Hello, my readers. I'm back.
I really hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. This chapter may not be as good, but I hope it'll be okay. (The title kinda sucks, but it is the best I could come up with).
Chapter 12- Confrontations and Revelations
Barry sighs as he spins around in the chair, some hot chocolate lying ignored on the breakfast bar in front of him. Things haven't been going well for the Scarlet Speedster.
When Ross left the facility, Barry felt really uncomfortable. He got the feeling that Ross would be a lot less cooperative in terms of helping them out than Julian was. More than that, he got a nasty feeling that Ross had developed a profound mistrust for Barry as a result of this. And knowing Ross' history with Banner, Barry has a feeling that Ross is not gonna just let this slide.
"I've got an idea," Tony says as he walks into the room.
Barry turns to Tony. "What is it?" he asks.
"I've got an idea for how we can capture or kill Savitar. His suit obviously gives him an advantage. I get the feeling it may help boost his speed. And he has those spear things in his wrists. On top of that, it gives him a lot of protection. So, if we can get him into a specific space, I can set up a powerful enough magnetic field, and that should keep him restrained long enough for us to knock him out or kill him," Tony says.
Barry nods, but then an idea comes to him. "Wait. Kill him. Savitar's the God of Speed. You can't kill a god. You can't hurt a god. Then why does he need a suit of armor?" Barry mutters to himself.
Tony just stands there, thinking on what Barry just said. Then, he says, "Wait. You're right. Even Thor can be harmed. And he's said his father has said they're not truly gods. Savitar isn't invulnerable. Otherwise he wouldn't have that suit. Underneath that suit, he's probably just a normal man. Well, a normal speedster."
Tony gets a grin on his face. "This works even better. If we try my trip, the only way for him to escape is to phase out of his armor. That'll leave him vulnerable," Tony says.
Barry slowly nods. If this idea works, it may be what will finally enable him to stop Savitar.
All of a sudden, alarms go off. Barry's head jerks up, knowing this can't be good.
A minute later, Wanda and Steve come running in, both looking alarmed. "Guys, we got an alert. We caught a police report about a "strange armored being with super speed" in New York, around the area of Avengers Tower!" Steve says urgently.
Tony and Barry are both on their feet. "He must be going after some of the tech I have stored at the tower," Tony says. He then turns to Barry, but Barry is already racing off for the tower.
"Barry!" Wanda cries out with worry, but he's already gone.
Tony races to the control room, racing to get on comms.
(Avengers Tower)
Barry races into the basement of Avengers Tower. And sure enough, standing right there in front of him is Savitar, looking among the various weapons and other pieces of technology Tony has in storage.
"You know, stealing is illegal you know," Barry says. Savitar is still for a moment, then laughs loudly as he turns around to face Barry.
"I am the God of Speed. I will take what I want," responds Savitar.
"I don't think so," Barry says in a low voice, before running right at Savitar. Savitar in turns runs, and the fight is on.
Barry and Savitar race around the room, running on the floor and walls, hitting each other when they can. Barry quickly finds himself on the losing end of this fight.
After a minute of racing each other around the room, Barry finds himself pinned against the wall by Savitar, his face bleeding, and a sharp pain in his arm telling him he has at least one broken bone. The malevolent speedster grips Barry's neck tightly with one hand as he says, "You will never beat me, Barry."
Savitar then raises his other arm, and the spear comes out of it. Barry then grins, having waited for this. He raises his arm, vibrating it, and uses it to slice off the spear. Savitar roars in anger, but Barry manages to catch the blade. He grins and says, "Let's see how well you withstand this." He then plunges the blade into a gap in Savitar's armor.
Savitar roars in pain and pulls back off the blade, dropping Barry. He slinks back towards a box lying open on the ground, then says, "A nice try. But you will still never beat me."
"That's what you think. But now, I..." Barry says, but then Savitar joins him and says in unison with Barry, "Now I have my team."
