Chapter 2: Neon the Speedster

Team Flash and Nick were all getting ready to head out until Nick asked, "so, where exactly are we going to eat?"

"Well, how much do you like burgers?" Asked Barry.

"Are you kidding!? I LOVE burgers, I eat about a million a day, haha I wish I was kidding but you know us speedsters."

"Tell me about it, speed eating too, that's how you get the full effect"? Nora added.

Nora stared at Nick and could sense some form of kindness and innocence from him as she smiled.

"So uhhh, you guys wanna race there then, to wherever this burger place is?" Nick asked in excitement.

"If you really want, but they do call me the fastest man alive." Barry spoke with pride.

"Alrighty then! You're on, but real quick you got a GPS I can look at?" Nick asked looking around.

"Its just down the road, you take the fourth right turn and then another left and bam you're there." As Barry said signaling the turns as if he was on the street.

"Alright you might beat me but..." Nick got ready to run as neon blue lightning bolts flared up in his eyes, "NOT IF I GET A HEAD START!" he yelled as he took off.

But...

As soon as Nick began to ran, he felt his speed dwindle, and time began to speed up for him. Barry and Nora noticed but they didn't react fast enough as he was moving too fast at first and he went crashing into glass that led to a mini office in the cortex.

The rest of Team Flash all winched and covered their heads with their hands incase of any glass that fell and sparks flew out as Nick probably busted a light in the office. Barry and Nora were the first to hurry over. Hearing the crunching noise of the glass breaking as they stepped on each shard, the light was indeed busted as a few sparks dropped onto Nick; who was down on top of a broken table. He looked up squinting his eyes as if he just woke up. He couldn't make out what just happened then realized the second his vision and focus cleared up. He quickly stood up and swiped any glass off of him and he had a couple scratches on his cheeks.

After seeing the entire situation happen before his eyes, Barry then asked "dude are you okay"?

"Ummm... I'm not sure what just happened in all honesty." Nick answered

"Well, it looks like you lost control when you started running bro." Cisco added.

Looking at his arms to make sure he didn't have any more cuts, Nick looked down at his stomach and saw he began to bleed again where is wound was just sealed up by Caitlin. "Dammit!" He said, "but it felt like I was slowing down and that I couldn't control it. Also sorry about ruining the shirt. But don't worry about the cut I'll be fine. Quick healing right?"

"Slow down, like you literally slowed down and lost control?" Barry asked.

"Yea that's exactly what happened. Here I'll try again!" Nick replied as he got into a position to run.

"WAIT, NO!" Everyone screamed but it was too late as Nick's lightning began to cover his body.

Then he started to run, but it was like a regular person was jogging. His lightning then faded and he stopped and looked at his hands as he whispered "what the?" To himself in a worried tone. He tried running again but the same thing happened, like a car engine not starting.

Nick turned around and said "what the heck is happening? It feels like I lost my speed!" Nick was now even more worried, as being a speedster has obviously been his entire life.

"Wait how is that even possible? Sherloque asked.

"I don't know, maybe this breach had something to do with it?" The young speedster suggested.

"Nooo, that can't be it, we know a couple speedsters from other Earth's run here like it's their own Earth." Said Cisco.

"I don't know, this doesn't make sense!" Nick tried running again but nothing was happening. He was desperate as he kept trying.

"Maybe it has something to do with your rival?" Asked Barry.

"Can it? I'm not aware of any speed sucking devices or power dampening weapons or abilities he has." Nick put his hand on his chin as he tried to figure out what was wrong. Then he looked up at Barry and said "wait, you could try throwing lightning at me. Because at our speedster school we learned about how speedsters were captured and when they were rescued, other speedsters threw lightning at them and it basically gave them a permanent jump start!"

"Just wait wait wait, first of all, that could kill you. Just because it worked for them doesn't mean it will work for you. Second of all...speedster school? How many speedsters are there on your Earth?" Barry stated and asked.

"Well, only one, which is me. There were a lot but my rival killed them all. Second of all, trust me I won't die, I have been struck by lightning and electrocuted so many times. And third, I'm basically a dead man without my speed, come on! It's all I have left in my life." Nick said as he was now begging for help.

Everyone was hesitant as they all looked around and eventually at Barry. They nodded as Caitlin said, "Remember when you lost your speed. And how it felt like you lost everything, this is basically the same thing."

Barry looked at caitlin, then at Nick and said "okay, let's do it." As he nodded.

"Thank you, thank you thank you man!" A huge smile embrigntend the young speedsters face.

They were all in the speed lab as Nick was standing at the top of the slope and Barry right behind him.

"Okay!" Nick yelled to get everyone's attention. "Barry so basically I'm going to run down this slope right here, and when you see me reach the middle, throw your lightning right into my back, and if It works I'll go crashing super fast into those boxes okay!?

Barry nodded as he still had a feeling this would go wrong.

"Okay everyone stand back!" As he yelled at Team Flash waving his hand. He turned around at Barry, "okay Bart ready?"

"First, Barry, and yea just start running and I'll hit you."

"Oh right sorry man, alright annnnd...go!"

Nick started to run down the slope as Barry was racing around in circles on the track. Everyone's faces said it all, hoping this would work and no one would die. Barry looked down and saw Nick about halfway. Nick threw is hands up and gave a thumbs up.

Barry came around the last corner, and stretched his arm back, and flung a lightning bolt aimed straight for Nick's back. The bolt flew through the air and, even though Nick was a speedster, he didn't have his powers so everything happened so fast to him as it would to anyone else. Then the bolt pierced his back. Nick could definitely feel the jolt. Falling down to the ground, before he made contact, his vision blurred up. And as soon as he hit the ground, he noticed he wasn't crashing into any boxes. In fact he fell a few feet short, knowing that it most likely didn't work. But...

Then he remembered that night, when he was six. The time he was thrown into the pool. And the bright light that blinded him. It was that same feeling of being electrocuted now, to when he first became a speedster. But he blacked out. For some reason though, he barely remembers, waking up that next morning as paramedics were lifting him up, he could hear someone crying, most likely his mom. Everything was blurry, impossible to make anything out. For an instant though, he was able to blindly focus on a man. Dressed in all black, with a black baseball cap, with the design of a white skull with red slash Mark's through it, and black squared sunglasses on. With his arms crossed leaning against the pole that supported his balcony. The pole had a burn mark on it, most definitely from the lightning he was zapped with. He blinked and the man was gone. No sight of him and then everything blacked out.