Present

"He just killed her...just like that?" Barry breathes, eyes wide as he stared at me in the bed. I had sat up now, finally starting to feel a little bit better than I had before.

My eyes stay locked on my feet at the end of the bed. "He killed her because he knew she meant something to her. He always told us to never trust and to never love, but she broke that rule. It was her Hell."

Barry's eyes drift to the floor, thinking about something. 'Well, that's a comforting thought."

I knew he was talking about us. Something about the way he said that showed that he was worried that something like that was going to happen to us, but I knew that I wasn't going to let it. "Barry, he's insane. He might have taken Dust Storm away from Laurel, but he can't touch me, alright? I won't let him."

"He already almost killed you once," he breathes, looking back up at me. "When he sees you're still alive, he'll bite back harder than the first time."

I knew he was right. Hunter always had that quality; whenever something didn't go his way, he made sure that it did. I had to admit, I was a little afraid of what might come next, but I assured myself that whatever that something was...he wasn't going to get his way.

"Don't worry about me," I fade out, shaking my head. "What I'm worried about is you."

Barry repositions himself in his seat. "Me?"

I debate whether or not to say my fear out loud. "I'm just worried that instead of trying to kill me again...he might go for you instead."

He pauses for a moment, letting my words sink in. "He won't get the chance-"

"Barry," I interrupt him. I wait a long moment before speaking again, my mind bustling with thoughts. "What are we going to do?"

He takes a deep breath, knowing that I was asking the big question. "What we're going to do is figure out what his next move is, and then we'll operate from there."

"What did you do with Laurel?" I ask, getting an idea all of a sudden. "Is she in the pipeline?"

Barry nods. "Yeah, I thought we'd try and get something out of her before locking her away for good-"

"Let me talk to her," I state, earning a doubtful look from Barry. "I might be able to get through to her."

He looks as if he's about to tell me that it wasn't a good idea, but then he gives in. "Are you...sure? After hearing that story, it sounds as if she would claw your eyes out if given the chance."

"She won't have the chance," I say as I start to get out of the bed, causing Barry to stand. "She'll be behind glass, and I'm willing to bet I could get at least something out of her. There has to still be a part of her in there that still cares about something."

Barry sighs. "It's worth a shot."

-*+*-

"Silver Trickster," Laurel snickers as I walk into the pipeline with Barry at my side. "I'll have to admit, that little sound trick was quite genius, but I still think mine is better."

She screams against the glass then, thinking in her mind that it would shatter, but instead it stayed in tact. A faint smile appears on my face as she steps backwards, narrowing her eyes in frustration. I didn't blame her; it must be the first cage she's been locked away in and was unable to escape from.

I step up to the glass, keeping my distance. "Laurel-"

"Black Siren," she snaps back in my face bitterly.

A deep breath escapes my lips. "Why are you here? Why are you working with him again?"

Laurel's eyes drift from me to Barry, a sly smile appearing back on her face. "Is this your little friend? He's a lot cuter with that mask off, I'll admit."

I glance over at Barry before back to Laurel. "Answer my question."

"I'm not answering anything with him here," she points at Barry. "He might be cute, but none of this is his business."

I start to disagree with her, but before I can get a word out, Barry reaches over and grabs my bicep, causing me to stop and turn towards him. "It's fine, Raven. I'll wait out in the hall."

Laurel continues to snicker. "Look at you two love birds; you can hardly bear to be separated."

I decide not to comment on Laurel's remark as Barry glares back at her, turning and walking off down the ramp. The door closes behind him then, and after it does, I turn back towards her, a stone cold look on my face. I was here to get something out of her, nothing more.

"Why are you working with him?" I ask again, crossing my arms and cocking my hip.

She takes a step back away from the glass. "I already told you; he finally realized what he lost that day you decided to cast me away."

"I know you better than that," I state bitterly. "You wouldn't go running back to him unless something was motivating you."

"I do have motivation," she says too happily. "He promised me that I'd have the honor of killing the man in the red suit, just like how you killed the person I cared about most."

