It took him a 3 weeks to find the Path. In every pocket, nook, and cranny of the New Genesis dimension, Barry searched. When he finally found it, he was amazed to find it was an old slide, which was positioned in the middle of an old playground located on the mainland. Barry grabbed the top of the slide, and jumped in, spiraling through the void of white before sliding out at the end. He was now standing in the middle of the Nightmare Realm, which immediately surrounded him with the echoes of people he lost and those who instigated said loss.
Nora Allen. Henry Allen. Oliver Queen. Kara Danvers. Cisco Ramon. Caitlin Snow. Ralph Dibney. Eliza Trent. All losses. Eobard Thawne. Hunter Zolomon. Clifford Devoe. Ramsey Rosso. August Heart. Bruce Wayne. All instigators.
Barry quickly sped forward, his mind telling him to look for a place of importance. The place where all was lost. So...he ran. Ran all the way through the figment of imagination that was the Nightmare Dimensions exact but dark version of Central City. The streets were empty, no motors running. No clicking of boots on the sidewalk. No birds chirping. Nothing. Just an empty sky looking over an empty city.
Charging forward, Barry slam through the doors of STAR Labs, running through the halls, up the elevator shaft, and into the pipeline, where a large breach stood still. The Path is different for everyone. Your path to the Nightmare Realm was a slide. A metaphor for what you call 'the downward spiral that is your life'. The breach located in STAR Labs is a metaphor for the beginning of hell for you. The voice of the Highfather ran through his head.
The god was right. STAR Labs, the reason he became the Flash, was the beginning of the end for his city. No. He was the end of his city. His mistakes. His broken promises. His idiocy. Barry took a single deep breath, before jumping into the breach.
Apokolips
Barry emerged from the other side, finding himself in the middle of a gigantic palace, standing on a balcony high above the throne room, where a large man made out of weird grey and black rocks, as well as wearing a blue, black, and red outfit. Darkseid. Highfather clarified. This is your mission Barry Allen. Challenge Darkseid for the Seat of Power. Defeat him. Bring him to New Genesis, and complete your last task.
"Piece of cake," Barry whispered sarcastically, before a displacement of air behind him suddenly startled him. Barry span around just in time to find a rock-tipped spear thrusting towards him. The wielder being a...man-like creature with wings, wearing green goggles. Barry grabbed the spear, pivoting it down and over his shoulder, sending the creature down the balcony, landing on the ground in front of a very confused Darkseid. This is your chance! Highfather exclaimed.
Barry nodded, jumping off the balcony, pressing the small nub on his Flash ring, watching as it shot from the small piece of jewelry. He crawled into it at superspeed, and hit the ground next to the creature, sticking the Superhero Landing perfectly.
He kicked the creature in the head for good measure, before grabbing the spear, and pointing it at Darkseid, who still had a look of confusion on his face. "DARKSEID! I, THE SCARLET SPEEDSTER, OR THE FLASH, CHALLENGE YOU TO A TRIAL OF COMBAT! FOR THE SEAT OF POWER!" Barry exclaimed at the top of his lungs, grinning at the sight of Darkseid's confused expression turned into an expression of anger.
"YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME MORTAL!? HOW DARE...you…" Darkseid stopped, his anger turning to a malicious grin as he stood up. "Bartholemew Henry Allen. Your presence has long been awaited. I am afraid however, that this is a trial you will not complete," Darkseid said.
Barry sighed, pulling away his cowl to reveal his young and yet wise face. "I'll either do two things today. Defeat you. Or kill you. And I'd rather not do the latter. So...what's the deal? Are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" He aimed the spear closer, and used his other hand to motion for Darkseid to make the first move.
"You are brave Mr. Allen. Few mortals would dare defy me, nevertheless challenge me to a duel...it would be my honor to murder you in cold blood," Darkseid charged forward, his fist inches away from Barry's nose as the speedster swiftly dodged the attack. Barry ran up the wall, jumping off just in time to dodge an attack from Darkseid's Omega Beam.
He dealt a kick to Darkseid's face, momentarily knocking the god over, before phasing his semi-solid hand into Darkseid's chest, sending the evil god arching back, and onto the floor.
