A Speedster's Past and A World's Future (A Young Justice Fan Fiction)

Chapter 4

Barry had had a long day at work, so he and Iris were relaxing in the living room for a bit before going to bed. Bart had already gone to bed. "Barry, I'm really worried about Bart..."

He nodded "I am too Iris..."

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

He sighed "I just don't know... Something is off with him. I just don't know how to talk to him about it. I've never had to do something like this before..."

She smiled at him "It's almost like having a son. Only... you know, grandson... from the future..."

Barry sighed again "That's just the thing, I'm not a father yet, I thought I had at least a decade before I would have to start dealing with teenage angst!"

She chuckled "Oh it's not that bad."

He ran a hand through his hair "I've only known Bart for six months. What right do I have to question him about these things? You said it yourself, I'm not his father. Sometimes I wonder if he had been better off staying with Jay and Joan..."

She put a hand on his shoulder "Face it Barry, as crazy as it is, you're his grandfather. In his time, he grew up with you telling him stories about your life. He looks up to you, even if you haven't done some of those things yet. Bart is all alone in this time, you're the closest thing he has to a family. He might not want your help, but he needs it..."

Barry gave her a kiss on the cheek "Thanks Iris, you always know what to say."

Iris grinned "What can I say? I'm a genius!"

They both laughed "I'll have a talk with Bart soon. I just want to gather a bit more information first. Wally and Tim have been keeping an eye on him too, so I'll need to talk with them at some point."

Iris nodded "That sounds good. Just don't wait too long." He nodded "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired. You ready to go to bed?"

"Yeah I'm tired too..." they were about to stand up when they heard a crash from upstairs. "What was that?" a second later there was screaming. Barry quickly grabbed Iris and ran them both upstairs.

They stopped at Bart's door. Barry tried the doorknob, but it was locked. The screaming continued so he rammed into the door a couple of times before the lock broke. They both ran inside and tried to take everything in. Bart was tangled up in the blankets. He was screaming his head off as tears ran down his face.

Barry quickly went to the screaming teen. "Bart? You need to wake up buddy?" he went to touch his shoulder and shake him awake. However, the instant Barry's hand made contact, Bart shot up and punched him in the face.

Bart's eyes widened but it didn't seem like he knew where he was "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... please don't hurt me... I'm so sorry..." he curled in on himself and started sobbing. He had his hands held over his head like he was trying to protect himself.

Barry looked over at Iris. His nose was bleeding, but neither was focused on that "What should I do?"

"I..." she was as confused as he was "Try... try waking him up again..."

Barry nodded and sat down next to Bart. "Bart? It's just a dream buddy, I'm not going to hurt you..." he put his hand on his shoulder and Bart looked up.

His eyes went back to normal and he looked at Barry "Grandpa?" he nodded. Bart noticed his nose. "Did... I do that?" he started crying again "I'm so sorry it's just... I thought you were him and I just reacted... I'm so sorry..."

"Hey, it's ok..." Barry put an arm around his shoulder "I heal quick, there's nothing to be sorry about. I shouldn't have startled you like that." Bart looked up and Barry wiped the tears from his eyes. "You ok?" he nodded.