Chapter 59

Eobard Thawne was having an extremely terrible day. In fact, it could be said that it was the absolute worst day of his entire existence. The series of events he had endured over the past few months proved this without a doubt. No matter what he attempted, he couldn't deny the undeniable truth: Myles had attained something that made it incredibly difficult for Thawne to harm him without suffering severe consequences.

This fact infuriated Thawne even more as he continued to have new memories resurface. It wasn't solely his family lineage that Myles had stolen from him; he had also lost the woman he had deeply loved. Admittedly, Thawne had caused her to become incapacitated in the previous timeline, but somehow, in this altered reality, every person he had killed managed to survive, leading her to bear Myles' child.

To put it simply, Myles had created a living nightmare for Thawne. He relentlessly used his resistance to any alterations in the timeline to torment and torture him. It was clear that Myles had no intention of making any changes to Thawne's life, which led to this moment. Thawne was fully aware of this; otherwise, he wouldn't be subjected to such excruciating torment.

Desperately, Thawne needed to find a solution to fix his timeline before he descended into complete insanity at the pace things were going.

****

Cisco rubbed his tired eyes, feeling the strain from the past few months. The computer systems had detected strange signals of dark matter energy all over the city, but nobody knew the cause. The situation became even more puzzling when the surveillance cameras revealed tampering, leading to gaps in the footage.

With a warm smile, Snow greeted Cisco and offered him a cup of coffee. "Hey Snow, how's your day going?" he asked, taking a sip.

Caitlin and Snow's connection made Cisco uneasy. They had explained Snow's situation to him, but he couldn't shake off his fear of her. It had nothing to do with her powers but rather the potential depths of her psychological instability, especially considering her involvement with Myles. Cisco would have given her the benefit of the doubt if she had claimed ignorance, but she hadn't. She fully knew what kind of Myles was but he also understood that she might have been tricked by Myles and used as a toy to pass his time.

However, Snow seemed much more stable compared to Myles. Cisco felt comfortable talking to her since she had a genuinely nice demeanor. He even sympathized with her situation of dying and then being trapped in someone else's body.

Snow had been stuck in Caitlin's body since Caitlin's early childhood. Despite enduring prolonged isolation, Snow managed to maintain her sanity. Cisco couldn't decide whether to admire her willpower or offer her a comforting hug.

Occasionally, Cisco sensed that Snow was holding something back or struggling to disclose something.

Snow's face lit up with a smile. "Well, you know, the usual. Wanna play Fortnite?" she suggested, holding two controllers.

"Sorry, Snow, but we still need to find Wells." Cisco declined, sensing that Snow knew more than she revealed. "You do know something, don't you?" he probed.

Snow hesitated before responding. "Cisco, it's hard to explain," she admitted. "It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I'm not sure how to express it without sounding crazy and making things worse."

Cisco pondered her response, noticing the seriousness in Snow's eyes. However, he couldn't grasp how knowing something could worsen their situation.

"Look, Snow, we need all the help we can get, so if you have any information, please share it with us," Cisco urged.

Snow sighed and glanced down at the floor. "Alright, what do you know about time travel?" she asked.

Cisco blinked in surprise. "How does time travel relate to the challenges we're facing?"

"Everything. Whether you believe it or not, the answers are connected to the day Nora Allen was murdered and the accident that transformed Harrison before he founded Star Labs. I can't risk saying more; I'm sorry," Snow responded, returning control back to Caitlin.

Both of them stood facing each other, confused. However, they decided to investigate the clues Snow had given them.

***

"Maybe I should pick up my old job back," Myles mused mid-situp. "All this planning is starting to make me lose it."

As he continued his abdominal exercises, he couldn't help but glance over at Melanie. She was deep into her power practice session, guided by Gideon, who was generously sprinkling ideas like cosmic stardust. Melanie's abilities, essentially a scaled-down version of the Silver Surfer, fascinated Myles. Despite having certain limitations in her dark matter manipulation, he sensed her boundless potential. The key, he believed, lay in following the guide diligently and unleashing creativity with her powers.

