New Justice- Trials of the League
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters but do own the idea. And Rae.
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The Flash Spark
Kara walked into her house after a long night.
She had spent the entire night performing surgery for one of the animals and was tired. As she came in, she saw Rae in the kitchen. Chris was at the table with jars of what seemed like jam in front of him and loaves of bread. Rae was in the kitchen, seeming to be cooking something, and had music playing through a Bluetooth speaker from her cell. All the dogs, including Clark, were eating happily on the kitchen floor and Kara noticed an orange cat she liked to call Streaky at the windowsill, also eating.
"What's going on here?" Kara asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm making jam," Rae said with a smile. "This is fun. You know I never made jam before? Don't know why, it's not that hard."
"This has been going on for about two days," Chris said, not seeming upset as he continued to eat. "She also made fresh bread."
"You got something… here," Kara pointed to the spot on her on face for her cousin, indicating he has jam on his cheek. Her cousin used his arm to whip his face, but it just made it a bigger mess. "Napkin." Kara tossed a roll of kitchen towels at her cousin. "And why are you not at work?" The question was directed at her girlfriend.
"Mr. Foster's father died," Rae said. "I'm not technically off since they asked me to do some things around the house as they are bringing his mom home to live with them now but…"
"You completed it in five minutes," Kara summarized.
"So, I am making jam here," Rae said with a smile.
"Why not go out as the Flash?" Kara asked, actually wondering this.
"Nothing has been going on here since the Nazi invasion," Rae said, and Kara knew Rae was right. The only thing that had happened since Savitar's defeat was the invasion of Nazi Earth. There were smaller crimes, of course, but Rae seemed to be avoiding being her Flash alternate for a bit.
"I know what this is," Kara said. "You're doubting yourself over the way Savitar was handled." Rae knew Kara was hinting at the truth that only they and Sara knew – that a version of Wally was Savitar and Rae had chosen to lie to her League about it. It had made sense then, but Wally had left on some type of long vacation since so Rae could not keep an eye on her friend. They did not know where he was, only that he would be back before Iris's wedding.
"And you're choosing to distract yourself by learning how to make jam." As she said it, Kara had cut a piece of bread and took a dark blue jam she assumed was blueberry. When Kara took a bite, she knew immediately it was not blueberry, but the taste was familiar. "What type of jam is this?"
"Um… this thing," Rae said, picking up a blue Kryptonian fruit she always forgot the name of.
"You never made jam before, but you used Kryptonian fruits?" Kara asked, stunned.
"Well, I made a couple of normal ones first, but it's just fruits. I decided to experiment. I like experimenting with Kryptonian foods," Rae said this with a smirk.
"Forget everything I just said; just continue making jam," Kara grinned, cutting more bread as she looked over the jars of jams on the table. Rae had a lot of jars, all covered with what appeared to be napkins sealed by elastic bands. "We've got to label these."
"You know, this would be something to sell here," Rae said thoughtfully, and Kara raised an eyebrow. "You grow more than enough of the fruits and if we need more I hear Karry's Caitlin can make plants grow." The music changed, and Rae recognized the song but switched it fast. "Sorry, forgot that was in my phone." The song had been one that used Superman's name.
"It's fine," Kara said with a small smile. "It's better than the Winchesters." Rae stuck out her tongue. While Kara wasn't a fan of her favorite group, Kara nevertheless chuckled as Rae's phone started to ring. Her ringtone was one of the songs from said group.
"It's Home Base," Rae said with a look to the phone. "Must be the system. Jess and Adam did set it up to transfer calls through MIA." Rae answered the phone, putting it on speaker. "Hello?"
"Hey Rae…?" A voice Rae recognized as Barry said.
"Yeah, which Barry is this?" Rae asked.
"SuperEarth," Barry said.
"Hey," Rae said, seeing Kara smile. Kara liked SuperEarth a lot, while Rae also had a soft spot for the inexperience Barry she had help. Adam had mentioned recently about some sort of jailbreak they had led against Mutant Earth, but Rae and Kara hadn't been paying attention, and didn't currently care. "What's going on? Need another Flash lesson?"
"No… well, maybe… it's complicated," Barry said, sounding conflicted. "Could you come here? I need to talk to you in person."
"Um… you know what, I am not doing anything," Rae said.
"Hey jam!" Chris complained. He had a spoon in a jar and was just eating it plain now. Rae had to chuckle.
"We got enough here," Kara said with a smile, thinking maybe a world hop would do Rae some good. A portal opened as Rae hung up, and Kara knew it was their Cisco opening a portal for her. "Hold on. Did you make any jam from this?" Kara picked up a red fruit and tossed it at Rae, who caught it.
"Right there," Rae said, pointing at the table to an unopened jar with blood red jam in it.
"Give it to Aunt Astra," Kara instructed, picking it up and handing it to Rae. "And tell her thank you." Kara was grateful for SuperEarth's last visit, especially for that world's Aunt Astra – it was Astra who had knocked some sense into her and helped her get over her commitment issues, after all.
Rae smiled and nodded as she went through the portal and Clark went in after her.
It closed behind them.
"Hey Kara?" Chris asked when Rae was gone. Kara could tell Chris had been thinking what he was about to say "You remember how I was a little bit of a brat to Rae a few months ago?"
"A little bit?" Kara asked with a raised eyebrow. "You mean you were like a toddler, upset because mommy started seeing someone who was not daddy." Chris stuck out his tongue at Kara for this. "So, what about it?"
"Well, I was wrong. Never let her go," Chris stated, taking more jam out of the jar he had been using. His jar was close to empty. "You know, she would be perfect for the Sanctuary restaurant."
"What?" Kara paused. The idea of buying an island had moved forward with Laurel managing to find the perfect place and taking a note from Walt Disney when he was buying Disney World had bought it without revealing the connection to the Sanctuary so that the price would not sky rocket in anticipation. Now rides and hotels and whatnot were being planned, but it would be at least a year before anything was ready to be opened. Laurel had been bugging Kara since about a restaurant here at the Sanctuary to connect the two.
