UnknownThrone: Yes, they do take place on the same earth.
Ellie Bishop: *Laughs* Yeah, especially the recruits, Felicity and Diggle. Quentin probably just wants a drink while Thea is wondering what kind of F'ed up world is she in. Glad it makes sense. Yeah, Cisco wasn't doing so great. Yeah, Barry has come back as a Spectre like being.
Green Hal37: No, they have not. They've both been dealing with other things, plus SHIELD would have fallen around the time Barry first started, or if we're doing the whole one year early, it would have fallen before The Siege in Arrow. Everything from Tony getting captured in Afghanistan to Thor chopping off Thanos' head happened exactly the same. Barry and Wanda have known each other for longer than a year but they've also never met before. IT will make sense when you read the chapter.
Guest 2.0: Thank you.
Guest 1: I think that's a bit of an exaggeration but I get where you're coming from. I think it's because as writers, we like to explore different concept and Wanda/Barry a break from the usual Barry pairings. Noto mention Wanda is an interesting character who is unfortunately forever tied to Vision, so this gives us a chance to explore something else with her.
Guest 2: We'll see on the portal scene if I can fit it into the story. I have plans for Hulk and Thor in this story, but I'm not going to be bringing in Batman. As much as I would have liked to see him treated better than in Crisis, I'm already dealing with a large cast of characters and there's just no room for Batman. Maybe in another story.
Guest 3: I see why you think that but it's very different. Jemma/Will was born out of despair, out of being a way to cope. Barry/Wanda is very different.
Cisco's apartment
Morning
"Allen?" Harry asked shocked as he, Jay and Cisco stared at Barry in shock.
"So you see him to right? I'm not still drunk and hallucinating?" Cisco asked.
"No, you're not hallucinating Cisco. It's really me," Barry said, smiling slightly.
"How is this possible? The Speed Force Prison-" Jay started.
"Faded from existence with Savitar," Barry explained. "The world coming to an end, it was a necessary lie to get me into The Speed Force before Thanos used the stones. How long has it been out here?"
"A year," Harry said and it was silent as Barry digested this. "How long has it been for you?"
"Over a century," Barry said, shocking them. "Time works differently in The Speed Force."
"Is-is it really you? Are you Barry Allen?" Cisco asked his voice thick with emotion as he walked over to Barry.
"You are and have always been my friend Cisco," Barry said with a smile.
Overcome with emotion, Cisco grabbed Barry in a bear hug, which Barry eagerly returned.
"It's good to see you buddy," Barry said gently.
"Yeah…you to," Cisco said, wiping his eyes as they let go. "It must have been a long hundred years with only The Speed Force for company."
"It wasn't just The Speed Force," Barry said as he thought of Wanda. "But that's a story for another time."
"You said that time travel was the only way. Barry, haven't you learned from Flashpoint?" Jay asked as he stepped forward.
"Yes, I have. Which is why we won't be going back in time to stop Thanos in the past. We'll be using time travel to undo what Thanos did in the present," Barry explained and was met with three pairs of confused eyes.
"And how are we going to do that?" Cisco asked confused.
"That is a long story I'd rather only tell once. But what I do know is that the four of us won't be enough. We need everyone to pull this off. It's time to gather the team," Barry said.
Star City
Not long after
Oliver stood in the memorial for those lost in the Decimation, standing in front of a giant pillar. He stared at Thea's name on the pillar as he felt Nyssa walk up to him.
"It's not easy, letting go," Oliver said after a moment. "But we have to. It's what they would want."
"And how do we do that?" Nyssa inquired.
"I don't know," Oliver admitted with a sigh. "But maybe we can figure that out together."
"Together," Nyssa repeated softly.
Oliver held his hand out and, after a moment, she took it. They stared at the pillar for a moment before a powerful gust of wind struck them from behind. As Nyssa's hair flew up, Oliver's mind flashed back to when this hand happened before. Shock flooding him, he whirled around to see Barry Allen standing behind them.
"Barry?" Oliver breathed as Nyssa looked behind her.
"Hey Ollie," Barry greeted. "It's good to see you."
"How, you were trapped in The Speed Force?" Oliver said in shock as he released Nyssa's hand.
"I was, now I'm not. I know how to fix this Ollie, I know how to bring everyone back," Barry said and the pair stared at him in stunned disbelief.
"How?" Nyssa asked in disbelief.
"That is a long story. But first, I need you two to grab Slade Wilson, get in your plane and head to New York," Barry explained.
"Barry, what is going on?" Oliver asked, bewildered.
