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Mettle, Metal, Meddled - Chapter 73 Multi-interlude - Kyle and Wally
🕑 Added 2023-06-07 15:28:33 +0000 UTCLife at the New Titans cave base had not prepared Kyle for a family reunion, especially not for a family like Sarah's. The Irvins, Sarah's maiden name, was a large family that was clearly very close and eagerly welcomed him with open arms. In fact, they used those arms to all but pull him from Lily's car so he could meet everyone.
The first thirty minutes after they arrived at the lake house were spent with him shaking hands, receiving hugs, and generally being accepted into the family. His nervousness about them not accepting him, or at least not accepting him happily, was erased entirely, replaced by a dazed but happy sense of belonging.
Once he had shaken hands with his new uncles and returned the hugs of his new aunts, as well as getting his cheeks pinched by a kind, if frail grandmother, he was given a quick tour of the vacation home. It was a family spot, with each of Sarah's six siblings, including Sarah herself, splitting the cost of upkeep between them. Even with that kind of division of responsibility, it was much bigger than Kyle had imagined. His surprise was noticed, his new Uncle Chris explaining that their father had done well for himself and had paid for most of it to be built before he passed. Their only cost now was upkeep and repairs, which, since they all had stable jobs, they could handle relatively easily.
Lily had described it as a lake house, but, in reality, it was more like three lake houses, all built around a central area. There was a large patch of grass in the main space, as well as a fire pit to one side and a large dock with a fast-looking boat moored next to it. It looked like something out of a home design magazine, and his uncles and aunts, as well as Sarah, were clearly proud of it.
When he was done helping his guardians unpack, he was immediately pulled into a game that his cousins called "cornhole," which involved tossing a handful of bean bags back and forth, trying to get them to land on a wooden board with a single hole in it. It was surprisingly difficult, mostly because of how much he had to hold back to keep from overshooting. As he played, his cousins asked him about himself, what his hobbies were, and how his summer was going. He was as honest as possible, though he obviously couldn't say his favorite pastime was flying in the early morning, just as the sun was rising, or that he had spent the summer training and working on becoming a hero.
"I'll be going to Central City High School," He explained when one of his cousins, Larry, asked where he was going. "It's… going to be interesting."
"Are you switching schools?" He asked, pausing to throw his bean bag across the gap, just missing the board. "Dammit. Aunt Sarah said… well she didn't say where you were going before."
"Happy Harbour High School," Kyle said, using the fabricated story that Batman had helped him develop.
He was familiar enough with Happy Harbor that if something came up, he could prove he was from there. The paranoid bat-themed hero had even created records to back the lie up. Kyle thought it was overkill but went along for Lily and Sarah's sake.
"It's a small town in Rhode Island." He continued, answering Larry's question before he asked. "
"Ah, right. And you're going to be a… Senior?"
"No, a Junior."
"Really?" His cousin Sam asked from across the gap. "How the hell are you a year younger than me, and you've got an inch on me?"
"Are you talking about how much thicker his biceps are?" Larry asked with a smirk. "Because you're full of shit if you think he is only one inch taller than you. It's at least three, probably four."
The friendly banter continued until, eventually, he and his cousin won, Larry quick to jokingly attribute the victory to beginners' luck. After that, they joined a few more cousins who were going for a swim, wading into the cool water.
It was nice, and Kyle thoroughly enjoyed himself as the day went on, culminating in a huge barbeque dinner, which was then followed up by hanging out around the campfire. There were a lot of people sitting around the sizable fire pit, but somehow the large family made it work. They did have to take turns making smores, though.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Sarah asked when everyone finally turned in, splitting up to head to one of the smaller rooms in one of the three houses. "I know it can be pretty overwhelming."
"I… yeah, it's a little overwhelming," He admitted. "But in a good way. It's… I'm having a lot of fun."
"We could tell," Lilly said with a smirk. "You haven't stopped smiling since Mary pulled you from the car."
"I never imagined having a family like this," The half Kryptonian admitted. "It's overwhelming… but I feel like I belong. Everyone was so accepting.…"
"Of course, sweetheart," Sarah said with a smile, reaching out and pulling her adopted son into a hug. "You're part of our family, you will always belong, no matter what."
