37
He Worried
The relief Barry felt when he skidded to a stop in downtown Central City was brief. Seeing the familiar cities, reveling in that feeling of being home was torn apart the second he heard a loud roar behind him. His blood ran cold. Barry whipped around to see Grodd launch himself through the breach. He landed on the ground hard enough that it rattled the window panes of the buildings around them.
"What the hell?" Cisco breathed. "How'd he get through?"
"I don't think that's the part we need to worry about right now, Cisco," Caitlin cried. She held his arm tightly, the two backing away. They took each step tentatively, afraid to move too quick or Grodd would come after them first. "What are we going to do?"
Barry sucked in a sharp breath. Grodd's chest heaved. He lowered himself to his fists and started to walk towards the group, moving faster as the seconds passed. In only a few moments, he would be lumbering toward them. An unstoppable force that'd bowl them over in seconds. Knocking them around line pinballs in a machine. They had to move fast.
"Jay, get them out of here," Barry said quickly. His mind raced with a game plan. The sooner he could get Harry, Cisco, and Caitlin away from Grodd and back to STAR Labs, the better. Speedster's minds moved too fast for Grodd to get into it and control them and Cisco's and Caitlin's powers were too helpful for Grodd. He wasn't quite sure how far of a reach Grodd had with his powers. As long as they had the equipment from STAR Labs, they could give themselves a sort of barrier to keep from being taken controlled. "We'll take on Grodd, slow him down a little.
Jay nodded, carefully lowering Cadence to the ground. She nodded her thanks to him before he disappeared in a flash of light, whisking Cisco, Caitlin, and Harry along with him after a few passes. The others immediately turned to Grodd. Within a few seconds, he was on them.
Barry and Jesse zipped aside and around Grodd, coming up on his back. Grodd tried to stop himself and turn around but was cut off by a strong punch to the side of his face courtesy of Cadence, who used the punch to place herself solidly on the ground.
"Barry, I've never been so glad to see you," Iris's voice said over his Comm. Link.
Barry pressed a finger to the lightning bolt in his ear. He focused on Iris's voice, realizing quickly that while she said she was glad to see him, her words didn't sound very excited or relieved. No, she sounded nervous. Worried. "What's going on?" He asked.
"Other than Grodd being back here in Central City?" Iris asked, sounding more than stressed. "Brady and Wally went to stop a bank robbery. But something's gone wrong. Brady's stopped moving."
Cadence's head immediately whipped up. Jesse glanced at her, she looked to Grodd as he slowly and angrily brought himself back to his feet from where he landed after Cadence's punch. "What happened?" She asked. Jesse hadn't spent much time with Brady since spending a lot of her time on Earth-1, typically she was with Wally. But knowing he was her nephew on her Earth, she certainly felt something for him.
"I don't know," Iris said. "He kind of froze."
"I'm getting a strange reading," Caitlin's voice broke in. "I don't see anything there, but there's a very strong energy manifestation we're tracking. We can't see the source, but something's there."
Cadence's hand immediately clenched into a fist. "It's Breathtaker," she remarked. She hardly got the words out of her mouth before she was suddenly struck by a swirling vortex. A cry of surprise escaped her lips as she whipped aside, crashing into a parked car beside her. She flipped around, looking up in time to see Stratos appearing before her, wind tugging at his clothes.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Stratos said with a low chuckle. "But this isn't anything that can wait any longer. I hope you understand."
Cadence flipped back to her feet and tackled Stratos, wrapping her arms around his midsection, teleporting the two away. Barry closed his eyes and turned away. First Grodd and then the Assassination Bureau. What else could go wrong?
"Flash!"
Barry looked to Jesse, who called his name. She looked at him, waiting for the go-ahead to start attacking, simultaneously warning him danger was heading their way. Grodd was already lumbering back toward him. His nostrils flared.
/You haven't won yet, Flash./ Grodd growled. /Gorilla kind will come to take its revenge./
"Not while I'm around," Barry replied. He took off with Jesse right behind him, running at full tilt toward the sentient gorilla.
Grodd lifted his fists and slammed them to the ground. The resulting shockwave broke the glass of the windows around them. Barry and Jesse weaved back and forth across the street, working to keep from getting caught by the shards of glass falling around them. Grodd then followed it up with a stop of his feet. That shockwave caught Barry and Jesse off-guard. It was obvious within running that it was important for the feet to touch the ground. To ensure sprinters were able to move as quickly as possible, they never planted their feet firmly to the ground, they used the balls of their feet to continue the explosion of power that sent them forward.
Due to that, Jesse and Barry—any speedster really, were at a disadvantage to anything that'd take their feet out from under them. So much so that the rolling of the ground tripped up the speedsters, sending them head over heels, bowling towards Grodd. Grodd smirked and grabbed Jesse by the legs. He lifted her high in the air and threw her back to the ground. Then he turned to do the same to Barry, his arms dangling overhead like a rag doll.
Lightning burst onto the scene as Jay raced by. He threw lightning into Grodd's face, making the monstrous gorilla wince away, dropping Barry. Barry fell to the ground, but Jay caught him by the shoulder, raced to Jesse to grab her, then raced back across Central City to STAR Labs.
/Not finished yet./ Grodd stared after them. /More where that came from./
Cadence used her fists to hold Stratos against the side of the concrete wall. She repeatedly punched him in the stomach and across the face. Stratos took each punch, deflected it by turning his head each time she came toward him. Cadence continued to wail against him. She couldn't use her powers, not yet. Not when she knew that either of them would be at a great advantage and disadvantage.
