The Birth of Divinity. By The Grinning Psychopath and Nova.8.
Disclaimer we own nothing.
Prospective changes will be marked by the name of the person's prospective in bold.
Savitar
My Name is Savitar and I am a God of speed... God of Speed. I am a God, I am almighty and I will not let this goddamned suit get the better of me!
Savitar snarled and strained as he pushed at one particularly stubborn hunk of metal that was supposed to be a new pauldron that now simply refused to snap into place on his armor. Savitar drew on his not inconsiderable power and proceeded to slam the palm of his hand into the metal again and again faster than even the Flash could have blinked. Perhaps not the most impressive or dignified of uses for his power, but hey at least he wasn't turning himself into a stormcloud to shower his golden affections on young captive maidens and the like.
I have beaten Gods, men, sorcerers and metas a like, even Death itself. I. Will. Not. Be. BEATEN!
Savitar gave a tremendous heave of his shoulders and then sighed in relief as the last piece of his suit slid in where it was supposed to. He took a step back to marvel at his handiwork. It was certainly a step-up from the jogging suit Cisco had first come up with. Savitar felt a surge of exhilaration at the thought of how far he'd come. From a mortal man to the God of Speedsters everywhere.
From nothing to everything. Thought Savitar. I'm the personification of the American dream, maybe I'll call myself the god of that as well, call myself Captain America! he smiled at the ridiculous thought.
The smile quickly vanished as he caught his reflection and ever so briefly saw Barry's face superimposed onto his own. Savitar closed his eyes, but still he could see that face, that old familiar face staring at him, see those eyes boring into his own, accusatory.
"How did you become Savitar?!" Barry had asked, barely suppressed disgust thick in his voice.
Savitar shook his head. He didn't have anything to prove to his old self, he didn't owe anything to the remnant of his mortal life, not a god damned thing, least of all a proper explanation of how he'd came to be...something he wasn't even sure of himself anymore.
Savitar sighed and rubbed tiredly at his eyes, though he couldn't even feel the pressure of his thumb over the damaged orb in his right socket, a fact that still bothered him in times like this.
How did it all begin again? Was it really as simple and straightforward as he told Barry, did he really just come into being with no real beginning or end... or was there something more to the tale?
It was getting harder and harder to remember, with all the memories he'd gained and all the possible futures he'd lived.
"Your saying I caused you to get your speed?" Barry Allen had asked. "Oh no." He'd replied, "I created my self."
Well that much had been true obviously... he was pretty sure. Savitar found a good dark corner in the warehouse to settle down into, resting on his haunches and wrapping his arms around his knees as he contemplated the beginning, how it all started... in April 2024.
Barry.
"Out of all the ideas you've had, my friend, this is one of the craziest, and definitely the most fucked up!" Cisco Ramon yelled over the com system, trying to keep a note of humor in his tone, despite the gravity of the situation… and of course doing his best to ignore the fact that his best friend was about to commit suicide… a lot, and very likely in quite a permanent way.
"Have you figured out how to get the speed force out of that stone yet?" Barry yelled out even as he stared up at the swirling vortex of energy that now threatened to overtake his city.
"... No." Cisco reluctantly admitted, cursing himself even as he stared hopelessly at the glowing white-blue crystal off to the side which contained the small but not inconsiderable chunk of the speed force that Barry had been forced to obtain for Devoe and Reverse-Flash's schemes.
"Well then that settles it... I have to do this Cisco, I'm sorry." Barry Allen in the year 2024 closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and began to run.
Barry Allen ran. He ran faster than he had ever dreamed possible and then further. He had to run, he had to go faster… it was the only way.
Barry Allen looked to the epicenter of the storm, a swirling grey almost misty seeming vortex of energy not unlike that of the wormhole that had opened up when he'd first tried to help reverse-flash... how fitting.
Barry could see saw the speed force's energy arcing throughout the cloud, pulsating wildly in his vision like the heartbeat of something vast and powerful... and he had the uncomfortable feeling that metaphore was a bit too accurate for comfort, particularly when the pulses increased every so often and at the apex bolts of energy tore free from the cloud and blasted into the city smashing through buildings and incinerating vehicles whole some didn't even do that, simply vanishing in puffs of smoke and energy not leaving a trace behind in their wake. An uncomfortable amount of people fell into that last category.
