"Do I get to keep the suit?" Wally murmured distractedly as he followed one of the yellow highlights on his suit with his fingers. He had to stretch a bit to get a good glance down to the highlights on his ribcage. Satisfied, he looked up only to find Bruce, also suited up sans the cowl, staring at him.
He only offered a sheepish smile while he could feel his cheeks getting red. Not even a day had passed since the revelation that Bruce liked him as well and somehow Wally always ended up with Bruce's eyes on him.
Not that he was going to complain.
"It's yours," Bruce said as he turned back to the Batcomputer, the chair moving soundlessly. "You also need a new name as well."
"We could always use KF, no one will know what it means and I already had that name." Wally shrugged as he moved closer to Bruce, only to focus on the others hair, the cowl and cape. Sure, he had seen black before, Bruce's suit didn't even look that different now that he could see colors, but with all the colorful lights around them it looked different. He hadn't fully understood how colorful black could look. Although, to him it seemed that the material Bruce used absorbed light, as other things around the cave reflected the colors more than the suit.
It was fascinating.
"What does KF stand for?"
Wally absentmindedly traced the edge of the cowl's nose and followed it up to the nape of Bruce's neck. "Kid Flash. It was my name before I took over and adopted my mentor's name." His fingers suddenly caressed Bruce's ear as the other slowly turned to him. Embarrassed, he immediately took his hand away. "Sorry."
"It's a bit distracting," Bruce said in a tone that warmed Wally's chest. At least Bruce wasn't mad. "You're hardly a kid, Kid Flash doesn't really fit you anymore."
"That's why I said KF," Wally said and put his hand through his own hair. "It's just initials and no one will know what it means. Who knows, maybe people will come up with some funny ideas!" He grinned at Bruce, who only inclined his head and turned back to the computer.
"I suppose we can use it until something better comes to mind."
"Great!" That way, he wouldn't have to get used to a new name. Sure, he did plan to stay out of sight as long as possible since there was no need to broadcast his presence as soon as there was an opportunity. And he'd have to think about this dimension's Flash too. There was no way they could avoid each other forever once the other's curiosity would be awakened. But that would have to wait for another time as they had more pressing matters at hand.
Wally looked up where, once more, the dreaded machine was being shown. Along with its current position in Gotham.
Something however struck him as odd. "Didn't you blow a hole into the console? Why did they move it to another warehouse?" Wally asked, confused. "It's damaged now."
Bruce pulled up more data on the screen. "The machine is still emitting some of that energy. Not like before but apparently, it's not entirely destroyed. Either way, we will have to get it out of Gotham and then destroy it for good."
Wally put one of his hands between the buttons on the keyboard to lean on it as he looked up. Bruce didn't seem to mind him standing so close. "Can't you buy it as Bruce and then we chuck it somewhere?"
"The papers of the machine are misleading," Bruce replied. "Someone used Wayne Enterprises as a front but once you dig deeper the trail gets lost. Which means trouble if we don't find out who it is before we do anything in an official way. That being said, I can inform Gordon of a potential danger, which this is, and take the lead as Batman."
There was that name Gordon again. Wally kind of heard from him in his dimension but Bruce seemed to work rather closely with him here. Hadn't Tim brought baby Jeremy to Gordon as well? It was fascinating with how many people Bruce surrounded himself, while not wanting anything to do with the other heroes.
"Well, you would know best. I will follow your lead," Wally simply said, both briefly looking at each other before their attention went back to the screen.
"You shouldn't get too close to the machine if you can help it. We don't know what triggered it last time and I don't want to take any chances."
Which meant that Bruce…wouldn't exclude him from this but rather trusted him to not get too close? Somehow, he hadn't expected that but Bruce did seem to surprise him more often than not. Positively too.
He also felt like kissing him again but that had proven to be distracting for the both of them. So instead of kissing Bruce, Wally nodded. "I can do that."
"Good. We will…," Bruce paused as he looked at the glowing dot that marked the location of the machine but didn't go on.
"Yeah?" Wally asked, not sure what caught the other's attention.
