Inside a quiet corner booth at Krusty Burger, the neon signs buzzing faintly above them, Wally sat slumped forward with both elbows on the table. His shirt was ripped, burned, and barely hanging on. Bits of Sinister's lab dust still clung to his hair.
Jimmy Woo sat across from him, a tray of untouched burgers between them. He reached over and gave Wally a firm pat on the back.
Jimmy Woo: Rough day, kid.
Wally let out a long sigh.
Wally: Rough? Jimmy… Sinister tore my suit right off my body. My suit. The one Miss Munroe helped me patch last year... The one with the reinforced lightning mesh. Gone. Vaporized. Like it never existed.
Jimmy nodded slowly, sympathetic but trying hard not to laugh at the mental image.
Jimmy Woo: Yeah, he ripped it apart like it was toilet paper. Not gonna sugarcoat it.
Wally groaned and buried his face in his hands.
Wally: I looked ridiculous running out of that lab in what's basically sleepwear. Even Wolverine was staring.
Jimmy leaned back, sipping from his Krusty-sized drink.
Jimmy Woo: Look, suits can be replaced. You being alive? That's the part that matters. Sinister wanted you on a table again, and you proved him wrong.
Wally peeked up from his hands.
Wally: Still… that suit was special to me.
Jimmy (shrugged): Then we'll make you a better one. Stronger. Faster. Something Sinister can't tear in half even with all his creepy science experiments.
Wally managed a small smile.
Wally: You're actually pretty good at this pep talk stuff, Jimmy.
Jimmy (smirked): I've seen a lot of heroes lose a lot of suits, kid. But you? You walked out of that hellhole with your heart still beating. And trust me… we're gonna hit Sinister back harder next time.
The food between them sat untouched as Wally finally relaxed a little, leaning back against the booth.
Wally (sigh): Thanks, man.
Jimmy nudged a burger toward him.
Jimmy Woo: Eat. You burn calories like a malfunctioning treadmill.
Wally chuckled under his breath and finally grabbed the burger for a moment, inside the greasy glow of Krusty Burger, everything felt normal day again.
Wally slowly unwrapped another burger, staring at it like it held the answer to his life problems. Jimmy Woo watched him, eyebrow raised, waiting for the next wave of anxiety to come out of the speedster's mouth.
Wally finally spoke.
Wally: What if I… made a suit that's actually okay with me? Something different. Since my suit is basically always red.
Jimmy leaned forward.
Jimmy Woo: Different how?
Wally (shrugged): I dunno… maybe something brighter. Something that doesn't get shredded every time someone sneezes in my direction.
Jimmy (smirked) Imagine a blue suit running around. You'd look like Quicksilver if he had a caffeine addiction.
Wally froze. His expression went blank and cold, the kind of cold that came from very specific trauma. His mind replayed like a nightmare scenario the moment Quicksilver blurred past him in the Philippines… the shove, the mud, the humiliation… X-Men laughing, SHIELD agents confused, Avengers facepalming.
Jimmy noticed his thousand-yard stare.
Jimmy Woo: Kid? You good?
Wally swallowed hard.
Wally: No blue. Never blue!
He looked down at the table, voice dropping into a colder tone.
Wally: How about a yellow color instead?
Jimmy (blinked): Yellow, huh? Bright, flashy, impossible to miss.
Wally nodded slowly.
Wally: Yeah… something fast. Something bold. Something no one can confuse with Quicksilver ever again.
Jimmy tapped the table with a grin.
Jimmy Woo: Then yellow it is.
Wally leaned back, imagining it already lightning, gold, a suit that stood out every time he ran.
Jimmy Woo leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, watching Wally sip his soda like nothing in the world was wrong. Jimmy finally asked the question he'd been holding in.
Jimmy Woo: Now… can you tell me how you defeated that guy, Wally?
Wally paused mid-sip.
Wally: Now you mention it… uhhhh…
His eyes drifted upward as a flashback began.
-FLASHBACK-
Inside Mister Sinister's lair, chaos echoed through every wall.
Mister Sinister was on the floor, screaming, as Wally held his right arm with one hand and unleashed a blinding blur of punches with the other one million hits in seconds, the speed turning the air into shockwaves.
Sinister tried to speak between the flurry of blows.
Sinister: Stop stop stop! Wally! I'm actually your fath-
Wally didn't even let him finish. He shifted his stance, flipped his hair back with his left hand, and continued punching with the same fist like a malfunctioning machine gun.
Wally: My father starts with a K! You bum!
The punches kept coming so fast Mister Sinister's face practically bounced like a rubber ball. Sinister tried to reach for a clone trigger, but Wally yanked his arm back and broke his focus with another rapid barrage.
Sinister's screams echoed.
Then Wally hit him so hard Sinister went flying through a window, glass exploding outward as he spiraled into the air.
-END OF FLASHBACK-
Back at the table, Wally calmly took another sip of soda.
Jimmy Woo stared at him wide-eyed, jaw halfway open.
Jimmy Woo: So… that's what happened?
Wally (nodded): Pretty much.
Jimmy blinked again, still in disbelief.
Jimmy Woo: Kid… remind me never to make you mad.
Wally just shrugged.
Wally: Depends if your name starts with K.