Chapter Text
Chapter 12
“We’ve missed you so much,” Cassie told Wally with a wet smile as she stepped back from the embrace. “There’s so much to fill you in on.”
Turning to the Amazon commander, Cassie told her that the trespassers would be under her custody and the commander allowed them 24 hours to get their ship back in order and leave. Barry and Cisco offered to have their people stay on the ship so as not to trespass more than they already had. The commander accepted the terms and left them on the beach with instructions for Cassie to inform them of their leaving.
The Earth-1 crew went back to the Waverider leaving Wally with Cassie, Barry saying that they would give them some time alone. Wally was not sure how long they sat there on the beach with Cassie filling him in about the last four years – Bart had taken on the mantel of Kid Flash wanting to make Wally proud, Barry and Iris raising twin speedster toddlers, and that she and Red Robin had been going strong for four years now.
“How did that happen?” Wally asked, surprised and happy for them both. He remembered Dick talking about Tim’s little crush before things had blown up around them and they had still been talking regularly.
“After you were gone, we just thought it was better to live in the moment,” Cassie replied with a sad smile and a shrug.
“How’s the Team doing?”
“The Team is – things have been busy,” Cassie said wearily. “Dick took a leave of absence after the invasion. He probably would have stayed away indefinitely, but we needed the back up after what happened last year.”
“What happened last year?”
“It seemed like the usual, mass breakout at Belle Reve. But it was all the Metas. The Team was charged with bringing them back, but we haven’t found nearly enough of them. It’s like they’ve disappeared off the face of the Earth, which is more worrying since we all know that the rogues all like to make noise.” Wally nodded at that assessment, his face pinched in thought. “Most of the League is on an away mission, trying to clean up the mess left by the Reach around the galaxy. Now all our speedsters are down for the count, and we can’t seem to find enough intel on the Light…” Cassie sighed. “Everyone’s exhausted. They’ll be happy to have back up.” She looked towards the Waverider before asking, “Tell me about your new friends. How did you meet them? And how did you end up in Themyscira of all places.”
“Trying to stop the Chrysalis, I somehow got transported to a whole new world. Coming here is a multipart mission. Save Supergirl’s team, prevent the apocalypse, and bring me home. Two of the metas on that ship have the power to travel between dimensions. We were trying to get to the League, but apparently getting here is insanely difficult. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Wally sat up and offered her a hand up. “And what do you mean, all the speedsters are down for the count? The Commander mentioned something like that, too.”
“A year ago, the Flash was gravely injured trying to bring in Icicle Sr. We didn’t know what happened to him, just that he wasn’t healing. Icicle Sr. escaped, and we haven’t seen him since. Flash has been on speedster life support at S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City since. Jay Garrick tried to fill in for a little bit, but he ended up in the same condition going after Toyman of all people. Then a couple of weeks ago, Bart was affected but we finally saw the creature that was hurting them.” Cassie explained as they walked towards the ship.
“Creature?” Wally asked. They were at the entrance ramp to the Waverider and Wally led Cassie inside.
“Yeah. It was fast, moved like a speedster. I think Conner said it even had a lightning emblem on its chest like a Flash.” Cassie said.
The Cargo Bay was empty, but they could hear conversations and discussions going on throughout the ship. The lights inside were lower from the outside but at least the emergency red was gone. The first room they were approaching, Wally remembered being told was Ray Palmer’s lab, where Curtis and Felicity from Team Arrow were busy going over the intel from Supergirl’s Earth. Cisco was coming out of the lab, his shoulders tight and his face scrunched in pain.
“Hey, Cisco. Everything ok?” Wally called out.
“Wally,” Cisco looked like he could use a good nap. “and Wally’s wonderful friend who saved us from getting beheaded. We were wondering when you were finally going to come in.”
“Hi, there!” Cassie said enthusiastically. “I’m Cassie. It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about ignoring you guys. I promise I’m not that rude.”
