Chronology
Jul. 6th, 2006 11:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieSecond in the Wally'Verse...
(If you've already read this and want to skip to the story, click here.)
Introduction
If you're new to my work, this is the sequel to A Flash by Any Other Name, the 39-chapter monster of a Bruce/Wally story that just didn't want to end. So I'd suggest turning back now and reading that. Seriously. It's been commented many, many times that Bruce & Wally's relationship makes sense only after seeing it develop, so if you haven't, you prolly won't 'get' it. Fair warning.
But if you don't want to do that, or need a refresher, here's a spoiler-iffic rundown:
A businessman called Maxwell Brannock moved his industry into Gotham, only to be revealed as an invader from Apokolips who'd taken the Anti-Life Equation, but only a partial solution, from Lex Luthor, who'd he'd kept under his control using the alien supercomputer Oracle. Over the course of attempting to find the solution and dominate the world, and perhaps beyond, he took control of Wally's mind.
During this time, Bruce had begun to spend time trying to get closer to Wally and get to know him better, being as he'd quietly admired him for years. Helping him recover after the Joker poisoned Wally, and through the course of Brannock's ploys, they were pushed together and developed an 'eccentric' but deeply loving relationship.
While Wally was trapped in an alternate dimension akin to (but different to be sure) the Crime Syndicate of JLA: Earth 2 and later references, Bruce came under Brannock's control and Luthor's company developed renewed public trust through the brief partnership with WayneTech. Clark broke him out of this by winning a battle in the Batcave, and soonafter they rescued a blind and hungry Wally from the alternate-reality Justice League, only furthering Bruce's possessive caring for him as he stayed in Wayne Manor.
Before his eyesight fully returned, Bruce helped him snap out of a delusion the mind-controlled J'onn had placed upon both of them, Clark, and John Stewart; forgetting that they were superheroes or knew any superheroes, and the rest of the world forgot their secret identities. Wally managed to defeat J'onn, with the help of the now enlightened other heroes, Doctor Fate, and Bruce taking on both his speed and his uniform. The battle brought J'onn and Wally closer together, and the second lending of Wally's speed to Bruce sparked a connexion that so far Bruce has noticed, but not mentioned to Wally.
But it took it's toll on Wally's mind, and drove him into a fight with Bruce that ended in them not seeing each other again, until John showed Wally that Bruce had been accused of murder, and was in prison.
The Batfamily, with the help of Wally's new alter-ego Shadow, and the speedster from the future Bart Allen dropping on his doorstep, managed to clear Bruce's name and find the real killers of Bruce's ex-girlfriend; The Shade and Two-Face.
Wally finally decides to adopt Bart, who takes on the superhero identity Impulse, and begins to love him like a son, and their need for more space prompts Bruce to offer Wally a home at Wayne Manor; which he, after much thought, accepts.
Even as the bulk of the League falls under Brannock's mind control, despite an attempt at infiltration by Wally, Batman and Shadow break into the Watchtower, and eventually recruit several old friends, including Professor Zoom and Inertia brought to their cause by the promise of being returned to the future, and not The Slab prison.
We left our heroes rebuilding the Watchtower, with Bruce, Wally, Tim, and Bart living all happy-ending together at Wayne Manor, with the extended Batfamily and the League in relatively good shape as they pick up the pieces.
For more specific canon details from that story, read the Introduction; and, of course, the story itself. ;)
Beware continuity shifts, not to be confused with time shifts. Time travel is always confusing, isn't it?
And now...
In this world... Batman Beyond continuity is the first future reality we'll be visiting. But as time goes on (brace yourselves!) the Batman Beyond universe will be AU to my history! Heh. This all takes place after the events of that series; and even after JLU's Epilogue. In the first decade-jump, Terry is in his mid-twenties and Bruce is getting very on in years. In the second, he's mid-thirties. But if you've never seen Batman Beyond, or even JLU, it's okay; you'll still be able to follow things.
When in doubt, Wiki!
Where A Flash by Any Other Name was littered with comic book continuity details from various Batman books, this one will have some Elseworlds with a huge helping of The Flash: Volume 2, which was the run of Wally's career as Flash, and some from JLA Volume 3. Flash and JLA books deal much, much more with the future, so it's only natural that a time-travel story will draw off it's various future-based storyarcs. But, as in the last story, any knowledge of these isn't important for anything but laughing at references you spot, and not having read these might push-up your surprise factor and all, so no biggie. Some characters will be getting makeovers and have alternate origins, anyway, especially Iris West, Kid Flash and Wally's daughter from both the Elseworld's story Kingdom Come and various future-based Flash stories.
A few things important to note, however: this universe sticks very close to Diniverse canon, beyond the changes I've pointed out both here and in the other story's introduction. And it's all in the past, literally, so you don't have to be a JLU expert to follow the characters. But it helps. A lot.
A Cast of Characters is available in the first installment of the previous story, and here's a brief update for this one:
First Visited Continuity:
Bruce Wayne: After retiring as Batman after heart troubles began interfering with his ability, he fell out of the public eye and eventually lost his company in a merger, only to gain it back after years of struggle with Powers, who became a super-criminal after his second encounter with Batman II and lost his holdings to his son.
Terry McGinnis: A former juvenile delinquent, Terry reformed his life, and as a teenager, his father was killed; after a strange encounter with an old man with amazing martial arts skills soonafter discovered to be Bruce Wayne, an aged and retired Batman. Before his retirement, he'd developed a suit that could enhance strength and stealth, as well as give short-term flying capabilities and recording devices; Terry stole the suit to bring justice to his father's killers, and was quickly adopted as Batman II by Bruce, who became his mentor. Terry is Bruce's genetic child by a failed project known as Project Batman Beyond, begun by Amanda Waller but scrapped in later years after the tragedy of Bruce's childhood couldn't be replicated.
Terry is now married to his high school sweetheart and has been operating as a reserve member of the future Justice League led by an aged Superman, as well as the guardian of Gotham City, for over ten years. Despite not having the relationship with the Gotham Police that Bruce did, he's had a very successful career that centered more around the future white-collar crime and those following in the footsteps of past super-criminals.
Bartholemew "Bart" Henry Allen, the Second: Spending his first few years living in VR in the 30th Century, Bart was sent into the past after his hyper-aging was repaired by Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Superheroes, and sent to live with his distant cousin; Wally West. Wally raised him as a nephew, with the help of Bruce Wayne, and was taught how to be a superhero by both. After Wally vanished, Bart took on the mantle of The Flash and remained in Central City, and never joined the Justice League.
Ra's al Ghul: Immortal would-be dominator of the world, Ra's fought Batman for years, until he reappeared possessing his daughter Talia's body in a conflict with Batman II in which they both apparently died. At one point, he was the leader of the League of Shadows, a group of assassins that threatened the world on several occasions. He preserved his immortality through Lazarus Pits for over 700 years, which had the side-effect of inflicted temporary mental instability on anyone using one. Until Batman I apparently killed him, he'd seen Bruce Wayne as an heir to his legacy.
Talia al Ghul: Daughter of Ra's al Ghul and one-time lover of Bruce Wayne. She'd long desired to become his wife, furthering Ra's ambitions to make him his heir, but was always ultimately refused. She apparently died after being possessed by her father and was defeated by Batman II. Most of her life before Bruce became Batman is unknown even to him.
