A/N: Thought I was dead? Sorry to dissappoint you guys. But now I. AM. BACK!

Geez, how long has it been? Months...? Years...? No, I'm pretty sure it's been months, I'm really really really really (insert an army of sorry's here) sorry...

Reborn Lightning

Chapter 4: Flashbacks

Under the plethora of pipes which worked their way through the metallic environment filled with a host of switches and meters were workers in navy blue overalls and lime-white helmets. Seeing them walking to and fro down the long hallways constantly made me wonder how they could walk around in such a huge place without getting lost.

A few sparks of gold and violet-red not too far in front of me had attracted my eyes, looking up and seeing the neon sign which read "ORION INC." come to life. Orion was an electric company which happened to own this whole power plant that my dad had taken (more like dragged) me to. Of course, none of the overalls that these guys wore were in my size, so I just wore normal clothing.

As I sat on the stack of crates my dad told me to move, I kicked my legs back and forth as I waited for him, sometimes I bumped them into the crate on purpose just for the heck of it. Seeing my legs moving like this only envy the speed of the Flash even more.

With his speed I could go wherever I want, whenever I want. I thought while looking down at my legs.

Remembering that battle he had with Captain Cold caused a sudden jittery feeling in my stomach. That picture in my mind of when the Flash gave him a right hook had made me hop off the crates and begin begin zipping around the stack. Putting up my fists and assuming a combat posture, I imagined the crates as Captain Cold and myself as the Blur.

...The Blur?

Now that I had thought about it, the name seemed a bit too forced, and lame. Quicksilver? Dash? The Quickster? Velocitus? Zoom? No— Kid Flash.

Yeah, I should write that down..." After mumbling this, I had then glared the ice villain who had his cold guns drawn. Even under that hood, I could still see that frosty smirk being cast my way, a blue visor shielding his eyes from view.

Stepping off with my right foot, I didn't even feel the wind as my shoulders tore through it, rushing towards him with great vigor, I could see him aiming his guns at me, but I still didn't stop. Staring at the front end of the barrel, I took a breath, time slowing down as soon as I heard that *click* as he pulled the trigger. The barrel had flashed a blinding white as the ice projectiles came roaring out. The nerves in my brain were quickly put on high alert as I jerked my head to the right to evade it, but even so, the blue beam had sailed just inches past my right cheek, and cold and tingling sensation came to that side of my face.

Now Cold was wide open. Veering left, I readied my fist and came flying at him from the side, my fist nearing his face—

"Wallyyyyy!"

That deep but raspy voice I'd remember anywhere. Captain Cold had suddenly faded and in his place was that stack of crates, and unfortunately, I wasn't able to stop my movements in time, so you can guess what happened next.

"Uwaa!"

BAM!

Now resting on a pile of partially opened crates, I groaned and looked up only to see a pair of irritated chestnut brown eyes glaring down at me. Rubbing my head, I attempted to make some light of the situation.

"Hey, dad...how's works so far?- Oh that's great, don't mind me, just guardin' these boxes."

I could have been imagining things, but I could have sworn I saw a grey hair emerge from all that brown hair when his expression didn't change. A man dressed in a black came over to my dad and gave him a blunt look.

"Rudy..." He said in a irritated and business-like tone. Even though dad had given him an apologetic look, he glanced down at me with his lips forming a frown and adjusted his glasses before walking off and marking something down on his clipboard.

Now, dad was giving me that look that could mean only one thing...

"Office— Now."

The aforementioned room was for the most part a bland grey aside from the beige carpet. A wooden desk stood in front of the window, which was being dyed an orange-yellow hue thanks to the rays of the sun which entered in through the open blinds. Taking a seat in the chair in front of the desk, I looked at his brown shoes as he passed by, an audible sigh emanated from him.

"Wally, what have I told you about daydreaming?" He began, leaning back against his desk. "Son, this is the third time this week this type of thing has happened, and your mom and I are getting very worried. Not only with this fan club you seem to have in school, but you keep messing up on even the simplest of things."

"No I don't!- Wait, what's wrong with the Flash fanclub?"

When I had said that, his eyebrows furrowed and one of his hands ran through his scalp as if he was thinking up a remark.

I'm the president of the Blue Valley Flash Fan Club (BVFFC). So far, I've been handing out some invitations, but there aren't any extra members...for now I guess.

Eventually, the reply came: "It's great that you're the president of the club and all, but by the looks of it, you're its sole member. You're huge fan of the Flash, I know, but don't you think you're being a little too gung-ho about him and the Justice League?"

"I just appreciate what him and the others do, dad! Since when is that so wrong? The way they save people and-"

"It's great that guys like the Flash and Superman are around, but their job is to save lives while it is mine to save your future!"

