Alright. I'm not even gonna do an intro. Let's get into it.
Chapter 15- Avengers Assemble
Barry just lies on his bed, only a few feet from Pietro. He looks over at Pietro, still in his coma, and whispers, "I wish you were awake. We could use your optimism, and another speedster."
A few seconds later, Steve and Wanda both walk in. Barry smiles at Wanda, who blushes slightly.
"Barry. How are you feeling?" Steve asks him.
Barry kinda shrugs. "Still in a bit of pain, but I'm gonna be alright. Give me another 15-20 minutes, and I'll be good to go," he replies.
Steve nods, then says, "We need you to come with us to the conference room. We need to discuss our next move with the rest of the team."
Barry nods. He slowly gets out of bed, with Wanda helping him up. Once he's on his feet, he smiles and says, "I'll be okay. Plus, I don't want my new girlfriend to be my crutch so soon after we got together." This statement makes Wanda blush more.
Barry follows Steve and Wanda to the conference room where the entire team has gathered, along with Dr. Erik Selvig and Maria Hill, who both work at the Facility.
When they enter the room, Sam says, "Good to see you on your feet so fast, Barry. Your fast healing still takes some getting used to." This brings a chuckle.
Barry takes a seat at the table. Natasha looks at Barry, then asks, "So, what happened to Savitar? Why did he freak out when you and Wanda kissed?"
Barry looks at her, not entirely sure himself. Then, Steve sits up straighter, and Barry can almost see the lightbulb go off.
"I get it," Steve says.
"What? What do you get?" Natasha asks.
"I know why Savitar freaked out. He said it himself," he says. He then looks right at Barry, and says, "Remember what he told you? About one of the things he needed for his ascension? He said he needed you to watch Iris die so you could be driven so far into the dark that he could be born. Iris was the love of your life."
Instantly, the rest of the dots connect for Barry. "Except she's not the woman I love anymore," he says almost to himself as he looks at Wanda, "Wanda is." Wanda smiles at him and takes his hand.
Selvig speaks up. "So, now that Mr. Allen has realized he loves Wanda, the death of his former girlfriend would no longer have the same effect on him, thereby meaning that Savitar himself is never born."
"So, we've won?" Sam asks. Then he laughs and says, "That was easy. Beat your enemy by getting two people to kiss and admit they love each other." Rhodey laughs with him, but the rest of the team isn't so sure.
"No," says Barry, "We haven't won yet. If it worked like you think, Savitar would've disappeared the moment me and Wanda confessed our love and kissed. Plus, Savitar's a speedster. He can avoid the time paradox for a little while. But, eventually the paradox will catch up with him, and he'll be erased from existence."
"How long will that take?" Maria Hill asks.
"I don't know exactly. A few hours, most likely," Barry replies.
"That's still not good. He can do a lot of damage in a few hours," Steve says.
"Exactly. We can't just sit and wait for Savitar to disappear. We have to find him," Natasha says firmly.
"But Savitar won't even become Savitar if he's erased. Wouldn't that mean everything he does now will be reversed when he disappears?" Sam asks.
"Not necessarily. Even if he's erased from his existence, damage he causes will still remain," Selvig says.
"And, he's still got a plan. He took Tony for a reason. And he didn't attack Avengers Tower for no reason. He wants to be a god. He's been planning this whole thing for centuries. He must need Tony, plus whatever he was after at the tower, to achieve his goals," Barry says.
"So, what do we do next?" Rhodey asks.
"First, we need to find where he took Tony. Once we find him, we need to rescue him, try and find Pepper, and stop Savitar," Barry says simply.
"I saw the lightning as Savitar left. He seemed to be heading south. That is at least a start," says Vision.
Barry nods, then says, "Alright. If you guys have any ideas for plans, go ahead and discuss them. I'm gonna excuse myself, so Savitar can't use my memories against me."
Barry stands and walks out of the room. The rest of the team looks around and starts to discuss ideas.
(Warehouse outside Albany, New York)
Tony suddenly feels himself slow way down before he goes rolling across the ground a few feet before finally coming to a halt.
Tony looks up and sees Barry standing over him. But then, he sees Savitar's suit hanging from chains behind him, and that Barry's face is scarred and burned on one side.
"So, it's true. You're not a god. You're a time remnant of Allen," Tony states.
"I'm not a god yet. But I will be," he says with a smirk.
He takes a step forward and says, "I originally was going to force you to upgrade my suit. But now, I need you to build something for me."
"And what could I possibly make that you want?" Tony demands.
"An intra-dimensional quantum splicer," Savitar says.
