Tanzania, Two Weeks after Sinestro's Defeat:
Quick Flash looks at Robin, she had to get away from here soon, Rob, hurry up.
Robin looks over at her and winces, he'd forgotten she didn't do well in small, dark, enclosed places, just like KF, Just a little longer, okay.
Quick Flash nods at this, but her forest green eyes were betraying the fact that it was starting to get to her, no speedster liked a place that they couldn't run in, though for her and KF it went deeper, before they'd gotten their powers, as they'd been friends since practically Pre-K, a teacher had shoved them in a closet for five whole days, Wally's dad hadn't cared and neither had Rachel's mother. Flash had found them barely alive when the school caught on fire, Rachel had called out telepathically for help.
Robin finished up and sighs, QF, I'm done.
Her eyes had glazed over and Robin moans before dragging her along, thankfully they were going to be meeting up with Rocket, a new team member, and Wally soon. Hey, Walls.
Yeah, what's up Rob?
I have a catatonic QF, took too long hacking in the air duct.
Gotcha, I can get her back in fighting shape.
Good, because I don't like the docile QF that I can drag anywhere, this QF scares me.
Kid Flash winces at this, Quick Flash only got docile when her fear took over completely. When the ventilation grate opens Kid Flash was there to take Quick Flash and he starts talking in super speed, he knew Rob would get the gist of what he was saying but Rocket wouldn't and that was fine with him. Rocket blinks as Robin drops down and she quirks an eyebrow at him, What's up?
Speedsters don't do well with enclosed spaces, KF has to talk QF down out of her catatonic state, I took too long hacking, forgot I had a speedster with me. Robin answers, from body language and the way KF was looking at QF he had a very good idea of what his bro was saying to QF. He knew there were a few on the team that suspected what the relationship was between the teen speedsters but they all respected them enough to keep silent, realizing that they had their reasons for hiding their relationship. Robin knew Barry and Iris now knew about them, so they at least had there to have some quality time.
You two, go on ahead, we'll have to switch it up. Kid Flash says.
Robin looks at him, tilts his head to the side slightly. Kid Flash nods, his way of saying she would be fine, but she'd have to stay with him. Robin nods and informs the others of the change in plans while Kid Flash works on getting his girlfriend back in fighting shape, before he could really get started he gets blasted back and Quick Flash's eyes darken in anger, looking around for her target, no one messed with Kid Flash, she throws a shield up in seconds and fights back telekinetically as she finds her opponent, Kid Flash moans as he becomes aware of his surroundings again, he saw Quick Flash in an all-out psychic free for all brawl.
" You can't beat me, Quick Flash. "
" Shows what you know, bitch. " Quick Flash fires back, only to get slammed into the wall, her head connecting hard. What scared Kid Flash the most was he couldn't sense her through the telepathic link anymore, he could feel her pain, but even that was fading. Quick Flash drops to the ground and Kid Flash was up and running, he slammed into her opponent.
" Let me guess, another one of her cousins, right? "
" You're quite correct, Kid Flash, you should know you can't beat me. You can call me Mind Slam. "
Kid Flash's green eyes harden into glittering green diamonds of fury, " You know how no one hurts me because they don't want to piss off Quick Flash, well, hurting Quick Flash pisses me off. "
" You're just a speedster, Kid Flash. "
Kid Flash's eyes start glowing as he activates his empathy, no one hurt his girlfriend and got away with, especially not some jumped up psycho cousin of hers. He could feel Quick Flash's powers flow into him and he pauses, since when could she heal others, she had never shown she had that ability, but it would come in handy now, she was fading and he didn't like it. Aqualad, Superboy, Rocket, and Robin all find Kid Flash in the midst of a psychic free for all, and he was pissed. Robin's eyes look for Quick Flash and they widen. He automatically jumps out of the way when Mind Slam is slammed down where he would have been. Kid Flash zips over and places a foot on her throat, " Stay down, or I will destroy every nerve ending you have, got it? "
She nods, her eyes wide in fear, she hadn't known the boy was an empath, he'd hidden it well, and something told her that she wouldn't be remembering that. The anger left Kid Flash as he rushes over to Quick Flash, worry evident in every action of his. He could barely feel her now and it scared him more than he was willing to admit. Robin was by his bro's side in moments, KF?
