22
Savitar vs. Team Flash
A/N: Warning, slight descriptions of gore in this chapter.
The moment Cadence saw the wind blowing through the CCPD, she had a feeling she knew what was going on. It wasn't just that it was a speedster, that much was obvious by the way things suddenly moved. She didn't have a sense of Flash Time—or speedster perception—as they were calling it, but everything seemed to move in slow motion when the wind blew around her. Then she noticed the color of the flash of light that shot by her. She'd been around Barry long enough to become a master of everything speedster. (Especially, having her hair whipped out of her face enough times to almost permanently tie her hair back when she was around him). She was so in-tune with everything speedster that her eyes became trained to every slight movement, every slight thing out of place in every room she was in.
The color of the flash of light was out of place. Barry's was yellow, the Reverse-Flash's was red, Trajectory's was blue, bordering on white, Zoom's was blue, Jesse's was an orange-yellow, Wally's was yellow, the Rival's was red. As far as she knew, no one else had a lighting streak a pure white. (There also weren't any green, purple, or black as far as she knew—save for the Black Flash, depending on whether he was considered alive). It was that first thought that came to her head, trying to decipher what she was—or rather wasn't—seeing. Her second thought was an immediate need or help.
If whatever metahuman was able to move that fast, able to grab Barry without anyone seeing, they were going to need help. Intuitively, she knew it was Savitar. It was the same scenario she'd seen before. When she and Brady were saying goodbye to Conner. Savitar had grabbed him then, they should've known he'd come back sooner than they'd expected.
Within the few seconds of those thoughts, Cadence turned on her heel and teleported. She streaked after Barry's wiggling form. Held up in thin air, a wobbly marionette trying to break from its strings. Every now and then she used her powers as a means of jet propulsion to get ahead of the thing that was carrying Barry around. She couldn't see what it was, but knew it was large, taking up a lot of space. Nevertheless, it wasn't too big to knock down any of the cars it blasted between as they raced down the streets. A man but taller.
Cadence teleported ahead of Barry's body and spun in a quick arc. The ground cracked open, and a wave of magma shot out from the ground and back towards the direction Barry came. As if his strings were jerked, Barry was suddenly tossed high into the air before being caught again.
"Fuck!" Cadence murmured under her breath.
She landed on the ground and arched herself around, following as Barry was dragged away again. Finally, whatever had a hold of Barry stopped at the waterside plaza and flung him to the ground. Nearby citizens looked up and screamed as they saw him picked up once more and held high above the ground. They didn't know what it was, couldn't see what was attacking, but knew if it looked weird, a meta had to be behind it. They didn't want to be around when a meta was attacking.
Barry gasped in pain, bringing his hands up to release the pressure on his throat. Anger and humiliation bore through him. Again. Again, Savitar was making a fool of him. He could run at incredible speeds and wiggle Barry around like a worm on a hook. He wasn't going to let that happen, not when he'd been through it twice. First with the Reverse-Flash and then with Zoom. Both speedsters had given him a thrashing he hadn't seen coming, hadn't been able to fight back against as they took away the only tings that were closest to him.
This time, he wouldn't let it happen.
Lightning flashed trough Barry's eyes. Still, he gasped, trying to keep his throat from closing completely. Focusing, Barry phased, dropping from Savitar's grasp to the ground. Savitar chuckled, dropping his hand to his side, not moving to stop him. Barry super speeded backwards, collapsing at Cadence's feet as she grabbed his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" She asked, taking a protective stance over him.
Still coughing, Barry nodded. His chest, lungs burned with effort for peace. A calm washed over him, and Barry was back on his feet, he healed fast. His anger, his determination to stop Savitar drove him faster. Barry clenched his hands into fists and glanced at Cadence. She nodded back and the two started towards Savitar once more.
A brilliant blue beam shot out and struck them in the chest, knocking the two to the ground. Cadence gasped as landed hard on her back, hard enough that her legs flew up and her body folded over, threatening to knock her heels overhead. Her feet slammed hard to the ground and she followed the momentum to sit up once more.
Alchemy stood in front of Savitar, holding up a gloved hand from beneath his cloak, the Philosopher's Stone glowing brightly in hand. "That was a grave mistake," Alchemy hissed, lowering his hand to his side. Savitar stood behind him, chest plate heaving up and down as he breathed. Otherwise, completely still.
"It's over, Alchemy," Cadence said, taking a step forward. Barry glanced at her. Did she not see the monster towering behind him as well?
"Over?" Alchemy let out a wheezing laugh, slowly lowering his hand. He shook his head, the long-beaked mask he wore catching the light of the sun that shone on them. "Poor, pitiful fools…" He lowered his chin, voice deepening as he did so. "You have no idea, what's about to begin."
Savitar lifted his foot and stomped it hard to the ground. The ground rumbled, threatening to pitch Barry and Cadence over. At that exact moment, Alchemy lifted his arm, swishing his cloak as he did so. Within that flurry of movement, Alchemy disappeared in the glow from the Philosopher's Stone. Savitar used that moment to start running once more. He ran in rapid circles around Barry. Instead of allowing himself to be sucked into chasing after him again, Barry tried a new tactic. He tried to follow Savitar's movements. Each time Barry moved his head, it had to be a violent, quick jerk of his head. His eyes weren't fast enough, even with the added perception. The flashes of light as they moved around. Moving faster, much faster than he'd ever managed before—
Savitar appeared in front of him, charged towards him. Arms pumping, he ran directly in front of Barry, a beeline to take the speedster down. Then Barry noticed, too late, when Savitar moved, started to race towards him, that he was charging up a lightning throw. Barry's eyes drifted down, seeing the lightning gather around Savitar's hands that increased in size as the seconds passed. When Savitar was close enough, he threw his arms forward.
