Seventy-one

Kali slowly walked back to the house. She had a good cry and felt better for it. Now all she wanted to do was take a nice hot shower and go to bed. She didn't want to think about Wally. She didn't want to think about anything. Period. Maybe if she went to sleep, by some miracle, she would wake up with amnesia. That would be better than going on another day with this awful empty feeling, she reasoned.

As she drew closer, she spotted Marty and Margo through the kitchen window. They were laughing and talking. Not wanting to disturb them, she decided to walk around to the front of the house and enter through the front door.

She quietly slipped through the door and tiptoed to her bedroom. As she entered the room, her eyes fell on the framed wedding photo lying on the dresser in her room. Drawn to it, she walked over and picked it up. Wally's smiling face grinned back at her. She missed him so much it hurt.

Kali could not take her eyes off him. The picture was no longer a moment frozen in time, but a portal into the past. Wally's face, transfixed upon her in the same mesmerized expression he had at the breakfast table, captivated her. Kali carried the photograph to her bed and stretched out on her belly, lying on the bedspread. "What happened?" she asked, "Why did you have to leave?"

Seventy-two

The knock on Flash's door, went unanswered. He did not want to see anyone. He just wanted to… sulk! He was in a crappy mood and a pity party was just the thing for him.

"Flash, answer me. I know you're there," came the insistent voice from the other side.

"Go away. I'm not in the mood," Flash shot back, lifting his head off the pillow just long enough to answer.

"I didn't ask if you're in the mood. Let me in," the voice insisted.

"Fine, but I'm warning you, I'm in a real crummy mood. You enter at your own risk."

"Okay, I consider myself on notice. Unlock the door."

"Computer, unrestricted access granted," Flash announced, not moving from his position on the bed.

The door 'swished' as it slid open.

"I'm glad to see you made it," J'onn commented. "Is that all you've taken from your apartment?" he asked, noticing the unopened suitcase and lone stack of albums.

"I'm lucky I got that much," Flash answered flatly.

"The police were there already, weren't they?" J'onn asked, walking over to Flash's stack of albums, unfastening the belt.

"Yes."

Flash shot an annoyed look at J'onn's prying eyes. "It's not there."

"What do you mean?" J'onn turned to face Flash directly.

"The scrapbook. The police have it. You don't have to go through my stuff looking for it."

"I see. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"They saw the suit."

J'onn angrily looked away.

"It is no big deal though; they think I'm some kind of Flash fanatic. I told the police that the suit was a pair of joke jammies."

"And the scrapbook?" J'onn asked with tension in his voice.

"I'll get it back."

J'onn shook his head. "You realize this won't be easy. A Code 7 relocation is the strictest measure of security control you can take and still keep your standing in the League."

"I know. You don't have to tell me. 'Code 7'…cut all known ties, …grounded to monitoring Watchtower duty for seven months, …return to new apartment, …new job, …new secret identity, …new life. Tell me J'onn, has Code 7 ever been enforced before?" Flash asked sitting up.

"No. There has never been a need. Not until now."

"I don't know if I can do this, J'onn," Flash said. "My life, my friends everything I've ever known is in Central City. How can I just leave everything I've ever known, pick up, and begin a life somewhere else?"

"It can be done. It has to been done. Too many people know there is a connection between Flash and Wally West. Even if you gave up being the Flash, Wally West remains as a target. There is no other way to protect you."

"I broke it off with Kali."

"What about the others?" J'onn asked cautiously.

"I've been friends with Marty forever. I haven't said anything to him yet."

"You've got to tell him… and Margo. I know it's hard, but it must be done."

"What do you know about it?" Flash said angrily. "I've got to leave everyone I've ever known and loved, to start over… completely over… alone and…" Flash stopped short, realizing to whom he was talking. He had gotten so accustomed to having J'onn around that he had completely forgotten about the alien invasion on Mars that wiped out the rest of J'onn's race.

"There isn't a day that goes by, that I don't miss my family," J'onn replied in an even voice. "Try to get some rest," he added, before leaving the room.

The door swished open and clicked shut.

Seventy-three

Kali stared back at the photograph, expecting an answer, but Wally's picture just smiled back at her.

"You're not going to let me have any say in this are you? You made up your own mind about what is best for me and walked off without letting me answer," she realized, growing angry. "How dare you make this kind of decision about my life without consulting me!" she scowled at the Wally in the picture. "When did I give you the right to decide what is best for me?"

