Chapter 71: Out of Time
Superman and Flash were frozen stiff, their bodies encased in a block of solid ice. As they stood there frozen, Superman's eyes began glowing red, emitting his heat vision so it could melt through the ice. As the heat blasts continued to cut through, it blasted a hole in the ice wall. This gave Superman enough mobility to bust through the ice, coming out fully thawed but still a little weak after being frozen. He turned back to the ice, knowing Flash was still trapped inside. However, he saw steam rising from it and signs of heat melting through the ice. After a few seconds, Flash came bursting out of the ice, dropping to the ground instantly as a result. He let out a heavy breath, still shaking off the feelings of cold in his body.
"Flash," Superman let out, heading over to him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah… I'm good…" Flash replied as Superman offered him a hand up, which he took. "Had to vibrate my body at high speeds so I could break through."
"Didn't know you could do that," Superman replied as he helped him up.
"Neither did I. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing," Flash shook himself a moment before getting ready to take off. "Now let's go rain on Mardon's parade."
Flash took off, but Superman stood in place, a thought coming to his mind. His stationary status didn't go unnoticed by Flash, forcing him to double back.
"Uh, you good?"
"I was just thinking… How did Mardon know where we were? Freezing us at the speed we were going would take precision accuracy."
"Then how would…" Flash replied, before thinking of something.
It was at that moment that Superman was thinking the same thing.
"The armbands!" they said at the same time.
Superman snapped off his armband, using his X-ray and telescopic vision to investigate its inner workings. Eventually, he caught sight of something inside.
"Yeah, there's more in here besides the tracker," Superman noted.
"Let's take these to Dr. Miller," Flash suggested. "Might give us a clue on how to find Mardon."
Superman nodded as the two went off again.
…
At the Metropolis STAR Labs location, Superman and Flash met up with Kari and the STAR Labs team. Eddie Thawne was in the group, ordered by his captain to keep Joe safe with Mardon on the loose.
"Here," Superman spoke, handing Kari the armbands. "There's something embedded inside. I think it's connected to Mardon's power boost."
She took them and placed one under a microscope, opening it up and taking a closer look.
"I think you might be right," she replied. "Looks like some kind of… amplifier piggybacking off the tracking software. And it looks like it's based on DEO tech."
"You think someone at the DEO made this?" Flash questioned.
"Possibly…" Kari pondered. "But I can't imagine anyone who would try to-"
She froze, the gears in her head turning. She rubbed her chin, brow furrowed in thought.
"Wait a minute…"
"What?" Eddie wondered, taking a step forward.
"Back when we were dealing with Mala, I had wondered how Lex knew that she was a criminal. Made me wonder if he had someone working for him in our ranks."
"So Luthor does have a spy in the DEO," Superman realized. "Any idea who?"
"Not sure… but I have my suspicions. There's this one guy we have on staff who works out of Professor Hamilton's department. He always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason."
"This guy got a name?"
"Otis. Otis Beaty."
"Then perhaps we should speak with this Mr. Beaty," Wells suggested.
"Good idea. In the meantime, let me see if I can trace the signal on this amplifier to see if we can find the source."
…
Back at the warehouse, the feeds from both Superman and Flash were cut off, much to the surprise of the villains.
"What happened?" Mardon wondered.
"It appears Flash and Superman survived," Luthor mused. "And they know how we're working our little trick."
"So, that's it? Is it over?"
"Hardly. In fact, it's just beginning. They may know how we're using their speed, but they don't know that we know. And we can use that to our advantage. And you, my friend, will have your revenge."
Mardon couldn't help but smile at the prospect, his grip tightening on his control rod.
…
A few minutes later, Kari managed to track the signal from the armbands to a house miles away from the city. Superman and Flash immediately set out to investigate, with a handful of DEO agents following close behind. Superman and Flash arrived first, the former using his X-ray vision to try and get a look inside.
"Anything?" Flash asked.
"No," Superman lamented. "The walls are lead-lined."
"Figures. Well, let's do this the hard way."
The two heroes charged toward the house, with Superman flying ahead and plowing through the front door. Flash followed close behind, surprised to find that the front room was empty. Taking off, Flash decided to search the rooms of the house, Superman happened to glance and see a small drizzle begin to start as Flash returned.
"I searched the rest of the house," Flash reported. "No sign of Mardon. Or anyone for that matter."
"Then why would the signal be emanating from here?" Superman pondered. "Could they have known we were tracking them?"
