Paralyzer || Barry Allen (The Flash) Fanfiction

Chapter 43: Ready or Not...

"Dinner time."

I was down in the pipeline, food in hand, as I made my way to Grisell's holding cell. Currently, she was the only prisoner down here. After Snake Charmer had poisoned me and Barry had rushed me to STAR Labs, we'd lost track of the serpentine metahuman. That being said, I knew for a fact that she wasn't hanging around Central City anymore. The only question now was whether she had escaped to some other city and was living in hiding or if Zoom and the Phantom had already gotten to her.

Honestly, even though she had tried to kill me, I was hoping for the former. I didn't personally know Zoom or the Phantom nor had I seen either one of them in real life, but I had a feeling that they were the type to take their time rather than just getting the death over and done with. And no one deserved that kind of torture.

"Let me guess. Big Belly Burger again?" Grisell sighed with boredom.

"Well, it definitely isn't a steak and lobster dinner," I retorted. "Just be thankful we're giving you three meals a day and water. And that you're not dead."


"I'll be thankful when you guys let me out of this prison," she snarled back, shooting daggers at me with her glare. I shoved the bag through the slit before shutting the door tightly once more.

"If you'd just tell us Zoom's and the Phantom's master plan—" I began.

"I'd be better off dead!" Grisell interrupted before I could finish my statement. "And you know that's true. The Phantom always gets what she wants. She always wins. She's a mastermind. This is her game of chess, and you're the opponent's King. And me? I'm just a pawn that's out to do her bidding. I'm replaceable. If I don't make the right move, it's my head on the line. She's not the kind to accept defeat even if it's an indirect loss."

I knew the Phantom lusted for my powers and my downfall, but I hadn't realized just how bloodthirsty she really was, or at least that's how Grisell was making it seem. The fact that she would willingly kill off her own villainous kind simply because they weren't capable of taking either Barry or I down was kind of sad. Surprisingly, I actually was feeling bad for the villains at this point, not for myself or Barry.

I took a deep breath and looked to Grisell. "I'm sorry. I can't let you out. But it's not just for our benefit. It's for yours, too. Think of it this way: As long as you're in here, the Phantom and Zoom can't harm you."

With that, I walked away, sealing off the pipeline from the rest of STAR Labs as I headed up to the cortex. After my talk with Grisell, I was certain of one thing.

Barry and I needed to put an end to this. Not for our sake but for everyone else's. For the citizens of Central City — Earth-2 and Earth-Prime. For the metahumans who were being controlled like marionettes, defenseless and subordinate to the powerful villain duo that played them like pieces in a game.

No more lives were going to be taken. Not if I could help it.

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I pressed my fingers to my temples and started massaging the soft area of my head, trying to help prevent the headache I was sure was about to come. There was no way it couldn't with all the arguing that was going on.

Jay had come back. Probably the worst timing in the history of Earth — possibly in the history of all Earths — considering we were in the middle of discussing how we were going to lure Zoom and the Phantom into the trap we were setting so that we could end this mess. Jay didn't exactly agree with our idea.

"You have no clue what you're getting yourself into!" Jay insisted as he looked to me with a hard stare. "I know you think this will end things, but you're wrong. After absorbing yours and Barry's powers, the Phantom and Zoom will be even more powerful than they already were. They'll keep taking whatever they want, and there won't be any human or metahuman with the power to stop them."