Chapter 13
A few days had gone by since Barry had broken up with Anna, and he was still feeling as badly as he had that day. Not waking up next to her, seeing her beautiful face greet him. It was getting at him. But he knew he had to do it the right way, show her he wasn't the one who had kissed the reporter woman. He needed to prove Hans was behind it.
He had learned that Hans had left Arendelle for Central City shortly after his arrival to the future, and he had done some investigating. Apparently, he worked in the Central City Citizen, which was coincidentally where the reporter woman worked.
But the Rogues and Luthor were all out there. Not to mention the Justice League, who were still in another universe, and hadn't returned, which was worrying Barry. The timeframe was three weeks maximum, and two had already gone by. If everything had gone right, then they should have been back by now. Which wasn't making him feel good.
His mission was to find the Rogues, because Hans had only dealt a psychological blow to him. He couldn't really hurt him in a fight, but the Rogues sure could. Which meant they were more dangerous to the city. But where were they? He had searched the entire city dozens of times, and they were never anywhere to be found.
His best course of action was to head to the Citizen and see if they knew anything he didn't. The one thing he couldn't always know was what others were thinking.
The Citizen headquarters was located in downtown Central City, inside a rather tall skyscraper. He went walking, and when he arrived, he talked to the receptionist, explaining he was a CSI, and he was looking for an interview. He specifically requested Hans, to kill two birds with one stone, but the receptionist told him he hadn't come into work since the kidnapping, which he obviously knew why. He then asked for Iris West, who to his surprise, was also gone. The explanation made him even more confused, which was that she was out on a story. Why would she be out, when one of her coworkers who had taken her hostage was also away?
He gave his thanks, and left, with no choice but to go to the address he had found in the League Building in Arendelle. He had wasted enough time feeling pity, so he skipped greeting the front office, and used his powers to become invisible, and walk straight to the stairs. They would be more efficient at super speed than the elevator.
When he made it to the 78th floor, he phased right through the door of Hans' apartment, to see that it was completely normal looking. Nothing out of place. He could hear the pressing of keys in the bedroom, though, and when he went to investigate, he saw it was Hans, on his laptop, working on something. Taking a closer look, he was frightened so suddenly, that he stopped vibrating for a split second, which was enough for the scarab to detect him. It alerted Hans, and he quickly rose from his bed, putting the laptop down.
"Who's there?" he said, as the armor began to form all over him to protect him. "Show yourself!"
"It's me," Barry said, as he put on the Flash suit, while he was still invisible, and then became visible. "I just want to talk."
"Oh," Hans said, momentarily letting his guard down. "Just to talk."
"I know who you are," Flash said. "You're Hans."
"And I still don't know who you are," Hans snarled. "These documents don't say anything about you. Just your accomplishments and abilities."
"The documents from the Embassy," Flash remembered.
"Smart of you to not trust them," he grunted.
"I've given them my identity," Flash informed him. "It's just highly confidential."
"Why are you here?" he said, and then realized, "Wait. That means it worked."
"Yes, it did," Flash said, annoyed. "You broke us."
"Do you want to know how I did it?" he said, and Flash became fully alert, making sure his suit was recording.
"I want to know why," Flash said, calmly. "Was it because I destroyed Arendelle?"
"You took her from me!" he shouted, as his arm was quickly encased in a blaster which fired shots at Flash, who easily dodged them.
"So this is still about her, then," Flash said, understanding. "You tried to take over Arendelle!"
"Are you stupid?" Hans retorted. "I never wanted Arendelle, I wanted Anna! You used your magic to hypnotize her, and it's brought us here!"
"But, your plan," Flash recalled. "You never loved her, you just pretended to love her so you could-"
"Listen to yourself!" Hans exploded. "You were a man desperate for love, looking for a woman, and when you found one to your liking, you stole her from who she truly belonged with!"
"I wasn't looking for love," Flash snapped. "I was trying to get home."