How many people would be lost, had already been lost to this storm, who no one would ever entirely be certain as to the fate of? How many families like his own would had been shattered to pieces by this night's events? Far too many, and all because of him.
Sure Thawne, and Devoe may have schemed together to force him into it, but ultimately it had been his decision to go along with it and pretend as though Devoe had truly taken him over so that he could get in close and sabotage their plans from within… his decision to use his speed to go just far enough along with their plans so that he could rid the cosmos of Thawne forever, and burn Devoe out even knowing the potential consequences of his actions… the very real consequences that he was now racing to undo.
And so Barry Allen ran, vibrating his every cell along as he did so. He knew what he had to do, and likewise knew that he honestly couldn't do it... not on his own at least, particularly not with Black Flash on his tail the way it was.
The creature that had been Hunter Zoloman screeched as it gave chase, running faster than Zolomon ever could have hoped to, not that Zolomon could really enjoy it now as he sped along, his crimson energy crackling ominously as he charged along, intent on ending the life of the one who had brought this storm to reality. I.E. Barry Allen..
Barry grimaced as he dodged Black Flash's claws, ducking into an alleyway, as Black Flash overshot and spun out into the road.
That would buy him a few precious moments, not much but enough for him to do what had to be done.
Barry sped forward, focusing all of his intent and energy on himself, concentrating on just a few scant milliseconds earlier, until finally he could see himself as he ran from the Black Flash, could see the claws reaching for his younger self.
Barry didn't bother to wait for his younger self to dodge, instead he simply grabbed that version of himself and pulled him out and into the here and now.
"Whoa, Jesus that's weird!" his duplicate swore and Barry nodded. Yeah, in so many ways." Barry agreed ruefully
"Black Flash isn't gonna be happy about this." As if in answer there came that horrible shriek once more, and Black Flash stood before them, glowering hatefully with his desiccated eyes, looking from one Barry Allen to another, unsure of which to go after first.
"Yeah... That's the idea." The two Barrys looked at one another. Then they both ran.
The older Barry heading towards the heart of the storm and the duplicate of his younger self, headed for Black Flash.
Even as Barry ran for the eye of the terrible storm, he began to focus on the past yet again. He knew he was taking a big risk, duplicating himself yet again, but he didn't have a choice. He needed more help, he needed more power, and he only had one way to get it.
He hated himself for what he was about to do, but Barry could see no other alternative. So, steeling his resolve, trusting that every him, from every time, would agree with his choices if they had been in his position, Barry yanked another duplicate of himself free from the past, the version of himself that had finally managed to put an end to Zoom. He took hold of his younger self, who stared at him in bewilderment and who only had a split second to marvel at the city around them, before Barry jammed a high tech syringe into his younger self's neck and pressed the button.
The copy cried out in agony and convulsed in his arms for what felt like a terribly long time before going limp and falling to the ground… dead. Barry didn't even spare his duplicate a moment of silence, before jamming the syringe into his own neck and pressing the release button. Fire filled his veins as new energy burst into life within him, filling him, and he felt the speed-force in his system double in its potency.
It felt good, really good.
Abruptly Barry realized the full extent of what he'd just done, as rational thought returned to his brain and feelings of shock, shame and hopelessness threatened to overtake him, and Barry felt little better than Zoom at that moment but still it had to be done, for Iris, for his friends, for the world.
But he knew it still wasn't enough he needed more. He needed all the speed he could possibly handle if he was going to fix what he had wrought upon himself and the city. and so he prepped another speed-force syringe, and began to focus on the past once more.
Duplicate.
My name is Barry Allen and I… am a temporal duplicate. The realization of this was… disconcerting as I ducked and weaved through alleyways, being careful to stay just ahead of Black Flash, yet close enough to keep him on my tail, while my future self went on to murder other past versions of us.
I knew the plan, knew the dangers, knew… everything, and though I knew there was no other option it still sickened me.
It was either this, or let the world be consumed by his mistake, my mistake… our mistake. But that didn't mean I had to like it.
And so I ran.
Black Flash's speed was incredible, and I could already feel the pull on my own power, as he began to siphon off the remnants of energy I was leaving in my trail, energy he was using to slowly but surely gain on me.
