We Started from a Spark

Wally froze, his heart dropping. He felt like ice water had just been splashed on him. A ringing in his ears drowned out his uncle's concerned questions. All he could focus on was how his heart was pounding. It felt harder to breathe.

𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏.

The last time he saw him he told him he was a mistake. That he would become him. Become a 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓.

His thoughts raced as he wondered questions like how did he even get out? Why would they let him out? After everything he did, how could they let him out? What if-

"Wally." Iris's voice broke through his thoughts. He felt her hands on his shoulders grounding him. Barry had his own hand on his back rubbing soothing circles. Hal was standing next to Barry, a concerned look on his face as he clutched Barry's shoulder.

Wally looked at his aunt, his breathing starting to slow.

"That's it, kid breathe." Hal spoke softly. Wally nodded, taking another deep breath letting it out slowly. He had to breathe. He was ok. He was safe. His aunt and uncles were here.

"Let's sit down on the couch ok?" Barry asked soothingly, gently leading Wally over to the couch.

"H-how?" Wally asked after a few minutes. He couldn't look up at any of them as he spoke.

Barry was the first to speak up. He explained that his father managed to get out on parole. He also proceeded to express his not so joyful concerns about the situation.

"Is he going to take me away?" Wally's voice was barely above a whisper. The room went silent as all eyes focused on him.

"No. No! Of course not Wally. Look at me." Iris grabbed her nephews hands squeezing them. Wally slowly looked up, meeting her gaze.

"No one is going to take you away. You hear me?" She spoke sternly, making sure Wally heard her.

"He has no rights to you, none. And he will never hurt you again. I promise." Barry spoke up clenching his fists. He wanted to track Rudy down and teach him a lesson. More importantly he wanted to punch the lawyers and judge who made it possible for him to be put on parole. The bastard didn't deserve anything good.

"Your not alone Wally. We're all here and as long as we're here no one will touch you. I don't care if I have to fight your father to keep you safe." Hal spoke protectively. He may not be Wally's legal guardian like Iris and Barry but he's known him for years. The kid was like a son to him.

Iris and Barry looked at Hal, their expressions full of gratitude and love. In that moment they wondered how they got so lucky to have met Hal.

"Thank you." Wally spoke softly, looking at Hal with a small smile. Hal has certainly become a part of this family. It felt weird to think of Iris and Barry without him. He wasn't even around when Iris and Barry took him in yet he treats Wally like he was his own son.

Part of Rudy's parole was to go nowhere near Wally. But this being Rudy there was no telling what he could do so Barry called a school meeting assembling everyone on the staff and PTA. He told them about Wally's father and how he was an abuser and was on parole. He didn't go into too much detail about the abuse but he made it clear that if they were to see Rudy they would not let him near Wally. They all agreed.

Bruce met up with Hal and Barry after the meeting expressing his concern saying if they needed anything to just ask. Even if Bruce didn't like to admit it he had grown close to Barry's family over the years thanks to Dick and Wally being such close friends. And no matter how much Wally got on his nerves he never wished for him to go through something like this again.

The news spread to Hartley, Garth, Donna, Roy, and Dick quickly causing them all to become a personal Wally protection squad making sure he was ok. None of them were happy to hear the news about his father. Especially Dick. And this time around he was extremely worried.

Wally acted like he was perfectly fine. Like he hadn't been told his abusive father was roaming free. He acted like all was right in the world. He was the same on the outside making jokes, laughing and smiling. Anytime someone asked if he was fine he would dodge the question.

Wally spent all his time focusing on the cross country track competition coming up. That's all he wanted to talk about. No matter how much Dick tried he couldn't break through Wally's defenses. He was helpless as he watched his best friend act all fine and perky. He had never seen Wally do this before. Normally he would shut down resulting in Dick practically breaking down his door and dragging his ass back to the real world.

