Wally had been living with his aunt and uncle for a week. He wasn't allowed to go to the jail to see his dad, which he blamed Iris and Barry for. He tried not to let them see it, but every once in a while something would slip, and they would know.
Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry redecorated the workout room for him. It was much nicer than his old bedroom. He had gotten to pick the color of the walls and everything else about the room. He knew his aunt and uncle were trying to make him feel at home, but it wasn't like he was just going to forget his parents and be happy all the time. He was trying not to be angry with everyone. Sometimes Wally didn't even know what he was upset about, but it was getting easier to get through a day without any problems.
He loved them, but everything was so different that adjusting was hard. He would become panicked if he couldn't find them or if one of them didn't get home from work on time. On the days when both of them had to go to work they would either take him to work at the crime lab or the news station, or they would call a babysitter.
"I've stayed home by myself before," Wally said as Aunt Iris got ready for work. He was going with her. He liked going to news stories with her and sitting in the back of the of the Central City Channel 7 van was fun. But he wanted to stay home that day. His uncle's lab at the precinct was really cool. He like to hang out there, but sometimes he wasn't allowed to be there, and this was one of those times. "Dad left me at home all the time." Wally saw his aunt flinch. He didn't know if it was because he mentioned his dad or because he had said something about how he had lived. It bothered both of them that he had been surrounded by thieves and killers.
"I know, Wally, but I don't like you to be here all by yourself," Iris answered. She didn't want anything about how she and Barry raised Wally to even be similar to Rudolph's parenting. Ten year olds shouldn't be left at home alone for hours at a time in her opinion. Fifteen to twenty minutes was the longest she and Barry had decided was okay.
Part of Wally enjoyed constantly being around someone. He was almost never alone. He had someone to talk to and he found himself talking to his aunt and uncle more than he had to his mom or dad. There was something about them that make him want to open up to them.
"Aunt Iris?" Wally asked suddenly.
"Yes," Iris answered. She was putting on a necklace and checking her hair one more time before they left the house.
"Are you mad at my dad?" Wally asked. He was angrier with his father more than anyone else, and yet he was the only person Wally wanted to see. His dad had broken, not only his family, but the family of the man who had been killed.
Iris paused. She tried not to think about her brother, and she never let herself think about what he had done. It was too horrible. "Sometimes. Are you mad at him?"
Wally nodded. "I love him, and I want to see him, but I keep thinking it can be how it used to before Mom left. I don't know why I would want that. Mom and Dad always fought, and they didn't like to be around each other." They were in the car by then and pulling out of the driveway.
"I can't say that I understand how you feel, Wally, but that's normal to not like change," Iris said. She really wished she knew if she was saying the right thing. It was a little scary sometimes how Wally talked. He sounded like an adult which wasn't fair to him. He didn't deserve to have that kind of childhood. Hopefully she and Barry could get him to see that he didn't have to grow up yet. Rudolph may not have seen it, but his actions were hurting his son badly.
The day passed slowly for Wally. He spent most of his time in the studio with Jim and Cassie. They worked the cameras and the other equipment. He was out of the way, and Jim and Cassie didn't mind having him around. They showed how the cameras and lighting worked.
That evening when Iris and Wally got home they found Barry there. He normally got home a little after Iris did. He had supper started and awhile later the three of them sat down to eat.
"How was work?" Iris asked.
"Open case. Can't talk about it," Barry said shortly. "You?"
Iris knew when Barry said open case it either meant he couldn't talk about it or wouldn't talk about it. She wished he didn't work in law enforcement, but he was doing what he was good at and, he was helping people.
"It was good, but Judy is trying to steal my segment on Monday. I'm covering Owen Mercer's trial," Iris said. Mercer aka Captain Boomerang was on trial for robbing a few banks before Flash took him down. Captain Boomerang was the least creative supervillain name Iris had ever heard of. How did Mercer come up with that anyway? Sure he threw a boomerang around, but she was sure he could come up with something better than 'Captain Boomerang.'
"Why does she want your segment?" Barry asked. Judy was Iris's rival at the studio. She was always trying to cause problems.
"Because my story is longer and will be getting more attention than hers," Iris said shortly.
"And how was your day?" Barry asked Wally. He knew his nephew was having trouble getting settled. Things were so different from how they used to be.
