“So…” Revive’s eyes scanned the large, empty hall. “This is The Union?”

“This is a front for the real thing,” Chloe mentioned, squeezing herself deeper into Revive’s arms. “The true Union are the floors below this one.”

Revive nodded.

Of course, he already knew that information but right now, he was more focused on keeping Chloe talking, lest she go into shocks or relapses.

Not that she was ever clean.

“Want to take a shortcut down?” The Speedster questioned.

Chloe quirked a brow.

Revive took her hand, pressed it to the middle of his chest, and voiced. “Lock your senses to my heartbeat, it will make things easier.”

“Make what easier?” She questioned and then realized. “Oh my gosh, your heart is beating so fast…”

Chloe focused more and more on Revive’s heart, trying to separate one beat from the next with her superhuman senses but she couldn’t distinguish it.

Then, she felt her body sinking.

They were vibrating and sinking through the floor and by the time Chloe awakened from the trance of Revive’s heart, they were five floors down.

Revive was breathing heavily.

Chloe stared at the ceiling, looking for any signs of damage but there were none.

“How did you do that?” She questioned. “I thought your gift was to run very fast.”

“The Speed Force,” Revive explained, not holding anything back. “Is a fundamental force of the Universe that keeps everything moving. So, anything that moves or vibrates draws energy from the Speed Force and powers the Speed Force.”

“That’s confusing…”

“The greatest physicists on multiple Earths fail to understand it,” Revive bragged. “Just know that I can tap into its power to do a lot of things.”

“So, you have a lot of powers?” Chloe summarized.

“One power with many uses,” Revive shrugged, no longer bothering to explain it properly.

The duo made their way toward the noise, finding Brandon, Ruby, and the others sitting on the ground in the hallway.

It was a large hall, and on both sides of the hall were trophy cases with memorabilia of conquered foes.

“Kind of like the bat cave…” Revive voiced.

“What’s the bat cave?” Barry questioned, stepping forward and extending a hand to Revive. “Thank you! Because of you, I get to see my daughters when this briefing is over.”

Revive took the hand, embraced Barry in a hug for a couple of seconds, and separated.

“So, tell us about this Batman?” Barry insisted.

Just like that, Chloe and Revive seamlessly joined the tight-knit group of heroes.

Of course, Vera proceeded to thank Revive next, not so subtly dropping some hints that she could be more thankful if he let her.

Chloe wasn’t jealous – she just rolled her eyes.

“Batman is one of the greatest heroes in multiple universes,” Revive voiced, admiration in the depths of his eyes. “He has a code like your father – he never kills but he makes up for it with brutality. And the coolest part is, I can literally turn back time but I am afraid of that dude.”

“He must have an awesome power…” Vera voiced.

“That’s the awesome part,” Revive voiced, leaning his head onto Chloe’s shoulder. “Batman is completely human… no powers, no boons or anything like that.”

“Really?” Brandon was surprised. “I grew up thinking we always need to protect everyone.”

“Take it from someone who has seen it all,” Revive smirked sadly, gently rubbing Chloe’s hand as they linked fingers. “We are probably the ones who need protection from humans when the time comes. We should protect humanity – children being the priority. But given the need to survive, there are no species like humans in the cosmos.”

“Wow…” Ruby sighed. “My mom always said she believed in herself more than The Union.”

“Yeah…” Revive similarly sighed. “If you think humans are weak – take me for example. I came from a place where we were on the brink of extinction, clawing and begging to survive our alien overlords. With no choice, I had to become the hero that would save myself. I created a Cosmic Force that gathered motion from all planes, dimensions, and universes. I became the first Speedster… and I was just a desperate human.”

“It does sound amazing when you put it like that,” Chloe added.

“So, your power is?” Brandon probed.

Revive shrugged. “Anything that has to do with Speed. I am a Speedster – there are a lot of me in the Multiverse.”

“But are there any like you?” Chloe questioned.

“Most don’t live long enough to know what I know or see what I have seen,” The Speedster revealed. “Speedsters usually collapse their own timeline in months, trap themselves in a time loop, or just run faster than their bodies can handle.”