"Oh, and you just decided that she would be yours?" Hans challenged. "I remember when I first laid eyes on her, she had just 'accidentally' bumped into you!"
"Listen," he exhorted. "I think I know people that can get us to the bottom of all of this."
"Who?"
"When I was in your time," Flash explained, "I met a man who told me about a secret village of rock trolls. They were the ones who helped me save Anna. They also have magic, according to the ice man."
"Did you bring them into the future too?" Hans probed, but Flash shook his head.
"No, but I would assume they are still alive, since they were made out of rocks," Flash thought. "In any case, we need answers, and this is one theory that can get them."
"I'll put our differences aside for Anna," Hans growled. "But only for her. If this turns out to be a trap, you're going to end up paying."
"I've already paid the price," Flash illuminated, and Hans' facial expression became much more pleasant to look at, although at the same time, it was much less tolerable. Barry knew Hans was rooting for his demise, in any way, but at least now he didn't have a raging expression.
Hans went to the front door of the apartment and opened it. "Arendelle, right?"
"Yes," Barry nodded. "I'll go on foot to the location, if it still stands."
"Want to race?"
Even with the dome in place, which Barry himself had created, the weather was the same as the weather outside of it. A thunderstorm was coming, and the sky was already cloudy.
As Barry ran past Anna's home, he noticed her walking down the street, heading back home with a basket. She looked terrible, as if she had been sick, and her head was hanging low, as if someone had died. Every moment he saw her caused him great pain, because he knew nobody was at fault. She didn't want to hear him out because that was just the way she was. The worst part of it was he was going to propose to her, one step closer to tying the knot. He had planned to make her his forever and ever, with the intent of loving her until the day they parted. Everything had been perfect. He had sacrificed himself, he had come back from the grave, and he had still managed to mess it up.
The thought of creating a Flashpoint had passed through his mind, but every time, he had to remind himself that it would be the most selfish thing he could do. The lives it would destroy, just so he could have what he wanted. No, he couldn't create another paradox that would destroy the world.
And now, just running past her without being able to tell her things were going to be okay was one of the hardest things he had ever done.
He had arrived at the center of Arendelle, where the League Building was located and had passed the time by giving himself ideas, trying to figure out what he could do for her, when Hans finally arrived. Barry had unlocked the dome momentarily to let him pass, and he had just arrived to the spot where Barry had asked him to meet him.
"So where is this 'village'?" Hans asked, as he landed on the ground.
"It's up in the mountains, that way," Barry pointed.
"Why are we not going to take advantage of our powers?" Hans asked, bothered.
"I was hoping we would be able to put our pasts behind us," the Flash responded, and to his surprise, Hans nodded.
"After you, then," he said, extending his hand to let him go first.
They walked for a few minutes in silence, until Hans broke it.
"You go first, then," he said, as they walked what might have once been a path. "Say your side of the story."
"Well," the Flash began. "There's another man like me. Same powers, different motives. But he's not from my time either. He's from the 25th century. He killed my mother, and several months ago, at least for me, brought me to the past. Where he thought I wouldn't be a problem."
"It turns out, he was right," he continued, "Because, I lived in the past without powers, among normal people for many weeks."
"Eventually, they sent me to Arendelle, in hopes of making me do something of my life. That's where I met Anna. That's when the man from the future came back, and faked Anna's death. That's what led me to destroy Arendelle."
"He faked it?"
"With technology from the future," Flash explained. "I gave in to my anger, and tried to kill him, but because of my strength, I destroyed the kingdom."
"But didn't you say you lost your powers?"
"I hadn't," he said, shaking his head. "He tricked me into thinking I did, with his future technology."
"And he ended up saving Anna," he understood. "Because you destroyed everything."
"Yes," Flash said, nodding. "His plan to turn me into a mass murderer worked."
"But it didn't," Hans said, confused, as they heard the howl of a wolf.
"Something far more sinister happened," Flash said darkly. "An invasion from across the stars."
"That day," Hans realized. "The day you died, and there were monsters everywhere."