"Do you trust me?" Barry asked seriously, looking Oliver right in the eyes.
"I do," Oliver said without hesitation.
"Then trust I know what I'm doing. Cisco, Harry and Jay Garrick will meet you there. I need to pick up one more person and we'll meet you all in New York," Barry said before he turned and sped off.
"Do you think he really has a plan?" Nyssa asked once he was gone.
"Yeah, I do. I'm not sure if this plan will work but…there's hope now Nyssa. We have to try," Oliver said grimly.
San Francisco
Not long after
In a storage unit, Barry sped into an orange van. Taking a seat on the passenger side, Barry took a look at the control panel mounted on the dash.
"Really hope this works," Barry muttered as he pressed a button.
Immediately, there was a flashing light as something whirled in the back end of the van. Barry grinned as he heard something hit the junk around the van and a man groan.
"Well, that answers that question," Barry joked.
Barry then sped outside the van, startling a dark haired man in a suit Cisco would love to examine.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where's Hope?" Scott Lang asked as he looked around in confusion.
"I'm Barry, Barry Allen. As to the rest…that's a long story. Let's get out of here before security shows up and I'll explain everything," Barry promised.
Star City
Afternoon
"So this Barry Allen says he has a plan to bring everyone back?" Slade said as he, Oliver, and Slade stood in Slade's office. "What is it?"
"He hasn't exactly said," Oliver said lamely and Slade gave him a look usually reserved for when he thought Oliver had done something incredibly stupid.
"Kid, you two have been looking into ways to do this for almost a year. Now this Barry Allen finds one out of thin air?" Slade asked skeptically.
"I know how it sounds okay? I know it sounds crazy, but you don't know Barry like I do. He would not have come to me with this if he was not completely sure this would work. Slade, if there is even a small chance this could bring back our families, bring back everyone, don't we owe it to them to at least try?" Oliver asked and Slade was silent, at war with himself for a few moments.
"Alright, I'll at least hear what he has to say," Slade finally gave in.
San Francisco
Same time
Barry's words running through his head, Scott ran down the sidewalk, racing towards his destination. Finally, he saw it: his ex-wife's house. Racing up to the front door, he frantically rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal the shocked face of Maggie Lang.
"Scott," she breathed before hugging him tightly before releasing him. "How is this possible?"
"That is a long story that I will get into later. Is Cassie okay?" Scott asked frantically.
"She's fine, she's at school," Maggie said and the knot in Scott's stomach loosened. "She'll be so happy to know you're okay."
"But a lot of other people aren't," Scott said lowly and it was silent between them.
"No, they're not," Maggie said quietly as she thought of Jim, who had been one of the victims of the Decimation.
"I have to go. Tell Cassie I'll call her tonight and that I love her," Scott said as he turned and started to walk out.
"Wait, Scott, where are you going," Maggie called out in confusion.
"To try and fix this," Scott tossed over his shoulder.
Avengers Compound
Night
Natasha sighed as she listened to Rocket and Carol bicker over the channel during the holographic conference. A year ago, it would have been amusing but now…now, it was just tiring.
"All right. Uh, well...This channel is always active. So, anything goes sideways...Anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't...Comes through me," Natasha told them.
Everyone nodded and one by one, the holograms disappeared until only Rhodey was left. Natasha collapsed into her desk before looking up at him.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Mexico. The Federales found a room full of bodies, looks like a bunch of Cartel guys never even got a chance to fire off their guns," Rhodey said.
"Could be a rival gang," Natasha said but it sounded hollow even to her own ears.
"We both know its Barton," Rhodey said gently. "The scene that he's left, what he's been doing for the last year…there's a part of me that doesn't even wanna find him."
"Will you find out where he's going next?" Natasha asked as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
"Nat," Rhodey started.
"Please," Natasha almost begged.
"Okay," Rhodey agreed reluctantly.
His hologram faded and Natasha put her hands to her head, trying not to cry.
"I'd offer to cook you dinner, but you seem pretty miserable already," Natasha looked up to see Steve standing there.
"You here for your laundry?" Natasha asked as she wiped her eyes.
"Here to see a friend," Steve corrected.
"Well, your friend is fine," Natasha said in an unconvincing voice.
Steve was silent, simply staring at her with an unreadable look.
"Are you gonna say something or just stand there staring at me?" Natasha said in what was meant as a joke but it fell flat even to her ears.
"You're not alone in this Nat. The burden doesn't fall to just you," Steve told her and she smiled weakly.
