The next day Wally, Uncle Barry, and Aunt Iris went back to the court house. The trial dragged on for three weeks before the prosecution and the defense rested their cases. The jury only deliberated for two hours before coming back. The verdict of 'guilty on all charges' rang in Wally's ears. He was relieved and pained at the same time. Relief that the trial was finally over and pained at the sentencing that was to come.

Rudolph West would do thrity-five years for second degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a stolen fire arm, unlawful imprisonment, twelve counts of breaking and entering, twelve counts of burglary and a slew of other charges, with the possibility of parole after fifteen years. Wally thought they could have left out the unlawful imprisonment charge, but Aunt Iris said it was important that his dad get in trouble for taking him hostage.

"Do you have anything to state for the record?" the judge asked, looking down at Rudolph.

"Yes, your honor. May I face the family of Mr. James Boyd?" Rudolph asked.

"You may."

Barry watched as his brother-in-law turned to look at the Boyd family.

"I know there's nothing I can say to make up for what I did, but I am truly sorry for taking your son from you. I hope it is some consolation to you that I will be paying for what I did for the rest of my life," Rudolph turned back to the judge. The only emotions Barry could identify were sadness and badly hidden anger.

Two guards led Rudolph away. Wally looked steadily at the floor. He had known this was going to be painful, but he wasn't ready for how painful. He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to go home and be left alone.

The three of them left the court house as soon as possible. Barry had just pulled out of the parking lot when Wally started cry, and then Iris started too. It was a very unpleasant ride home. Barry had planned to just pick something up at a fast food restaurant on the way home, but with Iris and Wally, he thought it would be best to just go home and get something to eat later.

When they got home, Iris and Wally went and flopped on the couch. After Barry put away the keys, he sat down next to his wife and nephew. They sat in silence for a little while before Barry turned on the TV.

"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty," the character on the old black and white movie proclaimed loudly.

Barry changed the channel as quickly as he could, but Iris and Wally were already crying again. What were the odds of a law movie being on that channel at the very moment he turned on the TV? Barry found Jurassic Park as he flipped through the channels. That would be good. There was nothing about going to prison in that plus Wally liked the dinosaurs.

"I'm going to go pick up some supper. What do you want?" Barry asked. He would do anything to get their minds of the trial.

Iris wiped her tears away and pulled Wally closer to her on the couch. "Anything is fine with me. What sounds good to you?" she asked Wally with fake cheer in her voice.

"Pizza Hut?" Wally suggested.

Barry headed out and came home twenty minutes later to find Wally and Iris just as he had left them. They had dinner in the family room that night. Iris didn't like doing that. It was important to her that they eat at the table as a family without the TV in the background, but she didn't really want to get up and set the table or do anything at the moment for that matter.

They ate in silence. None of them had anything to say, and the TV was on so it removed the need to talk. Wally just wanted to go to bed and forget today had ever happened. Now that the trial was over would Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris take him to see his dad? Did he even want to see him? Wally would figure that out later. He didn't want to think about that now or ever really.

Five years from now he'd be fifteen, and his dad would still be in prison. There was something about that thought that scared Wally. He had to remind himself that he had a home, and he was with people who loved him.

When would his mom come to see him? Would she even come? Wally wasn't going to get his hopes up. He would just be disappointed when and if things didn't work out the way he wanted, but everything was happening for a reason. If he didn't see his mom or dad again that was the way it was supposed to be, even if he didn't like it. The thought that everything was part of a plan, and that there was no such thing as chance made Wally feel better. He didn't know why; it just did.

All three of them went to bed earlier than usual that night. Iris and Barry had work, and Wally just wanted to get the day over with so they could go back to their happy, carefree lives.

runninghome

Wally looked up at the high fences that surrounded the prison that was just outside of Central City. He wondered how he could have thought the courthouse was intimidating. It was nothing compared to this place. Aunt Iris didn't look very happy and neither didn't Uncle Barry, but who could be happy around this place. Wally almost wanted them to turn around and go home, but his wanting to see his dad outweighed his fear.

