[The Watchtower
March 26, 13:00 EST]
Somehow, Wally's life had turned around one hundred eighty degrees overnight. He went from being an abused kid forced to lie to the people he respected and looked up to most in the world to a hero. Word had spread about how he risked his life to destroy the Manhunter base, and since then, almost every member of the Justice League had come up to him to say congratulations, mess up his hair a little, and tell him how impressed they were.
It was extremely weird.
Logically, Wally knew that he had saved the League from that battalion of Manhunters, but he'd never expected any recognition for it. He was more than a little tired of being in the spotlight, so he was ready for it all to be over. Uncle Barry had done his best to field most of the Leaguers, but some would not be denied. John Stewart and Hawkwoman were two of the most adamant visitors.
John came with Hal the very next day. He'd immediately slapped Wally roughly on the back – after Uncle Barry pried Wally out of Hal's unrelenting bear hug – and declared that he was toeing the line. After Wally had asked what he meant, John playfully accused him of trying to make the Green Lantern Corps look bad by taking out all those Manhunters by himself.
They hadn't stayed very long. The map he'd brought back had allowed the Corps and the League to locate every single Manhunter base on the planet. He'd been told by Hal and John that they were mounting a full assault on the bases and were already a third of the way finished clearing them out. And, most importantly, everyone was getting vital experience fighting real Manhunters.
Hawkwoman came alone. Wally wasn't as familiar with her as he was with a lot of the other League members. He'd actually hit on her the very first time they met, which had earned him two whacks with an Nth metal mace – one from Shayera…and one from her husband…
Regardless, she'd apparently found his spunkiness charming, because she often tossed him winks on the rare occasions when her missions overlapped with the Team's. She also liked to hang out with John a lot, so she gave Wally combat tips when they saw each other. She'd even managed to pull Wally into the 'kill' contest she had going – which she'd explained was wins against villains. His own count wasn't too terribly pathetic, since a lot of his tallies were tied to takedowns that he'd done with his uncle, but it was nowhere near hers or Hawkman's. And, that was what she'd come to see him about. The whole Manhunter base thing had skyrocketed his count way above hers, and she'd tried to contend it, which was a moot point, because no, blowing up all those Manhunters absolutely did not only count as one point.
Once she'd left, Aunt Iris had tried to make him rest some more and take it easy. Wally understood why, seeing as he'd spent the last few months in mortal danger. But, confessing everything and deciding to continue his life free from the darkness of his past had filled him with excited energy, and Wally couldn't handle being cooped up in one room any longer.
He rested his chin on his forearms as he stared out the window at Earth, leg jumping up and down restlessly. Oh, he wanted to run. It really was not cool for a speedster to be restricted like this. Normally, his fidgeting drove his aunt crazy, but she hadn't told him to stop even once yet. Wally guessed that she was still feeling too guilty to reprimand him, despite him and Uncle Barry telling her over and over that she wasn't to blame. He really hoped things got back to normal soon, because there were several things he really shouldn't be allowed to get away with.
Almost right on cue, the door slid open with a soft noise, and Wally turned in time to see Uncle Barry walk in. He'd left an hour ago to check in with the League and had probably spent a good deal of that time being hounded by Dick for news on Wally. Apparently, the boy wonder was getting impatient to see him again, because almost every single visitor had brought a message from him with them. Dick was under the false impression that Wally was no longer being allowed visitors. Wally had frantically begged his uncle to say that Aunt Iris didn't want anyone else to see him until he got more rest, because he wasn't quite ready to face his best friend yet.
Dick knew that Wally was in love with him. He'd seen his memories, which meant that he saw Professor Zoom say that. It hadn't occurred to Wally that the League would let Dick watch his memories too, so he hadn't worried about it until he found out. Now, he had no idea what he was going to say to Dick. He could lie and pretend that Zoom had gotten it wrong, but too many weird things had happened between him and Dick the last few weeks for the boy wonder to believe that. He could own up to it and just confess, but that possibility left a horrifying amount of room for their entire friendship to be destroyed.
So, he was hiding.
