Too Fast

It's been over 3 months since the Reach's attempt to take over the Earth was foiled by the young protégées of the Justice League, who proved themselves as capable heroes in their own right; 3 months since they also thwarted the Reach's attempt to escape the Guardians' retribution by erasing the evidence of their transgression against the treaty (by erasing the Earth), though their heroic efforts apparently cost the life of a comrade & dear friend, Kid Flash a.k.a. Wally West. Since then, there has been no noticeable activity from the Light, save for Lex Luthor's continuing campaign to replace Tsang as Secretary General, but the both the Justice League & Young Justice know it's only a matter of time till the Light makes makes their next move. Until that time, they can only remain vigilant against all threats while they grieve those friends & loved ones they lost.

In the Watchtower's lounge, Tigress (Artemis) gazes thoughtfully out the viewport while Zatanna enters behind her.

"I'm calling it a night & grabbing a bite to eat. Wanna come along?" she asks. Tigress, who hasn't shifted her position since her friend had entered, replies cordially "No thanks, I'm fine. Have fun." Zatanna, with concern apparent on her face, approaches her friend. "It's been almost 4 months since, you know, the Reach. If you'd like to talk about it, I'm here." Tigress shifts her gaze down and sighs deeply before replying; "I appreciate it. Really. I just don't feel like talking about it right now." Zatanna, understanding her friend can't be pushed but unwilling to give up yet, sits down on a bench before continuing. "I know what you're saying, and I can appreciate that you feel a need to work through your feelings of loss on your own. It's just that….I know it's not the same. After all, my father is technically still alive. But as long as the spirit of Naboo refuses to release him, I'll never see my father again. Anytime I see Doctor Fate, it's just another painful reminder that my father's gone. If I didn't have you guys, I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself right now." Tigress, finally turning around, sees in Zatanna's face an echo of her own grief. Smiling sadly, she reaches down for Zatanna's hand, who takes it. "You know, I think that if we can steer clear of this topic of conversation, a small milkshake would be nice," to which Zatanna replies "Deal." As Zatanna starts to stand, a streak of motion with a faintly yellow hue tears through the lounge, accompanied by a mild wind blast that causes the plants & the ladies' hair to rustle, before exiting though the door as it closed. Zatanna, the first of them to partially get over the shock of this sudden occurrence asks, "What was that?"

In the Watchtower's mission room, Aqualad, Nightwing, & Robin are going over their own reports of recent activity while remotely consulting with members of the Justice League who are currently in various regions on and off Earth.

Aqualad: "We've recently put a stop to an number of different crimes, both super-powered & not, but none of it seems to have any connection to either the Light or the Reach."

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), in orbit over OA, replies, "That's pretty much what our investigation came up with over here. Before being sentenced to OA's Lightcells, the Reach operatives in our custody were interrogated extensively. They insist that the Light had duped them into believing that they were acting as the Reach's agents and that they have no idea of what the Light's true objective is."

Nightwing, who's sitting in the chair before the monitors, nods then continues, "The only known Light agent that is apparently still active is Luthor, who's still on the campaign trail. He's currently way ahead in the polls, but it doesn't seem as though it's being manipulated by any other agent of the Light or any other 'partners'."

Superman, in the skies over Metropolis, shakes his head in disgust before countering, "I don't buy it. I can't believe that anyone would seriously consider voting for that snake Luthor of their own free will. How about that Gilbert Godfrey. He's been doing nothing but smearing our names, he supported the Reach, & he's still supporting Luthor. Could he possibly be another agent of the Light?"

Nightwing responds, "Possibly, but our investigation has yet to turn any definitive evidence that proves it. The only Light member we've found that he's had contact with is Luthor, and nearly all of that has been when the cameras are rolling."

Batman, from within the Batcave, responds "Then the only thing that we can do is keep digging & remain vigilant. I hate waiting for them to make the first move, as that put us at a distinct disadvantage, but until we find something that's all we can do. We can only hope that one of them slips up and tips their hand early. Keep us informed if you uncover any suspicious activity.

Robin nods & responds, "Will do, sir."

Batman then nods and says, "Very well, then. Dismissed," with which the teleconference windows close and are replaced by the usual global monitoring analysis screens.

Nightwing, who had ceded leadership of the team back to Aqualad after the Reach were apprehended but remained on as their analyst, stood up from the chair & turned back towards the others. "All right guys, now what do you say we…." Nightwing trailed off as he saw a mostly transparent yellow blur close to the chair he just vacated. As they watched, the chair began to make a buzzing noise that grew louder as it started to visibly vibrate. As the buzzing & vibration reached a peak, the chair blew apart in a shockwave of force that threw Robin, Nightwing & Aqualad against the walls. The blurry figure then streaked through the room, coming close to but apparently making no contact with all three of them, then disappeared through the door before it closed.

