"Don't forget test on Tuesday." Brrrrrrriiiinnnnngggg, "Class dismissed." Wally let out a sigh of relief as he grabbed his backpack and left the classroom, his history teachers bland monotone voice was driving him crazy.
Ok so I just need to grab math and science books, eat lunch, and go to class all while hiding from bullies, then I'm homefree, he thought to himself as he approached his locker.
"Out of the way nerd?" Wally groaned as some brut knocked him into the lockers and walked away. He let out a deep breath and dusted himself off. It's not that he couldn't take the bullies, because he could he was Kid Flash after all, to him they were really more of a mild annoyance than a threat. Also, it was just a little funny, because they were so cliche; pushing people into lockers, hitting up nerds for lunch money, it was almost as if they were from a 90's movie or something.
He shut his locker, revealing the grinning face of one Steve Austin, "Hey! Guess what?" Wally rolled his eyes at how enthusiastic his friend was.
"Did you figure out cold fusion?" He grumbled blandly.
"Not yet but I'm one step closer, I convinced Donohue to let me rewrite my English Lit. paper! And now I won't have a D in English, meaning Harvard won't turn me down and then I can solve cold fusion."
"This time maybe try actually writing it." He commented back as he started walking towards the cafeteria.
"Well, I might have gotten it in on time if someone hadn't broken my computer." He shot Wally a sidelong glance.
"In my defense you were the one who said it was waterproof."
"One I said it was water resistant and two you were the one who wanted to see if it could float."
"So now it's my fault computers don't float."
The two continued bickering among themselves as they always did. Until Steve moved to turn left when Wally went right.
"I thought you had lunch this period?" Wally asked.
"I do but I gotta retake a test. See ya after though."
"Later."
He made his way through the chaos that was lunch and sat at his usual table in the back corner of the room. Wally started to unpack his lunch, but before he could get anything out from the corner of his eye Wally saw a girl, freshman maybe, being cornered by a few senior guys. Wally wanted to do something but he was, well a nerd. And besides, they couldn't do much more than scare her in a crowded room like this.
He was about to turn away when the same thing caught his eye again. A flash of light? Coming from the girl's hands? It was small not much more than some static maybe or...Wait what he looked a little closer her hands were in gloves. Shit.
Wally quickly speed over and pulled the girl away from the guys, and before the girl knew what was happening she was in the school's courtyard.
"What the hell. How did I get here, I was in the.."The girl looked around her eyes settling on Wally.
"Hi?" He sheepishly muttered. A million thoughts raced through his head, what did I just do? Oh god, this is gonna screw up a lotta things! Well at least there aren't any people around, that's a good thing. Who cares if there are people around, you just used your powers. You broke the only rule you have to follow. What the hell was I thinking.
"Hello?" The girl gave an awkward little wave and for the second time Wally noticed the gloves, they looked thin but sturdy and were leather. Not the fancy kind with fur lining in them that he had seen some other girls wear but just plain well worn black leather. The girl looked like she was trying to slowly inch away from the general area.
"So your wearing gloves."
She glanced up from her shoes. "Its winter."
"Yeah well, most people don't wear gloves inside."
She looked up again,"How did you know I was inside, and come to think of it why are you outside, it's freezing out, Mr. No Named Random Guy?" She crossed her arms and waited for an answer.
"Well um..I..Lets just..um say I saw those guys harassing you and got you out of there." Wally looked anywhere but at the girl as she looked him up and down, sizing him up.
"First of all thank you for that." She stated politely, before starting to pace around him in circles like a wrestler before a fight, "Although secondly the fact that you were able to get me out of their so fast means either; I fainted and hit my head there for leaving me with a concussion or the more likely option: that you are a metahuman who can A) make people lose their memory B) teleport or C) have super speed." He paled and was about to say something, but the girl wasn't finished yet, "And if in fact, you do have super speed, that would lead me to conclude that you are Kid Flash and as evidence of that I present your red hair and age, both of them prominent features of Kid Flash along with an urge to help people as you did help me."
