Chapter Two: What's Stopping You?

Pain. He was in pain.

Wally West's eyes finally opened slowly, and a wave of confusion passed over him.

Where was he?

The air was musty, and the bed he was laying on was nearly falling apart. The bathroom door on the other side of the room looked as if it was about to fall off of its hinges.

Needless to say, it did not look like a comfortable living space. At all.

There was a tiny kitchen and even a television set, but the tiles of the kitchen were falling off and half of the tv screen was cracked.

As Wally sat up, the bed creaked a bit, and he winced in pain.

His leg. He'd been... shot?

Okay, this was new. He hadn't been shot like that in a couple of months. He had only been shot two or three times in his career as Kid Flash... another one to add to the list.

Luckily, whoever dressed the wound did it right. He sighed in relief. All he had to do is wait for help!

Wait.

Someone helped him. But who?

The speedster had to admit that things were getting a bit creepy. He was in an apartment that looked like it would be in a horror film, and some unknown person picked him up and dragged him there. The place also looked like it would be infested with rats, and Wally had a fear of rats. Wimpy, yes. Also reasonable.

"Ehem."

Wally heard a cough from the other side of the room, and he quickly glanced in that direction.

Oh shit.

It was the kid they had been searching for.

"Uhh... your the kid that wants Batman dead." Wally pointed out rudely, and the boy nodded.

"Yep. I knew he'd send his bitches." Raptor replied calmly, leaning up against the kitchen counter.

"His what?" Wally questioned. Did he say 'bitches'?

Raptor just rolled his eyes.

"So uh... what happened?" Wally asked awkwardly. He hoped his friends were okay- aside from Artemis. That blonde basic bitch...

"Joker." He said bluntly.

"Uh. Details maybe?" The speedster snapped, tilting his head.

Raptor crossed his arms. "You probably don't want the details." His voice was calm and quiet but still somehow audible. Wally was surprised he kept his cool. He'd just snapped at the boy a couple times, and didn't get much of a reaction out of him. It was as if he didn't really give a fuck.

"So, why did you help me?" Wally now asked with curiosity.

"Just because I want Batman dead, doesn't mean I can't be a decent human being."

"Right. What about the others?"

Dick was getting annoyed by Banana's crazy questions. Did he always talk this much? No wonder Blondie hated his guts. "You were worse off than they were. However they were in no shape to help you either."

"Uh... thanks I guess." Wally thanked, feeling a bit bad about the way he had spoken to the boy earlier.

He scoffed. "Don't think your so special. I have to give you all credit though, it was a pretty entertaining fight."

"Wait- you watched?!" The speedster yelled with anger. Had this kid been following them the whole time, just to piss them off?!

Wally got his answer when a small smirk formed on his face. The speedster groaned with frustration.

"I'm leaving." He stated, attempting- and struggling- to stand.

"I wouldn't do that, Banana-Guy." Raptor said causally.

Wally paused. Banana-Guy? Really? Artemis had already said he looked like a plate of spaghetti. Maybe it was time for a costume change. "It's Kid Flash." Wally snapped.

"I'd rather call you Banana. Or, I could call you Wally."

Great. This punk kid knew his secret identity. What else did he know?

"I don't have time to deal with this. I need to get home." The redhead groaned, attempting to stand again.

"Looks like it'll be a real long and painful walk." Raptor pointed out quietly, secretly enjoying himself. He was tempted to laugh at Banana's stupidity.

But he didn't laugh.

So, he just watched. Banana would groan and wince, and let out a cry of pain every time he took a step- a step that was three inches. Baby steps. What an idiot.

"Any help here?" Wally complained, and Dick shook his head.

Wally was now laying on the floor, sighing.

"Looks like I don't have to sleep on the floor then. I was gonna give you the bed, but it seems you don't want it." Raptor stated, grabbing a pillow and throwing it on the floor next to the speedster. "Did I mention that the rats like that spot?" He added, and Banana's eyes went wide. Priceless.

Wally just pouted, and pulled the pillow to his chest. He needed to get help! This kid was gonna chop his head off or something! Then the rats would infest his dead body!

