EXPEDITE ▇▇▇▇ VOLUME TWO
━━ ❛ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 ❜

chapter no. 050!

     "SO, YOU'RE SAYING THAT IF WE DON'T TURN TRACY OVER TO EFFICACY..." Joe began slowly, his gaze trailing over to his daughter and Erin.

     Iris sighed. "She's gonna hurt Caitlin, or worse."

     The Cortex was filled with a tense silence; the only sound that could be heard was the pacing of footsteps and keyboard keys clicking at an accelerated rate.

     Barry paced back and forth in a jagged line, his arms crossed tightly while his lips were pressed together. "Barr— we'll find them," Joe reassured the speedster for the sixth time, feeling only more helpless as his son grew more uneasy by the second.

     Instead of processing the detective's words, the brown-haired man continued to pace, breathing shakily. A million different thoughts and scenarios were playing in his mind, each as likely to happen as the next.

     "Correct me if I'm wrong," Harry spoke, sliding his glasses on, "but Tracy Brand is our key to stopping Savitar, right?"

     The keyboard keys clicking stopped, and Cisco looked up from the monitor in front of him. "Yeah, but what are we gonna do? We gonna just let Efficacy live up to her Earth-Two reputation and kill Caitlin?"

     Harry sighed.

     "Not if I have anything to say about it," Barry interjected, looking up from his fixated stare on the floor.

     Erin sighed, rolling her eyes. "Listen, idiots. We need to do whatever it takes to save Caitlin." Iris nodded in agreement.

     Barry nodded. "No one's gonna die, alright? We're gonna get her back. I promise." His pacing had ended as he joined Joe's side, crossing his arms across his chest. He needed her back, he knew that, but he also knew that he had to do his job as a hero and find a strategic way to save both his friend and an innocent woman.

     Despite his feelings for the black and red-haired woman, he needed to do what was expected of him and what he knew was right. Abiding and acting on his emotions would only make things worse. It was time to push aside his feelings and step up. Be the hero everyone knew him to be.

     Cisco ran a hand over his face as he continued to press down on the space bar, using the satellite to look over the city, searching for any sign of the two missing women.

     Right as Harry was about to open his mouth and say something, a phone chimed, cutting the scientist off, and Iris pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

     Everyone watched with assiduous eyes as the reporter blanched, her eyes scanning over the new text message. "It's her," she muttered, referring to Efficacy. "They're at the old Dressler Factory."

     "Okay, we know where they are," Cisco started, pushing up from his chair and walking around the circle of computers to join the others. "That's something."

     Glancing back to her phone screen, Iris sighed wearily as she reached up to rub her temple. She was still shaken up by the fact that Efficacy had casually shown up at her and Erin's house and taken Caitlin so casually. There was not a moment of hesitancy when she took the brunette. She was calm and collected. A blank slate, in a sense.

     It was terrifying. Seeing Piper like that.

     Portraying the villainous woman that her doppelgänger was on Earth-Two.

     If it was that seemingly easy for the scarlet archer to take Caitlin, what else was she capable of? How far would she go to hurt the team if she needed to? She'd already shot both Harry and Barry. Who was next? Erin? Joe? Cisco? Her? Iris didn't have any answers, and it terrified her.

     Any of them could be next if Savitar or Efficacy wanted them to be.

     "All right. We roll out in ten minutes," Barry announced, and Iris looked up. Darting her eyes in between the speedster and Joe, she watched as they shared looks of hesitancy. They were feeling as apprehensive about this as she was.

     This was Piper and Caitlin that they were talking about. The two women meant a great deal to all of them. Without them, the team would fall apart. They needed both of them.

     Harry nodded and walked out of the Cortex, going to get ready to leave, and Iris felt a tug on her arm. Turning her head, she was met with the endearing gaze of her girlfriend.

     "Everything's going to be fine, okay?" Erin murmured, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen loose from Iris's ponytail behind her ear. The latter nodded weakly before she wrapped her arms around Erin, burying her head into the crook of her neck.

