Evening in Metropolis, and the night air glowed with light and activity as cars rolled up and down the busy streets. As citizens strode up and down the sidewalks and commenced with their nightly routines, a bright flash of light sparked from an abandoned alleyway as Flash was teleported out of the Legion's lair. Disoriented and still a little weak from Grodd's mystery serum, he searched the vacant alley for his friends, but with no results. Assuming they were waiting for him on the street, Flash clumsily staggered out of the alley and continued to look for his teammates, calling their names. The bright lights of the city and the bustling noise of cars and people shouting and living their lives was overwhelming as Flash, still woozy, strained to adjust to the setting. Once his eyes had adapted to the lighting and vast crowds, Flash stood shocked at the size and scale of the cars parked in front of him on the street. It was as if he'd shrunk! Though he didn't feel any differently than he had back at the Legion's headquarters, it was apparent that something wasn't right. Desperate for explanation, he began to search for his teammates or anyone else who would be able to answer his questions. Immediately, he flagged down a passing citizen- a woman and her son- briskly walking down the sidewalk. "Hey, Miss," Flash shouted as he casually approached the woman. As she got closer, Flash was baffled to see that she- like the cars on the curb- seemed to have increased in size; even her son, no older than seven, towered over the Scarlet Speedster as he approached. "Whoa," he said, surprised by the evident height difference, as the woman briefly stared down at him in disgust before pulling her son forward as he slowed to approach Flash. An innocent smile on his face, the boy took a knee and laughed sweetly as he reached his hand out to the superhero.
"Hey little guy, what are you doing out here?" The child asked as he proceeded to pat Flash's head. Naturally, an expression of confusion struck Flash's face as the boy's hand gently stroked his head. "You must be lost," the boy continued.
"Well yeah," Flash replied, still confused as to why the boy was petting him. "Say, kid," he continued as he shook his head gently, signaling for the kid to stop the odd form of physical contact. "You haven't seen Batman or Superman around here have you? Maybe Wonder Woman?" he asked eagerly. However, before the boy, still smiling innocently, could even respond, Flash watched as the child was quickly snatched away by his mother as she proceeded to scold her son for wandering off.
"Kyle!" she shouted as she stepped between him and Flash. "What have I told you about wandering off at night? And what are you doing with this?" she exclaimed, staring down at Flash. "You don't where it's been!"
"Um, 'it'?" Flashed repeated, insulted. "Hey lady, your son was just helping-"
"You see Kyle, look," the woman continued as she pointed down at Flash. "Listen, the filthy little beast is mad. If I hadn't come in time, you could've gotten rabies!"
"Rabies!?" Flash exclaimed, offended by the woman's rude remark. "Listen lady, I may not bathe every day, but there's no reason to make crazy accusations!" Ignoring Flash's defense, the woman snatched up her son and continued to walk away, leaving Flash alone and aghast. "Pfft, what's her problem?" he scoffed as he began to make his way down the street, still trying to determine what was going on. A few blocks down the road, and still Flash had seen no sign of his friends. Within a few steps, another giant man bumped into him, nearly stepping on the disgruntled hero. "Watch it!" Flash shouted, barley dodging the giant boot. "Share the sidewalk Pal!"
"Get outta here mutt!" the man shouted as he made a shooing gesture with his foot. "Thought these things were nocturnal," he ignorantly mumbled under his breath as he continued to walk by.
