The streets were far too quiet. Barry was running, but not out of impulse — out of fear.
— Cisco, how's Wally?
Barry's voice came through the comms, tense. On the other end, the engineer didn't hide his anxiety:
— He's alive. But… his connection to the Speed Force was ripped out like a strand of hair. Barry, this isn't normal. This isn't Zoom. It's not Thawne either.
Barry stopped on top of a building, gazing at the horizon.
— Did he say anything?
— One word. "Savitar."
Barry closed his eyes. A name long buried. A name that should be dead.
— It can't be...
— Barry, what do we do now?
Silence.
— I run.
---
In the middle of an abandoned bridge, Lucas waited.
Clad in his bluish-gray armor and surrounded by flickering lightning, he looked like a god ready to judge humanity.
Barry arrived, his red suit glowing, his eyes locked on Lucas.
— You… you're Savitar?
Lucas removed his helmet. Smiles didn't suit him. But that wasn't a smile. It was a promise of destruction.
— You still need to ask? I expected more from the man who thought he could carry the world on his shoulders.
— I buried you — Barry said, approaching slowly.
— You buried an echo. A shadow. I am the true Savitar now. The Speed Force remade me with purpose.
Barry narrowed his eyes.
— And what purpose is that?
Lucas spread his arms, gesturing toward the skies.
— To cleanse time. To destroy the weak. To build a new world. A world of absolute speed. No moral limits. No humanity. No you.
— You won't win — Barry said firmly. — No matter how fast you run, how loud you scream. You're just a monster.
— Words… from a man about to lose everything — Lucas lunged forward with thunderous speed.
The impact was devastating. Red and blue lightning collided, arcs of energy bursting across the bridge. Barry tried to dodge, but Lucas was faster — and crueler.
— You run for love, Barry. I run for power. Guess who wins?
Barry struck him with a blast of energy, but Lucas absorbed it, laughing.
— Still playing hero? You disappoint me.
Lucas slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing a shockwave that hurled Barry through the air.
— You saved villains. Forgave murderers. And for what? Humanity?
Barry stood up, bleeding.
— Because I believe people can change.
— Then you'll die believing that.
Lucas grabbed him and slammed him into the concrete with superhuman strength. But Barry activated his top speed and reappeared behind him, landing a flurry of fast punches.
— I won't let you take this world — Barry whispered between strikes.
Lucas backed off, laughing.
— I'm not taking the world, Barry. I'm destroying time. And you're going to watch.
With a single motion, Lucas surrounded himself with a spiral of lightning and vanished.
Barry dropped to his knees.
— He won't stop...
---
At STAR Labs, Barry stood over Wally, unconscious. Caitlin monitored his vitals.
— If he's really back... — Barry said, not looking up. — ...then we have to do what we never wanted to before.
Cisco's eyes widened.
— Barry, are you suggesting...
— We call everyone. Jesse. Jay. Bart, if we have to. Because if he is what I think he is...
Barry looked up.
— We can't beat him alone.