An angsty One-Shot I've written as I attempt to finish the latest BF Chapter, which is roughly half-done. Writers block is really getting to me.
»»—-««
As the silver sword pierced her heart, his own was paralyzed.
Life wasn't just slowed, it stopped. Savitar was frozen as all the Scarlet Speedster saw was his girlfriend slowly sliding off the blade.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vibe and Killer Frost fighting. But his patience ran out. After everything, all they had been through, Caitlin hadn't trusted him.
And it cost Iris her life.
But he'd deal with her later. For now, his eyes zoomed in on Savitar, reveling in his apparent victory, but he'd never get to savour it.
Speed Force lit up his veins, crackling the very air around him as ozone and raw energy filled the skies, before being unleashed.
Running across the grass, past the stone and beyond H.R.'s attempts to fire at the Evil Remnant, it continued. The lightning was invisible to all but the other speedsters, Wally sitting in his wheelchair after being hit by debris attempting to save a civilian, watching over a camera.
Soon, he was inches away, and with one last look of grief sent towards his fallen girlfriend, the chase began.
Savitar crossed over the country, his foe keeping him on his toes, but it wasn't enough. The adrenaline pumping in his arteries, pure anger clouding his head as he continued, past mountains of ice, valleys of stone, and finally catching up with the Myth.
Ramping his arm back, he sent it forward, right into the centered lightning symbol on the silver armor's chest until his hand was bloodied. He continued to attack, shards of dark iron falling to the grass.
Around him, his friends, family, and even a few villains gathered, watching as Savitar was savagely beaten by the Scarlet Speedster.
'YOU DID THIS! YOU KILLED HER, AND NOW YOU'VE KILLED YOURSELF! THE CYCLE ENDS, SAVITAR!' Barry thrust his dripping red fist forward, colliding one final time with the emblem that once stood for bravery, courage, and hope. The armor shattered.
But Savitar wasn't defeated. Instead, he just laughed, bloody lip ignored as his leg was broken by his past self and creator.
'You've already failed, don't you realise it? You've become me. I've won, Savitar is inevitable!' His evil laugh continued, until Caitlin tried sending out an icebolt.
Before her hands had even finished moving, Barry rushed in, clasping meta-dampening cuffs on her wrists and sending her back to the pipeline until he was ready. His Remnant was silent, unmoving in some sense of amazement.
'You're even farther along than I thought. Good. Though I doubt Caitlin appreciates it.'
'Shut up! It's your fault she turned on me! You twisted her mind!' But it didn't have the reaction he desired.
'Me!? You're the one who ignored her in favour of your beloved girlfriend. Though I suppose it isn't entirely your fault. Not much you can do for the Fastest Man Alive, eh? Always too slow…' Barry growled, and tossed the man across the street, speeding up as he continued attacking, similar to the way Savitar had done the first time they met.
'Graaaa! You'll pay, I swear!' But it wasn't satisfying. The fallen speedster was already beaten.
'You just don't get it, do you? Soon enough you'll figure it out.' His foe coughed, before letting out a breath, and motioning for Barry to come closer. Hesitantly, he did.
'As a parting gift, I'll tell you how to help Caitlin.' The Scarlet Speedsters eyes widened, before leaning in even more, and with a whisper…
'She didn't get these powers from Flashpoint.' Blood leaked out of his mouth, and Barry quickly wrapped the bandages and put on a set of cuffs. Despite being evil and killing Iris, no matter how absolutely filled with pure rage he was, the Remnant couldn't die. It was what had caused him in the first place, in a way.
'Why tell me? What do you care about Caitlin?' At this, Savitar's eyes softened.
'You really don't see it, do you? One day you will, and we'll all be better for it. Iris had to die for a reason, Barry.' The Hero's blood began boiling, and he sped away, throwing the once silver-clade enemy into a pipeline cell, before speeding away into the night.
He'd failed, and now, he was lost.
»»—««
'What do we do about Barry? We can't just leave him out there.' The gruff and tragedy-ridden voice of Joe West cut through the dark atmosphere of Star Labs. Everybody looked up at the crying man, sitting by one son but wishing for both. Iris's body lay on one of the beds, covered by a sheet.
