Child's Play

by Fangirl Forevz

The Team, minus Aqualad, go to Haly's Circus to investigate the murders of criminals being escorted by the troupe. When they arrive, they are invited to play a game, and how can they refuse when it is their only chance of finding their culprit? Fortunately for them, they find up finding who they were looking for.Unfortunately, their murderer is a ghost named Dick Grayson. One shot.

AN: Just wanted to let you know that I have disregarded the Young Justice timeline, as this is an AU, which means that this never happened. It is not canon in any way.

Oh, and by the way, Dick is dead.

Enjoy!

xXx

"There has been a large amount of suspicious activity involving the members of Haley's Circus."

Wally grimaced as he pulled an unfamiliar white and red costume over his head. He understood that they need to spy on the troupe, but did they really need to go through the torture of wearing these ridiculous uniforms? They were cramping his style!

Batman's face remained stoic, but his voice sounded... wary. "There have been reporters of their involved parties going missing, only to be found dead after they have left."

As an inexperienced teen in the acrobat department, Wally was more than a little nervous to attempt the trapeze act he had signed up for. He and M'gann were to be the aerialists while their teammates showed off their set of skills below. Since there were no acts that could incorporate M'gann's telekinesis or Wally's speed, they had to make do with something else, and Haley's circus was missing a trapeze act. Miss Martian promised him that she would use her powers to make sure they had a decent performance, but that wasn't what he was afraid of.

From out of the corner of his eye, Wally continuously saw a shadow dart past him, but when he looked, it always disappeared.

"Years after an accident occurred in their circus, rumor has it that Haly and his circus started escorting criminals and drugs with them during their travels. It is possible that these supposed criminals have been behind these murders. The Team's mission is to spy on the members and find any proof to link the troupe to these killings. This is recon, so you will simply keep an eye out and report what you find. Under no circumstances are you to get yourselves into unnecessary trouble."

"Are you just going to stare at yourself all day?" Artemis said from behind him, appearing in the mirror.

Wally grinned. "Just admiring the masterpiece that is the Wall-Man."

She rose her eyebrows, slightly amused. "Riight. Well, the show starts in two hours, and Roy- er, Dane, wants us to meet up before the Dangers are scheduled to perform."

He rolled his eyes; here he was, second in command of the Team, yet bossy Red Arrow was taking over. He would normally pout about it, or at least raise a weak argument against it (in all honesty, he hated leading), but found that he wasn't in the mood. Something about the flickers of shadows he has seen agitated him, leaving him in a more... somber mood, like he was mourning someone.

"Pity Kaldur couldn't make it," he whispered to her as they made their way to the practice area. "I'd take him over grouchy pants any day. Now that he's on his way to joining the League, he's been acting like our second mother."

"Well if you were man enough to-" She suddenly stopped, and spun around, bringing a hand to her back for an arrow that wasn't there. Wally turned around as well, but only spotted a couple of performers carrying supplies to the earlier set up circus tent. He blinked and turned to look at her, who looked just as confused as he felt. "I..." She lowered her hand, looking bewildered. "I heard someone, and they sounded like they were right behind me. They whispered something..."

Wally frowned and scanned the grounds for anyone close enough to have done that. There wasn't. "What did you hear, exactly?" He asked curiously, turning to face her.

Her eyebrows came together. "It was a boy, a little boy. He said, 'remember me,' and it sounded so... cold."

"Cold," he repeated, shaking his head. "You probably heard a kid inside the tent. It's still pretty early but there's always a couple of people who don't want to wait in line to get inside. The wind probably carried his voice over to you."

"...Right. Yeah, that's probably what happened," she agreed, but still looked frazzled. "Oh look, it's our siblings. Let's hurry."

They crossed the remaining distance to reach the others, only to be met with the annoyed expression that Roy wore. "Where have you been?! I asked you to get Wal- Dan, ten minutes ago!" He scowled. "Never mind, we don't have time for this. I've been asking around, and I finally have new information concerning the murders."

Connor folded his arms. "Okay, and?"

"All of the disappearances have occurred at night, ranging from midnight to six in the morning. People who are being transported with the train for unprofessional reasons have been advised to stay indoors during that time, to avoid another incident. Remember those thugs 02 warned us about, the ones traveling with Haly's crew? Apparently they're the only ones being targeted."

Wally nodded slowly. "So it looks like one of the actual circus members is behind these attacks. Maybe they're trying to scare away the thugs by picking them off one by one."

"That could be it," Roy agreed. "But let's not jump to conclusions so quickly. Let's try staying out a night, and see if we can't come across the murderer before he can act again."

Everyone nodded, but Connor suddenly stiffened. "Wha..." his eyebrows came together, but then he shook his head.

