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“Alright team, we need to be on high alert.” The smooth tone of Kaldur’s voice rang in the group’s head, even as they all split off to take on different sections of the warehouse. It was a small mission; get in, download the shipping route of the Light’s main suppliers, get out and get the info to the Justice League. All members of the Light seemed immersed in their own plans, so the job was set up to be an easy one. A certain red-head smiled to himself, already making plans to celebrate on a job well done once they returned home. A movie, perhaps? Definitely pizza. What kind of soda would they need…?
“Are you even focused, KF? Because from where I’m standing, you kinda don’t look focused.” Judging by the clarity, the comment was solely linked to him. Nothing new, really. They tended to have entire conversations during missions. Surprisingly undistracting, it usually helped to keep them grounded and focused.
“Well, Bird-boy, maybe you need to look harder.” He moved forward, fast yet silent. He could practically feel the other roll his eyes, and his smile grew. But speaking of looking…
The place was huge. An elevator went up a level, but down ten levels. Twelve floors to find the main computer. Wally’s excitement dwindled a little. He hated going underground, away from open spaces he can run from. “It’ll be alright, Wally. Just in and out.” His boyfriend’s voice was reassuring, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
The two had been going out for several months now, after about a year of hardcore crushing on both ends. They could be completely focused and attentive when it came to their superhero business, but then completely oblivious about their own relationships. It took a blind date setup by the rest of the team for them to figure it out. (Honestly, once they both saw the other, it clicked. Having been best friends since Robin was ten, they knew each other inside and out, full trust between the two. So of course the lingering touches, prolonged glances, and late-night calls were more than just friend things. How could they not have noticed the hints before?)
Robin slid into Wally’s point-of-view, waiting for him by the elevator. “Want some company?” His voice was quiet, barely heard, making sure nothing besides the speedster could hear it.
Kid Flash waited until he was closer to respond, his voice equally silent. “I thought you were supposed to take the second floor?” The other shot him a grin.
“Already done. Nothing but boxes, no signals given off to indicate anything suspicious. Besides, they wouldn’t hide the good stuff in such an obvious place. But the ten other levels nobody else is supposed to know about? You can be sure it’s somewhere down there.” They stepped into the elevator, putting in the passcode Robin hacked earlier to gain access. “Superboy took the first level and second level, Kaldur the third and fourth, Artemis is tackling the fifth and six, M’Gann volunteered to take the seventh and eighth floors. That just leaves nine and ten. One for me, one for you. Unless you want to search them both together?” Wally shook his head, but smirked.
“And have the team comment on how we’re too scared to do it alone, or how we’re so in love we’re inseparable, or anything else to that effect? Naw, we might as well take one floor each.” The acrobat nodded.
“You want the ninth or tenth, then? The computer’s most likely to be on the tenth, and it’s me who’s going to hack into it, so…”
“So you’ll just have to come quick when I find it.” The speedster turned to him, a confident look donning his features. “Everyone knows how I feel about being underground. If I take the furthest room down, well… I mean, nobody says anything, but I still don’t want them to think I’m scared, you know?” Robin nodded once more, giving in.
“Okay then, ninth floor for me it is.” They spent the next few seconds in silence, waiting for the elevator to make it’s way down. So very down.
A soft ding resonated through the dark as Robin reached his destination. “See you soon, KF.” He smiled and disappeared as the elevator doors shut once more, leaving the red-head alone. Kid Flash gave a deep breath as the machine went down once more, trying to calm his nerves.
Ding.
He stepped forward cautiously into the pitch-black darknesses, the night vision goggles being the only thing that saved him from walking straight into a pile of boxes. And not the only one of its kind, either. The entire room seemed to be covered in random box stacks. Is this some kind of a cover…? He made his way around carefully, looking out for any alarms triggers or camera. He could hear a faint hum coming from the next room.There it is. The speedster went towards the sound, careful not to touch a thing.
“Hey guys!” Robins voice rang in his head as Kid Flash neared the entrance to the next room. “Found the computer, level nine.” The red-head stopped in his tracks. Then what…? He wasn’t paying attention to the floor well enough and tripped over a ridiculously thin wire. The humming stopped.
INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. Red lights flashed up ahead as beeping blared around them. Wally could barely hear a hiss, and saw gasp seeping into the room. “Everybody get out now!” Kaldur was loud but firm, no doubt trying to find an escape. But the only way is through the elevator… Wally sped to the machine, not even caring if he tripped up anything else. He pushed the button, and almost cried out when it refused to open. Please no. Not here. Anywhere but underground. He tried at the door, pulling it open a crack, just enough to get inside. He lifted up a panel at the top of the elevator, exposing the shaft above him. Climbing up, he could see his team trying to reach the top. Superboy was already at the top, having leapt there. M’Gann was carrying Artemis as she flew. Just me, Robin, and Kaldur… Shouldn’t be too hard. His boyfriend was looking down at him, seemingly calm, but Wally could tell he was worried.“It’ll be alright, Robin. Just up and out.” He shot the avian a grin, and started jumping off the sides of the shaft, his superspeed causing enough momentum to allow him to go up. He bounced into Robin’s level, barely able to stop himself before hitting a wall.