     A small smile graced Barry's lips as he watched the two embrace. They were happy together and seeing them lean on each other the way they had these past few weeks was beautiful. They were each other's support systems.

     Never before had Barry ever seen a more pure and healthy relationship. Erin and Iris had it all, and it only made the longing he held in his heart grow that much stronger. He wanted what they had with Piper, but he waited too long. She'd slipped through his fingers like quicksand.

     If only he'd told her how he felt months ago.

     If only he'd gotten Cisco to breach him over to Earth-Four and bring her back home, maybe none of this would be happening. She would never have died and been turned into Efficacy by Savitar. If only he wasn't so stupid to let her go so easily.

     He should've fought to bring her home months ago. He should've fought for her harder weeks ago during their argument. He should've told her he was in love with her then. He should've fought harder today when he saw her. He should've fought harder in general, but he didn't, and here he was. Alone and heartbroken, again.

     It was his fault.

     Looking over at the brown-haired man, Cisco followed his focused gaze to discover that it was on Erin and Iris. Frowning, he let out a quiet breath. "Hey," he spoke gently, nudging Barry once he'd made his way over to him. Barry blinked, turning his head to see that Cisco was standing beside him. "We need to talk."

     Barry nodded and followed Cisco out of the Cortex and down the hall toward his workshop.

     The moment they entered the workshop, the long-haired boy spun on his heel, crossing his arms as he stared blankly at the speedster. "Look," Cisco started, "I know we haven't been meeting eye-to-eye a lot recently, and we both miss her, but I need to know before we leave. Are you planning on hurting her?"

     Furrowing his brows, Barry frowned. "What're you talking about?"

     "Piper, Efficacy, whatever you wanna call her. If things go South, which they probably will, are you going to actually fight back?" Cisco clarified, raising his brows.

     Barry sighed. "If need be, I will. Are you?"

     Blinking, the long-haired boy looked taken aback for a moment. "What's that supposed to mean?"

     "It means exactly what I asked. Are you? 'Cause I'm not the one who froze up when we saw her earlier," the speedster pointed out, crossing his arms. Cisco glanced away. "I know you're scared of what will happen if we don't save her, but we will. You heard the plan. We're coming home with Caitlin, Efficacy, and Tracy tonight, all right? We have to fight back if we want her back."

     The latter reluctantly nodded before looking back up to meet Barry's eyes. "Earlier, when we returned from CCU, I saw that you were writing in the Speed Lab. I'm assuming it was another letter?" Cisco guessed. Barry nodded. "Can I have it?"

     Immediately, he shook his head defiantly. "No."

     "Barry," the long-haired boy sighed, "I know they're private. I know that you don't want any of us to read them, and I won't, but if we don't get her back tonight... I think I know how to give her the letter without her knowing. Maybe, if she reads the letter, it might bring our Piper back to the surface."

     Barry ran his hands over his face, turning his back to his friend.

     Ever since Piper went back to Earth-Four in May, he started spending a lot of time alone writing in a random notebook he'd found in his room. Writing became his short-term companion. He had refused to talk to anyone about what he was feeling or going through. Instead, he wrote it all down to Piper, writing as if he were talking to her.

     It was the only thing he had to keep himself sane.

     Saving people and being the city's favorite superhero wasn't helping him feel any better. Nothing was. So, he wrote letters to the woman he was in love with. Dozens of letters that she was never supposed to know of or read. He'd written things he never had any intention of telling her. Things he didn't want her to know yet needed to tell someone.

     "We need to get our girl back." Cisco breathed, leaning against his workshop desk. "Whatever it takes."

     Blinking, Barry pushed the rising lump in his throat down.

     The long-haired boy had a point, and he knew it. They needed to do whatever it took to get Piper back, even if that meant Barry had to give away the most vulnerable part of himself.

     Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the folded pieces of crumpled paper. He ran his fingers over the small, folded square, licking his lips before he hesitantly held it out.

     Glancing from the paper to Barry, Cisco pushed down the small bundle of anxiety eating inside his stomach as he took the paper. "Thank you."

