In Another Lifetime, On a Different World, a flash fanfic

Author's Notes: Very AU, not beta-ed, borderline crackfic (logistics, logic, and plausibility be damned), exposition+hijinks, lampshade hanging, OOC (we're talking about an antihero!Zoom here), and a Hunter/Zoom who still has a few screws loose (he wouldn't be the Hunter we know and hate/love if he didn't). Yeah, if you want a serious SnowHunter fic, go to my other ones. This is the one I write when I want to take a break from those. So things are going to get very weird here, fair warning for all. xD

IMPORTANT CONTEXT: This Earth is a hybrid of Earth-1 and Earth-2, with some major liberties taken. "Team Flash" (being Harrison, Caitlin, Cisco, and Hartley) dynamics are already established. Barry, Iris, and Joe also have professional/friendly relationships with them, due to the nature of their jobs, which will be revealed in future chapters. Also, like Earth-2, the particle accelerator explosion happened underground, which is why Harrison's reputation is still intact and the building functional. Since it was never clarified in the show and a lot of people seemed surprised when "Jay" announced the reason for the existence of metas, this AU Harrison is the only one who knows the origin of the metas. I'd figure someone would have whistle-blown on the explosion and consequences had they known. So Harrison's in the clear…for now.

Background and Implied Pairings: Iris West/Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon/Lisa Snart, Hartley Rathaway/Original Male Character, Harrison Wells/Tess Morgan (background past relationship, since Tess is deceased)

Blanket Disclaimer: I don't own Flash. Please note that certain characters' beliefs do not reflect my own. Also, 99% of the police/medical procedure & terms, "science," technobabble, etc mentioned in this fanfic is complete BS. I clearly didn't do my research. But I'll try to make it more palatable than that centrifuge thing and the one time Captain Cold's gun froze those lasers to icicles. ;-)

Chapter 1

…

Faster. He needed to get faster. The fresh memories of the broken woman and her child flitted through his mind, over and over again like a record on repeat. The tall man shuddered, tasting bile on his tongue. It was too similar to his childhood memories. The sight had triggered one of his flashbacks – something he thought he had gotten control of – and it wrenched him away from reality long enough for the metahuman to ambush him. Were it not for his abilities, he would have never dodged that fatal blow in time.

He reached out blindly for the switch. The fluorescent lights flickered on, illuminating his private laboratory. The dark blond-haired man stumbled down the steps, half of his mind still on the incident from hours earlier and the other half running through calculations and formulas. His hands trembled as he pulled out all his notes and spread them across the table.

Velocity-3 wasn't strong enough. The effects only lasted up to forty-five minutes. And repeatedly shooting himself up with it was taking a toll. Ever since he became a speedster, those feeble human ailments had become dulled, and he never felt symptoms for any longer than several hours depending on their severity. This acute migraine and nausea had stayed for well over a day. He was no stranger to pain – except being impaired while fighting multiple metas and covering civilians in the crossfire was hardly conducive to the tasks at hand. Oh, he could run faster alright – but all that speed meant nothing when he couldn't utilize it as efficiently as he did before. He might as well have been running at his pre-Velocity speed for all the trouble this serum gave him.

The man narrowed his eyes. This weakness was what cost the lives of the mother and child. He had neglected to address this flaw sooner, and the consequence shook him. He hadn't been fast enough to save them, but neither had he been quick about doling justice onto the meta. If there was one thing he did right today, it was making sure that despicable excuse of a human felt every bit of pain and fear those civilians went through before they died, but tenfold –

Crack. The pen broke under his tight grip. Black ink dripped down his hand and onto the table, splattering across several of his papers. He tossed the implement into a nearby trash can and wiped his hand clean with several napkins. Luckily he had memorized his notes. Copying the information onto a fresh sheet of paper quickly solved the problem.

So, the serum. He needed an increased yield, a higher potency, and zero side-effects. It was easier said than done. Coupled with the fact that he was essentially using himself as a guinea pig, he was going to have several uncomfortable days to look forward to. Perhaps he'll call in sick to CCPD in advance. That'll also give him some extra hours to work on improving Velocity.

The thought that he should carefully time the new serum's usage so that it wouldn't interfere with his alter-ego's duties popped up in his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

The best way to test it was to take it out to the field. There was a risk of becoming incapacitated due to a faulty serum, but he was confident it wouldn't be deathly serious.

After all, he had the speed-force. Accelerated healing was just one of its many perks.

...

No one knew how the metahumans came to be. Ordinary people suddenly found themselves gifted with abilities beyond their wildest dreams. There was no statistic on how many existed. And aside from a certain speedster, every meta who made his or her public appearance always did so with ill intentions.

In response to the hostile metas, Harrison repurposed the Cortex to house his select three-man team. Since S.T.A.R. labs ran multiple operations, the director refrained from reassigning a significant portion of manpower from these projects. Instead, he decided to transfer one person from each division he felt would be crucial to the unit. Eyebrows had been raised when he selected his younger, less experienced employees in favor of his veteran ones. When questioned on his unorthodox move, Harrison simply explained it by calling them the 'cream of the crop.'

