#HIM AND TRYING TO GET THAD TO LEAVE THAWNE :(((

[flashdoesahundredyarddash]

some people keep saying that bart being hal and barry's child is a bad idea (I mean I really get the idea cuz hal's always away for space missions and barry would end raising him alone for most of the time + hal's commitment issues)

but idk I still can't help myself like It's really cute I like giving my otp a child

😭😭

I LIKE THIS IDEA. Honestly, I feel that as they first start to date, and a good point with Hal's commitment, Hal doesn't exactly see himself as a father? (<- Also I feel this is exactly him though. And not to mention how much I HATEEEEE that they gave HalCarol a kid because none of them would ever actually want a baby because they're so cooped with work and wanting to make it out for each other rather than always forcing themselves to marry, even with Carol wanting to move progressively with a relationship.)

Back to HAL, I mean he's great with taking care of kids and getting along with them, but I don't think he could want kids. This goes with Barry as well (<- They both are deadly afraid of committing to something that means they could lose someone), he's great with goods but he feels he couldn't be a good dad because of Dawn and Don scolding him from the future. Then again if they both had to take care of a kid (such as Bart, which I think is cute but Max is also the caretaker for him ngl... I think they would be great with Wally TOO because of Brave and The Bold shenanigans. One of my favorites <- Hal calling Wally son when he had the green lantern ring :((( )

BUT YES, I think they would be good as caretakers in a way that makes me emotional. Because they would want to try again with what they lacked during their childhood growing up...

[radioactive-earthshine]

Forgive me for being ignorant in your inbox but could you explain just how Bart is from another reality??? I've read all of Impulse and Young Justice and this never came up once I think. Did I miss something and I'm just being dumb?

Hello, you're not dumb. This was something not established until several years after Young Justice ended and takes place during the era of TTv3.

The words used is "parallel timeline" and not necessarily 'another reality' but they are talking about the Multiverse. Alternative timeline is also an acceptable way to describe what happened with Jenni and Bart and the entire story can be found on two pages in Final Crisis #3 ... if you even accept it.

This was written by Geoff Johns for the Final Crisis event where three Legion teams are brought together to take down Superboy Prime once and for all, fix reality, and to bring back Kon and Bart who were at this point in time very dead (but not really...)

Basically, Geoff decided to try and answer an old question of what future timeline did Barry Allen actually have his children in if the post-zero hour reboot should have wiped out Don and Dawn Allen, because the future would have changed to one that Barry should have never visited.

Bart and Jenni's origins are all deeply entwined with the Post-Zero Hour timeline, however Bart's first introduction and first rumblings as a character put him right before that Zero Hour reboot happened (by a couple months) so there were some.... questions... about his existence AND Jenni.

Bart technically could still exist as he was evacuated before the reboot hit, but Jenni... Jenni should not have existed in the Post-Zero Hour reboot at all if she was born before then unless the writers decided to reboot her too (which would have been an acceptable answer).

Geoff decided to try to untangle it (above) but he didn't do it particularly well because the above doesn't make sense in regards to both Jenni and Bart's established back stories.

1.) Jenni's backstory FIRMLY states that when Don and Dawn were murdered Jeven evacuated Jenni and himself back to his homeworld - granted this could still have happened with the above in place but if he arrived in an alternative timeline what home would he have to return to?

2.) Iris did NOT watch Jenni and Bart age to teenagers in days this just didn't happen. Jenni did not have Bart's hypermetabolism and she was actually normal until she got her powers as a teenager. By that time, Iris and Bart were already in the past. Iris broke into the facility holding Bart and evacuated him to the past, when he was physically 12, and then he aged to age 14 while fighting Wally. Jenni aged normally so there was no 'watching them age to teenagers in days'.

3.) Thaddeus Thawne. This makes BOTH Thad Thawnes impossible because President Thawne ordered both Don and Dawn murdered and engineered their deaths very shortly after Bart's birth, in fact Bart's birth is what prompted this! If they were from an alternative reality/timeline why would the new Thawne think to do this if Bart was already born? Also, why would he create Inertia who was the person at fault for Bart dying and is the "bad thing" that happened to the Flash Family Adult Brainiac is talking about. Yes you could say President Thawne is THAT unhinged (he is) but it just doesn't seem likely.

4.) If Don, Dawn, Jeven and Meloni jumped to an 'alternative timeline' then which Iris helped Bart escape to the past? Are there two Irises? The comic seems to imply that it was the original Iris but it's still vague enough to leave some holes. How did the original Iris get to Earth 247? Also, Iris did not reunite with Jenni until Jenni visited the past because when Iris rescued Bart - Jenni was on Arrok.

5.) Mushy memories as an excuse to cover up some blatant holes in the character's heads and the readers own recounting of events is lazy.

6.) Meloni Thawne's recounting of events in previous comics always paints a very clear picture that her father watched her fall for Don and was adamantly against it - if she was from an alternative timeline/reality then why would the President Thawne in the new reality (Earth-247) still be so persistent in trying to stop her union to Don? If she was reality jumping then she would have already married AND had a kid so... moot point.

It just doesn't work. Even if you are generous and claim it was cosmic soup as a result of the explosion it doesn't work.

But this is canon but it's canon that doesn't work - we get this sometimes and it's just up to the reader to decide what is and is not canon. If you never read ANY of the 90s comics, this would make sense and would be fine. But if you did, this would just make you scratch your head.

There's more impossibilities you can pick at, and some things that happened in the comics that Johns' fix does actually fix, but I am tired and am not going to go into them right now.

Other mysteries and mushy timeline nonsense; Jenni is actually supposed to be 2 years older than Bart.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Bart and Thad are not living in the same genre.

When they meet, Bart's initial response is to try to process the fact that this boy looks almost exactly like him by comparing the situation to TV shows. Before he even knows Thad's name, he's trying to enlist him in a prank on his friends and comparing their resemblance to the identical cousins on the 1960s sitcom The Patty Duke Show. Television has been among the means that Bart has tried to make sense of the twentieth century; shortly after moving to Alabama, he was watching reruns of (implied to be) The Andy Griffith Show to try to assimilate to Southern life. Max discourages this since all that's going to give him is a stereotypical view of things, but the habit seems to have persisted with anything that Bart doesn't have an immediate base of reference for.

He lives in a very sci-fi world. He knows what a clone is. One of his best friends is a clone. But that possibility doesn't even seem to occur to him. He goes straight to a sitcom explanation.

(Impulse #53)

And Thad doesn't even engage with that comment. He's got an urgent monologue to deliver, because he's living in a revenge tragedy. His world doesn't operate on sitcom rules; everything comes back to rivalry and family drama taken Extremely Seriously.

Even after Thad has given Bart the whole Spiel about the Thawne-Allen vendetta and his plans to destroy him...Bart doesn't seem to place much significance on this information. He's still trying to fit what's going on into some kind of trope he can recognize. So if this isn't a sitcom, maybe it's one of those Defeat Means Friendship stories from an action movie or an anime or a video game?

And obviously it isn't, because Thad is living exclusively in a world based on power struggles. This is why he can't grasp what makes Bart successful. Bart doesn't live in the same kind of world that he does. Long-winded lectures about family rivalry don't have the impact on him that Thad intends--in fact, they leave him entirely unmoved. Instead, Bart's here to have a good time and hopefully make a new friend. So they're unable to effectively communicate because neither of them are able to see each other's perspective and accept each other on his own terms. And Thad underestimates Bart, and Bart doesn't take Thad seriously enough, and they get nowhere.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

silence of your song

Fandom: DC Comics, Flashfam, Flash Rogues

Summary: Malcolm Thawne takes in Thad after weeks of being stalked by him. (Post-Mercury Falling)

Chapters: 1/?

Characters: Malcolm Thawne, Thaddeus Thawne, Bart Allen, Barry Allen

Additional Tags: Found Family, Dysfunctional, Reluctant Family, Redemption, Malcolm Thawne Wants a Family, Thaddeus Thawne and Malcolm Thawne Parallels, Canon Divergent AU, Retired Malcolm Thawne, Protective Malcolm Thawne, POV Malcolm Thawne, Childhood Memories, Malcolm Thawne Becomes Thaddeus Thawne's Dad, Adoption

Chapter One: Stray Cats

I kept the window cracked when it rained because my heater broke, and it stayed at a muggy eighty-six degrees in my fire trap of an apartment. I muted the TV and let it play, hoping it’d be on when I woke up from another nightmare. The thunder blocked out the sound of my upstairs neighbors loudly whispering while they argued, but I could hear every little noise outside my window. I could listen to every pitter-patter and drip-drop. Every rattle rattle and clang-bang. The noise was comforting. And comfort was in short supply since I was released.

I was tense, but not without reason. I’d been free for four months and in my apartment for two when I noticed a little boy trailing me. At first, I thought it was Barry’s grandson, but he had to be in his early twenties. This kid was maybe thirteen or fourteen… And blond. I had to give it to the kid. Most people wouldn’t have noticed him. He could’ve followed and taken notes for months before anyone recognized him. But I wasn’t anybody. Still, I figured he was one of them. I wanted to leave that part of my life behind and start over, but the pressure was immense with a pint-sized parole officer snooping around. That night, I didn’t see him. It was freezing outside, but inside, it was unbearable. I didn’t sleep with blankets anymore. Instead, I lay on the couch in summer clothes, having nightmares about my childhood. I woke with a jolt, clutching my chest. I leaned forward, clasping my hands around my neck, trying not to dwell on the pain. The nauseating anguish of an undeserved beating haunted me and pulled me apart, leaving me to pick up pieces of myself every night. That night, I laughed. I laughed because I was exhausted, sore, and sweaty. I would’ve spiraled, focusing only on the pain, had it not been for a strange sliver of light in the mostly dark living room. I looked toward the fire escape, feeling a strange sense of comfort. It felt like a sign that everything would be alright.

I heard a high-pitched shriek and a clanging sound like metal on metal. I stood up before realizing what I was doing and found myself standing on my fire escape in the rain, pulling the little boy up by his jacket. I pulled him up, and his legs gave. He crumpled, and I threw him over my shoulder. Thunder crackled, shaking the building, and he groaned. I couldn’t leave him outside on the metal fire escape to get electrocuted, so I took him inside. I carried him to my room and changed him into a dry sweatshirt. He stirred before raising a hand to me, and I caught his little wrist in my fist.

“Don’t call the police,” he panicked. I raised an eyebrow before laughing at him. The laugh built from a chuckle to a hollering roar once I saw the wide-eyed, slack-jawed look on his face. His face was so round and immature. He couldn’t have been Barry’s grandson. He was so small up close. His fear shifted to confusion, and my shirt slipped off his shoulder.

He shivered, and I let go of him to grab a towel. I heard him shift once I turned my back. “Sit down. I’m not gonna call the cops,” I reassured him, “Do you like tea?”

“Like sweet tea?” he asked weakly. I chuckled and shook my head.

“Stay put. You’re not in any trouble. I’ll take you home once you’re warmed up,” I replied, “And put those sweats on. I’ll be back in a minute.”

I left him alone in my room and put the tea kettle on the stove. He stumbled into the kitchen behind me, holding the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his sweatpants in his fist. “Pull the waistband as far as it goes and put it around your neck,” I explained. He did as I said, watching me with uncertain eyes. I pulled a chair over and invited him to sit near the kitchen island. The color hadn’t returned to his cheeks, and his head drooped forward. Almost dying took a lot out of the kid. I opened a bag of chips and passed it to him. “Where are your folks?”

“Don’t have any,” he answered.

Despite the fatigue, his eyes kept steady contact with mine. He wasn’t lying. “Where do you live?” I asked. He didn’t answer. I had hundreds of questions for the kid, but they weren’t my priority. “How old are you supposed to be?”

“I’m supposed to be fourteen,” he answered.

The kettle whistled, and I turned my back. “It’s late for a kid your age to be out peeping in windows,” I teased, “I should’ve known you didn’t have anybody to go home to… Or they’re not paying enough attention. I get the feeling you have folks, but you don’t wanna go home to them. I recognize your face. You look a lot like Barry’s-.” I turned to give him his tea and smiled at him. He lay fast asleep over the counter, breathing hard, almost snoring. I set the cup on the other side of the counter and carried him to bed.

My questions could wait until the morning. I draped blankets over the kid, and he rolled onto his stomach. “Sleep tight, little guy,” I whispered. I returned to the kitchen, drank his tea, and slept on my couch. The pitter-patter and drip-drops, the crackles and booms, and the noise of my neighbors and the fire escape faded away. I slept through the night feeling something I’d never felt before. Comfort.

*

I caught the boy trying to sneak out in the morning and grabbed the back of his sweatshirt before picking him up and holding him at arm’s length like a baby. He struggled and scratched, lashing out like a feral cat, but he didn’t scream. He didn’t make much noise. Not at all. “Hey… Hey, I’m gonna put you down, but you’ve gotta calm down and let me help you. I need to know why you’ve been following me. I’m not gonna hurt you,” I reassured him. He stopped fighting, and I set him down, straightening his sweatshirt.

He wrung his little scarred fists. “I wanted to meet the person who-. You’re the reason I’m here… And I want to know why,” his little voice broke. I nodded, but I didn’t understand. “You thought I was Bart.”

“You’re smaller than him… He looked like that the last time I saw him, but he should be older now,” I whispered, “Who are you?”

“I’m a clone… Of Bart... I was supposed to finish what you started. I was supposed to kill the Allens, and I failed,” he answered, “And you quit! Why didn’t you do it yourself? Why is all the pressure on me? I shouldn’t even-!” I shushed him. “I shouldn’t even be here. I’m alone because of you. I exist because of you. It’s all your fault that I have no one.” He whispered the last part.

I sat on the arm of the couch and listened to the kid while he explained what he was and where he came from. “Hey… Okay… That’s a lot. You’re fourteen... Right? Let-. Let me help you. I want to help, okay?” I asked. I felt awful “Why would you wanna help me?” he snapped.

My hands shook as I heard the question. The kid might’ve looked like Barry’s grandson, but he sounded like me when I was his age. “You’re a little weirdo. I was a little weirdo, too. An oddball. I was an oddball as a kid,” I tripped over my words. “You can stay here until you let me take you home.”

“I don’t need-.”

“You need a legal guardian. You need a family, and I don’t have one-.”

“You don’t understand. I hate you,” the kid interrupted.

“Hate me all you want, but you’re fourteen with no family. I want you to stay put. You can’t be homeless. I can’t let you be homeless… Okay? I need you to falsify some documents saying you’re my kid and that your mom is missing or something-.”

“Why?” he questioned.

“Because I’ll be able to explain why you’re here when my neighbors see you… And I don’t have money to take care of you, but I can take care of you-. I need to be able-. I want to help you. My job takes care of me, but I’ve gotta take care of you because I owe you,” I stammered. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. “No argument?”

