A/N: I AM SO SORRY! I did not mean for it to take me this long to update! I recently had surgery so I have been bed-ridden for the past week. Sadly school is back and I won't be updating as often, but I will do my best to make sure it doesn't take this long again. To make up for it, this chapter is quite a bit longer than the others. I hope you enjoy! Oh, there quite a bit of Gore at the end so be prepared for that.Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics, CW, or any of its stories and characters.
Joe was the first to reach Barry. He threw his arms around Barry with a strength to rival Supergirl. Barry quickly returned the hug, silently giving a small smile. After a minute he reluctantly let go to allow for others to welcome him back to the Land of the Living. No one was able to speak, each to shocked, surprised, or on the verge of tears to make any noises. Cisco was the next to find his strength to move. He approached Barry slowly as if it were a dream. When he finally reached Barry, he poked his shoulder to see if he was real and not some vibe. Barry responded by letting out a light chuckle, followed by the first word to be uttered after what felt like hours.
"I'm real, Cisco," Barry whispered, knowing not to do anything but let them all react how they need to. Cisco's open mouth turned to an ear-to-ear grin after hearing Barry speak once again. Cisco wrapped his arms around Barry.
"H-how?" Cisco whispered, barely being able to make any noise at all.
"I'll explain when everybody is done greeting the dead man," Barry responded, lightly pushing Cisco away and bracing himself for the next hug. Cisco stepped away and looked toward the three that hadn't yet approached Barry. Wally walked up to Barry, laughing and hugging him for a brief second.
"Man, you are a sight for sore eyes, Barry. It's good to have you back." Wally said.
"It's good to be back," Barry nodded. Wally walked back to Jesse and pulled her to his side. Jesse still couldn't move or speak, opting to hang back. Caitlin was quietly crying tears of joy through the event. She couldn't take her eyes off of Barry, dreading that the moment that she did he would be gone and she would wake up from a dream. Barry's death was the final nail in the coffin for Caitlin. She had experienced more loss in her life than most anyone else would in ten. With Ronnie's two deaths, Jay's betrayal, and the loss of her sanity from her powers before she learned to control them, she was only able to stay strong because of her friends. But even their help had its limits. Barry's death had the most impact. Not only was he someone very close, he was also the driving force in keeping her above water. She lost everything at his death, and Cisco was only able to help so much. She dove into her powers, refusing to let anyone else that was close to her die.
No longer able to hold back the tears, Caitlin threw herself at Barry. She held onto him like he was like life itself. In a way, he was for her. Sobs wracked her body, causing Barry to hold her even tighter. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her. "If this is how she reacts, how will Iris?" Barry thought, realizing how much his death must have affected her. After another eternity, Caitlin finally pulled away. She looked up at Barry, who gave her a wide grin, waiting for her to say something.
"I-it's... it's r-really you!" Caitlin exclaimed, voice weak and quivering from the impossibility that was standing in front of her.
"Yeah Cait, it's really me," Barry responded, setting his hands on her shoulders. Caitlin went back in for another hug, still scared that he would disappear. Barry wrapped his arms back around Caitlin and addressed the team.
"It's good to be back, guys. I didn't really prepare what I was going to say, so I'll just answer questions back at S.T.A.R. Labs. I'm sure you all have lots. I'm willing to bet we're soon going to be drawing attention if we stay here much longer, so we should move our discussion back there. You guys go on ahead, I'll meet you guys there." Everyone nodded in agreement, Wally grabbed Joe, Jesse ran on her own, and Cisco opened a breach for Caitlin and himself. Barry softly pulled away from Caitlin, whose eyes were red from crying so much.
"Go on. I'll be there soon," Barry reassured her, receiving a nod from Caitlin, who reluctantly turned away and walked into the portal, followed by Cisco. Barry stood there for a moment, taking in all that was happening to him.
The day had arrived. The day that Team Flash would hunt down Barry's killer. It had now been eight months since Barry's death. They decided that they would not kill him. They refused to become him. Cisco refused to give Barry's killer a name, not wanting to cement him in their memories.