Cisco Ramon, a mechanical engineer. Caitlin Snow, a bio-engineer with a medical background. And Hartley Rathaway, a physicist. Occasionally, Harrison would assist the group between his other duties. Only the top employees at S.T.A.R. labs and CCPD knew of the team's existence, in order to protect the members from antagonistic metas.

But there was much skepticism, especially from the police, who had requested aid from S.T.A.R. labs in the first place. Many thought Harrison did not take the situation seriously. The partnership between CCPD's anti-metahuman taskforce and S.T.A.R. lab's meta response unit inevitably began on a rocky start.

In the span of one month, the director and his team quickly chased away whatever reservations anyone had. The group issued out a weapon fondly nicknamed the B.O.O.T., which shot out a mostly inescapable grapple that released electric volts. This was used to subdue the weaker meta criminals. For the tougher metas who could bear the shock, a tranquilizer made by Caitlin would usually knock them out in a matter of minutes. They also had a hand in developing the meta wing at Iron Heights Penitentiary. Regardless of their powers, the metas could now be properly contained. The same tech was adapted for the inhibitor collars the police would use to temporarily neutralize a captured meta's abilities. This allowed for easier processing and transport.

Now, six months have passed since the first metas appeared. And the Cortex was no less busy.

"One Ki—"

"BS!"

"Dammit!" Cisco sulked as Jesse smugly pushed the large pile of cards over to his side. "That's the fifth time already," he complained as he struggled to shuffle them all into his hand. Several cards fell out and fluttered to the ground. "Urgh, wipe that smirk off your face Hartley. I know you're working together with Jesse."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the physicist said smoothly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Maybe you're just a terrible liar."

"Or maybe you're counting cards," Cisco countered. "Don't deny it. I totally saw you two looking at each other's hands."

"No need to count cards when you already have half of the deck," the auburn-haired girl said cheekily. Hartley chuckled and raised his fist. Without breaking eye-contact with Cisco, Jesse fist-bumped Hartley.

Cisco sighed, rubbing his temples with his free hand. "Caitlin, help me please. What did I do to deserve this?"

"I don't know Cisco," Caitlin answered lightly. "I'm not the one getting run over by a seventeen year old."

"Ooh, burn," Jesse stage-whispered.

"Hey, you're like a super-genius prodigy, so the fact that I made it this far against you should be an accomplishment in itself." He paused, reconsidering his words. "Why does it feel like I just insulted myself?"

"Well, it's a card game. Almost beating me at chess would be a better feat to brag about." Jesse stuck out her tongue.

"Settle down, kids," Caitlin interrupted before the two of them could challenge each other to a chess match. "Let's finish this game for the first time without switching to shogi or Chinese checkers or something. We never get to see who wins this."

"It's not Cisco for sure," Hartley said dryly. "He has nearly the entire deck."

"Not anymore, he doesn't." Caitlin took half of Cisco's cards from his hand.

"Thanks Bestie, I knew I could count on you –"

"You're buying me coffee the next time we go to Jitters."

"I'm not even mad. Totally worth it."

Fifteen minutes passed without tempers flaring or taunts being thrown. Jesse glanced at her watch. "It's twenty minutes past your break. You guys sure Dad will be alright with this?"

"It's a slow day." Caitlin put down two cards. Hartley eyed it suspiciously, but did not call her out. "We've already finished the projects CCPD requested. There's other stuff to be improved on of course, but it's not urgent."

"We probably should make it look like we're working on something though," Hartley commented, but made no movement to engage in said activities. Just like the others, he was content with this temporary distraction from work. Though they were competent employees, there was only three of them. The workload did get tiring at times, and despite having grown to be close friends, the mounting stress soured everyone's moods. Jesse, who skipped college one day and decided to drop by out of curiosity, had been the one to suggest this idea after witnessing a spat. It was actually a joke, but it quickly turned to tradition when it became evident that playing games would reset the status quo. Out of respect for their jobs, the team would keep the games constrained to lunch breaks. Harrison was aware and encouraged it, as long as it didn't interfere with their duties. But since today was a slow day… "He's not going to be happy when he comes in."

"That's why we have Jesse Quick here, eh? She'll distract him for us." Cisco flicked a paper ball at the girl, who easily dodged it.

She wrinkled her nose at the nickname. Since her father let slip that moniker in front of the team, Cisco had been using it to tease her every time he could. It was annoying, but they were the type of friends who liked to get on each other's nerves, so Jesse did not protest it. She did make sure to kick him under the table though. "How about the Blur? Doesn't CCPD want to bring him in?"

Cisco let out an undignified snort. "The Blur? Seriously? I expected better from you, young padawan."

"Hey, it's what CCPN and Channel 52 came up with," she said defensively. "And everyone agreed Tarpit was the cooler name. So I totally beat you there."

"That was a fluke. And Zoom is way better than whatever the news media is calling him. Yech." A look of inspiration struck him. Cisco raised his index finger in an 'a-ha!' moment. "Caitlin, you should tell Iris! She works at CCPN. Maybe she can persuade the lame-o who came up with that name to use mine."

"It does seem more threatening than the Blur," the brunette doctor admitted, putting down five cards. Cisco and Jesse were too engrossed in the conversation to notice her foul play. Only Hartley saw it, but he merely smirked and gave her a conspiratorial wink. "You might be on to something."

