Issue #27: "Up To Speed"

I arrive at the agreed meeting place with my nephew and mentor less than six seconds after Wally- better known to you out there as “Kid Flash”- hangs up the phone, but he still has a big grin plastered on his face when I show up beside the main bridge between Keystone and Central, and behind him, Jay Garrick- that would be the original Flash, for all you neophytes- is struggling to conceal a smile of his own.

“Aunt Iris says sixty-nine,” Wally opens, and I roll my eyes. My wife’s running tally of my… pliable relationship with time has been a source of great mirth to my nephew, and, I suspect, to Jay as well.

“You were speaking to Iris?” I ask Jay, and he gives a half smile in response.

“We thought you might have got caught up on an errand with her but she assured us that when she went out, you were still sleeping soundly…” Typical. Either of them could probably have run to the house to get me of course, but Wally would enjoy waking me with the phone call far more- not that I begrudge him. Much. He must have been out with the Titans last night, otherwise he’d have been there to wake me himself anyway…

“Where are Johnny and Quicksilver?” I ask curiously- it’s been a month or so now since that speedster ran out of somewhere in the 1950s to the present day, and Johnny- who’s as old as Jay- has taking it on himself to show him the ropes.

“Quicksilver still hasn’t quite got used to the big cities- Johnny took him out into the countryside,” Wally explains. “So let’s go, already!” And without another word, he’s off, blasting air and dust behind him. Jay and I exchange a second’s glance before we follow. Kids today. Well, it’s unorthodox but not entirely unexpected- and I haven’t been out of the Twin Cities on anything but League business for months. I try to smile as we follow, but I can’t quite make it- not with all the stuff that’s happened with my parents and my elusive brother and…. And Batman. After that, I’m not sure any of us will be really smiling for a long time.

Oh, but hey, I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Barry Allen, and I’m… a Forensics scientist for the Central City Police. Oh, but you’ve probably heard of me by my other job- I’m also the Flash, the Fastest Man Alive.

The broad plateau where Doctor Thomas Emery currently lurked with his newest metal contraption was atop a mountain overlooking a wide, desolate valley- nothing grew in the valley, something he suspected was the result of an earlier ecological catastrophe. Not that he cared- it was far, far away from the authorities, and that was what mattered. He returned his attention to the machine beside him with its array of aerials. Here, out here at least, it had access to the sun, to charge up the power it needed. And then, that night, he could take it to the Twin Cities begin his reign of terror! Yes, thought Doctor Emery, better known to the world as the diabolical Doctor Spectro, tonight he would perfect it and then the world itself would lie at his feet!

The rain came suddenly, thick and furious, a storm that seemed conjured up from virtually nowhere and had scientists and meteorologists shaking their heads- at first they assumed that evening’s weather had come early, but those storm clouds had still not burst, so this was something new, and wholly inexplicable. The unexpected downpour ruined the bright Keystone day, shrouding the entire city in cloud and drizzle. About an hour after the torrent began, an apartment door in lower Central slammed open, and in stepped the drenched form of Mark Mardon, rucksack over his shoulder.

“Oooh, like magic!” came the mocking voice of James Jesse. He was wearing his civilian gear, which, for James, meant odd shoes, bright orange trousers and an ostentatious coat that went out of fashion somewhere in the early 1970s. “So tell me, Wizard- what rabbits do you have to pull out of your hat?” Mardon- also known as the Weather Wizard- scowled at the Trickster, his current partner. They weren’t exactly the best of friends, but both had betrayed the Rogues and now he was all Mardon had.

“I got it,” he nodded grudgingly. “Storm gave me cover, but the plans weren’t even well hidden at the Hall… it was practically a walk-in job.” Jesse gave a ludicrously over the top laugh and rubbed his hands in glee.

“All the better, Marky-boy! Just a few loose ends left to tie up, and then we can break into the bastard’s house, steal the info and in a month it’ll be you, me, your girl, your baby and 200 million dollars on an island in the Caribbean!” Mark grunted noncommittally, fetching the paper from his rucksack. Typical of Gregory Wolfe to have a house with the security of a prison, he thought. But then, what else was to be expected… from the warden of Iron Heights?”

