Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Part 1: Incitement

Running.

Running.

Running.

Just keep running.

In a flash of light, Impulse bursts onto the scene. His feet splash through the swampy water of a Carboniferous Rainforest, caking mud up the sides of his boots. He grimaces, it'll be such a pain to wash them off later. 

The speedster dodges giant bugs of all sizes and a falling lizard as he picks up speed, preparing for his next jump. He hears buzzing coming towards him and veers right as a giant dragonfly clips past where his head had just been. Bart's eyes widen in awe. His body trembles with the need to examine the beast closer. Imagine him on a prehistoric, flying steed!

He shakes the thought out of his head and straightens his course. He doesn't have time for that.

So he picks up the pace, a sonic boom blasting behind Impulse as lush plant-life and swamp is swapped with concrete spires of a futuristic city. It takes the speedster about ten seconds to scour the globe before forging ahead to wherever the multiverse takes him next 

World after world, Bart runs. A humming under his skin the only thing keeping his hope alive. The further he runs, the more distracting that feeling becomes. He must be close. He has to be.

He just has to.

Bart yelps as a hand suddenly grabs him from behind, pulling him backward where he falls into an undignified heap on the floor.

It takes Bart a millisecond to orient himself to his new surroundings. Taking in the familiar machinery and Flash memorabilia, he knows he must be back in the Flash Museum.

He groans, glaring up at his captor in red from his spot on the floor. "You brought me back?"

Bart's words are less of a question, more of an observation, but the Flash answers anyway, "Of course I did! Impulse, you promised you wouldn't go off on your own like this."

Impulse sits up, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "Yeah? Well, I wouldn't have to if you and Max kept searching like you promised. If you didn't give up."

The Flash's expression becomes pained. "Kid… we never gave up."

Impulse shoots up, almost tripping over the cosmic treadmill in his haste as he shoots the Flash a dark look. "Yes, you did! We've gone looking for him. What? Twice in the last six months? What happened to every day? Every week? Do you even care-"

"Of course I care!" Barry snaps. "He's my nephew. My-"

"Then why don't you act like it?!" Bart cries out ruefully. "You say that you care, but then you stop me from doing what you can't seem to do! I don't get it!" Why wouldn't they do anything and everything they could to save Wally? His guardian, the time traveling speedster Max Mercury, always rags on him about the importance of putting civilian lives before glory and beating the bad guys. How can't Barry or Max see that Wally should be the most important life to save? How can they just stand back and let one of their own disappear?

The Flash runs a weary hand down his face. In one smooth motion, the confident and jovial mask of a hero falls, leaving a grieving father in its wake. "Bart… I want to get Wally back just as much as you, but I'm not going to let you ruin your life trying to find him."

Bart lets out a frustrated growl, "That's not--"

"Please, just listen to me for one second." Barry interrupts, pinching the bridge of his nose. He shoots Bart a teary yet stern look. "Wally wouldn't want you spending your entire life searching for him. Especially when we don't even know if he can be found. He would want us to keep moving forward. Maybe we'll still go out and search for him every now and then, and we'll carry him with us always. But it just isn't healthy to be searching so obsessively after two years with no leads. Do you understand this, Bart?"

Bart doesn't answer, glaring at his feet. Wishing he could run away from this entire conversation. Sadly for him, he is with one of the only people on earth who could catch up.

Barry sighs and takes Bart by the arm. "Come on, kid. I'd better take you home to Max."

Bart tenses and yanks his arm away. "No way! He'll just lecture to me about how dumb and reckless I am like usual."

Barry frowns. "Max doesn't- he's not going to do that. So come on. Please?"

Bart is about to make another retort when Barry whisks him away. He sags in the Flash's arms like a disgruntled kitten, accepting his fate as they make the grueling one second trip from the Flash Museum to Manchester, Alabama.

The second Barry sets him down inside the house, Bart takes his chance and zips over to his room, slamming the door behind him. For extra measure, he pushes his desk chair against the door and sits on it. 

Leaning his head back against the cool wood, Bart's ears pick up murmuring down the hall. Must be grandpa Barry talking with Max. He's gonna blow a gasket for sure. For being some kind of speedster guru, the old man can have a really bad temper. And it seems to always. Always . Be targeted at Bart. Even though he doesn't even know what he's doing wrong half the time!

Bart is taken out of his thoughts when the murmuring is replaced by footsteps. He taps his finger in time with each step. Counting down to his certain doom. Right on cue, there's a knock on the door.

Bart ignores it.

A second knock. "Bart? Open up Bart, I know you're in there."

Bart keeps quiet, head tingling from the knocks rattling the wood he's leaning against. The doorknob jiggles and he hears a frustrated grunt before something slams into the door. Bart grips the sides of his chair to keep from falling off.

"Bartholomew Allen, open this door right now!" Max calls through the door.

He hears grandpa Barry give a nervous chuckle. "Hey now, do we really have to pull out the full names here?"

Bart rolls his eyes exaggeratedly to an audience of none. He'll just wait in here until Max is able to blow off some steam, and then they can all forget this ever happened.

Well, that's what he would do if Max Mercury didn't just vibrate through the wall.

Grifing speedsters, Bart thinks bitterly as he pulls his knees up to his chest. He rests his forehead against them, not wanting to look Max in the eye.

"Go away, Max." He mutters, words muffled by his jeans.

Max's brows furrow in annoyance. "No Bart, I will not just go away. You promised me you wouldn't go searching for Wally on your own."

"Yeah, I said that so you'd get off my back," Bart huffs.

"Well, at least we're being honest now," Max comments sardonically, "be serious, Bart. The multiverse is vast and you never know where you'll end up. When you'll end up even. You were gone for days and no one knew where you'd run off to. We had to stop your friends from tearing up a storm trying to find you."

This finally gets Bart to feel a little bit guilty, but there's no way he's letting Max Crandall get the better of him.

"I left a note." He mumbles.

" Right . How could I forget your note?" Max scoffs, walking over to Bart's desk and picking up a yellow sticky-note. "Going to find Wally, BRB," he reads aloud in a flat voice before crumbling the note up and tossing it in the trash. "Very specific."

Bart pouts. "Well, what's the point of promising any of that if you aren't going to take me to look for him anyway?"

"The point is that you stay safe," Max retorts, "and to keep us from having a repeat of this incident, you're grounded for two weeks."

" Two weeks?! " Bart squawks incredulously.

Max smiles wryly. "Hm, you're right, that's too lenient. Make it three weeks."

"What?!" Bart bolts up from his chair. "You can't do this! What about the team?"

Max continues on as if Bart didn't interrupt, "for the next three weeks you aren't allowed any tv or video games. You must come home immediately after school. No detours, unless there is an emergency. In which case, contact me immediately. And no working with your team unless they specifically ask for you on a mission. Otherwise you are to be on reserve only. Are we clear?"

"This is torture!" Bart cries. Sure he might be exaggerating a bit, but he thought this time period was supposed to be nicer, easier. But instead he's stuck with just another overbearing captor telling him what to do. It's insufferable. 

Max rolls his eyes at Bart's theatrics. "Say what you want, but you'll have to follow the rules either way.”

"This is so not crash!" Bart exclaims as he pushes the chair away from the door. "I'm gonna go tell Helen!" He calls over his shoulder as he leaves the room, slamming the door behind him once more.

The next morning, Bart flops down at his school desk, pressing his face against the cool particleboard as he suppresses a groan.

"Dude, I can't believe you're grounded." His friend Preston, a blonde cinephile, comments as he sits down next to him.

"Yeah," Carol, his bright dark haired friend, agrees, sitting down in the seat behind Bart. "What did you even do to deserve that? Did it have to do with those days you were gone?"

"W-Well…" Bart struggles to come up with a mundane explanation of his grounding, but is saved by the bell. "I'll tell you later," he whispers to them, turning back to the front board before his teacher can get him into more trouble than he already is.

As it turns out, later comes sooner than Bart would like. He's leaving his classroom, heading to lunch, when a hand reaches out of seemingly nowhere and grabs him. He suppresses the rush of adrenaline pushing him to tap into the speedforce.

"Wh- Carol?! What are you doing?" He asks agitatedly as his best friend pulls him towards the cafeteria.

Carol glances over her shoulder, but doesn't falter in her mission to pull his arm out of his socket as she continues to drag him forward. "I saw that look in your eye when we asked you about your grounding earlier," she says accusingly, "If I didn't come get you, you'd avoid us to keep from having to give a straight answer."

"Well, you're not getting away this time!" Preston chimes in from behind as he jogs to catch up to them.

Bart pouts. "Hey! I always give straight answers."

Preston and Carol share a look. "Last week, you came to school soaked to the bone and told everyone you slipped in the kiddie pool." Preston reminds him.

"I don't know what the problem is? That's totally believable." Bart defends himself.

"Bart, it's February." Carol replies flatly.

"Which means it's almost spring, which means it's almost summer." Bart finally pulls his arm away from Carol. "Look, I'll tell you everything. You don't have to drag me over it." He grumbles.

"Good." Carol leads them the rest of the way to the cafeteria and they take their seats at the table in the corner of the room that they affectionately refer to as the war table.

Bart's foot taps rapidly as all the ways he could screw this up and let his secret out rattle around his head. He's already got enough for Max to be mad about without adding "revealed his secret identity" to the list. "Is the war table really necessary for this?"

"Of course it is!" Carol responds firmly, "Bart, you missed four days of school and when you came back you were grounded. And if we went to our normal table you wouldn't say anything in front of everyone else. The war table is definitely necessary."

Bart frowns, the grave being dug for him a clear image in his mind. "My cousin. He's uh- been missing for a while. And Max, he didn't want me to go looking for him. But I'm not just gonna leave him out there. So I ran away to find him. Eventually, my grandpa found me and brought me back home." He takes a deep breath. Hopefully he added enough truth to not ring his friends' alarm bells.

"You ran away?!" Preston balks.

Carol frowns pensively. "So your cousin just disappeared? Off the grid? Didn't you say your grandfather works with the police?"

"Oh, right!" Preston perks up. "Yeah, couldn't he call in a favor or two to find him?"

Bart shrugs halfheartedly, staring down at his food. "It's more complicated than that."

Carol gives Bart a confused look until her eyes suddenly light up in realization. "Did your cousin…" she trails off, glancing around the room to check if anyone is listening in before leaning close to Bart to whisper, "break the law?"

Bart's eyes widen and he pushes Carol away in shock. "What? No!"

Carol and Preston share a sympathetic look, clearly not believing him. Preston rests a comforting hand on Bart's shoulder. "Hey dude, it's okay. We promise we won't judge you or your cousin for it."

Bart's eyes shine with irritation as he grips his lunch box so hard that his knuckles turn white. That's the only thing grounding him from bolting right then and there. "Wally would never be a crook."

Carol's expression softens. "Oh Bart, I know that you want to see the best in your cousin, but maybe Max is right and you shouldn't-”She cuts herself off as Bart suddenly stands up. “Bart, wait!”

Ignoring Carol, he walks over to the trash can, robotically dumping his trash in. "I'll see you ninth period." Is all Bart says in farewell before walking himself out of the cafeteria. With his back turned, he misses the worried glances of his two best friends as they watch him leave.

Chapter Text

Bart spends the next few days avoiding his friends like the plague. It's not that he wants to, but every time Carol and Preston have a moment alone with him they hound him about Wally. Saying he's some kind of criminal. He feels like he's about to burst when he finally gets the call that gives him a reprieve.

The team needs him.

It's a covert op that requires speed and precision. They need a speedster who's able to get people in and out quickly. And guess who's the only one fit for the job?

Bart is practically vibrating out of his skin when he gets the call on his communicator. He zips out to the living room, his grounding be damned, and steps in front of Max 

"Hi Max! Just got a call from the team. They need me for an op and you said important missions are allowed so I'm gonna go to the briefing now, bye!" He chatters out at superspeed and zooms off before Max can even get a word in.

Speeding into the cave, Bart–now Impulse after taking a nanosecond to change on the way–skids to a stop in front of the rest of the team.

Nightwing, Robin, Blue Beetle, and Miss Martians' heads snap over to him as the cave announces his entrance.

Nightwing recovers smoothly. "Impulse, thank you for joining us. I was just briefing the rest of the team on-"

"Metahuman traffickers. San Francisco Bay. Armed and dangerous. Possible reinforcements on site." Impulse rattles off, having speed read everything on the screen Nightwing brought up. "Got it. So can we get going already? You all are so slow!"

"We still have more to go over, Impulse." Nightwing replies with a hint of irritation in his voice before launching back into his debrief.

Impulse bites back a groan. He imagines himself back in his room. His jail cell for the next two weeks still. Right now, he'd almost prefer that unless the mission finally got going.

His foot taps out a staccato beat. Nightwing is somehow still talking. Bart swears he's going to talk until he keels over.

"-art? Bart!"

Impulse zones back in to all the members of his team staring at him with varying levels of alarm. 

"What?"

"Uh… your foot's smoking?" Robin comments, looking down at the speedster's foot in disbelief.

Impulse glances down, and sure enough his right foot is smoking. Stuck in an indent in the cave floor that he swears wasn't there five minutes ago.

