(The Flash) Frozen Flashpoint: Chapter 14 – A Message from the Future

Chapter 14 – A Message from the Future

Summary: The future speedster reveals dark days to come.

Cisco blinked at the USB drive in his hand and asked slowly, “So, this is a message from the future to us?”

Lyra nodded. There was a moment of silence before Cisco exploded, “And we get it on a USB drive?! What happened to holograms, biochips—hell, did you all destroy wireless data?!”

Lyra managed to keep a straight face for a few moments before she broke down in laughter. Cisco glared at her the entire time until she managed to calm herself and say, “Sorry, Uncle Cisco. It was your idea. You said it would be funny, and you were right.”

Cisco let out a heavy sigh and mumbled, “Can’t even trust myself these days.”

Lyra shrugged with a small giggle and said softly, “If it helps, it was Mom who said it’d be better not to give you any future tech to play with too much.”

Cisco sent Caitlin a betrayed look, but the brunette doctor just gave him an innocent smile that declared she had no regrets.

Barry shook his head in amusement before reality set back in, and he spoke calmly, “We might want to see what’s on that.”

Cisco nodded before walking over to the computer, plugging the drive in, and making sure to display the video on the large screen in the cortex.

After checking that everyone was ready and watching, Cisco pressed play.

Immediately, a group of people appeared on the screen. In the middle of the group, right in front of the camera, sat Caitlin Snow. She looked older. There were more lines on her face and darker bags under her eyes than Barry thought two decades should warrant.

On her right sat Cisco, but if anything, he looked worse. His hair was longer than usual, and he hadn’t shaved. What concerned Barry the most was how subdued the usually energetic man was. Cisco wasn’t one to wear gloves, so why was he in the video?

On Caitlin’s other side sat Harry, and the man looked even colder than he was now—if that was possible. It probably had a lot to do with the scar running across his face, from the top of his forehead, through his left eye, down to his chin, and continuing down the side of his neck, disappearing under his clothes.

Next to Harry sat Joe. He didn’t look much better than Harry, although he didn’t have a scar on his face. His right eye, however, was covered by an eyepatch. Barry didn’t want to think about what that meant.

Next to Cisco sat Wally. No longer did he look young and cheerful. He looked much like he did when Barry first met him—distant, angry, and vengeful.

All of them wore grim expressions as they looked at the camera.

Caitlin was the first to speak, her voice sounding a little hoarse. “Hi, everyone…” Then her voice turned wistful and pained at the same time. “Hi, Barry. If you’re seeing this, then Lyra managed to make her way back in time. First of all, Barry, because I know you well enough to realize you’re going to suspect any speedster coming into your life and claiming to be family as an imposter…” Her eyes took on a familiar loving glint as she said, “Lyra is our daughter. She’s basically you, through and through, Barr.”

Cisco let out a gruff chuckle that was unlike him. He spoke in a tired voice, “Oh, she’s definitely yours, buddy. But you’re lucky she inherited most of Caitlin’s common sense.”

“Not enough to offset her father’s foolishness and heroic tendencies,” Caitlin grumbled mostly to herself.

Lyra’s eyes widened and she whined, “Moooom!”

Caitlin giggled next to Barry, and even he couldn’t fight the smile stretching across his face.

But the people in the video weren’t in the mood for jokes. Harry turned to glare at the two people joking and hissed, “We’re recording this for a purpose. Snow-Allen, will you, or must I do the speaking?”

Barry felt warmth fill him when he heard Future Harry calling Caitlin “Snow-Allen.” Then he felt a pang of pain when Caitlin nodded sadly at Harry. That was wrong. Caitlin should never feel so much pain. None of them should.

Caitlin in the video sighed before speaking again. “Well, then. Yes, Lyra is our daughter, Barry. I hope you and your fiancée treat her well.”

Her face then morphed into a more morbid and serious one. “The reason we sent her back in time is to change the future.”

Barry froze, his eyes widening. Change the future?! Why would he and Caitlin ever allow something like that? They already knew that changing the past didn’t promise a better future for anyone. Things could turn out worse more often than they got better.

Looking around, Barry saw Cisco was shocked, Caitlin was confused—just like Joe—and Jessie and Wally looked excited at the prospect. Harry looked downright furious at the idea.

Caitlin in the video shook her head before speaking again, “I know you, Barry, and I know Harry will disapprove—”

Harry in the video cut her off. “The naïve young version of me will pull his head out of his ass when he hears why we’re doing it.”

The fury on Present Harry’s face was replaced by shock. Barry wasn’t sure if it was because of the name-calling or because his future self was endorsing the idea of time manipulation.

Older Caitlin ignored the comment from the man next to her and continued, “But we were left with no other choice. The reason we must resort to this tactic is Clifford DeVoe.”

“Pause the video, Cisco,” Barry called out just after Caitlin finished talking.

