[ barry's pov ]
"I mean, I figured if they could get 2Pac rapping again at a concert, we could definitely get The Flash running around Central City." Cisco said after I sat down, taking off the pads and breathing heavily.
Harry walks in, "It's not gonna last."
"There it is." Cisco sighs.
"It's not gonna be long before someone figures out, oh, wait- you never say anything, you never touch anything." Harry points, "Oh, wait- you never go indoors."
Iris replies, "Okay, well, without Barry's speed, this is as good an idea as any."
"Actually, I beg to differ." Harry walks in further, "I think a better idea, instead of playing Hoodlums and Holograms would be to rebuild the particle accelerator to get Barry's speed back-"
"Yeah, Wells, that's what you keep saying-" I sigh and ran my hands through my hair, "Look at what that explosion did to this city-"
Cisco adds, "Not to mention, last time we tried something like that, we blew a hole in the universe and created, like, 50 portals to your Earth."
"Which is exactly how Zoom and his henchmen got here in the first place." Iris nods once.
"I told you." Harry was growing frustrated, "I know how to contain the explosion-"
"Really?" I looked at him, "You know how to contain a dark matter explosion that, last time, just radiated all of Central City? You tried this on your Earth, remember? Didn't go so well-"
Iris backs me, "And, even if you could contain it, I thought you said that Barry couldn't tap into the Speed Force anymore."
"It wasn't connected the first time he got his powers." Harry huffs deeply, "Look, I have your Wells's data- the Harrison Wells from this Earth, I have his science, I know what chemicals need to be in your body, I know how the lightning needs to bond with the dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion. I can recreate the circumstances to get you your speed back- this will work."
"Your subterfuge is not gonna last." Harry's words set us all at unease, "But, more importantly- it's not gonna save Young. She is with Zoom- alone, and scared- on a completely different earth, with nothing and no one to help her-"
"You don't think I'm losing my mind over that?" I got up, growing even more angry, "Zoom has the woman I love and there's nothing I can do about! I want her back more than anything-"
"Sitting around, playing this game- isn't going to help bring her back!" Harry shouts back at me, "The only way to save her is if you get your speed back, and as long as you don't have that- the longer she will suffer for what you won't do-"
-
[ zee's pov ]
"Zoom!-" Joe's shout filled the air when Zoom ran into CCPD, leaving me at the top of the stairs, standing before everyone, all their guns aimed at him.
Jay seethed through his teeth, "Hello, old friend-"
"Stay away from him." Joe guarded Wally.
Captain Singh had his gun aimed, "Do not move-"
"Or what?" Jay's demonic voice sounded, looking around, "You've tried your guns on me once before."
"No!-" I cried out, running down a few steps but immediately skidding to a stop mid way when Jay looks at me, gripping the bars, "Please- don't hurt them- just let them go, alright? Let them go-"
Joe looked at me immediately at the sound of my voice, my eyes locking with him, as I simply just nodded toward him to try and assure him that I was okay.
"Tell everyone that this city is mine." Jay looked between them, "Anyone who disobeys me will meet their end."
"All right." Captain took a step back, "Clear out!"
-
[ barry's pov ]
"Zee's with Zoom." Joe exhaled after telling us what had just happened at CCPD, about how Zoom had brought Zee here and spared their lives, "She tried to tell me she was okay- but, I can tell she's not- she was shaking, and she looks like she hasn't eaten in days- god, she's the worst I've ever seen her-"
I had my head in my hands, small tears in my eyes listening to what he was telling us, knowing that the longer she suffered was because of me.
Wells was right about that.
Caitlin asks, "Why would he bring her here?"
"To show power." Harry said, looking up, "That's exactly what he did on my Earth."
"What are you talking about?" Iris questioned.
"The first thing he did was murder people- slaughtered a bunch of policemen." He told us, "Then recruited every meta-human he could find- and those that disobeyed, he killed too."
I quietly asked, "Where are the police now?"
"Outside the precinct." Joe replied.
"He'll kill them, Joe." Harry lightly shook his head. "He'll kill them all."
"Not with Zee with him." Joe said, "She talked him out of killing everyone when he took over CCPD."
"That's what we're gonna rely on? Young talking him out of it? It won't be long until that doesn't affect him anymore-" Harry shot back, "Joe, you need to get those guys out of there."
I suggest, "What if they set up at Jitters?-"
Joe nods lightly, "That's a good idea- it's just a block away from the precinct."
"And then what?" Harry looks between us all for an answer, "What happens next?"
"You saw what Zoom did on my Earth- he will do the exact same thing here-" Harry looked at me, "Barry, you heard Joe, she's the worst he's ever seen her, who knows- what he could be doing to her, what he could be plotting for this entire city- we need to get you your powers back and we need to get them fast."
My father sighs, "There must be another way-"
"There's not." Harry left the room, "There's not."
-
[ zee's pov ]
"Please eat something, Zee." Jay had his mask off, and set the coffee in front of me, holding a brownie, "It's your favorite- I thought maybe you'd eat this."