My future? I had flinched when he had raised his voice, but my grip on the arms of my chair tightened. Him and mom had always made decisions for me, even when I had the right to choose. Ever since I got into middle school, they kept thinking I was a helpless 12 year old that didn't have a single clue, that I couldn't do anything right. Now dad had made me come to this plant because he wanted me to work here. But the thing is... I don't want this kind of job.

I'm so sick and tired of everyone doubting my abilities, and with dad telling me what is and isn't possible for me, like I'm mentally retarded or something. Clenching my teeth, I quickly rose out from my seat and let my feelings finally pour out from my throat.

"No, dad! This job that you want me to have is your future!"

By the look of those eyes, astonishment had struck him, "Wally..."

I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks as I clenched my fists and boldly continued, " Did you and mom even consider how I felt about all this!? You always dragged me around and decided everything for me. Was it because I would probably mess it up in the end, like I do with everything!?"

"When you come home and talk about your day, you seem happy and like to talk about it and how the pay's good... if that's what you want for your life, then fine, BUT I WANT TO BE LEFT OUT OF IT!"

After I had bellowed those final words, my throat felt heavy as I turned to bolt out of the door, wiping away the tears as I brushed past the multitude of workers.

"Wally, Wally! Come back!" I heard my name being called repeatedly, but I wouldn't dare turn back. Even though I kept pumping my legs, I could feel the wind against my face weakening as the walls of the plant began to melt in my vision as I passed by it and the people that I went through became transparent to the point where they eventually faded away.

Up ahead, there was nothing but a dead end waiting for me there, the concrete wall standing tall as I rushed to meet it. I tried as hard as I could to stop myself , but for some reason...I just keep running and running. There was a tingling sensation in my feet that jolted through my whole body, quickly I crossed my hands in front of my face in quick defense as I hit the wall.

Was it really all a dream?

That's what I had thought when there was an abrupt haze which violently clouded my vision and caused me to stumble, rolling and rolling as the darkness dominated my perception... Finally, my body had come to a complete stop as I hit my back. Laying there, all I could do was breathe as I stared up at the darkness.

Was this really how I was going to die?

This question roamed through my mind the whole time I lay there, staring off into space as I recalled that flashback that I had witness. Maybe this was just the beginning of a series of flashbacks...the last thing death would let me see before it took me.

I had felt a heavy weight over top of me, and a rocky surface below me. I knew for a fact that I wasn't in a coffin so the thought of death had subsided for now. Heaving upward on the burden which took its toll on my body, I heard some brief cracking and the feeling of jagged rock at my fingertips. Finally overcoming the obstacle, I pushed it off to the side only to reveal dark-grey skies, the smell of ash now tickling my nose.

I sniffed again— yup, that was definitely ash. Quickly, I rose from my supposed grave and gasped as I looked around.

It seemed I was among a large pile of rubble and debris, all around me being tall edifices that were on the brink of destruction, their very infrastructure being harassed by raging flames which slowly engulfed them, the black smoke billowing out to meet the darkened heavens. Amongst the ruins there was a damaged sign which read "Big Belly Burger." If this was the same Big Belly Burger that I ate in earlier, then I have to assume that I'm still in Central City. Standing up, I dusted myself off only to see that I was wearing yellow and red.

What am I doing in my KF costume?! I thought as I stretched the yellow fabric which covered my chest. Feeling the cowl over my face and the tiny weight of the goggles on my forehead, I groaned inwardly, remembering my retirement. But by the looks of the people who were strutting through the ravaged streets, it looked like I will be needing this.

Speaking of retirement, there was a blue, red, and yellow streak which zoomed by the multiple eruptions of hellish flames which discharged from the reddened cracks of the black asphalt. In front of the streak, I saw the elderly man in the winged tin helmet which started the whole mantle, Jason Peter Garrick, the Original Flash. Behind him lagged a small flow of yellow electricity which seemed to emanate from the wings on his helmet the, yellow lightning bolt on his red shirt, and even the wings attached to his red boots.

The moment I had even taken a step to go catch up with him, my perception had accelerated the same way it did when I tried to stop Captain Boomerang and Heat Wave— could they be the cause for all this destruction? Could the Rogues really have gone too far?

No...they wouldn't, and even if Cold and his guys had ever decided to cross that line, the League and the Team would have been here to handle it. If so then...how did all this happen?

After seeing Jay vibrate through a car in slow-motion, he had put his right hand over where his heart would be and he let out a rather violent cough. There was a crimson voltage that began to lag behind him. It was there that something humanoid began to form as he passed through a dense cloud of smoke.

