A/N: New chapter, finally here. Another big thank you to my beta, Mahlia. I don't own Young Justice. Review?
(On an unrelated note, I've been hearing things abbout the DC Reboot. Is it true they're killing of Wally?)
Step 7: Let him grow.
Example A:
It was times like this that made Wally sure that Bart saw him as little more than a field medic.
"Well?" Bart demanded, hovering over Wally's shoulder. "What do you think?"
"He's going to be fine," Wally repeated for what must have been the hundredth time. Bart huffed at the generalness of the statement, disappearing and reappearing a second later with an apple that had been resting on the counter in Wally's kitchen. Bart also saw Wally as a venue for food, but he saw mostly everyone and everything as that, so it didn't count.
"How about now? This apple's really bruised. You need to be more careful with your food."
"You need to stop going through my food."
Bart shrugged. "You should really get some churros. I've heard they were very good."
It was from comments that these that led Wally to the conclusion that Bart had spent the day in Mexico, and not simply "in the neighborhood," as he had told Wally when Bart arrived in his apartment bearing a patient in his arms.
"And piñatas. They have candy in them. I could really go for some gummy bears right now. Or Peeps. Where do marshmallows come from? I heard they were from horse hooves. That's not true, is it? Why's he still asleep? Isn't that bad?"
"I drugged him," Wally said casually. "Don't think I could deal with two of you at once."
"Drugs? What drugs? You know drugs usually have a bad connotation to them, Wally. Especially to public schools. Aren't drugs bad? Is Speedy okay with it?"
Wally chuckled, remembering his own school days. "Nah. Roy won't mind. Well, actually, he would, but he won't because he won't find out. Got it?"
Bart frowned. "No. Why would Roy mind? W-"
Wally cut him off before he could continue rambling. "Roy's had problems with drugs."
"What kind of problems?"
He gave Bart a look. "Somebody close to him died because of them. Just don't mention it to Roy or Speedy or anyone that would tell him or Speedy. Got it?"
Yes, Wally was in fact aware that Speedy was Connor Hawke, son of Oliver Queen, ward to Roy Harper. He just wasn't sure if Bart knew that fact. You never could tell with Bart.
"Anyways, can you go run and grab Speedy a change of clothes? I'd like-" Bart was already gone. Depending on whether he grabbed Connor a set of his own cloths or ran to California to Connor's house, Wally had anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minutes to himself.
He looked back down at Speedy. Flash and Speedy had met twice before. The first time, Roy had kicked his butt for not telling him about Bart when he had shared everything. The second time, he had just been escorting Bart on a little sidekick play-date thing, even though Bart was not Wally's sidekick. There was just no other speedster around to do it. Anyways, while he had no idea what Connor thought of him, he had a decent impression of the boy. He seemed quiet, at first, but he quickly grew more friendly towards Bart. Apparently he had an aptitude for trouble as well – of course he would, if he was being raised by Roy - as he and Bart had snuck off to Mexico together. Wally wondered vaguely if Roy knew; there was no way Iris or Jay or Joan did, they never would have approved.
Shoot, Roy. He should probably get around to calling him to say that Wally had his adoptive brother. If he wanted to, he could even use his Justice League communicator, as Roy had just recently joined. A lot of people were wondering about that, why Roy was joining now, when he had always worked solo even after Ollie's death. Wally had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with Speedy.
Connor had decided to change the color scheme of Speedy's costume, probably after his father. Everything that was red on Roy's old uniform was now a hunter green, although he still had the yellow accessories, including the hat (with an, interestingly enough, red feather on it). Why Speedy and Impulse had thought it was a good idea to run around Mexico, Wally had no clue. He only knew that Connor had somehow ending up with a mild sprained ankle and a cut on his head that wasn't as bad as it looked.
"I'm back! So when do you think that Speedy will wake up? Do you think it will snow soon? It's February."
"Hi, Bart." Wally stood up. "Anytime, now. Listen, I've got to go on patrol. There are some things I need to check into."
"Oh," Bart said, stopping his chatter abruptly, wide eyes glancing from Wally to Speedy. "Um…"
"Yeah," Wally replied. Why did things feel so awkward all of a sudden? "You don't…want to go with me, do you?"
Bart seemed surprised. "Grife," he said, "No. I've, um, got to stay here with Speedy."
