The following is set on Earth-10125, in Keystone City, Kansas, in the year 1940.

Commissioner John Chyre, a man of about thirty-five years old, but who looked much older due to stress, was sitting in his office at the Keystone City Police Department. Just after he lit a cigar, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A young, brown-haired man opened the door and closed it behind him.

"I bought a chair so you could make yourself comfortable. Take a seat, Mr. Garrick."

The man sat down in the chair next to John's desk.

"Uh, thank you, Commissioner. Why did you want to see me? And please, call me Jay."

"Alright. Jay, have you ever heard of Velocity-9?"

"Yes, it's that new drug that's been going around. All the papers are talking about it."

"That's right. Now, what are the effects of the drug?"

"The newspapers said that it got people, like all drugs."

"And?"

"And...that's it. They didn't say anything else about it."

"Now, why do you think that is, Jay?"

"I, uh, I'm not really sure, Commissioner."

"It's because the papers only write what they know. And they only know what we tell them. The simple truth, Jay, is that Velocity-9 is the most dangerous drug known to man. We're covering up its effects so there isn't a mass panic. You see, Jay, when someone injects Velocity-9 into their bloodstream, it increases their metabolism and strengthens their leg muscles. At least, that's what the guys at the lab told me. It essentially gives them superhuman speed."

"That's...that's incredible!"

"Yeah, that's what the junkies who use it think, too...until this happens."

John opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a folder. In it were pictures of a pile of dust.

"A few weeks ago, some of my officers tried to take down an art thief. He called himself 'Vandal'. Turns out, Vandal used Velocity-9. He injected some into himself, and started running...and then he disappeared. This dust is all that's left of him."

"Holy shit."

"That's what I said. All the major crime lords sell Velocity-9: Sinister, Windy Rogers, Sir Satan, Eel Madden, the Connor brothers, and Claw. The thing is, nobody can figure out where they're gettin' it from. Our boys in the lab can't even tell what this shit's made out of. And that's where you come in, Jay. We've heard about your work purifying heavy water, and we think you're just the guy to help us out. If you can find out what's in the drug, we can probably trace the components to back to wherever they came from, and find the bastards who're makin' this shit."

John pulled a syringe with a green liquid in it out of the drawer.

"Here's a sample. Don't let us down, Jay."

"I'll try my best, Commissioner."

Jay got up to leave.

"By the way, Commissioner, I heard about your wife getting pregnant. Congratulations."

"Thanks. I'm thinkin' of naming the baby 'Fred'."

"That's a great name."

"Oh, and Jay, make sure your roof doesn't have any holes in it. We're supposed to have a hell of a storm tonight."

"I'll keep that in mind, Commissioner."

Later that night, Jay was studying the drug in his lab at Midwestern University. He was finishing his work for the night, as he was about to go home and sleep. He needed his rest for tomorrow; he was taking a girl he liked, Joan Williams, on a date. His thoughts were interrupted by a flash of lightning outside.

As he was about to leave, he realized that the window was open. He thought that was strange, as it was closed when he started his work on the Velocity-9. As he got up, the vials he had filled with the drug spilled on his lab coat.

"Goddammit!" he exclaimed, annoyed. He'd have to get another sample from John after his date. He heard thunder outside. He decided to count the thunder, so he'd know how far away the storm was from his lab.

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi-"

Thunder crashed again.

"About twenty miles away," he thought. "That's safe."

He got up and started walking towards the window.

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, five Mississippi, six Mississippi-"

Thunder crashed once again.

"Huh. Storm's moving away." He was about a foot away from the window.

"One Mis-"

Lightning struck Jay, throwing him across the room.

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