jace standing in the doorway.
"Do you think I'm... a bad guy?" Jase asked, his voice shaking.
"What? No, it's just... you showed up randomly just before these storms started and--"
"I'm not bad!" Jase shouted as he took off running.
"Dammit," Bart said with a sigh as Max got ready to take off after him, but Bart grabbed his arm. "It won't do any good, Max. He's the fastest thing I've ever seen. Faster than Wally."
"It's not like he can go anywhere dangerous in here," Max said.
"Yeah," Bart laughed. "Unless those guys who tried to kidnap him in Lucas's world show up here."
"Wait, what?"
# # # # #
The tears that were falling down Jase's face as he ran flew off and into the wind as the boy picked up speed. How could they think that he had anything to do with what was happening? Jace loved living in the speed force, why would he want to ruin it? As Jase ran, he started getting hungry. Jase stopped, wondering where he could get something to eat . That's when he noticed the slice of pizza laying under a box, being propped up by a stick.
Jase raced toward the pizza but stopped. "Wait, something's not right here. Is this anyone's pizza?" Jace was met by silence, then after a few seconds dived right on in.
# # # # #
"I just hope the kid's okay," Bart said as he raced alongside Max and Lucas. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to him."
"Remember, Bart, Jase isn't--"
"Real or not, he's my little buddy," Bart told Max. "I care about him, and I don't want to see him hurt."
"Up ahead!" Lucas shouted as they saw the same bandits from Lucas's world, with one having an unconscious Jase slung over his shoulder.
"Those guys again?" Bart asked. "Let's get 'em!"
"Wait, Bart, hold back," Max said as he grabbed Bart's arm. "They can take us to whoever is behind all of this."
"So, what, we're just supposed to let them take Jase away?" Bart asked. "Screw that!"
Bart took off running towards the bandits, who were heading toward a portal. Bart plowed right them, sending them flying like bowling pins to get to the bandit who was holding Jase.
"Let. Him. GO!" Bart shouted as he darted toward the last bandit.
# # # # #
"Oh, Bart, you simple-minded fool. I'm prepared for you this time."
# # # # #
Before Bart could reach the bandit, he held out his fist with a brass knuckle on it. As Bart ran into his fist, an enormous electric shock went through Bart's body. The young speedster screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. A portal opened as Max and Lucas rushed to Bart's side.
"Is he?"
"He'll be okay," Max said as he saw the portal starting to close, the bandits having had already gone through. "We have to move!"
"What about Bart?"
"There's no time," Max said as he looked down at Bart. "If I trained him right, he'll be able to find his way to us. Come on."
The two speedsters ran through the portal, just as it closed, leaving Bart laying on the ground.
# # # # #
"Oh, isn't that adorable? They think they can just rush in and save the day. Sorry, old man, even you can't stop me this time."
# # # # #
"Max? What's happening? I can't see those guys anymore!" Lucas shouted.
"Something's shifting in this tunnel, I can feel it," Max said as the two continued to race forward. "We need to get out of here before--"
Everything suddenly went dark for the two speedsters.
# # # # #
Some time had passed before Bart opened his eyes and started to sit up.
"Max?" Bart asked as he looked around the empty street. "Jase?"
Bart stumbled to his feet and found he was still too weak to run. Making his way back to Max's house, Bart fell onto the couch, passing out again. More time had passed before Bart finally regained consciousness, wondering how long he'd been unconscious.
"Max?" Bart asked as he stumbled to the kitchen. "Lucas? Where is everyone?"
And that's when it all started coming back to him. The bandits had taken Jase, and when Bart tried to save him, something electrocuted him. Max and Lucas must have followed Jase to where ever the bandits took him.
"They left me all alone," Bart said as he slumped back into a chair. "They ditched me. They're probably saving Jase right now. They probably don't even need me."
Bart headed upstairs to his old room, seeing Jase's western clothes laying on the floor. The boy was probably beyond scared facing some terrible force right now.
"No, Jase does need me," Bart said. "I don't care who he is or where he came from, he's my friend, and he needs me. Don't worry, Jase, I'm coming to save you."
Bart sped out of the house, wearing his red hoodie, red jeans, and boots. He started picking up speed as he headed for the exit into the speed force, hoping he'd be able to find where Jase had been taken.
"Come on, Bart, focus," the speedster said to himself as ran through the endless energy of the speed force. "Jase is counting on me to find him. I can do this," Bart closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on Jase. "Come on, little bro, where are you?"
# # # # #
Over two dozen henchmen stood at the ready, all of them waiting for the moment when Bart, or anyone, tried to come through. Their orders were to destroy anyone or anything that even tried to make a rescue attempt.
Soon, the sound of crackling lightning was heard, and from out of nowhere a red blur burst in. Bart was picking up speed as he ran, going from bandit to bandit like a human pinball, punching each one with the force of a hundred men. As he struck each bandit, they fell back and imploded with a burst of speed force energy. And as quickly as the fight began, it was already over, with Bart standing alone and overseeing two dozen piles of ash.
"BART!" Jase shouted from the inside of a large glass chamber.
"Don't worry, buddy, I'll have you free in no time," Bart said as he tried to run, but found his feet were stuck to the ground.
"I don't think you will, Bart,"
"That voice," Bart said as he tried to move. "It can't be."
A series of super fast punches suddenly struck Bart, causing him to cough up blood before he knew what was happening. As the speedster raised his head after spitting out more blood, he saw the form of Thaddeus Thawne standing before him.
"Inertia," Bart said through gritted teeth.
"Hello, cousin," Inertia smirked. "It's been a long time."
"Not long enough," Bart told him. "Where are Max and Lucas?"
"I sent those losers to the far end of the speed force," Inertia told him as he punched Bart in the stomach again, sending him doubling over in pain. "Even at top speed, they'll never make it back here before I finish my plans. And by then, they, and everyone else in the speed force will be long dead."
"You're behind the storms," Bart realized. "You're the one destroying everything."
"Not destroying, rebuilding," Inertia said. "Once I've wiped the slate clean, I'll rebuild the speed force as my own personal haven. I, and I alone, will be the sole speedster in the universe. The power will belong completely to me. I've already begun to master the energy that my storms have been collecting, which allows me to do all kinds of neat things. Like, for instance, keeping you stuck in place. But soon, I'll be able to do much more. Like turning you into a permanent statue, like what Wally did to me the last time I had you murdered."
Inertia yanked down Bart's hoodie and punched him in the eye. "You'll be forced to stand in one place for all eternity, watching me take over everything. Earth will be mine, and with the speed force under my control, there will be no one who can touch me."
"Barry and Wally will--"
"They're already powerless, you dimwit!" Inertia laughed. "They've been cut off from the speed force for at least a few hours, along with everyone else on the outside. And with Max Mercury on the deep end of the speed force, that just leaves you."
"And what do you want with Jase?" Bart asked. "Why are you dragging him into this?"
"He's a major part of my plans, Bart," Inertia told him as he looked at the boy trapped in the glass cube. "You see... I made him."
TO BE CONTINUED...