"He loved you."

Wally could hear Bart's words to Artemis echoing as he slipped away from the fabric of reality, leaving everything he ever knew behind. He'd done it. He'd stopped the Reach machines, but at a terrible cost.

Somehow, after all these years of being "not fast enough," he'd finally done it. He'd outran all of them. Jay, Bart, even Barry. He'd broken the sound barrier, the light barrier, and the existence barrier, apparently. They'd be proud if he wasn't dead to them. Not that he was actually dead-dead, only mostly dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. For one thing, mostly dead is still slightly alive. And he was definitely still alive.

He had to find his way back from… wherever he was. He needed to. Artemis' heart would break in two if he didn't - would she move on if he was gone long enough? Don't think about it, West. Think happy thoughts. Souvenirs. Brucely. Big Belly Burger… nope, not working. New plan.

Around Wally coalesced spirals of brilliant light, on occasion forming into humanoid figures for a few picoseconds before dissipating again. It would be a brilliant view, if he could stop and admire it. As it was, he couldn't seem to stop running. You know what else was a brilliant view? Artemis's bedhead in the mornings.. God damn it!

Try as he might, he couldn't help but be plagued with thoughts of the blonde archer, the spitfire who'd stolen his heart. With every step he took against the rainbow-colored path that seemed to form under his feet as he ran, the tug on his heartstrings grew stronger.

What if she did move on? Well, guess I'm dead, so I wouldn't blame her. Then what if I came back and she was- Wally's brows knit together underneath his goggles. That couldn't happen. He couldn't let it happen. He had to get home, get back to her. But how?

The road before him seemed endless, with no light at the end of the tunnel, either metaphorical or literal. He'd been running for God knows how long now at speeds unfathomable by any sane person, and yet he wasn't sore… or hungry. Usually he'd be starving by now. What was this place?

The figures of light appeared around him again, running in stride with him, keeping perfect pace as he ran. Were they figments of his imagination, conjured up to keep him from going stir-crazy while he was trapped here? Or were they something more? Maybe they lived here, and one of them could give him a ride back to Keystone. Or hell, even to Blue Valley.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be no end in sight to wherever he was, and no landmarks for Wally to guide himself by. Just stunning vistas of red and blue and purple, as far as the eye could see. It was like some psychedelic sunset, stretched out in three hundred and sixty degrees.

The figures of light seemed to blend right in with their surroundings, their proximity and roughly human shape the only thing setting them apart from the energy. Lightning crackled at their feet as they ran on either side of Wally, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake.

Wally looked over each shoulder at them - whatever they were - and grinned. "So…" he said. "You guys come here often, or-"

No response. Shocker.

Well, at least he had company, even if they weren't much for small talk. They ran another few miles with Wally - or a few hundred, who could really tell - before dissipating into the ether once more. All except for one, a blur of sky-blue energy who, for some reason or another, had decided to carry on.

Wally locked eyes - or, at least, where he presumed the eyes would be if this energy-being had them - with it for a brief second.

Then, it winked at him.

He did a double-take, unable to believe his eyes. This thing, whatever it was, had to be a figment of his imagination. Why else would it wink? He'd lost his mind. He was going crazy already. Boy, that didn't take long. Seeing things already.

And if the wink wasn't enough, the blue energy hallucination, right before Wally's eyes, reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder. His hand was warm for a hallucination's. Not that Wally would really know what a hallucination's hand would normally feel like, but he could wager a reasonable guess that this wasn't it.

Not only did the touch feel warm, but it was undeniably human, or a reasonable substitute. He'd expected that touching one of these beings would feel like getting blasted by lightning from Weather Wizard's wand, not like when Jay put his hand on his shoulder and said-

"Kid."

Okay, now the maybe-hallucination was talking. Wally's heart began to race a million miles a minute faster than it already was, even as his breakneck pace began to… slow down? How in the world was he slowing down? He'd tried to stop. Multiple times, and no dice. But now he was?

He skidded to a stop, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. The blue hallucination was gone in a flash - pun fully intended - before Wally could even begin to figure out what was going on. How was he able to stop now?

He looked around to get his bearings, not that there was anything for him to navigate by. A frown came over his features, and he let out a sigh. Great. He was trapped here, and going crazy. He needed a plan to get back home. Back to Artemis.

He began to pace the same few miles back and forth at super-speed, trying to come up with something, anything. From what he could tell, he was trapped in some sort of weird pocket dimension made entirely out of speed. How was that useful? He had no idea.

I wish Dick was here. Dick's good at plans. What would Dick do? Have a plan, probably. Maybe he's figuring out how to get me out of here right this instant.

Wally started to mull over his options. If his hypothesis was correct, then he'd gone fast enough back in the Arctic to vibrate his molecules from Earth's dimension into this one. Just like Barry could vibrate his molecules to phase through solid matter. Given that, all he had to do was go fast enough to pierce the barrier back to Earth. Except he'd just tried that, and it didn't work. Onto plan B.

There was no plan B.

Wally ran his hands up through his hair, pulling his cracked goggles off and tossing them into a river of purple energy. They weren't doing him much good anyway. He turned on his heel to start another cycle of pacing and-

"Something wrong, kid?"

There it was. That voice again. The hallucinations were back. Wally took a breath in, turning toward the source of the voice, and was met with what appeared to be an actual human being.

The man - hallucination - whatever he was - was dressed in a pair of blue tights with a white top and a ridiculous popped collar, and judging by the wrinkles on his face, he was at least as old as Jay, if not older. Okay, weird hallucination to be having, but let's roll with it.

"Um… no." Wally shook his head, not moving an inch as he looked the man up and down. "Everything's just fine."

"You sure?" The man stepped closer. "Looks like you could need some help. I know a thing or two about speed."