It had been almost a month since the trial, and it had taken Barry and Iris all of that time to think about taking Wally to see Rudolph. Their nephew hadn't asked to see his dad until recently, and so they had finally decided to take him. They had talked and this was not going to be the beginning of regular visits. If Wally wanted to talk to his dad he could call him, but they didn't want their nephew to see him all the time. Plus who wanted to bring a ten year old to a prison? Barry could see that Wally was terrified of the place. They weren't going to put Wally through this, and they wouldn't let him put himself through this. It wasn't worth it.

They went through security as quickly as possible. Other people were there to visit family or friends. Most of them had the same fake smile carved into their faces. Others looked angry or sad. The place made Barry want to turn around and leave.

The three of them sat at a table waiting for Rudolph to be brought out of his cell. No one looked at each other or spoke. There must have been fourteen people in the visiting room, and Barry couldn't believe how quiet it was. It took him a second to realize that these people wanted to pretend there wasn't anything odd about the guards who were standing around the room or the distant sound of chains being dragged across the cold cement floor. To them this wasn't going to be a prison for the time they were there.

When Rudolph did appear he didn't look any different when he had at the trial, but instead of a suit he now wore the same gray jumpsuit that every other prisoner was wearing. Barry was disgusted when the convicted man smiled at them. He was really happy. What had happened to 'I know there's nothing I can say to make up for what I did, but I am truly sorry for taking your son from you. I hope it is some consolation to you that I will be paying for what I did for the rest of my life'?

That had just been a show. Rudolph wasn't sorry for a second. Something Wally had said came to mind. 'Dad won't hurt me, but I don't think he would care if he hurt anyone else.' Well, that was clearly true. Yeah, they were never bringing Wally back here. He didn't need to be around his father for any amount of time other than what was necessary

Wally's dad sat down across from them. The guard cuffed his hands to the table and walked away to let them talk in private, or at least as private as was possible with cameras covering every inch of the room.

"Hello, Iris, Barry. Hi, buddy. How've you been?" Rudolph asked.

Wally didn't answer for a moment. His dad seemed to think everything was fine. Well, it wasn't. Wally hadn't come there for a 'nice little visit'. He had come to see if his dad was sorry, if he cared about what he had put him through and from the look on his face, he either didn't know or didn't care.

"I'm getting better. How are you?" Wally answered.

Barry saw a momentary pause in Rudolph's eyes. He couldn't help but pick up on what his son was talking about. Barry glanced at his nephew and realized how angry he was, but he was doing a pretty good job of hiding it. Barry didn't know what he would say if he was in Wally's situation.

"I'm good," Rudolph answered. Oddly enough, he didn't mind being stuck there. He didn't have to worry about finding a job or Mary or even Wally. The only thing on his mind was not making the wrong people mad, and when that was the only thing he had to do, it wasn't that hard. "You'll be starting school soon, right?" What was hard however, was keeping up this very strained conversation. Rudolph knew Iris was mad at him. How could he miss it? She was glaring draggers at him. Barry was silent, but the silence said more than words could. What Rudolph couldn't understand was Wally. He was acting so weird. He was mad, but for some reason he was trying not to be. When it had just been Rudolph and his son, Wally hadn't been worried about letting his temper show. So what was with this repressed anger?

"Yes. I'm starting at Central Middle School the day after tomorrow," Wally said shortly. He looked closely at his dad for a few seconds. "I came here today to try to forgive you for what you did to Mr. Boyd and to me. I guess I expected you to be sorry, but whether you're sorry or not, I still have to forgive you. I blamed you for Mom leaving, for you leaving me alone all the time, and for everything you put me through. I know Mom wasn't just your fault now, but everything else shouldn't have happened, and that's on you. I'm still mad at you. Someday, maybe I won't be mad, and I hope so. I love you, and I forgive you," Wally said sadly. He wanted to go now. He had forgiven his dad, but that didn't mean he wanted to be around him.