"Who are you?" Wally gaped. Finally looking her over. She had regular brown hair, was average height and was quite possibly the most normal girl he had ever seen. Even her clothes were normal, if conservative. Just a plain denim blue blouse, a pair of black leggings and tan knee-high boots. The only thing that really stuck out to him were her eyes, they were bronze, speckled with amber.
"Just a girl with a few good observations." She stopped pacing, smiled and held out her gloved hand, "Mandy Evans, am going to be a PI one day."
"Wally West." Wally grinned at the girl, "Well Mandy," He sped over to a nearby tree and leaned against it, she jumped at the whoosh of air and turned around, "it seems you and I are going to have a little chat about the enormous elephant in the room."
"The fact that I'm right and you're Kid Flash." She smirked.
"Well yes that of course, but I'm talking about the fact that you're a metahuman too."
Mandy froze for the first time caught off guard, "..Wha..what are you talking about?" she stammered out after a second.
"Well first of all, no one wears gloves inside, and certainly not gloves like those. I've seen them before, they have a special carbon fiber to keep powers from leaving the glove, right?"She stuffed her hands in her pockets nervously and nodded sadly "I used to wear a bodysuit made of it when I first got my powers." He had a far-off look like he was reliving a painful memory, but he quickly shook his head and continued. "Secondly, its winter and the air around you is like a furnace. Also while you were pacing the snow around your feet melted a bit and got all slushy." She cursed under her breath, and let out an agitated sigh. "The final nail in the coffin was what made me want to get you away from those jerk guys, after all, it's not every day I just speed someone away. At least not like this that is." He gestured at his clothes.
He started to make his way towards Mandy and held out his hand. She shrank away from it taking two steps back, he took two forward, they kept going like that until she walked into a tree. "Mandy. Give me your hand." He spoke to her like a spooked animal, and surprising both him and her, it worked. She reluctantly held out one of her hands.
And slowly he removed the glove. Her hand burst into flames. "Damn it, damn it!" She started to try and blow her hand out, she shook it around and tried to use the other glove to cover it.
"Hey. Hey common look at me. Breathe just breathe." She did and slowly the flame disappeared. She held her hands to her chest and all but collapsed onto the tree behind her sliding down its bark onto the frost covered ground. She started to cry a little.
Wally looked at the glove in his hand more carefully, examining it. "There's a small rip in the carbon layer. That's why I saw a spark from your hand earlier." He looked up and saw her sitting on the ground crying.
He sat down next to her, handed her back the glove and gave her a hug. "It's going to be ok. Everything's fine."
Once she had calmed down a bit more. Wally looked at her, "What?" She asked saltily.
"Are you free after school?"
"Wait...like a date because if you think you're getting a date out of this then you are very very wrong."
He smiled, "No I have some friends I want you to meet."
"No." She stood up brushed away the final tears and started to make her way to the door back to the cafeteria.
A little put off by her answer Wally quickly speed over and blocked her path, "What do you mean no?"
Mandy furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms, "What I mean is no. I will not go and join some group of superheroes who help me get my life together and then we all become amazing friends and go flying off into the sunset in spaceship or what ever your offering me. I have a plan for my life and this," She held out her hands, "is a mild inconvenience. I will get new gloves and figure out how to do this on my own. Not everyone wants to be a hero Wally. Some of us just want to live our lives out in peace!"
Wally was so taken aback by how angry she was that he stepped aside and just watched as Mandy stomped away.
She was about to open the door, but hesitated and before she could stop herself Mandy turned around with a shaking voice that held no apologies and said, "Don't forget I knew your secret. If you tell anyone I swear every news outlet in the country will know the truth about Wally West."
Then she opened the door and left Wally standing there, alone in the cold.
Yeah! So that was my first chapter and I hope you like it! Please, tell me what you think. Thanks,
-RedWillow03