Chapter 1: Iris

Iris entered the West house, and after closing the door behind her, made her way inside. After leaving S.T.A.R. Labs, she'd gone to CC Picture News to try and get a jump-start on her article about the unfolding events. She wasn't doing anything useful at the lab, or even at the hangar with all the superheroes, so she went to do the one thing she could do, write. However, she'd only gotten as far as typing in a temporary headline of 'Aliens Really Do Exist,' before realizing she couldn't go much further than that. Did she write about beings from other planets, who wanted world domination, or about an alien who had once lived on another planet much like Earth and who looked just like a normal human female? Or perhaps that this alien woman was one of the last of her people and was striving to make a new home for herself on an Earth in a parallel universe? And would readers even believe that there were many different versions of their Earth and that this particular alien lived on one that was thirty-seven universes over from theirs? It sounded crazy in her head. She doubted it would make more sense on paper.

Besides much of what she could write would have to be censored. Obviously, she couldn't write about the people behind the masks. It had been a shock to learn that Oliver Queen, the mayor of Star City, was actually the Green Arrow. Then there was the little matter of said vigilante, members of his family and former members of 'Team Arrow' being captured by the Dominators and then escaping from the alien's spaceship which had been floating out amongst the stars in a futuristic timeship. Then there was the little matter of the billionaire Ray Palmer, once suspected of being killed in a Palmer Tech explosion but was actually alive, and had spent all his time on that same ship that could travel through time. The list of secrets about the heroes Barry had gathered was enough to make her head explode. While it still hurt a little that her father and best friend, now boyfriend, had kept her in the dark about the Flash's true identity, with all the secrets she now knew, she could understand the need for keeping some things hidden.

Even though she'd forgiven both of them for that secret, it bothered her that even now, over a year and a half later, she was learning about things Barry was keeping from her. The fact that her boyfriend had skipped to Earth 38 over six months ago, had met a very pretty and sweet alien with super powers, and had never mentioned it to her was something she wasn't happy about. Iris took a deep breath. She wasn't jealous of Kara, on the contrary, she was in awe of the woman who could fly and shoot lasers from her eyes. She knew where Barry's heart lay, however, the fact that he never shared that with her was irksome. Granted they hadn't been dating at the time, but they were still best friends. These were the type of experiences that best friends shared with each other.

Realizing she was still standing on the landing by the front door, she hung up her coat and then looked around the house she'd grown up in. It was astonishing to think about just how much her life had changed in the last two years. It seemed to start with a bolt of lightning and then the emergence of a masked hero, who had turned out to be her best friend. Finding out about the Flash had led to the discovery that metahumans existed, and that a speedster from the future was responsible for the way their lives were now. It had taken her the better part of the last year to move on from Eddie sacrificing his own life to be the hero who took down the Reverse Flash. And during that year, another speedster had shown up. This one more evil than Eobard Thawne. Not to mention watching Barry defeat Zoom, and then finding out he could and had time travelled. Now she'd found out aliens existed. Honestly, it was enough to make even an inquisitive journalist like herself wish for a simple life. Which is why she was here, rather than in her own apartment. She didn't want to be alone. It was almost dinnertime, which meant Wally and her dad would be home soon. Iris' stomach grumbled, effectively interrupting her thoughts, and she made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat.

As she passed the dining room table, she couldn't miss the three envelopes propped up against the centerpiece with Barry's unmistakable scrawl. One was addressed to her dad, one to Wally and one to her. She moved over to the table, picked up the one with her name on it and instantly a chill ran up her spine. A part of her didn't want to know what was inside, because with everything going on in their world and the fact that her boyfriend had left three letters, she had a feeling that Barry didn't expect a happy outcome to the Dominator situation. But she knew herself well enough to know that her curiosity would eventually get the better of her. It was easier to give in now than spend countless hours debating the issue. Changing her mind about the kitchen and food, she walked over to the couch and sat down.

