This would not happen again.

The Reverse-Flash had already claimed the life of Nora Allen. Barry would not allow him to claim the life of Henry Allen as well. The Scarlet Speedster zoomed his way into Iron Heights, chasing behind the red lightning the Reverse-Flash was generating. He was beginning to sweat, and his face sported a glare as he pursued his foe.

The other speedster made it to the cell of Henry in a few seconds, and Barry got ready to try and tackle the Reverse-Flash in a last ditch effort to save his father's life. The Reverse-Flash, in turn, reached out for Henry's neck. Henry had barely any idea what was going on due to the sheer speed that the Flash and Reverse-Flash were running at. Barry managed to tackle the yellow menace right as he had placed his finger tips onto Henry's neck, and the two were sent flying towards the wall.

The Reverse-Flash got up first, and he seemed to be sporting an angry look towards Barry – the latter couldn't tell due to the former's face vibrating.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Barry shouted once he got up, holding the side of his chest. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! WHAT IS YOUR ENDGAME?!"

After a split second of silence, the Reverse-Flash spoke. "My name is Eobard Thawne. And I only have one goal in life: To hurt you, Barry."

Thawne proceeded to deck Barry in the face twice, and then punched him in the stomach once. "I came all the way from the future to do it. And it has been a fun ride."

Before Thawne could land another blow, a giant green hammer struck him from above, sending him crashing underground. It was Hal, who levitated down to the ground alongside Carol.

Barry shook his head. "No, no, no, you two should be helping out the rest of the team with the Hulk and his father."

Henry was still standing there, seemingly shocked to see both Green Lantern and Captain Marvel in Iron Heights, for he had yet to say a word.

Carol let out an energy blast towards Thawne and Hal created a giant whip which he used against the Reverse-Flash. Barry, meanwhile, super-sped towards his father.

"Dad, are you alright?" Barry said, placing his hand on his father's shoulder.

"My God…it's him….it's really him…"

Barry held onto the back of Henry's head to prevent the Whiplash Effect and super-sped him out of Iron Heights and all the way towards Omaha, in the state of Nebraska – and right by the neighborhood that was across the street from Harry A. Burke High School.

"Alright, just lay low, walk around for a little while, and I'll take care of the Reverse-Flash," Barry said right as Henry took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, Dad, I'm so –"

"For what, Barry?" Henry asked, genuinely confused.

"I just….I can't lose you. I-I-I already lost Mom to that monster, I won't let him take you. I-I'm sorry, I j-just can't –"

"Barry!" Henry interrupted with a stern voice that made Barry stop right away. "…Barry, stop apologizing. You can't change what happened to your mom. You never could've done anything that would've changed the outcome. …But you have that ability now."

Barry looked down at the ground and sighed.

Henry placed his hand on his shoulder, and Barry looked back up to see his father with widened eyes. "But for the love of God, Barry….please be careful," He said, with a few tears flowing down his face. "Just….please…"

Barry looked like he was about to cry himself, and he embraced his father. Henry hugged him back, and when the Flash let go a few moments later, he nodded towards his dad before super-speeding his way back to Central City.

When Barry returned to Iron Heights, he saw that the action had been moved to a few blocks away, with Carol grabbing the Reverse-Flash by his shoulder and giving him an uppercut, though her attempt to deliver another one was stopped when Thawne super-sped away, then came back and decked her in the face and punched her in the stomach. When Hal came towards him, creating a giant hand with which to punch Thawne, the speedster got out of the way and lunged towards Hal at super-speed, decking him in the face as well.

"Some future Earth Lanterns will end up far more creative than you ever were, Jordan," Thawne said in a mocking tone as he punched Hal in the stomach three times and then one in the chest, then creating wind funnels to send Carol and Barry away when they both tried to intervene. "You only ever showed an ounce of imagination during the fight against Surtur…or, should I say, you will…."

He grabbed Hal by the head and lowered him so that he could kneel the Green Lantern right in the face. "You are so dull, you're almost not worth the effort….but your friendship with the Flash makes you a prime target."

The Reverse-Flash kneed Hal in the stomach, and then he uppercut his chin, sending the pilot down to the ground. Hal was still conscious, but he groaned in pain.

