'Left! Left! Weave! Right! Move back! Lunge forward and kick!', With each thought, my body moved in sync with my thoughts and it didn't feel as if there was constantly someone in the back of my mind telling me what to do anymore.
"Dude, you've been shadow-boxing for the past three hours. You gotta chill or something, right?", Wally asked and I shook my head while ducking and weaving in between imaginary attacks.
At least that's what it looks like to most, but to Megan, Connor and I, I ducked under the punch from Superman in my head before slipping a punch to his side, making him fold over slightly.
That gave me an opening to bring my knee to his chin, but I grunted as he delivered a punch to my side at the same time, the flash of pain only being possible thanks to Connor stimulating my nerves to do so as I flinched and moved back.
"Nope, that battle against Mr. Twister showed that while I do have the physical capabilities of a weaker Kryptonian, I am still completely useless against those that fight at range."
"So…you want to get strong enough to cross the distance before they can use their first attack?" He asked and I nodded as I leapt upwards, feeling Megan doing her best to pull me back to the floor as I spun and delivered a heel kick to Superman's head that sent him stumbling backwards.
"Precisely. That is why Megan and I are also training together. She's trying to pin me to one spot with telekinesis while I try my best to rip free from her grasp. It's resistance training for me and mental training for! Her!", I grunted as I forced myself to lunge forward the moment I felt her trying to push me down.
"We're going…until the first one gives up…! It's really fun!", Megan exclaimed with a happy tone as she tried to push my arm down the moment I threw a punch, but I gritted my teeth as I finished the punch before pulling it back.
"…Great," He muttered and I was a bit confused and concerned at his rather down tone as I raised a hand, Megan taking a deep breath as she let go while I walked over to him.
"Everything good, Wally?", I asked as I placed a hand on his shoulder and his sighed while shaking his head.
"Not really, man. You and Megan can train together and Dick and Kaldur are training together, which leaves me all on my own, man. It's like everyone partnered up with someone and ol' Wally is left to fend for himself like usual."
"…What about Connor? He's just been training his illusions with me, but I'm sure he'd be more than happy to help you."
"And how is he going to help me?", Wally asked with a frown and I hummed before my eyes widened as I grinned.
"Tell me. How does your superspeed work exactly?"
"…I run fast," He answered with a deadpan tone and I rolled my eyes as I heard Megan giggling at his words.
"I mean like where did it come from? Did you just wake up being able to run fast or did something happen?", If I'm remembering correctly, I think he tried and failed to replicate Barry's experiment on a smaller scale, but he was able to get a weaker version of super speed in return.
"Well, I was a bit stupid in my younger days so look at this through the gaze of a 12/ 13 year old boy. I found the path that my uncle followed to become the Flash, but the instructions were for a bigger scale than for the garage I had planned and next thing I knew…I was in the hospital."
"I see. Connor, do you have any records of Flash's speeds?"
"Indeed I do."
"How does Wally compare?"
"The Flash is about 1500 times faster than Wally is."
"…You sure? I know he's faster than me, but I was guessing fifteen to maybe fifty times faster," Wally asked with a frown while I decided to stay silent as Connor hummed before responding.
"I have now ran the simulations of the two of you sixty different times in my mind and the lowest number I've figured out is 1200 times."
"…Wow, you are slow~", I muttered as I looked at Wally, who frowned before he looked at me as I continued speaking with a smile.
"But that is good."
"How exactly is being slow a good thing?"
"Because we have a lot more to work with here. Connor, how can we boost Wally's speed here other than with the conventional methods of using intensive training?"
"The only other option would be to activate the dormant Meta-Gene one will find inside his body."
"…Wait, I have a Meta-Gene?", Wally asked with a surprised look and even I was a bit surprised as Connor looked at us and nodded.
"He does, but it is only partially activated. As do you, Chris. The gene implanted in you was taken from Mr. Luthor as he did not wish to be dependant on a crutch like it and wished to prove himself superior to Superman as a simple human."
'Lex Luthor is an even bigger idiot than I expected the one from this universe to be,' I thought with a frown before my eyes widened as I remembered that I was in the presence of telepaths that could have potentially heard that thought.
"He is."
"…Were you listening in on my thoughts?", I asked Megan with a smirk that hid my panic as she gave an apologetic smile and nodded.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
'End of Season 2's Megan is so cool~!', I thought as a test and hummed as she looked a bit concerned before I realized that she may be thinking that I'm angry at her reading my mind.
"Sorry, got lost in thought there. Also, no need to worry about reading my mind. I know you don't mean to do so purposefully," I said and smiled at her thankful smile before turning to Connor and Wally as the latter spoke up.
"You said that my gene was only partially activated?"
"Correct. Your experiment in the garage was what forced the gene to activate partially. Had you done so in the exact measurements your uncle listed, you would have fully unlocked your Meta-gene."
