Chapter 3

Wally was unendingly grateful that the Internet was a thing in this world. Sure, he could read a text book at the speed of light, but that didn't mean a simple Google search wasn't oh so much simpler. Homework was a lot easier when the answers could be summoned from a keyboard.

Since he was tight on cash, Wally found himself at the student Union's hipster coffee shop. They had public computers, free wi-fi, and most importantly, cheap coffee. What more did a guy need? His Forensic Chemistry notes were scattered across the tabletop, and his eyes zipped across the screen as he read about the different spectroscopy techniques, committing to memory the distinction between FTIR and AA methods.

After staring at the screen for a couple hours, the back of his head was beginning to throb. Pulling away for a moment, he sipped on his second cup of coffee, feeling it burn the back of his tongue as he rested his eyes.

He opened them again when he heard the sound of a chair scratching across the dull tile floor. He turned to his left to find Linda Park sitting cross legged in the chair beside him. "Not you again."

"Good seeing you too," she said, her eyebrow lowered.

Wally gripped his coffee cup a little harder but kept his expression neutral. "What can I help you with?"

Linda shrugged coyly. "I just wanted to ask if you've ever heard of the Flash."

It took all of Wally's composure not to drop his cup of coffee right there. The Flash had only been active in this world for a month and he'd already been found out? His mind went blank. Without thought, Wally replied. "No." He felt his heart beat harder in his chest. Stupid. Why had he given Linda Park, of all people, the info about his alter-ego's name? Stupid stupid stupid. Linda hadn't replied, instead lowering her eyebrow even further. "I don't even know you," Wally went on. "Why are you asking me?" He pulled his coffee cup up to his mouth, trying to give his best impression of nonchalance.

At that, Linda snorted and looked away. "You're the only college kid I know. I was just wondering if you had any insight on the Venereal disease that's been spreading across campus."

Wally spit his coffee into his lap. Linda continued as though it hadn't happened.

"Apparently it's kinda like the Clap, but faster. So kids have been calling it the Flash." She glanced at him, a smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. "But if you don't know anything about it, I'll be on my way."

She stood and paced from the room, the sound of heels' echoing after her as she turned the corner into the main dining hall. Wally was left alone, her words sinking in slowly, like the coffee on his jeans.

He passed his second semester with ease, well on his way to a straight 4.0. For his third semester, he decided to register for introductory Vietnamese. He was required to take an ethnic studies course. This one felt like home.

Criminal justice wasn't a required course for Wally's major, but his adviser had recommended it, since it was likely he'd have to testify in court at some point in his life. It didn't hurt that he found it incredibly interesting, if not a little ironic (given who he was and how he liked to spend his free time). It had easily become one of his favorite classes.

Which was why, when he'd received a call from an unknown number in the middle of lecture, he'd ignored it and put his phone away. It didn't occur to him, until an hour after lecture was done, that the only one with that number was Ms. Gyeon.

When the realization hit, he'd whipped the phone out and immediately listened to the voice mail. His worst fears were confirmed. The caller was Central City Urgent Care. It was a hell of a way to discover he was listed as Ms. Gyeon's emergency contact.

Wally was outside the urgent care's doors before the voice mail had even finished. The phone was shoved into his pocket, the voice still rattling faintly from the speaker. At the front desk, he gave his name and asked to be taken to see his friend.

When he walked into the room, Ms. Gyeon was dressed in a hospital gown, eating jello with a plastic spoon and chatting amicably with the women sitting next to her. At the sound of the door opening, she turned to him. When the wrinkles of her face grew more pronounced as she smiled, Wally felt all the anxiety melt from his chest.

"Wally, dear, I'm so glad you're here. They won't let me leave unescorted and I'd very much like to go home."

"Oh, Ms. Gyeon, I'm so sorry, I should have been here sooner! It's all my fault, I turned my phone off and I missed-"

Ms. Gyeon raised her hand, silencing Wally with a swift wag of her finger. "It's my fault for falling, not yours for turning your phone off." Wally frowned harder. "It was sweet enough of you to come in the first place."

Shoulders drooping, Wally swallowed hard and muttered, "I should have been there." If he had answered his phone, he would have been there. "You've done so much for me, and-"

"That's what family does, Wally." He looked up at her, eyes wide. Ms. Gyeon's smile grew soft. "I help you when you need it. And you're here for me now."

He moved to her side, sitting down at the chair at the side of her bed. He took her hand and felt his eyes begin to burn. Even though he wasn't the one who'd been checked into urgent care, Wally started to cry.

