Right definitely the last chapter! Definitely! Well I suppose I had to finish it sometime!
John and Shayera both stood over the struggling Famine and Pestilence. They had woken up the seconds after Death died and had screamed the whole town awake.
"You killed her!" Famine sobbed, clutching his bound hands to his heart. Pestilence just sat staring out across the town. She's gone? Should we have left her dead and just let Muerte take up the mantel? Plague, Death and Muerte? Oh what have we done? A small tear slid down his face.
"GOD! How long does it take these god damn police to get here!" John yelled, pacing back and forth.
"John!" Shayera grabbed him by the hand, tears welling in her eyes. "They're doing all they can! We'd only get in the way!" The tears began to fall. "We can't loose him!" she sobbed.
John looked shocked and rapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "Ssh!" he whispered into her hair. "He's strong...he'll make!" He's got to!
"Go to your friend." They both turned to the voice. Pestilence had sat up and was leaning against an up right rock. "We aren't going anywhere." He turned away. "And tell your friend he was right...about what came first. Death went to hell, she spoke with the first Villain and saw the first hero! Evil came first, good as the counter balance for the people. The villain killed the hero's family, turning him into a hero! Please! GO!" he pleaded. "Tell him he can't give up now!"
They both looked at each other and nodded, a small smile reflected on their lips. "Thank you!" Shayera said before taking off. John paused and then cut Pestilence's ropes, the man looked up in surprise.
"You're powerless and just a follower by family law. Everyone gets a second chance. What of your brother?" Pestilence stood and glanced at his brother who rocked back and forth.
"Take him to the best hospital there is. He needs help, ever since he was twelve. I'll come back for him in five years." He smiled back at John and whistled for Race De Mort.
As he hopped upon his horse he turned his fading orange eyes upon John. "Thank you!" he whispered, another tear falling. And then turned his horse and flew away.
"No. Thank you!" and he followed Shayera out to the Watch Tower. "Hold on Wally! We're coming!"
"We need to clean this blood away." J'ohn said, panicking slightly. "Don't move the blade, it's too near his heart." Superman laid his young friend on the bed and helped to cut the material round the dagger, reveling a heavily scared chest.
The blood poured across the bed, dripping onto the floor beneath. Wally gripped the sheet beneath him and took small gasping breaths, he wasn't awake, but he could still feel the pain.
"Hold on!" Superman whispered grabbing his friend's hand. "Please hold on." J'ohn moved forward with a tray and some medicine, Bruce close behind.
"You'll have to move a side." Bruce said, ripping off his mask and handing it to Clark. His face was very pale and somewhere beneath the disguise of coolness, his eyes reflected the fear of the group.
Clark stepped back and felt Diana grab onto his arm. He turned half on and rapped an arm around her shoulder. "Lets go out the way." He nodded to the door.
They both stood outside, Diana sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and Clark looking out the window at the end of the corridor. Diana held her hands up to the light and turned to Clark.
"Can you find me a cloth?" she asked. Clark turned to face her and noticed the blood that stained her hands. He looked down and saw more blood on his clothing and hands.
"Sure. I'll go get changed." He walked off to his room and quickly got changed into his street clothes, minus the glasses. He grabbed some towels and a dish, filled it with water and brought it back to Diana. "Here." He set it down next to her and sat down be the door.
"It won't be the same of he..." she let the word hang in the air.
"He'll make it!" he answered, staring straight through the wall. He'll make it!
John and Shayera flew into the Docking Bay and ran as fast as they could up to the infirmary.
"How is he?" John asked, dreading the answer.
"J'ohn and Bruce are trying to seal the wound. We won't know till later." Clark said.
John and Shayera looked to the floor, back at the door and then sat down opposite it. Staring at the door waiting for it to open.
One hour, tow, three. By the third hour the door finally opened. Shayera shot up off John's shoulder and everyone scrambled to their feet.
"Is he alright?" John asked again.
"We stitched the wound but he's lost a lot of blood. It depends on how long his body can hold out." Bruce said, shaking his head.
"Both of you get changed." Clark said pointing to their bloody clothes. "And we'll watch him for a while." J'ohn and Bruce nodded and headed off their own rooms, leaving John, Shayera, Diana and Clark to go into the room.
"Wally." Diana gasped. Wally looked frail surrounded by tubes and wires. John was the first over to his friend, sitting down on the chair next to him.
"Hey buddy. You here me?" no response. "I hope you can. Pestilence told me something about the order of villains and heroes. He said villains came first and created the first hero, so you see man? You can't give up on us. You can't!" he took Wally hand and squeezed it gently.
Wally stood in darkness, unaware of time or existence. He vaguely heard movement now and then but none of it made sense. It wasn't until he was flung into a room of light that he heard anything significant.
"Wally!" someone gasped from around the room.
"Wally!" He heard a second voice call this time from behind him. Turning he came face to face with a young woman. Someone he often thought of and always missed.
"Mum?" he asked, not daring to breath in case she went away.
"Yes my son. I'm always here!"
"Where's here?" he asked looking round the brightly light room.
"Well here is between the land of living and the land of the dead. It is more of checkpoint where family comes to watch whom ever is left behind. I'm always here waiting for you." She reached out and stroked his cheek.