Cisco paused the video, probably guessing what Barry wanted next. Before Barry could say anything, Cisco began typing on his computer.

A few minutes later, a picture of a thin, middle-aged man appeared on the screen, and Barry couldn’t say it rang any bells.

Cisco didn’t keep them in suspense. “Professor Clifford DeVoe teaches a history course at Central City University, with mixed reactions. He’s married, no kids. After the dark matter explosion, he ended up in a wheelchair, but no meta abilities. The guy doesn’t even have a parking ticket. From all I see, he’s just another average civilian.”

Barry frowned, sensing something was wrong. Things weren’t adding up. Caitlin cleared her throat. “I’m sure they’re about to explain everything, so why don’t we watch it through first?”

Everyone agreed, and Cisco pressed play again.

Joe took over from Caitlin. Though he looked older and rougher, his tone hadn’t changed, which was somewhat comforting. “I’m sure you paused to research the man, but everything you see is just a cover. Clifford DeVoe and his wife Marlize were conducting an experiment with a device they called ‘the Thinking Cap,’ meant to temporarily increase the intelligence of its wearer. When the dark matter wave hit the city, it caused some kind of reaction that permanently increased DeVoe’s intelligence.”

Harry in the cortex looked fascinated by the idea, but his counterpart in the video spoke next, his voice filled with disdain. “This intelligence came at a cost. The first was physical. Due to his brain’s increased need for bioelectricity, the rest of his body began failing. But there was another effect... mentally.”

Wally spoke next, his voice as angry and cold as Barry remembered from a few months ago. “It’s like how overthinkers experience more anxiety and depression than others. With his new intelligence, DeVoe took it to a whole new level. He saw humanity’s current ways as flawed and wanted to correct them, like the teacher he was. And what better way to do that than with worldwide brainwashing? He called it ‘the Enlightenment,’ and he planned to use three satellites to create a net of radiation that would wipe the minds of everyone on Earth, so he could mold them to fit his ideals.”

Cisco was next to speak. “His plan wasn’t that easy, though. It required a lot of things to happen first. Things that he used his unbelievable intelligence to predict or slightly influence. But his plans went off the rails during the final stages.”

Barry frowned. None of them had even known someone like DeVoe existed, let alone that they were part of some huge master plan. So how could they have derailed it?

Caitlin in the video had a small smile as she said, “It was our fault, Barry… Well, most of it was mine.”

Now Barry was really confused, but Joe in the video was quick to follow up. “You see, DeVoe predicted everything up until Zoom’s defeat. The change happened during your after-party at our house.”

Barry tried to think back to that night, wondering what could have gone differently. Was he not supposed to spend the whole night brooding on the porch? If that was it, then DeVoe sure didn’t know him as well as he thought.

Wally picked up where his father stopped. “In DeVoe’s original timeline, it was Iris, not Caitlin, who went outside to talk to you. She, unlike Caitlin, allowed you to go through with your plan to change the past and create a new timeline called ‘Flashpoint.’ In that new timeline, there were many changes. You weren’t the Flash—I was, with Iris’s help. The team lived their own lives, and you began to lose your powers and forget the timeline you came from. Unable to handle it, you restored the timeline, or so you thought.”

Harry huffed and spoke in his usual disapproving tone. “Of course, that’s not possible. There were changes, most of them bad. But by creating the new timeline, the worst thing you did was create Savitar. Savitar was an evil speedster you will imprison in the Speedforce in the future. He used the cracks in the timeline to free himself after a few months, causing mayhem in the city. At the same time, Snow was discovering her hidden side and reacting badly to it. Frost was not happy with how Snow treated her, and she became another Killer Frost. Savitar tried to kill Iris, your fiancée, and you focused all your efforts on saving her. When Savitar failed, and Iris killed a version of me instead, she ended him.”

Both Joes let out a heavy sigh at the thought, before the one in the video continued. “With Savitar dead, the Speedforce needed a prisoner, or the city would be destroyed. Naturally, you chose to sacrifice yourself.”

Cisco shook his head. “That’s where DeVoe intended to get involved. He planned to attack the city six months later, so we’d be forced to get you out of the Speedforce. With Caitlin’s help, we did, but when we did, a new wave of dark matter created another small group of metas. DeVoe spent the next year hunting them down, transferring his consciousness from one to the next until he had the perfect set of powers he needed. Then, he planned to launch the satellites and execute his plan.”

Barry was horrified, and he wasn’t the only one. He turned to Caitlin and hugged her tightly, saying loud enough for everyone to hear, “Thank you for saving us from that future. You’re the best, Cait.”

Caitlin giggled before responding softly, “Trust me, the pleasure is all mine.”

