Bart's POV:

I was sitting on the couch still in awe of how Raven literally walked out on me when we were about to kiss, I mean who does that? It would have been our first real kiss, one she was willing to have and not one that I, in her words 'stole' and then she agrees to go the mall with Cass and Kory? That's nothing like the Raven I knew. Something was up, and I wanted to find out, however instead of racing after them I decided I'd let Raven have some time to herself to figure things out. It's kinda hard to forget everyone else's brain doesn't work at light speed. That is a plus in the battlefield, my brain processes information of everything around me all at the same time, so in a way I can see every possible outcome, almost seeing things before they happen, and make the best decision and do something about it before anyone can react. At least I try to, having knowledge of what's going to happen, but no experience of the best way to deal with it doesn't balance out well, but hey I'm a fast learner.

I went into my room and changed from my Kid Flash suit into some cream coloured cargo pants, a yellow shirt and a red zip up hoodie, I also pulled on some red trainers with gold accents, and laces. I then picked up my phone and texted Raven 'I thought we were having a moment there, why'd you bail on me?!' after what felt like a few hours of reading 3 books and cleaning my room I checked my phone, 5 minutes had passed in real time. I sighed, no wonder she hasn't texted back after five minutes, man having time pass so slowly when you move at super speed can get so confusing, I mean when I grew up, I was aging at super speed, my hyper metabolism couldn't slow down, It was constantly working faster and faster, at age 1 I looked 2, at age 2 I looked 12, however the way the doctors, earth gov, dealt with that was sticking me in a virtual reality chamber, they were feeding my brain all the information I needed at super speed and I was also taking it in at super speed. However, to take that much in all at once would be too much for me to handle, I'd go insane, so in my virtual reality it made things seem as if time was passing normally, as if I was aging like a normal boy, and as if I was being taught at a normal pace, however they couldn't stop my aging, by 3 years old I was going to die an old man. But then the reach invaded and took over my world, when they raided the lab I was in they saw my talent, killed all the earth gov doctors, and took me out of my virtual reality, they explained what was happening to me and said they could cure me, their technology could shock my system into letting me age normally, and so they did, in exchange for me working as a slave. I accepted, what choice did I have? Die of old age or get cured and become a slave, so once my rapid aging was cured I had an inhibitor put on me to prevent me from using my super speed and I was forced to be a slave. However I did manage to escape from my time into the past with some help from Nathaniel Tryon, a former super villain who wanted to change the grim future we were stuck in, and the rest is history, or my present, it's still confusing.

I decided to kill time by going into the living room, Gar and Cyborg were playing a video game, a fighting one by the looks, as I leaned over the back of the couch I was almost hit in the face as Cyborg threw his hands up in the air "What! Defeated again! You play this game too much Beast Boy!" he screamed as he threw the controller aside. "I'm going to work on my car, I'm making upgrades to it, I could use some help." He said looking to me, then Tim and then Gar, each of us stone faced. "Fine, I can tell by your less than thrilled looks that no one cares enough to help poor old Vic. Well you know what? That's fine by me, on second thought I don't need any of you to help me anyways, you'd just get in the way." He said in an almost annoyed tone, though I could see the smile on his face as he walked away. As I leapt over the back of the couch and landed in Cyborgs recently vacant spot, I watched as Gar beat up a bad guy on screen, he was now playing story mode, and as Cy said, he plays way too much, the meter was filling up and a big 'PERFECT!' was showing up on screen every time he landed a hit. I was about to ask if I could play when Tim sat next to us. I turned to him "So any cool things happen in Gotham this week?" I asked him, "Uhm, not really, Batman and I stopped an arms deal between Penguin and Black Mask, took down a few muggers, stopped two bank robberies and put Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum back in Arkham. Same old stuff, different villains." He said calmly. I just sat there amazed at how that was a normal week for Robin. I chuckled, "You know Tim, you really surprise me sometimes, and you seem to lead a more exciting life than us guys with super-powers." I said with a smile Tim smiled back, it wasn't a real smile though, almost sarcastic "It comes with a price." He said lifting his shirt, showing scars, bruises and a still healing cut he obviously got sometime this week in one of those events. Luckily my minor injuries heal in seconds and don't leave a mark. I was about to ask more when Tim stood up, "I'm off to the gym, anyone gonna join me?" I shook my head "I've had enough exercise today." I replied having ran halfway around the earth and back. Gar didn't even reply, I don't think he even heard the question, being so engrossed in his game. With that Tim walked off to the gym, and I was left with Gar, I can't say I don't like the kid, but he does tend to get on my nerves a lot, but he's part of the team so I may as well try to get a better relationship with him, because at the moment outside of the battle field, we're just acquaintances.

