Prompt: Lisa goes into the pipeline
"Lisa please don't do this," Cisco pleaded as his wife of ten years walked into a cell in the Pipeline at S.T.A.R Labs.
"Cisco I'm not safe right now. The incident changed me, I can't hug my children, I can't kiss you, my husband. It's for the best and it's only temporary," Lisa reminded him sadly. "Cait, seal me in," she said turning to the camera in the top right corner of the cell.
Cisco watched the door close hearing sniffles behind him. Their seven year old daughter, Sofia stood there, watching her mother. "Sofia you were meant to wait upstairs," Cisco said to her as she ran over to him, her arms wrapped around him, and her face pressed to his side. He lifted her into his arms and turned back to Lisa.
"Mommy don't go," she cried.
"It's only for a while baby. Mommy will be back very soon." Lisa assured her as Cisco carried her closer to the glass cell door. Lisa laid her hand on the glass. "Soon."
Sofia pressed her hand against her mother's. "Soon. I love you mommy."
"Love you too baby. You help look after your baby brother, Ok?"
"OK." Sofia said sadly.
"I'll be back soon," Cisco assured his wife. "I won't stop until I figure out how to help you."
"Don't worry about me, I'm not going anywhere. Take care of our children. And take care of yourself. I love you."
"Love you too," they shared a smile and Lisa watched as Cisco turned and left, Sofia watching her over his shoulder. As soon as they were out of view Lisa stopped smiling and backed against the wall of the cell and slid down to the floor. She could be in there for a while all because of the stupid kid who broke in after following Cisco home the night before.
Lisa carried Noah up the porch steps of her and Cisco's home. Noah, their ten month old son chattering away happily to himself when she noticed the door slightly ajar. She pushed it, dreading what could be waiting for her inside and walked through the house. The lounge was empty but she heard rummaging in the kitchen. Placing a kiss to her son's fluffy hair she put him in his play pen. Peering around the dining room wall she saw the door to the basement wide open and inwardly cursed. The basement was where Cisco did his homework. And recently he'd been updating her gold gun.
The person doing the rummaging turned to face her. It was a stupid teenager. "What're you doing in my house?" She asked, hoping her 'mom voice' would put the fear of God into the kid.
"Woah, you're her." 'Crap' she thought, he was a fan. She saw his hand.
"Put that down," she said suddenly. He was holding the gold gun.
"Why? It's broken." He said shaking it and the lights began flashing. He froze as did Lisa.
"Just give it back to me, leave and I won't call the cops."
"Oh come on, can't I take a l-"he pleaded walking towards her and gestured with the gun which unexpectedly shot the corner of the room. But it didn't power down. Instead the lights flashed frantically and sparks erupted from the chamber. Panicked he dropped it at Lisa's feet.
"Get out!" She called and remembered Noah who was watching her through the side of his play pen, while chewing on his teething toy. She ran towards him, scooping him into her arms just as the gun let out a pulse before it exploded. Lisa wrapped herself around Noah protectively as the pulse crashed into her, knocking her over.
"Lisa? Lisa are you OK?" She heard Cisco's voice calling to her. Opening her eyes Lisa saw Cisco's face fade into view. "What happened?"
"Some kid broke in, he was messing with the gun and it went off. Where's Noah?" She shot forward, "is he OK?"
"Noah's fine, not a scratch on him," Cisco smiled, "he and Sofia are with Caitlin. Joe needs a statement about the kid that broke in, other than that it's all good." He told her. Lisa nodded and leaned back against the pillow.
Lisa and Cisco thought that would have been the end of it. It should've been. But it wasn't.
Two weeks after the incident Lisa was watching Sofia and Noah with Caitlin at S.T.A.R Labs while Cisco and Barry took his and Caitlin's oldest to the old Ferris Air field to work on her newly acquired abilities in speed. From her father. Caitlin was bouncing her youngest Luna on her lap while Lisa kept an eye on the monitors, for the city and Ferris Air. Lisa went to make coffee for the two on them handing Caitlin a steaming cup, with residual gold on the handle.
"What's that?" Caitlin asked seeing it.
"I have no idea," Lisa said frightened, she checked her hands, they were clean, but the handle really wasn't that colour when she made the coffee. Caitlin put Luna in the play pen with Noah and pulled Lisa into the medical area by her sleeve to be careful and pulled on a pair of latex gloves. Carefully she examined Lisa's hands. She ran her index finger over the palm of Lisa's hand. The tip of the glove turned to gold.
"Take off your jacket a second, let me try a blood sample. Run some tests. Don't worry Lisa, I'm sure it's nothing." She said preparing a needle. "Has it happened before?"
"It happened when I helped clean up the house, but it was while I was picking up the gold gun, I thought it was leaking. Other than that I haven't noticed anything." Caitlin took the blood and let Lisa apply a band aid. Caitlin noticed the band aid had gold prints on it and bit her lip.
"Let me run some tests, we'll work this out," Caitlin smiled.
Cisco returned later to pick up Lisa and the kids. He found Caitlin in the lab. "Whatcha running tests on?" He asked.
"It's Lisa's blood."
"Is she OK?"
"Well... Cisco have you noticed anything different about Lisa since the break in?"
"Not really, why? Did she say anything?"
"She made coffee earlier. When she touches something it leaves behind the gold substance you used when you built the gold gun."
"What?"
"Her DNA changed, look," she showed him the iPad with the model of Lisa's DNA on it.
"What're these parts?" He asked, looking at the structure it looked normal except every other connecting enzyme seemed to be coated in the gold substance.
