[The Watchtower
March 25, 13:40 EST]
Dick really had thought that Wally could recover from this. He'd spoken to him and looked right into his eyes and, while they'd been heavily damaged, they'd been Wally's. Even under all the hurt and fatigue, sparks shone through that let him know that Wally still wasn't beaten. He was a fighter and was stubbornly keeping his head above water all by himself when it was easier to just drown. Wally had survived his father's betrayal, and Dick had honestly thought he could be okay after this as well.
The longer he watched Wally's memories, the less he believed that was true.
It wasn't like watching surveillance footage or a movie. Two days had passed since Wally was taken, so his memories of the first twenty-four hours were incomplete and disjointed. The events passed by in foggy, blurry flashes, and only the really significant and the most terrifying moments were recalled in absolute clarity along with exactly what he was feeling at the time.
Dick felt his best friend's panic as he realized he was trapped in a cell and the petrifying fear, confusion, denial, and then horrified understanding as he saw Professor Zoom's face transfigured into his uncle's. That was one of the most vivid instants. He could count every stitch on Zoom's face and taste the same flavor of terror that Wally experienced. The memory was interrupted by a wispy sequence that Wally imagined of Zoom ripping the eyes right out of people's heads as he searched for the correct shade of blue to match Barry's. He could hear every word while Zoom revealed how he knew who Wally was and see the title of Iris' book clear as day.
Then, he knew why Wally asked him to tell Iris that he didn't blame her. On the one hand, it looked pretty damning; Iris had revealed her husband and nephew's identities and a lot of dangerous information about them. But, if what Zoom said was true and Barry does die sometime in the next few decades, the book was most likely a tribute to honor his memory. Dick didn't fault her any more than Wally did, but this was going to destroy her.
They watched the rest of Zoom's crazed ramblings, and Dick's stomach gave a lurch when Wally's dad showed up in full Manhunter uniform. Then, they all felt Wally's shock and betrayal. They saw the glass cell flood with knock-out gas, and then Wally's memories went dark and jumped to the next day. He woke up frantic over the inhibitor collar and the loss of his powers. Dick felt his temper boil over when he saw Uminski and Gregorovich electrocuting Wally. He'd promised Orloff that he'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but no more. He watched as they brought a furiously struggling Wally to get his blood drawn. Wally started panicking again, strapped to a chair and severely disadvantaged without his powers.
Professor Zoom showed up.
And Wally's memories became as sharp as a razor. His fear spiked twice as high without anything separating him from Zoom and kept climbing when he removed his mask. Zoom tried asking for the League identities that Wally knew and started choking him when he refused. Dick almost wished that Wally had given up everything he knew, because what happened next was so much worse. Wally smashed his head into Zoom's in retaliation, and the enraged villain electrocuted him.
Dick couldn't breathe when Zoom asked for Hal's identity. He could already tell what was about to happen. Wally spat blood at him in flat out defiance, so Zoom started breaking his fingers. Dick couldn't physically feel his best friend's pain, but each broken bone drove into his heart like it was happening to him instead. Professor Zoom started asking about Ollie next and calmly broke the rest of Wally's fingers when he gave another smart mouth answer.
Zoom started listing off the superhero relationships he'd been told, and Dick heard his next words clear as day.
'And I know that you are in love with Robin.'
Wally's terror rose to a new high, and Dick went numb.
…What?
Zoom demanded to know who he was, and all of a sudden, Wally's crippling fear flew into a defensive rage. He felt Wally steel himself against what was about to happen and resign to the fact that he'd rather die. Outside of the vision playing in his head, Dick felt around frantically until he found Wally's hand. He crushed it in his, not even thinking about accidentally waking his redhead.
No no no no no…
He didn't want to see this. He didn't want Wally to do this.
Wally kept furiously refusing to say anything about Dick, and the young acrobat felt his own panic take control and his body start shaking. Then, a familiar weight rested firmly on his shoulder, and Dick stiffened up in surprise.
The hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, and he knew it was Bruce. Dick used his presence as a lifeline and clung to it to stay calm. He'd fought hard to be allowed to stay and see Wally's memories with the rest of them, and he needed to prove he could handle it. He'd promised Wally that he would be with him every step of the way, and that meant he couldn't check out when it got too rough. If he was going to help Wally, then he had to see this.
