Chronology

Aug. 28th, 2006 09:55 pm
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[personal profile] shankie
Wally finally catches up with Savitar, but coming home isn't easy... and he doesn't find it quite the way he expected it to be...


Chapter Ten: The Long Road Home

The 22nd century

Savitar.

The name, the face, was clear in Wally's mind, as he and Bart scarfed down food that Robin, who's name turned out to be Bruce, had brought down, eating so fast he tasted none of it. Where this had all started, the unseen taunting foe he had to face, and keep from doing any more harm.

He looked at Bruce... Bruce Jr., actually, and tried not to think about home. That was becoming quickly impossible, but he continued relating everything he could to Victor, who was hooked into his computer system with little nodes in his temples that struck Wally as only... slightly creepy.

"Two recorded temporal fluctuations... or what might have been temporal fluctuations, registered at approximately the time you arrived," he said. "The first was five minutes earlier."

"So he's still here?" Bart asked.

"A safe assumption."

Wally ran his fingers through his hair, which had become remarkably longer at some point fighting Kon, who had left after making his amends. It draped over his shoulders and was tangled at the ends.

"Can that thing pick up high-speed velocity stuff?"

"Yes, currently calibrating satellite feeds," Victor said distractedly. "One moment."

"Hey," Wally said to Bruce Jr., "you have a pair of clippers or something? This mop has to go."

"Yeah." He got up, doing a somersault over a dividing bar and over to a cabinet, returning with a pair of gleaming scissors. "Should I, or..?"

"Just, hack it off, I'm not in a beauty competition."

Bruce Jr. smirked and began doing just that, binding it into a ponytail that he cut off and set on the table, and snipping more, while Wally kept eating, the feeling of being full actually seeming possible again. His head felt lighter already, and in a moment, Bruce ran fingers through his hair and announced he'd done his best.

"Looks like you did it with a spoon," Bart said dryly.

"I'm not a barber," the boy replied

"Feed calibrated, now tracking," Victor said, and Wally looked up quickly. "Movement, Mach 6. On current trajectory, will arrive in Siberia in one minute, seven seconds, and counting."

"Well, that's our cue." Wally stood up and squeezed Bruce's shoulder, giving him a quick smile. "Thank you guys, for this."

"I'll remain linked into your coms as long as I can," Victor said.

"I'm sorry I can't help more," Victoria said, stepping down from the stairs to the house. "Good luck."

She bowed briefly to them, and Bart uncertainly mimicked it, while Wally just gave her a hug.

"You guys are awesome. Have nice lives. Seriously. Don't let this whole Bat thing get in the way, alright?"

He saw Victoria with a gentle hand on Bruce's shoulder, giving him a smile, and was heartened.

"Be well," she said.

Wally and Bart put on their cowls and took off at top speed, skirting populated areas, hoping to reach Siberia before Savitar did. It was cold and sucked there, but if he kept moving he'd be alright, and if it was anything like his Siberia, there wouldn't be a lot of stuff around to get in the way.

Even if he suspected that finishing what he'd so spectacularly failed at before would take more than just a scuffle.

"You know that you don't have to do this, Bart. This is my fight," he said, as they rounded Eastern Europe and began running across the snowy wasteland.

"You're going to try and talk me out of helping you now? I thought you were helping me."

They grinned at each other, and arrived at their destination.

"Bats, what do ya have for me?"

"He should arrive any second, has maintained course."

"Proper," Wally whispered.

"Huh?"

"Incoming."

They both saw a wake of flying snow sailing through the air in a cutting path in the distance, that drew rapidly closer, with a blue figure at the front charging hard. Savitar. Wally didn't know what he was doing here, but he wasn't going to be doing it.

"Sure you're up for this old man?" Wally said wryly.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, kid."

Wally smirked and they flew apart, tearing around towards Savitar from opposite sides. He looked surprised when they landed tandem hits into his chest and he stopped short, flying backwards into the snow that began instantly melting around him.

"Flash. Fancy seeing you again."

"I've been having trouble remembering our last meeting, so I thought I'd just, you know, go for a repeat performance," Wally said.

Savitar got up, his black ponytail whipping around as he took off in the other direction.

"Oh, no you don't," Wally whispered, and charged after him.

He felt a charge running through him as he accelerated, and caught him just before they reached an icy harbor, leaping onto his back and sending them both cutting a path in the ground as they landed. There was snow caught everywhere in his suit, melting into water that ran over his skin as he gripped Savitar's uniform in his fists.

Savitar just laughed, and punched him, sending him backwards several yards into the snow.

