It's Time To Face Your Final Destiny
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Batman finally-and very begrudgingly-lets Wally leave the Watchtower a few days later, but only after he puts on a tracking device and Uncle Barry swears up and down and left, right, and centre to be responsible for any problems Wally might cause.
Wally tries not to be bitter about it-at this point, Batman should know who he is and what he will and won’t do-but it’s easier said than done.
But he’s going home, so even if he’s salty about Batman’s attitude, he can push it aside in favour of knowing he’ll see his family again.
Aunt Iris and Wally’s mother both cry messily when he comes into the house and they have to be pried off so Joan can sob over him as well. Uncle Barry brings in his kids, and Wally meets his cousins for the first time. They’re shy for all of ten seconds, and then they start climbing all over him and racing around him like they’ve been doing this their entire life.
Wally had thought he was emotional before, and then this happens. He has to turn away so the kids don’t think he’s crying because of them.
Of course, his mother and aunt notice his red-rimmed eyes, and that sets them off again, which in turn makes Bart start to cry and Uncle Barry get all choked up. Jay starts to sniff and Joan begins to dig in her purse for a new handkerchief.
They almost have a big old sob-fest right there (much to the confusion and distress of the toddlers), but then the doorbell rings.
News, it seems, has travelled fast. First, it’s Will and Lian and Paula and Jim and Artemis and Brucely. They’re barely in the door when Lois and Clark show up with a toddler (what), followed by a whole corps of Green Lanterns. M’gann and La’gaan bring cookies while Roy just grunts in Wally’s direction. Jesse brings her mom and fiancé. Kaldur and Garth come, and Wally gets to meet Kaldur’s boyfriend. Arthur and Mera bring their own kid, and Arthur cheerfully and loudly presents Wally with a seaweed salad (“TO HELP YOU GET UP TO SPEED, OLD CHUM! GET IT?! UP TO SPEED! I SHALL CALL THIS ADVENTURE ‘THE TIME I’-” “Dearest, you’re blocking the doorway.”) Rocket brings her kid, and Hartley promises to get Wally a playlist of all the worthwhile music he’s missed while he was in the Speed Force. Garfield brings Queen Perdita (who sobs all over Wally’s shirt and offers him yet another duchy while her bodyguards give him short nods of greetings and approval), and Oliver and Dinah both make an appearance (Dinah slips Wally her card and tells him her door is always open). At one point, Wally spotted Jaime and Tye and Virgil, clustered around a still crying but smiling Bart. Even Barbara shows up, with Tim, Stephanie, a silent girl Wally only vaguely recognises, and-is that Conner? Holy shit, Conner came? Wally didn’t think he liked him that much!
The house and yards are bursting at the seams, and it makes Wally feel even worse. There’s all these people who have all come to celebrate him and the fact he’s not dead, and that should make him feel good. He should be happy to know this many people care, but…he had accepted his death and was actively trying to get into paradise. He had made his peace, and he was finally content. And now…
The idea of therapy had always made Wally deeply uncomfortable, but maybe he should take up Dinah on her offer. Being frustrated over the fact he was alive is probably not a good thing.
Of course, this all could be the exhaustion talking.
Barry doesn’t let him help with the clean-up, and all but shoves Wally up to his old room so he can get some sleep. Wally protests, of course, but he doesn’t resist.
It hits him hard because he looks around the room and realises almost nothing has been changed. They didn’t change his old room, even with him having gone off to grad school, and Bart and the twins, and them thinking he was gone.
Wally cries a little over this.
That last cry ends up wiping him out so much he ends up just throwing on an old shirt and shorts, and yanking the blankets up over his head. He’s out not even a minute later.
Wally sleeps for nearly forty hours, and the only reason he gets up is because his stomach feels like it’s trying to digest itself.
Aunt Iris bursts into another round of tears when he stumbles into the kitchen, and after she crushes Wally’s ribs in a hug, she makes him sit down at the kitchen breakfast bar like he used to as a kid, and proceeds to make him every single one of his favourite breakfast foods in mass quantities, even though it’s late afternoon.
“You know,” she says as she flips a few chocolate-chip banana pancakes, “we’re going to have to come up with a reasonable story to tell everyone. I was thinking about that last night. Perhaps we can spitball a few ideas later on this evening.”
“Bats didn’t show up with a glossy dossier with all that worked out?” Wally blinks. “Huh. I thought he would’ve by now.”
