This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so please let me know what you think!

This fic takes place a bit after mt justice was blown up. Arty is already undercover with Aqualad, and the team has already saved Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, and Impulse from the Reach. The only difference is that in this fic, Batman never went to Rimbor.

Chapter One

Wally suddenly woke up to the sound of someone rapidly knocking on the door. He rolled over in bed to check the time. It was almost 5pm.

"Babe, can you get the…" He started to call out, before remembering that Artemis wasn't home. Reality always waited a few moments to set in for Wally when he first woke up. Artemis was gone, undercover with Aqualad for who knows how long. Mount justice was gone, too. The incessant knocking at the door brought Wally back from his thoughts. He had a feeling he knew exactly who it was, which is why he was in no rush to answer the door. The knocking was constant, though, and Wally knew the noise wouldn't go away until he opened the door. He reluctantly made his way over to it.

I'll just tell him to go away, he thought, then reached out to open the door. Practically the moment the knob turned, Bart flung the door open and was inside.

"Wally West! If it isn't my favorite first cousin, once removed!" Then he promptly flung his arms around Wally in a way-too-tight-for-comfort hug.

"Again, the operative word there being- removed." Wally retorted, shoving Bart away from him. "What are you doing here?"

"Gramps wanted me to go over for dinner. I thought it'd be pretty crash if you came, too! It'd be like a regular family reunion, you know?" Bart said, practically vibrating with excitement. Wally, on the other hand, was not pleased. Barry hadn't invited him to dinner in ages. He felt like he was being replaced by some kid they barely even knew.

"Kid, you have way too much energy for this early in the.. uh, evening." Wally scoffed.

"Sorry, well, we're gonna be late! Come on, let's go!" Bart was practically jumping up and down at this point, obviously anxious about the dinner.

Wally didn't trust him. He still kind of blamed Bart for Mount Justice getting destroyed, since he was the one who brought the tracker inside that let Kaldur and his people break in. He still wondered if it was just an accident. He decided he might as well go to the dinner, to keep an eye on Bart. He didn't want Flash blindly putting his trust in someone they didn't know.

"Ugh, fine. I need a minute. I'll meet you there."

"Crash!" With that, Bart disappeared out the door.

...

Barry, Iris, and Bart were all already sitting at the table when Wally arrived. He noticed that Barry looked surprised to see him.

"Uh, sorry to crash your little dinner, the kid told me to come."

"No, we're happy to have you, Wally! I just figured you'd want some space after what happened with Arte-"

"I'm fine." Wally snapped. He didn't want to talk about Artemis. Of course he missed her, but he didn't want to think about that. He was supposed to be in mourning, and he didn't want to have to fake that, either. With that, Bart rushed to the kitchen and rushed back with two more plates of food.

"Here you go, Wally!" He set the food down next to where he was sitting. Of course Wally would have to sit next to this kid. He sighed and sat down. This was going to be a long night.

Barry decided to break the silence, "I was just telling Iris about when we stopped Neutron! Can you believe this kid? Only, what, 13? 14? And he taught me a new trick! How incredible is that? This kid is fast! I mean, I know we're all fast, but Bart, you're really something." Barry ruffled Bart's hair before scarfing down another plate of food. Wally couldn't help but feel inadequate. He also couldn't help but notice that Bart didn't bother clarifying how old he was.

"Thanks, gramps! I can't believe I finally got to see the Flash and Kid Flash in action! I mean... in your primes! Best time travel trip ever." Wally noticed that Bart was still on his first plate, which was... weird, to say the least, with a speedster's metabolism.

"Glad you could make it here, I just hope things don't get too messed up for you when you're finally able to go back." Flash said.

"Oh, it's crash, I figure since I'm stuck here, I might as well make the best of it! It's not bad here, really. Do you guys hang out like this all the time? 'Cause I-"

"Oh, give up the act already, kid! What's your deal?" Wally interrupted.

"Wally!" Iris scolded. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. I should go. I have to check on Nelson anyways." Wally got up and started to leave.

"Oh! Is that your dog? They don't really have pets in my era. I'll go with you!" Bart jumped out of his seat.

"NO!" Wally shouted.

"Wally!" Iris gave him a death glare, which only made him more defensive.

"What! I can't ever get a break from this kid! He's basically my replacement. I get it, he's faster than me, but you don't even know him! We already know he lied about why he came here, and he's obviously hiding something. Anyone else notice he's barely eaten?" Wally turned his attention to Bart, "Aren't you supposed to be a speedster? Aren't you supposed to know what you're doing here? Aren't time travelers supposed to come back, fix things, then LEAVE? All you've done is almost get Flash killed, get yourself captured, and screw everything up! Mount Justice is gone because of you!" Wally slammed his fist on the table. Bart flinched hard at the sudden noise and reflexively raised his hands in front of his face, as if he thought he was about to be hit. Wally was too upset to notice.

