A Flash by Any Other Name
May. 17th, 2006 08:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shankieThe plot thins, vigilante-style... and Bruce gets a warm welcome-home.
Part Twenty-Five: The Tangled Web
'Holy cripes, holy cripes...' Wally paced along the stone floor, and the random thought that he might wear a path in it flitted through his mind, crossing over with the revelation; the man who'd been his deadliest enemy, who may or may not have caused Barry to disappear into the future and out of his life, was Bart's family.
And by extension, his.
Dick must have figured what he was thinking, because he was giving Wally a concerned look as he glanced up from his work at the computer now and then. Bart was looking at all the display cases with Tim, and still hadn't figured out this was Batman's lair. Undoubtedly he would eventually, once he wasn't distracted and his brain began putting together the obvious.
Barbara walked down the stairs just then, looking around, then spotted Bart and sighed with a look of frustration; at herself, no doubt. Whatever.
"Holy shit." Wally looked up as Dick uttered an unbelieving oath at the computer screen.
"What is it?" He asked, running up behind the chair and gripping the leather as he saw what Dick was on about.
"I've been bringing in surveillance camera footage from the highways and gas stations between the city and the manor on the night of Vesper's death..."
A grainy still, enhanced several times from a camera on top of the Sprang Bridge that Wally never even knew was there, showed a dark sedan with tinted windows. A man in a black suit and top-hat was in the passenger side, holding a white-tipped cane.
"The Shade... but..."
"Dead. I know. Richard Swift is an immortal, Wally. Never count them out." He said with the air of a man long frustrated by the instability of confirming anything when it came to the super-human. "It makes sense. He could have easily caused the blackout, and since magic isn't exactly something we mere mortals can detect..."
"So Shade killed Vesper?" Wally asked with a frown.
"He's not driving. I'll bet whoever is was our killer."
Dick ran the screen ahead a few frames, until the license plate on the car was visible, then ran it through the system, tapping on the console impatiently. By then, the rest had crowded around the screen, Bart zipping around behind them, jumping around in an attempt to get a better look.
"Oh no." Dick whispered as the computer popped up a file for some Gotham muscle named Tony Star. "Bruce is going to totally lose it."
"What? What's going on?" Bart asked impatiently, but they all ignored him.
Dick turned the chair around, gripping his hands together and looking right at Tim, who had a similar expression of shocked disbelief.
"Tony Star's also known as Fat Tony... he was one of Two-Face's thugs before Dent threw him in the harbour six months ago." Tim said quietly.
"Wait... so... That's it, right? Two-Face killed Vesper? So let's go find him!" Wally said. "Right?"
"Bruce is going to be crushed." Barbara said quietly.
"Am I missing something here?" Wally said, looking at their faces, perplexed by their crestfallen expressions.
"Harvey Dent isn't just another one of Batman's rogues, Wally." Tim finally said, looking him in the eye. "He killed my father. And he used to be Bruce's best friend."
"Oh god." Wally sat up on the console and ran his hand through his hair.
"Someone needs to tell him now, before we bring him in. If we can even find any evidence to link him to the crime... but this is a start." Dick said. "Wally... do you think you can break into Stonegate?"
"I can." Bart said half-heartly.
Wally just gave him a neutral look.
"No... I should go." Wally said. "You're right, Dick."
He jumped off the console and ran over to the display cases of costumes, lit up like shrines along the wall, running his finger over Batman's costume slowly. The faceless form's empty eyes seemed to look right through him, as if Bruce's spirit was still inside, watching them all silently. In judgement.
"I can do it, but not as The Flash." He said finally.
Wally turned back to the others, who were already pulling off their civilian clothing, revealing uniforms underneath. Bart was watching it all silently. Dick fastened his hair into a ponytail behind him, then nodded. He walked over to the supply room, re-emerging with an unlabeled box.
"Bruce whipped this up for you before all that stuff. While you weren't talking. Never said why... but I think it was in the hopes it'd draw you back somehow." He handed the box to Wally, who opened it to find black and red fabric, with a little comm-link earpiece sitting on top. "Change. I'll give you blueprints and what you'll need to know to get in and out unseen. While you're doing that, we'll do what we can to track down Two-Face, if he's even still in Gotham... unless he's under that nano-spell pretty hard, he will be."
Wally nodded, then ran into the stainless-steel appointed locker room of the cave. He'd been in here once before. He changed quickly, then looked at his reflection in the long mirror on the wall in amazement.
The costume was black with red appointments that mimicked the lightning bolts on his own costume stylistically, but the symbol on the front was a mere outline, only a hint of the Flash logo. There was no cowl, but a black domino-mask with red eyes that somehow didn't change the light coming through. A note on the bottom of the box told him it had night-vision that would be activated by pressing the left corner, which he tested, and made everything go bright and green.
He didn't look like Flash, or Wally, but like some shadowy version of both and neither, with his hair uncovered and the colour on the costume vanishing when he moved out of the light. It was something that only Bruce would have imagined him clad in, a thought that made the second skin more comfortable. He remembered how the black and white costume somehow seemed more fitting to Gotham, and thought this one was genuinely so. Like a message from Bruce that Wally had become part of his world.
