[Mount Justice

March 21, 20:00 EST]

Everyone on the Team had their own room in Mt. Justice. It was mostly so that they'd have a nearby place to crash after particularly rough missions, but was also a great safe house. True, the Joker did know where the cave was – and that was a little more than terrifying – but he'd never be able to get inside now with all the upgraded security measures they'd had to install after the Reds had attacked.

It was like their home away from home, and for M'gann, Conner, Zatanna…and now Wally, it was their home. Wally was trying really hard not to dwell on that fact, but it was all around him - quite literally - staring him in the face. He didn't want to be upset about it, especially when this was how Conner and M'gann had been living for the past year, but he wanted to be with his aunt and uncle. They weren't even at their own house, though. They were both staying in Uncle Barry's quarters on the Watchtower until they knew the status of the Flash Family's secret identities.

Wally finished hanging the last of his clothes in the closet and shut the door with an exhausted sigh. He was tired of packing and moving and just plain tired actually. After Kilowog had taken out the entire Team and begun giving them first aid, Hal had given Wally some training of his own. That was when Wally had forgiven his family and the League just a little for being so protective and keeping him off the Team.

Because he was out of shape. Like, Hal had smacked the shit out of him. No mercy. And Wally's punches had no weight behind them. He'd never make it through a mission in his current condition. Wally needed to bulk up some and fast. He was really pitiful at the moment, and that was hard to admit, but true.

So, he'd given his all to Hal's exercises and worked himself until his muscles gave out, and then he'd eaten about a quarter of the kitchen. His metabolism was back with a vengeance. It was acting weird lately – burning his calories up at hyper speed like usual one day, and then operating at a regular human's pace the next. Wally had been terrified at first that he was losing his powers, but his superspeed was still there. Maybe…he was finally becoming a real speedster. Uncle Barry could have a massive appetite sometimes, and he could accelerate his metabolism when wanted, but he didn't need to eat in order to use his powers. His speed didn't draw on his body's supply of food for fuel. It wasn't constantly pushing him to starvation.

It…would be really nice to use his powers and not have to worry about getting to food every two hours. And it would be even nicer – absolutely, totally, freaking amazing – if he could keep pace with his uncle when they ran. Wally had been sneaking out for midnight runs every night since he and Dick had burned across half the country in a matter of minutes. He was definitely faster, no question about that, but Wally hadn't been able to reach the same speed that he'd gone that first day when he ran with Dick on his back.

He couldn't figure out what was different. By all rights, the lack of extra weight should have made him faster, not slower. It didn't make any sense.

Wally went to his bed and flopped down on the freshly spread out comforter. Immediately, his arms, stomach, and legs started aching. He grabbed a pillow from the headboard and buried his face in it with a groan. He couldn't remember hurting this badly from a workout since he was ten and Uncle Barry had put him through conditioning when he'd first started out as Kid Flash. It was momentarily overwhelming that he had to start all over again almost from scratch, but then he thought about what Dick had said to him – that they were in this together no matter what.

He felt better instantly.

The door to his room chirped twice to let him know there was someone outside, and it slid open. Wally hardly ever felt the need to lock it. He looked up in time to see a very disgruntled looking Dick stomp in with an ice pack pressed to the side of his head. The boy wonder peeled off his mask and chucked it over his shoulder as the door slid shut behind him. He offhandedly keyed in the lock codes on the control panel and came over to the bed to collapse down on it beside Wally, unclipping his cape and kicking off his shoes.

"Dude, Green Lanterns suck. You can have them back."

Wally laughed at him, "Sorry, man. I would've warned you about Kilowog, but I didn't think you'd ever meet him, and I definitely didn't think you'd have to fight him."

Dick shot him a withering glare and rolled onto his side to turn his back to Wally, "How the hell do you even know him?"

"Oh," Wally couldn't help but laugh again at the memory. "Pretty funny story, actually. I think I was twelve. Anyways, Hal was watching me for the day because it was my weekend to stay with Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris, but then Captain Cold decided that he was in love with Aunt Iris and kidnapped her from the news station. So, Uncle Barry got Hal to watch me while he went to go save her. Well, Hal and I were sitting on the couch watching-"

"Whoa, wait," Dick rolled back over to face him again with an alarmed expression. "Captain Cold kidnapped your aunt?! And he's in love with her?"

