In which Wally pays Bart a visit
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The room was white; too white, he thought. Things were garbled here. When Bart called out, his voice echoed but sounded slow, like the words were molasses, slowly dripping into the air. No doors, no windows, no nothing. White everything. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and noticed the familiar feel of spandex at his hairline. His fingers traveled down and now noticed the goggles atop his head and the lightening bolts around his ears. He was wearing the suit. Wally's suit.
It was only a few weeks ago that the speedster had taken his final steps. The kid saved the world, sacrificed everything he had for it. So why did this feel like defeat and not victory? Everything was so screwed up now. The League, the team was screwed up. Nothing made sense anymore.
Artemis couldn't even handle the apartment anymore. She rarely went within a mile radius of the place. Because it hurt too much. Nothing was right without Wally. They were all hanging by a string. And soon it would snap.
"It's good to see you again."
The voice came out of nowhere. Bart looked around, eyes darting every which way, for a source, a person. He found nothing. No sign of anyone anywhere. But he knew that voice. He knew that tone. And he didn't want to believe it. It can't be, he thought.
Kid Flash appeared in the corner behind the younger speedster. "Took you long enough to find me." Bart whirled around to see the redhead leaning against the wall, arms across his chest, a smirk plastered on his face. He wore his suit. And Bart let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. It was good to see him again. If only it was real.
"What are you doing here? And, uh, where is here?" he asked, looking around. Still too white.
"This is the dreamstate. It's not as nice as Dick's or Artemis's. But it's still okay." Wally stood straight now, holding out his arms to his sides, palms up. "This is your dream."
And he knew it wasn't real but Bart couldn't help but ask. "So you're not alive? You're still..."
"Yep, dead. Dead as a doornail. Gone, deceased."
Bart winced at the casualty of the answer. It was anything but normal, anything but okay. After a moment of silence, Wally spoke up.
"How's everyone doing? How's the team, how's...how's Artemis." The smile faded and his mouth formed a grim line. His brow furrowed in what seemed to be concern and guilt mixed together.
"Do you really have to ask?"
"No."
Silence.
"How do you think everyone's doing? We're anything but okay, Wally! You're gone! You...You're dead as a doornail! And nothing is normal anymore, nothing is okay and it never will be." Bart tried to ignore the crack in his voice at the end but he couldn't. He hoped Wally didn't catch it. "We can't do this. Everything is wrong without you. We're all going to fall apart."
Wally walked around Bart and sitting on the bed. When did a bed get there? And slowly, the room started to morph with colors and objects. And suddenly, they were standing in Wally's old room. Not the one he and Artemis shared in Palo Alto but the one that he spent his whole childhood in. The redhead leaned against the headboard with his hands clasped behind his head. "No you won't. You'll miss me because I'm awesome, but you'll be okay."
"Nothing is okay anymore," Bart whispered, shaking his head. "Artemis is dying without you, Wally, she's not the same. No one is the same."
Wally's eyes hardened as he looked at the other. "Everything changes for a reason, Bart. You and I both know that."
"Not this! You didn't have to die!"
"But I did," Wally said, his voice stone-cold. He got up and strode towards Bart to stand in front of him. "I died, Bart. And now it's up to you to keep this team together."
Suddenly, Bart's arms were wrapped around Wally's midsection and the tears were rolling down his face onto the speedster's suit. Usually he never cried, but now everything just came undone. He had to watch Wally die. Just disappear forever. And it was all his fault. He could have ran slower, stopped Wally from getting hit so much. He could have pushed him out of the way and let him and Barry finish the job. But he didn't and now Wally was dead, Artemis was falling apart, and nothing made sense at all.
After what seemed like hours of crying and hugging and not wanting to let go, he did. He untangled himself from the speedster and looked up at him. Wally smiled at him, that same sad smile Bart saw in everyone so often nowadays. "Take care of Artemis for me, okay?" he asked. "She needs someone. Tell her that I love her."
Bart nodded, moving to wipe his eyes with the sodden sleeve of his suit. Wally turned away and reached for the door before being stopped by Bart's small voice. He sounded scared. "You're leaving?"
"Got to get on with life, you know?" he answered with a small grin. "Well, you know 'life'." He motioned air quotes around the word. He turned back around and opened the door, the white light outside shining in brightly. Bart could hear voiced outside, calling and laughing. He wondered who was out there. Maybe some of Wally's older family who'd passed on or maybe some random people who he'd befriended. He wondered what the afterlife was like. "By the way," Wally added, pulling Bart out of his reverie, "you look better in that than I did."
Bart looked down at his suit and shrugged. "It'll always be Kid Flash's suit. It'll always be your suit."
Wally had that same sad smile before saying one last, "Make me proud, Bart," and walking out the door, closing it behind him. Bart was now alone.
"Always."