Observing her attempts to master flight was another spectacle. Oddly enough, her chosen hoverboard was a card—a choice that Myles simply filed away as one of those quirky, cannon-worthy events.

Her speed, on the other hand, was nothing short of impressive. If Barry Allen ever decided to hold back, Myles was convinced Melanie could give him a serious run for his money. Of course, that presupposed The Flash holding back, a notion Myles found hard to imagine. The scarlet speedster was known for going full throttle against his adversaries. Lost in these musings, Myles's gaze then shifted to Shawna.

In the midst of teleporting and shadowboxing illusions conjured by Grodd, she was a mesmerizing spectacle. Myles made mental notes of some of her moves, considering incorporating them into his own combat repertoire once he regained his physical form. The transformation in Shawna's physique was also impossible to ignore. Previously scrawny, she had now embraced what the more cheeky teens dubbed "muscle-mommy" status, thanks to the accelerated developments after Myles's modifications.

His mind refocused on passing the time; well, a walk sounded like a decent plan. "Grodd, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later," he casually announced.

Stepping out of the underground hideout, he made his way to Central City Park, deciding to wing it from there. Finding a comfortable spot, he settled down to observe the ebb and flow of daily life around him.

A couple strolled past him, triggering a twinge of envy and nostalgia in his eyes. Despite his erratic and psychotic tendencies, there were moments when he felt a peculiar loneliness, reminiscing about the days spent with Snow. He wouldn't deny that he harbored a fear of losing her again. Sure, he was relieved to be rid of Deathstorm, but a lingering paranoia gnawed at him, suggesting that without Deathstorm, there might be an even greater threat looming for Snow. The idea of losing her again was unbearable; he'd rather face her hatred than the desolation of staring at a gravestone, forever deprived of her presence.

His resolve to prevent such a loss was so intense that he'd sooner incinerate everything and everyone than face a world without her. Despite the pile of bodies he'd already left in his wake, the prospect of losing Snow again made even more destruction seem inconsequential. Complicating matters were Barry's time-traveling capabilities. Before Snow, he hadn't cared much about the potential unraveling of events by Barry, but now, with her in the picture, the consideration of whether to eliminate Barry crossed his mind. Both options were risky, and he found himself pondering the potential consequences, hoping not to end up like a certain what-if Strange.

"Hey, mind if I take a seat?" a voice interrupted his contemplations.

Turning, Myles had to stifle a laugh as Barry Allen devoured two large boxes of donuts. Suppressing his amusement, he gestured for Barry to join him.

"Thanks."

The air hung heavy in an awkward silence until Barry finally broke it. "You want one?" he offered, holding out a piece of a donut.

Accepting the offer, Myles thanked him while discreetly marveling at Barry's lack of recognition. Beyond the shared hair and eye color, most of Myles's features didn't exactly scream "Myles Walley." Either his disguise was masterful or Barry was simply oblivious—a fact that Myles, ironically, considered deserving of more beatings.

"So, trouble in paradise?" Barry inquired between bites of another donut.

"You could say that," Myles replied, keeping up the façade.

"Sounds rough," Barry sympathized, munching away.

"Tell me about it," Myles muttered before taking a satisfying bite of his donut. "You look like someone stole your girl."

"She's not mine, but... you could say my crush has eyes on another guy," Barry chuckled.

"Yikes. So, how long have you known her?" Myles fought to contain his amusement, finding Barry's obliviousness seriously entertaining.

"Since childhood," Barry answered.

"Ooh, you should have told her sooner, bud," Myles teased, injecting a hint of criticism.

"Yeah, but it's too late." Barry smiled before his cellphone buzzed with Cisco's name on the screen. The hero accepted the call, his expression turning serious as he stood up. "Uh, sorry, I have to go to work; my boss is calling me," he explained.

"Okay, thanks for the donut," Myles said, watching Barry leave.

As he finished his donut, Myles stood up and left the park. His stroll took an unexpected turn when he spotted Mark Mardon dragging Joe. Panic gripped him—Mark could potentially force Barry to time travel, jeopardizing Snow's existence. Determined to intervene without revealing himself, Myles pondered his options. This situation called for creativity and perhaps a touch of his stealth skills. Before diving in, he reached out to Grodd to send Shawna as backup.

