"I really have to get one of those," Wally said, a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Seriously, you don't have one?" Dick asked.
Wally simply shook his head as he gulped down another cup of coffee, black with four scoops of sugar, in addition to the four stacks of waffles he had consumed before Dick arrived.
The two were relaxing at their favorite diner, somewhere between Gotham and Bludhaven, there was argument about which city the diner actually belonged to, and that was pointless. The diner was at the corner of a quiet street, apparently nothing terrible ever occurred here, and it represented a mark of peace for the heroes.
Dick hadn't seen Wally since they stopped monstrous, brain-sucking vampires from taking over Central City, an event that left everyone very lightheaded. The sun had just pierced the booth that lay in the far corner, away from most of the busyness that accumulated in the wee morning hours.
With the Justice League disbanded by the Original Seven, most team ups happened by random, or just hearing the news out of a stroke of luck. No attempts had been made at assessing the necessity of an organized team like before, it was just quietly ignored. The Watchtower no doubt barely functioning from neglect, and the other guys; god knew where they were.
"It's an app for us!" Dick said. "Stone made it for me, it can be downloaded from the iWatch platform."
"That's still working?" Wally asked. "I figured that crashed years ago."
"Nope," Dick answered. "Stone is running it from home now, from his secret lab under the house."
"Sounds an awful lot like the Batcave..."
"Yeah," Dick agreed. "I'm suing."
At this point Wally decided to stuff a handful of hash browns in his mouth while attempting to ask Dick just what exactly the new app was for, besides being "super-exclusive".
"It's basically Facebook for us," Dick said. "A way to keep in touch without having to do it publicly, and you can download to any Mac product." Wally noted here how Dick sounded like an advertisement while the young man proudly displayed his iPad showing his own page.
"That's weird, man."
"Yeah," Dick replied. "But it's cool, in its own, quirky way."
"You just did this for another new, stupid app," Wally accused.
"So what if I did?" Dick asked. "Other people can use it to get assistance if shit goes down and nobody is around to help."
"Because that's what we all do; in the middle of an isolated alien invasion we pause to text Connor over iWatch and beg for his superass to save us," Wally summarized.
"Conner isn't on here," Dick said smugly, it was a victory. Wally's response was a very deliberate roll of his eyes.
"Then why do you want it?" Dick asked.
"Not the app, I want the new iPad."
At this, Dick's plate of food arrived and he slowly started to eat. His second glass of chocolate milk still hadn't came. But he was hopeful the waitress didn't forget. Wally's plate was empty, again, but the speedster knew if he raised his bill anymore Linda was going to throw a fit. She already complained that he ate out too much.
"You don't have it?" Dick asked.
"No, I broke the original one," Wally said. "Linda said no more until I was more responsible, what does that even mean?"
"That's what you get for getting married," Dick said. "Maybe Bruce was right in the end."
"Please, you're still upset that Barbara and you broke up when you were, what, seventeen?" Wally reminded.
"First of all, that wasn't that long ago," Dick said. "And I'm dating again," he revealed.
"Bullshit," Wally cursed. "I'm just now hearing this!"
"Well, it's not that big of a deal," Dick answered.
"Who is it? Tell me right now!"
"Zatanna," Dick said reluctantly.
"The magician girl from back in the day?" Wally wondered, Dick nodded in confirmation. "Dude, she was a hottie."
"You once said she was going to get so fat," Dick noted. "That those good looks wouldn't last."
"Apparently I was wrong, let me eat my foot right here."
"Go ahead."
Wally and Dick shared a laugh as Dick finished the last of his breakfast. The diner was starting to calm down after the heavy breakfast rush came to an end, most of the overweight people were finishing their meat lover plates and requesting one last refill of their diet cola before they excused themselves from the wondrous diner, taking their odd odors with them. The older couples were relaxing with their coffee, reminiscing about the time Superman stopped a rogue Kryptonian from taking over the world. They wondered what the alien's phrase was, as if it was on the tip of their tongues.
"Kneel before Zod," Wally told them, not being able to help from overhearing their proud memories of surviving these events, of living to see past them. The group thanked him for his help and returned to the stories.
"There's just no escaping it, is there?" Dick wondered.
"Of course not," Wally said. "That's what legacies are."
"Except we sort of all fell into them," Dick said.
"We're carrying them in new respects," Wally corrected.
"Or maybe we're all just cheap knock-offs," Dick countered.
"Wow, you're a downer," Wally chuckled.
"I remember when I said I would never be Batman," Dick stated. "Never say never, right?"
Wally nodded, lifting up his cup. "Here's to cheap knock-offs."
Dick smiled, and the two cheered, finishing up the last of their drinks before leaving pay on the table. "I've got it this time, you paid when we had lunch," Dick said.
"How do you even remember that?" Wally asked. "I had forgotten and you were about to have yourself a free meal."
"Eh, I've got the cash to spare," Dick answered.
As the two young heroes stand to their feet, a massive explosive erupts from the center of the diner, tearing it in half. Dick and Wally are blown back against the wall, just barely surviving, while those in the immediate range were vaporized in seconds. Left in their place, beside a gapping hole and the need for a new roof, was a strange vortex, a portal that revealed itself with the sound of thunder.
Wally stood first, coughing manically, "Is everyone all right?" he shouted. "Dick, Dick, you okay?" he asked, kneeling beside his friend, shaking him awake. Groaning, Grayson was helped to his feet and the two attempted to clear their blurred vision and hope they had no major head trauma.
The older couples were gone, disintegrated. The portal was so bright it created a silhouette of the massive frame standing inside of it, walking calmly out to make his first steps on Earth. The portal closed and Dick and Wally readied for whatever could be coming next. This was not a villain they recognized, not one leftover from when the originals were running around during those silver ages.
"Let the universe howl in fear, for I have arrived!" the booming voice declared. With the tube gone and their visions clearing, the two set their sights upon a massive alien adorned in dark blue armor. His right hand held high, tightening into a fist. And the sound of thunder echoed across the city, and the sun vanished behind a growing armada.
"Um, how about that app, again?" Wally asked, his jaw nearly falling off his face.
To Be -wait for it- Continued!