Aunt Iris sniffs disdainfully. “Even if he did, that man has absolutely no heart. Besides, he’s not the only one with connections. I know enough people that we don’t need him.”
Wally thinks about pointing out it wouldn’t hurt to have Batman’s weight and connections setting up a few things for him, but decides Aunt Iris is more than a match for Batman, so he’ll let her take the lead on this. Besides, she had worked for a spin doctor before she managed to catch her break in reporting, and she still uses some of the tricks when she feels the situation calls for it; whatever angle she takes will be easily believed by the public because she’s good.
Bart bursts into the kitchen. "Grandma! Wally's not in his bed and-" He abruptly breaks off when he spots Wally. A moment later, he's plastered up against Wally under his arm. He squeezes Wally's ribs a little bit, probably to make sure Wally's a solid and not a vapor that'll dissolve the moment Bart tries to touch him.
"Don't call me 'grandma'," Aunt Iris says in that tired, exasperated way people do when they know the cause is hopeless, but still hang on to the belief that this time, things will be different.
"Okay, Granny," Bart mumbles into Wally's armpit and Aunt Iris rolls her eyes skyward.
Wally pats Bart's back as best he can. "Hey, Bartster. What's up?”
Bart sniffles loudly, but at least he pulls away before he leaves snot all over Wally’s shirt. “Not a lot,” he says, trying for normal and failing miserably. “Just back in from patrolling with Max. Hey, do you want to join us tomorrow? It’d be so crash if you did!”
“Can’t.” Wally points to Batman’s tracking device. “Not until Bats clears me. Besides, I’m out of practice. I think I’d hinder you more than help you.”
Bart wilts a little, but immediately perks back up. "'Sokay that you're out of practice! You can join me an' Jaime an' Robin an' Supes an’ Spoiler an’ Orphan for our training seshes! That way, when Bats stops being so moded, you'll be all ready to go!"
"I retired from that life," Wally says gently. "Remember?”
"Bart," Aunt Iris intervenes as she puts down a huge stack of pancakes in front of Wally. "Would you go get Barry and let him know Wally's up? I think he's at the Hall, and you can be there before I can even pick up my cell."
"But-"
"Please? I'll make you your own stack of pancakes when you get back.”
Bart waivers for a moment, but in the end, the lure of his own stack of chocolate-chip banana pancakes is too strong. He gives Wally another tight hug and tells him not to go anywhere before he zips off, the door slamming belatedly behind him.
Wally sighs, but Aunt Iris starts talking before he can say anything. “That’s another thing you’re going to have to figure out-how to deal with all the questions about the Lifestyle. All your friends are going to want to know if you’ll be coming out of retirement or not, and you’ll have to defend your decisions either way. You know your uncle and I’ll will support whatever you choose, and there will be no judgement.”
“I know. I just…I had come to terms with my life, when I was in the ‘Force, and…now I’m not there and I don’t know what I want or need anymore.”
“Oh, honey.” Aunt Iris puts down her spatula and comes over to give him a tight hug. “This all has to be so hard for you, and I can’t even begin to imagine how overwhelmed you must be, but…I want you to know that having you back is one of the greatest things to have ever happened. You being here, safe and sound…” She trails off and hugs him tightly again.
She reluctantly pulls away when the pancakes start to scorch a little. Wally offers to eat them anyways (he’s learned how to stomach all sorts of foods because beggars can’t be choosers, especially with his metabolism), but she waves off the suggestion.
Uncle Barry bursts into the room before Wally could press the point and he immediately races over to Wally and hugs him. “Hiya, kid! How’re you feeling?”
“Good.”
“That’s great! I’ve got a surprise for you!” Uncle Barry beams. He glances around. “Well, I will have a surprise for you, once the rest of the world catches up.” He zips off and a moment later, he’s back with Bart, and both of them are very obviously standing in front of something.
“Sorry that took so long,” Bart says. “But I had to wait for the zeta tubes to catch up and you know how slow those things are.”
“I keep offering ideas how to make them better,” Uncle Barry puts in, “but Mr Terrific always gets a little shirty when I start showing him some schematics.”
“So not on mode,” Bart mumbles while Aunt Iris rolls her eyes in fond exasperation.
“But enough of my complaining! I promised you a surprise!” Uncle Barry steps aside dramatically.
