Post by C_Miller on Feb 6, 2012 23:28:31 GMT -5
Ultimate Flash #2
New Morning
Jessie Garrick’s Apartment. Keystone City, Kansas.
Both Wally West and Jessie Garrick busted into her apartment, with Wally balancing on her weight. She led him to the couch and laid him down before she grabbed the phone and started to dial her father and then 911. She ran her hands frantically through her hair as a nervous tick while her hands shook preventing her from hitting the right keys. After the third attempt, she tossed the phone against the wall, causing it to shatter.
“Jess, don’t worry so much. I’m fine!” He stood up and did a little dance on one foot to prove that his body was sound.
She shook her head into her hand, which was over her face. “Wally, you just got struck by lightning… we need to get you to a doctor.”
“I’ve never felt better!” To prove it her ran around the room and to Jessie’s eyes it appeared a bit faster than she would have expected, but nothing incredibly worthy of note. When he settled himself back in front of her, he gave her a slight look of concern. “Hey, where’d that girl go?”
She shrugged. “Dunno. She seemed pretty spooked when you were STRUCK BY LIGHTNING that she ran off.”
Wally’s look turned frantic. “I probably didn’t take those thugs out for long… what if they go after her? What if they find her? Whatiftheykillher?!” With that he ran out of the apartment with a Speed that Jessie had only seen from her father Jay Garrick, her mentor Barry Allen and herself.
“My… God…”
***
Wally West was both paralyzed with fear and unable to stop moving all at the same time, which caused for an unsettling cognitive dissonance. He knew that he set off to run to find the girl that he had rescued, but he was alarmed at the speed he was taking. Before he could focus on any particular landmark, it was gone from his eyesight and he was onto the next one. Soon, he was on the Kanigher Bridge that linked the Twin Cities, running to Central City.
In the blink of an eye, he had left the city limits of Central City, Missouri and passed ended up in Messnertown, Missouri, the upscale suburban neighborhood where he grew up with his Aunt and Uncle. He tried to stop at the home, but he couldn’t stop quickly enough and by the time he stopped, he was in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Wow… Did I…?” He asked himself in confusion, but his mind soon caught up with what his body was just doing. His bewildered frown slowly morphed into a confident smile and he jumped up into the air, letting out a joyous noise.
He quickly took aim again for Keystone City, Kansas and ran towards it with total and sheer glee. In a split second, he stopped at the door of Jay Garrick, the original Flash and he walked in without knocking.
“Yo Wally! What’s shakin?” Bart Allen, the alternate reality grandson of his Uncle Barry asked him the second he walked into the house. He had the ability to tap into the Speed Force as well and the way that he functioned, there was a good chance that he came down the second he heard Wally first touch the doorknob. Of all the Speedsters that Wally had met, there wasn’t a single person who enjoyed speed more than Bart.
Wally wasn’t sure how to answer how to answer his question. ‘I got struck by lightning and the next thing I knew I was in Kentucky, is Jay home?’ didn’t seem like the proper way to announce himself. “I, um, just came to speak to Jay… I know it’s early, but it’s… uh… about Jessie.”
Bart’s expression went from shock to concern to suspicion in roughly a tenth of a second and what alarmed Wally the most was that he could identify the quick changes. He quickly checked the clock in the piano room and looked back at Wally with the same suspicious look. “It’s 5:27… he’ll be up at 5:30… what’s wrong with Jess?”
Wally’s palms started to sweat. “Oh, nothing new… just wanted to talk to him for a quick second… hey, it’s a Saturday, what are you doing up?”
The look on Bart’s face moved into a smile. “Haven’t slept yet. I only need about two hours of sleep everyday… plus who can sleep when the new Call of Duty game just came out?”
Wally rolled his eyes and laughed. “Well, I’ll let you get back to that… I suppose I’ll just wait for Jay to get up.”
With that, Bart tapped into the Speed Force and raced up to his room, which to Wally looked like he was only running at a normal human speed. Bart came to them right after Barry died as a member of The Guardians of Flashpoint, a group of Speedsters from different time periods and reality, created by Max Mercury to make sure Flashpoint, the deaths of Barry and Eobard Thawne happened. He originally moved in with Iris, but it was too much for her, so Jay offered to let him move into Jessie’s old room.
Wally liked him. He thought that it was like having a piece of Barry back with them and he became great friends with Barry’s children, something that they desperately needed after their father’s death.
