So, considering that it has been a year since I finished The Darhk War series and it is an anniversary of posting 'Apocalypse Incoming', the final installment of the series, which is a day ahead of the very first story, 25th and 26th May, I decided to post an anniversary fic that takes place one year after 'Apocalypse Incoming', showing how everyone has been doing.
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.
Oliver, Tommy and Thea were crossing their weapons with Malcolm, while Laurel and Sara were exchanging blows with Lady Shiva. Clark was fighting Zod and Kara was fighting with Darkseid and Barry was engaged in a superspeed fight with Thawne, Zoom and Savitar before Oliver saw Darkseid firing Omega Beams at Bruce, Kara, Diana, Orion and Bekka, burning them all into ashes, much to Oliver's shock.
"No!" Oliver shouted, watching the massacre helplessly and horrified as his friends, allies and family were being slaughtered ruthlessly.
Lady Shiva twisted Sara's head, snapping her neck before Shiva drove her fingers through Laurel's chest and squeezed, stopping her heartbeat as both Lance sisters fell down, dead. Zod fired heat vision beams from his eyes and burning two holes through Clark's forehead before dropping his lifeless body on the ground. Barry fell on his knees, with Zoom driving his claws through Barry's leg, crippling him and then Thawne plunged his vibrating hand through Barry's chest and Zoom in a blink killed Cisco, Caitlin, Jesse, Ralph and Allegra, snapping their necks. Jade overpowered Roy and stabbed him in the throat with her claws as Roy gagged, coughing out blood before he slumped to the ground. Oliver turned to see Doomsday impale Slade, Henry and Barbara with his bone protrusions before Malcolm shot arrows into Tommy's and Thea's chests and knocked Oliver down on the ground.
As Oliver recovered, getting up on his feet, in front of him suddenly appeared graves of his friends and family, with the ground littered with rubble, ashes and skeletons, much to his horror, while Darkseid, with his eyes glowing red, slowly marched towards Oliver.
"You've lost. There was never any doubt in the outcome. I am… inevitable." Darkseid declared.
Oliver got up, seething with rage and hate as he glared in come defiance at the God of Evil. He was not going to give Darkseid the satisfaction of weeping over his loss and if he was going to die, it would be death with dignity and courage as he faced the merciless madman, whose eyes glowed red and Oliver prepared himself for his end.
Darkseid fired his Omega Beams and Oliver felt as if his body was on fire and he screamed in excruciating agony before the skin and flesh was being burned off, revealing skeleton that turned into ashes and dust an instant later.
Oliver opened his eyes, gasping, startled and panting out with cold sweat on his forehead, before he looked around, quickly realizing that he was back in his beach house, in bed with Laurel, who was snuggling towards him beneath the sheets, sleeping peacefully. Oliver carefully shifted away but Laurel stirred and moaned softly, waking up due to Oliver's movements as she weakly opened her eyes.
"You can't sleep?" Laurel asked as Oliver's haunted look answered her question. "What was it this time, Ollie?"
"Darkseid." Oliver said, sighing and she immediately felt an icy dagger stab through her heart as they immediately began to mourn for Barry and Kara again.
Laurel held his hand and placed it at Oliver's breast. "It's over, Ollie. It's been almost a year, Barry and Kara beat him." She said, while giving him an assuring look. "This life, it's not only about fighting the bad guys and making sure they can't hurt anyone, ever again. It's about fighting for people we love, so that we can see the dawn of the next day. Don't let the fear, pain, worry and loss cloud what you still have. Live in the moment and enjoy what you have, instead of dwelling in the past or fearing the future."
Oliver glanced towards the corridor, where their daughter Ashley was sleeping peacefully in the room adjacent to theirs. "You always know how to keep my head straight. I guess some people know how to shut out the hell they have been through." He turned to Laurel as both of them chuckled. "I love you both, you know that?"
"That's why you've got us, dummy." Laurel said as she rolled, placing herself on top of Oliver. "Maybe you need something else to take away your pain."
Oliver slowly ran his hands down Laurel's neck, shoulders and her breasts. "Maybe we should take it slowly, so that we won't wake her up." He said.
"What did you think I was gonna suggest?" Laurel smirked as they kissed fiercely, making out but trying not to get carried away before she pulled away, thinking. "It's a shame we can't get to Gotham for Barbara and her Dad's funeral, since we still need to arrange some things for Samantha."
"Didn't you say that we should live in the moment?" Oliver asked, while they kissed and rolled over, almost falling over the edge of the bed, while he tickled Laurel across her stomach and she giggled quietly. "Besides, we will see them at the reunion in a few days." He reminded as they kissed, while he ran his hands towards Laurel's breasts as she moaned softly.
In a hospital, a nurse was going through the records, when she noticed a file that piqued her interest. "Who are they?"
"Some unidentified Caucasian male and female were found few months ago when a star fell into a crater. A family found them, nude, covered in ashes and dirt but no severe injuries, surprisingly, and the injuries they had, healed within few days. No ID or match in any records, you know, since after the people who had vanished, started to return, the database was a mess. Complete amnesia, but their memories were comin back gradually and we got their first names at least. Barry and Kara." The doctor said.
"That's it?"
"We were gonna ask the police if they could help ID them but as soon as they remembered their names, the following day they disappeared." The doctor shrugged. "I guess they wanted to catch up on what had happened in the past two years. Who wouldn't want to? As long as they'll be OK."
Gotham City Cemetery
In the noon at the cemetery, the policemen in uniforms gathered in rows, while they were carrying a casket and on the podium was a portrait of Commissioner Jim Gordon decorated with flowers, with Captain Harvey Bullock approaching the mics as he cleared his throat, with Bruce, Selina, Alfred, Dick, Helena, Jason, Tim, Stephanie, Henry, Sara, Nicole, Ethan, Riley and Mia among the ones paying their last respects, alongside detectives Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, Jim Corrigan and Michael Lane, also known as the vigilante Azrael, among other guests attending the funeral.
"Jim Gordon was…" Bullock took a breath. "…my best friend. And one of the greatest men that Gotham City Police Department and the whole city had honor of having. He brought this department to new level and cleaned it mostly of corruption that had been feeding off it, alongside Batman. I ain't gonna lie, I didn't like the Bat at first, but he and Jim made the streets of our city safer than our department could, when most of us were in our diapers back in the day. And with Batman being among the victims of the Crisis, Gotham only got a lot worse and the vigilantes, that were still around, were barely able to protect our beloved city, alongside me and every decent cop that remained here.
Let's face it, some of us have never and will never approve of the masks, such as Batman or Robin but they have done a better job protecting Gotham than we ever could and Jim was one of their greatest supporters and allies and they even helped us, even the dirtiest of us, when we didn't want it or deserve it, which should say a lot about them and us. And without Jim around, the best we can do is respect his wishes. Batman and his allies may not carry the badge but they are as much paragons of law and justice as the members of GCPD are."
The atmosphere turned solemn briefly as they remembered how things had gotten worse when Batman had disappeared before Bullock turned his head. "And now I would like to invite someone most of us know. Please, welcome on stage Commissioner's daughter, Barbara Gordon, who has some words she would like to share."
Barbara got up on stage as she took Bullock's place at the mics. "Thank you, Harvey." She cleared her throat. "I think that Captain Bullock has summed up everything about my Dad as a cop. Most of us knew him as a great cop and some of us also knew him as a great person as well." She sniffed, barely able to keep her tears at bay. "He was… a good man. Just. Fair. Stubborn and loyal to a fault to the people he loves and he'd move Heaven and Hell to look out for me and to the people dearest to him."
She took a breath. "My Dad didn't have superspeed or bulletproof skin or cool gadgets but he was still my hero. He was honest, goodhearted. Someone, who would look out for the innocent of the city, with all the power he could as a man and as a cop. No matter how many times he'd be in over his head with the Joker, Penguin, Two-Face, any scumbag that Gotham has faced, he'd pull through, both with and without Batman's help. Even when…" She swallowed, suppressing the traumatic memory. "Even when the Joker came after us directly in our own home. Most of us think of heroes as the people wearing masks or the people in uniforms, who risk their lives every day to protect us."
