A/N: After a lot of one-shots and short stories, I'm back on the "Potluck" train. For anybody who doesn't know, this is the third act in an anthology series of crossovers, originating from my first fanfic "Potluck" and then it's spiritual successor, "Darknight Universe." Now it's time for the third time, and this case involves a rash of symptoms such as the Flash and Sonic the Hedgehog! Before we enjoy, though, here's the disclaimer...

Disclaimer: I do not own The Flash or Sonic the Hedgehog. Any locations, characters vehicles, and other quirks are directly from shows and video games created and owned by DC Comics, WB Television, and SEGA.

Chapter One

The Impossible

If anybody had ever run fast in his or her lifetime, they might've felt the urge to scream at least once. Sometimes it was a thrill ride and others a massive shock. But what really made it unique was how free you were. When you ran, there was no biases, no problems, and no distractions. There was only you and your destination, guided by your eyes and greeted by the wind.

For Barry Allen, that was easier said than done. Running was what defined him, and for good reason; he happened to be the Flash, after all. When he wasn't rushing through Central City to fight metahumans or avert the end of the world, he would rather be with those he loved. Getting to see Iris, chill with his S.T.A.R. Labs buddies, and even scoring the occasional coffee from Jitters meant running. Every time he did it, lightning coursed and wind splayed across him in a couple of sped-up seconds. He loved it.

But even running wasn't enough for his psyche to digest. In the handful of years he'd been the Flash, Barry had encountered many foes worth his mettle. The worst of these were fellow speedsters that could spar equally with him. Each time he thought one had been defeated, another rose to take their place, almost like a speed force Hydra. Now he was dealing with the Thinker, a literal brainiac who could outthink him in apparently everything. However, was that really any better than what he thought he'd gotten out of?

He couldn't do that. He had to believe in himself and keep going, one day at a time. If he let the doubt sink in and spread, he'd be right back like he was in the past. Quick, mistaken, and lashing out at others. So for the sake of himself and those he cared about, the fastest man alive had to literally slow down.

Iris' eyes fluttered awake for a brief second before she fully awoke from her slumber. Lifting her head up, she realized that Barry was not in their bed and must've gone out. Getting her slippers on, she walked around for a bit prior to realizing that he had been busily cooking in the kitchen section of their apartment. As she stalked closer to his backside, she saw a glimpse of what appeared to be eggs and pancakes sizzling on the griddles.

"Breakfast? You shouldn't have."

Barry whipped around and gave her his trademark smile. "It's nothing," he said cheerfully. "I had some extra time on my hands, so I thought I'd do something special."

"Like every morning? You don't have to, you know," Iris smirked as she sat down on the other side of the island, her fingers gripping a small glass of orange juice already prepared. "Just because you're the Flash doesn't mean you have to spend all your sped-up time doing everything."

"Okay, okay," he said while humorously holding his hands up in a sort of defense. "What do you think of the juice?"

Deciding it was best to oblige to his request, Iris drank the orange juice and put the glass down while digesting it. A patient Barry waiting, she licked her lips and breathed in relief. "…Pretty good," she replied in a satisfied comment.

"See? Being married to the fastest man alive has orange juice benefits."

"Don't push your luck, Barr," replied Iris sarcastically. Both smiled before she ran into his arms and immediately kissed him. As they continued to do so, everything else felt like it just froze into place around their action.

Later that day at S.T.A.R. Labs, the rest of Team Flash was gathered around the cortex and found themselves at a complete loss for words. Despite getting Barry out of jail, Devoe was still ten steps ahead of them, and they'd just lost another Bus Meta in the process. At this point, hopelessness and personal doubt seemed to have been shaken into everyone's brains, and it was clearly infringing upon a breakthrough of any kind.

Cisco leaned back in the chair behind the main computer console, yet another drink sitting mere inches away in his hand. Caitlyn and Ralph were against the nearby wall, the former thinking of some potential weapons and the other bored out of his elastic mind. The only other person who was there and actually doing something happened to be Harry. A pen in his hand, signs of his annoyance were evident on he scribbled marker upon the clear erase board. Whatever he was attempting to draw was anybody's guess at this point, helped in no part by his stubbornness and lack of communication.

