Welcome to the next installment! I hoped you liked the last part because this final part will be filled with action and fluff as well. I know you guys all love fluff. Softies...
After so many months of work, it's finally here, I hope this makes up for the wait. Otherwise... I'll have to think of something spicier to make it up to you guys ;)
FUTURE STATE
You've always been our heart
And that is what's most wonderful about you...
THEMATIC MUSIC: AS THE WORLD CAVES IN- MATT MALTESE
OFFICIAL VIDEO (That's right, I went all out for this one)
VISUALS:
That's Mia in Barry's jacket^
Barry and Mia talking about trick arrows <3 ^
Barry's golden boots thundered down the wormhole he had created. It was his turn to visit her now. After a few months of dating, everything was rolling smoothly.
Maybe too smoothly...
They perhaps rushed... A little bit more than necessary, their intimacy at times really reflected that they were to be husband and wife by now. Of course, they have a ring, she is "engaged" to him, but she doesn't want to make it official. She's too much like her mom.
Barry sped to a stop outside a small farmhouse in the middle of the lush green fields far from Starling City, far from Central City, far from any city. There were questions that Mia had to face when she decided to move out of the city and into the rural areas. But it was all for their protection...
Because Barry had a baby with Mia.
A beautiful baby girl, that happened in a not-so accident session of lovemaking, or as they developed a codename for it "dancing in the dark". Yeah, right they danced.
He tried to get her to show Joe and team Flash, but she did not want to show them just yet, and he agreed. But now things changed, and due to speed growth... Yes, speed growth, it's a very confusing and astonishing theory that Barry had spent countless nights studying. He ended up asking Jay, who knew almost everything about speedster metabolisms and genetics. Apparently, it is an X-linked recessive mutant gene that occurs when Barry passes the gene to a recessive X Allele that Mia had. After doing a few pedigrees, Jay deduced that the probability of having the defect again was low, but Barry didn't want more children, at least for now.
The defect was dangerous, in a couple of months, the baby girl grew to be at the age of 3 years. If this rate continued, she'd be as old as Barry and Mia in a couple of years give or take. Accelerated aging was not at all a gift that a speedster wants. Then again, there are hardly any speedster offspring, but Barry was a pioneer. He eventually figured out a cure with the help of Caitlin and Jay to stop the aging, yes Caitlin knew, she was the only person on the team who knew. Barry trusted her because she was his best friend, another sister besides Iris.
Iris is going to freak out...
Most of the team knew about their relationship, with not-so-subtle details such as a hickey there, a bite mark or two on the neck. The biggest reveal was when Barry and Mia were making out in their suits, in the cortex. Caitlin caught them and Barry had to tell her, and then the team.
Barry made his way up the stairs of the porch and opened the door. An arrow whizzed right by his head and into the front yard. Barry's eyes widened and looked at Mia who stood ready to fight.
"You almost shot me!" Barry hissed.
"Oh I'm sorry, it's been a few weeks since I've last seen you," Mia bit out.
"I know, I know, I was busy in Central City," Barry said with guilt.
"You know that I am not a maid, Kat needs a father, if you aren't here with her, then she'll never fit in with you," Mia told him sternly.
"Let me show her to them then," Barry said.
Mia looked at him, and Barry could see the wheels turn in her head, it was a delicate machine that he absolutely found delight in listening to when she rambled about trick arrows and how she disappeared whenever you had your back turned.
"You know what that implies..." Mia whispered.
Barry made dough eyes.
"You know that we can't hide her forever, I love her, and I love you, and I do not regret a single moment of my life that led me to you, Mia."
"Do you know the worst thing about you?" Mia asked.
"My timing?" Barry suggested, moving an inch closer to her, his eyes pleading for her to concede to him.
"Don't," Mia warned him softly, trying to maintain her composure against Barry's cuteness.
Barry came closer. He reached out to touch her. His hands lightly calloused but soft roamed over the soft skin of Mia's arm.
"My sense of humor?"
"Don't," Mia whispered, biting her lip to stop herself from concerning his wish.
Barry pulled her towards him, her body pressed against his now. The sunlight outside reflected off his bright red suit with golden accents.
"You look good," Mia said, trying to forget what he asked.
"You look incredible," Barry murmured.
He leaned forward and kissed her softly. Mia groaned and gathered his hair into her fists, her lips roamed from his lips to his cheek, and then caught his earlobe between her teeth. Barry pressed his palms into her sides.
"Mia, say yes, please," Barry murmured as he hungrily sucked on her collarbone.
"Fine, we'll go tomorrow, now come on Barr, we have a lot to catch up on," Mia breathlessly murmured.
Barry's eyes lit up with intense fire. He was super excited now.
Until Kat interrupted them.
"Momma, why are you biting daddy?" Kat asked.
Mia sighed and fixed her shirt, Barry chuckled as he pounded his fist on his leg, making it numb with how hard he punched himself. He regained his composure quickly and his lust retreated back into his mind.
"I thought you said she didn't know me," Barry teased Mia.
"What I said is that she wouldn't fit in your life," Mia told him.
"Tell me Kat, is your mom always grumpy when she's around dad?" Barry cooed as he picked up Kat in his arms.
"That's because she finds you, cute daddy," Kat answered him.
"I remember she could only blabber a few of weeks ago," Mia murmured.
"I know, I'm sorry I couldn't solve it sooner, we could've enjoyed her as a baby," Barry said.
"Well we can enjoy her now, enjoy this little munchkin," Mia smiled as he pinched her daughter's cheeks.
She giggled and made both their hearts swell. They walked into the bedroom, with Barry jumping on top of the mattress with little Kat in his arms, the girl squealed in delight when Barry dove onto the mattress, Mia following after him. Barry dematerialized his suit, the red fading into a black shirt and black sweats as he wiggled off his boots. Mia looked at him and chuckled.
"Cisco got everything right but the boots," Mia told him.
"Yeah, Chester is having a hard time trying to get them to disappear."
"Cisco always did a really good job, anyways," Mia said.
"Who's Cisco?" Kat asked.
"You'll meet him soon enough pumpkin," Barry mumbled.
"We're going on a trip?" Kat asked as her hazel eyes lit up.
"Yeah, we are, but it's time for your afternoon nap, mommy and daddy have to plan the trip okay? So nap time for you," Mia murmured as she set the sheets on top of Kat.
"Okay, Mommy," Kat murmured, rubbing her eyes.
"Say goodnight to dad," Mia murmured, kissing her forehead.
"Goodnight daddy," Kat muttered.
"Goodnight sweetheart," Barry whispered, his heart clenching.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek softly, tucking a strand of hair behind his daughter's ear.
"She has your hair you know that?" Barry asked her.
"Felicity's hair is incredibly straight," Mia told him.
"She'll curl it, one day," Barry told her with a smile on his face.
"Come on, I want to show you something," Mia said and took his hand, leading him to the basement.
She turned on the lights and it looked like her very own arrow cave, it was filled with racks of arrows, with her bow and suit on the table in the middle.
"Wow, you've got a nice little place down here," Barry said.
Mia went and pressed a button, the metal doors at the end of the basement opened up and revealed a black Lexus RC F. Barry raised an eyebrow.
"It's 2045, surely you guys got over the whole gas-operated car thing, right?" Barry asked.