Okay, I decide, enough is enough. The reason for our trip, at least outwardly, is to help Quicksilver. It was Jay’s idea, really- he thinks belonging is enough. He has the Justice Society and I have the League and Wally has the Titans, but more than that, we have each other. We’re a family- and even though he’s not as close to us and we don’t talk nearly enough, Johnny is part of that extended family too, if only because of his friendship with Jay. So, Jay reasons, bring in Quicksilver, give him a place to belong- and if he won’t go to his old friends, then the Flash Family is always willing to open its arms. But secretly, I think, a little bit of it for me is selfish. Iris thinks it’s good for me to get away, and maybe she’s right, because God knows there’s enough to want to run away from, and even the Fastest Man Alive can’t keep up with it all.

There’s conspiracies and brainwashing and attacks on my family… I combed every telephone book on the western seaboard for my missing brother- my brother, who I’ve never met, never heard of!- and still can’t find a trace of him. And there’s Batman. I was never tight with Batman- we were both scientists, in our ways, but our personalities never had much in common. So why is it that I can’t stop thinking about what happened to him? Why is it that I still feel a hollow ache? Why is it that the stars seem just a little less bright and the night’s just a little bit darker, even all the way in Keystone? …Yeah, Iris was right, I really did need a break.

But this… sitting beside an old chasm and worrying, this isn’t the break I was looking for, and it’s not helping Quicksilver all that much either, despite Wally’s best efforts. We need to get his guard down, to get him to relax, to unclench, and there’s one surefire way I know that hasn’t failed on a speedster yet. And if it manages to let me forget about my feelings, put aside my own regrets, my own fears…. So much the better.

“A race?” I suggest lightly, looking from face to face. “Say, around the world once going westwards and meet up here?”Jay catches my drift immediately and smiles, though Johnny frowns, and opens his mouth to ask if it’s really the time. Quicksilver clearly has similar thoughts, but before any of them can speak, we’re cut off.

“Seeyouatthefinishline,” says Wally, as I knew he would, and then he’s gone. With a half second’s pause, Jay’s after him, and I strain myself trying to smile as I turn to run as well, knowing that Johnny will follow Jay, as he promptly does. I don’t run at max speed, letting them both pass me, waiting to see if Quicksilver will come… and with a sigh which is lost far behind us, he starts to run as well. Hasn’t failed yet.

We’re both dashing across the Midwest now, going steadily westwards- the rain still isn’t abating- and I’m deliberately holding back to observe Quicksilver, and a few things leap out at me almost immediately. Firstly, as I suspected in our battle when he was controlled, he’s not as fast as I am, or Wally for that matter- closer to Jay, maybe a notch faster. But it doesn’t matter. When Wally runs, or Jay runs, or Johnny runs, or I run, we need to serve to avoid objects, radically going to one side, or else vibrate through them, though that makes them explode. But Quicksilver? He has a poise and technique which is breathtaking.

As I watch through the blur that the Speed Force makes of everything, he leaps over a rock effortlessly, with a jump I couldn’t possibly execute without having to slow down radically. He’s almost acrobatic as he moves, weaving his way over objects and rocks and foliage like parkour, and in no time at all, he’s already bypassed Johnny. I follow, picking up speed in his slipstream, curious, and grin at Johnny as I pass him. Not long after that, we’re past Jay as well- we’re deep in the west now, can’t be that far from the coast, and I wonder how Wally will feel if the old hero overtakes him- Hell, I’m faster but needing to go around obstacles means I can barely keep up… As I put on another burst, he turns to look at me for a second, and I swear he’s smiling again….

…And then suddenly, Quicksilver pulls out of the Speed Force without warning, and I’m barely able to slow down enough to pull out with him. Johnny and Jay keep running- either they don’t notice us or they assume we’ve made mistakes and will rejoin them soon enough.

“What’s the matter?” I ask, jogging up to the old speedster, who’s standing, looking away, his expression inscrutable. Did he just get tired of the race, or…? I stop, and take a breath. We’re on a high mountain, with a flat plateau for a top, almost like a giant table in the sky, and below us, I can see a huge valley. Cold, desolate, blackened… there isn’t much life down there. Old, overgrown marsh and swamp. A few stunted trees, blackened and withered. Around the marsh, I can see what look like they may have been plains once, but they’re dry and barren now. The only patch of life I can see at all is a tiny spot of green, worn away by rain and the elements, where some grass still grows, where I can see a bird or two nestling in an old pile of broken wood that might- just might- have once been a house. A pity, the place looks like it might have been beautiful once. “What…” I begin, and then I turn to look at Quicksilver again and to my shock I see that his face is wet, and it isn’t just the drizzle, which appears to be intensifying.