There was what looked like an explosion in front of him. Then Barry felt his body completely stiffen, like a board. His arms clamped to his sides, teeth clenched so hard he was sure they'd crack, he lost all cognizant thought. A guttural scream escaped his lips. Suddenly, he was back in his lab, sulking as he missed the Particle Accelerator explosion. He was back in the lab, holding a metal chain in his hand, a conductive property, looking skyward as there was a loud boom of thunder. He was back screaming in pain, hand clamping down around the metal chain link, unsure of what he could do to make it end.
Then, just as what happened years before, the energy became too great and Barry was blasted off his feet, to the ground. Savitar quickly advanced on him and crouched, pressing his palm against Barry's chest. In his weakened state, Barry could feel his bones creak with the force of pressure. Barry's eyes shifted towards Cadence, who stood next to him, gaping in shocked surprise as the speed of which Barry had been hurt.
Barry's body slammed to the ground, unable to move his arms to break his fall. He felt and heard his head crack against the ground, knowing he was going to be in for a doozy of a concussion before his healing kicked in. Barry lay on the ground, sore all over, mentally demanding himself to get to his feet and fight off Savitar. He knew it was impossible. It was the second time he'd been struck by lightning, this one even more horrifying and real, coming from a speedster hell bent on killing him.
"Attack him," Barry gasped. Finally gaining control of his body once more, Barry rolled to his side, grabbing his arms in his hands. He violently shook, body seizing as his muscles clenched and unclenched, working hard to stave off the electricity that continued to course through his veins. "Flare, attack at him."
"I don't see…" Cadence started. Then she shook her head and thrust her arms forward. Fire encircled her arms in a brilliant display and enveloped the space in front of Barry. It wrapped around something, something invisible. A man's shape. "What?"
Cadence shrieked as she was grabbed by the back of the head, neck held firmly in place. She lifted her hands, struggling to reach what the grasp that had her. Her legs rapidly kicked back at forth, running on an invisible treadmill. Grunts escaped her lips; she lifted her legs in front of her and threw them down as hard as she could, a move like what Oliver working his way up the Salmon Ladder. Savitar tightened his grasp around Cadence's head, drawing blood from each puncture wound his clawed fingers created.
The fire metahuman immediately stopped moving at the feeling of blood. Her wounds couldn't heal with the claws in the way. Blood slowly trickled down her skin. She stifled the painful cry that threatened to break from her, but Barry could see it in her eyes. Could feel it in his heart, the utmost fear he'd ever felt in his entire life. His greatest fear, being the Flash, was people he loved being taken from him, their lives cut too short all because of him.
It'd happened twice before. It was happening again.
Savitar's face wasn't visible, but Barry could tell the speedster was smirking as he wagged Cadence back and forth. Much like dangling a treat in front of a dog. "Had enough?" He taunted.
Barry pushed back to his feet. "Not even close," he said. Then he was up and running, chugging his arms and legs, propelling himself to run as fast as he could. He had to catch Savitar off-guard. Had to find a way to be faster than him. But Savitar was faster. Every step Barry took, Savitar moved right in front of him. Savitar stopped Barry cold with a solid punch to the chest. Barry fell backwards and as he fell, Savitar shifted behind him and kicked him hard in the spine.
Thwack!
"Aaah!" Barry fell to his knees, writhing in pain. Something snapped, he could hear it, feel the lick of pain as it burned up his spine. On the verge of blacking out, Barry sucked in sharp breaths between his teeth. Hyperventilated. His lungs wouldn't fill up, he was choking. Savitar slowly walked towards him, continuing to keep his arm outstretched. Barry's eyes locked with Cadence. Her arms were still up, hands frantically clutching the invisible grasp behind her. Barry could see she her hands, flames flickering beneath her fingertips. They had no effect on the speedster's suit, wicking away within seconds. Then he saw her face.
Saw the intense fear she struggled—and failed—not to show. Saw the resignation. Understood in that moment she knew she was going to die and it filled her with more fear she could ever imagine. They'd been through many other skirmishes against metas and criminals without batting an eye. Not even Zoom had made her come to a complete stop.
No.
Sucking in a deep, heart wrenching breath, Barry stretched his hand out to her. He started to vibrate rapidly. If there was anything he could he could do—
A punch to the side of his head sent him reeling to the ground. Everything became muted, muffled, swayed and swirled as Barry fell. Darkness swirled around him to the ground. Savitar laughed a similar wheezing laugh Alchemy had before, tone for tone, the same lilt.
"Still alive down there?" Savitar taunted. He tightened his grasp around Cadence, making her cry out in pain. Barry was utterly helpless as he looked up at Savitar. "You are only a shadow beneath my throne, you are the past where as I…I am the future, flash."
Teachers and staff, get your students to safety. This is not a drill. There are reports of a dangerous metahuman nearby. At this moment, the school is on lockdown. Take your students and get them away from windows and doors. Do no open the door for anyone until the all clear is given.
Brady looked up from his school book. Despite how happy he was to finally stop listening to Cheryl Ladd's not-so-modest explanation of how she didn't deserve a 'D' on her last math test and that their teacher was stupid, he frowned. Their school never had lockdowns before. Not even when their school had been attacked by metas. Though they'd done enough fire drills to last him a lifetime.
It must've been something new they added to the school. Between Leah being controlled by Grodd and students suddenly awakening to their powers, there weren't many opportunities for the school board to make any more mistakes with their students. Not to mention how many times they'd had to rebuild parts of the school. The school board must've worked over the summer—or the months he'd been gone—to put the lockdown in place, he realized. His second thought, was that if there was a lockdown for a nearby meta, it had to be something big.
Exchanging a glance with Leah, who stood nearby at her locker, Brady made a quick decision. Teachers from nearby classrooms waved their hands, trying to get their students' attention to get them into their classrooms. The hallways were so crowded with passing students that no attention was paid to the teachers. Students weren't panicking yet, but there were enough of them that pulled out their phones, trying to figure out what was going on.
