Chapter Twenty-Nine: Paradox:
As with all encounters involving Harry Potter, Danica experienced a refreshed feelings. The speedster's renewed vigor caused her to bounce off of the walls. At least for a moment, but she could get a lot done in a moment.
Harry viewed her efforts with a smile on his face. The blur bounced to the left, to the right, and pretty much everywhere in between. A nice streak developed, but Harry stopped her before she could get too far. His arms reached around her and wrapped around her waist. Danica skidded to a stop. She rested in the strong arms of her lover. A slightly distressed look appeared in her brown eyes.
"Too far?" Danica asked.
"Yes, you should learn your limits," Harry said.
Danica wanted to snap her fingers and try and tell Harry her limits had been lifted thanks to her. She stopped and remembered all of the trouble not thinking she had limits caused her. Including being sent to the past in the first place, and she also became bounced to the future.
Speaking of the future, Danica wondered something.
"Not, I don't mind being around, but….we have to figure out a way to send me back home," Danica said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love it here. And it does have it's perks."
The speedster stopped for a moment to lock eyes with Harry and grin at him. Harry relaxed his hand around hers. She relaxed a little bit herself in response.
"But, as they say, there's really no place like home," Danica said. "And I'd like to see it again. I've made a lot of friends, a few enemies, and a few people who are no doubt throwing a party I'm gone, but….the future needs a Flash, and the past….will get one someday."
Harry pressed his lips on Danica's. The act doubled as an attempt to reassure her she would return home, but it also served as a bit of a reminder of not to divulge any details of the future. She already let a few too many slip. Nothing too big, thankfully.
"Thanks," Danica said. "I can be a bit of a motormouth. Times where I don't know when to shut up….where I just blurt out the first thing which comes to mind. Kind of like right now, I'm blurting out things."
Harry lifted a finger to her lips.
"Until you return home, there's a place for you here," Harry said.
"I bet you say that to all of the girls," Danica said.
Mostly because Harry did tell all of the girls there was a place for there. Danica couldn't help, but bounce up and down at super speed.
"All we have to do is retrace your steps, and it shouldn't be too hard to send you back home," Harry said. "Is your memory still fried?"
Danica slumped her head down. Harry reached towards her, grabbing her hand. She appreciated the effort.
"A little bit, not sure if it would be a bad thing or not."
At the rate she tended to blurt out the things she remembered, some important vital piece of information.
"I'm here to stop the Reverse-Flash though, from screwing up the universe with a headache inducing paradox," Danica said. "Which we just went over, before you fucked my brains out, so I don't think we need to go over it again."
"I think we can all take a raincheck," Harry said. "But, sit down, and I'll see what I can do. And sitting still does help."
Danica's lip stuck out in a pout. She hated sitting still, but she supposed it would have to do. Harry smiled and placed his hands on either side of her mind.
"So, you're not going to do some kind of mind tentacle thingy with me, are you?" Danica asked. "Because, while it would be kind of hot, it would be kind of weird."
Harry raised his eyebrow. He didn't quite have his mental probe be described as some mind rape thingy. It was fitting, in some weird way, he guessed.
"Just trying to access your most recent memories, back until the point where you traveled back in time."
Danica could accept Harry accessing her more recent memories. She did her best to relax her mind, something which always moved at its own super powered speed on its own. She hitched in a breath, smiling. The probe didn't feel like much of anything. Hell, if Harry didn't inform her he entered her mind, she wouldn't know he entered it at all.
Weird, to be honest, but Danica decided to just roll with the punches, and see where they brought her. He entered deep into her mind, brushing against the surface. Seconds passed as Harry worked himself into the depths of her mind.
"Sorry, my mind can be a pretty scary place."
Danica's eyes closed shut, and Harry pulled away.
"We need to head to the point of entry," Harry said. "And if there's any residual energy, it should be enough to give you a backdoor."
The word backdoor hit Danica with the force of a speeding freight train. She raised a hand in an attempt to palm herself directly in the face. She stopped not to look absurd.
"I just hope no one followed me back."
She spoke words no one wanted to hear. Harry prepared for anyone who followed her back. A future villain in the past could cause a lot of damage.
Harry decided to use a very modern method, the Internet, to pull up any reports of carnage in the city. With a forced smile spreading over his face, Harry realized he hit the jackpot and not in the good way either.
