Chapter 8

It was snowing. A lot. Eobard reflected that perhaps sprinting halfway through Antarctica was going to require a greater effort than anticipated, even for a speedster of his strength. With the cold, the snow, and the terrible landscapes, it was difficult to maintain full speed. Also, he had another problem adding to the challenge - the Flash was not far behind.

He approached a deep gash in the ice and leapt. The Flash slammed into him. Tumbling, Reverse Flash landed hard on a thick coating of snow and jagged ice. He groaned, rolling over, but the Flash was there. Anger seized him, and he snarled, catching a blow aimed at his head. He pushed the enemy backward, knocking the other speedster off balance. He leapt to his feet, fiery pain shooting through him, but fading fast. He traded several blows with his foe. A fist hit his shoulder, but his own found a stomach. The Flash doubled over at the sudden impact, and Eobard slammed a knee into his mask. His opposite hit the ground.

"You, Flash," he snarled in his distorted voice, "you have to be a damned hero, no matter what. Even if you compromise your values, even if you do wrong, even if you screw up, you're still the hero of Central City, the god of the lowly!" He kicked the other. "But look at you now, mewling at my feet. Oh, if only the masses could see you like this, low, pathetic, bleeding-"

Allen lashed out, slamming a fist into Eobard's knee. The Reverse Flash collapsed with a cry.

"I'm not the only one who can bleed!" Came the response.

Eobard twisted over, catching the other's neck in his hands. He squeezed, but in a surge of vibrations, the Flash was gone. He twisted to find a fist flying toward his face. He dodged. It missed. With an awkward twist, Barry slipped on the ice, exposed, and Eobard saw his chance. He surged a vibrating hand forward, sinking his fingers into the other's stomach. He pulled back, feeling warm blood dripping over his hand. The Flash screamed in pain, crashing in the snow.

Reverse Flash felt a surge of vindictive pleasure. He readied himself for more, but the other did not rise to face him as expected. His anger and enjoyment faded to be replaced with uncertainty. The Scarlet Speedster rolled over, panting, hand dropping to the injury. The snow beside him was deep crimson. He groaned, baring his teeth in agony.

Eobard narrowed his eyes. A concerning amount of blood spread across the speedster's abdomen, but it was ludicrous. He'd tried to kill the Flash so many times, and none of his blows that shallow had ever had such an impact. This couldn't be happening, could it? "I hope that doesn't kill you. I was trying to keep it shallow."

Barry hissed, "damn it. It...it isn't regenerating." His head dropped back onto the snow.

Eobard felt a strange worry spread through his chest. It would be pure bad luck if he had struck too deep without realizing, and he would be left at the mercy of the Time Demon, a very powerful monster he knew he wouldn't be able to face alone. He refused to let that happen. He knelt beside the Flash and reached forward. His foe stiffened, clenching his jaw, but made no move to stop him. He felt the wound; it was a clean hit, but just as Allen had said, there was no evidence of it healing. It shouldn't be deep enough to be fatal, either - not for a speedster. Barry gasped and his eyes flashed, angry and pained. He knocked Eobard's hand away.

The Reverse shook his head, noting the red painting his fingers. "I don't understand..." he trailed off, realization hitting him. "It's this place. It's too cold."

"That's...just...great..."

"The cold is sapping your strength. It's probably nearly forty below. To counteract it, your body is burning a lot of energy, and our fight probably left you running low. The wound probably is trying to heal...just a lot slower. More like a normal person..."

"What, I need to...eat something?" Allen sassed. "If...I...die...like this... I'm going to come back and haunt you..."

"I'm so terrified," Eobard snapped back, mocking. He looked away from the accusing glare, trying to think.

Why were you so rash, Eobard? He asked himself. So eager to oppose the Flash you decided to not think ahead? If I had taken the time to plan, I would have realized this would happen. I pulled an 'Allen', and look where it's gotten me... Wait...what if...?

He furrowed his brow, an idea forming. "This is probably a horrible time to ask how well you trust me, Flash."

"Yeah... What do you think?"

"Since you're life is in my hands right now," Eobard said, "it seems you have no choice."

The other gave no reply.

"Hmm... With this cold, and our fight, I don't have enough strength to take you somewhere warmer before you bleed to death...but I think I can get your regeneration working... As you should already know, a speedster creates excess energy when he uses the Speed Force. Energy that just flows away... And by vibrating, I think I can give you enough energy to heal..."

"Okay...but why ask if I trust you?"

"Because I'm going to have to get close enough for you siphon off a significant amount of that energy, and I don't need you fighting back, thinking I'm trying to kill you..."

"I see."

"So, Allen." Eobard grinned like a wolf. "Do you trust me?"

"Never."

"Good."

Changing the speed of his own body's frequency, he called upon the Speed Force. He leaned down, placing himself over the Flash. Barry tensed under him, discomfort showing on his face. Eobard placed his hands above the other's shoulders, focusing on the action of generating energy like a battery for his enemy. Their gazes locked, full of fire, anger, hate - the complex emotions between two immortal foes. Eobard found himself mesmerized again, like when he'd stood before the half-bare Allen. This strange moment was flooded with all of the same implications. He didn't want to understand why he enjoyed this so much, even if he already knew the answer on a subconscious level - an answer he would never admit to anyone. Once upon a time, the Flash had been his hero, and he could almost remember why.