He picks up his leg, fanning off his boot before sidestepping the indent to stand on untampered ground. "Sorry."

Nightwing sighs, "as I was saying…" The debriefing only lasts another minute, though it feels more like days at Impulse's speed.

"Great! Now let's go!" The air crackles with electricity as Bart prepares to run, but he's stopped by a dark clad hand shoving a folder against his chest. Impulse blinks down at it, grabbing it right as Nightwing lets go to stop the papers from scattering on the floor. He thumbs through the papers at super speed, the movement producing a satisfying buzzing sound.

"I know you weren't listening. So I thought you could use some extra reading material." Nightwing grins wryly before finally stepping out of his path.

Impulse nods respectfully back before zipping over to the zeta tube. He enters the coordinates for San Francisco’s zeta tube and steps in.

Exiting the portal into a foggy San Francisco evening, Impulse lifts his mask up to rub the stars out of his vision. For being one of the select few who can run from one location to the next in an instant, zeta beams are surprisingly disorienting.

“Woah hermano, you good?” Blue Beetle asks as he steps out of the zeta a few seconds after him, “I thought you’d be halfway to the coordinates by now?”

Impulse huffs humorously. “I’d probably have lapped it a few times too, but if I broke protocol tonight Mercury would have my head.” He snaps his goggles back in place and zips around Beetle to get a better view of the zeta tube. “Where’re Robin and Miss M?”

“Right here.” Robin answers as the two exit the zeta beam just on cue.

Miss Martian checks that everyone is ready before establishing a mind link between them. ‘All right, team. Let’s move out.’ she orders as she turns invisible and, presumably, flies off to their target.

‘Welp, you heard the lady,’ Impulse quips, zipping over to Robin and picking him up bridal style before speeding to the coordinates Nightwing gave them, trusting that Blue Beetle will have an easy enough time flying after them.

Robin scrambles out of Bart’s arms the second they stop in a nearby alley, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Stop doing that!” He hisses under his breath.

Impulse grins, taking Robin’s ire in stride. “Aw, come on Robin. This is quintessential RobFlash stuff.”

Robin blinks at him, expression blank. “Rob…Flash?”

“You know,” Impulse gestures vaguely, but at his speed it just looks like his hand is vibrating. “RobFlash. The undeniable connection between Robin and speedster? N and KF used to do this kind of thing all the time.”

Robin purses his lips. “Yeah, but that was them. I’d hardly call it an ‘undeniable connection.’” He replies, looking uncomfortable. “Like…what about Jason?” He asks, the name quiet and reverent on his lips. As if simply invoking the deceased Robin will unleash a vengeful ghost upon them. “He never had a speedster his age.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Impulse shrugs, keeping his tone light. “But knowing Wally, I’m sure he carried him at least once. Probably on ‘Wing’s orders even.”

Robin suppresses a chuckle. “Yeah, probably.”

Miss Martian touches down behind the two boys. ‘Is everything okay here? I felt a lot of anxiety over the mind link?’

‘Everything’s fine Miss M,’ Robin responds quickly. Impulse watches him curiously. Robin’s expression tells him his friend must be beating himself up over something. The speedster hums contemplatively as he turns away from his teammates, moving to survey the warehouse in front of him. He imagines Tim’s head must be filled with little bats berating him over letting his mental guards down. That must be it.

Having thoroughly cased the building, Impulse skids back into the alley his team is tucked into. ‘We’ve got two guards at the north entrance, two at the south, one on the roof, and five inside. All armed like the file said. Seventeen captives are in a large holding cell on the west wall. Seems to be meta-proof. I couldn’t vibrate through. Victims are also fitted with metahuman inhibitor collars. Familiar style. I can deactivate them once we disable the cell–Oh, hey BB! Nice of you to finally join us–Security system seems simple enough. And I already disabled the few trip wires I ran across.’

‘And I just disabled the rest of the cameras and alarms. Thanks Impulse.’ Robin cuts off Impulse’s rundown as he taps out a few last inputs into his wrist holo-computer.

Blue Beetle looks between the two incredulously. ‘How did you get all that?’

Robin blinks owlishly at him. ‘Impulse’s report was quite clear?’

Blue Beetle sighs, murmuring something about crazy bats under his breath as Miss Martian steps up. ‘Okay, I just confirmed our location with Nightwing. So here’s the plan. I take the north entrance. Impulse and Blue Beetle take south entrance. Robin takes the top. Once we’re in, Robin works on disabling the cell. I’ll cover him while BB and Impulse neutralize the rest of the guards. Once the captives are free, Robin and Impulse will disable the collars and we escort them to the JLA sanctioned metahuman rehabilitation center just outside the city. Does everyone know what they’re doing?’ She waits for each boy’s mental confirmation before continuing, ‘Alright team, move out.’

At Miss Martian’s word, Impulse speeds over to the south entrance, quickly dispatching the guards before Blue Beetle has a chance to catch up.

When he does, he shoots Impulse a raised eyebrow.

‘What?’ Impulse questions over the mind link as he shakes out his limbs in preparation for sneaking into the warehouse again, ‘I’ve been cooped up for like a whole week. So let’s get in there already!’

‘Okay, okay.’ Blue Beetle holds his hands up placatingly before getting into position at one side of the door as Impulse mirrors him on the other

Impulse opens the door a crack, peering inside to track where each of the gunmen are. He catches a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye as Robin drops from the roof onto the catwalk. He glances quickly to Blue Beetle before returning his gaze to Robin. 

‘Ready…’

A dark speck falls from the catwalk. There’s a split second of suspense before the warehouse is suddenly engulfed by a burst of thick smoke.

‘Go!’

Impulse and Blue Beetle burst into the room, Beetle blasting at blurry figures in the mist as the speedster rushes forward. He lets the sound of screams guide him to each captor. The glow of Blue Beetle’s blaster cuts through the haze. Bart squeezes his eyes closed, images of a future long averted appear, unbidden, to his mind.

His hand trembles, the motion so subtle that an outsider would believe it to be the speedster’s usual vibrations, as he zipties the first gunman. He repeats the process with the other four before using the rest of his time before the smoke dissipates taking apart and disposing of all their weapons.

‘Cell door’s down!’ Robin calls over the mind link, and Impulse speeds over to help with the captives.

Robin is filling the civilians in on the plan when Impulse catches motion out of the corner of his eye. In a second, he’s positioned himself in front of the captive metahumans, a determined expression covering his face as a menacing blue shape moves into his field of view.

He locks eyes with the Blue Beetle, but at his worried expression, the world quickly falls back into place. Impulse relaxes his stance, hopefully fast enough that no one notices his little slip up, and turns his back to Blue Beetle as he gets to work disabling the inhibitor collars. He ignores the prickling of awareness on the back of his neck that just won’t go away no matter how many times he’s fought with Jaime by his side.

Impulse just about has the final collar unlocked when an alarm starts blaring, sending blinking waves of red washing over the room.

‘Crap! They rebooted their security system faster than I estimated.’ Robin’s words snap across the mind link as they watch a hidden panel open across the floor of the warehouse like a gaping maw, and guards start pouring out.

A feral grin takes over Impulse’s face as he hops from foot to foot, electricity crackling over his skin as he prepares for battle. Finally he gets to see some real action.

But before he can rush in, a voice cuts through his thoughts. ‘Impulse, you’re on extraction. Get all of these people to safety.’ Miss Martian commands as she swoops into the fray.

Impulse groans loudly over the mind link, ‘Seriously?’

‘Impulse. Now.’

Impulse tilts his head back in defeat. “Excuse my reach.” He says aloud as he picks up the person next to him before zipping them over to the rehabilitation center. He ferries a second, then third, civilian. Taking a second to trip a few guards before going for his fourth.

‘Focus, Impulse!’

The speedster rolls his eyes, but is quick to get the rest of the civilians to safety.

The second the final captive is secured, Impulse streaks into the battle in a flurry of light and kinetic energy, sweeping half a dozen gunmen up in his wake. He sends them crashing into an unconscious heap as he finds himself at Robin’s back. ‘Civilians are safe.’ He calls over the mind link.

‘Thank you, Impulse.’ Miss Martian answers back as she sweeps out a hand, tossing the guard charging towards her into a nearby wall.

Impulse sends a mental thumbs up in return.

‘I still don’t know how you do that, hermano.’ Blue Beetle comments with an amused lilt.

Bart sends an image of him sticking his tongue out at Jaime, but his mind is quickly brought back into the fight as a birdarang whizzes by his head. He turns to see it embedding itself into the hand of a man who seems to have had his gun aimed at him.

‘Get your head in the game, Imp!’ Robin chastises as Impulse hurries to knock out and tie up the gunman before he has the chance to recover.

The team continues to fight until the amount of enemies flying at them finally starts to wane.

‘We’d better retreat while we have the chance,’ Miss Martian says, ordering them back.

‘Wait!’ Robin cuts in. His holo-computer is already open, screen flashing to show the warehouse blueprints. ‘If I can just get to the control center downstairs I can fry the system and copy all of their files to my computer.’

M’gann hesitates for a second. ‘Fine. But you have to-’

‘I’ll go!’ Impulse mentally puts his hand up as he zips to Robin’s side.

Miss Martian sighs. ‘Okay, but be quick. We can’t let this jeopardize our mission.’

Robin nods. ‘If anything, pulling this off will save the mission.’

On that note, Impulse once again picks up Robin, carrying him through the secret base by following Robin’s mental directions.

‘There!’ Robin hops out of Impulse’s arms as the speedster skids to a stop in front of a lead-inforced metal door. ‘This place has Lex Luthor’s grubby little fingerprints all over it.’ Robin scoffs as he quickly disables the security on the door.

‘Definitely.’ Impulse agrees as he follows Robin into the room. It’s decked out with tons of desks and monitors and a weird power node that Bart swears he’s seen in a sci-fi movie once. 

“So…” Impulse starts aloud as he zips around the room, checking for anything that looks incriminating while Robin does his thing, “I really need to go out and find Wally. I know I’m getting close. I can feel it. But Barry and Max–”

Robin shoots him a withering look from over the computer he’s working on. “Is now really the best time for this conversation?”

“Yes!” Impulse throws his hands up in exasperation. “What other time do I have? This has been the only time I’ve been able to leave Manchester in over a week. And the second Nightwing gives the all clear, I have to go straight back!” He rants, frustration washing through the still connected mind link.

‘Is everything alright down there?’ Miss Martian asks with a worried tone.

‘Don’t worry, Miss M. We’re fine.’ Robin answers before saying aloud, “Okay, fine. What do you want me to do about it?”

Bart beams over at Robin. “Really? You’ll do it?”

Robin ducks his head down, putting his full focus back on the screen to hide his blush. “Slow down, Imp. You still haven’t told me what we’re doing yet.”

Impulse’s eyes light up at “we,” knowing he’s already gotten Tim on board. “Okay, so! MM and the Flash won’t let me use the cosmic treadmill to find Wally. And I bet they added a bunch of S.T.A.R. Labs anti-speedster security to stop me from getting in.”

Robin hums contemplatively. “So you want me to break you into the Flash Museum?”

“Bingo!” Impulse zips over to Robin, slamming his hands down on the table eagerly. “You’re way better at all that tech-y stuff than I am, and I trust you not to snitch.”

Robin nods absently, clicking through files as he mulls things over. “And you’re sure it’s the best thing for you to go looking for Wally?”

“Yes.” Impulse answers emphatically, peeved that he needs to answer that yet again. “What if Batman or Nightwing disappeared and everyone thought they were dead? Wouldn’t you tear the world apart looking for them?”

Robin’s shoulders slump as he concedes the point. “Okay.” The teen makes a few final checks, pulling his flashdrive out and hitting send on a virus that he lets loose onto the computer. They watch as it ravages the system.

‘Mission complete. We’ll meet you back at the zeta.’ Robin updates Miss Martian and Blue Beetle before he stands up, grabbing Impulse’s arm as he heads out of the control center. “Come on, we can go over the details on the way back.”

Impulse nods, following Robin back to the zeta tube at an earthly speed as they begin to devise a plan.

Chapter Text

Four days after the mission, Bart is stuck in school. It’s finally the day that he and Tim have planned to sneak into the Flash Museum and Bart is dying to get this mission done. Throughout the day, he’s been jittering like an overdosed coffee addict who has a desperate need to pee. And people are noticing. Three teachers have called him out for it already and it's only fourth period.

"What is up with you today?" Preston asks, shooting Bart a bewildered look as they get changed for gym class.

"Nothing." Bart asserts for the fifth time that day, waving his hands expressively as he struggles to wiggle out of his sweater. It's such a pain to get changed at normal speed. His limbs awkward and gangly as he struggles to line the speed of his arms up with the speed the cloth is moving across his body.

Preston rolls his eyes and reaches over, helping Bart pull his shirt over his head. "Dude, just face it, you're a mess."

Bart gives him a disgruntled look as he grabs his gym shirt and starts to pull it on. "So I'm a bit antsy? Max says I always am. So I don't get what the big problem is?"

Preston sighs. "Well, yeah, but this is a lot even for you."

Bart shrugs. "Wouldn't you be antsy if you were grounded for three weeks straight?" He asks as he smooths his shirt out one last time before starting to walk towards the locker room door.

