Chapter 106: A Weakness
"You know I'm getting really sick of invasions," was the first thing to come out of Jefferson's mouth the moment Barry was done with his explanation of Zoom's plan.
The moment the monitors were set-up, Barry had immediately called Amanda and given a private report on his imprisonment, including the… unpleasant video Zoom had shown him before his departure. As much as he hated the woman, Barry could appreciate her professionalism. She made no indication of sympathy or any reaction of the sort, staying perfectly neutral throughout. Barry didn't think he could handle any of that yet. He occasionally saw the pitying looks Dante gave him, and it was only because he knew Dante didn't mean anything malicious by it that he wasn't snapping at the other man to stop.
Nor did he miss Slade's looks. Even with all the years of separation, Slade still knew him better than anyone sans Oliver, Kara, and Kal. The time he parented Barry might have been brief, but that bond was strong enough to survive close to a decade of separation. He knew something was bothering Barry, and he would ask, and Barry… Barry would tell him. And he didn't know how to deal with that.
But none of that mattered right now. Right now, all that mattered was stopping Zoom.
After finishing his report to Amanda, Cisco popped in and revealed that the entire Justice League were now available for the conference. Everyone in the building except the group still cataloging the archives of S.T.A.R. Labs congregated into the Cortex to join in on the conference, including Slade, Bette, and the still-recovering Dante, who looked to be a little overwhelmed with being involved in such a meeting. Upon the start, Barry immediately went into a full explanation of what he learned during his imprisonment, including Zoom's intention to have his metahuman army from Earth-2 invade their earth and conquer it.
"Aren't we all?" Laurel responded dully as the image of her on the monitor rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Next to her, Oliver had his arms crossed and seemed to be counting to some number to calm down. Next to him was Kara, who was sharpening her sword.
J'onn looked even more severe than usual. "A metahuman army. We all saw how many known metahumans were in the database. Hundreds, potentially thousands. If Zoom succeeds, then not even the Justice League will be able to stop him. No one will be able to."
"Then we make sure he doesn't succeed," Mari replied firmly. "How does he plan on bathing the city in dark matter?"
"I believe we can answer that."
Everyone in the Cortex turned around to see the speaker: Professor Martin Stein, followed by Ronnie Raymond and Hartley Rathaway. Ronnie went to join his fiancee while Hartley saddled up next to Cisco, the two giving each other their customary stink eyes. Stein, in turn, went to the center of the Cortex to stand next to Barry and Slade, face bereft of its usual polite enthusiasm.
"We finished archiving the inventory," Stein explained, "And our fears were correct — Zoom's team did, in fact, steal something from us."
"What was it?" Barry asked, speaking for everyone.
Stein sighed. "The Dark Matter Collector."
There was a moment of silence before Barry swore violently. The other scientific minds in the room who had been unaware were similarly aghast, with Cisco burying his face into one of his hands while Caitlin shot a 'Please tell me he's wrong!' look at her fiance. She faltered when she saw the confirming expression on Ronnie's face.
"Excuse me?" Dante spoke up, wincing when he saw everyone turn to him. "I know I'm the new guy and all but… what's dark matter?"
Barry exhaled. "Dark matter is the substance that was released when the Particle Accelerator exploded a few years ago. It's what created most of the metahumans in the city and throughout the world."
"Dark matter is what triggers the expression of the metahuman gene," Caitlin explained further, "The gene that gives metahumans their powers. Therefore, most metahumans have dark matter in their system, including Barry, your brother, Ronnie and Professor Stein."
"Huh," Dante nodded along, interested. "So… this Dark Matter Collector collects dark matter from metahumans?"
"No," Barry shook his head, "It collects dark matter from the environment."
Dante blinked. "What?"
"When the Particle Accelerator exploded a couple of years ago, it irradiated the entire city with dark matter," Cisco told his brother, "Not just people, but the city itself — the buildings, the trees, the cars, the ground — everything. And that dark matter, it didn't just 'go away'. It dissipated. Spread. It's still there, just… farther apart."