Brady took his time, throwing his books into his locker and slamming the door shut. His mindset quickly shifted from Brady the student's to Shadowhunter's. He needed to get out to whatever threat was going on and help Barry and his mom stop them. And he needed to do it when the best opportunity arose. If he knew anything about lockdown drills, they worked the same way. It was only a matter of time until the lights flipped off, then he could use it to make his escape.
"What are we going to do?" Leah asked, sidling up to Brady's side, making her way through slow moving students.
Brady glanced at her over his shoulder? "We?" he repeated.
"We're working together, right?" Leah asked earnestly.
"What was that?" Leah asked. She pulled her hair behind her ear and glanced at Brady, who walked over to the area they had just fought in. He grimaced, seeing the person sized dent in the car door that stood ajar.
He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away sweat. He shook his head. "I have no idea" Brady finally replied. "A meta, obviously but…what kind of meta?"
Leah shrugged, folding her arms. "A glass meta? They can control all kinds of glass to their whim?" It was a pretty good guess, but Brady didn't think so for sure. If he was a glass meta, he would've done something else to prove it. Create his own glass, manipulate all the glass in the area. Fix the car so that it didn't appear to be broken before he let? From what Brady could see, looking around at the other cars, all the sideview mirrors were broken.
No, that couldn't be it. "But he didn't control it, just used it to transport himself," Brady murmured. He scratched the back of his neck. "At least he's gone, I can tell Barry and my mom about it later." He glanced towards the soccer game, realizing there wasn't much time for him to get back. "Thanks for having my back."
"Of course," Leah replied as if it were obvious. As if she were saying, 'who else is going to have it?'. Then her face fell for a moment. "If we're going to keep watch of everything, then we have to look out for each other, right? Besides, if it weren't for you, I probably would've been thrown in the pipeline by now. Or…" she sighed. "Kicked out or something."
Brady nodded. "You going to be okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine." She regarded the cuts on her hands and knees. "Nothing that can't easily be fixed.
"Right," he agreed. "First, we need to figure out what sort of meta they're going up against." He blinked when Leah practically flattened his nose with how quickly she shoved her phone into his face. Breaking news. For a moment, Brady read it, then whipped his own phone out. No. No way. It only took his internet tab opening to see the breaking news coming straight from Central City. A CCPD CSI had been kidnapped from the precinct in a flash of light, by an invisible abductor. And Flare, going to save the CSI, was now being thrashed by the same invisible force.
Brady had seen it happen once before and it was the same entity they were constantly worrying about. Savitar. Fear stabbed through him so quickly, Brady wondered if it was how Barry and his mother felt every time they went into the field. Bravely, he pushed her phone away and said. "Let's go. We'll go to STAR Labs and see if they have any ideas."
"Of how to stop a speedster?" Leah asked. "Isn't that what the cold gun was for?"
"Yeah, but with this speedster, we'll need something more than that."
The lights snapped off. Students screamed and started to run. Brady too that opportunity to start running in the opposite direction of the students, Leah close behind him. "What are we supposed to say when we get back?"
"That we were in the nurse's office," Brady replied. He skidded around a corner and flattened himself against a wall as more students streamed by, pushing each other into nearby classrooms. "Or in the bathroom. It doesn't matter as long as it's believable."
Leah frowned. "This is what we need Conner for."
"Tell me about it."
Brady grabbed Leah's wrist and blended the two into the shadows of the darkened hallway before phasing through the wall.
Caitlin hesitated only for a second before she raced back in the direction she came. Julian nearly ran into her, coming from his office. He grabbed her shoulders, stopping short of knocking her to the ground.
His eyes searched hers. "What's going on? What'd you do?"
Caitlin's mouth opened and closed, but she didn't respond. Couldn't. Fear and trepidation took her over. It was Savitar. Savitar was attacking, and he'd gotten Barry. There was nothing they could do but wait. Waiting was the hardest game to play. Then she zeroed in on what Julian had demanded.
What did you do?
"I…I…"
Julian's grasp tightened on Caitlin's shoulders. "Speak, you bloody meta!" He spat.
She heard that loud and clear. He really thought she'd done something to her best friend. He really thought she was someone who would willingly want to hurt someone. She couldn't blame him, honestly, but to take it that far? No, she wasn't going to have it. Caitlin lifted her hands and grasped Julian's wrists. She didn't use her powers or an excess of force against him. Nevertheless, she could see the fear in his eyes when she grabbed him.
"Let go," she said slowly, quietly. She wasn't sure if Killer Frost's voice had come from her mouth, but the way Julian released her meant she had done something. Or else he understood how serious she was. The moment his hands left her shoulders, Julian side-stepped her and raced toward the bullpen and into the chaos of the officers racing to get together to save Barry.
Caitlin, in turn, went to Julian's office and whipped out her phone. She speed-dialed Cisco and barked into the phone as soon as he answered. "Open a breach! Get me back to STAR Labs."
"What? Why? What's going on?"
"Now, Cisco!"
The second she hung up, a breach opened in the lab and Cisco leapt through, grabbed her, and the two leapt back to STAR Labs. The second they landed, she went to the computers and dropped into a chair, pulling her hair back behind her ears. "Savitar's got Barry," She explained, rapidly throwing her fingers across the keyboard keys.
"What?" Cisco gasped.
Caitlin nodded. "Cade's gone after him. We need to track them down before something happens to them." She pulled up a chart to lock on Cadence's GPS settled in her suit. She and Cisco watched as Cadence rapidly followed something back and forth across the city before coming to a sudden stop. "This isn't good."
"Let me bring up a surveillance," Cisco said. He sat next to Caitlin and leaned over his own computer screen. It took only a few moments to tap into the surveillance cameras around the arena. A low murmur escaped his lips when he saw Barry get kicked to the ground by something invisible, then punched hard across the face. "Oh God, it has to be Savitar."
Caitlin shook her head. "I still can't see anything."
"Neither can I."