'I don't know. I've never seen him that angry. I mean, I know he's supposed to be able to turn into Savitar, that's how the dude was created, but to watch that start… I don't know if I can do that.' Cisco's voice laden with regret and, to some degree, fear, had everyone turning to him. But Wally wouldn't take it sitting down.
'So? Guys, this Barry's we're talking about. The Scarlet Speedster. The guy who's saved our lives a dozen times over. We need to give him space and at some point, I'm sure he'll get back. Because what you all seem to forget is our mistakes.' Julian turned to the wheelchair trapped speedster.
'What do you mean, Wallace? It was his mistakes that led to Killer Frost, to Savitar, and to Iris-' Joe suddenly stood up, moving to attack the CSI before Wally grabbed his hand, getting him to sit down and hugging his father.
'No, Wally's right.' Everyone turned to H.R., who for once was lacking his coffee, drumsticks or chipper smile. It was depressing.
'Why?' Julian came up again, right before Wells began.
'Because of your actions. Look, there's a certain amount of grief that was warranted. Dante died because of Flashpoint. Caitlin got her powers from it. But I've got one question for all of you, and this one's really important-what did Savitar say made him turn evil?' Everyone took a second, before Joe gasped. Pointing, he stood up.
'His friends! His friends turned on him, because he was just a remnant.' The Earth-19 man nodded.
'Yeah. Now, think really hard about how the last year has been going, how much trust you've actually shown the guy. Cisco outright refused to call him a friend until the Aliens even if it was somewhat understandable, Caitlin never told him about her powers manifesting until it became necessary, even Joe has had his moments where he didn't fully trust his son. Wally may be the only one of you who's actually been by Barry's side the entire way after learning everything. Julian excluded, he's got his own problems and is new.' Everyone just sat, taking in his words, which sounded much more like his Earth-2 counterpart than their normal H.R.
'We need to talk to him.' Joe startled everybody once more.
'Good luck doing that, the only speedsters we've got are either evil or hurt, plus he could be anywhere.' Cisco said, snorting.
'No, I don't mean Barry. He'll come back on his own time. I mean Savitar.' Everyone looked at him strangely, but he continued. 'We need to know more. How he was created, so we can stop that happening to my son.' Nobody could come up with an argument, so they all moved down to the pipeline, Joe moving his son along, helped by Cisco as his tears made it somewhat difficult to see.
When they arrived, Cisco moved forward and selected Savitar's cell, opening the blast door as they saw the hand-cuffed meta slowly eating a burger. His scar was distinct, but what drew them more was his eyes, cold as ice. The Evil Barry stopped halfway to his mouth, looking at them in some sense of surprise.
'Yeeesss? Can I help you?' Evil Barry drawled, setting down his food and sitting, legs facing outwards, back to the inside of the cell and lights brightening up his face.
'How did you get made? How did my son turn into this?' Joe immediately spoke, analyzing his body movements. Savitar just laughed.
'Really? You have to ask?' Everyone just slowly nodded. 'It was you, all of you betrayed me. Even Caitlin.'
'How? We'd never betray Barry.' A quick look sent Cisco a step back, a bit shocked by the rage on the fallen foe's face, one that they normally saw happy and smiling.
'My version was a time remnant, left over from dozens that all fell to my hand, future me's hand, and everybody blamed me for Iris's death, Barry most of all. But that wasn't it. Wasn't what sent me over the edge. No, it was seeing how all of you treated future Barry. As if he was a failure.' Savitar now stood up, slamming on the glass. 'That was why I did what I did! To show him how petty and fickle all of you are! You blame him for Flashpoint, for losing Dante, but you forget what he lost!' Everyone was stunned.
'But what he had wasn't real, and it was his immaturity and unwillingness to get over his parents death that caused all of this.' Julian spoke now, and Savitar laughed.
