Dear all, we've arrived at the season finale. It's been a long time coming and I'm excited to share it with you. I'm thankful for all the support I've been given for the past few months and of course I will continue into season two. Make sure to check out my co-authors, Brightburn1985 and Bartholomew Henry Allen.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to The Arrowverse
Another alert sounded in STAR Labs. One that hadn't been heard in a long time. The particle accelerator had been activated. But it was impossible. Despite Wells having created it, there was no way he could remotely activate it. It had to be worked from… STAR Labs.
That meant Wells has been hiding right where they are. Literally under their noses the entire time. They practically searched the rest of the city looking for him, and he was hiding in their basement.
Barry, Cisco, and Iris went down into the accelerator to see what was going on. There was no sign of Wells, but there was something glowing on the side of the ring. Cisco stayed behind to check it out, and Barry and Iris continued to investigate. They heard the slight mumbles that seemed to be coming from their feet.
They soon found a hatch that led them even further down, where the mumbles turned into cries of help. Iris immediately recognized the voice. Eddie!
The two found Eddie tied up to a chair. It was obvious he was put through a lot these past few days. There was blood covering his clothes and several bruises littering his body, and that was just what they could see. Who knew what kind of hell he suffered.
They brought him to Caitlin, where she stitched up his wounds after cleaning them to make sure they wouldn't get infected. He was going to be fine. It seemed Wells tortured him, but made sure to stray away from anything that could be life threatening.
It was soon learned why, after Eddie told them of the conversation he had with Wells. His real name was Eobard Thawne, a distant descendant of his. If anything were to happen to Eddie, Wells, or Eobard, would threaten his own existence. He literally called Eddie his insurance.
There was another problem to address however, as the glow they discovered down there was coming from a futuristic battery Wells had created. It managed to power the entire accelerator and override all of their commands to turn it off. They couldn't even tamper with it as they couldn't be sure that Wells hadn't installed a failsafe to keep them from interfering.
But with the accelerator active again, it was a danger to all the metas they had locked up in there. They would die once the accelerator was fully charged.
Barry wasn't going to let that happen. They put them in there so they wouldn't have to kill them for being criminals with powers. They decided to move them to another location where they wouldn't harm anyone. Lian Yu, the island prison where Oliver kept his most dangerous enemies.
They enlisted the help of Leonard Snart and his sister Lisa. In exchange, they would get rid of all the evidence they had stacked against him.
That turned out to be a fake deal as Snart allowed all of the metas to escape. All the work they put in to keep the city safe from these types of criminals for the past year, Snart let them loose because now they all owed him a favour for getting them free.
They couldn't deal with this right now though. They had bigger things to worry about. The accelerator was now fully charged, which meant Wells was coming. They captured those metas once before, they could do it again. Just not today.
A figure was approaching STAR Labs, and despite the darkness, they all knew who it was. Wells had returned.
Luckily they called in for back-up. They managed to get a hold of Ronnie and Stein and brought Oliver in as well. He brought an interesting set of skills being the only one of the group lacking in supernatural abilities.
What ensued was a brief, but gruesome battle. Barry and Eobard immediately launched into a chase with each other, circling the other, trying to see who would make a mistake first.
Firestorm launched a fireball at the two, not hitting either of them, but successfully separating the speedsters from a seemingly even match.
Annoyed, The Reverse Flash rotated his arm, creating a wind funnel towards Firestorm, strong enough to blow him back for several blocks.
The Flash ran off to catch him. While Reverse Flash was preoccupied with that, Green Arrow snuck up behind him and fired an arrow with a special gift in it. It seemed all speedsters were too confident in their speed to guard their backside.
The arrow pierced through the yellow suit into the flesh underneath, injecting something that would even the playing field for Oliver. "Nanites. Courtesy of Ray Palmer. They're vibrating at a frequency that is disabling your speed. You're not going to be running around for awhile." Oliver announced, quite proud of himself.
Without his powers, Thawne was forced into a fistmatch. In terms of skill, Oliver clearly outmatched him. It took almost no effort to pin Thawne down, even without the use of his bow as a close range weapon.
That soon changed however when Thawne's eyes glowed red once again. His face blurred, indicating his speed was back. In a flash of red lightning, Thawne managed to reverse the course of the battle.
Being too close, Oliver wasn't able to notch another arrow to disable his powers. Thawne's speed allowed him to land several well placed blows, and Oliver was left on his back.
Thawne came up to him, one hand vibrating right above his chest. "The history books say you age to be 86 years old Mr. Queen." Thawne taunts him. "Well I guess the history books are wrong,"
His fingers just barely phase into Oliver's chest before Barry returns, tackling Thawne off of him, saving Oliver's life. Still on the ground, Oliver fires another arrow at the duo, trusting his own instincts not to hurt his friend.