"What is it?" M'gann asked worriedly, putting a hand on his arm.

"I heard some kid laughing. At first it sounded like he was right next to Dan, but then it sorta went all over the place. Must've been an echo."

Artemis and Wally shared a glance, but Roy nodded. "There's probably a bunch of kids inside now. We should go in, and get ready for the Danger's performance." He rose his head. "And then, we catch the murderer."

xXx

Flying through the air and doing all sorts of flips he wouldn't normally be able to do was a strange experience, Wally decided as M'gann guided him through their act. The audience below them cheered fiercely, so he figured she was doing a great job with it, but he still felt out of place. He preferred to have his feet firmly on the ground, thanks.

The Dangers had a relatively short act, thankfully, and they were out of the spotlight soon enough. Going from constantly airborne back to the Earth again made Wally slightly woozy, and he had to make a dive for a garage bin the second he exited the main tent. Ah yes, the vile taste of food making a reappearance was something he definitely missed. He thought his days of throwing up disappeared when he became Kid Flash, but apparently there were still things that could make him ill.

Yay.

As Wally finally came back to the circus's campsite, Roy shot him a look of sympathy as he approached. "Hopefully you won't have to do that again," he told him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "If we do things right, we should have the killer by morning."

...Wally loved how everyone completely disregarded Batman's order to not try and catch the murderer.

Artemis sat cross legged next to Connor and M'gann, all three of them deep in discussion and not looking anywhere near Wally or Roy. "So is it gossip time already? Or should we skip right to braiding each other's hair?" Wally asked Roy jokingly, elbowing his ribs.

The archer rolled his eyes. "Those three seem to think they're being stalked by a telepathic boy."

"... A what now?"

He shrugged and moved back to the group, sitting down and stretching his legs put. Wally followed, mimicking the action. "Want to tell Dan about your adventures with this physic kid you all made friends with?" He asked the other three.

Artemis scowled. "Shut up. We just think it's odd that we all heard the same boy, that's all."

"Through a mind link that we haven't set up?" Roy asked with an incredulous look.

M'gann lowered her eyes. "I didn't set one up, but someone connected with my mind. I-I heard a boy scream at me, and I saw bodies, and b-blood... It was like he was trying to show me something."

Okay, that sounded very creepy, but like most things that scared Wally, he was of course going to ignore it and come up with a more reasonable explanation. The most terrifying things could be explained by science, or by superpowers. Maybe they were drugged? No, the police would have found traces of drugs in the victims' bodies. What then? It couldn't be echoes again, not this time. Maybe a they were dealing with another meta?

Wally snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "That could actually explain it! The three of you heard this kid while no one else could, but that could have been caused by a telepathic message that wasn't meant for other ears! Our murderer could be a telepath trying to scare us away with creepy sounds and visions!"

Roy didn't look convinced. "Or there's a completely logical explanation." He turned to look at M'gann, thinking hard. "Using your, uh, 'act' so often could have opened your mind up to someone else's thoughts, and since you heard about our siblings hearing some boy, you probably mixed that in with someone's thoughts. Let's not jump to conclusions until we have enough evidence."

Yeah, 'cause that totally explained the visions M'gann saw...

"Jump to conclusions about what?" A short man asked, plopping down next to him. Wally grimaced and turned his head away from the strong stench of alcohol. "Watcha getting up to, kiddies? Staying out of trouble, I hope," he chuckled as though he just told a joke, tilting his head back slightly.

A flicker of annoyance flashed through Roy's eyes. They had declined Haly's offer of staying inside the train cars with the rest of the circus members, and had decided to instead sleep outside with some of the criminals that were being escorted. Of course everyone was invited to stay inside, but apparently some of the criminals took bets on who could survive the night if they remained outside. It was a completely idiotic game to risk one's life for a bit of money, but it surprisingly got a lot of competitors. Some circus members stayed outside also, mostly the newer ones who felt the need to prove themselves to everyone else. Luckily for them, they were safe, but it was still idiotic nonetheless.

"We're talking about the murders," Artemis said smoothly, putting her hands behind her and leaning back nonchalantly.

"Of course you are. Hoping to see a couple of us covered in blood in the morning, eh? Well you won't be seeing me with a broken neck! I've played this game plenty times, and I haven't encountered our so called 'ghost' once!"

Roy narrowed his eyes. "Ghost?"

"Haven't you heard? You must be new." He scratched at his goatee. "Tons of Tony's workers have claimed to have heard whispers after someone goes missing, and they think it's a ghost that's been killing people. I for one think that's a load of bull, but whatever keeps the game going, I guess."