"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there," HR's voice behind them made them jump. Caitlin leaned forward, placing her face in her hands while Cisco whirled around to yell at him for scaring them. HR lifted his eyebrows curiously, holding a mug tightly in his grasp. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. I really wanted to go for that mysterious mentor vibe thing. But it appears that I need to work on my timing a bit more." Cisco continued to stare at him. "What?"
"We're a little busy here, HR!" Cisco pointed out. "Our friends are probably going to be killed and you're just trying to act like our mentor?"
"Well, Harrison—your real mentor, not that Eobard Thawne fellow—and his lovely wife Tess have seemed to leave everything in STAR Labs up to you guys. And, as a team member who is trying to figure out the best place on this team, I felt it was time for me to step into the rightful place as a mentor." HR lifted his finger. "And, in doing that, I got you guys some help." With that, there were two streaks of light as Wally and Jesse suddenly appeared at his side. "Whoa!" HR's eyes blue eye shone with mirth. "Wow, I…I didn't plan that. We…did not have that planned but it worked out perfectly!"
"What's going on?" Wally asked as he and Jesse hurried to Caitlin's and Cisco's sides.
"HR paged us," Jesse added. "We came as soon as we could."
Continuing to bask in his glory, HR motioned to the two with his drumstick. "There's that's great timing again. I mean, you can't plan something like this!"
"HR!" Caitlin and Cisco cried in unison, making the older man jump and fall silent. Caitlin took a breath and addressed the speedsters as calmly as she could. "There's something attacking Barry. We can't see him, only speedsters can. You have to go out there and stop it."
"What is it?" Wally asked.
"Savitar," Caitlin said. She explained everything she'd seen at the CCPD when Barry was taken. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut, hearing Jesse ask the question she was dreading. 'What was she doing at the CCPD?'. Under everyone's curious gaze, Caitlin knew she had to tell the truth. She couldn't live with herself if something happened because of her actions.
She couldn't keep secrets. Not from her friends. Not form the people she loved. Not from her family. There weren't many people who enjoyed being around her. She'd been called cold, frosty, smug, arrogant, better than other people, thought of as an ice princess, a jerk, a loner, more than she could ever imagine was possible to be misread. Her mother had thought the same of her, even when she had gone back to see her, when asking for help in understanding her powers. Her true family, Team Flash, knew differently.
They would understand.
They wouldn't hold it over her.
"I went to the CCPD to see Julian," Caitlin explained slowly, keeping her eyes lowered. Cisco looked at her so intensely that Caitlin was sure the right side of her face had burst into flames. "I went to ask him if he could help me."
"Help you how?" Jesse's eyebrows came together. She folded her arms over her chest. "What does he even have to do with anything? I thought Barry hated that guy."
"Hate is a very strong and accurate word," Cisco said with a tilt to his head. He spoke to Jesse but continued to keep his eyes on Caitlin. "He's not part of the team or anyone that we really talk to."
"Then I don't understand," Wally said slowly. "Why would Caitlin go see him?"
"Yes, Caitlin, why would you go see him?"
Caitlin lowered her gaze even further. "I thought he could help me get rid of my powers. So…I told him I was a meta." Shame and guilt filled her, and Caitlin shook her head. "I know it was stupid, Cisco, but I'm desperate. I need these powers gone. And, I thought he could help me."
"You thought Julian Albert who wants nothing more than to throw you in prison could help you?" Cisco repeated. He clenched his teeth. "If we weren't dealing with a homicidal speedster right now, I'd have some words for you, young lady!" Despite his humorous words making her smile, Caitlin knew he was furious.
She started to apologize once more, then stopped as Brady and Leah phased through the ground to stand in the middle of the Cortex. "Brady! What—?"
"We saw it was Savitar attacking and had to get here as fast as we could," Leah explained.
"If Barry couldn't stop him last time, we have to help him this time," Brady added.
Caitlin started to protest, but Jesse held up her hands. "We don't have time to argue about this."
"Jessica is correct," HR said, making Jesse make a face. "At the risk of being snapped at again, the only plan has to go into place. Right now, it looks like it's two against one," HR explained. "Or rather, considering Cadence's incapacitated state, one against one. But what if it was eight against one. Even three speedsters against one mega speedster should be enough, right? If Barry and Cadence are in as much danger as you said they are, you have to go now."
"Okay," Cisco said through gritted teeth, absolutely hating to admit anything HR said was right. "I'll open a breach." He reached for his goggles and slapped them onto his face. "But it may take some time before I get it right. Be patient with me."
Barry watched in dismay as Savitar edged closer to him. He wasn't sure how much more he could take. How much more he could watch Cadence dangled in front of him, how much more he could take being punched at kicked at blinding speeds. His healing made it easy to bounce back, much easier than anyone else would. If it were anyone else struck by him, one punch would kill them. Barry's healing made him experience every excruciating step leading up to death without dying.
Savitar seemed to be growing bored with his torture of Barry. He hadn't punched or kicked him within the last few minutes. No, instead he grabbed Barry, shook him around, then threw him as hard as he could, all the while laughing under his breath as he did so. When Barry would gain enough strength to attack Savitar once more, he would be knocked down. As if Savitar knew everything Barry was going to do before he did it. No matter what Barry tried, he found himself pummeled within the next few seconds.
"Do you give up, Flash?" Savitar asked, walking in a large circle around Barry. "Are you ready to admit defeat?"
Barry, kneeling on his hands and knees, shook his head. Blood dripped from his mouth and to the ground below him. He wasn't going to give up, not when there were too many people at stake. He had another trick up his sleeve. He'd only shown it once and hoped it'd work now. Barry eyed Savitar as he came closer to him each time he made a revolution. It had to work. "Not even close," Barry whispered, then spat on the ground.
Savitar stopped and looked at him. "Then let's speed things up a bit."
Lightning flashed through Barry's eyes. "I was hoping you'd say that." He got to his feet and started to run. Savitar charged after him. Barry ran in tight circles as fast as he could, with Savitar chasing right behind him. Fast enough to stay on Barry's heels, but not close enough to catch him. He watched, waiting to see what Barry was going to do.