It was probably why Stratos was always the one tasked with attacking her. He'd recruited her easily enough into the Assassination Bureau. He wouldn't be the one to stop until he took her out for good.
Finally, Stratos conjured a gust of wind that caught Cadence in the stomach, propelling her off him. She crashed into the wall behind her. Landing in a crouch. Stratos rushed towards her. His feet barely touched the ground, keeping himself in a slight hover as he moved across the ground toward her. Cadence saw him coming and moved quickly,
She placed her hands on his shoulders and leap-frogged over his head. She charged to the alley wall across from her, sensing Stratos turn around behind her. She continued to run straight toward it, planted her foot on the wall, and started to run up it. She flipped herself over and kicked Stratos int eh back, sending him face first into the wall. Stratos turned back to the fire metahuman, glaring.
Blood ran down his nose, stretching around his mouth to drip off his chin. With a hiss, he spat a mouthful of blood to the ground. He charged back toward Cadence seconds before getting a fire whip wrapped around his neck. Not one that'd kill him, the flames weren't very hot; enough to make him sweat, but not nearly enough to burn him. Warm. A warning.
Stratos brought his hands up to the whip, trying to wedge his fingers beneath it and pry it off his neck. Retaliated by teleporting to the top of the nearby fire escape, dragging Stratos along with her. She pulled harder and harder on the end of the fire whip, watching Stratos's face slowly turn red as the seconds passed. His gurgling increased, fingers feebly trying to release the pressure from his neck. Cadence watched him for another minute then let go.
Stratos dropped heavily to the ground, sucking in lungfulls of air. Cadence teleported down to him, pressing her foot to his side and pushed him into his back. Stratos glared up at her. He moved to attack with his hands, but Cadence stepped on his wrist, grinding it to the ground. Even without his hands, there were ways he could use his powers. Spinning his legs, Stratos created an updraft that made his legs lift and snap him upwards.
The sudden movement knocked Cadence off. Stratos hovered on a wind draft below him, gently bringing him back to his feet. Fire flickered through Cadence's eyes. She flung her hands aside, flames appearing up her arms. She may not have killed Solovar, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to kill Stratos before he got the chance to get to her.
Something was off.
He was making things too easy for her.
They'd fought many times over the years. Breathtaker had forced them to fight each other to near death when she first joined the Assassination Bureau. She still remembered the ease of which he'd managed to rip the air from her lungs with only a 'come here' motion of his index finger. Other things he could do without moving a body part. She'd certainly grown stronger over the past couple of years, but to the point where things were that easy? Definitely not.
Their last battle had been even more difficult. And that was just as a means to show they could get to her whenever they wanted.
Shards of glass flew across the office, sticking into chairs and the wall, the wind flattening the innocent civilians to the ground. With another pump of wind, Cadence was knocked through the open hole in the window. She rolled across the floor, crashing into office chairs and desks as she went before finally crashing into the wall behind her. She glared, flipping her hair out of her face when Stratos, with a jet stream, let himself into the whole he created. He stood above Cadence, folding his arms and studied her.
It had been a hard-fought battle, lasting for almost an hour with strong, critical blows striking each other at the most opportune moments. Stratos's left eye was swollen shut and bruising marred his face. Cadence was as worse for the wear, blood trickled down the side of her head and out the corner of her mouth, her goggles had been hit so hard into her face it cut into the skin, threatening to reach bone. She struggled to get back to her knees, failing before collapsing every few seconds.
With a tilt of his head, Stratos's blue eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you ready to listen to what we have to say?"
"Why bother?" Cadence managed to rasp out, voice as weak as her. Her accelerated healing should've kicked in by that point, but there was too much damage. It'd take longer for her to heal all her injuries. It was enough that she was using her energy to keep up her blitz of attacks against Stratos. The two gasped for air, trying to keep themselves upright. Even from where Cadence sat, she could see Stratos struggling to keep his eyes open, focused. This was going to end, and it was going to end soon. "Whether or not I'm with you or against you, you're going to lose." She grinned, the blood that filled in the spaces between her teeth made her smile ghastly. "You're not going to kill me."
"I won't?" Stratos replied. He lifted his hand, air swirling around his hand. It was hard to see, but the shimmering of the area around his hand gave it away; he'd created an air whip. He brought his arm back, the air whip following his movement, and shot it forward. The air whip sliced through the air and crashed into Cadence's side, ripping open her suit and skin at the same time. Blood dripped down to her legs, despite the pain, Cadence refused to cry out.
Stratos listed his gaze towards her face, taking in the scar on her cheek and lifted his hand. A quiet warning. 'I missed, but I won't miss this time'.
"You need me," Cadence said. Shakily, she got to her feet, falling to her knees once. Bracing her back against the wall, she managed to keep herself upright. She took in a deep breath and looked Stratos in the eye. "Or else you wouldn't be coming after me so much."
Stratos slowly grinned back. The wind picked up around him, tugging at his clothes and hair, making papers fly through the air and out the window. The civilians caught in the unfortunate crossfire of good vs. evil quickly and quietly made their way out of the office as the two challenged each other.
"We'll see about that," he promised.
With that, he brought up his arms and the wind blew harder. Cadence's eyes turned orange and she pushed herself off the wall, flames appearing on her arms. They started as small flickered before becoming a brilliant blaze of glory, aided by the wind Stratos created. The two launched towards each other at the same time, colliding in a brilliant ball of fire.