"Maybe," Flash admitted. "But why lead us out here to an empty house?"
"I don't know…" Superman replied, happening to glance out the window as the rain started to fall. "But I have a hunch."
Flash also looked out the window, surprised to see such a massive downpour despite it being sunny just a few moments ago. His eyes narrowed at the sight, suspicion brewing. Just then, thunder started rumbling above them, prompting Flash to look up into the sky and see massive storm clouds forming out of the house. His eyes went wide as he saw a lightning bolt start to shoot down toward the house. Moving at super speed, he rushed over, grabbed Superman, and made a beeline for the door. They barely made it out before the lightning bolt sailed down toward the house, striking it and causing it to explode, knocking the two heroes and the DEO agents off their feet. After a second, Flash lifted his head to stare at the now burning wreckage.
"I think someone's trying to kill us."
"Clearly," Superman replied, looking up at the sky. "And it doesn't look like they're done."
The clouds continued to rumble as bolts of lightning shot down, prompting Superman and Flash to make a break for it. They quickly scooped up the DEO agents with them and took off as fast as they could, trying to stay one step ahead of the lightning trying to kill them.
…
Meanwhile, back at Metropolis STAR Labs, Kari, Joe, Dr. Wells, Caitlin, and Eddie remained behind with the STAR Labs team to keep tabs on the situation. At the moment, all they could hear was countless lightning strikes in the background.
"Guys?!" Kari called out. "What's going on over there?!"
"...ari… ambu… Mardo… ot her…" Flash tried to relay over comms but was staticy and cutting in and out.
"Flash? Flash!"
"Damn," Joe let out. "... I should be there."
"To do what?" Eddie questioned. "Those guys are barely holding their own out there, and they have superpowers."
"I don't care. Flash has done more for this city than we could ever repay and I refuse to just sit here while he's in danger!"
"Detective West," Kari spoke up. "Your partner is right. The best thing you can do for Flash is remain safe. The fact that he was able to message us at all proves that he's okay."
Joe paused for a moment, then sighed in response.
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Joe responded.
"No one's saying you have to," Kari replied. "Still, we should-"
Just then, an alarm started sounding in the building, alerting them to something going on.
"What in the world?" Joe let out.
"Proximity alarms," Kari realized. "Someone's infiltrated the facility."
Just then, there was an explosion on the far side of the wall, knocking them back. Through the dust, several figures came pouring in, all of them armed. Seeing this, Joe and Eddie instantly drew their weapons and aimed them at the armed men.
"Freeze!" Joe ordered.
The goons responded by opening fire on them, causing the two detectives to move for cover. Kari, who was coughing to clear dust from her lungs, drew her own firearm to shoot back. She managed to nail one of the men in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. One of the other men turned toward her and shot her in the stomach. She cried out, crumbling from her chair and onto the ground, clutching her stomach in a vain attempt to staunch the bleeding.
"Kari!" Caitlin let out in shock.
Joe and Eddie looked over, seeing Kari's unmoving form.
"Get her out of here!" Eddie told him. "I'll cover you!"
Joe wanted to argue, but seeing the blood, he knew time was of the essence. He quickly took off as Eddie laid down some cover fire, allowing him to grab hold of Kari and take off. As Eddie kept up the fire, he didn't notice one of the thugs get behind him and prepare to fire. Before he did though, there was a sudden woosh, and all of a sudden, the thug's neck was turned to the point of being snapped, allowing him to drop to the floor and reveal Dr. Wells lying on the floor.
…
Meanwhile, Joe managed to make it outside, setting Kari down as he fished out his cell phone and dialed 911.
"I need an ambulance! Shots fired at Metropolis STAR Labs! We have critically wounded!"
Kari choked on her own blood, then her eyes went wide. She gurgled out something that sounded vaguely like "Behind you," shakily pointing at an approaching figure. Joe instantly turned around to see Mercy Graves walking up to him, and greeting him with a punch to the face.
…
Back with Superman and Flash, they kept running to stay ahead of the lightning strikes, only for the strikes to suddenly stop. The two stopped, setting the DEO agents down on the ground as they looked back at the disaster they avoided.
"It stopped," Flash noted. "Why?"
"I'm not sure…" Superman pondered before thinking of something. "Unless this attack wasn't to hurt us, but to distract us."
"But from what? I-..." This time it was Flash's turn to realize something. "Joe…"
He immediately took off as fast as he could, Superman right behind him.