"What is going on?" Flash thought aloud as he continued forward. "What's everyone's deal-" suddenly the speedster was startled by the sharp jaws of a snarling dog! Alarmed he jumped back and stared at the large foxhound, barking wildly, as its owner tried to regain control; but again the furious dog lunged at Flash, who dashed to the side in avoidance of the angry mutt. Finally, the dog was dragged away and Flash was given a moment of peace. After several strange encounters, it was clear that something was wrong. 'Something weird's going on,' Flash thought to himself. 'Giant cars, ENORMOUS people...' "Dogs usually love me!" he said to himself, looking back at the now calm dog as its owner turned the corner and walked his pet out of sight. "What's everyone's deal?" he asked himself in frustration. "Why is- OOF!" His train of thought was suddenly cut short as he clumsily walked into the hubcap of a car. Tentatively rubbing his head, Flash grumpily looked up at the shining silver vehicle. "There should really be a 'caution' sign here," he joked to himself as he looked up at the car. Despite its shining, just polished, appearance, Flash stared at the car, struggling to get a clear look at his reflection so that he could check his now-pounding head for any bruising. Finally he was able to find a flat enough area on the car that his reflection wouldn't be too warped. Approaching his image, Flash briefly closed his eyes and gently shook his head in an attempt to clear away the last few stars that buzzed in his field of vision. Casually he opened his eyes and looked at his reflection… but what the speedster saw staring back at him on the other side of the chrome bumper was far from anything he'd expected…
Shocked, Flash stood frozen, his mouth agape at the sight of the furry red fox that dumbfoundedly stared back at him, sharing his expression of confused disbelief! "What the-" he exclaimed as he raised his hand to touch the image; but upon making contact, his confusion turned into a shocking confirmation as he realized that the dark brown paw stretched out in front of him was his own! "No way!" he shouted as he backed up from the startling sight. Staring down at the alien paws beneath him as he walked backwards, Flash paid no attention to his direction as he took another step backwards and felt a stinging pain shoot through his lower back. Though he already had an idea of where the pain had come from, Flash closed his eyes and prayed that he had simply bumped into another angry person. "Please let it be another dog..." he whispered to himself as he slowly turned around and nervously opened his eyes; instead his jaw dropped as the usually jovial and careless hero stared at the bushy tail that floated behind him! Covered in plush red fur, with a bright white tip that resembled the jagged lines of a lightning bolt, he stared in shock. "Wha- no way... How-?" he stuttered in terrified disbelief as he continued to stare behind him at the bushy red and white limb that stayed curled in fear between his legs. Dumbfounded, Flash stood and spun in circles as he tried to study the fluffy fifth appendage that remained wrapped around his leg, before clumsily tripping over one of his paws and rolling into the middle of the street. Pushing himself up off the ground, Flash regained his footing just in time to hear the sound of a truck horn and wince at the sight of blinding headlights as a behemoth 18-wheeler charged down the busy city street- headed directly for the frenzied little fox! Frozen in fear, Flash stared up at the giant truck as it grew closer; unable to move, he felt his blood run cold and his tail drop cowardly between his legs as the loud horn blasted again. Closing his eyes and cringing in preparation for impact, Flash suddenly felt his legs leave the concrete and the sensation of wind briskly running over his face, as if he'd been snatched up from the street and carried out of harm's way, as the bright glow and radiating heat of the truck's headlights disappeared. In the dark, Flash instantly assumed he had been hit by the truck and limply lay on his back, unmoving, until he finally opened his eyes to the sight of upside-down grass and trees. Puzzled as to how he wasn't dead, Flash rolled over onto his feet and studied the area, realizing that he was now at that the park across the street.
Confused as to how he'd managed to elude his demise at the hands of the city street, Flash sat and thought to himself in silence, trying to make sense of his progressively strange predicament, when a familiar voice captured his attention. "You okay?"
"Superman?" Flash excitedly exclaimed as he spun around and frantically searched for his friend. "Hey I owe you big, man. I was almost road pizza!"
"You'd figure the kid would know how to cross the street," commented another voice as Flash eagerly continued his search.
"GL, that you?" he asked with a smile. "Come on guys this isn't funny. The night's been weird enough," he groaned as he looked back at his tail and down at his paws. "I just want to see some familiar faces and try to make sense of whatever the heck is going on! Seriously, I could use a hug!"
"Define familiar..." Superman replied, as the sound of footsteps approached Flash from the side. Turning to greet his friend, Flash opened his mouth to speak, only to leave it hanging open in response to the sight of the large white lion that stood before him!
"No way..." Flash exhaled, staring up at the big cat. Streamlined and muscular, with bright white fur that seemed to glow against the dark palette of the night; his full, bushy mane framed his face, while a thick patch of fur on his chest subtly resembled the iconic 'S' that adorned his suit. Embarrassed, the majestic feline stared down at Flash, a calm expression in its eyes and an awkward smirk on its face, the snowy white lion calmly sat in front of Flash, waiting for a reaction. The awkward silence continued a moment longer as a large golden eagle swooped in from the shadows and perched on the lion's shoulder.
