alacrity
part two
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ALACRITY WATCHED ANNA with aggravation, studying her mirror-self closely. The red-haired woman stared at the brunette, envious of the life she lived despite almost everyone in her life hating her. In a way, Alacrity wanted the life that Anna had; she wanted friends, wanted a family, and wanted to be in love and have someone love her back. But, of course, that could never happen. Alacrity wasn't supposed to exist, she was a ripple in a timeline that should have been wiped out the second she was had completed her task but hadn't been.
Alacrity had been watching Anna once a week since she had arrived in 2016 and each time, she was gaining more information that would help her destroy her mirror-self; Barry was the love of her life, of course; Harry was the uncle; Jesse was the cousin; Cody was the baby brother and all her friends mattered more than life itself.
Alacrity's hatred-filled brown eyes darted to the apartment door as it came open, revealing Barry Allen. She pressed her back against the brick wall outside the apartment, thankful that a window had been open so she could listen to the conversation. She slid her back down the wall and leaned toward the window, peeking inside to eavesdrop.
Anna turned around on the sofa and looked at her boy, smiling at him. "Hey! So, I've been thinking about Alchemy and why he's doing this stuff, and I—"
"Anna," Barry cut in, his tone serious and broken. "Frankie Kane is dead."
Anna's facial expression suddenly dropped, and so did Alacrity's. Anna fell back onto her butt and furrowed her brows, shaking her head. "No. No, Barry, she's not. She's fine. Tell me she's fine, Barry," she snapped and stood up from the sofa.
"She didn't even make it to her new home," Barry said and walked toward the shaken brunette, resting his hands on her biceps. "I'm sorry, Anna."
"What happened?" Anna asked and took a step back.
"I don't know," Barry replied and shook his head, sliding his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a phone and handed it over to Anna, tapping the screen.
Anna looked down at the phone, watching whatever Barry had been showing her and Alacrity wished she could just get a quick look at it.
Anna gasped and tossed the phone onto the couch, pressing her hand to her mouth. Anna looked at Barry with blurry vision, holding in her sobs. She dropped her hand down to her side, saying something so quietly that Alacrity couldn't hear it or even read her lips.
"It could be an invisible meta," Barry said softly and took a step toward Anna, cupping her face and wiping away the tears that stained her cheeks.
"Why would it go after a child, Barry?" Anna asked, her voice raising. "Why would someone kill a child? Can you even begin to explain that to me?"
"I don't know, Anna, but we will figure this out," Barry said softly, his voice breaking, and tucked a few strands of hair behind Anna's ears. "We'll stop Alchemy."
Alacrity furrowed her brows, anger pumping through her. Frankie Kane was merely a distraction to ensure Swift and the Flash steered away from Alacrity and Savitar, but she was never supposed to end up dead. And now that Frankie was dead, Alacrity knew exactly who was responsible.
.: ｡
ALACRITY STORMED INTO the room in their hideout that Savitar had claimed as his own with anger burning in her veins and an urge to rip the man to shreds with her bare hands. Savitar had gone against the plan yet again; first with Joel Davis and now with a child, Frankie Kane. It was never part of the plan for Joel and Frankie to die, and that was something that Alacrity had stated herself to both Savitar and Alchemy. But, of course, Savitar being the egotistical dick he was, he wouldn't listen to the woman who was much stronger and faster than he was.
"Ah, look who it is! The woman who wears the pants," Savitar called out, a smirk tugging at his lips as Alacrity came to a stop in the doorway of the damp, musty room that smelled like wet grass. "What can I do for you, gorgeous?"
"I just came from my weekly session of spying on our mirror selves and guess what I found out? Frankie Kane is dead," Alacrity said and raised her brows at the man, tightening her hands into fists. She scoffed and ran at Savitar, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him up against the wall while her eyes burned red. She watched herself in his eyes, proud that she had inflicted fear in him yet again. "You can tell me why the hell you made Joel Davis kill himself and why you killed Frankie Kane," she snapped through gritted teeth, doing her best to resist the urge to rip his head clean off his shoulders.