"Yeah, I guess..." Preston agrees hesitantly as he hurries to follow Bart into the gym. "But-"

"But what?" Carol butts in, having been waiting by the door for the boys to come in.

"Bart's being weird." Preston answers.

"I'm not-"

"Bart's always weird, Preston." Carol replies. She shoots Bart an apologetic smile. "I mean that in the nicest way possible."

Preston nods. "Yeah, but like about to jump out of his skin weird."

Bart groans, dragging a hand down his face. "I am so moded right now." He says under his breath before speaking up, "Look, I already told Preston I'm fine. Being grounded is hard, and I'm feeling cooped up. That's it."

Preston looks like he's about to refute him but Carol places a hand on his arm to stop him. "Okay, Bart. Just know that we're here for you if something really is bothering you, okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Bart lies, turning away from them as their class starts and Bart can get lost in monotonous, snail paced exercise and hope that the end of the school day comes quick.

After school, Bart says goodbye to his friends and turns down the street he'd normally take to get home. He glances around to make sure no one he knows is nearby before pulling a phone out of his bag. Tim had given it to him so that they could text privately without the chance of someone hacking in like the team could with their league communicators. And with Max on high alert due to his grounding, for once Bart happily welcomes Tim's bat paranoia.

'Heading 4 coffee want me 2 get anything 4 u?'  Bart messages, following the code he and Tim set up for their mission. Now Tim should know that Bart is out of school and ready to run to their rendezvous point.

He waits impatiently for Tim's response. Bart had a lot of fun coming up with the codes. Macchiato with double shot espresso means hurry up, someone is onto us and we need to get this done fast before they realize what is happening. Macchiato with triple shot means oh god run, they're onto us! Plain americano means I'm late. And-

'Caramel frappe with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle plz thx!'

Aha! He's set up at the rendezvous point with all the gear ready. Perfect!

With the all clear given, Bart enters the speedforce and runs to their meeting spot, which happens to be the roof of a skyscraper just across the street from the flash museum.

"Hey, Rob. How's it hanging?" Impulse greets, in full costume, a second later.

Robin glances up from where he's crouched on the ledge of the roof, messing with the museum's systems on his holocomputer. "I've set up decoys and have the security cameras set to freeze in four minutes thirty-nine–thirty-eight seconds."

Bart nods. "And no one's in there?"

Robin smirks. "The scheduled maintenance emails we sent to the staff worked just as planned. Though there are two people in the offices bored out of their minds waiting for electricians that will never come."

"Sweet!" Impulse grins, hopping in place as he watches Robin make his final checks.

"Thirty seconds left." Robin announces as he stands up, preparing to grapple to the museum's roof.

"Five..." Robin aims his grapple.

"Four..." Impulse kneels into a crouched start.

"Three." Electricity crackles as Impulse taps into the speedforce.

"Two." Impulse moves to set position, ready to run.

"Go!" And they're off. Impulse, running up the wall to the roof just seconds before Robin lands next to him with a practiced roll.

The boy-wonder sprints to the roof access and makes quick work of the lock. Once the door is opened, Impulse rushes in, clearing the rest of the way to the cosmic treadmill.

He stops in the corner of the room, hiding in an area that Robin listed as a blind spot for the cameras. Which Robin promised he'd personally fix for the museum staff once their mission is complete. 

Impulse is starting to wonder if Robin, the boy who never goes into a mission without backups upon backups of maps and blueprints and plans, somehow got lost when the hero in question suddenly pops out from a vent overhead.

"I see you took the long way." Impulse teases as Robin hops to the floor.

Robin ignores the speedster's quip. "I had to make a detour to electrical. Make sure the treadmill is fully operational."

Impulse grins. "So you're saying it's ready?"

Robin nods, giving Impulse a small grin in return. "Yup. You just have to get running and everything else should fall into place."

"Awesome!" Impulse does a bit of a happy hop before zipping over to Robin, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Tim." He whispers into Robin’s ear before racing over to the treadmill. 

In a flash of light, Impulse is gone, leaving only a flustered Robin in his wake.

Impulse whips through the multiverse, entire worlds streaking by as he follows the same pull he felt before. The feeling grows stronger and stronger until suddenly he feels a tug. Something seems to be pulling him back.

Did he miss it?

Impulse hops back through the universes he had just zoomed past, honing in on that new tug.

He jumps to the next universe and there! The world snaps into place and Impulse stumbles, almost falling to his knees as the tension that has been building inside him suddenly vanishes.

This is it.

Impulse straightens up and looks around. This world looks a lot like his own. If it's really as close as he thinks, he'd say he must be back in Central City.

The back of his neck prickles with static, causing Impulse to whip around and face wherever is behind him. But what he sees causes Bart to momentarily forget how to breathe.

"...Wally?"

Chapter Text

It was four twenty two pm on the third Tuesday of August when a flash of light burst down main street. Those who saw it say the light came from the heavens themself. Others attributed it to the rare phenomenon known as ball lightning. 

But what all knew for certain was this: that light spelled trouble.

Onlookers watched in awe and horror as the light writhed in the air, shooting off sparks and heat as it grew and grew until it was the size of a full grown human being.

Nearby pedestrians stepped back, prepared to run, as a shadow emerged from the ball of light. A leg, then a hand, then hair. The figure skidded to a stop, electricity crackling off of them and filling the air with an ominous hum.

As if called together by like-minded energy, the city’s own scarlet speedster appeared in a flash on the other side of the street, glaring down at the figure bathed in swiftly fading light with steadfast determination.

The people of Central City breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that, as long as the Flash was on the scene, they would be safe.

The Flash stares down the mysterious being, watching, waiting for its next move. Who knows what danger this creature–made of what he's certain is the speedforce–may present for the people of Central City.

What he's not prepared for is the entity looking up at him with hauntingly familiar soulful golden eyes and whispering his name like a prayer on its lips.

No. It can't be-

Any and all thoughts racing through the speedster's head are knocked right out of him as something suddenly hits him with the force of a truck. He lands hard on the ground, small arms snaking around his torso as a bush of hair presses against his chest.

"W-Wally, It's you! I-I really found you!"

Wally gasps as the familiar voice snaps his thoughts back into place. "Bart?!"

 He pushes himself up with his elbows to get a better look at the young, impossible speedster who is currently clinging to him like his life depends on it. "What are you-"

He's interrupted by a wail as the boy begins to sob against his suit. Wally flails his arms around, not knowing how to respond to this level of emotional response from his cousin. Eventually, he settles his arms around Bart, a soft, worried look making its home on his face.

"Okay, kid, let's get out of here." He says quietly, his cousin's grip only growing tighter as Wally carefully stands up. Gently, he picks the boy up enough to rush him back to his house in a swift gust of wind.

A second later, they phase into Wally's living room. He sits down on the couch, depositing Bart on the seat next to him. He stares at the kid, a million and one questions in his head all scrambling to be asked. "Wha- Bart, how are you even here?" Is what his mouth finally lands on.

"I-I-" Bart sniffs, yanking his cowl down to wipe at his eyes. "T-There was this pull. Something kept pulling me across the multiverse, a-and somehow I just knew it was leading me to you."

Wally furrows his brows. A pull?  "Something led you to me?” He pauses to think. “Do you think it might've been the speedforce?"

Bart cocks his head curiously. "You mean the thing Max always talks about. The thing that gives us our speed?"

"Yeah," Wally’s eyes dart over Bart, trying to find any anomaly in his energy signature or anything that could possibly explain the impossibility of Bart sitting in front of him right this very minute. Maybe Wally finally cracked? Linda always says it as a joke, but maybe there was some truth to it after all? Instead of sharing his swiftly spiraling thoughts, Wally conjures up a more rational explanation. Well, rational for speedsters. "Maybe the speedforce in us acted like a magnet and pulled us back together." He looks back to Bart, taking full notice of the trembling of his limbs and his weepy expression. Damn, the kid looks miserable. No kid should look so somber and fatigued, least of all one as bright and cheerful as Bart Allen.

"Hey..." He starts softly to get Bart's full attention. "I'm pretty famished from patrol, and I bet you are too if you've been running through the entire multiverse like you said. How about I cook us up a snack?" A bit of the trademark spark returns to Bart's eyes, just as Wally wanted.

He stands up from the couch, grinning down at Bart. "Chicken whizzees are still your favorite, right?"

Bart nods his head vigorously. "You still have chicken whizzees here?"

"Yup!" Wally zips to the kitchen to put the chicken strips in the microwave before running right back. "They taste a bit off and the brand is different, but they're not half bad."

Bart simply nods in response, leaning into Wally's side as he sits back down. Wally fidgets awkwardly as he waits for the microwave to finish, not used to how quiet and subdued Bart is acting. What is he supposed to say to his little cousin who apparently ran through dozens of worlds to see him? Wait- "Bart... how long have you been searching for me?"

Bart looks up at him with an overwhelmingly earnest expression. "Ever since you disappeared."

Wally blinks in shock. He nervously gives Bart another once-over. "And uh- how long has it been since then?"

Bart grimaces slightly. "Two years." He answers meekly, ducking his head down as if he expects Wally to reprimand him for being so slow.

Wally sucks in a steadying breath, feeling panic climb up his throat. How is he going to tell him? "Oh... Uh- wow!" Wally chuckles, trying to sound like his chipper self, but he’s sure it sounds more like he's drowning in the ocean. "What have you- Did the Reach...?" He stops and starts, not sure what question to ask first.

"They're gone." Bart slumps, the relief of having his life mission finally complete shining throughout his entire essence.

Wally lets out a breath he didn’t know he was still holding. “Good. Good, so the um- our running worked?”

Bart nods. “Yeah, it did. Honestly, things have been uncomfortably quiet since then."

Wally raises an eyebrow. "That's hard to believe."

Bart shrugs. "There's been no more invasions and the Light has been quiet-"

"Which just spells more trouble." Wally cuts in with a wry grin.

"Yup. Well, there's been a lot of metahuman trafficking stuff, which isn't good, duh." Bart looks down at his hands, absently picking at pills in the fabric of the couch. "You've been staying safe here, right? Like you've got this big house and everything so you must be doing something right."

Wally purses his lips in trepidation. "Yeah, life's been good. Well, at least since the first few months of being dropped into this world. I–" He's thankful to be cut off by the beeping of the microwave. Zipping into the kitchen, Wally returns with a steaming plate of chicken whizzees.

"Thanks." Bart says as he pops one into his mouth. He gestures to Wally's suit. "So this getup, it looks like the Flash?"

"Mhm." Wally makes a noise of affirmation before swallowing his third chicken whizzee. God he was famished. "Felt a bit old for Kid Flash. Thought Barry wouldn't mind." He responds flippantly, his answer not divulging the months of uncertainty and emotional turmoil tied into his decision to take up his uncle's mantle.

Bart furrows his brow. "But before you were gone you were so serious about not coming back in the game?"

Wally sighs heavily. As if fate would ever give him the chance. "Yeah, well, when I found out there were no active heroes here. I didn't feel I had much of a choice."

Bart shoots upright in surprise. "Wait. You mean no heroes at all ? Not in the entire world?"

Wally nods. "There were a few around about a century ago, but once they were phased out no one else took their places. But since I came around... I guess the Flash was the final push this world needed."

"Final push? What-" Bart is cut off from finishing his question by the sound of the front door opening. The younger speedster jumps up, anticipating danger.

Wally reclines into the cushions, raising a curious eyebrow at his cousin. When did he get so jumpy? Well… an alien invasion can do that to a person. "Chill, kid. It's just Linda."

Bart swivels his head back to Wally. "Linda?" He asks inquisitively.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Calls a voice from the door as a young Korean woman walks into the room.

Wally immediately brightens when he sees her, running over to pull her into a hug. "Hey, babe." He greets with a light kiss on the lips.

Linda gives Wally a look of fond exasperation. "Do you really have to do this every time I get home from work?" She asks, not sounding nearly as bothered by the greeting as her words suggest.

Bart squawks at their open display of affection. "I-I- bu-but"

Linda catches sight of Bart from over Wally's shoulder. "Another youngblood Wals, really?" She asks skeptically. Squeezing Wally's arm to signal for him to let her go, she walks towards Bart. She sets her bag down on the coffee table and takes a good look at the young hero. "And you already gave him your identity? That's not like you."

Wally fidgets abashedly. He hasn’t brought up that many kid heroes, has he? He can only think of two off the top of his head. That’s nothing compared to the amount of kid heroes he ran around with as a teen. "Well, actually-"

"What about Artemis?!" Bart blurts out, rushing into Wally's personal space. His voice and expression bleed out frustration and betrayal. "Did you really think we'd never get you back?"

Wally's expression shutters, the light in his eyes falling into darkness. He is so not doing this. "Well, after twelve years, sorry to say, but I thought I'd cut my losses." That probably came out a bit harsh, but he knows it would hurt Bart even more to know exactly how quickly Wally actually moved on.

Bart reels back as if struck. "Twelve years? Wh- h-how? But it’s been only two years for us?”

Wally sighs. He didn’t want this to be the case, but with how young Bart still looks, he knew anything else was just wishful thinking. “Time dilation, probably. It’s kind of like time zones on steroids and it happens between universes. S.T.A.R. Labs has been researching it since I told them about my displacement.”