His aunt and uncle had been surprisingly cool about it. Neither one had mentioned Dick beyond the fact that he kept asking to see Wally, but he knew that they'd both seen his memories. They were both pretty laid back about most controversial topics and tended to be open-minded about a lot of things, so Wally hadn't spent a lot of energy worrying about them hating him for how he felt about Dick. But, he'd thought that one of them would have mentioned it by now. They were probably just respecting his silence and waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to bring it up.
Either way, Wally greatly appreciated the space.
"You up for some exercise, Kid?" Uncle Barry asked with his Midwestern drawl and one of the easiest smiles Wally had seen on him since he escaped. He held up one hand, twirling a pair of bright red goggles around his finger, and tossed a bundle of something at him lightning fast. Wally lurched forward to catch it, puzzling over his uncle's words until he realized what was in his hands.
His costume…
Wally's eyes flew open wide, and he gripped the red and yellow fabric convulsively. A wide grin spread across his face, and he turned the uniform over in his hands until he found the lightning bolt logo stamped on the chest. Man, he couldn't wait to be Kid Flash again. He knew he hadn't really stopped, but it would be great to actually put on the costume again – to feel like himself again.
"Are you kidding?!" Wally asked like it was the stupidest question in the world. He zipped into the connecting bathroom, changed into the costume, and dashed back out again before Aunt Iris had finished typing one word in the article she was writing. "I'm like dying in here!"
It was a poor choice of words, and everyone in the room flinched a little, but Uncle Barry shook off the surprise and grinned again as Wally was internally cringing at the slip up. He tossed over the goggles, "Then, let's get going. I'm anxious to have my favorite partner at my side again."
Wally beamed. He jammed the goggles over his head and dashed towards the door, pulling up short at the last second with a confused frown. His uncle made it sound like they were going on patrol. "Wait, I can't leave the Watchtower, remember? If my dad's still alive, then he could track me down."
"We're not going planetside," Uncle Barry gave Aunt Iris a quick kiss when she looked up from her article to wave them off with a fond smile. He pulled on the cowl to his costume and guided Wally out into the hallway. "The Watchtower has a gym, you know."
"A gym?" Wally made a face. He flexed his shoulders and tested the tightness of his uniform thoughtfully. It was a bit looser than normal, but overall he was almost back to his original weight. His muscle tone still left something to be desired though…
"Yep," Uncle Barry elbowed him playfully in the ribs. "I think it's about time you worked out how to vibrate through something without making it explode. You ready to learn?"
"Seriously?!" Wally grinned excitedly, already feeling his body start to hum in anticipation.
"Unless you don't think you can handle it," His uncle nodded with a teasing wink. "Now…how about a race?"
Wally perked up then, about to protest the verbal jab when he heard the word 'race'. He hadn't had the chance to test out his new speed against Uncle Barry's since he'd had his revelation. "Last one there has to tell Trickster that his pants look ridiculous."
His uncle laughed and assumed a runner's stance, "You're on."
Wally mimicked him, crouching into a similar pose with his fingertips brushing the floor, "On three?"
For some reason, Uncle Barry had an uncharacteristically mischievous expression on his face. Wally puzzled over it for an instant but couldn't figure it out. His smile was just a little too suppressed – like he was trying not to – and there was definitely a devious glint to his eyes, "One…Two…Three!"
At the same time, both speedsters launched forwards into a full-on sprint through the Watchtower's corridors. They couldn't go top speed obviously, because they were on a satellite, and that would've been really catastrophic. But, even so, Wally felt a noticeable difference. He was actually keeping up with his uncle for the very first time, matching him step for step and rocketing around corners at the exact same second.
He was having a blast, finally feeling like he and his uncle were in perfect sync – that is, until he realized that he had no Watchtowerly idea how to get to the gym. Uncle Barry did. And that's why he'd been smirking earlier… Holy crap, what a cheater! It soon became apparent when his uncle started faking him out with false turns that had Wally skidding to a stop and doubling back to catch up with him again. He was eventually forced to hang back half a second and let his uncle lead him there unchallenged.