He ran back outside, posing with arms akimbo for Nightwing, who was wearing his own uniform.
"How do I look?" He asked, managing a grin.
"Like a rogue's gallery's worst nightmare." He deadpanned with a smirk.
Batgirl and Robin had already disappeared in a roar of Batcycle engines, and Dick showed him plans of Stonegate, pointing out the easiest route in, and handing him a set of keys that would unlock the doors along the way.
"You'll have to be faster than the security cameras can pick up, can you do that?"
Wally nodded, tucking the keys in a pocket hidden in the red gauntlets.
"When you're back out, radio us with that com; it's one of ours, and taps into the Justice League frequency as well as Batman's." Dick said, pointing out how to use each one.
"I want to help." Bart said forlornly.
Wally and Dick looked at him, then each other.
"It's up to you, man." Wally said.
"We'll see." Dick said noncommittally. "Now, go."
Stonegate was located on a small island south of Gotham proper; Stonegate Isle. There was an ominous bridge leading to it, with a guard station on a tiny patch of land halfway across. Wally chose to avoid both the city and the bridge entirely, running over the cold black water in an arc, and coming to a stop underneath an abandoned dock that had seen better days, peering up at the prison through where a board was missing. It looked like how he supposed a fortress in Hades would, so black that it was like a hulking shadow, with the lights of the city beyond.
He could see guards moving in towers and along the high wall topped with bundles of razor wire; his way in was going to take him right over it.
Wally watched the guards' movements for several minutes, making out their pattern, choosing the right moment to run up the side of the stone wall and just barely clear the barbs clawing wickedly underneath. He hit the ground and kept running, into a shadow alongside the building, making for a side entrance Dick had informed him would open in thirty seconds for a guard shift change. He was keeping time in his head, which, when he tried, came naturally, like being able to judge his velocity.
He whooshed past a patrol who exited right on time, and didn't let himself pause as he made his way through the maze of bars and concrete. Twenty seconds, and he was at the second tier of Bruce's cellblock, opening and shutting his door with all the stealth he could muster.
Wally took a moment to inhale and exhale a few times, shaking off the stress of covert incursion; something he wasn't all that familiar with. It had a tension and state of mind quite different from his usual call of duty.
"Wally?" Bruce whispered.
He was standing under the window, underneath the glow of the Batsignal in the sky, which illuminated the outline of his face faintly in the dark.
Wally's heart jumped, and he couldn't stop himself from running and grabbing Bruce in his arms, capturing any more questions in desperate kisses. He tasted sweeter than chocolate or coffee with thirty-seven sugars, and Wally licked the inside of his mouth as their tongues tangled hotly.
Wally found himself being turned around and pressed against the cold concrete wall in the shadowy corner, swept up in a strong embrace he'd so longed to feel again, wrapping his legs around Bruce's waist, not stopping the contact of lips and roaming hands.
For long, wonderful minutes, he could forget why he was here, and where they were at all.
But Bruce finally pulled his face back, and Wally leaned his against the hard wall, smiling like the kid who'd just gotten everything he'd ever wanted for Christmas.
"What are you doing here?" Bruce finally said, in barely a whisper.
"I... damn it." Wally muttered, letting himself down and giving Bruce another brush of a kiss before pulling away and taking on a serious tone. "We know who killed Vesper, wanted you to know before you found out from someone else."
The light in the window reflected a hard look in Bruce's eyes, and Wally swallowed.
"It was Two-Face. Shade got him in... they're looking for him now."
"How do you know?"
"Highway monitoring cam."
Bruce began pacing the short distance he could silently. He wanted to get out and help them, Wally knew. And for a moment there, he was tempted to take him out when he left... but they both knew that wasn't a good idea. At least, Wally hoped Bruce realized that.
"I know he was your friend. Dick told me."
Bruce turned to him at that.
"He isn't anymore. For all my efforts, I failed him." Bruce's voice was stoic, but betrayed a current of emotion running underneath.
He stepped back towards Wally and traced his face with a bare, soft brush of his index finger, looking haunted. Wally didn't know what to say to that, so he just gave him a sad little smile, then buried his face in Bruce's neck, wrapping his arms tight around his waist. Slowly, Bruce put his hands on Wally's back, stroking his spine.
"You have to go." Bruce finally said quietly.
"I know. Give me a minute." Even in relative time, it didn't seem like nearly enough time spent together.
He could only tell himself that soon, very soon, they'd have all the time in the world.
"The uniform looks good on you." Bruce murmured.
"I had a good tailor." Wally said with a smile.
Time was ticking by, and Wally calculated that his next window to exit would be in a little over forty seconds. He gave Bruce another deep kiss, trying to convey everything he felt in the brief contact.
"Good luck." Bruce said.
Wally grinned, then vanished back through the labyrinth and out under the chilly night sky.
"Nightwing, talked to B, what's your location?"
"Old Gotham, the address is..."
Dick didn't finish his sentence before Wally was standing next to him, looking down on a run-down factory that despite being boarded up and being labeled "Condemned" had slivers of light coming from the top floor.
