It had been almost ten minutes since the Justice League had been called to Metropolis. Reports came in about a 100-meter tall "metal monster" that shot lasers from its "eyes". It didn't seem to be doing anything other than destroying property and ruining the day of some civilians. So far, it had only damaged two city blocks, and the team was doing their best to stop the robot and limit the damage. Hawkgirl landed a solid blow to its abdomen with her mace while Green Lantern dodged a beam from the machine.

"Where does something like this even come from?!" He shouted before concentrating on making a bright green mallet. He struck the robot with it, but little damage was done. Superman snuck up behind the monster, eyes glowing red with heat. Twin beams shot out, but did nothing to their target besides leave a black mark. He glared, remembering the damage that had already been done to Clark Kent's apartment.

"This has Luthor written all over it."

"You think?" Hawkgirl asked, dodging another blast from it's eyes.

"Lord knows he can afford it." John replied.

"Do you guys ever think about how high up he goes when he washes his face? You know, since he's bald and all that."

"Flash, focus."

"Sorry, Bats!"

Another fifteen minutes of trying to defeat the monster had gotten them nowhere. By now, most civilians had been evacuated, but a few still remained. They had managed to keep the robot onto one street for the past few minutes, so while the damage was being contained, this particular stretch of buildings had seen better days. Fires burned all around and billboards and buildings were falling left and right. The robot's giant footprints left craters in the newly paved streets. The air was thick with smoke and car alarms could be heard going off in every direction. Flash zipped back and forth on the ground, while Superman did it in the air, distracting the monstrosity. Hopefully their speed would ensure that they wouldn't get hit by a beam.

While this was going on, Batman had given a device to J'onn, who phased through the thick metal walls of the robot and secured it to its power core. Once he retreated, Diana wrapped her lasso around a lamppost before stretching it across the street and holding it taught. Batman, from a nearby rooftop, pressed a button on a remote in his belt. Almost immediately, the robot began sparking and stuttering. The malfunctioning machinery stumbled forward, tripping over Diana's lasso. As it began its descent, Flash noticed a number of civilians on the street below.

'What part of "evacuate the city, there is a huge robot monster on the loose" do people not understand?!' Flash thought as he took off. He first grabbed an elderly man, moving him away from the danger before he could even see that he was ever in any. Poor guy must be confused, but no time to explain. He ran back and grabbed a little girl and what he assumed to be her mother, quickly removing them from harm's way as well. He was making great time, as he only had one person left to save and the heaping pile of metal still had at least five seconds left to fall. He'd saved the first three people in a little over one.

As he approached the man, recognition caused him to hit the breaks. His stomach dropped and his heart felt like it was stuck in his throat as he skidded to a stop. In his mind, repressed memories came rushing to the surface. The smell of alcohol, the sound of screaming. Fists flying, a firm grip in his hair, a hard thud as he hit the wall. A rare pleasant smile and the promise of a fun night at the park. The confusion as the car drove away and the taillights faded in the distance. The cold night spent outside, alone. Wally vaguely heard someone shout his name, but he couldn't focus on anything rightnow besides the man's scared face. The world quickly sped back up to normal around him, but the deafening noises seemed muffled now. He felt a mix of emotions. Fear. Anger. He noticed the robot's huge body was only meters away now, and soon they would both be crushed by its weight, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

A flash of blue and red and the man was gone, out of harm's way. Wally felt a hard shove in his left side and then felt the impact of the ground on his right. As they came to a rest on the ground, he looked up in time to see the robot smashing into the asphalt where he had been standing a moment before. He felt hands on his body, surveying and searching for any serious injury. The hands moved to his neck and his face and forced him to look at his savior.

"What happened?" That wasn't the deep, gruff voice of Batman. Even with the cowl in place, Wally knew it was the caring, worried voice of his lover, Bruce. Wally opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't bring himself to speak. Any words got stuck in his throat. There was a slight breeze as Superman landed behind him. Batman released him so he could turn to face him. Clark gently put the man in his arms down. Wally couldn't take him eyes off of him now. His slightly curly light brown hair had began to grey slightly. He stood a few inches taller than Wally, and although he looked normal enough on the outside, Wally could still see the hate in his brown eyes.

Bruce noticed Wally began to vibrate a little, and placed a hand on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze. This seemed to calm Wally, as the vibrations died down until they were unnoticeable. For some reason, this man made Wally very nervous and uncomfortable. Being the world's greatest detective, Bruce figured he'd find out why soon enough. While J'onn and Shayera examined the robot, Diana and John joined the group. Neither of them looked too happy, and it wasn't often any of the founder's looked upset with him. They were all too caring and protective of their youngest member to ever really get angry at him. Annoyed, yes. Mad, not so much.

"Flash, what was that?" Diana said sternly, hands on her hips.

"I've never seen you freeze up like that. That man could've been killed!" John exclaimed. Wally glared and replied to the comment in his head.

"Would've served him right." At the shocked looks of his teammates and the slightly angry face of the man, Wally realized he must have actually said that out loud.

"What are you talking about, Flash? We save everyone we can." Clark asked, looking between the man and the redhead, trying to find a connection. He glanced at Batman too, but the man was just as confused as he was. He didn't show it, but Clark had known him long enough to be able to read him pretty well.

"Scumbags like him don't deserve it." The others were still still completely shocked at his words. This was so out of character for Wally. He always wanted to help everyone. Always saw the best in people and was the first person to hand out second chances. What about this particular man made the usually loving redhead so cold?

"What's 'yer problem? I've never done a thing to you!" The man seemed angry. Wally just scoffed angrily, rolling his eyes behind his mask before turning and speeding away. The remaining heroes all shared a look, including Shayera and J'onn, who had overheard the conversation and made their way over.

"Whatever. I'm gon' see if my hotel's still standin'. You should make him thank you for pickin' up his slack," the man said. Batman's eyes narrowed. Superman sent the man a skeptical look, as if slightly offended. Most people say thanks when he saves them, they don't criticize his friends.

"Uh, yeah. Bye, Mr..." Clark trailed off.

"West. Rudolph West."

In the short amount of time it took realization to hit them, the man had walked away.

"Is he...?" Shayera started.

"Wally's father."