Chapter 68: Chapter 66: Divided we fall part 1
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Argus prison
Morning
Barry opened his eyes, waking up from a rather restless sleep. He sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He threw his legs over the side of his bed, trying to shake the feeling of complete dread that had come over him before he went to bed. Barry couldn't explain it, but he had this feeling that something horrible was going to happen today.
Star Labs
Same time
Wanda was in the lounge, holding a sonogram in her hand of her baby. She was staring at it so intently, lost in thought; she almost didn't hear Pietro walk in. Almost.
"What is that?" Pietro asked, having never seen one before.
"It's a sonogram. It's a picture of the baby," Wanda explained at his blank look.
"Oh. So, am I having a nephew or a niece?" Pietro inquired.
"It's a girl," Wanda said softly, wishing Barry was here so she could tell him that.
"Listen," Pietro sat down next to her and she looked over at him. "I know I made a mistake, a huge mistake when I chose to listen to Alexei. It cost you Barry and I'm sorry for that. And maybe it cost me you, but I want you to know something. I'm the reason Barry left you, so I'm gonna be the reason he comes back to you. I promise."
Pietro stood up and began walking out when Wanda's voice stopped him.
"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to look at you and not see the man that let Savitar out of his prison…but I'm gonna try to get passed it," Wanda said, not looking at him.
Pietro simply nodded before he turned and walked out of the room, leaving her alone.
Savitar's hideout
Same time
"So, you understand the plan?" Savitar asked as Snart cocked his cold gun.
"Perfectly. Been a while since I've been on an old fashioned heist. You sure this is gonna work?" Snart asked.
"You just do your part. We'll keep everyone else distracted," Savitar promised with a sinister smirk.
Argus prison
Not long after
A prison transport rolled up outside the gate, the vehicle stopping in front of two guards. They raised their weapons as a blond operative got out of the front.
"I wasn't aware we were getting a prisoner today," one of the operatives said suspiciously.
"It's sort of a last minute thing. Look, I don't think we want Director Michaels or Deputy Director Flag biting our heads off because of some miscommunication. So just help me get this guy inside, alright?" the blond operative said.
After a moment of hesitation, the two operatives walked with him over to the back of the truck. They opened the doors and immediately, two knives were lodged in their jugulars. Gasping for the breath, the blond pushed them inside and they both took their last breaths.
"Well, that was surprisingly easily," Alexei noted looking up at Roy as the archer lowered his hand. "Phase one complete. Now it's time for phase two."
Star Labs
Later in the morning
Bucky was working out, testing the limits of his new robotic arm. Natasha walked in and saw him, lingering in the doorway, watching as he did some pushups.
"Enjoying the show?" Bucky asked as he jumped to his feet, turning around to face her.
"I didn't want to intrude," Natasha said but it sounded hollow even to her own ears.
"You don't strike me as someone that would bother," Bucky noted and Natasha shrugged, trying to ignore her racing heart at the look he was giving her.
After all these years, he still had that effect on her. Not even Bruce had inspired such feelings of attraction and desire in her, got under her skin this way. Natasha was still trying to decide whether that was a bad thing.
"So why'd you come down here?" Bucky inquired.
"Same as you, to train," Natasha said and Bucky nodded.
"We could train together," Bucky pointed out.
Natasha hesitated; unsure it was a good idea, especially with her feelings about him so unclear to her at the moment. But, almost reluctantly, she nodded in agreement.
They stood facing each other before Natasha rushed him, taking a swing at him. Bucky, anticipating this, easily dodged and grabbed her arm. However, she sent a kick to his chest and sent him stumbling back. Bucky then dodged a kick she sent to his head, ducked before rushing her, tackling her to the ground but she flipped them, reversing their positions so she was on top and he was on his back. She had also managed to grab both of his arms, pinning his hand to the floor. Bucky knew he could easily get out of this with his robotic arm, but a certain look crossed her face.
Bucky knew that look well. It was a coy look she had often given him in the Red Room, one mixed with desire. For a moment, neither of them did anything. Then, Natasha let him go and surged forward; bring their lips together in a passionate kiss. For a moment, they simply kissed, hard, passionate, and wild, exactly like they used to. Then, before Bucky could realize what had happened, Natasha had pulled back and fled the room.
Bucky didn't take it personally. He could relate to being unsure of feelings or thoughts. Bucky could wait for her to figure her feelings out, he decided as he got to his feet.
"Well, that was unexpected."
Bucky stiffened, turning around to see Barry. However, the cold smirk on his face and the scepter in his hand gave away that this was not his teammate.
"Savitar," Bucky greeted coolly. "How'd you get in here?"
"I know how to get in undetected. I know the codes to this place. I also know how to set the security cameras on an endless loop. As far as the others are concerned, you ad Natasha are still training. It should give us some time, not that I'll need much," Savitar said to Bucky's confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Bucky asked, wondering how he could get help.
Savitar smirked before speeding forward, bringing the head of his scepter to Bucky's chest. The light traveled from his chest all the way through Bucky's head and his eyes glowed an unnatural blue as Savitar lowered his scepter.
