AN: Several things!
1) Congratulations to Peonywinx, RollingUpHigh, and Glass O'Lemonade for giving the reason why Batman's code is 9-1-9-3-9. It is the date of the premiere of the first Batman comic. September 19, 1939: 9/19/39, though Batman did first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. Melancholy's Sunshine is also sort of correct as it's usually agreed that it is also the day Bruce Wayne's parents were killed.
2) After reevaluating the chapters I have done and those I have yet to do, I have concluded that my earlier estimate of the amount of remaining chapters was short. I now estimate that there will be at least 50 chapters in all, maybe more.
3) I've already mentioned a sequel to this story a couple times, and I have started mapping out ideas of what will happen. I'm wondering if I should try to write the story with someone or have a Beta I could bounce ideas off of, so if anyone's interested, PM me, though I will not start to actually write anything until this story is finished.
As always reviews are welcome and I hope you enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Justice League.
...
"Wally," Dick said seriously, looking at Wally. "What's this?"
Wally looked like a deer caught in headlights. His mouth gaped open for a second. "Why are you reading that?"
Dick glared at him. "I just glanced over and saw it. Wally, this is a notice of payment due. Why is the bank sending you a letter asking for your mortgage payment?" Dick demanded.
Roy was scowling at him as well. "I thought this house was already paid for?"
Wally's eyes traveled over the kitchen, not looking either in the eye. "Not…exactly."
"Wally," Roy said in a warning tone.
Wally sighed. "It's fine," he said. "Really. I'm handling it."
"Dude," Dick said. "They want to foreclose on your house!" He waved the letter around to emphasize his point. "How is that handling it?"
"Again, I ask," Roy said looking frustrated. "How is this house not paid for already?"
Wally sighed again. "Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry didn't have a lot of savings. They could afford this house under a thirty year mortgage with them both working. When they died, I inherited everything, including any lasting debts," he said sadly. "Their life insurance was pretty good. It paid off the two cars, one of which I immediately sold, their funeral, the creditors, and the remainders of the two student loans Uncle B still had and the one from Aunt Iris. After all that and taxes, there was just enough to pay for the house in its entirety, but it would have left me completely broke. So instead I put the money in the bank and set up automatic monthly mortgage payments so that I could use the money for other necessities, hoping that by the time the account was empty, I would have a steady source of income."
Dick and Roy frowned. "But the money ran out too soon," Dick guessed.
Wally crossed his arms. "Lucky I'm on a scholarship or it would have run out sooner, and a high metabolism doesn't help. I try to eat at the Watchtower as often as I can, but I still eat most meals here and I need a lot of food," Wally said dejectedly. "If I could work a part-time job, that'd help, but I'm too busy with school, my internship, and Flash duties."
Roy walked forward with his palms up. "Why didn't you tell us? You know we would have helped."
"Because it's not your problem," Wally said. "I'm twenty years old now. I'm an adult. This is something I have to deal with. If worse comes to worse, I'll sell the house."
"What?!" Dick exclaimed. "But you can't!"
"Wally, this isn't just a house," Roy said angrily. "This is your home. It's where you grew up; where you had family! You can't sell this place. It's part of you."
"I agree," Dick said, standing next to Roy and crossing his arms defiantly at Wally. "We're not going to let you lose your home. I'll transfer some money as soon as-"
"No," Wally snapped. "I am not taking your money," he said glaring at Roy and Dick.
Roy put his hand on Wally's arm. "Wally, we just want to help."
"I know," Wally said, "but you have to let me deal with this on my own. Look, I have this last semester of school, and then I graduate with my Masters. I can get a job, and everything will be fine. There's not much left of the loan to pay off. I can find a temporary fix."
"Or you could just let us help," Dick muttered. Wally glared at him.
Roy huffed. "Fine, we'll let you find a way to fix it, but if you don't come up with something in the next two weeks…"
"I'm transferring the money," Dick finished. "And you know I don't need your permission to do it either."
Wally pouted, but didn't argue.
