Path 2 - Zoom's Weakness Exploited

Chapter two takes place after episode twenty, except Barry didn't immediately jump on the particle accelerator bandwagon. Besides the meta-humans coming out of the woodworks to swear their loyalty to Zoom, days pass without much hoopla. Until one late evening...

Hunter sped into the precinct and stopped at the top of the stairs. Caitlin sat, brushing her hair at the vanity, readying for bed. He'd cleared out the desks and brought in everything she'd need to be comfortable during their stay. At first, she'd refused it all, but, after a bit of convincing, she utilized the space as needed.

"Doctor Light came back," he told Caitlin, knowing her previous encounter with the meta-human would spark her interest.

She wouldn't speak to him unless absolutely necessary, and even then, it was very brief and dry. He missed her smile. He missed the way her eyes lit up around him. Now, they only dimmed in his presence, despite how much he tried to make her happy. Gifts were declined, time outside the precinct with him was dismissed, and any talk about science, including his world's advancements she'd previously shown interest in, weren't acknowledged.

Her brush paused halfway down a section of her hair. "Linda?"

"Earth Two Linda, yes."

"I thought she was hiding from you," she said, now facing him. It was the first time she'd intentionally looked at him since the Jitter's incident.

He tried not to smile. "Hiding is futile. She knows this."

Caitlin exhaled and turned back to the mirror.

"I wasn't after her." He took a step in her direction and paused. "Cait?"

She didn't move. She sat there, staring glaze-eyed at herself in the mirror.

"Caitlin?" he asked more urgently than he'd intended.

The power went out with an audible whoosh followed by a heavy silence. Thick shadows engulfed them, making it impossible to see anything but an impenetrable wall of black.

His body went on alert, muscles tense and ready for an attack. The surprise power outage, coupled with Caitlin's trance-like state, made the darkness only she could subdue bubble up from deep within him. He slipped on the mask of his suit and drew on the Speed Force coursing through his veins. Electricity crackled around him, it's blue light flashing chaotically as it zipped around his body.

A section of the blackness in front of him seemed to solidify. He stared at it, wondering if this could be a new meta-human, showing off his powers to impress him. Apparently, he hadn't met them all on Earth Two, and not everyone here knew of his short temper and dislike of such games. Examples would have to be made.

Despite his skin prickling in warning, the oddity's stillness made him doubt his eyes. He extended a hand to confirm his suspicions, but it passed through unimpeded.

When he turned to gather Caitlin and leave, something struck him in the face. He staggered back, and shook off the pain and disorientation with a low growl.

A whisper of a laugh breezed around him so soft he could've written it off as a mistake. Instead, he focused on the darkness surrounding him, searching for the shadowed man.

"You think to challenge me?" he asked in Zoom's rough, sinister voice.

When he found the oddity, he struck the newcomer. Except, his fist went straight through him, as if he were a faceless ghost of the night.

Zoom whipped around and followed the shadow across the room, away from Caitlin, for which he was grateful. She still hadn't made a move or sound. It was troubling, but once he killed the meta-human, she would be free of his power.

Speeding ahead of the shadow, Zoom doubled back to circle him, encasing him in a ring of his blue light to better see the spectral figure. Sure enough, he was a man, no bigger than him, dressed in flowing black robes.

As soon as Zoom zipped forward and the light faded, the meta-human disappeared into the shadows, becoming intangible once again. Hunter passed through him, then came to an abrupt stop and balled his hands into tight fists.

The newcomer struck him in the lower back and across the head before taking several more body shots. There was no dodging what he couldn't see. Instead, he spun around, striking every area the meta-human might be standing. Nothing landed, though, and he kept taking hit after hit.

The nonstop movement and heavy blows were taking their toll. His body ached and his lungs burned enough to force him to stop. The moment he did, his legs were swept out from under him. He landed on the hard floor with a thud.

Zoom laughed. "You will pay for that."

The lights came back on and someone else said, "We highly doubt that."

Hunter jumped to his feet and took in the strange people now filling the space. There were about thirty statue-like soldiers with thick, featureless helmets encapsulating their heads. A hooded man stood silently in their midst, holding a peculiar staff with a pair of old-fashioned scales hanging off the end. But it was the man clad in a green mask and bodysuit holding Caitlin upright with a single hand bunched in her hair who received his full attention.

Her gaze was still fixed on the vanity's mirror, seemingly unaware of the room and her captor's rough hold.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," he said. "Breathe wrong and she goes into the mirror, trapped for all time."

