The Flash #2

By Joe Grunenwald

Hot Pursuit

"He took him. He took our son."

Wally looked towards the crowd frantically. "Which way did he go? Did any of you see where he went?"

An older woman, standing behind a few taller men, stepped forward and pointed east. "He went that way, young man."

"Thank you." Wally turned to his wife and kissed her quickly. "I'm going. I love you."

Linda smiled weakly. "Be -"

Before she could finish her sentence, The Flash was gone.

"- careful."

Moments later, on the outskirts of Keystone City, The Flash reached Mach-1. He would've done it seconds ago, but he wanted to avoid shattering every window in Keystone. Again.

I hate fighting speedsters, Wally mused to himself. The worst thing about this, though, is that I recognize the route this guy's taking. He's heading for-

"HeyWallydoyouneedanyhelp?"

The Flash jumped, startled by the figure to his left, who had seemingly come out of nowhere. He sighed. "Hi Bart."

Impulse smiled as he tried to keep pace with the still-accelerating Flash. The two speedsters stepped out onto the Atlantic Ocean. "Hi. Did I scare you?"

Wally smirked. "Just startled me. How did you know I -"

"Saw it on TV, followed your trail," Bart interrupted.* "Need any help? Cause.I mean.I'm here and all."

Wally smiled, amused that his cousin should think the fastest man alive would need assistance. "I should be okay. Thanks, though."

"Just checking," the young hero replied. He paused a moment. "I'll come back if you need me..."

"Go home, Bart."

Impulse sighed. "Right."

With that, the red-and-white-clad teen turned sharply on the water and shot off in the direction he had just come from. Wally turned his head to watch the boy run off. Bart's a good kid, Wally thought. I know he means well, but I have to do this alone. Barry's life is at stake here, especially if I'm facing who I think I'm facing.

The Flash's yellow boots hit solid ground again as he reached the shores of Africa. The ninja's speed trail was getting stronger now as the scarlet speedster got closer to his target. By the time the cloaked ninja came into view, the two speedsters were nearly a quarter of the way across the Sahara Desert. Soon Wally found himself within yards of the ninja, who carried Barry West in his arms with the utmost care.

Wally stumbled, blinded by the sandstorm kicked up by the speeding ninja. Without a word, The Flash's Speed Force-composed mask morphed on the man's head, closing up the large eye and mouth openings and forming lenses over The Flash's eyes. Flash accelerated slightly and reached out his hand to grab the ninja's cloak.

Gotcha.

The ninja turned his head a bit to the right. He peered over his shoulder, only to see a red-gloved hand within three feet of him. He turned back around calmly. Beneath his facemask he smiled.

Wally's eyes narrowed as he prepared to lunge at the runner in front of him. He added a final burst of speed as he extended both arms and leapt forward. As his feet left the ground, though.

What the hell?!

The Flash hit the ground hard. He tumbled a few yards before finally coming to a stop on his side. He rolled over onto his back slowly and struggled for breath as his mask flowed off of his head. He opened his eyes as air finally reentered his lungs. He lay there for a moment.

"Oh.NNN!.oh God.ouch."

He stood up slowly and painfully. No sooner was he up on his feet than did he fall back to the ground. He clutched his left ankle with both hands and grimaced loudly in pain. "Dammit!"

Wally sat up, still holding onto his ankle. He gazed off east, in the direction the ninja and his son had been travelling. There was no sight of them.

He stole my speed! How the HELL did he steal my speed?

He stood again, more slowly than before, keeping his weight off of his left ankle. He looked around. To the west he saw a large dust cloud rising, approaching the spot where he stood. Wally smirked. Does he EVER do what I tell him to do?

Within seconds, Impulse stood before the scarlet speedster. "IknowIknowyoutoldmetogohomebutIthoughtyoumightbeintroublesoIcamebacktogiv- "

"Slow down, Bart, I can't understand a word you're saying."

Bart stopped speaking, confused. "You can't?"

Wally shook his head, and Bart looked past him. "What happened to the other guy?"

"He stole my speed."

Bart paused for a few seconds.

"He stole your speed?"

"He stole my speed."

"How?"

"Dunno."

"But.but.CRAP! If HE stole your speed, then."

"I know."

Bart's expression turned frantic. "WegottagethelpcallJayandJenniandJessemaybenotJessebut-"

Wally put his hands on the younger boy's shoulders. "BART. Relax."

Impulse stopped again and looked at The Flash calmly. "My speed's already returning, and the speed force is healing my sprained ankle. Since I have a pretty good idea of where Barry's being taken, and since I know you won't go home no matter what I ask you to do.come on. I want to get one thing straight, though: the purpose of this is to get Barry back safely. NOTHING ELSE. If I tell you to do something, do it. No questions. Got it?"

Bart nodded. Wally nodded in acknowledgement and turned to take off. Bart sped in front of him to stop him. "Wait! What do we do if.well, if you- know-who's there?"

Wally paused, looking at Impulse. "If Savitar is there."

He turned, pulling his mask back on and taking off.

"Run."

The Balkan Mountains.

The Flash and Impulse pulled up to a stop outside a large wooden door. The door led into a large, gothic-looking castle. Impulse grabbed the handle with both hands and began pulling. Wally put a hand on the door. "No time.let's vibrate through. You go first."

Impulse raced through the door, and The Flash followed. As he slowed down, the door behind him exploded. Bart looked at him. "Does it have to do that?"

