He
Got it.
“Detective,
how are you?” Harrison Wells said from the 'entryway' to STAR Labs.
“I'm
alright, Dr Wells, thank you. I was hoping I could enlist that huge
science brain of yours to solve an annoyingly enigmatic case of mine,
and catch a killer in the process.”
“Are
you asking me because I'm a scientist or because I'm the biggest
enigma you know?”
“Both
actually. He is...one of the wild-world of weird cases we've been
busy chasing down.”
“The
reason you don't want Barry on the case taking down this particular
bad guy with us?”
“The
case is the murder of Nora Allen...Barry's mother.”
All
calm and humor evaporated from Well's face. It actually took a few
moments for him to speak again. “Why don't we get to the hands on
science part of this building. We've some things we need to discuss,
and hopefully to discover.”
Joe
West wondered very much at this but he was not about to lose an
opportunity to answer his many questions about the impossible
killers, and messed up humans that had become part of his daily
life... especially not if those answers were to come from the
normally tight-lipped professor that led the team.
Wells
led Detective West into the anteroom of the rather amazing STAR Labs
facility and within an hour Joe West and Harrison Wells were consumed
with analyzing the physical evidence from a murder that had brought
Joe's family together. From the man who created the Particle
Accelerator and the meta-human hero known as the Flash.
“Is
it possible that someone with Barry's abilities killed his mother?”
Joe asked bluntly.
“Now
we reach the core.” Harrison said coyly. “You want to know if my
particle Accelerator had anything to do with creating this monster.
Do I assume correctly you've had this notion in your head the entire
time we've been talking?”
“I
didn't believe Barry's story. For 14 years I thought Henry Allen was
guilty, because I couldn't believe that sort of impossible even
exists. But Barry does,stuff right out of the Twilight Zone is a
weekly occurrence now. I have to consider the possibility it existed
back then.”
“But
my Particle Accelerator didn't.” Wells said pointedly. “Someone
or something impossible killed Nora Allen that night. He killed more
than just Barry's family actually. And yes, my accelerator created
the meta-humans we deal with on a daily basis. These freaks
were my fault. I can't deny that and I don't. But my work is not the
only source of trouble for this city, and not every wild and weird
story comes out of my experiments.” His voice took on a dangerous
edge. “I'm fairly certain that monster had nothing to do with me,
no one knew who I was yet.”
“The
timing is more than a little suspicious don't you think?” Joe said
is a deliberate, slow tone, openly challenging the genius who wormed
his way into their lives without a word of his own origins. A
challenge that was met with a steely glare.
“Ask
the man in yellow for why he showed up when he did, outta the blue.
He thinks for himself and changed the world overnight. Whatever the
heck drew him here, why we've never even seen him since...”
Harrison Wells took a physical step back. “Yeah, the timing is less
than coincidental. But if you're looking for explanations, I don't
know the why. and as far as the how I'm as in the dark as you
are....and searching for exactly the same answers...Almost exactly
the same.”
Detective
Joe West stared at the normally unflappable man who had unraveled
before him. There was not a lot that could rile a self-possessed
professionally restrained man like Harrison Wells. It was one of the
reasons he'd felt safe coming to the man with his suspicions, that he
knew sounded like accusations. Somehow he had a feeling that it was
something way more personal than Joe's rush to judgment that had
animated him so completely.
“You've
seen him too.” Detective West realized aloud.
“Seventeen
years ago.” Harrison replied sadly. “He's why I moved to Central
City in the first place. Meting him that night is why I created
started the foundations for STAR Labs when I did. What he took from
me, is why it took 14 years to achieve my life's dream.” Sinking
into a desk chair Wells put his hands over his face. When he did look
up, Joe was staring at him with an expression he'd never shown the
man before: a look of compassion. “Joe, Barry doesn't know my
story. He has enough on his heart, he's been through enough trying to
catch up with this creep. And I know him well. The fact that my
masterpiece cause more suffering and more monsters is something I
have to live with every day. But THIS monster, he's the one pulling
the strings and I want answers as badly as you do. I don't have them
Joe. To summarize my entire attitude and answer: If your chasing the
man in Yellow, you cannot find a stronger ally than me. If you want
answers about MY life story, look up Tess Morgan. More specifically,
look up where she was December 15th 2002.
