Chapter 15: Mothers and guilt

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Avengers compound

Afternoon

Barry was in the gym, holding a gun to his head. He was about to pull the trigger when a hand, smooth and soft, was suddenly on the hand holding the gun.

"Don't." A woman's voice, as familiar to him as his own, spoke up.

"I have to. It's the only way to protect my friends. To protect them from me." Barry said, his voice trembling as he looked over at the woman.

"My sweet boy," Nora said as she smiled sadly at her son, gently pulling his hand holding the gun down, away from his head, "you will only cause them pain if you do this."

"Better to hurt them now than to destroy them in the long run." Barry argued.

"Your friends need you and you need them, whether you know it or not. You are no god Barry, you're just a man. You make mistakes, but you can't give up now. If you do, everything you have gone through, all the loss, all the sacrifices, all the victories, was all for nothing. Don't let it be in vain Barry. You are not the man you were; he wouldn't have even thought to ask the question of whether he deserved the suit. You are The Flash Barry, you always were. You've always had a good heart Barry, always. What is your heart telling you right now?" Nora asked and Barry was silent as he looked down at the gun in his hand.

"It's telling me…that this is not the way. And my friends need my help." Barry said before tossing the gun to the floor.

"Better to have a good heart than fast legs." Nora repeated what she had told him the day she had been murdered and Barry let out a humorless laugh.

"I miss you so much." Barry said his voice cracking as he looked over at her.

"You're never without me my sweet boy. I am always with you, in here," Nara said as she put a hand on his chest, over his heart, "If you love someone, then they're never really gone. You will always carry them with you, in your heart."

Then, she was gone, as was Oliver's body. The only thing left was the gun on the floor.

Washington DC

Same time

"Looks like they're already here." Natasha noted as she landed the Quinjet, staring at the jet outside the warehouse.

"Then we don't have a moment to waste," Steve said as he stood up, shield in hand, "let's move out."

Everyone stood up as Natasha lowered the ramp. The Avengers walked down, exiting their transport. However, before they could get far, they heard the sound of an engine. They looked up just as a missile hit the Quinjet. It exploded and sent them all flying.

Avengers Compound

Same time

Barry was in Steve's room, searching. Finally, he found what he was looking for: A box was in Steve's closet and Barry took it out, setting it on Steve's bed. Barry opened it up, revealing the lightning emblem on his new suit.

Washington DC

Same time

With a ringing in his ears, Clint stood up shakily. He looked around, the fire blazing around him and seeing no sign of his teammates.

"Nat? Cap? Wanda?" Clint called out as he searched for them, his bow in hand.

Hearing the cocking of a gun behind him, he froze. Turning his head slightly, he saw Cindy aiming an assault rifle at her head.

"Cindy I presume?" Clint said dryly.

"The famous Hawkeye. You know, I actually admire you. Armed with only a bow and arrow, you stand shoulder to shoulder with gods, super soldiers, and people with superpowers as they fight aliens, killer robots, and other threats. I almost feel bad about killing you. Almost." Cindy said before she opened fire.

There were too many to dodge and they were all in close range. Clint thought this was the end before a red blur appeared in front of him and, at lightning fast speed, caught all the bullets. As Cindy stood in shock, Clint saw it was The Flash that had come to his rescue.

"Barry?" Steve called out as he and the other Avengers appeared, staring at their speedster friend as he dropped the bullets onto the ground.

"I thought it was about time I did something." Barry said, staring at Cindy, "you guys go on inside, we can't let these guys get their hands on those weapons. I'll handle her. Besides, we have unfinished business."

"Alright, let's go." Steve ordered and the others followed him as he moved towards the warehouse.

"Thanks for the save kid." Clint said and Barry nodded before Clint turned and followed the others.

"You really think you can stop me? Stop us?!" Cindy snarled before she opened fire on Barry.

