Be sure to read the Author Notes at the end, Big announcements are down there!


Aizawa gasped for air as he hung from the tree, scarf around his neck. He had just been completely dismantled by a villain faster than the eye could process, a villain who had brutalized the rest of his class right in front of him. While Aizawa's anger was palpable, he knew he couldn't avenge his students if he was dead.

"C'mon." choked Aizawa, straining his arm to reach into his pocket, "Just a little more!"

Aizawa slowly but surely reached into his pocket, grabbing the bladed jack he picked up earlier. Raising it to his neck, Aizawa hacked away at his own scarf. Just as he was beginning to turn blue, Aizawa cut the last of the scarf, allowing him to drop to the ground. He gasped for air, looking around at all the students. His eyes widened when he saw one particular group.

NO!

Aizawa rushed to Sero, Monoma, and Koda, all of whom were tied up and hung from a tree. Using the jack, Aizawa cut them all down. He quickly checked each and every one of the boy's heartbeats.

Don't you dare be dead!

Aizawa checked Sero's heartbeat, hearing the *BADUM!*. Relieved only for a second, Aizawa checked Monoma's heartbeat, again hearing the *BADUM!*. Nodding to himself, Aizawa moved onto Koda.

Nothing.

Aizawa's eyes widened as he put his hands on Koda's chest and started to perform CPR.

"Damnit Koda, not you!" shouted Aizawa, "Don't you dare die on me!"

Aizawa pounded on Koda's chest until he heard the most subtle gasp for breath from Koda's mouth. Koda remained unconscious, but Aizawa checked his heartbeat to see if anything changed.

*BADUM!*

Aizawa sighed in relief, taking a step back in order to glance over the rest of the children. He visibly cringed at the sight of the rest of his class. Most of them were unconscious, suffering broken limbs or open gashes. A few, such as Iida and Ojiro, were still conscious, suffering in silence as they clutched their mangled body parts.

Aizawa was filled with both unrestrained anger and an unerasable feeling of shame. He knew he would make this villain pay for what he had done, but for now he could only feel the weight of what the villain left behind.

Aizawa had failed to protect his students, and he knew this better than anyone.


Weather Wizard's body hit the ground face first as Barry and Midoriya floated to the ground, having broken their fall with Barry's vortex.

"That was close!" said Barry, "But at least another Rogue won't be a problem for the rest of the night."

"Yeah," said Midoriya, "But we can't waste any more time on these villains. We have to find Kacchan!"

Barry nodded, picking Midoriya up and speeding them both to the entrance of the test of courage path. The two glanced between both the paths entrance and exit.

"Kacchan took the path early on." said Midoriya, "It might be better if we start down the exit path first instead of the entrance."

Barry thought for a second, obviously, that would make the most sense if they were just trying to find Kacchan. But they weren't just trying to find Kacchan.

"That makes sense, but what about the others?" said Barry, "Tsuyu and Uraraka went in the were the latest to go in, they could be in trouble."

Midoriya looked worried, "Y-You're right, which path should we go on?"

Barry's eyes darted between the paths, trying to make a choice. He grimaced, realizing that the best choice was one that didn't involve picking just one path.

"I know you're going to hate this," said Barry, "but we should split up."

"What?!" said Midoriya, "But the plan! We made a plan!"

"If we go down one path together, we risk letting people on the other side hurt." said Barry, "I hate it too, but if we want to save everyone, we each have to go down a different path."

Midoriya looked Barry in the eyes, conflicted, "I….I'll go down the exit path, you go down the entrance path. When I find Kacchan and whoever else is with me, I'll make a beeline for the lodge. If you find anyone on the, take them there as well."

"Alright." said Barry.

Barry extended his hand, only to realize that Midoriya's arms were broken. Midoriya realized this, nodding instead. Barry put on a look of determination, nodding as well. The two then parted ways, each racing down a separate path.

Barry raced down the path, happy that he wasn't dodging trees or rocks.

Captain Cold is down and Weather Wizard is down. Mirror Master and Golden Glider are….gone. That leaves Trickster, Heatwave, and Jin. Weather Wizard did mention Trickster and Heatwave failing at something, so they must be caught too. That leaves Jin.

Barry's eyes narrowed as he increased his stride.

Can't let anyone else get hurt.

"AGH!"

Barry's eyes widen as he hears a scream from up ahead.

Not on my watch!


"Grr, get off me!" yelped Uraraka.

