(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 36 - Farewell into a New Future

Chapter 36 - Farewell into a New Future

Summary: The time has come for a certain speedster to return home—but what does the future hold now?

The medical checkups took a lot longer than any of them anticipated. Barry always considered Caitlin to be quite thorough in her checkups, but Carla was in a league of her own.

Barry actually made the mistake of grumbling about the fact aloud, causing his fiancée to glare at him while Carla chuckled and replied lightly, "It's all in the experience, dear. Give Caitlin another decade or two, and she will be the same."

A look of both pride and fear flashed in Caitlin's eyes, though considering it distracted her from glaring at him, Barry made the wise choice of not commenting and keeping his head down.

But now that it was all over and done with, the team decided to throw some sort of party in the West house that evening.

Barry was initially against the idea, as they just lost one of their own, Marlize. But Caitlin, Jesse, and even Lyra were quick to accept the idea, wanting the victory to be celebrated to honor the sacrifice of the woman, and Barry couldn't possibly disagree with them, so the party was green-lighted.

With that, all of them went to their own homes to get ready. Barry, Caitlin, and Lyra were the first to leave as they promised to come help Joe set up the garden for everyone's barbecue.

The moment they closed the door to their loft, Caitlin was quick to announce, "I got dibs on the shower. See you two later."

Without giving either of them the chance to argue, Caitlin went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Barry and Lyra blinked twice before Lyra chuckled and turned toward her room, calling over her shoulder, "Well, I will go find something to wear, Dad."

Barry couldn't help but be surprised with the drastic change of attitude from the Lyra of a few hours ago to this one. He couldn't help himself but call out, "Lyra, can I talk with you for a moment?"

Lyra turned to him with a smile and a confused look on her face, saying gently, "Sure, Dad, what's up?"

Barry raised an eyebrow at her and began carefully, "Don't take it the wrong way, but I'm worried about how like... yourself you are acting."

Lyra tilted her head with a small frown and asked, "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Dad."

Barry sighed before saying gently, "Look, I know how much you cared about Marlize, and seeing what happened couldn't be easy. You don't have to hide your pain with me; I want to help you."

Lyra launched herself forward and hugged Barry tightly for a moment before pulling back with a small, sad smile. She responded, "I know, Dad. It's just... I spent some time today thinking about the Marlize I knew, and for the first time, I noticed the longing in her eyes. She always wanted to be with her husband; she loved him more than she hated the monster he became. It might not be ideal, but just maybe it's better than her living on with everyone telling her what a monster the man she loved so much ended up being."

Lyra looked away and finished quietly, "I know it seems wrong to say it, but... I think it will..."

Barry pulled her back into his embrace, cutting her off, saying gently, "You don't have to explain. You knew her better than any of us. If anyone, then you have the right to reach this conclusion, and no one can tell you otherwise."

Barry could feel Lyra smiling into his chest before he heard her saying, "Thanks, Dad, it means a lot." Before Barry could say anything else, she turned around and ran to her room, calling out, "Still need to choose my outfit, see you soon."

Barry shook his head in amusement and proceeded to their bedroom as well. He could use a ten-minute nap.

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Barry led Caitlin and Lyra into Joe's house without knocking, as per Joe's own words. His adoptive dad said clearly that this would always be his home and he could enter it as he pleased.

As the three of them entered the living room, they were met by a short woman with dark skin and long black hair. She wore a business suit with a long skirt and had a bright smile on her face.

The woman was carrying plates of meat on her way to the garden when she noticed them. Her bright smile grew even larger as she said happily, "Oh hi there. Good to see you again, Barry, and you two must be Caitlin and Lyra. I was looking forward to meeting you for a long time."

Barry smiled back at her and said with matching enthusiasm, "DA Horton, I had no idea Joe invited you as well. Let me introduce my fiancée, Doctor Caitlin Snow, and my..."

For the first time, Barry wasn't sure how to refer to Lyra. Cecile was dating Joe, so outright lying to her would not be the best choice, but telling her the truth would sound crazy and would make him look like a madman. Not the impression he wanted his future step-mother to have.

Cecile cut Barry's line of thought with the same smile on her face. "Your daughter Lyra." She probably noticed the three shocked looks aimed at her as she explained, "Oh, you don't have to worry about any of it; Joe told me everything about a week ago."

Barry was conflicted about this revelation. On one hand, he supposed he should be thankful for Joe removing the awkwardness out of the way for him, but on the other hand, he did so without talking with Barry first, not to mention he didn't even say anything about already telling her. And here Barry thought that this was his secret to keep or tell.

In that moment, Joe walked into the room calling, "Honey, what about the meat? The grill won't stay hot forever, you know..."

His voice trailed off when he noticed the three of them standing in the middle of the living room with what was probably an odd expression on their faces. He smiled and said with his usual caring voice, "It's good to see all of you. We can..."

