Hey, we had a deal. Thanks for the Powerstones guys. We were able to make it back to a decent spot in the rankings despite me being...away for a while.
Anyways, enjoy your new chapter. As a thanks, I save the threatening for your powerstones for the end.
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"How did you do it? I did it, I created a tragedy. What did you do?!"
Thawne's yells echoed within the dimly lit pipeline.
'I could tell him, but letting him forever ponder how exactly his perfect plan didn't work, unbeknownst to him, Henry Allen was alive and well.'
"Haven't you learned today's lesson, Thawne? The whole point of everything that happened was that the past has happened. There's nothing we can do to change that."
"So shouldn't you instead be wondering about what your next move should be? Because I think we all know you can't take us both in the state you're in." Barry added, he too grinning despite never lowering his guard.
Derek and Barry stood side by side, the latter bending his knees slightly as his eyes remained glued on the yellow-suited figure before him.
Behind Thawne were Joe and Cisco, the former holding up his gun as the latter watched, unsure of what to do next.
"You still haven't recharged from our previous fight. And you had practically depleted yourself just to..." Derek added, pausing a little at the end just to rub it in, the corner of his lip curled upward in a hint of mock.
After everything, this was a sight he'd pay to see.
Thawne was quiet, his mask on but his iconic blurring face and glowing red eyes were absent for the very reasons Derek just mentioned.
The only thing to indicate he was even a speedster was the spasm-like red lightning that would spark around his body, contrary to the full strands of pure energy they once were.
And just as Derek moved his lips to finish his sentence…
"Then he says, to keep up…"
"To keep up."
'Huh?'
Derek paused.
Perhaps the others couldn't quite hear it since Thawne had his head lowered, mumbling as his fingers twitched.
However, Derek's senses were more advanced. He could hear exactly what Thawne said. He could hear how the speedster finished his sentence for him before he even moved his lips.
"Yes…no no, this is exactly…how, it was a miniscule path, one so…how!"
This time, they all witnessed Thawne's outburst as he gripped his skull, biting his lip so hard it bled.
But in the next second, his body calmed as he straightened his body, lowering his arms.
"You…" Thawne muttered, but as he did, it was followed by a bitter chuckle, his eyes suddenly growing more dangerous.
"You were right, you know. I was using a speed enhancer. But you were already sure of this, weren't you?" Derek's expression didn't change as the others remained confused.
"I called it Velocity XI."
'A Velocity Serum past X? Even the show didn't have that. X was considered the furthest the Serum could be taken in terms of perfection.'
"That's how you were able to travel to other earths. Though, from where I'm standing, it's a little underwhelming. You haven't done much with it."
Everyone listened, growing more confused by the second as their eyes couldn't help but shift toward Derek.
However, they knew now wasn't the time to ask for answers.
"Quite the contrary. The purpose of the serum wasn't speed. It was something else. You see, after a while, I realised something. No matter what I did, I'd always be at a disadvantage."
"Whether I was a genius or not, whether I had all the speed in the world or not, there was nothing I could do against someone who knew the future."
'The Future?!'
All heads snapped toward Derek, even Barry's as his lowered knees tightened for a second as he took a moment to stare at Derek.
"Funny, huh? You don't even know your own past. I mean, what right do you have…what right do you have at knowing the future?!"
Thawne's tone slowly raised in anger and frustration the more he spoke, however, he regained his composure as he inhaled sharply through his nose.
"Therefore, I chose to level the playing field."
"Just as Velocity X serum would directly tap into the speedforce energy as opposed to its predecessors that would alter a speedster's biology, Velocity XI does the same."
"However, rather than using said energy for speed, I chose to further delve into the speedforce, using this energy for something else. Time."
At that moment, Derek widened his eyes.
The Speedforce wasn't just good for its speed. It's an entity bearing dozens of powers, the most prominent being time.
'What the hell does that even mean? He chose to utilise the Speedforce abnormally? How? What process did he go through?'
Derek knew that what Thawne was saying was easier said than done. Performing such a feat seemed uncanny even to him.
Since the day he learned Thawne was using speed-enhancing drugs, Derek would constantly brainstorm formulas in the back of his mind to try and replicate this.
As a biochemist, it was one of the things he was good at, this combined with his knowledge of this verse, he was close.
But this changed everything.
"Countless futures. Countless possibilities, each decision leading to a different path. I knew them all. I had complete knowledge of my own countless futures."
Derek narrowed his eyes.
'I see. His own futures.'
Derek paid attention to Thawne's words.
'No wonder everything he did since World War M seemed flawless. From plotting Henry Allen's death to getting rid of me and even dealing with Eddie. He's learned from his mistakes in realities that don't even exist.'
This form of future knowledge directly rivalled Derek's. Well, if it wasn't for one major flaw.
