*Beep-Beep*
*Beep-Beep *
*Beep-Beep *
"Huh?" Wally groped around until his hand connected to whatever seemed to be making the noise. It was coming from his Young Justice Team communicator. Groaning Wally glanced at his digital clock and nearly cursed when he saw it was nearly four thirty in the morning.
Wally answered the call to see Batman's face appear on screen. "This is an automated message to all team members." Batman's face morphed into a map of Canada as he continued speaking. "At four fifteen this morning, our sensors picked up multiple underground disturbances with small tremors going off exactly two minutes apart from each other. While seemingly harmless, the tremors increase in strength over time and it has been estimated that if the source isn't found and destroyed in time, the entire town of Ottawa, Ontario may be destroyed. Your job as a team is to split up into two groups. One group will keep the civilians safe. The other will find and shut down the source. Be at the cave at four thirty-five. Don't be late and don't make any mistakes. People's lives are in your hands now, Batman out.
Wally was in his costume and rushing down the street in four seconds flat. He arrived at the Zeta tube and scanned himself in. "Recognized Kid Flash B03." Wally closed his eyes as the familiar sensation entered his body and opened them as the cave materialized into place.
Robin was already there along with Conner and Miss Martian. All had grim expressions on their faces. Silently Wally pleaded for everyone to arrive faster and immediately like magic (if it existed) the machine whirled again revealing Kaldur and Artemis. The mind link was set up wordlessly and they quickly split up into two groups. They piled into the Bioship which lifted off the ground the moment everyone was inside. Miss Martian and Kid Flash were staying up top to keep civilians safe while the rest would try to find the source of the problem and take it out.
The Bioship arrived at the target location dropping of Miss Martian and Kid Flash. Their powers enabled them to get most people to safety in the fastest time. The rest of the team stayed in the Bioship while Robin scanned for the area that seemed to be creating the tremors. Robin's voice excitedly sounded in their minds "Ok we got a lock on the source! Keep us updated on the situation in the city."
"Will do Rob." The Bioship flew away leaving the two young heroes to save anyone one in danger. Even though it was almost 5 o'clock in the morning people were out of the buildings and panicking. "Miss Martian scan for the least damaged building and we will drop all the civilians there."
"Ok done, I am sending you a mental picture of it now." Wally quickly located the building and began moving people there one by one. All of a sudden he witnessed an explosion in another part of the city and quickly sped over to the location of the blast. What he saw disgusted him. Some people taking advantage of the chaos were stealing from both the jewellery store and the bank's vault. Kid Flash sighed and went to subdue the trouble makers who looked like they were in their late teens to early adults. He would have given them a big talking to but there was too much to do and too many people left to save. He took them to the safe house tied up and quickly explained the situation to a police officer that was helping the place to be organized and efficient. The officer leaned them against the wall and guaranteed that they would not go unpunished.
Wally sighed. These people weren't helping the situation. They were just adding to the chaos. If people continued to act this way the job could never be done in time. "Miss Martian. Can you patch me through to Robin? I want to check on how far is he to finding the source. We can't save all these people in time." Her voice sounded in his head. "All right patching you through to him now." Her voice paused for a moment. "I can't reach him. I can't reach any of them!"
"What do you mean you can't reach any of them? You were talking to them 10 minutes ag-" his train of thought was interrupted as a large drill piece erupted out of the ground. The drill piece was attached to a robot that was carrying the unconscious bodies of his friends. A small man who sat behind the controls giggled like mad.
"Behold! I am Rupture!"He shouted through a loudspeaker. He glanced at the ruined buildings and smiled. "Too long have my methods and ideas been rejected to use heavy drills for a more efficient form of mining. If you won't accept me and my ideals, I will force you to!" Wally mentally sighed where do these morons come from? But judging by the unconscious bodies of his friends, this man no matter how crazy, was a formidable threat.