"Heh, I'm not done sucking out your blood!" said the villain.

A small girl pinned Uraraka to the ground, sucking blood out of her leg with a syringe.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Tsuyu, pinned to a tree by the hair with a boomerang.

"I know I'm supposed to be a villain." said Captain Boomerang, "But even I find this morbid. Can you please stop that Toga?"

"I'm just making friends!" said Toga, "Aren't you here to fight the Flash?"

"You want the Flash? HERE I AM!"

Barry blitzed through Toga, kneeing her in the face as he went by and breaking her mask right off her face. Moving forward, Barry grabbed Captain Boomerang before he could even realize what's going on, slamming his head into a tree.

"Ah, the hell?!" said Captain Boomerang, shaking his head before his eyes landed on Barry, "YOU! Are you the Flash?!"

"YEAH!" shouted Barry, "And I don't care what your name is, I just want you to stop hurting my friends!"

"Sounds good!" shouted Boomerang, pulling out another boomerang, "Cause the only person I really want to hurt is you!"

Captain Boomerang swung at Barry with the blade in hand, but Barry dodged under before hitting him in the stomach.

"GAH!" grunted Boomerang, "You little-"

Barry followed up the strike with an uppercut, watching as Boomerang's body slumped onto the ground, motionless.

Tsuyu and Uraraka looked at Barry in utter surprise.

"B-Barry?!" said Uraraka, "How'd you get here?!"

"I'm helping Midoriya look for Bakugou," said Barry, "We decided to find who we could in the forest and take them back to the lodge. Once everyone's safe we can wait out the villain attack."

Barry walked over to Tsuyu, pulling the boomerang out of her hair, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, a little cut up but fine." said Tsuyu, "Are you ok?"

"Me?" said Barry.

"Look at yourself!" said Tsuyu.

Barry took a look at his own body, realizing that it was severely damaged. There where lightning burns all over his body after the fight with Weather Wizard and those burns had reopened his other gashes from the fight with Captain Cold.

"It hurts," said Barry, "but I can push through."

"Uraraka?! Tsuyu?!"

Midoriya's voice can be heard as Shoji, carrying Midoriya, bursts through the bushes, closely followed by Todoroki.

"Midoriya!" said Barry, "You made it!"

"We sure did Barry!" said Midoriya, "Are Uraraka and Tsuyu ok?"

"Yeah, they're good." said Barry, "But did you find-"

"YOU THOUGHT CAPTAIN BOOMERANG WAS UNCONSCIOUS, BUT HE WAS JUST FAKING IT!"

Barry whirled around to find that not only was Boomerang conscious but that he had thrown a boomerang right at Barry. Barry's eyes widened as he moved his head out of the way, barely dodging the projectile as it moved in slow motion. His eyes followed the weapon in slow motion, watching as its path now led to Todoroki.

No!

Barry turned, trying to race after the projectile. Despite his speed, his injuries greatly hindered him, keeping him from speeding up.

C'mon, just a little faster!

Barry reached out his hand, his fingers just inches from the blade, but it was too late. The Boomerang embedded itself in Todoroki's shoulder. Todoroki cried out in pain, stumbling back while clutching his shoulder.

Barry's eyes widened, staring at his injured friend.

That villain.

Barry whirled around, his bloodied fists tightened. The villain was grinning, pulling out another boomerang.

He hurt my friend!

"BASTARD!" shouted Barry, screaming towards Captain Boomerang at light speed. Captain Boomerang didn't even have time to react before Barry was upon him, delivering a superpowered fist to the jaw. But Barry wasn't about to stop at one punch.

"Why are you doing this?!" shouted Barry, pummeling the villain with rapid-fire punches, "Why are you hurting my friends?!"

Captain Boomerang tried to answer, but Barry just kept punching him, blood now falling from his mouth.

"You know what? I don't give a damn!" shouted Barry, "I'm just sick and tired of lowlifes like you and the Rogues trying to kill me and my friends!"

"BARRY STOP!" shouted Midoriya, but Barry couldn't hear him.

Barry continued to beat Captain Boomerang, now knocking teeth out of his mouth, "Goddamn the League of Villains, Goddamn the Rogues, and GODDAMN YOU!"

"BARRY!"

Tsuyu's tongue wrapped itself around Barry's arm, stopping him from continuing the assault. Barry whirled around, an angry look in his face, only to be met with looks of fear from the rest of his classmates.