“I don’t feel well,” he replied. I smiled and rustled a hand through his thick blond curls. He swatted my hand away.

“Sorry… Hey, what’s your name?” I asked.

“I’m named Thaddeus Thawne after the president-.”

“President?” I asked.

“Yeah, but he’s-. Well, I-. It’s hard to explain,” Thaddeus replied. It was a big name for such a small kid.

“What do you like to be called? People tried to call me Mack when I was a kid, and I didn’t let it stick because I preferred Malcolm. After all, the people that called me Mack were never friendly enough to me to be that familiar with me,” I explained.

“Thad is fine,” he answered.

I felt sick in the pit of my stomach looking at him. I couldn’t blame him for hating me. He was under immense pressure to finish what I started. I still couldn’t help but see myself in him. His loneliness. His anger. His longing. I figured I could fix things by being the person I needed when I was his age. So it began. Two Thawnes. Blood Allens.

[dementedspeedster]

[ TRAINING ] -- Match

Accepting || Pinned Against a Wall

@supraxstcllas

“Oh.” Is the first gasping slip of a word the leaves Thad as the sound of the resounding thump of his body pinned against echoes within the room they were sparring in.

It was rare for him to get the chance to spar with someone who could keep up with him and his speed so easily. It had been an exciting prospect to fight with Match, and though they were each holding back in ways, this was a friendly spar after all, training, the speedster had almost immediately forgotten what it was like to fight a Kryptonian. Match’s speed had caught him off guard, there had been less time to react, less time to think, but that was made it exciting as they exchanged blow for blow. Having someone who was your equal keep you on your toes for ever second, every movement, and occupying your every thought as your body worked purely on instinct trying to keep up and stay ahead, though that had not been the outcome for Thad as he stared back at the pair of yellow eyes he couldn’t fully read, but it had been exhilarating as his heart pounded in his chest.

“O-oh, uh,” Thad stutters, his mind stumbling as his eyes flick from the serious look on Match’s face to the firm grip he has on him, pushing him, pinning him to the wall, and Thad is still in the moment as he forgets just what he should have been doing in the moment. This was a training exercise, sparring, not a moment to be getting flustered over by his friend here. The thought to struggle occurs to him, and he does...though in vain.

Genius idea there, Thawne. Genius. Brilliant. Truly one for the ages. He has super strength and telekinesis of course that wasn’t going to work!

With his hair now partially mussed Thad stood there embarrassed and dumbfounded as he looked at anywhere past the other clone to anything in the room. Hopefully it looked at least as if he was considering another plan of attack of escape, rather than merely panicked by his own racing thoughts.

“Good...Great job, Match.” Out of breath he pats the other clone’s forearm twice, it was all he could reach in the moment as he was still in his grip, as he gave a sign that he ceded the fight to him.

“You really had me on the ropes there. I, uh, think I’m going to call it a day. So you can....just...” He slides his hand up to Match’s hand, his fingers digging between Match’s own, “Let go.”

[austarus]

Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader x Harry Wells: Six Crows - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Extrication From The Void

*A/N: This edit does belong to me, though the individual photos don’t belong to me

**Please don’t forget to comment, like, and reblog. It means a lot to content creators of all kinds!

***I’d also like to thank @grimtamlain-writes​ for being my beta reader.

Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader x Harry Wells: Six Crows

Word Count: 7152

MASTERLIST

You watched the timer as it hit ‘zero’; your heart dropped heavily in your chest as the numbers flashed in red multiple times. Time was up; five days had passed – a decision had been made. Eobard had set that timer right as you had come back home from Harrison’s, after the talk you two had in the Speed Lab. At first, the countdown wasn’t so bad – you’d only check it at the end of the first two nights, but as the hour ticked to signal the end of the third day you dreaded every silent minute. Your nerves were spiked, and anxiety crept in your mind; sleep was just as nearly as impossible as before. What had been little glances at the timer turned to checking it every thirty minutes to every ten minutes and waiting. Waiting and waiting. Sometimes you forgot to eat, other times you were too preoccupied in your thoughts that Eobard had sent Thad and Jesse to coax you into leaving the Speed Lab to get some food and rest while he worked on perfecting the extraction plan. Your mouth felt dry as Jesse and Thad put the finishing touches to assembling all the equipment. Your eyes stung as you stared at the open space in the newly refined lab, such an endeavor by Thaddeus when he grew bored from working on optimizing the NTE (Negative Tachyon Enhancer). Eobard’s gaze softened as he watched you clench and unclench your hands a few times. Jesse and Thaddeus glanced at each other with sagged shoulders, their eyes flickering back to you who had your back turned to all of them.

“I’ll go get him.” Eobard’s voice brought you out of your trance – his heart was still shaken about the condition of your future self. But Eobard reminded himself that this was for your happiness and for his children, he’d do anything to secure their safety. He’d burn down the world and build it back up for them. You knew that. So did Thaddeus and potentially Jackson. It was not below the villain to travel back to Harrison to drag him here kicking and screaming to bring back a man he’d have to learn to get along with for future’s sake. For Jesse, Thad, and Jack. Since Thaddeus’ arrival and revelation, Eobard’s thoughts had been consumed with how you and he would make things work with Harry. How in the distant future, this union would be the establishment of an intricate legacy built on affection, compromise, and understanding… That is, if Harry was even willing to make things work after hearing the truth in this timeline. Timelines vary, decisions can be altered. Was he himself ready to make such a compromise for your sake? Eo had about 3 months to collect his thoughts and feelings on the matter, coming to the conclusion that he would be willing to try to make things work for your happiness. 

But Harry? This would no doubt be sprung on him once he returns in one peace. And using what knowledge he knows about the Wells doppelganger; Eobard can predict very few reactions from the man. Eobard had already come to terms that if Harry makes you happy then he wouldn’t lay a finger on him even if he rejects the notion firsthand. Even if deep down, Eobard’s jealousy would fester until bursting that your attention would not solely be on him. This would take some getting used to – the sharing, another person to look after. The speedster knows you all too well that you wouldn’t force this onto Harry, yet surely the prospect of Jack and Thad will change his mind through time. Jackson, the son he has yet to see. The son that would disappear should Harry decide that this wasn’t worth trying for with you and him. An unintentional casualty. Thaddeus would be robbed of his twin brother once more, this time by Harry’s hand.

“Do as you must,” you whispered, throwing a look over your shoulder to your speedster. Before Eobard could even summon his suit, a portal opened before you, causing you to take a step back with a hand ready to pull out some carbon from your body. Slight wind whipped in the air. Jesse and Thaddeus took a step forward, but Eobard held an arm out to stop them. There would be no threat here tonight. Your breath caught in your throat as Harrison stepped out with an all too familiar scowl on his face. His clear-framed glasses were perched on his face as always and his hair was mussed from the time travel. Tension hung thickly in the speed lab as Harrison continued to lock eyes with you. Your hands felt clammy as you chewed on the inside of your cheek.

Harrison’s eyes landed on the young man in the room; one of the nephews you had mentioned to him a few days ago. The dark-haired genius noticed traces of familiar features of himself from the young man, noting the tell-tale signs that he was also a speedster. His father’s son. The young man’s eyes burned brightly, watching him with curiosity and by no mistake that aspect only fueled that he was your child. You had done the same when he first came to STAR Labs to reveal himself before brushing him off with a cold attitude. A little ball of bitterness developed inside of Harrison as his mind wandered. Maybe I could…? No, that’d be selfish and everything in the timeline would go to absolute shit. The timeless being gritted his teeth as no one dared to speak up. Harrison would only bring in an aberration into the world if he were to do that. He would not make the mistake Martin Stein had done – a recollection from Harry.  Harrison shifted his eyes to the young woman beside the speedster – his heart twisting as Harry’s memories seeped into his mind. Jesse “Quick”; Harry’s brilliant daughter and the child he would never have with his Tess. Licking his lips slightly, Harrison saw Tess in Jesse, a moment he had dreaded and a desire that would never come to fruition. While he knew Harry had lost his Tess when Jesse was young, the man still envied his doppelganger for having the one thing he had planned to have with Tess when he had first proposed – the very first time before Eobard had killed the love of his life and stole his molecular structure as a facade.

Harrison’s light blue eyes finally landed on Thawne who stood in front of Jesse and the young man protectively. Hatred gripped at the genius’ heart; the selfish speedster that had ripped his happiness away all for the price of revenge against a child. Harrison could have had a family; a daughter or a son or both with Tess. Jesse could have been his daughter too. A little family that he would return to from the labs and take care of. A life beyond the miserable time loop he had allowed himself to live in for some semblance of normalcy with the woman who had captured his heart and soul. But happiness came at a price, didn’t it? He would never attain that happiness; not in this timeline and not in another. And as much as Harrison wanted to stay out of it – to rid himself of the issues that you bring to his door, Harrison couldn’t deny that he was intrigued about your little family quip. There was more to this story of yours than meets the eye.

“You came.”

“I did, but I didn’t come on the premise of a sudden change in heart.” There was no warmth in Harrison’s words, neither in his eyes as he finally looked at you. It took sheer willpower to muster such an expression to you, sheer mental control to push memories of you from his other versions away. The feelings and affections they have towards you. But that was why he was here after all. One less series of memories the Wells can do away with and you would be bound by your agreement to never seek him out again. “I came here out of pity and with the soul promise that your cursed family will leave me be,” Harrison brushed you off before sending a glare towards Eobard, who only narrowed his eyes at his mirror image. “Mark my words, if the deal is not honored then you will regret it.”

“The deal will be honored,” you responded firmly.

Eobard almost snorted, only raising an amused eyebrow at the Timeless Wells. The villainous speedster took the threat lightly because really in comparison to him, Harrison was no real threat. The dark-haired speedster could easily take down the man he had killed to masquerade, even if he had time-based powers. Every set of abilities has its own weakness and Eobard would make it his goal to be Harrison’s should he choose to come after his family. You would be a little hesitant on retaliating, but that was fine with Eobard since he knew you’d ultimately defend yourself. He understood how a familiar face can cause reluctance to inflict pain, after all he’s done it so much to Team Flash using Harrison’s face. Instead of responding to Harrison, Eobard simply ignored the threat as a greater insult to the genius. He gets time-based powers and suddenly he feels he can act all high and mighty in this situation. Oh, how wrong you are, Wells.

“He’s certainly prickly like dad.” Jesse nudged you with her elbow as Harrison approached Eobard with cautious steps. His eyes examined the pieces of technology that have been assembled. The pod that lingered near two seats that were placed back to back and connected to the pod with various tubes. Harrison noticed the generator hooked up to both stations as well in the Speed Lab.

You briefly glanced at her before stepping over to the others. “Trust me, he’s only like that because of me and Eobard. He’s much sweeter to the others.” To me when he arrived at STAR Labs.

“So, how does this plan of yours exactly work, Thawne?” 

Eobard licked his lips and cleared his throat, tell-tale signs of a scientific lecture that Harrison will no doubt be able to follow accordingly. They were both geniuses, after all. “Simply put, we will be extricating Harry from you.” Harrison raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, biting back a remark to let the speedster continue. “As we all know, Harry and the rest of the Wells’ organic particles reside in you, allowing you to come into existence after their downfall with Barry’s artificial Speed Force machine. Their organic molecules pulled you into existence from whatever void you had been in with the addition of you being able to harness their memories. I’ve replicated the Neural Bridge device that Team Flash had made in order to sync brainwaves, further enhancing it to accommodate for the different frequencies of brainwaves for people outside of Earth-1.” The futuristic speedster holds two simple devices that will encase the head. Jesse had been the one to piece it together from what she remembered 4-5 years ago as the young genius made the necessary modifications with Thaddeus to project Earth-2 signal frequencies. She glanced at her brother seeing that he was just as nervous as she was

You took a step forward towards the two men, with pocketed hands. “Cisco and Harry had used this device to pull Barry out of the Speed Force five years ago.” You added in solemnly. “Later it was used to communicate with Savitar, Barry’s evil time remnant, to take him down, and then against Devoe. We will be syncing Jesse’s Earth-2 brainwave frequency to yours while the two of you are rendered unconscious by the Neural Bridge. You’ll be hooked up to her signal.”

“By using Jesse as a beacon, we’ll be isolating Harry’s Earth-2 signature as well as his organic molecules that resonate within you. She’ll be the anchor that will pull him back,” Eobard continued as Harrison looked over to the young speedster. Jesse sent a little nod to the Earth-1 Wells, her insides squeezing at the prospect that they were actually going through with this. She was going to see her dad again and she was going to meet her other brother. The Timeless Wells saw hope twinkle in her eyes – how could he rip such a thing away from her? “All you need to do is to let go of anything that belongs to Harry. His quirks, his memories, his feelings. Jesse will need to focus heavily on Harry through her memories – any vivid memory that will harness Harry’s DNA and memories into the Organic Extricator Pod.” Glancing to the side, Harrison eyed the glass pod beside the young man who drummed his fingers against the glass a few times.

“And the primary power source that’ll be used?” Harrison dropped his crossed arms to study Eobard and you over his shoulder.

“Thaddeus,” you gestured to your son, “will use his speed to power up the generator. He’s capable of running at Jesse’s speed”

Harrison took a glimpse at Thaddeus, seeing a flicker of red in the young man’s eyes. Traces of the Negative Speed Force. The young man sent him a cheeky smile and a little wave; he was completely harmless compared to his bastard speedster father. Harrison ignored the gesture instead fully turning to you and Eobard. “Will it hold?”

You glanced at Eobard when prompted by Harrison’s question. Eobard firmly responded, “It should hold.”

“‘Should’ and ‘will’ are two different words,” Harrison huffed out with a slight cynical laugh. He adjusted his glasses before asking, “And what about the potential physiological damage that can happen to me?” The dark-haired time traveler challenged your fiance, staring him down with doubt and hostility present in his questions. Harrison doesn’t doubt Eobard’s genius and the calculations made, but the Wells doubted his current position for safety. Eobard pursed his lips, holding his irritation in. “You certainly didn’t think I’d go through with it after such an explanation. Would this be your way of tearing me molecule by molecule, Thawne? Would this be your assurance that my time loop ends with my demise?”

Your hand gripped onto Eobard’s larger hand tightly before he could say anything. You responded in his stead with a jab of your own, “I will be monitoring your vitals. Should anything happen to you then I will step in, I’m a physician after all. Surely, you’d gathered that much from the memories that reside inside of you, Harrison.”

Harrison stood there speechless for a moment before gathering himself to respond. “You planned to save me?” His throat felt dry.

