EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME TWO
━━ ❛ 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 ❜
chapter no. 054!
SNAPPING HER FINGERS TOGETHER, A GLOWING ORB OF PURPLE LIGHTNING EMERGED FROM HER PALM. Her eyes were trained on the uneven static crackling off, and she focused on how it felt to hold the ball of energy in the palm of her hand.
Closing her eyes, the speedster moved her fingers, teetering them around. The forking ends of the tiny rays of pure purple lightning sent chills down her spine and she felt the tips of her fingers buzzing.
Letting out a heavy breath of air through her mouth, she squeezed her fist together, the brilliant hues of purple fading into nothingness.
Reopening her eyes, Piper licked her lips and blinked back tears. The weight of the multi-verse, her guilt, and Barry Allen's life rested on her shoulders heavily, and she could feel herself slowly succumbing to the pressure.
It'd taken most of the day for her to tell the team Savitar's plan and explain the severity of how badly things could wound up if he succeeded. Then, she told everyone about what would happen to all the speedsters across the countless other worlds, including what would happen to the multi-verse and the man she was hopelessly in love with. The only thing she'd left out was her encounter with the Speed Force and that she was, once again, a speedster.
In the grand scheme of things, her life didn't matter.
She'd helped everything get to this point. Her life wasn't worth anything. Not anymore.
After she had told the team the news, everyone froze.
None of them knew the proper way to respond, their minds failing to comprehend the fact of what was heading their way.
Coming to terms with that they needed a minute to think to themselves, the redhead had left the Cortex and made her way to the pipeline, which was where she currently sat.
Her legs were crossed, and she sat with her back to the curved wall near the cell doors. The different compartments of her mind failed to work together, distracting the other and causing her thoughts to run wildly.
The sound of footsteps approaching caused her to turn her head, the voices disappearing as her eyes locked with Barry's. Guilt contorted her heart, and she looked away, playing with her fingers idly. "This feels an awful lot like deja vu," she mumbled, referring to the night before Zoom and Aureolin's plan took place earlier that year.
"Just a little," Barry breathed, leaning against the threshold of the cell, his gaze falling to where she sat.
It was silent as the two remained motionless, neither looking the other in the eye.
"I messed everything up so badly," Piper whispered, playing with the ring on her right index finger as she shook her head. "I didn't know what it would be like to come back here; came home after I killed Athena. A part of me didn't want to because I'd become the very thing that I feared the most: a killer. I sunk to her level, and I regret it so much. I know I had to save my Earth, but I lost so much that I can never get back. Killing her in front of everyone in the middle of Caruthers City Square was awful. The look on people's faces as I stuck my hand into her chest was heartbreaking. I was supposed to be their savior, and sure, I was seen as that afterward, but in the final moments of her heart beating in my hand, I was a murderer. A villain. My world and who I was, was destroyed in a matter of seconds."
A tear slipped from the bubbling pool in her eyes, and the redhead quickly wiped it away. "After that, I needed someone who made me feel safe and sane. I needed you," Piper whispered, looking up at the speedster from where she sat on the floor. The second their eyes locked, she felt the tension in her chest loosen up. "I needed you so badly, Barry, but I was too scared to come back. So, I found your doppelgänger on Earth-Four. I thought that if I had a version of you in my life, it wouldn't matter whether or not it was the version that I fell in love with. But it did."
Barry instinctively pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out toward her. Glancing from the outstretched hand to the soft look clouding the brown-haired man's face, Piper bit down on her lip as she hesitantly grabbed it. Standing up, she frowned slightly as she felt his hand slip out of hers, sliding back into the pocket of his jeans.
"Nothing I say, nor how many times I explain myself, will ever make up for what I did to you and everyone else. But please... please know that I'm sorry. Barry, I'm so sorry," Piper whispered weakly, her eyes scanning his face, trying to decipher the conflicting facial expression he wore.
Darting his eyes in between hers, Barry sighed.
