57

Stand Up

"Iris?"

"Iris…"

"She's in shock, it may take a while for her to wake up."

Iris's eyebrows twitched, listening to everything going on around her. But on the inside, she played over the same scene in her head. The scene of being at her father's house with Wally and Jesse, the scene of her arms being yanked behind her back, being lifted away from the table and the family dinner they were indulging in. The looks on Wally's, Jesse's, and her father's faces—all horrified expressions—burned through her mind.

She could practically see Savitar's face behind them as he lifted her high in the air, off her seat and over the back, knocking it over within the second he grabbed her. Using his super speed to his advantage to simultaneously knock over the dishes that lay across the table.

Iris had brought her hands up, hoping to tear herself free from Savitar's hold. Her fingers collided with the metallic talons of the claws that dug into the fabric of her jacket. Part of her was relieved at the revelation, that he was in his suit. She didn't know how she'd react if it were that it was Barry's doppelganger's face she was seeing who had a hold on her. An evil grin on his face as he tightened the collar around Iris's neck, pulling twice.

Joe slowly rose to his feet. "You don't want to do this," he breathed, holding out his hand.

Iris gasped for air as she leveled her gaze on her father. In that moment, she saw the utmost fear in his eyes. Not just fear for what Savitar could do within the blink of an eye, with speeds so fast that something could be done before a thought could even be formed.

"You don't know what I want to do…" Savitar rasped, slowly, ever so slowly, lifting Iris up off the ground. Iris kicked her legs back and forth, struggling to break free. She gasped, seeing streaks of lightning bolt from her peripherals on both sides. Only seconds before seeing Jesse and Wally both crash to the ground so hard that Iris felt the reverberations of their hit run through his suit and through her body. Savitar slowly lowered his free hand.

He's too fast, she thought. The realization struck her at once, tears welling at her eyes then dripping down her cheeks, pinpricking her skin. The hot, salty tears itched her skin as they dribbled down but she didn't dare move. Any slight movement would've been an invitation for Savitar to do what he was supposed to do.

To drive a spike through her heart and kill her.

She was ready for it…just not ready for her father to see it.

"Please," Joe continued. He slowly inched his way from his seat, around the table towards Savitar. He continued to hold his hands out, fingers twitching, hands shaking gently, afraid to move too quickly. Savitar merely continued to watch him, Iris could feel his calm, steady breath against the back of her neck. "Please, you don't have to do this."

"Oh yes, I do."

"No, you don't." Joe shook his head. "Because this is Iris. This is your best friend. This is the person who was there for you at every turn. This is the person who was there for you when your parents died. When you were sent to live with us, she kept people from picking on you, she's your best friend."

Iris continued to keep her eyes on her father, unable to look anywhere else. Tears continued to fall down her cheeks, dropping off one after the other, staining the ground along with the desecrated food. She watched, heart hurting with each pump of adrenaline, as her father's eyes welled up as well. His evident desperation was heartbreaking.

Heartbreaking, but even less though than Savitar's flat, "No, she's not. In my life…I barely know you. In my life, my parents are still alive. I didn't go to live with you. I didn't have you there to comfort me. And you certainly weren't there when I watched my life play out in front of me over and over and over. You see, Joe, to me…" he paused. "To me, you may as well not exist!"

Iris screamed as everything happened at once. She slammed her eyes shut, unsure of, when she managed to open her eyes again, which way was up. Colors surged around, she heard repeated gunshots, deafening and horrifically silent all at once. It was terrifying, to feel the force that Savitar exuded while he ran, dragging his captive with him. Much different than being pulled by Barry.

When Barry ran with someone, he ensured their safety, held their heads in place to keep from suffering from whiplash, held the person close so that they didn't burst into flames upon the friction that resulted from moving so fast at top speed. Barry made sure whomever he held onto was safe.

Savitar flung Iris around like a ragdoll. Like someone he truly, didn't care about.

Then she was flung to the ground, rolling across a cold, dusty floor. Iris came to a stop, coughing hard, choking on the cloud that appeared around her. She sucked in hard, expelling the dust with an equally hard cough. Seconds before she felt the air around her drop in temperature. It fell so fast, she shook violently, fingers curling into her palms as she tried to stay warm.

Her entire body spasmed, working hard to keep her internal temperature up, but found herself unable to do so. She curled herself up in a ball, looking up when she felt the

"Go," Killer Frost said, tilting her head toward the entrance.

