June 2016

"Where is he!" Dick, in his Nightwing outfit, slams through Wallace's front door nearly screaming, "Where were you?!"

Wallace zips down the stairs and grabs Dick up in a tight hug, "Dick, calm down," He whispers into Dick's ear. "Just calm down."

"No! Where is Wally?! Why didn't you save him!" Dick tears himself out of Wallace's hug and stands in front of him, so tense he looks like he's about to break, "You already lost Jason, and now Wally's gone! Why didn't you do anything?!"

"Dick," Wallace turns stern and he takes Dick's shoulders in his hands, "Calm. Down."

"But," Dick trembles under Wallace's hands, "Wally. Wally's gone. He was running and... Flash said that... he disappeared."

Bart takes that moment to slam into Wallace, his arms octopusing around the man's ribs, "Uncle Wally! He's gone! No one told me that he went! If I'd'a known, I'd'a stopped him!"

"No Bart," Wallace takes one hand off of Dick's shoulder and wraps it around Bart's shoulders, "You wouldn't have been able to stop him. You needed his speed to stop the device and without someone slow enough to catch the castoff, you would have been the one to go." Bart has tears in his eyes as he looks up at Wallace, "And you aren't ready to enter the Speed Force."

Barry in the Flash's uniform zips into the entryway, his cowl pulled down, "What are you talking about? What's the Speed Force?"

Wallace notices the Dick hasn't moved since Bart appeared and he consciously slows himself down so that Dick can understand him, "When Wally disappeared, he didn't disintegrate, he was pushed by the energy castoff into what I know as the Speed Force." Dick stares at all three of the speedsters around him.

"What?"

"Come here Dick," Wallace leads the young man into the living room and sits him down. Barry takes the couch and when Wallace settles in the loveseat, Bart curls around him, refusing to let go. "The Speed Force is where speedster's get their speed," He explains, "Wally's not dead, he was pulled completely into it."

"I don't understand," Dick rests his elbows on his knees and tucks his face into his hands, "What are you talking about?"

Wallace strokes Bart's wild hair and tries to explain again, "Have you ever wondered why the particles in the air don't punch through speedsters like bullets when they run? It's because when a speedster starts to use his speed, they access the Speed Force and partially enter it. Like taking one step into an alternative plane of existance and keeping one foot in this one. It makes a speedster immaterial to the world so that they aren't hurt by their speed."

Dick looks up, frowning, "But you guys can carry stuff. How does that work?"

"It's half subconscious desire, half telepathy with the Force. If a speedster wants to take something with them, it enters the Speed Force with them. Anyway, the important thing is that Wally's not dead. He's just fully entered the Force." Wallace leans back, letting Bart crawl up him, hugging him even tighter. "He'll find his way out and come home, I promise."

"And how long will that take?" Barry looks like he has a million and one questions, but he asks the one that concerns Wally.

"Well, probably less time then it took me originally, seeing as I've taught him a few tricks this time. I didn't know anything when I went in, but Wally already understands what's happening. I'd guess less than a year, more than a month. It's different every time." Wallace pauses and then grins, "Well, unless he figures out time travel before I did. Then he'll be home even quicker."

Barry blinks several times and stares at Wallace. Then realization dawns and his jaw drops in amazement, "Wally?" He asks, still staring, cataloguing every inch of the man across from him. "You... you're Wally? From the future? Like Bart?"

"Not quite as far, but yeah, I'm Wally," Wallace smiles at Barry, "It's good to see you again, Uncle Barry."

Barry continues staring and then he drops his head, covering his face with his hands, "Oh my god. You're Velocity too."