Part 2: Unnatural Disaster
Chapter Rating: PG-13
Summary: Wally West struggles through his recovery but what happens when he gets an offer he can't refuse? What will it mean for him, for the world and for his future with the League?
Disclaimer: The DC characters are not mine. I'm just playing with them. They'll be returned…eventually, not in good condition but that can hardly be blamed on me!
Author's Note: Still slowly writing the later chapters. I know where I want it to go. I've known since I started hit series how it was going to end. Getting there is proving to be more difficult than I expected. Anyway, I hope this meets expectations and many apologies for the slow updating (which may get slower).
Chapter 3 - A Fronte Praecipitium a Tergo Lupi
"I should have stayed with him." Superman stared out over the city, Flash's city, calling for his blood tonight.
"You couldn't have known what would happen." Batman thought he would have been tired of assuaging Clark guilt by now, but he wasn't. He understood where the emotion was coming from. He hadn't told the others what he'd seen in the alley the night before. He kept it to himself. Wally hadn't meant for anybody to see it and Bruce felt compelled to keep his confidence. "He needs more help than we can give him."
Superman nodded. They'd brought up the idea of therapy with Wally but he'd balked at the idea and they hadn't pushed. He'd seemed so fragile. He still was. "Who could we ask? Who can we trust not to manipulate him?"
"I might know someone. I'll have to ask her, explain the situation."
"How much about your situation is she aware of?"
Batman gave a slight shake of his head. "Too much."
"It won't matter. He won't speak to anyone."
Batman and Superman turned around to face the others on the rooftop. Leaning against a large air conditioning intake, still covered in a light layer of grey dust, Green Lantern spoke. "He…he's been feeling too dependent recently, too young. He's been trying to prove himself."
"He doesn't have anything to prove," Wonder Woman said immediately. Sure Wally was the youngest of them. He made mistakes but he was always willing to admit to them, apologize and learn from them. He was the type of person who renewed her hope in the world of man.
John looked up at the statuesque brunette. In the morning dusk her skin was gently kissed with orange rays. He knew he couldn't explain it to her in a way she would accept. Her world was a high contrast one, good or bad, right or wrong. She was always so sure, so strong, but he understood Wally's need to prove himself, to be equal.
In the end all he could tell her was: "He has something to prove to himself. I don't think he'll talk to a shrink even if you lock him in the room with her."
"Nobody's suggesting that."
John shrugged. He stared out over the sunrise and sank into a troubled silence.
"We have to do something," Superman said to the group. Shayera was standing nearly at the other end of the roof. She hadn't engaged in the conversation at all. J'onn was similarly quiet but stood closer to the rest of the group. They'd all gathered in Central city when word of the Flash's run in with the Trickster made it to them and the disaster in New Guinea was under control. It had been a tense hour when he was missing but Dr. Fate had found him and brought him to his apartment. How the wizard knew where Wally lived wasn't clear but they'd been too relieved to care.
The news stations had picked up on the incident. The world hadn't had enough of the Flash in the frenzy that followed his unmasking by Dox. Now they had another juicy story and the attention was almost as strong as before. Trickster's injuries had been serious, likely would have lead to his death if he hadn't received such prompt medical attention. It wasn't uncommon that assailants leave a battle with some injuries. Most of the time they have to be knocked unconscious before they can be placed in custody. Injuries of the magnitude Trickster had suffered were rare and never were their witnesses to the often-rumoured superhero-brutality. It was now abundantly clear that the Flash was not above a bout of bad temper.
"A recovery isn't something that can be rushed," Shayera told him as she walked over.
"Time," Batman said and Green Lantern agreed.
"It always comes down to something of which we don't have enough."
+JLU+
He'd just left the Allen house taking his back route. Iris had been calling him almost non-stop since she'd heard about what had happened from the news. He'd listened to the messages she left and could only think that as one of the few family members in his life he owed her at least an explanation. He'd tried to tell her and Barry what had happened but he couldn't describe it accurately. At the end of the recount she'd hugged him, and told him that things would be okay.
For some reason he believed her and when he walked out of the house his heart was heavy but his steps were lighter. He'd made a resolution the night before and in the harsh light of day he could see it was the right one, a necessary one. He wouldn't be the Flash anymore. He couldn't be.
