Disclaimer: NEW chapter and I'm still not the owner.

BETAED by the lovely FATEISoverrated, who has beta-ed this entire thing~! Isn't she awesome!?


Part Two: Ticking

Chapter 8: Speedster Basics

Wally wasn't too sure why his Aunt and Uncle decided not to tell his parents about the speed. He never bothered to ask either. It had been positively relieving to know that he still had time to prepare for that confrontation. Time to adjust and get back to normal. Just with an added touch of something special. The idea made him grin and blush and make a mental promise to himself that he'd never ever tell anyone that, unless he wanted to go back to having to avoid the bigger guys at school and in the bathrooms. If anyone heard him talking like that, they'd shove his head so far down in the toilet, they'd manage to get his head actually stuck down the toilet forever, even if it wasn't physically possible with the structure of his head and the size of the toilet. The fact that he knew that was all thanks to Uncle Barry and his anti-bully sessions to help Wally get over his fear of school. The speed would probably be a huge bonus in dealing with school. As for his parents, well, he wasn't too sure how they'd react when they did find out about the special in him. His dad hated anything that wasn't normal, and let's face it, Wally defied normal by being a genius. Then again, so many things defied normal in his dad's dictionary that Wally wasn't too sure what exactly was normal. His mom on the other hand has always been that supportive one. Even if talking was not a common occurrence between them anymore.

"Wally?" called Iris from the hall, "Jay is here!"

Wally grinned and pushed off the bed, brushing aside the melancholy thoughts of his family and school, and rushed to meet Jay. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but he had his running shorts already laid out on his bed in case Jay decided to go for a sprint. Maybe to some place awesome, like Mexico. He totally wanted to try their tacos. The whole enhanced metabolism thing meant he could probably eat three tacos in one go! He never made it past the second before, and Hal would tease him when they'd have a competition down in Coast.

"Wally!" said Jay, grinning as he ruffled the red-head's hair, "How've you been?"

"Great," Wally chirpily replied, before shyly glancing to the ground. It was still hard to be bouncy and normal around Jay, when the older man was practically the god of speedsters. He'd started it all! It was unnerving. This was the man who was training him! Who'd have thought Wally West would be trained by the first ever Flash?

"Jay! I thought I heard you," said Barry with a warm smile, as he came into the hall, keys in hand and coat already on, "What are you and Wally planning for today?"

Wally was silent, but hoped Jay would say they were running. He really wanted to test and see if he could go any faster than last time! Jay said he would eventually get faster, but after the one run on the treadmill three days back, he hadn't had any chance to test it out. Just recovering from the speed from his first run had been impossible, but still incredibly cool.

"Homework," said Jay, and Wally's eyes grew wide in horror. Jay caught site of his expression, and gave a short bark of laughter, as Barry tossed Wally a sympathetic smile.

"That sounds perfect," said Iris firmly, "Wally needs to get caught up! And no more dangerous speed stunts until you're trained! Listen to Jay, alright?"

"Yes Aunt Iris," muttered Wally, a small pout growing on his face as his lower lip jutted out in disappointment.

"Don't look so down kiddo," said Jay, still grinning, "We're going to use the homework to exercise that mental speed of yours. It won't be all maths and English, we'll run through a few concentration exercises as well. Joan said she'd drive up here in the afternoon to make lunch and help out, if that's alright with you, Iris?"

"She's welcome here anytime," assured Iris, "She doesn't even need to ask!"

"Oh good, that's what I told her," said Jay with a sheepish grin.

Wally was still frowning in disappointment, so Barry bent down until they were at eye-level while Iris took the hint and lead Jay into the kitchen to show him where everything was, despite the fact that Jay already knew the layout of the flat like he knew his old Flash costume.

Barry frowned at the awkwardness of his position. No longer was he able to just go on his knees to reach Wally's eye level, and he had long outgrown a squat. Now his bend still seemed condescending as he lowered his knees like springs, and managed to just look Wally in the eye with his spine folding unpleasantly and causing a crick in his shoulders. He refused to acknowledge that as a sign of his age. It was merely an unavoidable association of being a hero and the job getting to his bones. That's all. Besides, the more important question at hand was when had Wally grown so much?