"I'm sorry, I- I'd leave," Bart stuttered, "but the time ma-"

"Yeah, yeah, the time machine's broken. You seem more than happy to be here for someone who's 'trapped.'" Wally made finger quotes on the word trapped for emphasis.

"I just…" Bart's words clung to the back of his throat, "I just wanted to be part of the family…"

"You are not my family." Wally said coldly.

"WALLY!" Both Iris and Barry snapped.

Bart disappeared, leaving the door open on his way out.

"Someone had to say it, he's hiding something. You shouldn't trust him."

...

Nightwing, Batman, Wally, Flash, and M'gann got together to discuss what to do about Bart.

"What happened at Mount Justice definitely makes him suspect..."

"He's just a kid..."

"We can't trust him..."

"We need to know if he's a threat to the team or even to the league..."

"He might open up if you just give him a chance..."

"He's lied to us before…"

"The risk of trusting him blindly is too great, especially now that we know what could be at stake…"

...

Bart had stayed the night at Barry's house, he slept on the couch, even though Barry and Iris had a guest room. He woke up to the smell of pancakes. In an instant, he was up and in the kitchen.

"Morning, grandma! Those for everyone?"

Iris laughed. "Of course, Bart. Help yourself!"

Barry had already eaten at least a dozen and was waiting for Bart to eat so he could have seconds. Bart quickly ate two pancakes and then ran back to the living room.

"The rest is all you, gramps!" Barry looked a little concerned, but who could turn down extra pancakes? Not Barry Allen, that's for sure. Once he finished eating, he went to talk to Bart.

"Hey, kid? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Sure, what's up, grandpa?"

"Well, not just me. There's a few people that are… worried about you. We want to make sure you're okay. Will you make an appearance at the team's new HQ today? Just to put their minds at ease?"

"Who's worried? Why?"

"We can talk about it when we get there, okay?"

"Ummm… I guess?"

"Thanks, kid. And Bart?"

"Yeah?"

"You are a part of the family."

...

When Bart and Barry arrived at the team's base, Bart was immediately put off. Batman, Nightwing, M'gann and Wally were all already sitting in the lounge, waiting for them. Bart's stomach turned at the sight of Wally. He hadn't wanted Wally to know that what he'd said had gotten to him, but the truth was, it crushed him. He wasn't sure if he was ready to confront that.

"Sit." Batman commanded- or maybe offered- with Batman, there's no telling. Bart looked around suspiciously and sat down.

Barry is the first to talk. "Bart, we're all worried about you." Bart noticed the expectant looks on everyone's faces.

"No need! I feel crash!" Bat shrugged it off, not knowing what he'd just gotten himself into.

Wally didn't feel like having this conversation. He just wanted to get to the point.

"Bart, we're worried about the future. We know you lied, and we get that you had to, but now the cat's out of the bag. The timeline's already messed up with you being stuck here. So, keeping secrets is going to do more harm than good at this point. We need to know the truth"

Bart was silent, for once.

"Well?" Wally impatiently asked.

"I don't know what you want me to say... Yeah, I lied. I.. I thought blue was going to get put on mode, I stopped that from happening, didn't I? Flash was supposed to die, I saved him, didn't I?"

"Wait, I was-"

"Look, you're all still here, and as far as I'm concerned, that means the future's looking pretty crash, right?"

"Are you saying in your future, we're all.. dead?" M'gann asked solemnly.

"Sorry, no spoilers! I already said too much." Bart sunk into his chair, hoping they'd give it up soon. He really needed to be more careful.

"Something tells me we know exactly what you want us to know." Wally accused.

"Exactly! Because everything else is not for you to know!"

"Look, Bart. We'd appreciate it if you could just be honest with us now. But if you're not, you have to know, there's another way." Nightwing said, looking at M'gann, "The choice is yours."

"That doesn't sound like much of a choice." Bart looked pleadingly around the room for any sympathetic eyes. He looked to Barry, who was avoiding eye contact by looking at his own feet.

"Haven't any of you ever heard of privacy?" Bart stood up defensively. At that point, Barry finally acknowledged him by standing with him, and put a firm hand on his shoulder. Bart wasn't sure whether he was trying to be comforting or controlling.

"Please, Bart."

M'gann stood up as well, "We don't want to intrude. This is why we haven't involved the league or the team. If your secrets are harmless to us, no one outside this room will learn them. That's a promise."

Bart looked around again, realizing now what was about to happen. "Wait, you can't just-"

"Now, M'gann." Batman ordered. Bart collapsed mid sentence. Everyone looked at M'gann, shocked.

"Wait… What did you do?" Wally started to remember how M'gann could get carried away when taking information telepathically. He wasn't a fan of Bart, but he didn't want to hurt him.

"Don't worry. I just put him to sleep. It will be easier this way. For everyone."

"How long will he be out?" Nightwing asked.

M'gann paused, "Until I wake him."