“She’s known as Wondergirl,” Wally grinned knowingly. “Since I know you were wondering.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Wondergirl,” Cisco gave a tired but playful smile. “Thanks for your help earlier, again. Breaching to another Earth isn’t an exact science. And your Earth is especially kicking my butt.” Cisco laughter was mirthless.
“Thank you for bringing Wally back to us. And I hear you’re here to help us.”
“Yeah,” Cisco answered. “Your Wally ended up with us for a reason and who are we to say no to an interdimensional entity telling us to save the multiverse.”
“What?” The look of confusion on Cassie’s face was priceless.
“What Cisco’s trying to say is that they’re happy to help us out,” Wally said with a laugh.
“Anyways, Felicity and Curtis said they’re pretty close to figuring out what the bad guys may be up to here,” Cisco continued, “and Jax and Ray said they’d have the ship ready to go in a couple more hours. Man, I need coffee.”
“Yeah, and a nap.” Wally nodded.
“Thanks, buddy.” Cisco snarked. “I blame this Earth. Gypsy and I are both not used to the frequency here. It’s messing with us both.”
“Where is she anyway?” Wally was sure he was channeling Iris and Jesse when he added, “You should have taken that nap earlier, it might have improved a few things.”
Cisco glared at him but Wally just grinned. Cisco finally just sighed, saying that Gypsy was helping Curtis and Felicity with information about the box. The travel must have been really tiring for him if he was not even bothering to snipe back. Even Cassie seemed to sense that Cisco was not at his best.
“You should go rest,” Cassie suggested. “Unless you have something important to get done.”
“I do,” Cisco took a deep breath, seemingly gathering his strength. “Wally, you need to go see Caitlyn in the med bay. She’s got some tests for you speedsters because your suits’ are giving off strange readings. Wondergirl, why don’t we go say hi to the rest of the crew. I really want to hear more about this Hall of Justice of yours, you know for ideas.” Wally was dismissed with an offhand, “We’ll see you at the Bridge when you’re done,” as Cisco suggested a detour through the Kitchen for some coffee.
Wally watched them until they turned the corner with bemusement before making his way to the Med Bay as directed. He had not had a chance to really know Caitlyn, just that Team Flash considered her a friend as well as their main physician. Iris and Joe had talked about her with fondness as well.
Barry and the other Wally were already there with Caitlyn, cowls pushed back off their heads. Wally followed their example as he approached them.
“Hey, Cisco said you needed me.”
Caitlyn looked up from the tablet she was scrolling through as she alternated between it and the Flash suits.
“Yeah. Your suit’s vitals are off. There’s some kind of interference with your speed.” Caitlyn explained. “Did you feel anything when you speeded outside earlier?”
“No,” Wally was confused, “but then, I wasn’t really paying attention to much outside of being home.”
“Hmm.”
“Is it serious?”
“Hopefully not,” Caitlyn said, not taking her eyes off her tablet. “But I didn’t want to take any chances, especially with this being a different Earth.”
“But I’m from this Earth,” Wally countered. “Wouldn’t I show normal and they’d be the ones off?” Wally nodded towards Barry and other Wally.
“That’s why we’re here,” Barry shrugged. “Whatever’s happening on this Earth or even this Universe, is manifesting itself as obscurely as possible.”
“I haven’t felt anything off yet,” other Wally shrugged.
“Cassie said that all of the Speedsters here have been hurt,” Wally told them, “your Black Flash did something to them.” He explained what little he had gathered from Cassie about his family. That they were on life support after each of them were injured by Black Flash.
“Doesn’t Black Flash have the ability to steal the Speed Force from us,” other Wally mused. Barry and Caitlyn nodded.
“It could explain why they haven’t recovered after all this time. The Speed Force connects all of you. Any kind of interference with your normal powers would put a strain. It’s manifesting so slowly that we only just started to notice because we’re monitoring your vitals so closely. But I would need to run tests on the speedsters that are currently down, to be sure.” Caitlyn typed away at her tablet, explaining that she was going to look through all her old data from when Zoom took Barry’s speed.
