Have you ever stopped to look at a Pablo Picasso painting?
I mean really stopped to look.
Art critics call it brilliant, collectors call it priceless,
and other artists call it inspired. Me, I never got it. All I know is that out there in the world somewhere
there has got to be one person that gets it, one person that really
understands it. All the colors,
the shapes, for that one person it all makes a picture, a portrait,
even a bowl a fruit. Not for me.
I’m Wally West. I’m
Faux DC presents
The Adventures of Wally West, The Fastest Man Alive
Issue #9
"Chasing Shadows, Part I"
By Jason Reeps
“Wally, I can’t tell you what you saw in that other dimension.” Max was trying as hard as I was to piece it all together.
“It was like being in on the filming of Duck Soup. I actually sat and had a deep, meaningful conversation with a man that not only claimed to be the speed force but bore a striking resemblance to Zeppo Marx.” (Last Issue – JR)
“Like I said Wally, I can’t tell you what you saw. You know better than most that traveling through time and dimensions can have an effect on perceptions.”
Bart Allen is sitting in the corner probably visualizing a duck wearing Groucho glasses and sporting a cigar falling from the ceiling with sign around his neck that reads ‘speed force’. “Maybe you were caught in the place where old movies and TV reruns go to die.”
“BART!” we both say sharply.
“What did he say to you exactly?” Max asked.
“He said ‘I just don't happen to be YOUR speed force’.”
“You see? ‘YOUR speed force’ he said it himself. That man you ran into could have been the speed force in that dimension. Maybe that is how it works there. Maybe he’s just a man that has your power to lend speed force to others. Or maybe you saw what your mind wanted to see. When confronted with another dimension’s speed force maybe your mind put a familiar and comfortable face on it. You’ll never know unless you find your way back there to ask him one day.”
“It’s just a lot to chew on all at once. It’s not even the trip that bothers me. What bothers me is that I have been inside our speed force and I don’t have any specific memories of the trip. What is ours like? Is it better than that place? Is it worse?” I could feel the emotions starting again. Every time I came to this point in my thought process I could feel the pressure well up inside me like a geyser waiting to blow. It was joy at the thought that he was in a better place. It was terror at the thought that he could be suffering. “If it is a place then what happened to Barry when he died?”
I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the face of Jay Garrick, the first man to call himself the Flash and my second father. He had remained silent through the entire conversation but now he had a look of deep concern on his face. “Don’t let this tear you apart son. Barry Allen was one of the finest men I ever had the pleasure to run with and if I’m sure of anything I’m sure he went to a better place. If I didn’t believe that I couldn’t do this job.” I don’t know how he ever did it but Jay always managed to turn the simplest words into something soothing and meaningful. I could feel myself relax a little. “Go home, spend some time with Linda, get some sleep, do anything but stop torturing yourself with these thoughts.” Jay said firmly.
“Maybe you’re right. God knows I haven’t seen Linda in a while and I could use some sleep. Thanks for all your help.”
From the corner came a nonchalant, “No prob, Wal.” Sometimes I wonder if Aunt Iris was testing me when she sent me Bart. It’s moments like these that I thank God for Max Mercury.
I hit the sound barrier effortlessly but I stay just on the slow side. Folks don’t take kindly to local speedsters smashing widows with sonic booms. As I control the flow of speed force through my body I notice the control, I feel the power, I taste the freedom and it’s sweet. I’ve lost my powers on a couple of occasions in my life and every time they come back I appreciate them a little more. Then I consider the responsibility that comes with that power and the reality that one day I may have to lay my powers on the line for humanity and maybe loose my life. Then it hits me again, Barry. What’s it like for Barry Allen now? Will I eventually see him again? I know Jay told me to go home but I have to make one stop first.
I round the last corner and blow through the front doors of the Flash museum. The staff is pretty used to seeing the multicolored blur of speedsters come through their doors every now and then so I can’t imagine I take anyone buy surprise. I had donated one of Barry’s old suits to the museum many years ago and, it may sound silly, but when I miss Barry the worst I like to just look at the suit. It’s one of the few physical ties I have left to him.
