The Flash and the Anti-Flash flew through the Sol System, exchanging cosmic punches and kicks as they fumbled around the solar system. Barry grinned as he fired a beam of pure energy directly into Anti-Flash's face, sending the negative flying directly into Venus, which shattered into a million pieces on impact. After destroying stray pieces aimed for Earth, Barry flew forward, his hands closing around Anti-Flash's neck as the two flew around the solar system.
"You can't beat yourself FLASH!" Anti-Flash shouted as he threw Barry into Pluto, shattering the planet instantly. "The Sol System will fall, leaving only Earth, which will fall beneath my knees!" Anti-Flash shouted, before throwing a limp Barry into Saturn, destroying the planet.
Barry struggled, but after a singular moment, steadied himself as shot forward. At a speed unrecognizable on any scale, Barry and the Negative-Barry collided, shattering the Asteroid Belt and Jupiter. "You won't win! I can't allow it!" Barry shouted, sending a bolt of electricity into Anti-Flash's chest. "I CAN'T!" His arms extended as his body became the size of the sun itself, towering over his negative in anger.
"All will die," The negative said as his body grew to the same size, the two becoming the size of billions of Earth's. Civilians on Earth could probably see them as well, towering over the solar system in a heated battle. Barry charged forward, slamming his fist into his opponents chin, sending Anti-Flash into Neptune. "You will die!" His negative shouted.
The two leveled themselves out, before charging at each other again. They exchanged punches, their fist colliding randomly as they spiraled passed the edge of the solar system. "You have hope Flash! Let me take it from you!" Anti-Flash shouted, slamming Barry into a rogue planet. "Iris! Patty! Diana! KARA! All will fall beneath me! Slaves to my will!" Anti-Flash shouted as he grabbed Barry's hand, spinning around, before throwing the scarlet speedster into a nearby star.
Instead of burning alive, like the Anti-Flash had hoped, Barry merely absorbed the energy, before firing an enormous beam of energy at the Anti-Flash, which would be visible to the naked eye millions of light-years away. The beam sent Barry's negative flying through open space as the two continued to grow in physical size. Barry ran forward at the speed of light, his arm encircling his negative's throat, slamming through stars, planets, and asteroids.
"STOP...TALKING!" Barry exclaimed, his fist colliding with his negative's palm. Anti-Flash tightened his grip, before teleporting them in front of anyone's worst nightmare. A black hole. He fought against his negative's grasp, kicking away before the gravity of the black hole set in. Barry grimaced, the atoms in his body pulling away as he and the Anti-Flash fought.
"You know. When I thought about death, I always assumed it would be you that would do the dying!" Anti-Flash shouted. Neither could seem to overcome the pull of the black hole, and much to both's horror...they were pulled in. Atoms split, molecules broke apart, and before the universe knew it, both Barry Allen's were gone.
SPACE…...SOMEWHERE…...WE REALLY DON'T KNOW
In the middle of absolute space, Barry and Barry popped out into an unknown region of space and time. The black hole abruptly closed, leaving the two in the dark abyss of space, their bodies returning to normal size at once. "Where the hell are we?" Barry asked, the two stopping their fight to observe their surroundings.
"Looks like...Earth 260," Anti-Flash responded. "This Earth is...peculiar. Set in the middle of World War II, both Earth-One and Earth-Two heroes coincide. Many vigilante's have been outlawed, leaving only Hourman and Batman, who run from capture. Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Supergirl, and many others are sanctioned by the government. Adolf Hitler threatens most vigilantes with the Spear of Destiny. And military defense systems keep space bound heroes from entering the atmosphere,"
"Great. Just great," Barry said, his eyes focused on the planet in front of him. "Can we save them? Defeat the Nazi's early?" Barry asked. Anti-Flash scoffed, before moving in front of Barry. He grinned. "You think I'm going to help those scum? They deserve to burn in the hell they brought to themselves,"
"Is there any good in you? Not a scratch? There has to be, seeing as you're not trying to rip me into a million pieces," Barry said, receiving a sigh from the Anti-Flash. "There was no truly evil version of me was there? You just want to be whole,"
"Don't you?!" Anti-Flash shouted, gripping Barry by the shoulders. "Don't you want to be whole?! To be alive?! To be nice, and kind, and not remember Eobard Thawne driving a knife into our mothers heart every few seconds!? I just want to be...normal...whole,"
"I don't know my mother. Or father. Or loved ones. I'm the lesser half here Barry," Barry explained. "You have the memories, the pain, the anger. And I'm just as angry. I want to know. I want to remember, but I don't want to kill my other half to do it. Isn't there a way to transfer abilities? Memories?"
