46

The Wrath of Savitar

"Yes, dad, I'm sure Cecile really likes you if she wants you to meet her daughter," Iris said, tilting her head so her phone stayed nestled between her ear and shoulder. She sat at her computer desk, tablet in hand. She moved sections of an article back and forth, working out the right order for the piece she'd been working on. "You've been dating for months behind our backs—"

"—It wasn't behind your backs," Joe interrupted.

Iris smiled a smug smile, her eyebrows shifting upwards. "What do you call it when the only way your children find out is when you walk in on you making out?"

"A grown ass man spending time with someone he cares about in his own home," Joe replied. Iris laughed. "And don't get me started on those boys I'd find in my house when I'd come home early form work."

Iris grimaced and made a low humming sound. "Okay, you got me there. And there weren't that many, don't make it seem like all I did was throw house parties when you weren't around."

Joe laughed his rumbling laugh. "Oh, you have no idea the sort of things I know. I'm a cop, remember. It's my job to find these things out." He let out a long breath. "I don't know, I guess, for me, it was easier to pretend things weren't serious when it was just me and Cecile. I was going to tell you guys when things started to get serious but it just…it felt so nice and I wasn't sure what to say and now she wants me to meet Joanie and—"

"—And it's real," Iris agreed. She smiled sadly. "Yeah, I know, dad. I felt the same way with Eddie."

Her gaze shifted to the picture frames that lined her desk. One of her and Barry sitting on a bench in the park, smiling away. One of her and her father, both hugging tightly while also holding onto ice cream cones, One of her and Wally that had been taken recently. One of her and Linda at the last staff party. And…one of her and Eddie when they were dating. In the picture she was perched on his lap, arms around him as he held her, taken on the back of the ferry ride that he'd surprised her on for their anniversary.

She didn't realize how long that picture had been on her desk. How long it'd bene since she last thought about Especially when you found out about us."

There was a brief pause on Joe's end of the line. "I don't think you want to start that conversation, baby girl."

"I guess not," Iris agreed. She looked up as the doors to the CCPN opened and Ryder walked inside, holding a folder to his side. He smiled to a few of her co-workers before catching her eye, waving discreetly and gesturing toward the folder. "Hey, dad, I've got to go. Whenever you get the time to meet up with Cecile and Joanie, count me in. I'm sure Wally and Barry feel the same way."

"Alright, I'll see you later. Let me know if anything comes up."

Iris nodded and hung up. She motioned for Ryder to come closer, dropping back into her chair. Reaching up, Iris draped a hand over her face. Too many painful thoughts that she'd pushed aside all because of Savitar and Breathtaker. She had managed to keep from thinking about Eddie for as long as she could stand it and now…why did he have to come back to her now? When things were starting to become so complicated with…well, she couldn't quite out what she was feeling as of late.

Out of sorts. Discombobulated. Off-kilter. All of it worked, and if she were being honest, it's been something she struggled with for a long time. Ever since…

"Are you alright, Iris?" Ryder asked, stopping by her desk. He slowly lowered himself into the chair across from her, eyeing her closely. "Rough day?"

"I'd say 'yes' but it's only the morning," Iris agreed. She removed her hand from her face and braved a smile, nodding toward the folder he'd pressed to the table. "is that everything we talked about?"

Ryder nodded and slid it across from her. "That's everything I could get about the doctor's office as I could," he explained. "It's amazing the sort of things you can learn when you're a contractor."

"And?"

"And, the building is up to code. Everything within it was replaced in the last four years." He shifted uncomfortably. Iris watched him closely. Years of listening to her father's stories of the CCPD and interrogating suspects to know when people were being less than truthful. It wasn't something she could figure out all the time, it took time to decipher people's tells. She still struggled to work out her father's tells when he was being less than truthful.

But Joe West was a tough nut to crack. There were only a few times where she came close. Ryder, funnily enough, was like her father. He didn't have to hide too much because he showed it. The way his mouth tightened, and his knee bounced showed just how angry he was. "We're going to figure everything out, Ryder, okay? Don't worry."

"These people are forcing shots on kids that aren't quite on the up and up and y'all are going to sit there and tell me we're going to figure everything out?" He demanded.