"Good," Wally said, relieved, but then realized how that must have sounded. "Well, just…lock the door on your way out, wouldn't you?"
Bart nodded and answered, "Sure," but he was looking around Wally's living room again, looking for something else for entertainment. "Hey Wally, do marshmallows really explode when you put them into microwaves?"
"Yes," he answered, walking towards the door, fiddling with his Flash ring. "Don't try it. Bye."
Example B:
It was times like this that made Wally sure that Bart saw him as little more than a way into the Justice League.
"Recognized: Kid Flash. B03. Warning: Stranger. Identify or trigger defense system."
"Idiot," Wally hissed, shooting a glare at Bart, who'd frozen. Apparently, he hadn't anticipated the security system when he'd broken through one of the walls. Of course, this was Impulse. He never thought ahead to anything. Wally crossed to the computer that dominated one of the walls of Mount Justice. God, he hadn't been in here since…since he was 18.
"Warning: Stranger. Identify or trigger defense system."
"Yeah, yeah," Wally grumbled, searching his brain for how to disable this thing. "Um… Mount Justice Override-WW-3?"
"Recognized: Kid Flash." Man, they needed to update this thing. "Identify Stranger."
"Reprogram. Recognize Impulse, C01." Bart was staring at Wally with an awed look on his face. He hoped Bart knew this was just so the cave didn't kill him. They would not be spending any time here."
"Input data."
Wally sighed. "Darn it. This is all your fault."
"That is so cool," Bart cried, rushing over to stand next to him. "Why is it calling you Kid Flash? Haven't you fixed it? Is this really where Young Justice's headquarters is?"
"Was," Wally corrected, typing in the minimum information he could on Impulse the computer would accept. "Hey, how much do you weigh?"
"With or without my shoes?"
Wally shot his cousin a strange look. "With."
"115."
"Wow. Midget."
"Hey!" Bart shouted indignantly, placing his hands on his hips, something jingling in his left hand as he did so.
Wally looked down, remembering the reason that he'd chased Bart to Mt. Justice in the first place. "I don't owe you anything. Give me back my keys!"
Bart squeezed Wally's key ring in his hands and hid it behind his back. "Nope. Not yet. You still need to listen to me."
"You could have talked to me back at Keystone," Wally replied scornfully, glancing back at the computer screen. Blood type? Bart's blood, which Wally had personally examined, seemed to be something like ABC neutral. It had reacted with just about every antigen he mixed it with. Silly future-people. He typed in O negative and hoped Bart never donated.
"No. You would have been distracted at home. Besides, what would be a better place to talk about reforming the team than-"
Reforming? What did he mean, reforming? "NO," Wally interrupted loudly. "No way." He tapped enter on the computer screen before turning around to Bart. "Not a chance."
"You didn't let me finish!" Bart exclaimed, stepping backwards out of Wally's reach. "I said I wanted to reform your old team."
"No," he repeated again bluntly.
"Why not? You got a team, and you were fine," Bart insisted.
"It was not fine. Look how much trouble we got into-"
"And look at what you accomplished!" Bart interrupted. "Come on. There's me, Speedy, and Robin. You said Wonder Woman had a younger sister that was a teenager. And the Doom Patrol just took in that shape-shifter-"
"No," repeated Wally.
"It's not that far-fetched! Look, all you have to do is mention it to the Justice League-"
"And they'll say no," Wally concluded.
"Wal-ly! It's not fair!"
"Life's not fair." Wow. He hated himself for saying that line.
Bart glared at him for all he was worth. "Why do you never even consider anything I have to say?"
"Why do you only focus when you're arguing with me?"
"You hate me because of me attention span?" Bart shrieked. "I'm obviously fine, Wally! I've been Impulse for a year! Do you know how long a year is for me?"
"I don't hate you," Wally commented dryly.
"Then just listen to me. Our team will have a Robin, we'll have me, which is better than a Kid Flash, we'll have an archer, we'll have a meta, we'll even have a green shape shifter. Just like your team."
Wally swallowed, ignoring the fact that they forgot Aqualad. It would be cruel to ask another Atlantean to join the team. "And where did you get all of this information about my old team?"
"Robin," Bart supplied shortly, crossing his arms.
Ah. Robin could do anything. Wally changed tactics. "Look, Bart, even if I said anything, it still wouldn't happen. I don't have as much influence as you seem to think I do."
