...he knows his mother is going to kill him. He doesn't even want to think about what his father would do if he found out. But there's someone special, someone like him up in Central City and that means--
Well, it means he has to try and go see. Try and meet and find this 'Flash' and see if he has any answers. More importantly, he has to see if the Flash can show him how to help people without getting taken away by the government. Or scaring people. Maybe the Flash would take an apprentice? He just had to find him, which shouldn't be too hard at night. People said that the Flash gave off bright yellow lightning. From his spot up on the building, he--
It's not like he's running laps. It's just a set path through the more deserted areas of the city, a pattern Cisco and Dr. Wells had worked out that would keep most obstacles out of his way if he just stuck to the path...okay, so he is running laps. But he has to get faster, and as ingenious as the treadmill is, that just hasn't been cutting it.
Usually there isn't anyone else around. Especially not someone who can keep pace with him. And is...younger. A lot younger. There's a kid keeping pace with him. He stares for a few seconds, which translates to several hundred meters traveled, but it's the hopeful smile that finally makes him reach out to scoop the kid up so that when he skids to a stop in the middle of a park, they both stop at the same time. Saves trying to catch up, right?
And he sets him down again as soon as they've stopped, and automatically crouches down to talk to him. "Um. Hey." Good opener, solid. "You're pretty fast. Aren't you, um, out a little late?"
He's a little alarmed at being scooped but after a moment, being carried like that is actually kind of fun. As such, he's got a bit of a smile on as Barry sets him down. The mention of being out a little late pulls most of it off of him, though.
"Uh, yeah. Late's pretty much the only time I can come. My mom'd notice otherwise."
Mustering his courage again, he looks up at Barry with a hopeful smile.
"I wanted to meet you. Well," there's a bit of the doubt, a little fear, "I need to meet you. You can probably figure out why."
Oh god, a kid, the accident affected a kid. "Yeah, I, um, I can." How long has it been since he started being able to do things other kids couldn't? Do his parents know or is he keeping it a secret? Is that why he's here, because he can't tell anyone else?
"But hey, you found me! There's not a lot of people who can do that. And you caught up, that's pretty cool, even less people can do that." He flashes a grin, because even if he's worried, it's still pretty cool. "What's your name?"
"Clark," he offers, though he doesn't add on the last name. Not when he doesn't know enough about this guy. He was hopeful and he had to believe that someone knew how to help people without endangering everything but he has to be careful.
It's probably not a good idea. He can't just go around telling everyone. But Clark is just a kid, and he's scared, and he'd come looking specifically for the Flash. Plus it's night, there isn't anyone around.
So he pushes the mask back off his face and lets it drop. "Barry," he says with another smile, a little wry this time, because probably even Clark knows he shouldn't be just admitting to it out in the open, even if it is the middle of the night. "Hey, Clark. Listen, I know you're probably scared about everything that's happening to you, but we're gonna help you. My friends and I, at STAR Labs, we can help figure all this out."
He instantly relaxes when Barry shows his face. He'd seen it anyway, easily enough, but the fact that Barry wanted to share with him, wasn't keeping secrets, told him that this had been a good idea. This was what he needed.
He almost hugged the guy right there. But he held back. He had to be cool. He had to explain. Especially since he wasn't sure what Barry was talking about.
"I'm not really scared about what's happening to me," he admits with a little duck of his head, "since it's not really anything new since I was like, eight." And he was a worldly 12 now, after all. "But I'm really scared about my parents getting in trouble. And I don't want to get taken away from them."
But most importantly-
"I need your help so you can teach me how to help people without people being scared of me, like you do."
"That's not gonna happen," Barry says immediately, and seriously, reaching up to set a hand on Clark's shoulder. "I know some people here in the Central City Police Department, they won't let that happen. No one's gonna take you away from your mom and dad." Not if Barry had anything to say about it, and hopefully not if Joe had anything to say about it either.
Then the rest of what Clark had said sunk in and he frowned in confusion. "Since you were eight? But you have to be..." Well, a lot older than eight, unless one of the things the dark matter had done was accelerate his aging a little, but that didn't seem right either. "Thiiis didn't start happening after the particle accelerator accident, a little over a year ago?"
He shakes his head, and he can't help a sad little smile.
"I've always been different," he explains quietly, looking around a little nervously. They're in a pretty empty place and the nearest heartbeat he can hear is over a block away. It's pretty safe.
"Though, uh," that was another thing he had to correct, "I'm not from Central City. I came here from my hometown.
