Chapter Text
Everyone was prepared and ready in the now abandoned nightclub above the foundry. Black Hand was nearly there, they had to prepare for a battle in case he chose not to aid them in fighting Wraith. At the same time, they had to prepare for Wraith, they could clearly tell by Barry’s condition that the time was close. Their bond was nearly completed.
“Alright everyone, listen carefully.” Zatanna broke the silence and everyone turned their attention towards the magician. “The Black Hand is a very strong and deadly user of the dark arts. No doubt he’s bringing along allies of his own. I have no knowledge on whether he does or doesn’t, so be prepared for anything. If he doesn’t agree to aid us, then we must take him out, otherwise Wraith will arrive with nearly everything he needs to retrieve the powers of the Tablet of Blood. Defeat is not an option.” everyone had a grim look on their face but remained stoic and brave.
“I need to tell you all something.” Barry spoke up and now the attention turned to the speedster. “Wraith intends on using the tablets to open a rift. He plans on using that rift to travel to a different universe. The universe’s name is Infinitum. It has special and extraordinary gems there that control every core part of existence there.” Barry stepped ahead and turned around to look at everyone. “He wants them. He needs them to bring an end to everything. If we fail here… everything is lost.”
Barry then looked right at Oliver. “So I ask one last time. Kill me. Buy yourselves time so that you may figure out a way to put an end to Wraith, before it’s too late.”
“No.” everyone was shocked to hear this from Nyssa of all people. “My father believed that sacrifices were necessary for success and survival. I don’t share my father’s views. Sacrifice is a steep slope to defeat and destruction. I’ve seen it first hand. Everything my father built at Nanda Parbat with the League of Assassins was built upon sacrificing. It only lead to the loss of his humanity, the loss of his life, and eventually the loss of everything he sacrificed his life to build. If you think sacrificing yourself to win this war is an option, it isn’t. It’ll only lead to what you fear will come to pass if we don’t kill you.” everyone was too stunned to speak.
“She’s right you know.” Laurel was the first to break the silence. “This doesn’t need to end with your death Barry. We can do this, we’ll figure it out.” Barry forced a smile on his face. Everyone was so certain they’d prevail, yet Barry knew one way or another he wouldn’t. He accepted that as fact.
“Barry, you spoke of another universe… Infinitum, right?” Zatanna asked him in a lower voice.
“Yeah… do you know of it? You seem to know more than you’re leading on Zatanna.” Barry muttered almost passive-aggressively.
“I’ve only heard of it. In legends, but they were very vague and brief.” she spoke softly and almost as if she were lost in thought.
“What if… What if we travelled there and retrieved those gems before Wraith could?” Thea asked with a tone of hope in her voice.
“We can’t.” Zatanna quickly replied. “At least, cross-dimensional and cross-universal travel is unheard of. No intelligent species I know of has ever been able to do so. There’s no knowledge of it ever happening before… At least I thought so, but if Infinitum truly does exist, then that must mean it’s been done in the past. I can only guess the mortal Champion from long ago was the one to do so. Perhaps his discovery of Infinitum’s gems was the reason he locked the power of the tablets away…?”
“It’s not important though, what is important is that Hand is coming.” Oliver interrupted the discussion of Infinitum.
“No… Hand is here.” Barry stated blankly as he turned around, everyone followed suit when he said this.
Black Hand was at the entrance of the nightclub with two… creatures near him.
“Zatanna. It’s been so long my dear.” everyone could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
“Hand, we have a big threat on the way, and I suggest you listen before you sick your hounds on us. We need your help.” Hand began to move closer to the group.
“And why would I help you?”
“The Whisperer of the Void you’ve been talking to, Wraith… He’s bonded with someone and he’s about to break free from his shackles. He is seeking the Tablet of Blood, just like you. You and I both know a Whisperer has far more power than you do. We need your help to stop him before he can acquire it.” Zatanna pleaded, hoping Hand would agree to help defeat Wraith.
“Wraith can try all he must, but I’m merely steps from acquiring all I need, and how do I know you aren’t trying to trick me so you can prevent me from my achieving my goal? You may be smart Zatanna, but you’ve never been good with diplomacy.” Hand stopped in the middle of the club.