The worst part was that Uncle Barry kept laughing uncontrollably the whole way. They reached the final stretch in seconds, and Wally could see the word 'Gym' printed on the bulkhead. Then, he really turned on the jets. He pushed the muscles in his legs and managed to close most of the gap between them even as Uncle Barry grinned at him over his shoulder. Wally was within touching distance when his uncle vibrated right through the double doors and disappeared. Wally gaped in open disbelief at the spot his uncle had last been, slowing down enough to burst through the doors without destroying them.
When he got to the other side, he found Uncle Barry waiting for him with his arms crossed and one foot tapping away in teasing impatience. There was a smug grin on his face, and he was, irritatingly enough, breathing completely normally. Wally was a little pleased to find that he was also barely winded from the race but not enough to pass up calling his uncle out on his crap, "Not cool! That was totally underhanded!"
"Hey, I told you where we were going," Uncle Barry laughed, holding his hands up in defense. "Not my fault you didn't say 'Oh no! Uncle Barry, I don't know where that is!' It just seems like poor strategy to me…"
"I don't sound like that!" Wally smacked his arm, trying to look intimidating while his uncle was too busy laughing at him to defend himself. "And, you're a cheater!"
"Fine," Uncle Barry conceded with a nod. "Just be sure to tell Trickster that the rest of him is just as ridiculous. Honestly, it's embarrassing. I need to find some better villains."
"Have you ever heard anything more absurd in your whole life?" A voice spoke suddenly, startling Wally into forgetting what he'd been about to say. "Someone wishing for more dangerous villains…"
"Not more dangerous," Uncle Barry corrected casually. "Just better. I'd like at least some challenge every now and then."
Wally frowned, turning in a circle to look for who had spoken. That's when he spotted both Jay and Max by the far wall shaking their heads disapprovingly at Uncle Barry.
"Back in my day, you shut your mouth and counted your lucky stars when your villains gave you a break from fighting both them and the Nazis," Jay said in a fake grumble, smiling broadly right at Wally. He was in a wheelchair, covered in bandages and with two casts on his legs, but he was alive. Beside him, Max looked mostly untouched except for the way he was leaning heavily on the wall.
Uncle Barry rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but Wally ran to them immediately. He collided into Max at a dead run and felt the older speedster wrap both arms around him like an iron vice. Wally squeezed Max's middle as tight as he could, grinning like a fool and completely unable to help it. He'd been told that both Max and Jay were alive and well, but it was one thing to hear it and another entirely to actually see them in person.
Max pushed him out to arm's length after a minute and looked at Wally with a mixture of severity and stern happiness. He was just about to say something when Wally was suddenly jerked to the side and trapped by one of Jay's arms.
"Quit hogging my grandson," he tugged Wally down into an awkward, stooped over sort of embrace, and Wally was careful to avoid touching his legs as he hugged him back. Then, Jay grabbed a fistful of Wally's costume and shoved a finger into his face, wrinkled blue eyes hard and icy with disapproval. "You and I need to have a talk, young man."
Startled by the flip in demeanor, Wally stared back in blank confusion, "About what?"
"About you listening to me when I tell you to get the hell outta Dodge when we're fighting a losing battle," Jay growled sternly.
Oh.
Wally shook his head in response, making a face at how stupid that sounded, "I wasn't going to leave you and Max to die. No way."
He'd meant it lightheartedly, but that only seemed to make Max and Jay even angrier. Max limped forward and put a hand on Wally's shoulder, "Jay was trying to buy you time to escape, and you wasted it."
"It wasn't going to happen," Wally took a step back from them, frowning stubbornly when he realized that they were serious. "You almost drowned, and Jay was fighting three against one!"
"It is going to happen," Jay shot back just as obstinately. "You're sixteen. Do you know how old I am? I'm ninety-two, Wally. I've had plenty of time to decide how I want to die, and I want to go out protecting my family. And that's you, and Barry, and Joan, and Iris, and sometimes Max here when he's not being irritating. The point is, if anything like this ever happens again, I expect you to listen to what I say. You run when I tell you to run, is that clear?"
Wally wanted to say that, no, it wasn't clear. He didn't understand leaving anyone behind to die. Why wasn't he allowed to try and defend his family like everyone else?