"Both still sound ridiculous, though," Hartley drawled, tossing four cards into the pile. "Reminds me of that old Mazda commercial. Zoom zoom zoom." His deadpanned delivery made nearly everyone break out into snickers.

Cisco crossed his arms. "Hey, Mazda made Top Ten Brands this year unlike your Mercedes. And it's the good kind of ridiculousness. Straight to the point too. The other day I heard some guy in the tech division try and make the 'Stygian Streak' a thing. Tell me that isn't worse."

"I don't know Cisco," Caitlin said, pretending to consider the name. Admittedly, his pitch was the best she heard, but it was fun to tease her friend. "It has a certain je ne sais quoi to it. I like the reference to the River Styx too. Very apt, considering its location. Remember the people he saved? They always called him a man with the face of a demon."

The dark-haired man groaned loudly, dropping his face into his hands. "Urgh. No, no, no. I'm surrounded by amateurs."

She chuckled. "Don't give yourself an aneurysm. I'll tell Iris when we meet up."

"Orrrr you could text her now. Quick, before someone else gets the same idea and steals my glory."

"Not something you have to worry about." A familiar voice sounded out from behind them. The four jolted in their seats and swiveled around to the entrance with guilty looks on their faces. It was the director of S.T.A.R. labs, and he was definitely not amused. The man quickly strode over to their table and gazed down at them sternly. "At this rate, the three of you might as well submit your résumé to CCPN. I don't know why I even pay you to work here."

"Stop joking Dad, you might give them a heart attack," Jesse said, laughing. "They were really working hard, and I got them to take a break since they looked tired."

Harrison's face softened slightly. "That's kind of you dear, but they have work –"

"Which we totally finished hours ago," Cisco interjected, grinning widely. "Hey, cream of the crop, right? We wouldn't be here if we were any less."

Jesse snorted. "Cream of the crop, but you still got beaten by a seventeen year old at BS."

"For your information, winning BS isn't part of my job description. Babysitting whiny brats on the other hand –"

"Whiny brat? So are you talking about yourself –"

Harrison loudly cleared his throat, bringing their attention back to him. "Jesse. I'm sure my team appreciates…your time," he said, eyeing the cards scattered across the table and the board games stacked at the corner, "But aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"College. I graduated high school when I was fifteen, Dad."

"Well, shouldn't such a smart girl be at college now instead of fooling around here?"

"But it's college. No one cares about what you do as long as you do well. And I'm actually soaking in more knowledge just by being at S.T.A.R. labs and around talented people." She briefly turned her face away from her father's line of sight and winked at her older friends.

He sighed. "Jesse."

"Daaaaaaad," she whined.

Harrison frowned. "That puppy face stopped working on me a long time ago."

Cisco coughed. "Not last week, it didn't," he muttered under his breath, only loud enough for Caitlin and Hartley to overhear.

The other man turned his gaze skywards, seemingly interested in a particular ceiling tile. "If you make me laugh again Ramon," he said, barely moving his lips. "I swear I'm taking you down with me."

"Oooh, back to last names now, are we? I must be really annoying you. Hey, you wanna know what's going on now?"

"I can hear them arguing, don't you dare do your side commentary –"

"It's a battle of wills as Wells goes against Wells in what has to be their twenty-second showdown," Cisco whispered dramatically, smoothly rolling his chair over to Hartley's side and miming holding a microphone. "Tensions run high as Teen Wells utilizes her signature move, 'I'm Smarter Than Those Plebeians' –"

"– Biochemistry is easy, Dad. The professor literally doesn't take attendance at all and just breezes through his lectures in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes! I've been skipping class and studying on my own, and I'm still way ahead of everyone who bothers to go –"

"Papa Wells is trying his best to not look proud, while he blusters out some weak, inane excuse –"

"– What happens if you need to get a recommendation letter from him?" Harrison asked exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's never seen you in class except on exam days –"

"Teen Wells goes in for the kill –"

"– Seeing as I'm a genius and your daughter, I doubt he has no idea who I am –"

Hartley exhaled deeply through his nose. "Caitlin, help me please. I'll clean up your lab for the next two days –"

"Only two days?" she asked good-humoredly.

The corners of his mouth twitched. "How is this worth more than two days?"

"Oh, I don't know, I'm just helping you save face? I don't think Harry will buy your excuse this time if you laugh again during his talk with Jesse."

"Fair point," Hartley acceded, pushing his rolling chair around the table and over to her side. Cisco followed after him. "Urgh, he's like a barnacle. Help."

The engineer briefly put his mock-commentary on hold. "That's what you get for cheating on BS –"

"You're still going on about th—"

"Dr. Wells," Caitlin said loudly. Her two colleagues immediately shut up, plastering on their best professional expressions. "Did you need something? We have the report right here." She picked up a tablet and raised it towards him.

Harrison gave his daughter a pointed look, but the smug expression on her face indicated she had won their argument. "Thank you Caitlin," he said, accepting the tablet from her. His eyes quickly scanned the document, his index finger sliding across the screen to flip to the next page. "Hmmm. You three did get a lot done. I'll refrain from laying you off for now."

Cisco exhaled heavily. "Phew. I was actually scared there for a moment, guys." It was obvious from his exaggerated tone that he wasn't.