Wait- his communicator! Hidden in one of his pockets that was- empty. What a surprise. It looked like he was stuck there.

"G'night Banana-Guy."

"Ugh. It's Kid Flash!"

Raptor turned off the lamp, and Wally realized there was no getting out of it. So, he laid down the pillow and rested his head on it. As minutes went by, he tried fighting the exhaustion, but failed, and drifted off to sleep.

Dick sat on the bed, watching through his mask.

Right. Watching someone sleep- stalkerish and creepy.

Banana hadn't known that he was watching him while he was awake. Dick had watched him toss and turn until he finally shut his eyes to sleep. Dick was used to the dark, he'd been in it his whole life.

Well, not his whole life.

For the past five years.

Having someone sleep on his floor in his home was unusual. He was so used to being alone too.

Having a bright yellow banana sleep on his floor was like having a campfire in a dark forest. God, could his uniform get any brighter?!

Banana-Guy was actually a bit interesting to Dick. He didn't know why, but somehow he was. The redhead was more interesting than a boy who was half fish, a green-skinned girl, a hot blonde badass archer girl, and a Kryptonian. Hey, he wouldn't deny the fact that the archer was hot. He was a teenage boy, what would you expect?

Dick pushed his hormonal thoughts aside, and directed his attention back to the speedster on his floor.

He had red hair, just like Dick's mother.

Dick missed his mother.

She didn't deserve what had happened to her...none of them deserved it. Such kind, caring, beautiful, talented people. They were all gone- because of Batman.

Batman had hurt him because he was the reason the people Dick loved were gone.

Then, a brilliant idea popped up in his brain.

He wouldn't kill Batman. Not yet.

---
Mount Justice
---

All of the teenagers, minus Wally, were in the medbay speaking quietly to their mentors.

After what happened, Batman had luckily found them in time. They were all unconscious and injured, and the Joker was about to kidnap each of them.

Barry was pretty upset when he found out from Batman that Wally was nowhere to be found. He suspected that it was Joker, but Joker told Batman that the "Flash Junior" was there one second and gone the next. Barry knew that Joker could be lying, and he threatened to get into a heated argument with Batman. Luckily, Superman broke it up before things got ugly.

Batman didn't care as much about where Wally was but who took him, and went back to the crime scene to investigate. He had a small feeling that he knew who had done it.

Megan was frightened, she was told that clowns on Earth were happy and exciting, not crazy and deranged. Connor tried to support her, but didn't exactly know how.

Artemis felt bad that she had taken Wally for granted, and was actually a bit worried for him. Kaldur was worried as well, and felt he had failed as team leader.

Their mentors left Mount Justice to let them get rest and sleep.

"D-do you think we will find him?" Megan stuttered, holding back a sob.

"I don't know." Connor replied shortly. Sure, Wally was annoying and always flirted with his girlfriend. But he still cared for the speedster, he would never want something like this to happen to him.

"We must recover if we want to help our friend." Kaldur pointed out, and Megan sighed.

Artemis groaned. "Seriously? Wally's out there and he needs our help!"

"I t-thought you h-hated him?" The Martian sniffled. Connor and Kaldur turned their gazes to her.

"Umm... well... he's not my favorite person. But I don't want him to get hurt." Artemis replied. Kaldur refrained from rolling his eyes, and Connor's eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm going to sleep." Connor said apathetically, and left to go to his room.

"Connor! Stay in the medbay so you can recover!" Megan cried out worriedly, and Artemis grumbled.

"I heal fast." Connor claimed irritably.

"But Connor, you were exposed to Kryptonite!" Megan added, but the clone just ignored her and left.

---
The Next Morning
---

Wally yawned, stretching his arms out as he sat up.

"Rise and shine, Banana." A voice said from across the room.

"I'm not even gonna try anymore." Wally sighed.

Raptor was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels causally. He hadn't even looked back at the speedster, too focused on trying to find a good show.

Wally stood, mentally thanking his quick healing. It still hurt, but at least he could stand. He took a few slightly painful steps, but cheered. He could finally leave!