Thwoom.
The noise was low but deafening. Simultaneously, oxygen was given to and taken away from Cadence's flames, causing a backdraft that immediately engulfed the floor of the building. Brown smoke billowed between the two, creating a shield of darkness that covered them and the entire floor before falling out into the street below. The explosion of the backdraft between them combined with the sudden implosion of heat knocked the two off their feet, sending them straight up into the ceiling before being buffeted on all sides to fly across the room. Fire rained down onto the street below, making those on the sidewalk cover their heads and scurry away as quickly as possible.
Those that couldn't move fast enough were scorched, cars starting to melt, their windows blowing out. Inside the office, Cadence and Stratos lay quietly on the ground, thick clouds of smoke hanging overhead. Melted computers smoldered on the table tops, threatening to start smaller fires, the carpet holding smaller flames. An alarm went off, blaring loudly to warn the other floors of the building of the impending emergency. It wouldn't take long before the smoke alarms started to go off, setting off the sprinklers.
Throughout the chaos, Cadence and Stratos lay unconscious on the office floor, smoke continuing to billow around them. Creating a darkness that enveloped them long before they'd known it, ever since they had first been contacted by Breathtaker. A darkness that wouldn't go away until the day Breathtaker was dead.
So what was it this time?
The answer came to her in a few seconds.
He still needed her in some way or else he would've killed her had he had the chance. They still needed her somehow, someway and the worry about when it was going to happen was really starting to grate on her nerves. Breathtaker was good at being mysterious, but all mysteries had a motive and all motives were eventually found out.
But the timing was too convenient. The moment they'd left, Breathtaker attacked Brady, the moment they came back, Stratos attacked her. If it weren't for Grodd and Soloar working on their own merits, Cadence would've started to wonder if there was a conspiracy of all of them working together. Though, at that point, it was obvious Savitar and Breathtaker certainly were.
The moment they'd figured it out, it made a lot of things make sense, despite how many questions that remained. What was the point of the Philosopher's Stone and who was Savitar to them? To have such a vendetta against Barry's life that he wanted to take down some of the most important people in his life.
"You've been spending too much time with the Flash," Stratos remarked. "You used to be a killing machine, now you give too much mercy."
Cadence shook her head. "Mercy isn't for the weak. Showing mercy is one of the strongest things you can do."
"But you're not merciful." Startos shook his head. He sucked in a breath that bubbled in his throat. Blood continued to roll down his chin when he spoke. "You never have been or else we wouldn't have found you. Or else Breathtaker wouldn't have made you one of his disciples."
Cadence snorted. Interesting use of words considering how she, Caitlin, and Iris likened those that worked to Breathtaker like the horses of the apocalypse. Almost like a cult. Brainwashed into believing what they were doing was to purify society of those that were too far gone to be saved.
"People change," Cadence said.
"Sometimes it's too late for change," Stratos said. "For people like us, there's not much that can be redeemed."
Cadence threw fire balls towards Stratos. The fight was on once more. Around and around they went, punching, kicking, and throwing each other into the walls around them as they went. And yet, through both of their attacks, Cadence could still feel Stratos holding himself back.
Frustration mounted through her. Cadence knew they were being watched, seeing how things were going. If Breathtaker wasn't watching them, then either Mindboggler or White Hot was. Testing him, testing her. Wondering what was going to be her breaking point.
Having no answers was slowly getting her there. With Breathtaker attacking Brady, it unleashed the sole thought she refused to let herself entertain. Refused to let herself think without a shock of horror running through and paralyzing her with fear.
Stratos seemed to understand the look on her face. He laughed and sent a blast of air into her so hard it pinned her to the wall behind her. It firmly pressed against her chest and stomach, knocking her back further and further into the brick behind her. She could feel the brick slowly starting to crumble beneath the pressure.
The flames that lined her arms were snuffed out, the harder Stratos pushed.
"Poor Cadey," Stratos commented. He tsk'd, shaking his head. His blue eyes shone with mirth. "Don't you get it now? After all this time?" Stratos stepped forward, put his face close to hers. His voice came in a malicious hiss, punctuating each word so he knew she understood and carried the weight of each of them. "You're not the one we want. But you're the one that can get us closer to our goal."
He punched her solidly in the stomach before conjuring a twister that took him out of sight.
A scream tore from deep within Brady's being to echo through Central City's streets. His brain twisted and turned, taking in all the memories that had been suppressed and taken away from him. The pain was so severe he understood why anyone would want to kill themselves under duress of intense pain. He brought his hands up to his head and continued to scream.
Wally, unsure of what to do, started to run. He ran in circles around Brady before blindly throwing the lightning bolt he conjured. Breathtaker simply lifted a hand and deflected the lightning bolt, sending it back into Wally's chest. Wally flew to the ground, legs flying up over his head.
"There will be time for you," Breathtaker said to Wally. "But today is not your day." He moved his hand from Brady's forehead to cup his chin, forcing him to look upward.
Brady stared into Breathtaker's face, his real face. Beforehand, he knew Breathtaker to be nothing but a figure. A shadowy monster that may as well crawl out from beneath his bed, hide in his closet, terrorize him when he least expected it from the way his mother spoke about him.
His mother's own Boogeyman that continued to haunt her when she least expected it. Where the darkness and fear gave him more power the longer it went on.
