OUT OF TIME , barry allen✔️

27. Storm is gone

"Nora, Nora, Nora. You've been a bad kid. Travelling through time and all that." Mania said as she entered the cortex. "I'm not trying to kill the people I love." Nora retorded. "But the thing is... I don't love them. I never did." Suddenly as I watched Nora, her eyes flashed from green to silver. "No,  that's not true! You might be on a killing spree but you still care. You can't tell me you don't love Dad... that there is not one part inside you that doesn't-" Mania cut her off. "I don't! But I should right? Because Zoe does. But here is the news flash, I am not Zoe. And so-" Then Nora raised her hand and formed it into a fist what made her pass out. Nora had an emotionless look on her face when she left the cortex. I followed Nora into the speed lab and sat down next to her. "How do we do this?" Nora asked and sighed. "How do we defeat the two people that know everything about us?" She added.

I got up and looked surprised at her before I hugged her. "Nora! You're the best!" I said before running back into the cortex. "Mania was right! She isn't me directly. She's Storm. And Storm wasn't always that present as she is now. Storm hasn't always been through my eyes as she does right now. That's her weakness." I said and then Cisco went into Cait's lab and got a small device.

"Mania is Storm! And Mania is remembering Storm's memories, not particuarly Zoe's. This is how we defeat her." I felt my eyes flash and me stepping back. Storm had taken over. "No! No! Get that thing away from me. Cisco, I swear to god if you do that to me, I'll hurt you." Storm said and then let me take over again. I sighed and looked over to Team Flash. Then I snatched the thing out of Cisco's hands and placed it on my forehead, activating it. The next thing I knew was that everything turned dark and that I passed out.

When I woke up, I screamed until I realized where I was. "It's okay! It's okay. You're safe." Barry said and raced over to me. "What about Storm?" Barry asked and Cisco looked over to me. "Zoe? Zoe, we want to talk to Storm." Caitlin said and I frowned. I found myself looking through my mind but I couldn't find her. "She's gone." I whispered and took Cisco's device from my head.

I got up from the ground. "Storm is really gone?" I turned around to Nora and watched as her eyes and hair turned to silver. "We haven't been formally introduced. Nora's... friend used to call me Ghost. Nice to finally meet you, Team Flash." She said and I frowned. "Now I have to try, too." Then she disappeared. "Nora!" Barry called out and I turned around to him.

Barry sped away and I looked down on my hands. "Please. Please." I whispered to myself and I sighed in disappointment as my powers refused to work. "Guess I'll sit this one out." I said and sat down on the floor. "Mania is locked up, just so you know." Cisco said.

☇

"I'll be home soon." Barry said and pressed a kiss on my head before speeding off. "Bye." I whispered and then went into the building and in my apartment. Nora was lying on the couch, reading a book. When I closed the door she got up, put the book on the table and turned around to me. "I was wondering if we could eat dinner at Papa Joe's tonight." She said and I shrugged. "Sure, I think."

I changed from my Storm jacket into a more comfortable one and looked at Nora. "Storm will come back, right?" She asked and I sighed. "I hope so." I said and added, "But as of now I'll have to live without her." I whispered. Nora and I left the apartment and I locked the door before we headed out of the building. We walked to the West house and spend the walk with talking. It was good. We finally were at a good place.

I knew I was welcome to just go in but I still knocked at the door when we reached the house. "Hey! Come in!" Iris said after opening the door. "I hope we're not intruding." I said and looked to Joe and Iris who finished setting up the table. "Of course not. You guys are family." Joe said and I smiled. Iris got two more plates out of the kitchen and Nora sat down at the table after she hugged the two. "Caitlin told me what happened. Are you okay?" Iris asked and I sighed. "It's only gonna be for a short amount of time, so yeah... thanks for asking." I said.

When a phone beeped, Nora pulled hers out of her pocket and answered it before putting the phone down.

Then my phone rang and I frowned before answering it.  While I answered I stepped out of the house. "Hello?" I asked confused. "Zoe? Where- where are you right now?" Barry asked on the other side and I sighed in relief. "Oh, Nora and I are at Joe's-" Then he hung up and I frowned again before heading back inside. "Good news, Barry's gonna join us." I said and I let my phone drop when I saw that the man in the red suit held a knife at Nora's throat. It was then that I realized that this wasn't Barry. "If I see her flashing her eyes, it will be the last thing sweet Nora does. You're gonna come with me now, Zoe. Do you understand?" Savitar asked and I nodded instantly. "Yes. But do not hurt her!" My breathing was getting faster and I knew now that I was never so worried in my life as in this moment.

Then he forced me and Nora outside and there he changed into his suit. All I saw was a blur of orange and then blue lightning. The knife and the red suit dropped to the ground and I was swept off my feet. Not a minute later, I was already dropped on the ground again. I looked around and then looked up to Savitar. "You will get Mania back to me or I will start killing the people you love most. Starting with Cora in Star City, then your father in Iron Heights and so on. Are we clear?" He said and I took a deep breath. "No." I whispered and smiled. "I'm afraid that we are not clear. Underneath all that, you're still my Barry and I will not let you do that." I whispered and got on my feet. Savitar got out of his suit and then rushed over to me where he held me in a chokehold. "You still don't get it, don't you? I'm not your Barry. And if I don't have Mania back by the end of this night, you will have to watch as I tear apart your family." He said in a low, threatening voice. I chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, you can certainly try."