EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME TWO
━━ ❛ 𝒏𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 ❜
chapter no. 048!
GRADUALLY, HER DARK, HOLLOW EYES FLUTTERED OPEN, AND SHE SAT UP, USING HER RIGHT HAND TO PROP HERSELF UP. Pushing off the padded floor of the containment cell, she stood up. Raising her head, she was met with six sets of eyes, all of which were staring at her gravely. She tossed back her long scarlet-red hair, tucking a single strand behind her ear. "Well, if it isn't my least favorite members of The Breakfast Club," she smirked.
The team was silent as they stared at Piper, tears glistening in a few of their eyes.
Barry Allen looked down at his feet, his eyes watering at her words. The Breakfast Club was the movie they watched on their first date. Piper knew that and she was using it to get to him, and it was working.
"You know... that was some punch, bestie. Gotta admit, it kinda hurt," Piper mused, tilting her head as she looked at the short-haired girl.
Erin shifted uncomfortably from beside Iris, meeting the cold gaze of the woman she no longer recognized. "I didn't want to hurt you. I never want to. I want to help you." Erin replied firmly, instinctively reaching for Iris's hand for comfort.
Barry nodded in agreement. "We all want to help you, and we will. I promise," he vowed, stepping forward and crossing his arms.
Chuckling, Piper's lips curled into a humorless smile. "Oh, like you promised Eddie? And like you promised Ronnie?" She asked, raising a brow as the man in front of her looked away, breathing in deeply. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Iris sucking in her cheeks, her grip on Erin's hand tightening at the mention of her dead fiancé. "You know... for a hero, you sure do let a lot of people around you die, don't you, Flash? I don't need your help. I never did."
Cisco narrowed his eyes at the mere shell of who used to be his best friend. Glancing to his right, he watched as the brown-haired man did his best not to let her words get to him.
"This isn't you. This is Savitar talking. He's messing with your mind; you're not you, Piper," the speedster whispered.
At the mention of her name, the redhead stepped forward, her hands clenching into fists as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm nothing, Barry."
Joe took in a shaky breath as he glanced over to Harry, both of them at a loss for words. The woman locked in the cell was a stranger. Their Piper was gone, and in her place was someone completely foreign to them.
"You're the woman that I want to spend the rest of my life with. The person who makes me feel alive. You're the woman that I call home. You are anything but nothing." Barry snapped, his hands dropping to his sides as he stepped closer.
The pipeline was silent and still, everyone seemingly holding their breath at the speedster's words, waiting to see how the latter responded. A small part of each of them was praying that his words would have some sort of effect on the girl. However, that small part was foolish to ever hope for such a thing.
Piper felt a tug at her heart, and a rush of relief trickled down her back as Barry's words settled in. The darkness around her dissolved, and her vision became clear momentarily, but just as quickly as the darkness left, it came right back. Letting out a quiet breath, she blinked a couple of times. "The woman you all love is gone," she hissed, her eyes growing darker.
Erin placed her head in her hands, groaning in annoyance and frustration. Her best friend was gone, and no matter what they said or did, Erin felt they wouldn't be able to bring her back from the depths of darkness. She'd been through too much, and seen too much to ever want to return. Hell, even Erin wouldn't want to come back.
The sound of approaching footsteps caught everyone's attention, and all eyes were directed to Dr. Caitlin Snow as she approached, tablet in hand.
"I compared the results of her DNA scan with the ones from a month ago when Piper came back and found something interesting," Caitlin announced. "Before her heart started beating, I noticed a trace of an unidentified substance in her bloodstream. I didn't think anything of it, considering it was so small and barely there. However, according to the results from today, that substance was a drug. Over the past few weeks, it has multiplied and spread from her bloodstream to her brain, altering her cerebral, ventromedial, and medial prefrontal cortex, her amygdala, and chemical balances. This drug has affected her both on a cognitive, behavioral, and genetic scale. While she looks and sounds like Piper, this drug has completely taken over, changing her persona altogether. This isn't Piper. Not the Piper we know, at least."
The team looked from the doctor to the redhead whose arms were crossed and whose eyes were rolling into the back of her head.
"God," she groaned, "it really took test results to confirm that I wasn't Piper Lita? Ms. Goody Two-Shoes, who would do anything to save anyone but herself? She was pathetic, and so are all of you."
Cisco blinked back tears as all he could see was his best friend locked in a cell, not the person she was now. His best friend was all he could see. All he could ever see. Looking away, he rubbed his eyes, brushing away his tears as the team remained silent.
"Piper," Caitlin started, walking forward, ignoring the cautious look Harry shot her way, "I will fix this. I promise you. I will fix this."
Piper snorted, shaking her head as a mock-frown spread across her lips. "You're cute, Caity, and your hopeless optimism is even cuter, but this isn't Clue. No mystery or clues will help you fix this," she mused, clicking her tongue. The brunette bit down on her bottom lip, frowning deeply as she hugged the tablet to her chest.
"No. Caitlin's right. We will fix this, Piper. We'll get you back somehow." Joe spoke up, nodding his head.