Barbara turned to Bruce as she was about to finish her speech. "But a hero can be anyone. Even a man who would do something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended. So I'd like to thank Bruce Wayne for paying for my father's funeral. Since to him and to everyone without a mask, everyone gathered here, Jim Gordon was a hero."
The crowd applauded as Barbara stepped down from the stage, taking deep breaths as Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Sara, Henry and his family came to hug her, while she burst into tears.
"You did great, Babs." Dick said.
"It's gonna be alright." Bruce assured, soothing her. "Shhh."
"I just miss him so much…" Barbara sobbed, burying her face into Bruce's shoulder.
"Yeah. Your Dad was a stubborn bastard. The end of him wasn't even the energy of Anti-Life Equation but stupid cigars and cancer." Henry said.
"Just remember that you're not alone, alright?" Jason assured.
"Whatever you need, we're here for you, Barbara." Sara said.
Deciding to give Barbara and everyone else space and wanting some for himself, Henry walked down the rows of gravestones until he approached the ones of his deceased girlfriend and daughter as he knelt down, taking a deep breath and sighing heavily.
2008
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.
"No." Henry shook his head as he brushed her hand off. "Not… not like this. I… I can't. I need to understand why it had to happen. And that's why I have to leave, Babs."
"Henry…" Barbara stopped, not sure what else to say.
"I'm not the guy you should be around. And that's why I need you to leave me alone." Henry said.
"I won't." Barbara snapped. "No matter how hard you might try to push me away, I won't leave you."
"Why won't you give up on me? It's only going to get worse for you." Henry sighed.
"Because you and Nicky are not just my friends. You're my family. And you don't turn your back on your family. Even if they turn their backs on you." Barbara said.
"And that's why I need you to stay here and look after them." Henry ordered.
"You can't change what happened." Barbara reasoned.
Present
"Hey." Henry said as he placed his hand on the gravestone. "I hope the two of you are doing alright." He looked up into the sky, remembering. "It's been a long road from the dumb college kid trying to earn some money in fight clubs and getting himself dragged in by black market broker into world of spies, mercenaries, thieves and vigilantes. Never would've thought my life would go down this road twenty years ago." He turned his eyes towards the gravestones again. "Would I go back and change things? Make different choices? Try to earn money the right way? Stay with you? Grow old, raise a family? Maybe I wouldn't have made any difference for Ollie and anyone else. Maybe. But I've had to learn the hard way that dwelling on what could've been, trying to decide differently and change things for myself, it will only cause me more pain than losing you ever could."
Henry sighed heavily before finding his voice again. "It's a messed up world we live in. Where people are trying their best, but it's much easier for them to stray from their paths and do their worst. And God knows I've done my worst…" He looked down in shame. "So many times. Thawne and the Spear of Destiny. Shadowspire and the guy that killed my baby girl. Then losing Nicky, Dad and Riley… everytime I lost my family… it was easier for me to leave and embrace the rage and anger than stay and let the people that love me in.
But Ollie, Laurel, Sara, Barbara, Nicky… my friends and my family… they have never given up on me… even when they had countless of reasons to. They'd pull me back from that edge and make me realize that even when I wouldn't have you… I still have them. You're not my only family. Besides, my best friend just lost her father. I'm not gonna bail on the people I love and who love me, when we need each other the most. Never again." He ran his hand down the gravestones before turning to see Sara approach. "One day I'll see you again. But right now… I'm right where I need to be."
"You OK?" Sara asked as she noticed the pained look in his eyes. "Don't tell me that you're still blaming yourself for what happened to them, that your inner darkness—"
"No, no, no, nothing like that." Henry assured. "It's…" He took a breath as he got up to his feet. "If someone had told you years ago, before you went with Ollie on the Gambit that you'd become an assassin, a vigilante, a hero and all of this would happen to you…" He gestured around. "Would you have believed it?"
Sara laughed softly. "Yeah. I know what you mean."
"Why is it that good people like us, for us to earn the happy ending, we have to pay a heavy price, while for the bad people, it takes so little like bring upon everyone else pain and misery and painting their path with innocent blood?" Henry wondered as he looked up into the sky. "Sometimes I wonder what's the point of the fight and whether it's worth it. I mean, how can we believe in hope anymore, if the happiness we have may never last? We may have gotten our friends and families back… but for how long?"
He turned to Sara as he sighed. "I just wonder if people like us ever get what we want. And even if we do…" He looked around. "What's the point, if one day we lose what we've got, anyway? Maybe tomorrow, or in a year it'll be my family's funeral or yours. And this time, we don't get another chance."
"But we've got one right now." Sara pointed out as he turned to her. "Things aren't beautiful because they last forever. It's because it's a privilege that we get to be a part of it and protect it as long as we can. So that we can find hope in our lives and bring it in lives of everyone else. Without hope, we have no future. And if we have no future, then what's the point in everything?"
She took a breath as she looked around. "The fight's not about strength, skills, weapons or wits. It's about having heart and the right people at your side. We can't let ourselves be burdened by our past mistakes or fears of what may happen in the future. It's how we live in the present that defines who we are and who we can be and what awaits us. I understand that you're afraid but you can't let it all cloud what you still have. Me, Barbara, Ollie, Laurel, our families, we're still here. And together, we can face anything." She held his hand and placed her on his chest.
"How do you know that we can work through it, if something worse than Darkseid and Anti-Monitor show up?" Henry asked, still unconvinced.
"I don't." Sara said. "But what I do know is that I've given up on love, my friends and family and I paid a heavy price for it. I don't want to make that mistake ever again. Wherever we end up, we can work through it and overcome anything, if we face it together. I'd rather lose with the people I love than win and have no one. Whatever happens, as long as I have people I love and who love me back, my friends and my family, I'm not worried." She gave Henry a pointed look. "Are you?"
Henry was silent, seeming to consider her words.
"It's not about fighting for the ultimate victory. Maybe nothing we do really matters in the long run. It's not like there's any grand plan or big win for us." Sara pointed out. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Because that's all there is. We've all been through some seriously heavy crap." She took a breath. "And the fight should be about not letting anyone suffer the way we have. Especially after Thawne. After Lex. After Darkseid. If there's no bigger meaning, then even the smallest act of goodness can be the greatest thing in the universe."
Henry considered for a long minute before his lips curved into a half-smile as he met his lover's eyes. "You sound like if you had an epiphany."
"Two years without the people you love is enough time to think about a lot." Sara said and Henry winced, remembering when he had abandonded her.
"I'm sorry I left." Henry said.
"I understand why you did. If I had lost Laurel and my parents, I might've done the same thing and you and Ollie would come looking for me too." Sara said and Henry stared in contemplation before he noticed best friend, his father and sister and nephew with Mia entering the car as he turned to her with a smile.
"Family is everything." Henry said.
"Family is everything." Sara said as they kissed before she remembered. "Speaking of which, don't forget that we're seeing the rest of the family tomorrow." She said as they both laughed.
The following day, Central City
In the bar, where Oliver and Barry had gotten drinks after the Dominator Invasion, Harry looked around at the chairs placed in a circle, while Caitlin, Cisco and Wally approached.
"Are we late?" Caitlin asked.
"You guys are right on time." Harry said as they chuckled.
"Don't blame us, guarding Central City isn't easy, alongside managing S.T.A.R. Labs." Cisco snapped as they sat down at the chairs.
"So, I guess all we can do is… this." Caitlin said as they sat down, while she, Cisco and Harry picked some metallic disks designed by Cisco, Lena, Bruce, Harry, Rip, Ray and Gideon from their pockets and pressed them as they glowed and a few seconds later, at the chairs placed in circle formed holographic images of Oliver, Laurel, Sara, Henry, Barbara, Tommy, Roy, Thea, Bruce, Clark and Lena.
"Hey, guys." Oliver said as he looked around.
"Long time no see." Bruce said.
"I was worried I wouldn't make it but I guess I'm right on time." Tommy said.
"Where are you? How are things going?" Sara asked, turning to Oliver and Laurel, who both shrugged.
