Robin first met Kid Flash in Central City. It was their first real meeting - the first time they spoke.

Batman and Robin were waiting on a rooftop across the street from an art museum. Robin impatiently checked the time on his wrist computer. "They're late." It was only a minute, but still. "Do you think something happened to them?" he asked quietly.

"The Flash is always late," Batman said in the tone of voice he always used on the job - no nonsense with just a hint of irritation.

"How is that possible?" Robin asked. "We are the ones who had to travel the long way. How is it physically possible for someone with super speed to be late?"

"The League's theory is that his super-speed is compensated by super-lateness."

Suddenly, two streaks ran up the building and stopped next to them.

"I told you we were going to be late," Kid Flash complained to his mentor.

"We're not late," the Flash shrugged it off with a casual smile. Then he looked at Batman a little nervously. "Are we?"

"The Royal Flush Gang hasn't started yet," Batman answered.

The Flash's costume was almost entirely red with just a few yellow accents. Kid Flash had an even mix of yellow and red. His mask was open at the top, letting his long orange bangs blow in the wind. Robin wondered how that didn't cause problems for his secret identity - Robin only got away with it because black hair was so common. He was taller than Robin - about two years older.

Two years... It's been that long already, hasn't it?

Robin pushed the thought out of his mind. This was their formal introduction. He smiled, stepped forward, and held out his hand. "Robin - Boy Wonder."

The other sidekick accepted the handshake. "Kid Flash - Boy Speedster."

He finally said what he wanted to since Kid Flash caught that bullet. "I've been wanting to say thanks for saving me. You know, back when you were sneaking around Gotham. I owe you one."

Kid Flash blinked. "Uh... Sure. No sweat."

"That being said," Robin continued with a wide grin, "I could have dodged it on my own, of course."

Kid Flash hesitated a moment, then he smiled back. "Suuuure you could've."

"I so could. I've been doing this way longer than you have."

"Yeah, but have you been doing it faster?"

That made Robin laugh. Then he became slightly more serious. "Speaking of faster, I have a quick question about your powers. I know the Flash can vibrate his molecules fast enough to move through solid matter. Can you do that yet, or are you still learning?"

He looked a little uncomfortable. "Truth is... I'm unable to vibrate my molecules. Whenever I try... I..." He paused. "I get a nosebleed."

That made Robin laugh again.

"It's not funny!" Kid Flash snapped.

Robin coughed and straightened his face.

Eventually, Kid Flash smiled a little and said, "Okay, I guess it is."

"Something's happening," the Flash said.

They looked down at the art museum. All was dark inside. But from inside the lobby, the faint glimmer of a flashlight could be seen through the glass doors.

Time to go to work, Robin thought.

.

What does it mean to be in danger?

Robin had a slightly different opinion than most people. In the front of his mind, he knew that it was possible to be killed each time he fought with a supervillain, or any petty criminal with a gun. And yet he didn't think it would really happen, because he was good at his job - because he did know how to risk his life without losing it.

That mentality was why he was never scared of performing without a net - because he was good enough on the trapeze that he didn't need one. Unless someone like Tony Zucco broke the rules.

There was always a chance of being badly hurt on a mission, but Robin wasn't scared. He had gone through the motions before. And tonight there were two speedsters helping them out. The risk was negligible.

Being in danger is different from really being in danger. That's what Robin thought.

The five members of the Gang were beaten in no time. The police came to collect them and the art was returned to the museum. The four heroes regrouped on another rooftop.

"The Flash and I need to discuss a few things before we return to Gotham," Batman said. "Wait here."

The two adult heroes walked to the opposite edge of the rooftop, leaving plenty of space for the two sidekicks.

'Discuss,' yeah right, Robin thought.

Batman and Flash weren't here to discuss things. This night wasn't even really about the Royal Flush Gang. This whole thing was just an excuse for Robin and Kid Flash to become friends.

Robin felt like they were a pair of pandas and the zookeepers shoved them into the same tank hoping they'd mate. He was annoyed at the adults.

But on the other hand, Robin really did want to get to know Kid Flash. It was like he swapped positions with all the other children he met over the years: Kid Flash was the amazing, interesting, new kid in town and Dick Grayson was the stationary kid who wanted to ask questions and see his tricks.

"Hey," Robin spoke up. "You can tell me to mind my own business, but... What made you want to be a crime fighter?"

What makes someone, who has powers and no one to avenge, use those powers for good instead of evil?

The taller boy looked over to the other side of the roof, where his uncle stood, and he said, "The Flash was my idol. I wanted to be just like him." He shrugged. "That's all there was to it, really."

That's all there was to it. He didn't need a better reason. That made Robin smile.

Kid Flash looked back to Robin. "How about you? Why did you start being Robin?"

He stopped smiling. He couldn't tell the whole story - for several reasons - so instead he simply said, "I had a bad day once."

"A bad day?"