"Connor, just how much in terms of percentage is 'partially unlocked'?"
"Around 5%," Connor answered and both Megan and I blinked before we slowly turned to Wally who looked shocked.
"Are you…are you telling me I've only been running with 5% of my full speed?"
"That is correct, yes."
"Wally, you…hah, okay. We can work with this. Connor, is there perhaps a way Wally can fully activate his Meta-Gene?"
"Other than a truly stressful situation, there aren't other options," The G-Gnome answered and I frowned as Wally groaned.
"Well, isn't that great? I find out that I can only use 5% of my full speed and it turns out that I need to be put under an extreme amount of stress or fear in order to activate the rest. This has not fixed my day at all, Chris. Not at all."
"Oh, shush you. Connor, is it possible that one can create an illusion of such a scenario to trick the body into thinking that it's in such a situation?" ,I asked and the G-Gnome hummed as Megan's eyes widened while Wally frowned.
"What are you planning in that devious mind of yours?"
"Are you suggesting that we trap Wally inside of an eternal nightmare until he activates his Meta-Gene?", She asked with a wary look and I gave a sheepish smile as I made a so-so gesture.
"Not exactly. What I'm asking is if we can do the same thing that Connor and the other G-Gnomes did to me: Simulate a stressful situation to where your body is forced to evolve. However, we add in your body getting hurt for you and then we see whether or not that will be enough."
"Firstly, that is sadistic even for you. Secondly, won't I know that I'm in an illusion?"
"You will, but Connor here can stimulate parts of your brain to the point that it all feels realistic. He will need to have skin-to-skin contact though so it's either your shoulder or your head."
"I'd rather the shoulder than my luscious locks. At least someone will then have a good time," Wally spoke with a confident smile as he took off his shirt and I snorted at his attempt to flirt with Megan who simply looked concerned while looking at me.
"A-Are we sure this is okay?"
"Wally, are you sure you want to do this?", I asked in turn and the speedster snorted as he sat down while Connor hopped onto his shoulder.
"Eh, it will be fine, just like we usually do."
"This could work, but he will need to be still."
"I'll do that," I chimed in as I walked closer, Wally sitting down and taking a deep breath as I placed my hands on his shoulders to pin him down.
"Remember, none of it is real, but all of it is also real. What you need to do is focus on going as fast as you can, okay?"
"Hah, okay. Connor, hit me!", Wally grunted and I watched as Connor's horns glowed before the speedster's eyes glazed over, his head dropping as Megan floated closer.
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
"It's Wally. The guy's probably already figuring out how to do it in his mind," I answered with a smirk and she giggled as she decided to sit down besides, both of us watching as Wally's breathing began to get slightly shaky.
"You know that he has a crush on you, right?"
"He does?" She asked with a surprised look and I chuckled whilst nodding.
"He does indeed. Well, it's more of an infatuation with the opposite gender than a crush, but potato tomato."
"W-Well, that's nice, but he's a bit…young for me."
"Young? How old are you?", I asked before rolling my eyes as she huffed playfully while crossing her arms.
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"
"Well, we have nothing better to do so how about this? I'll say a number and you tell me if it's higher or lower."
"I suppose a bit of entertainment does sound nice," She agreed with a shrug and I nodded while readjusting my grip on the speedster.
"16?",I asked and watched as she simply giggled at my words.
"Higher."
"18?"
"Higher."
"22?"
"Higher," She answered and I raised an eyebrow at that before nodding.
"30?"
"Higher."
"…36?"
"Higher."
"…45?"
"Higher," She answered back with a happy smile and my eyes widened at that before I continued.
"50?"
"Lower."
"…This is a wild guess, but 48?"
"Yep! Congratulations!", She cheered while clapping her hands, but I was more focused on the fact that Megan, the bubbly 16-year old looking teenager in front of me…was 48 years old?!
"Wait, is that in Earth years or Martian years?"
"Earth Years. If that were in Martian Years, I would be 90 years old in Earth Years."
"…Damn, and here I thought I was the oldest member."
"Aren't you like 30 or something given how much you've been training in your mind?", She asked with a frown and I chuckled before nodding.
"Biologically, 22. Chronologically, I believe I am…3 to 5 months old, but I am also mentally 22 years old given how much more mature I am than the average teenager."
"…Oh, that is bad on my part," I think she forgot to disconnect the telepathy line as I heard her mutter that before an audible squeak escaped her lips as I gave a mental chuckle and responded.
"Not really. Considering you're only 16 years old biologically and I'm 22, that looks far worse on my side if we're being honest," I answered with a shrug, breaking the awkward tension as she giggled and nodded.
"Y-Yeah, that is true. So, do you wanna ha-!", Before she could finish her sentence, though, a yelp escaped her lips as she quickly flew away while I grunted as I was nearly blinded by a stray flash of electricity.