"She's a chef you trust," Chris pointed out. "She can easily experiment."
"How did I not think of that?" Kara said after moment. "I'm going to call Laurel, see if she's on board, then talk to Rae when she gets back." Kara took out her cellphone as she took another piece of bread and jam.
-SuperEarth-
Rae and Clark came out of the portal into SuperEarth DEO, which was STAR Labs, and Clark instantly found SuperEarth's Kara dog, Lara, running up to her and rubbing his head against hers; Lara returned the gesture.
"She usually hates other dogs," the Kara of this world commented. She was in the room in her familiar Supergirl outfit, standing next to where her Aunt Astra was sitting. Cisco and Winn were there as well, and Barry was sitting on a chair and gave Rae a wave.
Rae returned the wave and before he could move over to her, she instead moved toward Astra, recognizing her from her last visit. "Hey… this is from Kara," Rae said, handing the jar of jam to her. "She says thank you."
"For?" Astra asked, taking the jam.
"I think it has something to do with helping her get over her commitment issues?" Rae said with a smile.
"Is that my mom's necklace?" Kara asked, seeing the necklace on Rae.
"Yeah," Rae said with a smile, putting a hand on it. "My girlfriend gave it to me."
"Your girlfriend gave you my…? Oh," Kara said, getting what Rae was saying.
Astra smiled. "Well, I am very happy to be helpful."
"So homemade jam from Kara…. although I made it," Rae said, realizing it as she said it. "So, a thank you from me too."
"Ooh homemade jam," Cisco moved. "I got pretzels." Cisco took a box of the long rod pretzels out of his desk draw as Astra took off the top, taking one of the pretzels and dipping it in to try it. Cisco also took some.
"What type of jam is this?" Cisco asked, finding the taste good but unusual.
"It tastes familiar," Astra said, not exactly sure where she tasted it before. She really liked it though.
"Um…" Rae had never been able to get the name of the fruit, and then realized she still had the fruit in her hand and held it up. "This."
"That's… my favorite fruit," Astra said. She had seen it at the Sanctuary when she had gone there and had, some smiling at the flavor there. "I used to eat it as a little girl all the time. You made Kryptonian jam."
"Nice Kryptonian Jam," Cisco said, going to dip again but Astra pulled it away; she and Kara gave Cisco a death glare that made him back up.
"Don't even think of it Ramon," Kara said, taking one of the pretzels to try the jam herself.
"Oh, come on. I only just got my powers back and come back from boot camp. You can reward me for surviving," Cisco said with a pout.
"Boot camp?" Rae asked, but was ignored as Kara retorted to her Vibe.
"You don't get a reward for surviving your punishment for disobeying orders," Kara said. Rae frowned, knowing this sort of attitude from her Frankie in the past, but she had not expected that from one of the Ciscos she had met. Then again, she knew this Earth also worked with or for the military like Alien – maybe it was why while she liked this Earth and Alien – although she still seemed to feel closer to Karry, who at least had a Justice League a lot like hers and seemed to have an understanding with the government like her.
"Supergirl, Fl…" Alex Danvers walked into the room and paused. "Who is this?" She nodded to Rae.
"Rae from New Justice," Barry said. "I invited her here. She's the Flash over there."
Alex gave a nod. "Well, we have an issue. Empowered in the cities," Alex stated. "Our team could use some back up."
"On it," Kara said. "Barry?"
"No, I'm good," Barry said, a sudden attitude seeming to form between Kara and Barry. Rae could feel the tension.
"Okay," Kara said. "Aunt Astra guard the jam. Super Pup, come."
Lara barked and followed, and Clark went to follow, but Rae held up a hand, "Flash Pup stay," Rae said. Clark gave a moan at that. "Sorry Clark." Rae bent down as Clark came to her. "Besides the fact we do not have our outfits, no one asked us for help. We're not on our world. Their earth their rules." Rae gave Clark a pet at this, not noticing the looks from Winn and Cisco at this comment.
Rae turned to see Barry now looked worried, his face flushing as she looked.
"Okay, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" Rae asked. "And what's going on with you and Kara…. wait…. No answer the first question. I got used to seeing Kara with other people, but I don't really want to hear what's going on between an alternate version of my girlfriend and cousin."
Barry chuckled, "Kara and I are fine, honestly," but he looked down before he could finish the sentence.
"Okay," Rae said, moving over to Barry now. "What's going on?"
"I don't know if you're going to like what I want to tell you," Barry said. "On what we did." Rae raised an eyebrow, he sighed as he pushed on. "Do you know Mutant Earth?" Barry had to know if New Justice and Mutant were close.
"The one with the kid Kal?" Rae asked. "Met him on Karry during the twins' 1st birthday party. Never been to the Earth."
"Well… Okay, so we sort of… So there's a story here," Barry said and Rae noticed how the other people in the room seemed to be trying to be fake distracted. Like they didn't want to know about it. Astra had taken the jam and left the room at that point. "Remember Echo and Tremor?"
"I know what an echo and tremor is," Rae said, not sure where Barry was going with this.
"Before they were in the system," Winn said under his breath.
Barry groaned but nodded. "Okay, so then, back when the system was like small and it was only my Earth and a few others, an Earth hopper who called himself Echo came here. He helped us with a… a problem, and then asked Millie and Belle to help him."
"Millie and Belle?" Rae asked, not knowing those names.
"Millie's my little sister," Barry said.
"Oh. Short for Amelia?" Rae asked, thinking of Karry Universe and Paranormal's version of the girl she had met, and Barry nodded.
"And Belle is Harrison Wells youngest," Barry stated. "Well, he asked them to help him with a mission and also asked the other Earths on the system, creating a team to expand the system and create a net to trap another world hopper who was killing Ciscos."
Rae groaned. "I have heard of this. That net was a pain in the ass for me last month," Rae stated. "So, what's the problem?"
