A Flash by Any Other Name
May. 14th, 2006 03:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieDiana wants to get involved, Wally has a choice to make, and Dick has some questions.
Part Twenty-Three: Questionable Motivations
"But Wallllllyyyy!"
Wally looked up at the sky with a resigned sigh, his arms still crossed in a failed attempt at being firm and parent-like.
"Bart, I have to go to work later on, so we're going to go meet Aunt Mary and you'll stay there, ok?"
"I can go with you! I'll look at the cars and be real quiet! You'll never ever know I'm there, I promise!" Bart was dancing around him at speed, bouncing up and down as he perfected the art of whining at the speed of sound.
"No."
"I could stay at your apartment! I'll be good, I won't go anywhere! Firmly planted on couch, I promise!"
"No."
"Maaaaan."
"I can't just let you hang out by yourself, not until you learn to go slow like other people." Wally had been looking around nervously, just waiting for someone to pop around the corner at an inopportune time.
"I never hadta with Grandma."
Wally just rolled his eyes. He'd heard that line more times than he could count.
They were walking to his mom's; at a measly 3mph, it'd take about twenty minutes. It was driving Wally just as nuts as Bart, but living in the slow world meant learning to at least feign patience. He had yet to admit that he'd never actually walked the entire way before. Wally shoved his hands in his pockets as Bart finally fell in step beside him, looking indignant.
Wally was a little proud, though; Bart was already starting to get better at talking normally and had yet to walk up to a stranger to ask them a flurry of random questions today. That was something.
"You didn't have to go to work yesterday." Bart said, kicking a rock with his big red sneakers.
"I had a couple days off. Now, I do have to."
"Why do you have to work, anyway? You're a superhero and stuff, shouldn't people pay you for that?"
"The League does. But things are expensive, sometimes it isn't enough." He was pretty sure if he asked Bats, he could get more; but he'd be damned if Bruce would turn into his sugar-daddy. "Anyway, I like doing something else, too. You'd be surprised how quick beating up criminals can get old."
"Really?"
"Sometimes."
"Why?"
"Waiting around, paperwork... and just plain boredom."
"Lots of stuff here is boring."
"You mean, the 20th century?"
"No, reality."
"Well, Bart, being fast like us is being an expert in boredom. Here in reality."
"Hmph."
Wally was entirely aware of how quickly he was starting to think of Bart as a mini-hero, not just a kid who happened to run real quick. The first day, he'd made him a mask with an extra pair of his gold wings that poked out from under his floppy hair, to visit the prison; at the time, he didn't even think anything of it. Superheroic-esque stuff = mask. He already had a uniform. It was only natural. Logical.
Kinda scary.
So yesterday he'd tried to keep things as normal as speedsterly possible. A couple movies at the IMax, buying him a wardrobe at the mall... and toys. He already had an X-Box in his apartment, but Bart picked out some new games. At some point, he'd want a computer... but that wasn't in the budget just yet. Then Bart had spotted a skateboard while he was trying on sneakers for his absurd feet, and a love affair began, complete with scrapes and a few bumps.
At the moment, Bart was carrying the skateboard under his arm. It had a Flash sticker on it, that he'd insisted on getting from a street vendor.
They hadn't gone to see Bruce, after all... but Bart had just looked so damn happy messing around in the park with his new toy. Wally couldn't bear to interrupt to bring him to that awful place.
Wally opened up the door, and Bart bounded in in front of him, flitting around looking at all the gadgets and containers in his mother's vastly more well-equipped kitchen.
"Hey mom, we're here!"
Bart was examining a turkey baster with deep suspicion as his mother walked in, smiling broadly. Wally ran up and gave her a hug, then they turned to Bart, who looked up wide-eyed.
"Hi, Bart. I'm your aunt Mary. Wally's told me so much about you."
She knelt down, being an unusually tall woman, and gave him a firm hug, which Bart returned, his expression changing from slightly startled to happy. He closed his eyes and rested his head against her shoulder with a sweet smile.
