Back with a vengeance! I can't believe the number of Flash Fans out there! I'm not alone! This chapter has more angst, as well as some GREEN LANTERN!

Glad to see that the last chapter got some response! Thanks to the folks who author alerted this fic, and put it as a favourite-That really means a lot to me! As I said, this is where the story will really start. Things are gonna be kinda weird and angsty. And you'll understand the title! ENJOY!

Special thanks to Gotham's Princess for reviewing within ten minutes of me posting!

And to Lady Raiden-wow, you've got some interesting stuff there. Don't worry-you will be seeing a lot of what goes on in Wally's head, as well as how the other characters treat him and feel about him.

Thanks for all the reviews! Now, on with the show! ;)

Disclaimer: I only own Grimm and this plotline. The rest came from someone else's mind.

CHAPTER TWO: PROVOCATION

"What did you just say?"

"I'm sorry, Vixen. It's over." John Stewart stared coolly ahead, not brave enough to look her in the eye. They had both known this was coming, but breaking it off was still no easy task for either of them.

Vixen's eyes narrowed. "It's because of HER, isn't it," she said coldly. It was a statement, not a question. She didn't have to give a name for Green Lantern to understand whom she meant.

"It's not just that," He replied, with more sureness than he actually felt. "There are other things. We both knew this wasn't working. We're just too different." He found himself looking directly at her now. "I'm really sorry, Mari."

Vixen sighed. She knew she had lost. Truth be told, he was right; it hadn't been about feelings for either of them for a long time. John had just wanted to show he was over Shayera, and Vixen had wanted to win the tug-of-war she and Shayera had started for his affections.

She smiled ruefully up at him. Raising a hand, she caressed the side of his face before giving him one last peck on the lips. She slowly slid her hand off of him, and turned to go.

"I hope you two will be very happy together," She said with only a hint of jealousy as she sauntered out of the room, leaving behind the guy she had once thought to be the man of her dreams.

Flash surveyed the hallways, looking in turn at each of the faces he saw. Having successfully beaten Arrow's Brawlin'-Bot into the ground, he was now in search of some entertainment to occupy his time. Blast his luck-Wonder Woman and Black Canary had already finished their training sessions for the day. Oh well, there were plenty of other cute girls around to watch!

He was busy 'studying' a group of heroines nearby when he spotted Green Lantern walking out of one of the rooms. Flash smiled when he caught his eye, and made to walk over towards him. John however, shook his head at the younger man's actions, a frown evident on his face, and walked off in the opposite direction.

Wally was confused, and the thought that GL was mad at him briefly crossed his mind. He banished it immediately, assuring himself that something else was bothering his friend. Whatever it was, he was certain that John would share it with him eventually.

It was late when Wally finally decided to get some rest. He repressed a yawn as he waltzed into his temporary quarters and turned off the lights. After changing out of his costume, he flopped down onto his bed. Although he had an apartment of his own in Central City, he often spent his nights in the Watchtower. Maybe it was the convenience, and maybe it was the company, but he always felt more comfortable in the spacecraft than in his one bedroom bachelor pad.

Closing his eyes, he found himself thinking about his teammates. Things had changed since the League had opened its doors to more members. Back when it was just the seven of them, they had almost been like family. They had taken him in when no one else would, and almost never judged him according to his age. They had been his best friends. Not that they weren't close now. It was just that no one seemed to have time for anyone anymore.

Now, he sometimes went days without seeing J'onn, who had been placed in charge of missions. Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman were constantly patrolling or talking with officials. And with G.L.'s new girlfriend, he and John hadn't hung out in weeks.

Which was why he was so troubled by John's behavior earlier. A year ago, John would have immediately come to him if he had a problem. Mostly, they talked about Shayera. Wally was always willing to listen and crack a joke or two to cheer up his pal. So why didn't he want to talk about what was bothering him now?

"It's because he doesn't respect you."

Wally sat up in bed at the sound of an unfamiliar voice in his room. He looked around, but could see no one.

"Who's there?" He called to the darkness, grabbing his mask and pulling it over his face.

There was no answer. He searched the entire room twice, before determining that he had merely been hearing things.

"Just don't eat hamburgers before bedtime," He concluded, climbing back under the covers. "Great, now I'm talking to myself!"

