01

Upside Down and Inside Out


Wally West streaked through the city, zig-zagging through the streets whenever something would come into his path. Wally pumped his arms back and forth as he went, twisting his head, almost like a pendulum, as he passed each cross street. A new street would come up and he'd flick his head back and forth to find his target.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Still nothing.

Sighing, he brought a hand up to his lightning bolt ear piece and gasped, "I can't find her, Cisco." The run wasn't taxing, it was the sheer desperation to find her that was. The longer she stayed out of custody, the more havoc she could wreak on the city.

So, Wally continued to run, waiting for Cisco's Ramon's response. He received it when a breach suddenly opened in front of him, threatening to release Wally into whatever dimension or placement in the city he was about to be thrust into. Wally cried out in surprise, a mixture between a 'yikes' and a strangled 'aaargh' and twisted around before he shot directly through it, ending up who knows where.

Cisco popped out of the breach in a sweeping bound, leaning over to press his hands to his knees. He gasped for air, sucking in a huge, ecohing 'eeeh' of a wheeze before he straightened himself. "Man, I've gotta work out more," Cisco hissed between his teeth, pressing a hand to his stomach. He feebly gestured in front of him. "She's really stepped up her game."

A revving engine caught his attention. Cisco looked over his shoulder before leaping out of the way of a speeding black car that was seconds away from mowing him down. Behind the wheel, Joe West smiled, eyes filled with mirth hidden behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses. "Then let's turn ours up," he commented. His eyes searched the street before him. "I don't have eyes on her. Cadence?"

Cadence tilted her head, watching the city below her from her perch at the highest point in the city. Her favorite part of the city. Just like the panning shots of cityscapes in movies, it gave her the best view of the city she'd grown to call home more than her actual hometown. Watched as the cars, as tiny as scuttling bugs, zipped through the city streets. Watched as the even tinnier residents of the city went along with their day.

She surveyed the scene in front of her, eyebrows twitched as, in the distance, she noticed a sudden flash of red-orange light that was shaped like a contorted human. Heat vision that tracked the movement of whomever she wanted. It didn't take long, this meta didn't try to hide for too long.

Not like all the others. Every other meta they'd ever come up against, gone against, had put into the Pipeline were gone and made sure they kept themselves unknown. Their pods in the pipeline had kept them safe from the blast of the Philosopher's Stone but had been heavily damaged. Enough so that they were able to escape.

"Got her," Cadence said after a second. She then tilted her head, eyebrows coming together when she noticed the squiggly blob suddenly change direction. "Duck."

Wally and Cisco exchanged a confused glance. Slowly, Wally pressed his finger into the lightning bolt once more, scanning the street. "I don't see no duck." The words barely escaped his lips before Wally was knocked to the ground by a hard punch to the back, Cisco falling along with him seconds later.

They rolled onto their back, turning to see Peek-A-Boo standing above them, hitching her bag up her shoulder. The smirk on her face melted into a snarl before she turned and teleported away.

Wally rolled to his back, groaning. "She meant the other duck."

"You think?" Cisco slowly got to his feet. With both of his hands, he pushed his hair back behind his ears. The long strands, though working well for his aesthetic, was certainly something he'd have to re-think when in battle. If the difference between getting himself across the city and accidentally launching himself into the sun was a strand of hair, he'd figure something out.

"Where is she now?" Joe pulled hard on the wheel, tires spinning and emitting a high-pitched squeal as he took a corner. With his police siren blaring, cars on either side of the road stopped or raced out of the way.

"Headed for the Keystone bridge." Cadence shook her head. She shrugged, letting her shoulders rise and fall in a movement of nonchalance. It didn't matter much to her if they got her or not. Things were going to work out one way or another. Nevertheless, her tone took on a teasing, "If you guys don't stop her now we'll lose her for good," as she started to pace the rooftop.

A heavy, frustrated sigh came from behind her, making her turn her head, jaw resting on her shoulder to place her gaze on her son, Brady, and his friend and Leah Brooklyn. They sat on the rooftop, lounging quietly. Leah rested back on one hand, the other twisted her blonde hair around her finger, the ringlets growing tighter as the seconds passed. Brady held his chin in his hands, blowing raspberries with his lips as he heaved another sigh.

Noticing his mother's gaze on him, Brady perked up, an apologetic expression coming to his face as he asked, "Can we go yet?"