“So I take it you won’t assist us.” Zatanna moved to a battle stance, as did everyone else.
“Of course not.” He chuckled as he raised an arm.
“Well this shouldn’t be a tough battle, it’s just him and two freaks.” Diggle said to Oliver. Hand’s arm began to glow.
“I knew there’d be blood to shed, and I came well prepared Mr. Diggle.” he closed his palm and a burst of light erupted from it, eventually turning dark. When everyone opened their eyes they were met with some very familiar faces. Roy, Grodd, Ronnie, and Constantine all stood there next to Hand and his two mysterious allies. “You’re protecting an ingredient, and I need it.” Hand and his allies rushed towards the group.
“I’ve got Hand, you guys focus on the others.” Zatanna said as she engaged Hand head on.
Laurel and Nyssa headed straight for one of the creatures that were with Hand. It had long claws, blank white eyes, sharp fangs, thin armor covering it’s body, a very pale pink skin tone, large ears, bat-like wings, a long tail with a spike at the end of it, and bat-like wings.
“What the fuck is this thing?” Laurel asked rhetorically. “Your guess is as good as mine Laurel.” Nyssa responded anyway. The two managed to duck and evade a swipe from the creature’s tail and the pair moved back away from the creature.
“I am Cabraa, a creation of The Black Hand’s. I carry out his will without question.” the creature hissed at the pair as it moved forward. “His will is for you and your friends to die, so I will not fail.” Cabraa continued to launch attack after attack at the two women and they fought back, holding their own and even gaining an upper hand until Grodd jumped in and assisted Cabraa. The two were struggling to keep up then Diggle came in and levelled the playing field.
Oliver took on Constantine while Thea had her eyes set on Roy and Caitlin engaged Ronnie. They were all pretty evenly matched and each struggled in their own conflict.
Barry moved to the creature that had… six arms? That was weird. It’s skin was a bluish color, it had bright red-orange eyes with a bag containing vials of liquid on it’s back and minimal armor. The absence of protection was made up for straps of even more vials all over it’s torso and bracers with spikes on it’s arms. The creature appeared somewhat hesitant to fight.
“Are you an alien or something? What exactly are you?” Barry’s question made the creature chuckle.
“I guess you could say I am an ‘alien’, I’m not of this world. I am a Naknadan. You may call me Alchemist.” Alchemist strangely introduced himself politely, despite being Barry’s foe.
“Why do you aid Hand?” Barry asked Alchemist, noticing it didn’t seem so eager to get physical. Perhaps he was having second thoughts on serving Hand? Maybe Barry could turn him into an ally?
“I enlist my services to those I deem worth them. I’ve travelled far and wide and served many masters. Hand has resources and power. He promises my efforts will be rewarded.” the two merely walked in a circle inspecting the other.
“You’ve yet to attack, you seem hesitant.” Barry narrowed his eyes at the other.
“Combat is not my forte. I’m an Alchemist, not a warrior or soldier…” Barry could tell there was more to this being than what meets the eye.
“You don’t need to fight for him. He’s power hungry. If it meant throwing you under the bus to get what he wanted, he’d do it. Help my friends. Wraith is going to emerge soon and they’ll need all the help they can get.”
“There’s nothing worth having there. No reward. What’s the point?” Alchemist pulled a vial from his satchel.
“Existence itself is at risk. Rewards won’t matter when there’s nothing left to cherish. If all you value are material things, then why even fight? There must be something inside you that knows you can do good. Something that knows you care, or else you’d have disposed of me already. You don’t need to serve him. You can do better. You can make a real difference, a good one. I know I'm not going to survive for much longer, but they could use all the help they can get to stop Wraith. So... please.” Alchemist put the vial back and turned to see everyone fighting. Grodd and Cabraa had regained their advantage over Nyssa, Laurel, and Diggle. Thea was struggling against Roy. Caitlin’s powers were no match for Ronnie’s fire and she was having a hard time trying to even fight back. Oliver was actually losing his fight against Constantine as Hand had quickly defeated and knocked Zatanna unconscious and moved to the vigilante and aided the exorcist in the fight.
