magenta
part one
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AFTER HOURS OF debating, Anna finally decided that it was time to tell her friends the truth, no matter how badly it ended. They deserved to know what she had done and, even though she was terrified of how they would react, Anna knew it was the right thing to do.
Once her team had assembled in the Cortex, Anna found herself standing at the front of the group with Barry by her side, his hand resting on her back between her shoulder blades as an act of comfort. "There's something that I need to tell you guys. It's pretty heavy and, no doubt, you'll all hate me for a while, maybe a really long time, who knows? But, before I tell you everything that I've done, just remember that I'm just a girl who makes mistakes. I'm just a girl with superhuman speed who regrets everything that I did," she explained, doing everything in her power to keep her confident tone from wavering even the slightest bit. She shifted her gaze to Barry, watching him give her a small nod. "A few weeks ago, maybe months ago, I don't know, something bad happened to me," she began and turned her attention back to the team. "Except, that bad thing isn't something that you guys remember. It happened in a previous timeline, a timeline that is now gone because I couldn't bare to live in it anymore."
"You erased a timeline? Holy Hannah, how did you do that? How did you not erase yourself? What do you remember?"
"Cisco, please stop with the questions," Barry said softly and gave the long-haired boy a small smile. "Let her explain."
Anna swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and began picking at her nails as her heart began to race. "A little while ago, I fought against the speedster named Zoom who you all know, right?" The team nodded. "Well, in my old timeline, Zoom took my speed and killed Barry and my mother. Except, it wasn't my real mother, she was from another Earth, like Harry and Jesse," she said and looked at her uncle. "Anyway, after I fought Zoom and killed him, I ran back in time and kept Peter Kane from murdering my mother when I was a kid. After that, I was throwing into a timeline where the Flash was a villain, Wally was a speedster, my parents were still together, Cody was my real brother and... it was a mess. I started losing my memories from my old, old timeline, the one I erased in the beginning. I couldn't remember who I was, who I loved. I could barely remember Barry's face anymore, so I got the hell out of there as fast as I could.
"And then, I ended up here, with all of you. Except, things are not the same as they used to be. Joe and Iris, you got along perfectly and I had never seen a father-daughter duo as strong as you two. Shannon, you didn't have a sister. You were an only child. We had a best friend named Emily who no longer exists, and believe me, I checked a hundred times," Anna continued and cleared her throat, shaking her head slowly as she exhaled a small sob. "Cisco, Shannon, you had a baby on the way. You were only a few weeks in, Shan, but you were so excited. You—"
"You took a baby from us?" Cisco asked and Anna watched all the light leave his body. He opened his mouth countless times but no words fell out. His eyes darkened and he met Anna's gaze. "You took away my baby?"
"Cisco, I—"
"How could you erase a life from a timeline? A life that didn't even get a chance," Shannon cut in, her voice breaking. She furrowed her brows and folded her arms over her chest. "I was just starting to forgive you for Alyssa, and now you throw this at me? You took away my chance to have a family with the love of my life and expect me to remember that you're "just a girl who makes mistakes"? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Shannon, please. I know it was a mistake," Anna said and took a step forward, wringing her hands together helplessly as her brain worked on overdrive to compile words together. "I made a mistake, Shannon, and if I could fix it, I would. I feel like I horrible person and I hate myself for what I did."
"You are a horrible person, Anna Wells, and you deserve to hate yourself for the things you've done," Shannon snapped as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Her bottom lip began to quiver and she bit down on it, shaking her head at the brunette before leaving the Cortex with Cisco trailing behind her.
"You took our lives from us?" Wally questioned and raised his brows at the sapphire speedster. "I was a hero and I was helping people and you changed that?"
"Wally, you don't understand. I—"
"Save it. Just... don't," Wally snapped and walked out of the Cortex with Joe and Iris trailing behind him.
Anna watched as Harry, Nathan, Jesse and Cody left the Cortex, ripping an even bigger hole in her chest. She inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath. Her heart was just barely keeping itself together, using the feeling of Barry being close to keep the broken pieces from falling apart. "What did I do?" She questioned between sharp breaths. "What have I done? What did I do?"
"Anna, baby, you have to breathe," Barry said and cupped the girl's face, turning her to face him. He tucked her hair behind her ears and brushed the tears off her cheeks. "Breathe, Anna. Just take a deep breath for me."
"Barry," Anna whispered and gripped onto the boy's shirt, holding her breath to keep herself from sobbing uncontrollably. She looked up at the green-eyed boy and gripped his shirt with her other hand, her brows furrowing slightly. "This was supposed to make me feel better, Barry. But it still hurts. It hurts so much."
Barry tightened his grip around his girlfriend and pressed his cheek against the top of her head, holding her against his chest. "I know, Anna, but it will get better. I swear to you," he whispered and sighed deeply. "I'll make sure it gets better."
.: ｡
WEEKS HAD PASSED and while time was supposed to heal broken things, Anna's relationships with her friends were still scattered in pieces that she couldn't pick up no matter how hard she tried. Her friends and family had been talking to her more, but none of them really looked at her the same way — especially not Cisco and Shannon. Joe and Iris has come around, so bad Cody and Nathan, but Harry and Jesse were still in the wind. They had gone back to Earth-2 after Anna had told them everything. They had said goodbye to the others, but left Anna out of that conversation, leaving her to find out about their decision from Cody.
"Anything peaking your interest?" Barry asked from across the table, glancing over the menu to look at his girlfriend. He lowered the menu slightly, frowning. "You've barely said a word to me or even looked at me this whole time, Anna. What's wrong?"
