Barry, You're the Time Remnant


Barry woke to a quiet beeping sound. It was steady and rhythmic, almost like music. His eyes slowly cracked open and were met with blinding light. He had gone through this before—had woken up in this exact way—and it didn't take him long this time to realize he was in the med bay at STAR Labs. What he didn't realize right away, was why he was here. Had he been fighting a metahuman? Had he faced off with Zoom? What the hell had happened?!

As Barry tried to sit up, he suddenly felt unbearable pain all over one half of his body. He looked down and realized he was shirtless and covered in bandages. Well, more like gauze.

Burn wounds then, he thought to himself.

How had he gotten them, though? Had he tried to stop a fire and accidentally gotten caught in the flames? Had he been caught off guard by some kind of explosion? It didn't really matter, though. The burns would heal themselves within a few hours.

It was then Barry realized only one of his eyes was open. The other one was covered by gauze, like the rest of his body. It hurt like hell. His entire body hurt like hell. Whatever had happened, it must have caused some serious trauma. He wondered if he was blind in his right eye now. He had been blind before, though, and he had recovered from it. He would most likely recover just fine from it now.

What confused Barry most was the fact that no one else was in the room. As he looked around the med bay with his good eye, he didn't see anyone else there. It confused him. Where was everyone? Surely, they would have sat down with him while he healed. At the very least, Caitlin would be there, monitoring his vitals obsessively. As if she had read his mind, Caitlin suddenly walked into the room then. Her eyes widened when she saw him laying there, staring back at her.

"You're awake," she said in surprise.

"I am," Barry laughed, "And I'm just a little confused. What happened?"

Caitlin gave him an uneasy look and bit her lip.

"You don't remember?" she asked nervously.

Barry shook his head.

"I must have hit my head or something," he said, "Must have been some accident."

Barry didn't understand why Caitlin was giving him such a strange look. She was looking at him with a fascinated and even somewhat fearful expression.

"What?" he asked her, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," she said, moving closer to the bed, "I just wasn't expecting you to be so…"

"So what?" Barry asked, frowning at her in confusion.

"Never mind," she whispered, a hint of sadness in her voice, "I'm glad you're alright, Barry."

"What's wrong?" he asked again, "What happened? Did something horrible happen? Is anyone else hurt?!"

Barry thought of his dad, who had died less than a week ago. What if Zoom had killed someone else now? It all came rushing back to him then—Zoom's threat. His deal.

"Did I race Zoom?" he asked quickly before Caitlin could answer, "Did we get Joe back?!"

Caitlin nodded slowly, her expression still sad.

"We did," she said quietly, "You raced Zoom, and you won. Zoom was pulled into the speed force by time wraiths."

Barry let out a breath of relief, and his face broke out in a grin that hurt the injured half of his face. The grin quickly slid from his face then.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked worriedly, "Did anyone besides me get hurt?!"

"Everyone else is fine," Caitlin assured him.

"Thank God," Barry sighed, "You scared me for a minute there. This is great! As soon as I'm healed, we all have to go out to celebrate!"

Caitlin gave him a sad smile.

"It might take a while," she said gently, "Your injuries, they were…extensive."

Barry frowned at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "How did I get injured?"

Caitlin let out a heavy sigh.

"You had to run around the secondary coil of the magnetar to destroy it," she explained, "You unleashed a lot of speed force energy from your body at once—too much energy. It's what caused the burns."

"But they'll heal, right?" Barry asked, "The burns should heal like everything else."

Caitlin shook her head sadly at him.

"I don't know," she whispered, "I thought that at first, too, but…they're not healing fast. They're healing at the rate a normal person's burns would. I think it's because they were caused by the speed force and not by normal fire. Your body isn't equipped to heal this kind of damage."

"So…" Barry whispered, a lump in his throat, "They'll scar?"

Caitlin nodded sadly, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Barry," she choked.

Barry looked down at his lap, at the bandaged hand that was resting on his thigh.

"It's okay," he said softly, a lump in his throat, "I mean, it sucks, but it could be worse, right? I could be dead. And at least Zoom is gone and everyone is okay."

Caitlin nodded and wiped a tear from her face.

"Where is everyone?" Barry asked then, feeling a little hurt that Caitlin was the only one at his bedside, "Are they here?"

Caitlin took a deep breath and shook her head.

