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Bart Allen was fine.
There was no reason to be concerned.
Even if there was one, everyone was too busy for it to be a big deal. For starters, Robin was focused on polishing the “supercycle” (he’s still ignoring that stupid name. It’s dumb. But that’s what they’ve been calling it. whatever.) after their recent encounter with a regular gotham rogue. The vehicle seemed to love running over her various plants and weeds. Robin pulled out a particularly stubborn vine underneath the hood. The supercycle… purred somehow. It really seemed to love getting attention. Not too far from Robin, Cassie was barely paying attention, too busy trying to get the thorns out of her jacket. She was trying to convince Kon to teach her how to sew patches into it. Meanwhile, Superboy just wanted to get the hell out of here. He had some “date with a Very Important Babe” whatever that meant. Finally, here Bart was busy trying not to make whatever this was worse.
It wasn’t anything concerning! He just felt… itchy. Which was weird. He wasn’t sick and he didn’t have a rash (well, technically, he physically couldn’t have a rash, but… ugh, so not the point.) so he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. Maybe he was just tired? Or hungry? He felt strung out, like his regular speed was a distant dream. All he could muster right now was moving at normal speed, maybe less. Max would be proud of him if he could hear him right now. Not that that mattered at all. Max could suck an egg for all he cared.
He felt the semblance of a bug crawl snugly along the curve of his spine as it made its home right beneath his skin. He tried to suppress the shiver, but only left with a half shake. He hoped he passed it off well enough as post-fight jitters. At least, well enough for his preoccupied teammates.
Bart tried to look around, to focus on something else hard enough that he could ignore whatever was digging deep into his skin. It crawled past his spine, into his ribs, and cradled itself excruciatingly comfortably right next to his beating heart.
It was hard to focus. More than usual, anyways. Every time he tried to settle or stand still, the itchy restless feeling creeped steadily as layer after layer of ice tucked into him. This… probably wasn’t fine, actually, Bart thought offhandedly. Maybe he should tell someone about that. He turned to the rest of the team again.
“How the hell did the supercycle get thorns in the seats?!” Robin exclaimed, muffled deep in the upholstery of the vehicle.
“Well, you have the most experience with Poison Ivy, what do you think?” Cissie said sarcastically.
“Well, maybe I’ll make sure to answer you when you make a rhetorical question about archery,” Robin mocked, still unseen, focused on the complex machine in front of him.
Cissie huffed and rolled her eyes in response, returning to taking inventory of her arrows, making sure they were all accounted for. It’d be best if he didn’t bother either of them. They seemed a bit peeved still over whatever squabble they had in Gotham. Bart wasn’t really concerned about listening to them argue, not when on mission or here. He took a glance at Kon and Cassie.
“C’moooooooon, Kon, why can’t you just show me now and be fashionably late instead?” Cassie whined, tugging on Kon’s jacket. He sighed dramatically, pushing her face with the hand that wasn't being clung to.
“I don't think you understand the words ‘Very Important,’ Cassie. She does NOT like to be kept waiting.” Kon exclaimed.
“Fine! Whatever. Do you know how to get bloodstains out of leather?” Cassie shoved him away, crossing her arms and pouting.
“Yeah you ju- blood?! Cassie, are you injured? Why didn’t you say anything you weirdo?! Sit down and lemme-”
He stared at the casual interaction. He felt something crack underneath his skin as Kon directed her towards the Medbay, seeing his careful hand on her back. Ice cold envy spread quickly across his body, like jumping into a pool too early in the season.
He needed to look away.
Bart swiveled his head to focus on something, anything else. Secret was getting lectured by Red Tornado. She took a little jaunt into Poison Ivy, and Red Tornado was not excited about that. Suzie looked mortified. Despite what Red Tornado thought, it was what ultimately helped them win the fight, distracting her long enough to lose track of the rest of the team. The look on Ivy's face was kinda haunting, though.
Everyone was preoccupied. He could worry about telling someone later.
