About an hour later, Wally walked into the lobby of the hospital feeling frustrated, confused, and more than a little bit foolish.

"You okay, Thorn?"

Wally's head snapped in the direction of the concerned male voice, his gaze settling on the one man standing there in a bright red bodysuit.

He supposed that he shouldn't've been surprised that the League's send the Flash to sign him out.

"I just lost an argument with a ten-year-old," he explained with a perfectly straight face. "Who actually managed to use my own powers as proof against me."

Behind the clear white lenses of his mask, Barry Allen blinked confusedly.

"Huh?"

Jerking his thumb above him, pointing towards the room several floors up, he elaborated. "After about an hour of debate, Queen Perdita continues to believe that Count Vertigo is completely innocent of everything from attempted regicide to trying to take over the world."

"Ahh," Flash nodded in understanding, even as several onlookers blinked in confusion. Shrugging, he continued. "Can't say I'm surprised. After the Injustice League's attack we sent in Superman to try and get her to revoke her uncle's diplomatic immunity. Poor guy almost wound up an enemy of the crown."

"She thinks that Poison Ivy used her powers to manipulate him," Wally muttered irritably, shuddering at the very image. "And she won't even see the possibility that he had anything to do with the Revolūcija's attack."

The Flash shrugged sympathetically. "Sorry, kid. Them's the breaks sometimes. Don't worry though, sooner or later, Vertigo will slip up and she'll see him for what he is."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later," Thorn mumbled, before sighing. "Ah well, at least it wasn't a total loss. I did manage to convince her to put a few guards on Vertigo's tail."

"How'd you manage that?" Barry asked curiously.

Wally shrugged, "I told her about how I can use my pheromones to implant post-hypnotic suggestions in someone to turn them into sleeper agents. So long as I'm around them for long enough at least."

Backing away unconsciously, Flash cautiously asked, eyebrow raised, "You can do that?"

"Most definitely not," Wally sighed regretfully. "Tried it once with a prison guard during one of my early escapes. When I tried to actually use the trigger words she had one of her colleagues beat the crap out of me."

Eyebrows raising in unison, Barry exclaimed, "What the- don't you think that's a little extreme?"

Wally smirked as he chuckled, "You didn't hear the trigger words. I'm just surprised she told him to stop."

Sighing heavily, Barry brought his fingers up to rub the bridge of his nose through his mask. "You know, it's stories like that that make people uncomfortable to be around you."

"Really?" Wally asked, genuinely surprised. Bringing a hand up, he examined it closely. "I always figured it was just the green."

Barry snorted, "You ever see people flinch away from that Martian girl? Face it, kid, it's not your skin that makes people uncomfortable."

"Huh."

With that, Barry led his wayward nephew out of the hospital doors, all the while Thorn considered the ramifications of his uncle's words.

The glass doors opened automatically upon their approach, and Wally was greeted by a blast of air that didn't feel quite arctic in origin. Northern, definitely, but not quite arctic.

"I guess you guys got to the Ice Fortresses," Wally noted idly, looking up at a clear night sky, eyes drawn irrevocably towards the moon.

"Piece of cake," Flash waved it off, before feeling his stomach growl. "Hmm, now there's a thought."

Shaking his head clear of cakes and food in general, Barry glanced around the street, "Where'd you park that cycle-thing?"

Wally shrugged, waving a hand ambiguously through the air, "That's not really how it works. I asked her to stick around though, so she's probably hiding out in the parking lot or something."

Nodding, Barry turned back around to face the hospital, Wally following his lead, his gaze turning skyward as he did when he caught the light glinting off of the windows above.

His expression turned oddly contemplative as he saw one of those windows, something his uncle noticed and commented on.

"Hey, the people that you save..." Wally began slowly. "Do they always look at you like that?"

Following his nephew's line of sight, Barry saw the open window and the young blonde girl waving from the third floor of the hospital. "Like what?"

Titling his head to the side thoughtfully, Wally considered the question, gaze never wavering, before deciding, "Like you're invincible... like you're strong enough to take on the whole world... like you'd actually stand a chance if you did and knowing that you would if only they needed you to."