No, that's not how Breathtaker appeared. Breathtaker was small. Probably no more than four-foot-three. Maybe less. A dwarf by anyone's guess. That wasn't the most striking thing about him than the pale skin on him. Paler than pale, sheer white. No, Brady realized with horror.
That was the bones of the skeleton wrapped around the human form inside. The human form was what was tiny, white. Pink eyes that glowed beneath the exo-skeleton that created the human-like form beneath the hood of his cloak. Brady didn't recognize the person below at all, not that he'd lived long enough to know the faces of everyone that wanted to destroy his mother and his friends. This man, this entity wanted to start the civilization of the world over again, taking down those that didn't understand the value metahumans gave to the world.
"It's your day, my child," Breathtaker murmured to Brady. "I had to wait until it was the right time for you. Savitar has shown me the way, has shown me the truth." He tightened his grasp around Brady's chin, the pointed ends of his skeleton fingers digging into Brady's skin. "There is much you are capable of."
A cry of effort sounded out before Breathtaker was suddenly flung away from Brady. Brady fell to his knees pressing his fingertips against his forehead. He felt a hand grab his shoulder, drawing him away.
"Are you okay?" Leah asked.
Brady gaped up at her, unable to respond. His eyes questioned hers. She laughed back at him. "How many times and I going to have to save your butt before you realize you need me around?"
"Last time, I promise," Brady replied. He stood up, leaning against Leah to ensure he didn't fall over. "What about Wally?"
"Wally can take care of himself," Leah reminded him. She nodded toward Breathtaker, who was starting to get back up. "What about this guy."
"That's Breathtaker."
If Leah were surprised, she didn't let it show. Her disgust and fear consumed any other emotion that could've been shown. This was the meta that had survived thousands of years, that had managed to give powers and enhance abilities much like the Philosopher's Stone. And she'd thrown him like he was a rag doll. Chances were he wasn't going to take it lightly.
Wally seemed to have the same idea, for he raced in front of Brady and Leah, holding his arms out so that he provided a bit of coverage for them. "Alright, so it looks like you don't like my lightning tricks," he remarked. "But don't worry, I have more up my sleeve where that came from."
With that, he started to run again. Breathtaker made a disgruntled face seconds before he was faced with a vortex. Again, Leah used her gravitational manipulation powers to throw Breathtaker into the vortex Wally created. Breathtaker was thrown clear of the group, sailing over the buildings of the city.
Wally's eyes were wide behind his mask.
"How'd you do that?" Brady asked. He'd never even seen Barry do something like that before. It was one thing to create a tornado while running, a vortex that extended straight up into the air. Wally's was different. His was a horizontal vortex, almost like a vacuum that'd take on anyone and spit them as far away as it'd showed with Breathtaker.
"I have no idea," Wally replied. He cleared his throat, turning back to Brady. "But we don't have the time to worry about it." He grabbed them and raced them to STAR Labs.
Team Flash sat soberly around the Cortex.
No one dare spoke for what was to be said. For what had to be addressed. If they said it out loud, it'd turn out to be real. Much realer than any of them wanted.
Barry paced the floor of the Speed Lab. His breathing was almost like dragon's breath. If he had fire powers, he was sure smoke would be pouring form his ears. It wasn't fair. They'd gotten back from Gorilla City, gotten to where they should've been safe, only for the joke to be on him. What a cruel joke it was.
How funny that they'd never thought what would happen if Grodd ever managed to follow them back to Earth-1. They didn't think that far ahead, but Grodd obviously had. He'd said it himself. Always stay one step ahead of your opponent. Breathtaker was certainly the same way. He'd waited until Central City was lost of most of its heroes to strike, to make his plans known.
He wanted Brady, not Cadence.
All the years that he'd used Cadence as a ploy in his plans was simply for him to wait for Brady to be the point in his abilities that Breathtaker could use him. They'd sped up that process by leaving. It was all to save Harry, that the point of doing it, that was something Barry would never change. And yet, he wondered if things would've been different had he thought of it better. Though of what could be another means to go about saving Harry. If he had been the only one who'd gone to save Harry himself. What would've been different?
He wouldn't have killed Solovar, that would've stayed the same. But he probably wouldn't have thought of a way to be released from his holding cell. Grodd would've come to get him, he would've tried to run, and Grodd would've gotten him and torn him limb from limb. But, at least, his friends wouldn't have put themselves into the line of fire. He should've expected that Wally wouldn't have been able to handle thing son his own, even with Brady there to help.
"Barry."
Jay's voice behind him made Barry unleash everything he'd been holding. "You shouldn't have taken me out like that!" He declared. He whipped around to face Jay, glaring as hard as he could muster with the fighting energy leaving him. "You shouldn't have taken me and Jesse away!"
"Barry, it wasn't safe," Jay said firmly. He didn't care much for beating around the bush of conversation, or for anyone throwing what amounted to a tantrum. "I couldn't leave you there, knowing what was possibly going to happen."
"What was possibly going to happen?" Barry repeated. "You were the one who told me the future isn't certain, Jay!" He snapped. "That I shouldn't fear it because it's one of many possibilities that could happen."
Jay lifted his chin, looking Barry in the eye. "I did say that," he admitted. "And I still stand by it. But, as the leader of this team, you need to know when the best time is to fall back and come up with a new plan."
"We just have to be one step ahead of everyone else, right?" Barry slapped his hands to his sides. "Apparently, that's not working for us. No matter how far ahead we think we are, someone else is two steps further. We can't wait."