Bart needed a distraction. And fast.
He was covered in sweat and could feel grimy gritty particles sinking into his skin. It might be plant residue? He remembered speeding through a couple of blooming flowers to get a hit in on ivy and it spat some weird… yellow powder? When he ran past. He was sure he wasn’t caught up in it, but he couldn't ignore the feeling of the invisible particles irritating him further, just like millions of tiny fuzzy bugs biting at him.
Bart needed to figure out what to do next, but the tingling sensation across his body was only getting worse; the sensation created a thick, uncomfortable blanket of needles across his brain. It was hard to think a clear thought without being interrupted by the unpleasant texture crawling in his skin.
Maybe a shower would be good. Yeah. That. That seemed like a logical conclusion. It would give the group time to calm down a bit and then he could tell them about the weird itchy coldness under his skin. When everything calmed down. Yeah. Honestly, he was just being dramatic. His heart needed to slow down. He was fine, and he will be better after a shower.
Before anyone could notice, he escaped from the main entrance, speeding off to his temporary lodgings here in the mountain. The old justice league headquarters were not too unlike a maze. The rooms were made for short stays, but he and the rest of the team worked to make it feel homey within the short few weeks they’ve stayed. He would be tempted to come back here just to sleep if he felt too squirmy back in Manchester, but he knows how weird Max got about him running off somewhere without telling him. Well, he does it anyways, but he’s pretty sure he’d be pushing it if he slept over somewhere. He just runs around the world a couple of times. He wouldn’t want to get lectured by Max about not telling him where he was going , yada, yada, it’s not safe, blah blah blah. Whatever. It’s not like anyone could catch him anyways.
He entered the bathroom, not giving it any thought before he phased out of his costume and hopped right into the shower. The dust that covered his skin sloughed off and dripped down in slimy rivulets and slugged down the drain. Gross.
Usually, the water pressure set up in the secret sanctuary was the best post-battle destressor he could ask for, but it didn’t push it tonight. Even when he turned the dial to the maximum heat setting, he still couldn’t get comfortable. Bart scrubbed every inch of his skin until it hurt, but it still didn't get rid of the weird… Tension in his muscles. The tension squished and stretched across his nerves until it settled down into a dull freezing ache. He could feel the steam rise against his skin and the fogginess of the room, but he couldn't help but shiver.
By the time Bart hopped out of the shower, his skin was rubbed raw and red.
He could feel the clamoring warm humidity within the room.
He still felt dizzyingly freezing. He took a breath and only inhaled warm mist.
Okay, maybe the dizzy part was the fact that the air was probably 90 percent steam. He definitely forgot to turn the vents on. He grabbed his towel and made his way to the switchboard embedded next to the door, making sure to turn the vent on so he wouldn't come back to an impossibly wet bathroom when he needed to pee at some point. He stepped into the quaint bedroom and couldn’t refrain from wincing from the frigid, dry air.
It was just from the temperature difference between the rooms. That’s what he kept telling himself. He pointedly ignored that when he went to the thermostat to adjust it was already at a warm 75.
It was just cold.
Bart romped around the room, searching for casual clothes, maybe hoping for a sweater, only to find a pair of gym shorts and an old t-shirt that Carol gifted him for a “sleep shirt.” it, unfortunately, would have to do, because Bart needed to get some food in him pretty quickly. The shirt was big enough to hide the shirt, and his hair was still dripping water onto it. It smelled kinda like home. That was a little comfortable. He left his room, feeling the temperature worse in the hallway.
Living with enhanced metabolism would be someone’s best dream, but to an average speedster, it made meals and snacks quite annoying to work around, as they needed a much, much, MUCH higher caloric intake than most people would imagine. He walked a normal pace to the kitchen, his stomach growling even at the thought of running somewhere right now.
The kitchen in the Secret Sanctuary was pretty bare bones, dated even, but Red Tornado made sure to stock it up with snacks and easy to make foods the rest of the team would appreciate, including high calorie nutrition bars.
