Hey all. Sorry this is a little late, but here we are. My co-authors are Brightburn1985 and ThomasMarieAmell2.0. Thanks for all their help.
Disclaimer: Same as always, I don't own The Flash.
The team was getting worried, because one of their own was being targeted by Dr. Alchemy. Wally had recently been getting dreams where he lived a life as a speedster.
When Wally told them, it tickled something in the back of Barry's mind, but for some reason he just couldn't tell where it was coming from. Barry couldn't tell whether it was important or not and that frustrated him to no end. Barry would just have to see if he could actually remember eventually.
It pained them, but they had to put Wally on lockdown because they just didn't trust this Alchemy character. From what Frankie had told them, Alchemy tortured his targets with these visions he sent them until they finally relented and gave in to his demands of allowing him to grant them powers.
It was heartbreaking, because after witnessing all of Barry's exploits as The Flash, and now Jesse had gained speed and was heading down the superhero route as well, Wally had been dreaming of developing his own powers, especially super speed. And they were the ones who had to deny him that power he so desperately wanted.
Wally eventually agreed to be kept in the Pipeline so he could remain monitored and contained in the event Alchemy made another attempt at him.
Barry and Caitlin had remained behind whilst the rest of the team had left to enjoy a movie night at a drive-in movie theatre that was showing 'The Shining'. Mostly to help with Joe's date with DA Cecile Horton.
"Wally, are you all good there?" Barry asked through the microphone.
Wally was just laying down, banging the back of his head against the wall and raised a thumb into the sky to signify that he was alright.
"I really didn't want it to come to this," Barry said to Caitlin off handedly.
"I know what you mean. This just feels so wrong, having to resort to locking up your own brother to prevent him from getting powers, or making a mistake. It must bring up some bad memories." Caitlin referred to the time when the team locked Barry into the Pipeline in an attempt to stop Barry from challenging Zoom.
"I understand why we did it. And Wally agreed in the end, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it." Barry admitted.
Caitlin glanced over at Barry, but he was still so focused on the cameras that were keeping an eye on Wally. The two were alone, save for Wally who couldn't hear or see them. This may be the opportunity she'd been waiting for.
"So Barry, since we're alone right now, there's something I need to say," Caitlin began.
Barry turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well you're biting your lower lip, so this must be pretty important for you. What's on your mind Ms. Frosty?"
"Well Fleet Feet," the corners of Caitlin's lips were pulled upwards slightly at the sound of the names they'd given each other, and the fact he paid so much attention to her mannerisms when she didn't even notice. Honestly, there were a lot of reasons for Caitlin to swoon for Barry at this moment, "there's been something on my mind for the past couple months. Well the past couple years if I'm being honest with myself and I just, I need to tell you what I'm feeling."
"What you're feeling?" Barry said in a confused tone but then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh my god."
"Yeah," Caitlin nodded in confirmation. Finally, Barry would know how much she loved him. "It came as a shock for me as well, but it's true and I really do lov-"
"Julian? Really? You have a crush on Julian of all people?!" Barry asked incredulously.
"What?" Caitlin was frozen in shock. How did he make that conclusion? That she had feelings for Julian Albert?
"Well, who else would you have a crush on that would require you to talk to me about it? I appreciate that you considered my feelings about this endeavour of yours, but you're both adults and I need to respect your decisions. Even if it is with that snake." Barry grumbled at that last bit.
"I don't think you-" Caitlin tried to say but was interrupted.
"Is it the british accent? It's the british accent isn't it? What is it about Brits that are so attractive? I never understood that," Barry rambled.
Caitlin had no response in place for Barry's dramatic rambling, but luckily she didn't have to as there was a meta alert at the very movie theatre where the rest of the team were crashing on Joe's date.
Barry jumped into his suit and sped into action. Caitlin tried to get on the monitors, but the cameras watching Wally in the Pipeline had activated, sensing there was something wrong with Wally.
Wally screamed. He let out a gut wrenching yell as he clutched his head at an invisible pain. He stumbled around the cell for a little. Wally leaned against the glass, but paused, looking at the window as if there was something written there. Then came the anger. Wally was banging against the glass, demanding to be let out. "Let me go! You have to let me go! Barry! Caitlin! I know someone can hear me! Please, you have to let me go!"
