(no subject)

[runningstart]

WHO: Wally and Robin; Wally and Superboy; Wally and Artemis; Wally and Jaime
WHERE: ALL OVER CREATION (De Chima, VA; Heropa, various locales)
WHEN: IMMEDIATELY
WHAT: Time to talk about destroyed futures and killer spine robots
WARNINGS: intense teen drama

Comments

ROBIN

[runningstart]

[Wally keeps checking the phone time as he waits for Robin, heels banging against the edge of the three-story building.

9:47

9:48

9:48

9:50

He's had a few days to think about it, a few days that were spent working whenever he was awake, looking for odd jobs or fighting crime or at Starktech, trying to figure out how to get the continuum into testing without Tony knowing. He mowed six lawns on Monday and made a hundred dollars for it. He has to do that slow too, otherwise it comes out looking weird and then he has to do it all over again. His experiment logs were misfiled three days in a row and he had to redo each of them by hand and get his supervisor to sign off of them. He tried to figure out how to tie a hammock and finally gave up and bought the cheapest mattress he could from IKEA with the lawn mowing money he'd just earned, then carried it all the way home and thanked the Swedes for knowing how to compress an entire mattress into something the size of a sleeping bag roll.

But none of those tasks required a whole lot of brain power. And it left Wally with plenty of time to think.

And every time he thought it circled back around to the conclusion that even if he never figured out how to say it in a way that wouldn't worry the others, he'd still have to tell them.

So late that evening, he texts Robin and heads over to their usual 'this is my city' hangout spot, where they go to meet up and scout for purse snatchers or drug dealers or anything else to take out. And he bangs his heels against the side of the building and he checks his phone over and over, neurotic and wondering if he's speeding up or if his dread is digging its heels into the ground to slow the entire world down.

9:50

9:51

9:51]

[performance]

[ Robin always knows when Wally's thinking too much. It's that best friend thing — knowing each other better than they know themselves. He sees Wally the way he doesn't see himself, knows how he works and what makes him tick, what he likes and what he hates and when something's gotten under his skin. Like right now. It's just that lately — since Colorado, but maybe even before that — Wally's been acting off a little more than usual. So Dick didn't pry. Maybe he should have asked, but it's not like Wally's unproductive when he has steam to burn off.

And he figured, in the end, if it was really important, either he'd pry it out of Wally, or Wally would come to him.

So when his custom text alert for KF goes off (a Roadrunner meep meep) he thinks: yeah, he made the right choice. He's suited up and out the fire escape in minutes, heading to their spot.

The wind rolls in, and with it, Robin, the cooling late summer air tugging at his cape and his hair. ]

Keep you waiting long?

[runningstart]

Yeah, kinda. Relatively speaking. Not your fault. [Having Bart around has spoiled KF for instant gratification. He can speed up when he's around him, instead of making sure to remain at normal rest.

He turns off his phone and slips it into the sewn pocket at his hip and takes a deep breath.]

You'll probably wanna sit down for this.

[performance]

[ Flashes and their lack of patience. (Note to self: get that motorcycle.)

Wally's extra serious tonight, and it's unsettling. Don't borrow trouble, he reminds himself, even as a quiet heaviness creeps into the space in his ribcage. So Robin sits with KF, his cape splayed out on the concrete behind him, one knee pulled up to his chest. ]

Okay. Sitting. [ He bumps his shoulder against Wally's. ] What's on your mind? You've been at eleven for days.

[runningstart]

[KF rocks slightly to the side, and he taps his fingers against the concrete before finally just biting the bullet.]

Bart told me the truth about why he came back in time. He's not just a tourist. He came back to stop the Flash from being killed, and to keep the world from being taken over by the Blue Beetle.

[performance]

[ Oh, Robin thinks, so calmly that it frightens him, the dizzying calm of standing on a ledge and knowing you could just drop, that makes sense. But it doesn't process. It's awful, it's horrible (Flash, killed? Blue Beetle — how? Why?), but he can't make sense of that little. His eyes narrow into white slits, his brow furrowing as black gloves grip concrete. ]

This happens in 2016? [ Flat and clarifying; the Batman tone, pressing for more information. ]

[runningstart]

It's not gonna. Bart already stopped the Flash from dying. [Wally's brow furrows and he shakes his head.] He says he thinks they managed to avert it, but there's no way to know for sure. I mean- if time is linear, and Bart really did avert it, then he'd disappear from 2016 because there'd be no reason for him to go back, right?

SUPERBOY

[runningstart]

[It's late, but the night's not getting younger and Wally should probably get this over with before he talks himself out of it. He hates to be the bearer of news like this, but there's not much of a choice and he's not going to make Bart do it. Not when he just barely managed to wrench it out of him, and that's probably only because he'd somehow guilted Bart into it.

