The pizza was gone. Six large pepperonis, devoured in under forty seconds.
Elias stood on the edge of the Wayne Enterprises tower—without permission, naturally. The wind at this height was freezing, but his metabolism was a roaring furnace. The caloric intake had pushed his Ring Energy back up to a comfortable 80.
He felt restless.
Taking down the Gotham rogue's gallery had been… surprisingly easy. It was like playing the tutorial level with endgame gear. But that was combat. He hadn't really tested the engine.
"I know I'm fast," Elias murmured, looking out at the horizon where the sun was just beginning to hint at rising. " But how fast? Sonic CD fast? Unleashed fast? Archie Comics fast?"
He adjusted his red sneakers. He tightened the strap.
"Let's find out. World tour. Don't blink."
He crouched. He didn't just prepare to run; he charged a Super Peel Out. His legs became a figure-eight blur of motion while he remained stationary, the friction generating a high-pitched whine that caused the glass of the skyscraper to vibrate.
Target: East. Then West. Then… everywhere.
"GO!"
Gotham to Metropolis: 3.2 Seconds
He didn't run; he tore a hole through the atmosphere.
Elias hit the bay and didn't sink. At this velocity, water was as hard as concrete. He hydroplaned across the harbor, the spray kicking up a hundred feet behind him like a rooster tail.
The gloom of Gotham vanished, replaced instantly by the gleaming, art-deco optimism of Metropolis. The sun was actually shining here. It was annoying.
He zipped up the side of the Daily Planet building, running vertical. He reached the massive golden globe at the top, spun around it three times just for the fun of the G-force, and grabbed a "Daily Planet" snow globe from a kiosk on the roof deck (leaving a ten-dollar bill from Penguin's stash in its place).
He paused for a nanosecond to look at the statue of Superman in Centennial Park.
"Boy Scout," Elias grinned. "Nice cape. Mine's built-in."
BOOM. He was gone again.
Metropolis to Central City: 4.5 Seconds
He headed toward the Midwest. The flat plains were a playground. Elias pushed harder.
Speed: Mach 4… Mach 5… Mach 10.
The world around him began to warp. Colors bled into lines. The landscape was a tunnel of motion.
Then, he felt it.
It wasn't Chaos energy. It was something else. A crackle of yellow lightning that felt… infinite. Like a river of pure kinetic force flowing alongside him.
Elias looked to his left.
Running parallel to him, keeping pace effortlessly, was a man in a red suit with gold lightning bolts on his ears. The Flash.
The Scarlet Speedster looked surprised. He tilted his head, his eyes widening behind the cowl. He gestured with a hand, a universal sign for: Who are you?
Elias laughed. The sound was lost in the sonic boom, but the sentiment was clear.
Challenge accepted.
Elias tapped into the Boost.
BOOST.
A blue aura exploded around him, turning him into a literal projectile. He accelerated instantly from Mach 10 to Mach ??.
The Flash's jaw dropped—metaphorically, at that speed—but then the speedster grinned. The yellow lightning flared. Flash pushed back.
For two glorious seconds, they were neck and neck across the Missouri plains. Red and Blue. The Speed Force and the Chaos Force. Two different laws of physics arguing over who had the right of way.
They tore past a "Welcome to Central City" sign, shattering the wood into splinters.
Elias saw the Flash reach for his comms, likely to call in the Justice League.
"Pass," Elias thought. "I'm on vacation."
He slammed on the brakes—using his heels to carve a trench in the asphalt—and took a sharp right turn, banking north at a ninety-degree angle that should have liquefied his internal organs. The Chaos energy negated the inertia.
Flash overshot him, skidding to a halt miles down the road. By the time Barry Allen turned around, the blue blur was already crossing the state line.
Star City to Themyscira
He stopped in Star City just long enough to rob a gift shop. He left cash on the counter and grabbed a "Queen Industries" branded hoodie and a tacky green foam arrow hat.
"Next stop," Elias checked his internal compass. "The hidden one."
He hit the Atlantic Ocean. He ran so fast he was essentially skipping across the surface tension of the molecules.
Finding Themyscira was supposed to be impossible. It was shielded by Zeus, hidden by magic. But Elias had the Chaos Emeralds in his soul. Chaos didn't care about Magic. Chaos was the raw material magic was made from.
He felt the magical barrier like a static shock. Most people would bounce off. Elias just vibrated his molecules to match the frequency of the Seven World Rings.
Phased.
He burst through the barrier.
The island was paradise. Grecian columns, lush jungles, waterfalls.
He saw movement on the beach. Amazons. Hundreds of them, training with swords and spears. They looked up, startled by the sudden sonic boom that disrupted their sparring.
Elias drifted around the main palace, grabbing a loose golden goblet that was sitting on a balcony railing.
An arrow whizzed past his nose. Then a spear.
"Hostile!" Elias yelped. "Tourist visa denied!"
He spun a 180, kicking up a sandstorm on the beach to blind the warriors, and rocketed back out through the barrier before Wonder Woman's mother could even issue a command.
The Tour: Mexico and the West
He hit the mainland again. He followed the coastline down to Mexico.
He ran through the streets of Mexico City, a blue ghost weaving through traffic. He stopped at a street vendor, moving so fast the vendor didn't see him. Elias left a stack of cash and took three tacos and a decorative wrestling mask—a Luchador mask with a sun design.
"Lucha Libre," Elias said, swallowing the tacos in one bite while running up the side of an ancient Aztec pyramid. "Sonic would love this."
He turned north.
He ran through the Grand Canyon. Not along the rim—inside it. He ran along the vertical cliff faces, defying gravity, whooping with joy as his voice echoed off the red rocks.
He reached Mount Rushmore. He stood on Lincoln's nose for a selfie, realized he didn't have a phone, and just gave a thumbs up to an eagle flying by.
The Return
Elias hit the brakes.
He was back in Gotham.
He stood exactly where he had started, on the edge of the Wayne Enterprises tower.
He checked his mental clock.
Total elapsed time: 4 minutes and 12 seconds.
He dropped his loot bag on the gravel roof. A snow globe, a foam arrow hat, a golden goblet, and a Luchador mask.
Steam was pouring off his body. His blue quills were glowing with discharged static. His green eyes were wide, dilated with the sheer rush of endorphins.
"Okay," Elias panted, a wild grin stretching his face. "I'm fast. I'm very fast."
He looked down at the gloomy, rain-slicked streets of Gotham.
"Batman drives a car," Elias chuckled, picking up the Luchador mask and pulling it over his head. It fit surprisingly well over his quills. "That's adorable."
He looked at the golden goblet from Themyscira. It probably belonged to a demigod.
"I should probably put this in a safe place. Or sell it on eBay. No, definitely a safe place."
Elias sat down on the ledge, dangling his legs over the city. The world felt smaller now. He had just touched three corners of the continent in the time it took to listen to a pop song.
"But speed isn't enough," he reminded himself, his expression sobering. "Flash kept up. And I felt... something else out there. Something big in Metropolis."
He tapped his chest.
"I need to unlock the heavy hitters. I need the Dark Forms. If I'm going to survive what's coming, I need to be able to do more than just run."
He stood up, the blue lightning crackling around him again.
"But for now... I wonder if there's a chili dog stand in Gotham that's open at 4 AM."