A/N: I AM ALIVE! I SWEAR IT!
Thanks to LTRB (yeah, I meant to delete that) and Broken Antler in Winter for reviewing and for suggesting names for Blond Bait Kid.
And the winner is… *drum role*
Sebastian! You're right, it really does fit him.
His middle name shall be Damon (Dami for short, if it pleases you, my reviewer).
And his last name shall be Kristoff. Only because that one made me laugh a lot. I don't know why.
"Where is he?!" Barry Allen, the Flash, nearly shouted as he paced the length of the abandoned café* at superspeed. He was burning a mark in the floor in the process.
"He was supposed to meet me here half an hour ago!" Coming to a stop, Flash sighed, and pulled out his cell phone.
"Calm down Barry, he probably just over slept. Like usual." He muttered to himself as he dialed up his step-sister. He tapped his foot impatiently as the phone rang.
"Hello?" A woman's voice asked.
"Hi, Mary. It's Barry**. Listen, uh-"
"Oh, Barry, how are you? It's been a while since we last saw each other, though Wally does his best to keep me posted on you and Iris." Mary West said to the speedster, whose foot was tapping even faster now as he stared out of the windows, searching for his nephew's distinctive yellow and red blur.
"Fine, fine. Listen, is Wally awake yet? I was supposed to meet him half an hour ago.
"No, he's not asleep. He left to go meet you about forty minutes ago. Is he still not there?" Mary's voice became laced with worry for his son.
"No, he's not here. That's why I asked."
"Oh Barry, do you think he's all right?! I couldn't live with my self if… if…" She trailed of, unable to continue. Barry took a deep breath. She had just voiced the same fears that Barry faced every time Wally went with him on a mission. But he had to be strong, for Wally, and for his distraught sister-in-law.
"Mary, calm down, I'm sure he's fine. He probably just got distracted with a pick pocket. He does that a lot. I'm sure he's fine. He's just running a little late." He said, his voice steady. Though he was reassuring himself more than Mary, the mother seemed to calm down.
"You're right. I'm jumping to conclusions. He's fine. Just late." She repeated.
"Here, how about I go ahead and search the city and see if he's here? I'll call you after to tell you whether or not I found him. Does that sound okay?" Barry offered.
"Okay. Call me when you're done." She hung up. Barry put away his phone and sighed, rubbing his face against the palm of his hand.
"Wally, where are you?!" he muttered. Then he was gone in a flash of crimson.
THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE.
Uhhhh... my head. Where am I?
"Well. Here he is, just as you asked. Do you have the rest of our money?"
Money? For what? My money? Did I forget my money? Lunch money? I am hungry... And why does that voice sound so… familiar?
"Yeah, yeah. Here ya go. Take yer stinken money."
Okay, I definitely know that voice. But from where…
"…Seven hundred… eight hundred… nine hundred… Ah! One thousand! It has been a pleasure doing business with you, sir. I trust you'll spread the name around? You know how it is when you're just getting started out!"
Oh yeah. I've heard that voice before. Recently. But who… Oh well. I'll figure it out. Hope that kid got home sa… Wait, the Kid! That's it! That's who that is! When I get my hands on him…
"Sure, sure. I'll spread the word. What was it… uh, Kristian, right?"
Now I just have to figure out who that is. I don't think I like him, though…that would explain why I'm bound and gagged…
"Sebastian. Sebastian Damon Kristoff."
So that's his real name, huh? I'll have to ask Rob to look 'im up. When I get outta here, that is…
"What ever you say, kid. Now why don't ya scram? I want sum alone time wi' my dear, dear son."
Son? Wait. Wait. No. No, it can't be. U-Uncle*** Barry put him away years ago! It can't be. No, no nononononononono…
THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE.
Robin cackled as he flipped over Kaldur, dodging the older boy's moves easily. Dick knew that the leader wasn't really trying. Neither was he. This was just for fun, something to pass the time until Wally arrived from patrol with his uncle.
