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Nora sat with her back against the thick glass pane of the cell in which Eobard Thawne - the Reverse Flash - was being held."I can't believe my father took me back to the future like that," said Nora, close to tears. "He… He just brought me here and left me alone on the street. As if I was a thing that he could just throw away.""I knew how he would react, which is why he came to see me as soon as he found out," Thawne said, sucking on the straw of his soda drink. Nora turned around and looked at him in surprise."He was with you?" The former speedster nodded. "Did he say something about me? What did he say?"Eobard shook his head. "He didn't say anything about you, only that he couldn't believe how I would now steal his daughter from him.""You trying to steal me?" asked Nora, irritated."Yes. I would corrupt you, manipulate you... drive you to your death… Kill you like I killed your grandmother." Thawne spoke with regret and sadness."No, that’s not true," said the young speedster and stood up to stand opposite him and be able to look at him. Only the thick pane of glass separated them from each other. "You helped me. You showed me how to use my powers. You showed me a way to be reunited with the father I never met." A short, sad smile graced his lips. "You could teach me so much. You could be my teacher."His blue eyes, which always captivated her and she threatened to sink into them whenever she looked into his eyes, looked at her sadly. Since the time she had visited him here, she had grown fond of him. She always felt this warm feeling when she was with him, like there were butterflies in her stomach. Before Nora knew it, she had fallen in love with him. But did Eobard Thawne have the same feelings for her? Nora didn't know and she doubted it because he certainly wasn't in love with a young girl who was also the daughter of the man he once despised and wanted to kill."I can't train you, little runner," Thawne replied in his typical husky voice and took another sip from the cup."What? Why not?" asked Nora."There is just not enough time." He looked away from her and looked up. Nora followed his gaze and spotted the clock to her left. The bright orange numbers counting down relentlessly. Just over an hour before its execution would take place."What? No, they are not allowed to execute you!" Nora shouted indignantly. "They cannot…!"A small smile crept onto his lips. "That's nice. Nice to hear that there is someone who will mourn my death." Nora looked into his blue eyes, which looked at her sadly. He suddenly looked so tired and exhausted. “I have done many things. Terrible, horrible… evil things… that I now regret… I once told you who I wanted to be… I wanted to be him… I wanted to be Flash." Nora nodded. "These things that I have done should not be my legacy. They are not meant to be the legacy of Eobard Thawne! You told me that you wanted to believe that there was still good in me... and this is why I showed you how to use your powers, how to help your father... to run with the Flash. I wish I could keep helping you, keep teaching you, little runner, but I can't.""Then I'll talk to the superiors!" said Nora in a firm voice, her eyes shining. Tears threatened to flow down her cheeks. "You have changed over the years. You helped me stop the God of Speed! Something the police or some meta human couldn't do."Thawne smiled slightly. "I'm the only speedster who knows what he's doing." A sad smile appeared on his lips. "I will miss your visits Nora. Our little conversation." He placed his right hand against the thick glass. "You didn’t make my stay boring. You found the good in me again where I thought I had already lost it. And I thank you for that, little runner.""No. No, I don’t accept that!" said Nora. "You have a right to a second chance!"Thawne closed his eyes for a brief moment. No one had ever stood up for him like this before, except for his friends in the future, but that didn't matter now. He knew about her feelings for him. Knew how she felt about him, even if she tried to hide it from him. Oh little runner, if you only knew..."I won't let them execute you!""Nora.""Surely there must be a law somewhere where...""Nora!" The young speedster jumped in shock when Thawne silenced her in a loud voice. He exhaled audibly and continued in a calm, gentle voice. "No one will be able to change anything about my execution, not even you.""But..." Nora trailed off, not knowing what to say. Her desperation was clearly visible on her face. She swallowed. "I don't want to lose you.""You'll soon forget me," Thawne replied and Nora could hear the pain in his voice. Whether he allowed her to hear his emotions or whether he was unaware, Nora didn't know. "Your life will go on and eventually you will find someone like your father found your mother. So forget me, Nora West-Allen.""No," she uttered in a strangled voice and could no longer hold back her tears. "I won't forget you." Never!Thawne's blue eyes looked at her, but they moved to the door when it suddenly opened. Trevor Shinik came in.“Time is up," he said in his deep voice. Nora quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks so he wouldn't see them. He appeared next to her and looked at her. His dark eyes studied her for a millisecond. "You should go, Ms. West-Allen."Nora looked at Eobard, who gave her a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, which looked at her sadly. Reluctantly, she turned around and walked out of the room."It’s time to repent, Professor," she heard Trevor say. As the door was just closing, Nora heard Thawne's screams of pain. She closed her eyes and covered her ears so as not to hear, but it was no use. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she used her speed to run out of the prison.
Nora ran through the streets until she came to a stop in the office she once shared with her best friend. She collapsed on her knees, crying bitterly. Why? Why was she doomed to lose everyone she loved? Her best friend, her father and his friends and now Eobard Thawne. And what is it all for? Why had she fought so hard for only to lose everything in the end? Why? WHY?"The world will never be fair to you, Nora," she heard her friend's voice in her head.It was something she had once told her when she had another argument with her mother. Nora could remember them sitting together on the steps of the CCPD. The sun could already be seen on the horizon and bathed the sky in a play of colors."You will fall so many times and so will I, God help us." Nora had to smile when she heard her friend's happy laugh. "But what do we have our hands for, to push ourselves up again to carry on? We get up again and again when we fall. This is human nature. It is buried deep within us. We just have to find it. So keep your head up Nora and carry on! We don't have time to give up! We still have to catch this guy!" Nora lifted her head. She had slumped back against the locked door. Her legs were stretched out while her hands were in her lap. Lia Nelson. Her only and best friend here on this earth. She had been so excited when she found out about Nora's powers. Nora smiled, but it disappeared as her death came back to her mind. Godspeed! And what had Nora done? Nothing. All she could do was lie on the ground and watch as the evil speedster killed her best friend. Fresh tears flowed down her cheeks. But then Nora gave herself a second thought. She slammed her fist on the ground in anger before standing up and using her speed to disappear from the office.