"Come on Barry, we're not that far from your time, we've figured it out, but this isn't gas-operated," Mia said as she pressed another button.
The car turned its wheels down and began to levitate off the ground, its engines roaring as they came to life. The car transformed, thick windshields materialized over the cabin and it was reinforced, it looked reinforced.
"Oh," Barry murmured, simply astonished, he couldn't utter another word.
"Yeah, William partnered up with Ray to create a time travel machine, and Sara gave us some Waverider tech in order to make it all work, it rides smoothly through time."
"That's awesome!" Barry said happily.
"Now don't start geeking out-"
"Is there a time drive just like the Waverider?! Does it have an AI? Gideon?" Barry asked her.
Mia rolled her eyes as Barry grabbed her arms and shook her.
"You are so unbearable sometimes," Mia muttered as she flushed in embarrassment.
"Wait, we're gonna use that to travel back in time? To 2021?" Barry asked excitedly.
"Yes, we are-"
"Can I drive it?!" Barry asked.
"Barry you haven't even had the time to study the manual William wrote for me," Mia said.
"Where's the manual?" Barry asked.
Mia sighed and grabbed the book, Barry took it off her hands and read it in a couple of seconds.
"Wow, this requires some serious piloting, good thing I read this before I drove it," Barry said.
Mia sighed deeply.
"Of course, you'd speed read it," She muttered under her breath.
"Why do you gotta so gloomy? What happened to that smile Mia, let me see that smile," Barry said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Mia looked down and pressed her face against his neck.
"You'll have to wring it out of me," She murmured.
"Remember that time when I filled your punching bag with Jello? And when you punched the bag too hard, it spilled all over you?" Barry asked.
Mia laughed, her perfect teeth lining up in a brilliant and beautiful smile.
"Yeah, I remember what happened after," Mia chuckled.
Barry's face turned a little pale.
"I didn't like that," He responded.
"I did, you looked funny when I filled your room with thumbtacks, and you sped right in and got a foot full of thumbtacks like a dumbass," Mia said.
Barry placed his forehead on Mia's. She was exactly like her father in never backing down from a challenge, even fighting back.
"I love you even if you are an insufferable pessimist," Barry whispered.
"I love you too, even if you're a smart ass who knows too much for his own good," Mia whispered back.
Barry kissed her softly, Mia smiled into the kiss as she dug her hands into Barry's hair, ruffling it more. They parted from the kiss and Barry pressed his face against the side of her head and sighed.
"Better not get too far, daughter is upstairs so..." Barry trailed off.
"What happened to risk-taker Barry?" Mia asked.
"He's gone once Kat was born," Barry murmured.
"Touche."
...
Mia and Barry talked and put themselves up to date with their own events, the villains Barry was facing in the present, and the problems Mia had with her company and the Deathstroke gang in the future. They also talked about their days, their day-to-day life, Mia and Queen Consolidated and Barry at STAR Labs and his job as a CSI, it was all so domestic, and he loved every moment of it, especially if it was with her. Time passed and it was late afternoon when Kat awoke and quietly shuffled into the living room where Barry and Mia sat. Barry had taken a short nap with Mia, they were tucked into each other, Mia smiling in her sleep as Barry snored loudly, his mouth open and his head tilted upward.
"Mommy, I'm hungry," Kat complained, Mia woke up startled and tapped Barry awake.
Barry woke up, and blinked his eyes rapidly, he rubbed his eyes and stood up. He picked up Kat in his arms and walked to the kitchen.
"You know what, why don't you sit down here, and dad will get you some food real quick," Barry told her, setting her on the counter.
"You're gonna do the thing, aren't you?" Mia said.
Barry looked at her and nodded, smirking. Mia sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Hey Kat, make sure you look at your dad okay, he has something to show you," Mia murmured to her daughter.
Barry sped off, Kat smiled at the lightning trail he would leave behind for a couple of seconds. Barry came back after 5 seconds with a funnel cake. Kat jumped up and down.
"Funnel cakes mom! Like from the carnival!" Kat said excitedly.
Mia smiled at Barry and he smiled back.
"You'd really think that your old man couldn't know what you like to eat?" Barry told his daughter, offering the plate to her.
"See, he loves spoiling you," Mia muttered, Barry chuckled.
He stuck out his hand and in his hand was a flower, he handed it to Mia.
"For you."
Mia took the rose in her hands, and she grinned.
"Thank you."
Mia pulled him into a quick and soft kiss as Kat was busy eating her funnel cakes. Barry kissed her back hard, smashing his lips into hers, making their noses push into each other by the force. Mia pulled back and just admired him, his handsome face, the way his eyes brightened whenever he saw her. His shy complexion was thrown straight out the door the second time they interacted, when Crisis happened, their interaction was minimal, and yet it spoke volumes even then.
"That was for you," Mia murmured.
"Thank you," Barry whispered.
...
The night passed quickly, Mia awoke first, she woke up next to Barry, their limbs tangled in the bedsheets. Barry had his hands under her silk shirt, warm palms pressed against her abdomen. Barry cuddled her from behind. Mia tried to move from his grasp, but Barry groaned in protest and held her closer. Mia turned her head upwards and placed a barrage of kisses on the side of his face.
"Barry, I need to get up and get ready," Mia murmured.
"Stay, I need you," Barry whispered.
He needed her. It pulled on her heartstrings, even though she would never admit it.
"You're so sappy, god it's so cringy," Mia muttered.
"You like it, I know you do, you love it when I say things like that when I show you how much I love you."
Barry kissed the back of her neck, making her heart rate spike. Barry suddenly was over her body now, staring down at her.
"How good you look under me," Barry whispered, pressing his lips against her chest.
Mia's breath got caught in her throat as Barry trailed his lips up to her jaw.
"You are so beautiful, especially in that catsuit and the hood, you make my head spin with these jade eyes," Barry murmured, kissing her eyelids.
"Barry..." Mia huskily whispered.
"Mia, I can hardly think when I'm around you, and I'm not much of a romantic, but when I say I want to spend every moment I have free with you, I mean it," Barry whispered, pressing his face against her neck.
"You are such a romantic, that's bullshit," Mia murmured, making Barry laugh.
"You like it though, especially when you're beneath me, the way you arch your back to me, I love it," Barry murmured, sucking on her pulse point and making Mia inhale sharply, arching her back slightly into him.
"You can't do this to me!" Mia hissed.
Barry smiled into her skin.
"No self-control, another thing that you need to work on," Barry chided playfully.
Mia groaned in frustration and pushed him off of her. She sauntered over to the closet and quickly got ready, she had already pre-packed, and she was ready to go with both Kat's stuff and hers. She put her quiver on her back and had her bow in hand. Barry activated his suit and Kat was up and ready to go, her teeth had been brushed and her hair was brushed to the best of a little kid's ability.
"You ready to go, sweetie?" Mia cooed as she picked up Kat. She handed her bow to Barry in order to carry her more comfortably.
"Yeah!" Kat said excitedly.
They went to the garage and got into the car, Barry powered the engines on and Mia activated a switch, the garage door opened as Barry rolled out into the road.
"You better back up a little Barry, we don't have enough road to take off," Mia told him.
"Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads," Barry dramatically stated as he put on a pair of sunglasses.
"Was that a movie reference?"
