Author's Note: This story takes place on Earth 27 as it is shown in the CW Flash books. You do not need to read the books to understand this story.
That day, that day when it all began, had been a day like any other, if not more peaceful than most days though the air was a bit cooler than most would prefer. A new season was coming, the dried leaves blown through the streets by the cool breeze were evidence of that.
Cities often had a sound to them but no one could ever identify it or even really notice it until it was gone. Today was one of those days. The city had fallen quiet save for a few noises cutting through that silence. The ring of a bell on a bike, the chirps and beeps of crosswalk lights, the soft hum of cars, they were present above the tranquil silence but did not overpower it.
The sound of sirens, however, did.
A police car that sat idelly in traffic suddenly began blaring. Cars that were able moved to the side, making way for the city's hero so he could hastily make his way to a crime scene and save their fellow citizens from whatever danger lurked.
Thoughts like those passed through the minds of a number of Central City's citizens in their cars on this quiet street and none of them could imagine how wrong they were or how different their lives would be if they had just sat their cars, unmoving, delaying this cop just a bit longer.
But, of course, they had no way of knowing what horrors would happen six months from now. In the moment, each and every person who moved their car to the side of the road and allowed the blue and white police car to zoom by believed that they were being good citizens by helping in the little ways they were able. None of them would ever know that they could've done this city more good if they just hadn't.
The cop in the car paid little attention to those people. To him, they were insignificant. Just background, just vessels blocking his path. In his mind, they couldn't move fast enough.
The cop reached into his pocket and, with one hand on the wheel, began to dial a number into the phone he was now holding. The man's keen blue eyes were focused on the road, not even looking to see if his fingers were hitting the right buttons for he had no need to check. This was a number he had called many times.
The phone didn't ring for long. The other end picked up within thirty seconds of the moment that the cop's finger hit call.
"Hey Eddie," the voice in the other end greeted. It sounded distracted. There was a soft clink of glass on a table as the speaker set something down to talk on the phone. "What do you need?"
The cop, Eddie, gave a grin but there was no joy behind it or even amusement really. It was an emotionless smirk. "I can't call you to see how you're doing now can I Barry?"
"I can hear your sirens," Barry responded. "You're in a hurry."
"That's right, I am," Eddie said, his voice hardening and the light expression on his sharp face faded and darkened as he grew more serious. "I need some evidence destroyed."
"Alrighty…" Barry's voice trailed as, what Eddie could only assume, crossed his lab into the backroom where cops dropped of their evidence each day. "Which case?"
"8A-7," Eddie told him. "And make it quick. Chyre screw up. Real bad. For all I know, someone may be heading your way right now."
"How bad? What'd he do?"
"Didn't cover his tracks well enough for one of goodie-goodies to catch a scent if you catch my drift."
"Who? Which one?"
"I don't fucking know, Allen," Eddie responded. "One of the new ones, a clean one. Real clean. Doesn't even know how dirty the force is."
"I know the one," Barry said. "He tried talking to me the other day about how much he loves being able to protect this city and how some day he's going to do some real good for Central City's people and crap like that."
"Sounds like the one," Eddie told him. "Don't know his name but he caught on to one of Chyre's operations and told the captain."
"Captain don't care," Barry responded. There was another clink as Barry set his phone down and began rustling through the evidence bags. "Captain will turn a blind eye to just about anything. Long as you pay him off, of course."
"Yeah, yeah," Eddie waved him off. He slammed his hand down in the horn as he passed though an intersecting, narrowly avoiding collision with a minivan speeding through. "Watch where you're fucking going lady! Anyway, Allen, some clean chick is in from out of town. Not sure which city, don't care. Point is, she's a clean one. We gotta keep our hands clean as long as she's hear or she's gonna have a fit and file a report to the higher ups or some shit."
"Ah." Barry paused a moment. Eddie knew he had to be looking at the evidence bag. "I think I got it. What even is this?"
"Don't worry about it," Eddie told him.
"I kinda need to know what it is if I'm going to destroy it. If we're playing it safe, I'm going to need to put in some fake evidence, man, and I can't do that if I don't know what the hell this is."
"Drugs. Green light, I think it's called from… from… Freedman? Freedman, I think that's it. That's where the clean captain chick is from I think. She'll recognize it for sure if she goes through the evidence."
"Uh-huh. And why do I need to destroy it? And I think it's Freeland, by the way."
"Freeland, you're right. Shit, you're right. Freeland got a good drug trade going on right now, there's this new stuff called Green Light. Highly addictive, it's got some side effects but I'm not really sure what. The crooked cops there got busted and sent their supplies to some other cities. Chyre got his hands on some but that new goodie-goodie somehow nabbed it."
"Uh-huh. And why is it so vital I torch it?"
"He literally got his hands on it. He got his prints on it."
"What?" Barry's voice sounded strangled with surprise. Through the speaker, Eddie heard the sound of the evidence bag being opened alongside the sound of a flame being started. "Chyre's one of our best guys. How could he of all people forget to wear gloves?"
"Long story short, someone threw it at him and he caught it," Eddie replied. He heard the sound of something burning. "Is it going?"
"Gone," Barry told him. "How what's this green light stuff look like? I'm going to have to replicate it pretty freaking good if there's someone around who knows what it look like."
"It's green. And crystally."
"Yeah, I gathered that."
"Wait, why are you asking me what it looks like? It was just in front of you."
"Yeah, well, destroy evidence first, cover up later. It's safer that way."
"Whatever. I'm coming up close, I'll be in there in a minute."
"Shut off those sirens. No one returns to the precinct with their sirens on."
"Right, thanks man."
"No prob."