"Well, everyone on the mission besides Millie and Belle decided they did not trust Echo. They trapped Echo along with Tremor and imprisoned them on Mutant Earth." Barry continued.
"I'm still not seeing a problem," Rae said, not understanding.
"Millie wanted to free Echo," Barry said. "And she convinced us… at least, some of us… to go to Mutant to break him out." Rae frowned at Barry, biting her lip as she could tell where this was going. "And we made a big mess up of it. We accidentally released all their prisoners and Echo ended up dying. Millie went crazy and now is under house arrest and it's just been all too much. Not to mention Millie now hates Kara because Kara refused to help us, and even outed us to Prime, but well I… I just…. I don't know why I am the Flash! I don't feel like it anymore. I don't deserve to be the Flash," Barry looked at Rae who had remained silent. "You're the one who made me feel like the Flash last time – you're like my mentor or something. Just say something."
"First off, that was a dick move," Rae said, suddenly getting why Barry was so concerned when she told Clark not to follow Supergirl. "If you had been the one to break my Barry out of Alcatraz, I would be pretty pissed." Rae thought back to the unsolved issue of the people who had broken into Alcatraz, which caused her Barry to escape. The Justice League had made no headway on who they were. "You didn't, right…?" It was a sudden thought.
"Hell no," Barry said, seeming upset Rae would even think that.
"Just making sure," Rae said with a reassuring smile.
"Did you say Alcatraz? Like the tourist trap?" Rae heard a familiar voice and question, seeing Wally walking in.
"What's your power?" Rae asked, ignoring the question and surprising the man.
"Flying," Wally said, confused, and Rae nodded. She had to make sure.
"Okay, and it's a meta human jail," Rae said, and Wally shrugged and moved off, obviously having come to check on Barry. "But back to point, Barry I don't think what I think matters. What do you think about what you did?"
"I think… Well, I don't know why I have these powers," Barry said. "I'm not the other Barry. Maybe I'm not supposed to be the Flash."
"If you're not supposed to be the Flash, you wouldn't have been chosen for these powers," Rae said.
"Why me though? Why am I the only speedster here? Prime has three. Mutant has two," Barry said, knowing that as fact.
"Karry has five if you count the one-year-olds," Rae added. "I'm the only speedster on my Earth, too." Rae had been wondering that herself also. She liked being the only one, she really did, but at times she wondered why there was no one else like her. Why did her world have one while Karry had five? "The only way to know the answer is to ask the speed force."
Barry laughed. "Ask the speed force? Yeah like that's possible," He obviously didn't know a speedster could actually go into the force that made his powers.
"Well, you'd have to go into it first," Rae said casually, petting Clark and Barry paused.
"You can go into the speed force?" Barry asked, seeming shocked.
"Yeah," Rae said with a nod. "Prime Barry got stuck a while back and I went in; it wasn't fun though. Although I got a lot of insight on my life. It really made me look at myself and learn who I was."
"That's exactly what I need," Barry said with a smile. "How do you get in?"
"Well Fran… Cisco sent me but…"
Rae was cut off as Barry went over to where Cisco was sitting. Clark gave Rae a look, and Rae gave him a pet. This was not turning out how she expected. "Cisco, can you do it? Can you send me into the speed force?"
"Actually, I did see directions for that," Winn spoke up bringing up a document on the computer system. "How to get in and out of the speed force… we'd have to make this device for you, so we could get you out."
"Barry, you don't want to do this," Rae said now, trying to convince Barry this was not the answer. The speed force she knew wasn't exactly nice to speedsters.
"Yeah, I do," Barry said, running into his Flash outfit and Rae sighed.
"Fine. But if you're doing this, you're not doing it alone," Rae stated. "I'll come." Clark moaned.
"Cisco?" Barry asked.
"Hey, Director Danvers?" Cisco yelled, moving off and pausing by the door as Alex walked in from another room, seeming annoyed.
"Ramon?" She asked, arms folded.
"Can I send Barry and Rae into the speed force?" Cisco asked, Rae wondering if asking permission was part of this punishment he'd been sent to bootcamp for. It wasn't like any other Frankie or Ciscos did that, even under military guide.
"Would it cause any trouble with any other world?" Alex asked pointedly.
"No," Rae said.
"Fine," Alex looked to Rae for a moment, waving her hand as she walked back to where she had been, presumably her office.
"Okay," Cisco said, turning to Winn with a smirk and the two went to make the device Rae knew all too well. Cisco then read the instructions as Winn got to work, coming up a minute later with a makeshift button thing that didn't look as good as when Prime's Cisco had made it.
"This seems easy enough." Cisco said as Winn handed Barry the device which he put it on his suit.
Clark barked again. "Watch my dog," Rae said, pausing as she added "not that he needs it..." Cisco put a hand on Barry and Rae as Rae took a breath, not believing she was doing this again. Suddenly she was standing in what she remembered as the speed force – It was blue all around, with swirling and rushing energy streams. It was also noisy.
"Good luck," Cisco called as he let go of them and then instantly disappeared. As he did, around Barry and Rae, shapes forms and an unfamiliar world was created.
"Okay we need to…" Rae started but Barry was already moving, as though something called out to him. "Barry!" Rae called. She was about to tell him they needed to stick together.
"I need to, go," Barry stated as he ran, and Rae went to follow but she lost him as he literally vanished around a corner.
She was left wandering before she noticed where she was: The Kryptonian Wildlife Sanctuary, or at least an image of it. She and Barry must have arrived in Smallville and she had ended up in the Sanctuary, albeit with no dome again, like the last time. She walked into the house.
"Hello Rae," Rae paused as she saw her father, or at least the speed force representation of him standing there waiting for her.
"Here we go again," Rae mumbled, steeling herself as she realized something. "Hey, you called me Rae," she smiled at this – the last time the speed force had only called her by her flash title. "Where's Barry?"
"Well it's your name, and your – what do you call it? SuperEarth? That Barry has a journey of his own," Jay said.
"Figured," Rae sighed.