"Remember she mentioned the pulse of energy that knocked her out?"
"Yeah?"
"I think it mutated her DNA into meta DNA. The pattern matches yours, Barry's, mine..."
"She's a meta human?"
"The pulse just gave the dormant abilities a kick and it latched onto the gold gun because she's been using it for so many years. It's so good, it even works as a sealant. See, when her blood is exposed to the air the top layer, it seals, protecting the blood beneath."
"So she has healing capabilities?"
"Pretty much. But it's new and I have no idea what she's now capable of."
"So-"
"So until you do, I need to be careful." Lisa said entering the cortex. "Put me in the pipeline."
"What? No-"
"Cisco, Caitlin's right. We have no idea what I'm capable of right now. Until I learn to control it, I can't put you or the kids at risk. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you. Right now it's weak, so there isn't much to worry about but anything could trigger it. Like what happened to you. I don't want to put my family or friends at risk. And it's not forever. Just until I can control it. Cisco, please, I want to do this."
"Lisa-"
"He'll come around to the idea," Caitlin said over the monitor. "I'm ordering Pizza for dinner, what do you want on yours?"
"Veggi Pizza for me. Extra hot," she smiled. "Thanks Caitlin."
In the cortex Caitlin held Noah and Luna in her arms. Cisco set Sofia down and took his son. "Everything will be OK Cisco, Lisa knows what she's doing."
"I know. I just wish I could do more to help her. I should get the kids home, he'll be getting hungry soon and Sofia has school tomorrow. Come on guys." Arriving back at the house Cisco turned the engine off and then straight back on again. He didn't want to be on his own with them right now. "Who wants to see grandma?" Cisco drove the 30 minute journey to his mother's house.
His mother opened the door and hugged an eager Sofia before hugging Cisco and taking Noah from his arms. "Where's Lisa?"
"She's at S.T.A.R. Labs. Mom, she's developed meta powers, from the accident with the gold gun and it's all my fault."
"Sofia why don't you play in the yard? While it's still warm and light?"
"OK grandma." Cisco set up Noah's travel playpen they kept in the car and his mother set Noah down, hugging her son.
"What happened?"
"Everything she touches, where she touches it has the gold stuff I used when I made the gun. It can even heal her. But she's put herself in the pipeline. Until she can control it. But it's all my f-"
"Cisco it isn't anybody's fault. Lisa is an adult and is thinking of you and her children. Everything will be OK. Lisa won't be gone forever." She comforted him.
"I know," he said moving to lift a fussing Noah into his arms. "He needs feeding." Cisco mixed Noah's formula though his mother insisted on feeding her grandson.
When they returned to their home, Cisco cursed when he saw Len's bike in the drive way. "Sofia go get your bag ready for school tomorrow, did mom check your homework yet?" She nodded, "OK, put it in your bag." He said to her and went to the kitchen where Len was opening two bottles of beer. He'd forgotten about guys night. Len looked up and grinned, his grin faded when he saw Cisco's heartbroken expression.
"What happened?"
"Something activated Lisa's mutated DNA, from the particle accelerator years ago and she decided to stay in the pipeline until she can control everything better." He said, leaving out the part about the kid playing with the gun being responsible.
"Is Lisa OK? Are the kids?"
"Everyone's fine, Lisa chose to go in, but Sofia didn't take it so well. I just want to keep it normal for them." He said shifting an almost asleep Noah in his arms. "As normal as a meta family can be anyway. Come on Noah, stay awake," he said to his son who was clutching his shirt tightly. "Here, wanna see uncle Len?" Len reached out to take the baby.
"Hey kiddo, gonna stay awake for me and your dad?"
"I'm gonna check on Sofia getting her school stuff ready. Can you-?"
"Sure, go on," Len said as Noah rubbed his eyes.
"OK, he needs to stay awake another 45 minutes preferably an hour or he's gonna be wide awake at 4 in the morning." Len nodded and tugged his jacket off and took off Noah's out door coat and mini sneakers. Noah let out a cry of protest when Len tried to tickle him. "Alright Mister grumpy, let's get out the noisy toys huh?" Noah shook his head. "No? OK, you are just like your mother was," he said, remembering looking after his infant sister. "I wonder," he thought.
Cisco and Sofia finished packing her school bag and Sofia changed for bed. "Come down when you're done. Ramon family movie night. Ladies choice." He told her and watched her face light up, he knew what she'd pick and was happy to sit through it. Cisco paused on the stairs as he caught sight of Len through the banister. Len Snart, Captain Cold was playing Peek-a-Boo with his son who was laughing wildly. "You found his weakness?" Cisco grinned at his son and brother-in-law.
"Just like his mother. This kept her entertained for hours when she was his age." Len told him, still playing. "How's Sofia?" He asked letting Cisco take Noah for a cuddle. He followed him upstairs to Noah's room where he proceeded to change him for bed.
"She's OK. Movie night, ladies choice."
"Uncle Len!"
"Hey sweetheart," Len said sweeping her into his arms. "What you got there?" Len asked taking the DVD case from her hands, "Lady and the Tramp, great choice," he told her. "Why don't we go put that in while your dad puts Noah to bed?"
Cisco joined the pair in the lounge and the opening credits were playing. Sofia leaned against his arm and watched the film. Cisco smiled later as he carried her to her room, asleep in his arms. Lisa would be OK, his children would cope with just him alone for a little while. But he was not alone. He had the love and support of his friends and family. For which he was eternally grateful.