Author's Note: I actually have a number of excuses, but it all really boils down to one, I was really really lazy. This is something that is going to probably become very obvious as time progresses. And now it's time, for probably the most randomly flowing chapter there will be.

Summary: His father is back and everything around him seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Sequel to Things Fall Apart.

Disclaimer: I own Season One Volume One now, jealous?

The Center Cannot Hold

Part Two

Barry hesitated outside his nephew's bed room, he did not know why he didn't just go inside. Maybe it was because he wasn't sure how he was going to find Wally or maybe it was because his nerves were still tingling from his short conversation with Rudy. Barry knew he should have decked the man in the face the moment he saw Wally's father, hero be damned. Finally calming himself, Barry knocked on the door before turning the knob and letting himself in.

Wally was seated on his bed, an open book in his lap, but the boy wasn't reading instead, Wally was looking straight ahead at the opposite wall. Barry couldn't be sure if the kid even knew he was there, "Kid?"

Wally blinked, breaking out of his trance and looked at his Uncle. Wally attempted to smile but failed, "Hey, Uncle Barry." he greeted closing the book before placing it on his bedside table.

"You alright?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the teen's bed. Wally shifted so that he was sitting straighter, unwilling to look at his Uncle directly.

"I'll be okay."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" There were no physical signs that Rudy did anything to his son, but with speedsters you could never tell. Still, Wally shook his head.

"No, he said." Wally broke off, blinking hard. Barry recognized the action from when Wally was younger and he was desperately trying to not cry. "He told me that mom, that she was-." Wally closed his eyes. Barry didn't want to push and he dreaded that he already knew what Wally was about to say. "He said that she died." Wally finally choked out "I'm being stupid." He ground out scrubbing furiously at his eyes.

"No." Barry said pulling his nephew closer, "You're not."

Wally allowed himself to be pulled in, "Yes I am. I haven't seen her in years and I'm crying like an idiot."

"Wally." Barry said trying to calm the boy by carding his fingers through the ginger hair, "She's your mother, you have every right to be upset."

Wally pushed himself away and sat beside his Uncle, his hands still rubbing at his eyes, "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Of course you don't." Barry said softly. Due to the state his nephew was in, Barry did not want to press the boy to an even more fragile point. "Wally, did he say anything to you?"

Giving his nose a final wipe with his sleeve, "No." he stopped for a brief pause, "He said that he wanted to see me before, but you wouldn't let him."

Rudy. He hadn't changed at all, already the man was trying to manipulate the boy's thoughts. That wasn't much of a surprise, what else could he expect from someone like Rudolf? "Kid, that isn't true, at least not completely."

Wally tilted his head a bit, "What?"

Barry sat back, "Your father never came to me or your Aunt saying that he wanted to see you, but even if he did I can't honestly say that I would let him." At Wally's perplexed look, Barry continued, "When I first met you Kid, you had to be the most fearful kid I had ever met, but you trusted me to keep you safe and I'm not going to betray that trust anytime soon kiddo."

Wally averted his eyes, the tips of his ears burned bright red, "Uncle B."

"But, I know it's your life and I can't always stop you from doing certain things, just know that your Aunt and I are here for you, alright?"

"I know Uncle Barry and thanks."

"No problem Kid, it's what families do."

.:...:.

Wally missed homeschooling, after the incident that gave him his powers, he was forced to stay home for a few months until he was used to the sudden "changes" in his life. Public school wasn't bad per-say, Wally just wasn't its biggest fan. There were friends but, it felt like there were just as many people who weren't very fond of him. Wally was just going to go with that they were threatened by his intelligence and were too dumb to know that's what their problem was. By the time the clock hit two-thirty, Wally was ready to leave and once he was in the clear, he could hightail it out of there and head out. He just had to get past all the other students that were leaving.

As he stumbled to the side when a faceless student shouldered past him, Wally really wanted to push back, good thing he had self control yeah? His Uncle said that he would meet up with Wally a block away from the school, which wasn't anything new except, ever since his father "dropped in", Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris were keeping close to Wally. At first he thought it was unnecessary because once the initial shock wore off, Wally found that he had no plausible reason to believe what Rudy had told him. A few days and an article later, Wally knew he had no cause to doubt it anymore and this didn't sit well with him. Wally would love any reason to not believe what his father told him, he welcomed it. Though, for the time being, the speedster was going to stand by that just because Rudy told the truth once didn't mean that he was going to continue doing so.

Weaving his way through the group of milling students, Wally saw the canary yellow of the school buses lined up in front, he just had to make it past those and he was in the clear.

"Wallace!"

Then again, maybe he wasn't. Wally could just push on and pretend that he didn't hear his name being called. Problem was, that would probably qualify as common sense and that was just something he lacked. Rather than going to meet up with his Uncle, Wally sought out the one who called his name.