As he had emerged from the wall of smoke, it was clear that he wasn't alone. A pair bright of white eyes had shone themselves even through the dark smoke. As the pair moved, so did a dark figure which rushed out of the smoke after Jay. I had tried to move to save him, but I couldn't keep up with them no matter how hard I tried.

All I could do was watch as the dark humanoid chased after him with those sharp elongated black talons attempting to swipe at his back every chance it got. Jay, who had noticed the black blur, constantly kept shifting left and right, desperate to stay out of the creature's grasp as it crept up on him. The crimson lightning looked like it was weighing heavy on the old runner, his skin getting paler as the claws brushed up against his neck.

Finally, it seemed like the Original Fastest Man Alive had breathed his last breath. The claw drew nearer up his head until it the tips finally jabbed right into the back of his head. His whole being was gradually reduced to nothing as he stood there with his now iris-less eyes wide. Taking the fall, the only thing there left of Jay was his skeleton and his Flash uniform.

"JAY!" I cried as the black creature then disappeared without a trace. Coming over to where his remains were, I picked up his scarred helmet as I saw those white eyes materialize in front of me again, resting in the head of a lifeless body which—

—What in the hell is that?!

What stood there utterly disgusted me. It was like some punchline to a bad joke, and by the look of that grin on its lifeless face, it seemed to find my reaction quite amusing as I glared at it's costume. Seeing that bony, animal-like face under that cowl and the blood red lightning bolt within the white circle...It was the opposite of all Barry stood for, and now, here and now it was wearing the costume— his costume, with horrible black and red accents which replaced the traditional red and yellow.

It doesn't deserve to wear those boots...and the way it just stands there, smiling as if it just won the lottery...

With a *Fwoosh!* sound running through the air, this "Black Flash," had dodged a roaring punch from a familiar red glove which was followed by a white and red streak. Sailing right over the killer came a young speedster with chestnut brown hair and pale skin under those goggles of his. He came sliding towards me with a light pant and widened eyes the moment he saw Jay's skeletal corpse on the ground.

"Wally! What, what happened to-"

"He happened." While putting down Jay's helmet, I said this with a distinct venom in my mouth as I pointed at this twisted version of Barry.

"Okay, WG and SB are at the Flash Museum, the rest will be here any minu—"

I didn't even get to hear the rest of his sentence as I launched forward with my right foot and threw myself straight at the monster. Even as I readied my fist, the dark speedster remained motionless as the grin on his lips turned into a smirk as his body began to jolt in place.

Then came the moment where I could finally wipe that stupid smirk off his face. My haymaker came barreling right into the bridge of his nose when suddenly, it went right through it.

I was never really at that good at stopping at this speed, so the law of inertia enjoyed toying with me as my whole body followed suit and went right through him. Luckily, I was able to catch myself using both my hands to propel myself off the ground and forward until I landed upright and made the soles of my shoes endure the hardened surface of the black earth.

I gazed over my shoulder and there was a blood red stream of light which entered my field of view. Amplifying what strength I had in my legs, I hurled myself right as the ray...no... lightning bolt, passed just inches away from my right side and even though there was a loud explosion behind me, that was nowhere near as loud as the voice of my dad rang in my ears—

—You think you can do all these ridiculous things inside your head, but you can't! You just can't, Wally!

The intense force that I felt hit my jaw made me think that it was him trying to "knock some sense into me."

Unfortunately, the punch didn't come from Rudolph West.

Being sent to the ground yet again, I saw Black Flash pointing at me, commanding the swarm of red voltage which surrounded him to chase me down like a dog. I just barely avoided one of the lightning bolts as I rolled to the right and got back on my feet to continue running, preferably in the direction away from the runner shrouded in ebony. Bart came up on my left hand side.

"So, what's the plan?"

That was a question I was hoping he wouldn't ask.

Hold him off until the Team gets here? That is if there even is a team still alive amongst the ruins of this city...

"We'll just have to regroup with the others. The Dark Flash can wait."

Could he be the one that started all this? If so, then how did one man cause all this destruction? I'm pretty sure the League and the Team can stop one speedster. It's a possibility that the Light could be involved in all this, too.

But how does all of this explain how I'm in my KF costume? This buzzed around in my mind for awhile until I decided to ask Bart.

"Hey, Bart, when did all this start to happen?-" There was a sudden cringe in my chest as I looked at him, I couldn't even steal a gasp as I witnessed a vibrating black hand sticking right out of his chest, right through the exact place where his heart would be. There wasn't any signs of blood or forced entry, the only proof of his demise was the grey developing on his body as his skin became null and void. He was looking at me with his mouth open as if he was about to answer my question, but behind those goggles, his once green eyes became a lifeless hazel.