Zoom raised a brow, knowing his mask would show his disbelief.

"You don't believe me?" He shoved Caitlin's head into the mirror as if it were made of water, then pulled her out and smiled. "Mirror Master is my name. You've already met Shadow Thief. And this here is Libra." He gestured to the hooded figure.

"Coming here was a grave mistake," Zoom said, his electricity snapping and popping with his outrage.

Libra stepped forward. "We saw the video of your takeover here. It was impressive." He paused, bowing his head without ever taking his eyes off him. "Join us in our endeavor to conquer the world and bring back the balance the newly-made heroes have altered."

Zoom said nothing. He kept his body relaxed and his breath calm, all the while planning the order of their deaths.

When it was clear he would not immediately accept, Libra added, "Refuse, and she dies. You, however, will become one of them." He nodded to the eerily non-responsive helmeted soldiers.

The robed one stepped to him, silent as stale air.

Zoom looked over his shoulder at him, daring him to move any closer, then addressed the room. "Free Caitlin and I may let you all live."

Mirror Master tsked. "Can't say we didn't try."

Just as Zoom considered breaking his neck, a shadow fell over him, somehow feeling both smothering and freeing, as if he were a tied-down balloon. The room took on a strange nebulous quality, grey and incorporeal. He looked down at himself and could barely make out the lines of his body. It was an odd sight and even odder sensation.

His gaze jerked to the masked man as he jumped into the mirror with Caitlin. It rippled before solidifying. "No," he tried to shout, but a hushed, nearly imperceivable sound was all that came out.

With a pounding heart, he turned to Shadow Thief and eyed him as the dead man he'd soon be. He would regret ever coming to him, ever joining their insignificant band of villains.

Zoom rushed to him, but he could go no faster than a normal person, and his attack was just as ineffective. Nothing connected. He couldn't figure out how to control his limbs. They wanted to drift in space, not come crashing down with the force of a speeding car. He took several hits as he watched how the meta-human moved. Blood welled in his mouth and his ears were ringing, but he ignored it all. The Speed Force would heal him.

After several long moments, he honed his will and thought of his intangible form as concrete. When he lifted his arm, he deflected a punch, then blocked a kick with a delightful, bone-jarring impact. The meta-human committed to a flurry of strikes that was impressive for a non-speedster. Not that it did him any good.

Fear flittered in Shadow Thief's eyes. Zoom smiled, stretching the slits of his mask, and drove his hand into the man's chest, crushing his heart in his palm.

As his world returned back to normal, he released the meta-human, letting him collapse to the floor in an undignified heap.

"Shame," Mirror Master said. "I was just starting to get used to him."

"Where is she?" Zoom demanded.

"Who?" He looked around, then lifted a handheld mirror with Caitlin banging on it from the inside. "Oh, her. I almost forgot. Silly me." His jovial expression vanished. "I think I'll keep her. She's a looker, that one."

Zoom growled. He would enjoying ripping his spine out and hanging him from the rooftop with his entrails for all would-be challengers to see.

"Or maybe I should drop this mirror and kill her now." He tossed it from hand to hand.

"Last chance," Libra warned.

In unison, the helmeted soldiers pulled out their weapons and stepped into a fighting stance with a single stomp that reverberated around the room.

His heart fluttered at the thought of ending each of their lives.

"Time's up." In a dramatic gesture, Mirror Master opened his fingers and dropped the handheld mirror.

As it fell, Zoom sped to the masked meta-human, latched on to his face, and jumped into the mirror. He grabbed Caitlin and pulled them all out before the glass shattered on the floor. Logically, he knew there was an accompanying cacophony of noise, but his focus rested solely on Mirror Master. Specifically on his long, bloody spine now in Zoom's hand. Set against his black suit, the viscous liquid was merely a shiny coating.

He tossed the mass of bones aside and pointed a clawed finger at Libra. "You're next."

"Jay," Caitlin said, her voice shaky. "Enough. No more killing."

Wrapped in his arm, she held onto him as if he were the only thing keeping her up. As glad as he was for the contact, the cause of it had him clenching his jaw.

"They came here, challenged me, and threatened you. They will be shown no mercy." He looked down at her pleading eyes and took a breath. He could speed her out and return for them before they knew he had left.

Libra struck the end of his staff on the floor with an unnaturally loud and resonating thud.

The electricity snaking around Zoom fizzled out. It left him feeling muted, almost drugged.