Bart frowns. “But I thought we weren’t supposed to tell anyone our identities?”

Wally rolls his eyes. Of course that’s the part Bart gets stuck on. “I didn’t. They helped out Barry a lot, so I thought this S.T.A.R. Labs could help me out too. As the Flash only.”

Bart’s eyes widen. “I think that happened to me when I was looking for you. When I’d go home everyone would say I was gone for days even though it was just a few minutes.”

Wally nods. “Yup, that’s time dilation for you. And they say the further away different universes are to each other, the larger the difference is.”

Bart hums thoughtfully as he mentally sifts through all of this new information. “Wait a minute!” A sly grin begins to form on his face, implying more trouble for Wally…great. That’s just what he needs right now. “You said you’ve been here for twelve years, right?”

“...Yeah?” Wally replies hesitantly, an ominous feeling pulling at his gut.

Bart’s grin widens even further. “That means you’re old!”

Wally sputters, “No I’m not!”

“Uh, yeah you are!”

“I am literally thirty-two!”

Bart runs around Wally, pointing mockingly at him, “Geezer! Geezer! You’re an old geezer!”

Wally taps into the speedforce and grabs Bart by the scruff of his neck. “Will you shut up!”

“Boys, can you please calm down.” Linda interrupts, placing a hand on Wally’s shoulder.

Wally pouts at her. “But he started it.”

Taking advantage of Wally’s momentary distraction, Bart pulls himself out of his cousin’s grip, petulantly sticking his tongue out at him before zipping behind the couch and out of reach.

Linda shoots Wally a displeased look. “He is a child. Really Wally, you’re starting to sound like Irey and Jai.” She ignores Wally’s offended stuttering, instead walking over to Bart. She kneels down on the couch, resting her arms on the top so that she can lean over to face him. “So, you must be from Wally’s home universe.”

“Yeah.” Bart puffs up his chest proudly. “My name’s Bart Allen, grandson of Barry Allen, and master of speed!”

“Oh you’re the master now, are you?” Wally scoffs.

“Mhm! I bet I could beat you in a race.” Bart replies eagerly.

Wally snorts. “Oh absolutely not.”

Bart pulls an affronted look. “Can too!”

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, Bart. Wally’s told me so much about you” Linda quickly intervenes before they really start arguing like toddlers. She holds out a hand over the couch. “I’m Linda Park, Wally’s wife.”

Bart shakes her hand and sends her a dubious look. “Really? I bet all of it was complaining. He loves to complain about me. It’s like everyone’s favorite pastime.”

She pretends to think. “Well…”

“Lindaaa.” Wally whines.

Linda shoots her husband an amused look. “What? I’m gonna be honest with the kid.” She turns back to Bart. “I can’t say that Wally’s never complained about you, but-” She leans in close to whisper in Bart’s ear. “-he’ll never say it, but I know he really missed you.”

Bart’s gaze softens, and he flicks his eyes over to Wally. “Yeah, sure.” He says it in a cynical tone, but it’s clear to anyone watching how much those words actually mean to him.

Linda sits down properly on the middle cushion of the couch and pats the spot next to her. "Come sit and tell me what you've been up to in your world. I want to know everything."

Bart obliges, chuckling lightly. "Geez, you're starting to sound like grandma Iris."

Wally blushes, looking away from the two. "Well, she is a reporter."

Bart gasps dramatically. "No!"

Wally covers his face with his hands. "Bart..."

"Nooooooo!" Bart giggles giddily, jumping up and down in his seat. "Gee, I know you hero worship Barry, but grife! I wasn't expecting you to steal his whole life."

"I'm not- I don't-" A flustered Wally tries and fails to make a case for himself.

"You're the Flash! You patrol Central City! You work with S.T.A.R. Labs! And your wife is a reporter!”

“Well at least I’m not a forensic scientist.” Wally mumbles, feeling abashed.

“Woooow. Such a difference.” Bart continues to tease.

“Oh, screw you!”

Linda rolls her eyes at their antics. “Can we please just sit down and talk like adults?”

Wally sighs, reluctantly sitting down on Linda’s other side. He and Bart share a look, both knowing that their bickering has comforted them more than any catching up ever could.

After about an hour of Linda gently interrogating Bart, there comes a phone chime from her bag. Linda pulls it out to check the new notification. “Oh! Wally, Lois just texted. Could you go pick up the twins from the Kents’ please?”

Wally checks the time and frowns. “How’d it get so late already?” He hops up off the couch and turns to Bart. “Wanna go on a quick jog?”

“Sure! Where are we going?” Bart asks, following Wally as he speeds out of the house, and Wally is suddenly struck with the reminder that he still hasn’t told Bart about the twins.

“To the Kent family farm. You know where that is, right?” When Wally sees Bart nod he continues, “Irey and Jai, mine and Linda’s kids, are visiting for a playdate.”

Bart’s eyes widen comically. “You have kids?!”

“You don’t need to act like it’s such a surprise.” Wally responds flatly.

“But it is!” Bart argues back. “You should be 22, finishing college back home.”

“Well I’m not!” Wally snaps back. At Bart’s startled expression, Wally takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he feels a headache coming on. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. But yes, Irey and Jai are my kids. They are seven years old. And, whatever you say, they're the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He says, trying his best to tone down the defensiveness in his voice.

“Okay.” Bart responds pensively. “So what’re they doing with the Kents?”

Wally looks at Bart to see if he’s joking. When he realizes he isn’t, Wally does some quick mental math. “In your world, Jon isn’t…? Uh they’re having a play date with Clark and Lois’s son, Jon, and uh-” Wally pauses, unsure if saying any of this will affect Bart’s world. “...Robin.”

Bart’s eyes light up with intrigue. “Which one? Are Tim or Dick gonna be there?” He gasps excitedly. “Are they still little kids in this universe?”

Wally rolls his eyes. “No. It’s a uh- new Robin.”

Bart hums thoughtfully. “New Superboy and Robin…Is there a new Impulse too?!”

“Well, Irey has superspeed, but…” Wally grimaces at the thought of letting his children out to fight monsters and supervillains. “And Jon’s not Superboy either.”

“Really? Your loss.”

Wally snorts. “Superboy maybe, but I don’t know about Impulse.”

Bart pouts. “You’re so mean.”

Wally shrugs. “I prefer the term realistic , but that’s just me.”

“Soooo mean.”

Wally chuckles under his breath. He missed this. Having someone to run with and have superspeed banter with. Over the years, he must have forgotten how important that Flash Family camaraderie was to him. Bart especially…

Wally tucks those thoughts far into the back of his mind to think about never as he and Bart skid to a stop in front of the Kent farm. The front door opens before they have a chance to knock, revealing none other than Clark Kent. "Hey, Wally." He greets warmly before noticing Impulse. "I was wondering why you of all people were running late. I thought you weren't in the business of having sidekicks?"

Bart wrinkles his nose in distaste. "I'm not his sidekick!"

Wally smirks, patting Bart on the shoulder. "Sure you aren't, buddy." He turns back to Clark. "This is actually my cousin, Bart Allen."

"Cousin?" Clark scans over Bart curiously. "You must've traveled a long way to get here then, son." He holds out a hand for Bart to shake. "The name's Clark Kent."

Bart shakes Clark's hand, his own being dwarfed by the larger man's. He gives Clark a quick once over. "You look old."

Wally cringes at Bart's social awkwardness and opens his mouth to chastise him, but he's cut off by Superman's low chortle.

"I tell Ma and Pa that Jon gives me a new grey hair every day. Maybe now they'll actually believe me." Clark jokes with a warm-hearted grin. "So I'm guessing my counterpart is younger than me. Or is it against the rules to ask?" He asks, aiming the question at Wally.

But Wally simply shrugs. "Beats me."

Their introductions are cut short by a sudden crash.

The three heroes share a look before rushing to the back of the house, where the sound came from.

“Jonathan Samuel Kent! What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Clark scolds as he takes in the mess his parents’ backyard has turned into. There are patches of dirt torn up all over the lawn. And the tire swing, torn from its branch, bounces across Clark’s feet. His eyes eventually fall on the back porch as dust settles around a hole punched in its lattice fence, the probable source of the crash. 

Jon hops out of the hole, expression painted with anxiety and guilt. “D-Dad! Hi!” There’s a groan behind him and Jon’s face pales as he hurries to help Jai up. “Omigod, Jai! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?!”

Jai shakes himself off before grinning. “That was awesome! Can we do it again?”

Wally rushes to Jai’s side, anxiously checking him over for any injuries. “What were you two even doing to cause this much mess?”

“They were wrestling!” Irey answers, zipping over to her dad’s side. “I told ‘em not to, but they didn’t listen.” She adds haughtily.

“That is so not true!” Jai glares, pointing accusingly at his sister. “You refereed!”

Irey simply sticks her tongue out at Jai in return.

Clark levels the kids with a serious look. “Why did you think wrestling was a good idea to begin with?” His eye’s focus on Jon. “I trusted you to watch over Irey and Jai.”

Jon flinches at the clear reprimand in his father’s voice. “I-I- Jai, he was bummed that he didn’t have anyone to practice his powers with. And well, we both have super strength, so I thought we could… practice…?” He answers, trailing off meekly.

Wally sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily. He seems to be doing a lot of that today. Maybe he should take Dinah’s advice for once and talk to someone about all the stress he seems to deal with on a daily basis. “And what do you have to say for yourself?” He calls up to the, now swingless, oak tree.

The leaves let out an irritated tut before a teenaged boy drops down from its branches. “I was simply told to watch over the twins. If I thought anyone was in danger, I would have swiftly intervened. But, as I had full faith that Jonathan would not bring harm to Jai, I saw no reason to stop them.”

Wally feels a spike of irritation at Damian’s typical imperious tone. “That doesn’t mean they couldn’t have gotten hurt! Accidents happen. Plus, what about all of the damages that the Kents will have to cover for your actions?” He asks, watching the twins and Jon shrink back, thoroughly admonished by now, but Damian holds strong.

“Tt. That was not part of my objective. Thus I hold no accountability.” The boy’s sharp eyes slide their focus to Impulse for the first time. “I see you found yourself a sidekick.”

Instead of denying the claim as he did with Clark, Bart simply gapes at Damian. “You’re Robin.” He observes bluntly.

Damian tilts his head back, studying Bart with feigned disinterest. “I suppose West filled you in on that little detail?”

Bart shakes his head. “No. Well, he told me Robin would be here, but–” He pauses, “I thought Tim sounded a lot like Batman sometimes, but you really got the impression down.”

Damian scowls. “Drake is nothing like me.” He steps closer to Bart, scrutinizing him. “Though you mention this Batman… Isn’t that a character from West’s ‘ timeline ?’” He asks with clear skepticism.

Wally rolls his eyes, oh for the love of- “Yes. He is.” he chimes in curtly, making one last check that his kids are both okay before walking over to Damian and Bart. “Bart, this is Damian Wayne. The one in the Superman sweatshirt is Jon Kent. The boy in the orange jacket is my son, Jai. And the girl is-”

“Irey Park-West at your service!” Irey interrupts, holding out a hand as she zips over to introduce herself.

Bart grins, shaking her hand enthusiastically. “Crash! Nice to meet you, Irey.”

“Crash to meet you too!” Irey giggles before zipping away, returning a second later with Jai in tow. “And this is Jai, like daddy said.”

Jai elbows Irey to get her to put him down before waving to Bart. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Bart greets back with a grin. 

Wally watches them with a mix of fondness and dawning horror as he realizes how much trouble Bart could help the twins get into. “Well, we’d better get back home for dinner.” He shoots Clark a sympathetic grin. “I can pay you back for all the mess they made.”

Clark shakes his head. “No, I believe that fixing the yard will be a perfect way for Jon to practice discipline. Don’t you agree, son?” He asks, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Jon sighs dejectedly. “Yes, dad.”

“If you’re certain.” Wally turns back to his kids. “Irey, Jai, say thank you to Mr. Kent for having you.”

“Thank you!”

“Yeah, thank you, Mr. Kent!”

Wally nods, appeased, and turns back to Clark. “Thank you again, Clark. I promise I’ll watch the kids the next time they get together.”

Clark smiles. “Oh, don’t worry about it, we love having them at the farm. Even if they do cause a bit of a ruckus sometimes.”

Wally chuckles. “That’s putting it lightly.”

Bart fake gags, “Oh my god, you are such a dad. Can we go already?”

Wally shoots a halfhearted glare at Bart as the twins giggle behind him. “Sure thing, Mr. Impatient.” He picks up Jai and, in a flash, Wally is gone.

Bart rolls his eyes. “Bye Clark.” He says before taking his leave, running his way back to Wally’s house. He watches out of the corner of his eye as Irey tries to catch up with him and slows down so that he matches pace with her.

“So who are you anyway?” Irey asks, shooting him an overly skeptical look that only a seven year old can pull off.

Bart glances at her for a millisecond before returning his focus to the path ahead. “I’m Bart Allen. My grandpa is your dad’s uncle. So uh- I guess you’d be my cousin or something? Family trees are confusing. Especially for me.”