"They're at home," she said quietly.

Barry frowned at her.

"Oh," he said softly, "Okay."

He didn't want to sound selfish by asking why they weren't there with him, but he couldn't help but wonder why that was. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt by it.

"Barry," Caitlin said, tears in her eyes, "There's something I have to tell you…about how you defeated Zoom."

Barry stared at her, his mind going a mile a minute. Oh, God. What had he done?! Had he done something horrible to defeat him? Had he turned into a monster, himself, and his family had witnessed the whole thing? Was that why they weren't here with him? Because they were afraid of him?

"What did I do, Caitlin?" Barry whispered, his mouth dry.

Caitlin's eyes were filled with tears as she answered him.

"You created a time remnant," she said quietly.

Barry frowned in confusion. He remembered now. He remembered having the idea to create a time remnant in case he needed to sacrifice one to defeat Zoom. It had only been an idea, though. Barry hadn't known for sure if he would need one, and if he did, he had planned for the time remnant to die.

"Did they see it?" Barry asked quietly, "Did my family have to watch the time remnant die?"

Barry knew that that would be the downside of his plan. His family would have to watch a version of him die. He would explain it later to them, though—that it wasn't really him and that he was still alive. He had clearly gotten hurt in the fight, though, so he had never gotten the chance to reassure them.

"The time remnant didn't die, Barry," Caitlin said softly, "He survived."

Barry's eyes widened in shock.

"He didn't die?" he asked seriously, "He's still alive?!"

Caitlin nodded sadly.

"Where is he?!" Barry asked immediately, "Is he here, or…?"

"Barry," Caitlin choked, "You're…you're the time remnant."

Barry froze in shock. He hadn't heard her right. He couldn't have heard her right.

"What?" he whispered, "But I…I can't be a time remnant."

Caitlin nodded and wiped her eyes.

"You are," she said softly, "That's how you got your burns. You were supposed to use your speed force energy to charge up the secondary coil. It was supposed to kill you, but…it didn't. All it did was give you these burns, and…you survived."

Barry shook his head, tears forming in his eyes.

"That…that can't be true," he stammered, "I can't be a time remnant. I'm Barry. I still feel like Barry!"

"You are," she said, "You are Barry…just not the original Barry."

Barry stared at her in shock. This couldn't be true. It had to be a dream. No, it had to be a nightmare! He wasn't a time remnant! He was Barry! He was the Barry, not just a copy. He was a person.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Caitlin said quietly, resting a hand on his knee, "Obviously, we didn't expect this to happen. Barry didn't intend for you to—"

"I'm Barry," Barry said angrily, "I'm Barry, Caitlin!"

"I know you are," she said quickly, "I'm sorry, Barry. I know you are, too. You're both Barry."

Barry nodded and wiped his eyes.

"I can't believe this," he choked, "I can't believe I'm a…a t-time remnant."

Caitlin gave him a sympathetic look, her eyes still wet.

"I don't feel like one," he said, his voice cracking, "I feel…I feel like Barry. I am Barry. I didn't think it would feel this way, being a time remnant. I didn't think I would feel this…real."

"You are real," Caitlin assured him, "You are a person, Barry. We know that. We know that you're real."

"Then why isn't everyone else here?" Barry choked, "Why are they not here with me?"

Caitlin stared at him, at a loss for words.

"Things have been…complicated," she said, "You've been out for days, and since Barry defeated Zoom, he's been…not as happy as we thought he would be. He's still grieving his dad. He's been quiet lately, and…everyone has just been preoccupied with being there for him. They haven't had much time to come here."

"I lost my dad, too," Barry choked, "I'm grieving, too, and I'm hurt. But they decided to stay home with the other Barry?!"

Caitlin shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I know you're hurting, Barry," she said shakily, "I know how hard this must be for you, but—"

"No, you don't," Barry said angrily, "Caitlin, you don't know how this feels. How can you possibly understand? What if I suddenly told you that you were just a copy of yourself, just a shadow of a person? How would that make you feel?!"

Caitlin opened and closed her mouth a few times, lost for words.

"I don't know, Barry," she finally said, "You're right. I don't know how that would feel."

Having her agree with him didn't make him feel any better, though. Barry couldn't help it then. He broke down into sobs. He buried his face in his hands and just cried.

"C-could you c-call them?" he sobbed, "Could y-you ask them to c-come here?"

