AN: Not sure if this should be T or M. I'm going with T because the violence in this isn't graphic, but please tell me if I should change it...

This is the story explaining how Wally finds out Robin's identity. Sort of with Alamo High, but really not... I worked on keeping this less stylistic (aka, I didn't use the parenthesis cut offs), so tell me what y'all think. :) The beginnings a little clumsy (well, a lot), but I do like the middle-ish part.

It isn't a good idea, Wally knows. He knows that the Joker is something to be avoided, that the Joker is something to be feared. But Robin wants to prove himself to Batman, and he's so very, very persuasive, that Wally finds himself nodding in agreement.

They're invincible together, Robin tells him.

And Wally believes.

They're two little boys, one twelve and the other fourteen, and Wally knows, deep down, that Robin's wrong, that they're not invincible. Still, he agrees to go with Robin to capture the Joker. Because Wally doesn't see how anything bad can happen. Bad things don't happen to little boys, he tells himself. Not in this world, not in this life.

He's new to this whole superhero thing. Every time he's gotten into trouble, Uncle Barry's been there with a smile and a hug, ready to save him. Wally's never been in real trouble before.

Wally doesn't understand the realities of Gotham crime, and Robin, for all his experience, doesn't either. They make quite a pair of idiots, a voice in his head hisses, sallying forth to face an enemy neither understands. Wally ignores the voice, blocking it with the image of Uncle Barry's smiling, carefree face.

So he lets Robin lead him to the warehouse, a smile on his face as he runs beside Robin's motorcycle and wonders how long it will take them to bag the Joker and head home.

As they get closer to the warehouse, Wally finds himself wondering how long it will take Batman to find them. But he pushes these thoughts aside, telling himself that Robin's not afraid, so he shouldn't be either.

When they get to the warehouse, Robin holds a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. He motions to some bushes growing along the side of the warehouse, then points to his motorcycle. Wally nods and tiptoes beside Robin as the boy moves to hide his bike. It takes a minute or two, and soon they're ready to move again.

Getting inside the warehouse is easy. There is, of course, the problem of getting to the top story of the warehouse. Robin refuses to use anything but a window for their entrance, and Wally puts forth the extra effort with only a little ill-will. Once they're in, they move quickly through the guards, knocking the hulking figures out in minutes.

Soon, the upper level of the warehouse is clear. It doesn't even matter to Wally that the upper level is merely a series of connected walkways that form a pathway— he and Robin have managed to clear out an area by themselves.

Wally feels a smile stretch his face. He and Robin are unstoppable together, and, as Wally looks around him at the bodies lying on the walkway, he knows that they can handle this. His smile widens.

Robin comes up behind him and once again makes the quieting gesture with his finger. He jerks his chin towards the first floor of the warehouse. Wally looks down and sees a slouched figure.

The figure is dressed in a tacky purple suit and has greasy green hair that lies tangled across its back. Wally meets Robin's eyes and, because tension seems to be seeping in now, sticks out his tongue in joking disgust.

Robin smiles, but Wally can see the unease in the gesture.

He wonders again how long it will take for Batman to find them.

But Robin starts creeping slowly along the raised walkway, and Wally forces the thought down.

The Boy Wonder avoids standing in direct light, and stays perfectly in the middle of the walkway, well away from the railing. Wally follows him, assuring himself that Robin knows how to handle this.

They manage to slip down from the walkway, though Robin manages this much more gracefully than Wally.

Crouching behind a tower of stacked boxes, the duo watches the unmoving form of the man in purple. Wally is crouched closer to the ground, and Robin has to lean over him to see, his elbow and side grazing Wally's back as he does so.

Wally tries to ignore the trembling in Robin's frame, marking it off as excitement. After all, this would show Flash and Batman that they're worthy, that they're capable. He smiles to himself, though he can feel how forced it is.

Worthy, he tells himself, you'll be worthy of Uncle Barry's power, his respect, and his love. You'll be his nephew, and he'll be proud of you.

His thoughts fade out when he hears a quiet slurping sound. Looking up at Robin, Wally frowns and mouths 'what is that?' to his friend. Robin just shakes his head, though Wally sees the pale tinge spreading across his cheeks.

The slurping sound continues for a few seconds, and Wally's finally able to place it. It's the sound, he realizes, that some of the kids with braces make when they lick their lips. He can hear the wetness of the sound and, for a reason he doesn't understand, shudders.

Batman will come. If anything goes wrong, Wally knows that Batman will come. He has to.

Wally calms down.