“A hazardous power…” Barry commented.

“Very… if I didn’t have perfect control, I could speed myself out of existence,” Revive chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “I have a couple of times.”

“Really?” Chloe’s eyes widened.

“Don’t worry…” Revive gestured to Chloe’s bracers. “We are anchored to each other so the worst won’t happen.”

“Isn’t death the worse,” Ruby questioned, meeting Revive’s eyes. “What could be worse?”

“If you’re in the hero game, you need to know that there are things worse than death,” Revive held his hand outward and started vibrating the arm until it disappeared. “The most terrifying thing is getting lost.”

The conversation was made of small talk, getting to know each other, and listening to the stories of battles fought and lost.

Chloe zoned out for half the conversation, lost in the thoughts of what she had done on the battlefield but true to his words, Revive’s presence felt like an anchor point for her mind.

He would squeeze her hand and her mind would not devolve further into endless questions.

An hour later, Utopia and Lady Liberty showed up.

Chloe winced when she saw the bucket of blood and mush being brought to the lab.

Her mother gave her an encouraging smile and she drew some strength from the smile.

It was a type of strength that even Revive couldn’t give.

…

A couple of minutes later, everyone was called into the lab.

“You guys can sit there,” Fitz gestured and went back to studying the screen as he explained. “If you’re new to this, it is a simple procedure. After every big battle, we invite you guys in for a scan or two, just to make sure there are no lingering effects.”

“And you know me so…” Petra shrugged, earning a chuckle from Ruby and Sierra. “Trust that I won’t keep you here longer than you need to be.”

Revive sat at the end.

It seemed that everyone had a pre-established seat, and Chloe – despite not being around – was considered the hero of the day and treated accordingly.

“Chloe…” The light ran over her body, Petra examined the data and nodded. “I am seeing higher vitality reading concentrated around the bracers on your arms but other than that… you’re super healthy. I mean, your numbers are the same as your dad’s.”

“I am as strong as my father now?” Chloe was surprised.

Sheldon, in the corner, raised a brow and gave his daughter a once over.

“Keep in mind, your dad is old and wise,” Fitz reminded. “All we are saying is that your biology has become more substantial… like a late puberty growth spurt.”

“We will have to look into it further so you can just stick around,” Petra voiced.

“I can’t really go anywhere without Revive anyway,” Chloe murmured.

Sierra, Ruby, and Vera rolled their eyes.

“Clinging to something too hard will force it to leave that much quicker,” Vera murmured.

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Want to speak up so I can put your tongue somewhere better than up my ass?” She challenged.

Vera stood but a flicker of lightning, only noticeable because everyone in attendance was super in some way.

Nobody knew what happened at first.

Then everyone burst into laughter – everyone except Vera who was the butt of the joke.

“What?” Vera questioned.

Ruby rolled her eyes and projected a part of her armor in front of Vera, allowing Phase Out to see her appearance and the strange things painted on her face.

“What the fuck?” Vera growled. “Who did it?”

Naturally, everyone’s eyes drifted to Revive.

The Speedster shrugged. “I did just turn time back to get your body attached to your head…” He voiced.

Vera bristled but she didn’t push the matter.

Brandon’s scans were fine…

Ruby’s scans were fine…

Vera’s and Sierra’s scans also came back positive.

However, when it was Revive’s turn, everyone couldn’t help but gasp at the number of scars that loitered his body.

And the signature given off by some of the scars was enough to make Sheldon grimace.

“Now we know that you do have great enemies,” Sheldon voiced.

“They tried to kill him earlier today,” Chloe revealed, frowning at her own slip of the tongue but now that she had mentioned it, it was best to be thorough. “The Necromancer, Orionth, and The Witch Bestest ambushed him. He shouldn’t even be here.”

“Those villains disappeared years ago,” Grace mentioned.

“Or they simply went into hiding,” Walter chimed, floating into the lab. “I have been picking up psychic chatter about some missing guys returning.”

Revive frowned.