Then decide if I have a good enough reason for keeping my past to
myself.”
When
Detective Joe West walked into the Cortex at precisely 7:03 pm that
evening, he looked like he wanted to bury his head in a bag of
potatoes. He didn't sit down, only tapped on the door-frame to
signify his presence. Wells waved him in but did not verbally
acknowledge his presence, until Joe placed a box of very expensive
Irish Whiskey on the table.
“I
take it you're not here to make more accusations.” Wells said
briskly..
“Doctor
Wells, I don't know what to say. I looked up Tess Morgan...I'm sorry
I had no idea. When you mentioned adapting and evolving to a new life
before...you weren't talking about after the accelerator exploded;
you meant losing her, your wife.” Wells sat back in his chair,
motioning for Joe to take the seat beside him. “Something must have
created this monster, and the accelorator created a lot of them.
I...I'm not trying to make excuses I just...I hope you understand why
I squirel-brained. Finding answers based on what information I
have...it's in my job description, as a cop...”
“And
finding answers to life's greatest mysteries is in mine...as a
scientist.” Wells offered. “I understand the need to understand
everything Joe. Detectives who follow leads and geniuses who need
answers both have a tendency of getting obsessed. But this was
personal for you. And however little emotion I show in my daily
life...I do understand trying to keep your
family safe.”
“What
was she like?”
“Strong,
brilliant, the most musical laugh. We were married to the work as
much as to each-other. Making a facility like STAR Labs was something
we were thinking about anyway, we just couldn't find a place to put
down roots that wouldn't turn into a media-government circus if we
ever got it up and running. I later learned the car accident...wasn't
an accident. Someone or something r wanted me out of the way...tried
to kill me that day...She died instead. So I decided to move here.
The best place I can think of to build our dream...even if she
couldn't see it.”
“You're
chasing him to.” Joe said stoically.
“Ironically,
I think if I ever met him I owe him a thank you. If I hadn't moved
here, I wouldn't have been around to help take care of Barry. I would
never have had a team to help make that dream a reality.... I
wouldn't have had Sisko and Caitlyn to help build the accelerator, or
to stand beside me when it blew up in everyone's face. Until the
accelerator exploded Barry was the only person to believe in the
impossible, and I imagined he got teased pretty regularly for it. Now
because of my failed experiments, the world has a man in red to help
deal with the crazy. Ultimately though, unless the man in yellow was
messing with Tachyons there's no way he could have originated from my
work, from something we...I...hadn't even built yet.”
“Okay...what's
that look on your face?”
“Tachyons,
little bits of time-travel THAT'S how he did it! I...Barry and I need
to find this creep and kick his speedster ass. Failing that we need
to train him, Barry I mean, to be the hero this city needs right now.
Are you with me, Joe?”
“Taking
down metas who abuse their powers, helping innocents deal with
getting them, that's what I signed on for. It's my job and my duty.
Raising a hero like my son for people to look up to, making him fast
enough to kick this creeps ass if we ever see him again? That's a
bonus! I am totally in!”
“Barry
is lucky to have you on his side Joe.”
“He's
lucky to have you too.”
A
brief conversation between devastating revelations:
“Doctor
Wells, can I talk with you for a minute?”
“I'm
always here to help Barry, what's up?”
“You
seem different, like something's weighing on your heart that wasn't
there before. And if this is because of Ronnie...what happened to
him.”
“Barry,
Ronnie's death was a noble sacrifice and a freely given choice. I
don't feel anything for him other than he should be an example we all
aspire to emulate given the opportunity. But before he...the last
conversation we had together was very different...and, well you know
how people regret 'never having the chance to say things' or to 'take
them back'. Because of his death, I will never get the chance to tell
him I actually heard what he said!”