"Yeah." Leah lowered her chin, nose wrinkling. "This is starting to get boring." She dropped her finger from her hair, causing the ringlet to bounce back in a curl.

"Not yet, you have to give them their chance," Cadence chided them. She waved a hand. "You've already had yours."

"Yeah, and we stopped them ages ago," Brady declared.

Cadence smiled. "Give them time."

Brady and Leah tilted their heads, letting their groans reach the sky. On the streets below, Wally took off after Peek-A-Boo with a declaration of, "Oh, I'm going to catch her this time."

Cisco continued to catch his breath, leaning forward to rest his hands on his knees. When he was finally able to speak he said, "I hate teleporters."

"I heard that," Cadence sing-songed.

Wally chased after Peek-A-Boo as she teleported from rooftop to rooftop, keeping on her as she moved every few seconds. And still, she managed to evade every attempt Wally had to take her down.

Cadence continued to watch, silently keeping track, in her head, of how long they were taking. "She jumps to every third rooftop," Cadence helped. "She's going to jump to the broom tower. So when she lands, stop her. Joe, meet them at the bottom. Wally—"

"—I'm on it," Wally said.

Cisco thrust out his hand, freezing Peek-A-Boo in the air, with the other hand, he opened a breach. Wally sped up behind her and tackled her into the breach. Cisco turned and leapt through the breach after them. When they landed, Cisco and Wally fell to the ground, giving Peek-A-Boo the chance to take out her weapons and point it toward them.

"You lose," she sing-songed, seconds before getting struck by lightning that dropped her to the ground, revealing Joe standing behind her with a large, canon-like gun in his hands.

Cadence smiled, dropping her hand from her ear. Looks like Cisco's newest invention was working better than ever. "Great job, guys. You finally got her'," she said.

"I heard that," Cisco said back. "Don't think I didn't hear you say 'finally'. Don't think I didn't hear you throw that in there. I don't know if you've noticed, but teleporters can be a big pain the ass."

Leah giggled quietly, moving her hands to cover her mouth when Cadence's eyebrows lifted in amusement. Brady lifted his hood from his forehead and smirked. "Back to STAR Labs?" He guessed.

"Back to STAR Labs," Cadence replied. Brady and Leah got to their feet, brushing off their clothes as Cadence turned to look over Central City. The sprawling landscape of the metropolitan city that she loved so much.

It was safe for another day.

She turned back to the young pre-teens and placed her hands on their shoulders, teleporting them to Level 600 of STAR Labs, the main floor of their base of operations. She motioned for Brady and Leah to change out of their suits, going to the elevator to wait for the others. Cadence brushed her hair back fro her face as she waited, watching the light above the elevator bank illuminate to show the elevator's arrival. She could hear Wally's and Cisco's voices before the doors opened to reveal them and Joe.

"I'm so proud of us," Cisco said as soon as the doors opened. "That was good hustle out there Team Vibe."

"It's Team Kid Flash," Wally quickly corrected. He patted Cisco on the shoulder, flashing a charming smile. "But you're right."

Cadence shook her head. She hated to burst their bubble but…no, the smile on her face was unable to be contained. She really wanted to burst their bubble. "Well, that wasn't the best work out there for you guys," She said diplomatically, falling into step with them as they went to the Cortex. Brady and Leah looked over at the group, their smug smiles unable to be contained. Cadence noticed and shot them a warning look; they wiped the smiles off their faces but returned them when she turned her back.

"What are you looking at me, for?" Joe asked, suddenly sounding more like a young adult than a police detective. "I was the one who put her down."

"And I was the one who helped out with the assist," Cisco added. "A classic maneuver if I do say so myself." He pressed a hand to his chest and leaned over to look at Wally, silently asking for backup with a lift of his eyebrows. "And it went exactly according to plan."

"Exactly according to plan," Wally agreed.

"Absolutely, according to plan."

"Are you just going to repeat yourselves until you start to believe it?" Leah asked.

Brady clasped his hands together. "If by proving that you're out of shape, then yes, I think that's what went according to the plan," Brady piped up, drawing Cisco's glare his way. Brady held up his hands defensively. "Hey, you were the one who was saying you need to work out more."

"And if Miss. Cadence's every day workouts aren't helping, I don't know what will," Leah added.

Cadence smiled, lowering her gaze toward the ground when Cisco made a sound of offense. "Joe, tell the peanut gallery how this went exactly how we planned, Peek-A-Boo fell right into our trap."

