Prologue:

Wally walked slowly- for him- down the street. It was pouring, but he didn't seem to notice.

The other founders had been downright jerks today. They didn't see his value outside of speed. They didn't think he was smart, didn't think he had suffered. But he was smarter than most of them, and had suffered more than most as well.

Entering a cemetery, he knelt in front of two graves, Mary West, and Rudolph West.

"Mom, Dad. I need advice." He whispered. Then, he let the sobs out.

Ch. 1

The meeting had started off like any other. Wally was bored out of his mind, but also part sad. It was the anniversary of his mother's death. His father had gone to jail for the crime. After years, Wally finally proved his father's innocence, but less than a year after getting him out of jail, he was murdered by Zoom, in the same exact room as his mother's.

"Flash, focus." Superman scolded. Wally jumped.

"Sorry." He muttered. His mind had been reliving those memories.

"It's alright. Okay, next, we need someone good at science to run tests on a weapon we found after Lex Luthor attacked Metropolis yesterday. We don't know what it does, but don't want to test it in case it is harmful." Superman said.

"I will!" Flash said excitedly.

"Flash, now is not the time for jokes." John scolded.

"But I'm not joking!" Wally insisted. He wished Batman was here, but he had Bruce Wayne business to attend. Batman knew his story, so he could have defended Wally. Or maybe J'onn, but he was in China with Ming.

"Wally. Not now." Shayera said.

"But I can do it! I promise! I'm a forensic scientist." Wally said.

"Yeah right, why would you become one of those?" Shayera asked.

"Because my mom was murdered right in front of me so my dad went to jail for the crime even though he didn't do it." Wally answered.

There was a pause.

"Flash! That is not a thing to joke about." Diana scolded. Wally's expression was one of betrayal.

"Flash, stop joking." Superman said. Wally paused.

"I can't believe you don't trust me." He said sadly before running out.

That is how he came to the cemetery in the rain. His aunt Iris happened to be driving by. She saw him there, and sighed. The poor kid.

Parking her car, she hopped out with an umbrella. She walked over to him, and held it over him.

"Aunt I, you need that more than me. You can get a cold, I can't." Wally said. His nose was stuffy, and he had tear streaks on his face, though they were quickly being washed away by rain.

Iris knew something was wrong, other than the significance of the day.

"Wally, what's wrong?" she asked.

Wally paused. "Can we talk about it in the car and at your house?"

"Of course." Iris smiled. But she also knew something was very wrong when he wanted to ride in a car.

Ch. 2

"... What was that about?" John asked a few moments after Wally had sped out.

"He's just all butt hurt we didn't think his joke was funny." Shayera dismissed.

"I don't know... He looked pretty hurt." Diana said uncertainly.

"Just an overreaction. We'll talk about it to him next time we see him." Superman said.

They continued the meeting. Batman breezed in after the next topic.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had Bruce Wayne business." Superman inquired.

"I finished. J'onn is taking a much needed break in China with Ming, but Flash isn't taking a break. So where is he?" Batman responded.

"He got all butt hurt we didn't like his joke, overreacted, and sped out of here." Shayera responded.

Batman raised an eyebrow. "What would this joke be?"

"We needed a scientist to analyze the weapon we found yesterday, and he said he'd do it because he's a forensic scientist. We asked him why he would be one, and he said his mom was murdered in front of him and his dad went to crime for the jail. We scolded him for the joke, but then he got upset and left." John explained.

Batman frowned. "No surprise he left, seeing as he wasn't joking."

"How would you know that? Wait, never mind, you're Batman." John said. "He wasn't joking?"

"Nope. He is a forensic scientist, because his mom was murdered when he was 11. His dad was blamed for the crime, though he didn't do it, and went to jail. 15 years later, Wally got his dad out jail, but he was killed less than a year later by Zoom, in the same room as his mother's murder. And, to top things off, today is the anniversary of his mother's death." Batman confirmed.

There was a few minutes of silence.

"I feel awful now." Diana said blatantly.

"Agreed. With his disposition, I wouldn't have thought he had suffered like that." Clark said. "How do we make that up to him?"

Ch. 3

The car ride to Iris' house was one filled with sobbing from Wally. He didn't know why he was crying so much, but it felt good to get it all out.

He explained everything to Iris. She nodded in sympathy.

"And, I don't know Aunt I, I've been betrayed so much that this just... hurt worse than anything else." Wally finished, "They don't trust me."

"They'll come to their senses. I promise. But right now, there is a tray of cookies in my kitchen with your name on it. Good thing I made two trays, or else there wouldn't be enough for Barry and I! But I had a feeling you'd come over today." Iris responded. Wally grinned and dashed inside.

Barry was inside, taking the trays out of the oven.

"Hey Wall-man!" He said cheerfully. "Wait for the trays to cool."

"Ugh, that'll take forever!" Wally groaned. Barry grinned.

"Just five minutes." he said. They kept talking, mindlessly eating cookies after they had cooled.

Barry and Iris glanced at each other after an hour or so.

"Hey, Kid, with as much time as you spend here, we think you should just live here again. We miss you, we admit, and you already have to pay a gargantuan amount for food anyway, so why should you have to for rent?" Barty suggested.

Wally grinned. "You mean it?"

"Of course!" Iris nodded.

"Then okay!" Wally looked like a little kid. Those two always knew how to make him feel better.

Ch. 4

Wally walked into the Watchtower the next day with a huge grin on his face. Iris had made him a huge breakfast as a 'Welcome back to our house' gift.

Anyways, the founders has called another meeting, probably to scold him about his behavior yesterday.

He entered the room, still grinning. He could deal with what they said.

As he sat, he noticed their expressions. Was that... Pity? Sympathy?

"Flash... we're sorry. About not believing you yesterday. Batman told us it was all true. Just... one question. How can you be so happy all the time with that kind of story?" Superman asked.

"It's fine. You probably thought I was joking because of my generally happy disposition. I'm happy all the time because I choose to be. Sure, I've suffered, but I've learned to look past my personal tragedies. They don't have to define who I am, what I do, and what I become. That's what my aunt and uncle taught me, anyways. I took it to heart." Wally replied.

The meeting was dismissed after that. The founders were left with a little piece of wisdom. They all seemed a perkier from then on.

FIN

12345678910

Hey guys! It's been awhile! So a few things- obviously, Barry in this isn't the Flash, and never was, though he still calls Wally "Kid". Also, Wally's past is based off the Flash TV show (the one started in 2014). I like that backstory. Anyways, tell me what you think!

Thanks a billion for reading,

Sharkisha the 3rd.