“Know anything about this?” Sheldon urged.

“I know the who – the guys fighting the war but I don’t know the why?” Revive furrowed his brows, running a hand through his locks. “Attacking me means you guys are now looking at them. Doesn’t seem smart for a force you guys didn’t know existed until I arrived.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Counteroffensive?” Barry shrugged.

“No, this is much more personal,” Revive determined, glancing at Chloe and Walter. “I think I know what’s happening and I will deal with it personally.”

“The Union deals with these matters,” Sheldon insisted.

“You’re not qualified to deal with these matters,” Revive’s reply was blunt. “You have lost the chance to have full mastery of your powers so it doesn’t make sense to get involved in the bigger things anymore.”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Revive was saying that the Utopian is too weak and that the number one hero in the world could have been stronger.

They shuddered at the thought.

“You’re saying I am weak?” The Utopian took offense.

Revive shook his head. “I respect you and even admire you. In a different world, you would be an even greater man. But not in this one… if you get involved too early, a lot of these kids will die.”

There wasn’t much conversation after Revive said what he said but somehow, it spurred Chloe enough for her to cling to him the entire time.

Brandon, Ruby, and the others departed.

Chloe, Revive, Sheldon, Walter, Fitz, and Petra stayed behind.

Fitz and Petra performed examinations on the buckets of remains Sheldon had brought back.

Grace excused Revive and Chloe from the autopsy but Sheldon refused to allow them to leave.

“Chloe is a pacifist at heart,” Revive complained. “She can’t see this.”

“It’s fine,” Chloe intervened, stepping between Revive and her father. “I need to find a way to live with what I have done… and I don’t regret doing it. Vera and Barry are here because of it.”

Grace changed the pace of the conversation. “So, are you two an item now?” She questioned, reserving some motherly judgment in her eyes.

“Come on, Grace,” Sheldon sighed. “They have hardly known each other for a week.”

This comment made Chloe upset.

“And what’s wrong with us being together?” Chloe growled. “We’re already husband and wife everywhere else.”

“Chloe, your decision determines the life you live, not time or whatever else,” Sheldon educated. “You love who you love, that’s fine. Just don’t be with someone because you think you have to or you’ll just end up dragging them down.”

“You think I am going to drag him down?”

Chloe’s bracers were glowing an ominous orange.

Revive quickly flickered to stand between Chloe and her father, pressing his signet ring to the bracers as he did.

It siphoned the divine energy accumulating inside the weapon.

“You have to be careful,” Revive warned, vibrating his hand to discharge the divine energy. “The bracers will react to your emotions… you need to re-learn control.”

Chloe frowned, glanced down at the bracers on her arms, and tensed her wrist, causing the divine weapon to become transparent, sinking into her skin.

“What now?” Revive turned to the others and asked.

Not long after he asked the question, the ground shuddered with massive steps.

And a couple of seconds later, Blackstar was escorted into the lab with four armed escorts.

“What’s in the bucket?” Blackstar inquired.

“You…” Sheldon responded, waving a hand to activate the hologram of the battle. “—courtesy of Chloe…”

“Well, now you know that isn’t me.”

“Why?” Grace inquired.

“Because I would have fucked up your daughter really good…” Blackstar responded.

“Okay, get him out of here,” Utopia decided.

Blackstar roared hysterically on the way out.

“He was telling the truth,” Grace voiced, staring at the hologram on the table.

“We need someone who can manipulate organic matter to put it together,” Sheldon mused.

“I might know someone,” Revive revealed.

“Really?” Grace raised a brow.

“Stanin has that ability in all universes and she is a low-tier villain who was just never asked to become a hero,” Revive reported. “Just ask her and she will willingly do it. Then, just bring her to me after you’re done.”

“You’re using us to find her…” Walter realized.

Revive shrugged and was about to depart with Chloe but Sheldon and Grace stopped them.

“Given how things have recently been going,” Grace mentioned, trying hard to word her statement. “Your father and I think you should come home for a few days.”

“No!” Chloe’s reply was immediate.

