EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME TWO
━━ ❛ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ❜

chapter no. 038!

     DID SHE KNOW WHERE SHE WAS HEADING? No.

     Did it matter? Not really.

     The sound of bare feet hitting gravel softly echoed in the night. Arms were wrapped around her torso as she attempted to keep herself warm. The hair on her legs was sticking straight up as she was beginning to regret storming out of the apartment.

     Even though she had lived in Central City for over a year before, she still managed to forget how cold it got in October.

     White puffs of air fell from her lips as she shivered, a mess of damp curly hair flowing behind her. The cold licked at her face and crept under her clothes, spreading across her skin like the lacy tide on a frigid winter beach. With pale pink lips that were cracking, she sighed heavily, watching as a flood of fog fell upon her.

     There was hardly a soul in sight, seeing as it was a little over midnight.

     Never before had the woman ever seen the streets of Central City so deserted. No cars, buses, bikes, scooters, or skateboards were in use and not a sign of human life, except for her. The only light source in the lonely night was the streetlamps, illuminating the sidewalks with a dusty yellow color.

     Casting her chocolate-brown eyes across the street, she slowed down her pace, her gaze locked on a tree in the middle of Central City Square. Without looking both ways, Piper made her way across the street. Crossing from the dry sidewalk to the frozen grass, she barely noticed that the coldness that had been clinging to her had disappeared.

     As she walked around an old oak bench, a strong sense of déjà-vu crept over her.

     Breathing in through her nose sharply, she projected streaks of purple lightning from her fingertips, using them to grab hold of Athena and slam her into a bench.

     "Everyone needs to leave! Right now!" she ordered loudly, using the lightning to hold the woman in place as people ran in every direction, ducking as lamp-posts fell.

     Earth-Four was crumbling to bits and pieces all around the two. Piper needed to end this now.

     Looking up, the memory that haunted her dreams faded from view, leaving her gaze resting on a bundle of leaves. A gust of wind curled around a tree trunk and crawled over to the redhead, dusting her over before a voice spoke.

     "Piper."

     Of course, he came after me.

     Dread filled her lungs as she breathed in, letting a shaky sigh tumble from her lips before she turned around. Clover-green met the familiar sight of warm, chocolate brown, and he felt his shoulders drop in height. It took all the willpower she had left to keep herself from smiling at the sight of him.

     "Barry," she greeted hoarsely, licking her lips as another shiver trickled down her back.

     She hated this. Being upset with him. Fighting. She hated all of it.

     The scarlet speedster was the only person she felt safe with. The only person who could make her smile and laugh when times were at their worst. He was the person she wanted to spend every moment of her life left with. He was the man she fell in love with and continued to fall in love with, more and more every day. Fighting or arguing with him was gut-wrenching, and she couldn't stand it, knowing that all it was doing was hurting both of them.

     Noticing how tightly her arms were secured around her torso and how her body was shivering, Barry quickly unbuttoned his navy blue flannel. Piper's eyebrows rose, and her eyes grew wide. Shrugging off the top, he didn't hesitate to walk over to the freezing woman. Pulling the button-up around her, he rested it on her shoulders, watching as she slowly slid her arms into the sleeves.

     "I'm sorry," he whispered, holding himself back from spewing out a million different versions of an apology that he'd come up with while looking for her.

     If he was being honest, there was no perfect apology that he could give her. No apology could make up for what he, and the team, had pulled on her. Especially after the day that she'd already had.

     Piper pulled the flannel around her tightly, and she breathed in his scent, smiling lightly. Raising her eyes, she met the guilty and sorrowful gaze of Barry Allen.

     "I don't like fighting," she admitted, "and I really don't like what you pulled back there."

     He nodded. "I shouldn't have done what Harry asked me to do. I shouldn't have pushed when I already knew not to, and I'm sorry. Piper, I'm really sorry." Barry apologized, his voice cracking.