“KF…?”
“Gotta flash, babe.” Without a moment of hesitation he picked the other out, only just giving him enough time to hold on before jumping once more, increasing speed to make it upwards. He felt his stomach clench, and mentally cursed himself out for not eating enough before the mission. I wasn’t expecting to use up this much energy… Nonetheless he kept up the speed, hoping he’d be able to make it up before…
He reached the fourth level, stopping at its entrance to pick up the Atlantean, who looked uncertain. “Kid Flash, you cannot possibly carry both Robin and I. While you can endure quite a bit, I doubt-”
“Less talking and more getting on my back! The building is filling up with whatever that stuff is, and I don’t think we stick around and find out.” The darker teen nodded once and complied, his arms hanging around the speedster’s neck. This is gonna slow me down big-time. He backed up, giving himself a running leap to the other side of the shaft. He barely made the bounce-off, his two companions weighing him down severely. He upped the speed as fast as he could make it, willing his body to last just four more levels. He panted harder with each jump, his body aching with hunger and sore from the lifting. Black spots danced across his eyes as he neared the top. Just a little further…
He knew it wasn’t meant to be. His body was telling him it was done, he could feel it. I have to save the other two… He shifted Robin in his arms, preparing to launch him. “KF, what are you-”
“M’Gann- catch!” He threw his boyfriend up mid-jump, and prayed to the powers-that-be that she’d catch him. He didn’t have time to look, however, as he reached behind him and managed to latch onto his leader, somehow maneuvering him to the front. The shocked look on his face wore off quickly as he helped get himself into a position to be thrown, quickly getting launched himself, but not as strong.
“Kaldur! Kid Flash!” He could hear M’Gann scream, but the dark spots overtook his vision as his body gave out, finally falling to the depths below. He heard one last cry before he became unconscious, filling his mind and adding to the pain he felt. I’m sorry, Dick.
“WALLY!”
******
Beep. Beep. Beep. He groaned as he shifted, not as sore as before. How am I even still alive? He opened his eyes, instantly assaulted by lights. Where am I?
“Wally.” He shifted his gaze to the source of the sound, finding his uncle at the doorway. In the blink of an eye he was beside the speedster, voice running a mile per minute. “Areyouokaywhathappenedbacktherewhydidn’tyouthinktoeatmorebeforeleavingwhathaveItoldyouaboutthisIcould’velostyouthefamilywould’vekilledmeandI’veneverbeensoworriedaboutyouwhatwereyouthinkingareyoualright?” Wally tried to respond, but ended up in a coughing fit instead.
“Flash, let the boy rest. He’s still probably feeling the after affects of the poison.” The Dark Knight swept into the room, pausing beside the medical ward’s bed. Kid Flash recovered, wiping his eyes and glancing back at his uncle, surprised to see tears forming.
“You’re right, I’m sorry Batman.” He straightened up, turning away from the two. “Just wanted to make sure he wasn’t…” He left the room, not finishing the sentence. He didn’t have to. Batman sighed as he watched his friend leave, returning his gaze to the teen.
“You took quite a fall, Kid Flash. Between that and the poison, your body took a beating. The Light showed up shortly after we did, so getting you out was rough.” He looked at the monitor, reading the speedster’s health signals. “You’re really lucky to have that healing ability…”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Wally finally found his voice, though it sounded cracked.
“Did you want me to say things to make you feel better?” The older man smiled softly, trying to make up for the short tone. “Forgive me, then. I was just trying to inform you of the facts. There’s a certain superhero who’s more than concerned about you, and I felt it’d be best to know where he’s coming from.”Certain superhero…
“Robin! How is he? And the team? Did Kaldur fall as well? Did-” The Dark Knight held up a hand, silencing the teen.
“The others are fine. A little worse for wear, but they all made it out in better shape than you.” He tapped the bedside thoughtfully, a little hesitant on his next words. “They’re all waiting outside, if you’d care to see the-”
“Can I?” The speedster sat up quickly, wincing slightly at the movement. The other gave him a sharp glance, but nodded slowly.
“For a few minutes, yes. But then you need to rest.” Wally agreed quickly, eager to see the others. A nod was thrown his way as the man left, and within a few minutes was replaced by the ones he knew best.