Minutes later, Shawna arrived in her civilian guise. "Good, you're here. I need you to watch my back and bail me out in case I mess up."

"Understood," Shawna replied, unpacking a Barrett M82A1.

"I said bail me out, not turn me into a splash artist," Myles deadpanned, already planning some reprogramming for Shawna later. It was too late, though, as she teleported to the roofs while Myles discreetly entered the building.

Staying silent and nimble, Myles approached Mark without making a sound, armed only with a pen. Donning a makeshift mask to conceal his identity, he peeked into the room, only to find Mark preparing food with Joe unconscious nearby. Channeling his inner ninja, Myles chanted "baby steps" and moved silently.

Underestimating Mark, Myles found himself hurled through a brick wall by a small twister. "Ow..." he winced.

"Now who the hell are you?" Mark demanded, advancing.

Wincing, Myles stood up, patting off the dust before replying, "Just a nobody who really wants to stab somebody."

Mark mocked a smile. "Well, Mr. Nobody, there's the door over there, so please leave before I put you in a body bag."

"Ooh, scary~" Myles joked, raising his arms. "But seriously though, I can't have you cause a scene or else my bun-bun is going to get deleted... probably."

"Your funeral?" Mark shrugged before unleashing a powerful gust of wind. This time, Myles was ready, deftly entering one of the rooms to avoid the blast.

"I was expecting something scummy in here," Myles muttered, glancing at an old man before heading to the bathroom and breaking a mirror.

With a broken mirror in hand, Myles quickly stashed the shards and pondered his next move. Spotting an open window below, he leaped from the bathroom ledge, muttering, "Just like Jet Li," as he caught himself mid-fall.

Pulling himself in, Myles knew he had only a few minutes to set up a trap before Mark found him. Outside, Shawna patiently waited, her sights trained on her target's forehead, ready to intervene if Myles faced imminent danger.

Myles started his work, making precise hand signs while ensuring he stayed unnoticed. Outside, Shawna continued to observe, poised for action. Then, she saw Myles emerging from the window, signaling her to get Joe West out of the building.

Following his orders, Shawna teleported into the room where Joe was held captive, swiftly extracting him from the premises. Meanwhile, the weather wizard remained oblivious to the second intruder in his midst.

Mark descended, checking each room to find Myles, until the lights suddenly went out. A cacophony of crashing sounds and the scent of something unfamiliar engulfed him, making him feel disoriented. A sudden, sharp pain pierced his heel, causing him to grunt in discomfort. Before he could react, a strange object lodged itself in his eye, and the room plunged into darkness.

In his desperation, Mark sent a blast of wind, hurling everything in the vicinity, including his unseen assailant. With the object removed from his eye, his right eye was now blind, and his left leg was useless due to the severed Achilles heel.

***

"Welp, there goes my arm," Myles remarked, eyeing his dislocated shoulder. He shifted his attention to Mark, who had turned to face him with his right eye now blind, the result of Myles's unconventional yet effective attack. Myles couldn't help but relish the thrill of being at a disadvantage yet still managing to secure a win.

With a sickening crack, Myles reset his shoulder, fully aware that he was now vulnerable. Watching as Mark aimed to finish him off, Myles's heart pounded in anticipation. However, the tension escalated as the sound of ticking reached Mark's ears, diverting his attention. To his horror, Mark discovered a bomb attached to his back.

Myles wasn't known for employing explosives; that was his cousin Kyle's specialty, a self-proclaimed pyromaniac with an affinity for explosives. Kyle's expertise had even landed him a job after an arrest by the FBI. Despite not being an expert like Kyle, Myles had read his cousin's notes.

Uncertain if he had done it correctly, this being his first attempt at a pipe bomb, Myles watched as Mark was obliterated into minced meat. Before losing consciousness, he glimpsed Shawna lifting him to safety amidst the sounds of thunder that echoed Mark's hideout.

"Heh, guess I'm an artist now." Myles thought as he noticed how artistic the room was now that its painted in blood and guts.