But of course I'd known this was a possibility, and even as I ran I began digging out a specially prepped syringe from my pocket, a syringe filled with Velocity 12.
Not the most elegant solution, not as ideal as say tachyon enhancement, but without Harrison Wells or his daughter to fine tune the process... it's the best we had, and most of the issues with the drug had been taken care of anyhow... most of them.
Better than the alternative. I thought, feeling Black Flash's vile energy creeping up on me, beginning to draw on my life energy even without even being in physical contact with me. Out of time and out of options I jammed the needle into my neck and depressed the plunger.
Barry.
Barry Allen disposed of yet another duplicate... there was a pile on the ground now, all with vacant staring eyes that demanded to know why he had done all this. He was beginning to wonder that himself as the power radiated from his every pore. He couldn't even control the vibration of his hands anymore.
He tried to prepare the syringe once more, only for it to crumble apart in his grasp, the friction too much for it to handle.
Guess that's all I'm getting. He thought hazily, his own thoughts being drowned out by the power thrumming in his veins.
He felt like a God standing in the midst of all the chaos and destruction, and for a moment he had to wonder what had been the point of any of it anymore.
A crimson lightning bolt struck off to the side, and he abruptly recalled it all once more. Iris, Joe, Wally, Cisco! He recited their names to himself like a mantra, and sped off racing into the heart of the storm. Such was his speed at this point that he could see the particles gathering in areas, preparing to charge up and explode in yet more lightning strikes.
He could also see that the particles were gathering into the shapes of men... or at least something like men, not quite human but definitely similar, and he could also see the shapes crying out just before they imploded.
The speed force was dying, and now it was up to him to save it.
And so he ran, quickly finding the epicenter of the great storm. Others simply saw it as a single continuous beam of multicolored energy... he saw it as thousands of beings made up of light all crying out at once, stumbling around, clutching at themselves as they attempted to hold themselves together.
He could see now...The energy he'd stolen for Thawne and Devoe... it had been life-blood of so many speed entities... entities now dead, and without them, the rest of the speed force was falling apart, it lacked the coherency to pull itself back together.
So he would have to do it for them.
Steely resolve in his heart, Barry surged forward pouring on every bit of power he now possessed as he surged into the middle of it all, and began to share his power amongst them. The entities twisted and writhed as Barry encased them in his power and let them draw upon his essence.
It felt like a torturously slow process as they began to drain his power a bit at a time trying to regenerate themselves, though in reality Barry knew this was all taking place within microseconds, and before long he had helped dozens of them into a decent cohesive state of being to where they could flow back into the storm without causing any further damage to their surroundings, but still they needed more, much more.
More than Barry Allen was capable of safely giving them... and he knew that yet that didn't deter him one bit, indeed he pressed on only going faster now as he realized the fate that awaited him, almost smiling as he raced to meet it, barely even noticing as his flesh began to smoulder and disintegrate as a result, or how he
was drawing ever nearer and nearer to the rippling epicenter of the storm.
Duplicate.
The creature that had once been Hunter Zolomon shrieked in outrage as it was soon left in the dust behind, and I zoomed forward propelled by delicious irony and Velocity 12 empowering my cells and enabling me to draw in yet more of the speed force than I ever could have imagined, and the thrum of power inside me was nearly intoxicating.
I was finally fast enough.
I twisted about, circling the block and coming up behind Black Flash, grabbing up a hunk of rebar as I did so.
Black Flash was still turning about to face me, when I stabbed the metal rod through his back, driving it on straight where I figured his heart ought to be. Anyone else, anything else this would have been a mortal blow, but Black Flash just howled and twisted about bringing its gnarled hands around for my throat.
Just barely managing to avoid the thing's twisted claws, I back-pedaled on reflex, and pain exploded throughout my back as I sped into something behind me and it crumpled and I felt glass and metal shards bite into my back, drawing blood.
Fighting back a yell of pain, I pulled away from the object and just managed to dodge out of the way, before Black Flash slammed into the object himself, which turned out to be a car.
The car having sustained considerable damage from my crashing into it, had begun leaking oil and gas all over the place, though miraculously enough it hadn't caught fire from any stray sparks either from the damage, or my own enhanced power.
Black Flash was not so lucky, and when he crashed into it, the vehicle sparked and exploded with an incredible amount of force, blasting the undead speedster high into the sky, while I was knocked back into and through a concrete wall.