"So I'm dead?" he took his mothers hand and pulled her into a hug.
"No. But here you can choose." She pointed to one side. "You can return or you can move on, but only your body decides. If can continue then you can return. If it can't then you must move on."
Wally looked to the end of the room where it was darkest. He pulled away from his mother and gazed through the opening.
"He said villains came first and created the first hero." Wally gasped at what John had said. "You can't give up on us. You can't!" he turned back to his mother.
"Go to them! We'll meet again." He smiled and glanced back at the door.
"I hope my body can handle it!" he whispered to himself, holding back the tears and walked back into the darkness.
"Bruce!" Diana screamed from down the corridor. Both J'ohn and Bruce began running back towards the infirmary. Entering they saw Wally's pulse increase to a dangerous rate and then go flat.
"No!" Bruce cried, dash forward he began CPR. After a minute J'ohn pulled the defibrillator forward and charged it. Bruce took it, told everyone to step back and shocked Wally over the pads on his chest.
Nothing.
He charged it higher, yelled clear and shocked him again.
Nothing.
They could only shock him once more or else any higher charge could damage him permanently. "Clear!" he shouted, bringing the handles back down and shocked him one last time. Everyone held their breaths and stared at the screen...
Wally felt himself spinning through the darkness, but couldn't tell which direction he spinning in. Finally he saw a light and was thrown through it, landing hard on floor.
Getting up he gasped. "No!" he looked round the room. There were no doors and his mother was gone. Walking over to the place were one door should have been he passed a hand over the wall.
Solid.
He sat down in the middle of the floor and let the tears fall. He had lost everyone. His chance with his mother, his chance to see his friends. Why?
"Why?" he screamed to the ceiling.
"Because I called you here!" he shot up and growled, stepping into a fighting stance.
"You!" he screamed.
"Easy Wally. Would you believe I'm here to repent for my son's sins? Technically he can move on...away from hell if I help you. I did meet the first evil, Pestilence told your friend. You just need to believe it, before it's too late."
"I thought you said you called me here?" he didn't relax.
"I did. You would have continued to spin in that darkness for all eternity. I brought you here so we could speak." She gestured to the room. "My one time out of hell for the rest of my sentence. Anyway, I told you that it's true. Do you believe?"
Wally lowered his arms and looked at her. "No!" he lowered his head. "Because I made your son like that."
"You didn't. I did!" she stepped forward and showed pity on her face. She raised her hand to touch his cheek but stopped short. "She touched you, I shouldn't taint it." she stepped back. "I brought him up to be like that. He knew no different." She waved her hand to the wall behind her, causing it to open up. "Maybe he can explain."
A man walked out of the light and smiled at Wally. "How we heroes change." He said. "I am the first of good. I was the one who had his family killed by evil and decided to protect all others from that hurt." He nodded to Wally who raised his head and smiled.
"I hope your son can move on Death." He said, feeling the floor beneath him disintegrate.
"I'll be seeing you Wally!" she said, turning back to a red door that formed behind her. Muerte walked out and hugged his mother before she went inside. "Be good son. I'll love you always."
Plague burst out of the door and grabbed for Muerte. Flames followed, grabbing Plague round the wrist and pulled him back in. "I'd better go. Bye son. Thank you Sir." She bowed to the first hero and then turned t Wally. "You look after your friends and your girl." With that said she grinned at him and walked though the red door.
Muerte and the hero both nodded to Wally and walked through a white door while the floor finally gave way and sent Wally back into darkness.
He fell and fell until he saw yet another light, slowing falling to it he saw...
Wally sat bolt up right in bed, tears streaming from his eyes as he clutched his chest.
"Wally!" John pushed him gently back down and hugged his. "Thank god!" he said into Wally's shoulder.
"Yeah...Yeah!" he muttered, looking round at the group and smiled.
Three weeks had passed since that day and things were getting back to normal. Wally had finally told everyone exactly what had happened to him when he first met Death and her brothers, but hadn't told them about what happened when he nearly died. J'ohn said it was often on Wally's mind, but just out of reach for anyone to see. Wally had just smiled and said 'one day you guys. We all have our secrets from one another. When I feel ready, I'll tell you.' Everyone seemed to have accepted it and left it for Wally to tell.
"Anyone want any pop corn?" Shayera asked form the kitchen.
"Yeah wings! It's in the top cupboard on the left!" Wally shouted from the couch. Everyone had told him to rest, as his chest was still sore.
She walked back in with several bowls and passed them round. Setting one down for John and her on the other couch, one for Bruce and Diana on the floor, one for Wally and Linda one their couch and one each for J'ohn and Clark.
They were all in Wally's apartment and had decided to watch a movie with the recovering Linda. Linda curled up next to Wally while Shayera curled up next to John. Diana and Bruce sat close but not too close while Clark and J'ohn both watched the screen.
"It's good to be back!" Wally muttered. "Oh Linda, I'm feeling slightly faint, what do you say to some mouth to mouth?"
"Oh he's back!" Bruce muttered, loud enough for everyone to here. They all laughed as the movie started.
Wally really was back, but he had learnt a tough lesson. People you love do get hurt, but you are a hero and people can't live without you, no matter what they say!
Well that's it! (Sob!) What did you think?