A/N: My inbox received a sudden influx of reviews yesterday :D Thanks so much, pottyandweezlbe89, Dextra2, EmperialGem21, 1Superman4Me, Kyer, balletangel19, and leathman.

Chapter Ten: Fighting Flashes

Over the next two weeks, Zoom popped up in various locations many times, and each time Flash attempted to stop him. These fights never went well for Flash – twice, Doctor Fate had to step in for fear that if he didn't Flash would be killed. The other times, Zoom vanished after trading blows for a few minutes. It annoyed and worried Flash no end, and added to Barry and Iris' ever growing anxiety.

Meanwhile, Superman, Batman, J'onn, and Black Canary compiled information on Zoom's thefts and kept track of his frequent appearances in the hopes of establishing some sort of pattern. J'onn, as Detective John Jones, paid a visit to Jerry McGee – who was, for some reason, not on good terms with his wife and living in New York. Jerry gave J'onn the name of the Level 8 who had informed him of the project; but the man in question, Abraham Luntz, after he was tracked down and interrogated by Dinah Queen in Star City, was not in the least forthcoming with his answers. Though Dinah used all her feminine wiles and then came back again as Black Canary, Luntz absolutely would not talk. Canary was very indignant about it.

Batman took a more direct approach. Rather than question powerful people, he simply broke into Cadmus headquarters and hacked their computers, discovering some rather interesting information in the process. When he told Superman of this, the Man of Steel was shocked.

"Cadmus is working with Zoom?"

"No," Batman refuted. "But they were the ones who commissioned the gravity field generator from S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Why?"

"Clark, do you know what they have on their files?"

"How would I? You're the one who breaks into them, not me."

"They're making defense plans, Kent. Finding ways to use our weaknesses against us to neutralize us in case we ever cross the line. They've got a file for each of us – individually as well as collectively."

Superman looked horrified. "They know how to defeat everyone in the Justice League?"

"Not yet. But they're working on it. The gravity field generator was the first idea they had for Flash."

"Why?"

"If they tried to catch Flash, they would never be able to touch him. But Flash can't run if there's something pulling him down."

"So why does Zoom need the device?" Superman asked. "He's already faster than Flash."

"I don't think he needs it for Flash."

"Then what does he need it for?"

Batman was silent for a while. "I don't think we want to find out."

"Hey, Allen – I got the file you requested." Chyre walked over to where Barry was putting away bottles of chemicals.

"Thanks, Chyre." Barry accepted the file and flipped through it absently, scanning it. "This is all we got?"

"For now." Chyre leaned against the table. "What's with you?"

"What?" said Barry. "Me? Nothing."

"Bullshit," Chyre proclaimed inelegantly. "I've known you for twenty years, Allen – you've never been able to lie to me. Something's wrong."

Barry shrugged. "We all have our demons, Chyre."

"You're the most carefree man I've ever met in my life. What demons could you be carrying around?"

Barry chuckled wryly. "If I'm carefree, what does that make you?"

"Shaddup, Allen. If you don't want to tell me, fine. But then don't expect me to haul your ass out of whatever trouble you land yourself in."

Barry grinned suddenly. "You did a lot ass-hauling back in the days, didn't you?"

Chyre snorted. "Yep – because some idiot never knew how to keep his fat mouth shut. I used to wonder whether you were actually two years older than me – you sure seemed hell-bent on proving you had the mental age of a teenager."

"Those were good times."

Chyre cracked a small smile. "Yeah, they were. We used to be such hot-tempered runts back then. Now look at us. In our fifties and still working criminals."

"You're still hot-tempered, Chyre."

"Don't I know it." He checked his watch. "When do you get off the clock?"

"I just finished my shift, actually. Why?"

"Want to grab a drink?" Chyre offered. "For old times' sake. I'll buy – I missed your fifty-fifth birthday, so I figure I can let you have a couple of shots on me."

"Why not?" Barry agreed. It would be good to get his mind off Zoom for a while. "Since you're paying." He hung up his lab coat and clocked out, unaware that someone was watching his every move.

When Pied Piper played his flute for the ATM to release its cash, he wasn't expecting to be greeted by the Flash halfway through collecting the bill notes the machine spat out.

"Look, I've been chasing fruitlessly after Zoom for two weeks," said Flash. "I'm stressed and cranky and bruised, so I really don't need you lot making trouble for me on top of it all."

"It's just business, Flash," responded Pied Piper.

"And normally, I wouldn't mind that much. But you seriously have the worst timing ever. And singing to an ATM? Seriously?"

Piper shrugged. "It works, doesn't it?"

Flash sighed longsufferingly. "Okay, you…" A high-velocity mass of kinetic energy slammed into him forcefully, interrupting him mid-sentence as it made him skid backwards, several miles away from Pied Piper and the ATM.

"You again!" Flash exclaimed.

Quicker than he could see, his assailant reached for his cowl and yanked it off his face. Flash yelped in astonished anger.

"What the hell do you think you're –"

"You," hissed Zoom, "are not the Flash I fought."

"Finally figured it out, did you?" Flash twisted out of Zoom's grasp, ignoring the sting of his bruised torso healing itself, and pulled his mask back on. "What tipped you off?"

Zoom snorted harshly. "I may not know who he is, but I've seen the previous Flash unmasked. You are not him."

"Got that right." Flash made a sudden, high-speed lunge to the side and jabbed a fist at Zoom's ribcage milliseconds before the yellow speedster spun out of reach.

