A/N: So I love the Wally West Flash comics, and I thought the Young Justice show was pretty good, so I decided to write a little something that combined the two a little. In the comics, Wally West had this strange malady that was never really explained, and it kept him from running for a while. Wally left the team in the show, and so I'm using comics to explain why. So part of this is canon, and the rest I just created fictitiously. Hope you enjoy! It takes place a few years after season one, so Wally is around 18.

--Kenxi

Really, the pain wasn't all that bad.

The League knew about it when Wally had signed up for the Young Justice team, including Barry, his mentor. It was more of a discomforting ache, honestly, and it had never affected his ability to accomplish tasks on missions or take out the bad guys.

So they let Kid Flash join the team and continue to help people as much as he could. That was all Wally wanted. Thank goodness for him, the Justice League could see it too, that he could offer something to the world.

See, Wally West was a dreamer. As an even younger kid, he would look up at the stars and see not just a bunch of bright lights, but possibilities. There were mysteries to be uncovered, foreign life to find, new ideas for science and medicine.

Sure, his parents were never particularly fond of his questioning and daydreaming—they wanted the best for him, and they didn't exactly feel like thinking out his whole life could get him there. Either way, once the electricity and chemicals hit him, Wally knew that a whole new set of possibilities had been laid out for him. For the first time in his life, Wally wouldn't just be pondering, but he would be doing.

It didn't take long for his strange disease to hit.

The dull ache began in his bones and quickly enveloped his entire body whenever he would use his super speed—sometimes he even felt it afterwards. But no doctors had found anything exactly medically wrong with him, so there was little worry.

Every now and again, however, Wally would experience what he referred to as "hitting the wall." The ache would turn into a pretty deep pain which could throw Wally to the ground, keeping him from running for a couple of hours sometimes while he waited the pain out. Even afterwards he would feel exhausted for a while. But hitting the wall was rare, and he could always see it coming often days in advance anyway. Therefore, that really wasn't an issue, and the aches weren't an issue, thus there wasn't a problem with whatever was wrong with him other than annoyance.

So, naturally, Wally never told the rest of the team.

Although Robin knew of it, obviously. Best friend and all. With a side of detective. And an insane certain Batman as a mentor.

Wally planned on telling Artemis soon though since they had been dating a few months now. She'd find out eventually. But his weird, unexplained problem wouldn't affect the team, and so he didn't feel the need to tell everyone. It would just be awkward, purposeless, and would seem more like a cry for attention if anything. And despite the often outward appearance, Wally secretly didn't like attention all that much. Maybe as Kid Flash a bit, but Wally West? Ha! No sir. He thought too much for his mouth to keep up with him most of the time. Which was always weird when a bunch of people were listening as he talked because then he just rambled sometimes or tripped on his words kind of like the way he was thinking right now—

Basically.

Back to the previous subject, it wasn't like he was keeping a secret or anything. To him, it would have felt more like telling everyone his favorite cartoon as a child (which was Tom and Jerry, obviously) and expecting them to care. Pointless. Not to mention embarrassing at the same time.

Because, really, the pain wasn't all that—

Wally couldn't stop the gasp from escaping him as agony hit him so hard and fast—even for a speedster.

"Barry!" Wally cried out his uncle's name in reflexive desperation. He was lucky that they were in the middle of a field where no one could hear. His entire body felt like it was burning, pain shooting everywhere so he couldn't pinpoint a single spot to where it was coming from. Almost as if he were being blanketed in the inescapable pain.

He must have tried to stop running on the spot like Barry or something on instinct, because suddenly he was sailing forward through the tall grass, high speed, in the large field he had been racing Barry through. And going around Mach 1 while trying to abruptly stop was just as bad as getting tripped running at the same speed.

Which really sucked at the moment due to the electrifying pain enveloping his body.

He didn't know if Barry heard him or not—wasn't sure just how far ahead of him Barry even was. Wally couldn't really hear or feel anything besides the effects of his problem as he continued to fall forward. All his senses were being numbed while the pain took over entirely.