"In Kansas? That's a really long way." Especially just to try and find the Flash. In the hope that he could help. Barry doesn't even know if they can help, if Clark isn't the same kind of metahuman they've been studying.
But he can't look at that face and not try. He can't. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not scared of you. I promise. My friends won't be either. They're not there right now, but why don't we head over to STAR Labs anyway? It sure beats this place," he waves a hand at the silent park. "You want to run? Or," he jerks a thumb over his shoulder, "how about a ride?"
He gives Barry the look, the 'you know I'm 12, right, I'm practically paying a mortgage, clearly' before he can't manage it anymore and his head is practically vibrating in a nod.
"I had to wait till my parents went to bed. They wouldn't really be cool with me coming up here to meet you. I'm not supposed to let anyone know what I can do." But he walked behind Barry and waited for him to get in the right position.
"But if you can't trust someone who just wants to help people like the Flash, who can you trust?"
Right, of course, he'll just leave you alone to do your taxes. Look, Kansas to Central City running, at night, without his parents knowing he's gone, is not the greatest of news. But it isn't so late that it had taken him hours to get here, so hopefully it won't take hours for him to get back either. (That's assuming Barry can't talk him into letting him drop Clark off at home.)
That makes him smile again as Clark climbs on. Sometimes it isn't as easy to help people as he expects it to be, but he's still doing the best he can. Apparently the news has spread some. "We'll figure it out together."
It flaps when he runs without it on and Cisco always knows, so Barry settles the mask back into place and makes sure Clark is hanging on before he takes off. He's carried people before, but never quite like this, so top speed is probably not the best idea, but as he runs and Clark never budges, he inches up faster and faster, and maybe takes a little longer route just for the fun of it, yellow lightning sparking after them.
It's spread far enough. Clark's mother was on the internet most days, researching to see if she can find other people like Clark, or information about Clark's people. Anything weird or superhuman gets picked up, dissected, and discussed. More than likely, she and Barry had talked to one another, given Barry's old tendency to scour the message boards for information on superhuman people.
Clark curls up against Barry, careful not to be moved by the speed but just as careful not to squeeze too tight and possibly hurt him. He knows the Flash is fast but he's never heard that he's strong.
And it's fun. He's having the time of his life.
When they get there, Clark's a pile of giggles clinging to Barry's back. Enough so that he doesn't even notice where they are for a moment, which is when the giggles turn into awe.
It's while he's on patrol, Officer Grayson hard at work, that he sees the kid stagger out of an alleyway. He looks confused, more than a little startled, and he's definitely out of sorts. But the one thing that's very familiar are a pair of very very blue eyes. They're easy to see when the kid looks directly at him, a police officer, and starts making his way over. After all, police officers are safe. They'll help you. And he has no idea where he is, how he got here, or why everything kind of aches a lot.
"Sir? I--I don't know where I am. Can you help me?"
It's practically instinct when Dick crouches down with a friendly, reassuring smile on his face and... immediately freezes when he reaches level with those bright blue eyes. It takes him a few seconds to get over his shock before he convinces himself that he's just seeing things and it's definitely just a coincidence...right?
"Hey kid, of course I can help. What's your name first of all?"
"Clark," he says, pushing himself up a little, "Clark Kent, sir," and then he's looking around. "And I know it's a terrible thing to say but... I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore."
"No," Dick agrees slowly "No you're not in Kansas, Clark..." And wow, that was quite the bombshell to drop, Dick is at a loss quite how to react to it. Missing child was one thing, missing child who is actually a mysteriously aged down or cloned or something Superman? That's... That's a whole new kettle of fish.
"Clark, do you know who I am?" he asks seriously, searching those blue eyes for even the slightest hint of recognition
There is none to be found, unfortunately. Instead, his eyes go to the name on his chest, written out easily enough.
"You're Officer Grayson, sir," he says with a nod towards the name tag, "You're a police officer. My Ma always told me I could go to a police officer if I needed help."
Right. Tiny Clark with no memories. Well, this was going to be... interesting.
"That's true," he agrees "You did good, coming to me." and he didn't know if it was luck or design that he was the first police officer Clark stumbled across, but he was grateful for it.
"I don't think you remember me, but I know you, I'm going to get hold of your parents, okay?" he says reassuringly, straightening up and pulling out his phone.
"Hey Bruce... uh... I... this is a weird question, but have you got any contact details for Clark's parents? No, really." he glances down at Clark again "...it's a long story."