The suit is worn by a mannequin and represents Barry at the peak of his career and stands in the middle of a diorama of downtown Central City. As I stare at it memories wash over me. I remember fighting for the fate of the city at Barry’s side. The memories are so vivid I can almost feel the chill of Captain Cold’s cyclotron. Then I snap out of my daze, it’s not my memory of the cold that’s giving me chills it really is getting colder, and fast. I take a nanosecond to look myself over and sure enough my lower torso and feet are incased in block of ice. I look up; there’s the gun but Snart’s not holding it. Then it’s obvious why I didn’t notice him. He looked just like anyone else and I suppose by now I’m used to the people that are gunning for me being a tad more flamboyant. After all, I was the first guy to run into the Rainbow Raider. Over the kid’s shoulder I see the display case he liberated the cyclotron from and a few feet from that a guard stands frozen in block of ice. This kid can’t be more than 16, what’s going through his head? I stare into his eyes from across the room and all I see is pure hatred. What could I have done to become the target of this boy’s rage? As the second blast hits me it occurs to me that introspection comes second when fighting a maniac wielding a Cold’s cyclotron. Note to self: no more inner monologues during battle.
I vibrate my molecules just enough to crack the ice and the second I’m free I race towards the kid intent on liberating the gun from his grasp but I come up short. I feel the sharp crack of the gun against my head. Then a foot in my chest sends me crashing through a glass display case. Then he’s off like a shot, running at superhuman speed towards the front of the museum. After scanning for any unwanted casualties I take off after him stopping at the desk to tell the attendant that they’ve got a guard who needs some medical attention. As I clear the front doors of the building I can see the kid darting through the moving traffic. An instant later it becomes obvious that he doesn’t have the control over his powers that I do. I watch him zig when he should have zagged and then there’s an explosion of glass and metal as he smashes headlong into an eighteen-wheeler. In an instant I’m next to the truck using my influence over the speed force to steal all of the truck’s momentum. As it comes to a rest I take off down the column of cars stealing momentum as needed to prevent any further accidents. I get back to the kid’s body before the driver can even climb out of the now twisted cab of his truck.
It’s never pretty when a pedestrian tries to take on tons of rolling metal but throw in super speed and it only gets worse. I check the kid’s pulse knowing exactly what I’m going to find, nothing. He never stood a chance. I use museum banners to construct a makeshift screen around the front of the truck to shield it from the prying eyes of onlookers. Stepping inside my hasty construction I take a deep breath and pull the kid’s body free from the engine compartment.
I search him for any clue to his identity and find nothing but a few preloaded syringes. The liquid contained inside is deep crimson, too dark to be blood. Pulling his right shirtsleeve off I find track marks. This probably isn’t the first time he’s been stoned. But then it hits me like Superman swinging a right hook. I’ve seen syringes like this before, but it will take a few tests to confirm my suspicions. I pocket one of the syringes, leaving the rest to the police for evidence. As the first police officers arrive I step out of my makeshift crime scene to greet them. While giving my statement I step back inside with the coroner. I watch as he catalogues the damage done by the collision to both the boy and the truck. Then I watch as he rolls the boy over. There on his right shoulder blade I see something that almost stops me mid-sentence. It’s a tattoo I hadn’t noticed before, a black circle split diagonally by a crimson lightning bolt. Only one man, Eobard Thawne, wore that symbol. He called himself Professor Zoom we called him the Reverse Flash. He was a mentally unstable speedster that came in and out of our lives until eventually Barry killed him when he tried to take the life of his fiancée, Fiona Webb. This day just keeps getting stranger.
As I approach S.T.A.R. labs I can see the men at the front gate stiffen at my approach. They breathe an audible sigh of relief when a second later I slide to a stop at their checkpoint. As you can imagine they get a little nervous when they see something streaking for them at super human speed, scarlet or otherwise.
“Mr. West, I wish you wouldn’t do that. You’re going to drive me to an early retirement.” the guard says.
“Sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. Are Tina and Jerry McGee in?” I ask as I sign the front gate log.
“Yes, they’re in their lab.”
I streak through the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs as I have hundreds of times before and in seconds I’m in Tina and Jerry’s lab. Or I should be. Instead of Jerry and Tina a tall man with graying hair and a salt and pepper mustache meets me. “I’m sorry, I thought this was Jerry and Tina McGee’s lab.” As I turn and walk out the door I notice the sign across the hall says Dr. McGee. When I open the door I find that the sign reads true. “Hey guys when did you move?”
Tina looked up from her work. “Move? What do you mean?”
“Wally! How’s life in the fast lane?” Jerry says jovially as he turns and grabs my hand and gives it a hearty shake.
“Not too good I’m afraid. I have something I want you two to look at. I grabbed this syringe off a guy who attacked me in the Flash museum earlier. I have my own suspicions about its content but I really want you to tell me I’m crazy.” I say, handing him the needle.
After a few tests Jerry confirms my fear. “It’s a Velocity 9 derivative.”