West made to a small side street when suddenly a large, black SUV tore around a corner and skid to a stop next to him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
In the tinted glass was his reflection and Wally briefly thought to himself that he looked like crap. As the window rolled down the reflection was slowly replaced with the inside of the vehicle and the face of an older man in a military uniform.
"Wallace West?" The man asked.
"Who's asking?"
"Admiral Jared Ross. Get in the car, son." Ross opened the door but Wally stepped away.
"No. And don't call me son." He began down the road.
"I just want you to hear me out." The car drove along next to him. Wally gave no response. "Your Aunt and Uncle are having financial troubles aren't they? It'd be a shame if they were to lose their house."
The nonchalant tone didn't veil the menace. Wally paused and turned to glare at him "That wouldn't be a threat would it?"
"No. Just a…a joke."
"A joke is a threat when you have the power to make it happen." Wally watched Ross carefully. He saw the wrinkles at the corner of the man's eyes deepen as a slight smile turned his thin lips.
"Clever. Get in."
Wally glanced around. The street was empty. "And what will you do if I refuse?" He didn't wait for an answer but the large vehicle followed him anyway.
"Get in the car!" The good humour had left the Admiral's face. Wally didn't turn to look at him until he heard something tap against the side of the vehicle. He glanced over and saw a wicked silver gun with a blinking blue light on the side. Ross tapped it twice more against the SUV before aiming it him. "Trust me. Not even the Flash could run away from this." A faint sound of protest and shock emanated from another person within the vehicle that Wally couldn't see but Ross didn't acknowledge it. "Just a short talk. Then you just have to make a choice. It would be a shame for Donald and Dawn to end up in an orphanage or a foster home because social services takes them away when the Allens loose there house."
"That won't happen."
"I can make many things happen. I'm not going to say it again. Get in!"
He wasn't sure Ross had the power he claimed but Wally didn't want to risk it. The gun aimed at him also played a part in swaying his decision.
Ross opened the door as Wally walked over and kept the weapons trained on the younger man. The inside of the vehicle was upholstered in dark grey leather and the back seat were arranged to be facing each other. Ross shifted over until he was on the other seat leaving room for Wally to sit on the one nearest the door. On one of the two seats across from them was another man, also in a military uniform but he was younger than Ross.
As soon as West was seated and the door closed the car began to move again, speeding to some unknown destination.
An hour later the car stopped and Wally dashed out. He glared back the stony face of the silver haired man. The door slammed closed and the vehicle sped back to Central leaving Wally several miles outside city. As soon as they had picked him up the driver had sped off in the nearest direction of the city limit and kept going while the conversation in the back had continued.
Wally looked around at the unspectacular landscape and the glow if his city in the distance. It would be easy to get back there. Ross probably knew it too which is why they had no trouble leaving him in the middle of nowhere with no food or water. However, as he stared at his city he knew he couldn't go back there, not yet. A feeling of panic, which was slowly becoming familiar to him, began to spread as Ross's words revisited him. No, he couldn't go back. Not until he had this settled.
He turned away from his home and took an arbitrary path away from the narrow highway on which they'd come. He set out into the approaching night with a myriad of questions and doubts in his mind.
He knew he couldn't do what they were asking of him. He'd given up being the Flash. He wanted to close that part of his life, leave it as a memory because it was painfully obvious to him that he wasn't fit to be a crime-fighter anymore. It was probably painfully obvious to Trickster too, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Many minutes into his walk, many minutes into the roaring and rapid internal argument he clutched at the gold ankh in his pocket. He'd taken to carrying it around with him. When everything was spinning out of his control, like everything always seemed to do these days, the ankh gave him some peace.
He remembered when Shayera had left after the Thanagarian invasion. She'd told him a little about where Dr. Fate had let her stay. He could remember a few details about what she had said but mostly he remembered her expression when she spoke about it. Her eyes had been distant, and her voice had been calm and soft. She'd smiled like she'd used to when she told him stories about the good times she had home on Thanagar. Shayera could never return there but Dr. Fate had given her a place that she could call home when she'd need a home the most.
Wally pulled out the gold symbol and stared down at the pattern of light that reflected off it as his hand trembled.
He wanted to escape. Just run and run until nothing could touch him, run to a place nothing could hurt him. Unfortunately he'd never be able to run far enough. He couldn't leave his memories behind so he could never escape them. He also knew he couldn't leave his family behind. If there was even a remote possibility that Ross could make good on his threat and ruin the Allen family then he didn't really have a choice. But he had to make a plan because the choice he had long resigned himself to wasn't without its own risks.
