Author's Notes: Prologue is E2 Barry POV. Enjoy!
Earth Two. Tuesday evening, 6:01 PM.
"It has been eight months since The Flash was last seen.
"Rumors of his death remain unconfirmed, but no one has been able to verify his whereabouts. We will continue to search until we find definitive evidence either way, or until such a time that it becomes irrelevant."
The TV is white noise to Barry as he sifts through his computer files, looking for – something. Anything. It's been a long day, but it's been a longer eight months. Shifting moods won't stop him from pursuing what he needs to in order to bring justice to the city. They deserve to know what happened to their hero. Besides, The Flash is the only person who has ever attempted to fight Zoom. His death would be disheartening beyond belief, and it's an ache in Barry's chest he can scarcely bear, but the truth is too important to exclude the possibility.
Barry has to know. He has to know happened to The Flash.
Then, maybe, he brace himself for the fact that there will not be a war.
There will be only Zoom.
His hands are shaking slightly and he's got a pounding headache behind his eyes, but with catastrophe looming, he can't afford the luxury of sleep. They only have one hope. Find The Flash.
Clicking away at his keyboard, searching for something, he's only half-listening to the anchorwoman as she continues.
"Sightings of The Flash have been fleeting over the past three years, but recently The Flash made one of his first truly public debuts at S.T.A.R. Labs. Despite our sincerest attempts to recognize the man underneath the helmet, no one was able to identify the speedster by film. A technical malfunction ensued after a power surge, and eyewitnesses were not able to confirm the identify the speedster.
"Shortly after this visit, S.T.A.R. Labs ceased all activities, following the sudden disappearance of its CEO, Dr. Harrison Wells. It has not been operational since.
"Dr. Wells has been missing for almost six months. While speculation continues to engage the Internet, no one has been able to positively identify the cause of his disappearance or locate his current whereabouts. At this time it is unknown what condition he is in.
"Dr. Wells' daughter, Jesse, has also not been seen since her abduction from Central City College six months ago. We cannot confirm her location or condition at this time, but strong evidence correlates with the theory that she was taken by Zoom."
"CCPD Captain Joe West is here with us to offer his take on the situation. Captain West, thank you for joining me here today."
"My pleasure."
Barry looks up at the screen, his fingers stilling on the keyboard. Seeing Joe on TV is reassuring: he always exudes a certain sense of unflappability and he's level-headed, honest without being brutal. Central City has relied on him dozens of times to confirm that despite the surge in meta-human activity, The Flash has been equally busy and drastically reduced casualties. Central City Police Department has been taking care of the rest.
Once, Barry might have smiled to see him on TV, talking about The Flash.
It's been hard to smile lately.
He never got close enough to The Flash to actually know him, but The Flash is Central City's and it feels quieter without him.
And more dangerous.
The anchorwoman holds a microphone to Joe's face and asks, "Captain West, what can you say about rumors that Zoom killed The Flash?"
Joe looks tired, but he keeps his voice steady as he responds. "I highly doubt it. If he had, we would know. Zoom would never take the city without taking The Flash, too."
"Is it possible that The Flash is being held hostage by Zoom?"
"Anything is possible," Joe replies. An echo of a smile crosses Barry's face. There was a time when Joe would have told him that only probable things were possible without understanding the difference, but the truth is far more extraordinary: anything is possible. The Flash is living proof of that. As is Zoom. "However, I think it's unlikely," Joe adds calmly. "There's no point in holding The Flash alive."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Sure." Joe has the perfect voice for TV: calm, clear, and offering the right amount of emotional emphasis on every line. "Zoom is too dangerous at this time for the CCPD to confront. We've worked hard to minimize the damage he causes and reduce the number of fatalities, but we don't have a way to contain him. The Flash appears to be one of the few people who can. Once The Flash is out of the equation, Zoom can do what he wants until CCPD finds a way to stop him. Keeping The Flash alive and captive only presents the risk that The Flash could kill him from the inside. No." A head shake, almost rueful, because uncertainty is so rampant it's exhausting. "Zoom doesn't have The Flash."
"You say that CCPD has no way to stop Zoom," the anchor reiterates. "If Zoom is unstoppable, what does that mean for the city?"
Joe's lips twitch in an enigmatic smile. It isn't happy. "It means we're in a hell of a lot of trouble."
The anchor seems to sense that she won't get any more definitive answers and switches to a new topic. "The CCPD has released documents showing that crime rates have remained unusually low throughout the city. Why?"
"People commit crimes because they know there is a risk of getting caught, but the odds are still good enough that they take that chance anyway," Joe explains, straightening his shoulders like he's speaking to a fellow officer instead of a silver screen. "Being caught is bad, but that's only if you're caught. Enter Zoom: suddenly being caught doesn't mean a lengthy court procession followed by a sentence, it's flashing a light in the darkness to say 'Here I am. This is what I am capable of.' We've seen from other organized crime that either recruitment or extermination follow. Under those circumstances, even regulars like the Weather Wizards are lying low."
"Do you believe Zoom is operating alone at this time?" the anchor asks. There's a rumble of thunder in the distance, catching Barry's attention briefly as he looks outside the window, a vast swath of gray creeping over the city. Thundersnow.
"Yes," Joe says simply. "Zoom doesn't need–"
Barry doesn't catch the rest of what Joe says as the power goes out, plunging him into quasi-darkness.
His heart is racing as he reaches for his phone and stands, using the flashlight feature to illuminate the room.
Like something from a nightmare, Zoom is standing right in front of the door.
"How nice," he says in a voice that rumbles like an alligator's as Barry retreats, frozen step by frozen step, towards the back door. "You think you can know me."
Then Zoom's hand comes around his throat and Barry is gasping, the world tilting dangerously as he's held almost two feet off the ground, clinging to the iron hand locked around his throat. "You think you can know me." It's crushing, the pressure, the sheer energy radiating off him like a smothering blanket, and Barry can't breathe at all, couldn't scream if he tried, and he's going to die like this, Zoom is going to kill him and Joe will never see him again and Iris.
"You are nothing."
Zoom drops him on the floor and he bangs up both knees, coughing against the carpet as he heaves, struggling for every breath. A kick sends him against the stairs, cracking ribs, and he's only vaguely aware of Zoom speaking as he curls inward, trying to breathe through the pain.
"You think you can stop me." Zoom doesn't laugh, but the way he huffs is almost amused. "You think he can stop me."
Zoom drags Barry up by the front of his shirt and Barry groans, thinking that this must be what it feels like before being mauled to death by a large carnivore. A breathless sort of terror, utterly detached from reality, because he's seen a lot, some might even say too much, chasing meta-humans, but it's a far cry from being held by the most dangerous person – animal – thing alive and knowing with certainty that no one can save him.
His glasses are cracked and there's a punishing pain in the back of his head, he hit it somewhere, but the adrenaline washes everything else away, lets him stare into the fuzzy face of Zoom.
"You are nothing."
Somewhere in the back of Barry's brain is agreement. The forefront is incinerated by pain, rational thoughts struggling to escape the fire. Everything hurts and he knows he's going to die but somehow he can't even bring himself to be upset as Zoom closes a hand around his throat.
"You are no one."
Pressure, and Barry wants to fight but he can't, it's bled out of him, so he hangs there, feeling consciousness slipping away from his breath by agonized breath.
"And you will never be a hero."
Then there's a blast of yellow lightning, so intense it momentarily blinds Barry, and he feels someone close by as Zoom loosens his grip. He doesn't let go, though, and they're gone before Barry can take a breath.
The Flash is back, he thinks in his last aching moment of consciousness.
Then the world - goes - dark.