Barry smiled and didn't answer, Mia rolled her eyes. The car levitated off the ground as the tires tilted downwards to become repulsers and the time engine roared to life. Barry sped into the wormhole the ship created, he calibrated the time jump to 2021.
...
They arrived quickly just outside of STAR Labs, when they touched down on the ground, they both saw Frost and Cisco outside with weapons drawn, the windows were one way, so that made it difficult for them to see into the cabin. Barry parked the car/mini wave rider and opened the door.
"Damn, what a way to say hello," Barry quipped. Cisco sighed and smiled at the same time, letting his guard down, Frost shook her head, smirking and letting her hands fall to her sides.
"Had a nice trip?" Frost asked.
"You were literally gone for 10 minutes," Cisco said.
Barry shrugged.
"I brought someone you should meet," Barry said.
"Who?" Cisco asked.
Mia stepped out of the car and smiled, waving at them.
"Mia? We already know her, she's kind of part of the team now," Frost said.
Barry chuckled.
"No not her."
A little girl holding a teddy bear walked out of the vehicle, she smiled shyly at both Frost and Cisco. She hid behind her mother, looking curiously at both of them. Cisco's eyes widened and Frost smirked more.
"I guess you've gotten busy," Frost said.
"Is that..." Cisco trailed off.
"She's my daughter, Cisco," Barry said softly, his eyes watering as he watched his friend's heart-filled reaction.
Cisco chuckled, he couldn't believe it.
"I'm not even gonna question how scientifically impossible, she's like 3 years old, right?"
"4 actually, she looks like 3."
"What's her name?" Frost asked.
"Katherine Queen, or Kat for short," Mia told her.
Frost crouched down as she observed Kat, she held a hand out.
"Hey, Kat, I'm Frost, it's nice to meet you," She said curtly.
Kat walked forward, it was a show of good manners to accept a handshake, that is what her mom showed her whenever she met someone new, which wasn't too common.
"It's nice to meet you too," Kat said, she shook her cold hands, and Kat raised an eyebrow.
"Your hands are so cold."
Frost nodded.
"They are because I have powers."
Kat's eyes brightened. She nearly jumped up and down in excitement.
"What are they?"
Frost generated a small fall of snowflakes from her hand, she also made a clear ice ball in her other hand, she made a couple more and started to juggle them, making Kat giggle.
"My powers are cold-related, it's cool huh?" Frost asked her, Kat nodded.
"Super cool!"
Frost grinned. Kat looked at Cisco.
"What can you do?"
"Is this a circus now?" Cisco joked, he bent down and shook her hand.
"I'm Cisco Ramon, your dad's best friend from day one, and I can show you the world, shining shimmering splendid," Cisco sang.
With his hands, he vibed a small window, showing the stars of the cosmos, then the gentle waves of the ocean, and the animals in the jungle, the pandas and the koalas, Kat stared at it in awe.
"Oh and also."
Cisco opened several portals as Frost threw the ice balls into the small breaches, they created a little loop where the balls would constantly exit and enter the portals, Kat clapped her hands together.
"Your friends are so cool, dad!" Kat said happily. Barry smiled and looked at Mia.
"Told you it wouldn't be bad if we showed them," Barry told her.
Mia shook her head and held his hand as they walked into STAR Labs, with Cisco and Frost talking with Kat.
"The team is in the lounge having a cup of coffee."
"What about Chester, Allegra, Kamilla?" Barry asked.
"They're out on a lunch, you know how the rookies are."
Barry nodded, he always found it odd when Chester left for Team Citizen as an IT, but he understood it, he had feelings for Allegra, and he wanted to be close to her, that's something that Barry wanted for everyone, to be close to the people they loved.
Barry walked into the lounge with Mia, he smiled as he saw Iris, Cecile, Joe, and Wally in the lounge. Barry hugged each one of them, Mia smiled and greeted them as well. Caitlin walked into the lounge and smiled at Barry.
"Today's the reveal, isn't it?" Caitlin asked.
Barry nodded.
"You've finally convinced Mia?"
"She sort of accepted it, introducing little Kat to the team will help us if one of us goes missing or is unresponsive, we have Team Flash that can take care of Kat."
"I just wonder who's she's gonna be, like the mother, or like the father?"
Barry shrugged, making Caitlin chuckle.
"We're just going to have to wait and see," Barry told her.
"So Barry, what did you call us here for?" Joe asked as he walked up and hugged his son.
"Joe, I haven't been honest to you lately, but um... Given time and circumstance, I'm just going to tell you the truth, plain and simple."
"Barry, you know you can tell me anything," Joe said comfortingly.
"Joe, I have a daughter," Barry said.
"From the future?" He asked.
Barry shook his head.
"Mia... we decided to try. She got pregnant first try," Barry said with tears in his eyes of happiness.
Joe smiled from ear to ear and hugged his son tightly.
"My god Barry, I'm so happy for you!" He said happily.
"She's just a few months old," Barry told him.
"Well let me see her then!" Joe said with excitement.
"No way, my brother had a baby and didn't tell me about it!" Iris complained and struck Barry in the ribs.
"Hey, but you guys are the first ones to know," Barry justified.
Iris narrowed her eyes playfully and poked his chest.
"If you hide another one, I'll rip you in half got it?"
"Mhm," Barry chuckled.
"But in other words, I'M AN AUNT!" Iris shouted. Cecile glowed and smiled, Wally walked up to Barry and patted his back.
"Look at you, you're getting old, maybe you should retire," Wally joked.
Barry laughed.
"In your dreams, Kid Flash," Barry said and winked at him, Wally laughed.
"Congrats Barry! Now you'll know how it feels to have a newborn," Cecile told him.
Barry chuckled nervously.
"Uh, that's the thing, she may be a few months old, but... you'll just have to look at her," Barry muttered.
Barry held Mia's hand and motioned for her to get their daughter. Mia nodded and kissed his cheek, she held Kat's hand as she led her through the doorway. The room went silent as they presented Kat.
"Everyone, this is Kathrine Queen, or Kat as we like to call her," Barry told them.
In summary, they melted all over the girl, Iris more than anyone. And Kat loved them all, especially Iris, who spoiled her from then on with candy and sweets. Barry explained how Kat had a genetic defect, making her older than she was supposed to be. They were comforted when Barry told them he and Catlin had halted the advanced aging by isolating the specific genome.
They spent the day with Kat, getting to know her, getting to play many games with her. Joe would put her on his shoulders and run with her through the halls. Iris would play Jenga with her, she'd laugh when the tower they built eventually fell. Cecile read her a book and used her empath powers in order to get to Kat and establish a personal connection with her. Wally most daringly ran her around the city at super speed, Kat squealed in delight the entire time. Barry would trail nervously behind them in case Kat came flying off Wally's shoulders.
After a very eventful day, Kat settled down with Mia and Barry in Barry's loft, slowly going to sleep. Kat was sound asleep as Mia and Barry sat on the couch.
"Do you think that we'll ever just get to be a normal family?" Mia asked as she laid her head on Barry's shoulder.
Barry kissed her forehead.
"I don't know, my job as a CSI, your job as the CEO of Queen Consolidated, future, past, present, it all melds together in this mix of chaos. But chaos also is beautiful, because it made her," Barry pointed to Kat.
Mia held his face in her hands as she stared deeply into his eyes.