"Okay," Caitlin said, "let's go over the plan again." She was subconsciously trying to stall the mission. Even though she helped with the planning, she still fought tooth and nail to prevent risking the loss of another friend.
"Alright." Wally began to explain the plan for the nth time. "I'll flash over there and get into a hiding position, masked additionally be the cover of night. I wait until he is distracted with something and I rush in. The entire time I'll be sped up so I can react fast enough. I will try to knock him out with one hit. If he catches me before I can, or he isn't knocked out, Cisco will ambush him from behind. Ideally, he will drop me and give me a chance to use our last resort." After a painful silence, Cisco spoke up.
"Listen." Cisco addressed the team, "We are about to up against a man that can kill us all in an instant. If we don't get him down immediately, we have to do what ever it takes to use the last resort. We need to give this guy what he deserves." The team nodded, all silently dreading what was to come.
After everyone got in position, Wally observed the scene. They were all in a warehouse with about ten other people inside, all dressed in heavy armor holding multiple guns. The man was nowhere to be seen. Wally looked up and saw Cisco and Caitlin hiding in the rafters above. Jesse was outside the building, waiting for her cue. After a few minutes, Wally saw the man step out of a room on the wall opposite him. He walked over to one of the men and began speaking with him.
"Now's our chance," Wally whispered into the coms. "Three, two, one, here we go!"
Wally jumped out of his hiding spot and ran straight towards the man. Wally put everything he had into his punch and aimed for his head. The man went flying, but only for a split second. Almost immediately the man stopped mid-air and repositioned himself on the ground. He immediately shot out a hand towards Wally and lifted him up into the air.
"Well, would you look at that! The Late Flash's friend! You know, I was planning on destroying S.T.A.R. Labs with you in it, but I thank you for saving me the-" The man was cut off when a blast of vibrational energy hit him in the back. The man dropped Wally, who started carrying out their last resort.
Wally ran and knocked out all of the other soldiers and began creating a breach into the Speed Force. Caitlin jumped out of the portal and began freezing the telekinetic. Jesse ran into the building and helped Wally create a breach. The telekinetic was pushing out telekinetic energy, nearly overwhelming Caitlin and Cisco, but he didn't have enough time, as Wally and Jesse finally created a stable breach into the Speed Force. In a blur of lightning, Jesse grabbed the man and threw him into the breach. Wally ran up and grabbed hold of him and carried him into the Speed Force. Wally focused his mind on a specific date. October 13th, 2022. He was going to drop off the man there, giving them over a year to come up with a way to stop him. Eventually, Wally reached the date and ran out of the Speed Force, taking the man with him.
Wally stopped at an alley and threw the man against the wall and ran back into the Speed Force. He traveled back to the past and stopped once again at the warehouse where the fight took place. The team looked at him with questioning faces. Wally simply responded with a nod.
"So... What do we do now?" Caitlin asked.
"Now?" Wally answered, "Now, we prepare. We have over a year to Figure out a way to stop him, and now we know where he will be. We can set up defenses at the alley where I threw him. We learn everything we can about him. Cisco, I trust that you got the sample that I requested?" The team turned to look at Cisco, no one knowing what Wally meant other than Cisco.
"Yeah. While he was down I managed to take a sample of his hair and scrape off some of his skin. I'll see what I can do."
"Good. Come on, let's go home."
Barry placed his mask back on and ran out of the graveyard. After he left he realized that he needed to find out about his killer. If he was still around, that meant that the city was still in trouble. He had faced a few telekinetics during his time with the Speed Force, so dealing with him should be easy. Barry decided that the best course of action would be to simply go to S.T.A.R. Labs and figure out what to do from there. He ran to S.T.A.R, careful to minimize his visibility. He wasn't yet ready to reveal himself as the Flash. Once he arrived, he found everyone in the cortex, all discussing something about someone arriving soon. When Barry walked in and pulled off his mask, everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him. Barry looked at them briefly, his gaze eventually landing on his suit. It was in the case inside the wall as usual but it was slightly different. The lights were dimmed, giving a solemn feel to the display. Seeing his suit for the first time in 40 years sent a mixture of emotions through him. There were traces of nostalgia, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a pang of pain and sorrow. Barry approached the case, his face darkening with every step. He stopped a few feet in front of it and took in the emotions coursing through him. He was no longer that man, no, that boy that was the Flash. He was something... different. The pain he had felt, the amount of lives he had shattered with his decisions, they had made him into a monster. A killer, who would take a life without a second thought. And he was okay with it.