"Yes," Flash said, looking up. "The day I died."
"How'd you come back?"
"They used magic," he remembered. "It was actually Anna who brought me back."
"Hm."
"Well, I've told you my story, what's yours?" Flash asked, and Hans sighed.
"I come from the Southern Isles," he started. "It's, as its name suggests, to the south. South of Arendelle, in fact."
"I went to Arendelle, because my father, the king, wanted me to rule over another kingdom. But I didn't really want that. I had so many dames to choose from, and yet, I didn't have a single one that I could truly love."
"When I landed in Arendelle, I saw how beautiful the land was, the kingdom, the fjord. It was a place I would have been honored to call home."
"The then princess and I had the most romantic night I've ever experienced. I think I can say the same for her," he said, smiling at the memory.
"Anyway, that all ended when the Queen revealed her powers," he said, the smile disappearing. "My horse returned not too long after Anna went after the queen, and then I went after Anna."
"That took me to Elsa, where we captured her, and, I tried to help her, to please Anna," Hans recalled. "When I was taken to somewhere else. By you."
"I would go as far as to say if things had been different, we could have been friends," Flash remarked, to which Hans snickered at. "We're here."
They had indeed reached the spot, Barry remembered, as he had carried Anna in. At the time, he had been focused only on saving her, but he was glad he had remembered the path to it.
When they got closer, Barry noticed the moss was gone, and there was only one boulder left. He ran up to it, and shook it.
"Hello?" he asked, and Hans was on standby, believing it had all been a trap.
The boulder grunted, and began to slowly unravel itself, as if it were an armadillo.
"Barry," it said softly. So soft, in fact, Hans didn't hear it.
"What happened to you, Grand Pabbie?" Barry asked in amazement. "Where is everyone? What happened?"
"What we had hoped wouldn't," the ancient one whispered. "Fate changed."
"What do you mean?" Hans questioned, as he grew closer to the troll.
"Kristoff was meant to be with her," Grand Pabbie coughed. "Destiny, has intervened."
"The ice man?" Flash said, eyes wide open. "He was supposed to be with Anna?"
"A vision, shown to me it was," the rock troll said, as he closed his eyes to remember. "Without you, the story should have transpired."
"Are you saying I ruined something? Something else?" the Scarlet Speedster asked, worriedly.
"I'm afraid so," Grand Pabbie murmured. "The trolls, they need the magic of humans. If no one comes to us, interact with us, love us, if we are left alone... Then we die."
"Kristoff, he grew up with you," Flash realized, leaving Hans completely dumbfounded. "He was your lifeline, and you needed him to be with Anna so their children could remember you."
"A bright one, I have sensed you are," the rock troll chuckled softly. "My vision revealed I would have doused Hans with magic, magic that would turn him against her. Magic that would bring Kristoff to the girl."
"But thanks to me, that never happened," Flash said quietly.
"It's fine, boy," the troll laughed, now with seemingly more energy. "I will meet my village in another world. I will return to them."
"No, you can't go," the Flash said frantically. "We remember you now! We're here!"
"The time for our happy ending came and went," the troll said, now opening his eyes. "If you truly desire yours, then find it. Live it. Make it, yours..."
His eyes closed for the last time, and he lay in Barry's arms, as still as the ground beneath him.
"He's gone," Hans said, laying a hand on Flash's shoulders. "I'm going to leave this once, to let you mourn."
And with that, the Blue Beetle flew off.
"Iris, it's getting much harder to hold back the scarab," Hans said, as he groaned while walking in to her apartment. He had just gotten back from Arendelle and the troll, and he had made the scarab record everything. He was finally almost ready to expose the Flash for the man he really was. The only thing missing was his identity, but it didn't really matter. Either way, the destruction of the Flash would bring Hans closer to his ultimate goal.
If he really wanted to, he could go back to Arendelle that very day, and look for Anna, now that he had separated. He could comfort her, but first, he needed the world to know the man who had ruined the lives on many was one of their so called heroes.
