Chapter 34: The Place Where You and I Collide
Eddie Thawne slapped the door on his cruiser closed, frowning. On the other side of the car, his partner his Joe West mirrored his actions, moving forward to observe the scene before them: An armored car was resting on the side of the road, badly damaged but still intact. Beside it was a gaggle of thieves, tied up together and struggling through their bonds futilely.
"The Streak." Eddie growled. Other police cars were beginning to arrive, fellow cops getting out of their cars to section off the crime scene. Joe ignored his partner and trudged towards the thieves, handcuffs twirling on one of his fingers.
The senior detective shook his head as he moved to cuff one of them. "Sorry boys, but I guess it's just not your day."
From beneath his mask, Leonard Snart nearly snarled at that.
"Nothing?" Cisco called out as Barry sped into the Cortex.
"Nothing." Barry confirmed, sighing. "Wherever he is, it's not within the city limits. Search for any anomalies within a fifty-mile radius of Central City – he may not be here, but he wouldn't dare go too far out."
"What makes you say that?" Caitlin asked, looking up from her own computer.
"Whatever he's after, he needs me for it. Everything he's ever done, since the Particle Accelerator and even before that, has had something to do with me." Barry explained as he removed he gloves. "He'll push me, attack me, but he won't risk me, that much I'm certain about. And not risking me means not risking being too far away from me if I get way over my head."
"Well, if you do, we'll be there to bail you out." A voice called out.
Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein entered the Cortex, wide smiles on their faces. Caitlin's face immediately brightened, and she went to greet her fiancé, sharing a chaste kiss with him. Cisco and Barry went to the professor and clasped hands with him and did the same with Ronnie after he and Caitlin separated.
Barry smirked. "I'm glad you could make it."
Ronnie grinned. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." Then, his expression suddenly dimmed. "Granted, I never expected it would be for something like this." Caitlin grabbed his arm in a comforting manner, looking at him understandingly, as did Cisco.
Professor Stein gave a solemn nod. "Indeed. It was quite a shock when Dr. Snow told us everything. To think, one of the most brilliant minds in the world had been impersonated by a time traveler all these years – it would be astonishing, had he not turned out to be such a despicable individual."
"Yeah, well, it's just one of those curveballs that life throws at you." Barry shrugged, then clapped his hands. "In any case, we're all here, so let's get started."
Caitlin blinked, letting go of Ronnie's arm. "Um, Barry? I thought we were going to wait for the Girl in Blue as well?"
"Wait, you know the Girl in Blue?" Ronnie asked, shocked.
Barry ignored him and gave one of those smiles. "Don't worry, Caitlin, she's already here. As is another friend of mine."
"Yeah, Caitlin, didn't you notice me?" The Girl in Blue asked from beside the bioengineer, hand on her hip. Everyone in the room besides Barry jumped at the sound of her voice, Ronnie and Stein's jaws dropping at the sight of the mysterious woman that had been making headlines for the last couple of months.
"Ah, new friends." The vigilante removed her hood and veil, revealing her face. She held out her hand to Ronnie. "Kara Danvers." Ronnie dumbly shook it, as did Stein, both still quite stunned.
"Don't taunt them, Kara." A much-beleaguered voice stated from the other side of the room. The Central City natives (sans Barry) whirled around, and this time everyone was shocked at who they saw.
The Hood.
He was leaning back against one of the tables, his arms crossed. His piercing gaze was making them all uncomfortable – at least until Barry audibly cleared his throat and gave him a pointed look. The Hood responded with a flat one, which caused Barry to gesture wildly, clearly trying to convey that the former should reveal his identity as well. The archer shook his head, refusing, which caused the speedster to stomp his feet.
Everyone else watched this exchange in disbelief, except for Kara, who palmed her face and gave an exasperated sigh.
Eventually, after a minute or two more of silent arguing, the Hood finally relented, sighing. He moved away from the table, uncrossing his arms and removing his signature disguise, along with the cloth that hid his mouth. Caitlin, Cisco, Ronnie, and Stein all blinked at the familiar face that greeted them.
"Oliver Queen." Oliver announced, giving a short nod to the group. "I believe you have all heard of me."
"More than that." Cisco noted, then frowned. He looked at Barry. "You were on the same island as Oliver Queen?"
"And me!" Kara interjected.
Cisco ignored her. "And you didn't bother to tell us?" He asked, almost woundedly.
Barry shrugged. "I'm telling you now, aren't I?"
"Anything yet, Cisco?"
"Still searching."
"So, you're from another planet? Astonishing! Please, tell me, what advances have you made in the field of nuclear fission?"
"Sorry, Professor, but there's a reason why I'm here and not there. And that question is more Barry's expertise. He's already familiar with most of Krypton's tech, and he's had long talks with the A.I. that came with me."