It tore on Caitlin's heartstrings. More than they already were after Caitlin's failed attempt at piercing through Barry's obliviousness to get him to realize she liked him. Caitlin had to mute the microphone because she just couldn't stand listening to that anymore. Not when there was another threat. As long as Wally stayed inside the cell, hopefully this would just pass. And Wally wouldn't have anyway to escape.
The meta that was attacking was like fighting a shadow. His molecules were in constant motion, similar to how Barry phased through objects, that allowed the meta to evade all attempts at apprehending him. He was even able to travel through shadows, but that was most likely just part of his natural phasing abilities.
"So, what do we have?" Barry asked the team through the comms.
"I don't have any eyes. What's going on over there?" Caitlin asked.
"The guy's shade is getting larger. Hey! Shade! That's a great name. That's a keeper. Okay, we've got a name. It's Shade." Cisco declared.
"I'm more worried about that part where Shade is getting bigger," Barry said.
"See? It's catching on already," Cisco said.
"Not important right now!" Caitlin shouted. "What do we know about him?"
"Well, as soon as all the lights in this place went out, Shade seemed to grow. In size and power." Cisco reported, deciding to add in something a little more useful.
"His powers feed on the darkness. Not the most strange thing we've encountered," Barry lightly said, he had to dodge another giant fist that smashed the ground where he just was. "Any ideas?"
"If you want to combat the darkness, we need to shine a little light on this problem," HR said. By now, the team already knew HR was a fraud and not actually a genius. Although he claimed to be half a genius. That genius came from an idea, and the execution of the idea. HR didn't have the smarts, but he had imagination. He came up with the ideas, and had other people work on making the ideas a reality.
"That's actually not bad," Cisco said. "There are a lot of cars in this parking lot. If I can hack into their frequency, I can remotely turn on their headlights and banish the darkness, leaving Shade powerless. I have a pair of meta dampeners in our truck. Lead him that way. I'll light up the darkness. Barry, grab the cuffs and we'll be able to get him."
The plan worked like a charm. Shade lumbered after Barry's lightning, trying to extinguish what little light was left to weaken him. Once in the parking lot, the trap was triggered and multiple cars shined their light on Shade, causing his powers to severely diminish. Enough to the point where Barry casually slapped a pair of meta cuffs on his wrists, letting them cart Shade off to be held in Iron Heights.
"Lab results just came back, Shade, or his real name, Richard Swift, is confirmed to be one of the five husks we've found." Barry said after his call with Julian.
"Well, that was highly convenient," HR remarked.
"What do you mean?" Cisco asked.
"I'm just saying, I don't think the attack of Shade and the attack on the young West being placed at the same time is a coincidence. You know what I say about coincidence? The universe is rarely so lazy." HR explained.
"So you think this was planned?" Joe asked in concern.
"Joe, we don't know that. This could just be a coincidence. Wally is fine. We'll take care of him." Barry tried to assure his foster father.
"Barry, we found five husks. We've got Clariss, Kane, and Swift. That still leaves two more attempts at my son. Not to mention the first two are nothing but bodies in the morgue. I don't want my son to be hunted down like a piece of meat." Joe said, counting down the metas on his hand.
"He won't Joe. It won't come to that. We will protect Wally. I promise you. Nothing is going to happen to him," Barry said.
"How can you be sure of that? Can you honestly tell me that nothing is going to happen to him?" Joe asked.
"That's not fair Joe. We're doing everything we can to try to find this Alchemy character. We will find him, it's just going to take time." Barry said.
"How much time? Wally cannot spend his whole life trapped in that cell to avoid some madman forcing powers onto him." Joe said.
"If I may chime in, maybe we should just ask what Wally wants to do. This concerns him, and he deserves to add in his own input." HR said.
"Stay out of this. This doesn't concern you." Joe pointed a glare at the man.
"Calm down Joe. Don't bite his head off. And HR has a point, maybe we should talk to Wally about this. He should decide on what he actually wants without others deciding for him," Barry told him.
"Wally is my son. He is my responsibility. I decide what is best for him." Joe insisted.