Even though it was unnecessary, he pressed closer to the other man, allowing all the excess energy to flow to him. His face was too close to the Flash's, and he was aware that a mere few inches kept him away from the one who was so important to his own identity. In a way, despite their differences, he knew that the only reason he held such power as he did now was because of the Flash.

Barry disappeared in a burst of lightning. He halted a few paces away, not looking at Eobard.

Eobard pushed up from the snow and realized that he'd been knocked away. He felt sudden fear. Did the Flash realize what he'd been feeling in that rather...intimate moment? He knew it was possible, and that thought alone alarmed him. He rubbed his face, forcing himself to calm his racing heart, to give none of his own thoughts away, to soothe the uncomfortable frequency he was now vibrating on before the other realized the truth. He needed to regain control of the situation, and he knew how.

"I'll meet you at the coordinates, Flash," he growled, speeding away.

He needed to run.


"Gideon, what is this place?" Eobard asked.

"Scanning. It appears to be an abandoned research facility."

"What kind?"

"Approximately one hundred and seventy years ago the government started sending several specialized teams to the arctic regions to study the effects of global warming more thoroughly. The teams were cycled out frequently. However, the last teams sent here were pulled a few decades after the project had begun before results could be conclusive due to funding issues."

"I see."

The Flash appeared at his side, scowling.

The temperature was starting to catch up with Eobard, and he found himself vibrating with the Speed Force to stay warm. He sensed Barry doing the same.

"Would it be too much to go back to Central City now?" Barry asked, gasping at the cold air. "You've made your point... I believe you...okay? You care about Caitlin... How nice... Thawne, it really is not good for us to be here, in such a cold environment, with no back-up." He raised his holoblock, projecting a screen. "My suit readings say that it is nearly sixty below. If we weren't metahumans, we'd be good as dead. Not to mention we need...plenty of energy... Power bars would be good right now."

"Well, we're here now, and I'm going to bring Caitlin home. I'll be generous, though. You can stay here and cry, if you're that scared."

Eobard began to traipse down the slope. He heard an annoyed hiss behind him.

"Eobard."

For some reason, even though he didn't want to, he halted. He turned. "What?"

"You know this could go very horribly, right?" Barry said, tromping towards him through the knee-deep snow. The annoyed look still hadn't left his face.

"Likely," Eobard replied, shrugging. He looked away, clenching his jaw. "Part of the reason I did this, was to remind myself once again of how much I hate you."

"What?"

"I knew we would fight when I ran off. It was inevitable...and I knew it would make me think of how much I hated you. I enjoy hating you."

Barry snorted. "As if you need a reminder."

"True, but I enjoyed one all the same. I could never forget. But maybe you could…being so optimistic as you are. So don't. No matter what I may be forced to do for - or with - you, I will always abhor you, Bartholomew Allen, with every fiber of my being, and everything you are and stand for. Nothing will ever change."

"Don't worry. I know. And the feeling is perfectly mutual, Eobard Thawne."

"Good." The Reverse Flash grinned and gestured towards the facility. "Shall we?"

"After you."

The two speedsters blasted into the old facility, not bothering with subtlety. Inside, the place held all the traits of the abandoned research center Gideon had said it was. Broken equipment and terminals were littered here and there. Eobard could smell a faint metallic odor. There were stains, and the walls had glittering sheets of ice attached to them.

"Moisture was on the walls at some point," he pointed out. "Strange. This climate is too cold for ice to melt, then evaporate enough to collect on the walls."

"Probably caused by the researchers' presence. I'll bet that ice has been here for decades," Flash replied. "They had to stay warm, right?"

"Well, this place looks deserted. Maybe Cisco was wrong..." Eobard cast his gaze around again. "How did he find it, anyway?" He held up a hand to stop the reply. "Oh wait, that's right, you don't know and you didn't ask? You just took it all at face value."

"I trust Cisco," Flash shot back. "Anyway, I didn't really have time to get the details."

"Hm, right. Though, if you had gotten details, we would have been better prepared."

"For your information, Thawne, you are the reason we're here now and unprepared. Besides, you lost the right to lecture me when you betrayed my trust." The Flash glared at him. "If Cisco said Killer Frost is here, then she's here. He would only have told me if he was absolutely sure... We haven't even searched yet," he pointed out. Without a heartbeat more, he sped around the facility. Eobard folded his arms and allowed his nemesis to do the work. The noise of the speeding man halted. "Found something," he called.

Eobard took his time strolling into the room. His eyes landed on an elevator, that unlike the rest of the place, wasn't frozen shut. "Well, well, there's more here than meets the eye." Thawne studied the door. "You know, I'm assuming that if we get into this elevator, we'll be giving complete control of our lives over to a presumably insane metahuman."

"Well, what else can we do, knock?"

"I suppose we could phase out if it turns into some kind of death trap." Eobard tapped the button. "I wonder how this has stayed operating for so long. Caitlin was a bio-chemist and doctor. Not an engineer."

"Never too late to learn?" Flash asked.

The doors dinged, opening. The dark metal walls of the elevator matching the rest of facility were just as ominous.

"How could anyone live here?" Flash breathed, gazing around and then into the lift. "I'd go insane."

"That's because you are pathetic," Eobard returned.

Flash rolled his eyes. "Not as pathetic as you… After you, Thawne."

Eobard looked into the metal box that was the elevator, sighed, and stepped forward. "Go ahead and admit it, you're terrified."

"If I am, then so are you."