Iris held her arms close to her body. "You're…letting me go?" It took her a long time to get the words out, her jaw violently quivering as she shivered. Frost was an apt name, the air around her growing colder the closer the ice metahuman got, just as the air around Cadence grew warmer the closer the fire metahuman came. "Why…after taking the time to kidnap me?"

"For fun," Killer Frost said. She straightened her head, looking above and past Iris. A hint of a smile came to her lips. "Savitar always likes a chase. He plans on killing you, anyway. You mean nothing ot him. Why not let him have some fun with it before he does? It's not quite time yet but…" she shrugged. "I'll let you get a head start."

Iris slowly pushed herself to her knees. "You don't want to do this," she murmured, remembering her father's words seconds before she was whisked away. "You don't have to work for him. This isn't you, Caitlin."

Killer Frost snorted. "I'm not Caitlin. I've never been Caitlin. Caitlin is a weak, pathetic excuse for a human and I'm glad she's gone. Now…" she extended her finger, pointing behind Iris. "Are you going to run or…?"

"Are you going to…" Iris swallowed hard. "Chase me down?" She wouldn't put it past the ice meta to stab her in the back the second she turned to run. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have someone who was working to take her down.

"No, I'm saving that for Savitar. I've got some other things I need to handle. There's a little fire bug I need to get out of my hair." Killer Frost nodded once more. "Now go, before I change my mind."

And Iris was on her feet, stumbling as far as her legs would take her. She stumbled at first, unable to get the frozen feeling from her toes. But then found herself, as the minutes passed, running as hard and fast as she could, warmed up the further she got away from her captor.

She ran and ran, finding herself stuck in the twists and turns of…wherever she was being held captive. She called for her friends as she ran, stumbling along the darkness, worked to keep herself moving. As she ran, her thoughts turned to her friends. To Barry. If Savitar had her, he certainly had to have gone after all the others. But Barry…it had to be more difficult than she could ever imagine for everything to turn out with Savitar the way it had.

To know the one who was threatening everything in his life was…himself? His actual self. The part of him that would've been from the original timeline, had his mother not died. But a part of him that stewed in his anger and devastation for the life ripped away from him for thousands upon thousands of years—if time in the Speed Force was any different. To know that he wouldn't have the same support system in her and her father in his actual life. It probably fueled the anger for him, fueled the rage and need to take her down in what was coming.

And yet, Barry continued to run, continued to throw himself forward, created a life for himself that anyone would be proud of.

She hoped he was safe. Hoped he was doing everything he could to save the city.

Iris continued to run, pushing herself forward, running until she was exhausted, then used the walls to push herself forward. Every now and then, she would whip around at a scraping sound. A loud, metallic grating sound that would make her heart race faster than her prolonged running. She'd press herself against the wall, having no space to protect herself and waited for the inevitable. When it didn't come, she'd start running again. It didn't take Iris long to realize that Savitar was purposefully isolating her. Using her in a cat and mouse game as she worked to figure out which way she was going.

Then she was swept up again, taken on by the rapid pace of a speedster taking her along for the ride. Next thing she knew, she saw Barry's nightmare played out in front of him.

Savitar held her tightly as Barry suddenly sped to a stop at the bottom of the plaza. He stretched his hand out toward her, before there was a commotion to the side. Iris looked over and saw Killer Frost and Cadence.

"Don't!" Barry's voice rang out. He inched towards Savitar. Every step he took forward, the tighter, Savitar's grasp on her became.

"It's time to choose," Savitar growled. He tilted his head back and forth between Killer Frost, Cadence, and Iris. "Who will be saved?"

"No, no!" Barry cried, hand outstretched. He continued to inch towards Savitar. Step after step. Closer and closer. Repeatedly, Barry's eyes darted around, seeing only Savitar, Iris, Killer Frost, and Cadence. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Make your choice," Savitar declared. "Life is full of choices, Barry, and now it's time for you to make yours. Who do you want to save?" He shook Iris in front of him like a ragdoll, making Iris break through her stoic expression, tap into the fear she tried to hold back.

Tears welled in her eyes. "Don't do it, Barry," she said, before realizing she spoke. She needed to keep herself strong, so Barry would be strong. Tears escaped her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, nevertheless she continued to speak strongly. She fought to keep her voice calm. Steady. She tried to hide her shaking legs, trembling hands, quivering voice. She had faith in Barry. He would get her out of it, would save the city. Even if it meant facing her own death, she could do it bravely, with dignity. "Don't worry about me."