"The Stygian Streak sounds pretentious, by the way," Harrison said casually, still reading the report. "And the Blur is infinitely worse. Zoom is a better name. Caitlin, go ahead and text Mrs. West-Allen. You'll be doing the whole city a favor. I think I'll give you a raise, Cisco."

The younger man gasped. "Are you serious? Is this a joke? How did you know we were talking about that? You know what, don't answer, I don't want to know. Hah! Take that, Hartley! Even Harry thinks it's a good name –"

"And then," Harrison continued, "I'm going to take away that raise for your insubordination."

"What? No!" Cisco protested, aghast. Hartley burst into laughter. "Seriously, not cool. You don't get a guy's hopes up like that and then crush it."

"Well, you should take me more seriously then. I am your boss."

"A cool boss though. There's a difference."

"Hmph." The slight quirk in his mouth betrayed his amusement. "Back to why I'm here. Our resident speedster is making the police very nervous. Joe's been hassling me for a contingency in case he goes rogue. And that's on top of the weapons they want us to design to capture him."

"I don't know why they hate him so much." Jesse frowned. "He's a hero. All those people he saved – and the crime-rate has been going down ever since he showed up."

Hartley snorted. "A hero wouldn't dress himself like a monster. And remember those metas he dropped in front of CCPD? They had broken bones – with his speed, he can subdue them without causing so much harm. He's been dragging those fights out. Either he's a sadist, or he thrives on the adrenaline. The man's a menace."

"Technically, wouldn't that make the vigilante from Gotham one too? If we're talking about costumes," Cisco pointed out. "And that guy's definitely a hero. They both don't kill any of the criminals. Honestly, the Arrow's looking more like the bad guy here, and those two actually dress like villains –"

Caitlin's expression tightened as she glanced at Harrison. The director subtly shook his head. The non-verbal exchange went completely unnoticed by the other occupants in the Cortex who were still immersed in their conversation.

Only the two of them – besides Captain Singh, Joe, some select officers, and the medical examiner – knew of the speedster's possible side-activities. It was all speculation right now with no hard evidence, and it could very well be a different meta who was behind these incidents. But whoever it was, the Blur – or Zoom, as he was now officially dubbed among the team – was on the short suspect list for a dozen killings, both meta and human. CCPD had refrained from publicly announcing his status, since he was the only one willing and capable of battling wayward metas on equal ground. If the city discovered that their hero was no better than the criminals he captured, mass hysteria could ensue.

The spate of murders started six months ago, around the time the first metas had surfaced. No relation existed between any of the victims – except for the fact that they were known killers themselves. Either linked to homicides and on the run, or those who managed to squeeze out of a conviction but most definitely had a connection to it – these were the type of people who were targeted.

And the execution style was consistent – a ruptured heart, but with no visible sign of entry. There was also a lack of other wounds and indications of struggle on the bodies. This was the reason the dark-clothed speedster was even considered a suspect at all. Of all the known metas, only he had the potential to end conflicts before they started.

The problem was how. Everyone knew next to nothing about Zoom and how his abilities worked. Harrison, genius that he was, was also uncertain if such a killing method was possible for the vigilante. Public overtures made by CCPD for him to come in for questioning were all ignored, as well as any request for an interview by the media. The only time the speedster could be remotely interacted with by a civilian was when he rescued them, and that was also seemingly impossible. Anyone who looked him in the face would be frightened to silence. There weren't any clear pictures of him, but from what the police managed to sketch out from the witnesses' descriptions, Caitlin could see why they would be intimidated.

A man with the face of a demon. There was no other apt description.

"– A good idea Cisco," Harrison was now saying. "But this kind of power, in the wrong hands, could backfire on us."

"If the police want to take him in so badly, I don't see how else we're going to slow Zoom down," the younger man argued. "Unless he suddenly changes his mind, they have no way to subdue him long enough to stick an inhibitor collar. And the tranquilizers Caitlin designed – it worked for the other metas, but who knows about him?"

"It's most likely he has a fast metabolism," Caitlin acceded. "All hypothetical, but I don't see how else he can run that fast without burning so much energy."

"Exactly! And besides, he'll see the darts coming from a mile away –"

"So the cold gun's an exception? Our sensors can't detect him anymore," Hartley reminded him. "And they were working perfectly fine until three months ago. He's becoming faster."

"I make the gun generate a cold field then. Bam!" Cisco clapped his hands once together. "He'll become slower than us as soon as he enters it. You can fire the gun as much as you want at him now."

Harrison glanced at the tablet. "I don't see that function in the specs."

Cisco rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, yeah…that's because it's still a work in progress. Gotta figure out a way to make sure it doesn't affect the user too."

"So you're back to square one then," Jesse remarked dryly. "Must be a nice feeling."

"Hey, I want to see you do my job with no Master's or PhD's under your belt."

"Is that a challenge? You're on."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The room quieted at the notification sound. It was the one Harrison had specifically designated for Detective Joe West. Harrison took out his ringing cellphone and unlocked the screen. His face quickly grew grim as he read the message.

"The police found the body of a meta known for five counts of murder. Spencer Richards."

Caitlin's eyes widened. "Wasn't he the one suspected of abducting a woman and her son last week? Are they alright?"