"AHH!" Darkseid exclaimed as he clutched his stomach, dark blue blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Ah...you...Mr. Allen, are a formidable opponent," Darkseid said as he got to his feet. "But you got lucky. It won't happen again," Darkseid swept his foot beneath Barry, knocking the speedster off his feet, and into the evil god's outstretched hand.
Darkseid squeezed Barry inside hi grip, before throwing the future CSI into the wall, kicking Barry for good measure. "Give up Mr. Allen, and return home before I am forced to END YOU!" Darkseid attempted to kick him again, but Barry watched in satisfaction as the leg phased through him. He pulled a small device out of his utility belt, and placed it in Darkseid's leg. Barry quickly sped off, watching as the device triggered a large explosion, which tore Darkseid's leg in half, sending him to the floor, screaming in pain.
"I said I wouldn't kill you, but...I never said I wouldn't kill you," Barry said, phasing his hands into Darkseid's eyes, shredding them like cheese. Darkseid screamed once again, clawing at his eyes in pain. Barry grabbed the spear, and shoved it into Darkseid's shoulder, impaling the evil god. "So...do you yield?"
"N-N-Never," Darkseid muttered as he clawed for Barry, who easily dodged his attempts. Barry phased his hand into the impaled shoulder, grinning as the sound of a bone popping into a thousand pieces echoed through the throne room, startling the green creatures, who had been watching the altercation. "DO YOU YIELD!?"
"N-N-NO!" Darkseid exclaimed as he punched Barry to the ground using his good arm, before grabbing Barry, and slamming him into the ground. Darkseid positioned himself above Barry, raining punches down on the scarlet speedster. "YOU...WILL...DIE!" Darkseid exclaimed, each punch packing more and more energy.
Then Barry remembered the conversation he had with the Highfather. Concentrating as best as he could, considering the consequences, he watched as Darkseid suddenly disappeared, and reappeared twenty feet away. Space Manipulation. Highfather said. He then focused, repairing his molecules, and body in the process, before standing up. Atomic Manipulation. Highfather commented.
"Impossible...you...are no...god," Darkseid said.
"No. I'm The Flash," Barry sped forward, generating a large yellow hammer before slamming it into Darkseid's head. Energy Constructs. Highfather said. Barry slammed the hammer into Darkseid's good leg, listening to the satisfying crunch of the evil god's bones. He then broke Darkseid's right arm, rendering him defenseless. "DO...YOU...YIELD?!"
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes...I-I yi-yi-yield," Darkseid coughed, blood practically pouring from his mouth as Barry hailed his victory. Taking his seat at the Seat of Power, he watched with satisfaction as the green creatures, Parademons Highfather said, kneeled before him. Congratulations Mr. Allen, you are now the almighty ruler of Apokolips. Do with it what you wish. Now, you may complete the final task. Highfather said.
Barry nodded, shrinking Darkseid down to the size of a pebble, placing the evil god carefully into his utility belt before addressing the parademons. "As the new ruler of Apokolips. I command you to hold down the palace, do not let anyone enter. If anyone tries, alert me immediately. The Head Parademon, wearing silver goggles, nodded before bowing. Barry nodded, before taking off up to the balcony, where the breach was still open. He stepped through -
Nightmare Realm
- and stepped out to find himself in the middle of the STAR Labs pipeline. He took off once again through Central City, coming to a stop in the middle of the dark center of the realm, jumping into the slide once again -
New Genesis
- before jumping out onto the playground before taking off at Mach 15, heading straight for the City of Gods. The grass cracked beneath his feet, the birds chirped in delight above him as he ran, and the forest environment around him was brimming with life as monkey's, lions, sloths, caterpillars, butterflies, and millions of other creatures occupied the same region of space.
You have arrived? Barry inwardly nodded. Delightful. Approach beneath the city, and I will bring you to the Court. Highfather said as Barry came to a stop just below the cities center. Come. Barry found himself, instead of in the middle of a forest, in the middle of a large gold and silver room with giant seats aligned in a circular formation, which Barry was in the middle of, all of which were occupied by the New God's.
"Barry Allen, the savior of New Genesis, we thank you for what you have...done," Highfather looked around the room. "Where is Darkseid?"