"Yes," Iris said firmly. "Because we are. Just because I can't crack some sort of story about the doctor's office not being up to code doesn't mean I can't find a story. And there's a story here." She took the folder and pulled it closer to her. She flipped through the pages, humming every few moments as she read over the information.

"I already told you what the story was."

"I can't really go off a feeling, Ryder. I need to go off facts.

And the facts that he had given her weren't lying.

He wasn't kidding, anything that had to have been fixed was fixed. Past complaints had been addressed. And, it was all because of the damage continuously sustained during meta fights. Iris briefly closed her eyes, wondering how she would break the news to Barry. Or if he'd even be able to take the news. That he was trying to do to help the city seemed to make things worse everywhere else. Not that she would ever tell him that, he seemed to dwell on it enough.

Being a hero did have its drawbacks. Even in his personal life, Barry had to worry about how that would affect his metahuman life. Could hardly go one day without having to worry about it. But now something as simple as getting a shot?

She had to admit when Ryder called her about his worries of the shot Brady received, she didn't think too much of it. When he explained how forceful the receptionist had been, was when something in the back of her head started to warn her. A little alarm going off. She wanted to bring it up to Barry but couldn't until she got as much information as possible.

"I already told you, something about the receptionist was weird," Ryder insisted. He leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees. "I can't believe you don't think there's anything weird about a doctor's office wanting his fingerprints."

Iris shrugged. "There are fingerprint scanners on phones now—"

"But in a doctor's office?" Ryder insisted. "And a children's doctor no less? If they're gonna need any fingerprints lemme give them mine."

"Ryder, I understand why you'd be upset in that case, there's definitely cause for concern on that one."

"I don't think you get it." Ryder lowered his voice. "It's not just the needing his fingerprints thing that concerns me, some of the others at the office said they had to do it as well. I'm worried about the whole metahuman thing."

Iris's eyebrows furrowed. "What does this have to do with being a meta?"

"You don't think it's weird everything's that's been going on around Brady since he got his powers?" Ryder asked. Iris tapped her tablet pen against her desk, listening patiently. "The inclusion of anti-meta materials and procedures in his school? That black car that followed him around to and from school? The sudden shots that no one else knew was going to be implemented?"

"The receptionist explained that those are a new measure for authorization," Iris said.

Ryder looked straight at her. "Where did that procedure come from? If this is something that was going to be put in place, how come the world or even the city didn't know it was going to be put into place? And most importantly, who allowed it to? I'm not just saying this as Brady's dad, I'm worried about a lot of meta things going on. With Chief Paulson's being so outwardly anti-meta, it's riling up everyone in the city and I'm concerned about the safety of my friends."

Iris slowly started to smile. "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with this meta stuff," she pointed out. "Or Brady, for that matter."

"When it's your own child you want to do whatever you can to protect them. Sometimes, that means giving in to what you think is dangerous for them," Ryder explained. "Especially when they have powers to combat the danger they're going up against."

Iris nodded. She thought of everything Ryder said then stopped, something coming to her attention. "Wait. Wait a minute! What else happened at the Doctor's office?" Ryder lifted his eyebrow in confusion. "When you registered, did anything else happen?"

"They asked for my address, couldn't find it in the system, then asked for Cadence's as well," Ryder pointed out.

The gears started to spin in Iris's head. "But you've taken him to appointments before, haven't you?"

"I'm usually the one to do it. My job's a little more flexible in terms of taking the time off than Cade's is."

"So why would your name suddenly stop coming up in their database?" Iris asked. "If both of you have taken him to that same doctor before then the information should still be stored." She grasped her tablet and moved away from the article she was working on, flipping the back over so that she could type on the screen. "Especially if you share custody. There are divorced parents out there and others who continued to share custody, that shouldn't be something that happened." She started to type down her notes, fingers flying over the screen of her tablet. "That could be grounds for discrimination—"

"—Iris—"

She lifted a hand. "Relax, that's just my way in. But you've got a point; things don't sound so great if Brady's a meta and they're suddenly bringing in new measures." Ryder made a sound and Iris looked at him curiously. "What?"

"There was a nurse there that said she knew Cade," Ryder said slowly. He ran a hand through his hair. "I know it sounds like nothing if they've gone to the same doctor, but she knew Cade personally. Said her name was Corinne Bloom?"

