Chapter Three: Settling In
Yuna was awakened by the sounds of explosions.
KABOOM!..."Crap"…KABOOM!..."Crap"…KABOOM!..."Crap."
She looked over to her left, and was completely unsurprised to see Tidus sleeping soundly. He wouldn't wake for another couple of hours, at least. Even explosions couldn't rouse him, it would appear. Quietly, she retrieved her gun belt, just in case, and crept out into the early morning sunshine. She walked around the back of the large ornate tent that functioned as her house, in time to see the Flash karate chop a rock. She couldn't see what happened, he was in the way, but she did see the rock explode, and Flash suddenly disappear. She blinked, and noticed the red suited figure that was standing next to her.
"Err…hi. Yuna, is it?" She nodded. "I'm gonna guess you're wondering why I'm blowing up rocks outside your house."
"It does seem a little unusual, yes." Yuna said carefully.
"I'm just practicing." He held up his left arm to Yuna's line of sight. "You see, I can vibrate my molecules." At this his arm began to blur, and Yuna found her eyes watering as she looked at it. "And I can pass through solid objects like this." He picked up another rock and swung his vibrating arm at it. Like he said, it passed straight through. "I did it all the time as a kid. But as I got faster…" The rock was starting to shake, and Wally threw it as hard as he could. It suddenly exploded into a cloud of fine dust. "That started happening. So I practice every morning, trying to figure out how to stop doing that." He looked uncomfortable. "Guess I woke you up, huh?"
"Oh, no." She said hurriedly. "I usually get up around this time anyway." She frowned. "Are you comfortable in that suit? It's got to be warm."
"Well, it's not like I've got anything else."
Yuna smiled. "We'll deal with that. I'm sure Tidus has some spare clothes you can borrow."
Wally wasn't sure what to make of that.
--
Fortunately, Tidus's wardrobe had expanded beyond leather dungarees with one leg missing, and Wally found himself kitted out in a pair of light brown three quarter lengths and a white linen shirt. Tidus picked up his costume, and went to put it away.
"No, no. Give that to me."
Puzzled, Tidus complied, and Wally twisted one of the lightning bolt ears in a certain way. Immediately the costume was sucked inwards, until it was packed in the tiny space between the ear pieces. The thunderbolt embellishments collapsed, until the entire thing was condensed into a golden disk, which Wally put into a secret compartment in his ring.
"Neat, huh? I swear that defies some laws of physics." The next second, however, he vaulted behind a chair, and cowered, making the sign of the cross at the objects in Yuna's hands. "No! Keep them away!"
She looked confused. "They're just sandals." She proffered the aforementioned footwear, making Wally cringe.
"Those are not sandals." He stated emphatically. "They're flip-flops."
"Is that bad?"
"Have you ever tried to run in flip-flops? You fall over. Falling flat on your face at the speed of sound redefines 'terminal velocity', I can tell you. I'll go barefoot, thanks."
Yuna glanced at Tidus, who merely shrugged.
--
Flash, in his new gear, ambled over to Wakka, who was engrossed in training the Aurochs.
"Hey man, what's up?"
Wakka turned his head, and frowned. "Who're you?" After a moment, recognition set in. "Flash?"
Wally nodded. "What'cha doin?"
Wakka waved his arm. "This is my Blitz team, the Besaid Aurochs. Tidus is on the team too, but he don't really need as much practice, ya?"
Flash nodded, pretending to understand. Wakka looked like one of those types that would talk about their favourite sport until the apocalypse if you let them. He'd gone through that once, when he'd made the mistake of asking Supergirl to explain Lacrosse.
However…
He picked up a spare Blitz ball from the ground, and bounced it. It rebounded off the packed dirt. Grinning, he turned to Wakka.
"Basketball?"
--
When Lulu came to find her husband, she found the entire team and Wally engrossed in a game of basketball. Wakka leapt up and threw the ball, managing to get it through the iron hoop they had salvaged from a broken barrel and wedged in a tree.
"Hey, Lu! Wanna play?"
She shook her head, smiling slightly as she watched the game her young son holding her hand.
After a while, the game ended, with Lulu being unsure who won. Wally walked over.
"Hi." He said. Lulu nodded. Her gaze was drawn to Vidina, who was tugging on the Flash's hand. Wally squatted down on his haunches, until he and the boy were almost on a level, and Vidina handed him something with all the solemnity of a toddler. Wally gravely accepted the gift, and then drew himself up to look at it. It was a seashell.
"Thank you." He said, and put it in his pocket. Vidina waddled away with all the dignity he could muster, dragging his mother by the hand.
--
Later that day, Wally found himself sitting around the fire, trying to control his hunger. He hadn't run much that day, but it hadn't really helped. It only left him with a burning desire to run, and a lot of pent up energy.
Put simply, he was starving, and the food he had been offered was in portions that would have seemed generous to an ordinary human, but to Wally seemed like they were trying to starve him.
Not wanting to be impolite, he ate as slowly as he could, and ignored the grumblings of his stomach as he sat back, leaning on his hands. Yuna glanced over to him.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, thanks." He flashed her a grin, and went back to looking at the fire.
How am I gonna get home? The League ain't gonna be looking for me, they think I'm dead. I have no idea how to travel across dimensions, and the technology here is pretty basic, from what I've seen. No theoretical physicists on this tropical island. Another thing Bond films lie to us about.
The revelation struck him like a thunderbolt.
I'm not going back, am I? Not under my own power, that's for sure.
After a few moments of hopeless dejection, he was strangely relieved by the thought.
So, unless there's a serious Deus Ex Machina, I'm gonna stay in Spira.
He looked around, absorbing what exactly that meant.
Beautiful scenery, friendly locals, several attractive- if conspicuously taken- women, a distinct lack of huge monsters…I suppose there are worse places to be marooned.