home stretch
part two
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HR'S PALMS BEGAN to sweat inside Anna's sapphire blue gloves as he watched the elevator doors close, sealing his niece safely inside away from any harm or danger; away from anything that would keep her safe from the scary things outside the elevator. He looked down at the drumsticks that were once in his hand that had been turned into the golden lightning bolt keychain Anna carried around everywhere she went, even when she wore the Swift suit. The change had to be convincing. Alacrity and Savitar had to believe, even for a moment, that Swift was dead.
HR took a few steps away from the elevator and forced himself to turn around. Out of curiosity, he tried to use Anna's speed, but of course, the technology had its flaws and couldn't give him the ability even for a little while. He sighed deeply and walked down the corridor as quickly as he could, desperate to find someone before Alacrity and Savitar could find him.
HR's mind drifted to his niece back on his earth. He replayed her laughs and how her nose scrunched up when she smiled — a trait that Earth-1 Anna did not possess. A smile crept on his lips as he recalled the memory of him teaching her how to ride a bike. It didn't last long, of course, because six-year-old Anna had her mother's temper and threw a tantrum when she fell off the bike for the first time — she was eleven when she first learned how to ride a bike.
The smile didn't last long when he remembered what he was about to do. HR was about to leave behind the girl he loved more than himself; the girl he had lost contact with so long ago. It broke his heart, but if he could save a life and prove himself useful, it was enough for him. Part of him wondered if his Anna would even be fazed by his death — would she be upset for a moment and then move on? Would she even care at all? They hadn't spoken in so long that HR forgot how long it had been — did she stop caring about him?
Tears pricked HR's eyes and he quickly wiped them away with his gloved fingers, shaking his head to rid his mind of the dark thought — of course, she would care. HR cleared his throat and blinked rapidly, clearing his tears as the faint sound of voices slipped into his ears. He walked slowly forward and inhaled deeply before turning the corner.
"Anna!" Shannon called out as he rounded the corner and caught a glimpse of Wally, Shannon and Iris, causing him to straighten his shoulders. The man smiled, hoping that his disguise would be enough to trick the trio. The caramel-skinned girl jogged up to HR and looked around, her eyes roaming around the corridor behind him. Instantly, HR felt guilty for what he was about to do; what he was about to put Shannon, Barry, and the rest of the team through. They were all going to believe Anna was dead, and he hoped it would only be for a short period of time until his niece really showed up. "Where's HR?"
"I sent him back to the hospital," HR replied, his eyes almost widening in shock as Anna's voice came from his lips. For a moment, he almost forgot he didn't look like himself. For his last minutes on earth, he would have to pretend to be Shannon's best friend, Barry's girlfriend and partner, his own niece. "He doesn't have to be here. Not for what's about to happen."
Shannon frowned and rested a hand on HR's face, her kind eyes meeting his; meeting Anna's. "You are strong, Anna Wells. And I know you will fight tooth and nail to stay alive. Alacrity and Savitar have nothing on you or Barry when you work together," Shannon said as a tear rolled down over her cheek. She sighed deeply and sniffed, blinking rapidly as she pulled her hand away from HR's face. "Swift isn't dying today, alright?"
HR nodded, despite every fibre in his being, and he mumbled a quick yes; a quick lie. He swallowed hard as Shannon turned and began walking away, allowing his shoulders to relax. HR glanced over his shoulder at the empty corridor. He felt guilty for trapping Anna inside the elevator, but the girl deserved better than to be killed at twenty-five years old. She deserved more than to be murdered by someone who looked exactly like her; someone who took the face of a hero and turned it into something evil.
As the group walked into a room, they all came to a stop at the sight of Savitar and Alacrity. In Savitar's hand was the Philosopher's Stone and in Alacrity's was a knife. With Savitar in his large, silver suit and Alacrity in her deep red one, they looked like a pair you shouldn't mess with.
HR's heart began to beat quickly and his stomach twisted into knots, making him nauseous. This was it. This was the home stretch. He would soon prove himself useless; he would soon save a life.
"About time you showed up, Anna," Alacrity called out as she twisted the tip of her knife against her gloved fingertip. She smiled and took a few steps forward, her eyes narrowing on HR. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you won't be walking out of here today."
HR swallowed hard and blinked, trying to think of something Anna would snap back. His fingers tapped against his thigh, drumming against the blue suit. "I won't be the one not making it out of here," he finally said, smiling slightly to himself at how confident the response sounded. He stood with his shoulders squared and his chin raised slightly in a way he'd seen Anna do countless times during a fight.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Savitar said and aimed the stone at HR. HR, still trying to pass off as Anna, moved his feet as if he was about to run as a beam of light flew toward him. The beam connected with his chest and he flew back, slamming into a wall and sliding to the ground.
"Anna!" Shannon exclaimed and turned to run to HR, but was stopped when Alacrity appeared in front of her and pointed the knife at her chest. Shannon raised her gloved hands, ready to blast Alacrity. "Get the hell out of my way, bitch," she demanded and narrowed her eyes at the red-haired speedster.
HR groaned and pushed himself up to his knees, brushing Anna's hair away from his face and behind his ears. "That all you got?" He asked, trying to pull the speedster's attention away from Shannon. He slowly got to his feet despite the burning pain in his chest that felt like a fire had been lit inside his lungs and was burning his ribs. He leaned back against the wall, swallowing hard to keep himself from groaning in pain once again. "Surely you won't hide behind the stone forever, Savitar."
Savitar fired another beam at HR from the stone, causing him to slam back against the wall. The beam kept coming, becoming more intense by the second. HR gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to scream out in pain. Savitar walked closer to him and the beam grew in size, almost covering the torso of the blue suit completely. Despite not having powers, HR felt as though his powers had been drained and he felt helpless.
When the beam of light finally gave way, HR dropped to his knees and placed his hands on the floor. Panting heavily, he closed his eyes and kept his tears to himself so that no one could see how badly injured he truly was. HR repeated over and over in his head that he was doing this for Anna; for the girl he comforted night and night when she woke up from nightmares when she fell asleep at the lab; for the girl who lit up the room with her smile; for the girl who deserved to have another shot at life.
"Not much fight left in you, is there, Anna?" Alacrity asked as she grabbed a fistful of Anna's brown hair. She pulled HR to his feet and dragged him away from his friends who yelled and screamed in protest, but Savitar blocked their way and kept them from running to save the sapphire speedster.
"What's the point of fighting?" HR asked as Alacrity turned to face him, still holding a fistful of Anna's hair in her fist. He swallowed hard and grabbed Alacrity's wrist, squeezing as tightly as he could until she pulled her hand away. "You have the stone, you win, Alacrity. There's no point to fight anymore. I'm tired of fighting against you and losing every single time no matter how hard I try."
"Anna!" Barry called out and HR immediately looked to his left, watching as Barry walked into the room with Cisco and Joe trailing behind him. HR's heart dropped at the terrified look in Barry's eyes — Barry thought that the love of his life was about to die and there was nothing HR could do in the moment to tell him otherwise without Alacrity or Savitar catching it. "Alacrity, don't. Please. Take me instead! Please don't kill her."
Savitar stood in front of Barry, pointing the stone at his chest. "Take another step and you're toast," he threatened, but Barry's eyes didn't move away from HR; from the face of the girl he loved.
Alacrity grabbed the back of HR's neck and turned him to face the group. She leaned toward his ear and exhaled deeply. "It was nice to meet you, Swift, but it's time for you to rest," she whispered and HR closed his eyes. Alacrity pressed the tip of her knife against the middle of HR's back and he sucked in a deep breath, waiting for the pain he would save Anna from.
HR pulled the lightning bolt keychain out of the belt of Anna's suit and gripped it so tightly the edges drove into his gloved hand. He relaxed his shoulders, playing glimpses of Anna through his mind so she would be the last thing he thought about. Soon, he would prove to everyone that he was useful and he would die knowing he had saved a life even though he wasn't ready to leave the world yet — he had so much left to do. "I'm sorry," he whispered as quietly as he could.
HR's eyes snapped open as the blade of the knife pierced through his back. He sucked in a breath and dropped to his knees, pressing a hand over the wound in his abdomen where the knife had come out from. He dropped down to the floor, his shoulder slamming against the floor. It didn't hurt too long, that was good. In only a few seconds, his body felt lighter than ever; he felt at peace with his decision and didn't regret it one bit. Before his eyes closed, he saw Barry running toward him, screaming for Anna to stay awake. A gunshot rang off as HR closed his eyes, waiting to fade away from the world. A scream echoed inside his head before the world went dark, and then he felt the keychain slip from his hand before he felt absolutely nothing at all.
.: ｡
ANNA SCREAMED AS loud as her body could muster as she saw the lightning bolt keychain fall from HR's hands, turning into his drumsticks right before it hit the floor. Barry dropped to his knees next to Anna's body and pulled her onto his lap, crying loudly and begging for her to open her eyes.
The blue speedster ran toward her boyfriend and uncle and dropped to her knees beside Barry. Right as Anna cupped HR's face, he turned back into himself and Alacrity let out a string of curse words. Anna ignored her shouting and Barry as he mumbled her name in disbelief, blinking his glossy eyes as he reached out to touch her face — she was too focused on HR. "HR," she whispered and choked out a sob, stroking his face with her thumbs as she hovered over his head. Anna slid over beside Barry and took his place with holding HR in her lap. She lifted him up slightly and wrapped her arms around him, holding his head against her shoulder as she cried, rocking back and forth slowly. Remembering how he comforted her, Anna began humming the same song that HR had when she had woken up from a nightmare. Her humming was broken up with sobs, but she continued on and die her best. "Please, uncle H. Please don't go," she whispered and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body trembling.
Anna buried her face into HR's shoulder, muffling her sobs into his shirt. "Why did you do that? You didn't have to do that," she whispered and leaned away from him, resting a hand on his face. There was no pain on his face and he looked at peace. Despite the situation, Anna was glad he hadn't been in pain for his last moments. Anna rested HR back on the ground and rose up to her knees, holding her hands over his chest. She sniffled and blinked, clearing away her tears the best she could before new ones formed. "Come back to me, HR," she begged as she twitched her fingers and set lightning through his chest. She pressed her hands against his chest and began CPR as her lips began to tremble uncontrollably. "Please, HR, please come back to me. I need you. I need—" She let out a scream of frustration and kept doing CPR as quickly as she could, hoping it would bring HR back to her. "You don't have to go, uncle H, just fight, okay? Don't go toward the white light no matter how warm it is. Please."
Anna choked out a sob that sounded more like a cough and landed flat on her butt, keeping one hand pressed against HR's chest. She wrapped an arm around her stomach as she panted heavily, trying to catch her breath as a sob lodged itself in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and pressed her lips together, her body shaking with pure rage and grief.
"No." Anna's eyes snapped open at Barry's hard tone. They both looked at Alacrity as she stared at Anna with glowing red eyes that burned a hole into Anna. "No. No, no no! Leave her alone," Barry ordered and rose up to his feet.
Alacrity ran up to Barry and punched him across the face, knocking him to the ground. Instantly, Anna rose to her feet and dried her tears despite her heart being in pieces inside her chest. She marched toward Anna and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her away from HR's lifeless body. "I've had enough of you, Swift," she spat and stared into Anna's eyes with her glowing ones. "I'll make you pay for that stupid little trick you pulled. I'll bend and break you until you can't breathe."
.: ｡
WHEN ALACRITY FINALLY stopped running, she had brought Anna to the top of the CCPD building. Anna moved away from Alacrity quickly, her cheeks still wet from tears. The brunette looked around quickly, her chest tightening at the sight of Savitar standing at the edge of the building. Anna's lips began to tremble once again and she took a step forward but Alacrity quickly yanked her back and held her arm tightly.
"Anna," Shannon called out, her voice shaky with fear. The heels of the girl's shoes were over the edge of the building and the only thing keeping her steady was Savitar's grip on her bicep. Shannon looked over her shoulder toward the ground and choked out a sob, her eyes quickly darting back to her best friend. "Anna, please help."
Anna weighed her options quickly. She knew if she made a move to save Shannon, Savitar would let her fall, and she knew that trying to talk them out of hurting Shannon was impossible especially when they were both psychotic and hopeless. Anna blinked slowly, fighting against the tears in her eyes. "Let her go and I'll do anything you want," she suddenly said and looked to the side at Alacrity. While she wouldn't do anything Alacrity wanted, she had to try something to get them to let Shannon go.
"Jump off the building," Alacrity replied quickly as a sick smile pulled at her lips. She pointed to the edge of the building where Shannon stood and raised her brows at Anna. "Go ahead, Speedy," she said and Anna stiffened at the nickname, more tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. "Take the plunge."