Wally mentally groaned. Yeah, okay, so an angry spirit was apparently responsible for these attacks? Haha, nice try, but no. There was no such thing as ghosts. "... So why hasn't the circus been shut down yet? I mean, there have been murders for about a year now, all occurring where they travel."

The man laughed. "Yeah, the circus was going to be shut down for a lot of things, but they have no proof that they're smuggling criminals throughout the world, and since some of their own members have been turning up dead too, the police isn't sure what to think of it." He tilted his head. "I heard talk of the commissioner guy from Gotham asking the Bat to look into it, but so far I haven't seen him around. I guess everyone's ignoring it. Good thing too, 'cause Zucco would be pissed if we had to find another form of transportation. It took him years to convince old man Haly to let us hitch a ride with you clowns."

Wait. Circus members were being targeted too?! That meant the Team was in danger!

"Guys, it's midnight in twenty minutes!" Someone hollered as they tossed a few logs into a fire pit a good distance away from them. M'gann eyed the height of the flames warily, inching back behind Connor.

The drunken man grinned. "It's time for our post-performance adventure! Since you're new, I'll explain it to you: those who stay indoors are total wimps, and those who camp out get fifty each if they survive. Anyone who wonders off away from camp during the night gets a hundred. Me and a couple of guys play almost every time there's a performance. We don't usually let any circus losers join us, but we'll make an exception for you if you want. You'll get half the usual of course, but the other clowns on that train will think you're the shit."

Roy nodded slowly. "We'll play. Just give us some time to talk, okay? I think our sister here is sick." He pointed a thumb to M'gann, whose fear of fire did make her look pale.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you chumps later then." He chuckled and stood up, eyes glinting as he walked towards the other thugs near the fire pit.

"Dude, we're totally screwed," Wally hissed at Roy. "I thought you said that only criminals were attacked!"

"That's what I heard," Roy snapped in return. "I must have been hearing old information. It doesn't matter, we still have a job to do. That guy must think that leaving circus grounds makes us more likely to encounter the murderer, so that's what we're going to do. If we stick together, we won't be in any danger." He stood, followed by the others.

M'gann frowned. "02 said to report, and to stay out of trouble. Shouldn't we stay away from the murderer?"

"If you want the League to handle everything for you guys, then be my guest. If I were you, I would want to prove that I can handle this without them holding my hand."

Wally scowled. He was sick and tired of Roy telling them that they relied on their mentors too much. The League was there to help them if they needed it, not to treat them as the children Roy obviously thought they were. Well fine, he would have to prove him wrong once and for all. "We'll play the stupid game, Roy," he said, crossing his arms. "But when we all die, I get to blame you."

"Whatever." He looked at the surrounding woods, muscles tense with anticipation. "Kid, run and get our bows and arrows. Make sure you aren't seen by anyone, but also make sure you come back in..." he looked down at his watch. "Five minutes."

He grinned. "No problemo, oh great Bossy Pants. Two bows and quivers coming right up." In a blur, he was gone.

xXx

"This is so creepy," M'gann said through the mind link, grabbing onto Connor's arm. Wally huffed; he should have been the one she went to for comfort. Was it because of Supey's strength that made her go to him? Yeah, that had to have been it.

Roy scoffed. "Please, this is nothing compared to Gotham City. Ollie and I had to cover for Batman one day... I had nightmares about it for weeks. If you guys are this easily scared, it's no wonder why Batman hasn't taken in a protege."

Wally snorted. "Ha, I see what you're trying to do, but we both know that Batman is way too cold hearted to take in a kid, no matter how fearless they are. Besides, who would be insane enough to want to work in Gotham? Even my uncle is terrified of that place!"

Artemis nodded in agreement. "Baywatch is right for onc-"

Something darted between the trees in front of them, dissolving into the shadows. Roy and Artemis had arrows pointing at the spot in seconds, but it was evident that whatever was there before was gone. Wally ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach; that was probably just some animal they scared away. He wasn't quite sure what kind of creatures lived in the area, but the shadow he saw was short enough for him to believe it wasn't human.

"... I didn't hear anything," Connor said, eyes scanning the trees circling the clearing they stood in. "No footsteps, no breathing... Nothing."

Roy slowly lowered his bow, and turned to look at the sky behind them. "Hm... A cloud looks like it could have just passed over the moon just a few seconds ago. We probably saw its shadow." He growled and put his arrow back in his quiver, and slung his bow around a shoulder. "If we're going to freak out this easily then we'll be at a disadvantage when we find the killer. We'll be dead way before six am."

The rest of the Team shared an annoyed look, and Artemis opened her mouth to make an angry retort when the sound of a child's laugh rang throughout the forest.

And it was terrifying.

