Barry was back on his feet mere hours after he woke up. Kara and Caitlin were with him every step of the way through the hallways of Star Labs. While his body had healed, his mind was still in turmoil. It hadn’t been that long since Zoom and his father’s death and he could only think that now his history was repeating itself for the third time. With that in mind, he called all of his friends and family to Star Labs for a Team Flash meeting. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy, and the questions would be the worst as hearing them would make him relive the attack.

As soon as he and Kara arrived, they saw the concerned faces situated around the conference table. Joe and Jay were sitting across from the two empty seats that he and Kara took for themselves. Caitlin and Cisco were seated next to them, Iris was at the foot of the table and a surprise, Harry had come from Earth-2 as aside from Barry and Jay, Zoom had a profound effect on his life. Everyone waited for Barry to speak as Kara placed her hand on his to provide comfort.

“How you feeling kid?”

“Physically Jay, I’m fine. Emotionally, mentally, I’m not so sure.”

Barry let that sink in for those gathered around him as Kara squeezed his hand just a little bit tighter. She had heard about everything Zoom had put him through, and everything that had happened to Jay when he was held captive on Earth-2. The silence was palpable until Harry spoke.

“Well, let’s start with what it felt like, Allen. Snow told me you were in a coma for four days. I don’t think that was really what happened. Whatever this Godspeed did to you, your four day sleep was the Speed Force healing you. But what did you feel when he was attacking you?”

“Harry…!”

“We have to know; Ramon. We can’t stop this speedster if we don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Harry’s right, Cisco. As painful as this will be to remember what was happening, I have to say it out loud. Jay, you and Harry suffered at Zoom’s hands more than I ever could have. But when I gave up my speed voluntarily to save Wally, that felt like the Speed Force was being pulled out of me. As painful as that was, what Godspeed did felt ten times worse. While I was out, my mind was taken into the Speed Force. I saw my mom, my dad, and all those who have sacrificed their lives for Central City. This experience may have been a fever dream, but they spoke to me. Zoom was able to take my speed because I gave it up. Godspeed was literally ripping my powers away from me. He was stealing my speed.”

“Allen, that shouldn’t have been possible. The lightning bolt that struck you was part of the Speed Force itself. All of that electricity combined with the chemicals in your lab altered everything about your genome. As the Flash, you don’t just tap into the Speed Force, you’re a conduit for it.”

“I know that Harry. Every test we’ve run since that day supports that conclusion. But Godspeed is just as much a conduit for it as I am. He was faster than me. I couldn’t catch him.”

“And if I hadn’t been there, Godspeed may have taken every last bit of power from Barry.”

“We’re grateful that you were there Kara. We owe you for saving Barry’s life.”

“No one owes me anything, Joe. I did what was right.”

“It felt like dying.”

Barry had taken time to think while Kara spoke, and he knew that there was only one way he could describe what Godspeed had done felt like. Everyone heard the words and immediately fell silent, everyone except the veteran speedster sitting across from Barry.

“What?”

“Harry asked what it felt like as Godspeed stole my powers. It felt like I was dying, Jay.”

“But we now know part of what he can do. We’re not beaten yet, Allen. You were able to get faster to defeat Zoom; we can make that work again.”

“No we can’t Harry. That’s just it; Godspeed was siphoning my speed as I chased him. Everything I am, he can take. The faster I go, the more he can steal. Not even creating a time remnant will stop him.”

Barry violently pushed his chair back, exiting the room before anyone could say anything else. As he walked down the halls, he chastised himself for behaving that way, knowing that this was the same attitude he had when he first lost to Zoom. He’s always known that not everything about his powers comes down to just his speed, it also comes down to his mind. The reason he beat Zoom was because he out thought the villain. And that’s when it hit him, right as Kara walked up.

“Barry…”

“It’s never been about getting faster Kara.”

“What?”

“Thinking I had to get faster, thinking if I increased my speed I could use it to beat my enemies. And yes, getting faster did help in the long run. But that wasn’t how I beat Zoom, not really.”

“Then how did you?”

“I used something the Speed Force didn’t give me. With Thawne it was my rage over the death of my mother. With Zoom, it was more than just a battle of speed. It was a battle of intellect.”

“Jay told me Zoom was deranged.”

“He was. But even the most deranged mind can conceal a genius intellect. Zoom was always two steps ahead of me at minimum. He had me questioning everything, thinking I had to fight him alone or more of my friends would die.”

“But you’re not alone Barry. You’ve got people that love you and will support you, no matter what.”

“Yes, and that’s why I won’t challenge Godspeed alone again.”

“What do you need?”

“All of you. You, Jay, Cisco, if we work together, I know we can beat Godspeed.”

“Well you know I’m in. What’s the plan?”

Barry raced back to the conference room with Kara hot on his heels. She’d been worried about him because she knew what it was like to face someone who was stronger and faster than you in battle, someone who had no compunctions about killing. That was Non after her Aunt Astra was killed. But now she saw the confidence in Barry that she had seen the first time when he jumped the gap between the buildings to catch her during their first meeting. As soon as everyone was once again seated, Barry spoke.

“I’ve got a plan.”

“Well; let’s hear it kid.”

Barry quickly laid out his plan for confronting Godspeed. The first part involved him and Jay running around the city, and combining their speed in an effort to open a portal to the Speed Force. If Godspeed’s powers worked anything like theirs do, he would feel the Speed Force responding to them, and it would draw him out of hiding. From there, Kara and Cisco would be waiting In Central City Park, which at the time of night the plan was set to take place would be empty. All Barry and Jay had to do was draw him in, and with two of them against one, Godspeed would be unable to focus on either long enough to steal their powers.

At the moment that Barry and his team were making this plan, Godspeed was preparing himself for this final battle as well. He had healed remarkably fast over the past four days and learned a new aspect of his powers. While testing his speed, he found that he had the ability to create a duplicate of himself. Instantly he saw how beneficial this would be. He knew that the Flash had allies and would be bringing them into the fight. With another Godspeed to help him, whoever the Flash brought wouldn’t stand a chance. While he got into uniform, Barry and Kara were going over her part in the plan one more time before they would have to split up and head out.

“Barry, I really think you ought to hang back and attack Godspeed from a distance. Couldn’t you, I don’t know vibrate or rotate your arms fast enough to create a whirlwind or cyclone that could keep him from utilizing his speed?”

“You know Kara; it’s amazing how well you seem to understand my powers like I do. How do you do that?”

“It’s just intuition I guess. But could you do it?”

“I could, but with the speed he was able to tap into in that first fight, I don’t think it would be useful. No, this has to be a direct confrontation. Jay and I have to face him, speedster to speedster.”

“I get that, I really do. I just…I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“You’re worried, I understand. Especially since you were the one who saw what he did to me first hand. But this time will be different. You and Cisco will be there, waiting for me and Jay. When we get him in close enough, Cisco will open a portal that lands our enemy in front of you. And with your arctic breath, you can freeze him long enough for us to put the power dampening cuffs on him. We’ve got it all worked out. This will work.”

Kara smiled at Barry’s confidence, and hoped he was right. He’s been a hero in the public eye longer than she has, and also has the experience of facing down two evil speedsters before. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still have trepidations about the plan. She just doesn’t voice them to Barry as they both go to suit up. When they’re all ready, she and Cisco teleport to the park while Barry meets with Jay in the speed lab.

“You sure you’re up for this kid?”

“Whether I am or not Jay, we have to do this. Godspeed won’t stop unless we stop him. He wants my speed. I’m not going to let him have it and use it to terrorize Central City.”

“I know, but you were in a coma for four days while you healed. You…”

“Jay, what would you do if he was after you? I already know the answer to that because of Zoom. So you know my answer.”

“Then let’s do this. Just don’t take any unnecessary risks. I’m not sure Kara would be able to deal with the fallout as well as she did last time.”

“What do you mean? She’s my friend. She’ll be okay.”

“If you say so. Time to get moving.”

Deep down, Barry knew exactly what Jay was talking about. He was well aware that Kara was beginning to care for him as more than just a friend, the same way he was for her. But for this mission, he had to put that aside. He had to focus on the primary objective which was Godspeed. Fifteen minutes later Kara and Cisco were in the park, he was on the ground and she in the air, tracking Barry and Jay as they made their run.

“Any sign of him yet Flash…, Flashes?”

“Nothing Cisco, I don’t think he’s taken the bait yet.”

“We’re not quite at the Speed Force threshold either. Soon as we are, he’ll show.”

