A/N - the title of this chapter was inspired by the song, Monster by Starset. :) It's basically my song for Eobard in this fic. Anyway, hope you readers enjoy this one. ;)
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Chapter 21
Eobard had a major problem.
And this problem was a man, a meta-hu-man. He liked to dress in red and call himself the Flash, but he may as well have been the devil himself for how much he tormented Eobard. He was stuck in the Reverse's head like glue, that smile, those eyes, and nothing the monstrous man in yellow had done to break his hold on his thoughts had worked. He was being consumed by this new dynamic, and he was disgusted with himself, with how he was drowning in the ocean of differences between them. Every path he saw from this moment on was spiraling into chaos, out of control - and this realization brought on pure panic that threatened to consume him.
It was okay, though, he told himself. It was okay. Okay, okay, okay. He had a plan, and it was a beautiful plan.
He stood on top of one of the smaller skyscrapers, eyes on the city below. The lights, neon, natural, or solar reserves from the world below lit up the clouds above his head in bright colors. There was the hint of rain, pressure in the atmosphere from humidity. The smell of ozone left his hair standing on end, left him feeling charged. Vibrations hummed in his molecules. Excitement flowed in his veins, the thrill of the hunt. He called to the Speed Force again, feeling it breath life into his soul.
He felt the lull before the storm still him. He took a deep breath.
He exploded onto the streets, feeling the power in each stride he took, the wind and energy rushing past his face. The red lightning surrounded him, and the world was a standstill.
No one saw him coming. They were living statues in a frozen reality.
Racing by, he reached out.
One...
Two...
Three...
With a simple twist of his hands and a satisfying crack, they were dead. He grabbed one more, a fourth, slamming them against the wall. His hand sank into a warm heart. Blood, there was so much of it. He felt purified in how it flowed over his wrist and arm, splattering against his chest and face in thick rivulets. He felt alive. He dropped the body, turning himself. He could sense the raging Speed Force of another speedster, the unmistakable approach of his nemesis.
His opposite slid to a halt in front of him, boots scuffing on the pavement. "Thawne!"
"Flash."
"What is this?!"
"Death, destruction...a cleansing," Eobard replied, enjoying how his own voice rattled out of his throat with the deep tones of a fiend. He was a villain, the antagonist, the monster the Flash hated, the demon that had driven a knife through his mother's heart. He felt all of the pent up energy and anger in his foe, and he was eager to watch it burst forth like fire from hell. He wanted the red devil before him to be nothing but wrathful.
"You...you killed those people..."
Accusing. Good. Angry. Better.
Eobard wanted everything he loathed in the Flash, the judgement, the righteousness, the goodness, so he could fight it. He wanted to spit on the very concepts that defined the other, to spite him. He wanted to oppose this hero. He wanted their war, and he wanted the pain and suffering that came with it.
"Yes."
"Why?!"
"Because I needed to." You want to make sense of this? Don't. Attack me, instead.
"You needed to?!"
Eobard's heart sang at the fury in the other's voice. It was so familiar, that it felt like a warm blanket on a cold day, reminiscent of a time when he wasn't lost, making mistakes, misreading his own mind.
He could go back to being Reverse Flash.
"Really," he said. "What? Does that piss you off?" He grinned, baring all of his teeth like a feral wolf. He feinted.
Flash moved to follow, then stopped, realizing the ploy.
"Good," Eobard said. "Catch me if you can." He spun and dashed away.
Even without looking, he knew his nemesis was in hot pursuit. His heart pounded, and his legs propelled him forward, the Speed Force thrumming through his veins. He sensed the blood about to spill, like the storm rolling in.
Thunder rumbled.
He twisted around, sliding back. He dug his feet in, feeling pavement rip apart. He leapt forward, eager for pain and chaos. The two speedsters collided in a thud followed by multiple punches. Eobard blocked, deflected, retaliated. Lightning raced against the sky, and also around the two speedsters, white, yellow, red. Reverse Flash blocked, then sliced with his fingers out. Flash vibrated, and Eobard's assault passed through him without injury.
