Chapter 147
"No!"
Bart's voice cut through the Cortex like a bolt of thunder.
Nora stood beside him, her arms crossed and expression hard. "You can't be serious, Dad."
Barry turned away from the monitors and looked at both his children. "We have to try. If there's even a chance August Heart can be saved—if we can stop him from becoming Godspeed—then we owe him that."
"You don't owe him anything!" Bart snapped. "You weren't there! You didn't see what he did in the future!"
"He didn't just kill people," Nora added, her voice shaking. "He caused chaos. He broke families. He turned cities into warzones."
Barry took a deep breath. "And maybe we can prevent all that by reaching him before he becomes that man."
Bart scoffed and looked away.
Dante leaned against the wall, arms crossed, cigarette burning low between his fingers. "I already said my piece," he muttered, not even looking at them. "You wanna give him Speed Force, fine. But if he comes after me or anyone I give a damn about… I will rip his head off. Don't care if I have to use my teeth."
He looked up. "Just saying that now so nobody looks at me sideways when it happens."
And with that, Dante walked out of the Cortex.
A long silence followed.
Barry glanced at his team—Cisco fidgeting nervously, Caitlin quiet but watching, Wells deep in thought. Patty stood by the door, uneasy. Everyone was torn, but no one stopped him.
"I'm doing this," Barry said.
---
In the Speed Lab, Barry stood before August Heart, who sat restrained in a Speed Force-containment chair. The man looked lost—his eyes darting between monitors and walls, his breathing shallow.
"I don't know who I am," August whispered. "But… I want to know. Please."
Barry nodded, his chest tight. "This might hurt."
"I don't care."
Barry reached forward and placed his hand on August's chest. A golden glow began to rise around Barry, sparks of yellow lightning crackling along his arms. The hum of the Speed Force filled the lab like a living heartbeat.
He closed his eyes—and let the power flow.
A surge of light exploded from his palm, coursing into August. The man screamed as white lightning burst from his body, wrapping around his limbs, arcing like wild fire through the lab. Alarms blared. Energy readings spiked.
Then everything went silent.
August Heart slumped forward, breathing heavy.
Barry stepped back.
And then—
August looked up.
A slow grin curled across his lips.
"Ah," he whispered. "Now I remember."
His voice had changed. No longer confused—now confident, slick, and cruel.
"Thank you, Flash," he said. "Thank you… for bringing me back."
And in a flash of white lightning, he was gone.
---
Outside S.T.A.R. Labs, the storm began.
Godspeed tore through the city with a manic laugh, his body wrapped in blinding white lightning. Buildings blurred past as he darted across Central City like a demon reborn. He moved faster than sound, every step leaving cracks in the pavement.
All around the city, the Godspeed clones froze.
Then, one by one, they vanished into streaks of white as August absorbed them—speed, consciousness, essence. Dozens of them, pulled into him like whispers into a storm.
Barry, Bart, and Nora chased after him in a blaze of yellow, blue, and orange lightning.
"August, stop!" Barry shouted.
But it was too late.
The man they had hoped to save no longer existed.
Godspeed turned mid-run and launched a lightning blade at Barry, who dodged it by milliseconds.
"You think you can reason with me?" Godspeed shouted. "I remember now! I remember the pain! The rage! The power! And I'll never give it up again!"
The battle began.
White lightning collided with yellow, blue, and orange as the four speedsters clashed across the city. They ran through alleys, through buildings, across rooftops, across highways. Central City became a battlefield of pure velocity.
Godspeed struck first—slamming into Bart with such force it sent him flying into the side of a truck.
Nora retaliated with a flying kick, sending Godspeed crashing through a storefront window.
Barry chased him through a construction site, flinging Speed Force energy like blades. Godspeed dodged them effortlessly and countered with shockwaves that shattered concrete.
"You're outnumbered, August!" Barry shouted.
"I'm ascended!" Godspeed screamed back. "You think you can stop me? I am the future!"
Bart and Nora flanked him, attacking from both sides—punches and kicks landing in bursts of color. But Godspeed was faster now. Stronger. Every clone he had absorbed made him more powerful, more unpredictable.
He vanished, reappeared behind Nora, and slammed her into the ground. Bart rushed in and tackled him, but Godspeed spun and sent Bart flying again, a trail of blue lightning crashing through the air.
Barry ran up a wall and flipped, hurling a focused burst of Speed Force directly at Godspeed's chest. It struck—but only staggered him.
"You're slowing down, Flash," Godspeed said. "Must be age."
"I'm still faster than you'll ever be," Barry snapped, charging again.
The fight spread across bridges and parks, into traffic, across water. Lightning exploded in every direction. Cars flipped. Windows shattered. Civilians ran for cover, watching gods of speed wage war above their heads.
"Why are you doing this?!" Nora shouted as she rejoined the fight.
Godspeed laughed. "Because I can. Because pain is power. Because this city deserves a new god!"
Bart, bloodied and furious, threw himself at Godspeed with reckless speed, fists flying like thunder. "You tortured him!" he roared. "You killed Uncle Dante!"
Godspeed smirked. "And I'll do it again."
That was the final straw.
Bart screamed, unleashing a surge of pure speed so intense it turned his lightning into a blinding electric storm. He pummeled Godspeed, blow after blow. Barry and Nora joined him, surrounding the villain in a flurry of speed-fueled fury.
Still—he didn't fall.
"You can't kill me!" Godspeed roared, lightning arcing off his body. "I am speed!"
The battle raged on, Central City caught in the wake of gods clashing at light-speed.
But as the dust and sparks settled, Barry knew one thing:
They had created a monster.
And now they would have to find a way to stop him.
---
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