Caitlin rested a hand on Barry's good shoulder.

"Of course," she said softly.


Iris was going to try making one of Barry's favorites for dinner tonight. He had hardly come out of his room all day. Really, for the last three days, since he had defeated Zoom, he had barely come out of his room. Iris thought she understood why. Zoom was gone. He was vanquished. Barry now had nothing to distract him from his grief, nothing to drive him. He was trying to cope with everything, trying to move on and seem like he was fine.

But he wasn't fine.

He was broken.

He had confessed to her a few nights ago that he had been tempted to go back in time to save his parents. After talking it out with her, though, he painfully made the decision not to, which had her very relieved. Barry was bitter about the decision, though, and he wasn't talking much now.

Iris didn't live here anymore, but now it almost felt like it. She had slept over two of the last three nights, and she was doing everything she could to help out around the house while Barry grieved.

"You know you don't have to cook for us every night, right?" her father said.

"I know," Iris sighed, "I just thought I'd make lasagna tonight."

"You've been making all of Barry's favorites lately," he said knowingly, "I really appreciate all that you're trying to do for him."

"I love him," Iris said simply, "I'm going to do everything I can to be there for him while he grieves. He may not be ready to be with me right now, but he still needs me in his life."

"Barry will always need you in his life," Joe said surely, "If there's one thing I know about Barry, it's that family is everything to him. He needs all of us in his life."

Before Iris could say anything, her cell phone started to vibrate in her pocket. She quickly pulled it out to look at it.

"It's Caitlin," she told her dad before answering the phone, "Hello?"

"Iris," Caitlin said urgently, "I need you guys to come to STAR Labs right away. Barry just woke up."

"Wha—oh," she said, "That Barry."

"He really needs you guys right now," Caitlin said seriously, "He's extremely upset."

"But our Barry, he's—"

"This Barry is your Barry, too," Caitlin said seriously, "And he needs you. I know the Barry you have at your house right now isn't doing very great lately, but this Barry is doing worse. You need to be here for him."

"Yes," Iris said, "Yes, of course. We'll…we'll be right there."


Barry felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. He wasn't crying anymore, but he felt like he was right on the edge of a panic attack. It still didn't feel real.

He was a time remnant.

He hoped his family would be able to understand the situation he was in. He hoped they still saw him as him and not just a copy.

When Joe and Iris walked through the door of the med bay, Barry nearly burst into tears at the sight of them.

"Barry," Iris said, rushing over to the bed.

She quickly took his hand and squeezed it. Barry squeezed hers in return.

"I'm so happy to see you," Barry choked, tears in his eyes.

Iris gave him a strange look at these words, as if surprised by his reaction, surprised that he'd be happy to see her.

"I'm glad you're alright," she said softly, looking at the bandages covering half of his face.

"I wouldn't quite say 'alright,'" he said quietly, "Finding out I'm a time remnant…it's a lot to process."

"You didn't remember?" Joe asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

Barry shook his head.

"I mean, I remember thinking about possibly creating a time remnant to stop Zoom," he said, "But I don't remember ever creating one. I don't remember the fight…any of it. Caitlin said I had a concussion."

"You must be so confused," Iris said sadly, "Barry didn't intend for this to happen."

Barry still couldn't get used to it, the way they talked about "Barry," as if he were the only Barry that existed.

"I know he didn't," Barry said quietly, "I remember. I know what my intentions were when I created…myself. I didn't intend for me to live."

"We thought you deserved a chance to make that decision," Joe said gently, resting a hand on Barry's leg.

Barry frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, "What decision?"

Joe and Iris both looked awkwardly at each other, and Barry understood then.

"You mean the decision to live," he whispered, "You wanted me to decide whether or not I would live."

"It's completely up to you," Iris said painfully, "We understand if you want to live, and if you want to…"

"To die?" Barry asked, his head spinning, "You want me to decide if I should what? Be euthanized?!"

How could they even suggest something like that?! He was Barry! He was their family!

But he wasn't. To them, he was just a copy. He was just a remnant who was supposed to die.

"I still feel like Barry," he whispered to them, tears in his eyes, "I still think. Feel. Love."

They both stared at him, at a loss for words.

"To me, just a few weeks ago, you were telling me you loved me, Iris," he choked, "I still remember every single moment I ever had with you—both of you. I love you. I…I don't want to die."

