Bart Allen

Bart had an idea. Especially since the entire Bat!Clan was in a slump. He had a plan, but it probably measured up about as well as his typical plans. On the other hand, it might work. And he had the box with his Nintendo and games under one arm as he went to abscond with a future Batman.

Some things took a friend, not family. He'd done it from time to time for Tim, so maybe he could do it for Terry, too.

"Enough brooding, man. Otherwise I might think you really need that suit," Bart told him.

Bart didn't really know what to expect on Halloween. Last year had been a little creepy, more for some than others. But certainly hadn't expected to start the day off fighting for his life against the stuffed toys he'd helped Cissie win.

Especially since he was pretty sure Funshine Bear was chanting the name Kali over and over. He did not need that reminder, since he most definitely was not Batman and he didn't have a utility belt full of goodies. It had taken most of his knowledge just to get out of the bedroom in one piece, block the stairs out of the treehouse before anything escaped, and barricade himself in Bob's room. At least here he had the rope he used to making the climbing obstacles Bob loved, and it was strong enough to use to get down if he had to.

He just really didn't want to leave a bunch of killer toys in his home and pray they didn't escape. Bart just really didn't know what else to do. He really wished Tim was here, because his plans usually didn't work out in the long-run.

"Thank God we don't have many neighbors," Bart told Bob as he leaned back against the door, feeling the first rush of adrenaline giving way.

When Cissie had mentioned wanting to spend her birthday just the two of them, Bart had originally agreed without hesitation. He enjoyed spending time with her, more than strictly as friends, but that wasn't what made him nervous. He didn't really have anything special to give her besides an afternoon together and a picnic dinner. He knew just where they'd go, too. There was this great cliff above one of the beaches that would let them sit and watch the sun set over the water.

Sure, it was romantic, but that wasn't the point. They did these things because they finally had the time to actually stay still and appreciate them. Like riding fictional birds along the beach to get there, too. He loved the chocobos, and he and Cissie had fought their only real island mission from one. Things hadn't started there, but they'd bonded over that, and that Cissie could pick up her bow when she wanted to and still put it down again. He'd never asked her to be Arrowette here, and he sure wasn't Impulse or Kid Flash.

For the first time in their lives, they were just...them. And that was always worth celebrating.

As they reached the spot, he realized he'd been stupid not to come out here first with the blanket and basket that he had on the saddle behind him, but it was too late now. At least they didn't have to tie up the chocobos like horses, since they'd stay close or, at worst, return to the stable. One of the small ways they were different.

"I, uh, still need to set things up," he said, sheepishly, as he dismounted. "But, well, Happy Birthday."

Bart had been looking for Kon in a relatively half-hearted manner. He wanted to see him, sure, but he didn't know what to say. Tim was here, his Tim, or near enough. But there was also that strange encounter with Clark. So while his feet had brought him near Kon's hut, and the compound, and then back towards the treehouse, his mind was elsewhere.

So when he entered the clearing where Kon's statue stood, he was totally taken back by the figure sitting on the pedastal. Kon was there, brooding. At least, it sure looked like a brood from here.

"Hey, you hear about the new arrivals?"

"Last one to Oakland does dishes for a month!" Bart challenged his teammates as the crackling energy surrounded him to transform into his uniform.

It was a routine call, a bank robbery with a few metapowered toughs for muscle. Wonder Girl had stormed in to tell them, standing in front of the television, which was really the only way Blue Beetle could have won the game they were playing. Nothing big, but he wanted to spice it up a little. Superboy was at his heels before he even left the building, and Kid Flash spared a microsecond to worry about the tension between him and Wondy. The girl was in love with him, but Wonder Girl the Titans leader kept trying to keep emotions out of the mix and it was causing trouble for everyone.

"Disgusting," Aquagirl commented, her usual response to anything he said, and he ignored it, running easily out onto the waters of San Francisco Bay as the others flew, were carried, or swam.

The run should have been simple, it always had been before. Just stay moving fast enough and keep an air cushion under your feet to not break surface tension. The waves made it a little harder because you had to predict how they’d move, but spending time in Hawaii had helped, as did reading up on various topics like fluid dynamics and oceanography. What he hadn’t counted on was running out of speed halfway there.

Bart could remember only too clearly the only other times the Speed Force had failed to answer his call. Savitar and his minions were long gone, so it had nothing to do with the number of speedsters in the world. And the other, well, he wasn’t trying to tow the power along inside him anymore, either. But just as quickly as he could register it, he went from running on top of the waves to nearly being dragged under by one.