"Well, Samantha still has some… life readjustments to do, alongside others who have come back and Laurel and I are gonna help her and William out with it but after that, I'm thinking we should…" Oliver turned to Laurel as they held hands. "Go somewhere where we can have some peace. Seclusion. Just us and… family. It's a recent decision we came to and Samantha and William might come to visit but I think we should raise the kids somewhere silent and peaceful."
"Like Aruba?" Henry asked.
"Oh, if we tell you, someone else might find out but we'll make sure that even Bruce will have a hard time finding us." Laurel joked as everyone chuckled.
"We'll see about that." Bruce said with a smirk.
"Hey, as the Deputy Director of A.R.G.U.S., I have a lot of resources to find you." Henry cracked as they all laughed.
"Sorry we couldn't make it to your Dad's funeral." Oliver said, turning to Barbara.
"It's alright. I know you would've come if you could." Barbara assured, keeping it together.
"It was a good service." Henry said.
"How are you and Selina?" Laurel asked, turning to Bruce.
"Well, after looking after Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian, you'd think I have experience raising children." Bruce said as everyone chuckled. "But no one and nothing prepares us for the birth of a child."
"You'll get the hang of it." Oliver assured before turning to Tommy. "And how's the new Green Arrow doing?"
"Well…" Tommy turned to Thea and Roy. "We make a good time but sometimes the Outsiders call them too. But it's nothing I can't handle with Dinah, Rene and Rory."
"And Rachel?" Sara asked as Tommy took a breath.
"Frankly, we needed some time from each other. Considering what we've been through and how much crap has happened in the past few years, I guess we're both finding our ways again." Tommy said as they all nodded.
"And how are things in Central City, guys?" Oliver asked, turning to Team Flash.
"The usual." Caitlin shrugged.
"Metahumans." Wally added.
"Invaders from other Earths." Harry said.
"And National City and Metropolis are probably full off…" Bruce trailed off as they turned to Clark and Lena.
"…aliens or human extremists with hi-tech." Clark said.
"I guess everyone is doing all good, all things considered." Lena added and the atmosphere turned solemn briefly as they all mourned for Barry and Kara again.
"So… are we gonna make this tradition?" Thea asked as everyone nodded.
"It would be a shame to lose touch with each other. After what we've been through, like J'onn and I said at the memorial last year, while we still have many challenges ahead of us, if there's one thing we've learned, when we stand together, we can face anything head-on." Oliver said with certainty as everyone smiled and nodded.
"Hear, hear." Tommy said as they raised their bottles and toasted.
"I hope you're not wrong. To Barry and Kara." Cisco said.
"To Barry and Kara." Everyone toasted.
"And to everyone else who isn't here with us anymore." Bruce added and the atmosphere turned solemn briefly as they all mourned for the people they had lost before the holographic images fizzled out.
Later, Wayne Manor, Gotham City
Bruce returned to the manor and entered the dining room, where his wife Selina Kyle-Wayne was reading the newspapers before he approached and Alfred was pouring the tea.
"I expect the reunion has been fruitful, Master Wayne?" Alfred asked.
"It was…" Bruce reminisced. "Very well done."
"Tim wrote a letter. He's with Cassie on holiday and says 'Hello.'" Selina said, showing Bruce the postcard from the Alps in Europe.
"And how's our baby doing?" Bruce asked as he gently held Selina by her stomach.
"Well, he or she should be still healthy." Selina chuckled as she pulled Bruce in for a kiss.
Star City
Tommy, in the hood of the Green Arrow, and Wild Dog and Ragman were jumping from one rooftop to another as Ragman used his rags to throw them around and Wild Dog fired from his guns.
Tommy jumped down, exchanging blows with the crime boss and then knocking him down and notching an arrow. "You have failed this city!"
Starling National Bank
In the meantime, Oliver, Samantha and William were talking with Walter as they were sitting at his desk.
"Is it possible for Samantha to get the loan, Walter?" Oliver asked.
"I wish I could help you…" Walter looked at the ledger. "…but Miss Clayton has had no income over the last two years."
"How can someone have income, when they were turned into dust?" Samantha snapped angrily before Oliver gave her a pointed look as she calmed down.
"I think what Samantha is trying to say is that she's been gone, alongside billion other people for two years." Oliver said. "But I have a trust fund, I do have income as a shareholder of Wayne Industries and Palmer Tech and I think that—"
"Oliver, look, as much as I understand you're trying to help Samantha, she needs an independent source of income as an employee and with billions of other people popping up, I just can't put you in the front, as much as I'd like to help you. With everyone coming back from the dead and these new rules and policies around, there's really not much I can do. I'm sorry." Walter said with an apologetic look as Oliver and Samantha nodded in understanding as they sighed.
"It's alright. I guess I'm just gonna have to find another way." Samantha said before they heard gunshots and Walter was shot in the shoulder as he fell down, while a man in his early 40s with dark hair entered with a gun in his hand and everyone screamed and ducked in panic.
"Walter!" Oliver exclaimed, holding Walter's wound.
"Anyone as much as tries to play a hero, they'll taste the lead!" The man yelled crazily.
Gotham City
Henry and Sara were both laying their heads down on the pillow heavily and panting out, both of them wet with sweat, while they pulled the sheet to cover them both.
"Whoa…" Sara said in between heavy breaths. "When was the last time we were able to go that far?"
"I don't know. Two… maybe three years? Last time we were able to go that far was before Nicky and kids moved in." Henry said.
They both chuckled, remembering when Henry's sister had kicked Sara out of the bed in the middle of the night, when she had been naked and Sara also blushed mildly in embarrassment and also remembering the Crisis, where Darkseid had wiped out half the population, Henry's family included. While the sex before Henry left, had been great, it had been tainted by sadness, loss and grief, so they couldn't really enjoy themselves without worries or sorrows, until now.
"When are Nicky and the kids returning?" Sara asked.
"Sometime in the afternoon, so that leaves us with enough time to have some fun, if you want." Henry said as he turned to her.
"Yeah… just… hold on. I need to catch my breath." Sara said, still panting out in exhaustion and Henry chuckled, while tickling her in the shoulder as she turned to him. "What?"
"Nothing. I love you, you know that?" Henry said as they kissed.
"I love you too." Sara said. "I didn't think we could get this anymore after… everything. But…"
"…whatever happens, as long as we're together, we shouldn't give up on hope." Henry nodded, while running his fingers down Sara's back, brushing her hair.
"Yeah. The other day I was wondering if… Mia was here with us, instead of Nicky and Riley, you know? I mean, can you imagine you and me raising a child?" Sara asked and Henry raised his eyebrows before he neared his hand towards her stomach and she immediately pulled away, giggling. "No, no, no, no, no, I'm not pregnant! I just…" She took a breath. "Ollie and Laurel are raising a daughter and are expecting another one. You have experience with kids and Bruce had Dick, Jason, Tim and I just wonder… what do you think about us and kids?" She turned to Henry, who considered as he stared up at the ceiling.
"If it's gonna be a girl, I'd name her 'Mary.'" Henry said and Sara nodded, remembering his deceased girlfriend.
"And if it's gonna be a boy?" Sara asked.
"Well…" Henry considered before sighing. "Honestly, I'm not sure. There are so many names to think of that I'm completely blank. What about you? How would you name your son?"
"What about 'Peter'?" Sara asked and Henry raised his eyebrows.
"Like that guy who helped you and Ollie to get on Amazo?" Henry asked and Sara nodded, while he considered. "Well… it's a nice name. OK. So, our daughter should be 'Mary' and if it's gonna be a son, it will be 'Peter.'"
"Yeah." Sara said as she leaned onto Henry's shoulder as he stroke her hair before she turned to him. "Hey, are you thirsty?"
"Well… if we're gonna have kids… no alcohol. Soda will do." Henry said.
"OK. I'll be right back." Sara said as she got up from the bed as the blanket fell off her naked body, while Henry laid down.
Star City
Thea, Roy, Dick and Helena were in the bar with Lisa, Snart and Mick, catching up on what Team Arrow, the Legends and the Outsiders had been through before they saw on TV the news report about a hostage situation in the bank.