Wally had a feeling he wouldn't have to worry about persuading Bart to come over in the future.
* * *
"He needs our support now, why can't you understand that?"
"Diana, you know how he is; if he wants us to be involved, we'll know."
"He never asks for us to be involved, Clark! I think a little initiative, finding out what's truly going on, will benefit everyone. We need him, you know that as well as I do!"
Wally walked in on the argument in the kitchen of the Watchtower before the thought of discreetly leaving even occurred to him; Superman gave him a long look, while Diana gave a curt nod and returned her angry gaze to Clark's.
"As I said..." Clark glanced back at Wally as he raided the fridge, "I believe that we need to wait for some kind of authorization on his end before the League involves itself in the murder trial of a civilian that has no public connexion to us."
"I didn't say I was going to the Capital to address the Congress, I merely suggested some support in the press. You and I, Clark. Not the League."
"You're a very, very prominent member, Diana. And I can't just print things because I feel like it; journalism doesn't work that way. And honestly, I'm not sure he'd want our help."
Wally sighed, and decided now was as good a time as any to get involved in this little spat. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and shut the door, leaning back against the counter.
"Guys... listen. His people are working on it, and we don't want the League involved just yet. Supes is right."
"We?" She said, crossing her arms and looking at him sternly.
'Shit.' Wally poured himself a glass, replaced the carton, then took a gulp before responding.
"Yeah. We. We're working on it."
"Just who is we? And what gives you the right to assist and not I?"
Diana looked really, really angry. Clark put a hand on her shoulder, which she shook off, staring Wally down, her usually lovely and gentle blue eyes flaring under furrowed brows.
"Nightwing came to me, ok? This is his shindig, and he doesn't want a bunch of capes going on CNN and making things complicated."
"Complicated!? Listen Flash, that stubborn man needs our help, wether he wants it or not! And I..!"
"No Diana, you listen!" Wally yelled, slamming the glass down on the counter. "How's it going to look if one of the founding members of the League suddenly has a burning interest in some billionaire's legal trouble, huh? You know how many people get paid to ask questions about crap like that? He does!"
Wally pointed at a concerned looking Clark, who still looked at a bit of a loss as to what to do.
"If Bats suddenly gets outed because you decided that you just had to get yourself involved, how the hell is that going to help out the League, can you tell me that?"
Just then, he realized his hand was vibrating furiously and the glass of orange juice shattered all over the counter.
"Just great." He said in a frustrated breath.
Wally cleaned it up, throwing the shards of glass away. When he looked back up, her expression had softened some, to his relief.
"You're right, Flash. I'm just... concerned."
"Join the club." Wally mumbled. "On that note," He said looking at Clark, "Any reports of my turning back into crazy dark Flash are exaggerated. I promise."
"So this involves that leech Maxwell Brannock?" Diana said with the flare returning to her eyes.
"Maybe."
"All the more reason I have the right to..!"
"Dude, seriously, we're doing our thing right now. You want to help? Don't talk to me about it. Like I said, Nightwing came to me." Not exactly a lie, but Diana didn't look particularly convinced.
"How do I contact him?" She said after a pause.
Wally frowned. He really didn't want Diana mixed up in this. At least not until it became absolutely necessary. No matter what he did to answer her question, he'd have an angry Amazon on his ass, and that wasn't a pleasant thought. Not in this sense, anyway.
"Diana." Clark said softly, "Go visit Bruce, if you want. But I'm sure they have very good reasons for their actions."
With that, Wally got a look from both of them that told him, on no uncertain terms, they'd better have good reasons. It sometimes mystified him, how Superman and Batman could bicker so much, but when it came down to it, they worried about each other. Mostly about one another going off the deep end, but still.
And what was Diana's deal?
"Listen to the big guy. I think we all need to take this conversation down a notch." Wally said, trying to make his tone lighter, and grinned. "We're all the good guys here."