Everything in him wanted to be angry, to yell and shout at her, explaining how she not only broke his heart but everyone else's, but he couldn't.
The version of Piper Lita he was angry with wasn't the current one he was speaking to. He was speaking to his Piper, his girl. The woman he continued to fall more in love with every day, despite her recent actions.
"You were taken advantage of and drugged," Barry sighed, directing his eyes away from hers as he looked to the floor. "We know it wasn't you who did all of those horrible things."
Piper pushed down the lump in her throat as she noticed how tightly his jaw was clenched.
He only did that when he was angry.
"I know it wasn't me, but it was me physically. I killed those eight guards. I physically kidnapped families and stood, watching as they were being turned into meta-humans or killed. I struck both you and Harry with arrows more than once. I kidnapped Caitlin and held her hostage. I did that. I may not have been in control consciously or been myself, but I remember almost everything that happened. A part of me is in Efficacy. I am Efficacy to a certain extent.
"The pain and anger that she is consumed in... that's also part of me. When I think about how my parents and my sister died so violently... sometimes I want to get even, even though Athena's already dead. I want someone to hurt as much as I have. I want someone to know how it feels to lose everyone they've ever loved. My family, Athena, my ex-boyfriend, my co-workers, and my boss at my old job, Violet Neilson. I've lost all of them, and Efficacy is part of me that wants others to feel my pain. That power and that pain that I feel is where Efficacy comes from. She comes from loss and guilt. So, yes. It was me who did those horrible things. I can't come back from that or forget." Piper said, leaning against the wall opposite Barry.
At her words, the brown-haired man squeezed his eyes shut and ran his hand over his face. Taking in a deep breath, he reopened his eyes and looked over at the redhead.
"But you came back to the team. You're taking responsibility for your actions and trying to compensate for them by taking Savitar down. That counts for something, Piper," Barry said, turning his body to fully face her.
Biting down on her lip, she shook her head. "I came back for you," she whispered, watching his face drop. "I came to fulfill the promise that we'd first made back when you went to Earth-Two. I came home to you because you are my safe place. I came back because the very thought of losing you is enough to scare me shitless. A world without Barry Allen, and The Flash, is a world that I don't want to be part of. People need you. The team needs you. Joe and Iris need you. I need you."
Just like the argument they had weeks ago, he had no response to her statement except for the three words that always got caught in his throat whenever he thought he had the perfect opportunity to say them.
All he ever wanted to do beforehand was tell her that he was in love with her, that he was there, that he wanted to help, and that he could see past all the bad and all the mistakes she'd made.
Usually, he couldn't say the words. Usually, he stayed silent, but this time he couldn't. Not anymore.
"I love you," Barry said softly, his shamrock-green eyes darting between her chocolate brown ones as he made his way toward her.
It felt as if time had stopped the second he finally said the three words, and Piper was frozen to the spot. Despite already, essentially, telling him she loved him as well earlier.
A spark was ignited in her chest, and she felt like she could scream. She wanted to scream. This was it. This was the moment she'd been waiting to happen for over a year.
He took her hands in his, and she looked down at them, feeling a rush of heat rising to her cheeks at the touch. It was simple, but it was the touch she'd been craving for what seemed like ever.
With her left hand, Barry lifted her chin to look at eye level. His index finger was pressed softly against the tip of her chin before it slid up. Chills rushed down her spine as he cupped her cheek, lightly running his thumb over it.
A sense of peace resonated inside her chest, and Piper leaned into his touch.
"I—" she began, but the moment she began talking, Cisco's voice rang out through the sound system.
"Barry... Piper... we need you in the Cortex. Now."
Squeezing her eyes shut, the redhead groaned as Barry sighed, his hand falling from her cheek. Keeping his hold on her, he sped the two of them to the Cortex.
Upon entering, a cluster of papers flew everywhere, clouding their view of the room for a brief moment.