“Do
you mind telling me what it is he DID say?”
“The
people who died or were changed in the accelerator are my fault. Even
if I couldn't have seen it coming. But there is one death that can be
placed ENTIRELY at my front door, from long before you and I ever
met. Ronnie found out my 'deep dark secret' and told me to stay away
from you. Something I actually admire him for, he wanted to protect
you. And I can't help thinking that he had a weird sort of a point.
If keeping you safe meant keeping my distance.”
“I'm
the one who decides if I want you in my life Harrison. And I want you
in my life. If YOU want to leave fine. But don't leave because
someone who barely knows you...barely knew you... thinks you don't
belong here anymore.”
Fully
cognizant of the irony of his advice. “One day I might. And if I
do, I just don't want you to think I'm leaving you out in the cold.”
Blissfully
ignorant of the uncomfortableness of the conversation. “You do what
you gotta do Doctor Wells. Just do it for yourself and no one else,
a'rigte?”
“We
did it...It's over.” Barry Allen sighed with relief.
“Not
yet. You still need to end it.” Harrison Wells said from behind
him. Barry turned around and saw the man he'd called his mentor
standing beside him quiet and still, with his hands at his sides in a
gesture of surrender. For a moment he didn't know what to think.
“What
are you doing?”Harrison actually seemed surprised at the question.
“You
said when this was over and the city was safe, you'd kill me. And I
promised I wouldn't fight you. I wasn't lying when I said I cared
about you Barry, and I know what I've done. If this is what you
need...” To Barry's lasting shock Wells actually lowered himself to
his knees. “Then finish it.”
“Why,
why would I do this?”
“That'd
be stating the obvious. I don't think either of us need the
remi...not what you meant is it?”
Vibrating
his right hand Barry Allen, a hero known as The Flash, approached his
nemesis. “I want to hear you say it.” He said strongly and
softly.
“I
killed your mother and I've done nothing to free your father. This
may sound ironic coming from me but I'm tried of running, of trying
to forget or deny my past. For the past 3 years I've done what I
could to make you better than the Rival and stronger than Zoom. After
this you will be.”
“...You're
wrong about that.” Barry said lowering his hand and his voice.
“Killing you wouldn't make me better than zoom it would make me the
same as
him. Killing anyone in cold blood would just make me as petty and
self-absorbed as the Rival. I refuse to be either one. Get Up.”
Later
Harrison Wells stood in the cortex, standing alone in front of Sisko
Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Detective Joe West and young Eddie Thawne, Joe's
partner on the Central City police force. He didn't seem willing to
say anything more, he just stood there as The Flash filled his
friends in on what he'd learned, and what happened 17 years earlier.
“There's one thing I need to show you...then we can finally be out
of each-other's lives. “Gideon, bring up file
ninety-four-thirty-one Zed please.”
“Of
course Doctor Wells.” A soft, feminine voice spoke from literally
thin air. A film projector, or the screen for one appeared and pages
of information scrolled down the 'page' two fast for anyone but Barry
to read. “Download complete Doctor Wells, will there be anything
else?”
“You
get to fulfill your original purpose now Gideon, Barry Allen will
need your help.” He pulled a thumb drive from the interface. “This
is a database, I discovered when we first laid the ground-work at
Star Labs. It seems to deal primarily with a hero called the Flash
and his two closest allies: The Arrow, and the former villain Frost.
When I first found it, I started following the history it presented
like a script, trying to make sure the world had these heroes.
It's why I fast-tracked the Particle Accelerator, why it blew up in
everyone's face, why I'm so convinced Killer Frost will one day just
be a part of you Caitlin and...it's why I see such hatred in your
eyes right now Barry. Seeing the man in the yellow suit kill you
mother as a child...it's what inspired you to investigate the
impossible and is why you became a hero when you got your powers not
a criminal or swollen with pride like most meta-humans. I know that
sounds trite but take it from the expert here. “The
world doesn't need another speedster, it needs the Flash.” That's
what Gideon told me not long after I uh...activated her. I didn't
realize what she meant until I started working with you. When you
look at me and I looked away, it's not that I was afraid of my
feelings, but that I was afraid of yours. Afraid of your anger, your
scorn...and I'd lose any chance of calling you my friend.”
