I'll Be There in a Flash

76

Oliver had left, but told us that he needed our help at Nanda Parbat quickly and we agreed. We head over to Nanda Parbat and freed Ray, Laurel, Malcom, a woman I had never met, and Felicity, who revealed our secret identities to Malcom Merlyn, and we get their weapons. After that we head back to Central City and take off our suits. I walk over to the table and lean on it as I see Barry look at his suit. He walks away from the suit and he grabs my hand and we walk away. We head down to the pipeline and Barry tells me to stay here and I nod. He kisses my forehead and walks over to Wells' containment cell and I lean on the wall. So far everything was quiet and Barry just stands there. "What? No Big Belly Burger?" Wells asks and I scoff and shake my head. "It's one of the few perks of living in this time. We're out of cows where I come from. You don't care about that. You have questions. Go ahead." Wells says.

"I'm not sure where to start. Thawne. That is your real name? Eobard Thawne?" Barry asks.

"Since the day I was born." Wells or Thawne says.

"And when was that?" Barry asks.

"One hundred and thirty-six years from now. This is not what you want to know. Go ahead, Barry. Ask it." Wells says.

"Why did you kill my mother?" Barry asks him.

"Because I hate you. Not you now. You years from now."

"In the future."

"In a future, yes. We're enemies, rivals, opposites. Reverses of one another."

"Why? Why were we enemies?"

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is neither of us was strong enough to defeat the other. Until I learned your secret. I learned your name and your wife's name. Barry Allen and Tori Gomez. And finally, I knew how to defeat you once and for all. Travel back in time, and kill the both of you as a child, wipe you from the face of the earth." Wells says and I know Barry's getting angrier. "But then you, future you, Barry, followed me back and we fought. We both landed some pretty solid shots. And then you, future you, got your younger self and Tori's younger self out of there. I was so mad. But then I thought... what if you both were to suffer a tragedy? What if you were to suffer something so horrible, so traumatic that your child selves could never recover? Then you would not become the Flash or Hummingbird." he says and I get off the wall and walk over. "You killed my mother too and blamed it on a drunk driver?" I ask not believing it and tears form in my eyes. "I did what was necessary to secure my future. So I stabbed Barry's mother in the heart, and made your mother fatally crash. And I was free. Finally free to return to a future without the Flash and Hummingbird. Only to realize that in traveling back, I lost my way home. Lost my ability to harness the Speed Force. And without it, I was stuck here, stranded in this time, unable to return to my home, and the only one way back was the Flash. But the Flash was gone, and so I created him." he says.

"And in doing so, you also created Hummingbird." I say and he nods.

"Why train me? Why help us save so many people?" Barry asks.

"Because I needed you to get fast. Fast enough to rupture the space-time barrier and create a stable wormhole through which I could return home." Wells says.

"Why would I ever do that?"

"Because, Barry Allen, if you give me what I want, I'm gonna give you what you want." I look at him with furrowed eyebrows and wonder what he's talking about.

"You can go back and save your mother. Both mothers. Yours and Tori's. You can prevent your father from going to prison, Barry. You can reunite the Allen and Gomez family." I look over to Barry wondering what he was gonna say.

"No. No, I don't believe you." Barry bangs on the cell and I slightly jump at that. "I wanna kill you right now."

"I know that rage. I used to feel that rage every time I looked upon you. And now somehow, I know what Richard, Joe, and Henry feel when they look on you with pride. With love."

"No. No, don't you ever say that to me." Barry bangs on the cell and I put my hand on his arm trying to calm him down.

"I know you're upset. But I'm giving you a chance. I'm giving you a chance to undo all the evil I've done. Don't you want that chance?"

Barry backs away from the cell and grabs my hand and we back away looking at Wells. We walk away and Barry closes the door and we walk back to the Cortex. I was still in shock to hear that he killed my mom too. My whole life has been a lie and I'm still living it. "A rare opportunity to go back in time to right a wrong and save your mother's and Tori's mother's lives. Quite the paradox Harrison presented you with, Mr. Allen." Professor Stein says, but I don't look at him. I stare down at my feet and don't say a word. "The chance to be with someone you love? Seems pretty cut-and-dry to me." Caitlin says and I feel tears sting my eyes. "At first blush, Dr. Snow, it would appear so, but this gift has unparalleled risk." Stein says. "Barry, the night your mother died, the night you saved yourself from being killed, that event altered the timeline you were already on, and changed the course of history." Stein says. "So, what you're saying is we're living in a parallel universe?" Cisco asks.

"Just like when I time-traveled before." Barry says.

"But he only changed one day that time." Joe says.

"Exactly. Now imagine 15 years of compounded experiences. One different decision, no matter how big or small, impacts everything that follows. Moments upon moments, choices upon choices, new relationships. Nothing would be as it is today, and you'd never known the difference because you'd never remember any of it." Stein says. "So if I go back in time to save my mom and Tori's mom. My dad won't go to prison. I never lived with Tori and Richard." Barry says looking at me. "You might never meet me or Caitlin or Ronnie." Cisco says. "Truth is, there's no real way of knowing what your life will be." Stein says  and I stand up and walk out of the Cortex and head into the treadmill room through the other door and tears start to roll down my face.

I hear foot steps walk in and I look up to see Barry there and I look back down. "Tori?" he asks and he sits next to me. "Everything I've known, my whole entire life, has been a lie. What if we weren't supposed to be a couple, Barry?" I ask tears streaming down my face. I feel Barry's hand grab mine and he grabs my chin gently and makes me look at him and wipes the tears away. "We were meant to be a couple, Tori. I'd be lost without you." Barry tells me and he kisses me. I pull away and lay my head on his shoulder. "It hurts to think that my mom's murder was a lie. It was Wells all along." I say and Barry rubs his thumb in circles on my hand. "I'm thinking about going back. Joe told me to do it." Barry says and I lift my head and look at him. "What? Why?" I ask him and he looks over to me.

"Because I could finally have both my parents. And you can have your mom." Barry says.

"But if you change the past, we might never be a couple." I say to him and he looks at me.

He knows that I'm right, that if he changes the past, our future would be different. "I'm gonna go see my dad at Iron Heights. I'll see you at home." Barry says and kisses my forehead and walks out. Soon I walk home and go to my house. I see my dad passed out on the couch with his work all over him again and I levitate the papers off of him and lay them on the coffee table. I grab a blanket from upstairs and lay it on top of him. I look down at my dad and know that we had both suffered when my mom died. I just wish that I had known that it wasn't the drunk driver that killed my mom, but it was sure as hell believable. I just hope that whatever Barry picks, that it's his decision and not someone else's.