Second Visited Continuity:
Iris Martha West: The second to take on the mantle of Kid Flash, and later another identity, Iris spent almost her entire life living a double life as super-hero and high-society debutante`, constantly seeking to live up to her lineage as a speedster. She is extremely dedicated, and despite having less power than The Flash, has made up for it by becoming proficient in several martial arts disciplines, and prefers to work under the radar, in contrast to her counterpart.
John Fox: The Flash of the 27th century, Fox is the latest in his line of the lineage to carry the mantle, and does so with great pride, if not without a bit of self-doubt. He sometimes doesn't think before he acts, but does his best to protect a world far advanced from the 21st century and moving at a pace even he has trouble keeping up with, and always feels like he's in the shadow of the first Flashs.
Angela West: Shadow of the 27th century, she operates from out of the Time Institute, and holds views on a person's knowledge of their own future less restricting than most experts of time travel; she rarely travels through time herself, but keeps a close eye on that, and other affairs of her world, fittingly, from the shadows.
Victor & Victoria West: The Batman & Shadow of the 22nd century, and fraternal twins. They live in Wayne Manor, with Robin, Bruce Jr., and have a working relationship with both the Flash of that time period, a descendant of Bart, and Superman; who is a clone of Clark Kent. Using technology as much as skill and resources, the two have managed something of a family in spite of being absorbed in their work.
* * *
Chapter One: Mourning the Living
Sixty years in the future...
Terry got to the Wayne Manor early that evening; Bruce was getting on in his years, and every day he parked his bike and walked up to the door with the fear that he'd already be gone. It was a terrifying thought; Bruce used to seem almost immortal, too strong to ever die.
But that was the nature of humanity, and Bruce had become more and more... human... as the years went by.
He was stopped by a sudden streak of red that came out of nowhere and blew around leaves in the front yard, then vanished through the front door. Picking up the pace, he left the bike on its side and rushed inside with the caution and stealth long since ingrained in his reaction to the unknown, his steps soundless in the front hall.
The echo of quiet voices came from the kitchen, and Terry pressed against the wall, a pang of guilt from the fact he was eavesdropping hitting, but not dissuading him.
"Has it really been a year?" Bruce's voice said quietly.
"You know that better than I do, old man," an unfamiliar voice replied sadly. "I don't like to think about how many years it's been."
"No." There was a shuffling of movement, and a pause. "The world is darker without him. I don't suppose that's why you never joined the League."
"Central City needs me, now more than ever. You ask that every time I come here, you know."
"Do I? Hn."
Bruce stepped out into the hall, with a man that couldn't be older than thirty, with wild auburn hair and yellow eyes that seemed to look straight into Terry's soul. Bruce was leaning on him, a gesture he'd rarely let Terry do, no matter how much pain his joints were giving him or how heavily he'd begun to lean on his cane.
The man was wearing a red costume with a lightning bolt on the front, with a cowl pushed back behind his head. 'The Flash.' He'd never met the Flash before; he'd always kept to his city and stayed out of worldly business, even when Batman had been called to help.
"Terry, this is Bart Allen. Bart, this is... my replacement, Terry McGinnis."
"Doing the legacy justice, from what I hear," Bart said with a grin. "Nice to finally meetcha."
"Uh, yeah... nice to meet you," Terry said, unsure of what exactly was going on. Bruce never invited other superheroes into the manor so casually. "So, you're the Flash."
"Guilty," he said with another grin, and Terry couldn't help but notice Bruce get a wistful look on his face at the response.
"Terry, there's someone else I'd like you to meet."
Today, obviously, was not one for chit-chat.
Terry was elected to drive, with the other two in the back talking quietly. Every so often, Bruce began laughing. Really laughing, in a way Terry'd never really heard before. He couldn't help but smile as he took a left at Bruce's command, in between chuckles. But Terry quickly sobered as he saw their destination; the Wayne family cemetery.
Sure to his suspicion, Bart asked him to stop, and he parked alongside the grass outside the wrought iron fence, and watched Bart help Bruce out of the car and up the hill toward where Terry knew Bruce's parents were buried. But it was fall, not June... so that couldn't be who he'd meant.
He followed their slow ascent, where they first stopped at the Wayne's monument, where Bruce laid two roses and paused in silence. Then they walked together, Bart now holding Bruce as much as letting him lean on him, and they stood before another, more modest gravestone.
There was a date of birth etched underneath... but no date of death.
"We never really die," Bart said quietly, as if sensing his thoughts. "He isn't really gone."
Bruce nodded beside him, and unsteadily knelt on the ground to lay the rest of the roses in front of the stone.
"He wouldn't let us have a funeral," Bruce said with a little smile. "Made us all promise to throw a party. So we did. Filled the manor up with every cape in the world."
"He was the first Flash?" Terry asked uncertainly.
"No. The second," Bart replied, "my grandfather... he was the first."
"He loved every minute of it. I never knew anyone who loved their lives like Wally did... And how I... loved him." Bruce's voice was cracking as he stood back up, and Terry witnessed yet another thing he'd never seen from the man before; silent tears running down his cheeks. "He was better than any of us. Better than I ever was."
Terry looked back at the gravestone, and finally noticed the carved pattern around the edge was of lightning. He didn't know much about Bruce's earlier life... and apparently, there was a lot more he'd never known.
"What happened?" he finally asked in a low voice.
"He gave his life for us. Saved the world," Bruce whispered. "Took me a long time to... come to terms with that. To finally convince myself... that's what he wanted."
Bart was crying now, too, sniffling and wiping his eyes.
"He was always such a damned hero. So damned reckless," Bruce said with a sad smile. "Drove me nuts. First time I met him... I wanted to punch him in the face." Bruce chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Took me years to see beyond all those stupid jokes and cavalier attitude. Then he saved my life." His face went somber again, and he sighed heavily. "God I miss him."
"Yeah," Bart whispered. "I never really knew my dad... when I first came here, I didn't know anybody. But he took care of me. You and him." Bart squeezed Bruce's hand, and they looked at each other with smiles. "Even if you did scare the hell out of me half the time," he said with a laugh.
Terry frowned a little in thought, before a flash of understanding went through his mind.
"You were lovers."
Bruce nodded.
"Yes. We were," he said. "Back then... I could barely remember my parents anymore. Robin and Nightwing kept me level... but I'd forgotten what I was fighting for. I'd lost my way. And he reminded me."
Terry didn't know what else to say, dumbstruck by the revelation. Bruce walked forward, sliding out of Bart's arm to rest his hand on top of the stone, brushing his fingers across it gently.
"He told me once he wanted to be here. To be close to me." Bruce bowed his head, and another lone tear shone in the light from a lamp post nearby. "Said he already had enough monuments in Central City." He shook his head again. "Wally loved all the fanfare. For a while. Things change."
He patted the stone, then turned away, and they began walking back to the car in silence.
* * *
Ten years later...
He woke up on a beach, naked and exhausted.
It was dusk, and the world was draped in deep shadows and the blurry outlines that came just before dark; it mirrored his own confusion.
