3rd November, 2011. 19:27

"Isn't Wally here yet?" M'gann asks, looking hopefully at the Boy Wonder standing in the opening of the kitchen. The younger boy frowns behind his glasses but shakes his head with a sad expression on his face, allowing to let his guard down just slightly.

"There was an attack in Central City, he needed to go" Robin says with a pained voice and M'gann nods numbly, putting the last frying pan on the table. M'gann sighed softly, looking sadly at the food on the table, enough for 5 people and a speedster. She looks at the Boy Wonder with pleading eyes.

"Why can't we help him Robin?" M'gann asks and Robin sighs at the comment, walking up to his teammate and grabbing her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. M'gann looks up to him, tears brimming in her eyes.

"He doesn't want us to, he wants to prove himself as the Flash, he wants to show that he's capable of carrying the mantle" There was a hint of annoyance in Robin's voice because despite his answer he had wondered about this as well. He understood the reason, Batman rarely wanted help, he wanted to solve crimes himself, or with Robin.

And if he were in Wally's footsteps he would probably be the same, insisting to carry out his legacy and handling it alone and not accepting any help, but Wally was exhausting himself and the team was more than willing to help him out. He wanted to help his best friend, but he couldn't.

And it was driving him crazy.

"And Artemis?" M'gann asks, almost hopefully, which made it even harder for Robin to respond.

"Still in her room, she doesn't want to come out tonight, I'm sorry M'gann" Robin apologies, watching as the rest of the team silently appeared in the kitchen as well, the team, now only consisting of four people really. Even Roy hadn't visited in a long time because of Barry's disappearance.

They knew he took his dead and Wally's change hard. And with Artemis and Wally gone as well, only Conner and Kaldur would be joining them, were joining them. M'gann shakes her head at Robin's apology.

"Don't be, it's not your fault Robin. Flash's death hit her harder than it did for the rest of us" Robin winces at the comment, despite already being aware of this. While he had known Barry, and was quite close to him as well, it was Artemis who saw him as the father figure she never had.

Robin never did because he had Bruce.

And on top of that, Artemis has also lost Wally, who was literally one of the reasons she was this open lately. Robin, while Wally had been insanely important to his upbringing, had more people to rely on. Artemis has lost two of the most important people in his life. One of the few she was close with.

And yet, Wally took the hardest hit.

Robin didn't reply to the comment, for once not knowing how to respond and not feeling up to breaking the silence with his signature cackle. And it wasn't like Wally was here to crack a joke, or that anyone was feeling like joking right now, so he silently sat down on the table.

"It looks delicious M'gann, thank you" Kaldur breaks the ice as they sit down on the table but even mostly bubbly M'gann doesn't smile at the comment, uttering a simple thank you, genuine but riddled with sadness.

Sadness over the loss of their two teammates, who were both still alive but gone at the same time.

YJ

4rd November, 2011. 06:09

"Are you okay?" Dick asks softly, hesitantly touching Wally's hand with his own. Wally closes his eyes, wincing but he doesn't answer, not acknowledging the younger boy. "Do I need to call BC?"

Still, Wally doesn't answer, instead he turns his head away from the younger boy, hissing in pain as his wounds were pulled, stitches stretching and threatening to break through the skin that was now slowly healing. An IV with food flowing into his system to make sure he didn't pass out, and would heal.

His back laid bare to the room and Dick looked at the wounded body of his best friend, his immediate older brother. Wally laid on his stomach, medication not enough to enable him to lay on his wounded back right now. And it would only worsen the wounds anyways.

And he was still, so still.

Unlike a speedster who was always fidgeting, even if they were injured. Even back when Wally got injured badly, multiple times, he kept fidgeting, wanting to move. Because that's what speedsters did, move, they weren't still. They were constantly moving or trying to move.

But right now, Wally was anything but fidgeting, he wasn't moving at all.

His eyes stared at the white wall next to him, green eyes filled with sadness. And for once, Dick wished that sadness was because of Barry's death. How cruel it sounded, he wished Wally were sad about losing his uncle, his mentor, his father. Not this, this was worse than mourning a loved one.

"Wally" Dick tries again but Wally's only response was his muscles tightening ever so slightly. Muscles on his back stood rigid at Dick's mention of his name. "Wally it wasn't your fault" Dick continues. There was a short silence.

"But it was Dick, it was my fault" Wally whispers softly.

"No Wally, it wasn't" Dick insists, squeezing Wally's hand that lay on the side of the bed, bandages around his lower arm where one of the two bones had snapped, Dick hadn't even paid attention when Black Canary told him which one, or what the other injuries were.

Back then he only stayed with Wally as they cut away his Flash costume, ignored Roy threatening the other team members to get out, to leave Wally alone. Roy hadn't come back after that, but Dick hadn't paid attention to either of that, or BC listing his injuries after the doctors were done.

