Bab 18: Zoomers
I sat on a bench outside STAR Labs, tapping my foot while Barry talked to his dad inside. Everything was about to go down exactly as it did in the show. He was going to make the decision to go back and save his mom. I already knew that plan was risky as hell, but what the hell could I say? "Hey, Barry, don't mess with the timeline and get us all erased"? Yeah, that's probably not happening.
I pulled out my phone, pretending to be busy while I waited. The others were inside, talking about timelines and singularities. It was the same old situation – Barry was going to change the past, and somehow, that was going to fuck with the future.
"Man, I gotta prepare for this," I muttered to myself.
There was no way I was going to sit here, do nothing, and let everything go to shit if Barry's little time trip didn't work out. I headed to one of the side labs Cisco wasn't using and started working on my own little time travel insurance. If Barry messed up, I wasn't about to be stuck in the aftermath. A little protection wouldn't hurt, especially after what I'd learned from Grodd. I had the skills now to craft something decent. Nothing fancy, just something that'd hopefully keep me from getting erased or thrown into a singularity if things went sideways.
By the time I finished, the sun had set, and I headed back to the Cortex, where everyone was standing around. Barry looked like he was about to make some kind of heroic speech, but I tuned most of it out. I already knew the deal. Time travel, save mom, big stakes. Same old Barry stuff.
While they were setting things up, I kept to the side, staying out of the way. No need for anyone to know what I was working on. The countdown to Barry's time jump started, and it felt like everyone was holding their breath. Then, finally, Barry sped off, disappearing into the past.
I crossed my arms, waiting. Everything was going according to plan. At least for now.
But then came the sound. You know, that deep rumble that shakes your bones before the shit hits the fan? Yeah, that one. I looked up, and there it was – a massive singularity ripping through the sky, right above Central City.
"Oh, shit."
Before anyone could react, the breach started sucking everything into it. Cars, debris, random shit flying everywhere. Barry hadn't even returned yet, and this was already looking bad. I took a step forward, ready to run, but there was no point. This was bigger than anything we'd dealt with before.
This is different from the show!
Then all of a sudden Eddie pulled the trigger.
I saw it happen, almost in slow motion. The gunshot, Eddie falling, Eobard disintegrating. And just like that, things went from bad to "we're all screwed" in record time. The singularity opened wider, and then it hit – that shockwave that knocked me straight off my feet. I barely had time to react before the world went dark.
…
Two months later
I woke up in STAR Labs, again. The first thing I felt was my head pounding like I'd gone ten rounds with Grodd. I groaned, sitting up and immediately regretting it. I'd been out for two months? Great.
The Cortex was quiet. Cisco and Caitlin were nearby, talking to each other. Cisco spotted me first. "Yo, Sleeping Beauty's up!" he called over to Caitlin.
She turned around, and I could see the relief on her face. "You're awake," she said, walking over. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a truck. What happened?"
Caitlin explained it all – Eddie's sacrifice, Eobard disappearing, the singularity swallowing everything. Barry tried to close it, but it didn't work fast enough. Ronnie... didn't make it.
Shit. I hadn't been there to help. I'd been knocked out cold.
Caitlin looked sad, obviously, so I did the thing that would always make her feel better. I gave her the best hug I could and with my calming presence, hugging and head pat skills, I could see her tearing up again but also start to really process her emotions in a safe place. Cisco decided to leave, because he was a bro, and I now owed him a drink.
After hugging the crying Caitlin for about half an hour and her falling asleep, I decided to take her back to her apartment so that she could rest, and before I left I cooked her up her favourite food and left a note to warm it up.
After that I went back to star labs and continued to talk to Cisco.
"Anyway," I muttered, "what about the singularity? Did Barry close it?"
Cisco leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, eventually. But now... there's a whole lot more going on." And well, Barry isn't in the best place right now, especially since both Eddie and Ronny didn't make it."
Great, just what I needed. More mess to clean up.
…
Four months later
After getting back on my feet, I decided to take a little trip. I didn't tell anyone where I was going, but after the singularity fiasco, I needed to actually prepare properly – and I wasn't about to rely on the good ol' justice system to fix things. That's how I ended up in Star City.
It took me a while to track him down, but I finally found Damien Darhk. Honestly, he wasn't as scary as I expected. He gave me a look when I showed up in my suit, like he'd seen it all before.
"What do you want?" he asked, not even fazed by my speedster act.
"I need your help," I told him. "I can get you a flask of Lazarus Pit water. In exchange, I need you to make something for me."
Darhk didn't seem impressed. "Why should I trust you?"
I pulled out the flask, tossing it to him. "That's why."
After a long pause, Darhk looked at the flask, then back at me. "Fine. What do you need?"
"Two bracelets. Like the totems, but without the elemental powers. I just need them to store a person's essence. No powers, no gimmicks. Just protection."
I had "Borrowed" this Generations Totem Bearer so Hopefully it doesn't mess with the timeline, but I needed the thing so we could actually make this work.
It took two months. Two long-ass months working with Darhk, but we got it done. Two bracelets. Perfect, no side effects, no curses.
I kept one for Caitlin and gave the other to Cecile. Caitlin needed it more, after everything she'd been through with Ronnie. Cecile... well, she just liked going out with me, and the bracelet was a good excuse for another date.
…
And now, after the whole Atom smasher thing which I managed to skip, here he was standing right in front Of me, Jay Garik, Zoom. Who is now the Big Bad for season 2. Fuck.
I did manage to learn about Artificing after working with Dark for 2 months. And well I had gotten [Artificing Lv2] which I used to make some mystical protection. So hopefully there won't be any heart crushing that happens to me.
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