As the weeks passed there was no sign of Rudy. Wally continued practicing every hour of every day for his upcoming competition. Dick never left his side anymore. Dick thought everything with Wally's father was in the past but it seemed anytime Wally finally moved on he would just reappear.

As the day of Wally's competition grew near he was completely ecstatic. He had practically trained his whole life for this competition. Then his father made contact with him.

It was a simple text from an unknown number but what it said was enough to confirm who sent it. It said: 𝑰'𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

Wally didn't tell anyone about the text. He knew they would just make a big deal about it and chances were they would keep him from competing in the upcoming competition. Besides there wasn't any proof it was his father who sent the text.

So he continued on like everything was fine. Then the day of the competition came.

-

"Good luck out there." Dick said, patting Wally on the back. He was ecstatic to see Wally race. Granted camera footage didn't follow the whole race he was still excited. For that past couple of weeks all Wallt could do was focus on this competition.

"You got this." Roy spoke up, smirking. He was worried when he first found out about Wally's father. He was glad to see him so happy. It reminded him of the first time he met Wally. They first met in third grade. He was new to the school and wasn't really the best at making friends. Then came this bubbly redheaded kid who just wouldn't leave him alone.

-

Roy sat on the school bench staring out as the other kids played. He didn't fit in with the other's. Everyone looked so happy as they laughed and played and here he was sitting on a bench.

"Hey! Hi!" A redheaded kid came running over towards Roy with a huge smile on his face. He grabbed Roy's hands, dragging him off the bench.

"Hi I'm Wally I can run really fast! Want to be friends?" Roy stared at the kid- Wally not knowing how to respond. Where did he even come from?

"What's your name?" Wally quickly switched over to another question.

"Roy…" He said cautiously. He was about to say something else before he was cut off by another question.

"You like science? I love science! You seem pretty cool. I like you. Wanna hang out sometime? I think we could be really good friends." Roy's head spinned as he tried to keep up with Wally.

"Sure." Was the only thing he could think to say. He didn't a hundred percent know which part he said sure to though.

"Hey, can I introduce you to my Dick?" Roy spluttered at Wally's abrupt question.

"W-what!?" His face flushed. He may only be ten years old but he knew that wasn't something you just showed people. Especially ones you just met. Then out of nowhere a kid came somersaulting over towards them. He had short black hair and blue eyes.

"Ta-da!" The kid said with a proud smile on his face.

"Who are you?" Roy was starting to feel a headache coming. Wally placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, his smile growing.

"This is my Dick." He spoke proudly as the other kid just grinned at Roy.

"That's your actual name?" Roy was astonished that any person would name their kid after a penis.

"It is." Dick responded tilting his head up in a prideful manner.

That was the day Roy adopted two younger brothers. They became the ultimate trio.

-

"Knock 'em dead." Barry spoke up. He looked happy but concerned. More people wished him luck before he headed out on the track.

He got to the beginning line getting into a running stance. He took a deep breath getting into what Dick liked to call 'the zone'. His face became determined as he waited for the signal for the race to begin. Others stood by at the ready as people gathered around.

The sound of a gunshot rang through the air signaling for the race to start. The crowd burst out into cheers as the runners took off.

Wally started off strong, keeping a steady pace with everyone. He wasn't in the lead but he wasn't falling behind either. He took deep controlled breaths as he ran. He made sure not to give everything he had right at the beginning. Instead he settled into an even pace of about seventy percent of his max speed. He came across a turn leading into a lush forest keeping steady pace. He knew he had to save some of his energy for the end of the race if he wanted any chance of winning.

Racing wasn't all about your legs, it was also about your mind, your spirit. If you imagined you were going to lose then chances were you would lose. If you thought you were going to win then you tried like hell to make it reality. Running was more of a mental competition than anything. There was physical strain, yes. But the moment you stopped thinking like a winner was the moment you lost.

He ran through a clearing of an open plain with some trees surrounding him. His first goal was to find the person in front of him and pass them. He evened out his breathing concentrating as he picked up his speed just for a few seconds lasting long enough to pass them before settling back into an even pace. His goal was to take each person out one at a time.

