~More Than A Program~/// Bart Allen x Reader

Chapter 19

He tried to move, to get to his feet, but... Nope. He couldn't. He hadn't neither arms nor legs.

Bewildered, he was about to glance down -or at least try to- at himself to find out what in the world was happening to him when-

Zoom!

Woah! Someone, or something, had zipped on by past him! Was it a speedster like me? ... A speedster like me... I'm not just a speedster, I'm-

The memories, or should I say, the data, came flooding back over him. His name, Bart Allen, his mission, that of his making his owner, no, his... Friend, happy.

His friend, (Y/N)... (Y/N) and her perfect smile, (Y/N) and her dazzling laughter, (Y/N) and his undeniable feelings for her.

(Y/N) and the way her apology from earlier had completely boosted his sluggish heartbeat, allowing him to shut down The Flash and to connect him to the computer to deactivate his virus sweep operation and-

That's it! I remember now! I'm here to eliminate that operation! Wally couldn't access it from outside since it's locked, so we sent me in, which means... He gasped internally as it all fell into place. I'm in Gramps, and I'm a piece of data! ...For an old man, he's keeping his circuits pretty clean, he praised as he noticed the way that the tunnel, well, circuit he was in, seemed so new, well-kept and smooth to allow the data's quick passage through.

...Right. Data don't move on their own. Data moves in our circuits through bodies of electricity that are propelled by our heartbeat... So,

Zoom!

Those aren't speedsters, they're data! If I get my own ride, I could see if any of them are going to bring me to the operations center! ...But how do I get one if I can't move...?

As if of cue, the desired transport pulled up next to him, just like that. And it was available.

...Well, that was easy. Crash! Maybe it has an automatic pick-up operation or something?

However, he quickly shrugged it off. It didn't really matter, as long as this bolt of electricity would bring him where he needed to go.

He felt a small jolt go through him as they were linked, followed by an odd sensation of wholeness. And of speed. Definitely some speed.

Uhh... Take me to... The central system.

One second, they were basically chilling, watching other data be carried on by; the next, they were speeding at what felt like a zillion kilometres per hour, fast, faster than he had ever gone. Despite knowing that he was safely encased by the electricity that was bringing him, he couldn't help but feel like he'd certainly fall out, or something, he couldn't possibly travel at this rate-

Slow down, slow down! An abrupt halt, knocking the very breath -well, if he had had any- out of him. His dazed mind was blank for a moment as he struggled to recover from the violent stop before, internally sighing, he carefully pronounced, Bring me to the central system. He quickly added, But take it easy!!

To his relief, such an order ended up being executable despite how radical it sounded -what type of data doesn't want to be transferred as soon as possible?-, seeing as they started moving, but at a much more reasonable pace. Bart seized this opportunity to take in his surroundings.

The short-lived rush from earlier had brought them to... Barry's torso. Bart could tell by the complex, intertwined components that he could now see through the circuit he was in, which had become transparent to offer the splendid view. Thousands of other tiny tunnels danced and twirled delicately around what was the equivalent of The Flash's organs, their fellow data passengers occasionally giving off bright sparks of electricity. A large metal box that processed whatever the speedster ingested, therefore, his digestive system, took up most of the scenery from Bart's current point of view and restrained him from seeing anything that was above it, although he didn't have to spot the heart to know it was up there. He could feel its powerful beats, and the way the data highway shuddered ever so slightly to the loud 'thump' s.

But, what was really splendid about the speedster's design was what provided his magnificent speed.

Unlike his offsprings, Barry's impossible feats were not thanks to his heart, but rather, to the two great, signature Flash-imprinted cylinders that proudly stood upright, just below his grand cubic hunk of metal of a stomach. These two sleeker structures each constantly produced and contained the marvelous fluid that would be pumped through the speedster's parts when necessary. It was comparable to grease for machine parts, or to adrenaline for humans, but only barely. Its effectiveness classified it in its own league, multiplying The Flash's performance by an insane amount, and therefore allowing him to reach speeds superior to those of light itself. Since the containers that housed the superfluid was always bathing in it, its production was fast and almost instantaneous. Re-filling the cylinders was a matter of billionths of a second only.

Running and operating at such dangerous rates would surely blast any regular machine to bits, which is why Barry was made of... Titanium. Real, pure, old-school titanium! I can't even start to imagine how heavy he must be. Wally is only half-made of processed, lighter titanium, but he was still really tough to carry. ...It must be crash not to be limited by an appreciation factor. He envyingly admired the two shiny, imposing structures. For Kid Flashes and Impulses, our speed depends entirely on our heart , although Kid Flashes can manually manage their heart rate, at least... But (Y/N) appreciates me a lot! So I can outrun Gramps anytime!

This prompted memories of your recent confrontation to resurface, and his mood direly sank, as well as his gaze. When you had refused to believe that he loved you, he had felt so abandoned, betrayed. How could you have doubted him so much? Didn't you trust him? ...His appreciation factor, which had been cut off by more than half, had then been responsible for his sluggish performance rate. Even now, after your apology, he hadn't fully recovered from the harsh blow, and therefore hadn't re-established his former, ultimate speed.

Maybe she'll believe me if I impress her by shutting down the virus sweep operation quickly...

Such thoughts instantly made a swell of hope and determination rise in him. Now more eager than ever to get this over with, he turned away from the view and gave his ride the order to get him to the central system.

A number of swift, complicated manoeuvres later, Bart arrived before a grand maze of circuits, each of them leading to a different part of Barry's processing center. ...He definitively felt overwhelmed, and lost. How would he ever find where the operations were handled--?

The electric bolt that carried him suddenly sparked forward, catching him slightly off-guard, although- Oh, right. They were connected. So the electricity was aware of his every thought, and executed whatever it identified as an order. ...Isn't that a little creepy? ...No matter. Either way, he was being brought to where he needed to go.

He turned a blind eye to the path he was being led through, simply focusing on the task at hand. He'd have to deactivate the operation from inside, to infiltrate it. Of course, that came up with many risks. A mere slip of his fingers -haha, he didn't have any- could practically corrupt The Flash's entire central system.

So yes, he was nervous. Downright nervous.

Although he was suddenly also glad that the body transporting him had no intelligence whatsoever. It'd blindly follow him, no matter how perilous this mission was. Huh. Just like a puppy.

Said 'puppy' came to a gradual stop in front of a tall, bold metallic structure which, in all honesty, reminded Bart a lot of your apartment from the outside. The circuits snaking through this apartment were like halls, and each piece of data, a room, working all together to form one single, big building. One single, big operations center. And one of these rooms contained the virus sweep operation.

The male felt the need to just sit back and think things over before diving in, but... Nah. That'd be too slow! He had to get this over with, here and now.

So, inhaling deeply -internally, of course-, he boldly launched he and his fellow bolt of electricity into the tiny labyrinth.

Only for his heart to skip a beat as an alarm sounded coldly, a red, distressing light seizing the dark place as it flashed in and out, a monotone, robotic voice droning out.

"Foreign data detected. Prepare to be moded."