Playhouse of Evil

Summary: When the Rouges de-age to children, Wally is in for one big adventure

Disclaimer: DC-Property

It seemed like a normal day in Keystone City. On the way from the bakery to get Linda´s favorite chocolate chip muffins, I saved a kitten from a tree, prevented two car accidents and the Rogues tried to rob the bank. My name is Wally West, and I´m the fastest man alive.

I stopped at the scene. The bank was encrusted in ice, and there was a familiar face reflecting: Mirror Master.

Captain Cold was inside, threatening the clerks. Of course he wouldn´t shoot...he just tried to make himself look important.

There was electricity crackling in the air while Weather Wizard floated upon a cloud and looked at the scenario.

Trickster was in the air, carrying away the bags (where do they even get the money bags with the dollar sign on it?) to their safehouse. He and his stupid Airwalker-shoes, but it´s not like they could stop me for a long time anyway.

HeatWave was standing in a corner, arms wrapped around him and bouncing on the spot: "Can we please leave? It´s cold out here."

Cold, who had been flirting with the female cashier, looked up. "Can it, you big baby."

"What did you say, you immature jackass?"

"Hey!" came Trickster´s reply from above their heads.

"Didn´t mean you Tricks!" shouted HeatWave.

"Oh."

It was one hell of a fight, I have to admit this. It was a close call, before the Pied Piper showed up. He was once one of the Rogues, but he´s reformed now. One of the good guys. Best friend.

The Rogues (+ the ex-Rogue) are standing (or laying knocked out in Boomerang´s case) in front of the bank. (Except Mirror Master who got stuck inside his mirror dimension) I´m inside, calming down the clerks and customers, get my share of applause and shoulder claps, but when I storm out, there´s blackness for a split-second. I would have understood a flash of light (magic is usually combined with bright lights), but in my case I would have probably outrun it. Is darkness faster than light?

Anyway, as I get out, there are not 6 Rogues looking at me. There are 6 kids. In silly costumes that are several sizes too big. And they do look awfully familiar.

The Rogues spend the next minute looking down at themselves, looking at each other and freaking out. Incoherent babbling, stuttering, denial and Trickster taunting the rest.

I contact the watchtower immediately and get support.

Well, if the changed the original meaning of support to "OMG! Not you, too! You know that I´d love to help, but I have teenaged Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and Batman up here...call back later! Argh! Put that down!! Booster, NO! Listen Wally, just watch them. Make sure they stay together and-"

Then there was the lovely sound effect of "Krshzzzzzzzzk!" which means that the comm is dead. I look at the kids. They stare back. With those big child eyes..and...damn it!

A minute later we are all in my living room. I had to run twice to get them all here. "Listen up kids. I know that this must be quite disturbing-"

"I´m small!" That was lil´Boomer! "What the bloody hell! I´m small again! Crikey!" I must agree. He is small. Very small. I estimated the age of the kids to something about 10-ish. Boomer has the average size of a 7 year old. He also has brown curls that make him almost look like one of those silly baby angels. I hate to say it, but he looks cute. I shiver inside. Boomer? Cute? Wrong, just wrong.

They all look so adorable. Cold´s trying to maintain his dignity by constantly pushing his glasses up his nose and grabbing his costume to prevent it from falling off. He walks the few steps up to me.

"Listen Flash. This is weird for all of our standards;" he pushes the ever-sliding glasses up again "I know that you don´t like us, and we don´t like you, but we all agreed that maybe a truce would be best now. Just temporary until we´re normal again. Deal?"

I ponder. From their point of view, they are not exactly in the best shape to take me down.

But if I don´t agree, they will try anyway (I just know that) and then I would have to face children as enemies.

"Deal."

We shake hands. It takes me a second to find his hand in the over sized glove. "Listen Rogues...and you Piper, I´ll go fetch some clothes, come back and then we will figure out how to reverse this thing. Any objections?"

Head shaking in unison.

"Piper: you watch them and tell me if they do anything they know they shouldn´t."

Piper salutes mockingly.

"And it would be best if you gave me your weapons."

By their expressions I can tell that this was a bad idea. I have to listen to an endless soliloquy from Cold, another one from Weather Wizard, a parade of curses of which I understood less than the half from Boomer, a smirk from Trickster and Heatwave trying to sneak off. At some time during the speeches Piper has vanished and has made himself comfortable in the kitchen. I trust him. Not the others.

In roughly 4 seconds I collect their weapons and hide them. Then I tell them that they could search the whole city if they want to...while their weapons lay in a box on my wardrobe. There was much sulking.

I make another 50 second trip to Aunt Iris and collect my old kid-clothes which she kept and then on to other heroes I know who have kids who have outgrown a certain size.

Back in my apartment I give them the bag with the clothes and show them to the bathroom so they can get changed. Now I need some sugar. Badly.

I meet Piper in the kitchen who has made himself some hot cocoa and is listening to the radio.

"So..."

"So what?" he asks me.

"How do you think that happened?"

"I don´t know. Magic, I think. Do we know some magician/witch/lunatic who has ever turned adults into children?"

"Morgan le Fay. Heard the story from GL. Boy, I wish I had been there, sounded like fun."

"I think you may want to know that there´s a fight going on in your bathroom. About...," he turns his head in the direction of the bathroom "shaving cream, Mark and looking like a goth and... what language is that?! I´ve never heard words like that!"

I groan and bang my head on the table.

"Whatever I did to deserve that...I´m terribly sorry."

"Um...Wally?"

"What is it?"

"You have told Linda about that, haven´t you?"

Crap.

I apologize for trying to fake Digger´s accent