"Barry...Barry," The man in question stirred awake, his eyes slowly opening as a blonde figure entered his vision. Felicity Smoak. "Are you ok? You hit your head pretty hard out there. You're lucky you have the Babel Protocol, a lot of people were trying to peel off your mask on the street. I was walking out of Jitters when I saw you, so I went ahead and called Clark,"

"Right...Clark," Barry said, confused. He looked around, finding himself in the 'Arrow Cave', where Oliver, Laurel, and Clark were staring at him worryingly. "Do you...know? About catastrophe?"

"Catastrophe? Yeah, Oliver filled me in after you 'got back," Felicity responded. "I also heard you were a part of a harem," Felicity whispered.

"Yeah...let's just say I was surprised when I woke up in bed with Wonder Woman herself, as well as Iris West herself," Barry said. "But I don't have any complaints," Barry joked as he stood up from the lab table he had been leaning on. He moved over to Laurel, giving her a quick peck on the lips, which surprised him a bit, before turning to the computers that lined the bases inner walls. Barry approached them, and quickly took a seat, typing in several things as he sped-read.

"Uh...Epitome meeting...now," Barry said as he got up from his seat, speeding Oliver and Clark out of the building, and into the Hall of Justice, and into the Watchtower base. He dialed the Epitome's, and in less than five minutes, all of them sat in the meeting room, staring at each other intently. "Ok...the timeline has changed...drastically," Barry said. "It's a lot of changes. For instance, the wheel was invented ninety-five thousand years before usual. Humans have colonized the entire Orion arm of the galaxy. The World Wars are now the Intergalactic Wars, between the citizens of Earth and Mars. I'm an Admiral in Starfleet, IF, and...Trans-Gov,"

"Trans-Gov?" Steve asked.

"An unseen addition to Earth-0. A video game known as Subnautica takes place in a universe in which space travel has existed for thousands of years. Trans-Government is a governmental branch now alongside the Starways Congress. A sub-branch of Trans-Gov is Alterra, or a manufacturing company who makes products as well as intergalactic cruise ships,"

"O-kay," Mystique said.

"The point is, the game takes place on a planet known as 4546B. The story is...a cruise ship named the Aurora is sent out to the Ariadne Arm of the Andromeda galaxy to build a phase gate, a less advanced version of warp travel. The Aurora crashed on the water planets' surface, leaving one survivor. You have to mine resources, discover a conspiracy regarding an alien species called the Precursors, cure yourself of a planetary disease, and get the resources required to leave the planet,"

"The point of this story is…" Wade trailed off.

"I'm assigned as Admiral advisor of the Aurora, due to report to duty on July 2, 2013," Barry said. "The Aurora will crash one year after that,"

Are you required to stay that long?" Steve asked.

"For five years," Barry replied.

"Damn…" Oliver said sadly. "What about your girlfriends? Or Team Flash? The JLA?"

"The girls should be fine I guess...Team Flash has Wally...and the JLA has a plethora of heroes at its disposal. Besides, it's six months away, it's not like I'm leaving tomorrow," Barry said.

"Someone's going with you," Oliver said immediately. "You're not going on that ship alone, and you sure as hell aren't going to sit there on an alien planet for months on end. I'll talk to Dig, who'll talk to Argus, who'll talk to the IF, who might be able to make talks with Alterra,"

"Or, I can just buy the people their tickets, so they can go as passengers," Barry said. "I mean...I could take a few people, maybe spread the ways of heroism across the stars,"

"So...who are you going to take?" Steve asked.

"Barry Allen, Kara Zor-El, Diana Prince, Ray Palmer, Karen Starr, Patty Spivot, Jesse Wells, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Santana Lopez, Kitty Wilde, Ryder Lynn, Jake Puckerman, Artie Abrams, Sam Evans, Barbara Gordan, Hal Jordan, Sue Storm, Jean Grey, Donna Troy, Valentine Wiggin, Ender Wiggin, Julian (Bean) Delphiki, Petra Arkanian, and Wanda Maximoff," Barry resited.

"You really thought this through huh?" Wade asked.