Barry.
Barry continued to run about, but there were fewer and fewer entities in need of rescuing now, only a mere handful, and he could sense the pull from the cracks in reality as it began to repair itself and the speed entities started returning to the energy dimension, creating a vortex in the process... a vortex pulling all speed entities back into itself.
Including him.
Strangely Barry was okay with this. He was still suffused with an overabundance of power, his thoughts were moving so fast even his mutated brain couldn't quite keep up with them anymore, but he felt like he'd already processed this possibility, like he'd... come to terms with it, and he felt ready.
So when the pull of the vortex intensified, Barry Allen didn't fight it, he simply opened his arms wide, and let the storm take him. It felt as if his entire being was being shattered into a million pieces. The pain was almost unbearable. Barry looked down and noticed that his body seemed to be disintegrating, as if his limbs, his mechanical structure, couldn't quite keep up with the intensity of the speed he was travelling at.
He was on fire. But not in a good way. Barry struggled to breathe, flames filling his exploding lungs and he knew that this was his comeuppance for destroying the lives of all those other versions of himself. So he braced his heart, his mind telling him that he was ready to atone for everything that he had caused, right from the start, when he had given in to Thawne and Devoe's demands.
Then it was over. The pain suddenly vanishing, leaving Barry with a distinct feeling of nothingness. He had never felt that feeling of peace before, not even when he was the Flash, running as one with the wind. Images of all his loved ones came to mind and then, there was a black bliss that relieved him of the world.
Duplicate
Pain.
Pain all encompassing, all powerful, all consuming pain... that pretty much described my world right about now.
I groaned as I turned over onto my side, my body screaming louder than black flash with every movement I made. I felt drained, ill, and exhausted beyond belief. I could tell the velocity 12 had worn off, it wouldn't kill me, but damn if I almost wished it would.
I wanted to vomit, but the best I could do was to just dry-heave for a while until I gave up.
Looking up I saw the sun shining through the hole I'd made when I smashed into here... wherever here was now.
I looked around... it seemed to be part of an old warehouse, I kind of hate warehouses nothing good ever happens in them. Struggling back to my feet, I began to stumble zombie-like on towards the hole in the wall.
Catching myself on the edge of the hole, I gasped at the sight of the destruction before me. Smoke and flames raged about the city, and more than one skyscraper had lost its defining features.
But the storm that had caused all this havoc... was gone, the air was clearer than ever, and the sun shone bright and beautiful over it all, completely at odds with how it had been before.
He did it. I thought. Or... well I did it anyhow. I looked around and took a few trembling steps forward.
The other me... he did it, he... sacrificed himself to the storm. I clicked my radio a few times on a specific frequency I... or he had set up beforehand in order to communicate with myself in case something... unexpected came up.
I received no response. I clicked my radio a few more times, but again there was nothing.
He really is gone.
I breathed out a sigh, though whether it was from sadness... or relief I had no idea.
It's just me now... just me and a city full of tragedy.
I shook my head at that thought. No... no, I have my friends with me as well, and Iris. An image of my smiling, kickass girlfriend filled my mind and I smiled, banishing the dark thoughts from my mind. So long as I had all of them behind me, I could take this; I could take anything on for them.
There was a huge crash from within the city, as something big fell over and people screamed.
Well no time like the present. I thought, and began to race in that direction, when all of a sudden a horrible inhuman shriek sounded out and I froze.
Black Flash.
Black Flash roared up at the heavens as he saw the storm that held his masters on this plane weaken and begin to dissipate and knew that his time back on the mortal plane of existence had come to an end. Not yet, there is still time yet! His inner voice cried out. Black Flash didn't quite understand the concept of thoughts anymore, at least not those of his own, but he did comprehend rage.
After all, it is what the Speed Force used to direct him that rage and killer instinct.
And that is what fuelled him now as he surged back to his feet from where he had fallen, and went in search for the one whose face had haunted his mind for so long now, the one whose name never failed to send him into a rampaging fury.
Yes, that's it. The voice cheered, destroy Barry Allen, tear him apart for what he did to us.
