I don't like having Wally dead when he's so major. So, the first flashback is four years after Season5. The second is during the "missing year" before the Catalyst. The third isn't a flashback at all; it takes place when ch9 happens. We finally see some Bart-Time. I never did like naïve!Bart, so he'll break out of that superhero mentality eventually, but it's a painfully slow process.

"That gimp is so full of shit."

Jinx stopped to toss a haughty glare. "That gimp taught me all I know."

"He keeps flirting with you," Wally protested. "He should lay off of you."

"Mmhmm, sound advice coming from you. You're a player yourself, moron. Who did I catch making eyes at that bint earlier today?"

His eye twitched. "Only because that waitress was totally digging me. I didn't do anything for her to go all 'come hither' on me!"

"Whatever," she sighed. "Look, I like Red. Red likes me—in a platonic way."

"Not with those innuendos," he muttered.

"It's called bantering, Flash. Get it through your thick skull."

Pouting, he crossed his arms. "All right. All right, fine. Why did I agree to this again? And—why are you so receptive to him? I mean, it's a little—"

She flicked his forehead. "Shut up. I'm not into Red X."

"Then why do we have to keep coming back?" he said in a whine. "I don't like him."

"Nobody likes him. He's a grumpy, old man who just wants some company."

Wally snorted. "Yeah, some my wife's compan—ow! What was that for?!"

"I'm not even your fiancee," she snapped. "I haven't said 'yes' to your non-poised question! By the way, why...haven't you asked yet?"

"...I gotta think of a spectacularly romantic way to get you in my pants?"

Jinx glowered at him. "I feel sorry for our kids," she growled. "Maybe I should say 'no' on principle, if only to spare them of your idiocy!"

He brightened. "We're going to have kids?"

"No, I just brought up children for the sake of having sex—yes, I want kids!"

"And I'm going to give them to you," he said knowingly as his grin widened. "So, how many do you want? I was thinking maybe—"

"Don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even come near me."

"You did ask."

"And I wish I hadn't." Her relief was evident. "We're here."

Wally visibly drooped. "...I could have carried you here. We could've gotten here a lot faster."

"What, and drop in with you brutishly having me in your arms? No, thanks. Honestly, West, you're ridiculous sometimes. Do you want me to fulfill your masochistic fantasy of having the opportunity to beat the crap out of a gimp? Let me guess, you want me to say, 'I've having a hot, torrid affair with Red X all this time and I'm coming back for more...?'"

"Anytime,babe." Red X wheeled into view. His voice was husky as he added, "So, you wanna sex me up right now? Or did you bring the guy here to have a threesome? Nice."

With his eyes narrowed, Wally's glare was inflamed. "...Red X."

"Kid," he replied affably. "It's nice seeing you out of that outfit for once. Do you know what it looks like when we have the Flash running in and out of my side of town?"

"The day you slip up, X, I'll be—"

Jinx dragged him into a chair. "Enough of your macho antics," she said, irate, and then turned. "This isn't a social call, Red. We're acting on an unofficial inquiry for the Titans, so you can put your toys away."

The fact that she told him immediately why they were was a gesture of trust. His shoulders ease up a bit. "Oh, good." Red X flung his knives to the side, shrugging. "I thought I'd have to break out some serious moves to get you guys to leave. Nice to know I won't be targeted even if I'm a cripple."

Rolling his eyes, Wally crossed his arms and jerked his head away. "Fine. It wasn't like I really was going to attack you or anything."

"Of course not. We're all friends here, aren't we?" Red X smirked and rolled past them. "Jinx, dear, does your boy drink outside of a sippee cup?"

"Don't bother," she snapped. "We just got out of a restaurant."

"Maybe you should have something yourself. You seem stressed. Take your pick, gossip or news? That's all anybody wants from me nowadays."

"I guess business hasn't been hot lately, huh?"

"You have no idea. So, what's it going to be?"

"Tell me how Gizmo's been doing," Jinx said suddenly.

"Ah." Red X leaned back, sounding unsurprised. "I see how it is. A little bit of gossip mixed with a little bit of news. Well, don't take my news straight up because the media's full of it. Our boy Gizmo's been damn busy and I've personally delivered some stuff to him recently. Nothing too obvious, but he's still in some deep illegal shit. It's a blast following him around."

Gazing determinedly away, Wally looked like he really didn't want to be there, but Jinx fell quiet. "You've...you've seen him, have you?"

