Barry's eyes flashed in anger and growled at Wells again. "Me? What could I have done to you to deserve that?"
"You asked me to." Wells replied plainly. He watched as shock flitted across Barry's face for a moment and he felt the hands around his neck lessen slightly. He sighed a little and decided that he was finished anyway so he may as well confess all.
"We were enemies in the future, you and I. We hated each other for a long time until you finally gained enough strength to travel back in time to the night your mother died. You saved her and in doing so changed the entire timeline for the worse. Because she lived, you never became the Flash and all the good you were destined to do never happened. Thousands died in various disasters and millions more suffered." Wells paused for a second before continuing. "And then you reached out to me. You knew that the altered timeline could not be allowed to continue but you lacked the power to change anything. So you sought me out and asked me to change it back to the way it was. I refused for a long time but you persisted and in the end we became...friends of a sort. So I agree to help you. I return here, kill Nora and I found myself trapped.
By this point Barry had let go of his neck completely and was staring at him with wide eyes.
"I found myself trapped in this time since the time jump had depleted my speed force. And the only way to recharge it is to siphon some of yours so I was forced to adopt the persona of Harrison Wells, the man who would eventually make you the Flash. I killed him and stole his identity and used my future knowledge to create the Flash a bit sooner than nature intended." His voice was tinged with regret when he spoke of the original Wells. "Wells was a good man. I have all his memories and feelings and I know that you would have loved him. Everything I've done since then has been to protect you and help you grow Barry. When you were strong enough I was going to steal enough energy from you to return home."
Silence reigned for a few moments before Barry rolled off the older man, moved towards the opposite wall and sat down. Wells sat up slowly trying to not irritate any of his injuries and slid backwards until he was able to lean against the wall himself. The silence continued until Barry spoke hoarsely, "How do I know you're not lying?" His face was torn between anger and grief as he stared at the older man. "How do I know that everything you just told me wasn't all just another lie?"
"I have never lied to you Barry. I've given you half-truths and kept information yes, but I have never lied. And now I have no reason to lie. I have nothing left." Wells replied.
"So what happened to your big plan to go home then? Are you trying to tell me that you've just decided to not bother?" Barry spat.
"Can't. You met Gideon didn't you?" Barry nodded. "She informed me a week ago that I would no longer be able to travel back to my timeline as it has been permanently severed from the speed force. There is no way to fix it so I'm trapped here and as you get stronger I can still feel my own power growing and I have no purpose for it now." He laughed humourlessly. "So here I am. A failed speedster who is trapped in the past with people who hate him."
"You murdered Cisco." Barry countered. "So you obviously don't care about us."
Wells sighed deeply. He had hoped that the trio would remain unaware of the alternate timeline. He guessed that Barry had been able to remember the events since speedsters can exist outside of time. "I wish that was true as it would make this life much easier. Yes, I killed Cisco in the other timeline but if there was another option I would have taken it. He is truly amazing and I do consider him as a son of sorts. At the beginning I did use Cisco and Caitlin. They were brilliant and I knew they would help me advance the particle accelerator but I didn't account on how much they would affect me. They infected me with their kindness and good hearts. I didn't even realise myself how much I felt for the three of you until Ronnie was about to die. I sacrificed my tacheon device to save his life, even though it set me back in my goal of returning home."
Barry opened his mouth to speak but closed it again after failing to come up with anything to say. Wells continued. "When Gideon told me I was trapped, I was devastated and furious. I blamed myself, I blamed her and I blamed you." He indicated to Barry. "But I eventually settled down and realised that I could make a home here but it would depend on the three of you never discovering my secret. But I underestimated you all and now I have nothing."
Wells moved his hand up to his face to try and stem the blood flow from his nose. He felt awful, both emotionally and physically, but as he confessed his sins he did feel a sort of peace settle inside him. If Barry chose to kill them then he would still not fight him. He decided to offer the man one last piece of knowledge. "I met her you know, your mother. I met her a few times in the alternate timeline and she was truly lovely. She knew all about the timeline problems and what we were planning to do. The original plan was for you to go back and kill her until she asked me to do it instead. And I agreed because I knew that you would never be able to live with yourself if you had."
Barry swallowed and responded, "And why would you bother to accept?"
"Like I said, Barry. We did become friendly towards the end. Two men working together to save the entire world does tend to create a bond and I really did liked your mother, she was strong and willing to sacrifice herself to save us all. Plus she threatened to kick my ass if I didn't agree." Wells started coughing and was a little concerned at the amount of blood which was appearing.
Barry smiled slightly at the thought of his mother. Sighing deeply as he felt the remainder of his anger leave him, he withdrew his phone and dialled STAR Labs. "Cisco. I'm here with Wells...No i'm okay but I need you both to come and collect us...Yes him too. It's a long and complicated story Cisco please just come as quickly as possible. And bring a decent medical kit cause I think we might need it."
Wells glanced up at Barry as he listened to the call. So it seemed he wasn't destined for death today and he started to wonder what exactly they planned to do with him. The pipeline wouldn't hold him and the entire team knew that, he also knew that they hated him and that he had no chance of being free. He saw Barry watching him and decided that his only option was to wait and see. He moved his body slightly and hissed as pain shot up his side, he suspected that Barry might have broken at least one of his ribs. He grit his teeth and tried to slid his back up the wall so he could stand but he only made it about half way up when his leg collapsed from under him and he fell towards the ground.
He braced for impact and was mildly stunned when he felt Barry's hands tighten around his upper arms and prevent him from falling. He looked questioningly at him as Barry led him back over to the couch and sat him on it gently. Barry spoke quietly, "If everything you have said is true then Cisco and Caitlin deserve to hear it before we make a decision. I can't just let you fall and risk your broken rib stabbing you in the lung. I will not be a murderer but this is far from over."
For the first time since Barry had entered the room, Wells felt a small fleeting moment of hope spark inside him and as he heard the STAR Labs van skid outside the building, he was going to hold onto it for as long as he could.