'Of course.'
Harry braced himself for what happened next. Danica suited up as the Flash.
"If there's trouble, you're going to need my help. Besides, it's my fault. I was the one who didn't configure my time tunnel properly, and leave you in this mess in the first place."
The criminal dubbed Paradox arrived in front of Star Labs. In his time, a monument to 21st century scientist, pretty much abandoned. Almost a museum of the Flash, but the real Flash museum existed elsewhere. It sickened him to be honest.
Paradox consulted his gauntlet. The energy coming from the museum caused him to know he had what he wanted.
"Yes, Doctor Wells, I know you're in there," Paradox said. "My gift allows me to determine shifts in history, and I know you're not yourself. The Flash's time table will be sped up, because of your meddling. And I cannot allow it. For if the Flash comes to pass earlier than I expected, then my existence is compromised."
Paradox intended to correct the problem by ensuring the Flash never had been born in the first place. He put in the equation for the variable. The result was an entire timeline where he can conquer.
"All the times the Scarlet Speedster and the successors to the mantle caused me, even in the 31st century, I couldn't escape it," Paradox said. "And an entire legion of do-gooders formed as well….well they won't exist. The Flash is a founding member, almost the conscience of the Justice League. Without the Flash, no League exists."
"The joke's on you, if you think you're going to get away with whatever it is you think you're going to get away with."
Paradox's head snapped up, giving the newest arrival a fairly ugly glare. He could scarcely believe his eyes. A wild Flash appeared.
"Paradox, we meet again," Flash said. "I should have known you'd be after a time tunnel."
"Ten thousand different ways my future can end, and none of the ideal ones involve you," Paradox said.
The criminal lifted a hand in the air and started to blast. Flash dodged the blasts, and punched him in the face.
Paradox slammed down onto a set of trash cans, before causing an energy field to manifest around the Flash. She slammed her fists into it, but could not escape.
"I can slow you down," Paradox said. "How, will you like it when I kill Wells? Once he dies, I will watch you slowly fade into oblivion. Because there will be no Flash legacy to pull you out of the abyss."
Danica tried to reach him. Everything moved at a super slow motion. Except for his taunting words, those penetrated her head so deep it hurt. Danica tried, in vain, to claw her way out, but found herself up a creek without a paddle.
Paradox turned, but another blip in his gauntlet came off. He noticed a figure dressed in black appearing in front of him. Paradox experienced fear for the first time.
"What is this anomaly?" Paradox asked.
He scanned, and stepped back. The Reaper appeared in front of him.
"You're causing the time stream to unravel," Paradox said. "Therefore, you must be unraveled."
A beam of energy cut through the air, to blast his adversary back to the stone-age.
Only his enemy blocked the beam of light with one extended hand. The enemy stepped back, agitation going through his eyes.
"It's impossible!" he yelled.
"Very possible in fact," the enemy said.
A wave of energy shot through the young man's hand and lifted him off the ground. Paradox slammed against the wall.
"You're him, aren't you?" Paradox asked. "You're the one they all fear….yes, you're causing shifts in the time stream to benefit your future with your mere presence."
"Yes. It's what I do."
Paradox flipped over the top of the dumpster. He too some great air time and slammed onto the dumpster. Not being counted out yet, he used his costume to heal his wounds. He retracted a red energy blade.
"You're willing to match blades with me? Have it your way."
In a second, the Dragon withdrew a sword in a flash of fire. Paradox clung his high tech energy blade, created in the 43rd century. The two of them clung together, grinding together. The enemy disarmed Paradox, in more ways than one.
"Time to send you back to your own time," the Dragon said.
The man's arm regrew because of his unique abilities. The Dragon activated a switch on his suit, causing an influx of energy to spread over him. The energy contorted around his body, creating a swirling vortex.
Sitting up, the criminal tried to stop him.
"Flash, would you like to do the honors? Give the spark?"
"It'd be my pleasure," Flash said.
Flash charged Paradox and punched him. The energy burst him to be blasted back into the waiting arms of the Flash's friends in the future.
The Flash smiled, talk about light at the end of the time tunnel.
"So, I guess now I can go home," Danica said.
"You're going home?" Harry asked.