"Okay. I hung out with Jim and Cassie most of the time," Wally said. This was one of his favorite things about living with his aunt and uncle. They would sit and talk at supper. It wasn't so much as them talking as it was just that the three of them were all together like a family. Everything was calm and normal. There was nothing to be scared of and Wally felt safe and loved.
"Have you ever seen Flash, Uncle Barry?" Wally asked. He wanted to know everything about the hero, ever since that night the scarlet speedster had saved him.
"I think just about everyone in Central has seen him at some point," Barry answered. He didn't like the idea of lying to Wally. The kid had had enough of people not thinking about how things affected him, and Barry wasn't going to continue that cycle.
Wally wanted this to be how his parents were, loving and kind, not just to him, but to each other. But that couldn't happen now. Besides his aunt and uncle wouldn't leave like his mom had, and there was no way either of them were in trouble like his dad had been. He told himself to stop thinking about his parents. It was too painful sometimes. Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were his family and the only family he needed.
That night Wally woke up suddenly. He could hear the sound of the front door being opened and closed again. He got up and silently crept through the house, looking for anything that was amiss. The only thing he found wrong was his uncle wasn't anywhere to be found. Aunt Iris was asleep in the master bedroom, but Uncle Barry was was so important that Uncle Barry had to go out in the middle of the night?
Wally went back to bed, but stayed awake listening. His mind was flooded with questions, but he didn't have answers to any of them. Hours later he heard the door being opened again. He recognized his uncle's step on the stairs. He quickly rolled over and pretended to be asleep.
Barry walked up the stairs. It had been a long night. Four robberies, one home break in, five car jackings and no end to cats in trees. Why were superheroes expected to save cats stuck in trees anyway? They got themselves up there, and if they were just left alone for a little while they would come down on their own.
He opened Wally's bedroom to check on his nephew before going to bed. He was worried about Wally. Sometimes things were fine, and he acted like a normal ten year old. Everything would be great, and they were just like a happy, normal family. Then something would happen to start things all over again. It was a movie that dealt with the kind of thing Wally had lived. There were a lot of things that he and Iris wouldn't let him watch that most kids could, and there was no way they let him watch the news. Some report about his father's upcoming murder trial was bound to be on the moment he walked into the room.
What was really bad was when someone recognized Wally from the news, but that didn't happen very often, just often enough for Wally to tell Barry that he wanted to wear a mask so no one would know that he was Rudolph West's son. It hurt to see Wally trying to be okay when he was clearly struggling with what his father had done. Who wouldn't have a hard time dealing with that kind of situation? It was something no one should have to figure out how to handle, especially not a child.
Whenever they went somewhere together people thought Wally was his and Iris's son. At first Barry had felt too young to be a father, but he didn't feel that way anymore. He kind of liked people thinking Wally was their son. He and Iris had been a little worried that it would upset Wally, but Barry had talked with him about it and it turned out that Wally was proud to be thought of as their kid.
Wally looked peaceful, so Barry started to close the door, but stopped when he heard Iris's step.
"Are you okay?" Iris asked softly. She came and stood by her husband. She worried every time he put on a mask. Having super speed didn't make him invincible.
"A few bumps and bruises," Barry whispered. He put an arm around Iris's shoulder. How many women would put up with this kind of life? Very few and none of them could be as pretty or as sweet as Iris in Barry's opinion. "How do you think Wally's doing?"
"I think he's starting to settle in, but he won't hardly ever ask for anything," Iris answered. When she was that age every time her mom or dad took her to the store it was: 'I want that' or 'Can I have that?' Not Wally, he only asked for something if she suggested it first. "I wonder if he likes living with us. What do you think?"
"I think he does," Barry answered. The two of them went back to bed.
Wally didn't sleep the rest of the night. What had caused his uncle's 'few bumps and bruises' as he had put it? Was Uncle Barry doing something like what his dad had done? Wally could think of no reason for Uncle Barry to go out in the middle of the night that didn't involve criminal activity. He couldn't stand the idea of losing his new family, just when everything was starting to be okay. This left him with the question of what should he do? Go to the police before his uncle was responsible for getting someone killed? Or keep his mouth shut? He would watch and see what was going on before he made a decision.
runninghome
A few days later Barry opened the front door and silently shut it. The meeting with the Justice League had gone well. Oliver wanted to bring Roy over to meet Wally. They were only a few years apart in age. Wally was still trying to make friends in their neighborhood.
"Hi, Uncle Barry," a sleepy voice said from the couch.
