(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 20 – Running Through the Past

Chapter 20 – Running Through the Past

Summary: A dive into a past that still didn't happen.

Barry stood in the medical wing of STAR Labs, staring at the bed in front of him where his daughter was lying—frozen, with a distant look in her once-bright blue eyes.

Everything had been chaos during their mission. Lyra was the first to break formation to fight Bran. DeVoe had included two metas whose powers were perfect for negating the advantages of speedsters.

Kevin’s skin prevented Barry from punching him or even using electricity, while the red-haired man was so slow due to his hardened skin that he couldn’t hope to touch Barry, locking them in a frustrating press-and-escape battle.

Jessie had fought Mike, a meta who produced some sort of glue from his skin and hair that even phasing couldn’t shake off. He was immune to his own glue, and by coating the ground around Jessie, he limited her movements until he managed to trap her. The pervert had intended to molest her! Barry had wanted to run to Iron Heights and cut the man’s hands off.

Lyra had actually managed to hold her ground against Bran alone, even without using her cold powers. But she was so focused on her opponent that she didn’t notice Jessie was in danger, and Simon had taken advantage of the distraction to find the device they were supposed to protect.

Luckily, they had planned for something like that, and that was when Frost and Cisco intervened.

The mission was partly successful. It was a shame the device had been destroyed—it would have advanced neurological science years ahead. But it was better destroyed than in DeVoe’s hands.

The fight after DeVoe canceled their powers was shocking. Lyra had clearly been trained by Oliver himself. The moves she used weren’t something you learned in a day, even for a speedster, so she had been training with Oliver in the future. Why?

The problem was that in the middle of the fight, after taking care of two out of the three criminals, when she was faced with Simon’s attack, she froze and hadn’t recovered since.

Barry had to pick her up gently and bring her to the labs through a breach. Since then, Caitlin had been running scans and tests on the future teen.

Barry noticed that from the first moment Lyra laid eyes on Bran and Simon in the security footage Joe brought, something in her had changed.

Her eyes were sharper, her aggression was heightened, and she had lost all patience. Any semblance of the cheerful girl she had been until then was gone.

Caitlin and Cisco came to stand next to Barry. The speedster looked at his fiancée and asked, “Any idea what’s going on?”

Caitlin crossed her arms and said, “She’s in shock—a severe one. Something during that moment caused her mind to retreat into itself, and she’s refusing to come out, so to speak.”

Barry frowned. “I’m telling you, something about the entire situation with her is wrong. What are our options?”

Caitlin glanced at the uncomfortable Cisco before speaking. “That’s why I brought him with me. I administered sedatives so she’ll be able to at least sleep and recover some energy. But that also created an opening for us.”

Barry’s eyes widened as he understood Caitlin’s plan. “You want Cisco to vibe us into her dreams.”

Caitlin gave a firm nod, and Cisco shifted uncomfortably. “Guys, I don’t feel good about this. It feels like an invasion of privacy, and she’s my niece…”

Caitlin cut him off with a firm tone. “And she’s my daughter. She’s obviously suffering through some sort of flashback that terrifies her to death. It’s my responsibility as a mother to help her in any way I can.”

Cisco raised his hands in defense. “Okay, okay, I’ll help. Just pointing out the obvious.”

Barry and Caitlin appeared inside what looked like a STAR Labs van. Harry was driving, with Cisco sitting next to him. In the back of the van sat Wally and Caitlin, who were hugging a crying ten-year-old Lyra tightly.

Lyra looked up at Caitlin with tears in her eyes and asked in a shaky voice, “Mommy, where are we going?”

Caitlin gave her daughter a small smile and said happily, “We’re going to visit Uncle Ollie and Auntie Cilie.”

Lyra looked a little less sad and asked hopefully, “Will Daddy be there too?”

Barry could see the sadness swimming in Caitlin’s eyes, but she kept her smile and said gently, “My little star, Daddy had to go away to keep us safe. It’ll be a while before you see him again.”