The police was making a perimeter around the bank as Quentin and Laurel approached Captain Pike and Dinah, who had created a perimeter outside the bank with the SWAT team ready to burst in.
"What's going on, Frank?" Quentin demanded.
"We got a hostage situation in the bank. Some crazed disgruntled employee came in with a gun. Oliver's apparently in there too." Pike explained.
"You think Ollie's trying to take the guy down?" Laurel asked.
"Well, according to the security footage, I'd say he has it under control." Dinah said as he approached the technician with a laptop, where on the screen was a security footage of Oliver and Samantha tending to injured Walter.
Starling National Bank
Samantha was holding Walter's wound on his shoulder as he was trembling and going pale from the blood loss.
"Keep pressure on the wound and breathe, OK?" Samantha ordered.
"Walter, you know that man?" Oliver asked as he glanced at the crazed man with the gun, while Walter nodded.
"Ben Lockwood. Used to be our employee. New management fired him before the Crisis and when everyone got dusted… his family got crushed under a crashing chopper and he lost it." Walter said, gasping in pain.
"Dad, I'm scared." William said.
"It's gonna be OK, just relax. I'll handle it." Oliver said.
"Wait, Oliver—" Samantha started as Oliver got up, sneaking stealthily past the desks and cubicles as she sighed. "Always gotta be the hero, do you?"
Samantha kept holding Walter's wound, when Lockwood approached her, aiming his gun at her. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded.
"Don't worry about them."
Lockwood turned around, aiming his gun at Oliver, who raised his hands in surrender.
"That's right. Just aim the gun at me. I'm right here. No one has to get hurt, OK?" Oliver said.
'Don't do this.' Samantha mouthed at Oliver, shaking her head behind Lockwood.
"Oliver Queen. Come in here to save the day? Got your bow and arrows hidden somewhere?" Lockwood asked with a scoff.
"No." Oliver shook his head. "Today, I'm just an ordinary guy, like you, like everyone in here… readjusting… and having a bad day. Not the worst one ever but close enough to it. You see, not long ago I had to bury two of my best friends. They sacrificed themselves so that everyone in the entire universe could live again. And enough of the people I love had to trade their lives for mine. And I've been trying… to move on. To make sure that their sacrifices haven't been for nothing.
Any other day, I'd notch at you an arrow and shout, 'You have failed this city!' But not today. Today, we're all just ordinary people trying to readjust to a new world." He looked around at the scared people hiding under the tables. "Pretending like nothing had changed and everything's normal but deep down, we know that things will never be normal again, at least not the kind of normal that we remember from years ago."
"Why are you telling me this?" Lockwood whispered, on verge of tears, with his voice breaking.
"Because I've been where you're at. I understand what you're going through. What it is like, to be so consumed with anger, guilt and grief that you wanna take it out on the whole world, since if you keep it bottled up, it will destroy you. You wanna punish the ones responsible for your pain but you can't." Oliver said with an understanding look as he neared Lockwood, with the barrel of the gun dangerously close to him. "I miss my parents and my friends every day. But I'm trying to be hopeful. I'm trying to be strong for them, even there are times I feel myself slipping. Ask yourself, Mr. Lockwood, wouldn't your family want the same for you? Think about them. What do you think they would want? Is it this?"
Lockwood's lips quivered as his hand with the gun trembled. Oliver slowly reached his hand out, about to take the gun, when suddenly, Lockwood glared and they struggled briefly and everyone screamed when a gunshot rang out.
Gotham City
Sara went downstairs and approached the fridge in the kitchen, grabbing the bottles of soda, when she suddenly heard the door open and the lights turned on and Sara quickly hid behind the counter, when she heard familiar voices and widened her eyes. They were supposed to return in the afternoon. She groaned, wondering how could she quickly sneak back upstairs into the bedroom, naked, with two bottles of soda, without being seen, since if Nicole, Mia and Riley saw her, well, the wrath of God would be a baby cry in comparison to Nicole exploding on Henry and Sara, in addition to possibly traumatizing the kids.
"Kids, get washed up and then into the beds, OK?" Nicole said.
"Mom, I'm thirsty. Can we get some drinks?" Riley said.
"Sure." Nicole said and Sara picked a pebble from the trash bin next to her and threw it at the windowsill of an opened window as it bounced off as they heard 'tap'.
"What was that?" Mia said as they turned to the window, while Sara quickly grabbed the bottles of soda from the counter and threw them down the floor as they slid, while Sara rolled towards the nearby chair, hiding behind it.
"Could be wind." Nicole shrugged before they turned to the counter and Riley scowled.
"Strange, I thought I saw bottles of soda there." Riley said before shrugging as he went to pick the drinks from the fridge.
Sara grabbed the drinks from the floor and threw them through the window and was about to sneak out, when she heard footsteps.
"Hey, kids, I'm gonna go hit the shower, be in bed in 30 minutes, OK?" Nicole said as she went down the corridor.
"OK, Nicky." Mia said.
Sara was hanging above, leaning her legs and arms against the wall for support and holding her breath, while Nicole walked past her, oblivious of Sara's dirty blonde hair hanging inches above Nicole's head. Sara let out a quiet exhale of relief, while she jumped down and silently landed on her feet but as she grabbed the bottles of soda, she heard footsteps, with Mia and Riley coming her way. Quietly groaning, Sara threw the bottles through the window and like an Olympic athlete she did a long jump across the corridor, while Nicole was in the bathroom, taking off her shirt and oblivious of Sara moving past her, since otherwise she would have spotted Sara in the mirror as Sara jumped out through the window like a pouncing cat.
Nicole heard a small grunt and turned around, puzzled. She peeked out through the window and scanned the garden with her eyes but nothing was there and Nicole eventually shrugged before closing the window.
Below the window, Sara clenched her teeth, muffling her moans of pain and suppressing it due to her League training. No matter how much she was trained to withstand the pain, landing on the ground in the bushes, butt naked, hurt like hell as she felt the dirt, leaves and prickling timber all over her exposed skin, shivering from the cold air.
Star City
Laurel, Ashley, Quentin, Dinah, Roy and Thea were rushing towards the ambulance, where were Oliver, with a bandage around his arm and Samantha and William, while Walter was on a stretcher with an oxygen mask on his face.
"Thank God." Laurel whispered in relief, hugging Oliver tightly.
"Are you alright, Dad?" Ashley asked.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry, it'll take more than a bullet to take me down. I've had to endure worse over the years." Oliver assured.
"Well, I guess Oliver Queen is as much of a hero as the Green Arrow." Quentin said.
"After taking on thugs, assassins, mercenaries, aliens and immortal warlords, who would've thought that you get taken down by a crazy man with a gun?" Samantha joked as everyone laughed.
"Kinda like when Kara had to take on a guy with a gun without her powers." Laurel remembered as everyone reminisced about their lost friends with a smile.
"I'm sure your parents would be proud of you, Oliver." Walter said as they all chuckled.
Gotham City
Henry had heard and recognized the voices, paling, since if Nicole and the kids saw Sara naked by accident, he was sure that they would already be in for it but he looked puzzled, wondering what was going on before he heard tapping and turned to the balcony window to see naked Sara with the bottles of soda in her hand but also wet hair and skin. Henry opened the window as Sara climbed in, clattering her teeth and shivering.
"Thank you." Sara said as she placed the bottles on the night desk.
"What took you so long and why are you wet? Did Nicky kick you out naked again?" Henry asked.
"Not exactly." Sara giggled. "Nicky and the kids came back unexpectedly earlier than expected and I had to hide and sneak out through the window, since if they'd seen my boobs…"
"…Nicky would be yelling at us and she'd kill us both by now, yeah, got it." Henry finished, nodding as both of them chuckled.
"Also had to use the hose in the garden for a shower." Sara said as she shuddered from the cold. "I was lucky I have training from Nanda Parbat. Kinda reminds me when I had to sneak out through the window after having one-night stands or sneaking out of Nyssa's quarters in Nanda Parbat." She joked, giggling as Henry shook his head, chuckling. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just… it's kind of sexy, when your girlfriend climbs through your window in the nude and brings you a drink." Henry joked.
