Hey everyone. Thanks for coming for the finale of Crisis. This is where it all finishes up. You probably have an idea of what is going to happen, regardless, I hope you all enjoy what's to come.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Barry ended up tumbling through the gateway, spinning uncontrollably before being spit out at a random point in the multiverse. Barry stood up but crouched down, his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath. "Ugh, where am I?"
Taking in his new surroundings, Barry couldn't help but feel like there was some kind of bronze tinge to the entire area. "What are you doing here again?!" a female voice called out.
Barry was suddenly impacted from behind, knocking him to the ground. He glanced up to see a vibrating female figure glowering at him. "I'm not here to hurt you!" Barry shouted.
The female scoffed. "That's what you said last time. Don't play dumb. I'm not joining you. I would rather die than help you with your plan,"
That didn't sound good. Barry didn't know half of what she was talking about, but it sounded as though she was steadfastly refusing to offer any sort of assistance to other worlders. "Please, you have to help me. If you don't-"
"If I don't you'll kill me? Like I haven't heard that one before." Barry didn't know how, he couldn't exactly tell with the glowing eyes, but he got the distinct impression that she was rolling her eyes at him. "You dare come to me, wearing that face, and demand that I help you? I am going to destroy you," her eyes narrowed, forming a toxic glare directed at him.
She took off after him again with glowing yellow eyes. Barry just sighed. He thought he was done fighting. "Not this again," he grumbled to himself. It took a second for him to feel the lightning within him again, but when he did he met the girl in the middle, but Barry faked her out by slipping past her, dropping and skidding across the ground on his knees. Taking advantage of his position, Barry kicked behind him to the girl's legs, causing her to stumble.
Barry quickly spun around to make a chopping motion against her shoulder, which made the girl involuntarily drop to the ground. Barry was looming over her, trying to figure out why he thought she was so familiar. The girl twitched and shakily propped herself up. She looked as though she were about to attack again but The Monitor chose that time to drop in.
"What took you so long? You were supposed to have her pinned down 3 seconds ago. Or is this thing running fast?" Mar Novu showcased a digital clock in front of his eyes, trying to judge whether his creation was faulty or not.
Barry pulled his cowl off. "Where have you been? Why did you leave me with that thing?"
"You could handle it. Everything you needed was already inside you. Onto more important matters, it seems you've found our latest recruit,"
"Her?" Barry pointed at the girl. It was hard to imagine the woman before him being willing to help them. "You sure?"
The Monitor didn't respond and simply snapped his fingers. The female speedster suddenly appeared, healed of all injuries and standing beside him. The girl took a look at him, turned to The Monitor and back to him and exclaimed "Barry?"
Barry's eyes widened upon finally being able to place where he knew her. She was one of the speedsters who had come to assist him on his Earth. "It's you!"
"So on this Earth, Jesse Wells was the one who was gifted by The Speed Force," Barry pointed at her after everything was explained about who the other was.
"Sorry, you snooze, you lose," Jesse cheekily responded at the alternate version of her mentor.
"I really am the only Barry Allen who doesn't even know superpowers exist, aren't I?"
"Quite," The Monitor replied but his attention was taken by the time he displayed. They were on a schedule and cutting it a bit close. "It's time to go Ms. Quick. We have a few more recruits to pick up before I send you off to battle,"
"You're going to help us?" Barry couldn't help but ask. She did just attack him, but it might be understandable considering the red skies and a mysterious figure suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Especially after she was also just attacked by another speedster that looked like him. This was a stressful time.
"Of course," Jesse said. "I want to be able to help with this Crisis and I'll be able to do that better with you guys than by staying here."
The Monitor nodded and snapped his fingers once more to teleport them across worlds. The feeling was disorienting and made Barry feel nauseous. It was probably why The Monitor had been letting him travel through breaches instead, but time was of the essence now.
The Monitor had transported them to some old factory that looked to have been refurbished into some kind of lair. It wasn't anything fancy; some TV screens showing the news, a couple computers. But there was a mannequin to the side, slightly hidden that was sporting another familiar suit. A yellow suit that bore a lightning symbol. Barry looked around to see three people huddled together. One female and two guys.
The youngest looking male eyed them and stood up. "I guess it's time?" he asked.