Erin watched with diligent eyes as the redhead simply rolled her eyes, simply dismissing the detective's comment. All of their words bounced off her and to the floor, leaving her just as unaffected and cynical.
How were they supposed to get through to her?
This wasn't Piper Lita. This was someone else, which meant their weaknesses and triggers would be different than hers. None of them knew how to approach the situation or appeal to her unconscious mind and heart.
"I'll tell you what; you guys let me out, and maybe I won't consider killing all of you." Piper hissed, stepping closer to the glass door that separated her from the team.
"Pipes, this isn't you. I know that you know it isn't," Erin insisted, her hand slipping out of Iris's, and she walked forward.
The sound of the cursed nickname being uttered caused her face to darken, and she involuntarily reached up to grab an arrow but stopped herself, realizing that she wasn't armed, and even if she was, she wouldn't be able to shoot through the glass.
"My name is Efficacy," the redhead snarled, her fingers curling into the shape of fists as her hollow eyes were filled to the brim with a wave of explicable anger.
"Your name," Cisco whispered, his voice cracking, "is Piper Maeve Lita. And you're the best person I've ever known. You're my best friend." Piper snapped her gaze to the long-haired boy, and much to her surprise, he maintained steady eye contact with her. Never once looking to the side or breaking the balance between them.
It was silent in the pipeline before Joe sighed, turning to the doctor. "What's the name of the drug? Maybe we can try to find who sells it and see if we can track it back to Savitar," he suggested.
Caitlin glanced down at the tablet in her hands. "I ran it through our systems and CCPDs, and I got nothing. No drug exists, at least here on our Earth, that matches the chemical mixture. There could be something similar to this running in the black market, but I highly doubt it. Some of the chemical compounds in this drug I've never even heard of or seen before."
"It's probably a drug from Earth-Four. We ought to reach out to Director Warren," Harry interjected, crossing his arms. Joe nodded in agreement as the doctor looked at the redhead, a semi-permanent frown settling upon her lips.
"When's the last time you had a panic attack or blackout?" Caitlin asked curiously, and Piper looked away from Cisco.
"Excuse me?"
It was tensely silent as Caitlin took in a deep breath, her patience running thin. The pieces were slowly falling into place as it became more and more apparent that the woman had betrayed them and wasn't the person she claimed to be. Finding out the truth hurt like hell, and the sting was just now taking effect.
"Director Warren told us a month ago that your blackouts are a symptom of PTSD. If you get too overwhelmed or have flashbacks, they can trigger them. He mentioned that there will be moments where you space out, become confused or scared, and close off. I'm just wondering if the real Piper blacked out, and that's how you took control of her conscious mind." Caitlin proposed, walking until all that separated the two was a glass wall.
Tilting her head slightly upwards, Piper smirked. "Maybe there's hope for this team yet," she muttered before glancing at the watch on her wrist. "Speaking of teams, it looks like mine should be here right about... now."
A gust of wind barrelled through the pipeline like a tornado, the force of its power slamming everyone against the walls. The sound of the S.T.A.R. Labs alarm blared through the halls, the volume piercing Piper's skull as the doors to her containment cell opened.
"About damn time," she snapped, barely glancing at the bodies of the unconscious team. As she stepped over Caitlin's, she smashed the tablet the doctor once held with the bottom of her heel.
The lights were all out except for the flashing red LED lights that only made an appearance during emergencies or break-ins.
"I was enjoying the show," Savitar shrugged, glaring down bitterly at his unconscious doppelgänger. Noticing where his gaze was, the redhead rolled her eyes. Stepping forward, she lifted the brown-haired man's chin with her hand, ensuring they were at eye level.
"Quit staring at Barry, and get yourself together," she murmured, holding herself back from snorting once she noticed that he was looking down at her lips. "We've got work to do."
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄!
(scenes and dialogue are from/inspired by episode seven of season three.)
what's up? how is everyone?
i hope everything makes sense now. if not, i'll break it down right now: basically, in july of 2016, savitar attacked a bank in downtown caruthers city as a ploy to get piper to come to him. once she arrived the save the hostages, she engaged in hand-to-hand combat with him. while the two were fighting, he managed to slice her left shoulder with one of the spears that sticks out of his suit. the spear, while cutting her skin, left behind a trace amount of a drug. this is the first time the drug is put into piper's body. this moment is not discussed in the book but it is important to know.
in october, there was a meta-attack downtown in caruthers city. piper went to go stop it, but it was a trap. savitar was destroying buildings and ended up killing over half the police force. while trying to speed citizens out of the buildings nearby, piper noticed that savitar was about to kill a little girl who had fallen in the middle of the street. she wasn't fast enough to grab her, so, to keep the girl safe, she shielded her with her body.
savitar stabbed her with one of his metal spears that extract from his suit, the same one he cut her with back in july. similar to the previous time, the spear was laced with the drug. while also drugging her completely, the spear managed to siphon away all of the speed force energy in her body. thus, making her a human again. damon and miles mentioned this in chapter 32!
i hope that helped explain some things!
QUESTIONS: what do you guys think? do you think that our piper is still in there, inside of efficacy? if so, do you think she'll ever return to barry and the team? let me know your thoughts!
i hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
thank you so much for reading!
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