"No. He killed them." Everyone grew solemn. "And…it looks like we're using your plan, Cisco. How much longer do you need to fine-tune it?"

"A week at best, maybe. But what does this have to do with –"

"This is the thirteenth homicide with a crushed heart," Harrison said slowly. Caitlin paled, immediately realizing what was going to be said next. "The only difference here is that the killer has finally slipped up. There's been incriminating marks left behind."

The director paused, taking off his glasses and tiredly rubbing his closed eyes.

"CCPD has just officially announced Zoom as the prime suspect for these murders."

...

Central City's reaction was divisive.

There were some who believed it to be a conspiracy – that Zoom, as he was now officially called by the media and public, was being used as a scapegoat. Others praised him for taking out the scum of society before they could do further harm. The judicial system would merely drag out the cases, these people said, and there was no justice in letting a killer live and waste taxpayer dollars. Most however, saw this as a serious ethical breach and a precursor for something far worse.

General opinion of metas also took a further downturn. Every meta who publicly appeared always brought bad news. Zoom's prior status as an intimidating but well-intentioned individual had kept the resentful mumblings at bay for the most part. But now with him listed as the top suspect for these homicides, the fear of these super-powered humans was out in full force. Could it be, the citizens wondered, that every meta was an unstable, walking time bomb?

Ironically, the only person who appeared to be unaffected by all this commotion was the source of the controversy himself.

Zoom continued to patrol the city and rescue civilians in danger. His impersonal approach of carrying the individual, quickly dumping them in a safer location, and running off again before anyone could get a word in edgewise was sustained in this tumultuous time. Even when he was battling metas, and CCPD was gunning for both him and his opponents, Zoom merely dodged the officers' attempts and tossed the subdued criminals towards them at the end of each fight. He never once retaliated against the officers nor abstained from aiding them too when they were in trouble. The whole situation seemed to amuse the speedster, really. He had broken his silence and talked to the officers for the first time, which only infuriated them more. Members of Joe's taskforce could be heard angrily griping about Zoom's blasé manner on it all. Supposedly, the speedster had mockingly offered himself up for target practice. To, word for word, "help improve CCPD's abysmal marksmanship."

Personally, Caitlin was torn over this debacle. He clearly still cared for the lives of innocents. That was unquestionable. But having a vengeful vigilante take justice into his own hands was asking for all sorts of trouble. The people he murdered were monsters, but what gave him the right to be judge, jury, and executioner? No one should have that much power, much less the ability to bypass all these laws, procedures, and courts. It made him no better than the criminals he hunted. And worse of all, Zoom was nigh on unstoppable. There was no one in the world who could oversee or regulate his actions.

Give someone an inch, and they'll take a mile. What was to stop him from going further, culling the people he saw as undesirable? What happened if his vengeance turned to bloodthirst? The hypothetical scenarios were frightening. Though the almost constant news of him saving some person or the other from imminent harm was uplifting, it was shadowed by this knowledge of his dark side.

It was a view shared by Harrison and the rest of her team. Before the official announcement, developing anti-speedster tech was on the list, but it hadn't been a priority. Now, with the very real threat of a rogue speedster hanging over their heads, they were rushing to get something substantial out.

Cisco's cold gun was still a work in progress. He actually met the estimation he had given to Harrison and produced a functioning weapon, but CCPD had been leery. The possibility of hitting bystanders was high, especially since Zoom always appeared in civilian-dense areas. The engineer was forced to take it back and improve it. Alongside his efforts, Caitlin started developing a serum to temporarily neutralize the speedster's abilities, while Hartley and Harrison worked on building traps which could hold the speedster long enough for the dart – or anything really – to hit him.

In other words, they were grasping at straws.

Only Cisco's gun had the potential to effectively disable Zoom. But that was out of the question until he streamlined it or CCPD found a way to lure the speedster elsewhere. The latter continued to prove an unfruitful endeavor as Zoom somehow saw through these ploys and ignored them accordingly.

A power-neutralizing dart was a fantastic alternative – if they knew what the hell they were working with in the first place. Recovering a sample of his blood at the site of his fights would give them some information about his abilities, but Zoom had yet to get even one scratch on his person. Unless he decided to turn himself in and let them conduct research, then no one could make a serum that would specifically disable a speedster's powers. At best, the dart would hardly make a dent, at worst, Zoom would die. It was a shot in the dark and they all knew it. And so the serum was quietly kept in the works, until there was evidence it wasn't fatal.

Despite this pressure, Caitlin continued to volunteer at a free clinic. It was the same one she had worked at back when she was in college. Although she was now an S.T.A.R. labs employee, Caitlin still found time to come there at least twice every other week. It was usually on a Friday and Saturday, and she would take shifts at the later hours. The clinic was almost always understaffed and had a daily influx of patients. It was one of the reasons why she went there. During her college career, she had become close friends with the elderly woman who oversaw its operations to this day. The environment was tiring and chaotic, so Caitlin wanted to help out where she could.

But now, it also served as a way for Caitlin to get her mind off of her main job. Directly helping strangers eased her tension on the current state of matters. And honestly, it was more productive than agonizing over a project that was going nowhere.

Today's late shift saw a minimal stream of patients. When all of them had been processed and checked, Caitlin went over to the supply rooms and started to unpack the new shipments the clinic received. Some time later, Sharon walked in. The elderly woman's mouth was twisted down in worry. Caitlin immediately became alarmed.