Barry shook his head. Iris looked back at him, eyebrows coming together. Confused. Was he giving up? Just like her father had done, Barry stretched his hand out toward Savitar, a silent plea.

"Please," Barry continued.

"Choose!" Savitar spat. Iris could hear the disgust in Savitar's voice, utmost disgust at Barry's perceived weakness.

"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. Iris gasped, feeling it move through her body. A strange sensation of her organs moving aside to make space for it to come through.

She glanced down at the blade, waiting to see the blood collect at the tip, but as flung away before she could tell. It wasn't until she hit the ground that she realized what's happened. Savitar's attention had been taken by Barry. Killer Frost and Cadence had stabbed each other. And when Iris was flung aside, she phased through the ground.

It was an even stranger sensation than being taken by a speedster. She was aware of the strength and roughness of the concrete around her as she fell in and rose through the solid matter before laying sprawled out on the ground. And within that second, she found Brady reappearing in front of her. He removed his arms from around her and brought a hand up to his own chest, feeling the area directly in front of his heart.

Then he looked at her, eyes shielded by his goggles. "Are you okay?" He asked.

It came to Iris at once, what happened. Brady had, somehow, made it from his capture and saved her. Had turned invisible so that Savitar hadn't noticed him and grabbed onto Iris either just before or at the exact moment that Savitar had shoved his blade through her.

"Iris," he insisted when she didn't originally respond. "Are you okay?"

Iris nodded in response. "Yeah, thanks."

He nodded back and turned his attention to his mother lying on the ground with Barry hunched over her. Iris brought her hand to her heart, felt it ramming in her chest against her ribcage, so hard it made her sick. She'd thought Savitar had come back to finish the job when the edges of her vision started to darken, all until she slid into the darkness that quickly consumed her.

All until she heard Wally's voice call her name. "Iris?"

Her eyelids fluttered, she slowly opened her eyes. She recognized Jitters quickly. She'd spent enough time closing Jitters, studying late at night, darkening the rooms for ambiance when certain musicians came to play. Jitters was like a second home to her, so recognizing it when she opened her eyes made her feel safe. Seeing Wally's excited face energized her even more.

Then there was a sea of faces above her; Cisco, Frankie, Leah, Brady, Jesse, Wally, Cadence, and Barry. Barry hugged her tightly as she sat up, bringing a hand to her forehead. The roughness of his suit, the suit that'd gone through the ringer over the past year, scratched against her cheek as she hugged her

best friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Iris replied.

Barry pulled back, searching her face with his eyes. "But…Savitar…I saw…" He swallowed hard. "He stabbed you."

Iris motioned to Brady, who quietly stood aside, hood pulled back and goggles around his neck hands clasped behind his back. "I have to thank him for saving my life," She said. "Who would've thought Savitar could've been tricked by an eleven-year-old."

Brady smiled bashfully when Barry turned his way with a nod. "Thank you," he said. Brady shrugged back, glanced at Burnout's body that lay nearby, and shuddered, turning away.

Iris followed his gaze and her eyebrows came together, seeing Burnout quietly lay on the table. Then her eyes shifted over to Earth-2 Barry, who stood on the outside of the group, a hand brought up to his mouth and her eyes widened even further. "What-?"

"It's a long story," Cadence said wearily. She ran a hand through her hair.

"What are we going to do now?" Jesse demanded. She gestured towards the front of Jitters. "Savitar still has Caitlin! We don't know where he is! We don't know what he's going to do now! And the city is imploding!"

"If we were going to use the Philosopher's Stone to take on Savitar with the Speed Force bazooka, what does that mean?" Wally ran a hand through the hair that poked through the top of his suit. "STAR Labs is going to explode if we don't do something to stop it and if it keeps going the way it currently is, it may funnel into the pipeline and after that—"

"—After that, it may as well be another Particle Accelerator explosion," Cisco murmured. "And considering the Philosopher's Stone is inside it, then, there's a good chance we're unleashing the same energy that made Frankie a meta onto everyone else in Central City."

"That's a real tourist trap," Cadence remarked with a humorless half smile. "The city that holds thousands and thousands of metahumans due to numerous Particle Accelerator programs."

"Well." Brady shrugged. "At least grandpa isn't the reason for it this time."

Iris looked to Brady, briefly stumped by it being the first time that Brady had ever referred to Harrison as his grandfather. But due to everything else that was going on while she'd been knocked out and hidden away. Not to mention, seeing doppelgangers for the first time. It was one thing to hear about it, to hear about Earth-2, one thing to know the real identity of Savitar. But to see it in front of her with Earth-2 Barry and…she assumed it was Earth-2 Cadence, it was trippy.