"Well, I do have nineteen thought processes, so it only took me 3.60194 milliseconds to formulate that response," Barry said. " I -" He was interrupted by his phone, which started to ring underneath the desk. Barry pulled it out of his pocket. "Hey, Patty,"

Hey, you mind coming over? Iris keeps bothering Santana, Kara, and I.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right there," Barry hung up the phone, stood up from the table, and addressed the entire table. "Crisis will take place in 2019 once again, meaning that I will not be able to come back until just before. I'll try to visit as much as possible, but...I...I…" He placed his hand on his heart, becoming dizzy as he slumped over the table, grabbing Clark's shoulder for support. "Can't...breathe…need…" Barry fell to the floor, darkness overtaking him before nothing was left.

FOUR DAYS LATER

Barry stirred, his head throbbing in pain as he sat up in a bed. He looked around, finding himself in a mysterious room. Which contained a medical chair, which he was laying in, several syringes, blood bags, two fridges full of phials, several surgical trays, and a state of the art MRI machine. To his right were two people, Patty Spivot and Joe West, both sitting in chairs on their phones. While on his left was Oliver and...Kara Zor-El.

For the first time since before the catastrophe, Barry was seeing his...wife? Girlfriend? He couldn't tell anymore. Neither had rings, so he assumed they were just dating. He smiled, but grimaced in pain as he clutched his heart. The noise must have drawn their attention, because Joe and Kara jumped to his side immediately.

"Oh my god, Barry, are you ok?" Patty asked as she grabbed his leg. "Greg couldn't find out what happened, said there was nothing wrong with you,"

"I...know what it is…" Barry said, his head slightly morphing as he coughed. "It's the catastrophe. It's...it's messing with the...the timeline...more than usual. There's something...coming...something...far worse...than...imaginable…" Barry said, his whole body aching in pain as he continued. "The...Aurora...is...the key…"

"The Aurora? The ship?" Oliver asked, receiving a nod from Barry. "What about it?"

"Not...the ship...who's on it…" Barry coughed, his head turning to Oliver. "Find...Ryley...find him...and bring...him...to me," He sighed, before his eyes closed.

"Barry...Barry! Barry!" Kara exclaimed, shaking him by the shoulders. "BARRY!"

"Oh my...is he...dead?" Joe asked Patty, who shook her head. "Oh thank god," He said, sitting down on the chair before letting out a sighing, and standing up again. "Alright, you heard him. Let's find this Riley guy," The group, except for Kara, who stayed with Barry, moved out of the room. There, they were met with a large room. The room itself was rectangular and white. Three entrances stood on the left and right side, as well as the center one they were entering into. The right entrance was locked, only opened with a fingerprint, retinal, and DNA scans. The left entrance led to the elevator, which moved up and down the entirety of the Allen Industries skyscraper, which lit up the Central City skyline.

The lab itself was quite large, with high-tech computers lining the far wall. The left side was comprised of a centrifuge, high tech microscopes, microbiology equipment, thermometers, magnifiers, flasks full of chemicals, slides of microscopic organisms, and a large desk in the middle, which was round. The group made their way towards the locked door, with Joe using the scanners.

The door slid open to reveal a dark abyss. The group stepped in, and when the door closed, the lights lit up to reveal a large base. It was a giant room, obviously expanded by Barry's god-like abilities. The center of the large room was occupied by a semi-circle table, which had multiple alien tech computers, all connected to interstellar satellites roaming through the galaxies arm. The far wall across from the table was a round mechanism, with a fingerprint scanner on the side. A member of Team Flash would put in their fingerprint, and in a flash, their suit would spin to face them.

The far left wall was covered with a gigantic monitor, which showed them the entirety of the Orion arm of the galaxy. The right wall had three attached rooms. A private medical bay. An advanced speed lab. And an advanced research area, which comprised of a 3D printer for their suits. "Check the Alterra records for a Ryley. We need to get this guy NOW," Oliver ordered as Patty nodded. She nodded, and made her way to the computer, where she carefully hacked into the Alterra HQ systems.

"Ok, got him. Ryley Robinson. Lives in Metropolis. Due to leave on the Aurora as the...Maintenance Chief of the ship," Patty said. "His address...2940 Dansville's Avenue...go...NOW!" Patty shouted as Clark flew out of the room. Oliver grabbed his suit, and used an extrapolator to quickly leave the city.