There behind him was the same monster that took Jay's life. Once again, he flashed me that same disgusting grin from before and turned into a black and red blur, going right through Bart and leaving behind a stretch of red electricity on him.

My cousin went crashing towards the ground, but I came to a complete stop and caught him before he could hit it. I slid a little then my whole body trembled and I was forced to my knees as I held his body in my arms. I took off his goggles and the image of his lifeless eyes became all the more clearer.

The streets were for the most part silent, the only consistent sounds was the crackling of the raging flames. That was what I thought until I heard a pair of footsteps behind me.

If this was it for me, then fine...I'm tired of playing this monster's sick little game and I want it all to end. As the steps became louder and louder, I braced myself, but the hit never came, instead, I sensed someone kneeling right beside me.

Looking to my right, I noticed it was Barry looking down at Bart with a mournful expression on his face. He was dressed in normal attire, specifically the same attire I last saw him in. He shifted his head over to me and gave me a small smile as yellow lightning came out of his ring and danced around him with great vigor. Then, with a bright golden light, there he was in his Flash uniform. Even under that dark red cowl, he still retained that small smile. He gently put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a nod as the lightning design on his forearms, belt, and torso, became illuminated.

This comfort didn't last long however as the yellow radiance which danced around him, eventually consumed him. He, along with that smile, deformed into nothing but a stream of yellow electricity which swerved down to my right hand and there, taking up space on my ring finger was the very same apricot ring that Barry wore, except that it was fully pieced back together without a single scratch on it's surface.

The white lightning bolt in the center glared at me with a yellow brightness the very moment I had laid eyes on it.

Bart's skin had already faded away, beneath that Impulse costume was nothing but the skeleton of a 13 year-old boy. Even so, there was still a yellow energy that raced off his body and circled around me. I could feel a warm liquid tumbling down from my eyes as I had no choice but to let him go. Already, I could already see the Dark Flash here for round three, standing on top of an overturned 18-wheeler, he sent forth a red voltage that created humanoid constructs bathed in crimson which rushed to meet me, their speed being on par with mine by the looks of it.

There were so many that I began to doubt my ability to take them on— but now's not the time for doubts.

WIth one kick off the ground with my right foot, I shot forward to meet their assault and with the yellow voltage around me, I felt faster than ever before. The construct leading the pack had already thrown a haymaker at me, but I jerked left and grabbed his head and kicked off the ground with my left foot, only to slam my right knee right into his face, sending him back stunned, but not entirely defeated.

My heart was a battleground for both both excitement and fear as I ducked and weaved through the whole pile of super-fast beings, delivering kicks and punches as needed just to keep them at bay. Even so, I still felt a few jabs crash right into my cheek and a few kicks at my torso. I felt a sudden weight on my back and I quickly heaved the thrall off me with a heavy throw— courtesy of Black Canary.

It's body slammed right into a nearby damaged car, it's front bumper being the only thing that halted him. He was about to rise up but I managed to get close enough and slam his head onto the hood over and over again at high-speeds, painting multiple dents on it with his skull. The red spectrum which made up his entire being took him along with it as it dissipated and traveled up my gloves.

Yellow mixed with red and with that, my costume began to change. I could see the yellow lightning bolts on my forearms and the yellowness of my suit changing to red.

I felt a hand brush against my right arm and I managed to pull reel my elbow back with enough force only to feel it crash into what felt like the abdomen.

There, in the midst of the crowd was a break in the flatness of the streets, a part of the asphalt was pulled up as if to look like a ramp. l my strength into my feet and leaped towards the the Black Flash with my fists cloaked in a solid yellow.

"HYAHHH!" Just as my fist was about to meet with his claws, there was a sudden white flash. The city, the ground, the Black Flash and his minions, everything faded into nothing but black particles, and there in the white void, I was truly alone.

I could hear a beeping sound that occurred just a few seconds after the last in a repetitive sequence. I felt warmth at my left hand and that was what encouraged me to open my eyes, only to see the grey ceiling above. As I sat up, I looked down at myself only to see that I wasn't my costume but in a simple black shirt. Scanning the room, I could see hi-tech medical equipment near the bed that had a couple of long grey things that were attached to me with suction cups.

Looking over to my left, I saw scarlet hair the same color as mine resting on the edge of the bed comforted by the soft dark green sheets. Gazing down, I noticed Aunt Iris' right hand was holding my left.

In front of the bed was a TV which was suspended from the wall. Currently, it was displaying the news channel.

With an abrupt *whumpf* sound, the chrome-encrusted door which stood on the right hand side quickly slid to the left and disappeared inside the grey wall, revealing an adult male wearing a blue and red costume with line patterns being the same as the latter. The public knew him as "The Atom," but a select few knew him as Ray Palmer.