"Mind control or not, this one sticks to his habits." Dick pointed at a barely-visible set of painted letters on one of the brick walls; "Twin City Steel, Inc."
"What's the plan?"
"Robin's inside scouting, Batgirl's on her way. We'll wait for her, and his report, then move in."
"Fantastic. Waiting." Wally crouched on the edge next to Dick, who was looking around with a pair of high-tech binocular things.
"It's half the job." Dick replied, without a trace of sympathy.
"Where's the kid?"
"In the cave. Convinced him that "helping" Alfred would be more useful than coming out."
"Mm."
"I'm in; three goons, armed, and pukeface, too." Tim's voice came in over the earpiece, hushed in whispers.
"Batgirl, ETA?"
"Right here." She said from behind them as she landed on the roof soundlessly.
"We're going in. Batgirl and I will flank, and... what do you want to be called out here?" Dick looked at Wally expectantly.
"Uh..." 'Dark Lightning? No... Viper? Heh, no, no... Darkbolt? Hm... Too close to "nuts and..." What about...' "Shadow."
"Works for me. Robin opened up the back door on the other side. On my signal, go in, disarm them, and keep to your new namesake. Watch out for Two-Face. He's always got something up his sleeve."
"Got it."
Wally stayed behind as the other two leaped down and slipped into the building, tensely waiting for his cue. They worked quick, and it wasn't long before Dick was whispering "S, go!" in his ear.
He ran down to the ground, whipping around the side of the looming structure to the back door that was, just as he said, open and moving in the breeze with a squeak. In relative time, the three Bats were in midair leaping to strike on three beefy guys in disheveled suits playing cards and smoking, their weapons leaning against their chairs or slung across their laps. Two-Face was at an ancient desk, with his feet propped up on peeling veneer, two handguns sitting in front of him as he read a book on chess strategy.
Wally plucked up all the visible firearms, and a couple knives for good measure, tossing them over the railing and down into an empty processing vat that had seen better days. Before they'd even blinked, he did his work, then ran up to an overhead catwalk and hunched over in a dark spot, keeping his eye on Dent.
Batgirl and Robin took down the surprised-looking muscle, who were off-put by reaching for their now absent guns, and thus totally unprepared for the hard and fast takedowns. Dick went right for Two-Face, similarly startled, who clutched something in his right hand and just looked straight at Nightwing's sleek attack before landing in an ungraceful heap on top of his overturned chair.
Wally never got tired of watching the incredible fighting style of Batman, even through his protoge`s. He suspected that they wouldn't have needed his help at all. In fact, he was sure.
Nightwing was menacing Two-Face, who tried to flip a coin in the air; Dick just snatched it up and tossed it up to Wally, who caught it with a grin. It was a silver dollar, with one side covered in deep scratches. He flipped it through his fingers as he tried to listen to the harsh responses that Dick's interrogation was getting.
None of it was clearly audible, until they started yelling.
"Harvey can't decide! Can't decide!" His voice was desperate, wavering back and forth from rough to panicked.
"I'm choosing for you, big guy. You know what you did, and you deserve to be punished."
"No! I mean, yes! I don't know!"
"You do, Two-Face! Where's the fair play in an innocent man taking the heat for your actions?"
"Fair play! Yes..!" He began speaking in low tones again, Nightwing still holding his collar tight where it split from it's black half to it's white half, wrinkled together in his fist. "My coin!"
"N, I've got an idea. This guy plays off the flip of that coin, right? Scarred side means bad, smooth side is doing the right thing?" Wally said quietly. Dick nodded almost imperceptibly. "Ok, play along, I've got it."
Wally flipped the coin down to Robin, who was hanging back, finished with the work of binding the goons. He carried it over to Nightwing, who handed it to Two-Face and let him sit up.
It flipped in the air, and just before it landed, Wally ran over and made sure the smooth side faced up, whisking back out of sight before any of them knew he'd passed; except for the little gust of wind that could have just been a draft... He was grinning as Two-Face conceded to give a full confession, rather pleased with his cleverness.
Nightwing bound him to his now righted chair, rolling him onto an empty space on the floor; the villain looked defeated but surprisingly calm, clutching at the silver in his hands again.
"Batgirl, call Gordon. Our work is done here."
* * *
Bruce stepped into the bright afternoon sun of freedom, Dick and Alfred on either side of him as they made their way through a crowd of paparazzi flanking with flashbulbs and cries for comments. Gordon and Lucius were following, addressing the questions for him in their firm, concise way.
More people in his life to be grateful for.
Alfred slipped in the driver's seat of the black Rolls while he and Dick ducked into the back, and they sped away from the chaos of people and onto the quiet street toward home.
"Well, thank goodness that was quick." Dick said, slouching back against the leather seat and throwing his arm casually over the door's armrest.
"You're surprised? The department wrongfully arrested and imprisoned the city's largest benefactor and employer. They couldn't release Bruce Wayne fast enough, or with enough apology." Bruce said absently, looking out the window at the passing scenery of buildings and pedestrians.
"I really hate it when you refer to yourself in the third person." Dick said, rolling his eyes.
