Legends of the Flash #1

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Legends of the Flash #1
A Lightning Change!

Written by Nikolai Peter Fomich
Edited by Daniel Dyer

"THE FUTURE, ladies and gentlemen. That is what holds the key to the secrets to the Speed Force. That and chemistry. Not only have I found the universal system which keeps speed bound like we know it, but I have also come up with a way to demonstrate undeniable proof of its existence to you, the public.” The crowd applauds, feeding Professor’s Eobard Thawne’s welcoming ego.

“He didn’t even mention you! After all the long hours you’ve spent helping out that crazy old man-”

Looking at his girlfriend, Barry Allen smiles, “Don’t worry, Iris. He’s just really excited. This is his life’s work, after all.” Barry had helped his former college professor with the Speed Force Theory, helping to create the necessary chemical compositions Thawne needed in order to discover how the Speed Force effected living organisms. Open to the public, Barry had come to see the fruits of Professor Thawne’s labor, along with Iris West, her visiting nephew Wally, and Albert Desmond, a friend of Barry’s who had helped him with some of Thawne’s chemistry notes.

Iris, a reporter for Central City News, had enough of Thawne’s rambling. “Barry, listen. I have to run over to the office to take care of some paper work for my editor. Can you take Wally home for me?”

“No problem. It’ll just be the boys, right, Wally?”

Iris’s red-haired nephew slumps in his chair. “Sure. Great."

Barry turns his attention back to the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have been most kind in your patience. And now to the demonstration.” Uncovering a cage with a lab rat in it, Professor Thawne proceeds to bring out another object: a loaded gun. “Do not be alarmed. I assure you, neither you nor this precious little fellow will be harmed. I have cleared this with the police and Keith Kenyon, our generous benefactor of Union Gold Industries. I have injected the mouse with my new serum, which actually allow it to break the Speed Force barrier! It will instinctively move out of the way, moving faster than the bullet itself. Observe.”

Looking over at Barry, Albert Desmond gives him a concerned look. “That’s a pretty daring experiment. Especially in public. Did Thawne give you his final notes before this?”

Barry shakes his head. “No. I think the Professor wanted to complete the final stages of the Speed Force experiment himself. The only thing that surprises me is that he actually knows how to use a gun- and owns one!”

Albert shuffles, uneasy. Finally he says, “There’s a lot about that man you don’t know.”

Seeing the serious look in his friend’s eyes, Barry asks, “What do you mean?”

But before Albert Desmond can answer, both notice Thawne with the loaded gun, ready to fire. Thawne smiles, this the culmination of all his dreams. Barry, along with everyone else, is captivated. BANG! The crowd falls silent, then gasps. The mouse is dead. Thawne drops the gun. “Faster...” he whispers, then falls to the ground.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Professor? Professor Thawne, are you okay?” Opening his eyes, Eobard Thawne comes face to face with Barry.

“Allen? Allen, is that you?”

“Yes, Professor, I’m right here. Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine.” Brushing him off, Thawne moves away from Barry, standing up. “Everyone...they’re gone?”

“Yes, Professor, it’s just me and my friends. What happened?”

Thawne frowns picking up the gun and looking at it. “I...the experiment failed. I don’t know how. The equations are fine, so it must have been the components. They must have been contaminated or something. Thawne looks at Barry. “I can’t believe this has happened...my life’s work. Agh!” Thawne turns away, throwing the gun on the floor.

“Professor, be careful with that! You still aren’t well.” Thawne gives Barry an icy look. Sighing, Barry knows what he should do. “Professor, would you like me to run an analysis on the Speed Force serum at the Central City Police Department for you?"

Thawne looks up, confused. “The police department?”

“I’m a police scientist, remember?”

Professor Thawne, still apprehensive, concedes. For, despite his arrogance, he knows that Barry might be able to help him prove his theory. And for Thawne, that is the single most important thing in the world. “Alright Allen. When can I have your results?”

“Well, tomorrow. They’re refitting the lab with new equipment later this week, so if I’m going to stop by and run a few tests, it’ll have to be tonight.”

“Alright. Let me know first thing.”