"You're right, Flash." Diana sat down on a stool, reclaiming a cup of coffee. "I know that."
Wally got another glass of juice and sat down next to her, while Clark took his cue to leave them to it.
"It isn't like you to get upset like this Di."
"The same could be said for you." She took a sip and frowned at the mug, but kept drinking it, anyway. "As I said... I'm just concerned about him. I don't believe for a moment that he would commit such a heinous act."
"He didn't." Wally said with conviction.
Diana circled the rim of her mug with an absent motion of her index finger, staring off at a blank wall.
"You ok Diana? I'm sorry I kinda snapped at you..."
She sighed, setting the coffee down on the counter, and turning to look at him squarely.
"It's not that. You... have become closer to Batman in recent months, haven't you?" She asked carefully. "It has become something of a... topic of curiosity up here. It is obvious he cares about you."
"Yeah, I guess so." Wally answered, biting his lip a little.
"Why?"
"Uh... what do you mean?"
Diana folded her hands in her lap and looked thoughtful.
"Would you say that you have become something of a friend?"
"Something like that."
She sighed again in frustration. "I have often tried to become closer to him, and sometimes I believed I had begun to succeed... But, it's all for naught, and I have begun to suspect that his heart is truly as cold as it is said to be."
'So that's what her deal is.' Wally never pretended to be the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to how people felt about each other... that way. Ok, so he was painfully oblivious. And was totally ok with that. Usually.
He had no idea what to do with a heartsick Amazon pining over his boyfriend (which was a term he was starting to like, although he doubted he'd ever say it to Bruce's face).
"Uh... maybe you should like, talk to... I dunno... J'onn about this. Or something." Wally squirmed in his seat.
"I have." She wasn't looking at him anymore and must not have noticed that he felt about as comfortable as someone being dangled off the Empire State Building. "I was hoping that perhaps you had some understanding you could give me."
"Listen, I'd love to help, but I'm really not who you should be talking to about this. And uh, I've got to clock in real soon, so I should go, anyway." He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, to which she looked up with a bit of a sad expression. "Di, trust me... don't try and figure him out. He's a riddle wrapped in an enigma sealed in a vault in the center of the earth. I mean, there's more fish in the ocean and all that, right?"
He smiled comfortingly, which she slowly returned.
"Thank you, Wally."
"Don't mention it. Hey, maybe we should go out sometime soon. Some dancing could get your spirits up."
She smiled brilliantly at that. He was glad; clubbing was therapy he knew a little something about.
"How about tomorrow night?" She asked.
"8:30? My place? Go from there?" He said with a grin.
"Sounds great."
* * *
The black uniform didn't have it's own fancy ring, so Wally kept it folded in a little bundle in the bottom of his backpack, stashed safely away in his locker at the garage, and carried along with him as he ran to his mom's house to get Bart. He thought about it the entire time; he wasn't against a black uniform in general, if it wasn't for Barry, he might have adopted one. Maybe. He'd doodled a bunch of designs in notebooks when he was Kid Flash, and a few of them had a lot of black. And he'd really liked them. Something about this one in particular was just... wrong.
Perhaps it was just the experience of waking up in it, knowing he'd done a lot of wrong in it; even if it wasn't really him.
He found his mom and Bart watching the local news in the living room. Bart had a perplexed look on his face, and his mom looked vastly amused.
"Hey bud, ready to head home?"
"Hi Wally!" Bart jumped up and began gesticulating wildly. "I learned how to flip the board around under my feet today! It was awesome!"
"You'll definitely have to show me later."
He ruffled Bart's hair with a grin.
"Wally hun, can I talk to you for a minute?"
His mom got up and motioned her eyes at Bart.
"Sure... hey Bart, can you wait in here for a sec?"
"Ok."
They walked into the kitchen, where Wally closed the door behind them.
"What's up?"