Carol turned Thawne around and headbutted him, and Barry seized his opportunity and punched his foe in the stomach, and then struck him right in the face, before creating wind funnels of his own and sending Thawne several feet past Hal.

"Guys, I told you, this is my fight. I have to do this on my own," Barry urged his fellow superheroes as Hal got up.

"No, Barry," Hal retorted. "We are your friends, and we're here for you."

"Every step of the way," Carol added on.

Then Thawne super-sped circles around the three, and decked Barry in the face four times and twice in the stomach. Barry actually had to spit out a tooth, and even though his head hurt like a bitch, he had to fight on, and he uppercut the Reverse-Flash in the chin and then lowered his head and knee'd him in the face, just like what Thawne had done to Hal.

Speaking of which, Hal apparently had an idea as he turned over to Carol. "Say, Captain Marvel, do you want to try that trick we learned about a few days ago."

Carol raised her eyebrow. "You wanna test that out now?"

"What better time would there be?"

After a split second, Carol nodded, and then Hal began to blast his Green Lantern energy right towards her.

The Flash kicked the Reverse-Flash in the shin, but then looked at his comrades, confused. "Lantern, Marvel, what are you doing?"

"It's a new trick we learned, Flash," Hal replied as he kept blasting towards Carol.

Finally, the superheroine yelled out and flexed her arms out, and she was emitting green energy in a form resembling fire.

Thawne kicked Barry in the shin, but then he found himself getting struck by a wrecking ball created by Hal.

Carol created a giant, choppy, and primitively-designed pillar and lunged them towards Thawne while Hal created a machine gun and began firing towards him.

"….Energy absorption?" Barry asked.

"Yep," Carol replied with the only word she could say as she had to focus her efforts on these powers.

After the Reverse-Flash fell to the ground due to the pillars thrown at him by Carol, she created the general shape of a baseball bat and began striking Carol with it. Hal, in turn, created a whip – it specifically looked like the whip of Indiana Jones – and he struck Thawne in the face with it. Hal then created an arm cannon which she wrapped her right hand with and blasted tiny missiles towards Thawne and Carol created several bricks which he dropped onto Thawne. Carol didn't seem to be able to create advanced constructs, only limited and simple ones, but that she could do it at all impressed Barry.

'How do none of us ever get brain damage from this stuff?' Barry briefly pondered as he went up and stomped on Thawne's stomach as the latter laid there.

But then Thawne let out a yell of anger, and he shoved Barry and got up. And he began running again – and he seemed to be running even faster than before. He began punching Carol and Hal faster than either could hope to react. Barry tried to catch Thawne, but he couldn't keep up. Carol and Hal were still getting punched and kicked all over, and neither could even think of a construct to create due to Thawne's speed.

After what was technically a few seconds, Hal collapsed to the ground while Carol kneeled. Hal groaned loudly, with Carol doing so a few moments later. Hal tried to get up, but failed to do so, and Carol almost fell down, only barely catching herself.

Thawne huffed and puffed and glared at Barry. "Okay, so maybe toying with people doesn't always go the way I imagined. But imagine it, Barry. Imagine if I killed either of them right now."

He super-sped towards Hal and lifted him up, wrapping his left arm around the Green Lantern's neck. And he lifted his right arm up and began to vibrate it. "I can't imagine how that'd feel. You lose your mother, your two closest friends, and then your father, all because of me."

Barry cried out in rage and super-sped towards Thawne, who managed to dodge him.

"You will not take anyone else from me! NO ONE ELSE WILL DIE BECAUSE OF YOU!" Barry said as he tried to punch and kick Thawne over and over. But Thawne dodged every time, and finally, Thawne grabbed one of Barry's arms and held it in place, and then punched him right in the face. And then in the stomach. And then in the face again.

Then Thawne grabbed Barry by his shoulders and threw him down to the ground, and then he kicked him in the stomach. "You are so easy to provoke, Barry. I relish in your pain."

Barry felt blood dripping from his face now, and he could see it falling onto the ground. "Wha….what did I do to you, Eobard? What happened between us? Why do you do this?'

"It's really simple: I hate you."

Thawne kicked Barry in the stomach again, and then grabbed him by the back of his head and punched him right in the nose.