Rudolph was in a word shocked. This wasn't the Wally he knew. His Wally wouldn't have said any of that. What had happened to the little ten year old who had trouble saying he was sorry and who would rather get teeth pulled than let go of a grudge? And what kind of ten year old talked like that? Had he really shut his eyes so tightly that he hadn't seen what he was doing was making Wally grow up faster than most kids? No, even when he was stealing Wally hadn't been like this. So where was this coming from? Was it because he had nearly died? Maybe.

Rudolph cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Thank you for forgiving me," he said finally. He had to think of something to talk about fast. "You've grown up a lot since….I was arrested."

Wally just nodded.

"Your uncle came and told me that you were struck by lightning. Do you… Have you…" Rudolph had no idea what to say.

"I haven't had any problems because of it, just some scars. I don't really remember what happened, except that I hurt and then I woke up in the hospital," Wally said. He realized he was going to have to do most or all of the talking. He had forgiven his dad, so he could talk to him with no trouble. He felt a surprising level of relief. He hadn't realized how much he'd been holding on to.

They talked for a while longer before Wally, Barry and Iris left. As they were about to walk out of the building, Wally felt as if something would stop him from leaving that horrible place just as he was about to escape it. He walked faster and got to the car before Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris.

They drove home, Barry talking all the way about how good Wally would do in his new school. Iris joined in. By the time they got home Wally was feeling better about going to see his dad. Now he just had to talk to his mom.

Wally got up early for his first day at his new school. He was nervous and excited at the same time. It took him less than five minutes to get ready. Super speed was really helpful when it came to pretty much everything, but especially getting ready to go somewhere.

Aunt Iris would drop him off, because the news studio was in the same direction as the school. Uncle Barry would be picking him after. Wally said he could go by himself, but his aunt and uncle said for the first few days they would drive him. With how busy both of their work schedules were, he'd have to go by himself at some point but not until he knew the way.

Wally got out of the car and waved good bye to his aunt. She waved back before driving away. The school looked pretty much the same as his old school. There was a teacher by the door to keep an eye on the kids who were coming in.

"Hi," the teacher said, as Wally was about to go inside. "You're Wallace West, right?"

Wally nodded. "Everyone just calls me Wally. What's your name?"

"I'm Mrs. Bridget Jackson. I'm going to be your math teacher," Bridget said kindly. Mr. and Mrs. Allen had come down to the school a few days ago to meet their nephew's fourth grade teachers. Bridget had met them. They seemed like a nice couple, and they were very interested in what Wally would be learning. Mrs. Allen had mentioned that her nephew had recently gone through several traumatic experiences but was doing well. She hadn't gone into any details, and Bridget thought it better not to ask. She found out later that Wally had been taken hostage by his father, who was charged with murder and three other criminals. He had been struck by lightning one week, and the next he had to testify in open court about the murder of the man that his father had robbed and killed.

All this had happened over the summer, so Bridget was ready to put up with any odd behavior. For her is was easier to understand why someone was doing something if she knew the reason behind it. She was in charge of twenty to thirty kids at a time, so that didn't leave a lot of time to get to know them.

One thing was for sure, Bridget wasn't going to put up with any crap. Last year had been difficult, mostly because a few of the kids thought it was okay to pick on anyone who was having trouble with school. There was no tolerance for bullies at Central Middle School. Everyone who had bullied another kid had been suspended and then expelled if their behavior continued. Wally would have a lot of things the other kids could hurt him with, but Bridget was hopeful everything would go smoothly.

Wally went to his class room and found a seat near the window. Had it only been three months ago that he had been sitting in a room similar to this one? With everything that had happened it felt like a life time ago. Everything had changed, some things for the better. Wally knew it was best for him to live with his aunt and uncle. He was happier with them than he had been with his mom and dad. It wasn't good to be around fighting all the time.