Iris froze. Ice ran down her spine. "Corinne Bloom?" she repeated.

"Does that name mean something to you?"

"There was a Michael Bloom that Cade once worked with," Iris said slowly. She studied Ryder's face as she explained. "When she was still part of the Assassination Bureau, there was a man named Michael Bloom who worked for them as well. He was the one who kidnapped Brady to use as leverage to keep Cadence working with them."

Ryder's face paled. "Did Corinne work with them, too?"

"No, I think she's just a nurse or else Cade would've said something. But, what we know of our lives is that there's too many things like this that can be a coincidence. And I don't think it's a coincidence that they were asking for fingerprints. Did everyone else there do it?"

Again, Ryder nodded. "As far as I can tell, yes. No one said anything when I asked if anyone else found it weird. They just looked away, like I was crazy."

"I don't think anyone would've wanted to say anything publicly like that," Iris explained. "It's called the bystander effect and can be very effective in time and places of intense pressure. Just like a doctor's office if others thought you were making a scene." She stood up, pulling her purse over her shoulder. "Come on, there's definitely a story here and I'm going to figure out what it is." She freed her hair from behind her back and added, "It might not be anything I can put in the paper, but I can certainly warn people with my blog."

"I'm right behind you," Ryder agreed. He reached out, placing his hand on Iris's shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me. I was I sounded crazy."

"Crazy is what happens when my boss has only two hours of sleep, a million cups of coffee, and a deadline in a few hours with no leading story. What you are is concerned. And if you're going to be part of this meta world, you'll soon realize that, to us, crazy is normal."

Ryder chuckled.

Determined, Iris left CCPN with Ryder hot on her heels.

Barry rolled his shoulders. Stretched his arms in front of him, behind him, and over his head. His suit stretched with each move he made. Muscles pulled taut then released them, feeling them become limber. Ready for a marathon of running.

Taking in a deep breath, Barry placed his hands on his hips, looking out over Infantino Street. Looking over the area where everyone he knew and loved was going to die. Fear drilled at his gut, his did his best to quell it, waited for the starting words to come through his communication systems. And yet, he couldn't keep the image from his head.

"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.

No matter what he did to try and stop it, the memory of the future continued to haunt him. Played it over and over to see if there was anything he missed. Anything that'd help him save them. Trained for it, just as they were about to do. Worked with Jesse and Wally to make sure they were fast enough to stop him. Came up with as many plans and formations that they'd hoped would work.

Plans that were now trash since Caitlin left the team and…betrayed them.

One shall betray you.

One will fall.

One will suffer a fate worse than death.

He never believed Caitlin would've been the one to betray them. It's not Caitlin, he immediately reminded himself. Caitlin would never do this. It's Killer Frost. Killer Frost is working with Savitar. Not Caitlin. And they had to find some way to get Caitlin back. So far, the STAR Labs satellite couldn't pinpoint her cold signatures. She probably wasn't using her powers to make sure she wouldn't be tracked by them. If they were smarter, they would've put some sort of a tracking device on her the second she left.

"So, this is it, huh?" Wally asked, his voice breaking into Barry's thoughts.

Barry faced Wally, watching as a grin stretched across his face. Barry's lips twitched into a smile, no matter how hard he tried to keep it down. On one hand, it was a momentous occasion that could only be seen to be believed. Flash vs. Kid Flash in the battle of who was the top speedster in the city. But on the other hand, things were much too serious to be smiling. They were coming closer to when Savitar was going to kill Iris and they still weren't coming closer to getting to the speed they needed.

And yet…the challenge in Wally's eyes couldn't be ignored.

Barry was never considered athletic by any means but when it came to a race with enhanced speed, he felt the need to show off sometimes.

"Yeah, this is the starting line to our race," Barry explained. He gestured toward the deserted area round them. One of the few safe places in Central City where no one would accidentally stumble upon them or find out their identities. "Cisco set up sensors along the course and HR will be tracking our speed all the way to the other side of town. And Brady will be following on the Shadow Bike to ensure we pass each check point." He gestured toward Brady, who sat atop his ATV nearby, hood down around his shoulders.

"No." Wally shook his head, folding his arms. "I meant, this is 'it'. The day of the greatest upset in speedster history goes down."