…
They made it back into the city in record time, making a beeline for STAR Labs. Once there, they spotted Kari, lying outside, clutching her stomach.
"Kari!" Superman let out, landing beside her.
"Is she alright?" Flash asked, skidding to a stop.
"Her heart rate is slow, and she's lost a lot of blood. I'm gonna get her to a hospital. You check on the others inside."
Flash nodded as Superman took off, speeding inside and finding the lab in a mess and the others nursing wounds of various kinds.
"What happened?" Flash asked.
"These… men attacked," Caitlin answered. "They shot Kari… Joe tried to get her out but…"
"Flash…" Dr. Wells spoke. "Someone has taken Detective West."
Flash took a step back in shock. "...what?"
…
Sometime later, Joe was brought out of a van to what he could only describe as an abandoned building of some kind. He was then thrown to the ground as Mercy walked past him.
"That was disappointingly easy," she lamented, flexing her hand. "I barely got to use this thing."
"You'll get your chance, my dear," Lex reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "In the meantime, Mr. Mardon. There's someone here to see you."
Mardon looked over, seeing Joe cuffed on the floor. He smirked as he walked over.
"Mardon…" Joe let out.
"Hey Joe," Mardon greeted. "You don't mind I call you that do ya? I mean, you did put my brother in the morgue after all. We oughta be real familiar after that."
"Your brother was responsible for the deaths of countless innocent people. And planned to kill even more."
"Yeah, Clyde was no saint," Mardon admitted, kneeling down to him. "But he was family. And if you can't protect your family… you can at least avenge them."
"If you want to kill me… then do it. End this right here. Right now."
"End it?" Mardon scoffed, standing up. "Why would I want to end it? The show's just getting started."
…
At the hospital, Superman gazed into an operating room as the doctors did their work on Kari. At that time, the Flash came speeding in, coming to a stop in front of him.
"How is she?" Flash asked.
"The damage was… quite extensive," Superman lamented. "The doctors are doing everything that they can, but… it's too soon to say."
Flash lowered his head, turning to the operating room and raising a fist to the glass.
"I should've been there," he lamented.
"You can't be everywhere at once, Flash," Superman consoled. "You tried your best."
"Doesn't feel like it."
"We do all that we can for the world. Even if it doesn't feel like enough. We just have to-"
Superman was cut off when he saw one of the doctors stepping out of the operating room. Her face was grim and there was pain in her eyes. Immediately, the two heroes knew the news was bad.
"No…" Flash let out.
"I'm sorry," the doctor concoled. "The bullet hit her stomach and she lost too much blood… we couldn't save her."
Flash collapsed onto a chair, too stunned to move. He covered his mouth, struggling to breathe.
"What am I going to tell J'onn…?"
Just then, the doors were thrown open, allowing Lois and Iris to enter.
"Lois?" Superman questioned. "What are you-"
"News of the attack reached the Planet," Lois explained. "We heard the doc was brought here so we thought we'd find you here too."
"Is it true about my dad?" Iris asked, a small sense of panic filling her voice.
"Yes…" Flash lamented. "And Kari… she's gone."
Both of them were shocked by this. Iris gasped and Lois looked devastated.
"Has anyone called J'onn?" Lois asked, glancing around for any sign of the Martian.
"Not yet…"
As they lamented their loss, Flash happened to glance up at a nearby TV, seeing Mardon once again on the screen. "Guys, look!"
The others turned to see the broadcast, bracing themselves for what would come next.
"Your time is running out," Mardon declared. "Unless money is in my account within the next half hour, I will unleash a tidal wave that will destroy Metropolis."
Shock overwhelmed the heroes as the broadcast cut out.
…
Back at the villain's hideout, the feed cut out and Mardon walked off, tossing the wand to himself.
"You don't honestly think they'll give you that money, do you?" Joe questioned.
"Oh no," Mardon replied, walking back over to him. "Of course not. That's all just for show. I mean, what's the point of power like this… if you don't use it."
Joe went wide-eyed at the thought.
"That's why I don't wanna kill you, Joe. At least not yet. You took my family from me… so I'm gonna do the same to you. It's no secret your little girl's the Flash's PR rep. And she's in town covering his big race.
"No… no, she's my daughter!" Joe pleaded.
"And Clyde was my brother!"
"He was a thief and a murderer!"
"... and now, she'll get to pay for the sins of the father."
Mardon then walked off to prepare as Lex and Mercy watched on.
"Talk about drama," Mercy remarked.
