Present
"Zoom wants to race?" Jesse repeats as she stares between Barry and I. "He wants to race the two of you?"
I shake my head as I cross my arms. "He's always been obsessed with power, and with power comes speed."
"How do we know we can trust him?" Iris asks, furrowing her eyebrows. I knew that she was right; we couldn't trust him.
Cisco looks up. "He just wants to race. It kind of makes sense in a completely off your rockers sort of way..."
"That can't be all that he wants," Joe breathes, looking up at me as if I had all of the answers.
"Laurel said that he wanted to expand his horizons," I state, thinking back to what she had told me. "Like I said before, he's always been about power. Before we came back here to this earth, he had said that he wanted to take over the multiverse...that we had already brought our earth to its knees. It wouldn't surprise me if this race has something to do with him accomplishing that."
"She's right," I hear Harry say from behind me, clicking away on one of the computers. "This magnitar that's being developed by Mercury Labs can easily be weaponized...it can act as a pulsar."
Iris raises her eyebrows. "A what-now?"
"It's a power amplifier," Cisco explains further, sounding almost terrified. "This is what happens in my vibes, it's caused by this machine."
"This thing is powerful enough to destroy a planet?" Iris asks once again, looking astounded.
My eyes lock on the screen in front of me as a watch a graphic depiction of what would happen if this thing was activated while Harry answers her question. "It can destroy all of them if given the proper power source."
"And what's that?" Jesse asks simply, and the moment she does, it all clicks into place.
I give Barry a look as he hangs his head. "Speed. Barry, Hunter, and I are the power sources. He wants us to race so that we can help activate this thing."
"Well then I guess there isn't a choice," Barry looks up then, pain behind his eyes. "We'll have to race him...and we'll have to win."
Barry turns and leaves the room then as I stand and stare off into space, wondering to myself if this was the right choice. Racing Hunter meant that we could potentially destroy the multiverse, but if we were to win, we could defeat Hunter and save it at the same time. There were too many risks to weigh out the pros, and I knew that Barry wasn't in the right head space to go up against Zoom.
Everyone looks between one another in a doubtful sort of way, thinking the same thing as me most likely. After a moment of silence, everyone parts ways until it's just Iris and I left standing in the room. I go to turn and head back towards my room to think about what the best option would be, but before I can make it through the doorway, Iris is calling after me.
"Raven," she says simply as I stop and turn around, wondering to myself what she wanted to talk to me for. "Do you really...do you think racing him is the best option?"
I stare at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. I was afraid that I would say the wrong answer, and I wasn't sure which one was the right one. "I think that Barry isn't in the right head space to decide what to do. His father just died, and he's running off of pure revenge right now. You didn't see him that night, Iris...you didn't see how broken he was. You didn't see the hate in his eyes. It reminded me too much of myself, and that scares me."
Iris slightly nods her head as she crosses her arms. "Then you agree with the rest of us then; he can't race Zoom, not now. Raven, you're the only person that can get through to him...you have to tell him that this isn't the way to win this battle."
I furrow my eyebrows, confused as to what she was saying. "I might think that Barry shouldn't race, but I never said anything about me. This war between Hunter and I has gone on long enough...I was the one who betrayed you all, it's only fair if I put an end to all of this...for good."
She looks surprised to hear my answer. "What? Raven, you can't race him on your own-"
"Of course I can," I state, turning to leave the room. "Like you said, Barry can't race him. That leaves me."
Before Iris can say anymore, I turn and walk out of the room, positive with my answer to her. There was no need in Barry racing Hunter and risking his life; I was the one who got all of us into this mess, so it should be me cleaning it up. Besides, I always wondered who was faster between the two of us...
A part of me was scared to race him, but the other knew I had a fighting chance. If I could beat him in this stupid little race, it would change everything. This would be the final battle between the two of us, and I was ready to end it.
I was ready to get my own revenge.
-*+*-
I take a deep breath as I slip the suit Cisco had made me on, taking my time with it. Usually when I wore this thing, I had to race to put it on, but this time, I took in every moment. I realized that this could be the last time I put it on, but for some reason, that didn't scare me.
I carefully put on the mask as I look at myself in the mirror, feeling pride as I looked at myself. When I first came here, I promised myself that I wouldn't become the hero, but now as I stared at myself in the mirror, I couldn't have been more proud of myself. I found a home here, and that was what meant the most to me.
I take my finger and trace over the lightning symbol in the middle of my chest before I hear someone come in behind me. "I think you appreciate my work more than Barry does."