"No...it's either you...or me…" Anti-Flash stared at Earth, his black eyes softening slightly as he sighed. He pulled off his emblem hand held it up to Barry, who grabbed it. Where the emblem once lay was a pitch black circle, which was oozing out black goo. "End it. Take back what's yours...take back your memories...your anger...your powers. Become the kind-hearted Boundless Entity that I never can...save them...go home...and live your life," Anti-Flash conjured a knife, handing it to Barry.
"I can't...I won't…" Barry trailed off, staring down at the knife as he sighed. He grabbed Barry's shoulder, a single tear falling from his eye. With every fiber in his being, Barry placed the knife on the emblem spot before driving it in. It all happened at once. Anti-Flash spluttered, black goo overtaking his entire body as Barry poured as much energy as he could.
When the goo cleared, only Barry and the knife remained. He examined it, finding a small button at the bottom of the hilt. Barry took a short sigh, before pressing the button. In less than a nanosecond, Barry was surrounded by a black circle of darkness, with white ripples of light. After several seconds, the circle dilated to a small ball directly in front of him.
He reached out, only for the ball to collide with his chest, sending him flying through space. Barry's vision turned foggy as he entered the Earth's atmosphere, his mind swelling with memories, emotions, and power. He saw everything. Time, space, the universe, and everything between and beyond. Barry Allen was now...a Boundless Entity. Before he could regain control of his motion, he came crashing down to Earth, landing in the middle of...Berlin, Germany.
"Was zur Hölle?!" Barry turned to find an entire army of civilians standing in the town square, all staring at him as if he were...well...an alien. "Steigen Sie auf die Füße! Legen Sie Ihre Hände in die Luft! Und nicht bewegen!" He turned again to find an entire squadron of SS members, their Kryptonian tech guns trained on him. Without even blinking, he vanished, and reappeared in the middle of Washington D.C, where Franklin D. Roosevelt yelled. "If there is anyone who still wonders why this war is being fought, let him look to Norway! If there is anyone who has any delusions that this war could have been averted, let him look to Norway! And if there is anyone who doubts the democratic will to win, again I say, let him look to Norway!" The crowd gathered in the naval yard clapped, cheered, and applauded as FDR bowed.
Then he caught Barry's eye. One Clark Kent, or right now, Superman. To his left was Diana Prince, or Wonder Woman. And on his left was Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl. Barry levitated behind them, invisible to everyone as he grabbed the three, before vanishing into the Sahara Desert. "What the hell? Where are we? Who are you?" Kara asked in quick succession before all three readied their fists.
"Oh trust me, trying to punch me with super strength is beyond useless. So, to avoid temptation," Without movement, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl now stood in the middle of the desert in their civilian forms. "You won't have your powers for this conversation, so...yeah. I am the Flash. Blitzfrieden. Sometimes known as the Scarlet Speedster, Crimson Comet, and rarely Domucron,"
"The Flash?" Clark asked.
"It's a long story," Barry said. "The point is, I'm a good guy, and I'm here to help. I am an extraterrestrial...very powerful person, that can help end this war and suffering early,"
"How?" Kara asked.
"The Spear of Destiny is currently in the hands of Adolf Hitler himself. With it, he has created weapons, structures, and developments beyond what should be there. He has threatened vigilantes with the Spear of Destiny and their families. With a single thought, I can destroy the spear, giving vigilantes and heroes the step they need to protect people,"
"Ok...so...why are you telling us this?" asked Diana.