“Woahhh!” Irey grins. “I’ve never met any of daddy’s family before.”

Bart hums. “Makes sense.”

There’s a streak of light, and Bart skids to a stop as Wally runs up to them. “What? Did you get lost on the way to your own house?” He jabs.

Wally grins smugly. “Actually, I already dropped Jai off there. I was coming back to make sure you didn’t abandon Irey.”

Bart pouts. “I wouldn’t just leave her there! And even if I did, she was with the safest person on the planet.”

“Yeah! I could’a stayed with the Kents.” Irey chimes in enthusiastically.

“And miss your mom’s famous casserole?” Wally gasps in mock affront.

“But Ma Kent’s pies .” Irey stresses.

“Ahh you’re right.” Wally sighs longingly at the thought of Martha’s cinnamon apple pie before grinning back down at Irey. “You think if we turn around now, she’ll give us some?”

Irey giggles. “Then we’ll be late and then mommy will be really mad at us.”

“Pshh, I’m the fastest man alive. Surely we’ll be back in time.”

Irey levels her dad with a doubtful look that could rival her mother’s.

Wally sighs. “Yeah, I know.”

“Know what?” Bart asks, speeding up to Wally’s side with an armful of peach pie in his hands and a smattering of cherry filling on his cheek.

Wally gapes at him. “I-I- When…?”

Bart shrugs to the best of his ability without dropping the pie. “You mentioned pie, so I went back and asked. Superman’s mom is really really nice by the way. Like Aunt Joan level nice.”

Wally shakes his head in amused disbelief. “Yeah, she is. I’ll have to thank her next time I see her.”

Fresh pie now in hand, the three speedsters reach the Park-West home just in time for dinner.

Wally flops onto his and Linda’s bed with an exhausted groan. Today was so much more than what he signed up for.

“Tired, huh?” Linda chuckles, holding the covers up for Wally to shimmy under.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Wally grumbles as he rests his head against Linda’s shoulder. “I thought I finally freed myself from the little devil that is Impulse.”

“Mhm, don’t pretend you don’t love every second of him being here.” She teases, gently brushing her fingers through his hair.

“I dunno, babe. I can feel the migraine coming on already– hey!” Wally pouts as Linda playfully swats his arm. “Okay, fiiine.” He groans in mock exasperation which is belied by the soft smile forming on his face. “It’s really nice to see Bart again. It… I never really got closure before. Seeing him reminds me that I left the world in good hands. And that they all have each other.” Wally feels himself getting pulled under by the weight of the grief, wistfulness, and resilient hope washing over him. He’s brought back to shore by the sound of music humming by his ear. “Thank you.” He breathes, wrapping his arms around Linda and hugging her to his chest. Suddenly, he is hit by an unwanted realization.  “...What are we going to tell Bart?” He questions reluctantly.

Linda stops humming as she watches Wally’s eyes regain clarity. She sighs, “ You are going to have to break the news to him that you’re not going back with him.”

Wally’s face crumples with uncertainty. “Linda… you don’t know Bart like I do. He’s tenacious–more than probably anyone I know–and all of my friends are self-sacrificial superheroes so that’s saying a lot. And he really doesn’t like bad news.”

Linda raises an eyebrow. “Does anybody?”

Wally worries his lip. “There’s a reason Bart was the one person able to find me after all these years. When he puts his mind to something, no one can tell him no.”

“Well, I’m sure that if you can get the boy to listen, he will hear you. And he will accept that you can’t go back. You have a home here, and, if anything, I know Bart will respect that.” Linda assures him.

Wally’s expression softens and he leans up to kiss Linda’s forehead before nuzzling into his pillow, ready to sleep. As he feels himself starting to drift off, he whispers “I sure hope you’re right.”

Chapter Text

It was three am on the dot on the third Wednesday of August.

The witching hour.

Five teens walked down main street in the drizzling rain. The road was blocked off all afternoon due to the inexplicable floating ball in the middle of the lane. There was a police mandate banning anyone from getting within twenty feet of the mass, but what are rules in the face of rowdy teens? Nothing but orders meant to be broken.

Security cameras showed the teens hopping over the police tape and barricade, shoes splashing through shallow puddles as they landed. The once energetic teens appeared more and more hesitant the closer they got to the anomaly.

If security was just a bit quicker calling in the disturbance. If the cops were just a bit faster getting onto the scene. If the Flash hadn’t disappeared with the anomalous figure the day before. Maybe then, what happened next could have been prevented.

The teens shoved each other forward, daring one another to touch the orb. Eventually, one boy–the smallest of the group–was pushed to the front of the pack. At his friends' jeers, the boy stepped forward. Slowly, he reached his hand out, drops of rain prickling onto its back. The light warped and fizzed as he inched closer before bursting outward, swallowing the boy in a swathe of light.

The remaining teens recoiled in horror as their friend disappeared, scrambling over each other to get away from the deadly ball of light. The security feed bristled with static as the ball slowly continued its expansion, sucking in whatever crossed its path. Most of the teens escaped just in time, but some weren’t so lucky.

Four lives were lost that night. And that was only the beginning.

The next morning, Bart blearily wakes up to the sight of four beady eyes staring at him right in front of his face. 

“Yagh!” Bart yelps, flinging himself backwards at superspeed, which slams him against the wall of the guestroom. “Ow ow ow.” He winces, gingerly rubbing at the now developing bruise on his back.

"You're up!" Irey beams from where she's crouched over the bed, looking down at Bart.

"I guess so." Bart murmurs as he stands up, stretching out the tightness in his back and joints. "Why'd you wake me up anyway?"

“Well!” Irey claps her hands together. “We were gonna beg daddy to go on patrol with him—he never lets us but like that’s so dumb cause you’d think he’d want more help to beat up the bad guys, but whatever— but it’s raining and daddy doesn’t want us sliding around at superspeed ‘cause he said he did that once when he was a kid and got stuck in the hospital for a whole week! But I-“

"Getting to the point,” Jai intercepts Irey’s rant. “We wanted to know if you wanna play Mighty Mash Sisters with us." he answers, having the sense to look sheepish about the rude awakening they gave him.

"Oh!" Bart perks up. "We got a game like that back home... At least I think they're the same? ‘Cause the names are similar."

Irey bounces up and down on the guest bed. "So you'll play?"

Bart grins. "Totally!"

"Yes!" The twins cheer, and in the blink of an eye, Irey is out of the room.

Jai sighs. "She always does th-" He's cut off as Bart suddenly picks him up, dashing them down the stairs. "-at." He finishes as Bart stops in the doorway to the living room.

"No superspeed in the house!" Linda calls out as she pops her head out of the kitchen, to which the three kids give her a chorus of sorries in return. Linda leans against the doorway, spatula propped up against her hip. "What are you two getting Bart into anyway?"

"He's gonna play Mighty Mash Sisters with us, right Bart?" Irey answers.

Bart nods enthusiastically. "Yup!"

"Not before breakfast you aren't." Linda points her spatula at them. "Now go get dressed, the food is almost ready."

Irey pouts. "Fiiiine." And trudges up the stairs at human speed.

Bart and Jai follow her up, them all stumbling back down a few minutes later.

“Much better.” Linda smiles, setting platefuls of waffles down as each kid scrambles into a seat at the kitchen table. Linda glances out the kitchen window with a slight frown. “It’s a shame the weather’s so miserable. I’m sure Wally would have wanted to show you around otherwise, Bart.” She comments as she takes her own place at the table.

Bart shrugs as he pours a copious amount of syrup onto his food. No big deal, he thinks. It’s not like they’ll be staying long anyway. He says as much to Linda whose face pinches into a troubled expression. Why is she looking at me like that? Bart thinks, looking down at his food to escape Linda’s piercing gaze. Why do people always look at me like that? He asks himself as he stabs another waffle with his fork.

Distracted from his brooding by the sound of approaching footsteps, Bart looks up–fork halfway to stuffing his face with a whole waffle–to see Wally leaning against the doorway with an unidentifiable expression covering his face. He remembers the waffle seconds before it splats back onto his plate and slurps it up in one bite. “‘Sup.” He greets, his mouth full of syrupy goodness.

Wally wrinkles his nose in disgust. “That’s gross.”

“Like you’re any better.” Linda smirks over at Wally. “You know how high our grocery bill is.”

Wally sighs dramatically as plops down into the seat next to Linda, causing the twins to giggle. “Yeah, but at least I don’t eat like a pig in slop.”

“You so do!” Bart argues, wagging an accusatory finger in Wally’s face.

Wally bats Bart’s syrupy finger away. “That was twelve years ago, dude. I’m a bit more mature now.”

“Are you?” Linda asks teasingly.

Wally pouts. “Hey! Aren’t you supposed to take my side on things like this?”

Linda raises an eyebrow at him. “I don’t remember that in our vows.”

“You know,” Wally gesticulates with his fork. “In sickness and in health, in dumb arguments with cousins and with kids.”

Bart blinks. “Is that really what it said?”

Wally snorts, coughing at the bit of waffle it sucks up into his throat. “Yeah, sure kid.”

Irey and Jai look at him with wide, curious eyes. “Really?” They both ask.

“Uh…” Wally looks back at Bart who is barely holding in his laughter. Wally gives him the stink eye. “No. I was just teasing.”

Bart sits back and watches as Wally is sucked into telling the twins all about his and Linda’s wedding. He tries to pay attention, honestly! But his mind wanders to when he and Wally are going to be back home in a few days, Linda and the twins in tow. He thinks about how everyone will react to seeing them. Yeah, Max might be pissed he left, but imagine the look on his face when he sees Wally! When he shows Max he was right after all! And then grandpa Barry and grandma Iris will come and be so happy to see Wally and meet their new grandkids. Hopefully grandma Iris will make his favorite cookies in celebration. Ooh! And aunt Joan will make her famous peach pie! And uncle Jay will give him a slap on the back and tell him “good job.” And then he’ll be called to see the Justice League and Superman himself will present him with his very own statue in front of the Hall of Justice! And he’ll be named the new leader of the Justice League! Well…maybe not that last one. But the rest could totally happen! And then the team–

Bart is startled out of his thoughts as Jai and Irey hurry over to him, each of them grabbing one of his hands.

"C'mon, slowpoke! Let’s go play Mash Sisters already!" Irey jeers.

"Woah!" Bart stumbles as Jai gives his arm a hearty tug. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He assures them as he lets the twins drag him over to the living room. They push him down onto the couch and sit on either side of him.

Bart grins as Jai hands him a controller, running his thumbs over it to familiarize himself with the buttons which are all just a bit off from his back home. “I’ll let you know, I’m a beast at video games. Back home, none of my friends could get even close to my Sma- er- Mash Sisters records. Except Jaime, but that’s only ‘cause he cheated.”

“Yeah? Well I’m the best here.” Irey boasts.

Jai kicks at Irey’s leg. “That’s only ‘cause you button mash all the time.”

“Well, it works, doesn’t it?” Irey huffs. “Whatever, I’m tired of waiting. Let’s play already!”

She boots up the game and everyone chooses their character. Irey picks a princess, Jai picks a monkey, and Bart picks a boy with a sword.

The game begins, and Bart is immediately in the zone. Button combinations come to him as easy as breathing as he mashes away the competition. Before he knows it, they’re on the end match screen. 

“You cheated!” Jai complains, throwing his controller onto his lap in frustration.

“Huh?” Bart snaps out of his trance and actually takes a look at the score. He has 20 KOs and zero falls, Irey has 2 KOs and 8 falls, and Jai has 0 KOs and 14 falls. He looks down at his controller. Were the buttons this worn down two minutes ago? Bart winces. “Sorry, Jai. Must’ve tapped into the speedforce by accident.”

“Yeah, and I just had to do what I could to keep up.” Irey defends her own power usage.

Jai glares at her. “That is so not fair!”

Bart looks between the arguing twins. “Uh, how about we just try not to use powers for the next matches?”

Jai nods, picking his controller back up. “Yeah, no powers, Irey .”

Irey sticks her nose up at Jai. “Like I even need them to beat you.”

“You’ll eat those words!” Jai taunts back as another match starts.

Bart plays about a dozen rounds with the twins, even letting them win a few, before deciding that he could use a drink. He excuses himself from the game, ignoring the twins’ pouts as he leaves the living room.

"-have to tell him." Bart slows as he reaches the kitchen, his ears picking up hints of a conversation from beyond the wall. Who is “him?” Is he “him?” What does Linda have to tell “him?”

"I know, Linda. I promise I'll get to it." 

That’s Wally! Bart mentally slaps himself. Of course it’s Wally. Who else would Linda be talking to in the kitchen?

"Look, I'll take him out on patrol with me and I'll break the news then."

Bart furrows his eyebrow in concern. Break what news? Maybe he should…

Before Bart is able to walk into the room, an alarm starts blaring from somewhere upstairs. He watches as a red blur flashes up the stairs and back down again with the noise now gone.

Bart follows it into the kitchen and is greeted by Wally now in his Flash suit. He barely looks up as Bart enters the room and barks out, “Suit up, Impulse. We need to get to S.T.A.R. Labs asap.”

Bart opens his mouth to ask Wally what’s going on, but the worried look on his cousin’s face shows him just how serious this is. He nods, zipping upstairs and returning as Impulse.