Suddenly it dawned on her; this was not about protecting her at all, this was about protecting him! He claimed he could not stand it if she got hurt, but he ripped out her heart and walked away. He insisted he would not sacrifice her, but he cast her aside and turned his back. He assumed she could not handle his duel identity; but the fact is she had never had a problem with it. "I can handle his double life; I never said I couldn't," she said aloud. "I love him for who he is…Flash and Wally."

She did not want to end their relationship, at least not this way. She was not going to allow him to just walk off and leave her like some helpless victim, gagged… without a voice, hands tied… without a choice. She had something to say about all this, and he darn well was going to hear it. If he wanted out, he was going to have to end their relationship honestly. If he couldn't handle having her in his life, then he would have to be honest with himself, not use her as some lame excuse to dump her.

She reached over, grabbed her cell phone, and dialed Wally's apartment. The phone rang several times before someone picked it up.

"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Hello?" Kali asked hesitantly. "Is this Wally West's apartment?"

"Whose calling?" the voice demanded.

"This is Kali O'Malley, may I please speak with Wally?" she asked growing impatient.

"He's not here right now. This is Lieutenant Tom Pierson of the Central City police department."

"Oh. When will he be back?" she asked.

"Can't say, you might want to try again tomorrow," he suggested.

"Thanks," Kali replied hanging up.

She shouldn't have been surprised that he was not there, or that the police were. Where would Wally go for the night? she wondered. A hotel? No, that didn't sound right. Would he go to the Watchtower? Maybe Uncle Marty would know…

She hopped off the bed and ran downstairs to look for her uncle.

Seventy-four

Flash closed his eyes begging for sleep to overtake him, but instead his stomach started to growl. He punched his pillow in frustration, hopped off the bed and raced down to the commissary hoping it would be empty so he could stuff his face in peace; but as luck would have it, as he entered the room, he found quite the opposite to be the case. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern were chatting away merrily, something about a successful mission they had just finished.

Batman, seated in a secluded corner alone, looked over some papers while munching on a ham sandwich, completely absorbed in what he was doing. Flash concluded that he was preparing for his next mission. Wonder Woman, busily helping herself at the refrigerator, shot a glance over in Batman's direction; Flash suspected that Batman was not going to accomplish much work in here. He supposed, that might have been the reason Batman was working in here at all instead of in his own quarters, where he would probably get much more done.

Flash dashed over to the refrigerator, as Wonder Woman stepped away. He was thankful that everyone was preoccupied. He planned to eat his food as quickly as possible and zip right back to his quarters.

"How are you doing, Flash?"

Superman was standing right beside him at the refrigerator.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked politely.

Flash groaned inwardly, but tried to sound upbeat, "Not at all."

They each grabbed a tray full of food and sat down at a nearby table.

"How do you do it?" Flash asked Superman.

"Do what? Eat?" Superman looked at Flash with a puzzled expression on his face.

"No… of course not!"

"What then?" Superman took a big bite out of a ham and turkey sub he had selected from the fridge.

"You're not so different than me; we're both single, independent, good-looking, hardworking guys, who happen to have secret superhero identities."

"And… the question is… how do I do it?" Superman repeated. "I go to work in the morning, come home at night, eat, sleep and go back to work in the morning. When there is trouble, I spin into my suit and save the day. It's all part of the regular routine. There is nothing to it, really." Superman took another big bite of his sandwich.

Flash stared blankly at him.

"What? Do I have mayonnaise on my face or something?"

"No." Flash did not want to have to spell this out. It sounded… well, dumb… when put into words.

"What then?" Superman asked, wiping his face with a napkin, just to make sure.

"What happens when there is a girl in your life? Say, Lois Lane, for example."

Superman lifted one eyebrow at Flash. "What are you suggesting?"

"What if you… say, asked her out. What then?"

"I don't think I need to worry about that one. If I ask her out, she'd say 'no' and give me some sarcastic insult for assuming she'd even consider going out with me."

"What about Superman?"

"Superman doesn't date, though I think I'd have a better chance with Lois as Superman than Clark."

"Okay, how about we look at it this way. Suppose you were to ask Lois out and she, for some unknown mystical reason, accepts. Things go great, you hit it off and you see her every day. What happens next?"

"I don't know. I suppose I'd just keep seeing her as Clark Kent and see where it goes."

"And where CAN it go?"