Barry chuckled fondly, "Not everyone. But enough. All it takes is one, really. I guess you could say it's one of the perks."

Wally nodded slowly, his face still contemplative for a moment before he returned the young monarch's smile and raised his own arm to wave back at her.

Behind him, a small garden stood, a tiny grove of trees and bushes between the hospital's drop off point and the street beyond it. Several of the smaller ones had perished to the cold earlier in the day, but the older ones were the far more resilient (Wally generally just called them stubborn) Evergreens that populated the area.

One of the trees, one still young enough to retain the suppleness of a sapling and yet to develop the stubbornness that came with age, grew, driven by Wally's quiet encouragement until it stood out from the rest of the grove and, following Wally's lead, it also waved.

High up in her room, Perdita's smile grew even wider.

"You know, she invited me to some party she's throwing next week," Wally said to his uncle conversationally, still somewhat bemused by the whole thing. "I guess accusing her uncle of attempted regicide doesn't matter much to her because, apparently, I'm going to be the guest of honour and everything."

Wally then immediately eyed his uncle when he heard the unmistakeable sound of a snort being badly suppressed.

"What?"

"Nothing," Barry said immediately, trying and failing to keep a smile form his lips, only for Wally to glare at him. "Well, it's just... it's sweet, you know? You going to a tea party with your new little fan."

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed, pointing up at Perdita. "That is the reigning queen of Vlatava and this is not going to be some stupid tea party!"

"Right," Flash nodded happily. "Except it totally is. Her being a Queen only means that it won't just be you, her and her stuffed animals in attendance."

Fuming quietly at the Flash's words, trying to think of just the right retort, Wally missed his chance and Barry continued cheerfully. "We'll have to call in Alfred and get you fitted for a suit."

Wally was too concerned with glaring at his uncle to be concerned with who or what exactly this 'Alfred' was.

Flash merely walked on happily, leading Wally towards the parking lot, where, as speculated, the Super-Cycle was resting peacefully, almost completely oblivious to the drama that had occurred above it over the past few hours.

"So..." Barry asked cautiously a few minutes later. "I don't suppose you've given our offer a little bit of thought?"

Sitting behind him in the cockpit of the Super-Cycle, Wally wondered if this was why he'd chosen not to simply run home... well, that, or he was just making sure that Thorn didn't go off to commit some unspeakable acts of terror.

"A little," he admitted reluctantly. "And I've gotta say... I don't think I can do it.

Barry frowned in accepting despair. After all, Ivy had turned on him and he hadn't seen anyone else from his family in years. It'd take time before he trusted them enough to take that step.

"I mean," Wally continued, oblivious to this. "I'm Thorn. And it's not really a secret. More than a few people kind of want me dead, not least of whom is the Joker. And now I've probably got a Vlatavan noble out for me too."

"So maybe, I don't know," Wally shrugged unhelpfully. "Maybe I should just stay at the Cave or something? And then you and Aunt Iris could... visit?"

Finishing his suggestion and waiting for Barry to say something, Wally grew uncomfortable at the very odd look his uncle was giving him.

Behind the mask of the Flash, Barry Allen had never been prouder. Wally had just made a conscientious decision... to protect them.

Oh, Iris was going to whack him over the head for that particular brand of thinking (and Barry was going to enjoy watching it), but, still, Barry couldn't've been prouder.

The next few days, to Wally, passed by in a blur of activity as the news of his pardon finally broke to the public and he found himself moving out of the Cave without even so much as a pair of handcuffs. He was now officially moving in with the West-Allens.

He still wasn't quite sure how that'd happened actually. He remembered how Barry had insisted he take his concerns up with Iris, but after that... it was kind of a blur. All he remembered from the conversation that followed was a lot of apologizing and promising to move in as soon as possible (along with one or two swats to the back of the head), all summed up by a hug that he was halfway certain had fractured one of his ribs.

He'd learned something from that experience. Never say no to Iris West-Allen.

