Chapter 152: Revelations

The great thing about growing up, Thea decided, is that I get to hang out with my friends. And I don't have to ask for permission.

Truth be told, that was a consequence of both growing up and Ollie coming home. The relief of having their son back in their lives had convinced Thea's parents to loosen the restrictions they had on their only daughter, especially as she was closing in on her high school graduation. While Thea had opted not to go out of town for college, the fact that she was in college at all signaled some kind of threshold had been reached. She was an adult now, and free to do as she pleased.

At first, the feeling had been exhilarating. No longer did she have to reluctantly blow off her friends just because her mom or dad didn't want her going out on a particular day. No longer was there a cap on the amount of money she could withdraw from her accounts. She could just say yes or no, depending on what her own schedule dictated for her, and buy whatever she pleased. The novelty had eventually faded, but the thrum of satisfaction at her own independence remained with her months.

Now, however, it was a necessity. Ever since this… family feud between Ollie and their parents had started, she constantly felt she was always standing at the edge of a cliff. She had avoided going home as much as possible as to not be caught in-between, staying at the houses of friends instead, but the stress still got to her in the end. Thea could see both viewpoints, though age and understanding had caused her to mainly side with Ollie — the reality is, their parents had dumped the responsibility of CEO on him without warning, not allowing him to prepare or delegate the responsibilities he already had. While Ollie should be making more of an effort to make things work, it was mostly their parents' fault for not properly preparing him to take over QC.

And now there was the stuff with Kara. Thea had wanted to visit Kara in the hospital, but the doctor's restrictions hadn't allowed it. Then Kara had finally woken up, but barely stayed long enough for Thea to arrange a visit, instead absconding with Kal onto an impromptu trip without warning. Learning that had been frustrating, to say the least.

If the young heiress was being completely honest with herself, it always felt like there was something going on and she was always the last to know. Everyone thought she was oblivious, but Thea had spent years learning to observe others in order to claim what little freedoms she could under her parents' overprotectiveness. She was just wise enough to know to keep what she knew to herself.

Like whatever was going on with her brother and his girlfriend. As much as they would like to pretend otherwise, Thea knew Ollie and Laurel had more going on than just their recent domestic bliss. Otherwise, Ollie wouldn't be chafing so much against his CEO duties. Building his life with Laurel was importat, but Thea highly doubted it meant skipping anywhere from one to two days of work a week. Whatever it was, he had yet to share it with her, and Thea was too scared to pry — she didn't want Ollie to shut her out like he had their parents.

"Bye, Thea!"

"Later guys!" Thea hollered back, before heading to her usual car. She slid into the back of the limo, shutting the door behind her and quickly throwing her bag to the side. She put on her seatbelt, then leaned against her seat and closed her eyes.

"Home, please."

The car started moving. Thea felt the familiar thrum of the engine starting, and let it begin lulling her to sleep. Just as she was almost completely under, however, one of the tires hit a pothole, briefly jolting her awake.

That's when she noticed the knockout gas.

She was out before she could even think to begin screaming.

Meanwhile, in Central City…

Barry had waited until it was nighttime before speeding over to Team Flash's base at the outskirts of the city. Whatever investigation Ralph had conducted, the evidence was sensitive and that meant he could trust no technology but his own if he was going to look at it. He didn't dare risk someone discovering it on the S.T.A.R. Labs server and raising an alarm over it, potentially scaring Ralph's true killer into taking more drastic measures to ensure the truth never came out. Better it was on his own.

Barry had turned on the lights and then headed to his computer apparatus, going through the motions of passing through the security checks until he was finally able to access the main desktop. With that done, he plugged the flash drive in, allowing his software to clean it of any potential bugs or viruses, and then accessed the main folder.

He froze when he saw the first file there, and clicked on it. It was a digital copy of an online news article. A very specific online news article.

'HUGO AND CHARLENE THAWNE KILLED IN HOUSE FIRE'

"You were investigating the deaths of the Thawnes?" Barry whispered, genuinely stunned. But why? Did whatever client that contracted Ralph suspect that the Thawnes were murdered? Then why didn't Ralph bring them in? Eddie might have hated his parents, but there's no way he would've allowed their murderer to go free.

The speedster quickly sped read the article, memorizing it, before opening the next file in the flash drive. It was an autopsy report, conducted on what little remains of the Thawnes that were collected after the fire had been put out. Obviously, the coroner hadn't managed to find much, but he did suggest the possibility that they had been killed before the fire had been set, chocking it up to carbon monoxide or something similar.