"When I saw you at that dinner party, I saw you through a different lens, I thought you were just my dad's best friend, a hero in his own making, but when I saw you look at me the way you did, my heart just sparked as if someone lit a fire inside of me," Mia murmured.
Barry got closer to her, kissing her on the cheek.
"When I met you, it was like the world froze, and you and I were the only people in the world," Barry murmured softly.
He remembered when they made eye contact during Crisis. As they fought against the shadow demons in National City, Barry had just saved Mia from a falling building and she was in his arms, she looked up to him, thanking him as Barry gently wiped the dust from her cheek, as if it had stained a work of art and Barry gently rubbed it off with his gloved hand.
He remembered that day because Oliver stared at their interaction, he said nothing, but Barry knew he suspected something about that interaction. But then...
Then he couldn't say much about it after.
Barry was about to kiss her on the lips when his comms started up.
"Barry, Barry there's been a murder on Infantino Street, we need you here," Joe said, Barry sighed.
"Duty calls," He said and put on his CSI jacket quickly.
"I'll be here with Kat, call me if you need a second opinion on the crime," Mia said, Barry nodded.
He kissed her softly and then sped off. As he did, a figure in red boots and a black trenchcoat watched Barry's orange streak of lightning zip across the street from the building across from Barry's loft. His faded yellow suit was no longer bright, it no longer reflected a bright yellow, it was a yellow covered with dirt, grime, and blood. The face of Harrison Wells smiled as his blue eagle eyes watched Mia and Kat from the window of the loft.
"I told you you'd pay... you took my life, I'll take yours."
...
Barry arrived at the scene, Joe had already taped off the area to the public. Barry walked into the crime scene and walked up to Joe.
"What are we dealing with here?" Barry asked.
"Homicide, but it's funny, the culprit had red boots and a black trenchcoat, does that ring a bell?" Joe asked.
Barry shook his head, clearly confused.
"He also had these on him," Joe said and handed some evidence to Barry.
They were key cards, covered in blood, and a severed thumb with a dog tag attached to it.
"These appear to be from ARGUS, but why is an ARGUS agent doing here, at this time?" Barry asked.
He went to check the body, he died to blunt force trauma. He ran tests, and then he felt his clothes. There was a package in the coat. He fished it out and read the yellow package. It read FOR THE FLASH. Barry raised an eyebrow and opened the beefy package. He held a piece of cloth that read; YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER. His heart stopped.
He pulled out a flame retardant material that read FIREPROOF with a shaky hand. His eyes widened as he saw a modified C4 bomb inside the package. He threw it as far as he could, yelling at Joe.
"GET DOWN!"
The bomb exploded, sending Barry through several sets of drywall, the park exploded into pieces of concrete and asphalt rained down on the street. Barry coughed as he stood up and caught his breath, he sped towards Joe to find him hiding behind his patrol car.
"Are you alright?" Barry asked.
Joe nodded, but he pointed to fire far away from view. Barry's eyes widened as he sped towards the building, it was his home. He ran into the building and sped to a stop in the hallway. He saw neighbors gathering outside the stairwell ready to evacuate.
"What happened?!" Barry shouted as he asked one of them.
"A man with red boots came into your loft, he walked in, and then a few minutes later the room exploded. The whole building could collapse!" And an older man told him.
"Did you see anyone come out before it exploded?!" Barry asked desperately.
"No, no one. Oh god, was someone in there?" The man asked.
Barry did not answer as he went into the fire. He barreled through the door and held a hand to his mouth covering it from the smoke. He saw Mia's bow and an arrow on the ground, he picked it up, and something was on the arrow. He sped away to STAR Labs, his burning lungs demanding air but Barry pushed forward. Barry skidded to a halt at STAR Labs, causing burn marks on the floor.
"Barry, you're alright, where's Mia and Kat?" Cisco asked.
Barry shook his head, tears brimming his eyes. Cisco gasped.
"No, she's not-"
"I don't know Cisco."
"Thawne escaped ARGUS!" Caitlin shouted as she ran into the cortex.
Barry put it together, and as he did he yelled into the air, slamming his fists into the desk. He picked a piece of paper from Mia's arrow that she left behind, he unrolled it and looked at the message.
STRIKER'S ISLAND, COME ALONE, YOU TOOK MY LIFE, I WILL TAKE YOURS
- THAWNE
Barry crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room.
"What did it say?" Cisco asked.
"Striker's island, he said to come alone," Barry said.
"I'm calling Kara," Caitlin said.
"No!" Barry said firmly.
"No, Thawne wants me, and me alone, I won't bring another innocent life into this fight that has been going on for years, no, there's no other choice, Thawne can't be in custody, he can't be here, if he can't be imprisoned, then he must be destroyed."
Cisco and Caitlin nodded.
"As an OG team flash member, I agree that Thawne has to die, there's no other way out of this," Caitlin told him.
"I second that choice, do you want me to vibe you there?" Cisco asked.
"Give me time to prepare," Barry told him.
...
They did a quick scan of the island, miles away from Gotham, miles away from any civilization. It had a nanite field, no speedster could access their powers there. Barry sighed and gripped the railing.
"Nanite fields, you won't be able to use your speed," Caitlin informed him.
Barry nodded, he scratched his head.
"I'll call John, he can give me what I need to rescue them," Barry told them.
John came in an hour, rushing in with a couple of boxes into the Cortex. John talked to Barry, and Barry poured out all of his secrets, John should've been angry, he should've reacted as Oliver would. But he didn't, instead, he was happy for him, he wanted to help him, so he would.
Barry grabbed a Glock 19 and pulled the slide back.
"Ever used a gun?" John asked him.
"Oh Dig, I've used them plenty of times, sometimes I go to the range with my officer buddies, I know my way around a gun," Barry told him.
"Good, you're gonna need it."
Barry held an M16 with fitted laser sights. He pulled back the slide and loaded a mag.
"He's not gonna know what's coming," Barry told him.
"Barry, if you do this focused on revenge, you won't make it out, promise me that you'll rescue Mia and Kat first," John told him.
Barry closed his eyes, barely controlling his anger.
"He took so much from me, Dig... if he doesn't die now, he'll never die," Barry told him.
"I know, but promise me that you'll save them first. What you do after if you go back to finish him off or not is not my problem but, promise me you'll get them to safety?"
"I promised Oliver to take care of his family, Mia's my family too, and Kat, I'll die before I let Thawne or anyone get to them," Barry said firmly.
"I'm gonna help you infiltrate Striker's Island," Diggle told him.
"I can't let you do that Dig, you've got a family," Barry told him.
"So do you! And might I mention you are with Oliver's only daughter, Barry, if she dies, then that baby in Felicity's house will be erased from existence, and she will hate you for it," Diggle told him firmly.
Diggle gave Barry a watch.
"It's capable of containing a limited-radius electromagnetic pulse capable of frying any circuitry in s hardwired network if you get close enough," John explained.
"You ready?" John asked Barry, he nodded and dawned on his flash suit.
"Yeah, let's go get them back."
...
Thawne walked in with Mia and her daughter in tow, his boots squeaked against the wet marble surface as some guards nodded at him in acknowledgment.
"Welcome back Mr. Thawne," A man greeted him with a nervous smile.
"How are you progressing?" Eobard asked him.
"So good Mr. Thawne, so good."
"My request?"
"As you described it, Mr. Thawne."
The man handed him a vial of red liquid. Mia's eyebrow raised.