Wally liked his new school. Most of the kids were nice and so were the teachers. Plus next week they were going to the museum for their first field trip that year. That evening, at supper all he could talk about was how much fun he had had. That made Iris feel somewhat better. She had felt like she was just dumping him when she had dropped him off that morning.

"I have a surprise for you," Barry said to Wally after supper was over and the dishes were washed.

"What is it?" Wally asked. He couldn't imagine what his uncle had planned.

"Tomorrow I have a Justice League meeting. Speedy and Robin are going to be there, and I thought you might like to meet them," Barry said. Iris hadn't much liked the idea. It would just show Wally that others kids were heroes and then he would want to join, which was something she wasn't going to let happen. She had finally said it was okay.

Wally was bouncing off the walls for what was left of the day. He had wanted to meet the others heroes for a long time, but he hadn't thought it was a good idea to ask, not after all of the trouble he had caused. The next day seemed to drag on, but finally Uncle Barry got home from work. They left for the Watch Tower. It had been built in space after an attempted alien invasion. The League had gotten the tech to build Boom tubes, which were teleporters from the aliens. It was that invasion that had brought the Justice League into existence.

Wally and his uncle were the last ones there, which from the way everyone acted that seemed to be expected from The Fastest Man Alive. Barry showed his nephew to a large room with a couch and TV in it. Two other kids were sitting on the couch, playing video games.

"Wally, this is Speedy and Robin. I have to go. Behave and have fun," Barry said disappearing in streak of red. It was safe to say the meeting would be very boring.

"Hi," Wally said, a little shyly. These were real heroes, and he was just some kid who knew Flash and was hit by lightning. That didn't make him a hero, so to be honest he didn't really belong.

"Hi," Robin said smiling. "You want to play?" The black haired boy couldn't be more than eight or nine. His uniform looked like a traffic light with its bright colors. That gave Wally hope. If this small child could be a sidekick to the great Batman, what was stopping him from helping his uncle? The answer was one thing: Aunt Iris.

"Sure," Wally said and sat down.

Speedy didn't seem to notice the younger boy was there. He was about thirteen and wore a red costume. His bow was leaning against a nearby wall next to his quiver.

"Don't mind him," Robin said, glancing at the archer. "He's just annoyed that he's not allowed at the meeting. I don't know why. Meetings aren't any fun." They played the game for a while before they all got tired of it. They started playing truth or dare, which very rarely ends well, especially when it comes to superheroes.

Batman, Green Arrow and Flash went to get their wards and nephew, respectively. They found the three kids sitting on the floor. Speedy and Robin had taken their masks off.

"Robin!" Batman almost shouted. He sent a cold look in Wally's and Speedy's directions. Robin jumped and snatched his mask. He quickly put it back on his face and darted to his guardian's side. Batman gave dark looks to Flash and Green Arrow before storming away.

"Well, we're dead," Arrow said, flatly. He turned to look at Speedy. He'd taken Roy in almost a year ago now. He'd stressed the point over and over again that the thirteen year old was to never let anyone see his face when he was in uniform. Roy had always said he knew that and acted like it wasn't a big deal. "Home. Now," Green Arrow ordered. They would be having a very long talk later. "See you later, Barry."

"Later, Oliver," Barry said. He and Wally walked silently to the boom tubes. They didn't talk until they got home, and Wally was about to go to bed. "Okay," Barry said, rubbing his forehead. "Just tell me what happened."

"We were playing truth or dare and Speedy dared Robin to take his mask off. I didn't think it was a good idea, but I didn't say anything. Robin said he would if Speedy did, so they pulled their masks off at the same time," Wally explained.

"Do you know who they are?" Barry asked. Batman couldn't very well blame Wally for something he didn't do. It was Roy's fault.

Wally nodded. "Robin is Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne's foster son, which means Mr. Wayne is Batman. Speedy is Roy Harper, Oliver Queen's foster son and Mr. Queen is Green Arrow. Am I in trouble?" Everyone knew who Grayson and Harper were. They'd both been taken in by billionaires and every reporter wanted to interview them. He'd heard his aunt mention Wayne and Queen before.

