And it looks like I am shaking (but it's just the temperature)

.

ZIP!

A streak raced through the streets of Gotham City at several miles per second. If someone took a freeze-frame snapshot of it, they might get the blurry image of a redheaded teenager wearing a dark jacket and goggles.

My name is Wally West and I am the fastest kid alive.

A purse-snatcher had put several blocks of distance between himself and his victim, but a blur grabbed the purse out of his arms and returned it to the owner before anyone knew what happened.

That line would make a really good intro for when I'm famous and have my own TV series. 'Cause I'm definitely gonna become a real superhero one day, no matter what my family says.

Another robber was holding a woman at knifepoint. The crime rate is horrible in Gotham City. It's like nighttime in New York City, except, sort of, all the time. Fortunately a gust of wind swept through the scene, and suddenly the mugger's knife was in the woman's hand, and her other hand with his cell phone was positioned up to her ear. The voice on the other end said, "Nine-One-One, what is your emergency?"

Ever since the Flash first appeared, he's been my idol. I'm not sure why it was him, out of all the heroes in the Justice League, I was drawn to in particular. Maybe it was fate. Either way, I dreamed of being a hero just like him. I wanted to grow up to be him... I'm talking about the current Flash, of course. I only learned about the first Flash through him. It's a long story.

The boy dashed all over the city, keeping an eye out for anyone else who needed help.

The current Flash, the famous one everyone knows, is actually the second Flash. The original Flash was a man named Jay Garrick. He got super-speed powers back in the 50's because of a freak accident in a chemical lab. Right now he's eighty-something and retired, but he was a crime fighter for a long time.

There was another man who was a really big fan of his. He wanted to get those same super-speed powers and continue the legacy. So he deliberately recreated the accident that gave Jay those powers. That man is the current Flash, hero of Central City, co-founder of the Justice League, and my personal hero too.

I also really loved my uncle, Barry Allen. He was a forensic scientist, so he knew all about the chemistry and science stuff I liked. I was at his house one day and found some notebooks in his room. I wasn't snooping or anything! I was just looking around. At first I thought it was a bunch of notes he copied out of a chemistry textbook, but it wasn't. It was all of his research about the Flash experiment and how it affected his body. That was the day I found out my uncle, Barry Allen, was the Flash.

I was ecstatic! (And a little angry he hid it from me, but mostly ecstatic.) I felt like it was fate. The hero I idolized so much turned out to be a member of my own family. And I figured: if Uncle Barry recreated the experiment to be like his hero, I could do the same. I really could fulfill my dream of being another Flash!

Uncle Barry said I wasn't allowed to try it. I was too young, it was too dangerous, stuff like that... but I did it anyway. I copied his notes and did the experiment in my garage. So now that I have these powers, you might be wondering why I still need to sneak away to Gotham City to do the hero stuff. Well, that's another long story.

He ran down the sidewalks too fast to be seen.

It starts with a small explosion in my garage.

BOOM!

.

Barry Allen ran into the hospital room. "I'm sorry I'm late! I got here as soon as I could!"

Wally West, age thirteen, put on a brave face and cheerfully said, "Hi Uncle Barry!" as if nothing was wrong. He was lying back on the hospital bed with his head and arms wrapped in bandages.

Barry's wife, Iris, and Wally's parents were standing around the bed. Barry was the last to arrive.

"I told you not to do this, Wally," Barry said sternly. "I explicitly forbade you from trying that experiment."

Wally diverted his eyes, his brave face crumbling.

The day he found the notes, Wally ran to his uncle and asked up front to become his partner. Barry refused and insisted that he didn't need a partner. Wally kept pestering him sometimes after that, but Barry didn't expect the boy to try it on his own. It was a very complex experiment. He didn't think Wally would risk trying without Barry's supervision.

Barry's face softened. He turned to Iris. "How is he?"

"Well, the doctors don't seem confused or amazed, so it looks like the experiment didn't work," Iris answered. The reporter in her was naturally explaining the facts without letting the stress bother her. "His heart rate's normal. Motor skills and reflexes are all normal. He has chemical burns and he's pretty banged up, but the doctors expect a full recovery. No apparent superpowers."

"Thank heaven for small favors," Wally's mom said.

"I don't get it," Wally muttered impulsively. "It worked for you and Mr. Garrick. You had a reaction right away." He thought back to the chemistry set and all the other tools he handled in the garage. "What I'd do wrong? I was so careful to do it exactly like it said in the notes..."

"How do you remember exactly what my notebook said? That was weeks ago," Barry asked.

Wally looked guilty and replied, "The next time I went to your house... I brought a digital camera and took pictures of every page."

"You did what?!"

"I wasn't fooling around with that experiment! I really worked hard at it. I wanted to make sure I did it exactly right."

"Did you even understand the science behind those notes?"

"Of course I did!" Wally hesitated. "Most of it... I looked up everything I didn't..."

Barry ran his fingers through his hair. "I - I - I just can't even believe this. I can't believe you would do something this reckless on your own - after I told you not to!"