"Thank you… Mom," He said, returning her hug.
Sarah gasped, and doubled down on her hug, turning to look at Lily with watery eyes. Kyle turned as well, holding out his hand to her.
"Momma?" He asked, unsure if she would like the distinction between her and Sarah.
"Yeah, hun, Momma works perfectly," Lily responded with a teary-eyed nod, joining her wife and son in a family hug.
The next few days were relaxing and seemed to fill a hole in Kyle's soul that he didn't even know he had. He bonded with his mom and momma, spent time hanging out with his cousins, went swimming, and even went water skiing. Slowly but surely, he acclimatized to the constant bustle and energy the family seemed to share, laughing and joking along with everyone. Eventually, though, it was time for him to leave, his training time with Superman arriving much faster than he had anticipated. Heq said goodbye to everyone, hugging his aunts and shaking hands with his uncles once again, this time with more confidence and less nervousness.
After trading around his cellphone number with everyone, getting invited to the family group chat, and groaning in mock horror at the hundreds of message notifications, his new grandmother pulled him aside. She led him for a short walk, eventually leading him to the small garden behind the house she stayed in.
"Don't look so nervous dear, I just wanted to talk to you for a bit before you had to go," She explained, sitting down on a small bench, leaning her walking cane against the seat.
"Yes, ma'am, I-"
"None of that, Dear," She said, waving him off. "If you're calling my daughter mom, I don't want none of that "ma'am stuff. Granny or Grandma will do fine,"
"... Grandma," Kyle said, slowly sitting down next to the older woman, who smiled and nodded."
"Good," She said, reaching over to pat his hand. "Now, I wanted to thank you, dear."
"Thank me? For what?"
"Dear, I don't think I have seen either Sarah or Lily smile as much or as big as they do when you call them mom," She explained. "I know you didn't do it for me, but I wanted to thank you nonetheless."
"It just felt right," He answered quietly, not sure what to say beyond that.
"I know, dear, and I'm glad you feel that way," She said with a smile. "Now, I expect you to come and visit; I'm always happy to see my grandchildren. If you message ahead, I'll even bake you a treat."
"I will, Grandma," Kyle responded with a smile.
They chatted for a while longer before the half-Kryptonian helped the older woman back to the rest of the family, who would be staying for a few more days. After another round of goodbyes, he and Lily left, driving down the gravel road that eventually led back to the usual paved roads. They were about an hour and forty-five minutes from the nearest Zeta-Tube-connected city, but Lily didn't complain about having to make the trip. Kyle had suggested that he could just fly, but Lily wouldn't have it. When they finally arrived, they shared a long hug.
"Sarah... Your mother and I are very proud of you, Kyle," She said, pulling away and cupping his cheek. "We both wish you didn't have to, but we are proud of the hard work you are putting into being a hero."
"Thanks, momma," He said, his face just a bit warm. "Thank you for taking me in. I know I haven't been easy-"
"Taking you in was the best decision Sarah and I have ever made," Lily assured him. "And raising a child isn't supposed to be easy."
They talked a bit more before it was finally time to go, prompting them to share one last hug before Kyle stepped into the teleporter, disappearing in a flash of light.
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The world felt different.
When Wally first unlocked his super speed, even knowing that he had messed up somehow, everything changed. The world was shiny and amazing, every activity had a new layer of excitement because he could do it in seconds. Over time that shine had faded, his handicap becoming more prominent, his limitations more irritating. He still loved his super speed, loved every second of being a hero, of being able to make a difference.
But now? It was like that shine was back and brighter than ever! Like he was seeing the whole world in a new light. If his first getting his powers had been eye-opening, his new, repaired connection was like learning he had been looking through a black and white pinhole his entire life, only for the door to suddenly open, letting him see the whole world at once, in full color.
Before his connection to what he now knew was the Speed Force had been repaired, he was barely scratching the surface of what it was truly like to be a speedster. His mentor had reluctantly admitted he had been keeping much of what he should have been capable to himself, or at least not drawing attention to it because he didn't want to discourage his protege.