"Hey, Cass, SB, Beetle, can one of you give me a..."

He trailed off as he took a few careful strokes, looking around him, half expecting to see Aquagirl laughing at him. But none of them were there now. "Uh, guys, this isn’t funny! Hello!"

No answer. That wasn’t right. Neither was swimming in these boots, but he didn’t want to lose them. Never mind that he could call them out of the Speed Force with a thought now, if the Speed Force wasn’t answering him, he didn’t exactly have a change handy. Getting his bearings, he caught a glimpse of an island he knew hadn’t been there before and started swimming for it.

"Just my luck," he complained aloud. "I get sucked into another place and soaked at the same time."

And covered with sand, he added, when he finally managed to half-drag himself out of the water. Swimming just wasn’t his thing, even when he could mostly ride the waves back to shore. It wasn’t even a familiar shore.

Kon had a surfboard in one arm and a towel in the other. Staying away from Cassie meant staying away from most of the places he ran into her. Even if she couldn't exactly get around with a broken leg and everything, he still avoided the spots just to be on the safe side. She had another, what, four weeks until her leg was healed, but this was Cassie they were talking about. She'd find a way to confront him for being a coward.

What he didn't expect when he emerged onto the beach was a man, a kid really, hauling himself out of the water.

"Hey, are you..." It was the red hair that caught his attention first. No. No, way.

Bart coughed a little, not sure he hadn't swallowed a good deal of ocean on the way in. He'd nearly gotten pulled under once, but he was pretty sure he was still alive. Being dead would mean he wasn't half so miserable.

"Just give me a second or two to catch my breath," he said, not really checking who it was. He was too miserable to really care as long as the mask stayed on. Pulling himself up on hands and knees, he dragged himself the rest of the way out of the surf and dropped to one side, exhausted in a way he hardly remembered ever being before. "Don't know why I..."

Then he recognized the figure, and the voice. "Where's Oakland? Why are you out of uniform?"

"Oakland?" Oh god. It was Bart. And not only Bart, but a Bart from before he got old. "Dude, I don't have a clue what you're talking about." He grinned suddenly. "Oh, you're in for it. We have so much to talk about." Bart. Here. His heart started pounding and he couldn't seem to stop the grin on his face. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed having his best friends until suddenly one of them was there.

"Are you sure your lungs aren't filled with water?"

"Only...half," Bart said, still wheezing a little. "Why would we have to talk? You and Cassie and the others were right behind me."

He frowned, looking around. "Speaking of, where is everyone, and where is here, and what the hell is going on?"

"Okay, long story short, we're on an island. You were pulled from your time and plopped here where there are dinosaurs on the north side of the island and where you might turn and see Wendy - or maybe Buffy - and then turn another corner and see someone who's read the Flash comics." He'd have mentioned the Superboy comics, but those actually existed kind of in their world.

"I'd ask if you'd been drugged, but we both know how likely that is," Bart said, slowly sitting up and peeling off gloves and boots to try to dump part of the ocean back where it belonged. "And what do you mean? I was racing across the Bay not two minutes ago with the rest of the Titans, and now...

"This isn't one of Brainy's plots, again, is it?"

"Yeah, but one little problem." Kon slugged Bart in the arm. "No super speed, no strength, no flight."

"Uh, what?" Bart asked, dumbly. He couldn't believe it, even as he rubbed the spot Kon hit. "This isn't funny, you know. I could have drowned out there. My speed just...gave out. That isn't supposed to happen."

"No powers here. We're just...ordinary kids, I guess." Kon snorted. There was nothing 'ordinary' about them.

Bart slipped his boots back on because they were all he had to wear. "But where are the others? Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle, Aquagirl..."

"Cassie's back at her place with a broken leg and..." Kon frowned. Blue Beetle and Aquagirl? "What does Ted Kord have to do with anything?"

"That isn't funny," Bart said, frowning. "Ted died. And Cassie seemed fine when she was ordering everyone out. So what the hell is going on? And why are you grinning like it's your birthday? I think you need to start at the beginning. Again."

Kon snorted. "Okay, the last thing I remember is back during that whole 'pulled into the future, tried to get back into the present, end up meeting our future evil doubles' thing. Ted was still alive - he died? how? - and Cassie doesn't even remember that. Last she knew, we were still Young Justice."