"I keep saying you need to see a doctor and tell them what happened to you-" she began to say.
"No! They won't understand. Not like you," he interrupted.
"But it's time to get some serious help, Hans! You can't keep living like this, or you'll die!" she protested.
"Yeah, well," he said, as he sat on the couch, "They would probably kill me themselves. Is the article done?"
"Almost," she said, sighing. "I need the footage from today, Hans. You better have learned something useful."
"Yeah, yeah, I did," he said, almost dismissing her request as he turned on the television to the news channel. Was he glad he did.
"Iris!" he yelled, and she came running in.
"What?"
"Look," he said, as he pointed.
The Flash was about to give a press conference in Central Park, and they were reporting he was going to reveal "The Truth". If it was what Hans thought, then he couldn't allow it. He saw what was happening. The Flash had realized that Hans had only gone along with his plan in order to learn more of the him, and now, he was going to reveal everything himself, so the blow would be lessened. It was smart of him, but Hans knew he could still defeat him, if he wasted enough of his time to get the article finished for the newspaper.
He just needed to make sure the Flash was stopped.
As soon as Hans had left, Barry had given Grand Pabbie a burial in his native land, up in the mountain. Interestingly, he had not found any graveyard for the rest of the trolls.
Even in his grief, Barry's brain was working, and he had noticed that Hans had seemed rather docile, which had thrown him off completely. Quickly, he put together the fact that Iris West was away on an assignment, and the fact that Hans was also gone, that they must have been working together. The bug on his back must have been able to control normal human minds, or by some method Hans must have found a way to control Iris. And if Hans hadn't gone after Anna yet, then it meant he had a greater goal. Barry concluded that the Blue Beetle wanted to expose him. It all made sense; Iris and him working together, Hans going along with Barry when they had been visiting the trolls, all to gather more information about him.
So how could he face this? How could he go on about it, when he was about to be exposed for all he had done in the past? Surely, his reputation would be utterly destroyed, and everything he stood for would be abandoned by the public. Without Superman, there would be no more hope in the world. And by now, many had realized that all of the Justice League members, save for Flash, were gone, even if he had been filling in for the other heroes. So, he did what Batman would never do, and if the League ever returned, he would surely be sent to deep space forever, for committing a terrible public relations error. He would give a press conference, explaining everything. Starting with the events from the past, and ending with the events of the future.
He had ran back to Central City, where he would set up a stage in the middle of Central Park. He waited a bit to let at least one news station show up to televise his speech, but other than them, there was only the ongoers of the park attending his speech. It was enough, though, and he would still go ahead with it.
He tapped the microphone to make sure it worked, and he began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he started. "It has come to my attention, that I, that the League, has not been transparent enough with the world."
"As many of you may have noticed, I'm the only member who is still around. And before you ask, no, they're not dead. They're simply making sure we stay alive.
"But in order to explain all of this, I need to start at the beginning," he continued, as more people started to listen in person. Bystanders who had become curious, or those who had heard from the people already present.
"As all of you should know, I was 'killed' by my enemy, the Reverse Flash," he said. "I was actually brought about 200 years into the past, where I lived for several weeks, with no powers. In all honesty, I lost track of time."
"Eventually, I found myself at a kingdom known as Arendelle," he continued. "Where I met the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever known. The problem was, she was the sister and princess of the newly coronated queen. Keep it in mind as I tell my story."
"The queen, as it turned out, possesses magic, which she couldn't control, and used accidentally to turn the kingdom into a frozen land. I helped the princess track down the queen, but that was it, because we failed to reach her compassion. She turned us away."
"Nothing against the queen, of course," he added. "But those were different times."
"I," he said, looking for the words. "At that time, the Reverse Flash had shown to me that I was still in possession of my powers, and that I had only been tricked into believing I had lost them. He then 'killed' the princess in front of me, and I was broken. He won."