Iris shook her head, taking in a deep breath. "So, what's out there?"

"The end of the world," Leah said.

"Or something that will finally take care of that thin crust pizza Savitar calls a face," Cisco remarked.

"No, that's not what he needs it for," Earth-2 Barry said. "It's not why he let Tracy come to be part of our team. Savitar knows everything we were and are going to do. The only way he doesn't is if we don't let him create new memories. Like how Burnout and I…" he swallowed hard. "How we were able to make Savitar think what he did was what he needed to do. We tricked him. He's scrambling. We need to stop him now!"

"Or?" Frankie prompted. "This seems like an 'or' moment."

Earth-2 Barry pressed his lips together. "Or he's going to use the power of the Philosopher's Stone to create an opening for the speed force where he can project himself across time." His eyes shifted over the group. "The more places he puts himself, the harder it'll be for us to stop him."

"How can he do that?" Jesse asked. "What's so great about the Philosopher's Stone that he'd be able to do it?"

"Because the Philosopher's Stone is calcificed Speed Force energy," Earth-2 Barry explained to the stunned silence around him. "So, whatever it is we're going to do to stop it, we need to stop it now." As soon as the last word left his lips, the ground beneath them seemed to pulse with energy, just as there was another bright pulse of light from outside.

The group hurried to the windows and peered out, wincing against the light that continued to emanate from STAR Labs. Cisco shook his head as he watched it grow bigger and bigger. "I don't know how much longer we've got," he said. "All that energy, who knows how catastrophic it'll be. The Philosopher's Stone taking over the city…"

"What can we do?" Frankie asked. She tilted her head in the opposite direction, where metallic pieces continued to shoot through the air like mosquitos in a swamp. "Even if we stop the explosion, we can't stop Breathtaker."

"We have to," Iris said firmly. "Not just for us, and for our families, but for all of Central City." She winced as Jitters shuttered and groaned ominously around them. As the seconds passed, they were leaving themselves in more danger than they'd been before. Some part of her knew her father was out there, knew he wouldn't have given up chasing after her even if he were on his own death bed. The second he, Wally, and Jesse were gone, he would've raced to STAR Labs to sound the alarm. He was out there, somewhere, fighting for her.

Just as he had when coming toe to toe with Savitar, moving closer to give himself the shot to taken down Savitar if he moved fast enough. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, she wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"So, we'll take them down," Cadence said. "Once and for all." She turned from the window, the backlight behind her making her look demonic. "There's no more 'what ifs' or 'how longs' for us. Just here and now." She clenched her hand into a fist. "No matter what happens…" She looked to Barry. "You're going to take down Savitar and I'm going to take down Breathtaker. He's waiting for me, has waited for this for years. And I'm not going to let him have the satisfaction of thinking I'm scared. He boosted my abilities and, well, sort of made what I am. And I'm not going to let him have his control over me anymore."

Barry nodded in agreement. "I hated Thawne and Zoom. They took so much from me."

Iris lowered her gaze, remembering going to Barry's mother's funeral. Remembered how she had looked up at her father he stood by her gave and was fearful of the hard look on his face. It didn't take long for her to realize it was because of how torn he was over his own best friend who may or may not have murdered his wife. Torn over his own thoughts of what he thought happened that night. Then her thoughts shifted to the funeral for his father. And how Barry had stood next to his grave with a blank look on his face, the same blank look he'd given when standing by his mother's grave.

He was right.

They'd taken a lot from him.

"And I've hated Savitar for threatening to take everything else away from me, too," Barry continued. "Threatening to destroy my life because…he's had my life. And he knows how to hurt me." He took a deep breath. "Each of them has taught me that there's strength in anger." Barry nodded to Cadence. "You've taught me how to channel it, from watching you take on the being that is Flare, I've used it before. But we sit here with our anger, trying think of a way to hurt Savitar. And I just don't think hate's going to get it done this time."

Brady's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Something Snart said once," Barry said. His voice turned soft, almost flippant. Almost, Iris thought with a smile, that he had taken on Snart's personality all together. "That Flash should stay a hero all the time. And sometimes that's not about who can punch the hardest or be the fastest. Or save the most lives."

"So…what are we going to do?" Leah asked.

Barry lifted his chin. "The last thing he'd expect." Lightning flashed through his eyes.