Jay's expression softened, and he suddenly looked very old and sad, "I'm not just trying to bust your chops, kid. I love you like family, and I don't ever want to see Zoom with his hands around your throat ever again. That really scared me."
Wally dropped his eyes and looked down at his boots.
"Who's going to carry on the legacy if you get taken out before you're even eighteen?" Max crossed his arms when Wally didn't immediately respond.
"I don't know. Uncle Barry?" he said evasively. Wally didn't really want to give in so easily, but he couldn't think of a good argument in his favor. That brought another thought to him, though. Who would carry it on after all the existing speedsters were gone? They didn't know yet whether or not their powers could be passed on to children, and there hadn't been any freak accidents resulting in superspeed since his own six years ago. Professor Zoom had talked about something called the Speed Force. Maybe that had something to do with it. "Johnny Quick?"
"Johnny isn't the same kind of speedster as the rest of us," Uncle Barry walked up to them. "He uses his equation to channel superspeed and so does his daughter."
Jay nodded in agreement and caught Wally's attention again, "I need you to promise me that you'll listen to me and run if we're ever in a situation like that again."
Wally stared down at him reluctantly, feeling pins and needles all over, "I can't."
"Wally."
"I'm sorry," he cut in quickly, truly apologetic at not being able to say yes. "I'm not ever going to leave someone behind to save myself. I can't do that."
"Save your breath, Jay," Uncle Barry rested a hand on Wally's shoulder fondly. "He's too brave to stop being dumb about this."
Wally looked up and saw his uncle smiling back at him, but he still wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult.
"Brave and stubborn," Max grumbled unhappily giving Wally a disgruntled sort of look. "That's a terrible combination."
Wally just shrugged. There wasn't really all that much he could do about it.
At that, Max seemed to lighten up a little, but Jay continued to stare at him sternly. He didn't look at all satisfied with Wally's answer, but after a moment he sighed and actually cracked a small smile, "I'm not going to get you to listen to me, am I?"
Wally shook his head ruefully, "Probably not."
"Well," Jay leaned back in the wheelchair with a grunt, flexing his spine with a series of pops and cracks. "I guess the only thing to do then is make sure you know your stuff. I heard you're having trouble phasing through objects."
Uncle Barry gave a short laugh and shook Wally's shoulder playfully, "Yeah – without making them blow up."
Wally shrugged him off and rolled his eyes, turning a little red, "Whatever. I think it's cool."
"Yes, until you need to phase through something without making it explode," Max didn't indulge him to let him save face.
"I didn't say that I don't want to learn," Wally averted his eyes with a mumble.
"Good, because between the three of us, we should have enough experience to help you figure it out," Max pushed off from the wall and limped his way to the middle of the gym where someone had set up what looked like an obstacle course of makeshift walls and barriers of all different types. He laid his hand on the first wall – a crudely made, six foot high cement partition – and looked back at Wally. "Barry told us about the substances you tried vibrating through when you were escaping, so we're gonna start with those."
Wally zipped across the room to the wall and started inspecting it. The cement was roughly half a foot thick but looked pretty manageable. Several meters beyond it, though, was a much taller metal barrier with a third glass one behind that. He zipped back to the front beside Max and Uncle Barry, "What do you want me to do? Just try to vibrate through each one?"
"Essentially," Uncle Barry nodded. "But first, tell us how you felt when you were phasing through things. Was there any time that it was harder than the others? Did it get easier as you went along?"
"Uhh…" Wally thought hard to remember how exactly it went down. "I hardly even felt the zip ties at all. I don't know if it's because they were so thin or what, but the glass was totally different. That hurt the worst out of anything. It felt like the glass molecules were stabbing through my own."
"That sounds like you weren't vibrating fast enough," Uncle Barry frowned pensively.
"The metal was a little better, but not by much," Wally continued. "It still kinda felt like I was trying to phase through knives, but I was so hopped up on adrenaline that I think that's why I didn't notice it as much. Like – the second time I went through glass, I didn't really feel it at all."
He glanced sideways at the wall standing innocently next to him and couldn't help but feel like it was imposing. A little shudder went up his spine, and he focused back on Max and his uncle, "Going through concrete was like dragging my arm over a cheese grater… But that time, I know for sure that I did something wrong. Zoom was chasing me, and I couldn't stop panicking enough to control it."
