The true measure of one's life comes not in the victories he creates, but the friendships that he cherishes.
Dick Grayson and Wally West are brothers, comrades, and the best of friends. One would be hard-pressed to find a connection more pure than the one between them. In this universe, like our own, they've been together since they were barely teenagers. They've grown up alongside each other, and they've fought and won countless battles with one another. Wally was the first person Dick revealed his true identity to, and in turn Dick was the one Wally came to with the pressures of his high-speed life.
They've been there for each other from the beginning, and they're sure to be there for each other till the end.
Or at least…that's what they think.
But here's where the tale diverges from what we know to be true.
In this universe, Tim Drake was never recruited as the third Robin. After the loss of Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne grew depressed. And in his depression came self-harm.
It wasn't the conventional form of self-destruction. No, Bruce knew he couldn't just kill himself. The Batman was still needed. And he continued to go out as Batman, but he stopped caring. He stopped fighting. He let himself get beaten up on the streets of Gotham, because he believed he deserved it for what he led Jason into. Alfred found out soon after, and Dick and Barbara did their best to stop him, but it wasn't enough. They couldn't get through to him because they were secretly feeling the same loss he was.
Then, one night, Bruce went off to stop a gang war between Riddler, Two Face, and Penguin. He didn't tell anyone he was going; Alfred was asleep, Dick was in Blüdhaven, and Barbara was with her father trying to repair their tumultuous relationship. So Batman got in his Batmobile and drove off alone.
He never came back.
When Dick found out, he was shattered. He'd lost his brother and then his second father in the span of a month. In a fit of rage, he climbed up to the top of Wayne Tower and screamed up at the clouds.
Was it not enough to take his old family? Did they really have to rob him of his new one, too?
Everyone tried to be there for him. Conner, M'gann, even Zatanna came to his side and did their best to comfort him. But it was never enough. Not after what he'd lost.
Then Wally came, and like a flash of lighting, an idea sparked itself in Dick's mind.
Barry Allen had died not long before, giving his life to stop the forces of Darkseid. But back when he was alive, he was the Fastest Man Alive.
He was so fast, he could tear open a hole in the fabric of time. He could run to the future…or to the past.
He could have changed anything in the past to his liking. So what if Wally West could, too?
When Dick told Wally of his plan, though, the redhead refused. He said he couldn't do it, and even if he could, he wouldn't. Because 'it's not right to mess with time'. What a load of bullshit.
Dick lost it when Wally said no. He thought the speedster was his best friend. So why couldn't he do this one simple thing for him?
In a fit of rage, the former Boy Wonder flung a hook at his 'friend'. Wally used his speed to dodge out of the way, and Dick collapsed to the floor. He tried to offer the raven help, he really did, but Dick slapped his hand away and glared at him.
"I thought you were my friend."
The venom was practically dripping out of his voice, and it stung the speedster like nothing else ever could.
"I am, Dick. I really am. But…when you mess with time, time messes back. I'm sorry. Barry didn't change the past for a reason, and…I love you, man, but I won't either. I can't."
He offered him a hand once again, but Dick wasn't having any of it. The younger man slapped it away once more, standing up on his own and clenching his fists as he glared at him directly in the eyes.
"I hate you. And I wish you died in that lab accident."
Wally knew the words were said without meaning, but he didn't care. They still hurt. And as he watched his old friend storm out of the room in anger, he didn't know what to say.
He made an oath to Barry never to abuse his powers. That oath was too important to him to break.
And even if he wanted to, what Dick wasn't listening to was that he physically couldn't. He was never even remotely as fast as Barry was.
As Dick angrily stomped out of the facility, his words of spite kept echoing in his mind. 'I wish you died in that lab accident.' A new idea came to his mind. Wally got his powers from a lab accident, and so did Barry and Jay before him.
Why couldn't he?
A simple hack was all it took to break into the STAR Labs files and procure everything he needed to assemble the procedure. He knew what he was about to do, the lines he was about to cross, and he knew he could easily be thrown into a cell for this, but he didn't care. He was determined. He was going to bring back his father and brother, no matter the cost.
And Wally West could go to hell.
Dick prepared the formula to perfection. It took him hours - he wasn't the same science geek that Wally was - but he finally did it.
But what he didn't account for was the missing link. For the difference between him and the Flashes was a metagene. And so long as he didn't have that, the experiment would fail every single time.
When Dick set off the chemical reaction, he was burned to a crisp. In extreme pain, scarred beyond recognition, and unable to even stand up, he reached for his phone. If he really was going to die here, he wanted Wally to be there to watch him go.
It was petty, but he wanted to hurt the speedster with his death.
Wally sped over in a flash, cradling Dick's horribly damaged body with utmost care.
"God, you idiot! You didn't listen!"
"I-I know…I know…I'm s-sorry…" He coughed up a bit of blood, and Wally bit his bottom lip as he watched him fade away.