"I'm not saying you have to," Jay said firmly. "I'm saying there's more options to go through than to run straight forward with the first one you come with. Always being one step ahead of your opponent is a dangerous way of thinking if you don't know what they're coming with, in the first place." He took off his helmet, holding it against his chest. He took a deep breath and looked Barry in the eye. "Grodd is always going to be one step ahead of you because of his abilities to read your mind. The question is how are you going to use it to your advantage?"
Barry didn't respond to him, instead, he turned to his team and asked, "Did you find him yet?"
"No," Cisco snapped. His arms were folded tightly over his chest. A glare settled in his face as she shot over his shoulder to Barry, "Not since you asked thirty seconds ago."
"He's a giant gorilla, how can you not fnd him?" Barry snapped back. Caitlin turned in her seat and turned a harsh stare to him. Barry had the grace to lower his head, ashamed. He didn't mean to snap at Cisco like that, but there was only so much composure he could hold onto when so much was sliding through his grasp.
"He probably found a way to scramble our satellites," Cisco explained. He took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. "We're talking about a genius super ape here."
"And a master strategist who successfully fooled me on my Earth," Harry said bitterly. He glared over at HR, who chuckled to himself and tapped a drumstick to his temple. "And it's hard for us Wells to be bested, isn't that right?" HR's smile was frozen on his face as Harry simply continued to glare at him.
Barry shook his head. "We have to find him before he hurts someone else," he remarked. There were already calls of injuries being sent in to Central City General Hospital. He couldn't stand the thought of how quickly Grodd was causing trouble on their Earth when he'd only just come over.
"Don't worry, Barry." Iris placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it. "We will. We'll come up with something to take him down."
"What about Savitar?" Brady spoke up. In a measure of acting a little less mature than he typically did, Brady sat on his mother's lap, tightly holding onto her arms as they wrapped around his stomach. "Savitar's from the future, he knows what's going to happen. Maybe he knows something's going to happen here." His voice lowered to a mumble, eyes growing haunted. "Maybe that's why Breathtaker was…" he trailed off, swallowing hard.
Barry noticed Cadence's grasp tighten around her son. He lowered his head, unable to look Jay in the eye. Knowing the older speedster was right. There were too many things that could happen that none of them, no matter how much of the future they knew, wouldn't be able to see coming.
"Every time I think we've beat him he comes back smarter, stronger, more dangerous," Barry murmured. "He's evolving." He shook his head. "I keep trying to fight him the same way."
'So we have to come up with a different way to beat him," Wally pointed out. "We have a ton of smart people here, it's can't be hard to figure things out." He motioned to Barry. "You stopped Grodd once before." He motioned to Cadence. "She stopped Solovar. If you can do that, then you can stop whatever it is Grodd is throwing our way."
"Like…" Caitlin thought for a moment, tapping her fingers against her chin. She sucked in a deep breath, painfully closing her eyes. "You've seen the future," she said. Barry turned away in disgust for the way he'd told her about Killer Frost. He had no choice but to do it. Maybe, he thought, as a way to reassure himself so that if anything was going to happen they'd know it ahead of time and could stop it cold. Caitlin hadn't used her powers or had any trouble with it since Cisco had given her the dampener necklace. He didn't think she was going to be taking it off any time soon. "You know where and when what's going to happen is going to happen with me, Iris, and Cade. What if we saw where this gorilla attack happens and stop it before it starts?"
Harry clapped and pointed to Caitlin, what was close to a smile coming to his face. "Brilliant idea, Snow. And, fortunately, we have someone who can see future events." He turned to Cisco, placing a hand on his shoulder. Almost holding him still as if afraid he was going to run away.
Nerves shot through Cisco's stomach. He tried to sound modest when he said, "I can only vibe what Barry saw."
"What if we widen the scope of your vibe and can see more of the future?" Caitlin said.
Cadence shook her head, leaning up so that she could rest her chin on Brady's shoulder. "It'd probably hurt him mentally." Cisco made a face at her statement. Cadence shot him an apologetic glance. "I mean, Cisco, you've managed to get a bloody nose every time you work on your powers too hard. We know that it affects you mentally when you push yourself. You're out of it for hours. If we push him even harder, it may kill him."
"I was willing to give myself up when we were on Earth-2," Cisco said. "I'm not too far removed to do it now." Though the quiver in his voice seemed to betray what he really felt. No matter how heroic he was being, no matter how much he wanted to help. He was still afraid of dying.
"I'm not going to let Grodd kill you, Cisco, I promise," Barry reassured him. He turned, running a hand through his hair.
Joe looked at Barry closely. He'd known Barry since before he moved to live with him and Iris. Had watched him to grow into the young man he was in the present. Watched as he allowed himself to befall multiple tragedies and things that would knock down even the strongest man with as much grace as he could muster. And as Joe watched his son, he knew there was something Barry wasn't saying. Something that he'd keep inside and explode with later if he didn't bring it up now.
Privacy be damned, Barry needed to tell the truth.
"Are you okay, Bare?" Joe asked gently. This was what he could bring to the team; a guiding voice for Barry and the others to listen to when they needed it. While the others could use their technical and scientific skills in some way, Joe used his heart as a way to help the team. And within his own heart, he could see Barry was hurting.
Barry nodded. Tried to smile. It fell flat within seconds. "I'm just tired of seeing the people I care about getting in harm's way," he murmured.