"Ah, good, you're awake. When Hal first brought you here, you had us worried, your vitals were weakening and-"

"Where's the kid? Is he safe?" I quickly sat up, but Ray clapped my shoulder and urged me back onto the bed.

"Relax, he's safe back on Earth. Hal made sure that the both of you were. He told me something very peculiar happened when you were trying to get that child out of harm's way, if that hadn't have happened, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation."

By him saying "back on Earth," I quickly realized that I was in the medical wing of the Watchtower. As if the futuristic sliding door wasn't already a huge hint.

"So what did happen?"

The Caucasian hero turned to the medical equipment as if he was examining it: "Molecular oscillation." He began, not taking his eyes off the device's monitor. " When you were running towards that police car, you must have accidentally accelerated yourself on the molecular level to the point where your own molecules passed through the car's molecules."

"So, you're saying that me and the kid went through the whole thing without a scratch?"

"Not only that, but it seems that after you went through the object— it exploded. It's a possibility that the kinetic energy that you were generating excited the car's molecules to the point where they reached critical mass and..." He shrugged then turned to me with a smile. "you know the rest."

For some reason, I could never learn to vibrate my molecules as well as Barry could. On top of that, Bart can do it without even trying...

Images of Bart's last moments came soaring through my mind, but Ray quickly snapped me out of it with his continued explanation, "Thing is, all that strain on your body put you into a coma for two days."

"T-Two days?! Then who's guarding Central City?!"

"Green Lantern."

"Okay, then who's guarding Coast City?"

Ray's calm expression remained unchanged along with his answer, "Green Lantern."

When he said "Green Lantern" twice, I knew he was referring to Hal and his associate from the Corps, Guy Gardner. They must have agreed that one protects the main city while the other watches over the other one in his place.

I felt the warm hand holding on to my left begin to move, a sign that my Aunt was waking up. Looking over to her resting spot, I could see those eyelids finally pull up to reveal those green eyes of hers. Her attention slowly shifted to me as she rubbed her eyes drowsily, only after a moments was she apparently released from her groggy state when her body jerked up abruptly as her eyes sparkled in pure joy.

"Wally!" She had gasped then let this out with great exclamation. We both shared a hug and at that moment, the loneliness that I had felt in that dream withered away as I felt my Aunt's comfort. From my peripheral vision, I could see Ray walking out the door.

When we had finally separated, I felt guilty for her staying here and worrying about me. When she had found out about Barry's identity as the Flash, she had worried about him all the time and when she found out about me being Kid Flash, the worry had doubled, and now, with Barry gone, it's probably been all the more stressful for her. The possibility of Jay going next: or Bart, or who knows, maybe even me.

I bet there wasn't even a day that went by when she wished that she could at least stop Barry when he had to go off to save the day. That he could stay with her instead of having to bear with the fact that her husband was out there throwing himself into danger constantly. I know what that's like, too... when someone wants to continue being a hero no matter what the cost, and when you try to convince that person to stop being a hero, you just can't stop them. You have to let them go.

The white door over on the right swung into the wall again and in came the brown-haired man who was like my second uncle—Hal Jordan, alongside a woman with deep brown hair (which could be mistaken for black) and eyes which shone a medium sapphire.

Hal was the first to approach me, the corners of his mouth were quirked upward with his hands in the pockets of his caramel brown jacket. Sometimes I wonder how the Green Lantern ring puts on the user's traditional costume while replacing their normal clothing. Where do the clothes go? Does the suit simply come over the clothing just like that? Why are the Lantern suits designed the way they are? Why do their powers have to come from a battery? Why does the power have to come from emotion?

Even so, Hal was clearly not in his Lantern suit, but casual apparel: a brown jacket with blue jeans and black shoes, a black shirt being under the jacket, "Hey, finally awake, huh? Gave me a scare there back in Central City."

I was grateful for him coming to save me, but it isn't like California and Missouri are right next door to each other, so I had to ask: "Thanks for saving me. It's not that I'm complaining or anything, but, how did you know where I was?"

"I was patrolling the city when I saw some smoke in the distance. I assumed something big was going on and I guess I assumed right." And thank goodness he did, otherwise, the Central City Fire Department would have had their work cut out for them.

"Oh, that's right, I never introduced you to Carol," Hal said as the crackling of the aforementioned woman's high heels sounded against the floor with each step she took. When comparing their height, Carol stood at Hal's shoulder blades.

She offered her hand to me and I shook it as she began. "Carol Ferris, nice to meet you Wally. Hal has told me a lot about you. I'm sorry to hear about your uncle...I'm sure he was a great man." She had said this in a very sincere tone and finished it off with a smile. Our hands had parted by the time she got to, "nice to meet you".