Barry didn’t know just how right he was. As he and Jay continued to circle the city, a small Speed Force storm was beginning to form and only increased in intensity the longer they ran. Back at his safe house, Godspeed could feel the energy crackling and churning in the air. He could sense what was happening and decided it was time to make his move.

“Okay Flash, you’ve decided to call me out. Brave, but stupid. I hope you’re ready for this.”

August split himself into two, both in identical Godspeed uniforms and began their run. They hadn’t hit full speed yet, allowing the Flash to think he was safe. He could feel both Flashes and knew where they were and where they were headed. He just wanted to let them have a small sense of security before he stole both their speed at the same time. Barry and Jay were unaware that he was tracking them, and spoke to the rest of the team back in the park.

“I don’t think he’s going to take the bait, Barry. We might have overestimated our plan.”

“No Jay. He’s going to come after us. Stealing our speed has to be enticing for him. We’ve just got to push a little harder.”

“Think about this Barry, we go any longer and we risk opening a catastrophic Speed Force storm. Central City will be…”

At that moment, Kara was using her telescopic vision to scour the city for Godspeed. She had kept sight of Jay and Barry, worrying about the both of them when she saw the gold and white streak of lightning coming up fast.

“Barry…I got him…”

“Where Kara? Where’s he coming from?”

“He’s coming up on your right…he doesn’t seem to be running as fast as…wait…Jay, he’s on your left. No…Barry…this isn’t good guys!”

“Kara…what do you see?”

“There’s two of him Barry! He’s coming close to pinning the both of you down Jay! You’ve got to get out of there!”

“NO! We have to keep going! Two of him or not, we have to stop him here and now!”

“Barry, listen to Kara, kid. We can’t beat two of him if he’s as fast as you say! We have to…”

In the next moment a sonic boom exploded through the city, forcing everyone still out at that time of night to cover their ears. Only Kara could hear over the sound and listened in to Barry and Jay’s conversation.

“Think about this Barry, the Speed Force storm is already reaching disastrous proportions. We can’t keep this up…”

“Jay we have to…we have to…throw lightning!”

“What?”

“We’re already close to top speed! They haven’t outpaced us yet! We just need to push a little harder, and then we throw lightning!”

Jay instantly knew what Barry was thinking and while risky, it was a good plan. And he was right; neither Godspeed had been able to catch them yet. If they could keep up the pace they were running at, they would make it to the park and be able to change the game. Neither of the rival speedsters would be able to see or counter the lightning throw when it was coming right at them.

Soon enough both Jay and Barry kicked their speed into a higher gear, beginning to leave Godspeed behind. As she was still watching from the skies above Kara knew something was off and came to a startling realization.

“Barry…he…they’re falling behind. He’s planning something! They’re playing with you! Keep going, I’m on my way!”

“Kara; no!”

“But…”

“Godspeed has to think Jay and I are on our own! If you fly in and help, the plan won’t work! At first sight of you, he’ll turn tail and leave!”

“Barry…!”

“Trust me!”

“Always.”

Kara returned to her position flying above the park. While she wanted to swoop down and help her friends, keep them from getting hurt, she knew she had to follow the plan they made. If Godspeed, either of them got away, this would start all over again.

Something had gone terribly wrong. Godspeed could still feel the Speed Force storm, but he and his double were rapidly losing ground to both versions of the Flash. He thought by now he should have at least been able to catch one of them, but it was as if the Speed Force was draining his power. He hadn’t yet lost sight of his adversaries and still continued the pursuit. Soon enough the four were coming up on the park entrance. Barry and Jay knew that both speedsters were still behind them but continuously falling back. This was the time for them to implement the rest of the plan.

They quickly turned, changing position and were running through each other’s lightning trail. Both had tapped into the Speed Force and shared the power which increased their speed. Barry and Jay were now each facing their adversaries, lightning crackling off their hands. In the blink of an eye, both threw lightning bolts hitting their enemies square in the chest. The scream that came from both Godspeeds was gut-wrenching. Then the one Jay had thrown lightning at imploded, his energy collapsing in on itself.