Aqualad, shaking the cobwebs out of his head, slowly stands and asks the others, "Are you all right? What just happened?" Nightwing, also recovering from the blast and his bewilderment by the lack of alarms, replies, "I'm fine, but it appears that we have an intruder in Watchtower." He starts to head to the console to manually activate the alarm, but is brought up short when Watchtower's alarms go off on their own. A female voice, accompanied by flashing red lights & the screeching of sirens, begins intoning "Intruder Alert: an unknown entity has been detected aboard Watchtower! Intruder Alert…."

Robin, dusting himself off & grabbing a Birdarang off his belt, says dryly, "Better late than never. Let's find this guy and get some answers." The others, with their weapons ready, nod & start to head towards the doors, but they don't get more than a couple of steps towards them before other members of Young Justice pour in; Zatanna & Tigress, Superboy (whose hair is more tousled than usual) followed closely by Miss Martian, and Static and Beast Boy right behind.

Superboy tensely asks, "What's going on?! Megan and I were….talking in the Gym when this…yellow…thing tore through the room, then a couple of minutes later the alarms start going off!"

Zatanna nervously adds, "The same thing happened in the Lounge"

Aqualad gestures towards the destroyed chair, calmly stating, "We've had our own encounter with our mysterious intruder. We don't yet know who or what it is, or why the sensors didn't pick up on it before now, but we will find ou…"

At that moment, Bart, in his Kid Flash costume, rushes in and excitedly (and VERY quickly) starts speaking, "Didyouseehim?! WhatamIsaying? Ofcourseyoucouldn'thaveseenhim! I'mthefastestonehereandevenIcouldbarelyseehim! How'dhegetsofastthough? Wait,noneofthatmattershere! He'sback! Thisissocrash!"

Aqualad, recovering from Kid Flash's sudden entrance and super-speed monologue, holds a hand up and says, "Whoa, Bart, slow down for a minute. Are you saying you know who our intruder is?"

Bart, still excited but visibly trying to slow down, says "Well duh, we all know him! It's Wally! He's back!"

A stunned silence, save for the Watchtower's alarms which are still blazing, grips the room. Then a flurry of voices, many of them angry, drown out even the sounds of the alarms, with only Nightwing not joining in the tirade.

Zatanna: "They must have different standards of humor back when you come from, but in this era that's just a sick joke!"

Superboy: "That yellow streak in the Gym, that was you, wasn't it?!"

Static: "Just give me one crack at him! That's all I ask!"

Tigress (in tears): "Bart, how can you say that?! Wally is…is…"

Bart, backed up against a wall, his hands held out in a placating gesture: "Guys, calm down, I'm not making this up! Or pulling a prank! I'm telling the truth here!"

The tirade carries on for a couple minutes longer. Finally Nightwing, turning away from the console, addresses the group in a low but firm tone of voice, "Everyone, stop. That's enough." Everyone stops arguing & turns to him, upon which he continues, "It looks like Bart was telling the truth."

Another stunned silence grips the room, during which it becomes apparent that the alarms have been silenced as well. Finally Tigress, her cheeks still stained with tears, breaks the silence; "What?"

Nightwing: "I was trying to figure out who could move around without our noticing them, as well as why there would've been a delay in the station's sensors picking them up. The only thing I could come up with is someone who can move as fast or faster than the Flash. Once Bart made his announcement, I had Watchtower slow down the security footage, though it had to be enhanced several times during the process due to the image & sound degrading beyond a certain speed. As it is, the quality isn't exactly the best, but it may provide us with some answers."

As Nightwing turns back towards the console, Watchtower's female voice, this time unaccompanied by lights or alarm sirens, intones "Recognizing: Superman, 01; Flash, 04; Captain Marvel, 15." The Leaguers' eyes first fall on the destroyed chair, then scan the faces of their young protégées, then finally fix on Nightwing and Aqualad. Superman, with a note of concern in his voice, asks them, "We detected the intruder alert from Watchtower. What happened?"

Nightwing responds, "It appears our intruder may, in fact, be Wally West." In shock, the Flash (Barry Allen) barks out, "What? Wally's alive?" Nightwing answers, "So it appears. Bart was the only one, apparently, who saw him clearly, but we were about to go over the enhanced security footage to get some answers."

Nightwing then turns back to the console, while everyone else gathers closer to get a better look at the display. After Dick makes a few adjustments on the controls, the footage appears on the large display. As he had mentioned, the video is somewhat degraded, with stray pixels freezing at random times, & the audio is sometimes staticy, but it's recognizably the footage from Watchtower's security cameras playing in extreme slow motion. The footage starts in the Lounge, with Tigress frozen in the moment where she's helping Zatanna stand back up. Suddenly, a golden portal opens close to the far wall and Wally, in his Kid Flash attire, comes stumbling out of it, upon which the portal promptly closes. He then stands up, looks around in stunned amazement, then yells out in jubilation, "I did it! I made it back! I never thought I'd make it back home!" He then notices his surroundings, "But I'm at Watchtower. Why'd I end up here? I was sure I was homing in on Artemis's presence. Oh well, Earth & Artemis is just a Zeta Tube away." He start to turn toward the door when he notices Tigress & Zatanna over by the viewport, "Oh Artemis, you're here! And Zatanna too! That's why I ended up here. I can't tell you just how much I missed you guys! But why are you dressed up in the Tigress outfit? I thought your cover got exposed when we sent the Reach packing." He then notices that neither of them has reacted to his presence, or even moved an inch since he first saw them, "Uh, Hello? Are you guys okay?" Wally then waves his hand back and forth in front of Tigress' face.

