Temporal Paradox
By,
Aestivate
Rating: T
Characters: Bart Allen/Impulse, Jaime Reyes/Blue Beetle
Summary: The horrifying realization comes to him moments before he dies: The very thing that he came back to the past to prevent is actually triggered by his mere presence and subsequent non-presence. Char death. Bluepulse.
Word Count: 613
As fast as Bart is, the Reach is faster: Despite his best efforts, he is on the receiving end of a plasma cannon blast and he is thrown 200 feet at near-light speed.
He doesn't remember landing, and now he's just bleeding. There is a gigantic hole in his abdomen that wasn't there moments before. The smell of singed flesh perfumes the air. His own flesh, he realizes with a sort of primordial horror.
Bart knows from spending most of his young life on the front lines that there is only so much blood you can lose before there's no going back. Strangely the act of dying isn't as excruciating as it's cracked out to be; on the contrary, he feels himself rapidly disengaging from his wasted body. Vaguely, he's aware of being cradled, of strong arms steadying him to help him face the receding tide. Bart knows these arms, knows them like his own name. They're Jaime's arms.
"Impulse, stay with me, Bart, please! Santa maria, madre de dios, mi amor! Don't die, please don't die!" Jaime is crying openly, his tears catching on Bart's face.
Bart wants to reach up and touch the face of the one he loves, tell him it's alright, it'll be fine. That he's sorry. But he no longer has feeling in any of his limbs nor does he have any control of his voice. He just hopes that Jaime will search his face before the light leaves it and find refuge, because really, Bart is resigned to death. He will greet death like an old friend, and for that Jaime need not mourn. Bart hopes he can properly convey the emotion that will soon cease from coursing through these veins; that he loves him, he loves him so much, and he's so happy that he was able to come back to the past, to meet him, to fall in love with him, to be with him, to save him. Death was not too high a price to pay for his sake.
If Bart has any regrets, it's that he can't summon enough strength to even say goodbye, let alone to give Jaime one last kiss.
There is not enough air in the world. His breaths are getting shallower and shallower with each agonizing gasp. Bart's vision is starting to blacken around the edges, no, not yet, he hasn't nearly gotten enough of Jaime's face...
"You!" cries Jaime with a savage roar, instantly armoring up to face down the Ultimate Enemy. He looks positively feral, shaking uncontrollably, cannons raised. This is the expression adopted by a man who will stop at nothing for vengeance. "You killed Bart... And I'll kill you!"
No, that's not right, Bart thinks hazily. Don't you get it? This is good, I saved you from the mode, it was worth it, no, Blue, stop, please don't do it, please, no –
Blackness has encroached upon the last of his vision, and he just wants to give into the darkness. It's about time, anyway. But the last of his senses that he still retains is his hearing and in his final moments he hears the world shatter; the anguished, merciless yell gives rise to bloodcurdling screams. Then: nothing.
"How could you let Bart die?!"
Blue, stop, please, I'm begging you; it's not worth it to turn into Them for Me...
The horrifying realization comes to him moments before he dies: The very thing that he came back to the past to prevent is actually triggered by his mere presence and subsequent non-presence.
"I'll make you see hell, you little fucks. I'll kill you. I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"
Then: the inevitable.
Please, God, no.
Fin.