Disclaimer:

Mists sits on the ground and plays with her Batman and Flash action figures.

Mists: "Hi there Wally! I am Batman. Let us go out and save the day!!"

Mists picks up the Flash figure.

Mists: "Right-on, Batman! Let us be friends and take out the bad guys!"

Mists makes fighting noises as the Flash and Batman action figures attack her stuffed bunny.

The actual Wally and Bruce stare at her like she's gone insane.

Wally: "…"

Bruce: "That was my reaction too."

Wally: "What is she-"

Bruce: "Playing with dolls."

Mists: "They're action figures so SHUT UP!"

Wally: "….I see…..and how long-"

Bruce: "Since she got them last Thursday at Target."

Mists: "And they were just FIVE BUCKS EACH! Seriously people, buy them up while you can."

Mists then looks down in surprise at her figures.

Mists: "OMG!! Their torsos swivel!! SQUEE!!"

Bruce and Wally: Sweatdrop.

Wally: "…I don't think I want to know why she's so happy about that."

Bruce: "…"

Bruce: "Truthfully, nether do I."

Mists holds up her Flash figure and mutters out of the corner of her mouth:

"Mists owns nothing but the these figures so please don't sue…remember we're only five bucks each!"

Wally: "…"

Bruce: "….There's something about that statement I find rather disturbing."

Wally: Yeah me, too…

This takes place during "Flashpoint," "Divided We Fall," and AFTER the events of "Divided We Fall."


-Aftershocks-

-Ollie's POV during "Flashpoint"-

"Grammy Flash always used to say…the trouble with an eye for an eye is that everyone ends up blind…"

Those words echoed through Green Arrow's mind as he surveyed the destruction around him.

All these people…were any of them dead?

This was a residential area wasn't it?

Truthfully, Ollie couldn't even tell anymore.

Smoldering fires burned everywhere as people were being evacuated from the wreckage. Ollie felt a shiver run up his spine as he heard those words echo again.

When had he first heard them?

Was it really just minutes ago?

He remembered how shocked he was that Flash was on his side and that he actually stood up to Superman. The normally quick and irreverent Flash was one of the only people thinking rationally about the situation.

The impact of that would have hit Ollie sooner….that is if Cadmus hadn't just been reduced to a pile of rubble.

The Watchtower had just fired beneath their feet….and they were powerless to stop it.

The political ramifications of that chilled Green Arrow to the bone as Jónn answered the red emergency line from the White House.

"Holy-"

"I need rescue teams," said Flash in response to this revelation.

He didn't even hesitate.

People were in danger. That was all that mattered to him.

He didn't care that the Watchtower was out of power.

He didn't care that the Javelin bay wouldn't open.

….He would simply find a way….because people were in need.

As they flew down to the impact site, all Ollie could think of as he eyes took in the horrid view was….

"We did this…It's our gun…It's far too much power for anyone to have…"

Green Arrow was jolted out of his reverie when he heard the cries of a young child say that she wanted to go back and get her kitten.

Her father tried to comfort her…but to no avail.

And then, suddenly…

Flash was there.

It didn't even take him a second to go back and retrieve the poor animal.

Ollie barely saw him move. And then there he was… back with the kitten…shaking the hand of the father. GA didn't know what to think.

Just then an angry man suddenly got up into Ollie's face. Arrow's nerves were pretty much shot at that point. So he did the only thing he could think to do…he shouted back.

And then…suddenly there Flash was again.

Wally had gotten between him and the man.

Flash had become the mediator.

"Let's -calm down…We would never do anything to hurt you…You have to trust us."

Flash's words were met with distasteful scowls as people walked away from the transport vehicle…deciding it would be better to find their way to the shelters.

As Green Arrow saw them walk away, he felt useless.

"I'm not sure what I'm doing here anymore," whispered Ollie to himself, but apparently Flash had heard his statement.

The crimson speedster gently placed a hand on Ollie's shoulder and said, "People need us. We help them."

There wasn't a trace of hesitation or doubt. It was just that simple to him. He only cared about helping people, not what they thought of him.

It was all about the people.

If they didn't want their help, then fine…but they would still be there to help them.

No matter the cost.

Green Arrow just stared at Flash in awe.

So simple, yet …so profound.

Yes… that was definitely the Flash.


-Batman's POV during "Divided We Fall"-

"Take Him Down! Now! " yelled Superman as the original seven charged the super powered Luthor.