"You know, you're lucky." Rae raised an eyebrow as the speed force continued. "I don't look favorably on my children who mess with the timeline, but considering it was not your idea and a fixed point in your past let the timeline heal to normal when you set things straight, you're not in trouble." The speedforce Jay smiled. "I'm not sure I could be mad at you."
"Oh. Good," Rae said, confused by this. "Wait, have others done it? What about Paranormal?" She remembered the Jay of that world coming over to her world recently to explain that his Rachel had changed the timeline like she had with flashpoint.
"That Rachel didn't fix things back or even try, she will meet her consequences," Jay stated simply as Rae wondered what he meant by this, but an idea had come to her already.
"Tell me. Is Savitar my Wally?" Rae asked.
"I can't tell you that," Speed force Jay said, not deterred by the change in subject. "You have to find that out on your own. I do not interfere."
"But you did… You told me I had to see his face," Rae pointed out, remembering that.
"Yes," the speed force Jay said with a nod. "But that's because you're playing with fire, Rae. It's a very delicate situation. Decisions you have to make will affect the past and future." Rae raised an eyebrow at this. "But I have said too much and that's not what you really want to ask me. Ask the real reason you're here."
"I'm here to guide SuperEarth's Barry, or at least I was…" Rae paused for a moment but then realized there was a question she wanted to ask. "Why am I the only speedster on my Earth?"
"Because you are my chosen," the speed force said.
"Why isn't there more than one chosen?" Rae asked. "Karry has five, including the kids."
"Five speedsters. But Barry is my chosen of Karry. His children are natural born, like you, Jesse was a happy accident, and their Wally was from a now-dead Earth."
"But I am like the kids. I am natural born. You didn't choose me. You choose my dad," Rae pointed out.
"It is interesting… The last time you were here you had the Flash all figured out, but Rae was not; now Rae is all put together but you have seemed to have lost the Flash," The speed force stated. "But you are both right and wrong: You are natural born, but you're also chosen. Look…." The reality around Rae seemed to change and as it reformed, she seemed to be in a hospital's emergency surgery room.
"Mom?" Rae realized looking at the new scene in front of her. She recognized her mother from pictures and other worlds, after all.
"They can't hear you. This is just an instant replay," Speed force Jay said as Rae witness her own premature birth. "Look at yourself," speed force Jay said as Rae watched the doctor trying to save her. She saw the spark in her eyes as her baby-self started to cry.
"The sparks?" Rae realized as the scene faded, and they appeared back in Kara's home. "You used that to activate my powers?" She turned on speed force Jay.
"I had a choice. Your powers would not have activated naturally for months. I needed to decide if you were worth the powers and I knew it instantly. You are my chosen. I only ever choose one at a time." The speed force stated.
"My dad…?" Rae went to point out.
"Time was running out," the speed force said. "I knew he was going to die in a year or two, so not totally that other worlds fault," Rae didn't comment on this as the speed force continued. "but his race was over. You were my chosen. Because I knew who you would become. You were what your world needed."
"What my world needed? How?" Rae was confused now, "and why do you choose people like Nazi me or Barry?"
"I don't choose based on overthrowing a government. That world is what it is meant to be. I choose based on the world as it is. Nazi and Villain and maybe a few others are odd, but worlds like yours need a hero. There's a certain spark I look for and you have Rae," the speed force said, and the scene changed, Rae witnessing another instant replay.
She saw herself when she was 13 in her old Flash outfit. It was the day she had taken out the Trickster.
"Wait? No fair! Who are you?" The trickster was yelling as police dragged him away.
"I thought you were smarter than that. Isn't it obvious who I am?" Rae's younger self said, tossing her helmet in the air and catching it before putting it on her head – and Rae noticed how big it was on her back then. The smile on her face. "I'm the Flash."
The memory faded like before.
"You see?" The speed force said. "You have the spark. You share it with so many people – and your family is a good one. Most have the spark and, genetically speaking, you're a prime candidate."
"Genetically speaking…?" Rae asked.
"There is a genetic factor to it. You have to have the right genes to be a speedster and your family are really fit for purpose, able to handle speeds others who can be speedsters can't. And you all have it. Why do you think it's usually your father or your cousin who become speedsters?"
"The spark?" Rae said, not seeming sure where this conversation was going.
"You have it; and not just you," the speed force said. "There are other versions of you who have it."
"Not paranormal," Rae said, rolling her eyes.
"Your interactions there might have given Paranormal the kick in the ass they need," the speed force stated, "but that Rachel has it, as does other yous."
And around them the scene changed again. They were in a house and Rae saw herself and it was her father.
"Why did you do that?!" Jay was yelling.
"It worked didn't it?" The other Rae said. "Look, just stop." This Rae was facing her father. "You're not the Flash anymore. You lost it. Stop trying to relive your glory days through me! I will be the Flash how I want. I will save people my way."
And it faded before Rae could hear the response. She turned to the speed force Jay.
"I don't understand what that was at all," Rae said, shaking her head.
"Another version of you. And here's another," The speed force said, and Rae was witnessing another her – this time she seemed younger, a teenager, so this must be a flashback to another Earth. This time it was with her mother and a boy vaguely recalled as her parallel twin brother.
"How could you?" Joan said. "I told you to never be the Flash. That your powers are…"
"My powers are fine," the other Rae said, seeming angry. "My powers are a gift. I want to use them to protect people. To be like my father. To be the Flash."
"Your father died," Joan said. "Those powers directly led to his death."
"And I just avenged him!" Rae pointed out. "You can't stop me from being who I am."
"As long as you live in my house, you live by my rules." Joan warned.
"Fine," and Rae watched as this alternate version disappeared for a moment, reappearing with a bag. "Then I won't live in your house."
"Rae-Rae…?" The boy said. He had just been standing there by his mom, saying nothing until that point.
"Bye Rollie," this Rae said.
"If you walk through that door, you don't come back," Joan was saying, and Rae watched as her alternate ran out the door.
"Do you get it now?" The speed force asked as the scene faded.
