Red Flash

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   One Hour Ago

"Wait! Clark!"

   Diana was struggling to catch up with Clark as she squeezed through the crowd surrounding Excelsior.
   When she finally got through, she grabbed his arm to stop him.  "Wait!"
   Clark stopped and turned back around to face her.
   Diana looked around to make sure that no one else was paying attention to them, then spoke in a hushed tone. "Clark, who are you talking about? Who's faster than you?"
   Clark gave quick glances to his left and right, then leaned in a little closer to Diana. "Not here. C'mon."

   They walked back to the Daily Star office, not saying a word.  When they walked through the door, Clark sat down at his computer and began busily began sorting through various files.  Over his shoulder, he explained the situation to Diana.  "You remember a few weeks ago? The first day we met?"
   "Of course," Diana said, still slightly confused.
   "Well, that's when I first found out about him."


   Four Weeks Ago

   Clark and Diana were sitting out on the bleachers, about an hour after their first meeting.
   It was getting late.  Diana looked at her watch. "I should be getting home," she said with a sigh.
   "Yeah, I should too–" Clark suddenly stopped in mid-sentence as something caught his eye.  The world around him slowed as his mind automatically sped up to perceive what he was seeing: a boy was running across the football field—at roughly seven hundred miles per hour.
   Clark's eyes were perceptive enough to recognize the boy's face—it was Bart Allen, one of his classmates.  Bart was somewhat short—only about five-foot-six—and wore mostly red, which left a crimson streak through the air when he ran.  He looked over his shoulder and saw that Clark had somehow recognized him.
   Bart ran around and underneath the opposite side of the bleachers.
   I should follow him, Clark thought.
   Barely remembering Diana—and his earlier unfinished sentence—Clark gave her a "see you later, Diana," and walked toward where he'd last seen Bart.  He felt bad about leaving Diana there so rudely, but he figured that it was better to be perceived as being a little odd than to lose track of Bart's position—after all, the kid could probably run a mile in a matter of seconds; it was important to keep up with him.
As Clark neared the other side of the bleachers, he caught a glimpse of Bart's red shirt between the metal panels.  When he walked down the stairs and got underneath them, however, Bart was gone.

   Meanwhile, back in the present...

   "I kept trying to find him and talk to him, but he kept avoiding me," Clark explained.
   Diana was surprised and intrigued by the story. "He has super-speed like yours?"
   "I think he's faster than I am, actually," Clark replied.
   Diana's eyes went a little wider with surprise. "So... you think he can help with the hostage situation?"
   "Yeah," Clark said. "If I can find him."
   Diana went into deep thought for a moment. "Clark... why do you think we're all here?"
   Clark stopped what he was doing and turned to her.  "What do you mean?"
   "I mean why are we here?  You, me, Bart? I mean, it's not like there are that many people with powers in the world."
   Clark thought for a second. "Well, maybe there's more people like us than we thought," he said with an optimistic smile.
   Diana shook her head.  "No, I don't think so.  On Themyscira, we have libraries that chart all known history dating back thousands of years.  There have always been heroes with power greater than that of mortal men, but never more than a few dozen at a time.  The chances of you and I meeting by chance like we did were already astronomical, but now a third person?  Something's going on, Clark.  There's a reason that we're all here together."
   "Well, that's all the more reason to find him."
   "Don't bother," a young voice said from the doorway. "He's right here."
   Bart walked through the door and into the office.  He was dressed in his usual red shirt and black pants.  He looked a little embarrassed to be the center of attention.
   The three teens stared at each other in silence for awhile before Bart spoke up again. "Yeah, um... I was listening in on you guys just now... Sorry, Clark, for runnin' earlier. I was just a little worried that you might, y'know, try to tell the whole world about me. Bein' a reporter and all."
   Clark smiled jokingly at him.  "Hey, I'm a reporter so I can try to help people, not exploit them."
   "Heh. Yeah, I gathered that," Bart replied.
   "So..." Bart awkwardly started. "That 'hostage situation.' You talkin' 'bout the one over at Excelsior?"
   "Yes," Diana replied.  "Can you help us?"
   Bart looked a little confused.  "Um... yeah, about that... what exactly do you want me to do? All I can do is run real fast."
   Clark stood up.  "There are at least thirty-five men with guns all over the school.  They say that if they get even a hint that the police are trying to take them down, they'll start killing hostages.  I'm pretty sure that if I try to run in there and take them all out, even at super-speed, I won't be able to stop them all."
   Bart tilted his head back a little in understanding. "So you think if we work together, you and me can take 'em all out?"
   Clark shrugged. "Maybe? I think so."
   Just then, Alfred walked in, looking very worried and out of breath.
   Diana and Clark were surprised; they hadn't seen him since that night four weeks ago.
   "I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion," Alfred said, "but frankly, I don't know who else to go to."
   "It's okay," Diana said, gently taking his arm and leading him over to a chair to sit down.
   Noticing Bart, Alfred stopped and looked inquisitively at Clark and Diana.
   "He's okay," Clark said. "Bart, this is Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler." Bart held out his hand casually to Alfred, shaking his hand.
   "A pleasure to meet you, young man," Alfred politely said despite his weariness.  Turning back to Clark and Diana, he began explaining the situation. "I've just been talking with the police, they say that they're doing everything they can, but things are not going well."
   "Don't worry; we'll get him out. We're working on a plan right now." Clark said reassuringly.
   Alfred smiled out the side of his mouth. "I thought you might be."  Reaching into his pocket, Alfred pulled out a USB flash drive and handed it to Clark.  "This contains all the information that Master Bruce has on the school.  He is a rather... paranoid individual sometimes, but, as it would seem, he is also often correctly cautious."
   Clark took the flash drive and plugged it into the computer.  He opened one file—"floorplan.pdf"—and saw a complete multi-floor floor map of the Excelsior Academy.  He looked up at his companions and smiled.  "I think we can do this."
   Diana turned on the TV.
   "...once again, reporting live from Metropolis, where an entire school has been taken hostage by a group of armed gunmen.  We're getting reports that the leader of these men is calling himself Davik Holton, a name that has recently been revealed to be an alias of the mercenary Floyd Lawton.  Lawton single-handedly murdered five police officers and two young men in a similar incident four months ago in Gotham, and has evaded capture ever since..."
   Clark turned to the others.  "Alright; let's get this plan nailed out. We need to get in there. Now."