“Wally?” He heard just as he entered the great room and sat down. The familiar warm voice of Jay Garrick, made him smile and feel at ease for the first time since he was struck by lightning an hour ago, which to Wally felt like days.
He turned around to face the original Flash who was wearing a bathrobe over pajama bottoms and a University of Michigan t-shirt. With a warm smile on his face, Jay strolled over to Wally and shook his hand with one hand on his shoulder. “Wally, it’s been too long, how are you?”
Hesitantly, Wally shrugged. “I’m not sure. Do you have a minute?”
Jay nodded. “Of course. It’s Saturday. Have a seat.” Jay pointed towards the chair that was situated next to both the coffee table and the fireplace. Wally turned to the chair, but when he turned back, the fireplace had a fire in it and Jay was gone. In the blink of an eye, he was back with two mugs of coffee. “Fresh from Paris. Now, my boy, what’s on your mind?”
Slowly, Wally sat down in the chair and took a sip of coffee. “Some… strange things have happened to me.”
“Oh?”
Like a scared animal backed into the corner, Wally’s eyes began to shift around the room. “Last night… I… I was struck by lightning…”
A concerned look washed over Jay’s face. “Are you okay? Did you see a Doctor about it? Wait… why did you come to me.”
“I was feeling strange and I went after a girl who I saved from a mugging earlier, but everything was moving so fast… I ended up in Louisville. I got there in less than five seconds… even now it feels like every one of my cells are screaming me…” Wally explained to Jay the best he could, while the concerned look remained on Jay’s aged face.
Jay leaned forward in his chair and sighed into the fists that he was resting his chin on. “Wally, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Wally pondered the question for a second then reluctantly nodded. “My God… Okay… has Max Mercury visited you?”
Wally shook his head slowly. “That’s what I was worried about… could this have to do with Zoom?”
The aging Speedster thought for a second and then shook his head. “I don’t believe so. When I encountered The Rival and Professor Zoom, they were entirely consumed by the power of the Reverse-Speed Force, even from the start. That doesn’t describe you, m’boy, so we have that.”
Wally shrugged. “Jay, I need more than that.”
The old man nodded. “We should test the nature of your powers…” Jay got up and walked outside with Wally acting as a close shadow. “I’m a bit famished. Pick me up breakfast… I’m thinking bagels… from Ess-a-Bagel on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.”
Wally nodded affirmatively and took off in an Eastward direction. The second Wally took off towards Paris, Jay got out his cell phone and pressed two then the green phone key on the keypad. Bringing it up to his ear, he waited for the person on the other end. “Yeah, he came by.” Jay’s expression fell. “I don’t know, he’s very confused right now and with good reason. I wouldn’t do anything to make it worse.” He shook his head as if the person on the other end could see him. “Please, just promise me that you will not bother him.” He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath as he closed his phone.
Just as he put his phone in his pocket, Wally rounded the corner holding two cups of coffee and a bag of bagels with a wide smile on his face. Jay returned a half smile to his young friend and led him back into the house.
The pair sat at the kitchen table munching on bagels in silence while Wally gazed awkwardly at a picture of Jessie on the fridge from her graduation from University of Michigan. “So, son, what are your plans?”
Wally’s look shifted to meet Jay’s eyes. His eyes shifted as if he were trying to hide from his sky blue eyes. “I don’t know, what do you think?”
“I can’t make this decision for you, son. I know what feels natural, but you need to think and decide if that’s the best option.”
A light went off in Wally’s head as he achieved an epiphany. “The Flash…”
Jay threw his hands up and shook his head. “Look, Wally, You have a choice. I didn’t have a choice, Barry didn’t have a choice… Jess didn’t have a choice. Don’t underestimate you’re ability to make a choice.”
“What else am I going to do, Jay?”
The old man shrugged. “I don’t know, Wally. Go read all the books you ever wanted to. See the world. Fix that damned car that you’ve had in your Aunt’s garage for six years. I’m not saying don’t help people, but there’s no reason to go all messiah complex over it…”
Wally shrugged and then stood up, heading towards the door. “Thanks Jay. I’ll think about it.”
***
Wally West tiptoed into the home of his Aunt and Cousins, even though he was certain that it was empty. Even though the woman who raised him as her own son owned it, the house just didn’t feel like home. Not anymore.
With light feet, he crept towards the attic, where his Aunt Iris hid the remnants of his Uncle’s legacy; the costume, the ring, all the newspaper clippings that she kept over the years.