No amount of words could describe how utterly chilling the giggles were. Unlike most children, this one's laugh was eery, and held no warmth of happiness in it. It was cold, and was empty of any sense of happiness or cheer. It sent shivers down Wally's spine, and if it didn't belong to a child, he would have believed the producer of that laugh to be pure evil.

"I've heard that sound before," Connor said quietly, shifting his weight to hide the small amounts of unease that carried thorough the link. Wow, even Superboy was unhinged by that creepy laugh. "That was the same exact laugh I heard before our performance."

Artemis moved closer to Wally, her entire body stiff with apprehension. "I've heard his voice before too! And so did M'gann! He must be important to finding the murderer!"

"Or maybe we're all losing our minds..." Roy ran a hand through his hair to show his stress.

M'gann slowly checked her surroundings, then when she deemed it safe, she rose into the air and sat criss crossed. "I'm going to try to connect with the boy's mind. Keep an eye out for the other players."

Her eyes glowed bright green, and Wally shared a look with Roy before shrugging. It wasn't like they had a solid explanation for whatever it was that was going on. They might as well let M'gann have a shot at figuring it out.

"... I can sense him, kind of." She flinched. "I-I never felt such sadness. There's so much despair... It's almost like-"

["Remember me?"]

Wally shouted as a new voice invaded his mind, and jumped backwards as a shadow leapt out of the forest and came right towards him. A scream choked out of his throat as it passed right through him, and he was so startled that he stumbled backwards and fell on his behind.

["Save me!"]

The dense trees faded, replaced by the blood stained walls of a circus tent. A child's scream tore into his soul, and the horrific sounds of bones snapping made him scramble back, but he could not escape. Acid fell from the ceiling, burning into his skin, blinding his eyes, choking him as he inhaled...

"WALLY!"

And just like that, it was over. The circus was gone, and he was back to where he was before, though he was now lying on the grass instead of standing. Shaking from adrenaline and fear, Wally slowly sat up, taking note of the crimson arrow nearby. "R-roy?"

The older redhead was a few meters away, and slowly made his way towards him. There was a shallow cut on his temple, and droplets of sweat on his face, but he was otherwise uninjured. The young adult's eyes flickered from Wally to a space behind his shoulder several times. "I... I just saw..." his breathing was shaky, and now that Wally could see him better he noticed how pale he was. "God... we need to call the League."

Roy calling the League? Okay, there was something seriously wrong. "I'll contact the Tower," he pushed himself up to his feet, but his knees protested and buckled from underneath him. Roy was able to catch him, and pulled Wally's arm over his shoulder to keep him steady. The speedster shivered violently, still seeing the images that were forced into his mind. Was that one of the visions M'gann saw earlier, before their performance? Why didn't she say how horrible it was?! And speaking of M'gann... where was she? "Uh, where did everyone go?" His eyes took in his surroundings, and he felt his heart sink in his chest. "They're not... you know...?"

Roy squeezed his eyes shut briefly. "I don't know, Kid. I blacked out, and had a terrifying dream. I was somehow able to use my bow and arrows inside the dream, and after I shot a shadow coming towards me I woke up just outside of this clearing. When I came back you were the only one here..." he paused. "Well, you might have been alone. I-I'm not sure at this point. I saw this horrifying thing next to you and I shot an arrow at it without thinking, but it disappeared the moment it hit. Even I'm starting to see things."

Wally nodded stiffly as he was led to a rock to sit down. "Looks like we're out of options then. Pride isn't a good enough excuse anymore, not with most of the Team missing. We'll have to contact the League for assistance."

"I'll do it," Roy mumbled, bringing a hand up to his ear piece. "Red Arrow calling Justice League, HOJ slash Watchtower. B01, priority red." After a few seconds of silence, his face relaxed with relief. "Batman, we have a situation. We were looking for our murderer and we are now missing three Team members, state of health unknown. There also may or may not be drugs involved; all of us have been experiencing strange hallucinations that were also the cause of our separation." He went silent again, listening to the response. "Got it, Red Arrow out." He removed his hand, looking troubled. "Most of the League is occupied, but Batman is on his way." He put a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I just saw one of the scariest movies ever, but in real life" he mumbled in response, trying to clear his head. "Has there been any responses through the mental link?"

"No. I tried reaching M'gann, but..."

That wasn't very reassuring. Wally felt a lead ball form in the pit of his stomach; what if they were all dead, all murdered by the lunatic making them hallucinate? They shouldn't have went looking for the murderer without the help of the League, not if this was the price. "We messed up big time, Roy."

"Trust me, I know. And I'm sorry." He stood. "But we have to start moving. If the murderer was here, then they probably saw us before they left. We're sitting ducks where we're at... but maybe if we look around, we'll find the others."

