23.2 deal
I walked through S.T.A.R. Labs, looking around. It was dark, the place was destroyed. The building had been burned and was lucky it was still standing. I walked into the Cortex, yelling out for Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Harry. When I got no response, I scavenger farther, walking down to the basement where the portal to Earth-2 once existed.
I screamed when I saw Harry on the ground, his body covered with burn marks, his face charred. Tears filled my eyes as I hesitantly went forward, seeing Cisco and Caitlin also both burned to death. Not noticing Barry, I called out his name. I hoped he wasn't dead.
I went farther into the room to the back where I saw Barry on the ground, leaning against the wall, coughing. "Barry!" I called out, running over to him. When I tried to touch him, he pushed me away. "Barry?"
"You- You killed them," He coughed out, and I noticed the large but marks on his neck and the burned clothes he was wearing.
"No, I- Barry, I didn't do anything," I defend, my hand falling on his arm.
He shook his head, hissing in pain. "I saw you," He says, tears in his eyes. "Please don't do this, Liv. I know you're in there somewhere."
"Barry, it is- It is me," I argue, moving my hand, as I notice the hand shaped burn mark on his bare arm. I watched as it started to spread, Barry's coughing getting worse. "Barry? Barry!"
I tried to stop it but it got worse, and before I knew it, I had accidentally used my powers on him. "Barry!! Barry, no!"
I watched the flames burn Barry's body and I stepped back, my burning hand falling onto the wall. I watched a line of flames travel up to the ceiling from my hand, spreading quickly. I removed my hand, trying to stop my powers and watched as the whole room filled with flames.
My eyes snapped open as I jerked in my spot, gasping as my hand went to my heart. I looked at Barry, who was sitting in the pipeline looking at me worriedly.
"Liv? Liv are you okay? You were having a nightmare," He tells me calmly.
"I- You-" I stop, unable to form a sentence as I tried to control my breathing.
"It was just a dream, Liv. It wasn't real," Barry tells me through the glass.
"I- I'm gonna go check on what's going on with everyone," I quickly say, getting up and heading upstairs, leaving a worried Barry behind.
🔥⚡️
"Did you see my dad?" Iris asks Cisco. When I came up, the team was driving back. They informed me that we had gotten Zoom back to Earth-2 but they also informed that Joe had been taken with him.
"No, the vibe keeps changing," Cisco says. He'd been trying to vibe the two, trying to find where they were. "It's like my brain is channel surfing or something."
"They must be on the move. That's why the vibe's in flux," Caitlin says. "Keep trying."
"Hey, did you turn off the Magnetar?" I ask as Harry and Hesse walk in.
"No, there's no messing with that thing. Whatever he did to it... We try and touch it, we try and move it... This planet's done for," Harry says as I sigh.
"Iris," Wally says walking in. "What's wrong?"
"Zoom took Dad," She says.
"What? How?"
"We tried to stop Zoom by pushing him through the breach, but... he took Joe with him," Caitlin says
"Well, where's Barry? Did he go after him?" Wally asks.
"He's not with us. He's in a cell... in the... intake," Jesse says.
"Wait, you... you tried to stop Zoom alone?" Wally asks.
"Long story."
"Well, we have to get him back," Wally says.
"Wally, before Zoom took Dad, we all agreed that if we got him off this Earth, we would close the breaches for good, and we would never open them again, under any circumstances," Iris explains.
"Why... why would you do that?" Wally asks. "No. No way, that's not gonna happen."
"He made us all agree to it."
"Well, guess what, I didn't agree to that!" Wally yells.
"Wally..."
"Iris, I already lost my mom," Wally says, his voice breaking. "If Dad... I..."
🔥⚡️
I groan, looking through the computers, unable to find a way to get Joe out without opening a breach. Suddenly a computer started beeping.
"Uh, hey, guys, Barry's not..." Jesse starts and the Barry And Wally run in. "In his cell anymore."
"Wally!" Iris yells.
"What? I wasn't just gonna stand here and let this happen," Wally says.
"You let him take Joe? What the hell were you thinking?" Barry yells.
"Allen, there was nothing we could do," Harry says.
"You could've let me race him!"
"Allen! You're not racing Zoom!" Harry yells.
"What are you gonna do? Are you gonna tranq me again?" Barry asks.
"Don't tempt me."
"Look, I know you guys made a pact to keep Zoom on Earth-2, but you did that without me and Wally. All right? You don't get to do that!" He yells.
"Barry, look at yourself right now; you're not okay," Cisco says.
"Cisco, my dad was just killed in front of me! Do you have any idea how that feels?" Barry yells.
"Watching someone you love die?" I ask bitterly.
"Yes, we do," Cait answers for me.
"You..."
"Look, Barry. I know how cold and angry and distant that can make you. But when this happened to me, you were the one who kept me in check. You told me to stop and take a breath, and that's all we're telling you to do now," Caitlin says.
"I'm telling you I'm good," Barry says.
"Really? You're good?" Harry asks. "Because it seems to me you want to do more than stop Zoom. It seems to me you want revenge. If that's why you're doing this, Allen, you will lose."
"Look, you guys. I... you may not think I can do this. You may think I'm too angry. But we're running out of time!" Barry yells. "I have to beat him, and I'm going to, whether I have your help or not. So which one is it?"
🔥⚡️
"So how does this work?" Barry's asks. We're in the basement as Barry holds onto a device.
"It's the same way we took Liv into the Speed Force," Cisco explains. "Harry does his best Frankenstein, you hold my hand, and I vibe you there."
"All right, let's do it," Barry says. Cisco then takes Barry into the vibe and he agrees to the race with Zoom. He makes a deal that Joe should be back unharmed and that Zoom replied that he won't be released until after the race. The last words I hear Barry say before he comes out of the vibe is,
"Deal."