Everything here belongs to everyone else, not me. Okay, here's an interesting chapter, one I especially enjoyed writing because of who I got to use. And believe me, this is going to be a dark few chapters, all the fluff is gone for a bit and now we have them paying for their crimes.

Break Me

I never thought I'd change my opinion again
But you moved me in a way that I've never known
But straight away you just moved into position again
You abused me in a way that I've never known

God, don't you know that I live with a ton of regret?
'Cause I used to move you in a way that you've never known
But then I accused you in a way that you've never known
But you've hurt me in a way that I've never known...

Break me shake me hate me, take me over
When the madness stops then you will be alone

--Savage Garden

Wally drifted in and out of sleep, dreaming of a girl with rose colored eyes and of running through fields faster than the speed of sound. It was horrible to be alone and laid out flat like a pancake. The restraints on his legs to keep him still made him feel like a prisoner of Arkham, but he had stopped cracking jokes around his uncle. The look of extreme pain on the Flash's face was too much for him. He had tried apologizing already, but his uncle had just brushed him off. "Concentrate on getting well. We can talk about it later."

So he had the life of a patient. He was bored, but he didn't have many options of activities that could be performed from a hospital bed. He wasn't allowed to have visitors, which was annoying. He could watch television, but how many hours could he watch that without losing his mind. He had read a stack of books but speed reading made that too quick of a high. He had his CD player with him, but all the music reminded him of Layla. All those maudlin love ballads reminded him of those times in Jump City when they had kissed under the moonlight and he had her slim, delightful body in his arms.

Where was she? Why hadn't she visited him? She was a fairly good spy, she should have been able to sneak in and see him without alerting Uncle Barry. Of course, as a criminal, he shouldn't want her around his uncle for obvious reasons of wanting her out of Gotham State Penitentiary but couldn't she have sent him a note?

Anyone who truly cared about him would have come to see him already. Even though the news had been kept as hushed as possible, his super family had been there for him. Uncle Clark, Aunt Diana, Aunt Dinah, Aunt Sheyera and Uncle Hal had already sent him nice little cards and Uncle Bruce had a box of Alfred's best cookies waiting for Wally to be able to eat solid foods again.

Uncle Ollie's gift of "Girls Gone Wild" had been censored by Uncle Barry, but the thought had counted. So where was his girl? Was she injured? Surely, someone would have mentioned her being hurt as well!

A clicking sound and the slightest whoosh disturbed Wally's painful musings as a pair of feet lightly landed from the window sill. Someone had just picked the lock on his bedroom window and was coming to visit. Could it be Jinx? Unfortunately, the slight smell of men's hair gel made him realize immediately who had come. Not the person he had hoped to see, but the next one on the list.

"Dick…is that you?" Wally whispered weakly, milking his injuries for all he was worth. Aunt Iris had held up a mirror reluctantly and Wally had seen the black eyes, the swollen nose, the scratches on the skin and the bandages hiding the burns. He looked like an invalid on his death bed. By the look on his friend's face, it was definitely shocking to see the former Kid Flash hooked up to machines that beeped disapprovingly when Wally breathed too hard.

"Yeah. Don't move, just rest," Dick whispered, sitting down in the chair Uncle Barry kept next to the bed. He looked pale and drawn, or more so than usual. "How are you feeling?" he asked, leaving out the words "besides for nearly dying of burns and smoke inhalation."

"Doing my best," Wally rasped, coughing a bit. "Some water, please." He held out his hand weakly, and watched the blood drain from his friend's face. This was actually fun, being a helpless patient made people much nicer to you.

Dick nodded quickly, and grabbed the cup, holding it to Wally's face. "Here, how is that?" he asked. This had possibilities.

Wally took a gulp. 'Thank you," he whispered. "And…could you fluff my pillow? My neck is killing me." He was going to milk this like a cow on Grandpa Allen's farm.

"Sure, no problem," Dick said, instantly flying to work. Dressed in that awful private school uniform disguise, he looked younger than fifteen. In fact, the frightened look on his friend's face reminded Wally of when they had first met, two frightened kids being trained to fight crime. "Anything else you need?" he asked, his knuckles white.

"Can you sing to me? It helps calm my nerves. I can't let my heart rate go up," Wally asked in a helpless tone. "Something nice and sweet? And you could give me a foot rub while you're at it." He wanted to savor the look of fury on his best friend's face. "And before you deck me, remember, in my condition, it might literally kill me."