I was about strike up conversation when he beat me to it "So why do you hang out with that Raven girl so much? I mean she's pretty weird don't you think?" he said, I resisted the urge to punch him, "No, I don't think that Gar, she's not weird, she's just different, I thought you of all people would know what that's like." I replied, I tried not to sound too harsh, but at the same time let him know I didn't appreciate his comment. He Paused the game and looked over at me "Jeez dude, calm down, I was just saying, I find her being all dark and gloomy, and always reading her books, hardly saying a word and lurking about the place weird. I guess you see something I don't." He said, I was getting more annoyed with this kid by the second, "Yeah I see something different because I've actually tried to interact with her. She likes her solitude and actually keeps her distance so in case her powers go haywire someone won't get hurt, but I guess you've never noticed that in-between your movie and video game marathons. I thought we might get on as friends but until you stop insulting my best friend simply because she's not the same as most people we won't. Have a nice day Gar." I said as I got up off the couch, I could hear him protesting and apologizing as I walked away but I blocked him out, I couldn't deal with him right now, I just wanted to know how Raven was doing. I checked my phone, she'd actually texted me back now. 'We were, I'm sorry for heading out so abruptly but I needed some air and a little time to relax without you on my mind before I make a decision on how we go from here. I'll talk to you when I get back, I promise.' I smiled, that seemed reasonable, I can't believe I thought she'd just bailed, of course she had a reason, however we still needed to talk so I sent one back 'Ok, well you better speak to me tonight, we need to sort this out.' Just as I'd slipped my phone back into my pocket it rang, I immediately got it out again, expecting it to be Raven, however the caller ID said it was a private number, I answered. "Hello is that Mr. Allen?" the woman on the other end said, "It is, who is this?" I asked "This Dr. Jenkins, I'm from S.T.A.R. Labs, I wanted to talk to you about coming down to our lab in Keystone, we believe we've found out some facts about the speed force and we'd like to run some tests." She said. I sighed, "I know and I thought I already told you I'm not interested, I don't want to be some lab rat, I had enough of that in my past, or your future, or whatever it is, I don't want to be tested again, I thought I also told you to stop calling me and sending me e-mails." I replied, "You did however you can't just run away from your problems, you've opened up whole new theories about speedsters and we need YOU to come in and help us. If not for you do it for the other speedsters, we're not going to hurt you we promise." She said. As convincing as she sounded I still didn't want to go, however I did owe it to Barry and the others to find out just what was going on with me. "Fine, only for the others, I'll be there in a minute. Literally." I replied and ended the call.