"Is everything alright?"

"A family emergency. Nothing serious, don't worry. But I need to leave," Sharon said. "We'll have to close down the clinic early, but there's still work to be done here. I've sent the young'uns home. Diana's going to stay. Do you mind helping her?"

"I'm supposed to be here for another three hours anyway. It's not a problem at all."

Sharon smiled gratefully. "Thank you, dear. Diana will be locking up as soon as I leave."

"I'll drive by later and give you the keys," Caitlin promised. "Just relax, Sharon. Me and Diana will handle everything."

"The restroom too?"

She made an exaggerated, gagging noise. The facilities reserved for the patients was always in a horrid state. It was a running joke among the clinic's regular workers to tell volunteers that cleaning it would be one of their jobs. "Urgh, no. That's too far, even for me."

Sharon laughed. "Take care. I'll see you later."

Caitlin waved and turned back to her work. It took longer than she thought to organize the storage room. Some volunteer had already opened a number of boxes and misplaced the supplies into the wrong spots. In addition, the blood glucose monitoring systems sent to the clinic came under multiple brands, and their test strip bottles were scattered everywhere. That had proved to be problematic for the student volunteers in the triage room, as the test strips were label-specific to their systems. After scrounging around for plastic Ziploc bags, Caitlin went over to the triage room.

Once she finished sorting the systems and bottles, Caitlin cleaned up the mess left behind by the volunteers. The brown-haired woman tutted her tongue when she found several patient charts underneath a stack of boxes on the counter. So that was where it had gone missing. It didn't happen on her shift, but Sharon told her about it when she came to the clinic. There was a deluge of people at the time, so the mislaid charts had thrown a wrench into what was already a hectic morning.

She left the room, taking the charts with her, and headed over to the front of the clinic. Her eyes were skimming through the records, so she did not immediately see the pale-faced receptionist and the man.

"Hey Diana, I found those medical charts –" A startled scream tore from her mouth when she looked up.

It was Zoom.

The sketch CCPD had drawn for him did no justice, Caitlin thought faintly, her heart beating painfully against her rib cage. The real thing was far more frightening despite his battered state.

Zoom was leaning heavily against the wall, one hand pressed against his side. There were numerous cuts across his jacket, revealing lacerations and bruises. Blood dripped down his fingers and injuries, glistening wetly on the black material of his suit. It made soft, splattering noises as it dropped to the linoleum floor.

The design of his black leather suit made him seem bigger than he actually was, the lines and patterns emphasizing his muscles. Even with this illusion though, and the good amount of distance between them, Caitlin could already tell he would easily tower over her and Diana. His mask – at least, she hoped it was a mask – covered his head completely. The material it was made of mimicked scarred skin very well. A row of curved gashes and slits lined the place where his mouth would be, resembling a ghastly grin. Black orbs glared out of the eye-holes of the mask, so dark that only a single pinprick of light managed to escape its chasm. Blue electricity flickered around his body, hissing weakly.

Wait a second. Caitlin's thoughts screeched to a halt. Blue? Wasn't it supposed to be yellow? Though pictures captured of the speedster always turned out blurry, the one thing that was consistent in all of them was the yellow lightning. Come to think of it, there was usually more electricity too. There were only a few now, and it almost seemed to be decreasing in number as the seconds passed by. What did this mean? And why was it blue –

"Don't. Phone anyone." His gravelly voice rumbled like a thunderstorm. The mouth-slits elongated as he spoke.

The harsh order snapped Caitlin out of her daze. She drew in a shuddering breath, glancing at Diana. The receptionist looked like she was about to faint. Her hand was on the phone, clutching onto it like a lifeline. Slowly, Caitlin set down the papers onto the counter and reached over, putting her hand over the younger woman's and pressing it down gently. The phone clicked softly when it fell back into the receiver.

"Diana." She jerked at the sound of her name. "It will be alright. Take deep breaths. I'll handle this."

"Dr. Snow –" Diana began weakly.

"Just sit down," Caitlin said firmly. "Everything will be alright."

When she finally did that, Caitlin gave her hand a comforting squeeze. Then she inwardly steeled herself and turned around to face their visitor.

He hadn't moved at all during the entire exchange. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. The only thing which allowed insight to his emotions were his eyes, and those were completely black and devoid of reflection.

Caitlin walked over to him, clasping her hands in front of her to still the tremors. He doesn't hurt civilians, she told herself, fighting the urge to retreat. He's not going to kill us. Fifteen feet. Ten. It felt like a mile. All the while, she could feel his gaze burn into her face.

She stopped six feet away from him. His ragged, uneven breaths were deafeningly loud.

"This clinic doesn't have the necessary supplies to treat the extent of your injuries," Caitlin said. Miraculously, her voice came out steady. "If we call –"

The wind blew her bangs from her face as the speedster instantly closed the space between them in less than a second. A hand wrapped around her right wrist, the long fingers completely encircling it. The remnants of his blue electricity let out one last sizzle before it died away completely.

