Chapter 3: Wally

Wally stuffed his keys in his jacket pocket, and before he'd managed to remove his arms from the sleeves, he caught sight of his dad sitting in the dining room. One look at the older man's posture, set the young man instantly on alert.

He quickly, but slow by speedster standards, walked into the living room and watched his dad turn towards him, wiping tears from his eyes. From the look on Joe's face, they weren't happy tears either. Wally immediately became concerned and confused at the same time. Caitlyn had told H.R. and him at the lab that Barry and the team of heroes had won, so why did his dad look like he'd just lost someone important to him.

"Dad, what's wrong? I thought the heroes saved the day, without any casualties." Then a sinking feeling crept into the pit of his stomach. "Is it Iris? Did something happen to Iris?" He asked, closing the distance between him and his father.

Joe wiped his hand over his face and took a deep breath, shaking his head. "No, everyone's fine. Iris is fine. Barry, thank goodness, is fine."

"Did Barry get hurt? Caitlyn didn't mention anything, she just said we'd won."

"No, Barry didn't get hurt. But apparently, before the big battle, he was going to turn himself over to the Dominators because he thought that was the only way to save the world." The older man picked up an envelope and handed it to his youngest son. "He was so convinced he'd never see any of us again that he wrote a couple of goodbye letters, and in the excitement of saving the day probably forgot all about them."

Wally took the item from Joe, but kept his eyes on his father. "Why would he have even considered turning himself over to a group of evil space creatures?"

"Apparently a government representative made a deal with the aliens. Seems they were threatened by Barry's ability to alter time, and because of Flashpoint they saw him as too much of a liability to the Universe as a whole. If Barry had turned himself in, then the Dominators would have left in peace and not tried to kill all the metahumans and countless other innocent people. Fortunately for us, Oliver and the team stopped Barry from doing something stupid." Joe got up from his seat. "I'm not sure if I want to hug Barry or lock him in the pipeline right now." He reached out and put his hand on his son's shoulder. "It's been a long couple of days. I'm heading to bed. Goodnight, son."

"Night, Dad." Wally watched his father head upstairs, put the letter from Barry on the table, removed his jacket and hung it on the back of a dining room chair. He then went into the kitchen to get a bite to eat. He'd worked up quite an appetite over the last few hours running in the speed room, doing laps with H.R. timing him and suggesting new training techniques.

He made quick work of putting together a triple-decker sandwich before returning to the dining room to sit down and eat. Taking a bite of his food, he opened the envelope and pulled out the paper. He could eat and read at the same time, and while he could do both quite fast, he decided this situation called for a somewhat slower pace.

Wally,

I know we didn't actually get off on the right foot when you first came into our family. However, now that you know my secret, I'm sure you realize it had nothing to do with you. Between Zoom and alternate Earths, I had a lot on my mind. Sometimes, I don't do very well with multi-tasking. Funny when you think about the fact that I can read and process information in seconds. Occasionally, I have a bad habit of focusing on one main problem and letting it consume almost all of my attention.

You probably feel like I'm still standing in your way, not encouraging you to reach your full potential. It's not that I don't have faith in you, or that Joe and Iris don't, it's just that being a superhero is not all fun and games. It's a huge responsibility. There are strong life lessons that come with being a superhero with powers. There's a lot of heartache, pain and a loss of innocence that I'm trying to protect you from. Joe and Iris are too. We don't want you to lose the positive attitude you have. The superhero life is a big responsibility, but it's a one that I know you can handle.

It's why I now pass the torch to you. You are going to be the guardian of Central City. I wish I could be here to help train you, to teach you all the neat tricks I've learned over the last two years, things like phasing and throwing lightning, but my destiny now lies somewhere else (apparently somewhere far out in space). But I have faith in you. You're already faster than I was at the same stage of having my powers. I bet you'll be able to develop these skills on your own. However, I'm sure Cisco and Caitlyn can probably get Harry to come help you, or maybe even reach out to Jay Garrick from Earth 3. All you need to do is ask.