And then he was no longer in the air, but in his uncle's arms. Wally's vision had dimmed slightly, but he could tell that Barry had probably dropped behind him then caught him while running in the same direction to soften the impact at the high speed. Lucky for him, though, Barry could start and stop easily, and suddenly Wally was laying in an area with shorter, less grass, several miles from where he'd been moments before.

"Wally? Wally! Breathe, kiddo. You're going to be okay, just tough it out. Take it easy."

Wally was trying to obey Barry's desperate commands as his breaths came out in short gasps before lengthening and deepening. Still, even as his senses heightened to normal once more, Wally's body continued to shake from the residual effects of the pain. Pain which had long since stopped.

Slowly, he sat up, trembling, and took the offered bottled water from Barry's hand. Where the man had gotten it, Wally didn't know or care. He guzzled the water in a second, allowing it to clear his mind further.

Barry took the empty bottle, his eyes on Wally while he continued to even out his breathing. "What happened?" He asked, alarm still sharp and raw. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to 'hit the wall' soon? What were you thinking?"

Drained as he was, Wally couldn't even muster the energy to brush any of this off. He doubted he would do so even if he could, however, with as much fear he was feeling right then.

Looking down at his trembling hands, Wally answered, "I d-didn't even feel it c-coming on. Out of nowhere. It felt far w-worse than the usual. I don't know, Barry. I-it was like my skin was on fire." It took a lot of willpower to keep threatening tears from spilling over—he hated the involuntary stutter in his voice. Wally couldn't remember the last time he'd experienced fear like this. Fighting villains was safe compared to the idea of not being able to do so.

He looked at his uncle then, noting his reflected distress in Barry's eyes. Wally couldn't recall ever seeing Barry look so…breakable.

"I think we should take you to Jay again, Wally. Or another JLA doctor. Someone." Wally started to say something, maybe to protest or concede, he didn't know, but Barry continued. "I can't watch you go through this. We both know you're sort of an experiment yourself—being the first kid with the Speed and all. Your powers are slightly different than mine, and this…." Barry looked away from Wally quickly, biting his lip. "This isn't right. We've ignored whatever it is because no one could find a problem, but I think we need to look again. Clearly it's getting worse if you didn't even see it coming today. And I can't stand to see you get hurt."

Wally, on the other hand, never took his eyes from Barry's face. "Yeah, Uncle Barry. Of course we'll go."

A beeping came in Wally's ear just then, and he quickly pressed his comm to answer the call. "Yello?"

"Fleet Feet! Hey, we have a mission ready, come join the team for debrief in fifteen minutes, okay?"

"What would everyone do without me? I'll be there."

And without a goodbye, Robin hung up.

At the expression on Barry's face, Wally sighed. "Looks like I gotta run in a few. Literally." Despite his nonchalance about it to Flash, Wally felt uneasy in his stomach at the thought of having another episode like this during a mission. It wasn't the first time anything like this had happened, but the idea of going on a mission made him nervous. What if he messed up everything because of a little pain from running? What if they failed because of him?

Barry frowned and put his hand on Wally's shoulder. "You're in no condition to be running. Usually you sleep for hours after this."

Swiping a hand through his hair, he replied, "I know. But if it is anything too dangerous I'll just drop out of it. Really. I wouldn't want to endanger the team. Besides, we can stock up on food right before I leave, right?" Even though he felt weak, Wally grinned at Barry, hoping he'd buy it. And at the same time, hoping he didn't.

"As soon as you're done, let me know." He bought it. Wally wasn't sure if he was relieved or scared out of his wits. "Then we will go see someone about what happened today."

"Sure thing, Uncle B."

Satisfied, Barry lit up once more to his fun-loving self. "We got time for the cream cheese croissants, right?"

Wally smiled back, allowing himself to forget about any of his present problems, and just enjoy the moment.

For however long it lasted.

A/N: This is pre-written, so I will release updates weekly, never fear! Let me know what you think!