"Chemistry"
His fingers ached. It was the pain of fatigue, a tightness and a tiredness that came from lack of rest. Being unable to sleep is hard on a man when minutes feel like hours, but insomnia wasn’t Wally West’s problem at the moment. He was waiting. He sat in boxers on the edge of the bed he shared with his wife. Sitting next to him, Linda had her arms clenched around one of Wally’s. Her head rested on his shoulder. Her eyes were wide. She struggled to control her breathing, to remember to breathe at all. She was waiting. It was early, around seven in the morning. Linda woke up at this time regularly to get ready for work. Wally liked to sleep later. He wasn’t lazy; he just enjoyed sleep. It was one of the few things that he did that didn’t inherently involve the use of his superspeed. He dreamt at normal speed, even if he didn’t necessarily need all of the rest. Superman had once told Wally that the only reason he dreamt was to dream. Wally had figured, if it was good enough for Superman, it was good enough for him, too. He was up early today, though. He had been waking up early for the past several weeks. They didn’t test every day, but every other day. Still, he got up to be with her on the days when they did not test. Days when it seemed it would never happen. Days when one or both or neither of them wanted to find out. Every day, for three weeks, and for the past three years, he only got out of bed to be with her. They had tested today. And now they were waiting. No more. *bing* The ring of the egg timer caused both of them to jump. Wally turned and kissed the top of Linda’s head. “Whatever it is,” he whispered, as he had done on every other day, “I love you.” She looked up at him, letting go of his arm. “I love you, too.” They stood together, folding hands together as they did, moving slowly across the room and into the bathroom, towards the sink. A small white plastic strip sat next to the egg timer. In front of both of those, a blue box a little larger than the strip sat opened. Wally picked up the box and read the words he had read a hundred times over. It was even diagrammed for them. Two lines for yes. One line for no. He showed the box to Linda, and she read it and looked at the picture. They looked at each other, hands still clenched. He dropped the box into the sink and reached for the plastic strip. He closed his eyes and lifted it for Linda to see. He waited for a moment. He didn’t feel her move. He opened his eyes and glanced in his wife’s direction. She was looking up at him, her eyebrows arched, her mouth flat. She was waiting for him, now. With her free hand, she took his wrist and moved the small white plastic strip, still in his fingers, between their faces. He dropped the strip. She was in his arms a millisecond later. They were enveloped in each other, neither sure what to say, neither wanting to let the other go. Wally forced himself to speak through the grin. “It’s two lines.” “Yeah,” was all she could say. “We’ve got two lines.” “Yeah.” “There’s two lines there.” “Yeah.” “Did you see two lines?” “Yeah.” “’Cause I saw two lines.” “Yeah.” “Don’t go to work today.” “Okay,” she said with a laugh, and they finally relaxed their embrace. He kissed her, longer and tighter than he had ever kissed her before. It was a kiss of joy and of sadness, of fear and relief and, most of all, love. It was cathartic. The kiss ended, and his involuntary grin continued. She was crying, and he wiped her cheek. “I love you so much.” “I love you,” she said quietly, smiling. They stood in each others arms for several minutes, breathing together. A loud ring resounded through the house. Neither of them moved. The doorbell rang again. “One of us should get that,” Linda mumbled. “Probably just the mailman,” Wally replied. “At seven in the morning?” “What, it’s never happened?” “Go get the door, Wally.” They let go of each other, and Wally sighed. “Fine.” Linda blinked, and Wally was fully clothed. He kissed her again and exited the room. “I’m gonna take a shower,” she shouted out to him. “Save me a spot,” he shouted back with a smile. Wally strode down the hallway, still grinning, a slight bounce in his step as he rounded the corner, and the front door came into view. It clicked closed quietly. Wally stopped. In front of the door, an attractive woman with shoulder-length blonde hair stood with one hand on the doorknob and the other in