"Harry?" Cisco asked, a tint of concern evident. "Earth to Harry Wells. What are you working on?"

The genius' face didn't even turn as he continued to scribble. "Leave me alone, Ramone."

"You sure you don't need a chill pill, Harry?" Ralph asked out of nowhere. "Because there's this drugstore on 7th and Infantino that's pretty great for stress meds. Tried it myself a couple times."

"While I would love to hear that story if I weren't a genius, " Harry said while turning around (and making sure to emphasize 'genius'), "I can't. Devoe is still out there, and we are lagging miles behind him. We're children to whatever he's planning, and even with - with all this - we've got nothing! Gaagghhh!" He had half the urge to chuck his dry erase marker at the lot of them but refrained from doing so in the first place.

Ralph shrugged. "Geez, talk about a party pooper," he muttered under this breath.

"Ralph…" started Caitlyn. "Just…give him a break, okay? We're all under a lot of stress."

"You can say that again," Ralph said before realizing something and smiling like it was his birthday. "Oh, wait, you can! You know, you and your other half…Get it?"

Nobody smiled or laughed in response.

"Dude?" Cisco deadpanned. "I've made better bad jokes than that. Get some original material."

Wherever the conversation might've gone next was immediately interrupted as Barry and Iris strolled into the corridor holding hands.

"Hey guys," Iris said cheerfully. "How's it going? Anything interesting happen?"

"Interesting? Bah!" Cisco lamented. "If, by interesting, you mean Harry hogging the board and acting like he's the king of this place, then yeah, that counts."

"I am not hogging the board, Ramon," Harry iterated in a cynical tone. He put down the marker before turning to see the newcomers. "I'm simply doing my best, using my not-hyper intelligence, to try my hand at deducing Devoe's next move.

"Aren't we all?" Barry asked. "Y'know, I'm starting to think we need a break from this."

"You mean like a vacation?" Caitlyn perked up at his suggestion, almost like she'd been waiting to say it. "I hear the Bahamas are great this time of year."

"For Killer Frost, maybe," said Ralph. "Hardcore yoga work for anybody? Or…ooh! Another try at the Golden Booty? Huh, huh?"

Cisco shot him a questionable look. "Ralph, I thought you swore off going there after the fight we started."

"What can I say? Old habits tend to stretch out their welcome."

"I don't remember that being the saying," Barry interjected, "but sorry, both of those are not what I was talking about. We" - he said while gripping Iris' hand even more tenderly - "thought we should do a good team-building exercise. Go out into the city…see a movie, maybe? Like what everyone we save does on a good afternoon."

Caitlyn shrugged in a semi-complacent display. "That…sounds nice? I guess it could work."

"Awesome!" Iris responded. "Cisco? Ralph? Harry?"

"If there's a Big Belly Burger included in the end of this trip, count me in," Cisco replied nonchalantly.

Harry almost didn't register the idea. "I'm sorry, Allen, but I'm going to have to pass."

"Oh, come on, Wells!" Ralph remarked. "If we're all going, you've got to come!"

"And why would I do that?" Harry asked him.

"Because, man, peer pressure! Right?"

Barry mentally facepalmed at Ralph's attempt to make a joke. "I don't think Harry really buckles to peer pressure, Ralph."

Harry was about to respond, only to be interrupted by the arrival of a black man in dark clothing and carrying a badge and gun on his person; Detective Joe West, Iris' father and Barry's surrogate for one. He looked downright alarmed, which was becoming something of a statement regarding his job these days.

"Guys, we've got a problem…" Joe said in an urgent manner.

"What's wrong, Joe?" Caitlyn asked.

"Turn on the news," he stated flatly. In response, Cisco lazily grabbed the remote and flicked it on. The televisions around the cortex sprung to life, showing a live news report of what appeared to be a massive fire down in the heart of the city. Everyone's eyes paid close attention to the caption: "MASSIVE FIRE BREAKS OUT IN HEART OF CENTRAL CITY; DISASTER OR METAHUMAN ATTACK?"

