DCU The Flash #20 Francine (Lightning Strikes Twice)

-^- West Residence, 1986 -^-

 

"Mama, I'm hungry!"

 

Francine smiled at her son, Daniel, sprawled out on the floor in his footie pajamas. Barry sat beside him, chuckling lightly at the expression his brother was making.

 

"Well, Daniel," Francine said, looking at the clock on the TV stand, "your father said he'd be home by seven with dinner. I didn't make him half an hour late, you'll need to take it up with him."

 

"Ughhhh…." Daniel groaned, causing both Francine and Barry to laugh. "Stop laughing at me!"

 

"I'm sorry," Barry said, trying to hold back his giggles. "It's just, you're drooling onto the carpet."

 

"Don't be sorry, Barry," Francine said, laughing loudly. "You should've seen him as a baby, drool was everywhere, all the time."

 

"No baby stories…" Daniel groaned once more, flipping onto his stomach, pretending to swim. "Can we go swimming tomorrow? We can bring August and Barry's 'little girlfriend' Iris."

 

"M-my what!?" Barry shouted out, turning red. "Sh-she's not my… I'm n-not, what!?"

 

"Nope," Daniel said, performing a backstroke, pointing at a laughing Francine. "Mama says it."

 

"F-Francine!?"

 

"I didn't think I raised a tattletale, but-"

 

Ding Dong

 

"Dong ding!" Daniel shouted out at the sound of the doorbell, sitting up right.

 

"Your father probably ordered a pizza for us," Francine said, standing from the couch. "Let me go get my purse."

 

"Barry, I want four," Daniel mumbled, copying how Barry leaned against the couch. "You and Mama can split the rest."

 

"You're about the size of four slices," Barry said, earning a smack from Daniel, making Barry laugh. "Okay, okay, sorry."

 

Crack

 

Barry's head turned towards the door, tilting slightly to the side. "Did you hear that?" he asked, looking down at Daniel, who shook his head. "I'll… answer the door, just so they know we're home."

 

"M'kay," Daniel said, turning back to the television.

 

Barry lifted himself from the carpet, padding towards the front door. He stopped at the window to look outside, but it was already too dark to really see. Returning on his path, he noticed something odd as he reached the door. The metal knob had cracks running along it, cracks that spread from the brass all throughout the door.

 

"Uh… Francine?" he called, taking a step back as more cracks formed, spreading quickly, as if the wood was freshly shattered glass. "The… the door?"

 

"Tell him just a minute, Barry," she responded, pulling her phone from her purse. "Joe just texted me, probably telling me how much it'll be."

 

"Sorry, lost track of time. Getting Belly Burger, be home soon. Love you."

 

Francine's eyebrow raised as she viewed the text.

 

Barry took another step back, eyes widening as the door's wood began to fall apart, each chunk turning to dust before it could even hit the floor. As cracks began to spread onto the doorframe, the door itself crumbled into a pile of ash. Barry's world froze as the barrier between himself and outside was removed. His body trembled as a shadowy figure stood in the doorway, its eyes glowing a blood red.

 

"Not again…" he shakily mumbled, tears already running down his cheeks. He stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and landing on the ground. "Please not again…"

 

Francine quickly rounded the corner, gasping as her eyes met the intruder's. Her eyes trailed to Barry, who was trembling on the ground, frozen in fear. Daniel was beginning to cry, running from the living room to hold onto her leg.

 

"B-Barry!" she called, dropping to a knee behind him. "Barry, you need to get up, now!"

 

The figure stepped inside the house, revealing his red and black suit, a golden mask covering his face. His hand latched onto the doorframe, the wood crumbling to dust almost instantly.

 

"Francine West…" he mumbled, taking another step towards the three.

 

"Barry!" Francine shouted once more, turning his head to look at her. "Listen to me, Barry. You need to get out of here with Daniel, now! Save him!"

 

Barry's eyes shifted between Francine and Daniel. His constricted pupils watched the tears falling from the younger boy's eyes. Tears like his own.

 

"O-okay…" he mumbled, bringing himself to a wobbly stand. He bit his lip as he picked Daniel up, one arm sliding under his legs and the other pressed against his back. "I… I won't let him get hurt…"

 

"I know you won't," Francine said, smiling at the boy. "Now go, I love you both."

 

"Mama!" Daniel screamed, reaching out to her, his other hand gripping tightly onto Barry's shirt. "Mama no!"

 

"Run, Barry!" Francine yelled, pointing towards the backyard. "Run!"

