shade
part three
▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀ ▀
SO MANY THINGS had happened to Anna in the course of a few weeks that she felt like the world was caving in on her. First, it was the arrival of her ex-boyfriend who wasn't really her ex-boyfriend anymore as an evil speedster who then killed himself, Alchemy came about, then it was Frankie Kane who was a misunderstood girl with powers that was murdered in cold blood, then the Woman in Red showed up, and then Anna pieced together the fact that there was another speedster along with the Woman in Red, then her boyfriend's somewhat half-sister's brother starts having dreams about becoming a speedster, and now, one of her best friends had the exact same powers as the woman who worked for Zoom.
And, of course, just as Anna thought it couldn't get any worse, Wally West collapsed to the floor from a vision that seemed all too real to him.
"According to this, all your vitals are fine, Wally," Caitlin said and looked over her shoulder at the boy sitting on the hospital bed.
"Wally, what did you see?" Joe asked and folded his arms over his chest, taking a small step toward his son.
"I was a speedster again, but this time it wasn't a good dream," Wally explained and looked up at Anna and Barry. "I was fighting The Rival at some abandoned sawmill. Just like Anna said."
"Yeah, these aren't dreams, Wally," Anna stated and shook her head, folding her arms over her chest. "It's memories. It has to be."
"More and more people are getting powers," Cisco said softly, causing Anna to look toward him. She knew exactly what he was referencing but didn't dare speak on it.
"Okay, so how do we stop this?" Iris asked and raised her brows, looking back and forth between Anna and Barry.
"I mean, is there any stopping it even?" Cisco asked and folded his arms over his chest. "If Alchemy could reach you at CCPD, Wally, he could probably reach you from anywhere, right?"
"I have a suggestion," HR spoke up and held his hand up in the air while twirling a drumstick around between his fingers in the other hand. "Why don't we throw Wallace in the pipeline until we figure this situation out."
"You want to lock him up?" Joe asked and raised his brows at the man standing beside him.
"Yeah, I agree with Joe," HR said and pointed a finger at the man before turning to face Wally. "We lock him up because think about this: we can't stop Alchemy from getting into Wallace's head, but we put him in the pipeline, then we control the situation from there on out."
Anna looked over at Joe who remained silent, staring down his son. She shifted her gaze over to HR, silently agreeing with his statement. While locking Wally up seemed like a horrible idea, it was the best option they had at keeping him safe. If he was locking in the pipeline, everyone knew where he was at all times and no one could get in and he couldn't get out.
"As much as I don't like it, Dad, maybe he's not wrong," Wally spoke up, breaking the layer of silence that had barely formed over the group.
"But only till we figure out a better way to make you safe," Joe agreed and nodded his head slightly.
"Yeah, I agree with Joe," HR said and pointed his drumstick at the detective beside him.
"I'm gonna cancel this movie with Cecile," Joe added and pulled out his phone, causing Anna, Barry and Iris to make noises of disagreement.
"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, wait, wait, you've got a date with Cecile?" Iris asked and furrowed her eyebrows at her father.
"Yeah, I was gonna bring her to the movie in the park tonight," Joe replied and looked over at his daughter.
"Well, don't not go," Wally added and glanced over at his sister and then looked back at Joe. "You've put your life on hold for us long enough."
"Yeah, Dad, he's right, I mean, go be Joe West; you're always Dad," Iris continued and smiled at Joe.
"Yeah, we'll stay with Wally, make sure nothing happens," Barry said and looked back at Joe, smiling softly.
"I told her all of you were coming with me. Am I gonna be the only one that shows up?" Joe asked and raised his brows, looking around at everyone.
"I'll tag along!" Shannon exclaimed excitedly and jogged over to Joe's side, patting his arm. "And Cisco will too, won't you, babe?"
"Uh, yeah, I would love to see a movie," Cisco agreed, though his voice seemed laced with sarcasm. "What movie is this?"
"The Shining," Joe replied.
"The Shining, oh, I love that movie," Cisco said as he walked over toward Joe and his girlfriend, glancing over his shoulder at Anna and Barry with a pained expression on his face.
"That movie freaks you out," Barry pointed out and furrowed his brows. "You have never made it past the part with the Grady twins."
"You poor, poor thing," Anna said and shook her head, pouring out her bottom lip.
"That's— that's— that was— I was younger," Cisco stated and cleared his throat, holding his hands behind his back as he turned back toward the rest of the team.
Caitlin stepped forward and walked toward the long-haired boy, smiling slightly. "Why don't I go with you?" She asked and Anna furrowed her brows when Cisco visibly tensed up as Caitlin got closer.