“We’ll have to talk to the League and get you authorization to do that once we get out of here,” Wally had never considered that speedsters could be hurt so severely. But at least Team Flash seemed to have a few ideas on what to expect.
After finishing her tests, Caitlyn released the speedsters from the Med Bay with a nutrient bar each. The rest of the day seemed to crawl by with sporadic updates from Sara regarding the Waverider’s repairs. Cassie was busy regaling Nate Haywood with the history of Themyscira and the Amazons, so Wally did not get a chance to talk about anything else with her.
Then there was a strange moment in the day when Oliver Queen of all people pulled him aside to talk. They walked out towards the only free corridor near the Brig – with so many people aboard the ship there was little room for any private conversations. Wally was not sure what to expect, having only recently met this strange and broody Oliver, but he especially did not expect Oliver to talk to him about how to handle coming back to life for his family.
“What do you mean?” Wally asked with a frown.
“As someone who’s had experience coming back to life,” Oliver said, “I just want you to be prepared for the types of reactions you can expect.”
“You’ve got experience with that?”
“Yeah,” Oliver nodded, “I do. For five years, my friends and family thought I had drowned at sea with my father.”
Oh.
“How did they react?”
“There were tears, and hugs,” Oliver looked at him intently. “But there were also conflicted feelings and attitudes because they worked through their grief in their own ways and found a way to move on with their lives. I want you to be prepared to have to wait to be patient with your family, about really everything.”
“It seemed to be okay with Cassie,” Wally mused.
“That was just one person,” Oliver contended, “and correct me if I’m wrong, she’s a friend but not that close.”
Oliver was not wrong. Cassie arrived right before he and Artemis had left for college. He could count the number of missions they had done together on one hand, including his last one during the invasion.
Oliver sighed, put his hand on Wally’s shoulder, saying, “We’ll be pretty busy, I think, trying to take down the bad guys. But I wanted to make sure you were prepared for the emotional roller-coaster that things might be for a little while. But while we’re here, you can come talk, anytime.”
“Thanks. But what about after?”
“You’ll think of something, I’m sure,” Oliver patted his shoulder before letting go. “Just, be patient. With yourself and everyone else.”
Wally stayed in the corridor long after Oliver had walked away. Patience, Oliver said. As if a speedster could have that so easily. But later, years from then, Wally would be thankful to have had that warning and guidance as his life came back to him in different ways. But for now, there was nothing to do but lean against the wall, thinking about what the future could hold for him.
Walking back to the Bridge after a long while, Wally could see Supergirl and J’onn J’onzz speaking to Cassie, all of them with big smiles on their faces. The difference in Supergirl’s mood was night and day. Wally could see Clark in her face now, where before he only saw Connor’s grumpiness. He walked over to them, thinking he could distract himself in someone’s good news.
“What’s happening here?”
“Cassie tells us that your team’s already rescued my sister and her team,” Supergirl said, her eyes sparkling with happiness.
“That’s great!”
“Well, your team rescued themselves, mostly,” Cassie said excitedly. “We were there for something else completely.”
“That sounds like Alex,” J’onn said with pride.
“Where are they now?” Supergirl asked Cassie.
“They’ve been recovering at the Watchtower’s infirmary,” Cassie replied, “but I can get word to have Agent Danvers meet us since she’s the only one recovered enough for travel,” Cassie explained that the Zeta transport at Themyscira was limited to just her and Wonder Woman, and Wally was still listed as deceased, so getting everyone off the island was currently limited to the Waverider. She had already spoken to Captain Lance and they had decided that Cassie would take the Zeta back to gather the Team members available and the Waverider would follow. “I’ve already given the Captain the coordinates.”
In the intervening hours, Jax and Ray remained busy in the engine room getting the ship ready for takeoff again. It took until the next morning to get everything done. Cassie had left two hours before, saying she would speak to the Commander regarding their leave from the island.
Wally’s excitement for seeing everyone had already been dampened by Oliver’s earlier warning. He kept himself busy, getting to know the Waverider crew not busy with the ship’s repairs, a group of people who knew how to have a good time. As a distraction, it worked wonders.