I catch Cisco's reflection in the mirror before I turn around and face him, a faint smile on my face. "It just makes me feel more like...myself. My other suit was for the darker side of me, a part of me that I never want to think about again."
Cisco leans up against the door frame. "You look like a hero in that suit, that's for sure."
A smile appears on my face as I glance back at myself in the mirror, feeling as if this was the first time I was trying it on again. The moment is short lived however before Cisco's face fades, and I knew he was going to bring up the race between Zoom and I.
"Raven, you can't race Zoom. At least, not by yourself." He stares at me as I turn back around, shaking my head.
"Everyone here gave me purpose again, Cisco. You had no reason to trust me again, yet you all did. This is my way to repay you all," I fade out, halfway smiling. "This is my battle to fight, and I'm going to win. For you guys."
Cisco pushes himself up off the doorway. "This isn't just your battle anymore, Raven. We can all work together to find another way to win this...just please, reconsider racing him. I know you want revenge for everything he's done to you, but this isn't the way to do it-"
"I'm racing him, Cisco," I state sternly, more certain than ever that this was what I wanted to do. "I'm sorry, but nothing you say can make me change my mind."
Cisco steps to the side as I head towards the door, ready to get this battle over with. However, just before I step out of the doorway, I hear him mumble something from behind me. "I'm sorry too, then."
I furrow my eyebrows in that moment, wondering what he was meaning by that statement. However, I'm soon finding out when I look around the corner and see Harry standing there with a blow dart gun aimed right at me. Luckily, I have enough time to realize what was happening before he fires the shot, causing me to step to the side and catch the dart swiftly. Harry widens his eyes as he lowers the gun, confused as to how he missed me.
"Seriously?" I state, my eyes flicking between Cisco and Harry both. "I told you, Cisco, I'm racing him whether you think I should or not-"
Before I can finish my sentence, I feel a sharp sting in the back of my leg, causing me to look down and see another blow dart sticking in it. When I turn around to see who shot it, I see Iris standing there with a sad look on her face, pain in her eyes. Before I know it, I feel my eye lids closing as I'm falling to the ground, passing out cold.
-*+*-
When I wake up again, I find myself in a padded blue room...one that was all too familiar to me at this point. I gasp as I push myself up with my hands, looking around rapidly, feeling claustrophobic. The last time I was in a room like this was when Barry had locked me away when he learned about who I was, and being here again only made panic set back in.
The room starts to spin slowly before I look through the glass and see everyone standing there looking at me, heartbreak on their faces. My eyes flick between all of them before I realize that Barry wasn't among them, making me wonder where he was. My question is soon answered when I hear a gasp from beside me, causing me to look down and see Barry lying beside me, passed out just like how I had been.
I take a deep breath as Barry starts to wake up, my eyes drifting back to everyone. "What...what is this?"
"We can't let the two of you race him," Cisco says, shaking his head. "There's another way to beat him, and if we're going to win, we can't try to beat him at his own game."
Barry is awake finally. "That doesn't mean you can shoot us with blow darts!"
Joe hangs his head. "You two just want revenge, and if that's your motive, neither of you will beat him. We all decided that we had to take things into our own hands."
I sit there in utter silence as Barry leaps up onto his feet, pressing his fist into the glass. "This isn't your decision to make! He's going to come for you all if you don't let us out of here!"
"We'll be fine," Harry says, still holding the gun that he had to shoot us. "You've always gotten to play hero, Barry. Let us take care of it this time around."
"That doesn't mean you have the right to lock us away in here like animals!" Barry shouts, clearly losing his temper. "Come on...Cisco? Iris?"
Iris looks devastated as she hangs her head. "I'm sorry, Barry, but this is what's best."
"No!" Barry shouts one last time as Cisco starts to close the cell. He continues to beat on the glass as he shouts for all of them to come back, but I just sit on the floor in silence as I stare at the closing door, flashes of memory coming back to me of when this had happened to me the first time, only it was Barry leaving me behind, not the whole team.
When the doors finally shut for good, Barry lets out another scream before falling to the floor, shaking his head as he mumbles to himself. My eyes are wide as I stare off into space, feeling as if the walls were getting closer and closer to me. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but I felt alone again. In a way, I felt betrayed.
"This isn't fair," Barry mumbles to himself. "This isn't fair..."
-*+*-
alright folks, this is it. this is the second to last chapter.
my plan is for there to be one more full chapter like this, and then of course the epilogue. I'm so freaking excited to get started on the second book though, season three should be a fun one to write about!
I'd just like to say thank you for all of the support throughout this book, it means the absolute world to me. You guys are fantastic readers and I'm glad that you guys are still following Raven and I's story.
vote & comment!