"What is that?"
"Insurance, now I have your life in my hands, and yours," Thawne whispered and smiled at Kat.
"How psychotic can you be to threaten a little girl."
"What you call insanity, I call hatred, that girl represents the spawn of my enemy, and I can't have that happening. You love the Flash, you bore his child despite your background. You've hidden and lied your whole life. You will do anything..."
"To survive," She argued.
Thawne nodded.
"You do what you have to do to survive, and so will I."
"You're alive, and Barry is too, you don't have to do this."
"Finding ways to kill him is my life's work. I can't abandon my work."
Birds chirped as Thawne led Mia and Kat to an outside garden.
"This was originally Doctor Pamela Isley's garden, now it's mine. It was her toxic treasure, now it's mine. Let me show her, give her to me."
"No," Mia growled and kept her close.
Thawne rolled his eyes.
"I can protect her."
"Kat, remember what I told you," Mia murmured softly as she handed her to Thawne.
"Don't touch anything, okay?" Mia whispered.
The girl nodded as Thawne held her in his arms. His eyes filled with rage but interest.
"It's a poison garden. But it's perfectly safe. A woman just as brilliant as I made this. I took it from her when I killed her."
"Killing is bad," Kat said.
"Your mother does it on a daily basis."
Kat didn't know what to say, so she kept quiet.
"She loved these plants so much, she would sing to them. Now I know why, I'll show you one of my favorites."
Thawne walked up to several plants, Water Hemlocks, Nightshade, Oleanders, and many others.
"Some of these plants are very dangerous, but not all of them are for hurting people. I have plants that can do all sorts of things. This one heals almost all wounds," Thawne said and pointed to a glowing plant.
"This one makes you do as your told, so you never misbehave, maybe I should give that to your mother."
"In fact, I would like to get to know you better, let us have tea, I'll tell you about my life. Take her away," Thawne motioned to Mia.
"No! No!" Mia yelled and punched the guards, she kicked one in the face.
Thawne put down Kat and engaged Mia in a fist fight. Mia punched Thawne in the chest, propelling him back. Thawne smiled and pulled out a long knife from his boot. Mia kicked one of the guards in the face and suplexed him to the ground. She took his machete and plunged it into his chest, killing him. Mia turned around to face Thawne, who ordered off his guards.
"I've fought your father, I can fight you," He growled.
"Let's see," Mia hissed.
Mia let out a battle cry as she charged at Thawne, Thawne spun around elegantly, punching Mia hard in the face with the pommel of his knife. Mia slashed at Thawne's chest and abdomen, with Thawne narrowly moving out of the way, it was as if he was dancing around Mia.
Thawne backed up slowly as Mia swiped at him, he picked up the tea kettle on the table and used it as a shield to parry her blows. He spun around again, this time faster, Mia angled her throat away so his blade was just inches from her throat. Thawne tried to stab Mia, but she caught his wrist, she tried to slash his stomach open but Thawne put the kettle there, the machete cut into the kettle and Thawne twisted the machete out of her hand.
Thawne kicked Mia away, he threw a flying kick directly at her face, knocking Mia out. He dusted his hands off, breathing erratically for air.
"And that's how I know I'm a killer even without my powers," He murmured.
He had the guards drag her out of the courtyard as he approached Kat who was cowering in the corner.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I can never hurt the child of my greatest achievement," Thawne said softly.
Although he hated Barry to his core, he envied him for having a family, for having love. He gave him that, he gave him the ability to run fast, and he built the Flash. And he would destroy the Flash.
...
Barry and Diggle went into the stealth bird. They were preparing to take off.
"You ever flown one of these things before?" Barry asked Diggle.
"Nope."
They shot out of a launching tube on an ARGUS plane hovering over the coast of Gotham. Barry's stomach went into his throat as they nose-dived in the air. Diggle deployed the wings with trouble and got the plane into a rocky but steady glide. They saw the island.
"There's a concrete structure on the side of the island, that should be our best place at getting in."
The plane turned into a sub as it hit the water. Barry braced himself, clutching the armrests in a white-knuckled grip. They surfaced on a dock inside the bunker. They opened the cockpit and clambered onto the catwalk.
Barry followed Diggle, they got to a door that was locked by a card reader. Barry sighed.
"Use your watch, Barry."
Barry activated his watch, it deactivated every camera in the bunker and fried the card reader.
"Shit, the cameras are down," A technician commented as they sat in the security bunker.
"Restart the system."
They shut down every panel in the bunker, deactivating all the doors. Diggle and Barry sneaked into the bunker, guns trained. They climbed a set of spiral stairs and their comms activated.
"These stairs should lead you to the central structure, which is right up above you," Cisco chimed in.
They entered a hallway, it was dark. They used it to their advantage. They shot a guard who was guarding the catwalk, he groaned and fell to the floor. It was a good thing they had silencers.
"Barry, there's something big up ahead, I can't tell-" Cisco's voice went to static and Barry turned off the comms when the static got too loud.
"These walls must be thick."
"Barry, Diggle, do you read me?" Cisco asked.
"We lost them," Caitlin sighed.
"They ran into a blind spot, I can't work out what it is they've walked into."
"We have to get them back on comms," Caitlin murmured as she typed on the keyboard frantically.
Barry and Diggle walked into a lab, Barry fired a couple of shots into the air. All the scientists gasped.
"Everybody, over there! Now!" Diggle shouted and pointed to the corner of the room.
"What? How?" One of them asked.
"Move, on the ground!" Barry shouted.
One scientist ran to ring the alarm, but Barry pistol-whipped him and broke his nose. Diggle planted a few explosive charges on the lab walls and on lab equipment.
"You cannot explode the laboratory," The scientist groaned out from the floor.
"This is a suicide mission! You will never leave this island alive!"
Diggle overlooked the workers at the bottom of a small pool and collecting plants.
"This is a factory for chemical weapons," Diggle realized.
"They're mass-producing it, Dig, come look at this," Barry said.
The generated map on the computer highlighted Central City in red. And then it highlighted National City. Barry picked up a green liquid inside a reinforced test tube.
"Even Supergirl won't be able to escape judgment day," The scientist wheezed out.
"They're going to kill millions," Diggle gasped.
"We have to destroy this whole facility," Barry told him.
"No!"
Barry turned around and knocked out the scientist with a punch to the face.
"There's no need for violence, Allen," Thawne's voice boomed through the intercom.
"You have something of mine, and I have something of yours. Why don't you come up and we can talk about it?" Thawne asked.
Barry stomped up to the group of scientists and pointed his rifle at all of them.
"Thawne! Where is he?!" Barry yelled.
One of them pointed above them.
"If I don't come back, blow it all to shit," Barry said and handed Diggle the detonator.
"We don't have enough explosives for all this," Diggle whispered into his ear.
"Yeah, but they don't know that," Barry smirked.
...
Barry trained his guns on the guards at Thawne's door. All of them tensed up and aimed their weapons at him, it was until Barry stepped into the room and saw Thawne holding Kat in his arms did he let his gun drop to his side.
Thawne saw him still in his superhero suit, the gold boots thundering up the stairs to the tableside.
"Welcome. On the floor."
Barry put his rifle down.
"Your sidearm too, Allen."
Barry tossed his sidearm to the ground and sat down.
"It's going to be all right, Kat," Barry reassured her shakily.
