Extra chapter because…why not?
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-BLOP
"B-Banish!"
Derek leapt to his feet, diving a few feet away as his Eclipse formed a barrier around him, leaving only room for his eyes to assess the situation.
However, as he did, he witnessed…Barry.
Though, not exactly Barry. With a black coat and messy unkempt hair, this Barry oozed a cold and almost suffocating aura, as opposed to the usual warm influence he had on others.
Not to mention the large scar on the right side of his face.
"Hmph, pussy." Savitar chuckled mockingly, breaking the silence.
And in the next second, Derek controlled his breathing and with a thought, dispelled his Eclipse.
"You…aren't real." He deduced. If it weren't he'd already be dead right now.
"Wrong. I'm just an astral projection. I'm still trapped in the speedforce but I can project my image here, the last use the Philosopher's Stone has."
Derek, his hands still shaking and the adrenaline not yet out of his system, replied shortly after.
"Why did it take you so long to reply?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you severed all of my connection to my Stone and cut off my leg." His voice was low, flat and lifeless like his eyes. Yet he still managed to convey his bitter feelings.
"You deserved it."
Savitar said nothing, instead scrutinising Derek up and down.
"Look at you. After so long, you still haven't been able to unlock a single power of the Stone. You're a waste."
For once, Savitar sniggered, the side of his lips curling upward.
"If I'd known you were so pathetic I'd have killed you from the start. You're useless even to yourself."
Though Savitar looked to mock and put down Derek, he wasn't wrong.
The Philosopher's Stone was rumoured to be extremely powerful, yet he had only neglected it all this time.
"That may be true, but you're forgetting I still have control over you. I say when you appear and I say when you leave. To put it in simpler terms, Savitar, God of Speed…"
Derek's lips curled into a devious grin as he pointed.
"You're nothing more than my bitch."
Savitar tried to control himself but failed as his smirk faded, his eyes forming a dangerously piercing glare.
"Cute. But do you even know the basic things? Like can you sense the SpeedForce?"
Upon Savitar saying this, Derek grew serious as this did ring a bell.
'Now that he mentions it, I was able to notice Flash in the distance when fighting Ray. It's how I knew to put myself in position for the misunderstanding.'
"I'll take that as a yes."
Savitar spoke, but Derek wasn't paying attention.
His mind raced at how this was possible, and it wasn't long until he recalled something from his memory.
"The Philosopher's Stone…It's made from calcified SpeedForce." He muttered, loud enough for Savitar to hear.
"You have future knowledge but you still need to remember things. Almost like they're a memory or something. I wonder what this alternate reality you're from is like."
'You and me both.'
Though Derek answered this question for himself, it made one thing more confusing. Something he still was no closer to understanding or figuring out.
"What's the Holy Grail?"
Savitar's eyes darted at Derek as he froze upon hearing this.
"I don't know if I should be surprised you know that name or surprised that you don't." Savitar began to walk around the storage room, peering at things since he couldn't touch and fiddle with them.
'I don't like it either. The Stone is probably the biggest plot hole in the story. Only used once, its origin and full capabilities were always left in the dark. Which means I know nothing.'
"When I first started my journey to become Savitar, I travelled the timeline and multiverse. I started the rumour that I was the first speedster blah blah blah, you know the story."
Savitar turned, raising a single finger.
"But during my adventures, I met one man…maybe not a man, more like someone I'd put on the same stature as myself."
'That means a lot coming from a cocky bastard like you.'
Derek thought but didn't say. He'd rather not give Savitar any reason to stop spilling the beans.
"More like…a Magician. One who lived centuries ago and whose name has been forgotten despite his greatness."
"!!!"
'Magic? I knew I wanted to dabble in it but I didn't think I'd be running into it this soon.'
The first encounter with magic in the CW was in the fourth season of Arrow where John Constantine made a cameo.
But before that, it was never even mentioned.
"He was the man who created the Philosopher's Stone, the Holy Grail and the suit I wear."
Derek was surprised, to say the least. Though he understood the exact Eclipse he wore was mostly the doing of his ability, changing it so that even Savitar didn't recognise it, it was still impressive.
"What was his name?" Derek asked, to which Savitar continued.
"His name…"
He froze, turning like a rusty robot before smiling.
"Find out for yourself."
'I knew it.'
With nothing better to do, Savitar's main goal was to just torment Derek, feeding him until right before his hunger was satiated.
"Whatever. I was living just fine before knowing this Magician existed. My life won't change even if I find out."
Derek shrugged, returning to his seat and turning his back to Savitar.
"Oh, but it will. The Philosopher's Stone belongs to you now. Meaning you carry all its burdens. Not now, but soon. I'm just waiting till it activates."
Derek remained calm, his demeanour neutral.
But his mind was racing.
'Is he talking about this?'
[Fable: The one who utilised the Philosopher's Stone (Mythical)]
[Effect: Locked]
He pretended like it didn't bother him, but if it was something that wasn't in his control, he needed to know.
"Now, tell me more about your connection to the SpeedForce."
"Heh, you really think I'll tell you after you've been so stingy with your information?"
"I guess not. Let's make a deal, then. I know how much you like them. My info for yours."
Only now did Derek turn to face Savitar.
His eyes narrowed in scrutiny.
But after a few seconds.
"Fine. You first." Derek nodded.
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You want a pinky swear or something? Like I said, I don't care much for what you have to say. But if you're offering."