"Are you serious about taking in Bart? Adopting him, raising him?" She asked with firm look.
Wally hopped up on the counter, dangling his feet over the edge, and scratched the back of his head.
"I haven't really been thinking that far ahead, I guess."
"Well, it's not ahead, sweetie. It's here. Someone's going to have to take care of him, and I know you're experience with his unique abilities would help, but it's a lot of responsibility. You're going to have to decide."
"I know. I'll... have to think about it a little more."
"He's going to have to start school in the fall, you know. And he doesn't even have a birth certificate."
"I know someone who can help with that part. And I know he'll have to start school pretty quick and all that." Wally sighed. "Among other things."
"He's a great boy, Wally." She smiled and put a hand on his. "And so are you. And whatever you decide, I'm here to help."
"Thanks, mom. I really appreciate it." They grinned at each other and he squeezed her hand. "Oh hey, is it ok if he spends tomorrow night here?"
"Of course."
Wally hopped down and gave her a hug. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then Wally went to go collect Bart and head back. He still had work to do tonight, but that was later. At the moment, there was a video game with their names on it.
* * *
Wally ran through Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and New York, pausing a few times. A few nights of this and there were bound to be reported sightings of a black-clad speedster running around.
Like a U.F.O. or something.
He headed towards Gotham when he was done, searching the city's rooftops for Batman. That wearing this uniform made him feel more comfortable here was a bit of a surprise... he decided to file that bit of information away for later.
And ask Dick for one of the special Bat coms, so he wouldn't have to go chasing shadows again. He wasn't 100% positive Bruce would give the go-ahead, but sure enough.
It took over an hour to finally spot him, trashing some punks in an alley. And just when he was about to give up. Wally waited until he'd finished tying them up and calling the police, then met him on a nearby roof he'd grappled up to. He supposed someone more versed in hand-to-hand combat might know the difference, but the only tell for Wally was that Batman grinned at him and cocked his head to one side when he saw him.
"So, how do I look?" Dick asked sarcastically.
"Like a jewelry thief's worst nightmare."
"That is the idea."
Dick looked Wally over briefly, then settled into a crouch on the edge, looking down as blue and red flashing lights approached below. Wally followed suit next to him, watching as the cops cautiously approached their pre-wrangled quarry and began to take them away.
"How's Bruce?"
"Better than I expected, actually. He was a bit reluctant to agree to this."
"I can imagine."
"There's something else, too. Alfred got a strange letter in the mail today."
"Oh?" Wally looked over curiously.
Dick was still gazing down, occasionally looking around in a familiar search pattern. The cape and cowl fit him with an uncanny ease.
"Yeah. No return address or signature; or prints. Said, 'Eventually, you will all understand; this is for the good of the world and mankind, not selfish gain. When you see that, you'll all thank me, and know what a world without the need for an Illuminati in the sky can be like.'"
"Weird. Illuminati in the sky, huh?"
"Wouldn't be the first time the League was accused of that sort of thing."
"You think it was our favourite villain?"
"More than likely. What bothers me is... what was his motivation for the memory alteration?" Dick's voice took on a thick, almost hypothetical quality, but Wally knew the question was a serious one.
"I just figured he wanted us out of the way."
"Yes. But he had to know it wasn't going to last. If one of you didn't find some obvious reminder, or accidentally rediscover your abilities, what we know of him makes him far too smart to think he could use the Martian like that indefinitely."
"Maybe he's just got an ego the size of the moon." Wally shrugged; he hadn't thought that much into it.
That's what Bats was for. Even if it was Dick wearing the uniform.
"I doubt it. I think we're missing something."
They crouched together in silence, listening to the city and their own musings. Gotham had a way of bringing out the contrast in things; and highlighting the shades of gray in between. Wally's thoughts were all sombre.
"So," Dick broke the quiet, "When's good for you and the kid to swing by?"
"Day after tomorrow?"
"Eight?"
"Make it nine."