"A really bad day... I thought if I joined Batman, I could help stop other people from having bad days, the way I did."

"I see..." Kid Flash lowered his head. "I guess my reason seems stupid compared to yours."

Robin did not expect to hear that. "I didn't say that. I like your reason."

Kid Flash looked back up at him, with a skeptically raised eyebrow. Robin noticed that he didn't smile very often.

"You know, back in Gotham City," Robin said, "I've seen a bunch of people who suddenly got superpowers or fancy weapons, and all they wanted to do is steal stuff or get revenge on someone. You could be doing anything with your speed, but you want to stop crime. The reason you want to be like the Flash is 'cause you're a good person, right?"

Kid Flash didn't look skeptical anymore. Instead, he seemed taken aback by the praise. "...I never thought of it like that before."

The Flash was always so cheerful and outgoing. He was friendly, confident, and even a bit of a ham. But Kid Flash wasn't like that. He acted like that in his (very rare) appearances on the news. But up close, it was almost like he was ready to go hide somewhere.

"You're a little different than what I imagined," Robin told him.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. You just seem sort of down on yourself. You should lighten up more."

"Lighten up?" Kid Flash pointed a thumb towards Batman. "This coming from a disciple of the 'dark blackness of night' or whatever?"

Robin laughed. "That's not being down. That's being intimidating," he shot back. "And even Batman has a brighter side deep down... Way deep."

"You don't say?"

"A lot of people think Batman is heartless because he's putting a little kid like me in danger. I think some of the Justice League is mad at him for it. But even if he raises me in an 'unconventional' way, he really does care about me."

Unconventional but caring, just like Dick's family.

.

Doing tricks on a trapeze is always dangerous, but some stunts are more dangerous than others.

For as long as he could remember - literally - Dick practiced his moves carefully, under controlled conditions. He wasn't allowed to do them without a net, nor in front of an audience, unless his parents were certain he was ready for it.

In spite of how much Dick begged to do the really exciting stuff right away, his parents made him practice first. They explained that it was dangerous unless you really knew what you were doing. Practice, perfection, then performance - that was the rule. Dick remembered sneaking away and fooling around on his own when he was six, and he dislocated his shoulder. He got in a lot of trouble for that.

"But Cousin John said he did that stunt on his own when he was my age," Dick protested.

"What?!" Everyone looked at John, who most definitely didn't look nervous or guilty at all.

Dick's parents were good parents, so were his aunt and uncle. They were responsible parents. They didn't let their kids do anything dangerous unless they were definitely ready for it.

But there were people who thought they shouldn't do dangerous stunts at all.

Dick remembered a group of protestors standing outside of the circus once. Or maybe they weren't protestors, maybe they were social services, or something. Dick was a little kid. He didn't know or care. The point was they stood outside the tent arguing with Jack Haly and any of the customers they could force to listen. They were angry that the circus would force little children to perform without a net.

Dick overheard his cousin call them "presuntuoso." It was an Italian word. He said it meant that they thought they were better than everyone else, their way was the right way, even though they had nothing to back it up with. (Dick later learned the English word was "pious," though he wasn't sure that was an accurate translation. It didn't sound very English either.)

Those protestors wanted Dick and John taken away from the circus. They kept yelling things like it was inhumane to make children risk their lives for entertainment, they deserve to have a stable home, they should be in school and have a proper education, they should have indoor plumbing, blah blah blah.

Dick's mom held onto his shoulders protectively. Jack Haly was usually a happy and charming man but never ever accepted BS from anyone and told those people that he didn't care what they think because separating those kids from their family was never. Ever. Going. To. Happen.

The protestors still insisted that the children deserved a "good home" in the "real world." At that point, Dick broke away from his mother's hold and ran up to those people, saying, "My home is good!"

One person looked down - with a word Dick later learned was "condescending" - and said, "You only think that because you don't know any better."

Those words really got under Dick's skin. He heard them a few more times over the years.

He met kids in every country he went to. Most of them were impressed by his life in the circus. But some kids focused on the bad parts. The so-called "civilized" people couldn't understand how anyone could be happy without a stable home and a comfy bed. Dick told them that families were different all over the world; there was no "right" or "wrong" way to live.

"You only think that because you don't know any better."

But the circus was a good place to live. Dick told himself they were wrong. They had to be wrong.

But when his parents died and he was sent to live in Gotham City, it felt like those protestors had "won" somehow.

.

Back to Robin and Kid Flash. They talked a little about friends. Turns out, Kid Flash said he didn't have many. His exact words were, "I'm just incredibly unpopular." That was another surprise for Robin.

"You got your super speed recently, right?"

"Well, not 'recent' recent. It was a few months ago." Kid Flash smiled proudly. "As a matter of fact, I got my super speed by redoing the same experiment that gave it to the Flash."

Robin already knew that, of course. But he knew Kid Flash was trying to impress him, and he didn't want to steal his thunder. "That's amazing," he said with a sincere smile. "You did the experiment all by yourself?"