"It's time for you to join us Wallace," Mar Novu nodded.
"Good to see you Wally. Although the circumstances could be better," Jesse smiled at him.
"I'm glad to see you too Jesse," Wally returned her smile and quickly suited up. He brought the other two in for a hug. "I'll be back. I promise,"
"You better little bro. Because if you don't, I'm going to kill you myself," the woman, his sister it seemed, wrapped her arms around him.
"We'll be waiting," the other man, this one Barry didn't know, said. Barry wasn't sure what his relation was, but judging by how close he stood to the sister, it seemed they might be in some relationship. Just another couple who were staking their entire lives on them. No pressure.
When Wally joined them, The Monitor announced "One more stop to make. Then it's onto the battlefield for you." The Monitor opened another portal that they all stepped through. One more ally before they would be dropped on a warzone. One that they could not afford to lose. Would they be enough?
The team stepped out into a well lit room. It seemed pretty standard for what Barry imagined would be the headquarters for a superhero. Advanced technology, gadgets, monitors to keep track of everything, pieces of paper with calculations of some sort or another. Now the only question was where was the person they were searching for.
To answer his question, a sudden gust of wind hit him across his fast as a speedster appeared. This one wearing a seemingly old-school style speedster suit with a silver helmet that somehow didn't fall off when he was running. And the face Barry looked at was one he was intimately familiar with. It was his father's face, but it wasn't at the same time. It was difficult to explain, but Barry got the feeling this version of his father, if he even was one, did not have the same relationship as he did with his father.
"Monitor, I've been waiting for you,"
"Garrick, so glad to see you prepared. Let us not waste time," The Monitor greeted him.
"Let me just leave a note for my girlfriend so she knows where I'm going," Garrick sped off, presumably to leave something to let this girlfriend know what was happening. He was back in moments. "Let's go,"
"Alright people, this is it. The fate of all worlds now rests on your shoulders. The multiverse, and all it holds, will be gone, unless you are able to prevent it," The Monitor spoke seriously to them. He had brought them all into a pocket dimension where they were all floating in relative darkness. This was the final pit stop where they would be allowed to collect themselves before going into the fight of their lives.
"We'll be going up against The Anti-Monitor, who has amassed his own following of speedsters from across the multiverse, so do not be disoriented if the enemy bears a face you recognize. We cannot let ourselves be distracted. This is war," Garrick shared a bit of advice.
"So what are we going to do if we don't succeed?" Barry couldn't help but ask.
"That's not something to worry about. If you don't succeed, there won't be anything left to worry about," The Monitor revealed. "If there are any of you who wish to leave now, this is the time,"
Barry looked around to see the various faces filled with grim determination. A look that must have taken years to perfect. Each person here had earned their place through blood, sweat, and tears of hard work. Having faced insurmountable odds on multiple occasions. And then there was him. The odd one out. The one who had gotten caught in the middle of all this and been forced to help when there was literally nothing else. Who was he compared to these others?
"I just want to say something before we all leave," Wally spoke up. "I'm totally calling movie rights when we get out of here,"
Jesse scoffed. "Of course you would say something like that,"
"It was getting too tense in here," Wally rebutted.
With that, the breach opened and the rest of them floated into the hole to enter the fray. All except for Barry that is. The breach closed before Barry could enter it.
"Wait! What's going on? Novu? Hello?!" When no response was given, Barry let out a dejected sigh. "I guess I should have expected that. I'm not a real hero like the others,"
"On the contrary," the voice startled Barry for a moment. When he turned, there was The Monitor right beside him as though he'd never left. "Like all the others, you have proven what truly makes a hero is inside here," The Monitor poked him in the chest.
"Then why didn't you take me with the others? I could have helped," Barry asked.
"Meeting your counterparts was one thing. Arriving alongside them would have hopelessly crashed your timeline. There are some things even I must adhere to." The Monitor explained.
"I don't-"
"Get it?" The Monitor finished for him. "No, I don't suppose you do. Are you ready to join the fight?"
"What am I going to do? I can't stop him," Barry said.
"You don't need to stop him. That task is relegated to the others. Your task is to restore what has been lost."