I was then back in my room and changing once again, back into my Kid Flash suit and I started racing over to Keystone. I soon saw the S.T.A.R. Labs building appearing in the distance, it was a tall building, easy to spot, but no super villain would be stupid enough to attack it, with all the chemicals there it'd cause an explosion large enough to destroy the city and them along with it, they'd have to be crazy. thinking about that I'm glad The Joker mostly sticks to terrorizing Gotham City. I raced up to the reception desk "Hey I'm Kid Flash, here to see Dr. Jenkins?" I said to the stunned looking man behind the desk "Uh, yes I just put the phone down, she said you'd be here any second, I didn't think she meant literally. She's on the 34th floor." And with a wave I was off and up the stairs. When I opened the door I realized the entire floor was dedicated to speedsters and finding out what makes them tick, there was a special treadmill, a case with one of Barry's tattered suits and all sorts of gadgets that looked amazing even though I had knowledge of future tech. I saw a red headed woman in the room, she seemed to be in her 30's. She was looking at the torn up Flash suit, she must be . I walked up to her "Dr. Jenkins?" I asked "Hi, Bart, or do you prefer Kid Flash?" she replied as she turned to me "I guess it doesn't matter seeing as you already know my secret identity, I still find it hard to believe almost every S.T.A.R. Labs employee knows every hero's identity." I replied, she seemed to have taken offence "We don't, Batman's identity is still a mystery." She replied "I know who he is, but I won't tell." I said smiling "Well after Superman trusted Emil Hamilton with his identity other heroes started to trust us too, Barry and Jay didn't think you'd mind, I can only apologize if they were wrong, but you don't have to worry Bart, only top level employees know. You can trust us." She said trying to reassure me. I tried to explain "If you came from my future you'd have trust issues too, although I don't think it's hard for the big brains in here to realize Clark Kent was Superman, I mean all he does is put on a pair of glasses." I said trying to come across as more friendly. Dr. Jenkins smiled "Of course we came to that assumption, however he seemed too different in mannerisms and personality to be the same individual. Your grandfather actually made a good point once, he said that 'Clark slouches, wears clothes two sizes too big and raises his voice an octave, while standing straight and talking in a deeper tone as Superman.' So it's a simple yet effective technique. Barry always made sure he showed up late to everything, no one would think a man who was always late could be The Flash." She explained, I smiled, I guess it did make sense.

I looked around the room, then back to her "Speaking of Barry, why do you have an almost completely destroyed suit of his in a case?" I asked her "We're trying to see if we can clone one of his suits, we took a piece of this suit and hope we'll be able to clone it and also figure out how he puts it inside one of his rings, Barry's always complaining that they often get torn in battles and he has to make new ones. We could do it to yours too if we're successful." She said, "I'll think about it, so what are we doing, what tests do I have to do?"I asked, still feeling nervous. Dr. Jenkins walked towards her desk and gestured for me to follow "Oh, and thanks for coming in Bart, I know this was hard for you to do. Now we've researched everything we know about speedsters so far, we believe it dates back to 1830s, there was a myth about a hero named Windrunner, who could run at inhuman speeds, it was believed to be just that, a myth, a story told to entertain kids, but we believe he was the first speedster. Unfortunately we know nothing about how he got his powers and there were no other speed related heroes until Jay became the first Flash, but both he and Barry agreed to have the tests. They say when they use their powers they sense an intense energy, like something is giving them their speed, something not from this 'dimension' was the word Barry used. So Bart, the first thing I'd like to know is, what is it like when you run, what's the feeling like?" she asked me as she sat her desk, I sat down on the chair the other side of the desk and sighed thinking of how to describe it "Well, there's nothing else like it, it feels amazing. When I run I feel as if I'm mainlining nitro, or like there's this lightning, no, more like electricity, yeah electricity...it feels like every cell is electrified, and there's this intense power pumping through my veins, and it's like a shock is sent to every nerve. It's like I'm hanging on to a comet, but I'm in control of it. But there is another feeling, I sense it too, like I don't know where from but it's like there's some sort of reservoir, like a speed reservoir, that I can almost tap into to get this energy from, I can't see it, but I can feel it. It's definitely like a force, a speed force, that's where I got the idea for the name, and I believe when I hit Darkseid I managed to get to this other 'dimension', and when I was there that force I feel just a little of when in this dimension, was amplified a thousand times, It felt like it was over loading my body, almost like the speed force was going to blow me apart, it was too much! I just felt like I had to run, I had to keep moving, nothing has ever made me want to run as fast as I possibly can, to gain as much speed as I can as much as that place. It has to be where Barry, Jay and I get our speed from, maybe even Wally did too, it has to be. That's all I know." I said to her as she took notes.

