Central City

August 28, 2010 13:30 CDT

Suddenly, the air grew as cold as the ice on the door of the employee entrance. The girl over Kid Flash's shoulders started shivering, and the man over Flash's shoulders gaped at the door in shock. Kid Flash turned to his mentor who wore a serious expression on his face as if the sudden appearance of ice was just a mere obstacle. Something is wrong, Kid Flash thought. How did some random criminal get his hands on Captain Cold's cold gun from police custody? Then it dawned on Kid Flash that the situation suddenly became more serious. Captain Cold had always used his cold gun for breaking and entering and nonlethal combat. However, in the wrong hands, it could be used to kill, and now it was in the wrong hands.

Flash understood this too. "Kid, change of plans. I need you to rescue the bystanders. I'll keep this wannabe Captain Cold busy. When you're done, take what he stole and give it to the cops. Do not engage," Flash said in speed talk.

"But wait, how am I sup– " But Flash dropped the civilian on his shoulders onto the ground and sped off before Kid Flash could finish. " –posed to carry them." Kid Flash sighed. "Guess I'll make them walk or something," he muttered under his breath. To the man on the ground he said, "I'm gonna melt the ice. When I get the door open, run outside and call the cops. I'll be right behind you." The man nodded. "Ok then. Let's do this." Kid Flash placed his hand on the ice and vibrated as hard as he could. Soon he felt his glove grow damp from the melted ice. Once a hole formed, he moved his hand to the edge of the hole, melting the ice and increasing the size of the hole until he formed one large enough that he could open the door and kick away the remaining ice.

As instructed earlier, the man ran outside as soon as the door was open. Once he was across the street from the bank, he immediately dialed 911. Kid Flash gently put the girl down next to the man and ran back inside to rescue the remaining hostages. Unfortunately, that girl was the only one light enough for him to carry. The rest were adults and thus far too heavy.

He cupped his hands and shouted, "Listen! Everyone, calmly form a single line and quickly exit the building and walk across the street!" He then braced himself for a panicked mob to run him over, barreling for the exit, like in cartoons, but to his shock, they listened to his instructions and lined up. As the crowd exited, Kid Flash stood on the side, directing everyone to the door, and keeping an eye out for any stragglers and people shoving others to get out of the way. For five minutes, it seemed that things were moving along fast, well, for a non-speedster. Kid Flash was tapping his right foot and controlling his anxiety-induced vibrations. Come on, come on! Can this line move any slower? What happened to panic induced adrenaline rush? Then again why would it matter? Flash said "do not engage" which was stupid because Kid Flash handled worse than this guy. He survived Cadmus for god's sake! Oh well, sometimes his uncle was overprotective like that.

Kid Flash took a moment's reprieve from the tediousness of crowd control to watch the exciting battle going on. Flash was sliding on the ice as a kid would slide on a hardwood floor, with a fist aimed for the thief. Unfortunately, Flash's speed was totally depended on the near frictionless surfaced of the ice so, while he was faster than a normal slider, he was slow enough for the thief to blast a four-inch-thick wall of ice at the last minute to protect himself. Flash howled in pain, and Kid Flash winced.

While Kid Flash was turning his head away from the fight, something yellow sped to where the tellers work and disappear behind a door. Huh? That's strange. He was about to write it off as a trick of the eye, but this time, very clearly, he could see a yellow figure open the door, speed to the side of where he came from and run back. Kid Flash couldn't make out the details, but the shape appeared human. The Top? Wally thought. He was the only Rogue capable of super speed, but Wally shook that thought away. The Top only used his speed for spinning his body not running, and if he did decide to use it for running, the blur would be green and yellow not just yellow. Besides, no way The Top would want to work with some Captain Cold wannabee. He may be the most likely to break Rogue Code, but even he has standards. So, it has to be a new player which brought about a conundrum. A new enemy with super speed would change this fight for the worst. Flash would be outnumbered, and shockingly this C-list thief did a pretty good job of holding his own, probably because he was out for blood. Flash can't fight this fight without help, and who better to help than Kid Flash!

