Disclaimer I don't the characters just the story line.
Hey guys!
Before you read just know that in my universe, Eddie and Iris break up but are still friends. Joe, Eddie and Iris are official members of Team Flash. Dr. Wells/Eobard Thawne is gone. Ronnie and Caitlin aren't engaged anymore and Barry and Iris are trying to be a couple but are failing miserably.
Chapter 1
Barry's soft yelps echoed loudly against the grey plastered walls of the labs. His body protested at the feel of the cold metal against his chest but his pleas go unanswered as Caitlin continued to stick the round metal sensors on him.
"Please stop whining." Caitlin told him curtly. Her lips were set in a thin line, an obvious sign that she was mad at him. Barry knew he was the wrong variable in this equation. Caitlin had specifically told him not to go and try to capture their newest meta-human before they got more information on him but Barry hadn't listened to her. That was probably why he was in the situation he was in now, sitting shirtless on the sick bed with Caitlin sticking cold, little metallic monitors on his chest.
She moves to stick another monitor on his chest when Barry grabs her wrist gently and stops her movement momentarily. She doesn't meet his gaze and Barry feels his insides twist in an uneasy knot. He absolutely hates it when Caitlin's mad at him. It ruins their dynamic and that's one thing Barry can't live without.
Just when Barry opens his mouth to apologize for the umpteenth time the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the corridor outside the Cortex. Barry hesitates before he drops Caitlin's hand and tenses up involuntarily. His muscles are taut with anticipation of moving any second if a threat walks through the doors. Cisco comes out form his personal lab a few seconds later when the footsteps get louder. He doesn't look at Caitlin or Barry. His eyes are trained unwaveringly on the entrance to the lab.
They all wait with baited breath. Barry unconsciously positions himself in front of Caitlin, ready to grab her and flash away if things go south as they so often do. There's this miniscule moment in time just before the newcomers enter - because it's obviously more than one person - that a sense of dread settles over the three people present. The events of the past year have acutely increased their paranoia.
There is almost a collective sigh of relief when the two figures entering the Cortex turn out to be Joe and Eddies. The stiff tension the room dissipates and Barry relaxes on the bed. Cisco is the first to break out from the paranoia induced stupor. His face breaks out in a classic Cisco-grin. He covers the distance between himself and the detectives in no time at all embracing each man in a brotherly hug.
"What are you guys doing here?" Cisco asked after he releases Joe.
Caitlin leaves Barry side and moves over to the group of men but not before giving Barry a stern look that he understood as her telling him to stay where he was. The scowl previously adorning her soft features morphs into tender smile once she turns to face the pair of detectives. She goes to Joe first and gives him a tight hug. Barry however, watches in confusion when Caitlin turn to give Eddie a hug as well but unlike Joe who simply placed his hand on Caitlin's back reassuringly, Eddie's both hands come up and slide easily across Caitlin's slim waist. Her face is slightly buried in his neck while his face his pressed against her soft hair. The pair is in this position for only a few seconds but for Barry it's a few seconds too long. When they finally detach themselves from one another Caitlin takes a step back but her hands remain on Eddie's arms and his gaze remains locked on her smiling face.
"I thought you guys were supposed to be in a conference in Coast City?" Caitlin asks.
"Well the conference finished early." Eddies offered as an explanation but the smile he gives leaves no one believing his statement.
"Entire conferences don't just end early." Barry deadpans. His tone is a little rougher than he intended it to be but no one seems to notice his change in voice. But Caitlin does notice how Barry's eyes have turned to a darker shade of green, the forest-like color they always get when he upset about something. But Caitlin doesn't comment on that now, instead she focuses her attention back to Joe and Eddie who both look rather embarrassed at being called out on their bluff.
"No you're right." Joe concedes first. He scratches the back of his neck just like Barry does when he's nervous, off to his side Eddie looks to the ground sheepishly.
"Then what are you doing back so early?" Cisco gives them both a suspicious look. They all know that Eddie and Joe aren't ones to play hooky so their sudden departure brings on a certain air of suspicion amongst the other members of the team.