Barry stands there, stunned. He glares at Savitar, then demands, "How did you know I would say that?", then jumps back as again Savitar speaks in perfect unison with him.
Savitar laughs, still clutching his shoulder. "I told you, Barry. I'm always ahead of you. I know everything about you, and everything that will happen to you. This is all history. Because...I am the future, Flash."
Savitar then grabs something out of the box, then disappears in a flash of white lightning. Barry sit there, slumped against the wall, just staring off into the distance.
What just happened?
(3 hours later)
"Well, it looks like your arm will be fine, now," says the doctor who had taken an X-Ray of Barry's arm. He unstraps the brace and leaves the room, leaving Barry alone with the team.
Steve sits down next to Barry. "What exactly happened down there, today?" he asks Barry, concerned more about how Barry's been acting than about what Savitar took or how he won.
"I went to the tower. I found Savitar in the basement, looking through all the stuff Tony has stored down there. I told him to back off, and instead we fought. Again, he just beat me so easily. But, when he had me pinned against the wall, I was able to chop off one of his arm blades, and stabbed it through a gap in his armor. His cry after that could've only been one of pain," Barry says. He looks at Tony and says, "We were right, Tony. He's not really a god. Under that armor, he's just a normal human speedster."
"So, basically, the reason he's called the God of Speed is because he has an ego bigger than Tony's?" Sam says.
"Hey!" Tony protests. Most of the team have a laugh at Tony's expense.
Tony rolls his eyes in irritation. Then, he says, "Well, at least you managed to get that blade back to me. I'll do as much research on that thing as I can. See if we can't get any intel off of it, or any more information about Savitar." He then stands up and walks off. Slowly, the rest of the team files out, except for Steve and Natasha.
Steve looks at Barry and says, "Barry, I can tell something else is bothering you. What happened that you haven't told us?"
Barry is quiet for a moment. Then, he says in a softer voice, "Right before Savitar fled. Something happened. Twice, I tried to speak, and as I did, Savitar said the exact same thing, in perfect sync with me."
Steve and Natasha both look concerned. "How could he do that? Does he have mind reading capabilities?" Natasha asks.
"No, not that I have ever seen. But, he also said that he knows everything I'm going to do. That this is all history to him," Barry replies.
"Hmm," Steve says, considering that.
"That can't just be it. A history nerd wouldn't be able to know each exact word you'd say and say it in unison with you. This was more than just researching the past. It's more as if Savitar was there. That he'd already experienced this. Maybe he has already got through this day, and came back from the future. Maybe you fought a future version of Savitar," Natasha says.
That jogs Barry's memory. "I am the future, Flash," Savitar has repeatedly said.
Then, he thinks back to the first talk with Savitar through Julian. How Savitar claimed Barry had imprisoned him, yet Savitar had created himself.
Barry reflects on every time they've encountered Savitar. And the times where he seemed to know exactly what Barry's plan was.
And how he knew exactly what Barry was going to say. And matched him word for word.
And then, he realizes what Savitar has really been saying.
"I am the future Flash."
"Barry?"
The voice jolts him out of his stupor. He looks at Steve, who is looking at Barry with concern.
"Are you okay, Barry? You look like you've seen a ghost," Steve asks.
Barry just looks at Steve for a second longer. Then, he says, "I'm sorry about that. I'm fine. I just thought of something. I think there may have been a clue left behind at the tower. I need to go back for it. I'll be right back."
And with that, Barry races off, leaving Steve and Natasha sitting there in confusion.
(A few minutes later, near Rome, New York)
Barry comes skidding to a halt, stopping in a clearing amidst some trees, just a few miles from Rome, New York.
Barry pulls his mask down, then looks around. "I'm here," he calls out.
At first, there's nothing. Then, more angrily, Barry shouts, "I'm here."
A few moments later, there's the familiar whooshing sound, and Barry turns around to see Savitar standing maybe ten yards away.