* * *
Wally & Bart by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
a_bashful_boy
Part Twenty-Three: Questionable Motivations
"But Wallllllyyyy!"
Wally looked up at the sky with a resigned sigh, his arms still crossed in a failed attempt at being firm and parent-like.
"Bart, I have to go to work later on, so we're going to go meet Aunt Mary and you'll stay there, ok?"
"I can go with you! I'll look at the cars and be real quiet! You'll never ever know I'm there, I promise!" Bart was dancing around him at speed, bouncing up and down as he perfected the art of whining at the speed of sound.
"No."
"I could stay at your apartment! I'll be good, I won't go anywhere! Firmly planted on couch, I promise!"
"No."
"Maaaaan."
"I can't just let you hang out by yourself, not until you learn to go slow like other people." Wally had been looking around nervously, just waiting for someone to pop around the corner at an inopportune time.
"I never hadta with Grandma."
Wally just rolled his eyes. He'd heard that line more times than he could count.
They were walking to his mom's; at a measly 3mph, it'd take about twenty minutes. It was driving Wally just as nuts as Bart, but living in the slow world meant learning to at least feign patience. He had yet to admit that he'd never actually walked the entire way before. Wally shoved his hands in his pockets as Bart finally fell in step beside him, looking indignant.
Wally was a little proud, though; Bart was already starting to get better at talking normally and had yet to walk up to a stranger to ask them a flurry of random questions today. That was something.
"You didn't have to go to work yesterday." Bart said, kicking a rock with his big red sneakers.
"I had a couple days off. Now, I do have to."
"Why do you have to work, anyway? You're a superhero and stuff, shouldn't people pay you for that?"
"The League does. But things are expensive, sometimes it isn't enough." He was pretty sure if he asked Bats, he could get more; but he'd be damned if Bruce would turn into his sugar-daddy. "Anyway, I like doing something else, too. You'd be surprised how quick beating up criminals can get old."
"Really?"
"Sometimes."
"Why?"
"Waiting around, paperwork... and just plain boredom."
"Lots of stuff here is boring."
"You mean, the 20th century?"
"No, reality."
"Well, Bart, being fast like us is being an expert in boredom. Here in reality."
"Hmph."
Wally was entirely aware of how quickly he was starting to think of Bart as a mini-hero, not just a kid who happened to run real quick. The first day, he'd made him a mask with an extra pair of his gold wings that poked out from under his floppy hair, to visit the prison; at the time, he didn't even think anything of it. Superheroic-esque stuff = mask. He already had a uniform. It was only natural. Logical.
Kinda scary.
So yesterday he'd tried to keep things as normal as speedsterly possible. A couple movies at the IMax, buying him a wardrobe at the mall... and toys. He already had an X-Box in his apartment, but Bart picked out some new games. At some point, he'd want a computer... but that wasn't in the budget just yet. Then Bart had spotted a skateboard while he was trying on sneakers for his absurd feet, and a love affair began, complete with scrapes and a few bumps.
At the moment, Bart was carrying the skateboard under his arm. It had a Flash sticker on it, that he'd insisted on getting from a street vendor.
They hadn't gone to see Bruce, after all... but Bart had just looked so damn happy messing around in the park with his new toy. Wally couldn't bear to interrupt to bring him to that awful place.
Wally opened up the door, and Bart bounded in in front of him, flitting around looking at all the gadgets and containers in his mother's vastly more well-equipped kitchen.
"Hey mom, we're here!"
Bart was examining a turkey baster with deep suspicion as his mother walked in, smiling broadly. Wally ran up and gave her a hug, then they turned to Bart, who looked up wide-eyed.
"Hi, Bart. I'm your aunt Mary. Wally's told me so much about you."
She knelt down, being an unusually tall woman, and gave him a firm hug, which Bart returned, his expression changing from slightly startled to happy. He closed his eyes and rested his head against her shoulder with a sweet smile.
