I have never been emotional when I write a story, but the whole time I was typing this, I had tears in my eyes and some even fell.


The Loss of Her Older Brother

The earth was safe, and the Reach gone; but not before one last act to destroy the Earth took a toll on the team. The 21st MFD had gone chrysalis and it took Flash and Impulse all they had to try and syphon off the kinetic energy but it wasn't enough. Kid Flash made his way there and helped, but with his slower speed, he was taking hits from the energy they were syphoning off, and soon enough, just before the energy was completely released, Kid Flash, one of the first protégés and a founder of the Team, was gone, disappeared forever.

Artemis was hurt the most as she lost her soul mate, but the rest of the team was hit as well. Sure Bart took over as Kid Flash, a legacy he was given by Wally himself; but he felt like he was living a lie. Nightwing left out for a break, but even after three weeks, Flamebird could not get over the fact that Wally West was gone.

Two Weeks ago

It had only been seven days since she lost someone that was like an older brother to her, but she still couldn't get over it. Reiena Grayson aka Flamebird was standing on the basketball court at her childhood home and remembering the first day she ever met Wally. It was hard enough losing Jason over the past five years, but now to lose the very person that gave her the nickname Rei, and a prankster that she got back on more than one occasion, well it was pretty much her breaking point.

Tears were streaming down her face as she thought about the first mission they had together, and the nightmares that came the night they had their first sleepover.

Dick and Wally shared a room during the sleepover and Reiena was in her own room. They had gone on to bed on Bruce's order, and all three were asleep quickly.

Two Hours Later

Reiena was tossing and turning in her sleep and even talking, but when she started screaming, that's when Dick and Wally woke up. The 12 year old speedster was the first one into Reiena's room, and that's when he saw her having a fit in her sleep. Just as Dick came into his sister's room, Reiena started heating up the area.

"We have to wake her up before the room catches fire." Dick said, and with that the two fast friends got over to Reiena's bedside and were trying to wake her up.

Soon enough, Reiena did wake up, and the tears started to flow down her face. She looked at Dick and Wally and the tears started flowing stronger. Dick sat on Reiena's bed as she sat up and was still shocked.

"Rei, what happened?" Wally asked, worried about his new friend.

"A nightmare. It…it was you, Dick, Bruce, Alfred, and even Barry. One by one you all started to disappear and before you did, you all said it was my fault that mom and dad died." Reiena explained.

"I'm sure Bruce is on his way to check on you, I'll let him know you're alright." Dick said and with that he headed out to let his father know that he and Wally were handling everything.

"I'd never do that, Rei; it was that mobster that caused your parents' death." Wally said, knowing a bit about the case as news of it had hit Central City and Keystone City.

"Dick and I knew something was wrong when we saw Zucco leaving the tent before show time. We tried to tell mom and dad, but they had to get us ready to perform." Reiena explained as fresh tears started to come forth.

"You two have to be the bravest kids I know. Even after everything that happened and having to adjust to a new life, you still had hope that Zucco would be caught." Wally said, hoping he was using the right words.

"Zucco would have been caught sooner if we hadn't gone and tried to get the police his location. We got caught and Batman had to save us from a bomb he left behind."

"You didn't know it was Bruce, but even so, Batman would let a criminal go any day to save a civilian. Isn't that bomb when your powers came to the surface?" Wally said, then questioned, remembering something about it from what Barry told him.

"Yes, but if we hadn't gotten caught…." Reiena was starting to lose her breath from being so upset.

"Hey, listen to me. I may have only known you guys for a couple of days, but in that time, I've seen that you are incredible and have the biggest hearts of anyone I've seen that's already a teenager." Wally said, and when he looked at Reiena's face, there was a slight smile. "It can hurt, losing a family member, but I'm sure your parents would be proud with what you're doing."

"You may be a speedster and have a short attention span; but thanks." Reiena said as she had caught her breath and started wiping the tears away.

Outside of Reiena's room, Dick and Bruce were listening. After Dick left out to get Bruce, they returned and hear Wally talking to the 10 year old, and didn't want to interrupt. About three minutes later, Wally came to the door and opened it.

"Dick, she wants you to stay with her till she falls back asleep." Wally said and with that, Dick and Bruce checked on Reiena and she assured her father that she was alright, but she always had Dick stay with her till she fell back asleep after a nightmare.

Reiena was now walking the perimeter of Wayne Manor, but she didn't know that Bruce was watching. He continued to watch his daughter as he knew she was hurting and there was nothing that could be done about it. As she reached the cliff to look at the ocean, she remembered the day Jason died, and how Wally was there for her then.

It was the worst day for the Batfamily, as Jason Todd aka Robin II had been killed by Joker in Europe. When the family returned with Todd's body, Reiena was beside herself. She remembered the day she had met Jason as he was tied to a chair in the Batcave. That was also when she learned the boy had some guts as he was caught trying to take the tires off the Batmobile.

The speedster was there really fast, as Dick had called him to let him know what was going on. When he arrived, he saw that Reiena had been crying. Dick was sitting with her and he had tears in his eyes as well.

"Guys, I'm soooooo sorry. Jason was a good kid, and to be honest, he could probably rival Dick as Robin." Wally said, hoping to get a smile out of the twins.

One thing he got was a small fireball, but it didn't hit, just flew right past his head.

"Well, at least I got the reaction I wanted." The speedster said when he looked back at the fire controller and saw a bit of a smile on her face.

"Thanks for coming, Wally. I know you've fought beside Jason too, and it's good that you're here to help honor his memory." Reiena said.

"Hey, you know I'm like your big brother, remember all the crap I put you through. I'd be here any time you guys need me." Wally said, and that's when he was 'attacked' by the 16 year old and she hugged him.

The 18 year old speedster returned the embrace, knowing that she needed this. Soon enough Dick joined them in a group hug and it's like they were a real family.

"You said you'd be here for me when I needed you, but you're not." Reiena said as she let the tears flow freely and fell to her knees.

The 19 year old was lost without her 'older brother', but she knew she wasn't the only one, and so she went to talk to the one person that loved him, Artemis Crock. Bruce and Dick knew that she needed to be alone, but she needed to be able to grieve for her friend with someone that needed her support.


I cried the moment Blue Scarab said that 'In 16 seconds the kid flash will cease'. you know how you feel when you lose a beloved pet or a family member. I swear I was crying like that. I've been on an emotional roller coaster and at the moment Kid died, I just broke down. I wanted to get this one shot done before I did my next story in my batman beyond series. The series starts with Batman's New Sidekick, then it's Meeting your family, meeting your family 2, Legacies Best Forgotten and the new one is Meeting your family 3. Just in case you like this story and want to read the Batman Beyond series.