“You do have your own love to go back to,” you nodded simply, sending him a small smile. As pointless as it might seem to me, you’ll desire to go back to her no matter how much it upsets you deep down. Harrison pressed his lips for a moment, silent as he looked over the board of equations. Eobard didn’t like it when people second-guessed his work, especially if it came from this Wells. Harry, he might be able to tolerate it as they can try to work together for your sake. Key word ‘might’. But Harrison? There was no common ground between them. “I promised you we’d leave you alone. Whether you desire to see your nephews from then on would be up to you. I have no doubt that they wouldn’t turn you away from being their uncle.”

One look at Jesse and Thaddeus’ hopeful faces had Harrison sighing from deep within and averting his eyes from them. The pleading looks tickled his heart – he couldn’t bear the feeling if they were to look at him any longer. The little seeds of guilt that had been planted. Never had he thought he’d be doing this. “When do we start?”

“Now,” had been Eobard’s immediate response.

“Now?” Harrison’s eyes narrowed slightly at the speedster, and you nibbled on your bottom lip as their interaction continued.

“Yes, now.” Eobard retorted, powering up the devices and the generator, though it needed to siphon off Thad’s speed to be at its full capacity. “The more time we spend, the more you’re likely to re-think your decision and leave. Might as well rip the band-aid off.” Eobard sent the Original Wells a side-smirk, handing the Neural device to Jesse who was already stepping up on the podium that mounted to the back-to-back seats. A huff left Harrison to which you patted his arm, sending him a thankful whisper and a meaningful look. He hated it; hated how he had a slight weakness for you because of Harry, HR, Sherloque, and Nash.

Thad took a step towards the Timeless Wells while swallowing thickly. His anxiety was flaring since his uncle had stepped through the portal. Scratch that- since the timer had whittled down to zero. “Uh, Uncle Harrison?”

“Don’t call me that.” Harrison responded brusquely, putting the Neural bridge on his head and adjusted it to fit comfortably with his clear-framed glasses perched on his nose. “I’m not your uncle, I’m not part of your family.” I don’t want to be part of this dysfunctional family anyway. I wanted to have a family of my own… but I can’t. Because of your damned father.

“Right. Sorry, um…” Thaddeus responded sheepishly, continuing to fiddle with the palm of his hand. A memory flickered through Harrison’s mind. It was when Sherloque spoke of your nervous habit to you when you two first met. The Original Wells was pulled out of his thoughts once more by the young speedster. “Thank you for doing this. For helping us bring my dad and brother back. I… it means the world to me and Jesse that we get to see them again.”

“…” Harrison said nothing, and Thaddeus took that as his cue to walk away to where the Speed Chamber’s entrance was. Maybe I shouldn’t have been harsh on him. Once he got the signal, then he’d start powering up the generator for as long as he could. “How long will we be under?” Harrison directed his attention towards you, who was securing all the power lines and making sure Jesse was all prepped. The young Wells was more determined than ever, but Harrison still sensed a bit of unease from her as she sat behind him. You kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand, whispering words of comfort and reassurance. Jesse’s heart squeezed tightly, thanking you for everything before you moved away from her.

“Maximum 10 minutes, optimally though five minutes is the desired time frame to pull Harry out before Thad and Eobard switch places,” you answered, coming over to stand in front of him with your tablet. Your eyes ran over the results of the diagnostic scans before your eyes met his baby blue hues. “You should be knocked out within a few seconds of initiating the Neural Bridge.”

“Why not have Thawne run first? Surely, he’s faster than your son.”

“You’re right, but Thaddeus is determined to use any bit of his power to bring his brother back. Let him have this. Jack, his twin, is mainly of Harry’s lineage, but from what he’s told me then those two are inseparable.”

“Interesting. Fraternal twins born of the same mother,” Harrison leaned back in his chair, “but two men who are supposedly genetically identical. One child inherited speed, the other child did not.” To form fraternal or dizygotic twins, two eggs (ova) are fertilized by two sperm and produce two genetically unique children. In this case one egg received Thawne’s and the other received Harry’s genetic DNA.

“That seems to be the case, yes.” You nodded with an edge of pride in your voice. “My future twin boys.”

“Are we ready?” Eobard moved from the main monitor that would track Harrison and Jesse’s vitals along with their brain wavelength. You licked your lips throwing Harrison one last smile, one last look filled with hope and gratefulness, before you moved back a step. An expression you’d never given him. Should something happen, the extrication will be halted, and an assessment will be made to modify the current technology. But everything should run accordingly, the kids and I worked hard on this. Jesse threw a look over her shoulder, nodding at the villain she had grown close to – even almost seeing him as another father in these last couple months. Harrison averted his eyes for a moment, hesitant before looking up and nodding at you and Eobard. Thaddeus fidgeted from foot to foot with his speedster suit on, his eyes trained on you and his father before glancing at his sister. Thaddeus gave her that goofy smile to which she shook her head at him before a smile crossed her own face.

Harrison watched you step away from where he sat to stand beside Eobard. The scientist took a deep breath in, mentally preparing himself for what’s about to unfold. “Here we go,” Eobard murmured softly to you, letting your hand drop as he let his fingers dance across the control panel. Right as Eobard flicked the appropriate switches, Harrison and Jesse lost consciousness – laying limp in their chairs but breathing softly. Thaddeus had started running when his father had given him the cue, hitting Mach 2.7 with ease and gradually increasing to Mach 2.8 with the NTE attached to his chest. Red and black lightning licked up in the air, streaking the circuit as energy was released into the system. A smile twitched on Eobard’s lips; Thad was getting very close to his average speed.

2% Complete

***

Jesse snapped her eyes open, a vague light in the darkness that surrounded her. She stood in the middle of the Pluto Exhibit at the Central City Observatory; all was silent. Not a single thing moved in sight. Blinking a few times, she looked around – a miniature version of the Solar System hung above her head while multiple wall hangings of space faced her. This must be one of my memories. Why the observatory though? Jesse frowned to herself before the sounds of multiple footsteps and rough mumbles greeted her ears. Instinctively, the speedster ducked behind a far corner to peer cautiously at the scene. Her mouth dried at the site of her father; dark hair all ruffled while sporting his black clothes as security guards flooded the exhibit. Harry was younger then, but he still wore an angry expression on his face with worry ever present in his eyes as he threatened Griffin Hodge, the Observatory’s owner. How can I forget? Dad had lost me in the Constellation Exhibit – well, I sorta wandered off when he wasn’t looking. A sigh left her as a feeling of longing pulsed in her heart. Here she was, obscuring herself behind a wall to a memory she never thought she’d revisit. A sharp pang echoed in the young speedster’s heart as one of the security guards pulled a 6-year-old version of Jesse from underneath the tables that held the time’s information on Pluto. Giggling at being found in her little game of ‘hide and seek’ with the guards.

He was so mad that day, but he was so relieved to see me… He got me ice cream on the drive home and played with me all night until I fell asleep for school the next day. Wouldn’t let me go. Never, not since mom passed… How long has it been since this had crossed my mind? Swallowing thickly, Jesse heard a little click behind her as if a door had been unlocked. Turning her head, the metal doors gently swung open, and light filtered out towards her, beckoning her forward. Standing up straighter, the speedster took a step before throwing one last look behind her. Jesse saw her dad crouch down and enveloped her younger self in a tight hug, no doubt whispering that she shouldn’t leave his side like that again. I miss you so much, dad. She could only wonder how Thaddeus feels… Turning back to the source of light, Jesse walked forward into the next memory.

We’re coming for you.

***

Harrison blinked at the darkness in his own mind, a slight headache forming. Adjusting his clear-framed glasses, Harrison floated in the darkness – one that rivaled your own conjuring that night above the labs when he was to return to Tess. The venom in your words that you had spat in his face. The only light that came was the green aura-like light around Harrison. Noticing the white string that was wrapped around his wrist, Harrison looked on into the direction the thread led off to. There was nothing but darkness. Who was Harry Wells? I’m Harrison Wells, but so was Harry. Yet, we’re different. A breath left the genius as he shut his eyes and tried to focus. On what though? What should I be focusing on…? A giggle drifted from the darkness. Turning his head, Harrison’s eyes widened as his feet gingerly landed on the tiled floor of the hospital. He stood in the doorway, the two people in the hospital room were none the wiser to his presence. An odd wave of nostalgia hit Harrison at the scene in front of him. He watched his doppelganger gently smile at his own Tess; a little bundle swaddled in her arms. The child was sound asleep, breathing gently. Harrison’s heart ached at Harry’s memory, jealousy slipping inside of him. He watched Harry’s Tess Morgan giggle at the baby, who’s eyes were shut.

“What should we call her?” Harry asked, visibly struggling with caressing his child’s soft cheeks with his thumb. He saw how Harry’s fingers shook, afraid that he would hurt his new baby girl. Harrison knew Harry had been reluctant in having children – they weren’t for him, but… Tess had her ways in convincing him, after all.

“Jesse. Her name will be Jesse.”

Harry Wells was not a cruel man. Harrison breathed out through his nose as he left the scene through the open door down the hospital corridor. The Timeless Wells walked back into the darkness, the door shutting tightly behind him. That should have been my moment too. That should have been my happiness with Tess. Pivoting, Harrison saw that the memory had bubbled. Watching it with intrigue, Harrison let it settle in between the palms of his hands and felt such warmth radiant from it. He pushed that memory down the direction of the string that was tied to his wrist. He could only assume that the string led to Jesse and the Organic Extricator Pod. I’m supposed to let go of anything that is Harry Wells. 

Harrison’s ears were greeted by the screams of agony and command shouts to the side of him. The smell of blood lingered in the air in the direction of the rusted door. Harrison felt frozen in place - the sounds of war he was not accustomed to had drawn him close to the door. Before his hands could even turn the door’s knob, the memory sealed itself in a bubble only allowing Harrison a small preview window of The War of The Americas. The time traveler could sense bitterness and malice as the bubble drifted in font of him. He peered into the memory, bodies were falling left and right as blood sprayed the ground and bullets rained from the heavens. Harrison gritted his teeth at the blatant disregard for human life. Bombs went off, limbs flew in the air. The Original Wells wanted to throw his guts up as soldiers were maimed battle after battle. The physical and mental scars that would haunt Harry for the rest of his life. Harry was a man that was prepared for every possible solution – a veteran of war and one hell of a sharpshooter. Harrison gazed at the open palm of his hand solemnly before clenching it tightly. Harry has had his fair share of loss and sorrow. The anguish, the terror, and the hostility… the trauma Harry must have suffered... War brought out the worst in humanity - greed took the form of leadership as soldiers were moved around the chess board as pawns in this accursed game of life.

Harrison swallowed thickly, sweat had collected on his forehead as he was faced with a new memory – the clouds were overcast as the heavens cried this time. Droplets fell, but he never got wet. The Timeless Wells watched Harry stand with an umbrella in one hand while Jesse, no more than three years old, was cradled in his other arm. Their backs were turned to him. Harrison’s heart stung as his eyes scanned over the tombstone; he can only imagine the pain that will forever linger in his existence. A pain that had dulled in Harrison time after time in his Time Loop with Tess. He had to harden his heart when his wife died.

He was a father. Another door had appeared, this time of opening a scene to Harry frantically searching every corner and crevice at an Observatory. Harrison watched Harry in his panicked state as he called out Jesse’s name. The security guards aided him, looking into every exhibit as he stood there threatening a man who had shrunk in his place under Harry’s heated gaze. It wasn’t until a security guard had pulled out the giggling child that Hell’s wrath had dissipated in Harry as he took Jesse in his arms. Harrison heard the child whisper a small apology as her father held her tightly. The memory bubbled once more as he left and again, he sent the memory down the thread. Memory after memory was sent down. Some didn’t make sense to Harrison, he assumed that they no longer came in chronological order, but some included what he suspected were the events leading up to Zoom and his stay on Earth-1 with Team Flash. Moments of banter, frowns turned into reluctant smiles with witty comments between him and the others. The anger and frustration to throw his tools around to piss of Cisco, something Harrison would never do. But I guess that’s one more difference between Harry and I. The death of ‘The Turtle’ and the guilt that fed into the scientist, for his actions had led to Iris’ hospitalization. The hope and determination of going back to Earth-2 to get his daughter. There was so much darkness around him. One thing had been clear though. Harry Wells was… is one of a kind and no Wells would replace the other in the hearts of Team Flash. He was stubborn, overprotective, grumpy, rough, serious and snarky, but Harry was not an evil man. 

Harrison craned his head to find himself in STAR Labs. Not the one on Earth-2, but the Labs that should have belonged to him and Tess in the future he envisioned with her. Another memory, hmm… The lights flickered in the dim corridor and the air felt heavy. Tension hung thickly as Harrison took one quiet step after the other down the winding corridor. Ragged breaths and crazed shouts became clearer the closer Harrison got. The blood in his body froze right as blood splattered everywhere right in front of him – the walls, the ceiling, and the concrete ground. What the-? Harrison’s eyes widened as his breath hitched in his chest, tightening at the sickening sight of so much blood. The burly man in front of you instantly crumpled to the ground, blood flowing heavily from his chest as your ‘shadows’ that had pierced the man from inward out in every direction began to dissipate. It was a gruesome site, such were the capabilities of your powers. Your back had been facing Harrison the entire time, your shoulders shook as one hand was limply hanging by your side and your other was clenched tightly in a fist close to your upper body but still in the air. Harry was on the ground, a tired look was prominent on his face with sweat trickling down his face, but fear was present in his wide eyes as he cradled his bloodied side with an injured arm. His other arm propped his body up on the ground. Dried blood was caked down the side of Harry’s face.

“(Y/N),” Harry whispered your name softly, his throat had felt dry, and his body screamed at him for even the slightest of movements from the pain embedded in his side. A shudder ran through you as Harrison watched you drop to your knees, bringing both shaky hands in front of you as you remained covered in blood. Harrison felt sick to his stomach, but he couldn’t look away from you – this version of you who was only a few years younger than the one he was talking to earlier. Not the cool composure you typically have, but vulnerable like this.

“What have I done?” Your breathing picked up; you were on the verge of a panic attack.

With all the strength left in his body, Harrison watched Harry scoot his wounded self towards your humbled form. Tears left your eyes, puffing up and reddening from what you had just done. “Hey, hey. Stop. Look at me-”

“-I-I didn’t mean to. He was going to kill you.”

“Look at me,” Harry rasped out firmly, a hand gripping the side of your face to meet his gaze. His thumb rubbed a tear away. “It was a mistake, ok? It’s not your fault. He-”

“-I just killed a man, Harry!”

“But not out of cold blood.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve killed in cold blood.” Harrison felt the sting in those words on Harry’s part. “Because you’re shaking right here, right now and you feel regret. Regret for someone you don’t know. Because killing was never your intention, it’s not you. Because all you did was react in self-defense to seeing me like this.”

“I feel like a monster,” you breathed out, your hands falling limply in your lap as you averted your eyes.

“You’re anything but a monster.”