Then his stomach growled, and Kid Flash was snapped back into reality. Flash said, "Do not engage," Wally remembered. His stomach growled again. Now I don't know if I still have the energy to fight. Still, what if this thing did turn out to be dangerous, and worse, faster than Uncle Barry? If Kid Flash could find out, he could prevent it from attacking his uncle (and possibly the civilians). If it was friendly, maybe whoever it is could help. Whatever the situation, Kid Flash wouldn't know that unless if he abandoned his post and investigated.

Kid Flash looked at the civilians. Most of them left the building. There were about ten left. Then he turned to Flash who since had recovered from slamming his body into a wall of ice. However, the fight was far from over. The wannabee Captain Cold froze his left fist and slammed it under Flash's chin. As Flash stumbled back to catch his balance, he slipped on some ice and fell. Ice and cold are a speedster's greatest weaknesses, and this wannabee sure knew how to exploit them.

Kid Flash's decision was made. He was going to investigate this new player. Low energy and orders be damned! Hopefully, this won't turn out to be like Cadmus. That was the second time Uncle Barry had ever gotten angry at Wally (the first being when Wally experimented on himself). Kid Flash ran to the back of the bank and to the door where he saw the yellow figure retreat to. He ran down the stairs and through an open vault.

Kid Flash found himself in a medium sized room with shiny metal safety deposit boxes. Perfect place for a robbery, he thought. Perhaps this mystery man stole Captain Cold's gun, gave it to his partner, and had him create a diversion while he robbed the back. Bonus points for killing Flash while making said diversion. That seemed like what was going on except for one tiny detail: no open vaults and no mystery man. It was like he disappeared. Where did he go?

Before Kid Flash could ponder further, a wave of nausea hit him. Kid Flash took deep and steady breaths to calm his hungry, nauseous stomach. He was beginning to regret not bringing more food on the way here. If only...

Wait

Kid Flash facepalmed himself. "That's right! How could I have forgot! I have granola bars in my wrist compartment!" Kid Flash unzipped the one on his left wrist. "Aaaaaannnnnd, it's empty. "Well, that just sucks. Great, how many times has Flash told me never to go into battle or patrol without keeping them stored with food?"

A gust of wind blew by Kid Flash. When he looked up, the yellow blur stood in front of him. It appeared like an adult man dressed in yellow except his face in a badly blurred photograph and sounded like Flash would when he vibrates his whole body. Kid Flash couldn't make out any details, but his presence stirred an ominous feeling in his gut. "Who are you?" The figure said nothing. Kid Flash took this as a sign that his gut instincts were right and ran after him with his right hand enclosed in a fist.

As soon as his fist was about to make contact, the figure disappeared. "Huh?" Then he heard vibrating behind him and turned around to see his opponent standing behind him twenty feet away. Duh, he has super speed. Kid Flash ran after him again, but this time faster. However, he wasn't fast enough as the figure ran away this time to the opposite side of the room. Great. Another speedster faster than me. Just what I need for my already nonexistent self-esteem. Wait no I should have been able to hit him both times. He wasn't even going that fast maybe around 200 mph. Kid Flash's stomach growled. Of course, he's not faster than me. I'm just off my game since I'm so hungry, but I can't let that stop me.

Mustering all his strength, Kid Flash eyed his opponent like a wolf about to fight his rival and ran after the yellow figure, but like the past two times, it ran to another part of the room at the last second. However, Kid Flash did not stop and just simply turned to wherever his opponent was now, but each time he did, not once did Kid Flash land a hit. He's toying with me! Then as he was about to try for the sixth time, the figure disappeared at the last second, but this time it ran up the stairs. Kid Flash immediately ran after him before he could lock in him inside. When he finally got to the front room, he noticed there was no yellow blur. Kid Flash immediately stopped. However, this action reminded him it wasn't just speed he needed to work on, it was braking, and combined with little food and depleted energy, his skills were not up to par. Instead of immediately stopping. He skidded.

Right into the middle of Flash and the Captain Cold wannabe's battle.