"How am I supposed to do that? I'm a librarian. I don't exactly understand all this multiverse stuff."
"There is one thing that I'm sure The Speed Force is going to be quite cross with me for revealing, but I believe given the circumstances, they will allow it."
"Oh?" Barry raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"The Speed Force controls all aspects of speed. And there are always two parts in how you measure speed…"
"Run for the rest of your life Barry Allen. That's all you're good for after all. Because now I am free. Free to do whatever I so choose. The universe trembles and bows to my whims."
"Wrong, you ugly, smelly, bottom of the barrel waste of space," Barry called out from within the portal that had formed that he soon confidently strided out of. His face fixed with determination as he gazed upon the being that had destroyed everything.
"Back so soon? You should've stayed lost in time for all of eternity. Now you are at my mercy," The Anti-Monitor went towards him, but Barry backed up just a little.
"You should stay back," Barry tried to stand his ground, letting his power show with little sparks running up his body.
"How adorable," The Anti-Monitor chuckled. "You've somehow retained the final crackles of The Speed Force. It's too bad you don't even know how to use it! You barely have enough to make it to a mile,"
"That's all that I need to stop your plan," Barry smirked up at the omnipotent being.
The Anti-Monitor glared at him from above, using his tall stature to his best to intimidate the wild card. "So now you think of yourself as a hero?"
"I know I am. If nothing else, I have to try," Barry shut his eyes in concentration. The Anti-Monitor let him, assured of his victory. There was no distance this man could travel that would be able to undo what he'd done. Time travel? Possible, but the timeline was frayed and hanging by a thread thanks to his actions. Anymore, and everything would truly be lost. Still, what could he be planning?
Barry suddenly opened his eyes, lightning surging beneath his corneas, but the color of the electricity was different. There was a slight tinge of green added to the usual gold that seemed unnatural.
All at once, it was as if the world was moving in reverse, The Anti-Monitor's body retracing his steps, the world paused and moving backwards.
Barry stepped forward, but each movement conveyed how fatigued he was. It was as though he were literally dragging the Earth itself in the opposite direction. Gradually, Barry began gaining some speed, but each step made him feel more and more tired. Invisible weights on his arms and legs that took all of Barry's strength to keep pushing against. The Anti-Monitor had reappeared on the roof of where the end had originated. Barry could see him there.
Chancing a glance behind him, Barry could make out the little bits of the red energy wave that had destroyed everything and it was coming closer.
It was working. Barry was doing it. He was reversing time. Reversing time on such a massive scale as it wasn't just his own timeline he was rewriting, but every timeline in existence. With the red wave being undone, timelines brought back from destruction, the more Barry had to resist against. Against the natural flow of how time operated.
The Monitor had explained it to him. Reversing time was not the same as altering the timeline; going back in time to change something. Going back in time had repercussions, changing things from how they were. Going back to his tree example, it was akin to cutting off a branch. A new one may grow, but there were always hints of what had once been there. Evidence that something was not right about it.
Reversing time on the other was more like bending the branch to grow in the opposite direction. It was still one single branch, its growth had just been altered in an unnatural way. As a vessel of The Speed Force, even a temporary one, Barry had control of all aspects of the term speed. Speed was measured in distance and time.
Most speedster focused on the distance aspect. It was something more easily controlled for a mortal. Something more physical that they would be able to grasp. Time was such an abstract concept that it didn't cross the mind of most speedsters to be able to manipulate it as well. Not beyond riding that flow and jumping out at their desired destination.
But Barry had been taught to control that flow. To work it to his advantage. It just came with many drawbacks. It was very tiring, forcing the timeline to move in a direction that wasn't natural at all. But it was his only chance to regain all that had been lost. If he could just make it to that point, it would all be worth it.
Barry passed the water tower where The Flash had gifted him with these powers, which is also where the red wave had caught back up to him. As the wave passed, there on the tower was The Flash, looking exactly how Barry left him. But no time to think about it. He couldn't stop. If he did, the wave would just continue as it had before. If Barry let up now, he wasn't sure he would be able to muster the strength to do it again. His powers were fleeting. This was his final bid to play his part in the Crisis. This was it, everything had been leading up to him doing this. Everyone's hopes, their promises. It all led to him, here, literally dragging the flow of time in all Earths to save everything.
