'I…saw it.'
This single thought echoed in a familiar mind, despite being in the midst of a furious exchange.
Barry had his eyes wide open like a hawk, his pupils rapidly scouring everything before him at superhuman speeds.
But still not fast enough…
-BANG!!!
A sickening BANG rang out as Barry's head swung to the side upon being met with Thawne's blurring fist.
"Pathetic!"
Thawne spat with a mix of disgust and mock, stepping closer for a final blow.
However…
-BLOP
Obsidian slime-like string propped Barry up like a puppet, allowing for quicker recovery as they formed before him like a cage.
Thawne could attack, maybe even kill Barry with his next move, however, he couldn't be certain that he'd have an arm after the fact.
Therefore, Barry was safe for that split second…as Thawne knew he would be. Just like how he knew for certain that the two wouldn't be able to last much longer.
Nevertheless…
'Annoying bastard…'
Derek's mere relentlessness bugged Thawne as he couldn't help but dart his eyes at him for a second.
The youth, lying in a crater with nasty purple bruising around his neck, didn't move an inch as his emerald green eyes followed along with everything happening.
'Despite not being able to see or even fully comprehend my movements, he's still able to make logical decisions that even the Flash isn't able to muster in time, practically matching his reaction time with my speed.'
Thawne noted, having realised the only reason Barry had survived so long in the fight was because of him.
'But how? It isn't just the Speedforce's perception. It's like his very brain is processing everything at the speed of a supercomputer, impossible for any human to be capable of…'
Thawne corrected himself. Derek was anything but a human. As evidenced by the slight movement in his finger even though he should be permanently paralysed from the neck down.
'Hell, the very attack should have twisted the head off any regular person's shoulders. Yet this tough son of a bitch is not only breathing but seemingly healing.'
Nevertheless, despite all these factors working in their favour, they were ultimately still losing.
Where Barry could save himself from the lethal blows with the help of Eclipse, this would leave him open for the overwhelming barrage of non-fatal, yet crippling, attacks.
As evidenced by the heavy BANGs that could hit his body, followed by the cracks of his bones.
Thawne knew this, prompting him to throw a flurry of attacks on the same position of Barry's gut as if he were trying to dig a hole through him, all just to mock him.
Despite this…
'Then there's this guy…'
Thawne thought, seeing Barry's piercing eyes never leave him no matter how hard he was hit.
Although he knew the future, Thawne couldn't read minds.
'The way he did it…'
All noise was muffled in Barry's ears, his vision becoming tunnelled, unclear if it was the damage he was taking or the immense concentration that made him this way.
Only a single memory lay in Barry's mind.
The first punch Derek endured that made him spit blood.
'He was able to generate so much force with such minimal movement. It was far greater than the supersonic punch yet he achieved it in a single movement.'
Barry's eyes sharpened.
'So what if I can do the same.'
Impossible, right?
He wasn't near fast enough.
The closest he could come was his supersonic punch and he needed a run-up of over 5 miles to achieve it, which was unrealistic to hope for in a battle like this.
-BANG
Barry ate another punch after failing to dodge it with his speed.
But it didn't disrupt his train of thought.
He didn't have Cisco and Caitlin in his ear to help and time was running out, therefore, he simply…moved.
-BRRRR
And move he did.
Barry's feet and hands began to vibrate rapidly. But not like his usual phasing vibration. No, he was currently jerking his arm outward as if he were punching the air while his heels struck the ground repeatedly.
-BLOP
The cages once again appeared before Barry, guaranteeing the speedster's safety from Thawne's next attack, allowing him to continue.
And though what he was doing seemed peculiar, neither Derek nor Thawne batted an eye.
-SLAM
Barry's feet slammed into the ground in a perfectly balanced stance, his knees slightly bent.
'Huh…'
Barry thought for a second, realising this wasn't his doing. However, he was quickly able to note the strings dancing above him as they tightened and softened.
No words were exchanged, yet Barry was able to tell what this meant.
'This stance…it's helping centre all the kinetic energy I've built up in my vibrations.'
Barry thought, feeling the tingle in his fingertips and the charge in his muscles.
This feeling would only last for a second, but for a speedster, this was an eternity.
'With the supersonic punch, I direct all the built-up energy into my fist…'
He thought, focusing for a second as he tensed his muscles, leaning forward slightly. These slight movements helped guide this energy through his body, toward his fists, the strings perfecting his movement, making his body seem fluid like water while not allowing for any wasted movement.
"Not bad, Barry Allen!"
For once, Thawne said something, accompanied by a grin so large it was visible through his blurred face.
"I was eager to see this. Never has the Flash I knew presented a technique like this, nor has any speedster to have ever lived."
Thawne's voice grew more unhinged as he yelled.
"Stand proud, Allen! You have the potential to be greater than them all! Too bad no one will ever get to see it!"
This was why.
This was why it was impossible for Thawne to lose this battle.
He knew everything about this ongoing timeline.
Any trick they decided to pull or any ability to use was already long foreseen by him, which was why he cackled at Barry's ingenuity as if he were watching a movie.