"But with the Dark Matter Collector, Zoom can collect all of that free dark matter for his own personal usage," Hartley continued where Cisco left off, voice dark. "He'll never be able to collect all of it, but he'll be able to collect enough to do what he said — saturate the air of Central City with it, and weaken the dimensional barrier. Create multiple breaches between Earth-1 and Earth-2 that will allow him to send in his army."
"Why did you create something like this?" Dante demanded, horrified.
"We created it in case dark matter proved to be detrimental to the environment, or people," Barry explained tiredly. "Until the Particle Accelerator Explosion, dark matter was purely theoretical. Even now, years after, we've barely scratched the surface of what it's capable of. If it ever proved to be harmful, we needed a ready way to get rid of it."
"And now Zoom has weaponized it," Stein summed up the situation for everyone. "He stole it weeks ago. Who knows how much dark matter he's collected already. It'll only be a matter of time before he releases it all and begins his invasion of Earth-1."
"Then we stop him before he can try," Oliver finally spoke up, silencing everyone. "We capture him, we expose him as Hunter Zolomon, and we force him to tell us the location of the Collector by any means necessary. We stop this before it can get any farther."
"But how?" Slade asked his son, stepping forward. He and Bette had stayed in the background so far, allowing the Justice League, whose expertise involved dealing with villains like Zoom, dominate the conversation. Here, however, he couldn't stay silent. "He knows we're aware of his lair, and of his plan. If he was smart, and we all know he is, he'll scrub the place and keep low until it's time to unleash the dark matter onto the city."
"Then we draw him out."
"With what? We don't have anything he could want."
As the discussion continued over the merits of trapping Zoom, Barry rubbed his chin, deep in thought. They couldn't track the Dark Matter Collector. First thing Zoom would've done was remove the in-built tracker, then sore it in a lead-lined building so Kara couldn't find it with her X-Ray vision. They could try tracing it with the dark matter, but it was as Cisco said — the entire city had been irradiated, and dark matter tended to mess with the readings anyway. No, going after the Collector itself was not an option.
Then, he remembered his intense confrontation with Zoom, and an idea sprung to mind. It was a long shot, but… well, what other choices did they have?
"I might have something," he announced, cutting everyone off. "It's a long shot, I don't know if he'll do it or not, but it's all we got. But if we are going to trap Zoom, we're going to have to pull off all the stops. The entire Justice League is going to have to get involved."
"Done." To everyone's surprise, Amanda's own video feed appeared onscreen, interjecting her into the conference. Obviously, she had been listening in on the entire conversation. "Planes have been booked for everyone. You all leave tonight. Don't worry about work, A.R.G.U.S. will take care of it."
"And of course, you butt in," Slade noted dryly.
"Of course I did. Where would you all be without me?" Amanda smirked. "Now tell me Allen: what's this plan of yours?"
Barry grimaced.
The moment the meeting was done, Barry retreated into the Time Vault, where he had stored the tachyonic prototype he had been working on to increase his speed. He had tested the prototype already, charting the increase, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough to match Zoom's speed. Perhaps it didn't need to, exactly. He wasn't as fast as Reverse-Flash, but he was fast enough for the skill difference to matter and allow him to match his mother's murderer. That should be enough for Zoom as well.
"Barry."
And here we go. "Slade," Barry greeted his father figure as the other man entered the room.
Slade crossed his arms, looking as stalwart and strong as ever. "What happened during your captivity with Zoom?"
Barry paused. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Barry." Slade stepped forward, looking deeply concerned. "Don't think I didn't notice. The only time I've ever remembered you looking like that was after Shado died."
The speedster felt a pang of pain at that memory. Even though it had been years and everyone in the family had accepted it and moved on, Shado's death was still a wound on them that would never quite heal. Barry in particular had taken it hard; Shado, however, briefly, had filled in the void left behind in Nora Allen's death. Losing her, like he had with his mother all those years ago, had hurt just the same.