Besides, all of them deserve to know what's up. Even if they don't remember later, even if it's already been averted by Bart, they just- it's just something they have to know. Maybe something will change and they'll remember when they go back, and they can help prevent it even before Bart comes back. Maybe they can make it so Bart never has to come back in the first place, and he can stay with a family and friends he'd never had.

KF sits on the front steps to the courthouse, elbows slung around his knees and head hung. He's spent an awful lot of today waiting.]

[projectkr]

[When he'd gotten the late-night text, Superboy hadn't sat around to text Wally back. Just a quick 'okay' before he left his room. Normally when his teammate had something to say, it was through texting. And when he was upset, Wally just asked to come over and crash at his place. It was sort of a "Wally-speak" that Superboy was coming to learn about. Usually they just hung out in the mountain or used M'gann's telepathic link to talk during missions. His phone back home never really got this much use.

So when Wally opts to have a meeting that means Superboy has to take the time to get to, must mean something big and unpleasant and that he doesn't really want to talk about but he's making himself do it. Or, at least, that's the conclusion Superboy has come to.

While he walks to the spot Wally has picked out, he checks his phone directory - making sure all the names of their teammates were there. And that no one new has showed up even though Robin's program worked pretty well when Artemis' name came back to the network. By the time he's done checking and thinking, he's reached the courthouse steps. There's Wally looking pretty terrible.

He climbs a couple of steps until he can sit on the same one.]

Hey.

[runningstart]

Hey dude. [When SB sits down next to him, Wally kind of feels better. Like he's suddenly been anchored to the ground. SB might have his problems, some anger issues, some trust issues, and he might be really clumsy in conversation or weird with the way he thinks, but -and Wally doesn't know if he should ever mention this- there's definitely one thing SB got from Superman that Wally's glad he did. He's like a rock. Like a mountain, immovable and steady, always present.

Being fast, it sometimes makes a guy feel like there's nowhere that's home, and that if he just runs quick enough he'll just fade away someday, into the wind or nothingness or maybe something that sounds a little less depressing, but SB?

Sometimes it feels like he'll be around forever. It's hard to imagine that the world could exist without SB in it.]

...Wolf's not with you. [Which is odd. They've been pretty attached at the hip lately.]

[projectkr]

[He might argue about the 'always present' being a trait he got from Superman but that's mostly on the big guy's end in his opinion. Still, Superboy would gladly be the rock or mountain for the team if they needed it - and sometimes they did. Especially without Aqualad here.

After taking his spot, he leans back on his elbows and looks up at the dark sky. It's different from the view from Mount Justice but somehow it's also comforting to see the same constellations and patterns from their world.]

I left him looking after Alli.

[runningstart]

Probably a good idea. You know how emotional he gets over bad news. [it's a joke sb don't look at him like that. its how he copes]

Look, I- how much do you know about Bart?

[projectkr]

[He is indeed giving Wally a look. Must be bad if there are jokes involved.]

Not a lot. He's a speedster, from our world but from the future. Came back from the future to join the team which our future. Doesn't want to talk about the future though, except it slips out sometimes.

ARTEMIS

[runningstart]

[At this point, it's almost like he's used to hearing and saying it. It's why he saved Artemis for last, because inevitably they end up fraying each other's tempers and he'd both wanted to put it off and also wanted to numb himself so if she did flip her lid -which is pretty likely- he'd be too tired to get his hackles up and snap back.

He doesn't want to fight with her anyway. She just got back. He's supposed to be happy she's back, and all he's been feeling since she texted him that night is anxious and uncomfortable, and he doesn't even know why.

So when he texts her to ask if she can meet him by the lake, he's half expecting her to already be asleep. He'll wait thirty minutes for her response; if she doesn't text back, he's heading home and he'll get her in the morning. ...but she'll be awake. Unless being back home gave her the distance she needed from Colorado to start sleeping again.]

[real_archer]

[Whatever her level of distance, Artemis is very much awake when she gets his text. She frowns at the message, unsure what to make of it. There's just no context anymore when it comes to Wally. What does she need to know? Why the lake, of all places?

It's more like three minutes than thirty before she responds to let him know that she's on her way. She brings her bow, just in case. Best to be prepared for any scenario, right?

By the time she arrives, she's managed to worry herself in and out of a wide variety of metal states, ranging from frustration to concern. She spots him easily, even in the poor light. They're a pain in the ass sometimes and totally unnecessary to her overall awesomeness, but she is kind of glad to have the eyes back.]

Okay, so spill. What do I need to know?

[She has her arms crossed over her chest, automatically adopting a confrontational pose. That always makes things easier in the short term.]

You woke me up, so this had better be good.

[runningstart]

[Oh good, we're starting this off already hostile. That'll make it easier.]

Have you noticed Bart's pretty shady when it comes to talking about where he's from?

[real_archer]

[Artemis is all about making things easier.]

I have literally talked to the kid once and he seemed pretty shady about everything. Are we really here in the middle of the night to talk about your cousin?