Although he had never introduced me to her, he has mentioned in the past that both him and her work as pilots at Ferris Aircraft, Inc. one of the leading aviation companies in the world, specializing in advanced aviation concepts. Apparently, she took over the company after her father, Carl Ferris, died. Knowing Hal, she must always be reminding him to keep their relationship professional while on the job.

Suddenly, the song "When Can I See You Again" by Owl City, could be heard playing from the pocket of Aunt Iris' green jacket. Under that, she wore a white shirt. She rose up and the black skirt she wore could clearly be seen going down to her knees.

"Sorry, I'll be back in a sec." As she answered her phone, the crackling of her black high-heels signaled her exit as the automatic door executed the standard open-close procedure as she went through.

I looked over to Carol. "So, what's it like flying a jet?" Aside from almost crashing the Bio-Ship and promising M'gann never to fly it again, I haven't really had all that much experience flying aircraft. Although, I do know for a fact that jets can fly faster than the speed of sound.

"Well—" Just as Carol was about to share her experience, Hal's ring suddenly flashed and the holographic projection of a large, brawny alien clad in a Lantern uniform similar to Hal's, except it was complemented by shoulder-pads and pretty much a more "armored appearance" on the whole body in general. What did they call his race again? Bolovian? Bolivian?...Oh, that's right— Bolovaxian.

"Kilowog? I was expecting a call from the Guardians, but you guys just love to keep me guessing." Hal said this in a nonchalant manner only to receive a rolling of the eyes from the Bolovaxian.

As I expected, there was a thick gruffness of the "Drill Sergeant" type in his voice when he replied: " We received word of a Red Lantern incursion in sector 2813."

"2813...That's where Krypton is..." Hal said, most likely to himself.

Kilowog nodded and continued, "The Corps' rounding up anyone closest to that sector— including you. The strike team is already getting together; I bet you can already guess who's leading them."

"I would looove to help with that," He glanced at me then back at the ring, "But my hands are full on Earth."

"Guy can handle it. Plus, there are how many heroes roaming that planet? How much trouble could there possibly be?"

"Then who's going to protect Central City?" I interjected. Even though Guy was still on Earth, there was no way he could watch both Coast and Central at the same time, not only that but a couple of other things: the League has it's hands full with protecting the War World, Bart is still busy operating with the team, and Jay isn't available either because he's retired (the same could be said for me also).

The swishing sound of the automatic door could be heard again, this wasn't the sound of Iris' heels but rather the sound of boots. In fact, those boots just happened to belong to the hero of magical origin who's powers were given to him from the Gods through the Wizard Shazam— Captain Marvel.

"I will." There was a great boldness in his mature voice when he said this. Stepping forward past Hal and Carol, the cape the followed behind him was no longer covered his left shoulder, but his whole back, the hood part of the cape was clamped down at his shoulders.

With a flash of viridian, Hal had abandoned his casual clothes for his high-collar Green Lantern uniform. The glowing lantern on his chest was like a central conduit for the willpower which radiated from it and expanded in lines across the suit, making it take on a more "organic" look. Through his mask he gazed at me with a sorrowful look, but I gave him a reassuring smile. If Superman's homeworld was involved, then it had to be important.

He nodded and clarified: "If anything happens, I'm only a sector away." He then looked down at Kilowog's image, "I'm on my way." As the hologram disappeared, Hal fist-bumped with Billy and there was a minor meeting between lightning and willpower at the knuckles. With that, all three of them exited.

A few minutes passed before Iris returned from her phone conversation, "I'm sorry, Wally, I gotta go," she sighed, "They need me back at the job..." She came over to the bed and gave me a hug then a peck on the forehead, "Atom said he's going to run a few tests on you later, so no getting out of bed, understand?" It wasn't a "don't you even think about it look" that she was giving me, but one that showed concern and worry.

"Yes 'mom'..." She might as well have been.

As she left, my attention turned to the TV once again when a certain thing had caught my eye. Behind the male reporter was an image of Hal preventing a truck from falling off a bridge with a baseball glove construct―a personal favorite of his.

"In these last two days, this hero, the Green Lantern, has been apprehending tech villains such as Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, and the Pied Piper."

Suddenly, there was a jolt that ran through my body at what I saw next.

Suddenly, the image had turned into the Flash symbol with a giant black question mark in front of it, "But watching this green vigilante in action has the people of Central City asking one question: Where. Is. The Flash...?—G. Gordon has this to say."

My eyebrows had furrowed as the curly brown hair was replaced by blond hair, the brown eyes shifting into blue as the aforementioned man came on the screen.

"Honestly, am I the only one who sees through all this?" He sneered. "Perhaps the 'Fastest Man Alive' was too busy up in the not-so-top-secret-anymore 'Watchtower' that he was too busy to help us little people."