Sara blushed as she pounded him on the shoulder. "You're a jerk."
Henry chuckled as they laid down and kissed.
"Have I told you how great you are?" Sara smirked.
"Have I told you how amazing you are?" Henry said as they sat down on the bed and opened their bottles, clinking them before drinking. "So, if we're gonna have kids, I think we should make it official." He reached inside the drawer, looking for something.
"You have prepared wedding rings?" Sara asked, laughing.
"No. Not this time. I had them just in case last time and it was bad timing anyway, this is… I guess we should make these our wedding vows." Henry said, pulling out stick notes. "When Mary was leaving to Europe for a year, I was worried she might forget about me, so she grabbed a pile of post-it stick notes and each of us wrote down on them our promises to each other, so that we'd never, ever forget each other, until she came back to Gotham." He picked a pen, thinking briefly before writing down something.
"'I, Henry Fyff, hereby promise that I'm going to love Sara Lance unconditionally, through thick and thin, no matter what.'" He looked into her eyes, with a flicker of pain, loss and regret in his eyes. "'And when I'm going through so unimaginable pain that it would rip my heart out of my chest, I'm not gonna run to cope with it. I'm gonna let the woman I love be my anchor, so that we can carry my burden… our burden… together. Like a family.'"
Sara smiled as she grabbed a stick note and the pen and started writing. "'I, Sara Lance, hereby promise that I'll love Henry Fyff with all my heart… and no matter what happens, I'm never gonna turn my back on him. No matter how much we might hate or disagree with each other. Whatever happens, I'm not gonna let him go or forget him. And I'm gonna love his family as if they were mine.'"
"'And we won't let age, death or even the godly beings of the universe tear us apart and we'll be there for each other… our friends and our family. Both in life…'" Henry started.
"'…and in death. No matter what.'" Sara finished.
"Not bad for wedding vows, is it?" Henry asked, smiling.
"So, what do you think? City, suburbs, countryside or a beach house?" Sara asked.
"Uh… I think that…" Henry trailed off before shrugging. "We've got enough time. We'll see."
Elsewhere
In the mountains at the borders of the U.S., it was late at night, when in the lodge in the bedroom a young brown-haired man, who had grown a short beard, was in bed with a blonde woman, both of them entangled in blanket, snuggling towards each other as the young man whispered lowly and panted out and sweated, shaking around.
"Mom… no… Thawne… Eddie… no…"
Barry waited until he heard Thawne leaving and then he went out to see his father unconscious and mother dying on the floor as he neared her. "Hey, hey. It's OK, it's OK. You're OK."
"Please. My husband, my son, are they—"
"They're OK. They're both safe. I promise." Barry assured her.
"Who are you?" Nora asked, looking into Barry's eyes, noticing something familiar about them.
"I'm…" Barry was on verge of tears. "I'm the Flash."
"I don't understand." Nora shook her head, confused before Barry took off his mask as she looked at his face. "You look just like my father."
Barry sobbed. "This won't make any sense… but it's me, Mom."
Nora looked completely confused. "What?"
"It's Barry." Barry said.
"Barry?" Nora looked disbelieved.
"Your Barry." Barry nodded.
"My beautiful boy." Nora sobbed, caressing his cheeks, while Barry sobbed.
Thawne slammed Barry to the wall, pinning him as he was about to phase his hand through him. "Just so we're clear, after I kill you, I'm going to kill them." He pointed at Barry's friends. "And then I'm going to kill your father. I always win, Flash."
Thawne was about to finish Barry off before a gunshot rang out, with Thawne staggering back as Eddie shot himself in the chest.
"It's fitting, isn't it, Barry?" Thawne said upon entering as Barry glared, while trapped in some energy ball cell. "I gave you your speed, now I'll take it back."
"I swear to God, when I get out, I'm going to end you. This time for good." Barry sneered.
"No. This time, I'll make sure you'll die, knowing that you're going to lose everyone and everything you love. But still, you have my respect, Barry." Thawne smiled. "I hope everyone is going to remember you." He turned on the screen and saw Conner and Kara in their cells, with Kara groaning and on the floor, trembling, getting weaker from the red sun radiation as Barry stared in despair, seeing his wife in pain as Thawne laughed. "How many times I've wanted to see you suffer…"
"I can't wait to slit your throat. When I do, when I get out, believe me, I will get out." Thawne taunted, while locked up in the Pipeline before he turned to Cisco and then Barry. "I'm going to kill you. And then I'm going to kill your family and then I'm going to kill your friends. I'm gonna kill all your friends."
Barry and Thawne exchanged blows in superspeed until Barry threw Thawne, sending him crashing towards some rubble as Barry vibrated his hand, pinning Thawne, who laughed maniacally as Barry was about to plunge his hand into Thawne.
"Come on, Barry, even if you would kill me, I'll always find a way to come back." Thawne gloated. "Come on, kill me!"
Barry's eyes snapped open as he panted out, while Kara snuggled towards him beneath the bedsheets. Barry gently kissed her on her forehead as he pulled away, while Kara moaned softly and stirred but didn't wake up as Barry put on his pants. He went out, putting his clothes on as he stared at the sunrise, smiling.
Roy, in his Arsenal suit, Dick in his Nightwing armor and Helena in her Huntress costume were on the plane, preparing the parachutes.
"So, are you ready, Outsiders?" Roy quipped.
"Last one down is a wimp!" Dick said as they all jumped out from the plane, with Artemis, Kid Flash and Lisa waiting on the ground with their gear ready.
A.R.G.U.S. Detention Black Site
"I'm glad you and your family are alright, kid. Don't make the same mistake I've done. Do right by them. Take care, Oliver." Slade said before hanging up as he walked down the corridor, nodding at the posted guard, who nodded back as he let Slade pass. He walked further past the cell of Lex Luthor, who had half of his body burned as Lex glared, seething.
When Slade stopped, in front of him was a glass wall with metallic frames and faint electric buzzing coming out from it, with the electricity pulsing through the glass and at one wall was a shelf filled of books, when the lights turned on, revealing a prisoner in the cell, sitting on the bed and staring down.
"Hey, kid." Slade called as the prisoner growled, not looking up. "Joe."
Joe Wilson, who had been going by the name of 'Kane Wolfman', raised his head as he got up to his feet, seething and glaring at Slade as Joe neared the glass, with a robotic hand in the stump in his left arm, after Slade had cut his hand off.
"Don't call me that. That's not my name anymore." Joe sneered.
Slade sighed, eying his son sadly, since today's visit was no different from any other one in the past couple of years. Slade had accepted the job in A.R.G.U.S. of training their operatives and leading the Suicide Squad or going on more dangerous black ops undercover missions under the condition that they would be able to contain his son and allow Slade to visit.
"I finally found him." Slade said as Joe raised his brows. "Grant. Your brother. Wasn't easy to track him and your mother down. He's starting high school now."
Joe smirked. "So, you finally know I was lying. What happens now?"
"Like I told you the last time you ended up here, we have all the time in the world now, kid. You're my son and I love you… and I'm not going to give up on that one day, you will come to your senses and see reason." Slade said.
Joe just scoffed, turning his back on Slade, who sighed before he took a breath and walked away as the guard accompanied him out. It was time to train the new recruits to the Suicide Squad and debriefing anyway.
Smallville, Kansas
Lois and Lena were on stage in Talon as they sang karaoke version of 'I Love Rock N' Roll!' and Clark, Winn, Nia, Brainy, J'onn and James laughed in amusement as Lois and Lena danced, pointing around.
"Singing, I love rock and roll!
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby!
I love rock and roll!
So come and take your time and dance with me, ow!
He said, 'Can I take you home
Where we can be alone?'
Next we're moving on, he was with me, yeah me
And we'll be moving on and singing that same old song, yeah with me!
Singing, I love rock and roll!
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby!
I love rock and roll!
So come and take your time and dance with me!
I love rock and roll!
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby!
I love rock and roll!
So come and take your time and dance with me!"
They finished singing as the crowd applauded and Lois and Lena sat down and drank with the others.
"We should do this more often." Lena said.
"Didn't think you had such pipes." Winn noted.
