Chapter 145
Central City shimmered with trails of colored lightning.
The search was on.
Bart zipped through the streets with Cisco, his blue lightning streaking across rooftops. Nora, surrounded by the orange glow of her Speed Force aura, sped alongside Frost through alleyways and quiet streets. Barry and Dante made up the third team, darting through the heart of the city, Dante riding passenger-style in Barry's Speed Force bubble.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells monitored their progress, eyes darting between holographic readouts and comms chatter. Cisco worked the scanners, tech pulsing under his fingertips. They were searching for something very specific—and dangerous.
Godspeed.
Or more precisely: August Heart.
Bart had brought a photo from the future—a high-res, crystal-clear mugshot of August. Everyone had a copy now. They weren't just looking for a suspect. They were hunting a ghost who had already haunted them from the future.
And then—Barry and Dante found him.
He stood in the middle of a parking lot near the edge of Midtown, looking lost, confused. He wasn't in his white-and-gold suit. No mask. Just a man in plain clothes, eyes wide and uncertain, like someone who'd woken up in a world that didn't recognize him.
Dante narrowed his eyes. "He's weird," he muttered.
Barry took a cautious step forward. "Hey… do you know who you are?"
August blinked, looking up at the two. "No… Please… tell me. Who am I?"
Barry and Dante exchanged glances. This wasn't the godlike killer from the future. This man was scared. Broken.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Cisco and Wells started running every scan they could think of on the man once he was secured in a containment room. Every frequency, every molecule—nothing explained his condition.
Bart stared at him through the glass, his face tight, jaw clenched. Wrath brewed behind his eyes.
Nora stepped in beside him, worry touching her features. "Bart?" she asked gently.
He didn't respond.
Back in the observation room, Barry and Dante stood silent, watching the kids through the glass. Barry finally asked the obvious.
"What's going on with Bart?"
Still no answer.
In a flash, Bart was gone. Just a bolt of blue lightning tearing out of the room.
Nora followed without hesitation.
Barry exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Something's not right."
Dante nodded slowly, lighting a cigarette despite being inside a high-tech facility. No one stopped him.
Moments later, Cisco and Wells entered the room, holding data pads and shaking their heads.
Cisco spoke first. "We finished the scans. He's a speedster, yeah. No doubt. But… his speed isn't from the Speed Force."
Barry turned. "Then how?"
Wells answered this time. "Artificial velocity. Velocity-9. Highly unstable, incredibly dangerous in large doses."
Cisco sighed. "His body's running on fumes. He's from the future, Barry. But he used artificial speed to time-jump back here. And the price? It scrambled his brain."
Barry frowned. "Memory loss?"
Wells nodded. "And worse. If he doesn't get real, organic Speed Force access—soon—he'll die. His body's not made to hold this synthetic energy for long."
Dante exhaled a cloud of smoke and stared at August Heart through the glass. "So be it. Let him die."
Everyone turned toward him.
Even for Dante, that was cold.
Barry stepped forward, stern. "That's not how we do things."
Dante looked at him, unimpressed. "Buddy, you do understand this crazy, fucked-up bastard is Godspeed, right? This guy sent an army of future clones after us. He's a war criminal in the future. A nightmare. Your kids' nightmare."
He jabbed a finger at the glass.
"That man in there? He's killed people. Destroyed lives. And now he's here, memory or not, and you wanna save him? Fine. But don't get soft when this whole thing turns sideways."
The room fell quiet.
Dante flicked his cigarette into a tray and sighed. "Listen, I don't care—not really. I'm already human. I've got nothing left to lose. I'm not asking you to kill him. I'm just saying—don't ask me not to."
His voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl.
"Because if he gets his memory back and comes after me? If he comes after any of you?" He looked around the room, eyes sharp and clear. "I swear, I'll rip his head off and shove it somewhere no light's ever touched. Are we clear?"
Cisco looked away.
Caitlin said nothing.
Wells folded his arms and just studied Dante with that unreadable expression.
Barry sighed, tired. "Yeah. We're clear."
Dante nodded once. "Good. Now let's figure out what the hell we're going to do before this ticking time bomb explodes."
The monitors buzzed softly behind them.
August Heart sat inside the glass room, hands folded in his lap, staring at nothing.
Unaware that every person on the other side of the glass had a different reason to fear—or hate—him.
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