"You did it on your own," he replied meekly.

"I wasn't thirteen! I knew what I was doing. I work with chemicals for a living, Wally. Where did you get those chemicals anyway? That's not the type of stuff you find in a chemistry set. How did you even know where to look?"

"Um..." Wally looked guiltier than ever. "Do I have the right to remain silent?"

Barry buried his face in his hands.

Wally's mom glared at Barry. "This is your fault. This wouldn't have happened if he hadn't stumbled onto your notes."

"Mary, that's not fair!" Iris said.

"No, she's right," Barry replied. "I should have hidden my research better. No, I should have burned it."

"This is not your fault," Iris said.

"There were my notes. He was copying me. Of course it's my fault."

Iris put a hand on his arm. "Barry, I don't blame you. Wally doesn't blame you. You shouldn't blame yourself either."

"I think Wally himself deserves the real blame," his dad said. "It is not other people's job to forbid you from experimenting on yourself, Wally! You should know better! I swear, out of everything you've done... You're grounded - for a month - at least! That's no TV, no internet, no games, definitely no chemistry crap, no nothing! Do you understand?"

Wally didn't say anything. He was staring into space, eyes not really focusing on anything.

"Wally, are you even listening?" his dad yelled.

No response at all. He didn't so much as twitch.

His family lost all their anger and switched to worry. "Wally, are you okay...?"

His dad shook the boy's shoulder. He didn't react. "Wallace?"

He shook harder. "WALLACE!"

Wally blinked a few times and looked at his dad. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

"Are you okay?!"

The boy was confused. "Yeah? Why?"

"It was like you couldn't hear us for a minute."

"I guess I just... spaced out a little. Must be the pain meds they got me on."

"Wally..."

"I'm sorry, dad. I wanna rest a while," he said quickly. "Can we talk later?"

"Yeah, of course."

The boy sank back into his pillow and closed his eyes.

"We'll leave you alone," Iris said softly. She and Barry turned to the door.

"Barry," Wally's mom called. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"It's okay," he replied. He wasn't bitter. The tension of the moment had all been diffused.

The uncle and aunt left the room. The parents sat down by his bedside, silently watching over their child.

.

A few days in the hospital, then a week at home, and Wally was fully recovered.

He seemed exactly the same as before the accident, except for a bigger appetite which he blamed on having to choke down hospital food... And his parents complained that, sometimes, Wally was lost so deep in thought that they couldn't even get his attention... Besides that everything seemed normal.

The experiment supposedly had no side-effects.

His dad only grounded him for that one week and called the time in the hospital the difference. Even if he were allowed to use his chemistry set, Wally wouldn't have bothered trying the experiment again. He still didn't understand what went wrong the first time. More importantly, he was out of those not-exactly-illegally-obtained chemicals.

Wally hoped deep down that it was just a delayed reaction. The previous two experiments gave the previous two Flashes their powers almost immediately, and with significantly lesser injuries. Wally was discouraged when his experiment turned out so differently, but he still hoped that his body was slowly transforming. He would secretly test his speed and reflexes after being released from the hospital. But all the time he was grounded everything seemed normal.

He still hoped however. And that's why, when he discovered he could run around the block in a few seconds, he was excited but not surprised.

"Uncle Barry! Look! Look! It really did work!"

Wally sprinted to his uncle's house and ran circles around him. Now that he had super-speed, the boy restarted his petition to become a superhero. Wally explained, in an objective and logical way, exactly why the Flash needed a partner. It went like:

"Please?!"

"No."

"Please?!"

"No."

"Ple-"

"NO!"

"But Uncle Barry-!"

Barry counted on his fingers. "One, I do not need a partner. Two, even if I did, it's too dangerous for you."

"No it's not. Look!" Wally gleefully super-sped around the living room a few more times. "I have the same powers as you. I can protect myself. And you so need a partner. I mean there are new Rogues popping up all the time. What's wrong with having an extra pair of hands?"

"Having superpowers is not enough, Wally. They do not automatically make you qualified for this line of work. You don't have any experience-"

"Neither did you when you started. You got experience in the field. And now you're the greatest superhero ever!"

"And I still get hurt, Wally! I'm not invulnerable. Even with all my powers and experience, it's still dangerous even for me."

"That's my point. You keep being the Flash anyway! Besides, I have a major advantage you don't."

"What's that?"

"I have you for a teacher!"

Barry sighed.

"Look, if you can be a superhero, why can't I?" Wally asked.

"For one thing, you're a lot younger than I was when I started."

He grinned and shrugged it off. "Just because... I..."

He stopped grinning. His eyes stopped focusing.

Barry scrunched his eyebrows. "Wally...?"

Wally's entire body suddenly tensed up. A moment later he fell flat on his back and shook violently, banging his head and limbs on the floor.

"WALLY!"

Barry grabbed the boy's shoulders and tried to hold him still. He thrashed under his uncle's restraint. His eyes were rolled back in his head. Spittle formed in the corners of his mouth.

"IRIS, CALL AN AMBULANCE!"