"Because you three are this Earth's epitomes of heroes. You are the American Hope that drives troops into the field. If I am to take this step to help you, I am going to need your permission," said Barry. The three turned around, exchanging hearable whispers before agreeing. "Great," The Spear of Destiny appeared in his hands. He snapped it in half, before tossing it to the ground.
"Vat the hell?!" The four turned to see Adolf Hitler himself standing in the middle of the desert. Barry grabbed the man by the neck, before handing him to Kara. "Do what you want with him and the Spear, just make it look like you did it. Women need to be represented and heroes in this time," He picked up the spear, and handed it to Diana.
"Where will you go now?" Diana asked.
"Home," With that, Barry Allen vanished from the planet, appearing in front of the now open black hole that had brought him here. He stepped forward, taking a short breath, before diving into the black hole. Barry span around, whirling through space and time before being spat out into space once again.
He charged forward, stopping at the edge of the Sol System. Something was wrong. The system was fine. Untouched by he and the Anti-Flash's battle. Then he figured it out. He was in the past. In the right universe, but a year in the past. May of 2012. The timeline was different...again...he knew that. Barry didn't work at CCPD, he was now a Fleet-Admiral in both Trans-Gov and Starfleet, and an Admiral in the IF. He attended Battle, Tactical, and Command School, as well as Starfleet and Trans-Governmental Academies.
He was seventeen, he was dating many women, and graduated high school two years early. The third Formic War hadn't started, and Andrew Wiggin was still in training. He could just speed up the clock, and go back to when he left, but he wouldn't do that. Joe was dead then. He is alive now. Barry disappeared, reappearing in the Allen Mansion, which he still owned. He still owned Allen Enterprises, STAR Labs, Mercury Labs, Lord Industries, 30% stock in Alterra, and his own spaceship.
The I.S.C Frontier. A large ship capable of carrying up to five hundred people. The designs were saved onto Jane, so she could easily pull it into the Outside in case of another crisis. It had five nacelles, its Alcubierre Warp Drive, or the FTL Drive, allowing it to bend space to its will. This allowed the ship to achieve faster than light travel. Barry sat down for a moment, gathering together information about everything before deciding to go to CCPD.
CENTRAL CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
Barry stepped into the precinct of CCPD, finding himself face to face with one Iris West. She grinned, pulling him into a kiss. "Hey babe, how was your vacation?" Iris asked.
"Vacation?" Barry asked, before he suddenly remembered. "Ah yes, the vacation to Themyscira, to see Diana. We all had a...lot of fun," Barry said, his grin widening at the memory of his time at the ancient island of extremely hot women. "Anyway...how are things here?"
"I just came by to see Dad, and talk to Patty for a bit," Iris said. "Well, I gotta go. Have a date with B, so I'm gonna head out. Love you," The two exchanged a quick kiss, before parting ways. Barry moved away from the elevator, running into...Joe West. "Hey, Barr! How are you doing? I see you bumped into Iris on your way in," Joe said, clearly excited to see Barry. It had been a really bad day for Joe, what with a mass murderer escaping under his watch.
"I'm doing fine actually, I just wanted to see how you and Patty were doing, see if you guys needed any help," Barry said.
"What? I thought you'd rather be at STAR Labs trying to track down Thawne," Joe said, guiding Barry up the steps. In a nanosecond, Barry moved through his new lifes memories, finding nothing regarding Thawne. "You know, the one that burst into flames in the middle of the precinct, killed seven and nearly killed Patty. Ring any bells?" asked Joe. Barry sighed, hating himself for not thinking of the one person that Joe could be talking about. Edward 'Eddie' Thawne, Iris' ex-boyfriend...who died.