At the time, he couldn’t quite explain it to himself, but he felt dirty, as if he were performing a heist or reveling in impure acts. Was the preservation of his Uncle’s memory really that wrong? Suddenly Jay’s words began to sink in, but before he could turn back, he felt someone jump on his back.
Startled, he flailed causing the mass to shake off his body. When he turned around he saw his sixteen year-old cousin sitting on the floor in a crumpled heap. “Nice to see you too, Wally…” She said as she rubbed her lower back.
Wally quickly rushed down her level and picked her up, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Dani, I’m sorry. You can’t jump up on people like that.”
Smiling widely to show she wasn’t hurt, she continued to rub herself down; checking for bumps or freshly formed bruises. “I think you taught me a lesson.”
The pair moved to the living room where Wally carefully sat down in his Uncle’s easy chair as Danielle plopped down on the couch. “Spill it.”
Danielle was so much like her father in many ways. She was generally calm, methodical, but at the same time still warm and friendly. However, she was a spitfire, just like her mother. Wally had to chuckle at her last exclamation as it was exactly what her mother would of said, had she been in here. “I don’t know what you’re talking about… why are you here, by the way?”
“Flash Day. No School. Your turn.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him, trying to size him up.
Wally scratched the back of his head out of sheer nervousness. The kid was sending him very accusatory vibes. “I was just seeing if… your Mom kept… a couple school books I had at Keystone Community College… I needed to reference something with fueley heads from the 1930s…”
“Wally…” She signed. “I don’t know anything about cars and even I can tell that’s bullshit.”
Wally’s eyes grew to the size of saucers at the explicative. “Danielle! Language. What would your mother say?”
Danielle remained steadfast in her harsh gaze towards her cousin. “I… I want to be The Flash…” Wally conceded causing Danielle harsh look to fade.
“Wh… what?”
Wally looked down at the floor as Danielle sized him up. “This morning I was struck by lightning…”
Suddenly Danielle jumped across the coffee table that divided the two and pulled him into a tight embrace. At first he thought that it was out of celebration, but he soon heard her weep into the crook of his neck. “Dani? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want you to die.” She cried.
Wally let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m not going to die…”
That made Danielle cry louder, causing him to pull her closer to him. “My daddy died… you can’t do this.”
“Danielle… I need to. This is what Uncle Barry would have wanted…” He spoke softly to no one in particular.
***
Hesitantly, Wally turned the knob to Jessie’s apartment where he found her sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the wall. The woman slowly turned and looked at Wally who was still wearing the same clothes as he wore when he left her this morning. “Hey Jess…” he said softly. The second she hear his voice, she stood up and jumped him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.
“Wally, I was so worried. What happened to you?” Her body felt good against his. Comfortable, but he couldn’t help but look around the room; his new heightened senses told him something was amiss. He didn’t know how, but he quickly spotted a syringe with a fresh needle and a small bottle of Velocity 9 on her end table.
He pulled his gaze back to meet her eyes. “Jess… I have something to show you…” He tapped into the Speed Force and when he came out, he was wearing Barry’s Flash costume.
Out of shock, she pushed him away and took a big step back. “Wa… Wally? What is this?”
Wally’s gaze shifted towards the floor. “I know you’ve been having some trouble… I thought I could help…”
Jessie’s expression went from shock to anger. “Babs called you, didn’t she?” Wally tried to answer, but Jessie wouldn’t let him get another word in. “No. You and her are in on this together. You two don’t think I can do this.”
“Jess. It’s not that. I know you had your problems. I just want to help you.”
Jessie emphatically shook her head. “Get out of my apartment. And throw away that God forsaken suit. I never want to see you again.”
“But Jess.”
She threw up her finger and pointed towards the door. “GET! OUT!” She shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Wally nodded and turned around to leave the apartment. “Well, Jess. You’ll get what you want.”
***
Wally dragged his feet as he walked down Anderson Avenue en route to his apartment building. He wasn’t quite prepared for that reaction from the woman who was so important to him. He loved her, but clearly she didn’t feel the same way and what’s more, she took his olive branch as an insult; a question as to her abilities.
Suddenly in the distance, he heard the sound of police sirens and his life choices flashed before his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but now was the time to make the choice. Putting Jay, Jessie, Danielle, Iris and the others out of his head, he focused on one person. “Well, here goes nothing, Uncle Barry.”
He tapped into the Speed Force and raced towards the sirens at top speed.