And so, he, 'Wallace Rudolph West' to some and 'Thorn' to many more, was moving to Missouri. And everyone knew it.

The story had made the front page of at least four news outlets that he knew of and many more were supposedly clamoring for an interview. Poison Ivy's protégé had officially switched sides, earning himself a Presidential Pardon on the basis of duties performed for the betterment of state, country and planet. And was moving in with Average Joes News Reporter Aunt and CSI Uncle now that the juvenile detention centers had no reason to hold him.

Everyone. Knew.

And Wally was panicking. What if Poison Ivy came after him at his aunt and uncles' place? What if the Joker did? Heck, he doubted that the Central City Rogues'd be too glad to see him moving back into their turf either...

And the reporters?! He hadn't even been kidding about the interviews... according to Aunt Iris, there were people lined up around the block to get the official story of the 'Tragic-Villain-turned-Hero' from his own lips.

And that was where he drew the line.

"No interviews," Wally stated stubbornly, arms crossed dangerously over his chest as he stared his aunt down.

"But Wally..." Iris tried, only for Wally to repeat the statement with a stronger tone.

"Wally," Barry tried. "Why not? The League's offering you their full backing. Even if there's something we don't know about... whatever it is, you've more than made up for it."

"There's nothing aside from a few petty burglaries and maybe a bit of vandalism that the League haven't already charged me with," Wally told him. "But that's not the point. No. Interviews."

Frowning, Iris persevered. "Wally, I understand that it's not something you want to discuss, but there's talk of forcing you to wear an inhibitor collar to school. Heck, there's talk of denying you a public education entirely. We need to get your side of the story out there if we want to keep that from happening. A presidential pardon goes a long way with the public, but a sympathetic story goes even further."

Wally frowned darkly, "And what if the story isn't so sympathetic?"

Iris hesitated for a brief moment, before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Wally said irritably. How many times had he explained this now? "That my side of the story isn't the one where I'm a lost and misunderstood kid who gets led astray by his manipulative aunt and is only now regretting his past misdeeds and is trying desperately to redeem himself."

"My story is the one where I knew full well what I was getting myself into," he continued strongly. "My story is the one where I believed wholeheartedly in every single thing that I've ever done as 'Thorn'. I still do. Okay, maybe sometimes we were a little extreme, but still, the only thing that I regret is that I didn't see that Aunt Ivy was caring less and less about how many people she had to hurt to get what we wanted."

"Look," Wally sighed. "I appreciate what you guys are trying to do for me. Really, I do. But my story's just going to get me into more trouble and I'm not gonna lie about myself and Aunt Ivy just to make things easier."

For a moment, Iris and Barry shared a brief silence as they met each others' eyes. When the moment ended, however, Barry merely shrugged.

"Okay," he said simply.

Wally raised an eyebrow, "Okay?"

"Okay," Barry confirmed. "Wally, you don't need to say a thing. Iris, the Flash'll give you a statement about Thorn's recent turn to more altruistic work and his newfound desires to continue promoting environmental change through more legal avenues."

Here, Barry turned back to Wally to check, "You are going to stay on the right side of the law this time, right?"

Sighing, Wally nodded, "Fine."

Barry frowned, "That means no more threatening people. You stick to nonviolent protests and if someone asks you to stop messing with the plants on their property, you listen to them, alright?"

Sighing deeper, Wally again nodded, giving out another long-suffering "Fine."

"Perfect," Barry smiled wildly, turning back to his wife. "If the Flash can't swing the public's opinion, then I haven't been working hard enough lately."

"Besides," Barry's grin grew. "Wally's got a date with a bonafide queen in a few days. If saving the life of the most adorable world leader on the planet and then dating her doesn't get the public on his side, I don't know what will."

Iris nodded in an acceptance, giving her husband a smile, whilst Wally grabbed fistfuls of his hair as he tried to keep himself from screaming.

"It's not a date," he groaned. "For the love of all that is green, she's, like, ten years old!"

The West-Allen household was welcome. Iris and Barry were warm and open people by nature and the lived in quality of their home reflected that.