METROPOLIS, DELAWARE

Ryley Robinson sat in the middle of his living room, silently petting his dog Kim as he looked out the window. His wife had died three years ago, leaving him utterly alone and depressed. His life had had its ups and downs, but after being hired by Alterra. Ryley couldn't say he enjoyed being a maintenance chief, but it was a fine way to reach the top. Electrical Engineer.

In the U.S Army, he would be a Staff Sergeant. He wished to be promoted in the next year or so to Sergeant First Class. Ryley looked around the room, finding himself staring at the portrait of him and his late wife. He missed her, and deeply wanted to see her again, but his upcoming five year mission in space was going to keep his mind off things.

He stood up, making his way over to his desk, grabbing his PDA before logging into his video logs. "Hello. My name is Ryley Robinson. On July 27th, 2013, the A.C.S Aurora will leave the Earth's surface, and enter the realm of space in a mission to establish phase gates in the Sagittarius Arm of the galaxy, as well as attempt to find the missing crew of the Degasi. Admiral Allen is due to attend the mission, which is a big deal not only for the Aurora, but everyone on it. Being the youngest Rear-Admiral in the entirety of the Trans-Government at eighteen years old, his involvement in the mission is amazing for Alterra publicity," Ryley stated.

"Ryley Robinson," Ryley turned off his PDA and turned around to find Superman himself standing in his doorway. "Come with us," He turned again to find the Green Arrow moving through his balcony door. "Barry Allen wishes to see you,"

"Wait...Rear-Admiral Allen knows the Green Arrow and Superman, and he's using them to collect me? This is awesome!" Ryley exclaimed.

"Barry is very ill, and needs your assistance," Superman said as he grabbed Ryley by the collar. In one swift motion, he and the Green Arrow were in Superman's arms, flying at near the speed of sound before coming to a stop in front of a large skyscraper named 'Allen Enterprises' minutes later. Superman flew through the air, entering a small door on the side of the building, before dropping him and the Green Arrow in front of Barry Allen himself. The man was quite pale, with his dark brown hair falling to the side of his face. Barry was clutching his waist in pain as he coughed, green spots appearing over his body at random.

"It's gotten worse," A blonde woman with a tied up ponytail said as she walked up to Superman. "Is this him?" Superman nodded.

"Robinson," Barry called out, motioning for him to move closer to the diseased man. Ryley hesitantly moved forward, his head shifting forward to talk to Barry, who said. "Give...me...your…" He trailed off for a moment, coughing up some sort of green blood before "Blood," Barry said.

"You want my...blood?" Ryley asked. "Um...is this a test sir?"

"Not a...test...sick...with…" He trailed off once again, his head resting on a blonde woman's hand as he sighed, the green spots on his body increasing in size. "Need...blood...enzyme...forty-two…"

"Has he gone insane?" A latino man asked as he pulled out a blood transfusion kit. He moved up to Ryley, and held it up. "Are you down to save our friend?" Ryley looked around the room, every single face he saw filled with fear for their friend. He nodded, and took one of the syringes. Ryley stuck it into his arm, and sat down next to Barry, who grinned. Cisco was about to start when a booming cough ran through the room.

Everyone immediately turned to find Clark Kent leaning against the wall, his skin covered in tiny green spots as he coughed. "Oh no. Barry grabbed Superman's shoulder when he started coughing!" Green Arrow exclaimed as he slowly guided Superman to a nearby bed. Then the blonde girl next to Barry started coughing, her skin gaining green dots as well.

"We need to get your blood NOW," The latino man said as he plugged the other needle into Barry's forearm. "Blood transfer started now!" The man said as blood suddenly started to flow in two different directions. Barry grabbed his arm, some sort of blue energy flowing through his body at the touch of the Admiral. Before anyone could blink, because a flash of blue blinded them, Barry Allen stood in the middle of the room, in perfect health.

"The Kharaa Bacterium," Barry said as he motioned to the rest of the team. "It's highly contagious, and when received, it is nearly impossible to cure...except for Enzyme 42,"

"Enzyme 42?" Ryley asked.

