The Noble Sacrifice Chapter 3: Am I Alive or Am I Dead

It is now Dusk at the Justice Cave. Bart is asleep on the floor, nestled in a shadowed corner of the cave. Above, floating silently, is Secret.

After cradling him in her arms last night, she tried to ask him about what happened... but Bart's journey and emotional outbursts left him weakened and try as he might not too, he eventually fell asleep. Secret kept watch on him all night... because she worried that if she so much as blinked, Bart would disappear and be revealed as nothing more than a delusion.

Just then, Secret heard the Super-Cycle purr as it whizzed on by her. Then seemingly creeping out of the shadows like some horror monsters, Robin stepped by her.

"Good Morning, Secret. How was your night?"

"Oh! It... It was pretty uneventful." Secret said turning her eyes upon a groggy Bart who was awakened by the incoming Super-Cycle. Robin happened to glance at the corner, but as with Max and Helen, all he saw was a corner of empty air.

"Hmm. Well, I've called a meeting, so when everybody has made it in, proceed to the conference room." Robin said as he walked on down the hall.

By now, Bart knew he was awake and stopped fighting the urge to go back to sleep. At first, he imagined that all the horror he went through the previous day was some hideous nightmare, caused by too much snack food and playing "Resident Evil: Code Veronica" on his Dreamcast. But when his eyes focused on Secret and the Cave behind her, the grim reality set back in, and Bart became depressed.

"Are you all right?"

"Not really." Bart said with a pout on his face as he started to stare at the floor.

"Well, Robin has issued a meeting, so I'll try to tell the gang your alive then."

"Okay."

Meanwhile, halfway across the globe, Barry Allen follows the spectral trail left by his Grandson, Bart Allen. Barry is now running over the country of Japan.

"I didn't imagine that the trail would be this long! Poor Bart... whatever happened at house must've really knocked him for a loop... there's no rhyme or reason to his tracks!" Barry thinks as he LITERALLY runs in a crazy 8 pattern 3 times around two buildings in Kyoto, Japan.

"I hope my Grandson took a breather and isn't still running or I might not catch up!" Barry thought as he rocketed out of Japan and started running across the Ocean back to America.

Back at the Justice Cave, all the members finally arrived, and the meeting had begun.

As Robin began discussing today's agenda, Bart looked around the table and noticed that nobody saw him at all... not even Superboy, who was staring right at him.

"I was thinking that tonight we could patrol DC... I've been hearing rumors of a new drug that's been circulating in the area, which is being given to Teens. It's a mixture of the drug Tar and the drug Venom, which is producing super-strong teens, but it's having drastic side effects. I hope that you agree..." Robin continues as Bart begins tugging on Secret's shoulder.

"Don't you think it's time to tell them I'm still alive?"

"Sssh, I'll tell them in a little bit." Secret whispered, but Robin heard and asked...

"Did you say something, Secret?"

"Uh... no."

"Hmm... well, going back to where I was before..." Robin said as Bart continued to talk to Secret.

"But I really think we should tell them!"

"Sssh Bart, be patient!" Secret said as she turned to see everyone looking at her.

"Are you all right Secret?" Robin said as Kon leaned over to whisper...

"I think she's losing it, Alvin."

"NO! It's... just that I had a rough night last night and I'm mumbling because of it?" Secret says as Robin gives her a curious look, based on the fact that she said it was an uneventful night last night for her.

By now, Bart's usual impulsiveness set in and he began screaming...

"I'M RIGHT HERE GUYS!!! CAN'T YOU SEE ME?!?" to which nobody responded except Secret who yelled...

"Bart, please stop screaming in my ear!!!" and looking at her teammates befuddled faces again, Secret just sighed.

"Looks like I have to tell them now..." Secret said as she got up from her seat.

"Okay, this is going to sound strange... but Impulse... Bart is still alive." and when Secret said this, expressions ranging from shock to surprise appeared on their faces.

"Well, where is he?" Robin asked.

"He's right here." She said as she pointed to her right. Bart smiled and waved, but as usual, everybody just saw a pocked of air.

"Yep, she's cracked." Kon quipped as he then said, "Is that Harvey the bunny on your right?"

"You may think I'm nuts, but Bart is alive. And I'll prove it to you!" She said as she caused smoke to cover the area where Bart was standing, and now everyone was able to see a Silhouette of him. Bart was waving his hand as super-speed.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it! You're alive!" Arrowette said as she got up from her chair and tried to hug him, only to have Bart wave his hands from left to right and his mouth was moving.