Bart, personally, was not a fan of the bars. They tasted like crap and had what he personally thought was a texture invented by satan, but they worked for post battle munchies. He didn’t recall hearing about Wally or other speedsters complaining about them, but he assumed that they just got over it after having them for so long. He had to fight the urge to gag from the taste, but he got the small bar down easily enough. It was enough to help settle his stomach, but not enough to sate the shivering.
He tried to hold still, but he could only hold it for all of two seconds before the ice in his veins became too unbearable to handle. He stumbled around the kitchen, trying to find something to make, something to distract himself, anything to stop the-
“What’re ya makin?” Kon announced, causing Bart to jump a solid three feet into the air. If he was being graded as an Olympic jumper, he’d have gotten the gold.
He would’ve asked why he was so quiet, but he only looked at the floating figure, imagining a certain green rock and a certain half-kryptonian at his feet.
He didn’t answer Kon, continuing to dig around in the cabinets to find something to make. He would’ve said something, but the tremble in his hands might follow into a stutter in his voice, and that might make Kon suspicious, which would mean even more pestering and usually he would love to pester Kon, but if he spoke to Kon, he would be able to tell that something was wrong with him and he cant have Kon Thinking that!
Sure, there was something wrong, but it was none of his business. The benefit to speed thinking is that only a picosecond has passed and Kon probably hasn’t noticed a single thing was off! He should probably say something though.
“Dunno…” Bart attempted, trying to hide the way that his chest nearly caved in at the word. It felt like his chest was hollowed out by a crisp winter breeze, leaving him winded.
He didn’t say anything further, just tried to focus on keeping his body together instead of shaking apart. He tried to pull out a pot to make something, but the jittering in his bones seemed unappeased at the idea, so it fell out of his hands and made a big clatter on the ground.
“Um.” Kon stated. Bart just stared at the pot, hoping it would fly back into his hand so he could bash it over Kon’s head until he gained retrograde amnesia. It would be a hard thing to do, but Bart had enough strength. He might be able to accomplish it if he put in enough effort and bashed it against Kon’s head until it bent from a pot to a pan.
If only he had Kon’s tactile telekinesis he’s always bragging about. Then he could beat the shit out of Kon and make him forget any of this happened, but maybe that wasn’t a very hero-like thought. Maybe if he thought hard enough, he could do it anyways. He tapped the pot with his foot, but nothing happened.
Unfortunate.
“…You good?” Kon nearly whispered.
Oh. Bart wasn't thinking clearly enough to think in hyperspeed. He spent half a minute staring at this pot. Stupid pot, stupid hands. Whatever. Stupid Kon and his stupid need to make things right. He needed to get his act together.
Bart hummed in confirmation, hoping it would be enough to throw Kon off his case. Of course, Kon just stared at him silently, expecting more. Bart picked up the pot instead.
He remembered, like a dog with a scent, that kon was supposed to be going somewhere.
“What’re you still doin’ here?” Bart tried to keep a steady level voice, but it came out slurred and shaky. Dammit. Stupid body. Stupid voice.
“What?” Kon questioned, head tilted and all perfect and beautiful like he always is. It distracted him thoroughly enough. Kon looked constipated for a moment, but realized what bart was referring to “Oh, uh. I had to take a raincheck. Cassie was hiding a really gnarly wound under her jacket. She understood. Work stuff n’ all that jazz… just made me promise to come by to grab a slice of apple pie later.”
Kon’s yapping helped to distract him from the deep cloying frigidity in his bones, enough to focus on actually making something. Maybe ramen would be the simplest choice here. Easy to make in three minutes. It's beautiful like that. He could make Kon talk for three minutes. He’s cool like that.
“Work stuff, sure.” Bart responded, clicking the gas stove on. He filled the pot with water and set it on the open flame.