“Perhaps… I’ve been fighting the wrong battle after all.” Alchemist whispered softly.
Barry turned his head to see the same scene Alchemist was watching unfold. His heart wrenched seeing Oliver beaten, bruised, and bloodied. They were losing.
Oliver thought this was the end, but at least he’d die protecting those he loved, right? Then the attacks just… stopped. He looked up and saw Constantine and Hand were knocked away from him. Constantine was unconscious and Hand was getting back up.
“NO!” Hand screeched and everyone stopped what they were doing. Oliver turned and saw Barry next to him.
“Barry?”
Zatanna had regained consciousness and was waiting for the perfect time to strike and after seeing a stunned Hand, she quickly worked up a spell and launched it at Hand. He screamed in agony as the flesh fell from his body and turned to dust all that was left of him was bone.
Grodd, Ronnie, and Roy froze. The energy from them disappeared and their eyes went dark. It was almost like they became statues.
“Did… did we just win?” Thea said as her and everyone else moved over to Oliver and Barry. Alchemist and Cabraa glanced at each other briefly before Cabraa leapt away and escaped the building in hurry.
“I… think so?” Oliver moved to sit up, he was in a lot of pain.
“I’m sorry…” Oliver looked to Barry when he said this. The younger man stepped away from Oliver.
“What do you me-” before he could finish what he was saying Barry had sped away and he heard a squelching sound and a pained gasp. Everyone turned to the sound and saw Barry with bright purple eyes standing in front of Thea with his hand through her chest. He pulled his hand out of her chest and she collapsed to the floor. Pale skin and blood pooling on the floor.
Everyone stared in shock and realization. “N-no... “ is all Oliver could say as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Barry’s not the pilot anymore, but no worries, it’s not for long.” Wraith had control over him. “You were going to die. Hand was going to kill you. Yet Barry loves you so much that seeing you on death’s doorstep put him into a vulnerable state where I was able to take control long enough to release me.” a hand was placed on Thea’s head as a green energy was pulled from her lifeless body. “You’ve called me Wraith for so long, I feel like I should properly introduce myself. I’m Malkorath the Vanquisher.” he stood up after absorbing the energy.
“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not. This is all necessary. Now if you’ll excuse me...” Oliver was feeling so much right now he didn’t know what to think. He just wanted to wake up and have this all be a bad dream.
The purple glow disappeared from Barry. “What…” he saw the blood covering his arm and Thea’s body on the ground. “Oh… Oh my God, Oliver I-” his entire body began to glow purple and eventually he fell backwards, while the purple glow remained where he stood. Eventually it took shape. The head was made of what looked like metal. There were no eyes, just what seemed like a hole with purple energy and sharp ‘metal’ teeth. On top of the head was a crown that looked like it was made of blades. The rest of the body looked like metal armor made of sharp scraps with cracks emitting purple energy. A dark black halo rested above the crown, and a mystic and majestic pitch black cloak with what looked like stars all over it was draped over the being.
“It feels sooo… good to be back.” his voice was dark, demonic, and low. “Don’t worry your sister’s soul will be put to good use.” Oliver could feel tears streaming down his face as he stared at the body of his sister. It took him some time to register Barry standing up and he looked behind Malkorath.
This caught Malkorath’s attention as without looking he extended one arm out and grabbed Barry by the neck and moved the speedster in front of him.
“I would thank you Barry, but you have something I need.” Barry’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He only hoped Oliver would know his last thoughts were of him. Malkorath then made no haste as he clawed open Barry’s chest furiously. Barry felt extreme pain and all he heard was screams and slashing. All he saw was blood pouring from his chest until eventually his vision faded to black.
Malkorath claimed his prize. The heart of a speedster. He then tossed Barry’s body next to Thea’s.
“If you think you’ve lost everything just now, just you wait.” his purple glow emitted brightly behind him as he backed away and disappeared.
Oliver didn’t know how or when it happened but he had was sobbing over the bodies of the two people he loved most.
Malkorath would pay.