Everywhere Barry looked, there were the speedsters that had been lost. Some right in the middle of running, their lightning trail floating behind them, the motions of their body happening in reverse. Barry still managed to pass them by, continuing on his way to the site of where the explosion started.
Could Barry make it? There was only so much Speed Force left in his system. And he still needed to climb the side of the building, an easy task when time was fluctuating around him, not a lot of time for gravity to take hold. But there was also the matter of destroying the bomb. That required energy that Barry may no longer have.
That didn't matter though. Barry would either stop this now, or all would be lost. Permanently this time. Barry would pour every last ounce of The Speed Force in his system to stop The Anti-Monitor's plans in his tracks.
Barry scaled the wall, almost upon the location of the bomb. The explosion was receding and the device was reforming. Would Barry even be able to destroy it? Could his lightning even damage it? It held the power to erase entire universes from existence, even if The Speed Force existed outside of it, could it even damage it? It still held the best chance of Barry getting rid of it. He'd have to take that risk.
Barry finally reached the ledge and leaped into the air, concentrating with all his might to channel every last bit of energy within him to charge one of his arms with as much Speed Force energy he could muster. It all came down to this. He'd only get one shot at this. He aimed at the tiny device as the timer reverted to one second before detonation.
Barry felt relief for the tiniest moment as he released his grasp on the timestream and let loose whatever power remained within him. With that, Barry began his descent. He wouldn't be able to save himself this time.
"Thank you Eobard. Your assistance is no longer required," The Anti-Monitor said as the clock struck 0. A red energy began to emit, and it was expanding with each passing second.
Before it could fully be unleashed however, a red-clad speedster appeared, jumping up from the ledge and he shot a lightning bolt straight at the device. The electricity impacted the device, sealing the red energy back inside. The speedster fell through the air, so he wasn't able to witness the bomb spark and make unnatural sounds, but Thawne and The Anti-Monitor were.
The next second, the bomb stilled and then exploded without any otherworldly energy emitting from it. There was still enough force behind it to knock both the speedster and multidimensional being off the roof.
The explosion caught the attention of the other speedster who had decided to pause their fight and see what that was all about.
Wally, being the closest, was able to arrive earlier than the others and saw the figure of the powerless Barry falling through the air. Wally quickly caught him and carried him back to stable ground. "Hey, where have you been?" Wally asked.
"Oh, you know," Barry pants. "Rounding up the speedsters, reversing time, destroying multiverse threatening devices. All in a day's work,"
"That was you? How does that work? And what's this about a 'multiverse threatening device'?"
Barry waved him off. "Destroyed. No need to worry about it now,"
The rest of the speedsters arrived to see what was happening. Thawne had pushed himself back up and processed what the Anti-Monitor had been planning. "Backstabber!" Thawne launched himself at the all powerful being, tackling him to the ground with Thawne on top. Thawne raised a vibrating fist, fully intending to end the being only to be backhanded and sent flying into the air.
"What happened?" Garrick asked.
The Anti-Monitor wasn't going to be willing to talk and since Thawne was still airborne, Barry spoke up. "The Anti-Monitor had a device that was set to destroy every Earth in the multiverse except this one. And once it did, all of you would have been erased from existence,"
Everybody turned to face The Anti-Monitor who was frowning at all of them. His fists were clenched at his failed plan and being exposed. "Because of you, all my plans have suddenly been halted. Now that you all know, what is it you plan to do?"
Whatever answer they were about to give was interrupted when Thawne returned, scuff marks covered his body, droplets of blood on his yellow suit, but he was still rushing towards the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor intercepted him by lifting him into the air without laying a finger on him.
"You do not have the right to stand against me. Your debt to me is too high for that. I crafted your perfect world for you. I can just as easily end you, any of you!" The Anti-Monitor specifically looked at all the speedsters who served him. "I gave you life. I gave you freedom. You have no room to oppose me,"
The other speedsters' eyes widened and they seemed to struggle with themselves for a little, but eventually gave in and reluctantly kneeled before The Anti-Monitor, but with a glare stuck on their faces all the same.
"Join me and be spared." The Anti-Monitor growled.