When he stopped walking he was far enough that he couldn't even see the glow of his city but he knew it's general direction. With a shaky breath he stepped off in another direction and was gone in an instant. He wasn't heading home. He had to see someone first. When it came to making difficult decisions Wally trusted him above everyone.
+JLU+
Bruce Wayne shared a laugh with his butler, driver and friend as the car leisurely made it's way to his estate. They'd just left yet another charity dinner where Mr. Wayne had donated a large sum of money to a worthy charitable organization.
"Was that for the Children's Hospital or the Public Library?" Bruce asked as an afterthought. He couldn't even remember the charity. He'd given a speech, –he'd given so many he could make them up on the spot –handed a check to some nice kids and then left after the pleasantries were done with.
"I believe it was the Children's Library, sir." Alfred looked back at him from the rear view mirror and just form his eyes Bruce knew he was smiling. Alfred continued on in a serious tone, "And I know the children appreciate it."
There had been some criticism in the newspaper belittling Bruce Wayne and Wayne Foundation's charity work. Bruce just shook his head and with a wry smile had tossed the paper away but Alfred didn't let it go so easily. He'd practically raised Bruce after his parents had been killed, raised the boy the way he thought his parents would have wanted. He was proud of the man Bruce had become.
"I know," Bruce replied. "But thanks anyway."
The rest of the ride was filled with just a few words here and there. Bruce was just flipping through the messages on his PDA as the car wove through the tight roads that lead to his house on the outskirts of Gotham. He was reading a drab but necessary message when Alfred spoke.
"It seems we have a guest."
Bruce leaned forward to gaze through the windshield. They did indeed have a guest. Sitting curled up at the front door was a young redheaded man. His legs were drawn up and his hands tucked under his arms in an attempt to keep warm. Though summer was on it's way the temperature still dropped at night and the breeze from the ocean didn't help either.
The luxury sedan stopped at the entrance but Wally didn't stir. Bruce bolted from the car knowing that something had to be terribly wrong to bring Wally here. He could have called on his league communicator (unless he'd burnt that too) or even called his phone. Instead he waited to see Bruce in person.
"Wally." Bruce gently shook his shoulder. The younger man jerked awake actually knocking his head against the brick where he'd been leaning.
"Ow…"
"Are you alright?" Bruce removed his hand from Wally's shoulder and moved it to probe at his new head injury. There was already a small bump forming but it wasn't serious.
Regaining his wits he turned to Bruce. "I need your help."
Bruce's fingers brushed against Wally's as he too reached to poke at his aching head and they were like ice. "We can talk inside. Come on."
Alfred looked on in concern. He'd seen the boy once before during the Thanagarian invasion and of course he saw his unmasking on the television. The butler opened the door to the mansion while Bruce helped Wally up. He was stiff from sitting so long in the cool air and even when he was relatively steady Bruce didn't relinquish his hold. Wally didn't say anything but he was clearly uncomfortable with the proximity.
"I'll bring you some tea, and a great deal of sugar." Alfred left to tend to the tea and Bruce ushered Wally into a sitting room.
"I need your help," Wally announced again.
"Sit down first." Bruce tried to direct him to one of the nice leather couches but Wally pulled away. He needed Bruce to listen.
"I…I need you to promise me something." His green eyes locked with Wayne's only to be put under their spell. He couldn't look away, as though Bruce had a hold of him and could see into his soul and pick apart his motives. His only motive right now was to ensure the safety of his family.
"I know I shouldn't even be asking this but I don't know where else to go." His voice became unsteadier as he pleaded his case. Bruce was quick to notice the rapid breathing, the pink flush painting his face, and the redness in his eyes. "Something's going to happen. Something really, like…not so good." He swallowed thickly.
"Wally, whatever it is the League will help."
At the mention of the Justice League West shook his head and became even more agitated. "No. After this…after this they really won't care." The shaky breath the younger man took did nothing to calm him. He took one and then another and then another. "You're all going to hate me," he gasped.
Bruce grasped him by the upper arms and forcibly guided him to the nearby chair where he sat Wally down. Bruce went to his knees in front of him. "Calm down. You're going to hyperventilate, Wally."
"Please," he gasped out between the deep breaths that didn't relieve his panic at all. "You have to protect them." His eyes begged for Bruce to say yes.
