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THE DEMONS IN AUTUMN'S MIND PREY UPON HER WEAKEST MOMENTS. They curl their talons into her when she's already spiralling, tearing apart any shred of redemption she may have. Always dancing in various shades of red and yellow, they leave no scrape of the girl she once was, just the monster, just the violent creature with the blood of empires staining her hands.
And when they finally recede, waiting to make their move another day, they leave regret in their wake. Her guilt is a living, breathing thing, a hunter looking to finish the job of its predecessors and with every passing day, it gets harder and harder to fight it off.
Until Wally West. He sets her down in the ground outside Angela's house and threads his fingers into hers, offering her a slice of his strength.
"I think we might've beaten Dick here."
"Wonder how that happened."
He grins. "It's a real mystery."
"Thanks, Wally. For... for everything."
He pulls her into a half hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I'm still mad at you ━━ and we're definitely gonna talk about this later ━━ but I meant what I said. I don't want to lose you."
"You won't", she promises. "Especially since I've still gotta meet your wife."
And he brightens up at just the idea of that woman. "You're gonna love her", he says. There's love, so much love, packed behind his words like she put the stars in the sky. "Linda is... she's the best person I've ever known."
There's a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth as she watches him, her childhood best friend all grown up and with the love of his life.
"Do you want me to go in with you?" He asks.
She pauses in her steps. If Wally is there, she has an easy way out, an escape at the ready, and she owes it to Dick, to all of them, not to be tempted into running as far away as possible. "No... no, I think this is, um, this is something I should do along."
He balances on the balls of his heels. "Call me when it's over?"
She turns back around, pecking him on the cheek. "Always, West."
"And hey, if anything goes wrong..."
"You'll be here in a flash?" She teases. "Get going, Wally. I can handle this."
"You sure?"
"Yeah", she says, with a little part of her even believing it. "Yeah, I am."
He smiles at her, a little proud, and the image sticks with her, even when there's a crack of thunder, a blast of lightning and he's gone, leaving only scorched grass in his wake.