"You kinda just tried to kill all of us, so I'm gonna have to answer no," The Flash snarked back.
Everybody else stood firm. Ready for an attack at any moment.
The Anti-Monitor sneered. "Round them up. Kill them,"
Barry got out of there as soon as the words were spoken. Without any powers anymore, he was a sitting duck once again. But this time at least, he wasn't the target.
The opposing speedsters jumped into action once again, but this time was different. They seemed to be holding back, not that they tried to make it any easier for the heroes. They may hate The Anti-Monitor's plans to destroy them, but they didn't have much choice. Some of them very literally owed their lives to the being, having plucked them out of the timeline just before they would die. They had no room to argue and it was with a heavy heart in all of them that they continued to fight. But now that their will had been sapped by the reveal of what would happen even if they won, they were quickly and easily taken care of by their adversaries.
Once they were all taken care of, the remaining speedsters circled the Anti-Monitor, running in a circular pattern. The wind whipped and lightning crackled, forming a barrier around the being.
"What do you think you're doing? You think you can go up against me?! I am immortal! I have lived several of your lifetimes. You are nothing but insignificant bugs that I need to squash under my feet!" The Anti-Monitor roared.
For all his screaming, the Anti-Monitor was unable to do anything. His fists glowed, but that seemed to be the extent of his powers at the moment because Mar Novu suddenly appeared and blasted the Anti-Monitor with a shot of energy. "No," he mumbled to himself. The Anti-Monitor tried to use his limited power but the flow of energy due to the close proximity of his equal was hindering him.
The two of them struggled, their energy blasts holding the other back as the wind was whipping around them. The two of them were fated to always be against the other, like yin and yang. One never surpasses the other. They were stuck for all of eternity to remain in balance with each other. Neither one gained an edge.
The Anti-Monitor was so focused on the fight with The Monitor, trying to find some advantage to get away from him, that he didn't notice the breach forming around them. The speedsters surrounding him seemed to have been pulled into their trance; fully aware of what they were doing, but unable to do anything to stop themselves. Not that they were fighting it that much. They had always trusted in the force inside them. It had never steered them wrong. It wasn't until it was too late that the Anti-Monitor finally realized what was happening around him. The literal floor beneath them had turned into a breach that was sucking the two primordials into it.
"No! I'm not going back! I'm not going back!" The Anti-Monitor struggled, but the pull forced him in place. His feet had sunken through and it was only a matter of moments before the rest of him followed. "I'll get out of there again! I am becoming more powerful than you can ever dream of, adversary."
"A miscalculation on your part. Dreams are a fantasy. This is reality." The Monitor replied. "We will forever be locked in combat, neither able to overcome the other. I can only be thankful that the cage meant to contain you was never meant for me. We may be equals, but fate never intended for me to share in your destiny."
"I'll be back! I will rise again! My victory is inevitable!" Those were the final shouts of The Anti-Monitor before he and The Monitor were completely dragged through the breach, closing behind them.
The speedsters came to a gradual halt and once they had all stopped, they were all clapping themselves on the shoulders, giving words of congratulations and shouts of cheer. "We did it! Whoo!"
"Now we just need to wrap this up by sending those other speedsters back to their homes," Garrick said to them, reminding them of their final task.
"Not to worry, they've returned to their point in the timelines that spawned them." The Monitor walked up to them. That's when they all noticed his return and that the speedsters they had all soundly beaten were gone.
"How are you here? Didn't we just send you to a prison dimension?" Barry asked.
"The prison was fashioned to contain him. Not me. Subsequently I am free to move between them with ease. He will remain trapped until the time comes for his escape once the residual energy of The Speed Force has dissipated from this Earth."
The Flash looked at them before shrugging at the answer. It didn't really matter in the end. "If that's taken care of, then I guess we should all be getting home. I can't believe it's finally over,"
"Well done all of you. I knew you would do it," The Monitor congratulated them on their success.
"Of course they would," Barry added. "They were always going to,"
"What are you talking about?" The Flash asked. The way they were talking sounded as though they were always going to succeed, that it was a foregone conclusion despite all the close calls. The multiverse had been destroyed. There was no denying that. They had failed the first time.
"You see, you're all stuck in a time loop." Barry revealed.
