Jim was 11 when he first saw the man. He was in major trouble with Frank, because he had driven the car off the cliff. Sitting outside the police station, he dreaded the moment Frank would arrive, because the minute they got home, Jim knew he'd get beaten.
"Hey, kid." A voice whispered. Jim whirled around looking for the source. It was a man in his mid twenties with bright red hair. His green eyes sparkled with glee.
"Uh, yes?" Jim asked nervously.
"You got the money? I got the stuff." The man said, grinning. His teeth were sparkling white.
"...What?" Jim asked, now nervous.
The man laughed, "Nah, I'm just kidding. Got yourself into some trouble, I see."
"Yeah, I, uh, I drove a vintage car off a cliff." Jim replied awkwardly.
The man laughed again, "Oh boy! That's something I would've done!" Jim looked at him nervously.
"I take it, though, that your family is not too pleased." The man said seriously. Jim nodded.
"Rough home life? I know how that feels. Dad was a drunkard, a complete jerk. Mom was negligent. But you can trust me on this, kid. It gets better." The man continued.
"When?" Jim asked.
"That varies. For me, it was when my uncle walked in on my dad beating me. I went to live with my uncle. He was the most amazing man I had ever met. But you look like a smart kid. What will you do to change your life?" The man looked at him. Jim shrugged.
"You remember hearing about all those superheroes and villains from the 21st century? Like the Justice League? Superman, Batman, all those guys?" The man asked.
"Yeah, those guys were cool." Jim replied.
"My favorite was the Flash, the guy with super speed. No man should be able to run faster than light, yet, that guy did. He gave me hope. Hope that nothing was impossible. Remember that kid." The man and Jim locked eyes for a moment. Jim quickly looked away.
"Nothing's impossible." The man finished.
Jim looked over to thank him, but he had disappeared. A gust of wind from seemingly no where blew.
Somehow, when Frank arrived, Jim felt more assured he could face the consequences.
The next time Jim saw the man, he had just joined the Star Fleet. By then, Jim had convinced himself that the man hadn't been real.
Jim was exiting a bar. Bones had made him leave before he got drunk, but then had had to leave to help someone at the Academy.
Jim ended up sitting in an alley, clearing his thoughts.
"Did things get better?" A voice asked. Jim jumped, startled by it. He turned around wildly, and saw the man he had seen when he was 11. The man hadn't aged a day, though this time he was wearing a T shirt with a lightning bolt on it.
"I guess so. Mom left Frank after that day. Then it was just me, my brother, and her." Jim responded, looking at the man curiously, "Are you a ghost?"
The man laughed, "I don't think so. I haven't died, to my knowledge. I've just been alive for a long time."
"Without aging?" Jim asked.
"I guess not. Honestly, kid, I'm confused by it, too. You know, I never caught your name." The man replied.
"Jim Kirk. What's yours?" Jim asked.
"Wally West." The man answered.
"Why does that name seem familiar?" Jim asked.
"You'll have to find that out yourself." Wally replied, "Y'know, kid, you remind me of me."
"I do?" Jim asked.
"Yeah, I was reckless, just like you. Just wanted to make a mark on the world, live up to the legacy my uncle left behind when he died. You seem like you're trying to live up to someone, too." Wally responded.
"My real dad. He died the day I was born, Captain of the USS Kelvin. He was only captain for 12 minutes, and he saved 800 lives." Jim told him.
"That's hard to live up to. People expect a lot from you, huh? I get the feeling. Uncle Barry... He saved billions of lives. I assume I did, too, at some point." Wally said. Jim gave him an odd look.
"You're a real mystery, Wally." He said.
Wally grinned, "I get that a lot. And you, Jim, you look like you'll save the world some day."
Jim snorted, "I doubt it." He looked to Wally, but again, the man had vanished.
The next time he saw Wally, it was after he and the crew of the Enterprise had saved the world.
They were at the Academy after the thing where he officially relieved Pike from duty.
Jim, Bones, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, and Spock were walking to a bar. Spock accompanied them mainly because Uhura did... And he and Jim were now friends.
Jim spotted bright red hair in the distance, and ignored it at first. But then, it grew closer. He realized it was Wally, out for a jog.
"Dang, his hair is bright." Uhura noted. Wally, who was close enough to hear that, bowed dramatically.
"Thank you, m'lady." He said. He glanced at Jim and grinned.
"Told ya you'd save the world, kid." Wally winked, green eyes sparkling with amusement at the confused looks on the other's faces.
"Who are you?" Sulu asked.
"The name's Wally West." Wally responded.
"Are you a cadet?" Spock asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nah." Wally replied.
"Do you know that you are not allowed to be on these grounds unless you are a part of the Star Fleet?" Uhura asked.
Wally looked at her, "Is that so? Well, sometimes, rules need to be broken."
"You understand you could go to jail." Spock stated.
"That'd be a new adventure. You need to let loose! You just saved the world, after all!" Wally exclaimed.
"Aye, the lad is right, Spock." Scotty agreed, nodding towards Wally.
"Spock, eh? You remind me of my friend Bruce. Tall, dark, and brooding. Scared the heck out of anyone who knew him. If looks could kill, anyone subjected to his glare would've died right then and there. Heh, that rhymed." Wally looked at Spock.