Once the papers had fallen to the ground, Piper's eyes narrowed, and she quickly let go of Barry's hand. All of the anger she felt, once again, towards the man in front of her came barrelling back, and it took everything in her not to snap her fingers and burn the other half of his face right off.
"You..." she whispered, the sound of her voice causing all eyes to swivel to her. "Get out. Now."
His back was turned to all of them, for he hadn't shown his face yet, but they all knew it was him. Savitar. Only one of them knew his face, though.
The sound of Barry chuckling echoed throughout the room, and everyone glanced at the brown-haired man, noticing that it wasn't him who had chuckled.
Caitlin's hand flew to her mouth, and she backed into Iris, nearly stumbling over.
Erin was right.
"Tracy told me what the Matrix does..." Piper said, walking around everyone and toward the visitor. "She told me what you're planning on doing. What you didn't tell me you were doing."
Savitar rolled his eyes, smirking as he turned around, his eyes landing directly on the woman who was less than four feet away from him.
Joe gulped nervously, his throat feeling dry, and he quickly glanced at Harry, who was wearing a similar shocked expression. Both of the men were slowly lowering their guns, as well as Miles who was just as surprised as everyone else. Erin's mouth was shut tightly as she glowered at the devil himself, her grip on Iris's hand tightening.
No one knew what to do as they all tried to process the fact that they were now, for the first time, standing in the unmasked presence of the infamous villainous speedster from Earth-Four.
It was the first time anyone had ever seen his face, and what they saw shocked them.
Half of his face was burned and looked like it mimicked the texture of a pizza. It was spread across the right side of his face, and his right eye was bright blue, for it appeared to have been burned as well.
Glancing at his fiancé, Damon breathed in deeply. His mind was blank as to what to do.
"I know she did," Savitar murmured, tilting his head. "But she left out one little detail. The Matrix will kill every speedster in existence, except for us." He gestured between the two of them with his index finger.
At his words, Piper visibly stiffened, her mind a jumble of confused thoughts.
Except for us? What the frickity frack—
"You took Piper's speed, remember?" Damon asked, raising a brow.
Snapping his gaze to him, Savitar smirked. "Agent Rowland... I'd say it's nice to see you, but it's not. Congrats on the engagement, by the way. I hope the wedding's to die for."
Miles narrowed his eyes as the grip on his gun tightened, ready to shoot the speedster down at any moment. "Why did you design the Matrix to kill every speedster but you two?" He asked, steering the conversation back to its primal focus and concern.
"For one, I am a God, and two, Piper's the love of my life. I'll do whatever's necessary to keep her alive." Savitar answered simply, drawing his gaze back to the redhead. "You didn't tell them when you came back, did you?"
Piper blanched, restraining herself from looking back at the team. "Savitar, don't," she hissed, taking a step forward as her fingers twitched, itching to snap and summon a ball of purple electricity.
"What? They deserve to know," the speedster said innocently, winking.
Furrowing his brows together, Barry took a step forward. "What're you talking about?" He asked, glancing at Erin, who was just as confused as he and everybody else.
"This isn't about me. This is about you and what you plan on doing to hundreds of different Earths! What you're planning on doing to every speedster in existence!" Piper snapped, her stare hard and stern.
Nodding thoughtfully, Savitar shrugged. "You're also part of those speedsters," he mused, smiling as he saw the shocked and even more confused expressions behind her. "At least you were until I had Tracy modify the Matrix."
"Wait, Piper, you're a speedster again?" Cisco asked, stepping forward and shielding Caitlin behind him.
Turning her head, tears prickled in her eyes as she saw all the confused and hurt expressions painted across everyone's faces. "Yes," she choked out, blinking back the waterworks. "The Speedforce came and gave me my speed back right after Tracy told me Savitar's true intentions with the Matrix. It told me I needed to stop him and save the multi-verse. I had to choose: saving the multi-verse or staying Efficacy forever. I chose Barry. By choosing him, I was given all of my speed back. That's how I defeated Vixianic. The drug. I chose Barry; I chose love."
