DCU The Flash #32 Wally West: Origin (Godspeed)

"Stay with me!"

 

ZAP!

 

"C'mon, get up!"

 

ZAP!

 

"Dammit, wake up!"

 

ZAP!

 

Wally shoots up from the concrete, oxygen filling his lungs at insane speeds. The world is little more than a blur, smudges of various reds He's soaked, the downpouring rain drenching his clothes and causing his hair to stick to his forehead. Through the battering of the rain, he can hear a voice, one he's familiar with.

 

Running a finger over his lenses, he gets a clear view of Eddie knelt over him. His face is scrunched, with tears running down his cheeks. It's a face he's never seen made by the man, one he isn't fond of seeing.

 

"Mr… Jones?" Wally mumbles, attempting to push himself up with his elbows. He doesn't get the chance to, however, as Eddie's arms wrap around him, pulling him into a hug. He winces lightly by the pressure, unable to move in the older man's grip.

 

"I thought you were gone…" Eddie whimpers, voice shaking.

 

Wally doesn't know how to respond, he's still trying to recall the events in his own mind. It doesn't matter much at the moment. Right now, he reciprocates the hug, letting the rain wash over him.

 

-^- 3 years ago -^-

 

"Mardon continues to wreak havoc on the city. With the CCPD unable to act in the chaos, the area is left open season for the super criminal!"

 

Wally stares in fear as his aunt Iris reports live from the whirling tornado at Central City Museum. A super villain, one who can control the weather, is attacking. He can see the striking lightning from his own window, a city away, it's no joke or stunt. He knows his aunt, she's brave and will do anything for her work, but he's terrified for her. She's in real danger.

 

"Ms. West, we need to move!" the pilot of the helicopter calls, the audio barely picking up on her mic. "The storm is getting too thick to fly in!"

 

Wally watches with pleading as Iris bites her lip, before reluctantly nodding. "Yeah, okay… let's go!" she shouts, Wally relaxing at the words.

 

That relaxation, however, didn't last.

 

"Going somewhere?"

 

The next few seconds pass in slow motion. A large, directed gust of wind slams into the helicopter's side, tipping it forty-five degrees. The cameraman, somehow, manages to grab hold of a support beam, keeping him in place, though losing his camera. Iris isn't so lucky, narrowly missing the beam and falling into the open air.

 

Tears form in Wally's eyes, watching from the falling camera as Iris plummets. He reaches out, as if he could take her hand and pull her to the safety of his home. As if a miracle would happen.

 

Then, there was lightning. Golden lightning, shining brilliantly, streaks across the screen, leaving a burst of air in its wake. Wally's eyes go wide as the camera crashes atop a nearby building, damaged, but still broadcasting. Luckily, the lens landed aiming at the street, showcasing the ball of lightning that had saved Iris.

 

Wally's eyes widen, watching the red suited man place Iris on the ground, microphone still in hand.

 

"Who…" Iris interjects, before stopping herself.

 

"Yes, who are you!?" Mardon interjects, lowering himself towards the figure.

 

"Me? That's simple," he mutters, crackling lightning sparking off his suit once again. A smile spreads across Wally's face, stuffing a vhs in tv, pressing down on the record button. "I'm The Flash."

 

-^-

 

"Samu… roid?" Wally asks, sitting on a cot in Vulcan's Veggie's basement eating a granola bar. "It was a robot?"

 

Eddie nods from his chair, a sullen look on his face. "That… that thing… it's no joke, especially for you."

 

"You fought it before?"

 

"Mhm," Eddie answers, hesitant to elaborate. "It… it was an android built by T.O Morrow, the cybernetics and engineering genius, for Japan back after the JSA's formation. Its own peacekeeping unit, modeled after the JSA's own, Wind Dragon. Unfortunately, sometime in the late 60s, The Thinker hacked the unit, turning them into his own army."

 

"It sounds deeper than that for you," Wally probes, tossing the wrapper aside.

 

"It… it's my outing," he admits, looking downwards. "There was a resurgence, years after the JSA took Thinker down… I fought it in the subway, the one abandoned now… that was the day my baby girl passed. My last day with her…"

 

"Eddie… I'm sorry," Wally apologizes, earning a small nod in response.