At this moment, back in the mission room, Tigress approaches the monitor and traces the lines of Wally's face with her finger, tears streaming down her face again. "Wally," she manages to choke out.

Back on the footage, Wally gazes at Tigress & Zatanna with concern. "Are you guys frozen?" he asks, then runs one quick circuit around the room, noticing that his speedy passage affected the items around it, though only subtly. "No, it doesn't look like it, more like everything in this room is slowed down. Probably a spell or something." He then starts to reach for Tigress, but then pulls his hand back. "No better not. The spell probably didn't affect me because I wasn't here when it was cast, but if I touch you guys then I might get pulled in." He then turns towards the open Lobby doors, saying, "Don't worry, I'll be back with help!". He then speeds out the doors.

The footage then shifts to one inside the Gym, where Superboy and Miss Martian are frozen in the moment of a passionate kiss. Back in the mission room, the eyes of everyone save Nightwing, Tigress and the Flash shift to Connor and Megan, who are blushing furiously. Bart's eyes, who are still bright with his earlier news, become even brighter. "Whoa, you guys are back together? This is so crash!" Connor, clearing his throat uncomfortably, gestures feebly at the monitor and says, "Well…uh….um….footage….Wally." Bart, with a start, says, "Oh, right right right. Of course," and with one last sly smile turns back toward the monitor.

Back on the footage, Wally dashes into the gym towards, then stops short as he realizes he's stumbled into a private moment. "Sorry guys, I don't mean to interrupt, but…." He then falters as he realizes that, like Tigress and Zatanna, Connor and Megan have failed to react to his sudden appearance. "Uh, guys? Aww, not you too!"

Back in the mission room, Nightwing begins to fast forward through the subsequent footage of Wally entering rooms that are empty or have people that are unaware of Wally's presence, like Static showing off for Beast Boy by using his powers to levitate various objects. Concentrating on the footage, Nightwing addresses the others, "It looks like this goes on for a while, relatively speaking. Ah, here we go." He then resumes the slow-motion playback at the footage of the mission room, where Nightwing had just finished the conference call and was frozen in the moment of turning towards the others and Wally is frantically trying to get the others' attention.

"Guys? Come on! Everyone seems to be frozen, I can't get anyone to hear me. I don't know how to fix this, I need your help!" Wally then reaches for the chair that Nightwing had just vacated, but rather than grabbing it as he had intended his hand vibrates through the top instead. In shock, Wally pulls his hand to his chest. "What?" As he watches, the chair starts to vibrate uncontrollably and fracture, starting with the area his had passed through & spreading quickly through the rest of the chair until the whole thing blows apart. "But…that's impossible! I can't vibrate through objects. I've never been able to, I've never been fast enou….oh no! That's it! It's not that everyone's going too slow, I'm the one going too fast!"

Wally tries sitting down, taking slow measured breaths, even removing his costume, but nothing he does seems to make any effect on his fast-forward existence. Finally, he puts the costume back on and approaches his three friends, making sure to not get too close. "I'm really, really sorry about this guys. I didn't know that would happen, really. Ugh! What am I doing? You can't hear me, I'm speaking far too fast for you to hear. But is there anyone who….of course! Bart!" He then races out of the Mission Room.

The footage then shifts to Bart's room, where he's playing a video game. Like in the other footages, the game image appears to be frozen, although Bart's fingers merely appear to be moving very slowly. However, when Wally enters his room Bart drops his controller in surprise, which appears to be frozen in mid-air, and stands up slowly.

Bart (speaking slowly): "Wally? Is that really you?"

Wally: "Ah, thank goodness! At least you can see & hear me! Is there any chance you can speak faster?"

This statement perplexes Bart, who says at the same rate of speed, " 'Speak faster'? Wally, what happened to you? You vanished when the energy discharge from the chrysalis hit you! I spoke at your funeral! Where have you been this whole time?"

This causes Wally to stop and think, "That's a good question. 'What happened to me'? I honestly can't remember very clearly what happened immediately after that last discharge hit me, but I think that it gave me a temporary supercharge, like when you inject Nitrous Oxide into a gas engine to give it a brief speed boost. As for where I've been, I believe where I woke up is the place where our powers originate from; the….Speed Force."

This statement perks Bart's interest, who says "The Speed Force? What's that like?" Wally replies, "It's kinda hard to describe, but I guess it's kinda like Heaven, though a bit more literally for us. Instead of fluffy white clouds, though, the surroundings are composed of golden lightning. The lightning isn't harsh and bright like it is here, it's warm and glowing and alive! I felt the presence of the speedsters who rode the lightning before us and the connection to those who harness the speed today. I never felt the connection to my abilities quite as strongly as I did when I was there."

