Chapter 5 — Prologue V: Into The Speed Force

Richard stood in a tornado of lightning, a cosmic phenomenon like he had never seen. Thunder crackled around him as he tried to analyse his surroundings, wondering, “Where am I?” He feared taking a step, not knowing what dangers he might be vulnerable to. He levitated within the centre of the celestial vortex in stasis. The storm began to fade. Once it cleared, Richard was in a place he was more familiar with: “I’m home?” Richard walked through the streets, bouncing with glee as he embraced the feeling of home, but something was off. The streets were silent. The parks where children laughed and played were plagued by absence. The Ellery Diner, the busiest business in town, was deserted. He heard no one enjoying the sun. “Am I not home?” Richard inquired to himself. A voice answered, its southern British accent distinct from Richard’s American one: “Not quite.”

Behind Richard stood someone unknown. The boy was fairly skinny, towering over Richard, and the warm tone of his skin caught the afternoon light. Despite the smile, Richard could sense the mental fatigue. He wore a deep black armour with glowing yellow highlights and a gold lightning bolt as its emblem. “Who are you?” Richard asked. “Trevor Matondo. I’m from Earth-404,” the boy commented, holding his gauntlet up and pointing it at Richard. The holographic screen began flashing red, detecting an anomaly. “That’s odd… My gauntlet is detecting a vibration frequency that indicates that you’re from Earth-1… but there’s a hint of Earth-34’s frequency underneath.” “It must be my suit,” Richard said. “It was made on Earth-1.” “It does look like Cisco’s work,” Trevor stated. “Okay…” Richard replied in confusion, “I am Richard Cox and—” “Tragic,” Trevor said, snickering. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Anyway, what are we doing here?” “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to build a device to escape this place for days, but somebody keeps destroying it.” “Who? There’s no one else here.” “It’s a long story.” “Wait, you were building a device?” “Yeah…?” Richard was confused. The boy was intelligent, but he could sense hints of immaturity from his facial appearance and speech. “How old are you?” “Sixteen.” “Are geniuses common in your universe?” “No, that’s more Earth-2’s thing. This is part of yet another long story.” Their conversation was interrupted by a flash of multicoloured lightning. From the light emerged a woman, shorter than the two. The silky maroon hair, the deep emerald irises, the hypnotic smile: Richard knew that face. “Eliza?” he asked, hyperbolising his bafflement to mask the erratic excitement. It looked unfazed. “Richard, it’s not who you think it is,” Trevor stated. “Richard Cox,” it said, “Welcome to…”

“The Speed Force?” Ellery asked. “What’s that?” “It’s an extradimensional source of infinite energy,” Richard said. “It’s what gives speedsters like the Flash, who was previously mentioned, their abilities.” “I’m gonna pretend like I know what that means.”

“So, you are the Speed Force?” Richard asked, intrigued by the presence of this cosmic entity. “Yes,” it said. “Well, a manifestation of it, at least. We’ve been rather intrigued by both of you. Your multiversal adventures have been quite a delight to watch.” “That’s cool, but when can we get out of here?” Trevor hastily asked. The Speed Force continued, ignoring Trevor’s impatience: “But I brought you both here because you share the same problems that you need to overcome.” “And how do we do that?” Richard asked. “It’s simple, really,” the Speed Force said. “To escape, you need to catch those.” In the distance, two shadow figures emerged from the rooftops. One raced through the streets at supersonic speeds. One teleported from building to building, covering distances in the blink of an eye. Though fully black, their figures were vaguely familiar. “You want us to catch silhouettes of ourselves?” Richard questioned sceptically. “Yes,” the Speed Force replied. “Catch them, and you’ll be free. It’s that simple.” “Oh, my God!” Trevor enthusiastically exclaimed. “This is just like when Barry got stuck in the Speed Force in the twenty-first episode of season two!” “What?” Richard asked, confused. “I’ll explain later. Let’s go.” With that, they were off.

