Speed Force Conduits: Legend of the Speedsters

Chapter One: Too Slow

Thunder rumbled over the stadium as Stiles went crashing into the dirt with an electrifying thud. The world was blurry as he scrambled to his feet, struggling to catch his breath. Somehow, he hadn't seen the attack coming.

Looking forward, he saw the red lightning strike the ground in front of him as the yellow-suited figure materialized.

His heart dropped.

There was the demon himself. Everything about him was precisely as he remembered it. Sixteen years later and it was like nothing had changed.

From the devilish red eyes that burned through his very soul to the god-awful vibrating that sounded like helicopter blades from hell... it was exactly like he remembered, if not worse.

Then came the laugh... that fucking laugh that sent chills down his spine and froze every muscle in his body all at once.

"At long last, we finally meet again..." the man smirked. "I must say, I'm disappointed Flash... you're still too slow."

The words were like a knife slicing through him. "It won't be like it was then." Stiles hissed, wanting to desperately believe his own words, but the fear in his heart betrayed him.

Another rumble of thunder echoed overhead, and while the storm hadn't broken yet Stiles could feel the electricity in the air building. He looked behind the man to see the unconscious male lying against the neon advertising sign high in the stands.

"Barry?"

"I wouldn't be worrying about him right now if I were you," the man chuckled. "This is because of you, after all."

"What the hell are you?"

"As I told Barry... I'm your destiny, Flash. This has been centuries in the making."

"Centuries, what are you talking about?"

The man shook his head disappointedly.

"If you want answers, you know what needs to happen... Run, Stiles, run..." the figure hissed.

Stiles clenched his fists tightly, his heartbeat speeding up. As he exhaled, there was a flicker of electricity in his eyes while the world slowed down. Rain started to fall as he darted forward, rushing towards the yellow-clad figure.

He'd dreamt of this moment since that fateful night when his mother died, never imagining he would ever get the chance. To have a chance to stop the man who killed his mother should have been a dream come true.

Yet as he reached the man in yellow, despite being able to run at superhuman speeds, the training and all his hard work... to his horror watched him dodge the punch in a trail of red lightning.

From a dream to a nightmare all in a single second, Stiles couldn't believe it. The thunder crackled in the background like laughter as the man in yellow took off towards the stands, with Stiles trailing behind.

The stadium flashed with dazzling gold and red lights as the two raced throughout the property. Stiles managed to barely reach the man as his target spun around suddenly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him off the ground, flinging him straight through the wall into one of the bathrooms.

He tried to stifle his scream, but he couldn't be afforded the time as the man in yellow rammed into him mid-air, slamming him into the mirror. Glass shards hovered in the air around him like an image frozen in time. Stiles growled, grabbing one of the shards and swinging wildly at the man. As the man in yellow continually dodged every swing, a realization hit Stiles; this wasn't him. This wasn't the relatively calm and collected nerd with a plan. This was a scared kid in over his head.

The man smacked the shard out of Stiles' hand and smiled maliciously, before taking it and stabbing the speedster in the shoulder. In an instant countless shards were protruding from his body.

This onslaught gave Stiles the opening he needed though, at least momentarily. He had to wait though for the next strike, throwing himself onto the glass in order to give himself a chance. Ducking down, Stiles gritted his teeth as the shard came to a stop in his lower abdomen, praying it hadn't hit anything vital, as he rammed into the man in yellow's waist. Lifting him into the air, Stiles body-slammed him straight into the stall.

Even with his super speed, the rest was a blur as the next thing Stiles knew was that he was tumbling down the stairs and onto the field. His body hurt everywhere, and he couldn't tell where it began or where it ended. Coughing weakly, Stiles could feel a warm liquid hit his face.

It was hard to breathe. He knew a few of his ribs were broken at the least, and god only knows what else at this point. This would take a while to heal, but it didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was the speedster standing over him with a smile. Then, Stiles let his speed slip as the first drop of rain hit his face.

"We've been at this a long time, Flash... and you've never managed to catch me. It's your destiny to lose to me." the speedster explained, kneeling down to where his vibrating hand was hovering above Stiles' heart. "I could end this right now... and you wouldn't be able to stop me."

"Do it, then..." Stiles growled, laying his head down on the ground.

"Very well." The speedster brought his hand back and laughed. "Goodbye, Flash."

Stiles closed his eyes as the man in yellow brought his hand down.

This is how it feels to be powerless.