Not too long ago, that admittance would have really pissed Wally off, but between him working on his outlook and having now experienced what his uncle was talking about, he could only agree. If he had known the full scope of what he was missing, there was no way he would have been nearly as happy as he had been in the beginning.
The yellow streak that was Wally stopped in front of his mentor, who was standing still with a stopwatch in his hand, his own mentor, the original Flash, standing behind him in front of a chalkboard. Unlike before, when stopping would either require him to slow down over a significant distance or skid across the ground to bleed off his moment, he stopped on a dime, standing directly in front of his mentor.
"Time!" He shouted unnecessarily, as his uncle had already stopped the timer. "How did I do?"
"Beat your last time by three seconds," Barry responded with wide eyes. "Way to go, kid."
"I feel like I could go faster!" He admitted, tensing like he was about to zip away again.
"Hold on kiddo, why don't you give your brain a workout first?" Jay Garrick, the first Flash suggested.
"Alright, sure," He said with a nod, walking closer to the chalkboard.
Ordinarily, Wally wouldn't be near as into doing math questions, especially when it wasn't for school work, but the ability to speed up his thinking too much his speed was one of the biggest reasons everything felt so new.
Jay Garrick wrote out an equation before handing the chalk to Wally, before holding up his fingers.
“One… two… three…go!”
Wally blurred, the barest hint of lightning sparking off of him as he sped through solving a math equation that was intended for someone a few years older than him. When he was done, he stopped, handing Jay back his chalk.
"Done," He said, stepping back to look at his work. "Yeah, done!"
"Not bad, Kiddo, you're making progress," Jay said with a smile, double-checking Wally's work. "Think he's ready, Barry?"
"For…?" The scarlet speedster asked vaguely, making a weird miming gesture with his hands.
"No, no, he's not even close to ready for that," Jay responded. "I was thinking…"
As the older speedster made a different but equally nonsensical miming gesture, Wally rolled his eyes. Working with two generations of the Flash was relatively new, but it had been three days. He was used to their jokes at this point.
"Ah, yeah, alright."
"What? What are you going to teach me?" Wally asked, looking between the two older speedsters.
"Just follow me," The Flash said, Wally immediately streaking after him, Jay Garrick following quickly behind.
The three ran for several minutes, the scarlet speedster finally stopping by a large lake, one that was almost completely unsettled save a few homes around the opposite side.
"Well? Are you ready to learn how to run on water?" Barry asked with a smirk, Wally perking up and cheering loudly.
"Yes! This is going to be awesome!"
"Right, the first thing you need to understand is that water is a bit weird…."
Over the next few hours, Barry taught his protege how to run along the surface of the water. It was an intense process that required more than just speed, but also the ability to more flexibly apply it than Wally had ever had access to prior to the ritual. Eventually, though, he got down, managing to run all the way to the center of the lake, turning around and coming back.
"I did it!" The young speedster shouted, jumping up and down after leaping onto the shore. "Take that, Kaldur, who's faster in the water now!"
"Alright, alright, settle down. You managed to run on water with just your wait, now, let's practice it with more weight. Lets-"
"Sorry, Flash, but it's almost four," He pointed out, pulling out his phone from his utility belt. "I agreed to meet Kent at five, and I need to get changed."
"Really? I didn't realize you were meeting him…." The Flash asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you meeting him for?"
"Research," Wally assured him. "He agreed to lend me a few books on things like the Speed Force. I want to know more about it and… well, who knows what I will learn!"
"Alright, kiddo, we can continue tomorrow," Jay Garrick said, the Flash nodding in agreement. "Just make sure you thank Kent for his time, he has been busy lately."
"I will, bye!" Wally said in a rush, zipping away in a blur of yellow and subtle orange sparks.
A moment or two passed, and Barry turned to Jay, opening his mouth to say something, only for the yellow blur to return and stop in the same place he had just been.
"... Which way did we come from?" Wally asked, rubbing the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "I have no idea where we are.”
Jay and Barry shared a look before both laughed, the latter shaking his head.
"Alright, Wally, one last lesson. Speedster navigating 101, and how to not get lost when running faster than a jet."
