The Small Three
It had only been hours since Wally had come in contact with the Speed Force, and already his memory of it was fading. It was beautiful and it was home for him, but he couldn't explain it any better than that and the picture in his head was already becoming fuzzy. The whole situation was scary. Wally tried not to give death that much thought, he tried not to think about it at all, but he was so ready to go "home." Wally was still searching his memory when he got a knock on the door. He opened it and found Shayera Hol on the other side.
"Hey Shay, what's up?" asked Wally.
"Nothing, I just wanted to check on you. You seemed a little shaken up when we dropped you off," said Shayera as she walked into Wally's place.
"I'm cool. You know me, saving the world, all in a day's work."
"Yeah, I know," said Shayera.
She knew that underneath Wally's grinning exterior he was still on edge. They all were, but he had been inches away from death, and although Wally wasn't scared, and although they all were consistently inches away from death, it was still a major experience.
"Ya hungry? I got pizza coming."
"Sure, but I have to use your bathroom first," said Shayera.
"Kay."
As soon as Shayera left the room there was another knock at the door.
"Pizza!" Wally said to himself.
"Hey kid," said John Stewart.
"You're not pizza," said Wally.
"No. No, I'm not. So can I come in, or what?"
"Yeah. Shayera's here, and there's gonna be pizza." Wally looked over John. He was wearing a leather jacket over a navy blue shirt and dark blue jeans. What really struck Wally was that John was wearing an expensive-looking watch and a gold chain. Presents from Yoko(1) probably. They are so not John. She keeps trying to dress him like one of her models.
"Shay's here?"
"Yes, I am," said a newly emerged Shayera. She was wearing the same yellow top she was wearing hours, but she was wearing jeans with it.
"Hello Shayera."
"Hello John."
There was tension in the air. Despite Shayera and John's status as "just friends," after the relationship they had, there would always be something between them. Chemistry? Attraction? Whatever it was, it was making Wally uncomfortable.
"Shayera came over to check on me. Did you come over to check on me too? 'Cause if you did, there's pizza in it for ya."
"Well, I did come over to check on you," said John, "but it seems you've got that covered," said John.
"Don't leave because of me, John," said Shayera. John inwardly twitched. He still loved the way she said his name.
"Yeah, you know you want some pizza," said Flash, "and we can hang out 'cause I just got aah!" Wally was on the floor. He was walking toward the TV and he slipped on a magazine.
"Wally are you all right?" asked Shayera as she rushed over to the fallen hero, but John was already in the process of picking him up.
"I told you to clean this place up. You're always tripping over something. You're gonna break your neck," said John.
"Nuh-uh," said Wally.
"What's this?" said Shayera as she picked up the magazine Wally slipped on.
"Nothin'. I just read it for the articles," said Wally, entirely too loud, as he snatched the magazine and ran it to his bedroom.
Shayera and John heard a thud in Wally's room and then a loud, "Ow!"
"Did you fall again?" yelled John.
"Maybe," yelled Wally.
John and Shayera made their way to Wally's bedroom and found him on the floor. This time he tripped on his Scooby-Doo slippers. If he hadn't tripped on them he would have tripped on something else because there were sneakers, boots, and all other manner of shoes on his bedroom floor. Shayera held out her hand to help him up. It was the second time that night that she held out her hand to him. The first time she had pulled him back from eternity. Really all his friends had pulled him back, but hers was the hand that held him, the first person to beg him to stay. The one to make him remember what he'd be leaving behind; to make him remember he didn't want to go yet.
All the serious thoughts changed Wally's expression. Not to mention that Shayera and John were beginning to wonder why he was just staring at Shayera's hand and not moving.
"Hey Wally, you all right?" asked John.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Wally as he grinned and stood up. He slipped his feet into the Scooby-Doo slippers he tripped on. The slippers matched the Scooby-Doo pajama bottoms he was wearing.
"Are you sure your fine? That thud was pretty loud, we heard it in the living room," said Shayera.
"I'm fine. I just slipped on my slippers. Think of the irony."
"Why don't you just keep your shoes under your bed or in your closet?" said John.