He could only focus on the tears unconsciously sliding down Wally's freckled face.

"I don't want to talk about it" Wally mumbles, shifting slightly again but stopping with a low hiss of pain.

"It isn't your fault" Dick whispers softly, trying to catch Wally's attention but the ginger doesn't respond.

"I want to be alone" He states bluntly, choking on a sob but trying to push it down, trying to hide his sadness, his guilt, from his best friend. Dick face falls, his blue eyes filling with sadness but he can't seem to say anything else. It would be no use either way, he knew how stubborn Wally could be.

He knew words wouldn't help Wally with what just happened. So he stood up and left Wally alone, like he had asked. But Dick knew that he didn't want to be alone right now, it was just that he didn't want Dick's company right now. Not necessarily right now. Right now he wanted one person.

He wanted uncle Barry.

4rt November, 2011. 07:13

"Sweetie?" Iris asks, nudging her nephew, son, softly to avoid causing him pain. The ginger blinks his eyes open, looking at the concerned eyes of his aunt, green eyes staring at him with tears.

"Mom" Wally mumbles, squeezing his eyes shut as pain shoots up his spine and Iris gasps at the pain her nephew seemed to be in, placing a soft hand on his injured back. Instead of causing further pain Wally seemed to melt under the touch, muscles relaxing and not tensing as much anymore.

Dick watched, not with jealousy but with pain in his heart.

Mom, Wally had said. And he knew Wally saw Iris as his mom, and Barry as his father but he had often voiced his struggles with calling them that. He was still afraid that they would reject him, like his biological parents had, or compare Iris and Barry to those monsters. But in times like these he didn't care, or didn't remind himself of that insecurity.

"Oh honey" She whispered softly, removing the hand and stroking her thumb along his cheek, hovering above the obvious bags under his eyes.

Dick winced again, they both hurt, both had lost someone close to them. But while Iris has lost her husband, Wally had lost his father. And while Iris had lost one of the persons she grew to love, and one of the persons who shaped her life, Wally had lost one of the only persons that he grew up with.

Shaped him into the man he was today.

Iris lost the man under the cowl, and was reminded every day that her husband wasn't there anymore when Wally took off his cowl, or put on the cowl. Wally was forced to wear his uncle's legacy, the heavy burden of being one of the founding members of the justice league, and one of the most important superheroes in the world.

Alongside Batman and Superman.

And people talked about the other Flash, they noticed Wally was different than Barry, even if they had no idea who was behind the mask. And they talked, even more after today, and it crushed both Wally and Iris.

"I tried, I really tried Aunt Iris" Wally whispers, tears already streaming down his face.

"I know Wally, and it wasn't your fault" But Wally didn't want to hear it, just like Dick he blew off his aunt when she tried to tell him it wasn't his fault. Because it was his fault, it was his fault because he wasn't fast enough.

He wasn't worthy of the cowl.

"It isn't your fault Wally" Iris says sternly, rubbing his hand in a comforting matter. Wally just closes his eyes in defeat, knowing he couldn't argue with his aunt when she was like this, but knowing that it was his fault they were dead.

Dick sighs in defeat, silently exiting the room as to not to disturb Wally and Iris talking. He knew he wasn't wearing his glasses yet but at the same time he didn't care. He knew Conner and M'gann were out of the cave right now so the odds of running into them was slim, and the rest knew.

And granted it was nice not to wear his sunglasses around the cave, it felt nice to lower his guard for once.

The moment he stepped out of the infirmary something grabbed his upper arm, dragging him towards the person. For a split second he tensed, ready to attack the person grabbing him but when two strong arms wrapped around him tightly he forced himself to relax, finding himself nose first in Roy's chest.

"What are you…-" Dick starts but Roy just tightens his arms around the Boy Wonder, his teeth clenched at the defeated tone in Dick's voice. And the fact that he just walked into the common room of the cave without any disguise only worsened the situation. Dick never lowered his guard in the cave like this.

"Your sunglasses" Roy reminds him and Dick staggers slightly at the comment, at the realisation that Roy understood what was going on, despite knowing how well Roy could read people because he taught the archer. He looks up, tears brimming in his eyes and for the first time in so long, he let them fall.

Roy doesn't say anything, only tightens his arms around the boy, knowing that he too was hurt by the whole situation, ever since his parents' death he couldn't handle the thought of someone leaving him. When Bruce was kidnapped he lost it, when Wally was gone he lost it, despite him able to hide it.

When Roy disappeared without a trace for weeks… and now when Barry died. And Wally was lost as well. It hit Dick as well, not just Wally.

