Catastrophe-2

Hartley and Godspeed

I want to thank everyone for their support. I never thought I could finish one book let alone a second and a third on the way. I hope you all enjoy the last few chapters before I conclude Barry and Anna's story in the third and final installment of my Flash series.

3rd Person's POV

Hartley looks at Roderick with worry about what he's gotten them into. "Here's what I need from you." Nash starts to gather everything they need to stabilize Roderick. "I need you to direct a concentrated UV blast into the reception conduit." He instructs Allegra. "Now, this containment unit, I'm going to release helium into it, and when those two things collide, pop. It should lock Roderick's molecules back into human form." Barry looks over the containment unit to gauge Hartley's reaction. "Ready? We'll go on three. One...two...three." Nash turns on the helium, Allegra sends a blast, and they wait for Roderick to stabilize. "It's working." Hartley looks gratefully toward the team, but that doesn't last as Roderick groans in pain.

"No, no, no. Wait. Stop." Hartley orders as Roderick cries out in pain. "Wells, enough. Stop, you're hurting him!"

"Nash." Barry calls out, and Nash pulls the helium tubes out and stops the reaction. Roderick's cries stop, but he returns back to his unsteady molecular state. Hartley hits the contaminant unit with anger.

"Hartley, I'm sorry, but we can try..."

"I was stupid for trusting you." Hartley interrupts. "Don't ask me for anything, ever. My world is over." Hartley leaves the lab. Barry jumps as Godspeed appears. He pushes Anna behind him in a protective manner.

"Give me your velocity, or your city pays. You have one hour." Barry tries to punch Goodspeed, but he's not fast enough. "You're not fast enough to stop me. None of you are." Godspeed speeds around the lab. "Death will rain down on your city, Flash, unless you give me what I want. Choose wisely." Barry slams his hand on the wall feeling defeated. Barry excuses himself from the team so he can work on his Speed Force equations.

"I don't think these equations are gonna help fix Roderick that much." Nash comments, but Barry ignores him. "Plus, we simply need a better bonding agent."

"You do that. I'm working on the Artificial Speed Force right now." Nash sighs and begins to wipe away Barry's work. "Nash! Hey! Nash, what the hell? I've been working on these all day."

"You're wasting time. Why?" Nash demands. He waves his hand in the air knowing the answer. "You don't have to tell me. We don't know each other. You can talk to Joe and Iris." Barry glares at him. "But they're not here. Whose fault is that?" Nash shoves Barry in the chest. "Whose fault is that?"

"It's mine, all right!" Barry shouts as he shoves Nash back. "Is that what you want me to say?" He tosses his rag at the board in frustration. "I'm supposed to lead this team. Now, I don't even know what to tell them."

"When I lost Maya..." Nash takes a moment knowing this is hard for him to admit. "Every day since then, I wanted to say, Hey, listen, I'm sorry. It was my fault. But she's gone. When I was Pariah and watched my mistake burn down the Multiverse, I wanted to tell those people I was sorry, but they were gone, and it was over. And this is not over for you." Nash exclaims passionately to Barry. "You can find your way out of this. All you have to do is trust yourself."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Barry asks. "I just lived with an imposter for five weeks. I called someone my sister who...she wasn't real."

"You forgive yourself. You showed me that." Nash reminds Barry. "Now it's time for you to do it for you. And you know what? If you can't...do it for Anna and your unborn child." Barry nods, understanding where Nash is going.