"Let me make myself clear. Do not contact anyone. I only need you to seal these wounds. No anesthetic. And ignore the rest of my injuries," the man rasped. His obsidian eyes were wide and fathomless. Staring into them was a frightening feeling not unlike drowning. The clawed hand tightened around her wrist – not hard enough to hurt or bruise her, but with enough firmness to emphasize the seriousness of his order.

She swallowed, reminding herself to breathe. You're not the type of person he targets, he won't kill us, he won't kill us, just do what he says… Without breaking eye-contact from the vigilante, she said to Diana, "Close the window blinds and lock the door." How did he break in anyway? But then again, a locked door was hardly an obstacle to a meta, much less him. "I'll take care of our…patient."

"And when you are done," Zoom added. "I want you to join us. Immediately."

The poor woman practically scurried out, her head ducked down. Zoom didn't spare Diana a glance. At least, it appeared that way. It was hard to tell if he was actually looking at her, but Caitlin could feel his attention, and the hair-raising sensation had not ceased for a second. His hand was still around her wrist, the tips of his claws resting lightly against her skin.

Caitlin inhaled deeply, drawing in every bit of bravery she had and shifting her expression into one of detached politeness. "Can you walk by yourself?"

The answer she received was somewhere between a grunt and a growl.

She almost rolled her eyes before remembering whose presence she was in. Men and their dignity. Well, she had enough experience dealing with them. Without hesitation, she pulled her hand out of his grip – which had slackened sometime earlier – and moved around to help him. He resisted her attempt to put his arm across her shoulders, but a stern look stopped that nonsense before it could go further. In another situation, Caitlin would have laughed at how fast the intimidating man had relented under her signature glare, but this was far from it. And she quickly found out that helping him walk to a room was more problematic than she expected.

Caitlin was still quite tall without her high-heels, but the man loomed over her by a good nine inches. She grimaced when he leaned heavily against her, nearly knocking her off balance.

That didn't escape his notice. A deep, breathy chuckle sounded beside her ear. The growling undertone reverberating beneath it sent chills down her spine. "Having trouble?"

"Not at all," she replied lightly, though her heart frantically pounded in her chest. Caitlin wrapped her arm more firmly around his waist, ignoring the blood seeping through her lab coat. "It's going to be a pain to clean your blood from the walls and floor, though."

"Leave that to me. You just worry about your job, Doctor."

The urge to question him nearly overrode her sense of self-preservation. Something had gone terribly wrong if he was in this condition. Maybe his speed was affected, if the disappearance of his electricity had any correlation to that. In the current state he was in now, Caitlin doubted he could muster up the strength to do what he promised, much less immediately take his leave once she was done treating him. She and Diana would most likely be the ones to clean up after his mess. But the sureness of his answer indicated he was confident it would not come to that. Whether it was because he knew the limits of his injured self, or if it was just swagger, Caitlin wasn't certain. She hoped it was the former.

She kicked the partially closed door open and brought him into the unlit room. His black eyes gleamed in the semi-darkness as she carefully helped him onto the exam table. It felt wrong to turn her back on him, even for a moment, but Caitlin did so anyway and hit the light switch on. She busied herself with going through the cabinets and pulling out the appropriate equipment. All the while, the dark-clothed man remained silent. She could feel his eyes follow her as she moved about the room. Diana appeared some minutes later, and seeing the obvious fear on her face, Caitlin kindly told her to sit outside the room, but within full view. Zoom didn't object. So the woman heeded her advice and sat quietly in the chair, her shaking hands clasped on her lap.

There was no difficulty settling into her 'medic mode,' despite her patient's unfaltering stare on her the whole time. Fortunately, he was cooperative and did not resist when she had to unzip his jacket and pull it off to reach his wounds. She clinically scanned his muscular form, cataloging each bruise and cut. Caitlin absentmindedly noted his monstrous-looking face was indeed a mask – Cisco and Harrison would be disappointed to hear that. They had bet against her and Hartley on this matter and would be set to lose out on a decent amount of money. It was too bad she couldn't tell them about this encounter – it wasn't as if the speedster would let her get proof for it, anyway.

The humorous line of thought was grossly inappropriate for the tense situation she was in, but it didn't stop the grin that threatened to break out on her mouth. She pursed her lips, trying her best to suppress it. But Zoom caught the flicker of mirth in her expression.

"Something amusing, Doctor?"

"Yes," she responded immediately. His eyes widened in surprise at her unexpected honesty. Caitlin smirked inwardly. It was nuances like this which showed her the man wasn't entirely the untouchable sentinel he appeared to be. Somehow, it made him seem a little less terrifying and a little more…human.

"You probably know this already, but you're a…controversial topic nowadays," Caitlin said as she started to clean his wounds. He didn't flinch or tense at all.

Either the man was just really good at ignoring pain, or his body was more durable than they thought it was. The latter would explain why he was still conscious despite what was undoubtedly excessive blood loss, and why he insisted she only treat these particular injuries. But if he was confident his worse injuries wouldn't kill him, then why the hell did he need her to suture his outer wounds in the first place? Stopping further blood loss, she could understand, but if he was this resilient, why come here and risk discovery at all? He could patch himself up on his own – that was the logical choice. There was something off about this situation. Once this was over, she'll have to analyze it further.

"One of my coworkers started this whole conversation about whether this was your real face or not," she continued. "Next thing I know, we're throwing bets on the table. It was just a joke…I never thought I would have the chance to find out."

