by Marv Wolfman
Ninety-two
Less than a thirtieth of a second remained as I returned to the antimatter dimension. I saw Superman-2 about to slam headlong into the AntiMonitor. I ran at him and for an instant our bodies merged.
The dead heroes, even the villains, were gone, but they had all willingly given their power to me.
And now I was sharing their final gift with Clark.
Kal-L of Krypton was no longer just Superman. Part of him was Ultraman, Power Ring, and all the other Crime Syndicate villains of Earth-3.
He was the sorcerer Arion and the Crystal-weaver Kole. He was the Justice Alliance of Earth-D, Aquagirl, the Icicle, the magical Prince RaMan, and so many others. There were those who died when the white wall of antimatter swept across their Earths. They had no special power of their own, but they gave their spirit and determination.
Finally, he was also Kara. Supergirl was at the front of the line, leading the others—some things never change—to their final rest. They all lent their strength and their will to Superman. When he hit the Anti-Monitor, they all struck him as a unified force. And, before that final fraction of a second ticked into place, it was over.
The powerful Shockwaves from the Anti-Monitor's death rippled through the antimatter universe. They spread in all directions. We saw the wave coming at us, hungry to tear us apart.
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Without thinking, I grabbed Kal-L's hand to pull him away. I felt solid flesh then saw him staring at me.
"Flash?" he said.
"Guess this means you can see me. Boo?"
"I thought you were..."
"Yeah," I laughed. "But it's not so bad, really. You'll get used to it." As the Shockwaves washed over where we'd been standing, we were already gone.
We stood on a jagged peak overlooking Earth's shadowlands. It stretched further than we could see, disappearing into the thickening mists. Somehow it was calming to know this place existed.
"Where are we?" Kal asked.
"Don't talk," I said. "Hurry."
He looked at the line of people making their way toward whatever awaited them.
"I don't understand."
"Just go," I said again. "There's someone waiting for you at the front of the line."
He looked at me strangely then launched himself over the crowd. He paused in mid-air, looked ahead for a moment, sorting through the crowd, then turned back to me with the most wonderful smile on his face. He took his position at the front of the line and reached his hand out. Lois took it then gave him a long kiss. "You sure took your sweet time, Clark."
"You know me," he replied. "Always goofing off."
"By the way, you know what today is?"
He didn't. "No. What?"
"Thursday. Today's Thursday."
She took his hand and they disappeared together into the light. I looked around as I waited. "Hey! Forget me? When is it my turn?" My evil guardian angel voice obviously didn't want to answer me this time.
"C'mon. I did everything you asked."
I was getting annoyed. The Anti-Monitor was dead, this time for good. The universe was reborn. There was now a single Earth and enough heroes on it to help keep it safe. Hell, I even turned the lights off when I left. "I don't want to wait anymore."
The voice must have heard me, because I suddenly disappeared. Ninety-three
Iwas back in Missouri, very close to home.
I followed interstate 74 through Granite Peak National Park south to Central City. It was October and the leaves were a breadbasket mosaic of bright oranges, purples, reds and yellows.
Iris and I would often come here early Sunday mornings, lay out a large ratty blanket, open my old "Range Rider" thermos filled with hot coffee instead of milk, pick at the pastries I bought the night before from Anderson's bakery, and lay back watching the sun come up. Strangely, I never took those moments for granted. I always understood exactly how precious they were.
The city's "Home of The Flash, population nine hundred thousand plus, Rotary, Oddfellows, Moose" sign was on the interstate two miles north of town, just as it had always been. Seeing my name painted three feet high, as if I were Central City's only reason to exist, always embarrassed me, but it felt especially good now to see it again.
I ran south and east through City Center, past Dexter Myles' Flash Museum—a little more run-down than I remembered, but still in good shape.
A second later I was standing in front of our home in Danville. I don't know why I was drawn here again, but considering everything else that recently happened to me, I didn't mind.
The house seemed a bit different, a brighter green and freshly painted. There was a row of miniature yellow rose bushes tucked under the dining room window that had not been there before. I stepped onto the porch and saw that the swing set was new as well.
What time period had I been sent to ?
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Was this the past, before Iris and I bought the house? The Schwartzes used to have roses in front, before I got the bright idea of surprising Iris by ripping them out and replacing them with irises. Iris, iris. Too cool for school, I thought.
She, of course, made certain my days as part-time horticulturist ended right then.
I stood on the porch, also freshly painted, and stepped through the locked door to the hallway and the living room beyond.
A silver-haired older woman was sitting on the couch, her back to me, sipping tea. In front of her was a boy no more than eleven. He shifted back and forth as the woman—he called her 'Grandma'—chastised him for something he had obviously done wrong.
"You can't keep breaking things, Bart. Don't make me be angry with you."
The boy squirmed as he stammered his apologies. "I'm sorry, grandma. It's just I can't, you know, stand still. It's like I'm just dead if I'm not running somewhere at the speed of light."
The speed of—what?
My throat dried instantly and I was sure my heart stopped. The woman sitting in front of me was nearly sixty years old, but there was no mistaking her beautiful hazel-green eyes.
I was looking at Iris.
Ninety-four
She was alive. She had lived through the Crisis.
I stared for what seemed forever, just to make sure what I thought I was looking at was actually what I was looking at. But I already knew the truth.
Bart was attempting to explain away whatever mischief he had done, and I saw Iris try to stifle the smile that kept forcing its way to her lips.
"I'll be better, Grandma. I promise."
"I know you will. Especially since you'll have lots of time to think about what you've been doing wrong."
Bart looked nervous. Something told me he'd been down this road before. "No, Grandma, don't. You can't...." Iris smiled at him and my heart melted. God, how I loved that smile.
"No video games for two weeks," she said calmly.
"I'll die. I can't do it. You know I can't."
"Two weeks, Bart. And you're also grounded."
"No, no. Please don't do that. Uncle Wally needs me." Wally? Kid Flash was still in Central City?
Iris took his hand and pulled him closer to her. "I think the Flash can deal with fighting crime by himself for a little bit. Now go to your room." Wally took my name.
"But, Grandma...."
Iris leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, Bart, but if you want to follow in the footsteps of your uncle and your grandfather, you'll have to learn discipline."
Bart glowered at her then disappeared up the stairs. Iris waited until she heard the bedroom door slam shut, then stood and 310
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walked to the fireplace. Her stride was slower than it used to be, but, God bless her, it was still strong and defiant.
She took our wedding photo from the mantle and held it for a long time.
"You'd love him. God, he's exactly like you. I just wish...." She shook for a second then clamped her lips shut.
She stared at the photograph a few moments longer and softly kissed it.
I watched her walk to the window seat still holding our photograph, then sit down, looking out to the street. Her eyes glazed over but she was still smiling.
I felt something pulling at me. "No," I shouted. "Not now. I need more time."
I sat beside Iris and put my hand over hers. She couldn't feel me, but her hand shook just a bit before settling again.
Quietly, we sat there as we had done so many times before. The houses across the street hadn't been built then, and we had had an unblocked view into what we knew would be a wonderful future together. Finally, I felt that pull again. "Okay," I said. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She tilted her head in the way that always melted my heart. "Barry?"
She looked at our picture resting in her lap. "I love you," she said.
"I love you, too" I replied as I felt myself being pulled away. The speed force reached out and took my hand.
I didn't protest.
It was time to stop running.
-END-
Table of Contents
PART ONE
PART TWO
PART THREE
PART FOUR