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. You're right." He stood again, legs significantly steadier than his last attempt. A veil of unease clouded most of his logic, but his head had cleared enough to let him actually think. "But if we find the murderer?"

"Then he or she will regret messing with us," Roy said boldly, squaring his shoulders. "Make that double if we find out that they hurt our friends."

Their eyes met, and Wally slowly nodded, feeling his fear morph into protective rage. Whoever was responsible for these attacks would pay.

xXx

The woods seemed so much larger than Wally remembered, almost as if it endlessly expanded in all directions, engulfing the entire planet in its darkness. Goosebumps appeared on his arms due to a combination of the cold air piercing his skin and the apprehension he still felt. Roy's presence did little to calm his nerves, as the hallucinations he experienced were still at the edge of his mind, images forcing themselves to the forefront of his memory at random. Someone had to be very good with drugs to have been able to create such a complex hallucinogen that Batman couldn't find traces of. Even the visions the drugged victim experienced were too complex for a simple thug. Were they dealing with someone of the likes of Scarecrow?

"Oh shit."

Wally snapped out of his thoughts and rose his head, only to be met with such a gruesome sight that his stomach rebelled against him from just a glance. Lying in font of them was the bloody body of the drunken man they had spoken with before; his limbs were twisted at odd angles, crimson liquid leaked from his head, and and long scratch marks covered his face. "Nope." Wally thought, looking away once again. "Nopenopenope thisisn'thappening."

Roy grimaced and forced himself to continue forward, only stopping to kneel besides the body. "There's skin under his fingernails, so it's possible these scratches were self inflicted."

"And the broken bones?"

"It's likely that it was the murderer who did that." he leaned forward, and Wally wondered how he could be so close without losing his dinner. "Snapped neck, bashed in skull... it looks like he fell from a great height and landed at a weird angle."

"But without the height itself? Seems perfectly logical." Another dark giggle met his ears, making him shiver violently. "Uh, sounds like we have company."

Roy scowled, but Wally could see traces of fear in his eyes. "Then let's get out-"

["It's me."]

Like a sequel to a realistic horror movie, the image of blood splattered walls surfaced to the forefront of his vision, blocking out reality once again. The sounds of bones snapping and a child screaming in fear rang in his ears but they slowly faded out, replaced by male voices.

"You'll want to cooperate with us Haly... You'll regret it if you don't."

Wally spun around and suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar area of the circus grounds, a place without any blood or gore. What in the world? Where was he now?

Two tall and buff men stood side by side in front of a frustrated, but somewhat younger Mr. Haly. "Now you listen here, and listen well, because I don't want to have to repeat myself. Us folks in this circus are all honest, and we will have nothing to do with your type of business!"

"Fine, but don't say we didn't warn you..." he smirked. "Give us a call when you want the accidents to stop."

...Accidents?

The scene faded, and suddenly Wally was back in the forest, facing something that none of his nightmares could have ever created before. Standing in front of him was a small boy with a wicked smile on his face, blood matting his ebony black hair down to his head, and the same red liquid came from his eyes like ruby tears. The child's eyes were entirely blue, with no whites or pupils to be seen. Wally could see him, but couldn't at the same time, as his skin was transparent, and so was the bloody circus costume he wore. "Remember me?" The child whispered, advancing. Wally cried out and turned around to flee, but the child appeared right in front of him again, giggling.

"Get back!" Wally shrieked, looking around wildly for Roy. He found the archer lying a few feet away from him, but it was hard to tell if he was alive or not with his main focus being the insistent bloody child before him.

"Save me."

There was no where to go, no where to run. Any attempt to move his head only made the ghost child follow, and each try only brought the kid closer to him. Oh God, he was going to be murdered by something he didn't even believe in! The irony...

"Catch me! Help us!" The child was shouting now, disappearing and reappearing just a few inches away from the speedster, who panicked and fell onto his butt for the second time that night. "It's me! It's me!"

"Murderer!"

"Criminal!"

"Betrayer!"

The words sounded like they were both inside of Wally's head and spoken out loud at the same time, and each word became fiercer than the last, holding a desperation that Wally couldn't bring reassurance to. This child was angry, angry at him, angry at everybody. But why?! What was going on?!

"I don't understand!" He shouted, and the spirit halted where it was.

"... Ashes, ashes..." his head went limp, neck twisting at an odd angle; it didn't take the world's greatest detective to deduce it was broken. "We all fell down..." The forest faded away again.

["The Flying Graysons!"]

Three figures flipped and twisted in the air gracefully, whites of teeth flashing to show their glee. Audience members shrieked in approval, their excitement only growing stronger when the smallest of the figures flipped four times perfectly, not missing a beat as he unfurled and caught a woman's hands.

