MASK OR MENACE IC INBOX

[runningstart]

WALLY WEST
"You've reached the personal voice mail of the Wall-man. The honor is yours! Leave your deets, I'll holla back atcha."
[ BEEP. ]

KID FLASH
"This is the contact for Kid Flash. If it's an emergency, call Robin; he'll know where I am. Otherwise, leave your info and I'll get you back ASAP."
[ BEEP. ]


[ voice | text | email | action ]

( Please specify in tag subject line if the contact is for Wally West or Kid Flash! )

Comments

[boobwindow]

People don't just--

[ "Disappear", she wants to say, but she knows that isn't true. Wally did disappear in her world and his entire family had gone with him. Lost somewhere in the Speed Force. ]

That can't be right.

[runningstart]

Bart was there, he saw it. And he wouldn't just make something like this up.

That's why I was asking about Barry. I dunno if that- I dunno if I like, y'know, die or if it's something that can be fixed. So. I'm researching.

[boobwindow]

[ This is going to weigh on her conscience if she doesn't tell him now. He's been honest with her, so it's only right she's honest with him. ]

I've never fully understood how it works; if it's cosmic forces, magic, maybe it isn't real death. That doesn't always stick for people like us.

[ A beat. ]

I have to tell you something, too. I've never been sure how to bring it up.

[runningstart]

Oh Jesus. Do I disappear in your world too? This is a universal standard thing? God I am getting so tired of this alternate dimension crap!

[boobwindow]

[ Another awkward pause. ]

... you did, Wally. I didn't want to scare you.

[runningstart]

I'm not scared. [sorta but covering it up with intense annoyance] Okay so, what happened? Do you know? Or anybody here from your world, do they know?

[boobwindow]

It was during the Crisis. There was another Superboy from a different reality. He was incredibly dangerous and powerful, so you, Jay and Bart tried to stop him. Jay couldn't keep up, I think -- [ he might be fast, but he's not young ] and something happened to you. You disappeared into some other dimension with your family.

But you came back. The Legion of Super-Heroes brought you back.

[runningstart]

[That....sounds very familiar. The disappearing while running part anyway, except Wally was the only one to vanish, because HE was the one too slow.]

Okay but- How, Kare, I need numbers, I need data. This might be what happens to me back home but I won't know unless I can compare the physical circumstan- is there any way to get that info? [forgive him if he sounds desperate and frustrated, peej. It's because he's desperate and frustrated.]

[boobwindow]

Wally.

[ Her tone is soft, sympathetic. ]

I can't, I'm sorry. I don't know if this is something data will solve either.

[runningstart]

[Wally is quiet for a moment too long, tense and upset but not with Karen.]

...fine...it's fine. It's- I'm just back where I started, that's all. Nothing's changed.

[boobwindow]

You didn't die, Wally.

[ She wants to emphasize that, even knowing how frightening it can be to be displaced and not knowing how or when you'll get back home. She was gone maybe a couple of days at most and it was practically hell on her physically and emotionally. ]

You'll come back because you're a strong person. [ A quiet sigh. ] I know it's frightening... I only wish I knew what else to say.

[runningstart]

No- [Wally makes a noise of frustration.] No, I'm not. Back in my world I disappear because I'm the slowest. Literally, the reason I'm gone is because I'm not a strong person- and I'm not gonna rely on being strong to come back from whatever the hell happens to me anyway! That's not how the world works! I can't just hope I'm good enough to survive whatever it is because good people die and good people don't come back all the time, every day! I'm going to find a solution using something that's actually real, something that's quantifiable because that doesn't rely on good feelings or random chaotic occurrences to work properly!

-I gotta go. I can't- I gotta go. [he hangs up, drops his phone on his bed and pulls on his sneakers to run for a few hours. he'll apologize for shouting later.]

[boobwindow]

Wally, wait--

[ Damn it. ]