Present
"Barry," I quickly say as I grab the speaker that went to his coms. "Don't say anything about me. Pretend that I'm dead or dying, okay? I have a plan. Just trust me on this."
Cisco and the others stare at me for a moment as I lower the speaker, my eyes looking back up to the screen where we were seeing everything that Barry was seeing. He didn't reply to my message, but I prayed that he got it. I hoped that he wouldn't say or do anything stupid and blow this. This is the one advantage we had over Hunter.
Suddenly, the blur on the screen turns into the CCPD, Barry's lab to be exact. For a moment, my eyes have to adjust on the screen since it was so dark, but after they focus in, I see the one person that I hated more than myself standing in the far corner...Hunter.
The view on the screen freezes for a moment, but I knew it was only because Barry was frozen still. I was sure he was feeling the same thing I was...but I just prayed that he'd keep his mouth shut about me. I wanted this backup plan to work, and for it to work, I had to be considered dead, at least to him.
"You know, I never saw the crime photos of my mother's murder," Hunter says as he stares at something, but I wasn't sure what exactly. It was too dark to tell. "Then again, I guess I didn't need to...not just a hologram, are you flash?"
I bite my tongue as I wait for Barry's reply, and I just wished that I could see the look on his face right now so I could at least get a sense of what he wanted to say. "I know you didn't just call me up here to banter. Let's finish this."
"Actually, I did. I called you up here to tell you that you can't keep running from one meta to the next...and that you can't save her," he says then, finishing coldly. I hold my breath as I dig my nails into the palm of my hand, trying to keep myself together as I watched the scene unfold. "What I did to her is incurable...not even your little team can fix it."
Barry takes a moment before he can speak, but he continues to play the part. "Why...why are you doing this to her? Isn't she the one who helped you get to where you are now?"
"She was," he fades out, making me shake my head. I knew whatever he was going to say next was going to push me over the edge, and I was right. "She helped me every step of the way...but she was weak. You were her weakness, Barry Allen...flash. You were what ruined her."
"So after everything you two went through, you just end it like that?" Barry continues as he walks closer slowly, a hint of pain in his voice as he yells. "After saving her life, you decided to take it...just in the blink of an eye?"
Hunter nods his head, holding his ground. "There's no place for her in this world. She made her choice, and that choice wasn't me. Consider me doing her a favor-"
"A favor?" Barry screams, I could tell that he was about to unleash all of his anger towards him. "You took away her character, her freedom, her life, and just because she makes her own damn choice once, you decide that you have the right to take it all away from her?"
Silence fills the room for a moment before Hunter starts to laugh. Barry stands frozen as the camera on the screen freezes as well, chills running up my spine as I watch the man I grew up with laugh over the fact of me dying...well, what should be happening.
"That is what I wanted to see! That is what makes this whole thing so satisfactory," he smirks, shaking his head. "You see, Raven did mean something to me at some point in time, but you...I can tell you really do care for her, don't you? Watching her die must be torture for you."
It was then I put the pieces together. I realized in that moment that he wasn't killing me because of my choice and my actions, but he was doing it just to get under Barry's skin. Of course, it was something that didn't surprise me, but it made me hate the man even more than I already did. The fact that he was willing to sacrifice my life just in order to make Barry's life more of a living Hell than it already was made my face grow hot.
Barry is silent for a long moment, unsure of what to say. "How do I help her."
"You can't, I already told you that," Hunter says casually. "This is the best thing for her...trust me on that one. I know her better than anyone else, Barry, even you. Just let her die like she was supposed to that night I murdered her parents."
A prick; that's what it felt like in that moment. It felt like some sort of stab in the back, but instead of just one stab, there were multiple ones. I thought I was about to throw up just after hearing that, but just before I lost it completely, I feel a warm hand grab mine, causing my eyes to flick over and see Iris standing there, her eyes still glued to the screen. Her hand was in mine in a way to tell me that she was here for me, and I didn't realize until then how much I needed it.
After Hunter utters those last words, Barry starts to race towards him, but he stops suddenly at the sound of something coming from outside. The camera turns then to see a building starting to crumble to the ground, a half smile on Hunter's face when Barry sees it.
"You and I aren't so different, Barry. The only difference is that while you're playing hero, I'll be winning." Hunter glances out towards the falling building once again. "So what will it be, flash? End this here and now, or play hero?"