First he realized, he had no idea where he was; then, that he had no idea how he got there. After that, he couldn't remember any reason he'd be naked.
And finally, he realized that he didn't remember... anything at all.
Someone had left behind a tote-bag... or something like it... where he found a pair of black pants that didn't quite fit right and a gray shirt that hung down to his elbows, and something that looked possibly edible and tasted like candy. No shoes or ideas, but it was a start.
He ran towards light in the distance, and found himself in the middle of a sleek city, all black and neon lights and humming with people on the streets. He slowed to a walk and looked around for some sign of where he was... until he caught sight of a sign above a bank; Gotham City Credit & Loan.
It didn't seem right.
He had a few plastic cards found in the pockets of the pants, which he was hesitant to use... but he didn't see much choice. He used one on get something to eat at a diner, where they thankfully never noticed his feet, then wandered the streets for hours, just watching.
His feet were getting sore, but he had nowhere to go, so he ran up the side of a building overlooking Gazette Square and watched the billboards flash news and advertisements.
"It's not often I get any company up here."
He half turned his head around and blinked as something vaguely familiar tickled his brain. A man in black armour, with bat-ears and a red symbol of a bat on his chest. He spoke through artificial lips and stared at him with white eyes.
"Um... who are you supposed to be?"
"You first, red."
He shrugged and kept one eye on him as he kept his head turned away. He wasn't in the mood, even if he felt awfully strange looking at him, like it should mean something. But the figure didn't leave, it sat next to him and dangled his legs over the 80-story drop just as casually.
"Like I said, not often someone's up this high, there being no exit on the roof," the Bat continued, "so I'm curious as to how you got up here."
"I ran."
"Uh-huh."
He faced him head on and frowned, and the Bat turned and a shocked look managed to cross the armoured face.
"You're Wally West," he said. "But... that's impossible."
"Am I?" He looked back over the cityscape and thought. "Yes, I am."
"But how..?"
"I remember... someone named Savitar. I was running after him, and we ended up in the Speed Force... and then I was here." Wally rubbed his head. "Who are you?"
"I think we should take this somewhere else," the Bat said after a pause. "Here, I'll call for my ride."
He stood, and a black plane unmistakably like a Batwing flew out of the sky and hovered in front of them with it's canopy retracted.
"Get in."
* * *
It didn't take long for everything to come back once they'd parked in the Batcave... different, yet so similar... as it was. He didn't need to be told that this new Batman wasn't Bruce, and not that he wasn't curious about all that, but he ran straight upstairs and into the manor.
Still and silent, but not all that different. A little more dust, a few more photographs everywhere.
He stopped at two in particular; the first was an old man receiving some sort of award... and as he looked closer, he realized that man with the cane and the almost awkward smile was Bruce.
The other was him, almost a year ago... or many years now. When his hair was still cut short and he was spending all his time in Central City.
What did that mean?
He turned around as a man around thirty walked up the stairs, with that same black hair and intense blue eyes that seemed to be a constant in the world of the Bat.
"My name is Terry McGinnis, and I'm sure you've figured out who I am now. But... I never thought I'd ever meet you."
"Where's Bruce?" Wally finally asked, setting the photograph down.
"He..." Terry sat down on a sofa and leaned on his knees. "He's dead, Wally."
Wally looked away, out the window and into the darkness, trying to process that. He was in the future, those things... happen. It didn't make it a whole lot easier, especially since he didn't know how he was going to get home yet.
"He... What happened? Did he think... did you all think I was dead?" he asked after a moment. "How did he die?" he whispered.
"They never thought you were really dead, but... you've been gone since before I was even born." Terry sighed. "I always thought he'd go like he deserved to, but it didn't work out that way. It was just after I found out about you, actually... I was out on patrol, and the communications went dead. By the time I got back, he was gone, and there was nothing but a sword sticking out of the computer. And I never heard from him again."
"Ra's Al Ghul," Wally said, turning quickly, "he did it."
"At first I thought it was someone else, I thought I'd killed Ra's and Talia years before... but then the League of Shadows became active and absorbed the League of Assassins, and I kept getting rumours of someone called The Demon's Head, but I could never find them. My sources gave me nothing, and Bruce never kept many records on that, strangely enough."
Wally watched him begin to pace and crossed his arms. He had to set this all right somehow, but... he didn't know how, yet. Yet.
"Now Ra's owns half the world, a benevolent corporate dictator. We've found nothing but legitimate activities and philanthropy... but it can't be right. He's got to be up to something."
"Who's we?"
"Oh." Terry looked up at him a little taken aback by the question. "Well, uh, the Justice League. And... The Flash."
Wally's eyes got a little wider.
"Bart!?"
"Yes, but, could you keep it down a little... my wife's asleep upstairs."
"Your... oh. Yeah." Wally began doing some pacing of his own. "I'll need to find a way to get back. Or at the very least, fix some of this."
"Yes, well... wait." Terry put his hand on Wally's shoulder. "A lot has changed, and well... I'd like to talk to you first."
Wally looked at him curiously, his head cocked to one side.
"Me?"
"Yes, well... I never knew Bruce when he was Batman. And... I never knew a lot of things about him. And I'd like to. Then maybe we can see about getting you back where you belong."
"Oh." Wally's expression softened. The future might look a little dismal right now... but maybe he could spend a little time here first. "Sure."
They stayed up the rest of the night in the kitchen, where Wally got food he could eat from Terry's well-stocked 'fridge, such as it was, and they carefully avoided talking about the future much more. They'd already gotten carried away, but things like that were best left unknown, or at least, that's what people always said about time travel.
Terry already knew about Bruce's adventures with the Justice League, from the current League's records and historical records. But beyond that... Bruce never really discussed it, and a lot had been lost over time.
Wally was all too happy to go on and on about it.
He laughed and recalled story after story, about all the one-liners Bruce used to give in his own dry-witted way, all the amazing saves and times he'd out-thunk pretty much everyone. His favourite story he hadn't been there for, John had told him, and it hadn't been in the records, either; when Bruce went back in time, dressed up like a cowboy, and kicked monumental Western ass.
"And John told me, when they were at the jail, Bruce actually got in a cliche` Clint Eastwood standoff and actually pushed back his coat off his utility belt like he had a gun! Then the other guy draws, and he just grabbed the gun out of his hand and punched him!" Wally almost fell over in laughter, covering his eyes held his aching stomach. "Oh man! He was the best."
Wally's laughed died down and he noticed that Terry had been laughing too, which made him smile even more. He wasn't as... withdrawn as Bruce, he'd been able to have a life even this young, and still do the job. Did any of the League have lives when they first started out? He didn't really think so. It was admirable.
"Okay, so, I really have to know... you two were really... together? I mean... you're nothing like him at all and all the women he's actually told me about weren't, either," Terry finally asked, leaning forward on the table, "I mean, I'm not trying to intrude or anything... or that you're a woman."
Wally laughed again and shook his head.
"For months it was the biggest secret in the League. Over time, the big guys, you know, the original seven all found out, or were told. It wasn't like you could hide much from Superman or Diana... or any of them, really." Wally chuckled a little at a few memories winking through his mind. "We'd fight at meetings, I'd tease him in the cafeteria, he'd ignore me all the time... but then when we were alone... it was so different." Wally sighed and grinned. "He helped me through hard times and taught me a lot, and I did my best to keep him from drowning in all that angst he was so fond of. I guess I did pretty well, he seemed happy, too."
