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𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
locked up

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BARRY'S SCREAM FADED to nothing, but it didn't stop the ringing in Juliet's ears. She watched as Henry Allen — beloved Henry — sunk to his knees, right on the carpet where Nora Allen lost her life so many years ago. Juliet's chest felt so tight where she wasn't sure if she was breathing anymore, tears had already rapidly started to fall down her cheeks, her head was a mess . . . she placed a hand on her churning stomach, taking a stumbling step backwards.

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

"Dad?" Barry asked, rushing up to Henry as he flopped on the floor. "Dad? Hey! Hey! Hey, look at me. Look at me. Dad. Don't leave. Not again. Not again. Dad! Come on, come on, come on. Hey, it's all right. No. Dad."

Henry went still.

"I told you family was a weakness," Zolomon said.

Juliet snapped her head up from what she had been watching, almost in a trance-like state. With everything going on, she had completely forgotten he was there at all. Anger instantly surged through her veins, white-hot anger that turned her eyes red.

"You feel the anger, don't you, Flash? And now . . . the two of us are the same."

"No!" Barry shouted, running up and pinning Zolomon to the wall, making Juliet jump in surprise. "No!"

"Barry," Juliet whispered.

"There you go, Flash!" Zolomon praised. "Use your anger, just like I did."

Zolomon sped off, followed by Barry right afterwards, the blue and yellow lightnings leaving the house in a split second.

Juliet stood there alone, slowly turning to look at the body of Henry. Another person lost, now leaving Barry totally parentless . . . God, what were they going to do?

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RAIN POURED FROM the sky, matching the mood of everyone who was in that graveyard. It was the day of Henry's funeral, which was something Juliet never thought she would've said — not for a long, long time, anyways. She stood next to Barry in her black dress underneath an umbrella, staring down at the gravestones. Henry's was placed right next to Nora's just as it should be.

"And comfort us today with the word of your promise as we return our brother to the Earth, and leave us with the hope that one day, we'll meet again," the priest voiced before walking away, allowing them their privacy.

Barry stepped forwards, glancing over at Juliet for a moment, who gave him a tiny, sad smile with an encouraging nod. The past couple of days, he had been sticking to her side like glue. Juliet couldn't exactly blame him.

"Um . . ." Barry trailed off. "My father's . . ." He then shook his head. "I can't do this right now."

"It's okay, Barry," Iris reassured him.

Juliet nodded in agreement as he fell back into line with her. "Take your time."

"Henry Allen," Joe stated. "Henry suffered two great losses in his life. He lost his wife, Nora, and he lost Barry. He suffered guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, shame, and everything that comes with being blamed for a crime he didn't commit. Henry Allen was proof that love can get you through the darkest of days, and that love will keep him alive in all of our hearts."

Barry approached the vase of roses, taking one in his hand. He crouched down in front of Henry's casket, placing the rose down on top of it.

"I'm gonna find him, dad," Barry promised. "I promise you I'm gonna take from him what he took from you."

The day bled into nightfall, yet the rain didn't cease. All of them had migrated back to Joe's house, the weight of the funeral sinking into them. Juliet stood by Barry, who was peering out the window at the stormy sky. Her arms were crossed as she stared at the floor, feeling like she was about to suffocate. Thawne was awful, don't get her wrong, but there was just something so . . . inherently evil about Zolomon. Something that she couldn't shake off.

"Hey," Wally greeted, approaching the two of them with a plate in his hand.

Barry let the curtains drop. "Hey."

"I thought maybe you should eat something."

"I'm not hungry. Thank you, though."

"Yeah," Wally replied, putting the plate down on the table and stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Barry, Juliet, um . . . I had no idea that you were the Flash and Scarlet. What you did for me, all the things that you've done for everyone, this whole city . . . and now this with your dad and Zoom. I'm so sorry."

Barry nodded. "Thanks, Wally."

"If there's anything you need, you just say the word."

Juliet gave him a tiny smile. "We appreciate it, Wally. Thank you."

"Guys, Zoom's still out there," Barry announced to the others, who were sitting around the dining room table. "We need to come up with a plan."

"The man can crack open breaches to Earth-Two," Cisco said. "I mean, if he can do that, what else can he do that we don't know about?"

"Right after he killed his time remnant, he told me I was almost ready."

"Almost ready for what?" Iris asked.

Barry shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yep, classic psychopath," Cisco commented. "Why can't they ever just say what they want to do? We also have to figure out why I keep vibing Earth-Two being ripped to shreds."

Joe pointed to him. "Seriously."

