Ch 5

Later that day, Barry met back up with Bruce to pitch Bruce about his time-travel idea to go back and save his mom and fix everything.

"So, you're saying you went back in time?" Bruce asked, slightly surprised. "Like in Pozharnov?"

"Yeah! Like in pozharnov, except Pozharnov was a second. This time I went back a whole day." Barry explained.

Then the two of them sat down on a bench and Bruce suddenly had a serious expression.

"So let's imagine that it is, in fact, possible for you to run faster than the speed of light, and, in so doing, travel back in time." Bruce said. "It still would be wildly irresponsible."

Barry almost had to keep from rolling his eyes.

He knew exactly Bruce would be against the whole idea.

"I knew you were gonna say that." Barry said.

"Yes, because if you were to go into the past, any interaction you have with your parents or yourself, you step on the wrong blade of grass, you have no idea what the consequences to that could be." Bruce explained.

"No, I know, the Butterfly Effect, right?"

"Yes."

"I get it. But Bruce, I could fix things."

Didn't Bruce see what he was trying to do here?

He wasn't planning on destroying the multiverse. He just wanted to have his full life back.

"You could also destroy everything." Bruce replied.

"I could save her. I could save both of them. I...I could save your parents." Barry countered but Bruce still disagreed for some reason.

"Bary, these scars we have make us who we are." Bruce said gently but firmly. "We're not meant to go back and fix them. And there's nothing broken with you that needs to be fixed. Take it from an old guy who's made a lot of mistakes: Don't outlive your past. Live your life. And don't let your tragedy define you."

"What if it's supposed to define me?" Barry countered. "Your tragedy made you a hero."

Bruce did lose his parents but he had also become Batman and one of the most famous superheroes.

"It also made me alone." Bruce replied.

Then there was this way too long awkard silence.

"We could hang out." Barry offered. "Do you wanna get a bite? Like, I'm still hungry.

Bruce shook his head. "Not this time." he said. "Maybe some other time."

Then Bruce left in his Batmobile and now for the first time in his life Barry did not know what to do because he wanted to save his mom but he could also accidentally erase the fabric of everything.