     Looking between his eyes, she frowned. He would never understand why she needed time, at least not fully, unless she told him something. Gave him something to grasp.

     "Everything in the universe keeps reminding me that I'm not the same person, the same Piper that everyone cares about. I'm someone else. A person I don't, and never want to, recognize," she whispered, looking down to the ground, noticing that her feet were covered in green frost. "I told Damon that I would let everyone in, especially you, but I haven't stuck to my word because if I do, I feel like I might lose you. Lose everyone I care about. And that's the last thing I want.

     "But how am I supposed to talk to anyone about what I did, what happened, what Savitar means to me, and what is continuously happening here when I can't even think nor talk about it with myself? How? It's not possible. At least not right now. Processing everything that has happened is really, really hard for me, and I don't know how else to explain or ask for more time. It's only been two weeks since I came back to life and decided to stay. Two weeks isn't enough time. It just isn't." Piper breathed, her eyes now connected with Barry's and blurred with cold tears.

     "You don't have to go through this alone," Barry whispered, his thoughts escaping his brain and translating into words as he spoke. With somber eyes, he watched as the redhead just shook her head.

     "Yes, I do because, at the end of the day, I'm the only one who has to live with the fact that I killed my childhood best friend. I'm the only person that has to live with that guilt and pain. I'm the only person that won't ever leave my side if they know the truth. I'm the only person that I will allow to shoulder my mistakes and burdens. At the end of the day, I'm the only person I have left, and that has to be enough because if just having myself isn't, then what else do I have left?"

     Her words echoed in the vastness of Central City Square, the milky darkness of the midnight sky casting down as the two stared at one another.

     Barry understood everything she was saying. He understood where she was coming from— that place of guilt and consuming sorrow. It was taking everything in him not to blurt out and say, "But you have me," when he knew that the words she was speaking were true, to some extent.

     At the end of the day, the only person anyone really ever has is themselves.

     They were the person they went to bed with at night and woke up with in the morning. The person who was always there for them when they were crying silently, praying no one would hear them. They were always there, and that would never change.

     "I care about you so much, and I'd do anything for you, Barry," Piper whispered, feeling her hands begin to shake as a familiar wave of déjà-vu floated over her like a cloud again. "But please, don't make me do this. Don't ask me to answer any questions because I won't. I need time, and I'm not asking any of you to respect my decision. It's either you do, or you don't."

     Barry nodded softly, his eyes darting between hers, which were a mixture of chocolate-brown and a dark, hollow brown. He could tell she was hurt and frustrated by how her lips were pressed together, and the corner of her eyes was narrowed. It was obvious to him that she needed time, and he would give it to her. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her.

     He was always on her side, and it would stay that way.

     "I care about you more than I care about my own life, and I'm going to give you all the time you need. Just know that not everyone is going to respect your decision." Barry spoke softly. Piper nodded, knowing that he was right.

     Then, a beam of ultra-blue light came flying into the redhead, striking the left side of her body and sending her flying through the air. Every part of her felt as if it were on fire as she tumbled onto the ground, rolling in the grass until she managed to stop herself, groaning as she felt her head hit the tree trunk.

     "Piper!" Barry shouted, immediately speeding over to her.

     Rolling onto her side, she looked across the yard to where she was previously standing and froze once her eyes landed on a figure in a dark cloak. At the sight, a rush of panic and fear ran down her spine, and she felt all the color drain from her body.

     "Are you okay?" the brown-haired man asked, extending his hand down to her.

     "Barry, you need to leave," she whispered, terrified of what would happen if the scarlet speedster stayed.

     "What?" he questioned, his brows furrowing.

     "You need to leave," Piper ordered, her voice strong and firm voice.

     Noticing that she was staring at something, Barry turned his head, automatically recognizing the figure as Dr. Alchemy. Before he could open his mouth, a flash of red lightning dashed towards them, grabbing onto Barry and pinning him against a tree.

     "No!" Piper stood up, but before she could move, bands of white light circled around her, holding her tightly.