"He told me those were some of the happiest times in his life," Terry affirmed quietly.
Wally blushed and looked down a little.
"I'm glad. He's always so... amazing. Unbelievable. Like his super-power was being awesome. When I first joined the League, I was still just a kid, even though I'd been at the hero gig for seven years. It'd been all I really knew after that, like I left all the years until that point behind in the dust. But he... he was really the best. No matter what happened, if he was there, he'd find a way to win, no matter what we were up against."
Wally sighed a little, and looked over at Terry, who was looking a little awe-struck, too. Bruce had been his mentor, after all. Nobody inspires more in you than a mentor, Wally knew that very well. And Bruce... Bruce awestruck everyone.
"You know... this is great and all... but I'd really like to see how Bart is doing," Wally said, "and if anyone can help get me back... it's him. If he's as good as you say he is now."
"Bart does an amazing job, Wally. You never hear of crime or super-criminals in Central City, he keeps the peace and everyone loves him for it."
"But he never joined the Justice League?"
"No. I never really did, either, but he keeps to himself. With the way the world is these days, I can't really blame him." Terry sighed. "I always thought about the old days, you know, you and the Justice League being like some kind of golden age I'd have loved to be a part of. It seems so much... simpler."
"Well, it wasn't always that simple," Wally replied. "We had our share of troubles, had our scares and times when it seemed like the entire universe was against us. But we got through somehow."
Terry nodded, then pulled a phone out of his pocket, dialed a number, and hung up. Wally gave him a raised eyebrow, but before he could form the question, a gust of wind blew through the front door, and there was... Bart.
He was wearing his old costume, with significant alterations; it was yellow and red, with larger gauntlets that resembled Bruce's without quite the sharp things, and his hair poking out of the open top of the cowl. But he knew those big yellow eyes anywhere.
"Wally?" They caught each other in a hug, leaving more questions aside a moment, Bart almost frantic in his grip that lasted a long time for them. When they finally pulled apart, Bart slipped off the cowl and grinned at him. "I never thought I'd see you again."
"You're so... grown up!" Wally exclaimed, "and you're the Flash now!"
"It's been a long, long time... Where have you been?"
"Lost in the timestream I guess. It's all a little hazy. But..." He marveled at how much older and wiser Bart looked, still retaining an edge of his irreverent youth all the same. "It seems like I just left yesterday, when you were still so little."
"We really have some catching up to do," Bart said, glancing at Terry with a flicker of an unreadable expression. "We need to get you a costume first, we've got a long trip to make and barefoot just isn't going to cut it."
Wally couldn't help like he was missing something, something huge, but he nodded.
"Bruce kept some old uniforms in the cave, I'll go dig them out," Terry offered, and they followed him back through the clock and down into the dark cave.
Wally's body had cooled down from his run, so the cave floor was as chilly as ever, but he tried to ignore it. It wasn't that hard, as he was still reeling from taking in all this new and strange everything.
And Bruce was gone. Nothing seemed right without Bruce, like an anchor to the world wasn't there anymore.
Terry unlocked a dusty box that had been in the storage room, full of Wally's costume rings, two of his Shadow uniforms, and even the white and black uniform he'd worn ever so briefly when he'd been... not himself. Of course Bruce would have kept all of it; he was always sentimental about such things.
"I found all this after... after he vanished," Terry said, "but, take your pick... it's all yours, after all."
"I remember this," Bart said, pulling out the black and red uniform, folded with the gauntlets, boots, and domino mask on top. "Remember that time you scared Green Arrow with it? He barely caught a glimpse of you, and thought some red-eyed demon was haunting the rooftops of Gotham." Bart chuckled. "Bruce never bothered to correct him."
Wally noted that Bart had called him 'Bruce' and not 'Mr. Wayne' with a smirk.
"Yeah, heh. Well, you're the Flash now, Bart... I'll wear this one. I don't know how long I'll be here, but..."
Bart smiled and handed the folded fabric over to him.
"I've done my best Wally, to live up to what you did."
"I'm sure you have, kid." Wally put his hand on Bart's shoulder, then changed quickly into his uniform. "Well Terry, I'm not sure if we'll run into each other again, but I'm glad I met you."
They shook hands and Terry nodded.
"Good luck. I hope you make it back home, and prove history wrong."
Wally just grinned. Beating the odds was what he did best.
"Okay Bart, lead the way."
They ran straight out over the Atlantic, and hit the edge of the Gobi desert, where Bart stopped and turned to him with a serious look in his eyes. There was some sort of stone compound in the distance, their apparent destination, for reasons Wally couldn't see yet.
"Before we go any further, you need to know something."
"What?"
"We're... going to see someone."
"Who?"
"The Demon's Head."
"What? Isn't he the bad guy?"
"Well... you have to understand..."
"Understand what?!? He killed Bruce!"
"Wally, wait!"
But he didn't.
He ran toward the compound, past black-clad ninja guards who never even saw him pass, and all through the building teeming with more of the same, with Bart strangely not following him.
Ra's killed Bruce. That's all he needed to know. If they didn't find a way to change things... if altering things was wrong... he still wanted justice.
Revenge.
Wally criss-crossed the entire complex before he finally found what appeared to be the lair of the Demon, separate from the rest, grander, and set about with ceremonial guards.
He passed them all and headed straight for what appeared to be a study or office in some immortal-tyrant kind of way, where he found who he was looking for; a black-haired man with a white streak in his hair, wearing brown pants and boots and a white shirt with full sleeves, tucked into a black belt slung across his waist. He had his back to Wally, and appeared to be leafing through a book.
"I want you to know, you'll never get away with killing Bruce Wayne," Wally said threateningly, narrowing his eyes at the figure that froze, not turning around as he slowly replaced the book he'd been looking at on the shelf, and leaned on the oak bookcase heavily. "Look at me, you!" Wally ordered, reaching out his arm with an accusatory finger pointed rigidly.
"It can't be you," the man finally whispered. "You're gone. You never came back."
"Well, I just did," he said with a frown. "And you've got a lot to answer for."
"You don't understand, Wally." The man turned, and Wally gasped.
It wasn't Ra's al Ghul who faced him; it was Bruce.
He was older looking, sure, but not nearly as old as those photographs, still obviously fit under his clothing and his face still free of obvious signs of age; well, except for the white streak.
"How... you... but... he..." Wally stammered in slack-jawed dumbfoundedness.
"You've been gone a very, very long time Wally," Bruce said, with a crack in his stoic, unmistakable baritone voice.
"I don't understand," Wally whispered.
Bruce stepped forward and lovingly put a hand on Wally's cheek, swallowing hard.
"It's really you," they finally said at once.
"I lost hope a long time ago," Bruce said quietly.
"It's like I just saw you yesterday..." Wally replied breathlessly, "what happened?"
"I'll tell you everything, I swear. And I wish..." Bruce trailed off and pushed a lock of Wally's hair behind his ear, then gently pulled off the domino mask, gazing into his eyes with a sad smile. "I need your help, Wally."