His shoulders were shaking and tears were streaming down Dick's face, burying his face in Roy's chest as he cried his heart out. Roy eventually moved him to the couch, allowing Dick to snuggle up to him, something Robin rarely did like this, this vulnerable, but something Dick did countless times.

Bruce had given him his blessing to tell the team his secret identity but he didn't want to just yet, Artemis was an exception, but she figured it out herself because she was at the same school. But he wasn't ready to tell Conner and M'gann yet, he wasn't ready to be pitied by them because of his past.

Artemis hadn't because she knew what is was like, having grown up with Sportsmaster. Kaldur had, back when he just discovered his identity and knew Richard "Dick" Grayson, and his backstory. He had pitied him, took him a long time to stop. He didn't want that, he didn't want their pity, but right now he didn't care.

So when Conner and M'gann came back in the cave, he made no move to put on his glasses or his mask.

YJ

3rd November, 2011. 20:03 (Previous day)

After dinner no one wanted to go home. M'gann and Conner were already home at the cave but Dick and Kaldur decided to stay as well*. It was easier and they all craved to be with the remaining team, desperate to keep it together as much as possible. Robin sighed, curling himself up against the side of the couch.

He wasn't at ease, constantly squirming. Something just wasn't right. He just didn't know what it was.

The TV was on, Lord of the Rings was playing but no one was truly paying attention, watching but not paying attention. Conner and M'gann had snuggled close together and eventually Robin had ended up leaning against Kaldur, who accepted the clinginess without question.

He knew Robin missed Wally as well, even if he didn't voice this. Wally and Robin would always curl up against each other on these nights, if Artemis wasn't with Wally that is but even then Robin would try to give himself a spot against either Artemis or Wally. So Kaldur allowed the boy he basically saw as a younger brother to lean against him.

He looked at his teammate in concern, he knew whose eyes were beneath the mask and he couldn't help but be worried about him losing yet another person in his life. His parents were enough already, and Kaldur had heard about the tale when Batman was kidnapped by Talia.

Batman had been gone, and Robin has lost his second father, his second family. He had been a wreck until Bruce returned. Equally as scarred as his son. One mentally, and one physically.

Bruce never told Kaldur what happened exactly, and neither did Robin or Wally, they all kept it a secret from the ones who knew about Batman's capture. Because Wally did know about what happened. Bruce told him after Wally got kidnapped 2 years ago, when he was told Robin's secret ID. *

Kaldur had been new to the hero gig back then, and hadn't been as close to Dick and Wally as now. His friendship with Roy was just starting a bit and while he knew of Kid Flash and Robin, he didn't necessarily know them. Met them but not know them.

"GUYS!" Someone suddenly yelled.

Kaldur jerked up, and so did Robin, immediately ready for anything. And no longer slouched against the Atlantean without a care in the world. Artemis came running in, tears streaming down her face, eyes darting around in panic.

"Artemis!" M'gann gasped, starting to fly over to the blonde archer but she fell to the ground instead, gasping and eyes going wide as she felt Artemis' emotions overwhelming her.

"Go to the news!" Artemis snapped and Robin was the first one to react, snatching the remote and skipping through several channels before news appeared.

It was Central City, it was Central City's building. A normal building, a school to be exact. It was a middle school, full of innocent children, and right now it was almost completely gone. Air filled itself with smoke, black smoke rising up in the air without any remorse while firefighters made a futile attempt to stop it.

But it was already too late.

The camera focused on the red again, mostly just a blur among such a scene, but not this time. It was barely visible with his suit. The scorch marks were, black that encircled red skin. It was bad, from the first look at Wally's face, even covered with a full cowl and unable to see his eyes, they knew it was bad.

He was trembling, his back turned away from the building with numerous people surrounding him.

Cries and shouts were heard, cries of disbelief, of fear, of sadness. And in Flash's arms was one boy, a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, almost completely hidden away by Flash's arms as they wrapped around the boy. Glass and other debris was stuck in Flash's back and blood streamed down his back.

The crimson colour hidden from obvious view by his red suit.

And when the camera caught another boy, they realised what had happened. More information wasn't even needed anymore. A boy lay scattered next to Flash, perhaps a meter away from him. A piece of glass piercing his eye, a piece of glass piercing his shoulder, his chest, his neck, his leg, his life.

The boy lay dead on the ground, bleeding like Flash was bleeding.

And it wasn't the only corpse, it was one of the few corpses that was still intact, the rest had scorched once the building had blown up.

"Middle school blows up, Flash too slow to save the children and its staff." Before it changed.

"New Flash worthy of the cowl?"

And Flash collapsed.

YJ

*Okay so I've seen a lot of fics where the cave has a lot of guest rooms and they're like "Oh sure Wally can stay, he can have the guest room. for me, I adore the theory that they all have a room in the cave like a real room and they frequently stay over at the cave.

*See; Trust of the Innocent.