Wally West reached the front door of the beaten up looking house. He
felt a little weird about it all, he hadn't seen most of the others
since his ‘Speed breakdown’ and, without Linda or Karen, it
felt a little strange. The house itself was the American dream
manifest, small garden with beautiful borders of flowers, the varying
colors giving a different mood to a different season for every glance
given to them. The white picket fence surrounded the small, modest
looking house and only a single light was visible through the front
window: the dining room light.
It was becoming a bit of a tradition, the Flash Family meeting for
dinner every Thursday. Wally knocked on the door and gave himself a
quick smile in his reflection on the door handle and looked at the
potato salad in his hands, which was about the only thing Wally could
make without it turning into mulch or crap.
Joan opened the door with a big smile and gave him a short hug.
“Wally! Come in, Come in!” Joan was much older than Jay,
having not been caught in the same temporal mechanical loop that had
kept him at a much more spritely age. She was a normal human, and
sometimes Wally wondered what sort of effect that had on her when Jay
was always running around saving the world. That was always a good
thing as their relationship hadn’t always been the
best.
Wally winced back out of those thoughts as they launched into the
latest conversation about what was going on in their lives, Joan with
her attempting to look after Bart and find the perfect recipe to keep
Jay inside for an evening.
“Joan, where’s...” Wally looked around for the other
guys and Joan smiled and pointed towards the back door.
“They’re out the back, Wally. So...” Joan went back
to her conversation and Wally shot his mentor’s wife a quick
smile before moving out of there as quickly as humanly possible. He
shot past his Aunt Iris in the hallway and out into the back yard.
“Hi to you too, Wally,” Iris called, before making her way
back towards the front room to talk to Joan. Iris had been his
Uncle’s wife long ago, and moved to the future with her two
children and his uncle before the unfortunate...events that transpired
during the Crisis. There wasn’t a day that went by that Barry
wasn’t in the forefront of Iris or Wally’s mind. Others had
moved on, Wally had made his name as the Flash, even though the
tumultuous years when he was immature and when his powers didn’t
work, and before he discovered exactly what the Speed Force was capable
of, or even what it was.
He raced back and planted a kiss on Iris’ cheek, before shooting
off into the garden again. She held her hand against the side of her
face and smiled, sitting down next to Joan, who’d wasted no time
in collecting the potato salad and dishing it up.
Wally stopped on the doorstep. The Flash Family was gathered in full;
Max Mercury, who was telling Bart off for being over-excited and
impulsive once again, and Bart was clearly ignoring everything that Max
was saying focusing on everything else like a bird that flew over head,
followed by a cricket chirping some distance away.
Jay was laughing at an apparently funny joke Johnny Quick had cracked,
while his daughter Jessie, looked decidedly unhappy about the joke and
even unhappier when Wally came onto the scene. She tutted and walked
away from the grouping. It was easy to forget that both Johnny and Jay
were from different times, with the two men looking like they were just
grazing their late forties and, when they joked around like this, it
was hard to tell they were anything other than regular guys. Jay smiled
and waved Wally over.
“Hey, Jay.” He shot a smile to the first Flash.
“Hiya, Wally. Do you want a burger?” Jay smiled, he was
always so polite; that was one thing you could always define Jay by,
his manners.
“Still cooking the Brontosaurus Burgers then, Jay?” Wally
winked as a smile cracked over Jay’s face.
“Well, then you’ll be pleased to know, Wally,” Johnny
said, clasping Wally on the shoulder and leaning over him. Jay’s
smile began to fade because here comes one of Johnny’s
notoriously bad jokes.
Johnny erupts into laughter, for some reason he always laughed
outrageously at everything, his sense of humour seemed to be his coping
mechanism except when it came to his ex-wife and daughter. Jay looked
somewhat pleadingly at Max as Johnny launched into another long joke
but, while Max returned eye contact, he steered well clear of the
group. Max knew how appalling Johnny’s jokes were.