Uncle Barry looked alarmed at that, "You've got to be really careful with that. If you drop your concentration too much, you could wind up getting stuck in something or taking something with you. That's how you ended up with particles of concrete in your blood."
He remembered that feeling very well and wasn't anxious for a repeat.
"So, you're gonna try this without any adrenaline. No one's chasing you or trying to kill you," his uncle pointed at the concrete wall. "I just want you to stay calm, take your time, and give it your best shot. Okay?"
Wally nodded, taking a deep breath in anticipation, "Yup."
"Just go through the first wall and get ready to take cover in case it blows," Max took a few steps back to give him some room. "Give us a pause before you go so that we can get a read on your frequency."
"Got it," Wally squared off with the wall, stretching his legs in preparation and cracking his neck side to side. He snuck a glance at the three far more experienced speedsters out of the corner of his eye. They were all watching him.
Excellent… No pressure or anything.
He exhaled heavily and started vibrating at a low hum, feeling his limit almost immediately. Frustration crackled up within him, and he grit his teeth. This wasn't anywhere near fast enough. Come on; don't do this in front of Uncle Barry and Max and Jay. That would be humiliating.
Wally took another calming breath and pushed himself faster. Okay, you can do this. You did it before. Remember all of the things that helped you figure it out back in Siberia. Confidence. Anger. Desperation. Dick Grayson.
A pleasantly awful nausea spread through him at the thought of his best friend, but he shook it off. He knew that particular confrontation was on its way, and he still hadn't decided yet whether to fess up or deny the whole thing.
The limit disappeared, and Wally felt exhilarating power rush into his limbs. He sped up his vibrations to the frequency he'd used before and then kept it steady for Uncle Barry to get a read on him. His mentor frowned a little in response but waved him on anyway.
Wally charged at the wall, throwing his arms out in preparation to physically shove against it, but he didn't encounter any resistance at all. He stepped right through the concrete like it wasn't even there. He came out the other side off balance and stumbling to regain his footing before he toppled over. Behind him, the wall was silent, and he almost thought he'd done it before he heard Max yell to him.
"You'd better take cover, Wally."
When he looked over his shoulder at the wall, he could see it going critical mass. He darted around to take shelter behind the dark metal barrier in time to hear the concrete explode with a roar like thunder. Big chunks of debris pelted the metal, ringing out in a cacophony. He waited until the worst of it had settled down before poking his head around to inspect the damage.
Most of the wall was gone – torn open by a gaping hole right where he'd walked through. Wally moved back out and found that neither Max nor Uncle Barry had budged an inch. They'd probably just let the debris phase right through them. He sighed heavily and kicked a nearby hunk of rock, sending it tumbling quietly across the floor, "Fail…"
Uncle Barry whistled in awe, "That's really something to see. I don't think the explosions were that violent in your memories."
Wally cocked his head in confusion right as Max came up to lay a hand on the remaining edge of the wall. He looked equally astounded by the wreckage, "You didn't tell us it was this bad, Barry."
Wally felt his face heat up, and he straightened his posture to minimize it.
"Yes I did," Uncle Barry came over and slung an arm around Wally's neck with a light chuckle. He felt some of the embarrassment lift away. His uncle almost sounded a little proud? "I just…kind of underestimated the force a little bit."
"What are you talking about?" Wally asked, at a loss.
"It looks like you're doing it naturally…" Max mused, still surveying the extent of the rubble. "But I've never seen myself, Barry, or Jay deal that much damage making something explode. It's usually a small explosion localized around whatever we touched. And we have to try to make that happen."
"Really?" Wally blinked in surprise. "So, what – I'm backwards or something?"
"It just means you need to learn in reverse," Max waved off his alarm casually. "You're naturally inciting the molecules to go critical when most speedsters have to consciously try to do it. We just have to get you to regulate your frequency."
"Did you feel any pain going through the concrete?" Uncle Barry asked.
"No," Wally shook his head. "I barely even felt it this time, but I was concentrating one hundred percent."
