Chapter 15

"Anna, are you sure you need to throw away all of his things? He might come back some day for them," called Elsa, from her room. Anna was in the middle of organizing all of Barry's old things in the house, ready to throw them away. She didn't see the purpose in keeping his things, and she needed something to keep her busy anyway. Besides, Hans would probably come back to move in, and she didn't want Barry's things in his way.

"Of course we need to," she called back. "I can't have all of that man's junk here."

While she did, however, she began to clean out one of Barry's old drawers, and in the last compartment she found something that blew her mind.

It was a very fancy box, that she had come to learn meant it was what covered an engagement ring. She was a bit skeptical of opening it, however, because if it was Hans' then that meant he was already getting ready to ask for her hand in marriage, again. And this time, she couldn't feel the spark she had felt with Barry, which left her doubtful. As soon as she opened it, however, she lost her mind.

It was a ring almost identical to Barry's Flash ring, which he had shown her a million times. The little ring that stored his compartmentalized suit which he used each time he fought crime. It was much cleaner than his, much shinier, and now she knew it most certainly wasn't Hans'. But then, what did it mean?

"Elsa?" Anna shouted, a little panicked. "Elsa, please come here."

Elsa rushed in, thinking her sister had cut herself, or found a bug. Something silly. Instead, she found herself looking at the open box with the ring inside.

"Do you know what this is?" Anna asked, scared, and Elsa nodded. Her stomach dropped.

"I know what it is, and a whole lot more," Elsa told her.

"Was it Barry's?"

"Yes," Elsa said slowly, wondering if she should really reveal the information to her sister. It had been a full day without the sobs, after all.

"Please, please tell me; was it a spare he, had?" Anna managed to say, and when Elsa closed her eyes to respond, she knew.

And she began sobbing, uncontrollably, and in a different way to the previous times she had cried. This time, it was more painful, because somewhere in her heart, for some reason, she knew she still loved him. Even if he had cheated, she couldn't get him out of her mind, and she knew it.

He was going to propose! That was why they had had the date the night it all spiraled out of control! But she still had so many questions, that only he could answer, and she had shut him out of her life forever.

"Come here," Elsa motioned, as she moved closer to Barry's old nightstand. "There's something else you need to see. It's in there."

Anna opened the drawer, and found an envelope.

"I'll leave you alone," Elsa said, with a sting in her voice.

Anna turned the envelope over, and written on it in black ink were two simple words.

For Anna.

She covered her mouth again, to try and suppress the sobs, buy she would need both hands to hold the letter.

It read,

My dear Anna,
By now, this is the third time I've written this letter. Each time, I added information I thought you would want to know. The first, and perhaps the most painful to me, was what happened the night we left each other. I've been stabbed, shot, kicked like a ball, even killed, and I must say, I never felt pain such as the one that I went through that night. For, I was hoping to ask for you to marry me. The woman of my dreams, the only one for me. Yet, duty called, and one unfortunate event led to another. Another thing I must tell you, is that the man behind the blue suit, the one I fought that very night, had known he would never vanquish me, at least, in a fair quarrel. So he took it upon himself to destroy our love. The woman who kissed me had been infected by the villain, which left me paralyzed. I could not move, even if I had wanted to. His plan to tear us apart worked.
By now, I hope you understand that I have not cheated you. I never could, for my love for you is too great. Which is why, the reason this letter has been rewritten twice now, is because I'm taking a decision. One that hurts my heart and very soul, but a decision that must be done.
Everywhere I go, I see you. In other people. In crowds of them. In my mind. Earlier today, I had been brought to a fight, one which almost cost civilian lives. One which I almost let someone die. And the reason, was because I saw you. Out in the street.
I can't concentrate anymore. You're driving me crazy. And I wish I could say crazy in love with you. But I can't. Which is why, it is with a great, very great personal regret, that I tell you, I will erase my memories of you. Everything we have lived through. All of our adventures. You must understand, this is for the greater good. The League hasn't returned, so I expect an invasion soon, and the world is depending upon my servitude. I cannot be of use to the world if I am always thinking of you.
It seems fate has wanted us to be apart. Since we met, since I died, since now. And maybe that's true. But even if something special could have happened, you have become too much for my heart. The only memory I wish you have of me, is that I was never unfaithful to you. That I could never bear seeing you cry. That you are the only one, I will ever love.
And so, I face the final curtain. The light reaches me, and with it, the memories of you, Anna, are washed away. I will never let myself love again. But I hope you will learn to be happy again.
Yours, always,
Barry Allen

Anna hadn't felt this sense of overwhelmingness ever before. Even when she had learned her parents had passed. There were simply no words to describe her state.