Eobard Thawne stood in his cell and looked up at the clock counting down the last seconds. 10. 9. 8…. Thawne averted his gaze as the door to the room opened and Trevor Shinik walked in."Your time is up," he said with a pleased smile on his lips. "Now you will finally get what you deserve." Thawne said nothing. His blue eyes looked coldly at the guard. "How about a little taste of what’s to come." Without breaking eye contact, he knelt down in his cell and stretched his arms out. Trevor Shinik looked at him for a moment before pressing the button. Red lightning shot down from the ceiling at Thawne and penetrated his body. He cried out in pain. Trevor looked down at him with a pleased smile, only stopping when Thawne knelt on all fours in front of him."Ironic isn’t it?" he heard the guard’s dark voice. Thawne was breathing heavily as he lifted his head to look at him. A fine film of sweat could be seen on his forehead. "The same thing that gives you power is going to end you.""It’s time." Two soldiers came in with an execution chair. Thawne slowly got up, clearly hearing Shinick's delighted giggle. If he could, he would have torn this man's heart out of his chest or even crushed it long ago. The glass pane was opened and immediately the two soldiers who had brought the execution chair pointed their weapons at him."Come out," Shinik ordered. Thawne's eyes flicked from one soldier to another. "I said come out!" he repeated to himself as the former speedster made no move to move. Thawne's blue eyes focused on Shinik and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he slowly stepped out of his cell. The two doors of the execution chair were opened. Thawne stopped again."Move!" the guard growled and now pulled his own weapon from the holster. Thawne gave him a mocking look. As he turned back to the chair and was about to take a step towards it, someone suddenly came running into the room. Yellow and purple lightning flashed around the two soldiers and then around Trevor Shinik before the person stopped in front of Thawne. The three people fell to the ground unconscious. Nora stood in front of him in her suit and a smile was on her lips."Nora. Why are you here?" he asked, irritated over her sudden appearance."What does it look like? I’m here to get you out," she said, her smile growing even wider. "Come on. We have to get out of here before more soldiers show up." Nora wanted to start running, but when Thawne made no move to move, she turned to him. She looked at him questioningly. "What is it? Didn’t you want to get out of here?""Nora, do you know what you're doing here?" Thawne asked her in his husky voice. His blue eyes looked at her searchingly. "You're helping me, a prisoner, escape his execution.""I know. I’ve thought it through very carefully," Nora replied in a firm voice."Really? And where should we go? Hm? We have nowhere to hide. I might be able to survive. But you? You have no experience whatsoever," Thawne replied. "Nora, if anyone finds out that you were the one who got me out of here, you'll be on the run for the rest of your life. What would happen to your family, to your mother? What would she think?""I don't care about my mother here," Nora replied in an indifferent voice. "My mom and I are not on good terms here going forward and I don't care what she thinks of me.""Really?" Thawne raised his eyebrow. Nora swallowed and lowered her gaze for a brief moment."It won’t change my decision to get you out of here. Besides, we won’t be staying in 2049." Thawne frowned slightly. "We're going to 2019."When he heard it, he couldn't help but snort. "And you think we’ll be safe there? Your father and his friends will find us. We'll...""We'll have to worry about that later, but now we really have to go. Please. Before it’s too late," Nora said, almost in a pleading tone.Thawne looked at her as if weighing which decision would be the wiser. But then he nodded. "Okay. However, I can't use my speed.""What? Why not?" Nora asked confused."I can't explain it to you yet," he answered her as his eyes fell on something behind Nora. Thawne walked past her and knelt in front of the unconscious body of Trevor Shinik. He pulled on a gold chain and his ring appeared. With a satisfied smile, he hung it around his neck and turned to Nora. "Come on. If we're going to go back in time, we should go now.""But... But if you don't have your speed, how..." Nora started uncertainly, but was interrupted by Thawne."No worries. I won't have any problems," he replied, winking at her."Okay." Nora went to him. "Umh... Should I take your hand or..." He grabbed her hand and put her arm around his waist. Nora swallowed and felt the sudden heat rush to her cheeks as her body was pressed against his and he put his arm around her."You won't get into any trouble that way, little runner," Thawne replied."O-Okay," Nora stuttered, desperately hoping he dismissed her blush and the sudden heat as nervousness or insecurity."Don't be afraid," the former speedster encouraged her, tightening his grip slightly on her waist. "Now run, Nora, run."
At this command, Nora used her speed to run out of the room and back to 2019 with Eobard Thawne.