Distantly Black Flash felt the tug of the Speed Force, heard it calling to him, beseeching him to turn his back on the rage, and come back to serve as the speed now needed, to share his vast energy with them to ensure it's survival... but it was drowned out by the fury and Black Flash pressed on, intent on satiating his need for revenge.
Duplicate
Black Flash seemingly materialized out of nowhere. He moved so fast appearing at the crest of a hill to glower down at me, though his milky eyes seemed to see little if anything at all themselves.
I began to think wildly, scrambling inwardly of anything I could do or use to beat him. But I knew there was nothing. I'd already burned through the last of the velocity 12, and what speed I could manage now was nothing in comparison to what I'd had to do in order to keep ahead of the speed revenant.
I remembered a tip from Malcom Merlyn I'd gotten once, and did my best to remain absolutely still, hoping Black Flash wouldn't notice me.
But then my hands began to shake. Only a little at first but then faster, and faster still until they were blurring in and out of existence, and lightning began to crackle. The after effects of Velocity 12 were kicking in now.
It took only a split second for Black Flash's gaze to fixate on me, and I knew I was out of options.
Futilely, and knowing it was pointless... I began to run.
Black Flash
Black Flash's gaze locked onto the familiar speed energy. It's him! The voice growled, and Black Flash roared in response.
"Don't do this Zolomon!" A familiar voice urged, likewise from within, though Black Flash knew it came from the speed force, yet the voice was... different from what it had known before, yet also horribly familiar, infuriatingly familiar.
Black Flash turned its gaze to a sparking crackle of energy that was slowly blossoming into being, and there it saw him again... another Barry Allen though this one was cloaked in the energy of its masters to an infinitely greater extent, this Barry Allen had become one with them.
That was infuriating beyond words. "The speed force needs us, it needs you Hunter, please stop this and come back!" The other Barry begged... Black Flash liked that sound, but it wasn't enough, it wanted more, and knew how to get it.
Black Flash turned his back on the apparition and focused in on the other Barry Allen who was far more vulnerable.
Fool! Hahaha you can't cage the darkness! The inner voice cackled, while Black Flash charged.
Duplicate.
I managed barely a handful of steps, before a horrible pressure closed around my throat and I found myself struggling to take in air.
Black Flash's rotting features glowered at me, milky eyes burning holes of hatred into my own as he squeezed ever tighter, and I felt his claws dig into my flesh. I could feel what little energy I had left deserting me as his power began to eat away at my own, and Black Flash's features twisted into something remarkably like a smile and it roared in triumph as it held me high in the air.
I caught a flicker of something in the corner of my eye, though it was too faint for me to make out as my vision began to run dark.
This is it... end of the line. I thought even as I batted helplessly against the revenant's arm. I managed to draw in enough power to drive one vibrating fist into Black Flash's chest, it was a futile effort though as Black Flash didn't even seem to feel it, and simply tightened his grip. Iris... Ciso...Caitlin I'm so sorry.
I closed my eyes and lightning struck.
Savitar.
Lightning flashed obliterating the spot where the time remnant and Black Flash had just been standing in, and for a moment the outlines of three different figures stood in place. One of golden energy, another pale white, and another of deep crimson and black. And then the energies merged, the atmosphere boiled, and atoms shrieked as the combined energies ripped time and space to smithereens before all the energy collapsed in upon itself, the figures seemed to fuse together for a split second glowing brilliantly... before they became separate once more, and then just like that they vanished.
The air settled, and the energy fled as reality asserted itself once again.
And it was then on the year 2024 that the hero known as The Flash disappeared never to be seen again, having given his life for the city... or so many would come to believe.
For it would only be a day at most, at least to those concerned before the ultimate betrayal of self occurred, and a God was born. A god by the name of-!
Something struck Savitar's leg and he blinked, confused as the world shuddered around him, before falling apart and suddenly he found himself back in the warehouse in 2017.
Savitar looked about for the source of the disturbance, and saw Killer Frost standing off to the side, several frosty pebbles rolling about in one alabaster fist.
"Oh I'm sorry did I interrupt your brooding Savitar all mighty god you?" Killer Frost asked sarcasm thick in her tone.
Savitar shook his head and got to his feet, freeing himself from the flood of memories attempting to pull him down under. "What is you want Frost?" He asked coldly, fixing his single green eye upon the pale woman that had once been his... friend.