Dick's junior version of the Bat Glare was moving along impressively. "You're an idiot," he snapped, but his heart wasn't in it. He flopped down on the chair, not breaking the disapproving glare for a moment.

"Got myself broken like a piñata, can't say I disagree," Wally said pleasantly in a clearer tone. "Seriously, could you help me sit up? Uncle Barry has me restrained…thinks I'm going to run off." Actually, it was because of the seizures but he had done enough to emotionally scar his friend. "Okay, crawl off. I'm a bad kid, you know." His jokes were falling flat lately.

Dick nodded, his blue eyes now red rimmed and gently helped him up so that Wally could actually see his friend properly. A dark feeling swept over Wally as he realized his friend had most likely not slept for days because of this. "You're an ass, you know that," Dick muttered, glaring at him. "You may not care if you live or die…"

Wally nodded. "I get it. I screwed up," he whispered. "And I'm sorry. As you can see, I'm paying for it with interest. I can't even walk right now."

Dick seemed satisfied with the answer. "I don't know who I should hate more, you for getting yourself into this mess or me for not having your back." He fell back down in his chair. "I spent the last few days blaming myself. Now, I fully blame you."

"Can't disagree with you," Wally said, trying to avoid moving too much. "But I'm going to be fine, so you can stop hovering. So…you told them?" he asked, knowing the jig was up. "I know you can't live with the guilt."

"Told Batman. He figured it out already," Dick said with a cold shrug. "But he just said I had to take it up with you."

"Sounds like him. So, I suppose you really want to strangle me," Wally said, trying to crack a joke. He knew he had hurt Dick and now he had to face the music.

"I thought a lot about what I want to say to you. There were a few days where you were coughing up so much blood that you almost died. Do you know what that is like, waiting to know if your friend is gone? I promise you, it sucks! So I wanted to tell you if you ever go out like this and don't call me for back-up, don't call me again. I can't deal with your suicidal tendencies. You think just because you're fast, you're immortal. You're not!" Dick snapped, looking quite peeved.

Wally nodded, knowing not to joke about this. Dick had seen his parents die. He had seen Batman wounded. He had even seen Babs Gordon nearly die when Harley Quinn had bashed her in the head with a mace. He didn't react well to seeing his loved ones hurt. "I know. Believe me, Uncle Barry has been chewing me out for this. I'll be lucky if he ever lets me out. I haven't seen him this angry in years."

"Very good. Then my work here is done. I hope he throws the book at you," Dick said, satisfied. "So, when does the big man say you'll be back on your feet?" he asked. "If he ever ungrounds you, Jump City could still use a guardian and you've been doing a pretty good job."

"Thanks. I think I should be all right in a month or so, I do heal fast. Meanwhile, you can catch me up on what the Titans are doing while you're away. You can't imagine how boring being ill is," Wally answered, glad to get into shop talk with his friends. It took his mind off life. "But first, I need you to do two things for me."

Dick's scowl darkened. "I'm not agreeing until I hear them," he muttered, stealing one of the cookies from the plate. Wally allowed the pastry thievery, in hopes it would keep Dick calm. "It's going to take a long time before I trust you again."

That hurt, but he refused to admit it. "I need you to tell me what happened to Jinx…and I need you to keep me updated," Wally said, vowing to resort to outright begging if he had to, to find out if his girl still loved him. "Please, I need you to do this one thing for me."

To his surprise, the scowl faded into a cunning smile. "She's not going to get far. I wanted to track the bitch down myself, but Bats wouldn't let me, said I was too hot-headed. But she's going to get her desserts for what she did to you," Dick hissed, looking a bit terrifying. "No one hurts my best friend and gets away with it. Don't worry, I'll tell you the moment she's behind bars."

Wally had remembered getting punched in the stomach once when sparring with Roy. This hurt just as much. "What are you talking about?" he demanded. How could she have been accused of that? She was supposed to have gone good!

"She's the one who set the fire. Police saw her running away from the scene. You must have been unconscious already," Dick explained patiently, leaning closer to him. "You were really injured. You have old lash marks, some latent poison in your body and then this. What have you been up to and who do I have to beat up?"

"No. It can't be true. She's…" Wally whispered, realizing how badly this had all turned out. He had walked into a trap and his girlfriend would pay the price.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked, looking pale. "Is your IV hurting you? Are you feeling sick?" A good friend who just completely misunderstood the situation, there was nothing worse than that.