"Elsa," she whispered, and she repeated her sister's name several times, each time growing louder.

"Elsa!" she wailed, and when Elsa came into the room, Anna started sobbing, with no control, and began asking, no, begging, over and over again for Elsa to help her.

"Please," Anna cried. "Please, take me to him! Take me to him!"

"Anna, there's nothing we can do now," Elsa said, uncomfortably, as Anna's arms shook her rapidly.

"I need you to take me to him! Now!" Anna screamed. "Now!"

"Anna, it's over," Elsa tried to say. "He doesn't want to see you anymore."

"You knew, didn't you," Anna said, now suddenly whispering. Then, she yelled again. "You knew, didn't you?!"

"Know what, Anna?" Elsa reasoned, as Anna shoved the letter to her, and she threw herself at her bed, sobbing and pounding on the bed. Elsa quickly skimmed through it, and when she reached the part which mentioned erasing memories, she understood in horror.

"I didn't know," Elsa whispered, and then remembered the test she had made Barry go through. "Anna, there's something else you should know."

"What?" Anna said, still crying, as she lifted her head from the pillow. "What?"

"After you broke up with him, I went to him using the teleporter," Elsa informed her, as Anna's eyes grew wider. "I tried to kiss him, but he refused me. I tested him that day because I didn't believe he had cheated on you, and this letter only proves it."

"No," Anna trembled. "No, no no no no! Noooo!"

Anna kept sobbing away, until Hans came home, and he quickly ran to her side as soon as he heard her. "What happened?"

Elsa handed him the letter, which he too, quickly skimmed over, only looking for one thing, and his one thought to himself was, Well, at least he didn't mention my name. He didn't really care what the letter had to say, as long as his name was not present in it.

"I think you should leave," Elsa said, quietly.

"When should I come back?" he asked, and Anna looked up.

"Never!" she shouted, and she fell back into her pillow. He nodded, not wanting to create a scene, and left, back to Central City.


The Flash had thought Luthor would take more time to deliver the solution, but the day after his 'encounter' with the multi billionaire, he had checked the CCPD building, and sure enough, a package had come for the Flash. He took it, without anyone noticing, and he took it home, where he unraveled it. It was a few papers, which he assumed to be the instructions for a set of vials that had come in the package, safely stored in wrapping. There were seven, and he assumed six were for the Rogues, with an extra one for the Blue Beetle.

First, however, he had to run it at the lab, to make sure he wasn't being tricked by Luthor. Lex may have been the smartest man on the Earth, currently, but Barry was a CSI, which meant he knew a thing or two about chemicals. Once he ran it through the discrete analyzer in the lab, he wasn't surprised to learn it was just a batch of common sedative. It was a bust. But he still had to check the papers.

He returned home, to check the papers, and when he did, he found a surprise. Iris West was at his doorstep.

Barry came up from behind her, tapped her shoulder, and asked, "Need something?"

"Oh," she said, embarrassed. "Yes, do you work here? I need to speak to Barry Allen."

"That's me," he said, blankly.

"Oh," she said. "I thought you would be older."

"Why don't you come in?" he offered, and she accepted.

"What is it you need, Mrs.-?" he inquired.

"It's Ms. West, actually," she corrected, "and I need your help on something."

"Which is?" he asked her, and she took the cup of tea he had prepared for her.

"I have a friend who's sick," she said, as she breathed. "But he's not the normal kind of sick."

He hated playing along, since he knew it was most likely Hans she was speaking of, but if he acted as if he knew, she would be left very confused. Or figure out who he really was. "Really? Arkham?"

"No, no," she said, laughing for a moment. "Although, he's in their league."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she said quickly. "What I meant to say is that he's a little, abnormal."

"Would you just get to the point, Ms. West?" Barry said, tired of listening to her charade.

"Have you heard of the Blue Beetle? The one who's fought the Flash?" she asked, and he nodded. "Well, I think my friend is him."

"Think, or know?"

"Look, all I know is you have connections to the cops, and you're a forensics guy," she said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She was doubting her selection she had made. "He needs help."

"You realize that aiding a criminal in criminal activities will land you in court for charges of being an accessory, right?" he told her.

"Yes, and I have not been 'aiding' him at all," she defended. "I've been the only one he talks to, trying to stop him, and he would threaten me if I went to the authorities."

"So you went to me," he said, shaking his head, knowing a confrontation with cops would only leave good men dead. "Clever."

"Listen, Mr. Allen," she pleaded. "I need you to help him. He's been fighting the scarab for control, but I think he's going to lose it if he keeps going."