Now he was soaking wet and pissed.

"Alright, you wanna play? Lets play, baby."

Wally ran at him, with Bart catching up; they caught him together, and kept running, faster and faster.

Alone, he'd failed at this. With help... They raced through the sound barrier and neared the speed of light, with blue-shift and blurs around them. Savitar was saying something, but Wally couldn't hear him over the din of rapid acceleration.

They hit the Speed Force wall with a force of energy that took his breath away, and he fought against faltering.

Suddenly, he knew what Savitar had been trying to say.

"This is my playground, not yours."

He sprang free from Wally and Bart, and was in front of them, burning a trail as they entered the timestream and became more vivid.

They fought harder, pushing to close the gap, and Bart stumbled; then was gone.

Wally might have yelled after him, but he wasn't sure. He forced himself to face forward, to keep going; Bart was better at this, he was sure he'd be fine. He was fine, he would be.

Something in him said they were approaching his present, and Wally spared no more time, leapt on him and dragged them out of the timestream and skidding to a hard stop in... more snow.

He might have blacked out. The next thing he knew, a blue-wrapped fist was coming at him and he rolled out of the way, his bearings scattered everywhere and coming together with painful slowness.

'Timestream. Alone. Savitar. Fighting. Check.' The rest could wait, and would have to, as he rolled again and squared off in what was definitely snow, but that was about all he'd had a chance to take in of their new surroundings.

"Youknowwhat? IhatesnowandIhateyou!" he cried, landing a firm blow and blocking another, with a sharp crack along their forearms as they met, rapid-fire blocks and weaves, and a few more landed hits as they whirled around burning a path down to soggy ground that was quickly turning into mud under their feet as the snow melted away around them. "TookmefromBruceruinedEVERYTHING!"

Wally's vision was red with fury, and he grabbed Savitar again, dragging him in a tear, pushing his face against the ground as he ran low over the terrain, tossing him into the ocean and rounding around where he'd landed, creating a funnel of water that the blue-suited villain was swirling around in. He brought it back to land, and it fell along a rocky coastline, sending Savitar, soggy and disoriented, down on top of a rock.

But neither was giving up.

Savitar got up and they circled each other over the water, tearing back over land, and Wally found himself chasing him.

He was trying to re-enter the timestream.

"Like hell," he muttered under his breath, and everything in him willed Savitar to stop as they approached the speed of light.

Wally was so shocked when Savitar did stop, dead in his tracks, that he ran right past him and had to double back. He'd been knocked out, a path in the ground from where he'd fallen; miles long. His blue costume was shredded, and he looked like he'd been run over by a train.

With a long shuddering sigh, Wally sat on the ground and held his head in his hands. That couldn't be it. What the hell just happened? Where were they? Had he really just done that?

His mind whirred and slowed, and he looked up and around them. This could be the American midwest, maybe, with no landmarks or buildings within sight. After a moment, he caught his breath and his heart rate became something more manageable, and Wally got up, checking on his foe. Still breathing, just out cold and a bit worse for the wear.

'What did I DO to him?' he mused with a frown.

Wally stood up and looked around again, feeling hardly up to anything but just passing out, but staved it off, and decided to try his com-link, if they had actually made it to the right time period.

"Flash to Justice League, anyone hear me? Flash to Watchtower, you guys up there?"

The com crackled, and he was certain that nobody would reply, when a familiar voice sounded in his ear, and sent a relieved wave through him.

"Flash, this is the Watchtower... is that really you bud?" Ollie said, and Wally laughed.

"Yeah it's really me, who else would it be? I've got our friend Savitar here, nice and ripe for Slabside, if you'd be so kind." There was a pause, and Wally frowned. "I didn't end up in some alternate dimension or something, did I?"

"Er, no, sorry, I'm contacting S.T.A.R. Labs for transport... are you... okay?"

"I've been better, but I'm still breathing the refreshingly polluted air of our fair century again, and I'll take that for now."

Wally groaned and sat back in the snow, feeling suddenly stiff and definitely like he wanted to pass out.

"Listen, could you maybe send someone down, I love a good post-fight cleanup... but I've had a really crappy past coupla days..." he frowned, and looked at the snow melting around him again.

Snow.

He'd left in August.

"Uh, just out of curiosity, what's the date?"

Another pause.

"January 16th."

Six months; at least. 'Oh shit. Happy freakin' birthday, Wally.'

* * *


Wally groaned, and realized he must have actually passed out. He felt warm and dry, and could hear faint beeping and rustling of fabric around him.

