Rocky Raymond //Book Seven//

Chapter 34 - Heart of the Matter: Part 2

BOOK EIGHT WILL RELEASE SEPTEMBER 4, MONDAY. THIS STORY WILL TAKE OVER THE MONDAY SLOT FROM NOW ON FOR MACKENZIE MONDAYS! THANKS FOR READING! 

MacKenzie's POV

"Kid! You all right?" Jay asks as Barry gasps out of the mind dive

"Yeah. Yeah, no. Oh, yeah." Barry whispers

"Oh, thank God." Iris whispers

"What happened?" August asks. "Did you find the real me?"
"Yeah." Barry whispers

"What did I say?" August asks. Barry looks at all of us

***

"So what are we gonna do about Godspeed's ultimatum?" Barry asks as we group up in the cortex

"We have to give him what he wants: organic speed." Nora says

"Nora, I'm never gonna do that." Barry tells her

"Dad, everything will be destroyed." Nora says. "Not just Bart, but whole families. We have to protect them."

"What about our family?" Barry asks. "If Heart is Bart's Thawne, that means he's already caused Bart a lifetime of pain and suffering. But we can stop this, here, in this time, by finding another way."

"But we've tried everything, Dad, and nothing's worked." Nora tells him. "And now Bart's dying, and we're still no closer to ending this damn war!"

"Nora, honey, if his clones could do this to your brother, then, what do you think would happen if the real August Heart got organic speed?" Iris poses the question

"It just all feels so hopeless." Nora says, upset

"It never is. Promise you that." Jay tells her

"He's right." Iris says. "As long as we're still standing, we can still win this. Let's go check on your brother." She says, her and Nora leaving the room

"Kid?" Jay starts, looking at Barry. "I know giving August Heart his powers back is crazy. But if we don't, we'd better come up with another idea. A big one."

"Not a big one. A fast one." Barry says

***

Barry, Iris, Nora, Jay, and I group up in the speedlab

"Ever since this war began, we've been outfought and outnumbered." Barry tells us. "That ends now. For all their speed, our opponents, no matter how fast they are, they can't outrun a force of nature."

Speedforce Nora appears. "Big Nora! It's so good to see you." Nora exclaims. "Yeah, we've already met. Remember when I first saw you? I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, the freaking Speed Force.' And I was just so amazed and... and nervous and I just kept rambling on and on and on and totally embarrassing myself because she–"

"It's good to see you too, Little Nora." Speedforce Nora says

"This is a rare pleasure, ma'am." Jay says. "And if I may, you look a whole lot like someone very close to me."

"I get that a lot." Speedforce Nora says. She looks over at the rest of us. "Barry, Mack, Iris, it's good to see you again."

"Are the other forces coming, too?" Iris asks

"No." Speedforce Nora says. "With me here, they're all working overtime to keep the universe in balance. I've seen what you've all been facing. I've been fighting it myself within the Speed Force. Now, you all need to be at full strength in order to defeat this threat, which is why whether you're already a full speedster or have just a spark of Speed Force inside of you, I'm going to give you all a boost. That is if everyone's okay with that."