"All I am getting is I might have been better off with Uncle Henry and Aunt Nora," Rae said, not believing she had just seen an alternate her be thrown out by her own mom. Nora and Henry refused to do that, even after she killed Barry.
The speed force seemed to chuckle at the statement. "But think. What do you share with them? They were willing to go out and be their Flash, even if their parents did not agree. Like you did when you became the Flash without telling Nora and Henry." Rae shrugged at this not seeming to get it. "It's what makes you the Flash. Your father had it."
And Rae was watching another instant replay of Jay, but he seemed young. He was saving people, obviously just starting out. "And with your cousins… well other world cousins," the speed force commented, drawing her attention back to Jay. "Watch Karry."
And the scenes seemed to change around Rae again; they looked like they were in a museum and there was a man with a green rock, hitting Superman with it. A gun shot was heard, and the man was hit as Rae saw a younger Kara. She was all dressed up as though she had been going to some type of event.
"I got it," a younger Barry called, running up at human speed and grabbing the green rock. He was dressed up as well, in a suit. He ran to a door and tossing the rock into another door – to get the Kryptonite away from Superman.
Kara had gone to Clark's side. "Are you okay?" Kara asked.
"I'll be fine now," Superman said as Barry rejoined Kara.
That was when police officers came moving in.
"Superman, you saved the day again," an officer said.
"Actually, it was all these two. They saved my life. They are heroes," Superman said, and the instant replay faded with this.
"Karry Barry's first time as a hero," the speed force said. "Before he had his power or even knew who Kara really was. He threw himself into danger to save Superman. I knew then he would be the perfect person once he was ready."
"Come, go out the doors," the speed force suddenly changed tact, and Rae raised an eyebrow. So far after every flashback, the speed force had returned them to Kara house, so to move away seemed odd. She did as she was told and went outside to the farm. When she turned back, she was looking at an actual farm, not just the house, and recognized Kara and Barry.
"Mutant Earth," Speed force informed her, having followed her out.
"…and you're right," this Barry was saying. "I've been way too concerned with my own city and an Earth that is not even mine. It's time for me to be a real hero to the world." Barry paused for a moment as though he was thinking of something. "So, I'm going to catch Meteor Mutants here."
"And the metas in Central?" Kara asked, seeming confused.
"Them too. And go down to Star every once in a while, and help out the Arrow," Barry added.
"Maybe head over to Gotham and see what's going on there," Kara said, seeming to get what Barry was saying.
"We'll run over to Dakota City and meet up with this Static person. Help take out Bang Babies," Barry finished, and Rae mouthed 'Static?' never having heard of him.
"What are we doing? Starting a hunt-down-of-humans-with-powers taskforce?" Kara asked jokingly.
"I'd like to think of it more as a Justice Society," Barry said with a smile. "The Justice Society of America. Cause that's what we protect now. Not just one city or town, but the entire country."
"Justice Society of America?" Kara asked holding back a laugh. "That is… The corniest thing I have ever heard."
"It is not corny," Barry said, but he was laughing as he then suddenly pushed in closer to Kara and the two were kissing. That is when they disappeared, the flashback leaving Rae facing her familiar farmhouse.
"The Justice Society," Rae mumbled preferring the term 'League'.
"It's no different to Justice League, Justice Alliance or Legion of Superheroes," speed force understood Rae's mumble as she turned back to him. "But this was the moment Mutant Barry took up for the entire world to protect," the speed force said. "Realizing his entire world needed him, not just Central City. Now they fight well together, even if he lives in Smallville." He paused. "You want to see Prime Earth?"
"What?" Rae asked, frowning, but the scene already was changing around them again. It seemed the speed force was having fun showing her alternative worlds.
The scene seemed to be the end of a battle, as she recognized Prime's Kara and Barry having some downtime, a private conversation that she could hear every word of.
"This was a win, you know?" Kara was saying, slipping her hand in Barry's own, who just nodded. "What's wrong?"
"For so long I have worked alone," Barry said quietly now. "Two whole years struggling on my own. The Flash verses the world… Why didn't we do this before? Why did we not make a team before?"
"You didn't have Wonder Woman before," Kara pointed out, "or Kal… or me."
"I did have Atom, Firestorm and Green Arrow though. There are so many more out there, too," Barry shook his head. "We were just so… stubborn – our city, our problem. We didn't want to ask for help. We did not want a team, but I look at Karry Universe and from what you said and what I saw, their League is a well-oiled machine. I see Mutant Earth, with their own Justice Society. Even Alien Earth's Supergirl works with the DEO and her own cousin, and now Flash and Kid Flash are there. The same with SuperEarth with the DEO and Astra."
"What are you getting at?" Kara sighed, moving in front of him, so they were face-to-face.
"We're far behind them. We need to catch up." Barry sighed.
"We will." Kara leaned in as the scene faded.
"That was some time ago," Rae commented, looking to Jay now with a frown. Alien Earth's Barry went by Impulse these days and their Supergirl worked with the Legion of Superheroes, not just the DEO from what Rae knew.
"But the point is there." The speed force stated. "Every Flash always wanted to be a hero, wants to save lives and make teams, regardless of the consequences. Speaking of consequences…" the world around them changed and they were on top of a building.
Barry was standing on the rooftop with them, something in his hand that looked like a heart. Kara was there as well, and Rae wanted to say this was SuperEarth, the world that had brought her into the speed force now to begin with.
"She took June away." Barry was saying, and Rae noticed the odd-looking woman the heroes were facing. "June is gone…. And she gets to live in June's skin. She shouldn't be allowed." Barry looked like he was going to crush the heart in his hand. Rae didn't understand what was going on.
"She won't. But… you can't do it," Kara said.
"Why not?" Barry said, and Rae got a little of what's going on: Barry could kill the other woman by crushing what he had in his hand, but he would lose another woman called June in the process.
"Besides the fact that than June has absolutely no chance of ever being free, it's not what a hero does. We don't kill unless we are forced. You might have just got your powers Barry, but you're like your Prime Earth counterpart and all the others in the multiverse with those powers: You're the Flash. You won't kill," Kara said and Rae instantly gelled with the words. She knew them.