"She didn't set the fire, I know it looks bad, but you have to believe me. You need to warn her that she's in danger, get the League to lay off her," Wally babbled, realizing how terrible it looked for his beloved girl. That is why she hadn't visited him, she was running for her life. That was a strangely relieving feeling.

"You're nuts. Seriously. The drugs they have you on are messing with your mind. Jinx is a criminal, she tried to kill me like four times, she tried to sell you for parts to Madam Rouge, she was running away from the fire. That adds up to bad news," Dick said succinctly. "It will make sense once you relax and just remember that drugs can make you thing weird things."

Wally bit his lip, sweating visibly. Jinx had been blamed for his condition. If someone had done this to Dick or Roy or any of the superheroes, Wally would have tracked them down and made sure they suffered. He knew how well liked he and Uncle Barry were, and he knew what would happen if he didn't clear Jinx's name. The problem was, no one would believe him. "Oh no," he whispered. If he came clean, it would be blamed on the medicine. And if he didn't, he would have failed his girlfriend in the worst way possible.

"You okay? Should I get Uncle Barry? Do you need more pain medication?" Dick asked, looking ashen. "Calm down, everything is okay." Why didn't he understand? This was a matter of life and death.

"Jinx, she didn't do it, please, you have to warn her, you have to save her," Wally whispered desperately, taking his friend's hand. "She's innocent, they'll kill her, please, don't let them do it."

Dick pulled his hands away. "It's the drugs, Wally. She put a spell on you, she drugged you. There were toxins in your blood, they are making you think things that aren't true. I'm not going to let her get away with this," he said angrily, closing his eyes. "You're going to get better and she's going to pay."

Wally tried to catch his breath and calm himself, to appear more rational. "Poison Ivy left the toxins in my body, not Jinx. I know what I'm saying, I'm not crazy. You need to believe me," he pleaded, knowing how crazy he sounded. "Please, find her and tell her that she needs to get away."

"Wally, get a grip. It's going to be okay," Dick said, doing something that proved someone had lost his mind. He sat down on the bed and hugged Wally, bringing tears of frustration to the invalid's eyes. Everyone did think he was mentally ill. He could do nothing for his girl and knowing that made the pain all worse.

"What is going on in here?" Uncle Barry demanded, looking worried. "Dick, I thought I mentioned no visitors. Wally is still sick and he needs his rest. I know you're worried but you shouldn't have sneaked in like that."

"I'm sorry," Dick said, his voice shaking. "I didn't realize…" he broke off, sounding miserable. Wally whimpered, realizing how helpless he truly was. He was surrounded by loved ones and yet, he felt suddenly alone. "I'm sorry, Uncle Barry."

"It's okay, I figured you would do it anyway, no matter what anyone told you. You are a loyal friend and I can't blame you for being that," Uncle Barry said, smiling sadly. "And he's going to be fine, the toxins will wear off very soon. And Wally, stop getting excited. You know it's bad for you. What happened wasn't your fault, you have to stop blaming yourself," Uncle Barry said, as he gently forced Wally to lay back down. "And you need to eat."

"Yeah," Wally whispered dejectedly. He realized that he would not be able to do anything now. Jinx was on her own. And anything he did to try and help her would only make him look insane. He had heard of Batman once being locked up in Arkham and nearly lobotomized. Things could be worse. He had to keep reminding himself of that.

"Dick, would you like to stay for dinner?" Uncle Barry asked, patting Wally's shoulder. "We're making lamb chops and mashed potatoes. I know Iris isn't as good as Alfred, but I'm sure you haven't been doing well with Starfire at the galley."

Dick shook his head. "Don't worry about me, pizzas freeze well," he said with a half hearted smile. "I'll be fine, as long as she doesn't find my stash of pound cakes and puts hot sauce on them."

Uncle Barry forced a chuckle. "Starfire's a sweet girl…alien," he said. "Thank her for that lovely phone conversation and tell Raven not to worry about her boyfriend. He will be fine," he continued, making Wally wonder if there was an eighth level of hell. Raven wasn't his girlfriend and Starfire hadn't spoken to him. His neat web of lies had turned into a noose.

"Will do," Dick said, trying to be brave. Wally could see how shaken his friend was, but considering the circumstances, there was nothing he can do. He hated hurting people, why did he have to be so lovable and have so many great people care about him. "Maybe when Wally gets better, he can join the Titans? I'll keep him out of trouble."