He grinned as he felt the cool air against his face feeling the power in his legs as he strived forward. His heart held a strong heavy beat in his chest. His lungs felt like they were on fire. It was exhilarating.

The mind was key. His body wanted to tell him to stop but he couldn't. He had to push further. That was what was so exhilarating. Pushing yourself as far as you could before you collapsed.

Wally came up towards his first hill of the track. A lot of people chose to slow down but not Wally. He pushed forward, pumping his arms hard. His legs increased in speed as he did. He picked out the next person in front of him using that speed to pass them over the hill. On his way down the hill he let gravity do the work taking advantage of the free speed before finding his pace again.

He let out a small laugh feeling his blood pump through his veins. His heart thumped harder in his chest and a small sweat dripped down his forehead. His legs began hurting as he pushed forward. They burned with pain with each step. He couldn't slow down though not if he wanted them to start hurting even more.

He felt the world around him sway as blood rushed to his head. He shook his head trying to push off the feeling. He had to focus and keep pushing forward. He kept his steady pace as he passed the first mile.

He wanted to look back behind him but the only thing that would do is slow him down. He kept his eyes trained straight ahead. It was like the past you couldn't let it weigh you down. Something no one seemed to understand. No matter how hard he tried to keep moving forward it seemed like everyone wanted to keep him trapped in the past.

The sun shone down on his face as he pressed on ahead passing the second mile. His hair was illuminated looking like dancing flames in the light. He found his breathing room as one more hill came up. He came behind another person licking up speed to pass them before regaining his normal pace.

The intercoms announced an update stating who was in first, second, and third. Wally wasn't announced as he was in sixth.

It was time. With half a mile to go Wally had one last goal. Speed up. Everyone else began slowing down as Wally picked up his pace, throwing everything into the final half mile. He passed by three people as he kept gaining speed. He was coming up on the last two hills of the race before coming out of the woods.

His head spins again, a lot worse than he anticipated. The screams and cheers can be heard in the distance echoing from microphones, adding to it, disorienting his mind as it tries to catch up with his body.

He runs forward trying to focus on pushing himself to move faster. He felt slow, weighed down as he came towards the hill.

As he pushed towards the top his weight shifts, balance thrown off. Panicking, he tries to steady himself as he makes it to the top. Shaking his head he continued pushing forward. A bead of sweat dripped down his face. His lungs felt like they were on fire.

People who had previously been far behind him came closing in, some passing by with ease. The screams and cheers began to mix into a muffled blur as Wally could only hear his own labored breathing.

He comes towards the next hill making it to the top, vision spinning, body unable to find balance as he trips. His leg makes impact sending him in a free fall towards the ground.

One second. A second that moves in slow motion, mind whirling a mile a minute as his vision blurred. Time felt as if it stopped. This one single second became minutes that turned to days that became weeks.

He’s not even sure his heart is beating as panic rises up choking off the wordless shout in his throat as the world speeds up again. All he can feel is the pain shooting up his leg. It felt like his muscles were being ripped apart as his ankle slips and impact shoots up his leg. He feels the grind of his ankle rolling, feels the crack as it echoes throughout his ears.

He lies there as his mind spinned. He sees the unfamiliar faces popping into his vision, their mouths move but he can’t focus on what they are saying.

Everything felt distant. His body numb. He knew what happened. He knows the inevitable truth. All the evidence pointed towards it. But every time he begins to draw on the conclusion his mind shuts down. He couldn't accept it. He didn't want to accept it. 𝑰𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍.

Tears pricked his vision as familiar faces began rushing in. They all looked worried. Their mouths moved with no words as his mind couldn't stop spinning. Couldn't comprehend.

The thump of his heart, loud and hard against his rib cage, echoed through his ears. It was all he could hear. He couldn't hear the screaming or the worried words filling the air. Everything was blank.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕.