MacKenzie's POV
"TI-82. Girl, you still fine." Chester says as we walk through a store
"Stop flirting with the calculators." Cisco tells him. "We've got a problem."
"What?" Chester asks
"The X-76 power converter. They just sold the last one to that guy." Cisco says, gesturing over to the man at the counter. Chester gasps. "Okay, chill. It's not that big a deal. He actually looks pretty reasonable. I say we just offer to buy it back from him."
"No, no, no. We can't go after him." Chester says and I turn my head in confusion
"Okay. Why not? Chess, what's going on?" Cisco asks
"We can't go after him because he's my dad." Chester breathes. "I'm the last person he'd want to help right now."
"Chess, you wanna tell us what's going on?" Cisco asks as we make our way outside to sit down
"Look, my Pops was a very smart guy who traveled all the time trying to get rich off of his latest invention, so he never had time for me." Chester says. "It was always, 'Sorry, son. I don't believe in quitting'."
"Look, whatever happened–" Cisco says
"Tomorrow, my dad dies in a car accident on his way to some big meeting in Coast City." Chester says. "Today's the last day I see him alive."
"I'm sorry." Cisco whispers. "That's heavy for anyone, let alone a kid." He says, grabbing my hand subtly and squeezing it
"What if... What if you're here for a reason?" I whisper. "This could be your chance to talk to your dad."
"I'm good with that, dude." Chester says. "I can't save his life. That would just reset the time loop, so... Now I just gotta– just gotta stay firm. Keep doing my thing."
"I understand." Cisco says. "Don't worry about the converter, all right? I'll get it from him."
"Wait. You're gonna go talk to my dad?" Chester asks
"Just long enough to get the X-76." Cisco sasy. "Then I come back here, we fix everything, and it all goes back to normal. That is what you want, right?"
***
Chester goes to talk to his father. He had decided that he wanted to be the person to talk to him. Cisco and I wait int he gym at the school...
"Cisco, Mack, my Pops is pretty cool, man." Chester says, walking over to us
"Yeah?" Cisco asks
"I'm just really glad we had a day to hang out." Chester says. "It made me realize that my Pops isn't just smart. Dude's a genius. Check it." He says, pulling the sensor from his pocket. "Pops and I built it together."
"Wow." I whisper, looking at the sensor
"You know what this means." Cisco says. "Now, we can disrupt the temporal isotopes..."
"And go home!" Chester and Cisco exclaim at the same time
"Yo, nerds!" Deon yells, running in. "Been looking for you!" He says, kicking something
"You ever see Space Jam?" Chester asks
"Four times, man." Deon says. "Oh, man, it's so good. Now, it's time to kick you wannabe Urkels to the curb, because whoever you two are, you don't belong here." He throws his hands to the side and green erupts. His eyes glow green. "This is my time... And you two gotta go."
"Time god." Cisco whisperes
"Thanks for ruining my perfect day, not." Deon says
"Yo, Deon. Why bum around 1998?" Chetser asks. "Man, I thought you left the small-town life for college and the NFL."
"That wasn't me!" Deon yells, throwing green forwards
"What do you mean?" Chester asks. "Grandma Runk said that after you won state–"
"It was the second-string quarterback that led the team to victory." Deon says. "Not me, dumbass. I got injured and taken out in the first quarter. He got all the victory. Me? I got four pins in my knee and a job selling used cars. I came back to the past because I have no future!"
"That's weird, 'cause your future looks bright to me." Cisco says, zapping Deon with the sensor
"You dweebs really think you can stop me?" Deon scoffs. "You tripping." He throws his hand forward and the sensor is gone
"Oh, not good." Cisco says
"Oh, snap. I just erased it from time. My bad." Deon says. "Buckle up, fools, 'cause once I reset my time loop, you'll forget everything."
"We gotta get out of here." Cisco says. "He's too powerful. We can't fight him on our own." He grabs my hand and pulls me. "Come on. Chess?"
"I don't believe in quitting." Chester says. "Yo, Deon! Listen to me. You can make us forget our futures, but there's no power in the world that'll make you forget yours."
"Yeah, tell me about it. I've tried to rewrite that night 100 times!" Deon exclaims, his powers blasting from his hands. "No matter what I try to do, I can't change what happens."
"What happened to you must be a fixed point." Chester realizes. "You can't change it. So maybe you should stop trying, and instead choose to see the possibilities in every new day. Look, your future's still not written, Deon."
"I hate my future!" Deon screams. "I'm supposed to be the next Patrick Mahomes, man."
"Look, I know it's easy to hold on to the bad stuff." Chester says. "Ever since I was a kid, I thought my Pops cared more about his job than me."
"Boo-hoo, man." Deon growls
"And I carried the hurt around with me for years." Chester says. "But today, when I looked at my past with fresh eyes... I saw that my dad worked hard to give me a better life. And once I saw that, it helped me let go of that pain, Deon. And you can do the same. But not until you stop letting one moment in your past define all the moments in your future."
"The future's on me?" Deon asks, his powers slowing down and going away
"Yeah." Chester says with a nod
"So I get to figure out what it looks like." Deon realizes. "So I get to decide what happens from now on. Not just for me... But for everyone. Time to bounce." He says with a smile and disappearing in a flash of green
Chester, Cisco, and I are hit with a blast of green are we have our regular outfits on again. We all share a look before running, Cisco with a death grip on my hand
***
"Well, Barry, looks like your vitals have stabilized." Caitlin says, looking at the tablet as we all stand in the cortex. "How you feeling?"
"I feel fine." Barry says. "So no luck finding Deon yet?" He asks us
"So far, satellites haven't found any traces of his temporal energy signature." I announce
"And he's a time god, so who knows where or when he might be hiding?" Iris says
"Plus, I think Deon's only just now starting to realize the full scope of his powers." Cisco says. "But I don't get it. Not once did he mention chasing after you." He says to Nora
"Well, unlike the others, he might not know that I survived." Nora says
"That makes sense." Cisco says
"You know, it's weird." Caitlin starts. "Every time you, Mack, and Chester talk about Deon, he sounds a lot more reasonable than Psych and a lot less lethal than Fuerza."
"Even so, being able to control time makes him the most powerful Force yet." Barry says
"He could stop you in your tracks anytime, anywhere. That's his power. It's like he's the opposite of the Speed Force." Cisco says. "He's the Still Force. Which I guess would make Fuerza the Strength Force. And that would make Psych the Sage Force."
"If this new Force is more powerful than me, then how did you defeat him?" Nora asks
"Uh, we didn't defeat him." Cisco says. "Chester P. did."
"Uh, I got lucky." Chester says. "Yeah, I'm gonna leave the going mano a mano with big bads to the Flash from now on."
Cisco's phone rings. "Oh, that's Kamilla." He says. "Supposed to meet up at Jitters. Caitlin, you still in?"
"Absolutely." Caitlin asys. "Let me grab my bag."
"Short-Stack Mack?" Cisco asks
I look over at Barry and Iris who nod. I look back at Cisco. "I'm in." I say, making my way out with him and Caitlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Remember to vote and comment! Next chapter up NEXT WEDNESDAY
-MC