Sorry for the long delay, but I am have some big news for you in the endnotes. So I'll just thank the wonderful rbzodiac612 whose review truly made my day, thank you so much, it was wonderful to get a long and interesting review, and I will work on the issues you mentioned.

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

-The Fray

How to Save a Life

Wally's thoughts raced as he realized he would never see her again. He couldn't allow Jinx to rot in Arkham. He knew that something was terrible there. If she rotted in prison, his life would be bleak and horrible. Jinx was the person who had made his life so unique and special, without her, what would he do without her? He knew there would be other girls, he was popular and Argent was leaving him voice messages lately, but she wasn't Jinx. And he knew she hadn't burned down the lab, he had been with her the entire time.

If he broke her out, he would be a criminal. He would have betrayed everything he had ever believed, every oath he had ever sworn. He would become a fugitive, tracked down by the people he loved most and suffer the fate he had meted out to so many others. He would have to disappoint his aunt and uncle, break their hearts and for what? For a person he had known for three months. Maybe he wasn't in love with her. He was infatuated. Uncle Barry would say he had a crush on her, that he was letting hormones override his head.

But if he didn't, if he let her go, he would definitely not be a hero. He would have let an innocent person go to prison and suffer needlessly. And despite her criminal past, he knew in his heart that she was innocent. He just didn't have the proof for it, and proof was what he needed to convince his uncle and the rest of society of his suspicions.

To paraphrase Les Miserables, if he acted, he was condemned. If he stayed silent, he was damned. If he let an innocent go to prison, he was no longer a hero. And if he let her go, he was no longer a hero. It was tearing him in two. In times like this, he could always turn to his uncle or Robin for advice and guidance. He had always had the Justice League by his side, to help him. But now, he was alone, because no matter how much his word weighed, they'd say it was his heart talking and not his head. He knew that he would be crossing a line he could never erase either way he chose.

He opened up his now well worn copy of Les Miserables, remembering that Mayor Madeline, otherwise known as Jean Val Jean had faced the same choice. He had to choose between destroying everything his life had become, and letting an innocent go to prison. He remembered reading that and now he finally understood what it meant to have "A TEMPEST IN A SKULL"

When he opened up the pages, he came to a terribly familiar and telling passage.

"He was becoming a thief once more, and the most odious of thieves! He was robbing another of his existence, his life, his peace, his place in the sunshine. He was becoming an assassin."

"He's done it! He's finally done it! That boy is going to be the death of me!" Uncle Barry snapped through the grate, sounding completely infuriated. Wally pressed his ear to the wall, and listened for his verdict.

"You've been saying that for years. And will you please sit down before you give yourself a stroke?" Sometimes, Aunt Iris was the only thing standing between this family and complete Armageddon.

"Military school, that's where he's going! Strict discipline, cold showers, lots of structure, no girls, that will do him some good," Uncle Barry ranted, his footsteps pacing back and forth across the kitchen linoleum. Pacing was never a good sign, it meant that he was losing control of his forced-normal speed and wanted to run.

"And teaching him how to use a gun is better?" Aunt Iris said, wonderfully logical as always. "I fail to catch the logic."
"All right, Catholic school! The Jesuits can keep him in line," Uncle Barry muttered, as some pots jangled. "Somebody has to keep him safe. That little foolish heart of gold is going to get him killed. I hate fighting with him. I hate punishing him. I'm supposed to be his mentor, not his jailer! Yet, he won't stop lying to me!"

"Barry…first of all, we're not Catholic. Second, he's my nephew, I'm worried about him too," Aunt Iris said softly. "I don't know what has gotten into him either. It worries me too."

"He's my family," Uncle Barry said. "He's very precious to me. And I am not going to let some two penny bint destroy his life." This was starting to sound less warm and fuzzy. In fact, this was starting to sound horrible.

"You are destroying your relationship with him, you know. You can't keep him in a cage," Aunt Iris reminded him. "You're scaring him. You know how hurt he is when you yell at him. We're supposed to give him our support, and teach him to make good choices. If he fails, it's our fault."

"I want to back down, but Bruce said I can't. He told me if I back down now, I might lose him. Some parents worry about their sons coming home drunk. Lucky us, we get to worry about our boy getting killed because of the villains we let him chase. I've never had to worry about him before and now that I do, I don't know how to stop. I'm scared, Iris." And Wally was scared too. He just didn't want to burden them even more than he had to.

"You don't think I am scared, love?" Aunt Iris said softly. "I liked it better when he was small and manageable. But he's becoming a man, a man we can be proud of. I know he's been lying a lot, but teenagers do go through a rebellious phase. It will stop."

