"This can't be... No..." Kid Flash muttered as he tried to run off. Away from Impulse.

"Well look at that..." Impulse sneered.

"Wally..." Stargirl whispered, her voice hoarse.

"What happened?!" Secret cried out in horror.

"My..." Kid Flash felt his face going pale, "my speed... It's..."

He saw the trail of dead lightning bolts crackling out behind him, as he had only run three feet in the last second.

"No..." Tomcat swallowed hard.

Kid Flash fell to his knees before Impulse, "it's gone..."

...

__________________________________________________

"GAH!!!!!" Wally darted up in his bed, panting and sweating hard, as if he had just run a marathon. It was all just a dream... But... The four of them... Are they okay?

"Wally?" Artemis turned over, "are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Wally muttered, "It's still three in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"Okay..." Artemis smiled and gave him a pat on the back before turning back over and falling asleep.

But Wally really wasn't sure whether he was okay or not. As soon as he laid back down to sleep, he heard the comm on his Kid Flash suit buzz.

"Guys?!" His voice shivered with fear, "Report! What's going on over there?!"

"Hey KF... We..." Stargirl swallowed, "we may have a very sticky situation on our hands right now..."

"Oh crap." Kid Flash went silent. He couldn't believe it. He didn't know whether it was true, but he had to go help them, "I'll be right there."

He quickly changed into his suit, turned to Artemis, sighed, then ran off.

_____________________________________________

"Impulse... We don't want to fight..." Stargirl told him.

"We don't mean to hurt anyone..." Tomcat added.

"You were spying on me! What makes you think I'd just let you get away with that?" Impulse shouted as he took a few steps towards them, making them take a few steps back in turn.

"He's so not cool right now..." Tomcat muttered cautiously.

"Clearly, he doesn't talk things out." Stargirl said.

"Then how about a distraction?" Question suggested, "and make a run for it?"

"Stargirl..." Secret whispered, "Question's right. We can't hold our own against him. We wouldn't make it Plus, we didn't come to fight, either. That's not our first priority."

"Yeah. I've contacted Kid Flash, he should be--"

Before she could finish her sentence, Kid Flash ran in.

"KF! How did you--"

"Sorry guys." Kid Flash immediately said as he stared at Impulse, disappointment, sadness, and sorrow in his eyes, "I placed a tracker on that time machine. I knew where you were. That's why I didn't want you to lose that, or never would've been able to come."

"What do we do, Flash?" Question asked.

"What'd you..." Kid Flash turned to her, but shook his head, maybe just a mistake. A nickname. "You four, go back."

"WHAT?!" Tomcat stepped towards him, "Dude, you called us to this mission. You could've just come, yourself."

"I know." Kid Flash sighed, "But now I know that I never should've roped you four into this mess. I didn't want to come myself, because I was too scared to face my own problems. This is all my fight." Kid Flash turned to them, "I'll fight this on my own."

"Kid Flash! We're not leaving you!" Stargirl said, "we'll fight him with you."

"This is a waste of my time." Impulse scoffed and shook his head, "just get out of my way... Before I kill you all."

"LEAVE!" Kid Flash ordered the four.

"But..." Stargirl stared at the back of his head as Kid Flash walked towards Impulse.

Please... If this doesn't happen... Kid Flash felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face. He felt his hands trembling. This was all too familiar, it almost felt like deja vu.

"Haha! You scared, Kid?" Impulse cackled, "well you have all the reason to be. I'm sure you know what'll happen next, don't you?"

"No. I'll make sure that doesn't happen." Kid Flash said as he slipped his red goggles over his eyes, then took off running.

Impulse chased him, the two of them chased after each other, and Kid Flash knew what would happen if he lost this fight.

"Why did you let him go?!" Question shouted at Stargirl's face, "we could've run! Don't you realize that?!"

"Look." Stargirl stopped her, "we'll let him take care of---"

"Don't you see it?" Question shook Stargirl.

"No, I don't. We don't have the ability to look into the future, you know." Stargirl planted her hands on her hips.