Zoom asked one last time for Dick's name, and Wally snarled at him to go fuck himself. Then, Zoom sank a hand into his chest and vibrated it. Wally threw his head back and screamed, and the agonized sound absolutely shattered Dick's heart. The scream started a ringing in his ears that drowned out all other noise. Dick gripped Wally's hand convulsively to reaffirm to himself that he really was still there with them. Safe. Away from Zoom.
He didn't know how long Professor Zoom tortured him – it felt like hours to Dick. He was right about at his breaking point when the memory started to become fuzzy. All of the details blurred, and the edges darkened as Wally started to lose consciousness. But even then, Wally's resolve never weakened. If anything, he became more determined to defy Zoom.
Dick watched him drag Wally's limp body all through the base, feeling his stomach twist as the memory blacked out several times. Wally kept passing out from the pain, but when he woke long enough for the memory to clear up again, Dick's disbelief mirrored the shock coming off the memory. Floor to ceiling, there were endless platoons of Manhunters and spaceships occupying a massive hangar. And it only got worse from there. Professor Zoom revealed everything: the Manhunter's plan and how it tied into Velocity 9's production, Wally's unwilling role in its perfection, and Vandal Savage's involvement. They hadn't come across his name even once during their search for Wally. Dick felt Wally's dismay at thinking he was responsible for the drug and the violation of his powers that he loved so much.
Zoom electrocuted Wally once more just for fun, and that's when Dick saw Christina for the first time. She dragged Wally back to his cell and removed his collar so he could heal. Then, Dick had to watch him set his fingers all by himself before falling completely unconscious. When the next memory surfaced, he could see Wally's dad yelling at him and feel Wally's indifference. It slowly morphed into a creeping depression once Rudy left, and for one brief moment, Wally gave up. Dick felt him start sliding deeper and deeper into it when, all of a sudden, defiance flared up within him, and he shot to his feet. Confidence and rage radiated off him in waves, completely squashing any fear that was left. Wally suddenly vibrated out of the zip ties binding him and pushed right through the glass. Dick watched in surprise; Wally had never been able to do that before.
Then, the cell exploded, and Wally spent a few moments staring at it in shock before shaking it off and bolting to the side to a big automated door. He slipped under it and ran straight to a window, looking out at the snow with a nervous relief for a few moments before his mood shifted completely. Dread, defiance, and a slow, simmering anger steadily crept in, and Wally zipped to a nearby office, destroying it while gathering supplies. He ran back towards the room he'd been kept in and froze when he saw Uminski and Gregorovich. Anger boiled up in him, and Wally took them both out with startling ferocity and minimal effort.
Then, he sprinted back to the hangar with the Manhunters and started grabbing all the materials he'd need for a bomb. Dick watched in awe while Wally disguised himself and snuck aboard a ship. He'd completely risked his own freedom to blow up the base…
He watched Wally sneak back out and move onto the lab next. He surprised two Manhunters and frantically demolished them before setting off the alarm and slipping into the lab. Wally tore it apart too and destroyed every scrap of Velocity he could find. And, when Professor Zoom showed up, Wally ignored his fear and shakily faced off against him. Despite Dick's horror over what Wally had gone through, he felt affection and pride for his speedster. Not many people, after all this, could stare down their torturer without crumbling.
Wally led Zoom through the compound in a high-speed chase, actually climbing several levels to the top and detonating the bomb he'd created. He saw Wally drag his arm right through a solid wall, and it exploded outwards at the villain, burying him. Wally just kept running, clearing the base entirely before he encountered Christina again. She was ripping up her costume to tie off her brothers' wounds when she spotted Wally. Dick remembered what Dr. Orloff had said about Red and Blue Trinity burning up if there were breaches in their suits when they went faster than the speed of sound.
She gave a loud screech of fury and lunged after Wally, who took off immediately, racing across the snow and ice as fast as he could go. Christina chased after him full speed, but within mere seconds, Wally saw her burst into flames. Even then, she continued to run until she collapsed. Dick felt Wally's shock and fear at watching her die, and he thought he detected the tiniest hint of bewildered guilt beneath the urgency and hope that he would escape.
Wally sprinted to the coast and then straight over the Pacific Ocean, clearly running faster than he ever had before. He started frantically calling for help over a random radio frequency until Green Arrow picked up the signal. By the time he reached Star City, huge holes had burned through Wally's clothes, and his shoes had completely worn down until the soles were gone and he was running on bare feet. The memory degraded further until it was so blurry that Dick could barely make out shapes. Wally made it to Oliver's Arrow Cave before passing out completely.