"But Wally doesn't have that luxury. He can't just make mistakes and apologize for him. He is a hero, he saves lives and he puts himself in danger. If that girl had told her friends his secret identity, they would have hunted him down and us too. Wally wouldn't last long under the tortures they have and one by one, all our secrets would come out. And that would mean our end. The thought of Wally being captured and dismembered is too much to bear. I can't let it happen to him. He's so precious to me," Uncle Barry whispered miserably.

"He is love-sick over her. He's young, he doesn't understand how easily he could die," Aunt Iris argued, her knowledge of apologetics superb. Yes, go Aunt Iris, show him who was boss! "He's still dumb enough to think he's immortal."

'Well, that doesn't diminish our responsibility to protect him," Uncle Barry said in a steely voiced that boded poorly for Wally and Jinx. "Bruce suggested I keep Wally locked up for as long as it takes till he finds something new to obsess over. So I was thinking of us heading to the Watchtower. There is no way he can get to that little Jezebel when he's thousands of miles deep in space." Okay, this was not only starting to sound horrible, it was! Wally knew that Uncle Barry meant every word he was saying. Locking up a high speed hero was like torture, only worse!

"You can't keep him imprisoned. His wounds are healing, Barry. He is going to recover very soon." Aunt Iris, the new voice of Amnesty International. Someone give her a Nobel Prize and soon, because the only thing that would keep the peace in this house was if she succeeded.

"I'm aware of that. But he will require months of training before he's ready for fieldwork. Besides, with the new baby, Wally will have to help out more around the house. And his grades are abysmal. We agreed that a B average is required for hero duty and his grades are not up to par. So frankly, our boy isn't going anywhere," Uncle Barry said, sounding unusually crafty. "I'll consider keeping him on Earth if you can talk some sense on him, but solo hero duty is off the table for six months. No discussion from him. I need to keep him safe. If I lose him, I will lose my mind. He's my son, and someday, he will understand."

"This is going to backfire and you know it. You're starting to act like Rudy, you know. Trying to control Wally into someone he isn't," Aunt Iris said, hitting a low blow. What would the Flash dynasty do without her? "This isn't like you at all. You've never been this way. What has gotten into you that's turned you so much into a general?"

"Because I'm failing and Rudy was a good man to whom I swore to protect his son. He had some issues with dealing with Wally's behavior issues but if he were here, his son wouldn't be in traction. That is my fault. I promised you I'd keep Wally safe. How can you even forgive me?" Uncle Barry said, completely devastated. Wally sighed, still angry but wishing he hadn't hurt his uncle so much. "I can't forgive myself. I'm convinced if I send him out; he isn't going to come back. How can you sleep at night knowing what's out there, waiting to kill him?"

"Because accidents happen. You think losing my mother when I was fifteen and losing my brother eight years ago has made life easy for me? It hasn't! But I will not dwell on the negatives. Wally is alive and recovering. That's all we can ask."

"I made sure of it. He's safe. They won't be able to find him." Wally inhaled, wondering exactly what that meant. "And …wait, did I just hear someone gasp?"Wally winced. They knew his little secret about the vent. "You mean…he's been listening in on us?" Uncle Barry demanded, obviously figuring out the ventilation system. "All these years?"

"Well, we can plug it up later. I suppose you should talk to him. He's heard you out quietly, maybe it's time you did the same," Aunt Iris said. "I'm going out for a walk. You all are giving me a headache."

Wally lay back in bed, furious. Now how would he listen in on his guardians and make sure they weren't plotting against him?

"Are you ready to talk now, my little snoop?" Uncle Traitor asked, coming to the door, as Wally pretended to read Les Miserables for class. Considering he was currently imagining Jinx as Jean Val Jean, this might have been a bad idea.
"No," Wally said, trying to hide how annoyed he was. "I'm reading," he continued primly. At this point, he was pretty much confined to his room till he was twenty one; did Uncle Barry have to rub that in?

"No, you were listening in on private conversations, but I suppose I expected that kind of lie," Uncle Barry said softly, trying to crack another joke. He sighed when Wally didn't look up from the book. "Wallace, sulking is really beneath you. I am sorry you are angry with me, but you need to understand that this is for your own good. When you are older, you'll understand why I made that choice." Even Wally could tell that it was a poor excuse for an apology. "Believe me, it hurts me a lot. I hope you get that. I want to be your friend, not your guard."

"And what if I don't?" Wally demanded, not looking up from his book. "What if all I realized was that you were afraid to let me make my own mistakes and you just wanted to control me." He snapped the book shut defiantly. "What if I just believe you think I'm a child who needs to be lead around by the nose?"