Rudy stood beside what Wally could only guess was his father's car, the older man checked the surrounding people, Wally couldn't exactly blame him. "What?"

His father stood a little straighter, "I wasn't happy about how we ended things the other day."

"Really? Because I'm just fine with it." Wally said shrugging, "I have to go."

Just as he turned to walk away, a hand grabbed his upper arm, "I want to talk to you Wallace."

Wally stood still as the words were nearly growled at him, the hand closed around his arm was almost painful. Before he could even blink, the hand was gone.

"I'm sorry." It sounded sincere, "Please, just hear me out son."

Wally's back faced the man, his hands shaking and yet, he turned around. "What do you want?"

Rudy sighed, maybe in relief, "I know you have every right not to trust me-"

"Thanks for the heads up."

"-but I want a second chance. I want us to be a family again."

As nice as that sounded, coming from this man, there was not as much backing to it, more fantasy than reality.

"All I'm asking for is one more chance, Wallace." At Wally's silence, Rudolf pressed, "Think about it and this Saturday meet me in the park just up the road."

Saturday was four days away, definitely not enough time for him. Then again it was, Wally wasn't going back to Rudy. Nothing could possibly happen in that span of time to change his mind. Perhaps sensing Wally''s stand firm position, Rudy implored him. "Just think about it." and he left Wally without another word, just got into his car and started the engine.

A few minutes later, when Wally met up with his Uncle, Barry asked why his nephew was so late. Wally just shrugged, "I was talking to someone."

Not like he was lying.

.:...:.

"Okay, that hurt." Kid Flash groaned after spitting out a mouthful of dirt and grass. At least he knew that he could relate to Supey in one area; he was really starting to hate monkeys. Even though, Grodd was sure to remind him that he was in fact an ape and not a money. Hey, Kong Junior ate bananas, was hairy, and looked like a monkey, so to KF, he was a monkey.

Half an hour into their patrol, an alert went out about a break out near Union Square. Not a jail break either, a Zoo break, something about starting an ape army, blablah, Kid Flash quit paying attention a sentence in, it was the same old thing every time. Grodd wanted to start his own version of Planet of the Apes. The young speedster only really started to pay attention when a ham sized fist came at him. He managed to avoid the normal monkeys (apes, whatever) but, Grodd and that helmet of his sent KF flying and he learned what dirt tasted like all over again.

"You okay, Kid?" Flash called out, when the redhead turned his head to reply, he saw the Scarlet Speedster thrown into a brick wall.

"Flash!" Kid shouted, pushing himself up before ramming into both his and Flash's attacker, Grodd.

At that moment KF learned another thing, hitting an over sized ape was similar to hitting a concrete wall, except the concrete wall didn't smell this bad. Grodd gave a throaty chuckle as he wrapped his large hand around Kid Flash's throat and lifted the teen up. "Foolish move, Flash Boy." Grodd sneered, at least Kid Flash was assuming it was a sneer, his face always looked like that to him.

The ginger speedster kicked his legs at the ape hoping that he could deal some damage that way. However, the attempt only caused Grodd to increase the pressure he was apply to the speedster's neck. Kid Flash coughed, pushing at the hand holding him with his own.

"I can see your thoughts, Flash Boy." Grodd growled.

Kid Flash gagged, "Haven't you ever heard of breath mints? Did something die in there?"

Grodd glared, his hold tightened, "Poor human child, a mother and father who do not love you."

He began to squirm, if ever there was a time he wished he could vibrate his molecules, it was now. "Shut up, Cloverfield reject." he rasped.

"So confused and lost." Grodd laughed. "Everything crumbling around him."

Kid's vision was blackening around the edges. His attempts to free himself were weakening,

"No real friends, the ones you call friends do not care for Flash Boy. They only lie to you, pretend to like poor Flash Boy."

He tried to say something, but only a pathetic wheeze came out.

"He does not want you either, never has, you are a burden." Kid Flash stilled, "Never his son, only a boy he took pity on."

"Shut-up!"

"Flash Boy, always destined to never be loved or wanted. Grodd will end your suffering."

Kid Flash gasped as the little oxygen that he had in him was literally squeezed out of him, black dots danced before his eyes. The young speedster went limp in Grodd's hand, vision dark. He didn't hear Flash cry out his name or felt himself fall to the ground.

Grodd's words continued to repeat over and over in his head as the darkness took him.

Final Thoughts Sooo, want some good news? PART THREE IS ALREADY DONE. And by done, I mean it's written and I still have to type it. Which I will...like tomorrow...okay maybe not. But it'll be up sooner than a month. I hope my Grodd wasn't bad, I've never read any comics with him in it, I was basically using this one person's Grodd persona from this YJ rpg site I'm apart of. Commas and spelling errors I know, I know. I'm getting a beta, but she keeps passing out on me. Until the next part this is Fallen signing out saying, stay classy readers.