Wally smiled and waved at Jay a little before slowly walking over to
the annoyed Jessie, but before he could reach her Bart grabbed hold of
his arm, pulling it at the bicep.
“Wallycanwegoforarunisawa…”
“Bart, can you just wait for a minute? I need to try and talk to
Jessie...”
A big smile wrote itself over Wally’s features as he pulled his
arm away from Bart, looking down at the big haired great-nephew.
“In a minute Bart, I promise. I just want to talk to Jessie about
something really quick.”
As Jay tossed another burger and Max wandered in to the house for the
fifteenth time in five minutes to use the toilet, it began to rain.
“Ha! Guess that’s a super-speed prostrate at work, huh
Jay?” Johnny laughed, leaving Jay to sigh again and looking
desperately over at Jessie and Wally, as Jessie’s gaze turned
acidic.
“Yeah, maybe I’ll leave it for now.” He shrugged at
Bart, rubbing the back of his head, turning back to Jay and Johnny.
Once the dinner was out of the way, all seven courses of it, the Flash
family went for their late evening patrol. There was something
distinctly engaging and emulsifying about running with family. As
always Wally took the lead in the centre of the group, with Jay and Max
on either side. Next to Jay ran Johnny, who always had a look of
uncharacteristic concentration on his face when he was running, while
Max, on the other hand looked almost joyous. Bart never stayed with the
group; he was like a burst of lightning meandering across the pathways
and around obstacles, but clinging fairly close to the team, with
Jessie finally running next to her dad.
The rain was getting heavier and, as the group reached Keystone City
proper, they realised that something was dreadfully wrong. Skidding to
a halt, Wally waited for the rest of the Flash Family to come in behind
him. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Impulse, who was blasting
around like a madman.
“Bart! Time to concentrate,” Max said sternly to the
Impulse who suddenly appeared, stopping roadrunner style to the side of
him.
“What is it, Dad?”
Jessie was always slightly more astute than the others, but never
questioned Wally, always the others. Or maybe she just felt something
too?
“Feels like a disturbance,” Jay said, removing his hat to
fiddle with the edges. “Like something’s skirting along the
edge of the speed force and… like it’s gathering up some
momentum.”
“Right,” Wally said nodding, before looking to Max for some
guidance.
His face was white as he glanced around, doubt writing itself across
his face in a fluid movement. “...Why didn’t I feel it?” he whispered to
himself, as a crowd of angry people burst from a nearby restaurant,
punching each other and lashing out with whatever they could. A wine
bar on the opposite side of the street also emptied itself out, with
people laughing uncontrollably, kissing and generally looking very,
very happy.
“What’s going on?” Johnny asked with a grim look on
his face, jutting his lower jaw out while he thought for a moment.
“Looks like...I don’t know...What is it?” Wally
asked, looking from Jay to Max.
“Happy people and angry people?” Bart offered. Max looked
to scold him before, actually realizing that it was as exactly as Bart
described, his arm partially raised and hanging limply.
“I think we should try and contain this as much as possible,
Wally. Whatever this may be,” Jay offered, immediately breaking
away from the group, to break up a fight. As Wally looked up the
street, he noticed that the left hand side of the street had people who
were angry, and violent fighting against each other. Fists were flying
and angry shouts ringing across the expanse, whilst the right hand side
held all the happy people. It was as though Keystone had been divided
down the centre.
“I’ll be back.” Wally said, breaking away from the
group to shoot down the streets. Jessie followed him; she
wouldn’t let Wally steal the spotlight after all. He turned to
watch her run for a little bit, even though he knew she wouldn’t
like it. Unlike the other Flashes, Jessie’s run was a lot more
controlled, like a model walking down the catwalk. Every step was meant
to deliver an impact, not only of confidence and precision, but also to
give an air of intimidation. Her entire body was poised for every step,
every time her foot hit the floor, the impact flooded up her body, as
though it were applause. She almost seemed to enjoy the impact more
than the speed. The other thing that set Jessie apart from the other
Flashes was her observation. Being a superhero scholar of sorts, she
spent more time researching the villains and heroes than she did
actually being a hero. Every step taken was several glances to
the surrounding area, making Jessie someone you’d want to have
watching your back in a fight.