Walking from the auditorium, Barry sees Albert shaking his head as he gets into his car. “You know Barry, you’ve got to be the nicest guy around.” Barry smiles, and waves to him.

Turning to Wally, Barry sees the teenager’s look of dismay.

“Hey Wally, have you ever been to a police station?”

“Nope.”

Opening the door of his car, Barry says “Well, you’ve got the backstage pass now. Ready to go?”

“C’mon Uncle Barry, do we really have to do this?”

“Ah, it’ll be fun. Who knows? Maybe we’ll find out the secret to the Speed Force.”

Wally roles his eyes, but gets into the car. “Life changing, I’m sure.”

Starting the engine, Barry turns on the radio. A weatherman predicts stormy weather, and rain begins to fall.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“This is your lab?”

Barry smiles. “Yeap. Pretty much. What do you think?”

Wally walks around, looking at a rack full of equipment, and then turning his attention to a shelf of chemicals. “It’s alright, I guess.”

“I’m going to take a look at the Professor’s serum. You can take a look at some of the equipment, but please don’t mess with the chemicals. They can be dangerous.”

“Right.”

Forty minutes later, Wally cannot take it anymore. “Uncle Barry, can we please go now?”

“Alright Wally. I’m almost done.” Walking over to the chemicals, Barry searches the shelves for a particular compound.

Wally follows Barry, wondering if he would ever get home tonight. Turning to look outside the window, Wally’s eyes widen for a split second, when suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes the cabinet and the two of them from the outside, splashing chemicals all over Wally and Barry.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Opening his eyes, Barry sees Iris, lovely as ever. Seeing her light brown eyes are all he needs to see to know all is right in the world. “Hey,” she says. Barry smiles, meekly, but then realizes something.

“Wally! Is he hurt??” Sitting up from the hospital bed, Barry sees the 16 year-old, along with Barry’s longtime friend, Ralph Dibny.

“I’m fine Uncle Barry. I thought I had been hit too, but I guess I was okay. It was all very confusing. After what happened, I called Aunt Iris. You took the brunt of it.”

Leaning towards him, Ralph gives Barry his classic smile. “How are you feelin’ Barry?"

Reasserting himself for a moment, Barry can’t help but smile back. “I feel...great.”

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“You’re fired.”

“I...what?” Thawne could not have heard him correctly. How could Keith Kenyon, founder of Union Gold and administrator to their scientific department, fire their most brilliant researcher? “What did you say?”

“I said you’re fired Thawne. This failed experiment of yours has been a blow to our public relations. If you had brought us something other than this “Speed Force” theory, then things may have been different, but you decided to devote all your studies to prove your theory. And you failed. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to."

Staring wide-eyed, Thawne is in shock. If he had any more of his once red hair left, he would have pulled it out. “You- you can’t do this to me! My funding...I need it to complete my work and-”

“I’m sorry Thawne, but it’s too late. You’re out of time. You’re done.”

Not sure what to say, Thawne rushes out of Kenyon’s office, cursing the world and all its injustice, secretly wondering if he truly was a failure.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Arriving at his apartment, Barry sighs. He is on the couch in moments, tired from his long day. The doctors had a thousand questions for him, and the fact that they had found traces of some chemicals within him made matters worse. Even though the chemicals appeared to have no dangerous effect on Barry, the doctors demanded that he rest for the next few days. “No problem there,” Barry says to himself, chuckling slightly. Turning his head, he sees the clock. Reading 11:11, Barry realizes he had promised to call Iris half an hour ago to tell her how he was feeling. Wishing he wasn’t so forgetful (and not to mention always late), Barry decides to call her after she is off work. Falling fast asleep, Barry dreams of Iris, the love of his life, and, strangely, of Professor Thawne and the future.

“That’s impossible!” Waking up, Barry looks at the clock, which still shows 11:11. Not finding anything wrong with the clock, Barry shakes his head, wondering what could be wrong. Confused, Barry can think of only one thing that could clear his thoughts: an issue of his favorite World War Two hero, The Flash. Leaving his apartment, Barry heads to a nice park he knows of, where he could relax now that yesterday’s storm was gone. Outside, the wind picks up, and Barry’s comic flies from his hands. “Oh great!” Chasing after it, Barry suddenly finds that he is no longer near the park, but in Keystone City, the neighboring town! Shocked, Barry Allen realizes he has run a great distance in mere moments, becoming the fastest man alive.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Well Leonard? Is it done?” A gruff man in a blue-grey suit nods briefly, but without taking his eyes off the experiments happening down below the railing.