"Your vibrations were way too fast," Jay called over from the other side of the room. "Try slowing down just a little when you go through the metal. You're going much faster than you need to."
"Alright," Wally turned to face the malformed titanium wall and began vibrating just a little slower than before. "How's this?"
The shuddering movements distorted his voice, making his words almost indecipherable, but it didn't seem to bother Max or Uncle Barry any. They gave him the thumbs up, and Wally tackled the wall with the same approach he'd used against the concrete.
Immediately, he could feel his palms slam into the metal with a dull thud. This time, he met with resistance. It was faint and didn't hurt at all, but Wally could definitely feel his body sliding through the metal. He dragged his limbs completely through the wall like he was walking through water and emerged unharmed. Prepared this time, Wally sped around the wall to Uncle Barry's side and watched as the wide metal wall rippled out from the center in unstable waves.
There was the loud, screeching sound of metal tearing apart, and then jagged shards of metal were ejected from the main structure. Most of the shrapnel fell short and clattered harmlessly along the floor, and the few pieces that went whistling past them were easy to dodge. Max snatched a particularly sharp one right out of the air and started examining it immediately with a frown.
"That didn't make any difference…" Wally could hear his uncle muse beside him. He looked over to see him staring at the twisted, brutalized metal with narrowed eyes as he tried to work out the puzzle in his head. "How did it feel?"
"Still didn't hurt," Wally answered honestly. "But it was harder to vibrate through this time."
Max tossed aside the piece of metal with a puzzled shrug and gestured to the remaining few walls, "Try it again. Barry, this time, I want you to go through with him and let him match the frequency you use."
"Sounds like a plan," Uncle Barry patted Wally on the back and grinned down at him. "You ready for another go?"
He shook off the disappointment of a second failure and nodded. This was a work in progress, and it wasn't gonna be solved in two tries. He took a deep breath and matched his uncle's confident grin with one of his own, "Let's do it."
They both darted towards the unpolished glass wall in unison, Uncle Barry veering around both destroyed walls while Wally leapt through the gashes he'd created. He waited half a heartbeat for his uncle to set the frequency and then did his best to mimic it. Sensing speed had never been one of his strongest skills before – all speedsters had an innate feel for it, but Wally had never been able to beat a radar speed gun in accuracy or tell where on Earth another speedster was just by feeling for their aura.
But ever since he'd obliterated the block on his powers, it was much easier. Wally adjusted his vibrations until he thought he'd nailed it and then glanced over at Uncle Barry for confirmation. His uncle gave a sharp nod and signaled for him to run. This frequency was close to half as fast as Wally had gone the first time, but he ignored how wrong it felt and followed his uncle.
They both sprinted at the glass full speed and reached it at the same time. Uncle Barry phased right through with zero visible difficulty and immediately came to a dead stop on the other side, turning to the spot where Wally would have been… if he'd gone through the wall correctly.
The instant that he connected with the glass, Wally felt billions of glass molecules cutting through his own like razors. The pain was so intense that he backpedaled and violently threw himself backwards away from the wall. He landed flat on his back in blind agony, cracking his head on the floor and gasping with shuddering spasms. It felt like the molecules had grabbed onto him like fish hooks, unforgiving and tearing at him when he pulled back. He forced his eyes open into slits when he heard the sound of cracks rapidly spider-webbing across the wall.
The glass now looked frosted because of all the fractures running through it and mere moments away from combusting. Wally tried to throw his arms in front of his face to protect it, but the shock of the pain only allowed them to curl up partially at the elbows. He hunched his shoulders to guard his neck, closed his eyes, and braced for impact.
Something grabbed him up from the floor right as the glass shattered. Wally could hear the high-pitched sound of small objects shooting by his head and feel the stomach jerking jolt of being carried at superspeed at the same time. One heartbeat later, he was upright and crushed against the bright red fabric of his uncle's chest, clutching his arm for balance and struggling to put his legs back under himself.
"Wally! Are you alright?! What happened?"
He opened his eyes, still shaking from the aftershocks, and found Uncle Barry staring at him in frantic concern, one arm around him and using his whole body as a shield. Wally started to stutter an answer when he saw two large shards of glass sticking out of his uncle's shoulder and side. He'd run right into the blast radius to pull Wally to safety and had taken a couple hits for him.