"I-I'm fine. Really, thank you. I need to be getting home." Wally's breath was shaky.

The hallucination nodded, a smirk teasing at his lips. "I know, kid. That's why I'm here."

"What- what are you…?" Wally leveled a finger at the man. "My personal Ghost of Christmas Past or something?"

The man chuckled in response, shrugging his shoulders. "Sure. If you want to look at it that way, you can. I have many names, but most people nowadays know me as Max Mercury."

Max Mercury. Okay, this is definitely a creation of my subconscious. Stayed up too late one night watching sci-fi B-movies on TV. The ones with the robots cracking wise.

The hallucination - Max - was relentless in his advance, taking another step closer to Wally. He was within arm's reach now, and that good old fight-or-flight response was about to trip. Wally had two options, he could run, or he could fight. Running was his specialty, but Max was just as fast, if not faster than he was - although, given he was a hallucination, that point may as well have been moot.

So, he decided, he'd fight. His hands formed into fists, and he bent his knees, dropping into a fighting stance.

"Now, now." Max wagged a finger. "None of that. I'm not your enemy."

"Yeah, right," Wally murmured, eyes trained on his opponent.

"Please, Wally. Trust me, I'm here to help you," Max replied, a calming lilt to his voice that somehow drained all the tension from Wally's body. Did anything faze this… whatever he was?

Wally took a deep breath in, and then exhaled slowly, and then he did it again. He had so many-

"I know you have a lot of questions, and I promise they'll all be answered in time." Was this man a Martian or something? Right, he was a figment of Wally's hyperactive imagination. Of course he could read minds.

"For now," Max continued, "let's get you home."

"Yeah, right," Wally scoffed. "As if you could ever get me home, seeing as you're just a-"

"A hallucination?" He really needed to stop doing that. "Trust me, I am as real as you are. Now, take my hand."

Wally glanced down at Max's extended hand, reaching out his own shaky one to take it. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? It wasn't like he had any other options in this technicolor wasteland of a speed dimension.

"Good." Max's smile grew wider. "Are you up for a run?"

Wally smirked. "Always."

"Then follow my lead." And with that, Max took off, Wally in tow as the duo sped across a purple-hued pathway. After a few hundred miles, Max spoke up again. "You're keeping pace nicely. Now, I take it this is your first time in the Speed Force?"

Speed Force, huh? Not the most creative name ever, but it works. "Yeah. I-"

Max shook his head. "No need for lengthy explanations now. Got a loved one back home waiting for you?"

All of a sudden, Wally smiled, a grin lighting up his whole face. "I sure do."

"Good. Anchor yourself to them, center your thoughts on being together with them again, and run. Run as fast as you can. I'll lend you my speed."

"Lend me-" Before Wally could finish his thought, he was off at twice the velocity, even the streams of energy around him becoming a blur. Sparks began to crackle at his feet, leaving a trail of silver lightning bolts behind him that weren't there before.

Anchor myself… Wally pictured Artemis in his mind, all of her, from head to toe. He could hear her laugh, see the roll of her eyes when he did something stupid, feel the brush of her lips against his underneath the sheets. I'll be home soon, babe. I just need to focus.

He focused on things like the way her hair framed her face, those beautiful dark locks that he couldn't get enough of. Dark locks… I guess as Tigress. Why am I…?

Things like the way she interacted with the twins, that made his heart skip a beat. Twins? But Don and Dawn aren't even born yet…

Things like… why couldn't he remember what Lin- Artemis. Her name is Artemis. Why couldn't he remember more about Artemis? He loved her so much, and yet… I love her. Isn't that enough? Max said she's my anchor. Just… gotta… push on…

He picked up the pace, moving a little bit faster, pushing his limits once again. It was almost like he was back in the Arctic again, feeling that same feeling of slipping away. His molecules tore from the fabric of one reality into another, one by one.

Sunlight began to stream into his eyes. He could feel blades of grass tickle against his ankles, and the dirt compact underneath his feet. Birds were singing, accompanied by the sound of children laughing. He was home. Just a little bit longer, babe.

The trappings of the countryside seamlessly melded into those of Keystone City as he followed where his heart pulled him. He could smell the pollution from the steel mill, hear the honking of rush hour traffic. Not too much farther now. He could feel it.

Silver sparks continued to fly as he slowed down, coming to a stop right in front of a house in a subdivision on the outskirts of the city. A newer development, by the looks of things. How long was I gone? Did Artemis get a new place? Did she-

Wally's heart sank as he started to walk up the drive toward the house, practicing his lines for when the inevitably-taken Artemis opened the door. Look, Artemis, it's me! Your ex who came back from the dead because he can't get over you. Mind if I come in for some coffee?

He rang the doorbell, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. "I'll get it, honey!" came a cry from inside. The door opened, revealing a red-haired man, a few years Wally's senior, wearing blue jeans and a Keystone City Police Department sweatshirt. A little girl with hair as equally as red as the man's clung tightly to his chest, a quizzical look on her face.

"...Roy?" Artemis is dating Roy? That doesn't even make sense. Why would she- and that's not Lian. Who the hell is this man?

"Roy?" The man laughed, setting the little girl down on the ground. "I'm afraid you have the wrong Titan. Do us gingers really look that much alike?"

Titan…? What was he on about?

Before Wally could so much as get half a word out, the man had changed clothes entirely. And not just into any outfit, either. Into Barry's costume. How dare he! Unless… had Barry died, too?

"Wally West, I presume?" The man raised an eyebrow, chuckling as he extended a hand to shake, which Wally hesitantly accepted. "My name is Wally West. I'm the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive."

Wally's hand slipped from the man's grip, his eyes going wide. He felt himself start to get dizzy and lose his footing, falling forward into the other man's waiting arms. Then, everything went black.