That was… suspicious. If the Thawnes really had died before the fire started, then that opened up the possibility that they had been murdered before their bodies burned. The flames would've been the perfect way to cover up the killer's tracks. And it definitely wasn't out of the realm of possibility; a politician with his track record and personality meant Hugo Thawne had to have more than his fair share of enemies, many of whom might be willing to kill. With that realization, Barry continued combing through the rest of the evidence on the drive.

Most of it was innocuous, just testimony from people that had met with the Thawnes the night they had died. They had been attending some kind of charity ball with Eddie, before returning home, whereupon there was some kind of gas leak or something that caused the blaze that led to their deaths. There wasn't really anything consistent about what was said about the events of that night, other than that the Thawnes left the event with Eddie when it was over. Barry frowned.

And then he got to the evidence he had processed for Ralph all those weeks ago. The gas accelerant had been discovered in the garage and throughout bits of the old Thawne home. It seemed it had been used to set the fire. Ralph had apparently been trying to find where it came from and how it had gotten there, searching for a number of stores and online vendors. It had been a very particular top-tier brand, used only for a select amount of high-class vehicles and motorcycles. This, Barry skimmed, already knowing most of it.

At least until he got to the last evidence in that particular folder. The testimony of one Valerie Perez, a childhood friend of Eddie Thawne, who revealed that Eddie had received such a motorcycle for his sixteenth birthday. One that Eddie kept at his parents' home, as he hadn't been able to afford keeping and maintaining it at his cheap apartment with a cop's salary.

Just like that, it all came crashing down for Barry.

Eddie. Ralph thought Eddie had killed his parents.

Of course. The one consistency throughout all the testimony from the second folder was that Eddie had left with his parents. And Eddie's testimony itself stated that he had followed his parents to his family home before leaving for his own home in Central. That meant that Eddie had been the last person to see them alive.

Which meant unless somebody broke in between the brief interval between Eddie leaving his childhood home and that very house catching fire, it was more than likely that Eddie was the one who killed Hugo and Charlene. He would've known where the gas accelerant was stored, because he would've been the one using it whenever he visited home and took his motorcycle for a spin. And as for motive… well, Barry didn't have to think very hard for that. He had seen Eddie's likely motive firsthand several times. Eddie had more than enough reason to want his parents dead, and not all of it was monetary. If anything, the family fortune had been the last thing on his mind at the time.

All of it was circumstantial. There was no smoking gun. But together, it was very damning. And Eddie would be the perfect person capable of covering up a crime, especially this one. He was an intelligent detective, whose job was to figure out crimes. He had all the knowledge and skill needed to make sure no one would ever figure out what he did. No one except a fellow detective like Ralph, who would also know where to look, and know when things were too neat to be anything but a set-up.

No wonder Ralph hadn't wanted Iris to continue the case for him. Barry could only imagine how she would react to learning the possibility that Eddie, her ex-boyfriend and a man she still cared about and called a friend, had not only murdered his own parents, but her ex-partner as well. Compromised didn't even begin to cover it.

Hell, Barry was barely able to believe it himself. He and Eddie had their issues in the beginning but he had never truly wished the other man ill. And in these past few months, they had become friends. The very idea that Eddie, stalwart Eddie who loved being a detective and believed in justice and the law more than anything else, could do something like this… it was practically unfathomable.

But the evidence didn't lie.

Ralph didn't want to believe it too, Barry surmised. Eddie had been his friend as well. He would've wanted to talk to Eddie, get his side of the story first, before doing anything about it. But if he had gone to Eddie, confronted him, why hadn't Eddie said anything? Had Ralph made it to him at all? Or was it possible, truly possible, that Eddie had…?

Barry closed his eyes. There was only one way to settle this, only one way to know. He had to confront Eddie himself. If he wasn't guilty, he wasn't guilty, and Barry could have another ally in solving Ralph's murder and potentially the Thawnes' as well. But if he was…

Well. He would just have to cross that bridge when he got to it.

Back in Argo…

Mom.

Kara had her eyes squared solely on her mother, watching the older woman hungrily, if disbelievingly. She was alive. Alive. How many times had she dreamed of this? How many times had she hoped, desperately, to be held in her mother's arms one more time? It had been years and years, and Kara had thought she moved on, but seeing her mother now made it clear that she hadn't completely. No, she still ached for her family as much as Oliver and Barry had on Lian Yu, and now after all these years, she had finally found her way back to one of them.

"Kara."

It was Kal who brought her back to reality. Kara glanced down at her little brother, who was looking at Alura with an odd expression on his face. "Alura was one of the people who locked away the information on the symbol that was on Reign's chest. She might know what it is."

The older Kryptonian closed her eyes. Right, right. Mission first. "We need her help then. We need to meet with her."

