Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen, races home to enjoy a candlelight dinner with his wife, Picture News reporter, Iris West. His wife's absence fills Allen with a sense of unease. Suddenly, the kitchen door explodes outward, heralding the arrival of Vandal Savage. With a wave of his finger, Vandal Savage triggers Allen's costume ring, releasing his Flash costume. Allen, as the Flash races around Vandal Savage, who, incredibly, is still able to grab the Flash. Still vibrating at super-speed, the Flash is hurled backward, where he careens about the house, eventually doing so much destruction that the house collapses. Allen is shaken out of his reverie by his houseguest, Stacy Conwell. Allen finds himself still sitting at the dinner table.
The fight with Vandal Savage occurred entirely in his own mind. Communicating with Allen telepathically, Vandal Savage informs him that though their fight was merely an illusion, the danger to West is all too real. Allen arranges to have West's father, Professor Ira West, look after Conwell, to free him up to pursue Vandal Savage. Meanwhile, In Coast City, Hal Jordan says goodnight to his date, Carol Ferris. Remembering that he has theater tickets, Jordan returns to Ferris' apartment, only to find Vandal Savage waiting for him. Vandal Savage slams Jordan to the floor. As Jordan rises, he finds himself clad in his Green Lantern costume. The Green Lantern shoves Vandal Savage into a power ring constructed restraining chair, connected to a lie detector.
Vandal Savage, incredibly, stands up. The Green Lantern attacks with a power ring constructed hammer, only to find himself in his own chair, being struck by said hammer. Meanwhile, on Earth-2, the Golden Age Flash runs down some dope smugglers. He's somewhat surprised to receive an assist from the Flash and the Green Lantern. The two heroes have come to Earth-2 to inquire about Vandal Savage. The Golden Age Flash reveals that Vandal Savage was not, in fact, killed in their last encounter. Vandal Savage was thrown out of sync with Earth-2's vibratory rate, rendering him a phantom. Only on Earth-1 could Vandal Savage regain his corporeality. Though Vandal Savage is his nemesis, the Golden Age Flash opts not to join the Flash and the Green Lantern in taking him down.
Back on Earth-1, the Flash sees an image of West calling to him. This is followed by an image of Ferris calling to the Green Lantern. The two heroes follow these images into the deserted countryside. There, they find an enormous fireball, much like the one that had supposedly slain Vandal Savage. Ferris and West are trapped within the fireball, rapidly running out of oxygen. The best efforts of the Flash and the Green Lantern, to release West and Ferris, meet with failure. At one point, the Green Lantern is even knocked unconscious by his own attempt to extinguish the blazing ball of fire. After another failed attempt from the Flash, the Green Lantern reveals that he feigned unconsciousness, in order to focus all his efforts on finding Vandal Savage.
His hiding place revealed, Vandal Savage is compelled, by the Green Lantern's power ring, to explain his scheme. Vandal Savage could recharge his immortality from exposure to the fireball, but only after it had been exposed to both the Green Lantern's power ring energy, and the Flash's super-speed aura. Without Vandal Savage's psychic powers shielding the fireball, the Flash is, finally, able to extinguish it. Ferris, though, is the only one inside. Vandal Savage reveals that West was already missing when he came to abduct her. He merely took credit for her disappearance to manipulate the Flash. Crestfallen, the Flash worries if West is even alive. West, though, is very much alive, under the watchful eye of her abductor...the Golden Age Flash.
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