Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
"Lex…" Clark whispered, echoing what Oliver had said as they stared at him in shock.
Lex chuckled. "You still say it the same way: Astonishment, mixed with a hint of dread, yet with a hopeful finish."
"What are you doing here? How are you still alive?" Diana demanded.
"Let's just say you're not the only ones who had found a second chance at life." Lex gestured with his hand as he saw the heroes' hands glowing. "Two years in a coma and when I wake up, half of population, gone. I guess I overestimated your abilities, trying to beat Darkseid, considering that you beat me." He paced around them. "Like I once told you… I used to think it was our families that made us who we are. Then I hoped that it was our friends… but if you look at history, the great men and women in the world have always been defined by their enemies."
"You have a second chance too. You can change all that." Clark reasoned.
Lex smiled. "But that's the thing about memories. You can't forget them. Like how you were always one step ahead of me. No matter how meticulously I prepared, no matter how strategic I was, if only I had known I'd never stood a chance. And now you've finally embraced your destinies, just as I've finally embraced my own." He gestured as they couldn't help but be impressed by Lex's charisma. "You and I are meant to greatness, because of each other. We have a destiny together, only on different sides."
"And we'll always be there to stop you. Always." Oliver vowed.
Lex smirked. "Oh, I'm counting on it. Our story isn't over yet. And every villain is only as great as its hero." He then turned to them. "You see, it all relies on you saving us from the coming apocalypse." He gestured above.
"You know about Darkseid." Clark remembered Lex's files that Bruce had taken.
"You think I studied only the threats that were around on Earth?" Lex smirked as he neared them. "When you beat me two years ago, I realized… that only you have the power within you. You're the light."
"Why are you telling us this, Lex? We all know you wouldn't be helping us out of the goodness of your heart." Kara said.
"Because he's coming." Lex pointed above as they looked up to the sky and realized that Darkseid was on his way. "And if we want to stop him, we need to work together."
"Why would we ever trust you?" Oliver sneered.
"Because it's the only way." Doctor Fate said as he appeared out of nowhere. "This has been foretold. Lex Luthor shall play crucial part in the upcoming apocalypse. And to stop Darkseid, necessary evils must be accepted."
"What exactly do we need to do?" Barry asked as Lex raised his hand and a moment later, above it floated a metallic cube.
"The Mother Box…" Clark realized.
"With no power yet but I suspect you all wield a part of the Life Equation. All you need to do is pour it all into the Box and then we can undo what Darkseid had done." Lex said.
"How can we trust Lex after what he's done?" Kara asked as Lena was working on some calculations.
"You think I like this any more than you do?" Lena snorted. "Look, we may not have a choice, he may be insane but he's the only one smart enough on Earth to help us."
"You know he's going to stab us in the back, given the chance, do you?" Kara said.
"I do." Lena said guiltily. "And I'll be ready, when he does."
Kara nodded.
Iris entered the hall as Barry approached her. "I came here as soon as I got your message. What is it that you wanted to show me?"
"Iris…" Barry took a breath. "Look, before I… before I show you, I need you to be honest with me. When we were together and later married? Was there ever… time, when you missed Eddie? I mean, when you would rather be with him instead of me?" Iris was about to open her mouth, when he raised his hand. "I'm not gonna be angry, if you say 'yes', I just want a straight answer."
"I…" Iris hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe. Honestly, it feels like a lifetime ago but I can't say that there weren't sometimes moments, when I missed him."
"Let's be honest with ourselves, we never really loved each other but rather the idea of who we wanted the other one to be." Barry said. "I mean, be honest with yourself, you had been in love more with the Flash, rather than me."
Iris considered. "I thought about it a long time. And you're right. Maybe it just never was meant to be."
"Yeah." Barry nodded.
"What brought this on?" Iris asked.
"Hey, Iris." Iris stilled and her blood ran cold, recognizing the voice as Eddie showed up. "It's been a long time."