"Don't apologize. I'll get you to a hospital. You'll be just fine, I promise."
Before he could stand back up, Dick let out a weak cackle.
"Oh, I know I'll b-be fine. That's not wh-why I'm sorry."
Wally made a face of confusion, but Dick answered his question wordlessly by clamping a small object to the speedster's chest. He looked down in shock to see it was a device not unlike the one that he'd seen on Firestorm before. His emerald eyes went wide as he looked at Dick for an explanation.
"I stole a pr-prototype Quantum Splicer from STAR. God, West, y-you're such an idiot. Did you really think I wouldn't know that I couldn't survive the explosion?! Did you really think I wouldn't realize that the metagene you and your uncle have is the only reason you did?!"
The young speedster dropped his body to the floor in hurt, and Dick glared at him with rage.
"Of course I did! But I went along with it anyway…because I needed to let your guard down. So thank you, West. Trust me, you've helped me in ways you couldn't even imagine."
Wally quickly stood up, now aware of what his former friend was planning, but it was too late. He turned to run, run as far away as he could, but the Splicer was already activated. Both redhead and raven groaned in pain as the device began to merge them together, forcefully and without remorse. Wally clasped his hands to his head and howled as he dropped to his knees, but despite his best efforts he couldn't keep himself from slipping away.
And where two bodies once stood, now only one remained.
Dick stood back up to his feet, his former wounds and burns completely healed from the process. On his chest sat the Quantum Splicer, pulsing with energy. Energy that coursed through his veins in a way that he was sure his 'friend' would have been all too familiar with.
He looked down at his hands to see them vibrating at super speed, and he grinned evilly before forming two fists to stop the vibration and cracking his knuckles.
"There, Wally. Was that so hard?" No response. Dick chuckled. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention; normally, the splicer would keep both host bodies intact. But when I modified it to work on us, I made a tiny little tweak. But before you come blaming me for this, remember that it was you who forced my hand." He turned around and prepared himself, the energy he had gained from the redhead coursing through his veins and up to his eyes. "I'm sure Artemis and your folks will miss you. But I have a destiny to change, and nothing's going to stop me."
Dick took off with a gust of wind, making his way out to the plains and running as fast as he physically could. He had to admit; it felt incredible. The speed, the power…he understood now why Wally loved it so much.
He could absolutely get used to this.
Dick pushed himself to the limit. He gave it his all. But nothing happened.
"Why isn't this working?!"
He pushed himself even further, to the point that his heart was practically tearing a hole through his chest, but still nothing was happening. No time portal was opening, no temporal exit was forming in front of him. He didn't understand, and when he came to a grinding halt to catch his breath, he dropped to his knees and roared in anger.
"Damn you, West!"
Because Wally told him the truth. Even if he wanted to, he just wasn't fast enough to run to the past. Dick had done all this for nothing.
In a fit of rage, he created a crimson armor to protect himself from the dangers of his speed. Modeled after the armor of Kid Flash, but with a menacing red helmet and a utility belt chock full of his gadgetry. He donned the suit and set out to get dark vengeance on those that had wronged him.
He started with the full population of Arkham Asylum. A few minutes in the dark of the night was all it took for him to speed through the facility and execute every single thug where they stood. But why stop there? He continued on to Blackgate, to Iron Heights. He ran through the streets of Gotham, eliminating every thug he could lay his eyes on without eben breaking a sweat. He even found Tony Zucco, released after having served his sentence and living a quiet life in Ohio, and he ran a dagger through his heart, leaving him to bleed out on the floor of his living room.
Weeks passed, then months. Dick soon found himself on the run, having nowhere to go and nobody to turn to. Everyone he knew shunned him for what he did, and he blamed it all on Wally West.
He thought he was his friend. If he had just helped him...none of this would have ever happened.
Dick was perched over a building overlooking Gotham when someone approached him from behind. In the blink of an eye, he spun around and balled his fists as a warning, but the man just laughed and put his hands up in surrender, saying he wasn't here to fight and he just wanted to talk.
He told him things. He said he knew what it was like to have people he thought were friends turn their backs on him. He offered him a place on his team, a team made up of people like him. People who had been wronged by so-called 'friends' before. He promised him that if they succeeded, then he would grow faster than he could ever dream possible.
Fast enough to save his father and brother, and fast enough to restore his old life.
And as a bonus, he'd get to kill yet another Flash.
Dick was hesitant. He didn't know this man, and for all he did know, 'Renegade' could be leading him to his own demise. But when the warrior removed his helmet and showed him his face, his identity, Dick understood. He knew what he had to do, and finally, after months of running, he finally saw a way to get everything he wanted in life.
He would kill this new Wally West. He would drain his speed like he did to his own. And he would become faster.
He would save his family and he would rewrite his destiny.
And so the Scarlet Falcon joined Renegade in his army of Dark Wonders.