"We're going to stop him, Barry," Iris reminded him. Her heart hurt to see how badly her friend was hurting. She could see there wasn't much that'd convince him otherwise, Barry could be stubborn at times. Once something got in his head, it was hard to shake it off. He'd faced too much tragedy as it was to have to deal with it again. They had to stay strong.
"And then what?" Barry asked. He leveled his gaze at his oldest friend. "Send him back?" Iris' eyebrows furrowed. She listened patiently to Barry's words. "He's just going to come here again, to get his revenge. We have to end this once and for all."
The finality in his voice stunned the room. It took a moment for anyone to speak. Jesse was the one to bite the bullet. She pulled her hair behind her ears and asked, "By killing him, you mean?"
"Why not?" Barry lifted his arms and slapped them to his sides. "That's how their society in gorilla city works. Kill or be killed."
"Barry, if you were fighting Solovar, would you have killed him?" Cadence asked. Immediately, Barry looked away. "I know it's a bit too on the nose considering how things played out, but I have to ask. Would you have killed him?" She kept her gaze on him, patiently waiting on a response. Finally, Barry shook his head. "You know why? Because that's not you. You would've done what was right, as you always do, that's what makes you a hero."
"Oliver's killed." Barry shrugged. "You've killed. You're still a hero."
Cadence smiled her thanks before responding with something she rarely spoke about, "And we live with the weight of that decision every day. Because, you know what? It gets easier. It gets easier the more you do it. You don't think about doing it. But it's hard to get past that first step, and I don't think you have it in your to do it."
"I think sometimes the only way to keep the bad things from happening is to stop what's causing them," Barry murmured.
"So, what's this about?" Joe asked. "Killing? You really think that's going to work for you? Do you want to turn into the Reverse-Flash?" Barry winced. "Because that's what's going to happen to you, if you do that, Bare. It's different if it's under self-defense, feeling you have no choice there, but if you go into it thinking you're going to kill him. Then you've already lost."
"What else do you expect to do?" Barry murmured. "Sit back and let him ruin everything."
Caitlin eyed Barry closely. "Is this about killing Grodd or what happens to the rest of us?"
"I stop Grodd, I change the future, you live," Barry said. Desperate as it was, it was the only thing he could think of that would work. He'd already been humiliated, tricked by Grodd into going over to Earth-2 in the first place. Tricked into attacking an enemy that wasn't really an enemy at all. If he couldn't see that coming…
"You wouldn't do it, Barry," Caitlin said. Her voice was soothing. Didn't betray what she truly felt. "Your humanity, showing mercy…that's what separates you from everyone else. That's what makes us look up to you."
Joe nodded. He reached out, tapping Barry on the shoulder with his index finger. "Don't ever compromise who you are. Losing what makes the Flash the Flash…it's not worth it."
"Then what is?" Barry demanded. He looked Joe in the eye, daring him to say anything. Daring him to tell him what to do. He'd follow anyone if they had any idea of what was going to work. Of what was going to stop all their problems."
"Listening to Jay, not focusing on the future so much," Cadence pointed out. "Focus on the now. Focus on Grodd. Breathtaker's not going to do anything again tonight. Not after he's let us know what he really wants." Cadence took in a deep breath, her voice cracking. Tears came to her eyes and she hastily wiped them away. "And….I can't focus on that right now when we've got a sentient gorilla on the lose who isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants." She frantically dabbed at her eyes. "After that, I can worry."
"And what if we're wrong?" Barry asked. He looked all of his friends in the eye. "What if things go south before it gets there? What if we're still one step behind?"
"Then we have to use the cards we're dealt," Cadence pointed out. "Use everything we have to our advantage."
She jumped when alarm started to go off. Much more frantic and worrying than any alarm they'd ever heard before. "What is that?" Brady asked, looking around.
Harry hurried around to the computers, pushing Cadence's chair away from the consol. He tapped the keys a few times, continuously looking from the keys to the screen. When he found what he was looking for, a low curse escaped his lips. He shook his head, expression of silent horror illuminated by the glow of the screen. "Short range ballistic missile authorized to fire from fort Reynolds," he murmured. "Seems like Grodd has more of a reach than we originally thought."
Life quickly drained and replenished in the room. Iris brought up a hand to cover her mouth. She looked to her father then asked, "How much time do we have?"
"Minutes," Cisco murmured.
Caitlin lowered her face to her hands. "Grodd, what have you done?" She whispered.
Barry decided quickly. This was much more important now. It was one thing for his friends to be in trouble, but for the entire city? For an entire city that had nothing to do with what happened to Grodd? It wasn't going to happen."
"I'm going after it," Barry declared.
"Then we're going with you," Jesse said.
"No," Barry said firmly. Jesse and Wally exchanged disappointed glances. "I need you to stay here, okay? If I can't stop it, I need you and Wally to get everyone to safety." He raced out of the Cortex in a streak of yellow lightning.
"Well, when it rains it pours," Cisco said, the second Barry left the Cortex. He'd replaced Harry at the consol, taking in a meta-human alert that steady went off. "While this missile has been launched, guess who decided to come out and play?" The monitor showed numerous apes, all dressed in protective metal gear, holding onto spears. Solovar was at the front of the group.
"How'd they get over here?" Leah asked. Her eyes were wide as she watched the screen, watched the gorillas slowly move their way up the streets of Central City. "There isn't any way they can open a breach or run that fast is there?"