Bruce hoped that their charge would buy Diana enough time to get the Javelin before the monstrosity realized what they were doing.

Wally got further then any of them.

Luthor took him down right before he got to the orb.

"Looks like he's been practicing," thought Bruce as Diana threw the Javelin into the building at full speed.

The entire structure collapsed… monster and all.

The next thing Bruce remembered was waking up to a nightmare.

His pain filled eyes opened to a horrifying sight.

Wally was flanked on either side by nanotech clones. Luthor slowly walked up to him as he cocked the shotgun he held…and pointed it at Wally's head.

"Wally! Get out of there!" thought Bruce as he tried to stand, but the pain in his side wouldn't allow it.

He was too far away. He'd never get there in time.

"Looks like the Question was right all along…I kill you and then Armageddon. Right on schedule…"

Luthor prepared to fire.

"NO!"

Bruce's sediments were echoed by Wally as he screamed out and destabilized the molecular structure of the nanotech clones holding him.

They dissolved into nothing as Wally stood up and looked Luthor square in the eye.

This course of action seemed to take Luthor by surprise as he absorbed the nanotech weapon back into his body.

He then smiled cynically and asked, "Are you going to fight me, boy?"

Flash stood there for a second…

His face held the look of someone who had just made a large decision.

It was one of absolute resolve.

Bruce had never seen that look on his face before.

It was then that the speedster did the last thing Batman thought the Flash would ever do…

He turned tail…and ran away.

Bruce sat there, utterly stunned as he watched Luthor smirk and go back to repairing his machine.

But then a second later he heard it…. that swishing noise that Wally made when he ran.

Except now, it sounded more like a sonic boom.

Bruce looked up just in time to see the streak of red impact the golden suited Luthor and send him flying.

Of all the things Bruce thought that Wally would do, this had not been one of them.

Luthor then held up his forearm in shock….his armor was cracked.

Flash had hurt him.

Luthor was too busy staring at his injury to even notice when Wally came around again.

This time he screamed out in pain as more of his armor crumbled to pieces.

It was then that Wally's notebook entry that Bruce had read many months ago came back to him,

"Test one: Eradication. I have found the frequency at which nanotech resonates. I can eliminate it without damaging the cellular structure of both blood and tissue. The amount of energy required on my part is extremely high for such a small sample.-"

"Oh my god," thought Bruce as watched Wally strike Luthor again and again, as he appeared out of nowhere. "He's running around the world to build up enough force in order to eradicate Brainiac and the nanotech from Luthor's body."

Batman watched as Flash finally skidded to a halt. Electricity flowed across his body in arcs of power. His physical form was fuzzy and unstable, but the amount of sheer power he held made the very stones around him break apart and levitate… suspended by his very presence.

Luthor cringed before the powerful figure that stood before him.

Those eyes held no smile or laugher.

They were deadly serious…and cold.

It truly rivaled any glare Bruce had ever produced.

Batman watched helplessly as Wally roughly grabbed Luthor's shoulder and increased the vibration in his arm.

He then thrust it into the creature's chest. The Flash then followed suite with the other arm.

The screams Luthor unleashed were inhuman.

But Wally did not let up. He was steadfast in his resolve. He simply gritted his teeth and pressed on.

The last words of Wally's experiment notebook echoed through Bruce's mind as he fought against the waves of raw power radiating off of them.

He slowly made his way toward the two combatants,

"A larger sample may very well take my life."

Batman had to get to him before it was too late.

As the power built to higher levels, Bruce saw Clark and the others stare at the scene before them in shock.

Debris was flying everywhere…until finally…the power imploded and burst.

The explosion was massive…

And then everything was silent.

Batman and the others ran to the edge of the crater.

As the smoke cleared, they saw a still very much alive Luthor that had been completely separated from Brainiac.

Flash stood over him… still vibrating wildly. He looked down at his hands in fear as bolts of electricity ran over them.

"I-I feel kind of funny," he said as he grabbed at his side.

Clark reached out to him as Diana screamed his name…

But it was too late. Wally phased out of existence.

Bruce just stared at the spot in frozen horror and thought,

"No…this-this simply can't be!"

The Dark Knight was jolted out of his reverie when he heard Luthor coldly laugh,

"What do you know? I did kill him."

The rage on Clark's face was absolute.

"…I was mistaken earlier. I think this is the part where you kill me."

He grabbed Luthor by the neck and hoisted him into the air. Superman's eyes glowed an ominous red as he stared up at the beaten man. Diana ran to stop him, but Batman halted her.