I don't reply, I just stared at him.
He had me handcuffed to the bar on the side of Joe's desk, the entire CCPD empty except for the two of us.
"If you don't want this-" Jay drops the brownie in the bag, setting the coffee and bag on the desk, "I can bring you something else- anything. Chinese? Italian- anything you want-"
I looked away from him.
"Just- have a sip of water, even-" Jay tried, crouched in front of me, staring at my expression, his stare making chills run up my spine, "Please talk to me."
"You know now that we're here, they're gonna figure out a way to stop you, right?" I finally said something, looking at him right in the eye.
"Who? Barry? Wells? The police?-" Jay blinks once, "Nobody can stop me now- not anymore, especially since I have everything I've always wanted."
"So- what's your plan?" I asked quietly, my voice not being able to go higher than a low, raspy tone, "You're just gonna kill everyone?"
Jay put a strand that had fell out of my half up, half down hair do behind my ear, "Not everyone."
"Why are you keeping me here, Jay? What use am I to you- I can't give you what you want." Small tears filled my eyes, "You can't turn me into you-"
"I don't want to be alone anymore." Jay put a hand on my arm and caressed it, "I want my sister."
"I'm not your sister." I couldn't help back snap at him, a tear falling, "I am never going to be like her- I will never, be like you-"
"You think that you're not like me, but- I've seen the darkness inside of you, Zee." Jay grabbed my face with his hand, his thumb pushing against my chin to force me to look at him, "In that moment- that flicker of darkness- I know you felt it."
"There's good and bad in you, now, Zee- and what matters to me is which one you're going to act on." Jay stares at me, "All you have to do- is unlock the darkness."
-
"And?" Jay ran into the middle of CCPD when Rupture walked in, dressed head to toe as Zoom.
Rupture replies, "He got away, but- I'll find him."
Jay seethes, "Later."
"He needs to pay for what he did to my brother!-" Rupture raises his voice in frustration, "He needs to pay for what he did to Reverb-"
"And he will." Jay shouts, "Later, Rupture!"
Rupture exhales, "What do you want me to do?"
"The police have gathered again- they think I've spared their lives." Jay's words made my heart shatter, "Tonight- show them they're wrong."
Rupture left, Jay noticing the look on my face, taking off his mask and coming towards me, knowing the expression on my face, "You disapprove-"
I held the chain of the handcuffs that had me tied to the bar, "You said you would spare them-"
"I need to teach them a lesson." Jay crouched in front of me, "You'll understand one day."
"You're lying to him- you were the one who killed Reverb." My voice got quieter, tears sheeting over my eyes, "You're trying to kill my friends-"
Jay stares at me, scanning my expression, sighing quietly, "If you wish for your friends to stay alive- I can grant it, but- as long as they play along with my terms-"
I looked away from him, the tears in my eyes falling again, "You're playing a tough game here, Jay."
"I wish you'd just understand that you're the most valuable thing to me- and I'd do anything to make you happy." Jay sighs lightly, wiping a tear from my cheek, "You refuse to see how powerful we'd be if you just- gave into it-"
I pulled my face from his grasp, looking away, "I will never let myself succumb to the darkness."
"You won't be saying that for very long-" Jay stood up, before running out of CCPD again, making me squeeze my eyes shut and start to cry quietly.
I started to cry harder when I tried to pull my wrist out of the cuff, letting out a sob when I felt the sharp edges dig into my wrist the harder I pulled.
I tugged on the chain, trying to break it, but nothing seemed to work, making me let out another cry, hitting the desk with my free palm, that still had the meta cuff around my wrist, the skin under it sore.
I breathed heavily, leaning my back against the desk, looking around until I saw the evidence box in the next desk over.
I sniffled, scooting towards it, reaching for the box, whimpering as I pulled on my wrist, the cuff digging into my skin again, as I grabbed the box and opening it and digging my hand through it.
I fished out a phone, letting out a sigh of relief when it turned on, before shutting the box and kicking it back under the desk, immediately sending a warning text.
-
"Breaking news coming out of Jitters coffee shop." I sighed quietly in relief when those words sounded from the revelation, "CCPN has learned that a meta-human was just apprehended after an altercation with The Flash."
Jay stares, "You told them Rupture was coming."
"I didn't-" I looked at him, fear burning in my chest.
"Yes, you did-" Jay came closer to me and grabbed me by the neck tightly, "How? Tell me how!-"
I squeezed my eyes shut, my head leaning against the desk, a small sob escaping my lips, not saying a word.
Jay noticed the phone in my back pocket, then the evidence box that was out of place, "Oh, you are smart, aren't you? You betrayed me!-"
"You said you would spare them." I cried quietly.
"I guess- now, we're even." His voice distorts, aggressively letting go of me, standing up and putting his mask.
My eyes widen, "Jay, no, please-"
"My name- is Zoom." He said, running out of CCPD and appearing on the tv screen seconds later, making my heart drop almost immediately, "Make sure you get this."