"Wally is an adult. He's 21 years old. He gets a say in how he wants to do this. Wally let himself be put in that cell, but like you said, we can't keep him there forever." Barry said.
"So what would you suggest?" Joe asked.
"Well what I think is, we need to figure out how these people were selected by Alchemy. Perhaps that will reveal something in his location." HR put in his two cents.
"Yes, that is a good start. Alright, let's pull up these metas." Cisco said. He input something into the computer to display several images on the monitor. Pictures of the known metas created by Alchemy.
"First off, we have Edward Clariss. Just your average joe. Married, no kids. He had a stable job as a high school teacher, and one night he was given the gift of speed." Cisco listed as Clariss's picture came up.
There was something niggling at Barry's head that he just couldn't place. He heard of this before, Barry just couldn't recall when or how.
"Next up, we have Frankie Kane. In and out of foster care since the age of three. In the care of John and Karen James at the time. John was an abusive husband and father, and then Frankie's alternate persona was given the power of magnetism." Cisco continued.
Barry had heard that before. He knew he did. Frankie Kane and magnetism. That same feeling was pulling him at the back of his head. But it was like there was nothing there at the same time.
"Now we move on to Richard Swift. Swift is actually a paid assassin, so not much is known about his background, but based on the time of when his husk was found, he's had his powers for a little over a month."
That one didn't leave Barry with the same feelings. But the memory of Shade's figure when Barry was fighting him at the drive-in was vaguely familiar.
"Finally, we have Alchemy's latest target, Wally West. Wally's a college student, studying at CCU. Alchemy has chosen Wally to also wield the power of The Speed Force." Cisco finished the recaps.
"There is something that connects these people together. We just don't know it," Barry said.
"I don't know. I don't see a connection Barry. Maybe Alchemy just saw them on the street one day and just decided to give them powers," Caitlin suggested.
"There is something about these people that drew Alchemy to them. Out of the hundreds of people Alchemy probably sees on a daily basis, he wouldn't go out of his way to mentally torture them if they were just random picks. There are easier people to convince before you resort to that," Barry insisted.
"So do you see something that would indicate that? Because right now I'm absolutely terrified what it is about Wally that managed to grab this guy's attention." Joe said.
"Maybe it's something only Alchemy can see, but there's this feeling I have whenever I look at them. There's something, I just can't tell. It's like it's there, but at the same time, it's not," Barry told them.
"Well, while you do that, I'm going to add Swift into our database." Cisco said.
"Database? Like a list of all the metahumans we've encountered?" Barry asked. That tugged at his memory as well, giving a similar feeling.
"It's exactly like that. I've been keeping track of all the metas we've met since day one. Their names, their powers. How we encountered them. Just basic stuff like that. Even we're on here," Cisco said.
"A list of metahumans." Barry mumbled to himself. Barry turned back to the images of the metahumans on the screen, hoping something would help to finally unlock whatever his mind had stored away. He carefully analyzed every single picture, each of them giving him the same feeling that he was within the grasp of figuring it out, but it kept eluding him.
"Do you see something?" Caitlin asked in curiosity at his intense focus.
Barry just ignored her and continued to look. In the back of his mind, he could just imagine a different screen. Cisco's mention of a list reminded him of something. Another list. Something he'd seen very recently but was fading from memory.
Barry could almost make out what it was saying. It was slipping from his thoughts rapidly, but Barry kept focus.
Where could he have seen another list? This list wasn't public. It was something Cisco kept for himself to be shared with the team. This befuddlement he was feeling was reminiscent of the feeling of his memories from his time in Flashpoint. He knew it was there, but it was slipping from his grasp.
Barry's eyes lit up with realization. That was it. Flashpoint. That was where he'd seen these names before. The Transcendent Registry, where those with extraordinary powers were forced to reveal themselves to the public, or pay the consequences.
All these people were metahumans in Flashpoint, but weren't here. That was what Alchemy was doing. He was restoring the powers of those who were given powers in the other life.
A voice whispered in his mind. 'I haven't seen one of your kind in quite some time. The last one I believe was a young man named Wally West.'