Objectively, of course, it was a rather nice place. Financed by the combined income of a forensic scientist and a rather popular T.V. reporter, supplemented by a fairly generous stipend that Barry received as compensation for his work with the Justice League. Composed of two floors, the upper level consisting of the master bedroom as well as a guest room (now designated for Wally's use) and an office that Iris used for her journalist pursuits. The basement below was where Barry kept the majority of his more esoteric equipment for cases that he couldn't rightly explain to his colleagues down at the police lab.

Despite all that Wally couldn't help but feel out of place in the suburban home. He'd spent the last three or four years living in places that were hardly five-star resorts, after all. Warehouse lairs, prison cells, a mountain base and even the great outdoors itself.

After all that an honest-to-God house in the middle of suburban Central seemed downright surreal. He couldn't stop himself from checking the walls for secret compartments and testing the windows for their escape potential.

He kept seeing wood paneling and drywall when he was used to metal, stone and concrete. Glass windows with not a single bar in place. No advanced alien tech lay about. And the whole place didn't have the overgrown touch he and Ivy had loved to put into their lairs.

So, much as he didn't want to, he felt out of place.

Except outside. In the back yard, small though it was, he felt at home, though that was no surprise. Wally always felt at home whenever he there was grass and dirt to feel between his toes. Even when the snow covered every square inch.

From the descriptions he'd been given, the back yard was small and well kept only in so much as to be made somewhat presentable for Barry's occasional barbecues. From what Wally gathered, Barry may have been fast enough to get all of his chores done in a few nanoseconds, but there was a world of difference between watering and cutting the grass and actually tending to the garden.

And so he checked it out as soon as Iris had given up on getting him to give anyone an interview. He hadn't even seen his bedroom yet.

Deep in the heart of winter and just days after the biggest snowstorm of the century (artificial or not), the place felt cold and dead. Covered by a thin blanket of snow, there was only a few brief glimpses of green to be seen.

Still, Wally could sense what lay beneath. The grass may have been suffocated by the snow and the bushes and flowers lining the fences may have given out in the cold, but he could feel the seeds dotting the soil below, just waiting.

Waiting for the sun to shine and melt the snow away, giving them their chance at new life.

Wally had the feeling that, come Spring, he could turn it into a hell of a garden. He could already see a bed for some rosebushes, some sunflowers, maybe even a large hedge he could fashion to look like whoever he wanted to annoy that week... and, of course, he'd put a few of his and Ivy's genetically designed giant man-eating Venusian flytraps in the corners to act as sentries. They'd keep any unwanted visitors from getting too close.

And Barry'd mentioned at some point how Iris has been talking for a while about putting in a small vegetable garden, but had never followed through. He'd have to be careful to keep everything else from spreading roots into the area and choking the soil, but he could see a section against the left side fence that should suffice.

Wally shivered as a stray breeze hit him, cutting right through his heavy layers and onto the vulnerable skin beneath, before he reluctantly turned back inside to check out his bedroom, smiling hesitantly at his far less restrained aunt.

It'd be a long Winter, maybe. But Spring would be there soon enough.

Author's Note: So, here's Chapter 14. Took a little longer than I expected it to, but we got there in the end. Though, I admit, I'm not too sure how I feel about this last scene.

Also, Shameless Self-Promoting, I've been having some trouble with getting traffic to a few of my other stories in the Crossover section, so I'm advertising here. Anyone who likes the 'Total Drama' series, go check out 'Total! Drama! Wally!', a fic that basically starts out replacing Harold with Wally on TDI and then goes from there. Also, if you enjoy stories where Wally is forced to crossdress against his will, 'Royalty is a Drag' is the fic for you. The links are up on my profile page.

I don't exactly promise literary perfection in either case, but I can promise at least a couple of laughs. Besides, I figure if you've come this far then you have to at least kind of like my writing style.

Anyway, 'Shameless Self-Promoting' portion out of the way (kind of). I want to thank everyone who's been reviewing and following the fic so far. I really appreciate the comments. Next chapter should be up in about two weeks, so let me know what you think before then.