As the image faded into blackness and another scene appeared, several of the leaguers frowned, not liking the fact that Wally had financial trouble or the little barb he made about food. Wally did eat a lot, and food isn't all that cheap. How the heck is he able to support himself?
The new memory on the screens showed Wally beaming and standing in front of Dick and Roy. The two were sitting on Wally's couch, Roy with his arms crossed and Dick leaning his head on his fist, elbow propped on the armrest.
"Well?" Roy asked with a frown. "What's this brilliant solution you came up with?"
"Gentlemen," Wally said excitedly, "you are looking at the new face of the Lightspeed Energy Bar!" He pulled one of the bars from behind his back and displayed it proudly.
Roy and Dick just stare at him blankly.
"You've got to be kidding," Dick mumbled. "Wally, did you endorse a product?"
"Uh, yes," Wally said as he smiled guiltily. "I know what you're going to say," he said quickly. "Heroes don't save people for money and we do not endorse products or make statements about politics or personal beliefs and prejudices, but this is different. One, it's not hurting anyone. Two, it's because I'm Flash that I have to spend so much money anyway. With this deal, I also get a year's supply of the bars, so I won't have to worry about food for a while. I know I'm trying to justify this, but I really need it, and I will not take any money from you guys," Wally finished.
Dick and Roy looked at each other and shared a silent conversation before turning back to Wally.
"Bruce is going to be pissed," Dick deadpanned.
"It was nice knowing you," Roy agrees.
Wally rolled his eyes and smiled at the two in relief.
"So, when you get asked what you did with the money, what are you going to say?" Dick asked as he grinned.
Wally's smile would have made the Cheshire Cat proud. "Follow me," he said as he gestured to the two and walked to the door that led to the garage. He opened the door and the other two young heroes went wide-eyed as their jaws dropped.
"What," Roy asked, "is that?"
Wally laughed and walked over to the back of the red van covered in lightning bolts. He could barely contain his laughter as he said, "The Flashmobile."
Dick snickered. "Where did you get this thing?"
"Funnily enough, this hippy-mechanic-Flash fan wrote me a fan letter saying that he had overhauled a van all for me. It's supposed to represent my 'inner self'," Wally said in air quotes and opened the two back doors to reveal the inside, which was even more ridiculous than the outside. Dick and Roy busted out laughing and then covered their mouths trying to hold it in.
Wally continued. "He offered it to me for cheap, so I only sacrificed a small amount of the money I got from the Lightspeed Bar contract in order to keep my cover."
"I don't even know what to say to this," Roy said as he tried to control his breathing.
Wally rubbed his hands together. "Well, I can't wait to show John. I've been ignoring him, and I promised myself I would get him to loosen up. When he sees this, he's going to flip!"
The scene changed and the league saw Wally show John the "Flashmobile". John's face: priceless. Wally really layered on the act and got John to grudgingly get in the van. He turned on the small television and the channel was tuned to G. Gordon Godfrey.
Every member of the league remembered Godfrey. He was a pain in the ass that fortunately was kicked out of the business a while back when his show was in the top ten worst-rated shows for two years running. They were reminded of how much they hated that arrogant pig when Flash went on the show to defend the league. G. Gordon twisted everything Flash said and made it look like the heroes were the bad guys with the most ridiculous statements.
"Wow," Jason said. "This guy is lucky I was still supposedly dead when this happened. White collar crime? Marriages ending in divorce? And he actually made people believe heroes were responsible?"
"He was charismatic and had the power of the mob mindset," Superman ground out.
Jason looked at him. "I don't care how charismatic he was. This just proves that people are idiots."
"Seconded," Shayera said while still looking at the screen.
"G. Gordon Godfrey was a real piece of work," John said angrily.
"Whatever happened to him?" Diana asked.
"Do you really care?" Dick asked her instead.
The scene had changed to when she, Wally and John were up in the Watchtower watching Godfrey's show.
"Role models?" Godfrey asked skeptically. "Look, I've seen showgirls with more modesty than this so-called 'Wonder Woman'."
Diana watched Wally's memory of her smash the monitor where Godfrey's face was. "No, I do not," Diana said angrily.
