I Got You
"What will come, will come. It's how we deal with the problems in between that shapes us." ~Savitar
~The Final Night, Wayne Manor…
Bruce, Kara, and Barry sat in the room huddled around a small table eating delicious meals that had been prepared by Bruce Wayne. At the behest of Barry Allen Bruce told them stories of his younger days as Batman. He told them about the Joker and his gang, his love affair with Viki Vale. then he went on to tell them about the Penguin and the Red Circus Gang. Catwoman and his love affair with her.
Midway through the story Bruce had to make more food for Barry and Kara who seemed to just eat everything as if there was no tomorrow but it was okay. Bruce smiled knowing Barry needed the calories and Bruce assumed the Black Site didn't feed Kara any good food but slop. So he was happy to make delicious meals for them while telling them his story.
As Bruce cooked and served them food he began to tell them another story about his friend Harvey Dent who turned into a villain known as Two-Face who also had a gang behind him. The return of Catwoman and their love affair. Drake Winston, his one time partner and boy wonder known as Robin. (Reference: Batman '89 comic event that takes place shortly after Batman Returns).
Then as they polished off another plate of food Bruce was about to tell them about Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, and his missing absence in Gotham at that time when Bruce saw it was after 10 p.m. he cut the story short much to their disappointment.
"That's enough for now, if we survive tomorrow I'll finish telling you the story over a celebratory dinner. My treat." Bruce told them.
"I'll hold you to that." Barry said, pointing his finger at Bruce smiling.
"You guys should head to bed and get a good night's rest for tomorrow. Pick out a guest room. I got plenty." Bruce told them looking at Supergirl.
"My butler Alfred…" Bruce paused thinking about his long time friend, partner, and father figure. "There should be a change of clothes if you want to get out of that suit for a while. Alfred always kept the guest room stalked with an assortment of clothes." Bruce told her. Kara just nods.
"I'll take care of the dishes-" there was a flash of lighting.
"Already done and I cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom." Barry said, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair with blue lighting sparking off of him. Bruce looked around and everything in the room was cleaned and organized. Alfred would have been pleased Bruce thought to himself. Supergirl just smiles.
"Yes, thank you Barry. I'll show you to the guest rooms." Bruce told them.
Bruce leads them to the stairwell walking up the stairs to where it parts to two different wings of the manor. Bruce points to his right telling them the guest wing is down that way and to the left hand side is his family's wing.
Bruce saw Barry with his jacket on and hands in his jacket pocket walking up the steps followed by Supergirl who had her left hand on the rail coming up the stairs. Supergirl walks past Bruce thanking him going up the stairs and down the hall looking for a room. Bruce held out his hand and stopped Barry.
"Wait a minute I need to tell you something, I think there may be other forces at play here besides just Zod." Bruce whispers to Barry. Barry just gives a fond look at Bruce with a weak smile.
"You really are the world's greatest detective." Barry told Bruce who gave him a curious look.
"You're right Bruce, his name is Eobard Thawne. He is a speedster from older Barry's future timeline." Barry explained.
Barry further explained in a low whisper to Bruce everything that happened between him and his encounter with Thawne and what he told him. Barry told Bruce either they win tomorrow and Thawne goes home, or they lose and everyone dies, and if he tries to go back in time Thawne will be there to stop him and make him watch the end of the world before killing him and escaping to another timeline.
Barry also told Bruce how much Thawne hated him and made it his life's work to find new ways to make Barry suffer and destroy his life. Bruce listened to everything Barry said intently in deep thought. He also relayed Thawne's advice about changing their approach to the battle.
"I just can't figure out why he would help us if he hates me so much." Barry whispered.
"It's not you he hates, but the future you." Bruce explained.
"Future me…" Barry turns his head then looks up at Bruce seeing Bruce face change to horror realization.
"That's it! That's why he wants you to win. The Future!" Bruce whispers.
"I'm not following." Barry said.
"The reason he lost his way home is because he has no future to return to because WE don't win. If we win, we create a new future…" Bruce paused for a moment.
"A future where he is born and a point in time where can get back home to his timeline, to his Flash while ensuring there is a version of him in this timeline to terrorize me and start our rivalry anew…" Barry said with horror.
"So we save the world, he lives, goes home to kill the Future Flash while I have to deal with a new version of him. Our timeline's version of him. We lose, he escapes to another timeline to terrorize another me. If I try to run back in time and change the outcome of the fight he'll stop me, make me watch the end, then kill me and escape to another timeline to terrorize another Barry Allen. No matter the outcome…he wins…" Barry said.
"Lets focus on winning the battle tomorrow, then afterwards will focus on how to deal with Thawne." Bruce told him encouraging Barry to get some rest and not to stress himself out over another event that seemed inevitable to lose.
Barry nods and heads down the hall trying not to think about Zod or Thawne or how it all seemed inevitable that they would lose to Zod and if not to him then to Thawne. Barry walked down the hall past a room lost in his thoughts. From the darkness of the room Supergirl emerged from the room turning her head to Barry then her head seeing the back of Bruce walking down the hall of his wing. A few moments later Barry laid in the guest room on the bed with his jacket on the back of a chair and his socks and shoes by the bedframe. He was staring at the wall when he heard a knock at the door. Barry sat up seeing Kara standing in his doorway wearing baggy dark green sweats and a dark green t-shirt.
"I heard what you and Bruce were talking about." Kara said with a dark look on her face. Barry got to his feet and walked toward Kara standing before her.
"How long?" Kara demanded in a stern voice.
"How long what?" Barry said with a confused look.