The two begin their race to S.T.A.R. Labs, getting pelted with rain as the summer storm picks up around them.

“So, what’s the sitch?” Bart asks, unnerved by Wally’s solemnity.

Wally purses his lips as Bart catches a hesitant look passing across his face. “I-” he pauses, slicking back a fringe of wet hair as he reconsiders his words. “The people at S.T.A.R. Labs will be able to give better information than me.” That is all Bart can get out of him until they phase through security and into the depths of S.T.A.R. Labs. When they enter the speed lab, the two speedsters are greeted by a mess of scientists bustling around, hopping between various charts and screens, and chattering urgently between themselves.

“Took you long enough!” An especially stressed out scientist stomps over to the scarlet speedster, hands on her hips and cheeks flushed red in frustration. “Have you seen the news?”

The Flash’s eyebrows pinch together, guilt showing on his face. “No. All I know is what you sent me over comms.”

The scientist huffs. “Well, it’s bad. Twelve are dead already, and the death toll is sure to rise if we don’t get this anomaly under control.”

“Anomaly?” Impulse speaks up, vibrating to shake off all the rain water before zipping over to a bay of computers showing various graphs and statistics measuring said anomaly.

“Yes.” The scientist walks over to Impulse, looking him up and down with a gleam of scientific curiosity but not letting it distract her from her work. “Anomaly 2x7b. First appeared on our radar at approximately 16:22 yesterday. It let out a burst of kinetic and electrical energy, causing a brief power surge across Central City. Its readings are eerily similar to the energy output from the Flash’s use of the speedforce. Except, instead of dissipating into its surroundings, this anomaly seems to be gaining energy, sucking it in not dissimilar to a black hole. And its gravitational pull only increases with each burst of energy it consumes.”

The Flash worries his lip. “Have you found any temporal fragmentation coming from it?”

The scientist blinks in surprise. “Er- yes, actually. Do you think-”

“I know this was caused by an unregulated space-time warp.” The Flash interjects, carefully avoiding eye contact with Impulse.

“Creating a tear in the very fabric of reality.” The scientist’s breath catches as the pieces start to fall into place behind her eyes. “Then-” She spares a glance to Impulse before rushing to a collection of diagnostic equipment, calling a few of the other scientists to join her.

With speed akin to a speedster’s, the scientists corral Impulse over, setting equipment up all around him. This includes cold suction cups on his forehead that tickle way more than he thinks they should.

“H-Hey! What are you doing!” Impulse protests, caught off guard by the sudden surge of activity around him.

“Taking your readings” one of the scientists answers as they tap various buttons on one of the scientific instruments.

“For what?”

The scientist ignores him. Their tablet dings and they turn to the head scientist. “He has the same temporal signature as 2x7b.”

“Just as I suspected.” The head scientist responds grimly before turning to the Flash. “You knew this boy came from an unknown and dangerous force and you didn’t bring him in immediately?” She asks harshly.

Impulse tries not to fidget. His eyebrows furrow with confusion. “Are you talking about me?”

The Flash grimaces. “Look, I understand protocol, and I know I should have been more diligent, but you don’t understand. He’s family .”

“Hey, I-“

Impulse is cut off by the head scientist. “What you don’t seem to understand is that people are dead because of your actions.”

The Flash clenches his fingers into a fist as his whole body shudders with tension. “You think I don’t know that?!”

“Can someone-“

The head scientist glares back at the scarlet speedster. “What I think is that you should have been protecting the citizens of Central City like you swore you would always do!”

Impulse tunes out of the conversation, accepting that if no one was going to explain to him what the sprock was going on, he would have to figure it out himself. In a flash, Impulse plucks off all of the suction cups and science stuff that was put on him and dashes over to the main computer. He clicks through until he finds a set of surveillance feeds. 

The first one is time stamped around when he got to this universe, according to Wally. He clicks play and watches as the anomaly forms and a blurry blob that he knows is himself is spat out. Been there done that, nothing to gain from the video that he doesn’t already know. So he moves to another video.

This video shows a group of kids sneaking around in the middle of the night. Impulse doesn’t really get what’s so important that scientists needed to study the video. That is, until a flash of light engulfs the screen. It’s gone within a second, but what is revealed shakes Bart to the core. The kid who was closest to the orb is missing. His fingers twitch on the computer mouse in an aborted mission to close the video tab as he watches three people–children his age –get absorbed by the light. He just can’t look away.

As if pulled along on puppet strings, Bart slowly moves the cursor to the most recent footage of the anomaly. Clicking it open despite everything in him screaming not to. In this video, the orb has grown five times the size it started at and is quickly approaching the size of a house. The memory of what the head scientist said shoots through his brain in an instant: “twelve are dead already.” It’s been less than twenty-four hours and the anomaly shows no signs of halting its expansion. Bart stumbles away from the computer, the truth of what is happening coming to him in clear focus for the first time.

The world coils in on Bart. The only sound that registers is his heart hammering in his chest. His eyes stick to the screen like a magnet, the horror of the black hole sucking him in. It's as if Bart is one step away from being torn asunder just like the people of Central City.

The young speedster is shocked out of his stupor by a gloved hand shaking his shoulder. Bart looks up in a daze. He watches Wally's lips move, but no words register. Faintly, Bart recognizes worry and annoyance in his cousin’s features. Before Wally can do anything else, Bart jerks out of his grip and speeds out of the room.

Bart runs. Not even he knows where to. But he knows that, once he stops, that’s it. That’s the end. If he slows down for even a second he will have to confront the horrors he has wrought.

He hears the telltale crackle of another speedster coming up behind him and veers left. Impulse zips in and out of streets and alleyways, trying to lose his tail.

In the blink of an eye, the scarlet streak that was trailing him disappears and is replaced by a body slamming into Impulse. The two tumble across the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Bart lets out a startled gasp, but before he can regain his wits enough to attempt escape, a gloved hand pins his shoulder to the ground, where it sinks into the mud with a nasty squelch.

“What in god’s name are you doing?!” Wally screams in Bart’s face, a searing rush of anger covering up any fear or concern his cousin may be feeling.

Bart grits his teeth and looks away, having no good answer to give him.

Wally huffs, shoving off of Bart as his brain supplies him with his own theories. “God! Why do you always have to be so damn impulsive?!” He holds up a hand. “And no. Don’t you dare just tell me it’s in the name. Tell me, in clear terms, why the hell you split from the lab and started running full speed at the dangerous rift that could easily kill you.”

Bart sits up, shooting Wally a confused look before his eyes finally focus on what is right behind the scarlet speedster. Bart feels his breath get knocked out of him once more as he lays eyes on the writhing, twenty foot ball of light not two blocks in front of him.

“No.” Bart breathes. “No-no-no-no-no!” He bolts to his feet, pacing in a vain attempt to release some of his rapidly growing nervous energy. He tugs at his wet locks of hair. “I-It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”

Wally steps back, watching his cousin with a cautious eye, unsure if he might flee again. “Bart…”

Bart slows his pacing, pulling painfully at his hair as he curls in on himself. “I-It’s all my fault. Reality is ripping at the seams and it's all my fault!” Bart turns swiftly on his heel to level a glare at Wally. “And you. You knew !”

Wally purses his lips. “Well, yeah, after the call, but-“

In a streak of orange, Wally suddenly has a face full of Impulse snarling up at him. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I didn’t want to worry you!” Wally snaps back.

“Oh, right. Cause then I’d freak out. Then I’d rush to help and end up making it all so much worse!” Bart lashes his arms out, pushing Wally away from him. “Screw you!” He spits.

“Bart, no-“ Wally lurches backwards at Bart’s sudden shove.

“Poor Impulse! Never thinks before he acts! Always so impulsive ! He makes a mess out of everything!” Bart shoots an arm out towards the rift. “Just like I made a mess out of this! You can’t even deny it’s the truth.”

Bart scoffs as Wally stares hopelessly at him, unwilling to let fear or despair dampen the bitter fire of self-loathing. If he did, he’d fall to his knees right then and there.

There is a beep as their comms finally come online “–bzzt–Flash?–Bzzt–hear me?–” The voice of the head scientist can hardly be made out over the buzzing of static.

The Flash raises a hand to his ear, still keeping a careful watch over Impulse. “Flash here. Are you alright?”

“The gravity of the rift. It’s–bzzt–our radio waves.” She answers.

“Copy that.” The Flash replies. “You got any ideas on how to contain this thing.”

“Well, we–bzzt–ow anything for sure, but–bzzt–udies suggest that your control of the same force this anomaly appears to be made of gives you–bzzt–unique position to contain this rift.”

The Flash huffs with impatience. “Less nerd-speak, more action plans, doc.”

“Right! Sorry.” It’s hard to tell over the radio interference, but Impulse swears he heard her voice squeak with embarrassment. “We’ve run a few simulations–bzzt–creating a positive energy spike around the rift will negate the energy being lost by the rift. Basically, use up more energy to pull it from the rift.”

“Like sucking out air from a balloon?” The Flash questions.

“Yeah–bzzt–Something like that.”

“Got it.” The Flash picks up speed. “See you on the other si-” The speedster cuts himself off as an orange blur speeds past him. “Oh goddamn it.” He turns his comm off as he bolts after his cousin.

Impulse barrels at full speed towards the rift. All he can hear is the sound of howling wind and rain, all he can feel is the slap of his feet hitting the pavement and the pounding of his heart in his chest, and all he sees ahead of him is the blinding light of anomaly 2x7b. His greatest mistake searing its afterimage into his brain for the rest of time.

“Please stop running away like that!” The Flash pleads with exasperation, jolting Impulse out of his trance as the scarlet speedster catches up to him.

“What? Did you expect me to just sit back and watch while you fixed everything yourself?” Impulse grumbles.

“No! I- argh!” The Flash growls in frustration. “I just mean that if we’re gonna stop this, we’d better do it together. I don’t want you rushing ahead a-and-”

“You don’t understand-”

“No, you don’t understand-”

“I need to fix my mistake!” Bart snaps, his voice cracking with emotion. “I can’t ruin any more lives! I just can’t! So please stop trying to hold me back and just let me do this. Then we can finally go home.”

Wally sucks in a sharp breath as he starts to finally piece together what’s going on in Bart’s head. He lets out a pained sigh, wanting nothing less than to say what he knows he must. "Bart... I'm not coming back with you."

Bart trips as he jolts out of the speedforce for a split second. He stares at Wally with terrified, disbelieving eyes. "What?! B-But why?" 

Wally frowns pensively, "Kid, this is my home now. And there's no way I'm gonna leave Linda and the twins." 

"They can come with us!" Bart eagerly assures him. There’s a frantic look in his eye. He can’t lose Wally now too. Not after everything he’s done to get him back. Not with all the pain and suffering he’s caused because of it.

Wally squeezes his eyes shut. "It's... not that simple."

"But–!" Bart is cut off as an earthquake rocks the city as the rift explodes outward, now the size of a five story building and expanding swiftly. "Oh... oh no."

With a spark of dread, Bart runs towards the rift with reckless abandon. Lightning crashes down around him, the excess heat and light energy he’s absorbing from the air boosting his speed higher than it’s ever been before.

He struggles in vain to loop the rift, but the pull of gravity is too strong. Before long, Bart is starting to get sucked in.

It’s funny really, Bart thinks. It only makes sense for him to go the same way Wally did. Karmic justice at its finest. He lets out a broken laugh as he feels his very being tear at the edges of reality. The speedforce must have devised this perfect hell just for me.

Just as Bart is about to give in and stop running, he thinks of all the people who have already been lost to the rift. With a gasp, Bart crashes back down to reality. There are so many people counting on him right now. Whether he deserves it or not, there is no way he’s letting any more innocent people become collateral to his stupid mistakes.

With a wild battle cry, lightning strikes him, giving Impulse the last push he needs to break out of the gravitational pull and start looping the rift.

With all his focus on resisting the pull of the rift, Impulse hardly registers the feeling of the speed force pressing beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the Flash easily pacing him.

A few laps in, and Impulse can feel the energy shifting around them. They’re doing it! The rift is closing! He bounds forward with an extra boost of energy, and he can feel The Flash’s own newfound invigoration as he does the same beside him.

But just as the two are finally starting to contain the rift, they’re hit by a powerful shock wave.

Unable to stand his ground, Impulse careens backwards. He’d be flung far into the air if not for The Flash’s quick reflexes as he grabs the smaller speedster’s hand just in time to pull him close.

Bart looks up from Wally’s chest, watching in abject horror as the rift expands at a rate far faster than anything they’ve ever seen before.

Wally tenses, clearly seeing the same thing as Bart, and tightens his grip around his cousin to an almost painful degree. “ No.” His voice, though lost to the wind, still carries the incredible weight of dread and longing. He runs frantically towards the Central City suburbs, which are being swiftly eaten up by the rift right before his eyes.

Bart hears his cousin’s heart beating wildly in his chest as he races to save his family. He turns his head and sees the wanton destruction of Wally’s city. He watches the anomaly engulf Wally’s home and knows deep in his soul that they’re already gone.

Bart lets out a cry of determination as he twists out of Wally’s iron grip. If he can’t save anyone else in this godforsaken world, there’s no way in hell he’s leaving without Wally.