* * *
Still Shining by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yazzle
(If you've already read this and want to skip to the story, click here.)
Introduction
If you're new to my work, this is the sequel to A Flash by Any Other Name, the 39-chapter monster of a Bruce/Wally story that just didn't want to end. So I'd suggest turning back now and reading that. Seriously. It's been commented many, many times that Bruce & Wally's relationship makes sense only after seeing it develop, so if you haven't, you prolly won't 'get' it. Fair warning.
But if you don't want to do that, or need a refresher, here's a spoiler-iffic rundown:
A businessman called Maxwell Brannock moved his industry into Gotham, only to be revealed as an invader from Apokolips who'd taken the Anti-Life Equation, but only a partial solution, from Lex Luthor, who'd he'd kept under his control using the alien supercomputer Oracle. Over the course of attempting to find the solution and dominate the world, and perhaps beyond, he took control of Wally's mind.
During this time, Bruce had begun to spend time trying to get closer to Wally and get to know him better, being as he'd quietly admired him for years. Helping him recover after the Joker poisoned Wally, and through the course of Brannock's ploys, they were pushed together and developed an 'eccentric' but deeply loving relationship.
While Wally was trapped in an alternate dimension akin to (but different to be sure) the Crime Syndicate of JLA: Earth 2 and later references, Bruce came under Brannock's control and Luthor's company developed renewed public trust through the brief partnership with WayneTech. Clark broke him out of this by winning a battle in the Batcave, and soonafter they rescued a blind and hungry Wally from the alternate-reality Justice League, only furthering Bruce's possessive caring for him as he stayed in Wayne Manor.
Before his eyesight fully returned, Bruce helped him snap out of a delusion the mind-controlled J'onn had placed upon both of them, Clark, and John Stewart; forgetting that they were superheroes or knew any superheroes, and the rest of the world forgot their secret identities. Wally managed to defeat J'onn, with the help of the now enlightened other heroes, Doctor Fate, and Bruce taking on both his speed and his uniform. The battle brought J'onn and Wally closer together, and the second lending of Wally's speed to Bruce sparked a connexion that so far Bruce has noticed, but not mentioned to Wally.
But it took it's toll on Wally's mind, and drove him into a fight with Bruce that ended in them not seeing each other again, until John showed Wally that Bruce had been accused of murder, and was in prison.
The Batfamily, with the help of Wally's new alter-ego Shadow, and the speedster from the future Bart Allen dropping on his doorstep, managed to clear Bruce's name and find the real killers of Bruce's ex-girlfriend; The Shade and Two-Face.
Wally finally decides to adopt Bart, who takes on the superhero identity Impulse, and begins to love him like a son, and their need for more space prompts Bruce to offer Wally a home at Wayne Manor; which he, after much thought, accepts.
Even as the bulk of the League falls under Brannock's mind control, despite an attempt at infiltration by Wally, Batman and Shadow break into the Watchtower, and eventually recruit several old friends, including Professor Zoom and Inertia brought to their cause by the promise of being returned to the future, and not The Slab prison.
We left our heroes rebuilding the Watchtower, with Bruce, Wally, Tim, and Bart living all happy-ending together at Wayne Manor, with the extended Batfamily and the League in relatively good shape as they pick up the pieces.
For more specific canon details from that story, read the Introduction; and, of course, the story itself. ;)
Beware continuity shifts, not to be confused with time shifts. Time travel is always confusing, isn't it?
And now...
In this world... Batman Beyond continuity is the first future reality we'll be visiting. But as time goes on (brace yourselves!) the Batman Beyond universe will be AU to my history! Heh. This all takes place after the events of that series; and even after JLU's Epilogue. In the first decade-jump, Terry is in his mid-twenties and Bruce is getting very on in years. In the second, he's mid-thirties. But if you've never seen Batman Beyond, or even JLU, it's okay; you'll still be able to follow things.
When in doubt, Wiki!
Where A Flash by Any Other Name was littered with comic book continuity details from various Batman books, this one will have some Elseworlds with a huge helping of The Flash: Volume 2, which was the run of Wally's career as Flash, and some from JLA Volume 3. Flash and JLA books deal much, much more with the future, so it's only natural that a time-travel story will draw off it's various future-based storyarcs. But, as in the last story, any knowledge of these isn't important for anything but laughing at references you spot, and not having read these might push-up your surprise factor and all, so no biggie. Some characters will be getting makeovers and have alternate origins, anyway, especially Iris West, Kid Flash and Wally's daughter from both the Elseworld's story Kingdom Come and various future-based Flash stories.
A few things important to note, however: this universe sticks very close to Diniverse canon, beyond the changes I've pointed out both here and in the other story's introduction. And it's all in the past, literally, so you don't have to be a JLU expert to follow the characters. But it helps. A lot.
A Cast of Characters is available in the first installment of the previous story, and here's a brief update for this one:
First Visited Continuity:
Bruce Wayne: After retiring as Batman after heart troubles began interfering with his ability, he fell out of the public eye and eventually lost his company in a merger, only to gain it back after years of struggle with Powers, who became a super-criminal after his second encounter with Batman II and lost his holdings to his son.
Terry McGinnis: A former juvenile delinquent, Terry reformed his life, and as a teenager, his father was killed; after a strange encounter with an old man with amazing martial arts skills soonafter discovered to be Bruce Wayne, an aged and retired Batman. Before his retirement, he'd developed a suit that could enhance strength and stealth, as well as give short-term flying capabilities and recording devices; Terry stole the suit to bring justice to his father's killers, and was quickly adopted as Batman II by Bruce, who became his mentor. Terry is Bruce's genetic child by a failed project known as Project Batman Beyond, begun by Amanda Waller but scrapped in later years after the tragedy of Bruce's childhood couldn't be replicated.
Terry is now married to his high school sweetheart and has been operating as a reserve member of the future Justice League led by an aged Superman, as well as the guardian of Gotham City, for over ten years. Despite not having the relationship with the Gotham Police that Bruce did, he's had a very successful career that centered more around the future white-collar crime and those following in the footsteps of past super-criminals.
Bartholemew "Bart" Henry Allen, the Second: Spending his first few years living in VR in the 30th Century, Bart was sent into the past after his hyper-aging was repaired by Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Superheroes, and sent to live with his distant cousin; Wally West. Wally raised him as a nephew, with the help of Bruce Wayne, and was taught how to be a superhero by both. After Wally vanished, Bart took on the mantle of The Flash and remained in Central City, and never joined the Justice League.
Ra's al Ghul: Immortal would-be dominator of the world, Ra's fought Batman for years, until he reappeared possessing his daughter Talia's body in a conflict with Batman II in which they both apparently died. At one point, he was the leader of the League of Shadows, a group of assassins that threatened the world on several occasions. He preserved his immortality through Lazarus Pits for over 700 years, which had the side-effect of inflicted temporary mental instability on anyone using one. Until Batman I apparently killed him, he'd seen Bruce Wayne as an heir to his legacy.
Talia al Ghul: Daughter of Ra's al Ghul and one-time lover of Bruce Wayne. She'd long desired to become his wife, furthering Ra's ambitions to make him his heir, but was always ultimately refused. She apparently died after being possessed by her father and was defeated by Batman II. Most of her life before Bruce became Batman is unknown even to him.
