! Warning: This story may contain adult themes, such as nudity, sexual content, torture, mass murder etc. Reader discretion is highly advised. !
Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
Felicity was finishing packing up as Oliver entered her apartment, while she still had tears in her eyes.
"Go ahead." Felicity said with a broken voice. "Say it. Say that Caitlin's death is my fault. I know it is all on me. But there's nothing you can tell me that I haven't already said to myself, Oliver."
Oliver took a deep breath. "I'm not here to blame you for anything or yell at you." 'Even though I am, for many things.' He said to himself. "I just want to understand. What. Were you. Thinking. Why did you do that?"
"I had to do something." Felicity said. "Nothing we tried, brought us any closer to getting Caitlin and Cisco back. Waverider had access to any digital files and I thought if I'd back him into a corner, he'd have no choice but to…"
"You really thought that a madman like Lex would give up so easily?" Oliver asked incredulously. "Haven't you learned anything from when Damien Darhk kidnapped you, John and Thea two years ago and when I gave into his terms? Or when he kidnapped my son?" Felicity winced, knowing that Oliver was right. "But I can't believe that you involved William into this."
"I didn't know he would come with me, I swear, I'd never put him in danger on purpose like that." Felicity protested.
Oliver sighed, trying to find what to say. While he did blame her for Caitlin, it was obvious she was blaming herself more.
"I talked with William. He said he wanted to help and you tried to get him to safety and I appreciate that. And at least something good came out of this." Oliver tried. "The White House has ordered for Lex to shut down his operation and now there's manhunt on him. Everyone in the government involved in the operation, has been ordered to investigate thoroughly Lex's operation."
"So…" Felicity trailed off.
"His operation is getting shut down." Oliver said and Felicity felt a flicker of hope shine. "We're not done yet. And we might still need your help to take down Lex. But when this is over… we're all done with you. We're still partners for now… but we're not friends anymore. This isn't coming only from me, Felicity, it comes from all of us, Barry, Cisco, Harry, John, Rene, Laurel, everyone. Once Lex is down, all our ties with you are cut. Understood? For now, we still need your help but after that, you're no longer welcome to Team Arrow, S.T.A.R. Labs, anywhere. And you and William are going to visit each other, only when I allow it. Do I make myself clear?"
Felicity nodded, realizing that while it wouldn't bring Caitlin back, it was the least she owed her.
"I'm sorry." William told Oliver as he entered the car. "I just wanted to help."
"I understand that but you're a kid, who got himself in over his head." Oliver growled, glaring at William, who looked guilty and ashamed. "Do you even realize how much did you put everyone in danger?"
William winced, knowing that Oliver was right. "What happens now?"
Oliver sighed. "I don't know."
The Arrow Lair
Curtis examined Dinah's neck with his scanner as they did a CT of her vocal chords.
"What… what… did they do to me…" Dinah demanded, her voice being nothing but loud whisper. "I can… barely speak…"
"I don't know what the hell did they do but they paralyzed your vocal cords, so that you couldn't use your sonic cry." Curtis said.
"Can…" Dinah cleared her throat but it wasn't much help to her. "Can you reverse it? Please. Curtis…"
"I don't know." Curtis admitted. "There's only one person I think that might be able to help but…" He trailed off, mourning Caitlin. "I'm sorry. I don't think I can do anything with it."
Dinah looked down, feeling powerless without her Canary Cry.
"She is…" Iris trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.
"Yeah." Barry sniffed, his voice breaking.
"Barry, I…" Iris stopped. "I don't even know what to say."
"There's nothing you can say that would make any of this any easier." Barry said. "She's gone… and I never told her that…" He broke down in tears as Patty, Iris, Joe and Ralph hugged him for comfort.
"I'm sorry, man." Ralph said, consoling his friend.
White House
"It has been confirmed that Lex Luthor, even before our inquiry into his operations, illegally acquired metahumans that may have or may not have been guilty of committing crimes and experimented on them and even coerced some of them into illegal activities, in order to slander the entire metahuman community." The man in suit said as they were in the Oval Office.
