Summary: His name is Barry Allen, and for all he knows, he's the Fastest Man Alive. A pure soul who only desires to help. And so... he does.

Disclaimer: The Flash and all affiliated characters here are property of DC Comics, and I do not own them.

Chapter 14: F2

Canaima National Park, Bolívar, Venezuela.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Cisco?"

"Absolutely. In fact, Team 7 is also heading that way."

"Stop hacking the military, Cisco!"

"Oh, and it looks like there's someone else… Why don't you help him?"

"What do I do?"

"What you do best, Barry Allen. Run and save people!"

And so he did, although he stopped for a moment to contemplate and process what was happening and calm his thoughts a bit. He had recently rescued the people of Oslo, pulling them out of a forest, while Superman himself, the Man of Tomorrow, the Blue Boy Scout, punched a meteorite to bits. When he got everyone out, The Flash ran to his next destination, which was Venezuela, where another meteorite had landed according to his best friend, Cisco Ramón.

In Venezuela there was a giant bird. It sounded as ridiculous in his mind as it looked. It was golden, shining like the sun, and as big as a plane. And the one facing it and chasing it everywhere was a flying guy dressed in green. Something like a Superman wearing neon spandex. Good heavens, how it shines, Barry thought. He didn't know how he did it, but he seemed to have a giant, green hammer made of light in his hand. He hit the bird with the hammer, but it didn't seem to do much damage. They both backed off, attacking each other with beams of light. Barry discovered that the bird turned things into gold.

Barry took off running and started his mission. It was the same as in Oslo, to save as many people and animals as he could from that area. There were many more people here than in Oslo, so he had to hurry. A couple of ladies. A trio of boys who had gone to smoke nearby. Five cats that almost scratched his face out of pure instinct. A firefighter. An electrician. Three joggers. He got them all out and took them far away, to other cities, apologizing to them for the inconvenience, but this time the danger too big. Barry didn't know how the green man protected himself, and he didn't know how the powers of that rocket-sized bird worked; he was only interested in getting as many living beings out as he could. Even plants and rocks turned into gold somehow. He assumed the same would happen to him.

While holding a couple of stray dogs in his arms, Barry stumbled. Before the animals fell, he picked them up again, ran, and got them out of there. What had happened to him? He stopped for just a moment to think. He felt a drop of sweat trickle down his nose, then another down his cheek, and finally, he felt tension in his legs. That could only mean one thing: he was getting tired! He didn't even know if he could get tired. He had run through Central City many times and had never gotten tired. Sometimes all he needed was to eat a few dozen hamburgers to regain any strength he might have lost, and that was it. He had never run so far away from his city… from his country.

"Cisco, I think I understand now why Professor Wells didn't want me to go too far from the United States yet."

"What? Did you start getting tired?"

"Indeed," said another voice on the communicator. A very familiar one. Barry heard Cisco gasp in terror.

"P-professor?"

"It was very irresponsible of you to run such a long distance, in such a short time, when you have been using your powers for such a short time, Mr. Allen."

"I had to do it!" Barry defended himself, while running again, to get the population away. "There were people in danger, there are aliens attacking people."

"I know, it's all over the news now. That's why I came, because I knew you would do something like this, Mr. Allen."

"B-but…" He knew it was wrong, but he also knew it had been for a good reason. Professor Wells wanted what was best for him, but Barry only wished for what was best for the people. He couldn't stop running.

"We can't turn back now. After getting everyone out of there, it would be best for you to return, Mr. Allen, or I doubt you'll be able to keep running."

"How much more can I run, professor?"

"Given that you had run, as I see here, from the United States to Norway, and from there to Venezuela, all at top speed… hm, I predict you'll only be able to do one more long run before your legs give out definitively." There was a lot of seriousness in the professor's voice, he was telling the strict truth. "Finish and come back here. Many other heroes, with much more experience than you, are helping people, too."

"Professor, I'll only accept that if… Eh?" Barry stopped mid-sentence and looked at the large waterfall nearby. The green guy went in there like an emerald comet, and the golden bird followed him. Then, the green one came out again and a flash came from his arm, and then there was a gigantic… "Is that a fridge?"