She held the envelope in her hand, staring at it, willing the contents not to spell gloom and doom but promises of something happier. Somehow her gut was telling her that it wasn't going to be the latter. She knew Barry better than she knew anyone else and would bet good money that this was going to be a goodbye letter. It would be just like him to make sure he got in the last word, so he wrote these letters as a part of some contingency plan. Maybe she shouldn't read it. Maybe it would be better to wait until the whole thing was over. Then she could just give him the unread letter back.

But she was a reporter and curiosity was her curse. She had to know what was inside. Spying a letter opener on the coffee table, she used it to open the envelope and then pulled out the folded paper inside. Sitting back, she tucked strands of hair behind her ear and unfolded the letter. She took a deep breath and began reading the contents.

My dearest Iris,

I know as you read this you're already wondering why I'm writing a letter to you, and why there were also letters for Wally and Joe. I would bet a week's pay that you probably had a moment's hesitation about reading it. But I also know how curious you are and that nothing would stop you from discovering what it is that I need to tell you. I wouldn't put it past you to believe that this was my way out of saying goodbye, just in case I don't get a chance to tell you in person. You'd be right. Though, when you finish reading this, I have no doubt you'll wish I was in front of you so you could yell at me for doing something stupid. Because while I know in my heart I'm doing the right thing, you, Iris West, would want to smack some sense into me. Well, you wouldn't be the first person to try and talk me out of my decision. Oliver beat you to it. While he didn't come out and physically try to stop me, he did try to talk me out of it.

The thing is, I don't see my decision as doing something stupid, or even brave, it's simply the only choice that can be made. I also know you'll think that by putting my thoughts on paper I'm taking the coward's way out, but the truth is, if I told you this in person, I wouldn't be able to go through with what I need to do. Oliver couldn't change my mind about this, but you would be a different story. I'd never be able to leave you, not again, and too much is at stake, so this letter was my best option.

There's no getting away from the fact that I've made some big mistakes in my life. My first error was never telling you how much I loved you. I allowed you to believe you were no more than the best friend a guy could ever have. That wasn't fair to you or me. I was too afraid of losing you as a friend so I took the easy route, keeping you as close as I could while hiding my true feelings for you. I had the chance to go back in time to save my mom, with everyone supporting my choice to do so, but in the end, I chose the life I'd made with you and Joe instead. This I don't see as a mistake at all, I see it as one of the smartest moves I ever made. But then, a year later, I made the decision of going back to change my life so that both my parents would be alive, but I lost what I had with you. I almost lost that for good when memories of that new life started erasing this life. So I decided to set things back on track, only to find out that even by doing that, you can't put things back exactly as they were.

I will have to live with the choices I made. But even through all of that, you still believed in me, you have always stood by me. You are my home, Iris, without you I'd be lost.

You never truly held it against me that I didn't tell you I had super speed after I woke up from the coma. I know you were mad, and to this day it probably still bothers you that I kept that secret from you for months. Another mistake I must apologize for, but at the same time, I admit I secretly enjoyed hiding behind the mask with you. I was a little bolder around you, something I didn't have the courage to be without the mask. Even so, I am sorry I kept that from you. Up to the time the lightning struck I shared almost everything with you, but then I woke up from the coma and kept the most life-changing event to ever happen to me from you. Yet you forgave me. You always forgive me.

Loving you, knowing that you love me the same way is something that will stay with me forever, and is far more important to me than being the Flash.

Now I must make the ultimate sacrifice to save you, to give you and all the humans and metahumans on this Earth a chance to live. And you have to promise me, Iris, that you will live your life and find happiness, because that's all I have ever wanted for you. You deserve to be happy. It took going back in time to realize that you were my happiness all along. You, Joe, Wally, Cisco, Caitlyn, you're my family, and I let you all down. But now I can make amends for the mistakes I've made.