Wally decided to engage the villain in a conversation. Many were able to be manipulated through shallow emotions such as pride and greed. If he could get him to talk long enough, Miss Martian would have the chance to get him. "So how did you manage to take out four superheroes without sustaining any damage?"The man finally noticed Kid Flash standing there and pointed at the pile of his friends which he had made. He then grinned and pointed at his machine. "This antenna detects vibrations based on movement under and above ground. It then takes the information and predicts the probable location the target is going to arrive at and takes them out. Your friends never saw it coming." He continued his one-sided conversation with Wally while Miss Martian quietly moved the team and equipment to a safer location out of the fighting zone. Once she had made sure the team wouldn't be harmed she activated her camouflage and slowly moved into position behind the villain. The man was still talking. "It can also cause small earthquakes like the one I used to take out your friends. But you want to know the coolest thing?" Not even waiting for an answer he continued. "It can detect people trying to sneak up on me while I am supposedly not paying attention."
Wally turned to M'gann who was floating behind the machine; out of earshot to their conversation. "Miss Martian! Watch out!" but it was too late of a warning. Miss Martian's eyes widened in horror to see the robot swing it arm in a wide arc almost as if he knew she was there... Bam, she fell to the ground out like a light. The little man grinned evilly "You see Kid Flash my robot can analyse your next movement based on your patterns with ninety-nine percent accuracy. It can keep up with your speeds, so don't even try.
Wally's brow furled in concentration His robot can keep up with my speeds so long as he can analyse the vibrations around him. All which is picked up by that antenn—that's it. I have to take it out.
"So Kid Flash, are you prepared to surrender?" Wally raised his hands and began walking towards the villain. "I surrender." The man's grin if possible widened but disappeared when he realized it was a ploy.
Wally sped towards the robot intent on shutting it down but was narrowly hit by the robots spinning drill and was knocked to the ground with a small tremor. The villain sneered at his effort "Like I said Kid Flash. I know how you operate and I will always be one step ahead of you."
Wally silently cursed under his breath. He failed his team, he failed the civilians and worst of all failed himself. He glanced back at his still teammates. His eyes widened when he saw Artemis's bow still in her hand with one arrow left in her quiver. A grin replaced the look of sadness on his face in a flash (Totally a pun :P) and looked back up at the villain. "So you can predict my moves. Predict this."
He broke into an all out sprint and left with a blur which the machine promptly followed sending earthquake after earthquake into his path. Having timed it perfectly, Kid Flash jumped over the unstable plots of land and slid next to his knocked out teammates. He quickly removed the bow and quiver from Artemis and rolled away from the team so they wouldn't risk getting caught in the line of fire.
Wally using the rest of his energy put on a final burst of speed and ran directly at the robot. He barely dodged the metal arm that swung at his head by ducking in time and ran up to a perch that offered him higher ground. In lightning speed he took out the arrow and lined up the shot to his target the way he learned just twelve hours back. With a small prayer on his lips, he smiled and let the arrow fly.
Wally being naturally fast saw everything around him on slow motion. The arrow too small to be noticed by the robot's sensors, wobbled in the wind and buried itself in the robot's metal body about a foot away from what the antenna was aiming for.
"It didn't hit it..." Wally mumbled. He had been expecting to make the shot but hadn't accounted for the wind. How stupid was he!? When the villain saw that his Robot was safe and sound he laughed hysterically at the prospect of getting revenge on those who belittled his genius in the past. But then the unexpected happened. From the arrowhead came a beeping noise that primed the arrow for an explosion. The villain looked up at Wally who was now smiling at the reversal of fortunes.
"Help." Was the last thing the villain uttered before the explosion ripped off one of the robot's arms and broke the antenna. The glass covering the cockpit shattered and the shockwave was enough to knock the villain out.
Wally sank to his knees in exhaustion and became aware that most of the population of the city was applauding them for saving their lives. A few reporters even came up to him with questions. "Kid Flash what can you tell us about your amazing performance with the new villain Rupture?" Another female reporter stuck her mike in his face. "Kid Flash, what are you doing in Canada so far away from your home city?"