Except… not a single person was acting like themself, not even Superboy. The clone, usually direct and upfront, refused to look at the speedster, favoring the ground instead. The typically bubbly Martian looked distraught, the evidence of tears dried upon her face. Even Artemis looked worried, and she wasn’t one to show any emotion akin to fear. The most composed of the group was Kaldur, still stoic in his stance. Yet the telling feature that something was wrong was the way his hand fidgeted, unable to keep still. And there was one more person to look for…
“Where’s Robin?”
M’Gann responded, her voice just above a whisper, “in the other room. He wanted to see you alone.” The room fell once more into silence, unnerving Wally.
“Guys? Are… are you all okay…?” He was about to say more, but the fiery archer cut in before he had the chance.
“Us? Are we okay? You almost died, Kid Idiot! Do you have any idea-”
“That’s enough, Artemis.” Kaldur’s voice was soft, yet firm, and it was enough to silence the worked-up blonde. She huffed and turned away from the group, but not fast enough that Wally didn’t catch the tears starting to fall.
“Guys…” For once, the speedster didn’t know what to say. But he had to try. “Look… we all know the risk we take when heading out on missions. Anyone of us can die at anytime. It sucks, but it’s true. At least the Justice League got their info, you know? And at least we all made it out alive- nevermind all the injuries. So, like… can we all try to smile or something? It’s a new day, if the calendar is correct, and here we all are…” His voice trailed off as he looked around at his friends. Most attempted a weak smile, but it didn’t show through their eyes. He sighed, giving up. “Yeah, okay. Take some time to be sad and everything. But!” He gave a smile of his own, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, “When I get out of here, we’re going to have the best movie night celebration ever, you got it?” More weak smiles were thrown his way, though a tad more genuine this time as the teens agreed, taking it as their cue to shuffle out of the room. Now to get through one more person…
“Wally.” He almost broke at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice, so small and cracked. The avian shut the door behind him, and his mask instantly came off.
“Hey there, my little Dickie-bird.” He opened his arms up to the other, who didn’t hesitate to fall into the embrace. Though he tried to hide it, Wally could hear the soft sniffles as Robin cried, and his heart started to shatter at the sound. “Babe…”
“I almost lost you, you jerk.” His voice was definitely cracking. “I didn’t know anything was wrong, and then I was up in the air and M’Gann was catching me and Kaldur was up in the air and Superboy was grabbing at him and you were falling, Wally, and I couldn’t do anything and it’s all my fault and-”
“Hey.” Wally pulled his boyfriend forward, confused and stern, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Dick. It was all me. I should’ve eaten more, and-”
“And I should’ve made sure you’d eaten enough!” The raven-haired teen wiped at his eyes, the blue shining out more bright, despite the obvious pain within them. Wally pulled him in again, hugging him tighter.
“You couldn’t have known, Dick. Trust me, it was all my fault. I’m really sorry for what I’ve put you and the team through, okay? But it’s fine, I’m fine, we’re all going to be fine…”
“No we’re not, KF, that’s the thing!” The sniffles started to get softer as the other tried to speak. “We may be fine today, we may be fine tomorrow, but the next day? The day after that? Dumb luck isn’t always going to save us!” Robin coughed, trying to choke back his tears. Wally rubbed his back, trying to soothe him.
“I know that. We all do. But we’re superheroes, kid. It’s what we do.”
“Well maybe that’s too much for me to handle right now.” The other tensed up after he said it, and the speedster almost paused his actions. Too much…?
“Are you thinking about quitting the team?”
“Yes? No? Maybe?” The avian clung on tighter. “Not right now, you know, but maybe in the future? Maybe someday I’ll decide that I’ve had enough of possibly losing the ones I love? Maybe… maybe settle down with my boyfriend somewhere and run the family business while keeping a low profile…?” Dick sounded unsure of his words, and pulled away from his boyfriend’s grasp.
“Are you asking or telling?”
“Both?” They were staring straight into each other’s eyes, their souls bared out to see. One worried and hesitant, the other growing calmer by the second.
“Babe, you know I’d follow you anywhere. If we’re still going strong in five years or so and you want to call it quits, count me in.” The acrobat gave a shocked smile, and was about to respond when his guardian swept back into the room.
“Time to rest, Kid Flash. Robin.”
“Coming, Batman.” The younger’s demeanor much better than before, he turned back to the red-head.
“I’ll come visit soon, Wally. Don’t die of boredom before then.” He leaned forward, and the speedster eagerly leaned in for a kiss.
“I’ll do what I can. No promises.” He gave a weak laugh as the other left, a small smile still etched on his face.
I’ll always do what I can.