"You are right," Libra said. "And now, you have left me with only one option."

A high-pitched whine assaulted his ears and made his knees weaken. He slumped in Caitlin's arms, then fell to the floor despite her efforts to keep him up. The edges of his vision faded until only a narrow tunnel existed. He focused on her as she yelled at him and pulled at his arms, trying to hoist him up.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand, though he heavily relied on her.

Libra's eyes widened. He tilted his staff at them and his helmeted soldiers moved forward. They made no sound, showed no emotion. Their timing was so perfect, he could have mistaken them for an army of robots, but no, each were different and very much human.

"I call them the Justifiers. Meta-humans who refused to join me of their own free will. Their resistance, while commendable, was ultimately pointless. Once I have your power, you will become one of them."

Zoom laughed. He laughed so hard it made his side cramp. How fitting. He took Barry's speed, only to end up with some obscure meta-human taking his. And his power was being drained. It felt like he was bleeding out. Fatigue battled his will with brutal efficiency. Climbing to his feet had been comparable to scaling Mount Everest.

"Jay," Caitlin urged. "We have to get out of here."

Searching deep inside himself, he found the darkness that had freed him from Barry's trap, and clasped onto it. What little Speed Force was left in his body flared to life.

"You don't have enough power to heal yourself." Libra exhaled as if he were sorry for Zoom. "Fight them and you will die."

Both sets of stairs were blocked, same with the elevator. Carving a path through the wall of soldiers was his only option. With a single quick movement, he picked up Caitlin and ran.

They swung their weapons with eerie accuracy. While he dodged most, many connected. He had turned, twisted, and ducked only to protect the woman in his arms. Sledge hammers struck him like a battering ram, knocking the breath from his lungs and cracking his ribs. Several had swords that found purchase, slicing through his suit and across his back and arms. Knife wounds made his flight nearly unbearable.

Each second that passed was ten times harder than the last, and just when he thought they were free, a soldier landed a particularly vicious blow to his head. He staggered, nearly losing his grip on her, but he tightened his hold and charged out the building.

The amount of time it took to escape and run to S.T.A.R. Labs was both infinitesimal and infinite. They tumbled to the floor when he could go no further. His Speed Force was officially gone. Those last couple steps had been powered by nothing more than sheer force of will.

A gasp of surprise coursed through the room. Cisco ran to Caitlin and tried to pull her back as Harry stood over Zoom with that ridiculous gun of his.

She ignored them all and stared down at him with a flurry of emotions playing out on her face. He wondered which one she'd settle on. If she would forgive him, or at least not hate him quite as much as she should.

After pulling off his mask, her brows bunched together and her lips hardened, but her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

He smiled just before a harsh cough twisted it into a grimace. "Not exactly how I thought my life would end."

Wiping away what surely had to have been blood on his face, she laughed grimly at his poor attempt at humor. "It was always going to end like this. Tyrants never rule for long."

He blinked away the haze clouding his vision and lifted a hand to touch her cheek. "I may be a monster, but what I felt for you was real."

"I know."

"Then you"—he coughed again—"forgive me?"

Tears now spilling down her face, she shook her head.

He nodded in acceptance, coughing even more. Breathing was almost too much to bear. Despite how much he wanted to never let her go, the sensations in his limbs had faded to the point his hand fell from her cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

His eyelids drifted closed. He was just so tired.

"Jay." Caitlin cupped his face. "Jay, look at me."

He did, and it saddened him he'd never get the chance to do so again.

"For what?" she asked.

"For showing me I was capable of love."

Unable to hold on any longer, he relaxed into Death's comforting embrace.


Author's Note: Finding a way to kill off such a bad-ass character was a challenge. Hopefully it was believable. While I know the show won't go this particular route, some variant of self-sacrifice might be possible. I firmly believe he's going to die. It's the "how" that is the real question.

I promise there will be a happy ending in one of the paths, and there's only one more death we have to endure. Hang in there. :)

The DC villains I used were part of a group called the Injustice Gang. Libra steals power with his staff called an Energy Transmortifier. The only thing I changed was Shadow Thief's attire. I wanted it to be more distinct, rather than another black bodysuit.

I'm really surprised and grateful for all the reviews and favorites/follows. Each email notification was a gift! Feel free to share your thoughts on how our ship will end. While I have an idea for each five paths, I could use a little inspiration. Lol. As usual, constructive criticism is welcome.