"Clark's with you?" No pause from the other side of what was clearly his communicator. "Get him to the manor as soon as possible. I'll be there soon. We should have a solution by the time I arrive."
Clark just stood dutifully and listened, getting more and more nervous as he heard the distant voice talk about getting rid of him. Or worse, bringing him to the government. 'A solution'. He'd learned enough in history class to know that there were no good 'solutions' from someone talking like that.
Clark glanced sideways at Officer Grayson, though. He seemed... nice. Good. His heartbeat showed he was nervous and upset, but he wasn't putting off the kind of smell people did when they were afraid of him. This seemed more like worried.
So he had to figure out what to do. Did he trust the officer? Maybe he could convince him not to turn him in. That meant playing nice.
"Officer Grayson, how do you know me? And why don't I remember you?"
"Ah. So you know what's happened then. I'll be there soon." he hangs up, turning back to Clark. He can see the uncertainty in those eyes so he crouches back down again, keeping his tone as reassuring as possible.
"I'm not sure why you don't remember, Clark," he explains softly "but we've known each other for quite a long time, I'm used to you being ...uh... a little older. I know it sounds pretty strange, but you can trust me, I promise. There's somebody who can help figure out what happened to you, he's my dad, you can trust him as well. I'd like to take you to see him, if that's okay?"
"Oh, you heard that? I guess you would," he smiles a little sheepishly "A solution for what happened to get you here, to help you remember. I promise it's safe, but it's up to you, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to." he says reassuringly.
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Tiny Superman??
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Well, it means he has to try and go see. Try and meet and find this 'Flash' and see if he has any answers. More importantly, he has to see if the Flash can show him how to help people without getting taken away by the government. Or scaring people. Maybe the Flash would take an apprentice? He just had to find him, which shouldn't be too hard at night. People said that the Flash gave off bright yellow lightning. From his spot up on the building, he--
THERE.
Hopefully, he'd be able to catch up...
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Usually there isn't anyone else around. Especially not someone who can keep pace with him. And is...younger. A lot younger. There's a kid keeping pace with him. He stares for a few seconds, which translates to several hundred meters traveled, but it's the hopeful smile that finally makes him reach out to scoop the kid up so that when he skids to a stop in the middle of a park, they both stop at the same time. Saves trying to catch up, right?
And he sets him down again as soon as they've stopped, and automatically crouches down to talk to him. "Um. Hey." Good opener, solid. "You're pretty fast. Aren't you, um, out a little late?"
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"Uh, yeah. Late's pretty much the only time I can come. My mom'd notice otherwise."
Mustering his courage again, he looks up at Barry with a hopeful smile.
"I wanted to meet you. Well," there's a bit of the doubt, a little fear, "I need to meet you. You can probably figure out why."
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"But hey, you found me! There's not a lot of people who can do that. And you caught up, that's pretty cool, even less people can do that." He flashes a grin, because even if he's worried, it's still pretty cool. "What's your name?"
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"Clark," he offers, though he doesn't add on the last name. Not when he doesn't know enough about this guy. He was hopeful and he had to believe that someone knew how to help people without endangering everything but he has to be careful.
"What's yours?"
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So he pushes the mask back off his face and lets it drop. "Barry," he says with another smile, a little wry this time, because probably even Clark knows he shouldn't be just admitting to it out in the open, even if it is the middle of the night. "Hey, Clark. Listen, I know you're probably scared about everything that's happening to you, but we're gonna help you. My friends and I, at STAR Labs, we can help figure all this out."
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He almost hugged the guy right there. But he held back. He had to be cool. He had to explain. Especially since he wasn't sure what Barry was talking about.
"I'm not really scared about what's happening to me," he admits with a little duck of his head, "since it's not really anything new since I was like, eight." And he was a worldly 12 now, after all. "But I'm really scared about my parents getting in trouble. And I don't want to get taken away from them."
But most importantly-
"I need your help so you can teach me how to help people without people being scared of me, like you do."
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Then the rest of what Clark had said sunk in and he frowned in confusion. "Since you were eight? But you have to be..." Well, a lot older than eight, unless one of the things the dark matter had done was accelerate his aging a little, but that didn't seem right either. "Thiiis didn't start happening after the particle accelerator accident, a little over a year ago?"
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"I've always been different," he explains quietly, looking around a little nervously. They're in a pretty empty place and the nearest heartbeat he can hear is over a block away. It's pretty safe.
"Though, uh," that was another thing he had to correct, "I'm not from Central City. I came here from my hometown.
