Chpt. XXV: Consequences

Richard walked down the hallway of the Star Labs facility, making his way towards the Cortex, where the Flash operated out of. Richard walked alongside Wally, who wore a look of nervousness & concern on his face. He walked a few steps behind Richard, looking as though he was a young boy in trouble with a parent. Richard felt a similar amount of shame & guilt himself. He knew he shouldn't have taken Wally with him to fight the Dominators, but, it was all over now. Richard would finally be able to bring the boy back, where he could continue to recover & train alongside the Flash. It was where Wally belonged, despite all that had happened.

Wally stepped up to Richard & tapped his shoulder. "Hey," Wally started, "do you think he'll be mad?"

Richard sighed. "Honestly, I dunno," Richard admitted. "I've never seen the Flash be mad. Or, at least...I never saw the Flash I knew get upset."

Wally nodded. "Yeah, I guess it isn't Barry I need to be worried about," he said. "My sister...now, she's the scary one."

Richard laughed softly. "Oh, yeah, she is."

As the two made their way into the Cortex, they saw the Barry Allen standing at the center of the Cortex. He was beside the computer dashboard in civilian clothes. He had his arms crossing his chest, with a look of relief on his face. Barry had on a dark blazer with a maroon button up underneath. He looked as though he had just come from some festive event. It seemed strange, considering the circumstances. Barry nodded at Richard. "Thanks for bringing him back," he said.

Richard shrugged. "Sure thing. He behaved himself on the drive back," he said jokingly.

Wally scoffed. "HE is standing right here!" he whined.

Barry walked over to Wally & nudged his shoulder. "HE is in trouble," Barry said. "Caitlin is in the medbay waiting for you."

Wally groaned. "Dude, seriously? I'm fine, man! I healed up-"

"Dude, seriously!" Barry said, this time with more of a serious tone. "Iris blew my cell up with voicemails, saying YOU vanished, & somehow it was MY fault!"

"Well, I didn't-"

Richard stepped up to Wally, patting the boy on his shoulder. "Kid, go to the medbay," he said calmly. "I need to talk to Barry for a second."

Wally sighed in defeat, glaring between Barry & Richard, then made his way to the medbay. Richard shook his head, then turned to Barry. Richard brought his hands up in defeat. "Okay, let me have it."

Barry arched his eyebrow. "What?"

Richard nodded. "I owe you a free swing. Two, for Wally."

Barry waved Richard off, walking over to the console. "Nah, man, it's fine." Barry let out a sigh, shaking his head. "I'm not...mad. Not really, anyway."

Richard walked up to Barry & looked up at him. "For the record, Wally really was good," Richard said. "The kid has a lot of potential. He may be a little headstrong, but, we all are when we first start this gig, you know?"

Barry nodded, letting out a sigh. "I just...he's my girlfriend's brother, man. I need to be careful with him," he explained. "Ever since he's gotten his speed, this was all he wanted to do. I can't blame him, you know? It's just...Iris doesn't want him to get hurt." Barry shrugged. "It's going to be hard, now that he's gotten a taste of the action."

Richard sighed. "Again, sorry about that. We had a guy recommend that we recruit a speedster."

Barry nodded, then turned to Richard. "So...you're a superhero, too."

Richard laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Define 'super.'"

Barry chuckled softly, then nodded. "And that team...the team I saw you with back in Gotham...is that your...what did you call them? Your 'Justice League?'"

Richard shook his head, then laid his hands against the console, leaning forward. "No, man, that wasn't the League. That was my own team. We...we used to be the Titans."

"Used to be?"

Richard bit his lip. "Yeah, uh...we broke up awhile ago. I only called them back to help with the invasion. We, uh...we're not really a team, still."

Richard stood there, staring out into space. He really was unsure of what the fate of the Titans was. The invasion didn't necessarily mean that the team would get back together. A lot needed to change. Despite everything, Richard needed to change. He had his own problems he needed to sort out, & those were problems he couldn't afford letting the team get caught in. With all that he saw in the Dominator's dreamscape, & his impulsiveness to risk himself for everything, it was something he told himself he'd never do again. He needed to sort things out on his own.

"Wally thinks your team is good," Barry suddenly said. Richard turned to Barry, who was smiling up at Richard. "I mean...before you got here, Wally called me. He let me know that he was safe, back at some...cave?" Richard scoffed softly, laughing. It must've sounded strange to Barry. The Flash continued. "He said your team was really cool, & you guys handled the aliens like badasses." Barry laughed softly, shrugging. "I dunno what you see in your team, but Wally sees something there."

Richard nodded with a faint smile. "We are a pretty good team," Richard admitted with a grin.

Barry cleared his throat. "You know, we got ourselves our own team, too," he said braggingly. "Team Flash, plus Team Arrow, plus Team Legends, & altogether, we made ourselves our own superhero team."

Richard eyed Barry. He remembered Wally saying that Barry had met up with the Green Arrow & several others to handle the aliens, but, he really hadn't expected them to be that involved in the invasion. Did the Titans & Barry's teams really take out the Dominators...without the League? Or was the League involved in some other way? A lot was still left unanswered in regards to the League & where they went after the discovery of Flashpoint.

"So," Richard started, "I...actually got abducted by the Dominators, Barry."

Barry gasped. "No way! So did my friends!"