"Hey kid," he said softly, "It's not- I mean- Jay would love to take you for a run, don't mistaken that. I asked him not to."

"But why?" asked Wally, so softly that Barry barely heard him, but the guilt he felt coursed through his veins and burnt every inch of his skin. Maybe he was being selfish.

"I- I wanted to be there, y'know? I already missed your first real run with speed," said Barry, suddenly able to sympathize with the older colleagues at work he knew who had been so air-headed after their first child was born. He was going to miss so much of Wally's growth because of his own responsibilities. A part of him cursed Bruce's decision to make the League public after the Mountain base had been attacked last year. Ever since then, he had to run around with all the red-tape and mission reports and it was like a another damn job on his mountain of work. Barry Allen, cop and investigator, works four to five days a week, unless he has a case and then its eight days a week. Flash, superhero, works every night for two hours, unless there's a raid or some super villain plot in which case he's employed indefinitely. Flash, Justice Leaguer, works every spare minute that Barry Allen and the super-hero aren't trying to tackle all the bureaucratic tape the United Nations liked to toss at the League and the occasional national or multi-national crisis.

"Oh," said Wally, brightening considerably and beaming at his uncle, with his freckles darting out and green eyes sparkling. Unfair kid. That only made him feel even guiltier. Wally should have been upset. If the kid wasn't so understanding, then he'd have let him run. He didn't deserve such a good child.

"You- You're sure you're okay with that?" asked Barry nervously, knowing how long that would seem in speedster time, "It's really just until the weekend, then Jay and I will take you out and we'll really run. Anywhere you want, I promise. Can you wait that long?"

"I can wait! I want to run with you!" said Wally with a fierce glint in his eye, and then he flushed, "I mean- if you want to run with me."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Barry, wrapping Wally in a hug, which after a hesitant second, was returned by thin arms. Kid needed to eat more. The hospital food had turned him into a skeleton, even if Jay insisted that his metabolism had played a part in the dramatic weight loss. He had lost almost thirty pounds since the accident!

"Barry! It's almost eight thirty! You need to be at work by eight forty-five!" yelled Iris, and Barry jolted and grinned at Wally with a conspiratorial wink, "Looks like I'm going to be late again."

"Still don't get that," said Wally with a bemused expression, "Bye Uncle B!"

"See you tonight Kid," said Barry as he raced to the door with his speed, "Listen to Jay and have fun!"

Wally waved until his Uncle left, while Iris came rushing through the hall. She had a coffee mug in one hand and a bagel in the other, her large purse slung around her shoulder. A quick cheek and a 'Love you' were pressed to Wally's head above his ear, and a note shoved into his hand as she rushed out. Wally waved at both of them from the window, even though he was a bit too old to do that now and turned to read the note Iris had left him while Jay gave him the space to gather his thoughts and prepare for their first speedster session.

Be good for Jay, and most of all, be good enough for you, Wally. I'm proud of you! Love you.

The words 'proud' and 'enough' were both underlined, and Wally's lower lip jutted out in a manner not at all like his earlier pout. He shoved the note into his jeans, and wiped his eyes quickly. He wasn't some girl. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned.

"Ready to go, Kid?" asked Jay, beaming down at Wally, who grinned back.


Jay never really had a true protégé. He'd never even anticipated in having one. Then Barry started running around in the red suit, and Jay had been taken for a toss. He'd welcomed Barry with all the love he wanted to give to a son that he and Joan had never been able to have. The man was family. And as he grew older, Jay wanted family. It was lonely around with just him and Joan. He loved his wife until death and beyond, but no marriage was built by attaching yourself to the hip. Besides, they had been together for sixty-five years; they knew each other like the back of their hands. Heck, they knew each other's back of hands!

