001 - Arrival

[fasterthan]

[Action - 1665 Nelson - Morning] [When Wally wakes up, the world is molasses.

No... that's not right. The world is still the world, it's just he's moving through it like it's molasses.

Okay that's kind of overstating it. But still. It's obvious from the moment he wakes up and tries to look around the room that he can't move even a tenth of the speed he's used to. In fact, he falls rather spectacularly out of bed when he tries to zip around the room and ends up flailing, tripping, and landing quite gracefully (and loudly) on the floor.

He's stuck at normal speed.

How...

He's kind of freaking out. The room is weird, there are weird pictures with him in them and the clothes are all wrong... and everything he does is so slow. True, he wasn't The Flash his whole life, he was normal once, too, but just like he had to get used to suddenly having super speed, now he's suddenly without it and he has no idea what's going on. Time to start talking himself through it.]

Okay. So I have no idea where I am, my suit's nowhere to be seen, and my powers are completely gone.

[He scratches his head.]

Guess this calls for some investigating.

Crap. Never was really good at that.

[He sighs.]

Guess I should start by getting dressed. Don't want to start an investigation in my PJs.

[He'll do so and start poking around the house.]

[Phone - Later that morning] So hey, Wally West here. Sorry for interrupting your beautiful morning but I'm randomly dialing and you're the lucky winner! I seem to be new here... uh... I think I got the basics down... mind helping me out with some specifics?

Comments

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

You're Wally West, the fastest jerk alive!

Did Abra Kadabra find some kind of spell to wipe your memory or something?! Grife! And people say I'm dumb.

[fasterthan]

[OKAY THERE IS A KID HE DOES NOT KNOW SHOUTING AT HIM AND HE KNOWS WHO HE IS WHAT IS THIS MADNESS]

How do you...

Okay look. Bart. I'm... pretty sure I haven't had my memory wiped, but hey, I just woke up in a town with no idea how I got here or why. Weird stuff happens. I really honestly have no clue what you're talking about.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

[He actually...starts laughing for a minute.]

You totally do! You totally have your mind wiped right now! Wow, if only the usual you could hear how dumb you sound right now!

[Pause.]

Unless...

[He knows people come from different times...but he hasn't realized there can also be alternate versions of people he knows...and if he never figures it out he might show up on Poison Ivy's doorstep and get killed for calling her "supervillain mom."]

...Has Grandma...I mean, your aunt Iris, come back from the future yet?

[fasterthan]

...Uh. Far as I know I don't have any relatives in the future. No reason why I should, either.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

Woah. There is something seriously wrong here.

You are the Flash right now, right?!

[fasterthan]

Skipping over the fact that it's supposed to be... you know... a secret... I mean. Yeah. I should be, anyway. Not like I could do a whole lot right now, though.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

Well duh. They take your speed and everything gets all slow even more boring than usual.

[fasterthan]

Man, I never thought I'd have to get used to being slow again. And I'm gonna have to walk everywhere and do things normal speed all the time... this is gonna be horrible.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

At least that's one thing we can agree on. It's horrible. I've never been this long without speed!

[He still sounds very bitter.]

[fasterthan]

...how long have you been here?

[Also he's still really bothered that he or some other version of him made this kid mad for some reason.]

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

Four months. They even make me go to this boring school and I have to do all the work at normal speed!

[fasterthan]

Holy crap. [Wally is appropriately horrified.] Seriously? I am so sorry, dude.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

...There's gotta be somethin' wrong with you.

The Wally I know would never say that.

...I like you better this way.

[fasterthan]

Wait, really? What would... uh... your Wally say?

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

...I'm not sure but it would be something a stupid jerk would say.

[fasterthan]

[Okay he laughs.]

Sorry you gotta deal with a stupid jerk version of me, Bart. Sounds like we come from... I dunno, different worlds or something like that.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

Well if you don't know who Iris is, something has to be seriously wrong.

...Or that. I guess your theory could be right too.

[Pause.]

I've been to alternate universes before. I should've thought of that...

[Thinking is hard.]

[fasterthan]

Yeah, we had to deal with a whole Justice League from another universe. They were actually pretty bad. It was weird.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

Alternate universes usually are weird.

Being a superhero is weird.

[fasterthan]

Don't I know it.

Oh speaking of which, though. Could you do me a favor and... you know. Not tell people about the whole Flash thing? You know. Just on principle.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

What kind of superhero do you think I am?! Max taught me about secret identities ages ago. You're not a naggy Wally, are you?!

[He's terrible at keeping them, though.]

[fasterthan]

Dunno. I hope not.

Sorry, I was just pretty surprised to end up calling someone who apparently knows who I am despite the fact that I never met them before.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

We're supposed to be...related. But if you're some weird other Wally West, the Flash, the damn lord of speed...

[fasterthan]

Ooh, lord of speed, I like that. Who came up with that one?

But yeah, pretty sure I don't have any Barts in my family.

[has-no-plan.livejournal.com]

You're not the lord of speed, you just act like it. Always tripping me and telling people what to do...

What about your Uncle Barry?