"However, there was a single path. A single possibility that I calculated to be highly unlikely, if not impossible. It was this reality we're living in right now. One where you prevent me from going back home."
'I see…'
Because Thawne could only see his own timeline, it didn't make him omniscient. He could only see things that he directly experienced.
Therefore, because he didn't know how exactly Derek won or what he did, this reality seemed only like a fluke from his point of view.
One that could easily be prevented simply by making his plan perfect.
"So, I ask you once more. How did you do this?" Thawne muttered, however, he was swiftly ignored by Derek.
'I wonder what result would occur if I were to tell him now. Some sort of Paradox, I'd assume.'
"Your depleting speed. I'm assuming for this process you used your connection to the Speedforce as fuel. Even after reaping the benefits, your speed is still being drained."
'Like the relationship between the Philosopher's Stone and the Speedforce. Merlin and Savitar weren't the only ones to think of utilising the Speedforce like this.'
However, their process was far more refined and less chaotic than Thawne's.
Nevertheless, it gave Derek his first confirmation that perhaps it wouldn't be as hard as he'd thought it would be to fix his broken soul.
"Tell me, Thanwe. What happens in this path you foresaw? What is the result of this confrontation?"
Derek asked after his question was ignored, the others, curious, turning to Thawne.
And surprisingly, he wasn't too bothered in sharing this answer.
"No one wins. I kill you all and I soon wither away in this timeline."
"You kill us all?" Barry asked, his grin having long faded.
It seemed like nothing more than wishful thinking on Thawne's part that he could do anything to harm any of them in his current state.
However, after what they'd just heard, well, the part that didn't have them completely clueless, Barry was far more wary, preventing him from leaping forward blindly.
"But I'll change that. We both know that the Future is never set. Every action bends the timeline in a different direction."
"Therefore, just so we're clear after I kill the two of you, I'm going to kill the rest of your friends and family. I will then conquer this world with my speed."
"I'll gather minds greater than those in this building and I will fix this all and return home, one way or another.." Thawne suddenly muttered as the air suddenly turned cold.
"Correction, the three of us." Derek and Barry turned back, witnessing a man with a flaming head appear between them, his eyes white as he glared at Thawne.
Ronnie turned to the two beside him, nodding as they did the same.
However, as they turned back, they stared at Thawne, his hands filled with what appeared to be pills, shoving it all down his mouth at super speed so that only Derek and Barry could perceive it.
And without even chewing, he swallowed as they all watched his throat bulge as it went down.
"What did he just eat?" Barry asked, prepared to leap off the ground and end this before it even started.
However…
-CRACKLE!!!
-VUAM!!!
Powerful and lively red lightning burst from Thawne as his body tensed at the sudden jolt. He let out a struggling groan but in the next second, he calmed as his face started to blur and his eyes began to burn in a menacing red, more so than ever before.
"I told you I merely drew the Speedforce's energy for the purpose of grasping at Time. However, what happens when I siphon all this energy into my speed?"
Derek's eyes widened as he stared at this. He could feel the Speedforce energy within Thawne grow from a dying ember to a hellish wildfire, continuing to expand by the second with no sign of stopping.
'How? He must be using something as fuel for this speed. But what? I doubt his weak connection to the speed force would be enough of a sacrifice for this result…'
However, Derek halted as he witnessed blood dripping from Thawne's nose.
'His lifeforce…'
Only now did Derek realise conquering the world was only a secondary goal. He was going all in on killing them because if he couldn't even do that much, nothing mattered.
So much so that he was planning on putting his own life on the line.
"What…the hell…" Derek turned to Barry, witnessing his expression horrified, pale as a ghost.
'He's had first-hand contact with the speedforce. I guess he can sense it better now.'
"Barry!"
Barry blinked as this sudden exclamation snapped him out of his trance, prompting him to turn to Derek who glared at Thawne in determination, despite his jaw clenched and sweat running down the side of his face.
"Snap out of it. Everything's on the line. We just need to hold him off long enough until he burns out. Got it?" Derek spoke, not only addressing Barry, but also Ronnie who wore a difficult expression.
Seeing this, Barry's expression solidified as he bent his legs, nodding.
"I got it. Just…don't die…"
-VUAM!!!
They hadn't even noticed.
Both Barry and Derek continued to stare at where Thawne once stood, their brains not even comprehending any sort of movement.
Unbeknownst to them, Thawne stood behind them all.
And in his hand, was a single beating heart.
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Whose heart does he have I wonder?
Find out on the next chapter of CW Flash: ICA!
Next Chapter Title: Thank you...Nyssa
But if you don't wanna wait, you can head over to the Patreon where we've already delved into Volume 2.
If not, hand over the bloody powerstones, say your little thanks for the chapter and fork off.
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(Seriously, thank guys!)