The new Light?

Hope and the lights had just teleported from their training spot on Utopia.

[ See chapter 10 for details.]

Bart and the others landed on the sandy desert like area and looked around.

" Uh, Hope? Where are we?" Bart asked the woman.

" Pakistan. Near the Chinese border." Hope replied.

" Uh, excuse me. WHAT?!" Bart yelled in shock.

" You brought us to Pakistan?! Hope, I know you don't pay attention to, well, anything outside of your missions. But this is the kind of place you should prepare us for! Not only could we have dropped down onto land mines, but the Pakistani government explicitly has a zero-tolerance policy on foreign agency activity!" Laurie explained to the girl. " Megan please. Just take us back." Laurie begged the girl.

" Uh, I know I'm usually the one to just jump right on in when it comes to a lot of things. But starting an international war with Pakistan doesn't sound like the best of ideas to me." Bart stated.

Megan heard the two mutants and turned towards Hope for clarification.

" Pixie don't. That's an order." Hope said to Megan instantly shutting down any option for retreat.

" Oh, come on!" Bart exclaimed.

" I get it. This is not ideal. But it's no worse than the bad situations we had to pull any of you out of. There's someone probably transforming here. And if it's anything like what you went through, they're scared, alone, and have no clue what's happening. This might as well be Kenji. Or Idie. Or the kid we lost in Sheffield. Whoever it is, we're going to save them." Hope explained to the team.

" Great. Way to guilt trip me into invading a country, can't wait." Bart replied sarcastically.

" To answer your question, Martha-- Yes. Hope is always like this." Kenji said to his friend in her glass jar.

" Listen, we'll be fine as long as we keep a low profile." Hope explained to the team. She then turned to Martha and asked the girl to link them up. " No-Girl? Can you use your telepathy to keep us in thought-communication with each other when we split up? Good. Thank you." Hope said to the girl in response.

" We're splitting up?" Megan asked in surprise.

" Yes. We don't know where our target has gone in the last ten minutes. And we've got a crowded village center to search as quickly as possible." Hope explained. " Now, Impulse you go with Trans-- On second thought transonic, you're with me and primal. Zero and Martha can stay together. And Velocidad gets some more alone time with Pixie." Hope said with a slight touch of venom in her voice.

Bart looked between Gabriel and the two girls constantly trying to piece together what the sudden tension was about. " Wait? Why am I alone?" Bart asked as he suddenly realized he was the only person without a partner.

" Because you'd be better going it alone. Now, everyone move out." Hope stated. " Call if you find trouble or a mutant." Hope said as she and the two on her squad started walking away.

Bart sighed and ran off into the desert, searching for any signs of the new mutant, kicking up a dust storm in the process.

Kenji and Martha continued their conversation about art from earlier.

Gabriel and Pixie searched for the new mutant despite the awkward tension around them.

As Laurie walked alongside Hope and Teon she apologized to the girl. "I am sorry about before, Hope. But still had you told us where we were heading ahead of time, we could have grabbed clothes to help us blend in. Or you could have borrowed someone's invisibility powers." Laurie explained to the girl.

" I don't think anyone on Utopia has those. But I'll keep it in mind for next time." Hope replied to the girl as she looked over the village with her scope.

" Sooooo.... I was surprised to see you paired Gabriel and Megan. I mean after he cheated." Laurie said to the girl.

" He was never my boyfriend. I should have never kissed him. After all, nothing good can ever come from letting hormones affect our missions." Hope explained to the girl. She finally pulled back from the scope and turned to Laurie. " Which is why I hope you'll get over whatever you're feeling for Bart." Hope said to the girl.

" Wu-What?" Laurie asked nervously.

" Hey, I'm not judging. I just don't want you to get hurt." Hope said to the girl before walking away leaving Laurie behind guessing.

Back with Bart, our boy was currently racing through the houses at the edge of the village. " I don't see anything out of the ordinary. I mean besides the whole goat thing. But nothing that suggests there's a new mutant. Maybe, I should have just gone with Kenji and Martha." Bart said to himself as he continued running.

However, as He ran Bart suddenly felt Martha inside his mind.

' Everyone! We found him, but he's in trouble you need to get here now!' Martha explained to the team telepathically.

Bart and the others all turned and immediately ran towards Kenji and Martha's location

CrackBoom! The sound of lightning striking sounded throughout the desert city as Bart ran through it, his speed causing a sandstorm to sweep through the area.

" I'm here. Zero what's wrong?" Bart asked the man.

" take a look!" Kenji yelled as he pointed towards the man in the middle of the square.

Bart turned to see what Kenji was pointing at just as Gabriel, Teon, and Laurie arrived.

" Got the message. Where's pixie?" Gabriel asked as he came to a stop beside the two men.

" There are more pressing matters here." Kenji said to the boy as he ran towards the man they were searching for.

" Wh-Who are you? What are you children doing here?!" The man asked in a panic as he took his turban off.