"An intra-dimensional quantum splicer? I don't even have the stuff to even try to make that," Tony retorts.
"Why do you think I went after Avengers Tower? I stole Chitauri tech. You have what you need," Savitar responds.
"I need to make it, and fast, before the time paradox reaches me and erases me. You build the splicer. I open a time portal, exposing the Speed Force, you shoot me with that, and I become fragmented throughout all of time. After that, the paradox can't reach me," Savitar says.
Tony stands and glares at him. "You want to splice yourself throughout time? Exist in every moment there ever was?" he demands.
"All of us aware and connected through one consciousness. I'll be everywhere. Every hour. Every minute. And then...I will rule from the Big Bang until the end of the world," Savitar says, then glares at Tony, before saying, "Get...to work, Anthony."
Tony smirks at Savitar and says, "You said you need this before the time paradox erases you. Well, how about I let it? How about I just sit on my a** and let you just obliterate from existence?"
Savitar smirks before he says, "Because otherwise, she dies." Right then, a light turns on, revealing Pepper, chained to a post.
"Tony!" she gasps. Tony's eyes go wide with horror at the sight. He turns to Savitar and growls, "You sick son of a b****!"
Savitar utters a single laugh, then says, "Why do you think I took her in the first place? I knew you'd do what I asked if I threatened her. So, get to work, and she lives, and your team. Refuse, and her and the Avengers die."
Tony glares at Savitar, then sighs in frustration as he makes his way over to the table containing the Chitauri tech, as Savitar smiles triumphantly.
(2 hours later, Avengers Facility)
Barry walks into the hangar, fully decked out in his new Flash suit. The rest of the team is all there, and all kitted out for action. They all look at Barry expectantly as he walks over to them. He nods, then looks at Steve for directions.
"Alright, team. Here's the drill. We got lucky with Tony. He has a tracking device with him. With the help of F.R.I.D.A.Y., we were able to track him to a set of warehouses near Albany," Steve says.
"We managed to get security camera footage of one of the warehouses before the cameras went offline. The same warehouse where Tony is being held is also where Savitar's keeping Pepper," Steve says, generating some surprised looks.
"I'm proposing we split into two teams. One gets Savitar to leave the warehouse before taking him on. The other will use that distraction to get into the warehouse and rescue Pepper. I'll be leading the team to fight Savitar along with Barry. Wanda, Vision, Sam, and Rhodey will be with us," Steve says.
"Wait. That just leaves Natasha to rescue Pepper. She can't do it alone. Savitar won't just leave her completely unguarded," Barry says.
"She won't be alone," a voice says from behind Barry. Everyone turns to look, and sees Clint, bow in hand, striding towards them, that old confident smile on his face.
"Good to see you back, Clint," Steve says. "Hey. Thank Laura. She was the one who let me go for this," says Clint, drawing a laugh from the others.
Barry walks over to Clint. "Nice new threads, kid," Clint says.
"Thanks, Clint. And thanks for coming to help us," says Barry as he extends his hand. Clint takes it with a smile before saying seriously, "I know about you and Wanda. You better treat her well, or I'll kill you."
Barry just stares at Clint for a moment, then slowly nods, not doubting him.
Barry turns to the team. Steve smiles and says, "Barry, I may have led this team for a long time. But not now. Savitar is your enemy. You know him best. And for this battle, you're leading us." The rest of the team smiles and nods their agreement.
Barry smiles at everyone and says, "When I first met you all, I felt there was a reason for it. I think this may be one of them. You all were meant to help me put an end to Savitar."
The whole team smiles at him. Barry grins and says, "Okay. Let's roll."
And, I'll end there.
I decided to go ahead and use Savitar's plan from the show because I couldn't think of any other way he could try and save himself from the time paradox. But, the final battle, and how Savitar meets his end will be different. I haven't gotten any ideas from readers for the final battle, so please review and give me some ideas.
For those of you who are confused about the time paradox, this was the best way I could think of doing it on this Earth. Savitar was born because of Iris' death, which drove Barry down a dark path, leading him to create time remnants to fight Savitar, leading to Savitar's birth. Now that Barry has realised his feelings for Wanda and sealed them with a kiss, the effect Iris' death would've had on him is gone, meaning that Savitar's existence is now about to end. I hope that makes sense.
For those who couldn't guess, I drew Barry's last statement to the team from the words of Todd Beamer, one of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11. His last known words, heard over a phone call, were a call to his fellow passengers to get ready to attack the hijackers. And they were those same words. "Okay. Let's roll."
I should have the next chapter up soon. So, please, review, give me ideas for what you want to see in the final battle, and stay tuned.