“Have you noticed it, Wally?” Jessie asked, with a smug
hint in her voice.
“Noticed what?”
“It’s all over the city. A complete divide, almost as
though they can’t control themselves. Well, presumably they
can’t, otherwise they wouldn’t be turning on loved ones
would they?” Jessie looked up as the downpour grew more intense,
the winds blowing through the city streets nearly knocking Jessie and
Wally off their feet.
“I can’t believe
that you didn’t notice, Wally,” she said, adjusting her
goggles and looking on the rooftops.
They both skidded to a halt, leaving tracks through the asphalt. Jessie
looked worriedly at Wally, who shook his head. “That
shouldn’t happen,” he said, ignoring her snide comments.
The rain grew with more force as it cascaded over the edge of
Jay’s helmet and left a hollow rattling sound from its collision
with it. Johnny looked to his friend and cast his vision into the sky.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t like the
look of this, Jay. It’s raining too hard, the wind’s too
erratic. I think we’re being played.” He looked over at his
partner from the War with a mixture of confusion and respect, as though
he knew Jay would have something insightful to say. Something that Jay
always garnered.
“We need to make sure everyone’s okay, Johnny. Lord knows
why this is happening but we can’t just...UGH!” Jay reeled backwards as
he was struck in the back with a flying bottle. The mob had been silent
in their approach to their attack. Johnny whipped around in front and
made sure Jay was all right before raising his fist to punch his
assailant.
“Come on then, you little punks!”
“Johnny!” Jay’s hand wrapped around his friends wrist
at super-speed and pulled it down, before shooting off and de-arming
all the other attackers. The movement was over and done within a matter
of seconds, but with his enhanced senses Johnny could see Jay’s
every moment. There was a reason he was the first Flash, and the reason
why everyone still looked up to him, even with the legacy of Wally and
Barry. Jay wasn’t just fast, but every footfall was measured; he
was by far the most considerate of the Speedsters. Johnny would have
cranked up the speed to the maximum, get as far and as fast as possible
in the least amount of time.
Jay wasn’t like that. He minimised his bow wave and he made sure
that was the paramount of his concerns, no matter what the crisis was
to the people around him. Jay could be summed up in one word. He was
compassionate or, by Johnny’s own admission, concerned for others.
“We don’t hurt them, regardless of what they do to us.
They’re out of control, Johnny; you don’t need to react so
badly all the time.” Jay dropped the weapons and zipped over to
Johnny, looking past the other speedster’s shoulder and down the
street. Lightning crackled above.
“I know, I’m sorry, Jay, but you know what I’m like
when I put the costume on. It’s brain off and fists up.”
Johnny paused for a moment.
“I think this is going to get worse before it gets better.”
Jay said, eyes narrowing as he looked up at the flashing sky.
“What gave you that impression? The lightning, the wind, or the
fact you have shards of glass lodged in your back?”
“You’re not as funny as you think, Johnny,” Jay said,
with a slight smirk in the corner of his mouth.
“Ow, Jay…talk about cutting deep.” He patted his
friend on the back, carefully, before they both tore off to rescue more
inhabitants of Keystone.
Bart always admired Max Mercury, even if he didn’t tell him that.
Max was everything Bart wished he could be, calm, assertive,
knowledgeable and more importantly, powerful beyond words. Bart
admired that and he wished he had that sort of control over his powers.
Though, at the same time, Bart really embraced the other side of his
powers, the impulsive nature wasn’t necessarily a bad side, it
just showed how interested he was in everything. After all, what was
life without a bit of curiosity?
Bart and Max ran around the city, the storm was getting worse. As they
reached a higher speed the rain droplets felt like bullets and there
was no way they could out-maneuver them, there was just too many.