That was when the flashback disappeared, and Rae was back on the farm.
"Your starting to get it," the speed force nodded. "One more… how about Superflash?"
And the world changed again, and she seemed to be in an apartment with Kara and Barry. "You're going to have to go again," the Kara said, seeming upset.
"Actually," Barry started, bringing Kara closer to him. "I checked using your DEO. The portal that existed between our earths is gone. It was unstable. There's no way back. I'm stuck here."
"But… your Earth… don't they need the Flash?" Kara asked.
"My Earth can survive. They have a lot of heroes. I want to be here," Barry was saying. "I want to be a hero here, for this Earth. I want to be with you. Is that so bad?" Kara leaned forward, kissing Barry at this.
"We're going to have to get Cat Grant to drop the Blur title though," Kara said after a moment, and with that the scene disappeared.
"He abandoned his Earth," Rae said, not sure how she felt about a Flash, or Barry, abandoning his duties and his world, even if it was for love.
"Yeah… maybe not the greatest example. To be fair though, he was chosen to be Flash for Superflash Earth, not Dark. He gets a bit of a bad reputation for that, but if he had stayed on his original Earth he would have died in the first round of villain uprising," the speed force stated, and Rae merely nodded. "But… do you get it now? Why I choose no one else but you. What you have in common with your counterparts, your father, and your cousin?"
"We save people," Rae said. "We…. Think about our world. Protect it. We got these abilities and did not use them for selfish or evil means. We want to be good. To protect. No matter what has got in our way or hardships we had." Rae thought of her own Barry and the death of her original League. She thought of being orphaned at a young age and then to other Barrys; how their mom had died and father falsely imprisoned. She remembered Prime Barry telling her Barry he had every reason to go evil but did not. "We are the Flash. I am the Flash because of who I am. I wasn't just born with powers. I was meant to be this."
"Good! But you know, I have had children fail me. I've been disappointed in them, but not you. So far you have made the right calls no matter how hard." Rae saw a vision of herself killing Barry – it wasn't as clear as the others, as if she was recalling it, not the speed force. "You can make the right call again, without me telling you how."
"There is one thing I need to warn you about though," Jay seemed thoughtful as he said this. "Lately, the multiverse has tended to lean on each other, which has helped a lot, especially on Karry. But soon you will be in a situation where you want to call in multiverse help… but you can't." Rae raised an eyebrow at this. "The only time you win is when your League faces this alone. This is your trial. You and your League's. Do not call in the multiverse for help, because you will lose if you do."
"Okay…?" Rae said, not understanding it. She had to find SuperEarth's Barry though, so they could go. "Can I ask one more question?"
"You may ask. I may not answer," the speed force said.
"What is it with Supergirl and the Flash?" Rae asked. "Why do they always end up together?"
"Well… That is… You know, I don't know," this made Rae's mouth dropped open. The speedforce did not know something. "I honestly don't know. The only earth they did not work out is Kryptonite and I had to use a kryptonite to change that Flash's DNA, so he could be a speedster. That Supergirl is…. an interesting one. Both her and her cousin. Speedsters seems to be attracted to them. And their family in general."
"Her cousin?" Rae asked.
"Yes, there is a Flash with Superman," the speedforce said.
"Which Flash?" Rae asked not sure why she needed to know. She loved Clark, but as a mentor. As a friend. She could not picture being with him. Although a Barry being with Clark would be somewhat hilarious to see.
"Not important," her speed force father seemed to be smirking now.
"Say it's Barry," Rae said, almost wanting it to be her cousin.
"There is a Barry waiting for you," the speed force changed topic, and Rae knew she was not going to get any answer.
"Fine," Rae said, thinking she would figure it out someday. She started to walk away now, knowing this lesson was over, but she stopped. She had to say something else. "Thank you."
"What for?" The speed force Jay said.
"My helmet," Rae stopped, turning around. "It was made from the speed force. My dad made it. It should have disappeared with him, but you made sure it didn't. You let me keep a part of him. Thank you for that."
Her speed force father nodded. "I know you like your new outfit but you're talented and powerful enough to make objects out of the speed force on your own. Other Flashes can already, so you should. It can come in handy." Rae gave a nod, making a mental note to start practicing that. "Oh, and you won't be alone forever." Rae paused at that. "Other speedsters."
"Going to choose someone else?" Rae asked, confused. He just said he only choose one for her world.
"No," the speed force said. "But one day you will have someone to train." The speed force smiled, and Rae felt she was not getting any more answers for that.
-New Justice-
Something had called SuperEarth's Barry away; he didn't know what it was, but the moment he and Rae had arrived in the speed force, the need to separate from Rae had been strong, but now he was regretting it. He needed to find her again, his guide. So, Barry ran. That was all he could do as he looked for Rae; she had offered to help, and he had stupidly left her. He was worried, but he didn't let this stop him – that was until he found himself in the familiar surroundings of STAR Labs.
He stopped. No one seemed to be looking at him, but he remembered what he was seeing as he stood in the medical wing of the facility. June Moone, his former fiancée, had been taken over by the Enchantress, and his past self was begging for his wife-to-be to return from her.
"June, please…" Barry watched his past self, hands in the air.
"Didn't she tell you run, Barry? At the first sign of danger?" Enchantress hissed back. "Think of this as a little test of what's to come however – so run Barry," she flicked her wrist and something white shot from her arm, hitting Barry right into the chest. For a moment, he stood still and then suddenly, slowly, in slow motion, he fell backwards. The instant replay seemed to stop before his past-self hit the floor and Barry had to frown.
"That was the moment you were chosen," a familiar voice drew Barry's attention as he turned to see himself, but in an unfamiliar white-and-blue costume. It reminded him strangely of Prime Earth's Power Girl outfit.
"I don't get it?" SuperEarth's Barry muttered, looking between the frozen image and his other self.