All of a sudden, people were screaming.

Wally felt the boy's confusion turn into pure fear as he and the other two fell from the safety of the trapeze and towards the hard ground. Bones crunched on impact, blood splattered all over the floor, and the light flooding the tent slowly faded away.

And then he was back in the forest.

"Save us." The boy pleaded, features twisted with grief. "Catch us."

"I...I can't!" Wally shook his head frantically. Was that what the kid wanted from him? To somehow go back in time and catch him? Even if he was fast enough to bend the fabric of time, Uncle Barry specifically said not to! "I can't save you!"

The child's head snapped up, and pure rage sparked in those cold blue eyes. "Murderer!" He shrieked, shooting forward. Pain blossomed somewhere on Wally's face, and he stumbled backwards, raising a hand to a now bloody eye. The child snarled and swiped at his arm, creating a bloody gash the instant their skin made contact with each other. Wally howled in pain with every scratch that was he was given, but no matter how much distance he tried to put in between them, the kid was always right in front of him, drawing more blood. "It's me! It's me!" The boy screamed at him, his voice piercing through his very soul. "Do you remember me? Remember me!"

"I remember you."

A batarang flew above Wally and went straight through the boy's head. Though it didn't affect him in the slightest, the child still backed away from the fallen speedster, eyes shedding new bloody tears.

"Batman," Wally gasped, clutching one of the wounds on his stomach.

The vigilante ignored him, eyes only keeping track of the ghostly child. "I remember you," he repeated. "You are Richard Grayson."

That apparently meant something to the boy, as he went completely rigid at the sound of his name. "... No mask..."

What?

Batman stared him down for another few seconds, before bringing his hands up and pulling his cowl down in one swift move. "My name is Bruce Wayne, and I was there when you died."

Wally blinked rapidly as he was suddenly gifted of the knowledge of Batman's identity. If he wasn't bleeding out, he would have found it hilarious that Batman was actually the idiotic playboy Bruce Wayne. Ha. Hahaha... Yeah, he was so dead.

"...Save me..."

Batman, or Bruce, crossed the amount of space between him and the bloody child, kneeling down before him with a foreign expression of grief on his face. "I'm sorry that I didn't save you, but you have to stop killing people. Taking their lives won't change the past."

The boy let out a loud, ear splintering wail that rattled the insides of Wally's head. "Betrayal!"

His breath caught in his throat as he was again transported to what he now assumed was the past. He blinked a couple of times as a graveyard came into view, and he watched as a man with greasy hair smirked down at one of the present headstones. "Hello brat, remember me?" he said smoothly, eyes glinting. "I was in the neighborhood and decided I needed someone to brag to. You see, your death wasn't an accident. I purposely used acid on the trapeze wires to ensure that you and your pathetic parents would fall. It may seem cruel to you, but life isn't really fair now, is it? It was the only way I could convince Haly to allow my men to use his train for transport." He grinned darkly. "And finally, after three years of 'accidents,' Haly relented. I just about own the circus now.

"You may be wondering why I'm telling you all of this? Well if there's an afterlife, I want to make sure you know that in the end, Haly betrayed you and made your death meaningless. Your life meant less to him than it did to me... And the best part about all of this? I haven't been caught." He chuckled. "The authorities still think it was an accident, and Haly knows better than to tell them otherwise. So in the end, your death will continue to be meaningless and unavenged. No justice served." He turned around and began to walk away. "I always win, kid. Always."

Wally gasped as the vision faded away, and his eyes immediately swerved over to the crying child. Now, he understood what was going on. "You were murdered."

Batman seemed to have experienced the same dream as him, for he continued for him, "And you never received justice."

"..." Richard did not speak this time, but Wally could feel his desperation buzzing inside his head.

"We're heroes, Richard," Wally said softly. "And we can bring you justice now that we know what happened."

"... Friend?" Richard whispered, more tears falling from his gory face.

"Yes, I'm a friend. I can help."

Richard went silent, simply staring at him with his milky eyes. Wally felt a pang of sadness in his chest; this boy was so young, far too young to have his life taken away like that. And if those visions were anything to go by, the boy was an extremely talented acrobat. If he had lived, he could have become a famous performer.

There was a sudden ringing in his ears. Wally gasped and clasped his hands over his ears, blinking rapidly as the first rays of morning cut into the foliage and momentarily blinded him. It was sunrise already? But... didn't that mean it was past six am?

His question was answered when he opened his eyes- Richard was gone.

"Unng..." Roy groaned, alerting the two conscious heroes of his stirring. Bruce pursed his lips before throwing his cowl back over his head. He then gave Wally a subtle glare, silently communicating that he wasn't to reveal his identity to the others. Wally shrugged in response, his thoughts too muddled for him to do much else. Ugh, his head hurt. "Walll..."