"Slow down, Wally." He placed a large hand over the rapidly expanding and contracting chest and felt the frantic beating of his heart. "Slow down. Everything's going to be okay." The uncharacteristic words of assurance seemed to mean something to Wally. After a few minutes his breathing slowed but the panic lingered. The shivers tingled Bruce's hands as he rubbed a soothing pattern up and down the speedster's arms.
"Now tell me what happened."
Wally almost gave into the demand of the deep voice. He wanted so much to tell him but then Batman would look into it and Ross would go after him too. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Bruce's sigh of what Wally thought was frustration lingered in his ear. "I'm sorry," he said in a faint breath. "I can't." The red-topped head tipped forwards and Bruce pulled him until his forehead rested on his shoulder.
"We'll figure this out," Bruce assured. The first thing he was going to do was contact the rest of the original league members and put them on alert. Whatever was going on Wally would not face it alone.
"Promise."
"Promise what?"
Wally's face turned towards Bruce's neck. When he spoke his breath blew across the exposed skin at the front of his neck where the top buttons of his shirt had been undone. "Protect them, when I can't. Please." His voice cracked on the last word.
"I promise," Bruce vowed without preamble. He could already feel it in his core that this, whatever was about to happen, would not turn out well. Wally knew it too so when Bruce gave his word all his strength fled.
Strong arms wrapped around the weakening frame of the young man and Wally slipped off the couch to mirror Bruce's position. He didn't raise his head from where it rested on the broad shoulder. He raised his hands just enough to grasp the dark suit jacket that probably cost more than he made in a month.
Bruce was frozen with indecision. Wally was traumatized by what had happened to him on Vril's lunar base and even more agitated now that something else had happened. But he couldn't deny how it felt to have his arms around the lean body. He was completely comfortable with his sexuality having ample time to explore it during his college days. He'd stuck to women after because that was just easier. He'd never allowed himself to feel for anybody who wasn't the opposite gender. Somehow Wally had slipped past those defences without him even realizing it.
Bruce tilted his head, just so, towards Wally until his cheek brushed against the unruly red strands. He thought he felt a hitch in Wally's breathing but he definitely felt the hands grasping his jacket tighten. Bruce took a deep breath imprinting the memory of this moment and the smell of the bright hair before he pulled away.
"Come on." He helped the lethargic young man to his feet and to the nearby couch. He had him lay out and brought a throw pillow from one of the other chairs to put under his head.
"I have to go," Wally whispered weakly but made no move to get up. It was obvious how tired he was and Bruce knew that the speedster probably wasn't eating enough.
"Stay the night. Get some rest. We'll figure the rest of this out in the morning." Bruce gave into the urge to run his hand through Wally's hair and though he froze for a moment Bruce was glad to see that he didn't flinch or pull away.
Wally fought against the fatigue. With his desired resolution procured his mind was ready to leave for the night but he wasn't ready for what might await him in the sleeping world. He shivered at the thought.
"It's okay. You can go to sleep. You're safe here." The deep and familiar voice gently coaxed him to give into his body's demands.
"Are you sure?" he whispered sleepily.
"I'm sure."
Dull green eyes finally fell closed, a weak apology on his lips. "I'm sorry."
Bruce continued to run his hand through the soft hair, careful not to rouse him. He couldn't take his eyes away. How long had he fought futilely against himself, warred with his emotions and the feelings he knew he should not have. Damn his alternate self! If he hadn't brought this up Bruce could have lied to himself indefinitely, and probably ended up just as miserable.
"I hope he doesn't realize too late that it's not his fault."
Bruce looked behind him to find Alfred laying the tray of tea and all the accessories on the low table. He hadn't heard the butler approaching but apparently he'd been close enough to hear at least Wally's last statement.
With one parting, feather-light touch just below his ear Bruce got up and found a seat in an old chair across from the couch. It gave him a direct view of the slumbering form and gave him the distance he needed to be objective. He took the cup of tea offered to him and sipped at it slowly while contemplating this new dilemma.
+JLU+
"You're sure about this?"
"Of course I'm sure."
"You better not double-cross us again, Luthor."
"Or you'll do what?" he asked but ended the phone call before a response could be given. "Idiot."
You're one to talk, thought the man staring out the large set of windows to the estate below. He'd heard the whole conversation since it had been on speakerphone though the other participant in the conversation hadn't known.