"How long have you been running back in time and trying to win tomorrow's battle?" Kara demanded to know. Barry flashed back to the Chronobowl to the Dark Flash. Old man Barry Allen. His future self. A Future Flash who no longer exists.
"Too long…" Barry tells her with profound sadness in his voice.
"Why?" Kara asked, getting closer.
"To save my world, my parents, Bruce…you…" Barry said, lowering his head and putting his hands in his pockets.
"I wont let you die tomorrow! I can save everyone! I will save everyone! No one dies!" Barry said in a dark voice with purple lighting cracking around his body and a purplish glow in his eyes returning.
Kara stood unafraid seeing how torn and traumatized Barry was of tomorrow, of Zod, of Thawne. Kara saw the fear and doubts written all over his face. More then that when she looked into Barry's eyes she saw a deeply wounded soul consumed by pain and loss.
Kara also saw when she looked at him and he looked back at her. The look he gave her was the same look her parents, her Aunt, her Uncle, and baby cousin Kal-El gave her…Love. Kara's face softened more, realizing the truth of the matter, then approached Barry pulling him close to her and hugging him tightly.
Barry was taken back by the intimate gesture from her. The purple glow disappeared from his eyes. His darkness and rage was suppressed and bottled back up inside of him growing like a cancer deep in his heart.
"I got you." Kara whispered to him. Barry reached around and held her tightly, hugging her back.
"And I got you." Barry whispered back…
~Early morning of the final day…
Kara was tossing and turning in her bed having a nightmare. In her dream she was in the desert standing before Zod with Kryptonian ships above her. Batman was shot down and ejected from the Batwing gliding to the Ground with The Flash sliding next to them only for Zod to float in the air and kill both of them with his Heat Vision. Supergirl yelled out in rage seeing Batman and The Flash killed. Supergirl turns her head toward Zod, her eyes glowing red with anger, hatred, and rage. Zod just stared down at her.
"For every life you save we will kill a million more." Faroa-Ul told her walking toward her with Nam-Ek. In the sky above the world, the world Forger can be seen in the distance.
"Don't do this Zod! WE can live in peace with them! WE can coexist!" Kara yelled out in rage.
A bright light shone in the distance, then the sound of a loud bang followed by a dust storm. When the storm past Metropolis was in flaming ruins and the skulls of the human race littered the ground. Supergirl fell to her knees overcome by grief, her hands hitting the ground. Supergirl looks up to see a Kryptonian armada, along with Zod and his soldiers floating in the air above her with glowing red eyes. Supergirl looks up with hatred getting to her feet breathing hard looking at all of them.
"Give us the codex!" Zod demanded.
"No!" Supergirl replied spitefully.
"Your sacrifice will allow Krypton to live again! Kara Zor-El!" Zod said in a commanding voice.
"Krypton had its chance!" Supergirl said in a dark voice kicking off the grounds with bones and skulls flying everywhere. Supegirl flew at Zod striking him across the face before being overwhelmed by the other Kryptonains and killed.
Kara snaps awake screaming in bed. Her eyes wide with fear and horror. She looked at the time and saw it was 5 in the morning. The sun was rising and started to shine through her window. Kara buried her face in her left hand, slicking her hand through her hair as the bangs fell back in place. Today was the day. In a few hours time Zod would make his landing.
Kara looked over to her supergirl suit hung over the chair. Kara grabs it from the chair and puts it back on. She went to Barry's room but found his bed made. She then went to the other wing to find Bruce's room but found his bed was made as well. She sped to the kitchen to see it was all cleaned and organized. Supergirl thought for a moment then super speeded to the Batcave finding Bruce in black sweats and a t-shirt sitting at the Bat Computer monitoring the crime wave.
Supergirl appeared next to Bruce who wasn't alarmed. Supergirl looked at the computer screens. Bruce was tracking the world news, police scanners, crime watch, and another screen tracking The Flash's movements across the country.
"Kid only slept for a few hours and has been doing this ever since." Bruce said outloud.
"Doing what?" Kara inquired.
"Being a hero. He said every life mattered." Bruce told Kara.
"They all matter to him." Kara told Bruce, smiling fondly resting her right hand on Bruce's shoulder. Bruce just nods in agreement. The Flash came in over comms asking what else Batman had for him.
"Well there is a police chase in Gotham on-"
"I got it." The Flash said.
"Then there is a robbery in Metropolis on-"
"Taken care of." The Flash replied.
"Then in Central City we have-"
"Already here and took care of it." The Flash replied. Bruce just shook his head.
"That's all I got. You took care of all the crime across the three cities."
"The kid is unbelievable." Bruce said out loud.
"He is unbelievable." Bruce said, looking up at Supergirl.
"I know." Kara said with affection in her voice.
"Hey Batman is Supergirl up yet?" The Flash asked over comms.
"Yes, I am." Supergirl said, leaning forward at the screen.
"Batman, how much time do we have before Zod?" The Flash asked.
"We have time, why?" Bruce inquired.
"I want to take Kara somewhere special. Have her throw on some regular clothes and meet me in Central City." The Flash said.
"I'm on my way." Supergirl said to the screen. Bruce just looked at her then got up handing her an ear piece.
"Here, put this in your ear. It will help us communicate." Bruce told her. Supergirl just smiles.
"I don't need it. I have super hearing." Kara told him.
"I understand that but you can't always be listening-" Bruce closes his eyes, nodding his head and when he does he hears a whooshing sound before he can finish speaking. Bruce opens his eyes and sees Supergirl is gone. Bruce drops his hands to his side looking around.
"So that is what that feels like." Bruce said standing alone in the Batcave.