All Things New - Chapter 9

*Central City – 2017*

Cisco strolled into S.T.A.R. Labs ready to get back to work. He was encouraged by the progress that the team had made, and felt that, with Tommy there, they could figure out how the past would continue to change. He walked into the main lab to find Julian, Wells, and Joe, all with blank expressions on their faces.

"Guys... what's wrong?" Cisco intuitively asked.

"Tommy's gone," Joe replied.

"Gone?" Cisco responded. "What do you mean, gone? What do you..." Cisco stopped himself and thought for a moment, and realized something horrific. "How much do you guys remember Tommy?"

"Honestly, not much," Julian replied. "I remember things briefly, but it feels like different memories keep flooding my mind."

"Why was he even here?" Wells asked gruffly.

"He was here because of his ex-girlfriend," Cisco replied weakly.

"He was?" Julian asked. "I... I don't remember."

"That's because the past must have changed," Cisco said. "I don't... how do we track Barry down if he keeps changing the past?"

"Can you check the headlines from twenty years ago?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, I'm on it," Cisco replied. He pulled up newspapers in Miami, and much hadn't changed. "His ex was still killed... but... wait a minute..." He typed furiously, and then looked intently on the screen in front of him.

"What is it Cisco?" Joe asked.

"Power Rangers were defeated by masked man in yellow, red ranger goes missing."

"Masked man in yellow?" Wells asked.

"Cisco... you don't think..." Joe's voice trembled.

"Of course... why didn't I think about this before," Cisco replied. "When Barry went back to save his parents, reverse-flash was imprisoned. At least, until Barry went to restore the timeline. What if Thawne went back in time after he killed Barry's mom?"

"But how?" Joe asked. "The whole reason why Thawne built the particle accelerator in the first place was to help him get back to his original timeline. He couldn't time travel, he wasn't fast enough."

"Why, anything," Julian replied. "The timeline is jumbled, everything is jumbled, all because of flashpoint, remember."

"So what do we do now?" Wells asked.

"I'm going to keep perusing the headlines," Cisco replied. "Maybe there's a way we can find the old power rangers, get an idea for how the timeline has shifted. Though, that won't really matter if we don't know how to get back to where Barry is."

"Is there anyway you could open a breach to that time?" Joe asked.

"No... I can traverse different earths, not times," Cisco replied.

"Then we're stuck," Wells said flatly. However, Cisco perked up as he considered an idea.

"Not necessarily," he said, a smile creeping on his face. "But we do have another speedster. One that's faster than Barry."

"No," Joe argued. "You're not sending Wally..."

"Joe, do you want Barry back or not?" Cisco shot back. "Look, we don't even know if he can do it. But we can figure out some intel, and then if it makes sense, we can try sending Wally back."

"I can't lose another son!" Joe shouted back.

"You won't lose him, Joe," Wells added.

"How do you know that?" He challenged. "Tell me this Harry, would you send your daughter? Would you send Jesse?" Wells paused for a moment, and then answered.

"No."

"See," Joe replied.

"But," Wells interrupted. "Just because I've said no doesn't mean she doesn't go off and do it anyway. Honestly, it'll be up to Wally."

"What's up to me?" Wally asked, walking into the room.

"Don't Cisco..."

"He deserves the choice, Joe," Cisco argued. "And I'm going to tell him. In the mean time, find the former rangers." Joe was about to fire back, but Wally interrupted him.

"Dad... it's ok. Go and find the rangers."

*Miami, FL – 1997*

The morphed rangers and Barry tracked Ethan to the edge of the city, hoping against hope that they could find Kim before he killed her. They found their way to the old orange bowl, and the signal from Billy's device read that he was underneath it. They made their way below the stadium, into the massive structure's basement. They swept through each room, finding nothing. That is, until they made their way to an entrance to one of the storage spaces.

"Guys, be ready," Barry warned. "Thawne is really dangerous, and he's incredibly capable of murder."

"We know," Tommy replied. "Open the door." They did, and rushed in, only to find something they didn't expect.

"What is that?" Rocky asked, gazing at a round, metal structure, big enough for a man to enter it.

"It looks like the particle accelerator isn't the only thing Thawne is trying to use from the future," Barry replied.

"Right you are, Flash," a voice said from the corner. Out came Thawne, again in the appearance of Ethan. He wore his trademark yellow suit, his eyes piercing through Barry. "This is a time sphere... a rather neat innovation from the future. Rip Hunter himself invented it."

"Who's Rip Hunter?" Tanya asked.

"Long story," Barry replied. "All you need to know is he is a time traveler, one who protects the timeline. Something you haven't done, Thawne."

"Who are you to lecture me on protecting time?" Thawne snarled. "Or have you forgotten that this is your fault to begin with."

"It was my fault to take the power of god in my own hands, it's not my fault that you're a sadistic murderer. Now, tell us where Kim is."

"Or what?" Thawne chuckled. "You'll kill me?"

"I'll stop you," Barry challenged. "Like everytime before."

"Not this time. This time, my plan will go off without a hitch."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Tommy replied, and then shot at the speedster with his zeo blaster. Thawne quickly dodged it, and then sped out of the room. Before Barry could chase after him, a shot rang out, presumably from a blaster, which brought down part of the building on them. Barry helped grab some of the rangers to save them from the blast, and once they were out of the storage room, they slowly got to their feet.