"It's taken care of," Lex said. "They've got what they need."
"But I don't have what I want."
"Your little obsession nearly cost us everything. I won't let you ruin us again."
"Your greed has already cost you everything." He turned to face Luthor. "Your empire, your fortune, even your freedom." He looked pointedly down at the ankle monitor the courts insisted Luthor wear so that they'd know his whereabouts at all times. "You've been caged like some common, stupid animal and it is, once again, me coming to your aid."
Luthor's eyes narrowed as he approached the shadowed man. "Dumb animal I may be but I've still got the resources. All you have is some gay infatuation with a boy who can't stand you." They were now face to face, the tense and imposing figure of Lex Luthor versus the nonchalant and arrogant Vril Dox.
"You speak of things to you know nothing of," Vril said. There was an undercurrent of hostility in his voice, an unspoken warning that Luthor best tread lightly.
"I know that if you do anything to jeopardize my plan again you won't live to see tomorrow."
Vril smirked though there was only aggression in his eyes. "Was that a threat? Are you forgetting I have what you want? Your long-lost, dear friend Brainiac." Vril's trump card was the Brainiac seed program. He'd teamed with Luthor because they had the same ultimate goal: ultimate knowledge. However, their dream could not be achieved so long as the Justice League and the Flash were around. So the League had to go but Vril want to keep one of them and that was were their goals diverged.
Luthor had no intention of sparing any of them and Vrill wanted the Flash as his own. The young man was such a fascinating creature that Dox was unwilling to compromise on the matter. Once he had the Flash, once the Justice League was gone Luthor could do what he pleased with Brainiac. While he saw Brainiac as a program, a tool of his own design, Lex saw it as an equal partner. In Vril's mind that made Luthor, not so much his partner but his pawn.
"I may want that 'boy' but he's flesh and blood. You on the other hand obsess over lines of code, figments of computer programming. You have nothing else and nothing else matters but this all-consuming thirst for power, for god-hood. You're a desperate man with nothing but me. Don't you forget that."
In a supreme act of confidence Vril presented Luthor with his back and walked leisurely away. He knew Luthor was armed –it was rare these days that the paranoid man didn't have some sort of weapons with him –which meant that Vril was giving him an easy chance to simply attack him from behind and kill him. That scenario did not occur, as Vril knew it wouldn't. He walked out of the room without incident, secure in his position and Lex now aware of his.
+JLU+
"Well, where is he now?" John Stewart asked after Batman had given them an abbreviated recount to the previous night.
Over the comm. hooked up to the speakers in the meeting room all the assembled members heard Batman's voice. "I don't know. He took off in the middle of the night. I haven't been able to locate him."
"Where could he have gone?" Superman asked more to himself than the others. Wonder Woman and Shayera glanced at each other but didn't have any answers. J'onn sat in his chair next to Flash's empty one, silent until…
"There's a press conference from the Pentagon scheduled in an hour."
Batman was simultaneously glad and depressed that somebody was thinking along the same path as he. Before going to sleep last night he'd check through the CADMUS financials and found a large amount of the funds had been transferred to an unspecified project the day before. All he could find was the designation 'Strike Force Alpha'. He quickly gave the rest of them this information.
"Sounds like a tactical team," said the Green Lantern. Silence carried for a second until he spoke again, in a low and worried voice. "Maybe they've been doing some recruiting."
"Where are you right now?" Diana asked of Batman. She could hear something in the background. It sounded like an engine.
"I'm on my way to the Allen house. He asked me to look out for them."
"Why you?" the Amazon questioned.
Batman chose to answer with a question. "Why not me?"
"What's the address? I'll meet you there."
"There's no need, Diana. I've got his covered. Batman out."
Sneaking in to the middle class house was easy enough for an expert such as himself. Even during midday when his costume provided zero camouflage he entered undetected. He was at the top of the stairs on the second level when he heard the patter of multiple sets of feet coming in his direction from the lower level.
The twin Allen children, Dawn and Don, red-gold hair capping their heads were halfway up the stairs when they noticed the dark spectre standing at the top. They stopped and stared for several seconds before Dawn quickly descended the stairs calling for their parents.
Don continued to stare, unafraid. "You know Wally?"
Batman nodded once.
"Mom! Dad! Batman's in our house!" Dawn exclaimed as she barrelled into the living room. The little girl was equal parts excited and scared and a pink flush stained the freckled cheeks below her wide eyes.