"I'm the speed force, or at least this is the form I chose for you. And you're doubting yourself, Barry," his speed force double stated simply. "I want to remove that doubt. You've had it for so long – doubt in being the hero, in being the boyfriend and now in being who you're meant to be. Simply put, you need to grow a pair."
"Hey!" SuperEarth Barry complained.
"My point being, this wasn't an accident," the speed force Barry indicated Enchantress and his fallen double. "You were destined to be a hero, to be the Flash."
"I keep being told that, but what happened last month with Millie and everything…" he was referring to the jailbreak they had initiated on Mutant Earth thanks to his little sister.
"It's all part of a bigger picture," the speed force stated with a shrug, "and so not why you're here. Not really… come," he grabbed SuperEarth Barry by the hand, leading him away from his past encounter with Enchantress. Scenes seem to pass them as they moved until the speed force stopped them, Barry pausing at a very life-like re-enactment of his past.
He was about eight and at school. His school had a large playing field with some old trees; one was an oak and the young Barry was climbing it, trying to impress a schoolfriend of his, but she wasn't being out-done by a boy as she followed him up the tree.
"I forgot about her," SuperEarth Barry muttered as the girl, Kitty he remembered, slipped on one of the branches, not being as athletic as himself. She fell, landing hard on the exposed root system below as she started crying out. The young Barry quickly jumped down from the tree, seeing that her leg was clearly broken. Other kids had started gathering around at that point, watching the scene until the young Barry called for them to get a teacher, to help Kitty.
"I don't get it?" Barry turned to his speed force double. "So, I helped injure a girl I used to like?"
"No, you stayed with her," the speed force stated, the scene not slowing down as it nevertheless started blending into the background of their conversation. "You made sure she got the medical attention she needed, you explained to her parents that it was your fault – she only went up the tree to follow you. Regardless of the consequences, you were a hero. You made sure little Kitty there was safe and looked after. It's in your nature, to help."
"Okay," Barry frowned at that. "But I like helping people. Doesn't mean I have to be the Flash to do it."
"True, but it helps," his speed force double smirked at this as the scene faded and once again, he took SuperEarth Barry's hand and lead him away, only stopping again when they met another scene. He remembered this one. It was when he had come to New Justice last year.
"I'm having trouble being The Flash." The past Barry was saying to Rae in the flashback, who was preparing a meal in the penthouse she worked in. "It's just… well… with Supergirl around National-Central I don't feel needed. I never asked to be a hero anyway; I just don't feel like I belong as a hero. I was hoping – well, Cisco was hoping that maybe you could help me?"
"Not everyone is meant to be a hero," Rae turned to him at this. "Some people don't have it cut out… you know, this power is no accident. I was born with it. Other people search it out, but you were picked by the force. What for, I don't know, but this is a gift not to be wasted. You're special."
The short scene faded at this as Barry turned to his speed force double, still frowning.
"It's like Rae stated, you are special." The speed force stated. "All Flashes, they are chosen for a reason. Sometimes, I pick them by choice, others by chance but they all have their own reasons, their own challenges and their own trials. And you're not the only one who has doubted themselves, either. Every Flash, at one point in his or her life, has wondered why they were chosen. Some are learning that as we speak, others will have to wait a while, but there's always purpose, always reason. It always boils down to this, though: You're meant to be a hero, Barry."
As he said this, the scene changed once more, and Barry recognized this moment in his past too. It was after he'd lost June to Enchantress. He and Kara were sitting on his bed at his parents' house, the mood somewhat repressed.
"I'm no hero," he watched himself saying, looking to Kara. "You're the hero. You're Supergirl. Who am I but a guy who was given powers…?"
"I'm just a girl who happens to have powers under this solar radiation," Kara replied softly, it had been a quiet conversation. "The fact that I chose to use these powers to save people is just who I am, it's what I want to do and what I know you can do. As the Flash."
"I don't even know where to start," Barry sighed, not looking at her.
"You save a life," Kara stated. "And you did that today. You were going to kill Enchantress, but you didn't. You saved her and maybe, one day, because of that we can save June."
"The first thing you did as the Flash was save Enchantress from herself," the speed force Barry stated, drawing SuperEarth's Barry's attention back. "You could have killed her, you could have used your gifts for ill, but you didn't. It doesn't matter what happens in the world around you, just as long as you save a life; you make the world around you better."
"I… I get it," Barry stated, smiling slightly now. "Millie made me doubt myself – we lost Echo, we lost the respect in the multiverse – but I'm a hero in spite of that."
"It doesn't matter what the multiverse thinks of you, as long as you believe in yourself," the speed force stated. "And your sister's story will come to a conclusion too, soon," this caused SuperEarth Barry to pause. "But all in good time. I think you're ready now."
"Yeah, I'm ready. Of course. Is this why you split me from Rae?" Barry now asked.
"Every speedster has their own truth, their own story to tell. You can't share yours with Rae, as she can't share hers with you. But when you run, you'll meet her and be free," the speed force Barry stated, and SuperEarth Barry knew this was his cue to run.
-New Justice-
Rae had run from her speed force father, not sure where she was going but had a feeling she didn't need to know, and she was right as she stopped and there was Barry.
"Rae!" Barry called, "Sorry I split… I…. there was…"
"The speed force wanted us apart," Rae said, knowing this to be true. "And you know what? The speed force kicked my life into gear again. I assume since we can meet up you found what you needed." Barry gave a nod and a smile. "Okay, can we go? Before we get attacked by a Black Flash thing again."
"Black Flash. Again?" Barry asked.
"Wrong Barry," Rae chuckled, momentarily forgetting it was Prime Barry she was here with last time. "But let's go."
Barry nodded, taking the device Cisco had given him and pressing a button. A moment later, a portal opened before them and Rae and Barry walked out back, into SuperEarth's STAR Labs DEO.
Clark gave a bark, wagging his tail. He was snuggled with Lara, but jumped up at seeing his mistress, running to her to lick her face. "There's my boy," Rae chuckled, bending down and petting him.