────

     TRACY BRAND WASN'T ENTIRELY SURE WHAT WAS GOING ON IF SHE WAS BEING PERFECTLY HONEST. No one had sat her down and explained what the hell was happening and why she was being fought over like a Barbie doll. No one had told her that an evil speedster and his sidekick were after her because of a weapon she helped design. Instead, she'd been left in the dark. Left to craft her own theory of what was going on, and so far, she was drawing a blank.

     All she'd figured out was that it certainly had something to do with her now-dead co-worker, Dr. McLennan. Other than that, she had nothing.

     She was clueless and going along with what everyone was telling her to do. Hence, why she'd blindly agreed to go to an old rundown factory with Team Flash to rescue a woman she'd never met before.

     Pushing back an old dusty tarp that hung from the shell of a doorway, she continued to tread behind the Flash and CCPD Detective Joe West. The detective drew his gun and held it out with a flashlight, shining it around the dingy factory.

     Swiveling to the right, Joe let out a breath of relief as he caught glimpse of the brunette woman. She had both of her hands wrapped around a rope, tugging at it from where it was knotted around one of the legs of the chair she was tied to.

     "Caitlin!" he breathed, rushing into the main floor. "Are you all right?"

     Pausing in her movement, the doctor looked up. "Joe! Yeah, yeah, I'm all right. She didn't hurt me." Caitlin responded.

     Barry narrowed his stare as he glanced at Tracy, noticing that the blonde woman was looking at Caitlin with wide eyes.

    "That's because killing you... does nothing for me." A deep voice echoed, and the heels clicking against the ground approached. From the shadows, Piper waved to Tracy, her bright red nails glittering in the scarce moonlight creeping in through the dusty windows. "Hand her over," Piper ordered, watching as Joe shakily glanced back to the blonde behind him.

     Nobody said a word for a brief moment before Barry stepped forward. "You don't have to do this," he called, eyeing the bow that she held in her right hand.

     The scarlet archer shook her head. "Yes, I do."

     "Why? Because Savitar commands it?" Barry retorted, raising a brow from underneath his cowl. The woman across from him stood unchanged, blinking as she stared at him, amused. "He's not a God. He's just a man that's using you. Come on, Piper, you're one—"

     "One of us?" Piper asked simultaneously, smirking as she watched his face fall slowly.

     A pit of dread settled at the bottom of his core, and Joe held his breath. This wasn't going to go to plan, he could already tell.

     Pushing down the lump in his throat, Barry breathed in deeply. "We're fam—"

     "Family?" Piper raised a brow, stepping three steps forward. She was loving every second of this. She watched as the boy in front of her grew uneasy and timid. It was riveting.

     She held so much power over the speedster that it was hard not to manipulate him in the worst possible ways. However, she allowed herself to tangle with his emotions enough to make him agitated.

     Joe's eyes bounced between the two, shifting his footing as he backed up, reaching behind him to shield Tracy from view.

     Clearing his throat, Barry shook his head. "We protect each other t—"

     "Till the end." Piper's ruby-red lips spread into a cynical smile as she chuckled, briefly glancing away. Meeting the man's gaze once more, she snorted at his face's blanched and ashen color.

     Blinking, he shook his head, trying to compose himself as best he could. "H-How are you doing that?"

     "Savitar told me everything you'd say," the scarlet archer teased, watching as Barry furrowed his brows. "You two are more alike than you realize. That's how we're always two steps ahead, how none of you have been able to catch us, and how CCPD can't stop the meta-apocalypse. Savitar and I know you better than anyone, Barry Allen. That's how we know your plan of attack. How I know that Cisco's in the rafters right now."

     Caitlin's eyes widened as Piper pulled out a detonator and clicked down on it. Moving her gaze upward, the brunette's eyes trailed to the rafters above and listened as a small beeping noise ticked off.

     From where Cisco was crouched, he looked around, searching for the source of the sound. Looking overhead, his eyes widened as they landed on the bomb. "Oh, no." Turning his head to the right, he held out his fist and created a baby breach.

     Right as the bomb went off, he jumped from the rafter into the whirling bubble of blue, the breach closing as soon as he went through it.