Barry and Iris glanced worriedly at each other. They knew instantly that this could not be just an invention of her imagination. The rainbow bunnies when she was four were one thing but Batman?
Iris sprang from the table where she'd been reading while Barry, not quite as fast, got up and beckoned his daughter to him. Iris was heading for the archway Dawn had entered through to go find their son just as he walked in, huge smile on his face and Batman right behind him.
The tall imposing figure seemed to darken the room as he filled the doorway. Iris reached out and pulled her son away from the caped stranger. Real-Batman or not she wasn't taking any chances.
"Have you talked to Wally recently?" Batman asked.
Barry glanced at Iris who was still looking distrustfully at the intruder. "Briefly this morning but I couldn't understand much of what he said." When the phone had rung at five-fifty he'd been grumpy and sleepy. The nervous, almost panicked voice of his nephew threw all that to the side. He was out of practice when it came to deciphering Wally's super-fast speech, not needing to do so since Wally first got his super-speed years ago and hadn't been able to control it well. It's sudden return worried Barry more then the garbled warning and apology Wally had thrown out before hanging up.
"Why what's going on?"
Batman picked up the remote from atop the TV set and turned it on to a news network. There was no need for him to explain his suspicions when they would either be confirmed of denied in a minute.
+JLU+
A silver haired man in a crisp, white naval uniform stepped onto the slightly elevated stage followed by two more men –one in a brown suit and the other in dark military gear. "Good morning, everyone," The man in the brown suit began. He was the Pentagon Press Secretary. "I'm glad you could join us here today. I won't keep you waiting any longer for the announcement but the gentleman to my left is more qualified to speak to you about this particular topic." The unspectacular man handed the podium to the resplendent man in white.
"Good morning. I'm Admiral Jared Ross, director of the new division of the Special Forces known as Strike Force Alpha. I'm not going to get into the specifics at this time but suffice it to say that this team is comprised of the best and brightest across all divisions of the US Armed Forces. Armed with the latest in advanced warfare they represent the United States' first, official defence against super-powered assailants."
The sea of media personnel before them began to murmur and "Justice League" was heard more than once.
Ross raised a hand to quiet the low voices and continued. "While the Justice League has performed admirably in their duties as protectors and enforcers of the law, the President believes that the United States and her people deserve a force dedicated to their protection. Hence, Strike Force Alpha was born."
"What about the Justice League? Why can't they keep doing it?" voice threw out from the crowd.
"We all have the same goals: truth, justice, security. However it's important that we take our safety into our hands and have a team devoted to Americans and our safety. That said I'd like to introduce to you Chief Petty Officer Javier Lorelli." He gestured to the stone-faced man with the buzz cut who stood at attention.
"A former Navy SEAL, he's been chosen as the leader for Strike Force Alpha. He's earned many honours throughout his distinguished career in the Navy, including the Bronze Star and the Navy Cross. His experience will be invaluable to the team but there is another member of the team whom will give us the slight edge required to take down even the most powerful and aggressive foes." Ross paused here as the blue curtain to the left of the stage parted to allow another man through.
The whole room seemed to gasp at the same moment as numerous cameras focussed on the new arrival. He walked to stand next to Lorelli, head slightly bowed and eyes on the carpeted edge of the platform on which he stood.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Strike Force Alpha's newest weapon, Seaman Wallace Rudolph West, otherwise known as 'The Flash'."
The room erupted. Questions where volleyed at the assembled officers too quickly for anybody but Wally to keep up with. The camera flashes left them all a little blind with bright spots floating across what vision they did have. Through it all Ross smiled. His team was complete and with a Justice League member -one of the founding seven no less –on his team they'd be untouchable.
Ross turned to look at the centre of attention. He was still looking down at the carpet as though the ruckus around him didn't exist.
It was just background noise to him. They couldn't do or say anything that could make him feel worse than he already did. His secret was now officially out but all he could consider was how this would affect the Allen's and everyone close to him. They were in danger because of him and he couldn't even help them.
He didn't even notice when he silently began to mouth, "Take care of them. Please."
In the Allen house Batman read his lips.
"I promise."
End Chapter 3 - A Precipice in Front, Wolves Behind
Poor Wally. :( Why does all this happen to him? Oh yeah….that was my doing. :D
Sagga…