The arrow startles Thawne. Not wanting to be subjected to losing his powers again, runs up the side of the building with Barry in tow.
There, the speedsters circle the outer ring of the building, Barry just slightly lagging behind Eobard.
Ronnie and Stein fly up to the roof, charging a fireball in their hand. They eyed the chase, trying to find their moment of opportunity.
It came when the speedsters ran down the middle of the building instead of their usual circle. The fire meta sent a stream of flames at them. Barry ducked out of the way, but Thawne wasn't able to get out of the way in time.
The yellow speedster was sent flying off the roof and landing on top of a car.
As the finishing blow, Oliver released an arrow while the speedster was still down that was filled with a sedative that should render him unconscious long enough for them to put him in the pipeline with the injuries he'd sustained.
They'd learned from their previous failures of how potent the drugs should be after Barry shrugged off lethal doses when he was in his enraged state from Bivolo.
Barry thanked the three of them for their assistance, but Oliver had to get back to Starling. He considered it as returning the favour since Barry had recently rescued his team from captivity from the League of Assassins whilst he was preoccupied with other matters.
Ronnie and Stein were staying, at least for the meantime. They wanted to see this through, plus they had people they needed to visit since they were back.
They dragged the unconscious body of The Reverse Flash into the building and threw him into a cell in the Pipeline.
At long last, Barry finally got him. But his work wasn't done yet. Not by a longshot.
Once it was confirmed Wells, or Thawne, or whoever he was, was awake, Barry made his way down to the Pipeline. He requested that nobody else come with him. This was a personal moment. A confrontation for over a decade in the making.
Barry touched the side panel that would call forth the man in question. When he appeared, he was wearing the clothes he showed up in. The suit was nowhere in sight, but he still had that ring on where he made his suit appear in the first place, so it was probably in there at the moment.
For the longest time, they just stared at each other. Barry didn't know how to start, while the man who taunted him for years stood with a slightly amused expression on his face.
"What? No Big Belly Burger?" Eobard asked. "It's one of the few perks of living in this time. We're out of cows where I come from. You don't want to know that. You have questions Barry. Ask."
"Not sure where to start, Thawne," Barry used his real name instead of the one he stole from an innocent man. A man who would be blamed for everything to the public, no matter how they told the story.
"That is your real name isn't it? Eobard Thawne?" Barry asked, just to clarify.
"Since the day I was born," Eobard replied.
"And when is that?" Barry asked.
"126 years from now," Eobard answered, but was quick to stop this useless conversation. "That's not what you want to know. Go ahead Barry. Ask,"
"Why did you kill my mother?" Barry asked the question that had been on his mind ever since that night 15 years ago.
"Because I hate you," Eobard answered. "Not you now. You years from now,"
"In the future," Barry stated. It was still a little hard for him to grasp it, despite having time traveled himself.
"In a future, yes," Eobard corrected him. "We're enemies. Rivals, opposites, reverses of one another,"
"Why? Why were we enemies?" Barry asked. Confused over what could have happened that would make this person hate him so much to kill his mother.
"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore," Eobard sighed as he told him. "What matters is that neither one of us was strong enough to defeat the other. But then I learned your secret," he revealed the instrument of his entire plan.
"I learned your name. Barry Allen. And finally I knew how to defeat you once and for all. Travel back in time. Kill you as a child. Wipe you from the face of the universe," Thawne revealed his original plan of what he planned to do.
Barry grimaced as he knew that wasn't how things turned. It seemed that Gideon AI he created was telling the truth. He wanted to yell. He wanted to demand to know why his mother became the target instead, but he kept quiet. He would get his answers.
"But then you, future you that is, followed me back and we fought. We both landed some pretty solid shots. But then you, future you," Thawne made clear on which Barry Allen he was talking about seeing as there were two of them that night. "Got your younger self out of there." he retold the story of how Barry managed to escape death that night.
"I was so mad, but then I thought 'What if you were to suffer a tragedy? What if you were to suffer from something so terrible, so traumatic that your younger self would never recover? That you would never become The Flash.' So I stabbed your mother in the heart." Thawne told him why his original plan changed.
"And I was free. Finally able to return to a future without The Flash, only to realize that in my travelling back, I'd lost my way home. I lost my ability to harness the Speed Force, and without it I was stuck here. Stranded in this time, unable to return to my own and the only way back was The Flash. But The Flash was gone and so I created him." he explained why he was still here and the reason why he allowed Barry to become The Flash once again.
