Author's note at end of chapter.

The Speed Force

Once Barry had grabbed his mother's hand, he had expected to be trapped in the prison here, being subjected to endless internal torment. Instead, he found himself in Star Labs, following his mother.

"Not that I'm complaining, but I kind of expected to be back in the Speed Force prison." Barry said nervously and Nora chuckled.

"The prison faded from existence the moment Savitar did,"Nora revealed to Barry's shock, "that was simply a test."

"A test? A test for what?" Barry asked getting a little angry.

"To prove to us -and yourself- that the hero we know is still in there underneath the selfish person we have seen the last year," Nora told him and Barry winced, knowing she had a point, "you passed. And now you are ready."

"Ready for what?" Barry asked in confusion.

"For your mission. You are going to go back in time to prevent the course of time that is currently set." Nora announced and Barry looked confused.

"Um, last time I was here you told me that was a bad idea." Barry pointed out.

"Things have changed." Nora said as she waved a hand.

A holo-screen suddenly appeared. It showed Oliver on a boat, a dead body behind him with a young boy in his arms, watching in horror as an island exploded behind them.

"That is now," Nora said, "everyone your friend Oliver Queen loves except his son just died."

"What?" Barry said sharply in horror.

"But it only get worse," Nora waved her hand again and the screen changed to show Star City, which appeared to be on fire, "Grant Wilson, Slade's son who he had fathered during his time trying to destroy Oliver, returned to Star City with an army."

"And Oliver couldn't stop him?" Barry guessed but Nora shook her head.

"He didn't try. He'd lost hope," Nora explained and Barry was stunned, "but it only got worse from there."

"How could it possibly get worse?" Barry wondered.

"Grant Wilson became a tyrant. And like all tyrants, he wanted more power. He built up his army until he was ready to strike and then attacked. With each enemy that fell, more and more people joined his army, either out of fear or because they wanted his power and wanted to be on the winning side. Within five years, the entire United States had fallen to Wilson's army and he had taken control of America." Nora explained and Barry stared in horror at the White House, marred with dead bodies on the lawn.

"Good god." Barry breathed.

"This is why you are here. You are to prevent this from ever happening." Nora said.

"How can I possibly prevent all this?" Barry asked incredulously.

"Oliver Queen lost hope, but he lost it long before today," Nora said and Barry looked at her confused, "He lost hope when he failed to stop The Undertaking, when his best friend died. He just did a good job of covering it up."

"So, you want me to go back and prevent the undertaking?" Barry asked confused but Nora shook her head.

"Cut off on branch, it grows back. You need to cut off the trunk. You need to go back and have Oliver kill Malcolm Merlyn before The Undertaking." Nora announced to his shock.

Star Labs

Night

Cisco was studying Savitar's speed cannon, trying to find a way to save Barry when his phone rang. Digging it out, Barry saw it was Oliver answered it.

"Hey Oliver. Look, I'm kind of busy right now." Cisco said distracted.

"Cisco," Oliver said in a broken voice that put Cisco on edge, "Something's happened..."

Speed Force

"Okay," Barry said after Nora told him her plan, "So, I wake up in my younger body, power and all, then what?"

"Go Oliver and John Diggle in the original lair," Nora told him, "convince him of...everything. It will not be easy Barry."

"I can handle Oliver." Barry said confidently but Nora gave him a stern look.

"You have never met this Oliver. This Oliver is...different. He killed without hesitation, he was further from his humanity than you could possibly imagine. What Oliver has done for you, you are going to have to do for him. Guide him, give him direction, purpose. Only together can the two of you prevent this future from coming to pass."

"And if I'm successful?" Barry asked wearily.

"You'll wake up in the new timeline, like every other time you've changed the past. For the others, the last five years would have never happened. The only person who will remember this timeline is you," Nora said as a blue portal opened up in the doorway, "Now go, my beautiful baby boy. Oh, and this will hurt. A lot."

Barry only heard this as he stepped into the portal. Barry felt like he was being ripped apart and screamed in pure agony .

If you get a X-Men Days of Future Past vibe ere, that is intentional. The story is loosely based on the movie. I've wanted to do a Arrowverse version for a while, but I could never find the right storyline for it until now. Should I continue or not? Tell me in a review.