Lyra looked worried but not sad as she declared, “So we need to come home soon, Mommy. Daddy promised he’d always come running home to us. We need to wait for him there.”

Caitlin hugged Lyra to her chest to hide the tears falling from her eyes and said with a steady voice, “Your dad will always watch over you, little star. He’ll always know where we are. We’re his home.”

Barry felt his own tears begin to fall. Watching his family suffer after his sacrifice—they might be crying, but at least they were alive.

Suddenly, Harry shouted, “Oh shit!” and the van came to a complete stop, making everyone inside yelp and jerk around.

Barry and Caitlin saw through the windshield a grinning Simon standing in the middle of the road. The criminal began to shout, “Come out, come out. This is a new-level mission. Time to face the mini-boss.”

The Caitlin inside the van pulled the door open, her hair turning silver and her voice deepening as she ordered, “Cisco, pass her to Wally. And Wally, please keep them safe.” Without waiting for a reply, Frost left the van, followed closely by Cisco.

Barry and Caitlin were forced to watch through the windshield as Frost smirked at Simon and said, “Brave of you to come alone, criminal.”

Simon chuckled before replying, “Didn’t you hear? There’s a new order in Central City. I’ve been leveled up from criminal to general by the professor.”

Frost shrugged and responded, “You can call yourself whatever you want. You’re still a pissant who can be stepped on in an instant when you’re alone.”

Simon lost his grin and snarled at the ice woman, “Without your dear Flash, you’re nothing but NPCs, and once I disintegrate the lot of you, I’ll get a level-up reward.”

Frost’s face contorted with fury, and a moment later, Simon was encased in ice.

The moment Lyra saw her mama win, she ignored Wally and jumped out of the van, calling, “Mama, Mama! You did woosh and he was squashed!” The little girl gestured animatedly with her hands, her face full of excitement.

Both Frost and Cisco turned to Lyra, and Frost immediately said, “Snowflake, get back inside right now.”

Lyra was about to answer when suddenly she yelped, startled by something. An icicle shot out of her palm and hit a nearby metal sign, cutting it at the point of impact and allowing the top part to fall harmlessly to the asphalt.

Why was she startled? Because she had noticed Simon, who had used his powers to disintegrate the ice around him, charging straight at her.

Cisco was the first to react, moving toward her. Frost realized she was too far to reach her daughter before the criminal did, so she shot an icicle at the man’s head.

But Simon raised both hands. With one palm, he touched the icicle, and a moment later, all that was left was ashes. His other palm was outstretched toward Lyra’s face.

The entire vision tunneled to that outstretched palm. Barry thought he could hear someone screaming, but it was muffled.

Barry himself grew very anxious, and he noticed Caitlin did too. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it in reassurance, but neither of them moved their eyes from the scene.

Just before Simon could touch Lyra, Cisco tackled him with all his strength, sending both the snarling man and himself to the side of the road at high speed.

A moment later, a sickening sound filled the air, and Simon coughed up blood.

When Cisco jumped back from the criminal, the furious man grabbed Cisco’s hands, and they began to disintegrate as well.

Cisco screamed and pulled himself away, but his hands were already gone. Frost was at his side in an instant and used her powers to freeze his wounds, stopping the process of disintegration.

Frost turned to glare at the man responsible but was shocked by what she saw.

Simon had been impaled on the remains of the sign Lyra had cut down earlier. The criminal brought his hands to the metal pole sticking out of his gut and turned it to ash, causing him to fall to the ground with a hole in his body.

Simon coughed up blood and snarled to no one in particular, “No. No! I just helped finish the big boss and leveled up! It can’t be game over, it can’t!”

Frost ignored him, picked up the still-shocked Lyra, and walked back into the van.

The vision then began to swim incoherently, likely due to Lyra’s state of shock.

Barry wasn’t sure how to feel about what he had just seen, but when he turned to Caitlin, he could see dark satisfaction in her eyes. Hesitantly, he asked, “Cait?”

She turned to Barry and said in a firm tone, “He got what he deserved for trying to kill a ten-year-old girl.”