Barry added something special to their life. He was sweet, mild-mannered and helpful. He came around and did the speed thing with Jay, kept the old man off the streets and at the same time, filled a void that Jay hadn't even known was there, but he wasn't Jay's protégé. Barry was faster, more skilled, and had an edge Jay couldn't teach to him. Besides, by the time Barry and he were close, Barry was self-taught already. Sure Barry had questions only Jay could answer, but Barry was a grown man. He didn't need Jay to lecture him. He took his advice, but he always asked first. Jay would never impose it on the man. That was a line Jay wouldn't cross. If the man didn't want answers, Jay wouldn't give them. Nobody liked a back-seat driver and his glory days had faded. He'd made his decisions and he'd ended up with a damn comfy bed.

Joan adored Barry. She doted on him like he was son by blood, though, in some ways, speed was as good, if not better, than blood. She thrived to cook a meal fit for kings and the entire court when Barry came by. He sat with her and talked and talked and talked, about cooking, the garden, the books she read, his work, anything. He gave Joan the respect that she deserved and more. He gave Joan something to look forward to, and more importantly, he gave Joan a sense of need. Being married to the woman, Jay knew how Joan felt about being needed. She always had to be helping someone, doing something, making sure everyone was okay and, for whatever reason, Barry gave her that in a way that wasn't taking advantage of her. Heck, half the time he used some infernal trick Jay still hadn't learnt to get the woman to calm down and just relax with a cup of tea on the porch.

Within a year of knowing Barry as the Flash and even less time of knowing Barry for Barry, he brought Iris home, as Barry Allen and Iris, the girlfriend. He wanted her to meet his family. He'd told her she was the Flash.

Iris was tenacious. She was what Joan would have wanted in a daughter. Someone with a sharp tongue and loving demeanor. Someone who sympathized, who knew the ins and outs of being a superhero wife. She had someone to advise, to sympathize for, and to talk hours about the things Barry couldn't, like the clothes they bought and the recipes she tried or what to do when you're superhero lover has disappeared without a trace and you're not sure if he's coming home. That sort of thing.

Not that only Joan liked Iris. She made Jay happy too. She was the sweet woman who was interested in his hero stories. She asked questions that were far more intelligent than the regular audience could come up with. She fussed over him from the start, like a daughter would, making sure he wasn't getting in to trouble, wasn't over stretching himself, and just taking an interest in who Jay Garrick was. It was nice to be treated as Jay and not the Flash.

Most of all, Iris made Barry happy.

Then the two were married, and Jay met Wally. Wally was a cute kid, running after Hal at the wedding reception. Jay and Joan knew Hal as Barry's friend, but Hal wasn't like Alan's Green Lantern. He was a new breed. Jay liked Hal well enough, he was a decent fellow and, while some of Hal's behavior made the soldier and old-man in him cringe, Hal meant well and he was true to his word. Besides, he was around almost every holiday with the Allens. Like a nephew or something.

So to see the red-headed burr attached to his side at the wedding drew Jay's eye. Most of the time, at these kind of events, it was the skimpy barmaids attached to Hal's arms laughing and crooning at sweet nothings that were probably more innuendo than any sort of poetry Jay was familiar with. The little boy from the wedding was cute, and though he didn't talk much, he liked the kid. Within a few weeks, Iris and Barry were talking all about Wally, their nephew. The kid they doted on and Jay felt a small pinch of envy. Joan was an only child, as was he. They had no nieces or nephews to spoil. But they had their pseudo-son and daughter, and it was okay.

That was when the two had told him they were going to avoid having children. At least for a while. Which both he and Joan knew meant forever. That's how it started for them. The risks that came with children, a kid with speed, wasn't worth it. Still, Jay wasn't going to lie, his heart had broken for them. It also, just a little bit, broke for him. He'd never get the grandchild, the heir to his legacy. It was just Barry and him, alone to the world like he had once been with Joan. Someday he'd pass on, and it would just be Barry and Iris. And they'd be alone. And he didn't even wish that on Rag Doll or Fiddler.