"You guys ok?" Barry asked.

"Yeah, we're doing ok," Jason replied.

"Wait, where's Tommy?" Kat asked. Barry looked around and realized that the red ranger was no where to be found.

"Oh no," Barry sighed. "I'm going after them." In a flash, he sped off, leaving the other five there.

"Wait!" Jason cried, but it was too late. "Power down." The other rangers followed, leaving them unmorphed.

"What do we do?" Adam asked.

"I don't know," Jason replied.

"We'll find them, Jase," Kat encouraged, but it wasn't enough to remove the concern from his face. Little did they know, Thawne was merely in another part of the complex. Next to the Orange Bowl was Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins. Kimberly was tied to a chair in one of the press boxes, when suddenly Tommy was placed right by her. His powers had faded due to the damage he sustained, leaving him unmorphed and barely conscious. He also was tied to a chair, a few feet from her.

"Tommy?" She gasped. He looked up slowly, his eyes fighting the urge to slip into unconsciousness.

"Beautiful," he whispered.

"The happy couple reunited," Thawne cackled.

"Why are you doing this, Ethan?" Kim pleaded.

"Still torn between two men, my dear?" Thawne taunted.

"Answer her..." Tommy slurred, gaining a little of his strength. "Or..."

"Or what? You'll hurt me? Kill me? I'm pretty sure there's nothing you can do to me, power ranger." He grinned at his two captives, and paced around. "Ethan, my dear, is dead. Has been for a while, actually. About a week after you sent that break-up letter."

"How could you..."

"It was simple, actually," he confessed. "And perfect. You were hurting, and you didn't pick up any of the differences in who we were. I guess you really didn't know Ethan, did you?"

"I don't get it," Tommy interjected. "How did you become him? And why do it in the first place? Why play this game?"

"The speed force doesn't exactly like it when speedsters mess with time. But if I appeared as someone else... an innocent, like a gold-medal winning sprinter? I'd go unnoticed. Only small little ripples in time, the majority of the world unconscious to my schemes. So I killed him and assumed his identity, using a technology from my time. I assumed his life. And I thought I was out of the woods... ready to get my revenge."

"Until Barry showed up," Kim realized.

"You're smarter than I thought," Thawne snarled.

"Why keep him close?" Kim asked.

"Because I wanted to keep an eye on him," Thawne confessed. "I knew that if he was here, it wasn't by his own choice. I knew it had to be something else. So, I watched him. I spent time with him, made sure that he built trust with you. I didn't think he would pick up on my trail. But then, you went ahead and told him your secret."

"What secret..."

"That you were a ranger."

"How did you..."

"I know all about the past! I knew all about you, pink ranger, and I knew if I could just get him believing he was looking in all the wrong places about them, he wouldn't have a chance. But you cracked under the pressure."

"No, she didn't," Tommy interrupted. "She did what she's always done, bring evil to justice. Even if she didn't know it."

"Justice," he cackled. "The only justice is that you both will be dead by morning, and I'll have a new identity to assume. I only need you for a few more hours, and then I'll make sure no one will ever find you again."

Back outside the Orange Bowl, Barry returned to the other rangers. "I don't understand," he gasped. "I lost his signal. They are no where to be found."

"How are we going to find them?" Tanya asked. Almost as soon as she asked the question, a blue light shined behind Barry. Barry turned, and they all looked to find a blue portal. A streak appeared, which in turn became Wally West, dressed in his 'Kid Flash' garb.

"Wally?" Barry asked. Wally grinned wide, as did Barry, and they embraced.

"Oh man, we thought you were gone forever!" Wally exclaimed, holding his adopted brother tightly. "But Cisco found a way to find you."

"Thanks for not giving up," Barry replied. "How did you find me?"

"These two," He pointed over towards Jason and Kat. "Well... the you twenty years from now."

"I don't..." Jason stammered.

"It's a long story," Wally replied. "Here's what you need to know. Tommy Oliver disappeared for nearly fifteen years, and then reappeared to run as a congressman. Your relationship was estranged, he's treated you coldly since he re-appeared. At least... that was according to the last change in the timeline."

"Wait... how do you know about them..."

"Because the timeline keeps changing, it sets and then resets," Wally interrupted Barry. "Tommy was in our labs just a few days ago, inquiring about Kimberly's death."

"Wait, Kimberly dies?" Jason gasped.

"It's gotta be Thawne," Barry replied. "And my being here must keep changing it. Kim dies because of Thawne, but because we worked together," he said pointing to the rangers, "Tommy gets captured, and Thawne assumes his identity."

"But how does he do it?" Adam asked.

"He has this tech from his world," Barry replied. "He can take the DNA of any person and replicate it on himself."

"Why would he want to take Tommy's identity?" Kat asked, concern laced in her voice.

"I don't know," Wally replied. "Our best guess is that he's aiming for something big. Maybe trying to rise to greater power?"

"The Legends talked of him joining forces with other evil men," Barry said. "Maybe it's part of their bigger ploy. I mean, he told us he used Rip Hunter's tech to travel through time..." Barry stopped himself for a moment.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"I've got an idea," Barry smiled.

To be continued...

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- Googz333