[runningstart]

Does it look like I brought you out here for a social call? Jesus Christ, Artemis. [SO MUCH FOR NOT BEING CONFRONTATIONAL]

Look, apparently our world gets completely torn up, all right? In about fifty years, the League is gone and all of us are either dead or captured, and the entire human race is enslaved. That's what I asked you out here for.

[real_archer]

[It could have been a social call... SHE JUST DOESN'T KNOW ANY MORE, OKAY?

But this... this doesn't even compute.]

What.

[Her voice is dangerously low and quiet.]

What are you even talking about? That's insane.

JAIME

[runningstart]

[The following day, KF makes his way over to Jaime's house and tries to keep himself from being too angry. He's not a threat, he's not even the same Jaime, and Bart had made it very, very clear that if Wally picked a fight, Bart would be angry. Alienating his cousin isn't high on his list of things he wants and besides, he doesn't want to pick a fight with Jaime anyway.

He might be a little on the dull side, but Jaime's never done wrong by him. Hell, he came to rescue him at Colorado -him and the others, anyway- and he'd shared information about their kidnappers with him. He didn't have to do either. And Wally honestly believes the guy is a hero, and he believes Bart when Bart says it wasn't his fault.

He just needs to hear it from the horse's mouth. So the next evening, Kid Flash heads over to Jaime's before patrol and pounds right on his door in full uniform, stepping back with his hands on his hips and squinting up at the window he thinks is Jaime's (it's not). If he doesn't come out...

...well, KF'll just try later. But hopefully he'll come out.

[khajidont]

Kid Flash has arrived.

[This time, the Scarab's not just being creepy - they both know that Wally's going to want to have words with him. Jaime doesn't know Wally well enough to know how he's going to react. Will he be angry with Jaime for keeping this from him? Will he suspect him of actually being on the Reach's side, or do they know each other well enough by now for him to have ruled him out?

Honestly, he's not entirely certain what Wally actually thinks of him, but he supposes he'll find out now. When Jaime opens the door, he doesn't look surprised in the slightest, though it's hard to tell exactly what he's thinking. He glances behind him, searching for Kaidan and their new roommate before hastily closing the door behind him. He's wise enough not to chastise Wally for showing up at his house in full regalia, but that doesn't mean he intends to stick around.]

If we're talking this out in uniform, we're going somewhere else.

[runningstart]

'Kay, well. [He gestures to Jaime. Armor up.

It's probably good that he hasn't yet met the Jaime Reyes of his world, and it's probably good that all he's got is Bart's account of what happens. It makes it a lot harder to swallow it as truth. Intellectually, yeah, he can do it, but emotionally? Not so bad. If he saw what happened, or if he'd lived it, like Bart had, well. There'd probably be a lot more violence involved, instead of this unsure agitation.]

Library. [Should be closed today.] Meet me there. [Wally turns on his heel and runs, half to burn off this anxious, angry energy and half just because he doesn't want to see those blue plates peel right out of Jaime's skin.]

[khajidont]

[It's hard, trying to sort out how he feels about his alternate universe's self's whole deal being aired to an entire team of heroes his own age. It may not be discussing him specifically, but this does, in essence, expose where he's from, what he's been fighting against, and while it's not necessarily a secret, it's not information he's prone to openly volunteering.

But it's information that they need to know, so it's not as if he's going to complain. He'll just end up in his room after this, feeling aggressively uncomfortable about the whole thing. He walks the length of the block with bare feet before turning the corner and allowing the suit to rise from his skin. When he gets to the library, he lands wordlessly in front of Wally and waits.

It's your go, Wally.]

[runningstart]

[Wally's paced a nice, neat circle in front of the library while he waited for Jaime, but instead of burning off energy it seems like his activity did the opposite. He's even more agitated, and when Jaime lands in front of him Wally can't help but give him a critical look, up and down. Is he really that powerful? This one guy -and whoever is controlling him, because now that he thinks about it Wally didn't even ask- takes down all the heroes on Earth. Really?]

Bart told you I'd be coming, didn't he? [The little twerp. Not that Wally can't blame him, but it's not like he's out for blood. Just answers. ...very determined to get those answers yeah, but still. Just answers.] So I guess you guys have already chatted about all of this.

[khajidont]

He said you might.

[If Wally hadn't, he would have gotten a text from Jaime himself - he's not so big on showing up at people's doorsteps, particularly as he's not technically sure where Wally's living right now. He catches the look that Wally's giving him, as if he's trying to measure him up, and all he does is stand stiffly underneath his gaze, letting what Wally sees speak for itself. He's not very impressive looking, he knows, a little short, obnoxiously bright, more like a mascot than a supervillain.]

And... yeah, we've talked. I think he wanted to figure out what my deal was.

[As opposed to his universe's Jaime. Though, come to think of it, he didn't know that he had been talking much with Wally.

All of a sudden, he realizes that he's been kept in one loop and out the other. Business as usual.]