Hey guys thanks for all of the reviews, favs and follows. I really appreciate it. It really does make my day when I read through all the comments. This is the chapter you've all been waiting for. So what is this secret Artemis is hiding from Wally? Read and find out.

Only the plot is mine.

The first thing Artemis saw as she entered the room was her daughter lying in a hospital bed. Irey was now in a hospital gown and there were so many machines hooked up to her pale frame. She was sprinkled with cuts and it wasn't hard to tell the whole front half of her body was suffering from varying degrees of friction burn. It brought a slight relief to the archer to hear the constant beep of the heart monitor; a constant assurance the Irey was alive.

After planting a soft kiss on her daughter's forehead, Artemis turned her attention to the red clad man slouched over in the corner. One of his elbows sat on his knees as he rested his head in his gloved hand in deep thought. His cowl pooled around his neck revealing his vibrant red hair and pale freckled cheeks.

Quietly, Artemis sat down in the chair next to him. Wally didn't seem to notice her. The archer was having trouble finding her voice. Thoughtlessly, she slipped her nimble fingers into his warm hand. The sensation was so natural, for seven years Artemis had longed for that feeling. As they sat there for that moment it was almost if Wally never left. For a second everything was ok, but soon they would have to face the reality of the situation.

"Wally." The archer cooed gently, he squeezed her hand softly.

"Seven years." He murmured. The speedster's voice held an edge of disbelief. "I was gone for seven years."

Wally was unable to look his wife in the eye, he felt as if he had let everyone, especially her, down. His green gaze remained on the floor as he tried to come to terms with it.

"Wally." She repeated.

"I missed seven whole years." He stammered. Even the thought was painful; he was unable to get over it.

"Wally!" Artemis said sharply gaining his attention. "Look at me. That doesn't matter right now. The only thing that matters is that you're here now. We're going to work this out. It's going to be ok." She assured him.

"No it's not. It matters. It matters that I missed seven years of everyone's lives." He disagreed. Wally missed seven whole years of spending time with his wife; he missed seven whole years of watching his children grow up. Now it's like the whole world has passed him by. The speedster sighed and glanced over at his unconscious daughter, Irey was a prime example of all that he had missed.

It was so hard to see Irey like this, covered in wounds and hooked up to too many machines to count. It was even harder to see her in the Flash uniform. To him yesterday she was a happy carefree teenager, but as he saw the look in her eyes he knew those days were a thing of the past.

Her green eyes showed the war that was going on inside her, slowly tearing her apart. They showed wisdom beyond their years as well as the heavy burden on her shoulders. Wally could see his baby girl had changed so much through her emerald irises he glimpsed in that single second.

Irey looked so old now that she was in her mid twenties, mature definitely. The speedster wondered what happened to his baby girl. Would he hear he laugh again? Would he see her smile? He didn't know, the questions just kept piling up.

Seeing her in the Flash costume made him proud, but afraid and concerned all at the same time. He knew taking up the mantle was a huge responsibility even though it didn't have a much baggage as other's like the Batman legacy, becoming the Flash was still a huge deal. The speedster had no idea how long Irey had donned the cowl. He was incredibly shocked that she was the one to fill his shoes out of all the others especially considering her age. Even he didn't become Flash until he was almost thirty and he still wasn't ready for it at the time.

Wally always expected Bart to take over for him if something ever happened to him, not Irey. Hell, she was the last he'd ever expect to take up the mantle. The father figured Jai would do it before his sister. But then again, he had been dead for seven years; he probably didn't even know his own family anymore.

The former Flash let out another heavy sigh and snapped out of deep thought.

"It's like I'm a complete stranger now." He admitted shaking his head sadly.

"Baywatch, we're going to figure this out." Artemis comforted. She was dreading the fact that she was going to have to tell him sooner or later.

"Where's Jai?" Wally finally inquired.

The archer's throat went dry and her steel eyes concentrated on the old Batman slippers adorning her feet so he wouldn't see her hidden tears. This was going to be hard for both of them.

Wally noted her reaction and momentarily changed subjects. "What about Bart?"

Artemis found a little of her voice, but her gaze never left the floor. "Bart-Bart's…" her voice waivered, but she had to tell him. "Bart's dead."

Wally's eyes glazed over as he gasped in grief. His heart ached for the loss of his cousin. Bart was so young, so full of life. Now he was gone also.

"…He died at the hands of the rouges almost six years ago. The twins never forgave themselves. None of us did…" She recalled distantly.

Artemis didn't have to see her husband to know his eyes were glossed over with despair as he tried to accept that Bart was gone.

While he wanted to sit there and grieve his cousin, Wally didn't have the time. He could do that later after he had his answers about everything else.

"Did the rouges do that to Irey?" he asked as he glanced over at his injured daughter.

"No." Artemis whispered shakily. She was battling the burning tears that flooded her eyes. The ache in her chest grew to the point it was almost unbearable. She had to tell him.

"No?"

"No." she shook her head sadly.

"Then who?" He questioned.

The archer felt a sob rise up in her chest, but she ignored it. "Jai did this." The mother whimpered softly. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she looked up at her husband. It was the first time in over three years she had said her son's name.

"Jai? Jai did this to her? Jai almost killed her?" Wally was absolutely shell shocked; he didn't want to believe it. He couldn't believe it, that his own son almost killed his daughter. It wasn't possible. The twins would never do this. He was deep in denial, but Wally knew it was the truth after seeing his wife's tearful eyes. It damn well broke his heart.

"Why?" was all he could mutter, his very world was falling apart. The horror of it all was tearing at his insides.

"It all started about four years ago…" the tearful mother began.

As Wally listened to Artemis's account the only thing he could think was 'How could this have all gone so wrong?'