Barry just shook his head. There were still so many things that just didn't make sense. "Why train me? Why help me save so many people?"
"Because I needed you to get fast!" Thawne pounded the glass in anger. "Fast enough to rupture the space time barrier and create a stable wormhole through which I could return home,"
"Why would I ever do that?" Barry questioned the flaw in his problem. His entire plan rode on the fact Barry would just be willing to do this after it was revealed he killed his mother. That he would just let the reason his entire childhood was ruined return home with a blank slate.
"Because Barry Allen if you get me what I want, I can get you what you want. You can go back and save your mother. You can prevent your father from ever going to jail. You can reunite the Allen family," Eobard offered.
Barry glared at him. After everything the man put him through, he didn't trust a word he said. "No, I don't believe you. I want to kill you right now," Barry shouted at the man.
"I know that rage. I used to feel that rage every time I looked upon you. But now I know what Joe and Henry feel when they look upon you with pride. With love," Eobard whispers that last part, just low enough to be heard.
"No. No, don't you ever say that to me!" Barry yelled at the man, who killed his mother and ruined his life, that had the audacity to say that he cared about him.
"I know you're upset. But I'm giving you a chance. I'm giving you a chance to right the wrongs I've done," Eobard pointed out. "Don't you want that chance?"
Barry backed away from the cell, scowling at the man before him, returning the cell back into its cavity in the wall.
Barry was sitting on the treadmill, crying to himself when suddenly, Caitlin came in and sat next to him.
"What should I do, Cait? Do I trust him again or should I just let him rot in the pipeline?"
"I don't know, Barry. What does your heart tell you to do?" She asked, looking at his eyes with an encouraging smile.
Barry had a pensive look on his face as he contemplated his decision. "I don't know. This is what I've been dreaming of for the past 15 years. To save my mom, get my dad out of jail. Actually have a childhood,"
"Fall in love?" Caitlin added.
Barry turned to her at that. Caitlin continued. "You and I both know that if we met under different circumstances, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did between us."
"And who's fault is that?" Barry accused her.
"That's fair. I will take the blame for that," Caitlin sighed. "Still, this is a chance to get a blank slate. Meet, get married without all this bad blood between the two of us,"
"Almost sounds like you would like to get married to me," Barry teased her.
"Well a different version of me," Caitlin corrected him. "I'm not getting near you with a wedding ring in this lifetime,"
"But if I do, I'd be letting The Reverse Flash go free. He doesn't even get a slap on the wrist. I'd be letting him get away with everything he's done to all the people he's hurt," Barry pointed out.
"Not everything is going to be perfect, but if you do, you'll never hear from him again by the sound of it," Caitlin said.
"With the way things are in my life, I'd probably run into him again whether I like it or not," Barry grumbled. "This goes against everything I stood for when I decided to become The Flash. To save people, to make sure criminals get what they deserve, and I'm actually considering letting the guy who killed my mother get away with nothing to show for it."
"But if you do, all his crimes would never have happened," Caitlin pointed out. "Nothing would be as it is today,"
"And that's another thing," Barry said. "I love my life. There have been hardships, but they've made me stronger. Am I really willing to let it all go to live a fantasy?"
"A fantasy that could be made real if you really want it," Caitlin told him.
"I feel that you are trying to push me into actually doing this. Is that what you think? That I should do this?" Barry asked.
"Despite all our arguments, you're a good guy Barry, and I think you deserve some happiness after everything you've been through," Caitlin told him her opinion. "It's your decision, just know that we'll all be supporting you, no matter what you decide Fleet Feet,"
Barry chuckled slightly when she said her nickname for him. "Maybe I should wipe you out of existence while I'm there Ms. Frosty. Get rid of this irritating headache I've had for the past year," he said in jest.
"Please, you're not getting rid of me that easily. I'll just come back to haunt you till the day you die," Caitlin rolled her eyes at him.
"Thanks for the talk, Caitlin. I think I know what I'm going to do," Barry stood up and ran out of the room to prepare for whatever he decided.
All the while, Caitlin kept her eyes trained on the door he exited, silently begging him that he wouldn't leave them all. Wouldn't leave her.
After her heartfelt conversation with Barry, she too got out of the room. Ronnie immediately ran up to her and asked her if they could talk in private.
She led them to her own laboratory, sighing as they reached their destination, knowing fully well that they needed to talk about their relationship.
"Ronnie, I-" Caitlin was cut off by the fire meta.
"Let me stop you there, Cait. I know that you don't love me anymore, at least not in that way anymore. You love Barry. Everybody knows it and if I'm going to be honest with myself, I knew it too, ever since I came back. " Ronnie said with a sad smile.