"I have to keep going," Natasha said and Steve was silent as he sat in a chair in front of her desk.
"You know, I keep telling everyone they should move on, grow. Some do…but not us," Steve finally said after a moment. "How do you move forward after this?"
"If I figure that out, I'll tell you," Natasha said and he smiled weakly.
Suddenly, a device chimed. Natasha pressed a button and a video screen appeared in the corner.
"Hi, is anyone home? It's Scott Lang, we met in Germany a few years ago, I was the guy who got really big. I really need to talk to you," shocked, Steve and Natasha both got to their feet as they saw Scott, standing with several people they didn't recognize, on the screen.
"Is this old footage?" Steve asked.
"It's the front gate," Natasha said breathlessly.
A little later, Steve and Natasha stood facing Scott, Barry, Oliver, Cisco, Harry, Slade, Nyssa and Jay.
"So, you two," Natasha said as she looked at Barry and Oliver. "Are the Flash and Green Arrow?"
"Yes," Oliver said lowly, not pleased at his identity being revealed but knowing why it was necessary after listening to Barry's plan.
"Look, you need to listen to what he has to say," Scott said, gesturing wildly to Barry.
"Scott, I can take it from here," Barry said with a kind smile before turning to Steve and Natasha. "So, I'm sure you remember the Particle Accelerator explosion in Central City five years ago."
"Yeah, SHIELD was actually sent to investigate it," Natasha remembered.
"Well, that's how I got my powers. The Accelerator created a bolt of lightning that struck me and gave me my speed. But the source of my powers is actually something called The Speed Force," Barry explained.
"And that is?" Natasha asked dryly.
"It's sort of this sentient energy; all Speedsters get their powers from it. One year ago, before Thanos, I was told I needed to go inside it or the world would end. So that's where I was when Thanos hit, I spent the last year trapped there," Barry explained.
"I'm sorry, that must have been a long year," Natasha said sympathetically.
"You don't know the half of it," Cisco muttered.
"It was longer than a year. For me, it was a century," Barry said, to Steve and Natasha's shock. "The Speed Force, it's an endless void of time and space. Time works differently there. It's what allows speedsters to go so fast we can travel through time. Which is how we can undo this."
"Wait, you can time travel?" Natasha asked and Barry nodded.
"Barry, what are you getting at?" Steve asked.
"Thanos told you he used the stones to destroy the stones. But he was lying to you," Barry explained, to their shock.
"How do you know?" Natasha asked urgently.
"Because The Speed Force was watching him. The Stones, they're an extension of The Speed Force, they come from it, it has a link to them. Thanos didn't destroy them because even he's not that crazy. Instead, he sent them to different places in time so that no one could ever find them," Barry explained.
"You know where they are," Steve realized and Barry nodded.
"So why haven't you gone back in time and gotten them?" Natasha asked wearily.
"Because Thanos was crazy, not stupid. He put them in places where they would be difficult to get, they're heavily guarded. Even I can't get them, not by myself. Which is where all of you come in," Barry said as he looked around at all of them. "The Speed Force, it spent all that time teaching me how to harness its power. I can use that power to drop you guys at the points where Thanos put the stones, you get them, and then I bring you all back."
"Look, we know it sounds crazy-" Scott started.
"Scott, I exchange emails with a raccoon, nothing sounds crazy anymore," Natasha said. "That's not the issue."
"You don't trust me," Barry noted and Steve and Natasha were silent. "It's alright, I'm just some guy with a plan you've never met. I didn't expect you to trust me with this insane plan. Wanda said you'd be this way."
"Wait, Wanda? How do you know Wanda?" Steve asked as he and Natasha started.
"Her powers, they come from The Speed Force, she has a connection to it. When she died, it pulled her spirit into itself so she could help me break out when I needed to. She was in there with me the whole time," Barry said before looking over at Natasha. "She wanted me to tell you that now is not the time for looking over your shoulder to be second nature."
Steve and Natasha exchanged a glance, recognizing the phrase. It was something Natasha had often told Wanda, only The Avengers would have known that.
"Look, I know you don't trust me, you just met me. But I don't need you to trust me; I need you to work with me. Because this, it's gonna take all of us. So are you gonna help me or not?" Barry asked.
So, the stones are not destroyed, but they were sent to different places in different times. If we'd gone the route of Endgame, then the story would have been over very quickly, as Barry would have been able to retrieve all but the Soul Stone. This way, there's a challenge involved and the other heroes have to help. Plus, Barry gets to show off his new abilities.