My heart sinks into my stomach. "I didn't kill Dust Storm-"

"Not physically, no," she states while crossing her arms. "If you would have believed me back then, maybe she wouldn't be six feet underground now. You were the one who planted the idea in his head to make him kill her. Besides, nothing sounds more satisfactory than to ruin your life just like how you ruined mine."

I couldn't process what she was saying. I knew that she always blamed me for what had happened to Dust Storm, but this...I never would have imagined her running back to the man who killed her in the first place.

For a moment, I couldn't find any words. "Back then, you said he was the one who ruined our lives. What happened to that version of Laurel?"

"Silver Trickster shredded that version of me," she snaps back in my face. "Black Siren is all that's left, and that's the best version of me."

I hadn't gotten anything useful out of her yet, but I had a feeling that this wasn't going to go as smoothly as planned. I had hoped that Laurel still had a piece of her that cared a little, but after hearing her words, it made me wonder if that part of her truly was gone.

I move on to my next question. "Why the buildings? Why waste your talent on doing something like knocking down buildings?"

"To create a distraction for what's about to come," she smirks, starting to pace in the cell.

After she says this, I faintly remember Hunter saying something similar. "A distraction for what? What's his plan, Laurel?"

"And why would I tell you?"

"Because I know some part of you still wants to help," I state simply, hoping I'd get through to her. "I know I never said it before, but I'm sorry for what happened that night. I'm sorry that I wasn't the friend you needed, and I'm sorry that you had to lose her. You wanted to help me that night, and I failed you, but please, Laurel...you have the chance to help me again, and this time I promise I'll listen."

She blinks at me behind the glass, her smile already faded away from her face. Her eyes go stone cold as she thinks, the gears spinning behind her eyes. I couldn't tell if she was going to accept my apology or spit in my face, but I held my breath for what felt like an eternity to hear what she had to say next.

"You already know what he's planning on doing next," she answers simply, turning her nose up before turning around and facing the wall in the cell. I wait for her to say more, but when she doesn't, I take a step forward, glad to get this much out of her. She was breaking down slowly.

"What do you mean I already know?" I ask, uncrossing my arms.

She doesn't face me. "What's the one thing he's wanted all along, Raven? That's right, power. Power is what drives him, you know that. Let's just say Central City and this earth isn't enough for him anymore. He's looking to expand his horizons."

I raise an eyebrow at this. I was about to ask her to elaborate on what that meant, but before I could get a word out, I remembered Hunter's words faintly in the back of my mind. He had said that he already brought our earth to its knees...that he wanted to take over earth 1. I was right there with him when he said it; I was the one who implanted the idea of taking over more earths in his head.

"Expand his horizons," I fade out, thinking to myself. It was all starting to click inside my head, but I couldn't keep up with myself.

Laurel turns and faces me again. "That's all you're getting out of me. I just hope you believe me this time."

I could hear the spite in her tone, and it almost tore me to shreds. I stop thinking about Hunter for a moment as I look her in the eyes, a look of sincerity on my face. "I really am sorry for what happened back then, Laurel. I took your broken soul and molded it into a monster, and I'll pay for that someday."

I look at her one last time before I go to close the door, but before I press the button, Laurel steps forwards quickly. I stop as I turn and look at her, waiting for her to say something. She takes a deep breath, her eyes showing sincerity.

"I forgive you."

A smile appears on my face before I push the button, the doors closing and locking her up for good. I told myself that I wasn't going to give up on her yet..that she still was capable of saving. I would come back and help fix this mess I created in the first place.

But first, I needed to stop Hunter.

-*+*-

"Barry, what are we doing? We need to make a game plan on what to do next-"

Barry stops in front of the door of the West's home, sighing as he faces me. "Raven, I'm glad that you were able to get something out of Laurel tonight. It was information that we can use, but it's currently 10 o'clock and I'm starving. Working on a game plan can wait at least until the morning."

I shake my head. "But Barry, you don't get it, Hunter never stops-"

He places his hands on my biceps, looking me in the eyes. "We had a major win today. We defeated all of the metas that were running around Central City. That's enough to celebrate for one night, okay? Besides, I heard that Joe was making his famous lasagna."

I straighten up after hearing the last part. "Alright, but only because of the lasagna."