Barry turned and looked at the team, who had fallen back ever so slightly to give him room.
"So. I know you all have questions, and I will try to answer all of them. But first I need to know one thing. The man that killed me. What did you guys do with him?" Barry asked, needing to know if he needed to intervein.
"That's actually what we were talking about when you walked in." Wally started. "A little over a year ago, we decided that we needed to be able to plan on how to stop him without him constantly attacking the city. So, we managed to grab him and send him to the future. I ran him to October 13, 2022. Three days from now. We still haven't found a way to take him down without a high risk that we will lose one of our own."
"Alright. I'll take him down." Barry said nonchalantly, earning faces of pure protest from the entire team, the most furious coming from Joe and Caitlin. Joe because he just got his son back, and Caitlin because, well, she's always protested things like this.
"Like hell you are! Barry, we just got you back by some miracle! I'm not losing you again!" Joe exclaimed, obviously furious that he would even suggest going after his killer.
"He killed you the last time that you went after him! He will do it again!" This time it was Caitlin that screamed at him. She couldn't believe that the first thing that he does after the get him back is run to the thing that killed him. She can't lose him again.
"I'm going after him. That's final." Caitlin was about to cut in when Barry started speaking again. "After I died, I woke up in the Speed Force. They said that because of what I did with my power when I was alive I could have a second chance. They said that if I worked as an agent for them for 40 years that they would resurrect me not too long after my death. I accepted and became an agent of the Speed Force. They trained me to become more powerful than I ever thought possible. I have fought multiple telekinetics and won almost every time. I only lost twice. When I was alive, and when I was early in my training. There is no way that I can lose." Barry finished, looking at the team with faces like he was rising from the dead. Oh, wait...
"So let me get this straight." Cisco was the first to talk. "You've been gone for 40 years? First off, awesome! Second, why didn't you come tell us?"
"I was forced to cut off all connections to my old life. Every love, friend, every single person that I knew I had to remove every feeling towards them. This was to ensure that if a mission brought me to your time, which it did a few times, that I wouldn't let my feelings get in the way of saving people's lives. This removal is still mostly in effect." Barry explained, with the last statement pertaining to Iris. After this, both Joe and Caitlin backed down, though neither were okay with him doing the mission.
"Now. Tell me everything that you know about where and when he will be arriving."
Three days had passed and the team was still fighting to keep him from going. Barry still hadn't revealed himself to Iris yet, as he needs to make sure that his killer can no longer torment his friends and family. Even after that, he knew that he would never return to Iris as he was 40 years ago. He kept telling himself that he was doing it to protect her from him but deep down he knew that he didn't want to be with her anymore. Barry walked out of the room he had been staying in ever since he woke up and re-introduced himself to the team. According to Wally, the man was going to arrive soon. Barry walked to the cortex to find Cisco, Caitlin, and Harry sitting at the main desk, Wally and Jesse both adjusting their suits.
"You two are not coming with me," Barry said, voice firm and not leaving any room for discussion. Regardless, Wally still protested.
"Barry, we don't know how this is going to play out. You need to let us come with you!"
"No. I'll be fine. He will kill you if you come along. Stay here!" Barry shouted. He was more than willing to lock them in the pipeline to ensure that they don't come along. "I need to be able to focus when I fight him. I won't be able to if you guys are there. Please, stay." This time Barry's voice was softer, but still firm. Wally looked like he was about to protest, but Jesse stopped him.
"Wally, he's right. He's been doing this for a long time, and we'll just get in the way." Jesse said, taking off her mask. Wally relaxed, nodding his head. At this, Barry turned to the others.
"I've thought about it, and I'm gonna go out there in my Flash suit," Barry stated, earning wide eyes from Cisco and Caitlin.
