[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/w0u1edR.png[/img][/center] [color=Goldenrod][sub]"....Barry?....You okay?"[/sub][/color] The warm, calming void of dreamless sleep begins to recede, and little by little, reality reasserts itself. Part of me kind of regrets it-- between my responsibilities to Central and Keystone Cities, my duties as part of the Justice League, and my job with the CCPD, getting a good night's sleep is almost impossible. The first thing I realize as my senses come back into focus is that I'm on the ground, and I'm shaking. Or rather, someone's shaking me. [color=Goldenrod][sub]"Come on, Barry, you gotta get up...."[/sub][/color] For a moment, I can't help but think of my high school days, when Mr. Garrick would have to spend the better part of an hour waking me up to make sure I wasn't late for school after staying up all night. I mean, I appreciate it now, of course-- if it weren't for Jay, I probably would have been expelled-- but in the moment, all I could think about was how annoying it was to have someone jostle you out of a perfectly good dream for-- [center][h3][b][i]*SLAP!*[/i][/b][/h3][/center] [color=Red]"Owwww!!!"[/color] I yelp as I bolt upright. [color=Goldenrod]"Ah, good, there you are,"[/color] says a voice with a nonchalance that routinely drives me up the wall. [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/EDhXqUN.png[/img][/center] [color=Goldenrod]"Sleeping on the job, [i]*tsk tsk*[/i],"[/color] Wally shakes his head with the sort of smugness that can only come from a know-it-all teenager. [color=Goldenrod]"You're really starting to slack off in your old age, Barry."[/color] Wally West, Iris's nephew. A little over a year ago, he got pulled into the Speed Force, and I nearly scattered my existence into a state of simultaneous omnipresence and oblivion diving deep enough to pull him back out. This had some....weird side effects, not the least of which being that I'm no longer the only speedster in town. I don't know if I'm the best teacher in the world, but one time I asked Nightwing how Batman trained him, and basically just did the exact opposite. To his credit, Wally's taken to hero training really well-- even though he's not as fast as me, he's come up with all sorts of crazy uses for his speed that I never would have considered. [color=Red]"'Old age?' I'm twenty-seven, you little twerp,"[/color] I say as I wipe bits of dust and grit off of my costume. [color=Goldenrod]"Twenty-[i]seven[/i]? OOOF,"[/color] Wally wheezes. [color=Goldenrod]"Maybe we can swing by S.T.A.R. Labs and see if they'll make a Cosmic Walker for you."[/color] If there's one thing I'm a little concerned about with him, though, it's this reckless, devil-may-care attitude of his, and his tendency to run his mouth. [i]No[/i] idea where he gets that from. Probably Iris. [color=Red]"Okay, banter aside, what's the situation?"[/color] I say as I get back into 'business' mode. [color=Goldenrod]"Well,"[/color] Wally starts, [color=Goldenrod]"I got a call from Cisco saying you were in trouble, so I took a bathroom break from algebra class-- that excuse is really doing wonders for my reputation, by the way, everyone at school thinks I've got a bladder the size of an eye dropper-- to come bail you out. They filled me in that the Rogues were up to something, and that you were caught in the middle of it."[/color] [color=Red]"You ran into the middle of a Rogue attack?!"[/color] I blurt out. [color=Red]"I've told you, those guys are dangerous! And anyway, we already agreed: no super-villains until you get your drivers license!"[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"But--"[/color] [color=Red]"No buts, you could have died!"[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"And you [i]would[/i] have died if I didn't jump in!"[/color] Wally shouts back. [color=Goldenrod]"I thought the whole 'using your powers to protect people, even if it puts yourself at risk' thing is what you were training me for to begin with!"[/color] [color=Red]"That's--.....actually, you're right,"[/color] I have to admit. [color=Red]"Iris is gonna kill me when she finds out you ran into a fight with the Rogues, but....you're right. Thanks for the save."[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"You're welcome,"[/color] he replies with a defensive edge still in his voice. [color=Goldenrod]"And anyway, it wasn't much. Mirror Master's mirrors only work on one side, so when I saw that he'd surrounded the area, I smashed my way through the back side of one, grabbed you, then ran out before he could make another one. Once I got you to a safe distance, the Rogues just kinda...vanished. Like they'd made their point or whatever."