"That's almost exactly how Jay and Barry described the feeling of when they run, however they've never fully experienced the power of the speed force. We managed to find out the approximate speed you reached when you hit Darkseid and entered the speed force, we couldn't get and exact speed." She said. She leaned forward placing her hands on the desk and looking into my eyes. I knew what she was about to say was serious " Bart you are something very special, you've reached a speed no other speedster, not even Barry has ever come close to, you reached high- hyper sonic speed." She said in a calm but stern tone to let me know this was something big. However I looked over to her with a confused look on my face, and she then looked back with an equally puzzled expression. I sighed " I may be Barry's Grandson, and I may be exceptionally smart for a kid my age, however Barry is the scientist, I don't know how fast high-hyper sonic is." I explained. She smiled "Oh I'm sorry I forget sometimes, not everyone understands our technical terms, if you want to call them that, it's simply the correct term to us." I realized form her last few words, that each smile is a smile to herself, as when I do not understand something it proves she is smarter than me, and she clearly loves to subtly remind people of her intellect. As I wasn't going to befriend this woman I almost called her on it, not putting on my mask of the hyperactive, goofy kid, but as I was about to open my mouth she got out of her seat and began to walk. again gesturing for me to follow, she reached a whiteboard and took a marker before she begain to speak again "You reached approximately Mach 10-25, you reached between 7000 to 19,000 miles per hour! And in such a short distance, no one else can do that Bart, we checked. We had both Barry and Jay on that treadmill over there, it can withstand your powers and record your speed. Jay couldn't even reach near the speed you did, he got to just about the speed of sound before he stopped, saying his knee was hurting and was about to give in, Barry reached Mach 5 but even then he only reached that speed by running for 2 minutes first, both he and Jay had to build up to get nowhere close to your speed. You did it in less than a second, effortlessly." She said as she finished writing down various bits of information on the board. I realized everyone was right, I was powerful, much more powerful than Barry, and that honestly scared me. I wanted Raven with me, but she wasn't. "So Bart, what we've done is modified the treadmill, now it records your vital signs, your speed and what we believe to be your speed force levels, we've also recorded Barry and Jay's too, and we're going to see just how powerful you are." said as she lead me over to the treadmill. I frowned "No we're not, I didn't even know the speed I was moving at when I hit Darkseid, I just didn't want anyone else hurt and I just ran at him, if I run that fast again what happens if I can't escape the speed force, I don't know how I did last time, and it felt like my body was going to explode, I could die! This is why I didn't wanna be your damned experiment!." I said to her in anger. I was about to leave but she stopped me "No! Bart, no. We're just going to get you to run close to those speeds. Please, you can't run around saving the world without knowing how much power you truly possess." She said. I groaned, "Fine." She stuck some wires on my temples, chest, down my arms and legs, i already felt uncomfortable, it was like my past again. "Ok, well just go for it, it should give me us a reading."she said as the treadmill powered up, I began to run, building up getting faster and faster each second, checking my speed, careful to not reach Mach 10. Suddenly I felt an intense pain and the machine malfunctioned and I fell to my knees. "Bart! Oh my gosh, there was lightning all around you for a second there, are you ok?!" said rushing to my side. Now I was pissed "NO I'M NOT OK! THIS IS WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THIS, YOU SAID IT WOULDN'T HURT ME AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!." I screamed. She jumped back, shocked at my outburst. I ripped the wires off me "I'm leaving, and don't try to stop me." I said as they hit the floor. She grabbed my arm again "You deaf? Cause I sure as hell know you aren't stupid and you seem to enjoy reminding people of that." I said to her sternly, looked taken aback by my sudden change in personality, I was being myself and she saw I was different from the rest of the Flash family. "Those speed force levels were off the charts! You hit Mach 9 by our speedometer, I imagine you have a mental block from your fear of entering the speed force again and that lightning was the speed force starting to manifest, in this reality. Oh and I made this for you, it's a speedometer, use it so you don't accidentally kill yourself. You can leave now, we don't need anymore tests, we can work the rest out on our own." She said in a unfriendly and matter of fact sort of tone. I shrugged her arm off me "Whatever." I said as I walked out of the room looking at the speedometer, I attached it to my wrist, it blended in well I'll give her that, it has two readings, Mach level and mph. I decided it was time to head back to Titans Tower, however I needed to make a stop first, I'm starving.