"Love and hate. They're so close. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the two." Savitar hushed, taking a step towards the redhead, smirking as she looked back at him. "Which of the two do you feel?"
Piper narrowed her eyes, balling her hands into fists, "Towards you? Hate."
Chills were sent down everyone, but Piper's, spine as the doppelgänger chuckled darkly. "That's not what you said a couple of weeks ago, Efficacy," Savitar murmured, watching with careful eyes as Piper froze at the name. "I remember everything that happened between us on Earth-Four, and here. I remember the nights we spent together talking about everything. I remember the first time I told you, "I love you." I remember how your nose would scrunch up as you giggled every time I made a bad joke; how you would subconsciously reach for my hand whenever your anxiety would get high. I remember it all, and I know you do too."
The Cortex was a tense silence as the redhead tried her best to fight off what was left of Efficacy. The darker side of her, the drug, wanted to come back to the surface so desperately, but she couldn't let it. Savitar wasn't the person she was in love with. He was a substitution for the real thing; the real Barry Allen.
She couldn't give in.
"I do remember. I remember everything. I also remember all the countless times you lied to me, manipulated my emotions, and used me to get what you needed. You don't give a damn about me, so don't act as you do. I was nothing but a means to an end. I was valuable and worth keeping around until the Facsimile Transfigurator Matrix was in your hands. After that, it didn't matter what happened to me. As long as you get to kill off every speedster in existence, you're happy," the purple speedster hissed; the two of them dangerously close as she glowered at him.
Savitar narrowed his eyes, scanning her over diligently.
The woman truly believed that he did not care for her in the slightest when he cared more for her than she would ever know. She'd be dead if it weren't for his feelings for her. He wouldn't have made Tracy fix the Matrix.
Yes, he'd manipulated and abused her to complete the mission, but now that it was nearly over, there would be no need to harm her anymore. The mind games would end, and they could be together for good.
Everything had gone according to plan.
Now, all he had left to do was power up the Matrix, and after that, Piper would be his.
They could be together for the rest of their lives.
Reaching for her hand, he felt a spark of hope sprinkle between the two as the redhead allowed their fingers to interlace. "E, once the Matrix is turned on, we can be together, without any threat," the doppelgänger glanced at Barry with a harsh glare. "The only speedsters left will be us."
Piper shook her head. "There will never be an us again," she whispered, tears threatening to rise as a sense of déjà vu trickled over her shoulders. "There was a time I thought my obsession with you was love, but it never was. Love isn't a weapon, and it's not something that is given out freely. It's something sacred that is earned and real. Miles once told me that they inspire you to be a better version of yourself when you're in love with someone. They make you want to give a shit about the world and the people you surround yourself with. Loving and believing that I was in love with you never made me feel good or give a damn.
"Instead, whenever I thought about you, I ended up loving myself less and hating myself a bit more, until all that's left was a deep-rooted self-hatred because I let myself pretend that you were the man I fell in love with. Being with you made me feel like I was cutting myself; I felt worthless, while I saw you as worth it. At times, I even felt stupid. I could have easily come back to Earth-One anytime I wanted to and been with the people I care about the most; been with the love of my life. But I never did. I stayed in Caruthers City with you, and to this day, I still don't know why.
"Maybe it's because I knew that if I did come back, I'd bring the baggage of what I'd done and who I'd become with me. The team didn't deserve that. Barry didn't deserve that. Nobody deserved to have to deal with my bullshit. So, I stayed with you. I didn't care that you weren't really my Barry Allen or that I was losing even more of myself than I already had by being with you. I didn't care that I loved a ghost or that our relationship was toxic. As long as someone was there with me, I didn't care!
"But I should have because you took so much away from me that I never realized. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be as shattered as I am. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be terrified of letting people in and allowing myself to love someone. So, when I say that all I feel for you is hatred, I fucking mean it." Piper snapped, her eyes gleaming with an intangible fury as her index finger was pressed against his chest.