Wally spins on his heel, eyeing Bart with a gaze of wild panic. “Bart, what are you-”

In their moment of hesitation, Bart watches the rift grow agonizingly close to them. They’ve run out of time.

Bart grabs Wally by the back of his uniform, yanking him through the speedforce before the blast is able to reach them. He releases the vibrational frequency he’s been keeping up for the past two days, and the two speedsters tumble into a heap on the floor. Bart looks up and lets out a soft cry of relief at the familiar sight of The Flash Museum.

He did it. They’re home.

But at what cost.

End of Part 1

Chapter Text

Bart breathes in the smell of floor polish as he sags against the cool tile floor, the adrenaline he’d been running on escaping from him like a deflated balloon.  

Wally, in contrast, feels so wired that his skin is still crackling with electricity. He pushes Bart off of him as he leaps to his feet, spinning to pin Bart with a uncharacteristically vicious look.  

"What the hell was that?!" Wally hisses.  

Bart’s momentary shock is replaced with frustration. “You’re asking me that?! What were you doing?”  

“Saving my family.” Wally grits out. “Which you clearly didn’t care to do.”  

“No, I-”  

Wally cuts Bart off, ranting, “They’re not from this universe. I was never supposed to meet them, so they don’t mean squat. Isn’t that right? Or is it some hero complex? You were only there so you could bring me back here like some trophy to prove your worth! Everyone else in my life is just collateral!”  

Bart shuts his eyes tight, flinching as Wally verbally tears him apart. "They were already gone!" Bart snaps, tears finally starting to fall.  

Wally goes still, "What?" He spits.  

"You saw how big the rift had gotten. Even with our speed, there was no way we could've gotten to them before it did. This had nothing to do with me not caring. If there was any way to save them without losing you, I would’ve done it. But there just wasn’t ."  

"What happened to doing everything in your power to get me back? Even when the universe has to rip apart at the seams to do so? Why not do the same for them?!"  

"Because maybe I was wrong!" Bart growls, glaring at the floor with his fists clenched at his sides in barely controlled anguish. "Ever think of that?!"  

Wally rolls his eyes, unwilling to believe him. He glances towards the door before shooting Bart one last dirty look. "Stay away from me." Is the last thing he says before speeding off, not wanting to be around Bart any longer.  

With Wally gone, it's as if Bart's legs turn to jelly. He crumples into a ball on the floor, trying desperately to hold back sobs.  

Soon after, Bart feels a whoosh of air in front of him.  

If he looked up, he would see the Flash and Max Mercury. But as it stands, he’s too caught up in his sorrows to pay attention to the world around him.  

Max skids onto his knees in front of Bart, laying his hands on the boy’s shaking shoulders. “Bart!" When he gets no response, Max's expression clouds with worry. "Bart, do you hear me?”  

Barry runs in behind him, “Oh my god, Bart! Is it really you? We felt this big surge of the speedforce at the museum here and came running! Gosh, we thought Thawne was back, but thank god it’s you. Where have you been? We’ve be-” He cuts off his rambling at a stern look from Max.  

Max turns his attention back to Bart, who is still unresponsive. “Bart? Come on, kid. You’re home. You’re safe. Just-" He pauses, eyes darting over Bart uncertainly. "Please respond.”  

“M-Max?” Bart managed to choke out between heaving sobs.  

Max lets out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. “Yes, it’s Max. Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt anywhere?” He asks in a softer tone, gently lifting Bart’s chin up to look at him.  

Bart’s eyes flit around the room before understanding seeps in. “Max!” He flings himself at his mentor, burying his head against the man’s chest as he starts to cry in earnest.  

Max tenses, unsure what to do with this uncharacteristic intimacy. "Bart, what's wrong?"  

Bart whimpers, pressing his face further into Max's chest.  

"Talk to me son, please." He urges, gingerly wrapping his arms around the boy.   

Bart sniffles, not looking at Max as he mumbles "I screwed it all up."  

Max's eyebrows pinch together in concern. "I don't know what you mean."  

Bart shakes his head, not wanting to talk about it.  

Max sighs. "Come on, kid. You’ve got to give me more than that.”  

"I found Wally." He admits quietly.  

Max's head shoots up, newly alert. "Bart! That- that's great! Where-"  

"It's not great!" Bart cries out in frustration. "I screwed it all up."  

"How? Please, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what's wrong."  

"I-I-I" Bart stutters, hiccuping. "I used the treadmill."  

Max's jaw clenches in frustration. "I told you how-" Bart flinches heavily at Max's sharp tone. The older man clearly notices as he takes a deep breath before starting again, calmer, "I'm glad you saved Wally."  

Bart's head snaps up in shock, "Y-You are?"  

Max's eyes fill with disappointment, not with Bart but with himself. "Of course I am. Saving one person will always, always , be better than saving no one. No matter the circumstances."  

"Even if millions or billions of people may have died doing it?" Bart asks meekly.  

Max is quiet for a few moments, completely taken aback by Bart’s confession. "I think…" He pauses in deliberation. "...that you didn't know what the consequences were. And yes, it was an absolutely stupid thing to meddle with the multiverse like you did." Bart flinches, a sea of pleading apologies on the tip of his tongue, but Mercury carries on. "But once you made that decision, you had no idea what would happen. And when everything went wrong I’m certain you tried your best to fix it and-" Max sighs heavily. "And I could never fault you for that. Bart, you're a good kid-"  

"But I-" Bart's interruption is cut off by a firm shake to his shoulder.  

"You are a good kid. And I am so very proud of you for pushing the limits to do what you believed to be right. For sticking to your beliefs and not giving up on anyone who might be worth saving."  

Bart sniffles, curling himself into Max's lap. "Does this mean I'm not grounded anymore?" He asks with a weak humor to it.  

Max smiles wryly over Bart's shoulder as he rubs the boys back soothingly. "Oh you are most definitely still grounded."  

Bart lets out a wet laugh. "Good. For a second I thought someone else had taken over your body. You're going soft, old man."  

Max rolls his eyes fondly. "You could probably blame Helen for that." He says, both of them blatantly ignoring Bart's own clear influence on the man.  

"Uh hey-" Barry chooses this moment to speak up. The man is trembling with pent up energy. "-sorry if I'm intruding but-"  

"Go find your boy." Max replies over his shoulder, and by the time he actually turns to look at Barry, the Flash is already gone. Max chuckles sympathetically and returns his sole attention back to Bart. "Let's get you home, kid."  

Max helps Bart up and the two travel back home to Manchester together. Max can't help but steal worried glances at Bart as they run. The boy’s sullen silence is as eerie as it is worrisome. But he doesn’t know what he could possibly do to help. So glances are all he takes.  

When they reach the house, Max stops. He rests a hand on Bart's shoulder and squeezes. Giving his own form of silent comfort before opening the door and leading them inside.  

The first thing Bart notices upon entering is that there's a new plant in the foyer. The dying begonia Helen constantly assured Bart would perk right back up after a little extra tender love and care has now been replaced with a pot of bright blue forget-me-nots.  

The second thing Bart notices is his science fair project sitting right where he left it on the coffee table, seemingly untouched for however long he's been gone.  

The third thing Bart notices, as he passes through the living room into the kitchen, is Helen sitting at the kitchen table, filling out paperwork. Lethargically, Bart looks over his shoulder to look at Max, but finds that his mentor has disappeared. Probably in an attempt to give Bart and Helen some privacy. Or, more likely, to avoid what is sure to be an awkward conversation.  

After about a minute of staring, Helen finally notices that someone is in the room with her. She looks up, a wry smile and witty comment for Max on the tip of her tongue, but all that is forgotten when she instead sees the boy she’s been missing standing stock still before her.  

“Bart!” Helen cries, jumping up from the table and pulling him into a hug. Bart doesn’t hug back right away, which Helen doesn’t blame him for. She probably took him by surprise, after all. But when an entire minute goes by without even a fidget from the young speedster, she knows something must be wrong.  

“Bart?” She asks, worried, as she pulls away slightly to look at the boy. But Bart doesn’t look up. He keeps his face hidden against Helen’s shirt. “Bart, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me, honey.” Bart shakes his head minutely and Helen’s heart breaks as she hears him start to sniffle. “Okay.” Helen gently cards her fingers through Bart’s hair. “It’s okay, baby. You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” She hears a creak from the doorway and looks up just as a flash of white and blue zips away. She rolls her eyes fondly. How typical.  

Gently pulling Bart away from her, Helen crouches down in front of him so that they’re eye to eye and finally gets a good look at the wayward speedster. She’s never seen Bart’s eyes so… so blank. She’s never seen him so still. What could take such a spirited child and turn him into a husk of his former self? Helen smiles hesitantly. “Why don’t you go change out of that suit and get some rest? You look like you could use it.” She suggests, brushing off a bit of dust stuck to the front of Bart’s costume.  

Bart looks down at her hand, his eyebrows furrowed as if he doesn’t understand what she’s asking, before looking back up at her face. Helen shivers at Bart’s dull eyes and looks away with a feeling of guilt that she’s unsure where to place. She feels the rustling of fabric as Bart finally moves away from her touch and he slowly, oh so slowly, walks out of the room.  

Helen presses a hand to her mouth, repressing a sob as she lets herself curl into a ball on the floor. Her boy is back. Bart is back . She should be weeping with joy and only joy. But… she can’t help but be overwhelmed by the feeling that something is deeply wrong.  

There’s some shuffling in front of Helen as Max’s worn leather boots enter her field of vision. The man crouches down in front of her, careful of his creaking joints. Helen glances up at him, blinking away tears. Max isn’t looking at her, likely in an attempt to give her some privacy as she composes herself.  

Helen sniffs as she wipes away a few tears and brushes her hair over he shoulder. Taking a calming breath, she reaches out and gingerly takes Max’s hand, flipping it over to entwine her slender fingers with his own large, calloused ones.  

“Dad,” Helen breathes, finally catching Max’s eye with her desperate tone. “What do we do?”  

Max presses his free hand over his eyes as worry and frustration eminate from him. Helen has a distinct feeling that Max is fighting off a few tears himself. “As much as we can do.” He eventually answers in a soft yet firm tone. “We’ll be there for him when he needs us, and that’s what matters.”  

They continue to sit there in silence for a long while. Holding each other close and hoping that it will keep the dread at bay.  

Meanwhile, Wally stands on the roof of a downtown apartment building in Central City. A lonely wind whistles through his hair as he struggles to control his breathing.  

After leaving Bart back at The Flash Museum, Wally ran straight home. Or, well, where home should have been.  

It’s not that he expected anything to be there. He just hoped… Well, he just hoped .  

From then, Wally left on a mad dash, searching for any sign of Linda. He searched their neighborhood, all of Central City, the tv station she had her show on, her old news station, the college she went to even. Until there’s one last place for him to look.  

As if pulled along by the specter of her ghost, Wally’s feet lead him there. To Linda’s old apartment. Where she lived all the way back when they first met. By all means, if there’s any place for her to be at this point in the timeline, she should be right here. But she just isn't.  

And that’s when it finally hits him.  

Linda Park doesn’t exist here.  

The world slows to a stop around him. The wind freezes birds in their place, its invisible fingers no longer caressing Wally’s skin. And it is in this moment, frozen into eternity, that he finally breaks.  

Wally falls to his knees, his fingernails scrape at the cement beneath them as his vocal chords strangle back a sob. He heaves and gasps desperately for air as the enormous weight of what he’s lost settles onto his back, making him buckle into the roof as its heaviness seeps into his skin. Becoming a part of his very being. Tears stream down his face as if his very body is expelling memories of his past so that he can even dare to survive in this unflinchingly tangible present.  

Wally is so caught up in his sorrows that he almost misses the tickle of electricity on the back of his neck that always forwarns the presence of the speedforce.  

Tension fills the air as Wally slowly stands, wiping away tears and taking as much time as he dares to pull himself together before finally turning to face his uncle for the first time in twelve years. Barry is looking at him like he’s seen a ghost. Wally imagines he doesn’t look much better. His suit is just a shade darker than mine , Wally absently notes as the two men stand frozen a rooftop across from each other.  

It feels like that day he first met Barry over twenty years ago. God, it feels like it's been an entire lifetime—In many ways it has. But, just like that day way back when, Wally feels like that same overwhelmed child standing face to face with his biggest hero. Basking in this one in a million chance meeting that he will treasure for the rest of his life. Silver linings are a hell of a drug, am I right? Wally thinks sardonically.  

A gust of wind blows past, finally pushing the–now slightly–older man into motion. “I-It’s really you.” Barry's words come out softer than a whisper as he stumbles forward, reaching out a hand to cup Wally’s chin.  

Wally flinches away instinctively, deeply regretting it as he watches sadness fill his uncle’s eyes. Before Barry is able to pull away, Wally surges forward, clinging to Barry like his life depends on it. “I missed you.” Wally murmurs, letting himself embrace this moment for the miracle it is. Though he's sure he'll have plenty of time to feel like utter shit later. But hey, it's the little things in life. Or, in this case, the crazy reality-bending, unsolvable 4d puzzle pieces that make up his life. Whatever, you get the idea.  