"Max Lord killed him. He was getting too close to things," Bart said, scowling a little. "And that was, jeez, years ago now. And how could you and Cass be from way back then, when you never left?"

Kon shrugged. "I have no idea. I just know that's how it worked out." He frowned. "Wait. Years ago? But I thought..." Now he was really confused. "You're from after I died?"

"No," Bart said, unable to help the grin at the memory. "I'm from after you came back."

"After I..." Kon wasn't able to stop the sense of relief he had at that. "Good. That means I can melt that stupid statue." Of course, that meant there was something else. "Hey. You're not old."

"Blame Brainy. It was his miscalculation," Bart said, shrugging a little. "That wasn't supposed to happen. Feels better to be whole again."

"His miscalculation that you're young again or that you were old in the first place?"

"That I got old. That me had maybe a month left to live when I died," Bart said, not looking at his eyes. "And the you I was just with would know that one."

"Yeah, well, you had more than a month here on the island." He decided not to tell Bart that that him had also been dating Tim.

"I should remember this place, in that case," Bart said, carefully. "I don't. And I'm seriously going to need a change of clothes. Especially since there's no Speed Force."

"Well, it happened. You can ask Cassie. After we get you clothes, I'll drop you off." Kon jerked his head at the edge of the beach and started walking. "There's a walkway leading directly to the Compound once you get off the beach."

"Don't tell me, you and Cassie are having relationship problems here, too?" Bart asked, frowning a little. "So, what is this place. Compound doesn't exactly sound friendly."

"Too?" Kon sighed. Well, at least he knew that the 'picture perfect' relationship he'd always hoped for them wasn't happening. "It's...I don't know what it is, really. There are the dinosaurs and a second island and twice a year when the island gives out all the alcohol and soda you could want." And maybe he was avoiding talking about Cassie.

"Why would I want any alcohol? And please don't tell me that means there isn't any the rest of the year," Bart groaned. He didn't want to know what was going on. "So basically, we're stuck here on Gilligan's Island turned bass-ackward and you still can't get the girl? What are my chances? But, y'know, not with Cassie."

"Oh, I could probably get the girl. But it was a messy breakup and...and...I don't know." Kon shrugged. "And your chances? You, Mr. Celibate, wants to date?" He laughed and jogged away, knowing Bart would be after him for that one. "And no. No soda. And you can't stock up because it all vanishes."

"Didn't it ever occur to you as strange that the future-me threw you guys over for Ravager?" Bart retorted, even as he ran the few steps with a laugh as he caught Kon in a half-hearted tackle from behind. "One of these days I will find out why everyone thinks I'm so innocent. Even if I do have to be a decent role-model for the new Impulse these days."

"Unless you want to get sand in your uniform, I wouldn't do that," Kon warned. "It's a ways back to the Compound." Oh, he knew Bart wasn't innocent. That was the problem.

"I've already got sand in my uniform, moron. I almost got caught under a time or two on the way in. And I wasn't about to lose my shoes over a little unexpected swimming," Bart retorted. "But, seriously, of all the times to be caught without civvies, this one totally bites."

Kon snorted. "Don't worry. People may blink a few times at seeing Kid Flash walk into the Compound, but there isn't anyone who dresses in spandex around here."

"Should I pull the mask off and pretend I was dressed for a party instead?" Bart said, glancing around automatically. "I mean, Conner Kent doesn't know Kid Flash personally. Unless I'm missing something..." And what sane person really worked in their line of work in spandex, anyway? You had to be invulnerable to pull it off.

"I told you about the comics, right? Some people think we're fictional. And besides, I've sort of stopped going by Conner here. It's just Kon." Although there were some people who still knew him as Conner.

"Shower and clothes first, then you can explain this comics nonsense." He was starting to itch, which was really why he pulled the cowl back off his face and neck. He needed to rub at his eyes, too. "Besides, you didn't leap on a new Impulse, which I half expected. She's almost as bad as I was. Don't know what it's going to mean for Jai, though."

"I wasn't sure what to think of another Impulse." He paused and grinned. "The first one was bad enough."

"I'm considering it the ultimate revenge, since she's Wally's daughter," Bart said, grinning back. "Besides, I was just as surprised as everyone else when she picked it. It's still cool. I mean, a legacy like that...who wouldn't want it? She's a great kid, even has my knack for vibrating through things."