Looking up at his boss, Leonard Snart elaborates. “Yes Mr. Kenyon. Everything’s taken care of. Those private contracts have ‘disappeared’ so you’ll be able to start building your new developmental facility."

Keith Kenyon smiles, happy to hear some good news for a change. No Pointless housing developments would stop him and Union Gold toward progress.

“Uh, Mr. Kenyon?"

“What is it Leonard?”

Pointing down towards one of the major research centers, Leonard seems to have found something that intrigues him. “What is that?”

Kenyon smiles. “That, my friend, is one of our premiere projects. Based off of work done by a Doctor Victor Fries, I believe. This is our experimental freeze gun. It has to do with cryogenics or something, I’m not completely sure. But it’s all but ready for the market.”

Witnessing it’s force, Snart is immensely impressed. “I need to get me one of them,” he says, half-heatedly.

“Ha! Before or after everyone from the military to the mob has its technology?”

Smiling, Kenyon goes on to talk about his other great experiment, something involving holograms, but Leonard Snart can’t seem to take his gaze away from the cold gun.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Walking into his office, Keith Kenyon marvels at his experiments and their progress. Everything was happening so quick, and his technicians and researchers were more than ready for an expansion, which is where the new land would come into play. Kenyon may have been shrewd, and sometimes even criminal, but he did have a genuine love for science.

“Mr. Kenyon?”

“Yes Ms. Blackmon?”

“There’s a Barry Allen here to see you.”

“A who?” he says as a man steps through the partially opened office door.

“Barry Allen. I’m looking for Professor Thawne. Can I have a word with you?”

“Are you with the CCPD? Is he in some sort of trouble?” Barry, despite his kind disposition, had the demeanor of a cop.

“Well I am actually a police scientist, but no, he’s not in any trouble.”

Waving his secretary away, Kenyon regards Barry with slight interest. “Alright, but just a word. I am a very busy man.”

“Of course. I, um, searched his office but no one seems to no where he is.”

“That’s because I only fired him yesterday. I doubt most people know that much, let alone who he was.”

“Fired...because of his experiment?”

“Yes, because of his failed experiment. What is your interest in him again?”

“He’s my former professor, and I helped him out with some of his theories on the Speed Force.”

Kenyon’s interest perks up, wondering what other secrets Thawne had. “Helped him out with his theories, huh? He never mentioned any outside help to me.”

Barry shrugs. “That’s alright Mr. Kenyon. Sorry to take up your time.” But before Barry can leave, Kenyon speaks again.

“And why exactly did you need to see the good professor?"

Barry hesitates. “I just wanted to, uh, go over some new developments in his theories I’ve made.”

Barry had captured Kenyon’s complete attention. “What kind of development?”

“I’m not sure the Professor...”

“I’ll tell you what, uh, Barry. After you find Thawne, you personally let me know what you both have.”

“I have to talk to the Professor before I decide anything. Thanks for your time.”

“Sure. Oh and Barry? If you ever tire of that tedious police station you work at, we have spots available here at Union Gold for all sorts of scientists.”

Leonard Snart enters the room, and Barry is glad to have an excuse to leave. Barry gives a brief, unreturned smile to Snart, and leaves the two men to their business.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Hearing the knock on the door, Eobard Thawne doesn’t possibly know who it could be. Malcomn, his son, refuses to speak to him; he hardly has anyone left at all. And after the debacle with Kenyon, no one from Union Gold Industries would be seeing him anytime soon. But after opening the door, Thawne instantly gains some renewed hope in his life-long project. “Allen?”

“Hi, Professor. We need to talk.”

