They never found the magic words to change this fact (I'm half Jill and half Jack)

.

A few days later there was a knock on the door, and Barry answered. It was Rudy, alone.

Rudy's expression was frantic and scared - Barry wasn't used to seeing him like that. "Is Wally here?!"

Barry blinked back in confusion. "No, why?"

Iris came into the hallway. "What's going on?"

"Wally ran away," Rudy said quickly. "He snuck out of the house. I thought he might have come here."

"He's only five. He couldn't get this far by himself," Barry blurted. "He doesn't even know the way."

"I know that! But I'm running out of places to look."

"Did you call dad?" Iris asked. She really meant if he called the police.

Rudy ran his fingers through his hair. "Not yet. I just got in the car and started driving. I thought I'd find him by now. Mary's out looking too, but she stayed close to the house. We looked everywhere."

"Rudy, you can't drive when you're this upset," Iris told him. "That's just asking for an accident."

"I know but-"

She interrupted. "Barry, call the police station. Let dad know what happened. Get some officers out looking. Rudy, give me your keys. I'll drive, you look out the windows."

When things got bad, Iris buried her stress and kept focused and efficient. It's one of the things Barry liked about her.

"I need to get my purse. My license's inside." Iris rushed into another room.

Rudy was still standing outside the open doorway. He shifted on his feet and ran his hand through his hair again. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at him."

Barry had never seen Rudy freak out like this before. He'd always had a temper, but being fidgety - that was new. "Rudy, it's gonna be okay. We're gonna find him." Barry tried to smile for him. "Don't worry. Every kid tries running away at some point."

"No they don't, Barry! That's just you!" he snapped.

The smile dropped.

Rudy covered his face for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said quietly. Rudy apologizing - that was another first.

"Rudy... Trust me. We will bring him back home."

Iris came back with her purse. She looked at Barry expectantly. "Barry! Phone!"

"Oh, right!" He ran back to make the call.

.

The West family split up and searched all over town.

Should I consider myself part of the West family? ...Am I allowed to be part of the West family?

Barry ran down the sidewalk. He stopped and panted for breath, keeping an eye out for any glimpse of red hair.

Barry tried running away several times in the months after his dad was arrested. Sometimes to get to the prison, sometimes just to get away from the West house. He didn't think of it as 'home' back then. He still wasn't sure he should think of it that way. One more thing to worry about once he graduated college.

He hoped his own runaway attempts would provide some special insight into where Wally was right now. But Barry's brain wasn't giving him any quick answers.

Back then, did I want no one to find me? Or was I waiting for someone to find me?

He started running again.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a missing child. His name's Wally. Five years old. Red hair, green eyes, freckles. Have you seen anyone who looks like that?"

No matter which passerby Barry asked, the answer was always no.

He tried thinking about it logically. Wally's parents would have already looked in all the obvious places. If Barry was going to find him, he would have to think of a spot that wasn't obvious - a place only Wally would think of... But that wouldn't work because Barry didn't know Wally well enough to get inside his head.

Then again, Wally probably wasn't going anywhere specific. He was probably just lost. He was too young to know much about street signs or addresses. But maybe he'd notice something that looked familiar and wander towards that...

Except Barry had no idea which places Wally had seen before. He didn't know which parks or playgrounds his parents took him to, or if they went out at all. He didn't know any of Wally's interests, which was why he could never figure out what present to mail to him on Christmas and birthdays.

Barry didn't know anything about Wally.

Why would he?

That little boy was just a stranger who dropped into his life.

And yet...

.

Barry arrived in another park. Not a playground, just a lot of open space and a few trees. A little child was sitting against one of those trees, with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head lowered. He was tearing up a dead leaf to keep his fingers busy.

"Wally!"

The boy instinctively looked up. Barry sprinted over to him. In retrospect, he didn't know if Wally would be happy to be found or if he'd try to run off again. Barry should have been more cautious. But at the time he just didn't want to wait.

He stopped directly in front of Wally and kneeled down to be eye-level with him. Wally was still and quiet. Barry smiled at him. "Hey... Remember me? Uncle Barry?"

Wally didn't answer.

