Future

Wally turned from the scene playing out on the TV. Yet another raid had been conducted on a suspected hideout of Highcastle's but without any results. Within the first day of the attempted shadow takeover, hundreds of his coconspirators had been discovered and arrested worldwide. Now though that number had slowed to a trickle. It was to be expected, once the element of surprise had been lost. The people they were pursuing were skilled in the art of cloak and dagger. After all, they all used to spy on people for a living. The fact that some of the ones who'd gotten away had untold quantities of compromising data despite the best efforts of everyone who fought the takeover certainly didn't help things. It was quite likely that some of them had taken to using that data to their advantage, blackmailing people in positions of power to keep investigators off their backs. But at least they were on the run and that counted for something.

Wally looked at Peter who was dressed very nicely for the occasion. They'd both recovered since their hospital visit in Singapore, though Peter still had a little bit of a limp.

"You ready," Wally asked.

"Not really," Peter replied nervously. "Public speaking was never really my thing."

"I thought you did academic decathlon," Wally pointed out.

"That was way different," Peter replied. "That's basically just answering a bunch of rapid-fire questions, not giving a speech."

"Fair enough," Wally conceded. "You'll do fine." Wally grabbed Peter's shoulder encouragingly.

"Thanks." Peter smiled.

"Though, something tells me you wanted me here for more than just moral support."

Peter flashed a wry grin. "You'll see. Now come on, it's time to face the press."

Peter's words sounded more confident than he looked but Wally didn't let on. It wouldn't do for him to stammer his way nervously through his speech.

The two of them made their way down the hall to the press room in the east wing of the compound. As soon as Peter pushed the door open, Wally's ears were assaulted by the chatter of reporters and the barrage of questions that were being thrown at them. Though some pertained to more current events, Wally could also make out the old refrains that people had been asking Spider-man since the blip.

"What's going to be done with the EDITH device now that it's been recovered?"

"Mr. Parker, will you be taking a more active role in rebuilding the Avengers?"

"Do you care to comment on Tony Stark's decision to create a weapon that's threatened the world twice now? Do you think he was irresponsible?"

"Will you be taking over the Avengers for Iron Man?"

"Is the Blur going to join the Avengers now?"

Wally could tell that it wasn't doing anything for Peter's nerves but he looked like he was ready for the attention this time. He had moved on from the double life.

"Excuse me," Peter began quietly. When the rabble didn't settle, he cleared his throat and spoke more loudly into the microphone. "Your questions will be answered, but if you could wait until I'm finished speaking that would be…" The room quieted down. "That would be great."

Peter took a deep breath and pulled out a set of folded papers from his suit's pocket.

"The first time I met Mr. Stark, he was recruiting me to help him catch Captain Rogers during the Avengers Civil War. I really looked up to him, to the point that I didn't think he could do any wrong. So I didn't question whether or not we were doing the right thing, because of course Iron Man would do the right thing."

Wally saw Peter look up from his speech with a look of growing confidence.

"I've always known that people can think they're doing the right thing but actually do the wrong. We're all the heroes of our own stories, right? But I didn't really understand that that applied to Mr. Stark as much as anyone else until recently. I'm not sure if what we did during the Civil War was right and I think that after it was over, Mr. Stark was just as unsure.

"It wasn't long after I got back from Berlin that I made a very big mistake. I tried to justify myself to Mr. Stark in classic teenager fashion by telling him that I was just trying to be like him.

"He said that he wanted me to be better.

"Mr. Stark was human, just like the rest of us and so he was flawed just like the rest of us. I don't know why he made EDITH or why he gave it to me, especially since recent events have shown that neither were very good decisions. I'm not sure if I'm better than Mr. Stark like he wanted me to be, but I'm trying. And I am sure that I am not Iron Man.

"Mr. Stark left some pretty big shoes to fill and I'm not ready to fill them, at least not yet. So in the meantime, with the permission of the Avengers' main backer, Mrs. Stark, they'll be filled by the newest Avenger. Not the Blur, but the Flash, Wally West."

Wally started. "What?" The look on Peter's face was part mischievous, part encouraging.

The crowd of reporters almost started up again at that but Peter picked back up before they could.

"And while I'm learning to be what Mr. Stark wanted for me, I'll keep being Peter Parker of STAR Academy and, when I can, your friendly neighborhood Spider-man."

So that's why he brought me along.

Wally smiled back at Peter.

Sly, I'll give you that.

"As for EDITH…" Peter pulled the pair of glasses from the same pocket he'd pulled his speech from and he put them on. Wally realized just how miraculous it had been that the Singaporean government hadn't managed to get their hands on it while they'd been hospitalized. Sure, they looked like an ordinary pair of glasses to anyone who wasn't familiar with their background, but it was still a wonder they hadn't been stolen while he and Peter had been unconscious.

Peter spoke clearly, not just for the sake of Stark's AI, but for the sake of everyone who was watching. "EDITH, delete all files and subroutines associated with your program," he commanded.

"Peter, are you asking me to self-destruct?" EDITH asked.

"Yes EDITH." Peter's reply elicited a collective gasp from the gathered reporters.

"Please confirm execution of software self destruct."

"Confirm."

"Self destruct initiated, goodbye Peter."

There was a moment of beeping and flashing lights from the glasses and then they went dead. Then Peter pulled them off and snapped them in two before handing the halves to Wally.

Wally immediately knew what Peter wanted him to do. Wally held the fist with the glasses in front of him and began to vibrate his hand. Moments later, the glasses had been vibrated into dust.

Despite the obvious impact of what they had just done, Wally was still surprised by the stunned silence of the audience. It seemed that no one had expected Iron Man's chosen successor, someone who admired the man to the point of hero worship, to so completely destroy one of his gifts so nonchalantly. But Wally knew that Peter had put a lot of thought into it and what he'd done was nothing, if not chalant.

"Mr. Highcastle was right about us needing to be prepared for what's out there," Peter continued, taking advantage of the silence. "But he was wrong about how to do it. And it's clear that as much as we admired him, Mr. Stark was wrong to create EDITH. It's our job now to find a better way to carry us into and prepare for the future."

Peter paused, though this time it seemed to be less for effect and more because he'd run out of things to say. "And uh… I guess we'll take questions now."

Like throwing a switch, the cacophony of the press mob resumed and Peter and Wally did their best to answer everything that was asked. When all was said and done, Wally sat alone in his room in the compound, his Flash suit and goggles draped over the back of the desk chair. He gazed out the window into the countryside and for the first time since he'd rematerialized at the North Pole, he really considered his place in this world. He was going to be leading the Avengers, if only temporarily. That was a big calling and he wasn't sure he was up to the task. But he'd have to try anyway. Bad things hadn't stopped happening in the world just because he'd stopped trying to save it and they wouldn't stop happening just because the Avengers were barely even an organization anymore. There were people depending on him again.

And then there were the people back home. They all probably thought he was dead, and while he'd certainly figured out his path forward in this world. He wasn't going to stop trying to get back home to his. It might just take a while longer than he'd first hoped. Wally smirked to himself as he rose and got ready for bed.

And when he finally shows up, I guess we'll see if this Dr. Strange guy is a bona fide wizard like Peter says.

With that though, Wally collapsed into bed and for the first time in over a year, he slept peacefully.

So that's the story. I'm considering writing other fanfics in this same continuity but they'll be coming after I've finished my HP project if I do and I think I might rewrite this one as well. As much as I like how it turned out, there are some aspects that I think could use a little more refinement. Anyway, hopefully I post another fic here before another couple of years have gone by.

Until next time.

-Pandalien