"Hey, Shortie! Good news!" Wally exclaimed, also satisfied with his new nickname for the kid.

Dick rolled his eyes at the sad attempt of coming up with a nickname. "Let me guess? You can walk now?"

"Hell yeah! How'd you know?"

"I could hear you walking." Raptor stated quietly.

Wally titled his head. "Um. Okay." He clasped his hands together. "Well, imma leave now!"

"Please do."

"Hmm... now that I'm better I could apprehend you and take you to Bats. That was the mission." Wally pointed out.

"What's stopping you? Go right ahead. I'd like to see you try, Banana." Raptor replied calmly, turning around to smirk at the redhead. The latter crossed his arms.

"I- uh..."

"I mean, are we just gonna forget about the part where I saved your sorry ass? Yeah? Alright. Whatever." The younger boy added, turning back around to flip through channels again.

"Uh..."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Banana. But I believe you owe me."

"Owe you what?" The speedster snapped.

"I'll let you know when the time comes."

Wally rolled his eyes, and sped out of the apartment.

He reached the street, wincing. "Ow! Looks like I'll have to find the nearest zeta tube."

Wally looked back at the building. He knew where Raptor lived. Should he tell Batman and the league?

Whatever. He just wanted to get back to Mount Justice. He could decide that part later.

He walked around the corner of the street, getting a few weird looks from bypassers.

Right- he was still in uniform.

A small child that walked by smiled happily after seeing a superhero, and it made the speedster happy. Being a hero was fun. Yes, it came with consequences. But it was always worth it in the end.

Wally then thought back to the boy that was barely younger than him, who had saved him. A boy that was obsessed with destroying Batman.

Was it really worth it?

Batman was a hero- and someone- a young boy, not a super villain- wanted him dead.

Wally turned another corner, finally reaching an alleyway with a zeta tube. It was in the telephone booth, he remembered. Batman had made the team memorize where all of the zeta tubes in their cities were.

He opened up the door, and the light engulfed his body.

---
Mount Justice
---

The zeta tubes announced Kid Flash's arrival, and the teens instantly ran into the debriefing room.

"Wally!" Megan screamed happily. Connor grunted, but smiled anyways, and Kaldur greeted his teammate.

"Hey guys. I know I have some explaining to do." Wally stated sheepishly.

"Yes you do." Kaldur said firmly. "Until Batman and Flash get here, please let us take you to the medbay. Your leg looks injured." The Atlantean added with a worried smile.

Wally was shocked when Artemis came up and hugged him for a good twenty seconds, and finally pulled away.

"Uh, Arty? Are you high?" Wally joked. The archer rolled her eyes. "No I'm not, Wally. I just missed arguing with you and always being right." She said.

"You are not always right!" The speedster countered.

"Both of you! Enough! Wally, let's go to the medbay." Kaldur interrupted, ushering the others with him.

Batman and Flash had gotten there later, and Wally explained what had happened. Well, not exactly what had happened.

He told them that Joker shot him in the leg, and someone had saved him. Wally then told them he woke up in an alleyway with a bandaged leg, and found an empty building to rest and recover in.

The speedster didn't forget to mention that his communicator had been broken, before Flash ripped him a new one for not contacting them. In the end, Barry was relieved that Wally was safe and the teens now knew they could finally get some sleep at night knowing he was okay. Batman couldn't care less, but part of him was glad that Wally was back. Batman couldn't take anymore of Barry's bickering.

Batman wanted to know why Wally's explanation was false, and what he was hiding. What? He was the World's Greatest Detective.

Wally could fool the others, but he would not fool Batman.

---
To be continued...

A/N: Things are actually starting to happen now! Don't worry, you'll get your birdflash. Things need to build up first. Also, I'm a fan of love triangles *cough* hint *cough* so be ready to hate me just a little bit. At first I was gonna write the fight scene with Joker, but I was too lazy and it seemed like a waste of time. Thank you for reading, remember to vote and/or comment if you enjoyed and want more!