Okay- this chapter is where they reconcile, and you see Wally's father isn't a totally insane jerk, that he just made a pretty bad mistake. Also, Batman is a good person. Please review!

"Just what kind of a SICK person are you, Rudolph?" Barry asked, scowling. Rudolph had taken a seat across from him on an uncomfortable looking wooden chair.

"Barry- how's Wally?" Rudolph asked, sounding concerned. His face was completely genuine, due to his... hobbies... Barry had learned to tell whether or not someone was lying. This took him aback slightly, but he spoke more softly.

"Hurt. Did they show you the pictures?"

"No." Rudolph said. There was a table between them, and Barry maintained his hostile expression as he slid his phone across the table to him. Rudolph swiped his shaking finger across the screen, looking a the boy's bloody nose, the welts and bruises on his back...

He broke down sobbing, then.

"Rudolph- pull it together. I'm not here to watch you cry." Barry ordered. He was being cold, yes, but he felt it was justified, after what Wally had been through.

"Why'd you do it?" Barry asked, eyes still burning with anger.

Rudolph wiped his eyes and took a shaking breath. "I... I lost my job, Barry."

"And how does that excuse taking a belt to Wally while he sobbed and begged you to stop?" Barry asked, expression not softening a bit.

"I... things were getting tight. I... we had to make the rent payments. I couldn't buy my medication."

"What medication?" Barry asked, suddenly concerned. He knew Rudolph was on several medications, and suddenly things were making sense.

"Any if them. We didn't have the money, and health insurance from my job cut out when I lost it. You know I'm bipolar, Mary and I were trying to keep it from Wally. We don't want him to put labels on people... It was either pay the rent or buy the medications. I figured I could handle it. But the withdrawal from it,the mood swings came back, and the stress got to me. I started getting worse, the outbursts used to be just ranting, but I just lost it that day... I don't expect Wally to forgive me. But I need to talk to him, Barry, please..."

Barry stood. "I'll see what I can do." was all he said, before turning to go.

"They're coming..." Wally said, looking nervous. "Batman is going to KILL us..."

"Play at cool- like Neil Young." Dick said calmly. Roy who was standing beside them, rolled his eyes.

The leaguers all entered, heading towards the kids. Wally looked up at Batman, wide eyed, shaking. He noticed his uncle Barry wasn't with them, which worried him even more. Batman was SCARY, if he knew about what they'd done with the bubbles...

Batman noticed Wally looking like he was going to wet himself, but wrote it off to stress from the beating his father had given to him. "You can relax, Wally." he said. Wally nodded, though, still looking anxious.

"Why don't you all hurry down to the dining hall? We'll be there in a minute." Wonder Woman said, tone warm and motherly, as always.A moment later, all the leaguers got what they were waiting for as the zeta tubes turned on and Barry entered.

"What happened?" Black Canary asked, looking concerned.

Barry sighed. "It's complicated. I knew Rudolph was bipolar, but I didn't know once he lost his job he chose to play the rent instead of buy the meds. Mood swings and stress got to him, he just snapped."

Everyone realized how ironic and sad it was, then. A father who cared enough to give up his own medication to keep a roof over his families head ended up injuring those he'd meant to protect.

"He was crying. The first thing he asked about was Wally. He wants to talk to him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Martain Manhunter asked, concerned. "So soon after?"

Barry nodded. "Yeah. I think Wally needs to, actually. He's confused- his Dad used to spank him when he was younger, but he never hurt him like this. He needs t know what's going on."

"Do you really think this is an isolated incident? That he'll never do it again?" Batman asked calmly.

Barry nodded. "Yeah, I really do think so. What really hurts, though, is that he's probably going to get three months in prison for this. The withdrawal from the medication and mood swings just took over. I'm not saying what he did is okay, but, he prioritized his family over the rent. He really didn't mean to, this is a one time thing. And no one will hire him once he gets out- with a prison record and all. I mean, the whole family, including Wally and Mary, won't be able to afford rent without his job..."

