𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭: ᴢᴇʀᴏᴘᴏɪɴᴛ ² − b. allen ((editing))

∟ 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐰𝐨.

the stone
part one

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THROWING JULIAN ALBERT into the pipeline was the first thing Barry had suggested when Anna broke the news to him. Of course, being the only one who truly believed Julian had no idea who Alchemy, Savitar and Alacrity were, she denied the request and refused to let anyone remove Julian from the Cortex.

          Anna knew it was a bit of a stretch to trust a man based on the pure confusion in his eyes when he was asked about Alchemy but she had convinced herself that Julian was telling the truth.

          "Your judgement is clouded, Anna. We have to lock him up!" Barry protested to Anna as they stood across the room from each other with their arms folded over their chests. "He's Alchemy! He's the one who got Joel and Frankie killed, remember? He's the one who got Wally locked inside that thing!"

          "It wasn't Alchemy who got them killed. He was doing what he was told, Barry. Alacrity and Savitar killed Frankie and Joel — not Alchemy," Anna stated firmly and narrowed her eyes slightly, knowing that Barry knew Alchemy hadn't actually killed Frankie and Joel. Anna knew that Alchemy played a part in Savitar and Alacrity's reign, but he was just a toy for them to play with and do their dirty work. "As for Wally — he's fine! He's doing great in his training. The cocoon thing didn't hurt him and his powers are stable. He's fine, Barry."

          "Wally being fine, Anna, doesn't excuse the fact he works for the people trying to kill us."

          "He had no idea what he was doing, Barry."

          "If we found out Alacrity had no idea what she was doing — would you forgive her, too?"

          Anna swallowed hard and pressed her lips together, deciding not to retort against him just yet. Barry was right — she wouldn't forgive Alacrity if she found out the woman had no idea what she was doing. To be honest, Anna wasn't sure why she was deciding to trust Julian so quickly just because he had a look in his eyes that told her he wasn't aware of what he was doing. "We have to find the stone," she finally spoke up, deciding to change the subject.

          "Why don't you ask your new friend where it is?" Barry questioned and raised his brows at his girlfriend, a look of annoyance and frustration laid thick on his face and in his eyes. "I'm sure he might have a sliver of an idea where it is."

          "Can we not fight right now?" Anna asked and sped forward so she was standing right in front of Barry. She reached up and touched the side of his face with her hand but he took a step back, causing her hand to slip away. "Don't act like you haven't made questionable decisions, Mr. Perfect. Running off on your own to fight metas? Changing the timeline within our first year as speedsters? It's like you're the only one who can do things differently without facing harsh consequences. You're going to fight with me because I'm choosing to trust someone? That's a low blow, Barry Allen."

          "Coming from the one who ran back in time and rewrote a whole timeline," Barry spat back and stepped around the girl, walking toward the exit of the room where the Cisco-fied treadmill was. He scoffed and suddenly stopped, turning back around to face Anna. "You don't get to tell me about my mistakes, Anna. You're not perfect either."