"I promise you, it's going to be alright."
"Finally, I have you cornered, Allen. You always had a history of violence, and now you've broken your rules time and time again. I mean, it's like I'm looking in a mirror."
"I started killing a long time ago, Thawne, my mistake was not ending you when I had the chance, many chances."
"Well that's the thing, Allen, the only way you get off this island is if you kill me. But life is all about leaving something behind. And you, Barry, will leave a legacy of heroism, a legacy that was meant for me. And I... I will be seen as the villain, the villain that broke you."
"You're right Thawne, I think we are the same. We both know what it feels like to have everything taken from us before we're even in the fight. It would have been nice to have a chance. You know, at a normal life, don't you think? We should all get a chance. But this thing you're building, it puts everyone the whole world into chaos, nobody gets a chance."
Thawne sighed.
"The thing is, Barry. The thing no one wants to admit is that most people want things to happen to them, like you-"
"I did NOT ask for you to murder my mom! I did not ask for these powers!" Barry shouted.
"We tell each other lies about the fight for free will and independence but we don't really want that. We want to be told how to live and then die when we are not looking. The people want oblivion, Barry. A few of us are born to build it for them. I think I've found my true purpose, I will ruin your life by taking everyone you've ever known and watching them die. So here I am, Barry, an invisible god, sneaking under their skin."
"You know the last time you played God, Thawne, you had a hole in your heart and you were taken away by Hunter. Trust me, I won't be kind when I kill you."
"And you don't play God? Barry? What about Flashpoint? What about how you took Oliver's daughter and went against your destiny, you were supposed to be with Iris."
"Well, that just shows you, Thawne. You make your own past, you make your own future."
"We both eradicate people, Allen to make the world a better place. I just want to be a bit more... negative."
"You see, without collateral. I want a world where I am their savior, you want it to stay the same because the masses adore you. Let's face it... you like their attention because you were shown none at a young age."
"No. Not as long as there are people like you in the world who defame and obsess over good people will there ever be a better place. And as for your goal of killing me, all your doing is standing in front of a long line of angry little men."
"What you call anger, I call commitment. Disable your explosives, let me kill you, and Mia can take this precious little angel with her, at least she'll have one parent who can care for her."
"You know I can't do that."
"That's a shame. Barry. Mia really hoped you would. She knows that this is her only path to survive."
"NO! You have her tell me that."
"What mother wouldn't sacrifice herself for her own child? It is exactly what Oliver did for her. She wouldn't think twice."
"You don't know that, you've never had a family, you've always killed and taken."
"Maybe I'll take your family away from you, then."
Thawne pulled out a pistol and Barry raised his hands.
"No! Wait. Wait. Wait. I'll do whatever you want. I'm sorry."
Barry knelt down, bowing his head.
"Simple choices, Allen. Do you want to die in front of your daughter? Or do you want your daughter to die in front of you?"
"No. No. No. I'm sorry."
Barry sprung up like a coil, shooting all the guards in the room with a concealed pistol. Thawne pressed a trapdoor and disappeared into the floor. Barry didn't reach it in time and growled loudly, kicking the metal trapdoor.
"Barry!" Mia shouted from the corridor.
Barry turned around and pointed his gun at her, he sighed in relief when he saw her and put the gun down to his side.
"Where is she?!"
Tears pooled in Barry's eyes.
...
Thawne ran into the tunnels below and met up with his mercenaries.
"The shipment is ready to go, Mr. Thawne."
"Very good, target Central City first, I'll go to National City and personally take care of Supergirl."
"What about The Flash?"
"I'll kill him first, that's a non-negociable."
Kat bit into his hand, Thawne groaned in pain and dropped her. Thawne chuckled.
"If you don't want my protection, then off you go."
Kat didn't spare him a second glance. She ran off and exited the tunnel.
"Tell every unit to converge on our position and start hunting her down, kill her on sight if they find her."
"Yes sir."
...
Barry and Mia fought their way through several corridors. Barry managed to snag Mia's bow and arrows from a guard post and handed them to her.
"They might be on the lower floors, we need to clear them."
"Is anyone else here?"
"Dig, he's guarding the labs and holding them hostage."
Barry opened the blast doors to the lower levels and they were greeted by a group of guards.
"Hi," Mia said in a low growl.
She lunged at the first one, twirling him around. Barry lunged toward a guard and pinned him to the ground behind the cover of a wall, he choked him out. He grabbed the guard's rifle and fired a couple of rounds at the rest, killing them. A guard charged forward with a machete, Barry blocked his attack with the butt of his rifle and shot him.
Mia shot a man in the knee, he fell down with a grunt of pain. Mia strolled up to him and pulled the arrow out of his leg.
A guard held Barry in an arm lock, Barry grunted in exertion, trying to break the lock he had on his neck.
Mia smacked him in the face with the arrow and then broke his knee cap with a hard kick. Then she jammed the arrow into his throat, killing him. Mia knocked him to the side.
Mia saw him and ran towards him, she jumped on the guard and wrestled him to the ground. She quickly choked him out with her bow, she saw the mans eyes roll into the back of his head and she stopped.
"She's gotta be here somewhere, I'll search the rest of the floor, you go to-"
"Mama?" They heard a voice from behind.
Mia and Barry both turned around and saw Kat clutching her stuffed animal in the corridor. Mia ran towards Kat and embraced her tightly, she let out a sob against her daughter's hair.
"I'm so glad you're safe!"
"I hid, I did what you told me to do," Kat murmured.
"You did so well, Kat," Mia assured her.
"Dad!"
"Hey, Little Runner!"
Kat jumped on Barry and hugged him tightly.
"We need to leave," Barry told them.
He carried Kat down the halls, Mia protected them from anyone that stood in their way. Eventually, they made their way to Diggle's position. They heard gunfire at the end of the hall and ran towards the noise. Bodies fell to the ground and Diggle turned around, his rifle aimed at them. He realized they weren't a threat and put his gun down, he sighed in relief and embraced Mia.
"There you guys are, just in time too."
"Thank you for rescuing us, Uncle Dig."
"No problem Sweetheart, anything for one of Oliver's kids."
"Lyla, we're gonna need a strike on this location, there are weapons of mass destruction here on Striker's island that has to be destroyed."
"Copy that, Agent Diggle. We'll tell you as soon as we're clear to hit the target."
"Come on, let's go."
Diggle loaded up a boat and hopped on. Barry carried Kat into the boat and sat her down.
"It's going to be very cold, so I'll give you something."
Barry channeled his nanotech top onto Kat, covering her in a warm jacket. Barry was now just in a black compression long sleeve and his nanotech pants. His golden boots cast a faint glow on the waterline just under the boat.
Barry looked at Mia, he helped her on the boat and held both her hands.
"Mia, I'm gonna finish this, for us."
"No, no I can't lose you."
"I promise, whatever happens, I'm gonna do what I can to keep you and the baby safe."
"You can't leave me," Mia choked out.
Barry held up her right hand, he touched her ring finger, where a gorgeous jade ring could be seen.
"When I put this ring on your finger, I promised, that I would always come running home to you. We may not be married, but we're good as married to my eyes."
"You're gonna die, Barry, I know Thawne."
"After everything Thawne's taken away from me, he can't take away my feelings for you, Mia."
"I love you, come back to me."