"Oh yeah," Wally waved off his surprise. "So is Professor Zoom, but that's a whole other story. Anyways, she was totally fine – maced Captain Cold in his hideout before Uncle Barry even got there. So, Hal and I were sitting on his couch in Coast City watching some movie – I was really sick, by the way; that's why I didn't go with Uncle Barry to help rescue Aunt I – when all of a sudden this huge grey alien with like a ton of teeth busts through the wall, shoots Hal with all this yellow energy stuff, grabs me up, and flies off with me."

Dick snickered suddenly, "You got abducted by an alien?"

"Dude, shut up," Wally cocked an eyebrow at him. "Let's not even get started on how many times you've been kidnapped."

His best friend sputtered indignantly, but Wally just smacked him in the side playfully, "Don't interrupt. So, it turned out that the alien was a Yellow Lantern named Arkillo, and he was sent to Earth by this other Yellow Lantern, Sinestro, to mess with Hal – cause Hal's always got crazy baggage like that going on – just for giggles. So, Arkillo took me to this old Ferris Aircraft hangar and was all 'I'm gonna eat you, human!' for like five seconds. Then, Kilowog comes crashing in and starts kicking the ugly out of Arkillo's face. I guess he was chasing Arkillo all the way here, cause they're from the same space sector or whatever, and they're archenemies. Anyways, Arkillo has Kilowog in this hold, and he's trying to tear off his arm. That's when I decided that it would be a good idea to run up and kick Arkillo in the kneecap."

Dick's eyes widened comically, and the look on his face was priceless.

"Yeah, I was twelve, remember? Terrible idea. I distracted him long enough for Kilowog to break out and cut off Arkillo's ring finger. Then, Hal's lazy butt finally showed up and introduced us," Wally nodded happily. "And Kilowog was all 'This little guy is awesome! Hal, why are you so terrible, and why is he so much cooler than you?' True story."

Dick smiled at him skeptically, "I'm sure that's exactly what went down."

"It happened!"

Dick just shook his head and shifted to lie flat on his back, wincing visibly when his shoulder was jostled.

"Are you alright?" Wally pushed up from the bed to lean over his friend in concern. "You got pretty banged up back there?"

"Yeah," Dick nodded and closed his eyes. "Kilowog put my arm back in correctly while I was still out. I guess I pinched a nerve when I did it myself, but I wasn't really going for finesse at the time. Then, Hal used his ring to scan my head and said everything checked out. I don't have a concussion or anything, but, man, Kaldur's head is hard."

Wally laughed at that, pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged when he saw Dick poking at the offending shoulder irritably, "Well, if Hal says you're fine, then I believe him. He's like the king of head injuries. But, if your shoulder's still hurting, I can massage it for you. I've got magic speedster hands."

He waggled his fingers at his friend as proof. Dick's eyes popped open suddenly, and he stared at Wally with the weirdest expression – like a mix of surprise, intestinal distress, and a little bit of fear. The younger boy started turning bright red, and he shook his head, "No! Uh, no. That's cool; I'm fine really. Just a little stiff right now, but it'll go away on its own. See?"

Dick lifted his arm up and rotated the joint to demonstrate its apparent 'fine-ness'. The arm crackled and snapped loudly several times, and Dick's face contorted into surprised agony before he froze completely and started twitching.

"Oh, yeah. You're totally fine," Wally's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes and moved so that he was sitting on his knees, motioning for Dick to turn over. "Lie on your stomach and stretch your arm out to the side."

Dick shook his head in adamant refusal, "I really don't want one."

"It's not gonna hurt, you big baby," Wally laughed, attempting to roll his friend over himself. "I promise."

But, for some reason, Dick flushed redder and only put up superficial resistance to Wally's manhandling. He eventually gave in and let Wally position him the way he wanted, shoving a pillow under his chest and stretching his arm out at a ninety degree angle obediently. His arm popped unpleasantly, and Wally heard his friend give a little high-pitched squeak of pain. He pretended not to hear it and placed one hand in the center of Dick's back to steady him, gently pressing down on his trapezius muscle to get him to relax. Dick was seized up completely. Wally moved his fingers up the muscle to the very top of Dick's shoulder, closest to his neck, "You were a total badass down there, by the way – when you came up with the plan to destroy the construct planets."

He could see Dick's ears turn red, and he watched his friend turn his head away slightly before focusing on what he was doing one hundred percent.

"Yeah, well, it didn't matter too much," he grumbled. "We still got our butts handed to us."