Harry’s voice came again from the video, and everyone turned their attention back to it. “The timeline changed when Caitlin was the one to talk to you that night. She convinced you not to run back in time, and as a result, there was no Flashpoint timeline, erasing Savitar’s means of escape—if Savitar even existed in the first place. Since Allen didn’t date West, and Snow accepted Frost from the start, the events leading to his creation no longer happened.”

Many people, especially Joe, let out a sigh of relief at the news.

Wally spoke again. “The problem for DeVoe then became obvious. No Savitar meant Barry didn’t sacrifice himself for the city. And if Barry wasn’t stuck in the Speedforce, there would be no new wave of dark matter when we freed him. Without that, the metas DeVoe needed weren’t created. That’s important because the first meta he captured had psychic abilities, which allowed DeVoe to transfer his consciousness into healthy bodies. The last meta he took over had a body made of rubber, perfect for him to regain his image while retaining his full strength—and then some.”

Joe nodded before speaking. “DeVoe realized he could still enact his ‘Enlightenment’ plan, but what was the point if he was about to die? At that time, his mind began to deteriorate. He started to go radical in his attempts to return events to his predicted timeline, including creating a beacon and making a deal with Thawne to lock you in the Speedforce. When all those plans failed, his mental health took a turn for the worse.”

Caitlin spoke again. “Eventually, DeVoe decided humanity must be conspiring against him for all his plans to keep falling apart. He even began turning on his wife, believing her to be a traitor. In his crazed mind, humanity didn’t deserve to survive. His new goal was to kill everyone and start from scratch afterward. He spent years planning the apocalypse he wanted to unleash. He began by gathering metas who wanted to join him and creating an army. He called them ‘Generals’ and started by attacking Central City. The first group of people he targeted were…”

Caitlin’s face twisted into one of pure grief, and she choked on her words. Cisco, looking concerned, took over. “He knew that if he just destroyed the city, some speedster or other time-traveling meta would try to go back and warn the heroes. So, he went after those metas first.” Cisco removed one of his gloves, revealing a robotic hand instead of a flesh one. “Including me. I managed to escape, but not before DeVoe made sure I wouldn’t be able to use my powers to call for backup from other Earths.”

Cisco in the cortex looked pale, rubbing his hands as if to make sure there was no metal. Caitlin seemed to understand the implications and grabbed his arm, worried.

Joe spoke next. “Jessie fell into a trap. DeVoe targeted an elementary school, and while Jessie was evacuating the kids, a meta who could turn even the air itself into an elastic-like material ambushed and killed her.”

Wally grabbed Jessie’s hand and pulled her closer to him, while Harry shook—whether in rage or fear, Barry was afraid to ask.

Harry spoke next in the video. “Lyra was ten years old when DeVoe found out where you lived and gathered an army to surround the entire block. Allen… Allen sacrificed himself that night so his family could escape.”

Caitlin clenched Barry’s arm so tightly he feared it would fall off, but he didn’t say anything. He just turned and hugged her tightly.

Wally picked up the story. “For the last six years, we’ve been hiding in Starling City under the protection of the Green Arrow. After killing the Flash, DeVoe believed he’d gotten rid of all the real threats to his plans and started launching bolder attacks. Three years ago, Central City completely fell to DeVoe, and many other cities are under siege. He’s tried to attack Starling City a couple of times, but since we warned Oliver early on, we’ve been able to push him back each time.”

Joe smiled faintly as he spoke. “We thought there wasn’t much hope. DeVoe gained momentum, and that was all he needed to succeed. That’s why he couldn’t allow any warnings to reach the past. But two years ago, a miracle happened. We always knew Lyra had cold powers—she showed them when she was six—and we assumed that meant she couldn’t be a speedster. DeVoe made the same assumption, which saved her life. But apparently, the trauma of that night suppressed her powers until she let them out. Another speedster was born—and with her, hope.”

Cisco nodded before adding, “We trained her to be fast enough to break the time barrier, so she could return to a point in time where she’d be most useful without causing major damage. I can’t have my niece not being born, after all.”

Harry in the video sent a glare at Cisco’s attempt at a joke before turning to the camera and sighing heavily. “Allen… I know you, and even my current self, might object to this plan, but I guarantee you there’s no more damage to be done to this timeline. We only have something to gain. I’m asking you to listen to Lyra’s suggestions and change the future.”

Barry blinked at the screen. Well, if Harry was the one saying things couldn’t get worse, then they really couldn’t. Barry was determined—he would change that future. None of his family would have to suffer like that again.

There was a long pause in the video, and Barry began to think it was over. Then, Caitlin looked straight into his eyes somehow and spoke with so much emotion that Barry felt himself choke on his own. “Barry… I love you. I always will. Me and Frost both. Please use what we told you to make a better future for all of us, and above all, protect our daughter—my precious star. Lyra, listen to your dad and the past me. I love you, my star. You’re my entire world. Come home when all of this is over.”

There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, and Cisco rubbed her back gently with his exposed metal hand. With that, the screen went dark.