Bruce smirked. Dick knew exactly what he meant, but seemed to enjoy acting otherwise constantly. Right now he wasn't Wayne, or Batman; just a man. Himself, perhaps. He smiled out the window as they crossed over the water and the landscape became that of trees and coastline.
When Alfred pulled up to the Manor, Bruce got out, but Alfred and Dick didn't. He leaned back in with a questioning look at Dick, who just smiled knowingly.
"We've to some errands to run. Go have fun. We'll be back... later." Dick waved, then leaned over and pulled the door closed in Bruce's face.
They drove off, leaving Bruce looking after them with a raised eyebrow.
The front door was unlocked, raising further suspicion as he walked inside silently, stalking through the first floor and finding only tidy emptiness.
Upstairs, he heard the strains of jazz playing quietly behind his closed office door. He cautiously approached, pressing his ear to the wood before backing up and turning the knob. The music was louder, but still soft, as he swung the door open and stepped inside.
Wally was draped languidly over his desk, batting the the steel collision balls in front of him with one hand, the other arm stretched out over his side. He had a wicked glint in his eyes and a come-hither smile on his lips.
It took Bruce a moment to register what he was wearing; a black leather collar on his neck, with the silver buckle nestled under his chin, a slinky red satin slip under a familiar black corset, with the edge of the skirt riding up high on his smooth thighs.
He cocked his head up curiously at Bruce, drawing up his knees and licking his lips slowly.
"Welcome home, Bruce."
Bruce just stood there with his mouth hanging open and his pulse rising rapidly.
Wally crawled off the desk and walked over like he was stalking prey, then began licking Bruce's ear and tugging off his jacket, which fell in a heap on the floor.
"Nothing to say?" Wally purred, nuzzling his way over Bruce's face with his own.
Bruce finally found motor function again, lifting Wally up with one hand cradling the firm, giving flesh and pushing him back on the desk, sending the toy he'd been playing with and a pile of papers onto the floor.
Wally began nibbling Bruce's lips as he undid the buttons on his shirt, his breath hot over his mouth.
He couldn't find a single thing to say, opting instead to vocalize growls of pleasure. He hastened the work of undressing by ripping off the shirt, sending buttons bouncing in every direction, leaning in to become the predator, nipping along Wally's neck as he slid his hands along Wally's hips, pushing back the fabric in favour of growing arousal.
The bites produced helpless moans as Wally became pliable in his grasp. He grabbed the strap of the slip in his teeth, tearing it in half and feeling a hummingbird-fast heartbeat thrumming in Wally's chest as his skin became even warmer, burning like a furnace.
He thought about taking this to a more comfortable venue, then changed his mind, instead picking up Wally again and throwing him onto the padded window-seat overlooking the gardens. He tore off his slacks and the silk boxers underneath as he approached his lover, still laying back where he'd landed, his emerald eyes dilating and darkening, looking both helpless and powerful at the same time as he ground his heels into the blue cushions and parted his flushed lips ever so slightly. The red and black made his skin glow pale against it's contrast.
Bruce hovered over him, without contact for a moment, just amazed and enchanted by the sunlight playing over his face.
"God you're beautiful." He finally said in a husky breath.
"Beautiful?" Wally said with a playful grin, reaching up to caress his scarred chest.
Bruce just began biting around the warm leather again, propping himself up with one hand and a bent knee running along Wally's hip, his other hand stroking the erection rising out of a nest of soft curling hairs. Wally moaned gently, arching against the cushions and fluttering his eyelids.
"Beautiful." He whispered into Wally's ear, before sucking on soft lobe, his teeth catching against a small earring that tasted metallic on his tongue.
"Oh Bruce..." Wally breathed, "Bruce, please..."
"Please what?" He rumbled, his hand making it's way under Wally's ass, lifting him up slightly.
He ran his teeth over Wally's chest, nipping at his nipples ever so gently through bunching satin, producing little gasps that made him grin through his exploration.
"Make me... I'm... yours..." Wally managed through sharp intakes of breath.
His mouth was still open slightly, and Bruce grabbed the lips in his teeth before kissing him fiercely. They began moving together, hands clasping together, fingers weaving around hot, firm arousal, rocking increasingly arrhythmically as sensation began flowering out through his body.
Wally's skin was smooth and slick under him, a burning addiction that Bruce couldn't get enough of.
As they came, Wally curled up against him, screaming his name until he was hoarse, and Bruce let go with a victorious, wordless cry, before collapsing on his lean body, just feeling pleasure wash over him in triumphant waves.
Wally was sighing under him, his eyes closed and a loose smile on his face. Bruce brushed a few locks of red hair that had become trapped by sweat, then kissed his forehead and began stroking the smooth steel-boned cage absently.
"You're mine." He said with deep intonation.
"Mmmm." Wally murmured. "Yours."
* * *
A drawing of Wally as Shadow by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yazzle
Part Twenty-Five: The Tangled Web
'Holy cripes, holy cripes...' Wally paced along the stone floor, and the random thought that he might wear a path in it flitted through his mind, crossing over with the revelation; the man who'd been his deadliest enemy, who may or may not have caused Barry to disappear into the future and out of his life, was Bart's family.