"Better stay away Cissie. Bart's telling me that when anybody touches him, something bad happens."

"O-kay." Cissie said as she backed off.

"Secret, do you mind asking them some stuff about my death? I mean... like where I died?" Bart asked with wide opened eyes.

"Yes. Um, Bart wants me to ask where he died. I guess it's to help piece together what happened to him."

"Well, if he's with you, instead of tell him, why don't we... show him." Robin said as he got up from his seat and headed for the hangar. The others got up and began to head there too. Bart looked at Secret for a split-second, then grabbed her hand and ran to the hangar.

As the 'smoke-screened' Bart ran past his teammates dragging an exasperated Secret with him, the other members let out a little laugh to see their impulsive friend back within their ranks. But then they realized that he really isn't back, now is he? He's here... but yet he's not. And that unsettles them.

As the YJ members reach the Hangar and begin piling into the Super-Cycle, Secret flies out of Bart's grasp, and heads to the Super-Cycle to take the seat next to Robin.

"Secret?" Bart asks in a low voice.

"What?"

"Do you mind if I carry you, instead of you riding in the Super-Cycle? You're the only one who can see and touch me... and... I don't wanna be alone when I follow you guy's there..." Bart said with pleading eyes as his lips began to tremble.

Secret floated there, staring at Bart who was rapidly deteriorating emotionally.

Bart was the most childlike person Secret had ever met. The supreme contrast to Robin, who was almost always silent and calculating... like a mountain. But as she continued to look at Bart... as a tear started to form in his right eye, she also realized that he was the most emotional person she had ever met... much like herself. And in the end, Bart's puppy dog eyes won as Secret's heart told her to go with him.

"Okay Bart, I'll go with you." She said as she floated back towards him. As she put her feet on the ground, Bart immediately swept her off her feet and held her in his arms.

Her smoke billowed around him again, revealing a big smile on his face.

"Okay, you guy's lead off and we'll follow you." Secret said as the Super-Cycle purred and roared out of the Young Justice Cave.

Bart followed as he raced out of the Cave. As he left, another streak of light entered the cave.

As he ran with Secret in his arms, the wind was whipping her face, so she laid her head on his shoulder and her cheek touched his.

Bart was oblivious to the concept of women. Having a metabolism that aged you to a teenager within a week will do that to you as being raised in a VR world. While having adjusted somewhat to the real world, he still had much to learn. Perhaps, it's because he took everything he had for granted. Like being able to touch. He could touch anything back when he was alive. But now that he was dead... there was only one thing he could truly touch... and that was Secret. And maybe that's why whenever he touches her... he feels something special. Like right now as she lays her head on his shoulder and the tiniest bit of flesh touch... a rush of electricity runs through him. It's something that he's never truly experienced up until now.

And he likes it.

Soon, the gang reaches their destination...

A Star Labs Research Center or more precisely, a grassy knoll a little bit away from it.

As Robin and the others exit the Super-Cycle, they just stare at the grass in front of them. Bart puts down Secret and wonders what they're staring at.

"Secret, is this where I died?"

"Yes... yes it is, Bart." Secret said as Bart slumped to the ground. It was strange... Bart never saw where he died, but he never imagined it would be in such an ordinary place.

"Bart... since it seems like you can hear us, I've got a request. Could you tell us what happened to you? Maybe that can help piece everything together..." Robin asks as he kneels down beside the smoke-screened Bart. Bart slowly nodded his head and looked towards Secret.

"I'll make sure to repeat everything you say."

"Okay. As you guys remember, it all started with that Star Labs doctor Victor Von Gruenwald, who due to some fluke, found a huge chunk of Kryptonite in what used to be the Hypersector portion of Metropolis after being re-tooled by the B-13 virus." Bart related as he started to float back to the time just before his death...

"Emergency! Everybody head to the Super-Cycle!" Robin yells as I put my handheld game down and race to the Super-Cycle.

We all pile in and after taking off, Robin begins to explain all the hub-bub around this emergency.

"I just got finished listening to the news and it's bad. Turns out that a disgruntled Star scientist named Victor Von Gruenwald found a piece of Kryptonite while visiting Metropolis. He demands that if he isn't given a ransom of a Million dollars, he'll detonate the Kryptonite. He's set up the bomb at the Star Research Lab that he worked at on the outskirts of Metropolis. He claims that it has enough power to wipe out Metropolis and more."

"So why are we going?"

"The reason why Arrowette, is because Superman is off on a mission with the Justice League. And so far, nobody else has responded, so it's up to us."