"Definitely not," Cadence said. "There's a lot they can do, but they can't do that." She whipped around a breach opened and someone jumped through it. A young woman dressed all in black leather, wavy hair cascading down her shoulders. "I stand corrected." She immediately stood straight and pulled her goggles up over her eyes. "We've got to go."
"What about Grodd?" Brady asked, though he moved to get into position as well.
"If we can find Grodd, maybe we can find a way to get him to stop the missiles," Caitlin said. She was already frantically typing away at her own computer. Her lower lip stayed planted between her teeth. "But we'll have to move fast, Barry doesn't have much time to work with."
"I'll have to contact the CCPD," Joe added. He looked to Jay, who placed his helmet back on his head. "You sure you're up for this."
Jay nodded. "I have it on good authority that this is something I need to be a part of," he said. "If there is no Earth-1, there isn't a Earth-2 I could return to with good conscious."
"Good, we could use your help." Cadence looked to Leah and nodded toward her. "Brady? Do you still have your old suit? I think Leah will need to borrow it."
Brady nodded back.
"Okay." Cadence took a deep breath. "Let's go."
Barry ran the fastest he had ever run in his entire life.
It was incredibly what the threat of violence could do for someone's adrenaline. Adding in the adrenaline of an entire city of lives it was double. Adding in the threat of a nuclear weapon scheduled to fire off and destroy Central City in a matter of second and Barry practically time-warped to get to Fort Reynolds.
He came to a stop, snow and slush skidding out from beneath his feet, threatening to pitch him over into a snow bank but he kept his balance. Sucking in a deep breath, Barry turned and watched the tank that held the missiles continue to rotate silently. Almost as if mocking him, daring him to stop it.
"I see the missiles," Barry said. His frantic breath came out in patches of clouds in front of his face. One right after the other as his chest heaved rapid-fire. A cold sweat rolled down his back despite his body heat being so high from running, and the air being so cold.
"Barry, to access the keypad remove the panel at the base of the missile vehicle," Harry's voice hissed over Barry's Comm. Link. He could hear the controlled tone of Harry's voice, but could also hear the sense of urgency underneath.
It was bad if Harry showed anything other than his normally stoic and slightly assholeish personality.
"Alright." Barry reached out his gloved hands and pressed them to the cover Harry described for him. His hands shook as he vibrated the cover off with ease. It dropped into his hand and Barry tossed it aside before picking off another panel, revealing a set of numbers underneath. A long breath escaped Barry's lips. "Okay, that's done. What's next?"
"Well, the good news is this missile has a built in five-digit key code," Caitlin said.
"Great." Barry's eyes closed with relief. He could feel his heart rate already starting to slow down. A five-digit key code was okay. The good news would be if they could give it to him. The bad news would be if he had to put it in himself. It wouldn't take too long to figure out, but long enough for him to start to worry. It'd be a close call. He took a stab at the good news. "What is it?"
Cisco's hesitation let him know everything he needed to. Barry's heart dropped when Cisco said, "That's the bad news; we don't know."
"For real?" Frustration shot through Barry's body and his hands clenched into fists, shaking with frustration and anguish. Frustration at Grodd's using this to distract him and anguish at the thought of everyone in the city falling victim to an untimely death. "Alright, then what am I supposed to do?"
"You have to try every combination Barry," Harry said quickly. Almost as if he was aware of how much time they had left. "It's okay. With this type of launcher, you won't set off the nuke."
Great, Barry thought. Just a little bit of reassurance. Barry took a deep breath and stared to speed type numerous combinations for on the keypad. Every now and then his eyes would turn back to the black bar above the keypad that would show then the code he typed was correct. But the numbers continued to flash red no matter what he put on. C'mon. C'mon Barry, you can do this.
"Barry, simulators are projecting that hundreds of thousands will die," Iris said. He could distinctly hear the fear in her voice.
"Yeah, let's hope not," Barry murmured. He repeated that in his head over and over, giving himself a mantra to focus on. Anything that will keep him from focusing on the worst outcome. Sweat continued to roll down his face but he didn't let himself stop to wipe away the droplets. If he broke concentration for even one second…
"Five digits, how many combos is that?" Wally asked.
"Oh, well, if I had to take a guess…" HR started.
"Precisely nineteen thousand," Harry swiftly interrupted. "Please don't try to help. As a matter of fact, don't help at all."
Barry gritted his teeth. He didn't need to know that. He couldn't have even gone through one thousand yet. And there were about eighteen thousand more.
"Two missiles are locked on target," Caitlin said reported. "Solovar's getting closer to the bridge."
"That's the heart of the city," Iris murmured. "If they get there, there's no telling the sort of damage they can bring to the city."
Barry's resolve was starting to break. Sweat poured down his face. "Guys this isn't working!"
"Plan B?" Cisco asked. Desperation was evident in his voice. Barry could hear the breathing of his friends suddenly increase, taking rapid, shallow breaths as they tried not to lose control over their composure. "Anyone?"
Barry's fingers still flew. His hard breathing, combined with his friends' surrounded him, filling his hears. A desperate cry escaped his lips. He was on the verge of breaking down, could feel it coming on him like a stalker watching its target. "WORK!"
"How much time does he have?" Iris asked.
"Fifteen seconds," Joe said.
"Guys, I need something! Something else, this isn't working!" Barry's voice started to become high-pitched and frantic in his desperation. He swallowed hard, continuing to press as many buttons as possible.
No.
