Issue 16: "Live Fast, Die Young: Crash & Burn"

Ten minutes ago,

I love running.

The rhythmic pumping of my legs. The feeling of my feet slapping the hard ground. I loved it all.
The funny thing is that when I was younger I was never any good at running. I was slow and slightly clumsy. I gained so much more than speed when that lightning bolt struck me.

As I sped across the Midwestern United States, I thought about how hectic my life has become in the past few weeks. The Rogues have been unusually disciplined and crafty. I honestly don’t know where to look for them. Since they all have a replica of Mirror Master’s gun, they can disappear and reappear anywhere in the world instantly.

I wonder how Iris is coping with the news we got of the baby. After her run in with Mota, something had happened to our child. The doctors had told us that there is a high possibility of the child being born prematurely and an even higher possibility of him dying right after.

She tries not to show how depressed she is over it but I can tell when something is bothering her.

I just wish I could do something about it.

Keystone City,

As the day winds down and my patrol is close to finishing, I find my thoughts turning towards home and Iris. As I begin to change direction, I hear about robbery occurring on my police scanner. I decide to pay a visit.

In seconds I find myself watching a very bizarre scene. The cashier was holding up his own customers. He must be from Gotham.

I use my powers and everything slows down to a crawl. I start bringing the customers out side and when I finish I turn to the cashier. At least I try to before I hear a pounding in my ears.

My movements seem sluggish and the pounding increases. Now I also hear a whisling sound which increases in pitch and intensity until I can feel blood trickling out of my ears. Every thing begins to speed up and as I try to use my powers to stop it, my nose begins to bleed.

And then all hell breaks loose.

A massive bolt of lightning strikes the convenience store and it explodes. I’m all but unconscious when I see two people step out of the wreckage. One was a tall Amazon-like woman who had lightning coursing around her body.

The man was massive. He was easily bigger than J’onn. His golden-hued skin sparked at every movement.

I stood up and raced towards them and I found myself suspended on top of the Empire State building. The man was holding me up by my neck.

“How fast are you?”

His laugh sounded more like a thunderous roar. “Let’s just say we are faster than you can ever be.”
I look around and notice that the woman isn’t around with us. A chill creeps up my spine.

“Where is she?”

He puts me down on the ledge and answers me.

“She is with your wife. Don’t even think about it. The moment you make a move I would have already dismembered her. Pay attention to what I have to say.”

I unclenched my fist and nodded slowly.

“Good. My…master would like you taken out of the picture, but since you are so weak I would like to play a game. We have engineered traps for each and every one of the members of your ‘Justice League‘. You have five seconds. Go.”

Before he even opens his mouth to say go I’m already halfway to Gotham. It’s a big city so I’m not sure how I’m going to find him.

I never had a chance. As soon as I had run a few miles, a giant lightning bolt appeared from nowhere and knocked me over. Before I could touch the floor, a giant hand scooped me up and launched me against the side of a mountain.

I grabbed the bombs I had collected, and quickly reactivating them, I threw them at Savitar. He quickly dodged them, but the explosion made him lose his balance for a moment, which I quickly took advantage of, extending me leg so he can go tumbling to the scorched earth.
“Hahaha, you’d better be more careful.” I said, grinning. Maybe this isn’t so bad after all.
“You laugh? Speedster, you seem worthy of facing me, but do not grow hopes! I am Speed itself and cannot be defeated!”

We crossed the ocean and even the world several times. I tried to bring him to uninhabited locations, to prevent innocent deaths. Punches connected at super speed causing windows to shatter, and I had the feeling that those with heart troubles would have heart attacks. The waves of energy were miles long. But still, every time I connected with him, it seemed as like it had been deflected by his skin. There was something weird going on.

I knew I could not lose this fight, and losing meant my city up in flames, and the death of my wife. I couldn’t allow that to happen, not with my son on the way. I reached back for the silver spike and stabbed Savitar with it, but he refused to go down. He simply pulled it out of his chest and continued fighting.

The fight continued, faster by the second. I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it for much longer. My lack of full speed was clearly hindering me, and his foe was apparently unharmed. It seemed like a one sided fight were the consequences would be terrible.

“Why do you do this? Why me, why my wife?” I shouted.

“Don’t ask me. Ask him when you see him… if you live, of course.”

“Who?”

He didn’t answer of course, and instead sent me flying through the air. The soil where I landed turned to glass instantly by the extreme heat.

“Who sent you? The Rogues?”

“They have nothing to do with this, Flash! I could wipe them from existence as we speak. No, I don’t care about them.”

“Then answer!”

I began vibrating my hand, and attacked Savitar again. This time, I punched a hundred times faster. This time, it actually looked like I actually did some damage, and Savitar looked surprise. He launched himself at me, but I lent him some extra speed (A trick I had picked up a few months ago), causing him to lose control and crash.

“You are better than I had initially thought speedster. But still, you’re no match for me.” He said while laughing like a maniac.

We continued fighting, this time in the Antarctica.

Savitar grabbed me by the feet, bringing me down, and then used this opportunity to hold me down. He disappeared and before I could react, the giant’s hand came down on my head. A rain of punches continued. I couldn’t react, and the pain was unbearable. I was thrown into the air, kicked and finally crushed with a knee against the floor. I was beaten.