A GOOD RUN
Run.
Run as fast as he could.
Uhm... scratch that. Run almost as fast as he could. Wally had found his limit once - back when he fought Luthor and Brainiac. And he didn't dare go there again.
Right now, Wally was very close. He was on the edge of that strange time and place of raw speed. The place where almost everything appeared frozen and even those things moving at the speed of light seemed to crawl.
That was where the Speedforce lurked.
What Wally saw there didn't always make sense, but the massive laser discharge that was heading towards Bruce and Shayera made complete, horrible, sense. It was wider across than a house. And if the beam hit them, they would simply vanish.
Just as he crested the hill, Wally he knew it wasn't enough. He was the only person who could save them, but to do that, he had to go faster.
And faster.
Ride the lightning.
And faster.
Ride the lightning to the end of the universe.
And faster.
Ride the lightning to that moment when time finally stopped.
And faster, faster, faster, faster, faster...
The huge beam of raw, red light slashed past them and Shayera blinked in surprise. They were now someplace else - a good fifty yards from where they had been just a split-second ago. The beam had been about to annihilate them, and then there was a strange, almost-familiar, crackling sound and a discharge of light. And suddenly they were out of the beam's way...
Off in the distance, she could see John using his power ring to demolish the weapon that had almost killed her and Bruce. He looked pretty pissed.
Then Shayera laughed out loud as she realized why she and Bruce were still alive.
"Thanks, Flash!" she shouted. Hey, credit where credit was due. Maybe she didn't always get along with Wally - he was so... so... frivolous, but he was always there for his team-mates.
"Flash?" Shayera called again.
There was no reply.
And then she saw the look on Bruce's face. And to her horror, Shayera realized where she had seen that strange display of light and sound and energy before.
Suddenly, she could feel the blood draining from her face.
"Flash?" Shayera called as she began frantically looking around.
Bruce was looking at her. It seemed as if something vital had been drained from him. Shayera had never seen him looked so tired and beaten. He took a step towards her and carefully put his hands on her shoulders. Then he opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
"Wally!" Shayera cried out as she tore herself free from Bruce's grip. John was looking towards them now. The puzzled look on his face was turning into something else.
"Hawkgirl..." Bruce began. The he stopped, still not sure what to say.
"WALLY!" Shayera screamed. And then she kept screaming his name as Bruce and John carefully led her away.
Off in the distance, lightning flared and there was a crack of thunder. The rumble of thunder after-wards sounded like laughter.