CW Flash: I Copy Attributes

Thawne's Plan.

Though the writers may have done a less than impressive job at fully conveying his mastermind plan, it was as follows.

Thawne made the mistake of killing Barry's mother, Nora Allen.

Upon doing this, he ruined the timeline, creating one where the Flash no longer existed.

And because Reverse Flash couldn't exist without his rival, his speed withered.

Therefore, he sought to fix his mistake by taking over Harrison Wells' body, building and causing the Particle Accelerator explosion far earlier than it was intended to, in 2014 rather than its original 2020.

This new timeline where Flash came into existence far earlier is the one the story follows.

Now, after observing Barry his whole life, he took the initiative as Wells to nurse him back to health while he was in his coma, helping him become faster thereafter.

He needed the Flash to become faster. 

Because only the Flash could do what he needed.

Which was to go back in time and save his mother, restoring the original timeline and the future Thawne was from, fixing his mistake.

With this, with the help of STAR Labs, he'd build a machine that would send him back home.

Only now, things were different.

Something, or rather someone, existed that wasn't supposed to.

Derek.

Now, Thawne knew his plan didn't work.

Though the objective of sending Barry back to restore the original timeline didn't change, the path to get there was now skewed.

But that was about to change.

***

[Charm: 4 (F) -> 10 (D)]

"Thawne, do you have what I asked for?"

'With this stat system, the average should be C+ Rank or 17-18 points.'

Though his Charm was just under average, he knew from the description of the stat that it was a collective of things that made Charm.

He could be gorgeous but if he was horrible with his words or he had the personality of a rock, it would significantly impact the stat.

And since he knew he was a horrible liar since all the important lies he's told had been seen through, it made sense why it was so low.

Nevertheless, as Thawne approached Derek in his wheelchair, the boy looked down briefly, his face covered by his wild hair.

"That depends on what I hear in the next few seconds," Thawne replied with his usual cocky smirk, a menacing hint hidden in his tone.

He wasted no time, wanting to get straight to the point, but paused as he stared at the boy whose head was still lowered.

"What are…"

But before he could finish, Derek raised his head, prompting Thawne to furrow his eyebrows unknowingly.

'What…he's different.'

Thawne couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was different about Derek as opposed to when he last saw him.

His skin looked smoother and the green in his eyes seemed brighter than normal. 

His hair, which once looked like that of a homeless person, sat comfortably on his forehead like silk, framing his face with a hint of elegance.

Not to mention his sharper jawline and eyes.

"Are you having a stroke? Do you want to keep staring or hear what I have to say?"

Thawne regained his composure, his grin returning as he nodded in confirmation.

"Like I said last night, there's one major reason you don't make it home."

Derek raises a single finger as Thawne leans in.

"Barry's loved ones."

Thawne raises an eyebrow, confused but doesn't interrupt as Derek continues.

"Your plan relies on Barry wanting to save his mother, which he does. However, you failed to calculate the fact he also has loved ones in this timeline."

"Joe, Iris, Cisco, Caitlin and his father…"

"His father is imprisoned. I also considered that in my plan."

"But he's alive. And I think we both know that he'll be set free one way or another in the near future."

Thawne stayed quiet.

"In the words of Barry Allen, or the future him at least, he already has everything he's ever wanted. Family."

Thawne stared into Derek's eyes for any hint of dishonesty. Not only did he not find any, but there was nothing to indicate Derek wasn't being completely genuine right now.

"So…I have to make it so he has no choice but to go back and alter things."

Derek didn't confirm nor deny, instead continuing.

"Before your plan reaches its climax, Barry Allen has to experience a tragedy."

"A tragedy that doesn't steer him away from what you want him to do."

"A tragedy that pairs perfectly with his mother's death, so that he can fix both by going back to that night and undoing your screw up."

"And in that moment of pain and guilt, he'll do it. He has no choice but to." Thawne finished Derek's monologue, to which the boy nodded.

"Interesting. You're very clever, boy."

Saying this, he raised his hand to shake Derek's. And the latter, knowing what this was, complied.

As they did, Thawne passed on a small device which Derek immediately pocketed.

"I'd have thought the same thing if I'd known that was where I miscalculated."

Derek shrugged.

"Maybe. Or maybe you just aren't as smart as you think you are."