"I'm not telling them that," Joe said. He held up his hands, taking a step back. "This is all you. You were the one who almost let her get away."

"And," Iris announced her presence, turning from the monitor hanging on the wall of the Cortex. "You're not exactly catching bad guys at our old rate. Every other person we've managed to capture over the last few weeks has gotten away."

"Okay, sis, you have a point." Wally draped his arm across Iris's shoulders, hugging his sister to his side. "But you have to give props to Team Kid Flash." He threw a wink to his sister, the sort of wink that he'd throw to any admiring fans he may or may not come across while in the field. "We're on the case."

"'Son, I love you, but ain't nobody feeling Team Kid Flash."

"Too many syllables," Cisco agreed.

Cadence smiled, rubbing her forehead. Her smile stayed on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "Okay, guys, I need you to take this seriously," she said. The Cortex grew silent. "You did a good job today in catching her, but she's not going to be the last to come around. We're the ones who are here to protect this city. Because there's no one else to do it. I want you to think about what happened today and how to improve for next time. Like always, alright?"

They nodded.

Cadence then nodded towards Wally. "I programmed a new training simulation for you in the Speed Lab. It shouldn't take more than four hours."

Wally's eyes widened in surprise. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, trying to find the wrods before they finally bubbled up. "Four hours?" Wally repeated.

"We're doing family dinner tonight," Iris protested.

"I said it won't take more than four hours," Cadence repeated patiently. "Knowing Wally, he's going to try and beat his old record, so it shouldn't take any longer than two." She held up her fingers to make a 'V' making Wally smile. "Make sure to clock your time before you go," she added. "Great job today, you guys."

"Alright," Joe said, motioning toward Iris to follow him. "Then we'll see you later,"

"Hey, you better save me some of that Peking Duck this time," Wally said, giving his sister a pointed stare.

Iris shrugged, folding her arms. "I can't make any promises. You know I love me some Peking Duck."

"And so does Cecile and she eats like a—" Wally cut himself off, noticing Joe's glare his way.

Brady grinned, patting Wally on the shoulder. "Quit while you're behind, dude. You're not going to dig yourself out of this one."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Wally agreed. He pointed over his shoulder, backing away. "Training sounds good right about now." And he disappeared in a flash of red light.

Leah nudged Brady and he turned to his mother with an earnest glance. "What about us?" He asked. "Can we—"

"—Yes, you're done for the day, you can go hang out now," Cadence explained, making the two pre-teens cheer and high-five. "I'll see you for dinner." She pressed a kiss to the side of his head, making him blush and turn away. "Don't forget your dad's got you tomorrow. And you better finish your homework tonight. I don't want to write a note again."

"I won't! Bye, mom." Brady pecked his mother on the cheek. "Oh, um." He snapped his fingers, pointed at her. "Can Leah,"—Leah nudged him and he rolled his eyes—"And Alicia," he grumbled. "Come over for dinner?"

Cadence lifted an eyebrow. "What? Do I have Home For Wayward Youths tattooed across my forehead?" She leaned back when Brady leaned toward her. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for it," he replied.

Cadence placed her hand against his face and pushed him away. "I'll think about it. Go away before I change my mind."

Brady grasped Leah's wrist. He phased the two through the floor of the Cortex. It didn't take longer than a few seconds before the sound of an engine revving started up and the alarm of a garage door opening sounded through the Cortex.

"Hey!" Cisco shouted. He raced to the control panel that held all their computers and slapped his palm onto the intercom button. His voice rang out through the communications system. "What did I tell you about misusing STAR Labs equipment?" But his cry fell on deaf ears, fading with the sound of the fading engine. "I never should've given him the capability of making that thing invisible, too."

"Yeah, it probably wasn't your best idea," Cadence agreed.

Cisco managed a small smile before then sighed quietly. He took off his goggles and placed them on his computer desk. Gently tapping the arm of it against the desk, he sank into his seat, rocking back and forth, as if trying to keep his eyes from going elsewhere.

Cadence tilted her head, watching her friend. Finally, she said, "You look like you have something to say," She said.

"Just thinking," Cisco defended himself. But the speed of his response as well as the high-pitched tone his voice took proved otherwise.

She hummed quietly then folded her arms. "About?" Cadence pressed.

"About how we'd be a lot better off if we weren't one man down," he admitted, unzipping his jacket to place on the back of his chair.

