Keystone City: The City

        Keystone City, twin city to Central City, lies off of I-44 on the
Kansas/Missouri border. Keystone was settled in 1806 following the acquisition of the
area by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase.
        After the Civil War, settlers poured into Kansas to farm the prairies,
establishing the border city as a major point of departure and supply center for these
westward-bound travelers. In the late 1870s, with the completion of the
transcontinental railroad, Keystone City became an important stop on the line. It was a
prime location for cattle stockyards and meat-packing plants, which brought added
prosperity to the growing city.
        Today, Keystone City has a population of just over 200,000. Most of these
people are employed in the city's heavy industry, which is located in pockets scattered
across the city and industrial parks between Keystone City and the surrounding suburbs.
Keystone City's most famous area is the Old Stockyards on the city's remaining rail
lines. The slaughterhouses and meat-packing factories are gone, having been replaced by
trendy shopping malls, boutiques, theaters, and restaurants.


His name is Wally West. Or is it Barry Allen? No, it is Wally West, though to one he
does indeed seem to be Barry. But, no matter who he is, he *is* The Flash, the Fastest
Man Alive. But today he could care less for himself, as he is focused more on you.
Bart, Wally, Impulse, Kid Flash. After having checked out the house first, then Blue
Valley (mna, that was a trip and a half, in various ways) and then finally here: The
Flash Museum in Central City. Why? Because it is ten past five. Why is that important?
That was Wally's normal check-in time with Barry. And so, arms over chest, Wally waits,
to lay a hunch, to see if he can't figure out just what is going on here.

And around the corner, at the last possible second, comes a very uncomfortable-looking
Kid Flash. He skids to a halt about ten feet away from Wally, giving him an uncertain
little wave. "Hi, Flash. I..." the kid stops there, biting his lip. He starts to step
forward, glances up at the clock of a nearby building, and stops again -- looking
distinctly unhappy.

"You're on time. I'm early. No worries, 'kay?" And then Wally gives you a smile and
nods with his head in the direction out of town. The direction that Keystone is in.
"Ready for a round of patrols?" And he's already in motion, keeping to a pace where you
can keep up. "Something on your mind, Kid Flash?"

"You better believe it, Flash," replies Bart, heaving a sigh of relief. Running.
Running is good - people might think it'd be impossible to talk when speedin' around,
but as long as you stay below the speed of sound, you're generally okay. And it keeps
your mind focused, letting your body zone out and do its thing while you think about
what you're talking about. He follows Wally's lead, going wherever the older speedster
goes, and finally says, "I kept trying to tell you, my name's not Wally! It's Ba-
/Wally/, and you know it!" He stops himself, frustrated, and tries again. "I'm not Kid
Flash, I'm Im- Kid Flash...I...aw, darnit..."

Frowning more than a little, Wally attempts to think f a way to best help you as he
races along, but at a much considerably reduced speed. Gawd, he remembers when he used
to run this slow... when he was about.... well, when he was about your age. Flash
almost stops here, realizing just how far you have come, and how far he has come
himself. But, still he marches on, at speeds just under that of sound. "Kid Flash, you
trust me, correct?" And lord, wally hopes so. "I want to try something, to see if that
helps to clear up this whole mess, and someting that may help you. Soemthing I did for
you once, even if you don't remember it. when I say 'go!', Iw ant you to push yourself
as hard as you can, as fast as you can. Okay?" And Wally gives you one of those
sidelong winning Barry smiles once more. And then perhaps you can feel it. Speed. true
speed. Wally is lending it to you, "Go!"

"You're...you're racing me faster...? I...Barry - I trust you, but I'm afraid!" calls
back Bart, looking tremendously worried. But - but. Wally's pushing him, yeah, and the
speed is there, and Wally's giving him more...so gamely, he takes it and runs with it
(ha ha). Faster and faster - at the speed of sound. Past it. Going far faster than half
his body thinks he can, going far slower than his mind -knows- he can.

It's a beginning. Babysteps. And hopefully with enough of them, you'll get your feet
back under yourself. Flash races on, ahead of you slightly, always justa little more
than you, as if to challenge you to keep up with him, to pour it on more. "This is a
part of what I needed to show you, to explain to you and to talk about. About what is
going on, or could be. I knwo it's confusing Bart, Kid Flash. But if you push hard
enough, just really *push*, you'll come to see it as well. You've always had this speed
in you and *more*. You just hold yourself back because you don't believe you can go as
fast as me. Believe me, I *know* this. You're faster, and in time, if you push, you'll
come to know this. And when you do, when you try.... I'll have something else to show
you."

A strained laugh comes from the direction of the teenaged tornado in the Kid Flash
suit. "Don't be silly, Barry, I'm only going this fast because you're helping me.
You're the Fastest Man Alive! No way am I faster than you!" And to prove his word
correct, he doesn't go any faster. Wally gets further and further ahead, if he doesn't
slow down, and Bart has an unbelievably unhappy look on his face. It's like, everything
he says, he's trying his hardest to contradict. "Maybe someone else - someone who isn't
me, Kid Flash - can go faster. Someone who's not a Titan," he says, trying to word his
way around the problem, "and who came from the 30th century - maybe he's all magicked
up and can't go faster. But not me! I'm going as fast as I can!"