The other fell to his knees but his momentum carried him forward right through Cisco’s portal. He was immediately outside a second portal in the air where Kara’s fist landed squarely on his jaw. Her hitting him wasn’t part of the original plan, but she felt he deserved it for what he had put Barry through. Cisco had kept the portals open so Godspeed fell back through one and hit the ground hard as he came down. A satisfied smirk was on Kara’s face as she landed next to Cisco, the latter giving her a high-five.

“Supergirl…”

“Yeah Cisco?”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

Kara just laughed as Cisco attached the power dampening cuffs on Godspeed. After a few moments the speedster began to stir, regaining consciousness. Seeing that he was surrounded, he tried to run, but ended up hitting his knees in the dirt.

“Happy now Flash? Either of you? I tried to steal your speed, would have gladly taken over Central City. Here’s your chance, kill me like you killed Thawne and Zoom!”

“I didn’t kill either of them. Thawne was erased from existence when Eddie Thawne sacrificed himself. Zoom was taken by Speed Force wraiths. I had nothing to do with their deaths.”

“Oh that’s right, because you don’t kill! Your method of justice is to lock the criminals away so they can just escape and hurt more innocents! You didn’t even catch the ones responsible for my brother’s death!”

Suddenly Barry recognized the voice that was screaming at him in pure fury. He hadn’t seen this man for two years, and Captain Singh had informed the rest of C.C.P.D. that he had transferred to a precinct back in his home town. To confirm his suspicions, Barry stepped closer and removed Godspeed’s mask. He wasn’t prepared for who he saw.

“August?! August Heart?”

“You know this guy, Flash?”

“I sure do, Flash. I never knew he got the powers of a speedster like I did.”

“How do you know my name Flash? I’ve never met you before in my life.”

“August…it’s been two years, but I don’t think you could have forgotten me that easily.”

Confusion appeared on August’s face as he thought he recognized the Flash’s voice now that he wasn’t vibrating his vocal chords and face to conceal his identity. But nothing could have prepared him for the face behind the Scarlet mask.

“Barry…?”

Confusion turned to back to rage as Heart tried to get to his feet. Kara easily pushed him back down to his knees, but the feeling of betrayal was evident on the former Detective’s face.

“It’s all your fault! You could have stopped the Black Hole before they killed my brother! But no…Mister high and mighty Flash won’t ever take the law into his own hands! And why? Because he trusts the system!”

“The Flash is not above the law, August. You were a cop, and a good one. You were my friend.”

“Those days are long gone Barry Allen. You better lock me away someplace I’ll never get out. Because if I do, I’ll go after the Black Hole, and when I finish with them, I’m coming after you!”

Kara had heard enough of Godspeed’s ranting and punched him again, but only with enough force to knock him unconscious. She could see the grief in Barry’s eyes at what August had both said and done. But she also saw the resilience in them as well.

“So what are we going to do with Godspeed? Can’t just leave him here.”

“I’m not going to Jay. I’m going to take him to Iron Heights. He’ll be kept in the meta-human wing of the prison.”

“You want anyone to come along?”

“No, this is something I need to do alone. I’ll see you guys back at Star Labs.”

“Okay, by the way, good job kid. You too Kara.”

“Thanks Jay.”

“Cisco, you think you can…?”

“Oh I can vibe us back. It did seem like that race took a lot out of you.”

“You have no idea. Kara, you coming?”

“You guys go ahead. I’m going to stay and talk to Barry.”

Cisco and Jay hopped through the portal back to Star. When it closed behind them, Kara placed a comforting hand on Barry’s face, and the other on his heart.

“It wasn’t your fault Barry.”

“I know, I just wish I’d seen this coming years ago. I always knew August was a good man. But he never talked about his private life. We were friends on the job, I guess…”

“Were you the Flash when his brother got killed?”

“It was before I became the Flash. Before I’d even met August in fact. I remember reading the article about a local officer’s brother being caught in the crossfire of a gang war. I just wish he’d told me. I could’ve helped him work through the pain.”

“Barry, listen to me. This was not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for things you had no control over. You do the best you can and help as many people as you can. That’s what makes a hero. Somewhere along the way, August lost sight of that.”

“You’re right Kara.”

“Of course I am, now go on, take him to Iron Heights. I’ll be at Star when you get back.”

Barry threw August over his shoulder and was getting ready to leave when Kara closed the gap between them, placing a kiss on his cheek before pulling his mask back over his face. With a wink, Barry was gone as she flew up and away