And by extension, his.
Dick must have figured what he was thinking, because he was giving Wally a concerned look as he glanced up from his work at the computer now and then. Bart was looking at all the display cases with Tim, and still hadn't figured out this was Batman's lair. Undoubtedly he would eventually, once he wasn't distracted and his brain began putting together the obvious.
Barbara walked down the stairs just then, looking around, then spotted Bart and sighed with a look of frustration; at herself, no doubt. Whatever.
"Holy shit." Wally looked up as Dick uttered an unbelieving oath at the computer screen.
"What is it?" He asked, running up behind the chair and gripping the leather as he saw what Dick was on about.
"I've been bringing in surveillance camera footage from the highways and gas stations between the city and the manor on the night of Vesper's death..."
A grainy still, enhanced several times from a camera on top of the Sprang Bridge that Wally never even knew was there, showed a dark sedan with tinted windows. A man in a black suit and top-hat was in the passenger side, holding a white-tipped cane.
"The Shade... but..."
"Dead. I know. Richard Swift is an immortal, Wally. Never count them out." He said with the air of a man long frustrated by the instability of confirming anything when it came to the super-human. "It makes sense. He could have easily caused the blackout, and since magic isn't exactly something we mere mortals can detect..."
"So Shade killed Vesper?" Wally asked with a frown.
"He's not driving. I'll bet whoever is was our killer."
Dick ran the screen ahead a few frames, until the license plate on the car was visible, then ran it through the system, tapping on the console impatiently. By then, the rest had crowded around the screen, Bart zipping around behind them, jumping around in an attempt to get a better look.
"Oh no." Dick whispered as the computer popped up a file for some Gotham muscle named Tony Star. "Bruce is going to totally lose it."
"What? What's going on?" Bart asked impatiently, but they all ignored him.
Dick turned the chair around, gripping his hands together and looking right at Tim, who had a similar expression of shocked disbelief.
"Tony Star's also known as Fat Tony... he was one of Two-Face's thugs before Dent threw him in the harbour six months ago." Tim said quietly.
"Wait... so... That's it, right? Two-Face killed Vesper? So let's go find him!" Wally said. "Right?"
"Bruce is going to be crushed." Barbara said quietly.
"Am I missing something here?" Wally said, looking at their faces, perplexed by their crestfallen expressions.
"Harvey Dent isn't just another one of Batman's rogues, Wally." Tim finally said, looking him in the eye. "He killed my father. And he used to be Bruce's best friend."
"Oh god." Wally sat up on the console and ran his hand through his hair.
"Someone needs to tell him now, before we bring him in. If we can even find any evidence to link him to the crime... but this is a start." Dick said. "Wally... do you think you can break into Stonegate?"
"I can." Bart said half-heartly.
Wally just gave him a neutral look.
"No... I should go." Wally said. "You're right, Dick."
He jumped off the console and ran over to the display cases of costumes, lit up like shrines along the wall, running his finger over Batman's costume slowly. The faceless form's empty eyes seemed to look right through him, as if Bruce's spirit was still inside, watching them all silently. In judgement.
"I can do it, but not as The Flash." He said finally.
Wally turned back to the others, who were already pulling off their civilian clothing, revealing uniforms underneath. Bart was watching it all silently. Dick fastened his hair into a ponytail behind him, then nodded. He walked over to the supply room, re-emerging with an unlabeled box.
"Bruce whipped this up for you before all that stuff. While you weren't talking. Never said why... but I think it was in the hopes it'd draw you back somehow." He handed the box to Wally, who opened it to find black and red fabric, with a little comm-link earpiece sitting on top. "Change. I'll give you blueprints and what you'll need to know to get in and out unseen. While you're doing that, we'll do what we can to track down Two-Face, if he's even still in Gotham... unless he's under that nano-spell pretty hard, he will be."
Wally nodded, then ran into the stainless-steel appointed locker room of the cave. He'd been in here once before. He changed quickly, then looked at his reflection in the long mirror on the wall in amazement.
The costume was black with red appointments that mimicked the lightning bolts on his own costume stylistically, but the symbol on the front was a mere outline, only a hint of the Flash logo. There was no cowl, but a black domino-mask with red eyes that somehow didn't change the light coming through. A note on the bottom of the box told him it had night-vision that would be activated by pressing the left corner, which he tested, and made everything go bright and green.
He didn't look like Flash, or Wally, but like some shadowy version of both and neither, with his hair uncovered and the colour on the costume vanishing when he moved out of the light. It was something that only Bruce would have imagined him clad in, a thought that made the second skin more comfortable. He remembered how the black and white costume somehow seemed more fitting to Gotham, and thought this one was genuinely so. Like a message from Bruce that Wally had become part of his world.
He ran back outside, posing with arms akimbo for Nightwing, who was wearing his own uniform.
"How do I look?" He asked, managing a grin.
"Like a rogue's gallery's worst nightmare." He deadpanned with a smirk.