Still red. Still red. Still red.
He just needed there to be a combination that would unlock everything.
Just one.
Please.
"You've just got to keep going, Barry," Harry said to him. "You have to keep trying."
"Six missiles locked on target," Caitlin relayed.
Barry kept his head down, a shadow blocking the keypad. And still he worked, willing his hands to go faster and faster. They were blinding now, wisps of shadows that shot back and forth. More combinations. There were more combinations to work through, more numbers. He had to get it. He had to. He had to.
There was a sudden punch of energy to his gut.
Barry was knocked backwards by the sudden energy explosion of the tank shooting six missiles up into the air. Crashing on his back, he rolled over, shielding his face from the bright light of the contrails that arched up into the sky. The missiles arched higher and higher into the sky, the roar was deafening, and Barry clapped his hands over his ears.
"No," Barry whispered.
No.
No.
This can't be happening.
He couldn't have failed like this. There were many times he failed at other parts of being a hero, he always managed to come out on top. But not for this. Not when there were so many lives at stake. And yet Barry could do nothing but crouch at the base of the missile carrier, watching the contrail that continued to rise further and further into the sky. He ignored the cold of the snow seeping into the knees of his suit.
Or maybe he was so numb he couldn't feel it.
Sucking in deep gasps of air, Barry reached up and brought his hands to the sides of his hood and slowly removed the cowl. There were probably cameras trained everywhere around the base, news vans racing for his exact location, soldiers rushing to see what was going on, all who would see his true identity.
Barry didn't care. That reality wasn't sticking with him.
He'd just, involuntarily, murdered an entire city of people.
In the distance, Barry saw a red lightning streak in the distance, shortly followed by a golden one. Wally and Jesse. They were doing exactly what he told them to do; if he couldn't stop the missiles, get everyone out of the city as quickly as possible. They were in as much danger as the rest of the city and they moved to take their superhero duties seriously.
That's what he needed to do. He was the 'beacon of hope' for the city, as he had been deemed numerous times over. There had to be something he could do. And he would do it, for Central City and for his friends.
Taking in a deep breath, Barry calmed himself. He wiped away the tears that fell down his cheeks with his gloved hand and dried his eyes. His stomach fluttered with the unsaid words that were about to escape Barry's lips. He needed to be sure he sounded strong, that he knew what he was doing and could do it. Anything to convince the others to get to safety.
He took in another deep breath, this one taking in the weight of the world, and started to speak.
"Guys," he said.
"Bare," Joe repeated, just as quietly.
Barry closed his eyes. He should've known Joe would understood immediately what he was about to say.
Feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Barry brought his hands up and ran them over his head. His voice was low, hollow. He hoped he could stay strong. "Listen. I need you to get out of Central City," he said. "Let Wally and Jesse take you somewhere safe. We can take care of everything else."
There was a long stretch of silence after his words.
"We're not going anywhere," Joe said, shocking Barry.
"Yeah, we're going to help you figure out what to do," Caitlin said. "Grodd isn't just going to let this happen. He'll want to make sure everything and everyone in Central City is destroyed, even if he had to sacrifice himself in the process."
"She's right, and if we don't stop him, things might be worse," Cisco agreed. He thought for a moment. "If he can control people…maybe he can control missiles too, and create even more damage."
"What…?" Barry shook his head. His heart swelled with equal amounts of pride and fear for his team. "I don't want any of you to get hurt."
"But what is getting hurt, really?" HR asked. "Something everyone in the world has to experience at some point or another. But here's the thing, pain is temporary. Pride is forever. Only the strong survive."
Harry scoffed. "Ignoring the fortune cookie over there—"
"—that's an affectionate quote on my Earth as stated by whom, under my research of Earth-1 culture, you all refer to as Weird Al. Though I don't quite understand why he's so Weird."
Harry ignored him. "There's always something that can be done and what I've learned about you all is that you never give up. As annoying and naively stupid it can be at times."
"We're all behind you, Barry," Iris asid.
"But…"
"Barry." Cadence's voice came firmly over the link that time. "We're not going anywhere. Not now. Not ever."
Barry sucked in a deep breath. "How much time…?" He asked. "Until the missiles.." he couldn't get the last words out.
"52 minutes," Caitlin relayed.
52 minutes.
He had 52 minutes to get as many people out of the blast zone as possible, come up with a plan to stop Grodd, and stop the missiles.
He could do it.
He had to.
Suddenly, the sound of something running on a tether caught Barry's attention. He turned, just as a figure dropped to the ground, hood over up his head.
A sigh of relief escaped Barry's lips when he saw who it was.
"Oliver." Barry said.
"I hear you needed help rounding up some gorillas," Oliver said.
A/N: I hadn't intended this thing with Gorilla City to be five parts but while working on this chapter I had to change a LOT for my ideas to work. And, in the end, I love it so much more with what I've done with this chapter and the next one that I'm sure you're going to enjoy as well.
But what about that reveal with Brady? It was a long time coming, did anyone guess it?
Cheers,
-Riley
Review Replies
Ethan: Not so much of a mystery when it's revealed in the next chapter. When you re-read a few of them back afterwards, it makes a lot of sense.
DarkHelm145: That's what I always hope when it comes to my writing fight scenes, that it becomes sort of cinematic. My only issue is showing the passage of time while during a fight because if I explain every little thing, it drags on too long when fights are actually very high paced. I hope you enjoyed this one as well.
Guest: Yep, more KF coming!