Then he met Wally for real. No catch-the-kid-at-the-wedding for a quick hello. It was pure, this-kid-is-the-closest-to-a-grandchild he'd get, and that was good. A part of him, after hearing Wally's attempt, had cringed for all the wrong reasons. He'd wanted Wally to succeed so badly, for the Flash legacy, for Barry and Iris, and for him and Joan.

At dinner, he was sure he'd been imagining it all. Barry didn't even notice the kid moving a little faster, the subtle way his food was being inhaled, the fidgeting, like the kid couldn't be still, or he was just moving too fast. If Jay hadn't spent the last twenty-five years trying to slow down for the sake of his health and wife, he'd never have noticed either, but he had.

Quickly it became an obsession. He would dream of running, Barry beside him, and a third little blur of red between them. It was never in costume, just in their civilian identities. No Flashes. Just Jay, Barry and Wally, a line of speedsters. It mattered to Jay, so so much. Joan sympathized, but she warned him to be careful, because she knew if it was a dream he'd be miserable. It turned out it was true.

So as Jay sat Wally down, he couldn't feel any happier. This was really a kid who would be family to them. To him. The grandson he'd dared to dream about, but never hoped to have. He knew Joan felt the same way, if the army of baked goods was anything to say by it. He hoped she didn't break the knitting out. It had taken him forever to get her to stop making table mats and cushions and blankets galore after Iris had first been mentioned by Barry.

"So what are we doing first, er, Jay?" asked Wally, as he placed the bundle of homework between them.

Jay wasn't the smartest man on the block. He was an average science enthusiast who specialized in self-taught super speed with no degree, but had a lab-coat he'd bought from the internet as a joke once he'd learnt how to use it properly. He'd been a footballer who enrolled in the army when the time came and then got into a freak accident that helped make himself into a super-soldier and fight Nazis. High-school had only became more and more progressive since his day, and he hadn't reviewed any of this stuff since it's invention, discovery or whatnot. So he did the smartest thing he could, and shoved it aside.

"Well, I assume you understand all of this, you just can't read or write it down," said Jay with a grin.

"Yeah," said Wally, grimacing. Jay knew the feeling. Learning to read all over again had been the hardest thing he'd had to do, but unlike Wally, he'd had very little to read beyond signs and letters from Joan until he'd really gotten acclimated with the speed. He gotten the hang of it in a few weeks once the speed really settled. Barry had more control of his speed as soon as he got it, and he'd been able to pick reading back up in a few days.

"Well, I can't promise you'll ever get back to the reading proficiency you were at before everything happened kid," said Jay with a sigh, feeling guilty in having to drop bomb after bomb, "I have no idea how different your speed is from mine, or from Barry's. All I know is that you're just going to get faster and faster and faster. I have no clue when you'll stop speeding up, or even if it will happen. You may slow down next week, or tomorrow, or in an hour. You may reach my age and still be speeding up, still be getting faster until you've surpassed speeds we can even dream about."

"Whoa," said Wally, his eyes wide at the idea, "Like- Faster than light?"

"Maybe," said Jay with a small smile, "But getting faster is the easy part. It's slowing down that's the hard part."

"What do you mean?" asked Wally, taken aback as he leaned back in his chair across from Jay.

"Well," said Jay, leaning back with a pleased smile, "When we speed up, it's like breathing. Especially in the beginning. It's that easy. Slowing down, however, Jesus, well it makes you feel like you're drowning. No, not drowning per say, but traumatizing nonetheless. If you don't slow down, then you'll always be alone. With me, and with Barry, you can be faster than normal. Like right now, you've slowly started talking at a faster pace with me. Did you realize?"

"No," said Wally, amazed, "How- How fast are we talking?"

"I don't have a timer on me," said Jay with a chuckle, "But assume at least three times faster than the normal human being. That's good though, it shows you're picking up my speed and able to respond. So you're brain is at least working on quicker speed, or you're mentally channeling the speed. It's almost like you were born with it."

"So, we're going to speed through the homework?" asked Wally hopefully.