Everyone was profoundly quiet as they each stood frozen. Never once had anyone heard the small woman speak with such force, aggression, and emotion before.
Like the first time Piper ever yelled, the room was tense as no one knew how to react.
The silence was poison for the team, for in that void of sound, the anxiousness they all shared was laid bare. What used to be a room full of banter, laughter, deep conversations, and planning was now utterly vapid.
Glancing over to the brown-haired man slowly, Erin's eyes remained wide as she saw that he, too, was stunned and taken aback by Piper's words. However, no one was as taken aback as Savitar was.
He was scarily still as his dark green, hollow eyes stared into Piper's warm, chocolate brown ones. Breathing in deeply, he took a step back, creating a distance between them that made Joe relax his hold on his gun.
"If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead right now. You would die the moment the Matrix is turned on. Remember that." Savitar growled, rolling his shoulders back.
Piper pushed down the lump in her throat before clearing it, "I'd rather be dead or die than spend another day alive with you."
"You don't mean that..." Savitar mumbled, narrowing his eyes.
Shaking her head in disagreement, the redhead licked her lips. "I really do. If I died right now, I'd be grateful because that meant I wouldn't have to spend another day breathing and wallowing in the reality that I loved a monster and allowed myself to be turned into one too."
"I saved you, Piper," Savitar growled, a sharp edge underlining his words. "I gave your life purpose. I gave you a reason to live after Athena. I made you!"
The words he shouted echoed around the room, and Miles stepped forward, pulling his gun out of his back pocket as he did so. Bringing it high up in the air, the Director narrowed his gaze. "I think it's time you left," he hissed, his grip on the weapon tightening.
Piper turned her head to the right slightly, barely glancing behind her. Tears gathered in her eyes as she felt an inexplicable anger bubble up inside her chest. Savitar's words were evil in nature and manipulative; she knew that, and she knew what he was saying wasn't true.
He didn't make her. He didn't turn her into who she was. Somebody else was responsible for that, the primary reason she was the way she was. It was him: Barry Allen. He was the person who inspired her to be a better version of herself. He was the one who helped her learn to care even more about the world and those she surrounded herself with. He was the one.
It's always been him. Piper knew that.
"You manipulated and tortured me," she whispered, quickly brushing away the tears slowly tearing down her cheeks. "You didn't save me; Cisco and Barry did. You didn't give my life purpose; I did. You didn't give me a reason to live, and you sure as hell didn't make me. You were a temporary drug that I thought I needed to breathe. It took me a while, but now I know that I no longer need you. I never did."
From behind the redhead, Iris and Erin smiled proudly at her words. That was their Piper, the one everyone knew and loved.
"Get out," Miles spoke harshly, pulling back slightly on the gun's trigger.
Instead of listening to the Director, Savitar stepped forward, continuing until there was little-to-no space between him and the purple speedster.
Glowering at the man, Piper narrowed her eyes as he brought his hand up to her cheek.
At that moment, it was as if Barry had awoken from a deep slumber as he watched how his doppelgänger caressed Piper's cheek delicately. A wave of jealousy and anger flooded his head, and he immediately stepped forward. However, before he could open his mouth or shove Savitar away from her, Piper grabbed onto the man's hand and twisted it as she kneed him in the groin.
Groaning, the brown-haired man immediately stepped back, leaning over slightly as he clenched his teeth in pain.
"Don't fucking touch me," she hissed. "Now, get the hell out."
"No. You burned down the mansion," Savitar growled, his voice much lower and huskier than Barry's had ever been. Narrowing her eyes, the redhead stepped forward. "This means we had to move the Matrix to another location, which means that the timestamp for when the baby is supposed to go live has been moved to tonight. I'm not going anywhere."
The Facsimile Transfigurator Matrix is here... in S.T.A.R. Labs.
Piper's eyes widened, and everything froze as she sped out of the room, roaming every inch of the facility for the machine.