"Don't sound too broken up about it," Danica said.
"Could have sworn you had some kind of mission, some kind of Reverse-Flash, or something?" Harry asked.
Danica snapped her fingers for a second.
"Yeah, right, well, turns out it confused me, I wasn't going after him….turns out he's not anywhere around here," Danica said. She lifted a scanner device and scanned around. No trace of the Reverse-Flash's genetic signature. "I can't sense Eobard Thawne anywhere."
Danica clapped her hand to her mouth, realizing she outed the Reverse-Flash and his secret identity. It didn't really matter, because he hadn't been born yet, but still.
Harry only had one question.
"What kind of name is Eobard?"
"One from the future," Danica said. "But, I have to go…..I'm sure the Flash of your time, whoever he…or she….and not saying it's a person either, is….will be something magnificent."
"Well, whoever the Flash is, they left a legacy behind," Harry said.
Danica knew her speed force substitute wouldn't last forever.
"I need to check with my friends…and I'm sure you're going to be there to tell me how much I screwed up…you know, future you," Danica said. "It was nice meeting you…and I'll see you again in about a thousand years."
Danica kissed Harry to shut herself up, and sped into the time tunnel, just before it collapsed down on her.
Harry frowned, he did wonder….but he figured he would worry about it later. He would say it had been a weird day, but he had much weirder.
Dinah Laurel Lance tried to ignore the aching pain in the back of her leg as she walked back from her training sessions with Lady Shiva.
Lady Shiva, to put it bluntly, acted like a complete callous bitch. The older Lance sister experienced aches and pains all over her body. Nothing which left visible bruising, because Shiva fancied herself to be an artist, an artist of pain, and the young woman happened to be a piece of clay where she intended to sculpt her into a warrior.
Or end up killing her in the process.
Three months, Laurel trained under the watchful eye of Lady Shiva. The woman waited for the bus station. She checked the time and almost cursed.
'Guess, I'm walking home tonight.'
Laurel put her hand on the pepper spray she carried. Second nature from the daughter of a cop to prepare herself, especially considering all of the lunatics her father took down. Some of them threatened his family.
She didn't have it as bad as Barbara, who was kidnapped about nine times before her sixteenth birthday. Granted, about four of those times, she ended up making sure the criminals received the worst end of the exchange.
She shifted her head back an inch. Something moved in the shadows.
'Likely a cat, no need to get shell-shocked.'
Not a cat, but a man dressed in red. She noticed tattoos visible on the side of his neck, he missed a finger on his right hand.
Dinah dodged his attempt to stab her at a moment. She wondered if this was one of Shiva's stupid tests.
She grabbed him around the arm, but couldn't get the leverage. He flung her down to the ground. The woman dodged the knife and sprayed him in the eyes.
She kicked him in the face. The assassin staggered. He made a motion with his hand.
A dart caught Dinah Laurel Lance in the side of the neck. The woman's world started to become all fuzzy.
She either saw triple, or three of the assassins started to surround her. The poison caused her body to turn numb. Her legs collapsed out from underneath her.
Another figure swooped down. Dinah's ears rang for a moment with a sonic attack, which launched the goons.
The woman's vision became blurred, and she saw only the outline of the figure in the darkness. The figure swooped down, and cracked one of the assassins down on the back of the head. Another assassin spiraled down to the ground and the sound of bones cracking filled the woman's ears.
It became hard to breath. The woman swooped down onto her.
"Sara."
Unconsciousness followed soon after.
Sara leaned down, and looked at her sister. She looked at the red bruise on the side of her neck, signifying the entry point of a poison dart. She bent down, and tried to ease her burden with some herbs.
Harry drilled into her to be prepared for anything, and thanks to him and Nyssa, she recognized most poisons.
A siren appeared in the distance. Chances are, it might be her father, and Sara didn't think he could handle it. Coming across his oldest daughter, an inch away from death, so soon after Sara "died."
No hospital had the capabilities to cure her, but Harry did. Making a decision, Sara reached down. She summoned all of the strength, dragging Laurel's dead weight off of the ground.
"Hang on, sis, I know you're strong enough to."
Sara refused to let her die, even if she had to move heaven and earth. The Yakuza bastards who did it, they worked with Cain, another thing he had to answer for.
