The Fastest Man Alive.

His past self had been right, the headaches would going away, and his memories started to return, some of them good. Most of them bad. He began to remember his dad...his mom. The emotional pain seeps out into his head and it hurts to hear them, hurts to see them, to live them. Again.

He remembered his siblings.

He remembered what he had become, the things he had done, his past flashed through his mind, taking him through lanes of himself that he never would have thought about. Those painful memories are books with chapters, deep and horrible; and so as he goes through them he leaves them on the shelf to gather dust. Alex realized he could pick them up if he needs to learn something, to gain a perspective that helps me to create his own new story. He could use them to re-see situations through the lens of their needs and traumas rather than his own. Alex wants today, tomorrow and every tomorrow after to be wonderful; He wants to choose what to write on those blank pages. But What Alex also saw was that despite the horrible things he had done there was so much goodness there too, bravery, tenacity. He watched himself hold on like a fighter, every morning rising at the ringing of "the bell."

And when he was finally called in for the end of his race he didn't fight back, he saw it was over and he gave in, maybe it wasn't the best thing to do. Time changed again, life shifted, people lived, people died. A new Alex was brought to this time, one who was void of the emotional setbacks of his previous self, a boy filled with good and love, and hope. This new boy learned without any powers, loved without them and now he has to get them back.

And so now time goes on, the battle draws closer, the line draws nearer and the finish line edges forward.

Time had begun to dissolve into itself, as shapeless as the rain.

After his memories began returning Alex transitioned into learning how to use his powers, his speed began growing exponentially, and the powers that he discovered were amazing, but he forced himself to go slow. A day at a time. He now knew that one tentacle of power is the insulation from risk, one becomes unaccustomed to safety and comfort, they begin to rely too much on who they've become, the power that they've ingested.

But Alex refused to let the power corrupt him as it had before, he refused to be that, and so he didn't. The days went by, and he ran on. His feet began to soar past the speed of sound until it was nothing more than a simple whisper, his arms began to pump closer and closer towards the Speed Of Light, and eventually, he broke it.

And he once again entered the Speed Force.

Outside The West Household, Wednesday, February 26th at 8:48 P.M (1st Person POV)

Today I learned the truth. And the truth can be a strange notion, for it always relies on perspective. I mean look at me, I got struck by lightning and got superpowers, there are SO many things that can go with that, but whatI learned was that the two can never be separated. And so on Wednesday, February 26th at 8:48 P.M I stood on the grounds outside my childhood home and I smiled.

I could see the crackle of lightning that began to envelope my form, a bead of sweat appeared in my brow as I drew my focus in. I had to get this right, I had to do this for everyone. But especially for myself, I have to prove to others that I can have the power and keep the love, that I'm not corruptible, that I'm not HIM. I'm me.

I'm Alex.

The lightning began to intensify and I fall to my knees and scream out in pain, the electricity surges through my form and I feel pain like I've never felt anything before, it's like a slashing in my body, worse than when I got struck the first time, as if the Speed Force knows what I'm doing, like it's challenging me, telling me to go full out or just tap, but even then my smile grew bigger as I realized that it was working, he remembered his costumes before and he grinned as he realized the one he wanted.

My body began singing as the flow of electricity arced out of every crevice of who I was. This electrical energy becomes so much, and the whole city seemed to notice it, lights began to flicker and the sky itself seemed to turn from night to day, the yellow on my costume seemed to just peel off and shine as pure golden waves of light. My smile begins to falter and I start to lose my grip on why I was doing this in the first place, it hurt so bad. I wanted to cry, to rip my face apart, to die.

I forced myself to think about everything that grounded me. Forced myself to focus on the ones who made me Me.

Burgundy and Silver. Like Irene and Jai loved.

Will and Connor, I failed him as a friend, I would change that, I'd fix it.

Uncle Matthew, I didn't give a good first impression. As a hero or a nephew, I'll show him that I'm good at being both because family is everything.

To Juno, I was a d*ck, I'll show to her that I'm not.

To Venilia, I was a hypocrite. But I mean...No-No, I was a hypocrite, but not anymore.

To my Mother, I failed you as a son and as a man, but today I start again.

To my Father, I'm not Flash Lightning, and I don't think I ever could be, your legacy is not for me. I'm something different than you, your ring deserves someone better to hold it to standard I never could

And to me. I will NEVER...EVER dye my hair blonde again...EVER!

I fight on for me.

And for them.

And slowly the pain starts to subside and fabric began to slither from my feet up my thighs, armor shaped in bolts of lightning began to engrave themselves into my hips and waist, it climbs up my torso, bathing me in color, Burgundy and silver. And finally, I could feel it reach my chest. When I looked down I could see it right there in the center of my body.

My Emblem.

I was back.

But I was unmoored.

And so as the sky shook with thunder and split from lightning I looked up, and I could feel the Speed Force in a way I never have before. I'm not Tachyon, or Hermes or Flash Lightning.