It wasn't until she ran inside the Particle Accelerator that she found it sitting where the panel board for the accelerator was. Quickly making her way back to the Cortex, she noticed that nothing had changed, and no one had moved an inch.
"It's inside the Particle Accelerator," she breathed, turning her head and looking back at the team as time resumed.
Furrowing his brows, Harry frowned. "How do you know that?" He asked, bazooka still raised high.
"I just ran and found it in there," she answered, turning her head back toward the villainous speedster. "You're going to blow this place up when the Matrix turns on, aren't you?"
Savitar simply smirked, and that was all the confirmation the redhead needed.
I need to get everyone out of here. Now.
Before anyone had time to react, Piper had sped Erin, Iris, Caitlin, Joe, Damon, Harry, Miles, Cisco, and Barry out of the building and left them at the very back of the parking lot. It was the furthest she could get them without time resuming when she ran.
As she bolted back inside S.T.A.R. Labs, she untucked her charm necklace and pressed down on it, jumping into her iconic purple suit as she headed down into the pipeline.
In less than a second, she came to a skidded stop, sparks crackling off her feet as she stared up at the Matrix inside the Particle Accelerator.
It was at least seven feet tall and somewhat resembled the shape of a rocket. Except, instead of it shooting into the air, it sent out extra-dimensional pulses that broke the barriers between worlds and rattled them so hard that they would combust at the immense pressure.
How the hell was she supposed to disable the thing without setting it off?
She was smart, but she was also an idiot and clumsy. Her odds of setting it off were very high.
Before she had time to do anything, a blow was sent to her back, and she felt someone's hand wrap around her neck. Her feet were kicked out from under her, and she was pinned to the ground before she ever had the time to react or fight back.
This? Again?? What is it with evil speedsters constantly pinning me to the ground?
Glaring at the man on top of her, she quickly phased through his hand before he had a chance to throw a deadly blow. Piper stood up and pulled her foot back to kick him, but he grabbed her ankle, yanking at it harshly. Falling back to the ground, she groaned as her head hit the metal floor bluntly.
"I don't want to hurt you," Savitar heaved, pushing himself off the ground.
Rolling her eyes, the purple speedster scoffed, "Yeah, right. Where have I heard that before? Oh, right. Like last month, directly from you!" From where she lay on the floor, she took in a deep breath and quickly projected streaks of purple lightning from her fingertips, wrapping them around Savitar and throwing his body across the circular-shaped machine.
Turning back to the Matrix, she sped to the other side of it, her eyes searching for the main source of its power.
"Don't make me do this." The same voice replied as a flash of blue appeared behind the woman.
Piper sighed, begrudgingly turning around. "You didn't seem to have a problem fighting me in the past few months. Don't get soft on me now, Savy," she said in a sickly sweet voice, giving the man a fake smile before she sped forward and grabbed onto his shoulders. She stepped away from him before quickly yanking him toward her. Just as she knew what would happen, the brown-haired man stumbled as his balance was thrown off, and she bent over, grabbing his arm and lifting him directly over her body.
There was a loud thud as he was slammed to the ground, and the wind was immediately knocked out of him. Raising her foot, she stomped down on his chest, causing him to wheeze and shut his eyes in mild agony.
Reopening his eyes, he grabbed her ankle, throwing her off balance and pinning her to the ground in one swift movement. "I saved you! I showed you who you really are! You need me!" Savitar shouted, pressing his hands against her shoulders.
Fazing through his hand, Piper stood up and swung her right leg around his head. Leaning down, she placed both of her hands on the ground and threw him over her and onto the ground. Multiple bones shattered in his spine as he groaned again.
"No, you didn't!" Piper stood up and sent a deadly kick to his side. "Who I am is Piper Lita," she shouted, allowing lightning to flow, once more, effortlessly, from the tips of her fingers. "I don't need you!" Raising her hands, the villainous speedster's body raised in the air before she thrust her hands to the right sharply, causing the man to be thrown down the accelerator until Piper could no longer see him.