her pocket. She wore jeans and an open jacket over a v-neck sweater. She stepped further into the house. She spoke calmly. “Hello, Wally.” Wally froze. “Frankie?” Eight Years Ago Wally’s eyes were glazed over. He sat back in his chair, his mouth hanging open, his hands resting on the flip-up desktop of the lecture hall. A pencil hung precariously between his fingers, ready to fall at any moment. A notebook sat open on the desk, a stark blank page glaring up at the young man. Barry had always tried to get Wally interested in chemistry. ‘Basic working knowledge of chemicals and their reactions is important to understanding the world around you,’ he had once said, but no matter how hard he had tried to care, Wally wasn’t buying it. Only when Barry had brought up Dr. Alchemy and Mr. Element had the boy’s interest been grabbed. And while he didn’t read every science book he could get his hands on, Wally had gradually developed a healthy respect for his uncle’s chosen profession and for chemistry in general. But this was not fun. Wally enjoyed the hands-on element of chemistry, and sitting in a lecture hall, surrounded by 300 other freshmen, listening to a teacher’s assistant explain what an atom was did not exactly qualify as ‘hands-on,’ nor was it all that interesting to an 18-year-old who could vibrate his atoms through solid objects. It was all he could do to keep from screaming. The pencil fell from Wally’s fingers, and the sound and vibration of it hitting the tabletop snapped him seemingly back to life. He picked the pencil up and shifted in his seat, trying to look like he hadn’t just dozed off with his eyes open. In his notebook he doodled, a picture of an atom next to a picture of The Atom, with an equals sign between them. He smiled to himself. He felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he flipped the page of the notebook to another blank sheet without even thinking. A woman’s whispering voice floated into his ear with a simple, “Wally?” The red-haired teenager turned slowly. An attractive girl with shoulder-length blonde hair sat behind him, her hand on his shoulder. She had deep blue eyes and soft features. She smiled at him warmly. “It is you,” she said, and her smile grew a little larger. Wally’s jaw dropped. He thought he had recognized the voice, but it wasn’t one that he had heard since he was nine years old, since before the accident which had given him his speed. Seeing her face, looking into her eyes, he knew immediately. He almost choked on his own breath, coughing several times before regaining control of his respiratory system. The other students around him stared, and the blonde girl laughed quietly. She smirked. “Let’s get outta here.” A minute later and they were stepping through the door and out of the room. They walked a few feet before stopping, the girl turning around to look at him. Again she smiled. “Hey.” “I…” Wally struggled for words. He just looked at her. She opened her arms up to him, and he wrapped his own around her torso, hugging and lifting her with joy. “Frankie…” She put her arms around his neck, her feet dangling in the air. “At least you remember who I am…” “Oh, God…” He squeezed her tightly before putting her down again. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open. “I didn’t…I just….oh my God. Frankie…” She laughed. “No one’s called me ‘Frankie’ since I was a little kid.” “Well I haven’t seen you…God, you moved when I was nine.” “I wrote you.” Wally’s eyes drooped, his shoulders sagging a bit. “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry I never wrote back…” Fran shrugged. “S’okay. It’s so great that you’re here, when I saw you in class I wasn’t sure, but I figured, that red hair, who else in the world has hair like that?” “Yeah, I guess I am kind of a freak of nature,” he said with a smile. “Hey, you wanna go to the Union, get something to eat or something?” “More than anything,” she said with a nod. They stood still for a long moment, looking at each other. Finally they hugged again. Wally took a deep breath. “I’ve missed you, Frankie.” Fran smiled. “I’ve missed you too, Wally.” Frances Kane smiled back at Wally. “At least you remember who I am…” Wally blinked, and his mind began to race. He looked at Fran for a relative five minutes, considering what to do. Fran was on somewhat shaky mental ground. She had attacked him before, and Wally was worried she might