"Carol and Hal are down. Jay is down. No one else will come to your aid, Barry. You are mine for the taking."

Barry groaned, but then he heard someone land on the ground.

"Unfortunately for you, Reverse-Flash, you picked a bad time for this squabble, so you are mine for the taking now," A voice said. Barry couldn't believe. It was Thor, coming right out of nowhere.

Thawne was just as taken aback as Barry was. "T-Thor?! What the hell are you doing here?! You have no strong connection to the Flash…aside from the Vanguard…."

"Yes. But right now the Hulk is angrier than ever before. And you are distraction. And…I owed the Flash one."

The clouds began to darken, and the Reverse-Flash gasped. He just stood there for a few moments with panic on his face, before he began to run. But it was too late, and Thor summoned a lightning bolt that struck Thawne good.

Then Thor threw his hammer towards Thawne, hitting the latter in the back. Mjlonir then curved back into Thor's direction, and this time, it struck Thawne in the stomach, and it began to drag Thawne right in the direction of Thor. Thawne bumped into the Norse god and he fell to the ground. Thor grabbed Mjlonir back and he slammed right into Thawne's chest, causing Thawne to let out a roar of agony.

Carol and Hal were struggling to get up, just in time to watch Thor summon another lighting bolt and strike Thawne once more. He could now hardly move, and Barry seized his opportunity and grabbed the Reverse-Flash right by his chest.

"It's like I just told you. You will not take anyone else from me," Barry said, before decking Thawne in the face one last time, knocking him out.

The Reverse-Flash had been dealt with. But the sheer amount of abuse that Hal, Carol, and Barry had just endured was a heavy load on all three of them, especially the former two.

"I can see that Hal and Carol aren't going anywhere, but Barry, would you like to finally join the fight against the Hulk and his jackass father?" Thor asked of Barry.

"Yeah, yeah…I will….just let me take Hal and Carol to the Vanguard's medical bay and give me one minute, and I will be there. I promise."

And with that, Thor nodded and flew back up into the sky, back towards where the Hulk was.

The Hulk let out a roar loud enough to almost burst the ear drums of everyone around him as he choke slammed the Absorbing Man. And then did a second time. And then did it four more times.

Then he threw his father towards a street light. Brian got up, and he only grinned at the sight of his son.

"I always knew you'd grow up a freak. But I still can't believe how much of a freak you turned out to be," he taunted towards his son.

The other Vanguardians were in sight, and then Superman blasted his heat vison towards the Absorbing Man. But Brian dodged it…and he touched Superman, therefore absorbing his powers.

He began blasting heat vision everywhere upon doing this. All of the other Vanguardians were struck away by Brian's heat vision, which he was using with greater power and impact than Superman did, since he was actively trying to kill people. The Hulk grabbed his father by the head and smashed him into the street below.

When his father got back up, he smirked. "Go on, Bruce. Be the disgusting and repulsive monster God created you to be. Continue to show yourself to the world."

With that, the Hulk let out another powerful roar and grabbed Brian, throwing him up in the air with enough force to actually send him out of the city. And then the Hulk began to run so fast it almost looked like he had just became connected to the Speed Force.

"After him! NOW!" Superman yelled out, just as Barry and Thor arrived on the scene, both standing around Cap.

"Wait!" Batman yelled back, causing Superman to turn his head left to face the Dark Knight. "You just saw him absorb your powers. If he can absorb powers in addition to cement and elements, then he might be able to absorb the powers of every Vanguardian if we attack him. And I've thought about what a person with power like that can do…and it's hard to imagine it being pretty."

Superman cupped his chin and pondered it, before saying, "…You have a point. But at the same time, we can't just leave the Hulk alone at a time like this! You saw what happened at the One57 building! Jesus Christ, we need to act!"

"I know that! Which is why I was gonna suggest that at least one of us continue to be directly involved in the fight to make sure the Hulk doesn't go too far, and the rest of us wait at a distance, in the event of another Code Black!"

Superman nodded. "Fine. I will be the one who's directly involved in the fight against the Hulk. Everyone else is to stand by in case we get another Code Black! And do be prepared for it!"

While a general agreement had been reached, the Hulk was now out of Keystone City and was in the outskirts of the city, heading towards a small crater that had been formed by the Absorbing Man's crash.