"What is he after?"
Oliver's question immediately stopped all conversation cold. He was staring at a whiteboard, which held a string theory construct, all centered on Harrison Wells – or, to be more accurate, the person impersonating him. He turned back and looked at Barry in particular. "Killing your mother, creating S.T.A.R. Labs, deliberately sabotaging the Particle Accelerator, recruiting you – why go through all that trouble?"
"Well, he's a time traveler, isn't he? Why hasn't he gone back yet?" Kara asked, noting that particular discrepancy. Barry narrowed his eyes, mind already running.
"Perhaps he still has something to do here? Something to keep his future intact?" Ronnie suggested.
Stein shook his head. "If it was something as simple as maintaining a time loop, he would've never broken his cover, and instead let history run its course. Any further action he took beyond his initial ones puts that future in jeopardy. No, he's making deliberate changes to the timeline – but why?"
"Wells is a speedster, isn't he?" Barry suddenly asked, a theory forming in his mind. "Professor, is it possible to use my super speed to time travel?"
Stein blinked, "Theoretically, yes." He moved to the whiteboard, flipping it over to reveal the blank white space on the other side, and picked up a marker, making a diagram depicting a road with different ramps. "I've dabbled a bit on this subject and theorized that space-time is a free-flowing "highway" that intersects with the physical world. We live in the moments between the on- and off- "ramps," so to speak. To time travel is to simply find some way to bypass the barrier and get on that highway. Your speed could – theoretically, again – build up enough kinetic energy to blow a hole in the space-time continuum in order to do that."
Oliver frowned. "Well, if that's true, why hasn't Wells done that yet? He's even faster than Barry, and we have proof that he's actually done it before."
"It's because he can't." Barry answered, crossing his arms. "When I fought him for the first time, I wasn't able to get a decent hit in until his speed "shorted out," for lack of a better term, which made me theorize that his speed is limited. Assuming that's true, it doesn't matter how fast he is – he won't have enough time to build up the necessary kinetic energy to go back to the future. It's likely that any attempt he makes to do so anyway will only cause him to deplete his speed faster."
Caitlin's eyes widened. "That's why he needs you. He needs you to go back to the future."
Barry gave a sharp nod. "Yes. That was his plan all along – everything he's done ever since my mother's death was for purpose of getting him back home. The question is…how was he going to convince me to do it? He has to have known that the moment I found out, there's no way I would help him get back, no matter what he offered me. Even disregarding personal reasons, I'd rather have my enemies here, imprisoned or dead, rather than in the future where they're out of my sight and planning God knows what."
Cisco snapped his fingers, startling everyone except the two assassins. "Found him. There have been reports about flashing red lights in the new metahuman wing that's being constructed at Iron Heights."
"Iron Heights…of course! Dad!" Barry groaned.
"He's planning on using your dad as a hostage to convince you to play along." Ronnie concluded grimly.
"No." Barry shook his head. "He expected us to find him."
"What? What makes you think that?"
Oliver scowled. "This close to achieving his goal, there is no way he would make a mistake like this, exposing his location so easily. He wants us to find him, and most likely, capture him. He still doesn't know if Barry is fast enough to time travel. Hell, we don't know that yet. Stationing himself at Iron Heights has a double purpose – not only to show us that he has a ready hostage at hand, but also to motivate Barry to get faster for…" He trailed off, eyes widening in realization.
"…the main reason why Barry is after him is to clear his father's name. Get him out of Iron Heights, so they can be together again." Kara's stated numbly, also coming to the realization as Oliver.
"He wants to remind me of all the time I've lost with my dad." Barry closed his eyes and sighed. "He wants to remind of me that, so I can come to the conclusion that there is a way to regain all that. If I became fast enough to time travel, I can go back in time and stop him from murdering my mother, saving both her and my father."
Silence descended upon the room as everyone processed that statement. The sheer amount of psychological manipulation from something as simple as hiding out at a prison – truly, whoever the man impersonating Harrison Wells, was bestowed with great genius, but also great cruelty. Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie, all of whom had worked with this man, had, in a way, loved this man, were absolutely shaken. They had never truly known him at all, had they?
"So, what's the plan? Clearly, having him so close to Mr. Allen is something we cannot risk any longer. On the other hand, if we make any overt moves, Wells will take him and hide himself away once more." Stein said, adopting a thinking pose.
Barry, Kara, and Oliver all exchanged looks.
Later that night, the man known as Harrison Wells lounged in the front seat of one of the many construction cars that dotted around the half-built metahuman wing of Iron Heights. He was currently wearing his super-suit, wondering if he should make another run around for those guards to see. He had no doubt Barry would find him eventually, but a little more assurance (such as getting on the local news) wouldn't hurt.