New Morning
Jessie Garrick’s Apartment. Keystone City, Kansas.
Both Wally West and Jessie Garrick busted into her apartment, with Wally balancing on her weight. She led him to the couch and laid him down before she grabbed the phone and started to dial her father and then 911. She ran her hands frantically through her hair as a nervous tick while her hands shook preventing her from hitting the right keys. After the third attempt, she tossed the phone against the wall, causing it to shatter.
“Jess, don’t worry so much. I’m fine!” He stood up and did a little dance on one foot to prove that his body was sound.
She shook her head into her hand, which was over her face. “Wally, you just got struck by lightning… we need to get you to a doctor.”
“I’ve never felt better!” To prove it her ran around the room and to Jessie’s eyes it appeared a bit faster than she would have expected, but nothing incredibly worthy of note. When he settled himself back in front of her, he gave her a slight look of concern. “Hey, where’d that girl go?”
She shrugged. “Dunno. She seemed pretty spooked when you were STRUCK BY LIGHTNING that she ran off.”
Wally’s look turned frantic. “I probably didn’t take those thugs out for long… what if they go after her? What if they find her? Whatiftheykillher?!” With that he ran out of the apartment with a Speed that Jessie had only seen from her father Jay Garrick, her mentor Barry Allen and herself.
“My… God…”
***
Wally West was both paralyzed with fear and unable to stop moving all at the same time, which caused for an unsettling cognitive dissonance. He knew that he set off to run to find the girl that he had rescued, but he was alarmed at the speed he was taking. Before he could focus on any particular landmark, it was gone from his eyesight and he was onto the next one. Soon, he was on the Kanigher Bridge that linked the Twin Cities, running to Central City.
In the blink of an eye, he had left the city limits of Central City, Missouri and passed ended up in Messnertown, Missouri, the upscale suburban neighborhood where he grew up with his Aunt and Uncle. He tried to stop at the home, but he couldn’t stop quickly enough and by the time he stopped, he was in Louisville, Kentucky.
“Wow… Did I…?” He asked himself in confusion, but his mind soon caught up with what his body was just doing. His bewildered frown slowly morphed into a confident smile and he jumped up into the air, letting out a joyous noise.
He quickly took aim again for Keystone City, Kansas and ran towards it with total and sheer glee. In a split second, he stopped at the door of Jay Garrick, the original Flash and he walked in without knocking.
“Yo Wally! What’s shakin?” Bart Allen, the alternate reality grandson of his Uncle Barry asked him the second he walked into the house. He had the ability to tap into the Speed Force as well and the way that he functioned, there was a good chance that he came down the second he heard Wally first touch the doorknob. Of all the Speedsters that Wally had met, there wasn’t a single person who enjoyed speed more than Bart.
Wally wasn’t sure how to answer how to answer his question. ‘I got struck by lightning and the next thing I knew I was in Kentucky, is Jay home?’ didn’t seem like the proper way to announce himself. “I, um, just came to speak to Jay… I know it’s early, but it’s… uh… about Jessie.”
Bart’s expression went from shock to concern to suspicion in roughly a tenth of a second and what alarmed Wally the most was that he could identify the quick changes. He quickly checked the clock in the piano room and looked back at Wally with the same suspicious look. “It’s 5:27… he’ll be up at 5:30… what’s wrong with Jess?”
Wally’s palms started to sweat. “Oh, nothing new… just wanted to talk to him for a quick second… hey, it’s a Saturday, what are you doing up?”
The look on Bart’s face moved into a smile. “Haven’t slept yet. I only need about two hours of sleep everyday… plus who can sleep when the new Call of Duty game just came out?”
Wally rolled his eyes and laughed. “Well, I’ll let you get back to that… I suppose I’ll just wait for Jay to get up.”
With that, Bart tapped into the Speed Force and raced up to his room, which to Wally looked like he was only running at a normal human speed. Bart came to them right after Barry died as a member of The Guardians of Flashpoint, a group of Speedsters from different time periods and reality, created by Max Mercury to make sure Flashpoint, the deaths of Barry and Eobard Thawne happened. He originally moved in with Iris, but it was too much for her, so Jay offered to let him move into Jessie’s old room.
Wally liked him. He thought that it was like having a piece of Barry back with them and he became great friends with Barry’s children, something that they desperately needed after their father’s death.
