Collateral Damage (snowbarry)

Collison

Eobard Thawne stood to the side of the road and watched as the car he had been waiting for approached him, the spike strip already in place. The man driving the car was the key to fixing his problems. Thawne had messed up. Big time. In an attempt to stop his greatest enemy from ever rising to power, he murder the hero's mother, but in doing so, he prevented himself from ever being able to return home to his time in the future.

His only hope now was to fast track scientist, and one day, founder of S.T.A.R. Labs, Harrison Wells' plan to build a particle accelerator, the likes of which would enable Thawne's greatest enemy to gain his power. The failure of the particle accelerator was not meant to occur for 20 more years, but Thawne couldn't wait that long. He needed the man to gain his power now. He needed to take over as Wells, build S.T.A.R. Labs, and begin the work on the accelerator as soon as possible. He needed to train his enemy, the man who he spent his entire life trying to destroy, so that he could help Thawne return home. He needed the Flash.

The headlights of the car approaching brought Thawne back from his thoughts, and he looked on to see the silhouette of a young Harrison Wells in the driver's seat of the car, accompanied by his wife, Tess Morgan, in the passenger seat, both blissfully unaware of the plan they were about to help set in motion. A large popping sound could be heard as the car ran over the planted spike strip, and began to spin out of control. Thawne waited for the car to crash into the nearby woods to approach and finish what he came to do, but that is not what happened.

Soon after spinning out of the strip, a loud honking noise was heard. Thawne turned to see an oncoming car, opposite Wells, skidding to try to avoid a collision. The two cars collided. Nothing but the sound of screeching tires and crashing metal could be heard. Then nothing. Thawne approached the scene with a newfound annoyance. He didn't want any witnesses. He looked into the insignificant car and saw that both passengers were unconscious. He sighed in relief. He approached Wells' car as he heard the man panicking over his dead wife. Harrison Wells turned and was relieved to see someone was nearby to help him and his wife. He called for help, but the man refused, pulling Wells from his car. The strange man grabbed hold of him, and he could feel his energy quickly leaving him. His skin tightening, his vision blurring until soon it was nothing.

After Eobard drained the life from Harrison Wells he looked up into the window of the car. What he saw was not his own reflection, but that of Harrison Wells. Though the unintended car involved in the accident presented a possible hitch in his plan, his new reflection allowed him to regain his confidence. That was until he heard a cry.

He quickly buried the body and returned to the road to find a young girl crying in the front seat of the other car. She was holding her father, the dead driver, shaking him relentlessly, crying for him to wake up. Her voice began to trail as she wore herself out, her own injuries catching up to her. Thawne felt a pang of guilt. He never meant for the little girl to lose her father. He had a soft spot for kids, those who weren't destined to become his enemy of course, and rushed to help the girl out of the car.

By the time she was pulled from her seat, she had passed out and the ambulance had finally arrived. Thawne feigned shock and explained the events to the policemen, but in order to remove himself from the situation as quickly as possible, he requested to accompany the young girl to the hospital, seeing as her guardian would not be there when she awoke. The paramedics agreed. Thawne hopped into the back of the ambulance and watched the doors close on the horrific scene he had caused before him. He turned his attention to the little girl with a head wound, a dislocated shoulder, and a tear stained face.

"What's her name?" the paramedic attending to the young girl asked.

Thawne shook his head with wide eyes, still feigning shock, but being honest about his lack of knowledge of the young girl. She was just there, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Collateral. This wouldn't be the first time she was collateral damage in the plans of someone else, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Thawne pushed Well's slightly broken glasses higher up on his face, the weight of the accessory unfamiliar to him, and stared guiltily at the young girl in front of him. He composed his story for the police during his ride to the hospital as he watched the red and blue lights of the ambulance reflect off the silver snowflake charm hanging around the girls neck.