Batgirl and Robin had already disappeared in a roar of Batcycle engines, and Dick showed him plans of Stonegate, pointing out the easiest route in, and handing him a set of keys that would unlock the doors along the way.
"You'll have to be faster than the security cameras can pick up, can you do that?"
Wally nodded, tucking the keys in a pocket hidden in the red gauntlets.
"When you're back out, radio us with that com; it's one of ours, and taps into the Justice League frequency as well as Batman's." Dick said, pointing out how to use each one.
"I want to help." Bart said forlornly.
Wally and Dick looked at him, then each other.
"It's up to you, man." Wally said.
"We'll see." Dick said noncommittally. "Now, go."
Stonegate was located on a small island south of Gotham proper; Stonegate Isle. There was an ominous bridge leading to it, with a guard station on a tiny patch of land halfway across. Wally chose to avoid both the city and the bridge entirely, running over the cold black water in an arc, and coming to a stop underneath an abandoned dock that had seen better days, peering up at the prison through where a board was missing. It looked like how he supposed a fortress in Hades would, so black that it was like a hulking shadow, with the lights of the city beyond.
He could see guards moving in towers and along the high wall topped with bundles of razor wire; his way in was going to take him right over it.
Wally watched the guards' movements for several minutes, making out their pattern, choosing the right moment to run up the side of the stone wall and just barely clear the barbs clawing wickedly underneath. He hit the ground and kept running, into a shadow alongside the building, making for a side entrance Dick had informed him would open in thirty seconds for a guard shift change. He was keeping time in his head, which, when he tried, came naturally, like being able to judge his velocity.
He whooshed past a patrol who exited right on time, and didn't let himself pause as he made his way through the maze of bars and concrete. Twenty seconds, and he was at the second tier of Bruce's cellblock, opening and shutting his door with all the stealth he could muster.
Wally took a moment to inhale and exhale a few times, shaking off the stress of covert incursion; something he wasn't all that familiar with. It had a tension and state of mind quite different from his usual call of duty.
"Wally?" Bruce whispered.
He was standing under the window, underneath the glow of the Batsignal in the sky, which illuminated the outline of his face faintly in the dark.
Wally's heart jumped, and he couldn't stop himself from running and grabbing Bruce in his arms, capturing any more questions in desperate kisses. He tasted sweeter than chocolate or coffee with thirty-seven sugars, and Wally licked the inside of his mouth as their tongues tangled hotly.
Wally found himself being turned around and pressed against the cold concrete wall in the shadowy corner, swept up in a strong embrace he'd so longed to feel again, wrapping his legs around Bruce's waist, not stopping the contact of lips and roaming hands.
For long, wonderful minutes, he could forget why he was here, and where they were at all.
But Bruce finally pulled his face back, and Wally leaned his against the hard wall, smiling like the kid who'd just gotten everything he'd ever wanted for Christmas.
"What are you doing here?" Bruce finally said, in barely a whisper.
"I... damn it." Wally muttered, letting himself down and giving Bruce another brush of a kiss before pulling away and taking on a serious tone. "We know who killed Vesper, wanted you to know before you found out from someone else."
The light in the window reflected a hard look in Bruce's eyes, and Wally swallowed.
"It was Two-Face. Shade got him in... they're looking for him now."
"How do you know?"
"Highway monitoring cam."
Bruce began pacing the short distance he could silently. He wanted to get out and help them, Wally knew. And for a moment there, he was tempted to take him out when he left... but they both knew that wasn't a good idea. At least, Wally hoped Bruce realized that.
"I know he was your friend. Dick told me."
Bruce turned to him at that.
"He isn't anymore. For all my efforts, I failed him." Bruce's voice was stoic, but betrayed a current of emotion running underneath.
He stepped back towards Wally and traced his face with a bare, soft brush of his index finger, looking haunted. Wally didn't know what to say to that, so he just gave him a sad little smile, then buried his face in Bruce's neck, wrapping his arms tight around his waist. Slowly, Bruce put his hands on Wally's back, stroking his spine.
"You have to go." Bruce finally said quietly.
"I know. Give me a minute." Even in relative time, it didn't seem like nearly enough time spent together.
He could only tell himself that soon, very soon, they'd have all the time in the world.
"The uniform looks good on you." Bruce murmured.
"I had a good tailor." Wally said with a smile.
Time was ticking by, and Wally calculated that his next window to exit would be in a little over forty seconds. He gave Bruce another deep kiss, trying to convey everything he felt in the brief contact.
"Good luck." Bruce said.
Wally grinned, then vanished back through the labyrinth and out under the chilly night sky.
"Nightwing, talked to B, what's your location?"
"Old Gotham, the address is..."
Dick didn't finish his sentence before Wally was standing next to him, looking down on a run-down factory that despite being boarded up and being labeled "Condemned" had slivers of light coming from the top floor.
"Mind control or not, this one sticks to his habits." Dick pointed at a barely-visible set of painted letters on one of the brick walls; "Twin City Steel, Inc."
"What's the plan?"
"Robin's inside scouting, Batgirl's on her way. We'll wait for her, and his report, then move in."
"Fantastic. Waiting." Wally crouched on the edge next to Dick, who was looking around with a pair of high-tech binocular things.