Barry jumped. He hadn't noticed Wally sitting on the couch, looking at him with half closed eyes. What was he doing up at three in the morning?
"What are you doing up?" Barry asked sitting down next to his nephew.
"Waiting for you to come home. I used to wait up for Dad, too," Wally said and yawned.
Barry picked Wally up and started up the stairs. He should have been more careful. The correlation between his and Rudolph's sneaking around wouldn't be lost on Wally.
"Did you hurt anyone?" Wally asked as Barry gently put his nephew to bed. He was almost asleep.
"No. I would never hurt anyone," Barry answered. He couldn't believe he was having a conversation like this with Wally.
"Kay," was all Wally said as he drifted off to sleep.
"Good night, Wally," Barry said and went to his room. The next morning he told Iris about the late night watches Wally had been holding. They were in the kitchen getting breakfast and Wally wasn't up yet. It was Saturday, so they were all going to the Central City Zoo. They didn't have a bunch of time in the week to do fun things like that with Wally so Iris and Barry wanted to make up for it on the weekends.
"You should tell him," Iris said shortly.
"You don't think he would tell anyone do you?" Barry asked. He trusted the League, Iris, his parents, Jay Garrick, the first Flash and Jay's wife, Joan, with his secret, but it was a bad idea for his identity to get out for obvious reasons.
"His father was committing crimes on a nightly basis, and he never even hinted at it to anyone. How much more do you think he'd protect you, the person who saved him? He looks up to you, Barry, I don't want him to lose that respect because he thinks you're doing what Rudolph did," Iris said. She wasn't going to have anything about Barry reminding Wally of his father.
She had been tempted to take down all the pictures she had of her brother, but she had left a few of them up. That was before he had become what he was. She wasn't going to forget the good times they had had, even if that young man, who wouldn't hurt anyone and who would never dreamed of taking a thing that didn't belong to him, was a distant memory.
"Wally knows how to keep people from seeing what he doesn't what them to see. I doubt he'd want people to see that you're Flash," Iris said gently.
"Alright," Barry said. "I'll tell him sometime this week." He didn't want to go into all that today. This was their family day, and he didn't want anything to interrupt that.
Barry didn't get a chance to tell Wally that week. There was a double homicide, and he got home late every night. It turned out that he didn't have to tell Wally who the Flash was. He found out for himself.
Barry had left for work that morning. Iris only had to go in for a little while and Wally had talked her into letting his stay at home. She didn't much like it, but Wally had said he'd be fine and if he needed her, he would call.
"I'll be back soon. Keep the doors locked and don't eat anything while I'm gone. I don't want you to choke," Iris said before kissing Wally on the forehead and walking out the door.
After his aunt left, Wally went around the house, looking for something to do. He looked into his uncle's office. He wasn't supposed to be in there unless Uncle Barry was there, but his curiosity got the better of him.
Wally went in and sat down at his uncle's desk. He opened a few of the drawers but only found old case files. He opened the bottom drawer and saw a small safe in it. It had a number pad on the top. Wally sat for a moment thinking, he then put in his aunt's and uncle's wedding date. The safe opened. Inside was a small leather bound notebook. Wally took it out and looked through the odd looking book. It didn't take long for him to see that his uncle was the Flash.
That's why Uncle Barry had been going out. He was saving people and stopping criminals. Wally felt momentary relief before a cloud settled over his thoughts. Why hadn't his uncle told him? Probably because his dad was a killer and that made him untrustworthy. He brightened at the memory of Flash saving him. That was his uncle. Wally had always thought Uncle Barry was cool, but really he was awesome. The two people Wally looked up to were one and the same.
He turned to the last page in the book and found a list of chemicals that his uncle had written down. With these chemicals and the proper amount of electricity one could gain super speed. He got a piece of paper and a pencil and quickly wrote each one down carefully. Wally put the notebook away and left the room.
This had made his uncle the Flash, so it could do the same for him. If someone had been there to stop his father that night, no one would have been killed. He would have gone to jail, of course, but he wouldn't have destroyed more lives along the way. Wally knew that his uncle couldn't be everywhere at once even if he was Flash. The fastest man alive needed back up, and Wally was going to be that back up.
He was going to have to figure out how to get his hands on all those chemicals and then there was the little problem of him having to get shocked with approximately five billion joules of electricity. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but if Uncle Barry had survived it then so could he.