Bart excitedly asks, "Is that why you're so fast now? Do you think that if I go there I can get faster too?" Wally chuckles & replies, "I wouldn't recommend it, kid. As I mentioned earlier, The Speed Force is like our Heaven; when speedsters die, they become part of it. But the Speed Force doesn't distinguish between the living and the dead. While I was there, though I felt my body absorbing the energy that was there, I also felt the Speed Force trying to absorb me! If I hadn't left when I did, I probably would really be dead."

Bart coughs to try & obscure his discomfort, "Oh, well, maybe I'll take my time to plan my vacation there. So how did you get back?" Wally replies, "It helped for me to have something I cared more than the feeling of the speed to focus on, to anchor me. For me, it was Artemis, the need to get back to her and tell her how much I love her."

This statement causes Bart to do a double-take as he exclaims, "Oh man, Artemis! I've got to tell them all that you're back! They'll be so thrilled!" Bart starts to run off, but to Wally it still looks like he's moving slowly so he's able to block Bart's path easily. "Wait, Bart. I don't think that's such a good idea. The only ones who can see or hear me are you and Barry, and maybe Jay. I can't even touch them to reassure them that I'm here. When I tried to touch a chair in the mission room, I wound up vibrating though it and it kinda exploded." At this, a shocked Bart asks, "Wait, are you saying you can't slow down?" Wally chuckles sadly and replies, "Bart, what do you think we've been talking about for the last few minutes….well, I guess it's actually been milliseconds."

At this point, the intruder alert finally starts going off, but in the slow-motion footage it sounds low and unintelligible. Bart gestures at the flashing alert light and says, "Well it sounds like they are aware you are here anyway. I'd better go tell them something before they go to DEFCON 1." Wally sighs, nods, steps out of the way and says, "Fine, go ahead and tell them. I'll just…find some out of the way place to try and figure a way out of this mess." Wally waits of to the side while Bart slowly runs out the room, then he zips off himself, turning in the opposite direction.

Back in the mission room, the footage stops and the viewing window closes. For a moment, everyone is too stunned to speak save Bart, who's practically bouncing on his toes in excitement. Finally the Flash breaks the silence, "Wally's alive! I can hardly believe it! And this Speed Force that he mentioned; I had theorized that our super-speed came from elsewhere and the accident I had experienced only allowed me to access it, but what Wally had described was far beyond anything I ever imagined!" Turning to Nightwing, Barry asked, "Where is Wally now?" Accessing the security cameras again, Nightwing answered, "It looks like he made a stop in the kitchen, where we have a massive clean-up ahead of us, then straight to the unused guest hanger bay." Without another word, Flash dashed out of the room, which sparked Tigress out of her shocked state and into action. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go see him without me," she said as she followed him out of the room.

The others start to follow Tigress, but Nightwing called out to them, "Wait up guys!" As they turned back towards him, he continued, "Things are going be hard enough for Wally with Artemis there, but at least Barry will be there to function as a translator of sorts. We can't expect Barry to translate for us all, and let's not forget that Wally went down there for our own safety." Zatanna placed her fists on her hips and glared at Nightwing as she said, "So we're just to leave Wally alone as he goes through this?" Superboy continued angrily, "Wally was our friend too!" "I didn't say that," Nightwing answered, "but if you have something you'd like to say to him, then we can get it recorded and I can adjust the speed so he can watch it them without someone having to tell him what's being said. However, I think that there is something that's far more important that we need to concern ourselves with." When Nightwing gestures towards the security feed showing the messy kitchen, Beast Boy says indignantly, "You think that our cleaning up the kitchen is more important than Wally?" Nightwing shakes his head and says, "My concern is why it's a mess; I don't think Wally deliberately made it that way. I think that he's getting hungry, but he had the same problem there that he had with the chair here. In fact, I'd be surprised if he managed to get anything down. I think our primary concern should be to find a way to get Wally slowed down so that he can touch things without blowing them up. Otherwise, I'm afraid he may literally starve to death before the sun sets tomorrow." The others' eyes briefly widen in concern before narrowing in shared determination, and they nod in unison. "All right then," Nightwing finished, "dismissed!"

Meanwhile, down in the guest hanger, Flash enters through the door at normal speed so as to try and not startle Wally as he says. "Wally, you here?" When he sees Wally's blurry figure shift closer to the far corner, he shifts into super-speed and tries again, "Wally? It's me, Barry."

Wally narrows his eyes in concentration and says, "Barry? What are you doing here?" "I was one of the first Leaguers to respond to your intruder alert. Wow," Barry responds, "it really is you! And you are much faster than you were before!" Wally chuckles derisively, "Yeah, for all the good it does me. Guess this one of those 'careful what you wish for' moments. At least I can appreciate that story about King Midas now, except when I touch an apple, it turns into applesauce instead of gold, and even that applesauce turns into so much cosmic dust. I haven't had a decent bite to eat since I got back." As if to emphasize the point, Wally's stomach growls like an angry beast.

