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Those commercials for the UNCF always said that a mind was a terrible thing to waste. What if that mind was used to do evil things? Did they ever take that into account?
What if your mind was invaded?
What if there was dream placed in your mind?
What if that dream was perfection?
What if it was all that you wanted, but nothing you had?
Would it be so terrible to waste away there?
Should've done something, but I've done it enough.
By the way, your hands were shaking.
Rather waste some time with you.
I think that the lyrics to one of my favorite songs are appropriate.
His hands were shaking. Uncle Barry's, I mean.
When I opened my eyes after waking up, he was there in, well, a flash.
See what I did there, ha... ha.
It's not the funniest stuff I've got. I know I can be better. I... can be funnier.
But this isn't really a laughing matter.
No one seemed to think so. Batman is so stoic, I think if he smiled, his face would break. I'm convinced that he has an animatronic mask for when he's out as his alter-ego. So no laugh there ever. The others tried to smile when I said the pun, but it didn't really work. Uncle Barry, who's usually receptive to my humor, didn't laugh. There was a sound out of his mouth I'd only heard from things that were dying.
If you had talked to me before this happened, I would have laughed at you if you said that My Uncle, the Flash, cried. Now that I've seen actual evidence, I don't want to believe it.
It's too hard being strong and semi-responsible. I just want to be a kid a lot of the time, but well. I guess I'm getting what I asked for. At least for a while.
Robin woke up before me. He was the first up actually. That's what they tell me anyway. They said I was in and out. All I know is that by the time I woke up, Miss M and Superboy were already up.
Artemis and Kaldur are still there.
I always imagined Kings and Empire owners as somewhat distant and aloof, caring for all their people as a whole, letting individual needs be cast aside in lieu of appeasing the group or themselves.
I think that both Green Arrow and Aquaman would be willing to give up everything, just for their kids to wake up.
I want them to wake up. I know Robin and I are bros and all, but only Kaldur and Artemis may be able to understand what my time under was like. Maybe Superboy, too.
Robin's my friend, but his life hasn't been as difficult as might be made out. His parents loved him. Batman, for all his gruffness, loves him, too. I don't think he knows. Megan has family on Mars and her uncle loves her dearly.
Neither of them know what it's like to have no good parental figure to come home to, or to have one out of the picture or to have to do things for yourself that you shouldn't have to.
Neither of them know what it's like to be looked down upon. Not really.
My uncle is great, but he's not my dad.
That's all I had to say, after I woke up entirely, before Miss M's uncle touched my shoulder and told me it was okay and that I should rest.
Robin told me later that he heard my uncle and Batman talking. They said that since I was in and out, I had more function control. They said I was screaming.
The dream stuff was part magic and part science. I don't like magic. I tell the others it's not real because I don't want to believe in it. The same way I don't believe in God.
The reason that's relevant is because me high metabolism should have allowed me to wake up quickly.
I know that I didn't want to wake up and the League now knows that, too. And they know why.
And if I tell the team, they'll understand why I don't believe in magic.
I met a magician when I was eight.
I was smart, small, red headed, freckled and bruised.
He brought me up on stage to be his assistant.
I assisted and then sat down.
After the show, I went to find him to ask a favor. I wanted him to make my parents disappear.
He thought it was a joke.
I was serious.
I thought that he probably couldn't do something so big, so I asked him to make my bruises disappear.
He was shocked. Appalled even. He said he was going to call the police. I knew enough then that if he did, I'd be dead before they showed up.
So I ran to my parents and never saw him again.
No other magicians could pull off the trick either.
One told my parents.
I was out of school for two weeks.
And do you remember that scene in Forrest Gump where Jenny and Forrest pray in the fields. Yeah, been there, done that.
Didn't work.
Except it did, there.
And Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry could adopt me because there was evidence and I didn't heal as quickly and I was loved. And not hurt or looked down on or treated like I was invisible.
I think that they might have heard that or something like it.
Should've said something, but I've said it enough.
By the way, my words were faded.
Rather waste some time with you.
But I highly doubt it.
I always said that being Kid Flash had it's perks.
It also has it's downsides. Like needing to eat a lot. Not easy when people who're supposed to feed you starve you.
And the others wonder why I eat so much when I'm here. Miss M's cookies are made with love. Aunt Iris's too. My mother doesn't make cookies.
I can run faster than a lot of people, but I still can't get away.
I can stand up to murderers and psychos and tyrannical monsters, but not my mother and father.
I can figure out how to make myself a speedster, but not how to get my parents to love me.
I can find my way to any place in the world in the blink of an eye, but I can't find myself at home in that house, even after fifteen years.
...
The compound used was amazing.
Too bad I don't believe in magic.