“Think about it, Chloe,” Sheldon urged. “After what you just did, you’ll be getting the wrong type of attention. Any modeling gig you do will be affected so spare the people you work with the bad press…”

“You really don’t know, do you?” Chloe scoffed.

“Know what?” Sheldon was confused.

“Chloe!” Grace tried to stop her daughter but it was too late.

“I was trending this morning for a picture with Revive and me,” Chloe showed the picture and the comments, then she flicked the screen and showed the number one trending topic. “Super Model Chloe Sampson's favorability ratings have increased by fifty percent overnight.”

“People think I am a fucking hero!” She laughed, mocking the very public her father had dedicated his life to serving, even at the cost of his family.

Sheldon stood straight, perplexing emotions on his face.

Revive took Chloe’s hand and used the time to depart, pulling the girl along to stop her gloating.

There was little chance Utopia would snap but there was always a chance and Revive was never one to gamble.

Ω

As soon as Revive and Chloe were outside The Union Building, they felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

Their clothing shifted to a matching t-shirt, jeans, and boost finishing.

Chloe was the one who decided the style.

And Revive was sure that he’d have to memorize a dozen different suits when they got home but Chloe always insisted on being dressed to impress, even when they were attending a funeral.

Still, Revive had underestimated just how much of an icon he had become thanks to Chloe.

And of course, Chloe was experienced with attention but she didn’t have time to think about it.

She had gone from a photoshoot to a battle in South America, to teleporting to the California Hills, fighting a life-and-death battle with Blackstar, to spending hours at the Union.

The Amazonian was exhausted.

And it didn’t help that as soon as the duo exited The Union, they were swarmed by a crowd of a dozen people.

Chloe tensed, ready to take off into the air and Revive took her hand.

The world slowed…

Chloe watched as the reporters running to their location slowed, taking a couple of seconds to take a step, then a couple of minutes until they were moving so slow it was almost imperceptible.

“Is this how you see the world?” She questioned.

Revive glanced around – the bird frozen in the skies, the wind curled in on itself, becoming tangible, and the cement beneath his feet as soft as pure gold.

Chloe took a step and her feet sunk into the ground.

“Woah…” Revive pulled the Amazonian into his arms. “You have to step extra lightly when you’re here.”

“And where is here?” Chloe leaped into the air, twirled, and felt gravity attempting to lump around her, freezing her in the air. “How do you come down?”

“You have to keep moving…” Revive revealed, leaping into the air, twirling, and landing on his feet in one smooth movement. “If you stay in the air for too long, you regain normal time.”

“Is this another dimension?”

“No… not really,” The Speedster scratched the back of his head, wondering how to explain. “We are just moving really fast but The Speed Force warps our surroundings, making the laws of physics work a bit differently.”

Chloe willed herself to the ground, being gentler than all other times, lest the street form a crater where she lands.

“You need to stay close or you won’t be able to keep up,” Revive warned, then asked. “Never seen the world like this before?”

“I have seen it slow, in bursts,” Chloe admitted. “But never this slow.”

Revive examined as far as the eyes could see, plotting how to cram the most Speedster experience into a walk across the city – which was equivalent to a beach run for a Speedster.

“Well, the first thing you need to understand is that you have to step lightly or anything you step on will melt,” Revive explained.

Chloe jogged at normal speed for a couple of steps and true to Revive’s word, her steps left molten asphalt in its wake.

“Next point, you don’t breathe when you’re traveling at this speed. Without The Speed Force, if you breathe while moving super-fast, the air rams into your lungs like a car crash. That’s why you, Brandon, and your father have an enhanced physique through and through…”

“With me, it’s a bit different,” Revive took a deep breath to show that his chest didn’t rise or fall. “With The Speed Force, the air goes through your body, reacting with the cells directly. It’s a step up from breathing through the skin so that means Speedsters never get tired. The faster we run, the faster the cells in our body become oxygenated and the cycle becomes an unbreakable loop. The only way to get tired is to exceed the capacity of Speedster cells, which doesn’t usually happen. Most Speedsters will never achieve a fraction of the speed necessary to bypass their cellular potential.”