Truth to be told, he couldn't help but be proud to have someone pick up the name, especially family. "Grandpa Barry's back, too. It's been an interesting time. Wally is still an ass, though."

Kon snorted. "Oh, it's the season for everyone coming back from the dead or missing or whatever? I bet Tim was thrilled."

Bart went quiet at that, taking a time to think that over. "Not without Bruce. We thought he was dead, there was a body and everything. But it was different," he said, carefully. "Most of the world doesn't know. And Dick's taken over full-time as Batman, with a new Robin."

He couldn't help not liking that one. Tim was Robin, except now he wasn't. "You might get a kick out of this one. It seems our dear friend Alvin Draper is wanted for questioning in regards to a museum robbery."

Kon's jaw dropped open. "Alvin...and Bruce...and..." Okay, his head was officially hurting. What in the hell had been going on while he'd been dead? He officially wanted Tim around so he could smack him. "Wow, okay. I guess I've missed a lot while I've been...gone."

"Me, too, brah," Bart said, punching lightly in the shoulder in as much of a tease as the joking use of Hawaiian slang. "But I need a shower and a change before we really go into details."

"You keep saying that. We can only walk so..." Kon turned the corner and gestured at the building in the distance. "There it is."

"How very...post-industrial complex," Bart said, uncertain what else could be said to that boring rectangular building.

"I know. I half expect to see zombies running...well, shambling around like in one of those movies." Kon bit his lip. "There's something I should tell you. For when you see Cassie. You were...here before."

Bart couldn't help a shudder at the mention of zombies, even though the Black Lanterns hadn't exactly been that. He didn't want to see anything that should be dead and wasn't ever again. So he addressed the other topic. "So I was here before, and...?"

"And…the island kind of turned me into my evil twin. I did a lot of things I'm not proud of and one of the things was…I came onto you. When I was still with Cassie." Kon held his breath, waiting to find out Bart's reaction.

"You...came on to me?" Bart said, incredulously. "Were you evil or just plain confused? Because last I checked, you liked girls."

What was he supposed to say in response to something like that. He'd worked really hard not to think about any of his teammates as anything more than friends.

Kon snorted. "Not so much evil as…well, yes, evil, but angry, too. You were old and Tim was…" Kon sighed, not really wanting to get into Tim and Bart. "Let's just say that I felt left out and when the island worked its magic, I got into a little bit of revenge. At your expense. Cassie found out and…" He shrugged. It didn't take a genius to figure out how she would have reacted.

"And she blamed me because I wasn't the one being influenced by 'island magic,'" Bart concluded, shaking his head a little. "Trust me, there were times I felt left out with how close you and Tim were. But it wasn't me, not this me. Still, I'll have to see her. She'll never forgive either of us if I don't at least say hi as soon as possible."

"Oh, trust me." There was a little bit of bitterness to Kon's tone. "She blames me, too. Really, she doesn't have reason to blame either of us, not to mention the fact that you don't remember any of it. I lied to you. Told you Cassie and I had broken up." He shrugged. "Sorry. Don't mean to have you show up to the mystical island and have everything be screwed up from the get-go."

"Isn't that par for the course in our lives? I know I'm pretty screwed up. And I'm going to have to remember that you haven't lived through some of what I have. Several pieces of which I'm glad for. But first I better meet with Cassie before she finds out another way that I washed up," he said, with a slight smile. He understood some of it, although he still couldn't imagine Kon hitting on him for any reason. They'd always been just friends.

"Back home, Cassie's having problems with being Superboy's girlfriend and the leader for the Titans. It's not like Young Justice. We are the older generation, since Gar and Vic and Kory are working with other teams. And...my grandpa is alive." The last was said with the wistfulness of someone who'd needed that touchstone.

Part of him, a very large part, was kind of glad that things seemed more settled for Bart than they had been. That and the fact that he wasn't old. Looking, at least. Bart was his Bart, even if it was only an illusion. "I guess some things weren't meant to be." He threw an arm around Bart's shoulder. "But first. Clothes. And you get to explain the spandex if we run into any of my friends."

"It's not spandex, and you should be grateful that it didn't destabilize into its atomic constituents without the Speed Force," Bart joked. "But fine, I'll explain. Might even be fun."


"Fun?" Kon asked the question before deciding that he really, really did not want to know. "Never mind. Come on. Let's get you clothed and talking to Cassie."