Richard nodded, disregarding the statement. "Yeah, anyway...when they got me, they told me some things. They mentioned 'the one that alters reality,' & caused a shift in the universe or something." Richard turned to Barry & caught his face shift into a solemn look. "Barry, they mentioned you by name. They know what you-"

"I know," Barry said, a hint of anger in his voice. Richard was startled at the sudden change in the man's attitude. Barry sighed. "I...I know. I'm the reason they came here. They...they wanted me to surrender myself for what I did in Flashpoint."

Richard nodded. "I actually got a warning beforehand about Flashpoint." Barry turned & looked up at Richard. Richard sighed, continuing. "It was a few months ago. I found some kid in Star City who was caught up with a local gang. He...he was connected to some alien tech. The tech had a message for me about someone who alters time & reality." RIchard turned to Barry. "What you did...it resonated with just about every alien race in the universe, I think."

Barry nodded slowly. He sat down on a chair in front of the computer console & rubbed his face with his hands frustratedly. Richard sat down at a chair beside Barry, rubbing his thighs awkwardly. He wasn't sure what to say or do at the moment. He wasn't sure how Barry felt at all, really. The fact that Barry had done something so drastic, that it had effects that had consequences more larger than what Richard had initially anticipated, it...it was hard to wrap his head around. Richard didn't think the cryptic messages was connected to something like this at first, but now, it was all clear. It was all about Flashpoint. It still left Richard wondering...what else was affected by Flashpoint?

Barry sat up & took a deep breath. "When I first got back...from Flashpoint...things were different." Barry turned to Richard. "Things in Flashpoint were already different, & they were good for a while, but when I tried to fix everything, things had still changed. You know that, with your friend coming back to life." Barry bit his lip, then turned & sighed. "I...tried to go back in time to fix things again. After Flashpoint, after coming back, I thought I could go again & fix it one more time. I was stopped by a friend. He reminded me that there are consequences to time travel, & that no matter what I did, I could never reset things & put it back to how they were." Richard let the words sink in, as Barry sat back in his seat. "I know I'm not a god, Richard. I know what I did was wrong. I...I wish I could fix it, but I can't. And now...that's going to be on my conscious. What happened this week with the Dominators, & everything since Flashpoint, I'm going to have to be the one to carry that burden. I just have to learn to accept the consequences of what I've done."

Richard nodded, looking up at Barry. "You know," Richard started, "it takes a hell of a man to accept the consequences of what he's done, despite all of the baggage that comes with that." Richard sighed. "Believe me, I know what it's like."

Richard stared down at his feet as he felt Barry's eyes traced on him. "You mentioned your team breaking up," Barry said. "It...had something to do with you, didn't it? Something you did?"

Richard scoffed. "Yeah, you could say that."

Barry leaned forward, nodding slowly. He cleared his throat. "How...how did you deal with it?"

Richard shrugged. "With the guilt of losing the trust of all my friends? I did what every hero does. I disappeared, sulked, & tried to move on." Richard shook his head. "I don't think I really moved on, though."

Barry scratched his head. "I don't think I'll ever be able to move past this," he said. "I mean...I feel like this whole thing brought us closer together, & helped build more trust among our friends, but still...this is going to take time."

Richard nodded. "Sure, I guess," Richard said, thinking of how the Titans managed to come together, despite their past with Richard, & work together for a common goal. Even at the cave, the team seemed to grow quite fond of one another. "We did good, but, it's scary to think of what else might come our way, now that Earth has a target on its head."

Barry shook his head. "Man, I just came back from the bar with a friend, thinking I would end this night like a normal guy," he said. Richard laughed, slapping Barry's shoulder. Barry scoffed. "I'm serious! I almost felt normal, & then you come in here, saying that there's going to be MORE trouble?"

Richard stood up from the chair, then began walking towards the hall leading out of the Cortex. "If you're going to be a hero, you've always gotta be prepared for the worst."

Just as Richard was about to step into the hall, Barry called out to Richard. "Hey, um…" Richard turned to face Barry. "That...League, you mentioned...I mean, I dunno what kind of team it is, or what team you have, but since I got my guys together, do you think we would ever do another, like, team up?"

Richard arched his eyebrow, scoffing. "What, you wanna save the world again?"

Barry rolled his eyes. "I mean, like, could we make up a new team? Your teams plus my teams could become an even bigger League.

Richard sighed at the sound of Barry's offer. It felt silly, referring to the Justice League & the Titans as merely 'teams' that would work alongside Barry's unit. Sure, with the Flash that Richard knew having gone missing, it would be convenient for him to have another speedster to count on when needed. Aside from that, if another crisis were to arise again, Richard would need more people to cooperate with. Plus, the Titans & working alongside the Flash & the Green Arrow made Richard smile. "You know," Richard started, "that'd be pretty cool, actually." Richard let out a soft laugh. "I actually mentioned to Oliver that the League is always open to him if he wants to join. I guess I can vouch for you too," he said with a smirk.

Barry's face lit up at the offer. Richard smiled, then turned to leave the Cortex. As he left, he suddenly realized the irony in his statement. Offering a position for Barry to join the League while the League still made no contact with Richard or the rest of the Titans left a lot to be concerned about. Richard made his way through the hallway. He needed to find the League.