"I see... You are a peculiar man, Mr. West." Spock said, raising his eyebrow again.
"I get that a lot." Wally agreed.
"I thought you said that you get that you're mysterious a lot." Jim pointed out.
"That too, Jim. I get called a lot of things. Not that I care about any of the things I'm called. Except my name. I care about my name." Wally noted.
"Okaaaaaay..." The group was a little weirded out by this odd man. Well, Jim wasn't. They were similar.
"Whatever, you guys go have fun. Good job on saving the world. You'll be doing it again." Wally winked and jogged away.
"He vas an odd man." Chekov noted.
"Yeah, but he's a real nice guy." Jim agreed, "I know him, actually. He should become a motivational speaker."
Later, at the bar, the group was having a merry time until nearly 20 big men came in, holding everyone at gunpoint. They had left their phasers in the dorms, and knew they couldn't fight off everybody.
So, they were forced to be held hostage, as was everyone else in the bar.
About 30 minutes later, the doors burst open, and in walked none other than Wally, who sighed and closed the doors when the men pointed their guns at him.
"Just my luck! Walk into a bar and there just so happens to be mercenaries holding people hostage!" He sighed.
"Does that happen often?" One of the men asked.
"Well, it used to... You look like an Angus. Imma call you Angus, alright?" Wally responded, looking at the man, who just shoved him to where the group was.
Wally crossed his arms over his chest, thinking.
He looked up suddenly, "Hey, Angus!" The man didn't respond, so Wally walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
The man jumped and pointed his gun at him.
"Let's make this hostage situation fun! Let's have a fight. I win, you let us all go and you go to jail. I lose, everything stays how it is at the moment. Deal?" Wally asked. The others thought he was crazy. Everyone there was 2 times his size.
Angus laughed, "Deal! I get to choose who you fight."
"Aight, man." Wally waited. Angus brought out a guy that was nearly 3 times Wally's size.
"Dude, are you insane? He'll kill you!" Jim exclaimed.
Wally shrugged and gave them all a tidbit of wisdom, "Sometimes, you have to look fear or even death in the eye and laugh."
The room was cleared, and the fight began. At first, it appeared the large man had the upper hand.
At one point, the man grabbed Wally's wrist. Wally paused, but grinned. Then, he flipped the man onto his back, but the man got up.
Wally let the big man lunge for him. The man hit the light switch instead, turning off all the lights.
There was the sound of a scuffle. Five seconds later, the lights turned on. All of the thugs were unconscious. Wally was no where to be seen. The door was flapping open and closed, as though wind was blowing it.
"He always disappears like that." Jim commented.
The next time Jim saw Wally, he was by himself. It was shortly after he and the crew had saved Yorktown.
He was in Yorktown, walking to see how his new ship was coming along.
"Hey, kid." A voice said. Jim turned and saw Wally.
"You got the money? I got the stuff." Wally asked, grinning. But Jim noticed a few off things about him. He seemed tired, less happy.
"What's wrong?" Jim walked over.
"Nothing." Wally responded. Jim gave him a look.
Wally sighed, "Kid, I think it's time you knew my whole story." Jim sat down on the bench next to him.
"Well, this is gonna be a little hard to believe. First off, I'm way way older than I look. I was born in the late 20th century, actually. You know how I once said the Flash was my favorite superhero? That's because Uncle Barry was the Flash, and then, after he died, it was me. I had been his sidekick, and decided a man as great as him shouldn't die for nothing. So yeah, I became the Flash.
"I helped create the Justice League. They took me as some fast paced joke. But I loved saving lives, and the thanks people gave me afterwards made all of it worth while. Well, one day, the supervillains Lex Luthor and Brainiac merged, basically becoming a god. I ran fast, way faster than light, to stop him. I almost got myself killed in doing so, though. I landed myself in a place called the Speed Force, and discovered it was the source of my powers.
"The other founders of the League pulled me out somehow, and at first, everything was alright. But after a few years, I realized that my contact with the Speed Force had completely stopped my aging process. I was immortal, basically. I watched as the others grew old and eventually died. Well, some just up and vanished one day, but still.
"Well, I'm still alive, still going strong. And that day when you were a kid, I saw you, and I saw myself in you. So I decided to look out for you, give you advice. And I always made sure to speed away when you weren't looking, just for fun. My advice is pretty sound, though, because I have centuries of experience." Wally told him.
Jim studied him for a moment, "I believe you. So you're sad today because...?"
"It's the anniversary of my wife's death. Gosh, I miss her." Wally replied, "She was awesome."
"Oh, I'm sorry, dude." Jim said, patting Wally's shoulder. Wally smiled slightly, as though remembering something.
"Anyways, Jim, anytime you need help with something, I'll be... somewhere. I'll be there when you need me." Wally stood up, stretching, "Good job on saving the world again. Nice to see someone else do it for a change."
He winked at Jim and walked away instead of speeding away.
Jim knew that he had someone who cared for him, and that would be there for him for even the most mundane of problems.
Jim knew he had a Guardian Angel of sorts, now.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!
I hope you enjoyed this! I certainly enjoyed writing it! Tell me what you think, please! This is based off of the Justice League cartoons from the early 2000s, and of course, the Star Trek Reboot series.
Thank you for your time,
Sharkisha the 3rd