Crisis On Earth-1

The Essence Of Heroism

[Authors Note: Before we begin, I want to dedicate this chapter to Kaaz Marhan! I know what you're going through is scary, but I know you can adjust, and get through it. And I'm honoured to be able to help you with this story. I hope you enjoy the rest of it, and it's nice to have you along for the ride. And now that Kara's back, I hope you all will enjoy the rest of it, and can dry your eyes. Enjoy, The Essence of Heroism!]

S.T.A.R. Labs was eerily quiet in the early hours of the morning, and Barry usually found it disconcerting. The lights were all dimmed, and the hallway was barely illuminated by the lights coming from the Cortex which were rarely — if ever — switched off. Harry usually liked to work late, which meant it was more beneficial to leave them on, rather than switch them off and leave him stumbling around in the dark, trying to find the light switch when he could be putting his distaste of sleep to better use. But no one was clattering around, or mumbling curse words under their breath which couldn't be repeated on network television in a million years.

Walking through the hallway, Barry gingerly sipped his coffee as he read the local news on his phone, scrolling through the pages of information for any signs of the Reverse Flash, or Reign terrorising the city. But so far they'd gone completely radio silent, and that made Barry extremely worried. Why would a Speedster, and a Kryptonian be biding their time? It didn't make any sense, and Barry had half a mind to toss his phone across the room in frustration, until he remembered how expensive the device was and how a single burst of anger wasn't worth four-hundred dollars in repairs. He stuffed it back in his pocket, and took another long sip of his coffee. It was scolding hot, but Barry didn't much care. He groaned as the burning liquid scorched his throat on the way down and turned the corner into the Cortex, where it was completely empty. He sighed deeply, remembering his dream from a while ago. That would be the ideal scenario here, but alas, Kara was gone forever, and Barry had to find some way to live with that.

He hit the keyboard a few times until the display lit up, and entered the password in the blink of an eye. He found typing while using his speed was really enjoyable, and made simple tasks which would take a long time almost instantaneous. Even though using his speed made it feel like he was working on dialup speeds with a computer from the nineties to couple up. Entering Flashtime made everyone and everything go so unbearably slow, and Netflix's loading times were like an eternity for a Speedster. The entire room was lit up, and Barry pulled up all the information S.T.A.R. Labs had gathered on Thawne, and Reign. He'd studied this data over and over and over again, but nothing new could be found. Even if they did attack, Barry would he helpless to stop Reign. She was virtually un-unstoppable, especially without Kara.

Team Flash were sitting ducks in all honesty. Of course they'd do their absolute best to save Earth-1 from Reign and her ideals of justice, but it wouldn't do much. She walked like a lion among sheep, and even Barry's speed couldn't come close to rivalling her array of abilities. But that didn't mean Barry was giving up hope. It was that he'd accepted that this battle may be his last, and coming to terms with it seemed the best way to handle it.
They'd been in tough spots before, but Reign was unlike anything she'd ever faced before. And combine her abilities with Thawne's, and they were a dynamic duo that could level entire cities overnight. Th thought was terrifying, and it made Barry sick to the stomach. But he would rather die fighting than let those monsters walk all over his Earth, and kill the people he'd sworn to protect. The Flash was a hero, and heroes don't ever give up.

That was when a breach appeared on the centre of the Cortex, and Barry felt the lightning surge through his veins. He steeled himself for a fight, and dropped in a defensive stance. Many times had people invaded S.T.A.R. Labs trying to kill the Flash and his allies, and taking the chance wasn't an option.

But instead of an adversary looking for the Flash's blood, or S.T.A.R. Labs' help to fuel their evil scheme.

"No... no, no, I- I don't... I-" Barry stammered over his words, eyes welling with tears. "This isn't real, I'm dreaming again. God damn it, I'm dreaming again." He closed his eyes, pinching his arm to wake himself up. But no release came, and Barry opened his eyes and finally realised this wasn't a dream, it was reality, and his whole world just exploded. He slowly walked forward, and placed his hand on their cheek, feeling the familiar warmth, and their scent fill his nose and bring a simple joy to him, one that he'd been deprived off ever since she died.