Central Cityplex, 3015

"Iris, are you sure about this? You may never see Bart again if we go through with this. The Science Police will almost certainly imprison us when they realize what we're doing, and who knows if Bart will ever be able to make it back here on his own."

"I know that, but what choice do we have? Earthgov's had two years to help Bart. Look at him – it's pretty clear they haven't found a cure, and the information Meloni got makes it look as though they never intended to try! I don't know if this will work or not, but unless you want Bart to die, I don't think that we've got another choice!"

"You'd think I would know better than to argue with you by now, wouldn't you? Setting temporal coordinates now."

"Location set for Central City, Missouri, USA"

"Bart, honey, I know that this is hard to understand. Grandma Iris wants you to get better…I know that you don't feel bad, but you're going to get sick if we don't do something soon. I think that your cousin can help you – he's the only person I know who might be able to save you. Do you remember what I told you to tell him?"

"Um…uh-huh."

"Just remember what we talked about – things are going to be very different in the real world. Pay attention to what your cousin tells you to do. Can you promise me that, honey?"

"I promise, Grandma…I love you."

"I love you too, sweetie. Be safe, and tell your cousin I love him."

"Iris! The temporal transmitter is set, and the Science Police are on their way here! We have to move now!"

"Go through, Bart. Remember that I love you…never forget that."

"I won't, Grandma – I love you too."

"Now GO!"

And with a flash of light, the boy disappeared.

Central City

Wally West narrowed his eyes as he looked at the target. He would only have one chance at this. As he approached, he aimed carefully, let fly, and…

"YES! Two points! West wins the game and the crowd goes wild!"

Wally looked over at his girlfriend, reporter Linda Park. Engrossed in the notes she usually kept in her laptop, she had amazingly failed to go wild on cue. As he grabbed the basketball and jogged over to her, he teasingly commented, "You know, you could at least pretend to swoon in amazement."

"Hmmm? Oh, Wally, you're my hero! Better?"

"Perfect. What are you so involved in? We came to the park to get away from our jobs, remember?"

"Sorry, sweetie – just reviewing my notes for the story I'm working ooooonnnnnn…"

Wally jerked as his girlfriend's voice suddenly dropped into slow motion. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white and red blur whip by, leaving a brief, fierce gust of wind in its wake.

"Did you see that?"

"See what, Wally?"

"Something went by – so fast I could barely see it!"

"Umm, Earth to the fastest man alive – things can't move so fast that you can't see them. Can they?"

"I don't know, Linda. I could have sworn that I saw a blur, but you're right – there shouldn't be anything that I can't follow…" Wally was interrupted by the beeping of his League communicator.

"Flash here."

"Wally, it's J'onn. We're tracking a hypervelocity disturbance that seems to have originated in Central City, and is now traversing the globe at an alarming rate of speed."

"I think that I just saw it, J'onn. Let me change and I'll be over at the Metro Tower in a sec. Flash out."

As many times as she'd seen him do this since they started seeing each other, Linda never got tired of watching Wally don his costume. As he stood back, he winked at her while pressing a stud on the side of his ring. His costume shot out of the hidden compartment, expanding upon exposure to the air. With a blur of motion, Wally changed into his costume, standing in front of her in his red costume with yellow lighting emblem.

"Sorry, babe – I hate to run off on you again, but this sounds like something that I need to be in on."

"I know, Wally – it's part of being a hero. Why do you think I love you?"

"I thought it was because I had a cute butt."

"Well, there's that, too. Knock 'em dead, Red."

And in a…well, flash…, he was off.

Metro Tower

"We're tracking reports of this… phenomenon all over the world. It appears to be moving in a completely random path, over water, land, all types of terrain. It does appear, however to be surface-bound – thus far, there have been no reports of it appearing above the ground." J'onn J'onz, the Martian Manhunter, rarely showed a great deal of emotion in his voice, being one of the more reserved members of the League. However, with the long association that Superman had shared with him, the Kryptonian was able to detect the Martian's frustration with his inability to track or identify the unusual phenomenon.

"It doesn't seem to be doing very much damage," the Man of Steel offered.

"Agreed. The damage thus far appears to be predominantly incidental, but I would feel more at ease if we could determine the nature of the phenomenon."

"If we can't get a lock on it with the equipment in the tower, we'll have to track it personally, but I don't know if even I can keep up with whatever it is."

"I have contacted Flash; he should be here momentarily." Suddenly, both heroes felt the breeze that presaged the appearance of their younger colleague.

"Hey, J'onn – do we know anything more about this thing?" Wally asked, as he munched on an apple."

"Not thus far, Flash. Superman and I agree that the speed of this phenomenon necessitates a personal reconnaissance, and that you may be the only one capable of such an effort."

"Ah, you want me to do what, J'onn?"

"Go after that and find out what it is, Wally."

"Oh, got it. Just tell me where to run, and I'll have this thing run down in no time."