44 - Flailing

Flatfoot runs down the streets of Independence Port at incredible speed. His new trench coat billows out behind him. His thickly gelled hair stays motionless. He skids to a stop at the edge of a wharf, looking up to the island in the center of the port, on which Terra Volta is located. A damaged, gang infested bridge leads up to the reactor entrance, but it frustrates the speedster because its not a straight line.

“You know,” K!xt the Warshade says inside his mind. “There is a more direct way.”

“But I don’t know any teleporters that are willing to talk to me a second time…” Flat says.

“I was talking about flying.”

“Oh, that,” Flat says dismissively. “In case you haven’t realized, That’s not how I roll.”

“Think about flying. Think about how much you want to, and how much you want to be able to fly over there.”

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for a self help lecture over here,” Flat says.

“Look, you want to fly over there, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then visualize it happening!”

“Ok, ok.”

Flat closes his eyes and concentrates. He feels strange for a moment, then he feels no ground beneath him. He opens his eyes to see himself hovering 30 feet in the air.

“Whoa!” Flat says. “All right. Let’s do this!” He starts flying toward the reactor.

“Wait! What about that team we were looking at. We might need help.”

“Yeah, but that was before I knew I could fly. I wonder what else I can do?”

Flat thinks for a moment, then sees a group of Tsoo lurking in an alley. “Hey, I wonder if I can…”
Several dark purple tendrils of light fire down at the thugs, sending them flying when they connect.

“Yeah. We’re good to go,” Flat says and soars over to the Terra Volta reactor.


“So how are we getting in?” Deadfoot asks the yellow-clad Reverse Flatfoot.

“When you let revenge motivate you, you learn all sorts of valuable secrets and tricks from like-minded individuals,” the villain answers.

“He knows a guy in maintenance,” Crank Shaft says, arms crossed.

“Nobody asked you!” Reverse Flat snaps. “Is the Anti-Bomb ready?”

“Yeah, sure,” Crank says.

“Where is it?!”

“My people are installing it.”

A pair of robots walk by carrying a large crate. “Boy. Is. My. Back. Killing. Me,” one of them says.

“That’s. What. She. Said,” the second one says. “Ha. Ha. Ha.”

“I’d. High. Five. You. If. I. Could.”

“Did you have to give them personalities?” Reverse Flat says.

“I find that it makes them more productive to have an interest in what I do,” Crank answers.
Deadfoot listens to Reverse Flatfoot’s berating, know-it-all tone and starts thinking that there is something uncomfortably familiar about his new employer.


“This-This is incredible,” Flatfoot says, flying over the pipes and girders of the Terra Volta complex. He buzzes past a gaggle of Sky Raiders, laughing.

“Yes, the power of flight is one of the great new benefits of the merging,” K!xt says. “But remember, there is more power to be revealed.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Flat says. “I’m overwhelmed. I feel… I feel… I feel like I could…Sing!”

Flatfoot opens his mouth to sing and catches a reflection of himself in a skylight. He sees a hideous purple squid-like monster flying though the air with glowing eyes and an array of tentacles protruding from its back.

“Ahhh!!” Flatfoot screams. The reflection waves its tentacles around frantically.