Disclaimer: I don't own any DC or Flash stuff. This story's mine though.
Legacies
Chapter 8: Destiny Fulfilled
As he ran towards the forest that lay outside Central City, Wally's mind lingered on one thought:
This is a really different kinda fight.
Wally had never fought anyone else with super speed. He had fought villains faster than the average human, but none who could match him blow for blow, speed for speed. And it was exhausting, though more mentally than physically. Zoom just didn't stop; he was relentless. It was most likely how he was able to defeat both Vic and John while most villains would struggle to make them break a sweat.
Wally dodged through the trees blocking his path, running past the very place where he had been training with Jay hours before; though he didn't notice it. He glanced back to still see Zoom in close pursuit, and turned forwards determinedly. Suddenly, he had the impression that Zoom was no longer following, and turned back once more. Zoom was indeed gone, and Wally turned back in time to see that Zoom had run around and overtaken him without his noticing. He rapidly scooped up several baseball sized rocks, firing them at machine gun speed at Wally, using the same trick that he had used many times before.
Wally dodged over and under the rocks, frantically turning left and right as they skimmed past his scarlet costume. Wally gritted his teeth and decided to go on the offensive, grabbing one of the rocks as it approached his head, spinning with it as if it were a discus, throwing it back at Zoom. Zoom easily ducked underneath, but that pause was all that Wally needed to charge forward and land a fist to the side of Zoom's head. Zoom reeled, stumbling to his left in order to get away from Wally. He quickly recovered and charged at Wally, who turned and ran, leading him towards a large tree.
Wally concentrated on what Jay had taught him, letting the vibrations run through his entire body, going faster and faster until…
The tree came closer and closer and Wally closed his eyes, expecting a hard collision despite his training. There was a steady hissing noise as Wally passed through the tree trunk. He reopened his eyes and turned around to see the tree behind him and smiled. He saw Zoom about to vibrate through the tree as well, when it suddenly exploded. Wally's smile grew into a smirk, and he returned, unable to resist a chance to gloat. He stood a distance away from Zoom, his hands on his hips.
"Sorry about that – I guess I need more practise with the whole 'going through solid stuff' thing."
Zoom stood and wiped the blood trickling from his nose, his teeth clenched. Without a word, he shot off to his left, and Wally followed almost instantaneously, his smile disappearing as he realised that Zoom was taking him back to the city.
Frowning, Wally increased his speed.
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"Could you slow down a bit?"
Tim saw Bart turn to see his slightly green face looking at him pleadingly. Bart rolled his eyes and puffed out his bottom lip slightly, reducing his pace to accommodate his passenger.
"This is the fourth time! We're never gonna get there at this rate!"
"Oh yeah? Then how do you explain that?" Tim said, pointing at a sign that read:
'Welcome to Central City: Home of The Flash.'
Tim smirked. "I'm not too sure, but maybe this is the place."
"Ah, shut up…"
Bart tried to turn the corners as hard as he could, prompting several nauseous noises of protests from Tim before they reached Wally's apartment building. Bart copied how he had seen Wally run up the side, increasing his speed anxiously as he did so.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Tim asked, gripping Bart's neck tighter and clenching his eyes shut.
"Not really," Bart choked, "But we're halfway there now!"
"Oh, great!"
Tim felt himself being thrown forward and landed with a painful thud on something solid. He opened his eyes to find that they had landed safely on the roof. He looked over to see Bart gathering himself and getting to his feet. He did the same, and Bart led him downstairs. Bart stopped so suddenly at the bottom of the stairs that Tim almost bumped into him. He leaned over to Bart.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh…"
"You can remember which apartment it is, right?"
"'Course I can, stupid. It'll just…. take me a minute."
Tim sat down on the steps behind Bart and waited. He rested his elbows on his knees, and put his head on his hand, tapping his cheek with his finger. Bart turned to look at him.
"Could ya cut that out? I'm tryin' to think here."
Tim sighed and rolled his eyes, but stopped his tapping. "Just hurry up, would ya? If we do this fast enough, we can get back to the Tower before Cyborg realises we're gone."
Bart crossed his arms and continued his train of thought. His eyes widened as he snapped his fingers as he remembered. "I got it!"
And with that, he shot away. Tim suddenly stood and reached out his hand.
"Hey, wait up!"
Tim ran after him, following the small trail of dust he had left in his wake.
This guy's really starting to tick me off.
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Bart rounded the corner into Wally's apartment and burst through the door, not even considering if it was locked. His eyes widened at the man in the wheelchair sat in the apartment.
"Hey! Who are you? Where's Wally?"