Killer Frost shrugged, "Oh nothing much... just the total and complete downfall of the ones who kept me trapped living that pitiful lie... like you promised."
"I know what I promised you Frost." Savitar growled, "I will get you everything that you deserve but not just yet. There is something I need to go check on before we get underway."
She eyed him speculatively for a few seconds, clearly wondering what it was that he needed to check on without her. However, if she had learned anything in the time she had spent with him; was that Savitar only answered questions if he wanted to. Seeing that now was clearly not one of those times, Killer Frost shrugged, deciding she could interrogate him later, when he wasn't so obviously lost in thought. Lost in the past no doubt.
She bit her bottom lip. She knew who he was, a broken version of Barry Allen, and where he had come from, but she was uncertain if that was the entire truth. He seemed more complex than that. After all, he had lived through countless lifetimes and variations of futures unknown to her, at least from what she could gather, of course he had more to tell than what he chose to share with her and the others. For now though, she would bide her time, content with having a new purpose, and someone who would accept the darker aspects of herself.
"Suit yourself, godspeed oh mighty one." she smiled maliciously at him, not noticing how his eyes narrowed at that simple phrase.
Suddenly there was a glow around him, brighter than the flickering lights of his dank lair. He could smell the metallic stench of blood surrounding him and he could feel a dark hopelessness settling inside himself, making his chest feel like a hollow pit. He hadn't felt that familiar, cold sense of loss in a long while. Savitar gritted his teeth in frustration and pain as the memories came back with a vengeance.
"God among men. The God of speed, godspeed my love... Godspeed."
"Savitar?" In the present Savitar refocused his hazy stare on the woman before him.
Her white hair and startling white/blue eyes, not to mention that cautious almost concerned looking expression upon her features sent a shock of sensations through his body making him shake his dark head slightly.
"What are you still doing here?" He questioned, his tone clearly irritated.
He watched as Killer Frost narrowed her big, blue eyes at him and there was that tugging sensation at his temples again. Savitar turned his broad back on her, wordlessly telling her she was dismissed. Although he could feel her chilly presence behind him. He busied himself with his suit and after a few moments he heard the telltale of her heels clicking away from him.
Savitar's nostrils flared as he exhaled turning around now that he was alone. Damn that woman! He snarled inwardly. Of all the phrases, she had to use that one.
Savitar had a head full of a few different lifetimes, and branches in time, and he'd gotten good at burying the better, more distracting bits of them down, deep down...they made him weak and Savitar was not weak.
He couldn't be weak he was the god of speed, he was the alpha and the omega. From the big bang to the beyond...
Savitar glared down at his hands and willed them into barely visible flashes of movement, becoming blades of near pure physical energy capable of sheering through the hardest of substances as though they weren't even there. I'm not weak, and I won't let her make me weak, not again!
You can't lock up the darkness! Savitar grimaced. It was never good when THAT voice started talking to him.
"We should kill her."the dark, familair voice called from within. No... we need her, only she can get us what we want... only she can give it to us.
As much as he hated admitting it, he needed Killer Frost for his plans to succeed... for more reasons than one. And don't you just love what that extra reason is!? The voice snarled, outraged. Savitar pushed the voice aside. He didn't need Zoom's approval he knew what needed to be done, knew how to keep things on track, which was more than could be said for the dark speedster. Savitar had everything planned out, and contingencies for it all. He would become a god.
"At what cost to my soul?" Another voice spoke up, and for a moment... he saw her. pale eyes shining, her still brunette hair glowing warmly under even these dim lights, clutching at her now crystalline hand.
Savitar closed his eyes tiredly, willing the voice to go away. Not now damn it. He thought hoarsely. I am so close...
"Godspeed?"
Savitar decided to go for a run.
Ahh and that was chapter 1. given to you... primarily by Nova.8 really, go heap a ton of thanks on her... least i'm pretty sure she's a she, i'm not sure i've actually asked, just kinda assumed... hmm. Anyhow i was trying to foist this off on her and others till she talked me into taking it on myself, so... well yeah here you go guys.
When might you expect chapter 2? i really don't know, but i will try to get it done soon I promise. i got big plans, well not big in comparison to my usual scale, but ehh decent ideas of excellent quality in my opinion.
anyhow please review, lemme know your thoughts, ehh and well as you were.