     "Piper Lita," Dr. Alchemy jeered, his voice echoing in the darkness as he grew closer. "Have you reconsidered our offer?"

     Piper froze, her eyes rising to meet the daunting reflection of the man's mask. "What offer?" she asked hesitantly, wincing as she felt the white bands burning the sides of her arms.

     "The offer for you to join us! You didn't truly think he would forget about that, did you?" the Rival shouted from behind her, where he was pinning Barry against a tree.

     The redhead squeezed her eyes shut, knowing exactly what offer it was they were referring to.

     "This is the last time we'll be offering it. You know the consequences of what will come if you reject it. Join the revolution, and you'll be rewarded with gaining your speed back. Reject it again, and you will witness the repercussions of your decision. What'll it be?" Dr. Alchemy asked, tilting his head to the side.

     She didn't know what to do. On one hand, if she said yes, she would get her speed back, which she missed more than she had admitted, and she would save the city from Savitar's acolytes while betraying her only friends in the process. On the other, if she said no, she would remain powerless and subject the citizens of Central City to the torment and chaos that Savitar and his followers would bring.

     There was no answer she could give. She didn't want to say yes or no. She just wanted everything to stop. The number of flashbacks, panic attacks, PTSD, anger, sadness, and fear were all piling on top of the other, adding more pressure to the already splintering cracks in her heart. The thousands of bruises and small injuries led to something more than just a few bigger ones. Her breaking point, the point of absolutely no return, was coming.

     Piper could feel it coming— the calm before the storm.

     "I can see the gears shifting in your mind, Piper." Dr. Alchemy whispered, only a few feet away, "and I know that you know that there are more pros than cons when it comes to which choice is the most obvious. If you say yes, this can all be over."

     "Liar. This will never be over unless all of you die. You know that just as well as I do," the redhead hissed, her eyes fading to the familiar dark-brown hollowness.

     "You're right. It'll never be over, but the suffering that you are enduring every day will. Everyone has a breaking point to which they snap. So, let me ask you this: where's yours? How much more can you take?" Dr. Alchemy questioned.

     Barry grunted as he struggled against the grip of the speedster in front of him, continuously darting his eyes between Piper and Dr. Alchemy, listening in as much as he could.

     Narrowing her eyes, Piper pressed her lips together. "Depends on what you mean by snap," she replied, trying not to wince as the burning against her arms only intensified.

     "There are three ways in which someone can snap. First, physically, where one's body breaks down, nothing more is possible. They become ruthless and violent in their actions, never knowing when to stop or where the line is. Second, emotionally, where the heartbreaks and thoughts of happiness end. The heart is torn to shreds, and all the color in the world disappears. Lastly, there's the soul, where everything else— every failure, mistake, laugh, smile, joke, memory, hug, kiss, heartbreak, and morality, ceases to matter. So, I'll ask you again, where's your breaking point? Have you hit all three birds with one stone, or did the birds never exist? Have you been at your breaking point this whole time?" Dr. Alchemy questioned, watching with a hidden smirk as the trapped woman in front of him blanched, all of her walls crumbling to the ground.

     Did I already hit all three birds? Or were they never there?

     Piper frowned, her brows furrowed as his questions sunk in.

     "Hey! I think it's "kill two birds with one stone," not "hit all three birds with one stone," Barry shouted, groaning as the Rival kneed him in the chest.

     Reluctantly, meeting the gaze of the bone-structured mask, Piper allowed the buried rage to surface. "I don't answer to you," she finally hissed, clenching her fists together tightly.

     A low and malicious chuckle echoed around the Square, and Dr. Alchemy shook his head in disapproval. "Maybe not now, but you will," he foreshadowed, pointing his glove-covered hand at her.

     The bands of white light vanished, and Piper and Barry were blinded by a bright, white light. Collapsing to the ground, Piper groaned.

     He's coming for me. Savitar wants me back.