And as Barry ran, he vibrated. He vibrated fast enough to make create speed mirages. As they ran, they created electricity as they did so, crackling, twisting, and turning up their bodies as they went. Savitar growled but continued to run after Barry. At the right moment, Barry skidded to a stop and threw a lightning bolt. The speed mirages did the same before sliding back into Barry. The lightning bolt struck Savitar, jolting through the metal of his suit, the other two bolts arching around the god-like speedster, striking the nearby light poles.
There was a low humming sound before Savitar was yanked off his feet and flung through the air. He moved so fast he lost his grasp on Cadence, dropping her hard to the ground. Savitar slammed into the light poles behind him, the excess magnetism causing the poles to bend around Savitar's suit, pinning him in place. Gasping for air, Barry grabbed Cadence's arm, hauled her to her feet.
"You okay?" He asked.
Cadence nodded. "Does being extremely angry count as being 'okay'?" she replied. Barry smiled a little. "I can't see this guy, but direct me where to go and I've got something ready for him." Flames flickered at her feet before swirling up her body until she was completely engulfed in flames. Barry directed her towards the bent light poles and took a large step back.
With her left hand, Cadence created a fire whip that she thrust forward to wrap around Savitar's neck, holding his head back, as he had done to her moments before. With the other hand, she clenched her hand into a shaking fist. A wisp of fire swirled off the fire whip and pinwheeled, creating a large circle of fire that continued to increase in size and intensity as the seconds passed. Finally, when it was at its biggest and brightest, she grasped the wheel in her hand, leaned back and lifted her feet off the ground. The force of the whip pulling back shot her forward faster than her jet propulsion or teleportation would bring her.
Twisting to the side, Cadence followed with the rest of her body and threw the flame wheel as hard as she could. It shot through the air and struck Savitar in the chest. Barry watched as his body arched from the strike, with Cadence following it up by driving her enflamed self into the spot with a solid ram of her shoulder. The force of the hit sent her flying backwards where she landed on her feet, shoulders heaving as she gasped for air, energy depleted from the strength of the attack.
And still, Barry watched as Savitar, covered in flames, writhed as he screamed. Guttural, mechanical, monstrous screams. His body jerked back and forth as the flames licked over his body, melting the light poles around him. Savitar dropped to the ground when the metal melted to a liquid, his growls slowly fading away. Barry's smile slowly faded as the color within Savitar's suit turned from a brilliant blue to a sunset orange.
"What?" Cadence asked, seeing the look on Barry's face. She continued to gasp for air, the fire previously surrounding her body gone.
It took a few seconds for Barry to figure out what was happening. His stomach dropped, his eyes widened with fear when he figured it out. It occurred to him just as Savitar lifted his head and trained his glowing orange eyes on the speedster and fire metahuman. He'd taken on Cadence's fire power to charge up his speed.
Barry started to shout a warning but didn't get the chance to take a breath. With even more blinding speed, Barry was slammed so hard to the ground with Cadence next to him, that he hadn't immediately noticed he'd been stabbed. It was Cadence's scream of pain that'd alerted him to it. He looked over to find her on her back, holding onto a piece of metal that stuck out her side. Hands slippery with blood, she tried to pull it out to heal, but was unable to move it too far. Barry then looked down at his own leg and found that he'd bene stabbed as well. The adrenaline must have dampened his pain sensors—he noticed he'd been stabbed the same place Caitlin had struck him before—he didn't feel any pain.
But he knew it would keep him incapacitated longer than he'd hoped. It took him hours to regrow the tendon last time, with the scar tissue surrounding it now, he wouldn't be able to run. The two were sitting ducks. Savitar's laugh of triumph proved he knew it was true as he grabbed Barry by the front of his sweater and hefted him up to his knees.
"I was hoping for a better fight," Savitar growled. He pulled his arm back, a spike sliding out the top of his hand with a low shlink sound. It extended up to Barry's Adam's apple, lightly pricking the front of his throat. One wrong move… "Say goodbye, Flash."
Barry closed his eyes, waiting for it. Savitar was impossible to stop. He had a counter for everything Barry could come up with. He lost.
A breach opened and Cisco, Caitlin, Brady, Leah, Wally, and Jesse all leapt out. Caitlin gasped as she looked around, finding Barry kneeling on the ground, teetering back and forth as if something were holding him up and Cadence lying on her side, continuously screaming in pain as she tried, in vain, to rip out the rebar form her stomach.
"Barry!" Cisco shouted. He teetered back and forth, holding the sides of his head. Having brought himself and a large group of people through a breach meant he needed to make a breach even larger than he had before lest he accidentally send someone to another Earth. All that excess power usage, of which he wasn't used to, hurt more than he thought. "God!" Blood started to trickle form his nose.
"I don't see anything," Caitlin fretted, eyes still scanning the area Barry was being held. She pulled back her hands and thrust them forward, covering the area with as wide of a sweep as she could make. Condensation twisted and flowed from her like clawing hands, looking for something to hold onto.
"Neither do I," Brady agreed. He threated his slingshot and let loose a light ammo. It illuminated the are once it hit the ground, but still didn't how what was holding onto Barry. It didn't show him specifically, but Brady couldn't help but gasp at the towering shadow illuminated from the speedster. "Does he have the power to make himself invisible?"
"Only invisible to those that aren't fast enough to see him," Cisco said. He looked to Caitlin. "Remember; Barry's powers make it that if he moves fast enough, he's unable to be seen. This guy must be moving twice or even three times as fast if only a speedster can see him."
"I see him," Wally gasped. Beside him, Jesse nodded. Her eyes were wide with fright. He swallowed hard, watching as Savitar's figure snapped his head up and glared at the new group that had arrived. "It's a speedster… a big one."
"Distract him, then!" Cisco barked, still grasping the sides of his head. "Get him away from Barry!"