Luckily their aura’s made it so there was no physical discomfort
or pain, just a realization. Max’s hands shot out and threw Bart
out of the way, as a lightning bolt struck their path. It hit
centimetres before Max, who tumbled mid-run and hit the ground, rolling
a few feet before steadying himself by splaying his arms and legs.
“Wow,” Bart said, looking at the scorch mark before
shooting over to Max.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” Max said with a slight cough, getting to his feet.
“That was strange.”
“What was?”
“The lightning struck just before me, like it was aimed at me.
With all these big buildings and metal objects above, why would it
strike here?”
“What?” Bart was looking past Max, as a huge wave of water
hit the side of the bridge, pulling some cars into the liquid with its
recession.
“The Lightning.”
“Oh yeah, lightning.” Bart’s eyes were wide and
slightly glazed as he watched the waves.
Bart paused, tapping Max on the shoulder. The wave crashed against the
side of the City again, washing over it and sending a jet of water down
to their feet.
“Should it be doing that?”
“My God! The Rivers!” Max tore away from Bart, who quickly
followed, finding it hard to match Max’s footfalls.
“What’s the matter?”
“The rivers, Bart, they’re completely out of control. Most
of Keystone is surrounded by rivers but there’s a gap in the two
estuaries that feed into the main river separating Keystone from
Central.”
“So?”
“If the winds are this high and the rain this heavy,
there’s a chance they could burst their banks and…”
As Max trailed off.
“And?”
“We’re water locked, Bart.” The Rivers had joined
around the city; huge flows that were completely unnatural were
currently boring their way through the countryside and cityscape to
create new river beds, displacing the mass of water that already
existed around Keystone. When it was finished, they would truly be an
island city if this continued. Max could say nothing and neither could
Bart while they watched nature eat away at everything man had laid down.
“The bridge, Max,” Bart said finally as he remembers the
massive waves washing cars off the side. They both tore away, with Max
looking over his shoulder at the lightning striking their last
position. He pushed a little harder, dragging Impulse into his jet
stream. He didn’t want the kid getting hurt.
“Oh God,” Max said skidding to a halt at the jagged edge of
the bridge.
“There’s nothing left of it.” Max held his sides as
he watched the metal being dragged down into the torrents. There was
literally nothing left of the bridge. As Max turned round, Jay and
Johnny shot up to their sides, Jay immediately removing his helmet and
resting it on his chest as a sign of respect.
“What happened?” he asked, Johnny coming to his side and
whistling loudly. Wally and Jessie shot back to their sides as well,
Jessie latching onto her Father.
“People are going insane, and the city, it’s like
it’s been divided in two,” Wally said, crouching down at
the edge of the broken bridge, looking over the edge.
“There’s something fishy about the weather as well,”
Johnny added, clutching his daughter tightly.
“There’s more going on here than we’re seeing,
isn’t there?” Jay asked, replacing his helmet as the
lightning struck the remains of the bridge violently. The storm was
picking up, just around the speedsters.
“I think we’re drawing it to us, all the energy it seems to
be discharging, or at least it discharged around Bart and me.”
Max looked at the arcs of energy sparking off the metal of the bridge
and into the ground. Wally backed off a little.
“Drawing to us? Why would that be?” Wally asked out loud,
more thinking to himself than anything else. The lightning struck
again, exploding into sparks above their heads. Bart jumped and shot
backwards; as he did so, three smaller jolts of lightning exploded in
his wake. He stumbled and landed on his side.
“Wally?” he asked, looking slightly scared. Wally stood up
and raised both of his hands.
“I’m sure there’s nothing to be worried about.
We’re just using a lot of energy and creating a lot of friction
when we run; there’s no need to be...”
The asphalt next to him exploded with electrical energy, throwing Wally
through the air and over the edge of the bridge. Max shot forwards to
grab hold of his hands, but a second volley of electrical energy threw
Max over the edge of the bridge as well, colliding into Wally.
Jessie screamed and Bart called Max’s name, as they both plunged
into the water.
Wally hit the surface, with Max on his chest, pushing the air out of
his lungs. Bubbles shot from his mouth to the surface, as both he and
Max were drawn under the torrents of water.