Bruce suddenly stood up and locked the Batcomputer. With one turn he was facing Wally who simply pushed himself up from his leaning position. For a second, Bruce simply looked at Wally before he talked. "We will take the scenic route there. It's still early and this way you can get used to bright neon signs."
"Get used to…? I won't get distracted by colors. Don't worry." Sure, the world around him was now more fascinating than before but he wouldn't let that get in between him and the mission.
Bruce smiled. "I know. But I would rather you get used to it a bit before we undertake such a dangerous thing." He then bent forward to give Wally a tiny peck on the lips.
Wally blinked at that but readily accepted the kiss with a fluttery feeling in his stomach. At least he wasn't the only one who wanted to kiss.
Amused, he relented. "Alright. If you think it's better that way."
"I do. Let's meet at the outskirts of the city. We will go on foot from there." Bruce put on the cowl and walked over to the Batmobile.
Wally watched him go over there while he fixed up his own cowl. "Wait," he suddenly said, which made Batman freeze just as he meant to get into the car. "I thought people shouldn't see me? Even now?"
Batman offered a scoff as he sat down in the car. "If they manage to see us, then they deserve it." With that he revved up the car and started driving.
"Pretentious much?" Wally murmured to himself in good nature. He knew that Batman could back it all up and so could Wally, even if Wally's way of being invisible wasn't very ninja-like compared to the other. Shaking his head, Wally started with a slow jog to catch up with Batman where he stayed close without being in the way.
They arrived outside of the city a little while later. Batman got out of the car and with a few taps on his gauntlet the car backed up and drove away with them looking after it.
Or Wally did, since Batman was already getting the batclaw out and maneuvering himself up on the nearest rooftop. Hearing the quiet woosh, Wally turned around and watched the cape vanish over the edge of the building. He followed a second later and appeared besides Batman.
Arriving up there, despite it being one of the lower houses compared to the skyscrapers in the heart of the city, Wally had to admit that Batman was right in taking the scenic route.
The city before him was bright and colorful. They weren't even in the midst of it and yet all he could see was the way it was illuminated in shades of colors he didn't even know the names of yet. He had mostly understood the colors that got associated with him but when he had seen the washed-out colors, he could have never been able to understand the full extent of it all.
In awe, he took it all in as much as he could. He felt the urge to just run towards it and examine it closer but that would be the opposite of being sneaky so he let it be. Surely there were going to be enough chances in his future to do just that.
"I think that was the right choice-," Wally turned to Batman and stopped. Batman's look was intense, more so than he was used to but Wally had the feeling it wasn't in a negative way. "What?," he asked defensively.
"Nothing," Batman said but slowly looked into the same direction Wally had looked. "The way you look at Gotham. You aren't only seeing the bad things."
Wally briefly glanced out into the city again and then back at Batman. "Every City has its good and bad. And Gotham happens to be very pretty. Colors or not."
Batman made an amused sound and turned back to Wally. "Gotham is the first city you have seen in colors."
"True. And while I can't wait to see the rest of the world, Gotham will always be special as my first." Wally made sure to lay it on thick for this one and even put a hand on his chest while closing his eyes. He opened them again to grin at Batman before he turned back to the view. "And I need to know what all of these colors are called." He could feel Batman coming to stand beside him.
"I will look something up for you later. That's easy enough to do."
Wally turned his head to look at Batman, their eyes meeting again. It was fascinating how Batman's eyes looked with the cowl. The way the blue seemed so much more intense with the black around them. "Thank you."
Batman offered him a small smile and Wally somehow got the feeling that if they hadn't been in the suits, he'd have been kissed already.
"So," Wally began and put his hands on his hips, "you sent the car back? How do we get you to the desired location? I guess I could carry you?"
"Carry me?" One of Batman's eyebrows went up. "I heard that you couldn't lift me up when rescuing me."
"Ah, well,…you were unconscious then. That's always totally different." Wally fake coughed into his hand, cheeks suddenly red. All that muscle really was heavy and he had no idea how Tim had carried Batman so easily.