Deciding that it was better to be safe than sorry, she snapped her fingers and threw a ball of purple lightning down the machine, snorting as she heard a scream of pain.
He deserved it.
Turning around, her chest heaved up and down as her eyes landed on the small metal box attached to one of the wheels of the Matrix. She quickly got down on her knees and opened it, running her hand over the different wiring and over the glass-screen panel that showed the statistics for the machine.
None of what she saw looked familiar, and she sighed, running her hand through her hair.
There's no way I can figure out how to disable the machine.
A whirl of blue appeared, and the redhead turned her head to see both Cisco and Barry stepping through a breach and into the Particle Accelerator, both dressed in their suits. Furrowing her brows, her hand dropped from the panel as she stood up hastily. "What're you guys doing? This could go off any minute, you need to leave. Now." Piper snapped.
They both shook their heads in unison. "Caitlin, Erin, and Iris are locking down the building, that way, Savitar can't get out, and nobody can get in. Miles, Damon, Harry, and Joe keep Savitar down with meta-human cuffs we used for Zoom. We're a team. We're all in this together. We're not leaving you." Cisco insisted, reaching out and grabbing Piper's hand.
"I lied to you," she said, frowning. "I didn't tell you I got my speed back. After that and everything, I've done... I don't deserve to be saved or helped. I need to fix this."
"P, no matter what you've done, we're never leaving you, okay? Never. I don't care about what you did as Efficacy or that you lied, all right? You aren't the only one who has that darkness inside of them or wants to protect someone they care about. I do too." Barry said persistently, staring at her softly, silently pleading for her to let them help her.
Giving in to the pleading looks she was being shot, she sighed. "If you're going to help, then help me shut this shit off. I don't know how to disable it without blowing the place up." Piper said, pointing to the Facsimile Transfigurator Matrix.
Immediately, Cisco dashed to the device and got down on his knees, peering at the wiring and control screen.
"Hey," Barry said softly, stepping forward and grabbing the purple speedster's hand. "If we can't fix this and I'm erased... I need you to know and remember that I love you."
His words caught her attention, and she turned her head, darting her eyes in between his as she smiled softly. Piper cupped his cheek with her right hand as she took a step. Tilting her head, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
For less than a second, Barry froze before relaxing. His eyes fluttered shut, and he pulled her closer.
Slowly, Piper pulled back and leaned her forehead against his, her eyes shut. "I love you," she whispered, a huge weight being lifted off her shoulders as she finally said the three words she'd been wanting to say for over a year.
When he heard her repeat the same three words, Barry kissed her again, smiling as he felt the familiar sparks run throughout his body.
"Uh, guys..." Cisco called shakily, his eyes wide with fear as he looked up. "The Matrix has already been turned on." All color had been drained from his face, and he felt as if he would be sick.
Both speedsters pulled away and turned to face the long-haired boy. "What?!" Piper asked incredulously, walking forward and joining where he was bent down.
"I was able to reprogram it to erase Savitar from existence and shut it down, but it's already destroyed three Earths and nine speedsters." Cisco breathed, looking up at Barry with glassy eyes as Piper covered her mouth, blinking away tears behind her eyepiece.
She wasn't fast enough.
This was all her fault.
Suddenly, a loud beeping noise began counting down, and the three all looked at one another. "It's detonating. We need to get outta here. Now." Barry announced loudly, ushering both of them to get up.
Grabbing onto Cisco, Barry sped forward with Piper right next to him, the two racing and grabbing Joe, Miles, Damon, and Harry as they exited the pipeline.
Behind them, a roaring ocean of burning fire swam throughout the Particle Accelerator and out into the corridors of S.T.A.R. Labs. At the same time, from above, the ceiling began to cave in as the building wobbled from side to side.
Yelping, Piper dodged falling pieces of rubble, trying her best to hold onto Damon and Harry without getting them hit. More pieces continued to fall, and smoke clouded the air, making it difficult for any of them to see.