Barry sucked in a deep breath, did his best to keep himself from allowing his competitive nature to take over. It was starting to get hard. "Wally. This isn't about winning or losing, okay?" He clenched his hands into fists. "This is about training. So, you'll get faster and beat Savitar and save Iris, remember?" He stuck his neck out, pointedly looking toward Barry. "Your sister."

Wally nodded. He took in a deep breath, face growing serious. It lasted a second before his smile was back and he said, "Which is what I'm going to do, okay? But first I'm going to make you eat my dust, I'm sorry."

Barry grinned. Unable to keep himself from falling into the competition Wally was throwing his way. What could he say, when it came to running he got a lot more out of it than just clearing his head. "You know there's a reason they call me the fastest man alive," he pointed out.

"So why do all of the other speedsters keep beating you?" Brady asked, his voice wafting over from his ATV where he sat, arms crossed and leaning against the handlebars. He smiled innocently and ducked his head when Barry turned a glare his way

Wally smiled and pointed to Brady, "Kid's got a point."

"And kid's going to be grounded if he keeps it up," Barry said.

"You can't ground me," Brady pointed out, voice cracking in offense. "Only mom and dad can."

Barry ignored him. And the injustice of everyone suddenly ganging up on him. Instead, he brought up his hand and pressed it to the lightning bolt on his hood. He waited for the beep that proved the communication link to STAR Labs was open before he spoke. "HR, are you ready to go?" Barry asked.

"Yes, sir, ready to go," HR agreed. "Ready to watch his historical moment go down." Barry started to removed his finger from his comm. link then stopped when HR continued to speak. "And, you know what would be fun? Financial wagering. On my earth it was banned after an unfortunate incident with President Al Capone. We've already have 20 dollars on Barry from Iris, Joe wouldn't do it, but my help with Wallace shoes his recent speed test ensures he's a lock so I'm down for an Abe Lincoln."

Wally blinked. He and Barry exchanged a glance. "A what?" Wally asked.

"Whatever 100 on this earth is, I'm on that."

"Wait," Barry started. He gaped into the cityscape before him. "Did you really bet against me?"

"And did Iris really bet against me?" Wally added.

"On your mark," Brady started, breaking into the conversation. He reached up and pulled on his hood. Barry and Wally looked at each other then immediately crouched down, placing themselves in starting positions. "Get set!" Brady pulled on the throttle of the Shadow Bike, revving the engine."

Barry lowered himself even further, bringing his arms back into a runner's position. He wiggled his fingers, slowly curled them into his palm. He could feel lightning thrashing through his eyes, could feel the power of the Speed Force tap through his body, a tingling sensation that started from the tips of his toes and coursed to the tips of his fingers. He looked at Wally, saw the lightning flashing through his eyes as well.

"Go!"

Barry and Wally took off at the same time. With one step forward, everything in Central City moved in slow motion around them, giving them the best chance to see the better ways to maneuver as they ran. Barry pumped his arms, the wind racing by, practically making him feel as if it were pushing him along. Taking the first corner, Barry looked over his shoulder; Wally was keeping pace with him, nipping on his heels with a grin of determination that almost looked demonic at the speed they were going.

They shot through Central City, twisting and turning, weaving through the streets. As they went, they jumped over any obstacles that came their way, streamlining when on straightaways and coming around the corners as close as possible to break off the wind resistance and friction.

As they raced along, they continued to stay neck and neck. At a few points, Wally managed to come ahead of Barry, smirking over his shoulder as he went. Barry simply shook his head and smirked back. They raced out of the city, passing by the Welcome to Central City: Home of The Flash sign arched around, and went back through, towards the end of the course they'd created.

Back and forth, Barry and Wall were neck and neck, slightly pulling ahead and behind each other. Barry waited for the perfect moment to strike. For most of the run, when he slid behind Wally, he moved himself directly behind the speedster. Without wind resistance, it made it so Barry didn't have to work so hard. He could see Wally slowly starting to tire out.

Wally wasn't as used to the effects on his body as the Speed Force continued to run speed through, no pun intended. His powers were new, and he wanted nothing more than to use it freely. The added point of being able to eat whatever he wanted and not gain any weight, having some of the best work outs, being able to do whatever he wanted in a few seconds or minutes was more than enough to become addictive. But very, very tiring if it wasn't worked right.