However, Barry once again used super speed to catch all her bullets. He then sped over and punched her. She went down on her back, the gun flying into the air. He dropped the bullets before vibrating his free hand. As the assault rifle came down, Barry struck it with his vibrating hand and it fell to the ground in two pieces.

As The Avengers walked in, they were suddenly being shot at from all sides. Wanda used her powers to stop as much of the bullets as she could, but she could only do that for so long. And even then, she couldn't stop them all. So Steve threw his shield at a wall and it bounced towards one of the gunman. It hit his assault rifle, knocking it out of his hands and completely destroying before the shield bounded back towards Steve's hands. Clint fired, getting one of the gunmen in the shoulder as Vision and Rhodey blasted some of the gunmen, Sam flew up into the air, dodging bullets as he flew at a gunmen and Natasha fired with two pistols as one of the Gunmen fled, only to run into Clint.

"Going somewhere asshole?" Clint asked as he changed his bow into a Bo staff, whirling it around for affect.

"Why are you doing this?" Barry asked outside, staring at Cindy.

"I don't owe you anything!" Cindy snarled, pulling out a knife and rushing him.

But Barry, at super speed, side stepped her and reached out, grabbing the knife from her and, with his free hand, grabbing her arm and flipping her. She landed on the ground on her back, hard.

"What do you have left to lose, huh?" Barry asked and Cindy chuckled.

"The one thing I regretted about all this was that I did like you and hated doing what I did to you," Cindy admitted as she got to her feet, "alright, I'll tell you: Tony Stark murdered my mother."

"How did he murder your mother?" Barry asked in shock.

"Back when he was a weapons manufacturer. He had to test those weapons somehow. It was my mother's job to make sure those weapons were safe to use. One day, she was testing some high tech missile launcher when something went horribly wrong. It exploded; the experts said it was something with the wiring. She died. I was only seventeen…and you know what Stark did? He didn't even show up at her funeral," Cindy said, her voice trembling with her emotions, "Because that is the man he is. He doesn't care, about anyone or anything. He's a monster, no better than the killer robots he and The Avengers unleashed on Sokovia."

"You're wrong," Barry said and she glared at him, hate and anger clear in her eyes, "that's who Tony was before. Not who he is now. I've met the man and he is not the person you're describing. And even if he was, that doesn't justify you signing on with Hydra and all you've done. You're no better than what you think Tony is."

Enraged by this, Cindy rushed at him with a snarl but Barry grabbed her and, at super speed, flipped her and brought her down, slamming her down to the ground.

"I doubt this is what your mother would want for you," Barry said softly as he tossed the knife he had taken from her on to the ground, "to be so consumed by grief and rage you are willing to set the world on fire. Now, you can blame Tony for your mother's death for the rest of your life, but I will never be like you. I am done blaming myself for mine."

As he said this, Barry suddenly felt a great burden lift from his shoulders and realized it was true. Seeing Cindy, so consumed with rage over her mother's death, made him realize what he could have become without Joe to give him the love and support he had needed during that difficult time. His mother wouldn't want him to blame himself for her death…so he wouldn't. He would honor her by living.

As Barry turned to walk away, Cindy suddenly grabbed the knife and lunged for him. Using his super speed, Barry dodged her strike and sent a hard punch to her head. She went down to the ground, out cold, as the knife clattered to the ground with a clink.

"Some people can't be reasoned with." Steve said as he and the other Avengers walked out onto the scene.

"Someone told me once that when people break, sometimes they can't be put back together." Barry remembered Thawne's words.

"Whoever it was, they were right Allen." Natasha said as she put a hand on Barry's shoulder.

"So did you get them all?" Barry asked as he looked over at his teammates.

"Yeah, they're all either dead or unconscious." Sam said and Barry nodded.

"So how are we getting home?" Barry wondered, seeing as the Quinjet was destroyed.

"There's more than one mode of transportation here." Steve said as he looked over at the jet Cindy and her crew had arrived in.

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