"I suppose after a while, we could get married, maybe have a few kids… I wonder if they would be able to fly and bend steel?" Superman got that faraway look in his eye.

"Sups? Stay with me here."

"Okay, sorry. What exactly are you asking? Is this about Kali?"

"Kali? Oh no," Flash shook his head vehemently. "Why would you think this is about Kali? No sireeeee… No way… No how… Not about Kali…. How can it be?... I mean, I have a Code 7 relocation on my back… There is no Kali in my life now… Can't be. Nope. Not happening. Definitely, not about Kali."

"It's about Kali."

"Yes."

Seventy-five

Margo had finished cleaning up the kitchen and settled down in the living room to read a new murder mystery novel she had picked up at the bookstore earlier today. She was anxious to start this novel as it was based on a true story she had heard about on the news a few months ago. She reread the summary on the back of the cover, savoring the story.

Stewart Sterling was a self-made billionaire successful in his own right. He had it all, a beautiful wife, four children, and everything money could buy. What he did not have, was time. Diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live, he decided he was not going to lose everything he had worked so hard for. He set up his own medical facility and hired the best Oncology specialists in the world, paying them millions of dollars to come up with a cure.

As time marched on, and no cure discovered, Sterling grew desperate. With nothing to lose, he turned to unconventional practices not endorsed by the medical community. The results were immediate and surprisingly successful; Sterling made a complete recovery.

Two days before he was to accept an award for his outstanding efforts and achievements for improving the world's health, Sterling died of a heart attack. Though the police suspected foul play, there was no evidence of murder. The murderer nearly got away with it. Had it not been for the excellent intuitive instincts of one ace newspaper reporter, Lois Lane, of the Daily Planet, Sterling's murder would have gone undetected.

Margo sighed contentedly and sank down into a comfortable position in the cushy armchair, resting her feet upon its matching footstool. Soon she was completely entranced in the novel.

"Ahhh!" Margo screamed, tossing her paperback book in the air when Kali tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Kali apologized, giggling. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"That's okay," Margo answered her heart was racing. "I guess I just got absorbed in this novel. Whew!" she exclaimed. "It's very exciting."

"Really? What's it about?" Kali asked.

"It's a murder mystery based on a true story. Have you heard of the Sterling Murder Case?" Margo asked.

"Yes, I remember. Wasn't he that rich man who died right after he found the cure for cancer?"

"Actually he was murdered, but yes that's the man. When I'm done, you can read it if you're interested," Margo suggested.

"Thanks."

"Is there something on your mind?" Margo asked.

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew where Uncle Marty was. I wanted to ask him something."

"Oh.. ok. He's in the bathroom replacing the pipe," Margo replied.

"Thanks," Kali answered, heading toward the downstairs bathroom.

"Ow!"

Kali peeked into the bathroom and saw Marty rubbing his head.

He caught sight of her and smiled, "Kali, remember this, when you buy your own home, always pay someone else to do the repairs, it may cost a little more up front, but you'll save lots of money on medical expenses!"

She loved his sense of humor. It was easy to see why he and Wally were such good friends.

"What's on your mind, Kali? Were you looking for some plumbing lessons?" he asked, still smiling.

"No thanks, I don't think I have the gift of plumbing, unless you mean remodeling and redecorating the bathroom…?"

"Uh… no thanks. And keep that idea to yourself, we don't want to give Margo any ideas!"

"I HEARD that!" Margo yelled from the living room.

Kali and Marty laughed.

"Okay, Kali. What do you really have on your mind?" Marty said, climbing out from under the sink.

"I was just wondering if you have the phone number to the Watchtower," Kali said lowering her eyes nervously.

"Kali, is there something going on between you and Wally?" Marty said with concern.

Kali bit her lip.

"Listen, I don't mean to pry, but I saw Wally leave. He looked miserable and refused to talk about it."

"I need to talk to him," Kali explained. "He isn't at the apartment and I thought he might be up at the Watchtower. He had said something about going away for a while."

"Going away? He never goes away anywhere. He never takes vacations… He doesn't even call in sick," Marty commented.

"I think it has something to do with a Code 7 relocation," Kali said, trying to remember the exact words J'onn had said before leaving for the Watchtower. "Wally didn't seem too thrilled about it either."

"I never heard of a Code 7 relocation. Sounds like some kind of move. Is he moving?" Marty said in disbelief.

"Yes… I think so. I think he may be… gone… already." Kali's voice caught in her throat, as she fought back her tears.