“Tell me about yourself, Trevor.” Richard began. “What’s life like in your universe?” “Honestly,” Trevor stated, “It could be better.” “How come?” “I’d rather not say.” “You sure?” “Yup,” Trevor responded with knowing hesitation. “Anyway,” he continued, digressing, “What about you?” “My life is pretty normal. Well, it was pretty normal. I work my dream job as a game developer for Storm.” “Storm?” “You don’t have Activision Storm in your universe?” “No?” “It’s a video game studio bought by Macrosoft in 2017.” “Oh, you mean Activision Blizzard, acquired by Microsoft in 2022.” “Fascinating. Anyway, then I found out my old boss, Clara Vance, was corrupt and used the profits from the purchase to build a device that would blow up the city with interdimensional energy. She then kidnapped me and forced me to finish the machine for her. It exploded, and she’s been hunting me across the multiverse ever since.” “And that’s how you got your powers?” “Yeah. I can manipulate luck, create energy constructs, expel energy blasts from my body, teleport—” “So, basically, you can control reality?” “You know, I never looked at it that way, but I guess you’re right.” “So, do you miss anything else from your Earth?” “Well, there is my sister, Grace, but besides her, not much. My mom lost her fight against cancer when I was three, and my father… Grace and I avoid talking about him.” “There’s nothing else you miss?” Trevor asked with a knowing smirk. “Nope,” Richard responded. “Not even Eliza?” he teased. “Well… yeah, but how did you—” “Unrequited, I assume?” “Yeah, but again, how did—” “How did I know? The Speed Force only appears as people you care about, and I, of all people, would know what feigning indifference looks like.” Richard sighed and continued: “Well, she is kinda my only friend…” “Shocker.” Trevor teased. “What’s that meant to mean?” “You don’t seem like someone to be so open.” “Just shut up so we can find those silhouettes.” With that, they were off to catch their shadows.

“Why didn’t you just use your powers?” Ellery inquired. “We didn’t have our powers,” Richard replied. “Mine were all absorbed by the Darkhold and expelled into the multiverse when I destroyed it. The Speed Force must’ve stripped Trevor of his powers when he got there.”

“So, we have to hunt down a speedster and a teleporter without our powers?” Richard asked. “Well, they’re based on us, right, so they should be part of our subconscious,” Trevor commented. “Just think: where would you go?” “I have an ide— No, that won’t work.” Richard weighed his options. “Wait, I kno— That won’t work either.” “Is there something wrong?” Trevor asked, concerned by Richard’s hesitation. “I’m just not sure if anything will work.”

Richard led Trevor down the streets of this extradimensional plane. The skies were void of clouds yet still tinted with monotonous tones, and lightning — emerald, sapphire, ruby — crackled faintly. “Where are we going?” Trevor inquired with satirical impatience. “Well, if we’re assuming that this ‘Double Helix City’ is a replica of the original…” Richard began. “Great name.” Trevor interrupted. “Then we need to go to HC Jitters.” “Jitters… the greatest constant in the multiverse. Well, after Big Belly Burger.” Trevor quipped. “But why would the thing go there?” “Because that coffee shop was where I… met Eliza for the first time.” They walked into the glass double doors and wandered across the wooden flooring. They manoeuvred around the circular tables until finding the exact chair. “And the shadow is supposed to manifest itself in this exact chair?” Trevor questioned. “Well, this was the chair I sat in,” Richard said. “You’re kidding.” Just like that, Richard’s tenebrous facsimile teleported into that exact chair. “Convenient.” Richard took the opportunity and leapt for the shadow. His fingertip abraded against its ambiguous figure before it vanished from view. “Not so convenient. So, what do we do now?” Just then, a sonic boom caught their attention as a shadowy figure zoomed past them. “Catch that, I assume,” Richard commented. “Just one plot convenience after another.” Trevor quipped.

Richard and Trevor jogged for what felt like hours. Through alleys, under trees and across streets they went. Eventually, they arrived in a place familiar only to the latter. They looked up at a three-storey building constructed with bricks of multiple hues of brown. Each floor was scattered with numbered doors hanging over a balcony-like structure. “Where are we now?” Richard asked. “Whitechapel, London,” Trevor replied. “Specifically, the flat I grew up in.” “Grew up in?” Richard asked teasingly. “You’re sixteen.” “Six years is enough to constitute growing up, in my opinion.” “Well, I’m twenty-three, and I’m still not grown up, so I don’t know what that says about you.” “Yeah, that’s an entirely different problem.” “Just shut up and get us inside.” Richard feigned frustration, which cued the pair to walk up to the building’s main door.

