The founders ultimately decided Wally couldn't stay on the Watchtower. They were already getting questions from the rest of the Leaguers as to why the station was on temporary lockdown, and it had only been a few hours. Wally knew they couldn't stretch out his stay in space (Wally still couldn't believe he was in space!) for much longer. Where were they going to put him? Apparently his aunt and uncle weren't on this Earth, so he couldn't stay with them. His parents? He hoped not.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes of listening to the Leaguers discuss where he would go, Batman spoke in a tone Wally knew gave no room for any more discussion.
"He will come stay at the manor. I have plenty of room, and the means to feed him properly."
Superman paused before turning to look at Wally, "Is that okay with you?"
Staying with Batman? Sure, why not. It's not like it's the first time Wally's spent the night at Wayne Manor. Wally nodded at the heroes.
Batman turned to leave the medbay, and Green Lantern gestured for Wally to follow him. Wally hopped off of the bed and followed the Bat down the twisting corridors of the Watchtower. Martian Manhunter wasn't far being them. This time, they ended up in a huge room that, when Wally looked up he could barely see the ceiling of. There were a lot of levels Wally could see. Manhunter flew up to one of them while Batman directed Wally to stand on a platform beside him.
Batman looked down at Wally and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is our zeta transporter. It's going to teleport us to the Batcave. It may feel a little strange," he explained.
Wally wanted to ask what happened to the zeta-tubes, like they had in Mount Justice, but decided against it. Their zeta technology was just different on this Earth. A zeta beam is a zeta beam, right?
Wally couldn't wait to go home where everything made sense.
Wally nodded at the Gothamite who, in turn, nodded up at Martian Manhunter. A few seconds later, a bright light surrounded Wally. He felt weird fuzzy feeling- like when his arm falls asleep, but this time it was all over his whole body- and before he could blink, the feeling and light had faded away and he was no longer standing on the Watchtower.
The Batcave was familiarly unfamiliar. Wally had, of course, been to the Batcave before when he'd hung out with Robin, or when Bruce and Uncle Barry were working on a case together. But this version was…off. The same way the Leaguers Wally had been interacting with were off. They way that they looked and acted like the people and places he knew, but Wally didn't really feel any connection to any of them the way he did back home. These people were strangers to him. And so was this Batcave.
It was big and dark, just like at home, but it was also…sadder almost. Older. Wally and Batman- Bruce, now that he'd pulled the cowl down, and wow he was older than Wally remembered him being- were standing on a platform beside what Wally was pretty sure was this version of the Batmobile. A narrow, rail-less walkway bridged to a larger area where the Batcomputer stood, seemingly the only real source of light currently in the dark cave. As Wally followed Bruce towards the computer, he noticed, to the left, a cavern where Wally could see 3 massive objects- a t-rex, a penny, and a joker card. Maybe somethings really are universal. Multi-versal?
To the right of the Batcomputer were four glass cases, also dimly lit. All four contained suits, and the first two Wally recognized: Batman and Robin. That means Dick exists in this universe! Although, his Robin suit is a little different- both the vest and the pants were red, with black boots and black…underwear? The gloves were also black, though sleeker and pointier than his Robin's bulkier holo-gloves.
The other two costumes Wally didn't recognize. One was mostly black, with what looked like a blue bird with its wings draped around the shoulders. The fourth seemed to be a female version of Batman's costume- grey with a blue-ish cowl, cape, and boot, as well as yellow, gloves, a belt, and the bat symbol on the chest. Wally wondered who those costumes belonged to. Was this Batman married? Or have a brother or sister? Or are they his kids?
Wally was snapped out of this musings by someone politely clearing their throat behind him. He turned to see who the noise came from and-
"Alfred!"
The butler (or bat-butler, as he, Dick, and Roy secretly liked to call him), had apparently made his way downstairs while Wally was observing the cave, and was now standing beside Bruce holding a tray of steaming mugs.
"Master Wallace, would you care for some hot cocoa?"
Wally grinned, "Yes please!"
Alfred handed Wally a mug that had the Flash insignia on it (while Bruce gave an annoyed look at the mug) before handing Bruce a mug with the bat symbol on it (to which Bruce gave an equally annoyed look). The cocoa wasn't too hot to start drinking, so Wally began sipping on it. Gosh, Alfred's cocoa was the best.
While Wally drank his cocoa, Bruce and Alfred had a quiet conversation a few feet away that Wally couldn't quite make out. Curious, Wally made to ask what they were talking about, but before he could say anything, a new set of footsteps came racing down the stairs that Wally assumed led up to the Manor. Wally looked to see a boy a few years older than him jump onto the chair of the Batcomputer, legs spread wide with a foot on each arm rest.