Normally, I would have ignored his usual bad-mouthing of the Justice League, but hearing him say all these things about Barry made me want to slam his face into a concrete wall at hyper-speed.

Clenching my fists, I had felt an unusual texture wrapped around one of my left fingers. Looking down at my hands, when I saw it, it was like my dreams had followed me on my return to reality— The Flash ring.

The examination didn't take long. Ray had noticed all my vital signs were normal and there was nothing abnormal about my body (hyper-accelerated metabolism doesn't count). Before he had even came in, I put the Flash ring under my bed; I felt the enigma should be kept a secret— for now. Retrieving the ring after all that was done, I was given a new pair of clothes: A white and red shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes; then Zeta-Tubed back to Stanford University.

The receiving teleportation device was situated in a secret back room embedded in the alabaster wall between two chocolate-colored bookcases. These bookcases — along with the other 22 book cases in the room — belonged to the Cecil H. Green library, the largest library on campus (most of us just call it the "Green Library"). The Green Library got it's name from the British-born American geophysicist, Cecil Howard Green. The library came with three floors; currently, I was on the second, which contained the Lane reading room along with the university archives.

Opening the peep hole, I had checked to make sure the coast was clear before I opened the door. Even so, I could still hear footsteps so I quickly closed the door behind me and went on my merry way. Trudging past the other browsing students, I made my way into the the hallway where my shoes clattered against the purple-red and white accented tile floor. Smirking, I looked back and saw the coast was clear before speeding down the hallway, getting more friction per step and zero from the wind. I had to struggle with sharp turns by making hard stops and dodge the occassional crowd of students here and there before I arrived at the stairs.

From what I've been hearing, running past everyone around here has caused a popular betting game: Spot the Speedster.

Everyone who wants in bets their money on where the runner (obviously me) will appear next. Unfortunately for them (and lucky for me), they have yet to spot the runner.

Now blazing through the hallways of the first floor, I noticed the entry doors up ahead as a few students were opening it. Timing it just right, as they walked through the door I zoomed right past them and made my way off campus, dodging past the usual traffic until I arrived home.

The house was modest with it's light-green hue. On the side was a flight of stairs which led up to the second floor (I know, it seems a bit unorthodox, but it's actually come in handy at times).

Everything about the house was normal, no signs of break-in or anything of the like (not like this place was a bad neighborhood or anything like that). Getting out my keys, I entered and shut the door behind me and when I was done setting the alarm, I ran towards the living room for some relaxation - that's what I thought I was doing until I my face suddenly met the wooden floor.

Of course, Caesar came running and was quick to lick my face.

Slowly moving him back a bit, I sat up and looked back at what tripped me, I saw a brown package sitting there with the letters 'MM' signed on the front of it. So much for thinking no one could get in.

Okay, there are only three people I know of who can possibly have that signature: Miss Martian, Martian Manhunter, and finally, Mirror Master, one of Captain Cold's Rogues. Of course, I had to rule out the latter because I highly doubt the Rogues have even the slightest clue about where me and Artemis live. Me and J'onn don't talk much, so I'm pretty sure he didn't send this either...that just leaves M'gann.

My hands worked like a well-oiled package-opening machine as I ripped off the tape and opened the box — what was inside had made every muscle in my body lock in place.

Glaring up at me was the very encircled red lightning bolt that I thought I had abandoned for good. Occupying the very fabric of the suit was a folded letter. Unfolding it, I began to read it.

Flash Museum, Central City.

Meet me out in front.

With best regards,

MM~

In a matter of seconds, I had finished donning the suit that's been giving me so much grief. The feeling of the fabric felt alien to me and unwanted. Looking down into the box I noticed all that was left were my red goggles.

No turning back now I guess, I thought as I put them on my forehead. I bent forward and pulled down my goggles, seeing the usual red Heads-Up-Display. As I leaned on my right leg and let my left stretch behind me, I put both hands on the floor and prepared take off yet again. At that moment, I felt something being pushed against my right boot and I looked back only to see Caesar whimpering and nudging me with his bowl.

"Alright, I guess M'gann can wait."

I know what you're thinking, why couldn't I have just Zeta-Tubed to Central City? Well, it's mainly because of the sights I get to see: speeding through the streets of Las Vegas all the way to the Mojave Desert; making the occasional run through the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah? All that is just too good to pass up. Me and Barry have always preferred to run to all the places we can get to, but if it's some serious covert ops mission or something along those lines, we had to make do with sitting in the Bio-Ship and the Javelins (and our respective teams had to deal with the sound of the hyper-accelerated tapping of feet).