She's been holding out on us, she can heal others and I'm going to have to use that ability to save her. Rob, I can barely feel her.
Go for it, but you'll have some explaining to do, a speedster doesn't suddenly throw down in a psychic battle. Totally whelming, by the way.
Not now, Rob.
Robin looks at his bro, he'd never seen Wally this worried, but then again, QF had never come this close to actually dying. Kid Flash manages to heal her with her own power and then he turns towards her cousin, " Never go after her again, or you will be dealing with me, got it. "
She nods even as he makes certain she doesn't remember he's an empath, but that she does remember that messing with Quick Flash had you dealing with one supremely pissed off Kid Flash. Superboy grabs Mind Slam, and she stays docile, she remembered Kid Flash kicking her ass, but not precisely how he did it. Kid Flash picks Quick Flash up and they all head out of the base in Tanzania. Quick Flash had teleported them there. Her eyes flicker open and she teleports her cousin to Hal Jordan, the rest of them she teleports to Barry's house. She goes under again, but at least Kid Flash knows she'll be all right now. He settles her in their room and changes back into his civvies, the others follow suit.
" Wally, please explain how you did that. " Kaldur says.
Wally groans, " I'm an empath, seeing Quick Flash get hurt like that, her nearly dying, I snapped. I tapped her powers and took her cousin down. "
" Why wouldn't you tell us? " Conner asks him.
" Because he's had to deal with his empathy his whole life, and he felt what his father truly felt about him, Wally hates letting anyone else in on his problems. QF is telepathically connected to him all the time, and I'm pretty sure Wally keeps himself empathically linked to her as well, right. " Robin says, he still had his shades on.
Kaldur blinks, " I see. "
Wally sighs, " You're right I do keep linked to her, Rob. "
KF?
God, I hate that she linked you in.
You should tell them, they'll understand.
I can't, I won't.
Artemis had brought Raquel up to speed about what had been discovered about Wally's home life, so she could understand why he wouldn't want anyone else knowing he'd felt how his father truly saw him, truly felt about him. However, she had a more pressing question, " So, what's the deal with you and Quick Flash, Wally? "
Wally curses silently at this question, he wasn't ready to answer it yet, however, he had to trust his teammates, and Conner had come clean about the shields and having Luthor as his human DNA daddy, " We've been dating for the last two years, as long as I don't seriously flirt with any other female then Quick Flash doesn't get mad at me. I'm a Flash, I flirt, it's how I show I care. "
" You keep quiet so that can't be used against you. " Conner says.
" Yeah, we do. Only you guys, the Rogues, and my aunt and uncle know, I'd like to keep it that way, please. " Wally says.
" Wally, the others deserve to know as well. " Robin says.
" If Bats finds out… "
Robin groans, sometimes his mentor/father was such a drag, " Okay, that would be an aster heavy on the dis. We'll keep quiet, right, guys? "
" Sure, I don't have a problem with that. " Raquel says.
" Nor do I, you should be able to tell everyone in your own time. "
" Batman doesn't have a problem with me and M'gann. " Conner says.
" That's because you're technically half alien. It's no secret that Bats isn't exactly that fond of speedsters. " Wally says.
" Plus, he thinks emotion is a weakness, we all saw what happened today, he went ballistic. " Robin says.
" She was dying, Rob, I could barely feel her. " Wally says, he was still shaken up from that and Robin winces.
Sorry, bro.
" We will keep quiet. " Kaldur says.
" I may not have been around long, but even I know you don't break trust with a friend. I'll keep your secret, Wally. " Conner says.