That clinched it. Barry wasn't sure whose voice that was, but Wally was also a speedster, or at least a transcendent, in Flashpoint.
Now that he knew what he was thinking, he could clearly recall all the details of the list. His speedster brain worked overtime to place every name on the list. Many familiar names, and a few unfamiliar, but he could clearly recall all four names on the list.
"That's it!" Barry announced. He then rushed off without explanation in search of paper and something to write with.
"What is it? You found the connection?" Joe asked in a hurry.
Barry began listing all the names on the registry before it slipped from his mind again. Full names and powers for each of them.
"The connection is that none of them are metas." Barry informed them, still writing down every name he could.
"That's the big connection? That they're not metas? We could have figured that one out," Caitlin sarcastically replied.
"None of them are metas here. But they were before." Barry finally copied down the last name on the list.
"Before what exactly?" HR asked.
"In Flashpoint. All those people on the screen. They were metahumans in the Flashpoint timeline. Swift wasn't confirmed to be one though. He was never seen out of the cover of darkness. There were talks of the bogeyman, even some pictures, but nobody could ever confirm its identity."
"Until now it seems," Cisco remarked. "So what is that you're writing?"
"The list of all the known metahumans in Flashpoint. In Flashpoint, it was a requirement to register with the government if you had powers, and it was made public. I must have looked it up one night." Barry told them.
"Forcing people to reveal themselves as metas? That doesn't seem right," Caitlin said.
"I didn't like it one bit. Which is why I didn't register myself. Metahumans are looked upon with suspicion in that timeline. I would have been announcing myself as a criminal if I did." Barry said.
"Alright, well we've got a list now. A list of potential future targets that Alchemy might go after next." Joe said, referring to the pieces of paper where Barry had rewritten the Transcendent Registry.
"Joe, this is still a lot of names. Some of these are already metas, others we have no idea could just be hiding their powers. Some of these people could just not exist. Besides, how could Alchemy know about this? We're talking about an erased timeline. It no longer exists. Alchemy even knows more about these Flashpoint metas than the people in Flashpoint since Alchemy knew Swift was the metahuman Shade, despite no one else managing to figure it out." Cisco pointed out.
"I don't know, but that is the best lead we have right now," Joe said.
"Besides, it's not impossible to see timelines that don't exist. You can." Caitlin said.
"I can see through the vibrations of the world. You're suggesting Alchemy can as well? On top of his ability to grant people powers?" Cisco asked.
"It's a possibility. But the fact remains, Alchemy somehow knows about Flashpoint. That's his list of potential targets. Maybe we can find the last two metas before they get to Wally." Barry suggested.
"Well it's a start at least. This is still thousands of names though. We might not have the time before Alchemy tries another attack on Wally." Cisco said.
"Then we won't wait," a voice said from the hallway.
The team turned to see that Wally was walking towards them, not in his cell.
"Wally? What are you doing out of the Pipeline? You need to get back in there," Joe said. "How did you get out?"
"I let him out," HR raised his hand.
Everyone turned their heads to him with an incredulous look. Especially Joe.
"What? Were we not just talking about letting Mr. West be in this discussion?" HR asked.
"We were, but we were talking about bringing him in through a video camera." Cisco said.
"It doesn't matter. You, go get back to safety," Joe pointed at his son.
"No offense dad, but your idea of safety is locking me in a cell. And I mean an actual cell for criminals." Wally retorted. "Let me help. I'm the one Alchemy is after. You can use me to get to him."
"No, absolutely not. We are not taking that risk." Joe shook his head.
"Joe, we just talked about this. Wally gets to make his own decisions and he's giving us a path right to Alchemy. I hate to say this, and I know I don't have room to judge, but you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement because Wally is your son," Barry said.
"I'm tired of this conversation," Joe glared at Barry.
"We'll organize a task force. Flash, Frost, and Vibe will tag along to make sure nothing happens to Wally when Alchemy calls to him again. Nothing will happen to Wally." Barry promised him.
Joe held his glare for a few more seconds but finally relented in the end. "You promise to stay safe and let the officials handle everything?"
"I promise." Wally nodded his head.
"Fine. But I'm coming with you when we do this," Joe set his only condition.
