Superman: Man of Tomorrow

7:03 AM

7:03 AM

Wally West did not see this coming. And that's more of a big deal than you think. Because Wally West is one of the fastest people alive. And because he can think faster than most people, he's also one of the smartest people alive.

He was supposed to be on vacation with his family. After returning to the land of the living three years ago, Barry had taken back his mantle. Wally was happy to let him. He loved being the Flash, but the stress was getting to him. Now that he wasn't the only Flash anymore, he could spend more time with Linda and the kids.

But where was he now? Running at superluminal speeds and throwing a punch at a Superman. Which is not how he saw this weekend going at all.

Throwing a punch at a Superman is harder than you think. His skin was protected by a kinetic barrier, picometres in width but stronger than steel. But that kinetic barrier field flickered, every now and then. It flickered especially when a Superman flew as fast as he could, which was almost as fast as any good speedster.

And this Superman, he was as good as they came. Maybe better.

"We could just talk, Wally," Superman said, glancing back at his pursuer. "You are probably getting pretty tired right now."

"Sure. We can talk," Wally replied. "But you need to stand down first. J'onn and the others probably have a lot of questions for you."

"I don't have the time on my hands to talk with the whole League, Wally. I won't be here for long. I need to use all the time that I have."

"Well, that's a pity. I am sorry, man."

"Sorry for what?"

"This."

Wally increased his speed a thousand fold, rapidly gaining on Superman. Before the Kryptonian could react, Wally drove his fist against the man's cheek as hard as he possibly could. At such speeds, his fist had enough mass to punch a hole into the strongest steel.

His punch landed, and for a moment, it was as though the Speed Force exploded with kinetic energy. A shower of blood burst from Superman's mouth, splashing past Wally's head, landing on his shoulder plates.

Superman's protective field flared to life immediately, jolting violently against Wally's fist. Newton's third law had sprung into action, but Wally, thankfully, was quicker than that. He could see the shockwaves reverberate through his wrist, moving towards his arm. With a deep breath, Wally rocketed straight into the Speed Force, phasing through Superman entirely. That hurt Wally a lot more than he had expected it to, but the moment he enveloped himself in the Speed Force, his injuries healed, disappearing in the space of three seconds.

But three seconds were eternities for a Flash as well, and by the time he returned, both Superman and Barry were gone. The only one still left was Jesse Quick, who had hung back to see if Wally was okay.

"You can't pull that stunt all the time, Wally," she chided. "People get lost in the Speed Force all the time."

"I am fine, Jesse. Any updates on our guest?"

"He shoved Barry pretty hard. He was sailing past the English Channel, last time I saw him. Barry's back on his trail though."

Wally nodded, before starting to run again. Jesse joined his side after two seconds.

He wondered what this Superman had gotten up to since he last saw the man a minute ago. Barry would know, probably. After all, Barry was the current fastest man alive. He had outrun the Black Racer himself.

Wally only hoped that Barry could outrun this Superman.

~*~

Elijah Snow inhaled slowly, holding his breath in for as long as he could. Eventually, he started feeling slightly light headed as the smoke tickled the roof of his mouth. He exhaled, watching the smoke disappear past the oxygen wall into the vacuum of space.