"It's like I'm watching Transformers in 4D, but, like, ten times more realistic and with much better acting."

"Look, if you can vibe the future, we need to stop Zoom before that happens."

Barry let out a deep breath. "I'm gonna get some air, all right?"

Juliet frowned, watching him exit the front door. Instantly, all eyes went to her — as per usual.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Juliet walked out of the house, letting the door shut gently behind her. Barry was sitting on the steps, staring out at the street. At the sound of the door, he glanced back at her before turning back to the street. Juliet walked up to him and sat down, their shoulders pressing up against each other's. She glanced over at him, only to see so much pain behind his eyes, something that she couldn't fix no matter how hard she tried.

The last time they were out here on this porch, just the two of them like this, was the night that they had pieced together that Dr. Wells was the Reverse Flash, which was also the night that Barry confessed his love to her for the first time. Besides that last happy part, it was the same thing — a feeling of impending doom, and a question of what happens next.

"When I was in the Speed Force, I felt like I'd finally come to grips with her death, with not saving her when I went back," Barry explained. "And then the moment . . . where I'm finally at the place I can move on, my father's taken from me. How am I ever supposed to find peace with that?"

"I'm not sure," Juliet admitted. "It won't be easy, but you'll have to find a way, or it'll shatter you completely."

"I just miss him so much already."

Juliet reached over and took his hand, interlacing their fingers together and giving his hand a squeeze. "I know."

Then the moment was broken by a flash of blue lightning going down the street.

Juliet straightened up instantly. "Oh, fuck off."

"Zoom," Barry stated. "Will you—?"

She nodded, already knowing what he was going to ask. Barry instantly wrapped his arms around her waist and ran after him. After a few seconds, they stopped, and Juliet got placed back down on her feet. Barry stood slightly in front of her, staring at Zolomon with so much hatred that if looks could kill, he would be dead.

Zolomon smirked at them. "Bad time, Flash, Scarlet? Thought I'd give you some time to mourn."

"This ends now," Barry demanded.

"Not yet. There's always more to take, Barry."

Barry pushed Juliet a little more behind his back. "You're gonna stay away from them."

"Well, that's completely up to you," Zolomon said.

"What?"

"When we first met, I told you that Zoom needed to be the best. You just didn't realize I was talking about myself."

"Is that what this is about?" Barry questioned.

"A race, Barry, between you and me . . ." Zolomon explained. "To see who's the fastest. You win — this is over, and you get to be the hero."

"I'm not racing you."

Zolomon's eyes slid over to Juliet. "Then your father won't be the only person you love that I'll take from you."

Juliet's eyes narrowed. "I'd like to see you try."

His lips curved up into a smug smirk. "Think about it, Flash. All I want to know is who's the fastest man alive on either world. I'll be waiting."

With that, he sped away.

Juliet's eyes slid over to Barry, who seemed lost in thought and shell-shocked all in one. As if this whole situation wasn't complicated enough, Zoom just had to go and make it worse.

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"SO ZOOM WANTS to race you?" Jesse inquired.

It was the morning after, and like always, they gathered around the cortex to discuss what happened last night. Juliet leaned against the desks, her arms crossed and her gaze pointed to the floor.

"He's obsessed with being the best," Barry replied.

"Why would we trust him?" Iris asked. "I mean, he threatened Jules — not that his threats can really do anything against her."

"He just wants to race," Cisco said. "You know, it actually makes sense in a completely-off-your-rocker sort of way."

"That can't be everything he wants," Joe insisted.

"It isn't," Harry confirmed. "This Magnetar that's being developed by Mercury Labs — turns out, it can act as a pulsar."

"Woah," Cisco commented.

"What is a pulsar?" Iris questioned.

"It's a power amplifier with a highly magnetized, dense rotating core that can be easily weaponized."

"Nah, that's not dangerous at all."

Cisco pointed to the screen, which showed the diagram. "That's what happens to Earth-Two. What happens in my vibes is because of this machine."

Iris' eyes widened. "That thing is powerful enough to destroy a planet?"

"A lot more than just a planet, if it has the right power source," Harry explained.

"Like what?" Jesse inquired.

"Like me," Barry answered. "That's why he wants to race. He wants to siphon the energy I create when I run."

"He wants to siphon the energy off both of you," Harry added.

"When Jay captured me, he said that he used to measure his success by counting the number of victims he had, but now he was gonna measure it by counting the number of Earths he conquered instead," Caitlin announced.

"He doesn't want to just destroy Earth-Two — he wants to take out every other planet in the multiverse."