"Funny you should say that…"

This time, Flash was certain he'd heard the voice. It had sounded almost…. feminine? He sat up again, prepared for whatever was there.

"Who are you?" he asked, searching the room with his eyes but finding no trace of the voice's owner. He swiftly got out of bed and looked around. The voice had come from the far corner of his small room.

"I'm you," the voice replied roughly.

Flash whipped around and saw before him a girl about his age. She wore black leather pants and a leather jacket over a black t-shirt that didn't quite cover all of her stomach. Her chin-length chestnut hair framed her face and accented her distinctively grey eyes. She might have been very pretty, if not for the horrible scars on her face, the most prominent of which was a slash across her left eye. There was something odd about her, too. She had a cruel look on her face, and her eyes were filled with disgust.

Flash registered all of this information in the time it takes a person to blink. Or maybe just to consider blinking. Either way, there was a strange girl in his bedroom. He wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Who are you?" He repeated.

The girl looked annoyed.

"What, are you deaf now? I told you I'm you," She said, crossing her arms. Flash raised an eyebrow at this outrageous statement. There were a couple of things that made her quite obviously different from him, after all.

She sighed impatiently. "I'm another side of you, I suppose. Consider me your rational side, if you ever had one." She laughed harshly. "You can call me Grimm, since that's how your future here looks."

'Grim' certainly fit her. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she didn't like him very much. However, Wally supposed she was the kind of person who didn't like anything very much.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, confused at this girl's cryptic answer.

"I know you're stupid Wally, but now you can't understand Basic English?" She mocked. "I'll try it slower: I. Am. You. I'm a side of your personality."

Wally blinked, unsure of what upset him most about her comment; the fact she called him stupid, the fact she knew his real name; or the fact that she claimed to be a part of him. Suddenly, brilliance struck.

"Oh yeah? If you're a part of me, how come I can see you? Huh? Answer me that, little Miss Creepy!" Wally smiled in triumph. As soon as she admitted who she really was, he could deal with her and get some sleep.

Grimm narrowed her eyes at him. "Because I'm in your head, dummy! You're the ONLY person who can see me."

Flash frowned in confusion. That didn't make sense, did it? He knew there was something wrong with what she had just said, but he couldn't think of what it was. He felt himself wanting to believe everything Grimm told him.

The girl in question scoffed at Flash's predicament. "You never were very bright. No wonder no one can stand you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wally protested, moving towards the dark dame. Suddenly she had disappeared. Wally looked around for her in confusion.

Grimm appeared, sitting on top of Flash's dresser in the opposite corner of the room.

"It means," She continued as if nothing had happened, "That your teammates think you're a joke. And who can blame them? You're useless!"

"That's not true!" Flash shot back. "I'm one of the original seven members!"

"Which is about the only reason they've kept you around for so long," Grimm retorted, completely unfazed by Wally's reaction. "You had to have noticed the decrease in your missions since the League expanded."

Flash shrugged. "With so many members, they have to make sure everyone gets assignments."

Grimm laughed harshly, "That's just their excuse. Or haven't you realized; Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman- they've all had more than twice the number of missions you have since the expansion. Even Shayera is getting more assignments and she betrayed the entire league! Face it, no one takes you seriously."

Wally sat down hard on his bed. That was exactly what Luthor's version of the Lord's Flash had said to him. In fact, he had heard many a time that his humor was often inappropriate and immature. Batman was a big fan of this philosophy. But surely his friends didn't consider him to be a complete joke!

Have you ever given them a reason not to think that? Wally asked himself silently. The only time you were close to solemn about something was when Hawkgirl betrayed the league. Maybe his friends didn't take him as seriously as he thought.

Grimm watched from her perch as Wally tried to sort out his conflicting thoughts. She could hardly contain a cruel smile as his confidence in his friends began to dwindle.

Well, that's chapter two! Hope you guys liked it. I know Grimm is kind of weird, but you'll grow to hate her over time(I know I do!)... Please let me know your opinions-good or bad! REVIEW! ...please...

Next up: even more angst for our favorite speedster, and some one on one with Superman and Diana!(Don't worry-they're not a couple!)

TTFN! Keep Smiling! ;)

rogueandkurt