"So, would you guys want something else for drink?" Lana asked, picking the glasses on the table.
"No. Maybe you could join us for dinner later back in the farm. It'll be just like old times, Lana." Clark offered.
"Maybe." Lana said as they all smiled. Even though the wound from losing Barry and Kara was still open, at times like these, it was easy to ignore it.
Elsewhere
Barry didn't think he would see the sunrise ever again, when the door behind him opened, as Kara came out, wrapping the sheet around to cover her naked body as they kissed.
"Why are you up so early?" Kara asked as she pulled away before she noticed the haunted look in Barry's eyes. "What were you dreaming about this time?"
"Everything." Barry said. "It just feels that… no matter what I do… no matter what we do… no happiness lasts forever."
Kara nodded as they both sat down on the rock at the edge of the cliff.
"Clark once told me that he was visited by Brainiac 5… a different version of Brainy… from the future, when he was visiting the high school reunion back in Smallville." Kara said. "He had shown him his past, present and future. How his own darkness was defining him. His guilt and failures over not being able to save Jonathan… Davis… But the thing is… we all make our choices. I'd blamed myself for a long time for Alex… but dwelling on what-ifs doesn't help. What is it that Oliver says?"
"You have to forgive yourself." Barry cited.
"Or as Henry and Nicole would say, 'You have to let it go.'" Kara nodded as she took a breath. "I'm not blaming myself anymore. And I think I am ready to face J'onn, Lena, Winn, Nia and everyone else. What about you?" She turned to him as Barry considered.
"Maybe it's time to go home." Barry said as he turned to her. "Do you think they'll be happy?"
"There's only one way to find out." Kara said.
Later, Central City
Cisco, Caitlin, Harry, Jesse, Ralph, Allegra, Winn, Lena, J'onn, James, Kelly and Nia drank in a nearby bar, when they froze in disbelief to see a familiar brown-haired young man and a blonde woman approach.
They got up as Cisco and Winn gently poked Barry and Kara to be sure before they all laughed, on verge of tears as they hugged their friends, glad to be reunited with them and laughing.
Hall of Justice
The heroes and their friends and families were celebrating Barry's and Kara's return as Barry and Kara were mainly catching up with Oliver, Team Flash, Super-Friends and Bruce.
Florida
"Yeah, that's gonna be great, kids!" Samantha said as she was building a sandcastle with William and Ashley at the beach, while Oliver and Laurel were tanning as they kissed, with Oliver holding Laurel's pregnant belly, expecting their second child now.
"We should reinforce the castle, guys." Oliver quipped as he joined in building the sandcastle.
"Hey, kids, do you wanna go rafting later? I think we could rent one." Laurel suggested as she pointed at the rafts docked at the shore.
"Yay!" Ashley cheered.
"I think it's a good idea." Samantha said.
Later
"Hope you and your families will be alright, Ollie." Barry said as he and Kara said their farewells to Oliver and Laurel over the holocommunicator.
"You too. Take care, Barry." Oliver said as Laurel sent them a kiss before they hung up.
Barry and Kara walked down the grass as they looked up into the stars.
"Things are as they should be, aren't they?" Kara said.
"Even though some people aren't around anymore…" Barry looked saddened, remembering Joe and Alex.
"At least we can look out for everyone. No matter what happens, we can make it through thick and thin as long as we're together." Kara said as they looked at each other, holding hands. "I love you, Barry."
"I love you, Kara." Barry said as they stared at each other, with the attraction buildunf up.
They kissed as he was about to take off her top, before she pulled away.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Maybe we should take this elsewhere." Kara said.
"Where exactly did you have in mind?" Barry inquired.
Grand Canyon
Barry and Kara sped off to one of the mountain peaks as they laid down and kissed and smiled at each other. Kara took off Barry's jacket and shirt, while he lifted her top and unclipped her bra, tossing it away as both of them breathed out softly and kissed before rolling over and the lightning started to crack in the sky and pulsing through Barry and then the tremors started to shake the mountain range, causing an avalanche as the piles of rocks started falling.
Florida
Oliver, Laurel, Samantha, William and Ashley looked up into the sky, seeing lightning of Speed Force roaring in the distance.
"You guys are seeing this, right?" Samantha asked.
"Do you think it's Barry?" Laurel wondered.
"Yeah, probably, but why would…" Oliver trailed off as he, Laurel and Samantha shared puzzled looks and then their eyes widened in realization and Oliver and Laurel shuddered uncomfortably at the mental image and Samantha groaned, holding her head.
"What is—" Ashley started.
"Uh, you probably don't wanna know, kids, let's go back inside and play!" Samantha said quickly as she dragged the kids back into the house.
After few seconds of staring, Oliver and Laurel chuckled and snickered, shaking their heads in amusement as they clinked their glasses. Well, if Barry and Kara were happy, they were happy. There was no point in poking deeper in it.
Gotham City
In the morning, Nicole was making breakfast and frying eggs and bacon, with Henry drinking coffee at the table and reading newspapers, while Sara came into the dining room in her bathrobe and the towel wrapped around her head as she sat down, grinning.
"You look a little sore. Rough night?" Nicole asked, turning to Sara, who blushed mildly before turning to Henry, who smiled awkwardly, which didn't go unnoticed by Nicole. "What happened? Are you OK?"
"I'm good. Really. Don't worry." Sara said casually though Nicole narrowed her eyes, skeptical. Ultimately, she decided to let go of the issue… for now, when Barbara came to visit as they turned to her.
"Hey, Babs." Henry said.
"Hey, guys, have you noticed the storm outside?" Barbara asked.
"What storm?" Nicole asked, confused.
A moment later, Henry's phone rang as he answered the call. "Hey, Dad."
"Turn on the news." Ethan said.
Henry picked the remote and turned on the TV as they watched the news report.
"An unnatural storm is currently occuring at Grand Canyon, where dents are being formed and no aerial surveillance is recommended due to unpredictability of the storm and satellite imaging cannot get a clear picture due to the interference of the energy spikes coming from the storm. Authorities can only speculate that two powerful metahumans are fighting and…"
"Oh, my God. That's horrible." Nicole said.
Henry, Barbara and Mia narrowed their eyes, though as they looked at the news report. This reminded them of something that Alex, J'onn and Winn had mentioned few times before, when Henry suddenly snickered like a teenager, shaking his head and Barbara and Mia giggled, blushing as they covered her mouths.
"Oh, my…" Barbara swallowed.
"Jesus, those two…" Mia banged the table, on verge of tears from trying to contain her laughter.
"What?" Sara asked as the rest turned to them.
"I think I know what that is." Henry said, snickering and remembering how he, Laurel, Barbara, Mia, Winn, James, Alex, Ralph, Cisco and Caitlin once had a crack at Barry and Kara having wild sex, when he turned to his best friend and surrogate daughter. "You remember?"
Barbara and Mia nodded, trying to contain their laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" Riley asked as he, Nicole and Sara turned to them in confusion, when suddenly, it hit Sara as she blushed and almost fell off her chair, holding herself by her stomach and giggling.
"OK, seriously, guys, what's so funny?" Nicole asked, completely confused.
"Are you sure you want to know, Nicky? Once we tell you, there's no undoing it." Mia said, glancing towards the door and measuring the distance in case Nicole would explode again.
"…the silhouettes bear resemblance to a male and female but we have no way of further identification due to the energy interference and possible danger of the storm…"
Suddenly, it hit Nicole and Riley as Nicole immediately groaned and got up, grabbing herself by her head as she paced away, muttering under her breath and trying to purge the mental image out of her mind. "Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God…"
"Well, wow." Was all Riley said, just staring.
"I knew they could go really rough but this is next level." Mia said, giggling.
The laughter continued for a few minutes before the awkwardness disappeared from the air.
"If they're causing an earthquake, at least it's not shaking the whole town." Henry said as he turned to Sara. "Are you sure that you still wanna have kids?"
"Ah, I think we'll get used to this." Sara shrugged as she waved her hand and they smiled and kissed again, while Barbara shook her head and Mia and Riley gagged.
"Ew!" Riley groaned.