Being in this city with this costume brought back a lot of memories that I'd rather have locked away, never to be explored again. Making a sharp turn, I saw the golden statue of my uncle in his usual running stance and went past it, dashing up the steps and came to a complete stop. I put my goggles back on my forehead as I looked around. The scent of hot dogs was clear in the air but I ignored it as I felt the wind blow by, now was no time for food.

Turning away from the entrance, I sighed and sat down on the front steps as I let the smell ofood tempt me even more.

"Looks like she's a no-show..."

Then oit of nowhere a deep voice replied, "Who's a no-show?"

I looked over my shoulder in the direction from where the deep voice came and standing there was a man with a high-collar white shirt and blue tights. The upper-half of his pale, fleshy face was covered by a blue and crimson mask.

Why does this guy look so familiar?, I thought as I examined his costume.

He gazed down at my left hand, presumably beaming at the Flash ring, "So my assumptions were correct, he did communicate with you through the lightning."

"Through the lightning? What li —" Before I could even finish, he disappeared into a streak of blue and white and re-appeared behind me. He had taken the ring.

I quickly turned around to look at him, "Wait, hold on, you're that speedster that I saw on the news broadcast!"

He didn't show the slightest bit of interest as he examined the ring in his blue gloved hands.

"Who are you? How'd you get your speed? Was it similar to how Jay got his?"

"So the generator passes it on to the mainliner...I see..." He muttered as he still inspected the ring.

Alright, that's it.

Whoosh!

In a matter of seconds, the ring was back in my possession and I stood a distance away from him just incase he was going to go all Smeagel on me and demand his "precious" back.

He turned to me with a blank expression on his face. I was expecting something more but hey, at least I got his attention.

I began, "Alright, first thing's first. Who are you and what do you mean by this 'lightning?'"

"My name is Max Mercury."

Well now, I guess that plus the speed explains the package..., I thought as he continued.

"The lightning is actually a mystical source of power, a whole other realm that exists on the outskirts of time itself — The Speed Force. Your Uncle, Barry Allen, had communicated with you through the Force and that ring contains a sample of it's energy. The power from that dimension runs through people like us, Wally."

I sighed deeply at the word "mystical" and rolled my eyes. It was Doctor Fate all over again...

"You're like Johnny, you don't believe in it either." He said while crossing his arms. I could tell he was raising an eyebrow at me behind that mask.

"Well, yeah." I began while approaching him, "All of the speedsters we know have gained their powers through a form of science: Jay from inhaling water vapors; Barry and me through a lightning bolt and spilled chemicals, and finally, Bart through genetics —"

"Not all of them." He replied, the look in his eyes told me he was ready to take the ring again — however, time I was ready for him. I had accelerated my perception to match his speed so I could track his movement. While the world around us had been slowed down to a crawl, I could still see him putting his right foot forward at a normal speed. To a normal person, he would have looked like a blue and white streak.

But to me, he just looked like your everyday runner. Still, he came barreling towards me for the ring and I easily side-stepped him as he came to a sudden stop right in front of me.

What he had done next had caught me by surprise — he had vaulted over me and took the ring out of my hand right after he landed.

The very moment I whipped around I could already see him at the bottom of the steps, waving at me before running off into the street.

"Alright, Smeagel." I put my goggles back over my eyes, grimacing at the challenge. "If that's how you wanna play it." Running down the steps, I began my sprint into the streets, braving the afternoon rush hour.

Cars, pedestrians, and traffic lights all came rumbling in and out of my vision as I evaded them. Apparently, the pedestrians and drivers were well aware of our behavior because I heard shouts like, "Holy crap! Look at them go!" and, "The Flash has more sidekicks?"

Sure, I was off to a slow start but eventually, we were head-to-head in terms of racing. He looked at me and said, "My speed was given to me by an Indian Shaman as he took his last few breaths. Believe it or not, this mystical energy does indeed exist." We came upon a four-way intersection and he made a sudden but sharp left turn, an action I couldn't replicate.

You see, I've always had this problem with sharp turns where I had to slow down prior to making the turn — unlike Barry, Bart, and Jay, who could all turn on a dime, no matter how fast they were going.

Just as I was about to make the left, I noticed a flash of lightning in the distance in front of me and there was only one person I knew who could make a lightning bolt come out of a clear sky...okay, actually two people, but the other one just happens to be a Rogue.

Glancing off to the left I could still see Mercury speeding down the street with the Flash ring in hand. There were two Wallys in my mind debating on whether to follow him just to hear more of his "Speed Force" nonsense or go see Billy...

Fweesh!

Guess who won?

So guys, how's my writing? Do you think I still have it? Let me know in a review! (

Up Next on Reborn Lightning...

Chapter 5: Manhunt