Chapter 84 – The Name in the Dark
He sat there, knees pulled to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around his legs.
Dante—the Red Doom, the void-born speedster who once faced gods and tore monsters apart—now looked like a child hiding from a nightmare.
Jay and Barry stood nearby, silent and shaken.
Barry had seen Dante in every form.
Angry.
Raging.
Playful.
Detached.
But this… this was new.
This was fear.
And fear had never belonged to Dante. Not in all the years Barry had known him. Not when Dante stood against armies. Not even when his body had been broken beyond repair. Dante always faced the world with either a smirk, a snarl, or a joke.
But now he was shaking.
Silent.
Eyes glassy.
Breathing ragged.
And it all started with a name. A single word whispered by the Black Order. That moment shattered something deep inside Dante.
Barry didn't know what to do.
Neither did Jay.
---
STAR Labs – Later
The silence in the cortex was heavy.
Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells stood in tense anticipation. They'd received the alert — two returning speedsters. Barry and Jay. But three had left.
Their hearts dropped.
And then, the breach opened.
Barry stepped through.
He wasn't running.
He was carrying someone.
On his back.
Dante.
His eyes were open. But he didn't speak. Didn't blink. Didn't move. He looked like a statue of himself — like his soul had been left behind in some distant part of time.
"Dante!" Caitlin rushed to him, gently helping Barry lower him to a bed in the medbay. "What happened?!"
Barry didn't respond.
His face was pale. Exhausted.
"I don't know," he finally said. "I… I really don't."
Cisco joined her, helping ease Dante onto the medical bed. Wells quickly began scanning vitals, running neurological tests. They checked every inch of his body.
Nothing.
No injuries. No bruises. Not even a scratch.
Physically, Dante was fine.
Emotionally?
He was gone.
Cisco pulled off his gloves. "This doesn't make sense. His heart rate is low, steady. No concussion. No burns. But—he's not here. I mean, he is, but…"
"He's unresponsive," Caitlin finished. "Like he's in a waking coma."
They all stepped outside the medbay, closing the glass door behind them. Dante didn't move. He didn't even glance in their direction.
Caitlin turned to Barry, her voice gentle but firm. "What. Happened?"
Barry ran a hand through his hair, jaw clenched.
"I don't know, okay?" he snapped, then exhaled. "Sorry. I just—one second we were fighting the Black Order. All three of us. Then he grabbed Dante and ran through time. I don't know where. I don't know how long."
Jay stepped up beside him. "They vanished… and when they came back, Dante was winning. He had the Black Order pinned. I thought he was going to end it."
Barry nodded slowly. "But then the Black Order said something."
Wells arched a brow. "Said what?"
Jay answered softly. "'Impossible is a word… that exists in the dictionary of fools.'"
Cisco squinted. "Wait a second… that's a quote."
Wells and Cisco spoke at the same time.
"Napoleon Bonaparte."
Caitlin blinked. "What does Napoleon have to do with this?"
Jay hesitated. "It wasn't what he said. It was how he said it. He added something else. The last word."
Cisco leaned in. "What word?"
Jay's voice dropped to a whisper. "Dante."
They all turned to look into the medbay.
Dante was still frozen in place.
Then—
His fingers twitched.
His breathing shifted.
And slowly, painfully, his eyes opened wide. They were filled with something ancient, haunted — the kind of fear that doesn't come from pain, but from memory.
He whispered a single name.
"Leon…"
His voice cracked.
Then his eyes closed again.
---
The room fell silent.
Not one of them moved.
"Leon?" Caitlin repeated, confused.
Cisco looked at Barry. "You ever hear Dante say that name before?"
Barry shook his head. "Never."
Jay stepped closer to the glass. "Who is Leon?"
But Barry already knew the answer.
Not through knowledge. But through instinct.
The way Dante whispered it. The horror in his voice.
That wasn't the name of an enemy.
It was the name of a ghost.
---
Hours Later
STAR Labs was quieter than usual. Wells, Cisco, and Caitlin had gone back to their stations. But Barry stayed near the medbay, watching.
Waiting.
And finally...
Dante moved.
He sat up slowly, like every motion required effort.
He stared at the floor, silent for a long time.
Barry walked in without a word and sat down across from him.
They just sat like that.
No questions.
No pressure.
Just silence.
Eventually, Dante spoke.
"He said it... exactly like he used to."
Barry tilted his head. "Leon?"
Dante nodded slowly.
"He used to say that. That exact phrase. That quote. Over and over. Like it meant something to him."
Barry was quiet. "Who was he?"
Dante's voice was barely a whisper. "My brother."
The silence returned.
But it wasn't empty anymore.
It was heavy.
Full.
Dante rubbed his hands together, still trembling. "Leon was… everything. He was older. Smarter. Stronger. When we were kids, he protected me. Taught me to fight. Taught me how to run."
He swallowed hard. "But something happened. Something bad. I thought he died. A long time ago. I buried him."
Barry's chest tightened. "You think the Black Order is him?"
Dante didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Barry saw it in his face.
The horror.
The recognition.
The heartbreak.
All in one glance.
Dante whispered, "He used to say that quote every time I said something was impossible. It became his catchphrase."
Barry leaned forward. "But that doesn't make sense. Leon died years ago, right?"
Dante's eyes burned. "Yeah. He did. But what if…"
"What if he didn't?" Barry finished.
Dante nodded, his voice hollow. "Or worse. What if he chose to become what he is now?"
Jay entered the room, holding a cup of water, offering it gently to Dante.
He took it with shaking hands.
Jay looked him in the eye. "We'll figure this out. If he's your brother, if something changed him—we'll find out how. We'll stop him. Together."
Dante didn't respond.
But in his silence, something stirred.
Resolve.
Or maybe...
Vengeance.
Because Dante wasn't just afraid anymore.
Now he had a reason.
A name.
Leon.
---
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