I do not own the Flash, the characters, or anything else. I am merely a fan who came up with this story idea and wrote it down so she could get it out of her head to sleep. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Escaping the Speed: Chapter One

BARRY POV:

There were times where Barry wished he was never struck by that lightning bolt. Oliver told him once that he thought that particular lightning bolt had chosen Barry that night; that the speed force had chosen the nerdy forensic scientist who believed in the impossible. In the moment, believing that perhaps the speed force did chose him, that he was chosen and destined to become the Flash had brought comfort to him. Oliver's words managed to bring a sense of belonging to his speed, and Barry was glad he became a speedster. But this was not one of those times.

His speed had given Barry a newfound freedom; but that was before Savitar destroyed everything. An outsider looking in would probably beg to differ, saying something along the lines of "but the Flash defeated Savitar, Iris is alive, and the day was saved". Barry wished that he could be an outsider looking in on the situation. The outsiders can still cling to the belief that the Flash is a hero and would continue to save the day. Barry knew the truth though. He knew that he wasn't a hero, he never would be. Barry Allen knew the truth; the Flash was dead. Trapped. Suspended in time. Prisoner in the very thing that created him. Lost within the depths of the speed force. And the only one to blame was himself.

Creating Flashpoint was selfish, Barry knew that he would carry the guilt of the consequences for the rest of his life. Oliver had told Barry that even heroes make mistakes and that he needed to find a way to forgive himself for creating Flashpoint. Those words seem ironic now, knowing that Barry would spend the rest of his days paying for his actions within the confines of the speed force. Barry recalled back to when he had rescued Wally from this very prison. The prison was unique and the design of it was especially cruel. It morphed into the perfect hell for which ever speedster found themselves a prisoner. For Wally, he was forced to relive his mother's dying moments. On repeat. Never able to save her, always forced to watch the life leave her eyes. Barry couldn't decide if his visit to the speed prison was better or worse than his brothers.

But he knew better: Wallys was worse, of course his was worse than Barry's. The Flash deserved to be punished here, Kid Flash did not. So instead of thinking of how Wally must have felt, Barry decided it was time he focused on his current situation.

His shoulders hurt, but he was relieved he could feel them. The metal chains that suspended him in the air cut off the circulation to his hands. Having all of his body weight supported by the chains gave him little movement. The most he could do was swing his legs, but that put an added pressure to his arms and chest so instead of wiggling around in an attempt to find freedom, Barry stayed stilled. His hanging body motionless. The stillness was strange, opposite to the speed that had stolen his heart.

He was in the heart of the speed force, surrounded by nothing but the blue waves of the vortex. His hell, unlike Wally's, used the pain of everyone he loved instead of simply choosing one person. The screams were the worst. The screams of everyone that he loved echoed all around him, one after another. Iris, Joe, Wally, Julian, Caitlin, Cisco, Wells, Felicity, Oliver, Kara, and so many others. Their screams where laced with agony and fear; the combination heartbreaking to the helpless hero. That was the hell designed for his ears. His eyes on the other hand, were forced to watch as the Reverse Flash killed his mother. The memories of his father being wrongfully accused of the murder. The scene played again and again, as if set to a never-ending loop.

His body hurt. Barry couldn't decide if the endless screams and the loop of his mother's death was more painful than the torture his defenseless body was enduring. It felt like knifes were being shoved into his muscles. Nobody was around to actually stab him, but Barry knew what was happening. The speed force was angry and was trying to teach him a lesson. His speed was attacking him from the inside. It flowed throughout his body, spreading like lava after a volcanic explosion. The pain was excruciating. It reminded Barry of when Zoom dragged him around Central City.

The mental images of his mother dying, his friends and family screaming, and the initial pain that his body felt weren't enough to cause Barry Allen to give up, to give into his prison. It was the fact that his speed was being used against him. His speed was attacking him, hurting him. The very thing that made Barry feel safe had turned against him. Nothing hurt more than knowing that the Flash had become Barry's enemy. The best version of himself wasn't apart of him anymore.

Barry hated himself for it, but he understood how Savitar had the motivation to turn his back on everyone he loved. He had felt him turn on himself.

Suddenly Barry felt the atmosphere around him shift. The swirling vortex began to change, alter to its new surroundings. A ripple of pain washed through his body, the point of origin in the center of his gut. His speed was reacting to the change. It felt as if it was trying to run. His body, still chained at his wrists, was being pulled into two directions. A force was trying to pull him out of the vortex while his speed was trying to pull him deeper into the vortex. If he was being completely honest with himself; he wasn't sure which force he wanted to win.

TEAM FLASH POV:

The pain in her neck is what woke her. The inability to move her arms is what jolted her awake. Iris immediately took in her surroundings; directly in front of her was a bare room with nothing but a single door in it. Between the room and herself was a glass, which reflected a twinge of her own image back at her. Iris' arms were chained to the ceiling directly above her, allowing her feet to just barely touch the ground. Next to her, Iris realized, was the remainder of 'Team Flash'. To her immediate right was her father, on his other side was Wally. To her left hung Cisco and next to the engineer hung Julian. Fear hit her like a tsunami. Chains rattled as she tried to free her arms, her breathing grew louder as the realization that they had been kidnapped settled.