"Yo!" Wally called. He brought his hands up to the sides of his mouth, making his voice project even further. "Metal mouth!" Savitar whipped around to face the two new speedsters.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you to pick on someone your own size?" Jesse called, bravely stepping up to Wally's side. "Or rather, your own speed?"
Savitar growled. "Speedsters," he mumbled. He clenched his hands into fists. "Jesse Quick and Kid Flash."
Wally held up his finger, dissatisfaction flashing over his face. "Okay, I'm not really liking Kid Flash. I mean, I just got my powers, don't we should have some time to come up with a nickname?"
Savitar ignored him. He lumbered towards the two before coming to an abrupt halt, the rush of wind threatening to knock the ground over. "You'll never win!" He sneered. "Bow to your God!" Savitar demanded.
Jesse and Wally looked at each other before racing towards Savitar. Unfortunately, Savitar saw it coming and charged towards them without hesitation. He moved faster than they expected, throwing Jesse and Wally around like rag dolls. He threw Jesse hard to the ground then turned back to Wally.
Wally tried to go forward but was caught around the throat by Savitar's tight grasp. Savitar threw Wally so hard to the ground that he created a crater that collapsed atop of him, sending dirt into the hole. Savitar then turned his attention back to Jesse, advancing on her. Suddenly, THWAM! Savitar fell face first to the ground, his sense of gravity suddenly increasing. Leah gritted her teeth as she worked hard to hold him down. Savitar's suit grinded together as he struggled to push himself upright.
Seeing her opening, Caitlin directed her attention to the human shaped depression in the ground and sent an icy wave over it. She gasped in surprise, seeing Savitar as her ice slowly formed against him. It crackled and hardened as the seconds passed, taking on his form. It didn't last, Savitar vibrated, shattering ice off him in seconds. With Savitar down, Brady pressed his hands together then pulled them apart, a glowing black orb shimmering between his hands.
Bringing his arm back, he threw the ball as hard as he could. It arched through the air towards Savitar. With a feat of strength, Savitar rolled onto his back then pressed himself back to his front. The darkened ball of energy connected with the ground he'd just been and swallowed it up. As the seconds passed, the energy ball became opaque before disappearing, revealing a hole in the ground so perfectly symmetrical it appeared to be carved out by an ice cream scooper. Savitar then flung out his arms, creating two large spikes that protruded from the top of his fists.
Leah gasped and clenched her fists even tighter, fingernails drawing blood. Savitar's arms slammed to the ground so hard the ground shook and yet he started to slither his way across the ground, working to get up. Wally and Jesse used their window of opportunity to throw themselves into running tight circles around Savitar. Coming to a stop, they threw lightning towards the god-like speedster, proving to hit him with correct aim.
Savitar laughed a malicious guttural laugh as he absorbed the electricity that was given to him. He lifted his arms from the ground, steadily got to his feet. He turned and lunged towards Leah, extending his spiked arm. Brady flung up his hands and created a protective barrier around the two as Leah screamed and turned her head away. With her concentration broken, Savitar's gravity was brought back to normal and he stood up quickly.
Wally and Jesse flung themselves towards Savitar, but he grabbed them, spun once, and slammed them back to the ground. Savitar walked towards them, each footstep shaking the ground as he went.
"Caitlin!" Cisco shouted. "Shoot him!"
Caitlin shook her head. "I can't! It didn't work last time!" She watched helplessly as Savitar continued to walk towards the speedsters, who lay prone on the ground. She looked down at her shaking hands. Fear consumed her. But fear consumed her friends, too. Every day they pushed that fear aside to help people. Too many of them had that been hurt. She couldn't sit back and do nothing. Standing up, Caitlin pulled back her hands and thrust them forward, unleashing a wave of ice so strong it felt as it if came directly from her veins.
The ice encircled Savitar's body, forming his shape, and hardened in seconds. But like he'd done before, Savitar started to vibrate, breaking off large chunks of ice that covered his body. Ice chunks scattered in all directions, knocking down light poles and shattering against the ground. Still, Caitlin continued to send as much ice towards Savitar as she could. The dance continued for a few long, tense minutes. Savitar would break through the hold Caitlin's ice had over him while Savitar would continue to break parts of himself free. Faster as the seconds passed.
Caitlin's knees shook as exhaustion rolled over her body. She could feel herself starting to weaken. She couldn't do it. Then Savitar screamed, twisting in the opposite direction. Caitlin gasped in surprise, watching as Savitar's metal slowly started to shine a molten orange, seconds before rapidly cooling down and become covered in ice once more. Cadence stood on her knees sending waves of fire to Savitar's right side as Caitlin took control of her left.
Savitar burned and froze at the same time, simultaneously slowing down and speeding up his movements in ways that Caitlin had never seen before. Savitar writhed in pain, covered in enough flames that made him frantically move to smother them before he was completely covered in ice, holding him in place. Finally, the two elemental states became too much and there was an explosion. Catlin closed her eyes and turned away to shield her face from the explosion. She felt her body lift and flung aside from the shockwave.
She landed hard on the ground, skidding a few feet, the legs of her jeans ripping, stones and gravel digging into her skin as she went. When she stopped moving, Caitlin waited a few seconds before opening her eyes. All her friends were scattered around, slowly pulling themselves off the ground. Barry, however, was the last one to move. Even from where Caitlin lay, she could see him shivering, slowly bringing his hands up to his shoulders.
Cisco groaned quietly as he sat up. He ran a hand through his hair, picking out small pieces of rubble as he did so. "Oh God…" He rubbed his forehead. "We're all going to feel this tomorrow." Caitlin hurried to her feet. She went to Cisco and grabbed his arm, hauling him to his feet. His legs nearly buckled beneath him and she threw her arms around him, holding him up. "Ow! I'm going to feel this, too. I'm okay, Caitlin." And yet, he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her just as tightly as the two shook.
"Mom?"