"Yes. An enzyme you helped create in one years time," Barry said, confusing the entire group. Barry snapped his fingers, sending out a blue energy wave through all of them. "I cannot explain it all, but I have extraordinary abilities beyond space, time, and imagination. These abilities make me...a god," Barry said.

"A...a god?" Ryley asked in disbelief.

"Yes. In more than one year, December 16th, 2014, the Aurora will crash land on 4546B. A planet filled with alien life. One thousand years ago, an alien species known as the Precursor's settled down on the planet, before dying out due to the Kharaa Disease. They left behind many alien structures, one of which a containment facility, which held the creatures that could produce the cure. Another was a large energy gun, which had been set up to keep people from entering or leaving the atmosphere, to avoid bringing in new diseases, or leaving with the Kharaa. This gun shoots down the Aurora, leaving only one survivor. You...Ryley Robinson," Barry said.

"I was the only survivor?" Ryley asked.

"Yes, you were. You developed the enzyme, deactivated the gun, spread said enzyme around the world in the hope of curing the alien life. After spreading the cure, and deactivating the gun, you built a rocket, which took you out of the system and back to Alterra Headquarters," Barry said.

"So...you know the future…" Ryley said.

"I know possible futures," Barry said. "That future will never occur. A projection of mine is already located on 4546B, trying to develop the enzyme capable of curing the world,"

"How close are you?" Ryley asked.

"Nearly done," Barry said. "I've isolated the Sea Emperors, and am almost done with the enzyme. After I finish, I should be able to shut down the…" He stopped, his mind racing for a moment before he sighed. "Oh no...no...no...no," Barry said repeatedly as he paced the room. "The future has changed,"

"How so?" Oliver asked.

"The planet, it's now occupied by another...alien species. They're killing all of my projections," Barry said. "Araimians. A three-fingered humanoid species that has conquered the Centaurus Arm by force, killing everyone that got in their path,"

"They're on the planet?" Patty asked.

"Yes...they're set up around the planet and in the water, killing and examining everything they find, my projections included," Barry said. "They are powerful. More powerful than the Monitors...and myself," He said, his hand resting on Kara's shoulder as he sighed.

"What do you suppose we do?" Clark asked.

"We call Andrew Wiggin. Something tells me the First Araimian War is about to begin," Barry said, the entire team looking between each other. He turned to Ryley, and held out his hand, which the maintenance chief grabbed and shook. "Welcome to the Guardians of the Universe," Barry said. "Oh, and expect a promotion coming in,"

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Ryley said.

"Nonsense. You saved my life," Barry said. "So...by the power given to me by the Trans-Government, as well as Alterra. I, Rear-Admiral Bartholemew Henry Allen, promote you, Sergeant Major Maintenance Chief Ryley Robinson to First Lieutenant Chief Engineer of any ship assigned to you in your career in Alterra...until the day in which you are promoted once again," Barry said, a small pin suddenly appearing in his hand. The insignia was a single silver bar with a white outline. He clipped it onto Ryley's shoulder, before patting the First Lieutenant's chest.

"Thank you sir," Ryley said, saluting Barry, before returning to normal stance. "Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Permission granted," Barry responded.

"How are you affiliated with these people?" Ryley asked.

"Well, Kara Danvers and Patty Spivot are my girlfriends," He motioned to the two blondes. "Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow are my best friends," He motioned to Cisco and Caitlin. "Joe is my father," He motioned to Joe, who smiled at Ryley. "As for Superman and the Green Arrow...well...he grinned, before speeding away, and returning in his Flash suit.

"You're the...the Flash," Ryley said, his hand resting on a nearby table for support. "It all makes sense now. You're Clark Kent! And you're Oliver Queen! So you must be Supergirl! Vibe! Frost! Team Flash!" Ryley exclaimed, his head burning from the excitement, while everyone else just grinned. "So...am I a part of Team Flash now?"

"Yes. A very important part of it," Barry said. "Your blood is the only producer of Enzyme 42 in the entirety of the universe. And seeing as its origins are beyond the Source itself, I cannot synthesise it," Barry said. "So...if you're willing, we would like to use you as a source of production for the Enzyme,"

"Of course. So...how far has this...Kharaa...spread?" Ryley asked.