Barry nodded, and Mia kissed him hard and Barry once again reveled in the feel of her lips against his, it was as if it was always meant to be.
"I'll just be a minute, I promise."
...
Barry ran up the stairs, his weapon drawn. He was determined to stop Thawne and try to get ARGUS to bomb Striker's Island before it was too late.
"Cisco, talk to me."
"ARGUS is about 15 minutes away, they'll take a little bit. The situation is complex, ARGUS is asking Gotham P.D and the Coast Guard to let them bomb the site for reasons that are to be undisclosed. It isn't sitting well with them."
"We don't have a choice, once they're in range, patch me to Diggle and he'll give the order to fire on my mark."
"If we launch, the U.S Army will want answers, not to mention the Gotham P.D."
"Well don't give them any, pass the message on to Bruce so he knows, then from there it's on him if he wants to tell the authorities."
Barry was caught in a gunfight, he steadily took out the few guards in the hallway.
"Barry, it's super risky."
"Cisco, if we don't do this, there will be nothing left to save."
"The island had its anti-missile defenses reactivated, Thawne must have remodeled it after it was deactivated permanently. You have to deactivate it otherwise ARGUS's missiles can't reach the target."
"Where should I go then to deactivate them?" Barry asked.
"There's a control room North of you, head down the corridor and I should be able to guide you from there."
"Barry this is Diggle, missiles are 9 minutes from launch, you think you can do it before the ships arrive?"
"Plenty of time, plenty of time," Barry muttered as he fired at a couple of guards.
Barry made his way to the control room, he entered a stairwell and looked up, he heard the pull of a grenade pin and heard the floor clang. Barry looked down at the grenade. In a split second he reached for it and tossed it up, the grenade exploded above him as guards were killed by the blast. But then, grenades came raining down.
"Shit."
Barry jumped up the stairs and made his way as fast as he possibly could up the stairs. The blast caught him, sending him hurtling into the concrete stairs. He slowly got up and aimed his rifle up the stairs, slowly ascending.
He was pinned down by a hail of gunfire, Barry was then slammed into the wall by Thawne.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to me, Allen."
Thawne put a silenced pistol to his chin.
"You really got to have a new hobby besides ruining my life, Thawne. It's really getting old."
"Not when it's revenge, not when I finally get to put a bullet in your head."
"You might wanna look down before you do that."
Thawne saw a grenade on the floor, and Barry smiled at him, he held up his finger, the pin of the grenade hung from his finger.
"Ballsy, Allen, I like it."
Thawne pushed him and jumped off the stairs, slamming into the railing as he fell down the stairwell. Barry grabbed a dead guard and fell down the stairs as the grenade exploded.
Barry's ears struggled to readjust as they rang loudly. Barry blinked slowly, he got up and started to go up the stairs again. A guard got Barry into a headlock, Barry struggled against his grip, but then Barry pushed off the stairs and they fell down. Barry managed to get on top of the guard and strangle him, Barry tightened his hands around his neck, and he felt the man give out his last breath and stopped.
"Barry, do you read me?"
"Yeah, Cisco, loud and clear," Barry panted.
"Right, good, now, did you find the control room?"
"Well yeah, I think so."
Barry walked into the room.
"Right, the infrastructure dates back to the 1980s so there's going to be an intricate switching system required to turn off the anti-missile systems."
"I got it, I think."
"I haven't even given you the instructions yet," Cisco said in bewilderment.
"Cisco, I learned 80s computer tech when I was 8 years old, my dad was obsessed with it. I know how to access a terminal and shut off the systems. Felicity taught me a thing or two about hacking on an old terminal."
"Right, anyways get out of there."
"Cisco, tell Dig to launch the missiles."
"Not until your clear."
"Cisco, tell Dig to launch them!" Barry shouted.
"Okay, Dig, come in, Barry says fire."
"HMS Dragon here, we're ready to fire ballistic missiles and a MOAB on your selected target."
"Admiral," Diggle said.
"Sir."
"Diggle here."
"What are my instructions?"
"You have my permission to launch."
"Director Michaels has also approved to launch, Roger. Launching strike."
The destroyer floating off the coast of Gotham immediately launched the missiles.
"Missiles airborne, Barry, 5 minutes out."
Barry broke out into a sprint down the corridors. He then found a discarded object on the floor, nearly slipping on it. He picked it up, it was Kat's teddy bear. Barry smiled and put the stuffed animal in between his lightning belt.
Suddenly he heard several missiles firing from Striker's island. Barry's eyes widened. The missile defense systems were turned back on.
"Missile defenses fully operational," A voice chimed out through the intercom.
"No, no, no," Barry murmured.
He sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran across the garden, little pools of water surrounded the courtyard. Barry ran across the loose gravel trying to go to the control room again.
5 gunshots...
Barry felt his whole body light on fire as he groaned, slamming into the very shallow water pull ahead of him. In the commotion, he had lost his pistol, he searched for it desperately in the water.
Another shot rang out.
Barry flinched back as the bullet buried itself in his back. He let out ragged breaths. Thawne stepped into the pool as Barry knelt on the ground. Thawne smiled.
"That's quite a mess you've made, like an animal."
Barry's eyes filled with rage. He sprinted towards Thawne and yelled at the top of his lungs. Thawne had time to fire another shot that made its mark. Barry grabbed Thawne and manhandled him into the pool. He grabbed his arm, desperate to pry the pistol from his hands.
Thawne managed to slam a vial of some sort into his face, the jagged glass of the broken vial cut the side of his face and the poison seeped into his body. Barry let out a battle cry as he internally severed Thawne's right arm. Barry stumbled back, clutching his shoulder as blood sprinkled from the bullet hole.
"Now we are both poisoned by our own hatred, our rage. Two heroes in a tragedy of our own making. Anyone we touch, we are their curse. A stroke to their cheek, a kiss... would kill them instantly," Thawne murmured.
"What are you talking about?"
Thawne smiled, he held the broken vial in his hand, and in it was a blood sample of Mia and Kat, mixed with a nanite poison. If Barry got close to them, even touch their hair, they would die. If he even so as breathed next to them, they'd die.
Barry touched his cheek, his eyes watered.
"You made me do this, Allen. This was your choice. I've finally completed my life's work, and now... you finish the job. YOU NEED TO FINISH THE JOB, BARRY!"
Barry stood up, he grabbed Thawne's pistol and looked at him.
3 shots...
Thawne lay dead, 3 shots to the chest, his yellow suit had splotches of red in it. His lifeless eyes stared into the blue sky, his gaze forever locked onto the heavens.
Barry limped out of the pool and made his way up the stairs, painfully. He dripped blood everywhere from his wounds.
"Cisco, Cisco are you there?"
"Barry, yeah, I'm here."
"Are they safe, Cisco?"
"Yes, they're safe. Barry, have you left the island?"
"There's a slight problem with the missile defense systems. Won't take a sec."
"No, no, no. Barry! The missiles have already launched, just get out of there," Cisco pleaded.
Barry turned off the missile defense systems again, typing the same exact command into the terminal.
"I'm poisoned, Cisco, I won't be able to run, I can't even touch my best girl."
"Oh god, the poison was for Mia?"
"Yeah, it's all right Cisco, you don't need to freak out, I told you how to lead the team. Would you put Mia on, please?"
"Yeah, yeah of course, how stupid of me."