Cadence smiled. You're not the only one who thinks so, she thought before she walked around the desk and pressed a hand to his shoulder. "Enjoy the rest of your night, Cisco." She said to him. "We'll regroup tomorrow."

Cisco raised his eyebrows. "Are we not going out tonight?"

"By your tone, it didn't sound like you wanted to go out," Cadence teased, jostling him with a light shove to the shoulder. Cisco stayed in place, despite her not using all her strength to push him. All his hard work in their training was really starting to pay off.

"Hey, I'll use any excuse to get my drink on," Cisco said. "And to have a good night on the town."

Cadence beamed. "We'll meet in an hour, I need to stop back by my place for a bit and then I can meet you there."

"Sounds good." She started to walk away, but Cisco's earnestly quiet question of, "You sure you're doing okay?" halted her in her tracks. Was she doing okay? Was she doing okay after her boyfriend-fiancé sacrificed himself to what many people would consider the impossible? Was she okay with the longer drawn out moments of time that seemed would never end as they waited for his return? She shrugged. "I'm doing fine," she said honestly. "I mean, other than the pressure of Julian moving back to London and the crime lab being short-staffed—"

"They want to hire someone to replace him?" Cisco asked. His eyebrows came together when Cadence nodded. "I thought Captain Singh was waiting for him to get back."

"He was. But it's only a matter of time until they stop believe his being on sabbatical." Cadence sucked in a breath between her teeth and chuckled as she said, "The Czech Republic might not have been a good choice for his location."

"'It was the first thing I could come up with on short notice," Cisco defended himself. "Do you really think Captain Singh would check up on that?"

Cadence bobbed her head, letting out a quiet sigh. She'd gone most of the day without mentioning Barry or even thinking about him since leaving the apartment that morning. And one quick thought was all it took to take the wind out of her sails. It was a struggle with Barry being gone. He wasn't just the beacon of hope for Central City, but for their team and they were struggling.

Cadence tried hard to keep moving forward, to handle things in his absence. It made sense she took on being the leader of Team Flash, but all the same it was tough shoes to fill. She didn't have the same level of intelligence as the rest of the team but had the increase in power to handle things by herself. And she could. Since experiencing the Fire Fall for the first time, she felt nothing but an increase in her power level. Nevertheless, she put the others out in the field more often, giving them the opportunity to become strong as well.

Or, maybe, she couldn't face being in the field by herself.

The thought screeched into her head so fast that, combined with the worried look Cisco was giving her, Cadence immediately felt annoyed. Went on the offense. "What? Do you expect me to curl up in a ball and cry all day? And maybe I did for the first week or so, but it's gotten easier. I grieve on my own time and until we find a body to bury, I'm not going to entertain the idea that he's actually gone. He's in the Speed Force, Cisco, not floating around in space."

"They may as well be the same thing," Cisco admitted.

"True." Cadence grinned, closing an eye in a cheeky expression. "But I think space is a little more overrated."

Cisco laughed. "Don't let Barry hear you say that," he warned.

Cadence laughed as well. "I won't."

"I'll see you in an hour."

"See you."

Cadence waved as Cisco opened a breach and jumped through. Alone in the Cortex, she walked around, turning off the lights one by one—making sure the computers, at least, stayed on. Once finished, she changed back into her street clothes then teleported around the corner of her apartment. She slowed herself to a casual stroll through the lobby to wave to those in the leasing office before going to the elevators. A shorter trip than what her teleportation could bring, but it'd be less suspicious than the front office getting rent checks from the apartment and not see its residents come or go.

Less of a chance of being visited by CPS herself once more. Even lesser of a chance of being seen as neglectful. Things had been quiet and she wanted to keep it that way.

Entering the apartment, Cadence flipped on the light to the living room, jumping when she saw a head pop out from overtop the couch. Bringing a hand to her chest, Cadence said, "I thought you'd be going out with Brady and Leah."

Connor Hawke shook his head, sitting up amongst the blankets and pillows on the couch. The flickering of the TV bathed him in a swatch of bright blue light. "I didn't really feel like it," he mumbled, voice barely moving above a whisper.

Cadence could sympathize. He didn't really feel like doing much within the last few weeks of being in Central City. Then again, there was only so many times you could be taken out of Star City when your Mayor Dad got to be too busy…and conclusively tried a bit too hard in the father aspect when he was around. Only so much you could do when you had no choice but to live with your Mayor Dad and be moved around so much because it was 'safer'.