do it again. He didn’t want to risk doing anything that might set her off. Look at her wrong and she could fly into a psychotic rage. That, he could deal with. Look at her wrong and she could destroy the house and everyone in it. That, he could not deal with. He kicked off his super-speed. Fran was still looking at him, waiting for him to say something. “Come in,” he said, trying to smile. He put his hand on the woman’s shoulder and led her into the kitchen. “You want some coffee?” “Sure, that’d be nice.” Fran slid into a chair, and Wally went about setting up the coffee machine. He never took his eyes off of her. “How are you?” “I’m fine,” she said casually. “Kinda tired, but mostly I’m fine. How’re you?” Wally shrugged a little. “Not bad, not bad.” He pushed a button on the coffee maker, and the beans began to grind. It was loud, made all the louder in Wally’s mind by his discomfort. When it stopped, he pushed another button, and the coffee began to brew. “So, uh…what’re you doing here, Frankie?” “What?” She sat back in false shock, unable to hide a smile. “I can’t just stop by and see you every now and then?” “And it’s not that I don’t enjoy the visits, but come on. Why are you really here?” “You think I’m lying to you?” “No,” he replied, quickly even for him. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…I dunno, you don’t usually just pop in. Plus I’m kinda busy, honestly.” “Oh.” For the first time, she looked away from him. “You don’t have time.” She was silent for a moment. “I understand, though,” she said, looking again towards Wally. “You’re a busy guy, the whole superheroing thing and all. That’s just you, though, isn’t it?” She smiled. “Same old Wally. Never has time for anything else.” Six Years Ago “I’m sorry…I have to cancel,” Wally said, pleading into the receiver for leniency. On the other end of the line, Fran sighed. “What is it now? Trigon’s back or something?” Wally shifted, looking down at his Kid Flash costume. A few feet from him, Superman was standing with Robin and Wonder Girl. Seated at a table near to them, Changeling and Cyborg were talking with a group of aliens. Among the group was an orange wolf man, a man who looked to be made of stone, and a purple woman with large blue wings. The group called themselves The Omega Men. The spanning windows behind all of them were filled with the blackness of space. Wally smiled to himself. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” “This is the third time in two weeks, Wally.” “I’m a superhero, Frankie. What do you want me to tell them? ‘I can’t go into outerspace with the team today, I have a date’?” “You’re in outerspace?” “Yeah.” Wally waited for Fran to say something. “See, I told you you wouldn’t believe me…” “You’re…” She stumbled over her words for a second, trying to find the right words. “What, like you’re on a ship or something? Where are you going?” Wally smiled. “Okay. Starfire’s been kidnapped, and we were almost killed. Superman saved us and I think he’s setting us up so we can hitch a ride from The Omega Men to the Vegan System to try and save her. Either way, I really can’t talk for long, I have to help Gar reattach Vic’s legs.” There was silence before Fran replied with a simple, “Okay, I really don’t know what you just said…” “Don’t worry about it,” Wally replied with a smile. “I’m sorry.” He heard her sigh. “It’s fine, I should be used to it by now.” Wally stopped at this statement. It seemed to lead to a conversation that they’d had several times before. If he could, he wanted to avoid arguing with his girlfriend while on an alien ship. “Frankie…” “You don’t even like it, Wally.” Fran spoke plainly, and he knew she was right. “Didn’t you tell me Raven manipulated you into joining in the first place? I just…” He could hear she was getting frustrated. Still, he waited for her to finish. “You should quit. If you don’t like it, I mean.” There was a pause as Wally considered what to say. “I worry about you,” she added quietly. Wally looked at Robin, who glanced in his direction. The young speedster winced to him silently, and the teen wonder smirked and mouthed him a silent ‘sorry’. “I’m sorry, Frankie. I have to go.” There was another awkward silence. After a moment he heard her force half of a laugh. “They have phones on spaceships?” Wally laughed. “Yeah, I know, who knew? Aliens still have to talk to each other, I guess. I’ll call you