Barry stifles a chuckle, "So I hear. So you're unable to touch anything?" "Thus far," Wally answered with a sigh, "only the floor seems to be safe from my touch. Anything else, I seem to automatically vibrate through and cause to explode. I'm afraid to even touch you." "I guess that's understandable," Barry replied, "I often wondered why when I vibrate through walls and solid objects I don't also sink through the floor as well. The only conclusion I've been able to draw is that it's instinct. We can imagine that the walls before us don't exist because, once upon a time, they didn't. However, we learn from a very early age that the ground beneath us is solid and hard, so it's tough to imagine that we can pass through it as well." Wally gazed up thoughtfully before responding, "Yeah, that does make sense."

"So," Barry said, looking to change the subject, "the Speed Force, is it truly as beautiful as I heard on the video?" This prompts a small grin from Wally, "Even more so. Words can't adequately describe what it's like being there. It's warmth and light and life. While I was there, I felt a sense of belonging that I never felt anywhere else, except perhaps in Artemis's arms. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't there and that I was afraid that she never would be, I might have never come back. Just would've let the Speed Force draw me in." "I know what you mean," Barry added wistfully, "I'm not sure that I'd want to spend Eternity without Iris either. Sure hope we can choose our afterlife destination."

This sets both of them laughing. At that moment, the hallway access to the hanger bay begins to open. Though it seems to happen painfully slowly to Wally in his speedy state, he can see enough through the crack to recognize Artemis sprinting in slow motion towards it. Wally's breathing speeds up as the turns to Barry and asks, "Could you please ask Artemis to keep a safe distance from me, Barry?" Barry looks on his young protégée and says, "I'm sure that she's just concerned about you." "I…" Wally swallowed before continuing, "…I know that, but I'm concerned about her. I don't want anything bad to happen to her." "I understand, Wally," Barry nodded then continued, "Don't worry, I'll handle this."

Barry shifted back to normal speed just as Tigress steps through the door, the steps in her head-long path to Wally, "Sorry, but Wally wants you to maintain a safe distance from him." "But," Tigress argued as she removed her mask, craning her head around Barry to look at Wally, "it's me, Wally! It's Artemis!" "He knows that," Barry countered, "he just doesn't want what happened to the chair in the mission room and to the food in the kitchen to happen to you,"

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked, confused, "What happened in the kitchen?" "Wally tried to silence his growling belly," Barry answered with a hint of a smile, "Problem was that he couldn't get his food to stop exploding in his face." "Oh, Wally," Artemis said with a sigh, then turned her attention back to Barry, "Is he okay?" "He's hungry," Barry answered, "and I can tell that he really misses you, but other than that he seems fine." "I miss him too," Artemis said morosely, "It's been so hard without him. Can you tell him I never stopped thinking about him?" "Sure," Barry said with an understanding smile.

Shifting back into super-speed, Barry relayed his discussion with Artemis to Wally. "You told her that I missed her?!" Wally exploded at Barry. "Well, didn't you?" Barry said, taken aback. "Well, yes," Wally admitted, "but she didn't need to know that! I'm sure that she's gotta be worried enough without your adding fuel to the fire." Barry sighed then said, "You're right, of course. Sorry. You know, it's funny…not 'funny' amusing, you understand, but ironic; all these years the Rogues have tried to stop me by slowing me down, and it turns out that all they had to do was speed….me…" Barry trailed off as he sank to the floor, his jaw going slack. Wally, concern apparent on his face, asked, "Barry? What's wrong?" "I just had myself the craziest idea," Barry revealed, a smile slowly claiming his face, "so crazy that it just may work!" Getting quickly to his feet, he added, "There's no time to lose! I just hope that the warden will be cooperative."

"Okay, but…" Wally started to reach for Barry, the retracted his hand back to his chest, "…before you go, can you relay one more message to Artemis?" "Sure," Barry replied, then he listened intently as Wally gave him the message, then after passing the message on to Artemis he raced out the door to the Zeta Room. Finally, after one more longing look over her shoulder, she followed Barry out of the room.

"You want us to what now?" Warden Strange said, incredulously.

"I told you," Flash answered patiently, "I'd like you temporarily release custody of the Rogues Captain Cold, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master and Heat Wave to myself and the Justice League."

"But…" Warden Strange stuttered a minute before catching himself and continuing, "…these men are your most dangerous enemies! And you just want me to turn them over to you?"

"Only temporarily," Flash replied. "Once they have completed the task I've in mind for them, we'll return them to your custody. Of course, whether or not I actually take custody of them depends on if they take the deal or not. But I think that the possibility of a shorter sentence contingent on their success will be too tempting for them to pass up."

"But why offer to reduce their sentences?" Warden Strange asked, looking as though he was about to blow his top, "Why release them at all?!"

The Flash looked off in the distance pensively as he answered, "Because the life of someone I care about is at stake."

