Woo! Another chapter down! Yay! A huge thanks in store for everyone who had been reviewing! It's kinda been on the short end of reviewers so please tell me what you guys think! I love reading it and getting feedback. It makes me want to write and update faster! :D
I don't own these characters but I do wish I did!
Barry Allen was conflicted. He stood outside of Bart's room at the Watchtower, which he had been doing for the past half hour, and raised his hand again, only to drop it down to his side, not being able to make himself knock on the door. He knew what he had to do, but what he didn't know was how. How was he supposed to tell his younger partner that everything would be alright when he himself couldn't believe it?
How was anything supposed to be right? Wally was dead, taken from the world by being not fast enough when he was the fastest kid alive for so long. Nothing about this could be right.
Barry sighed, knowing that he could stall this no longer. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Bart, it was the fact that he felt like talking about it made him accept it. And there was still a part of his mind that couldn't, and probably wouldn't ever, accept that Wally was gone forever.
The blonde raised his fist shakily one more time and rapped on the door three times. He waited patiently, not something he was known for doing, as he waited for a response. When none came, he internally debated about leaving, but his stubborn side won out instead and he knocked again.
This time, Bart's voice was heard softly through the door. "…Yeah?"
Barry took this as an invitation to go in and he slowly opened the door, silently stepping into the youth's room. Bart, just like the rest of the team, had a room at Mt. Justice, but it all was destroyed months ago, making them relocate here recently. He had also lived with Wally in the beginning when his appearance in this dimension was too much for everyone, including the older speedster.
That's when he stopped in his tracks. Wally had been the one to take in the fast talking, high strung boy from the future with a knack to get into trouble. Barry, his own grandfather, didn't know what to do with him at first. I knew Wally was always a better person than I ever was.
Barry looked at the younger boy, meeting his eyes before the boy looked back down. He was in the same position as when Barry saw him on the surveillance footage; sitting on the end of his bed, hunched forward, arms resting on his knees, and staring at the ground. It was unnatural to see him like this. He looked paler too, his freckles sticking out more against his fair skin. There were dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks looked sunken in.
Barry knew what was happening; Bart wasn't eating all that he needed to. His high speedster metabolism caused him to need to eat more. Granted, he hasn't been moving so he wouldn't need as much food, but he looked like he was eating the same amounts as a normal person, less than a third of what he needed.
Barry remained silent but sat down next to his grandson, the bed squeaking lightly under his weight. He didn't say anything, just waiting for Bart to say something first. Usually he wouldn't have had to wait long, or at all, but this time was different. This time, the silence lasted for minutes, hours to a speedster.
Finally, after almost an eternity, Bart opened his mouth and spoke up, his voice sounding dry and confused. "I tried on his costume." He said quietly.
Barry looked at Bart, a slight surprise in his eyes. "And?"
"And I felt like a fraud." He said miserably, looking up at the older man. Barry saw how lost his partner's usually bright green eyes looked and felt ashamed of himself for being so selfish and leaving him to deal with his cousin's death alone.
"I was out there and I was trying it out, because he said I could be him after he retired and I wanted to run and keep moving and help people because that's what I need to do, I need to help people. Except that's not me, that's Kid Flash. I'm Impulse. I'm screw up, get on everybody's nerves, trip over myself, eat everything, Impulse. I could never be Kid Flash. Wally…Wally didn't know what he was saying, trying to give me that title. H-he was wrong. Only he could ever be Kid Flash. And he was supposed to be. None of this was supposed to happen." The boy ranted, his usual fast speech coming through before he shut himself up.
Barry looked at Bart. "Wally told you that you could be Kid Flash?" He asked, watching Bart nod his head. Barry felt like that was just another hit to him. Wally had finally moved passed his childhood dreams and Barry felt like he was the one that left behind for once. Barry thought back to the day when Bart showed up and when Neutron was terrorizing the city.
Flash looked over, just beyond the waves of energy coming off of Neutron. A flash a yellow appeared and he had to double take, looking back at the officer and the hero he was talking to.
Kid Flash stood there, his back to them, but Barry quickly made his way over, Impulse right on his heels like he was already Flash's new partner.
Flash arrived next to Kid Flash, not expecting to see him there. He hadn't put on his uniform in nearly a year and he gave the older mentor an odd look, a distrusting one. Could Flash blame him though? They had ups and downs, mostly about Wally wanting to quit the hero gig. Barry pushed him away. He felt like treated him like he didn't matter as much when he quit being his partner. But they were still family. They still stuck together as long as spandex wasn't involved.
But then, as Flash planned out the attack with Impulse, he got sucked into how it used to be with him and his nephew. They were working off of each other, like partners should. It was easy to forget about his real partner standing right there and looking at him with those distrusting eyes.
Barry sighed. Wally had always been where he was needed, yet he pushed the youth to the side. He missed the easy days of running and stopping bad guys and laughing over triple scoop ice cream right after. But now, thinking back, he never gave Wally the credit he deserved. He always just kept running ahead of him instead of beside him, leaving the boy to cough away the dust and chase after him with all his might, always knowing that he would never be fast enough to catch him.