"I only wish me and my sister had been so close," Lex lamented. "Still, it provides Mr. Mardon with proper motivation."
"To wipe all of Metropolis off the map in one shot."
"Can you imagine the headlines? Justice League fails, Meta kills millions. And Lexcorp's vast resources will be there to lift the people from their despair and rebuild their once-great city into a paradise. In my own image of course."
"I'm a little concerned about Mardon," Mercy admitted. "He's a wild card. Will he really be satisfied with this?"
"He wants to make his brother's killer suffer. I think the death of the man's daughter will do the trick."
"And when it's over? You know as well as I that people like him are never satisfied for long."
"True. but should that be the case, I'm sure we can find a way to provide him with… new targets."
…
Back in Central City, Cisco was hard at work, going over the trap they tried to use on the Reverse Flash. After inputting the acquired data, he sent it through a system diagnostic, hoping it would turn up some answers. To his surprise, however, the results seem to indicate that all capacitors were operating at one hundred percent.
"What?" Cisco let out in surprise. "That's impossible."
He walked over to the capacitor, hoping it would have some answers if he looked at it directly.
"Everything seems to be working," he noted, opening up the panel and taking a look inside. "So how the hell did he-"
That's when he noticed something attached to the underside of the projector. Something that looked almost like a receiver. Curious, he pressed his hand to the side of it, causing something to activate on the trap itself. He looked up, shocked to see the Reverse Flash standing in the trap just as he did that night.
"What the hell…?"
…
Back at the Metropolis STAR Labs, Superman and Flash returned so they could find their enemies and put an end to this. Lois and Iris had tagged along to see how the situation would play out.
"Where are we on finding these guys?" Superman requested.
"We're working on tracking atmospheric discharges," Dr. Wells replied. "Still… we have a lot of ground to cover. They could be anywhere in the world."
"I don't think so," Superman replied. "If Lex is behind this, he's going to want to be able to watch everything."
"So we keep the focus on Metropolis," Flash reasoned. "Mardon said in his threat that he was going to unleash a tidal wave. Meaning they're likely near the pier."
"Checking that area now," Caitlin replied.
As they continued to work, Iris' cell phone suddenly went off. She fished it out, seeing that it was her father's name on the caller ID.
"What?" she let out before answering it. "Dad?"
"No," Mardon's voice replied, much to her horror. "Fraid not. He is alive though, if that helps."
"Where is he?" Iris demanded, getting Flash's attention.
"Safe. You want him to stay that way, come to the east waterfront. And for whatever heroes may be snooping in on this call, you come alone, or I create a tornado in Joe West's lungs."
The call dropped as Iris gasped at the prospect, turning to Flash as he tried to figure out what to do.
"Got something!" Caitlin called out, causing Flash and Superman to come and look as Wells was checking something. "Large amounts of atmospheric energy near an abandoned oil rig a couple miles off the coast."
"That's gotta be it," Superman declared. "Come on, Flash. Let's end this."
"Superman, wait," Flash insisted. "Iris just got a call from Mardon. I could hear him telling her to go to the east waterfront. I'm gonna tail to make sure this isn't a trap."
"You really think it might be?"
"Mardon wants to hurt Joe. Going after Iris is the perfect way to do it. Besides… we can't take the chance."
His fists clenched. "No one else dies today…"
He nodded as the two went off. Caitlin turned to voice her concerns to Dr. Wells… only to find his wheelchair completely empty.
…
"My goals are beyond your understanding," the Reverse Flash declared, moving and speaking exactly as he had the day they'd enacted the speed trap.
Cisco looked on in shock and disbelief. He looked back at the receiver, shifting one of the controls slightly so the image could rewind.
"Ah, the Justice League," the Reverse Flash spoke, despite the group not being in the room. "We meet at last."
"A recording…" Cisco whispered, a cold sweat dripping down his face. "All of this was… planned… but why?"
"My goals are beyond your understanding."
"Yeah, I'll bet."
The recording continued, "Oh, I'm not like the Flash at all…"
But was ended by a voice behind him. "...some would say I'm the reverse."
The hologram fizzled out as Cisco slowly turned around, coming face to face with Dr. Wells. However, this was not the same man he had looked up to and worked alongside for years. His glasses were gone and his kind demeanor was replaced with a cold, cruel indifference. And, the biggest shock of them all… he was standing upright. Wells clapped his hands as he walked toward Cisco, who was frozen from shock.
"You are… incredibly clever, Cisco," Wells commended. "I've always said so."
