Wally West-to most people-has always been synonymous with happiness, a bright ray of sunshine that never ends. Sometimes, you might feel a burn, but usually, it illuminates the souls of others. Being around it made people smile just a bit more, and that's what made him such a vital part of the team. Some could argue that without him, Young Justice might not have worked.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. People come and go, love fades, and life will grow dimmer with each passing day, but went all else fails, the sun will still be there, shining its rays upon to the remains of its friends. Being alone hardens the rays, but it will never give up hope that it can find use again. It would do anything-even risk the world and the people upon it.
The year 2029 was when the sun's life came crashing down. Wally became a solider, along with the rest of the Justice League, to defeat the Reach. Slowly, the League lost, and Wally watched as he lost his friends, family, and livelihood. The last straw was when Barry, the Flash, sacrificed himself to save Wally who, quite frankly, didn't think he deserved to live. He could still remember seeing the lights in Barry's eyes dim, and his permanent smile waver. From then on, Wally was only a shell of his former self. He no longer laughed; instead, he focused on getting better. He dawned a darker version of the Flash costume and devoted his days to practicing fights and getting faster.
Soon, he became the most skilled and feared member of the Justice League, even scarier than the Batman himself. His combat skills were cold, cunning, and held no mercy for the given foe. Without Barry, Wally didn't have humanity, and though he fought for justice, he blurred the lines of good and evil. The new Flash embodied the meaning of total war. If it was for the greater good, Wally would do anything. Even kill.
In earlier days, the League would have kicked him off the team, but this was a losing battle, and he was their best chance in winning. He might be brutal and callous, but they all remembered the old Wally, the one they knew was buried underneath the rough exterior. Secretly, none of them wanted to let go of the hope he might, one day, be uncovered.
With each death, their hope turned into a wish which turned into a dream which became a figment of imagination. Every single one left a wound bigger than the last. Sometimes, they were physical. Other times, they were mental, but they were all the same in one regard. Each was a ray of sun become brittle and cold.
When Superman died after being impaled by a kryptonite spear, Flash stopped talking. Then Black Canary was lost in a fiery explosion due to a surprise Reach attack, and Flash's costume became a dark blood red. Finally, Green Lantern was crushed by a Reach ship which caused Flash to lose the yellow and white insignia. Wally was completely hollow. Almost nothing was left of his Kid Flash personality.
After it all, there was only one thing motivating Flash. One thing that could get him up in the morning. One thing that kept him from going insane. It was the hope of an end. Whether it be by death, defeat, or sacrifice, Wally didn't care. So long as he could escape from the life he called a nightmare.
Even as the world descended deeper into madness, Wally stood strong alongside the ghosts of his family. They told him to never stop fighting, to get better, and to keep his hope alive.
Flash turned their words into his very essence. His breath reeked of willpower, his emerald eyes glimmered with a passion to improve, and his skin was saturated with pure, raw hope. The fire in his soul had been reignited, and nothing and no one could put it out. Or so he thought.
The Reach were not dumb. They couldn't have gotten so far without knowing something, so when they noticed that the Flash, the last alive member of the resistance, was growing his hope, they realized they needed to take action. In fact, the leader of the Reach had something very special planned for him.
Wally hadn't felt this happy since Barry had died, since his will to live left him. His new motto was like a shovel, and it had uncovered the older version of Wally. The one who could make a joke in the hardest of time and lighten up a room with the smallest of smiles.
To celebrate his return, Wally ran. He imagined Barry was beside him, grinning like a maniac. Flash submerged himself in his memories, content to remain there for eternity. Wally felt a tear slide down his cheek as he remembered standing beside Uncle B and Aunt I at their wedding. He could almost smell his aunt's flower perfume and his uncle's vague scent of chemicals mixing in the air.
Wally was pulled out of his memory when an explosion shook the ground below his feet. He stumbled but thanks to his training, managed to catch himself before he fell into a hundred-mile face plant. Flash slowed his pace and turned to the direction of the disturbance. He found himself staring into the ruins of Central City.
Thanks to his state of utter shock, Wally didn't even realize he was running towards the city until he was actually surrounded by the destruction. He stepped back, but as if the world was trying to end him, Flash felt himself step onto something warm and sticky. Slowly, he peered down at the ground to find he'd stepped on a burnt, bloody arm. The Flash took off before he could vomit.
It was in that period that Flash lost himself for the second time, but the difference was: he could never come back from this. The Reach had succeeded in breaking him. Before he could slip into insanity, Flash used his last few seconds of unaltered hope to run to the end.
The setting blurred as Wally ran faster and faster. Soon, he was traveling at speeds he'd never achieved before. Just in front of him, he could see his family, the ones he'd lost for so long, standing with open arms and bright smiles that screamed come. So Wally did, and he jumped right into their embrace.
If one were to look at this scene from a different point of view, they would see nothing more than a trail of dust followed by a bright flash, like a great light had gone out in the universe. When the light faded, the Flash would be gone. The only thing left of the broken speedster would be one single word etched into the remnants of what was once called Earth. Hope.