Slowing once more, Wally returns to your side, slowing even more, back to your 'normal'
speeds, at least for this costume. "Someone cana nd will, and that someone is you. You
were born with speed, Kid Flash, something that is far greater than any of us that have
stumbled upon it, or had it stumble upon us. You are speed, always have been and awlays
will be. Remember that, okay?" Tapping his forehead, Wally explains, "You're as fast r
as slow as you make yourself out to be, up here. Like Johnny's formula, that helps him
to visualize speed to use it, well, for us that is what it is like without the formula.
Just visualize it and... you will be. Trust me on this one." And there, he just whisked
by the 'Welcome to Ketstone City: Home to The Flash' sign.

"No!" exclaims Kid Flash, tone indicating that he thinks Wally's off his rocker.
"You're talking about /someone else/. I got my speed the same way you did, and in the
same place! Talk about coincidences, huh?" He seems to be struggling to keep up. "But
the guy you're talking about - the one from the future - yeah, he /was/ born with
speed." There's a pause as he tries to make Wally understand, now. "It must sure suck
to be a member of his team. I hear some kook came after them, thinking they were us
Titans, and cast a spell on them. Good thing she didn't mess with /us/."

Okay, *now* Wally comes to a stop, and a rather sudden one, just at the edge of town.
"Whoah, back-up a moment here Kid Flash... this team that the other kid, the one born
with speed, what can you tell me about them? What d you *know* about the person that
was after them? Please, any little detail is important." Remember, he's Barry the
policeman, so to him facts and figures are imporant considerations, so he asks you for
them all the time.

And while this is going on, the sky over Keystone eseems to be a blue. Not the ordinary
blue, but a more vibrant, neon blue almost.

Stopping short as well, kicking up some dirt and pebbles, Kid Flash grins slightly.
"You gotta ask Short Pants that one. I was too busy, um, heh heh..."helping" Lilith."
He glances up at the sky, frowning then. "What's up with that?"

Sighing, Flash explains, "Life working to make sure that nothing is too easy." And then
he's off again. "Something that high to cover all of Keystone, it has to be at the
highest point in the city. Which is?" A little quiz for you to see if you are thinking
along the lines that he is. He's bringing you into his thought processes, just like
Barry did. "And please, Kid Flash, what do *you* know about this person that is after
those kids? Anything. As for Robin... you know how Batman trains his wards." A grin.

"The Petrin Building," answers Bart automatically. "And yeah...yeah, I guess I do. The
villain - who didn't attack /us/, but was aiming for us - was a woman. Some kinda
mystic, trying to get revenge on the Titans or something. I've never heard of her...uh,
I mean, I don't remember fighting her, so she can't have been that important."

Frowning again as Wally starts to think on things, he races towards the Petrin
Building, and planning a discussion with Nightwing about this. And the rest of the
Titans perhaps. But, right now, there is this crisis to focus on. Glancing up, you can
see that the sky is growing in intensity, and this isn't because the field is growing
stronger... it's lowering, over the entire city. "This woman, that attacked you, if you
think that she did... what did she look like?" He has to be sure. And as he rounds the
corner to the Petrin Building, Flash smirks, "Remind me to talk to Zatanna." He tries
to hide the sing-songiness in his voice as he mentions her name, but how can he hide
that competely? But as he heads tot he building, Flash suddenly stops. "See that?" he
points to your left, as there is a shimmer, a flick of your own image. "Mirror Master.
I bet he has the whole exterior of the building shielded. Ideas on how to get in?"

"No, no, not -us-. The Titans didn't get attacked. But she'll come after us next, when
she feels better," explains Kid Flash none too clearly. "And it wasn't Zatanna. It was
some wash-up, kinda lame. I mean, she couldn't even tell the difference between two
teams. I can't remember her name, but she was in her thirties, I think." Absently he
speaks, as he's looking over the building. "Well, we can vibrate through...even though
I'll end up exploding it."

Smirking as you mention this, as he could show you that he does it and that could
indeed shatter your little ongoing fantasy, perhaps to a degree at least. he can't have
that yet, until he knows more. "Zatanna? No, I meant... well, that I could ask her to
cheack into it. You know, ask a favor of a fellow Leaguer?" But then Wally steps
forward, to lay his hand o the mirrored surface before him. "We could always go for
that. The direct approach, though he's bound to have traps for us. You could give him a
good knock. But, think of our opponent Ba-... Kid Flash. Mirror Master. His greatest
flaw is that he has to rely on materials, props." Bending down, Wally retreives a rock
and tosses it up, where it goes up and over the field. "You want to knock or
cyclone-[26~leap it in there?" Obviously he is for the second, but if you want the
challenge to see how fast you can go which would come with the direct knock?

-pause-