Chapter 15
Barry, Wally, and Jay were struggling in their fight against Savitar. Even without his force field and most of his power gone, the God was still an excellent fighter. Until now, they had only managed to corner him in the back of the building, keeping him away from the exits in case he would suddenly decide to flee.
The battle was dragging on and the speedsters seemed unable to deliver the final blow that would end the God of speed once and for all. It was frustrating and exhausting, especially since they didn’t know how long the scientists would take to fix the Power Shaker. They had to present a sufficient threat to Savitar and keep him busy while saving their energy.
Barry was on the first line, fighting Savitar hand to hand and only switching place with Wally when he needed to catch his breath. Jay stood behind - being a little slower than the two others - but he was still able to prevent Savitar’s escapes thanks to his experience and previous battles against the God of speed.
“Guys, how’s the work on the Pod going?” Barry asked in the intercom during one of his breaks, letting Wally and Jay deal with Savitar.
“Almost done.” Ray replied. “We’re going as fast as we can but it’s not really the ideal place or time for such a task.”
“Do your best but do it quick.” Barry requested. “I’m not sure how long we can keep up with this game before Savitar figures out a way to escape from here.”
Most of the minions were dead or had fled the building as soon as they saw their God fall to his knees. The team rapidly took care of the rest of the lackeys and was now protecting the techies working on the pod to prevent any desperate attempt on the machine.
With the control fried and the lack of time and material, Lena, Felicity and Cisco were struggling to repurpose the Power shaker. After another 15 minutes, Lena connected the last wire that would turn the emergency button into a start button. The brainiacs smiled proudly at each other, the customized pod – baptized the Leech by Cisco - was ready.
“Cheer up guys, the Leech is ready!” Cisco announced over the intercom.
“The Leech? Did you really call a machine capable of wiping out a speedster the Leech?” Jay asked stunned.
“We’ll have time to discuss Cisco’s hyperactive imagination later.” John interrupted. “Ray, how long before you can bring the machine down here?”
“I’m on my way.” Ray answered. He had shrank the machine and was now carrying it very carefully, assisted by his ATOM suit.
“Any news from Skirt?” Mick questioned once everyone gathered downstairs. “I’m sure she can help with the vacuum cleaner!” Lena and Sarah simultaneously smacked him on the back of the head. “Hey!” Mick glared at them, annoyed. “Women….”
Once Ray settled the machine, they checked if everything was in place and if the Leech was ready to work. After some last minute tweaks, everyone cleared the room to give the speedsters enough space. Bring Savitar closer to the machine was easier said than done. Even with their combined powers, the three speedsters were making little progress on directing the God in the right direction; as if Savitar knew what they had in store for him and was trying to find an escape route.
Then out of nowhere, a ball of light entered the building, blinding everyone for a few seconds. Everyone blinked in confusion, even Savitar who stood there not knowing what was happening.
It was Kara, now hovering a few feet above the ground, her blond hair gently floating around her head and her cape waving like under a cool breeze. She was surrounded by a gentle golden halo of energy. She tilted her head in direction of the speedsters and smiled warmly. “Sorry for the delay.” She said calmly. “I got this.”
In a blink of an eye, almost too fast for the speedsters to track her movements, Kara was standing in front of Savitar, her fists resting on her hips in her famous pose. “Your reign of terror is over.” She proclaimed.
Savitar didn’t get the time to answer as Kara was already landing an uppercut on his chin. The impact echoed like a tenor bell and sent him flying across the room, his armor incapable of absorbing the blow. Before the God could even touch the ground, Kara was behind him, raising her two clenched fists and hitting him, nailing him face down to the ground.
Without missing a beat, Kara landed on him, her knee on his back as she blocked his head with her arm. Everyone was staring wide eyes at the scene in front of them. Even the speedsters had trouble following the fight.
Savitar tried to stand by leaning on his arm but his attempt was stopped by Kara who sat up straighter, lifting him around the waist before arching her back and crashing backward. Savitar’s head smashed on the concrete with a heavy noise that sent tremor all-across the building.
“Hot…” Sara breathed out.
“You take the words right out of my mouth.” Lena answered with a smirk.
“Damn, Skirt grew a pair after her little trip into the sun!” Mick exclaimed.
“You don’t need a pair to fight well.” Thea pointed out.
“She’s Supergirl after all, what did you expect?” Lena raised her eyebrow. “Don’t mess with the Luthors, especially the Super one.” She looked proudly at her future wife.
“Look at you,” Felicity declared amused, “When you arrived you kept telling us she wasn’t your wife yet and now you’re all ‘she not only stole my heart but my last name’ ’’.
“What did you keep telling me, details?” Lena smirked amused. Another loud bang switched their focus back on the fight.
Kara stood proudly in the middle of the building. She inhaled a large amount of air closing her eyes before releasing her ice breath for a couple of minutes. The temperature in the building fell way beyond the freezing point, trapping Savitar under a thick layer of ice. Then Kara flew through the roof, vanishing from sight again.