"It can't be…" Iris whispered.
While Harry and Brainy were working with Lex, reluctantly, on preparing the Mother Box, Laurel, Barbara and Henry were listening to what Oliver, Sara and their friends had been through and they found it hard to believe and process.
"Undoing your greatest regrets…" Laurel whispered.
"I know it sounds hard to believe." Oliver said as he took a breath. "Is there something you wish you had taken back?"
Laurel sighed. "Honestly… sometimes I wish things had been different between us." She held Oliver's hand. "I know. We're married. We have a daughter together…" She met his and Sara's eyes considering. "But if I had not been so focused on the idea of who I wanted you to be and instead accepted who you were, maybe things would be different." She smiled at Sara. "Maybe you wouldn't cheat on me."
Oliver nodded. "Sometimes I wish I had been honest with you… but in the end, it all turned out as good as it could and I'm done blaming myself for how our relationships had gone."
"Yeah." Sara said before they saw Henry leaning onto the railing, staring outside the window as they approached him. "You OK?"
"Honestly…" Henry took a breath. "I don't know what I'm feeling." He smiled at them. "Things like that make me remember that you're my family too." He then looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry I left you. I—"
"Hey, hey, none of that." Sara shook him as he met her eyes. "Take it from someone who's been there, dwelling on what could've been doesn't help, so don't blame yourself."
"It's not just that." Henry said, sighing deeply as he stared outside the window again as they could tell that he was reliving a painful memory. "The way you talk about your deepest regrets… it made me look back. Look back a long way. It's almost twenty years now."
"Mary?" Barbara asked, referring to Henry's deceased girlfriend and mother of his deceased daughter as he nodded.
"What?" Sara asked as he turned to her.
"We've never actually told you, have we?" Henry felt himself deflate. "When she died of cancer… it was one of the times, when I hit rock bottom. It didn't matter how much money I had made, it was too late for her. And on her deathbed, she…" He sighed. "She asked me to be a good father to Ashley. No matter what. But, back then, I knew that I would just put my family in danger, so I couldn't bring myself to say 'yes' and watch her die, because I knew I would let her down." He felt like if a heavy burden was being placed on him. "She died thinking I didn't want our daughter. That I wanted nothing to do with family."
2008, Gotham Cemetery
Rain was pouring down as Henry was kneeling in front of his daughter's grave as Barbara and Nicole approached him, holding an umbrella as they held his hand.
"Who's leaving the flowers here?" Henry asked as he was staring at the gravestone.
"I wish I knew." Nicole sighed. "But at least you know she has a lot of friends."
"Had." Henry corrected after a pause as his sister turned to him.
"This is about letting go, Henry." She said with pleading eyes. "I know it's been hell but… you need to accept that some things you can't fix."
"I'm not trying to fix anything." Henry snapped.
"I know that look in your eyes." Nicole pleaded. "You want to find the people, who did this. But if you do that, you'll put us all in danger again." She warned.
"I won't." Henry said. "Because I'd rather be dead than let anything happen to you. Any of you. You two and Riley are the most important things in my life. And I'll do anything to protect you."
"Hank, stop and listen to yourself." Barbara insisted. "You have to let it go."
"I can't!" Henry snapped. "I… I need to understand why. Why her and not me."
Barbara and Nicole then noticed the look in his eyes. It was the look of a man with a death wish…
"You're my brother and I love you." Nicole said gently. "But Riley is everything to me and I'd rather keep you away from my son in a heartbeat than allow him to get hurt because of you."
"Then I'd rather leave you to keep you safe rather than stay with you and allow you guys to be next." Henry snapped as he got up and walked away as Nicole looked at him sadly before a few gravestones away, Barbara ran to him and held him by his shoulder, causing for him to stop.
"Hank, wait. You can't blame yourself. Nicky doesn't blame you, either. But, please, just let it go. She and your nephew need you. Your family needs you." Barbara said.