"You sure you don't want to stay?" Cisco asked, his voice laced with nervousness.
"No, I want to be with you," Caitlin replied and looked over at Shannon and then back to Cisco.
"Either way, the more the merrier," Joe said and glanced over at Anna and Barry, raising his brows in confusion, which resulted in a small shrug from both speedsters.
"Let's do it," HR said and slid his drumstick into his back pocket as he walked toward Joe, Shannon, Cisco and Caitlin. "Hell, this will be a great fodder for my novel."
"Hold on, you guys didn't tell him about..?" Joe gestured his face, his voice trailing off.
"No, Joe. They— they told me, finally, the little scamps," HR said and rolled his eyes then turned to Anna, pointing a finger at her. "Not you. You— you're amazing, Speedy." He slid his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the same pen he used to alter his face earlier that day. "But, I think I've worked my way around that little problem. Watch this," he added and twisted the cap of his pen before casting a blue beam over his face, transforming his face into his partner, Randolf Morgan's, face again.
"Whoa," Barry mumbled in amazement, his eyes widening as he craned his neck to get a better look at HR.
"Oh, um, let me just..." HR fiddled work the pen and pushed a button, causing a bright light to flash in front of everyone's eyes, temporarily blinding them all. When the light disappeared, HR's face was back to normal.
"What did you do?" Barry asked.
"Did you just neuralyze us?" Cisco asked and furrowed his brows, scrunching up his face.
"No, I gave you a simple retinal adjustment so all of you can see me, HR, while the rest of the world sees..." he turned toward a blank tv screen, showing off the face of Randolf Morgan in the reflection. "Randolf Morgan."
Anna smiled at the man, still amazed at the technology that he was capable of using. While he didn't have the brains that Harrison and Harry had, he was still the perfect fit for the team and Anna was still content with her decision to bring HR to Earth-1.
"Joe, I promise, I'll be so— I'll be so quiet you won't even know I'm there. Silent observer," HR said and swiped his fingers across his lips like he was zipping them shut and threw away an imaginary key.
"Alright," Joe said and cleared his throat. "Wally, keep me posted," he said and pointed a finger at his son before walking toward the exit after Wally assured his father he would be fine.
Anna appeared behind Wally and rested her hands on his shoulders, leaning down so that their cheeks were almost pressed together. "We got this, Wally," she said softly and turned her head to look at him, leaning away slightly when he turned his head to look at her. "We won't let anything happen to you."
.: ｡
ANNA WOULD BE lying if she told someone she was fine. She had lied about it before, but today, she felt so far from fine that even thinking about lying about it made her feel like she was going to be damned to hell for lying.
So much was happening inside Anna's head that it felt like her brain was overflowing with information and problems. Anna knew that she would eventually be fine and be able to overcome her worries and her issues, but as of right now, being fine wasn't on Anna's list of priorities; saving Wally was number one and stopping Alchemy, the Woman in Red and the other speedster that lurked in the shadows fell soon after.
Anna knew that she was going to be able to save Wally, as cocky as it was to say, but she wouldn't rest until she knew Wally West was safe and out of harms way; out of Alchemy's line of sight. Whoever Alchemy was, he was bad news, and when she linked him to the Woman in Red, it made the target on his back even bigger. Alchemy was connected to the suicide of a man and the death of a child, he had to go no matter what. And, as for the Woman in Red and the other speedster she worked with, they had to go, too. Both of them were connected to Alchemy and Joel Davis and Frankie Kane which meant they had targets on their backs too and Anna was going to be the one to catch them all.
"Knock, knock," Barry called out softly, causing Anna to lift her head to look across the room as Barry walked in. "You alright? You've been hiding away in here ever since we left the Speed Lab," he said and looked around the treadmill room that connected to the Cortex.
Anna nodded and rested her elbows on her knees, folding her arms. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Barry she was fine, but knew the lie would spill out over her lips without giving her a chance to even hide it. "Not really, no," she replied, deciding it was best to tell the truth to him. "There's so much going on inside my head that I feel like I'm going to explode."
Barry walked over at sat on the edge of the treadmill beside Anna, resting a hand on her thigh and running his thumb over the fabric of her jeans. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked and nudged her with his shoulder.
Anna sighed deeply and ran her tongue over her lips, trying to force herself to say no and to decline the offer to get everything off her chest, but she couldn't keep it buried deep anymore. "I know that we'll be able to save Wally. For some reason, I'm one thousand percent convinced he's going to be fine, but it's everything else that I'm worried about," she began and looked over at Barry, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking back down at the floor. "Alchemy, the Woman in Red, the other speedster, we don't even know who they are yet, Barr, and they're already haunting me. Every time I even think about going to sleep, I see the Woman in Red standing over me. They've already done so much in such a short period of time, how much will they do over the next few weeks? Or the next few months?"