But Batman took pity on him with an almost amused expression. "Let's keep that option for emergencies. For now, just follow me." Suddenly there was the Batclaw going off. A moment later Batman got pulled after the shot but instead of arriving on the next roof, he actually shot past it and into the sky.
Wally watched in awe as the cape flared out and Batman suddenly flew. "What!?," Wally gasped. Batman had never done that while they had been out and about! How?!
Baffled, he looked for a roof ahead of Batman's path and zipped over to it, looking up. "I didn't know Batman could fly!" It was impressive too. Even with seeing colors, Wally could barely see the other against the night sky, the suit barely reflecting light from this angle.
"It's not flying," Batman said as he glided past Wally.
It sure looked like flying to him and it seemed to come easy to Batman too. It wasn't slow either. Sure, the car would have been faster but they still made it to another part of the city in record time. If Wally had to give an estimated guess.
Soon, Batman quietly landed beside him in front of another warehouse. This one had the Wayne Enterprises logo on the door.
"Isn't it a bit risky to use those warehouses for stuff like that?" Here, everything was quiet enough that the cold air seemed so much more intense. Wally almost felt bad for breaking the silence when not even the distant sounds of cars could be heard here.
Batman walked up to the little door at the edge of the big one. "No. Gordon knows that Wayne sometimes lets me use these things. But then again, I've hinted that Wayne doesn't seem to know about it."
Was that amusement Wally detected there? It was hard to tell by just staring at Batman's back. Instead of commenting on it, he followed Batman into the warehouse. Inside, everything was dark, save for the weak light from a lamppost outside. It really didn't do much to help make out shades.
They continued to make their way to the back of the warehouse, weaving between rows of crates and containers. At some point, Batman motioned for him to stay where he was, so he watched Batman walk on ahead. It almost looked like Batman was vanishing into the darkness, the further he got away from Wally. He could only make out the barest outline of Batman when he stopped.
If Wally had been honest, he wasn't even sure what Batman was looking for. Sure. The machine was potentially dangerous, even while damaged, but what could the other hope to gain from looking at it? Surely, he had looked at it closer before? Still, he couldn't deny feeling honored to be taken along. The machine was somehow tied to him, which meant any kind of information about it was one step closer to understanding it. Probably. He really wasn't smart enough for that and could only hope that Batman would be.
Then again, Batman was super smart so that shouldn't be a problem.
He was watching Batman bent down to the lower part of the machine, wondering what could be so interesting there, when he felt something behind him. It felt like the tiniest draft of air, almost as if it got displaced. It reminded him of when Barry showed up without any fair warning. He could feel it dancing across his skin. Hands moved within his field of vision a moment later, clearly intent on silencing him.
Wally wondered how often this could happen to him in a row. This was the second time he went to check out the mysterious machine with Batman and it was also the second time that someone went ahead and sneaked up on him. Unfortunately, for the other party, this time no weapons seemed to be involved and even then, the attacker must have been alone.
Last time, he had been surrounded and hadn't wanted to give his speed away. This time however…
One of the hands almost touched his face and it was then that Wally sprang into action. He dipped low and away from the hold that his attacker wanted to lock him in with. After that, he danced around the body - curiously clad in black and some kind of blue, a mask not unlike Robin's on the man's face - and tackled him to the ground from behind. Straddling his attacker, Wally pinned one of the man's arms on his back and pressed down to make sure there would be no easy escape.
"You're-," wheezed the man underneath Wally, "really as fast as Robin said. Didn't believe it."
Both of Wally's eyebrows went up. "Robin?"
Batman had heard the commotion as well and looked over to the both of them, followed by a disapproving sigh. "Nightwing, shouldn't you be in Blüdhaven?"
Nightwing lifted his free arm and waved at Batman, while also wiggling underneath Wally. "It's fine. Have it under control." The waving hand stopped and gave Batman a thumb up, which only caused Batman to turn his back towards them. That didn't seem to bother Nightwing, who let his hand fall back to the ground. "Would you mind getting off of me?"