"Then you'll understand me completely. You mean too much to me to let you win this. I'd rather you be alive to hate me than dead with my blessing and approval. You are not going to change my opinion on this." Uncle Barry sighed and sat down. "Please, don't make this worse on yourself. Talk to me. Let me help you. I don't know what to do anymore to help you?"

"I have nothing more to say to you. Just leave me alone. I'm done taking orders. I'm a hero now and you won't cut the leash." Wally wanted to talk to him, he wanted to empty his heart and get guidance, but he was just brimming with anger and fury. He punched a pillow and hoped that would help.

"You aren't ready. You may be fast and well trained, but you are not ready to take this on. I want to help you and that means I have to keep you in check. You're too hot tempered right now to think clearly," Uncle Barry said softly, looking tired as he sat down in the chair by Wally's bed. "Just accept that you need me."

"You mean, accept that I have no freedom besides submitting entirely to your control and lose the girl I love? And for the record, I still love Jinx. As soon as I am out of this hospital bed, I am going back to help her," Wally challenged defiantly, turning away. "I'm a hero and that's what a hero does. He doesn't leave his loved ones to fend for themselves."

"Not anymore. You're off hero duty until further notice. I've spoken to the rest of the League and they all agree that you are not fit to continue service in your condition. When I feel you are ready to put on the mask, then you can go out and save the world. Right now, you can't even save yourself." Uncle Barry looked away. His hands were shaking, a very bad sign.

"You can't be serious," Wally whispered. He was Kid Flash, that was his joy in life. Stopping crime, being a hero, it was his reason for being. "I can't believe you would do this to me." It was just too cruel, how much was he expected to endure for Jinx?

Uncle Barry nodded, and took a slow deep breath. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. But you left me no other choice. Give me back your ring. Now." The command was clear, Wally would not win this.

Wally yanked his beloved ring off his finger and threw it as his uncle, who caught it deftly. "Happy now?" he demanded, wishing it would have hit him.

"Do you think this makes me happy?" Uncle Barry demanded harshly, pocketing the ring. "Do you think I like punishing you?"

"For someone who hates it so much, you sure do it a lot. Every time I try and make my own choices, you're there to keep me reigned in like a pet. Are you going to keep me chained to my bed too?" Wally demanded.

"If I have to. Wallace, I am not going to let you destroy yourself. I will do everything in my power to make sure you are safe, even if it costs me everything. That is what it means to care for someone. Someday, I hope you understand how much this hurts me." Uncle Barry paced for a moment sadly, waiting for Wally to rise to the guilt.

It didn't work. "I will never understand," Wally sniffled, throwing himself on the bed, to hide the fact that he was in tears. "I will never forgive you for this. You can't do this to me. I won't let you run my life anymore."

"I don't think you have much of a choice, my boy." His uncle sighed. "Next transport, I'm going to be taking you to the Watchtower for security reasons. You will train and study there, in safety. I'll leave you alone now, you can continue sulking. But you are under confinement. Leaving this house without permission would result in your immediate arrest and transfer to a secure holding facility. Please don't fight this. I will sacrifice anything for you, but I can't have you battling against me while I do it."

Wally suddenly realized something terrible. Uncle Barry had been hiding something and he still didn't know what it was. "Sacrifice anything? You have the power to do a lot of sacrificing, don't you?" he asked angrily. It was all starting to make sense.

Uncle Barry bit his lip. "What are you accusing me of?" he asked, but his eyes had narrowed worriedly. He was guilty of something.

"You're the Forensic Expert for the city, half the police force is on your Christmas list," Wally said. "I'm sure you made sure that she got treated real nice in custody. Have a few of your friends make sure she suffered for daring to be my girlfriend?"

"You're hysterical. Calm down, I won't have you getting excited," Uncle Barry said, trying to change the subject. It was an admission of guilt, as sure as any Wally had ever heard.

"I'm sure you made sure she got the maximum sentence, didn't you? If you couldn't stop me, you'd get rid of her. Anyone who hurts your precious little boy gets smacked around big time and she hurt me bad. So you hurt her worse," he accused, feeling himself become sick. "She's in Arkham because of you. You must have worked on her case personally, digging up lots of bad dirt on her, make sure she'd never see the light of day again. And I bet you pulled plenty of strings to make sure the judge didn't get a single point in her favor."

"She's in Arkham because of her crimes. I don't deny I assisted in the process, but I'm not ashamed of it. She deserves what is coming to her and if you had any sense, you would agree. She is a criminal. We hunt criminals," Uncle Barry said slowly.