Wally shrugged without looking at the boy. He scanned the large hallway for any sign of life. "I've been meaning to work on it. Stay alert."

Impulse turned and looked around. The two heroes made their way down the hallway into a large, empty room.

As they stepped into the room, a chill ran down Wally's spine. Bart looked around. "Oh man."

Flash stepped in front of Impulse, turning around to look behind them. "I know. This is where Johnny Quick died."*

The two wandered towards the center of the room, both looking around cautiously. Bart gulped hard. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me too," Wally replied, not so reassuringly. His gaze wandered upwards, towards the high ceiling. He saw a rope hanging from a hook attached to the ceiling, and at the end of that rope he could make out a small bundle. It's too far away to tell, but. He lowered his mask and listened closely.

Bart glanced over at him and eyed him quizzically. He began to speak, but Wally clamped a hand over his mouth. The two stood very still for a few minutes until.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Wally shouted with all his might. His voice filled the entire room. He stopped just as abruptly as he had started, his voice still echoing throughout the hall. The two heroes stood still yet again. Impulse was becoming very agitated. Seconds later, the two both heard something, very faint, coming from above them.

Bart calmed down and, again, eyed Wally, who unclasped his hand from the boy's mouth. "Is that."

"Crying." Wally grinned. "Barry's up there."

"And the shouting?"

"Well, I had to wake him up somehow."

"But wouldn't the noise let them know we were here?"

"I think the explosion after we came through the door let them know we were here. We need to get Barry down somehow."

Flash scratched his head as he craned his neck upward to look at his dangling child. Impulse gazed around the room. As his eyes passed over one of the larger shadowy corners, he thought he noticed something. He squinted, trying to make out something, anything to confirm that he wasn't imagining things. Wally still looked toward the ceiling. "Alright, I'm going to lift myself up there by creating an updraft with my arms. You cover me, alright?"

Impulse took three steps to the left and saw it again: light, glinting off of something in the shadow. Flash barked at him. "BART?"

Impulse backed up slowly towards his cousin. "Wally."

Impulse pointed towards the shadow, and before The Flash could even turn his head, a loud rush of air was heard. Wally didn't even have to look. "DOWN!"

He shoved Bart with all his might and flung himself in the opposite direction as a large silver blade came down where the two of them had previously been standing. Wally lifted himself off the ground and to his feet quickly, his eyes shooting over to see who had attacked he and Impulse. There stood the cloaked ninja he had been chasing earlier. The ninja eyed The Flash like a fox staring down its prey.

Without a word he lunged at the scarlet speedster. Wally sidestepped to the left, and the ninja landed in front of him, swinging the long blade towards Wally's ankles. Wally leapt straight up, shouting as he hung in midair briefly. "BART, LITTLE HELP HERE!"

The ninja turned his head sharply to the right, only to have it met by the tread of a large boot. He fell backwards, dropping his blade. Flash slammed a foot onto the blade and pulled it backward, sliding the large sword across the room. The ninja stood slowly, and Wally glared at him. "Get up."

The ninja lifted himself on both hands and kicked Flash square in the chest. The scarlet speedster staggered backward, but did not fall. Impulse grabbed the ninja's legs, pulling him off of his hands. The cloaked man hit the ground hard, slamming his head on the stone floor. Impulse dropped his legs as the man rolled over onto his back, unconscious. Flash stepped up next to Impulse, annoyed. "I would've liked to have asked him a few questions before you knocked him out, Bart."

Impulse shrugged. "You never mentioned anything about that. Don't worry, we'll get him when he wakes up."

As Bart Allen finished his thought, the ninja spontaneously burst into a blue and white flame. Bart stared in horror as the figure of the man disintegrated, leaving only his cloaks. "Or not."

Wally turned in anger. "Dammit! Now we're back to having nothing at all."

Bart smiled weakly at his older cousin. "Look at it this way, though.at least Barry's okay, right?"

Wally looked back at Impulse and smiled. "You're right, Bart. Thanks. Speaking of Barry, let's get him down. I don't think we'll have to worry about any more surprises."

Wally began to create small cyclones with his hands, and as the winds grew stronger, Wally felt himself lifted off the ground. He reached the ceiling where his son was dangling. The child continued crying as his father reached for the rope. Supporting himself with one hand and with the help of Impulse, he unhooked the rope that held Barry up off the ground. Slowly he lowered himself back down, Impulse catching the child before it hit the stone floor.

Wally smiled as Bart handed him his son. The crying was loud now. With a free hand, Wally moved the blanket away from his son's face. Next to the boy's head he saw a small black object with a few buttons on the side. Barry West was very still. The crying still continued.

Wally's face paled. He fell to his knees, setting the child down on the ground. He snapped up the small object and pushed a button on the side. The crying stopped. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stood and hurled the small tape player at the wall across from him. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

Wally knelt down again slowly, trying to compose himself. He placed his ear next to his son's mouth. He took the child's hand in his fingers, feeling his wrist for a pulse. He picked the child up and held him closely, whispering to himself. "No no no no no no, please god no."

Impulse stood motionless, not sure what to say. "Wally."

"Bart." Wally stood, holding the body of his son in his right arm. He wrapped his other arm around his younger cousin. Surprised, Bart stood for a moment without moving. Finally he wrapped his arms around the crying man.

* Writer's Note - As a result of the aura that surrounds and protects their bodies, speedsters leave a trail behind them when moving at super speed.

* In the regular DC Universe, Impulse #11.