The man in the wheelchair turned to look at him with equal surprise. "And who might you be?"
"I'm uh… Wally's brother."
The man raised an eyebrow, relaxing considerably.
"Oh… so you're the Bart from the future, eh?"
Bart's eyes darted around the room nervously. "I'm not… uh… how did you know that?"
He smiled. "I'm Jay Garrick; I'm a friend of Wally's."
"Oh. Okay."
Bart heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Robin entering the apartment. He spotted Jay and raised an eyebrow. "Whoa. Who's the old guy?"
Bart pointed at him over his shoulder. "He's a buddy of the Flash's."
"Oh, I get it. Kinda life Alfred."
"Like who?"
"Never mind."
Jay interrupted the two by turning off the television and pushing his wheelchair over to them. "Excuse me, but is there any reason that you broke out of Titans Tower to come here?"
Bart scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Well, yeah, uh… I just… Wally needs help, and I think that I can do that."
Jay smiled warmly and rolled over to the sofa, picking up the white box that lay there. He tossed it to Bart who caught it awkwardly in both arms.
"I know that junior wouldn't like this, but he needs as much help as he can get. And in there," he pointed at the box in Bart's arms, "is something which should help you to help him."
Bart frowned in confusion and laid the box down on the kitchen table. He opened it and both he and Robin froze. Bart felt as though his jaw was on the floor. His arms felt like lead weights as he breathlessly reached into the box, pulling out the yellow and red costume that lay neatly folded within. He looked from the costume to Jay, to Robin and back to the costume again.
"I uh… that… uh… that's…"
Bart felt Robin's hand on his shoulder. "What're you waiting for? Put it on."
Bart dumbly nodded and walked into Wally's room. A few seconds later, Bart emerged from the room as Kid Flash, his hands on his hips and a deliriously happy grin on his face. Jay scratched his chin.
"Hmm… a bit baggier than I remember, but still…"
Bart just stood, looking down at the costume that he wore. Jay was right, it was a bit baggier than Bart remembered from the history books, but he put that down to Wally being older than him when he gave up being Kid Flash. He looked up at Robin, who was grinning inanely.
"So, one crime fighting partner to another, what do ya think?"
Robin nodded. "Very cool."
"I'm sorry to interrupt the moment, but The Flash needs your help," Jay interceded.
Bart looked at Jay, knocked out of his geek-out moment. "Oh, uh… right."
He headed for the door and Robin put a hand on his shoulder. "Where do you think you're going? Remember our deal? Wherever you go, I go."
"But this is-"
"Dangerous? Ooo, I'm scared. It's not like I've ever been in danger before, is it?"
Bart smirked and turned around. "Grab on, buddy."
Jay came forward, a frown wrinkling his brow. "Now hold on. I don't think-"
Bart shot away without another word, taking Robin with him.
"-that's a good idea…" Jay finished, trailing off. He smiled and chuckled to himself.
"Young people…"
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Wally growled as he simply couldn't catch up with Zoom.
I am getting mighty sick of looking at his butt.
He had hoped that he would have been able to catch up with him before he reached the City, but Zoom had proven too quick and agile. And when Wally actually managed to get him to slow down, he would simply shoot off in the direction of the City at every opportunity – and it was ticking Wally off.
Just as Wally was about to try taunting him, Zoom stopped and turned, extending his arm in hopes of catching Wally with a clothesline to the neck. Wally ducked and skidded underneath, adopting the pose of a surfer as he sailed beneath. He came to a halt and turned towards his opponent to see him charging towards him, his hand drew back in a clenched fist. Wally easily sidestepped the blow and responded with one of his own. Unfortunately, Zoom dodged his blow with the same ease.
And so it continued back and forth, Wally and Zoom's blows getting close and closer to one another as they both went faster and faster. Wally felt the wind shoot by his face as Zoom's fists sailed by at sub-sonic speeds. Wally managed to connect a fist with Zoom's chin, and he saw and felt the shockwave that resulted from it, the windows in the skyscrapers surrounding them shattering. Zoom quickly came back with a blow of his own, which connected with Wally's stomach, the resulting shockwave overturning a few cars and causing parts of some buildings to crumble. Wally clenched his teeth and did his best to ignore the pain, resolving to stand his ground and save Hunter if it was the last thing he did.