"Well, you didn't expect to win, did you?" Wally laughed, still trying to get Dick to relax his arm. "Kilowog trains Green Lanterns."

"Yeah, I got that now," Dick huffed stubbornly. He lay still for a few minutes while Wally methodically worked the kinks out of his muscles. "Thanks, though, for helping me figure out how to beat his trap."

"You're welcome," Wally worked his fingers over to the deltoid muscle. Since there was no longer any danger of Dick throwing him off, Wally put his other hand to work massaging the rounded part of Dick's shoulder. "I know you aren't as well versed in the Lanterns as I am – or a lot of the other heroes, actually. Batman really needs to make more super friends. I bet you don't get the chance to see other heroes as often."

Dick shrugged a little, "Superman comes over every once in awhile, but that's about it. Bruce doesn't really like metas in Gotham. You and your uncle are really the only ones he doesn't mind working in his city."

"Really? How come?" Wally chewed on the inside of his cheek as he concentrated. He tried lightly vibrating his palms, and Dick completely melted under his touch.

The younger hero let his head loll to the side bonelessly, and he let out a happy sort of groan, "Collateral damage. You've seen how Superman fights – Metropolis is almost always under construction to clean up after one of his fights. Green Lantern's the same way. They don't pull their punches when they're fighting in a city. Batman likes Flash because he knows how to control his tricks and he taught you how to do it too. Central City and Keystone are almost never torn up."

Wally took a second to think about that. Dick was right; Wally knew for a fact that his uncle could deliver a punch with enough momentum behind it to level a building, but he was always careful in a city. Uncle Barry even made sure to go a slow enough speed that he didn't rip up the streets in his wake.

"You suck at Charades, by the way," Dick mumbled absently while Wally's vibrating fingers forced his aching shoulder into a completely relaxed state.

"Hey, you guessed it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, after I spent five minutes trying to figure out why you were feeling yourself up in front of me," Dick snorted into the pillow.

That made Wally freeze, and then Dick tensed up all over again, "What? Why would I be feeling myself up?! Wait, why would you think I was feeling myself up?"

"I don't know!" Dick said hastily. "I didn't- I was just…I don't know!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Wally laughed, pushing his friend back down when he tried to escape, "I was just teasing you."

"You calm down…" Dick lay down again, smashing his face into the pillow with a 'whump'.

An awkward silence stretched between them then with Dick just steaming and Wally quietly massaging his arm. He moved Dick's arm down to press against his side and worked on the bicep next.

"Zatanna was pretty awesome, huh?"

Wally's hand clenched into a fist suddenly, and he accidentally gripped Dick's sore arm tightly.

"Ow!" the younger boy exclaimed, jerking away instinctively. "What was that?!"

"Sorry!" Wally pulled back and held up his hands. "I-I slipped. Won't happen again! I'm really sorry, man!"

"This is not 'abuse Robin' day," Dick gave a long suffering sigh and stretched out again, his legs half hanging off the side of the bed. His flushed skin slowly turned back to its normal pale color. "Anyways, I was just saying that it was cool how Zee changed our uniforms to look like yours. It was like you were down there with us; it really helped me focus. I do not like fighting without you. It messes up all my plans. I'm so used to tag teaming with you."

Wally's internal reaction to Dick's words was negative at first and then overwhelmingly fantastic. He bristled at Dick's nickname for Zatanna. He really didn't like that they were close enough to be using nicknames. Wally wondered if Zatanna had one for Dick. He seethed quietly at the thought of that.

But, then Dick's admission had also gotten his heart pumping in a very confusing, but pleasant way. Wally really did have a lot of deep rooted insecurities – it was hard not to with how he'd grown up. So, it was really cool to hear that Dick was flustered even a little without him.

"Yeah, that was cool of her," Wally had to admit grudgingly, because it was. Zatanna really was nice, and the Team was stronger because of her. And, really, she'd been nothing but friendly to him. However, Dick had taken an instant liking to her, which bothered Wally something fierce, and he couldn't figure out why.

He wondered if maybe he was subconsciously worried about her taking his place. But that was stupid. It had to be something else.

"How are you doing with the whole living at the cave thing?" Dick asked over his shoulder cautiously.

Wally moved Dick's arm again, this time extending it straight up, "It's alright. I mean, it's better than what Uncle Barry was thinking about. He was going to send me to Alabama to stay with Max, which would've been okay. I mean, I like Max and all, but it's Alabama."

Dick laughed a little at that.