Present, Hall of Justice
"I had let go of them long ago, so why is it that when I'm not there for my family, when they need me, they pay the price for it?" Henry asked.
"I wish I knew the answer." Barbara said. "Look, it may not be your fault… but it's your responsibility to make sure something like that doesn't happen again."
Henry sighed. "I don't know how am I supposed to hold onto that hope, after what we've been through, I mean, how do we even know this is gonna work?" He gestured to the lab again.
"It's the fact that we still live." Sara said, holding his hand. "As long as we live, we still have a future. As long as we have a future, we have hope. As long as we have hope… we can stand against anything. Ever. Otherwise, this has all been for nothing and I refuse to believe that this is the end."
"The fact that we're still here, after what we've been through, all that we've seen, proves it." Barbara added.
Henry smiled, more assured. "You're right. Of course you're right. We can't just give up. It's just that…" He took a breath. "Sometimes I wish I could just tell her 'yes'. Even though it wouldn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm done blaming myself for what happened to my family." He straightened as Sara and Barbara smiled, glad that after two years of despair, Henry had found at least small sliver of hope.
Barry was recalibrating his suit and taking care of the damage it had endured back in the Source Wall as Kara approached him. "What are you doing, Barry?"
"Making some recalibrations to the suit, considering that Cisco's not around." Barry said.
"Barry, this is gonna be big, considering that Darkseid is coming for us? Are you ready?" Kara asked.
"You first." Barry challenged as he sat down.
Kara took a breath and sighed. "Fair enough." She looked outside. "If this works… and if we win… I just hope there's still anything left to save. And everyone's relying on us to do that for them."
Barry looked up at her. "You're afraid you'll let them down?"
Kara stared at him. "Honestly… few weeks ago, I would've said 'yes'. But after what I've seen in the Source…"
"What happened to you?" Barry asked, curious.
Kara sat next to him, and neither of them noticed that they were holding hands as he saw the pain in her eyes. "I saw Alex die. Over… and over again and no matter what I did, there was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent it." She breathed out. "It was horrible. Then I realized I had to accept that I can't change what happened. That I needed to move on and find a way without her. But I don't know how I can do that."
Barry nodded. "I know. I had to learn the same lesson, when I realized what would happen, if I saved my parents." They looked up into the sky. "But they wouldn't want us to beat ourselves up over our mistakes, would they?"
"No." Kara chuckled softly. "But I wouldn't put it past Alex if she screamed at me for beating myself up and tried to talk some sense into me instead."
"Yeah, Dad and Joe would try to do the same thing to me for sure." Barry nodded.
"Do you think we can do this? What if we fail? How are we supposed to win?" Kara asked.
"You just gotta remember what you've lost and what you might still lose, if you fail again." Barry turned to her. "That's what always keeps me going and that's how I hold onto some hope that I can save everyone."
Barry and Kara stared at each other as they felt the tension grow between them. Neither one of them was sure who moved first but the next thing they knew, they were nearing their lips as Kara was slowly lifting Barry's shirt, while he was taking off her top and unclipping her bra as they laid down, dropping their clothes across the floor. It didn't take long and Kara had pinned Barry to bed as they were making out, naked, except for the sheets covering them both, while he gave into her, while gently touching her neck and running his hands down her arms and chest as she moaned. A moment later, they rolled over and were in passionate embrace, as they resumed making out, until they were exhausted as they fell asleep, with Kara resting her head on Barry's shoulder.
"No matter what… I'll always love you. You're my husband and I'm with you, no matter what, Barry." Kara said.
"I love you too, Kara." Barry said as they kissed again.
"You truly thought you were the one true savior?" Clark asked skeptically as Lex was at the computer.
"Why wouldn't I?" Lex smirked as he turned to Clark. "Only few people, like you or Bruce or even Oliver would match my wits. But I at least didn't lack the conviction to cross the lines you would never cross even in your darkest nightmares."
