Always Answer The Phone

Stranger On The Bridge

Wally had run back to the cave around 7:30 pm to change into his Flash uniform. Barry had told him when he first got back that he'd earned the title of Flash after he fought his way out of the speed force. His new suit looked pretty awesome in his opinion. It was a deeper red -not as bright as Barry's- with white accents. He'd also decided to drop the yellow symbol and switch it to a bright white one. Wally had made sure his red hair would be able to flow freely in the wind as he ran.

He'd given up on trying to find Dick's apartment after the first few hours. Wally figured that if he couldn't find Dick, why not try to find Nightwing? Dick should be out patrolling by now, after all, he was a 'bat'. They always started things early. Well, at least he hoped he did.

Wally climbed to the rooftop of the closest building, taking in the sights -which wasn't much considering it was Bludhaven. He looked over the wretched city and wondered how Dick could stand living here. Smog from the factories clouded up the sky, making the city more disturbing than it already was. No stars were visible in the dark fog, and they probably never would be. A crisp November breeze blew over Wally, ruffling his hair. He shivered and crossed his arms over his chest. He missed the warmth of Central City. It's bright sunny days and the not-so-bad crooks. How could Dick stand living in such a disheartening city? The last time Wally came to here it looked a lot less depressing than it did now, so what happened?

He stood silently and watched as his foggy breath mingled into the chilly air. The Team was starting to make him worry. Why were they talking about Nightwing like that? Especially behind his back? Wally knew that Dick had told the Team his plans, but why were they still upset? What happened while he was 'dead'?

Flash watched the tops of the surrounding buildings, hoping to see Nightwing fly over one. Wally knew how much Dick loved to flip across them -He was his best friend after all. He could faintly remember Dick telling him once that grappling off the skyscrapers made him feel like he was flying. That it made Dick feel free from everything. Wally hadn't understood what Dick meant back then and honestly, he still didn't.

The sound of a fight beneath him shifted his attention to a nearby. He glanced over the ledge to see what all the commotion was about. Three large men were ganging up on a small string bean of a man. Wally sighed, he really needed to find out what was wrong with Dick. He didn't have time to deal with these small quarrels.

The three thugs were circling the smaller man who was crouched down, trembling in a muddy corner. The largest -and ugliest- thug stepped forward. He was wearing a green flannel and looked like he just crawled out of a dumpster. The other two weren't in much better condition even though they were both wearing black. Wally swore he could smell them from his hiding place on the roof. He really hoped the police in Bludhaven gave showers to the criminals because if not, they were in for a real tear-jerking surprise.

The flannel wearing thug raised his knife, aiming right for the string beans head but before he could strike down, Flash sped down from the roof and slammed his fist right into his face. Wally felt the man's jaw bone shatter upon impact. So...maybe he hit just a little too hard. He wasn't used to the new strength that his escape provided him. The man crumpled to the ground along with his knife, which skidded across the wet pavement. The remaining two thugs stood shocked at Flash's sudden appearance but they quickly recovered. They each held up their weapon -a baseball bat and knife- and sent nervous glances to each other.

"Oi! Who the hell are you?" Stinky number one snarled at Flash, waving his bat around in the air, hoping to intimidate the red-clad man.

"I'm Flash," Wally said and gestured towards his red costume. "It's kind of obvious, ya'know...zoom zoom." He made a speedy motion with his hands, laughing internally at the thugs confused expressions.