"Yeah. I found the Flash's notes about it, and copied it all on my own."

"How did you get the chemicals?"

"Legally," Kid Flash said quickly. "Technically."

Robin smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes for long. "So, before that... You were the same as all your classmates, right...? You were normal."

Kid Flash looked at him a little strangely. "I guess..."

Robin hesitated, and then he asked, "What is that like?"

He looked more confused than before. "You know what it's like. You don't have powers."

"No, I'm not talking about superpowers. I mean... being 'normal'... Being the same as everyone else, instead of a crime fighter or... anything else."

Wally had a nuclear family. He lived in the suburbs. He went to a public school. He knew all the things his classmates knew. He understood the references to all the movies and TV shows. He cared about things like late homework and how his clothes look. He knew things without having to be told, like how you weren't supposed to leave your desk in the middle of class.

Kid Flash and Robin were both kid heroes, but they weren't the same at all.

"What does being 'normal' even mean? Are the kids in our schools normal?" Robin asked. "Then how exactly do you get to be like them?"

"I hated being normal," Kid Flash blurted out. "I never wanted to be the same as everyone else. I wanted to be special. That's why I gave myself super speed. You know what 'normal' is? It's just a fancy word for 'not noticed.' I hated being ignored... I still hate it."

"Then why does everyone else act like it's so important?" Robin quietly asked. "Why does everyone care so much about fitting in and being the same?"

Kid Flash casually answered, "They don't know any better."

Robin looked at him in shock.

A moment later, Robin doubled over in laughter. A loud, genuine laughter that clearly confused Kid Flash. Once he got his breathing under control, he said, "Yeah... Maybe you're right... Maybe it wasn't me after all."

Robin decided then that he liked Kid Flash. He wanted them to be friends. But - just like back in the circus - Robin would have to leave him behind and go on to Gotham City. With the problem of secret identities, it's not like they could call each other on the telephone whenever they wanted. But Robin was sure: they would meet again, sometimes.

And they did meet again. There were other missions, other team-ups. Robin met Speedy again, and later met Aqualad. And he saw Kid Flash a few more times. It was a strange, part-time friendship, but Robin liked it.

Robin was eleven when he first met Kid Flash.

.

Dick Grayson was twelve when he first met Wally West. It was late November when he went to Central City and told the older boy his secret identity. Wally just turned fifteen. Dick would be thirteen soon.

They sat together on a rooftop - a different building than last time. It was dark now. Dick had been talking about his past for a long while.

"What made today different?" Wally asked.

"Different from what?" Dick replied.

"From the day we met," Wally said. "From any day. What made you tell me your identity today?"

"I told you. I was feeling down. I wanted to get this stuff off my chest," Dick answered simply.

"Why were you feeling down today?"

"I just was."

"From what you've been telling me, you feel down a lot," Wally said just as simply. "Never told me your life story before."

Dick stared at him for a moment. Then he got irritable. "Am I keeping you from something? Was today a bad day for you?"

"Not at all."

"Then why do you keep asking me that?"

"Why do you keep dodging the question?"

"I'm not. I told you why I came."

"Well, I'm not buying the whole 'I just felt like it' excuse."

Dick glared at him, trying to decide how to respond.

Wally hung his head and rubbed his face for a moment. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore. I'm not trying to force you to tell me. You don't have to tell me everything. If it's none of my business, fine - but I'm not stupid! Don't expect me to believe you did this for no reason. I know there's more to the story than that."

"What makes you such a big expert?" Dick shot back.

"Because I've been there," he said emphatically. "Dick, you didn't sneak out of the house and run down the street. You hacked into a Zeta Beam and teleported to another state. That's a big deal. Now, it's easier for me to run away to another state. I have super speed. I wanted to be a superhero my whole life, so when I got my speed and my uncle told me I still couldn't be one, I was so angry I ran all the way to Gotham City. And now you ran away to my city."

Wally looked Dick in the eyes. "That's how I know... Nobody runs like that when it's just another day."

Dick was quiet for a very long time. He lowered his head, and he said, "You're right... Of course you're right. It's not another day. Today is... very different."

Dick stood up and walked to the edge of the rooftop. He stared down at the sidewalk far below.

Wally watched his back. Silently. Patiently.

Dick spoke up. "You know my uncle? The one who survived the fall but was paralyzed? The one I never visit?"

"Yes," Wally answered.

"Well..." Dick hesitated a while longer, and then he finally said the reason he came here today. "He died last night."

.

Author's Notes: (Posted 3/20/2017) To see Robin and Kid Flash's first meeting from Wally's perspective, please read chapters 9 and 10 of "Fate Plays Favorites." Way back when I wrote that two years ago, I said I'd write it from Dick's perspective one day. Of course, the final result was a little different than I thought back then.

The frame story is finally coming full circle. The next few chapters will be about how Dick came to Central City and started telling this story to Wally.