"No," Barry answered shaking his head. "But I think it's going to be a while before you come to another meeting."

Wally was disappointed to hear that. Robin was really cool, and Speedy wasn't so bad once he stopped acting like a jerk. He'd found kids like him and they would be his friends, even if it was a long time before he saw them again.

"You know not to tell anyone what you know, right?" Barry asked.

Wally nodded. It took him a few minutes to take in what he knew. It was kind of scary. He held peoples' secrets, their very lives in his hands. One slip up, one loose word, and they would most likely end up dead.

He told his uncle good night. His aunt came in and tucked him in. After meeting Robin and Speedy, Wally was sure he could be a hero just like them. This wasn't a game. It was serious and people were getting hurt or killed. Wally understood that, but it wasn't going to stop him for even a moment.

runninghome

It'd been a month since he'd been to the Justice League meeting, and he hadn't heard if he'd be allowed to go to another one. Wally looked up at the picture in the museum. His class was having its first field trip of the year. He'd been to this museum before with Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris, but he didn't mind going again. He liked stuff like this. Plus he got to move around, instead of sitting in a chair all day.

Suddenly alarms started going off all over the building. He heard people screaming, shouting and moments later the roar of a gun. Mrs. Jackson hurried them into a broom closet, but Wally made himself scarce behind a large statue of a man on a horse.

Seconds passed, but it felt like hours before six or seven armed people tramped through that room. Wally followed them carefully. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he planned on stopping the robbers. The armed men and women came to a smaller dark room that held diamonds on loan from the Gotham museum. They started breaking the gems out of their cases.

Wally acted quickly. He ran at one man and slid like he was going for home base. The man tripped over him and hit his head hard on the floor. Wally found a dark corner, where he couldn't be seen.

"What happened?" a woman snapped. They hadn't seen him yet. Hopefully he could keep this up long enough for the police to get there.

"Dan, are you okay?" a masked man said, shaking the knocked out man's shoulder. "Something's wrong with Dan."

"Get back to work," another man called angrily. "The police will be here soon."

They went back to work. Wally shot out again, this time getting two of the criminals before disappearing into the shadows.

"Someone's in here," the same woman said frantically. Out of nowhere they started shooting at all of the shadowy places. Wally jumped behind a support beam. A few bullets just missed him. Oddly, he wasn't even scared. He felt alive. It was probably just the adrenaline rush, but he couldn't rely on that forever. He'd wear out sooner or later.

The shooting stopped, almost as suddenly as it had started. Three were down and four to go.

"Did we get him?" one of them asked.

Wally dashed out and plowed his feet into the woman's knees. She fell to the ground, crying out in pain. He darted from one beam to the other. He was able to take out another thief before the remaining two ran from the room and out of the building, where the police had set up a perimeter and were preparing to go in.

Wally went back to his hiding place behind the statue. He waited for an adult to come looking for him, which didn't take long. He was led out along with a few other people. Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were outside, standing behind yellow police tape. Wally saw the fear in their eyes and quickly waved to them, so they would see that he wasn't hurt.

"One of the robbers says there's something in there," Wally heard an officer say to another officer as he passed them. "Said it looked like the Flash, but smaller like a kid."

"KidFlash," the other officer laughed. "Well, at this point nothing would surprise me."

KidFlash. Wally liked it. It wasn't long before KidFlash was an expected sight whenever Flash was around. Wally loved being a hero. It had taken a lot of trouble to get there, but soon everyone knew about the small yellow blur that was just as dangerous as the red one. When Wally looked back, it had been a very long painful road and sometimes he wondered why he had to go through it all. When those thoughts came around, he'd just think of the faces of the people he'd saved. His parents had started the dominos falling to what he was to become and in some ways he was thankful for that, but his uncle and aunt had shown him what it really meant to save another life and give that person hope. No matter how dark things looked, how terrifying the battle, home would be waiting for him at the end of it all.

The End