“So, you can’t get tired?” Chloe’s eyes sparkled at the implications. “Or do you just have amazing stamina like every other guy?”

Revive was tempted to say he wasn’t like every other guy but while that was true, it would be feeding into Chloe’s instincts to get the best of everything.

And he didn’t want to be another thing in her collection.

“I am one of the few Speedsters who can exceed my cellular potential, leading to exhaustion like… for example, when I reversed time and brought your friends back to life.”

Chloe didn’t bother to dispute it.

She linked her hand with Revive’s as he led the way forward – as much as she hated to admit it, Chloe was already becoming addicted to being bathed in the radiance of The Speed Force.

“First Rule of Superspeed: Everything can become lethal…”

The Speedster recited, leading Chloe further and further into the unknowns of The Speed Force.

There were countless Speedsters across multiple universes that would kill for personal lessons from the first Speedster in history but Revive was currently expending his effort to teach a non-Speedster his speed secrets.

To show how anything could become lethal, Revive led Chloe to a whine restaurant – a cup of wine was in the process of spilling over.

The Speedster ignored the cup and carefully gathered the wine in his hands, molding the liquid as if it were clay.

Then, he tossed it toward a tree a couple of feet away.

Chloe watched in amazement as the wine’s color sunk into the tree’s trunk, making it appear as if red wine had always been the color of the bark.

“Can you still taste the wine?”

“Yeah, most of the time…” Revive smiled. “If you did that to a person, their blood would clot and they would die. A tree grows too slowly so it doesn’t usually cause harm.”

The duo continued their tour.

“Second Rule of Superspeed: Whenever you want to touch something or someone, always consider the best way to do so…”

“Sounds kinky…” Chloe joked.

Revive spun and locked eyes with the mischievous girl, showing a hunger in his eyes that took her breath away.

“Trust me, I know how to touch you especially,” He voiced.

Chloe was under no illusion that Revive was a virgin but his insistence on avoiding intimacy until he was certain of her feelings did cause her to regard him a bit lightly.

Revive walked toward a man who was in the process of falling off his bicycle – he turned the man’s head slightly, tucked his feet closer to his body, pulled the man’s coat a bit higher, and then gave the man a little push from behind.

“Well, isn’t that complicated?” Chloe snorted.

“Complicated? A bit,” Revive admitted. “But if I had just put him on his feet, his legs would have shattered in normal time. You always have to consider momentum when rescuing someone at superspeed.”

…

Revive took Chloe to a restaurant.

The flames burned atop the slices of vegetables and meat frozen mid-air.

The Speedster showed The Amazonian how to suck the flames into her mouth, tasting the flavor that would have rather dissipated when the dice fell back into the pot.

“I guess rule number three is that Speedsters can actually play with fire?” Chloe suggested.

Revive nodded and added. “In a limited capacity – I, personally, tend to leave lava alone as much as possible.”

…

The tour continued.

Revive demonstrated how animals were more sensitive to the presence of the trail Speedsters leave behind.

He demonstrated how easy it was to walk on the water by pulling Chloe across the lake.

The water rippled beneath their feet.

“Strange how the water feels more secure than the streets,” Chloe noted.

…

It took some time for Chloe to realize they were walking with a purpose – heading somewhere she hadn’t been before.

“I need allies,” Revive voiced.

“I need to stretch my legs so I hope it’s a fun type of ally,” Chloe stretched and wore a lazy expression on her face.

‘Guess it’s time to stop messing around…’

Since The Speed Force enveloped Revive and Chloe and they walked from one end of the city to the next, only a couple of seconds had passed in actuality.

“Ready to go?” Revive asked.

“Go?” Chloe frowned, gesturing to the frozen world around them. “I thought we were already going…”

“No, this is for your benefit,” Revive blurred in a slowed world, appearing next to Chloe and lifting her into a bridal carry. “This is what it means to go…” He voiced and lightning danced all around.

The next second, the duo was moving at superspeed in a slowed world.