A low, quiet groan to her left channeled her attention. "Julian, hey. Come on, wake up", Iris tried to sound calm, but her voice betrayed her. Squinting to get a better look at the dim reflection, her eyes watched as the blonde struggled against his chains and took in the environment just as she had. "Julian, hey, look at me".

"Iris," confusion laced his words, "what—what happened? Where are we?"

She sighed before replying; "I don't know. I remember I was with my dad and Wally—".

The glass began to shake as the room across from them was suddenly filled with a blue light. Barry, Iris screamed in her mind. The blue light forming into a similar portal as the one that trapped him in the speed force six months ago. For a moment time stood still as the portal just simply sat there. The anticipation for what was happening has silenced the two awake prisoners, both Julian and Iris hoping beyond hope that their friend was fighting his way out to save them. Their ears were suddenly filled with a scream that would haunt their dreams. It jolted the remaining three members of 'Team Flash' to awareness, all three startled to find themselves chained but their attention was glued to the room which laid beyond the glass.

Agony laced the screams which filled their ears, but relief filled all of their hearts when they saw their friend emerge from the blue swirls of the speed force. Their joy was short lived as Barry's body landed harshly on the concrete. His knees supported him on the ground as his arms were tightly pulled behind him by chains which extended from the speed force. Barry was obviously in excoriating pain as he was pulled backwards by the force of the chains. Before his body could be flung back into the void a sword came crashing down onto the chain trapping his left arm. It slumped forward, bringing his upper body closer to the ground. A moment later his right arm was released as the sword swung down on the chains. The speed force disappeared just as the speedsters body hit the ground. Suddenly his screams grew silent as his body went limp.

"Barry," screamed Iris, her voice laced with devastation. Joe couldn't make a sound. His mind and body were frozen; the only thing he cared about was his unconscious son who he hadn't seen in six months.

Six months, Joe thought to himself. Barry has been trapped in the speed force, alone and suffering at the will of the very thing that was a part of him. Joe had never hated the speed force more than he had within the past six months. Barry didn't deserve to be locked away in a prison, unable to see the people he cares about. After everything that boy did for the speed force, all the good he managed to do—Joe was certain that Barry was the last person who deserved to be trapped within the speed force.

Wally's voice broke through his thoughts, "we gotta find a way to get out of here. We need to help Barry".

"How are we going to do that," asked Cisco. "In case you haven't noticed we are all currently chained to a wall. I don't know about you but my feet only touch the ground if I'm on my tip toes. Which is very rude. I know I'm short but I'm not that short. They could at least give me something to stand on".

"I don't think there's going to be an easy way out of this one".

Wally said, "Julian, do you think you can find it in you to be at least a little helpful? Because telling us there isn't an easy option isn't helping us".

"Well why don't you try to phase through your chains, Kid Flash", asked Julian. His British accent added a twinge of hostility to the question.

Iris wanted to smack the blonde to her left; he knew just as well as the rest of them that Wally couldn't phase through objects like Barry. Kid Flash may have attained quicker speed sooner than the Flash, but Barry had a natural ability to use the speed in ways other than running whereas Wally struggled with them.

Before Iris could defend her brother, a woman emerged from the steel door, which quickly closed behind her. She had short red curly hair. She wore all black which made her green eyes stand out. She quickly made her way over to Barry, and harshly kicked him until he rolled onto his back.

"Don't touch him", shouted Iris and the same time Cisco screamed for her to leave his friend alone.

Their shouts went unnoticed. Instead the trapped members of 'Team Flash' were forced to watch as she straddled their unconscious friend. The women gently stroked Barry's face before slowly placing a black collar around his neck. Cisco grew silent at the sight, fear for his friend increasing with every breath. Julian inhaled sharply, recalling all the statistics of situations like this he learnt back in his forensic schooling.

Iris' attention was focused on the redheaded women, her eyes never leaving the women's slim frame. Joe's eyes were glued to Barry's chest. He could barely hear Cisco and Julian rattling their chains, trying to escape and help their friend. The only thing Joe cared about was the rhythm of his son's chest. Joe knew that as long as Barry's chest was moving then he was still alive and that was the only thing he cared about. It had been six long months since Joe had last seen the brunette, and even though the circumstances were horrible, Joe was glad his son was no longer trapped within the speed force. At least Barry wasn't alone anymore.

The speedster's chest was rising and falling at a rapid pace with no rhyme or rhythm to the motion. Joe tried to ignore the agony sketched on his face but he knew the image would never leave his mind. He was torn in two; one side of him wanted nothing more than to hug Barry and protect him from the world. The other side of Joe, the darker side of the detective, felt a sudden need to find whoever caused his son pain and make them wish they never laid eyes on Barry.

Cisco's voice halted his train of thought, bringing the detective back to reality. "Barry—Barry come on man".

"You've got to get up Allen," encouraged Julian.

The women ran her hands across Barry's bare chest, slowly and deliberately. Her green eyes looked straight at Iris, her lips taunt in a smirk. Watching the women touch Barry made Iris feel her stomach churn. She wanted to punch the smirk off of her face and wrap Barry up in a hug.

Suddenly a low groan escaped Barry's lips. The smirk changed into a smile which sent chills down Joe's spine. Oh Bar, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. Hang in there, I'll find a way to get you out of this. I promise. Joe didn't know how he was going to keep his promise, but he knew he had to try.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Published: September 9, 2017

Status: In-Complete

Next chapter will be published as soon as its written J