"Am I dead? Hope not, that's gotten really... old... really... fast..." he murmured, and opened his eyes, wincing against the glare of bright lights above him.

It took a moment for his vision to adjust, and register that he was literally surrounded by people on the Watchtower, in one of the private medical rooms. Diana was touching his arm gently, with the rest of the council around his bed.

Everyone but Bruce.

They were all looking at him with stunned and happy expressions, and Diana was the first to break the silence.

"We'd feared the worst."

"I'm sorry about that," Wally replied, "just kinda... happened."

It was then that Clark burst into a wide smile, and leaned down, catching him in a tight hug that he held for a long time.

"Hey blue, good to see you, too."

"We thought you were dead," he said, leaning back, squeezing his arm. "It's so good to see you.

Everyone broke into grins, and took turns giving him hugs and kisses on the cheek, along with their relief he was there, and alright. J'onn went last, merely smiling and touching his arm gently, with a brush against his mind, of relief, of finding reassurance there.

Wally looked around again, but Bruce hadn't just slipped into the room like he'd figured he would, wasn't hiding in any corners, and every part of him began to long to see him again, to know he was Bruce and himself and okay.

He pulled the IVs out of his arm with winces, and idly rubbed his ribs, musing on their not-hurtingness.

"Wally..." Shayera said, finding his hand in hers gently.

"What?"

He jumped out of bed, despite the complaints his body made, quickly changed into the Flash costume waiting in a ring that'd been left on the bedside table. Nobody answered him.

"No, seriously, what?"

"We were all at Wayne Manor tonight... at your wake, actually," John said, frowning.

"Weird, okay. And?"

"Bruce never showed up," Clark said, his voice faltering.

"Weird, okay, but..." he stopped, his body going cold and his throat going dry. "You're... you... I... he's..."

"We don't know," Clark replied, "but we're trying to find him."

"So what are you all doing here!?"

"You just..."

"I don't care! I need to get to Gotham, yesterday!" he yelled, and ran out into the hall.

Clark followed him, but he continued to the transporter pad.

"Flash, I've swept the city for him, and you really shouldn't..."

"No, I really am. I know the city." He looked at Clark squarely, then at the technician. "Send me down to the Batcave."

"Flash..."

"I'm going. I didn't just run through space and time to get back and let him die in some alley or something because you were busy paying attention to me."

"Flash..."

Wally stepped on the transporter pad.

"Are you coming or not Supes?"

Clark stepped next to him, and they shimmered out of the bright, antiseptic satellite and into the dark and wet depths of the cave. Wally immediately began pawing through the costumes, searching for his black Shadow gear.

"We've had Canary leading the rest of the Leaguers out of Gotham tearing the place apart, even Huntress offered to help. I'd been scanning from the sky, but found nothing. Nightwing found the Batmobile abandoned on the East End, the rest of them are still searching. I believe Impulse is in Bludhaven checking out a possible lead right now," Clark said.

"Where the hell is my uniform?!" Wally yelled, taking all that in, but overwhelmed by a frantic storm cloud in his mind.

He charged upstairs, almost barreling over Alfred on the steps; he caught him in his arms, and gave him a hug as the older man stiffened.

"Alfred, buddy, it's great to see you, I know a lot has happened, but I really, really need my costume. The black one."

"M... Master Wally?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "I know, I know. But..."

"I... it's very good to see you," he said with a broad smile that sobered. "I believe Master Bruce put it away... I'll fetch it for you."

"Thank you, Alfred."

He tried to keep the jitters and the fear out of his stomach as he watched Alfred go through a few chests Wally had never actually seen the contents of, pulling out the black costume. He handed it to him almost reverently.

Wally flew into the black, and gave Alfred another reassuring smile.

"I'll find him, I swear."

"It seems to be a day of miracles, Master Wally."

He and Clark took off through the entrance that opened up into the harbor, and he set his jaw as Clark flew up in the sky to resume searching from there.

This wasn't the homecoming he had expected.

on 2006-08-29 02:16 am (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] batfan-sarah.livejournal.com
*dances some more*

i love you i love you!!!!!!


WHEEEEE!

*goes to read more*

on 2006-08-29 05:59 am (UTC)
ext_55333: (bart!)
Posted by [identity profile] victoria-wayne.livejournal.com
::is loved:: XD

on 2007-03-31 03:23 pm (UTC)
Posted by [identity profile] thebetch.livejournal.com
:D. Poor Wally, coming back and having Bruce being all stored away and all. The speedster doesn't get a break ever, does he?
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