The Hunt ⋆ Young Justice (o.h.)

twenty-eight : blast from the past

( CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT : BLAST FROM THE PAST )

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THE ALLENS HAD ALWAYS BEEN NICE TO HEARNE, BUT THEY INVITED HER OVER MORE OFTEN SINCE ATHENA LEFT. It made it hurt a bit more with the reminder, but she liked being with them, so she went whenever she could. She brought an anniversary gift for Jay and Joan, a decorative plaque that said 'for life, death, our love is there' in Greek. Joan had been so happy with it she immediately placed it on the mantle, right in front of their 20th-anniversary photo.

The Garricks were arguably the nicest people she had ever met. Since she became good friends--"best" friends--with Artemis, and in turn Wally, she had spent more time with the couple, to the point that they knew her favorite color, season, and her favorite type of leather. 

"Wally will be here soon," Joan said. "Artemis, too. We can hardly get those two to come over anymore, they're so busy with college." She smiled and glanced at Hearne. "What about you, dear? Have you ever thought about going to college? It's not too late, many kids take a gap year."

"I know nineteen isn't too late to start, but I don't think college is the thing for me."

"Always remember--"

Hearne's phone rang and she sighed, apologizing to Joan as she made her way outside. The sky was grey, a dreary day in Central City. "Hey, Tim. How are you?"

"Good, good," he quickly said. "Look, Dick's calling Flash and Wally, so--okay, gotta be quick. There's this boy who claims he's Bart Allen, Barry's grandson, and he's making a beeline for Central."

Hearne practically felt her brain do a factory reset. "...Ah, what?"

"That's what he says, and he's a speedster, too. We're running a DNA test, but it'll take a sec, and--"

A commotion came from inside and she cursed. "Whoever they are, I think they're here. I'll let you know if we need reinforcements."

"Hearne, wait, there's--"

She hung up the phone and hurried inside, darkness started to slowly collect at her fingertips.

"He is not my grandson!" Barry said. "Heck, Iris and I don't even have kids."

"Um, Barry."

"What?"

"I'm . . . pregnant."

Barry's eyes went wide. "What?"

"I-I found out this morning," Iris said. "I was going to tell you tonight, in private."

'Bart' sped over, waving at Iris' stomach. "Hi, Dad. Hi, Aunt Dawn."

Barry made a distressed noise. "Wait, there are two in there?"

"We're having twins?"

"Oops, spoilers."

"Careful, kid." Oh, thank the gods. "If you are what you say you are, revealing too much could crash the whole time stream."

"Crash it?" Bart said. "If only."

"Okay, okay, hold on," Hearne said, holding up her hand. She quickly shook it to get rid of the darkness. "Kid, you need to keep everything about the future under wraps. It could create a butterfly effect."

"Right, right! Totally right. Would not be crash at all." He cocked his head to the side. "Who are you again?"

Iris' phone rang, and Bart quickly spoke. "Don't answer that! Aha, I mean, why interrupt the reunion?"