"Control, you say?"

"He's been doing worse and worse since he came to me," Iris said. "First, he made me kiss the Flash, although I don't regret that, and now he joined the Rogues!"

"He joined the Rogues?" he said, now being louder. "Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so," she nodded. "But he's being controlled! Remember that, if you tell your buddy cops, or whatever."

"What's his name?" he asked, just as confirmation.

"Um, I don't know his last name, but his first name is Hans, and he works with me at the Central City Citizen," she stammered.

"Alright, listen," he told her. "You've done the right thing. If you don't feel safe at home, you can stay here, while I get the police force up to date."

She nodded in approval, and he left, to go see if he could find the one he personally knew as Hans.


Although Barry Allen had completely forgotten about the events he lived in Arendelle in the past, he had written himself a short description of what had happened, before his memories had been wiped. He still knew the core details of what had occurred, like the destruction of the kingdom, the mass relocation he had caused, and more relevant today, the man known as Hans, who he still knew to be the Blue Beetle.

But if he had joined the Rogues...

This was bad. The Rogues were usually formidable with even three of their members together, and recently, Barry had learned that while he was chatting with Luthor, the rest of the Rogues and Blue Beetle were busy busting Captain Cold out of Iron Heights. He had hoped the meeting between Blue Beetle and the Rogues had been accidental, or by chance, and that it was a one time thing, but now he had actual confirmation Hans had joined the Rogues. They had seven total members, a new record for them. The previous record was six at a time, sometimes fives, but now seven? And all together?

Flash had gone to the CCPD, and informed them of everything Iris had told him, including the fact that she was being held hostage by the Blue Beetle. He hoped she wouldn't mind, but the truth had to come to light now, and he would be accompanying the officers who would search Hans' apartment. Luckily for Flash, he had recorded the conversation with Ms. West, and shown it as testimonial evidence. The reason he could use it, was because the recorder recorded 24/7, which he showed a part of to the police, which was enough for a search warrant.

The Flash had carried all of the officers to the 78th floor, to save them time, and when they knocked several times, nobody answered. Then, they asked Flash to go through to the other side, and open the door for them. That way, it would be one less thing to repair for them.

They spent a good hour, and didn't spend more, since there wasn't actually much in the apartment. Just his basic belongings, furniture, and his all of his work items. However, they didn't find anything incriminating, which was a letdown, but at least now they knew that the man was a criminal.


While all the Rogues were still celebrating the return of their leader, Hans had slipped out, excusing himself to some time to fly around. What he was really going to do was check on Iris, who he found at work, typing up an article on him! He didn't need to get near her to know, because the scarab had informed him, and by now, he realized he had been double crossed. It was fine though, because he still had one trump card on Flash. Anna. He knew the man would not be able to resist to save her, and he would do the same he did with Iris, even with the kissing part, which would leave him paralyzed. Hans assumed that Anna wouldn't disengage for a long time, which he was counting on, because it would give him more time to be able to stab the Flash in the back, leaving him dead, and assuring his revenge. It was not a foolproof plan, but if it failed he could fall back on the Rogues' plan. And if it worked, well hey, he would get all the glory and fame.

He was hoping this would be the final trip to Arendelle, because he was starting to hate the distance.

The scarab must have become stronger, because he was able to blast some energy shots at the shield, and it would break apart just long enough to let him pass through, which was convenient for him. He still didn't really know how to get to Anna's residence, but the scarab had the location in its memory, which made it easy for Hans to get there. This time, he didn't even waste time introducing himself, as he assumed in the time he was traveling, Iris had published the article, and Anna or Elsa had already found out. So he got directly to the point.

He flew into the house, destroying the walls with his own body, and landed on the second floor. The scarab scanned the house, and found Anna and Elsa together at the dining table downstairs, startled by the explosions. When Hans blew a hole through the floor to get to the bottom, he forgot there were people under him. one of which he needed alive. Luckily for him, as he descended, Elsa had covered both Anna and herself in a bubble of ice that had protected them from the damage.

He looked at both of them, as he stepped forward and destroyed the ice bubble.

"Who are you?" Elsa demanded, in a defensive pose.

"Stop playing around, Elsa," he said, his voice not disguised by the scarab anymore.

"Wait..." Anna said, thinking. "Hans?"

"You didn't know?" Hans said, confused. He told the scarab to lower his helmet, and when he did, both sisters gasped.

"You're the Blue Beetle?" Anna said, realizing the truth. "It was you who wanted me and Barry to separate!"

"Oh, Anna," he said, giving her an evil grin. "That and so much more."