“… You can’t tell them.”

“What?”

“Barry and the others, you can’t tell them about this.”

“What are you-”

“-If you do, I’ll let them know about you and Zoom.” You had snapped your eyes back onto Harry, a guarded flicker in your eyes as those words left your mouth. Harrison blinked at the scene.

This must have been early before Harry had stolen Barry’s speed and his confession to the others. When Zoom had forced his hand into cooperating in exchange for Jesse’s safety.

Harry’s eyes widened in panic, his hand falling from your blood-stained cheek. Harrison watched his body go rigid, Harry’s expression steeled under your gaze. His mission to bring Jesse back would not be compromised by you. Harry pressed his lips into a thin line for a moment before speaking, “How do you know about Zoom?”

“I followed you that one night, in the 'shadows'. I hid in the darkness of the alley where you were meeting Zoom at night, and I watched the exchange. I knew there was a reason for you being here other than wanting to stop Zoom. He has your daughter.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“… My secret is mine to tell, yours is your own. Just… Please, Harry.”

“…” Harry looked into your pleading eyes, your strained voice from the shock in your system. A rough sigh left him as he grunted in response, “Get me to the med bay.” His eyes became cold, and you only nodded with a dejected look as you helped him. An expression that meant to say, ‘I didn’t want to threaten you, I just… didn’t know if I could trust you’.

Harrison was pulled out of that memory abruptly, the door shut tightly and the memory bubbled instantly in front of him as he gathered his bearings. The hair at the back of his neck still stuck up at this revelation, but he can’t deny the sympathy he felt for you. The haunting look in your eyes from taking a life. Such innocence at the time. Did the others find out that he knew? Harrison was hesitant in sending this memory bubble down the line. More was revealed of your exchanges with his Earth-2 doppelganger, the closeness that developed between you two during the events with Zoom. The dependability and reassurance of one another even if the flower of love had not bloomed yet - the little touches and missed looks. The more Harrison had let go of each memory, the more he learned about you and your past struggles through Harry’s eyes. Through Harry’s eyes the Timeless Wells began to understand who you truly were and how Harry felt for you. How you had struggled with the trauma of Thawne’s initial death and the depression that followed.

Harry had been your cage, your safe space for your powers not to go as rampant from your distressed emotions like it had in the Labs’ corridor. Thawne’s death had caused you to spiral - your control over your powers slacked as you seldom used it when the Team was dishing it out with Zoom. You had been the one visiting Harry the most during the Savitar events, confiding in him the underlying words Savitar had told you during the team’s interrogation. He had been the one to entrust you with Jesse’s safety as she spent time on Earth-1 with Wally. Mentions of HR here and there, a sweet man really, but Harrison sensed moments of jealousy on Harry’s part even when you’d remained by his side. This version of you was not aware of Thawne’s return due to Flashpoint. Harrison wasn’t watching a sappy rom-com, no; he was sincerely watching two people fall in love and get so close but have to reel back from each other because of the circumstances that constantly befalls the two of you for the sake of Team Flash. He saw the connection that you had with not only Harry, but the mentions of HR and Sherloque. If these memories were reaching Jesse, how would she react? She didn’t seem phased with your powers nor on how they operated. Meaning Harry could have told her once returning to Earth-2 after the events with Devoe. Only then does Harrison begin to see the bitterness that had built up inside you since HR’s death shown in your eyes - the outburst in the cemetery against Barry and Iris- whenever you’d return from Earth-1 even when 3-4 years had passed.. Always so close, yet so far. The reluctance, or rather the hesitance hung in the air.

Harrison continued on, sending memories down the thread one after the other. How long had he been in his own mind? Surely, it’s been more than 10 minutes. He had to hand it to Thawne, using Jesse as a prime signal to reel anything and everything that belonged to her father was a genius idea. The strong connection that Jesse and Harry had was already a very good starting point. A wave of dizziness hit Harrison as his chest howled in pain, his breathing quickened to shallow breaths. Must be Harry’s organic particles being extricated. I didn’t think any pain would surface because of the millions of other organic Wells particles in my body, but that must have been wishful thinking... Sweat beaded at Harrison’s forehead as the closing act of Devoe was sent through and what surfaced next was Harry’s intellectual recovery on Earth-2 during the Cicada events. The dark-haired Wells is disheartened by Devoe’s deeds to experiment on Harry; blatantly disgusted when The Thinker had called his genius doppelganger nothing more than a “guinea pig for the Enlightenment”. For without technology, how could man progress in the world?

One thing was for sure, Harry Wells was a man full of secrets. But he loved select people in his life, and when he did, Harry loved deeply.

Feeling a presence lurking behind him, Harrison turned only to meet the back of his doppelganger. An aura of light blue pulsed dimly around Harry in contrast to Harrison’s green aura. A split second of wonder flickered in his head, what would HR’s light be? Sherloque? Nash? Harrison shouted Harry’s name, but nothing. He tried once more, yet earned no response. It was like Harry couldn’t hear his Earth-1 version, as if he wasn’t on the same field or plane of existence. The war veteran was just suspended in the air quietly, out of reach. Harrison reached a hand out and-

***

42% Complete

Taking a quick swig of your water, your eyes lingered on the vitals screen rather than the progress bar. Your mind was plagued in doubt at the thought of either losing Jesse or Harrison. True he was your only link to Harry and the other boys, but he was still a human with his own feelings of longing for times when things were just simpler for him and Tess. In a split second your eyes widened in fear as the power levels that had increased to 47% suddenly plummeted to 28%, the screens flashing red and beeping. “Eo,” you slapped a hand on his arm to pull him from his staring at the Speed Chamber. “The energy level is dropping!”

“No, no, no,” Eobard whispered in disbelief before summoning his suit and on instinct channeling his speed to run into the Speed Chamber with Thaddeus. Instead of running beside his son, he surged past Thad to bring the energy levels back up. 

78% Complete

“It’s only been a few minutes.” Your breath was caught in your throat as you looked away from the timer to focus on Harrison – a prominent strain was on his face as pained grunts left him. His eyes were screwed shut while Jesse remained in perfect stasis. The OEP’s glasses were fogging up as the numbers climbed gradually to 90% due to Eo and Thaddeus’ couple energy – a rough silhouette formed amongst the mist. The pounding in your heart became ominous, “Please. Please make it through,” you begged in a low voice. Come back home, Harry. Come back to all of us and bring Jack with you.  It didn’t take long for the generator to start sputtering odd noises, shaking as the glass of the pod started to crack with each second that went by. Your breath hitched as red lightning crackled in the air around the generator. The tubes that connected the generator to the OEP visibly surged red electricity into the pod. Letting out a tight breath, you summoned black carbon to encase Jesse and Harrison in an impenetrable sphere with barely enough time to make one around the generator. 

100% Complete-

The generator exploded...

[brown-little-robin]

23: A Rhythm

part one | previous | next | masterlist | ao3

The days settle into a rhythm after that.

The fiasco of the dentist visit broke the tension between Thad and Max. They still don’t always understand each other; Thad still lashes out or goes silent sometimes, and it seems like every few days some new horror surfaces from his past; Max still makes misjudgments that send them both for an emotional loop; but they both know they’re not going to irrevocably break their peace. Thad might run away from a crisis, but he’ll come back. He’ll always come back. And Max will always be there for him.

Over two weeks, Max gets used to the little peculiarities of living with Thad. It starts to feel natural to ask before he touches the boy, to move slowly and avoid walking behind him. He can predict how the day’s going to go based on how long it takes Thad to decide to brush his teeth. He learns that it’s always good to project calm around Thaddeus; it soothes Thad where it frustrated Bart. Sometimes Max feels the jolt of Thaddeus waking up in a silent panic, and if he’s close enough, Max can feel the boy’s heart beating fit to burst out of his chest. Thaddeus never seeks out comfort after a nightmare, but he’s usually more receptive to physical touch afterward.

Thaddeus doesn't initiate any emotional conversations. Max doesn't try to force it. It’s only early July; they have all summer. It’ll be almost a month before Thad even takes the ACT and starts applying to colleges.

But oh, it hurts to see him move so carefully through the world… as if he thinks he’ll break whatever he touches. Oh, it hurts to see him taken by surprise by the tiniest kindnesses.

Thad nearly cried when Max made him hot cocoa for the first time. July is far out of season for hot cocoa, but he was shivering even wrapped in a blanket and Max couldn’t take watching him shiver anymore.

Following the 1800s recipe his mother taught him, he got out the teapot, boiled equal parts of water and milk, grated in an ounce of his rarely-used block of solid baker’s chocolate, and whipped it for ten minutes with an egg-beater. It foamed beautifully. He felt rather pleased with himself when he poured it into the black mug that Thaddeus favors, set the mug on the table, and called Thad out from the living room.

Thaddeus took the mug with trembling hands. A single teardrop ran down his cheek.

Max murmured some kind of non-word, something like hey, or oh. Thad made a choked sound and dropped the mug, letting it go crashing down to the floor, shattering. He ran. Max hastily threw a towel down and followed him, leaving the cocoa to soak into the towel and the floor. He knocked on Thad’s door, but the boy shouted “Don’t come in!” so Max just put his hand on the door and told him that it was okay, the mug didn’t matter, he wasn’t angry, all he cared about was that he was okay, did he get any shards in his feet? And Thad called back “No” a little steadier.

What was it about the hot cocoa? Max wonders. Thad never reacted like that when Max made tea. There’s a strong chance that the hot cocoa made Thad cry because the love inherent in making someone a drink got through to him. There’s also a strong chance that it brought up a horrific memory. A death that took place in a kitchen, maybe. Nothing was sacred to the Thawnes. Max asked Thad about it, and the boy didn’t answer. Max thought about making hot cocoa again, but he hasn’t yet dared.

Thad came close to crying a few times in that two weeks. It happened once when Max’s response to some casual remark about clothing made him realize that it was not just unusual, it was wrong that the Thawnes kept him in the Inertia suit or naked at all times. It was probably shock and embarrassment, that time, that brought sudden tears to Thad’s eyes; he’d hastily wiped them away, swallowed, and pretended it didn’t happen.

It happened once over a sad episode of Star Trek, something about a rogue cyborg that hit too close to home. It happened once in a grocery store; he was overwhelmed, Max touched him by accident, and he ended up kneeling on the cold cement floor pleading “I can’t, I can’t slow down—” and Max knelt with him and said “Shh, it’s okay,” and Thad covered his face with his hands and shook all over. It happened once when Helen gave him a hug. It happened once when he called himself a fool for believing the Thawnes and Max said “Honey, be good to yourself. You were trying your best.” It happened once when Max asked him “Do you feel safe here?”

It was meant to be an easy question, a reassurance, because Thad had been explaining that he never was safe ‘in training’, but after an awful pause, Thad’s voice had gone high and wobbly as he said “I never feel safe. But that’s not—that’s not your fault.”

Thad comes close to crying. Tears come to his eyes, his voice cracks, he covers his face. But he always fights it down, and no wonder. The idea of being so vulnerable must terrify him.

Max doesn't kill. He has never killed a human being with his own hands. But he thinks, sometimes, of using his power one last time. Of running, pushing his limits, entering the speed force and jumping forward one last time, ten, twenty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand years. Of murdering—no, of slaughtering Thaddeus Thawne the First. That animal of a man deserves to die like an animal, and Max’s motivation is as deep and real as the way Thad flinches when Max touches him.

But that decision is irrevocable, and Thad needs a father, not an avenging angel.

Max gets most of the mornings to himself. He spends them communing with the speed force and talking to Bart and other family members and doing various chores. The house has never been so clean. When Thad wakes up, around 11:00, he makes breakfast in time for Thad to emerge from his room about an hour later. In the afternoon, they do one, maybe two trips, depending on how Thad is feeling. Sometimes Max Mercury goes out as Max Mercury. Thad now sports an impressive array of nicknames in a variety of languages, most of which boil down to “sitting boy” or “bright hair” or “Max’s kid”. Twice they go grocery shopping, which Thaddeus dislikes. He always calls Max ‘sir’ when they’re in public, but he goes exaggeratedly stiff and obedient at the grocery store. Most days, they go to the library. Then they return home and relax.

Thad continues to beat Max at Mancala. He learns ASL slowly; most days he doesn't have much energy left after going out. But he’s coming along.

They eat dinner with Helen every day. Then Thad and Helen hang out. On days when Thad has energy, they play games or talk about fish. On tired days, they watch Star Trek or read together.

Max bought Thad a book, just one, testing the waters. He remembered that Thad had been surprisingly knowledgeable about weather patterns when he was living as Bart. So, next time they went for a Max Mercury trip, he brought Thad to a bookstore in London and bought Thad a big coffee-table book of paintings of the sky.

He gave the book to Thad when they got home, and Thad took it in his hands and held it out. He had to use both hands to hold it. It’s a serious chunk of a book.

“This…” he said. “Is… for me…?”

“Yes,” Max said.

The boy stared at it in silence for a while, and then he clutched it to his chest with both arms for a second, a wild grin spreading across his face. He dashed into his room to inspect it.

So that was a resounding yes to should I buy Thad books. And then Helen got wind of it at dinner, and she demanded Max take her and Thad out book shopping, and Max only just managed to convince her to wait until the next day to drive to the nearest Barnes & Nobles and buy Thad bags and bags of books.

In Barnes & Nobles, Thad was very quiet at first. As at the zoo gift shop, he was reluctant to let them buy him things. But with reassurance, with promises that they wanted to buy him books, with Helen saying you should have had books your whole life, we’re making up for it, he eventually agreed to pick some.

Max asked if he’d like anything in particular. Thad said he started a book at Jay Garrick’s house and never got to finish it; it was called Packdog Rancher. Max laughed out loud, recognizing the name. He was around when it was written in 1934. He explained that Barnes & Nobles wasn’t going to have it, but that he was sure Jay would let Thad borrow it.

Thad balked. Max let the subject drop. He brought Thad to the Westerns section, but the boy seemed lost, so Max picked his favorite Lee Cardy Westerns for him. Then he suggested Harry Potter because he’d heard that it was essential reading for teenagers of this time period, and Helen, eyes sparkling, said “Why not Twilight too?” So Thad got the essential fantasy books for teenagers. He showed an interest in folktales and fairy stories, but a strong distaste for horror and comics. He took two collections of folklore: one collection of stories about shapeshifters from around the world, and one lavishly illustrated book of Japanese folk tales. Then he took several volumes of detective stories, three books of poetry, and a two-book set on flora and fauna. And then he asked if that was enough.

Helen said “Take as many as you want! Please!”

Thaddeus snapped, “I don’t want more! I don’t ‘want’ anything!”

And then he looked at Helen’s sad face, winced, and said, “Please. I just want to go home.”