The skies darkened further as the multicoloured lightning, now increasingly vigorous, charged the newly formed cloud cover. “Are you really not creeped out by that weather?” Richard uttered with cowardice. “You get used to it eventually,” Trevor said with comedic apathy. “I think it’s the Speed Force’s attempt at applying pathetic fallacy.” “What?” “Pathetic fallacy? Using the atmosphere to represent human emotion?” “Is that what you call it on your Earth?” “What do you guys call it?” “Affura. Mix of ‘affectus,’ meaning ‘emotion’ in Latin, and ‘nature’.” “That… is actually a better name.” “Anyway,” Richard said, digressing back to the original subject, “Open the door.” “With what key?” Trevor responded. “You don’t have the key?” “I haven’t been here in nearly a decade, and I’ve moved twice since then. Why would I have the key?” “Well, I don’t know. Your superintelligence gives you an eidetic memory, right? Can’t you just remember the shape of your mom’s key and then create a replica?” “We have no powers here, remember? The Speed Force decided to nerf my mind as well.” “So, what can we do?” Trevor grabbed from his pocket a box-shaped device. The device was grey on the side with an antenna on the end, a lime green square on its face and a big red button in the centre. “Well, a few days ago, I recreated the teleporter from Henry Stickmin,” he stated. “Henry what now?” “Henry Stickmin? The five-part flash series, composed of choose-your-own-adventure games about a criminal trying to make his way to success? Unique for the style choice of having all the characters being near-identical stick figures?” “You mean Isaac Twigmon?” “God, I hate the multiverse.” “Wait, doesn’t the teleporter just never work in that game?” “I mean, yeah, but—” “In Robbing the Vault, he gets teleported into a wall. In Vamoosing the Jail…” “Vamoosing?” “…he gets teleported into a firing range. In Invading the Aircraft, he gets teleported into Nowhere. In Absconding the Stronghold…” “Who’s coming up with these names?” “…he gets teleported into Starcraft and gets vaporised. It never works.” “Well, in Stealing the Diamond and Completing the Mission, it works perfectly fine for Henry.” “‘Stealing the Diamond’ and ‘Completing the Mission’? Those names are ridiculous. You mean Swiping the Jewel and Accomplishing the Objective?” “You’re kidding. Just grab onto me so I can press the button.” “I’m not trusting that.” “It’s this, or I give you my slime gear and make you climb.” Richard’s eyes widened at the thought. “Yeah, no,” he said frantically, “I’m kinda anapodaphobic, so I’m good.” “You can fly, but you’re afraid of being upside down?” “You wouldn’t see me flying upside down.” “Whatever, bro, just grab onto me.”

Richard placed his hand on Trevor’s shoulder, holding on with both determination and discontent. Trevor pushed the button on his device. Within an instant, the duo was warped through spacetime, appearing on the other side of the door like magic. “Okay…” Richard said, panting from the tension, “We seem to be alive…” “That was… oddly smooth. Smoother than I expected.” Trevor commented. Suddenly, the teleporter began to flicker with electricity out of control. Richard smacked it out of Trevor’s clutches in panic. The device continued to spark on its descent before disappearing in a flash of light. “Yeah, that’s more like it.” “Where did it go?” Richard asked, tension steadily easing. “Who knows? But it’s a good thing you knocked it out of my hand. I could’ve been transported anywhere from down the street to the edge of existence.” Trevor stated with humorous nonchalance. “Yeah, that’s definitely not horrifying.” “You’ll be fine, Tailor.” “Tailor?” “Yeah. You’re the Weaver, and a tailor weaves fabric. Nicknaming is a thing that I do.” “Eliza’s like that. She calls me ‘Pause’.” “Cute. Why?” “Because the pause menu is where you quit a game. I tend to give up in certain social situations, letting people walk over me to avoid complications.” “Sounds like we have the same life. Except not typically this open about it.” “Why? It’s always good to tell someone about your problems. Holding those feelings in just amplifies them, makes them worse.” “Because I think that either no one cares, or it’d just be too much to put on them. I don’t want them to worry about me.” “Yeah, it doesn’t help. If anything, I’m worrying about you more.” “Can we stop this therapy session so I can indulge in some nostalgia?”

Richard and Trevor clambered up the seemingly endless stairway. “I forgot how much walking this took,” Trevor exclaimed in fatigue. “Three floors and six flights of torture.” Every foot they advanced, every step they took, diminished their endurance. They eventually reached the top floor. Trevor led Richard past door after door until they reached the one they were looking for. “Number sixty-five.” Trevor read from the sign on the door. “You said this was nine years ago,” Richard said. “How do you remember this?” “Whether my memory is eidetic or not, I’m never forgetting this portion of my life — when everything was so much simpler.” “And how are we supposed to get in now that the teleporter is gone?” “Well, this extradimensional construct the Speed Force has concocted is based on memories.” Trevor retrieved a thin piece of metal from his pocket. “Well, when I was about four or five, I broke the key to the house, so everything except the head of the key got stuck in the keyhole.” “So, the mechanism should already be primed.” “Exactly. Now we just need to twist and…” The door flung open. “Excelsior!” Trevor looked back at Richard, who was confused by his remark. “You don’t have Stan Lee on your Earth?” “Nope.” Trevor sighed in annoyance before letting out a “Whatever.”

