Impulse {The Flash/Arrow}

Fourteen

Twenty-seven.

It was hard to believe that I had been alive on this Earth for twenty-seven years. It felt like only a few days ago I was graduating from high school with aspirations to be a forensic scientist, and now I was the co-head of the forensics division of the department with my best friend and the love of my life. Even in the past year alone had been eventful beyond belief. As I stared up at the slowly-brightening ceiling above me, I reflected on just everything that had happened. I'd found out that my childhood best friend was a vigilante that had been the masked hero that my hometown needed, and that he was fighting alongside friends that I had known for years and ones that I instantly became friends with when I met them. When I moved from my hometown to my current residence, I met an amazing group of people who provided me with the home that I was never fortunate enough to have. I felt accepted and loved by people who meant the world to me, something that I hadn't felt in a while.

In the past year, I'd faced foes that I never thought that existed. I stared into the face of my own mortality who only knows how many times, and it was stunning how I was able to come out of each and every one of them alive. My best friend and I were up against someone who was willing to take every life that he could in order to get what he wanted, and we somehow managed to take him out and make sure that he wasn't able to hurt anyone the way that he had hurt us. I was opened to an entire world of things that I'd only thought existed in comic books and science fiction novels, and it was surprising that I hadn't gone crazy from any of it yet. Even after facing numerous people who had superhuman abilities or who were just psycho enough to seem like they did, it was difficult to fully grasp that everything like this existed, just like it was still difficult to believe that my grandson from over 100 years in the future had traveled back in time.

Bart was one of the highlights of the past year. He--along with Barry--showed me how to become a better person, and he made me want to become a better person like him. His innocence and kindness warmed my heart, and I wanted to be like him in all of the best ways possible. Despite my mistakes about telling Barry about who Bart really was, he'd been a constant light in my life. I didn't want to think about when he would inevitably travel back to his time to be with the future versions of myself and Barry because it was too hard to think about. Having him leave me like that would kill me even though I knew that it was best for him, and I was dreading the moment that we had to face that decision. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have thought about when that would happen, so I wasn't going to voice any of my concerns in hopes of prolonging the inevitable for as long as I possibly could. The longer I could keep Bart with me meant that I would be able to keep my head on straight for a little while longer.

While I was on the subject of Bart, I began thinking about Thaddeus. There was still part of his story that I was missing that only Bart would know, but it didn't feel right to ask him about his brother/clone. Even so, I wanted to know how it was possible that this President Thawne was able to clone Bart's DNA and why he felt the need to make the exact opposite of Bart. He was a sweet, kind, selfless boy that anyone would be happy to have in their family. However, Thaddeus' obvious ruthlessness and pure evil essence hadn't caused him to seek out anyone to kill. I wasn't sure if he really had it in him to kill anyone just to get to Bart, but I didn't want to doubt him at this point. It was daunting to think that, if we didn't come up with a plan soon, he would begin taking out people of this city one by one. The past few days had been spent mainly rehabilitating my relationship with Barry and making sure that we solve Ms. Grant's case as quickly as possible so that she could get out of Central City soon. None of us had had the time to think of a plan to keep Thaddeus at bay, but I was glad that the curfew was working. It was one less worry that I had on my mind, but it was foolish to think that it would last forever.

Barry's stirring movements next to me brought me out of my small bubble of thought. I turned my head to see him still fast asleep, his pale skin glowing in the dim morning light. By the lack of movement in his eyelids, I could tell that he was in the early stages of waking up, and I could imagine just how beautiful his bright green eyes would look in the warm morning sunlight. They were always bright with a frosty edge in the mornings due to the hours of sleep that he had just gone through, and it was something that I'd really come to love over the past few months of knowing him and being with him like this. What he didn't know--and what I hoped he wouldn't ever know--was that I adored how he looked in the morning. It wasn't because he was always half-naked but more because of how beautifully young and content he looked. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad thing that he seldom wore a shirt around the loft, but something about his entire being and appearance took my attention away from the chiseled features of his torso.