Max was there an instant later, supporting Wally with one arm until his legs steadied and yanking both of the shards out of Uncle Barry's skin in a blur of motion, "Talk to us, Wally. Are you hurt?"
"He's hurt!" Wally managed to gasp out, gesturing to his uncle's ripped uniform.
"I'm fine," Uncle Barry said dismissively and moved his shoulder to show him. The wounds were already closed and only dotted with a few droplets of red. He'd healed even before he had time to bleed. "Captain Boomerang hits harder than this. Now, tell me what happened."
Wally had to tear his eyes away from his uncle's side before he could answer, "I – uh – that was too slow…"
"What do you mean?" Max started checking him over for visible injuries. Behind him, Wally could see Jay wheeling himself over with a concerned look on his face.
"It hurt a lot," he tried to come up with the right words to explain it. "The other times weren't that bad. This felt more like the glass was going through me instead of the other way around if that makes any sense."
Uncle Barry nodded his understanding, but Max seemed to be in his own little world, working through the problem on his own with speed thinking – another little trick Wally had yet to master. Jay reached them quickly and made Wally run through a few tests to see if he'd accidentally sucked in any glass particles into his bloodstream just to be safe, "I don't understand. If you were going the same speed as Barry, then why didn't it work? That reaction was more violent than the first two."
That started an intense brainstorming session between the four of them. Uncle Barry, Max, and Jay were no doubt thinking of possible explanations for why it wasn't working, and Wally was too. He was just…going down a different path with it. The pain of that last try had reminded him of Professor Zoom and the day he'd tortured him for information about the Justice League – just for a little bit of extra fun.
Wally looked over at his mentor nervously, stomach churning with anxiety, "What if…Professor Zoom did something to me when he…y'know…tortured me? Like when he vibrated his hand into my chest. Could he have screwed up my powers somehow?"
That caught everyone's attention. Max and Jay stared at him in concerned surprise, but Uncle Barry seemed to be physically pained by the mention of Wally's torture. His blue eyes turned protective, and he shook his head firmly, "No. If he'd done anything to your powers, then your aura would be different, but it's the same as always – a little brighter but the same. Zoom isn't able to mess with our speed like that. He's not powerful enough."
Wally breathed easier after hearing that and seeing how sure his uncle was. He stayed close to him while Jay and Max argued over other solutions, coming up empty with each angle they tried.
After a few minutes, Jay threw his arms up in frustration and leaned back tiredly in the wheelchair. Wally noticed that he was way more agitated than usual. He guessed that being stuck in the wheelchair was making it worse. "If it's not a problem with the speed of his vibrations, then what is it? I can't figure it out."
"It is something else…" Max said forcefully, face drawn tight in determination. "We just have to find the problem. Kid, are you up for trying anything we can come up with?"
Wally was eager to solve this once and for all, and the pain was already fading away, so he agreed earnestly, and the tests began.
All in all, there were forty walls total in different shapes and sizes. They quickly found out that the material and thickness of the object didn't matter. The speed of his vibrations only affected whether or not Wally was harmed in the process. It didn't matter if he went through the wall at a sprint or slow and steady. He tried going through by himself and with another speedster. He switched his frequency while he was already inside the walls. Nothing changed the end result. The wall always exploded violently. Every time.
So, with all the logical theories tried and exhausted, they turned to unconventional methods. It began with Uncle Barry trying to cheer him up. Failure after failure had started to take its toll on Wally and was sending him into a sort of depression. He was frustrated and discouraged and tiring out fast. They'd only tried a few more times with Wally vibrating at a slow frequency before Uncle Barry had put his foot down and made him stop, but it still dealt a heavy blow to his stamina.
So, Uncle Barry started suggesting all kinds of ridiculous ideas to lift Wally's spirits. He told him about one of the very first encounters he'd had with Mirror Master back when he was just starting out as the Flash. Mirror Master had used reflections to switch their legs so that he could finally outrun him and commit robberies all over town unchallenged. Uncle Barry had to run on his hands in order to defeat him.