The Diana on the screen walked over to the glass window and looked at her reflection. "AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WAY I DRESS?" she demanded of Flash and Green Lantern.
"Uh, you wanna take that?" Flash asked GL. Diana glared at them and Flash gulped. "Well if you ask me, I'd say there's absolutely nothing wrong with what you wear. I-In fact," Flash smiled nervously, "I think that your…minimalist style costume is very functional. Nothing restricts you in a fight, and, uh," Flash floundered for a moment, "it also…shows off your femininity and…shows…that you are…proud, yes proud," Flash said nodding, "of your body and are not afraid to restrict yourself to old-age social and cultural standards of how much skin you should show." Flash smiled and then added pointedly, "Standards that everyone else accepts."
Wonder Woman stopped glaring and looked confused. "So my costume is offensive to people? But I added the blue with white stars in addition to the red so that it reflects the American flag in a show of respect and good-will."
"I understand that," Flash nodded, "and like I said, I have no problem with your costume, but most people don't think it's appropriate to wear so little when out in public."
"Because I 'show too much skin'?" Diana asked. "That is absurd. Why should anyone cover up their body for any reason other than to keep warm? I am not ashamed of myself," Diana said, lifting her chin.
Flash shrugged. "I agree. The female body is a beautiful thing." He smiled. "Just remember that there are different customs in the world. If you want to change your costume to bend to their social standards, then you can. Or you can continue wearing what you are, ignore the rude comments, and hope that others come to understand your way of thinking."
Wonder Woman pouted and walked away with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Flash turned to GL, who was staring at him strangely.
"What?" Flash asked him.
"Nothing," answered John. "I've just never seen you dodge a bullet so elegantly before."
Flash shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Right. Well. I've got to go. Bye."
The memory changed and Wally was pacing in his room on the phone. He winced from the voice on the other end.
"WHAT WERE THINKING?" It sounded like Roy. "I UNDERSTOOD THE LIGHTSPEED BAR, BUT THEN YOU GO AND ENDORSE ANOTHER PRODUCT? AND YOU DON'T EVEN GET THROUGH THE FILMING WITHOUT THROWING A TANTRUM AND GETTING THAT TANTRUM AIRED ON TELEVISION!"
"I'm sorry!" Wally yelled. "I didn't mean for that to happen, okay! And the money wasn't for me. My agent called about this new product he wanted me to endorse. The pay was alright and the Central City Orphanage needs new supplies for next year, so I thought one more couldn't hurt. But you should have seen the script! The things they wanted me to say were ridiculous! I wanted to give the money back and find a different way to raise the money," Wally said angrily as his communicator buzzed. "Look, I've got to go now. John and Diana are coming with me to see my agent to find out where Godfrey got that tape."
Batman narrowed his eyes at this. He had felt the bottom of his stomach drop when Wally's memories revealed the real reason behind the Lightspeed Bar. He was busy on a case when it all went down, but he had given Flash the lecture of the century when he got back. It wasn't as bad as it would have been if the Justice League's image had still been in danger, but he had still ripped Flash a new one for cashing in on his superhero image and giving the JL bad press.
All the while, Wally was just trying to keep his home, feed himself, and raise money for charity; FOR ORPHANS for crying out loud! Batman still didn't approve of giving into endorsement deals, but he couldn't fault Wally for his motives. He was in a pinch, he took responsibility for a financial crisis that wasn't even his own making, refused to take other's money without earning it, and intended to use some of the money he did earn to help underprivileged kids. Damn Flash! Even when he does something stupid you can't be mad at him.
It also helps that he always makes up for it by saving the day. The fact that the Justice League – though it really was just Flash that time – saved the world helped with their public relations and got G. Gordon Godfrey off their backs.
As Dick sat in the med room and watched John and Wally sit in the Flashmobile, he grinned. "Hey, John? Last I heard you two still use that thing." Dick's blue eyes sparkled in mischief. "Are you ever going to take up his offer of a road trip?"
John smirked at him. "After this, I just might."
And another one bites the dust, Dick thought. No one can resist Wally's corrupting for long.
...