It was strange. Wally was always late, but he usually got to the cave only about fifteen minutes after everyone else. Today, he was almost half an hour late. Dick was worried for his friend, though he (being Robin) hid it well.
Suddenly, the Zeta-Tube came to life.
Recognized, Black Canary, A-1-3
Kaldur stopped sparring, and turned to the whirring Zeta-Tube. Taking this as an opportunity, Robin smiled and grabbed Kaldur's hand, flipping him over his shoulder and onto his back. Standing over his leader, Robin let out another cackle. The others joined in; even Kal cracked a smile from his position on the floor.
"Sorry I'm late. It's good to see that you got started with out me." Black Canary said, looking pointedly at the Atlantean on the ground as she stepped out from the light. She looked around at the others, who had been watching.
"Where's Wally?" she asked.
"He's with the Flash. He was patrolling with him today." Rob replied, helping Kaldur off of the floor.
"He'll probably be here soon. Wally probably just got distracted with having a snack or five." Artemis said, stepping forward from the wall she had been leaning against with a small smirk. She crossed her arms as she walked over to stand next to Robin.
Rob studied her out of the corner of his eye. He shoulders were tense, and her eyes kept darting toward the Zeta-Tube.
She's worried too. He thought to himself.
Canary smiled at Artemis, then rubbed her face tiredly.
"Sorry, it's been a long day." She sighed. The others smiled at her. The life of a superhero could be rough.
"Now then, since he's not here yet, we'll just have to get started. Kaldur, your defense was good, but when facing small, quick opponents, like Robin, you have-"
She was interrupted by the whirring of the Zeta-Tube coming to life once again. Robin and the others turned toward it.
"See? Here he is." Artemis said, smiling.
Recognized, Flash A-0-4
The smile fell from her face as the computer announced the arrival of a different speedster than the one she had been hoping to see.
The Flash shot out of the Zeta-Tube, and skidded to a stop near the team. He was breathing hard, his expression frantic. He glanced around at the surprised faces of the Team and Canary, as if looking for someone. Scanning their faces, his expression simply became more worried.
Canary stepped up to the man.
"Flash? Are you all ri-?" she started cautiously.
Suddenly, he shoots away, cutting her off.
"Flash!" she yells after him. She exchanged worried glances with the teens surrounding her, but made no move to follow. After all, it was the Flash. They'd never catch up.
For a few seconds, all they could see were a few blurs of crimson, flashing from hallway to hallway. Almost as suddenly as he had started, the Flash pulled up in front of the young heroes and Canary. Breathing even harder than before, he looked around at their faces once more. Robin stepped up to the frazzled speedster.
"Flash, what is wrong?" he asked, concerned. The speedster took a deep, shaky breath.
"Well,Wallywassupposedtomeetmeearlierforpatrol,buthenevershowedup. Icalledhismomtoaskifhewasstillathome, causeyouknowWally, buthewasn't. ThenIcalledhiscomlink, andhiscell, andtryedtofindhistrackingsignal, butIcouldn't. SoIsearchedthewholecity, andGotham, andStar, and-"
"FLASH!" Artemis, Canary, and Robin all yelled at the same time, interrupting the flow of words from the man's mouth.
"We can't understand you when you talk that fast. Now, what's wrong? Slower this time." Artemis said, with surprising patience. The flash took another deep breath. Looking around at them, he spoke.
"Wally is missing."
THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE. THIS IS A LINE.
A/N: Mwahaha! Evil cliffy! Except, it isn't really a cliffy, considering we already know what happened. Heh.
This chapter is so much shorter than the first one… Oh well.
*I saw in another fic that there was a Zeta Tube in an old abandoned café in Central City, so I decided to use it as the meeting place. It's not a zeta tube though, just a sorta safe place for the two speedsters to meet up at before patrolling.
**Heh. I rhymed.
***Can you stutter when you're thinking?
Cookies to those who review!
Disclaimer: *Checks files, emails, extra* Nope. Don't own any of the characters. I don't even own the original idea. Just this particular story. *sigh*