By the time Wally and Jay had finally stopped laughing at the mental image and figuring out if Wally could do handstands, the oppressive mood in the room had vanished. Wally tried phasing through a wall while running on his hands – which backfired, because he ended up dropping right through the floor instead. Then, of course, it blew a huge chasm into the gym floor.
Jay had found that even more hilarious, and even Max cracked a smile once Wally zipped back to the level unharmed, but Uncle Barry went pale and started speed rambling about how Batman was going to kill him for breaking the Watchtower.
They were more careful after that.
The next few hours were spent trying out whatever popped into their heads and recording the data in the Watchtower logs until they ran out of walls. When they were finished, the gym looked like a twister went through it. Wally and his uncle cleaned up all the mess and rubble in ten seconds flat, ending up covered in dust and pulverized concrete.
They hadn't figured out what was wrong with Wally's method, and he was no closer to phasing through anything without absolutely destroying it, but the training session hadn't been a total waste. During all the different tests, he'd discovered the best frequency to use that didn't cause him any pain and still got the job done. He was a little disappointed that the mystery was unsolved, but he understood his powers better, and that meant he was getting there.
Uncle Barry shook grey dust out of his hair with a grin and threw a handful of gravel at Wally, "Alright, Max. What's the final verdict, oh Zen Master of Speed?"
"I have no idea," the grey-haired speedster said grouchily with his arms crossed over his chest almost comically. "The only even remotely decent explanation is that he's using too much power. You, Jay, and I always had the same top speed from the first day we got our powers, so we know the right amount of force to use automatically. But Wally's limit has changed, and he's used to having to push himself as hard as possible just to keep up. I think he's still doing that by default."
"So, I'm stuck on high gear?" Wally sighed, flinging some dirt right back at his uncle.
"Not sure. It's just a small theory," Max rubbed the bridge of his nose and shrugged. "If it is right, then it may just take time. Get used to your new speed, experiment a little, and we'll try this again in a week or so. It's not life or death if we don't figure it out right away, but it is mighty irritating…"
"I dunno," Uncle Barry said skeptically, drawing Wally's attention. "I bet it's just your personality. You're always giving 110% to everything. All the time. That's my favorite thing about you, Kid."
Wally cocked an eyebrow at him suspiciously, "You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?"
"Absolutely," Uncle Barry admitted immediately. He winked at Wally and elbowed him lightly. "But it also happens to be completely true. Don't get discouraged. If we can figure this out eventually, then great! But if not, you're still the only one of us that can blow things up that thoroughly. It's good to have variety in the Flash family."
"You can be our one man bomb squad," Jay teased him.
"Not if I end up looking like this every time," Wally squirmed uncomfortably. How the heck had gravel gotten into his boots? "If we're done, I'm gonna grab a shower."
"Sure," Uncle Barry waved him off. "I think I need one too. You feeling alright after all this?"
"Yeah. Just a little tired. Way better than yesterday."
Jay reached out and snagged Wally's arm before he could speed off, "Joan is on the Watchtower until tomorrow when they discharge me, and she wants to see you. Stop by the mess hall tonight and put her mind at ease for me, will you?"
"I'll be there," he promised and then moved to run. "See ya! Thanks for the help!"
A second later, he stopped suddenly and zipped back to give Max and Jay each a lightning quick hug, "I'm really glad you're both okay."
Then he was gone again, running straight to the communal showers down the hall. They were deserted when he got there, so he just picked a stall and turned on the spray to warm up the water before zipping back to the locker room. Wally pulled the goggles off his head, cringing when a curtain of dirt shook free of his hair. He grabbed a towel off the rack and sat down on a bench to pull off his boots and gloves.
That's when he heard the sound of a ceiling tile being pulled aside and a light body landing on the floor stealthily. Wally immediately shot to his feet and spun around, body going ice cold when he recognized the noise that those particular shoes made. He knew it by heart.
Dick was crouched in the middle of the floor in full uniform, rising up and pulling off his mask after dropping from the air ducts. His piercing blue eyes bored into Wally's, and he looked just as nervous as Wally felt, "We need to talk."