"Not at all," said Jay grimly, "Speeding through things makes it hard to really retain information. If you really want to comprehend something, you have to slow down and really understand it. It's a strange idea, but speed-reading doesn't mean you comprehended anything."

"Okay," said Wally, a bit confused, but he didn't want to ask any questions and feel stupid.

"Speed-reading is like skimming," clarified Jay, "It's impossible to read at such a fast level when everything just blurs together, so what you do pick up is out of context or missing pieces. It's like when we run and the world blurs around us."

"Oh," said Wally, nodding, and tapping his thumbs against the table. His knee was swinging. He frowned, and stopped, remembering his dad's annoyance with it.

"It's fine to fidget," said Jay quickly, "In fact, its better. Gets some energy out of the system and helps with slowing down, but be careful. If you're ever in a position where you need to reserve energy or have no access to food, always- always- stop fidgeting first. It'll save your life more times than you can count."

"Got it," said Wally, a shine of brilliant understanding in his eyes that made Jay proud.

"And now, we begin the real training," said Jay with a smirk, "We're going to slow down. Completely."

"Okay," said Wally, a bit confused. He could do that.

"Don't look at me like that," said Jay with a chuckle, "By completely, I mean that smart little head of yours too. As you slow down, I want you to process your thoughts at the same speed I'm going to talk to you at and trust me, you haven't quite reached this speed before. Last time with Barry was easier because Iris was around and you had someone to compare speeds with as well as someone to match speeds with. It still took you a good half-hour to get back to normal, remember? This time it's just you and I and you've gotten comfortable with the speed enough that slowing down won't be easy. Now, I'll slow down first, you try and slow down to my level, okay?"

Jay suddenly adopted a stern expression. Rather than starting the exercise, he continued with his lecture as he explained, "Before we begin, you need to get the importance of slowing down fully, and why speedsters need to know this trick like breathing. Besides needing it for a normal life, slowing down is important in the field too. When you're in a life or death situation," said Jay, choosing his words carefully, "Going fast, that's helpful, great advantage. Going slow, that can throw anyone off balance. Sometimes, and I stress this to you because it's important, you need to be able to slow down and just think, or read, or be present and real to make a difference. Like, take for example, after a fire. People are sometimes still reeling. They've lost their home, family, whatever mementos that made a difference and they probably don't even remember the rescue effort because one second they were there and surrounded by fire, and then they were watching the building burn. Those times, it's our jobs to be present, to be real, to help them sort of realize that the traumatic experiences are real, but the rescue was real too. Because it sure as hell matters. PTSD isn't a joke, and with powers like ours, we can often cause people PTSD just by rescuing them and vanishing. It matters what we do, but it matters more that people can see us do it. The more superhuman and mysterious we are, the less real we become to them. It was an old Justice Society issue; we were constantly trying to make sure people didn't think we were the next Hitler, out to take over the world. It helped when we put the powers aside and were just normal people playing dress-up. It makes trauma a helluva lot easier."

Wally nodded, face set in determination. He was committing each word to memory. This was what it meant to be partner to the Flash. These were lessons that would make him the best partner the Flash would ever have. These were lessons that would make him be enough for people. Jay grinned at Wally's serious face, and reached out and ruffled his hair, causing Wally to flush a light pink. That embarrassed expression was more natural on his face than that serious one. Besides, it meant that the kid was really paying attention to him. It helped him convey that he knew the kid could handle it. He really did believe in this kid. Nobody deserved the gift of speed quite as much. For Wally, however, it was strangely soothing to know Jay placed so much faith in him that he thought he could do it. It was the reason he let the blush climb onto his cheeks. It was weirdly embarrassing to have someone put their trust in him.

After the moment had gone on long enough, which wasn't all that long for a speedster mind you, Jay opened his mouth, and began talking. Wally gazed at him in horror as Jay continued to speak confidently and with a relaxed posture. He was so slow. He couldn't even pluck out what Jay was saying, let alone attempt to match that speed! Jay noticed Wally's expression, and frowned, before starting again. This time he spoke a bit faster, and Wally could faintly understand, but it was like garbled sounds. A foreign language. Alien.