 

As she yelled, she tore the lamp from its socket and threw it at the costumed man. The intruder simply raised his hand, smacking the lamp away and turning it to dust before it could hit the floor. Francine turned, stumbling into the kitchen. She snatched any object she could, throwing pots, pans, and plates at the man, but each was either dodged or caught and turned to ash.

 

"What are you!?" she screamed, eyes shifting to see Barry and Daniel running through the backyard towards the alleyway.

 

"I am the one who will purify this world," the man said, inching closer to the woman.

 

Francine's heart raced, she looked around the kitchen, before spotting a knife in the sink. "Wh-what… what do you want!?" she asked, slowly moving towards the blade. "I did nothing!"

 

"What you did doesn't concern me. I abide by his will, and only his m-"

 

Francine screamed as her hand grabbed the steak knife and drove it towards her attacker. The man, however, reacted too quickly, raising his hand to stop the blade. Francine's heart dropped as the metal crumbled into dust on the floor. The same hand that had decayed the blade then reached forward, grabbing the woman by the neck and lifting her into the air.

 

"Mama!" Daniel cried from outside, watching as his mom's skin began to crack, until her body exploded into chunks.

 

-^- West Residence, 2002 -^-

 

"Mama!"

 

Daniel jolted up from bed, sweat dripping down his body and his chest rising and falling rapidly. He gulped down the bottle of water sat next to him, before pulling away from the bottle and heaving harder than before. His eyes peered down to the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand.

 

"Five…" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Might as well."

 

Flipping the blanket off his body, he slid his legs off the side of the bed, feeling the hardwood underneath him. His arm ran along his forehead, wiping away the copious amount of sweat before he stood up. Trekking into the bathroom, he stared into the mirror.

 

He knew it would happen soon, it happened every year. The same night would be remembered vividly in his mind. Every year he'd wake up covered in sweat, heart pounding like he was six years old again.

 

Tomorrow was the anniversary of his mother's death.

 

-^- Iron Heights Penitentiary

 

Barry slid into the visitor chair with a joyous grin on his face. On the other side of the partition sat his father, a confused smile on his face. Both quickly grabbed onto the phones on the wall.

 

"What happened?" "You're gonna be free!"

 

Both paused for a moment before beginning to laugh. Barry could feel tears building in his eyes, but he didn't care. They were happy tears, the first in a long time.

 

"You can go," Henry said, tears of his own forming. "I'm very confused right now."

 

"You… you were proven innocent! You can finally come home… they found evidence and you're innocent…" Barry said, his bottom lip quivering and a shaky breath slipping out of his mouth. Tears fully fell from Barry's eyes as his head fell. "You're innocent."

 

Henry smiled at his son, barely keeping his own composure. "So… how'd they manage that?" he asked, watching as Barry wiped his nose.

 

"They… the Flash… he found the killer," Barry mumbled, taking a deep breath. "He… he recorded the confession… the man in yellow, Reverse Flash."

 

"You… you really did see him… all this time?"

 

"I… I did."

 

"Guess the state should learn to trust a bit better, huh?" Henry said with a chuckle.

 

"You… you aren't mad?" Barry asked, looking up at his father.

 

"Mad? Why would I be mad, I'm ecstatic!"

 

"No… I don't mean you getting out…"

 

"About the conviction?" Henry asked back, with a small sigh. "It's the past now."

 

"But… you lost so much time," Barry said, his fist clenching tightly. "You missed out on… everything in your life. You've had the murders of Mom and Malcolm painted all over you… your reputation as a doctor was ruined. People turned their backs on you… you should be furious!"

 

"I'm more angry that my son was considered delusional for his entire childhood," Henry said with a frown.

 

"It's not about me-"

 

"Of course I'm mad that I missed things in my life and yours…" Henry said, cutting Barry off, "but it they aren't over, Barry. You still have so much life to live, and from now on I'll be a part of it, not a spectator behind a wall of glass."

 

Barry's hand covered his mouth as he breathed heavily, more tears falling from his eyes. "That's… that's all I ever wanted," he mumbled behind his hand. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone."

 

"If they're you're friends and family, they've gotta be the best of the best," Henry said, smiling at the blond. "Now… any thoughts about some little Barry's? Twins run in the family, you know?"

 

-^- Vulcan's Veggies -^-

 

"Bumping it up to speed fifteen," Eddie said, tapping a key on the large computer.

 

In front of him, running on a large, red treadmill was Wally, blue lightning sparkling off his body. The basement of Vulcan's Veggies, previously used to house merchandising and advertising, had been completely revamped to be a training room for Wally. Multiple pieces of training equipment had been salvaged from the JSA's old headquarters by Barry and Jay over the last week, more than enough to properly train Wally.