In the span of a heartbeat, they were running miles away, side by side, throwing attacks, lightning and fists.
The Flash lunged into the man in yellow, crashing them through a window and into a building. Glass rained down on Eobard and he rolled across the ground. His torso struck the leg of a desk, busting it. He grimaced, leaping to his feet. The pain was building, but it fueled him. Allen arrived, leaping through the air, fist aimed at the Reverse's face. He phased, and the fist went through him. He darted around the Scarlet Speedster, solidifying and launching a volley of speed punches. Each successful one felt better than good. He knew the bruises he would leave. Flash twisted and cried out. He darted away, shifting back to Thawne in an instant.
A surge of chemicals flooded Eobard's brain. The world seemed to slow even more. Electricity poured from Barry's eyes, and flickered over his suit. He darted forward. A potted plant tipped in slow-motion. Eobard grabbed his foe's arm, stepping back. Flash tripped past him, but used the grip to swing around. Eobard felt the strike catch his side. The Reverse's next hit caught the Flash's chin. He tumbled back, thumping into a support column. Plaster exploded from it. Thawne rush in, his blood-stained fist driving up from a low swing. He felt a rib crack under his knuckles. His enemy gasped, jerking away. He broke into a run, shattering a window as he unceremoniously exited the building.
The world around Eobard returned to normal speed. The desk crashed into a heap from its broken leg. The potted plant shattered on the floor. Other objects teetered. People around him ran and screamed.
"Where are you going?" Eobard growled at the broken window. Power and adrenaline gave way to sudden euphoria. He laughed. "Run away, little Flash. I am better than you."
He chased, grabbing the edges of the window and launching himself through it. Outside, rain hit him, its cold seeping straight down to his bones. He hesitated, looking around. He spotted Barry dashing up the side of a nearby building. He hesitated, reevaluating the situation. It wasn't like the Flash to flee in the middle of a fight, and not with such minor injuries. It should have given him greater pause, but Eobard couldn't wait any longer. He'd gone too long without this part of his life. He snapped into pursuit. His body felt lighter than air, his feet pushing him forward, each step effortless.
Upon the rooftop, Barry stood, shoulders squared, fists clenched, facing him. His eyes glittered with electricity.
"Aw, no surrender?" Eobard asked, raising his arms outward, mocking. "What? You think I'm afraid of heights?"
"No," came the short reply. Flash ran at him.
Eobard moved his arms to block.
He felt the other crash into him. Lightning crawled in the clouds above, blinding him for a moment. Disoriented, he could feel nothing but the punishing attacks upon his person. He was weightless, plummeting. Flash was above, launching strike after strike. Adrenaline drowned out the pain, but it took a precious moment to focus.
He fought back.
He realized gravity was lending strength to the Flash's strikes, while minimizing the damage of his own. He aimed for the other's shoulder in an attempt to flip them, but it failed. A strike to his chest resounded with a crack. He coughed. He smashed into the ground, the air erupting from his lungs and explosions of agony igniting throughout his body. No amount of adrenaline could dull it. He struggled to breath, choking against the ache constricting his lungs.
He looked to his left, to see his enemy lying there next to him, gasping.
Eobard struggled to move, but his body refused to respond. Allen flipped onto him. The Flash raised an arm and struck him.
Thawne flinched, feeling sharp pain erupt through his face to the sound of thunder. Blood ran down his cheek, warm against the cold rain. Another hit, and he tasted the metallic flavor of it when his lip split. He thrust the other away, staggering to his feet, trying to get his bearings. He looked at his foe to find a fist rushing for his eyes.
He caught it.