A blast of ice aimed for Flash, instead knocked Kid Flash to the ground, hitting his head. An ice-cold circle appeared in his vision until a red wave ran and overcame it like a flash flood swallowing up objects in its path. Somewhere a loud crashing sound resonated through Kid Flash's head, and he briefly wondered if that was the red wave crashing into a shoreline. Then Kid Flash remembered there was no shore line, and the gray-white world he was in became more defined. He could make out the ice on the floor, then the chairs and desks, and finally the fallen ceiling that Kid Flash realized what was the origin of the sound. He also realized the hostages were all gone.

Flash ran back to his side. "Are you alright?"

Kid Flash looked over at his uncle. His lips were pressed into a thin line and his eyes were as emotionless as his voice, and Kid Flash knew he screwed up badly. "Yeah, I'm alright," he half-whispered.

Flash only nodded and then proceeded to melt the ice off his chest. Once the ice was melted, Flash got up and said, "Follow me," and ran off. Kid Flash gulped and followed his uncle to an alley a block away from the bank. There he stood in awkward silence, watching has his uncle ambled around while rubbing his head, and instantly he was taken back to that Fourth of July night (or technically really early fifth of July morning) at his uncle's house just before Uncle Barry chewed him out. However, that time the air was heavy with his disappointment. This time Flash looked like a cheetah waiting to chase after its prey. Kid Flash, for once in his life, opted to keep his mouth shut. Artemis would be amazed.

Finally, Flash dropped his hand and faced Kid Flash. With the upmost control on his anger, he glared at Wally and asked, "Do you realize what just happened?"

"I was hit in the head."

"Do you remember what happened next?"

Kid Flash shook his head no. Flash explained, "The thief aimed the cold gun at your head. Just before he could pull the trigger, I tackled him. As a result, he accidently pulled the trigger and a large sheet of ice hit the ceiling and caused it to fall, almost killing two hostages if I hadn't saved them in time. What possessed you to leave your post?"

Taking this the opportunity to explain himself (and hopefully get out of trouble), Kid Flash stammered out, "I-I saw something speed into the backroom and went to chase after it. When it came to the front room where you and that robber were fighting, it was gone."

Flash did not look impressed, and Kid Flash's chances for leniency went out the door. "I was there, Kid. I did not see anything come out except you, but even if there was something, that did not give you the right to leave those hostages unprotected. A couple almost died because you left your post." Kid Flash gulped and felt a heavy feeling creeping up his spine and slowly settling in his stomach. However, Flash was not done yet. "This is the second time you disobeyed orders and nearly gotten yourself killed! I thought you learned your lesson from Cadmus!"

"I did see someone, and I did learn my lesson. Whoever it was had superspeed, and you would have been outnumbered and in actual danger if I hadn't done something!" Kid Flash shouted back.

"What you did was nearly gotten yourself and somebody else killed over nothing," Flash growled. "Not to mention, your running was not up to par. You had very little control of your skid, and you froze in place when the thief aimed Cold's gun at you. You had plenty of time to get out of the way. I know you could do way better than that."

"It's not my fault! I was hungry. You called me over just before I was about to eat lunch. I was only able to eat a drumstick on the way here, but it wasn't enough, and I didn't have any granola bars in my..." Kid Flash snapped his jaw shut, realizing he was about to get himself into further trouble.

Unfortunately, Flash understood enough. "You left here without food in your compartments?! How many times did I tell you not don your uniform without making sure your compartment is stocked?! And now what do you do?! Just that! So first you left the house unprepared and on low fuel which is dangerous enough as it, and then you disobeyed orders and went on your own again and put yourself and most importantly others in danger! When I said you could be my partner, it was under the condition that you would do exactly as I say, when I say it."

"I told you! I saw someone. I even f–"

"I DON'T CARE! When I tell you to do something, you do it! I am very disappointed in you, Kid Flash. You almost got yourself killed." Flash let out an angry sigh. "This is why I didn't want a partner."

Kid Flash's eyes and mouth shot wide open, and his stomach plummeted a mile down. Flash doesn't want me. His chest tightened, shattering his heart and restricting his airflow. He needed to get out of here.

"Wait, Kid–" But Flash never had a chance to finish his sentence because Kid Flash took off faster than Flash has ever seen him run before.