Barry looks intently at Savitar, then says, "I know who you are."
"It's about time," Savitar jeers.
"Yes. Everything is about time with you. The past, present, future. You know it all. You know everything about me. And my family. My friends. You know everything that's gonna happen," Barry says, his voice rising steadily. Savitar simply stands there.
"But we've been wrong. We always thought you just a step ahead. But you don't just know everything that's gonna happen. You were there. You lived it. When you were me," Barry finishes very harshly and pointedly, trying to dare Savitar into revealing himself through his tone.
Savitar stands there for a moment, then kneels down. The back of his suit opens up. Barry watches as the process continues for several seconds. Then, Savitar slowly rises out of the armor as he says, "Like I told you from the beginning...I am the future Flash," as the face of Barry Allen is revealed.
Barry looks straight at Savitar, his hunch confirmed. Savitar grins, then says, "It's like looking in a mirror."
A moment later, he chuckles to himself, then turns his head and says, "Well, not quite." Barry sees that the right side of Savitar's face is badly scarred/burned.
"You're not so scary without your armor," Barry taunts.
Savitar just chuckles as he looks back at his suit and says, "What can I say? I outgrew red."
"I know what you are. You're a time remnant," Barry says matter-of-factly.
"A temporal duplicate. Made when you run back in time and meet yourself. You brought a remnant to life last year to defeat Zoom. Your duplicate died saving the multiverse, and you continued your happy little life. And it would've stayed that way. But then you decided to play God. You created Flashpoint, and changed everything," Savitar says scornfully.
"How did you get created?" Barry demands.
Savitar chuckles again. "Your future self created a time remnant to fight me. But I spared his life. Or rather, my life."
"You see, Barry, when you imprisoned me, a funny thing happened. I was shunned, because I wasn't the true Barry Allen. I was an aberration."
"What happened then?" Barry asks.
"I was broken. I was in pain. I wanted it to end. But then, I realized the truth, Barry. God feels no pain. All I needed was to become one," Savitar says.
He grins evilly, then says, "And now, I only need two things. One, to force you back to Earth-1, and force you to watch Iris die, so you are driven so far into the dark, that I can be born."
"And the other?" Barry asks.
Savitar smirks as he says, "Well, this may seem ironic, given who I'm talking to, but I'll keep that one to myself."
Barry stands there for a moment, then raises his hand, vibrating it, and says, "What if I kill myself? Then you'll never be created."
Savitar smirks again as he turns away and walks towards the edge of the clearing. "Cause and effect is an interesting thing. It didn't work out so well for Eddie, did it? Shot himself in the chest; Thawne's still kicking around."
Savitar turns back to Barry and points out him and says, "See, that's the interesting thing about time travel, Barry. The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you."
Barry just glares at Savitar. His smirk drops off his face as he looks at Barry with hatred as he says, "My ascension is at hand. When I have control over all of time, it will be you, who is abandoned and forgotten."
He continues to glare at Barry, then turns and walks back towards his armor. Barry wants to run over and try and stop him or kill him, but he stops himself. One thing he has learned here on Earth-1 is that when possible, you fight in a team.
Savitar steps back into his armor, which closes back over him. "See you soon, Flash," he says in his monstrous voice, and then disappears in a flash of white lightning.
Barry stands there, frozen. This new revelation has thrown chaos into this war with Savitar. He's not just fighting a speedster. He's fighting himself.
And he now knows he's in for the fight of his life.
And, there we go. I hope I did this chapter alright. I know this whole conflict with Savitar is going kinda fast, but I never planned on it being super long.
I'm thinking the war with Savitar will last just another few chapters, then we'll start gearing up for Civil War.
Please, let me know what you think of this chapter. And, please, let me know what you think of my decision to use Ross as Alchemy. I didn't get many responses to that, and I want to know your opinions on it. Also, please give me ideas for the final battle, and how you'd like to see Savitar meet his end.
Until next time!