"Oh, right," Barry reached into his pouch, grabbing the pebble sized Darkseid before restoring the evil god to normal size, Darkseid's blood spilling on to the floor as he groaned in pain. Highfather gave Barry a pointed look. "What? I didn't kill him, and I'm monitoring his cells to make sure they don't crumble, but until you find a way to apprehend him, I won't heal him to full health,"
"Restore him," Highfather said, giving Barry a trusting look. Barry sighed, focusing on Darkseid's molecular form, imagining them as they were before. He watched as Darkseid stood up, grinning maliciously before being sucked into a black hole, disappearing from view. "That was...anticlimactic," Highfather said.
"For you," Barry said. "I got my literal face broken,"
"We know, Mr. Allen," Highfather said. "That is why we are opening the Source to you," Highfather grabbed Barry by the shoulder, grinning at the look on Barry's face as they suddenly appeared in front of the Source Wall. "Touch the wall, and discover if it accepts you as its eternal power," Highfather said.
Barry nodded, approaching the wall hesitantly before holding out a single finger. Like Iris had described to him years before, a surge of electricity suddenly connected with his fingertip, blurring his vision until there was nothing but darkness.
Hall of Justice; Ferris Airfield; Three Months After Barry's Disappearance
"I call this meeting into order," Oliver announced as he, Clark Kent, Courtney Whitmore, Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne, Jesse Wells, Hal Jordan, and Doctor Fate all sat in the middle of the still under construction Hall of Justice, which was going to be the Justice League's base of operations. "Our first order of business, like every meeting...where is Barry in regards to his trials? In the last meeting, you told us he was still looking for a...a path?" Oliver asked.
"The Path," Doctor Fate corrected. "Mr. Allen recently found the path, and traveled to the Nightmare Realm once again. He was guided to the second nexus of the Path, and was sent to Apokolips, the home of Darkseid. One of the most powerful gods in existence,"
"Dear god. Did he…" Courtney trailed off, somewhat asking the question they were all wanting to ask.
"Yes," A few gasps fell across the room, as well as a few tears falling from Diana, Courtney, and Jesse, before Doctor Fate realized his mistake. "Oh, he is not dead. No, I am sorry for the misinformation. No. He successfully defeated Darkseid using advanced methods of Speed Force usage. He took Darkseid to the Highfather, and has even become the ruler of Apokolips through the trial of combat,"
"Wait...is that a good thing?" Clark asked.
"It all depends on who is in control of the power Mr. Kent. You use your powers for good, while another, with the same abilities, might use it for evil. General Zod for example. My point is, Mr. Allen will decide for himself how to use the vast world available to him," Doctor Fate explained. "Anyway. Mr. Allen delivered Darkseid to the Highfather, completing his 'final' task,"
"Then why isn't he back?" Diana asked.
"Remember the ninth test, or trial or whatever?" Jesse asked.
"Exactly Ms. Wells!" Doctor Fate exclaimed. "Mr. Allen, upon making physical contact with the Source Wall, has been given his special abilities. Now, he is in the dead universe known as Universe-0501, or Earth-15, in hopes that he can…'make some good out of it'. It is really just a ploy so the Monitors do not have to harvest it,"
"Monitors? There's more than one Monitor?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, there were always 52 Monitors in this designated Multiverse Mr. Queen," Doctor Fate. "In the original timeline, the antimatter wave assimilated the Monitor World, or the Monitor Watch Station. Mar Novu was the only survivor, seeing as he was tending to the preparation of worlds,"
"So, they harvest worlds?" Bruce asked.
"Harvesting dead or dying universes is one of many jobs the Monitor's must perform. Others include; hunting down multiversal threats, exploring new universes, transfering materials, etc," Doctor Fate said.
"So...he's a god know?" Hal asked. "What do god's even do?"
"The Divine Purpose, whatever it may be," Doctor Fate said. "But I believe Mr. Allen will use his abilities in a less...powerful...way,"
"Why wouldn't he just snap his fingers and create world peace?" Hal jokes.
"Because world peace will not, and never did exist jackass," Jesse fired back. "As long as there's one person with hateful intentions, world peace is shattered. And it would be immoral of Barry to take away people's free will,"
"Yeah," Hal said. "That would just be so cool though,"
Earth-15
Barry floated in the middle of darkness, with not a single spec of light protruding from said darkness. When the thought of failure entered the scarlet speedsters head, a voice called out to him. The Overmonitor. Congratulations, Mr. Allen, it seems you have received great power. In the All Star Era of existence, Superboy-Prime annihilated the universe during his tantrum regarding the Source Wall. His tear in reality destroyed what remained of the brittle and lifeless universe. Seeing as it is the only universe in your designated Multiverse, we decided this universe was the most sensible choice of location for you to test your powers.
