Chapter Text
In the distance, red and blue sirens wailed as the police cars sped across the city to their destination. Grey clouds of smoke poured out of Central City Bank as one of the twin cities Rouges going at the vault with explosives. Soon, the infamous criminal and Rogue leader, Captain Cold, rushed out dragging bags of money.
"Almost too easy," Cold snickered, bee lining for a getaway car parked across the street.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a blur of red and orange came speeding and zigzagging through the maze of traffic, pedestrians, and police cars to pause in front of the parka wearing ice villain long enough for Cold to glimpse the Flash and his little sidekick, Kid Flash.
"Well, about time you two showed up!" The captain taunted, reaching for the hilt of his Cold Gun, "You two are supposed to be super-fast and you're late… Looks like you're losing your edge, Flasher!"
Flash just rolled his eyes in annoyance, any response cut off by the younger speedster.
"Can we just cut to the part where you surrender and the cops can lock you up? We have lives to get to!" Kid Flash said impatiently. Wally seriously did not want to deal with Cold right now…
Why?
He had a life! He loves being a hero but he couldn't be one 24/7. Plus, he wanted to get to the cave to meet Rob…
"Why so impatient, Baby Flash?" Cold asked with a hint of menace. He was surprised at the kid's eagerness to leave. Normally when they did this dance, the kid would act impulsively and accidently trash a few things in his enthusiasm, making quips and awful puns as he went.
Flash sometimes had to tell him to "slow down" or something similar and then deal with him…
"Sorry Cold, but I got to agree with the kid on this one!" Flash said with a smile, giving Kid Flash a high five as their running paths overlapped.
Now it was Cold's turn to roll his eyes. He was getting nowhere. "Uggh, I don't have time for this!"
With the 'no warning' way he'd picked up from all his run-ins with the Flash, Captain Cold switched on his freeze gun and shot a sharp blast of ice while the two speedsters ran circles around him in their attempt to create a vacuum and deprive Captain Cold of his oxygen.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending what side you're on, Captain Cold managed to nail the Flash square on the legs. The scarlet speedster sped up his molecules and vibrated right out of the freezing anklet until he reduced it to a puddle.
The two different Flashes resumed their fight against Cold.
Captain Cold thought if he couldn't tag Flash, he'll just tag Baby Flash instead. Flash would want to save his sidekick, and allow him a speedy getaway. With that in mind he aimed his Cold Gun at Kid Flash and squeezed the trigger. The force sent the yellow and red blur stumbling back a good couple of meters.
Uh Oh, Kid Flash thought, gritting his teeth and bracing for impact as his right boot, trapped in a block of ice, pulled him to the pavement. Sidelined with a possible broken nose, Kid Flash huffed and crossed his arms while he waited for The Flash to either wrap it up with Cold or come to his rescue.
With practiced movements the red clad hero disarmed Cold and delivered a freight train uppercut, knocking him flat on his back. Police officers arrived on scene, snapping handcuffs on the Rouge and shoving him into a squad car.
"Oh yeah, Flasher is fast. Baby Flash, not so much," Captain Cold said dryly, "He should really have watched where he was going.” Besides, short terms tactics weren't his thing, long-term tactics were.
"You're through, Cold," Flash said, watching the cops escort him to the back of the van. Cold smiled in response to the scarlet speedster.
"Looks like you finally caught me… See ya next time, Flasher!" The Flash opened his mouth to respond, but the captain continued on: "Don't kid yourself Flash, we both know that there will be a next time," With that, Cold gave one final smirk as the cops shut the door and the van drove off.
The Flash zipped over to his nephew and vibrated his hand molecules to melt Kid Flash out, who had started to shiver. Flash extended his hand and after Kid Flash shakily grasped it, hulling him to his feet.
"You okay, Kid?" Flash asked worriedly. Wally was his nephew and Barry was supposed to be protecting him, both as an uncle and as a mentor. Getting hypothermia and a busted nose didn't help so much with the protecting part.
As a day job Barry was a forensic scientist and he knew what hypothermia looked like and the probability, but he just wasn't going to risk it with Wally.
"J-j-j ust a little c-c-cold, that's all..." Kid Flash attempted his brave face but Flash wasn't going to risk it, especially as Wally kept shaking even with his hyperactive metabolism.
"Let's go to Mt Justice, I'm sure Canary should be able to help you out," Flash offered kindly. He knew how much Black Canary had affected his nephew and Wally seeing his teammates could help him.
Wally's green eyes instantly lit up, "Sure and the Team's already there, looking at the time though, they are probably in the middle with hand-to-hand training from Black Canary..."