Above the surface, Johnny and Jessie had already screamed their
mantra’s seven or eight times, flying over the surface of the
water, lightning strikes in their wake.
“Jessie, I know you’re scared honey, but you’re going
to need to trust me! Get Max and Wally, I’m going to draw the
lightning away from you all!”
Johnny never really accepted the Speed Force or his part or connection
to it, but something was targeting the Speedsters and if he could
protect his daughter, he was damn well going to do that. Running over
some particularly complicated mathematical formulas in his head,
something he did when he was trying to concentrate; he shot forwards, a
throng of lightning exploding across the surface of the water.
“Now Jessie!” he screamed, pushing himself as fast as he
could, the lightning trail following him.
On the side of the bridge, Jay and Bart watched, Bart hiding behind
Jay. The lightning strikes were getting more frequent and they were
both a little scared and worried.
“What’s going on, Jay?”
“I don’t know, son.”
“Are Wally and Max alright?”
Jessie’s hand shot over the lip of the broken bridge, gripping
onto broken concrete and metal rods. Jay rushed over at normal
speed to help her, wary of the lightning. He grabbed hold of her
fingerless gloved hand and yanks her up onto the surface. Wally clung
to her back and Max hung onto her foot.
“I didn’t think we were going to make it for a moment
there,” Wally said, breathing heavily and laying on his back.
“I’m still not convinced you will,” Jessie confessed,
looking angrily at her soaking wet passenger and then longingly out
onto the river. “Dad’s still out there.”
“I know, and we’re still so far from working out what this
IS,” Wally said, looking to Jay, who was staring out into the
river.
“I hope Johnny’s all right.”
Jay knelt down to give Wally a hand up.
“Something’s really wrong here, Wally.”
“Guys...” Bart pointed towards the sky.
“Hang on a second, Bart,” Max said, pulling himself to his
hands and knees.
“No, really, Guys!”
“Bart for God sake...” Max’s sentence was cut off as
the lightning congregated above the grouping, two distinct shards of
energy shot from the sky, one hitting Bart clean in the chest and other
hitting Jay in the back, causing him to wheel forwards.
“JAY!” Johnny yelled as he sped towards his friends last
known position across the surface of the water and up onto the road
surface. The JSA member, the first Flash wasn’t there anymore,
just a steaming section of melted asphalt.
Jessie put her hand on her father’s shoulder to comfort him as he
dropped to his knees.
“...Jay...”
Across the road, Max was frantically searching for Bart.
“Bart?! BART? Where are you? This isn’t the time for
playing games.” He sped around looking for his young charge,
blissfully ignoring the steaming asphalt and fragment of Bart’s
costume that lay on the ground.
“I think we’ve got bigger problems now,” Wally said,
biting his lip at the turn of his phrase. What could be bigger than Jay
and Bart going missing?
“Oh God.” Jessie looked up at the sky, as the huge,
blinding light opened between the clouds, jets of electricity leaping
from cloud to cloud and hitting the streets below, arcing through
buildings.
“What is that thing?” Johnny asked, from his kneeling
position.
Before anyone could answer the glowing energy exploded, a massive tube
collapsing downwards, throwing electricity horizontally as well as
vertically, hitting everything that could be a receiver for its energy.
The tube hit the street and began to spread outwards, energy being
thrown everywhere, exploding and crashing against the physical barriers
that Keystone presented.
Before Wally lost consciousness, he could see Max mouth something
before passing out himself.
“Speed Force.”
Next Issue: Storm Front Part 2! Authors
Note: Seems obligatory
for new authors to leave a note at the end of their first issue. So,
first issue of the Flash – Issue 14, and I’m following a
lot of stuff
from a lot of great people, So don’t expect anything good from
me! As
you can see, I’m following my own personal trend of doing
something
completely mental, since that’s what I do. I’ve got a plan
for the
Flash, and his family, stretching a long way into the future, so
hopefully, if all goes well, you’ll have me for a long time yet.