Caitlin heard Brady's small voice and looked over to see the fire metahuman was standing, her goggled pulled down around her neck. She stood over Brady and Leah, checking their faces, arms, and legs for any injuries. "I'm okay, baby," she replied, the wounds on her face already healing. With that in mind, she took a step back and grabbed the rebar, pulling it out in on fell swoop, blood splattering to the ground as the wound immediately slid shut.
Pulling back from Cisco's grasp, Caitlin went and took stock of Jesse and Wally. They were okay as well, their metahuman abilities healing them quickly. The group when went to Barry, who continued to lie on the ground. Caitlin knelt by his side, pressing her fingers to his neck. A good, strong pulse.
Relief washed over her. Still, she had to ask, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Barry shivered. His eyes shifted over the faces in front of him, Caitlin could see him mentally count all of them before his body visible relax. He nodded, swallowed hard and said, "Just cold."
"So, after all that, we still don't know anything about Savitar," Cisco said, bringing his hair back behind him in a ponytail. He let out a large yawn. "But we know that using my powers on a large scale like that will nearly kill me, that Savitar can also siphon energy from a fire metahuman, and that, no matter what, he's going to kick our asses." He dropped into his seat at the computer desk and dropped his cheek into his upraised palm. "All in all, we still have no way to beat him."
"I guess the only thing we can do is just get faster," Wally said with a shrug. "There's only so fast he can be, right?"
"With the Philosopher's Stone, as far as we know, it can make him faster," Barry said. He lounged in his seat, gently twisting himself back and forth. "If he was able to give other people powers then he can probably make his better as well."
"So, what are we going to do?" Jesse asked.
"We'll have to wait," Cadence said. Perched on Barry's lap, with an arm around his shoulders, she rubbed her tired, burning eyes. It didn't help that the lights from the computer monitors seemed to be searing into her eyes as well. Even after healing from the fight, she had a major headache. She must've used more energy than she thought. "There's nothing else we can do. None of our equipment is fast enough to track down his movements."
"So, we just wait for him to come back and strike us down?" Brady asked, eyebrows furrowing together. "He's done that twice now, are we supposed to wait for him to do a third or fourth?" He gestured towards Caitlin and Cisco. "Can't you find some of his DNA or something? Maybe he left something on mom or Barry? Or where we fought."
Caitlin shook her head but remained silent. Cisco opted to take up the explanation. "His suit was sealed tight. If there was anything I could use to vibe, I'd do it. But we have nothing. We don't have the philosopher's stone, we don't have a piece of his suit, we don't even have anything of Alchemy."
"Well, what about Wally?" Leah suggested. "Alchemy was talking to him, right? What if you vibed through him?"
Now Cisco shook his head. "When I vibe through other people, I can only see things that pertains to them and, potentially, their future. Maybe, sometimes, their past. I can't vibe him through Wally. Just like I couldn't vibe Zoom through Barry or Barry trough Zoom when he was on Earth-2."
Brady's shoulders slumped in frustration. Barry noticed and said, "Guys, don't worry about it. Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure this stuff out, it's just going to take longer than we thought."
"We should be getting you back to school anyway," Cadence said. She stood up, dropping her arm from around Barry's neck. "I'll think of a good excuse on the way. Something tells me that they won't believe me when I say they were out fighting that meta that put them on lockdown." She held out her arm, motioning for Leah and Brady to follow her.
Barry leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "Hey, I know you guys really meant well to help. But I don't want you to leave school whenever any of this happens," he said. "I don't want you to be in any more danger than needed to handle these guys."
"We really helped you today," Brady protested.
"You did," Barry agreed. "You helped us a lot. But with Savitar and Alchemy out there, it's not safe for you guys to get in the middle of this. Your school is already watching you guys carefully and then there's the city lockdown."
Brady turned on his heel and looked Barry in the eye. "You're not my dad, Barry," he said slowly, firmly. Then, with a shake of his head he backed away and said, "…and at this rate you'll never be."
Barry started to follow him then stopped. He looked at Cadence who shook her head. "I'll talk to him," she promised. "He's just upset about this whole thing; first being told he still needs training then not to help. Try not to take it too personally."
Easy for you to say, Barry thought. She only had one thought as to why Brady would suddenly be averse to taking Barry's advice. Why the comment he'd made stung so much. Nevertheless, he knew Brady was right. He really had been dragging his heels lately. Barry watched them leave before addressing Caitlin, who had been very quiet since returning. Cisco had told him what she said.
"We understand why you did it, Caitlin," he quietly reassured her. "The rest of us…had we thought we had no other options, we might've done the same thing."
Caitlin shook her head. "No, you wouldn't. You've had your powers for years now. You've embraced them." Her words lowered to a whisper. "I just can't."
"I know you didn't have powers before I created Flashpoint. That none of these guys had powers before I created Flashpoint." He motioned to Wally and Jesse, then laser-guided his focus onto her once more. Made sure he kept her gaze. "But you had to have known there was a chance. You were here when the Particle Accelerator went off. You had the same amount of dark matter in you as everyone else and had the chance to change. Maybe, there's a reason you got these powers?"
"To become evil?"
"Being evil is a choice, Caitlin. It's not your future, I know it's not." Barry squeezed her hand then stood up, stretching his arms. "I'm going to go on a run, clear my head a little. Maybe figure something out while I'm out there."
"Are you sure?" Cisco asked with a lift of his eyebrow. "You just got wrung around like Ragdoll today. Are you sure you want to go out there again? What if he's targeting you? Waiting for it to happen?"
"Do you want us to come with you?" Jesse asked.
"Yeah, maybe get some training in?" Wally added eagerly.
"No, you guys definitely got a lot of training done today," Barry said. "I'll be fine. You guys just stay here, and I'll be back in twenty minutes." He stretched his arms. "And it's not like you can't track me wherever I'm going. And if I head up to Canada I'll bring you guys back some maple sugar candy." With that, he lifted his foot and when he placed it on the ground, he zoomed out of STAR Labs like a bolt of lightning.