"Oh, come on, can't you guys get a room?" Barbara asked, refraining herself from rolling her eyes.
"Or maybe we should kick Sara out, when she's butt naked again." Mia cracked and Sara and Henry immediately shot her looks as Mia raised her hands. "Jeez, I was just kidding. I'm not Nicole."
Henry and Sara gave each other awkward looks as they blushed and laughed nervously, but relaxed, since the rest seemed to be oblivious of what actually happened last night, much to their relief.
Batcave, Wayne Manor
"There shouldn't be any storm in the U.S. at all. It looks like Speed Force but why…" Bruce scowled as he examined the readings and as the satellite footage zoomed in, he immediately turned off the screen and cleared his throat, using his training to purge what he had seen, out of his mind as he and Selina chuckled, shaking their heads in amusement and Alfred just cleared his throat.
"Oh, those two kids…" Selina giggled.
A.R.G.U.S.
Lyla slammed her laptop shut, mind-blown and looking completely freaked out. "Wow. Right now I'm glad Johnny isn't around anymore to see this. He'd probably freak out and faint." She shuddered from vividly imagining what the satellite imaging just showed her.
Rick Flag just chuckled, while Black Siren smiled at Steve Trevor. "That's why I'm glad I wear a power-dampening collar during sex."
S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City
Cisco, Caitlin, Jesse, Wally, Ralph and Allegra snickered, their momentary amusement trumping their uncomfortable feelings and Harry just shook his head and rolled his eyes as they saw the footage from the satellite thermal imaging over the Grand Canyon.
"Well, now we know what does it look like." Cisco quipped.
"I can't wait to see Iris's face, when she sees this." Ralph snickered and everyone, save for Harry, burst out laughing, banging the desk, blushing hard at imagining Iris's reaction to Barry and Kara having supersex.
"She'd completely lose it and start screaming and whining so loudly that she would break the multiversal barrier and the whole multiverse would find out how pathetic she is." Harry quipped with a chuckle and their laughter increased.
"I wouldn't want to be with her in one room right now." Wally said.
"I wonder how long is she gonna be pining over Barry if she loses it." Allegra said and suddenly, S.T.A.R. Labs fell into so deathly silence that the phrase 'You could hear a pin drop.' came to mind.
The grave silence lasted for an entire minute, when suddenly, Cisco, Ralph and Wally burst into hysterical laughter and almost fell off their seats and Caitlin, who barely managed to stay in her seat, Jesse and Allegra blushed hard, stifling their giggles as their eyes were getting wet from suppressing their laughter, while Harry chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
"Oh, my God, can you imagine? I'm not sure anyone would survive, if they were in the same room with her, once she lost it!" Jesse said in between giggles.
"If she starts screaming, I'm betting she's gonna be losing it for fifteen minutes nonstop!" Cisco cracked.
"How about an entire hour?" Ralph cracked and they all, even Harry, lost it at that point as they laughed hysterically at the mental image and the laughter echoed throughout the whole S.T.A.R. Labs as they banged the desk again and Cisco and Ralph fell down on the floor.
"If she does, I hope someone records it!" Caitlin said, while giggling.
"I will! It'll be the perfect sibling blackmail material!" Wally volunteered, snickering.
"We'll have to send it to Oliver, Laurel and everyone else—" Allegra started.
"I think we won't have to, if she starts screaming so loud! The whole world will know how pathetic she is!" Jesse quipped and they all lost it again.
"The entire multiverse will hear her screaming!" Harry cracked and their hysterical laughter got much louder than earlier as they all held themselves by their chests.
"We'll show her the footage of what Barry and Kara were doing, then we'll record her!" Cisco joked.
"I can't wait to see her face when she finds out about this and we show this to her!" Ralph said, banging the desk.
"'AAAAAGGGGH! WHY, BARRY?! WHY WITH HER AND NOT WITH ME?!'" Allegra screamed, doing an impression of Iris, stretching her arms around crazily and they were all almost rolling on the floor at that point, blushing and on verge of tears from how hard they were laughing, now to the border of the Joker's maniacal laughter, if S.T.A.R. Labs was Arkham Asylum.
Saints & Sinners bar
"So, Red and the cheerleader are really going wild, are they? Well, awesome." Mick said, laughing, while Snart and Lisa snickered, while drinking their beers, amused that Barry and Kara would mess around like that, while the rest of the customers in the bar watched intrigued at the news report about the storm over Grand Canyon on TV, oblivious of what was actually going on.
District Attorney's office
Cecile groaned as she switched the channel on TV and buried her face in her hands, completely mortified. "I swear to God, Barry, Joe and your parents would turn themselves over in their graves, if they saw you right now."
Central City Citizen
Iris was writing an article, when she read the recent news report about the storm over Grand Canyon as part of it cracked and shattered and she realized it was the Speed Force and with the earthquakes coming from that place, it made her briefly wonder…
Iris shuddered. As much as she had moved on from Barry, it would only make her feel uncomfortable to know about Barry having sex with Kara and imagining him going that rough with any other woman than Iris. If it really was what she thought it was, she would scream into the whole multiverse and smash something. But then she imagined herself in that position with Barry and the mental image was getting rather creepy than intriguing as she processed it, while pacing and then she felt vomit form in her mouth as she covered it and gagged and retched and swallowed, suppressing the urge.
Then, her eyes rolled back into her skull as she slumped to the chair, almost fainting before she got up, grabbed her coat and left the office, going out into the streets and walking off to get some fresh air and possibly purge the thought from what she had seen out of her mind and she clenched her jaw, suppressing the urge to scream at the top of her lungs and rage out that Barry was not with her, despite that she had accepted the fact that he would never be with her long ago.
DEO, National City
J'onn, Winn and Brainy shook their heads and shifted uncomfortably and chuckled in amusement, with DEO agents snickering quietly and writing and posting on social media on their cellphones, tablets and computers before J'onn looked around, looking serious. "What are you all goofing about? Quit screwing around and back to work!" He ordered, while clapping his hands.
The DEO agents tried to go back to work and act casual but still, most of them kept snickering, barely able to keep their faces straight. J'onn shook his head in amusement as he and Winn chuckled, while Brainy just stared in front of him, frozen and processing.
"I'm glad Nia and I don't have super-strength or superspeed." Brainy said, sure he wouldn't survive if he and Nia would go rough at it.
CatCo
Nia was wondering what was the storm about before she got an email from Cisco in S.T.A.R. Labs and she opened it before she covered her mouth, giggling and blushing. "Oh, God, Kara…"
She smirked before she started to type away an article about an unnatural storm in Grand Canyon, deciding to tease Barry and Kara about this later. They would probably die of embarrasment or kill her but it would be worth seeing their reactions.
James cleared his throat and immediately switched the channel before Eve entered his office. "James, about the storm—"
"I know about the storm and I don't want to hear anything about it, just write that no one has any idea what's causing it!" James ordered and Eve walked off, while James rubbed his eyes roughly, as if he wanted to get the dirt off them.
L-Corp
Lena chuckled, shaking her head, giggling and blushing. She was happy for her best friend being happy but still… well, she wondered whether Barry would go wild like that with an ordinary normal human and whether they would survive it. And now she had ammo to use against Kara to tease about, oh, she was going to enjoy the embarrased look on Kara's face, when Lena would show her the footage from her L-Corp satellite.
Metropolis
As Clark flew above, he listened to something faint but then immediately tried to block it out as he groaned, realizing what was going on as he rubbed the temples of his head and took deep breaths and exhaled heavily.
Conner was in his apartment, with headphones on and a heavy metal music to block out the sounds of lovemaking he could hear from hundreds of miles away as he groaned and retched in disgust, trying to block out the faint noises of moaning and pleas for more, which Conner didn't want to know. "Seriously, they couldn't do that somewhere on the Moon?" He groaned.
Detroit, Michigan
Mari McCabe, also known as heroine named Vixen, was on patrol before she sensed something and summoned the Ashe of the bat, before she burst into laughter as she listened to the faint noise in the distance and shook her head in amusement and disbelief. Oh, those two never cease to amaze her.
Themyscira, Paradise Island
Diana and Artemis were training with other Amazons, when they heard thunder in the distance and cracking in the air.