 

"Y'know, I feel like fifteen is too slow," Wally said, keeping a steady pace with ease. "I can go a lot faster, we should try bumping it up to twenty, maybe twenty-five?"

 

"Take a step faster than you're supposed to and I'll blast you," Eddie warned, a golden glow flashing behind his glasses. "This is not show off for every girl you're trying to hook up with, it's a baseline test, Wallace."

 

"Names still Wally," he corrected, looking down at the man, but not letting up his pace, "and I've actually been in a very committed relationship for like, five years now."

 

"I'm sorry for her," Eddie mumbled, tapping a few keys.

 

"Sorry!?"

 

"This is… interesting, to say the least," Eddie said with a hand rubbing his chin. The man typed a few words, pulling up baseline tests both Barry and Jay did once the equipment was properly moved.

 

"I guess I'll be ignoring the other comment," Wally sighed. "What's up? Something wrong with my speed?"

 

"The lightning you're generating, I always thought it was strange," Eddie said, dragging Barry's tests and lining them up next to Wally. "Every one of us; Jay, Barry, Myself, even Johnny Quick… all of us got golden lightning. Every one of us but you and Whip Whirlwind."

 

"Maybe it just comes in different colors?" Wally asked. "I mean, Rival and that Reverse Flash guy both had red, right?"

 

"Except Thawne said he is connected to the Negative Speed Force, and Clariss was all artificial," Eddie said, eyes widening as Wally's statline registered next to Barry. "The blue lightning is different… it's a stronger connection to the Speed Force."

 

"Huh?"

 

"I'm saying… your tests… you're faster than Barry."

 

Wally's eyes opened wide, his concentration breaking completely. He took one faulty step, losing his footing on the treadmill and flying backwards into the padded wall of the basement.

 

"Wallace!" Eddie shouted, turning the treadmill off and rushing over to the boy, crumpled on the ground. "I told you not to change your speed!"

 

"It's… ow, Wally…" he groaned, pushing himself up. "You… you said I'm faster? Faster than Barry?"

 

"If your baseline speed is anything to go off of…" Eddie began, looking back at the monitor, "you're gonna be a helluva lot faster."

 

-^- Central City Police Department -^-

 

"So… this original timeline… you didn't mention… this."

 

Joe was seated as he stared at the evidence board of the Eradicator setup in Barry's lab. Countless threads pinned together, photos of victims tacked on with clippings from each case. None could be connected, however. Not a single detail shared between each victim.

 

"I… I didn't know how to tell you…"

 

"That Eradicator was never meant to kill Francine," Joe said, frowning as he stared at the photo of the woman. "That he was… supposed to commit suicide? How do we know Thawne was telling the truth?"

 

"I was… skeptical too. So, when me and Jay were collecting his and Eddie's old equipment, I used the old JSA mainframe," Barry said, handing a folder of information to Joe. "It's still more advanced than anything we have available, so I thought maybe I could find some things we couldn't. Turns out… there's been information hidden, blacklisted from every possible outlet. Hell, the only reason they still had it on there-"

 

"He was being considered as a recruit…" Joe mumbled, staring at the information in the folder. "Jay didn't know?"

 

"No, neither did Eddie, it was after they both left," Barry explained, turning his head to the board. "He was… a hero, or… a vigilante, I guess. They thought his methods could be refined and turn him into a proper hero… but he murdered an innocent and went dark. It was the same year the JSA disbanded."

 

"That was… a year before…" Joe sighed, closing the file and handing it back to Barry. "So something changed in him? Stopped him from taking himself out?"

 

"Yeah, and if we can find out what that is…" Barry said, tacking the file to the evidence board, "we'll be one step closer to figuring out what broke the timeline."

 

"Yeah… one step closer."

 

"Joe…"

 

Barry raised his hand to comfort the man, but was interrupted by a searing blue light that shined brightly through the windows. Barry and Joe shielded their eyes, both groaning due to the irritation. As the light dulled down, Joe rubbed his eyes fiercely, while Barry immediately ran to the window, eyes widening as he stared outside.

 

"What the hell was that?" Joe cursed, blinking rapidly and joining Barry. "What the…"

 

Across the city, miles away, was a swirling vortex of blue flames. The cloud of ash above the area looked as if a volcano had erupted, blocking out all the light from the moon and stars in favor of the tornado of flames.

 

"That's Central City General," Barry mumbled, staring into the cerulean cyclone as he slid a golden ring onto his finger.

 

"You don't think it's Rory, do you?" Joe asked, turning to Barry, who was already turning to leave.

 

"No, I don't," he mumbled, running his thumb along the lightning crest on the jewelry, "but I'm gonna find out."

 

----------------------------

 

NEXT TIME: Eradication!

Done