This time it was Barry who cut him off, demanding with a small amount of anger, "You told her?! And said nothing to me?"

Joe sighed deeply before replying calmly, "I wasn't about to lie to her, Barry, so yeah, I told her, and considering we spent the last week preparing for DeVoe's final move, I thought it could wait."

Barry was going to argue when Caitlin caught his arm and pulled him back, closer to her. Barry looked confused at his fiancée, who gave him a sharp look and said firmly, "Let it go, Barry. Joe does have a point, and anyway, this is supposed to be a party. Let's not destroy the mood."

Barry sighed, unable to argue with her, and just nodded his acceptance. Joe smiled and said in his usual booming voice, "Great, now if the ladies will please help Cecile with the plates, Barry, you can go ahead and set the table with the chairs for everyone."

Barry shrugged and nodded, following the instructions.

About a couple of hours later, the entire team, with the addition of Cecile, were holding their cups in the air as Cisco called out, "For the fall of our latest big bad. Probably the smartest man alive."

Everyone chuckled at Cisco's dramatics and drank. The last one was Harry, who took a moment to mumble, 'Not as smart as he thought,' before downing his own shot.

They laughed some more until Caitlin raised the next shot and said in a much more somber tone, "To the one who was willing to give everything to see a better world. Marlize DeVoe."

There were somber calls back of "Hear, hear," and everyone downed their shot much slower this time.

The next one to raise a shot surprised all of them, as none expected that of him. But nonetheless, Harry raised his glass. His eyes looked toward Lyra, and he said in his usual monotone voice, "To Lyra. That her run back will be smoother than the one here."

There was a pause after his words. No one moved a muscle, far less considered drinking for it. The moment was broken when many voices began shouting at once.

"Come on, man, what the hell are you talking about?" Cisco asked in shock.

"Dad, can you not be a party pooper for one day!" Jesse said in exasperation.

"What did you say about my granddaughter, Wells?" growled Joe at the man.

Harry looked surprised himself at the reaction he was receiving, but he defended himself with his usual calm. "It's obvious she achieved the task she returned in time for. If she remains in this time any longer, she will increase the chance to erase her own existence. An outcome I would like to avoid."

That comment shut all of them up, though Barry was still about to argue that he knew what to do with his daughter, but Lyra stopped him with a voice that was so similar to the one her mother used a couple of hours ago. "He's right, Dad. It's time for me to go back."

After that, the mood did drop a little, but with the insistence of Lyra herself, laughter soon returned to the garden, and for the moment, all of them focused on their victory and nothing else.

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It was a little over twenty-four hours later that the entire team found themselves in STAR Labs cortex. All of them were wearing their casual clothes while Lyra stood in the middle of the room wearing her Speedstorm suit sans the mask. A little smile on her face, in opposition to the frowns all around the room.

Lyra, possessing the same cheerful attitude that Barry came to associate with her, said, "Oh, all of you shouldn't be so sad. You all will see me sooner or later. Time travel is confusing."

Even as Lyra chuckled from her own joke, Barry could see the fear she was trying to hide behind the smile.

Barry took a step closer and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Snowflake, you don't have to hide from us. I know you are scared; we don't want to lose you either."

Lyra's smile faded away, and her body began to shake a little as she launched herself into his arms and said with a shaky tone, "I'm afraid, Dad. I'm afraid of the future I'm going back to. Will she still be there?"

Barry felt his heart aching for his daughter. He wasn't even sure who she was talking about, Mia or Dawn. But right now, that didn't matter. He hugged her tighter so she would know that she is not alone and never will be.

A pale hand came from the side to pat Lyra's head. Both he and Lyra looked up at the source to find Frost standing there with the usual smirk on her face, though Barry could see in her eyes the softness that smirk was carrying in that moment.

Frost put a hand on Lyra's cheek and said with her usual playful tone, "Now, now, my dear Snowflake, no reason for you to be afraid. After all, they're all waiting for you there. I'm sure your little girlfriend will kick your ass for making her wait for you." Then her playful tone disappeared and turned serious as she glanced at Barry and said, "And if you ever need to, you can always run back to us."

Barry wasn't about to refute that; instead, he smiled widely at his little runner and confirmed it. "You will always have a place with us, even if it means fighting the Speedforce for it. Nothing is more important than you."

Lyra smiled and nodded; her fear began to dim away.

Frost then melted away, allowing Caitlin to regain control so she could pull Lyra into a hug of her own, and she whispered, "Be more careful than your dad, okay, Snowflake?"

Barry gave a mock offended look, causing Lyra to giggle and reply softly, "I promise, Mom."

After that, everyone exchanged a final 'I love you' with Lyra before she faced the exit of the cortex and took a deep breath, saying calmly, "I'm ready."