"Because it takes you to dark places, from which there may be no going back. The people who love us, they pulled us back from that edge." Clark sneered. "But true love is one thing you've always lacked, Lex."
Lex snorted. "Sentiment is a luxury not everyone can afford Clark. Give up this childish idea about hope. One day, they might become your undoing, just as it was two years ago."
"No. The world needs dreamers with hope to give it a soul." Clark said.
"And it needs realists, who see things in absolute to keep it alive." Lex said as he turned to the computer again and Clark sighed. Deep down he had hoped that even in the hardest of hearts of someone like Lex was light… but right now, as Lex said, sentiment was a luxury he couldn't afford.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Lex." Clark admitted, finally letting go of his guilt over their differences that had turned them into mortal enemies. Lex just stared at the reflection of himself and Clark in the monitor silently, no hint of emotion on his face as he continued working and Clark left him alone in the lab.
"I can't believe it." Iris sniffed, tears filling her eyes, when Eddie filled her in. "So… so, what you're some sort of an embodiment of the Speed Force like Barry's mother? Or is it really—"
"It's really me, Iris." Eddie smiled. "I mean, I'm part of the Speed Force too, but it is me."
"It was you…" Iris realized. "You're the one who forced Thawne out of me back in Atlantis." Eddie nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you let me know sooner?"
"Because I hadn't gotten enough strength to get a corporeal form." Eddie said. "It's something similar to Thawne, even though Barry destroyed his body, he found a way to reduce himself into a spectral form. They can't kill him because of his connection to the Negative Speed Force, he'll find a way to get back. But when I returned few years back, I found myself connected to the Speed Force too somehow but I had no body… so I kept watching over you. Now I have a body and I think I have a way to stop Thawne permanently."
"So… now you're like Barry?" Iris asked as she held him by his cheek.
"Not really." Eddie said. "I'm… not sure what I am. I guess it's complicated."
"I guess it always is with us, huh?" Iris smiled as old feelings started to resurface. They stared at each other before kissing.
Kara rushed to Alex as she and Lena knelt down, holding Alex's wound as Alex breathed out, paling from losing blood quickly. "Alex, hold on. Alex…"
"I'm not sure I'm gonna hold out for long, Kara…" Alex whispered.
"Just stay with us, OK?" Lena said.
"Kara…" Alex held Kara's hand gently as tears trickled down the cheeks of both girls. "It's alright…"
"I'm sorry…" Kara sobbed. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I failed you… I failed you, Alex…"
"You could never fail me…" Alex assured, smiling.
"I don't know how can I do this without you…" Kara sniffed.
"You can. Because you're the strongest woman I know." Alex said. "Not because of your powers, but because you're as much human as I am." She caressed Kara's cheek gently. "Don't blame yourself, OK? It's alright."
Kara nodded, accepting that there might be nothing she can do to save her sister. "I love you, Alex."
Alex smiled. "I love you too, Kara."
And with that, Alex tilted her head as Kara broke down, sobbing into Alex's chest.
Kara gasped as her eyes shot wide open, breathing out before she noticed that she was resting her head on Barry's chest, his hand entangled in her blonde hair across her bare back as she was snuggling towards him beneath the sheets. She took a breath, slowly pulling away but he began to stir as he slowly woke up due to her movements.
"Nightmares again?" Barry asked.
Kara sighed. "It's… I'm trying but… it's not gonna go away easily, is it?"
"Give it time. Some wounds can heal very slowly." Barry said, running is fingers across her back before they heard loud noises and cracking of energy.
"What's going on?" Kara asked as they shot up from the bed and gathered their clothes scattered on the floor before getting dressed.
The Mother Box was on a pedestal surrounded by an energy field as it was glowing with energy as Lex, Lena, Harry and Brainy put down their goggles.
"It's fully charged. Now one of us needs to smash it with their hands, then the energy should discharge and reverse the Anti-Life Equation's effects." Harry said. "Or that's what Monitor said."