As Thawne was turning, he paused as Derek said these things, looking back as they locked eyes.

"You…should you really be antagonizing me this much? You grow more arrogant by the day. Why is that?"

Derek didn't say anything, narrowing his eyes at what Thawne might be getting at.

"I know why. You've never been in a position of power before. I've seen people like you. Bottom of the barrel and miserable their whole lives."

"But when they get a taste of what we have, they go mad. And it always ends in their demise."

Derek could neither confirm nor deny this.

He didn't know what his status was in his previous life.

However, one word stuck out to him and made him purse his lips.

Miserable.

He couldn't remember, but when he tried, it was like a black hole.

Infinite nothingness that failed to present even a glimmer of light.

It slightly annoyed him at times.

Why?

Not because he didn't remember where he was from or who he had left behind, but because he couldn't know what made him so empty. 

What made him feel so…miserable? Or maybe who?

It aggravated him that he couldn't abuse his newfound strength to just torture this unknown something or someone till this itch in his brain finally went away.

"Tell me, am I right, Mr Bond?" He asked, his smirk growing wider.

Though a second went by with complete silence, Derek soon moved his lips.

"Our deal ends here. On the surface, we'll be associates, but other than the smaller factors that might later arise, I'll help Team Flash catch the Reverse Flash."

"What's going on?"

Both Derek and Thawne turned only to see Barry rushing in, Cisco wearing an uncomfortable expression and Caitlin looking at Barry in displeasure.

'Shit…this isn't good.'

Knowing Barry was quite paranoid these days because of his suspicions with Wells, it wasn't a good look for Derek who kept meeting with the latter for no apparent reason.

"Mr Allen, perfect timing. Mr Bond, would you like to tell them or should I?" 

Derek turned to Wells, managing to keep his expression in check despite his confusion and wariness.

"Tell us what?" Barry asked, to which Wells turned.

"Mr Bond has amnesia."

All three of them darted their eyes to Derek, each wearing a different expression.

Not that Derek knew.

No, his eyes were specifically glued onto Wells.

"Not only that, he has no proof of his existence. Facial recognition was useless, no passport and I couldn't even find a birth certificate."

"As far as physical evidence goes, Derek Bond doesn't exist."

'He…knew?'

He knew yet he still decided to taunt his life before this?

No, Derek was able to figure it out pretty quickly.

Thawne did it on purpose.

He was just playing with him.

He purposely exploited his amnesia and brought up his past and status, knowing that Derek couldn't give a truthful answer.

And if he did, they'd both know it was a lie.

At that moment, something manifested within Derek that made him want to pounce at Thawne.

Rage.

Rage at being played by another, as if he was a cat chasing a red dot.

'I see. That's how it's going to be.' Derek thought, seeing Thawne roll away, turning once more with the same smirk on his face.

"Is this true, Derek?"

Derek turned back as Barry spoke. He was quick to nod and reply.

"I don't know where I came from nor do I have recollection of anything from a month ago." 

He lied about the time. Only because it was a little weird for him to decide to become a superhero and save people from trains a single day after being diagnosed with amnesia.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

'Maybe because I've only known you for 24 hours.'

This is what he wanted to say, but something told him this world was governed by the same logic as CW.

Therefore, he quickly thought up an excuse as he prepared to talk but was cut off.

"I didn't realise you didn't have a place to stay. I could have asked Joe if you could take the room Iris moved out from."

'Huh…'

"I'd have liked for her to do it while she was here, but I can call Felicity and tell her to fabricate all the necessary things you need to…exist."

Cisco followed, struggling to find the right word to use.

"And we can get started on brain scans to figure out what exactly caused this amnesia."

'These people…'

This surprised him, to say the least.

For some reason, he didn't expect this from…anyone.

What exactly was it?

Kindness?

Or were they just paying me back for saving them?

Maybe both.

But in the next second, Derek smiled.

'Whatever it is, I don't mind it. I don't mind it at all.'

[Your understanding of Barry Allen has increased]

[Your understanding of Cisco Ramon has increased]

[Your understanding of Caitlin Snow has increased]

This was great and all, but Derek still had other business to attend to.

"Can you give me a few moments, I need the bathroom."

"Yeah, sure."

Derek smiled as he left.

And as he did…

"Is it just me or was there something…different about him?"