Dick's standing there.
Next
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Batman finally-and very begrudgingly-lets Wally leave the Watchtower a few days later, but only after he puts on a tracking device and Uncle Barry swears up and down and left, right, and centre to be responsible for any problems Wally might cause.
Wally tries not to be bitter about it-at this point, Batman should know who he is and what he will and won’t do-but it’s easier said than done.
But he’s going home, so even if he’s salty about Batman’s attitude, he can push it aside in favour of knowing he’ll see his family again.
Aunt Iris and Wally’s mother both cry messily when he comes into the house and they have to be pried off so Joan can sob over him as well. Uncle Barry brings in his kids, and Wally meets his cousins for the first time. They’re shy for all of ten seconds, and then they start climbing all over him and racing around him like they’ve been doing this their entire life.
Wally had thought he was emotional before, and then this happens. He has to turn away so the kids don’t think he’s crying because of them.
Of course, his mother and aunt notice his red-rimmed eyes, and that sets them off again, which in turn makes Bart start to cry and Uncle Barry get all choked up. Jay starts to sniff and Joan begins to dig in her purse for a new handkerchief.
They almost have a big old sob-fest right there (much to the confusion and distress of the toddlers), but then the doorbell rings.
News, it seems, has travelled fast. First, it’s Will and Lian and Paula and Jim and Artemis and Brucely. They’re barely in the door when Lois and Clark show up with a toddler (what), followed by a whole corps of Green Lanterns. M’gann and La’gaan bring cookies while Roy just grunts in Wally’s direction. Jesse brings her mom and fiancé. Kaldur and Garth come, and Wally gets to meet Kaldur’s boyfriend. Arthur and Mera bring their own kid, and Arthur cheerfully and loudly presents Wally with a seaweed salad (“TO HELP YOU GET UP TO SPEED, OLD CHUM! GET IT?! UP TO SPEED! I SHALL CALL THIS ADVENTURE ‘THE TIME I’-” “Dearest, you’re blocking the doorway.”) Rocket brings her kid, and Hartley promises to get Wally a playlist of all the worthwhile music he’s missed while he was in the Speed Force. Garfield brings Queen Perdita (who sobs all over Wally’s shirt and offers him yet another duchy while her bodyguards give him short nods of greetings and approval), and Oliver and Dinah both make an appearance (Dinah slips Wally her card and tells him her door is always open). At one point, Wally spotted Jaime and Tye and Virgil, clustered around a still crying but smiling Bart. Even Barbara shows up, with Tim, Stephanie, a silent girl Wally only vaguely recognises, and-is that Conner? Holy shit, Conner came? Wally didn’t think he liked him that much!
The house and yards are bursting at the seams, and it makes Wally feel even worse. There’s all these people who have all come to celebrate him and the fact he’s not dead, and that should make him feel good. He should be happy to know this many people care, but…he had accepted his death and was actively trying to get into paradise. He had made his peace, and he was finally content. And now…
The idea of therapy had always made Wally deeply uncomfortable, but maybe he should take up Dinah on her offer. Being frustrated over the fact he was alive is probably not a good thing.
Of course, this all could be the exhaustion talking.
Barry doesn’t let him help with the clean-up, and all but shoves Wally up to his old room so he can get some sleep. Wally protests, of course, but he doesn’t resist.
It hits him hard because he looks around the room and realises almost nothing has been changed. They didn’t change his old room, even with him having gone off to grad school, and Bart and the twins, and them thinking he was gone.
Wally cries a little over this.
That last cry ends up wiping him out so much he ends up just throwing on an old shirt and shorts, and yanking the blankets up over his head. He’s out not even a minute later.
Wally sleeps for nearly forty hours, and the only reason he gets up is because his stomach feels like it’s trying to digest itself.
Aunt Iris bursts into another round of tears when he stumbles into the kitchen, and after she crushes Wally’s ribs in a hug, she makes him sit down at the kitchen breakfast bar like he used to as a kid, and proceeds to make him every single one of his favourite breakfast foods in mass quantities, even though it’s late afternoon.
“You know,” she says as she flips a few chocolate-chip banana pancakes, “we’re going to have to come up with a reasonable story to tell everyone. I was thinking about that last night. Perhaps we can spitball a few ideas later on this evening.”
“Bats didn’t show up with a glossy dossier with all that worked out?” Wally blinks. “Huh. I thought he would’ve by now.”