"I see the suppressant wore off on you too?" the bird commented, its glowing green eyes piercing through the darkness and casting fluorescent shadows the brown and charcoal-colored feathers that covered its face. After another minute of silent stupor, Flash looked from the large white lion to the golden eagle in silent study, before a smile spread across his face as he hopped to his feet, his tail waving with excitement.
"Dude, so it's not just me!" he shouted giddily. "I thought this was all just a crazy dream, but you guys are here too!" he smiled elatedly, while Green Lantern and Superman exchanged puzzled glances with each other before looking back to their friend. "At least now we know what Grodd's mutagen was for," Flash said as he looked from himself to Superman- studying his immense, clawed paws and pearl-white fur. "You know, now those white sideburns are starting to make sense," Flash commented in regards to the thick white mane that now framed Superman's face. Self-consciously, Superman stroked the dense white fur under his jaw before regaining his composure and stating the team's current agenda.
"We have to find Batman and Wonder Woman," he said looking around the city streets. "They must be lost somewhere in the city. If we're going to do anything to fix this, we'll need to regroup first."
"Well where do we start?" asked Green Lantern. "I take it their no better off than we are," he said as he held out his wing and pointed down at Flash's tail. "They can't be too far away."
"Yeah but what are we even looking for?" commented Flash as he looked over at the squirrels and pigeons that wandered through the park. "I mean, they could be anything!"
"Well then we better start looking," Superman directed as he prepared to leave the park and start searching. "The sooner we find them, the closer we'll be to getting out of this mess-"
"Sounds like a plan," Flash and Green Lantern agreed as they joined Superman and began their search. Searching the park, Flash spotted an elderly couple taking a stroll by the pond.
"Hey let's ask them," he exclaimed as he clumsily ran ahead to address the pair. "Maybe they've seen Bats and Wonder Woman." As the two lovebirds casually made their way towards the bridge over the pond, they were suddenly cut short by a shaggy ball of red fur that awkwardly tripped and fell on the man's shoe before regaining its footing and looking up at them. "Hi," Flash began cordially, despite the perplexed look on the couple's faces. "Just wondering, but, you two lovebirds wouldn't have happened to see any animals wandering around here tonight? Not including me of course," he chuckled embarrassedly, "But maybe some other furry creatures looking a little lost?"
At first the two perplexed citizens didn't respond, clearly unsure of how to answer. "Perhaps the poor thing's sick?" commented the old woman as she pointed down to the little fox, watching confusedly as it continued to bark and yip at them, spinning around and looking down at its paws and tail as if it had never seen its own body parts before. "Maybe if we keep walking, it'll go away," she whispered in her husband's ear as they proceeded in their attempt to escape their clearly disturbed converser; but then, just as it seemed the little fox was concluding his antics, they watched in further confusion as the spunky red fox looked past them and called out to something in the distance. Curious, but still nervous as to what this odd encounter was about, the couple turned around just in time to watch as a giant lion crept up from behind and fearlessly stand before them, acknowledging both their presence, and that of its foxy friend.
"Yeah, see," Flash said congenially as he nudged Superman in a friendly manner. "You guys see any other 'furry faces' wandering around here?" At first, the couple didn't respond, still struggling to wrap their minds around the ferocious beast that sat before them. Then, just as they were about to turn and try to calmly walk away, there was a swift whoosh of air as a large brown eagle swept down from the skies and landed on the bridge's railing. By then, the couple had seen enough, and before Superman had a chance to further explain the situation, the elderly pair fled the park, screaming in fear of the 'ferocious beast that had escaped the zoo'! Dumbfounded, the trio sat and watched as the pair fled, shouting and directing the attention of other citizens back to the wild animals lurking on the park bridge over the pond. Without even a second thought, every other city dweller fled the scene and raised the level of chaos in the night streets of Metropolis.
"Okay?" said Green Lantern, confused as he looked from Superman to Flash.
"Yeah, that's not what I expected to happen," Flash added as he surveyed the now deserted park. "I guess we'll have to ask someone else for directions?"
"Maybe we should pass on that," commented Superman as he looked to his friends. "Besides," he continued as he looked out to the now abandoned city streets, "I doubt there's anyone left to ask..."