Vandal Savage stood with his hands clasped behind his back in his base, staring out the window as the sound of gunfire echoed from the floors below, growing louder and closer until it was just a door away from reaching him.
Not even five minutes later, the doors burst open. Silver Banshee, Reverse-Flash, and Blockbuster,carrying a large metal canister,stormed in. Savage turned to face them, his expression calm.
"You are more persistent than I thought," he said, his voice smooth. "Almost desperate, and… slower than you used to be. I am curious as to why?"
Thawne stepped forward. "Well, if you are curious," he said, removing his mask to reveal the blackrod still embedded in his forehead. It had been cut to size and flush so that his mask could fit without jutting out.
At the sight of it, Savage's expression didn't change.
"It was by an individual you may have known as Tobi… or Max, in another timeline," Thawne continued, his tone steady. "To save a world that was about to be destroyed… thanks to me. The Flash was the only one who could fix it,or at least the only one who would. And I would have been damned if I were to let that happen. I never saw it coming. My guard was up, ready for everything… but I was still caught off guard. Even now, I have no idea how he did it. He had me mobilized, then ran my head clean through with this rod."
He pointed to his forehead, the embedded Blackrock a stark reminder.
"In that very moment, I tried vibrating my inner molecules to save my brain, even as the rod tore through my skull," Thawne said. "And in that infinitesimal moment before death, I drew the Speed Force into myself with every ounce of strength I had left. I expanded that moment of death into years… literally bought time. But it's catching up to me now. Every day that passes, I feel my life slipping away,much faster when I try to speed up."
Savage's gaze sharpened slightly. "Do you also believe in hell?"
"Not very much," Thawne admitted, his eyes flicking downward. "But after everything I've done, I can say I deserve a special place there. So I want insurance… just in case. Which is why I must have that that card".
"That would be impossible," Savage said.
"We know you have it, so just hand it over," Banshee said.
"The problem is that it's no longer on me—it's in me," Savage replied, pulling down his shirt to reveal the fresh scar from his recent surgery to implant the card.
"I had Professor Pyg implant the card in such a way that if it were removed, it would kill me, which would, in turn, use it up," Savage said, his expression turning smug.
"Good thing then that I came prepared," Thawne said.
Blockbuster placed the canister on the ground with a dull metal clang. Savage quickly reached for his gun, but before his hand could touch it, Banshee unleashed her sonic screech. Savage froze, clutching his ears in pain, gritting his teeth as he went down to one knee.
Banshee stopped. Savage removed his hands, revealing his bleeding ears. He tried to reach for his gun again,but Banshee unleashed an even stronger screech, shattering the windows and sending Savage flying. He slammed into the wall and slid down, incapacitated.
They walked closer to him. Blockbuster turned him over while Thawne traced the scar on his chest.
"A quick healer… you and I share the same thing in common," Thawne said, standing up, before turning to Blockbuster.
"Do it," he said. Blockbuster nodded, lifting the canister filled with liquid nitrogen and pouring it over Savage's chest, lowering his body temperature to prevent him from dying too quickly from blood loss.
"Now… stand back," Thawne said, crouching and raising his hand. He began vibrating it at high speeds.
"I'm running on fumes now, but I've got just enough to do this," he muttered, then plunged his hand into Savage's chest. The card passed cleanly through without harming him.
Thawne gritted his teeth and pulled his hand back, card in hand. He staggered to his feet as Savage gasped on the floor.
"Bon voyage, caveman," Thawne said with a grin.
Savage fell back,dead.
Thawne raised the card to eye level, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. In an instant, a fast object shot out of nowhere, striking the card from his hand. He saw it in slow motion,a kunai with a burning paper tag. Desperately, Thawne reached up, trying to catch it, but he was too slow. The kunai carried the card and pinned it to the wall before exploding.
Rage erupted within Thawne, contorting his face as he and his companions turned toward the source. A blue blur streaked past them, and the last thing Banshee saw before darkness consumed him was a foot mere inches from his face. Nina, fully in the Seventh Gate, had kicked her straight in the face, sending her flying backward.
Nina didn't stop there. She pivoted to Blockbuster, already mid-punch, and launched her own. The two blows collided with a thunderous bang, but Nina's strike, far stronger, overpowered him. Blockbuster's arm exploded, blood and flesh scattering in the air, and he was hurled backward, crashing through the wall to the outside.
Nina's eyes narrowed as she turned to find Thawne,but he was gone. He'd fled. Thankfully, she had prepared for contingencies.
Meanwhile, in the lower levels of the building, Thawne raced down the stairs in blind panic. He didn't know who had attacked, and he didn't want to. The intention was clear: he wasn't meant to survive. There was too much he had planned, too much left undone.
He burst through the exit,and froze. Before him stretched a shimmering violet barrier that reached into the sky. Turning frantically for another escape route, horror struck him: the barrier enclosed the entire complex like a cage. Gritting his teeth, he accelerated toward it, vibrating his entire body to phase through.
Pain seared across him. His body combusted into flames as he roared in agony, rolling across the ground to extinguish them. When the fire subsided, it was already too late. His suit had fused to his skin from the heat, and blood trickled from his forehead,the old wound reopening from the extreme strain.
Slow, deliberate steps echoed behind him. Thawne's eyes darted up to see Nina approaching, calm and unyielding.
"Who the hell are you?" he spat, struggling to his feet, the blue aura around her fading.
"I am your end, Thawne," she said, her voice steady. "You should have forgotten about Max when you survived Flashpoint, but you couldn't resist going after his loved ones to exact revenge. This time, that won't be happening."
She closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, they had changed from black to scarlet red, a unique pattern blazing within them. Her lips barely moved as she whispered:
"Amaterasu."
A roar of pain erupted into the night.
End of Chapter