"... you're him…" Cisco mustered. "The Reverse Flash."
"Yes, I am. Though considering present circumstances, perhaps it would be best to properly introduce myself." Wells smirked, looking downright sinister as he did. "My name, my true name, is Eobard Thawne."
"Thawne?" Cisco repeated. "Like… Like Eddie?"
"Call him a…" Thawne mulled for a moment. "A distant relative, of sorts."
"... the night… that we trapped the Reverse Flash…" Cisco realized. "There were two of you… how?"
Thawne held up a finger before suddenly running back and forth at incredible speed. After a bit, it was almost like there were two of him. They were blurry at first, but both Thawnes settled after a moment or so.
"It's an afterimage," Thawne explained, gesturing to his unmoving double. "A 'speed mirage' if you will."
The speed mirage faded as Thawne walked over to the computer. Cisco's hands went to his head, trying to process all that was happening.
"If you're him… then Joe and Kari were right. It was you in Barry's house that night. You… you killed Nora Allen." He then turned to Thawne. "Why?"
"It was never my intention to kill Nora," Thawne explained, closing the laptop. "I was there to kill Barry."
Cisco was struggling to comprehend this influx of information. "Barry… if you were trying to kill him… then why-?"
"Train him? Help him get faster?" Thawne began to pace, circling Cisco like a shark. "A means to an end. You see, for fifteen long years, I have been stuck here. Marooned here, in this place. And the Flash… and his speed… are the key to returning home… to my time."
He then turned to Cisco, a determined look on his face.
"And no one… is going to take that away from me."
Upon seeing that face, Cisco knew what was coming. His thoughts and fears welled up inside him, knowing there was no way to escape what was coming.
"I can help you," he insisted.
Thawne smiled in response. "You're smart Cisco," he then held up a hand, vibrating it at high speed. "But not that smart."
Cisco froze, knowing he couldn't escape. Thawne was just as fast as Flash, if not faster. There was no way he could escape.
"I want you to know… I take no pleasure in this," Thawne explained, walking ever closer to him. "For while I had my greater goals in mind… I've grown quite fond of working with all of you. Especially you," he saw the terror in Cisco's face, but it did little to deter him from what he had to do. "I've never been a parent, but… in many ways… you've shown me what it's like to have a son."
"Please…" Cisco whispered.
"Sorry, but to me… you've been dead for centuries."
He then shoved his hand into Cisco's chest, killing him instantly. After a moment, he pulled his hand out, causing Cisco's body to drop to the floor. After taking stock of what he had done, Thawne simply turned and left, hoping to complete his mission.
…
Meanwhile, Superman made his way out to the oil rig, landing just outside the entrance. Knowing there was no point in using his X-ray vision, he punched the door down, seeing Weather Wizard preparing for his big event.
"Superman, welcome," Mardon greeted. "Gotta say, didn't expect you here so soon."
"It's over, Mardon," Superman swore. "I'm bringing you in."
"I don't think so," Mardon replied. "You've got some stormy skies ahead."
He held out his wand, causing lightning to shoot out. Superman quickly dodged the blasts before flying forward. As he approached, Mardon summoned a tornado just under him, launching him into the air and causing him to strike the ceiling. He then fell back to the ground hard as Mardon summoned several large balls of hail. He then began lobbing them at Superman one after the other, knocking him back with each one. Finally, Superman used his heat vision to take out the hail, allowing him to dart forward and grab Mardon, ripping the wand from his hand.
"Enough," he declared. "Now, where's Luthor?!"
"Right here."
Just as Superman was about to turn, a beam of green energy hit him in the chest, knocking him back. As he collided with a wall, he looked up, seeing Lex decked out in a green and purple battle suit with a glowing pentagon symbol on the chest.
"And I'm going to enjoy every minute of this," Lex mused, walking over to him.
Superman groaned in pain as he tried to get up, causing Lex to blast him again.
"Something our people in R and D have been working on," Lex explained. "With Kryptonite at its core."
He then grabbed Superman so he could sock him across the face, knocking him to the ground.
"A common staple of business," Lex told him. "Turn every weakness into a strength."
He then blasted at Superman once more, causing him to cry out in pain. Lex just smiled maliciously as he dealt Superman so much pain.
"Having fun, there?" Marond remarked, picking himself up.
"Indeed," Lex confirmed. "Now, I believe you have an appointment to keep."
"Right," Mardon concurred, heading to the device and preparing himself.
….