"Well Captain Singh really needed us back in Central City." Eddie offers this time. Barry's eyebrows knot in confusion. Why would Captain Singh call back Joe and Eddie from an important conference? He hadn't heard anything around the precinct about Singh calling them.
Cisco gives them both a confused look. "Why did he need you guys back so early?"
"Well," Joe starts with a sigh, "It seems that we have a disappearing man on our hands."
If the group was confused before, they we completely dumb struck now.
"What like a meta human?" Caitlin asks as she moved to lean against the metal table, arms crossed over her chest. Joe takes the chair next to where Caitlin's standing and spins it to face the entire group. He shakes his head back and forth. "Nope, not a meta human this time."
"Then you've got us stumped." Barry offered from his position on the table. Both Caitlin and Cisco nod in agreement. If it wasn't a meta human they were dealing with what was it? An alien maybe? Before their minds could wander off to distant and frankly foolish places, Eddie stepped up to the base to clarify everything.
"A couple of weeks ago a prototype was stolen from Mercury Labs."
Before Eddie could continue, Cisco interrupted him and asked, "Wait why haven't any of us heard about this?"
"Because," Joes started picking up where Eddie left off, "Mercury Labs has a lot of money and power and they didn't want this getting out to the public's ears. They have a reputation to maintain and since the whole Reverse Flash incident, they've been doing damage control. Merchandise being stolen isn't a good thing for potential and current investors to hear about."
Off to the side Caitlin snorts, "It's a sad day when science has become so dependent on commerce." Cisco shakes his head in agreement. Neither say another word on the matter so Eddie continues with his explanation. "They have a lot to lose considering that it's a prototype for an invisibility suit."
"What!?" Cisco exclaimed interrupting Eddie, "Did you say invisibility suit? That's so dope!"
Barry smiles at his friend, one thing's for sure, Cisco never lack enthusiasm. However, Caitlin, Eddie and Joe don't see it the same way. They all look at Cisco in slight disbelief with Caitlin and Joe shaking their heads back and forth despondently.
"Yea, it was before someone stole it." Eddies states, bringing back the sombre mood amongst the group.
"So the person who stole the suit has been doing what with it exactly?" Caitlin queries. She was always the one to bring the group back to their main focus point.
"Well," Joe began as he idly played with a pen on the desk in front of him, "It seems he or she - we don't know for sure – has been using the suit to get close to one Dr. Howard Greenshaw. There've been several attempts on his life in the past two weeks and no one has seen or heard the the assailant coming."
"Wait a minute," Caitlin interrupted, "Are we talking about thee Dr. Howard Greenshaw? Founder and owner of Dynamic Pharmaceuticals?" Both Eddie and Joe nodded in confirmation. Off to the side Cisco let out a long, low whistle, "Wow…. That guy's like a billionaire. He's got better security than the president."
"Well now we know why this creep needs the invisibility suit. There's no way their getting anywhere near Greenshaw any other way." offered Caitlin.
"Wait I'm still confused about one thing." Barry questioned from his perch on the examination table, "Why would Captain Singh call you two."
Both Eddie and Joe looked slightly offended by Barry's comment. Caitlin gave him a pointed look and Cisco had a hand over his mouth to suppress the spurt of little giggles trying to escape his lips. It took Barry a moment for him to fully comprehend what he had said and when it registers he had the decency to look sheepish and a bit apologetic. "That's not what I meant….I just meant… I mean."
"Barry you should stop talking before you dig this hole any deeper." Caitlin advised him in a slightly warning tone. Barry opened his mouth again to defend himself but the glare Caitlin sends his way is enough to shut him up completely. Both Joe and Eddie shake their heads dismissing the obvious unintentional insult.
"It seems Mercury Labs requested us specifically. Since we were the ones to deal with the Reverse Flash situation they have a certain amount of trust in us." Eddies offers as an explanation, a swell of pride expanding his chest. Off to the side Joe shakes his head in amusement at his partners antics. "That is true and they know we can be discrete. You know considering our close affiliation with S. T. A. R. Labs."