Once the Waverider was back in the air, it took only a few moments before Wally realized that the coordinates Cassie gave them were to the Hall of Justice.
“Dude, you weren’t kidding, that looks totally like the S.T.A.R. Labs hanger,” other Wally said in amazement.
“I’m already planning the remodeling,” Cisco said. “Don’t you worry.”
“Dad and Iris are going to be so mad.”
Wally tuned them out. He could not stop thinking about this reunion. And there were still going to be others after. Before he knew it, the Waverider was landing in front of the steps and Wally could see his friends waiting at the top. Cisco and Gypsy left first via breach, saying they wanted some precision breaching practice on this Earth. Wally thought they just wanted to show off.
Wally could feel his nervousness rising with every step, Oliver’s warning still fresh in his mind. Barry and other Wally kept telling him to calm down, “Dude, you’re gonna vibrate right through the ground.” He moved behind them to give himself a moment. Then they moved away from him, the jerks.
His Team was up ahead. They all looked older. Surer of themselves. The last time he saw them all, they were riding the high of an almost finished mission. The surprise MFD was just another mission. Wally remembered disappearing through the Zeta Transport and speeding to the North Pole, not even bothering with a goodbye. Because that’s not what heroes did. He had a mission to complete, there was no time to think about anything else. Not about Artemis and the worry she had put him through taking on Dick’s insane mission. Not about working things out with Dick after their last blow out even if they did manage to talk like grownups for a moment to stop the Light’s Summit. Not about welcoming Kaldur back in to the fold and apologizing to his friend and leader about doubting his allegiances even for a moment.
Wally absently noted that Supergirl and J’onn beelined towards who he assumed was Alex Danvers. He was too distracted by his nervousness to follow their reunion.
Artemis was the first to see him. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she finally realized it was Wally she was seeing. Him being one of the many of this group helped to camouflage him. “Dick, Kaldur. It’s Wally.” His eyes misted at her soft voice. He tried to smile, to reassure them. But he could not get his vocal cords to cooperate, to say anything to them.
They all just stared at each other for many moments. How did one even start a conversation with friends who thought he was dead for the last four years?
It was Connor’s rough “Wally” that spurred him into motion. Wally would later think he really should have followed Barry and other Wally’s advice because in his haste to embrace his friends, he slipped into his speed and crashed into the wall behind them.
“Wally!” “Oh, my God!” “Are you ok?” Everyone’s voices registered all at once and Wally could feel the heat flooding his face.
“Glad to see things haven’t changed, Kid Clumsy.” Yeah, that was Dick, even if his voice sounded more fond than anything else – jerk move to not even let Wally have the satisfaction of a snide remark he could respond to. Wally looked up to them all, mortified. But his friends were smiling down at him, teary-eyed.
“Definitely not the reunion I was hoping for.” Wally grinned through his embarrassment.
Dick and Artemis helped him up and then he was surrounded in a Team hug that was not long enough.
“It’s really you,” Dick said, his voice squished between the mass of bodies but right in Wally’s ear.
“Yeah. It’s really me. Sorry I was gone so long.”
“I don’t want to say we told you so, but me and Barry full on told you so,” he saw other Wally say with a mirthful shake of his head. Wally had the childish impulse to stick his tongue out that he barely reigned in. In the end, he settled on glaring at his doppelganger but that just made other Wally more amused.
“Ok, as much as I’m a sucker for a good reunion, I think you’re getting snot on my new Kid Flash suit,” Cisco called out.
Before Wally could say that it was his Kid Flash suit, Barry told him not to bother arguing. “Cisco will never let you.”
“Hey, I share with you,” Cisco countered with a grin.
“Guys!” Oliver interrupted whatever long rehearsed argument Cisco and Barry were about to get into. “Time and place. We still have the end of the universe to avert. You can both argue about your suits after.”
Everyone stepped back from the embrace at that.
“End of the universe?” Artemis questioned. “Cassie mentioned something about that.”
