TW: Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

Metropolis

Late afternoon

"Barry?" Oliver called out when Barry didn't answer.

"Sorry, uh, I'm about a minute out," Barry said, still trying to process what had just happened.

"I can be there in a minute, I just dropped Chloe off at Smallville," Clark radioed in.

"Well then get here fast, we're going to end this," Oliver ordered.

Barry let out a shuttering breath before he sped off towards the base, still trying to process what had just happened.

Abandoned base

Not long after

Clark and Barry both arrived at the base after the others had disembarked from the Black Bird. Just like before, Clark used his X-Ray vision to see the inside of the bae. Like before, he found only Cisco, Caitlin, Joe and Iris, plus Eiling's body.

Barry watched this, feeling sort of detached. He knew what was coming next. He remembered Jay's words, even as they all heard Clark cry out and turned to see Rogue draining him. As Natasha used her Widow's Bite, sending the girl flying off Clark, Barry looked up as Esme emerged from the entrance of the base to throw the Gold Kryptonite dagger.

It took only a fraction of a second for Barry to make his decision.

Before it could near Clark, Barry ran, at super speed, grabbing its hilt and throwing it far away. Barry then sped over and, like before, knocked Esme out with a blow to the back of her neck. She fell to the ground as the knife clattered to the ground.

"What just happened?" Rogue asked as she came back to herself, acting like she hadn't just been hit by Natasha's Widow's Bite as she got to her feet.

"Was hoping you could tell us," Clark said, his skin pale but gaining color as his strength returned to him.

"I don't know. One minute I'm standing, next I'm on the ground and now I hear your voice in my head, same as with everyone else I've touched," Rogue said, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

"Nice take down, Barry," Steve complimented as they turned to Barry standing over Esme.

"Thanks. Just…keep that thing from Clark. Don't even go near it," Barry warned Clark as they all looked at him oddly.

"Gambit thinks you know something we don't," Gambit noted and Barry smiled tightly.

"You have no idea. I'll explain everything once we get back to Watchtower. It's…a long story," Barry said, wondering how he was going to possible explain all this.

Watchtower

Later that afternoon

Things continued to play out similar to how they had last time: Iris was mad at him for not telling his secret while the others were in a bit of awe of Watchtower. Chloe introduced herself and Caitlin and Ronnie reunited. But then, once they all in the same room, it was finally time to talk.

"All right Barry, what's going on? You act like you know something we don't," Oliver pointed out.

"Why are you so scared of me getting near that dagger?" Clark asked as he crossed his arms and Barry grimaced.

"Because I've seen what happens when you do."

Barry's answer confused everyone but Jay, who suddenly looked at Barry sharply, measuring him up before speaking.

"How far back?" Jay asked, confusing everyone but Barry.

"A few hours. I was…running, running faster than I'd ever run. Then I was just…back here," Barry explained and Jay ran a hand over his face.

"Barry, there-"

"Are consequences to time travel. You gave me the whole speech the first time, but trust me Jay, nothing can be worse than what happened the first time," Barry said and the look in his eyes gave Jay pause.

"Hold on, back up. Are you saying you traveled back in time?" Sara asked, all of them looking at Barry in utter disbelief.

"It's apparently a speedster thing. I had a similar experience to Barry once," Jay said with a sigh.

"This is like some Twilight Zone level stuff," Cisco muttered.

"It's not unheard of. I met a group of time travelers two years ago, and Lois traveled through time last year. But Barry, time travel isn't a game," Clark warned, remembering what had happened to his father when he time traveled.

"I know it's not. And I wouldn't have changed things if things weren't so bad. But Darkseid won the first time around. And so did Prometheus," Barry said, shocking all of them. "I can't let that happen again. If you guy think that's better than the risks-"

"I think we should hear what he's got to say," Logan said as he crossed his arms.

"Let's put it to a vote. Anyone not think Barry should tell us what he knows?" Clint asked and no one said a word.

"It appears to be unanimous then," Charles noted.

"The floor is yours then, Barry," Steve said and Barry nodded.

"Ok. Well, first off, Oliver, I know what's on that flash drive," Barry said, turning to his friend as he tried to put it into words. "There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just blurt it out. Oliver, you have a son."

