Mercury Labs
Night
Barry raced over to the machine and stared, horrified as he was joined by Wally and Pietro. Moving at super speed, everyone around them was frozen in regular time. Everyone but Savitar, that is.
"What did you do?!" Savitar snarled, speeding over to Frost, rage on his face but was blocked by Barry.
"Hey, enough! We have bigger problems," Barry said and Savitar scoffed.
"We? You must be joking," Savitar said.
"If that thing goes nuclear, it will take everything and everyone in Central City with it, including you. If you want to live to carry on your evil plan, we need to work together. Like it or not, we're on the same side right now," Barry snapped and Savitar glared at him.
"Fine. We work together, for now," Savita grumbled, about as happy as Barry was about this.
"So what do we do Barry?" Wally asked and Barry sighed.
"Right now, all we can do is keep moving until we figure out a way to stop this thing," Barry said gruffly as he turned back to stare at the malfunctioning machine.
"Maybe we take it out of the city?" Wally suggested.
"Were you always this stupid and I didn't notice or is this a new development?" Savitar asked and Wally glared at him. "If we try and run it out of the city, the Speed Force energy we give off as we run will only cause the machine to blow up faster. How about coming up with a solution that doesn't kill us?"
"What about evacuating the city?" Pietro suggested.
"We're running on super speed Pietro. Even without Savitar's help, the three of us can't get everyone out," Wally pointed out and Barry's eyes lit up.
"Three…That's it," Barry said and the other three speedsters looked over at him. "Jay Garrick, he might have an idea on how to stop this thing. Wally, head to Earth-3 and get him back here, now."
"But-" Wally started.
"Now!" Barry shouted.
With a sigh, Wally sped off, leaving the three speedsters alone.
"So, you created this machine, any idea on how to stop it from going nuclear?" Barry asked as he turned to Savitar.
"The machine isn't the problem; it's the Prism powering it. I'm using Venom to stabilize the machine so it won't meltdown, but when Killer Frost punctured the core, she caused a malfunction that is causing a meltdown. We need to find a way to stabilize the Prism and stop the meltdown," Savitar explained.
"And how do we do that?" Pietro asked and Savitar shrugged.
"Like I know," Savitar said.
"Well, aren't you helpful?" Pietro muttered.
Barry sighed, walking around as he looked at the frozen forms of all his friends. He stopped, staring at Cisco's unmoving form.
"Really wish I could talk to you right now buddy. I could use your help," Barry said wistfully.
"You always were helpless without your little friends."
Barry stiffened at the familiar voice. He turned around, seeing the form of Harrison Wells standing before him. But the smirk on his face let him know that it was Eobard Thawne.
"Great," Barry muttered, drawing the attention of Pietro ad Savitar. "You're not real, you're in my head."
"Oh I'm in your head Barry, but I'm still very real," Thawne said as he began to circle Barry, like a shark and its prey.
"You okay Barry?" Pietro asked concerned.
"You're hallucinating, aren't you? The Red Death," Savitar realized and Barry nodded. "Barry, whatever you're seeing, don't ignore it, listen to it."
"What?" Barry asked sure Savitar had lost whatever sanity he had left.
"I was affected by the Red Death a lot longer than you and I learned that whenever I had a hallucination, it was my subconscious, trying to tell me something. I just had to figure out what it was trying to tell me," Savitar explained.
Barry stared at Savitar blankly for a moment before turning to Thawne.
"Okay, what are you trying to tell me?" Barry asked and Thawne smirked.
"There's only one way to save everyone from this. You know it to, you just don't want to admit it," Thawne goaded him.
"Well clearly I don't know it, so why don't you just tell me?" Barry asked annoyed and Thawne laughed.
"You need to send it to the one place it won't kill anyone when it goes off. The one place that can handle it. The place that you were once trapped in," Thawne said and Barry finally understood.
"No, I can't. I won't. We don't know what sending it there will do," Barry said immediately.
"The alternative is to let it go off, killing everyone you love," Thawne said bluntly as he stopped in front of Barry. "You learned from Steve and Oliver that sometimes, a hero must make the hard call no one else is willing to. So the only question is… are you willing to make that call Barry?"
Thawne suddenly vanished, leaving Barry to mull over his words as Savitar and Pietro watched.
"Barry?" Pietro called out hesitantly.
"I know what we have to do," Barry said as he turned to them, a steely glint in his eyes.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it."
The three speedsters turned around to see Wally had returned, Jay Garrick with him. Jay glanced over at Savitar before turning to Barry.
"Wally explained everything. We're in trouble kid," jay said as he looked over at the machine, the energy frozen around it.