     Joe and Tracy jumped backward from the fire and shielded their eyes, feeling the scorching heat from the blast. Gasping, the scarlet speedster turned his head back to Piper, who was watching as another breach appeared over a stack of boxes. Tumbling down from the breach came Cisco and a wave of fire.

     Crashing down on top of the boxes, the long-haired boy fell straight onto the floor, his eyes fluttering shut at the impact.

     Without hesitation, Joe pulled his gun out and aimed it at the red and black-haired woman.

     Upon hearing the sound of people scuffling, Piper turned her head and quickly grabbed an arrow simultaneously, pulling back her bow and firing. She smiled as the gun in the detective's hands was launched across the room.

     Reaching behind her, she grabbed another arrow and drew it back, releasing it again and watching with a small smirk as it sailed towards Detective West. However, before it could strike him, Barry ran in front of the man, taking the shot for him.

     A wave of blue and purple lightning emitted from the arrow's tip and traveled its way around the speedster's body. Groaning, Barry fell to the ground, shaking as he felt as if a thousand jolts of lightning were electrocuting him.

     "It's over, Piper." A voice echoed as an invisible current of waves slammed into her back. Falling to the ground, the red-polished bow slid across the floor. Piper stifled a groan of pain as her head hit the concrete solidly. She reached up to her forehead, wincing at the throbbing pain brewing in her head's back. Brushing her fingers against her temple, her index and middle finger became smeared in blood.

     Pushing off the floor, she growled. "Piper's dead."

     "Not to me," Cisco argued, walking toward her.

     Running forward, Joe made it over to Caitlin's side, quickly untying her from the chair. "Go, go, go, go," he mumbled, ushering her to the exit where Tracy stood waiting. The brunette wasted no time rushing over to the woman, looking behind her shoulder to see her two friends facing off while Barry lay on the floor, a flow of lightning still engulfing him.

     "You really need to learn how to let go of people, Vibe-boy. I'm not Dante. You can't hold onto me forever." Piper spat, rolling her eyes.

     Cisco blanched. "You're right. You're not Dante. You're my best friend," he replied weakly, watching as she picked up her bow.

     Sighing dramatically, the scarlet archer shook her head. "Did it ever occur to any of you that I faked it all? That I never felt the same way?" Piper glanced back to Barry, knowing that the speedster knew she was talking about him. Phasing through the lightning, he stood up from the ground, gulping at her words. "You're an easy target, Allen. Just as easy as Ramon. You both listen to your heart more than your head, and that's what'll get you killed."

     The words she spoke felt like a stab to the heart, and Barry could feel himself slowly frowning. Even though he knew this wasn't her, that this was the drug talking, that didn't make it hurt any less.

     "It's time I got what I came for. Give me Tracy." Piper seethed, turning to look at the long-haired boy.

     Cisco shook his head. "No."

     "Fine." Piper sighed. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then." Before she could draw a single arrow, Cisco quickly raised his hand and blasted a wave of trans-dimensional energy toward her. Letting out a yelp, she was pushed backward and slammed into a power box. Her body collapsed to the floor, and she remained still.

     Wasting no time, the two rushed over to her.

     Barry yanked his cowl off and stared down at the unconscious woman. The look painted across her face was solemn and calm, a look he hadn't seen in a long time. Trailing his eyes over her, he couldn't but subconsciously wince at the blood that was trickling down the side of her face.

     He never wanted any of them to have to hurt her, but with how things were at the moment, it didn't feel like they had much of a choice. They had to fight back if they wanted her back. Even if that meant they had to fight back physically.

     "Piper, you're alive. Thank God." Cisco muttered, moving his hand from her neck where he was checking her pulse. Reaching into his back pocket, he grabbed Barry's letter. Without wasting any time, he slipped it into her red trench coat pocket. "I'm sorry. I had to stop you to save you."

     Emerging from the shadows of the other room, Joe, Caitlin, and Tracy reappeared.