"What?" Oliver asked after a moment, wondering if Barry was screwing with him.

"Samantha Clayton lied to you. She didn't miscarry; she moved to Central City and gave birth to a boy. His name's William. Kane has them, along with your and Sara's families and your team," Barry said as gently as he could.

Oliver turned away for a moment, putting a hand to his face as he attempted to process this news. Bobbi placed a hand on his shoulder, trying not to show her own reaction as everyone was quiet, letting Oliver think for a moment. Finally, Oliver took a deep breath and spoke.

"Why would Samantha lie to me?" Oliver asked, turning back to Barry with as steady a tone as he could manage.

"No idea. Your theory was that your mother did something that made her do it," Barry explained and Oliver laughed humorlessly.

"Of course. She told me she miscarried only a few days after I told my mom about her. I was so stupid," Oliver said in a mix of anger and guilt.

"Oliver, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but we need to stay focused on stopping Prometheus and Darkseid," Matt told him, his voice firm but kind and Oliver nodded after a moment.

"You're right. Anything else?" Oliver asked and Barry grimace.

"Yeah, a lot. I'm going to get a text in about half an hour, telling me that your friends and family are in the factory where you killed Slade. They are, but William isn't there. And neither is one of the bombs. I looked, one of is in the basement of Queen Consolidated, but I wasn't able to find the other one before they went off," Barry explained before glancing at Charles. "Professor, Cyclopes is working with Prometheus. He's been marked by Darkseid."

"What?" Storm asked startled as the X-Men looked at him startled.

"You're sure?" Logan asked.

"You were when he shot the Black Bird out of the sky and you had to make a crash landing," Barry told him.

"What about the students?" Bobby demanded and Barry shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know. Logan went off to ask him that same question, but I don't know if he got an answer," Barry said regretfully.

Barely had the words left Barry's mouth before Jay sped out of the building, running as fast as possible.

"Where's he off too?" Rhodey asked.

"Probably to check on the school," Kitty said, most of the X-Men and Barry having come to that same conclusion.

Several moments passed before Jay sped back in, a look of distress on his face.

"I searched the whole school, no one is there," Jay said, startling all of them.

"What could he have done to the students?" Storm asked, all sorts of horrifying scenarios flashing through her mind.

"At the very least, we know he didn't hand them to Kane. Kane would have let us know by now," Barry pointed out.

"Okay, so what'd he do to them?" Logan asked and it was silent for a moment.

"Ross. He gave them to Ross," Clark said and they all looked over at him. "Think about it, Darkseid wants an army of people on Earth loyal to him, it's what he had Goodness doing. What better way than to have Cyclops hand over a school full of mutants to Ross?"

"I left a backdoor in Ross's system that should let me back in," Chloe said, going over to the computer and accessing the backdoor. "Okay, Ross has to have a list of anyone he's captured…found it, okay. Clark's right, he has them."

"Do you have a location?" Logan asked and Chloe nodded.

"They're at a military prison a few hours away. It's under heavy guard," Chloe said after checking the files.

"Then let's go," Logan said, ready to head out.

"Wait. There's something else you should know," Barry said and all the X-Men stopped, sensing it was serious by the ton of Barry's voice. "In a few hours, Magneto is going to attack the White House and possibly assassinate the president."

"Is he insane? He has to know how the word will react to that kind of thing," Sam said in disbelief. "Mutants will never stop being hunted if he does that."

"Erik is not himself. Like Scott, he has been marked by Darkseid," Charles said with a grim look on his face. "I have no doubt this is part of Darkseid's plan. How, I do not know."

"He wants everyone to lose hope. It'll make it easier for him to have complete control of the human race," Steve said, having already figured it out.

"So how do we stop him?" Carter asked and no one seemed to have an answer.

Hearing something, Clark looked behind him, surprised to see his father, dead for the last five years, watching him before walking out of the room. After a moment, Clark followed after him.

"Clark?" Chloe called out but Clark ignored her.

"Let him go, he needs a minute. I think we all do," Oliver said with a heavy sigh.

Clark walked deeper into Watchtower, finding Jonathan waiting for him.