So when it came to the end of the race, where Barry knew the best move to get him to the finish line faster, Barry watched and waited until he saw Wally slowing even further. He stepped around Wally, continued toward the wall of the building before him, and phased right through it. Barry expected Wally to follow right behind him, to phase through the wall and give him a run for his money at the end but found it to be untrue.

Barry came to a stop behind their finish line and waited for a full minute before Wally arrived, sliding out his foot to come to a stop. Breathing heavily, Wally pressed his hands to his knees. He wretched a few times, spitting hard on the ground.

Barry, hardly out of weight, shook his head. He folded his arms, watching Wally with abject disgust. Not for the slowness that came over him, but because he, once again, hesitated on phasing through the building.

"Come on man, that didn't count," Wally said as soon as he managed to catch his breath. He pressed hand to his stomach, stood up straight. He sucked in a deep breath, eyes slamming shut. "You know I can't phase yet."

"Man, you just saw me do it," Barry snapped. He brought up a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You keep hesitating to phase and you can't hesitate, all right? You have to be able to face any obstacle that's put in your path. Or else you're not going to be fast enough to beat Savitar."

Wally waved his hand. "Well, don't worry, Barry. I'm going to get faster." Finally, he caught his breath and pressed his hands to his hips. "Pretty soon I'm going to be faster than you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Barry rolled his neck. He felt all the muscles in his neck, back, and shoulders stretch. Once more, lightning flashed through his eyes. "Then let's see how you recover."

Wally tilted his head back and sighed. "Don't we need to wait for Brady?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me," Brady replied, his voice coming through their communication links. "I'm just making sure the checkpoints went through. To make sure you didn't cheat."

"Just because we can move fast doesn't mean that we use our speed to cheat," Wally protested.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you ask Barry how he kept beating me when he was teaching me how to play poker."

Wally turned to Barry with raised eyebrows, while Barry grimaced, suddenly very glad the girls weren't there to hear Brady's comment. Especially considering he knew how bad it looked either way, 1) that he had even taught Brady how to play poker and 2) that he cheated while doing it. He hadn't thought Brady would've even noticed, considering how quickly he super speeded to read the cards.

Then again, he couldn't keep the smug smile from his face every time he won and how frustrated Brady would be each round they went on. Not that they played with any actual money, Monopoly money was the substitute. (Another game they weren't allowed to play considering, from what Cadence said, how easily he started to ramble about the mechanics of Monopoly and economics).

Shaking his head, Barry locked eyes with Wally. The two looked at each other then took off again. Racing neck and neck, they shot back through Central City just before their world exploded in a burst of white light. Barry watched as Wally's head suddenly jerked backward, struck beneath the chin. He fell back against a brick wall, causing Barry to skid to a stop and turn around.

"Wally?" He asked. "What happened?"

Wally sucked in a deep breath, staring in space in front of him. He started to respond, mouth repeatedly opening and closing. He struggled to get the words out before he was grabbed by the front and thrown to the other side of the alley. He crashed so hard that an indent of his form was left in the brick wall.

"Wally!" Barry cried. His heart rammed against his ribcage, eyes darting around the alleyway. If Wally was being thrown around like that, if there was nothing there, that only meant…

"Savitar," Wally cried out. Barry's heart sank. Wally struggled to get up from the ground, arms quaking. "He's here."

"He's not here," Barry insisted. No. Not yet. He wasn't supposed to be attacking yet. It wasn't the right time. They weren't ready. Barry gasped, feeling a hand enclose around his neck and lift him off the ground. Barry blinked, finding Savitar standing in front of him, blue eyes glowing straight into Baryr's own.

"Think again, Flash," Savitar growled.

Cadence lifted her hand, grabbed Jesse's arm, and twisted it around. Jesse cried out in pain as she was forced around, her back against her other sister's chest, before she was thrown across the room. Jesse threw her hands out to catch herself, rolling across the matted floor of her gym. She pushed herself to her side maneuvered back to her feet. Cadence waited for Jesse's next move.