     "Is she..." Caitlin's gentle voice was cut off as the room was engulfed in a whirl of bright blue lightning, nearly blinding everyone. Both Barry and Cisco were thrown to opposite sides of the room, and the light dissipated.

     There, standing above Piper's unconscious body, was the silver and blue monster himself.

     Gulping, Joe reached for his gun, only to realize it was across the room where it'd been shot earlier. He was powerless.

     "My ascension is nearly at hand, Flash," Savitar growled, his metallic voice bouncing off the walls. An uneasy bundle of nerves crawled around Barry's stomach as he stood up from the ground, keeping steady eye contact with the monster. "As I rise, you will suffer a fate far worse than death."

     Once again, before anyone could blink, the room was coated in a bright blue whirl.

     Looking behind her shoulder, Caitlin gasped. "He took Tracy."

────

     GIVEN THE FACT SHE HAD A CONCUSSION, PIPER KNEW THAT SHE SHOULD BE ASLEEP AND RESTING AT THIS TIME. She knew. However, was that stopping her from eating a bag of pretzels and doing target practice on a mannequin that had been shot one-too-many times at three in the morning? No.

     After releasing the bowstring for the thousandth time in the past hour, she groaned, flopping down on the sofa. Currently, she was alone in an apartment that Savitar had rented while he was working with Kyler and Hydro Hunter. Planning who knows what.

     The open gash on her forehead was bandaged up, and she had taken a shower after she regained consciousness. She should've gone to sleep, but something was keeping her up. She had no clue what it was, but it was something. And it was driving her mad.

     Leaning further back into the couch, she heard the sound of paper crinkling, and she stiffened.

     The room was silent, and Piper furrowed her brows.

     Brushing it off, she leaned back, relaxing against the velvet fabric and the sound of paper crinkling echoed again. Turning around, she stared at the bright red trench coat draped over the couch's back.

     Grabbing it, she ruffled her hands through the pockets. Pulling out a piece of folded paper, she furrowed her brows. Quickly throwing the coat to the other side of the room, she unfolded the note, smoothing it out in her lap as her eyes trailed over the handwriting.

     Wait, this was Barry's handwriting.

     Poor boy just didn't know when to stop, did he?

     Shaking her head, Piper sighed heavily as her eyes began to scan over the etched-out letters.

Dear Piper,

     I should never have let you go. I realize that now.

     You were always there for me every time I chased after one obsession or another. You stood by my side, supporting me, calling me out on my crap, and putting me in my place when my mind was too clouded with the thoughts of that day while yours was focused on tomorrow.

     Though I didn't know it at first, I loved you.

     You were more than just a good friend to me. I could easily tell you things that I wouldn't dare utter to anyone else, and you just listened. Silently and unabatingly, you listened.

     I thought I had, for the most part, my life figured out when we met, but I was wrong. Without my knowing, from the moment I first met you, real love began to take shape in my heart.

     I only truly realized it when I was on Earth-Two, and I heard Zoom had taken you. I knew it wasn't really you that he took, but it felt like it was. Everything seemed to stop, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. It wasn't only until Harry referred to you as "the girl I love" that I realized how true his words were. I do love you.

     You're so different from the other girls I've ever liked. You care. Love radiates in your heart, spilling out into the lives of all those around you. That love infected me, and now you're the only person I want to spend the rest of my life with.

     I know I've had over a year to tell you this, and I know that my timing sucks, especially since you're not you anymore, but I can't keep this in. I need you to know that I love you.

     I love you, Piper Maeve Lita, so much that it physically pains me to know that you're not mine and that you are with someone else.

     And I need you. I need you back home.

     So, if you ever read this: come back to me. Fulfill that promise one last time.

     Please.

Love,
     Barry

     For a moment, it felt as if she couldn't breathe.

     Barry loved her. He loved her this whole time.

     It'd been ten minutes since she'd first read it, and the words still took a moment to sink in.

     He waited until she was too far gone to tell her he was in love with her, but that was his problem. He waited too long. It was as simple as that. Barry Allen had waited too long, and that was his problem. There was nothing she could, nor would, do for him.

     Piper Lita, his Piper Lita, was dead.