The Speed Force

Keep an OPEN MIND.

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(General P.O.V)

Barry was frustrated. He'd just woken up after sustaining injuries from his fight against Drakon. A meta-human just like him. Reality though, couldn't be more clearer on who was more powerful. Barry had lost. Badly. He'd thought that with his superior speed and reaction, no one short of another speedster would pose such a huge challenge to him.

Drakon had demonstrated an astonishing amount of skill in using his wind elemental powers. The shockwaves he had shown were either an advanced application of his wind meta abilities or the less likely notion of having more powers. Personally Barry didn't know which was more terrifying.

"You lost. And that's okay, Barry. You just woke up from a 9 month comma and no one expects you to take on everything and win. So stop sulking."

Caitlin said to him.

She was looking at the results of his scans and making sure he was alright. No one wanted Joe or Iris to see him limping back home. Iris because she would have questions about how he'd been injured and Joe because he knew why he'd been injured. He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know. It's just that…I was scared Caitlin. He had me down for the count and didn't even look like he was struggling. Drakon is not like Mardon. His control over his powers was phenomenal and I'm afraid that I'm just not cut out for this."

His reply was the truth. Deep inside him however he was disgusted by his cowardice. Drakon could have very well been the one person who had the answers about his mother's killer but Barry was shying away at the thought of confronting him again.

Caitlin sighed.

"Your vitals are stable but your body is burning through calories fast. I suggest you up the intake and I'll see if I can come up with something to compensate for the high amount of food you'll be eating."

Barry nodded absentmindedly.

"Look Barry. I hate to see you like this. This loss was only a speed bump. No pun intended. Learn from it and get stronger. In any case you've got us to help you out. I doubt Drakon has got 3 accomplished scientists as his back-up, right?"

Barry chuckled. Caitlin was right. Why was he feeling sorry for himself? This was just a minor inconvenience. He would get stronger. He had a feeling he hadn't discovered half of what his powers could do.

"You're right. Thanks Cait. I needed that."

She nodded happy to see him out of his funk.

"Great. Now go home and rest. We'll call you if anything pops up."

14 hours later

(Thawne P.O.V)

"Dr. Wells. The satellite just picked up a high amount of dark matter energy surge a distance away from the city. It's like nothing I've ever seen before."

"Thank you Cisco. Observe and if it grows bigger then we'll need Barry to be ready."

Thawne turned off the call and switched to Gideon's avatar.

"Gideon patch me up towards our friend."

A second later, General Eiling's face appeared on the screen.

"It's time. Don't mess this up Eiling."

"Don't order me around Wells. My men are prepared. Just send me the coordinates. My success has been long overdue."

(Jin's p.o.v)

I strapped the last of the braces in and pressed the button for the procedure to start. I had finally stabilized the serum enough to get rid of any drastic mental changes at the cost of more power. As it was the serum would work but it wouldn't provide me with a big multiplication of power as compared to it's prior aggressive sample.

It didn't bother me however, because the serum was only supposed to be a catalyst to push the speed I got further. Hence if everything worked out okay, I would have a higher starting base as compared to early canon flash. White lightning for the win baby.

"I need to find a way to create an A.I assistant. Doing everything myself is exhausting."

I said to myself as the countdown to administering the serum started. I connected with the clouds and gathered a good lightning charge. The speed force being the supreme measure of velocity in the DC universe, I would need to tap into the dimension to access it's powers and for that I needed the speed force formula.

I didn't know if it would work. Hell, Barry had tried using the speed equation to defeat Zoom because of the vast difference in their power but it had never been shown how. Thawne had called it an 'unorthodox approach'. So you could say I was flying at the edge of my seat.

Needles jabbed into my spine and I was left gasping in pain as the serum entered my body. My body started to heat up and it felt like billions of ants were going bulimic on my flesh. I stopped myself from thrashing but nearly failed. I hadn't thought it would be this painful.

"3x2(9YZ)4A=?"

I mustered every ounce of my will and shouted out the formula.

"Booooom!"

I wasn't awake to see the huge blast of lightning decimate my surroundings.

Instead I found myself in a place that I had never thought I would find myself in again. My house. Well, Logan's house. Everything was gray looking however and the clock that was normally in the hallway wasn't ticking. I…had been gone for so long but it was just like I remembered it. The pictures framed on the stairway showing my family and I.

Even the carpet with a lasagna stain that my mom hadn't gotten round to cleaning yet. I felt a small sad smile make it's way onto my face.

"It's crazy you know. Before I went to college I couldn't wait to leave this house and get my freedom but now…I wouldn't mind seeing them…just one more time."

I said to the woman who was sitting on the couch looking at my family photo album. She was middle-aged, red hair and had smile lines.

"You look happy in these."

She told me as I slowly approached and sank down on my father's favorite chair.

"Yeah. I was."

A brief comfortable silence passed between us. I broke it.

"You're the speed force."

She looked up and smiled mischievously at me.

"Technically everything you see around you is the speed force."

I almost rolled my eyes at that. Dimensional being cracking jokes? Check.

"Why did you bring me here? I doubt every speedster gets this special treatment."