Try explaining that to an eleven-year-old who just wanted a normal life.

"Are you sure?" Cadence pressed, walking around to the front of the couch to lean on the armrest. "I mean, I understand the appeal of wanting to sit around and eat ice cream all day, believe me I've done that plenty of times when my horse was sick and even at the mere thought of my mom coming to see me." Conner smiled a little. "But gaining ten pounds after is never worth it."

Connor gave her a funny look. "You never even gain a pound."

"That's what you think," Cadence replied. She reached out and ruffled his hair. "Just don't get sucked into too much mindless TV or Oliver will kill me." She paused, noticing the hurt that flashed through Connor's eyes as he ducked his head. "Sorry, Con. Wrong choice of words."

"It's okay," he mumbled. He pressed his lips together, raising his eyebrows. His voice turned more lighthearted as he asked, "Are you going out?"

"I am in a few minutes."

"Have a nice night."

Cadence went to her room and quickly changed into a leather jacket, a cropped red sweater, and dark wash jeans tucked into a pair of boots. After going to the kitchen and ensuring she had everything set up for dinner, she went back to Conner and leaned over, planting a kiss atop Connor's head. "Don't stay up too late," she said. "Brady should be back soon."

"Okay," Conner said, already snuggling himself back into the couch.

Cadence shifted her gaze to the framed photo sitting on the table next to the couch. A photo of Barry that'd been taken the year before in one of their happier moments. He smiled warmly at the camera, caught by the photographer—if she remembered correctly, it was Brady—waiting patiently in line to get into a Central City Diamonds game, evident from the matching hat and jersey he wore.

Smiling wistfully, Cadence blew a kiss to the picture—just as she did every time she left the apartment.

Forty minutes later she met Cisco outside the Saints and Sinners Bar. His head whipped around, studying the faces of each person that passed him. Cadence laughed to herself, walking to him. "You know, you're being really obvious when you do that, right?"

"Hey, I need to make sure of that if anything happens to me, I can ID these clowns," Cisco pointed out. He flinched when a passing man heard his remark and growled at him.

Cadence rolled her eyes, completely ignoring the exchange. "You were the one who said you wanted to come here."

"I know, I know." Cisco looped his arm around her waist before grabbing hers and putting it around his neck. "I saw good reviews on Yelp, you've mentioned this place has some great stuff, and, in return, you get a certified creep-buster by having a fake-date boyfriend for a night."

"Thanks." Cadence giggled, gently squeezing Cisco's shoulder as they went inside.

Cisco led the way through the bar, ignoring the shady clientele that looked their way and headed toward the bar, skirting around pool tables as they went. The bartender had her back toward them, but asked over her shoulder, "What can I get for you?"

"I'd like something sweet," Cisco said in a drawl so slow that Cadence made a face. She leaned away from him, slowly taking in the—was that seductive?—undertone to his voice. Cisco looked at her out the corner of his eye but continued. "Deceptively strong with lots of ice."

Caitlin Snow turned around and smiled at them. Cadence pressed her lips together, sitting up straight ton her stool. "A Shirley Temple," she said. "Coming right up." Then she smiled to Cadence. "And what can I get for you?"

Cadence stared back at her. She took in a deep breath, releasing the initial want to curl her hands around the edge of the bar and set it on fire. Instead, she looked back to Cisco and quickly decided. "An Old Fashioned and a Whisky Smash."

"Starting out a bit early tonight, huh?" Caitlin asked, relief coming to her voice.

"Well, you have to when you're under as much stress as me." Cadence leaned forward on her bar stool, looking around the bar then at Caitlin's attire; a white tank top tucked in a pair of jeans, a black bra seen through her top. A far cry from a normal Caitlin Snow outfit. What else had changed in their time apart? Clearly a lot if Caitlin were calmly serving her a drink. Cadence turned a smile to Cisco. "And to think when I worked here I used to only wear a bra."

"For real?" Cisco asked, eyebrows rising in disbelief. Even Caitlin, who was pouring the drinks looked a tiny bit skeptical. If not amused.

"It got me good tips," Cadence said with a defensive shrug. She added, "And some very questionable scars. But there's that," she added with a tip of her head.

Cisco smiled back to Caitlin when she dropped their drinks in front of them. "So, what's a good girl like you—with three doctorates—doing working in a place like this?" He asked her.

"Working," Caitlin said flatly.

Cisco nodded, looking her up and down. "You're looking a lot less frosty now."