"First Agent Smith, now this." The president said. "And you allowed this operation?" He turned to Ben Lockwood.
"Sir, Mr. Luthor assured me that all metahumans he had rounded up, were criminals. I swear I had no idea…"
"Save it for the internal affairs." The president said. "I want his operation shut down. And take Luthor in, dead or alive, I don't care."
Elsewhere
Barry and Cisco were watching S.T.A.R. Labs from a distance as they were remembering.
Barry, Eobard Thawne, disguised as Harrison Wells, Caitlin and Cisco were on the outskirts, with Barry in a special suit as Caitlin was calibrating it.
"What?" Caitlin asked as Barry stared at her.
"Nothing." Barry said. "Just that you don't smile too much."
Caitlin adjusted her hair. "My once promising career in bio-engineering is over. My boss is confined to wheelchair for life." She turned to Thawne. "The explosion that put you in a coma, also killed my fiancé. So, this blank expression kind of feels like a letgo."
"This is what we talked about. Me using my speed to do good." Barry said as they were in the Cortex.
"We talked about you helping us contain other people, who might have been affected by the particle accelerator explosion. Metahumans. And asides from Clyde Mardon, we haven't found any." Caitlin shot back.
"Ronnie. What was he like?" Barry asked as he and Caitlin were in his workroom in CCPD.
"We met when we were working at the particle accelerator." Caitlin said. "He was the structural engineer. He liked to joke that he was a very high-price plumber." Barry smiled. "We were very different. You might have noticed that I can be a bit guarded. Ronnie knew how to make me laugh. He used to say we were like fire and ice." She looked down, sad. "He wasn't supposed to be there that night. He was just there for me."
"My mother died fourteen years ago." Barry said. "I used to think that the further away I got from it, the less it would hurt." He sighed. "But some days, the pain… it's worse than the day it happened. Some things you can't fight."
Caitlin took a breath as they sat next to each other. "For so long, I've been terrified of going into that hole." She said, referring to the pipeline, where she had lost Ronnie in the explosion.
"What if I go with you?" Barry offered to console her.
Caitlin was taking off her dress in her room as Barry tried to respectfully not look at her features as he turned around. "You let her slip right through your fingers because you think you don't deserve happiness. But what you don't realize is that you need a little saving too" She then sighed as she was halfway to taking off her dress. "A little help, please?"
Barry awkwardly turned around. "Yeah, OK." He then in superspeed stripped Caitlin off her dress and put her in her pajamas, while trying not to look at her, half-naked.
"There you go again. Saving me from that evil dress." Caitlin grumbled.
"Yeah. Get in bed." Barry said.
"Did you take a sneak-a-peek? At my goods?" Caitlin giggled as Barry put her to bed and flushed in embarrassment.
"I wouldn't be much of a hero, if I did." Barry said, uncomfortable with the subject.
"Yeah, but it's OK to sneak a little. You deserve a peek for all the stuff you do." Caitlin said.
"Drink lots of water." Barry said.
"Thank you for tonight. I say." Caitlin whispered.
"Anytime." Barry smiled.
He was about to get up before Caitlin called out. "Hey, Barry. Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"
"Sure." Barry nodded as he sat next to her as she was lying in bed.
The following morning, Caitlin entered S.T.A.R. Labs, with sunglasses on as Barry waited for her at the elevator, both of them having cups of coffee in their hands.
"Let's just say I envy your ability to get drunk. I don't really remember much from last night."
"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Barry said lowly before starting to sing "Summer Nights" and Caitlin groaned.
"Oh, god, that I do remember."
Barry snickered at Caitlin's expense, remembering her drunken karaoke performance from the previous night.
"Barry." Oliver said as Barry came to his senses.
"Sorry, I…"
"It's OK." Oliver assured him. "A.R.G.U.S. and the army has shut down Lex's operations and now we're about to take the fight to him."
Barry nodded… but it wouldn't bring Caitlin back. He clenched his fists, wanting to make Lex pay for what he did to his friends.
