Chapter Twelve: The Fastest Boy Alive

Wally and the Rival slammed into each other, trading blows at such velocity that any observers would have seen nothing more than two smears of colour smashing into each other and ricocheting off each other like pinballs, the purple of the Rival hammering against a blended mess of orange. After this cursory exchange, they came to rest a few metres apart, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Waiting had never been Wally's strong suit. Rushing forward, he caught the Rival with an uppercut that sent him flying into the air through sheer velocity, as opposed to any physical strength. As the purple figure fell back to the earth, Wally was there, delivering a devastating series of blows to his torso. As the figure struggled to maintain his balance, Wally drew his foot back, and delivered thirty four hyperspeed kicks to the Rival in four seconds. If the Rival had been human, every rib would have been powder.

Wally gulped down air, exhausted by the physical exertion and no longer running on adrenaline. Thus, he was more than disappointed when the Rival rose to his feet, with no evidence of damage.

"Aw crud."

The Rival surged towards Wally, who ducked beneath his hammer of a fist, and retaliated by lashing out at his kneecap. Trading blows, Wally found that the Rival was attacking faster and faster and Wally couldn't keep up with him. Wally pushed himself to his absolute limit, his muscles burning and his tendons threatening to unravel and he was just able to stay on par with his demonic enemy.

Neither of the combatants noticed the way lightning had started to highlight Wally's frame, dancing across his costume.

The Rival punched forwards, knocking Wally flat on his back. As his enemy walked towards him, Wally surged to his feet, delivering an uppercut as he went. The force of the blow knocked the Rival into the air, and as he came down Wally positioned himself beneath him, hammering upwards with a volley of punches that kept the Rival in the air. However, the purple being flicked his foot at Kid Flash's head as he came down again, forcing Wally to deflect the strike instead of pushing the offensive.

Wally was getting frustrated. Whatever he did, no matter how much damage he inflicted, the Rival seemed to take in his stride. In fact, the harder Wally hit, the faster he went, the more the Rival seemed to grow in power.

Wally scowled, and tried a move that would almost certainly have meant instant death for any normal person. Dodging a wayward fist, he jabbed thirteen different nerve endings on the Rival's body, and finished with a move that his uncle had dubbed "the Machine Gun", delivering ten punches a second with both hands, causing the Rival's body to writhe under the punishment. Satisfied, Wally stopped, and stepped back to examine the condition of his enemy. He appeared to be steaming, but there didn't seem to be anything else to show for Wally's supersonic assault.

Kid Flash facepalmed. Wally, you idiot. It's a being of pure energy. It doesn't have nerve endings.

Suddenly, the Rival smashed Wally's side with a blow that sent him sprawling. Wally scrambled up onto his elbows, only for a purple knee to land on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Not fast enough, boy." The creature said, and chuckled. Wally would have felt less unnerved if its mouth had moved while it spoke.

As Wally squirmed, he felt a huge hand clasp his throat, and another put two fingers next to Wally's temple. Wally's eyes darted to this hand, and broke out in a cold sweat as the fingers began to vibrate at high speed. Frantically, he made the most of his hyperactive brain.

C'mon, Wally, think. There's gotta be something uncle Barry taught you that you can use. Think, think! Vibration? No good, he'd just absorb it. Friction burn? No, it doesn't look like he feels pain. Speed stealing-

Speed stealing!

Wally snapped his hands up and clasped the side of the Rival's head. He concentrated, and called out to the Speed Force, slowly but surely sucking away at the Rival's power. It appeared to be working, as the Rival's fingers stopped vibrating, and Wally thought he could see daylight through the inverted thunderbolt on the Rival's chest. Wally, feeling his enemy weaken, forced him off his chest, and stood, still gripping the Rival's head. Lightning played around the two, arcing off into the surrounding area, and the Rival screamed, a high, keening screech that woke Kid Flash's teammates. As Starfire and Beast Boy scrambled to the source of the terrible noise, they saw Kid Flash grasping the Rival, who was slowly becoming transparent, until nothing was left but a heat haze and a pair of baleful and terrible eyes and then there was nothing at all, just Wally West standing amongst the ruins of a street, electricity sparking off him, and a strange haze surrounding him.


"Waaalllyyy, youuu okaaay?"

Kid Flash turned his head, and saw Gar and Starfire running towards him, moving as if they were underwater.

"Duuude, youuuuu alright? Yooooou look kindaaaa fuzzzzzy." Beast Boy said, inching his hand to Wally's shoulder. He yelped, slowly, and moved his hand away.

"Duuude, you're buuurning!"

Wally couldn't take it any longer. Without a backward glance, he ran away from the city. As the landscape blurred around him, he took a deep breath and counted to ten. He knew that ten seconds of running at this speed should take him to the city limits. He opened his eyes, and looked around.

Jump City was nowhere in sight.

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