Phasing trouble

Being a hero meant fighting villains. Jesse knew that. She was used to putting herself in danger, used to saving people. There was a lot of need for it; her Earth had, until recently, been controlled by a psychopath called Zoom.

He'd been defeated, but the army of meta-humans that had followed him remained, stragglers stirring up trouble and trying to fill the power vacuum.

She'd gone up against most. It didn't feel egotistical to say she'd done well against most.

But then came the Turtle. Less-than-threatening name aside, he was slow, methodical in his plans, and worse than that had a power that rendered Jesse all but useless.

He approached her, arms outstretched; the air between them rippled. She kept her distance. He, and a few hired guns, faced her, pinning her in.

He could absorb any kinetic energy from an object, manifesting fields where everything was left in a state of potential energy. Short version, all her speed meant nothing when he could freeze her in place.

She glanced from side to side, but no, she was hemmed in. Two tall shelves, a wall behind her, and the Turtle coming closer with his impenetrable barrier.

As soon as she got caught in that, she was as good as dead.

Jesse glanced back.

She did have one last trick up her sleeve. Phasing; she knew speedsters could theoretically do that, vibrate their molecules so fast that they could go through solid objects, she'd just never done it before.

Then again, she'd never needed to. There had been idle practise in the lab, but no real attempts.

But if she couldn't get the hang of it...

Jesse vibrated on the spot. Slowly, she took another step back, trying to feel her body. Her connection to the speed ****, the energy that ran through her...

"Come on, come on," she muttered.

The Turtle loomed nearer.

She didn't have much space left. Bracing herself, Jesse turned and prayed she wouldn't just bang her head on a brick wall. She ran, and-

There was a moment of darkness.

And daylight! Jesse gulped in the air, feeling it hit her with almost as much **** as she'd imagined the wall would. But no, not bad for a first attempt, she'd managed to make her molecules go through even solid brick. And-

"Ah!"

Immediately her jubilant expression was replaced with a deep brush. If her body could phase through stone, then her suit wouldn't have posed much of a problem. She imagined it, still lying on the other side of the wall, a crumpled mess.

Leaving her in her current state, completely naked in the middle of Central City.

She'd been so joyful a second ago, but now a sob escaped her lips. No, she was meant to be this world's Flash, she wasn't going to just break down at-

Bright red, she hunched over, one arm in a V over her chest as she gave a panicked look from side to side. Ok, she was alone for now. She just had to get out of here.

At least she was a speedster. So long as she didn't run into trouble, she could get out of here. She hoped; the Turtle was still awfully close.