"There are allegations that Lex Luthor even ordered an attack on innocent, non-metahuman civilians that publicly protested against his anti-metahuman agenda, leaving many authorities to wonder, whether the anti-metahuman movement should still continue. And inquiry directly from the White House has been ordered, to shut down Lex's operations…"
"Sir." Mercy entered. "The White House has shut down all of our assets and most of the operatives have been arrested or turned themselves in to CIA, A.R.G.U.S., NSA and the army and most of our facilities are being shut down as we speak."
"Irrelevant." Lex said before picking up a vial from his table and putting the liquid into a syringe. "I have what I wanted. You may leave, Mercy."
"Sir?" Mercy asked, not understanding.
"You've been a loyal servant to me for years and I genuinely appreciate everything you've done for me." Lex said.
"I've been… wanting to wipe out the disease of metahumans." Lex said. "But… evolution can't be stopped. And the powers lead to abuse… but with them in the right hands… we can be gods…"
"I don't understand. What are you saying?" Mercy asked as Lex didn't reply for a moment. "Lex."
"You're not going to want to see what happens next." Lex said before he clenched his fists and his muscle were getting larger and Mercy paled and decided to leave as her boss started to scare the hell out of her.
Star City
Oliver was in his apartment, just staring at the wall as Laurel entered. "Ollie… I… I heard about Caitlin. I… I wish I knew what to say." She said, mourning, as Caitlin on Earth-2 was her friend too. "Lyla told me that you had William sent away."
"I can't trust Felicity to be anywhere near him. Nyssa still has some associates that are loyal to her even after the League was disbanded. They and Helena are looking after him."
"I also know that she meant a lot to Barry and Cisco." She sat down, next to Oliver as they looked at the wall. "And… I… I'm sick of it." Oliver turned to her, surprised. "I'm sick of being feared and hunted. I'm sick of being forced to be a killer. I'm sick of giving into that darkness. Every fiber in me wants to make Lex pay for what he did. But I can't…" Tears were forming in her eyes. "I just can't take it anymore… I don't want to live in that darkness anymore, Ollie."
Oliver held her hand as they looked at each other and stared for a few moments before they gave into their feelings, kissing fiercely as they laid down on the couch, Oliver taking off his shirt, while Laurel stripped herself of her top and dropped it on the floor and then took off Oliver's pants. Oliver touched her breasts and squeezed as Laurel straightened herself and moaned and they rolled over the couch on the floor as she held Oliver's shoulders, while he held her arms as both of them were giving into each other as Oliver went towards her shoulders and took off her bra before his hands touched her hips as she continued moaning and Oliver panted out. Both of them then kissed fiercely, when she was losing her strength as they were both using only a carpet as a cover, snuggling towards each other as they both fell asleep.
Waverider
"Are you sure about this, Allen?" Slade asked as he, Sara, Helena, Cisco and Nyssa were in the cockpit.
"He may still be on the run. But he gets out." Barry said. "I want him to pay for what he did."
"Barry, I understand how you're feeling… but… you're not a killer." Sara pointed out.
"How many metahumans has Lex killed because we let him?" Barry asked. "He's never going to stop hunting us. And even if they put him in prison, he gets out. This is the only way to stop him."
Everyone looked at each other hesitantly before sighing.
"If you think it has to be done, that's one thing." Sara said. "But don't give yourself into your darkest desires. Trust me. It never ends well."
"You cross that line, there might be no going back." Slade said, referring to his own son.
"Where is he, Gideon?" Barry asked.
Star City
Oliver and Laurel were naked on the couch, with blanket covering them both as they were snuggling to each other before his phone rang and he saw Felicity's name flashing. At first, he hung up and ignored it but considering that it started to ring the second time, he realized that she wouldn't call him if it wasn't important. "What do you want, Felicity?" He asked, his tone bitter before he got up quickly and Laurel gasped, waking up as Oliver was putting on his pants.
Laurel was still half-asleep and confused at Oliver's reaction. "Ollie, what the…"
"I have to go." Oliver said.