But 'so much more' would have to come at a later time, because Elsa took the chance to shoot an icy blast at his head, which was uncovered. She then blasted a full gust of ice, which completely froze Hans. She didn't know if it would be enough, though, so she took Anna and they began running down the street.

They reached the League Building, and began freaking out the front desk attendant, when suddenly, a blast shook the entire building, and the Blue Beetle entered through the front doors, weirdly enough. The claws on his back extended, making him look more menacing as he walked towards them. Elsa was ready, but never got the chance.

"I'm sorry, Anna," he said under the helmet, and used the scarab's 'claws', which were more like cannons, to shoot sedatives into everyone in the room, save Anna.

"No," Anna pleaded, looking for a way out and finding none. "Please don't hurt me. You were supposed to protect me."

As Hans walked closer, he once again took off the helmet, revealing his face. As Anna got a better look of him, she noticed his hair was not done properly, unlike the last few times she had seen him.

"Ever since we first met, Anna, I thought you were a little naïve." He kept grinning. "But you are beyond naïve. You're blind."

"We've been 'dating'?" he continued, "No. Seeing each other is more appropriate. Because I've only been in Arendelle for a combined total of about, 12 hours? You don't even know what I do!"

"And you've been so desperate for someone to love you again, to be able to comfort you again, that you took me in without question," he laughed. "I mean, are you insane? Did you not see the red flags?"

"Barry said you would protect me," she whispered, as tears started welling up in her.

"And that's another thing," he chortled. "You gave me the identity of the world's most powerful hero! Man, it's almost like you hated him! I mean, that's pretty low, even for someone like you."

The realization hit her like a bag of bricks, finding out what she had done. "No..."

"But you did," he smiled. "And now, you're going to pay for that."

His helmet activated again, concealing any weakness, and he flew forward to capture his catch. Anna squirmed and screamed, trying to get away, but he had caught her. Hans knew it was only a matter of time before Flash arrived to protect her, and he would wait in the sky, where an attack would be a little slower than it would be from the ground.


Barry had finally returned home, about to find out what the papers Luthor sent him said, when his Justice League alarm went off.

"Yes?" he said, as he suited up.

"The threat is in Arendelle, Flash," came the voice from Mr. Terrific, who was the one watching the Watchtower. "And he specifically wants you."

"The Blue Beetle," Barry said, figuring it out himself.

"Indeed." Flash began to race off. "And he only wants to see you."


Hans knew what Flash couldn't see, he couldn't stop. So he set up a nanomachine on the ground before taking off with Anna, loaded with lethal bullets. As soon as Hans gave the signal, the nanomachine would set off a wave of bullets wherever Hans ordered them to, and he was sure his plan would work. Just in case the kiss didn't work again.

He never saw the fastest man alive on land, but he did see him once he went airborne. He was noticeably slower in the air, which was good for him.

Flash's legs became almost still, stuck in the air, and Flash himself stood in front of the Blue Beetle and Anna.

"Barry! Barry! Oh thank goodness you're here!" Anna cried out, which only shocked Flash.

"Hans," Flash advised. "Let her go."

"Sure," the villain said, and he dropped Anna. Flash dropped himself at super speed, catching her, and placed her back on firm ground, leaving Hans surprised. He had assumed he would have wanted to talk to Anna. His best guess now was that he would wait for the threat, himself, be secure, and then he would chat with her, so he flew closer to the scarlet speedster, and tried to strike him. Unfortunately, the Flash was on his feet, or more accurately, running on air at this point, and he made quick work of Hans, who fell down to the Earth.

Then, Barry heard thousands, perhaps millions of small nanomachines coming at him from the ground. He used his hands at super speed to bat them away, and they all made tiny explosions go off.

Flash then let himself fall back down, to make sure the woman he had rescued wasn't part of Hans' nefarious plan, and he landed in front of her.

"Oh Barry, I'm so sorry!" she told him, as she threw herself at him. Then he reminded himself that she knew who he was, and he moved out of her way, catching her while she fell.

"Hey," he said, smiling, to which she smiled back, even if he was still holding her by the wrist.

"Hey," she said back, almost dreaming, and then she snapped out of it. "Listen, Barry, I know-"

"Let's start by asking a simple question," he interrupted, confusing her. "Who told you my name?"

"What do you mean?" she said, puzzled. "Why are you asking me that?"

"Was it Hans?" the Flash questioned. "Or did someone else tell you?"

"Are you listening to yourself, Barry?" Anna said, now worried. "It's me, Anna!"