Barry knew there was a part of her that didn’t fully agree with that sentiment, but right now, her motherly instincts were in control. If Barry was honest with himself, part of him was satisfied too, watching the light dim in the mad gamer’s eyes.

Suddenly, the vision shifted to a battlefield. Barry recognized the area just outside Starling City. A 13-year-old Lyra was watching as the Green Arrow, Spartan, Red Arrow, Speedy, a young man in a suit similar to Spartan’s, and Malcolm Merlyn fought a group of metahumans.

The group of vigilantes not only held their own but was actually pushing the enemy back. Lyra saw a short man with purple hair turn to them and say, “Now, here are some fine young prizes to reward myself with. Quite developed as well.” He said it in a creepy tone while his eyes scanned the bodies of Lyra and another blonde girl standing next to her.

The blonde scowled and screamed back, “Hey, pervert! Bring it on, ugly! I mean short, ugly, and useless. Who would be seen with you willingly?”

Lyra paled at the blonde’s words, and Mike lost his smile and snarled as he began to run toward them. He gathered some gel in his hands and threw it at the girl.

Lyra was scared—her heart was racing faster than ever before. She knew what would happen if this gel touched them—what had happened to Auntie Jessie.

Without thinking, she grabbed the blonde’s hand, intending to run away. What she didn’t expect was for lightning to cover her body, suddenly zooming them hundreds of meters away.

Then Lyra felt her body getting cold all of a sudden, and her vision began to blur.

She managed to see the shocked look on the short man’s face as he asked, outraged, “You’re a speedster?! The professor has to—”

Before the criminal could finish his sentence, a black arrow embedded itself in his chest. At that point, Lyra’s vision grew too blurry, and the last thing she heard was Malcolm’s voice saying casually, “He’ll never find out.”

When the scene shifted again, it was to an unfamiliar room. Lyra was slowly opening her eyes to see the face of the blonde girl sitting next to her. Lyra sat up and asked softly, “Mia?”

Barry’s eyes widened. Mia? Wasn’t that Oliver’s daughter’s name? So that was her. Barry had to admit, the girl had much more in common with Felicity than with Oliver, at least in appearance.

Mia opened her own eyes and smiled. “Morning, sweetness.”

Lyra blushed a little as she asked, “What happened?”

Mia shrugged and said casually, “Apparently, you can run super-fast now.”

Lyra jumped from the bed and exclaimed, “I’m a speedster like Dad?”

Mia gave her a kind smile. “I’m happy for you, L.”

Lyra ran forward and hugged the blonde. “I… I always wanted to have a piece of him with me, and now I do.”

Mia hugged the girl back, her own cheeks slightly blushing, and said, “I know, L.” Then she broke the hug and sighed sadly. “But there’s bad news.”

Lyra looked at her curiously, and Mia shifted a little before saying gently, “Because speed and cold are opposites, there’s a chance you’ll either lose one of them, or they’ll negate each other.”

Lyra looked shocked. “You sure?” she asked, hoping for a negative answer.

Mia shrugged and replied, “Harry said as much.”

Lyra seemed to consider this for a moment before a determined look shone in her eyes. She said, “He was wrong before. Dad used to say that if I fight for something, I should never stop until I have results. Doesn’t matter if they’re positive or negative—at least I’ll know I did my best. So, I’ll do my best to control both my powers.”

Mia smiled at the determined girl and cheered her on. “That’s my girl!”

Lyra blushed deeply and mumbled, “Your girl?”

Mia just smirked at her, her own cheeks still blushing.

Okay… Barry wondered, what the hell is going on here? He looked at Caitlin and noticed the satisfied smile on her face. Barry would never understand the way women think.

Lyra then looked worried all of a sudden and asked, “But what if I can’t control them? I still want to help. I still want to be a hero like Mom and Dad.”

Mia leaned back in her chair and said casually, “Well, Dad and John have been training me for the past couple of years. If you want, I can help you train, and if you lose your powers, we’ll become the next Green and Red Arrow.”

Lyra pumped her fist and screamed, “Let’s do it!”