"Whatever they're going to do, Anna, we'll stop them. We'll stop Alchemy and we'll stop the Woman in Red and the other speedster too, I promise," Barry said and leaned over, pressing his lips to Anna's temple. He pulled away and held her chin, turning her head so she could look into his eyes once again. "You and I, we will stop them. Because we're Anna and Barry, we're Swift and the Flash, we're the heroes of Central City. We will beat whatever we're up against no matter what, Anna, I promise you."
Anna pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, staring into Barry's eyes as she processed his words and let them sink in. She knew he was right, but there was still a part of her that was worried about what was coming. She knew that they were strong; they were Anna and Barry; they were Swift and the Flash, and they could handle anything, but not knowing what they were up against was what implanted fear deep into Anna's chest.
"Guys!" Iris called out from the main part of the Cortex, causing both Anna and Barry to stand up to go join the woman. "It's Shade."
Anna walked up beside Iris and looked down at the screen Iris had been watching. "He's at Hofherr Park," she said and lifted her head to look at Barry. "That's where the movie night is," she added and let out a shaky breath before she and Barry bolted to change into their suits and left the lab as fast as they could.
.: ｡
AS ANNA RAN through Hofherr Park, she searched around quickly for her friends and Cecile. When she couldn't find them, she immediately started looking for Shade despite feeling nervous about not finding her friends right away. "Barry, have you found Shade?" She asked through her earpiece once she skidded to a stop.
"Yeah, I'm with him right now," Barry panted. "Come meet him. He's huge."
"On it," Anna said and ran to search for her boyfriend and the newest meta. She ran as fast as she could, hoping she would find them before the real run started. When she came up empty-handed, she skidded to a stop in a clearing with chairs and tables. "Barr, where are you? I—" a scream escaped Anna's lips as a large hand wrapped around her waist and lifted her up into the air, swaying her around forcefully. "Flash!" She screamed, hoping Barry would hear her.
Shade pulled Anna down to his face and looked at her, his eyes nothing but a black, cloudy void. "I was wondering when you would show up, Swift," he said and shot his arm upward, releasing Anna from his grip which caused her to fly through the air, a scream ripping through her throat.
Anna landed on the ground with a thud, a loud groan escaping her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut and gasped for air. She opened her eyes and looked up, watching as Shade's large, shadowy hand reached down toward her, waiting to snatch her up again. "Oh, no you don't," she said and rolled out of the way, bolting to her feet. "Flash, where the hell are you?!"
"Right here," Barry replied and grabbed Anna's shoulder, causing her to glance over her shoulder for a moment before looking back up at Shade. "Sorry about that. I went looking for you, too."
"Barry, Anna, we're in the van. Can you hear us?" Caitlin asked.
"Yeah, we're here," Barry replied and stepped in front of Anna, pushing her back behind him protectively as they both walked backwards away from Shade.
"Yeah, you guys totally missed seeing me get thrown around like a freakin' rag doll," Anna snapped and held Barry's forearm tightly with both her hands. "Someone give us an idea on how to stop this idiot!"
Suddenly, Shade disappeared and Anna and Barry stopped dead in their tracks, turning away from each other to press their backs together.
"Oh, crap, he's gone," Anna muttered and looked around, still holding Barry's arm with one hand.
"We cannot do anything if we can't see him," Barry stated to their friends in the van. "Can we light this place up?"
"Light's gonna slow down his molecular vibration so we can catch him," Cisco said.
"Okay, get on that!" Anna exclaimed as Barry tugged her along as he began walking. "Okay, pushy, relax."
"Anna, Barry, I'm in. I can turn on the lights," Cisco said.
"Alright, wait until my mark," Barry said and exhaled deeply, turning in a slow circle as he looked around the park. "And by mark, I do mean next time that I get punched... or the next time Anna gets tossed through the air."
Anna slammed the back of her hand against Barry's chest, causing him to cough and step away quickly. "Don't make me punch you," she threatened and pointed a finger at her boyfriend.
Shade shot up through the ground and threw a punch at Barry, knocking him to the ground. He grabbed Anna again and tossed her up into the air, causing her to let out a yelp.
"Mark!" Both speedsters yelled in unison, causing the overhead lights to flick on, along with the headlights of nearby cars, lighting up the park.
Anna hit the ground and let out a groan again, rolling onto her side to face the way Shade was standing. She pushed herself up to her feet quickly as he let out a roar in pain, grabbing at his head as he began to shrink down.