"I first of all would like to say it was a team effort and may have taken a bit of luck to defeat this new villain. Second of all, we were here because we were needed. We are superheroes and we are just doing our jobs." He stood up. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to get the team back to HQ." He gestured towards the criminal who was unconscious in the smoking wreckage of his robot. "Someone take care of him would you?"
Wally managed to drag his teammates into the Bioship and put it into the air. He put the ship on autopilot and it began flying back to Mount Justice. He slumped into his seat and groaned as Batman's face appeared on his team communicator. "Young Justice, progress report."
Wally tiredly joined the call. "Hey Bats." The eyes on Batman's cowl narrowed "Why isn't Aqualad the one who is giving me the mission report?" Wally sighed. "Because Aqualad as well as the rest of the team are taking a little nap at the moment. "
Batman's eyes widened "Is Robin –? "
"Robin's fine Bats. He's got a pretty nasty bump on his head, but is otherwise fine." Wally could hear Batman's sigh of relief on the other end.
"So how did the mission go?"
Wally saw that they were almost back at their Mount Justice. "Bat's I'll give you the short version now because I'm really tired. There was a new villain called Rupture who knows advanced robotics as well as manipulation of physics. Went pretty psycho that no one liked his mining ideas so decided to take it out on the town." By the time he had finished describing the situation, the Bioship arrived at the hanger and got out of the cockpit to see Batman waiting there.
"Hey Bruce?" Batman stiffened at the mention of his secret identity but motioned for Wally to continue. "Can I stay at the manor for the night?"
"Of course Kid Flash, I'll tell Alfred to prepare you a bed."
Wally yawned. "Can you call Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry to tell them I'm at your place?"
"I'll do that."Wally thanked him, then walked to the zeta –tube and began inputting the coordinates for the manor.
"Wally?" Wally spun around at the mention of his name to see Batman with Robin in his arms.
"Umm yes?"
"Thanks for bringing him back safe... and good job today." Wally let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Thanks, I needed to hear that."
The zeta-tube powered up and they all disappeared in a flash of light.
Wally frankly didn't really remember much after that because as soon as his head touched the pillow on the bed Alfred set out for him, he fell into a deep sleep.
/## 0 ##\\
Wally woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. He blinked a few times and waited for his vision to focus. Eventually the blurred shape in front of him shifted into Alfred. "Good morning Master Wallace. I regret to inform you that it is indeed time to get up. I have already made your favourite breakfast in the kitchen so do please come while everything is hot." Wally groaned at the lack of sleep, but still got out of bed. The prospect of food was too much to ignore especially the fact that it was cooked by Alfred whose cuisine could only be described as perfection on a plate.
After brushing his teeth in under a second and getting into his Gotham Academy uniform, he made his way downstairs following his nose to the kitchen. Both Bruce and Dick were enraptured in the television which was showing all the events that had happened the previous night. Alfred however was making an omelette in a frying pan at the kitchen. Alfred greeted him as he came into the kitchen with a polite "Have a seat beside Master Richard Master Wallace; your omelette will be ready in a moment." Wally thanked him and sat beside Dick.
"Hey dude." He noticed that the bump on his head seemed to have gotten smaller through the night. "That bump doesn't look too whelming Dickie." He said with a teasing tone. "But whatever, don't worry. The ladies will still lo-"
"Thank you." Dick said in a quiet voice. Wally broke off mid-sentence. "Dude, what for?"
"For saving me back there yesterday." His tearing eyes met with his Wally's. They were family in all but blood. They both knew what it meant to lose someone close to them and knew the each other's pain.
"It was nothing." Wally tried to say nonchalantly. But Dick wouldn't have any of it.
