Hope & Love - SuperFlash [1]

Chapter 11

Eobard walked through the vanishing point, stepping over debris and sleeping figures before taking a seat next to Kara, who sat with her legs crossed, elbows digging into her knees as she stared at the floor. "Are you ever going to sleep?" He inquired, and the Kryptonian turned to look at him. "I know there's no sense of time here, but you have to be exhausted, I haven't seen you sleep, I haven't heard you talk. Barry wouldn't want this."

"What do you know?!" Kara snapped at Thawne, anger etched into her features. "You were his worst enemy, you made his life hell."

Thawne sucked in a deep sharp breath, resting his hands atop his knees as he stared forward aimlessly. His head fell, a long exasperated breath seeping into the air. "I hurt Barry, I hurt the people he loved, and I regret it, every single thing I did. I saw a lot of horrors when I was running on that treadmill. Billions of deaths gone in an instant before my eyes, an infinite number of worlds, of Barry Allen's. I saw a world where we were friends, we saved lives together, and that changed everything. For so long I thought was destined to be one thing: The Reverse Flash, Barry Allen's arch-nemesis, when I could've been so much more. He was my hero, and I threw it all away because the timeline said I was destined to be one thing. Barry knew more than anyone that the future wasn't set in stone, and I should've realized that sooner, but now I've got blood on my hands, blood I'll never be able to atone for. I- I just wish I could take everything back."

"You can't," Kara said. "But saving us all, bringing us here to try and find a way to save... anything, that was the first step on a better path, keep going down that road." That conversation stuck with Thawne, but for Kara is was just a simple step in the long, harsh, and unforgettable time in the vanishing point, her mind forever stuck on her final moments with Barry, her mind constantly replaying that horrid scream of pain like a broken record.

Kara wished she could wake up now. She wished she could wake up, and this was all a nightmare, and that when she opened her eyes Barry would still be in her apartment, that it would be the night after they first kissed, and that everything about crisis was just a horrible nightmare, but it wasn't. Barry was gone, and every day she was reminded of that horrific fact.

He had done it to save them, to save the multiverse, because the monitor told him it would, and now they were here, and Barry had killed himself for nothing. The tears never stopped, they had only gotten worse and worse until eventually the paragon of hope lost hers. She did nothing but sulk in the Vanishing Point. This seemed to be a constant in her life, losing those closest to her. She sat in silence, wishing she could have done something more. Maybe she should have stopped Barry, pulled him off of that treadmill, she didn't know. All she knew is she wanted the man back.

The others tried to help her, telling her it was not her fault, well besides Lex Luthor - who had used a page from the book of destiny to rewrite himself as the paragon of truth - That she couldn't blame herself for Barry's choice, and that they have to keep searching for a way out, that there was a way to beat all of this together but Kara couldn't find any reason to be hopeful. On one of the many days where Kara sat secluded from the others, Lena had come to offer something. She couldn't bear to see Kara like this anymore, she needed to talk to her.

"Hey." She looked up into Lena's eyes and what composure she had left broke. The two shared a tight hug, Kara grasping onto for support. They eventually pulled apart and Lena placed his hands on her arms, looking her directly in the eye. "Barry might be gone..." She spoke. "But we can't let what he was doing die with him. We have to stop the Anti-Monitor or at least try, try and find a way out of this place."

She wanted to be hopeful as she listened to Lena's words, so she tried, she pushed through and listened intently, but that spark of optimism never ignited, but then it happened, and she found a reason to be hopeful. Barry had come back, flying into the vanishing point out of nowhere, and she couldn't help but run towards him with a smile, but that faded as she saw how tired and distraught he looked. 'Barry!" She said worryingly as she moved closer.

"Where am I?" He questioned in a disoriented state. His eyes were dark with exhaustion, his face covered in sweat and his suit layered with dirt. He looked so exhausted, like he had been running the entire time he was gone. His hair had somehow grown longer, it was disheveled and his eyes had dark bags underneath them from obvious fatigue.

"You're in the Vanishing Point." Kara moved closer, flashing him a warm smile. "It's me, Kara." She said softly, taking his hand into hers.

"Kara?" He smiled, squeezing her hand gently. "Is it... really you?" He asked, almost like he didn't even recognize what was real anymore.

"Yeah Barry, it's me." She smiled with unbelievable joy, not fighting the tears of happiness beginning to creep from her eyes. He was back! "It's me Kara, your super friend, your favorite Kryptonian." He laughed through his own happy tears as she pulled him into a hug, with Kara squeezing tightly, but Barry didn't care. He was so happy to have her back, to be back, to have a second chance at life, at the world, a second chance with Kara. He rises to his feet with Kara, and all the others begin to stand around them in disbelief.

Barry looked around himself at the dozens of heroes, before remembering what the speedforce had shown him. Caitlin surged forward followed closely by Cisco, the two suffocating their friend in a tight hug, not wanting to let go dor fear he may leave them again. Barry wrapped his arms around them, basking in the comfort, eyes beginning to water. He was so happy he was back. Eventually the trio pulled apart, and Barry couldn't tear the smile of his face if he tried. He looked around at everyone within the Vanishing point. "They're pretty beaten down. They could use a pick-me-up speech." Caitlin smiled widely.

Barry let out a chuckle before his eyes drifted to Kara, and his smile grew and he let out a breathy sigh, a strange feeling in his stomach, a good feeling. "They'll have to wait, I have to do something first." Barry began walking over to Kara, whose cheeks were stained with tears of joy, and hugged her, to which she eagerly reciprocate. "I need to tell you something." He practically whispered before taking a look at the others who surrounded them. "Privately."