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Barry had only ever been to Metropolis once before, on a field trip in eighth grade. He remembered staring in awe at the massive, endless skyscrapers that seemed to push through the clouds, marvelling at the incomprehensible amounts of people that hurried past on the sidewalks. Everything was polished, everything was clean; something that distinguished the city from Central and Keystone-- and something that reminded Barry just how much the robots have destroyed. The City of Tomorrow was in ruins. Fires raged in nearly every building, rubble and debris spread out across the roads. The occasional form of an unconscious person was visible amongst the destruction. Barry didn't let himself think of the possibility that they could be dead.

He did what he could, carrying any comatose civilian he found to the hospital, clearing as much debris as possible, getting any distraught person out of harm's way. The robots, weird, humanoid  mammoths of metal, had slowly started to target the scarlet speedster, and soon Barry found himself fighting harder than he ever had. Where was Superman when you needed him? 

The Flash dodged and weaved past beams of energy fired from the robots' cannons, the sizzling projectiles moving in slow motion. He landed blow after high-speed blow on his attackers, an occasional dent appearing on the machines' exoskeletons. No more damage could be dealt to them. If only he could phase through solid objects, somehow realign his molecules to the point that he could pass his arm through the robot's chest, he might be able to mess with the mech's circuitry-- assuming it that [i]had[/i] circuitry. But, alas, Barry could do no such thing. 

A mechanical fist crunched into his jaw, sending him flying through a nearby building's window. Shards of glass cut through his skin, blood trickling from the gashes. His jaw hurt like hell. Barry tried opening his mouth, and immediately grunted in pain. The robot had broken his jaw. The golems, five in total, hovered into the building, landing in front of Barry, aiming their arm cannons at him. He saw the beginnings of energy forming inside the weapons, building up power. He had to move. He had to get up. [color=ba1026][i]Come on, Barry, run![/i][/color]

But he couldn't move. He couldn't get up. He couldn't run. The slightest movement sent searing pain shooting through his body. All he could do was stare into the ever-growing red of the robot's cannons, awaiting the inevitable. It shouldn't end like this. It wasn't fair. He didn't even get to find his mother's killer. 

The cannons fired. Red filled Barry's vision. Then, a yellow blur. Crackling red lightning. And all of a sudden, Barry wasn't in the building anymore. 

[color=ed1c24]"Hello... [i]Barry[/i],"[/color] a voice, deep, distorted, menacing. It belonged to a man. Who was he? How did he know his name? Barry looked around in confusion. Where did the voice come from? Shadows stretched all around him, shrouding the alley in which he now knelt. He couldn't see anyone.

The source of the voice stepped out of the shadows, and Barry felt his insides go cold.

Those red eyes. That yellow suit. The black and red insignia on his chest. It was him. The man in yellow. The man that killed his mom. And he was [i]smiling[/i].

[color=ed1c24]"How's your mom doing?"[/color]

Anger burst within Barry. How dare he? How [i]dare[/i] he? [color=ba1026]"[b]You![/b] You were [b]there that night![/b] You [i][b]killed my mother![/b][/i]"[/color]

His jaw flared with pain at those words, but he didn't care. Neither did he care about the pain of getting up to his feet. All he cared about was making that son of a bitch [i]pay[/i].

A shin slammed into his ribs. A loud crunch echoed in the alley. He yelled out in pain, falling to the ground onto his hands and knees. Another kick followed. Another crunch. The force rolled Barry onto his back. The man in yellow didn't stop. He kept attacking. Kept kicking. Each time, the pain increased. Each time, Barry found himself slipping ever closer towards unconsciousness. Finally, his mother's killer stopped kicking. His red eyes stared down into Barry's, his smile wide, showing gleaming white teeth.

[color=ed1c24]"Well, this was fun, wasn't it? Granted, it was more for me than it was for you, but don't you worry, [b][i]Flash[/i][/b]. There will be plenty of opportunities to get your revenge. You'll be seeing [i]plenty more[/i] of me. But for now... I'm afraid I have to leave you. Say hello to Iris for me."[/color]

It was then that Barry welcomed the embrace of oblivion, the man in yellow's smiling, red gaze burned into his memory.
And Barry knew no more.