 

Seconds later, the police radio attached to the wall sounds off, grabbing the attention of both men. "This is officer Iverson, we've got a meta attack on 3rd and Waid, I repeat a meta attack… suspect is a samurai man with super swords, send backup."

 

"Well… you got any pointers on how to take it down?" Wally asks, a small smile as he looks away from the radio.

 

"Pointers?" Eddie asks, astounded. "You can't go back out there!"

 

"What?" Wally asks, the same astounded expression. "That android is out there right now!"

 

"You just lost to it yesterday!"

 

"That doesn't matter… I have to try and beat it! You can't expect me to-"

 

"I can't lose you too, Wally!" Eddie shouts, tears running past his sunglasses. His breathing is shaky, like it was on the rooftop. "I… I was broken… for so long. Wally, you don't understand what it was like to see you there, lying in a pool of your own blood."

 

Wally had noticed it earlier, but now understood the burn marks on Eddie's hands. Ever since he began using his powers again, he'd needed his gloves to lower conductivity and avoid burning himself. The fresh burns must've been from using his hands as pseudo defibrillators.

 

"Mr. J- Eddie…" he begins, stopping himself, trying to think of the words to say to man. "I have these powers, am I supposed to just sit around? Wait for everything around me to be taken before I can finally fight?"

 

"You're a child, Wally!" Eddie cries, grabbing onto his shoulders. "You could die… lose everything that's waiting for you… leave everyone behind."

 

"I… I think you're scared," Wally says, reaching up to remove the sunglasses from Eddie's face, revealing eyes full of guilt. "The Samuroid… it's bringing memories back, your regrets, your choices that you see as mistakes. You're scared to lose everything all over again… but that won't happen, Eddie."

 

"You don't know that, Wally…" Eddie whimpers, trying to wipe the flowing tears from his eyes. "The Speed Force exists to take, take, and take more. It took my baby girl from me, and now it's sending you to your death."

 

"The Speed Force is also the reason we got to meet," Wally smiles, handing a tissue to the older man. "I understand your fears, and understand that you've been hurt before… but that's why I can't stand around. If someone doesn't go out there, if someone doesn't stop the Samuroid… someone else's child could be taken from them.

 

"You told me I reminded you of her because both of us could get back up when we were knocked down, right? Well I'm standing again."

 

"Wally…"

 

"The Samuroid took your last moments with her… I'll pay it back for you."

 

-^-

 

With a slash of its sword, the Samuroid sends a wave of sonic energy down the street. Pavement rips up from the ground, steel tears away from the framework of cars, and the windows of all nearby buildings shatter, raining glass from above. Terrified civilians scream as they run in fear, but the android doesn't seem to care. Its attention is drawn to the sound of rushing wind coming from the other side of the street. Raising its sword once again, another slash emits a wave of sonic energy, this time heading towards the blue lightning rushing towards it.

 

Wally's eyes narrow, staring down the energy. The sonic attack was enough to send him careening off the rooftop of their last meeting, he needed to dodge, but the subsequent shockwave has already begun ripping the street apart. Behind the slash, the Samuroid stands idle, mechanical eyes watching, waiting for Wally's response to the strike.

 

Dodging to the left or right would be the safest option to avoid another attack, but it would give Wally little to no time to adjust for the cmterrain's destruction. Sliding beneath it has a similar problem. He has more than enough momentum to leap over the slash, but being wide open in the air is the least optimal situation. His eyes meet the Samuroid once more. He'd need to time this just right, with perfect precision to boot.

 

Wally pushes forward, headfirst towards the slash. The Samuroid tilts its head to the side, curious with Wally's actions. The phrase "as swift as a coursing river" repeats in Wally's head over and over again, the slash meters away. His mind screams go, twirling his body to the left. The attack slices through his right arm, causing various cuts to form and blood to spray, but he can't slow down. The exact moment the slash fully passes, he jumps as his body begins to vibrate, allowing the ear-splitting shockwave to pass. With the momentum he'd built up, he throws his arm to the sky, flicking his fist to an open palm. The released friction sends him back to the ground, narrowly dodging the volley of throwing stars the Samuroid had launched.