"Race you there!"
"You are so on!" With that the two speedsters ran off in a burst of wind.
Recognized Flash 04
Kid Flash B03
"Fail: Artemis," The computerized voice said in monotone as the blond hit the floor. Again.
"Good Match," Robin said while offering his hand to help her up.
Artemis took his hand, "Thanks." She said taking a big swing at the bottle of water she had brought with her. Once Artemis was finished, she gave Robin quite a stiff once over, who in turn gave a small chuckle.
"What?" Robin asked playfully. He had caught Artemis' glare and decided he was going to be a bit of a troll about it.
"How old did you say you were again?" Artemis asked seriously. She had a vague idea but she wanted to make sure, plus the archer was kind of hoping she was wrong.
Robin smirked once again. Artemis hated that smirk.
"Thirteen." Robin answered, adjusting his dark sunglasses a little bit, playfully teasing Artemis his blue eyes. Her blond eyebrows shot up, and she turned around to M'gann, who watching from the side lines.
"I can't believe I got my butt kicked by a thirteen year old." Artemis quietly ranted to M'gann, who only shrugged her shoulders' shyly.
"Well… He is trained by Batman…" The Martian comforted. Her blond teammate scoffed slightly, but then felt bad. She knew that M'gann was simply trying to comfort her.
"Thanks for the boost in confidence…" Artemis muttered but she seemed to have been ignored. The archer followed M'gann's gaze across the room.
Wally had snuck over to the training stage and tapped Robin lightly on the shoulder, causing the younger boy to whip around, fists raised.
Immediately noticing his best friend, Robin dropped his demeanor: "KF, you're here! I'm sorry, I didn't notice you. I was busy training," Robin apologized, trying to cover up his surprise.
Thank god Batman isn't here, he would have my head for not paying attention. Robin didn't know why he was so spacey… must have been distracted by something. Kid Flash gave a small grin.
"It's cool, Rob" Wally shrugged, but secretly he was basking in the accomplishment of sneaking up on a ninja.
"Hey kids, is Canary here?" Flash asked, resting his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Wally took a blast from Cold and I want to make sure he doesn't catch Hypothermia or something."
Black Canary pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against and walked towards the centre of the room. "I'm here Flash, Come on Wally, let's go to the infirmary." The blond hero said. Wally nodded and broke into a trot, following Canary.
Almost to the door she paused and turned back to The Team, "Zatanna, Rocket, you're up. Aqualad, keep an eye on them then you can choose the next match up. And Flash… you can watch so long as you don't do anything stupid." Canary said glaring at him. She placed her hands either side of her hips.
The Flash wasn't immature (most of the time anyway…) but he was certainly less mature than some of the other leaguers.
"No promises!" The man in red chirped. Black Canary rolled her eyes and continued to the infirmary.
Flash watched Zatanna and Rocket spar without their powers. The two circled each other, delivering somewhat novice blows with inexperienced dodging. As he watched them, he thought about all the work Canary had done and needed to do with the Team.
The wheels started turning.
If it weren't for all this training, Wally wouldn't be in the infirmary right now he'd be in intensive care…or worse.
And even with this training, he's still suffering. Maybe he needs more time training?
"Flash? FLASH!" Canary shouted, snapping her fingers in front of his masked face. She was somewhat concerned at how long it had taken her teammate to respond. The Flash's attention was so focused toward the match he wasn't really watching; the speedster hadn't noticed Canary until just now.
"Huh, what? Oh, it's only you, Canary." Flash said mildly
"If you're worried about Wally, he's fine. Go ahead if you want to see him." The Black Canary frowned, catching him on the elbow. She spoke quietly so the young heroes wouldn't overhear, "They're strong kids, Barry. Smart, experienced, they're doing fine."
She was well aware how much the mentors (sans Superman) cared for their protégé's, and Barry was no exception.
"I you're right." He answered, more out of habit then agreement, "You're right, Canary," and with that the scarlet speedster dashed over to the infirmary to check up on his nephew.
Flash peeked his head through the infirmary door and walked over to his nephew, who was sitting up, looking fine and a lot less pale than when he brought him in. Barry breathed a sigh of relief, glad his nephew was unharmed and sipping a mug of hot chocolate.
"Hey kid, how are you doing?" Flash asked
"I'm feeling great, Uncle Barry, I'm still a bit cold but great!" Kid Flash said gleefully.
Flash sighed and rubbed the back of his neck for a couple of seconds. Just, how was he going to explain to Wally his latest decision?
"Uh listen Wally… you're probably not going to like what I am about to say but really… it is in your best interest. I'm going to cut you from the team for a month." Flash finished quietly.