And Barry knew this.
Despite his expression remaining stoic and raising his arm to deliver the attack, he knew it had no chance of landing. Hell, he even witnessed Thawne already prepared to counter.
But he continued?
Why?
'It's up to you…'
Because he knew he wasn't alone.
'Derek!'
-CRASH!!!
-BOOM!!!
At that moment, the ceiling of the pipeline was suddenly destroyed as a meteor-like object shot through with such speed and power that it threatened to destroy the entire facility.
This was exactly the result as it hit the ground, sending shockwaves and chaos throughout the pipeline, tearing the metal off the walls down to the very bricks the facility was built on.
'What the hell?!'
Thawne yelled inwardly, seeing this unfold with his eyes.
'What's going on?! I didn't foresee anything like this happening…the future is changed!'
But he had little time to figure it out as the shockwave sent him off his feet and shooting through the air, his arms before him in an X shape.
'Huh…'
Thawne paused for a second, his eyes briefly catching a glimpse of Barry, not only unbothered and unshaken by the massive destruction, most likely thanks to the help of the strings puppeteering him, helping him continue with his attack.
The reason for this was simple.
"Get back over there."
This hush-like tone entered Thawne's ears as his eyes darted to the side, only to witness a familiar cripple grinning deviously, ignoring the shooting rubble that cut his body and the winds that made his hair and clothes frenzy.
-BLOP
At that moment, Thawne slowed mid-air as if he'd just reached the climax of a jump, his body quickly shooting back to where he once stood, the same effect gravity would have on something airborne.
And he was quick to note, though it was gravity, it was that of the obsidian balls that constricted him into a single fixed position before Barry.
'What did he do?! How…'
Though he thought this to himself, he had bigger problems as Barry's arm shot out, the very air distorting around it as Thawne could feel the force of the attack brush against his face before it even reached him.
'Whatever! I'm still the fastest one here by a landslide, even if these gravity balls are restricting me…'
-BLEH!!!
Thawne's blurred face glitched as he spat a mouthful of blood that streamed down his body like a waterfall.
"This one…"
'The Velocity XI…'
Thawne's eyes widened as these words spoken by Barry entered his ears.
Silence descended as if they had entered their own world, their eyes connecting.
"Is for Ronnie."
-CRACK!!!!!!!!!!!
Barry's fist connected with Thawne's chest, so hard that the latter's chest caved in. His ribs crumbled to dust as Barry's very hand started to sink into Thawne's torso, passing the skin.
Thawne's eyes rolled to the back of his head, as he was sent flying so fast this speed alone was comparable to some speedsters.
-BOOM!!!
After hitting the ground a few times like a rock skipping on water, he finally hit the wall, the previous shockwave of the meteor prompting the integrity to lessen and crumble onto him.
'Beautiful.'
Derek grinned upon seeing this. He doubted there would ever be a time he would not smile in satisfaction upon seeing Thawne being beaten.
However, this joy was short-lived as the dust caused by the meteor started to settle.
As it did, it revealed its true structure. It wasn't quite the space rock some were expecting, but instead, a sleek and metallic pod of some sort, fashioning an opaque front glass.
'That worked better than I thought it would. But alas, I must deal with the consequences of my actions.'
Some feeling had long started to return to Derek as the bruising around his neck had significantly lessened, allowing him to struggle to his feet while using the wall as support.
'But it isn't the same this time…'
[You have used 20Sp]
'Thawne knew everything about this ongoing timeline. Therefore, all I had to do was throw a wrench in the gears and watch as this timeline frenzied…like last time.'
[You have purchased "Random Story Event"]
'But this time…I'm capable enough to handle whatever this damn event throws at me.'
Although he said this, a single bead of sweat ran down the side of his face as he read the course of screens that had appeared.
[In a distant galaxy, a peaceful planet reaches its end as a result of a Civil War, exploding into nothingness, killing every resident just as quickly]
[However, fate doesn't allow for this story to end here]
[A pod is released into the cosmos from said planet. A last-ditch effort to preserve the legacy of their history]
[It soars through space, without a destination. But soon enough, it drifts just close enough for a planet to become affected by its gravitational field, sending the pod plummeting downward…toward a new beginning]
Derek breathes in as he sees the "S" symbol on the pod, his eyes narrowing as the opaque glass of the pod clicks, a rush of air escaping from within.
[Result: You have stumbled upon the last remnants of a deceased civilization. Though similar to humans in some ways…the two species are wildly different]
A hand appeared from the steam, clutching onto the hinges of the opening, the grip crushing the metal effortlessly.
[But this pod isn't all that was to emerge from this earth. No, there was something else. Or rather…someone else]
[A powerful being searches for his cousin]
-BZZZZZ
Red eyes glowed from within the pod as a figure leaned out from within it, revealing their dishevelled blonde hair covering their face.
Or rather, her face.
'Welcome to Earth, Kara Danvers.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Chapter Title: A Promise between a Speedster and a Boy
Powerstones? Its a question mark because I'm giving you guys somewhat of a choice today rather than the usual empty threats.
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