Anna sighed and lowered the menu, forcing a smile. "Look, I'll be honest, I'm still bummed about everyone hating me. I mean, no one really talks to me anymore, Harry and Jesse left without saying goodbye. I'm hurting inside, Barr, but it's getting easier," she replied, her smile turning more real the longer she looked into the boy's green eyes. "And that's all thanks to you, of course."
Barry nodded as a smile tugged at his lips. He dropped his hand down to his lap and rubbed his lips together. "Anna, I know it's been hard for you lately, but that's not the only reason I asked you on a date tonight," he said and cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing red as he let out a small laugh. He was clearly nervous, but Anna couldn't figure out why. "You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and you are perfect in every single way. As cheesy as it is, you're my hero, you know? Not Swift, but you."
Anna's smile her larger, her heart skipping a beat. "That's really sweet, Barr. You're my hero, too," she said and reached across the table to grab the hand that hadn't dropped to his lap. "As sweet as it is, I'm confused. Why are you saying all this stuff?"
"Because I love you," Barry replied, his smile growing larger. "I've loved you for a long time."
"I love you too, Barry," Anna said and pulled her lip between her teeth, trying to keep herself from smiling too brightly.
Barry ran his tongue over his lips and began to stand up but immediately stopped when his phone began to chime, along with Anna's. "Of course," he muttered and sighed deeply, sitting back down. He removed his hand from Anna's and shoved it into his pocket, pulling out his phone.
Anna picked up her phone from the table, glancing down at the screen. "It's Cisco," she muttered, a frown tugging at her lips. From the moment she said yes to a date with Barry, she knew something would go wrong but she still hoped that it would have been a peaceful evening. "Date's over, huh?"
Barry nodded and stood up from his seat, dropping some money down on the table to cover the price of the wine they had ordered. "Unfortunately," he replied and walked toward the frowning brunette. He kissed her softly and then wrapped his arm around her, smiling softly. "Hold tight," he whispered in her ear before bolting out of the restaurant.
.: ｡
THE PAIR CAME to a stop in the basement where a breach had opened up in the machine Harry and Cisco has built. The team stood close to the door and Cisco held a gun, pointing it at the breach as it swirled and gurgled softly.
"This could definitely be bad, right?" Anna asked and looked down at Cisco.
"A breach opening when I didn't open it? Hell yes it could be bad," Cisco replied, his voice a little snappier than usual.
Anna took off her heels and tossed them to the floor and walked down off the platform, standing at the front of the group. "How did this thing even open if you didn't open it?" She asked and glanced over her shoulder at Cisco, hoping that she was disguising her fear well enough for him to overlook it completely.
"We think someone opened it from the other side, but that doesn't make sense because we closed those things for good," Cisco replied, keeping his eyes locked on the breach that still hadn't spit anyone out of it.
"Can you close it?" Barry asked once he joined Anna's side, resting a hand on her back. He looked at Cisco and then back at the breach, his brows furrowing slightly. "Get ready. Someone's coming."
Anna's hands tightened into fists and she prepared herself for a fight. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, her eyes darting to the right to look up at her boyfriend for just a split second to see if he shared the same look of fear that was plastered across her face — and he did.
The breach got brighter for a moment before a man stepped through, looking down at the floor. The room fell silent and Anna held her breath, hoping that she wouldn't have to face someone else like Zoom.
The man lifted his head, revealing to the team that he was just Harry. His eyes moved back and forth between Anna and Barry, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I need your help."
"With what?" Barry asked, his shoulders visibly relaxing.
A streak of yellow lightning shot out of the breach and looped around the room before it came to a stop. Jesse smiled at the other two speedsters in the room, her eyes bright and full of life. "Hey, guys," she said happily.
"Jesse, you're a speedster?" Wally asked, obviously bummed out that he wasn't lucky enough to get the powers he desired.
"Yeah! It's pretty cool, right?" Jesse asked, the smile on her face almost reaching her ears as she looked at the boy standing on the platform behind Anna and Barry.
"I mean yeah, I would say so," Iris cut in, her voice light and happy.
Anna glanced over her shoulder, watching everything drain from Wally's face. She knew he wanted to be a hero; a speedster, and he had lost that hope again. Anna had taken it away from him, and Jesse was living proof that he had a chance to be a speedster but wasn't.
"When did this happen?" Caitlin asked.
Anna locked eyes with Wally and a frown tugged at her lips, her eyes softening. I'm sorry, she mouthed to him, but he shook his head and tore his gaze away in response.
"A few days ago," Jesse replied and looked around at the group, meeting Anna's eyes once she looked back. "Isn't this amazing, Anna?"
Anna nodded and smiled at the young girl. Despite feeling bad for Wally, she couldn't help but congratulate Jesse for being given a gift that she could use to help people. She knew how badly Wally wanted to be a speedster, but she couldn't keep her congrats quiet when her little cousin had discovered she had powers.
"So, when I got Anna her speed back after what happened with Barry, Wally and Jesse were hit with the dark matter," Harry spoke up and gestured to the two youngest members of the group. "Turns our she was affected. She was totally affected."
"But I didn't get speed, so could it have been from something else?" Wally asked with almost a hint of desperation in his voice.
"No. I mean, I doubt it," Harry replied and shook his head. "Dark matter affects different people in different ways and different times— sometimes not at all, so be thankful, but she was affected and I want to run some tests and find out just how much."
"Well, then, you've come to the right place," Caitlin said and smiled. "Let's go to the Speed Lab."
Anna furrowed her brows and looked her her shoulder at Caitlin. "Speed Lab?" She asked in unison with Jesse.
Barry rested a hand on Anna's back, bringing her gaze to meet his. He smiled at her and ran his fingers over her back. "You're in for a treat."