Past

                                    

                                          
Central City
August 27
                          
"Is it possible for villains to actually become the heroes?" The reporter on the tv asks. "Or is this just some ploy to cause more destruction in the lives of civilians?"
                          
"Don't listen to them," Wally said from beside me, making me jump. "You can be good, you are good"
                          
"They make it seem like I'm a big deal. I was only some villainess' sidekick"
                          
"You weren't a sidekick. You have amazing powers, people should love that you're good now. I do" 
                          
"I've almost killed you before. Why are you being so nice to me?"
                          
"Because I can be," he responds, grabbing my hand and pulling me off the couch. "Follow me"
                          
He brought me to the zeta tube where he typed in the coordinates for someplace. We left the cave, his hand never leaving mine, me thinking about what he could possibly be doing.
                          
"Wally, what are you doing?" 
                          
"I want to have a chat with you"
                          
"But why are you dragging me here?"
                          
"You'll see"
                          
For some reason I let him drag me to Central City, away from my room in the cave, towards his house. When we went inside I saw what looked like a family gathering going on, there was a banner saying it was Jay's birthday.
                          
"Guys, meet Amber"
                          
All their eyes widened, all except for one of them. One of them smiled, racing over at a speed that resembled the Flash's. He grabbed my free hand, the one Wally wasn't still holding, and starts shaking it.
                          
"I'm so glad you decided to change your mind"
                          
"I didn't have much of a choice. Either this or prison"
                          
"Still. Would you like some cake? There's still a little left"
                          
"Barry, are you sure we should be welcoming her with open arms?" A red headed woman asks.
                          
"Trust me, Batman was the one that decided to let her out. He trusts her enough. So I do too"
                          
"Welcome Amber, have a seat, why don't we talk about your used to be enemies?" An older man, presumably Jay, suggests.
                          
"Nope, no time for that," Wally says, dragging me up the stairs. 
                          
"Maybe later," I tell Jay.
                          
"Can't wait to tell you the story of the time when Wally..." his voice trailed off as we went further up the stairs.
                          
"Your family is nice," I tell him.
                          
"Yeah, but it's sort of a long line of speedsters, meaning they have as much energy as I do. Anyway, I needed to ask you something important"
                          
We went into his room and I sat down on his bed, waiting for him to ask the question that he was dying to ask. He closed the door and sat beside me, I crossed my arms.
                          
"What?"
                          
"How did you get your powers?"
                          
"Well one of my parents had-"
                          
"No, I want the real story. Robin already explained to me how Snow lied, saying you got them from your parents"
                          
"Really? You think I'm just going to tell you?"
                          
"Please? I'll tell you how I got mine"
                          
"Knowing you it was probably just some lab accident," he remained silent, hinting that I was right. "Wow"
                          
"How do you have powers that allow you to survive in lava and not melt?"
                          
I sigh, laying down on the bed and looking up at the ceiling. 
                          
"Snow remembers it differently than I do, because she's lost her memory of the most painful parts.
                          
"So, it started when I was four. Snow was three. For years, me and my sister were barely fed, both forced to train until our bodies were bleeding. It was even harder to do with no energy. That's the part Snow knows"
                          
I pause, thinking over the words, then continue.
                          
"What she doesn't know is that our parents sold us to some lab, needing the money to survive themselves. They were poor, couldn't hold any jobs, could barely afford to pay for food for themselves. Mom was sick, Dad lost his leg. It was difficult.
                          
"Once we were old enough they shoved us in test tubes, capsules filled with liquid. I remember mine looking orange, red maybe, and Snow's was clear and if not a light, pale blue. I had to go through these tests a year before she did, because she wasn't the right age when I was. 
                          
"When I was seven they told me we would be given something to help make us better. I was a naive kid, I agreed easily. When it was time for my sister to go through these tests I was very hesitant and reluctant, but I could do nothing about it"
                          
Wally's hand met mine, holding it. We held hands as I continued the story. 
                          
"Every day we would be in those tubes for around five hours, needles being stabbed into our bodies, horrible liquids flowing in and out of our bodies while I screamed the entire time. Snow was lucky, she wasn't very good in dealing with pain so she always passed out when they got the first needle in her. She continued to believe it was making her better, that the one needle she was awake for was going to save her life from a disease she didn't have. It made her life easier.
                          
"After the tests we would train and train and train and train, no breaks, no lunch, no food, no water. The both of us were close to death, I would say if it weren't for the accident, allowing me to help us escape, then we would have been dead"
                          
A tear slowly slid down my cheek, and I sat upright, going to wipe it away. Wally beat me to it, wiping away the teardrop with his thumb. 
                          
"The final day of us being there, when I broke free of the test tube and saved my unconscious sister, I saw what we were supposed to become. The outcome that they wanted. The both of us, we were both going to be turned into elements. Not just people with powers. We wouldn't have bodies, voices, personalities, thoughts. I would be pure fire, she would be pure ice"
                          
I look up at Wally, knowing that my voice would crack if I tried to say anything else, but I still did.
                          
"You-you can't say anything, not a word about this to her. She can't know"
                          
"I won't tell anyone"