"No! It wasn't nothing!" Dick voice rose into a shout. "If I had been more observant, we could have avoided his attack. We would be able to take him down as a team and you wouldn't have to face almost impossible odds to defeat him!" He by then stood up and was pacing. "The mission nearly failing was my fault! It was my fau-" Wally closed the distance between themselves and hugged the younger boy to his chest as he sobbed.
"I don't want to lose you." He cried. "I couldn't bear it if you died because of me."
Wally held the boy in his arms and rubbed his back soothingly. Sometimes it was easy to forget Dick was a fourteen year old with almost no family. Soon Dick's sobs began to soften and Wally whispered to him "You're not going to get rid of me that easily."
The noise Dick made was halfway between a sob and laugh and as they separated from their hug Wally saw a genuine smile on his face. "Ok squirt go wash up those manly tears off your face and come back with a smile you hear me?"
Dick smiled and said softly "I think I could manage that." He climbed the stairs and went to the bathroom to clean up.
Wally turned to see Bruce smiling approvingly at him. "You just wait until he hits his growth spurt and we'll see just who will be called squirt."
Alfred set a plate full of food before him "Here you go Master Wallace eat up." Wally gladly picked up his fork and took to emptying his plate and the next three that followed. By then Dick had returned with a smile and began eating his meal with gusto. They both finished off their breakfast and made way for the door until Dick remembered that they would need to get their bags first. Dick volunteered to go get them and Wally sat on a chair near the entrance.
All of a sudden a knock sounded at the door. Wally cautiously opened to be swept into a hug by his uncle. "Uncle Barry... can you let me go? I would enjoy some oxygen." His Uncle let go of him and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well your little escapade to the 'True North, Strong and Free' (Canada) has landed on about half the television networks and newspapers in this country and the next."
"Wow you've been keeping tabs on me? And to think I thought Batman was a stalker." Wally joked. His Uncle's face transformed into a mock scowl "Hey I'm Batman. I'm stoic about everything and I absolutely detest feeling happy." Wally's uncle's imitation was so much like Batman that Wally couldn't help but snort in laughter. "So anyway Walls, Aunt Iris wanted me to check on you real quick and make sure you aren't dying or anything" His Uncle deadpanned. "So I'll see you after school ends. Ok?" Wally nodded in affirmation and was once again swept into a hug. Wally hissed in pain when his Uncle brushed the cut on his forearm but Barry didn't seem to notice and left without another word.
Dick appeared behind him with his bag in hand. He took it wordlessly and slung it over his shoulder. Dick bounced from foot to foot. "So, are you ready to go?" Wally nodded in affirmation and they both clambered into the car ready for the day at school ahead.
The car drive was a pretty short one and there was a comfortable silence in the car. No one felt the need to speak, so no one did. The car pulled up to the school already crowded courtyard to see the usual groups of friends and cliques gathered in clusters on the school grounds. With a quick goodbye, Dick scrambled off to find Babs while Wally began looking around for Bette. He finally saw her glued to a book sitting beside the central fountain. Wally walked up to her, "Is that book any good?" Bette looked up and her eyes lit up. "Hey Wally." She patted the empty seat beside her on the bench which Wally happily took.
Bette twirled her hair in her fingers. "So have you seen the news with Kid Flash in Ottawa?" Wally feigned ignorance. "No, why?" Bette shook her head. "I'm amazed you haven't seen it yet. It's everywhere." Wally took the bait. "Ok, what was so special about his performance that it's got all America in suspense?" Bette lightly punched his shoulder. "Because he used a bow dummy, plus he is totally hot. All the girls have been fawning about it all day." Wally raised one eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be supporting Robin though, him being this city's protector?" Bette shrugged, "Well I guess so, but I don't have to like him. I mean he's a great hero and all but Kid Flash is closer to our age."
"So are we still on for second period?" Wally asked. Bette blushed "Yes, I'll meet you there." Wally smiled "Ok sweet."