"Mr. Allen…"

"I think the situation is under control here. Alright," said Barry, resigning himself to return, after doing his job. He didn't feel happy. "I'm going back."

"Wait, there's a major emergency call in… Oh my god. Oh god."

"Mr. Ramón!" Wells scolded him.

"But, professor…" said the engineer, realizing his mistake.

"Where, Cisco?"

"Mr. Allen, your legs won't withstand more than one long trip, and…"

"Where!?" he finally shouted. He hadn't received his powers for nothing. If he could use his gifts to help others, no one was going to stop him.

"In Metropolis, Barry."

"Mr. Allen, no!"

Barry turned off the communicator in his ear after hearing the professor's zillionth reprimand and started running. If he had run across the continent, it would have taken too long, so he headed north and decided that crossing the Atlantic to the US was the best option. Yes, there were more heroes. Yes, his legs were exhausted. Yes, he didn't even know what was happening in Metropolis. But Barry honestly felt he had to try. He would cross the sea to protect the city and its people; given Cisco's tone of voice, it was serious. Maybe the other heroes could need him?

He took longer than expected to reach the edge of Venezuela. Was he moving slower? That was probably the case. Come on, Barry, he told himself, keep running! Don't stop until you cross the sea. He was running on the water before he realized he had left the beach, which meant his head was also tired.

He had to make almost crazy efforts to keep running on the water. If he ever hesitated, he would fall and sink. He had to keep going, without slowing down. How much further did he have to go to reach the United States? Metropolis was in the state of Illinois, next to his native Missouri, but he didn't exactly have a map at that moment, and he wasn't focused.

What if he had veered off course and ended up in the middle of Michigan? What if he ended up back in Central City, out of pure mental exhaustion? No, he shouldn't think about that. He had to run without stopping. The sweat on his face, on his body, was increasing. Just wiping his face with the back of his hand made his speed drop a little. If he kept this up…Damn, he thought.

He tripped. His legs were already hurting too much, and he felt a cramp. He tried to start running again, to recover and compose himself, but his legs wouldn't respond. He had run so fast that he was skipping along the sea, like a stone in a pond. He couldn't stop. He had completely lost control. He was dizzy, everything was spinning… and he felt like a fool. Why couldn't he pay more attention? What good was to be a hero if he couldn't use his only superpower properly?

He didn't notice the rocks in front of him until it was too late. He crashed into them, scraping and cutting himself on the rocks, and kept skipping forward, in pain and with blood on his arms. Or were they his legs? Or his face? It was impossible to tell, everything hurt!

He slammed into the water one last time before he stopped moving. He tried to swim, but he was far out to sea, and the exhaustion was absolute. If only he had given himself some time to rest, to regain his strength, before running like a madman. The water entered his throat as he submerged in the sea. The Flash, the hero who had only managed to save dogs and cats from trees for a year before crashing and sinking in the Atlantic Ocean. What a great story. At least Iris would write about it, maybe. She was trying to become a reporter, right?

He closed his eyes. He couldn't do anything else. He was too exhausted to try to reach the surface. For the first time, Barry Allen gave up…

Until suddenly, he opened his eyes and saw the sunlight above him. He coughed the water out of his lungs and knew for sure that he wasn't in an unknown world under the sea. He was outside. But how?

He looked around. He was lying on a soft, flexible, and sturdy surface. Floating. Like a lifeboat. And that was precisely it! Or well, almost. He was lying on a long lifeboat shiny like jade, sparkling with countless green lights, and through which he could see. It was a lifeboat made of pure solid light.

"What the—"

"Phew, I thought you were drowing already. Lucky you that I was around here, huh?"

"Huh? What?" Barry looked up, and found his savior. The green guy from before, the one who had faced the golden bird, was there, floating above the lifeboat, dressed in a uniform that was difficult to describe in terms he knew, with his fist extended, from which emanated the green light that had created the magical boat.