Second Visited Continuity:
Iris Martha West: The second to take on the mantle of Kid Flash, and later another identity, Iris spent almost her entire life living a double life as super-hero and high-society debutante`, constantly seeking to live up to her lineage as a speedster. She is extremely dedicated, and despite having less power than The Flash, has made up for it by becoming proficient in several martial arts disciplines, and prefers to work under the radar, in contrast to her counterpart.
John Fox: The Flash of the 27th century, Fox is the latest in his line of the lineage to carry the mantle, and does so with great pride, if not without a bit of self-doubt. He sometimes doesn't think before he acts, but does his best to protect a world far advanced from the 21st century and moving at a pace even he has trouble keeping up with, and always feels like he's in the shadow of the first Flashs.
Angela West: Shadow of the 27th century, she operates from out of the Time Institute, and holds views on a person's knowledge of their own future less restricting than most experts of time travel; she rarely travels through time herself, but keeps a close eye on that, and other affairs of her world, fittingly, from the shadows.
Victor & Victoria West: The Batman & Shadow of the 22nd century, and fraternal twins. They live in Wayne Manor, with Robin, Bruce Jr., and have a working relationship with both the Flash of that time period, a descendant of Bart, and Superman; who is a clone of Clark Kent. Using technology as much as skill and resources, the two have managed something of a family in spite of being absorbed in their work.
Chapter One: Mourning the Living
Sixty years in the future...
Terry got to the Wayne Manor early that evening; Bruce was getting on in his years, and every day he parked his bike and walked up to the door with the fear that he'd already be gone. It was a terrifying thought; Bruce used to seem almost immortal, too strong to ever die.
But that was the nature of humanity, and Bruce had become more and more... human... as the years went by.
He was stopped by a sudden streak of red that came out of nowhere and blew around leaves in the front yard, then vanished through the front door. Picking up the pace, he left the bike on its side and rushed inside with the caution and stealth long since ingrained in his reaction to the unknown, his steps soundless in the front hall.
The echo of quiet voices came from the kitchen, and Terry pressed against the wall, a pang of guilt from the fact he was eavesdropping hitting, but not dissuading him.
"Has it really been a year?" Bruce's voice said quietly.
"You know that better than I do, old man," an unfamiliar voice replied sadly. "I don't like to think about how many years it's been."
"No." There was a shuffling of movement, and a pause. "The world is darker without him. I don't suppose that's why you never joined the League."
"Central City needs me, now more than ever. You ask that every time I come here, you know."
"Do I? Hn."
Bruce stepped out into the hall, with a man that couldn't be older than thirty, with wild auburn hair and yellow eyes that seemed to look straight into Terry's soul. Bruce was leaning on him, a gesture he'd rarely let Terry do, no matter how much pain his joints were giving him or how heavily he'd begun to lean on his cane.
The man was wearing a red costume with a lightning bolt on the front, with a cowl pushed back behind his head. 'The Flash.' He'd never met the Flash before; he'd always kept to his city and stayed out of worldly business, even when Batman had been called to help.
"Terry, this is Bart Allen. Bart, this is... my replacement, Terry McGinnis."
"Doing the legacy justice, from what I hear," Bart said with a grin. "Nice to finally meetcha."
"Uh, yeah... nice to meet you," Terry said, unsure of what exactly was going on. Bruce never invited other superheroes into the manor so casually. "So, you're the Flash."
"Guilty," he said with another grin, and Terry couldn't help but notice Bruce get a wistful look on his face at the response.
"Terry, there's someone else I'd like you to meet."
Today, obviously, was not one for chit-chat.
Terry was elected to drive, with the other two in the back talking quietly. Every so often, Bruce began laughing. Really laughing, in a way Terry'd never really heard before. He couldn't help but smile as he took a left at Bruce's command, in between chuckles. But Terry quickly sobered as he saw their destination; the Wayne family cemetery.
Sure to his suspicion, Bart asked him to stop, and he parked alongside the grass outside the wrought iron fence, and watched Bart help Bruce out of the car and up the hill toward where Terry knew Bruce's parents were buried. But it was fall, not June... so that couldn't be who he'd meant.
He followed their slow ascent, where they first stopped at the Wayne's monument, where Bruce laid two roses and paused in silence. Then they walked together, Bart now holding Bruce as much as letting him lean on him, and they stood before another, more modest gravestone.
Wallace Rudolph West
A light upon the world
Still shining
There was a date of birth etched underneath... but no date of death.
"We never really die," Bart said quietly, as if sensing his thoughts. "He isn't really gone."
Bruce nodded beside him, and unsteadily knelt on the ground to lay the rest of the roses in front of the stone.
"He wouldn't let us have a funeral," Bruce said with a little smile. "Made us all promise to throw a party. So we did. Filled the manor up with every cape in the world."
"He was the first Flash?" Terry asked uncertainly.
"No. The second," Bart replied, "my grandfather... he was the first."
"He loved every minute of it. I never knew anyone who loved their lives like Wally did... And how I... loved him." Bruce's voice was cracking as he stood back up, and Terry witnessed yet another thing he'd never seen from the man before; silent tears running down his cheeks. "He was better than any of us. Better than I ever was."
Terry looked back at the gravestone, and finally noticed the carved pattern around the edge was of lightning. He didn't know much about Bruce's earlier life... and apparently, there was a lot more he'd never known.
"What happened?" he finally asked in a low voice.
"He gave his life for us. Saved the world," Bruce whispered. "Took me a long time to... come to terms with that. To finally convince myself... that's what he wanted."
Bart was crying now, too, sniffling and wiping his eyes.
"He was always such a damned hero. So damned reckless," Bruce said with a sad smile. "Drove me nuts. First time I met him... I wanted to punch him in the face." Bruce chuckled at that, shaking his head. "Took me years to see beyond all those stupid jokes and cavalier attitude. Then he saved my life." His face went somber again, and he sighed heavily. "God I miss him."
"Yeah," Bart whispered. "I never really knew my dad... when I first came here, I didn't know anybody. But he took care of me. You and him." Bart squeezed Bruce's hand, and they looked at each other with smiles. "Even if you did scare the hell out of me half the time," he said with a laugh.
Terry frowned a little in thought, before a flash of understanding went through his mind.
"You were lovers."
Bruce nodded.
"Yes. We were," he said. "Back then... I could barely remember my parents anymore. Robin and Nightwing kept me level... but I'd forgotten what I was fighting for. I'd lost my way. And he reminded me."
Terry didn't know what else to say, dumbstruck by the revelation. Bruce walked forward, sliding out of Bart's arm to rest his hand on top of the stone, brushing his fingers across it gently.
"He told me once he wanted to be here. To be close to me." Bruce bowed his head, and another lone tear shone in the light from a lamp post nearby. "Said he already had enough monuments in Central City." He shook his head again. "Wally loved all the fanfare. For a while. Things change."
He patted the stone, then turned away, and they began walking back to the car in silence.
Ten years later...
He woke up on a beach, naked and exhausted.
It was dusk, and the world was draped in deep shadows and the blurry outlines that came just before dark; it mirrored his own confusion.
First he realized, he had no idea where he was; then, that he had no idea how he got there. After that, he couldn't remember any reason he'd be naked.