The memory went black, and Dick felt like the ground beneath him was being yanked away when Martian Manhunter pulled them all out of Wally's head. His own vision returned to him, and Dick had to blink a few times to adjust to looking out of his own eyes instead of Wally's.
Bruce was still behind him, looking grim and stoic as usual. Dick had learned to read his tells though, and the slight downturn of his mouth and tightened muscles in his jaw said he was angry. Sitting on the floor right in front of the couch was Iris, looking shell-shocked and devastated. Barry was standing beside her, equally stunned but shaking so hard that Dick half expected his molecules to fall apart. Hal and Clark were standing a few feet back, both deeply upset. Hal's expression was wooden – like he was still seeing Wally being tortured.
No one moved or spoke for a long minute. Dick looked down at Wally – still out cold and looking utterly peaceful – and somehow that was the last straw. His forced calm cracked for the last time, and Dick felt hysteria flooding in. He was relieved that Wally was sleeping and resting right now, but how could he after going through all that?!
"Robin," Bruce said quietly but forcefully, taking control of the situation when everyone else was still reeling. "Let Flash take his nephew so they can get him settled somewhere permanent."
Dick looked up at him in surprise and realized that he had Wally's hand in a death grip. He released his aching hold on Wally's hand and slid his other arm out from under his shoulders. Barry seemed to snap out of it as well. He came forward and carefully lifted Wally off the couch, turning slightly to look at his wife, "Iris…"
She didn't really seem like she heard him.
"Green Lantern, go find that map he recovered. It had every Manhunter base plotted on it, and we need to plan raids on those as soon as possible," Bruce continued without missing a beat.
"Right…" Hal enveloped his body in green light and shook himself back into reality. "I'll have John radio the plan over once we have one."
Then, he flew out of the room without another word, and Bruce turned to Superman and Martian Manhunter, "You know what we're looking for now. Fly over, and help Captain Atom search the base before it's too late. You'll need to be backup if Manhunters go to investigate it."
They both nodded and flew to the door. Superman paused and looked back at Barry sadly, "I was wrong. I should have told you immediately."
Barry just nodded brokenly, only half aware of what he said. Superman left quickly after that in a rush of air. Bruce gently grabbed Dick's arm and pulled him to his feet, "Barry, I need to track down the rest of Blacksmith's dealers. The Team brought back a dealer who had samples of V9, and I need to find the rest of them. I'd urge you to take care of Wally and let me handle this."
Barry nodded numbly, "Alright… thanks, Bats."
Bruce didn't even protest the nickname. He just dipped his head once in a short nod and guided Dick to the exit. Dick shot out a hand and grabbed the doorframe, looking back at Wally's aunt, "Wally doesn't blame you."
Iris snapped out of her daze and looked right at him, eyebrows turning downwards in confusion.
"He told me that it isn't your fault," Dick said quickly. "And, he really wants to see Max and Jay. He thought they were dead."
The last thing he saw before Bruce led him from the room was Iris completely breaking down in horrified sobs, and he was worried that he'd made things worse. Bruce didn't give him very much time to think about it; he pulled Dick right to the zeta tubes, not so much walking as gliding through the Watchtower. Dick didn't really want to leave Wally, but he couldn't bring himself to fight to stay.
Bruce had them back in the Batcave within seconds. Before they'd even stepped out of the zeta tube and the computer had finished announcing them, he removed his own mask and dropped to his knees to be eye level with Dick. Then, he peeled off Dick's mask and gripped his arms firmly, blue eyes staring up at him in concern, "How long has this been going on?"
Dick was so taken off guard by the rare and sudden show of emotion that he didn't know what his mentor meant, "What?"
"You and Wally. I wasn't sure why you've been acting so strangely lately, but that made it pretty clear," Bruce jerked his head at the ceiling, and Dick knew he was referring to what Zoom had said in Wally's memories.
That Wally was in love with him.
Dick felt his face heat a little and his stomach twist up anxiously. If that was true… But Zoom was the one who said it. What if he was just lying to rattle Wally? Or what if Psimon misread Wally's feelings for something else? Like brotherly love. Would Psimon be able to tell the difference?