Meanwhile, at the home of Mary and Rudy West, the doorbell rings. Mrs. West answers to reveal Artemis in civilian attire. "Hello, Mrs. West. May I come in?"

Mrs. West, taken aback by her surprise visitor, quickly recovers, "Yes, of course my dear. Come in, come in." As Artemis enters, Mrs. West closed the door behind her and continues, "You know you're always welcome here, it's just that we haven't seen you since…" She trailed off, finding herself unable to finish the sentence.

Artemis cleared her throat uncomfortably as Mr. West approaches from the living room, "Yeah, sorry about that. It's just that you guys remind me so much of him that I found it too painful." Mrs. West nods understandingly while Mr. West pats Artemis comfortingly on the shoulder. I hope I'm doing the right thing here, Artemis thought to herself, then countered, Of course it's the right thing, anyways it's what Wally wants. Out loud, she said "Anyways, I'm here because I have something for you guys," with the Wests both looking at her, she fished in her pocket and brought out a thumb drive with modified connectors before continuing, "It's a message. From Wally. He wants you to have it."

The Wests both look at her uncomprehendingly until Mr. West finds his voice, "I don't understand. I thought we were given all of his personal effects months ago. Why is this just getting to us now?"

Artemis took a deep breath to steel herself, then answered, "It's because Wally made this just 10 minutes ago."

Mrs. West claps both hands over her mouth and half whispers in astonishment, "Our boy's alive?"

Artemis bites her lip for a second, then continues, "It'll be best if you watch this first. It'll probably explain things better than I possibly can."

After activating the special connectors to input the signal directly into the West's flatscreen and to prevent signal leak that can be picked up by unfriendly parties, Artemis activated the thumb drive and the video playback began, which showed Wally in the hanger bay.

"Hello, Artemis? This will probably be a good point to begin the recording." He pauses for a second before continuing, "Hi Mom, Dad. If you're watching this now, then that means that Artemis got my message and got it to you okay. I hope she didn't get into too much trouble doing it; I wouldn't want her to be kicked off the team, especially if…" Wally shakes his head, then continues, "Anyway, I'm sure you have lots of questions, and as I'm not sure how much Artemis told you or was able to bring herself to tell you, I might as well start from the beginning. First off, I'm alive, at least for the moment. When that Reach energy blast hit me, it catapulted me to the source of all speedster's power, supercharging me. Problem is, when I was able to get back, I found myself unable to slow down to normal speed. Also, I can't touch anything without blowing it up, not even oatmeal. So, in a nutshell, I'm basically slowly starving to death, though I suppose 'slowly' is a relative term. Uncle Barry said he has a plan, but he himself described it as a crazy plan, so I don't want to put all my hopes into it working." Wally's stomach growls audibly, at which he chuckles and continues, "My stomach is telling me I don't have much time left. Anyway, the main reason I requested this message be delivered to you was to tell you 'thank you'. You were the best parents an idiot boy like me could ever hope for. And Artemis? I'm sure that you're watching this video too, either while you were dubbing it or while showing it to my parents, So I just wanted to thank you too. For a boy who's used to living fast, you gave me a reason to take it slow, not to mention you made it a life worth living. Thank you all, for everything."

When the screen went dark, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. As they stood up, Mrs. West hugged Artemis fiercely and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, my dear. Thank you." Artemis, choked up herself, managed to get out, "My pleasure."

As she pulled back, Mrs. West looked Artemis straight in the eyes and asked, "Now can I ask you a favor? When you get back to that clubhouse of yours, tell Barry and the others to bring my boy home. I'll have a large supper cooked up and waiting for him when he returns." At this, Artemis hugs her back and responds, "Of course I will. Trust me; If they don't do everything possible to bring him back to us, I'll kick their butts myself."

In the Lexcorp main office, Lex Luthor is talking on the phone.

"Are you sure? That's what he said? No, you did good in contacting me before making any decisions on this. No, I don't want you to block him on this. In fact, I'd like you to encourage them to cooperate with his plan, make sure they don't do anything stupid like….yes, I'm sure. At this point, one of them more or less won't impair our plans, and I believe I can make this work in our favor. Thanks for understanding. Take care, Warden Strange."

Swiveling in his chair, a calculating smile spreads across Lex's face as he hits the intercom button on his desk and says, "Mercy, get me in touch with GBS."

Across television screens everywhere, the G. Gordon Godfrey [Special Report] logo interrupts the GBS regularly scheduled programming, which is soon displaced by Godfrey's own visage looking rather indignant.