"I had my suspicions when you weren't as fast as before," Zoom continued, dashing around Flash and slapping him painfully on the back. "Aging or no aging, the Speed Force would have kept your speed abilities more or less constant. But clearly…" He zipped in, out, and through, striking Flash on various parts of his body until the Scarlet Speedster was forced to his knees in pain. "You're much slower."

Flash groaned as his metabolism healed his injuries almost as fast as he received them. Instantly, he felt pangs of hunger gnawing at his stomach. Ignoring them, he rose slowly to his feet.

"I may not be as fast as the previous Flash," he said, "but I'm fast enough to stop you." Before Zoom had time to react, he put on a burst of speed and shoved the villain into a wall, pinning him against it by the arms. "Why have you been stealing all that technology? What are you planning to do?"

"You really have no idea, do you?" said Zoom. "With the weapon I'm building, even the previous Flash will not escape – not now that I know he's still in Central City."

Now we're getting somewhere. "So you're taking out your revenge on the whole of Central City?"

"Give the boy a prize." Zoom smirked. Flash pushed him harder.

"I won't let you."

Zoom let out a derisive bark of laughter. "And you think you can stop me?" In a blur of yellow, he was out of Flash's grip and behind him, his foot pressing the other speedster against the wall. "You can't even reach Mach 5!"

Flash tried to push against Zoom's foot, but to no avail. Time to try something new. He'd never done this before, but…

Taking a deep breath, Flash began to vibrate his molecules at supersonic speeds. Zoom's eyes widened in surprise as Flash melted through to the other side of the wall.

"Fine," he muttered. "Play it that way." In a second, he was streaking down the street.

Flash ran through the city, knowing Zoom was chasing him. His trick with the wall had bought him a little time, but Zoom would be catching up any minute now. Reaching up to his ear to use his comlink to contact Doctor Fate for help, he was startled to discover that it wasn't there.

"Crap…Zoom must have flicked it out when he pulled off my mask. Okay, okay…so I'm on my own…think, Wally." He sped through the roads, unaware that the tingling sensation he was feeling meant he was breaking into Mach 4, with greater ease and ability than the last time he'd done so. "Zoom's definitely faster and more experienced; whereas I'm slower, tired, and have no experience fighting someone as fast as I am." He cringed as his insatiable hunger made itself known once more; he would not be able to keep going much longer without food. "Not to mention extremely hungry from all the calories I'm burning up." Stupid Zoom breaking my bones and making me walk through walls. "But maybe I can outsmart him."

Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a yellow streak trailing after him, getting closer every second, and causing unbelievable damage to the surrounding area.

First things first: I gotta take him away from the city.

Flash managed to lead Zoom to a meadow some miles outside the borders of the twin cities before the villain caught up to him.

Okay, Zoom, let's see if you know your tricks.

Digging into his pocket for the ice pellets Chyre had confiscated from Captain Cold earlier, he tossed them at the ground, freezing the grass right in front of Zoom into a layer of solid, slippery ice. Zoom cursed as he slipped at high speed and slammed into a tree, splintering the trunk in the process. While he tried to reorient himself, Flash dipped his hand into his pocket again, this time for his MP3 player. He set it to the most head banging song he had, turned the volume up to maximum, and stuffed the earphones into Zoom's ears. Then he broke a branch off the tree and whacked Zoom on the head with it multiple times.

At last, the yellow speedster lay silent and unmoving. Flash heaved a sigh of relief as he dropped to the ground. Finally. I don't think I could have kept it up for more than –

To his utterly horrified shock, Zoom shot up to his feet. A cruel grin twisted his lips. "My turn."

He twirled around Flash, spinning and spinning until the resulting tornado lifted Flash several hundred feet from the ground before suddenly stopping, letting the wind die; Flash plummeted to the ground with a sickening crunch that sent shockwaves of agony through his body.

Zoom picked up the branch and ran circles around the injured, exhausted Flash, walloping him everywhere, unheeding how hard he hit. Now that he knew this wasn't the Flash who was his archenemy, he didn't care if he killed him. Flash tried to fight back, but in his weary state he was no match for Zoom's ferocious onslaught. When the branch shattered, Zoom resorted to his fists and legs, punching and kicking and giving Flash the beating of his life.

Finally, Zoom ceased, observing his handiwork clinically. Flash was barely alive, heaving shuddering, laborious breaths. His body was broken and bruised and bleeding out of numerous cuts and lacerations.

"Well, if you're not dead yet," Zoom mused, "you will be in a few minutes. I suppose that's good enough." He glanced at his watch. "Oh, look at the time – I've an appointment to keep. See you around, Flash…or not." Zoom grinned maliciously and sprinted away.

Flash lay on the ground, struggling to hang on to consciousness. If he went to sleep now, he might never wake up.

C'mon…I'm not…dying here… He had to admit, though, it sure felt like it. He couldn't feel his legs and he hurt in so many places he couldn't differentiate between the pain anymore. He had to find a way to contact the League, let them know what had happened…but how was he supposed to do that without a comlink?

His eyelids fluttered weakly as his hazy brain finally came up with the solution: call J'onn telepathically. Flash hoped to God the Martian was listening. With the last of his strength, he thought as hard as he could.

J'onn, I need help. Fast.

He kept thinking it until he couldn't hold on anymore, and then he slipped into the inky black depths of his subconscious, dead to the world.

A/N: Uh-oh! What now? Find out tomorrow! (Yes, I'm evil XD)