"I guess I'm lucky that Batman just decided all of a sudden to talk Uncle Barry into letting me stay here," Wally said loudly, looking at Dick out of the corner of his eye as he worked. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Dick had to have had a huge hand in getting him moved to the cave.

Predictably, the younger hero looked a little guilty but smiled, "You're welcome?"

"Thanks," Wally chuckled, digging his fingers in a bit harder now to really work out the kinks. "Hey, Max is taking me out running in a few days if you want to come with."

"Ugh, no thanks," Dick closed his eyes again, starting to sound a little like he was beginning to get drowsy. "I'm still good from the other day. I don't normally get motion sickness, but you definitely floored me. I think I'm gonna wait a while before I try that again."

Wally would be lying if he said he wasn't a little smug about that.

"Wait," Dick rolled his head to the side and cracked one eye open to look at him. "I thought Flash was going with you."

"Nah, he can't get the free time to," Wally shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't. "The League's got everyone coordinating with the Lanterns, and I'm sure you heard that they're breaking it to the United Nations tomorrow. So, Max offered to take me instead. Jay might be coming too; I'm not sure."

"I'm glad you'll get to really cut loose soon," Dick mumbled softly, burying his face into the crook of his other arm. Wally was almost done with the injured joint, so he let one of his hands drift over the rest of his friend's back and start massaging the muscles there to help him drift off to sleep faster. He needed the rest after taking a beating like that from Kilowog. "You won't have to worry about me holding you back."

"You don't ever hold me back," Wally smiled.

"I do when you're running 2,937 miles per hour," Dick snorted, yawning once and then going quiet.

"True," Wally had to agree. He hadn't been able to replicate that kind of speed a second time yet, but even if he could, he wouldn't risk going that fast again with Dick. If anything went wrong – if he even tripped once – his best friend was dead instantly. Wally waited for Dick to say something else, but his friend's breathing had evened out, and he was definitely already asleep.

Carefully, Wally moved back from his best friend and tossed the half of the comforter that he wasn't already lying on top of over him. He kicked off his own shoes and reached up to flick off the lights before awkwardly drawing his legs up so that he could fit on the upper half of the bed without jostling Dick. It was eight o' clock, which was a little too early to be going to sleep, but he hadn't been getting the best night's sleep lately. Dick had stayed with him in Keystone for the first couple days after they'd found out about his father breaking out of the Watchtower, but then he'd been called back to Gotham. And Wally had gotten next to no sleep in the last two nights since. Turns out he slept just fine with Dick next to him but was plagued with nightmares when he was alone.

He settled in for the night as best he could, hoping that his friend's presence would stave off the night terrors long enough for him to grab a few hours of unbroken rest.

Unfortunately, this night would prove to be no different. Wally tossed and turned restlessly, caught in the throes of one of the worst nightmares yet. He dreamed that his father had found him somehow and broken into the cave while they all slept. Wally's father walked into his room and stared at him with the same cold, hate-filled eyes that he'd had the day he'd pulled a gun on him in the staircase.

Wally froze in fear, his heart flying into overdrive as his father stalked towards him, pulling a long, kitchen knife from behind his back. It was wet and glossy with blood – his mother's blood. Wally tried to sit up and jerk backwards, but his limbs didn't respond. He looked down at them frantically and felt his stomach drop into his feet. His body was moving, but in extreme slow motion. Wally pushed himself as hard as he could to escape his steadily approaching father, but his arms and legs continued moving at a snail's pace. He managed to crawl away an inch when he looked back and saw that his father had stopped and was looking slightly to his left. Wally's eyes darted to the side and his heart clenched tightly like someone was gripping it with both hands.

Dick was still asleep on the bed beside him, completely unmoving except for the soft rise and fall of his back.

Wally's father glanced at him with a dark smile and deftly twirled the knife between his fingers before taking a few steps towards Dick. Abruptly, Wally's fear for himself vanished entirely, and he felt his heart beat frantically in a different kind of alarm.

"No!" Wally tried to scream. He desperately tried to push through whatever lock was on his speed, but it was like the air was thicker than molasses. Wally watched, petrified, as his father stood over Dick with the knife. His whole body vibrated wildly in terror, and he fought hysterically to bridge the few feet between them. "Get away from him!"

His dad grabbed Dick's shoulder and roughly shoved him onto his back, bracing himself on the bed with one hand and tauntingly placing the tip of the knife right over Dick's heart. Dick didn't so much as twitch in his sleep.