“Prism,
Firestorm, Robin's Heir, Cicada, Overlord, Pestilence...any reason we
haven't heard of any of those bad guys yet?” Sisko Ramon asked in
his traditional lightly sarcastic voice.
“You're
not there yet.” Harrison answered. “The record covers 10 years of
heroism and equality; we're on year 3. Firestorm's not a bad guy,
just messed up...another victim of my hubris.”
“One
question Harrison,” Joe West said peaceably. “What have you been
doing since then?”
“I
stopped following the pages like a script and started seeing them as
guideposts and mile-markers. Until one of these creeps showed up I
tried not to rely on it too much...or dwell on it. The ship where I
found Gideon and this record, might have belonged to the Reverse
Flash. It's where I found the Yellow Suit. It wasn't until Joe
confronted me on something that I put it together.”
“What
you told me about Tess, that was real?”
“Yes,
Joe. I was more or less hunting the man. He DID take my wife from me.
I've not seen a thing of him since the accident. He must've returned
to his own time. After I read Gideon's records, I took it upon myself
to fulfill his role in history when the time came. Barry is the hero
the world needs, because of that tragedy. He's not just another
meta-human: he IS the Flash.”
Detective
Thawne spoke. “Okay time for the obvious question, who the hell
were you talking to?!”
“Why
don't you ask her, she's interactive you know?”
“Ma'am...Gideon
did he call you?” Eddie said uncertainly. “Who are you?”
“I
am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness.” The soft
female voice that had sounded once before answered almost instantly.
“Forgive the otherworldly effect of my disembodied voice, the
visual circuits of my matrix were severely damaged. Doctor Wells has
done his best to repair me..”
“Just
tell them your manufacturing origin Gideon.”
“I've
never understood your reluctance Dr. Wells. You are a
genius by the human standards of this time. But in response to your
prompt: Star Labs, research and development March 18th 2024.”
“You
mean to say, seven years from now, Doctor wells invents you, here at
Star Labs?”
“Incorrect
Mr. Allen, You do.”
“In
Gideon's original records I died tonight, supposedly helping you
fight your newest 'big bad'. But I knew that was just the official
story, a cover-up. I knew you'd killed me, for what I'd done to you.
Anyway six years from now you discover something called the time
vault and within it purely theoretical plans from an inter-active
artificial consciousness that takes you less than a year to bring
into reality you call her 'Gideon'. The ship I found had a copy of
her program.”
“And
you integrated her into the Star-Labs mainframe.” Caitlin said in a
strange voice.
“I
figured it would be helpful having a future computer around, help
interpret and analyze any threats, meta human or otherwise we come
across. You can do the same thing if you want. Now can we get down to
it please...What happens to me?”
“We
record your posthumous confession, get my dad out of prison, burn
your house to the ground, make an official report that you were
inside of it...perhaps that one of your experiments quite literally
blew up in your face, you leave Central City and NE-VER come back.”
Barry said as calmly and emphatically as if he were rewriting history
by sheer force of will. “Doctor Wells, you were doing what you
thought was needed, to protect me and the city. And you didn't delude
yourself into thinking it was justified. I don't know anyone else who
could have made such a sacrifice and not lied to themselves about it.
Also, I read Gideon's original report, just now. The one you must
have read as your mile-marker. Originally when we went out to fight
Clariss today HE revealed your secret, and I killed you in blind
rage, feeling all betrayed. That's why you 'needed to tell me
now' isn't it? Not just to rob him of that victory...but spare
me from that regret.”
“On
this much you must believe me: Since I've gotten to know you, I would
never do anything deliberately to hurt you.”
“And
on that score, I do.” Barry Allen answered.
“....Me
too.” Joe West said in a strong voice.