[/color] [color=Red]"Are you sure?"[/color] I ask. [color=Red]"The way they were attacking me, they were somehow....I dunno, attacking me remotely, I guess? Their weapons and powers were there, just....no Rogues. Maybe they're still waiting in ambush."[/color] Wally shrugs. [color=Goldenrod]"I went back to try and help evacuate the area,"[/color] he admits, [color=Goldenrod]"But by the time I came back, the coast was clear. Weather Wizard's storm had dissipated, no more cold beams or plasma bolts or killer boomerangs or anything. The only trace that they were even there was the mess."[/color] [color=Red]"Hmmm,"[/color] I mutter as I look back towards Mercury Square. [color=Red]"The Rogues usually don't like to fight me head-on, even when they've got the numbers advantage. A simple call-out fight just isn't their style. Whatever they're doing, I'm liking it less and less."[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"Oh!"[/color] Wally exclaims, before zipping over to a nearby table and grabbing a pair of steaming paper cups. [color=Goldenrod]"And, uh, one other thing.....when I saw you were asleep, I grabbed some coffee from Jitters. Figured you might need some caffeine to help wake up."[/color] [color=Red]"Oh, uh, thanks,"[/color] I smile as I take one of the cups and have a sip. At the CCPD, I'm usually the one who has to grab coffee for everyone else, so having a go-fer of my own is a nice perk. [color=Goldenrod]"Well, don't thank me too much,"[/color] he says with a sheepish grin, [color=Goldenrod]"I, erm, didn't want to wait around for the barista to make your order, so I kinda sorta just swiped some drinks from a couple of customers and then placed enough money in their hands to buy another one. With money from, ahh, your wallet."[/color] I roll my eyes. [color=Red]"Well, at least you [i]sort of[/i] paid for them,"[/color] I say before taking another drink. [color=Red]"Good work, Kid Flash."[/color] He rankles at the name. [color=Goldenrod]"I told ya, I wanna be called Impulse!"[/color] he whines. [color=Red]"You can call yourself whatever you want once you graduate,"[/color] I grin. [color=Red]"Til then, you're Kid Flash."[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"That's so not fair."[/color] [color=Red]"Hey, you're lucky I didn't go with 'The Zoomer' and tell everyone you help me fight people who are 'acting sus.'"[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"[i]Uuuuugh,[/i] nobody even plays that game anymore!"[/color] [color=Red]"I still play it."[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"[i]Exactly![/i]"[/color] [color=Red]"Seriously, though,"[/color] I change the subject, [color=Red]"I appreciate the save, but until I get a handle on what's going on, I want you to lay low, okay? No need for both of us to be in danger until we know how to beat them. And anyway, I'm pretty sure if you don't get back from that 'bathroom break' of yours, your teacher's going to start to think you fell in."[/color] [color=Goldenrod]"Oh, right, yeah!"[/color] Wally says with a startled realization. [color=Goldenrod]"Mr. Broome is gonna lose it if he thinks I snuck out to avoid today's quiz. I'll catch up with you later!"[/color] With that, he turns into a yellow-and-red streak and blurs his way through the city streets back to Central High. Like I said, good kid. Still don't know where he gets that attitude, though. As he runs off, my smile fades, and my thoughts start to turn grim. They [i]had[/i] me. If Wally hadn't jumped in, I'd be dead right now. And it doesn't make any sense. Snart, Harkness, Scudder, the rest of them, they're not morons, sure....but they're not [i]that[/i] smart. None of them have the kind of technological know-how to make something that can project their weapons from another location, and certainly not with enough precision to box me in like that. Maybe the Rogues started recruiting. I wasn't expecting Pied Piper to be in on the act, so maybe they've got someone who can teleport, or make wormholes, or something? Who do I know who can make those kind of fissures that accurately, and that quickly? Maybe investigating the scene of the crime will get me some more answers than just standing here stewing about it. But if I'm gonna look for evidence of super-crime, I'll need the right gear. Which means it's time to hit up S.T.A.R. Labs and see what they can cook up for me.