Wally grins at this, but they could all see that what had happened earlier had taken its toll on him, they'd known the teen speedsters were close, but not how close, they still didn't save for Robin. He'd been with them the longest, and he knew exactly how close they were. QF was more likely to collapse into Wally after a battle if the mentors weren't around, she knew Batman would read too much into it. That didn't stop the speedsters from stealing moments on the battlefield when they went off to refuel, or regroup. He'd seen them sneak a few kisses.
Quick Flash suddenly teleports downstairs, and was off like a shot the instant she materialized, the reason why became apparent moments later. " Is that Livewire? " Raquel asks.
Wally grimaces, " Yep, and if Quick Flash gets nailed then it'll hurt like a bitch. I mean, the charge will just keep going on a continuous circuit until the connection is broken. "
" Does she see us? " Kaldur asks.
" Only as our hero personas, Quick Flash will have made sure of that. " Wally states firmly.
Quick Flash takes the fight outside and continues to dance with Livewire in the deadly duel, to think that Livewire was a Superman villain, and Quick Flash had to deal with her almost as often as Gorilla Grod, it was damn annoying. Quick Flash curses as she gets nailed and promptly zips back in, and uses Conner to break the circuit, then she was gone again. As she deals with the electric bitch Wally chuckles, " Be prepared for her to do that again, Conner. You can take electrical hits. She'd call Raven, but with Bats on the lookout for Raven she won't. "
" Who's Raven? " Raquel asks.
" QF's sister in spirit. " Robin answers.
Wally shrugs, " Eh, it works. Yeah, you could say that. Raven has daddy issues and Quick Flash has mommy and mommy family issues. "
" Her mother is Mind Scream. " Robin adds for Raquel's sake.
Raquel's eyes widen at this, " Damn, and that was her cousin that nearly killed her, yeah, she has family issues all right. "
" I agree, no one should have to go through what she does just to exist. I can see the torment in her eyes every so often. " Kaldur says.
Wally sighs, " Yeah, every so often she'll have an entire reunion of sorts in her head. Most of the time she is able to keep that from happening, but every so often her guard is down and she gets inundated by her psycho relatives, if Trickster senses this he'll pop up in her head and I normally head in to. It helps being able to tap her powers when necessary. "
" I never knew that she had to deal with all that. " Conner says.
" She didn't want anyone to. I figure I can tell you guys this and you'll keep your mouths shut, I don't need my girlfriend pissed at me. "
Quick Flash stumbles back in, " Rob, call the League for pick-up of Livewire. "
Wally was at her side in a moment, " Come on, back to bed. "
" Food first, I don't want a damn IV set up again. " Quick Flash moans and heads for the kitchen, with Wally's help. Once she's eaten her fill Wally helps her back up to bed, as long as he kept in empathic contact with her she was alright for the most part. It was only after battle crashes that he could get away with this.
" Rob, you're sticking around and ordering us some pizza, you're the only one that has enough money to pay for two speedsters, possibly three if Uncle Barry gets back here. " Wally says.
" I'll have the order delivered in three hours, that way QF can get the rest she needs, and hopefully not have to fight off another villain in the meantime. " Robin says.
Wally sighs at this, " Are the rest of you staying? "
" Nah, I gotta get home, see ya later, Wally. " Raquel says.
Kaldur and Conner leave as well, leaving Robin and Wally to themselves, once Wally senses they are completely gone he grins, " You can lose the shades, dude. "
The shades are gone and Dick Grayson is finally free to come out, " Finally, I need some Dick time other than school. "
" Yeah, I know, though you might want to at least let Al know where you are. " Wally says.
" Already did. " Dick replies.
GL one, Hal Jordan and GA came to claim Livewire, though GA elected to stay behind, well actually Barry had ordered him to stay with the kids. " Hey, Ollie. " Wally says.
Green Arrow gets into his civvies and looks at the boys, " So, how's Rachel doing? "
" Full recovery. " Wally says.
" Discovered her power to heal, huh? " Oliver Queen asks.
Wally blinks, " How do you know about that? "
" She healed you the one time, Flash honestly thought your own accelerated healing did the job, but if Rachel hadn't healed you that day Wally, you would have died. " Ollie states.