"They were lackeys, Alacrity. They had to go before one of the outted us to the annoying speedster in red and his doe-eyed sidekick in blue," Savitar replied and wrapped his hand around Alacrity's wrist, shoving her away from him so he could breathe. He furrowed his brows at her and rested a hand against his throat, rubbing it lightly. "What's the matter with you? You going soft or somethin'?"
"It doesn't make me soft for thinking you're fucking insane for killing a child, you imbecile!" Alacrity yelled, her throat burning from the intensity of her voice. Though she knew she was the villain in this story, she wouldn't have it any other way, but she wasn't evil enough to murder a child no matter the reason. "You killed her for no reason, Savitar! You went against my plan again. You broke my rules again. Soon enough you will learn."
"Or what? You won't kill me, you need me. So that leaves, what? Give me a warning? A lecture? Flash those big red eyes at me?" Savitar asked and raised his brows, taking a step toward the red-haired woman. He looked her up and down and scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You don't do anything. You can't do this without me. Alchemy listens to me. He doesn't take orders from you. I run this, not you."
Alacrity's eyes flared red, her blood boiling at Savitar's words. She bolted behind him, slamming her elbow against the back of Savitar's head and knocking him onto his knees. She bent down and grabbed his throat with her hand, leaning down to press her lips to her stubborn partner's ear. "Say something like that to me again and I'll end you. I don't need you to succeed and I sure as hell won't hesitate to rip your heart out of your chest," she hissed, her lips brushing against his ear. "You're only here because I allow you to be here, understand? I could have killed you the minute you brought me that stone, but I figured keeping you around would benefit me. I'm starting to regret my choice."
Savitar tensed his shoulders against Alacrity and turned his head, their noses almost touching as they stared into each other's eyes. "It won't happen again, Alacrity," he muttered, fear evident in his voice as he stared into his partner's glowing red eyes. "You have my word."
Alacrity stood up straight and looked down at her free hand, watching as red lightning curled around her palm and fingers. She gripped a fistful of Savitar's hand and pulled his head back slightly, looking down into his eyes. "Your word doesn't mean shit to me. You've broken my rules and you've gone against me twice since we've gotten here. I'm going to make you beg for forgiveness," she hissed and held her electrified close to the right side of the brown-haired boy's face, listening to his skin sizzle as bolts of lightning connected with his skin, burning his face within seconds. "Beg for it! Open your mouth, use that smart tongue, and beg!"
Savitar let out a scream of agony as the burn continued to grow, extending toward his eye. Smoke lifted from the man's face and he continued to fight against Alacrity's hold, but he was no match for her. "Stop! Please," he exclaimed, his words quick and sharp. "I'll follow you! I promise! I won't screw up anything else."
"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you," Alacrity shouted, forcing more lightning out of her palm and onto Savitar's face. She watched the burn grow and spread over his right eye, giving his face an ugly texture that made it hard for Alacrity to look at. "Speak up, buddy!"
Savitar panted and gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry, okay?! Just stop!"
Alacrity closed her hand into a fist, sending away the lightning that had burned the skin of the right side of her partner's face. She inhaled through her mouth and then exhaled, refusing to take in the smell of burning flesh as Savitar groaned on the floor. "Was that so hard, Sav?" She questioned, mocking him with a sad tone and a pout. She stepped over him as he laid on the floor and crouched down, patting his shoulder roughly. "Next time, know your place and don't pull a stunt like that ever again," she hissed and stood up, pushing him with her boot onto his back. Alacrity looked down at Savitar, scrunching up her nose at the burn that took over just about half of his face. She turned on her heel and walked toward the exit, glancing over her shoulder at her partner, smiling smugly. "Clean yourself up, sweetheart, you look like shit."