"'Cause then I couldn't find them," said Wally.
John shook his head and walked out of the bedroom with the others following him.
"It smells like your neighbors are cooking," said Shayera.
"Nope, that's my pot roast," said Wally.
"I thought you had pizza coming?" asked John.
"I do. Four boxes. The pizza was supposed to hold me until the roast was done."
"Four boxes? Did you know we were coming?" asked Shayera.
"Nope, but I ate everything in the kitchen and I was still hungry."
Shayera, John, and just about everyone knew about Flash's metabolism and how much he needed to eat, but he had eaten a lot of food, even for him.
"I guess what you did today took a lot of energy," said Shayera.
"Yeah, well . . . yeah," said Wally. There was a silence between the three of them. The day's events just wouldn't seem to go away. "You know what I hate?"
"Segues?" said John.
"I hate when the pizza guys late. I called like a half an hour ago." As Wally finished his sentence there was a knock on the door. Wally was at the door before the pizza girl, put her arm down. He paid her with a generous tip and she left.
"That's kind of a dangerous job for a girl," said John.
"She's delivering pizzas, not explosives, and what do you mean, for a girl?" said Shayera.
"She could get mugged," said John.
"For her pizzas?" asked Shayera.
"Delivery people get held up for money all the time," said John.
"Well, if that's true, then why does it matter that she's a girl."
"A mugger is more likely to attack a girl."
"How do you know that?"
"Wouldn't you?"
"If I had a gun, I don't think it would matter who had the money."
"Well, I don't think a mugger would see it that way."
"I didn't realize you knew so much about the criminal . . . Wally did you eat all of those pizzas just now?" asked Shayera.
"No! There's still one slice left," Wally looked guiltily at his friends, "you guys can split it . . . and umm . . . you can have some pot roast."
"Its okay, kid, just finish your pizza," said John.
"Cool," said Wally, "Auhi ouh eeveeee."
"What?" asked Shayera.
"Auhi ouh eeveeee!"
"Swallow your food," said John.
"I got DVDs" said Wally, "I got all three Matrix movies."
"I hate those movies," said John.
"I've never seen them," said Shayera.
"You've never seen The Matrix! Oh, we're watching it. Sit down John, you're watching it too."
"Why am I watching it? I've seen it."
"'Cause you haven't appreciated its awesomeness yet."
"There not awesome. They don't even make sense," said John.
"They make perfect sense! The Matrix has you John, you just won't admit it."
"You don't actually believe that movie is real?" said John.
"I don't not believe it's real," said Wally.
"I want to see this movie," said Shayera, then she turned to John, "You staying?"
"Yeah, I'll stay," said John.
"All right!" said Wally, "We can watch all three it'll be awesome."
John rolled his eyes, but smiled. Shayera smiled too. Wally pulled out the DVDs and put them in the player. A few moments into the movie John asked Wally a question.
"Wally is this a bootleg?"
"Umm . . . it's not not a bootleg."
"Wally."
"What?"
"You're a hero."
"So, heroes appreciate a good bargain too. I bought them from the lady across the hall. She can get anything."
"Doesn't it bother you that you're committing a crime?"
"I'm not committing a crime. I didn't make the thing."
"But you bought it. You're supporting the bootleggers."
"Shhh," said Shayera, "I'm trying to watch."
The heroes were silenced. John gave Wally a mean look and Wally grinned back embarrassedly, but then John smirked and Wally smiled a genuine smile back.
Wally was happy. It had been a long time since the "Small Three" hung out. Wally gave them that nickname when the media started calling Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman the "Big Three." But since the Thanagarian invasion, Shayera was obviously out of touch, and then John started dating Vixen, or as Wally liked to call her, Yoko(1). Even after Shayera came back, there were too many issues for the three of them to just go have dinner together. Wally missed there time together, a lot. But here they were, the band was back together, and no pretty Speed Force, no time-stealing girlfriend, and no disapproving stares were breaking them up, at least not for tonight.
(1)Avant-garde artist ,Yoko Ono, was John Lennon's girlfriend and often blamed for breaking up the band,The Beatles
-all characters owned by DC comics