Thad adores Helen. It’s obvious. And Helen loves being around him, teaching him new games and chatting and laughing with him, never minding his awkwardness. She makes him feel safe, Max guesses. Thad seems to especially enjoy watching Star Trek with her, although Max suspects that it’s not really the show the boy likes so much as the excuse to lean on Helen’s shoulder on the couch and listen to her explaining the cultural context of the show. It’s perfect for him, poor uncertain boy: he doesn't have to contribute, just accept the touch and the experience. It makes Max wish again that Helen and Matt had worked out, that she had the opportunity to have children, although he keeps that to himself.

On the second library day, Max suggested using the computer lab. Thad said no. When Max, confused as to why Thad would eschew the power of the internet, asked why, Thad scowled at him for an uncomfortably long time. Then he said: “You think I want to use a dead computer? I barely put up with owning a cell phone.”

Thad had accepted the cell phone Max bought him, but he immediately went and buried it in the planter in the garden with the note from the family meeting. It had confused Max at the time. That explained it. A non-sentient machine, to Thad, is like a corpse.

Thad continues talking to CRAYDL at the library, mouthing words, eyes closed, a little frown line between his eyebrows. He talks to CRAYDL every time, and every time Max thinks of asking him about it, and every time he convinces himself to wait. The boy’s grief is so palpable. So raw. It seems a breach of trust to break in on it.

Thad got through all the psychology books he wanted to read in five days. On the sixth library day, he moved on to marine biology and tropical fish, which Max thought was peculiar until dinner on the seventh library day when Thad asked Helen: “Did you know that orange fish get their color from the same pigment that’s in carrots?”

Thad was studying marine biology for Helen. Because she loves tropical fish. So that he could amuse Helen with factoids. Adorable.

Max found that it was something deeper than adorable when Thad transferred his intense focus to the study of Native Americans. He burned his way through seven books on Native American cultures and history and art. Then he spent a while murmuring his silent conversation with CRAYDL, seeming to argue, that little frown line growing deeper. Then, abruptly, he put his hands behind his back, opened his eyes, and asked Max what Native tribe he knew back when he was young.

And then he kept asking questions. Hard questions. What do your Native names mean? How did you get to know them if it was so tense between Native Americans and white people? Was it hard to fight on both sides? Where did you live? How did you get enough to eat? Did you ever kill people? Do you know about the Wounded Knee Massacre? Yes? And then what? Does anyone still dance the Ghost Dance?

They went on a field trip, that day, to the place where his mentor died.

1864. Only a few decades ago for Max.

Thad put his hands respectfully behind his back and looked around at the trees and dirt and flowering bushes, breathing deeply. Max breathed in the honeysuckle-pregnant air and remembered the dying shaman tracing a lightning bolt on Max’s chest with his own blood, the heavy smells of blood and flowers and humidity. The honeysuckles here must be the hundred-times great-grandchildren of the honeysuckles then, but they smell the same.

Thad asked, “Do you miss him?”

Max responded, “Sometimes. I used to miss him all the time, and now… it doesn't hurt as much. And I still have his gift.”

“Gift?”

“The speed force.”

Max is silent for a while, gathering his thoughts.

“My commander ordered an attack on the Blackfoot clan. The shaman was mortally injured. He drew a lightning bolt on my chest in his own blood. Here.”

He traces the lightning bolt on his chest through his stiff button-down.

“He prayed to the god of the lightning and the wind, and I was blessed with this power. I try to use it well. I didn't deserve it by any means… it should have been his son or a worthy Native man who received that gift. But what is, is.”

Thad nodded.

“It wasn’t fair, you losing him.”

“It wasn’t fair, you losing CRAYDL,” Max answered softly.

Thad bared his teeth.

“Not fair…” he groaned. “You don’t know the half of it. CRAYDL and I had to pretend it was only a stupid lackey so that they wouldn’t realize we cared about each other. We had to hurt each other. That’s what was really unfair.”

That explains so much. Thad’s refusal to talk about CRAYDL. The fact that they’d had no idea, before CRAYDL searched so desperately for Thad, that CRAYDL was anything more than a sidekick to him. Even, perhaps, the fact that Thad has never cried for CRAYDL. He doesn't know how to express his love. He was never allowed.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” Max told him.

Thad sighed shakily.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I just… want you to know. CRAYDL was a person.”

In that two weeks, they don’t hear from Joseph Wilson, and Max doesn't contact him. Selfishly, he wants to prolong this peaceful time of just Max and Helen and Thad, together. He loves the routine they’ve fallen into. He loves how comfortable Thad has become, moving through the rhythms of the days.

But their isolation can only last so long. Max has to get Thad used to visiting people before the fall, before Thad moves out.

That night, Max asked him how he’d feel about visiting the Garricks for dinner. For a nanosecond, Thad looked terrified. Max wondered if his fear of the Flash had grown in the days since the family meeting. If the horror of the death simulations was finally registering to him now that he was experiencing real safety.

But he agreed to go, and when Max asked him if he was sure, he flared: “What, do you think I’m gonna hurt them? I’m capable of behaving! I’ve proven that!”

“I know you’re doing your best, but sometimes… things are just too much… and you might not be ready to deal with them. I don’t blame you if you can’t do it yet.” Recalling some of their brief clinical discussions of trauma, Max adds: “Your body needs to feel safe to heal.”

Thad looked down. Fidgeted with his shirtsleeve.

“Max?” he asked, quietly. “I… have something to… confess.”

Max had an awful gut feeling. Thad had never confessed anything before. He was very open about his trauma and his own darkness, but he never treated his revelations as confessions. What had Thad done? What had he done?

“Go on, then,” Max said gently. “I won’t be mad.”

Thad closed his eyes.

“I… I… I have their quilt. I took it.”

And it came out that Thad had been agonizing over the quilt from the family meeting all these weeks. He thought he stole it, which is ridiculous, given that he was barely awake when Max picked him up, blanket and all, and carried Thad in his arms for the first time. But it’s not the boy’s fault that he’s anxious. Max was gentle about it when he told Thad that it was not his fault; he didn’t steal it; and anyway, the Garricks probably never even missed it; they have plenty of quilts.

Thad sighed.

“Good… well, at least I’ll come bearing gifts.”

And he did; he folded the quilt and presented it to Jay Garrick like a royal tribute, bowing to him and holding out the blanket on both hands as Jay opened the door.

“Your quilt.”

Jay looked at him for a second, startled, then said “Oh, well thank you, but get up, lad. You don’t have stand on formality here.”

Thad straightened. Jay took the quilt off his hands with another thank-you. As he turned away, Thad looked up at Max and winked. Max winked back.

Joan laughed heartily over having the quilt returned, pulling a small smile from Thad.

The dinner went remarkably well, all things considered. Max and Helen carried most of the conversation, but Thad remained present and capable of speech the whole time. Jay and Joan didn’t speak of his past; they just treated him… well, not like a normal child, but like Thad ought to be treated by people who know him. Gently and respectfully.

Thad answered the Garricks’ mundane questions carefully, glancing at Max every time he spoke. He gave shorter answers to Jay, longer ones to Joan. He’s doing fine. Yes, Max and Helen are treating him alright. Yes, he likes going to the library. No, he doesn't have a favorite book. He’s never read fiction before except for Shakespeare. Yes, he liked Shakespeare. It was because it was something new, he supposes. No, he doesn't have a preference for milk or water. Yes, going to the zoo was fun. Yes, he does like animals. He likes learning about animals. He likes learning things in general. No, he doesn't know what he wants to major in. No, he hasn’t looked at colleges to apply to yet, although he is signed up for the ACT. Yes, he’s looking forward to college life.

Joan actually got Thad to laugh at Jay’s college football escapades. Jay looked surprised. He’s been Inertia’s target a few times before, so he knew the insane laughter they use to make an impression. He wasn’t expecting Thad’s raspy chuckle.

After dinner, Thad volunteered to help with the cleanup. Max had warned Jay over the phone not to use his speed around Thad, so cleanup took longer than two seconds. Joan shooed Max and Jay out of the kitchen, claiming it would get crowded. Max suspects she’d noticed Thad’s discomfort with Jay and wanted to see if Thad would loosen up with Jay out of the picture. She was right. Max felt Thad’s whole body relax as he and Jay left.

It was nice talking to Jay. Jay told Max all about his and Joan’s life, and Jay’s easy candor made it easy for Max to open up in turn. To tell him a little bit about their lives nowadays. To tell him that Thad is doing really well, all things considered. And that he’s a sweetheart.

Jay raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

“He’s a good kid,” Max said.

“He’s sure polite.”

“This is him on his best behavior. He’s not this formal at home. Also, he’s more comfortable around women.”

“Well, that’s typical for troubled kids. He grew up around men, didn’t he?”

“He grew up alone. Except for CRAYDL.”

“Oh,” Jay said, absorbing that. “Poor kid… I can’t believe what the Thawnes do to their own children. It makes me sick.”

Max met his eyes and knew they were both thinking of the five dead clones, and neither of them was going to speak of them.

“You have no idea,” Max said. “Jay, we had no idea what the Thawnes did to him. Thad was alone with CRAYDL for six hundred years, and the abuse the Thawnes put both of them through to mold Thad is… unspeakable. None of what he did was his choice. None of what he was.”

“And now that he’s away from the Thawnes…?”

“He’s trying so hard,” Max sighed. “But… Jay, in confidence, do you know how hard it is to convince someone he’s loved when he barely believes he deserves gifts? When he’s so traumatized that the smallest touch is a huge event for him? Gosh, I can't even make hot cocoa for him without making him cry.”

Jay put his hands on Max’s shoulders.

“Max,” he said, suddenly serious. “Listen to me. You’re taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. I know you want to help Thad, but you need to relax.”

“I do,” Max said. “I have a ridiculous amount of free time. I get all morning to myself—”

Jay told him, “You’re stressed out. You need to actually rest. Let someone else worry about Thad for a while.”

Max said, “That would require someone else to take responsibility for him, and no one else has the ability to sense movement.”

“Do you trust him?” Jay asked.

“With my life. Now… I don’t say he’ll never hurt anyone. But never on purpose… never maliciously. He just wants a peaceful life… that’s all.”

“He’s that much changed, huh?”

“Yes.”

Jay said, “Now, this is a personal question, but you know how it is… speedsters are too powerful to mess around with. Is Thad stable enough… mentally… to be all right without you for a while?”

“I don’t know,” Max said honestly. “I think so. I think that at the very least he’s stable enough not to hurt anyone.”

“Then…” Jay let go of Max and rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Well, I trust you. If you say he’s ready, I’ll take your word for it. How about this: I’ll talk to Wally about it, and then you talk to Wally about it, and we’ll see if we can agree on something. It doesn't sit right with me anyway, cooping Thad up in the house with you like he’s under arrest.”

“Me neither.”

Jay sighed deeply. “I’m glad you came over. Max… I’m sorry. We left you with another troubled child and no support, and it wasn’t fair. I think we were all terrified to see Thaddeus Thawne again. It was easier to shove him on you and just… try to forget.”

Max said “I understand.”

Jay smiled sadly. They both knew it has always been Max’s chosen lot to stand up for people when others are afraid of them. Even if it means Max has to fight on both sides.

The days settle into a rhythm for two weeks. And then they have Wally West over for dinner, and the tenuous peace comes crashing down.

[volucerrubidus]

What do you like about Inertia?

Promptless II Inbox: Open

“I hope you’re not asking this as a way to be cruel, anon.” Tim arches an eyebrow. “There’s plenty to like about Thad. Would you have asked me this question if it was Steph or Kon? Bart or Bernard? Why do I have to justify only this relationship?” Of course, he knows why. But his patience with this question is growing thin, considering how many variants of it he’s had to answer before.

And perhaps some of those who asked him really did just have his best interests at heart, and perhaps they only wanted to make sure that he knows what he’s getting into.

But Tim is an adult, and he is a smart one, at that. Overly optimistic at times? Certainly; one rarely becomes a hero without even just a dash of optimism. Ready to give villains endless unearned chances? Of course; it goes with the optimism territory.

Always able to think with his own best interests in mind? Absolutely not; he isn’t sure he’s ever met anyone who is.

Despite these things, he doesn’t need to be coddled, or defended, or warned off of Thad, or whatever else others might do out of the apparently common delusion that he cannot make an informed decision of his own free will. He is an adult, and he is smart. And he can take off the rose-tinted glasses as easily as he can put them on.

“I’m going to answer this honestly.” Tim begins. “And I expect the message to stick this time. Because I will not repeat myself again.”

He lifts his chin determinedly. “Thad is trying. He is trying to leave behind the things he did that I hated him for. Lesser-deserving rogues have been given bigger second chances. And maybe those second chances ended in redemption, or maybe they relapsed. But they received those second chances anyway. And third chances. Fourth, fifth, tenth. They will never stop getting the chance to reform themselves and be better.” He squares his shoulders. “But, y’know what? Even if they don’t reform, they are still deserving of respect—and love.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “How the hero community feels about me because of this relationship is their problem. But I have not and will never betray them just because I started caring about Inertia. The day I betray my fellow heroes is the day that I am well and truly not myself anymore because it would take nothing short of total brainwashing to make me even consider selling out my peers. My teammates. My friends.” He sets his jaw. “I understand if that’s hard. Complicated is never easy. But simple is never realistic, nor is it often attainable. Just my decision to put an ‘R’ on my chest is complicated. Just the calculations of a grapple trajectory are complicated. And I do both of those every night. I’m not afraid of complicated, and I’m not even afraid of messy. I’m not afraid of difficult.” Tim’s stance remains strong, but his eyes do betray a touch of exhaustion.

“Maybe it is complicated and messy, and maybe lots of people want to make it difficult for us. I don’t really care. Thad Thawne challenges me. He keeps me on my toes. And he also makes me feel safe. I know that I have never slept better than when we’re next to each other, and I know that if I sent him coordinates with nothing but an S.O.S., he’d show, just to make sure I’m okay. I know that he’s not perfect, and I know that he’s hurt people I care about. I know that it’s not my place to forgive him for those things, because the people he hurt are the ones who may or may not choose to forgive. I know that this puts me at odds with people I care about. I also know that my relationship with those people is strong enough to survive something like this, as long as they’re willing to put in the same effort that I am, to communicate, and to find a compromise. I know that if they never forgive me, then I’ll find a way to keep going, but I’ll also never give up on our friendship, and that I’ll always keep trying to stay by their sides until the event where they, on no uncertain terms, ask me to stop.

“I know that I want my friends to be happy. I know that I want Thad to be happy. I know that I want to be happy, and that I am allowed to chase what makes that happen.”