'I always forget how much of an asshole you are, Albert. No, it was all real. He could have easily lived in the pleasant timeline, Wally was a speedster, he could have healed, eventually. His parents were alive, a budding relationship with Iris, even Cisco and Caitlin were at the possible beginning of a team. But he didn't want to lose these experiences, this world, especially since none of you got a voice.' Savitar paused.
'Then he had to go back and watch his mother die. After that, he faces all these things as a result and with how he treats himself and any mistakes by those close to him… well, you all already know.' Everybody silently nodded, aware that Barry was one to keep all his grief to himself, allowing it to consume him as he carried the weight of the world, blaming mistakes, even those he could have done nothing about, on himself.
'In the end, I am your fault. All of your faults. Barry, the one Oliver praises as the greatest Hero of this earth, became evil because you drove him to it. Even now, I've won. My victory, my goals achieved. He'll never treat you the same again, and one day, it will drive him to kill. Even if it's the worst villain he'll ever face, he'll kill them directly some day. And then… then, Savitar will be born again.' Now, he slowly raised his arms, as if asking for praise.
'I am Inevitable.' With that, Cisco sent the cell away, tired of the Villains antics. Closing the pipeline, they all slowly moved back to the Cortex, then separating as Joe and Wally went to grieve, H.R. to distract himself as much as possible, Julian to contemplate, and Cisco to sit there, stunned.
»»—««
'Caitlin.'
A low voice woke Killer Frost from her sleep, as she slowly moved, staring out at the darkness that encapsulated the hallway. Try as she might, she couldn't see anything.
'Who's there?'
'You betrayed me.' Her eyes widened, as she scrambled to stand, looking around but still failing to spot who was speaking.
'Barry? Is that you?'
'Why didn't you come to me? Ask for help?' Caitlin's eyes hardened.
'I did, and you didn't.' A large slam was heard, with a dent appearing in the shape of a fist several inches into the cell.
'When it was too late! Your mother told you the more you used your powers the more permanent it became! If you just trusted me from the beginning, we might have stopped any of this from happening! You betrayed us, Frost, and I don't know if I can ever trust you again.' Shock overcame her, as she stood there, allowing the consequences of her actions to wash over. Slowly, the paleness left her skin and hair, returning to their normal colour.
'Barry, please…'
'You knew Savitar killed Iris, but instead of helping us, you let her die. Goodbye, Caitlin.' The cell was pulled back to the wall as the blast door shut, Frost slamming on the glass and screaming at him to hear her out.
But the Scarlet Speedster wasn't going to listen. Slowly, he pulled on his mask with his left hand, the right mangled and broken, carried in a makeshift splint. Speeding off, he went to Starling City, intent on speaking with the one person who could help him.
As he ran, everything went over in his mind. A thousand thoughts whirring through it, and everything just came to one conclusion.
Why?
Why did Savitar kill Iris, why did he betray the Team, what did he mean by 'he'd understand about Caitlin?' Was what he said about her powers true? It was all too much, and eventually it cost him as he tripped and fell into the concrete.
Carefully picking himself up, a mugger pulled a gun on him. Before their mouth even opened, Barry had thrown away the weapon, put on cuffs and placed him in the SCPD, back on path to reach the Arrow cave.
Entering the code, the Scarlet Speedster grabbed Oliver, who was sitting down at a computer, taking him off to the coast. There, Barry sat, staring out across the ocean as his friend, the one who'd never wavered in his support, regained his bearings.
After, the man slowly walked over, looking across the sea as well. Sitting down, he gave silent support to the Hero, who wondered where he stood now. Whales jumped from the ocean, birds diving down and taking fish from the dark, freezing waters.
'I didn't save her.'
Oliver sighed, before grabbing Barry in a one-armed hug and pulling him close, hugging the man as he cried into his shoulder, tears leaking into Arrow's shirt, silent ones falling into his friend's hair as well.
They stayed like that the entire night, silent support given until the speedster fell asleep, as the vigilante watched over him, giving what he would have wanted when Laurel died.
»»—-««
Dunno if i'll expand on it later or not. I'd have to plan it out first, similar to BF after 10 chpts. R&R, Plz!