⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
juliet saves the day

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

JULIET PLACED HER hands on the back of the chair that Barry was sitting on, watching the news. The police were currently investigating the girl that had taken the cell phone video of Tar Pit — who Juliet hoped was still a sludgy mess on the street.

"Hey," Joe announced, and Juliet turned to see him walking into the cortex. "I ran background checks on everyone involved in this Tar Pit mess, came up empty. I mean, they all have records, but they're sealed, so I can't read them."

"Well, that's 'cause you're bound by ethics, Detective West," Cisco replied.

"How many felonies are we committing breaking into sealed court records?"

"Eh, three or four. Nope, five."

"Oh, great," Juliet commented. "I love being a felonist."

Barry watched as the records got pulled up on the screen. "Well, they were sealed because the records are all juvenile offenses."

"They weren't arrested together," Joe stated.

"No, but look at this," Cisco said. "They served in the same juvenile detention facility. Actually, Monteleone and victim one were bunkmates."

"Who do we have shacked up with vic two?" Barry asked.

Another police mugshot showed up on the screen. Juliet's eyes widened and she straightened up, her hands falling back down to her side. That was the guy her and Iris saw yesterday — the leader of the drag races.

"Bronwen, comma, Clark," Cisco read. "Good luck finding him. He has a ton of addresses and I can't seem to find anything current. I'll run his picture through facial recognition."

"You don't have to," Juliet voiced.

Barry looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"Because I've seen him."

He stared at her in confusion. "You've seen him?"

"Jules is right, that won't be necessary," Iris cut in, walking into the room. "In this case, we are facial recognition. We know exactly where we can find that guy, and, dad, you are not gonna like how."

"Okay, you two can tell me about it on the way," Joe responded. He then saw the contraption that Harry was holding. "What is that?"

"Breach implosion reactor," Harry answered.

"Sorry I asked."

Iris nodded her head. "Jules?"

"Coming," Juliet confirmed. She looked up at Barry. "Have fun closing the breach."

"I'm sure I will," Barry replied. He leaned down and kissed her quickly — short, but it got the point across. "I love you."

Juliet gave him a small smile before grabbing her jacket. "I love you more. Call me if you need anything."

She followed after Joe and Iris. Joe brought them to his car and started to drive them where the drag races were held, basing it off of directions the two gave him. On the way, Iris basically told the whole story about Wally and his drag racing, Juliet chiming in from time to time. Iris had also revealed she went after Bronwen himself, which was incredibly dangerous but she was just trying to protect Wally.

After a while, Joe parked outside. A crowd was already starting to form, and rap music was blasting throughout the area. Juliet got out of the backseat, tucking her hands into her pockets. She felt a little underdressed now, considering the outfit she had worn the previous night was much more revealing than her jeans and sweater now.

"Welcome to the wrong side of the wrong side of the tracks," Iris told Joe.

"So where's Clark?" Joe questioned.

Juliet nodded his head to him, where he was standing by a red car. "Over there."

"Oh." Joe then pointed to one of the cars. "There's Wally."

"Now, if our fly flag girl can step up, we're ready to begin," Bronwen announced.

The girl stepped in front of the cars. She raised her hand in the air, and after a second, she brought her hand down. At once, Wally and the other guy took off fast, their tires screeching behind them. However, Wally's car started to rock on the road. Juliet's eyebrows knit in confusion — bumps started to appear out of nowhere.

"What the . . . ?" Joe began.

Juliet's eyes then widened. The asphalt rose up right in front of Wally.

"Tar Pit," Juliet breathed out. She tapped on Iris' shoulder. "Call Barry for me, would you?"

She immediately turned and pushed her way through the crowd, running off into the nearby building so no one would see her. Juliet instantly teleported back to S.T.A.R. Labs and into her suit before teleporting back to where the drag races were.

Juliet landed in front of the crowd, staring up ahead. Wally's car was driving straight up the asphalt Tar Pit had made lift up, his car practically going upside down. Without a second thought in her mind, Juliet teleported into the passenger seat of the car — being upside down was not fun by the way, grabbed onto Wally's shoulder, and teleported him back outside by the crowd.