"I knew you'd see me again, when you were ready," Jonathan said as he turned around to face his son. "But I can see that you're worried, son. Worried you're going to fail this time."

"According to Barry, I already did," Clark pointed out.

"I know you're scared, son," Jonathan said patiently.

"I faced Darkseid before. He knows my weakness, he almost defeated me," Clark said as he walked over to Jonathan. "I need your help."

"But son, he never saw the man standing before me now," Jonathan said before placing his hands on Clark's shoulders. "Clark Kent, as much as your mother and I tried to protect you from your origins, tried to prepare you for any challenge… I'm sorry son but our guidance just isn't enough anymore. You're gonna have to let Jor-El guide you from here on out. Don't doubt yourself. The day we found you in that field, your mother called you our miracle. Well, right now the world needs you to be their miracle."

And then, Jonathan was gone, leaving Clark to reflect on his words.

Metropolis

Same time

"It seems the attempt to strip Kal-El of his powers has failed, My Lord," Goodness said as she, Adrian and Godfrey bowed before Darkseid.

"It matters not. My plans are about to come to fruition. When the world loses hope, I will have won. Kal-El cannot stop me anymore," Darkseid said as a twisted smirk crossed the face of Harrison Wells.

Watchtower

Shortly after

"So one of the bombs is at Queen Consolidated. And we can rule out the factory, my home and Verdant," Oliver said as he, Bobbi, Sara and Barry discussed the bombs at Starling City. "Where would he put the other one?"

"Kane's whole thing is about the past, right? It has to be a place that has some significance to you and Slade," Sara pointed out and Oliver put a hand to his face.

"The past…I think I know where it is," Oliver said in realization. "But that still leaves William."

"Kane wouldn't take him too far. He'd want to see his plan go off without a hitch. And he'd want to see William lose his mother the way he lost his father, some kind of twisted poetic justice," Bobbi explained.

"Somewhere he could see all the damage but still be safe," Sara noted and Bobbi nodded.

"A helicopter. He's in a helicopter," Barry said and they looked at him. "It's the only thing that makes sense. He can't be on the ground unless he's caught in the explosion. If he's in the air, he can see everything and make William watch."

"You're right, it's the only thing that makes sense," Oliver said after a moment of thought.

"Then all we need to do now is come up with a plan," Sara said.

A few feet away, the X-Men were discussing battle strategy.

"We have to take out Magneto and save the kids," Storm said.

"Yes, but it will not be easy. The prison will be heavily guarded. And Magneto will no doubt bring his army," Charles said, putting a hand to his chin as he considered their next move.

"You'll need two teams," Steve said and they all looked over, seeing the Avengers not far away. "The Avengers will handle the students. It's important for the world to see the X-Men fighting to protect humans."

"What about Darkseid? We can't forget about him," Kitty pointed out.

"First, we need to find him," Clark noted.

"Last time I talked to Chloe before arriving in Starling City, you thought that Darkseid was hauled up in some place with religious symbolism," Barry spoke up.

"Then I'll make al sit of any sites with religious connections," Chloe said, getting to work.

"I'll run facial recognition on Harrison Wells, Goodness, Godfrey or Chase," Tess said, getting on that.

"What does Dr. Wells have to do with Darkseid?" Cisco asked in confusion.

"Long story, don't ask right now," Barry told him.

"Then we have a plan, it seems," Stein noted before Barry's phone want off.

"And that will be the signal," Barry noted as he looked at the text.

"Signal for what?" Sara asked.

Barry counted down before pointing out the window. They all turned as the sun began being blocked out by Apokolips appearing in the sky.

"For that," Barry said as they all stared.

"What on earth is that?" Joe wondered out loud.

"According to Chloe, it's an entire planet. The theory was that Darkseid's goons were marking people to draw it here," Barry explained.

"So we take out his goons, we stop that thing?" Sam asked and Barry shrugged.

"I don't know. But it's probably our best bet," Barry said.

"Then we don't have any more time to waste. We need four teams, four separate missions. One shot," Steve said, looking at Apokolips grimly. "The fight of our lives is about to begin."

Mostly set up for the big finale, but hope you all enjoyed it.