This is a sequel to my first story "The End", and though I strongly encourage reading "The End" first, it's not necessary in order to understand this story. This story takes place after Wally's disappearance at the end of season 2. Thank you for reading!

"I think it might just be working!" Bart called out as he sprinted alongside his grandfather, trying to siphon off as much kinetic energy as he could from the surge.

"It's definitely slowing, but not stopping. Even at our top speed, I'm not certain the two of us can generate enough kinetic energy."

"Then how about the three of us?" Wally piped up, catching up to the other speedsters.

"I may not be as fast as you two, but I can add my fair share of kinetic energy. Besides, I can't let the new kid take all the credit for saving the world!""

"Good man."

"So crash!" the speedsters beamed before speeding up to their top speeds, leaving Wally to trail behind.

"Come on Wall-man! You can do better than that!" Kid Flash barked at himself, pushing his legs to move faster as he desperately tried to keep up with the other two speedsters.

Wally felt an intense pain as he was struck by the escaping energy. His skin burned from the surge and when he lifted his hand to inspect the damage he realized, to his horror, that he could see right through it! He wasn't just burning, he was disintegrating!

"Bart, we have to slow down more. Try to siphon off some of the energy attacking Wally." Flash called out, slowing his pace to match that of his nephew, but the energy surges didn't relent. Kid Flash groaned out in pain as he was struck repeatedly by the blasts of energy. His body was weary, his mind was dizzy and unfocused, and yet he pushed himself to keep up his pace. He knew Barry and Bart were doing everything they could, but it was too late.

"It's no good Barry. Aw Man! Artemis is so gonna kill me for this! And don't even get me started on mom and dad!" Wally replied, trying to keep the familiar, humorous tone in his voice, but even Wally couldn't keep his voice from breaking on those last few words.

"Kid?"

"Just tell them… ok?"

"KID!" Wally could hear his uncles cries as he faded. With one last jolt of pain, the world around him faded to black.

Wally didn't know how long he had been unconscious… he wasn't even sure he was fully conscious now! His eyelids felt like they were glued shut and his body was as heavy as led. Every muscle in his body ached with a pulsing pain that matched the rhythm of his throbbing head. He was vaguely aware of the frigid air that nipped at his skin and the rough ground that he was lying on as it scraped against his face. It took a few seconds before he remembered what happened: the chrysalis, the energy surge, Bart, Uncle Barry… Artemis... He had just got her back after that undercover mission. He had run off without even saying goodbye. Oh god… did she follow him? Was she there when he died? Did she watch him disappear? Artemis had suffered enough tragedy in her life, she didn't deserve that.

These past few weeks when Artemis had been undercover, Wally realized how much he needed her. Maybe it was the realization of how much danger she was in, or the haunting image of her gravestone in the cemetery, but this mission had much more of an effect on Wally than he was prepared for. Even pretending she had been killed in that mission was enough to shake Wally to the core. He didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to spend another second without her. Wally was going to ask Artemis to marry him once the crisis of the invasion was over… now he'd never get that chance.

Wally wondered if Dick would tell her about the proposal. Dick, being Wally's best friend, was the only one who knew that he'd been shopping for rings. Of course, things had been a little shaky with Dick recently. Ever since the Mountain was destroyed, the two hadn't been on the best of terms. It seemed like all they did recently was fight and argue. Wally regretted it now. Dick was his best friend and they hadn't said a civil word to each other in weeks! What if he thought Wally was still mad at him? What if he thought Wally hated him?!

The thought of unresolved anger between him and Dick suddenly brought a rush of similar emotions flooding to Wally's mind. He had been way too hard on Roy the last time he saw him. And Kal'Dur… Wally had accused him of betraying the team! He had to fix things with Kal'Dur, with Roy, with Dick, Artemis, M'Gaan, Connor, Bart, Barry, MOM, DAD! There were too many people he had to see! Too many words left unsaid! Too many things he had to do before he died! He couldn't be dead! He CAN'T be dead! Damnit Wally, wake up! WAKE UP!

Wally suddenly forced his eyes open, groaning at the agony in his muscles as he forced himself back to the conscious Speedster felt wave of relief wash over him as he realized that he was, in fact, still alive. A relief that died the instant he felt the cold metal of a blade press against his chin, tilting his face up towards the dark figure that stood above him.

"Who are you?" The dark voice demanded.

"What is your purpose here, Imposter?"

Wally blinked, clearing his eyes as he tried to make sense of what he saw. A tall, but young man, probably in his mid twenties, dressed in a black and red suit with a hood pulled over his head, casting dark shadows on his eyes… no, not eyes… mask. He wore a Domino Mask, like Nightwing's. It was black, matching the rest of his dark costume and the menacing black hilt of the Katana that was currently resting against Wally's chin. Wally's eyes wandered down to the insignia on the young man's chest and his eyes widened at what he saw: a black, stylized "R" that erased any doubt about who this stranger was.

"Robin?"

Wally felt himself being ripped from the ground and slammed against a half-demolished stone wall, suspended several inches off the ground. The speedster cringed as pain exploded across his back from the impact. He tried to vibrate his way out of the stranger's grasp, but after exerting so much energy trying to outrun the energy surges, he didn't have the strength to use his speed! The sword was placed back at his throat and Wally felt the sharp edge pierce the skin, causing a thin line of red to drip onto the cold metal of the blade.

"Answer me, Imposter! Who are you? What is your purpose here?!"

"I-Imposter? L-look who's t-talking!" Wally hissed, not wanting to back down despite the obvious weakness in his condition.

"I know R-robin… in fact, I knew all th-three Robins! And y-you are n-not…"

"Robin! Release him!" A familiar voice called out. The man loosened his grip on the sword, but made no move to put Wally down until two strong hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away from the speedster.

Wally fell to the ground, coughing. His entire body was screaming in pain! Normally, his rapid healing would have kicked in by now, but Wally was starving! He had no idea how long it had been since he ate, and without those extra calories, his body didn't have enough energy to heal itself. All Wally wanted to do was close his eyes and drift back into that blissful unconsciousness, but he couldn't. He had to find out what was going on here! Who was that guy dressed like Robin? Where was Tim? Where was Dick?! What happened to his team?! Wally was expecting to wake up in a hospital bed at the Watchtower, not lying face down in the freezing cold, getting interrogated by some Robin-impersonator!

"That imposter needs to be interrogated, Kent!"

"Then I will take care of it! I am the leader of this team Robin!"

"Tt, that was father's first mistake." The strange voice growled defiantly.

"Why don't you go tell him that yourself?" That seemed to end the argument, at least for now.

"Father may be fooled by your innocent act, Kent, but I am not so easily convinced. If you do anything to jeopardize our standing in this war, you're removal from the Team will not be your only consequence, I assure you." Robin threatened before disappearing with a flash of his cape.

Wally felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder, turning him towards his rescuer. Wally peered up through his cracked goggles to see an all too familiar face.

"Hey Supey, th-thanks for the s-save." Wally groaned, feeling Superboy's hand start to shake as it gripped Wally's shoulder tighter.

"Wally? What… how…? I don't believe it! It's really you! But how? We saw you… you died!" Connor stammered, hardly able to get the words out through his utter shock.

"Yeah, not so much. Hey Supey, r-relax will ya? It's only been… what, a couple hours? Days?" Wally asked, not expecting Connor to pull him into a painful, crushing hug.

"Wally… you've been dead for twenty years!"