Brian Banner got up and had his hand on his forehead, groaning in pain. "I gotta hand it to you, son…you truly pack one hell of a punch," Brian said as he let out a small laugh.

The Hulk let out another deafening roar and beat his chest, but before he could do anything, Brian attacked his son with his heat-vision. He would not stop unleashing his heat vision towards his green beast of a son, and the Hulk yelled in agony. The Hulk began heading to his father as fast as he could with the latter still using his heat vision. When he got close enough, he grabbed his dad by the leg and smashed him into the ground. He formed a fist and raised his arm up, but Brian used his freeze breath to freeze the Hulk in place. He watched with a smirk as the Hulk groaned in place. The ice quickly cracked, but the Absorbing Man kept that smirk on his face.

Superman arrived at the battle just as the Hulk broke free of the ice and began trying to punch Brian aimlessly. Brian was able to dodge each and every one of the Hulk's punches; after nine swift and potentially powerful punches delivered by the Hulk, the Absorbing Man caught the Hulk's arm with the tenth punch and lifted him into the air with it before slamming him into the ground three times, before punching the back of his head and then grabbing the back of his head and using it to slam the Hulk's face into the cement.

Brian Banner's eyes went red as he readied his heat vision, but then Superman used his own heat vision against Brian, before charging towards him at super speed and punching him twice in the face and one in the stomach. Brian grabbed Superman by the throat and began choking him, and he returned a punch in the stomach towards the Man of Steel while doing so. Superman broke free from Brian's grip and kneed him in the chest before using his freeze breath to freeze the Absobring Man in place.

The Hulk began yelling and screaming again, and he continued to beat his chest.

"Hulk! I need you to calm down! Please remember that there are innocents in all of this!"

The Hulk did not listen to Superman. Rather, he grabbed him by his cape and swung him around before tossing him into the sky. Right as that happened, the Absorbing Man broke free from the ice and tried using his heat vision on the Hulk, something he was able to dodge. The Hulk then decked his father right in the face and then punched him in the stomach, and then grabbed his head and slammed him down towards the ground.

"Brian pay for what he did!" the Hulk yelled as he continued to slam his father down to the ground in sheer fury. "Brian! Pay! For! What! He! Did!"

The Hulk stopped slamming Brian, and after a few moments of laying there, Brian got up and laughed weakly. "You're only further proving my point, Robert."

"What Brian's plan?! Why Brian do this to Hulk?!"

"I don't have anything to steal, I don't want to watch the world burn, I'm not trying to get any cash…I'm just proving a point. That is all I'm doing here."

The Hulk roared again. "Brian wrong about Hulk!"

"Tell yourself that all you want, Bruce. But you know it to be true. You are nothing more than a sick little freak. I can't believe you are my son. And guess what, Bruce? Rebecca thought you were a freak, too."

The Hulk's look of rage turned to one of confusion.

"You heard that right, Bruce. Deep down, Rebecca knew what a disgusting, despicable monster you would grow up to become. But she tried to protect your feelings. She tried to deny the truth. While I accepted the reality that you were an abomination that should have never been conceived, Rebecca held out hope. And, well, you know how she paid the price for it."

The Hulk breathed heavily. Then he began to snarl, with tears flowing down from his ears.

"No! NO! BRIAN LIE! BRIAN LIE ABOUT MOTHER!"

"Don't bother denying it, Bruce. If even your own mom knew you for what you truly were, then what point is there in denying it?"

The Hulk growled, and grunted, and then let out one more roar as history repeated itself from just minutes before, as the Hulk tried punching his father, punches Brian would dodge each and every time. But then this time, the Hulk struck his father after the seventh try, and it was enough to send Brian crashing into a nearby house. The Hulk jumped up, and then right as Brian got up, the Hulk landed two feet in front of him and began punching him again. Brian tried using his heat vision against the Hulk, but the green creature dodged it and then slammed his fist onto Brian's stomach. And then he grabbed Brian's arm and twisted it until several cracks and snaps could be heard, to which Brian let out a yell of pain. Then the Hulk snarled again and began punching his father repeatedly, about a dozen times.

Superman was watching the event, his eyes widened.