Uncle Barry laughed. "I'll consider it, Dick. I'm starting to think being part of a team would be a good thing." Okay, at least that was some good news. He would love to join the Titans, to be part of the team.

"Can I have two minutes to say goodbye to Dick?" Wally asked weakly, racking his brains on how to fix the situation. "Titans business."

"Sure. Just not too long. Dick can come back once the tubes are out," Uncle Barry decided, after checking Wally's pulse. "And Dick, you know you are always welcome here. We're quite happy to have you whenever you can spare the time. I'll be in the next room preparing some books on tape for Wally to listen to."

"Why does your family remind me of the Cleaver family on steroids?" Dick mumbled, as soon as the two friends were alone. 'It's too affectionate and touchy feely."

Wally forced a laugh. "Yeah, you get used to the mush after a while. Speaking of that, don't tell Uncle B about my hallucinations on Jinx. He hasn't been sleeping much and I think he'd go nuts if he knew what I was babbling," he lied, hating himself even more. He was lying to everyone around him, including his foster parents, best friend and girlfriend.

"Sure. Not a problem," Dick answered, wincing a bit at the mention of how bad the Flash looked. "Considering what you put him through, I think keeping this away from him might be your first sign of sanity."

"One more thing. Keep Jinx alive, she has information on the Brotherhood of Evil. That's what must have triggered it, I got confused between needing her alive for answers and the toxins confusing that in my brain," Wally said, plunging the dagger into the heart of truth.

He tried not to wince at Dick's savage smile. "My pleasure." He wished he could do more for her, but lying was the only way to keep her alive. "I'll text you the moment she's in the cells, waiting for justice. Batman won't tell me who it is, but someone very special is on the case. He says this person is the best. I wouldn't want to be Jinx when that person got done with her."

Wally closed his eyes and nodded, wondering if this was all a bad dream or the punishment God was giving him for failing everyone so much. "Thank you so much," he told his friend, knowing that this was done out of loyalty.

---

It had been nine days since the fire, since she had slept or eaten normally, since she hadn't lived entirely on the run. She had managed to find a lead lined factory building to hide in, but had been chased away by workers. She was ragged and starving, and she needed help.

The money had been running out fast and she knew she had to find a new place to hide or she would be found by the Justice League. The only magical spell she knew had hidden her, but she was too exhausted to continue it. She needed help now.

Jinx slipped her last two quarters into the pay phone. She was desperate now and she had nowhere else to go. "Pick up, pick up," she pleaded, as she prayed for some help. She had reached rock bottom and had to get some help.

"Who is this varmit?" a Southern twang demanded. "We shoot all telemarketers." This wasn't the person she wanted to speak to but he would have to do. Her stomach growled sadly as she pondered how she could possibly get some food.

"This is Jinx. I need your help," Jinx began, but she could already hear the sound of heavy breathing. "Please, don't hang up." All the other villains had distanced herself from her, but surely they would care about her.

There was a long pause while she waited to hear her fate. "This is the wrong number. Do not call back again," Billy Numerous began, but Jinx had come too far for this.

"Please, put See-More or Giz on the phone, they're my friends, you're my friends, you have to help me," Jinx pleaded, shivering as a cold wind blew through her thin clothing. "I need you guys to hide me. You're all I've got."

"Honey, you've got nothing. If you were friends with us, you'd stay away. I won't let you melt them with your sweet talk. Now be a good girl and go away," Billy said harshly, and Jinx blinked back tears. She had saved his bacon numerous times. What about loyalty? Wasn't there some honor about thieves? All she wanted was a hot shower and a lot of marijuana to dull her pain. Was that so much to ask for?

"Please, I just need one night," Jinx begged. "I can pay for it, I'll give you codes to money." She couldn't access them herself, but she could try to get their help.

"We're ain't messing with the Justice League. You were supposed to be smart, girl. You were our leader. But messing with those space monkeys? You're plumb loco and you ain't taking us down with you. Don't call back." There was a definite click.

"DAMN IT," Jinx shrieked, feeling the tears roll down her cheeks. She had completely lost everything and things were getting worse.

"Oh, things are about to get much worse," a voice said from behind her. "Found you."

AN-And who is that? Review and guess and get a prize if you get it right. Also, question. Would you be interested in a story before Wally met Jinx, when he first became Kid Flash?