"Hey."
Harrison smiled, and put his feet down. "You're finally here." He looked below, and there he was. The Streak. "Took you long enough."
"Needed to figure out a plan." The Streak shrugged.
"To make sure I don't take your father as a hostage, right? Don't worry, I won't."
"Now, why would I believe you?"
"True. Now, are we going to get started? Or does Mr. Queen need more time?" Harrison asked slyly as he jumped down from his position to the ground below, where he and the Streak faced off.
"Oh, you needn't worry about him."
Harrison turned, and there she was, floating above. The Girl in Blue.
"Worry about yourself."
And with that, the chase was on.
"This is unexpected." Henry commented as he was led – in cuffs – to the armored car.
"It's just for the next couple of days, prisoner. You'll be back in your cell soon enough." The guard commented. As soon as Henry was situated in the back of the vehicle, he closed the door shut, tightening its lock. Then, he walked to the other side of the car, careful to keep out of earshot, and took out a mobile phone, dialing a number and waiting for the telltale ring.
"Target is secure, ma'am."
"Good. Take him to the designated drop-off point and wait there for further instructions." Knowing she need not say anything more, Amanda Waller ended the call.
The Streak and the Man in the Yellow Suit raced through the streets, yellow and red lightning crackling around them. Lagging slightly behind was the Girl in Blue, but only so. Keeping an eye on the two speedsters, and noting that they were just far enough, she suddenly banked down another street, perpendicular to the one they were running on. Making a quick few turns, and glad she had familiarized herself with the streets in Central City (secretly, of course). Her gamble proved to be fortuitous, and she flew right in front of the Man in the Yellow Suit, forcing him to turn down another street. The Streak and the Girl in Blue continued this trend, and try as he might, the Man in the Yellow Suit was forced to follow their pace – the downsides of not having an ally to deal with the Kryptonian. With this, they were able to divert his route towards a specific building S.T.A.R. Labs.
Focused as he was on keeping his mother's murderer on their intended path, the Streak never allowed his senses to be closed off. Thus, he was able to hear the tell-tale whizz of a dart being shot at once. Using his speed to slow his perception, he caught the incoming dart, which had been aimed at his neck, and then another, and another, and another – soon he could see several darts, all coming from different directions, and all aimed at him. As fast as the Streak was now, that many projectiles were too much, even for him. He caught and dodged as many as he could, but two had managed to land, both piercing his back. He quickly removed them, but, by then, it was already too late.
Immediately, he could feel a slight wooziness overcoming him, a sapping of his strength. He tried to access his speed, but other than a few sparks of that familiar lightning, the power was gone, almost as if it were blocked off. Speed dampener, he realized.
"Got you."
The Streak looked up, and there he was: Detective Eddie Thawne, his own Inspector Javert, dressed in S.W.A.T. gear and armed with some of the anti-meta technology that had been donated to the CCPD by S.T.A.R. Labs. The Streak looked around. Surrounding him were several other officers of the Anti-Streak Task Force, each similar dressed and armed liked Eddie. Up in front of him, he could see a prisoner van and several cruisers parked across the street, creating a blockade.
"Put your hands in the air." Eddie ordered, his gun aimed right in the Streak's face. The Streak looked up at him for a moment, then, ever so slowly, raised his hands in the air.
The detective moved to cuff him, and that as when the Streak decided to act. Just as Eddie grabbed his forearm, the Streak flipped him over, turning around and using him as a shield. Immediately, the guns, which had tensed at the action, stiffened at the sight of one of their own being used like this. The Streak, knowing he need not saying anything, slowly backed away, towards the blockade, keeping Eddie in front of him as a deterrent to the cops. When he determined he was close enough, he kicked Eddie forward, and jumped behind one of the cars. Knowing he only had a few moments before Eddie managed to get far away enough to avoid friendly fire, the Streak peaked out over the hood of one car and, with one of his throwing knives in his hand, aimed for a thigh of one of the cops. The blade, far more pointed and sharper than what even S.W.A.T. gear was made to hold up against, pierced through cloth, causing the man to drop his gun and collapse in pain.
His teammates were immediately distracted by their partner's pain, and thus were woefully unprepared for the other knives the Streak threw, each hitting a non-vital area – enough to cause pain, to stun, to even knock unconscious, but not enough to kill. Before they could even catch on to what he was doing, they were all writhing on the ground in pain. The Streak, knowing there was still one more person to deal with, turned around, and found Eddie Thawne once again aiming a gun at him.
"You are not getting out of here." The older man growled determinedly. The Streak held his hands up once again, trying to convey a non-threatening air, but Eddie didn't become a detective by falling for the same tricks twice. He immediately shot at his prey, desperate to disable him – temporarily or permanently, whichever.
