Short on Time

Chapter 71

I watched him walk away as I tried to wrap my mind around who this monster was, how he could possibly have once been my Barry. Caitlin stood next to him as they looked at his suit and then I heard a noise, "hi," HR said running in.

"HR?" I asked confused as he cut me free. "What are you doing here, where are the others?"

"I couldn't let Barry know I was coming, or else Savitar would know," HR explained as he helped me up. "Now let's go."

I nodded smiling as I kissed his cheek and we began to try to sneak away, but the blade from Savitar's suit had another plan. I jumped as it flew out of HR's hand and attached to Savitar's suit. "Go!" HR told me pushing me along.

I looked behind me and saw Caitlin stalking after us, and then we ran to a dead end. "We can't outrun them, we'll have to fight." My hands began to glow, but HR pulled out a device.

"No, I have another plan," HR said and then he turned on the device and turned into me. I looked down and saw that I had turned into him.

"What are you doing?" I asked confused.

"I'm the reason Savitar found you. I need to remedy that," HR said.

"Not like this. Give me that," I said reaching for the pen, but then I was blasted back by an icy blast. I vaguely heard what was going on, and then they left. My mind felt foggy, but I had to help HR. I couldn't let him do this for me.

I ran out of the building and saw that we were close to Infantino street. I looked around and saw that it was almost time, I was almost out of time. I heard noises that signaled Barry was using the weapon, and then silence. I ran up the rooftop, heaving as I felt the struggles of pregnancy to see Joe on the ground holding Iris as she cried.

I ran to the edge and grabbed the gun, powering it as much as I could to shoot Savitar, but he was already gone. I looked and saw Barry holding what looked like me, but was HR. I glanced to my left and saw Tracy. "No," I whispered as I stumbled back and then HR revealed himself. "Iris, dad," I said softly making them look at me as I changed back to myself.

"Ginger?" Iris asked in shock as she jumped up and hugged me.

"I don't understand," Joe said as I tried not to cry.

"It was HR," I said simply as tears rolled down my face.

"Go, Barry needs you," Iris said.

I nodded and went back down the way I came and saw Barry. I ran to him and he pulled me close to him as I began to cry, all of the emotions that Savitar put us through finally coming through. "I love you," I told Barry as I kissed him.

"Savitar took the Speed Force bazooka," Joe said from behind us.

Barry glanced behind him and saw that is was gone as Iris came down, "is she safe now?"

"There's only one way to find out," Barry said.

~*~

Iris stood next to me as Barry turned on the Time Vault, "Iris West," Iris read alive smiling as she hugged me. "It changed back."

Barry pressed another button and nothing came up, he pressed another one and found an obituary, "Ginger Marie Allen dies at 98," I said in shock.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, Joe. The future's ours again," Barry announced as we hugged and went to the Cortex, only to find Julian there.

"What? H.R.'s dead? I-I can't believe that," Julian said as we told him what happened. "Is Tracy all right?"