The Call
by Vanessa
A/N: I don't think anyone has written something like this, but it's definitely been discussed... I got this idea last night at work, and I wrote it as soon as I got home. It had to be done.Disclaimer: Nothing in this fic belongs to me.
"I've got great news! I'm coming home for a while!"
Mr. West was suddenly very grateful that he had never invested in a vid phone. Otherwise, his son would be able to see the look of utter confusion on his face. It was rarely a good thing when Orin West decided to come home. Around him, things had a tendency to break, or burn, or somehow go horribly wrong. But Orin was his son, after all, so he felt he was required to at least pretend to be excited.
"That's great son," he said, not sounding at all enthusiastic. "But... what about your job? The NSA?"
"Oh... Well, I don't think I'm going to be working for the NSA anymore."
So the government had finally come to its senses and fired his son. Mr. West had to wonder what he had done this time. He had heard quite a few horror stories about Orin blowing up hovervans, or arresting fellow agents, or innumerable other mistakes that should have gotten him fired on the spot. "What'd you do this time, Orin?" He dreaded the answer.
"I caught the killer robot! By myself!"
West's father immediately sat upright in his seat. His son had been the one to capture Infiltration Unit Zeta? The synthoid that the government had been chasing for nearly two years? Orin had actually done something right?! And yet, he was leaving the NSA? He should be getting a promotion! He should be getting Bennet's job! He should–
"But he got away again."
He should have known better than to get his hopes up. "So," he sighed, sinking back down into his chair, "you let the robot get away, and Bennet decided he'd had enough of you."
"No way. Bennet wants me to stay on the team now. But I think I can do better than the NSA."
"...Please, explain."
Orin West began his explanation, complete with sound effects and arrogant, possibly exaggerated, descriptions of his own heroism. They had tracked Zeta and his accomplice to a large city near Gotham, and had finally caught up to them outside a hovercar dealership. As the NSA van advanced on them, the two fugitives had seen them coming, quickly payed for the car, and sped away. The van followed them, maneuvering through the cars on the busy magway, trying to catch up to Zeta and Ro Rowen.
And just when they almost had them, just when they were so close, the hovercar made a sharp turn into a narrow alley, too fast for the bulky van to follow, even if the alley had been wide enough. It seemed hopeless. They had lost the synthoid again.
"Don't worry, sir," West had announced, "I'll get them!" He leapt from the van, ignoring Bennet's orders to come back, that Zeta and Ro were going too fast and were too far away. West, as always, ignored his orders, and tried to pursue them on foot.
His father's eyes grew wider as the story progressed. Zeta and Ro had seemed so far away at first, but as West ran, they began to get closer. The buildings and people were flying past him in a blur, and he realized that he was moving at a speed at which no ordinary human could move. Finally, he passed the hovercar and moved in front of it, assuming that Zeta would stop the car before hitting him.
He was right. The hovercar came to a sudden stop, but the synthoid reached out and grabbed the girl by the waist, extending his arm to catch a third-story window ledge, pulling them both out of West's reach. They had escaped yet again.
West finished his story, and a stunned silence passed between them. Finally, Orin couldn't stand it anymore. He had to ask.
"So... How soon can I join the Justice League?"
Wally West was speechless.