The crowd started to run away, but Bronwen fell. Wally's car fell from the sky, heading right towards him. At once, Barry's yellow lightning sped him and grabbed Bronwen right before the car crashed right into the ground. The car flipped over, and glass shattered everywhere. Juliet watched as an extremely sharp shard of glass headed towards Iris. Barry was chasing after it, but it was clear to Juliet that he wouldn't make it in time.

Juliet reached out her hand, her mind connecting to the shard of glass. At once, before it could hit her, Juliet stopped it. The shard of glass was practically touching Iris' shoulder, its sharp edge hitting the fabric of her tan jacket. Iris gasped and stumbled back a bit.

She breathed heavily, looking at Iris with her eyes wide and wild. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you," Iris breathed out.

Barry skidded to a stop next to Juliet. "I didn't make it in time. Why didn't I make it in time?"

"I don't know," Juliet responded truthfully. Barry should've made it — he was always fast enough, so what was different? "Scarlet's got it, though."

Joe gathered Iris in his arms. "Oh my God, baby, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Iris voiced.

Joe then took Iris home so she could stay out of harm's way, bringing Wally with them. Juliet and Barry went back to S.T.A.R. Labs, and Juliet got back into her regular clothes. She slowly walked up to Barry, who was staring at his suit on the mannequin in thought. Juliet frowned a little — she knew Barry was beating himself up over not making it to Iris in time, even though she was okay.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get him," Cisco added.

Barry snapped out of it. "I'm sorry, dude. What?"

"Tar Pit. You shouldn't worry. We're gonna get him with these." Cisco scrambled to catch whatever Harry threw at him, staring at him incredulously. "With these nitrous grenades. Each of these has ten times the concentration of a hot rod's nitrous tank and is triggered by extreme heat. We're talking six-hundred-and-fifty degrees. That's the boiling point of asphalt, so one of these puppies makes contact, you got a Tar Pit popsicle for dessert."

Juliet scrunched her nose a bit. "Ew."

Barry nodded. "All right, that's great. Um . . . hey, look, I think that maybe you were right. I felt slower tonight. You know, not by much, but enough. Do you think that there's something wrong with the suit, maybe?"

"It's unlikely," Harry interjected.

"The readings from the suit are normal," Cisco agreed. "You know I take care of that thing."

"Yeah, what, am I sick?" Barry inquired.

"I don't know, dude. Feel any different?"

Barry shook his head. "No, not really. I mean, I know that I'm slower in the moment, but I — I can't tell by how much."

"Two percent," Caitlin revealed, walking up to them with a tablet. "Tests on the components in your blood show the Speed Force at a hundred percent for the last sixty days until today, it dropped to ninety-eight."

"Zoom stole Jay's speed," Cisco stated. "Do you think maybe, during your fight with Zoom, yours might have diminished?"

"That was weeks ago, though," Juliet insisted. "He couldn't just be feeling those effects now. And Harry said that Zoom wanted to get my powers, too, but I don't feel any different. I think this is something different."

Barry looked at Harry. "Dr. Wells?"

Harry turned to them. "Yeah."

"You've studied the Speed Force more than anyone. What do you think could have happened?"

"It could be any number of things."

Barry sighed. "Yeah. All right. I just looked, I mean, Iris could have died tonight if it wasn't for Juliet."

Juliet put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, she's fine, though. I mean, she's a little shaken up, but you know her. She's strong."

"You know, this time, but what if one time you're not there and she gets hurt? I wasn't fast enough to protect Iris just from some Metahuman tonight. When Zoom attacks again, I — I need all of my speed and then some. I can't lose anyone else."

"You won't," Harry protested, standing up and looking at them strongly. "I did it."

Barry blinked. "What?"

Harry walked up to Barry's suit and pulled off his Flash symbol, revealing a small device on it that was glowing blue. Juliet's heart pounded against her chest and her mind started to spin.

"Woah, woah, woah, what is that?" Cisco asked.

Harry tossed it to him before walking towards Barry. "I stole your speed. I gave it to Zoom."