"It's okay, Roy. We made it." Wally said softly, closing his eyes. "Oh, and Bats is here. He probably saved our asses, but eh."

"Is everyone online? Hello?" M'gann's soft voice said inside his head, and he perked up immediately.

"Miss M! God, I'm glad you're okay. Roy and I are here with Batman, is everyone else okay?"

There was a chorus of affirmative thoughts from all of his teammates, and he nearly collapsed once that weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "Since the mission is over, should we meet back up at the campsite?" Superboy asked gruffly.

Wally relayed the question, and the Dark Knight nodded stiffly. "That would be our best option. We will retreat to the Cave immediately, and tend to everyone's wounds." An almost invisible emotion flickered over his masked face. "And then, you and I have work to do."

"...You think that was actually real?" He whispered, hoping that the answer was no. Ever since the Team wandered into the forest, Wally felt as though he and Richard began to form an emotional bond. The boy's grief was strong enough to he his own, but Wally could easily let it go once he knew it wasn't real.

Batman sighed. "I don't believe in ghosts. Like you, I prefer facts and things that have been proven to exist." He looked away. "Even if it wasn't real, the information we were given seems plausible. Richard Grayson and his family could've been murdered by Tony Zucco."

"Wait. How do you know his name?"

"On my way here, Richard showed me plenty of his memories. I heard Zucco's name in one of these visions, and I recognized it as a famous mob boss from Newtown." His eyes narrowed. "I would have went after him before if I knew that he was connected to a Gotham case. But now I have reason to believe that Zucco killed the Flying Graysons, and that makes this personal." A low growl made the speedster shiver. "But for now, let's just get back to the Cave."

Wally nodded in agreement, noting the frazzled state Roy was in. They definitely needed to regroup so that they could make sure that no one was injured too badly. Wally sighed and ran a hand over his face, the stress of their mission still heavy on his mind.

He paused, and rested his hand on his eye socket, shocked to find that the bloody slash was gone. He then looked over the rest of his body, finding that none of the injuries acquired during his time in the forest were still there. "You healed us..." he thought to himself, finally noticing that Roy lacked any wounds as well, even though Richard clearly knocked him out without holding back. "How is this possible?"

He swore he heard a delighted giggle in response to his thoughts, but this one held the warmth that the previous laughter lacked. God, he was totally losing it, wasn't he?

Still, Wally couldn't help but smile in return.

xXx

After months of investigating, working past dead ends, and wild goose chases, Batman and Kid Flash were eventually able to find Tony Zucco and prove that he was the murderer of John, Mary, and Richard Grayson. Zucco was absolutely furious when he was discovered, and put up quite a fight when the two heroes appeared to throw him behind bars. In the end, Wally and Bruce both suffered from minor injuries, but that was nothing compared to the major smack down the Dark Knight gave the murderer.

Wally never thought he would ever enjoy the sound of bones breaking.

After everything had been said and done, Wally had more questions than he did answers. Richard, a boy who had been deceased for over five years, was somehow able to leave his grave to haunt the circus until he finally found someone who could bring him and his family justice. It didn't make any sense to Wally, someone who only believed in things that were proven to be real. But then again, he experienced all of this for himself; he saw visions that he couldn't explain, met a zombie-like child that could kill him just by touching him, and in the end, he found out everything that Richard had shown him was all true.

Everything Wally ever believed in was suddenly put into question. Were ghosts real? Did he just have a really bad trip in the forest? And as for Richard... it felt like the two of them developed some sort of bond with each other while he was in the forest.

Which was why Wally found himself standing in front of a muddy headstone, the familiar name 'Richard Grayson' being repeated like a broken record in his head. "Er, hey, Richard..." he mumbled, and flushed as he set a bouquet of blue flowers on the soil in front of him. "I, uh, don't do this very often so don't get mad if these aren't your favorite." He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Well, I did what I said I would do. I brought Tony Zucco to justice. Batman helped of course, but I had a feeling he wouldn't come here to tell you personally, so here I am..."

The wind ruffled his hair, and he looked up at the sky. "Look, this is the first time I ever admitted that there are forces that science can't explain, so I'm sorry if I seem out of it. I'm having a hard time deciding if I'm actually talking to you or not. This is hard for me to accept, but don't think that I don't care about you. 'Cause I do. For some reason, I feel like I know you from somewhere..."

There was no response, but Wally didn't expect one. When you visited someone's grave, it was granted that you wouldn't hear anyone speak back to you. Those were the rules of the dead. But still, Wally yearned to hear the kid's voice again, just to know that he was aware that his murderer didn't go unpunished.