"Eeeez Eeeees Aaaaayy?" asked the man, and Wally nodded, only able to guess the meaning of those words and not even sure if he had totally grasped it.

"Goooogg slooor," said Jay, and they were back to square one. Wally couldn't even pluck out a basic understanding. He bit his lower lip. This was hard!

Jay paused, and very slowly drew a hand up. Wally wasn't sure if it was in his head, or if Jay was really slowing down for him even more. That hand movement took forever, and it felt like hours passed before Jay finally did something with the rising hand. He made the universal sign of one, and then pointed to his lips. Another hour passed in that time and Wally was horrified. One word. Okay, he just had to pluck out the word.

"Uahhh-aaaaaaaaaa-aaal-eeeee" said the man and Wally was lost. His face must have shown the disappointment, because Jay reached out to his tapping figures, and rubbed slow circles on the back of his hand.

He did it again. He sounded like a whale on T.V. and Wally wondered if he'd ever get to see a whale. Maybe they could run to the Arctic and see killer whales. Jay was looking at him in concern, and Wally gaped. Oops. He'd forgotten to concentrate. Flushed, he waved his hand to Jay, who started over with the word.

Wally really listened this time. He could just make out the sound of 'Oooh-ahh' at the beginning of the word. He raced through the words that began with O and A and blurted out in frustration, "Oa?"

Jay shook his head, bemused, and repeated the word. Wally listened closely, trying to slow his brain down. It was hard! So he repeated the word as it sounded to him. Jay shook his head to say no, and Wally frowned. That wouldn't help? The man was still rubbing slow circles on the back of his hand, as he repeated the word. Wally frowned, and let the words sink over him, as Jay just kept repeating it. He felt stuck, and it was starting to make him nervous.

"Why can't you just tell me?" Wally burst out, frustrated beyond belief. Jay surprised him by laughing rather than scowling.

"It's not that easy kid," said Jay, amused. "You tend to forget the lessons you learned from a book when you're fighting for survival, or from your General or Captain or the Lieutenant that had been in the war since it began and for whatever reason never got the promotion he kept talking about. After that situation, if you get out intact, you'll never forget the lessons, even when you're my age. More than that, things you discover on your own, things that you learn from your experiences in general, those are the lessons that stick with you in the toughest times. Half of what Barry does, what I did, it was all self-taught. We never got to have the controlled environment to make those discoveries and the mentor to guide us through it. I don't want to put you at a disadvantage of having us there and then being too reliant on what we taught you that when you don't have us around, you lose your head. Some stuff, like when you run, that's more direct teaching, but this stuff, the mental stuff, a lot of it is self discovery. Besides, what works for me may not work for you. For Barry, he can switch through speeds without a thought about it when conversing. Reading was a bit trickier, but he learnt it like a fish in water. Me, it took me forever to slow down. Probably standard time it was almost a full week before I was 'found' again. My team thought I had died, disappeared or deserted. I had to figure out what worked for me as much as you have to figure out what works for you. Now, want to try again?"

Wally nodded miserably, as Jay started again, but his thoughts had trailed down a scary road and his focus was no longer on Jay. All he could think about was failing. Of never figuring out his trick to slowing down. If he didn't master this, he'd never be able to be a Flash! He'd never be able to talk to anyone else again. Oh man! Aunt Iris! He'd never be able to thank her for the note! And he'd be all alone, in this sped up eternity for life. Wally was panicking, he didn't even realize he'd started hyperventilating as his mind went forward. The worst thoughts kept pouring into his mind. He'd go too fast, he'd never slow down and he'd grow old and die before the day even ended.

"Kid! Breathe!" yelled Jay, his tone firm and commanding, the voice of a soldier who'd calmed those in a battlefield, and it was oddly reassuring to equate that voice with war. Jay was solid, real, and a soldier. He'd survived a World War, he'd fought Nazis. He was here, beside Wally, and he was solid and Wally wasn't going all that fast.