Wally came back with another blow to Zoom, and Zoom responded in kind. And so it went on, the two speedsters landing blow after blow on one another as they went faster and faster, their costume's being torn apart by the shockwaves coming from the supersonic blows. Wally felt ribs cracking and the all too familiar smell of blood filled his nostrils. He saw Zoom's costume tearing and the bruises appearing on his face also, and felt a certain amount of gratification at that fact; that Zoom was being hurt to the same extent that he was. Zoom ducked Wally's next blow and leapt back from the melee, and Wally felt secretly relieved. They stood a few metres from one another, staring into each others' eyes as they attempted to catch their breath, gasping for air desperately, not daring to take their eyes off each other.
Zoom glanced downwards to see that his left foot was on a manhole covering and smiled slightly. Wally paused and cautiously awaited the next attack, his entire body protesting at his sudden tensing up. Wally winced beneath his mask, being careful to keep his eyes open wide enough to see what Zoom was doing. Zoom slammed his foot down on the manhole covering, flipping the metallic disk up and into his waiting arms. The bruised and battered Zoom spun around while carrying his projectile, releasing it a high speed. Wally prepared himself to dodge the metal disk speeding towards him when he realised it wasn't aimed at him.
His eyes widened as he turned and saw a woman with her foot trapped underneath some rubble, her daughter trying desperately to pull her out. Wally sped after the manhole covering and extended his arms, his fingers outstretched until they lightly touched the very tip of the makeshift weapon. He grabbed onto the disk and pulled it to a halt, throwing it to the ground harmlessly. He gently put a hand on the shoulder of the daughter and gave her a reassuring smile. She stepped aside and Wally pulled the mother from the rubble. He inspected her ankle where it had been trapped underneath the rubble and looked up at her.
"It's okay… You'd better get out of here," he said, smiling kindly. She smiled back, and picked up her daughter, backing away slowly.
"Thank you… thank you so much."
And with that, she turned and ran. Wally couldn't help the grin on his face, but it quickly faded as Zoom suddenly appeared beside him, his fist connecting with his chin and sending his head twisting around while sending his body careening across the street and through the building opposite, enveloping Wally in darkness.
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Bart turned the corner in time to see Zoom speeding towards a large hole in the building opposite. Acting on impulse, Bart charged forward, his elbow extended forward, aiming for Zoom's chest. Zoom obviously wasn't expecting an attack judging from the loud grunt that escaped from his lips as Bart collided with him, sending him falling backwards. He turned the fall into a backwards roll, ending up once again on his feet. He turned his gaze up to see Bart, and Bart adopted a cocky pose, putting his hands on his hips while he grinned, hoping that it would suggest he knew what he was doing. He berated himself for doing something so stupid.
I bet Wally never does this.
Zoom raised an eyebrow. "Who are you supposed to be?"
Bart poked his thumb into his chest. "I'm Kid Flash."
Zoom seemed amused by this. "I know Kid Flash; and I just buried him. I don't know who you are, but you aren't…" Realisation seemed to dawn on his face. "Oh, so you're him."
"Huh?"
"You're that boy West was talking about… Bart… from the future."
"Doesn't really matter, 'cause I'm gonna kick your butt either way," Bart said, grinning the entire time.
Well, it's either that or pee my pants.
"We'll see," Zoom said, readying himself for an attack. Bart suddenly felt a little bit ticked off that Zoom wasn't taking him seriously and charged forward. He threw his fists forward as fast as he could, and Zoom dodged each one of them with a smirk on his face the entire time. Bart growled in frustration and increased the speed of his blows. Zoom started to deflect the blows before deciding to fight back. He caught Bart's left fist in his hand and slammed his spare hand into Bart's stomach. Bart almost doubled over and felt Zoom hand tangled in his hair, pulling him back up. He latched onto Bart's arm and twirled him round, letting him go and slamming him into the side of a car.
Bart felt incredibly dizzy, and attempted to pull himself to his feet. Zoom grabbed him by the collar, bringing back his fist. Bart winced in anticipation of the pain when he heard a strange noise heading towards them. Zoom turned in time to see two birdarangs heading towards him. He swept out his hand and deflected both of the projectiles, sending them flying off in different directions. Bart fell to the floor and attempted to recover while Zoom's back was turned towards the new enemy. Robin leapt from the top of the building and landed with the ease of a gymnast in front of Zoom.
"Okay buddy, seriously. I know you're trying to make a statement with the costume, but yellow doesn't work anymore; trust me," Robin said, grinning as he gestured to his cape.
"Is there any more coming, or are you all there's going to be?" Zoom asked, the irritation seeping into his voice.
"Nope. Just us buddy."