No no no no, God no! Wally's chest constricted, and he couldn't breathe. His father shot him another hateful glare and started to drive the knife down.

Wally jerked awake with a soundless, rattling gasp. He sat upright, shivering convulsively, and looked around the darkened room wildly before his eyes found Dick lying motionless beside him. With a startling speed, especially in contrast to the nightmare, he leaned closer and watched his friend sleep until he was positive that he saw Dick breathing. He covered his mouth with one shaking hand and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes and trying to control his racing heartbeat.

Not real. Not real Not real.

He cracked one eye open again to look at Dick. Still breathing. He's breathing. No knife. It wasn't real. Not real. St-still alive. Wally threaded his fingers through his hair and clenched them into fists, feeling the roots pull painfully. Hot tears burned at his eyes and rushed down his face, and Wally drew his knees up to his chest as he began to crumble. He thought of his mother and of Dick's vibrant blue eyes, and the stoic look of death in his father's face, and he remembered the cold, helpless feeling of all the blood in his body quickly seeping out.

Wally took deep, shuddering breaths to steady himself and reached out to pull the pieces of himself back together, but they wouldn't stick. It was like the harder he tried to keep them in place, the more pieces separated from the whole. He tilted his head back to press against the wall behind him.

He needed to run.

Wally was off the bed and on his feet in moments. He strode towards the door but stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at Dick unsurely. They were a team now – always had been, but especially were now. He moved back to the bed and grasped Dick's shoulder tentatively. The boy wonder sniffed suddenly and snuggled into the bed further. Wally gently shook him and whispered his friend's name quietly.

"Hnnrn?" Dick opened his eyes groggily.

"Dick, I've gotta go," Wally croaked.

"Wha-?"

"I have to go for a run," Wally cleared his throat.

Dick looked at him blearily, confused. "What? O-Okay. Have fun…"

He was still too asleep, Wally realized. Dick wasn't usually such a heavy sleeper. He suddenly remembered how quickly his friend had fallen asleep earlier. Hal must've given him something for the pain – something that helped knock him out. Otherwise, Dick would be much more alert right now, instead of losing the battle with his eyelids to keep them open. Wally let his friend roll back over and quickly fall unconscious. Leaving without making absolutely sure that Dick understood what he was doing would probably make him angry, but Wally really didn't want to disturb him.

He wanted to run and run until he ran out of Earth or energy, whichever came first. But, if Dick didn't know he would be gone, Wally would restrict himself to the state of Rhode Island. As frustratingly tiny as the state was, he could at least do that if he was going out alone.

Wally pulled his best running shoes back on – the 'obnoxious yellow monstrosities' that Dick disliked and that Roy had gotten him for his birthday – and zipped to the door, straining to see the control panel in the dark. He tapped in the unlocking code and the door slid open with a soft noise, revealing the dark, almost black walls of the hallway. Wally tried to zip out the door.

"Huwaagh!" he tripped over something big and went crashing to the floor with a smack. Wally hefted himself onto his side and looked up when whatever he'd tripped over gave a startled grunt and stood up. He strained to see what it was, and tried to force his eyes to adjust more quickly to the dark.

"You okay?" a quiet voice asked from the shadows.

"What the- Conner?" Wally whispered, getting to his feet and poking his head back into his room for a second to see if all the noise had woken Dick. It hadn't. He shut the door and turned back around to face his teammate. "What are you doing out here?"

"Sleeping," the half-Kryptonian offered awkwardly.

"Outside my room?" Wally cocked his head in confusion. He could just barely make out his friend's outline in the darkened hallway. Conner shifted uncomfortably and nodded.

"I…wanted to make sure you were okay."

Wally eyes widened in surprise as he realized what he meant.

Conner had been standing guard outside of his door.

He felt an odd tightening in his chest as Conner took his arm and pulled him out of the hallway and into the dimly lit common room that was attached to the kitchen. Once there was sufficient lighting, they came to a stop, and Conner turned Wally to see him better. Then, his eyebrows turned downwards in concern.

Wally suddenly thought about what he must look like: soaked with sweat, pupils still dilated from fear, face streaked with tears. He wiped at his eyes furiously and looked up at Conner as calmly as he could, trying to avoid his friend's clear blue eyes.

Conner could have given him a pity-filled look. He could have pulled Wally into an awkward hug and said something empty and generic and comforting. He could have confronted him about the tears and demanded that Wally tell him about the nightmare.