The bell rang signalling that students should start heading towards their classes. Wally stood up and adopted a horrible attempt at a British accent "May I escort the beautiful lady to her class?" Bette giggled. "Yes please kind sir, thank you." Wally picked up her books in his arms and they made their way over to their first period Math. They barely made it on time as Mr. Girdler shut the door behind them just as the second bell rang signalling the start of all classes. "Try and hurry it up you two, you're cutting it pretty close." They both assured him they would try to be more punctual and took their seats.
The teacher then stood up in front of the class silencing any conversations. "Alright class, yesterday as you may remember we had a diagnostic test on what was learned in the previous years." He looked around the classroom. "I'm glad to say that there were no 70's, a few high 80's, many in the 90's and eight perfect grades in this class." He set the stack of papers down on his desk. "Remember, this is just a review on what has been done last year. This year will probably be the most difficult one you will remember."
"So, in no particular order I will call you up one by one to give you your graded paper." He glanced at the first name. "All right, Amelia." A young girl near the front stood up to go get her paper. The rest of the class began to talk about a variety of subjects, but the conversations mainly revolved around Kid Flash. The teacher's voice rung out over the din. "Wallace West." Wally walked to the front where the teacher handed him his paper with a smile. "Perfect score, keep up the great work." Wally thanked him and returned to his seat. After the rest of the tests had been handed out, the teacher launched into one of the most intense lessons ever. It was all Wally could do to hold onto his pencil.
The bell rung once again and Wally walked out of class followed by Bette. He let out a yawn. "Ok. I really need to get some coffee or something or else I'm going to fall asleep."
"Well good thing we are going to a café, you can get as much caffeine as you would like there." Bette laughed. "Speaking of which, why did you stay up so late?"
Wally froze and uttered the first thing that came to his mind. "Homework?"
Bette frowned. "It was the first day, we didn't really get anything."
Wally mentally slapped himself for the slip up.
"I work ahead so I understand all the material." He deadpanned.
Bette frowned. "With all that work, I'd be surprised if you get any fun in your life at all"
Wally grinned at her "Fun's overrated."
She smiled back "Well I'll just have to prove you wrong."
Wally shot her his lopsided grin and continued their playful banter "Exactly how will you do that Miss Kane."
Bette then seemed to get nervous, her voice went softer and a light blush began to coat her cheeks. "First of all don't call me Miss Kane. I don't call you Wallace, as for proving you wrong there's the Gotham harvest fair on Friday. If you are free that day-"
Wally cut her off. "Bette would you like to accompany myself to the Gotham harvest fair?"
Bette just nodded shyly.
"So about six o'clock?"
Wally grinned in the prospect of their date "Sounds good babe."
Wally steered them in the direction of the café. "Now about that coffee..."
/## 0 ##\\
The café was almost empty by the time they got there and they took a small booth near the back. One of the waitresses walked over and took their order. Bette took the special coffee of the day which was a blend of three different coffees in one cup, while Wally promptly ordered a double espresso.
While they waited for their beverages they lapsed into a comfortable silence. It was calm and peaceful, so calm in fact, that Wally drifted off into his much-needed rest. Bette played with her hair and when she glanced over at Wally she saw him softly snoring with his head resting on his bag. Bette quietly chuckled and shook her head. She leaned on the table and quietly watched him for a while until their beverages came. When the waitress came back with her small cart, Bette softly shook him awake. Wally groaned and opened one eye and then bolted up in his seat. He began to apologize but Bette waved it off and began to sip her coffee. At this point Wally noticed the small cup in front of him and took a few sips. He slowly felt the sleepy feeling dispel and looked up to see a laughing Bette.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"You drool in your sleep."
He sputtered. "I do not."
She smiled "Whatever helps you sleep at night West."
Bette seemed to open up when she was with him. Whenever Wally saw her interact with other students, she seemed so... professional. Even though she was very friendly with everyone, Wally believed that he had gotten her to open up to him more than anyone else.
