Close your eyes (Bart Allen One shot)

Close your eyes

Bart closed his eyes. He didn't understand. Neutron told him that he had to go back in time, save Grandpa Barry, get him off mode, and use that same blue pill on Blue beetle to get him off mode as well. He'd done two of those things, and only had the third left.

So why were things going so wrong?

Lying on his bed in his new home at the Garrick's, Bart started contemplating his mission. He didn't know how to get Jamie to take the blue pill because Neutron said he had to be at full power in order to use it, so that when the mode's energy levels were spiking and was at its most powerful and unstable state, it would be easier to crash the mode.

It would be weird to throw it while Jamie was fighting, and what if the armour retracted after he did that? Jamie would be dead in seconds without his armour to protect him, or any weapons to fight with.

Bart sighed, tired of thinking and worrying. He went to sleep.

Bart patiently waited, still unsure of how to go about it, the weight of the fate of humanity growing heavier and heavier as the days went by. Everyday was the same. Go to school. Fight. Hang with Blue. Go home. Figure out how to save everybody. Close his eyes. Think.

Everyday wasted was a chance for the reach to take over. If he failed, he would have failed everybody. His not yet born mom and dad (Time travel is so confusing), His Grandparents and Great grandparents, Wally, The Team, Neutron, Jamie.

The whole world.

Bart rolled over. He'd been having insomnia. He closed his eyes, and tried to sleep.

Bart closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and grinned in front of the mirror. He frowned. Then he grabbed his bag and opened the door, smiling again. For the rest of the day He didn't dare let his mask drop. He wouldn't let it fall anytime soon.

If anyone knew of what happened in the future, who knew what would happen. Anything he said or did could trigger the apocalypse. If he revealed too much, it could mean the deaths of millions. He didn't even know if coming here itself was what caused the apocalypse, and he didn't want to think about it.

So he smiled. And laughed. Sometimes it was really genuine, but most of the time he felt empty inside, dead, just a walking puppet with a mask on its face. He tried not to forget the events of the past. Future. Whatever.
Forgetting meant losing valuable lessons and memories. He would forget to trust no one. That the world wasn't a great amazing place. It was cruel and evil.

He had grown up too fast, but he tried not to show it. If he succeeded, and hopefully he did, he would be the only person on earth with those memories, and he wanted to treasure them. No matter how painful, they reminded him to treasure your loved ones. You'd never know when they'd be gone. All it took was one plasma cannon, and they were gone forever. They would never come back.

Thinking again. He really needs to stop doing that. Some are worried about him not sleeping. He just smiles and waves it off. He wishes he could just close his eyes and forget everything.

Jamie laughs, and so does he. It's a laugh that has been practiced to seem real. As much as he can, Bart tries to keep his eyes alive and energetic. The eyes are the windows to the soul. If anyone looked closely they would know he was trying Too hard to look alive. He might as well shut them as much as he can, so that no one can find out about the pain they hide.

They eat Chicken Whizzies, telling lame jokes and talking about anything under the sun. Bart tries to enjoy it. He really does. But try as he might, he fails. So he laughs again, trying not to let the real him seep through the cracks of his mask.

The reach have left. Bart feels relieved. For the first time? He can close his eyes and sleep without nightmares of earth falling to the Reach's hands. But at a cost. Impulse- No, Kidflash - had been called for a mission. Bart would never forget his first cousin once removed, and would do anything to get him back, but as Martian Manhunter had said, he had disappeared into the Speed Force, and would not be able to get out. Grandpa Barry had tried to save him, and almost died.