Everyone stopped and looked at the man in shock and surprise as he appeared to be an American.

" Wait. Did the guy we're after just speak English?" Gabriel asked in disbelief.

" With an American accent?" Bart added on.

" Flight?" Teon asked.

The man looked at the group of teens and sighed sadly. " I... I don't know who you are. But I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to be here." The man said to the teens. He then reached up and pulled his robes back revealing a vest strapped with explosives.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror as the man revealed his explosives.

" I only meant to do this to them." The man stated.

Time around Bart slowed down as the boy's danger sense kicked in. Bart quickly grabbed Kenji, who was still holding onto Martha, and Laurie and ran them both away from the man. He then turned back and raced over to Gabriel and Teon and pulled them both away as well. ' Shit, I have to get Hope!' Bart thought to himself. At this point the man had already pushed the button and the explosion had already begun. Bart ran as fast as he could towards Hope and threw her towards the others just as the explosion reached where she would have been standing. Bart turned away from the blast and ran as fast as he could. Bart outraced the blast and caught Hope in the air just as time seemed to speed back up.

" AHHHHH!" Hope screamed as she flew through the air.

" I gotcha!" Bart yelled. He jumped into the air and caught Hope in his arms saving her from hitting the ground hard. Bart landed and skidded across the desert floor kicking up another sandstorm, just as the explosion finally engulfed the rest of the town. " Hey, everyone all right?" Bart asked the group.

" All good, over here." Gabriel replied as he struggled to catch his breath.

" Same." laurie also stated.

Kenji nodded and Teon only grunted.

" What about you, Hope?" Bart looked down and asked the girl.

Hope looked up and nodded before climbing out of Bart's arms. " Wait? Where's pixie?" She suddenly asked as she looked around for the winged fairy.

The group all turned and looked at one another seemingly asking with their eyes if anyone had seen the girl.

" That can't be good. Where do we even begin to look around this desert?" Bart asked.

" Ughhhh!" The suicide bomber from earlier groaned in pain as the smoke dispersed from the ruined area.

" Uh, guys? The suicide bomber just groaned. Also, he's in one piece." Laurie stated in disbelief.

" It seems we have found our new mutant. Hurry and grab him. We need to move before authorities show up. We need to find a place to hide until we can find Pixie." Hope explained to the team.

Bart nodded and lifted the man into his arms and quickly followed Hope and the others away from the destroyed village.

The group quickly fled from the burning ashes and into the nearest town where they shacked up in an abandoned building. Once inside Bart placed the man down and Kenji used his tendrils to tie him up.

" Bart, we'll question him. You check the nearby areas and see if you can find Pixie. I want to get out of here before any more trouble finds us." Hope explained to the boy.

" You got it. Hey, I've been working on a new catch phrase. Check it out. I'll be back in a flash!" Bart said to the girl before disappearing in a flash of red lightning. Bart ran out of the building and quickly began scouring each and every building in the current vicinity. Checking high and low for any sign of Pixie. However, it soon became apparent that the girl was not there. " Arh, I'm getting nowhere. It'll take me a few minutes before I can figure out where she is." Bart exclaimed in frustration.

' Bart! It's Martha! Quickly, we're fighting the men behind the suicide bombings.' Marth told the boy telepathically.

' Oh, no! I'm coming back!' Bart replied.

' No! I've been inside the mind of the one leading them. I know where Pixie is. I'm sending you his memories now.' Martha explained to Bart and suddenly Bart felt the knowledge of one Jīn Billion suddenly flowing into his mind and collapsed.

" This guy is sick. But at least I know where Pixie is." Bart stated as he got to his feet. " Hold on Pix, I'll be there in a flash." Bart exclaimed before racing over to the nearest town east of his location.

" What do with this one?" One of the few men Jīn had guarding Megan asked as he looked up at her. She was currently suspended in the air, trapped in some kind of pink dust cloud.

" Who know. Jīn only want her as groupie anyway. Probably going to use her for experiment or maybe pleasure. You know him." His comrade laughed as he also looked up at the woman.

" No, I don't. And frankly I can't wait to not meet him!" Bart exclaimed as he ran into the warehouse.

" Impulse!" Megan yelled out for help.

" He pix! Need a hand?" Bart asked the girl.

" Sheji! Sheji!!" One of the men yelled as he raised his gun at Bart.

" Tryingtoshootmecomeonguys!" Bart said to the men so fast his words sounded like one long sentence as he ran around the room. In a few seconds Bart had already disarmed the men in the warehouse.

As the men tried shooting they looked down in confusion as it suddenly hit them that their guns were gone.

" Sorry, guys." Bart said to the men. He then then raced to the center of the room and grabbed a long rope and began tying the men up. " But I'm just too fast for ya." Bart said as he finished his bowline knot.

" Ahhh! You pay for this white man." One of the men yelled out.

Bart ignored the many threats and names being yelled at him and helped Pixie out of her trapping. " Hey, pix. Did you call for one speedster express?" Bart asked the girl.

