his fiancé's sudden outburst. He raised his brow at her raised voice.

Caitlin: I mean, uh... Actually, she just went out to get some Big Belly Burger. That speedy girl. She has your appetite, I guess. She'll be back before too long... hopefully.

Y/N looked at the three of them with skepticism. He noticed Caitlin biting her lower lip and her slumped position. Her face was contorted, giving the impression that she was trying to bottle something in. She was leaning back, almost like she was trying to hide what was on the monitor behind her.

Y/N: Cait, where is Judy?

Caitlin: Uh, I, um, ahem, don't know what you mean. I just told you she went to get a bite to eat.

Y/N stepped closer, causing Caitlin to bite further down on her lip.

Y/N: Caitlin, where is she?

In the secure basement of Mercury Labs, Hunter Zolomon continued to work on his upgraded tachyon device. He had his back turned to the door behind him. Through it, Snart peeked through to see what they were dealing with. He brought his head back in and whispered to his cohorts.

Snart: Alright, so Captain Zippy is still in there. If he's as fast as you claim he is, then we won't be able to easily sneak in without instantly finding ourselves in the mortuary. We'll need to lure him out somehow.

The trio thought for a moment, trying to come up with a distraction. Rory looked around before pulling a screwdriver out from his pocket. He pulled his arm back before chucking it back down the hall.

Snart: Mick, wait!

The screwdriver hit the ground, causing a loud audible clang to be heard through the silence of the environment. In his lab, Zolomon heard the loud clang. He turned around to see that the door into the lab was slightly nudged open.

As quick as a flash, Hunter got up and raced out the room, zooming down the hall to look for any intruders. He passed the three thieves who pressed themselves against the wall near the door. As soon as Zoom passed by, they all crept through the door into the lab.

Snart: Make it quick and get us out of here.

Judy rushed over to the lab table Zolomon had been working at. She grabbed the tachyon device, holding it up for her to see. She was about to run off when something caught her eye. Lying down on the table were scattered notes, but they were not blueprints for the device. These looked like wormholes and documented theories regarding time and momentary glimpses through it. She paused, taking everything in.

Mick: Hey, come on. What happened to making it quick?

Judy: Hang on, I need to see this. This may tell us what he's really planning.

She continued to scan the papers, seeing them talk about paradoxes and avoidable causalities. They contained phrases like "time loop" and "physical mirage". One phrase was circled. "Coterminous duplication." Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, the group saw movement on the screen.

Wells: He's coming back.

Caitlin: Judy, get out of there now!

Judy turned around and ran back towards the door. She was just about to grab the others and escape when a black blur rushed in front of her. Zoom slammed into Boom, sending her flying back across the lab. Zolomon stood there in his black and red suit, a grin spreading in his face.

Hunter: Leaving so soon?

Just then, Zoom heard something cock and whir up behind him. He ducked his head, narrowly dodging a jet stream of fire. The inferno flew across the room and hit the back wall. Hunter turned around to see the two crooks staring at him.

Hunter: You two? Do you really think those will work on me? Who do you think you're dealing with? I am death.

Snart: Leonard Snart, robber of ATMs.

Snart fired his cold gun at the black speedster. Hunter dodged it, leaning back and running under the white flame. Mick fired his heat gun again, spewing forth a jet stream of flames. Hunter stood up and began spinning his arms in circles. He created a vortex and extinguished the flames, pushing them away from him and causing them to go out.

Hunter grinned before running between both men. He spread out his arms and pushed both aside. The two crooks went flying back. Snart crashed into a nearby table while Mick smashed into a concrete pillar.

Judy pulled herself up and looked at her two downed allies. She charged at Hunter, trying to race after him. However, the black racer was much faster than she was. He spun around and held up his hand. He grabbed hold of her throat and held her up. Judy gasped, trying to escape his firm grip. She coughed, feeling the air being choked out of her.

Hunter: I need your parents alive to fulfill your existence. But I don't need you. Not anymore. You've already given me what I want.

Hunter brought his hand up and slammed it against the emblem on Judy's chest. He began to drain more of her speed. Purple lightning soared from her into him, changing into negative red lightning. Judy wheezed, feeling weakened by the experience.

Suddenly, a red blur rushed through the long hall and onto the scene. The Flash slammed into Zolomon, releasing Judy from his grasp. Hunter was flung across the room and crashed into one of the tables behind him.

Y/N stood before his foe. His face showed only anger and bitterness. His attention was strictly on Zoom. It gave no lenience to anything else around him. Hunter pulled himself up and rubbed his jaw.

Hunter: Ah, Flash. Nice to see you again. You know, I think you and I are destined to do this dance forever.

Y/N: Not forever. Only until you are dead.

Hunter: I already was.

The two charged at one another. Red and orange lightning circled the lab. Judy, Snart, and Mick looked up and around them. Both speedsters were moving at breakneck speeds. They smashed through lab equipment and ran everywhere, even up the ceiling and across the walls.