Dick looked back at his guardian nervously, "Since February. But, nothing's going on. We're not… We're just…. I haven't told him yet."
Bruce's eyes tightened in sympathy, and Dick was reminded again that he was one of the very few people on Earth who got to see Batman's human side, "Are you alright?"
Dick didn't know how to answer at first. Yes? No? He'd just found out that Wally had been tortured because he was protecting Dick's identity, and he'd seen in vivid detail everything Zoom did to him – to Wally, whom he loved. Though, that sounded silly to be saying he was in love at fourteen, but Bruce was always saying that Dick would mature faster and form deeper relationships with people than other kids his age. The kind of life they lived would do that to you. But, at the same time, he was only fourteen. He didn't know how to deal with something like this.
"I don't think so," he finally answered in a quiet, scared voice, shaking his head slowly.
Bruce took a deep breath and pulled Dick into an awkward but comforting hug, "I'm proud of you. Even if you don't feel like it, you've handled all of this better than anyone could have expected of you."
Dick didn't realize how much he'd needed to hear that. The last few months, he'd felt so off balance and out of his element that he was afraid he'd been useless to Wally and everyone else. Dick just hugged Bruce back tighter than he probably needed to and let go of it all.
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[The Watchtower
March 26, 02:00 EST]
"Robin told you that Wally doesn't blame you, and neither do I."
"It doesn't matter. Professor Zoom knew who both of you were because of something I wrote! It's still my fault!"
"Iris, honey, you haven't done anything yet."
Wally frowned at the voices, still keeping his eyes shut. It sounded like his aunt and uncle talking, but Aunt Iris' voice was off – like she was…crying?
"It doesn't matter!" her voice suddenly rose hysterically, "I know better right now! I know that Zoom is a time traveler, and I know he uses my book to hurt you and Wally! How could I ever write it knowing that?!"
Wally opened his eyes groggily and looked around in alarm. The first thing he saw was Earth spinning slowly in the deep black of space. He allowed himself to be mesmerized by the tranquil pace and the stars all around it before realizing that he was looking through one of the Watchtower's windows. He flexed his bandaged fingers and felt soft sheets beneath him. Wait – where was Dick? He twisted his head around and found that he was lying in a small bed by himself facing the wall. The rest of the room stretched on behind him, and Wally rolled over to see it better.
It was unfamiliar and sparsely furnished, only containing a bed, dresser, a small TV in one corner, and a couple chairs. Wally guessed that this must be his uncle's quarters. It didn't look very lived in, so Wally figured he must not spend a lot of time here. He spotted his aunt and uncle on the other side of the room, huddled close together.
"Iris, if there's only one thing I've learned in my time as the Flash, it's that the future isn't set in stone. Nothing is certain, alright?" Uncle Barry was crouched in front of Aunt Iris, who was sitting on the floor against the wall with her knees drawn up to her chest. He brushed her hair behind her ears. "We don't even know if that was a real book or not."
Aunt Iris had her face buried in her hands, and when she looked up, Wally saw that her eyes were bright red and streaming tears, "But why would he bother?"
Wally immediately kicked off the blankets and silently rolled out of bed, stumbling a little on jelly legs.
"Babe, he's crazy," Uncle Barry said soothingly. "He would do or say anything to hurt Wally and me. And we don't know the full story either. It hasn't happened yet."
"I don't need to know it," Wally spoke up, startling both his aunt and uncle, who hadn't known he was awake yet. He knelt down next to Aunt Iris and smiled at her tiredly, "I'm not ever going to need to know if Zoom was lying or not, because I know you'd never do anything to hurt me."
His aunt only started crying harder, and she leaned forward to wrap both arms around him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Wally."
"Nothin to be sorry about," he mumbled into her shoulder, his throat tightening a little and his eyes starting to burn. Wally glanced to the side and saw Uncle Barry watching them with an upset, half smile. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, reveling in how safe he felt just being in the same room as his family.
Aunt Iris finally released him after a few minutes once she managed to get a grip on her emotions, miserably wiping the tears from her face, "I'm so happy you're okay and you're here."
"Me too," Wally said shakily, sniffing once to hold back his own tears. He really couldn't stand seeing his aunt cry like that, and he was already having a hard enough time keeping his composure. He'd always built up a mask when he was feeling vulnerable, which was a big part of how he'd kept his dad's abuse a secret. The mask made him feel stronger than he was, and it gave him a door to close on everything when the lies and insecurity threatened to overwhelm him.