Barry stumbled back a bit, disbelief written all over his face. "No, no, no, this isn't . . . what — you're working with Zoom?"

"No, not at first."

"We trusted you. I trusted you!"

"Barry, hold on," Juliet breathed out, trying to calm her mind. "There's only one reason Harry would work with Zoom, just think — oh my God!"

She was ultimately cut off from her train of thought by Joe, who had apparently just arrived, walking up to Harry and punching him right across the face. Harry fell to the ground and Joe climbed on top of him, ready to beat him up more.

"Joe, stop!" Caitlin exclaimed.

He pulled Harry up from the ground and dragged him out of the cortex. Juliet watched him go for a moment before following after him in curiosity. Joe brought Harry all the way downstairs and practically threw him in one of the Metahuman cells.

"Why'd you put him in there?"

"Because if I didn't, I would've killed him," Joe answered. "Let's go find this tar freak."

Juliet crossed her arms across her chest. "You shouldn't have put him in there." She turned to the screen, but it was being blocked by Barry. "Barry, move."

"No," Barry insisted, staring at his girlfriend incredulously.

"Move, or I swear to God, I'll move you myself."

Joe whirled around to face her, his eyes blazing with anger. "What are you talking about? He stole Barry's speed! Why are you protecting him?"

"Because he's protecting his daughter!" Juliet shouted, her voice ringing throughout the pipeline.

"Jules—" Barry began.

Juliet glared at him, her eyes turning red. "Do not fucking call me Jules. By the way, you still haven't moved, and my patience is wearing thin."

"You're not thinking rationally," Joe stated.

Juliet scoffed. "No, you're not thinking rationally. Joe, look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn't have done the same damn thing if it was Iris." Juliet watched him, but Joe didn't say a word. "Yeah, exactly. Am I angry? Hell fucking yeah. Could Harry have talked to us about it? Hell fucking yeah. But you're acting on blind rage and haven't stopped for even a second to think why Harry would do something like this. So fucking excuse me for trying to see his side of things."

Barry ran his hand across his face. "Juliet—"

"Go catch Tar Pit without me," Juliet demanded, crossing her arms. "I'm staying here."

"Juliet, come on—"

"No."

Joe breathed heavily. "If you let him out of the cell—"

"Fine, I won't let him out of the fucking cell," Juliet snapped. "Just go, okay?"

He stared at her for a moment before turning around and walking away. Caitlin and Cisco followed after him. Barry, however, lingered.

Juliet nodded her head towards the entrance. "Get out, Barry."

As much as it hurt her to say it, she had to. Barry looked at her, sadness flashing in his eyes, before following the others. Juliet let out a deep breath and turned towards Harry, crossing her arms.

"How bad was the punch?" Juliet questioned.

Harry shifted on the ground so he was sitting against the wall. "It wasn't too bad."

"If you need anything, let me know," Juliet offered.

With that, she turned away — even more concern filling her heart for Jesse, because with Harry in there, it meant no one was actively trying to save her. Now, it was up to Juliet to do something about it.

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

IT WAS THE next day, and Juliet, once again, found herself back in the pipeline. Barry and Joe were there because they wanted to talk to Harry, which basically meant they wanted him to make him feel as guilty as possible. Juliet was there, ever the protector for Harry, ready to tell the others to shut the fuck up when it eventually came down to it. Barry had indeed stopped Tar Pit without her, but Juliet hadn't talked to him since last night.

"You know, it's ironic," Barry began. "I was just saying how much you remind me of the old Wells, and now, here we are, just like I did with him, standing on either side of this glass with me asking you why?"

"I'm doing what I have to do to save my daughter," Harry answered.

"Yeah, at any cost, right? The cost of Joe's daughter."

"Iris is fine," Juliet interrupted swiftly. "In case you haven't forgotten, I saved her."

"I told you I would betray you," Harry continued. "I told you I would have to choose."

"You chose wrong," Joe responded.

"No, he didn't," Juliet said, glaring over at him.