"Ah, sure." Wally got up and stepped to the side so that the other could get up.
Nightwing jumped up and stretched before turning on his heels to face Wally properly. "So, you're-"
"Disappointing," Batman suddenly said right beside them.
It was unclear if Nightwing had noticed or not, as he faced Batman with a familiarity Wally had only witnessed the others of the team exhibiting. "Disappointing? What is?," Nightwing asked.
"Robin obviously gave you all the information you needed to face him." Batman nodded towards Wally. "He easily subdued you. That's not how you go about facing enemies."
"Really?" Nightwing put his hands on his hips and sighed. "I knew he wouldn't do anything. Robin said that the guy is a nice guy, obviously. Or you wouldn't suck face with him."
Wally blinked, having gotten slightly red faced. "The guy is right here?" Suddenly he had both of their attention on him, so he crossed his arms to feel steadier under their gazes. "Robin didn't believe me either when I told him about my speed. It's like you guys completely ignore what's in front of you. Have you never observed the Flash?" How did a family of paranoid people not take his speed or warnings seriously?
"He's right," Batman looked back at Nightwing. "Robin underestimated him as well…and so did I."
A gasp suddenly tore from Nightwing. "Did I hear that right?! You! Admitting an error?" He moved to stand beside Wally and threw his arm around his shoulders. "I think I already like you."
Wally received a slap on his chest for good measure as well, causing him to cough up some of the air in his lungs. "Watch it," he murmured but let Nightwing lean on him. Wally was pretty sure he knew what Batman was referring to but he didn't want to assume.
However, Batman didn't take the obvious bait. Instead, he turned and slowly walked back to the broken machine. "I didn't think Robin and you talked that much."
"Robin and I talk as much as we need to," Nightwing said, quite animated. He even dragged Wally a few steps closer to where he shouldn't go but then became still once more. Apparently, that was a decent enough distance for him to talk with Batman.
Wally sighed at being manhandled, but let it slide. "Do you attack everyone Robin tells you about?," Wally asked with a mix between amusement and annoyance.
"Nah." Nightwind waved his free hand around, before holding his chin between his fingers, suddenly contemplating. "Then again…maybe?" A shrug followed and that seemed to be it, which…yeah, that fit with the image Robin had vaguely painted in Wally's head. If this Nightwing here was the infamous Dick.
Wally hoped he was because he wasn't sure how many more people suddenly popping up and claiming to be part of the Batfamily he would be able to take. Then again, he couldn't recall a moment where Bruce had ever said 'I work alone'.
There was the sound of a mechanical part being ripped out of the machine echoing through the warehouse, drawing both of their attention to it.
Batman walked up to them a moment later, looking at the part before addressing Wally. "How are you feeling? Anything suspicious going on?"
Wally shook his head. "Nothing. It's been quiet the entire time, well, safe for Nightwing here. He caused quite a ruckus. But my atoms are content where they are." Which he was relieved about. The thought to be suddenly pulled away from this, from Bruce, it scared him. But Batman must have destroyed a vital part of the machine because nothing had happened since then, even if Batman had said that it was still emitting some kind of particles.
"Good."
"Your atoms?' Both of Nightwing eyebrows went up but Wally only offered a weak shrug, the others' arm still around his shoulders.
"Weird Speedster things but we got it under control," Wally said dismissively.
"We're still investigating it," Batman added for Nightwing as he put a tiny device on the machine part, he had brought with him. A light turned on on the device but nothing else happened. "Will you be staying in Gotham?"
Wally could feel Nightwing nod and then shake his head. "I probably shouldn't. Oracle said she'd have an eye on Blüdhaven but you know how it is."
Batman nodded. "Just make sure to drop by and say hello before you leave." From Batman's and Nightwing's tone of voices, it was clear that their visit to the warehouse was drawing to a close.
Suddenly, Nightwing's eyes lit up. "Might as well take a ride in the Batmobile then. Can I drive?"
Batman mildly glared at Nightwing before he turned to leave, Nightwing followed immediately, making Wally walk with him.
"No."
"Aww, but Batman!"