"But this was personal. She made you afraid, afraid she'd tell my identity, when she didn't, afraid she'd make me choose my loyalties, which she didn't, and you just couldn't let her be. You had to make her pay for it. Because I'm yours and you have to make sure I stay that way, even if it means hurting innocent people. I thought you were a hero," Wally shouted, horrified.

"You're not making sense. Yes, this was personal. When I sat by your bedside night and day, it was very personal. And my personal vendetta has nothing to do with the fact that she got what she deserved," Uncle Barry said softly. "I did make sure she got a stiff sentence. I did not allow anyone to hurt her more than what was needed. And yes, you are mine. You are the son I wanted, the person I would give my life for. And I would do anything to protect you. When you're a parent, you might understand that, but right now, trust me. You've always trusted me and it's because of me that you are safe."

"What did you do?" Wally demanded, still appalled by the entire situation. "Tell me." He knew his uncle had a ruthless side, but he could not imagine that his gentle hero could truly go this far. Of course, to protect his uncle, Wally would do anything, legal or illegal. So he supposed it was a shared feeling.

"I won't lie to you, even though I imagine I will make you angry. I realized the danger you were in, so I went to Jason Blood for some help in creating a spell. I modified her speech abilities magically so she couldn't reveal your identity. She was willing to hurt you, to get out of Arkham. She kept claiming that the Scarecrow was going to get her. I have her letters, they're filled with lies. I had to protect you from her. She would have done anything to fool you and you were sick. So I protected you."

It was as if the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. "She wrote letters to me, and you kept them from me? You magicked her? What else did you plan to do to her to make sure she was out of my life?" Wally said, lowering his eyes to hide his tears. "I don't know who you are anymore."

"I think you do. I think you know I'm the person who is on your side. Maybe I was wrong, but someone has to pay for this. And it won't be you. If she has to pay the price, that's fine by me, she's more than earned it. But you, you're precious to me. And as long as you're confused, I'll keep you safe," Uncle Barry said.

"Get out of my room," Wally commanded softly. "I really don't want to speak to you right now." His hands had balled up into fists and it was only the assurance that it would be futile to try it. His uncle was faster than he would ever be and far better trained. "And I don't trust myself to stop what I'm about to say."

"I know you're mad, but you know I love you very much. So you can sulk, but understand that this is the way it's going to be. You've always trusted me, so trust me now. I know what's doing. And you are going to forget her. I know it's harsh, but she's out of your life...forever," Uncle Barry said, trying to take his hand.

"I said get out!" Wally shouted, pushing his uncle away as hard as he could. "Get away from me! I said it before, you aren't my father. You're just the man my aunt married. You're nothing else to me, but my warden!"

"Wally, you can't mean that," Uncle Barry said softly, looking as if Wally had punched him. It felt oddly satisfying to hear himself finally get some damage. "Please, I beg you, you can't mean this. You're my foster son. I did this to protect you."

"I do. I want you out of my life," Wally lied. He was too angry to do anything but take revenge. "You don't trust me, you just want to stuff me into a box and keep me your precious baby boy. I'm a person, I thought you understood that. I thought you respected me! I thought you understood me!"

"I do understand you. I just can't bear to lose you," Uncle Barry whispered, his hands shaking even worse. "Please, understand that much. If you died, I wouldn't ever recover. I know you think I'm an ogre, but someday when you have a child, you'll understand that terror of losing someone so precious to you."

"You can't bear to lose me and anyone who dares make me question you gets crushed," Wally retorted. "I said, get out. I'm not going to just get yelled at anymore. I'm turning sixteen soon and then I'm leaving and you will never find me. And the law will be on my side. Maybe that will get you to back down!"

Uncle Barry stood up. "I think you need to calm down. I will be happy to discuss this with you, when you are more rational. But leave this room and I pity you very much," he said, softly. He was so pale that Wally almost stopped him. But then the door slammed and Wally was again trapped, this time by the ones he loved most.

AN-Yes, I cried writing the fight. I think it was one of the most gut wrenching moments ever. I had a fight with a friend and it really highlighted my feelings on the subject. I know you all hate Barry, but give me a chance. I promise, this will all be fixed. And to the person who said its like Romeo and Juliet...it's Shakespeare, but I'd say it's based on another play in it.

Also I have some good news. I'm pretty sure I'm writing a sequel over the next year, to be tentatively titled "From the Depths: Titans Divided." I have some major plans for it, a lot of big villains, some major death and some good Jinx/Kid Flash. I need to plan it out, but you guys have a good chance of getting it if you can bear with me.