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The dazzling light that appeared at the end of the Speedforce was the signal for Nora and Thawne that they would arrive in 2019 in a few seconds. Nora closed her eyes for a brief moment as she stepped through the bright light. When she opened her eyes again she smiled and looked at Thawne who was standing next to her. He didn't seem to have suffered any changes or injuries, which relieved her."We did it!" she said joyfully. The former speedster pulled away from her and she felt something inside her, a longing for him. She blinked and shook her head slightly to get her emotions back under control."Yes, we did," Thawne replied with a small smile on his lips, but his smile immediately disappeared when a blue portal suddenly opened in front of the two of them.Out jumped Cisco, Ralph and Frost. Before Nora could react, Frost had already used her power to freeze her legs with ice. They saw a yellow flash and Thawne was no longer next to her, but was being pushed against a tree by her father. His forearm pressed against the former speedster's throat."No! Dad! Stop!" Nora shouted in fright and tried to free herself from the ice, but was unable to do so. She desperately wanted to see Thawne and her father. "Eobard has no speed. He's no threat to you!"This seemed to snap Barry out of his tunnel, but he didn't remove his arm from Eobard's throat or look away from him. "She's... telling the truth..." the former speedster managed to say, trying to get Barry's arm off his throat, but by dampening his strength, which he wasn't as strong as Barry."The Reverse Flash isn't supposed to have any speed?" Ralph asked irritably with a raised eyebrow. "If that's a joke, I still don't understand it.""You're not alone," said Cisco, who was just as irritated by it."Why should I believe a word you say, Thawne?" Barry asked angrily. Yellow flashes flashed in his eyes."If you don't believe me, then believe your daughter..." Eobard replied in a calm but choked voice. "She's..." he didn't get any further because his head suddenly started to throb. Blood flowed from his nose and his hands went to his head. Thawne narrowed his eyes and screamed. Barry immediately let go of him and took a step back."Thawne?" The former speedster knelt. Nora's eyes were wide in shock and the others were staring at him too. Thawne had gritted his teeth as the throbbing in his head increased and then his vision blurred and he collapsed onto the floor, unconscious."Eobard!" Nora cried, desperate and worried.
When Thawne came to his senses, he felt that he was lying on something soft. A bed. Slowly the constant beeping of monitors reached his ears, as did the voices he hadn't heard in such a long time."Who burned Cicada's dagger into his chest?" Ralph just asked.Eobard clenched his hands into fists. Anger bubbled up inside him when he heard it. So they knew about the dagger, but that wasn't surprising since he had collapsed unconscious and Caitlin must have had examined him. The sudden throbbing in his head had to have something to do with the time travel and the fact that he didn't have his speed at the moment. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was the speed force that had done this to him, since he used the negative speed force, but this seemed absurd to him."Whoever did this wanted him to no longer be able to use his speed under any circumstances," said Joe, who was standing in the room with Barry, Iris, Cisco, Caitlin, Ralph, Sherloque and Cecile. The latter spoke with horror and a hint of compassion."How cruel."Thawne could still remember it clearly. They came into his cell at night and grabbed him. They had pushed him to the ground and then burned the dagger into his chest. The blinding pain, his screams, the blood that had flowed down his body. The malicious and at the same time satisfied smile from the guard Trevor Shinik."Cruel? I say he deserves it," Cisco said nonchalantly, putting his lollipop back in his mouth. "Thawne has tried to kill us so many times and others close to us just so he could kill Barry. He deserves it.""I feel the same way," Barry replied with his arms crossed over his chest and got a look from Joe that made his arm drop. "What?""What they did to him... Nobody deserves that, Barry," Joe said, pointing his index finger at Thawne. "He may be our archenemy, but even he doesn't deserve something like that.""I know that I don't really have much to say on the subject of Eobard Thawne because I don't know him like you do," began Cecile, "but I agree with Joe. He must have suffered incredible pain when they burned it onto his chest."All it took was one sad story for them to feel sorry for him? How pathetic! Eobard kept his eyes closed, but he still felt her gaze on him. She knew he was awake and listening to them."I stand by my opinion," Cisco replied in a harsh tone. "He deserves it."Eobard felt a little pang when he heard the young scientist's words. Cisco was like a son to him, or used to be. Now to hear him talk about him like that…"Caitlin, are you done with him?" Barry asked after a moment of silence."Yes, apart from the fact that this dagger is on his chest, I didn't notice anything unusual," she said. "I ran a few scans but didn't find anything strange that could explain his sudden collapse.""Okay, then let's take him to the pipes and put him in a cell there.""Just a moment," Sherloque Wells said who had been silent the whole time. "What about Nora West-Allen? Your daughter? What are you going to do with her, hmm? Are you going to put her in one of those cells again because she's associating with Eobard Thawne?""Wow hey, slow down now," Cisco said. "It was you who told us about them. It was you who told us that Nora was working with Thawne.""I know and I realize that I made a mistake.""Oh~ listen to this! The great Detective Sherloque Wells owns up to a mistake!" Ralph said in a mocking tone, earning him a glare from the detective in question."What I mean is that we should listen to what your daughter has to say. There must be a reason she brought him here. I realize that I acted rashly before. She should have told you about the collaboration, but I did and that was a mistake.""I'll talk to her," Iris said after a moment of silence. "We've finally found each other and maybe she'll listen to what I have to say. After all, we know Eobard Thawne best and his greatest goal is to destroy you, Barry."The speedster nodded. "Okay. Talk to her. Try to teach her that Thawne can't be trusted. Never."The former speedster’s mocking laugh filled the room. Instantly all eyes were on Eobard Thawne, who had turned his head in their direction. "Your little gathering is really touching. But you are forgetting one little thing," Thawne said with a sneer on his lips."And that would be?” Joe asked interestedly."You forget that you've trusted me before, for so many years, especially you, Caitlin and Cisco.""That was a long time ago," Caitlin replied coolly. "Besides, we didn't know you were someone else until you revealed it.""And yet..." Eobard chuckled in amusement. "I know you'll trust me again.""Is that so?" Joe asked with a raised eyebrow. "And why should we?""Because of the little runner. Nora."Barry was there in an instant, grabbing Thawne by the collar. "If you even dare to come near my daughter..." he threatened and was only met with a wide, cheeky grin from the evil speedster."Barry! That’s enough!" Joe intervened. "Take him to his cell. I can't see his face anymore. No offense," he said to Sherloque, who shrugged it off.