"So what do you think?" Bette's voice pulled him out of his trance.
"About what?" He replied missing the question.
"I was asking whether it would be ok if you met my parents before we went on our date on Friday. They would want to meet you if we are going to date."
"Ya, I can do that."
Bette's face broke into a smile. "Great, my parents will love you."
They weren't seriously dating yet, but it wouldn't hurt to ask Bette's parents for permission to date her just to be safe.
Wally all of a sudden realized that he had no idea when any of his sports tryouts were. He and Dick talked through the announcement. He decided to pose the question to Bette. "So when exactly are the track and soccer try outs?"
Bette gave him an amused look. "Why would I know? They only announce it once and if you miss the tryout, you probably won't make the cut."
Wally was about to protest about the unfair system when he saw the mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Wow, you had me going for a second. But really, do you know when?"
Bette laughed across the table "Today after school on the track field. Good luck. I hear they can get pretty competitive."
"Competitive in a track team?"
Bette nodded. "Person with the best running times overall will most likely get the position of captain. It's a small power struggle."
Wally crossed his hands behind his head. "I can't wait."
/## 0 ##\\
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly and when the bell sounded Wally was the first one out the door. He pushed through the crowd of students and waved goodbye to Bette while shouldering his heavy bag. He found his locker and deposited his school materials there. He was left with a t-shirt and shorts which he was going to change into somewhere less public. He set his eyes on the male change room and found the door. It seemed empty so he entered. He set his bag on the ground, took out his running shoes and began undoing the laces. The door creaked open and a lanky blond boy entered. The boy set down his change of clothes too and began whistling a tune that Wally couldn't place.
They made eye contact and the boy smiled at him showing his startlingly white teeth. "You trying out for the track team?"
Wally nodded "Ya, you too?"
"Yup." He outstretched his arm to shake which Wally grasped firmly. "The name's Daryl. You?"
"Wally West."
The boy guffawed "Dude, your names Wallace."
Wally frowned; that was not the reaction he was expecting. "Ya, I get that a lot."
"Naw man, no worries. So what's your beep test?"
"Twenty-five."
Daryl whistled appreciatively. "A perfect twenty-five? Well, if you're telling the truth, you are a shoe-in for team captain. I only managed to get till twenty when I dropped down dead."
By then they had finished changing so they left the locker room and began walking towards the field. By the track, a small crowd of teens had already gathered and were rigorously stretching. Daryl stopped Wally just out of earshot of the other boys. "Just a small word of advice, don't tell people your score right away. Otherwise the captain is going to try and get you off the team any way he can so you can't outshine him and take his spot. It doesn't help that he's a spoiled rich brat who is as gifted academically as well as athletically."
Wally nodded showing he understood and found a place in the medium sized line the other boys had formed. Wally then began his stretching routine. He always made sure to do so before a run because it got all his muscles warmed up. If they weren't warmed up properly, there would always be the chance to rip a muscle or dislocate a joint.
Out of the corner of his eye Wally noticed people pointing at him and whispering non-discreetly. He caught the words 'scholarship' and 'captain' before a loud voice called for their attention. A tall black haired teen stepped in front of group and began slowly walking down the line. Most of the boys around him averted their eyes as soon as he would stop in front of them but Wally looked the boy straight in the eye when he came around.
The boy stopped and smirked at him.
"I can see that you are new here." He was the same height as Wally and carried an air of self importance. "Let me explain to you exactly how things work around here. You look up at me; I take that as a challenge. If I win you're off the team permanently. If you win, I step down and you take my place" He took a second to gauge Wally's reaction looking for any signs of backing down. He frowned seeing that Wally didn't even look the slightest bit frightened of the power he held. But he shrugged it off and resumed his cocky tone.
"So next time, do yourself a favour and look down. I'm not always this generous." He smiled at Wally thinking that there would be no more resistance of his iron rule.
But Wally just smiled back at the teen shocking him. "And if I refuse your so called generosity?"