But now, all he could do was assume that Richard's spirit was at rest. "I visited Haly after Zucco was caught. He was actually the one who convinced me that coming here was a good idea. You shouldn't be mad at him, you know. There's only so much pressure someone can take before they cave." He looked at the headstone again, his chest filled with unidentifiable pain. "He told me a lot about you, showed me pictures, and let me watch one of your performance videos. I have a feeling that if you didn't fall that day, then we would have been great friends." He lowered his gaze. "Maybe in a different world, a different timeline..." For some reason, his eyes burned. "And who knows, maybe we can be in the next life."

There was no response yet again, but Wally had a strange feeling that Richard was listening to his ramblings.

"Well, I'm gonna go." He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, slightly embarrassed that he was crying over someone who was almost a stranger to him. "Goodbye, Richard Grayson..."

As he left the graveyard, a familiar looking robin flew overhead, chirping with renewed freedom.

xXx (Five Years Later...) xXx

Wally was racing besides his uncle and Impulse, doing his best to ignore the painful shocks that were sent through his body periodically. But he knew that soon, he wouldn't be able to ignore the fiery pain that was sent through him. The fact that he could see himself begin to fade only confirmed his suspicions.

He was dying.

He was only half aware of the fact that his uncle was practically screaming at him, but Wally couldn't focus on him. As another bolt of electricity struck, he felt the last of himself begin to disappear. "T-Tell Mom and Dad... Tell all of them..." Before he could finish, one more bolt came down upon him, and the world disappeared.

...

...

...?

Wally groaned and pushed himself off of the marble ground he collapsed on, and inspected the room he was in. Everything was pitch black, with no end in sight, but he was still able to see somehow. "Hello?" He called out, but his voice sounded much younger than he remembered. Was it just him, or did he shrink? He felt lost, and confused, but he specifically remembered the battle he was just in. Did he... die? A flare of anger ignited in the pit of his stomach. That wasn't fair! He wasn't supposed to die, not yet! He was still a young adult, and had the rest of his life ahead of him!

"It's okay." Wally squinted as a short figure approached him, and his heart clenched painfully when he saw who was in front of him. While the face wasn't covered in blood this time, and his limbs weren't twisted at odd angles, Wally wouldn't ever forget that face. "Your death wasn't in vain..." Richard whispered, coming to stand in front of him. "You saved them, Wally. You saved the world."

The anger Wally felt completely ebbed away, and he realized that what he had felt must have been similar to Richard's emotions when he sought revenge for his death. "...But my friends, and my family. They'll miss me." Wally winced, picturing all of the loved ones he left behind. "I have to go back."

"Your friends will be fine. They will honor you for your sacrifice, and they will eventually find a way to move on." Richard smiled warmly, and offered him a hand. "Besides, you have one friend to keep you company while you wait for the others."

Wally hesitated. "But... I don't want to be dead."

Richard's eyes softened. "You have to accept your death, Wally. If you don't, you'll be stuck in between two worlds like I once was." He bit his lip and offered him a hand again. "You don't want to experience that. Please, come with me. We can play games, I can introduce you to my parents, and we'll have lots of fun!" He looked at him hopefully. "You said we could be friends in the next life."

Wally looked at his outstretched hand, and then looked behind him at the void of darkness. He had a feeling that this world of darkness would be where he would be stuck in if he didn't go with him. "...Will I ever see my other friends again?" He whispered, dreading the thought of leaving everything behind in his last life.

"Of course," Richard murmured, face set in pure seriousness.

Wally nodded, though he was still slightly uneasy. He didn't want to accept death, it just didn't feel right... But still, he trusted Richard's word, and he certainly didn't want to become a vengeful spirit by ignoring his own demise. "Okay." He finally accepted the hand, and felt his entire being filled up with warmth. The darkness around them began to fade away, replaced by a bright light. Wally felt all of his hesitations disappear alongside the darkness, and found himself feeling carefree instead. It was like there was no such thing as worries anymore.

"You'll like it here. It's asterous." Richard said cheerfully, gently pulling him into the light. Wally went with him without complain, squeezing his hand. When he turned and saw Richard's brilliant smile, he couldn't help but mirror it. Everything was beautiful, even the boy next to him.

And so Wally allowed his spirit to be free.

The End

xXx

AN: RIP Wally West...

So, um, what did you all think? This is my first time writing anything like this, and so now I'm more than a little curious to how I did. Please drop a comment if you have the time. It would make me extremely happy if you did!

Also: You may have noticed a bit of Birdflash. Yeah, that was completely intentional. That is the pairing I decided to go with for this story, but if you want to you can always call it a strong bromance. Whatever floats your boat.