Jesse gritted her teeth and started towards Cadence once more. She swung a fist, making Cadence's head jerk backwards. Catching air, Jesse swung again with her left hand. Once again, Cadence moved her head out of the way. Over and over, they continued across the mats, Jesse working hard to connect a punch with Cadence, who continued to move out of the way. With one last punch, Cadence grasped Jesse's arm, bent underneath it, punched Jesse in the side, then flipped her over onto her back on the mats.

Jesse grunted, the wind knocked out of her. She stared at the ceiling while Cadence backed away, picking up the tablet that sat next to her. She sighed, looking over a computer-generated image of their fight on screen. "You keep leaving yourself open for attacks on your sides," she explained. "It's your weakest point. If you don't figure out a new way to fight, it'll just make it easier for Savitar to take you down. Especially considering how fast he can move."

Breathing heavily, Jesse turned back around and drew her arm across her forehead, working hard to catch her breath. She dropped her arms back to the mat. "I think that's the least of my problems at this point," she muttered.

"Good news is that you, at least, move faster than Barry when you're not using your powers," Cadence said. She closed the tablet and set it on the computer desk, sighing at the reminder that, once again, Caitlin wasn't there. Had she been, they would've moved through their training plan faster. She would've watched their fights with the tablet and let them know their strengths and weaknesses in real time. Working both jobs was starting to become tiring. Taking in a deep breath, Cadence placed her hands on her hips and said, "Let's run it again."

Jesse laughed in surprise. "You've just beaten me twenty times in a row," She complained. "I don't think I can take you kicking my ass for the twenty-first time in ten minutes."

A grin spread across Cadence's face. She lifted her chin, her smile widening as she crowed, "You make it sound like it's not fun."

"You've been spending way too much time with Barry," Cisco piped up from the corner of her gym, sitting with crossed legs, laptop on his lap. He rested his chin in his hand and pointed a pen back and forth between the fire meta and the speedster. "Don't get me wrong, I love me some bro time, but that smug confidence thing is soooo not attractive."

"You're just saying that because you lost faster than Jesse did," Leah piped up, sitting beside Cisco. Cisco slowly turned and glared at her, making her smile sweetly in response. Cisco sighed heavily, bringing up a hand to rub at the bruise forming along the side of his face. "You know you can have that healed, right?"

Cisco thrust his hand into the air. "Did we have to have her here?" He demanded.

"And miss you having some sort of a midlife crisis? She absolutely needs to be here." Cadence grinned at Cisco's noise of offense and Leah's and Jesse's quiet laughter. "We have to train as much as possible and not just with our powers, we rely on them too much."

"Yeah, well, believe me when I say that that the idea of trying to fight a supped-up speedster without using my powers isn't something that I find to be a very good idea," Cisco pointed out. He brought his hair back into a ponytail. "We've got against him with three speedsters, a fire meta, a ice meta, a breacher, a gravity meta, and a shadow meta. Nothing has been working. If we can't beat him now…how can we beat him in the future."

Cadence sucked in a deep breath, pressing her lips together. She didn't want to admit it was the same thing that kept her up at night. Wondering what was going to happen in a few months' time if they couldn't get to the point of stopping Savitar. The speedsters weren't fast enough and without Caitlin, they weren't able to slow him down. They needed to come up with something different and so far nothing was working.

"We'll have to keep trying," she said. "That's the point of our training sessions. Barry is working with you guys on your powers and I'm working with you on the fundamentals."

Leah smiled quietly. "That sounded like something Caitlin would say," she pointed out.

Silence shot through the room as Cadence and Cisco exchanged a glance. No matter how much they tried to avoid it, everything went back to how painful it was for Caitlin to be gone. Not just that, Cadence thought. But knowing how much closer we are to the future coming true. They did their best to keep Caitlin from turning into Killer Frost, tried to keep the headline from coming true, but it had happened. That part of the prophecy had come true, that part of the future.

Flames flickered at Cadence's fingertips, spurned on the truth. Caitlin was gone, and Killer Frost was their enemy. Someone who had to be taken down, not just for Caitlin's sake, but for their own. The more Killer Frost knew about their plans, the less of an advantage they had to stop Savitar. And If what they learned about the mind-meld meant anything, then Savitar would learn everything about them sooner than they'd wanted.

"Again," she repeated. "Leah, you're up."