"Flash!" Caitlin yelled from behind the two speedsters, causing them both to look over their shoulders at her. She tossed a pair of cuffs toward them both and Barry ran back, catching them quickly.
"Swift!" Barry called out and tossed the cuffs to Anna, smiling as she caught them perfectly.
Anna bolted toward Shade and and crouched down as he dropped to the ground. "Good effort, buddy," she said and hooked the cuffs around his wrists. "Have fun trying to vanish your way out of those."
.: ｡
"WALLY WASN'T HIMSELF," Iris explained as the video footage of Wally laying unconscious in the pipeline cell appeared on the screens at the back of the Cortex. "He was possessed. Alchemy was calling for him."
"I knew I shouldn't have left," Joe said and shook his head, running a hand over his face.
"It's okay, Joe, nothing happened," Barry reassured the man and shook his head slightly.
"He's not okay, Barry," Joe said and gestured to one of the screens that showed his unconscious son. "This thing's coming after him, and— and there ain't a damn thing we can do?"
"Hey, Joe, we stopped Shade, alright? Alchemy has our full attention again," Anna spoke up and rested a hand on Joe's arm, giving him a warm, reassuring smile.
"Unless he sends another meta to Central City to attack. Then we're in trouble."
"You think Shade was a distraction?" Iris asked HR and glanced over at him.
"I agree with Iris. I think the attack on Wally and the attack by Shade happened essentially at the same time," HR stated and swung his drumstick around with each word he spoke. "So that's not a coincidence."
"If that's true, then that means Alchemy's gonna be sending another one of his metas soon," Joe said.
Barry shook his head and turned toward the team. "We don't know that."
"Barry, we found six husks. So besides Shade, Magenta, and Davis, there's still three unaccounted for," Joe said and held up three fingers to make his point.
"Okay, well, if more come, then we'll stop them," Barry said and shrugged his shoulders. "But Alchemy can't get Wally if he stays in the cell."
"Barry, we can't just let Wally suffer in there," Iris said and met Barry's eyes. "And besides, burying our head in the sand is not gonna make Alchemy go away."
"Ignoring the problem does not get rid of it," Cisco said and folded his arms over his chest, his eyes moving to Caitlin. "You're gonna have to face it. Don't we?"
Anna's gaze drifted to Caitlin, watching as she shook her head. "Cisco," Anna warned and looked back at the long-haired boy.
"What?" Barry asked, looking over at his girlfriend and then shifting his gaze back and forth between Caitlin and Cisco.
"Nothing," Caitlin replied bluntly.
"Come on, Caitlin," Cisco said and sighed deeply.
"Not right now, Cisco," Caitlin stated and shook her head.
"I— just— I can't just keep this in," Cisco said and looked around at the team briefly before looking back at Caitlin. "You have to tell them."
"Tell them what?" Joe asked and raised his brows at the woman.
Caitlin sighed deeply and looked at Anna, her eyes glistening with tears. "I have powers," she replied and removed the cuffs from her wrists that were perfectly hidden beneath the sleeves over her jacket.
"What?" Joe questioned.
"What kind of powers?" Iris asked and rested her hands on her hips.
Anna took a small step forward, noticing the look of fear that spread across Caitlin's face. "Cait, it's okay," she said softly and offered a warm smile to the woman.
Caitlin turned her hands, facing her palms upward. Snow and ice formed around her hands and she exhaled deeply, her breath billowing up into the air. "The cold kind," she replied and pressed her lips together into a straight line. "Happy now?" She questioned and looked over at Cisco, tightening her hands into fists and causing the snow and ice to disappear.
"So, what, we're just gonna keep secrets from each other?" Cisco asked and raised his brows at the woman.
"Yeah, well, this wasn't your secret to tell, was it, Cisco?" Caitlin asked, her tone laced with anger.
"I did that because I care about you," Cisco defended and stood up straight, dropping his arms down to his sides.
"If you cared about me, then you would have let me tell them all when I was ready," Caitlin snapped and furrowed her brows at the long-haired boy. "Because this is happening to me, not you. I'm the one turning evil. I'm the one who's gonna have to leave soon," she said and sighed deeply, looking around at the team once more before leaving the Cortex.
"I vibed the two of us fighting each other in the future," Cisco spoke up and cleared his throat, looking over at the team. "She was Killer Frost."
"I'll go talk to her," HR said and took a few steps forward but was stopped by Barry.
"I got it," he said before leaving the room.
Anna rested her hands on her hips, throwing a harsh glare at Cisco before looking back at the screen that showed Wally still unconscious on the floor of a cell in the pipeline. "Let's come up with a plan, shall we?"