Getting the feeling of static crawling up my arm, I looked down at Wally only for my eyes to widen at the sight of blue and yellow electricity crawling around his body, Connor having already leapt up as Wally took a deep breath.
As he breathed out, it sounded like static echoing through the air as he slipped from my hands, my eyes widening as I found him sitting under my grasp one moment and standing in front of us the next with a wide grin and blue electricity rippling from his eyes.
"Say hello to the new and improved Kid Flash, baby~!", His voice sounded as if it was constantly vibrating, Wally not noticing it as he bounced on the balls of his feet before he moved.
Even with my Kryptonian senses, I found it hard to even keep track of the little speedster as he dashed to and fro across the open space of the meeting area of the cave right before coming to a sliding stop in front of us.
"This is awe…some…"
"Uh, you good there, Wal?", I asked as I slowly looking a bit faint and he simply chuckled as he gave a nod.
"Y-Yeah, this…this is…nothing…", He couldn't even finish his sentence before he fell over and Megan was quick to catch him with a telekinetic grip as Connor hopped onto my shoulder.
"Is he okay?", She asked with a panicked look as we rushed over and I frowned as I looked at him before sighing as I heard the soft rumbling from his stomach.
"He's okay. It just looks like unlocking his Meta-gene fully may have also boosted his metabolism a bit."
"Try by 349%," Connor provided and I pinched the bridge of my nose as Megan looked surprised hearing those numbers.
"Batman is not going to be happy about this."
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"…Why does all the fun stuff happen when it's only you three?". Richard asked with a glare aimed at me as we watched Wally running on his new super-threadmill, to which I shrugged as Kaldur and Megan stared at the stats shown back to us.
"21 313 mph…His new fastest speed is 24 times faster than his previous record," I heard Kaldur mutter and looked at the numbers shown to us before shaking my head as I looked up at where Wally was nothing but a sparking blur rushing at top speed.
"Wally, that's good. You can come down now," I spoke through the intercom and watched as his body slowly but surely became visible, the teen coming to a stop as the electricity around his body vanished and he hopped off.
"Whew~! That was fun!", He spoke happily as he appeared besides us with a burst of electricity, Megan holding her heart with a yelp while us three other guys took shaky deep breaths to stop us from jumping.
"Wal…no doing that inside, please."
"…Nope!", He answered with a grin as he took off out of the room and out into the cave, Megan catching the papers that were scattered and placing them down as both Kaldur and Richard looked at me.
"This is on you."
"I know, Kaldur. Hah, I know," I muttered while Richard groaned as he rubbed the sides of his temples.
"He's going to be even more annoying now. Urgh, why did you have to go and feel bad for him~?"
"He's my first friend, okay? It's kind of my job to make sure he doesn't feel bummed out."
"Then take him to a park. Don't activate his Meta-gene and then force the rest of us to suffer with you."
"Speaking of which, Connor, you said I had one too, yes?"
"You do, indeed," The G-Gnome answered and I smirked at that before nodding as I began making my way back to my room.
"You need some help?" Megan asked and I stopped in my tracks before nodding.
"Sure, some help would be wonderfu-!"
"Team, report to the cave entrance. I repeat. Team, report to the cave entrance. It is time for your first covert mission," Batman's voice echoed over the intercoms and I groaned at that as Megan gave me a sympathetic pat on the back.
"Looks like your little fun will have to wait until next time." Kaldur spoke with an amused smirk as we began making our way to the entrance and I grumbled as I walked after them while crossing my arms.
I swear, if Batman doesn't have a good reason for this, the Dark Knight is about to be sent into the Dark Night…
'Write that down! That could be a good pun.'
A/N: This was supposed to be a simple bonding chapter that led into the factory fight, but I decided to give Wally a little light to shine.
Don't worry as Superboy/ Chris will be hanging out with everyone like this from time to time and help them get better with their skills and/ or get over their insecurities, i.e. Megan feeling guilty for hiding her identity as a White Martian.
Also, Wally/ Kid Flash was one of my favourite characters in the show and he has a pretty cool Flash Design in the comics from what I saw so I'm most definitely going for that look.
Another few things I need to say before I end this. Firstly, Flash is said to be near the speed of light in the show as well as according to what I could read from most of the searches I did so Wally is actually still a fair bit slow.
Secondly, most searches I did showed me that the Speed Force does not exist in the slightest in this universe, so that's why I went with the regular Meta-Gene direction. The Meta-Gene still does give them speed force, but Wally is the only one with the lightning. Let me re-iterate.
NO SPEED FORCE~! It's just regular superspeed with some cooler visuals for Wally.
Finally, the Meta-Gene that Chris has will be the secret along with the experiment he's going to do with Superman to fully unlock his Kryptonian powers, but like I said, that will be left for when that happens.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!