Hope & Love - SuperFlash [1]

Chapter 5

Barry was jolted awake by a massive rumble, his eyes adjusting to the sunlight beaming through the window. Memories of the night before flooded his mind, resulting in a smile. As he rose to his feet another tremor came, making Barry remember why he woke up.

He got dressed and exited the room, only to see Kara breathing deeply on the ground. He immediately rushed towards, crouching down to see what was wrong. "I'm okay, just a lot of noise at once. People screaming, all the animals around in National City are freaking out at once, somethings going on." She said, rising to her feet.

The duo suited up and went to the streets, looking to see if it was a natural earthquake, or something more sinister. As they walked down the street, yet another tremor unfolded, leaving streetlights to fall to the ground, and a pack of dogs run past them as if in fear. Kara reached into her boot as her phone rang, answering to Alex, who sounded just as worried.

Kara and Barry were at the DEO moments later, trying to figure out was going on. "Every pet in National City is having a nervous breakdown. Something is off, this feels bigger than Leviathan." Kara said as they reunited with Alex and Brainy.

"The USGS didn't register an early warning, so it took everyone completely by surprise." Alex informed.

"She does mean everyone because this earthquake is quite literally, worldwide." Brainy spoke up.

"But the seismic activity wasn't coming from within the planet, it's coming from without." Alex continued.

"That's..." Kara began

"Extra-normal." Brainy said.

"I was gonna say impossible, but okay." Kara let out a deep breath.

Brainy nodded in agreeance. "Yes, yes, a fair descriptor. As would be, uh... unfeasible, unthinkable, absurd, outlandish. But however you choose to describe this event, one thing is absolutely certain. We have a massive crisis on our hands." Brainy said.

Kara whipped her head around as she heard a flash of lightning, only to see Barry was no longer standing next to her. She furrowed her eyebrows and decided to go after him.

Barry's breath enveloped the air like a cloud of smoke as he continued forward onto the frost ridden sidewalk. The road was sleek, the grass was frosted over, as well as the cars. The snow fell languidly over the city, but the winds and temperature were harsh to the skin.

His eyes shifted upward as he heard his name softly echo across the air, and he watched as Kara floated down from the sky, cape flapping as the snow began to fall.
"Barry, are you okay?" He didn't answer her, his head dropping. He brought his hands up to his head, his nails dug into his skull as he tried to force out the memories of what he saw.

Barry let out a deep breath, clenching his eyes shut and reopening them, attempting to erase the tiredness eating away at him. He had barely gotten any sleep since he saw the billions of possible futures, every time he shut his eyes he could see the billions of people screaming and crying for their lives. He could remember the deaths of his friends and family as the red wall of destruction eradicated the multiverse. The way Kara's eyes were filled with tears as she watched it grow closer and closer, but it seemed as if that's not why she saw scared, she was petrified by something else and she was waiting for the blast to end her pain.

Kara wrapped her arms around him, and Barry broke, the tears leaving his eyes. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to leave Kara after something so perfect had just blossomed but these tremors, that energy, was it. Crisis was here, he wouldn't even get to celebrate his final Christmas.

He finally looked at Kara, realizing she was crying too, and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. "Barry, this doesn't mean its the end, we still have time." She said, and tears fell from the corners of Barry's eyes. He wanted so badly to believe in her optimism. "I-I can't lose you." Barry initiated the hug this time, and the two held onto each other for dear life, crying in the December snow until Alex called once more. The two pried themselves apart and returned to the DEO, trying to look as normal and okay as possible, and everyone was fine except for Alex who knew what had happened between the two, and hated what a toll this must have taken on them already. "What is this exactly." Kara asked, and Brainy pulled it up onto the monitors to help enhance his explanation.