The silence in the Cortex was heavier than any Barry had ever felt. It was the quiet after a bomb goes off, when the ringing in your ears is the only sound left. All eyes were on him, wide with confusion and dawning fear. His whispered apology hung in the air, a ghost of a terrible future.
Patty's hand was still outstretched, frozen. "Fail me? Barry, what are you talking about?"
He couldn't look at her. He looked at the floor, at the scuff marks on the pristine tile. He focused on them, using them as an anchor to keep from completely shattering.
"Sit down," he said, his voice hoarse. "All of you. Please."
They moved slowly, finding chairs, leaning against consoles. The only sound was the soft whir of a computer fan and Wally's steady breathing from the medbay. Barry finally lifted his head, his eyes red-rimmed but dry now, filled with a grim, awful clarity.
The dam inside Barry broke. The words, locked in a vault of terror, came pouring out in a ragged, painful stream.
"His name is Savitar," Barry whispered, the name itself tasting like poison. "And he's not a demon. He's not an ancient god. He's… me."
He saw the confusion, the disbelief, on their faces. He pushed on, forcing himself to explain the unthinkable.
"There's a day coming. May 23rd, 2017. He… he wins. To break me, he kills everyone." His eyes flickered to Patty, to Billy, his voice dropping to a shattered hush. "Patty. My mom. My dad. Billy. He leaves me with nothing."
He described the scene he'd just witnessed, not as a possibility, but as a memory—a future memory so real it was scorched into his soul. He told them about the broken man on his knees, sobbing over Patty's body.
"That version of me… he gets desperate. He creates time remnants—copies of himself—to fight a war he can't win. And Savitar… he kills them. All of them. All but one." Barry's voice was hollow. "That last one, that scrap of a person who saw all his other selves murdered… he gets cast out. Abandoned. And all that pain, all that betrayal… it twists him. He becomes Savitar. He goes back in time, creates the myth of the first speedster, and sets all of this in motion. It's a loop. A perfect, terrible circle. I create my own worst enemy."
He finally looked at all of them, his eyes begging for understanding. "The thing we're fighting… the thing trapped in the Speed Force… it's that remnant. And he's trying to escape to make sure every single moment that created him happens all over again."
The truth hung in the air, monstrous and incomprehensible.
Barry's posture straightened, his expression turning hard, desperate. "That's why you all have to go. Now. Take Patty, take Billy, get my parents out of the city. Every single one of you is a target. You're just… you're just names on his list."
"No," Patty said, the word sharp and immediate. She stepped forward, her jaw set. "I am not going anywhere."
"Patty, you don't understand—"
"I understand enough!" she fired back, her voice trembling but strong. "I understand that you're scared. But you don't get to send me away to 'keep me safe'. My life is my choice. And I choose to be here. With you."
Barry's composure cracked. "This isn't a choice! This is a death sentence! Don't you get it? I know what I'm capable of! Before Cisco can even think about vibing, I could disassemble every molecule in his body. Before Caitlin's skin could turn blue, I could stop her heart. Before Billy can even form the word 'Shazam' in his mind, I could be there and gone, and he'd just be a kid on the floor." He looked at each of them, his gaze pleading and terrible. "I will not risk your lives. I can't."
The room was silent again, absorbing the brutal, clinical assessment of their own deaths.
Then Cisco let out a short, sharp breath. "You're right," he said.
Barry blinked, startled.
"You're absolutely right," Cisco repeated, crossing his arms. "One on one, against a pissed-off, god-mode you? We're toast. No question." A slow, determined smile spread across his face. "But you're forgetting something, man. We're not one on one. We've got a whole multiverse of weirdos on speed dial. Remember all those Wells? I'm sure one of them has a theory on how to kick a time paradox's ass."
He stepped closer, his voice losing its joking edge. "And we've got friends, Barry. Real ones. We have a Superman. We have a Batman. We have an Oliver Queen who would walk through hell for you. Last I checked, you all saved Metropolis together. We saved Central City together. You think for one second they're going to turn their backs on you now? When you need them the most?"
Cisco's eyes were bright with conviction. "That's what a team is for, Barry. You don't get to carry this alone because you're afraid we'll get hurt. You'd put your life on the line for any one of us in a heartbeat. Why can't you let us do the same for you?"
"He's right," Patty said, moving to stand beside Cisco, her hand finding Barry's. It was warm, and solid, and alive. "I'm not walking out that door. I'm not letting some future ghost of you dictate my life. We change the future. Together."
One by one, they all stepped forward. Joe, his face grim but resolute. Iris, her eyes fierce. Caitlin, nodding silently. And Billy, who despite his youth, looked at Barry with an unshakable faith.
The isolation that had crushed Barry began to fracture, replaced by a fragile, defiant warmth. They weren't running. They were standing with him. They were choosing to fight a god, because he was their friend.
The fear was still there, a cold stone in his gut. But it was no longer alone. It was surrounded by them. By his family.
He looked at Patty, at the stubborn love in her eyes, and he finally, truly, believed that the future was not yet written.