Wally had a feeling he wouldn't have to worry about persuading Bart to come over in the future.
* * *
"He needs our support now, why can't you understand that?"
"Diana, you know how he is; if he wants us to be involved, we'll know."
"He never asks for us to be involved, Clark! I think a little initiative, finding out what's truly going on, will benefit everyone. We need him, you know that as well as I do!"
Wally walked in on the argument in the kitchen of the Watchtower before the thought of discreetly leaving even occurred to him; Superman gave him a long look, while Diana gave a curt nod and returned her angry gaze to Clark's.
"As I said..." Clark glanced back at Wally as he raided the fridge, "I believe that we need to wait for some kind of authorization on his end before the League involves itself in the murder trial of a civilian that has no public connexion to us."
"I didn't say I was going to the Capital to address the Congress, I merely suggested some support in the press. You and I, Clark. Not the League."
"You're a very, very prominent member, Diana. And I can't just print things because I feel like it; journalism doesn't work that way. And honestly, I'm not sure he'd want our help."
Wally sighed, and decided now was as good a time as any to get involved in this little spat. He pulled out a carton of orange juice and shut the door, leaning back against the counter.
"Guys... listen. His people are working on it, and we don't want the League involved just yet. Supes is right."
"We?" She said, crossing her arms and looking at him sternly.
'Shit.' Wally poured himself a glass, replaced the carton, then took a gulp before responding.
"Yeah. We. We're working on it."
"Just who is we? And what gives you the right to assist and not I?"
Diana looked really, really angry. Clark put a hand on her shoulder, which she shook off, staring Wally down, her usually lovely and gentle blue eyes flaring under furrowed brows.
"Nightwing came to me, ok? This is his shindig, and he doesn't want a bunch of capes going on CNN and making things complicated."
"Complicated!? Listen Flash, that stubborn man needs our help, wether he wants it or not! And I..!"
"No Diana, you listen!" Wally yelled, slamming the glass down on the counter. "How's it going to look if one of the founding members of the League suddenly has a burning interest in some billionaire's legal trouble, huh? You know how many people get paid to ask questions about crap like that? He does!"
Wally pointed at a concerned looking Clark, who still looked at a bit of a loss as to what to do.
"If Bats suddenly gets outed because you decided that you just had to get yourself involved, how the hell is that going to help out the League, can you tell me that?"
Just then, he realized his hand was vibrating furiously and the glass of orange juice shattered all over the counter.
"Just great." He said in a frustrated breath.
Wally cleaned it up, throwing the shards of glass away. When he looked back up, her expression had softened some, to his relief.
"You're right, Flash. I'm just... concerned."
"Join the club." Wally mumbled. "On that note," He said looking at Clark, "Any reports of my turning back into crazy dark Flash are exaggerated. I promise."
"So this involves that leech Maxwell Brannock?" Diana said with the flare returning to her eyes.
"Maybe."
"All the more reason I have the right to..!"
"Dude, seriously, we're doing our thing right now. You want to help? Don't talk to me about it. Like I said, Nightwing came to me." Not exactly a lie, but Diana didn't look particularly convinced.
"How do I contact him?" She said after a pause.
Wally frowned. He really didn't want Diana mixed up in this. At least not until it became absolutely necessary. No matter what he did to answer her question, he'd have an angry Amazon on his ass, and that wasn't a pleasant thought. Not in this sense, anyway.
"Diana." Clark said softly, "Go visit Bruce, if you want. But I'm sure they have very good reasons for their actions."
With that, Wally got a look from both of them that told him, on no uncertain terms, they'd better have good reasons. It sometimes mystified him, how Superman and Batman could bicker so much, but when it came down to it, they worried about each other. Mostly about one another going off the deep end, but still.
And what was Diana's deal?
"Listen to the big guy. I think we all need to take this conversation down a notch." Wally said, trying to make his tone lighter, and grinned. "We're all the good guys here."