when I get home,” he added. “Just get home, Wally. I love you.” “I love you, too.” He pressed a small button on the earpiece of his mask, and the line disconnected. He replaced the mouthpiece, flipping it up and coiling it into the earpiece, and as he replaced the red wing, Robin strode towards him. “She alright?” “No.” Wally frowned. “I don’t know, I don’t think so anyway. It’s hard.” “She’ll be alright,” Dick replied confidently. “Look at it this way: at least you don’t have to lie to her.” Wally smiled. He and Dick Grayson had been best friends since Wally was eleven years old, and Dick’s ability to put things into perspective was one of the things Wally admired most about him. “I don’t know,” Wally said with a sigh. “I just…” He looked at Dick’s face and stopped himself. As good as he was at hiding his emotions from everyone else, Dick couldn’t hide his worry from Wally. It was then that Wally remembered just why they were in space to begin with. He shook his head and sighed again. “Nevermind. Let’s just worry about Kory.” Wally stopped. Her words were so familiar to him, he had to stop. He didn’t know if she was being juvenile, or if he had just never changed. “Frankie…” “Wally?” Linda’s voice echoed from the hallway leading into the kitchen, and Wally’s eyes widened. He couldn’t do anything about it now. Linda entered the kitchen. She had a towel wrapped around herself, and her hair was wet. “Are you coming or-” She turned towards Fran and cut herself short. It was with a mixture of surprise and fear that she looked back at her husband. “You didn’t tell me we had guests, Wally.” “Hello, Linda,” Fran said, a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Wally and I were just catching up.” “Frankie was in the neighborhood so she decided to pop by,” Wally said. “Don’t you need to be getting to work, sweetheart?” Linda inched back towards the hallway. “Right, I almost forgot. With the…yeah, I do need to…” The phone rang, and Linda jumped. She sighed and stepped towards it. Neither Wally nor Fran moved. Linda picked up the receiver. “Hello? Yeah, he’s right here,” she said. She moved to Wally’s side and he took the phone from her. “Hello?” “Flash, it’s Phil Harris, we’ve got a problem. We’re pretty sure Magenta, Frances Kane, might be headed your way.” “Really, that’s…that’s interesting. I think you’re exactly right.” There was a brief pause before the detective continued. “She’s there now, isn’t she?” “Yeah,” Wally replied shortly. “Okay, we’ll scramble some cruisers out there and I’ll get there as soon as I can. She’s already killed two people, Flash.” This time it was Wally who paused. “What?” “Two guys, one in Central, the other in some podunk town in Nebraska, Blue Valley or something.” “Who were they?” “Names were John McAdams and Seth Williams. Ring any bells?” “I knew the second one,” Wally said. He looked at Fran, who smiled back at him. “She didn’t even try to hide that she did it,” Detective Harris went on. “She just tore them apart with her powers. This is one pissed woman.” “I have to go,” the red-headed speedster said. “I’ll call you later.” He clicked the phone off and set it on the table. Fran looked at him expectantly. “Who was that?” “My mother,” Wally replied. There was a long pause, and Linda again moved to exit the room. “Well I do need to be getting ready-” “You didn’t say you loved her.” Fran was glaring at Wally. He looked at her, puzzled. “What?” “Your mother,” Fran went on. “You didn’t tell her you loved her.” Both Wally and Linda stared at Fran, whose eyes were fixed on Wally. Linda creeped away slowly, and Fran barked without looking at her. “Stop.” Linda stopped. “What?” “I said, stop.” “Oh, right,” Linda said with an indignant laugh. “No. I’m going to get ready for work now.” Fran stood abruptly from her seat and shot a glare at Linda. “You’re not going anywhere. Not until I get an answer.” Wally glanced at Linda. He thought of Fran tearing apart two grown men without lifting a finger. “It’s okay, Linda.” He looked back to Fran. “An answer to what?” Fran plopped down into the chair again. She rested her elbows on the table, cradling her forehead in her hands. Her hair fell into her face, hiding her temporarily from Wally and Linda. When she turned to Wally again, her eyes seemed to blaze a purple energy. She hissed at him. “Why didn’t you love me?” Next Issue: Woman Scorned. Previous Issue | Next Issue |