"What?" Laurel asked, confused. "Ollie, what's going on?"
"I don't have time, Laurel!" He quickly put on his shirt and jacket and rushed out from the apartment as he was finishing dressing up.
The Flash, Deathstroke, the Huntress, Sara, Cisco and Nyssa entered the facility as the Flash knocked out some soldiers in superspeed, the Huntress and Nyssa shot down more of them, Cisco used his vibe blasts to knock some of them down and Deathstroke rushed at more of them as they tried to shoot him but couldn't penetrate his armor as Deathstroke swung his sword, cutting the head off one of them before kicking another one down. Slade pulled out his pistol and shot him in the chest twice, killing him. Then he jumped down, slicing down two more before cutting the hand off another soldier and throwing him across the floor. Another soldier rushed at him but Slade grabbed him with his arm and snapped his neck.
"There he is. The monster I wanted to see."
Immediately recognizing the voice, Slade turned around to face his son, who was wearing the same armor he did, only without a helmet and it had white and grey plates and blue sleeves.
Joe Wilson pulled out his sword and engaged Slade, who dodged and blocked with his sword. "I will not fight you, Joe!"
"Don't call me that! That's not who I am!" Joe Wilson snapped as he tried to cut Slade's head off but Slade dodged his son's attack before kicking him in the chest as Joe Wilson staggered. Slade swung his sword with a fierce strike but Joe Wilson jumped back attacking and trying to stab Slade but Slade used his plated arm to block his son's attack and pinned him to a wall.
"It doesn't have to be this way…" Slade pleaded.
"You're the one, who's making it so!" Joe Wilson snarled. "You were ruthless and merciless and you abandoned me! Now you've gone soft and you sided with the man who destroyed you!" Joe Wilson shoved Slade back and kicked him in the leg, causing for Slade to kneel but Slade blocked Joe Wilson's incoming attack that was aiming at his eye as their blades locked and Slade used the opportunity to disarm his son of his weapon as he threw both swords away from their hands, which surprised Joe Wilson, and catching his son off-guard, Slade grabbed him and slammed him to the ground before punching him in his face three times until he was knocked out as Slade exhaled deeply. Finally, he stopped his son.
Sara threw knives and shurikens at the soldiers before jumping over a crate and using her sticks to get one of them in the chokehold and snapping his neck. Nyssa shot down three soldiers in quick succession before she jumped down from a platform and pulled out her sword, slashing one of them across his chest and stabbing another one in his heart before cutting another one's head off. But the soldiers then surrounded Sara, aiming their weapons before the Huntress shot most of them down and Sara jumped at one of them, throwing him down before hitting another one in his chest and kicking him in the leg and then in the face, knocking him out as Sara smiled at her savior, which was ironic because few years ago, she wanted to kill Helena.
The Flash sped into another part of the facility before facing a giant silver robot. The Flash tried to rush through him but the robot didn't short-circuit.
"What the…"
"The robot, Amazo, has mimicked your powers, Mr. Allen." Lex said as he entered, in a robo-suit. "You cannot stop me."
The Flash tried to speed around and throw a lightning but Amazo just absorbed it before firing a vibe blast, knocking him down. Then, it fired a freeze blast, and Barry was trapped in ice.
"My masterpiece. It will help wipe out the metahuman scourge off the face of the Earth." Lex said as he entered. "And… once Amazo has absorbed all of your powers… they will be given to a very few trusted people, who will protect the world. Me… not you… will have saved the humanity."
"You're insane." Barry sneered.
"No. I'm just taking away the power that doesn't belong to you. It belongs to people that can be trusted with it…"
"You can't blame all metahumans because one couldn't save your sister…"
"He killed her! I wanted to save her life but he betrayed me!" Lex yelled like a madman.
"You think you're the victim here… but I know who you are. I know exactly what kind of a type you are." Barry sneered.
"And what am I, Barry?" Lex challenged.
"You're the exact same type of cockroaches I've been stepping on for the last four years. Just another madman with delusions of grandeur, either with a God complex or a victim complex. The only difference between them and you, is the size of your ego." Barry said.