Bart glowered at him. "That's a lie. You're the Flash."
"I'm twenty-three. The rest of the League is in their thirties."
"You forgot Red Arrow."
"He doesn't count."
"Why not? You can't just change the rules like that!"
"Yeah, I can. I'm the Flash. I'm the fastest man alive."
"Well, I'm the fastest boy alive. Just like you used to be. And if you got this chance, I deserve to have it too! What's the worst that could happen?"
"You could die!" Wally shouted. "Don't you get that?"
Bart glared at him. "Not really, Wally. How am I safer running around Central City by myself than I am with a team?"
"Because the team's not experienced enough," Wally insisted. "And you're not alone in Central. You have me!"
Bart jumped away from Wally. "I have you?" he shouted, waving his arms in the air. "How on earth do I have you? You don't patrol with me! You don't teach me anything! You hate me! You ignore me whenever you can!"
"I don't hate you!" he responded back. "You're an annoying little pip-squeak, but I don't hate you! Get that into your head! If you're going to be a member of this family, you need to learn-"
"What family?"
"You and me! The Flash family! That's what they call groups of superheroes with the same power who work with each other."
"But we don't! We're not a family!"
"Yes, we are!"
"Prove it!" Bart cried, turning away. He'd taken a step towards the door when the teleporter lit up and the computer announced for the second time that day "Recognized: Batman. 02. Warning: Stranger. Identify or trigger defense system."
Wally groaned. "Great," he started sarcastically, as Batman and Robin stepped into the hall, the former looking incredibly hostile.
"Flash," Batman growled. "What is the meaning of this?"
Prove it. The words stung in Wally mind. "Oh, nothing much," he said with that distinct light tone of voice that means there most definitely is something much. "Just the revival of the Young Justice team."
Batman narrowed his eyes, Robin asked, "What?" and Bart's eyes widened so much they were in danger of falling out of his head.
"Yeah, didn't you hear?" Wally continued. "Impulse will be on it, Robin will be on it, Speedy too, Diana's little sister, and Changeling from the Doom Patrol."
Aw man, the Bat-glare. Good thing he was trained in ignoring it. "You have no-" Batman started.
"Authority?" He finished, shrugging. "Overrated. It's such an insignificant thing in the long run, anyways. Besides, I'm the Flash, the fastest man alive. I can do anything. Hey, do you think you could plug Robin into the computer before it does its best to annihilate him? Thanks, Bats."
Bart practically threw himself at Wally, wrapping his arms around his older cousin's stomach and burying his head in the front of the Flash costume. Wally tugged his keys out of Bart's hand and started towards the door, Impulse still attached to him. "Anyways, do you think you could ask Nightwing about being the one who assigns these guys missions? I bet he'd be perfect for the job. See ya around!"
As soon as they were outside the mountain (he decided against the zeta-beam, Bart would ask waaay to many questions in front of Batman) he demanded, "Bart, let go of me," pushing the younger speedster away by the face.
"Youwon'tregretthisWallyIpromisewe'llbethebestteam-"
"Whatever," he grunted, started jogging back home, not waiting for Impulse to catch up. There was going to be hell to pay later. Pure hell.
"Thisissocoolyoure' thebestever! WereallyareafamilynowsoIlove-"
"Shut up," Wally snapped. "Or else I'll turn back around and tell Batman I was hallucinating and not to listen to anything I said."
Bart wrinkled his nose. "But you told him you were hallucinating last week."
Wally shrugged. "Eh. Doesn't mean he won't pretend to buy it. He already thinks I'm crazy anyways. I'm pretty sure he plans to throw me in Arkham Asylum with the Joker once I stop being useful."
Bart visibly perked up. "Wow. Have you ever met the Joker?"
"Yeah," he said slowly. "It was a long time ago, though. In a galaxy far, far away." He cast an amused eye on Bart, who was looking really interested in the whole thing. "I was wearing those goggles," he finished dramatically, pointing to Bart's face.
"Really?" Bart squealed.
Wally snorted. "No. Stupid kids. They'll believe anything."
"I heard that!"
"Hallucinations, Bart. Hallucinations."
Example C:
It was times like this that made Wally think that Bart saw him only as a sort of entertainment.
"Hey, Wally, I know I missed the graduation ceremony but I still want to say congratulations on becoming a Doc- oh my god."