"And then, I tried to kill him," he said, shamefully, as the small number of people in the crowd gasped. "I did. I had come to realize I loved her, and it did too much to my heart."
"In my attempt to murder him, I destroyed the entirety of the kingdom," Flash said, in humiliation. "I was blind with rage."
"Fortunately for everyone," he went on, "The man from the future took it upon himself to save everyone in the kingdom, to preserve my image. Why, you may ask? Well, if you remember, a couple of weeks ago, give or take, the world faced an otherworldly invasion, one which I myself stopped with my life."
"He knew the world would need a hero, because if it didn't happen, then he would never exist," Flash explained. "The people are fine, don't worry, and I brought them to the present, where they live in peace. And now, the Justice League is off, in the world where the invasion came from. There is a villain in that universe that has taken over said universe, and he may be looking to take ours. Which is why the League is there, trying to stop it before it happens.
"If all fails, they are counting on me to defend Earth," he said, as a feeling of despair came to many who were listening. "And I need to be able to count on you."
"When an article is published later today about me," he informed, "read it knowing what I'm about to tell you. Read it knowing I have super abilities, but my mind is still human."
"I will fight for all of you if the time arrives, and I will do it while putting my life last, and all of yours first," he said boldly. "I will always defend this city, and the world."
"My final message, then, is to you," Flash said, referring to Anna, as he looked into one of the cameras, struggling to articulate his words. "Today, I learned something. I need to let go of the past. I thought I had done it before, but now I see that I haven't. That princess who I still love, that woman who brought me out of my self imposed misery, she needs to be stronger than she is today. And, if she never sees me again, then, I can live with that. But, she needs to know, that I will always love her. I'll always carry you my heart."
"And Hans," he concluded. "You may think I hate you, but I only wish you manage to find peace within yourself. Give up your life of crime. So if you take her, please, my only wishes are for you to never, ever hurt her, and for you to love her with all of your heart. Don't ever harm her. That's all. Take care everyone."
Flash quickly undid his little stage, cleaning up completely, and everyone was left shocked, and confused.
Hans had been flying, and was just about to arrive, but as he heard what the Flash had to say, stopped in mid air, and took a moment to think.
So there was a bigger threat? One only Flash could stop? That sounded interesting, but even more curious to him was that Flash had given him the keys to Anna's heart. He appreciated it, but why? Why had he given up?
Hans felt it was a trap, but at this point, he had lost everything. His plan wouldn't work anymore, with the public's sympathy towards the Flash. The only choice he had going forward was to try to regain Anna. Fortunately for him, Flash had decided to omit Hans' alter ego, which was a blessing, because he would have probably been hunted down by the rest of the remaining superheroes.
But how would he tell Iris? If he let her know, then it would all be over. No, he couldn't get rid of Iris, else the Flash would know. He had to pretend he wasn't interested in Anna anymore, and hope she bought his game. For now though, he would try his luck in Arendelle. The last time he had asked for a blessing in marriage it had been denied to him, but now, it was as if the Flash had given it to him, with no questions asked. It was time for his return.
The Rogues who were left had been watching the live transmission at their hideout, and as soon as everything had been revealed, Heat wave and Mirror Master began arguing.
"I knew it!" Heat Wave declared. "Lenny was right, Flash was having an affair!"
"You moron," Mirror Master countered. "Were you even listening? Flash had been dumped by the girl! That doesn't exactly mean he was having an affair!"
"Oh yeah?" Heat Wave returned. "When's the last time a girl dumped you because you weren't cheating?"
"That doesn't matter," Mirror Master retorted, "because it's not about me this time! Not all women are the same!"
"Yeah, well," Heat Wave grunted. "If Lenny were here, then he would tell you otherwise. He would say our red pal was dumped."
"Boys," the Golden Glider said, as she skid towards them. "What would Lenny do if he were here?"
"He would not sit around here and do nothing," Mirror Master said excitedly. "Especially while big red is 'hurting' emotionally."