Eddie was at the precinct in a matter of minutes. His car sloppily parked, he jumped out and ran through the parking lot so he could circling around to the front doors. Not bothering to hold the door open for an oncoming secretary, he made a beeline for the stairs upon entering.
"Mr. Thawne?"
Eddie stopped in his tracks at the sound of his name. He groaned, not having the courtesy to internalize it. That new recruit, the one that found the evidence, was running up to him. The man slowed to a halt, heavily breathing, in front of him, blocking his path.
"I just wanted to say good job today on the-"
"I don't have time right now, kid," Eddie snapped.
"Right, of course sir. I understand a cop as great as yourself is very busy and-"
"Move," Eddie growled, shoving the younger cop aside. He let out a yelp as he stumbled. Eddie continued to mutter under his breath as he began to head up the stairs to Barry's lab. In the distance, there was clap, almost like thunder. Eddie paid no mind to it. He'd just been outside, he knew there was no storm.
"Allen," Eddie stated as he walked into the lab.
"Oh, hey Eddie," Barry greeted, looking over from where he was taking beakers off a shelf covered with similar beakers filled with bright chemicals of just about every color. "I think I've figured out-"
"What the hell is that?" Eddie interrupted, light in the distance catching his eye.
Barry turned and looked out the window. The sky was dark due to the late hour. Barry shrugged. "I didn't see anything."
"Forget it," Eddie said. "What were you saying?"
Barry opened his mouth to speak but was once again interrupted, this time by something far louder than Eddie's voice. Both Eddie and Barry were staring up at the ceiling in an instant as the sound of glass shattering flooded the room.
"Barry!" Eddie screamed as a bolt of lighting came down from the sky, slicing through the glass ceiling, shattering it into a million pieces. Eddie moved forward but he could never hope to outrun lightning. Barry screamed as the lightning struck his chest and sent electricity coursing through his body. Eddie began running to his friend's side.
Barry's body burned and blackened immediately. He went limp and fell onto the shelf of chemicals beside him. Time seemed to slow for Eddie as he watched strains of electricity disperse from the main bolt and jump towards the chemicals as they fell to the ground. The beakers shattered like the roof midair, sending their contents raining down on Barry's scorched body.
Lightning was only supposed to be present for a split second and this lighting was no different. By the time Eddie reached the fallen form, the bolt was gone but traces of electricity lingered in the air.
Suddenly distracted, Eddie found himself captivated about them. Forgetting about the body, he watched the tiny streaks dance around the chemicals. He focused on a particularly bright one that flitted around one of the beakers that had fallen next to Barry. The beaker was completely shattered, shards of glass sitting in a red liquid as dark as blood that has spilled on the concrete floor.
Eddie could hear something but he wasn't exactly sure what. He could see it too. His eyes remained focused on the electricity dancing in the red liquid. There was something more to it. There was something… something to it.
Eddie listened and he listened hard. The sound, he could hear something. Almost like music, light and harmonious, yet not quite there. Three… ex… to…
The electricity jumped in the pool. Eddie's pupils widened. He could read it. He could read the electricity. It was trying to tell him something. He managed to clasp onto a whole phrase this time. The quantity nine.
Eddie tried to read more but the light suddenly flickered. It was dying. "No!" Eddie hated how weak, how pathetic, his voice sounded in that very moment but he had to know. He had to know what the lightning was trying to tell him. "Don't leave!"
"Why… zee…" Eddie whispered, barely catching those last few sounds from the lightning as it began to fade. For a… And the light was gone.
"No!" Eddie cried. "For a what? Tell me."
Eddie's eyes flicked around the room. The rest of the electricity that lingered in the other chemical spills died as his gaze reached them. "No, no, no, no."
Eddie felt something in the air. It was light, tranquil, warm. He felt in in him, just barely. He couldn't identify it but it felt… divine.
The feeling faded just as the wisps of electricity had leaving him feeling very alone and suddenly aware of his body and location. He felt something against his legs. He looked down and say Barry laying on his lap just as he was a moment ago when he had pulled him close.
"Hey!" Eddie yelled, his voice echoing through the precinct. "Hey! I need help in here! In the lab! It's Barry!"
In an instant, a number of cops streamed in. Eddie looked down at his friend, his face marred with black, his skin clearly burned clean off. Well, not clean exactly. Eddie blinked, water coming to his eyes but he didn't let it fall. He was no crier.
"Eddie, leave him," a cop said. Eddie wasn't sure who. He felt shock finally set in. He'd been so distracted by the lightning, that divine lightning, that his brain hadn't registered that laying on his lap was his friend. His dead friend.
Eddie nodded numbly and gently pushed Barry's body off him. It was still warm against his finger tips. He felt static as he drew his hand away from the man's shoulder.
Eddie rose slowly, eyes wide as he stared blankly at Barry. The impact of everything was sinking in. Barry Allen was dead.
"Hey, Eddie." Eddie felt a hand on his shoulder, drawing him away but the blonde haired man wouldn't tear his gaze away. He took a shaky step backward, allowing himself to be guided away and out of the lab. "Let's get you out of here. Can you tell me what happened?"
Eddie looked up, coming face to face with his captain, Singh. He opened his mouth to speak but it suddenly felt dry and no words formed. "L-lighting," he finally managed to stutter.
Singh's expression was grave as he nodded. "Lightning. One of my best men, lost to lightning."
"The lightning… that wasn't lighting," Eddie whispered.
"What was that, Thawne?"
"N-nothing," Eddie said. He glanced back at the lab. Grief welled up in him but another feeling soon overpowered it. It was a feeling he did not recognize. Wonder? Confusion? Hope? Desperation? It was a mix of all of those. That feeling the lightning eliminated… those words it whispered… what was that?