----------

Chloe blinked and when she reopened her eyes, they were standing in a warehouse, dozens of miles out of the city.

Bullets cut through the air, moving at a pace visible to the naked eye.

However, Chloe could see bullets even without Revive’s aid.

“You wanted some action so…” Revive flickered away. “Have at it,” Were the words he left behind.

The world moved at a normal speed.

Chloe’s eyes flickered back and forth, trying to identify the enemy but the best theory she could come up with was a gang war of some kind.

Bullets deflected off her skin.

It stung but didn’t cause harm otherwise.

Instinctively, Chloe found herself blocking bullets with her bracers, and the bullets blocked sparked for an instant before dissolving completely.

“I’ll just get rid of them both,” She decided.

Chloe leaped into the air, drifted with the wind as she flew, and spun in the air, bringing herself down with the weight of a freighter.

The ground cracked.

The gunmen started to scatter but it was too late – Chloe kicked off the ground, blurring three consecutive times, each time delivering her weakest punch to the chest or face of a gang member.

Still, men were lifted into the air and crashed into walls as if they were being rammed by a minitour.

The opposing gang was happy at first… at least until they started to experience the same treatment.

A super leaped into the skies and his fists glowed with purple energy.

Chloe slammed a thug into the ground, shot herself into the air, curled, and rammed into the super with both fists.

The ground shook.

The super immediately had a crater of his own – a crater Chloe had gifted to him.

An array of bullets cut through the smoke, curving a little as they made their way to Chloe.

Revive flickered in lightning, snatched the bullets out of the air, and flicked the small metal balls with his fingers, tearing through the hands and legs of the person who had fired them.

…

It took a couple more seconds for the fighting to finish.

Chloe floated to the ground after performing her second check – there was nobody left standing, nobody had died, and there was no backup coming.

“I could have used some help.”

Revive’s purple lightning sparked across the ground, appearing a split-second before he did.

“Had to get the footage,” The Speedster replied, holding up tapes and discs that were quickly ruined by lightning channeled through his hands. “We are the number one couple in the world, no need to complicate things with incriminating footage of us robbing drug dealers.”

Chloe froze. “Nobody said anything about robbing drug dealers,” Her eyes narrowed.

“This is the grey area,” Revive led the way forward, past the groaning gangbangers rolling on the ground. “What you don’t know is that Barry had two sons with two different women. Of course, he didn’t know about either of them. This money will go into a fund for the kids… and all the kids of the heroes who have fallen recently.”

“It won’t work,” Chloe knew because she had tried to donate money before. “The bank won’t allow money transactions that large between powered individuals.”

“Unless we are the number one couple in the world, give them a cut of the dirty money, and get a lawyer who is a shark in superhero water but isn’t well-known yet,” Revive concluded.

Chloe was surprised.

“Didn’t think you had thought that far ahead.”

“I always think that far ahead.”

Revive gestured to the huge metal door ahead.

Chloe quirked a brow. “Can’t you just walk through it like how you sunk into the floors?”

“It’s not something I can do often,” Revive admitted. “I just got my powers back a couple of hours ago. Pushing myself too hard would be idiotic.”

The Amazon Warrior stared at the six-inch thick door.

“I think I figured it out a bit,” Chloe murmured, bringing her bracers together and just barely and quickly tapping them against each other.

A rumble.

A burst of purple energy and the door split.

The world in Revive’s perception slowed – he grabbed Chloe and turned to run but Divine Energy always behaved in strange ways.

The rebound of the resonance caught the Speedster mid-stride.

A crack of lightning and a rumble of thunder.

Revive and Chloe slammed into the ground, skipping as if they were flat rocks atop calm lakes.

Three buildings crumbled in their wake.

Chloe managed to steady her momentum, spinning and grounding her feet as Revive had thought her… then, she snatched the Speedster and protected him from a particularly sharp metal rod jutting out of the wall.

It bent on contact with her skin.

“Fuck~” Chloe cursed.

Revive was unconscious and worse for wear… thankfully, his wounds seemed to heal as fast as he ran.