Small circles were being rubbed on his back, as he lowered his head between his knees, taking deep breaths. Jay was still rubbing the circles into his hand, and Wally was calming down. He felt his heart rate coming down from the sped up pace he'd gotten to when he'd began hyperventilating.

"What happened Kid?" asked Jay, stern as he squatted down in front of Wally, taking his hand into his.

"I- I couldn't breathe," replied Wally uneasily, "Jay- I- What if I can't slow down?"

Jay sighed, and ran a hand through his grey hair. He knew what the kid was thinking. All speedsters had that fear in the beginning, when the power was still settling in. He and Barry had commiserated over those worries and the occasional nightmare. However, Wally's case was a slight bit different. Wally was probably going to carry that fear for the next few years instead of months or weeks. When his speed boosted suddenly. When he grew. It was always going to be a lingering thought. What if I never come back? He didn't envy the kid in the slightest.

"That's why you have to learn it kid," explained Jay softly, "It's hard, I know. It's scary, the idea of going too fast. Barry and I, we both fear the day when we push too hard and go too fast and our tricks for slowing down stop working. When it reaches a point that we're no longer able to come down and become real again. If we don't learn to control it, then we're always going to be scared of it. You want to be a speedster, don't you?"

"Of course!" said Wally, the thought causing his green eyes to harden with confidence, and Jay grinned.

"Alright, let's try again," said Jay with a smile, "Just focus on my voice."

"But how do I get my brain to slow down?" asked Wally, frowning.

"By slowing everything down," Jay sternly instructs, "Slow it all down to the pace of my voice."

Wally sighed, and nodded. It wasn't Jay's fault that Wally didn't get it. Wally was just stupid. His dad was right, he was never going to amount to anything now. The speed had zapped him into a freeloading brat with no potential. He shook his head like a dog, and let those thoughts fade as Jay spoke.

"Ffeeeeehhhh-oooooooohh-cuuuuuuhhhhhhhh-aaa-aaaa-a aaa-huuuuuuuhhhh-eeeeeeeessssss," said Jay, his voice slower and Wally frowned. Jay was sitting beside him now, hand now making circles on the bad of his hand with one finger, before moving down and cradling his thin wrist where he rubbed circles. That was oddly soothing. It was better than the words. Wally found himself shutting his eyes, and concentrating on the circles running along his vein.

. . Right. Right. Rub. Rub. Right. Rub.

"Fooo-k-aas," said Jay, and Wally's eyes widened. How had- He- had-

"Fo-cc-uhs," said Jay, still a fraction slower, but Wally blurted out, "Focus!"

"See, you got it kid?" said Jay, grinning.

"How?" asked Wally, amazed.

"You slowed down," said Jay with a grin.

"But-

Then it suddenly struck Wally. He hadn't been paying attention to the words. Jay had been helping Wally slow down all along. Wally hadn't even realized his heart rate had sped up to match the demand of the blood flow to his brain. It felt like a really stupid mistake. The trick to slowing down wasn't in his head, it was all in the heart. Literally. He just had to slow the speed of his heart down to slow everything else down. His senses weren't hyperactive anymore.

"I slowed my heart rate," said Wally finally, curious as he looked to Jay. The old man was grinning.

"Easiest trick in the book. I didn't think it would work for you, but looks like you're more like me than I thought," admitted Jay, "When you're a meta with traits like ours, our hearts are the control center to our speed. 'Course, there's other stuff too, but the heart is what adapts the best to the speed, to keep the blood flow going and in time with everything else. I'm sorry I didn't come out and tell you, but this is one of those things that's best discovered on your own."

To Jay's surprise, and maybe it was because Joan was right and he spent too much time watching T.V, but the kid didn't throw a tantrum or a hissy fit. He didn't even look disappointed that Jay had withheld the information. Instead, his eyes grew wide and he grin stretched so far across his face that Jay's cheeks started to hurt for the kid, and said in an enthusiastic tone, "What's next?"