Nora stayed in the cortex, pacing back and forth. She thought she would run a long way into the ground if she had to wait any longer. Her parents had forbidden her to be present at the conversation and especially to be near Eobard Thawne. She played with her fingers nervously. What would happen now? She knew she messed up. She knew her parents and the entire team were angry with her, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't let Eobard die, not when her heart told her otherwise. When her mother came to the cortex she immediately ran to her."How is Eobard?" she asked, the concern in her voice hard to miss."He... He's fine," Iris said, stuttering slightly, surprised by the question her daughter asked her. The very first thing Nora did was inquire about his well-being? What had Eobard Thawne done to her? How much had he manipulated her? For his purposes? "We'll take him to one of the cells in the Pipes.""What? But why? He can't use his speed. So he poses no threat to us.""No threat?" Iris repeated her daughter’s words in disbelief. "Nora, Eobard Thawne will always be a threat, with or without speed. If he had his speed now instead of Cicada's dagger burned on his chest, he would kill every single one of us."Noras' eyes widened when she heard the dagger. She had seen how cruel Trevor Shinik was. He must have tortured Thawne dozens of times every day, but he was so cruel that he let Cicada's dagger burn into his chest. Nora shook her head."No, Eobard wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t attack you," she said firmly. "He has changed. Eobard helped me stop the God of Speed in the future. Why would he help me?""Didn't your father tell you that Thawne only ever thinks about himself? That he only ever pursues his own plans?""He also told me that even Eobard can change in the future. That we have to believe in people, in the good in them. And he has changed. Eobard… He…" Nora trailed off. Tears had formed in her eyes. Why didn't anyone ever listen to her? Why did they think Eobard was still evil? They didn't know what he had suffered during those 15 years of captivity. They didn't know that he showed remorse for the things he had done. "He's changed," she said in a choked voice, feeling like a little child who firmly believed in something that wasn't really there."Oh Nora." Iris took her daughter in her arms and hugged her tightly. She gently stroked her hair. "You haven't known him as long as we have. Your father, the team and I know how dangerous Thawne is. He made fools of us for a whole year and I don't want the same thing to happen to you. Thawne may seem friendly and innocent at first glance, but in reality he is a cunning and dangerous bastard and wants to achieve his own plans." Iris pulled away and looked into her daughter's face. She gently wiped away her tears. "You think he wants to help you, that he has changed, but in reality he is just using you, Nora, he is manipulating you. You don't know him like we know him. Your father and I just want to protect you. We love you.""Really? My father loves me?""Nora...""No! Where was his love when he put me in one of those cells or even better, where was his love when he took me back to the future and just left me like a broken thing on the street?!" Nora shouted angrily. New tears flowed freely from her eyes down her cheeks."Look I understand how you feel," said Iris."Do you? Do you know what's it like to want something more than anything else in your whole life? To know your father? To do your best to follow in his footsteps to make him proud?! And now... now I've finally found someone who will help me, who will guide me, who cares about me! And you're telling me to stay away from him?""Nora please... listen to me," her mother asked in a calm voice, but she couldn't prevent a slight tremble in her voice."No, I'm not listening to you! I am so tired of always having to listen to you! Enough!" said Nora angrily and disappeared."Nora!" Iris shouted, but her daughter no longer heard her. A few minutes had passed and Iris was sitting in one of the three chairs in the Cortex, staring at an imaginary point in front of her, when Barry walked in. He looked around confused when he didn't see his daughter anywhere."Where is Nora?""She left," said Iris with her shoulders slumped."She left? I thought you wanted to talk to her.""I did talk to her, but she..." She sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "Thawne has her under his control. He has manipulated her so that she no longer listens to what we tell her. She believes that Thawne would have changed in her future. But we both know that will never be the case."Barry sighed and sat down on a chair, sitting across from her. "I told Nora that we should never stop believing in the good in people. In the future…" Barry thought for a moment. "In the future, I think that even Thawne could change, but what he said earlier, I have my doubts about that.""Barry, I'm afraid of losing Nora to him," Iris confessed to him. She had finally connected with her daughter, understood her, and now it felt like she was losing her again and was back to square one. Barry took her hands in his to squeeze them gently."We won't. Nora will never take Thawne's side once she realizes who he really is." Barry sighed. "I'll talk to her.""No." Iris stopped him. "I think it would be better if we left her alone for now. She's not very good with us at the moment, especially with you, Barry.""With me?""You left her on the street when you brought her back to the future!" Iris said in a strict tone."I…" Barry trailed off before finishing his sentence, knowing he couldn't win this argument. "I know it was a mistake, but I was just so angry and disappointed in her at that moment. She's been hiding from us for months that she's working with Thawne.""But that doesn't give you the right to bring her back to the future without my knowledge or just leave her alone on the street!" Iris replied upset."Iris, I’m sorry. I...""Barry, I know you're sorry and you're the only one who hates Thawne like no other, but that doesn't give you the right to just abandon our daughter like that." Iris stood up and was about to walk out of the room when she stopped and turned around again. "But you don't have to apologize to me, you have to apologize to her." With that, Iris left the cortex, leaving Barry alone with his thoughts.
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Nora sat alone in Jitters Café, staring at her steaming coffee, lost in thought. Everything inside her was boiling with anger and desperation. She was angry at her parents for not recognizing that Eobard Thawne might have changed. She was angry at them because they didn't listen to her again. When she placed her coffee cup on the table with a little more force than needed, the hot drink spilled over and hit her fingers.