Turns out that losing sight of what was right in front of me is what brought the Dominators here. I messed with time, and now I must pay for that choice. The Dominators made a deal with the Government. I turn myself over and they'll leave our world alone. It seems I apparently broke some old truce we had with them when I altered the timeline. Even back in the fifties they didn't trust metahumans, but we were a minority back then. However, if I surrender to them, humans and metahumans alike will be safe.

This isn't something I do lightly. Leaving you and what we've only just started to build together is the hardest thing about this decision. But your safety is more important than anything else. Yours and everyone else's.

I love you, Iris West. I always have and always will. You are the one I gave my heart to years ago. You're my home.

With all my love,

Barry

Iris stared at the paper clutched in her hand as tears gently fell down her face. She had no idea how long ago Barry had written the letter. Now it was probably too late to find him, drag him to the pipeline and lock him in the same cell they'd put him in back when Zoom had challenged him to a race. She angrily wiped at the wet streaks on her cheeks. He was gone, and all she had to remember him by was a piece of paper. Stupid was right. And apparently, Oliver Queen had attempted to talk him out of surrendering to a group of evil world-dominating aliens, but to no avail. Did he really think that all the good he'd done could be so easily erased because of a few mistakes. Everyone slips up, but only her big-hearted Barry would think that all the evil in the world was his fault. This was his way of fixing things that really were just a matter of fate.

She looked at the words on the paper again. This wasn't just a piece of paper. This was all she had left of the man she loved. She re-read the last line again, before clutching the letter to her chest like a lifeline and let the tears of loss stream down.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but the ringing of her cell phone pulled her back to reality. She looked down at the caller ID and taking a deep breath hit the green accept. "Hey, Dad." She hoped she sounded more cheerful than she felt. She didn't know what her dad knew at this point and didn't feel like voicing their loss if he didn't know about Barry's sacrifice yet.

"I called to tell you, it's over. Cisco just contacted me to tell me that the Dominators are gone." Her dad sounded excited. He couldn't possibly know that it was Barry's surrender that had sent them away.

She turned on the TV, hoping to see what, if any, destruction had occurred. "That…that's great."

"Yeah, I wanted to let you know that Barry and the entire team of heroes are waiting for the arrival of the President who's coming to thank them all in person." She could hear the excitement in her dad's voice. "I thought maybe you'd want to come down and see it for yourself, though I've been told that with so many high-ranking officials in attendance, outsiders like us probably won't be let within a hundred yards of that hangar."

All of a sudden, Iris' mind zeroed in on one specific part of her dad's news. "Did you say Barry and everyone?"

"Yep, Barry, Oliver, John Diggle, Professor Stein, Jax, Supergirl…do I really have to recite the list?"

Iris stared unblinking at the images on the TV screen. Sure enough, there was the Flash, or at least his yellow lightning streak, running around attacking the Dominators, along with the Green Arrow, Supergirl, Heat Wave, Citizen Steel, and the Atom. "You did say Barry, he's there, right now, he's…."

"Baby, Barry's fine. They all are." Suddenly there was a pause, "Iris, are you okay? I mean I know that things could have gone differently…"

Iris looked down at the letter she held, and then back to the TV screen. "You have no idea, Dad. Tell everyone congratulations. I probably need to get over to CCPN and start working on my article."

"Okay, I'll pass it along. Are you sure you're okay?" Her dad's concern couldn't be masked over the phone.

"Oh, yeah, better than you can imagine. I'm glad this is over. Love you, Dad. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She waited for him to respond in kind and then disconnected. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Barry was still here. He wasn't in outer space. He wasn't a prisoner of evil world-dominating aliens.

She stood up and, folding the letter, went and retrieved her coat. She quickly put it back on and then slipped the letter in her pocket. She knew it would be hours until she would be able to have any alone time with the love of her life, so she'd do what she had told her dad she was going to do. She was going to head to the newspaper office. She'd call Cisco and Caitlyn and get the low down on what happened, write her story, and then she would find her boyfriend and give him a very large piece of her mind, before hugging him and then not letting him out of her sight for a very, very long time.