All traces of humor were erased from her face and I internally applauded myself for not letting down my guard.

"You're right. We need to talk."

"About what?"

I was curious.

"Tell me something Logan. Why do you seek power?"

I took a second to think.

"You must have read my thoughts. That's the only way you could have known my real name. You already know the answer to your question."

She shook her head.

"Your name was the only thing I could glean from your mind. There's a barrier blocking the rest.

She swung her arm around.

"All this. The house, the pictures. They are all manifested by you. Your subconscious generated this place from your memories."

"I must really miss them…"

Pain blossomed in my heart briefly before I squashed it.

"The reason I seek power is to save a friend of mine and protect the ones I love."

She looked at me skeptically.

"Really? You know what I think, you seek power because you're addicted."

"What?"

I snorted.

"How can one be addicted to seeking for power? Granted I'm not a goody two shoes like the rest but the way you're talking, makes it seem like I'm the bad guy."

"You're not honest to yourself and that saddens me."

She told me and I got annoyed.

"Look. I was taken from my home and thrown into a world where men can run faster than a speeding bullet. The fact that I haven't used the power I have to take over the world shows I'm not a power hungry maniac! I didn't ask for this and I'll be damned if I get killed because of getting complacent."

I replied in anger.

"Let me show you something Logan."

Instantly, i found myself floating in the air above Central city. But not the one I knew. Buildings were destroyed and smoke was rising from many places. I could hear sirens and the cries of hurt people.

"What…"

I asked the speed-force who was also floating next to me.

"Sshh. Just watch."

A streak of lightning blasted through the debris and stopped. The dust cleared and I saw the flash in rags and bleeding kneeling on the ground. He looked up and I gasped at the hatred, fear and loathing I saw on his face. I followed his gaze and above me with winds carrying him was…me? There wasn't a hockey mask on my face anymore. Instead I was dressed in a form fighting costume and a trench coat with a bleeding Supergirl in my hands.

I couldn't believe it. The cruelty in his eyes was something I had never thought I was capable of. A resounding click and Supergirl's neck was snapped.

"Nooooooo!"

Barry shouted and I jumped to attack him before the Cosmic being by my side held my hand.

"You can't interfere."

The hard look on her face brokered no judgement. I gnashed my teeth in anger and denial.

"That's not me. It can't be."

Barry was powerless to do anything as a black tendril of flesh surrounded Kara's body and she was sucked into the terrifying man wearing my face.

"Ah. What a nice power-up. Now where was I? Oh yeah destroying the city. You've lost Flash. Let me show you the incarnation of despair."

Saying that, a ball of energy formed in his hands, the size of a bowling ball. Flashes of lightning danced along it. Painting a beautiful image. The core got darker as he compressed it and let it fall. My heart grew cold.

All Barry could do was watch as the ball touched down on the ground and everything was turned into ash. The energy bloomed and consumed us too. I stumbled and caught myself on the wall of my parent's house. I felt the urge to vomit, so I closed my eyes and breathed in.

"What…what was that!"

I shouted. I still couldn't believe what I had seen.

"Your future. Which is why you can't become a speedster."

"No no no. You're lying. I would never…"

"Really? Before you came into this world, had you killed before?"

"No."

I knew where she was going with this and I didn't want to hear it.

"You refuse to give me your power because of something I might do. But we both know that the future is never set on stone. What about all the evil speedsters out there in the multiverse using your power to commit greater evil than I will ever be capable of?"

She sighed.

"Because they are a known variable. They will never exceed their limitations. They will always hit a peak and never breach it. They also have people to stop them. You on the other hand have the drive and sheer will to supercede any limitations. I'm not afraid of you turning evil. I'm afraid that you will never stop growing."

"Ah!"

I barked out a laugh.

"Don't flatter me. I have no need for empty platitudes. Just call it as it is. Bias. You know I will not fit into the roles of hero or villain that you have all these other speedsters playing. You can't control me and that is what really scares you."

"Believe what you will."

All traces of friendliness were gone from her face and tone. And I knew I had hit the nail on the head.

"Infact. I have to thank you Speed-force. A friend of mine told me not to rely on others for power. It's about time I listened."

With that I found myself lying at the backyard of my house. All the machinery I had used was in shambles. Probably destroyed by the lightning. All of that for nothing. No not for nothing. I rose up and looked at my hands. I clenched my fist and felt…power.

My whole body was thrumming with strength and energy. Guess the serum half of the experiment worked. Who needs the speed-force anyway? Superman could move at superluminal speeds when he wanted. Besides I was going to make my own speed-force, I already had an idea how.

I also mentally turned off Devoe's thinker powers and the world got colorful again. Suddenly guilt and self-loathing hit me with the force of a truck. In that future vision I had been an irredeemable maniac but that wasn't going to be me. And the first step was not using the Thinker's power freely lest I became a walking machine.

The second step…well it could wait. After all I had guests visiting. Through my water sense I detected guns trained on me and even more soldiers surrounding my property. Not to mention the four figures walking brazenly towards my front door. It was time to meet who I was 100% sure was General Wade Eiling.