"Barry, don't!" said Midoriya, "You're gonna kill him!"

Barry looked back at Captain Boomerang, who was now unconscious for real. His head laid to the side, covered in blood and looking like it had just gone through a harvester. Splatters of blood were everywhere, as well as individual teeth. Barry looked at his hands, which were drenched in blood that wasn't his own.

"I-I didn't mean-" said Barry, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him this bad."

"We know Barry," said Shoji, "We know."

"It's just that," said Barry, "He hurt Todoroki. Every villain I've fought tonight has wanted to hurt me. I feel like I'm about to snap in half at this point."

Todoroki walked up to Barry, putting his hand on his shoulder, "My shoulder will heal, but you never will if you kill this villain."

Barry looked at Boomerang's brutalized form, "I won't kill him, I won't."

Standing up, Barry turned around, "I-I'm fine. Now we just have to find Bakugou."

"Kacchan?" said Midoriya, "But he's right behind us!"

Barry looked behind them, "I don't see him."

Midoriya glanced back, "What do you mean you don't see-"

Midoriya's eyes widened when he realized that Barry was right, Bakugou wasn't behind them.

"W-What?!" shouted Midoriya, "But I swear he was he-"

"The boy you're talking about," said a new voice, "I stole him using my magic!"

The students followed their ears, looking up into the trees to spot a man waltzing on one of the branches. He wore a dark orange shirt, its collar left upturned and a green striped bolo necktie with an oval-shaped azure brooch hanging around his neck.

"He's a guy who should seek a higher purpose than being a so-called hero!" said the man. Who leaped into the shadows.

"NO!" shouted Midoriya, "GIVE HIM BACK!"

*WOOSH!*

"Ah ah ah!"

Barry's heart sinks as he heard that horrible voice, one engraved in his mind since the mall. Turning around, Barry came face to face with Thawne. Thawne smirked in his costume, holding Midoriya by the head, both hands on his face.

"I wouldn't go after him." said Thawne, "Especially since I'm threatening to snap your friend's neck so hard his head pops right off his shoulders!"

"W-Who is this?!" said Uraraka.

"I don't know," said Thawne, "why don't you tell them Barry?"

"Barry?" said Todoroki, "You know this man?"

Barry didn't hear any of the words coming out of people's mouths. All he was focused on was Thawne.

No way. I won't let him hurt anyone!

Barry surged forward, crossing the distance between himself and Thawne instantly and cracking him across the jaw. Thawne, surprised, let go of Midoriya, stumbling back a few feet before nursing his mouth.

"Go after Bakugou!" shouted Barry, "I'll hold him off!"

"But Barry-" said Midoriya.

"GO!" shouted Barry, "TRUST ME!"

Midoriya looked like he wanted to stay, but with Bakugou's life on the line, he had to make a choice. Turning around, Midoriya yelled, "FOLLOW ME!" before racing off after the magic villain. The rest of the students followed, leaving Barry and Thawne alone on the path.

Thawne smirked, taking a step forward, "I've got to thank you, Barry. Getting those losers to leave us alone, it's a godsend. It was always just the two of us anyway."

"Shut up!" said Barry, "Just shut up and listen!"

Barry's outburst didn't seem to surprise Thawne, but he grinned, leaning back with arms crossed.

"I don't know what I did to you in the future." said Barry, "But I do know that right here, right now, you want to hurt my friends. But it isn't gonna happen."

Barry stepped forward, "I'll protect them and stop you because I'm the Flash, Fastest man alive!"

Thawne was silent for a moment, but only a moment.

"Heh," chuckled Thawne, bringing his hands up and starting to clap, "I enjoyed the declaration, though you're a little late on the protecting your friends angle."

Barry's heart sank even lower, "W-What?"

"I checked out the lodge Barry." said Thawne, "Found some interesting specimens."

Barry began to shake, "Y-You didn't."

"Iida's gonna have trouble keeping up with you now that he needs an engine replacement." said Thawne, "Well, more trouble anyway."

Barry looked down, his fists shaking, "No."

"Poor Kaminari was in a bit of a panic, so I gave him some electrotherapy." said Thawne, "Though, he might not do, well, anything ever again after that mess."

Barry's breathing began to quicken, he was hyperventilating now.

"Oh and Kirishima, poor Kirishima!" said Thawne, "He can't punch straight anymore, mostly cause his arms aren't straight."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" shouted Barry, "I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GONNA TEAR OFF YOUR GODDAMN LEGS!"