"But, weren't we going to go after the Blue Beetle as bait?" Heat Wave asked, as he munched on a piece of fried chicken.
"No," the Golden Glider smiled. "We have everything we need."
Barry had cleaned everything up after his address, and he had left the park looking better than when he had arrived. Afterwards, he left and went home.
Even though he had said all those words about letting go of the past, he was really trying to inspire hope in others. Because he had most definitely not let go of his past. The part about him doing it before was true, with his parents, but now, he saw a bleak future ahead of him. If he lived between the seconds, he could live virtually forever, but he saw no purpose without Anna. And he had just given Hans the key to his happiness. The only reason he had done so, was because his hope was that the Blue Beetle would stop being a problem to him. He couldn't have to be looking after the Rogues, Luthor, and the Blue Beetle.
As he entered his apartment, the first thing he noticed was that one of his lightbulbs was almost dead. He would have to fix it later.
But as he looked on throughout the complex, one item out of all of them really hit him near the heart. Scratch that, it hit his heart directly head on. It was the framed picture he had bought on his second date with her. They had been in Central Park, and they had gone into a photo booth to take pictures. He remembered that day like it was yesterday, but the truth was, he didn't want to think about Anna anymore. He wanted to forget everything by now. The bad and the good. So he put down the framed photograph.
If he had been thinking clearly, maybe he would have reconsidered the offer he had made to Hans, but at this point, he was too tired, both emotionally and physically. So he crashed on his bed, ready to sleep the pain away.
That was, until he heard a sound in the living room. His first thought was that the Mirror Master had found him, but he had made sure a long time ago that all the mirrors in his home were secure. Although, he had probably knocked over one of the covers by accident in his misery.
So he got up to investigate, when he heard a gentle voice say, "Hello?"
He looked at who it was, and to his surprise, it was Elsa, and she was holding his teleporter. He had completely forgotten about it, and he supposed he had left it Anna's home.
"I'm here," Barry said, as he came out of the shadows.
"Barry," Elsa said softly.
"Do you want anything to drink?" he offered. She nodded, and he gestured her towards the table in the dining room. "Please, sit."
"Is it fine if I stay at your couch?" she asked. He nodded in response, as he began pouring a glass of water for her.
"I assume that's my teleporter I left behind?" Barry asked, as he brought the glass to her.
"Yes, it is," she replied, and she extended her hand to him, revealing the teleporter, which he took.
"You also left your ring," she reminded him. "It was for Anna, correct?"
"Did you bring it?" he questioned, and she shook her head.
"No, I didn't think you would want it," she said, and added, "At first I thought it was a spare of yours, but it was in a really nice box."
"I want her to find it," he said firmly. "I want her to know that I didn't cheat."
"Barry, those two don't go together," Elsa said, as Barry took a seat beside her. "She won't know you didn't cheat even if she finds the ring."
"I never cheated," Barry said, looking deeply into the wall. "Tell that to her, will you?"
She nodded, and then said, "So you were going to propose to her that day, then?"
"Yes," Barry said absently, and then asked, "Did I do the right thing? Should I have entrusted her to Hans?"
"I don't know," Elsa answered. "She's been crying more than I've ever seen her cry, but it'll pass over time."
"I wish none of this had happened," Barry croaked, as Elsa moved closer to him. "I wish I still had her."
"Well, you still have me," Elsa said softly, and both of their lips neared each other. Elsa closed her eyes, ready, when she felt Barry push her back.
"No," Barry said, holding back a tear. "I can't do that. There was only one woman that I could ever do that with, and she doesn't love me anymore."
"I understand," Elsa said, scooting herself away. "I'm sorry."
"Maybe it's time you go home," Barry said. "But please don't say anything about what happened here. She's only going to take it badly."
Elsa nodded, and she took her teleporter out of one of her coat's pockets, ready to go back.
"I'm sorry, Barry," she said, full of regret. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
She left, leaving him alone in the darkness.
"I did. And I lost it."
