Chapter 27:
Brianna's scowl deepened the longer she looked at Tess, or Emmanuelle rather. She was not in a good mood.
"All stories start at the beginning, with a young girl with big dreams to be like her hero, the Flash, but a disability, a crippling nerve disease. Even the advanced technology of my time had no cure. I studied everything to find a cure, and tapped into some kind of energy. It rippled across the multiverse, some kind of negative speed force. That being created by the man known as Eobard Thawne, but thanks to a paradox, the ripple effects of Flashpoint, and a Crisis, I switched positions in the multiverse with him, as you did with Barry Allen. I made every attempt possible to fix it, but it did not stick. I stopped Savitar from being created, although there are other threats which always loom. Cicada and the Thinker, and Zoom is out there."
Emmanuelle sighed long and hard. She could feel the hate radiating off of her.
"Believe me, I did attempt to return home, and I decided to return to the point of origin which it started for all of us," she continued. "That being the night your mother was murdered. Barry changed it, undid it, more ripples. Several different Flashes in the timeline, but I managed to erase the final remnant of Eobard Thawne from this timeline, or so it seemed. His presence infected my mind once I dealt with him and I stood over Nora Allen and all of the resentment I felt, that he felt, burned through me. I plunged right through her chest. I murdered her and I take full responsibility for that."
She dialed things back, when she realized she had been rambling.
"I did stabilize your daughter, by introducing Oliver into the equation," she said. "And Eobard disappeared from my mind, until I was able to tap into the Negative Speed Force once again. But he's always there."
"So, the Timeline Ghost made you do it?" Brianna asked in a cool, crisp, and quite frankly detached voice.
"Believe me or not, that's your choice, and that's your call," Emmanuelle said. "Because, I've done nothing to earn your trust, and if you wish to kill me, you may be doing both of us a favor. Perhaps, Barry should have taken the drastic step before this spiralled out of control and messed up several timelines in the process. But, rest assure, I did my part, annd Nora, your daughter, she will thrive now. I'm confident of that."
Brianna looked over at the woman who killed her mother. It would be so easy to just do the same. Vibrate her hand through Emmauelle's heart and rip it out. But, perhaps that was the reason. It was her choice.
"I've tried to find the answers, but I couldn't," she replied. "So, do it then, Flash. Put me out of my misery. You would be doing the world a favor."
Oh, Brianna would have liked to, but she could not. Thawne, she looked like less of a dangerous murderer, and more of a pathetic woman, who had been begging for release. Would Brianna give it to her? Perhaps, she should, but perhaps she should rot.
"Take her to the cells," Brianna said. "I don't want to look at her right now."
With that proclamation, Brianna sped off. The breath had been taken out of her. Caitlin and Diana secured the Reverse-Flash and took her to the cell.
In the gym downstairs, Brianna pounded away at a heavy bag. Her fist blistered underneath the impact of the bag. Oliver watched her as the bag shattered underneath dust.
"You're going to need to slow down," Oliver told her.
"No, we're going to get more durable bags."
Brianna bounced from bag to bag. Rapid fire punches to each of the bag. She slammed her hand into the bag as hard as possible and almost knocked it into the wall.
"She was telling the truth," Oliver said.
"Yes, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous," Brianna said. "I don't understand. She killed my mother, framed my father. She killed Harrison Wells, and killed Tess Morgan-Wells, stole her body."
Oliver thought there was a good chance she killed Virgil Swann as well and stole his research. But he did not want to tip any more embers onto the fire than he had to. He could tell Brianna already had been a second away from losing it. She paced back and forth, agitated already. Oliver grabbed Brianna's shoulders and forced her to sit down. Which a part of Brianna appreciated.
"And yet, she worked tirelessly to protect my...daughter," Brianna said. "I guess she would have technically been Barry's daughter, and Iris's, although she might have been different. I don't understand. Why Eobard would have allowed her to do that if he made her do all of those other awful things?"
"Unless he had a soft spot for Nora as well," Oliver suggested.
Given how Emmanuelle painted Eobard as a monster, Brianna could not even begin to figure out how that would happen. She just pinned her fingers against the wall and sighed deeply.
"I feel like I'm getting a headache coming on. Time travel."
"I know."
Oliver wrapped his arms around Brianna and kissed her on the forehead.
"There's parts of this which don't make sense, but given all of the time shifts, I fear that's why," Oliver said. "From what she was saying, the old timeline was fragile. Someone must have been messing about it a lot."
Mmm, Brianna thought Oliver could have a point. She felt, well not better, but a lot more clearer. She needed to go down and eat something and perhaps drink something to kill her nerves. Unfortunately, she could not get drunk any more.
Oliver walked over to the cell where Emmanuelle's brain was being scanned. There was several black and yellow spots which popped up in her mind. Oliver would send them back to his best minds, to get their assessment on it. Despite the contamination in her brain, she seemed docile. Of course, Oliver knew by now how adept she was at putting on a mask and resolved not to fall for it.