His posture finally relaxes, just a touch. Enough for him to even allow a small smile to flit across his face. “I like all of these things about Thad. I like that he’s not perfect. I like that he makes me feel safe. I like that I can be honest with him. I like that he’s willing to learn about me, and then to put what he learns to use, even if it keeps me accountable to my own well-being, or actively impedes certain plans that I make. I like that I want to learn about him, and I like that I want to make him feel safe, and wanted, and known. I like that he won’t let me give up on us, and I like that I don’t want to give up on us, because I like all these things about him. I like his hair, his laugh, the competitive glint in his eyes. I like his hands, his mind, our shared love of the color green. I like that he helps me when I’m stuck on cases, and I like that he doesn’t mind if I start rambling at him for hours on end. I like that I get to hear him ramble for hours on end. I like that my bookshelf is full of books that I bought for him, and I like that we cook together. I like that I can leave things at his place, knowing that I can get them back next time I visit.

“I dunno what else you want to hear from me, anon, and I dunno what else anyone wants to hear from me, but these are the facts, and this is how I’m casting my dice. I want my family and friends to be in my life, and I want them to accept me, and Thad. I understand that that’s a big ask, and that it might make us angry with each other for a while. I understand if it’ll take time to forgive me, and that it may never happen in the first place.

“All I’m saying, at the end of the day, is that I’m willing to put in the effort. I am willing to put in the effort for Thad, and I am willing to put in the effort for my friends. I will find a way to have both, as long as both are willing to…” he swallows, suddenly feeling a lump in his throat that he hadn’t known had been building. “As long as both are willing to put in the effort to have me, too.”

He shoots the anon a long, tired gaze, that’s just a bit shiny. “Happy now?”

[secondgenerationnerd]

For the 7 main couples: What’s the nightmare they just will not talk about with their S/o?

Alright we’re getting some angst tonight.

Superstar:

so if you look, I have a fic called nightmare that’s about a reoccurring nightmare Jon has of his whole team being killed. He will not talk to Mar’i about it. Period.

Mar’i has nightmares of finding her mom dead, but then her mom’s body sits up and starts telling Mar’i how far she’s fallen, how Kor’i is ashamed of her (not true in the least bit) and grabs for Mar’i.

Colin x Milagro:

Colin has nightmares about his Captivity with scarecrow. While Milagro knows the basics of what happened, colin will not explain what happens in the nightmares.

Milagro has nightmares of people disappearing. Like she’ll call for them, run to them, and, just before reaching them, they disappear like smoke. She wakes up in a panic, calls whoever she was dreaming about. But never tells Colin why she has to call Jaime or her parents at 2 am.

Speeding arrow:

In my cannon, while I don’t bring it up super often, Eobard Thawne found a way to manipulate the speedforce to send Irey and Jai glimpses of other universe when he hurt people they love. That fucks Jai and Irey up really bad but they don’t know how to explain it to anyone.

Lian has always had nightmares about her death. She never mentioned it to Jai because she figured it was a stupid dream. She won’t talk about it after she finds out she died because it hurts to.

Speeddemon:

Before Damian died, it was Thawne’s nightmares. After Damian died and came back, it was seein his death over and over then Heretic trying to hurt her.

Damian has nightmares about the people he hurt in the League of Assassins. While Irey knows some of what he did, he hasn’t gone into detail. The nightmares make him relive it every night.

Mel x Donny:

Mel has nightmares of her father locking her in the closet as a punishment. Or if her father taking the people she loves away from her just to control her.

Donny’s worst nightmare is when Gorilla Grodd kidnapped him and experimented on him. Mel knows a little about the story, but Donny hasn’t been able to tell her why it sticks with him so much.

Bluepulse:

Bart has nightmares about what Thad Thawne did when he captured Bart. Jaime knows some but Bart refuses to talk about the nightmares.

Jaime’s nightmares are about disappearing again. Only this time when he comes back, no one wants him.

Kathaya:

Maya’s nightmares are about being forced to leave to protect the people she loves. When it’s finally safe to come back, it’s like she was never there. The team replaced her. Kathy replaced her. She didn’t matter.

Kathy has nightmares about losin control of her powers. Like total loss and when she finally reigns them in, she’s hurt or killed them people she loves. It gets really bad when Maya’s pregnant both times.

[shauds-archived]

I guess you could just call it the Penpal verse. But yeah I meant like friendships, mentorships, maybe even romances though I know you're not too high on those.

That's a good a name as any, works better than what I might've come up with.

Okay, so, relationships. You're right aside from Zachs little crush, there's no romance as of yet, but there's plenty of other stuff.

Darla's still the Enchatresses apprentice, and after the team comes into contact with the Shadowpact the first time, they sort of take on not exactly a mentory role in general, but they vouch for the kids with like the Justice League or whoever. They even gave the team some of the endless empty rooms of their bar to use as either their club house or team base, depending on who you asked. Dan still isn't too thrilled about Marla's kid putting himself in danger like that, but he and Eddie make up and mostly get back the relationship they had before she died. Talia is Jason's 'sponsor', which is easier to say than 'basically his mother', she finances them, cleans up the big things they don't want someone like Batman finding out about, drags Jason back to the All-Caste when he needs to continue his training, and gives the disappointed frowns when he needlessly endangers himself.

The kids aside from Jason are also still involved with other teams to some degree. Zach still gets the coven of three with Black Alice and Traci 13. Eddie is still on the Teen Titans roster, even though he's not actually at the Tower a lot of the time, he and Jaime enter a lot of videogame tournaments. Darla and the Shadowpact of course. And Danny and Gar get to annoy each other on the Titans every so often (Gar's really very happy to see Danny again, he was the most affected by his 'death' and Danny was touched, they just have fun with the bantering) Freddy Freeman and Kit are trying to have a sibling relationship, but it's not going well, things are a little too awkward right now, he's slowly becoming part of the family anyway.

They have their sort of auxiliary members too, but they're not an official type of team, so those are basically whoever they come across that wants to hang out at the moment and the team is pretty well known for being fun to hang out with, so there are a lot. The moment is almost always a regular fun activity that goes wrong in some unforeseen way, and there are a bunch of repeat offenders.

Jason and Essence are pretty close and she sometimes tags along sometimes to see what he and his friends get up to. Supergirl, hangs around with them when they're around Metropolis. Rose, when she wants to make sure this new team is treating Eddie well. Eddie wants her to join, but she's not really a team person. Miss Martian and Jaime, again, because they get invited to 'hang out' often. Thad Thawne, because Jason took offence to a kid being turned into a statue, and now that kid needs good influences. Whether the team that broke into the CBI to plant paint balloons all over it's directors office fill that role well is highly debateable, but whatever.

There are some heroes that are sort of the older siblings to the team too.

Kyle Rayner, gets to know them wellish because he's the only Justice League member who knows Jason (not who Jason really is, but him as the team leader) from a previous adventure (Countdown) and the League likes to know what's going on in the superhero community. This results in Kyle getting called old a lot, and it sort of pisses of The Enchantress because she can take care of her own kid, damnit, but it's not his fault. The kids would actually like him a lot if he wasn't Justice League, but for some reason Jason is antsy around anyone who spends any amount of time around Batman. Kyle can't figure out how to explain to him that Batmans not as scary as he seems.

Donna does the same thing for the Titans, but she's had kids, she knows better how to deal with them in an appropriately chill manner. Also, no one in their right mind would make fun of her in front of either Jason or Danny. They still try to ditch her because they don't want the older teams involved in their totally normal hang outs, but it's through sneaking away, not mockery.

Nightwing tried to make nice with them once, a new team that could probably stand to know there's always help available and they shouldn't be scared to ask. Jason sort of had a panic attack before Dick even saw him, so he didn't try it again, but it made him suspicious.

Jericho is the cool one that brings candy and helps them escape the others, especially when his sisters around. "Let the teenagers have fun guys." He's just loving the chance to be the older sibling, to have a sibling at all after he lost Grant, and he's very proud of how good he is at it.

Zattana pops up now and then to check on her cousin and encourage his making of friends, and make sure he's never in too much trouble, she gives out show tickets, and they love her shows. She made the mistake of bringing Constantine along once and lets just say Zach believes his cousin can do a whole lot better than practically any man on the planet, and Danny was very bored that day.

There are more, but I see that again, this has gotten VERY long, so I'll just leave it here.

[dcmarvelshit]

Inertia staying in Maria’s house and meeting one of the common residents. 

“There was too many unknown variables to this place (to him).” 

Characters: Inertia/Thad Thawne, Maria (OC), Dhruba (OC)

“Timī ko ho?” Inertia heard as his vision came back. He was laying on his stomach, mouth with specks of dirt. He groaned and lifted his head to see a pair of legs. He rushed up on to his two feet to meet face to face with the person who attacked him from behind. The person looked to be around his age, short with black hair to the shoulder and sharp eyes; and they were holding a bat in their hands and it was positioned and ready to strike again.

“What?” Inertia huffed, “I don’t know what you just said.”

“I asked who are you.” The person tightened their hands on the bat and Inertia rolled his eyes - as if a bat will do anything to him. The hit the person managed to land earlier came from a lack of attention - not because he was too slow.

“What does it matter?” Inertia scoffed at the glare the person gave him, “I am here because your guardian is letting me stay here, not a burglar, don’t worry.”

“I didn’t ask why you were here.”

���Ooh, touchy.”

The person growled and gave him a look that would have killed him.

He rolled his eyes. 

As soon as the person blinked, he rushed behind them.

“What -” The person swirled around and almost hit Inertia with the bat.

“Ha, like you can hit me with that thing.” Inertia called from the doorway of the house.

The person huffed, “Annoying.”

“Good.”

“Maria!” The person yelled up at the open window on the second story of the house and a middle-aged woman with black hair in a bun poked her head through the window. 

“What?” Maria called down. 

“Ū ko ho?” The person pointed to Inertia, who crossed his arms and tapped his foot in place really fast. 

Really? Was the person asking about him? 

“That is Inertia, love.” Maria said down to the person who furrowed their eyebrows. “Inertia, meet Dhruba. Dhruba, meet Inertia.” 

Dhruba crossed their arms, “Why is your name a scientific concept?”

Inertia crossed his arms and snarled, “None of your business.” 

Dhruba huffed before stalking towards Inertia, who tensed up, before brushing past him into the house. Maria was still looking down from the window. 

Well, there went his chance. 

Inertia rolled his eyes and went back inside. 

--- 

“So?” Inertia heard from his left, where he was sitting on the couch in the center of the small library. He ignored Maria, who was trying to get his attention. He focused on the book in front of him - Crime and Punishment - finishing it in a minute. 

“Oh, you read fast.” Maria commented as if she wanted to get a reaction out of him. 

He ignored her - of course he read fast, he was a speedster. Though, that didn’t stop a small scoff slipping past his lips. 

Damn it - now she is going to keep trying to talk to him. 

“How are you doing here? Are you managing well?” Maria followed him to the section of books that held Russian authors, “Do you have any complaints?” 

Inertia turned to look at her with a flat look. 

“Any complaints other than ‘you are bothering me, go away’?” 

Inertia rolled his eyes - why is he rolling his eyes so much? Like - and just pulled out a book from Gogol: Dead Souls. He put the book he finished reading back. 

“Hm, okay.” 

Is she going to leave now? 

Please say yes. 

“Did you know I had to write a senior thesis on that book?” 

What? 

“What?” Inertia looked up at Maria startled - where did that come from? 

“You know what a senior thesis is, right?” Maria furrowed her eyebrows, a concern glint in her eyes, “Right?”  Inertia huffed, “I know what a senior thesis is! Why are you telling me this?” 

Maria shrugged slightly, “Came in my mind,” Maria smiled, “Care to listen to an old woman ramble about her high school days?” 

Inertia glared at her but she kept that damn smile on her face, “You are not even old.” 

Maria laughed, “As I was saying, when I was in high school - hm, roughly 20 years ago, I say -” 

“Nope.” Inertia left, leaving Maria behind the dust, mid-sentence. Hell no - he is not falling for this fake casual bullshit. 

He could hear Maria sigh as he was leaving. 

---

“I’m sorry.” 

Inertia looked up at Dhruba who had their arms crossed. 

“You don’t mean that.” Inertia scoffed, “Maria probably told you tell me that.” 

Dhurba cracked a grin, “How you figure?” 

Inertia narrowed his eyes at Dhruba - he thought they would get mad at the comment, not go along with it. Why is he surprised? This place is ran by a weirdo - of course, the other people living here would be weirdos. Inertia ignored Dhruba and went back to reading - this was his 40th book today. 

(He discovered that he loves reading - literature, learning. Better than talking to people (getting attached to people - having to force to acknowledge what he really truly wants)) 

“Oh! Do you like reading?” 

Inertia ignored them. 

Dhruba huffed, “I could recommended authors for you, if you want.” 

Inertia glanced at them. 

 Dhruba continued, “I could give you names of authors I grew up reading. Maria has the English and the original translations of their works.” 

“Why?” Inertia snapped the book he was reading shut and turned to glare at them, “Why would you want to recommend me books? Did Maria put you up to it? She knows that I -” 

“Selfishness. I just want to talk to someone about my favorite authors. It gets boring here sometimes, especially the other residents pop and go and the some of the permanent residents don’t read often.” Dhruba looked away from Inertia.

Inertia can tell that Dhruba wasn’t lying, but they were definitely not telling the whole damn truth. 

Inertia was half-attempted to throw the offer back in their face - maintain the distance, protect himself (From what? He knows he wants to be loved, he knows he want to understand love, so why is he still scared? Why is he still hesitating?) 

But, at the same time - why not? He is just learning about new authors and getting recommendations. They don’t have to become friends or anything just to talk about books. (Right? Right.) 

“Fine.” Inertia crossed his arms, “Whatever.” 

Dhruba grinned at him. 

They spent the hour talking about authors and Inertia suddenly had 20 more books in his reading list. 

---

Inertia finds himself standing at the bubble that was covering the house - protecting the house a mile away. He managed to sneak away - Maria and the other residents were asleep. 

He could leave if he wanted to. After all, he is just here because he almost got caught by President Thawne - but it should be safe now. 

(he can leave and not get attached) 

(“It is easier to leave. If you do want to come back though, it will be harder.” Maria said to him when she caught trying to leave once - “Your choice.”)

He doesn't trust her.

There was too many unknown variables to this place (to him). 

But - he is getting food, water, and shelter and free damn books. 

He would be a fool to leave a safe haven. 

Inertia huffed. An absolute fool. 

[duke-nitro]

Mercury Falling AU: One Week Later

(Continuation of this)

Thad wakes up the same way he has the last few days: super uncomfortable and generally confused. He's still staying at Morlo's while trying to figure out what to do next, but he still isn't any closer to a conclusion.

Max and Helen have even come over a couple times to talk about it. Helen is still uncomfortable with the idea of him staying with them, but is still willing to give him a chance. Max wants him to as well because he wants him to be able to live a normal life. (Bart doesn't want to even look at him so he doesn't come) This doesn't help Thad much though, as much as he wants to go with them, he also really wants to get even with President Thawne.