"I'm trying to save humanity from itself! Don't you understand? Power leads to abuse! Metahumans need to be kept in check and contained!" Lex snarled.
"You killed the woman I loved!" Barry snapped. "She was an innocent victim, who couldn't control her powers and you had her killed, when she was trying to save an innocent child and my best friend, a good person!"
"And she tried to kill you before and allied herself with your evil twin too!" Lex snarled.
"You're going to pay for what you did." Barry sneered before rushing through the Amazo, as they both became one as Amazo vibrated before exploding.
Lex tried to run but Barry threw him away and lunged at him, repeatedly pummeling him before his face was bloodied. "This is for Julian! This is for S.T.A.R. Labs! This is for setting me up! And this is for Caitlin!" He was about to vibrate his hand through Lex's chest before another speedster sped in, with the Green Arrow.
"Barry, no!" Oliver exclaimed.
The Flash stopped himself before turning to Oliver. "Why not?! Look at what he did to Caitlin! Look at what he did to Julian and Laurel and Dinah and every other meta! Why shouldn't I?!"
"This isn't about killing him, this is about you crossing a line you might never come back from!" Oliver snapped. "I want him to pay as much as you do but this isn't what Caitlin would have wanted!"
"Go ahead. Kill me." Lex taunted. "I tortured and killed your friend. Do it and you'll prove that you and everyone else like you… is a monster."
"Barry… I know you want to believe that killing him will make things better but once you touch that darkness… it never goes away." Oliver said. "And that's not who you should be. I know the kind of man you are. And that man always finds a way to rise above it."
Barry breathed out and roared before repeatedly pummeling Lex until he was knocked out and panted out as he just stared before turning to Oliver after a minute.
"How did you even get here?"
A moment later, a man in red shirt and a lightning on his chest, blue jeans and a silver helmet appeared. "Hey, slugger." Jay Garrick said.
"Why did you stop me?" Barry asked.
"Because once you touch that darkness, Barry… it never goes away." Oliver said. "You of all people, shouldn't have to go through that."
"He will get out." Barry pointed out.
"No, he won't." Oliver said. "We'll make sure that he pays for his crimes."
"Where's Joe?" Oliver asked as the A.R.G.U.S. agents cleared the area.
"He must have disappeared in the chaos." Slade said. "I took him down but then we were too busy disposing of the rest of Lex's men."
"He also had a virus stashed inside." Lyla said. "Or… a proto-virus. He hasn't finished it. It could've wiped out all metahumans. He was going to unleash it."
"What happens now?" Barry asked.
"Luthor will be tried and he will spend the rest of his life in a black site, on the other side of the world." Lyla assured him.
Barry sighed. It wouldn't bring Caitlin back… but at least justice was served.
Few weeks later
"The metahumans have been offered to return to the community, after the unfortunate fiasco with Lex Luthor…"
"On the behalf of the White House, multiple authorities are helping metahumans recuperate from the inhuman treatment…"
"All human and metahuman citizens alike will be treated equally and I'd like to introduce our new ambassador to the United Nations that will represent all American people, Dr. Julian Albert Desmond." The president announced at a press conference as Julian shook hands with him.
Star City
"All charges against you have been dropped, Miss Lance and on behalf of the American justice system, I'd like to apologize to you." One of the federal agents said.
"I… appreciate it." Laurel said.
"While you may not be our Laurel Lance, as long as Mr. Lance and Mr. Queen have accepted you as one of their own… it shouldn't matter." The agent said as Laurel signed off the paper.
Dinah was in her office, signing some papers as Captain Pike entered. "Dinah. The case I've asked you to do."
"In a moment." Dinah said in a raspy voice before clearing her throat.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you."
