A/N: So, I just finished reading the wonderful, wonderful DC Universe: Rebirth, and while I'm absolutely over-the-moon delighted with the return of my all-time favorite character, I had to wonder what the story would have been like if the climax had gone the other way. Don't misunderstand - that was exactly the outcome I wanted, and what I've been waiting for since the New 52 was launched, and if it was any different from what happened in the book I probably would have rioted - but it was an undeniable situation of "what if?" Fanfiction writers' bread-and-butter is "what-if" scenarios, and there was something tragically compelling about the idea of not understanding - or even realizing - what you're losing until it's too late to save it. Hence, this piece.
Obviously, this fic contains spoilers for the book - the major one was freely spoiled by DC even before the issue was released - but still, if you don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now.
For those of you who haven't read the book, but don't mind being spoiled - or if you know who comes back but need the context - here's a quick recap. Wally West has been trapped in the Speed Force since the New 52 timeline began, and he's discovered that someone or something erased ten years of DCU history for an as yet unknown reason. Wally himself was one of the people erased, so no one remembers he existed. He tries to make contact with people in the real dimension to warn them, but unless someone remembers who he is, he'll die and be lost to the Speed Force forever. In the book, Barry remembers just in time to save Wally, and Wally returns to the DCU. In this story, he doesn't.
Disclaimer: I don't own DC or any of its characters, though I love a fair few of them to bits. Italicized dialogue - save one obvious exception - in this story is all Wally's, from the DCU: Rebirth book, so I don't own that, either.
"Goodbye, Barry. Goodbye."
There was a name on the tip of Barry Allen's tongue, but the man in the lightning vanished before he could remember it. The lightning faded until there was nothing to indicate that it had ever been there. Thunder rumbled, but it was completely of the natural kind, the kind that signified that rain was on its way.
Barry stared at the spot where the man had appeared and disappeared for several seconds — which was a long time for a speedster. He felt an inexplicable sense of grief as he recalled how the young redhead had disintegrated. The profound sense of loss was out of place for a man he had not known, but Barry felt undeniably hollow, like he'd just lost something very important.
He felt like he'd lost a part of himself.
"I don't understand," he murmured.
"I hope one day you will."
Barry hoped so too. He wanted to know why the man in the lightning was almost familiar to him. He wanted to know why the sight of the youth's red hair evoked a fatherly emotion he'd never thought he'd felt before. He wanted to know why he suddenly couldn't stop thinking about how Iris would react if he told her about this.
Above all, he wanted to know why he had a horrible feeling that deep anguish awaited him when he finally managed to recall the young man's name.
"…you need to go to Batman…there's something wrong with history. Someone has infected it and you all forgot things. Like me."
Barry narrowed his eyes and took off to the east, speeding towards Gotham. He needed answers, and he needed them now.
Barry stopped short at the sight of Batman reading a letter in the Batcave.
"Ask him about the letter from his father."
"You saw him too." It wasn't a question.
"The man in the lightning? Yes."
"He just appeared to me," said Barry. "He told me to speak to you. And then he…disintegrated. Vanished into the lightning."
"Do you know who he was?"
"No, I don't, but…" Barry tried, but the name eluded him once again. "I think I did."
Bruce's expression didn't change. "Me too."
"You?" Barry was surprised. His eyes drifted to the paper Bruce had set down. "That's it, isn't it? The letter from your father?"
Bruce's eyes narrowed. "He told you about that?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He said to ask you about it. And…I think he was trying to warn me…warn us. He said that there's something wrong with history, and that we've all forgotten things."
"He might be right." Bruce's fingers ghosted over the letter. "I've been thinking about it, but I don't remember how I got this letter."
"I thought it's from your father?"
"It's his handwriting, but there's no date."
"So?"
"Thomas Wayne always dated his letters."
Their eyes met. Neither said anything for a long moment. Something heavy hung in the air, waiting — longing — to be acknowledged.
"You don't know who I am…and you won't remember."
"Bruce…why did you say you knew the man in the lightning?"
"He told me I did. He said he was younger than I would remember. I wouldn't have believed him, but he knew my name."
"He knew mine, too." Barry sighed. "But for the life of me I can't remember his."
"It's Wally."
Time froze. Everything screeched to an absolute standstill.
The air changed. Barry choked on it.
"Barry?"