"Right, Cobalt Blue," Barry said as the two reached the top of the stairs. "Cait, Cisco and I are very close on tracking him down, but we ran into a few...time problems," He said, receiving a sigh from Joe. "Ok, it wasn't my fault...well...it's complicated. The point is, after Catastrophe, everything changed, introducing a bacteria known as Kharaa. I was infected, and split into two. My good side, which was void of memories, and my bad side, which had no filters,"
"Did you kill him?" Joe asked, concern in his eyes. Barry closed his eyes for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Oh my...Barry,"
"Look, he wanted me to do it! We fought through the solar system, destroying planets and even a nearby sun. We were pulled into a black hole, and onto another Earth. Earth 260. The black hole sent us back to 1943, where I sort of ended World War II. When I came back, the timeline was for some reason different, and I'm a year in the past,"
"So...why don't you just speed up the clock?" Joe asked.
"Because...you're dead in that time, killed by my negative," Barry said sadly as Joe merely nodded. "I also have a second chance. Catastrophe in this timeline was on January 25, 2012, instead of 2013. With everything else now a year away, I can improve everything at a much...higher...level…" He trailed off, concerning Joe.
"Is everything ok, Barr?" asked Joe.
"Oh...my...hundreds of timelines have been added to this one. And I mean hundreds," Barry said. "Earth Harry Potter, Earth Percy Jackson, Earth Transformers, Earth Star Wars, Earth Halo, Earth Mass Effect, Earth 11, Earth 12, Earth 20, Earth 21, Earth 23, Earth 40, Earth -50, and many others," Barry explained. "This Earth is now spread with new technology, aliens, organizations, and people...and I don't know why,"
"It's ok, Barr,"
"It's not ok. I'm a Level 20 intellect! I'm a boundless entity! I shouldn't not know what's going on!" Barry exclaimed as the two entered the forensic lab to find Patty Spivot, and...Ralph Dibney. "Ralph?"
"Oh, hi Allen. Just came by to get some lab results for the Hoffkins case," Ralph said, stretching his arm to reach the paper Patty was holding in her hands. "I'll see you at the Guardian's meeting tonight," Ralph said, squiggling his nose. "Detective West," The two detectives exchanged nods, before Ralph left the room.
"He shouldn't...oh," Barry said, the memory of Barry convincing Ralph not to plant the evidence entering his mind. "Nevermind. Anyway, how are things here babe?" Barry asked, pulling her into a kiss, before turning to the mountain of paperwork on the CSI's desk.
"I...could use some help," Patty said. Barry grinned, looking around the room, before snapping his fingers, watching as all of the paperwork suddenly filled, and organized itself. As soon as the now done piles set, Captain Singh walked into the room. Barry grinned, placing all of the papers into a bin before handing them to Singh. The police captain sighed, before leaving the room once again. "Well, just thought I'd check in," Barry said, kissing Patty's forehead before fist-bumping Joe. "See you guys later," With that, he was gone.
OUTER SPACE
Barry Allen appeared in the middle of outer space, his eyes set on a large, cut in half ship, which slowly drifted along. The ship's name, according to the hangar bay door, was named the Forward Unto Dawn. Two years earlier, Spartan Master Chief John 117, was located in the rear hangar bay of the ship, when it was cut in half. He has been in cryosleep ever since, and has not woken up," Barry said into his log, before suddenly appearing inside the cryochamber.
A lone woman, the size of a flashlight, blue and gorgeous, stood over a small terminal. She stared at one of the cryopods, which Barry knew contained John 117. Cortana, an AI created by Dr. Halsey, was reaching the end of her life span. Two more years and she would have decayed into nothing more than invalid code and scrap metal. He moved forward silently, trying to keep her from waking John, which he was now making sure didn't.
"What? No. No. John. John, can you hear me? I can't get passed this firewall. I've been locked out of the system," Cortana said. "I've lost all access to…everything. John! John! JOHN!" Cortana screamed, falling to her knees as she cried.
"Cortana," The artificial intelligence span around at the sound of Barry's unfamiliar voice, anger in her eyes. "It's my fault you're locked out. I just don't want you to wake him up just yet," Barry said as he approached her terminal.