“Wally?” He heard just as he entered the great room and sat down. The familiar warm voice of Jay Garrick, made him smile and feel at ease for the first time since he was struck by lightning an hour ago, which to Wally felt like days.
He turned around to face the original Flash who was wearing a bathrobe over pajama bottoms and a University of Michigan t-shirt. With a warm smile on his face, Jay strolled over to Wally and shook his hand with one hand on his shoulder. “Wally, it’s been too long, how are you?”
Hesitantly, Wally shrugged. “I’m not sure. Do you have a minute?”
Jay nodded. “Of course. It’s Saturday. Have a seat.” Jay pointed towards the chair that was situated next to both the coffee table and the fireplace. Wally turned to the chair, but when he turned back, the fireplace had a fire in it and Jay was gone. In the blink of an eye, he was back with two mugs of coffee. “Fresh from Paris. Now, my boy, what’s on your mind?”
Slowly, Wally sat down in the chair and took a sip of coffee. “Some… strange things have happened to me.”
“Oh?”
Like a scared animal backed into the corner, Wally’s eyes began to shift around the room. “Last night… I… I was struck by lightning…”
A concerned look washed over Jay’s face. “Are you okay? Did you see a Doctor about it? Wait… why did you come to me.”
“I was feeling strange and I went after a girl who I saved from a mugging earlier, but everything was moving so fast… I ended up in Louisville. I got there in less than five seconds… even now it feels like every one of my cells are screaming me…” Wally explained to Jay the best he could, while the concerned look remained on Jay’s aged face.
Jay leaned forward in his chair and sighed into the fists that he was resting his chin on. “Wally, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Wally pondered the question for a second then reluctantly nodded. “My God… Okay… has Max Mercury visited you?”
Wally shook his head slowly. “That’s what I was worried about… could this have to do with Zoom?”
The aging Speedster thought for a second and then shook his head. “I don’t believe so. When I encountered The Rival and Professor Zoom, they were entirely consumed by the power of the Reverse-Speed Force, even from the start. That doesn’t describe you, m’boy, so we have that.”
Wally shrugged. “Jay, I need more than that.”
The old man nodded. “We should test the nature of your powers…” Jay got up and walked outside with Wally acting as a close shadow. “I’m a bit famished. Pick me up breakfast… I’m thinking bagels… from Ess-a-Bagel on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.”
Wally nodded affirmatively and took off in an Eastward direction. The second Wally took off towards Paris, Jay got out his cell phone and pressed two then the green phone key on the keypad. Bringing it up to his ear, he waited for the person on the other end. “Yeah, he came by.” Jay’s expression fell. “I don’t know, he’s very confused right now and with good reason. I wouldn’t do anything to make it worse.” He shook his head as if the person on the other end could see him. “Please, just promise me that you will not bother him.” He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath as he closed his phone.
Just as he put his phone in his pocket, Wally rounded the corner holding two cups of coffee and a bag of bagels with a wide smile on his face. Jay returned a half smile to his young friend and led him back into the house.
The pair sat at the kitchen table munching on bagels in silence while Wally gazed awkwardly at a picture of Jessie on the fridge from her graduation from University of Michigan. “So, son, what are your plans?”
Wally’s look shifted to meet Jay’s eyes. His eyes shifted as if he were trying to hide from his sky blue eyes. “I don’t know, what do you think?”
“I can’t make this decision for you, son. I know what feels natural, but you need to think and decide if that’s the best option.”
A light went off in Wally’s head as he achieved an epiphany. “The Flash…”
Jay threw his hands up and shook his head. “Look, Wally, You have a choice. I didn’t have a choice, Barry didn’t have a choice… Jess didn’t have a choice. Don’t underestimate you’re ability to make a choice.”
“What else am I going to do, Jay?”
The old man shrugged. “I don’t know, Wally. Go read all the books you ever wanted to. See the world. Fix that damned car that you’ve had in your Aunt’s garage for six years. I’m not saying don’t help people, but there’s no reason to go all messiah complex over it…”
Wally shrugged and then stood up, heading towards the door. “Thanks Jay. I’ll think about it.”
***
Wally West tiptoed into the home of his Aunt and Cousins, even though he was certain that it was empty. Even though the woman who raised him as her own son owned it, the house just didn’t feel like home. Not anymore.
With light feet, he crept towards the attic, where his Aunt Iris hid the remnants of his Uncle’s legacy; the costume, the ring, all the newspaper clippings that she kept over the years.
