Hope & Love - SuperFlash [1]

Chapter 18

"We missed Lena Luthor singing?!" Alex exclaimed, practically pouting.

"Trust me, you didn't miss much." Lena retorted, still trying to catch her breath from the four minutes of singing. "You have to hear them though, they are amazing." She said, pointing at the couple, who brushed off the comment with bashful smiles. "Lets get another round!" Lena suggested excitedly.

"Count us in!" Cisco exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around Barry and Kara, Caitlin shaking her head in embarrassment and humor at the mans antics.

"Its set then!" Nia said, gathering everyone's requests before she, Kelly, and Alex went up to Al. They brought back the drinks and everyone took a seat at the table.

"Hey, where's Brainy?" Kara asked as she took her drink from Nia.

"He said he had something to take care of with the other Brainiacs," Nia informed, taking her seat. "He said he'll be here as soon as possible." Everyone got comfortable, and Nia rose her glass in the air dramatically and comically. "A toast to friends," She smiled, then peered at Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin. "Old and new!"

...

"I know what to do!" Nia said, leaning forward with excitement and slapping the table, the buzz she was forming evident in her tone. "Origin stories! What drives us, what makes us keep going! I mean we're freaking superheroes, this was all fantasy and comic books when we were growing up, and now were saving entire universes from wrinkled douches!"

"I will say, its pretty amazing." Alex commented with a tilt of her head. "I'm in, who's first?"

"Ooh, Barry!" Nia said. "Barry, Barry, Barry!"

"Barry!" Lena joined in with a laugh, and pretty soon everyone at the table was chanting his name, urging him to spill the beans on his origin.

"All right, all right." The scarlet speedster spoke, moving his hands in a 'settle down' motion. His smile began to fade as he thought back to where it all started, that fateful night so many years ago when he was awoken by screams and the rustle of lightning. "When I was eleven, I woke up to a man inside a ball of lightning in my house, he killed my mother." He said, and everyone's smiles immediately fell. "I knew what I saw that night, but everyone thought I was crazy, in denial. Then, fourteen years later I was struck by lightning and got these powers, and was in a coma for nine months. I trained with Cisco, Caitlin, and Harrison Wells for over a year, becoming the flash, only to find out wells was the man who killed my mother." Barry stared at the drink he had yet to touch, but then a small smile grew across his face. "I started out trying to avenge my mother and father, but now I do this to help people that can't help themselves, to inspire, and I couldn't be luckier. These powers, I'll never take them for granted."

Everyone was silent for a moment, taking in his words, and Barry feared he had ruined the evening, until Kara spoke. "My planet was destroyed when I was thirteen..." And so it went on like that, the drinks forgotten as each and every one of them shared their fears, their doubts, what made them get up in the morning, what drove them to become the heroes they were, and it was great. Brainy eventually arrived, joining into the conversation quite easily, yet never quite forgetting what he was told or what he saw earlier. It was freeing and relieving to be able to talk with people about living life as a superhero, and it made them all grow closer together, a very strange, dysfunctional yet functional family of superheroes. A Justice League.

While everyone was having the night of their lives, they failed to recognize the hooded figure watching them from across the bar. His stomach felt empty, a rising anger in his being, his hand forming into a tightly clenched fist, knuckles turning white. He rose with vigor, pushing the door to the bar and exiting out into the parking lot. The cool night air was soothing against his skin. He felt like his skin was on fire, and he tore off his hoodie in a frantic motion, breathing picking up exponentially. He blinked, and all he could see was them laughing, without him, living without him, not a single thought of him, he was forgotten like that. He was their friend, their family, he died for them, and they kicked him to the curb in an instant.

Every blink was another memory, and those memories began to fade into mockery as they laughed at him, their voices slowly fading away as he realized they weren't his family anymore, they were his. He sucked in a sharp breath, then dug his heels into the ground, cracking the concrete as he sped off into the city.

He continued to run, and the voices returned, clawing their way into his ears. "We spoke the truth! You have nothing now! You're nothing but an aberration, forced to watch as he lives your life." The voices were getting louder, surrounding every side of him. "You could have it all back, your family, your life, Kara. All you have to do is take it! So run. Run!"

He was compelled to follow the voices, and he began the journey. He ran, with every fiber in his being. He was going fast enough to wreck everything around him - windows shattering all around him and the asphalt splitting in two in the wake of his speed.

His mother's murder. His dad's murder, Thawne, Zoom, Savitar, Crisis, his death. All the people that had counted on him and died - all of it. He absorbed it all as he created his own portal to the Negative Speed Force and launched himself into it. He could feel the Negative Speed Force twisting him inside out as he ran, corrupting his entire being with every step he took, and he let out a ferocious roar as he zoomed forward with a new burst of speed, a trail of lightning behind him.

Red lightning.

Eventually the night at the bar wound down and reached its natural conclusion. Everyone else had tapered off, with only Kara, Lena, and Barry remaining in the bar, and Lena knew she had to tell them now, she had put it off the entire night, and she couldn't just leave without a goodbye. "Guys, I- I'm leaving." She said, and the two shared a bewildered look, and Lena decided she needed to clarity. "Not permanently, just for a bit."

"Why?" Kara asked.

"I've practically been estranged from my family, Lex has overrun L-Corp and convinced the world he's a changed man, I have nothing-"

"You have us." Kara interjected, and Lena smiled.

"I just got this ring, and I'm so lost with it, I need to find the Green Lantern corps and embrace these powers so I can really be of used to the team, to the world. I love you guys, but I need to do this." She said, and the two nodded, understanding where she was coming from.

"C'mon Lena, when I was just starting to like you." Barry smirked  and the woman playfully rolled her eyes as she laughed, wrapping her arms around the scarlet speedster, glad to have gotten to know him so well in such short time.

"I'm gonna miss you." Kara said as Lena turned her focus to her.

"I'll be back before you know it." Lena smiled, and the best friends embraced each other in a tight hug, and stayed like that for a few moments. It had been such a long time since they truly hugged after everything that had happened, so the two weren't going to waste a perfect opportunity to do so.

Eventually, the two pried themselves apart and the trio moved outside to the mostly empty parking lot. Barry and Kara stood back as Lena stepped forward, slipping on the lantern ring. The suit formed over her, the parking lot, side of the bar, and even part of the street being completely encompassed in a bright emerald glow. Lena let out a deep sigh, smiling at the couple as she began to levitate into the air. She gave them one final wave before she shot off into the sky, an emerald glow trailing her.