Wally blinks, " Then why doesn't she use it more often? "
" Something to do with her paternal grandmother, she wouldn't say much, but she wouldn't let you die either. " Ollie says.
Dick sighs at this, " Great, she has more secrets than Wally. "
" Hey, you know mine. " Wally retorts.
" I know, I also know that what I don't know you will tell me, when you're ready. " Dick states.
" Got that right, bro. " Wally says firmly.
The three males laugh and joke around, playing Monopoly of all things until Rachel comes down the stairs, " Barry has you playing bodyguard today, Ollie? " she asks.
" Hello to you too, Rachel, and yes. Yes, I also know about you two speedsters, though only because I actually have eyes, plus, Dinah guessed. Knowing why you two would elect to keep quiet. " Ollie says.
That was all Rachel needed to hear before she settled herself on Wally's lap. Wally grins at this, I don't suppose you would care to help me.
Wally, you know I won't help you cheat.
It was worth asking. Wally says and with an arm around her waist he continues to play, thankfully only Uncle Barry ever knew when he was thinking at super speed. Dick might get suspicious, however, Wally had his girlfriend to think of as well. It wasn't often they actually got to do couple stuff and Wally was loving it. If Bats had been their sitter this would never have happened. Ollie ended up winning, barely, as Dick and Wally had decided to merge their assets. " Dick, I am never playing Monopoly with you and Bruce, got that. " Ollie says.
Wally tunes them out and turns his attention to his girlfriend, like he said, he could actually do couple stuff. Dick shakes his head as Wally decides to start making out with his girlfriend, not that he could blame him. Being teen heroes really cut into a person's life, he should know. Ollie grins, he'd have to be careful about when he told Dinah about this. This couldn't get back to the Bat. Batman didn't have a problem with Miss Martian and Superboy, but the teen speedsters hooking up, yeah, he'd have a problem with that.
Ollie and Dick let them have their moment as they adjourn to the living room to watch some TV. Wally's hands run down Rachel's sides as they continue their battle for dominance. Rachel's hands had wound up in his hair and Wally almost whimpers at this, she wasn't playing fair, her hands were vibrating slightly and just the way it made him feel should be criminal. Rach, babe, ya gotta stop, I can't take much more.
One of these days, when we're older I'm not letting up.
I look forward to that day. Wally replies, they eased off a little, so their systems could level out, being speedsters meant that that got hot and bothered fast. They also cooled off fast as well. Both were at the door when the pizza arrived and Ollie ended up paying for it. Why not, he was just as rich as Bruce, " So, how do Barry and Iris afford to feed you two and Barry? "
" Ah, I can swing by my dad's for food whenever. " Rachel says.
" It helps that we can fill up on junk food, plus, we'll swing by Wayne Manor occasionally. " Wally says.
" Why not make the other rich hero pay to feed you more often? " Dick asks.
" Because Roy doesn't live with him anymore. " Wally responds.
Rachel shakes her head at him, already on her second bacon pizza. Dick knew the likes of the speedsters by now. While the speedsters were chowing down Ollie looks at them, " So, how will you two handle the Bat when it comes time for that? "
" I terrify the Bat, he annoys me too much I'll unleash Trickster on him, and trust me, Trickster can be more annoying than the Joker. " Rachel states.
" It's true, besides he views her as a sister, seeing as how they're the only decent family each other has. Trickster may not have strong psychic abilities but his sixth sense is extremely powerful. " Wally states.
" Is that how he always knows when Joker is making a play in Central City and then subsequently stops him with Rachel's help? " Dick asks.
" Yeah, the two of them are very territorial, did you see the latest rendition of the Joker? "
" Yeah, Cat Woman shared it with us. Those two are creative, this time it was Dominatrix Batman. " Dick says.
Ollie blinks, " Let me see this picture. "
Dick shows it to him and Ollie ends up laughing hysterically, " God, that's almost better than Ballerina Batman. "
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.