Savitar viciously threw Killer Frost to the ground as soon as he came to a stop. His chest heaved as he watched her gasp with pain, trying to push herself up. She brought her hand to the closing wound on her chest, sucking in as much wind as she could. Savitar then tilted his head up, watching as Breathtaker continued to easily deflect the vibrational blasts Gypsy tried to attack him with.

No, Breathtaker didn't even have eyes on her. She was throwing all her power toward him, whatever energy it was that he harnessed protected him in a cocoon. An ability Savitar watched him create the longer they worked together. An ability that Savitar had grown to do as well. Now was the time to unleash it. To harness it, to ensure that things would turn out the way they'd planned.

Now, he thought glaring at Killer Frost, if only she'd shut up! She brought up a hand to cover her chest, where her wound was slowly healing itself. Not as fast as her other wounds had been, the more it healed, the more it seemed to open and bleed more profusely. Almost as if another part of her was trying to come out and win.

Gritting his teeth, Savitar lifted his foot and pressed it against Killer Frost's back, knocking her over. She rolled to her back, icy eyes staring up at him, face twisted into an expression of pouty irritation. Though continued to quiver when Savitar moved closer to her. "We have to hurry," Savitar said. "I must become immortal before the paradox reaches me. I must become a God."

Killer Frost nodded and struggled to her feet. Her knees buckled as Savitar grabbed her arm and shoved her forward. She started to fall. Savitar grabbed her arm with one hand, then grabbed her hair with the other, ripping her head back. Killer Frost cried out as her head flew back. "I don't think you understand what's about to happen here," he hissed. "Because I could kill you faster than you could even think. I don't know what happened with you and the fire starter, but I can finish what she can't. But right now, I need you because the speed force doesn't like speedsters messing with time. And when I'm done." He kicked Killer Frost behind the knees, forcing her back to the ground. "Trust me, you don't want to find out what'll happen."

Savitar stepped forward and opened his arms. He stretched them as far and wide as he could before stretching them, rolling his shoulders. "But that might be fun." He grinned then hunched forward, starting to run.

He ran in a giant circle, starting to open a portal. There was a second where it appeared that nothing was happening, then the portal continued to grow wider and wider. Wide enough that it blended in with the color of the explosion still taking over STAR Labs.

Killer Frost carefully got to her feet, holding out her hands. She gasped in surprise, eyes widening when she saw a black figure shoot from the portal. She remembered seeing it before, when she was still Caitlin. Caitlin no longer existed and yet there were memories still inside that worked its way to the forefront. Memories that she couldn't quite quell.

Such as the figurative pain of watching Cadence come toward her with a flaming sword while she held a large icicle back at the fire metahumans. Feelings that were quickly and easily snuffed out. This time, however, she was affected by the familiar feelings she'd felt for Hunter Zoloman or Zoom as she knew, when she saw the Black Flash come flying out of the portal.

It screeched as it stretched out its arms, racing toward Savitar.

Savitar shot out of the way and turned to Killer Frost, who took Black Flash's attention by throwing icicles toward him. Savitar nodded in appreciation, then turned back to the portal. "Finally," he declared. His hands clenched into fists, sucking in a sharp breath that made his chest swell. "To be a God!"

He held out his arms and started toward the portal.

There was a second and third jolt of lightning that caught him off-guard. Instead of the trail being red like Black Flash's, a yellow one came from behind, striking him in the back with lightning while a more orange hued trail came from the portal, striking him in the chest, sending him into the air.

Savitar crashed to the ground and looked up, glaring. "No!" He snarled, baring his teeth as the orange lightning streak appeared in front of him.

Jay smirked, folding his arms tightly over his chest. "I've been waiting a long time to do that," Jay declared, smugness coming to his voice, easily matching his stance.

Barry then came to a stop beside him. He tilted his head, cracking his neck as Savitar's snarling deepened. "Let's end this."

His words were nearly drowned out as STAR Labs exploded.

A/N: So? What'd you think? I'm so so sorry it took so long—almost a month-for this chapter to be released to you all. I know you don't care so much about what's been keeping me from updating so much as I do it when I'm ready, but I do tend to be a bit hard on myself when I'm working on stuff and don't update in a while. But than you all for being so patient with me.

Also, looking back on this story (as I tend to do when I don't update in a bit, have to catch myself back up sometimes) I'm a bit disappointed with how little I used Alchemy/Julian in this story compared to what I planned, but I am working to make up for it for the end of the story.

Oh my god, you guys! I'm super excited!

Cheers,

-Riley