"Word is he's filched some tech from S.T.A.R.S. and had a creative license moment when he brought it in to be distributed among the masses, all after he'd given the weapons his own twist. I gotta say, though, it's pretty nasty stuff and I wouldn't want to get on that kid's bad side."

"...Thanks, X," she said slowly.

"Don't mention it, but don't forget to forget all about the gimp who tipped you off, though. I don't want my name anywhere near those damn paparazzi."

"Why are you helping us?" Wally asked finally. "This is the third time we've gone to you, and you're being very—obliging. Your info, they all check out, so I have to wonder..."

"Of course they check out. It's the business that I run on the side and I don't do things half-assed. As for why am I helping you? I'd have thought Jinx would've told you that by now. Make you more...receptive towards my help and all."

Red X smirked, taking his time in getting comfortable in his chair. "I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my own heart, kid. I'm in it for myself. Gizmo doesn't do business with our ring alone. The guy is aggressive and active as hell, which makes him an ideal candidate, but he's such a finicky customer he'll never stay with one group for a long time. My goal is to sabotage the other syndicates so that Gizmo will come to us. It's a grand plan, a bit of a stretch, even, with all the drama that's sure to come out, but money's money. Gotta make a living somehow, right?"

"Sometimes..." Wally shook his head, sounding exasperated. "Sometimes, I don't know what to do with you, big guy."

"Just know that I'm not a threat to your precious city. I'm only here to make dough. I'm sure your little wifey can tell you that."

"You heard that?!"

"And much, much more. So," the cripple jeered, "you guys want kids, huh. Well, good luck to you, folks, because I'll never have any."

"Too bad," Wally snorted. "I would've had them call them call you Daddy X, like that ridiculous Ding Dong Daddy O name."

"Children," Red X sneered. "I'll never have them. Ever. And I'm not going to start anytime soon."

Jinx smirked, amused. "That's what they all say, buddy. You just wait. You'll get your just deserts, and I'll be laughing when you do."

A plaintive tug at his shirt and Red X jerked awake. His mask was off and, for one panicked moment, he groped around for it only to stop.

His mask was held up for him. Lips twisted wry, he took it gently from his ward and placed it on his face. He sighed and it was a relieved, mechanical sound. "You know...you're not too bad yourself."

The young boy cocked his head, blinking.

"Yeah, yeah," Red X grumbled. "You're lucky I like Jinx as much as I do or I would've chucked you out onto the streets myself. The things I do for that girl sometimes..."

Pitter-patter feet followed him eagerly as he wheeled around the counter, but then he shook his head. "Stay back there," he commanded.

A slight droop in posture.

"No. I'm not letting anyone get a whiff of you here. Bad shit will go down if you're seen. I bet you didn't know that, huh?"

The kid's expression was still pathetic, but he wasn't giving in. "Fine! You're small. You can hide under that table and no one would be the wiser. Hell, you're quiet enough already. Go! Someone's coming."

He wasn't giving in. Of course he wasn't. Red X didn't do wimpy. He was hardcore. He kicked ass. He could run circles around his competitors and he dodged slippery deals with ease. There wasn't a dealer alive who didn't know his name, and he intended to keep it that way. He was established. He was famed. He was most definitely not fluffy and sweet.

Not even when he was awarded an equally big and fluffy grin.

Damn it.

Satisfied when the kid was hidden, he turned to face the front when he balked. Growing, he rolled forward with a glower. "I thought I told you not to come yet, kid! That was the agreement with—"

"Sorry," the man interrupted tersely, stepping into the light, "but I don't do orders, Red X."

xx

"West is dead."

"And?"

"I...I came here. I didn't—I didn't know what to do! It's all..."

"Shut up and sit down. For fuck's sake, you're crying all over the merchandise."

Jinx sat miserably down and didn't look at him at all. Feeling older than he should've, he muttered, "Look. Kiddo. Look at me."

She mumbled something, but he couldn't hear her. He wouldn't have wanted to, either. Red X didn't care much for her self-pitying, and Jinx was just...pathetic. Goddamn it, she was a mess. It was like she became a street urchin that got run over twice, had a nice faceful of mud, and at the end of her journey was finally spat upon and kicked in the gut. It fucking hurt to even look at her.

This was not the protegee he trained.