" Thank you, Impulse." Megan said to the boy.

" Come on, we found the other mutant. Time for us to get while going is good." Bart said to the girl. " Hang on tight and close your mouth. And more importantly enjoy your ride on the Impulse express." Bart said to the girl. he then took off running causing Megan to yelp in surprise.

As Bart ran back to the place where the team had hidden, he noticed that the Pakistani military was on their way. ' That's not good. Got no time for games.' Bart thought to himself. He kicked up the pace and in a blink of an eye he was in front of his teammates again. " Good news! This guy's b team was terrible. Bad news the Pakistani military is about to converge on our location so, we better hurry." Bart explained to his teammates.

" Flight!" teon yelled.

" Alright, let's go everyone." Hope said to the group. Pixie nodded and jumped out of Barts arms as the team began gathering around them. " And you." Hope said as she turned to the man they came for. " Come with us."

The man looked back at Hope and realized that now that he knew Jin had been lying to him, he had now where else to go. " All right." the man replied.

Hope smiled and she and the man both walked towards the others and signaled for Pixie to get them home.

" Sihal Novarum Chinoth!" Pixie chanted and just like before the team disappeared in a bright pink flash and reappeared across the globe on the Island of Utopia.

" AHHHH Home! I've never been happier to see it." Bart exclaimed as he felt the cool night air brush across his skin.

" Glad you're back. Now, Hope before you or your team disappears again." Scott was saying to the group as he and Emma approached them. However, as he laid eyes on the man, they had went to get Scott flew into a rage and grabbed his vizor ready to attack. " What the Fuck is HE DOING HERE?!" Scott yelled as he knew the man to be none other than former Black king of the Hellfire club and the man mostly responsible for the creation of the sentinels, Sebastian Shaw! However, unknown to Scott or the others, Emma Frost had wiped Shaw's mind leaving him with no recollection of who he used to be.

" He's with us!" Hope yelled as she stepped in front of Shaw to defend him.

" Hope you don't mind." Shaw said to Scott.

Scott quickly fired his optic blast and yelled for Shaw to stay where he was. " SECURITY! 23C!" Scott yelled and Immediately Psylocke and Danger appeared and attacked shaw, quickly subduing him with ease.

" Excellent work. Please use minimum force and maximum security in escorting our guest down to medical." Scott told the two women.

" Medical? What for?" Psylocke asked.

" I for one, was rather hoping to see a much more violent method of coercion." Emma stated boredly.

However, Hope was not cool with what happened at all and voiced her opinion freely. " Cyclops! Since when do we lynch other mutants?" Hope asked the man in disbelief.

Scott ignored the girl and continued giving orders. " Psylocke, I want Dr. Nemesis to invasively check him for signaling devices, weaponized diseases, micro-sentinels-- The works. Emma, we need to talk. Hope we'll continued this discussion in private. Everyone else go to your rooms. Now." Scott ordered as he, Psylocke and Danger, Emma, and Hope left the training field.

" Well, that blew up in our faces. I'm done for today. You have a goodnight and sleep well, Laurie. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and all the rest of you as well." Bart said to the group before running off to his room. Bart quickly arrived in his room and stripped out of his suit and collapsed onto his bed. Choosing to skip cleaning up and instead jumping straight to rest after a stressful day.

three hours later After Shaw had been examined thoroughly and everyone of Utopia was fast asleep a man paid a visit to everyone's favorite speedster. Reverse Flash had snuck onto Utopia and more importantly now stood looming over Bart as he slept.

" You look so young. And I could kill you right now. So easy." Thawne whispered as he vibrated his hand over Bart's chest. He lowered his hand and for a second considered going through with it, but he suddenly stopped and pulled his hand back. " What I wouldn't have given, ooooh all those times before that I had you like this. So, helpless. Fate! that's tricky. isn't it? I Come here to destroy you and then to get home I have to be the one who creates you. I mean really push you. Heh! But I will say, it's been an education. Watching you grow up all these years. Science fairs, soccer games. Travelling through time just so I could watch you, my hero." Thawne said to the unconscious boy as tears began welling up in his eyes. Not wanting to leave anything behind Thawne quickly wiped his tears away. " Well, Barry. Oh, wait I'm sorry it's Bart right now, isn't it? Bart, so funny. What I wouldn't do to kill you right now. But if I did, I'd never be able to find your suit. I'd never be able to achieve my potential. Without you, Bart I wouldn't exist. And yet time and time again we do this dance of ours. I won't kill you today, Bart. No, the brotherhood needs their plans to succeed. The stubborn fools. But believe me, despite you living through this night. Nothing is forgiven. You will pay. I promise you Barry Allen, The Flash, that you will die. Until then get faster, face your foes and more importantly Run Barry Run." Thawne whispered one last time in Bart's ear before running out of his room, off utopia, and into the night.

How long has Thawne watched Bart as he grew? Find out