“Hey! She’s just a nice old lady, she doesn’t mind waiting.” Kon shouted with a smirk, “And anyways, it’s Cassie. You know how she gets when she’s injured, all flighty. I'm kinda the only one that can really catch her if she runs off.”
“Ah. thought it was some ‘hot babe.’ Were you tryin’ to make Cassie jealous?” Bart pointed out without much thought. He knew that it would get a rise out of Kon as his face started to redden and his eyes began to widen.
“Whuh- huh- NO. I was- she just-” Kon fumbled adorably, looking like an embarrassed puppy caught doing something bad. “Look… That’s not important, what was really important was that Cassie got injured by Ivy, and Robin sent me down here since we didn’t really do a collateral check yet. Everyone else passed, but you ran off. Are you good?”
The water finally started boiling.
“Oh, that. Yeah. I'm not injured or anything. No biggie. Just hungry” Bart responded cooly, making sure to keep his tremors under control. He’s got it down to a T now, but he knows he won’t be able to ignore it forever. He dumped the noodles into the pot.
“Are you sure? I mean, Cassie literally-”
“Yeah man, fast healing. Staying here with me isn’t gonna keep Cassie from running off.” Bart interrupted as he watched the noodles spin in the bubbling liquid, letting the steam warm up his face. Despite the condensation collecting against his forehead, he couldn’t feel it at all.
What the hell was wrong with him?!
Maybe he should say something.
“Well. okay. If you’re sure, but if there's anything you need, you know where to go.” Kon explained. Bart was turned away from Kon. Something about the way that Kon had said it, he assumed he would’ve left him to his own devices, but he did something else instead. He should’ve really expected it, considering how affectionate Kon was, but he was a bit preoccupied with trying to look and act normal.
Kon patted him on his shoulder.
Immediately, searing flame radiated from the touch, causing him to flinch. Even worse, he actually shouted in pain.
He was so close.
Of course, Kon being a normal person and reacting accordingly to someone flinching, let go of his shoulder, but it only made things worse for Bart. The burning sensation had thawed his body just enough that now when the cold sensation returned to his body, he couldn’t hold back the deep rooted trembling. He felt his legs wobbling with fervor.
“Bart?! What the-” Kon shouted, unsure what to do. Bart couldn’t really blame Kon, he was at a loss here too. He could feel the frost spreading back into his brain, and even to his lungs. He tried to keep upright, but grabbing the stove proved to be pretty useless, as his legs gave out anyways.
Every intake of breath felt like breaking an iceberg, every thought like digging through snow. Kon was trying to say something, but all Bart wanted to do right now was to curl up and die. He tried to keep himself up in the fetal position, holding himself closely, trying to will his body to just stop and be still, but nothing seemed to work. This was it. He was going to die from some unknown affliction and it would be right in front of Kon. Great going, Bart, couldn’t at least have had the decency to die alone in his room, maybe with the heater cranked on high and buried in blankets?
“Bart, what’s wrong?!” Kon said, finally getting through the blizzard in his brain. Bart could barely hear, his ears practically ringing from the disorientation.
“Gg-ghhh…” Bart stated smartly. He tried to get words out, but his teeth chattered relentlessly. He tries harder, “I–t’s…. Col-” before he could properly form the words, his teeth clenched down violently against his tongue. He groaned in pain while his teeth continued to bite down, unable to control his muscles. He could feel iron burst against his tastebuds.
He really could not be any more pathetic looking if he tried. Could he just be put out of his misery already? He couldn’t imagine anything being worse than this.
He doesn’t know how long he spends shivering on the linoleum floor, but he goes from waiting for the cold release of death to burning alive . Flaming arms cradled underneath his body and lifted him from the ground. He only had enough energy to let out a whimper as he was burned alive. He opened his eyes, but his vision was blurred with unshed tears. He could make out the sight of someone looking at him, but he couldn’t parse out the facial features.