Bart took that opportunity to leap onto Zoom's back, hitting him over the head as fast as he could manage. Zoom stumbled forward, growling in anger as he tried to remove Bart from his back. Robin pulled out his extending staff and attacked, scoring a few hits on the distracted Zoom. Zoom roared in frustration and swatted Robin away with super speed force, sending him slamming into a wall. Having removed one distraction, he reached over his head and grabbed Bart by the scruff of his neck, throwing him over his shoulder and into where he had sent Robin.
Robin's attempt to get up was foiled by Bart's suddenly slamming into him, knocking the wind out of him as he did so. Robin looked down to see that Bart had managed to knock himself unconscious on a piece of rubble nearby. Robin cursed under his breath as he found that he couldn't move Bart from on top of him.
"What do you eat, buddy?" he muttered to the unconscious form on top of him.
He looked up to see Zoom standing over them, both arms raised behind his head. He grinned before bringing them down faster than Robin could see.
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Wally screeched to a halt, dropping Robin and the unconscious Bart a little rougher than he should have done, but he didn't care at that moment.
"What the hell were you doing back there? You can't match up against Zoom! Hell, I only just managed to save you guys before he killed you! Are you crazy?"
Robin put up his arms in an 'I surrender' pose. "Hey, it wasn't my idea."
"Oh, so I suppose Cyborg let you out of the Tower so you could get yourself killed!"
Robin scratched the back of his neck. "Oh yeah, that… yeah, that was kinda my idea… but he was the one who wanted to go in the first place!" he said, pointing at the unconscious boy lying next to him.
Wally glared at Robin. "Just get outta here."
Robin shook his head. "No way, you need help to-"
"NOW!"
Robin briefly jumped up in the air and quickly picked up Bart and slung him over his shoulder. He pulled his harpoon gun from his belt, pointing it in the air, and fired it. He was about to swing away before he turned back to face Wally.
"Good luck."
Wally nodded and shot back towards where he last saw Zoom when he was about to crush Bart and Robin. The rage burned in Wally now. He turned the corner to see Zoom waiting for him, his arms crossed and the same insane grin spread across his face. There was no sign of Hunter in there anymore. Hunter wouldn't try to kill children; not even to get to his enemies.
His eyes narrowed as he addressed his enemy.
"You want me to learn? Then let's learn."
Wally sped towards Zoom and ran straight by him, prompting Zoom to follow. Wally didn't even bother to check if he was following; he didn't care. If he stayed in the same place, he would do the same thing to Zoom that he did to Luthor and Brainiac. Wally ran as fast as he possibly could, pushing past the pain and fatigue that plagued his body. He used Jay's vibration training and applied it to his running; to let the speed run through his entire body until it felt like a part of him. As he ran, places began to blur around him, noises began to fade away; all that was left was complete silence.
Blue lights began to dance across Wally's vision, and Wally instantly knew what was happening; he was approaching the Speed Force, just as he had when he fought Luthor and Brainiac. He looked over and saw Zoom running side by side with him, the same blue energy crackling around him. But there was something else; there was some kind of black energy draining from him, looking like a dying shadow. Wally felt something jolt through him as the monstrous shadow was torn apart; like a scream through the Speed Force. Wally knew what had just happened.
Clariss had been ripped apart by the Speed Force.
He looked over at Hunter, hoping that they could somehow slow down before they were consumed as Wally once was. He tried to say something to Hunter, to do something to make him stop. But as he looked over, he saw that Hunter was only half there; he was fading away just as Wally had. Panicking, he looked down to see if he himself was still in one piece. He was relieved to find that he had not yet started to become part of the Speed Force. It gave him hope; hope that he and Hunter could come out of this; that everything could go back to the way it was…
Ashley and Hunter would get back together.
Wally and Hunter would be friends again.
He reached out his arm to Hunter, making one final plead to his best friend. Hunter looked back at Wally. That's when he realised just how little of his friend Hunter Zolomon remained. He now hated Wally so much that he would rather die than accept his help. He hated Wally so much, that all he could see in Hunter's eyes was rage; pure uncontrollable rage.
Wally's face became one of sadness as Hunter Zolomon, Wally's best friend, faded away, becoming one with the blue light that surrounded the two speedsters.
Wally strained to slow himself, and somehow managed to pull himself backwards through the Speed Force, the blue lights disappearing one by one as the world began to reappear around him. Wally stopped running and slammed his feet into the ground, skidding to a halt for what seemed like an eternity, before he finally stopped in the middle of a road in an unfamiliar city.
But Wally didn't notice the looks of confusion and wonderment on the bystander faces.
He didn't notice the foreign surroundings as the tears stung the cuts that riddled his face.
All he knew was that his best friend of over ten years had died.
He had died because of him.
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(A/N: More to come, so review people!)