And for the next twenty minutes, Barry ran at a leisurely pace. At just the right speed that would make his mind go blank, that'd give him the chance to just enjoy running for what it was. Turn for turn he slowly went faster and faster. He chugged along, just making it to Canada and turned around, heading back to Central City when it happened.
A breach opened in front of him and, before he could slow down or stop, Barry charged inside. He skidded to a stop, twisting around when he saw he was back in Central City. That's impossible, Barry thought. I wasn't moving fast enough. He'd gone through a breach. He had to be on a different Earth. Maybe Earth-2. No, nothing had a golden hue to it like he'd seen before. But, it was still Central City.
In other legal news, the highly publicized trial of Jared Marillo, aka Plunder, has come to a close. Barry followed the newscaster's voice to the Live CCPN feed box that had been set up the year before. A woman looked seriously at the screen as she continued with her newscast. Marillo was found guilty of grand theft and aggravated assault after he was caught by the Flash robbing the Central City Museum earlier this year.
"Don't!"
Barry heard a voice scream. It echoed around the alleyway he stood in. Lifting his eyes, Barry took notice of the street sign he stood under; the sign reading in bold letters INFANTINO STREET. He heard the voice scream again and recognized it immediately. It was his voice. Eyebrows furrowing, Barry followed the scream, moving at a fast-paced jog, running towards the front of the plaza. He stopped short, seeing the sight in front of him, seeing himself in front of him.
He, dressed in his Flash suit, slowly inched towards Savitar, who had a tight grasp on Iris's shoulder. Beside him, Killer Frost stood with an icicle pointed directly towards Cadence's—who was in her suit—heart, Flare holding onto a flaming sword pointed at Killer Frost as well.
"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Cadence and Iris. "Who will be saved?"
"No, no!" Flash cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Barry watched, mouth dropping open as he inched closer as well. His eyes darted around the arena, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. He looked closer at Killer Frost, noticing the blank look to her face. "Please, I'm begging you."
"Make your choice," Savitar declared.
"Don't do it, Barry," Iris bravely warned. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. "Don't worry about me."
"Please," Barry continued.
"Choose!"
"I can't!"
Savitar pulled his arm back. "You already have." And he thrust his arm forward, driving the spike directly through Iris's heart. Blood gathered on the tip of the blade and dripped to the ground as Iris's head lolled forward, her body falling limp. Savitar lifted his spike and flung his arm to the side, Iris's body slid off and dumped to the ground.
"No!" Barry yelled, squeezing his eyes shut. He turned, finding Killer Frost and Flare coming to their demise at that exact moment. He watched as the ice metahuman and fire metahuman shot forward at the same time. Both finding just the right opening. He watched as the spear of ice and the tip of the flame sword slid through each other like butter. Blood sprayed the air, in a wide sprinkler arc as the two made low groans and slumped over.
"NO!" The Flash raced over, kneeling over Killer Frost—Caitlin—pressing his violently shaking fingers to her neck. Dead. No pulse. Not even a chance. Then he moved to Cadence, hearing her gurgle and cough, blood spraying over her lips and chin. The Flash grabbed her and cradled her in his arms, tears sliding down his cheeks.
"No, no, no," he whispered, wheezed, gasping for air. "Cay. Cay! Stay with me." Barry shook her, Cadence's head lolling back and forth. Her eyelids fluttered, before her eyes focused on him. Barely focused. She didn't seem to recognize him for a second. Nevertheless, Barry managed a small smile despite noticing her healing not kicking in. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, voice hoarse. "You're going to be okay. We'll get you back to STAR Labs and…and…" his words died on his lips as he glanced at Killer Frost. Then he looked back at Cadence, whose breathing started to slow.
"Cay!" The Flash brought up his hand and ripped off his glove with his teeth. He ripped it off and gently stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "I love you, c'mon." He sucked in a deep breath, tears gathering on his chin, dripping onto her face. Washing away the blood. "Don't do this." He felt her body growing colder. "Don't do this, Cay. Please." He grabbed her hand and held it tightly in his before moving it to press against his cheek. Hoping it'd start their joint power. Maybe he could heal her. Maybe…
Her hand slid from his cheek and dropped heavily to the ground.
" Cay…don't…"
The Flash bent forward, howling in only the way a man could when he lost everything, his body violently racking with sobs.
Then Barry felt something on his shoulders, a hard tug, and he was suddenly back in the Cortex. Gasping for air, Barry frantically batted his hands towards whomever was attacking him. Then he heard Jay's voice demanding he calm down, that everything was okay. Barry sucked in a deep breath, fought to control himself. He looked up into Jay's calm, kind eyes, patiently waiting for his partner to regain composure.
"What…?" Barry gasped, bringing his hand up to his chest, surprised to find the chest of his shirt was wet, cheeks and chin dripping with tears. "W-What was that?"
Jay drew himself to his full height. Placed his hands on his hips. Took in a deep breath so slowly that Barry was able to count the time it took for him to exhale. Then, finally, he said with the utmost resignation, "That was the future, Barry."
A/N: I had so much fun with this chapter, you have no idea. Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed it as much. I mean, the entirety (sort of) of Team Flash went against Savitar and he still managed to thrash them! And considering what we and Julian know about Savitar, that certainly means something.
Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones. I update my story every Wednesday, if there's a time that I won't, a message will be posted on our twitter: DarkElements10. But also check out our tumblr: purple-and-red-ribbons.
Cheers,
-Riley
Review Replies
Ethan: I don't think killing Julian with kindness would ever work, honestly. He just had too much baggage and even when he's being nice, he's not used to it as much, so it ends up coming out wrong. Lol. Just a teeny bit early of the reveal of Savitar to Barry. But it won't be as long as the show, I promise.
DarkHelm145: A lot closer than you probably thought, honestly. ;)
Yummers: Caitlin will be okay, she just needs some time. Though in a different way I think she'll come to regret going to Julian for help.
Guest: I'm glad you're enjoying it. It's just going to get better as the story goes on.