“I thought I had stopped Savage from distributing that filth. I guess I could have missed some but why would Zoom use kids to do his dirty work? Why wouldn’t Zoom just face me himself? How could Zoom have come back? This is all starting to give me an ice cream headache.”
“Wally, you have to slow down. What are you talking about?” Tina says in her most soothing tone.
“Don’t worry about it Tina, it’s something I have to take care of. Thanks for all the help. Give Linda and me a call sometime, we’ll all go out.”
I change into my civilian clothes and spend the rest of the day walking through Central City Park consumed by a million thoughts, none of them good. If Eobard were back from another divergent point in the future then why would he pick now? Wouldn’t he travel to a time when Barry was alive? His beef with Barry is bigger than any issues he has with me. Unless he’s widened his focus and just wants to destroy the whole Flash legacy. That would make me, and anyone close to me a target. Then it hits me, Linda. If Zoom has returned and he wants my attention why wouldn’t he go after Linda like everyone else does. “Gotta get to Linda!” I say to the heavens as much to myself. Then my senses explode with pain. I feel an arm across my throat and then a tree across my back as the momentum of the strike carries me into a tall oak. I crumble like a rag doll and look up to see two teenage boys and a teenage girl standing in front of me all wearing t-shirts that bear the Zoom symbol.
“Pretty funny acing Mack like that huh, hero? So another kid loses his fight against a world that doesn’t want him. So what. Well I’m Tank, this is Sean and she’s Janice, just in case this time you’d like to be able to tell the cops our names when you kill us.”
I try to maintain my cool, these are just kids, not much older than Bart. “I didn’t kill your friend, Mack. I tried to…” the last words leave my mouth accompanied by a shower of blood as Sean plants a solid kick in the side of my face. I can taste the copper in my mouth and I can feel the anger start to well up in me. Surprisingly it’s not at them, it’s at Zoom. Then Tank’s voice draws my attention again.
“What, you ain’t listening? I said how does it feel to be beaten down by the people your system tried to forget?”
“That’s enough.” and with that I sweep a leg out catching Tank at the ankles and dropping him to the ground. Sean throws a punch for the back of my head but when his fist arrives all it finds is air. I grab him firmly by the wrist with one hand and plant the other on his shoulder. Then using my leverage I spin him off his feet and into the tree. It’s been so long since I’ve had to face three super speedsters at once I don’t see Janice speed around the other side of the tree and up its trunk. From the branch above me she launches feet first into my chest, slamming me to the ground. As I clear the cobwebs from my brain I can see Tank off to the side with a syringe injecting more of the Velocity derivative into his veins. I can feel the anger well again, stronger than ever. I swing my feet up and kick Janice firmly in the back sending her reeling forward. Coming to my feet I see Sean pull out a collapsible baton and swing for my head. I step outside his swing and grabbing his wrist I flip him to the ground. I turn for Tank and I can see it’s too late; he’s finished injecting the drug. A split second before he notices me I’m up and running straight for him. He tries to run but I catch him and use his own momentum to carry him into a park bench. I hear the wooden planks of the bench groan in protest and Tank grunt forcefully as we slam into it.
“You think that’s the solution to your problems? That drug is probably killing you but you’re so blinded by your…” the last words are cut short as I feel Sean’s collapsible baton crash across my back, sending me reeling over the bench. As I try to raise myself off the ground I can feel the muscles in my shoulder scream in protest.
“You think powers qualify you to tell me how to live my life?” Tank says as he climbs to his feet and pulls a baton of his own. “You and everyone like you look down on us, you pity us. Not anymore, hero, now we’ve got Rush and we don’t need any of you anymore.”
“What you’ve got, Tank, is a derivative of a drug called Velocity 9. It gives you power but it will eventually kill you.”
Tank spits words at me like they were poison. “That’s what you people do isn’t it? You just take everything from kids like me. Well you ain’t taking this.”
With that Tank and Sean charge me. As I stand to meet the assault I feel another baton slam into my head followed by a warm stream of blood. The pain distracts me long enough for Sean and Tank to land their strikes at my ribs. The hits come fast and furious and I try feverishly to block the incoming blows. Then I see a red and blue blur and Janice is gone. Tank stops for a second to follow Janice with his eyes and that second is all I need.
Flash Fact: Some speedsters have learned to vibrate their molecules fast enough to pass through solid objects. I never could get that trick quite right. For me passing through a solid object has a particular side effect.