"No Diana," he thought, "Clark must make this decision on his own. If we intervene, he'll always wonder if he was strong enough to make it himself…"

As they waited…even Bruce wasn't totally sure of what Superman would do.

"Clark please…Wally could have killed him just now, but he didn't. Don't you see what his final act was about…Please don't make me use the Kryptonite…"

Suddenly, the glowing in his eyes ceased.

Superman then brought Luthor down to his eye level and said, "I'm not the man that killed President Luthor. Right now…I wish to heaven that I were…but I'm not."

Batman had never felt so relieved.

"Superman! Everyone!" called Jónn as he held his hand to his forehead.

"Oh for the love of god, what now!" thought Batman as he turned toward Jónn.

"Flash is still alive."

"What did you say?" thought Bruce as his emotions were thrown into an upheaval again.

"I'm in telepathic contact with him. His spirit is weak and growing weaker. …But he's still here."

Shayera moved her hand around as if she was trying to grab hold of a ghost. Suddenly a portal of spiraling light appeared before her hand.

"FLASH!" she cried.

We could all hear his eerily calm voice reply, "Shayera? It's so beautiful here…There's a force…a Speed Force…it's calling me home…I have to go now…"

"Shit!" thought Bruce as Shayera screamed, "No Wally! Take my hand!"

She grabbed on to something inside the portal. John franticly took her other hand and began to pull with all his might.

"We're here too Wally!" he shouted at the portal.

"We're all here!" Clark added as the members of the Justice League held onto their friend for dear life.

"You have to come back to us!"

Bruce grabbed Diana's hand at the end and acted as the anchor. He pulled with all his worth.

He strained his arms to their limits.

"I will not lose another friend!" Bruce desperately thought as he felt the last of his strength wane.

And then something finally gave.

He could hear Wally screams of pain echo out from the spiraling vortex. The sound was warped and frightening.

As Wally emerged out of the portal his body resembled that of pulled taffy.

Everyone gave one last heave and his form finally popped back to normal as he fell to the ground. The vortex closed and disappeared.

Wally fell to his knees, completely drained.

Shayera and John held him close as if they were afraid of losing him.

Wally weakly looked up at them and said, "I can never go that fast again…if I do…I don't think I'm coming back."

This frank statement made the six superheroes smile.

They had their "Wally" back.

…And Bruce was quite determined to never see him disappear again.


(Author's Note: Since this next scene is not in the actual JLU series, the spoken dialogue shall no longer be italicized.)


-Wally's POV, directly after the events of the Luthor Battle-

"Power corrupts after all…and who has more power than Superman?"

The words of the Justice Lord clone of Supes echoed through Wally's head as he lay in bed.

The hum of the heart monitors and atomic stabilizers put him on edge as he pondered the ramifications of these recent events.

"Who has more power than Superman?"

What frightened him most was that he knew the answer to that question…he had known for a long time now.

He had simply been too scared to admit it.

"I do."

The thought chilled him to his very core.

"What the hell have I become?" thought Wally as he snuggled down further into the sheets of his hospital bed on the Watchtower…and began to cry.

He tried to hold back the tears with all his might.

Men don't cry. That's what his father always said…

Wally flinched away from that.

The thought of his father just brought more tears to his eyes.

"Well look at that…a man can cry," echoed the cynical voice of his Gran when his father stubbed his toe leaving her house one day.

That old memory made him grin a little….

"Oh Gran…you always believed in me…always trusted me…would you still feel the same way now?" he bitterly thought.

He couldn't hold in his grief this time.

So he wept…alone….but not for long.

A knock at the door forced Wally to pull himself together.

The speedster cleared his throat and asked, "Who's there?"

"It's me," came the moody reply from behind the door.

Wally rolled his eyes and said, "Come in 'me'."

The door slid open and in walked Batman.

He took a long look at Wally's face before grabbing the health chart placed at the foot of his bed.

"You look pale," he frankly stated as he pulled up a chair.

"No shit, Bats," replied Wally as he caught a glimpse of his haggard appearance reflected in the heart monitor.

Tubes and wires were stuck all over his body. A stabilization field hummed over his head, making sure he didn't phase out again.

And Bats just sat there quietly flipping through the chart.

After several minutes of silence, Wally felt his eye begin to twitch.

"Why the hell doesn't he just say something!?"

Finally, the Dark Knight sighed and flung the chart onto the foot of his bed.