When Ms. Gyeon's hospital bill was covered by a Wayne Foundation donation, Wally didn't think anything of it. It was just something the Wayne Foundation would do.

The laceration across her lower abdomen was deep, a sickly shade of earthy red that he was all too familiar with.

He'd been tracking this sex slave ring for three months. Without Dick's tech know-how, Artemis's stealth or Kaldur's intuition, the going had been slow. He'd had to rely on the information he could find online (not much) and the intel he could wrangle from street thugs (unreliable). With a particularly insightful tip, he'd managed to determine the time and location for the next "shipment." That's how he'd ended up in a tight-fitting red hoodie at a dimly lit warehouse on the bad side of town.

What he hadn't counted on was Linda Park beating him there.

Hidden behind a dumpster, Wally hissed through his teeth as the watched her run through the flicker of the dying street light. Though her sweatshirt was black, her white sneakers shone against the grim of the back alley streets. Wally shook his head and pressed his palms to his eyes, feeling the cloth of his homemade mask, coarse against his skin. She was going to get herself killed. He inhaled a deep breath.

Just as he prepped himself to swoop in and grab her, Wally heard a high-pitched yelp. His lungs emptied in a rush.

Darting into the open, Wally found himself staring at a set of decaying teeth, framed by a wiry, unkempt beard, set just below a pair of deep-sunken eyes. The man's hand shook, jiggling the knife that he'd managed to press against Linda's neck, causing it to shine.

"Who're you?" His voice was high and raspy, and a piece of dark lip hair curled into the corner of his mouth. "Waht're you doin' here?" Wally couldn't place the accent- it was like a cross between the Deep South and Eastern European.

"Calm down, sir." Wally raised his hands slowly, his voice low and soothing. "We don't want any trouble." He took a step forward, into the flickering light of the lamp above.

The man stumbled back, the knife pressing into Linda's skin as he moved. The reporter made a squeak as a thin cut slid into her neck, but other than that she held her tongue. "I dun want no trouble, ya hear me?" The man's voice was watery, like he was trying not to cry. "I ain't never hurt none of those girls. I just need the money. You understand?"

"I understand," Wally nodded, his lips drawing together tight. "Please, just let my friend go."

The man twitched, his breath pushing a strand of Linda's hair into her face. Wally watched as Linda's eyes squeezed tight, a tear sliding down her face. Then, in one swift move, she reached up and pulled the knife down.

"No!" Wally moved but he was too late.

The man's arms flailed, his hand shaking hard. The knife dipped down, piercing the sweatshirt, tucking into the fabric and then into her skin.

Wally had him off her in an instant, thrown across the alley before he could process what had happened. Linda was bleeding out into the tar and gravel.

Lifting her gently, Wally took off running towards Central City Urgent Care.

Even though it was 2 AM, Wally hadn't been able to sleep. Artemis used to love listening to the rain. These days, the sound of it just kept him awake.

When he'd heard the faint knocking, Wally wasn't surprised to find Linda standing in his doorway. It'd been three days since she'd been released from the hospital. Her hair was heavy against her face, her make-up streaking from her eyes and her clothes clinging damply to her skin. Even though Ms. Gyeon kept the building at 70 degrees, Linda was shaking.

"The doctors said I'd have died if you hadn't gotten me there as fast as you did."

Wally's lips pursed but he said nothing.

"It's my job to uncover dangerous things. I'm good at what I do. I'm the best because I report on the stories that no one else will." Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. "And now, everytime I close my eyes, I feel that knife against my neck. I smell his breath" she shook "at the back of my throat."

Wally felt his fists clench.

She looked at him, eyes round and scared. "What do I do?"

"I'll get you a towel." He showed Linda to the living room, and she crumpled into his beat up sofa.

As Wally made his way to the bathroom closet, he thought back to all the times Artemis had awoken at his side, shaking from the nightmares of the things her father had made her do, all those years ago. When he returned, Wally handed the towel to Linda and walked to the kitchen.

Moments later, he re-entered the living room carrying a hot cup of Jasmine tea. "Drink this," he said, remembering Artemis's late night panic attacks. "It'll make you feel better."

Linda cupped the hot drink in both hands, only a slight tremble left in her fingers. She took a small sip. "Now what?"

"Now, we talk."

Three hours later, Linda's shaking had stopped and her breathing had evened. When Wally had left to refill her tea cup, he'd found her fast asleep in a ball on his couch. Draping a spare blanket over her, he'd gone to bed with a heavy heart.

As he fell asleep that night, Wally told himself that Artemis would be proud of him.

It still felt wrong that he'd opened her tea.