"And The Anti-Monitor is doomed to failure over and over again." Mar Novu agreed. "Everytime The Anti-Monitor regains his sanity, he escapes the anti-matterverse and comes here in order to reconstruct the universe in his image. I follow along with him in order to get all of you gathered together to stop him and send him back to his prison for a few millennia. He loses his sanity after eons of isolation, and the whole thing starts all over again."
"The only one who isn't aware of the loop is The Anti-Monitor himself." Barry tells them. "And you guys, I suppose,"
"Well, it's time to return you all back to the Earths that you came from," The Monitor spoke, opening a portal to bring them all back to the point in time where they had been taken from.
"If you don't mind, I'll stay back for just a moment. I want to thank Barry personally," The Flash informed them.
The Monitor nodded, conceding to the request as the rest of the speedsters entered the portal.
"But I don't get it. Why did The Anti-Monitor come here in the first place?" Wally couldn't help but ask.
"He came as revenge for being trapped in the anti-matterverse," Jay responded.
"But who trapped him there?" Wally questioned.
"We did," Jesse was the one to answer with a tone that indicated the answer should've been obvious.
"I mean the first time," Wally tried to clarify.
"I know. We were the ones to trap The Anti-Monitor in the anti-matterverse."
"But we only just did that," Wally pointed out.
"Exactly," Jay said.
"So why was he here in the first place?" Wally asked again.
"He came as revenge for being trapped in the anti-matterverse," Jay reinforced his answer.
"But who trapped him there?" Wally questioned.
"We did," Jesse was the one to answer with the same tone that indicated the answer should've been obvious.
"I mean the first time," Wally tried to clarify.
"I know. We were the ones to trap The Anti-Monitor in the anti-matterverse."
"But we only just did that," Wally pointed out again.
"Exactly," Jay said.
"So why was he here in the first place?" Wally asked again.
"He came as revenge for being trapped in the anti-matterverse!" Everybody shouted at him. The breach closed, leaving only The Flash and Barry to say their parting words.
Barry laughed at Wally's misfortune of not understanding the concept of a time loop, with there being no beginning or end. In a time loop, one's origin is their destiny and their future lies in their past.
"Thanks for letting me use your speed for a bit. It was a blast being a superhero," Bary thanked his doppelganger.
"No need for thanks. You saved the multiverse. You made our name proud." The Flash pointed a finger gun at him with a wink. "You have our thanks. So after all that's happened to you tonight, what are you planning on doing? World's your oyster,"
"I'm going to a party. And I'm going to invite a pretty girl. I made a promise that I would ask at the end of the world," Barry commented. "The end of all worlds should have me asking for her hand in marriage,"
"Whoever she is, she's going to be one lucky girl,"
"And I think I'm gonna travel. See the world I just risked my life to save. I don't know if there's remnants of The Speed Force in my veins, but I realize I can't stay here forever. I've gotta get out and give myself some experiences I'm never gonna forget,"
"Whatever you end up doing, I'm sure it's gonna be great," The Flash smiled and nodded his head.
"Thanks. And if you ever feel like visiting, my door's always open. Hope to see you around," Barry smiled, waved and began walking off.
The Flash just gazed at his retreating form before a breach opened up again. "Time to return you back to the base timeline," The Monitor said, indicating that this Barry was at the center of all the others, the original template that all the others were based on.
"I think Barry is gonna turn out alright. If nothing else, he'll be happy," The Flash commented.
"Perhaps," The Monitor nodded. "Life is a mystery and a journey. What fun would it be if everything were so predictable?" The Monitor gestured to the breach that would lead The Flash directly back to his own Earth. "Shall we?"
The Flash took one last glance back before stepping forward with purpose, ready to go back to where he was truly needed.
And that marks the conclusion of Crisis. It was fun to write but this is where I got stuck with the rest of the season. I figured it out eventually but I feel I didn't put as much effort into it as I did with the other seasons. I had to work with what I had and I definitely wasn't going to be doing any of the mirror thing.
Tell me what you thought. FFN still isn't showing how many of you are actually reading the story so if some of you could leave a review, that would be great. I'd really like to know what you think of how I wrote Crisis and the conclusion.
Til next week where you get to see where the rest of the season is going. So long.