"That doesn't look too good," Ralph said, evidently shocked at the sight.

"Understatement of the year," added Harry, "but yes, that fire does pose quite a problem."

Barry looked at Cisco. "Do we know anybody who can cause fires? Because I'm coming up with blanks."

"Well, Firestorm's officially caput," Cisco said as he counted off with his fingers, "and him being a bad guy seems…not right? Then there's Rory, but he's with the Legends, so I think he's off our watchlist. Beyond that, my knowledge is comparable with yours; zero."

"Why don't we spend less time theorizing and more time stopping this?" Iris demanded. The outburst caused everyone to focus their attention on her. "Come on, people; the city's counting on us to put this fire out!"

"Right!" Barry exclaimed. A couple of seconds passed and the familiar rush of air breezed through the cortex, blowing hair and sending papers flying. The lightning that was her husband came to a standstill and revealed him, decked out in the familiar red suit he was so famous for using. "Race you guys there?" He poised with a smirk.

"Hold your horses, Speedy Gonzales," Cisco demanded, putting on his Vibe gear as quickly as he could. "Not all of us happen to be as fast as you are when it comes to changing clothes."

"Eh. You'd be surprised." To the gaping of a few, Ralph had already gotten into his costume and was standing triumphantly, looking smugly at the others.

"How - never mind," Caitlyn said. "Somebody piss me off!"

"Oh - okay," Joe responded as best he could. "Uh…what was that name again?"

"Lexie LaRoche!" Iris screamed at her. The result was a chilling transformation, watched by everyone as the sweet Caitlyn seemed to melt into the shape of a darker persona. Her hair turned white, her eyes and lips swirled blue, and cold air burst from her fingertips. Killer Frost had arrived, and she looked as twisted and awesome as ever. At least, before she gazed down at her outfit and stared open-mouthed.

"Seriously? Why does Caitlyn like wearing pink shirts and blue jeans? I prefer leather."

"I can help with that." Frost was swept up in Barry's familiar lightning for a few seconds. She came out of the temporary vortex complete in her dark-aqua get-up, as well as the ice buckle on her belt.

"You got everything I needed," she said sweetly," but next time, ask first."

Barry's attempted retort was interrupted by an irritated Harry. "Uh, hello? Burning park! You need to go!"

Barry nodded his head, turned and bolted away in a flash of yellow. Killer Frost and Ralph both looked to Cisco, who blinked his eyes and scrunched his hands together. On cue, one of the many breaches he could manifest at will appeared in front of the trio. "Welcome to the Ramon express," he said light-heartedly. "Step aboard if you desire!"

In a place very far from what people associated with existence and reality, something made itself known. A small green glimmer almost drowned in the blackness surrounding it, shined off and on until the pressure from the outside was unbearable. With the willpower of a million stars, the energy inside rattled to battle the darkness, sending it away as it continued to fight against the barriers put around it. With enough pressure, they cracked, piece by piece, until eventually they fell apart and let the object fall through into the unknown.

A worrisome figure reached his hand out for the item, but by then it was too late. It had fallen into the abyss…and he had no idea where it'd gone.

After running for what amounted to around thirty seconds, Barry came to a grinding halt. His panting was cut off, though, when his eyes gazed up at the devastated Hearthstone Park, whole sections of it burned. Benches and pieces of concrete were lit ablaze by a seemingly alive fire. Out of the corners of his eyesight, the scarlet speedster saw clusters of citizens running or screaming as the blazes came closer. Just how had this happened, and where was the fire department?

To the Flash's relief, he whirled around in time to witness his three allies arrive on the scene, ejected from their breach. "Wow," Cisco said as he looked over the destruction. "That really is hot. Maybe I should've worn less leather."

"No problem for me," Frost interjected. "I'm as cool as an icicle."

"And they say I make bad puns," mumbled a Ralph

"Guys, that fire is spreading across the whole park," Iris said urgently from the com links, rousing them all to focus. "We've got to stop it and help everyone out of there at the same time."