"Heya, boss! Ready to kick some bad guy butt tonight?!" He exclaimed, punching the air like he was beating up imaginary thugs.
"Dick?!" Wally gaped at the boy. Dick was supposed to be two years younger than him, not a teenager!
The boy- Dick- gave him a funny look. "Uh, no? Who the heck are you?"
"I'm Wally." This boy wasn't Dick? Then who was he?
"Weird, that's Flash's name. B, please don't tell me you're adopting more kids off the street!" Not-Dick looked pleadingly at the older hero.
Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tim, get off the chair. This is the Flash. He was hit by a spell earlier this afternoon that de-aged him. He's staying with us for a couple of days until the spell wears off."
The boy- Tim, Bruce said his name was?- raised his eyebrows and looked back at Wally. Wally waved. The only thing that came out of Tim's mouth was, "Huh."
He looked back at Bruce, "Seriously?"
"Suit up, Robin. I'll be back in a few minutes," Was all Bruce said to Tim before turning towards the staircase Tim had come bounding down from. Alfred collected the mugs and set them out on the desk before following him. Wally trailed behind the adults. He could feel Tim's curious stare burning a hole in the back of his head, but his own curiosity and confusion about the boy had his mind reeling.
It was one thing to be on a different Earth and not know these versions of people he was close to, but to have a completely different person exist in place of his best friend? Tim seemed nice enough, but Wally still wasn't terribly fond of that idea.
"Wally, are you alright?"
Bruce's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up and noticed that they were now in a hallway in the manor, which Wally was pretty sure led to the bedrooms. The thought of a bed, especially one as comfortable as these, had Wally's eyelids suddenly feeling very heavy.
"Yeah," the speedster began slowly, "'M just really tired."
Alfred placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You've had quite a day, young sir. A good night's sleep shall do you well."
Bruce nodded, "Alfred set up a room for you before we arrived."
Alfred walked a couple more doors down and stepped inside. Bruce and Wally followed. The room was nice. It looked like most of the guest rooms Wally had been in before, so he didn't bother to pay too much attention to it. He had a bed and a bathroom, and right now, that's all he cared about.
Wally walked towards the bed, yawning.
"Tim and I are going on patrol, but Alfred will be here if you need anything," Bruce told him from the doorway. Wally nodded at him, and Bruce left to return to the Batcave.
Alfred explained that he'd left some pajamas and extra clothes on the dresser, and there were toiletries in the adjoining bathroom.
"Will you be needing anything else, Master Wallace?"
"I don't think so. Thanks, Alfred."
"Of course, sir. If anything arises, you can find me in either the kitchen or the Batcave."
Wally nodded both his understanding and his thanks, and Alfred left the room, shutting the door gently behind him. Wally changed into a set of pajamas before quickly brushing his teeth and jumping into bed, burrowing himself under the covers. He didn't even remember falling asleep.
Wally woke up with a start, gasping with his heart beating rapidly…even for him. He swallowed and tried to calm himself down, his fists clenching the sheets.
"You okay, kid?" Came a voice from his bedside. He looked to see a stranger standing a couple steps away from the bed. The man was young, Wally guessed in his twenties. He wore a black motorcycle jacket with a white t-shirt and dark jeans, with hands stuffed in the pockets. His black hair was long, and tied back in a low-ponytail. Blue eyes and a kind smile looked back at him comfortingly. Those eyes seemed…vaguely familiar, but Wally couldn't quite figure out why.
When Wally didn't answer the new man, he spoke again, "Sorry for just kind of barging in your room, but you were screaming, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Screaming? He must've been having a nightmare. He had those sometimes. Though, he usually remembered at least part of the dreams. He didn't now.
"Seriously, kid, you alright?" The man asked again.
Wally nodded and replied with a soft, "Yeah. Just a nightmare."
The man hummed and nodded, "Yeah, I get them, too."
A moment of silence and then "So, Tim tells me you're the Flash, huh? Wally, right?"
Wally nodded, still not sure who this stranger was. He had to be trustworthy if he was in the manor, and apparently knew who Wally was. The man smiled warmly at him and pulled one of his hands out of pocket to extend it towards Wally. Wally slowly reached out his own hand to shake, just like Uncle Hal had shown him.
"My name is Dick. Dick Grayson."
Theeere's my favorite birdie. Mullet and all. Don't you live it when you find out your best friend who is two years younger than you is apparently twice your age? Fun. Let me know whatcha think!