Instead, he went to the fridge and pulled out the leftovers from a lasagna that M'gann had probably made the night before. Conner put the whole thing in the microwave, knowing full well that there was no point in cutting out just one slice, or even five, for a speedster. He set the pitcher of sweet tea that no one but Wally really ever drank on the counter. Max had introduced Wally to the magic of southern sweet tea a few years ago, and he'd been hooked ever since. Most of the others complained that it had way too much sugar in it, though.

Wally gave a shaky sigh of relief that Conner had to have heard but was kind enough to pretend that he didn't. He trudged his way over to the counter and sat down on one of the barstools surrounding the center island with the sink. He finished drying his eyes while Conner's back was turned and quickly checked the time on his wristwatch. Midnight. Well, four hours of sleep in a row wasn't too bad for him lately. Wally kept his eyes glued to the counter, only looking up when the whole container of steaming leftovers was placed in front of him along with a cup and a fork.

Suddenly famished, Wally dug into the homemade lasagna while Conner poured them both cups of tea. The half-Kryptonian took a few bites of the leftovers right out of the ceramic cooking dish and appeared to be thinking hard while he chewed, though he didn't say anything until they'd both polished off the lasagna and a few slices of cold garlic bread. Wally was already feeling a little better – calmer – with the intake of food and sugar.

"You know a lot of Green Lanterns."

Wally was startled by the sudden statement. He'd been overwhelmingly relieved when Conner didn't mention the fact that he'd been crying, but he'd honestly expected him to say something about it. "Yeah…um, Green Lanterns and the Flashes have always been pretty tight, I guess. I met a lot of them through my uncle."

"Would you ever want to be one?" Conner asked quietly, frowning just a little like he was trying to work out a puzzle. Wally could relate; he had no idea where that question had come from.

"A Green Lantern?" Wally repeated quizzically. He thought about it for a second, then shook his head and made a face. "No, I don't think I'd make a very good one. I'm too scatterbrained. What about you?"

Conner shook his head with a smile and placed his thick arms on top of the counter, "I'm better at other things…"

He trailed off and flexed his muscles once sheepishly, and Wally couldn't help but give a breathless sort of laugh. Conner's smile widened a little at the sight of Wally's own, but neither said anything else for a long time. They just sat together in the kitchen until Wally had one hundred percent recovered from his nightmare and was no longer full of manic energy. He still needed to run though; the cave was making him a touch claustrophobic.

Wally set the empty lasagna dish in the sink to soak and then hopped down from the barstool, earning a questioning look from Conner. He jerked his thumb at the exit to the room and gave his friend a small smile, "I'm just going to get a little fresh air before I go back to bed, okay?"

Conner nodded silently, seemingly satisfied with the plans. He made no move to follow, and for that Wally was relieved.

"Promise me you'll actually go sleep in your own room?" Wally gave a short laugh. "I don't want you to be hunkered down on the floor all night."

Conner shrugged like it was no big deal.

Wally zipped to the doorway and paused, turning back around to face Conner, "Thank you. For…you know… I feel better."

The pleased smile that he got in return from the half-Kryptonian was the last thing he saw before he zoomed away through the hallways and straight to an exit that led to a rather small ledge sticking out from the side of Mt. Justice. Wally opened the heavy metal door after he entered his security code and stepped out into the blessedly freezing night air, feeling a mixture of relief and alarm when he felt the wind blow right through his clothes to rush across his chilled skin and when he saw that he wasn't alone up on the outcropping.

Wally instantly fell back into a defensive stance, his heart hammering madly in his chest as thoughts of his father flew into his head.

"I figured you would try sneaking out again to go running by yourself."

His entire body went slack in relief. He could see Roy illuminated by the moonlight, perched on the edge of the cliff easily. The archer glared over his shoulder at Wally like he was bored.

"How long have you been out here?" Wally took in the slushy mountainside and white speckled town below. "It's like fifty degrees."

Roy just shrugged and adjusted his leather jacket and gloves unconcernedly, "Few hours. I was waiting for you to try and make a break for it. This is the only exit with no cameras."

"That's…really creepy, Roy. How did you know I've been going out for runs at night?" Wally slowly walked over to his older brother figure and sat down beside him, swinging his legs out over the ledge.

Roy shifted his motorcycle helmet to his other side to give Wally more room and handed him a second riding jacket that he seemed to produce from thin air, "I have my ways."