"Just me." Caitlin's gaze flickered to Cadence, who stared back at her, narrowing her eyes a fraction.

"How'd you do it?"

Caitlin and Cadence reacted at the same time, taking in sudden, deep breaths. Caitlin, on the other hand, grabbed another glass and furiously cleaned it, giving her something to do, to change the subject. "What do you want?"

"Just to hang out with a friend," Cisco said. "If you're back to normal, how come you haven't come back to us?" Caitlin gave him a look, a sharp glare while Cadence elbowed him in the side. A sharp jab to the ribs. Cisco held out his hands. "Okay, I get it! Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Maybe not," Cadence agreed. She moved to get off the stool, stopping only when Caitlin asked, "Barry's still stuck in the speed force?" Cadence slowly, very slowly turned back toward Cadence, staring her down. She gritted her teeth, sucking in a breath between her teeth before asking, "How'd you know about that?"

Caitlin gave a tentative smile. "That's why you came?"

"I think," Cisco said slowly. "I know of a way to bring him back."


Lightning crackled and swirled around Barry Allen as he strolled through the Speed Force. Thunder boomed in the distance. A storm that could tear anything apart, but hardly registered to him. He simply stood in place, continuing to stare in the same direction he'd been staring for…who knows how long. Seconds, minutes, months, days?

But everything played out before him just the same.

When the Speed Force Storm hit Central City, threatening lives as the lightning fell how he had turned to Cadence and saw her eyes filled with outrage and desperation. Feeling the same thing in his heart but having no means to release it. Cadence had let him go. She knew what had to happen as much as he did. He had to go.

There was no question.

Part of him loved that about her, that she was always willing to make sacrifices for everyone around him. But part of him wished she'd asked him to stay. There was no point—it was probably why she hadn't—but it would've been nice. Nevertheless, Barry did his best not to look back as he raced to the street and willingly walked hand in hand with the Speed Force into what would be his prison.

The Speed Force had to have someone fill the position they left open. And, as Barry understood it, Savitar never existed, they couldn't fill something with nothing. Though Savitar had been killed and dragged back into the Speed Force, if the future had been altered, Savitar wouldn't have been created. Didn't exist.

When Barry first arrived in the Speed Force, there was nothing to do but walk. Walk and explore, figure out what the Speed Force had to show him. What lesson he had to learn. Maybe it would've been like the first time he'd arrived, when the Speed Force took him to the most important places in his life, before being visited by the Speed Force reincarnate. But, no, it hadn't happened that way.

The lightning world continued to expand as the seconds passed. Until, finally, there was nothing but white that engulfed him, leaving Barry alone with the brightness that enveloped him like a hug. He was alone. Except for Savitar.

Savitar didn't seem as surprised to see Barry as Barry was to see Savitar. No, it was like Savitar was waiting for him. He slowly turned his head, far enough so that his scarred eye faced Barry. Barry wasn't sure Savitar could see him—rather than sense him. "What do you want?"

Barry simply gaped back at him. His jaw dropped then slowly closed. He shook his head, dropped himself into a sitting position, suddenly finding his legs trembling as if he'd run a long-distance race without his powers. Maybe that was the point. Maybe being in the Speed Force was made to strip him of his powers this time around. Savitar merely glanced at Barry, watching as he slowly brought his knees up to his chest and warp his arms around them.

Silence stretched between them for a moment. Finally, Barry tipped his head back to look at his doppelganger. "How'd you get here?" Barry asked. "I thought you…I thought we defeated you."

Savitar snorted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks. "You mean, you thought Black Flash defeated me," he remarked. Then he shrugged. "You can't kill what doesn't exist." His upper lip curled into as snarl. "No one wants me to exist, I never got a say in that."

"You never tried," Barry replied calmly. Finally, Savitar turned to face him fully. It still made Barry's heart leap, a tiny flutter of surprise and fear to see his own face staring back at him. A face so scarred and marred by anger and hurt. "You immediately turned and tried to get revenge for something that hadn't happened." Barry licked his lips. "When we talked that night, when I found out who you were, you said you were going to keep it a secret from me, of what you wanted—what you needed. Why you were doing everything."

"I already told you," Savitar droned. "I was the one who you were supposed to be. Who I was supposed to be. The Flash that should've had the life you have now, but later. I was the true Barry Allen that got screwed over because you,"—Savitar pointed towards Barry. "Decided to fix things that weren't broken."