And finally, he realized that he didn't remember... anything at all.
Someone had left behind a tote-bag... or something like it... where he found a pair of black pants that didn't quite fit right and a gray shirt that hung down to his elbows, and something that looked possibly edible and tasted like candy. No shoes or ideas, but it was a start.
He ran towards light in the distance, and found himself in the middle of a sleek city, all black and neon lights and humming with people on the streets. He slowed to a walk and looked around for some sign of where he was... until he caught sight of a sign above a bank; Gotham City Credit & Loan.
It didn't seem right.
He had a few plastic cards found in the pockets of the pants, which he was hesitant to use... but he didn't see much choice. He used one on get something to eat at a diner, where they thankfully never noticed his feet, then wandered the streets for hours, just watching.
His feet were getting sore, but he had nowhere to go, so he ran up the side of a building overlooking Gazette Square and watched the billboards flash news and advertisements.
"It's not often I get any company up here."
He half turned his head around and blinked as something vaguely familiar tickled his brain. A man in black armour, with bat-ears and a red symbol of a bat on his chest. He spoke through artificial lips and stared at him with white eyes.
"Um... who are you supposed to be?"
"You first, red."
He shrugged and kept one eye on him as he kept his head turned away. He wasn't in the mood, even if he felt awfully strange looking at him, like it should mean something. But the figure didn't leave, it sat next to him and dangled his legs over the 80-story drop just as casually.
"Like I said, not often someone's up this high, there being no exit on the roof," the Bat continued, "so I'm curious as to how you got up here."
"I ran."
"Uh-huh."
He faced him head on and frowned, and the Bat turned and a shocked look managed to cross the armoured face.
"You're Wally West," he said. "But... that's impossible."
"Am I?" He looked back over the cityscape and thought. "Yes, I am."
"But how..?"
"I remember... someone named Savitar. I was running after him, and we ended up in the Speed Force... and then I was here." Wally rubbed his head. "Who are you?"
"I think we should take this somewhere else," the Bat said after a pause. "Here, I'll call for my ride."
He stood, and a black plane unmistakably like a Batwing flew out of the sky and hovered in front of them with it's canopy retracted.
"Get in."
It didn't take long for everything to come back once they'd parked in the Batcave... different, yet so similar... as it was. He didn't need to be told that this new Batman wasn't Bruce, and not that he wasn't curious about all that, but he ran straight upstairs and into the manor.
Still and silent, but not all that different. A little more dust, a few more photographs everywhere.
He stopped at two in particular; the first was an old man receiving some sort of award... and as he looked closer, he realized that man with the cane and the almost awkward smile was Bruce.
The other was him, almost a year ago... or many years now. When his hair was still cut short and he was spending all his time in Central City.
What did that mean?
He turned around as a man around thirty walked up the stairs, with that same black hair and intense blue eyes that seemed to be a constant in the world of the Bat.
"My name is Terry McGinnis, and I'm sure you've figured out who I am now. But... I never thought I'd ever meet you."
"Where's Bruce?" Wally finally asked, setting the photograph down.
"He..." Terry sat down on a sofa and leaned on his knees. "He's dead, Wally."
Wally looked away, out the window and into the darkness, trying to process that. He was in the future, those things... happen. It didn't make it a whole lot easier, especially since he didn't know how he was going to get home yet.
"He... What happened? Did he think... did you all think I was dead?" he asked after a moment. "How did he die?" he whispered.
"They never thought you were really dead, but... you've been gone since before I was even born." Terry sighed. "I always thought he'd go like he deserved to, but it didn't work out that way. It was just after I found out about you, actually... I was out on patrol, and the communications went dead. By the time I got back, he was gone, and there was nothing but a sword sticking out of the computer. And I never heard from him again."
"Ra's Al Ghul," Wally said, turning quickly, "he did it."
"At first I thought it was someone else, I thought I'd killed Ra's and Talia years before... but then the League of Shadows became active and absorbed the League of Assassins, and I kept getting rumours of someone called The Demon's Head, but I could never find them. My sources gave me nothing, and Bruce never kept many records on that, strangely enough."
Wally watched him begin to pace and crossed his arms. He had to set this all right somehow, but... he didn't know how, yet. Yet.
"Now Ra's owns half the world, a benevolent corporate dictator. We've found nothing but legitimate activities and philanthropy... but it can't be right. He's got to be up to something."
"Who's we?"
"Oh." Terry looked up at him a little taken aback by the question. "Well, uh, the Justice League. And... The Flash."
Wally's eyes got a little wider.
"Bart!?"
"Yes, but, could you keep it down a little... my wife's asleep upstairs."
"Your... oh. Yeah." Wally began doing some pacing of his own. "I'll need to find a way to get back. Or at the very least, fix some of this."
"Yes, well... wait." Terry put his hand on Wally's shoulder. "A lot has changed, and well... I'd like to talk to you first."
Wally looked at him curiously, his head cocked to one side.
"Me?"
"Yes, well... I never knew Bruce when he was Batman. And... I never knew a lot of things about him. And I'd like to. Then maybe we can see about getting you back where you belong."
"Oh." Wally's expression softened. The future might look a little dismal right now... but maybe he could spend a little time here first. "Sure."
They stayed up the rest of the night in the kitchen, where Wally got food he could eat from Terry's well-stocked 'fridge, such as it was, and they carefully avoided talking about the future much more. They'd already gotten carried away, but things like that were best left unknown, or at least, that's what people always said about time travel.
Terry already knew about Bruce's adventures with the Justice League, from the current League's records and historical records. But beyond that... Bruce never really discussed it, and a lot had been lost over time.
Wally was all too happy to go on and on about it.
He laughed and recalled story after story, about all the one-liners Bruce used to give in his own dry-witted way, all the amazing saves and times he'd out-thunk pretty much everyone. His favourite story he hadn't been there for, John had told him, and it hadn't been in the records, either; when Bruce went back in time, dressed up like a cowboy, and kicked monumental Western ass.
"And John told me, when they were at the jail, Bruce actually got in a cliche` Clint Eastwood standoff and actually pushed back his coat off his utility belt like he had a gun! Then the other guy draws, and he just grabbed the gun out of his hand and punched him!" Wally almost fell over in laughter, covering his eyes held his aching stomach. "Oh man! He was the best."
Wally's laughed died down and he noticed that Terry had been laughing too, which made him smile even more. He wasn't as... withdrawn as Bruce, he'd been able to have a life even this young, and still do the job. Did any of the League have lives when they first started out? He didn't really think so. It was admirable.
"Okay, so, I really have to know... you two were really... together? I mean... you're nothing like him at all and all the women he's actually told me about weren't, either," Terry finally asked, leaning forward on the table, "I mean, I'm not trying to intrude or anything... or that you're a woman."
Wally laughed again and shook his head.
"For months it was the biggest secret in the League. Over time, the big guys, you know, the original seven all found out, or were told. It wasn't like you could hide much from Superman or Diana... or any of them, really." Wally chuckled a little at a few memories winking through his mind. "We'd fight at meetings, I'd tease him in the cafeteria, he'd ignore me all the time... but then when we were alone... it was so different." Wally sighed and grinned. "He helped me through hard times and taught me a lot, and I did my best to keep him from drowning in all that angst he was so fond of. I guess I did pretty well, he seemed happy, too."