"You're right, Flash." Diana sat down on a stool, reclaiming a cup of coffee. "I know that."
Wally got another glass of juice and sat down next to her, while Clark took his cue to leave them to it.
"It isn't like you to get upset like this Di."
"The same could be said for you." She took a sip and frowned at the mug, but kept drinking it, anyway. "As I said... I'm just concerned about him. I don't believe for a moment that he would commit such a heinous act."
"He didn't." Wally said with conviction.
Diana circled the rim of her mug with an absent motion of her index finger, staring off at a blank wall.
"You ok Diana? I'm sorry I kinda snapped at you..."
She sighed, setting the coffee down on the counter, and turning to look at him squarely.
"It's not that. You... have become closer to Batman in recent months, haven't you?" She asked carefully. "It has become something of a... topic of curiosity up here. It is obvious he cares about you."
"Yeah, I guess so." Wally answered, biting his lip a little.
"Why?"
"Uh... what do you mean?"
Diana folded her hands in her lap and looked thoughtful.
"Would you say that you have become something of a friend?"
"Something like that."
She sighed again in frustration. "I have often tried to become closer to him, and sometimes I believed I had begun to succeed... But, it's all for naught, and I have begun to suspect that his heart is truly as cold as it is said to be."
'So that's what her deal is.' Wally never pretended to be the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to how people felt about each other... that way. Ok, so he was painfully oblivious. And was totally ok with that. Usually.
He had no idea what to do with a heartsick Amazon pining over his boyfriend (which was a term he was starting to like, although he doubted he'd ever say it to Bruce's face).
"Uh... maybe you should like, talk to... I dunno... J'onn about this. Or something." Wally squirmed in his seat.
"I have." She wasn't looking at him anymore and must not have noticed that he felt about as comfortable as someone being dangled off the Empire State Building. "I was hoping that perhaps you had some understanding you could give me."
"Listen, I'd love to help, but I'm really not who you should be talking to about this. And uh, I've got to clock in real soon, so I should go, anyway." He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder, to which she looked up with a bit of a sad expression. "Di, trust me... don't try and figure him out. He's a riddle wrapped in an enigma sealed in a vault in the center of the earth. I mean, there's more fish in the ocean and all that, right?"
He smiled comfortingly, which she slowly returned.
"Thank you, Wally."
"Don't mention it. Hey, maybe we should go out sometime soon. Some dancing could get your spirits up."
She smiled brilliantly at that. He was glad; clubbing was therapy he knew a little something about.
"How about tomorrow night?" She asked.
"8:30? My place? Go from there?" He said with a grin.
"Sounds great."
* * *
The black uniform didn't have it's own fancy ring, so Wally kept it folded in a little bundle in the bottom of his backpack, stashed safely away in his locker at the garage, and carried along with him as he ran to his mom's house to get Bart. He thought about it the entire time; he wasn't against a black uniform in general, if it wasn't for Barry, he might have adopted one. Maybe. He'd doodled a bunch of designs in notebooks when he was Kid Flash, and a few of them had a lot of black. And he'd really liked them. Something about this one in particular was just... wrong.
Perhaps it was just the experience of waking up in it, knowing he'd done a lot of wrong in it; even if it wasn't really him.
He found his mom and Bart watching the local news in the living room. Bart had a perplexed look on his face, and his mom looked vastly amused.
"Hey bud, ready to head home?"
"Hi Wally!" Bart jumped up and began gesticulating wildly. "I learned how to flip the board around under my feet today! It was awesome!"
"You'll definitely have to show me later."
He ruffled Bart's hair with a grin.
"Wally hun, can I talk to you for a minute?"
His mom got up and motioned her eyes at Bart.
"Sure... hey Bart, can you wait in here for a sec?"
"Ok."
They walked into the kitchen, where Wally closed the door behind them.
"What's up?"
"Are you serious about taking in Bart? Adopting him, raising him?" She asked with firm look.