Rage filled Barry, making him grit his teeth. The same rage he'd felt when he had police officers look him in the eye and tell him he was mistaken; it was, in fact, his father that had murdered his mother. His PTSD made it seem like anyone else had done it. That was normal.

"The Reverse-Flash was going to kill me," Barry insisted. "Just like he killed my mother!"

Savitar shrugged. "Do you know that for sure?"

Barry felt his anger slowly ebb away, an open drain spilling it out. He, honestly, would probably never know everything that was supposed to happen that night. Would never know what would have happened had Eobard gotten to him. Had he not saved himself.

"What was the second thing?"

Savitar lifted an eyebrow. He worked to not appear interested in Barry's curiosity. Barry could see it across his doppelganger's face. Saw the little nuances he knew of himself with Savitar's attempt to hide what he was feeling.

"The second thing you needed," Barry insisted. "The first was for Cadence to die, the second…"

"Ah." Savitar nodded. He removed his hands from his pockets and folded his arms. "The Speed Force Bazooka." He rolled his eyes at the name. "The Calcified Speed Force energy made from the Philosopher's Stone. I needed a linchpin and no matter what, the Philosopher's Stone was the one thing to get me there."

"And you used Julian for that?" Barry realized, running over his last conversation with his co-worker in his head. To know their lives had been linked longer than he'd known. "To get it to you?"

"Julian was such an easy pawn. He already hated you so much…it didn't take much for my hatred to make it irrevocable, for me to use him, for me to get into his weak-minded brain and use everything about him against him. It helped that he was already so suspicious of you. You came back from your 'science trip' and Savitar suddenly appears? You care about the lives of metahumans so much, disappear at odd times, hate him for no reason…it didn't take much to convince him to help you." He rubbed his nose. "Well, help me help you."

"We could have helped you."

Savitar threw his hair out of his face and turned, glaring into the whiteness. Barry knew himself enough to know it was a begrudging agreement. He must've thought about it, Barry realized, about what he could've done differently.

"No. You couldn't."

"Yes, we could! We—"

"—Your life is not my life. Once life started to affect everything, there was no turning back. Nothing would be the same. There wouldn't have been any use for me." Savitar lowered his chin. "Ever."

"Well." Barry shrugged. "I'm here."

"Great, more time with myself," Savitar growled.

"So why then?" Barry demanded. "Why am I here?"

Savitar looked at him as if he was stupid. "You willingly walked into the Speed Force."

"No," Barry insisted. "Why am I here and not in my prison? Not reliving the worst day of my life over and over like Wally did, watching his mother die. Just like Jay…"

"Because you're being punished," Savitar said. He shook his head. "You act like the Speed Force is the best thing for a speedster. It grants us our powers, yes, but maybe, just maybe, it has its own plans. It has its own thoughts. It doesn't always want the best thing for a speedster. Maybe you need to learn that lesson. Sounds like you could use a refresher on what your decisions can lead to."

Flashpoint, Barry knew, was what Savitar was referring to. "Everything could've happened anyway—"

"—And yet, it happened like this." Savitar lifted a finger, shaking it in Barry's face. "You have your life,"—he curled his finger toward himself—"and I have mine. And because of you, I'm not getting my life back. I don't have that chance anymore."

Lightning crackled. Not as quick, not as powerful as before, but moving slowly, allowing Barry and Savitar to see its fingertips continued to breach as it dragged across the white barrier around them. Growing stronger as the seconds passed.

"Well." Barry sighed. "It seems like we have a lot of time to figure it out."

Savitar nodded. "Yes. We do."


A/N: Hey hey! Thanks for everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! It really means a lot the response I've received so far and I'm excited for you all to see what's next! What did you think of the look inside the Speed Force with Barry and Savitar?

And, of course, the new dynamics as to how Team Flash are working out now? What do you think about the pacing? Good enough for an opening? Too slow? Too fast?

I hope to update again soon.

Cheers,

-Riles

Review Replies

Ethan: Brady and Leah are still helping her, they haven't stopped going to STAR Labs. And Cade has absolutely no plans of ever going back to school, one degree is enough for her, especially with how much time she put into it when Brady was young and how many years straight she went through schooling. She's happy where she is.

Yummers: There's going to be a lot of instances that show how Cadence's powers have changed since the last story, as well as a bit of her personality in general.

EunLi: I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations as well! :) Thanks for coming along to this story!