Today though, while Morlo is at Max's recovery party, Thad decides on a plan. He opens a portal to Craydl, gets in, and immediately tells him to go to the 30th century so that he can get his revenge on Thawne.

Craydl, for once, says no. Thad starts to complain (Very loudly, might I add) but Craydl cuts him off in the most disappointed tone he can muster, saying stuff like "Do you really think think doing that would solve anything" and "You should at least try living with them".

By the end for what he's saying Thad is looking at the floor and shuffling his feet. Craydl sighs and says "Look man, I just want what's best for you. And letting you do a suicide run at your crappy grandfather doesn't really fit under "best". Thad nods and starts walking back to the portal. Right before he leaves Craydl calls after him, saying "I'll be here if you need me!"

Thad smiles and steps through.

The next day, around noon, Thad is standing on the porch to Helen's house trying to think of the least awkward way to go about asking to stay with them. He paces for about 5-6 minutes before coming up with the perfect line. He walks confidently to the door and raises his hand to knock on the door. Then the door opens, hitting him in the face fast enough to put a dent in the door.

Thad stumbles back and falls into a bush. Before passing out, he sees Bart start to call for Max.

He wakes up on the couch, Max sitting opposite him. He touches his face and, while it's a bit sore, he's least glad that his nose isn't broken. Max notices that he's woken up and starts making small talk until Thad is fully awake.

Once he is, Max asks "Why did you come over here?"

Thad suddenly realizes that he has completely forgotten what he was going to say. (That door hit hard, OK?) So he says the first thing that comes to mind.

"Can I stay here?"

After a moment for silence he quietly adds "If it's OK"

Max smiles a bit and responds "Well, we asked you to stay first so you didn't need to ask."

Some of the tension leaves Thad, but not much. Max goes to get him something for his face, but before he leaves the room he turns to Thad and says "Make yourself at home."

Bart later reluctantly apologizes for smashing him in the face with the door.

Well, a month later.

And only when he does it again.

(Max still has to force him)

(Now on Ao3!)

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Almost There

Fandom: DC Comics, Flashfam

Summary: Everyone always knew Bart was eccentric, but the family becomes concerned when he starts talking to someone that doesn’t exist.

Chapters: 3/?

Characters: Bart Allen, Thad Thawne, Owen Mercer, Don Allen, Meloni Allen, Digger Harkness, Iris West, Barry Allen, Max Mercury, Helen Claiborne

Relationships: DonMeloni, BarryIris, WallyLinda

Additional Tags: Bart Allen-centric, Thad Thawne POV, No Powers AU, Imaginary Friends, Misdiagnosis, Blind Date, Hurt Bart Allen, Angst, Hurt/Comfort

Chapter Three: Swamp Quicksand

Bart snuck out of the house while everyone slept once he felt well enough to get his cast off. I panicked and crept into Owen’s room because I didn’t want to upset Mom and Dad. “Owen,” I sniveled, trying to hold back my tears. “Moo. Moo, wake up.”

He pulled me into his bed, thinking I’d had a nightmare. “Moo,” I cried. Owen groaned and sat up. Moo was what I called Owen as a play on his middle name. I couldn’t pronounce Mercer when I was little, so I used to introduce him as Owen Moo Sir.

“What happened?” Owen asked.

“Bart’s missing,” I cried into Owen’s shirt. He rubbed my back.

“Shhh, it’s okay. Go put on your jacket and shoes. Don’t wake Mom up,” Owen commanded as he climbed out of bed and slipped on his socks. I went to my room and put on my jacket and hat. Owen met me at the kitchen door, and we slipped on our sneakers.

Owen moved to unlock the kitchen door before offering a look of pity and wiping my face with the bottom of his shirt. He made a soft noise, and we crept outside. Owen let me hold his hand while we walked to the swamp and called for Bart. It was a scary place to be in the dark. Lots of dangers lurking in the marsh. I got caught in quicksand in the swamp once with Owen, and we nearly drowned. I started to cry at the thought of Bart getting stuck and drowning. “What’s the matter? What do you feel?” Owen asked.

“I don’t feel anything,” I wept, “What if Bart got stuck in quicksand?” Owen grabbed two large sticks from the ground and gave me one.

“It shouldn’t be deep… Don’t poke at the ground too hard, just in case,” Owen commanded. I started crying even harder, and he grabbed me. “Hey… Hey! Don’t you think I’m scared too?” Owen never yelled at me. So I ran off, leaving Owen alone in the swamp. I ran down the street to the park to sit in the grass. I thought I was alone.

I wept until I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Go away, Owen!” I shouted.

“You’re here,” Bart’s voice replied. He sounded happy. “Wanna fly my kite? You might feel better if you fly it with me.” Bart put the spool in my hands and sat beside me. “What’s the matter?”

“Owen got mad at me for crying when we were looking for you in the swamp,” I answered. Bart messed up my hair.

“You were worried about me?” Bart asked.

“Uh-huh,” I whimpered. Bart made me lie on the grass while we stared at the kite flying above our heads. It was one of his more tender moments with me. He was only attentive toward me when we were alone. Most of the time, he wouldn’t look at me or acknowledge that I existed. I didn’t mind because he was always extra kind to me when we were alone. “Bart?”

“I’m gonna go away soon… I heard Mom and Dad talking. I don’t want you to be shocked,” Bart confessed, “You’re gonna have to fight for yourself at school.”

I started to cry, and Bart grabbed the other side of the kite spool. “You gotta stop crying all the time. I’m gonna be okay as long as you’re okay,” Bart stated, “You’ll always be my baby brother no matter what happens, okay?”

I heard Owen’s voice in the distance, and Bart let go of the spool and turned away. “Bubba! Rusty! Rusty! I’m sorry, okay!” Owen shouted. I turned to look, but he scooped Bart and me up and squeezed us tight. “I’m sorry, Rusty.”

He was crying. “It’s okay,” Bart reassured him. “Moo, I need to tell you something… And you can’t tell Mom and Dad that you know.” Bart was uncharacteristically serious.

Owen let go and plucked leaves from Bart’s hair. “Hey, Bubba. What’s the matter?” Owen questioned.

“I gotta go away soon. Mom and Dad are gonna send me away,” Bart explained, “I don’t know where, but I know they’re sending me away soon. They don’t know that I heard them talking.”

“They can’t do that-.”

“It’s okay. Don’t be mad at Mom and Dad. I’m not mad,” Bart replied. Owen turned forward and wiped his tears roughly with his sleeve. He inhaled sharply and started to sob. It was the hardest I’d ever seen Owen cry. After he calmed down, he watched the sunrise with us and took us home.

Mom startled us with a relieved sigh as we walked in the door, and Dad took off our jackets and looked us over. “Owen, Bart, Thad? Are you kids okay?” Dad questioned. We all nodded. Owen pulled away and tried to rush to his room, and Mom grabbed him.

“Owen, what’s wrong? Don’s talking to you,” Mom stated. Owen opened his mouth to say something hurtful, and Bart grabbed his hand.

“Moo, don’t,” Bart begged. Owen pulled his hair, and Bart shook his head. “No.”

“What?” Mom asked. Bart reached for Mom, and she picked him up. “What’s wrong, Sunshine?” We were small for our age, so she could still pick us up. But nothing could’ve stopped Mom from carrying us if she wanted to.

“It was my fault. I wanted to fly my kite, and Owen and Thad got worried,” Bart confessed, “Mommy, I’m sorry.”

She kissed his cheek. “You have to tell people where you’re going, Bart… Okay? We all worry… And Owen, we didn’t mean to upset you. We’re sorry,” Mom whispered as she reached for him. Owen’s face twisted, and I could tell it took everything in him not to cry. “Owen, what’s the matter?”

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. It scared me when he cried. He only wept when something terrible happened or when he was frightened. “Owen?” Dad questioned.

“We’re supposed to be a family!” Owen shouted before running to his room. I looked at my feet because I couldn’t face anyone. I knew I wouldn’t be able to look Mom and Dad in the eyes and tell a lie.

Dad went after him, and Mom took Bart to the living room to watch TV and talk. And I called Digger. He always picked us up when we didn’t want to be at home. “Digger?” I asked.

“Hey, Twinnie… Wanna make a few bucks?” Digger asked. “I could come pick you and the first mate up.” The first mate was Owen. Sometimes, he let us come in and work with him in the fish and chips shop he owned.

“Okay… Bart’s feeling better,” I replied.

“Yeah, but I think your mom and dad want to speak with him today,” Digger replied.

“He didn’t do anything bad,” I whispered.

“No, I don’t reckon he did. Bart’s a little sick right now… Don’t think he knows it… I’ll explain it to you and Owen once I talk to your mom,” Digger promised. And explain, he did. They got us out of the house so they could admit Bart to a hospital. He spent three weeks there the first time he went, but he’d be in and out of the hospital for the next six years. I wished I knew that moment with the kite was the last time he’d be lucid for years.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

The Brother Trap

Fandom: DC Comics, Flashfam

Summary: Owen wants to connect with his half-brothers for the first time. Luckily for him, they all go to the same university. Will bad blood between twins keep Owen from the family of his dreams, or is he the missing piece they've always needed?

Chapters: 5/?

Characters: Owen Mercer, Axel Walker, Thad Thawne, Bart Allen, Meloni Thawne, Deborah Morgna, Preston Lindsay, President Thaddeus Thawne Mention

Relationships: Owen Mercer/Axel Walker, Thad Thawne/Deborah Morgna, PrestonBart

Additional Tags: POV Third Person, College AU, Angst and Fluff, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, No Powers AU

Chapter Five: Sportsmanship

Owen sat at the top of the bleachers watching the sunrise. He hadn't been able to sleep, so he thought it'd be nice to be out in the open air. Someone tapped his shoulder and startled him. He turned around to look Thad in the eye. "Jeez, how'd you—? Good morning, Thad," Owen whispered.

"Morning," Thad mumbled. Owen offered him some hot tea. "No thanks."

"Thad, is something bothering you?" Owen whispered. Thad nodded and looked straight out into the horizon.

Thad wanted to say something, so Owen stayed silent. He didn't want to risk cutting Thad off and having him shut down. "Bart and I have sleeping problems. He gets restless, and I have nightmares. Sometimes, I wake up from a nightmare, and I watch him until I can go back to sleep," Thad confessed, "I think it's the nicest thing he can do for me sometimes. It's the only time when I don't feel... Inferior."

Owen took a sip of tea and nodded, waiting for Thad to continue. When he didn't, Owen asked about his nightmares. "Sometimes my mom had to go away for work, and she'd leave us with family or friends of the family... But we're twins, and sometimes that can be a lot to handle, so we'd be split up for whatever time she was gone. I'd usually stay with our grandpa, and he'd go stay with our Uncle Max," Thad took a breath, "He's not really our uncle. He just cares about us... About Bart."

"Yeah, what's your grandpa like?" Owen asked.

"Well, he was rigid, competitive, cold. Nothing I did was ever good enough," Thad explained, "Bart and I were fourteen in track together. We used to do three events each. Our third was the relay. We were evenly matched back then, so we took turns being an anchor.

Grandpa showed up to watch us race, and everything was going great. I was the anchor, but our third was slow on the exchange, and I got second. I knew what Grandpa would say, and when Bart came to congratulate me after the race, I snapped at him. I hit him, and I'll never be able to take that back.

I have nightmares about losing him all the time, but I can't tell him that. I haven't earned the right to tell him that-."

"Thad, I'm no expert on siblings or anything, but maybe telling him about stuff like that'll make you seem more human to him. I was mentored by a guy a while back to keep me out of trouble after my dad died, and I hated him. I thought he was such a jerk. Then one day, I saw him fall apart at his desk. After that, he didn't seem so terrible. He seemed like a regular guy trying to make a difference," Owen explained, "Besides, I'm sure he wouldn't want to lose you either. Maybe he thinks you hate him."

"I don't," Thad blurted out, but he understood what Owen meant. "But if I tell him about that, I'll have to tell him how I put in the applications for us to be roommates."

"He'll get over it, but I'd open with that. Bart's got a pretty short attention span," Owen replied. Thad nodded.

"Are you gonna be here for a while?" Thad questioned. Owen nodded. "I'm gonna race Bart this morning..."

"Why?" Owen asked. Thad shrank down and pulled his hood up.

"Swear you won't laugh," Thad commanded in a feeble voice.

Owen punched him in the shoulder playfully. "On my life," he answered gently.

"I wanted him to show me how to play rugby. I didn't wanna tell you that I don't know how to play because I wanted to hang out with you," Thad confessed.

"I kinda figured you didn't know what rugby was... The thing is, I don't care what we do this week. I just wanted to hang out with you," Owen revealed. As the sun rose, they heard the loud snapping noise of skateboard wheels rolling over the cracks on the sidewalk.

"Bart's here," Thad whispered. Owen offered to hold Thad's jacket for him until he got back.

He watched as Thad rushed down the bleachers to the track and met with Bart. They exchanged words, and Thad pointed up at Owen. Bart waved, and Owen waved back. "Can you tell us when?" Bart yelled.

"Let me know when you're ready!" Owen yelled as he took his duffel and Thad's jacket down to the benches by the track. Bart and Thad stretched and took their marks. Thad looked serious, but Bart seemed beside himself with joy. "Well, you're already on your marks," Owen joked, "Get set... Go!"

The twins took off with a sprint, and Owen sat down on the benches. He took out his phone and videotaped the race, which worked out in everyone's favor because it was close. Bart won by a hair, but Bart didn't stop to see who won before embracing Thad. He picked him up and swung him around. Owen scratched his head and chuckled to himself.

Bart let Thad go, and Thad dusted himself off. He said something to Bart, and they waved Owen over. He walked over to the twins, and Thad invited him to breakfast. "Do you have morning classes today?" Thad asked.

"No, I was just here to watch the sun come up," Owen answered. They walked to the Big Belly Burger together, and the girl from the night shift was back at the register. "Hey, Thad, that's the girl from the other night." He gave Thad a gentle shove forward. "Go talk to her."

Thad approached the register, and the girl smiled at him. "I like your hair," she whispered.

"Oh, I was gonna fix it-."

"Don't," she whispered, "I'm Deb."

"Thad," Thad whispered. Deb smiled at him.

"Can I take your order?" Deb asked. Thad ordered breakfast, and she wrote her number on the back of the receipt. "Maybe I could spike it for you sometime."

"Huh?" Thad asked.

"Your hair," Deb clarified. She gave him three cups, and Thad chuckled and nodded on his way to the table. Owen nudged him, and his face reddened. He took the receipt and put her number into his phone before sending a text message. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and smiled.