"Yeah, I have an idea: We need to send the machine into the Speed Force, let it go nuclear in there," Barry explained.
"Like hell you are!" Savitar snarled as he stalked over to Barry. "I'm not letting destroy everything I've worked for."
"Well we don't have any other options!" Barry snapped.
"As much as I hate to say it, Savitar is right," Jay said and Barry turned to him incredulously. "You can't send that thing into the Speed Force Barry or we may lose it forever."
"What?" Barry asked stunned.
"An explosion that size would destroy the Speed Force, every speedster connected to it would lose their powers," Jay explained.
"Every speedster?" Wally asked startled and Jay nodded.
"You can't do this Barry," Savitar said. "I'm not gonna let you."
"You're not gonna stop me. I will not let everyone in this city died because of your actions," Barry snapped.
"My actions? Killer Frost is the one who caused all this," Savitar defended himself.
"You really are insane if you think that you had nothing to do with this. Look at all the damage you've caused. All the people who have suffered and died because of you! Pepper, HR, Roy, Caitlin. Look at what you've done to our friends, our family, our city! What made you think this was better for everyone!?" Barry exploded.
"I have only done what you lack the courage to do!" Savitar sneered as he and Barry got in each other's face.
"Enough!" Pietro suddenly pulled them apart. "If we want to survive this, we need to…to…"
Pietro suddenly swayed on his feet. Barry caught him as he fell to his knees.
"Pietro, what's wrong?" Barry asked concerned.
"He's not a speedster like us. His powers come from the Mind Stone, not the Speed Force. He can't keep up with us," Savitar realized.
"He's right, I can't," Pietro said shakily as he looked up at Barry. "I can't run anymore. It's up to you guys now. Do whatever you have to do, but don't let Wanda die."
And with that, Pietro was frozen in regular time, just like the others. Barry stood up, the fires of determination in his eyes.
"Whatever you guys say, I am sending this thing into the Speed Force," Barry said firmly.
"Barry, even with powers aside, you are talking about destroying a central element of the multiverse. No one knows what the consequences might be," Jay reasoned.
"Then what Jay!? What's your idea?!" Barry demanded as he whirled on Jay. "Tell me, how do we save everyone, huh?!"
"We go back to basics," Jay said, turning towards the machine, which was glowing brighter than before, they realized. "In nuclear fission, enormous energy is created by a chain reaction of the splitting of atoms and releasing of neutrons. It's nearly impossible to reverse this process, but, theoretically, there are two ways to restore stability."
"How?" Barry asked as the three remaining speedsters looked at him eagerly.
"One way is to offset the mass by way of nuclear fusion," Jay said and Savitar scoffed.
"Well, I don't think Star Labs has any devices that can cause nuclear fusion, so what's option two?" Savitar asked.
"The other way, that seems more promising given our predicament, is cooling it down," Jay said and Savitar smiled.
"Like with a Cold Gun," Savitar said as he glanced towards Snart's fallen weapon.
Barry sped over and picked it up, walking over to the machine. Barry tried to fire off a bream, but, to the shock of everyone, the only thing that came out of it as a slight mist.
"I don't get it, what's going on?" Wally asked.
"The Cold Gun doesn't have the time it needs to focus the beam. Damn it!" Barry shouted as he tossed the gun to the ground.
"Looks like we'll need that fusion machine after all," Jay said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"What if we don't need it?" Savitar asked and they all looked over at him. "Jay, you said that we can stabilize the Prism if we offset the mass?"
"That's right?" Jay nodded.
"The Prism gives off about three billion Joules of energy. A lightning bolt gives about one billion," Savitar said and they understand.
"If the three of you each throw a lightning bolt at the same time, you can stabilize the Prism," Jay said and Barry looked at him startled.
"What about you?" Barry asked but Jay shook his head.
"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going kid. I'm not as young as I used to be. If we want this to work, the three of you need to work together," Jay said and the trio of speedsters exchanged an uneasy look.
"We're willing to work together on this if you are," Barry told Savitar, speaking for both himself and Wally.
"Right back to hating each other once this is over," Savitar said and Barry nodded.
"Let's do this," Wally said with an uneasy breath.
Together, the three speeders raced around the rooftop in a circle, building up an electric charge. Then, one by one, Barry, Wally, and Savitar each threw a lightning bolt at the machine. Each bolt hit their mark and time resumed as normal. Everyone watched as a beam of yellow light shot up into the sky.
Central City
Same time
Joe West was driving home in his cruiser when he saw a beam of light shoot off into the sky. Joe pulled the car to a stop and got out; staring in shot before pulling out his radio.