Bart sighed. "None of this was supposed to happen." He said.
Barry furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do you keep saying that?"
Bart raises his head and rests in on his palm, looking forward. Barry could almost see the gears working in his brain as he struggled against himself internally to whether tell him or not. He sighed, one side winning out. "The main reason I was supposed to come to this time was to stop Blue Beetle from turning evil and making the whole world feel the mode, but I had an alternative motive. You…Barry you were going to die the day you fought Neutron…"
Barry's eyes widened, not knowing what to say. He always knew that the hero business was risky but he never thought about the risks, only the people he was helping. Well…I didn't think about the risks until Wally died.
"It was like that movie, Final Destination 1- through 17, or how ever many there are. Jaime and I watched them the other day." He went off, much like speedsters did. "Anyway, you would have died but then I made sure it didn't happen, and when you were going to die again from his combusted energy, Wally and Jay saved us. But then you were going to die again when the vortex wouldn't close so the mode took Wally's life instead! I was supposed to make the future better, but I don't think it is any better now. Not without Wally…" Bart said, ending and looking down.
Barry was still in shock about all that he learned from his future grandson but he pushed it to the side for the moment. "You miss him a lot?"
Bart's shoulders slumped and he nodded. "The future I came from was gloomy and depressing so I'm used to the feeling of sadness but this is so different. I mean, all my life I looked up to this man, the Flash, my granddad, but I never got to meet you. I never got to understand my speed and control it like you can. And Wally…Wally of the future was a shell of who is was during this time. Until I lived with him those first few months, well, I never would have thought that he would ever smile or laugh or crack jokes. Wally was the brother I never got to look up to." He said.
Barry nodded but he was also saddened by this news. He couldn't imagine Wally ever being cold and boring and anything but smiling or smirking. He wondered what it was that impacted his life in such a way that he changed so drastically. Was it my supposed death?
Barry shook his head. It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like Wally is going to the future anyway…
Barry looked sadly at his younger partner. He had pushed Bart away, not wanting him to interrupt his life with the talk about the future and crashing the mode and things that went straight over his head. This was his grandson. Bart deserved to at least been treated like family in the beginning instead of being handed off to the other guy he was treating like less than family at the time.
"Listen Bart. Whatever happened in the future obviously will not be happening now. Too many things have changed. You saved the world, just as Wally did. I'm sorry I haven't been much help to you at all. Man…I've been acting like Superman…" Barry shook his head, thinking about the way the Man of Steel avoided his clone/son which only led to more anger and more confusion from the younger counterparts attitude towards the man. Had I really been that bad? "I treated you and Wally with no respect and it only made things worse. You're here now, and whether or not I'm in the future now is because of what happens later, things that you can't change. Okay?" He said, not expecting a response.
"I can try to change it." Bart said stubbornly and with a ghost of a smirk on his lips. "Barry, the future without Flash is gray and dull and full of pain and suffering. Running beside you is the best feeling in the world for me. I'm never happier than when I get to run along beside you, my mentor and my hero. I never thought I would get the chance and I'm not letting it change now that I have done it." He paused, his expression falling again. "But I understand if you don't want me to be Kid Flash." He said.
Barry was shocked by this statement, almost too shocked to speak which Bart took as an affirmative decision, his fallen expression falling even more. Barry shook his head. "No. I just…sorry, I'm never really been good anything but running and telling jokes. Bart. I want you to be my partner. I want you to be Kid Flash. If you're ready for it, then we'll go, okay?"
Bart nodded, a slight smile forming on his lips. "Just like that?"
Barry smiled slightly back as well. "Just like that." He said, feeling the conversation was done. So he stood up and walked over to the door.
Bart stood as well, hesitating for a second. "Could we umm…could we just run? Like, I don't want to put on the uniform yet but…I just want to run."
Barry smiled. He hadn't run since he returned from his two day trip around the world. But running sounding like an amazing idea for the time being. "Yeah, if you can keep up." He said with a smirk, one he always used to use with Wally.
"I'm so going to beat you this time, Uncle B!" Wally would say then race ahead of him, getting a head start.
Bart grinned. "You're on, gramps."
And they ran. They exited through the Zeta beams, their exit announced to very confused team mates and Leaguers who hadn't seen either of the speedsters in days. The landed just outside of Central City and took off. Running was always the best thing for speedsters, and this time was no different. The two didn't say a word. All they did was feel the wind in their hair, the sun on their face, and the ground beneath their feet. Running healed the two, one of a broken mind and the other of a broken heart.
Both felt unstoppable when they ran.
Both felt untouchable when they ran.
Both felt like another person was running along beside them.
Barry realized that everything might not had been alright at the moment, but it would be. Someday, things would start to be okay, then better, then alright. Everything would be alright, maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow. But everything would be alright someday.
Soooooo, good? Bad? I hope it was maybe what you guys waited so long for seeing as Barry and Bart FINALLY had their moment! Anyway, please don't forget to review. It only takes like two seconds, you know.