The pair walked into the house. To their left was the kitchen, small and cramped. They walked around the corner, and to their left was the living room, and to their right was the bathroom. “And ahead is my mum’s room,” Trevor stated. “The door’s closed because I was almost never allowed in there.” Trevor walked into the living room. In the centre of the room was a deep black marble table surrounded by sofas with black bases and burgundy cushions. In the corner furthest from the door was a TV sitting on a small table. “Wow, this apartment is small. You must have a lot of memories here to have such an emotional attachment.” “It was a simpler time.” “So, where are we supposed to find this shadow?” “I was saving that room for last.” Trevor backtracked to the room just before the living room. “This is the room my brother and I were in.” Waves of sentiment crashed into the shores of Trevor’s heart. The obsolete bicycle occupying far too much space, the semi-stable wooden drawers parallel to the wall it leaned against, and the bed framed with cobalt blue: he felt like home. He was abruptly dragged out of his peaceful trance when a shadowy figure raced past them in a mixed streak of obsidian and auriferous lightning. “Come on!” Trevor grumbled in a mix of mirth and exasperation. “You’re not even considerate enough to wait for a second like Rich’s ghost? That is…” The hint of frustration was replaced with feigned ennui. “So me…”

Darkness blanketed the extradimensional plane. Electricity — poison, frostbite, blood — struck down on the surroundings as thunder roared. Richard and Trevor aimlessly wandered the supernatural amalgamation of their lives, stumped and somewhat defeated. They looked into the distance as they saw the landscape dissolving into electric energy. “The world is disappearing rapidly,” Richard stated fearfully. “We have to get out of here quickly before we disappear with it,” Trevor said. “You got any other ideas?” Richard asked. “Nope,” Trevor stated sharply, as if trying to be funny, “I was about to suggest going to my flat in Smethwick or my current house, but I doubt they’d work given the recent fail.” “Yeah, I doubt Ziza’s ‘special spot’ was going to work either.” “Ziza?” “Eliza.” “And you decided to give your best friend and probably future girlfriend the weirdest pseudonym alive because?” “Dude, I just asked AI for ways to shorten her name, and I chose the funniest one.” “I never said it was bad. I just called it weird.” “You got anyone like that? Someone you care about more than anything?” “Yeah, but I don’t really wanna talk about it.” “Why not?” “I just don’t feel like it.” “I can tell that’s not true.” “It’s really not that big of a de—” “Well, you were so easily on board with going on this adventure with me, so it’s not that you’re not trusting…” “Can you just not psychoanalyse me for a sec—” “You’re just not comfortable sharing your emotions, so you lock yourself in your own turtle shell of isolation.” “Well, that’s… fairly accurate.” “But why are you like this? What’s so difficult about talking to someone?” “Because, Rich,” Trevor began, his expression shifting from amused to grave, “There are two types of thoughts in my head: meaningless and convoluted.” “I doubt it.” “You’re not so innocent, either.” “What?” “You were quick to open up to me earlier because all your emotions were bottled up, too, except yours was for a different reason. You are so in tune with your feelings that you spend every second worrying about how your thoughts may affect the people around you, and you prefer to stay quiet.” “Since when were you an expert in my thoughts?” “It wasn’t that hard. We’re basically the same person.”

The storm worsened around them, and the world grew smaller and smaller. Lightning raided the area, and the lamppost directly next to them was struck. “Okay, that lightning is extremely disturbing!” Richard exclaimed frantically. “Zack must’ve loved you,” Trevor said monotonously, his usual sarcastic demeanour returning. “What’s really disturbing is the Speed Force trying to trigger PTSD with that lamppost.” “What is that supposed to mean?” “It doesn’t matter. What does matter is how we escape now.” “You seem to be the Speed Force expert here. Is there anything you know that may help us?” There was a sudden silence as Trevor began to think. Mere seconds later, an idea struck him: “Season two, episode twenty-one.” “What?” Richard questioned, confused by Trevor’s quiet soliloquy. “In 2016, on Earth-1, the Flash got trapped in the same situation that we are in and wasn’t able to escape with his powers until he accepted the death of his mother.” “And that’s supposed to help us how?” “The Speed Force does ambiguous and often questionable things, but it always has good intentions. What if we can’t leave until we learn some kind of lesson?” “But what lesson would we need to leave?” “When we were looking for your shadow, you thought emotionally and went to a place related to Eliza…” “And you thought logically and went to a place related to your past…” “But what if we have to do the opposite and…” Then they said in unison: “Think more like each other.” They nodded towards each other before courageously parting. Richard sprinted as fast as he could to Millbrook Street. Halfway down the road, he arrived at a relatively small house constructed with beige coloured bricks; the roof was laid with stone slabs. He walked down the path surrounded by shrubs and flowered bushes and up the steps onto the wooden fenced patio. He knocked on the azure-painted door, and it flung open. He was home. Upstairs, he stood in front of his computer and breathed, focusing on his place of inner peace. At that moment, a caliginous entity manifested itself in front of him. Richard reached out and placed his hand on a structure that resembled a shoulder. Upon contact, the shadowy figure ignited with colour, now mirroring Richard’s form. It then dissolved into Richard’s body, and he was rejuvenated. His armour was back online, and he had his powers back. “Hello again, Richard.” F.R.I.E.N.D. greeted. “Nice to have you back, F.R.I.E.N.D.,” Richard said, relieved.

