Only the Flash's reaction had been swift enough when the light-column swelled.
He'd moved back instinctively, but at superspeed, so the expanding light barely touched him before he
lost his footing and fell off the pyramid's top course. He hit the sloping side once, rolled, and crashed
heavily to the second course ten feet below.
Cursing beneath his breath, ignoring the pain that flared in his left ankle, the Flash scrambled back to
his feet and looked up. No column of light. No Justice League members.
Nothing at all.
The moon was blanketed by a black mass of clouds, and not a beam of light broke through. The Flash
stretched a tentative hand toward where he figured the up-sloping pyramid wall should be. There was
nothing there.
This is absurd! The Fastest Man Alive, hamstrung like a blind animal!
He started to walk to the end of the course, but before he'd even completed the first step, a sudden
thought struck him. He paused, stooping to feel for the ground before him with his hand. Nothing.
Anxiety growing within him, he turned around and repeated the maneuver. Nothing behind him either.
It was as if he were perched on the tip of a narrow stone plinth. The only solid ground was beneath
his feet, and around him absolutely nothing but thin air. Unlike Superman and Wonder Woman, Flash
couldn't fly. It was a talent he'd never missed, because when you were as fast as he was it was no
problem to go anywhere in the world on foot. Granted, he could manipulate the molecules of his body
to keep him hovering in the air. But as far as he could tell, he was standing on the only solid ground.
Where the hell could he hover to?
He'd have given almost anything to have heard Martian Manhunter's voice inside his head, telling him
exactly what was going on. As a member of the Justice League, you got used to doing things as a team.
It was only when team dynamics stalled that you realized how dependent you'd become.
The Flash squatted on his haunches, feeling despair creep over him. Whoever had laid this trap
couldn't have made a better one for the Scarlet Speedster.