"I need to talk to you about an old colleague of yours."
"You're referring to Virgil Swann, aren't you?" she asked. "Yes, I knew you would ask about that. I wanted his work on the multiverse, but he said that research should not fall into the wrong hands. Perhaps, he was right, but regardless, what was done is done."
"Do you have the journal?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, although I have not been able to translate it completely," Emmanuelle said. "I'll be happy to give it to you and Ms. Danvers, I know you've been hunting all over for it. It may hold the key to solve an upcoming storm."
This particular statement caught Oliver unaward.
"Zoom. If Black Siren and Power Girl crossed this Earth's barriers, then Zoom will likely do the same. And others might find their way here. He's coming for Ms. Allen, and any speedster. His evil even unsettles Eobard, and he terrifies me."
She spoke quite candidly when doing so.
"I can give you the final key to crossing dimensions, if you will let me. But, I know that's a hard bargain to drive, because you don't trust me."
"No more than you trust yourself to do the right thing," Oliver said.
"My connection to the Negative Speedfore is inert when Brianna does not use her powers," Emmanuelle said. "And when I'm in this cell, I'm blocked. However, that could turn around in a blink of an eye, if you're not careful. And if she uses her powers..."
Oliver just responded with a nod.
"We're going to need your help to beat Zoom," Oliver said. "And I'm working on a solution to help with your problem."
"Of course, the great Ra's al Ghul considers all of the angles and will not squander a single resource," she replied.
Oliver did not even bother to ask how she knew. Future knowledge could be a great help.
Brianna calmed down just enough to not want to punch a wall or punch Thawne's head in. The grim expression on Oliver's face when he came up from the basement just made Brianna realize there had been bad news.
"Zoom will be coming," Oliver said. "And if Black Siren and Power Girl fear him, then we should be prepared for whatever Zoom is going to have to bring soon. But Emmanuelle, she believes…."
"Oh, she wants to help us now," Brianna said.
"I know you don't trust her, and I'm not letting her out of that cage without reason as well," Oliver said. "I've sent a brain scan to my people and they're already working on something to make sure the Reverse-Flash doesn't double cross me."
"It would be a lot easier if you made her your sex slave and add her to your harem," Brianna said, almost off of the cuff. "But, I suppose whatever plan you have, I'm going to have to trust it. What would you have done if I killed her?"
"You never would have reached that point," Oliver said. "I'm not going to tell you what you should do or should not do, that's on you. But I will tell you what I think you stopped short of killing her. She's the only person who could clear your father's reputation."
Brianna's jaw had been set and she responded with a nod. That was more than it.
"You okay?"
Iris stuck her head around through the door. Oliver got a call at this time.
"Ruve?" Oliver asked. "It's done. Someone's coming over with it? Great, I'll see you in a while."
Oliver stepped out to continue his conversation with Ruve in private. Iris stepped into the room and looked at Brianna.
"So, you used to be a guy, before the timeline changed?" Iris asked.
"Well, no, we just switched spots, and I think Barry is in my place from whatever world I was originally in," Brianna said. "I think. It really gave me a headache."
Iris really just smiled. She could feel Brianna's pain, she really could.
"And our daughter? Where do you think Thawne's keeping her?"
"I don't know," Brianna said. "We have to worry about this sadistic speedster which is coming."
"Right, bigger picture stuff first, personal stuff later," Iris said.
Oliver opened the field to the cell and motioned for Emmanuelle to step out. She did, and eyed Oliver over. He had a box and inside of it was a collar, which looked like a glorified choker device.
"This will help with your problem, providing it's all Eobard," Oliver said.
He knew it was but Emmanuelle nodded. She curled her blonde hair back, and looked Oliver in the eyes. He put the collar on her, almost like he was fitting a pet. And that thought sent shivers down the spine of the speedsters.
The view screen of her brain scan blinked and all of the black and yellow spots on her brain disappeared. Emmanuelle rubbed the top of her head.
"Well, Emmy, how are you feeling?"
She flushed at the pet name Oliver gave her. She would have hated such a thing normally.
"HIVE's work is top notch as possible," Emmy replied. "I wonder if it has any special features other than keeping speed demon echoes at bay."
"Well, Ruve outdid herself," Oliver said. "And if we want to work together, we're going to have to take our partnership to the next level."
Emmy just smiled and decided to go for it. She kissed Oliver right on the lips. The gorgeous blonde's hands roamed endlessly on Oliver's body, who pulled her in and pinned her against the wall outside of her cell. Those kisses continued to escalate and make her body tingle.
"It's been a while since this body's felt pleasure," Emmy breathed. "So, be gentle."
Well, her voice said gentle, but Emmy's mind and body language screamed for Oliver to fuck her hard.
The Shameless Smut Commences In the Next Chapter