No one dared to move, not knowing if the fight was over and if Kara was returning soon or if they should take Savitar to the Leech themselves. A few seconds passed, everyone exchanging questioning looks.
Suddenly, a ray of light pierced through the roof to land on Savitar, a sonic boom following the impact. When the dust settled, the team saw Kara above Savitar who had a half melted steel beam planted in his armor.
The attack was so violent that they were both standing a few feet below ground, all the concrete and ice around them vaporized. Kara continued her assault on Savitar by twisting the steel beam. Savitar’s armor, already weakened by the near absolute zero temperature, exploded in a thousand pieces, sending cutting shrapnel all across the room.
Nate shielded Amaya with his impenetrable skin, holding her in his arms. Oliver and Sara, reacting more on instinct than pure training, took cover behind a pillar. Barry and Wally barely got the time to take Cisco and Felicity out of the deadly flying metal pieces path, while Jay did the same for Thea. John and Mick who were a bit further from the main battle had enough time to hide.
At this exact moment, Kara snapped out of her cold rage and saw Lena standing next to the Leech exposed to a certain death. With a renewed rush of speed fueled by despair, as if time itself was holding its breath, Kara flew in Lena’s direction and engulfed her in her cape before any shrapnel could harm her lover.
“Kara?!” Lena said surprised since she didn’t have the time to register what happened.
Kara straightened, opening the safe cocoon she had created with her cape to check on her fiancée. “Are you ok? Are you hurt? You’re fine? Tell me you’re fine?!” Kara asked panicked as she scanned every inch of Lena’s body to be sure that not even the tiniest metal shard had reached her.
Lena blinked a few times as the situation dawned on her. She tried to smile reassuringly. “Darling, I’m fine. Thank you for…” She didn’t get the time to finish her sentence that Kara was pulling her into a crushing hug.
“I thought for a moment I had lost you…” Kara breathed out. “I was so blinded by my rage and desire to destruct Savitar that for a second I forgot that I was not the only one in the room.”
“I love you but too tight.” Lena mumbled against the woman’s neck.
“Oh,” Kara pulled away. “I’m sorry, you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” Lena kissed her quickly. “Now go finish the job, Supergirl.”
Kara nodded before turning around to confront Savitar again.
Meanwhile, everyone had gathered around the small crater on the ground to see what was hiding beneath Savitar’s armor. There lay a tall and broad-shouldered middle age white man; his eyes were a very dark brown, albeit with some golden flecking. He had long dark hair, sideburns and a thin moustache. He wore a dark blue air force flight suit. He could be considered somewhat handsome, with a thin-lipped expression and a piercing gaze.
Savitar was sitting in the middle of the crater, staring at his hands and turning them over and over again as if he was looking for something that wasn’t there anymore. Lost in thoughts, he didn’t hear Kara approaching.
“Come.” Kara commanded in the same tone you would use to call a reluctant dog.
Still mute, Savitar slowly stood up and looked around for a while until his eyes fell on Barry. A flash of anger appeared in his eyes. He looked down, desperately searching for his lost armor before uttering a sigh. In a second, he was rushing in Barry’s direction shouting. “I AM YOUR GOD!” He didn’t get far, stopped by Kara’s fist which sent him flying back in the hole he was in. Kara flew in his direction, pausing to pick up the steel beam she had used to destroy Savitar’s armor.
“Take him to the machine!” Kara quickly ordered to the speedsters.
In a split second, Savitar was seated in the Leech, held in place by the three speedsters. Kara bent the steel beam around the machine then used her heat vision to weld it.
“Everyone take cover!” Lena shouted before smashing the button to activate the machine.
The whole team spread across the building, trying to find a shelter from the incoming blast while Savitar was screaming repeatedly. “I am your GOD. I KNOW THE FUTURE. This is not how it ends!”
Everyone ducked, silently hoping the explosion wouldn’t destroy the whole neighborhood – except maybe for Mick, who, strangely, would be happy to see something explode. Savitar’s screams were now indistinguishable. This continued for a minute or two. Everyone was worried that the machine might not work and that they would have to figure out another plan to get rid of Savitar.
Suddenly, the God of speed’s voice rose again. “No. No... NO. NOOO… NOT THEM. NOT LIKE THAT!” Savitar yelled, seemingly frightened.
Barry beckoned Kara from across the room, motioning toward Savitar and the machine with a tilt of his head. Kara nodded in acknowledgement. They both left their respective hiding spot to head toward the adjacent room where Savitar was still screaming. They carefully approached together to discover what was scaring the fallen God of speed.
Barry started to tremble in fear, ignoring Kara’s questioning look. She turned her head to look at Savitar and that was when she saw them. Half a dozen of Time Wraiths were slowly turning around Savitar and the Leech, getting closer and closer after each convolution.
Finally, with a screech that could shatter glass, the banshees plunged on Savitar, engulfing him in a swarming mass of darkness before disappearing like ashes blown by the wind.