"It's half the job." Dick replied, without a trace of sympathy.
"Where's the kid?"
"In the cave. Convinced him that "helping" Alfred would be more useful than coming out."
"Mm."
"I'm in; three goons, armed, and pukeface, too." Tim's voice came in over the earpiece, hushed in whispers.
"Batgirl, ETA?"
"Right here." She said from behind them as she landed on the roof soundlessly.
"We're going in. Batgirl and I will flank, and... what do you want to be called out here?" Dick looked at Wally expectantly.
"Uh..." 'Dark Lightning? No... Viper? Heh, no, no... Darkbolt? Hm... Too close to "nuts and..." What about...' "Shadow."
"Works for me. Robin opened up the back door on the other side. On my signal, go in, disarm them, and keep to your new namesake. Watch out for Two-Face. He's always got something up his sleeve."
"Got it."
Wally stayed behind as the other two leaped down and slipped into the building, tensely waiting for his cue. They worked quick, and it wasn't long before Dick was whispering "S, go!" in his ear.
He ran down to the ground, whipping around the side of the looming structure to the back door that was, just as he said, open and moving in the breeze with a squeak. In relative time, the three Bats were in midair leaping to strike on three beefy guys in disheveled suits playing cards and smoking, their weapons leaning against their chairs or slung across their laps. Two-Face was at an ancient desk, with his feet propped up on peeling veneer, two handguns sitting in front of him as he read a book on chess strategy.
Wally plucked up all the visible firearms, and a couple knives for good measure, tossing them over the railing and down into an empty processing vat that had seen better days. Before they'd even blinked, he did his work, then ran up to an overhead catwalk and hunched over in a dark spot, keeping his eye on Dent.
Batgirl and Robin took down the surprised-looking muscle, who were off-put by reaching for their now absent guns, and thus totally unprepared for the hard and fast takedowns. Dick went right for Two-Face, similarly startled, who clutched something in his right hand and just looked straight at Nightwing's sleek attack before landing in an ungraceful heap on top of his overturned chair.
Wally never got tired of watching the incredible fighting style of Batman, even through his protoge`s. He suspected that they wouldn't have needed his help at all. In fact, he was sure.
Nightwing was menacing Two-Face, who tried to flip a coin in the air; Dick just snatched it up and tossed it up to Wally, who caught it with a grin. It was a silver dollar, with one side covered in deep scratches. He flipped it through his fingers as he tried to listen to the harsh responses that Dick's interrogation was getting.
None of it was clearly audible, until they started yelling.
"Harvey can't decide! Can't decide!" His voice was desperate, wavering back and forth from rough to panicked.
"I'm choosing for you, big guy. You know what you did, and you deserve to be punished."
"No! I mean, yes! I don't know!"
"You do, Two-Face! Where's the fair play in an innocent man taking the heat for your actions?"
"Fair play! Yes..!" He began speaking in low tones again, Nightwing still holding his collar tight where it split from it's black half to it's white half, wrinkled together in his fist. "My coin!"
"N, I've got an idea. This guy plays off the flip of that coin, right? Scarred side means bad, smooth side is doing the right thing?" Wally said quietly. Dick nodded almost imperceptibly. "Ok, play along, I've got it."
Wally flipped the coin down to Robin, who was hanging back, finished with the work of binding the goons. He carried it over to Nightwing, who handed it to Two-Face and let him sit up.
It flipped in the air, and just before it landed, Wally ran over and made sure the smooth side faced up, whisking back out of sight before any of them knew he'd passed; except for the little gust of wind that could have just been a draft... He was grinning as Two-Face conceded to give a full confession, rather pleased with his cleverness.
Nightwing bound him to his now righted chair, rolling him onto an empty space on the floor; the villain looked defeated but surprisingly calm, clutching at the silver in his hands again.
"Batgirl, call Gordon. Our work is done here."
* * *
Bruce stepped into the bright afternoon sun of freedom, Dick and Alfred on either side of him as they made their way through a crowd of paparazzi flanking with flashbulbs and cries for comments. Gordon and Lucius were following, addressing the questions for him in their firm, concise way.
More people in his life to be grateful for.
Alfred slipped in the driver's seat of the black Rolls while he and Dick ducked into the back, and they sped away from the chaos of people and onto the quiet street toward home.
"Well, thank goodness that was quick." Dick said, slouching back against the leather seat and throwing his arm casually over the door's armrest.
"You're surprised? The department wrongfully arrested and imprisoned the city's largest benefactor and employer. They couldn't release Bruce Wayne fast enough, or with enough apology." Bruce said absently, looking out the window at the passing scenery of buildings and pedestrians.
"I really hate it when you refer to yourself in the third person." Dick said, rolling his eyes.
Bruce smirked. Dick knew exactly what he meant, but seemed to enjoy acting otherwise constantly. Right now he wasn't Wayne, or Batman; just a man. Himself, perhaps. He smiled out the window as they crossed over the water and the landscape became that of trees and coastline.
When Alfred pulled up to the Manor, Bruce got out, but Alfred and Dick didn't. He leaned back in with a questioning look at Dick, who just smiled knowingly.
