Two speedsters stood within an abandoned house. The ceiling was caving in and the walls were falling apart. The wood was old and rotting, but the one in red was on a mission and he wasn't leaving until he completed it. Even if it looked as if the building could collapse at any moment.
The yellow and red speedster stood a few feet from Barry. Same height, same costume with reversed colors, same logo. Completely different personality.
"Zoom..." Barry spat the name out with venom, fists clenched.
"Hello Barry. Tell me, how've you been?" The false replica spoke in a teasing manner, not bothering to try and hide the smirk that spread across his face.
"Where's Wally?" He practically growled, not even bothering to hide his nephew's identity. He knew Zoom already knew it.
"Always straight to the point...You're so boring, Barry. No fun at all." He took a step toward the scarlet speedster, causing him to step back in response.
"Where. Is. He." Barry's patience was running short. Not that he had much for Zoom anyway. And especially not with the fact that he had his nephew.
The yellow speedster sighed dramatically, leaning slightly with his weight placed on one foot. "He's around.."
Barry shot forward, pinning Zoom against the wall with his hand gripping the latex insignia on his chest. "Enough with the games! Tell me where he is now! Or you won't like how I'll make you..."
That got a laugh out of the villain. "Alright, fine. If you would kindly release me from the wall, I will get him for you." He was still smirking by the time Barry hesitantly backed away from him.
He watched Zoom speed out of the room, and return a second later in a blur. What he was holding made Barry's blood run cold.
In his arms was Wally, held bridal style. And yes, it was Wally, and he was thankful for that. But seeing the state the poor kid was in...Barry began vibrating in anger.
His voice dropped an octave, glaring daggers. "What the hell did-"
"What? Not happy? You get him back alive at least. Be thankful for once Barry." Zoom clicked his tongue in disapproval as he carelessly tossed the kid to his uncle.
Barry immediately slowed his vibrating to a stop so he could catch the kid without injuring him further. He discovered it didn't help much though when the usually lively red-haired kid grunted loudly in pain as the older speedster's arms wrapped protectively around him.
The blonde raised his gaze to his double grinding his teeth.
"Well, now that you have your brat back I'll just be going. See ya around~" And with that last sneer he blurred out of the old house, heading to who knows where.
Normally he would chase after him, but Wally was more important right now. So with a deep breath, Barry softened his features and looked down to study the beaten and bloodied kid.
His cowl and suit were stained with dried blood and ripped in several places, showing a glimpse of the pale, bruised skin beneath it. His goggles hung around his neck, dried blood caked on them as well. And the kid was way too light. Barry was able to feel his bones, for god's sake!
He moved his gaze to look over his face. His hair was dull and dark, a deep red substance matted into it. A trail of dried blood ran from his nose, looking as if it had been there for days- which was more likely than not. But what worried him more was the trail of scarlet running from his temple that looked more recent, and the red that had only just started running from the corner of his mouth. God only knew what other injuries were hidden beneath his costume. Barry had to get him to the Watchtower medbay- now.
The blonde man sat by the sterile white hospital bed, right hand propping his head up while his left held the still hand of his unconscious nephew.
When he had gotten to the watch tower he had gone directly to the medbay where Batman and a few other league members were already waiting(he had called ahead). They looked him over and sent him into surgery. Turned out he had a broken leg, a dislocated shoulder, some broken ribs, and some internal bleeding...The broken bones had healed the wrong way as well, so they had to be rebroken and set into place. Even on the low energy he had, his accelerating healing had still "healed" him.
I mean, it's great and all when you're on the battle field, but it can be awful in some cases...
The kid had been placed on some pretty heavy meds, ones that the speedster metabolism couldn't burn through as easily. It kept the pain at bay and made you pretty drowsy. The red-head had yet to wake up though.
The medicine's definitely doing it's job... Barry thought tiredly, sighing internally. Though I wish he would just wake up...open his eyes...even if only for a second...Maybe if I take him off the meds for just a minute- no. Stop it. That would just be cruel... He leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, still gripping his nephew's hand. There's no telling how he'll be when he wakes up...he might not be able to feel the physical pain but...with how Zoom beat him it could bring up old memories...ugh, if only I hadn't let him out of my sight...He stared up at the tiled ceiling, running his free hand through his hair. It was in that moment that he felt a squeeze on the hand that was holding Wally's.
His head snapped back, immediately scooting closer to the bed when he saw half-lidded, dull green eyes.
"Kid! Oh thank god you're awake! I was beginning to worry." He reached out to smooth down the messy red hair. The action though caused Wally to flinch and stare at Barry with widened, unfocused eyes. "Walls...? Hey...you okay?" He frowned, blue eyes shining with concern.
Slowly his eyes focused on the blonde man in front of him, feeling the familiar sting of tears waiting to break over the dam. "...U-uncle Barry...?" His voice was quiet and raspy, which was expected, but the hesitance and caution in his voice wasn't completely anticipated.
"Yeah...How ya doin' kid? Want some water?" His voice broke slightly.
Wally simply nodded before looking down at the floor which suddenly seemed very interesting. He wiped at his eyes with the hand that wasn't being squeezed in his uncle's grip.
Barry nodded back and stood up slowly, releasing the hand he was holding. He grabbed a plastic cup that was left near the sink and filled it with water, quickly going back over to the young teen. But the expression on his face and the caution in his eyes made him look much younger than he was.
As soon as the drink was handed over, Wally brought the cup to his lips with shaky hands. Before long the entire cup was empty and he was licking his lips and clearing his throat. He gave the empty cup to Barry who then put it on a table nearby.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes, though it seemed like hours for them. But suddenly, Wally broke the silence. He lunged at his uncle, no matter how much his injuries protested, wrapping his arms around his neck tightly.
"He's not coming for me, right...? I don't have to be near him anymore...?" His voice was small, reminding Barry of the eight-year-old that he had taken in all those years ago. And of course he couldn't say that Zoom would never attempt to get to Wally again, but he could promise that he would never have to go through the experience of kidnapping again.
"I promise, kiddo, Zoom will never-"
"No...N-not him..." He was shaking even more now, voice strained. It was obvious he was trying to hold back new tears. His grip tightened around the blonde's neck even more, so he did the same.
Barry didn't say anything at first, though. He thought Wally was talking about Zoom. No. No he wasn't.
Wally was talking about his dad. The man who had made Wally's life a living hell until Iris and Barry had figured it out and got him in their custody. And to Barry, that was so much worse than him being afraid of being taken by Zoom again. This kid was scared- no, terrified that his dad was going to take him back to their old house and force him back into the life he used to live.
"...No, kid...you don't have to even think about him ever again...He's locked away in prison...He can't get to you..." And that was when the dam broke. The teen's thin body was completely trembling-even vibrating at some point-as he sobbed silently. Tears flowed down his cheek and Barry let a few tears of his own escape. It was always hard to see the usually cheerful red-head like this. So vulnerable, scared. And he tried his hardest to make sure that he didn't have to.
As he let out the built up emotions Barry rubbed circles on his back soothingly. "...It's gonna be alright kid...I promise...Everything's gonna be alright..."