A sudden laugh, high-pitched and malicious, cuts off the slurping. Wally feels his back stiffen at the sound, and he's vaguely grateful that he didn't drink anything before he and Robin set off.

"The Boy Blunder arrives," the man in purple, the Joker, calls. "But— what's this? There's no Batman here with him!" The Joker stresses the word man mockingly. Wally, unfamiliar with people actually making fun of Batman, feels his shudders grow more violent.

Robin lets out a hiss above him. "His voice is muffled," he whispers to Wally. "Why would it be muffled?" Robin asks, more to himself than to Wally. Wally can feel Robin shuddering. He knows it's not caused by excitement.

Wally shakes his head, trying to tell Robin that, no, he doesn't understand either, but isn't this whole thing so very funny? It's absolutely hi-lar-ious, Wally thinks, feeling something bubble in his stomach. The bubbles travel up his throat, and Wally tries to keep them back. A second passes and why should Wally not laugh? Everything is so very funny, and Wally can't help but laugh, so why shouldn't he?

He hears Robin curse. This only makes Wally laugh harder, his body shuddering no longer from fear but from mind-numbing amusement.

"Kid Flash," Robin demands, kneeling down to Wally's level (which is funny because Wally's normally taller than Robin and he normally kneels!). Robin's lips are clamped shut, and one of his hands is fumbling at his waist, yanking at his utility belt. He holds the other over his nose, and Wally laughs louder and harder at how ridiculous Robin looks right now. "Hold your breath, KF," Robin tells him.

But if he holds his breath, how will he breathe? The idea is so ludicrous, so stupid, that Wally's laughter grows harsher, and he can barely breathe (Ha ha!).

Robin's starting to laugh too now!

Laughter's contagious, Wally thinks, and now he's doubled over in painfully funny gasps and snickers. Batman should be here soon, he assures himself, but the hilarity of the situation numbs the thought into something unimportant.

"Oh!" the Joker cries, practically skipping over to them. A gas mask covers the man's face. "There are two of you!" The man tosses his head back and cackles madly, and Wally finds himself cackling in amusement as well.

Contagious, contagious, he thinks to himself, laughing is contagious!

(Where's Batman?)

Robin sits gasping at his side. His nasally giggle is breathy and demented, and Wally thinks that something's off about it— but who cares? It's all just so funny to Wally, and what does one funny thing matter in a world of hilarity?

He's having trouble seeing now. Tears are forming in the corners of his eyes. They're tears of joy, of laughter, and Wally smothers any thought that suggests otherwise. Puffs of green gas float around him, making it even harder to see. Wally squints, trying to focus.

He can make out the blurred form of the Joker closing in on them and laughs uproariously at the feeling of panic the realization evokes.

Closing in! He thinks. Just like they do on Animal Planet.

The comparison is too much, and Wally is forced to close his eyes as a wave of funny rushes his body. When he opens them again, he giggles at how close the Joker is to them, and is that a pipe in his hand? Wally can't tell, but his ignorance is funny and therefore more important.

"Robin has a friend!" the clown exclaims, giggling madly to himself. He shuffles over to the shaking and shuddering duo, a smile bleeding red behind the clear plastic of the mask. "Your first play date! Isn't that adorable!"

Wally tries to nod, because, yes, it is adorable that Robin has a little friend, and yes, it is hilarious that everyone, even the Joker, assumes that Robin wouldn't have friends his own age. He's still nodding and laughing when the Joker bring the pipe down on his temple.

Stars flash, bright and blinding, across Wally's vision. He feels his head snap to the side, bringing his body with it. Wally laughs desperately at the cracking sound he hears in his ears and the ringing sound he hears in his head. He's lying on his back now, eyes fuzzy with tears and the white light of pain.

And, God, does it hurt, but isn't it funny?

Robin's giggling wildly now, and Wally thinks that he sees tears trailing down his friend's face. He doesn't think this is funny, Wally realizes. He looks scared.

Wally snickers to himself. His head lolls limply to the side, and he's treated to a first class view of the Joker bringing the pipe down onto his stomach, up, and back onto his head.

The stars are back. They burn, and Wally notices sullenly that the burning isn't funny anymore. It's painful, he realizes, feeling something slip out of his mouth. Wally licks his lips and winces at the metallic taste he's rewarded with.

Blood.

Things don't seem so very funny anymore, Wally thinks, watching at the Joker disappears from his sight, presumably to deal with Robin. Things aren't funny anymore.

There's a thwacking sound to Wally's side. He hears hysterical giggles pitch high in pain. More thwacks follow, and Wally feels sick.