"How…"
Bruce frowned, but he answered, "He told me himself, but he only managed his first name before the lightning took him away. The name's familiar, but I still don't remember him."
"No," gasped Barry, shaking his head as the first tears spilled down his face. "I didn't mean how, I meant how?"
Bruce was concerned now. "How what, Barry?"
Barry lifted his head, and the agony in his eyes made Bruce catch his breath.
"How could I ever forget him?"
Barry wept for a long time on the floor of the Batcave. The redhead's final words replayed themselves in his head, every one of them full of excruciating meaning now that he remembered, too late, the name of the man in the lightning.
"Wally," he sobbed brokenly. "Wally West."
"Thank you for an amazing life."
He remembered now. He remembered it all. Iris' nephew…a visit to Central City…a bolt of lightning…Kid Flash…the Teen Titans, another thing they'd all forgotten…but Barry remembered now. He remembered Wally West.
"Thank you for your kindness…for your inspiration."
But memory had come too late. Too late to save Wally…would it have saved Wally? Barry didn't know. He was too late to find out.
"Thank you for being there for me so many times…for now…"
Guilt sharpened Barry's grief. After all the times he'd been there for Wally…after everything they'd been through together…he'd failed. At the most crucial point, Barry hadn't been there. And yet Wally had thanked him for that very moment, even as his body had melded with the Speed Force.
"Wally, oh God…I'm so sorry, Wally…"
"…the last time."
"Barry?" Bruce questioned uncertainly.
"We did know him…we loved him. But we forgot him…I forgot him…and he's gone." Barry's voice broke. "He's gone, Bruce…"
"You were right, Barry."
What would they do now? Where would they go from here? If Wally was right — and he had to be right, because there was no other reason Barry would have forgotten his beloved nephew — someone had messed with time. Wally was out of their reach now, but everyoneelse was in danger.
Wally had known that, and he'd used his dying moments to warn them.
And with a sudden clarity, Barry knew what he had to do.
"Every second was a gift."
Someone had warped history — made it unrecognizable — stealing their memories in the process. Thanks to Wally, Barry's memories had returned, but everyone else's remained locked away. Bruce knew Wally's name now, but he still didn't realize what it meant. Iris didn't know she had another nephew named Wally West. Linda Park was probably out there somewhere, with no idea she was missing her husband. Hal was roaming the galaxy with the Green Lantern Corps unaware that a young man who had once called him 'Uncle Hal' had just been lost forever. The former Titans were still puzzling out the mystery of the one member they couldn't account for, the one member they would never see again.
Barry had to fix all of that. He was the only one who knew now.
"I won't die in anguish. I'll go with love in my heart."
And there was something else, too. Wally had disappeared when the flashpoint happened, which meant that whoever had taken their memories was also responsible for Wally's death.
Barry would find out who had done it, not just for the sake of everyone in the universe, but also for Wally.
He owed him that.
"Goodbye, Barry. Goodbye."
Bruce had witnessed Barry break down with a strange, tight feeling in his chest. He had watched as Barry mourned for Wally West, experiencing the jolt of something almost remembered at the mention of the name. He had listened to Barry's desperate apology, and heard his promise to 'fix things'.
Something monumental had just happened…had happened years before…was still happening now.
Bruce needed to find out what.
"Barry."
Barry looked up, his eyes red from crying, face ragged with sorrow. Unbidden, sadness welled in Bruce's own heart, though he didn't understand why.
He needed to understand why.
Bruce pulled off his cowl so Barry could see how serious he was about this, how much he needed to know.
"Who was Wally West?"
Barry's tear-streaked face met Bruce's solemn gaze. There was familiarity in Bruce's eyes, but no recognition yet.
Barry would change that. He would help Bruce remember, and then Iris, Linda, Hal, the Titans, the League…everyone. Wally had been important to them all, and he would be again. This Barry vowed.
Wally was gone forever, but Barry would restore his name and his legacy. It would never make up for how he failed to remember Wally when Wally needed him most, but he could give him this one final gift.
He would make sure the world never forgot Wally West again.
A/N: Remember, this doesn't happen in the book. In mainstream DCU, classic Wally West has finally returned after five years of exile. That particular moment was both touching and triumphant, and it was worth the cost of the book just for that. Though I have to admit I wouldn't have bought the book if I hadn't seen the news articles about Wally's return, the book itself is a brilliant piece of work, both storywise and art-wise. I absolutely recommend buying it.