"So let's go grab the guy and get back home, I've got a game to finish!"

"Will you forget about the stupid game Bart! God, you and your videogames, it's so obnoxious!" Arrowette says, but I just ignore her comments and think about how I was finally going to capture the final Pocket Monster.

I remember that when we arrived, Robin had me do a quick surveillance around the place.

I didn't see anything as I ran through the halls, checking out every single door. The only thing I did see was the bomb, but nothing else as I vibrated my head through the door. And that was the problem. If I had noticed one little thing, things might've turned different. Wish life had a reset button.

"So, did you see anything?"

"Nothing, Rob. I saw the bomb though, it's on the second floor, two doors to the right."

"All right, I've got it!" Superboy said as he rushed ahead.

"No! Damnit Kon, wait up! Don't do anything rash!" Robin yelled as he ran after Kon and we all ran after him.

But, it was too late. Kon reached the second floor and already opened the door, triggering the one thing I didn't see.

A wire attached to the door, which upon opening, tugged a button on a bomb, triggering it.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh, what?" Robin said as he walked through the door to see the bomb was now activated. As he looked at the timer, he saw that the scientist only made the timer for 30 seconds.

"Oh no... I've got less than 30 seconds to disarm this thing..." Robin said as he begun to look for any openings when Superboy came up and tried to grab it from him.

"You'll never disarm it in time! Let me have it and I'll dump it into space!"

"That'll never work because you can't survive in space, and we don't know what'll happen when the Kryptonite goes nuclear! You wouldn't survive and even if you did deposit it in space, the radiation could still filter down to Earth! Let me disarm it!" Robin yelled as I watched both of them continue to yell about what to do with the device. It was then I started to remember about my Grandpa... and something I've seen Wally do.

And I knew I could do it also.

"Give me that! *Kon yells as he forcefully yanks it out of Robin's hands* Good-bye everyone. Wish me luck..." Kon said as I whipped in front of him and grabbed the bomb.

"Bart, what the hell do you think you're doing?!?" He yells, but I don't say anything as I shift my body...

"*Realizes what Bart might be trying to do* No Bart, give me bomb! *Grabs Bart by the collar* Bart... BART!" Kon yells as I speed away out of the room and the back portion of my collar rips off.

I remember upon reaching the outside, I started circling the world... try to run as fast as I could.

The first rotation, I whizzed by to see all of you run outside with shocked looks on your faces.

The second rotation, I could see you all screaming something... but by this point I already broke the sound barrier and couldn't hear a word you said...

By now, I was in the final seconds. I could no longer see where I was heading because light was starting to refract all around me and all I could make out was garbled colors...

3

"I'll make you proud, Max..."

2

"And all my teammates will be awed..."

1

And that's when I looked down to see the last second tick off...

0

"Oh no... GRANDPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed as I entered the Speed Force and I felt a burning sensation...

"...and the only other thing I remember is finding myself in Central City, beside a poster welcoming in visitor's to the home of the Flash... my Grandpa. But... what happened afterwards?" Bart asked as he finished his story.

"Well, I just remember watching you try to enter the Speed Force, and it was after you past us one final time that we saw a bright green light and a boom, right where we're standing." Robin relates as he then continues with...

"It... it was here that we finally realized what you were trying to do. I... I theorized you were dead because the bomb exploded as you entered the Speed Force. The light and sound stayed here, but the actual explosion and radiation followed you in. After that, we went back home and tried to figure out who would tell who about your death. After we told Max, Wally and the others, we went on a manhunt for Victor Von Gruenwald and found him after two days of searching, hiding out in an abandoned World War 2 bunker outside of Metropolis. It was three days after that, that we... held your funeral. Max originally tried to do the Eulogy but... he just couldn't do it, so Wally took over for him. It was beautiful... we all had our individual turns to talk about you. I can't tell you what was said, because I wouldn't do it justice. After that, we all tried to move on with our lives, only to have you turn back up."

"I guess the question that needs to be asked now is whether I'm Alive or Dead." Bart asked as a voice rang out...

"Both. *Everyone turns their heads to see a man standing within their presence* As you entered the Speed Force, your body died, but your soul raced on. Instead of merging with the Speed Force as intended, it raced past it, back to the place it thought it should go... the mortal plane. And I'm here to take you to your real home." the man says as Bart opens his eyes wide as he recognizes who it is.

"...Are you my Grandpa?"

"Yes Bart, I'm your Grandpa Barry. And it's time for me to take you home."

-TBC-