"Great! So...I can do anything I want here? As long as it's moral and sensibly and morally correct...right?" Barry asked.
Yes
"Great! First…" Barry watched as a small pebble suddenly appeared in the middle of his palm. He pulled back, throwing the pebble thousands of miles away before it suddenly erupted into a large red sun, illuminating the darkness as it grew larger and brighter.
Amazing. The building block of the universe. A single star. Which will become a single black hole, which will then pulled the Galaxy into a singular whole.
"Exactly!" Barry exclaimed as the red sun suddenly popped out of existence, instead becoming a black void of nothingness, surrounded by a faint ring of light. Barry then snapped his fingers, watching as the entire vast landscape of nothingness was instead filled with large rocks, with quickly began to collide.
The building blocks of stars and solar systems...explosions and molten rock.
"Yes," responded Barry as he watched new suns pop into existence up to millions of light years away from the black hole, some being red, blue, yellow, and even green. The sun's closest to the black hole were immediately sucked in, leaving the sun's far enough from it's grasp in piece.
"Next up...planets," Barry snapped his fingers once again, watching as the sun's were immediately surrounded by millions and millions of large meteorites, all of which immediately slammed into each other, creating large and round rocks of molten rock and lava, which all spiraled around their respective sun.
After the fire settled, Barry tried to snap his fingers, but found himself unable to move. Do not move. Use the power of your mind and will to bend reality to your will. This universe is yours. Make it so. Barry nodded, determination entering his body as he focused on stabilizing every planet, and introducing life to every single one. Some organisms wouldn't survive the beginning, and others would, living as long as they could before living wasn't an option.
He closed his eyes for a single second, and opened them to find a fully functioning galaxy, full with black hole, sun's, planets, etc. He then thought once again, watching as the entire process duplicated at the speed of light. Galaxies full of suns and planets suddenly appearing at his will. After an hour of concentration, Barry reached the universes edge, which was still expanding at the speed of light.
Well done, Mr. Allen. You have created an entire universe full of life and possibility. Your time has come to return home. I will see you again Mr. Allen, not soon, but eventually. I leave you with this, Mr. Allen. It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. Before Barry could even flinch, he was standing right next to a pillar. Which was right next to McKinley High School. Exactly where he left, but with no heroes or villains in sight. Looking down, Barry looked down to find himself in his Year 4 suit, full with Cisco upgrades.
"Gideon?"
"Welcome back, Mr. Allen. I take it you passed your trials?" Gideon asked.
"Umm...yeah. Yeah. Um...what's the date?" Barry asked as he leaned up against the pillar for support.
"The date is August 21st, 2012. Would you like me to inform the Justice League of your return?" Gideon asked.
"Wait, Justice League? Already?" Barry asked.
"Yes, Mr. Allen. Brainiac, being a Level 20 Intellect, has certain points of knowledge from the future, some of which he disclosed to the heroes during the Invasion. The heroes named it in your honor Mr. Allen, seeing as they believe you were deceased until hours after the Invasion," Gideon said.
"Hmm, are they using the Hall of Justice? Or Ferris AirField?"
"Yes, Mr. Allen,"
"Good. Glad I bought that thing from Wells for a reason," Barry said, as he suddenly teleported into the choir room of McKinley High. "Shit...I missed Graduation," Barry thought as he focused on the 'Arrowverse' heroes, and all of the Glee kids. Then...all of them suddenly appeared in the choir room.
"What the hell?!" Santana exclaimed as she suddenly slipped, falling directly into Barry's outstretched arms. "BARRY!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a large bear hug as the others, except for Bruce and Oliver, quickly joined in.
"Artie! It's good to see you on your feet," Barry said, noting the young man was no longer in a wheelchair, but instead walking with ease.
"It works perfectly!" Artie exclaimed as he kicked around his legs. "Hey man, look at this!" Finn exclaimed as he pulled Barry away from the group, and towards the trophy case, where a 1st Place Nationals Championship sat. "We wouldn't have gotten it if it wasn't for you...you saved the world man!"
