8 Speed Force

No one knew how many days nor months not years had passed. Within an unknown realm, an unconscious figure dressed in a somewhat dirty suit was lying in a small garden.

" Uughh." With a slight groan, the figure opened his eyes with a groan and sat abruptly. " I'm still alive? Old man? Old man!!!" He abruptly sat up and examined himself seeing he was completely sighed and heaved a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he remembered why he was in the current predicament. He had gone to save the old man and had almost died as a result.

Rushing forward, he left the garden and immediately appeared on a barren desert which completely shocked him.

He raised his head and looked up to the sky, which was now a shade of multicolored lights, with a bunch of several stars hanging in it.

" Where the hell am I?" " Am I still on earth?" The young man asked himself several questions as he immediately became frightened by the thought of the possibilities.

.....

...27th May, 2012.......

" What the hell is going on?" Within the SHIELD helicarrier, Nicholas Fury roared as he smashed his fist on a huge glass table within his office. " How the hell has Tony Stark being abducted? He's fucking Tony Stark for Christ's sake. What's about the several SHIELD agents and military soldiers he took with him to Afghanistan, what happened to them?" It was quite the rare occasion to see the Director of SHIELD lose his cool.

Only a few things could cause that to happen, things like the abduction of Anthony Edward Stark. " Sir, all the agents and military personnel who accompanied Mr. Stark were killed." Maria Hill, a Special Agent and the left hand of Nick Fury reported.

" How is our little Mr. Holland doing? Is he up yet?" Nick Fury asked as he took a seat and calmed down, returning to his old cunning and paranoid self.

" No Sir, however, the blackouts at the medical facility have stopped and his condition has been stabilized." She said. It's been three years since the particle accelerator explosion had occurred, casualties numbering in the hundreds. Both Oscorp and Stark Industries were severely placated, though they managed to wash themselves of the blame, through a few connections here and there.

" How about the Captain? How is he doing?" He asked again. " Sir, he seems to be experiencing some emotional turmoil and has not opened up to our psychologists and therapists yet." She reported.

" I'll go see him soon myself. And I want all the Special Agents on a mission to Afghanistan or whatever, Get Tony back at all costs." He poured himself a drink, as he said with a chilling tone, as Mariah nodded and left....

....." Uughhh.." Within the unknown realm, Duke suddenly collapsed as he took deep breaths. He had been walking for God knows how long and hadn't found the smallest hint of another living species. His limbs ached, and he just wanted to relax, as he slowly closed his eyes and fell unconscious.

A few hours later, he opened his eyes and saw that the day had turned into night.

" How the hell am I going to get out of here." He immediately sat up as he rubbed his head in frustration. " Boom!!" Suddenly he felt a massive influx of an unknown energy surrounding the entire area, as his body was blasted backwards. The energy was indescribable, and it felt somehow cosmic, as if it came from the depths of the universal void.

" I've been waiting for you." Suddenly he stood up abruptly as he head a voice and turned around. He immediately saw a copy of himself sitting a few meters away from him on a small rock, accompanied by streaks of cosmic lightning.

" Who are you?" He asked with a frown, as he forcefully calmed himself to avoid freaking out. " I am the Speed Force!" The figure spoke as the lightning around him seemed to come alive.

" What the hell is even that?!" Duke roared in confusion as he took several steps back, frightened by the cosmic lightning. The look alike immediately stood up from the rock and walked towards him with a slight smile on its face. " I am the Speed Force, a cosmic energy force and field, based around velocity and movement, one of the five cosmic forces in the multiverse."The look alike responded, as a two seats made out of cosmic lightning energy materialized as he sat on one and gestured for Duke to sit on the other which he did reluctantly.

" So in essence you're the physical representation of motion?" Duke asked. "Yes,

but not just that." The look alike smiled and said. " Let me show you something." It smiled and waved its hand, and immediately, the desert they were standing in was instantly transformed. Duke tightly sat himself on the chair, as he looked around in the expanse of nothingness which he had been transported to by the look alike.

In the dark expanse of the void, Duke could see about six bright gems floating within the void, as well as five bright lights.

" What are those?" He pointed to the objects ahead. " Those six gems are called infinity stones, they are singularities that existed before the creation of the universe, your universe. The control an aspect of creation; Reality, Space, Time, Soul, Mind and Power." The look alike explained as Duke looked on with interest.

" What about the five rainbow lights?" He asked with a frown. " The five lights are cosmic forces, which embody a concept of the multiverse." The look alike said.

" They are the Speed Force, which represents reality in motion, the very cosmic force that moves Space Time and Reality forward." He started to explain with a smug expression.

" The Still Force, which is my complete opposite, my greatest nemesis, and twin brother, the Sage Force, which represents the hidden knowledge and mysteries of the multiverse, my sister, the Strength Force, which I think is self explanatory, and then the Phoenix Force, who is the embodiment of life and light, she's also my sister." The look alike explained as he rubbed his temples in exasperation.

" That's quite the Special family you have there." Duke chuckled. " Sigh, tell me about it." The look alike rolled its eyes.

" So what am I doing here?" Duke asked, as he watched the infinity stones come together to create a massive boom, after which several small particles began to form.

" I've been waiting for you Duke. The Speed Force, has become incredibly volatile for a couple of millennia. Ever since the last avatar passed away, there's no current person who would be able to wield the excess energy that has continually building up." The look alike said with a frown.

" I thought you were the Speed Force? And what does that have to do with me?" Duke looked incredibly confused.

" I am but a physical manifestation formed from a strand of power from the Speed Force, so I am the Speed Force, and I am not." The look alike said which even confused Duke even more.

" Also Duke, This has nothing to do with you, but the Speed Force has deemed you worthy to take up the mantle and become the new avatar of the Speed Force." The look alike said smugly.

" Can I refuse?" Duke sighed. " Of course, you can, but I don't know why you should. In any way, if you do, not only are you going to die, the excess energy buildup from within the Speed Force is going to cause your world to collapse." The look alike shrugged, as Duke facepalmed.

" Fine, but I don't plan on being controlled by some cosmic entity." Duke warned, as the look alike raised an eyebrow. " No worries Duke, I'm not like my sister, the Phoenix who likes to manipulate her hosts." The look alike chuckled, before it turned into a stream of cosmic lightning and entered into Duke's body without warning.

" Fuck!!!! Duke screamed, as intense pain wracked his senses, and the next moment, he collapsed.