"So, who's gonna use it?" Oliver asked.
"It can't be any ordinary human, the energy discharge could kill us." Lena said.
"That leaves Clark, Kara and Diana." Barry realized.
"I'll do it." Diana volunteered.
"Are you sure about this?" Laurel asked.
"I failed to stop Darkseid. It must be me." Diana said.
"So, if she smashes the box…" Oliver trailed off.
"…the Anti-Life Equation is gonna be negated and everyone is gonna be brought back. In theory." Harry said.
"Here goes nothing." Kara said.
"We should take cover. Now." Harry ordered as he typed in some commands, and energy shields and metal-plated shielding appeared around the room behind which they all took cover.
Diana used her hands and started to crush the Box as it cracked, discharging energy, burning her as she cried out in pain.
"Diana—" Clark started.
"I'm alright. I'm alright…" Diana breathed out before screaming as she put all her strength into crushing the box and with one mighty roar, a flash of light and burst of energy followed, blinding them all and as they recovered, Diana had dropped the box and fell on her knees with burns on her arms that started to heal slowly as everyone came out from their cover and rushed to her.
"Are you alright?" Barry asked.
"Hold still." Caitlin held Diana's arms, covering the burns with ice.
"Did it work?" Oliver asked.
No one answered before Sara took a look outside and heard the sounds of birds chirping. "I think it worked."
A moment later, Henry's phone went off as he picked it and saw the picture of his sister flashing. They all stared as Henry picked up his phone, answering the call, with tears filling his eyes as his voice broke. "Nicky?"
"Henry? Hank? Is everything alright? The last thing I remember was dust everywhere… what happened?"
"It's… it's complicated, I'll tell you once I get home, I promise, just—"
"Everything is gonna be fine, Mia. Go check in on Riley…"
"Look, I know that you and kids have a lot of questions, I'll explain everything to you and Dad, when I get back to Gotham, just sit tight, OK?" Henry promised as he hung up, breathing out and laughing. "It worked…"
They all felt victorious as cheers sounded across the hall but then it didn't last for long, since the next thing they knew, they heard echoes and suddenly, glass shattered, sending them all flying back as an explosion followed.
I planned this chapter to be longer but this felt like a good stopping point and the word count was big enough already.
The dialogue between Lex and the other heroes is inspired by Smallville finale with Clark's and Lex's final confrontation in the series.
Originally, I was going to write Iris off permanently in the series but I softened around her in Season 6, despite the crap she had pulled with not caring about Nora West-Allen (Barry's and Iris's daughter) working with Thawne, despite knowing what he had done, but first of all, the plot with Nora didn't happen in this series, and second of all, as I said, I softened around Iris in Season 6 and you can't tell you didn't feel bad for her, when she lost Eddie and when she got Eddie's birthday wish video from Barry. Let's face it, asides from the possible cheating on Eddie with Barry, Eddie was a fitting love interest for Iris.
Plus, prior to finding out about the news article from the future and that her name would be 'Iris West-Allen' and the fact that on Earth-2 they were both married, Iris didn't even consider being in relationship with Barry at all, so let's face it, Iris was more in love with the idea of being with Barry as the Flash, rather than being in love with Barry, which shows that the relationship doesn't work.
As for Lex helping them, let's just say he has his own agenda in mind.
Hope the Barry/Kara scene was fine.
I debated who would use the Box with the Equation, since considering their abilities, Clark, Kara and Diana seem like the only ones, who could survive. I didn't choose Kara, since it's annoying how the Arrowverse writers prop her up at the expense of nerfing Clark and while Clark would be a logical choice, it would make more sense if it was Diana, due to her previous failure to stop Darkseid and don't get me started on how infuriating it would be if they had done with her the same thing Russos did with Thor becoming Bro Thor in Avengers: Endgame.
And we're about to head to the finale, or to quote Dr. Strange, 'We're in the endgame now.' If you have more ideas about which villains I should add, here is your last chance.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.