Barry laughs at me before opening the door, the smell of the food instantly making my stomach growl. When I gaze inside, I see Joe, Iris, Wally, Jesse, Harry, Cisco, Caitlin, and Henry inside. They all turn and face Barry and I as we walk inside, smiles appearing on their faces. It made me feel at home.

"What is all of this?" Barry asks, a grin on his face as he hugs his dad.

Cisco points at Iris. "This was all her idea, so blame her. But I'll have to admit, a long day of defeating metas calls for a celebration."

I close the door behind me as I walk forwards, watching Barry as he goes around saying hello to everyone. Wally's eyes land on me then as he walks over, whispering in my ear. "I thought you said last time that you and Barry weren't a thing."

I give him a playful look. "We're whatever you want us to be, Wally."

He laughs as I grin, looking over towards the table to see Cisco walking towards the food. "Alright boys, taking down a city full of monsters sure makes a man hungry. Let's dig in, ami right?"

Everyone starts to head towards the table then as Barry motions for me to sit next to him, making a faint smile appear on my face. However, the smile grows when I see the lasagna sitting on the table in front of me. "I have never been more excited to eat that in my life."

Joe grins, but just before he can comment, I glance over and see Cicso standing there in complete shock, causing Barry and the rest of us to give him a concerned look. "Cisco, are you okay? What did you see?"

Wally looks confused. "See?"

"Cisco gets visions," Caitlin says simply as Cisco stares at the ground.

"I vibed earth two...getting split in half, right down the middle," he breathes, and suddenly then, what Laurel told me earlier was starting to make more sense in my mind. "Tell me I didn't just vibe the future...tell me I didn't just see the end of the world!"

The moment he finishes his sentence, everything started to crumble right before my eyes. The next thing I know, I see a flash of blue lightning zooming into the room, grabbing ahold of Henry by the neck, staring directly at Barry and I. For those few short moments, time stood still as Hunter's eyes made me feel everything at once...pain, despair, betrayal, jealousy; all of it.

He knew I was alive now.

"Sorry to interrupt dinner," he says in that raspy voice of his, making chills shoot up my spine. His eyes land on me once again before going to Barry. "So our story continues, Flash."

After those final five words, he's gone along with Henry. I am hardly able to process what is going on before Barry is gone, chasing after the two and leaving the rest of us behind. Wally's eyes grow wide as he looks at Barry's empty space, realizing now that he was the Flash all this time. I realize in that moment I wasn't breathing...I wasn't even able to move.

"Raven!" I hear a faint scream in my ear before I start to tune it in. It was Joe, but I wasn't quite sure why he was yelling my name.

I look around at everyone then, seeing how frightened they all looked. I take a deep breath before I look back at Joe, my hands shaking. He yells at me one last time, a simple word that motivated me to finally move. "Go!"

A part of me wanted to stay here with them to make sure Hunter didn't lay a hand on them, but the other knew that Barry needed help. Hunter knew I was alive now, so the cat was out of the bag. There was no sense in hiding anymore.

I take off running in that moment, not sure where I was even running off too. I dash down the streets of Central City before I catch a trail of red lightning out of the corner of my eye, causing me to turn and chase it into a house. I pause in the doorway for a moment as I listen to figure out what was going on, but when I do, I was already too late.

"You still don't believe that we're the same," I hear Hunter say, no longer in his raspy voice. "So I'm going to have to make you believe."

I hear Henry yell then, but just before I can move my legs, I hear a long and heartbreaking scream from Barry, and I didn't have to see what happened to know what Hunter did. When I finally make it upstairs, I turn the corner to see Hunter's hand through Henry's chest, his eyes wide as Hunter grinned.

I stand there frozen as Henry falls to the ground at Hunter's feet, reminding me all too much of Dust Storm and everyone else that he's killed. But this time, he went too far.

He was going to pay for what he did.

-*+*-

Super duper extra long chapter for you guys because I love you all dearly, haha

but I thought this chapter was okay-ish? I hope to bring back Laurel someday, but for now she'll be locked away. Also, next chapter should be interesting..finally going to get another Raven/Hunter interaction!

don't forget to vote and comment <3