"Everyone always assumes I know more than I did. Major events, the shape of the future overall, what needed to be in place for the important aspects of the timeline to be intact," Eobard said, sighing to himself. "But the small things? Those that had been otherwise lost to time? The day to day minutia of Central City? That was beyond me. Besides, the particle accelerator explosion happened in 2020 in my timeline. Not everyone who was present for this one would have been then and vice versa. Time played out differently this time around, and it was an intricate dance to keep my world the same as I remembered while still finding a way to get back there."
As Hartley tensed, Eobard's grip tightened, an attempt to be reassuring and grounding at the same time, "It's so much more complicated than that. What I had to do... There were things I had no choice over. You threatening to shut it all down before it even started, it didn't matter how much I had cared. I needed to go home, and that was the only way. I want to go home. If anyone could understand that, Hartley, I would think it would be you."
Eobard had never claimed to be above taking some cheap shots to get someone on his side.