Crystal didn't sleep that night. Or the night after, or the night after that one.
It worried Wally.
He understood trauma, albet in lesser forms. He knew that it could cause some restless nights. She was sick though, and getting better required rest. He didn't know what he'd do if she got worse.
I didn't notice.
He wondered if she would have been better off if he'd seen the wound sooner. But he didn't have much time for wondering about what might've been. The League was taking shifts getting the kids home. He'd spend a few hours there after school, essentially babysitting a portion of the kids while the older heroes conversed with the guardians of said children. Between that, school, homework, eating, and sleeping he only got an hour with Crystal on weekdays. She didn't talk much, but often asked about the other kids. Not once did she mention any of their names. Wally entertained the idea that maybe she didn't know any of them.
Something was bothering her, he knew. He could see it. In fact, he could almost feel how uneasy she was. It was nearly a week after the shadow attacked her when she left the room for the first time. It was also the same day they couldn't find her for hours.
Which was stupid, because they found her in the rafters. Later, he was sure, they would laugh and say it was a great story. Now, they just felt like idiots.
"Y'know, the ceiling isn't exactly where people typically reside," Wally commented, peering down below. This ceiling was much higher than the one at the facility. "Except for maybe Robin."
"I like being able to see everyone."
She didn't look at him, nor did she appear particularly startled by his arrival. Probably watched him struggle to get up. But even facing away, it was easy to see the bags under her eyes.
"How much sleep have you had the past week?"
"How many kids are left?"
"You can't dodge my questions, Crystal. I'm just concerned."
"Quid quo pro. You answer mine I'll answer yours."
"Fine, uh," Wally searched his mind for the number. "Less than twenty are left, I think."
"I've had enough sleep to function. These kids aren't safe."
"We have people around the clock-"
"We've been over this. Just drop it," Crystal muttered. "You wouldn't get it."
Wally didn't like how sad she appeared. But she never did tell him what was wrong. She continued to randomly disappear into the rafters everyday until the last child walked out of the warehouse. Now she just wandered the halls like a ghost. It'd been three weeks since they found the facility, but they still knew next to nothing about Crystal. She wouldn't let them, closing off the moment someone tried to figure her out. The only one who could actually get answers from her was him. He figured it was probably because he happened to be the one who was selected to get her down, but the way she looked at him made him wonder.
"Where did you live, before all this?"
He'd asked this question before, but she'd always find a way to get out of it.
"Doesn't matter. It's gone."
Sketchy answer, certainly. It honestly brought more questions than answers.
"Okay, fine. Who did you live with?"
"No one."
"You can't stay here forever, Crystal."
"I also can't go home. What do you propose I do, Kid? I'm not human and, even if we were to ignore that, no one would dare take in someone as damaged as me."
"I would."
He didn't deny that she was damaged because that would be a lie. A flawed world creates damaged people. Damaged people, who, in his experience, tend to be better than their counterparts.
He didn't know if he'd accidentally slowed his perception of time or if Crystal was sitting completely still, but if the world fell apart he wouldn't have noticed. There, in the depths of her eyes, lay some sort of realization. Her perpetually hard facial expression softened.
"Kid, you hardly know me. You don't know what I've been through or what I've done."
"Maybe someday you'll tell me. Or maybe you won't, and that's fine. We all have our secrets."
"When we met," Crystal stared at him from the corner of her eye, "you reminded me of someone. His name was Danny."
Was.
Wally wondered how many friends she'd lost. But he sensed she had more to say, so, for once in his life, he remained quiet. She wasn't looking at him anymore, notably deep in thought.
"He was my best friend, the closest thing I had to family. He was there for me no matter what I did in a time where everyone thought I was a traitor. When I lost him I-"
Her breath caught, but she continued, "I felt like I had died too. I should have. I was the reason he was there and he died. People around me die, Kid Flash. You still sure you want to take me in?"
"Positive."
He would've hugged her, laid a hand on her shoulder, or held her hand because in a normal situation that would feel right. But she'd been through so much and he knew that was something she didn't like. She'd never shared any names with him, or any details of her past for that matter. He wondered what had happened, if she had really been at fault or if she was blaming herself for something that she shouldn't. Either way, he'd be there. They may not have known each other long, but he knew she was something special.
Wally left shortly after that. Duties to attend to and all that. It was well known that the League was going to vacate the building, but nothing on Crystal's status had been revealed to them. She was eighteen, but without any ground to stand on. No home, family, money, or education to speak of put her in a bad position. She'd be put in a group home or left to fend for herself in normal circumstances. Her eyes broke any illusion that she was human, so it was difficult to figure out what to do with her. In the end, he hoped she'd be offered a place at the mountain.
Exactly five hours after he left her at the warehouse, his hopes came true and she was in a car heading for the mountain.
He knew, then, that she'd be okay. She'd have him. She'd have the team.
For the first time in a while, she'd be okay.
He would make sure of it.
And finally we reach a point where I can start episodes! I plan on having S1E9 Bereft as a chapter (it's gonna be great, I promise). Next few chapters will take place before that, but I don't know for sure yet what other episodes I may or may not include.
As always, I'm small and hungry for comments. Or kudos, kudos work too. I work faster with a comment or two. Let me know what you think, what you love, what you hate. If you want to see something, suggest it! Perhaps I can fit it in.
Until next time,
R.A.N.