Allen worked, the freak accident that gave Allen his powers repeated itself, bathing Wally in electrically charged chemicals. Now possessing the same powers as the Flash, West donned a smaller-sized copy of Barry Allen's Flash outfit and became the young crimefighter Kid Flash. Wally had a strained relationship with his own parents and often looked to his beloved aunt and uncle for moral support and guidance. He also operated as a lone superhero in his hometown, Blue Valley, Nebraska, when not partnering with the Flash. This costume was later altered (in The Flash #135 (1963)) to one that would make him more visually distinctive. The original red was replaced with a costume that was primarily yellow with red leggings, gloves and lightning bolt emblem. The ear pieces initially remained yellow, but became red in later issues. In addition to his appearances within the Flash title, the character was a founding member of the newly created Teen Titans, where he became friends with Dick Grayson, then known as Robin, later known as Nightwing. Sometime later, Wally contracted a mysterious illness that affected his entire bodily system; the more he used his speed powers, the faster his body deteriorated. This could have been caused by one of two things, Wally was a boy when the electrified chemicals altered his body, which was still developing and maturing (as opposed to Barry Allen, who was already an adult when his accident occurred) or when he was struck with a weapon during his time with the Teen Titans. As such, as Wally's body matured, his altered body chemistry was slowly killing him. The Flash During the 1985–1986 miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry gave his life to save the Earth when destroying the antimatter cannon that was aimed at Earth. Initially unaware of this, Wally was coaxed by Jay Garrick into assisting the heroes against the Anti-Monitor's forces. During the final battle with the Anti-Monitor, Wally was struck by a blast of anti-matter energy, which cured his disease. In the aftermath of the conflict, Wally took on his fallen mentor's costume and identity. The decision by DC Comics' editorial staff to radically change their fictional universe saw a number of changes to the status quo of the character. Wally West became the new Flash, but less powerful than his predecessor. For example, instead of being able to reach the speed of light, he could run