[Generation Records, NYC] Put Your Records On (Invite Only)

Green eyes flicker up in curiosity as Gwen makes her way over to where Wally stands elbow-deep in CDs, but he doesn't immediately acknowledge her. New Yorkers, he knows, can be rather unfriendly if they do not want to be seen. Her words catch his interest further and he tips his head a little to take her in.

A million questions fill his mind, but he shoves them to the side. He has learned that sometimes the only way to an answer is forward. Wally hesitates before asking, "Wrong bandnames?"

The case she sets down draws his attention and Wally wears his surprise on his face. He'd recognize the black and blue cover anywhere, and he sees that it is titled "The Dead Town Devils". Waiting to see if she'll react, he lays his fingers on the case momentarily before lifting it and turning it over.

Nothing, however, could have prepared him for West Ohio Cakegang. Wally huffs, fighting the urge to laugh at what he hears and completely forgetting that he's not supposed to run around telling people he's from another dimension. Well, it isn't advised.

"Okay, but Solo Violence is an amazing band name. West Ohio Cakegang sounds like a group of old ladies who bake cakes for town meetings." His lips twist into a smile, showing where the start of his laugh lines are. Wally is a man who laughs often.

"Nice to meet you, Gwen. I don't think you're confused," he offers gently with a midwestern accent hiding in the wings. "I'm not from around here. Did the bands really give me away that much?"

Wally meets her glimmer of hope with kindness and something that borders on knowing. The expression of someone who knows all too well what it is like to wake up in the morning, look around, and know you are not home anymore. The look of a person who's trying to embrace all the ways this place is different and doing their best to make it home.

He glances up, eyes darting from the checked-out employee to the walls of the otherwise empty store. His voice lowers a bit as he offers her his hand, red curls shifting with the motion. Scars trace his open palm and trail over his knuckles like little lightning bolts.

"I'm Wally West, just your friendly neighborhood Speedster. How did you get here?"

Wally is surprised to hear that this music nerd has been trapped in this universe for the last two years. It feels so big compared to his own timeframe and a part of him knows that this is a friend he wants to keep. This world is so much bigger than the one he is from, but he isn't sure how many similar people they'll come across.

"Tell me they didn't make Elvis into Jake Smith or something," he jokes a bit, smiling to himself. "You sound like a detective. That comes from someone who knew quite a handful of them. It's interesting that everything is just a step to the left for you. For me, it-"

He pauses as he tries to think of how to explain it. Until now, he hadn't needed to.

"It feels like my world was only a piece of this one? Almost like someone picked a select cast of people from this world and put them in a world on their own. We had Wonder Woman, but not Spider-Man. Lex Luther, but not Matias Jacinto."

Wally is surprised by her grip, but he only grins in response. Part of him kinda hopes she's more like him than she's letting on, but he also knows that it isn't something many people ever reveal. Either way, he will carve out time so that he can keep up with Gwen Stacy.

"Nice to meet you, Gwen. I've been here maybe two months at this point? I had to forge my papers and was getting by as a mechanic until Diana found me. She's kinda adopted me." Fondness and love fill his voice as he talks about Wonder Woman, his grin falling into just a little smile.

"What about you? You got a roof over your head?"

It is Wally's turn to be surprised and a happy expression covers his features. He can't help the knee-jerk reaction to the name of one of his beloved aunts. It feels too good to be true, but most things in this universe have felt that way.

"Dinah? Any chance you're referring to a Dinah Lance who may or may not be married to an Oliver Queen?"

Wally hadn't had the chance to go and officially join the Justice League yet. He knows himself well enough to know that he's stalling. The idea of meeting all these new, but familiar faces feels daunting.

"Matias owns an office building in this city. Some type of security firm. And, whoa. Bill Gates didn't invent Windows?! What?" The redhead shakes his head in disbelief, but his smile never drops. There is a lot of joy for him to find in this conversation between two people from different realities. It is a piece of comfort.

"What's Napster and streaming? I mean, I had a Zune?" He gestures at her device, "Kinda like your fancy iPod there."