"We've to some errands to run. Go have fun. We'll be back... later." Dick waved, then leaned over and pulled the door closed in Bruce's face.
They drove off, leaving Bruce looking after them with a raised eyebrow.
The front door was unlocked, raising further suspicion as he walked inside silently, stalking through the first floor and finding only tidy emptiness.
Upstairs, he heard the strains of jazz playing quietly behind his closed office door. He cautiously approached, pressing his ear to the wood before backing up and turning the knob. The music was louder, but still soft, as he swung the door open and stepped inside.
Wally was draped languidly over his desk, batting the the steel collision balls in front of him with one hand, the other arm stretched out over his side. He had a wicked glint in his eyes and a come-hither smile on his lips.
It took Bruce a moment to register what he was wearing; a black leather collar on his neck, with the silver buckle nestled under his chin, a slinky red satin slip under a familiar black corset, with the edge of the skirt riding up high on his smooth thighs.
He cocked his head up curiously at Bruce, drawing up his knees and licking his lips slowly.
"Welcome home, Bruce."
Bruce just stood there with his mouth hanging open and his pulse rising rapidly.
Wally crawled off the desk and walked over like he was stalking prey, then began licking Bruce's ear and tugging off his jacket, which fell in a heap on the floor.
"Nothing to say?" Wally purred, nuzzling his way over Bruce's face with his own.
Bruce finally found motor function again, lifting Wally up with one hand cradling the firm, giving flesh and pushing him back on the desk, sending the toy he'd been playing with and a pile of papers onto the floor.
Wally began nibbling Bruce's lips as he undid the buttons on his shirt, his breath hot over his mouth.
He couldn't find a single thing to say, opting instead to vocalize growls of pleasure. He hastened the work of undressing by ripping off the shirt, sending buttons bouncing in every direction, leaning in to become the predator, nipping along Wally's neck as he slid his hands along Wally's hips, pushing back the fabric in favour of growing arousal.
The bites produced helpless moans as Wally became pliable in his grasp. He grabbed the strap of the slip in his teeth, tearing it in half and feeling a hummingbird-fast heartbeat thrumming in Wally's chest as his skin became even warmer, burning like a furnace.
He thought about taking this to a more comfortable venue, then changed his mind, instead picking up Wally again and throwing him onto the padded window-seat overlooking the gardens. He tore off his slacks and the silk boxers underneath as he approached his lover, still laying back where he'd landed, his emerald eyes dilating and darkening, looking both helpless and powerful at the same time as he ground his heels into the blue cushions and parted his flushed lips ever so slightly. The red and black made his skin glow pale against it's contrast.
Bruce hovered over him, without contact for a moment, just amazed and enchanted by the sunlight playing over his face.
"God you're beautiful." He finally said in a husky breath.
"Beautiful?" Wally said with a playful grin, reaching up to caress his scarred chest.
Bruce just began biting around the warm leather again, propping himself up with one hand and a bent knee running along Wally's hip, his other hand stroking the erection rising out of a nest of soft curling hairs. Wally moaned gently, arching against the cushions and fluttering his eyelids.
"Beautiful." He whispered into Wally's ear, before sucking on soft lobe, his teeth catching against a small earring that tasted metallic on his tongue.
"Oh Bruce..." Wally breathed, "Bruce, please..."
"Please what?" He rumbled, his hand making it's way under Wally's ass, lifting him up slightly.
He ran his teeth over Wally's chest, nipping at his nipples ever so gently through bunching satin, producing little gasps that made him grin through his exploration.
"Make me... I'm... yours..." Wally managed through sharp intakes of breath.
His mouth was still open slightly, and Bruce grabbed the lips in his teeth before kissing him fiercely. They began moving together, hands clasping together, fingers weaving around hot, firm arousal, rocking increasingly arrhythmically as sensation began flowering out through his body.
Wally's skin was smooth and slick under him, a burning addiction that Bruce couldn't get enough of.
As they came, Wally curled up against him, screaming his name until he was hoarse, and Bruce let go with a victorious, wordless cry, before collapsing on his lean body, just feeling pleasure wash over him in triumphant waves.
Wally was sighing under him, his eyes closed and a loose smile on his face. Bruce brushed a few locks of red hair that had become trapped by sweat, then kissed his forehead and began stroking the smooth steel-boned cage absently.
"You're mine." He said with deep intonation.
"Mmmm." Wally murmured. "Yours."
* * *
A drawing of Wally as Shadow by
yazzle
no subject
on 2006-05-17 12:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 01:18 pm (UTC)I love your description of the Bruce designed Flash costume. We need to find you a fan artist for this series :D
Corset!Wally and Oh-God-I've-Missed-You sex = omghot! win for you ^_^
no subject
on 2006-05-17 07:00 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-05-17 05:56 pm (UTC)Bart: *comes out with the Stack of Announcements* What she's trying to say is that she really enjoyed this chapter.
no subject
on 2006-05-17 10:01 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2006-06-10 12:06 am (UTC)*glee*
no subject
on 2006-06-12 03:43 pm (UTC)