"In Kansas."
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But he can't look at that face and not try. He can't. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not scared of you. I promise. My friends won't be either. They're not there right now, but why don't we head over to STAR Labs anyway? It sure beats this place," he waves a hand at the silent park. "You want to run? Or," he jerks a thumb over his shoulder, "how about a ride?"
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"I had to wait till my parents went to bed. They wouldn't really be cool with me coming up here to meet you. I'm not supposed to let anyone know what I can do." But he walked behind Barry and waited for him to get in the right position.
"But if you can't trust someone who just wants to help people like the Flash, who can you trust?"
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That makes him smile again as Clark climbs on. Sometimes it isn't as easy to help people as he expects it to be, but he's still doing the best he can. Apparently the news has spread some. "We'll figure it out together."
It flaps when he runs without it on and Cisco always knows, so Barry settles the mask back into place and makes sure Clark is hanging on before he takes off. He's carried people before, but never quite like this, so top speed is probably not the best idea, but as he runs and Clark never budges, he inches up faster and faster, and maybe takes a little longer route just for the fun of it, yellow lightning sparking after them.
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Clark curls up against Barry, careful not to be moved by the speed but just as careful not to squeeze too tight and possibly hurt him. He knows the Flash is fast but he's never heard that he's strong.
And it's fun. He's having the time of his life.
When they get there, Clark's a pile of giggles clinging to Barry's back. Enough so that he doesn't even notice where they are for a moment, which is when the giggles turn into awe.
"Coooool."
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ITTY BITTY BABY CLARK PLEASE
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"Sir? I--I don't know where I am. Can you help me?"
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It's practically instinct when Dick crouches down with a friendly, reassuring smile on his face and... immediately freezes when he reaches level with those bright blue eyes. It takes him a few seconds to get over his shock before he convinces himself that he's just seeing things and it's definitely just a coincidence...right?
"Hey kid, of course I can help. What's your name first of all?"
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"No," Dick agrees slowly "No you're not in Kansas, Clark..." And wow, that was quite the bombshell to drop, Dick is at a loss quite how to react to it. Missing child was one thing, missing child who is actually a mysteriously aged down or cloned or something Superman? That's... That's a whole new kettle of fish.
"Clark, do you know who I am?" he asks seriously, searching those blue eyes for even the slightest hint of recognition
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"You're Officer Grayson, sir," he says with a nod towards the name tag, "You're a police officer. My Ma always told me I could go to a police officer if I needed help."
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Right. Tiny Clark with no memories. Well, this was going to be... interesting.
"That's true," he agrees "You did good, coming to me." and he didn't know if it was luck or design that he was the first police officer Clark stumbled across, but he was grateful for it.
"I don't think you remember me, but I know you, I'm going to get hold of your parents, okay?" he says reassuringly, straightening up and pulling out his phone.
"Hey Bruce... uh... I... this is a weird question, but have you got any contact details for Clark's parents? No, really." he glances down at Clark again "...it's a long story."
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Clark just stood dutifully and listened, getting more and more nervous as he heard the distant voice talk about getting rid of him. Or worse, bringing him to the government. 'A solution'. He'd learned enough in history class to know that there were no good 'solutions' from someone talking like that.
Clark glanced sideways at Officer Grayson, though. He seemed... nice. Good. His heartbeat showed he was nervous and upset, but he wasn't putting off the kind of smell people did when they were afraid of him. This seemed more like worried.
So he had to figure out what to do. Did he trust the officer? Maybe he could convince him not to turn him in. That meant playing nice.
"Officer Grayson, how do you know me? And why don't I remember you?"
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"Ah. So you know what's happened then. I'll be there soon." he hangs up, turning back to Clark. He can see the uncertainty in those eyes so he crouches back down again, keeping his tone as reassuring as possible.
"I'm not sure why you don't remember, Clark," he explains softly "but we've known each other for quite a long time, I'm used to you being ...uh... a little older. I know it sounds pretty strange, but you can trust me, I promise. There's somebody who can help figure out what happened to you, he's my dad, you can trust him as well. I'd like to take you to see him, if that's okay?"
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And what did he mean, older? This was as old as he was. How could he be older?
But this man seemed nice. Kind. He couldn't imagine him helping anyone to hurt him.
"What did he mean by 'a solution'?" Clark asks carefully.
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"Oh, you heard that? I guess you would," he smiles a little sheepishly "A solution for what happened to get you here, to help you remember. I promise it's safe, but it's up to you, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to." he says reassuringly.