Absolute Flash #9 (2025)

Wally has a vision of a black hole with rings of red energy swirling around it. He remembers a story Barry told him about Karl Schwarzschild, a brilliant scientist who contracted a terrible illness in the trenches of World War I. To his horror, a decaying hand reaches out of the black hole and grabs him. Captain Snart's voice brings him back to reality, as Leonard asks him if he wants to join with them. Wally initially refuses, but they tell him that they think Rudy is in trouble and Thawne is their common enemy. Grodd looks inside their mind and sees that they are not lying, and so Wally agrees. The Rogues tell him that they will take the fight to Thawne and rescue his father, but unbeknownst to them Trickster is streaming everything they are saying back to Project Olympus. Thawne watches the feed with Rudy, who is handcuffed and guarded by Project Olympus personnel. She says that she doesn't understand why the Rogues would turn on her after the power she gave them; Rudy replies that they have been through war with him and have a loyalty to each other that is beyond everything. He tells her that she made the Rogues into weapons and now they're coming for her, but she says that she's counting on it as they will deliver Wally to her. Thawne reveals that Wally is the link between them and their ultimate goal, the key to everything they have been working on. The Rogues and Wally fly back towards Fort Fox in the Prowler. During the flight a disc of red energy which only Wally can see appears inside the ship. As he approaches it the center turns black and streaks of energy reach out to his fingertips. When it makes contact he suddenly sees visions of himself in the recent past and immediate future. Wally is overwhelmed by the visions and collapses in pain, but Grodd is able to help him return his mind to the present and the disc and images disappear. As the Prowler approaches Fort Fox, Snart calls the control room and tells them they have captured Wally and are returning to base. To his surprise Thawne answers the call herself. She tells Trickster to "secure the asset" and James surrounds herself and Wally with a force field bubble. Thawne then launches a missile to shoot the Prowler down. The tank is destroyed, but the Rogues are protected by a telekinetic force field generated by Grodd. Trickster flies down into the forest below in her own bubble with Wally, but when they are near the ground Wally breaks open the field with his own energy, sending Trickster crashing to earth. She draws a weapon but Glider flies down and knocks her out. Harkness and Snart float down on the boomerangs with Grodd, who has passed out from exertion. Glider points out that, although everyone is okay, they have lost the element of surprise. In Fort Fox, Thawne and her men drag Rudy to the portal room. Rudy begs Thawne to stop what she is doing as Wally is just a boy, but Thawne replies he has become something more. She tells him Wally is the "missing link" between her grandfather's work and Barry Allen's, and the key to opening the door to the other dimensions Eobard Thawne discovered.