Wait... My lightning... I can use it to hold up the ceiling. Hold it at least long enough for everyone to get out.
Coming to an abrupt halt, she let go of the two men and breathed in deeply, projecting purple lightning from her fingers up onto the falling rubble.
The pain she endured next was a type she hadn't felt since killing Aureolin. And all she wanted to do was scream.
Groaning at the immense weight, she stumbled forward as she struggled to keep her balance. The growing pain spread from her shoulders down to the bottom of her back, and she hunched over, clenching her teeth and grinding them in pain.
Hot embers from the approaching fire behind her licked at her heels and spread over her entire backside. The unbearable heat scorched her entire backside and writhed itself down into her skin's deepest and most hidden depths and crevices.
"Lita, what the hell are you doing?" Harry shouted over the sound of the crackling fire and the sound of the building slowly breaking apart. Damon and Cisco were holding the scientist back from running over to her, knowing that he would most likely die if they did.
"Saving your ass, now go! I can hold everything up long enough for you all to get out!" Piper yelled, wincing as she felt her legs shaking at the burdening weight of the building hovering above her.
Barry shook his head, for he had stopped running when he noticed Piper was no longer ahead of him. "What about you?" He shouted, trying his best to get to her, but both Joe and Miles were holding him back as well.
"I'll be fine, I can hold it up! I'll be right behind you guys. Grab the girls and go. Now!" She shouted, clenching her jaw as she felt her knees begin to buckle at the pressure of the weight.
Every part of her wanted to let go and surrender, but she couldn't. She had to push on for the team—for Barry.
Looking up, her eyes met with Miles's, and she nodded, determined to find the strength inside of her to continue.
"We gotta get the girls. Let's go!" Joe shouted, giving the purple speedster a grateful look as he made everyone turn around.
As he prepared to run, Barry glanced back at her, sending her a tight smile before he and the rest of the men were gone in a flash of red.
The ocean of fire spread further down the corridor when they were gone, and she let out an ear-piercing scream as something sharp was stabbed into her back twice. All it took was a mere second; before she knew it, she had been lifted and thrown into the Cortex.
Her vision blacked out for a second, and she toppled to the ground, her body collapsing against a desk and sending papers flying. The backside of her body was pressed to the wall as she was lifted and pinned against it by her neck.
"You've made a grave mistake, Piper," Savitar growled, pulling her back and shoving her, again, into the wall. The purple speedster groaned as she met the ground, and her head slammed against the tiled floors with a thud that echoed. She coughed roughly, blood bubbling from her mouth as she turned her head with great difficulty, her eyes landing on the puddle of blood that was flowing from both her head and back.
Leaning over, Savitar crouched down, his eyes a dark, smoky grey as he gave the woman a cold, calculated stare that could slit someone's throat.
"If I can't have you, nobody will," he hissed, brushing strands of her hair out of her face. "If I'm going to be erased from existence, so will you."
As her vision blurred with black dots, Piper's consciousness faltered, and she coughed, bubbles of blood dripping down her chin and cheek. Savitar's words were registering in her mind, but no fight was left in her as she felt a chilling numbness contorting her mind.
Blinking slowly, she weakly met his hardened stare.
"I hope Hell treats you well," Piper croaked, repeating the exact words she'd uttered to Zoom before the time wraiths had taken him away.
When the words left her bloodied lips, all the lights in the building went out at once, and Piper watched with glossed-over eyes as a blue hue outlined the brown-haired man's body. Slowly, bits and pieces of him began to disperse and dissolve into thin air. Every inch of him was erased from existence until nothing was left but an empty air space.
Directing her eyes away, she looked up to see the ceiling above her shaking.
The closer she got to passing out or dying, both of those were plausible options at the moment, the more the building shook and crumbled. It wasn't until her chocolate brown eyes fluttered shut and she gave in to the numbness that S.T.A.R. Labs fell down on everything and everyone.
It wasn't until then that everything was destroyed.