"Sorry we were gone so long," Barry said, there was only Cisco and Winn in the room now.
"You were gone for like two hours," Winn said, shrugging.
"Not even that," Cisco added. Barry and Rae looked at each other – it had felt like longer.
It was at that moment that Kara came back into the room, clearly having gotten back from whatever emergency she had helped before, with her aunt by her side.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Kara asked her Barry, who nodded.
"Yeah. And thank you, Rae," Barry stated. "You didn't even hesitate to lead me into the speed force and I'm sorry we got split up."
"Like I said, the speed force wanted us separate. It never lets two speedsters learn together," although she'd only been in there twice now, she got the idea that this was how the speed force worked.
"You had something to learn?" Astra spoke up at that, addressing Rae at this.
"I thought you had everything figured out?" Cisco added, intrigued. They always thought Rae of New Justice as the Flash who had it most together.
"There's always something else to learn," Rae nodded, not wanting to go into it. "But as I'm no longer needed here, I think I am going to head home." Rae could see Barry wanted to talk to Kara now, and Clark gave a moan. "You can see your friend another day." Rae added to her dog as Clark gave a happy bark at that, moving back over as he rubbed his head against Lara as if to say goodbye.
"Please thank your Kara for the jam," Astra spoke up. "It's delicious."
"No problem," Rae smiled as Clark now moved over to her. "Kryptonian fruit is actually easier to turn into jam than Earth fruit. Easier prep," she explained briefly.
"Hey, there's this pink fruit, it's called a Papla fruit…?" Kara spoke up suddenly, Rae making her blink.
"Um yeah?" Rae said, familiar with the Kryptonian fruit. The name was familiar.
"Can you make jam with that and send it over?" Kara asked, and Rae smirked.
"Sure thing. I think I got some made anyway…. That is if Kara and Chris haven't eaten it all already," Rae joked, looking to Cisco now. "Hey, Fran… Cisco… home, please?"
"One portal back to New Justice," Cisco said happily, holding out his hand. Rae noticed he didn't need his goggles on this Earth but didn't comment on it as Rae and Clark moved through the portal he had made.
-New Justice-
"That was fast," Rae heard a voice when she came out into Kara house, smiling and glad Cisco had sent her here and not to Home Base or elsewhere.
"Not as fast as it seemed," Rae said, noticing Kara was in her pajamas – she had been up all-night doing surgery, after all. She didn't seem to be relaxing though as she had a bunch of papers and a pen, working. "What are you doing?"
"Well I was talking to Laurel," Kara explained, "and she loves the idea of selling Kryptonian Jam, but we have also been talking about having a restaurant here. I have been holding it up since… well, I never found a chef I trusted to take my home world dishes and recreate them for humans… Until now."
"You want me to quit working for Cat to work here?" Rae asked, not really wanting to leave her current job, as much as she did like the Sanctuary.
"No, I know you love that job. Not sure why…" Kara said. "Besides, it's not anything daily quite yet. We were thinking of starting this for once a month. But, before it could even start you need to start recreating the dishes and I will need to taste them to see how close they are to what I remember. Also come up with maybe some dishes of your own – create the menu for us. Work it, and if we decide we want this to be an everyday thing you, can easily train chefs to make your dishes, and get it into the island. We would give you the credit for creating, obviously, but it's not a big enough commitment that you'd have to quit your job. We would pay you nicely. If you… well want."
Rae stared for a moment at the rant-explanation, and then smiled. "You know, I love it. Make humanized Kryptonian dishes," Rae nodded. "Gimme," Rae held out her hands for the papers she guessed were the recipes and Kara smiled as she handed it over.
"I wrote what human meats can be substituted. You might want to add some more human elements so it's not completely alien," Kara explained.
"Well, we can do stages," Rae said, making Kara raise an eyebrow. "Like have it 1 to 5 – 1 being almost all human, and 5 is almost all Kryptonian. 5 might be too much. Maybe 1, 2, and 3. 1 almost all human, 2 half and half, and 3 almost all Kryptonian."
"You're brilliant," Kara said with a smile. "I don't know…" her sentence was interrupted by a yawn.
"And you're tired. Go to bed." Rae pointed out. "I'm going to go over this and make my own notes," Rae said. "Oh, and I have to send SuperEarth Kara some Papla Jam. You didn't eat all of it, did you?" Rae noticed one of the jam jars on the table in front of the couch.
"There's some left," Kara said with a smile as she headed up the stairs. She paused at the first step. "How was your visit?"
"Oh… Well, I went into the speed force again," Rae said looking up at her on the steps now.
"Any reason why?" Kara asked, confused.
"Barry was determined to go and I wasn't going to let him go alone," Rae said.
"Okay," Kara said, smiling at Rae not wanting to leave Barry. "Learn anything interesting?" Kara asked, knowing last time Rae ventured into the speed force it had made her face some very tough personal demons.
"Well, it just made me stop doubting my ability as the Flash. My decisions," Rae said, and Kara smiled some more.
"Good, because you are the Flash," Kara said as she walked upstairs.
"Yeah," Rae mumbled as she started looking over the recipes. "But why shouldn't I call in the multiverse...?" She whispered to herself, wondering it as she plotted her own plans with the dishes.
Post Chapter Note 1: Well, hope you like the first chapter of the 2nd half; the speed force always has a lesson to teach, even if it can be very long like this one. And I hope you guys liked having the SuperEarth part of the speed force in here too – it saved you all having to wait a long time for Sigma to write an MVT or flashback for it himself.
Post Chapter Note 2: Hey, so we've extended our latest Karry Challenge for two more weeks! For rules please see the last chapter of Karry Universe, or our FanFiction page, however the prompt for ths is as follows: Savitar has killed Iris and Mon has left Kara's Earth. Barry heads to Earth-38 mourning for his fiancée. But is Kara in any place to help him? – please submit by Monday, October 22nd by posting here on FanFiction and letting myself or Sigma know by linking us to the story. Thanks!
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Karry Master OUT!