 

With his feet planted firmly on the shattered pavement, Wally pants harshly, a smirk on his face. "That the best you got?" he taunts, holding his bloodied shoulder as it heals.

 

"Not in the slightest…"

 

Wally cracks his neck before dropping to his knees, his smirk widening as the whiffed shurikens retract to the Smauroid's chest. From his knees, he spins to a stand before taking off, leaping from the various chunks of destroyed road. He sees something change in the Samuroid, its former idle position shifting to a combat stance.

 

The android places both hands on the katana's hilt, an unlocking mechanism resonating through the evening city. The sword splits, the former singular blade now forming two, the second a smaller wakizashi. A barrage of slashes are fired off at Wally, forcing him to detour. He curses under his breath as the Samuroid's arm jets flare up, boosting the speed of its movements and slashes. Though there are more attacks to dodge, Wally sighs in relief at the lack of concussive force behind each slash, the dual wielding trading power for speed.

 

Dodging the slashes doesn't come easy, but with the lack of shockwaves, Wally is able to quickly formulate a plan of attack. He zips to a large chunk of road, using it as a ramp to leap into the air. As anticipated, the Samuroid's chest opens up once again. This time, rather than the throwing stars, a large, flaming cannonball launches from the cavity. Wally, in a moment of panic, twirls his arms to form twin cyclones. While the funnels are able to disperse the flames, the cannonball still collides with his stomach.

 

Crashing down onto the pavement, Wally coughs up blood, thanking Barry for teaching him the funnel. If he hadn't slowed it down, he'd have a cannonball sized hole in his stomach. The attack hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to relax before the Samuroid came forward with an 'x' shaped slash. Wally again uses the funnel technique to send him sliding across the ground, out of the direct attack. Hopping to a stand, Wally dodges another set of slashes, leaping to a traffic light and swinging off it like a trapeze bar.

 

While in the air, he flings both arms in the same direction, a funnel of blue lightning engrossing his body. What he's doing, in his current situation, is risky. After Barry had first taught him to use wind currents, he had a single thought; could the technique be used for more than just propulsion? The opening sound of the chest cavity sends chills down Wally's spine, but he can't stop now. Using continuous momentum, his body begins to generate a large, horizontal cyclone. Dust is lifted into the air and pulled towards the epicenter, Wally himself. Upon hearing the shuriken fire, Wally stops spinning, dropping to the ground without his momentum. The stars pass through the cloud of dust, but fly far over Wally's own body. The smokescreen worked. Unable to celebrate just yet, he reaches for chunks of rubble.

 

The Samuroid stands on the opposite side of the dust cloud, acknowledging the tactic as one of high battle iq. The android readies its chest for the returning throwing stars, only to be stunned by the chunks of rocks flying towards it. With a few quick slashes, the rubble turns to pebbles, though the Samuroid is again surprised. Diced to pieces, laying among the rocks, are the stars. Tired of playing games, it brings both swords together, reforging the full Katana. With a single slash the dust cloud is completely dispersed, leaving the Samuroid confused.

 

Wally isn't there.

 

It takes a mere second before it turns, but that second is too late. Wally is inches from the android, his fist charged with lightning he'd built up from running a lap around the city.

 

"Wally? I- why? Why do you want to be a hero?"

 

At that moment, Eddie's question from that night returns to him, the question he couldn't answer before. He'd thought about it, he'd wondered why too. At first, he thought the pipedream of a fanboy made reality, a comic book come to life. He'd thought it was nothing but a lucky coincidence he'd be with his idol. It wasn't though. He'd seen the world, he'd seen people lost, hurt, taken. He'd seen the faces of those who were forced to step up and lose what mattered most.

 

Why did he want to be a hero?

 

His fist, charged with lightning slams into the still opening chest cavity. The pulse of blue courses through the Samuroid, its eyes glowing cerulean as sparks fly from its joints. Kicking off the android, his hand is pulled free from the cavity. He lands on the pavement, back turned to the Samuroid as it explodes.

 

He wants to be a hero so that no one else has to.

 

----------------------------

 

NEXT TIME: The Drums of War Rattle in the Heart of the Jungle!

Done