"Alright, 'Anna'." Flash knew he was going to have to go along with her game. "I just need you to answer my very simple question; who told you my name?"

"Oh come on," she protested, and then went on to say, "Please Barry, trust me! You have to kiss me!"

"I knew it," Flash said, shaking his head, He thought she was another Iris West, and although he couldn't really pinpoint why Iris West was trouble, he didn't want to risk any trouble. So he asked her, "You live around here, right?"

She nodded, thankfully, and he said, "Good. I'm going to take you to the League Building, and you can get help from one of the scientists there."

"No, you're not listening!" she shouted, but by the time she had finished, she was already in the building, and the Flash was gone.

However, the staff was up and running, even if they had been drugged a while earlier by Hans. Elsa was there too, asking around for Anna, when she saw her sister materialize seemingly into thin air. She ran towards her, and saw her sister in tears.

"What happened?" Elsa asked her.

"Barry," she said, about to cry. "He really did forget me."

The little sister cried into the shoulder of the older sister for a good while.


Since he had been trying to figure out how the girl knew about him, he had completely forgotten about the Blue Beetle. He had gotten away, and the sky was a much harder place to look than the Earth. He felt pretty bad, because this was the same guy who had kidnapped two women, and was still on the loose. At least no one had been hurt.

After the Arendelle episode, Barry was feeling conflicted. He had left the girl in the hands of the staff, and left a note with one of them letting them know she knew his secret identity. Hopefully that would keep him out of trouble.

A question he was dying to know the answer to, however, was why had he felt as if he'd known the girl who wanted to kiss him? She seemed familiar, somehow, as if he'd met her before. Then again, a lot of people did that to his memory. On the other hand, he felt rather swell. He had avoided another conflict with a girl, which he now knew, thanks to the note he wrote himself.

But come to think of it... Why would he have a note with an explanation of events he didn't remember? It was something he had asked himself the moment he saw it, but he was just now having time to think about it.

The only logical conclusion he could come to, was that for some reason, he knew he was going to forget things. Maybe there had been a battle, and during the battle, something happened which made him have to trade his memories for a victory. It could have been he wrote the most important things down that had recently happened, but then, there were also events he didn't really remember too clearly, and the note only vaguely mentioned them. Arendelle being destroyed by him? When did that happen? In the past? And the most confusing thing on the note; why had he told himself to never love again? What had happened? There were too many questions he couldn't answer, and it was making him uncomfortable.

And then he found a logical solution that could sort of answer all of his questions. It was simply because he wanted to forget.

Something drastic, some big event occurred, and because of it, Barry needed to forget. Perhaps because it was too much for him, or perhaps because it was distracting him from his job. Either way, it seemed he had done a lot to make sure he would forget. Because of this, he would make sure it stayed buried. He could go and ask Zatanna to return his memories to him, but if he hadn't wanted to know before, he probably didn't want to know now.


"I need to let him know, Elsa," Anna told her, after she had calmed down. "He needs to know I still love him."

"And how are you going to tell him that?" Elsa pointed out. "He's not exactly an easy guy to track down."

"We need to get to Central City," Anna said suddenly. "We need to find him, so I can give him a true love's kiss."

"But how, Anna? We've never left Arendelle without Barry, and he only took you by running you there!" Elsa protested.

"The teleporter!" Anna said, and Elsa remembered she still had hers. "Does it still work?"

"Yes," Elsa replied, and she tried to use it, but it didn't work. Then she remembered Barry had been the one to put the coordinates in, to teleport her to his apartment. Speaking of, she had no idea where he lived. She hadn't noticed the place the last time she went.

"It doesn't work anymore," Elsa said, putting the teleporter back in her pocket.

"Do you think we should ask the Justice League to take us to Central City?" Anna asked, but Elsa shook her head.

"I don't think so," Elsa answered. "I don't think they would take it too kindly if we told them how much we knew about the Flash."

"Well, let's head back home," Anna said boldly. "We can plan from there."

"Aren't you forgetting the fact that Hans blew up the house?" Elsa reminded her, and Anna groaned.

"Then let's ask around for someone to help us rebuild," Anna suggested, and the sisters went to the front desk, asking for help.

They had been granted a build team to head out with them, to help rebuild, but when they arrived, the house was completely as it had been before. It left both sisters with their jaws dropped.

"Thanks for wasting our time," the head constructor grunted, before leading the build team away.

"Do you think it was him?" Anna whispered, and Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Anna, who else can rebuild entire neighborhoods in a minute?" Elsa asked, and Anna brightened up.

"Then we do have hope," she declared, and they both went inside, ready to come up with a way to find Barry again.