"Well, I told you and told you and told you more times than even I can count. Now, to be honest, I don't know how many of you are actually listening to me and taking me seriously, as I can't exactly look you in the eyes as I tell you these things. I suppose that the ratings indicate that you are at least tuning into my program, even if it's only to laugh at ' Gordon's crazy theories.' However, I did tell you that the 'people' on the so-called Justice League were not heroes, and now here's the proof!" He points furiously at a screen behind him, showing the Flash and four of his Rogues walking to the middle of the Belle Reve Penitentiary yard, then stopping as the Flash said something into his wrist-mounted communicator, then vanishing in a flash of light. "Now me ask you folks, why would a 'hero' like the Flash be approaching four dangerous criminals, some of his so-called worst enemies, no less, and be taking them out of prison?! Is he taking them to the League's eye in the sky, perhaps planning with them the next crime they'll commit so that he can 'bust' them for it? No one knows because no one is doing anything to find out!" Godfrey sighs and collects himself as the image of Belle Reve is replaces by a still image of Lex Luthor. "At least I can be grateful that the magnanimous Lex Luthor is doing so well in the polls. That at least tells me that you people haven't completely lost your minds to the League's propaganda. I feel confident that when he's elected Secretary General that he can bring some order to this madness."

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Artemis barked furiously.

The Flash, who had just arrived with the Rogues, backs away with his hands up in a placating gesture as Artemis's tirade continues.

"The Rogues? That's your big plan?! That's not 'crazy', that's bugged-out insane!" Artemis exploded at Barry, "They're your worst enemies! They're his! You can't possibly think you can trust them?!"

"Now now there, lassie," Captain Boomerang said as he walked towards Artemis, who is once again dressed in her Tigress outfit, "we ain't as bad as all that! Sure, we's criminals, but we've got ethics here: we've never aimed to kill the red boy scout here or your boyfriend. And we'd never kick a blighter when he's down, at least not without being paid for it first. Besides, I understand that your old man's Sportsmaster, and I personally don't want to be the one who…"

Captain Boomerang breaks off as Tigress thrusts her face into his and barks furiously, "Don't. Mention. My father. Again."

Captain Boomerang backs away and says, "Okay okay. Anyways, We cut a deal a deal with ol' Flash; we do this job, he has a word with the judge, we get our sentences reduced."

Barry, who's remained silent through all this, chimes in, "Now that deal is contingent on your being successful in your job. If you fail, if Wally dies, then you go back to jail with your sentences intact."

At this point, Batman emerges from the shadows to add, "And if you do anything stupid like using killing blows, or try to escape, then I'll personally send you back home the hard way. Don't forget we're currently around 22,000 miles above the Earth"

Mirror Master chuckles nervously and says, "You're joking, right?"

Batman narrows his eyes intimidatingly and says, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

At this, all four Rogues start sweating, even Captain Cold, who says, "You don't need to worry, Bats, we made a deal, we'll keep to it."

"See that you do," Batman says, then slips off to the other room.

Tigress, with a troubled expression, says, "I still think this is a bad idea."

Barry places his hand on her shoulder and says, "I'm not exactly saying it's a good one, but none of us has much experience in impairing on a speedster's speed. The Rogues, on the other hand, have spent most of their careers coming up with ways to do exactly that."

"Listen to the man," Heat Wave chimed in, "We're the experts on this."

"Besides," Barry continued, "they're only Phase One of my plan."

At that moment, Zatanna came running into the room telling excitedly, "I did it! I've come up with a spell that'll help slow Wally down!"

"Perfect!" Barry said brightly, "You can be part of Phase Two."

"Wait," Artemis said, "if the Rogues are Phase One of the plan, and Zatanna is part of Phase Two, then is there a Phase Three?"

At that point, the Zeta Tubes light up, accompanied by the Watchtower's computer saying, "Recognizing: Jay Garrick, A13; Jessie Quick, A19; Johnny Quick, A20"

As they emerge from the tubes, Bart dashes into the room saying, "That would be us."

Back in the hanger, Wally is leaning back against the far wall as Barry, The Rogues, Tigress, Zatanna, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Static, and finally Bart and the rest of the speedsters enter.

"Blimey, mate, you weren't kidding!" Captain Boomerang exclaimed, "The little blighter's still kickin'!"

Barry shifted into super-speed, as did many of the other speedsters, and saw that Wally was looking extremely drawn and emaciated. "Not for much longer if we don't do something," Barry explained, "Okay, so here's the plan: I will have Wally run in laps around the back half of the hanger and you Rogues will do what you can to slow him down; only slow him down, don't try to stop him. At this point, I honestly don't think you can stop him without killing him, and we need him running. Once you've got him slowed down to the point where he's no longer breaking the sound barrier, then that's where Phase Two takes over; that's Zatanna, Superboy, Static and Blue Beetle. You four will work together to further slow Wally down. Once he's expended enough speed that he's no longer vibrating through objects, that's where Phase Three commences; my fellow speedsters and I will match pace with Wally and siphon off Wally's excess Speed Force energy, which will hopefully allow him to shift back down to normal speed. Everyone clear as to what their roles are?" Everyone nodded. Barry then shifted into super-speed to explain to Wally, who also nodded. Then speaking in rapid fire normal and super-speed speech, Barry hollered, "Go!" at which Wally quickly became a part of a yellow oval blur taking up the back half of the hangar.

Captain Boomerang, his eyes bulging, exclaimed, "Bugger, mate! You said he was faster, you never said he was that much faster than you!"

"Does that mean you can't do it, then?" Barry asked, concerned.