"Anna, no," Shannon stated and Anna looked back at her friend, her vision blurry with fresh tears. The caramel-skinned girl shook her head slowly, her legs wobbling. "Don't hurt yourself for me, Annie."
"Please, Alacrity," Anna said and looked back at the red-haired woman with pleading eyes. Anna swallowed hard, preparing to give the speech of her life. "She's my best friend. I can't do this without her. You took HR away from me, please don't take her. You can still turn this around. I know deep down inside you can be good. I know Savitar can, too. Deep down, you're still Anna and Barry whether you want to admit it or not. Deep down, Shannon is your best friend too, Alacrity. You're me, and we both know that Shannon doesn't deserve to die. So, please, find the kindness and let her walk away. You and I can handle this alone. No tricks, no partners. Just us, I promise."
Alacrity looked over at Savitar as if she was processing Anna's words. She ran her tongue over her lips, her expression softening as she shifted her gaze to Shannon. Alacrity's grip loosened on Anna's arm and she smiled softly, nodding at Savitar. Anna exhaled deeply and looked at Shannon, smiling softly and nodding her head.
"No," Alacrity suddenly said and tightened her grip around Anna's bicep again. She slammed her foot against Anna's knee as hard as she could, knocking the brunette to the ground in front of her. Alacrity stood behind Anna and held her head in her hands, forcing Anna to look at Shannon and Savitar. "Let her take the plunge."
Savitar nodded and released Shannon's arm. Shannon's arms waved around at her sides, trying to keep her balance. Anna struggled in Alacrity's grip, trying to keep herself together despite the pain in her knee and in her chest. Savitar reached to the side and placed his hand on Shannon's abdomen, his eyes locking onto Anna's. "We take out the people you and Barry love, we weaken you both. If you're weak, you can't fight as hard. We win immediately," he said and gave Shannon the final nudge that sent her over the edge of the building.
As Shannon screamed for Anna, Anna struggled in Alacrity's arms. The brunette cried and thrashed around, calling out Shannon's name desperately as her best friend continued to scream as she plummeted toward the ground.
When Shannon's screams came to a sudden stop, Anna sucked in a breath as Alacrity's grip disappeared from her head. In flashes of red and blue lightning, Savitar and Alacrity were gone within seconds. Anna scrambled to her feet and ran toward the edge of the building as sobs ripped through her body, making her legs weak.
Before Anna got too close to the edge, a pair of arms wrapped around her body and kept her from getting too close. She thrashed around in Barry's arms as more sobs escaped her lips, coating her cheeks with fresh tears that were hot against her skin. "Barry, she's—" Anna paused and bent over in Barry's arms, a scream ripping through her that made her throat raw. Blue lightning curled around her body as she dropped toward the ground, taking Barry down with her. The lightning scattered across the roof as her knees hit the rooftop and bolts flew up into the sky, casting a blue glow around Anna and Barry. Anna screamed again as Barry pulled her against his chest, holding her head against his shoulder. Her body shook violently and her throat burned like she had swallowed a pile of ash.
Anna cried loudly and stared at the edge of the building where Shannon had once stood. Anna pressed her hands to her chest as if she was trying to hold her heart in place before it could be shattered even more. She had lost HR and Shannon within minutes of each other and could do nothing to save either of them. Her heart, head and stomach ached with a pain she had never felt before and she felt totally helpless. Two of the people she loved most had been ripped away from her by someone who wore her face and someone who wore Barry's face.
Anna continued to sob as Barry rocked her back and forth, crying quietly to himself. They both sat there without speaking a word to each other. As the sun began to set in the sky and sirens filled the air, ambulances and cop cars closing in on the pavement where Shannon laid lifeless, Anna plotted her revenge against Alacrity and Savitar, planning their deaths down to the last detail.
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i just want to apologize
for what i just did. this pained
me as much as it pains you
guys, if not more.
when i first wrote alacrity, i
wanted her to be ruthless and
i wanted her to push anna
to the edge no matter who
she had to kill to get there.
not only will alacrity and savitar
be ruthless, now anna will be.
starting now, you will see a side
of anna that you haven't seen
before. she is going to
fight harder than ever.
there is going to be one
((maybe two)) chapters left
to zeropoint and then it'll be over.
thank you for the support
so far. we are in the
home stretch now, guys.
again, i'm sorry for taking
away shannon and hr.