No One's Invincible

I'm fine

Oof, it's me. Sorry

Wally woke to the smell of disinfectant and the sound of someone conversing in quiet tones.

He couldn't open his eyes; they felt like lead and his whole being felt numb. He felt as if he wasn't even connected to his body.

But then his head started to throb painfully and he could feel his heart beat inside his head. It was almost more than he could bear.

Whimpering, Wally reached out and he felt a warm hand enclose his and whisper softly to him. And it felt familiar; rough and steady in a way that distracted him from the pain.

Another quiet murmur that he couldn't quite grasp the specifics of, and the throbbing soothed. A hand moved itself to his forehead and stroked softly.

"Sleep now son."

.......

"I mean if he was normal, he'd be in a coma right? He must of had one hell of a bad fall."

"Yeah, well... Oh hey I think he's waking up! Wally!"

Wally's eyes remained closed as he groaned and tried to move himself.

Which he failed at. Moving only made his head fuzzy with pain. Instead he felt someone take his hand and as he slowly opened his eyes he winced at the too bright light.

Someone helped him sit up against some pillows and a voice, "hey," Robin's, grounded him back to reality.

"How are you feeling?" Robin asked, hand protectively encircling Wally's arm.

Wally stared blankly at the blank white eyes of Robin's mask for a second.
Licking his lips slightly he softly muttered he was fine.

Robin's gaze pierced him so he looked away. He saw Artemis pretending not to stare on a chair a little ways away. He said hey.

"Hi," she said, "I'm glad... I'm glad you're all right." She looked down slightly and fidgeted.

"What happened?"

And at this they both looked at him attentively. Preparing for something?

Wally swallowed and spoke. "I fell down the stairs. Yeah, ha, yeah it really hurt actually."

Robin looked dubious but Artemis took this as the okay to tease him.

"Fell down the stairs, huh. Didn't know you were that clumsy lightning feet."

"Yeah, yeah." Wally laughed.

There was an awkward silence. Wally could feel Robin's eyes deciphering him.

Robin spoke, suddenly breaking the stiff atmosphere. "Are you sure wally? You're quite hurt for just falling down the stairs."

Wally didn't answer.

Artemis's chair creaked as she went to stand. "Erm," she said sensing the situation "I'm just going to go get something...er...from the kitchen. Yeah..."

As she left, Robin took Wally's hand and squeezed.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
                                                                        Wally sighed, "I know, there's nothing to worry about. I'm just a little tired. Promise."                           

Robin still didn't look convinced, but "Okay." He said.                                                               
........

After an hour or so, Wally was able to stand without getting dizzy and the first thing he did was get some real food into him. Something not from an IV drip. The sooner he healed the sooner he was getting out of there.

Wally really hated being in medical.

On the upside, a few minutes after Robin had left, Flash had come in to check up on him and he found out that Rudolph had been at the mountain.

Flash was under the impression that he had taken a bad fall down the stairs (which wasn't necessarily a lie, just the specifics were unclear) and Rudolph, like the compassionate father he was, had lovingly taken him to the cave because he was so worried. It made Wally's blood boil.

His skin prickled at the mention of his dad. He didn't want to think about what had happened that night. In brief flashes of panic he remembered his mum. She was dead. He knew that without a doubt, but with no evidence to back it up, there was no way he could say anything about it. But despite his pessimism, he secretly hoped that she might be okay. I mean he never saw a body, right? He was only guessing?

And then the sudden thought of actually seeing his mum lifeless on the floor made him gag and banish the thought from his mind.

He was mostly healed up by now and he was just awaiting official dismissal from Red Tornado.

There was no way he was going back to live with his dad. No way in hell. But what else could he do? He couldn't, wouldn't, tell anyone about his dad's issues. They wouldn't believe him. But besides that, the thought of him addmiting he was weak and swayed by the powers of his father's violence, when he was a superhero and meant to be so powerful, that was something he just couldn't do.

He was so weak and it made Wally feel so powerless.

The flash sped around the corner and said quietly "Hey there Wal man! Your dad should be here to pick you up in about 5 minutes, okay?"

Wally swallowed dryly and tried not to let the panic on to his face. "Yeah, okay..."

Flash gave him a little concerned look but then must have decided he needed space, because then he gave a small smile, patted his shoulder and ran off.

The flash's constant mothering while he was there made Wally smile, but it was only a small relief to the ball of squirming nerves that was festering in his stomach.

A couple of minutes later, the flash was authorising  Rudolph's re-entry into the mountain.

Wally tried not to look uncomfortable or scared.

Rudolph stepped out from the zeta and moved towards wally. He stiffened as Rudolph embraced him. It all felt so fake.

"Ready to go home son? No more getting hurt on the stairs you hear," He said giving wally a wide grin.

"Oh...um....yeah." wally muttered trying not to sound tense.

Flash frowned for a second, "Where's Mary Rudy? I thought she would be here since Wally got hurt and all. Is she ill?"

At this, Rudolph's features morphed into something of complete concern. Wally felt sick.

"Barry, I have no idea! She didn't come home last night. I'm at the end of my wits! What with Wally getting hurt I had no time to search or call her more than a few times. I'm planning on calling the police. I may be overacting and she might just be at a friend's house but I have a really bad feeling." Almost crying, Rudolph seemed to be the epitome of worry.

He was completely in denial about everything.

"Rudy, why didn't you telly me this before?" The flash fretted, "I could have helped! Tell the police as soon as you get home and I'll be on the lookout for her, don't worry!"

At this, Rudy nodded, grabbed Wally's arm and stepped into the zeta.

Wally began to get a very bad feeling about the whole situation.