Fire burned everywhere. Windows shattered from the heat coming off the inanimate objects burning all around the team. The team usually didn't handle something like a common house fire, but the entire complex of over one hundred apartments was ablaze.
He had to find him. He had to find him. Wally hadn't seen Dick in at least forty-five seconds. That was entirely too long ago.
After Wally had dropped his last unconscious resident, he sped back through the building, searching every room. He stopped, panting from exhaustion.
He's not here? Where is he? Where is he, whereishewhereishewhereishe?
And then he heard it; a creaking moan, and then a crash. His eyes widened as he processed what that noise had meant and what the possibility was that his bird was trapped there.
He had one room that he hadn't checked yet: the basement of the complex.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw it: a beam had fallen and there was a black cape stuck under it.
No. NO! Nononononononononono! He sped over to the beam and jumped through the flames that engulfed it and saw Robin trapped beneath the beam.
Robin looked up and smiled weakly at Wally.
"'Bout time you showed up, KF."
He tried for his usual cackle but only succeeded in coughing up blood. All the while, Wally was using his speed to throw the other smaller beams off the main one pinning Robin down, hoping to lighten the load so he could lift the beam.
He used all of his strength and barely lifted the beam off of Robin. Had the Boy Wonder still been conscious, he would have been able to slide out from underneath the beam.
Wally knew what to do and cursed himself for not thinking of it earlier.
"Supes, Robin is—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Superboy smashed through the doorway and lifted the beam and threw it, enraged that it would hurt such a good friend of his as Robin.
Wally scooped up Robin and ran as fast as possible to the upper levels to escape the building. Before he could take even two steps, however, Conner had grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.
Before he could ask what he was doing, Conner punched a hole in the nearest wall, and started through. Eventually they made it to the surface where the bioship was waiting to take them to the Mountain.
Everyone was in silence. Robin was bleeding profusely and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Tears rushed down Wally's cheeks. He can't lose him. He can't.
Robin was his bro, his best friend. They did everything together. How could he make it through life without him?
Wally was so out of it, he didn't hear the conversation between M'gann and Batman.
"What it is, M'gann? Did the mission—"
Batman knew something was wrong when she interrupted him. No one interrupted him.
"B-batman. He-we-and then-but we tried to—"
"M'gann! Slow down. What is it?"
M'gann sniffed and choked down a sob and whispered one phrase:
"It's Dick."
Batman visibly tensed in the video on the bioship's screen. His cowl creased at his eyes and the screen went black.
M'gann was forced to put the ship into autopilot and collapsed, sobbing. Conner gathered her up in his arms and let the tears fall as well.
When the ship touched down in the hangar, Wally ran as fast as possible to the med bay. He slammed into a black wall and suddenly Dick wasn't in his arms anymore. He stared on as Batman turned and walked into an operating room and sat Dick down, stepping back out of the room to let Red Tornado and Leslie perform whatever it was they could.
No one in the room missed the tear. Sure, they were all crying, but no one had seen Batman cry. He did something else unexpected: he sat next to Wally and stared at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug and crying silently.
Wally didn't question it. Neither of them slept that night. It was late the next morning before they were allowed to see Dick.
In short, he looked horrible; eyes sunken, what skin was showing was pink and red from burns, and the rest was wrapped up. Leslie stopped Batman on the way in and whispered something in his ear.
He turned swiftly and yelled: "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN—"
"Bruce! He's resting! Stop yelling and let him be peaceful, please."
Batman, Bruce now, slowly nodded and turned towards the bed where Wally sat watching Dick. Bruce was pale. He was always pale but this was saying something.
"What was that about?"
Bruce looked into Wally's eyes and he knew. He knew what was going to happen.
"No. No he-he can't. He can't just—"
He looked down, eyes wide with tears and his mouth opened in a silent scream.
"If only I had check that last room sooner. DAMNIT! Why am I so incompetent?"
"Wally. We should listen to Leslie and just… Let him rest and say what needs to be said after he wakes up before—" His voice choked up and he was unable to speak.
Wally left the room and ran. He didn't know where to but he ran. It seemed like days but was only an hour before he returned.
When he walked into the med bay, he saw Bruce sitting next to Dick who was now awake. Bruce looked up and saw Wally. He bent down and kissed Dick's forehead before he walked out to Wally.
"He's my son. But he's also your best friend. I want to be with him when…" he stopped.
"You have ten minutes."
Wally walked deeper into the room and sat in the chair next to Dick's bed.
"Hey, BirdBrain." He couldn't bring himself to ask how he was. He just couldn't.
"Hey, KF. Got banged up pretty good this time didn't I?" He chuckled.
Wally glared hard at him. Dick blinked.
"What?"
"You're gonna chuckle? Really? Dick you're… You're dying!" he hissed the last word. "You're dying and you're gonna laugh?"
Dick shed a single tear before sending Wally a small smile.
"If I don't laugh, I'll cry. And you know how I feel about crying. This is part of the gig, Wally. We all accept the possible repercussions of doing what we do. In order to do good, we have to sacrifice."
But Dick, you're the best there is! You're not supposed to—" he choked on his tears again.
Dick tried to raise his hand to Wally but winced and put it back down.
"Hey. You did just fine before me, and you'll do fine after me."
If he hadn't been injured, Wally would've punched Dick in the face.
"But I don't want there to be an after you, Dick. You're my best friend, my brother! I-I…" his voice dropped to a whisper. "I don't wanna lose you."
Dick reached up, ignoring the pain shooting through his body, and hugged Wally. Bruce walked back in and saw the embrace but said nothing. He simply walked over, tears falling, and hugged his two "sons".
The funeral was dreary, just like every other funeral. The entire Justice League was there. Not a single face was dry. And that fact wasn't because of the rain.
Selina Kyle walked up to Bruce after the service. She wore no makeup for she knew that it would be ruined by now.
"Bruce. This was no accidental fire. And I know who is to blame."
They shared a look. Bruce knew who it was, too. The Joker.
That night, the Joker was checked into a hospital with both lungs punctured, seven broken ribs, hand shattered, knee bent backwards into a grotesque angle, claw marks on his face and body, shoulders burned, rope burns around all limbs and his neck, and many more problems.
The Joker didn't just mess with Batman he messed with the entire Justice League. He took their light. And he paid for it. Dearly.
He didn't deserve death. Once a month, he received a beating from "anonymous" beings.
A grand statue now stands at the Justice Hall. One of Robin, the Boy Wonder. And once a week, everyone pays tribute to their light by standing by the statue, lights off, and lighting candles.
No idea why I wrote this… Kind of wanted a reverse of the whole Wally dying thing. (Still hate the writers for that.) Welp.
Disclaimer: Is Wally alive at the end of Season 2? No? That's how you know I don't own Young Justice.