Vigilante Justice - A Young Justice Fanfiction

Chapter 29: A Man Gone with the Wind

It wasn't all that cold, but Bludhaven's damp chill had a way of wrapping itself around a person's bones.

Wally pulled the coat closer around himself as Dick made his way to the edge of the building's roof, the view of the city stretching out before them like a child's toy car-mat.

The tiny lights of cars moved lazily through the streets, no one bothering to rush at such a late hour.

A couple staggered by on the sidewalk below, the faint sound of their drunken laughter echoing up to Dick and Wally's rooftop vantage point.

Dick watched them go, like he wished he could shadow them home. Make sure they got there safe.

It was peaceful, despite the city's reputation.

Wally found himself glad he'd decided to talk outside the apartment. Not only because he didn't want to wake up the others, but because his heart felt a little more settled in the open air.

It seemed the setting was having a similar affect on Dick, his hands no longer clenched fiercely in Kaldur's coat pockets.

"I've always liked rooftops," the vigilante said, as if reading Wally's mind and offering an explanation. "Something about being high-up, I guess."

Wally glanced down at the street below, a rush of vertigo spreading up through his stomach. He took a quick step back. "Well, I don't. I prefer my feet on solid ground."

"This is solid ground," Dick hopped up onto the blocky concrete rail surrounding the edge of the roof. Wally felt his entire soul leave his body in a gust of air. "Solid enough."

He stomped up and down, seemingly unaware that he was performing a dangerous balancing act. Dick stuck his hands out, like a scarecrow, and lifted one foot off the concrete.

His damaged ankle trembled; body clearly wracked by the strain of his injuries. It was almost as if he was proving something to himself, proving everything still worked.

Wally, on the other hand, almost died. Forget his soul, his entire brain just leaked out through his ears and dripped onto the pavement.

Dick was going to be the death of him. The death of all of them.

"Please...don't do that," he said, pulling back his hands in an aborted grab at Dick's stolen coattails.

Dick glanced over his shoulder at Wally like he'd just said something offensive. "I'm not going to fall. I've been balancing like this longer than you've been alive, Flash-Boy. A little sprained bone isn't gonna slow me down."

The speedster swallowed thickly. It was unsettling being with a non-powered person who had absolutely zero regard for their own wellbeing. At least if Superman fell off a roof, he could fly back up. "I am older than you. Also, please get down."

"Oh," Dick slung his head back, staring up at the smoggy sky in mock-contemplation. "I guess you are older. Oops."

Wally narrowed his eyes at the other man's unrepentant tone. Jerk, he was enjoying Wally's pain, wasn't he?

He hopped down, staggering once before quickly righting himself, and Wally sagged backwards. Were his knees shaking? His knees felt like they were shaking. "I appreciate you exercising your freedom or whatever, but please never do that again."

"This," Dick gestured at the roof, "is quite literally my night-job. Trust me when I say I know what I'm doing."

"Still," Wally took a hesitant step towards the edge, glanced down, and immediately ducked away again. "I would rather not scrape your bone-matter off the pavement tonight."