He was running, now, running as fast as he could. The marks on his back wouldn't heal very fast, not when he was upset like this. He finally made it to Star city, stepping into the zeta tubes. He was heading to the one place where he could get help.

"Uncle Barry!" Kid Flash's voice sounded outside the meeting room of the Watch Tower as he took shaky breaths, trying not to sob.

"Kid?" Flash asked, shocked. They'd been having an important meeting, but Wally's voice... his voice was shaking. Barry had never heard his nephew sound so desperate before, and he stared as the door slid open and Wally staggered into the room.

Black Canary gasped when she saw his bloody nose and lip.

"Wally!" Flash was instant on is feet, walking towards his nephew. He pulled him into a hug and was shocked when the boy let out a pained noise and pulled away.

"Wally?"

Wally had back into a corner and stood, lower lip trembling, trying hard not to cry.

"Wally- take off your shirt." Barry said, concerned.

Wally shook his head, embarrassed. He didn't want them to see...

"Wally, please?" Flash asked.

Wally obeyed quietly, running to his uncle and clinging to him them, breaking down sobbing. The marks on his back were still fresh, were turning purple, they'd be nasty bruises...

Everyone in the room gasped.

"Wally- Wally, who did this to you?" Wonder Woman asked, horrified.

"M-my Dad..." Wally got out, still sobbing.

No one noticed, but Batman had zoomed in on Wally's back and snapped a picture. He didn't want to. The last thing he wanted to do was this. But he'd seen child abuse before, the pictures of injuries would be useful in a court case...

"Rudolph." Barry's face turned into a scowl as he spat the name. "Wally- Wally, it's okay, buddy. I'm not gonna let him hurt you anymore."

Wally still clung to him, sobbing. "I don' wanna go home, Uncle Barry, don't make me go home..."

"I won't, Wally. I'll call Iris, you can stay with us as long as you want..."

The room settled into a shocked silence, and Superman spoke. "Wally- why did he do it?"

The man of steel had had a belt taken to him a few times as a child as well, but not like this. This... this was cruel. When he'd gotten the belt, it'd always been on his behind, and never left marks. And his father had always talked to him after, told him he still loved him...

"I... Mom asked me to take the dog out... And I forgot..." Wally sobbed, burying his face in Flash's shoulder.

"And he... he did THAT to you!?" Flash asked, shocked.

Wally said nothing, just continued to sob.

"That bastard!" Barry erupted. "He'll rot in jail for this..."

"No! Please, no! He's my DAD!" Wally said, looking up at him, green eyes desperate. "Just don't let him hit me again!"

Flash looked down at his nephew, both horrified and protective. In that one moment, this boy had become his SON, and there was no way he was going to let Wally's real father get away with this.

"We should get some ice on those bruises, Wally." Batman said, voice surprisingly warm. For once he wasn't the stone cold dark knight, and Flash nodded, taking his son to the med bay. A few minutes later Wally was lying on the couch on his stomach, calmed down, with ice packs easing his bruises.

"Barry- try and get pictures of the bruising. We'll need it for the court case." Batman said simply.

"Bats- I know what Rudolph did was wrong, but, jail... Rudolph's a good man. I don't know what happened to him, he just lost his job and I guess things went downhill for the past month or so..."

"I've seen this before, Barry. If you want to make sure this never happens again you have to jail him. Then he either straightens out or stays the way he is..."

Black Canary sat down beside Wally, letting the boy put his chin in her lap and stroking the ginger hair.

"Are you alright, Wally?"

Wally nodded. His eyes were red and puffy, but he'd stopped crying. "Yeah, I'll be okay, Auntie Dinah."

Wonder Woman walked in with a smile on her face. "Want a Popsicle, Wally?"

Wally scrambled so he was sitting up, and the ice packs fell off his back. "Yes please!" he said, and both women laughed.

"Uncle Barry?" Wally asked.

Flash strode over from where he'd been talking with Batman.

"You alright, Wally?" Flash asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah. But can Roy and Scarlet and Dick come... I'm kinda lonely." Wally said. Sure, he loved all his aunts and uncles, but they weren't good to have around like siblings...

Five minutes later, Roy, Scarlet and Dick were at the tower in their civvies, all eager to meet with their surrogate sibling.

"Wally!" Scarlet ran over to him, launching herself at him. Wally gave her a tired smile as he returned the hug. She hadn't noticed his back...

"Hi guys..."

Roy and Dick tried not to stare at the marks on Wally's back.

"Wally..." Dick said, looking uncomfortable.

Wally nodded, blinking hard. "Yeah. I know. It... my Dad got angry..." and Wally started to cry.

Scarlet looked up at him, shocked, before staring to cr as well, her seven-year-old mind still dictating actions by emotion, not thought.

Dick started to cry as well, then, and even Roy couldn't help but let the tears fall. Why Wally? Wally was the nicest kid out there, he was a hero, for crying out loud...

"I'm sorry I... I wasn't there..." Dick said, wrapping his arms around his brother.

"It's alright... T-there was nothing you could've d-done. Really, it's alr-r-ight..." but he continued to sob.

Roy wiped his eyes, sitting down beside his siblings. "Get over here. All of you." He ordered, opening his arms. They happily obliged, all crying but content to know they were safe in each other's arms...

Oliver looked on, slightly shocked, with some of the other heroes.

"What do we do?" Aquaman asked, looking disturbed, "How do you... how do you explain to children..."

"We don't." Batman said simply. "They're together. They can work things out. From here we make on making sure this NEVER happens again. Let them have some time together." And with that, Batman turned, walking out of the room.

The others hesitantly followed.

"Rudolph West, you are under arrest for suspected child abuse." there was the clicking sound as the cuffs were snapped on.

"You can't do this, YOU BASTARDS CAN'T DO THIS!" He yelled as he was escorted to the car. "Where's my son, that little bas-"

The cop simply slammed the car door on him so he couldn't finish the sentence while his partner continued to read him his rights.

Wally's mother simply stood on the porch, tears in her eyes, watching her husband, the one she'd loved without fail, being taken away. She'd never meant to marry a child abuser, and in truth, this was the first time he'd ever hit Wally that badly. He'd never left marks before...

She'd grown used to her husband going off into long, often cuss-laden rants, his frustrations and anger, but he'd never laid a finger of her before, and never hurt Wally that badly...

She ran inside and slammed he door as soon as they'd driven away, sobbing. How would her family ever be the same?