I vibrate myself out of phase with the rest of the world and reach for Sean’s baton. As my hand passes through it the baton explodes knocking him backwards off his feet. As I get to my feet I see a look in Tank’s eyes. It’s the look a deer has when it’s caught in your headlights. It doesn’t seem to know whether to stand and take what’s coming or run for the hills. In the end Tank is smarter than the deer; he bolts. I take off after him, gaining ground slowly so I don’t scare him off his feet. I’ve already seen one kid lose control of his super speed today and I don’t need to see it again. We turn the corner into Central City’s shopping district and he speeds down the main drag. Two blocks and half a second later Tank explodes into flames. It’s like watching a jet fighter peel apart at mach 2. By the time his body comes to a halt in the middle of Central City’s main drag he’s no more than a scattered pile of smoldering bones.
I remove my shirt and gather Tank’s remains into it before the people on the street can figure out what’s going on and then run back to the park. As I expected I find Jay standing near the scene of the fight with Sean and Janice handcuffed to the bench.
“How are my assailants?”
“He and Janice are waking up. They’ll be okay, Sean has a few lacerations from the shrapnel and a mother of a head ache but all in all their fine,” Jay says looking at me with a question on his face. “Where’s Tank, you didn’t let the kid get away from you did you?”
“No. It turns out the Rush caught up to him before I did.” I open the shirt slightly to show Jay the remains.
“Oh dear god, Wally I’m…I’m sorry.”
“Why would he do this, Jay? Why would he use kids like this?”
“Who are you talking about, Wally?”
“Him!” I say pointing at the symbol of Sean’s chest. “Zoom.”
“Nonsense, Eobard is dead. Barry killed him.”
“He’s back Jay, he has to be. Who else but Zoom would use his symbol?” I spin to face Sean. “Who is he?” I scream. “Who put you up to this?”
Sean looks up at me with glassy eyes. “Why are you even asking man? You seem to have put the pieces together all by your self.”
“Describe him.”
“He calls himself Zoom. He wears this yellow hooded suit with red boots. It’s got red lightning bolts around the waist and arms. Sound like anyone you know?”
I grab Sean by his lapels and pull him nose to nose. “Do you understand that the man that claims he’s trying to help you by supplying you with Rush is responsible for the death of two of your friends?
“Two?” I can hear Sean’s voice shake slightly.
“Mack was hit by a truck when he lost control of his super speed and you friend Tank just exploded in downtown Central City.”
“Exploded? Bull$#&!!”
I reach into the shirt that is now lying at Jay’s feet and pull out a still slightly warm femur. “This is Tank, Sean and you’re headed down the same road if you don’t help me. Now tell me where Zoom is!”
“Wally. Wally! Walter West!” I feel Jay’s hand grab my wrist and he pulls me back to face him. “You are threatening a child with human remains, what’s wrong with you!?” He stares at me sternly in the way only a father can and I feel my rage melt away only to be replaced with shame.
“I’m sorry Jay, I didn’t mean to take it that far. Either events lately have got me more frazzled than I thought or I’ve spent too much time with Bat…” Then the realization hits me like a freight train. “What did you call me?”
“I called you Walter, why?” Jay was looking at me like I had grown a third eye.
“Jay, do you remember the conversation we had with Max the morning? We talked about me getting my powers back. We talked about my trip to that alternate dimension. Do you remember?”
Jay was looking more and more confused with every detail I added. “Wally, I haven’t seen you all day. This morning I was sitting at home having breakfast with Joan.”
“Of course.” The little pieces start to come together in my mind like metal shavings pulled by a magnet. “Earlier I went to see Tina and Jerry at STAR labs and their office was on the wrong side of the hall. Tina looked surprised when I asked them if they moved but I blew it off. Just now you called me Walter.” Jay looked at me now more puzzled then ever. “My name is Wallace, Jay. Wallace West. I’ve been through enough of these little games that I should have noticed it before. But when did it start? He would have had to hide it on the other side of a doorway to get me to run through without noticing. He must have done it when I was in the Flash Museum.”
“I hope you’re not about to say what I think you’re going to say.”
“I have to find a way out of this dimension, and then I have to find Mirror Master.”
NEXT ISSUE: Where are the kids getting their supply of Rush? Isn’t Zoom dead? What does Mirror Master have to do with all of this? Where's Walter West? Stick around and find out.
Speed Reading
This section will be dedicated to your letters. As the new guy I like feedback from the crowd. After all the title is only so much fun if I’m just writing it for me. So send me accolades, send me critiques, you can even send me flame-grams just send them to speedreading2000@yahoo.com. I’ll try to catch Wally up to date as fast as I can and make it entertaining to boot.
-Jason
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