"So how are we going to do this?" Cisco said as he was putting on his superhero gear. Putting on his goggles last.
"Wally will lead us straight to where Alchemy is. We follow behind him without being seen, and when Alchemy least expects it, we grab him before something happens," Caitlin relayed, already in her suit.
"Nothing happens to Wally. Joe will have our heads if Wally so much as gets a scratch." Barry warned them.
"And if all goes to hell?" Cisco asked.
"Detain Alchemy at all costs. He can't get away no matter what," Barry enforced on his team. "The task force Joe is setting up will help keep this in one area. Considering there are at least two other metas serving Alchemy, we don't know what to expect."
With their plan in place, the three metahumans went to meet up with the people Joe managed to rally to accompany them on their way to confront Dr. Alchemy.
It was the dead of the night, and there was nothing telling about how Wally could tell where to go, but Wally continued walking with purpose. Not deterred in the least at the fact that he'd never been anywhere near this area of Central City.
It was just as Frankie had described it. There had been a bus stop a couple blocks from where they were, which was an abandoned subway station, which would explain the train she'd mentioned.
The police officers were forced to stay outside as they might draw too much attention. The only ones allowed to continue were Flash, Frost, Vibe, and Joe. Wally was in the lead of course with the others behind him, keeping a safe distance so they wouldn't be spotted when Wally met with Alchemy.
Wally entered a wide area where there was a single figure in the middle, wearing a cloak and a silver mask.
"Wallace West." the figure said in a powerful raspy voice. "Hello my child."
"Are you him? Are you the voice I've been hearing inside my head?" Wally asked, keeping in character so as to not tip him off.
"I am Alchemy," Alchemy confirmed, nodding his head.
At that, several other cloaked figures stepped into the light behind Alchemy. None of them wore masks, but the darkness kept all of their faces hidden from view.
"I've been having visions. Dreams where I have speed," Wally said, stepping closer to Alchemy.
"Don't worry my child. I can give you what you want. You simply need to ask," Alchemy said. He reached into his robes to pull out a glowing stone.
"What I want… is for you to leave me alone!" Wally shouted that last bit.
"It's a trap!" Alchemy shouted to his accolades once he'd realized they'd been set up.
Barry rushed in and knocked down as many as he could when their cover had been blown. Caitlin iced up the floor surrounding the room so they would have a harder time leaving. Cisco breached himself from every entrance to cut off anyone who tried to escape.
The task force came in as soon as there was shouting with their guns trained at the cloaked group. "Get down on your knees and put your hands on your head!"
While others decided to comply, Alchemy held up the stone in his hand. It began glowing a bright light that it almost felt like it was burning.
The ice Caitlin had been creating had melted under the stone's power leaving puddles of water. Cisco was forced to remain in one spot to cover his eyes from the light.
Alchemy turned to an immobile Flash and shot a beam of energy directly at him. It launched Barry across the room.
The normal police officers, including Joe, were forced to retreat back into the halls with what people they were able to collect.
"You cannot interfere, Flash. The boy has been chosen." Alchemy gestured to Wally who had backed himself into a corner of the room to escape the fight.
"You have no choice in what must be done," Alchemy rasped out and shot another beam of energy out of the stone where it hit Barry in the chest.
Barry had no idea why it hurt so much. It didn't really hurt physically, but it was like the energy touched him within, leaving behind the feeling of pain without actually inflicting pain.
Perhaps it was because he was already a metahuman. The stone must be what Alchemy was using to create his metahumans. But since Barry was already a meta, the pain was a result of it being unable to mutate his DNA.
Still, Barry managed to stand up in spite of it and ran headlong into Alchemy. Barry crashed into the cloaked figure, sending the both of them to the ground with Barry on top.
With the stone's power gone, having rolled away from Alchemy's grasp when the man hit the ground, Caitlin came over and used her ice blasts to freeze Alchemy's hands and feet to the ground so he wouldn't be able to escape.
Cisco walked over as well with a few pairs of meta handcuffs. Any one of these people, or maybe all of them, could be metas that Alchemy had created for his own gain.
They doubted it since none of them had seen any of the followers exhibiting powers during their fight to defend themselves, but it was better safe than sorry. At the very least, Alchemy seemed to be a meta considering his connection to that glowing stone.