"Really, did I?" Harry countered. "Because I just sacrificed my daughter. Because I just sentenced my daughter to death to save your son and your other daughter."

"You want a pat on the back?" Joe asked.

Juliet stared at him incredulously. "Where the fuck is your sympathy? Are you being for real right now?"

"J—" Barry tried to interrupt.

She held up a hand to stop him. "No." Juliet's gaze hardened. "Joe, you know I love you, but you're acting like a real fucking asshole right now." She slowly looked back towards Harry, her eyes softening. "What can we do?"

"I want you to send me home," Harry admitted. "Send me back to Earth-Two. Think about it. Zoom wants you to get faster. He wants you to have more Speed Force in you for when he finally takes it. Send me back, use the implosion reactor to shut down the breach. Shut down all the breaches. Close them all and Zoom will never be able to cross over ever again, and that'll be the end of it."

"What about your daughter?" Barry questioned.

"Jesse's my battle to fight, not yours."

Barry looked back at Joe. His eyes caught on Juliet's for a moment, who merely raised an eyebrow. He let out a sigh and left the pipeline with Joe,

Juliet frowned. "Harry, I can't just leave you to do this on your own. Take me with you, I'll help"

"You've done more than enough for me, Juliet," Harry told her. "Just . . . go discuss with them."

Juliet's frown only deepened, but she listened to him. She went back upstairs to the cortex. Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe were standing behind the desk of computers while Barry was in front of the mannequin, staring pensively at his suit. Juliet leaned against the wall, keeping her distance slightly.

Caitlin pulled up two images of Barry's DNA, showing his normal one and the damaged one. "This is a sample of Barry's cells after whatever Harry did to them. As you can see, not only is it drained of the Speed Force, but it's also presenting itself as chromosomal damage. If Harry kept doing what he was doing, he could have taken your powers permanently."

"Even evil Wells couldn't figure out how to do that one," Cisco replied.

"Well, look, somebody better send his ass back to where he came from, or I'm gonna shoot him," Joe said.

"Amen."

"No," Barry interjected strongly.

Juliet looked over at him hopefully. He caught her eyes — this time, instead of sadness, there was determination. Barry waved her over. Juliet pushed herself off of the wall and walked up to him. He extended his arm, and Juliet tucked herself into his side. Barry leaned down and kissed the top of her head gently.

Joe blinked at him. "What do you mean, no?"

"Juliet's right," Barry revealed. "What would we have done if we were in his position? I mean, what would you do if it was Iris, Joe? And Cisco, when Snart kidnapped you, threatened to kill your brother unless you helped, you did, and none of us judged you for that. We still don't because when it comes to family, when it comes to the people that we all love, we're all vulnerable. None of us are above making a wrong decision. He could have done it. He could have stolen my speed, gotten away with it, and none of us would have even known. But he didn't, and now his daughter's gonna die and we're — we're okay with that? I can't just give up on her. I — I can't give up on a world. This is a world full of people who are facing death. I don't know, I may not be fast enough to beat Zoom yet, but I — I'm not gonna just close the breaches and forget about it. We have to help Wells. Look, guys, I . . . I was the one that trusted him first. I own that. I let him stay when literally all of you besides Juliet told me not to, so everything that's happened up until this point, it's on me, but this has to be a group decision."

Juliet pressed up onto her toes and kissed his cheek. "Well, you know I'm already in."

Barry looked down at her. "I'm sorry. I should've listened to you."

"Yeah, you should've. I'm just glad I knocked some sense into you." She gave him a tiny grin. "It'll just be another reminder of how I'm always right."

Miraculously, Caitlin, Cisco, and even Joe had agreed to it as well. They all went back down to the pipeline, where Harry's cell was still front and center. Barry touched the screen, making his cell open.

"Come on," Barry urged.

Harry stepped out and looked at all of them. "Well . . . I guess this is goodbye."

"No, it's not. I told you, we're a team. Now you're a part of it. We're gonna help you save Jesse. We're not sending you through alone."

Juliet smiled at Harry. "Ready to go to Earth-Two?"

〖 ϟ 〗

bruh joe was pissing me off so bad here