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Breaking in wasn’t the hard part. Neither was figuring out where the cold gun was located. After all, Leonard Snart had been ‘business partners’ with Kenyon for years. No, the hardest part was figuring out how to work the damn thing. It seems simple enough. Pull the trigger, and bam. Just like a regular gun. But it isn’t a regular gun. What if there was some sort of unexpected backlash? Didn’t Kenyon say something about it still being in the experimental stage? Shaking away his fears, Snart stuffs the blueprints, accessories and anything else related to the weapon in his bag. Picking up the gun, he decides it’s time to be his own man, and that this weapon will provide him with the perfect opportunity to do so. “I’ve spent all my life taking someone else’s orders. It’s time I’ve earned some respect.” Blasting the wall closest to his get-away car, it feels even better than he thought it would.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Incredible!” Thawne says as he gives a rare smile. “It’s just as I predicted! You’ve broken the Speed Force Barrier. The chemicals, along with the jolt of electricity to jumpstart the process, have caused your molecules to shift out of their normal phase, allowing you to travel faster than...well, anything. The trials so far have proven that much. Indeed, I wonder how much control you actually have over the Speed Force.”

“Well, I can’t have that much control Professor, because all this extra energy makes me eat ten times as I normally would.”

“That’s to be expected, Barry.”

“I know. But what I didn’t expect was for some things to move so slowly. It’s like time displacement or something.”

Again, Thawne is pleased. “It was all part of my original conclusions, that when something breaks the barrier, it will be traveling faster into the future, whether it tries to or not.”

“So if my body is constantly in motion, how will I be able to cope with it?”

“Your body is already adjusting. Soon you should have complete control over these powers."

“And how about the friction? How long will it take until my skin fully adapts to the speeds I’ll be running?”

“That I’m not sure about. But it is also something I predicted in my original theory. This should help you out.”

Following Thawne into his basement, Barry is happy he had found the Professor at his home. Thawne may have been cold and distant sometimes, but he was the only one who could fathom what Barry was now experiencing. “This,” Thawne said as he opened up a shelf, “is a special suit I created for the effects of the Speed Force.” The suit is scarlet, and seems to be made of rubber.

Barry is a little surprised. “A suit? When were you planning on beginning human trials?”

Thawne looks away, slightly annoyed. “I was supposed to be the first. It was so everyone could see all the human potential we all have. I created the red one for myself. I have two more, but neither are as good as this one. Here. Take it.”

Changing in mere second, the suit feels comfortable on Barry, almost perfect. Thawne, while by no means a young man, still keeps a fairly healthy physique, and is close in stature to Barry, though slightly shorter. “Professor, this is genius. It would be best to show our results to the public as soon as we can, to restore your reputation. Or better yet, we can take this to Kenyon. Maybe we can get your old job back.”

Thawne flashes an angry look on Barry, full of rage. “Kenyon? You would have me crawl back to that idiot businessman?”

Barry, confused, doesn’t know what to say. “No, Professor Thawne I just spoke with Kenyon about the Speed Force Theory and-”

“What? You discussed my theory with him? The theory I’ve spent my entire life working on?”

“I was looking for you Professor, the night after my accident. I wanted to show you what had happened after you had asked me to help you. After your unsuccessful experiment the night before, I wanted to give you the news and-”

“You think I’m to blame for the experiment going wrong that night? Well boy, I’ve gone over the notes, and there is no way I could have fouled up my conclusions. It was your amateur meddling that caused it to fail! And now that you’ve not only successfully made me into a professional laughing stock, but also tricked me into helping you understand your new powers, you plan to give yourself all the credit for 'our results'!”

Shocked at the Professor’s words, Barry is unsure what to say.

“Out. Get out now!”

“Professor, I-“

“Damn you Allen, leave me be! Leave-” Glancing around, Thawne realizes Barry is gone. “me.” He whispers, “Damn you,” as he slumps in his chair. Eobard Thawne, the sad, lonely man, was now also hopeless. For the second time in two days, Thawne curses the world, and has dark thoughts.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Only five minutes late? I’m impressed.” Iris was amused. She couldn’t remember the last time Barry had been even close to on time.

Barry forces a smile. “Sorry Iris. I got caught up in something. But I really wanted to see you.” Holding her hand, Barry feels normal for the first time in what seems like a long time. “I love you.”