Derek shrugged, and though reluctant, Savitar spoke.
"Merlin. That was his name. Merlin the Magician."
'Merlin. Never heard of him from any CW show.'
"What time period was he from? What magic did he practice? How did you meet him…"
Derek got a little carried away but was cut off by Savitar.
"We had a deal. Now you."
Derek exhaled, turning.
"Well, my so-called "Connection" to the SpeedForce is like you said. I can just sense Speedsters. To be honest, I didn't even realise I could do it till you mentioned it."
"Interesting."
'Wait a minute…'
Derek's head perked up like a curious cat.
"You want me to take your place in the SpeedForce prison…"
Derek muttered.
In the show, the first phase of Savitar's big plan was to escape the SpeedForce. He needed another speedster to take his place, which he achieved by tricking Wally West to do so.
But he wasn't in the position to do that now.
"You think if my connection to the SpeedForce is potent enough, I can trick it into thinking I'm a speedster, thereby taking your place…"
Derek spun around upon saying this, but as he did, he found nothing.
Savitar disappeared just as quickly as he came.
'Savitar…'
Derek was afraid of Savitar. That was no secret. Whether he truly was just a pussy or had suffered PTSD, this was the truth.
But there was something else that rivalled this fear. Something that made his grin unknowingly as a single thought came to mind.
'Bring it on.'
He proved he was better than Savitar once before…a part of him looked forward to doing it again.
***
"What's wrong?"
"Derek, we've been looking everywhere for you."
Cisco walked to Derek, seeing the boy enter the cortex where only he and Caitlin sat.
They both wore jackets and Caitlin carried her purse as if they were prepared to go out.
"You have a knack for just disappearing, don't you." Caitlin chuckled, she too rose to her feet.
"Let's go. Team Flash is going out to Karaoke!" Cisco exclaimed excitedly, hooking his arm around Derek's neck despite the small height difference.
"Who cares if you have no memories, we'll just make new ones for you."
'Though that sounds nice, I know what this really is.'
This was Barry tricking them into meeting so he and Joe could finally break the news about Wells.
'I guess my interference simply delayed the inevitable. And my feats while here have gained their trust enough to be invited.'
But before that, Derek turned to Caitlin as he spoke.
"Before that, Caitlin, I have a question I need to ask you."
Cisco darted his eyes between the two as Caitlin raised an eyebrow, pausing.
"Me? What can I help you with?"
"Well, remember when I said I dabbled in the Medical Field. I was wondering something."
Derek didn't bother waiting as he got right into it, slyly escaping Cisco's grasp.
'I have no doubt I'll soon exceed her, but my knowledge right now is limited to the Science of almost one hundred years ago. Besides, I'm too impatient.'
He admitted, this question feeling like an itch in his mind he couldn't scratch.
"Upon an abundance of Stem Cells rapidly produced within the body, what would happen?"
Of course, he already knew the answer and he knew she did too. He just didn't want to raise any suspicions since he was still a so-called "Novice".
"Oh, um…the human body would experience a wide array of changes. Though one would see some benefits like rapid healing and slow ageing, there would be just as many risks."
At this point, Caitlin was speaking from memory since she had experience dealing with rapid Stem Cell production in the form of Mirakuru.
"That amount of Stem Cells would run rampant in your body, uncontrolled. They could have negative effects on your body and more importantly, your brain."
'The body part is already taken care of since the first benefit I'll get is my increased physicality.'
"But what if you could find something like "A Guide" that could tell these Stem Cells where to go and when to act."
Caitlin thought for a second, shrugging.
"I guess it makes sense. But it's easier said than done. No human body is capable of dealing with it and there aren't even any known ways to increase your Stem Cells to this degree."
Cisco and Caitlin glanced at each other for a second, knowing the latter part of the sentence was false.
But Derek wasn't focused on that. Instead, his eyes widened as his heart skipped a beat.
"You're right, no human is capable of such a thing. But what about animals?"
Caitlin paused upon hearing this. Her previously tilted head straightened in seriousness.
"What if you could merge the regenerative gene of a lizard into said human, wouldn't the Stem Cells have something new to focus on rather than running rampant?"
Derek's lips curled upwards, Caitlin's also as she stepped closer, adding on.
"It doesn't have to end there either. You could add different "Guides" with different functions. Like the RHO Gene seen in cats and owls to give yourself Night Vision."
"As long as the Stem Cells are there to act as a power source, the possibilities are endless. You could create…"
"A superhuman…"
Derek ran his fingers through his hair as his smile grew wider with Caitilins.
"Are you sure you're just a Novice?" Caitlin asked as Derek shrugged.
"Eh, I'm just a curious guy."
"Well, if you want, you can assist me when I'm working in the lab. I wouldn't mind the help. Pretty soon we'd start having to call you Dr Bond."
"I might just take you up on that, Dr Snow."
The two smiled.
"Uh-huh, and I thought I was the nerd. If you guys are done, I'd like to get going now."
Cisco, standing there all along and having a hard time following their rapid rambling finally spoke up.
"Sorry, Cisco. But like I said Derek, this is all just theory. It's still decades ahead of our time."
'No, just decades ahead of yours. With this missing piece finally filled in…I can do it. I know I can.'
"Alright, that's enough. Let's go!"
Cisco yanked the two of them as they smiled, hurriedly following.
'But first I have to deal with this cannon event.'