"What's your plan, boss?" asked Cisco.

"Cisco, I'm putting you and Ralph on crowd control. Get everyone away from that fire. The fewer civilians in trouble, the better. Frost, I need you to contain the fire. Stave it off as much as you can, or at least drown the smaller ones. Anything goes."

"Hang on a sec," Killer Frost breathed. "Exactly what is lightning here going to do?"

"He's going to put out the fire," Iris said over the com-link hurriedly. "Everyone set? Good. Now let's roll!"

Barry took once deep breath in and rushed with all his might into the flames, his lightning drowned out by the intense heat. Frost wasn't far behind him, already shooting freezing blasts of cold air at the inferno. Vibe and Elongated Man were the only two left, and that left them taken aback at just how hectic the situation was.

"Ralph," jibed Cisco as he took off towards the corner. "Come on, man!"

"Coming!" Like an aroused child, Ralph went off after his partner. "Give me a head-ups next time, will ya?"

"I'd love to chat, but we're in the middle of a FIRE here!" Vibe stopped abruptly when he saw a family several feet away, huddled in the midst of a sea of fire from all sides. When Ralph came to join him, he gripped his shoulder. "I've got an idea."

"What's that?"

"I'll vibe you over there, and all you've got to do is stretch them to safety. See? Heads-up."

Ralph shrugged. "Whatever works." As Cisco opened yet another breach, he jumped headfirst and found himself rocketing towards the ground, right over the family. Just as he was about to collide with them, his legs instantaneously stretched and supported him upright. Shocked at the newfound appendages next to them, the family looked up at their new savior. Elongated Man smiled before stretching down his hands. "Hey, folks! I'm here to get you out of here! Who wants first?"

Another small blaze was drowned into submission by Frost, already having worked her way through some trees and newsstands. Most of the fire was gone, but a large flame had rested near the central fountain and was encroaching itself on some near shrubs. The pure size and intensity of the heat sent shivers down her spine. Just what had made this happen?

The Flash stopped beside her, wincing from running so fast. "I tried taking some of the bigger fires out, but this one just won't go…"

"Same for me," Frost lamented. "It's too far gone at this point."

"You tried freezing it?"

Frost glared at him. "You don't think I did that already? The fire's eating away at what I throw at it." She turned back to release a small gust of chilly air to keep away the flames, which was all she could do at this point. "What about running around it? Didn't that work for you before?"

"I would, but there's no counting how many people I'd suffocate taking the oxygen out of play," he replied frantically. "And that's not even considering the blowback from something this hot. There's got to be another way."

"Well, you might want to go with extinguishing the giant birthday candle." The two were taken by surprise when Ralph and Cisco showed up. Both showed signs of being hot and exhausted, but still had the energy left to act.

"Guys, what's up with the fire?" Asked a frantic Iris from over the line.

Barry put a gloved hand to his comm. "Iris, the fire's too large. I try to extinguish it, the resulting blast might hurt the entire area."

"Well, we've got to do something!" Ralph pointed out. "I don't want my last moments on earth to be being melted to a crisp!"

"Wait, what did you say?" Cisco asked him.

"Uh - that I don't want to be melted to a crisp?"

Cisco face lit up in joy at the comment. "Ralph, you're a genius!" He turned back to the others and brought his hands out in separate motions. "Frost, Flash, I've got a crazy idea."

Taking one look at the flames close to surrounding the four of them, Frost shrugged. "I'd scoff, but considering our options, I'll listen."

"Okay, here's the plan," Cisco remarked to the three of them. "Barry, I want you to run around the fire to put it out."

"But I-"

"I know, I know!" Cisco said impatiently. "But while you're doing that, I'll vibe Frost and me up over the fire to add in some cold air. You run fast enough, the cold air will be spread around so quickly, it'll force the fire to die!"

The scarlet speedster smiled. "Good plan!"

"Only one way to prove it, though," Frost pointed out. "Hopefully doesn't involve the dying part."

