Chapter 3
Cisco and Wells were batting zero with the suspected Grodd lairs. They were now on their way to the last one on their list. Barry acknowledged the plan to move on with a "copy that" and then leaned back in the wheelchair with a sigh. "Now, we wait."
Behind him, Henry was removing his coat. "So this is what it's like ... every time you go after one of those metahumans?"
"Uhm, pretty much," Barry responded. "Only Cisco and Caitlin are normally the ones in here and I'm the one out there."
Now or never.
"Well, there's no reason you shouldn't be."
Henry could practically feel Barry start to shut down. He sighed. "Iris showed me what happened, with Zoom," he said, shuddering as the images of Barry's beating and his limp body hanging from Zoom's grip flashed through his mind. "That was hard to watch. I can only imagine what that must have been like for you."
Barry swallowed, not daring to look at his father. He too was lost in thoughts of that night. The pain of the blow to his back. The sudden fall to the ground as his legs failed to hold him up. Being dragged around like a ragdoll behind Zoom. Thrust out in front of his city and his friends, mocked and ridiculed as not good enough. And the shock of Zoom's hand stabbing into him. He shivered.
"He showed everyone in Central City that their hero wasn't good enough to stop him."
Henry had been expecting that answer. He suspected it was the root of Barry's lingering need for the cane and the wheelchair. He didn't think he was recovered - and therefore his body obeyed his mind - and his mind was certain that he had failed and that he wasn't good enough. The mind has more control over the body than most people realize. Henry knew this. And not just from his medical training. From experience.
Every time he remembered seeing Nora in the middle of the living room, surrounded by lightning, he felt physically ill with the knowledge that she had died alone. That he had been unable to do anything for her. Sometimes, early on, he had rushed to the toilet in his cell and had thrown up until there was nothing left to expel. And then he had dry heaved and sobbed.
The pain had lessened over the years, but he still felt his body betray him when his mind wandered to that day. He knew better than most what Barry was going through.
So he told him. About the trial. About everyone - even family - turning on him.
It wasn't often Henry could do something to help his son. He'd been incarcerated for half of the younger man's life. Not around to help him after bullies beat him up after school. Or to pick him up when he skinned his knee rollerblading.
He hadn't even been in the same state when his son's back was broken by a madman from another dimension. But he could help now.
"So yeah, I do know what it's like being destroyed," he said, trying not to react to the tears he could see glistening in Barry's eyes.
"How did you get past that?" his son asked.
Henry told him. It felt good to get it out. To see how amazed Barry was that the simple act of his believing in him had helped his father get past one of the most difficult times of his life. It felt great to see the moment when Barry got it.
Finally, he felt like the father he had always wanted to be.
When Barry had been thrown into the concrete support pillar, Henry had felt his heart leap into his throat. He knew that Barry healed fast, but his son had just recovered from a spinal injury and he was now pinned beneath a gigantic gorilla's massive foot.
And it was Henry's persistence that had sent him into that situation.
Maybe he had been wrong?
But Caitlin came to the rescue, convincing Grodd to move into the circle where they needed him. Only, it wasn't enough. The creature was too strong and was fighting the pull of the breach.
"Barry, you can't let Grodd get free. Conquer your fears son, believe in yourself." He poured as much feeling into his words as he could over a microphone. Then he turned back to the video screen.
He could see Barry straighten up with resolve.
At last. The Flash was back.
Barry was used to hearing Caitlin, Cisco, Harry - even Iris and Joe - over his suit speaker. But he wasn't used to hearing his father's voice. He immediately felt lighter than he had since being beaten by Zoom.
Knowing his father had such faith in him spurred Barry into action. He sped away and turned back just as fast. Grodd was going into that breach. Barry wasn't about to let anyone else get hurt if he had the power to stop it.
With a cry, he launched himself at Grodd and slammed his body into the massive gorilla, spinning so that he could thrust his feet into the creature and deliver a stunningly powerful blow.
Skidding to the ground on the other side of the breach, he whipped around to watch with baited breath whether his superspeeded impact had been enough to get the job done. Grodd struggled, but then he seemed to bend in on himself and with a flash of light - the creature was gone.
And Barry nearly collapsed with relief.
He let himself drop partly to the ground and groaned. It hadn't really hurt, but he was still stiff and his body felt a bit older than he was used to - a feeling he knew would go away as time passed.
It felt amazing to be back, and he couldn't help the broad smile when Cisco threw out a casual, but pleased, "Welcome back, Flash."
Barry stood beside his father at the bus station. As far as goodbyes went, it wasn't as hard as the last one - when Barry had only just gotten his father back and was already having to let him go again.
This time, both father and son felt like a weight had been lifted. Henry, because he had finally had the chance to really help his son for the first time in a long time. And Barry, because his father had reminded him that he had people who believed in him - and that was enough. Even if the whole city stopped believing, he had his friends and his family and nothing could ever take that away from him.
"Dad, I can't even begin to thank you," he said, turning to face Henry. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't talked some sense into me. I probably would still be buzzing around in that wheelchair feeling sorry for myself."
Henry chuckled. "I don't know," he said. "Joe probably would have dragged you out by your hair eventually. But ... all the same, I'm glad I could help. That something good came of such a terrible part of our lives is rather amazing, really."
Barry nodded. "Yeh," he said. "I guess."
As the bus drew up to the stop, Barry reached out and drew his father into a tight embrace. "You'll come visit soon, right? Because this time around, I wasn't at my best. You've got to see some of the crazy things we get up to when we're training. Like the one time I caught one of Cisco's drone missiles and flung it back at his drone and blew it up..."
"Barry!" his father said. "You didn't really catch a missile?"
His son smiled. "You should have seen it, it was brilliant, Dad!"
Henry shook his head fondly. "You can't tell a father these things, Barry, you'll give me a heart attack!" He leaned in. "But between you and me ... very cool."
Barry smiled widely and Henry couldn't help but do the same. "I promise, I'll visit soon, son," he said as the bus began boarding. "You keep safe. I don't want Iris or Joe calling to tell me you're laid up again."
"I'll do my best," Barry said solemnly. The barely concealed smirk kept the mood light. "You take care of yourself, too."
As the bus drew off with the elder Allen aboard, Barry glanced around to make sure no one was looking - then he sped off, lightning crackling in his wake, running alongside the bus and then turning sharply off toward Central City.
Henry shook his head at the disappearing light. That was his Barry. Always landing on his feet - even if it took a while to get there.
A/N: Not happy really with this ending. Honestly, I probably shouldn't have drawn this out like I did, but I did - so hopefully someone enjoys! Next I think I'll do a Wally learns Barry is the Flash fic. I've been dying to try those out. I have a few different scenarios in mind. Any interest? I think I'll write better when I'm not trying to mesh it with actual dialog/scenes...