"Ow!" yelled Wally as it struck his foot.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled back there, kid," said Bruce gruffly as he pulled out something from his utility belt.

"Yeah…tell me about it," replied Wally in a strained voice.

Batman's eyes narrowed at the tone, but he continued on as he threw a small ray gun onto Wally's lap.

"What the hell is this thing?" asked the speedster as he examined the small device.

"That thing, as you so eloquently put it, is the stabilization gun that Dr. Palmer and I have been working on since the last time you nearly shifted out of existence," said Batman with a cold glare. Wally gulped as he continued.

"The next time you decide to blast your molecules to the far reaches of space, please check with me first so that I might be able to fix it."

The Flash just bowed his head shamefully as he played with the small device.

He then muttered, "Should have known you and Ray would create this…"

"Yes, you should have," said Bruce as Wally let out a painful sigh.

Bruce, feeling sorry, then added, "…and I guess we should have told you, too."

That made Wally let out a low self deprecating chuckle, "Yeah…that would have been nice to know…"

Batman looked away from him and responded, "Sorry about that…It's just, Ray and I-"

"-thought that I would push myself to the limits more if I knew there was a way to reverse it?" interrupted Wally, knowing full well what the Dark Knight was going to say.

Bruce nodded solemnly as he looked back at him.

"Yeah, figured that," said the speedster and quickly looked back down at the ray gun as he fiddle with it some more.

"Should I ask him this?" thought Wally as he examined the beneficial device in his lap, "Bats needs to be prepared, just like he is with Supes…He needs to understand…just how dangerous I really am."

"So..." said Wally after much deliberation, "Where's the other one?"

Batman's eyes narrowed at the question.

"What, other one?" asked the man clearly confused.

"…the destabilization one," he whispered softly.

Bruce suddenly became livid.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he growled as he slammed his fist onto the nightstand.

Wally just coldly replied, "You need to make a destabilization one, too, Bruce."

"And just why would I need to do that?" he asked as he got up into Wally's face.

Wally just glared at him. He was doing this for Bruce and for the good of the rest of the world.

"Who has more power than Superman, Bruce? Because if you haven't figured it out yet, you must be blind!" yelled Wally as the heart monitor went crazy.

Neither man moved, they just continued to stare each other down.

"Then tell me what I'm missing, kid."

"Do you have any idea just how much damage I could have done?!"

"I have an estimate."

"AN ESTIMATE?! Bats! Supes couldn't even touch Luthor in that form! I beat him down! I eradicated every last bit of Brainiac from him! I gouged a three foot deep TRENCH around the ENTIRE PLANET! Don't you get the impact of this?! I- I'm-"

"Listen and listen well, kid. You are not a danger."

"WHAT? How can you even-"

"You could have killed him Wally. Could being the important term. You didn't."

"Bruce, no one should have this kind of power!"

"That's a moot point. The fact is that you do. You'll just have to deal with it."

"Exactly. I am dealing with it! You still don't get how far my power goes!"

Bruce snorted at this and went in for the kill, "If you were so scared of your power, then why did you release it?"

Wally felt his rage build as he glared at Batman. He knew the answer that Bruce was expecting. That he did it to save people and that was enough.

But that wasn't the answer he was going to give.

If Bruce was to truly understand the magnitude of this, he had to understand his reasoning entirely.

"Because that's what the Justice Lord's Flash did," spat Wally,

"HE- HELD -BACK."

Bruce's eyes went wide behind his mask.

"Wally, I-"

"He could have done something Bruce! He could have run for office himself! He could have escaped without hurting those men with ease! Do you get it now?! His execution was televised worldwide! If he fought back, the WORLD would have known just how powerful he was! And-and worst of all...he'd have to admit it to himself…"

With that Wally turned his head away to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"I-" was all Bruce could say, he was completely stunned.

"He was too afraid Bats…to test the lengths of his powers…to become something more than the Slacker, than the Child…"

"…Wally we don't really-"

"-see me that way? Yeah Bats, I know. …Well at least I know that you do," Wally then continued with a sad grin, "…I'm the one that thinks that about myself …When you're told that's all you are from an early age …it kind of sticks..."

Batman's eyes narrowed dangerously at that statement, but Wally couldn't figure out why.

"Wally…the Justice Lords went too far. Please don't run the risk-"

"Of what, Bats? Becoming one myself?" he whispered looking back at Bruce with weary eyes.

"Yes."