“We have a lot to tell you,” Wally answered, he wanted to hold on to this moment for as long as possible. “Maybe we can go inside, and I’ll introduce you to the rescue party.”
“Agreed,” Kaldur said. “We have many questions.”
As they walked inside, Wally, introduced Earth-1’s heroes. The Team was already aware of the multiverse through everything Alex Danvers had shared. By the time the proper introductions had finished, the group reached the League’s Council room. Kaldur told everyone to sit wherever they liked. Mick asked about refreshments.
“So, Wally, what happened to you?” M’gann asked, diving in.
“Short and long answer, that vortex in the Arctic transported me through the Speed Force and to Earth-1.”
“What’s the Speed Force?” Artemis asked.
“The Speed Force is what gives speedsters their speed. We still don’t know too much about it, but it’s an independent multi-dimensional entity capable of immense power.” Cisco explained. He must have been practicing for this speech for a while now. “On our Earth, it appeared as a lightning storm that caused a particle accelerator we were working on to explode and disperse dark matter and other energies throughout Central City. Our man Barry here was struck by that lightning, put him in a coma for nine months, and then he woke up with super speed. That explosion also turned many of the people, yours truly included, within the city into other metahumans, some with good intentions and others not.”
“While I was in the Speed Force,” Wally picked up the thread of conversation, “I was given a mission to help stop something bad from happening. I still don’t have all the memories of my time there and I don’t even know how long I was there, but we think that Uncle Barry and our other speedsters losing their speeds was a result of a multi-dimensional mess up that the Light learned to use to their advantage.”
“Your speedsters were affected by a creature,” Caitlyn said, picking up from Wally, “from everything Cassie told us, we think it was Black Flash, an evil speedster that was taken by the Speed Force to serve as its enforcer against speedsters who mess with time. From the intel Cisco got from Earth-38, Black Flash is being mind-controlled through this device,” Caitlyn held out the non-functional Motherbox.
“That’s a Motherbox!” Connor exclaimed.
“Yes. But it’s not operational right now,” Gypsy told them. “It and others like it have been altered to work with some type of mind control technology.”
“We were thinking they had Winn under some type of mind control as well,” Alex Danvers remarked.
“Winn’s not with you?” Kara asked, sitting up straight at the news.
“Our kidnappers had more use for Winn than they did me and Vasquez,” Alex shrugged. “Lillian Luthor already knew just how familiar he was with alien tech.”
“Poor Winn,” Supergirl sighed sadly, “this is his worst nightmare.”
“We’ll make sure he knows that he won’t be considered responsible for whatever they make him do,” J’onn reassured them.
“How are we even going to find them?” Connor rumbled. “We don’t even know where their home base is. All the sites we manage to get to, there’s nothing but junk.”
“We can help with that,” Cisco told them. “When they took you and your team, Alex, they weren’t counting on anyone on your Earth having access to two awesome and talented breachers.”
“Which means?” Connor asked. He looked amused at Cisco’s excitement and pride even with his gruffness.
“Which means, they left behind some very important junk that led us to knowing exactly what they’re sort of up to.”
“’Sort of up to’ doesn’t sound promising.” Dick quipped.
“Oh, but it is,” Cisco declared. “Because we now know they’re illegally using Black Flash to do their bidding – the Speed Force is not happy about it, it sent your Wally straight to us to warn us to warn you against them.” Cisco gestured to the group gathered. “They’re not expecting us to be ready with countermeasures against them. Of any sorts.”
Both Curtis and Felicity finally stepped up. Curtis held a tablet in his hands, which he turned towards the gathered group.
“What exactly are we looking at?” Connor asked.
“Specs,” Felicity answered with a point of her index fingers. “Specifically, specs for a multi-dimensional apocalypse machine. Your Earth is going to be ground zero for its activation. We’ve been told that you guys are down all of your speedsters.”
There were nods all around from the Team. “They took out your Flashes because the less Speed Force interference they have here, the faster its effects.” Felicity looked at the gathering around her then said, “Guys, this thing has enough power take out an infinite number of universes, but none of them would know until it’s too late.”