"You- are you sure you're ready?" Cisco asked, remembering discussions that they've had throughout the last few days. They told him that he should reveal himself to the city as the Flash, but repeatedly he said that he wasn't ready for it. He still hasn't told them about the massacre with the nukes, and along with it, him being completely okay with killing. He knew that he would kill this man, and to be honest, he was going to do it brutally. He didn't know how to tell them, so he settled on showing instead.
"Yeah. The city needs its protector back and he needs to know that killing me was the biggest mistake of his life. Do you guys have comms for me to use?" Barry asked. Caitlin jumped up and ran over to a table in another room. When she emerged, he was holding a pair of in-ear comms but they were smaller than he last remembered. Caitlin noticed his confused expression and explained.
"We made some enhancements to them. Clearer audio, a bit more comfortable, the works. We also put a camera on your emblem so we can see what's going on." She gave the comms to Barry who put them in his ears and walked back over to the desk. When he did, an alarm sounded and Cisco jumped to the keyboard.
"Looks like our telekinetic just arrived," Cisco said, looking up at Barry. In an instant, Barry had his old suit on. Wearing it again was bittersweet. Barry turned to the team.
"It's time." Barry gave a quick smirk and ran. He ran to the alley where Wally dumped the man. Barry decided that this was the worst place for a final showdown. Barry grabbed him and ran to the bridge that he was killed on. He dropped the man, ran a few yards back, and turned on his comms so that the team could hear. The telekinetic was dazed for a moment but quickly gathered himself and dropped his jaw. Barry was the first to speak.
"Miss me?" Barry shouted, teasing his killer.
"H-HOW?! HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?" The man shouted, backing away slightly.
"That doesn't matter. What does matter though is that you killing me was the greatest thing that has happened to me! I have become faster, stronger, and smarter. And it's all thanks to you!"
"Maybe I should just kill you again!"
"Go ahead!" Barry shouted, hitting himself on the chest, obviously angering the man. " Go on! KILL ME!" Barry put his arms out and waited. Meanwhile, back at S.T.A.R Labs, the team was shouting at him to stop playing around.
"What are you doing Barry, take him down!" Harry shouted.
"Barry, hurry up before he gets you!" That was Caitlin. Barry remained stationary, not budging at their pleas.
"Fine!" The man shouted as he shot his hand out at Barry, lifting him up into the air. The team, who was watching on CCTV, was shouting even louder, not caring that Barry was obviously planning this. Barry let himself be lifted into the air, even putting on a smirk. The instant Barry felt the telekinetic energy begin to affect him, he started vibrating. Barry was able to feel the kinetic energy in the area around him and control it. He felt every car, every foot step, everything. Barry drew it all in, causing everything around him to stop moving. Except for Barry. He used that energy to vibrate so fast he was able to phase out of the energy binding him. Barry dropped to the ground and pushed the kinetic energy back out again. Barry, on the other hand, continued to vibrate, making himself immune to the man's powers. Tthe team watched on in awe as the man continued to attempt to crush him, but to no avail. Barry started walking towards the man, the energy being thrown at him having no effect. Soon, Barry reached the man and grabbed him by the throat.
"Good job Barry. Bring him in." Caitlin said over the comms, still shocked from what she just saw. However, the shock quickly turned to horror as she saw what Barry did next.
"No." That was all Barry said before he ran away from the area, spectators still stunned by what they just saw. Barry arrived at a nearby roof and began vibrating his free arm and using it as a buzz saw against the man's limbs. The team pulled up the footage on Barry's chest camera and saw Barry cutting off the mans limbs one by one, screams filling the sky and the cortex. Everyone in the room was much too horrified to do anything as Barry tortured the man. After all of the limbs were removed Barry threw the barely alive remains of his killer to the ground and drove a hand through his head, causing the mans head to pop open. Barry stepped back and stood there for a moment before picking up the pieces and running to a volcano and disposing of them there.
Barry arrived back at the cortex and saw faces of pure horror, but a few had a slight amount of understanding mixed in.
"Who are you?"
A/N: There you go! Once again, I am so sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed the read! Please review and tell me how I'm doing. Thanks!