Chapter 16: Alchemy: Result of Change(II/III)
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"You seriously made this yourself?" Jesse asked, her hand trailing across the nearly finished suit. The slick material, the seamless mix of tech, and the black-and-silver design were mesmerizing. It truly gave meaning to the name "Black Phantom."
"Yeah, I did," Wally replied with a small smile. "And since you seem to like it, how about I make one for you?"
Without hesitation, she quickly took the offer. "I'll hold you to that," Jesse grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Okay, I'll just need to take your measurements—" The moment he finished his statement, Cisco's voice came through the comms, his tone laced with seriousness.
"Wally, Jesse, we need you in the Cortex. Now!" he said, without his usual comedic tone.
Wally and Jesse exchanged glances for a second before taking off at superspeed, appearing in the Cortex the next moment. "Did you find anything?" Wally asked, his curiosity tinged with hesitation.
"Yeah," Cisco replied, his hands trailing across the keyboard. "We got an energy reading. There's energy coming from the top of the Schultz building. That's the stone."
"Suit up, and let's go," Barry said, glancing at them. Whoosh—four streaks dashed out of the Cortex, leaving behind trails of light in their wake, the wind parting in their path.
.
.
.
A figure draped in a dark cloak with a mask covering his face held a stone radiating immense, unknown energy. Behind him, cloaked figures bowed their heads, as though awaiting an inevitable reckoning. The air crackled with anticipation.
Alchemy stepped forward, extending his hand toward a massive, spherical structure looming in the distance. "With the energy of this stone and the building as my refractor, I shall restore the powers of all metas from Flashpoint... they will serve Savitar."
The silence that followed was shattered by the arrival of four streaks of lightning. Three came to an abrupt halt, but the fourth, a streak of blue, refused to slow down. Wally wasn't like Barry—he wasn't interested in words when the stakes were this high.
Without hesitation, Wally extended his arm, gathering the crackling lightning that surged through him. With a swift motion, he hurled the accumulated energy straight at Alchemy and the acolytes surrounding him.
The blast was about to hit the mark, engulfing the cloaked figures in a storm of electricity. Wally was ready to believe the threat had been neutralized when a flash of light blue lightning, eerily similar to his own, struck from nowhere. In an instant, Savitar appeared, absorbing the energy Wally had unleashed and sending it back with double the force.
"Shit," he thought subconsciously. Wally barely dodged, sidestepping the attack as sweat trickled down his brow. His heart raced, fear settling into his gut.
A deafening boom rang out as energy collided behind him. Wally turned to see the impact.
"Jesse!" he called out. She had dropped her guard, and before she could react, the bolt of lightning had already hit her, sending her flying and knocking her unconscious.
In that moment of distraction, Savitar was already upon him, a blade glinting metallically in the corner of his eye. Wally, caught off guard, suddenly glimpsed the future—a few seconds ahead.
Panicked, he quickly phased against the incoming attack, allowing it to pass effortlessly through him. However, for a second, he didn't think he was safe. Knowing a speedster could counterphase and nullify phasing, and sensing Savitar's intent to kill, Wally knew he had to create distance between them.
Luckily, Jay and Barry reacted this time, shaking off the surprise of Savitar's appearance. They dashed toward him, with Jay in the lead, first to receive the brunt of the attacks.
Savitar, switching his attention to Jay, grabbed him by the throat before vanishing, pulling Jay through the Speed Force and abandoning him on the other side of the planet.
"This is not your fight, Garrick! Stay out of it," Savitar growled before returning to the scene in another flash of light, just as Barry was charging toward Alchemy, aiming to disarm him.
Savitar slammed into Barry, sending him flying. "You cannot stop me, Flash."
Wally and Barry were at a standstill, their gaze shifting between Savitar and Alchemy. Barry impatiently ran toward Alchemy in an attempt to stop him, but Savitar, having been in the Speed Force for so long, was faster. Barry was knocked off his feet before he could get close to Alchemy, but he had inadvertently given Wally a chance to attack.
He took that chance, running toward Alchemy without holding back. He couldn't allow metahumans from Flashpoint to be reborn. It would only increase the dangers he would face in his world.
With one step, he burst through the limits of Mach 10, supercharging his body with Speed Force energy. However, just before he could reach Alchemy, his life once again flashed before his eyes as future sight activated. This time, phasing wouldn't save him. "He's really planning to kill me," Wally thought, confirming his suspicion. "Did I offend him in the future?"
Having seen a few seconds into the future, he immediately abandoned his plan to disarm Alchemy. Savitar was heading straight for him. But his speed and reaction were boosted beyond his current limits, narrowly allowing him to dodge the stab. Wally leaped back in caution.
Savitar attacked relentlessly, his movements a blur of speed that would challenge any speedster. Wally's future sight and instincts kept him alive, but even with his reactions enhanced by Speed Force energy, it felt like he was one misstep away from being caught. Every move he made was fueled by the knowledge that Savitar's speed was unlike anything he'd ever faced.
This time was enough for Alchemy to proceed with his mission. The Philosopher's Stone shone even brighter, the blue beam thickening as it began altering reality permanently.
A beam of light shot into the sky, piercing through the clouds and tinting them with an eerie blue glow. "Behold!" Alchemy proclaimed, his voice echoing. "Watch as the children of Savitar are born!"
Wally, noticing this event, was quickly brought back to attention by Savitar's relentless attacks, but eventually, Savitar's superior speed began to wane. Noticing this, Wally quickly deduced that Savitar was expending energy to remain in this plane. Even though he was using the Philosopher's Stone to anchor himself, he also had to expend energy in compensation.
However, even if Savitar were pulled back into the Speed Force at this moment, it would already be too late. The Philosopher's Stone had already begun its action.
Barry, finally recovering enough from the damage done by Savitar, quickly took the chance to throw a bolt of lightning at Alchemy, immediately knocking him out.
At this moment, Wally and Savitar were racing across the city at breathtaking speeds. Savitar was gaining ground, his lightning crackling in an intimidating shade of blue. The sky above them, painted with the glowing light from the Philosopher's Stone, seemed to charge the air with more energy.
Wally gritted his teeth, pushing his limits beyond anything he had done before. He could feel the Speed Force raging through him, his entire being vibrating with power, but still, Savitar was inching closer.
As they weaved through the city, the buildings around them became nothing more than streaks of light. Wally knew he couldn't keep up with Savitar forever like this.
His future sight activated again. He saw Savitar ahead, preparing for a strike that would throw him through the side of a building, potentially taking him out of the fight. But that wasn't all he saw. Wally saw an opportunity.
He shifted his pace just as Savitar lunged for him, dodging the anticipated blow with barely an inch to spare. This time, he didn't just avoid the attack—he countered.
Two speed clones immediately appeared, incapacitating Savitar by holding two of his hands. Though the clones wouldn't be able to do much in the fight, the tenth-of-a-second gap they could provide gave Wally a chance.
With a vibrating hand, he aimed to phase through the defense of the suit and end the pretender hidden in it. But just as he had predicted, Savitar quickly retreated to the safety of the Speed Force before once again reappearing.
"You cannot defeat me, Wallace. Just as you cannot stop my ascension... You may have escaped your fate, but it has done nothing to hinder my plans. I will escape."
At this moment, Barry finally took the Philosopher's Stone from the unconscious Alchemy, who he now found out was Julian, his British senior CSI. Afterwards he safely put the stone into the box which caused Savitar to be pulled back into the Speed Force ending the confrontation.
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