Central City
"And this statue is going to become a memorial to the hero, who has protected all citizens of Central City, humans and metahumans alike. Please, pay your respects to the Flash." The mayor pulled the sheet and unveiled the golden statue of the Flash as everyone applauded. "And also, I'd like to read an announcement from the scarlet speedster himself." The mayor read the paper. "A memorial should be held for a good friend of mine. A woman, who I cared about deeply and who struggled with her metahuman side and who sacrificed her life to save good people. Doctor Caitlin Snow was one of the noblest persons I have ever met and she deserves to be remembered as such."
There was a monument at the park on which was written. "Dedicated to memory of Caitlin Snow."
Patty and Iris knelt down, leaving flowers.
"Where did Barry go?" Cecile asked as she was holding sleeping Jenna in her arms.
"He said he needed some time… alone."
Four years from now
"To Caitlin." Oliver and Cisco tapped their bottles.
"Still can't believe that this ghetto is here." Cisco sighed.
"Me neither. After everything that's happened…" They both looked out of the windows, seeing the metahumans in the circus using their powers to amuse people.
"Caitlin would've been proud." Oliver said.
"Yeah… I don't even want to imagine what would've happened if she hadn't…" Cisco trailed off, remembering what happened next.
Present, few months later
Harry Wells was walking down the street before some people followed him into an alley.
"You're Harrison Wells." One of the men said as Harry turned around and noticing their glares, he realized what was this about.
"Look, I think there's been a misunderstanding, I'm not…."
"Because of you, my father was turned into a meta and then they tortured him and killed him. This is all on you! You started this!" He pulled out his gun and the last thing Harry saw was a flash of the barrel of a gun before the world went black…
Jesse Wells entered S.T.A.R. Labs as she noticed the grim looks on Joe's and Cisco's faces. "Hey."
"Jesse." Joe said. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see my Dad. Haven't talked to him in a while, so…" Cisco and Joe turned to each other with grim looks. "What? Is everything OK?" Cisco and Joe then turned to Jesse and then it hit her as she felt painful pressure on her chest and eyes filled with tears.
"Jesse, we're…"
"No." Jesse shook her head in denial.
"Jesse…" Cisco stepped up.
"No!" Jesse rushed out in superspeed and in grief she was running faster and faster because she couldn't accept that her father was gone before she was entering the Speed Force.
CCPD
Sensing that something happened, Barry got up as Patty looked at him confused, while they were working on some CSI reports.
"Barry?" Patty asked. "Is everything OK?"
"I gotta go." Barry rushed into the Speed Force.
Barry noticed Jesse before noticing in what time did she appear in as he tried to stop her but she went out, knocking out the man, who tried to kill her father before Barry tackled her as they were still in the Speed Force before the portal spat them both out in the desert and saw a ruined city as Barry widened his eyes in horror. "Jesse. What have you done?"
A small town was turned into ruins as they rushed few miles down to see a circus, where various people, humans, were watching metahumans performing insane feats.
Present, alternate timeline, Central City
"Thank you." Shawna Baez said as she paid for the hot dog before the man narrowed his eyes.
"Do I know you? I think I saw you on the news." The man said.
"Familiar face, I guess." Shawna shrugged, not wanting to be recognized before she entered her apartment, trying to lay low and live normally, not wanting to risk another manhunt on metahumans.
"You still believe that people will not accept you?" A black man in black jacket and with a British accent asked.
"Who… who are you?" Shawna demanded. "Are you one of the cops?"
"No." The man shook his head. "My name is Manchester Black. I'd like to offer a sanctuary to people like you. A place where you can be accepted as who you are… and be part of a family."
Few weeks after Lex was arrested, a man in suit was entering his apartment before he noticed that the sink was pouring water, overflowing and he was sure he had turned off the water.
Suddenly, the water started to rise and morph into legs, a body, breasts as skin and flesh appeared before it turned into a naked woman, who smirked.
"You're number five." Caitlin smirked before she raised her hand that turned into a water as it entered the man's nose and mouth as he started to suffocate.
Caitlin is alive. Yes. Plus, she can turn into water, similar to Kuasa from Legends of Tomorrow. But, there is a reason they held a memorial for her in flashforwards.
This is the result of Jesse changing the timeline. What she and Barry saw in the future, will be explained later.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.