"See you soon, little runner," Barry said to his future daughter before smiling confidently at her and saying the only last words he could think about in the moment, "Now run, Lyra, run."

Orange and blue lightning flashed over her eyes, and a moment later, she was gone.

Barry kept staring at the spot Lyra just occupied until Caitlin grabbed his arm. Barry turned to look at his fiancée's smiling face as she said to him softly, "We should go home. After all, now that all of this is over with, we have a wedding and a family to plan."

Barry smiled back at her and said wistfully, "Yeah, the future is waiting for us."

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Lyra felt her heart growing heavier with every passing moment. She exited the Speedforce at the entrance to Star City and didn't even stop for a moment.

She just kept running until she reached the old hideout she used to live in with her mom and Dawn.

She stopped at the front yard of the house. It looked like any other in the neighborhood, maybe slightly rundown, which Lyra didn't remember it as. The grass was too high as well, and the paint looked at least a few years old.

The heaviness in her heart began to grow even faster when she noticed all of those things. Still, she pushed on and tried to find the hidden key she knew should be under one of the stones in the yard.

When five minutes passed and she didn't find it, her breath grew heavier with the crushing anxiety she felt growing.

She reached for the door only to find it unlocked. With trepidation and with her guard up, she walked in.

The living room was lacking any furniture, and the empty space felt like it was taunting her. She could feel her body start shaking when a familiar voice spoke from behind her, "I had a feeling you would end up here."

Without even realizing it, due to all the tension in her body, Lyra's reflexes acted, and she swung a fist in super speed at the origin of the voice.

Lyra managed to catch a glimpse of blonde hair that ducked under her attack before speaking again, "Wow, is this any way to greet your girlfriend, Angel?"

When Lyra could finally focus through the haze, she found herself gazing into familiar, loving blue eyes.

Mia Queen stood before her with her usual cocky smirk and a fist on her hip. Still, Lyra could see the worry and love in those eyes.

Lyra could feel her knees giving up on her and got ready to meet the floor when a pair of arms caught her and pulled her up to lean on the slim, yet powerful figure of her girlfriend, as Mia said with a small frown, "Are you okay there, L?"

Lyra didn't know how to answer it; the only words out of her mouth were, "You remember me?"

Mia's frown turned into a smirk again as she said, "You know, it's a funny story. Just a week ago, I got this weird dream from someone that looked like your grandma, and she gave me memories of a timeline she said you changed."

Lyra was speechless. The Speedforce gave Mia her memories of the other timeline? Did it have anything to do with the lightning rod it mentioned when she was in there with her dad and mom?

The speedster shook her head, deciding that now was not the time to worry about it. After all, she got what she wanted the most: the love of her life, still loving and remembering her. Lyra wiped her tears and smiled widely. "I'm so happy."

Mia chuckled before saying gently, "Yeah, me too. I'm so proud of you, L. You did great."

Lyra launched herself forward and kissed Mia right on the lips, a kiss Mia was more than happy to return.

They broke the kiss only when Lyra could hear more footsteps growing closer to them. Mia seemed to notice too, and she smirked again. "Oh, I forgot to mention there are a few more people who want to say hi," she said as if it was an everyday thing in her life.

A moment later, a familiar small body collided with Lyra, sending both of them to the floor. Lyra chuckled and patted the brown hair that was blocking her sight.

The girl on top of her giggled before raising her head to look at Lyra and saying enthusiastically, "Big sis! You are right; it wasn't long at all."

Lyra wasn't sure what Dawn meant by that, but still, she smiled at her and replied with genuine happiness, "I always keep my promises to you, Sunshine."

Dawn pouted at the nickname, though before she could retort, another familiar voice said in a tone full of amusement, "Dawn, please get off your sister so she could see us."

Dawn pouted even more before sighing and stepping away while mumbling, "Yes, Mommy."

Lyra looked up to see her parents standing next to each other. She never saw her dad at this age, but he looked pretty much the same. His hair had grey streaks, and his face had more lines than the last time she saw him, but this was her dad.

Her mom she remembered from the last time. This Caitlin Snow looked different. There weren't as many lines on her face as there used to be; the dark bags under her eyes were gone, and her smile was genuine. Lyra liked those changes.

Her mom seemed to catch on to what she was thinking and gave her a bright smile, saying in her motherly tone, "It's good to have you back, Snowflake. We missed you."

Lyra swallowed back the tears of happiness she felt like shedding and replied, "I love you too. All of you."

Her mom smiled even brighter. Mia blushed a little, and her smirk grew softer. Dawn was bouncing in her place with happiness.

Her dad stepped forward and reached out his hand toward her so he could help her up. "You ready for a new future, Little runner?"

His smile was so large, Lyra couldn't help but return the same. "Always," she replied as she grabbed his hand.

She couldn't wait to see what this new future held in store for her and her family. One thing she was sure about: she could always count on them.