The leaguers just stood in silence for a moment, hit hard by the news that one of their youngest members was abut to have life as he knew it totally broken and twisted away from him.

"Barry, you won the lottery." Batman said calmly.

"What?" Barry asked, shocked.

"That's what you tell Mary and Rudolph. Rudolph will be in jail for a month, tops, since this is he first incident and with the details on medication. You'll find a few thousand dollars transferred into your private account, tell them you won the lottery, and give it to them to tide them over until Rudolph gets out of jail. Rudolph- what's he do?" Batman asked.

Barry looked at him, shocked. "I... he's a software engineer, the company he used to work at downsized."

"Tell him they saw his qualifications, and a position waiting for him at the Wayne Tech branch in Star City if he's willing."

Barry gaped. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"Tell Wally everything's taken care of." Batman said simply.

Barry just stared, dumbfounded.

"Barry- go. That boy's been wondering about what'll happen for too long."

Barry took off running, and beneath the cowl, Batman smiled. Another problem was solved.

"West- you have a phone call." the guard said. There was a slight sound of scraping as the key fell into the lock, the clink of tumblers falling into place, and the creak as the door swung open. Rudolph allowed himself to be escorted to the office and pick up the small phone.

"Dad?" a small voice on the other end asked shakily, fearfully...

"Wally." Rudolph breathed, trying to get his emotions under control. "Are you alright, son? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Dad?" Wally asked, voice shaking. "A-are you mad?"

"Am I... no, son, no. I'm not. I should never have done that to you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never should've done that to you."

"T-then why did you do it?" Wally stuttered, still sounding scared.

"Wally- I... I made a mistake, Wally. I didn't have my medicine, it was making me feel lousy, and I just made a bad mistake. I am so, so sorry, son, I promise you never have ti see me again if you don't want to..."

"Dad?" Wally asked, voice still shaky.

"Yes, son?"

"Come home."

Rudolph broke down sobbing, then. "I might not be home for awhile, son..."

"Promise you'll come home as soon as you can? And we'll go fishing every Sunday, like you and grandpa used to do?"

Rudolph nodded. "I promise, son. I promise."

MAILBAG

darkxchocolate94

I'd like to see another chapter with Joker and Scarlet if that's alright. He seems like a nice person (like really deep down) when he gave Scarlet his coat. He's probably bipolar or something. This is a great fic!

Response; Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it. As for the Joker and his issues... i think it goes quite a bit farther than bipolar disorder. He's kind of... a highly manipulative, psychopathic serial killer. And he's... interested... in Scarlet for ulterior motives. He thinks it's all just one big game with Batman, and Scarlet- she's a new pawn, a new piece to play with, as she means something to Bruce. And while the Joker might not be doing anything presently in the story- trust me, there is a MAJOR arch involving him at the end of the story. Hope this helps! :)

SisistrousDelerious

It's all cute and stuff but will this fic cover actual Young Justice episodes? Like when they're older and stuff?
Also, we need Kaldur in this!

Response; This is a prequel to my other fic, The Second Bird. The team is definitely involved in that, though it's mainly Scarlet Centric, and while the team is involved, no- they don't actually go on the missions the episodes were based on. They're mostly sent on adventures of my own design. As for Kaldur- sorry, but I'm not a huge fan. And since I wrote this fic a few years ago and am editing/updating as I go, I don't think it's possible to work him into the plot line. Except maybe, I can pull a single cameo or so... Hey, you asked really nicely, alright? :)

BlackBat2001

Yay you updated and the kids did something stupid again yay!

Response; Thanks! Heh... yeah, most of my chapters involve some level of hilariousness/stupidity from the kids, but hey, kids do dumb stuff. Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!

And thanks for you all your support and reviews, guys. I'm so glad you've all come along for the ride! Welcome to my CRAZY TRAIN! lol :)