Wally hopped up on the counter, dangling his feet over the edge, and scratched the back of his head.
"I haven't really been thinking that far ahead, I guess."
"Well, it's not ahead, sweetie. It's here. Someone's going to have to take care of him, and I know you're experience with his unique abilities would help, but it's a lot of responsibility. You're going to have to decide."
"I know. I'll... have to think about it a little more."
"He's going to have to start school in the fall, you know. And he doesn't even have a birth certificate."
"I know someone who can help with that part. And I know he'll have to start school pretty quick and all that." Wally sighed. "Among other things."
"He's a great boy, Wally." She smiled and put a hand on his. "And so are you. And whatever you decide, I'm here to help."
"Thanks, mom. I really appreciate it." They grinned at each other and he squeezed her hand. "Oh hey, is it ok if he spends tomorrow night here?"
"Of course."
Wally hopped down and gave her a hug. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then Wally went to go collect Bart and head back. He still had work to do tonight, but that was later. At the moment, there was a video game with their names on it.
* * *
Wally ran through Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, and New York, pausing a few times. A few nights of this and there were bound to be reported sightings of a black-clad speedster running around.
Like a U.F.O. or something.
He headed towards Gotham when he was done, searching the city's rooftops for Batman. That wearing this uniform made him feel more comfortable here was a bit of a surprise... he decided to file that bit of information away for later.
And ask Dick for one of the special Bat coms, so he wouldn't have to go chasing shadows again. He wasn't 100% positive Bruce would give the go-ahead, but sure enough.
It took over an hour to finally spot him, trashing some punks in an alley. And just when he was about to give up. Wally waited until he'd finished tying them up and calling the police, then met him on a nearby roof he'd grappled up to. He supposed someone more versed in hand-to-hand combat might know the difference, but the only tell for Wally was that Batman grinned at him and cocked his head to one side when he saw him.
"So, how do I look?" Dick asked sarcastically.
"Like a jewelry thief's worst nightmare."
"That is the idea."
Dick looked Wally over briefly, then settled into a crouch on the edge, looking down as blue and red flashing lights approached below. Wally followed suit next to him, watching as the cops cautiously approached their pre-wrangled quarry and began to take them away.
"How's Bruce?"
"Better than I expected, actually. He was a bit reluctant to agree to this."
"I can imagine."
"There's something else, too. Alfred got a strange letter in the mail today."
"Oh?" Wally looked over curiously.
Dick was still gazing down, occasionally looking around in a familiar search pattern. The cape and cowl fit him with an uncanny ease.
"Yeah. No return address or signature; or prints. Said, 'Eventually, you will all understand; this is for the good of the world and mankind, not selfish gain. When you see that, you'll all thank me, and know what a world without the need for an Illuminati in the sky can be like.'"
"Weird. Illuminati in the sky, huh?"
"Wouldn't be the first time the League was accused of that sort of thing."
"You think it was our favourite villain?"
"More than likely. What bothers me is... what was his motivation for the memory alteration?" Dick's voice took on a thick, almost hypothetical quality, but Wally knew the question was a serious one.
"I just figured he wanted us out of the way."
"Yes. But he had to know it wasn't going to last. If one of you didn't find some obvious reminder, or accidentally rediscover your abilities, what we know of him makes him far too smart to think he could use the Martian like that indefinitely."
"Maybe he's just got an ego the size of the moon." Wally shrugged; he hadn't thought that much into it.
That's what Bats was for. Even if it was Dick wearing the uniform.
"I doubt it. I think we're missing something."
They crouched together in silence, listening to the city and their own musings. Gotham had a way of bringing out the contrast in things; and highlighting the shades of gray in between. Wally's thoughts were all sombre.
"So," Dick broke the quiet, "When's good for you and the kid to swing by?"
"Day after tomorrow?"
"Eight?"
"Make it nine."
* * *
Wally & Bart by
a_bashful_boy
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