"Ow! Crap!" she swore and looked for a dish to dry her fingers, but she couldn’t find one on the table. She was about to get up to get one when someone held out a tissue. "Thank you-..." Nora paused when she saw Sherloque Wells standing next to her, who sat down without further ado in the empty chair across from her. "What do you want here? Don't you have to reveal some secrets and then spill them in front of the whole team?" she grumbled reluctantly as she dried her fingers."Yeah… I guess I earn that," Sherloque replied. A few seconds passed before he cleared his throat. "Nora, I-...""I’ll stop you here," Nora interrupted him, holding up her hand. The detective blinked, irritated by her interruption. "I know what you want to do.""And what do I want to do?" he asked in his French accent, raising an eyebrow."You want to apologize for what you did. That you gave them my secret, which I kept from my parents and the team, on a silver platter." Sherloque cleared his throat and Nora could clearly see in his face that she had hit the mark. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. He should feel and know that she didn't want to see him or talk to him. She should speak to Wolfgang Wells. Maybe he had someone else to replace Sherloque, because if she had her way, she never wanted to see the detective again."Nora, listen to me…""No, I won't listen to you," she cut him off again. "Why do you still think I want to talk to you? You didn't give me a chance to explain myself, to explain to them why I did it. And now you want to apologize to me? Do you really think I would accept your apology?"Sherloque looked at her in silence for a moment until he lowered his eyes. "No.""Then it's a good thing you already know the answer to that," Nora replied and got up to leave the café.
"Why shouldn't I believe that you manipulated my daughter into bringing you here to this time?" Barry asked, standing in front of the cell in which they had locked Eobard Thawne. Cicada's dagger glowed orange-red on his chest. A smile tugged at the corners of the evil speedster's mouth."Believe what you want, Barry," Thawne replied with a shrug, "but you can't deny that Nora brought me here to this time of her own free will." Barry clenched his hands into fists. Anger was clearly visible on his face. "What do you want to do now, hmm? Do you want to take me back to the future and leave me alone on the street like you did with your daughter?""I won't take you back to the future.""Oh is that so? And why not?""I can keep an eye on you here and you can't escape us in this cell," said Barry. "And if you think that Nora will come to you, I can only disappoint you. We forbade her to come here.""Forbade her?" Eobard couldn't suppress a grin. "That won't stop her. Rules have never stopped my little runner from doing what she thinks is right.""I guess you mean what you think is right. And stop calling her that!" Barry growled angrily. "Her name is Nora and she is my daughter!""Yes, there is no doubt about it, otherwise she would definitely have managed to connect with the negative speed force."All facial features slipped from his grasp when he heard the words. "You wanted to connect her to the negative speed force?!" Barry shouted angrily.Eobard shrugged. "It didn't work... what a shame... I was looking forward to running in the negative speed force with my little runner.""Stop calling her that.""Else what? Are you going to kill me? We both know you won't kill me. Flash is above killing," Thawne sneered with a broad grin."Barry." The person being addressed turned around as Cisco entered the tunnel. For a brief moment the young scientist looked at Thawne before returning his gaze to Barry. “We have found a possible location where Cicada could be. Ralph is waiting for you in the Cortex.""Okay. I'll be with you in a moment." Cisco nodded and walked away. Barry turned back to Thawne, who kept his eyes on him. "I won't let you manipulate my daughter.""Manipulate? I want to help her. She wanted to see you. Her own father, but since you disappear in the future, she only knew the one place... or rather the one timeline where she could find you and that is right here. In the past," Eobard told him. "She came to me to help her control her powers. A speedster who doesn't have his abilities under control and then wants to run into the past... well... that would have some bad effects on the future.""And you wanted to prevent that?" Thawne nodded and Barry couldn't help but close his eyes and shkae his head. "Naturally. Otherwise you might not be born at all and so you would die here. You haven't changed a bit and you never will. You will only ever help yourself."With these words, Barry pressed the monitor, causing the steel wall to slide in front of the window of the cell and he ran to the cortex. But Barry didn't see Nora hiding behind a corner and running into the tunnel to press the monitor and raise the steel wall again."Nora." There was surprise in Thawne's eyes when he saw the young speedster.She went very close to the glass and placed her palms on it. "I'm so sorry, Eobard.""For what?""I wanted to get you out of prison and now..." Nora's eyes filled with tears. Desperation was evident in them. "…you ended up in another prison. I didn't want any of that. I wanted to…""Shhh. Take it easy, my little runner,” said Eobard in his husky voice. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard the nickname he had given her again. His crystal clear blue eyes looked into her brown ones and she hoped she wasn't blushing. "None of this is your fault Nora. It happened the way it was supposed to. It's not your fault.""I'll find a way to get you out of here. I'll talk to my parents."Eobard smiled. His little runner didn't give up so easily. She was a fighter, something she definitely inherited from her parents."Nora!" Startled, she spun around and saw her mother running towards her. "What are you doing? Get away from him!" Iris grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the glass as if there was none. "I told you that he was dangerous and not to be trusted.""Yes, you did, but I told you that Eobard has changed," Nora replied, tearing herself away from her."He hasn't changed a bit. He will always put his own well-being above that of others. Can't you see that Thawne is just using you?""Eobard isn't using me!" she shouted angrily. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to flow down her cheeks. "Why can't you see that he has changed? He cares about me and wants me to improve. Eobard showed me how to travel back in time to meet the father I never met." Now the tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Do you know how much I was looking forward to my father and I meeting? Finally I could see him and then I could save people with him and run with him." Nora's lower lip trembled. “But then he took me back to the future without giving me a chance to explain why I was working with Eobard. He left me behind! Do you have any idea how I felt when he left me alone on the street in the future?" Iris swallowed. It hurt her to see her daughter like that. So torn and devastated. Disappointed in her parents who had abandoned her when she needed them most. "Eobard was there for me when no one else was there for me. Everyone abandoned me, but he was there for me. He listened to me and gave me advice when no one else wanted to listen. Eobard has changed."With these words, Nora used her speed and disappeared from the tunnel. Iris looked at Thawne, who had been silently listening to the conversation the entire time. A small smile graced his face. Iris slowly came closer and stopped in front of the glass. "What have you put into her head to make her think you've changed?"Eobard shrugged. “I didn't put anything in her head. I just gave her what she wanted. Answers and guidance.""Bullshit! We both know very well that you have something else in mind.""Like you, I just want my little runner to be happy and reunited with her father, nothing more," Thawne replied innocently. “But you know as much as I do that Nora will come to me when she wants something. You pushed her in my direction by leaving her alone. If you want her back, then you should talk to her and include Barry, because you're family after all, aren't you?""And this doesn't include you, Thawne," Iris replied, turning around and leaving the tunnel. Thawne watched her go. A small smile played on his lips. Nora was his. Only his.
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Nora sat in the laboratory where Harry Wells had spent most of his time and tinkered with something to get other ideas. Next to her was a cup and a bag of Big Belly Burger. She was so focused that she didn't notice Sherloque Wells standing at the entrance. His eyes were on her while his mind was elsewhere. He sighed, barely audible. It was time to make right what he had messed up, otherwise Nora would become so far away from them that she wouldn't be able to come back. The brief movement of Nora wiping her eyes snapped Sherloque out of his thoughts and he realized she had been crying. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. He was responsible for this mess... Not all of it, but he was largely responsible for Nora doing this. Sherloque turned and walked down the hallway until he came to the Cortex, where almost the entire team was except Cecile and Joe.“Monsieur Allen and Madame West-Allen?” The two people addressed turned to him, as did Caitlin, Ralph and Cisco.“What is it, Sherloque?” Iris asked.“Could we have a quick chat?”Iris and Barry looked at each other confused for a moment before following the detective. They stopped in the hallway and looked at Sherloque questioningly."What's wrong?" Barry asked, crossing his arms over his chest."It's about Nora," the detective began.“Did she go back to Thawne?” Iris asked immediately.“No, she isn't. She's sitting in the lab tinkering with something," Sherloque assured the two of them and Iris relaxed again. "However, you should talk to your daughter.""We tried that, but as soon as we tell her that Thawne is anything but good, she stops listening to us. We don't know how to talk to her. She avoids me as soon as I start talking to her,” Barry said.“Guys, are we going to continue here? After all, there is a meta human on the way and this cicada is still on the way," they heard the voice of Ralph, who had appeared in the hallway.“Not now, little giraffe. Don’t you see that the adults are talking to each other?!” Sherloque snapped at him.“Okay… relax…” Ralph grumbled and disappeared back into the cortex.The detective looked at Barry and Iris before speaking, "Nora seems to have a connection to Eobard Thawne. I suspect a…“ His gaze rested on Barry for a brief moment, “…daughter and father relationship. Maybe I'm wrong and it's nothing... But it may well be that she's attracted to him because he gives her what she needs... affection, hope, kindness, answers, guidance and maybe even... love.""Love?" Barry repeated incredulously. “Eobard Thawne doesn't know any of these things you said and certainly doesn't know love. He only thinks about himself and his goal of how to kill me."“And yet Nora trusts him,” Sherloque replied.”Yes, because he manipulates her. He's just trying to get this dagger out of his chest so he can connect to the negative speed force again and kill me. Thawne will never change! He wanted to connect our daughter to the negative speed force! How can she trust him!?" Barry looked at Iris, who seemed to be thinking elsewhere. ”Iris, why don’t you say anything about it?”Iris looked at him. He looked into her eyes and saw how torn she was. ”Look I know it sounds insane… and I know it must be hard for you to hear. But Barry ever since I got home the same question keeps running through my mind. What if Nora is right?" Barry stared at his wife in disbelief. ”What if Thawne is really trying to redeem himself and that he does want to stop Cicada. And the only reason Nora keeps avoiding you is because she knows that you don’t trust her.” Barry shook his head. ”Look Barry… having Nora in our lives has made us better people. Isn’t it possible that she did the same thing to Thawne?”They both looked at each other until Barry sighed and nodded. "Okay. We'll talk to Nora later." He turned to Sherloque. "Thank you, but you should also talk to our daughter.""Yes, I should, but you two are more important. You are her parents and it is only because of you that she is here, because she wanted to meet you," answered Sherloque, rubbing his thumb over his pocket watch."Guys!! Cicada’s back!” Cisco shouted. This time Flash and Iris didn't stop in the hallway, nor did Sherloque. They ran into the Cortex to see what was going on.
Nora was still sitting in the lab, staring into her diary, where she had written everything down to send to Eobard when he was still in 2049. She breathed out and wiped her hand over her eyes, wiping away the tears that were forming.“Nora?”She looked at the entrance and saw her parents standing there. “What do you want from me?” she asked angrily. "If you're just here to tell me that Eobard can never change, you're going to fall on deaf ears.""We're here to talk to you about Thawne because..." Barry took a deep breath and looked briefly to Iris, who nodded encouragingly, "because we think you might be right."Nora looked at her parents skeptically with a raised eyebrow. “I'm right?”“What Barry means is that Thawne may have changed. You've changed us, Nora, you've made us better people since you've been here and we love you," Iris said with a smile. “It could be that you did the same to Thawne, that he truly regrets the actions he has committed in the past. That's why your father and I have a suggestion to make to you.""What suggestion?"Iris and Barry exchanged a brief glance before Barry spoke, "We're going to let Thawne out of his cell.""Really?" he exclaimed Nora was full of joy and jumped up from the chair. Her eyes lit up with excitement."But on one condition," her mother replied. "You are responsible for him. We'll give him a tracking device so we always know where he is, but otherwise you'll take care of him. He will move into one of the guest rooms here in the laboratory, but the door will be locked in the evenings so that he doesn't wander around unattended. There will also be two cameras in his room monitoring him.""So he's just a prisoner again, but this time he has a room with a bed," Nora said, crossing her hands angrily over her chest.“You have to understand that we…” For a brief moment, Barry struggled for words. "We don't know this Thawne you brought here from the future, but we know what he's capable of and he's a master of manipulation to get what he wants." Barry breathed out of. "But if you think he's changed, we want to believe you, because we... I trust you, Nora." He could see something glimmering in her eyes as she looked at his last heard words. "But I still don't want to leave Thawne unattended, okay?"Nora nodded. "Okay.""Okay, then we'll get him out of this cell now.""Wait. Now? You really want to go through with it?” asked her daughter incredulously."Yes. Nora, we trust you,” Iris said. “You seem to see something in Thawne that we have yet to find. We want to help you so that we too... understand why you think Thawne has changed."Nora nodded. "Okay, then let's go," she said and used her speed to disappear from the laboratory. Iris and Barry looked at each other briefly before he also used his speed to appear with Iris in the tunnel near the pipes a moment later. Nora was just about to get Thawne's cell and when the evil speedster saw the family standing in front of him, he frowned and tilted his head slightly."A family gathering. Apparently someone did something bad that now all three are here. Let me guess... You need my help.""Wrong. We want to let you out,” Barry replied. Surprise flashed in the man's eyes until they settled on Nora, who looked at him with a smile."Our daughter tells us that you have changed and that you regret what you did," Iris began, "We don't agree with her, but we trust our daughter. However, we will still keep an eye on you. You will have your own room here in the laboratory that is equipped with two cameras and the door will be locked in the evening. You will also receive a tracking bracelet so that we know where you and Nora are at all times."Eobard Thawne looked back and forth between Barry, Iris and Nora until he lowered his eyes. He wouldn't get a better offer, especially since he could finally move around and not be stuck in this cell and bore himself to death. He would definitely get this tracking bracelet off somehow if he had the chance. "All right then. I'll play by your little rules."Barry and Iris exchanged a quick look before Barry went to the monitor to open the cell where Thawne was. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he stepped out."Follow us," was all Barry said before he and Iris turned and walked out of the tunnel. Eobard's gaze wandered to Nora, who was standing there a little hesitantly. She rubbed her hands nervously in front of her. He gave her a wink and walked past her to follow her parents. A little later they arrived in the Cortex, where Cisco, Caitlin, Ralph, Cecile and Joe were already waiting for them."The whole team is here," Thawne said, the mockery evident in his voice. “What an honor.” His eyes stayed on Ralph and he pointed at him. "Ralph Dibney, you should be dead.""Yeah, I guess we have that in common," he replied.Eobard grinned and couldn't help but laugh a little before his eyes wandered to his once protégé. "Cisco... It warms my heart to see you again. I want to apologize for…” Thawne made the gesture as if he were poking someone through the chest with his hand."Tsk... Like you're sorry," Cisco grumbled, rising from his chair. In his hand he had a metal bracelet that was very similar to the power dampening cuffs, but this bracelet was finer and less noticeable. Without saying or even explaining anything, Cisco placed it around Thawne's right wrist."Ouch," Eobard muttered as the metal bit into his skin.Cisco took two steps away from the evil speedster to put some distance between himself and him. "Now you definitely can't escape us anymore.""Besides, there will always be someone with you. You won't be walking around here alone and since Nora seems to care about you, she'll take on that role," Caitlin explained with her arms crossed over her chest.Eobard's eyes moved from one to the other. He knew he wasn't welcome. He knew that none of them liked him and it was the same the other way around, except for Cisco... Even though he didn't like him anymore, even hated him, there was still a little spark in Eobard that cared about Cisco - that saw him like a son."Okay." He shrugged indifferently.There was an awkward silence for a brief moment as no one moved, everyone looked at Thawne and he looked at them. Only when Nora tugged on his sleeve did he break eye contact with the team and look at her."Should we get something to eat? The Big Belly Burger still tastes the same as it did in 2049,” said the young speedster with a grin."Sure, let’s test it out,” said Thawne. He walked past Barry and winked at him.
A blue portal appeared in a field and ten people came out. They were all dressed in black and had pistols and batons. Their leader was Trevor Shinick. He looked around. One poster said something about a harvest festival and even showed the date. A satisfied smile spread across his face. The portal had actually brought them into 2019."Sir. Sir?” Shinick turned to the soldier."What is it?""Our device that gets us through time is broken and...""And?"The soldier cleared his throat, it was clear to see how uncomfortable it was for him. "None of us know how to fix it."Shinick sighed in annoyance. "All right then. We'll take care of this problem later. First we will search and find our fugitive! Swarm out and bring me Eobard Thawne!”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Barry Allen and his wife Iris were sitting in the lounge at S.T.A.R. Labs drinking coffee. He sighed. It had already been a few days since the decision to let Eobard Thawne out of the cell."I really don't know if that was a good idea," he said, turning his cup in his hands. "Nora only is with him or brings him with her wherever she goes. Even to our team meetings.""Well, so far Thawne has been able to give us good ideas and insights into how our opponents would behave and what they might do," Iris replied."Yes, but I still can't shake the feeling that Thawne is just manipulating us all again. He's just making fools of us and will revel in our mistake in the end, if he doesn't do it already.""Barry, I don't like this idea any more than you do, but we have to give Nora a chance to see if he has really changed. Everyone deserves a second chance."The speedster nodded slowly, because his wife was right. "All right, but if in my eyes Thawne misbehaves by even an inch or I feel like he's up to something bad, then I'll put him back in the cell.""Mom? Dad?"They both looked at the entrance and saw their daughter Nora standing there, but there was no sign of the evil speedster. Barry jumped up from the chair. "Where is Thawne? Nora, I told you that you...""I'm here, Allen," he heard his raspy voice and a moment later he was standing behind Nora. A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. Barry looked at him angrily. He had clenched his hands into fists."What is it, Nora?" Iris asked after a few seconds of silence."We were supposed to go see the baseball game together today, remember?""Yeah I do.""Since Eobard is here now too... I thought maybe he could come with us?""No, absolutely not!" said Barry immediately."But why not? He will be with me and I will not let him out of my sight.""Nora, your father is right. We wanted it to be a lady's day with Caitlin and Cecile," Iris replied. "We had agreed that. Plus, you wouldn't be able to concentrate on the game since you'd always have to keep an eye on Thawne.""But...""I'm sorry, Nora, but Thawne won't be coming to the game. He'll be back in his room until we get back."The young speedster angrily stomped her foot and walked away. Eobard stood there for a few seconds before following her."Nora. Nora. Nora, wait." He grabbed her arm to stop her from walking and turn her to face him."What?" she asked angrily."Don't let this decision spoil your mood, little runner," he said."But how am I supposed to show them that you've changed if they won't even let you out to watch a baseball game?""You went to Big Belly Burger with me and tried to make up with Cisco, that I help him with his projects.""Yeah, but the Belly Burger thing was different and Cisco wouldn't even let us speak.""Well, my past with Cisco hasn't been exactly rosy, but you know that of course," replied Eobard. "So it's not a big surprise that he reacted like that.""Yes, but...""Nora," he interrupted her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's okay. Really. It's going to be a very, very long time before they trust me again, or at all." His gaze moved over her shoulder to the silent listener who was leaning against the wall. Sherloque Wells. The detective watched the two and was aware that the speedster saw him because he wasn't exactly hiding from them. "Give them time."The young speedster looked at him for a moment before suddenly wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. Perplexed by this, Eobard stood frozen and didn't move a muscle, but then he slowly put his arms around her. His chin rested on her head. His eyes searched for the detective, but he was nowhere to be seen.
A few hours later, Thawne was in his room, which consisted of a bed with a small table and a lamp. They even had a toilet installed to the right of the bed. Cameras had been placed in all four corners, making every corner of the room visible on the monitor located in the cortex. The evil speedster sat on his bed and stared into space. When he heard someone open the door, a smile spread across his face."I was wondering when you were coming," he said, raising his eyes to look at the newcomer. "Sherloque Wells.""You were expecting me.""Indeed," the evil speedster replied, rising from his bed. "I knew you would want to come to me sooner or later, because as a detective your curiosity is stronger than a clear mind.""Oh my mind is clear, Monsieur Thawne," said Sherloque.Eobard looked at his counterpart in silence for a few seconds before crossing his arms over his chest and asking, "So what do you want from me? You didn't come here to talk to me about trivial things, right?""Why are you here? In this timeline?"Thawne rolled his eyes. "Rejoiced too soon." He sighed in annoyance. "And I thought that two geniuses like us could have a different conversation, but if you want it that way... Nora chose this timeline because she wanted it that way. But you surely already know that, since I already told Barry Allen.""Nora seems to have developed a relationship with you." Eobard didn't answer him, but looked at him in silence. "She seems really fond of you, perhaps even more than Monsieur Allen and Madame West-Allen." He narrowed his eyes slightly as he heard the detective's words. "I've been watching you for the last few days. You train her in the Speed Lab to be faster, maybe even faster than Monsieur Allen.""And?""What if you train her to defeat her father when you've manipulated her to the point where she's just listening to what you say to her?"The corners of Thawne's mouth twitched slightly. "I've changed.""Yes, that's what you say and Nora firmly believes in it, but we both know that's not true," the two heard Cisco's voice at the entrance to the room. Sherloque turned around and Eobard turned his gaze to the young scientist. "As soon as you get your speed back, you would kill us all without batting an eyelid." Ramon looked at him with anger. "But we won't allow that. You will never be able to connect with the negative speed force again.""Oh really? And how are you going to do that?" Eobard asked curiously."By..." Cisco couldn't finish his sentence because Nora suddenly appeared at their doorstep."Hey guys," she greeted the three with a smile."Is your baseball game over yet?" Ramon asked, a little irritated. "You only left a few hours ago.""I know, but something very strange happened.""What happened?" Sherloque asked interestedly."A man went into the square with a backpack that had a bomb inside. I thought it was strange and defused the situation before anything happened," Nora said proudly. "And now I'm even on social media! My name is at the top of the title and it's been clicked on so many times.""Where is the man now?" Cisco asked."He's with Papa Joe at CCPD and is being questioned right now." Nora turned her attention to Eobard. "Should we go to the Speed Lab together? You wanted to show me something that would help me reverse time even better.""Hold up! Reverse time?" the young scientist asked again."Uhm… Yeah. Is that something bad? Surely Dad can do it too.""No. Barry can't do that and I think if he knew that Thawne was teaching you how to reverse time he wouldn't be happy about it at all.""I think Nora can decide what she wants for herself," said Eobard. "And if Allen finds fault with it, he should come to me." He grinned. "But even if he tells me not to teach her, I will still do it because that's what she wants." The former speedster went to Nora. "Come. Let's go train." The two left the room, leaving Sherloque and Cisco behind.