Wally turned back to his uncle and had almost finished constructing the mask when he locked eyes with Uncle Barry. They weren't two different colors. They weren't filled with manic hatred for him. They were calm and a little hesitant, but they were the same shade of blue they'd always been. He couldn't figure out why at first until he noticed how much Uncle Barry was keeping his distance.
They'd all seen his memories. Uncle Barry had seen how Zoom had disfigured his own face to look like him; he was worried that his presence would remind Wally of Zoom and that he wouldn't want to be around him anymore. Horrified at letting his uncle think that for even a second longer, Wally reached out for him, and Uncle Barry had him crushed in an embrace before the movement was completed.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Uncle Barry said in a choked voice. "I should've been the one to take you running that day. If I'd been there…none of this would have happened to you."
"Can everyone stop apologizing for a minute?" Wally clung to his uncle tightly, feeling a massive wave of calm wash over him. He'd been eagerly waiting to see him since he escaped. "I don't blame you either."
Uncle Barry gave a short laugh, pulling back and ruffling Wally's hair with a relieved grin, "How are you feeling?"
"Physically? Or mentally?" He asked half-jokingly, trying to relieve some of the tension in the room.
"Let's start with physically," Aunt Iris reached out and smoothed a thumb along the skin under Wally's eyes. He imagined that he had some pretty dark circles there.
"Well, I was pretty tired earlier, but I feel okay now," he half shrugged, testing how his body was doing. "I've actually got some energy."
"You should," Uncle Barry nodded. "You slept for twelve hours."
Wally's eyes widened in shock. Geez…
"Does anything hurt?" his aunt continued her mothering, putting one hand on Wally's forehead and inspecting his bandaged fingers. "Does anything feel wrong? Dr. Mid-Nite should have fixed everything, but I want to make sure."
"No, I feel great," he put on a huge, fake grin to reassure them. Uncle Barry fixed him with a doubtful, semi-suspicious stare, so Wally studiously ignored him and made a big show of patting himself down for injuries, "I don't even – I can't tell where I was hurt anymore."
"Hal said you healed faster than he'd ever seen you heal before," Aunt Iris chewed at her bottom lip anxiously. Being faster wasn't always a good thing.
"And we both saw your memories," Uncle Barry added with a curious but impressed expression. "You healed almost instantly. Do you know what caused it?"
"Yeah…" Wally said after a few seconds. "I just…let go of everything. I stopped caring about what my dad thought, and then it was like this block that I've had on my powers forever was just gone. And, I actually vibrated through stuff! Did you see?"
"I did," his uncle laughed, slowly shaking his head side to side. "Always knew you could do it. You just needed to believe in yourself."
"I do now," Wally took a deep breath and looked at both his aunt and uncle seriously. He wasn't lying for their benefit; he really meant it. "I'm one hundred percent over anything my dad's ever done to me. He can't control me anymore."
Uncle Barry didn't say anything for a minute; he looked like he was getting a little choked up. Wally felt a hand close around the back of his neck, and then his uncle was pulling him into a one-armed hug, "I'm so proud of you."
Wally froze, and he felt a painful knot form in his chest. He'd been waiting so long to hear that.
"I know the last thing you probably want to think about is anything even remotely dad related," he continued carefully. "But when this is all over, if you ever want a father figure, you know I'm here, right? If you want to think of me that way…"
Wally scratched at his jawline in embarrassment, looking away from his uncle and inadvertently at Aunt Iris, who was trying to hide a knowing smile, "I kind of already do…"
He felt Uncle Barry's arm stiffen at the admission and heard him clear his throat a second later. When he spoke, his voice sounded strained and tight with emotion, "Right… Well, um, how are you doing mentally then?"
Wally's mood changed drastically, and his whole body went cold. He sat back on the floor away from his aunt and uncle who both watched him curiously. Heavy shame built up in him, and it took a few long minutes before Wally could look his family in the eyes, "You watched my memories, right? I think I killed a few people…"
"You didn't," Uncle Barry said quickly in alarm. "You're talking about when you set off that bomb in the base. You didn't kill anyone, Wally."
"But…" he said shakily. "There were so many people there…and I don't think I waited long enough to detonate the-"
"No, sweetie," Aunt Iris crawled over to him and curled an arm around his shoulders. "Listen to your uncle."
