In Time | The Flash

Chapter Five | Aspen

 "Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!"

- J.R.R. Tolkien

>>>·<<<

CHAPTER FIVE

>>> Aspen's P.O.V. <<<

When I wake up, the first thing I notice is the splitting headache that immediately makes me shut my eyes. I groan, pulling myself up into a sitting position. I peak my eyes open again, hazily noticing my strange surroundings. I see medical equipment, bright lights above me, and the room seemingly shaking.

Actually, the room is shaking.

I pull my legs over the side of the cot I'm laying on, pull the monitoring patches from my arms and head and the IV from my arm with a wince. I see my body dressed in a cotton gown, not the usual kind you see at hospitals, with the logo reading S.T.A.R. Labs on the front.  On shaky feet, I wobble across the room, into the hallway, and down the long corridor towards the voices.

I get to another room a few moments later. Inside, I see a large computer with several screens. Sitting at the table are two young brunette women and an elderly man. Behind them are two young men. The elderly man sighs and states, "I believe it's time to say goodbye to Harrison Wells." They eagerly watch one of the screens, showing an African-American man and a young Hispanic man escorting a very strangely dressed Harrison Wells to a circular glass machine. Behind them, my sister awaits with her hands clenched tightly around her paint brushes; color surrounds her like an aura.

As Harrison Wells docks the strange machine, I step into the room, leaning on the door frame for support. "Why is my sister with Dr. Harrison Wells?" I ask, breaking the eerily ticking of the timer on the opposite screen.

All five of the figures in front of me whirl around with wide eyes. The young woman with dark skin exclaims, "Oh my god, she's awake."

The other woman stands quickly and hurries over to me, giving me an arm to lean on. "Are you okay, Ms. Penrose? You shouldn't be up. You've been asleep for almost two days."

I gladly accept her kind assistance, though hesitant. "Two days?" My eyes grow wide as I stare at the group. "Oh my goddess. Where's Persephone, my daughter?"

The young woman helps me to her chair, sitting me down as she clears her throat. "She's fine. She's at school. Your sister can explain everything once we get Thawne out of here."

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" I ask, confused. "Who even are you people?"

The elderly man chuckles and says, "Forgive me, my dear. My name is Professor Martin Stein. We're in S.T.A.R. Labs, and that man is not who he appears to be. He's not from around here--how do you put it?"

"He's a time traveler from the future," the brunette young man says bluntly. "I'm Ronnie Raymond. This is my wife, Caitlin." The woman who helped me sit down gives a little wave.

I raise my eyebrows. "You can't be serious. Time travel?"

"In a world full of speedsters? Hell yeah." The other woman smiles kindly at me. "I'm Iris West. This is my fiance, Eddie Thawne."

I turn my eyes towards the screen. "Who's that, then? If not Harrison Wells."

"His name is Eobard Thawne. He's a speedster like the Flash. He's a very bad man," Caitlin tells me. "Iris' dad, Joe, and my best friend Cisco Ramone are handling him. Your sister is helping."

"My sister...She's a Meta, isn't she?"

Caitlin nods with a softness in her brown eyes. "She never told you. She said as much. That's why she was so shocked to see you in the Boulevard Building yesterday."

Memories of the previous day flood my mind. I see the building coming apart around me, debris swirling like a storm, and I can feel myself helpless to stop it. "Oh, please no." I close my eyes, feeling the magic start to collect again. "Please, did I hurt anyone?"

Iris is the first to answer. "Thankfully, no. Just the building."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank the goddess."

"You were affected by the explosion last year, too?" Eddie asks, curious.

I nod. "I never told anyone, not even my sister. I thought I was crazy, and then I thought it would go away, but it grew and grew until I couldn't control it."

"What is it?" Ronnie asks. "It looks like some sort of magic."

I offer a small smile. "It is. I was holding crystals and in my alter room when the wave hit me. I think the magic I put into those objects multiplied and caused me to become a magical being myself. I chant words in Irish Gaelic, like my father said my ancestors did, and my magic appears. It also appears when I'm scared or angry." Another memory comes to mind, an image of a woman with colors on her face and a man faster than light. "The Flash, did he stop me?"

"And your sister," Caitlin replies. "They weren't hurt either, don't worry."

"Where is the Flash?" I ask, looking back to the screen. I see the false Harrison Wells, Eobard Thawne, starting up the machine. He smiles, then a figure flies through the hole in the middle of the screen on a trail of lightning. He knocks through the glass machine, taking Thawne with him. Cisco, Tril, and Joe are blasted off their feet.

"Right there," Professor Stein says, urgent.

"Oh my god," Caitlin mutters.

Iris exclaims, "Barry!"

Stein speaks again. "We have to shut down the wormhole quickly!"

My eyes grow wider. "Wormhole?"

Caitlin turns away and runs down the corridor. Her husband, Ronnie, follows, shouting her name. I see Eddie turn towards another direction. "They need to cut the internal generators," Stein says, worry in his voice. "Ten seconds, hurry!"

I watch the screen as the Flash comes into view. He pulls himself off the ground, looking at a worn-Eobard Thawne. They're both bloodied and battered. "You didn't save her," Thawne whispers, doing the same as the Flash. He throws a piece of his time machine in anger. "Why! You could have had the life you wanted. You could have had everything you ever wanted!"

The Flash breathes heavily in his response. "I already do."

Thawne shakes his head. "Not even close. You could've been married by now, Barry Allen, but I stopped all that. I took her from you. I took a brother and a friend from you, too. Wallace. Jessie. Kara. Dick. None of which you'll ever know."

The Flash, Barry, shakes his head. "I know about Iris West-Allen. None of that matters now."

Eobard chuckles evilly. "Not Iris. You and she were never meant to be together."

Barry looks at the speedster in confusion as Professor Stein says something about the internal generators being off. "Who?"

"I've been keeping an eye on her for years, ever since she started that little business downtown. She's a smart one, but I made certain that she would stay in business and never venture into hero territory. I gave her anonymous gifts to ensure you two never met, but I suspect you will anyways. Her name is Aspen, and I will make sure that she is the first to die after I kill you."

END CHAPTER FIVE