Harrison Wells sat in front of the computer in STAR Labs. He sensed change, and when Harry Potter walked into his life. He read the official records, all seven books worth, reaching the end of the epilogue, so to speak.
"Nineteen years later, all is well," Wells said. "Only all was not well, because all has changed in the future, hasn't it, Mr. Potter. What changed?"
Wells didn't think something so loosely connected to his future could affect things.
"Bring it up," Wells said.
Historical records amounted to propaganda pieces. This seven book chronology of the early life of Harry Potter only told a fraction of the story.
Regardless, Wells punched up the information. He found the reference he looked forward.
"The veil, naturally, the veil changed it all, and caused a temporal wave which reshaped the future," Wells said.
He punched in more information. A headline saying Harry Potter weds Princess of Themyscira popped up. The Amazons proved to be a valuable army to him.
"And yet, what else has changed?" Wells asked.
He continued to type up more information. Each change allowed him to get a closer look at what he needed to do.
"Is there any way I can speed up the process?" Wells asked.
He brought up the information regarding the Particle Accelerator. Already, stretched to capacity, and it wasn't the Flash's time to be born yet.
"I can no longer wait," Wells said. "Each second I wait, is a second lost to the Reaper."
He never made the connection between Harry Potter and the Reaper. The young man came into his own and accelerated, about a hundred years after the seven year chronicles. His people proved to be long lived.
'It appears I'm not the only one who has moved forward plans. It took him far less longer to….cut his ties from certain forces in his life which held him back. He couldn't succeed with her domineering him. Can't say I blame him, but she's not without her fanbase.'
Wells brought up the headline he obsessed over for some time. The one regarding the Flash disappearing.
He raised his eyebrow at the change which occurred.
'Need to speed things up, have to do it within the next year, not five….which means I may have to accept his proposal.'
Alex Danvers returned home, they uncovered something rather interesting, well she did at least. She would need to phone it in, to make sure the proper protocol was established to pick it up.
Kara watched her older sister return home. She carried a box in her hand, covered up. Kara's gaze followed her sister.
"So, is this one of those…can't tell you because of protocol things?" Kara asked.
Alex turned her sister with a smile.
"Sorry, Kara, I can't tell you, because of protocol….hang on a second."
Alex placed the box down on the table. She received a phone call. Likely someone else found some high tech piece of alien equipment.
The woman walked off into the other room, away from Kara's sharp ears. Kara leaned against the counter, eyes on the mysterious box.
"Alex, really should know better," Kara said.
The teenager's curiosity increased as she eyed the box. The box lined with lead, the one thing her eager eyes couldn't penetrate. She frowned as she looked over it.
On the one hand, she couldn't touch it On the other hand, one little peak wouldn't hurt, would it?
Alex's voice rose for a moment.
"Well tell him if it's humming, to leave it alone….we don't need another incident like we had last month….Jenkins still hasn't woken up from the coma he's been put in!"
Alex's voice lowered to its previous softness. Kara took one of the metal clasps of the device.
Was it some kind of alien doomsday device? A bomb of some sort maybe? Maybe some kind of high tech radio?
Alex should really show her these things, because Kara knew about alien technology. And given the mess certain members of the DEO got themselves in, playing with things they shouldn't, Kara could have saved them trouble.
But no, treated like a child, who stuck her naughty hands in the cookie jar. She left Krypton as an adult, and pretty much was considered a teenager by Earth standards.
Kara opened up the box, one little peak surely wouldn't hurt.
She flung open the box. A glowing red rock laid in it. It looked like the world's tackiest ruby, and Kara couldn't believe she risked her sister's wrath to steal a look at something like this.
Kara touched it, and lifted it briefly. The red rock glowed through her hand.
"Well, it really isn't worth all of the secrecy, is it?"
She yelped suddenly. A piece of the rock splintered into her hand. Kara closed her eyes, and slipped the rock away.
"Damn," Kara said.
She reached into the drawer, pulling a pair of tweezers out. Kara removed the splinter from her hand and disposed of it, before Alex returned.
Kara's finger dripped a little blood, but her finger healed. Her eyes tinted red for a few seconds, not she noticed it.
The thought of doing something daring crossed Kara's mind. Alex returned, none the wiser, as Kara slipped away to have some fun.
To Be Continued.