"Fine. Don't look at me. Serves you right for mucking along like you do. What is this? I'm the first person you go to? I am? Not your Titans, your good guys, or anything? Why don't we first start by you telling me why you sought comfort in a cripple? A cripple that doesn't give a damn, by the way." But something like regret stung his throat, making his voice raspier than usual. They both knew he was lying. It was why she looked up.

"It's...it's been three weeks since I left and...it's taken me—taken me..."

"Stop sobbing. When you cry like that, your makeup runs all over the place." Sounding as steely as possible, he added, "So he's dead. Big fucking catastrophe, but you're here, aren't you? You're alive and you are not going to break from this thing. You want to know why?"

She curled into herself, eyes tightly shut. "...No. Don't say it! Don't—"

"It's because you're a villain, Jinx," he spat. "And villains don't break, not when they started off skewed from the beginning. Want to know why it hurts so much right now? Because you had friends coddling you, good guys who wanted damn teatimes and heart-to-hearts. You're stronger than this. You're not going to break, you hear? You're going to come out of this colder, stronger, harder before you go off and get yourself killed. You're not going to break."

"H-how? What am I going to do?!"

"You're not going to do anything," he snapped. "Just sit tight because we are going to talk. We'll dredge up every last memory of your boy toy and we are going to talk."

"And then?" she whispered.

Red X sneered and his voice came out a little gruff. "And then you're going to stay here because I'm not letting any shitty Titan tear into you right now. You came to me, right? Not them. You're going to hate me. You're going to want to fuck me five ways over by the time I'm done with you, but you're going to have gotten exactly what you needed." He looked at her sharply. "I'm not going to coddle you. We're going to work through this little episode of yours together and, come ten years, you're going to thank me. The moment you want to bawl like some hero and have a pity-party, you leave."

"I—I don't know what to do..." She slapped hands over her mouth and retched dryly into them, feeling overwhelmed and sick. Her eyes, wide and unseeing, had pupils shrunken to mere pinpricks. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what do."

"You can start by getting out of those filthy clothes and taking a shower, kid."

Her smile was hallow. "Thanks..."

xx

Music. It was the first thing that greeted him when he passed over the threshold. He heard gentle, harmonious music, alien in the disastrous disarray of his surroundings. It wasn't even a building! It was...a cave?

Weird. He was in an opened-mouthed cave that served as an electronics shop? But the walls were thick and mottled with wires, panels, and erratically blinking lights. The music seemed to give the coated walls, ceiling, and floors a life of their own, and he swore the thick and thin wires and cords ran together into one pulsing stream of data. He could literally see them pulsate!

Kid Flash, bemused and not a little wary, took care not to step on anything.

There was a quiet chuckle and he spun around, only to be held in the gazes of two blonds. A female and a male. A threat—?

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Kid Flash," the lanky-haired female murmured, but he noticed that her smile had dropped. "You don't have to attack us."

The music had stopped. The male blond looked intently at Kid Flash before resuming his strumming, but not before giving a curt gesture to the woman. She tilted her head, brows raising high on her forehead, and then turned back to him. "We're the proprietors of this shop. What can we do you for?"

Kid Flash immediately started. "I found you guys because I need a laptop." He remembered how irritated Jinx was when he came back without any tech. "Something small and fast. Maybe a palmer. Do you have any of those for sale?" Of course they did, but he knew not to push his luck—these guys were legendary. He went through god only knew how many meals on the run trying to catch up to the duo as fast as he could and he even rung up some tech guy Cyborg knew to locate them.

"It's funny," she answered finally. "I hear there's been some activity up north. In Jump. A certain Titan is rounding them up...?"

He knew what she wanted, but would it be enough? "Cyborg. He's on commission from the top, and I'm helping."

"So I hear," was her lofty reply.

Struggling not to fidget in the subsequent silence, his eyes flicked all over the place and he couldn't help but be taken in by the man in the corner. "That...that's beautiful music. I didn't know anybody could still play. The guitar, I mean."

The musician stopped instantly, eying the boy hard. Kid Flash wondered what he said wrong.

"Forgive him," the woman drawled, stepping forwards, "but he's mute. Has been long, long, long before the Catalyst." She paused, easily understanding the rapid signals sent her way. "...And he says it's not a guitar. It's a lyre. 'Get it right.'"

Kid Flash flushed; he hardly knew what every musical instrument looked like! But he kept any retort down. He would've hit a whole new low if he started a fight with a mute or a woman. "And the computer?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, the laptop. Right. We don't have one."