Thawne drew a wicked grin, "I wonder if you'll still bone Mina without her horns?"

That was the string that broke the camel's back.

Barry roared, racing towards Thawne while vibrating his fist, fully intent on punching Thawne's head off. Thawne could only smirk before effortlessly dodging out of the way.

"HAH!" laughed Thawne, "You actually thought you had any modicum of a chance?!"

Thawne grabbed Barry and raced down the path, dragging Barry through the dirt. Barry's head hit hundreds of bumps in the span of seconds as Thawne ran him over the whole dirt path. Thawne heaved Barry from side to side, forcing his body into the path of trees and boulders.

*CRACK!*

*THUD!*

*POP!*

Barry could feel his own ribs cracking as he hit each obstacle, helpless to retaliate against Thawne's overwhelming speed.

"Now for some more up close and personal damage!" shouted Thawne.

Propping Barry on his feet, Thawne begins to punch and kick Barry from every conceivable direction at light speed. Just as Barry starts to feel the effect of one strike, Thawne lays out five more. Barry can only watch as Thawne mangles his organs, breaks his arms, and punches out his teeth.

Barry drops to the ground in a ball, now utterly terrified of Thawne and trying to protect himself.

"Aw!" said Thawne, "Where's all that I'll stop you energy? C'mon! Run Barry Run!"

"W-Why?" groaned Barry.

"Huh? What was that?" said Thawne, leaning down, "I can't hear you?"

"W-Why do you hate me?" groaned Barry, a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Aw, he's crying." said Thawne, grabbing Barry by the head and dragging him to a standing position, "Well you pathetic piece of shit, how about I show you!"

Thawne gleefully shocks Barry with his lightning, watching as he screams in agony. Barry cries out in pain as he starts to black out.


They say that Villains, like heroes, are born. They're wrong. I wasn't born a villain. I WAS FORMED!


This chapter was great to write, I hope you guys like it! I'd also like to mention that tomorrow the special 750th issue of the official Flash comic releases! All the big writers like Geoff Johns, Micheal Moreci, Marv Wolfman, and Joshua Williamson (Current writer of the book) are contributing with art from so many legends including Scott Collins, Rafa Sandoval, Bryan Hitch, and Francis Manapul!

If you have a comics store nearby, GET IT! Happy Anniversary Flash, you mean more to me than you could ever know!

Now for the news:

1. I've been accepted as a writer at DC Next! They're a subbreddit that essentially publishes a shared DC Universe written entirely by fans! Go check it out! If my schedule is right, I should have my first issue out by the third week of March! It's a solo series on CYBORG!

2. This one is even bigger! Around early December, a reader by the name of BulletstormX asked if I was going to make a crossover between Lightning Strikes and RWBYVerse (My other Fic). I was skeptical about the idea, but I ended up coming up with some great ideas and an outline. I was going to wait on announcing this, but considering not one, but two people on my other fic asked (Red and DCDGojira), I just had to announce it now.

Allow me to announce LIGHTNING STRIKES THE RWBYVERSE!

This crossover will take place after I finish adapting Volume 2 of RWBY and Season 3 of MHA in their respective fics. It won't be canon to either (I want them to remain self contained) but it will still be a big high stakes adventure! It will also end with the reveal of a brand new fic I've been planning for forever!

So, there you have it, announcements over! Onto the reviews!

Reviews:

DCDGojira: My dad is a huge fan of Star Trek and says it's better than Star Wars (He's factually incorrect.) And it's funny that there's a manga adaptation of Rebels, I don't know why I just find that funny.

Thanks for the feedback as always! :)

Jose Ramiro: Welp, there's more Brutality where that came from!

Thanks for the feedback as always! :)

Mr. P: Don't worry my friend, it's not gonna be all doom and gloom. This arc and the next one are pretty harsh, but things will get better I promise.

Aztec 13: You'll have to see with the aftermath.

Deadcool14: Grodd will show up, I have plans for him. His origin will probably follow the comics. I'm still on Crisis of Earth X in terms of the CW shows, but I've been meaning to hop on Netflix and binge it all. Also, you don't have to apologize, you just asked a question! I love questions!

Thanks for the feedback!

K92018: I have two big places where time travel is planned. One is sooner than you think!

Thanks for the feedback!

Next Chapter: The Tragic Origin Of Eobard Thawne!