"What did he do, Barry?"
Barry closed his eyes. "Before he left, he decided to give me something of a parting gift. He showed me a video of him torturing Jay Garrick, the real Jay Garrick, of Earth-3." He then opened his eyes, and met Slade's worried gaze. "The doppelganger of Henry Allen."
That revelation was met with a sharp inhale, and once again Barry found himself in his father's arms. Barry didn't fight his embrace, burying his head into the crook of Slade's neck. "I couldn't look away," he whispered, haunted, "no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't look away."
Slade didn't say anything, just pulled Barry closer in, rubbing circles into his back.
"It was like watching Shado die all over again," Barry confessed further. "I can't get it out of my mind. I'm scared that every time I look at Dad from here on out, all I'll ever see is that bastard torturing him. Hurting him." Killing him.
"You won't," Slade told him, voice dark and foreboding. "You won't. He'll pay, Barry. He'll pay, and he won't hurt anyone else ever again. Least of all your father."
Barry hugged him tighter. "You promise?"
"I promise," Slade vowed. "And you and I both know I keep my promises."
Even as the Justice League arrived one by one to Central City, Barry refused to lift the lockdown on S.T.A.R. Labs. He did not want to risk the possibility of Zoom or Reverb invading until the last possible second. As long as the city wasn't suffering some sort of metahuman threat, then the others accepted his decision.
There was another conflict, however, brewing because of his choice. One a little more close to home.
"Dante, please, reconsider!" Cisco pleaded with his brother, who was resting on the cot in the medbay.
"No, Cisco, I'm not leaving," Dante insisted, sipping a glass of water.
Cisco was not moved. "It's not safe here, Dante! Go with Mom and Dad, go into witness protection. They're probably worried sick about you."
"They're probably worried about both of us, Cisco. And even then…" Dante grimaced. "They probably don't want to see someone with my face right now. Not until Zoom is defeated, at least. When they can be sure I'm, well, me."
"Dante—"
"I know you want me to be safe, Cisco," Dante cut his brother off, eyes sympathetic. "But nowhere is safe right now. Not until Zoom is gone. At least here, I can keep an eye on you."
Cisco faltered at that, and finally gave in.
The hours passed. Eventually, the Justice League gathered at the Hall of Justice, with only Barry missing among their number. As the last kinks of the plan were ironed out and the Justice League prepared and positioned themselves to implement it. Then, just as they were done, Barry got a call on his cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Barry?"
Barry relaxed. "Iris. I'm sorry I only sent you a text. I was… preoccupied with something."
He heard Iris swallow. "Barry, I'm glad to hear you're okay. I'll head over to S.T.A.R. Labs—"
"No!" Barry quickly shouted, catching the attention of some of the others in the Cortex. "S.T.A.R. Labs is currently on lockdown. We're preparing to capture and expose Zoom."
"You are? But you just got out of captivity!"
"I know, but Iris, there's no time. Zoom plans on bringing over a metahuman army from Earth-2 soon and if we don't stop him now then Central City becomes a war zone. An army of that size, with soldiers of so many different powers…" Barry closed his eyes at the sheer horror of the idea, "Even the Justice League will be overwhelmed. So please, just stay put for now. We're not lifting the lockdown until we have to."
"… Alright. Be careful, Barry."
"I always am," Barry responded, smiling. Then he ended the call.
Which is when he noticed the silence. He glanced around, frowning. "What?"
Hartley rolled his eyes and continued tinkering with his gauntlets. The rest of Team Flash were wearing similar amused looks before returning to their own work. Barry's frown deepened. Then his phone rang again.
Barry sighed and accepted the call. "Look—"
"Hello, Flash."
The speedster froze. "Zoom," he hissed, catching everyone's attention again. He held out a hand, silently ordering them to stay quiet.
"I was unhappy to have our time together cut so short. Really unhappy. It's too bad your friends killed my guards. They would've been a fine way for me to let off some steam, especially because it was their failure that separated us so soon."