The burning steadied down into something fractionally better. It felt like he was being broiled alive before, but it had downgraded to a simmering buzz. His ears continued to ring, but he could see that Kon had carried him into the Medbay. He watched the rest of the team numbly as they yelled at each other. All he wanted to do was snuggle back into Kon’s arms, but Red Tornado was doing his weird eye-scan laser thingie.
Whatever it was.
It was too bright. He turned into Kon's chest to block his eyesight. It didn’t work all that well, and Kon even forced him to continue looking using his TTK, that asshole. The flashlights in his eyeballs were even worse, whining in response.
“...Not appear to be injured, but his heart rate is elevated and his eyes are dilated.”
Oh, his hearing’s back. That was nice. Man, he would really kill for something to eat right now. Wasn’t he trying to make something earlier?
“Then what the hell is wrong with him?! He was basically seizing earlier, and now he’s not responding-”
“My noodles…” Bart said, whimsically, a yawn in his throat.
The room seemed to silence itself for a moment. Would anyone please just tell him the state of his noodles?!
“Bart?” Kon asked. Bart didn’t have any energy to answer him, so he made a noise instead. He doesn’t really want anything except food and to maybe stay right here forever. The burning sensation has passed fully and the previous energy he held has drained from him completely, nothing is hurting right now, so he is not bothering to pretend to exist at this moment. Kon’s arms were a sanctuary, and he wanted to fall asleep hiding against Kon’s chest and stay there forever.
That was, until Kon put him down on the cot.
Without warning, Bart’s body began to freeze up once more, tiny bites digging deeply into his skin as he laid across the mattress. He couldn’t suppress the pain anymore after experiencing normalcy. He could hear the paper making noise underneath him as he shook. His joints ached, his skin was biting at him, everything hurt and no one even cared at all while they were talking about him while they didn’t do anything to help!
Something about this moment reminded him back further, to a time where he was stuck in VR for the foreseeable future. An image flashes in his head of doctors over him, writing on notepads, refusing to interact with him, to help him. Why wouldn’t they help him?! All Bart could do was curl up even further to hide himself from prying eyes…
But Robin had other plans. Bart could feel his cold rubber gloves grip onto his cheeks to bring him to eye level. He didn’t realize tears were falling from his eyes until he felt the moisture fall across his nose and onto the paper.
“Bart. Look at me. I need you to focus on me.” Robin ordered. Bart followed. “I need to know if you encountered anything weird while we were fighting Ivy. Any pollen? Weird grainy stuff that came out of one of the flowers?”
Oh. right. Robin probably knew what he was talking about. He fought with ivy a ton of times. He nodded glumly. Robin did not look amused. He let go of Bart’s face, and pulled his gloves off. Robin reached out again, and Bart flinched when he settled his hand on his face gently. The warmth radiating from Robin’s hand helped the ice recede once more. The now familiar burning felt comfortable. His head instinctively leaned in further into his palm.
“Dammit. Okay… I know what this is.” Robin claimed, “Bart will be fine. If i could guess maybe in a couple hours to a day. He just got hit with poison ivy’s cuddle pollen. It’s a psychogenic drug, mostly used as a truth serum. It makes the subject highly reactive to physical touch, hence the name. It’s one of Poison Ivy’s ways to get intel or information if seducing them didn’t work. Just keep holding him and he won’t get all sickly and cold.”
The room was quiet.
“Oh. I got drugged?” Bart said lamely.
“Yes. you got drugged. Just keep in contact with someone at all times and you’ll be okay.” Robin said straightfaced.
“Can Kon Keep Holdin’ me then… that was pretty nice…” Bart said with all sincerity, not caring how red the super in question got from the statement.
“Well. I mean. I can. I guess. If you want. The Med bay cot’s a little small though.” Kon replied, stumbling over his words.
“It's fine…I can just lay on top of you man… If we don't start cuddling in the next five seconds I will be dying and haunting your ass though. Better not make me do that man.”
“Fine, fine, okay jeez! but you owe me one.”
“Glad to know I'm not the only one that hid something from the team!” Cassie butted in finally, and the room returned to chaos.