Deadpool was currently strapped into a high-tech racing chair, wearing a aerodynamic helmet that was clearly just a painted bowling ball. He had four IV bags of pure espresso hooked directly into his veins and was vibrating so fast he was starting to turn translucent.
"tum, blink and you'll miss the next three hours of your life!" Deadpool screamed, his voice sounding like a chipmunk on fast-forward. "We are heading to Ring 2, the 'Quantum Raceway'! It's a track that literally wraps around the entire planet seven times! We've got the Blue Blur versus the Scarlet Speedster! It's Sonic the Hedgehog against the Flash! It's SEGA versus DC! It's 'Gotta Go Fast' versus 'I Am the Speed Force'! Grab your motion sickness bags, because physics is about to take a permanent vacation!"
Ring 2 wasn't a ring at all; it was a shimmering, translucent track of pure energy that hovered ten thousand feet above the earth, snaking through clouds, over oceans, and through the middle of several major cities.
Heimdall was strapped into a supersonic jet, clutching a microphone with white-knuckled grip. "Match Number Forty-One! The fastest thing alive, Sonic the Hedgehog! Versus the Sultan of Speed, The Flash!"
The Starting Line
Sonic was at the starting line, stretching his legs and tapping his red sneakers. He had a cocky smirk and a single gold ring tossed casually in the air. "Hey, Red! Hope you brought your running shoes. I'd hate for you to get left in the dust before the first lap!"
Barry Allen vibrated in place, his yellow lightning crackling around his red suit. "I've run to the end of time and back, Sonic. I think I can handle a hedgehog with an attitude. Just try to keep up."
The green light flashed.
BOOM.
The sonic boom shattered every window within a five-mile radius. In less than a nanosecond, both fighters were already halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. To the audience in the stadium, they were nothing but two streaks of light—one blue, one red—tearing across the horizon.
The Speed Force vs. Chaos Energy
Up in the booth, Deadpool was trying to watch the monitors, but his head was spinning in circles. "It's a disaster for the cameramen, tum! They're using satellite-linked, tachyon-enhanced drones, and all we're getting is a blurry mess of static and sparks! Sonic is using his Homing Attack, bouncing off the air like a pinball, while Barry is literally running on the molecules of the oxygen in front of him!"
Over the Pacific, Sonic curled into a ball, spinning so fast he became a blue saw blade. He smashed into Barry, but the Flash simply vibrated his molecules at a specific frequency, letting the hedgehog pass right through his body as if he were a ghost.
"Nice trick!" Sonic yelled, skidding across the water's surface. "But can you handle a little Chaos?"
Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out a shimmering Chaos Emerald. He didn't turn gold—not yet—but the emerald's energy boosted his speed to a level that distorted the space-time around him. He became a blur of blue lightning, striking Barry from five different directions at once.
The Infinite Stretch
Barry realized that in a straight race of pure physical speed, Sonic might actually have the edge with the Emerald's help. He had to stop playing tag and start playing with time.
"Sorry, Sonic," Barry whispered. "But the Speed Force is more than just running fast."
As they crossed back over the stadium for the tenth lap in under a minute, Barry began to run in a tight circle around Sonic. The yellow lightning intensified, creating a massive Speed Force Tornado that sucked the air out of the track.
Sonic tried to boost through it, but the friction was too much. The Flash reached out, tapping into the Infinite Mass Punch theory—accelerating his fist to just below light speed.
Sonic saw it coming and tried to dodge, but Barry wasn't aiming for where Sonic was; he was aiming for where Sonic was going to be in the next three seconds. The punch connected with a shockwave that felt like a supernova. Sonic was launched backward, tumbling through the air and skipping across the track like a stone on water until he finally came to a stop, dazed and out of breath.
"Match Forty-One winner... THE FLASH!" Heimdall yelled into his headset, which was currently melting.
Up in the booth, Deadpool finally stopped vibrating and slumped into his chair. "The Scarlet Speedster takes the gold! Sonic gave him a run for his money, but you can't outrun a guy who can literally run through time! That's 41 winners down, 10 matches to go in Round One, tum! We've hit the home stretch!"
The Shadow Users are Next!
We're slowing things down and getting extremely moody.
Match 42 (Ring 15): Megumi Fushiguro vs. Aki Hayakawa. (The Ten Shadows vs. The Curse Hunter. Two guys who are tired of everyone's nonsense!)
Match 43 (Ring 9): Yuji Itadori vs. Yusuke Urameshi. (The vessel of Sukuna vs. The Spirit Detective!)