But that worried them as well. They knew there were at least two more metas Alchemy had created to do his bidding. If they weren't here, then where could they be, and what were they doing?
"It's over Alchemy," Barry said after he had gotten off of the masked man.
Alchemy chuckled. "You fools. You have no idea what's about to begin."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake as everyone looked around in confusion. Was Alchemy doing this? He certainly seemed to imply so, but how? His hands and feet were encased in ice. He couldn't move. Could this be one of the metas Alchemy had created?
"Keep your eyes peeled." Barry warned them. "Wally, go hide, find Joe,"
Wally ran back into his corner to try to remain out of sight. On his way, he caught sight of the glowing stone on the floor. It wasn't as bright as before, but its core was still shining with power. Wally hid, but he kept the stone within his sights. There was just something about it…
A giant flash of light appeared, moving in and out of the room. Barry followed its path but saw the others weren't doing the same. "Did you guys see that?"
"See what?" Cisco asked, turning around to try to catch what Barry could have seen.
The light appeared once more where the rest of the followers were laying sprawled on the ground after Barry had knocked them out. They soon disappeared in the light without a trace.
Barry realized what that thing was doing. "You two get the rest of these guys out of here, especially Alchemy. Cover me."
Barry ran to try to follow this light. But now that he activated his powers, slowing everything down, he could see it more clearly. It was still incredibly fast, even for him, but it was more defined and it looked just like pure white lightning bolts.
The task force had returned to collect the rest of the followers, but Cisco and Caitlin shoved them into their arms before they too would escape. At least Alchemy was still frozen to the floor. For now.
Now with a tail in the shape of The Flash, the other speedster was behaving more erratically trying to shake him off. Barry managed to barely keep up, but he still couldn't make out who this new player was.
The white light pulled out a burst of extra speed and circled around Barry and sent him tumbling to the ground before disappearing from view.
Barry groaned in pain, trying to collect himself and push himself up to continue, but the ground offered him a unique perspective that he otherwise wouldn't have been able to see. Wally crawling on his knees towards the stone that was just innocently glowing. Wally's gaze transfixed on the rock.
"Wally! What are you doing?!" Barry shouted.
Cisco and Caitlin turned around to see what Barry was shouting about when they saw Wally edging closer to the rock as well. Joe had returned to help with the followers to see his son stretch his hand out to the glowing rock. "Wally no!" he shouted.
The instant Wally's hand grazed the smooth surface of the stone, his body shot upward, tendrils manifested, starting at his feet, and wrapping him in a cocoon that lit up with a sinister red from the core.
"Wally!" Joe shouted to his encased son with Caitlin and Cisco right behind him. The three of them managed to pick up the cocoon with Wally inside and carted him off to safety. They would have tried to get him out right then, but they didn't have the tools or the knowledge of what to do in this situation.
Barry pushed himself back to his feet, but the light came back and pressed him against the ceiling with his feet dangling.
Now that the speedster was in one place, Barry finally managed to get his first clear view of the person. It was a giant metal man with glowing blue eyes. In fact, it seemed it's whole body was producing a dim blue glow.
"Who are you?!" Barry demanded of the intimidating figure who was keeping him aloft.
The metal man lifted his other hand and let a blade protrude out. "Savitar. The god of speed." he responded.
So that happened. I liked this chapter a lot more than last week's. Caitlin attempted to tell Barry about her feelings for him, but of course Barry's hyperactive mind jumped to conclusions. Poor Caitlin. And then they were interrupted by the attack on Shade. And Caitlin left Wally inside the Pipeline because she knows it's best for Wally, unlike Iris, who did so because she's his sister.
For those of you who are waiting for the big confession, it's happening in two chapters. So not next week, but the following week. Mark your calendars.
And now the elephant in the room, Savitar. Yes, he's finally here. He's going to be somebody completely different with a backstory I created based on another show that I love. I hope I do the story well. And I am going to make it so Savitar is insanely fast like in his introduction episode. I'm not going to weaken him. If Savitar's slower, it's because he chooses to, because he likes toying with them.
So I'll see you all next week. Goodbye.