"He told me those were some of the happiest times in his life," Terry affirmed quietly.
Wally blushed and looked down a little.
"I'm glad. He's always so... amazing. Unbelievable. Like his super-power was being awesome. When I first joined the League, I was still just a kid, even though I'd been at the hero gig for seven years. It'd been all I really knew after that, like I left all the years until that point behind in the dust. But he... he was really the best. No matter what happened, if he was there, he'd find a way to win, no matter what we were up against."
Wally sighed a little, and looked over at Terry, who was looking a little awe-struck, too. Bruce had been his mentor, after all. Nobody inspires more in you than a mentor, Wally knew that very well. And Bruce... Bruce awestruck everyone.
"You know... this is great and all... but I'd really like to see how Bart is doing," Wally said, "and if anyone can help get me back... it's him. If he's as good as you say he is now."
"Bart does an amazing job, Wally. You never hear of crime or super-criminals in Central City, he keeps the peace and everyone loves him for it."
"But he never joined the Justice League?"
"No. I never really did, either, but he keeps to himself. With the way the world is these days, I can't really blame him." Terry sighed. "I always thought about the old days, you know, you and the Justice League being like some kind of golden age I'd have loved to be a part of. It seems so much... simpler."
"Well, it wasn't always that simple," Wally replied. "We had our share of troubles, had our scares and times when it seemed like the entire universe was against us. But we got through somehow."
Terry nodded, then pulled a phone out of his pocket, dialed a number, and hung up. Wally gave him a raised eyebrow, but before he could form the question, a gust of wind blew through the front door, and there was... Bart.
He was wearing his old costume, with significant alterations; it was yellow and red, with larger gauntlets that resembled Bruce's without quite the sharp things, and his hair poking out of the open top of the cowl. But he knew those big yellow eyes anywhere.
"Wally?" They caught each other in a hug, leaving more questions aside a moment, Bart almost frantic in his grip that lasted a long time for them. When they finally pulled apart, Bart slipped off the cowl and grinned at him. "I never thought I'd see you again."
"You're so... grown up!" Wally exclaimed, "and you're the Flash now!"
"It's been a long, long time... Where have you been?"
"Lost in the timestream I guess. It's all a little hazy. But..." He marveled at how much older and wiser Bart looked, still retaining an edge of his irreverent youth all the same. "It seems like I just left yesterday, when you were still so little."
"We really have some catching up to do," Bart said, glancing at Terry with a flicker of an unreadable expression. "We need to get you a costume first, we've got a long trip to make and barefoot just isn't going to cut it."
Wally couldn't help like he was missing something, something huge, but he nodded.
"Bruce kept some old uniforms in the cave, I'll go dig them out," Terry offered, and they followed him back through the clock and down into the dark cave.
Wally's body had cooled down from his run, so the cave floor was as chilly as ever, but he tried to ignore it. It wasn't that hard, as he was still reeling from taking in all this new and strange everything.
And Bruce was gone. Nothing seemed right without Bruce, like an anchor to the world wasn't there anymore.
Terry unlocked a dusty box that had been in the storage room, full of Wally's costume rings, two of his Shadow uniforms, and even the white and black uniform he'd worn ever so briefly when he'd been... not himself. Of course Bruce would have kept all of it; he was always sentimental about such things.
"I found all this after... after he vanished," Terry said, "but, take your pick... it's all yours, after all."
"I remember this," Bart said, pulling out the black and red uniform, folded with the gauntlets, boots, and domino mask on top. "Remember that time you scared Green Arrow with it? He barely caught a glimpse of you, and thought some red-eyed demon was haunting the rooftops of Gotham." Bart chuckled. "Bruce never bothered to correct him."
Wally noted that Bart had called him 'Bruce' and not 'Mr. Wayne' with a smirk.
"Yeah, heh. Well, you're the Flash now, Bart... I'll wear this one. I don't know how long I'll be here, but..."
Bart smiled and handed the folded fabric over to him.
"I've done my best Wally, to live up to what you did."
"I'm sure you have, kid." Wally put his hand on Bart's shoulder, then changed quickly into his uniform. "Well Terry, I'm not sure if we'll run into each other again, but I'm glad I met you."
They shook hands and Terry nodded.
"Good luck. I hope you make it back home, and prove history wrong."
Wally just grinned. Beating the odds was what he did best.
"Okay Bart, lead the way."
They ran straight out over the Atlantic, and hit the edge of the Gobi desert, where Bart stopped and turned to him with a serious look in his eyes. There was some sort of stone compound in the distance, their apparent destination, for reasons Wally couldn't see yet.
"Before we go any further, you need to know something."
"What?"
"We're... going to see someone."
"Who?"
"The Demon's Head."
"What? Isn't he the bad guy?"
"Well... you have to understand..."
"Understand what?!? He killed Bruce!"
"Wally, wait!"
But he didn't.
He ran toward the compound, past black-clad ninja guards who never even saw him pass, and all through the building teeming with more of the same, with Bart strangely not following him.
Ra's killed Bruce. That's all he needed to know. If they didn't find a way to change things... if altering things was wrong... he still wanted justice.
Revenge.
Wally criss-crossed the entire complex before he finally found what appeared to be the lair of the Demon, separate from the rest, grander, and set about with ceremonial guards.
He passed them all and headed straight for what appeared to be a study or office in some immortal-tyrant kind of way, where he found who he was looking for; a black-haired man with a white streak in his hair, wearing brown pants and boots and a white shirt with full sleeves, tucked into a black belt slung across his waist. He had his back to Wally, and appeared to be leafing through a book.
"I want you to know, you'll never get away with killing Bruce Wayne," Wally said threateningly, narrowing his eyes at the figure that froze, not turning around as he slowly replaced the book he'd been looking at on the shelf, and leaned on the oak bookcase heavily. "Look at me, you!" Wally ordered, reaching out his arm with an accusatory finger pointed rigidly.
"It can't be you," the man finally whispered. "You're gone. You never came back."
"Well, I just did," he said with a frown. "And you've got a lot to answer for."
"You don't understand, Wally." The man turned, and Wally gasped.
It wasn't Ra's al Ghul who faced him; it was Bruce.
He was older looking, sure, but not nearly as old as those photographs, still obviously fit under his clothing and his face still free of obvious signs of age; well, except for the white streak.
"How... you... but... he..." Wally stammered in slack-jawed dumbfoundedness.
"You've been gone a very, very long time Wally," Bruce said, with a crack in his stoic, unmistakable baritone voice.
"I don't understand," Wally whispered.
Bruce stepped forward and lovingly put a hand on Wally's cheek, swallowing hard.
"It's really you," they finally said at once.
"I lost hope a long time ago," Bruce said quietly.
"It's like I just saw you yesterday..." Wally replied breathlessly, "what happened?"
"I'll tell you everything, I swear. And I wish..." Bruce trailed off and pushed a lock of Wally's hair behind his ear, then gently pulled off the domino mask, gazing into his eyes with a sad smile. "I need your help, Wally."
Still Shining by
yazzle
no subject
on 2006-07-07 05:07 am (UTC)