Wally sat beside Dick, back pressed to the hulking AC unit as his hands rooted around their grease-stained fast food bag. A fistful of equally greasy fries was dug out and crammed past split lips, chewed up, and Wally cringed faintly as the copper mixed with the taste of salty potatoes. He could feel Dick's eyes on him, but whenever his eyes drifted over, Dick's face was turned up to look at the moon. It… it was a little infuriating but also incredibly endearing.
Robin was a good friend. A bit of an enabler, but it turned out to be a good thing.
Wally's mind went back to the events from just an hour prior, mindlessly consuming the high-calorie food his body desperately needed.
Wally ran, blood humming in his veins as a cheer of pure joy threatened to escape his throat. A tiny flex of the arm looped around it kept it swallowed down, and his fingers clenched into the material of the leggings covering the back of Robin's knees. Running was second nature; maintaining and adjusting speeds, keeping his path clear, all that jazz- it didn't even require thought. It didn't require memory. It was blissful, liberating, he felt like he could've just floated away if it weren't for the weight settled on his back.
A squeeze on the shoulder had him slowing immediately and sliding into the shadows, and he blinked a few times to make sure all of him was back and aware. Robin had dropped down; face set as he examined something across the street.
"KF." Wally snapped his goggles down over his face, flicking infrared on before he turned back to look at the building Robin had been looking at seconds before.
"There's a lot of people in there," He observed softly. "What's up?"
"We need to get in there. This group's connected to a lot of shady crap- Batman and I have been trying to infiltrate and do recon but it's been… we haven't been successful yet. We need more info- you and I can get that tonight."
Wally nodded, bending to let Robin back up but the bird shook his head.
"No, no, I know the schematics of that building. There's a way in from the roof but they've probably got it monitored. You need to distract them. A big one."
Wally paused, brow furrowing beneath his cowl before he hummed. His fingers brushed over the ear covers to make sure his comm. unit was on in his ear.
"Okay. If I say peach, everything's going well. Mango means things might go bad so you should make sure you have a way out handy. And durian means things went way bad on my end and you need to get out ASAP, got it?" Wally explained, turning to his friend.
Robin nodded, pulling out his grappling hook with a serious expression. "Got it. If I need help I'll call for it. Good luck Wally."
Wally watched as Dick scaled the nearby fire escape up to the roof before… Wally wasn't entirely sure how he did it but in seconds Dick was on the required roof, sending him a thumbs up and then Wally was quickly stripping out of his uniform, shoving it behind a dumpster. He paused, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, and he quickly smeared that across his face and spatter it haphazardly over his body. He had some faint bruising from their training earlier and he knew that would make it more credible.
He stumbled across the street, making his eyes wide and wet with unshed tears. Height wise, he was an average 15-year-old, but he was skinny and with a youthful face he knew he could pass for younger. Hopefully, whoever was in there would take pity on a scuffed up kid. Hopefully, they wouldn't be freaks who'd try to take advantage of him. And hopefully, he'd be able to keep enough attention on him to keep Dick in the clear. One of the biggest risks was not wearing a mask- especially if he ended up using his speed. He lifted a hand to his face, something to at least obscure his features.
He was just really, really glad he had clean underwear on.
He banged on the door, hiccuping wildly as the tears streamed down his cheeks on commands, cutting tracks through the blood on his face.
The door swung open, an annoyed face quickly going slack with surprise. The man seemed young and fresh, and if Wally only had to go by that he'd say he was new to this. Wally's lip trembled before he began to wail, knees going weak as he dropped to them.
"Holy shit-" The kid hissed, kneeling with him. "Kid? Hey- quit cryin'."
He picked up on the sobs, hand scrabbling at the boy as nonsense spilled from his lips. The boy seemed overwhelmed and Wally pushed past him, crawling into the building.
"No! Shit, get back here!" The kid lunged to grab him but Wally was already in the building, his shrieks drawing attention as he moved deeper into the building. He turned a corner and let out a real scream of surprise when huge arms wrapped around him, lifting him up. He struggled weakly, feeling some panic creep into his chest as he pressed both palms flat on his face.
"What the hell is going on?" A hoarser voice came from behind the man that held him up, and a slight, well-dressed person stepped out into view. Their cool eyes looked him over, jaw tightening for a moment before they jerked their head.
"Alex, you were on door duty. What's this?"