“I knew…” He whispers, so quietly that I can barely hear him, and I know it’s not meant for me. “….I knew that this must be what had become of it but… to see it…after so many years…. ” He trails off, and he slowly sinks down to his knees. I look out over the valley- it doesn’t take a genius to figure out he has more than a small connection to this place. I frown down at the valley- maybe when he was here back in the 30s and 40s…? But this place looks like it’s been gone since way before that, though I’m not an expert or anything. He suddenly whips around to me. “Can you see?” He snaps intensely, and I’m taken aback. “Can you see the valley?” He gestures down at it impatiently, and I have no idea what he’s getting

“Uh… yeah… it’s right there….” I stammer. And for some reason, my answer depresses him more than ever and he sinks to his knees.

“….The old magic…. It really is gone…. I lost so much here….” He murmurs. “…So many friends, and those… those who should have been… ” I think about what Johnny said- that he’s so upset over all the people he lost, he’s determined not to become attached to anyone else. To lose the people you love… everyone you love….Your friends, Heck, even your enemies. And suddenly, I feel a surge of emotion for him, and I step forwards and put a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ve all lost friends, Quicksilver,” I say quietly, awkwardly- I was never good with this stuff, this is more Jay’s domain, and I’m not even fully sure what I’m talking about with him. “I know this doesn’t mean much but… I know what it’s like… to lose people. Even the people you thought you didn’t care about as much. Even the people you didn’t know as well. I know what it’s like to know the world’s a worse place without them, and to wonder why you were never friendly with them- why you could never make them laugh…. To only realise now that they’re gone just how important they were. How much… how much you miss them. How much they were your friends.” Quicksilver turns and looks at me, his face unreadable, and I have no idea if I’m getting through, but this is as much for me as for him and I force myself to finish. “…But you can’t give up. Can’t shut yourself away. Because that’s the last thing they would ever do.” And for the first time in a few days, a half-smile comes to my face. “….And because if they knew you were even thinking about letting it overwhelm you, they’d tell you to get a grip.” There’s a long silence and I wonder if I’ve gone too far as we both share a glance, but it’s interrupted when I hear a familiar high-pitched voice behind me.

“NO! You dared follow me here? Well, you’re too late, too late, do you hear?” I turn and see an all too familiar short guy in an outrageously bright outfit which should be illegal with what appears to be a giant makeshift machine. Doctor Spectro- I’ve tangled with this nut before. “You’ll die this time!” He keeps raving. “And my device is fully prepared!” I snort in derision and run towards him- I’ve no idea why he’s here, or what he’s doing, but I’m not going to let…

…and then the world goes white.

Quicksilver’s eyes widened as he saw through the rain Barry give a shout and clutch his own after being struck by a blast of light from the little man’s contraption. He had no idea what it was- it didn’t appear to be one of the pieces of machinery young Ms Quick had shown him- but he had to guess it wasn’t good. He blinked, trying to push aside his memories and focus on the now, but God, it was so hard here of all places… He just kept thinking of Hawk, and the Valley, and the speed and here, on this very mountain where that French lunatic had made his attack…. He remembered his friends, and the camp, and the enchantments and Wise Owl, accursed Wise Owl, and…

“Quicksilver!” shouted Barry suddenly. “Go! Get out of here, before he gets you!” For a moment, he hesitated, touched by how Barry immediately thought of him when clearly in pain, but then common sense prevailed, and he ran, darting off the side of the mountain to throw himself to the ground at the top of the slope. Focused on the Flash, the little bright man scarcely noticed him, and he needed to know what they were facing before he acted.

“Spectro!” came a call, and Quicksilver saw that the kid had arrived, and was running straight at the man. He felt an urge to run, to jump out and save the lad, but forced himself to be still- there was nothing he could do, and an instant later, Kid Flash too gave a cry and, like his uncle, clutched his eyes. Barry, he saw, was now shouting something and stumbling around wildly like a blind man.

“You fools,” taunted the man, who the kid had called Spectro. “You should know by now that no matter how fast you may be, even you aren’t quicker than light!”

“Spectro!” came a different call- and now, Quicksilver saw, Johnny and Jay had arrived, but unlike the other two, they kept their difference, hanging back to see what they were up against, and Spectro gave a gloating laugh as Jay shouted. “What did you do?”