"Keep your friends busy. I need access to the time vault," Savitar ordered and Bucky nodded obediently.
Argus prison
Same time
"How'd you get cards anyway?" Barry asked as he and Logan played a game of war.
"One of the guards owes me a favor," Logan said simply and Barry simply nodded.
"Well, you seem to be fitting right in Barry."
Barry dropped the cards, his blood running cold as he whipped his head towards the glass door of the cell. Alexei, dressed in a guard uniform of all things, stood on the other side, a smirk on his face.
"You-how'd you get in here?" Barry demanded as he jumped to his feet.
"You'd be surprised how easy it is to get in here when you dress as a guard. How's prison life treating you Barry?" Alexei asked casually.
"What are you doing here?" Barry demanded his mind racing.
"What Lord Savitar wishes. And at the moment, that's you, dead," Alexei said and Barry stared incredulously.
"His plan is to kill me? He is me though," Barry said and Alexei merely smirked.
"The more you do it, the less the rules apply to you," Alexei echoed Savitar's words and Barry sneered.
"Still, you're plan is to come after me in an Argus prison?" Barry said, still finding the plan incredibly stupid.
"Not a very bright plan bub," Logan added, although he was very confused by what was going on.
"You're going to come after me, because otherwise, I'm going to kill everyone in this prison," Alexei announced to the shock of Barry and Logan. "You see Barry; they don't see you as a hero in here. Because they don't know you're the Flash. That's what you wanted, right? No one would know you were anything but another Meta. Because who would look for the Flash here? Smart plan, but Savitar was a step ahead of you. He knows every move you'll make before you make it. You can't stop him Barry."
With a smirk, Alexei turned and began to walk away. Frantically, Barry began beating on the glass.
"Hey, you need to stop him!" Barry cried out frantically.
"Remain calm," a guard said as he walked over.
"Hey, that's Alexei Shostakov! You need to stop him!" Barry frantically tried to warn the guard.
"Remain calm, or you will be put in the hold," the guard said before he turned and walked off.
"Damn it!" Barry snapped, turning away from the door in frustration.
"So you're the Flash. Suddenly, a lot of things about you make sense," Logan muttered.
"That is your takeaway from all this?!" Barry snapped.
"Easy kid. Who was that?" Logan inquired calmly.
"That was Alexei Shostakov, an ex-KGB terrorist gone rogue who is working for a psychotic speedster who calls himself Savitar. And I need to stop him! I need to get this thing off me!" Barry said, frantically trying to get the power surprising collar off his neck.
"I wouldn't do that, there's a fail safe," Logan warned him and Barry stopped. "You open that thing up even a little and you'll be hit with enough electricity to knock you out cold. You need a key from Director Michaels or Deputy Director Flag to get that off you and remain conscious."
"And if half the things I've heard about Amanda Waller are true, these walls are probably bullet proof!" Barry growled, realizing Savitar had turned his plan to his favor.
"Probably, but I doubt its Adamantium proof," Logan noted and Barry looked over at him.
"Ana what proof?" Barry asked confused.
Logan simply smirked, walking over to the door. He clenched hands into fists and, to Barry's shock, three long, metal looking claws popped out of each of his hands. Logan struck the door with each of his caws, creating an X shape wound in the glass before he kicked the now weakened glass, shattering it completely. Logan retracted his claws before he walked through the broken doorway, Barry quickly following behind him. The guard who had just dismissed them was there, aiming a weapon at them with four more guards.
"Stand down," the guard said.
"I'm sorry bud, can't do that," Logan said not sounding sorry at all.
"There is a man here called Alexei Shostakov, he's posing as a guard and he will kill everyone here unless we stop him," Barry tried one more time to warn them.
"I believe you," the guard said although it was obvious he didn't. "But we can handle him."
"No, you can't," Barry said confidently.
"Logan, stand down," the guard said as he looked over at Logan.
"Sorry, I'm with him," Logan said, gesturing over to Barry. "Now get out of the way, you don't wanna do this."
Immediately, the five guards rushed the pair. Logan dodged a strike from one of the guards before slugging him, hard. As the man went down, Barry grabbed his side baton, whirling around and blocking another's guards strike. As Barry engaged the guard, Logan popped his claws and cut one guard's baton to pieces before elbowing him in the face. As he went down, Barry landed a hard blow to the other guard's face, knocking him down and Barry then slugged him, knocking him out as Logan retracted his claws to punch the next guard in the face. Barry then knocked the last guard standing on his back. The guard retreated a few feet on his back, pulling out his radio.
"You don't wanna do that Summers," Logan told the guard.
"And why not? You two broke out of your cell!" Summers snarled.
"Alexei is here, posing as a guard, and he's gonna kill everyone in this prison unless we stop him," Barry repeated as he lowered the side baton to his side. "Please, help us. We don't want anyone to die here; don't make this easier for him. Please."
For a moment, it was silent as Summers considered Barry's words. Then, he turned on the radio.
"Two prisoners are out of their cell. Initiate lockdown mode," Summers said before Logan slugged him, knocking him out.