I'm sure that in no time at all you and Iris will become the crime fighting brother-sister team you were in Flashpoint, but you'll also have a lot of tech support you didn't have in that timeline. But, no matter what, I'm sure you'll both end up giving Joe a lot more gray hair than he has now.

Be safe, be smart, and listen to Cisco and Caitlyn. Never be afraid to ask for help. It doesn't make you weak, it actually makes you stronger to have support. I urge you to listen to advice that is given to you, whether asked for or not. The one giving the advice is usually right. Remember too, that Iris and Joe have your best interests at heart. They aren't trying to hold you back, it's just that you're so excited about your powers that you want to run into every situation and use your speed. Having speed isn't everything. You need to slow down, too. The Green Arrow once gave me the best advice, (his methods may have been a little extreme, but the intent was there), you have the time, so make sure you assess every situation before you run head first into it. If you don't, you just may end up with two arrows in your back, or a bomb strapped to your wrist. (I speak from experience).

You came into our life in a whirlwind, and I was lucky enough to gain a brother, not just at home, but in the speed force, too. I'm glad to have gotten to know you, Wally. Take care of Joe, Iris and our city.

Your brother,

Barry

Wally stared at the letter and then back at his half-eaten sandwich. Suddenly he didn't feel much like eating. Joe hadn't been exaggerating; Barry really had planned on turning himself over to the Dominators. He had always had doubts about the young man his father had raised alongside Iris in this house. There had been many months, and even now, to some degree, where he'd felt like he'd been playing second fiddle to the bright superstar. Especially now that he had his own set of powers. But reading Barry's words, he realized it wasn't that no one wanted him to have speed, it was more a matter of them wanting to keep him safe, and learn to be responsible.

Up until now, he had seriously begun doubting himself, and his abilities. He couldn't understand why no one seemed to want to take the time to help him, or even let him assist Barry in taking down the alien invaders. He had to admit that Iris had been right; he didn't have the experience like the others on the hero team. But how was he supposed to gain experience if all he was allowed to do was run around the speed room at S.T.A.R. Labs and have Caitlyn run even more tests on him. Now, with Barry still around and not a prisoner of aliens thousands of miles away from Earth, his hopes started to rise. Maybe, he'd finally get to learn cool speedster tricks and start gaining some experience.

He re-read the last line of the letter. While his brother's words had been written because Barry didn't think he'd ever get a chance to say these things in person, Wally was thankful that the speedster hadn't collected the notes before they could be read. With the crisis over, he briefly wondered if Barry had even remembered their existence. It was nice to know how the young man felt. He had started looking up to the speedster like an older brother and it had hurt when neither the Flash, nor anyone else for that matter, seemed to want to help him get a handle on his new abilities.

While Joe was all about hugs and affection, Wally had discovered Barry wasn't always easy to read, he took on so many of the city's problems that he tended to shut people out. He realized now that his brother was probably trying to protect himself as well as those around him. The young speedster thought back to the incident with the walking-talking shark. He'd called Barry a coward back then, and little had he known that his new brother was anything but. He'd learned later that the Flash had taken quite a beating outside the West house. Then to learn about other Earths and Zoom, well it was no wonder Barry had seemed distant back then.

The young speedster realized, too, he was jealous of Barry. Wally had missed out on years of getting to know both Joe and Iris, being part of shared family times, vacations, adventures, things Barry had been there for. Then to find out that Barry was the Flash, being able to go fast enough to break the sound barrier, it had been a bit overwhelming, especially since it was something Wally himself had coveted. But now he too had the ability to go faster than all the cars he'd ever raced in his life, and it seemed like everyone wanted to hold him back.

He didn't want to be held back anymore. He was going to work with H.R., even if, despite what Barry had written in the letter, no one else would help train him. He was going to emulate the type of hero his big brother was and use his speed for good, to help others. And, he'd think seriously about slowing down, once he got a better handle on things. Picking up his sandwich, he took another bite, and leaned back. He may not be the sole guardian of Central City, but it was going to be fun being part of a speedster team.