Snart tried to look for a pattern in the two's fight choreography. He got an idea and pulled out his cold gun. Snart fired at the ground, freezing part of the floor. Just as Hunter ran by, he slipped on the ice. Y/N grabbed him as he fell and carried him over to the wall. He slammed Zolomon's body into it, cracking the tile on the lab wall.

Hunter's eyes glowed red. He quickly recovered and grabbed the Flash by the shoulders. The two went back to running around the room. They were moving so fast, it was hard to tell who was getting the upper hand over whom. The others didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Y/N was thrown across the room and slid along the floor. Blood trickled from his lip. As he got back up, Hunter ran behind and punched him across the room again. Before he could even fully fall, Zoom came back in front of Y/N and punched him back again. A crack could be heard as his fist hit the Flash's chest.

Y/N fell hard on the ground and stayed there. Zoom walked over to him, victorious. He pressed his hands against his body and started to absorb more of the Flash's speed.

Y/N: Gaaaaghhh!

Y/N trembled and writhed in pain as more of his speed was drained. Judy looked up and saw her father on the ground. Her heat pounded in her chest. She was scared for him. Hunter wouldn't kill him, but he would try and get as close as possible. He would always get close to killing him. This was a never ending battle. This needed to end now.

Judy gritted her teeth and tightened her fists. Purple lightning crackled around her body. Her eyes lit up and she took off. Boom began to run around the room. A purple blur of charged lightning circled the entire lab, casting it in a brilliant glow. She moved so fast, her blur became a singular, glowing ring of light.

Hunter stopped what he was doing and stood back up from his crouched position. He looked around and grinned. Y/N pulled his head up and looked as well. He knew what she was doing.

Y/N: Judy... no.

Judy was angry. She focused on key, painful memories, channeling her emotions into her lightning. She then stopped. She brought herself down and threw up her hands. All the lightning that had been building up was released into a singular powerful energy bolt.

The bolt flew across the room towards Zolomon. She planned on hitting him with it. However, Zoom proved to be much faster. He ran towards the bolt and physically grabbed it. He twirled around before throwing it back at the purple speedster.

Judy's eyes went wide. She saw her own bolt being hurled back at her. Y/N saw it too. He pulled himself up and rushed towards his daughter. The Flash jumped up and pushed her out of the way. He took the full force of the lightning.

Y/N was hit in the chest and flung far back. The front of his suit was charred and he was knocked out. Y/N's body smashed through the glass cases on the lab table behind him and he fell to the ground.

Judy: Dad!

Judy rushed over to her father. He was out cold and barely breathing. Small sparks of purple and orange lightning crackled softly over his chest. Tears starting to fall down Judy's face.

Judy: Dad, please. Dad... wake up. Please, wake up.

The team back at the labs looked at the vitals on Y/N's suit. His heartbeat was faint and his signs were dropping.

Caitlin: He's going into cardiac arrest!

Cisco: The suit's defibrillator is fried!

Caitlin: He's dying!

Wells: We need to get him back here, now!

A tear rolled down Caitlin's eye, scared for her fiancé's life. Hunter looked at the downed Y/N and grinned. His face showed a bit of disappointment but also relief.

Hunter: Funny. I wasn't even trying to get him this time, but you brought it all on him. Just as you always do.

Judy was now crying, holding onto her father's hand. She was now pleading, begging for him to fight through it.

Judy: I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to...

Hunter wanted to gloat more. However, he was stopped by both Mick and Rory standing up before him. They cocked their guns and pointed them at the black racer.

Hunter: Now, gentlemen, you know those won't work on me.

Mick: Doesn't mean we won't try.

Snart: Your body's fast and so is your healing. But what happens if half your body is warm while the other is frozen?

Both men fired at the exact same time. The cold and heat beams collided, both hitting Zolomon's body. Hunter grunted and fell down in his knees. The heat was burning his skin while the cold was slowing his speed and healing process. It was too much for him to handle all at once.

Wells: Judy, get Y/N back here, now!

Judy wiped the tears from her eyes. She grabbed her father as well as the two crooks with her and raced out of the building back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Hunter grunted. Half his suit was covered in frost while the other was charred.

Hunter put his hand on his chest and took deep breaths. He needed to focus. Without his healing, he could disintegrate right here and now. He focused on the pain, all the anger and hatred he had towards the Flash. It was his fault he had to live like this. It was all Y/N's fault. And the agony, the anger associated with that pain would always be his driving force. And it actually worked. His speed started to return to him. Red lightning lit up in sparks over his limbs.

Zolomon tried vibrating, warming his frozen skin up. When he was done, Hunter looked over at his lab table. The tachyon device was gone. It had been taken by the intruders. He looked at the spot with the outlined blueprints. After a moment of silence, he allowed himself a small grin.