Richard soared through these extradimensional skies, trying to meet up with Trevor before the entire plane collapsed. He made his way to Helix Park, where he and Trevor first met. Richard landed next to the pond, where he saw thunder booming in the distance, but it wasn’t the weather. Streaks of lightning, onyx and gilded, raced towards the park. The trail stopped in front of him, and a deep black armour emerged with glowing yellow highlights and a gold lightning bolt as its emblem. “Now, who are you supposed to be?” Richard playfully asked. The figure pressed the button on the side of his sleek black helmet, revealing the face behind the golden one-way lenses. “The name’s Shadowbolt,” Trevor said, with a false ego. “Shadowbolt? Really?” “I would’ve gone with something like XLR8 or Trajectory, but they were both taken. Plus, it works with the suit.” “Fair.” “Who’s your new friend, Richard?” F.R.I.E.N.D. asked. “This is Trevor,” Richard answered. “He’s a speedster from Earth-404.” “Who was that?” Trevor inquired, confused by the disembodied voice. “I’m Richard’s Functional Reactive Interface for Emergency Neutralisation and Defence.” “F.R.I.E.N.D.?” Trevor asked. “Yup,” said Richard. “That’s a cute name,” Trevor commented, “but in a corny kind of way.” “Congratulations,” a cosmic voice echoed. The storms ceased, the skies parted, and the Sun shone across the horizon. From the brightness, a stream of multicoloured lightning struck the ground in front of them, taking the form of someone Richard didn’t recognise. “Trevor Matondo and Richard Cox…” “How does anyone manage to say that with a straight face?” Trevor commented, snickering. “Shut up,” Richard said sharply, mimicking annoyance. “You both have successfully completed your trials,” the Speed Force continued. “You are both free to return to your respective Earths.” The Speed Force’s fingers were charged with lightning and electricity. Just before it snapped its fingers, Richard interrupted: “Wait! If neither of you minds, I would like for Trevor to come to my Earth with me instead.” “Really?” Trevor said with delight. “Yeah, I mean, you kinda have no life in your universe any more,” Richard stated. “Plus, I think you’d make a nice friend.” “Very well then,” the Speed Force said before snapping its fingers.

Richard and Trevor found themselves in the fields on the edge of Helix City. Richard took in the fresh air scented by the beautiful flowers around them as the glistening Sun smiled upon them. “Is this it?” Trevor asked, embracing the feeling of optimism. “Yup,” Richard responded, smiling. “Home.” “You speak so highly of it that I expected some kind of futuristic utopia, but I guess some random suburban town is just as comfortable,” said Trevor. “Can you not be sarcastic for one second?” said Richard. “Sorry, bro, it’s engraved into my DNA,” said Trevor. “We’ve got genetic engineering on this Earth, you know,” said Richard. “The sarcasm isn’t cancerous,” said Trevor. “God, just shut up,” a familiar voice called from behind them before launching Trevor away with a plasma beam. Richard activated his helmet and turned around to see Clara Vance standing tall in her power armour. “Clara Vance…” the Weaver spat out. “It’s nice to have you back, Richard,” Vance said sarcastically. “A lot has changed since you left.” “I’ve only been gone a week. How much could’ve changed?” “Oh, did no one tell you? The Speed Force exists outside the spacetime continuum. It may have been just a day in there for you, but for us… It’s been a year.” Vance then charged her hand with large amounts of energy and backhanded the Weaver, sending him flying across the city and through the roof of the Ellery Diner.

“Who are you?” Ellery inquired in a mix of frustration and confusion as he stared at the hole in his establishment. “And why did you just crash through my roof?” “Hey, you’re Rowan Ellery!” Weaver exclaimed with honour. “You’re the owner of the Ellery Diner! I eat there all the time.” “Great, but that doesn’t answer my question. Who are you?” “I’m the Weaver.” “What are you? Some kinda superhero?” “Well, yeah. It’s a funny story, actually. It all started… a year ago, I guess.”