"Can't someone stop him? Do you want him to die?!"

"He's fine..." Tomcat muttered.

"No..." Secret spoke up, "she's right. Someone stop him, before---"

"It's already too late." Question whispered.

"No it's not!" Stargirl said as she pulled out her cosmic staff, "even with my enhanced speed, I may not be able to run as fast as them. But I can try to catch up to them and use my cosmic staff to absorb Impulse's energy."

"I can use my enhanced vision to help tell you when to go." Tomcat suggested.

"Then once you've got Impulse down, how about I shoot him with a tranq dart?" Question asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Stargirl nodded, "once that's over, as soon as he's out, Secret, you take him to the present."

"Will do." Secret nodded as she stepped back, ready.

"Okay. Let's do this guys!" Stargirl ran forward, her speed faster than her normal speed, yet not as fast as Kid Flash's or Impulse's, "okay, just say when, Tomcat!"

"Guys!" Kid Flash shouted as he dodged a punch from Impulse, "I told you to get out before you get killed!"

"Sorry, Leader." Tomcat apologized, "but we're disobeying that order." He went back to focusing on the speedsters, recognizing the patterns in their movements, "Alright, Star... And... NOW!"

Stargirl threw her staff forward, hitting Impulse, and absorbed the lightning from his body.

Impulse screamed out in pain, then fell over.

"Thanks..." Kid Flash panted as he rubbed his arm that already looked broken, "sorry..."

"Don't be. We have to get back to the cave." Stargirl said, "Question! Secret! Take care of Impulse!"

"Wait--" Secret cried out, but they were suddenly quiet.

"Guys?" Stargirl turned around to see all three of her teammates knocked out. She gasped as soon as she saw three figures running around the room, lightning shooting every which way.

"Star! Get out of here!" Kid Flash ordered.

"Do you seriously think you could get away from us?!" Reverse Flash cackled.

"Pathetic!" Cobalt Blue added.

"Will you two shut up?" Inertia groaned, then stopped in front of Stargirl, "you... You mean nothing to me." He then turned to Kid Flash, "you, on the other hand, may be useful."

"You bastard! You're the one who did this to Impulse! Release him!"

"No." Inertia replied bluntly, "now you, on the other hand, have taken something of my friend's that doesn't belong to you."

"I should be saying the same thing to you!" Kid Flash shouted.

"Oh? Did he happen to belong to you? Belong?! No, he came to me with his own free will."

"I've known Impulse for years. How dare you have the audacity to ever call him your friend." Kid Flash cracked his knuckles, clearly getting angry, and it only made Inertia feel more satisfied.

"Well, well. Isn't this a treat." Inertia smirked. Then in the blink of an eye, he vanished, then reappeared back in the exact spot he stood, his evil smile wider than Kid Flash has ever seen.

"What..." Kid Flash suddenly felt weaker and more light-headed, as if he had just lost a boat-load of energy. He felt like falling over and sleeping, but he knew that this wasn't the time.

"You must feel fatigued."

"Kid Flash!!" Kid Flash heard Stargirl shriek. He held his hand in front of his face and saw the blurry image of his hand covered in blood.

Wh-what just happened... Kid Flash felt dazed and felt the urge to just faint, but he knew if he did, they'd all die there. Don't tell me...

Inertia had stabbed Kid Flash.

"Aw, Boss... Why didn't you just kill him off?" Reverse Flash groaned.

"You're right..." Inertia smirked, "that would feel far more satisfying." He held up his vibrating hand and walked towards Kid Flash.

Come on!!! Why aren't you moving?!?! Kid Flash yelled at himself mentally, then noted down that he had to have a word with himself later.

"Too chicken to fight back now, huh?"

So this is it... Artemis... Kid Flash shut his eyes, Sorry... But you three will just have to live alone... For some time... You... Bruce... and--

Before Kid Flash knew it, a male voice he never thought he'd imagine saving him at that moment had spoken up.

"Stop."

- To be continued! -