“What I did? Merely reversed nature, my dear man- I wouldn’t expect one of your lower intellect to understand.” Quicksilver had seen his like before- all arrogance and gloating, but eager to explain himself to anyone who would listen so they would appreciate his ingenuity. “When it strikes your eyes, my ray here reverses the refraction of your eyes, like the opposite of a prism- so instead of splitting white light into its composite colours, it turns everything you see into white light, effectively blinding you- as these two fools have learnt!” He chuckled. “Utterly ingenious, of course. I had planned to use it first to hold the Twin Cities to ransom, but you have forced my hand…”

And before either of the older speedsters could move, a ray of the energy had struck Jay in the eyes. Johnny ran, trying to evade it, to turn his head, but the light- defying all laws of physics in the process- bent to follow him, until even he had to stagger out of his run, clutching his face. Quicksilver stared on, horrified. His four companions were all blinded, and at Spectro’s mercy and…. Oh god, it was happening again. Here, above the valley where he had gained so much, and lost so much, he would lose everything again…. Jay and Johnny, who he still cared about despite what he said…. And Barry, Barry who he hardly knew yet who had treated him like family…whose words had struck a chord with him even as he wallowed in self-pity… and Wally, inquisitive and curious, who had, though he was reluctant to admit it, even amused him for the first time in so long. This was precisely why he hadn’t wanted friends- so he wouldn’t have to lose them like this. And Barry’s words rose into his mind, unbidden- would he really want Hawk to see him like this, cowering while his new…. His new friends were murdered? That tore it.

With a silent shout of protest, he leapt over the top of the hill, running, pumping his arms, willing himself to reach the twisted madman, but Spectro saw him and hit the switch first, and a beam lanced out to strike him straight in the face, and there was a moment of searing and blinding pain before the world went white. Suddenly, all Quicksilver knew was the whiteness, and Spectro’s mocking laugh. Would it all end here, after all he had endured? Had he really run out of the past- twice- to die here, where his life had really, truly began, at the hands of some madman? Would he even care if he had? And the answer, surprisingly, he found, was yes. He didn’t want to die, not yet. He didn’t want his life to end, or those of his friends, and… and….

Spectro gave a shout of horror, and for a split second, the white was broken- just for a second, and Quicksilver saw a blast of golden energy, splitting across the side of his vision as thunder rumbled overhead seconds later, and then the white returned. Lightning, lightning from the Heavens, but Spectro was making relieved noises because his machine had not been broken and the anomaly had failed and now he could kill them.

But Quicksilver found that now he was smiling. The Lightning had shown him the path- there was only one thing on this mountain that would be a true lightning rod, for there were no trees- just one big metal collection of aerials, and turning to where the light had been, he did not allow himself to think, only to act, only to run to where he knew the lightning had struck, and to vibrate his molecules violently as he did so- and sure enough, after a few seconds, he felt himself connect with something and move himself right through it. After a moment, there was an explosion to rival the crack of thunder, and a high pitched wail of despair, and then suddenly he found he could see again.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” In the next seconds, before Spectro could do more than register his horror, the others had grabbed him and Barry whisked him away, to Iron Heights, according to Wally, though he found himself scarcely listening. After vibrating through the machine, he had fallen to his knees, and now he stayed there as the rain continued to pour down, and he looked into the Heavens. Ahwehota… The lightning, he knew with calm certainty, was a sign from the spirits. They were there…. They were still there, and they were not done with him yet. He had found friends, despite his best efforts, and then he had nearly lost them but the spirits had protected him, and the lightning had saved them- the lightning, and his gift- their gift. So he fell on his knees and smiled as the heavens opened, and tears mingled with the rainwater as they flowed down his face. He was alive, and he had friends- a family- and he knew, he knew as the rain washed down Echo Valley, that he had a purpose once more. The spirits had shown him the way. He could not run from the past, he could not hide it, because he was all that was left of it. He could not let Hawk and the others be forgotten- he must honour their memories, he knew, he must discover the source of his speed and accept the spirits and be at peace with… with himself.. He could not fight the past… .so he might as well embrace it.

“You okay?” asked Wally’s voice from behind him, as he frowned down at the older man. “…Quicksilver?” And, Quicksilver found as he turned to the boy, for the first time in a very long while, he was. He had hidden behind that identity for too long, but he was no longer the man with a past he could not face- he was a man with a future he would face, a man who was not ashamed of his history.

“….Call me Maxwe…. Call me Max,” He said simply. No, Max- that wouldn’t do at all, he needed another name, didn’t he? Quicksilver…. That time of his life was gone now, but he didn’t want to lose it, it should be remembered along with… with…. And the answer came to him. Quicksilver- of course. How to pay homage to his past identity and forge a new future- and the latin name for Quicksilver was also, if he was not much mistaken, the name the ancient Romans had given their swift messenger God. If that was not a sign from the spirits, what was? And so with a private smile, he finished- “….Max Mercury.”