"That sounds more like it." Caitlin concludes giving Eddie a reprimanding look. The detectives shoots her a dangerously charming smirk and offers her a shrug of the shoulders. Caitlin shakes her head in annoyance but Barry can see the beginning of a smile tug at the ends of her lips. He is stumped by Caitlin's behavior towards Eddie. They never seemed close before but their interactions here were downright friendly- Barry might even say intimate, what with all the lingering touches and sideways looks.
He is quick to break up whatever is going on between the two. From his perch on the table he pipes up, "So why are you guys here then?"
Joe is the one to answer Barry's question, "Well this is a sciencey problem if there ever was one."
"So we came to the smartest people we know." Eddies adds sending another one of his dazzling smiles at Caitlin who to Barry's utter surprise is blushing.
At the request for assistance, Cisco brightens up tenfold. The moment Joe said invisibility suit his mind began racing with thought and ideas about what he could do with that kind of technology."Count me in!" he exclaims brightly, "Anything we can do to help."
"I was banking on that reaction." The comment earns Joe another one of Cisco's thousand watt smiles.
"I'm thinking infrared goggles or heat seeking bullets." Cisco says already making his way back into his lab ignoring the remainder of the party. Caitlin shakes her head fondly at his enthusiasm. Cisco never really ever lets anything bother him. It was something Caitlin always admired about him. Both Eddie and Joe just managed a short chuckles at the younger man's expense.
"I'm guessing you won't be needing the Flash's help on this one." Barry queried after Cisco's departure. The other persons in the room turned their attention back to the seated speedster. Joe shook his head, "Don't count yourself out just yet. We may still need you."
A wide grin spread across Barry's face at the admission that he may still be of use in this case. However, before he could let the good news brighten his mood Eddie spoke up and sent Barry's mood into a three sixty spin.
"We may not need your help yet but we need Caitlin's."
"Mine?" Caitlin looked at Eddie and Joe confused as to why they would need her on the case. Invisibility suits weren't really her forte. Maybe if it were a meta human who could make himself invisible, she could have been of assistance but as it was this was Cisco's area of expertise.
"Yes your help." Eddie confirmed smiling at Caitlin slip in demeanor.
"We need to get in close to Dr. Greenshaw without drawing any suspicion to ourselves. Captain Singh wants this mission as discrete as possible." Joe informed.
"I still don't see how this has anything to do with me?" Caitlin had both arms folded in front of her chest and a confused expression across her face. Barry felt twitchy sensation run through his spine. He didn't like where this conversation was headed.
"Well," Eddie began hoping to make sense of the situation," Greenshaw will be attending this massive drug and pharmaceutical conference next week and we need Caitlin to get us in."
"How's she supposed to do that?" Barry queried from his perch on the examining bed.
Joe spun around in his chair to face Barry. "Captain Singh managed to pull some strings and got Caitlin an invitation to the conference. She's a registered medical doctor so it won't be suspicious. It'll cause a lot of talk at the precinct if we try to forge fake medical documents and get an agent in there."
Barry looked back and forth between Eddie and Joe with a look of obvious disbelief in his face. He couldn't believe what they were asking. Caitlin wasn't an agent. They could not seriously be considering sending Caitlin undercover to intercept a potential killer. No way. Barry wouldn't allow it.
"You can't be serious?" Barry barked out. Ignoring Caitlin's glare he stood up and ripped the monitors off his chest before stalking over to Joe and Eddie. "Caitlin's not an agent you can't send her in there by herself."
"She won't be by herself."
Barry's head snaps to Eddie with a confused look on his face. "Then who will she be with?" There's a nagging little hope behind Barry's heart that begs it to be him to go with her. He was the only person who could protect her. There was none else for the job, it had to be him.
"Me." Eddie answers.
Instantly Barry's heart sinks. He doesn't understand the sudden uneasy feeling that captures him but he knows it won't go away anytime soon. However, before he can voice any of his growing concerns Iris enters the room.
Hey guys. So I had this idea for a while and I just wanted to put it out there for you all to read.
Feedback is appreciated and depending in the response I'll continue, so minimum 6 reviews and I'll continue.
So please read and review and if you have any question or queries please feel free to ask. I'll respond in the upcoming chapter if the response is good.