"Oh my god-" I forced myself up to my feet, grabbing onto the chain of the handcuffs, putting my boot on the corner of the desk and pulling as hard as I could.
When nothing happened and I seemed to only be tiring myself out, I started rummaging through Joe's drawers, looking in the ones that I could reach.
My hand fished out a small pair of keys, immediately shoving them in the small lock, unlocking the handcuffs, before I immediately ran out of CCPD.
I ran right of Jitters as quickly as my legs could carry me, breathing heavily when I arrived, quickly moving through the broken glass doors, my shout filling the entire room, Jay having Captain Singh by the neck, "Stop!-"
Jay slowly turned his head, looking at me, Rupture stood in the middle of the room with Joe, every other person dead in the room.
Barry stood across the room, having looked like he had just came in as well, his eyes falling onto me, the emotion in his face being something I couldn't decipher.
We hadn't seen each other in a while, and the first time we do, this is what he sees me as.
Weak.
Looking like I had been crying for ages, dried blood on my wrist from the cuff, a meta cuff on my other wrist and a mark on my neck from Jay grabbing it.
"I'm sorry- I'm sorry, I messed up- I- I won't, betray you again-" I looked at Jay, tears streaming down my cheeks as I pleaded, "Please- stop, you've made your point-"
"Not quite yet." Jay drops Singh and grabs Rupture, killing him right in front of us, "You're an even bigger disappointment than your brother."
"No-" My voice was barely there when I watched Jay pick up the camera, knowing what he was about to do, "Please don't-"
"Central City- the Flash you've seen in your streets is a fake." Jay held the camera up and did exactly that anyway, "A hologram meant to give you hope."
"But- there is no more hope, there is no more Flash, and there's no one left to protect your city from me." He drops the camera, "Tell the rest of your force, Captain, that their policing days are over."
"You're only alive because of Zee." Jay took a step, looking between Joe and Barry, "Try something like this again, and my love for her won't stop me from killing you- or the rest of this city!"
Then, he grabs me and ran right out.
-
"You're a tough girl." Jay said to me, referring to me breaking free and coming to Jitters, as he now had me in Barry's Lab, thinking it being in there would make me feel better, now keeping watch on me all the time, my hands cuffed together like on Earth-2, "I admire that about you."
I stare at him, tears rushing down my cheeks, seated in Barry's chair in complete silence.
"I understand that you're upset with me." Jay took a few steps toward me, "I- hurt you-"
I don't say a word.
"I'm sorry about my outburst- earlier, when I touched you-" Jay swallows hard, "I lost control."
"And then you killed an entire police force." My voice was raw and raspy, "You murdered them for everyone to watch- you ripped hope from everyone in this city-"
"You and I both know that hologram wasn't going to last long- all I did was show the city the truth." Jay reached to touch my face, but I immediately flinched and pulled my back back, his expression dropping, "You're scared of me."
"I said I was sorry." Jay crouched in front of me, putting his hands on my knees, "Please forgive me."
My voice was dangerously low, "I said I was sorry but you didn't stop there."
He looks up at the window, making me turn to see what he was looking at, a view of Star Labs catching my eye, a lightning bolt striking just above that building.
Jay's eyes widened, grabbing my arm and running off with me, running right to Star Labs and into the room everyone was in, where they looked at what they had just done, in shock.
Jay dropped me, looking at the piece of Barry's suit on the ground, his voice demonic and his mask on, "You thought you could give The Flash his speed back?-"
My eyes were wide, my breathing heavy as I fell to my knees, shakily grabbing the piece of his suit, staring at his emblem.
"Well done." Jay taunts, "You killed him instead."
Harry took a step, his eyes on me, looking shocked with what just happened, but looking worried to see me, "Young-"
Jay's words clicked something in me, my eyes going completely black, seeing myself being surrounded in black flames, breathing heavily.
Jay slowly looked back at me, his eyes widening what was happening to me, and his mask stretched out to a wicked smile, "Yes-"
I gasped, dropping the suit, stumbling back, the flames forming into a blast, knocking everyone off their feet, one that Jay dodged, grabbing me and running off with him quickly.
I felt the feeling I felt when I first felt the flicker of darkness when Jay first came back onto this Earth.
This time, it didn't just disappear.
It stayed.
authors note:
i liked this chapter a lot, it's probably one of my favorites out of the last few that i've written
i really wanted to write this chapter so that's why this is such an early update
but, oh my godddd, losing barry was her last straw
what happened to her was her darkness got unlocked, she's not full on evil like flipping a switch, but she could succumb to that side, or she can try to fight for the good yk ? yeah, just so no one's confused
and my heart breaks for zee, she's going through so much right now- and jay seems like he cares but the way he's going about it all skskfnnsnfg, she doesn't deserve all of this pain
and the way that she apologized for the deaths of all those officers in a way that she blaming herself for them- I just- I can't, omg
thank you for 59k !!
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