"Don't worry," said Elongated Man. "You guys can do this!" He held his thumbs up in support.

Barry turned back and gazed at the now searing conflagration. His heart paused, his fists clenched, and he ran so fast that everything devolved into lines and fleeting glimpses of color. He ducked and jumped over everything in his path until he established a pattern, running around the blazes repeatedly. He could feel the air beginning to fold into itself, but he didn't know for how long it would take.

To his relief, a faint pop was heard amidst the sped-up repetition badgering his ears. Keeping his path in his line of sight, he quickly glanced up to see Cisco and Killer Frost falling from a breach at least twenty stories above his position. Too focused on starving the fire, he made out a series of shouts and shrill yells before a decreased temperature flooded everywhere. He felt it seep into his fabric, which was enough to let him know that the plan was working. But he still had work to do.

He pushed, he screamed, and he propelled himself faster than he'd gone recently; the magnificent result was a groan from the fire, the heat going down and the size shrinking while smoke replaced there once-lit flames. After one last run, he vaulted over a far-off railing and planted his feet at the close tree. Steadying himself, the fastest man alive turned back to glance upon the extinct fire. Billowing amounts of smoke and shared pieces of the park could be seen everywhere, but Barry knew in his mind that the worst had passed them by. The park was safe.

"Flash!" He swerved to the left, overjoyed at seeing his three compatriots okay. As they got closer, he gave them all a smile.

"Thank god you're all okay," Barry said. "Crazy plan that was. What were you guys saying, exactly?"

Frost shot Cisco a cynical glare. "I told him he'd put us too low over the fire. He's lucky I made an ice bridge to get us out of there."

"Hey, hey!" Cisco replied defensively. "It worked, didn't it? The best people take risks now and then."

"Eh," Ralph chimed in. "I'd say it was too close."

"Thank you," the ice queen complimented.

The commlinks sparkled back to life with Iris' voice. "Hey, you guys okay? The readings Harry cooked up say the fire's caput."

"Yeah, we're fine," Barry relayed back to her. "Cait-I mean, Killer Frost and I put our powers together and snuffed it out."

"All right…well, that's good news…" Iris trailed off.

"Allen!" Harry's voice was now on the comms, though it was clear that the four heroes hadn't expected his vocals to scream into their ears. "Did you find anything indicating who caused the fire?"

"Uh…not yet, Harry," Cisco answered. "We should probably start looking."

"Guys?" The trio looked back to Ralph, an elongated arm pointing to the distance. "What about that?" His fingers gestured towards strewn pieces of something metal and robotic. No other options present, they darted to the discarded remains a good distance away. When they arrived at the spot, they looked the scene over. It appeared to be pieces of some kind of robot; wires, shoulder pads, and apparent wrist guards the color of orange were on top of the charred grass.

"What…isn't this a robot?" Ralph questioned.

Vibe swatted down, his hands combing the parts for something to find. Immediately, his fingers connected with something. "…I think I might've figured out what happened."

"What?" Barry asked.

His friend's hands circled the ground until it reached a chunk of large, orange armor with a dent the size of a football in the middle. "Look at this. The grass is scorched black. What's left of the armor must've been strong enough to survive, but everything else…decimated beyond repair."

Frost narrowed her eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"I think that the fire must have originated from this robot. I mean, it's not like a crazy idea to build a fire-starting bomb and then put it in a robot. Lots of movies do it."

Ralph looked around. "Who'd want to build something like this? I know this city has its crazies, but jeez…"

"And apparently, that's not the only gift we've gotten today," Killer Frost remarked coyly. To answer their impending questions, she got up and turned to them. Shocking the other heroes in the gathering, her palm held a hefty green emerald with thinly cut edges and an almost inhuman aura beaming from it. It shone a brighter green, then backed down to its normal color.

"Guys?" Iris asked. "What's going on?"

The end of chapter one! This story is only just beginning, and many more twists, turns, and explanations for what's happening are soon to come. Heck, Sonic and friends are bound to show up soon! Please favorite or review, even a simple read is good for this tale. To next time, all!