Leah nodded and got up from beside Cisco. She moved to the far side of the practice mats, waiting for Cadence's input of what to do. Cadence looked back at her, eyebrows furrowing together. She was Brady's same age, eleven years old, and looked every bit of it. Unlike Brady, who had grown an air of seriousness around him over the last few years, Leah's brown eyes were wide with wonder, her blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail made her look even more youthful, simply reminding Cadence of how easily her life was going to change. How much it had changed so far.

She'd been out in the field with Brady a few times, but certainly hadn't had enough time to hold any meats on her own. The question remained, however, was it a good idea to throw her into things with Savitar. Were they doing the right thing? Any advantage they'd have against Savitar was a good one, having him completely immobile was an ace in their hole. But Savitar could move faster than any speedster they'd gone up against, she couldn't imagine what he'd do to her if he had the chance.

You thought the same about Eobard, but he never hurt you, the thought suddenly came to Cadence's mind. It was long before she knew that Eobard and Harrison, at the time, were one and the same. With Eobard taking over Harrison, a full form of a mind-meld, he'd been able to take on the attributes that Harrison had, including the love for his daughter, which translated to the evil speedster who couldn't bring himself to lay a hand on her.

But Savitar isn't Eobard. Savitar was a Speed God from the Speed Force who wanted nothing more than to rule every Earth he could reach. And he clearly had some sort of a plan if it meant taking Killer Frost to his side.

"Cade?" Jesse's voice sounded behind Cadence, breaking her from her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Cadence replied slowly. "I'm fine." It just felt that she was onto something, but she wasn't quite sure. She nodded toward Leah and shook out her hands, extinguishing the flames. "Now that we've got your strengths and weaknesses down, I'm going to work with you on more defensive work."

Leah nodded.

A sudden peal shot through Cadence's gym, an alert coming straight from the Cortex. Cisco turned his attention straight to the laptop in his lap. His eyes widened as he sucked in a deep breath. "It's Savitar," He breathed. He lifted his eyes over the laptop towards Ccadnece. "He's here."

"He's here?" Jesse repeated.

"Not 'here-here', but he's putting a beating on our friends," Cisco said. He stood up and threw open a breach. "We have to go."

Cadence nodded and turned to move, suddenly feeling herself rooted in place. She saw Cisco and Leah moving toward the breach at the same time, but noticed Jesse held stock-still as well. Anger flashed through Cadence, already knowing who was behind the attack on them. She took a step forward, seeing the ground warp and weave beneath her, throwing off her balance.

Jesse struggled to move forward. Then with a burst of speed, spun around and punched Cadence hard in the chest. Cadence crashed into the wall behind her and fell to the ground, before getting to her feet and sending a fireball back to the speedster, knocking her away. "Get out of here," Cadence called to Cisco and Leah. "Before Mindboggler gets you, too."

"What about you?" Leah asked.

"Right now, you need to help Barry." Cadence flipped forward and kicked towards Jesse again. Jesse superspeeded out of the way, resulting in Cadence turning around to throw another fireball.

Cisco grabbed Leah and the two jumped through the breach, the fireball following along behind them before it disappeared from sight, leaving the speedster and fire metahuman to continue their battle.

"Poor Team Flash," Savitar gloated, continuing to tighten his grasp around Barry's throat. "No matter what you do, you can't come close to stopping me."

Barry brought up his hands, frantically trying to remove Savitar's hand from around his neck. "I will stop you, Savitar," he declared. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on phasing. Thought of becoming and moving through the solid matter that was Savitar's suit.

Savitar merely laughed in response. He pulled Barry closer, pressing his face against the speedster's. "How many times do I have to tell you, Barry Allen, I'm the Future Flash. No matter what you do, I'm going to come out on top. No matter what you try, you're not going to beat me. I will know what you do before you do it."

Barry sucked in a breath between his teeth. Felt a throbbing pain start in his head. "I promise you, we're going to get Caitlin back."

If Savitar was able to smile, Barry was sure that the silence that then stretched between them was Savitar's moment to smile. An evil, gloating smile. "Caitlin is merely a stepping stone of my rise to power. You've put the plans in motion, Barry. You brought everyone here to this exact moment, today. You're frantic means of training has worn everyone out. And while I've got Cadence and Jesse busy in STAR Labs, you've made Wally tired and weak. You've made Brady a sitting duck for me to slaughter."