"I didn't do anything. That's all you guys," Barry said excitedly.
"What were the other dimensions like?" Sam asked.
"Well, Nightmare used your own nightmares against you. Hell and Underworld were the definitions of hell. Apokolips was like an actual planet, with civilians, cities, and the Grand Palace. Apokolips itself wasn't THAT bad, but it was ok. Heaven was cool, I met God and Jesus, who apparently are very real. Dream...well," Barry gave Santana a side glance, which she didn't seem to notice before continuing. "Skyland was the home of the Greek Gods, and New Genesis was the home of the New or Modern Gods. Outside of that was the Monitor Sphere, where Monitors regulate what goes in and out of the Multiverse. And beyond that is the Source Wall, which contains the entire Multiverse in a single shell. AND beyond that is the Source, pretty much a void of white, where all things originated," Barry finished.
"That's...a lot," Rachel said.
"Yeah, I know," Barry said, wrapping her into a hug, pulling away immediately to ask. "How's NYADA?"
"Kind of sucks," Kurt laughed as he wrapped Rachel in a one armed hug. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"Probably chill for the next two weeks, maybe do some Flash work...or visit Earth-15, or -"
"Earth-15?" Mr. Schuester asked.
"It was a dead Earth before my trials. When I got my powers, I tested them on Earth-15. I created a new universe from scratch," Barry answered.
"A WHOLE universe?" Quinn asked.
"Yep," Barry said, a candle suddenly appearing in his hand. "With these powers, I never have to look back at the past. Like this candle, I expanded a single atom into a single universe," Barry waved a hand in front of the candle, extinguishing it as gasps entered the room. Hundreds of smaller flames now levitated in a circular formation, all level with each other. "With this power, I can turn a single nail into a planet, a planet into a star, a star into a galaxy, and a galaxy, or a galaxy into a universe,"
"So...you can turn stuff into other stuff?" Sugar asked.
"No. I can conjure anything with a single thought," Barry said, conjuring a small coffee into his hand, which he easily drank.
"Anything?"
"What do you want?" Barry asked.
"A motorcycle," Puck said, nearly falling over when a motorcycle suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Finn sighed. "Can you get me my dad back?"
"No...I can...but I won't," Barry said, recognizing the look of betrayal on all of the Glee kids faces. "If I do such a thing, you will lose your purpose...everyone has a purpose,"
"Indeed Mr. Allen," Doctor Fate said.
"It's good to see you Kent," Barry said, shaking the shocked man's hand before turning away. "Well, I assume you have important stuff to get to so…" As people started to disappear one by one, Santana, Courtney, Oliver, Clark, Hal, and Mr. Schuester stepped forward.
"It's good to have you here Barry," Courtney said, pulling Barry into a hug before slowly disappearing. Clark and Hal both stepped forward, both shook his hand, and congratulated him before each disappearing. "Barry," Mr. Schue announced, shaking Barry's hand. "Seeing as you have these...abilities, I want you to co-captain Glee Club next year...alongside Finn,"
"Is he ok with this?" Barry asked.
"Well...um…" Mr. Schue faded away, leaving Santana and Barry alone in the choir room. Santana turned to the scarlet speedster. "It really is good to have you back. It's been a long two month's for a lot of us, especially Artie and Finn. Artie because you gave him a chance to walk, and Finn because -"
"I can save him,"
"Are you?"
"Absolutely,"
"That easy, eh?"
"Yes. I can't change the past...but I can change the future," Barry grabbed Santana, slowly tipping her back, before pressing his lips to hers.. He gently caressed her lower back with his right hand, his left moving up to her cheek. The kiss lasted for what seemed like minutes before Barry pulled her up, his hands still on her waist as the two breathed heavily.
"Damn," Both said at the same time, causing them to erupt in laughter. The laughing quickly died done however as he pressed a small kiss on her lips. "So...does this mean we're a thing?"
"Only if you want to,"
"What about Brittany?"
"I won't hold you from her. And I won't make you pick sides…"
"Open relationship?"
"That works,"
"Cool," Barry said, pulling Santana into another passionate kiss. 'This is going to be a very eventful year' Barry thought to himself. Yes it will...yes it will. The Overmonitor said. Barry inwardly grinned. Team B...get ready for a surprise.