"Naw, mate," Captain Boomerang said, "just means that this'll be an actual challenge, that's all. Come on, you blokes! Let's show these little nippers what the Rogues can really do!"

At that, the Rogues took up various positions along the hangar and began unleashing their attacks along Wally's path, though they seemed to be enjoying very little success.

Captain Boomerang: "The Blighter's ripping through my adhesive boomerangs like they're made of watered down mud!"

Mirror Master: "He's tearing through my strongest mirrors like so much tissue paper!"

Heat Wave: "He's going so fast, my flames are blowing out faster than I can lay them down!"

Captain Cold: "The heat from his passage is vaporizing my ice too fast!"

Though the Rogues were dismayed by their apparent lack of progress, Barry saw what they couldn't; a missed step here, a stumble there. The plan was working! "That's it!" he called out, "Keep it up!"

Finally, after 10 minutes of continuous attacks, a sonic boom signaled that Wally had dropped below the sonic barrier. "Phase Two, go!"

The Rogues, who were exhausted from continuously using their strongest attacks, were only too happy to let the young heroes take over as they took up their own positions.

First off was Zatanna, who began with her spell, "Yllaw, nwod lleh eht wols!" Wally, who could hear Zatanna for the first time since he returned (though she sounded like a slow drawl), felt the effects of the spell immediately as he wound up missing several steps.

Next along Wally's path was Superboy, who used his super-breath to create a wind that Wally had to run against.

Wally's third obstacle was Static, who had ripped plates off a dilapidated Green Lantern spaceship, placed them on either side of one stretch of Wally's path, and used his abilities to create static fields that clung to Wally and dragged at him as he ran between them.

Wally's final obstacle in his loop was Blue Beetle, who used his sonic cannon to create a wall of sound that Wally had to fight through.

Finally, after a couple more minutes and about seventy more laps, Barry could see that Wally wasn't visibly vibrating anymore. It's time, he thought. "Three, go!" he called out, then he joined the race. As Wally's friends cleared the area, the other speedsters; Bart and Barry Allen, Johnny and Jessie Quick, and Jay Garrick all took their positions around the still racing Wally and placed one hand on him. The effect was nearly instantaneous, as golden lightning leapt from Wally's body into their own outstretched hands. As the lightning left him, Wally no longer felt the endless energy that he experienced since he got back and simply felt extremely tired as he allowed himself to tumble head over heels to a sprawling stop.

"Wally!" Artemis cried out as she raced to his side. As she gently cradled his head in her lap, she asked "Are you all right?"

"In your arms, beautiful?" Wally croaked, smiling, "I've never been better!"

Artemis fumbled with a compartment on her utility belt and pulled out a toothpaste-like tube, "Here."

Wally looked on it in astonishment, "My 2000-calorie paste. You had it?"

Artemis blushed sheepishly as she twisted off the cap. "It reminded me the most of you," she explained, "You had some during virtually every mission we went on together." She then carefully squeezed some into Wally's open mouth, which he painfully gulped down. After a moment, life returned to his face and he managed to wobble upright.

Superboy, carefully approaching, asked, "How are you feeling, Wally?"

"Better," Wally replied, then he caused his hand to vibrate in front of his face, "and it seems that I managed to retain some of my new speed as well," he then thrust his vibrating hand through one of the ship plates that Static had imbedded in the floor, which promptly blew out all around his hand, "though it seems that I still can't vibrate through objects without blowing them up." He then stopped his hand from vibrating and grabbed a fragment from off the floor, "It seems that I can grab things normally now, though," then his stomach made the loudest growl yet, "and a good thing too, 'cause I'm starving!" At this lighthearted touch of humor, his friends all laughed heartily, and even the Rogues were unable to suppress a smile. At that point, Nightwing, Aqualad, Beast Boy and Miss Martian entered the hanger. "In that case," Nightwing said, still chuckling, "the kitchen's all yours!" "Yeah!" Beast boy added, "We even managed to scrounge something together from the stuff you didn't turn into a pulp." "Thanks guys," Artemis said as she placed a gently restraining hand on Wally's shoulder, "but I think that Wally's parents will kill us if we don't get him home for dinner." Wally grinned as he said, "Then what are we waiting for?" Artemis yelped in surprise as, in a burst of super-speed he had her swept off her feet and in his arms. "What," he asked, you didn't think I was gonna eat alone, did you?" "I should hope not," Artemis replied as she placed her arms around his neck and kissed him. As Wally walked towards the exit still carrying Artemis, she asked, "We're not running to the Tubes?" Wally chuckled and replied, "After living for what seems like weeks in super-speed, I'm content to just take my time for now."

Meanwhile, on the desolate world known as Apocalypse, a boom tube opens before a massive figure seated on a gigantic throne and the person known as G. Gordon Godfrey stepped out. As the tube closed behind him, Godfrey kneeled and said "My lord. Everything is proceeding according to schedule."

Beneath his coal red eyes, a cruel smile spread across Darkseid's craggy face.

End of chapter