No.

Barry forced his eyes open. His words came out shaky, working hard against the pressure that continued to press around him on all sides. "Don't you touch him," he hissed. Savitar turned his head toward the sound of an engine coming closer and closer to them. "Savitar!" He could hardly get the next words out. "I'm begging you."

"You don't need to beg me." Savitar threw Barry aside, knocking him hard to the ground. "It's not his time."

Barry pushed himself up in tie to find Savitar turn on his heel and start to run in rapid circles. As he continued to run, bright flashes of light started to form a vortex in the middle of his path. Wally got to his feet and started to run after him. "Wally, no!"

But Wally continued to run after Savitar, becoming knocked back each time he moved to attack. Savitar continued to run until the vortex grew bigger and bigger. He then came to a stop and whipped around, elbowing Wally hard in the face. "Nice try, Wallace," Savitar groused. "But you're not going to stop me. You're not fast enough to stop me, by yourself. I'm going to come for you and Barry and your sister and I'll kill everyone you love. I know the limits of your speed." He pointed to Wally. "After all, I'm the one who gave it to you."

"And giving me speed…was your biggest mistake," Wally decalred.

Savitar ran.

Wally ran after him.

The vortex continued to grow brighter and bigger as they ran.

"No!" Barry yelled. He ran forward and struck Wally, pushing his shoulder hard into Wally's side. The two fell to the ground just as another beam of light formed. A breach opened, and Cisco and Leah jumped out just as a plume of fire came out after them.

Savitar stopped running, positioning himself directly into the fire blast. Instead of it knocking him aside, the lightning that surrounded his suit glowed a brighter blue-white. It crackled around his fingers, up his arms and down his legs. Savitar knelt down and continued to run, faster than ever.

"He got a boost," HR murmured, the first time Barry'd heard him since they started their training. "Savitar's even faster now."

Savitar shot forward and grabbed onto Wally's collar. With a cry, he threw Wally towards the vortex, where beams of light stretched out and wrapped around his arms and legs. Wally cried out as he was lifted off the ground and sucked closer toward the vortex.

"Oh my God," Cisco murmured.

"What's happening?" Leah asked.

"No!" Wally scrambled for the air, screaming in fear as he was pulled toward the vortex. He windmilled his arms, moving as fast as he could. Red lightning surrounded him but continued to be zapped down by the white lightning that Savitar created. "No! No! Barry!"

No.

Barry stared.

No.

He had to run.

His feet wouldn't move. He could only stare.

Wally continued trying to reach out for his friend. "Help me, Barry!" Wally cried.

Leah threw her hands forward. They shook with effort as Wally slowly stopped moving backwards. She brought her arms back to her sides, Wally slowly pulling forward. A tug of war of power. Every few seconds Wally would move closer to the vortex before being pulled away again, the power of the vortex working hard against her gravity powers.

As the power continued to pull, Wally's suit slowly pulled away from his body, giving Barry the view of abject fear that swelled within Wally's eyes. And Barry stood, frozen in fear as Wally continued to reach for him, continued to cry out for help.

Leah continued to cry out, pulling as hard against Wally as she could. But he continued to sink further and further. First his legs disappeared, then his waist. His upper body.

"Barry!"

Wally's fingers disappeared into the vortex.

Leah dropped to the ground, fighting to catch her breath against her fight with the breach.

The vortex blinked out, taking Wally with it while Savitar stood in his place.

A/N: Well, this took me much longer to get out. I worked and re-worked the last scene multiple times until it feels like I got it right. So I hope you guys enjoyed it. There are multiple storylines from the show that are going to run together until their last meeting with Savitar but there is going to be a reveal coming soon.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

DarkHelm145: Yes, yes they are. I plan on having at least one fight scene per chapter as the story ends but we'll see how things go. Thank you for the review.

Guest: The ends of my stories are always my favorite part due to the pay off and how intense things get. I'm glad you're enjoying it as well.

Ethan: Not a big reveal or anything; Brigade (as mentioned a few times before) is the name Cadence went by when she was part of the AB and Blight is Breathtaker's planned name for Brady. There will be more backstory on this as the story comes to a close. Yes, Oliver was the one Alicia saw with Clark. Thank you for reviewing.