"I doubt they would've felt that way," Barry commented sarcastically.
"Oh, certainly. But whatever they thought wouldn't have mattered. Not that it means much in the end. They're still dead, and I'm still angry."
"Well, boohoo. What do you expect me to do about it?"
He could feel Zoom smirk. "Oh, it's not what you're going to do. It's what your father is going to do."
Barry froze. "What?"
The next voice to come over the phone only confirmed his fears. "Barry?" Henry Allen's voice called to him. "What's going on?"
"Dad, just calm down, everything's going to be fine—" There was a shout, and then silence.
Then, "Meet me in fifteen minutes, Flash. At the place where your life changed forever. And there… our story will continue." The call ended.
Barry lowered his phone and stared at it for a long while. Then, he inhaled deeply. "Gideon, deactivate lockdown."
"As you wish, Creator Barry Allen."
As the sounds of the shutters being lifted flowed throughout the atmosphere, Barry shifted his shoulders as he felt his speed return to him. The tachyon prototype had long since been strapped to his chest, miniaturized and hidden behind his emblem. He was as ready as he could ever be.
"Inform the Justice League that my father has been kidnapped by Zoom," he told everyone as he moved to leave. "I'm going after him."
"You know where he is?" Slade asked, strapping his sword to his back.
"I do," Barry confirmed, not looking back. "He's home."
When Barry first arrived back to Central City after being rescued from Lian Yu, one of the first places he visited was his mother's grave. Seeing his old room at the West home, seeing his father behind that glass divider at Iron Heights — all of it reminded him of the moment that led to him landing on the shores of Lian Yu over a decade ago. The death that had started it all.
He had to see the grave, because he wanted closure. He had already made peace with Yao Fei's death, Shado's death, Slade's "death" when they had returned to Lian Yu for those final six months. Had visited those graves once a week with the others to clean them up and change the flowers while they waited for that freighter to arrive. And in doing so, it reminded him that he had never seen his mother's grave. Because back then, he had been a child who wasn't ready to accept that his mother was gone, and never coming back.
That child was long dead now. He had died when Barry Allen had first washed up on the shores of Lian Yu. So when Barry returned home, one of the first things he did was finally pay his respects to his mother, and finally close that chapter of his life. It had hurt, seeing the grave, but not as much as he thought it would. No, if anything, there had been a relief to it — and a resolve. Because while his mother may have been at rest, enjoying whatever afterlife that awaited good people like her, his father was languishing in a cell for a crime he had never committed. Seeing the grave had only made him more determined to get his father out of his unjust imprisonment, so they could visit Nora Allen together and allow his father to also say goodbye. To make his own peace with his wife's death.
They had gotten that chance when Harrison Wells had been declared dead. And now…
I haven't seen this place in over fifteen years.
That was the thought that crossed Barry's mind as he gazed up at the old Allen home. This place had been once filled with happy memories, but it had been irremediably scarred in his mind by that fateful night when Eobard Thawne shoved a knife through his mother's heart. Barry hadn't bothered to look it up when he came back. After everything that had happened here, neither him nor his father had wanted anything to do with this place.
He walked inside slowly, dreading what would await him there. And he was right to — he found Hunter Zolomon, clad in his Zoom suit, standing in the very spot where Nora Allen had been murdered by the Reverse-Flash. He had Henry Allen in his grasp, an arm around his neck to keep the older man secure, to stifle his struggling. Barry removed his own cowl in return, and exchanged glares with his enemy.
"Family," Zolomon told him derisively, with a sneer, "is a weakness."
Things are building and building. But this act is far from over, that much I will say. We're going to be entering the endgame soon, everyone, and after that, nothing in this story will ever be the same.
And in case you were wondering, the Dark Matter Collector is an entirely original creation. I did this because the Particle Accelerator was dismantled, with only the Pipeline really remaining intact, and only for the occasional interrogation. There are currently no prisoners kept in S.T.A.R. Labs.
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