"Now that you mention it…"

***

"Gideon."

In a small room with no doors or windows and countless bumps on the wall that looked similar to the pages of a braille book, Thawne stood, his glasses removed as he pressed his hand on a small podium.

As he did, a translucent human face with little to no features appeared over the podium.

"How can I be of use, Professor Wells?" The face spoke with a soothing female voice carrying a British accent.

"The link between you and the Gideon in my gauntlet is established, yes?"

"Yes, Professor Wells."

"Good. I want to know every question you're answering and why. I want to know everything."

Gideon let out a small, "Mhm" before he continued with a "Good."

"Now, continue our conversation that was cut short last night."

"Yes. Calculating every possible way your plan can fail in the coming weeks. Possibilities calculated, 1,029,293. Continuing from possibility 394,039 now."

Thawne took a seat, his chin resting on his fist as he listened.

***

'He's probably following everything I'm using Gideon for. But I don't care.'

'My needs are vague enough to keep me safe yet still provide me with what I need.'

Derek, sneaking away to one of the messy and quiet storage rooms of STAR Labs, sat before a dusty table on an uneven metal chair.

Taking a second, he sighed.

'I'm still so weak.'

All he could do was glare at Thawne as he mocked him. Not that he would ever attack the seemingly disabled man before everyone.

No, he still had a story to preserve.

But if he were to attack Thawne, he knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop the speedster from shooting a vibrating hand through his chest.

'I need to become more. And fast.'

Now that he had told Thawne about the major flaw in his plan and that there might be more to stop him from going home, for once, the future story was unpredictable.

'Despite this, I hold one advantage.'

When Derek told Thawne of what kept him here, he was telling the truth.

Everything he said was genuine and specific. Too specific.

'A tragedy that doesn't distract Barry from going back and saving his mother and a tragedy he can also fix by saving his mother.'

There were only so few things that fit that description.

Or rather, so few people.

'His father.'

Not only was Derek's speech true, but it was also canon.

Flashpoint.

At the end of season 2, Barry goes back and saves his mother from dying, creating a new timeline, Flashpoint.

And there was one thing that made him do this.

The death of his father.

'I think I planted the idea in Thawne's head enough. He's smart enough to figure out the rest.'

If Thawne now knew something he shouldn't have, the most Derek could do was manipulate him.

'But that's still in the future. For now, I need to prepare.'

Taking a diamond-shaped metallic device from his pocket, he held it in his palm for a second as he stared at its silver linings around the glowing blue centre.

Placing it on the ground, he spoke.

"Gideon."

-GUA

A blue light lit up the immediate surroundings as a translucent face with little to no features appeared before Derek.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, to which he was given an immediate answer.

"No, I do not. I have no record of someone with your appearance ever existing in the timeline." Gideon answered in a feminine voice and British accent.

'Gideon. An AI from the future created by Barry Allen. It has knowledge on the speedforce and more importantly to me, the timeline.'

"My name is Derek Bond."

"It's a pleasure to be of service to you, Mr Bond. How can I help?"

"Compile all the information on Medicine, Biochemistry and the human anatomy ever recorded throughout history."

"Start from the very beginning to one hundred years into the future from now and be sure to go into detail about the advancements made in bio-weapons. With commentary too."

A slight pause erupted as Derek made this request.

"Something like that could take months or potentially years to go through, Mr Bond. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I know. That's why you'll play it at x1000 speed." Derek added, pulling a pen and paper from his Eclipse, and opening it.

"Very well. It's done, Mr Bond." Gideon replied after pausing for a few seconds.

"Good…"

'I plan to make full use of Gideon, this newfound intelligence and my superspeed perception. With her and one of the greatest minds on the planet, I'll achieve this easily and more.'

"Play now, Gideon."

Upon saying this, countless images flashed before Derek's eyes, going at incomprehensible speeds, Gideon speaking so fast it sounded like nothing but a high-pitched screech to the normal ear.

But he could see it. And hear her too.

'This ambition…I'll feed it. I won't stop till I'm good enough. Till I'm stronger. Till I'm…better.'

And he knew exactly where to start.

On his notepad, a single word was written down.

Mirakuru.

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Dang, we're shooting up the rankings with just a week's worth of chapters. Thanks everyone.

I kinda wanna see how far we can go so I'd appreciate the Powerstones