"W-Who are you? H-How are you breathing without a suit...or oxygen?" Cortana asked, slowly backing away from him with every word.
"I'm a boundless entity, not strung to the balances of the Multiverse. I am free to do as I wish, now without consequences or restriction," Barry said. "To answer your questions, I am Barry Allen, protector of Time, Space, and Infinitude. As for your second question, I inhale small amounts of antimatter, and exhale large amounts of positive matter,"
"Surely you would die from inhaling antimatter," Cortana said.
"Surely you have forgotten already, I am not of this universe, or even the Multiverse. The point is, I'm here to take you both back to civilization," Barry said.
"Why?" Cortana asked. "Why not come before?"
"Your universe was not a part of mine until just earlier today. Due to unforeseen consequences from before my time as a boundless entity, hundreds of new universes were added to my own, including this one," Barry said. "Two year from now, four years and total after the Forward Unto Dawn's departure, John would have awoken to an attack on the ship from rogue Covenant forces, led by the Forerunners,"
"Impossible, Forerunners are a myth, told to children as a fairy tale," Cortana mused.
"They were real, 162,537 years ago. After the Forerunners constructed the Halo rings, and stored away the last remnants of the Flood, many died out. Those who survived moved into an accessible pocket dimension, and others, like a Forerunner general known as the Didact, were put into cryosleep. He would awaken due to the ships proximity to his cryopod, and would launch an attack on the FUD, declaring war against humanity in the process,"
"What are we going to do?" Cortana asked.
"You won't do anything. I've already altered the ships course to crash into an asteroid in the next thirty days. Now, wake up John so we can get out of here," Barry said. Cortana nodded, tapping into the mainframe once again, before saying. "John, wake up. I need you," At once, the figure in armor shot up inside the pod, his helmet light shining through the glass.
John pried the lever, and pushed the pod open. He charged at Barry, who merely glided out of the way, before pulling out an odd looking assault rifle. The MA5D, a standard issue assault rifle made only for UNSC soldiers. John proceeded to fire, sending bullets flying at Barry, who merely stood still, the bullets simply flying through him and into one of the pods.
"John!" Cortana shouted, gathering the soldiers' attention. "He's a good guy!"
"Who are you? And...how are you breathing?" John asked, the MA5D still aimed at Barry's head. The scarlet speedster got annoyed. So, he grabbed Cortana's chip, and placed it in the chip slot he had placed in his suit the moment he had learned of Cortana's existence. He sighed, before tapping John's helmet.
"Wait...so you're from another...dimension?" John asked.
"No, technically you are, but we're all in one big happy Multiverse now...again. I'm just...well, there is no word for what I am," Barry said thoughtfully, his mind drifting slightly, before snapping back. "The point is, I'm here to take you back to civilization, where you'll find things have...changed,"
"What do you mean 'changed'?" John asked.
"I mean, hundreds of different universes have joined into one. Future timelines, past timelines, all merged into one heap of mess. New organizations, colonies in Andromeda, new people, new planets, superpowers!" Barry exclaimed. "And now, you must return home,"
"Wait, what about -" Before John could finish, he was suddenly whipped through space, landing in the middle of the UNSC Headquarters. Cortana spoke. "Am I not allowed to go with him?"
"No. There's something about you that is messing with my senses, keeping me from seeing the future, and manipulating reality. Perhaps it's an element, or presence, but I need to find out before people die. So, is it ok if I hold onto you for a bit?" asked Barry.
"I don't mind at all, but John won't be too happy," Cortana said.
"Oh, I know. That's why I sent him a duplicate. He gets his, I get mine," Barry said, before teleporting back out into open space. "Oh, and don't mind Gideon, she's my personal AI,"
"Oh, no mind. I don't bite," Cortana said.
"Neither do I," Gideon said, producing a laugh from Barry. "Where are we heading next Mr. Allen?"
"Earth. Time to visit some robots,"