"Well, we better get going," Logan said as he grabbed the radio.
Barry nodded before they ran down the hall, sirens blaring as the prison went into lockdown mode.
Star Labs
Same time
"Still nothing on the traffic cams?" Steve asked as Team Flash and the Avenges stood in the cortex.
"Not yet, but we're still looking," Cisco said as Bucky walked into the room.
"Buck, you okay?" Steve said, noticing how his best friend refused to look at anyone.
"Maybe BB needs some caffeine," HR said, grabbing a cup of Jitters coffee and heading over to Bucky.
It was at this point that Bucky lifted his head to reveal his glowing blue eyes. Cisco, Natasha, and Steve, the only ones to encounter someone controlled by the Mind Stone, realized what this meant but it was too late to warn HR. Bucky pulled out a pistol and shot HR point blank in the chest. The cup of coffee fell to the floor, splattering as HR fell on his, blooding poor out of him as Bucky opened fire on the others.
In another part of Star Labs, Savitar pressed a button and the entrance to the Time Vault appeared in the wall. Savitar walked in and headed over to the console, pressing a button.
"Good evening Barry Allen," Gideon said as her holographic head appeared. "Is there a problem?"
"No problem at all. I simply need your assistance," Savitar said as a cold smile crossed his face.
Argus prison
Same time
"How the hell did Logan get passed our power dampening collars?" one of the guards asked as several of them met in the control room, watching the footage of Logan cutting through the door with his claws.
"It doesn't matter, we need to find him and Allen and put a stop to whatever it is they are planning," another guard said.
At that moment, the door burst open and they whirled around as Roy stalked in, his bow notched with an arrow. Roy fired, getting a guard in the chest before he rushed them. The remaining guards opened fired but Roy dodged the bullets. Roy pulled a flechette out from his sleeve and threw it, getting a guard in the jugular. Roy then pulled out an arrow, stabbing a guard in the chest before yanking the arrow out and throwing it into the nearest guard's neck. One more guards opened fire but Roy rushed but, pushing him back and yanking the gun out of his hand. He put the gun in the guard mouth before pulling the trigger. There was a spatter of blood before the guard dropped, the gun still in his mouth. There was one guard left standing and Roy rushed him. They exchanged a few blows before Roy got behind him, his neck in a neck lock. Roy pulled the man's neck back before twisting and there was a sickening crack. Roy dropped the body, an emotionless mask on his face.
In another part of the prison, Logan and Barry had locked themselves in a storage room, trying to buy some time so they could come up with a plan.
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that the guards will be no help," Logan said as he turned to Barry.
"How come your powers work but mine don't?" Barry wondered, trying to come up with a way to see if he could get his powers to work.
"These collars were designed to work on Metas, I'm not a Meta," Logan explained.
"Then what are you?" Barry wondered.
"Focus kid, we need to come up with a plan. I don't think we can take on the guards and find Alexei," Logan pointed out and Barry nodded.
"We need to find a phone, some way to communicate with people outside the prison. I have friends, they can get here and help us," Barry explained.
"Oh Barrrrrry," Alexei's voice cracked through the radio Barry had taken from Summers. "I know you're there. Come on Barry."
Barry and Logan exchanged an uneasy look before Barry picked the radio off the bench he had set it on and pressed talk.
"You got what you want Alexei, I'm out of my cell. Now tell me where to find you so we can finish this," Barry said.
"Still so confident. You're not a hero anymore Barry, you're not an Avenger. You don't even have powers anymore. Your days of playing god are over," Alexei said and Barry rolled his eyes.
"So says the guy working for the version of me that actually thinks he's a god," Barry said, to Logan's confusion.
"Oh he's much more than a god. He will be the savior of the Multiverse," Alexei said to Barry's confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Barry asked but was ignored.
"I bet you're wondering how I got this radio. Well, I took it from one of the guards outside your buddy Roy killed," Alexei said and it took a moment for Barry to process this.
"Roy Harper? He's not a killer and he certainly wouldn't work for Savitar," Barry said and Alexei only laughed.
"Lord Savitar didn't give him much of a choice, what with the Mind Stone," Alexei said and Barry understood then.
"So that's why you killed Vision, so Savitar could enslave anyone who said no to him?!" Barry asked angrily.
"Savitar does not enslave anyone, he simply shows them the way," Alexei said and Barry practically trembled with rage.
"I will find you and stop you, no matter what it takes," Barry said in a growl that would have made Oliver proud.
"There's only one way to stop me and you won't do it. You're a good guy Barry, you don't kill," Alexei mocked him.
"Are you sure about that?" Barry asked lowly.
In the control room, Roy pushed a red button.
Back in the storage room, Barry and Logan looked around in confusion as they heard alarms blaring.
"That's Roy now, releasing all the prisoners from their cells," Alexei said and Barry paled, as did Logan. "You thought it was hard facing just the guards, how about the prisoners Barry?"
Alexei clicked off and Barry and Logan exchanged a horrified look, realizing things had just gone from bad to worse.
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If you enjoy please support me on my patreon Future 80+ chapters at patreon.com/Darkphoenix11
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