Wally widened his eyes. Uncle Barry was not serious, if he thought that he could be cut from The Team. He had absolutely no reason to! Wally was doing perfectly fine and hadn't been involved in much major trouble, anyway…
"WHAT?! You can't do that!" Wally protested. Flash took off his mask and soon baby blue eyes met fierce green eyes. Barry had noticed the sting of betrayal that his nephew had obviously felt. But Barry wasn't betraying him. He was simply trying to stop his only nephew from getting killed.
"I know you don't like it, but I gave this a lot of thought and I was debating it in my head the whole time Canary's been with you. It's for the best. Seeing Rocket and Zatanna spar reminded me of how much you need this practice. You barely survived Cold with all your training and without it… This isn't permanent, Wally, but it's also not up for debate."
Flash lowered his tone of voice for the last part; he couldn't imagine a world where he didn't have his nephew with him. Barry loved Wally like a son and Iris had told him that Wally certainly looked up to him like a dad. Heck, he'd been a president of The Flash's fan club at one time.
"I did survive and I'm perfectly fine." Wally said in his defence. "And you want me off because Cold tagged me?"
Wally had failed to see his uncle's logic. It was Captain freakin' Cold! The worst Cold does is take hostages. He wasn't a murderer like Gorilla Grodd or a complete sociopath like one of the Gotham crazies…
"Sure Cold's just your average bank robber but tomorrow you could be going against someone totally different… Someone with a little more speed than you…" Barry placed his hands on Wally's shoulder. The younger speedster's face slightly softened at that. He knew exactly who Uncle Barry was talking about. "Maybe someone like Professor Zoom…"
Wally wasn't scared of Zoom… It's just that their last encounter had left Wally a little shaken physically. However, Wally wasn't going to give his uncle the satisfaction of him winning without a say in this.
"I can handle Professor Zero." He spat, "Sure he gave me a broken rib and a broken arm the last time with fought" Wally's confidence levels dropped as he listed and realised the extent of his injuries, but soon his voice rose up again in attempted confidence "But I am pretty sure I gave him a black eye!"
Barry sighed. This was not going to be easy…
"You know what, forget I mentioned Zoom… Sorry kid but my decision is final. If you're getting tagged easily by Captain Cold, then maybe you're not exactly ready to fight the big league villains." Now Wally widened his eyes. His uncle and mentor was just going to drop him from The Team (which he'd rightfully earned his place on) because Cold got a lucky shot in?
"I CAN handle Captain Cold. And if this is your version of saying, I'm not as good as you, then you don't have to sugar-coat it," Wally huffed in anger. What kind of game was his uncle playing at?
Now it was Barry's turn to be surprised, his eyes widened.
It struck Barry that this conversation was going a lot worse than he thought it would. He should have picked his words more carefully, "What? No, Kid, that's not what I'm trying to say at all! You're not worse than me and besides you will be allowed to come to the cave but not go on missions and when the team are on missions, you'll be here, training with Black Canary" Flash fully explained himself now, hoping his nephew would be satisfied.
He looked at Wally's face.
He wasn't.
"I need some air." Wally whispered hoarsely. Giving one last glare at his uncle and mentor, he was up and out the door, leaving Barry sitting in silence beside the now unoccupied bed.
Wally needed a chance to think clearly about what his uncle had said. Maybe his angry mind was clouding his judgment?
Putting on his mask, Kid Flash briskly trotted out of the Med Bay and towards the zeta beam platform. He was greeted by his smiling teammates, suddenly, painfully aware that he was off The Team.
Robin walked up to his best friend. "KF, you're looking better, M'gann baked you some cookies." Robin happily informed his best friend, but quickly noticed his angered demeanour and dropped his signature smirk.
The boy wonder chided himself. How could he not notice his best friend was clearly very angry at a conversation him and The Flash had in the infirmary? Wow, was he off his game today…
"Not in the mood, Rob" Wally said venomously as stomped past all of his teammates and towards the zeta beams. He hated being rude to his them but right now he needed some space.
"Recognised, Kid Flash B03" The computer announced and with the burst of yellow light the zeta beams were empty.
"What's up with Baywatch?" Artemis asked. It was really unlike Wally to stomp off angrily, without a word of explanation. He always had something to say.
They all turned to the Flash who was standing silently and rubbing the back of his neck, awkwardly. The Team waited for red clad speedster to give his explanation.
The Flash looked between the faces, their expressions ranging from confused to angry.
Black Canary spoke up, saying what they all wanted to ask:
"What happened in there Flash?" She and The Team waited for an explanation, desperate for some answers right now…