Aunt Iris sniffs disdainfully. “Even if he did, that man has absolutely no heart. Besides, he’s not the only one with connections. I know enough people that we don’t need him.”
Wally thinks about pointing out it wouldn’t hurt to have Batman’s weight and connections setting up a few things for him, but decides Aunt Iris is more than a match for Batman, so he’ll let her take the lead on this. Besides, she had worked for a spin doctor before she managed to catch her break in reporting, and she still uses some of the tricks when she feels the situation calls for it; whatever angle she takes will be easily believed by the public because she’s good.
Bart bursts into the kitchen. "Grandma! Wally's not in his bed and-" He abruptly breaks off when he spots Wally. A moment later, he's plastered up against Wally under his arm. He squeezes Wally's ribs a little bit, probably to make sure Wally's a solid and not a vapor that'll dissolve the moment Bart tries to touch him.
"Don't call me 'grandma'," Aunt Iris says in that tired, exasperated way people do when they know the cause is hopeless, but still hang on to the belief that this time, things will be different.
"Okay, Granny," Bart mumbles into Wally's armpit and Aunt Iris rolls her eyes skyward.
Wally pats Bart's back as best he can. "Hey, Bartster. What's up?”
Bart sniffles loudly, but at least he pulls away before he leaves snot all over Wally’s shirt. “Not a lot,” he says, trying for normal and failing miserably. “Just back in from patrolling with Max. Hey, do you want to join us tomorrow? It’d be so crash if you did!”
“Can’t.” Wally points to Batman’s tracking device. “Not until Bats clears me. Besides, I’m out of practice. I think I’d hinder you more than help you.”
Bart wilts a little, but immediately perks back up. "'Sokay that you're out of practice! You can join me an' Jaime an' Robin an' Supes an’ Spoiler an’ Orphan for our training seshes! That way, when Bats stops being so moded, you'll be all ready to go!"
"I retired from that life," Wally says gently. "Remember?”
"Bart," Aunt Iris intervenes as she puts down a huge stack of pancakes in front of Wally. "Would you go get Barry and let him know Wally's up? I think he's at the Hall, and you can be there before I can even pick up my cell."
"But-"
"Please? I'll make you your own stack of pancakes when you get back.”
Bart waivers for a moment, but in the end, the lure of his own stack of chocolate-chip banana pancakes is too strong. He gives Wally another tight hug and tells him not to go anywhere before he zips off, the door slamming belatedly behind him.
Wally sighs, but Aunt Iris starts talking before he can say anything. “That’s another thing you’re going to have to figure out-how to deal with all the questions about the Lifestyle. All your friends are going to want to know if you’ll be coming out of retirement or not, and you’ll have to defend your decisions either way. You know your uncle and I’ll will support whatever you choose, and there will be no judgement.”
“I know. I just…I had come to terms with my life, when I was in the ‘Force, and…now I’m not there and I don’t know what I want or need anymore.”
“Oh, honey.” Aunt Iris puts down her spatula and comes over to give him a tight hug. “This all has to be so hard for you, and I can’t even begin to imagine how overwhelmed you must be, but…I want you to know that having you back is one of the greatest things to have ever happened. You being here, safe and sound…” She trails off and hugs him tightly again.
She reluctantly pulls away when the pancakes start to scorch a little. Wally offers to eat them anyways (he’s learned how to stomach all sorts of foods because beggars can’t be choosers, especially with his metabolism), but she waves off the suggestion.
Uncle Barry bursts into the room before Wally could press the point and he immediately races over to Wally and hugs him. “Hiya, kid! How’re you feeling?”
“Good.”
“That’s great! I’ve got a surprise for you!” Uncle Barry beams. He glances around. “Well, I will have a surprise for you, once the rest of the world catches up.” He zips off and a moment later, he’s back with Bart, and both of them are very obviously standing in front of something.
“Sorry that took so long,” Bart says. “But I had to wait for the zeta tubes to catch up and you know how slow those things are.”
“I keep offering ideas how to make them better,” Uncle Barry puts in, “but Mr Terrific always gets a little shirty when I start showing him some schematics.”
“So not on mode,” Bart mumbles while Aunt Iris rolls her eyes in fond exasperation.
“But enough of my complaining! I promised you a surprise!” Uncle Barry steps aside dramatically.
Dick's standing there.
Next