"You okay? ...You know, everyone's out looking for you. We were all really worried about you."

Wally frowned and lowered his head again.

"C'mon, let's go home."

"No," he said stubbornly.

"Wally..."

"I don' wanna." He hugged his knees. "I'm never goin' back."

"Are you just going to sit here in this park for the rest of your life?"

"Uh-huh."

Barry gave a little sigh, but he was actually amused. Little kids were so serious about what they said even when they put no thought at all into it. "Your daddy's sorry he yelled at you."

"No he's not." Adamant.

"Yes, he is. He really is. I know parents can drive you nuts sometimes. But they love you." Barry remembered how worried Rudy was about his son. "Your mom and dad love you very, very much. So come home. Please?"

Wally still didn't stop frowning. "I wanna new mommy an' daddy."

Barry winced a little at that response. "Don't say that. Remember how you said you wanted all your family members to be together?"

"Nope. I never said that."

Kids.

"Wally-"

"We're movin'," he said suddenly. "Mommy an' daddy say they wanna move."

Barry blinked. He didn't know that.

"We're gonna go far 'way," he said miserably. "I don' wanna go... But when I talked back... he..."

Barry wished he knew what he was supposed to say.

"Can you be my daddy?" Wally asked suddenly.

"What?!"

Wally stood up. "Please? I wanna new daddy." He stepped forward on his wobbly legs and hugged Barry. "Please...?"

Barry froze. Then he hugged him back, but only for a moment. He pushed Wally away so he could look into his face. "Wally... You can't choose your family."

As soon as Barry said that, he realized it applied to him too. He didn't choose to have a dad in prison. He didn't choose to have a mom who was dead. And he didn't choose to become the West family's foster child. That's just the way it was.

Maybe it's because he didn't choose it that he really was part of the family.

"A family isn't something you can decide. And it's not something you can deny. It's just something that happens... Just a group of strangers who drop into each other's lives, and make the most of it... So listen, Wally. No matter what happens, no matter where you go, your family will always be your family, like it or not. But that goes for all of us. Your mom and dad, Grandpa Joe, Aunt Iris... and me. No matter how far away you are I will always be your uncle. I promise."

"Yeah, far 'way," he mumbled.

"You can visit us. And I'll visit you."

Wally looked at him with big sad eyes. "A lot?"

"Not every day, but a lot." Barry smiled and leaned in closer. "But only if you're good."

Wally nodded eagerly. "I promise to be good."

Barry nodded back. Then he looked behind Wally. On the ground, behind the tree, was a thick broken branch. It was a dead piece of wood from which all the leaves had fallen off. Barry looked up and saw that the tree they were next to was completely bare and shriveled. All the trees in the park were bare.

"How did I not notice that...?" he muttered as he looked around.

He'd seen this before.

"Unca' Barry?"

He looked back to Wally and forced on a smile. "Okay Wally, we need to go home right now. Give me your hand."

Barry stood up, holding tightly onto the little boy's hand. "Walk fast. Keep quiet and walk fast."

"Wha's wrong...?"

"Don't be scared, just-" Barry froze.

Standing in the distance was a man in dark robes, staring at the two of them.

"Wally, get behind me."

"Unc-"

"Just do it!" he snapped.

Doctor Alchemy calmly stepped towards them. "It's you again... And you have company..."

"Don't touch him," Barry glared at the villain. "Don't you dare touch him."

"Why not?" he asked without emotion. "Is he important?"

Barry didn't respond.

Doctor Alchemy said, "You look at me the same way he does. The Flash, I mean. You have such contempt for me. I'm not bantering; I'm really asking. Are the lives I take really so important?"

"Of course they are."

"But there are billions of lives in this world, and only one of these." He took the half-finished Philosopher's Stone out of his cloak. "If people are important, why are they so easy to replace?"

Barry didn't know how to answer. Wally was silent. He didn't really understand what the two grown-ups were saying, but he was getting scared instinctively.

"We are all meaningless. We amount to nothing in the cosmic scheme of universe. We're just tiny bits of dust, clinging to a small pebble in space, revolving around a ball of fire. But the perfectly complete Philosopher's Stone will be the power of creation itself. I suppose what I'm trying to say is... I won't stop for anything."