"What are you talking about?" Caitlin questioned him, completely confused. "Ronnie there is nothing going on between Barry and I. I don't love him, I hate him," she insisted.
"Love and hate aren't too different," Ronnie pointed out.
"But there is a distinct line between the two, and I'm fairly certain the two of us have not crossed that, not even close. The line is so far away we don't even know it's there," Caitlin gestured frantically.
Ronnie tried to keep up with her rapid speech, but soon got lost. "What are we talking about again?"
"The point of the matter is I don't love Barry. I love you Ronnie. I agreed to marry you, not Barry," Caitlin said.
"You're right, you're not marrying Barry," Ronnie relented.
Caitlin let out a sigh of relief.
"Because you're already married to him," Ronnie finished.
Caitlin gasped in shock and started to stutter in confusion.
"I don't mean literally," Ronnie corrected himself. "But the way you two act around each other just screams that you're already married, or at least, you're in love,"
"Ronnie, there is a snowball's chance in hell that I will ever willingly get married to Barry." Caitlin shouted at him.
"You tend to his wounds," Ronnie pointed out.
"I am his doctor. It is my literal job to heal his wounds," Caitlin retorted.
"You talk to each other constantly," Ronnie continued.
"Argue constantly. We barely have any actual conversations," Caitlin rolled her eyes.
"You talk about each other to everyone you talk to," Ronnie said.
"Complaining about each other. And there is only so much the baristas at Jitters can take before I'm forcefully ejected," Caitlin crossed her arms.
"You have nicknames for each other," Ronnie reminded her.
"Those were meant to be nicknames of irritation," Caitlin pointed out.
"Which turned into terms of endearment," Ronnie said.
Caitlin sighed and closed her eyes in frustration. She just didn't understand why Ronnie was being so difficult. There was nothing going on between her and Barry. There would never be anything between her and Barry, and she and Ronnie were going to be married to ensure that would never happen.
"I agreed to marry you Ronnie. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you," Caitlin said.
Ronnie shook his head. "I love you too Cait, but I'm not getting married to someone who is clearly in love with someone else,"
"There is no one else Ronnie, there is only you," Caitlin insisted. "And if you still doubt me, I'll prove it. Let's get married right now,"
"What?" Ronnie asked.
"You heard me, we'll get married right now," Caitlin repeated. "We'll go to city hall and get registered as soon as possible, then we'll live the rest of our lives as husband and wife,"
"Caitlin I'm not sure about this," Ronnie said with doubt in his voice.
"Marriage is all about trusting in each other no matter what. Do you trust me?" Caitlin questioned him.
Ronnie let out a sigh and took a moment to think about his answer, looking into her eyes to see the woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago.
"Yes," Ronnie replied.
"'Yes' as in you trust me? Or 'yes' as you will marry me?" Caitlin asked to clarify.
"To all the above. Let's do this. I trust you, with all my heart," Ronnie said to the woman he loves with everything he has.
Caitlin smiled and leaned in to give him a kiss on the lips, which Ronnie was eager to reciprocate.
In a small moment of peace, everyone had gathered outside STAR Labs to attend the ceremony of Caitlin and Ronnie's wedding with Prof. Stein as the minister.
It was a beautiful scene, and it gave everyone a moment of relief from the regular stress of hero life. For the time, nobody thought about what would happen next. Whether Barry would decide to rewrite history or they would spend the rest of their time keeping their former boss in lockup in the very facility he created.
Nobody was worried about the next worldly disaster, and instead was elated to see the union of two people they were all close with come together after so many hardships.
And everybody cheered when Martin Stein pronounced the two husband and wife and they kissed to seal their union forever.
But it was at that moment, watching two of the people he cared for the most, that Barry had come to a realization. He'd made his decision. He knew what he had to do.
Sorry it's considerably shorter than most of my chapters, but I ended up writing so much for the last episode it was nearly double my regular amount. I decided to split it into two chapters. You'll see the remaining of the episode next week. After that, we'll have completed season one.
I'm excited to share season two with all of you because I just love that one so much. It's my favourite of all the seasons. There's going to be so much I'm doing that it's tiring. With that being said, I'm going to take the next few weeks off of writing. There's only so much inspiration you can have at a time, and lately, I've just been feeling stuck in my writing.
Hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter and tell me what you thought. Your support means the world to me.
Some of you have expressed interest in the big confession between Barry and Caitlin, and to be frank, so am I. Lately it's the only thing driving me to get out these chapters, so I promise it is going to be fantastic. Or as good as I'm going to be able to. It'll be unexpected for them. That's for sure.
See you all next week for the final chapter of season one. Stay safe everyone.