A cynical smile replaced the brunette's bewildered face in an instant. "Then we will race and you will leave because I don't lose."
Wally chuckled. "Funny, I was about to say the same to you."
The smile faded away into a masked rage and Wally could see he had gotten to him.
"Ok then I, James Aliway heir to the Aliway fortune challenge you to the one hundred meter dash. First one to the finish wins."
Wally nodded "Fine by me."
The rest of the group burst into hushed conversations as they walked over to the sprinting area of the track. As both of them went into their respective lanes Wally glanced back at the small crowd that had gathered. He caught Daryl's eye who shot him an encouraging smile and mouthed "You can do it".
A nervous looking freshman walked up next to the starting line and held the start gun in his hand. After the count of three seconds, he fired it into the air.
Both he and James shot forward towards the finish arms pumping furiously. Wally had to admit that James was a fast runner, but he simply couldn't keep up with Wally's speed and was left behind in the dust.
Wally stood unaffected by the strain of his dash while James stood with his arms on his knees and was panting like a horse. Everyone else who was spectating the race had fallen silent. The uneasy atmosphere was broken by Daryl who whooped out "Go Wallace."
As if a spell had broken, a dam of questions came flooding at him from every angle about how he conditioned his body, was he planning to go to the Olympics anytime soon, and was he related to the Flash.
Wally chuckled internally "If only they knew."
By then James had recovered his breath and was furious. He shook his fist at Wally and growled. "This isn't over."
He then gave a snort of disgust, spun his heel on them and left.
Wally frowned upon his newly made enemy, but steeled himself with the fact that he would do a better job at being a leader than the ex-captain.
After the excitement died down Wally learned his position as team captain required him to attend meetings with the school board and he would have a small say on school matters. Secretly Wally was thrilled because he would have time to spend with Bette.
Speaking of time...
Wally glanced on his watch and nearly fainted. It was 5:30 in the evening and his aunt and uncle were going to sit down for dinner in fifteen minutes!
After hastily excusing himself Wally rushed to his locker and then to the zeta-tube contemplating a more valid excuse to give his aunt for being late. He somehow doubted she would be pleased that they would have to wait, but in the end his aunt always forgave him and his uncle. They may not always have been perfect, but they made it work.
Recognized Kid Flash B-03
The familiar tingling sensation of his particles being disassembled then reassembled at another location occurred and Wally once again saw himself in the familiar abandoned telephone booth in his home city. After quickly checking his surroundings for any civilians who might be watching Wally sped towards his uncle's house too fast for any normal eye to follow. He ran up to the porch and was surprised to see a note attached to the entrance.
Had to stay overtime for work. Order pizza. Money's on the fridge.
-Iris/Barry
Wally dialled up five boxes of pizza from the local pizzeria and then plopped his bag onto the kitchen counter. He absentmindedly began fiddling with his phone when he found his finger hovering over Bette's number. Shrugging he sent out a text.
Wally: Hey, what's up?
A few moments later he got a reply.
Bette: Ugh, studying extracurriculars.
Wally frowned, Bette didn't seem like one that would find any trouble with work, or even admit it for that matter.
Wally: Anything I can help with?
A few moments passed and he got the reply.
Bette: Unless you know Spanish, otherwise I don't see how you could.
Wally smirked. He had been all over the world and knew tons of languages. He knew for a fact that chilli from Mexico could not be beat and in order for him to order the best available meal he knew how to speak Spanish fluently.
The doorbell rang and Wally opened the door to see his pizza had arrived. "Oh hey Carlos. How's the family?"
The teenager seeing Wally grinned. "Sup Wally, they're doing fine thanks for asking. How are Barry and Iris?"
Wally smiled "They're good too. How much do I owe ya?"
"Fifty-six dollars twenty cents."
Wally nodded and counted out three crisp twenties. "Keep the change."