Barry spoke to the boy behind him while keeping his eyes on the terror in front. "Wally, when I tell you to run, run. It doesn't matter where. Just get out of here as fast as you can."

"Unca' Barry?" It sounded like he was trying not to cry.

Barry needed a weapon. He had to buy as much time for Wally as possible. He remembered the tree branch on the ground. He turned and quickly ran to grab the branch. He ran back, but Doctor Alchemy was gone.

STAB!

Barry turned around. Wally was staring up at him with wide eyes... and a clawed hand had torn right through his torso.

"Unca' Barry...?"

Doctor Alchemy drew his hand back. There was no hole left in Wally's chest or shirt. There was no wound at all, as if nothing had ever happened. But Wally dropped to the ground. The boy's face had lost its color, and his eyes were open, staring into nothingness.

Barry froze. He had more than frozen. Time had completely stopped for him. Time was meaningless as he looked at that boy on the ground.

The alchemist held a glowing light in his hand, which he nonchalantly fed into the red stone in his other hand. "That boy's soul is in here now. His body is as good as dead without it. But look around. The world didn't end, did it? The world isn't any worse off for losing that one simple child."

Wally West was lying perfectly still on the ground. He wasn't even breathing.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Barry sprinted towards the man and smashed the tree branch against him. "BRING HIM BACK!" He used so much force the wooden branch broke apart. Doctor Alchemy recoiled from the attack, and Barry continued to attack with the broken stick he had left, striking and stabbing, again and again.

.

"Hi, Unca' Barry."

"If you tell 'em your daddy's not a bad guy, they'll let him go."

"I want all my granpas and granmas together. I want everyone together."

"Grown-ups say they'll do it soon but they never do."

"You're my unca' so he's my granpa."

"We're a big family."

"Can I help?"

"I promise to be good."

"Unca' Barry...?"

.

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK!"

At some point during the barrage, Doctor Alchemy dropped the Philosopher's Stone.

Flash said if that stone breaks, the people will wake up.

Barry quickly turned away from him and focused all his energy on breaking that stone. He pounded it with what was left of the splintered tree branch, but that didn't do anything. Barry frantically looked around the ground for something else, saw a decent-sized rock, grabbed it and started hitting it against the Philosopher's Stone.

Barry struck the rock against the stone again and again. The rock in his hands cracked and little chips flew off. But the red stone on the ground seemed unchanged. He kept pounding with all of his strength, grunting with each effort. He had no idea how long he stayed like that. His arms began to ache, but he ignored it. He panted for breath, but he ignored that too. His fingers hurt.

Eventually he ran out of strength and was forced to stop. He sat on the ground breathing heavily. His hands were scratched up and bruised, and the rock was chipped away. But the Philosopher's Stone was undamaged.

Doctor Alchemy calmly stepped towards him. The wounds on his skin and cloak were repairing themselves. "Are you finished?"

Barry felt something wet on his face. He heard a strange sound. After a moment he realized the sound was moaning. Another moment later he realized it was coming from him.

Doctor Alchemy casually reached down and picked up the stone. He looked down at Barry with something vaguely similar to pity. "This is just what I mean. You poor people rant and rave about how important your feelings are, but feelings don't get you anything. Power is the only thing that matters."

"SHUT UP!"

Barry glared up at him. "What good does power do?! Does it let people be like you?! What good are you?!"

He stood and faced him. "It doesn't matter how much power you get! It doesn't matter how many of those stupid stones you make! As long as they're being used by someone like you, they're useless! Power is only useful when it's being used to protect people! People like him!" He pointed to Wally's body. "You think he's not important?! How stupid are you?! Helping kids like him get home is the most important thing in the entire world!"

A proud and strong voice spoke up. "Well said, Mister Allen. I couldn't have put it any better myself."

The Flash was here.

"He found me!" Doctor Alchemy cried.

The Flash turned and ran away from them at super speed.

The alchemist panicked but before he could move Barry grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck and waist. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Let go of me!" he shouted as he struggled to get away, holding up his stone.