000ooo000

Jai Bartholomew West stood in the middle of Central City in front of the Flash statue. The young man was wearing his civvies this time, he had no use for his alter ego, and right now he just wanted to be Jai. It was around three in the morning, he was the only soul in sight. The speedster sighed as he looked up at the bronze monument, shaking his head ever so slightly. No matter how far nor how fast he ran he would never escape the shadow of this statue. He would never escape the shadow of the Flash.

He wanted to smack the grin off of his great uncle Barry's bronze face. Oh how he loathed that statue. Even though the monument was of his great uncle it symbolized all four of the past Flashes and the current one also and so much more. The bronze monstrosity embodied the core of the Flash legacy, what each Flash stood for, fought for, their actions, their contributions and their sacrifices. It's shadow cast by either the afternoon sun or the rising moon was a legacy on it's on. The very same legacy that Jai could never live up to, he could never live down and he hated it.

There was not another person alive that despised the Flashes more than Jai. The speedster hated the fact he could never escape it either. No matter how far he ran or how fast he could go he would always be a flash. The young man detested every aspect that came with the family name. Jai didn't want the rules. He didn't want the baggage or the strings that came attached. He didn't want the moral code or responsibility. The speedster didn't want to have anything that would get in his way or hold him back.

Looking back Jai didn't see why he even bought into the hero thing. After all it was just a meaningless game. A never-ending struggle between good and evil. To him there was absolutely not point in saving the city if it was only to fall into peril once again afterward. Heroics was a waste of his time, it was a waste of everybody's time. These so-called heroes were just superior beings that didn't have the guts to take what was rightfully theirs. In Jai's eyes they're all cowards pretending to save the day. There was no fighting the good fight, or doing what was 'right'. All it ever was is a game full of lies between two different sides. Jai had come to realize this over the years. He was no longer a fool of his parent's lies. He had powers; he could use them for whatever he wanted. The world was his oyster; he could take whatever he wanted whenever he wanted with no restraints. But above all else he wanted revenge.

Jai craned his neck to look up at the statue again but this time he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness. The memory of losing his sister almost a day ago still lingered in his mind. The whole ordeal was traumatizing, the constant flashbacks didn't help either, he was trying to move on. After all this was what he wanted in the first place, Flash out of his way. From the day he had left there was nothing more that he desired than to rid the world of the Flash legacy and he never questioned himself. But today, he had done such that and now he just didn't know. Never before had he been so unsure. The speedster couldn't stop questioning himself. His thoughts were now clouded with doubt. His sister's face haunted his memory and tortured his very soul.

The speedster could already see the headlines on the news once the world learned that yet another Flash was dead. He could see the crying school children and the weeping fans standing where he stood now. There would be a funeral of some kind for Flash then there would be a quiet ceremony for Irey West. He imagined that there would be some kind of memorial created for his sister for her duty to the city. Then the citizens would expect another speedster pop out of the woodwork and take over like before, but this time there were no speedsters left. Keystone and Central would be left unprotected, not that he cared or anything though. The world didn't really need a Flash after all in his opinion.

For a final moment he stood there. The cool midnight summer breeze rustled his ebony hair and the moonlight bathed his olive skin with pale light. As he looked up at the monument his eyes were full of spite, his heart was gripped with malice, and his mind was full of doubt. With that he set off and melted into the wind.

Although he intended to make his way home his feet carried him elsewhere. The speedster saw the lights of Central fade away and the lights of Keystone reappear as he traversed the all to familiar route. Before he knew it Jai found himself standing in front of an apartment complex. His sister's apartment complex to be exact.

It had been more than three years since he had even laid his eyes on the building. For some reason it seemed to call out to him, to something inside of him. Without a thought he made his way through the front door up the flights of stairs to the third floor. Like an old habit he thoughtlessly stood in front of 32C and pulled the key ring out of his pocket. It didn't take long to find the key he was searching for. Jai didn't know why he still even had the thing or why he never got rid of it. The key easily slid into the lock and the door opened with a sharp click. The speedster was surprised his sister never changed the lock.

After he closed the door and flicked on the lights he found that he barely even recognized the place he once called home. The walls were painted a new color, the furniture was different and something seemed missing as he scanned the somewhat messy condo.

Jai noticed that any sign of him was gone, but that wasn't it. Something was missing from this apartment and it made the whole space feel cold and dank, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Jai soon found himself studying the pictures on the wall, many of them he was deliberately cut out or scribbled over. It was like Irey wanted to have a constant reminder he was no longer a part of her life. For some reason he could almost feel tears pricking in his stormy grey eyes.

The speedster remembered all the good times he spent with Irey in this apartment. Memories were all he had of his sister now. That and the small scarlet scrap from her costume. Jai pulled one of the picture frames off the wall to get a closer look. It was the last family portrait they took with their father. Unlike the other photos only the corner was folded over his face. He peeled back the bent corner to reveal his creased face and out slipped a stray shard of glass. He cursed softly to himself as he pulled the tiny fragment from his finger.

Suddenly a metal disk whirred past the speedster slicing his cheek before it planted into the wall shattering another photo. Jai's hand met his sliced face inspecting the blood before he turned to look over the figure in the shadows.

"Damian." He hissed, spitting his name out like acid. "What are you doing here?" Jai asked, regaining his cold and cruel demeanor, even though this time it was a mask.

"I was about to ask you the same question. Zoom."

Oooh another cliffy. What did you think? I was listening to the poem Lost Along the Way aka "Does This Darkness Have a Name?" (well it's more of a monologue look it up on youtube it kinda describes where I'm going right now with the story, it might give you some insight) Please take 15 seconds to tell me what you think of this story. I would greatly appreciate feedback. Also I'm going to also start posting this story on tumblr. I'm Hockeygirl2814. Check me out. Please review!