"How? She's got a ton of security around her, and we can't draw attention to ourselves like this. They probably have a registry of all the people that either left Krypton with Argo or were born here. You know, to help ration their supplies. And we're definitely not on it."

"Maybe, but Argo has a population of millions. It's unlikely they've met every single citizen here." Kara looked around, and her eyes lit up when she saw a line forming in front of the council. "There. That's our in. The High Council is allowing normal citizens to greet them for the festival. We'll just join the line and speak to her once we reach the front."

"Sounds good to me."

But of course, fate was not on their side. They waited about an hour in line, but as they were closing in on the front, Alura apparently had some kind of emergency or pressing concern. She announced her departure to the crowd, thanking them for their support and apologizing to those who wished to meet with her, before departing with a cadre of guards. Kara felt herself panic as she saw her mother go.

"We need to follow her," Kara hissed to Kal. The boy nodded.

They slipped away from the line and discreetly tried to follow Alura through the crowds. It wasn't hard — the people were more than willing to part ways so a High Council member could have smooth exit from the festival. The real trial was making sure the guards didn't notice them and assume them to be malcontents.

Just as they were nearing the edge of the square, however, something happened. A cloaked figured appeared and through some kind of canister, emitting a massive amount of smoke around the area. They drew a blaster of some kind and charged forward, throwing aside guards to get closer to Alura. "FOR YUDA KAL!" a loud, female voice screeched.

Kara saw the blaster directed at her mother's form almost too late. "NO!" she screamed, drawing out her knife and throwing it at the weapon. She was no Barry or Oliver, but at this range she was more than a good enough shot. The knife embedded itself into the blaster with all its force, causing the weapon to detonate within the would-be assassin's hand. The woman yelped in pain as she drew back her bloody arm.

The (supposed) Last Daughter of Krypton didn't allow her any further quarry. She threw herself into the fray, attacking the woman with quick, brutal efficiency. A kick to the abdomen followed by a jab to the throat and a headbutt to the noggin, and the woman was laid out, completely out cold. Kara stared down at the fool who had dared to attack her mother, and had to visibly inhale a deep breath before she succumbed to her instincts and killed the object of her ire then and there.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end, and she whirled around to see another woman, another assassin, trying to strike her with an electrified baton. Before Kara could counter her, Kal lunged forward with a roar and knocked the woman down, mounting her with his skinny legs and giving her the strongest punch he could to the face. She dropped the baton, which he grabbed and used to electrify her for good measure.

Once it was clear that both assassins were unconscious and that there were no more waiting in the wings, Kara helped Kal get up to his feet and helped dust him off. Already, they could feel the eyes of hundreds upon them. So much for keeping a low profile.

"Are you alright?"

Kara stiffened, and looked to see a concerned Alura approaching them. "Are you alright?" she repeated.

"…we're fine," the younger woman answered, barely keeping her wits about her.

"Thank Rao," Alura praised. "And thank you both, for stopping those attackers and saving me. Who knows what could have…" she trailed off.

It took Kara moment to realize it was Kal she was staring at. Kal, who had dropped his hood in all the commotion, and now had his full face being witnessed by all around them. Including Alura. "…Jor-El?"

Kal blinked. "What?"

Alura shook her head, still wide-eyed. "I'm sorry, young one, but you resemble someone I used to know quite strongly. I mistook you for him for a moment. Must be my age." She bent forward and adopted a breathtaking smile. "What's your name?"

He didn't answer, instead glancing up at his guardian. Alura's smile slowly faded away as he remained silent, and Kara sighed as she reached out and touched Alura's shoulder. The older woman looked up at her in confusion, slowly drawing up to her full height so they could see each other, face-to-face.

Gathering up all her courage, Kara let her own hood down, and removed the veil hiding her face. Here we go.

Alura didn't seem to recognize her at first. But there was something in Kara's face that kept her gaze. "You look familiar," she said, mostly to herself.

Kara merely smiled at that, as tears began to gather in her eyes.

And then, it finally hit Alura. Her mouth drew open, her eyes wide.

"Kara?" Alura gasped.

Her daughter's smile grew bittersweet. "Hi, mom. I'm home."

There was originally going to be one more scene to this chapter, but honestly, that was the perfect place to end things. You'll get to see the full reunion between mother and daughter next time.

In other news, Thea is having a shit day, because she just got kidnapped! I wonder who's responsible? (*Evil grin*)

And of course, Barry has finally cottoned on to Eddie thanks to the help of Ralph, and has resolved himself to confront his friend. And you won't believe how that little confrontation is going to end.

As always, feel free to make comments, flames will be ignored and deleted, and don't forget to update the TV Tropes page!