Things had gone from bad to shitty faster than Wally could even blink.
They made it back to JL HQ, in space, and took Wally to a holding cell. The inside of the cell was completely white and devoid of anything other than an unmovable chair and table. No food. No water, either, which Wally thought was particularly unfair considering he kinda needed it to live.
Batman had said that he'd be back in a few minutes and that Wally should get comfortable. Not likely, he thought to himself, taking the only seat provided to him.
There was an unpleasant weighty-ness in his stomach that he couldn't shake. That gnawing hunger that had reared its ugly head on the ride over had only worsened and Wally could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. The only thing preventing the inevitable was the thought of what the heroes would do to him in his sleep.
Wally wasn't crazy enough to think that they'd kill him over the Flash's death. But he was cautious and he knew that if he fell asleep before Batman got back that he might just wake up in jail on Earth, guilty of a crime he didn't know for sure that he committed. His stomach twisted up into knots at the thought.
OK, that's a little far-fetched. I think the hunger's starting to get to me; I feel like I'm losing my mind over here!
Just as Wally felt bile lurch up his throat, Batman and Wonder Woman walked in. The two leaguers were then able to witness their witness throw up a mixture of yellowish-red bile and blood. Wally whined helplessly and continued to mime vomiting despite there being nothing left but bile and blood to throw up.
Batman raced over to Wally, who lay curled up on the floor, his body desperately trying to rid itself of sickness the only way it knew how. His hands clutched at his stomach tightly, trying to stave off the upheaval of his stomach.
Wonder Woman left the cell, returning moments later with a confused costumed man. She thrust the man forward and he crashed to his knees next to Wally. Confusion fading fast, the man sent Wonder Woman ahead to prep the sick bay.
"Batman," the man started, then stopped; he didn't know how to phrase his question.
Batman knew what that tone meant. Incredulous and borderline angry, Dr. Midnite wanted to know how the boy had gotten so sick and why he hadn't been notified upon their arrival.
Dr. Midnite gently pushed Wally into a sitting position and motioned for Batman to carry him.
Wally was shaking and breathing raggedly, though he'd stopped dry heaving in exchange for hoarse, wet coughing. Batman lifted the sick teen into his arms and was vividly reminded of the times when he would carry his children to bed or out of the cave. Looking down at Wally's pinched, pale face, Batman felt his heart stutter and stop at the expression.
Wally was in pain.
A kid, not even 18, was suffering because the League thought he had something to do with Flash's death. The scrawny red-head probably weighed less than Batman's left leg. His bag had been at the museum, true, but so had other people's belongings. Shame curled in his gut; the League had acted out of grief, like the Justice Lords had, and were already abusing their power over civilians.
They reached the sick bay in record time and Dr. Midnite transferred Wally over to a bed with an assortment of devices nearby. Wonder Woman guided him out of the room and directed him towards the center of the Tower.
She rested her hand on his shoulder.
"We need to tell the others." She whispered, but her voice still carried in the hall.
Could she hear his heart speed up at the mention of a fresh wound? One shared by the most senior members of the League, and soon, the newest? It had to happen eventually, but now? They didn't have any news to share, just the death of a beloved member of the team.
Batman could see the entire thing going down. He worried, and knew the others worried, too. It was too much, all at once, and Batman needed to distance himself from this and focus on the problem at hand.
Wally West was there the night the museum exploded. He knew who the Flash had been fighting. And somehow, someway, he'd gotten out before the Fastest-Man-Alive could. It wasn't much to go off. He hoped it would be enough to keep the rest of the League at bay.
"Let's go, then," He said and began walking.
...
Deep within the ocean, another conversation was taking place, one between two brothers.
"You have a responsibility to Atlantis above all else, Arthur!"
Arthur Curry, known as the hero Aquaman, but also the King of Atlantis, had tried to explain to Orm that he was needed by the League and it hadn't gone well. They were arguing on Arthur's way to the zeta tube above land about Arthur's apparent betrayal to the kingdom.
"Orm, really, I'll be gone for a day or two, max. Relax." Arthur said easily. His brother did not heed his advice; if anything, telling him to relax had made him even tenser than before. Orm is such a tightass.
"You're the KING, Arthur. You can't just run off and leave ME in charge of everything," Orm was getting worked up now and Mera would hate the both of them if Arthur sent back a stressed-out Orm while he was gone.
"OK, one: you're not in charge; Mera is. Two: I'm not 'running off' because I'm going to space, bro; I can't run out there. And three," he said, seeing Orm open his mouth.
"I'm coming back after whatever they need me for."
Orm drifted back and forth anxiously, before spitting out "fine" and swimming back to Atlantis. Arthur chuckled to himself and knew that Orm had heard him when a giant squid barreled over him in its haste to catch up with Orm.
Arthur made his way to the surface without any further delays and stepped into the zeta that wold take him to the Tower.
I hope I'm not too late for whatever's going on.
...
Charles examined the teen, Wally, laid out on the bed in front of him. He had to replace his clothing with sturdy white pajamas when he had started coughing up blood.
Wally's files were inconsistent with what Charles was seeing and testing from his body. His medical history showed only one major event wherein he was hospitalized, however, the details on that were unclear.
Medically speaking, what Wally was experiencing shouldn't be possible. He was in the late stages of starvation and had contracted what appeared to be bronchitis.
Charles had been forced to put the teen on a respirator as he had trouble breathing around the blood in his throat and the mucus in his nose. The IV contained a plethora of nutrients that Batman used for himself and his sidekicks, and Charles had given it to Wally in the hopes of it helping him heal.
There was a sudden strangled noise from Wally and Charles leaned closer to him while adjusting his oxygen intake. Wally struggled to open his eyes and had trouble swallowing.
"It's all right, Wally; take your time." Charles spoke soothingly to the distressed teen and kept up the chatter for a minutes before Wally fell back asleep. The sudden stop didn't surprise Charles as Wally was clearly exhausted and couldn't be able to keep up the pace he had set for himself.
He sighed tiredly. Batman would want to know what was wrong with Wally and that was going to take some time. This is gonna take a while to explain. Lantern'll probably be there; Superman, too; Wonder Woman, definitely. Flash might show up if he's bothered enough.
Charles felt a quick dart of annoyance go through him. The Flash was the most childish adult Charles had ever met and he didn't mean it as a compliment. He supposedly helped with the League's founding, but with the way he acts? There's no way.
Charles continued to think about the Flash and began reviewing Wally's files more extensively as Wally lay sleeping.
...
The last POV is Charles McNider AKA Dr. Midnite and he doesn't like the Flash at all
And yeah Aquaman's on his way to the tower, bout to get the sad news about Flash
And unfortunately barry/iris aren't around anymore hence wally taking over as the flash and living on his own and being on scholarship
So leave a review on your way out, tell me what you think/ what could be better/ what do you want to see more of/ or just guesses on where you think the story's headed