"What do you mean you don't—" He broke off, annoyed, when the woman turned away from him; the mute was talking again. He waited impatiently for her to look at him, but he only got glances for his troubles.

"Ah, really—?"

"No, no, that's—"

"...Um, no, definitely not."

"Why? Why? Because it's Cyborg! Don't tell me you want to help him—?"

"Oh. Wait, but shouldn't you...?"

"I see."

It was like she was having a deranged argument by herself; he couldn't make head or tails of the one-way conversation. But he did understand one thing.

"Why won't you guys help me? Is it because of Cyborg?" He couldn't help it; he was growing angry. "Cyborg did nothing wrong! He's going to take Mikron down and you have an obligation to—"

She burst out laughing. The mute looked sullen.

Kid Flash was put out. He wondered what was so freakin' hilarious about what he just said.

The question was soon answered. She tossed lanky bangs out of her face and suddenly spat, "It's because the bastard did that to Joe!"

"...Cyborg made him mute?"

Said mute's face darkened and he abruptly stood, to the woman's astonishment. "Wait, Joe, I'll take care of the brat! You don't have to—"

His held up hand stopped her, and something tightened in her face. "Joe...Joe, don't do this. Don't—!" But the woman was flung backwards by some unseen force and her snarl was the last expression Kid Flash saw on her face before it became utterly blank.

She toppled towards the ground, as if she had puppet strings cut, but before he could properly panic, the woman jerked onto her feet without ever hitting the floor.

"...I...m-must." The strangled voice rang with remorse. "I am...sorry."

There was something—off about her. Before, Kid Flash could easily spot the fluid transitions of change on the woman's face, but now she...she was so...

Urged on by some some instinct or another, he turned to look at the mute only to see that his body was crumpled, lyre hanging from a limp grip. Horrified, he turned back to the woman, seeing 'her' in a whole new light.

"You're him," he called immediately, wildly. "The one who betrayed the Titans—!"

Something glowed in her eyes then, a sort of unnatural neon hue, and Kid Flash knew the possession was complete. The woman hadn't even fought! And now—would the traitor go after him next? What would he do? What would happen? Would he possess him to go back to—kill—Cyborg? He may not have completely liked the guy, but he was still Cyborg, his friend, his teacher, his parent—

I never thought of anyone but Wally as my parent before!

The woman stepped forward heavily, jerkily, but Kid Flash was no longer seeing her anymore. Instead, he was seeing—Wally!

Eyes warm, the Flash smiled at his ward. "I'm proud of you, Bart. You really stepped up."

Expression sulky and voice sullen, Bart replied, "Some challenge. It was stupid. When can I help you? I'm sick of staying home. I want to join the Teen Titans!"

Wally sounded rueful. "We talked about this before."

Something broke through that childish anger, and his words came out more desperate, faster. "I can fight! I'm not a little kid anymore! I...I—my birthday! I just had my birthday and I'm a teen now!"

A slight lift to his lips, far from mocking, but to the young boy's stubborn eyes he was being laughed at. "A preteen, Bart. You turned ten last week."

"Why won't you let me fight alongside with you? You know I can hold my own. You trained me for this!" Quieter, now. "I...I can fight. I can be Kid Flash."

"But can you bear it? I know you can handle the job," Wally added, "but that's not the point here."

"Then tell me how...tell me how I can become better! Stronger. I want to fight!"

"It's not all about fighting. It's whether you can still keep going even," a soft smile now, "even when the world is after you. The public is so fickle, Bart. They'll praise you one day and then turn you out the next. You do one thing wrong, and they'll eat you alive for it. Or, you can be the worst person in the world and turn into a completely different person, but they still wouldn't care. It's that effort, that sacrifice, you have to be willing to give...but..."

Something about Wally's tone made Bart stop short. "But?" he whispered.

"I don't think you're ready to understand how dark this world can be."

The woman isn't an OC and Jericho isn't really a traitor. What I do is take crucial stuff from the comics, but don't follow canon completely through because this isn't the real future—this is Starfire's proposed future. Hah, justification.

I'm slowly building onto the Red X/Jinx friendship, but more to come because some things don't make sense, like Wally's somewhat easy tolerance towards said friendship. And Red X is temporarily hiding a kid for Jinx's sake, present time. Yeah, I guess the kid's important, but the shop visitor is even more so. They're not OCs, either.