"I love you Cisco," Barry murmured.
"I love you too man, I love you too."
"Barry," Mia's voice graced his ears.
"Mia."
"I'm here. Where are you? Is it done? Barry?"
"Yes, yes, he's dead. Are you both there?"
"Yes."
Barry nodded and climbed up a ladder.
"Good, you're safe, that's good," Barry murmured as he climbed the ladder. Each bar he scaled hurt as if a million needles were pushed into his skin.
"Have you left?" Mia asked desperately.
Barry paused and sighed.
"No... I'm not gonna make it."
Mia's world caved in, she let out a small gasp, almost a sob.
"What?" She hoarsely whispered.
"No," Barry confirmed.
"But you promised!"
"Mia..."
"Just get off that island! I know you can do this, everything's good now. There's no one left to hurt us," Mia smiled through her tears.
"Mia... you have..." Barry paused as blood leaked out of the gaping wound on his hip. He swallowed the bile that accumulated in his throat that tasted metallic on his tongue.
"You have made the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Barry murmured softly, referring to their daughter.
Mia broke down crying.
"She's perfect because she came from you." Barry pulled himself to the roof of the compound. Barry coughed up blood.
"Oh my god, the nanites, you've been poisoned."
"Yes," he answered simply.
"There must be a way, there has to be a way," Mia said.
Barry shook his head and stood on his feet weakly. He did it, he killed Thawne. But at what cost? He's going to die anyways.
"We just need more time, if only we had more time," Mia sniffled.
"You have all the time in the world," Barry said softly, tears streaming down his face.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
There was a distant roaring of rockets in the distance. They were heading towards their target. They were seconds from landing now.
"She does have your eyes," Mia murmured.
"I know."
Barry smiled and looked into the sky, he stood proud and tall. Finally, after all these years of running, he's reached the end of the line.
"I'll tell Oliver you said hi," Barry murmured into the air, the comms had shut off seconds ago.
Just as he finished uttering his last words, he met his fate...
Mia saw the entire island get obliterated. And she knew deep in her heart, that she'll see Barry again. Someday, somewhere.
...
YEARS LATER- AT THE END OF TIME...
Mia stood watching the sunset for perhaps the final time. Everything was dead, it was the end of all but her. Humanity had long abandoned its home. She was glad that she watched her descendants from afar, wondering how they might adjust to their new lives beyond the stars. As for her, she is but a specter.
She really did live to the legacy of her father.
Earth was an uninhabitable wasteland, with the only safe heaven being Themyscira. She had talked to Diana years ago, she told her there was no one left to save, not a soul left, not even the green.
The green that had taken away her Barry. That had stripped his opportunity of ever holding her close, of holding Kat close.
Kat was probably with her father, in a better place.
Her cloaked figure landed on the old remains of the arrow cave. She could feel the sadness clinging to the very air she breathed. And in that respect, not much has changed. The Arrow cave had always been a sanctuary marked by pain. A cave where a scared boy reforged himself into a vigilante, and tried to desperately put himself back together.
A flurry of memorabilia clung to her waist, Batman's utility belt, Green Lantern's Ring, although discharged. And her father's arrowhead. She had long avoided coming here because of the ghost that resided in this place.
He appeared before her, face and charming as ever. She had no idea why of all places he'd choose to be here, it wasn't even his headquarters, maybe it just reminded him of her, her heart clenched at that idea.
"Hey, Jade Eyes."
Mia chuckled.
"Hey, Big Red."
"You still brooding about me? Are you still sad?"
"Yes. More than I should at this point."
"Ah, don't beat yourself up. I was an instrument of change, Mia. You are critical to the future, I know that now."
"I'm struggling to even imagine a future at this point, Barry."
"Mia, if there's even a single drop of goodness left, it's worth fighting for."
Mia looked at him and pulled her hood down, tears welled in her eyes.
Barry walked up to her and cupped her face.
"You've always been our heart..."
He looked at her endearingly, just like he did all those years ago on that day.
"...and that is what's most wonderful about you."
Barry handed her his flash ring, Mia smiled.
"Some things are worth dying for. I should know."
Barry smiled sadly, tears running down his face.
"...But you give them something worth living for."
"Now go, be what your dad once was, a signal for hope."
Mia nodded, Barry pushed one of her greying strands of hair out of her face, her face hadn't aged a day, and neither had his. Mia put his ring on a necklace and put it on her neck.
"I love you, and I'll see you soon."
"I love you too."
Mia let go of him, and he faded into the air as if he was never there.
She sighed, holding back her tears, she shot into the air again, and she took off to Central City. She landed in the Cortex, destroyed by the wretched hands of time. He found a man in a long cloak in the middle.
"Pariah, once my commission is done, I am going to the afterlife with Barry, right?"
Pariah turned around, his face solemn. He nodded.
"Yes, Mia Queen. You will rest with Barry Allen. These are the end times, the end of all but us."
Superman stepped into the Cortex, his hair white as paper and with a thick beard. Wonder Woman stepped into the room, her hair tied into a ponytail and one of her strands of hair was graying. She never looked a day older.
"He's coming, he's coming to fetch his prize. After all, there's no one left to stop him," Pariah commented.
"No one but us."
Pariah chuckled.
"The new Trinity? You are all that's left of this universe, and you think you can stop him?"
"We've defeated Darkseid before, we can do it again," Clark spoke up.
"Why would he want Anti-Life? Everyone is dead."
"He wants to rule the only planet that can stand up to him, Earth."
"My sisters will not tolerate this," Diana spoke up.
"Neither will I," Clark added.
Pariah's eyes widened as the ground beneath them shifted.
"He's here."
A portal opened, and Darkseid, just Darkseid marched out. No furies, no army, just him.
"I have come for my great prize, the one you deprived me of time and time again," Darkseid growled.
The Green Lantern Ring on Mia's belt started to light up. That had never happened before ever since John...
Ever since John held the ring.
She quickly slipped the ring on her left ring finger. She dawned on her hood again.
"It is too late, after 10 thousand years, I shall be victorious."
"You have no army, no furies, nothing," Clark said.
"I feel like an old god again, doing everything myself, but that's okay, I will bathe this Earth in your blood."
"No, you won't," Mia growled.
"Such confidence, just like your father. You believe that Barry had prepared you for this fight."
"I believe that everyone I've ever met and loved has prepared me for this moment."
"All life ends, as you've seen. Only death, only entropy is eternal."
Without warning, Darkseid shot his omega beams, Mia put up a shield around all of them. Mia then punched Darkseid hard in the face, launching him out of STAR Labs. They sped towards the street, where he stood facing them. Diana got out her lasso and her shield. Clark cracked his neck.
Mia's eyes lit green with the powers of the Spectre and the Green Lantern Ring.
"You really think you can stop me?" Darkseid asked.
"Let's find out."
A hand laid on Mia's shoulder, Superman gave her a comforting smile, Mia looked at Wonder Woman, and she smiled at her encouraging her to make the first move.
She was someone new.
The Immortal Green Arrow. And even if this fight lasts a lifetime, she's sure it'll be worth it in the end, because she'll see Barry.
I'm always with you... A voice whispered from inside her head.
She didn't see, she could not hear Barry right next to her, acting as her guardian angel, acting as her rock, as her arrowhead.
And so with all the strength and willpower in the world.
She charged.
THE END...