A million thoughts ran through my head in that moment; one of them being that I needed to be out there right now helping Barry. In fact, for a moment there, I start to turn around to deal with the building so Barry can take care of Hunter, but Iris holds me back and gives me a look to stay, and I knew she was right. This plan that I had could work in the long run...and sacrificing this meeting with Barry and Hunter was worth the price.
Barry stares at Hunter for a long moment, letting his words get under his skin before he flashes off to save everyone inside of the building. As we all watch Barry play hero, I couldn't help but think about what Hunter said.
Maybe dying was the best thing for me.
-*+*-
"We need to take down Zoom before he destroys another building," Barry says in a frustrated tone as he dashes into the lab, throwing his gloves in the corner.
Cisco answers him first. "We can't get to him until we take care of this metahuman problem, and that'll take weeks."
"We need a way to take them all down at once," Barry continues as I stand off the corner, my eyes fixed on the tile flooring below my feet. "The metas are like his armor; once we get rid of that, it's just me and him."
"And me," I interrupt him, causing everyone's eyes to flick towards me. I look up from the ground, my eyes connecting with Barry's. "I'm not here to let you do this by yourself; we're all a team here, and I'm going to help you end this...once and for all."
For a moment, it looks as if he was going to object, but then he agrees. "We can't touch him until we figure out what to do about the metas...we need to start there."
"What about the frequencies?" Cisco starts then, his eyes lighting up with an idea. "When we went to Earth 2, my glasses wouldn't work because it was a different frequency there. What if we could use the same concept?"
"People from Earth 2 vibrate at a different frequency," Harry fades out, nodding his head. "That actually might work...at least, it's a good place to start."
"We'll get on that," Cisco states as he points towards Harry, starting to walk out of the room. Joe and Iris grab their coats then as they start to head out as well, saying something about calling if something else happens with the metas. Everyone eventually leaves until it's just Barry and I left standing in the room, my mind plagued with thoughts.
He turns towards me, lifting his chin slightly. "You okay?"
I nod my head briefly. "Yeah, my leg is better-"
"I mean, are you okay?" he asks me again, and I knew that he didn't mean physically this time. I hold my breath as I stare at the ground for a long moment, thinking about what to answer him with.
"I trusted him for more than 13 years...he was the man that I saw as a fatherly figure in my life. I grew up thinking that he saved my life," I fade out, shaking my head. "Hearing him tell you that I'm just another piece in his game...no, I'm not okay."
Barry takes a few steps closer to me. "I just...I cannot explain to you how much I wanted to rip his tongue out of his mouth after hearing him say those things."
"But you didn't, and I'm glad you didn't either," I state. "In order for this plan to work, he has to think that I'm dying or dead. Thank you for not losing it, I know that must have been hard."
He nods his head briefly as he looks at the ground. "We need everything we can get to win this battle, and to have a 1 up like this with you on our side is a point for us. I mean, I hate referring to you like that, but having you here...we'll win for sure. How could we lose with Silver Trickster on our side?"
I smile faintly before it fades away from my face. "If I make it out of this alive, I think I'll have to change that nick name."
"It does have a good ring to it," Barry fades out before pointing at me. "What about something like...Grey Fox?"
I give him a pathetic look. "Really? Might as well stick with Silver Trickster then."
He shrugs. "What? It sounds pretty catchy...granted it might sound similar to Silver Trickster, but-"
"We'll worry about the new name later," I grin at him, glad that he was able to put a smile on my face after everything I've been through. "Thanks, Barry."
"For what?" he asks me, a questionable look on his face.
I nod my head, a smile on my face. "For being someone I can trust."
A faint smile appears on his face then as he walks towards me and wraps me in his arms, pulling me in tight. My face gets smushed against his chest from the sudden embrace, and to be honest, I wasn't the best at giving hugs. It wasn't like I was used to giving them, in my defense. But being in Barry's arms...it felt right.
"About what Zoom said," Barry speaks into my ear, it being a half whisper. "You have a place here; you aren't forgotten to the world like he said you were. You can always come back here to us."
And I knew he was right.
-*+*-
touchy feely feels!! I had to add some fluff in there, I've been slacking lately!
make sure to comment and vote as always, reading and seeing you guys enjoying this story seriously makes my week, so thank you <3