At the waterfront, Iris and Lois arrived, hoping to find something to indicate Joe's condition. Flash followed as well, staying back to make sure not to be seen.
"I don't see him," Iris dreaded. "He should be here, right? Why isn't he here?"
"Hey, calm down," Lois insisted, trying to keep her from freaking out. "We're gonna get your dad back. You know that, right?"
Iris paused, then took a breath and nodded.
"Right. It's going to be okay…"
Just then, her phone started ringing. She looked and saw that it was her dad again, prompting her to answer.
"Hello?"
"You get here?" Mardon demanded.
"Yes, I'm here. Is my father alright?"
"Oh, he's just fine. And now that you're here… well, it's time for the show."
…
After hanging up, Mardon tossed the phone aside, making his way to the machine and charging his wand. Groaning in pain, Superman tried to crawl over to him, hoping to stop it. As he did though, Lex planted a boot on Superman's back, pinning him.
"Uh, uh, uh," Lex let out. "Can't have you spoiling the fun just yet though. Don't worry though. After Metropolis is dealt with… you're next."
…
Back on the waterfront, the two female reporters looked up to see massive storm clouds forming in the distance. Flash could see them as well. As the three looked on, a massive wave began forming as well, cueing all of them that this was the tsunami Mardon had warned about.
"Caitlin," Flash called over comms.
"Barry, it's Dr. Wells. He's-"
"That's not important right now," Flash cut off. "There is a tsunami coming, and it's going to destroy the city. How do I stop it?"
"Uh… theoretically, if you could create a vortex barrier along the coastline, a wall of wind, it could rob the tsunami of its energy before it hits the city."
"How fast would I have to go?"
"Faster than you've ever gone. Maybe even faster than you're capable of…"
"Maybe… but I have to try."
With that, Flash took off toward the coastline, passing by Lois and Iris in the process.
"Barry…" Iris let out.
…
Back at the rig, Joe felt helpless as he sat there, cuffed to a pipe. Superman was on the floor, weakened by kryptonite as Lex stood over him, musing over his impending victory. Meanwhile, Mardon stood at the machine, the wand amplifying his powers as the tsunami grew more and more in strength. Finally, Mardon began to unleash it upon the city.
…
Back in the city, Flash made it down to the coastline, running back and forth at his top speed. With every lap he continued to push himself, knowing that slowing down even for a moment could cost millions of lives. He kept running, doing his best to increase his speed as the torrent of water loomed closer and closer. It would only be a matter of time before the tidal wave was right on top of him, and he knew it. The wall of wind started to build, getting bigger and bigger as the tsunami loomed closer and closer. This only caused Barry to push himself further. Past the strain. Past the pain. Intent on not letting a single person die on his watch. With that grit and determination, Barry let out a cry of pain as he pushed himself to run faster than he had ever run before.
And then… there was a flash.
…
Barry shook his head for a moment, finding himself in what looked like a vast void. All around him were clouds of alternating colors. Lightning kept shooting out of them, also of different colors, such as red, yellow, and blue among others. Barry looked down, seeing that he was still running forward. In fact, it didn't feel like he could stop. It felt like something was pushing him onward, urging him to go faster and faster. Through the strikes of lightning and seemingly endless thunder, Barry could hear a distant voice.
"Run… Don't stop. Run, Flash."
As Flash continued running, he noticed something in one of the storm clouds. It struck lightning again, showing a brief image of him and Superman running in the race earlier that day. He reached out and touched it, causing another flash of light to occur.
…
Flash then opened his eyes, finding himself running along the surface of the water. His sudden confusion caused him to lose his footing and tumble into the water. It was only for a few moments though as a hand fished him out. Flash looked up, seeing Superman was the one holding him up.
"Flash," he let out. "You alright?"
Flash was panting, still reeling from everything. He looked around, seeing the tale of a massive whale. The same whale he remembered seeing during the race. He rubbed the water from his eyes, which let him see the armbands still on his and Superman's arms.
"That was quite a fall you took," Superman noted. "What happened?"
"I… I'm not sure… I…" He gasped, remembering. "The boat. We gotta move."
"Boat? What are you-"
As Superman glanced up, he noticed some storm clouds in the distance. He used his telescopic vision to look out into the storm, seeing an oil tanker struggling to sail through the storm waves.
"There's a ship in trouble out there," Superman realized. "How did you-"
"Doesn't matter," Flash replied. "Let's go."
The second Superman let him down, he took off running toward the storm. Superman cocked an eyebrow, before following after.