Wally looks up at the picture offered to him and his eyebrows climb in surprise

"Elvis is a dude in my world. I wouldn't really call him an icon. I mean, he would have way back in his early days, but he's fallen off alot. Collectively, the people agreed that the 90's were his worst years," he says with a frown and a shrug. "He tried grunge. It. Did not. Work. Awful stuff. His duet with Kurt Cobain was worse. Last I heard, he's still playing in the local bars down in Memphis."

When Gwen's voice raises, Wally doesn't seem bothered in the least, merely tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans and watching her. In many ways, she reminds him of Bart Allen or even an excited Kori. "I grew up in the Midwest and it left a lot of ideas about society and gender roles. Aunt Dinah did her best to set fire to all of them and built me back up into the man I am today. I owe my version if Dinah more than I ever repaid."

"Also, Indoor voices are usually preferred, but you're allowed to be excited. This is excitement-worthy." His nose wrinkles. "There is so bad it's good and then just bad bad. I wish I had a sample. You would understand so quickly, music girl."

He doesn't hesitate to start following her toward the busy street. Wally does a quick calculation in his head before offering.

"Food or coffee, whichever you're in the mood for and I'll pay. Trust me, I have more time on my hands than I care for and you don't have to talk to me like I'm the Village Elder." He laughs, shaking his head and trying to get to the door fast enough to hold it open for her.

"I was...trapped in a place for many years and unable to interact with the world. I fell behind and haven't had the chance to learn much about where you lot are. If that makes sense?" Wally's eyes find their way back to Gwen. He knows it is an oversight on his part not to have already read all he could on the technology in this world.

But, he also had to severely limit how much of his powers he tapped into. Until he met Diana, he hadn't been able to fund the calorie intake.

"So, where are we going, New Yorker?"

"A spreadsheet sounds like a good idea, though I am unsure how I feel about leaving that information unsecured." Wally extends his arm in an attempt to tap Gwen with it. "It isn't a big thing, ya know? It happened and I got out. Now, I'm here and I just want to be happy."

It took Wally a year to decide to leave his world and he sure as hell doesn't want to blow this new chance. He would rather find happiness where he can, just like his uncle Barry told him to.

"You know, if you look really hard, you may be able to see where coffee is in that order." He's grinning again. Yeah. She is very much like Kori. "Mocha, caramel syrup, and espresso powder on top. That is a coffee."

Wally keeps his eyes on his new friend as she turns to face him, glancing at the path ahead of them to ensure she is safe. It isn't something he thinks of consciously. It is just what he does.

"At least yours became shoe shops. My favorite breakfast place became a laundry cleaner? I don't even know how you make the jump between the two. It was called 'Hot 'n Pressed,' which was funny since Mr. Hamm was always so pressed about everything."

He puffs out his cheeks a bit, on the verge of a pout. "Hey, now. I was there when YouTube was created! 'Shun the Nonbeliever, Charlie!' I was there for that, though...I have no idea what a 'Net Flicks' or a 'Mems' is."

It very suddenly occurs to Wally that Gwen did not pick up what he meant by Speedster and he smirks to himself. Well, he'll have to keep his eyes open for the chance to just show her.

"Aw, don't be depressed. Try being whelmed instead. I think it does wonders for the mind." That is an old, inside joke. There is a spike of ache in his chest as he recalls the best friend he doesn't have, but Wally shoves that away. He's here and he's with his new friend. Golly, that made Gwen his fifth friend?

His eyebrows raise as she pokes him, but her words twist his face into a scuff and a frown.

"Mr. West? You make me sound so old. If I'm Mr. West, you are Young Miss Gwen." Did he just use a very posh accent and even straighten his back? Yes, yes he did.

"Mm, quite," Wally says as Gwen shows off the coffee shop...that literally does not have a name. There's nothing at all. He drops the posh accent that was a poor interpretation of Alfred Pennyworth. "How did you come across this place?" His eyes scan over all the people nearby along with all the entrances and exits. He reaches out to open the door for Gwen, using his foot to keep it steady as he gestures for her to enter first.

"What do you do for a job in this city anyway?"