"Everywhere. It remains dormant until you are exposed to a high amount of the bacterium itself. A projection of mine was affected during the meeting, resulting in its spread throughout my entire essence," Barry explained. "Right now, the bacterium is only 15.92% contagious at the moment,"

"What happens when it reaches 100%?" Patty asked.

"Every positive matter in the universe will be infected, killing everything slowly and dreadfully until the entirety of the universe is gone," explained Barry.

"Why is it there's always some future Crisis that we have to plan to beat?" Cisco asked, his head slamming into the keyboard. "I mean, why can't we just go back to yearly villains? Or stupid criminals who think they can punch Superman?"

"Because in the thirteen years since Superman announced himself as the protector of Metropolis, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Clark asked, a hurt expression on his face.

"I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe," Barry explained, placing silence over the room. "Peace is non-existent, and war is inevitable. War breeds reason for another war. Hate, anger, tension, and revenge,"

"What about when the entirety of the galaxy is unified?" Ryley asked. "Surely there is peace,"

"Robinson...peace can exist. For millions, if not billions of years, but there is always a conflict, always war, and always catastrophe. It is...inevitable," Barry said sadly as he stared at his hands. "War is what kills all, and war is inevitable...quite the conundrum eh?"

"Barry...why are you talking like this?" Joe asked.

"Because HOPE is what makes us susceptible to defeat!" Barry shouted, his hands gesturing to Kara. "If we hope...if we believe...we are doomed,"

"Why?" Cisco asked.

"Why? WHY?!" Barry shouted, starting Cisco and Caitlin. "You know why Cisco! Look at Iris in the future! We thought and hoped we could save her, but when she died, we all lost hope! If we don't have hope in the first place, there's nothing to lose!"

"This isn't Barry talking. This is the Kharaa. Cisco, are we sure the Enzyme worked?" Clark asked.

"Clark Kent. Symbol of Hope and Peace for the city of Metropolis," Barry said, his face reddening in anger as he looked around the room. "Bruce Wayne. Diana Prince. Captain America. FLASH! We all bring forth the things we face, and yet you still think the world is a good place. You don't save or protect your people Clark, you make them dependant on you,"

"Barry enough," Oliver said.

"No. It's the same, if Kal-El here were to suddenly disappear...what would happen? Would his city live, or would it be overrun by Brainiac? Steppenwolf? Zod? Alexander Luthor? All enemies you brought forth when you became SUPERMAN!" Barry exclaimed. "When you were killed by Doomsday, the year in between then and your resurrection was HELL for all of us. Our cities were overrun by villains because we were busy saving YOUR city! You're not a hero Clark. You're the villain. You ARE false hope,"

"ENOUGH!" Joe shouted, separating the Man of Steel and the Scarlet Speedster before a fight broke out. Barry turned to Oliver. "Green Arrow...the epitome of loss and anger. You aren't a hero either. You use anger as a channel for so called 'good'. Did all those people you killed in your first year thank you for your good deeds? What about Thomas Merlan? He's dead because you couldn't get over your fucking daddy issues!"

"Dude, you're the king of daddy issues," Cisco countered.

"You think I don't know that Cisco? Do you think I enjoy looking back at the waist of the first twenty-four years of my life?!" Barry asked. Before he could say anything else, Patty grabbed him on the shoulder, before injecting him with a sedative. The scarlet speedster fell into Clark's arms, the man of steel carried Barry back to the medical bed, where he laid him down.

"What the hell was that Caitlin?" Joe asked.

"It looks like his cells haven't fully healed and modified to face the Kharaa Bacterium. He'll need to rest for another few hours to get over the effects. Everything he just said was the Kharaa talking," she said to Clark and Oliver, who nodded in uncertainty.

"So...why aren't we like that?" Ryley asked.

"Well, if what Barry says is true, then your forever cure, seeing as you're the producer of the enzyme. Barry was infected for four hours, while everyone else was only infected for about half an hour," Caitlin explained.

"So...what do we do know?" Ryley asked.

"Now we go get Ender, bring him here, and tell him the situation," Clark said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Clark exclaimed as he flew out the window, Oliver, Cisco, and Kara on his tail.