Uncle Barry seemed to be in the same rush to reassure him, which Wally was immensely grateful for, "Captain Atom, Superman, and Martian Manhunter all searched the entire Manhunter base. They didn't find a single body in the rubble or traces of any remains. No one was killed. The only thing they found was an entire army of destroyed Manhunters. Everyone else escaped."
"But, Zoom," Wally insisted. He knew that he'd badly hurt Professor Zoom. He'd seen it himself. "I saw him get buried by that wall I exploded."
"Martian Manhunter said they looked everywhere for him, but the three of them couldn't find anything except a set of tracks leading away from the blast site," Uncle Barry was angry, looking at something miles away for a second. He shook it off and stared at Wally grimly. "Professor Zoom is still alive. I'm sorry…"
Wally's spine shuddered in response, but he kept his expression closed off. He was relieved that he hadn't killed Zoom, but he didn't want him to be on the loose either, "And they didn't find my dad? I didn't see him at all when I was escaping."
Uncle Barry shook his head regretfully, "Nothing. Captain Atom found some heavy traces of boom tube radiation at the lower levels though, so we think that's how they all made such a quick getaway."
"What about those three speedsters?" Wally was starting to lose it. They had to be lying to him. Too much had happened for his hands to be completely clean in this. "Two of them were unconscious when I was through with them, and the girl – Christina – she burst into flames!"
"Blue Trinity."
"What?" he frowned.
"That's what they're called. They turned up in our investigation when we were looking for you. A man named Dr. Orloff gave them their powers, and he told us everything about them," Uncle Barry explained calmly. "Their names are Boleslaw Uminski, Gregor Gregorovich, and Christina Alexandrova. Both of the men are alive; Martian Manhunter pulled everything we might need from their minds, and then we shipped them back to Orloff and Red Trinity. That's the other speedster trio who helped us. We're going to have to make a trip out to see them when this is over. They were very helpful, and Robin says they're big fans."
"What about Christina…?" Wally almost didn't hear the rest of what his uncle said.
Uncle Barry's eyes tightened, and his eyebrows drew together sadly, "She's dead."
Wally lost it. He scrambled back and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, "I knew it! I did something wrong when I was running – I had to! I'm not used to running that fast, and… I burned her alive somehow! I went too fast, and something in my wake-"
"Whoa, calm down!" Uncle Barry tried to quiet him, but Wally just kept babbling on until Aunt Iris wrapped both arms around his head and cradled him against her chest. She smoothed his hair away from his face as he vibrated wildly in distress. Uncle Barry took both his arms and moved so he was right in front of him, "Wally, I already told you that you didn't kill anyone. Alexandrova wasn't your fault either. It was her suit. Orloff told Robin that both Red and Blue Trinity can't survive at high speeds without their special suits. The friction will burn them alive if there's a large enough breach in the fabric."
Wally was still breathing in erratic gasps, unable to fully grasp his uncle's words.
"She was tearing her suit apart to bind Gregorovich and Uminski's injuries, remember? She knew that running at those speeds would kill her. You had no way of knowing that. It was her choice to chase you anyways. Do you get that? Nothing that you did caused her death. It wasn't your fault."
"You're not lying to make me feel better?" Wally asked nervously, still shivering uncontrollably.
"I'd never lie to you," Uncle Barry shook his head patiently, even pressing one hand to his heart sincerely. "None of this was your fault. You didn't kill anyone, and even if you had, it would've been self-defense. You were only trying to survive."
Wally clamped his jaw shut and exhaled sharply through his nose, feeling his eyes burning with tears of relief. He'd been so worried that he'd killed someone…
"It's okay, Kid," his uncle rubbed his back. "You have to stop holding this all in, or you're going to have a meltdown. Just let it go, alright? It's just your aunt and I here. You know we love you, and you can trust us. Just let it go."
And, so he did. Wally shed it all layer by layer, starting with the very first time his dad had hit him. He didn't suppress anything – didn't hold anything back. Wally didn't try to hide anything from his aunt and uncle. He told them everything without having to worry about them hating him for it. They didn't judge him, and Uncle Barry didn't fire him from being Kid Flash like he'd always feared. As he talked, he felt this tremendous weight lift off of him that he hadn't even been aware was there in the first place. It just kept breaking away piece by piece, leaving Wally feeling lighter than he had in years, until the burden was gone.