"I know… with everything in my being that they went too far. But to put it simply, their Flash didn't go far enough…to explore what potential he had…or to see what he could do to protect the ones he loved…I am not going to let it happen again…no matter what it costs me."

Batman continued to stare at him.

He then spoke in such earnest that it nearly made the speedster cry,

"Wally, of all the people I have ever known. You are the only one who I would ever trust with the amount of power you hold."

This sediment warmed Wally's heart…but it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"…And what if my power can be copied, Bats? What if someone else can gain them?"

Wally could see that Bruce didn't have an answer to that one.

"Bats…please make the destabilization ray. You're the only one I can trust with this."

Batman let out a painful sigh and quickly looked away.

"…very well," he whispered.

Wally fell back against the sheets of his bed as his heart rate returned back to normal.

Bruce then stiffly stepped forward and placed a bracing hand on Wally's shoulder.

"I will, if you promise me two things," he said in a deadly serious voice.

Wally laughed at this, "Now I know where Dick got his exceptional ability to blackmail from. Name your price Bats."

The old Wally's flippant attitude brought a small smile to Bruce's face.

"Number 1," he said holding up a gloved finger, "You are going to talk this out with Clark."

Wally's eyes widen as big as saucers when he heard that request, "I-"

"He can help Wally. He'd know better than anyone else exactly what you're going through."

"B-But I-I" sputtered the speedster as he tried to find the right words to respond.

Batman then shot him an evil smirk and glanced toward the sliding door of the medical ward.

"You won't even have to explain anything to him. He's been outside listening to our conversation this entire time."

The muffled swears from the Boy Scout hiding behind the door confirmed this to be true.

Wally stared at the door in fright as it slid open.

The flustered Superman walked in and stuttered out, "Uh-duh… I just-uh-uh--Bathroom!!"

The speedster's face went bright red as he gasped out, "Clark! That was a very private conversation! How could you?"

"I know!" exclaimed Clark clearly ashamed, "I know…I'm sorry, okay? I just came to see if you would be up to address the press in a meeting tomorrow. …And the last time I barged in on you two talking, I got dragged into that stupid chess game…and …well…by the time I found out what was going on I-"

Wally knew what the man was trying to say. By the time he figured it out it was too late.

He just let out a tired sigh and said, "Okay, I get it Clark. You're forgiven just don't let it happen again, okay?"

"Sure thing," answered the blushing Man of Steel as his eyes shifted nervously between Wally and Batman.

Wally sighed again and gestured to the other chair, "Guess you might as well take a seat since you're already here."

"That's okay," replied the Dark Knight standing up, "He can have mine. I was just leaving anyway."

Bruce then brushed past Clark and made his way towards the door.

"Bats-wait…" called Wally hesitantly, "What was number 2?"

Batman glanced back over his shoulder and gruffly replied, "That you'll never give me a reason to use it…kid." and with that he left room.

Wally tilted his head to the side and thought, "Yup, same old Bats."

He then turned his attention back to the superhuman man still seated in the room.

"Well Clark," said the Flash with some of his usual mirth returning to his voice, "Pull out a pen and paper, Psycho-supes, this is going to be a long session…"

"I zee…" said Supes as he got into the spirit of things.

Clark took out his press notepad and glasses. He then pushed the specks up onto his nose as he said, "Let us zee vare all dis self-loathing comes from."

Clark's really bad Freudian accent made Wally laugh out loud.

"It feels good to do that again," thought Wally as he looked gratefully at Supes.

"…So where do I begin?" Wally asked softly, hoping that Clark could give him an answer.

"Wherever you want to…I'll help in anyway I can," answered his friend seriously.

Wally looked at the man for a few seconds…and then began with saying,

"…It was midnight…on a Tuesday…when lightning struck and changed my life forever."

And Clark just sat there and did what he did best…

Listen.


Author's Notes: Boy! That one was emotionally draining. But man! I've been waiting so long to write that part.

Anyway, don't worry the next chapter will be much more lighthearted.

Next time!!

Takes place after "I'm Legion."

Batman, Huntress, and the Question are investigating at case that has led them to Central City.

Their only lead is a mysterious gray powder they found at the scene!

Whoever shall be kind enough and nice enough in the Central City Forensics Lab to help them out of this predicament?

Mists looks at Wally.

Wally: "?"

"…Oh damn it!!"

Next time: "The Catalyst"

Thanks again to my wonderful Beta reader Lady Jaye!

And remember, please read and review!