*It really seems like we need to intervene again*, Captain America said through the earcom.

"No, wait, give me one chance to calm him down! Be prepared in case anything happens!" Superman replied back, before flying down to the ground.

The Hulk continued punching his father until Brian was now bloodied and broken, with his eyes both black and half of his teeth missing, as well as his nose almost being flattened. But he only smiled as the Hulk raised his fist to deliver the final, killing blow.

"Go on, son. Kill me."

The Hulk stood in place, his fist still up in the air.

"Kill me."

"NO!" Was all Superman was able to yell out in time to get the Hulk's attention. "Bruce, please…think about what you are about to do!"

Hulk almost seemed to scoff at the idea…but then he thought about it. His look of rage was lessening.

"Do you really think killing your father will do anything other than prove him right about you?"

"Hulk…Hulk…"

He looked at his father, and then at Superman, and then at his father again. Superman was right. Killing Brian Banner would prove that he was right about the Hulk. A more stern than outright angry look appeared on his face, and he undid the fist he had made.

"No….no…."

"Brian wrong about Hulk," the Hulk said walking away but having his head turned towards his father. "And Brian wrong about mother."

"Damnit. Goddamnit!" Brian yelled out, before Superman walked up to him.

"You still have to stand trial for that bank robbery you committed to get the Hulk's attention," Superman said, before decking Brian in the face and knocking him out. He looked at the Hulk who gave a nod of approval.

A few days later, the Vanguard had arrived to settle matters with the US Army, S.T.A.R. Labs, and S.H.I.E.L.D. in a field near Central City. Superman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Captain Marvel, the Flash, and Thor were all present, and standing next to them in specially made arm cuffs were the Reverse-Flash, Absorbing Man…and Doctor Bruce Banner. The cuffs were a joint effort by Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries, and they dampened the powers of the three.

Nick Fury and Deputy Directors Maria Hill, an average height brunette with green eyes and her arms on her hip, and Steve Trevor, a tall and muscular blonde man who had his arms crossed, and with Agents Phil Coulson and Sharon Carter behind them. With Doctor Harrison Wells was Doctor Jack Soo and a couple of young scientists – Doctor Caitlin Snow, a tall brunette with blue eyes and pale skin; Cisco Ramon, a young-looking man with long black hair, a thin physique, and a short stature; and Doctor Jane Foster, another brunette (albeit a short one) with green eyes and tanner skin. General Thunderbolt stood alongside Lieutenants and a few low-ranking soldiers. And there were two planes behind them, one for S.H.I.E.L.D and one for the US Army, with the S.T.A.R. Labs crew having come from the latter as well for this case.

Banner looked back at his teammates and nodded to them. "Maybe S.T.A.R. Labs will be able to cure me. Thanks for everything, though."

And with that, he willing walked up to General Ross and the S.T.A.R. Labs crew. Thor, meanwhile, grabbed Brian by his arm and pulled him over to Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while Barry and Hal grabbed Thawne's shoulders and sent him over to the same crew.

General Ross looked over at the Vanguardians. "Remember to watch yourselves," he said to them before walking towards the plane.

"Do not worry, Doctor Banner, the Hulk will soon be rid of forever," Doctor Wells said as he and the other Doctor walked away with Ross and their respective crews.

With them out of earshot, Fury placed his hand on Barry's shoulder. "I can pull a few strings and just get your father out of jail by the end of the day,"

Barry shook his head. "No. I want him brought to justice the right way. Hopefully, the Reverse-Flash's trial can be used to shed some light on the incident. Hopefully."

Fury merely shrugged at him before he and the S.H.I.E.L.D team left with Brian and Thawne in tow.

With the organizations all walking away, the Vanguardians merely looked at each other.

"Well…this was certainly a doozey," Barry lamented, his hands on his hip.

"I say we just go back to the Vanguard Tower and have ourselves a few drinks," Cap offered. He looked down at the ground "I know only some of us can get drunk, but it's the only thing I can think of..."

Wonder Woman nodded. "I agree with Captain Rogers. Perhaps some drinking contests could lighten the mood after this nightmare. First, we should take a moment to check up on J'onn, however."

And with that, the Vanguardians used the buttons on their ear comms to teleport away from the field and back towards the Vanguard Tower.