Seeing that look in Barry’s blue eyes reminds Iris why she loves him so much. But in a way, it worries her too. “Barry, what’s wrong? If anything is going on that I should know about, just let me know. Please.”

Barry hesitates, but only for a moment. How can he explain to her how wonderful - and scary - all this feels? And if Thawne doesn’t want anything to do with him, and Iris can’t possibly understand what has happened- who can he turn to? “I don’t know Iris. Everything seems... different. I just need time to sort things out. I wish...I wish I could explain.”

Iris says nothing for a moment. Looking at him, she finally replies. “Barry, you’re the best man I’ve met in my entire life. You’re kind, thoughtful, and brave. You’re my hero Barry. And I trust you. So figure out whatever you have to figure out. I know you’ll do the right thing.”

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Opening his door, Barry Allen is more determined than ever. He immediately pulls out the suit Professor Thawne had given him. He has a few ideas for that. Then, heading over to his bedroom, Barry pulls something else out of a dusty box from underneath his bed. The first Flash comic he had ever bought. “You’re my hero Barry...I know you’ll do the right thing.” Looking at the cover, and with Iris’s words in his mind, he knows what to do.

* * *

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“There he is! Barry! Barry over here!” Happy his old friend could make it, Ralph Dibny waves Barry over. “Hey Barr, isn’t this great?” Barry shakes his head, smiling at him. If there was one constant in the universe, it was Ralph Dibny. Friends since childhood, Ralph had always loved the spotlight, even though it did not always love him. Tall and thin with messy brown hair, Ralph was by no means the typical prince charming. But he was however strangely charismatic, as well as was funny and quick-witted. Indeed, sometimes Barry longed for the simpler days when there only worry was trying to catch the imaginary murderer in their mystery games. Ralph would have made a great detective; he always figured out the answer to mysteries first when he and Barry read them together.

“Yea, I’m glad Iris invited us to the fund-raising banquet. I’ve never seen so much food in my life. Or so many politicians! I think I even saw Senator Creed Phillips over there.”

“Well, that’s not all they’ve got, look who Iris’s talking to! Wow-za!”

“That’s Sue Dearbon, socialite extraordinaire. She’s hosting the party.”

Taking another sip of champagne, Ralph seems captivated. “I’m telling you Barry, that’s the next Mrs. Dibny!”

Laughing, Barry says “Was there ever a first?”

“I guess I’m just a sucker for a pretty face. C’mon.”

“I’ll meet you in a sec, I think I’ll have a little more to eat first.” As he watches his friend walk off, Barry turns to the buffet, only to see Keith Kenyon behind him.

“Barry Allen. It’s great seeing you here. I didn’t know you were a humanitarian.”

Thinking the exact same thing, Barry replies, “Iris- that is, my girlfriend, is good friends with Sue Dearbon. So I tagged along.”

“That’s great Barry. I was actually hoping I’d see you again.”

Already uncomfortable, Barry regrets not going ahead with Ralph. “And why is that, Mr. Kenyon?”

“Well Barry,” Kenyon says as he puts his hand on Barry’s shoulder, “I was just wondering if you ever managed to get in contact with Professor Thawne. You know, I really do feel bad after everything that’s happened with that poor man. Have you seen him?”

Kenyon sees Barry’ hesitation. “I - ”

BOOM! Part of a wall shatters, as though made of ice. A man approaches the frightened citizens, his voice cold and loud. “This,” he says as he holds up a weapon, while slowly walking through his man-made entrance “is a cold gun. It can freeze anything at a speed unimaginable.” Stepping through the doorway, the man reveals himself. “And I am Captain Cold.”

After pausing for a moment, the hooded man in the blue-grey jacket speaks again. “I want everything you have- and no one’s leaving until I get it. You’ll come up here and empty it into these bags. Jewels, hard-cash- everything. I’ve frozen all the exits, so none of you will have a chance to get out until I get what I came for. No one.”

Suddenly, dramatically, a figure swifts right by Cold, and comes back in mere seconds. Positioned between the people, the new Flash stand tall. “Well. We’ll have to see about that.”

Continued...