Rocky Raymond //Book Eight// - The Flash

Chapter 4 - Armageddon, Part 3 (Part 1)

3rd Person POV

"Injustice?" Black Lightning (Jefferson) asks, looking between Mack and Barry. "Damn. Look, Barry, those protocols are a one-way trip. A bad one."

"I know that." Barry snaps

"All right, all right." Jefferson tells Barry. "Just take a deep breath. Tell me what happened."

"In the last 24 hours, I've lost my job, my home base." Barry says. "I've started having blackouts. I destroyed my apartment at superspeed. I attacked my team, my family. Jefferson, I attacked innocent people, dozens of them, and I don't remember doing it. I'm out of control!" He shouts

"Easy." Jefferson says calmly. "In my experience, there's almost nothing that can't be undone, but I'm gonna need you to calm down for me."

"Calm down? I'm losing my mind!" Barry yells and a tear drops from Mack's eye. "Look, you know the contingency plan. The Injustice Protocols were put into place for a reason, to protect the world when one of us goes rogue. It's happening, Jefferson. You have to take away my powers."

"Look, we need to call in the others." Jefferson says

"We don't have time." Barry stops him

"No, no." Jefferson says. "Kara, J'onn, Sara... We all designed this plan together after Faust."

"And we all made the same promise!" Barry exclaims. "If anyone ever lost control, a designated teammate would step in. For me, that's you."

"And I don't carry that weight lightly." Jefferson says. "What if this is all temporary? What if your mind starts healing?"

"It's... it's not gonna heal. It's only gonna get worse." Barry stammers

"But how can you say that for sure?" Jefferson asks

"I forgot Joe died." Barry states. "The man who raised me...he passed away six months ago, and I can't remember it at all. Look, I know you have questions, but I'm losing myself. You took an oath, if I ever said the word 'injustice', you'd listen. Please. We have to do this now."

"My father had a saying, one that I even teach my students today." Jefferson asks. "'Where's the future? Right here. Whose life is this? Mine. What are you gonna do with it? Live it by any means necessary.' So don't worry. I will honor my promise. I will do whatever is necessary to keep folks alive. But remember... when we take away your powers, they are gone permanently."

***

DESPERO: It's happening again. Another world lost. Another failure. Armageddon waits for no man. And it won't wait for me to find you, Flash.

***

"So you think Despero's right, that Barry's gonna destroy the world or something?" Chester asks Cecile

"No, no, hey, what Barry did today was scary, and the things that he said...They really, really hurt, but someone that we love is going through a mental health crisis, so I don't care what he may or may not do ten years from now." Cecile states. "We need to take care of him today just like he did for me."

"Okay, we'll follow your lead. What do you want to do?" Caitlin asks, looking up from her phone where she was trying to text Mack. The messages weren't sending through which meant her phone was either off or dead

"Okay, I've been sensing Despero all day." Cecile says. "He's using his mind's eye to scan the city. Now, he hasn't found him yet, but if Barry's not thinking clearly–"

"What if he's the only one thinking clearly?" Iris cuts her off, walking in

"Boss, what are you talking about?" Allegra asks