"Hey, I'm going to Metropolis. Don't tell me we're taking the same bus. Mind sharing the ride?" He seemed to be an experienced hero. He exuded confidence, pride, and valor. He didn't seem much older than him, but he clearly knew what he was doing.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Green Lantern, of course." The man pointed to his chest. "Can't you see the symbol? Well, are you going to Metropolis or not? We don't have much time, as my ring keeps reminding me."

"Green Lant…? I mean, yes. I'm heading there." His head hurt a lot. He was receiving too much information, and not even being the fastest man alive could process it all.

"You sure? You look completely tuckered out. Although, well, I guess that's what a man gets for crossing the damn Atlantic on foot. I don't know how you were doing it, but you weren't getting very far. If you want, I can take you there. On the house."

The green hero didn't wait for Barry's answer, and moved off with the lifeboat, which was no longer a boat, but a speedboat. A nice, shiny, green and very fast speedboat. Barry lay back, looking at the sun above him. Watching the seagulls flying in the opposite direction. What had he gotten himself into?

"Green Lantern? Alright. I'm The Flash."

"I didn't ask… but it's ok, nice to meet you anyway. Are you a friend of the big guy in blue?"

"Uh? Jesus no… I wish, ha, ha."

"Then why are you heading to Metropolis?"

"To help. These space creatures don't seem to have good intentions. If I can help some people, then I will," said The Flash, convinced of his words. He felt his strength returning, like currents of electricity running through his body. He wasn't sure if it would be enough to run, but anything was better than passing out in the middle of a run. "And you?"

"Me? I'm a space cop, so to speak. My job is to protect this entire sector."

"Sector?"

"It includes Earth."

"Oh. Oh, I see."

"Especially against aliens like these, and I've met a lot during my long career in space." Suddenly, Green Lantern sighed as he looked at Barry in the boat. "Oh well. Thanks for helping me with the Golden-Ruc, I guess."

"The what?"

...

Metropolis, Illinois, United States.

Barry had never set foot in Metropolis. CCPD Chief Joe West, Iris's father, always told him that Metropolis was the country's shining diamond, the opposite to the dumpster abandoned by God called Gotham City. The streets were always clean, the skies were clear and the sun was always shinning, corruption was dealt with quickly, there were jobs for everyone, from LexCorp to small stores, and every criminal had to face the Big Blue Scout, so there weren't many of those.

So this… this was nothing like the Metropolis he knew.

Huge fire monsters chased people. A burning rain fell on the rooftops of the tallest skyscrapers. People screamed, begging to be saved, and all their voices sounded the same, no matter who spoke them. Before he knew it, Barry had already left the boat and was running across the bay towards the flaming creatures he could see.

He didn't know exactly what he could do, but he did the first thing that came to mind. After getting close to the nearest fire monsters, he passed through them like a bolt of lightning, and as he hoped, the fire dispersed in front of his speed. He just had to run, even if his legs hurt. Even if his chest was burning. Fatigue was the least of his worries as long as he could save as many people as possible. Running through the streets of Gotham, The Flash hit dozens of fire creatures and moved thirty-two people away from the fire rain that was beating down on them.

He wouldn't last long. He tripped again, and his legs trembled. Under a bridge, two children and their mother didn't know where to escape. Their faces evidenced the terror. Barry gave himself one last push and ran. The fire would fall on them in half a second. They didn't understand who he was, but they took refuge in his arms, crying.

However, nothing happened after two seconds. Turning around, The Flash saw a large umbrella of green light, held by a space cop, smiling at them from the air. The youngest of the children smiled back at him.

"Hey, everything alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Look up there," Green Lantern pointed. Above a skyscraper rose a titan made of flames, gigantic, with large wings and four arms, from whom the flare in the form of rain emanated. "I think he's the one who caused all this. Let's put an end to it. Are you sure you can keep going?"

Barry stood up. His knees were shaking, his heart was racing, and he was sweating profusely. There was only one answer to that question.

"Of course I can."

"Good. Because I'm going to put one of these umbrellas all over the city, and I'll need a quick distraction while I do it. You seem to be quick."