"How many are there?"

Harry then confirmed Juliet's worst fear. "Infinite."

Juliet sighed. Has she ever said how much she loved her life? Because her life was great, clearly.

"Yeah, well, can he do that?" Jesse asked.

"If he can create a breach to Earth-Two all on his own . . ." Joe began.

"Then he can reach all of them," Juliet finished.

"One pulse to destroy them all," Cisco voiced.

"I guess I don't have a choice," Barry admitted. "I have to race him. And I have to win."

Juliet didn't like it. In fact, she fucking hated it. She hated everything that Zoom had done, but if this was the only way that Zoom would end this entire thing, then so be it. So when Barry went down to the Particle Accelerator to run, she followed after.

"You sure you want to do this?" Juliet questioned quietly, wrapping Barry's zip-up hoodie a little tighter around herself. "Whatever you decide, I'll be right behind you. You know that."

"I have to," Barry told her. "There's no other way. Besides, he threatened to take you away. I'm not letting that happen."

She offered him a soft, sad smile. "It won't."

"Barr," Joe called, and the couple turned around to see him walking into the pipeline. "Don't race him."

"It's not that easy," Barry protested.

"Yes, it is. You just say no. We find another way to stop him, together, like we always do."

"And do what, Joe? Just sit around and wait for him to kill somebody else? Wally? Iris? You? And especially Juliet, who he said he was going to kill if I didn't accept? No. No way."

"He needs you, Barr," Joe argued. "He needs your speed again to get what he wants. We have the advantage here."

"All I have to do is beat him, Joe," Barry insisted. "That saves the multiverse, this whole city, all of you. I won't let another person I love die when I can prevent it."

"This . . . isn't just about racing Zoom, is it? You want to kill this guy."

Juliet shrugged. "To be fair, when we found out his identity, I did promise I was going to kill him. You can't exactly blame Barry for wanting to do the same."

Barry nodded. "Of course I want to kill him, Joe. I want to do a hell of a lot more than just kill him. I want him to suffer for everything that he's done. And he's going to."

Joe put his hands out in a comforting manner. "Come on, Barr. Think about what you're saying."

"I have to be willing to do whatever it takes. I'm sorry, but I'm racing him, whether you want me to or not."

"And I can't talk you out of it?" Joe inquired.

"Not this time," Barry responded.

"Then I'm sorry, too." Joe paused for a second. "To the both of you."

Juliet's eyebrows knit in confusion, only for something sharp to hit the side of her neck. She grunted in pain, stumbling back a bit. Juliet looked up, only to see Harry standing there with a tranquilizer gun. Her vision started to go blurry and she sunk to the ground, watching everything go black.

When she finally came to, her eyes slowly fluttered open, everything going into focus. She sat up a bit, trying to get a bearing of her surroundings, only to find herself in one of the Metahuman cells with Barry right next to her. Juliet looked out of the glass, only to see Joe, Iris, Harry, Caitlin, Jesse, and Cisco standing there, just watching them.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me," Juliet muttered.

"What are you doing?" Barry asked. He stood up, offering a hand to Juliet so she could stand up as well. "Why did you put us in here?"

"Because you're too angry right now," Joe replied simply. "You can't race him like that, and Jules, I don't want you to do anything stupid. Without a plan, you're — you'll lose."

"Keeping us in here is gonna get everyone killed. J and I are the only ones that can stop him, you know that."

"You race Zoom on his terms, you'll lose," Harry said.

"This is not your decision to make!" Barry exclaimed.

"It is this time," Joe stated. "We all made it together."

Juliet froze. "You all . . ." She glanced around at everyone outside the glass, her heart sinking all the way to her stomach. "That's insane."

"Bro, I want back and forth," Cisco voiced. "I was, like, a good sixty-forty at first—"

"Ramon," Harry interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah, we all made the decision."

Juliet shook her head. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall and glaring angrily out of the glass. Barry stood next to her, but was facing the wall, clearly in extreme anguish.

"Allen, St. James," Harry began. "Allen. This is for your own good."

"Considering you don't fucking know what my own good is, I'd like to disagree," Juliet stated. "Don't close that door." Her eyes went to her best friend. "Iris."

"You have to — you have to let me stop him!" Barry yelled, banging on the glass.

None of them listened. They all walked away, and the door shut, leaving the two superheroes that only wanted to save the world completely helpless.

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okay one, sorry that I've been MIA. whoopsies. and two, sorry that the chapter just ended there, but I really have nothing to go off of if she's just sitting in a box, so . . .