"By the gods, what madness is it?" Artemis wondered.
"It sounds like when our father Zeus would…" Diana trailed off as she and Artemis shared looks of realization and a mix of dread and amusement filled them both before they burst into laughter.
"I see those two children want to make love like our godly parents do!" Artemis said, blushing and barely able to get ahold of herself.
"Well, who are we to deny them their happiness?" Diana pointed out, while laughing and shaking her head.
"I'm wondering whether father would be amused or strike them both down for this!" Artemis said in between laughter as both Amazons were holding themselves by their chests.
"I think he might be mortified from this madness!" Diana cracked.
Lux, Los Angeles
Lucifer Morningstar and Detective Chloe Decker were on the couch, when Chloe had taken off Lucifer's shirt and was halfway to unbuttoning hers as they were kissing, when she noticed the frown on Lucifer's face.
"What is it?" Chloe asked.
"What on Earth…?" Lucifer wondered as he got up from the couch and went out with Chloe on the balcony, noticing the freak storm in the distance.
"Lucifer, what is it?" Chloe asked before Lucifer chuckled.
"Let me put it this way, Detective, this might be an imitation of Father's and Mother's shenanigans before Genesis." Lucifer said and Chloe immediately shifted uncomfortably and widened her eyes.
"Please, don't tell me anything more." Chloe begged, holding the temples of her head as Lucifer chuckled.
Waverider
Rip, Ray, Nora, Nate, Zari, Amaya, Jax and Stein were checking the timeline with Gideon, when an alert bleeped.
"Captain Hunter, I have detected a space/time anomaly in Grand Canyon from 2023." Gideon announced.
"An anomaly? What is it, Gideon?" Rip asked.
"I am not certain but the energy signature is similar to Speed Force and I have detected a Kryptonian signature as well." Gideon said.
"Could be Barry and Kara." Ray deduced.
"Show us, Gideon." Nate said and the holographic screen showed a freak thunderstorm above Grand Canyon, shattering the valley.
"What are those red and blue blurs?" Nora wondered.
The Legends' eyes narrowed before widening in realization while the screen zoomed in. Rip and Stein groaned, looking away, Ray, Jax, Nate and Amaya snickered and Zari and Nora blushed, giggling.
"Gideon, turn it off, right now!" Rip ordered, covering his eyes. "Gentlemen, can someone please use my flash device to erase my memory?"
"Maybe later." Ray snickered and Nate and Amaya blushed in embarrassment, since what they were seeing was all too familiar to them.
"Well, at least they're not screwing the timeline this time." Zari shrugged.
"But we'll have to fix Grand Canyon." Jax cracked.
Most of the Legends looked amused, but Rip looked completely mortified as he retreated back into his office, deciding to wipe what he had just seen, from his mind, while Stein just shuddered and took off his glasses, cleaning them with his sweater.
Deep space
Doctor Fate and Mar Novu, the Monitor, stared briefly and then shifted uncomfortably as Novu did a gesture as the mirage of Grand Canyon disappeared.
"Well, we cannot deny them happiness, can we?" Doctor Fate mused.
"I just hope they won't do so much damage that it would cause another Crisis or shatter the timeline." Novu said, looking stoic but suppresing the shudder as he groaned inwardly. Part of him couldn't believe those were the chosen heroes who had saved the entire universe.
Hal Jordan was flying around in deep space, alongside the remaining Green Lanterns, when he noticed some kind of a freak storm on Earth. Hal used his ring to take a closer look and then burst into laughter, shaking his head.
House of Mystery
Constantine and Zatanna were observing the scene with a magical projection that they had conjured as Zatanna shook her head in amusement, while Constantine laughed as he turned to her. "You know, Z., maybe we could come up with an enhancing spell and try to go that wild—"
"No." Zatanna said immediately, like if she was denying a child something it wanted as Constantine looked disappointed. "At least, not today." She said with a smirk. "I doubt the multiverse will survive two sexual lovemaking moments of these proportions. Maybe another time."
Constantine laughed in amusement as they continued watching the scene.
Speed Force
In the vast void of Speed Force, where Eddie Thawne was, in between visiting Iris and making sure that Thawne would not escape, he noticed bursts of energy and realized what was Barry doing as Eddie chuckled, amused, glad that Barry was happy, but if Barry would continue using Speed Force in that manner, he was sure it would be revolting, before it stopped and Eddie shook his head, happy for Barry and Kara and glad he didn't have to interfere before they would cause more damage, while making love.
Grand Canyon
Barry and Kara panted out as they were both lying on the ground, both of them naked and covered in bruises and hickeys and with piles of rubble and rocks scattered around them as they laughed.
"Maybe next time we should take it slow?" Kara asked.
"Maybe." Barry panted out as they laughed and kissed again as he placed himself on top of her. "I love you, Kara Danvers."
"I love you, Barry Allen." Kara said as they kissed fiercely and she moaned as she felt Barry give in and gently reaching for her breasts as they continued making love.
I did a little different spin on Ben Lockwood from Supergirl Season 4, since something like this with him, given how much aliens "messed up" his life, makes sense. As lame as the character was in the show (no surprise, considering that it was Supergirl), Sam Witwer did an amazing job with the role but a waste of a great actor on such a cringeworthy role, but that's the motto of Arrowverse, look at what they did with Neal McDonough in Arrow Season 4 and how lame Darhk was there and he was more compelling in Legends of Tomorrow. Couldn't resist a little reference to Heroes and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. Also partly inspired by Stand with Ward and Queen's MCU/Arrowverse crossover 'United we stand'. The Arrowverse writers should take notes since that is how they should have ended Arrow instead of crapping on Oliver and leaving him in an Olicity afterlife, while keeping Earth-1 Laurel dead and ruining Sara, idiots.
As much as I like Jim Gordon and I regret not doing more with him in my series, given the timespan in the series, it just felt fitting for him to finally pass away after years and in Injustice comic books, he died of lung cancer due to his smoking habit.
Slade's send-off in Season 6 was great, but Joe and later Grant showing up in Seasons 7-8 ruined it and Grant's appearance in Season 8 makes no sense timeline-wise, since he would've been a teenager, with what Joe had said to Slade and if you put into consideration 'Star City 2046' episode from Legends of Tomorrow.
The cliffhanger from 'Apocalypse Incoming' takes place at an unspecified time but I imagine it's going to take during a year and Barry and Kara have since then been recovering their memories and soul-searching, after the battle with Darkseid, which should make sense, before reuniting with everyone else.
Looking back, pairing a main canon character with OC feels odd and while I think I did more or less a good job with Tommy/Rachel, I think they had been through too much emotional baggage to get into a serious commitment again but could be still good friends and I would picture Tommy's role similar to Bucky's, with his past plagued by horrible things and attempting to atone for them, so the best thing for Tommy would be continuing Oliver's mission as the protector of Star City.
Most of the Smallville storylines in the series is canon for Clark's storyline in the show, including his rivalry with Lex (except for Tess Mercer being involved here or Lana being the resident bitch of Smallville and they broke up after high school and remained good friends here, since Lana is a decent person in Arrowverse, unlike in Smallville) and as much as Hoechlin is good, my favorite version of Superman so far is Tom Welling, since Arrowverse version of Superman has been nerfed a lot in Supergirl but was portrayed better in Superman & Lois series but Hoechlin frankly doesn't give the powerful presence Welling does, so I'm always imagining Tom Welling as Clark (Superman) in my Arrowverse stories and Erica Durance plays Lois here (Don't get me started on how stupid it was to cast former Lois Lane as Kara's mother, so I'm ignoring the actress change in Season 3 of Supergirl) and I try to make him as capable as he should be without nerfing him at the expense of propping up Kara. Couldn't resist the Smallville references, LOL.
And I wasn't gonna do Iris losing it over Barry and Kara going rough, since I did that already in my other crack fic one-shot, where Barry and Kara were going rough and Iris found out, called 'Night of rough love', but this is close to it, LOL again.
So, this one-shot alongside with 'Years Passing By' should be considered a conclusion to The Darhk War series.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter