The yellow shape stood still now, a smug expression across the face of the Reverse Fsh.

  He leaned against the side of a ruined building with his arms crossed. “Ready for a history lesson?” “Why are you even here, Thawne?”“Could ask you the same question. Were you coming home to mom and dad, Michael?” “Shut up.”“It’s been so long since I’ve had any company in this timeline. Can’t bme a guy for asking.”“Enough…” Dex-Starr hissed, flying towards Thawne who moved out of the way faster than a blink, appeared being the cosmic feline and had struck him with his elbow, sending him crashing to the ground. He loomed over him, his eyes glowing red again “I’m still talking here.” He said, calmly “Watch your temper.”

  “Michael, who is this guy?” Eve asked“Eobard Thawne. He’s a supervilin from the same year as me. A bit too obsessed with The Fsh, so he’s the Reverse.”“She’s never heard of me?” He rested a hand on his chest, his mouth open with pretend shock “I’m offended.”“I avoid the red states.”

  (Central City is confirmed to be in Missouri, true believers!)

  “Red certainly picked you, though.”

  Faster than a blink, he was now standing next to her, their faces almost touching “What pissed you off this much?”“Thawne.” Booster cut in “You were about to start the history lesson?”“It’s been a while.” He ughed“How long are we talking?” “What year did you come from?”“Twenty twenty four.”

  He winced cartoonishly“Ooh. That’s when it happens.” He moved again, leaning against a destroyed car and holding a mug in his right hand, taking a sip from it only to spit it out with disgust“World ends just in time for Christmas.” He groaned “Barry was one of the first to die. Always pying the damn hero. But even he wasn’t fast enough.”“Jesus…” Eve muttered“Oh, it may have been close to his birthday, but he had nothing to do with it.” Thawne chuckled “No, no. What’s your name, anyway?”“Eve.”“Eve…Cool name.”“I…”“You picked it out yourself.” He rolled his eyes “You’re a young woman from twenty twenty four who was so pissed off the Red Lantern corp picked you up from the shelter. Lots of things to be angry about that year, but…Michael here having the genius pn of bringing you to a more accepting timeline to stop that thing wrapped around your finger from consuming you is…” He tutted “How did that pn work out, sport?”

  “Con-consume me?” She stared at the ring“Did Booster not tell you? You can never take that thing off. Well, some other Lanterns could manage it, but they’re all dead.”“You lie!” Dex-Starr hissed“Oh yeah, you guys too. It got really, really bad.” He ughed dryly “Skeets. Scan for life-signs.” Booster panted“Michael. It’s…It’s just the four of you.” “What about bacteria? Phytopnkton?”

  “Michael, I scanned for everything.”“Then scan it again!”“I-I’ve scanned the entire pnet and the surrounding sor system three separate times since we arrived. Everything’s dead, Michael.”“Without that suit and their rings, you wouldn’t even be able to breathe. Most of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide now. Take all that off, you’ll start choking to death.”

  Thawne wrapped his hands around his own throat and made an over the top choking sound with his mouth wide open.

  “Eobard, was it?” Eve stepped forward “I get that you’re a bad guy and all, but maybe you can tell us how to stop this? Michael, you’re a time traveller. We can go back and fix this!”“What makes you so sure?” Thawne scoffed“Well, both of you are still here.”“Different rules for us.” He grinned “He’s not even at kindergarten level compared to me, but we’re both still time travellers.” “Thawne.” Booster met his gaze “You can’t live without The Fsh. It’d drive you even crazier than usual. You really gonna tell me you’re okay with someone else killing him?”His grin faded instantly, his face turning cold as stone.“I’ve watched him die ten thousand times, Michael. Getting to taunt him in his final moments, telling him time and time again how he failed to save the world. I’ve even taken his dying body here and then sent him right back.”“Oh my God…” Eve muttered, her eyes wide with horror“Your God. Please. I’m faster than even him.”

  He appeared behind Booster, tapped him on the shoulder and then re-appeared in front of him.“I have something to show you.”“I take it we don’t have much choice?” Booster sighed“No.” He distorted his voice and then sped through the city as a yellow blur.“Michael, we should go.”“He’ll just follow us. And we need to find out what happened here.”

  The three of them took flight, following the blur until it stopped just outside of the city limits. Sitting in a giant crater was the remains of The Watchtower, surrounded by an army of skeletons. Some of them still had pieces of tattered outfits remaining, or shattered armour.

  Thawne had stopped at one skeleton in particur, sprawled out on the ground with it’s arms extended as if it were Jesus on the cross. Pieces of a tattered red suit were still visible.“Barry, we have visitors.” He muttered under his breath. He sharply spun around as his guests closed in and extended his arms.

  “Welcome, css.”

  Booster’s eyes were wide in horror as he scanned each body. Some heroes and vilins he recognised but others had decayed beyond the point of any recognition. Some of Batman’s armour remained and Booster knelt down by his side.“Sorry, Bruce. Sorry I wasn’t here.”“They can’t hear you, Michael! And you wouldn’t have made a difference!”“I could’ve tried.” Booster snapped “No more games, what the hell happened here?!” “Careful, Michael.” Skeets whispered “He’s a lot stronger than you.”

  Once more, Thawne’s face became as cold as stone and he appeared before Booster.“Don’t test me.” He shook his head “I still have the nterns and the talking toaster to keep me company if I kill you.”“Let’s just all calm down.” Eve stepped between them, and then snorted with ughter “Sorry, I know how that sounds coming from me.” She took in a deep breath, shutting her eyes and letting out a hum “Breathing exercises, really?” Thawne scoffed “You just learned that the world ended, how are you so calm?”She ughed again “My world ending is why this damned space jewellery chose my stupid ass in the first pce.”“She’s right.” Dex-Starr piped up “The Red Light of Rage chooses…”“Yeah I know how you work. It still didn’t save you.” Thawne groaned, squeezing the ridge of his nose “Well, you weren’t there. But the giant red guy you fly around with…He died slow.” Thawne smirked

  Dex-Starr growled and flew forwards, only for Thawne to side-step and backhand him, sending the feline flying into the side of The Watchtower.“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Eve snapped“Bored.” He shrugged “The Avengers, the X-Men, the League. All the Leagues. And everyone else in between. They were the first to die. Reinforcements arrived a few weeks ter to try and take back the pnet but…”

  Thawne darted through a gap in the destroyed Watchtower and was followed. The metal in the room was covered in rust, tangled wires hung from the ceiling and several more skeletons decorated it. One corner of the room stood out as it had been restored, without a trace of rust or even any dust to speak of. There was a rge screen and a keyboard that Thawne started to type away at, his fingers moving a mile a minute.

  The screen jolted to life and Captain America, with his suit torn and his face covered in recent war wounds appeared. “Is anyone there? This is Steve Rogers of Earth. We are requesting immediate assistance. The Mo-.”

  The screen was filled with static.“Overwhelming odds. Need…” Static filled it once more “Heavy casualties. We need help now!”

  Thawne stepped back and gave a cartoonish salute to the screen.“He made the final stand. The X-Men and the Avengers managed to get on for more than five minutes and it only bought them a few hours. Should’ve just run.”

  He tapped a few more keys and footage of Gactus filled the screen. He was surrounded by an army of heroes and vilins and even regur people. First responders were at the scene, with teams of firefighters trying to lead civilians away.

  Booster squinted as he noticed something different about the Devourer of Worlds. His eyes had a growth inside of them, a bck mould.Gactus raised a hand and creatures made of a simir substance ran across the battlefield, mowing down heroes, vilins and civilians alike. Gigantic birds, dragon-like creatures and Chimeras.

  “What the hell?” Booster gasped

  One of the creatures, a giant-cat like shape with growths in it’s back sprinted towards the camera and the footage cut out with a scream, turning to static. Thawne lowered his head, sighing heavily. “That’s how it ended. Not just the world, but…Gactus…Well, he’s not Gactus anymore. He’s still out there. World by world, spreading that thing across the stars. Killing everything."“I know what that is.” Eve muttered “But…How? How could something go from being on the walls of a castle to…This.”

  “Eve.” Booster stepped forwards, taking a moment to compose himself “This castle, where is it?”“Belongs to a fantasy author in Scotnd who hates my very existence.” She ughed dryly“Her?” He raised an eyebrow “But, she’s not worth anything by our time. Right, Skeets?” “Can confirm. Forgotten outright by the twenty-second century but other writers echo across eternity.”“I mean, even I’ve heard of Tolkien.” Booster shook his head “Eh, I didn’t care for it.” Thawne scoffed“I have the writings of many writers stored in my memory.”“Stop talking!” Eve snapped, her eyes glowing red “All of you! How the hell did this bitch end the world!?”“With a bestselling series.” Thawne ughed

  She started to march towards him, red napalm spewing from her mouth as a red glow took hold of her “Enough of your fucking weird, fucking rambling shit!

  He ughed dryly “Michael, where did you find this one?” Eve growled and Thawne raised his hands.“Alright. So, a few weeks before Christmas, she gets a hell of a lot more powerful. And with that…Well, the world didn’t st long.”“So…” Booster slowly stepped forwards, his eyes moving between Thawne and Eve “We just go back in time and kick her ass before then. That’s all we gotta do. Eve. Step back. Breathe. Okay?”

  “Okay…” He breathed, taking another step forwards and resting his hands on her shoulders, gently pulling her back from Thawne “Eve, I’m not joking. He’ll kill you.” He whispered “Don’t give him an excuse. We can still stop this and wipe the smug look off his face. Okay?”She let out a deep breath, unclenching her fists.“Okay?” Booster kept his voice low and gentle, but never took his eyes off of Thawne.“Yeah…Okay.” She breathed out deeply “Okay.”

  Dex-Starr flew through the gap, hissing.“Goes for you too.” Booster pointed a finger at him “We know how to stop this and save Atrocitus. Thawne’s not worth it.”“I’ll leave the annoying man alone.” He hissed “But this one.” He pointed his paws towards Eve “She’s still coming with us when this is all over.”“No!” Michael stepped in the way

  Eve moved in front of Booster and raised a hand “Hey. Dex-Starr, right? Do I have any choice in this?” The intergactic cat stared into her eyes, rexing his pose. “Without the proper training, your ring could kill you.”“Or I could kill someone else, right?” She sighed heavily, getting a nod from Dex-Starr “What made you so angry? You’re not from space, hell you look like one of the cats I feed near my apartment building.”

  He hissed“Okay, obviously a sore subject. Sorry.”“She’s just trying to understand.” “It doesn’t matter. Rage is rage!”“I know.” Eve stared at her ring “If we survive this, I’ll go with you.”“Eve, no!”“This is my choice. I obviously don’t belong on Earth. Not anymore.”“Just…Think about it, okay?”

  She nodded

  Booster turned back to face Eobard, who’d been watching the conversion py out with his foot tapping on the ground and a look of boredom across his face.“Thawne. I can’t say it’s been fun. But next time we see each other, you and Fsh will be back to punching each other’s lights out.”“You’re going back in time to die.” Thawne shook his head, and groaned “Oh well. Broke up the monotony. But I’m bored of you now. Get out of my timeline before I change my mind.” A sly grin grew across his face

  Booster took Eve by the arm while Dex-Starr nded on her shoulders. A portal to the past opened and Michael gave one final gnce back at Thawne before the four of them flew through.

  As the portal closed, Thawne turned around and started to type away at the computer. A date appeared on the the screen:December 22nd 2024.

  “What do you think, Barry?” He spoke out-loud. He paused, only to let out a loud groan “Oh, of course you’d say that.” Looking down, he was enveloped in yellow lightning and sprinted away from the ruins of The Watchtower.