Wally and his girlfriend sprang apart on the couch. "Bart," Wally croaked, straightening his shirt while Linda attempted to fix her mussed hair. "What have I told you about just inviting yourself over?"
"My eyes," Bart moaned, clutching his hands over them as he stumbled back and forth into the door and the wall. "My eyes. They're burning."
"We were just kissing, Bart."
"Ew!" he cried. "Ew! Eeeeewwww! Cooties! Ew!"
"Bart," Wally complained again. Bart cautiously peaked out one eye from behind his hands. "Is it safe?" he asked timidly.
Wally rolled his eyes. "Linda, this is my cousin, Bart Allen. Bart, this is Linda, my girlfriend."
Bart uncovered his eyes the rest of the way, hands going to smooth down his obnoxiously long hair before getting stuffed in his pockets. "Nice to meet you," he said sheepishly, shyly examining her.
"It's nice to meet you too," she said, an amused glint in her eyes. "I'm glad to meet any family of Wally's."
"Yep," Bart agreed, scuffing a foot against the ground. "Well, he's Dr. West now. Graduated medical school and everything. I just came over to say congrats and stuff. Well, see you."
His hand was already on the doorknob when Linda stood up. "Bart, how old are you? Where are you going? You shouldn't be traveling by yourself."
Bart glanced at Wally, a clearly wicked look on his face. "I'm four," he said, grinning at the expression on Wally's face. "Teen."
Behind Linda's back, Wally mouthed "Don't you dare try anything you little-"
"And the train to Central's only about an hour ride," he said, shrugging, in such a believable manner that anyone would think he actually rode the train often. That little liar.
Linda gaped. "You rode a train from Central for an hour by yourself just to say congratulations and leave again?"
Bart shrugged again. "Well, you two looked kind of busy."
"Not too busy for family, Bart," Wally finally interrupted in an attempt to save the conversation, grinding his teeth. Linda threw him a smile, which he returned, ignoring Bart who was snickering behind Linda's back. Wally made a note on his mental to-do list to research discreet methods of murder. Bart was going to die.
Example D:
As time passed by, Wally really didn't see Bart that often.
Slowly, and for the sole reason that Bart Allen really is one of Wally's closest remaining relatives at this point, pictures start to invade his apartment. First it's just this hilarious picture of a livid Bart dressed as a cheerleader that Jay had caught on camera on his fridge. He kept there just because it made him laugh. Really.
Then there's one of Bart and the rest of Young Justice (in civies, of course) lined up and smiling like some sort of class picture taped to the wall next to his desk at work, to show to any curious people who ask. Yep, see that short one? That's my cousin. He goes to boarding school in New England.
Then more and more pictures start littering his apartment, blending in with the many piles of crap he owns. Pictures added on Christmas or birthday cards; pictures Jay and Joan collect and send off in little photo albums; pictures other members of the league email him because it's just a really good picture of the kids and they want their mentors to see them, and if the flying girl's mentor is Wonder Woman and the detective boy's mentor is Batman, then the hyper kid obviously belong to Flash.
Through the pictures, Wally could kind of figure things out about his cousin. He loved to eat. His hair refused to be tamed with a comb. His best friends were Tim and Connor, who he seemingly went little places without. There were pictures of them playing video games, training, having squirt gun fights, goofing off (okay, mostly Bart looking stupid, Con laughing, and Robin trying not to smile), and basically everything else teenage boys would do together. There were even a suspicious number of pictures that looked like the boys were at rock concerts – although, if one was a millionaire's son, there probably wasn't much he couldn't arrange for his friends.
And, although a little less frequent (hero pictures were discouraged for obvious *cough BATMAN cough* reasons) were pictures of Impulse, Robin, and Speedy doing things like jumping off buildings, arguing with Wonder Girl and Beast Boy (and later Cyborg and Aquagirl as they joined the team), taking out a robot or two.
In person, Wally and Bart met a lot less often, only for the occasionally family picnic or world crisis and stuff like that. Wally was grateful. Pictures were probably the most Impulse he could handle at this point. He was a new doctor, busy enough trying to get his license to practice and balance Flash besides coping with a hyperactive, spastic idiot. Besides, Bart belonged to Jay.
Wally knew he should stop wondering where to get his own hyperactive, spastic idiot.