The teen nodded. "Will do Walls, see ya next time." Wally waved to him as he drove off; he then closed the door and brought his food to the kitchen.
Carlos's family owned the best pizza shop in town and kept the business mainly inside the family. Seeing the amount of times he and Barry would order pizza, Wally was already familiar with most of the family.
Grabbing a slice Wally turned his phone on and messaged back to Bette.
Wally: I do as a matter of fact, what do you need help with?
Bette: Thank God! How do you conjugate the verbs?
Wally proceeded to coach her through the steps to conjugate verbs while munching on his pizza. After about ten minutes when Bette finally got the concept, Wally reached to grab another slice to find all five boxes empty.
Finding his hunger reasonably sated, Wally quickly cleaned up the house and reviewed what he had learned for class. Having nothing to do, he texted Robin.
Wally: Duuuuuude I'm sooooo bored.
Dick: So what am I supposed to do about it?
Wally: Entertain me young grasshopper.
Dick: Can't. Have patrol soon. Go bug Roy. Later.
Wally frowned reading the last text he had received, but brightened up when he saw his fellow redhead's name. Wally had neglected to visit the older teen that he viewed as a brother very often since their small fallout on Independence Day. Nevertheless, Wally was ready to patch things up with the archer and maybe go somewhere just the two of them.
His mind set up, Wally quickly donned the costume and rushed out the door only to run back and lock it a few seconds afterwards. The crisp cool autumn air made Wally feel alive in the colourful landscape around him. It had already darkened so Wally put on an extra burst of speed to get out of the cold.
Reaching Star city Wally ran into an alleyway and quickly changed out of his costume and into his civvies. He then walked a few blocks to scarlet archer's rundown apartment. Wally shuffled up the unkempt stairs until he reached the familiar battered door. He raised his hand to knock but decided to sneak in and startle the moody adult. Interestingly the door had been left unlocked and Wally without giving a second thought entered the messy apartment. Wally tiptoed around the clothes strewn all over the floor and did a double take when he saw a bra hanging off a nearby chair.
"Roy you sly dog" Wally grinned as he heard faint noises coming from the bedroom. He was about to leave when his eye caught sight of something horrifyingly familiar. Wally shuffled to the kitchen and gingerly picked up the grinning cat mask. "I... did not see that coming." Taking a quick picture of both objects with his phone, Wally left the room feeling somewhat betrayed.
Wally whipped out his phone and began to text Robin.
Wally: Check out what Roy's got going down at his place.
Wally sent him the picture of the bra and immediately sent another text.
Wally: You'll never guess who.
Robin's response was almost immediate.
Dick: First of all OMG blackmail. Also secondly we know this friend with benefits?
Wally grinned and sent the next picture.
Dick: !
Wally: ikr?
Dick: We are never letting him live this down.
Wally: Agreed. See you tomorrow at school.
Dick: kk. Congrats on captaining the track team btw.
Wally: thnx.
Feeling a bit more satisfied for not being the only one who knew the secret, Wally donned his uniform and sped around the town looking for any crimes to stop.
He found a couple of petty thieves as well as a purse snatcher who were all quickly trussed up and arrested. After that Wally decided to turn in early for the day. Instead of running he took the Zeta tube and barely made it to his bed before tiredly collapsing into it. The events of the day soon caught up to him and Wally embraced the exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep. Needless to say that is the position his aunt and uncle found him in when they got back from their work later.
Barry took one look at him snuggling into his pillow and 'awed' before affectionately ruffling his nephew's hair and going to bed himself.
Curling around his wife Barry realized that Wally was indeed their son. He had grown so much from the lean stringy boy to an athletic, tall, gentleman. Even though he knew Wally couldn't hear him he still whispered. "Sleep tight Wally. Sleep tight", just as he had done all those years when Wally was younger and was getting over the loss of his parents. Even though his father and mother weren't there, he and his wife stepped up to the job. His last thought before he drifted off to sleep was that they were indeed one very happy family.