"We understand, Bar," Joe said quickly, "That's completely understandable to us. We just wanted to give you the option."

Barry shook his head and wiped his eyes. They didn't understand. They didn't understand any of it. He was Barry. He wasn't just some disposable clone that they could just throw away. He needed them just as much as the original Barry did.

"I'm sorry," Barry sighed, "I'm so sorry. I know it's selfish…wanting to stick around. I know I'm just another Barry for you guys to worry about and take care of, but to me, it feels…"

"It feels like you're the original," Joe said sadly.

Barry nodded and had to choke back a sob.

"I don't feel like a copy," he choked, "I feel like I'm Barry, and the one that you know…he's the copy."

"You're both Barry," Iris said softly, "Neither of you has to be a 'copy.' You can both be Barry. Your existence is just as valid as his. It's not selfish to want to live, Barry."

"Thank you," Barry whispered.


"He wants to live?!" Original Barry asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"He does," Joe told him sadly, "He's you, Barry. He just wants a chance to have a life."

Barry sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"This is a mess," he groaned, "I'm so sorry about all this, guys. I didn't intend for this to happen."

"We know you didn't," Iris said, "You were just trying to stop Zoom, and you did."

"Yeah, but now I've created this time remnant, and I have no idea what to do with him," Barry said in frustration, "I didn't even think of the possibility of this happening, and if I had…I would have found a different way to defeat Zoom."

"You regret creating him?" Joe asked quietly.

"Of course I do," Barry said seriously, "I accidentally created this whole other person. Now we have two of me. What the hell are we supposed to do with that?"

"I don't see any problem with him living," Iris said with a shrug, "Why is this even a problem?"

"I don't know," Barry said in a strained voice, "It's weird! What are we supposed to do? Just live with two Barry's now?! Where is he going to live? What is he going to do for a living? He can't just work at the CCPD, especially since his face is going to be all scarred up once we take the bandages off."

"So he should just die then?" Joe asked incredulously.

"That's what was supposed to happen," Barry said with a shrug, "I intended for that version of me to die. I was ready to make that sacrifice. Really, I don't understand it. I thought he would make the same decision I would have. He's me after all."

"Would you really make the same decision?" Iris asked softly, "Think about it, Barry. It's one thing to be willing to sacrifice a copy of yourself, but what if you were the copy? Would you feel the same way about it then?"

"Of course," Barry said firmly, "I would sacrifice myself to save my loved ones without a second thought."

"But the circumstances have changed, Bar," Joe said gently, "This Barry was willing to sacrifice himself. He did attempt to sacrifice himself…but then he survived. Asking him to die now…it isn't a sacrifice anymore. It's just needless suicide. We're talking about asking a man to willingly kill himself simply because his existence is inconvenient for us. You can't tell me that if you were the time remnant, you would want to go along with that."

Barry sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I guess I see what you're saying," he sighed, "I just…I wish this wasn't happening. It would have been so much easier if he had just died. We would have been able to move on and not think about it again."

"Well, he didn't die," Iris said firmly, "And we have to deal with this now. Just because he was a mistake, it doesn't mean we should just shun him. He's still you, Barry."

"So what's the plan then?" Barry asked seriously, "What do we do with him, now that he wants to live?"

"I don't know," Joe said, "We could always get him an apartment in the city. He can't really support himself right now, but we could help support him until his feet find the ground."

"I'll support him," Barry sighed, "This is my problem to deal with. I don't expect you to financially support a copy of me I accidentally made. I can get him an apartment."

"We can all help, Bar," Joe said seriously, "You don't have to bankrupt yourself to support your time remnant."

"He's my time remnant, though," Barry said firmly, "This is my mistake. I don't expect you to pay for it."

"He's not a mistake," Iris said, "He's you. And he needs more than just financial support. He needs emotional support, too, Barry."

Barry groaned.

"This is such a mess," he said again, "I feel like I've just created another burden for you guys. As if one broken version of me wasn't enough, you now have two to take care of. I'm so sorry."

"We also have two of you to love now, Barry," Joe said softly, "In my opinion, this world can never have enough Barry Allen's. Although, we'll probably have to change his name. It's one thing to have a doppelganger walking around this city, but you both probably can't have the same identity."

"I'll call Felicity," Barry said, "She can get him a new identity."