"West to precinct, are you seeing this?"
At a bar, people were staring out at the beam of light in pure shock.
"What's the matter with you people? You act like you've never seen something strange in Central City," an old man with spectacles said at a table, not even looking up as he took a drink.
Mercury Labs
Same time
"What is that?" Bucky asked.
"That is nuclear fusion. We need to get out of here, this building isn't safe for us," Jay said and they looked over at him, noticing him for the first time.
"When did you get here Jay?" Cisco asked surprised.
Suddenly, as the building started shaking, Savitar sped over and grabbed Frost violently by the throat.
"You will pay for your betrayal," Savitar sneered, vibrating his hand.
Before he could do anything, Barry sped over and tackled him, making him drop Frost to her knees.
"Go, I'll handle him," Barry shouted.
"No, we're not leaving without you," Cisco shouted.
"Thanks for the save Flash," Frost said before using her power to create an ice bridge while gliding away.
"Go after her! We can't lose her, I'll handle him! Go now!" Barry barked.
As the other fled, Wally and Pietro running after Caitlin on foot, Sam and Tony flying away, Steve and Cisco disappearing in a beach while Lisa, Jay, and Bucky head down the stairs to get out while Bucky carried Snart's unconscious form, Barry and Savitar rush each other and began exchanging high speed blows.
"You had to ruin everything! I planned to save the world!" Savitar ranted as the roof collapsed, sending them down.
The two landed below on the floor before picking themselves up and rushing each other once more.
Central City
Same time
Frost was gliding through the night's sky on her ice bridge when a missile hit the bridge. The shock wave sent her flying back before she was caught in midair.
"Didn't see that coming did you?" Pietro asked as he pulled to a stop on the street, carrying Frost bridal style.
Sneering, Frost pulled out an ice dagger but was hit in the shoulder with a tranq arrow. She slumped into unconsciousness as Roy lowered his bow.
"So, who wants to explain what's going on?" Logan asked as he, Clint, Natasha, and Roy looked up at Mercury Labs, which was currently falling apart from the inside.
Inside Mercury Labs, Barry and Savitar continued to exchange blows before Savitar suddenly felt a knife pierce his leg. Savitar looked down as Barry switched the knife and cut the other leg.
"Looks like you forgot Nat's first lesson: always be prepared," Barry said gruffly as Savitar fell to his knees, unable to move. "Even someone with your healing powers can't heal that fast. It's time to end this."
Before Barry could do anything, a huge chunk of the ceiling fell. Barry jumped back but Savitar wasn't so lucky. The ceiling seemed to fall on top of him as the building collapsed. Barry sped out, getting to the ground outside and watched as the rest of the building came down. The others came up behind him.
"Where's Savitar?" Tony demanded and Barry simply pointed at the rubble.
"Barry, do you read me? Barry?" thy heard Wanda's voice come over the Comms.
"I hear you Wanda," Barry said as he tapped the Comms piece in his cowl.
"Is Savitar dead?" Wanda asked.
"I don't know," Barry said honestly as he stared at the rubble.
"Well, either way, we have other problems," Wanda said and they heard the note of urgency in her voice.
"What's going on kid?" Clint asked.
"Whatever happened over there, it caused the Star Labs satellite to head to earth. Now, it's too close to the gravity field and its falling to Earth. I don't know how to get it back online. Its gonna crash in downtown Central City," she said to their horror.
"Okay. Wanda, call Joe, tell him to issue an evacuation for downtown. Cisco, get Caitlin to Argus until we can figure out what to do with her," Barry looked at his best friend before turning to the others. "The rest of you, help the evacuation. I'm gonna take out the satellite. Tony, I need you to take care of the debris. Pietro, I'm also gonna need the device on your wrist. Let's go!"
Downtown
Not long after
Everyone was crying out in terror as flaming pieces of metal flew down from the sky. Tony was trying his best to knock them out, destroy them before they touched down. The CCPD, the remaining Avengers, Wally, Jay, and Pietro were getting people to safety. As the huge mass of metal came down, Barry sped in, building up the momentum as he sped up the side of a building. With Pietro's device increasing his strength by three fold, Barry knew this was still gonna take everything he had. With a primal roar, Barry jumped off the building and into the air, catapulting himself towards the satellite. As his fist made contact with it, the satellite exploded, sending Barry flying down to the ground.
Barry felt his suit tear in several places as he flew down. The events of the night catching up with him, Barry started to lose consciousness. The last thing Barry was aware of was something hard around him before he passed out.