The Streak, however, despite his speed being dampened, still had reflexes that put professional athletes to shame, and dropped to the ground, evading the bullets. He rolled towards Eddie and swung his legs, knocking the other man off his feet and forcing him to drop his gun. The Streak got up immediately and made a move to run away, speed or no, but the Thawne grabbed his leg, trying to trip him. The speedster caught himself before he could fall, and kicked the other man away, backing away.
Realizing that he couldn't get away as long as Eddie was conscious, the Streak allowed the other man to get up. They glared at each other for but a moment, and then Eddie stepped forward, swinging a hard fist at the object of his obsession. The Streak dodged it easily, along with the punch after that and the punch after that. Every shot Eddie made failed to connect, with the Streak easily dancing around him. It made the detective angry that his rival could still be so quick without his speed. Eventual, having exhausted himself, Eddie leaned forward, hands on his knees, panting. The Streak, seeing his enemy weakened, kneed Eddie in the chin, forcing him to stand straight, and follow with a blow to the midsection, then two quick crisscrossing punches to the face, soundly knocking the other man down and out.
Just before Eddie lost consciousness, he saw a flash of blue and a familiar 'S' above him, and then, darkness.
At soon as he arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs, the Man in the Yellow Suit took a page out of his arch-enemy's book and shot an impending Firestorm with a bolt of lightning, knocking him out briefly. Unfortunately for him, that was all the Hood needed. The next moment, he was shot full of a speed dampener. The Man in the Yellow Suit stumbled a bit, try to acclimate to the sudden loss of his speed, and barely dodged another arrow aimed his way.
The Hood kept his distance, making shot after shot, all while running around, circling the speedster. While he would love nothing more than to engage in close combat with the man, the speed dampener would only last so long, and the Hood knew better than to be in the line of fire when that happened. Thus, this was the best – keep the Man in the Yellow Suit occupied and distracted as long as possible, until the Streak and the Girl in Blue returned.
Unfortunately, the Man in the Yellow Suit saw through his plan, and was trying to close in on the Hood, to take down at least one of the vigilantes and make enough distance to escape when his speed returned. Effectively stuck in a battle of attrition, the two men continued their stalemate until one of them saw an opening or made a mistake. Inevitable, the Man in the Yellow Suit saw his opening first, catching one of the Hood's arrows moving forward to engage in close combat with the man.
The Hood immediately blocked his first blow with his bow, and retaliated with one of his own, kicking the inside of the other man's leg. The Man in the Yellow Suit stumbled back once again, but regained his footing leaning back to dodge the Hood's follow-up elbow, grabbing it. The two continued to trade blows, catching, dodging, blocking, no one managing to land one good hit. Nonetheless, it was clear who had the advantage. The Man in the Yellow Suit was good, but the Streak and the Girl in Blue were better, and the Hood even better than them. He landed more offensive blows, pushing the older man back, and then he saw it – an opening. Before he could capitalize however, a fist, trailed red lightning, grabbed his neck. The Hood grabbed hold of the arm immediately, trying to pry it off, but even his strength was not enough.
"This history books say you lived to be eighty-six years old, Mr. Queen. I guess the history books are–"
BAM!
The Reverse-Flash jumped back, dusting off the light vestiges off his suit.
"Forgot about me?" Asked the flying Firestorm, his hands blazing. The Man in the Yellow Suit growled, but before he could act, a sharp blow hit the back of his head, and he knew no more.
Barry gazed silently at Cisco and Caitlin, who stared back at him, biting their lips and sweating slightly. In his hand was a very familiar dart.
"Speed dampener, huh?"
Both scientists grinned sheepishly. Barry continued to glare at them.
Until he burst into laughter.
Cisco blinked. "You're not mad?" he asked carefully.
"Nah." Barry smiled. "I'm actually impressed you managed to keep that from me. You aren't the types to hide secrets like that."
Caitlin smiled in relief. "Thank you –"
"Though I do expect you two to tell me about all the anti-speedster measures for the CCPD now." Barry continued genially.
Caitlin and Cisco froze and then immediately started spilling out confirmations. Barry smirked.
Still got it.
Next chapter continues the climax of Barry's storyline, and the two chapters after that will be the denouement, before we move to Oliver's storyline and the end of the arc.
Yeah, Eddie got his ass kicked. He's not going to be happy when wakes up, and, well. I'm saying this because I have plans for Eddie, which is why he's getting focus, and he'll have even more in the next arc, particularly on his relationship with Iris, which will be integral to his development as a character.
And Snart! Snart will appear in the next arc as well in a major capacity. While I won't make him as unbeatable as the show made Snart Season One, he will definitely be one of Barry's more difficult foes.