At the time, he couldn’t quite explain it to himself, but he felt dirty, as if he were performing a heist or reveling in impure acts. Was the preservation of his Uncle’s memory really that wrong? Suddenly Jay’s words began to sink in, but before he could turn back, he felt someone jump on his back.
Startled, he flailed causing the mass to shake off his body. When he turned around he saw his sixteen year-old cousin sitting on the floor in a crumpled heap. “Nice to see you too, Wally…” She said as she rubbed her lower back.
Wally quickly rushed down her level and picked her up, pulling her into a tight embrace. “Dani, I’m sorry. You can’t jump up on people like that.”
Smiling widely to show she wasn’t hurt, she continued to rub herself down; checking for bumps or freshly formed bruises. “I think you taught me a lesson.”
The pair moved to the living room where Wally carefully sat down in his Uncle’s easy chair as Danielle plopped down on the couch. “Spill it.”
Danielle was so much like her father in many ways. She was generally calm, methodical, but at the same time still warm and friendly. However, she was a spitfire, just like her mother. Wally had to chuckle at her last exclamation as it was exactly what her mother would of said, had she been in here. “I don’t know what you’re talking about… why are you here, by the way?”
“Flash Day. No School. Your turn.” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him, trying to size him up.
Wally scratched the back of his head out of sheer nervousness. The kid was sending him very accusatory vibes. “I was just seeing if… your Mom kept… a couple school books I had at Keystone Community College… I needed to reference something with fueley heads from the 1930s…”
“Wally…” She signed. “I don’t know anything about cars and even I can tell that’s bullshit.”
Wally’s eyes grew to the size of saucers at the explicative. “Danielle! Language. What would your mother say?”
Danielle remained steadfast in her harsh gaze towards her cousin. “I… I want to be The Flash…” Wally conceded causing Danielle harsh look to fade.
“Wh… what?”
Wally looked down at the floor as Danielle sized him up. “This morning I was struck by lightning…”
Suddenly Danielle jumped across the coffee table that divided the two and pulled him into a tight embrace. At first he thought that it was out of celebration, but he soon heard her weep into the crook of his neck. “Dani? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want you to die.” She cried.
Wally let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m not going to die…”
That made Danielle cry louder, causing him to pull her closer to him. “My daddy died… you can’t do this.”
“Danielle… I need to. This is what Uncle Barry would have wanted…” He spoke softly to no one in particular.
***
Hesitantly, Wally turned the knob to Jessie’s apartment where he found her sitting in the living room, staring blankly at the wall. The woman slowly turned and looked at Wally who was still wearing the same clothes as he wore when he left her this morning. “Hey Jess…” he said softly. The second she hear his voice, she stood up and jumped him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.
“Wally, I was so worried. What happened to you?” Her body felt good against his. Comfortable, but he couldn’t help but look around the room; his new heightened senses told him something was amiss. He didn’t know how, but he quickly spotted a syringe with a fresh needle and a small bottle of Velocity 9 on her end table.
He pulled his gaze back to meet her eyes. “Jess… I have something to show you…” He tapped into the Speed Force and when he came out, he was wearing Barry’s Flash costume.
Out of shock, she pushed him away and took a big step back. “Wa… Wally? What is this?”
Wally’s gaze shifted towards the floor. “I know you’ve been having some trouble… I thought I could help…”
Jessie’s expression went from shock to anger. “Babs called you, didn’t she?” Wally tried to answer, but Jessie wouldn’t let him get another word in. “No. You and her are in on this together. You two don’t think I can do this.”
“Jess. It’s not that. I know you had your problems. I just want to help you.”
Jessie emphatically shook her head. “Get out of my apartment. And throw away that God forsaken suit. I never want to see you again.”
“But Jess.”
She threw up her finger and pointed towards the door. “GET! OUT!” She shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Wally nodded and turned around to leave the apartment. “Well, Jess. You’ll get what you want.”
***
Wally dragged his feet as he walked down Anderson Avenue en route to his apartment building. He wasn’t quite prepared for that reaction from the woman who was so important to him. He loved her, but clearly she didn’t feel the same way and what’s more, she took his olive branch as an insult; a question as to her abilities.
Suddenly in the distance, he heard the sound of police sirens and his life choices flashed before his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but now was the time to make the choice. Putting Jay, Jessie, Danielle, Iris and the others out of his head, he focused on one person. “Well, here goes nothing, Uncle Barry.”
He tapped into the Speed Force and raced towards the sirens at top speed.