Wally sniffled pathetically, fingers spreading apart to let his eye flick over to the out of breath and fidgeting boy from before.
"He was knockin' up'a storm, and then he was cryin', and then he was runnin' in an' I tried t'stop him but-"
Wally shifted, glancing around. A lot of people had gathered, and from what he had seen before they went inside, it was enough that Robin would be safe-ish coming it. He babbled nonsense once more, under his breath, slipping in their codeword.
The small person heaved a sigh, thin hands coming up to pinch an equally thin nose. A moment passed before they waved a hand and Wally was set down.
"Well. Don't just stand there. Find the kid something to eat."
Wally couldn't contain his noise of surprise, eyes shooting over to them, which was met with a roll of the eyes. Some of the people that had gathered scurried off and Wally forced his shoulders to hunch- to make himself smaller. He trembled, part act and part reality; for his first unofficial mission back, this was intense. He'd probably sleep for a few day straight simply from the emotional stress alone.
Wally sat where he had stood, staring down at his feet as he waited for any check-ins from Robin. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to go well. Regret had flooded his being; he should've listened to Robin. He probably wasn't ready for this yet.
The food was delivered and he picked at it. He needed to be alert in case he was needed and he couldn't afford to be drugged or poisoned now. And he was very glad he didn't when he heard something, a struggle, through the comm. link and a tiny gasped out 'durian'.
Wally was in and out of the building in seconds, Kid Flash suit secure on his body as he ran through the building once more. He dodged anyone who tried to stop him, even the brute from before. He darted deeper into the building, whispering desperately into the earpiece for Rob to tell him where he was.
There wasn't an answer.
A burst of speed had him in and out of dozens of rooms per seconds, whole floors cleared with no sign of the bird. Wally's heart was caught in his throat, guilt tearing him apart before he finally caught sight of him.
Robin was laying in a crumpled heap on the floor, a smug looking woman standing over him holding a pistol. Wally's heart nearly stopped before he realized Robin couldn't have been shot because there was no bang, no smell of gunpowder, and no blood. She'd just hit him over the head with the pistol. Still inexcusable.
Wally charged across the room, slamming his body into hers and sending her flying across the room. He paid her no more attention as he knelt beside his friend, gently turning him over.
Robin's face was pale beneath his mask, blood standing out stark against it as it trickled slowly down from his hairline. Semi-superficial wounds littered his body and Wally knew for sure that this whole thing was a mistake at the sight of them. Wally's mouth was bitter as an absolute hatred for himself made itself known. Something he had to push back to deal with later.
"Rob?" He shook his shoulder gently, tapped on his cheek. "Dude, wake up."
The bird stirred, tiny groan escaping him as he did. Wally let out a minuscule sigh of relief, about to speak again when his arm was grabbed and pulled.
Wally barely registered being spun in a circle before he was crashing face first into a wall.
-He lay with his head cushioned in a lap, trembling fingers carding through his hair. His chest was tight, hot, cold- his body was so cold and heavy but his head felt light and delighted. Green eyes met stunning blue and Wally knew he could die happy-
"KF! KF!"
The acronym was so shrill it dug its claws into Wally's tender brain and tore him from the lovely dream- memory. It was a memory. The most important memory.
Wally forced heavy lids open and lifted his face. Crumbled chunks of wall and the fine dust of it rested on his aching body, and he slowly pulled himself from the mess. Robin- Dick was busy trying to fight the hulking beast of a guy that had taken Wally out no problem, but it wasn't easy when he was so concussed.
Wally pushed himself to his feet and cannonballed at the guy, his simplest move. Just run and let your body go, tuck into a ball, and wreak havoc. They both went soaring across the room and Wally let his body go limp before landing. Easy peasy. Time for a break.
"C'mon, KF, wake up, we gotta go."
Wally's eyes fluttered open once more, disappointed to find he had fallen asleep on accident. Damn. Time to get up, then. He lumbered to his feet, face twisting against nausea as he turned and bent. Dick clambered onto his back, holding on tight and maybe it wasn't a good idea to run them out but Wally was gonna anyways.
And that was how they ended up on a rooftop with heaps of fast food, beaten to pulps and fighting away sleep. Wally sighed, carefully arching forward to bend over his crossed legs, chest parallel to the ground. His fingers stretched out as far as they'd go, pushing through the pull and pain that lanced up his back. Eyes were on him again and he stayed down.
"I remember your name."