It only took the Flash a few seconds to run the required distance. Then he spun around on the spot, braced himself, aimed, and ran. He built up his maximum speed as he ran.

He exceeded Mach 1.

Broke the sound barrier.

For a Supersonic Punch.

WHAM!

The Flash's punch made direct contact with the Philosopher's Stone.

CRASH!

In a burst of light, the stone completely shattered. The force sent Barry and the alchemist tumbling back. And countless lights raced away from the explosion and flew all over the city... One of those lights went into Wally's body. The little boy gasped.

"No! No...!"

Doctor Alchemy rushed to his feet and tried to run, but the Flash sent another punch right to his cheek. The villain fell to the ground, knocked out in one hit.

"Wally!" Barry ran over to where the boy was. His eyes were closed, but he was breathing normally.

"He'll be fine," the Flash said. "He's just sleeping now. When he wakes up he'll be good as new."

Barry believed him. The color was already returning to Wally's cheeks. Barry gently picked up the sleeping child and held him close. Barry thought he might start crying... but it might be the first time he cried from happiness.

"Is that your little brother?" the Flash asked.

Barry smiled. "No. He's my nephew." He repeated, "This is my nephew... He's my family."

He stood up, carrying and hugging the sleeping child. He looked at the hero with tears in his eyes. "Thank you... Thank you so much, Flash."

"Jay."

"Huh?"

"Jay Garrick," he said with a smile. "You can call me Jay."

The Flash just told Barry his name.

"But-"

"It's fine. My secret identity was never much of a secret to begin with - obviously," he said with a gesture to his unmasked face.

Barry looked down at the redhead in his arms, and then back up at the speedster. "I can't thank you enough... Jay."

Jay shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Barry. It's like you said: Helping people find their families is the most important thing in the world."

He looked over to the unconscious villain. "Time to bring him back to prison. And I'll be back in Keystone City after that. But if you ever need my help again... look me up," he finished with an easy smile.

Barry smiled and said nothing. Days and days wouldn't be enough time to express all the emotions he was feeling.

The Flash carried the villain away at super speed. Barry stayed behind in the park. He looked down at the sleeping boy, and hugged him a little tighter.

.

Barry slowly walked down the sidewalk, carrying Wally piggyback style. They were going home.

Wally's eyes fluttered. "Unca' Barry...?" he said drowsily.

"It's okay, Wally. You had a bad dream. That's all," Barry told him. "Go back to sleep."

"M'kay..." And it sounded like Wally did just that.

Barry continued walking... and thinking.

Power.

Barry always thought power was something that destroyed. For the very first time, he began to understand it was also something that could be used for good. What's more, power was sometimes necessary.

"What do you want to do, Barry?"

In the end, Barry couldn't stop worrying about other people. His father, the people he cared about, even total strangers... He wanted to save as many of them as he could.

Barry believed that the speedster who killed his mother was still out there somewhere. He needed to be ready for when he appeared again. Even if he found him, there was nothing he could do to stop him the way he was now. He used to hate the very idea of super speed.

But you need poison to fight poison.

You need venom to make anti-venom.

And he had someone to protect now.

Dear Dad

I've been thinking a lot about my future. About you, the Wests, and myself. I've been a little indecisive about what I want to do with my life. I still don't have all the answers. But I recently got a new idea about the path I want to take. I think I understand now...

Barry continued walking, carrying that important child on his back.

...what it is that I really want to do.

.

"Hello, is this the Garrick residence? ... Jay? ... This is Barry Allen. Do you remember me? ... I hope you don't mind. I looked up your number in the phone book. ... Well, um... I-I'm thinking of doing a term paper about the physics of superpowers. Is there any way we could meet up so I could talk to you? See, I want to know...

"How exactly does someone get super speed?"

.

Run, Jack (Run)

.

Author's Notes: (9/13/2016) I realize that it's unrealistic for a five-year-old child to run that far from home before anyone found him. Just go with it. Barry's fight with Dr. Alchemy is clearly based on the pilot chapter of the manga "Buso Renkin." Chapter title comes from the song "Half Jack" by the Dresden Dolls.

Please review. Let me know what you think of this story.