He lashed out with his hand. Flash smashed against the opposite wall. He pushed from it immediately, flying back into the fray, but Eobard was more than ready this time. He slowed himself, suffering a few speed punches. He gave a burst of unexpected strength, and unleashed his own attack. Flash howled and staggered back, feet slipping on the wet pavement. He fell, splashing into a puddle. Eobard ducked forward, grabbed the front of the Flash suit with one hand, and thrust his foe against the wall, snarling. Allen dangled, feet scrabbling for purchase on old bricks.
"Feeling weak, Flash?" The monster taunted, heart racing. He saw red, his anger reaching its next level, all conscious thought sliding out of control. He would tear out this man's heart, slowly, painfully, and watch him die, choking on blood.
He raised his free hand, and it vibrated.
Time Demon or not, he would win this war.
Flash hissed. His foot crashed into Eobard's stomach. Reverse Flash lost his grip and doubled over, wheezing. He looked up, meeting the other's gaze. He moved, but the attack was already there. Lightning struck him full in the chest, and he flew back hundreds of feet, slamming against a tree. The bark shattered, and Eobard slumped to the soaked grass, frozen, trying to remember how to breath. After several seconds, he managed to make it to his feet. His body shook, muscles burning. The sky illuminated with electricity again. He took a deep breath, his regeneration already quelling the pain. From the downpour, the Flash seemed to materialize, standing before him. They observed each other, glaring, defiant. Rain flowed down Barry's suit, and Eobard could see, in the late city lights, the water droplets glistening on the material.
The image of Barry just out of the shower flickered across his mind. He found himself focusing on it. His hatred dampened, and another kind of intensity seized him. Eobard reached forward, gripping the Flash suit. Barry grasped at the hands locked on him. The Reverse dragged him in.
He smashed their lips together, impulsive, desirous. He tasted blood, his and the Flash's. And through some unexpected twist of fate, the Flash melted against that kiss, yielding in a way Eobard had never experienced. No fight would make the other surrender. No pain, no torture, no manipulation would bring the hero to his level. Only this would. If possible, the tension between them heightened, giving him a strange high like he'd never experienced.
Hands locked onto his shoulders, vises, and it sent a thrill down to his core. His arms twisted around Barry, drawing him as close as was humanly possible in that instant. He shook with longing, hands trembling as he tried to touch every inch he could reach of his mortal enemy. He wanted to feel their history, their tainted connection, their desperate lust - to feel the electricity and bruising force with which they gripped one another. Barry slammed him against the tree, pushing as though he could push straight into Eobard's soul. Eobard pressed back, hooking his leg onto Barry's. He crashed them both to the soaked ground. Both exhaled, grunting. Eobard didn't waste a second reattaching their lips.
He trembled, the Speed Force slowing the world around them once again, and he knew Barry was with him. Electricity sparked across the Flash suit, and the Reverse gasped at the sensation, giddy and breathless. Red and gold lightning intermingled. Allen opened his eyes, and they were so beautiful, reflecting the light of their lightning and droplets of rain. Eobard reached up, and before he even knew why, in that still moment, he lay a hand upon the face before him. To Eobard, they were in that cell again, the two of them. The Flash, tense and full of electricity, the air, buzzing and uncertain, Reverse, watching and unable to take his eyes away. He experienced all the subtle and complicated emotions they shared, entwined as they were together, this moment taking over his self-control.
The Flash wasn't the devil. The Flash was an angel.
"Barry," he murmured in longing.
He may as well have cursed.
The Flash stiffened. He shoved, breaking his reverse's hold. He rolled over and staggered to his feet, panting. He wiped his mouth, his back to Eobard. He took a few slow steps forward and leaned against a metal fence, shoulders heaving. A lightning bolt illuminated the sky, and the ground shook with thunder. Eobard stood, paralyzed, watching, holding his breath.
The Flash moved. He faced Eobard.
His fists clenched. "What the hell are you doing?! What the hell are you thinking?"
"I did what I wanted. What you wanted."
"You're insane. Completely insane. I'm ending this, now."
The Flash leapt forward. Even though Thawne saw it coming, he didn't attempt to block it. He let the fist strike his skull. He let the darkness claim him.