"Oh kid," Barry sighs deeply. "You don't even know how much Iris and I have missed you."  

Wally lets out a strangled noise that's half laugh and half sob. Oh how he doubts that. Uncle Barry can't even comprehend what- No. No, he can't think about that. Not here. Not now. Just… stop. "Sure, Uncle Bar." He responds, smiling up at Barry with a grin that looks more genuine than it feels.  

Barry takes in a sharp breath as if truly seeing Wally for the first time. He reaches for Wally's cowl. "Hey, let me get a good look at you.”  

Right . Wally steels himself for a second before reaching up and pulling down his cowl. He's proud to say that he doesn't flinch at Barry's shocked expression. "I'm a bit older than you were expecting, aren't I?"  

Barry’s eyes rake over Wally’s face with a mix of horror and grief. Wally has never wished for someone to look at him less. “How long…?” He trails off, almost too afraid to ask.  

“Twelve years.”  

Barry sucks in a sharp gasp. "No. Nonono, Wally you're joking, right? You've got to be." He asks desperately, fingers digging into Wally's shoulders.  

The edges of Wally's mouth curve down into a frown. He doesn't like the edge he hears in his uncle's voice. "Barry, it was time dilation. There was nothing you could have done." He responds firmly.  

"Really? I've always theorized that there would be some kind of temporal delay from one universe to the next, but I never-" Barry shakes his head as if the physical action will do any good recalibrating his thoughts. "Never mind that. Wally, it doesn't matter that there was any time dilation or whatever other reason you could come up with. I'm your- Wally, you're my Kid. As the Flash, it was my sworn duty to protect you first and foremost. And I-I- twelve years ." Barry’s voice cracks and suddenly this is more than Wally can take. He needs his uncle to shut up right the hell now.  

Wally almost yells this out loud, but a split second of hesitance allows him to get a grip. He breathes in heavily through his nose and holds before letting it out in a gasp of air. "Shoulda, woulda, coulda, Barry. It's all in the past now. Nothing to do but move forward, right?" He asks, throwing Barry an understanding smile that he doesn't feel at all . All he can think about is the past 24 hours. Thinking through every second since Bart showed up, analyzing and reanalyzing everything that went wrong, everything that could have gone wrong, and every possible action that could've possibly fixed this.  

Despite Wally's inner turmoil, Barry seems to believe his nephew, giving him a sad little smile back. "You're right." He chuckles slightly. "When did you get so wise?"  

Wally's mind races through possible responses: Linda’s the wise one here, I'm just her trophy husband–It's a software patch you automatically download when you become a dad, so something to look forward to whenever you and aunt Iris finally have a kid–I never did . Each one unearthing more unwanted memories than the last. But instead he says, "Oh you know, when you've run around the block long enough you start to pick up a few things."  

"Right." The corners of Barry's mouth twitch up. Score , Wally relaxes his stance. Barry gestures to Wally. "Speaking of, what's with the getup?"  

"Oh this?" Wally picks at his spandex with a bittersweet look on his face. "Kinda hard to be Kid Flash when there's no Flash to speak of."  

Barry blinks. "No Flash? What do you mean? There wasn’t an alternate Flash where you went?"  

Wally smiles wryly. “Believe it or not, the Justice League isn’t actually a constant across the multiverse—and no, there was no Crime Syndicate either.” He adds when he catches Barry opening his mouth to ask. “There were no major heroes when I landed in that universe. There were still metas and villains, but no one who stepped up to counter enhanced criminals like Killer Frost or Grodd.”  

“So then when you arrived...“  

Wally nods. “Yeah. Well, I’ll admit I didn’t take up the red right off the bat—I was supposed to be retired, after all—but, eventually I had to come to terms with the fact that retirement just isn’t in the cards for me.”  

Barry frowns. “I’m sorry you had to get back in this game, Wally. I know how much the job was weighing on you.”  

“But that’s the thing, Barry. It’s been a burden, yes, but that’s true for just about anyone who takes up the cape or spandex. But you know better than anyone how much of a rush it is too. Beating up bad guys, saving lives. It’s like a drug. Once you start, you just can’t stop. I understand that now way better than I did as some dumb teen.”  

“You weren’t dumb” Barry responds, affronted.  

Wally chuckles. “Not the point, Bar.”  

Barry coughs sheepishly. “Right. So you’ve been going solo this whole time?”  

Wally shifts awkwardly. “I mean, not exactly...”  

“There were others?” Barry asks with enthusiastic curiosity. “Anyone I know?”  

“I...” Wally considers telling Barry but then looks away. “I don’t really want to talk about everything right now. Sorry.”  

“O-Oh!” Barry gives Wally a cautious smile. “That’s alright. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up in the future! But uh... Hey! Iris will be over the moon when she sees you finally back in one piece, and I’m sure you’d like to see her too.”  

Wally gasps, “Aunt Iris! OhmygoshIalmostforgot I-” He cuts himself off, excitedly grabbing his uncle’s wrist and pulling him down the building. “Let’s go right now!”  

Barry chuckles, relieved to finally see the chill in his son’s nephew’s eyes recede slightly as he lets the young man lead him home.  

Back at the West-Allen household, Iris is furiously typing notes as she paces the living room floor.  

She looks up when she hears the front door open, ready to greet Barry. Her eyes turn up and it’s like the world stops as she and Wally make eye contact. Her tablet slips from her fingers in shock, and it’s only Wally’s quick reflexes that keep it from smashing against the floor. He snatches it out of the air, offering it back to her with an apologetic grin.   

He hopes that his smile is enough to hide the pain behind his eyes from the woman who once knew him better than anyone. He also knows how unlikely he is to succeed.  

Iris covers mouth in shock as tears well in her eyes, some already flowing over. She throws herself at Wally, her nephew more than ready to catch her. “Oh Wally, I knew you’d come home.” She says with a proud, yet emotional, certainty.  

Wally doesn’t know if it’s seeing aunt Iris again, the familiarity of her touch—of the house,—the way he knows he was never intended to come home like his aunt hoped, or some mixture of the three, but he finds that he can’t keep it all in anymore as he sobs into her shoulder. And Iris doesn’t ask. She doesn’t pry. She simply hugs Wally fiercely, whispering sweet nothings and assurances in her nephew’s ear as he falls apart in her arms.  

Chapter Text

“What are we going to do?” Max asks Helen as he settles into his armchair in the living room.

Helen frowns as she sits on the couch across from him. “Max… I know that tone in your voice.”

Max scoffs. “What tone? There is no tone .”

“No, there is. Every time you’re ready to punish Bart you…” She gestures wildly in frustration, struggling to find the words. “Can’t you ever just take one second to just stop and think about how Bart’s feeling before you swoop on in with the hammer of justice?”

“Goddamnit, Helen! This isn't one of our typical arguments!” Max pinches the bridge of his nose, guilt and fear coalescing into frustration. “Look, I know I can be a bit harsh on the boy, but this isn't just some little thing that Bart got wrong. For all we know, he might have destroyed that entire universe with all his recklessness!”

“Dad, you don’t know tha-”

“Well I would if he would just talk to me!” Max snaps, throwing his arms out angrily.

“And then what!” Helen bites back.

“I-”

“No. It’s my turn to talk, Max.” She waits for her father to back down, slumping into his seat. “You always expect Bart to do everything your way. You expect him to understand with minimal care to if your way of teaching even works for him. If you would just learn to listen when he does try to communicate, if you weren’t so volatile with him, maybe he would have confided in you instead of running off on his own like he did.”

Max’s face crumples as he drops his head down to rest on folded hands in shame. “God, this is all my fault, isn’t it?”

Helen sighs, sitting on the arm of his chair. “Not all of it. But don’t think that gives you a free pass.”

“Helen, what do I do?” Max prays into his hands.

Helen watches Max with uncertainty. “I… don't think it's my place to decide.”

Max buries his face in his hands, unable to look his daughter in the eye. “I told him that it was alright. But I don’t think it is... whatever happened out there, I think it was really bad. If Bart really caused...” He trails off, not wanting to give voice to his thoughts, “...Then he deserves to pay for his actions, whether purposeful or not. And I- I probably do too.”

Helen “Max, I…” She trails off and before she can think of the right thing to say, they hear the front doorbell ring.

“I'll get it.” Max grunts as he pushes himself to his feet and opens the door. “Who is it?” 

“Uh...” Tim hunches over the doorbell awkwardly. “I’m here to visit Bart?”

Max sighs wearily, “Come in.”

Tim looks between Max and Helen, feeling like he's stepped into something he shouldn't have, before stuttering out a quick thank you and beelining for Bart’s room.

In said room, Bart is laid out on his bed where he's been staring at his ceiling as his mind has wandered in a listless haze for what might have been days, or hours, or maybe even minutes. He has trouble enough conceptualizing time when he's his usual self, let alone now that he's… something. He sure is something alright.

He's knocked out of his thinking–or lack thereof–by a light wrapping at the door.

Bart lets out a puff of air that might've been a dramatic sigh in another life as he reaches down to wrangle the bed covers out from under him, in no mood to deal with whatever Max or Helen have planned for him. He stuffs his feet under the covers and pulls them tightly over his head as if he believes that if he can’t see the problem it will just go away.

The knocking grows louder.

Then a voice joins in. "Bart? I know you’re in there! Can I come in?"

Bart pokes his head out from under the covers at the sound of Tim’s voice, but makes no move to open the door or even leave his bed.

"You’re not asleep, are you?"

Bart gives no response.

"Come on, Bart. Please? I- It’s been over a month since you left. I just… Can you just give me some sign that you’re alive in there?"

Bart hunches over guiltily, but there’s something in him that stops him from moving, whether he agrees with his body or not.

"Please?" Tim’s voice cracks at the end and Bart can’t take it anymore. He zips over to the door, opening it swiftly but not giving Tim the enthusiastic greeting he usually does. Instead he just stares blankly at his friend, emotions swirling too fast in his brain for any micro-expressions to fully form. This leaves him with an eerily despondent look in his eye. One that immediately puts the other boy on edge. Bart sees Tim try not to show it, but Bart can read expressions quicker than Tim can hide them. He tries not to let it get to him.

"Uh, can I?" Tim points into the room and Bart startles into motion. He steps to the side, letting Tim in, and they both climb up onto his bunk bed where they lean against the wall next to each other.

"So… multiverse theory, huh?" Tim starts after a moment of uncharacteristically awkward silence. They don’t do awkward silences. If there is silence, either Tim fills it with rants about whatever case he's working on, or Bart fills it with endless chatter.

Bart fidgets, pulling at his fingers anxiously. He feels way out of his depth. "Yeah? Like that’s anything new to us?"

"I-I just mean-" Tim stutters, flushing slightly. "It’s not every day we find out someone we thought was dead was actually displaced into a completely separate universe. O-Or, well, that is what happened after you used the treadmill, right?"

Bart nods. "Yup. Wally's alive." He answers with an oddly bitter inflection.

“Uh, yeah?” Tim replies hesitantly, caught off guard by Bart’s tone. “That’s a good thing, right?”

Bart shrugs halfheartedly. “I guess.”

"You guess?"

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Bart snaps, wanting nothing to do with this conversation.

Tim's taken aback by Bart’s sharp tone. “Dude, what happened? This is so not like you.”

Bart bristles but tries his best not to show it. “What’s it matter?” He asks flatly.

“Come on, just tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t want to tell you.” Bart replies through gritted teeth.

“Bart, please! You know you can't hide things from me.” Tim pleads. “A-And you shouldn't bottle everything up like this, right? So please just tell me what's going on!”

Bart turns on him in an explosion of frustration and kinetic energy. “ Maybe I don’t owe you any information! Did you ever think of that? You’re always digging into other people’s personal lives, and for what? Just mind your own damn business for once !”

Tim stares at Bart in shocked silence, his face a mask of hurt. His eyes flit back and forth, calculating, before he clenches his jaw and leans back against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest defensively. “Fine. But I’m staying right here.”

“Fine.” Bart parrots sharply, pulling his blanket over his head and turning so that his back is facing Tim.

The room falls into tense silence. 

After an uncomfortably long amount of time, Bart hesitantly peeks his face out from under the blanket. "Hey, Tim?"

Tim lays his phone down in his lap and turns to Bart expectantly.

"I'm sorry…" Bart admits quietly. "I shouldn't've got on your case like that. I know you're just lookin' out for me." He says, his voice a bit stuffy with mostly held back tears.

Tim gives his friend a hopefully reassuring smile. "Thanks. And I'm sorry for pushing you like that. You're right, I shouldn't try to force you to talk about stuff you don't want to."

"S'okay." Bart stares down at his lap for a few moments. "Finding Wally, it… it didn't go well."

"Yeah?" Tim asks softly, trying not to sound overly eager.

"Yeah…" Bart clutches the blanket so hard his knuckles turn white. "It was good at first… Great, even. But then,” Bart shivers as images of the horrors he experienced—that he caused—in the other universe flash behind his eyes, “Then it went all wrong.”

Tim shifts, relaxing into the bed as he settles in for what's sure to be a long story. He pats the spot next to him and smiles fragily as Bart shifts upright and joins him, watching intently as his friend launches into everything that happened since that day at the Flash Museum…