Bart took two cups to fill up with soda, and Thad sat up as if he'd just remembered something. "My mom plays cards twice a month. Once with me and once with Bart... My mom wanted me to ask if you wanted to join us this weekend? It's an open thing-."

"Yeah, okay," Owen answered without thinking. He took a sip of his soda and immediately changed the subject. "You should ask that girl out."

"Yeah?" Thad asked. Owen took another sip of soda and nodded.

"What'd she say to you?" Owen questioned.

"She said she liked my hair," Thad whispered. Owen smiled. "I guess it's not that bad." Thad pulled at his bangs, and Owen chuckled.

Bart sat back down and brought their food over. He had a hashbrown in his mouth. Thad took the bag and chuckled. Bart and Thad didn't say much to one another. Owen didn't mind, though. He could tell they were getting along. "There's a party Friday night," Owen announced, "We should all go."

Thad looked at Bart. "Sounds good to me," Bart replied.

"Okay, I'm game," Thad agreed. Owen smiled and snapped a picture of them. Bart went back to eating, and Thad reached for Owen's phone. "Here, let's get one good one." The three of them pulled in and took pictures together. Owen sent them to his brothers, and he saved one of the pictures as his home screen.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

The Brother Trap

Fandom: DC Comics, Flashfam

Summary: Owen wants to connect with his half-brothers for the first time. Luckily for him, they all go to the same university. Will bad blood between twins keep Owen from the family of his dreams, or is he the missing piece they've always needed?

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Owen Mercer, Axel Walker, Thad Thawne, Bart Allen, Meloni Thawne, Deborah Morgna, Preston Lindsay, President Thaddeus Thawne Mention

Relationships: Owen Mercer/Axel Walker, Thad Thawne/Deborah Morgna, PrestonBart

Additional Tags: POV Third Person, College AU, Angst and Fluff, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, No Powers AU

Chapter Seven: Recap

Thad's phone rang at four in the morning, and Bart peeked over his bunk to see who it was. "Hello?" Thad whispered. "Yes, sir... I'll be right out." Thad hung up the phone.

Bart's first instinct was to pretend to be asleep, but he could see the fear in Thad's eyes. "Is it Grandpa?" Bart asked. Thad nodded. "Want me to go down instead?"

"He'll know it's you... But thanks for trying," Thad whispered. Bart swung his feet over the guardrail on the bed.

"I'll go with you... What's your thing with Grandpa anyway?" Bart asked. Thad threw on a sweatshirt, and Bart hopped down from his bunk.

"You really don't know Grandpa very well, do you?" Thad asked. It never occurred to him that Bart never stayed with their Grandpa when they were kids. Bart shook his head and sat on Thad's bed. He wanted Thad to open up to him, but he wasn't sure if he should ask.

Thad got up, and Bart followed him. They brushed their teeth together and went back to the room to get dressed. "Thad, can I wear your blue sweatshirt?" Bart asked.

Thad nodded and looked at Bart. He was relieved to know Bart wanted to go with him. Bart rushed after him to the car. They both reached for the radio, and Bart laughed. "Is there anything you like about Grandpa?" Bart asked as he looked through the glove box for something to snack on.

Thad drummed his fingertips against the steering wheel. "I don't wanna talk about Grandpa... You'll see," Thad whispered, "I just don't like how unimportant I feel around him. He doesn't like us, Bart."

"Then why are we going?" Bart asked. Thad glanced over at Bart, and he wanted to break down and tell Bart how awful summers with their Grandpa were. He desired to unburden himself, but not at the expense of Bart's feelings. They drove across town to an office building and took the elevator to the tenth floor. "Is he gonna be here?"

"No, but we're going up to his office. If we hurry, we can probably finish without running into him," Thad whispered, "We're gonna alphabetize some files in his office, and then we can leave."

Bart's stomach growled as they approached the front desk. "Hi, TJ," the woman at the front desk smiled, "Your grandpa didn't tell me you were a twin."

"Mhm," Thad answered, "Lidia, would you mind sending breakfast to Grandpa's office? I promised Grandpa we'd get started right away." She smiled and nodded. Bart moved to introduce himself, and Thad took his hand and dragged him to their Grandpa's office.

Inside the office, several stacks of files sat in the center of the floor. Thad immediately got to work while Bart looked around the office. "They thought you were a single-birth... We're twins," Bart whispered.

"I know," Thad mumbled, "Not everyone knows we're twins."

Bart crossed his arms and looked at the pictures of their mom on their Grandpa's desk. "How old was Mom in this one?" Bart asked as he held up a picture of their mom with her father and a woman. Meloni wore a light blue dress with white satin bows, the woman wore a dress with a collar in the same color, and their Grandpa seemed stern.

"She was six. Please put that back exactly where you found it," Thad whispered. Bart obeyed and joined Thad on the floor. "And the lady was our grandma. I don't know anything about her. I just know that's her."

Bart frowned. He realized he didn't know Thad as well as he thought. "Are there any other pictures of her?" Bart asked. Thad shook his head. "Did you—?"

"I asked Mom. She didn't want to talk about her," Thad answered.

Thad and Bart worked in silence after that, and Bart took the sorted stacks of files and placed them in the filing cabinet. Lidia knocked on the door and brought them their breakfast. Bart didn't seem to have much of an appetite anymore. "You should eat," Thad mumbled, "You get kind of—."

"Didn't you ever do kid stuff with Grandpa?" Bart asked.

"No," Thad replied in a sharper tone than he wanted to. "I did kid stuff with you."

"But then you stopped," Bart reminded him, "It was like you didn't want to be around me anymore."

"I always wanna be around you. I just don't know how to," Thad whispered, "I don't know, maybe I'm a little jealous of you..."

Bart lay his head on Thad's shoulder. Bart whispered, "Thad, can't we just be twins again? Like we used to be?" Thad nodded. Bart sat up and reached into the bag to eat his sandwich.

Bart's phone rang. "It's Mom," Bart whispered.

"You can answer," Thad replied.

Bart nodded and put the phone on speaker. "Hi, Mom," they answered in unison.

Meloni shrieked out of surprise. "Are you boys together?" Meloni asked.

"Uh-huh," they answered.

"Hey, Mom? Bart and our friend are gonna come play cards tomorrow night if that's okay," Thad announced. Bart took a sip of Thad's soda. "No backwash."

Bart made a face at him. "Really?" Meloni asked. "While I've got you both, I found some of your dad's old sweatshirts in the attic, and I wanted you both to come and look through them... See what you want."

Thad took the soda back from Bart and took a few sips. Thad didn't show it, but he was distressed at the idea of going through his father's things. Bart could feel Thad's discomfort, and he swallowed hard. "Yeah, okay, Mom. We can do that," Bart whispered.

Thad checked out and sipped on his soda. Bart grabbed Thad's sleeve, and he didn't say anything. "Okay... What are you boys up to? And what happened? I can't get you two to spend time together to save my life."

Thad finished the soda off and opened up a box of hotcakes while Bart talked to Meloni. After the phone call ended, Thad went back to work, and Bart finished eating. "Are you mad at me?" Bart asked. Thad shook his head. "Swear?"

Thad chuckled. "I swear... Are we still going to that party tonight?" Thad asked, quickly changing the subject. Bart nodded.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

A Yellow Ribbon

Fandom: DC Comics, Young Justice, Flashfam, Superfam

Summary: Conner's been best friends with Bart ever since they met at the carnival when they were children. The problem is that Bart can't remember meeting Conner that night. But Thad does...

Chapters: 3/?

Characters: Clark Kent, Conner Kent, Lois Lane, Bart Allen, Thaddeus Thawne, Don Allen, Meloni Allen, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Kent, Max Crandall

Relationships: KonBart, KonThad, Clois, MelonixDon, Ma/Pa Kent

Additional Tags: No Powers AU, Mistaken Identity, Possibly Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, Twins, Lies, Stolen Moments, Unconventional Love Triangles, Misunderstandings, Childhood Friends, Complicated Relationships, Family Dynamics, Family Bonding, Best Friends, Secret Crush, Autistic Bart Allen, Autistic Thad Thawne, Thaddeus Thawne Gets a Hug, Conner Kent-centric, Bisexual Conner Kent, Conner Kent Needs a Hug, Third Person POV, Hurt Clark Kent, Boys in Love, Friendship/Love, Farm/Ranch AU, Farmboy Conner Kent, Grandparents and Grandchildren, Unconventional Families, Unconventional Relationship, Romance, Light Angst, Strangers to Lovers, Cyrano

Chapter Three: Lavender Boy

Conner sat at the table, wide-eyed and pale. “Conner, sweetheart, did you hear what Lois said?” Martha asked. Conner stared ahead at the picture of Clark, Martha, Pa, Lois, and him. Clark just got out of the hospital after coming home. It was Conner’s first memory. Clark’s eyes were dark, clouded, and puffy from the pain medication. Or at least that’s what Clark told him. “Conner?”

“I don’t-. I don’t think I did, Ma,” Conner whispered.

“Conner, you’re gonna spend the school year in Metropolis with us,” Lois whispered. Conner took a sip of his milk.

“It'd be a trial basis… It’s up to you if you want to live with us or not,” Clark whispered. Conner nodded. He didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but Conner had never lived with Clark and Lois. “How do you feel, Conner?”

Conner nodded. “When are we leaving?” Conner asked.

“Tomorrow,” Lois answered.

Conner swallowed hard. “May I be excused? I have to get ready for tomorrow,” Conner whispered.

“Sure, kiddo… Let me come with you,” Pa whispered. He took Conner’s hand, and they went to Conner’s room. Once they were out of earshot of the kitchen, Pa sat on Conner’s bed and bounced Conner on his knee. “It’s their turn… And they’re so excited-.”

“You and Ma don’t want me anymore, do you?” Conner asked.

“That’s not it, Kiddo, we’re your grandparents. Clark and Lois are your parents. We’re moving out of the way to see how they do. It doesn’t mean we won’t miss you while you’re gone,” Pa whispered. He pinched Conner’s cheek.

Conner laid his head on Pa’s chest and clutched Pa’s shirt. “If I want to come back, can I call you?” Conner asked. Pa smiled.

“Sure,” Pa whispered, “But try and give your parents a fair shake… I heard they’ve got a surprise for you once you get there.” Conner craned his neck to meet eyes with Pa.

Conner hopped off Pa’s knee and pulled his suitcase from underneath his bed. Pa sighed and pulled Conner’s pajamas from the dresser. “I raised him, you know… I wouldn’t send you to live anywhere unless I knew you’d be okay,” Pa reassured him. Conner placed the neatly folded clothes into his shark suitcase.

It only took him a few minutes to pack his first bag, but he’d be gone a whole school year. “Conner, I think this is all you’ll need, kiddo. Clark and Lois might wanna get you some new clothes while you’re in the city… A new environment means new clothes,” Pa whispered. Conner frowned and kicked at the air.

“Will you make sure Banna knows I didn’t leave her?” Conner asked. Banna was a blonde cow Conner practically grew up with. He named her when she was born. Banna because he couldn’t say banana.

“I’ll tell her,” Pa replied, “Don’t worry… I’ll let her know.” Pa stepped toward the door, and Conner grabbed his hand.

“Pa, one more thing… Can I sleep with you and Ma tonight?” Conner asked. Pa nodded.

“Go brush your teeth and tell Clark and Lois goodnight first,” Pa commanded. He messed up Conner’s hair. “It’ll be okay…”

Conner washed up and said goodnight to his parents. Then he waited patiently for Ma and Pa to come to bed. He didn’t sleep, even after Ma attempted to soothe him. Conner eventually gave up and climbed out of bed. He crept to the kitchen and met eyes with Lois. She had a slice of pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. “Hi, Scout… Want some?” Lois asked. Conner nodded. “Grab a spoon.” Conner obeyed, sitting beside her as she pushed the plate between them.

“Lois, why do you want me now?” Conner asked gently.

“We want to give it a try. We wanna be your mommy and daddy,” Lois answered, “And we want you to know how much we love you.”

Conner ate some of Lois’s vanilla ice cream. “You were a beautiful baby,” Lois smiled, “Gorgeous little fat face and this sweet little head of beautiful black curls. I stayed with-. I stayed here with you at first.”

He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so he stayed silent. After a while of sitting with her, he nodded off at the counter. Lois carried him to bed. She ran her finger down his cheek as he slept. “We slept in this bed because you were so quiet. You’re still so quiet… Conner, I love you so much,” Lois whispered.

She lingered there, holding onto the image of her sweet-faced son. Clark stood in the doorway, afraid to approach. "Did he seem upset to you?" Clark asked.

“He seemed apprehensive,” Lois answered.

“That’s fair,” Clark whispered, “Apprehension is normal… Did he show any indication that he didn’t want to go?”

“Not as far as I could tell, but I’m not above saying that I’m so excited that I might be blinded by my bias… I hope he likes us,” Lois whispered, “Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t like us. He’s so quiet.”

“He barely knows us,” Clark whispered, “I don’t think his silence-. I don’t know. I want him to like us too.” Lois laid her head on Clark’s chest. “I feel awful for springing this on him… But I see his little face and-.”

“His chubby little cheeks… And he makes you want to hold on for dear life,” Lois interrupted. Someone knocked on the door, and Clark got up to answer. Conner stood in the doorway with tears in his eyes.

Clark picked Conner up and held him without so much as a word. “I’m scared,” Conner whispered.

“We are too, Gup’. We are too,” Clark confessed, “But that’s okay because we love you so much… Conner, I know this is nerve-wracking, but-. Conner, can we give this a try?”

“Why are you scared?” Conner asked as Clark wiped his tears away.

“We want you to love us… We want you to have memories with us,” Clark whispered, “We wanna be your parents.”

Conner held on tight to Clark. “Can I sleep in your bed then?” Conner asked. Clark glanced at Lois, and she nodded.

“Okay,” Clark whispered. He carried Conner to their bed and let the small, chubby-faced boy curl into a ball between them. Lois turned on her side and draped an arm over him. It was a small victory for Lois and Clark. He slept through the night, and they cherished his sweet sighs.

Conner tossed and turned, but his sleep was far from restless. Part of Conner enjoyed having Clark and Lois close by. “He smells good,” Lois whispered.

Clark chuckled. “I know, right,” Clark replied, smiling ear-to-ear.

Conner smelled like lavender. It didn’t hurt that he picked lavender from the herb garden as part of his afternoon chores. Clark and Lois giggled as they reveled in their tiny victory. “Should we tell him about the surprise tomorrow morning, or should we tell him when we get there?” Lois questioned.

“We’ll let him know when we get there,” Clark replied, “I wanna see the look on his face.”

Conner rolled onto his stomach, raising one arm over his head. “Can he sleep like that?” Lois asked.

“If he doesn’t turn in a few minutes, I’ll flip him over,” Clark reassured her. Lois narrowed her eyes, and Clark rolled Conner over.