"No, seriously," Wally pulled the jacket on and stuffed his hands into the pockets for warmth. "Batman did a sweep on me for bugs and trackers and stuff, and he said that I was clean. So, how did you know?"

"Because I know you, idiot," Roy softly smacked him in the back of the head. "And I brought my bike so I could go with you."

Wally made a face, "Your motorcycle? Ugh, that thing is so slow. I can just ca-"

"You are not carrying me," Roy ground out firmly. He shot Wally a warning glare, but the speedster didn't get it.

"Why not? I carry Dick all the time."

"I'm not Dickie-bird," Roy said mockingly.

"You don't weigh that much more than me," Wally paused and looked down at himself. "Well, what I used to weigh… Anyways, it's not even hard at all once I get some momentum going."

"It's not about that," Roy growled at him. "You're not carrying me! It's a matter of dignity."

Wally threw both hands up in defeat and bit back a grin, knowing that it would only make Roy angrier. If that was even possible…

"How do you even have time to come here?" he changed the subject, deciding that it would actually be kind of hilarious to try and pick up Roy. "I thought the League was busy."

"I'm on my allotted sleep time," Roy shot back sharply. "Decided to spend it watching you, since you're so determined to be stupid."

Wally bristled, and he retaliated with his very best insult, "You're stupid! Go get some sleep!"

Roy looked over at him and calmly raised an eyebrow, "I'll go to sleep if you go back to sleep and take a pass on running tonight."

"No," Wally sat back stubbornly and crossed his arms over his chest. He was getting real tired of everyone telling him what to do.

Surprisingly, Roy didn't start yelling at him or crumple up his face into the biggest scowl this side of Gotham. He actually smirked at Wally and reached out to flick him in the ear affectionately, "There you are. I was wondering what happened to that spark in your eyes. I was getting a little worried when the only thing I saw from you was this weepy little victim who was letting everyone push him to the background of his own life."

Wally just stared at Roy wide-eyed while his mind sped through the last few months at hyper speed. He was right. Wally had let himself be the victim, and he'd let control of his own fate be taken from him. It had to stop.

"So, where do you want to go?"

"The Salt Flats," Wally responded automatically. That had been the very first place that Uncle Barry took him to test out his speed. It was a vast expanse of flat, barren Earth with no people around for miles. The perfect place for running flat out with no restraint. "It's in Utah."

"Alright then," Roy grinned at him and got to his feet, slinging his helmet over his shoulder. "Let's snag the first zeta tube to Star City and get over there."

Wally was on his feet seconds later, a real smile on his face and brimming with new confidence, "Forget that. I'll race you there from here!"

His body hummed excitedly in the face of the new challenge, and he started stretching his arms and legs to prep them a little in anticipation. Central City to Texas had been one thing, but Rhode Island to borderline Nevada was another entirely. It was at least twice the distance, and Wally was eager to beat his previous time for that kind of run.

Roy didn't have quite the same reaction. He frowned at Wally in confusion, "How would you beat me to Utah from here if you were running? Star City is in California. You're not that fast."

Wally froze in the middle of rotating his shoulders, and he stared at Roy like a deer caught in headlights.

Oops.

"Wally…" Roy said slowly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Uh…I kind of am that fast now…" he admitted carefully, watching Roy like a zebra watches a lion.

"Since when?" Roy looked angry again at being kept out of the loop. He took one predatory step towards Wally.

"Since I died," Wally stammered nervously. Roy flinched visibly at his words but didn't pause in his approach. "Sorry. I didn't want to tell anyone 'cause I was afraid they'd restrict me more."

"Whose brilliant idea was that? Yours or Dick's?" Roy asked sarcastically.

"How did you know I told Dick?" Wally inquired curiously, still backing away from his brother. He hadn't really told Dick anything since he'd been there when it happened, but he doubted that Roy would care very much about the distinction.

Roy gave him a look like he'd just said something stupid, "You tell Dick everything. So, whose idea was it?"

"Dick's…" Wally sighed unhappily. He needed to stop being so predictable.

"I'll talk to the both of you about this later, but you need to stop following his lead. He's fourteen, for Christ's sake," Roy jabbed one finger into Wally's chest roughly. "For now, let's just zeta over to Star and head to the Salt Flats."

"Fine," Wally smacked Roy's hand aside and strode back to the hidden entrance to the cave. He made another mental note to ignore that particular piece of advice. "But when we get there, you're racing me on foot."