His body's trying to heal itself. Wally can feel the muscles moving in his stomach, and, while self-healing is always painful, he nearly blacks out at the sheer pain of his muscles and bones growing back wrong.

Wally can hear the Joker laughing over the thwacking sounds and Robin's faint giggling. A lucid thought forms over the pain, and Wally knows that the Joker isn't going to stop hitting Robin after three thwacks.

He forces his body to roll over so that he's on his stomach rather than his back. In this position, Wally can see the Joker swinging the pipe (pole? bar?) onto Robin in vicious little bursts. Robin, Wally notices, is barely moving. His hands twitch every so often, and Wally's suddenly terrified.

Wally wants to tell the Joker to stop it, but his lips refuse to form words. He supposes that it doesn't matter anyway; the Joker isn't going to stop just because Wally says "please". Instead, Wally pulls himself closer to the two figures, focusing on the ripples of pain rather than the hilarity that is an unconscious and bleeding Robin. Wally moves using his forearms, bringing one forward and using it as an anchor to move his body with.

Slowly, he gets closer.

He sees the leg of the Joker's pants in front of him. Hissing from pain and suppressed laughter, Wally reaches out and latches onto the fabric. It hurts to move, but Wally knows that the pain is better than laughter. Pain is sobering and solid; versatile laughter isn't.

The Joker looks down at Wally. The clown's face paint is running in oily lines down his face, and Wally wonders if it's because the stuff is cheap or because the Joker's working up that much of a sweat trying to beat Robin's face in. Wally's lips tremble at this thought, and he can't tell if it's because the thought is funny or scary.

Wally sees the Joker's lips moving. He can't hear what the man's saying (the ringing is so loud right now), but he knows that the clown's mocking him. Wally tugs at the fabric in his hands. He tries to pull the Joker's leg away from Robin. The stupidity of the idea is funny, but Wally can't find it in himself to laugh.

He licks his lips, trying to clear the beads of blood forming under his lips. It doesn't work very well, and Wally instantly regrets the motion. The taste of blood floods his mouth and brings images of Robin's limp body flashing to the front of Wally's mind.

There's a glint of silver above the Joker's head that Wally recognizes as the pipe. He watches, apathetic, as it dives towards his face.

He wonders if this will kill him. Uncle Barry's face comes to mind, but Wally can't bear to face the man's smile right now.

The ringing in Wally's head is deafening.

A sudden shiwck cuts through the ringing in Wally's head. He blinks.

The pipe's gone from the Joker's hands.

"Batsy!" he hears the Joker call. The clown says other things, but the ringing is back and Wally's eyes are dropping under the piercing sound.

Batman's here, he tells himself.

Everything's black now, but that's okay—Batman's here.

When Wally wakes up, he's in a white room, tucked into a white bed with white colors. He tries to shake his head (white's not a very pleasant color), but stops when it throbs painfully in response.

"Shit," he mutters quietly to himself. It comes out muffled, and Wally hopes that his jaw healed correctly.

"Yeah," a voice agrees from Wally's right. He turns to look at it.

The voice is a boy lying on the bed next to him. Wally frowns, trying to place the familiar haircut, grin, and body structure. Glazed blue eyes watch him with amusement. "What," the boy rasps, "can't recognize me?"

"Robin." Wally doesn't need to ask; he'd know that smug tone anywhere. "Mask," Wally mumbles. Where's your mask?

"He took it off," a new voice grumbles. Wally recognizes it as Batman's and looks up. Batman is comfort, and Wally really needs comfort right now.

Instead of seeing Batman's armored visage, Wally is greeted by the sight of a raven-haired man with piercing blue eyes and arched eyebrows. "He claims," the man continues, "that you won't tell anyone."

Bruce Wayne, Wally's mind supplies. Batman's voice is coming from Bruce Wayne's lips.

"Will you?" Wayne continues. His eyes are hard, and Wally knows, just by looking at them, that those are Batman's eyes and that this is Batman.

Wally wants to say no, but his mouth isn't working right and he really doesn't want to say something stupid in front of Batman. So he shakes his head in response, gazing at the towering man with reverent awe.

Wayne's lips flicker into something that seems like a smile. "We'll see," the man tells him. Wayne's eyes dart over to Robin's side of the room. There they linger and soften. "Thank you," he whispers, "for protecting Richard."

Richard? Wally asks himself as Wayne exits his private hospital room.

Robin's name was Richard.

AN: There will be a sequel to this titled "Parental Advisory" (I think). It will be its own, separate story, however. In other words: this is technically a oneshot. "Pipes" itself will not be updated after this.