Especially like this, she thought grimly.

He was silent for a long while. His lack of reply didn't concern her; she was more focused on carefully sewing the wounds shut and bandaging them. Caitlin had just finished threading his third one when his gruff voice suddenly cut the air.

"Did you win?"

"Win what?" she asked distractedly, already preparing to work on his next wound.

"The bet."

Caitlin paused at that. The surreality of the situation hit her with the force of a car colliding into a brick wall.

I'm treating the infamous Zoom in a free clinic and I just told him what my friends and I do when we get side-tracked. And he asked me if I won the bet. This isn't a dream, right? Right?

"Well?"

She cleared her throat, resuming her task. "I won," Caitlin croaked out, still unnerved by the turn in events. "A hundred bucks, I think?" She laughed a little nervously at that. "Not that I would tell them anyway. You don't want any word of this to get out, right?"

"You would be correct, Doctor." He sounded amused. It did nothing to lighten his harsh voice – somehow, it made him seem more fiendish. There was something disturbing about a predatory individual finding her story to be funny. Especially one who had killed more than a dozen people – even if they were murderers and not innocent civilians. Granted, if it was the latter, it would be more horrifying than the former – she would be in a worse situation then. But the fact remained – the man was a murderer too. Perhaps a well-intentioned vigilante, but still – a murderer. "I hope you weren't looking forward to acquiring it."

"It's okay. I'm fine with knowing I've won," she hastily replied. "Like I said – what were the chances I'd ever find the answer to it?" Apparently, not slim enough to spare her from this encounter. She could have gone her whole life without knowing and still be happy for it.

"How fortunate you were here, then."

More so for you than me. She pitied the person who would have taken her place had she not been here. On second thought, this was the better scenario. It was safe to say she was the only volunteer doctor with experience dealing with metas. Caitlin wasn't sure how far Zoom would be willing to go to keep them quiet, but at least she could still incorporate what little she managed to glean from him into their work. Undoubtedly he would want to handle this mess himself, and he'd been watching her closely enough to stop her from ever entertaining the idea of sneakily taking a sample. But now she knew something had knocked him off his pedestal. Should he ever fall further wayward from the path he walked, should his vengeance ever turn to insatiable bloodthirst, there was still hope left for them. He could be stopped.

Caitlin didn't let any of these thoughts cross her face.

They were silent for the remainder of the process. As soon as she bandaged the last wound, he immediately pulled on his jacket and zipped it up. Caitlin instinctively took a step back when he slid off the table.

"I will dispose of these myself. When you're done washing off, I want your lab coat." A pause. Zoom nonchalantly reached out and brushed his hand against the side of her coat, revealing the bloodied splotch on her shirt. "Hmm. And your sweater too."

The order didn't shock her at all, but it still made her peeved. Instead of heeding his command in the intended sequence, she shrugged off her bloodstained lab coat and gingerly pulled off her sweater. Thankfully, his blood hadn't gotten onto her tank-top. She rolled the clothes up into a bundle and practically shoved it towards him. "I hope you don't have any infectious diseases," Caitlin muttered as she went over to the sink.

"I wouldn't come here if I did, Doctor."

With the amount of blood you spilled, we might as well rope the entire place off for contamination, she thought testily. "We still have the rest of this mess to clean. Can my friend retrieve the supplies?"

"She can. If she decides to have other ideas, however…"

"I won't," Diana said hastily, standing up. "Just give me a moment."

"I'll hold you to that."

The air was filled with the pungent scent of antibacterial soap when she finished scrubbing her hands. Zoom had already packed up all the trash into a bag. The paper on the table was also a fresh one, but there were still splotches of drying blood on the nooks and crannies of the table. And that was just only one part of it. Caitlin could already feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. Cleaning this would be tedious, but having Zoom breathe down her neck for the entirety of that? What an unpleasant situation all around. And this was her being generous.

Diana rushed in with the box of cleaning supplies. "They weren't all in the same place," she said breathlessly, dropping it onto an unused chair. "Took a while to track it down."

"So, more than a moment," the speedster remarked. The young woman paled.

"Stop scaring her," Caitlin said tersely, leveling a glare at him. She was still afraid of the man, but now that they had made it this far without any sign of imminent death, Caitlin was more confident with the facts she had used earlier to reassure herself.

Zoom laughed softly, raising his claws in a pacifying motion. It came off as more of a mocking one than anything. "Completely unintentional. With this voice, anything I say will sound threatening. You have my apologies." He nodded towards Diana.

Caitlin's lips pressed down into a thin line. It was starting to occur to her that Zoom had a very twisted sense of humor.

"How do you want us to go about this?" she asked.

"This can go two ways, Doctor." He sat back down on the edge of the exam table. "The first is the both of you leave and lock the doors behind you. Mention nothing of my visit. Ever. You'll be helping yourself more than me, really. The news would report this. As you know, I have many…enemies…" He trailed off, letting that sink in. "And the next day, when you're here, everything is spotless and back to where it was. That sounds easy, doesn't it?" No response from either of the women. Zoom chuckled. "Ah, so you want the hard way then. Interesting. Don't say I didn't give you a way out."

"You're crazy if you think we'll just leave you here by yourself," Caitlin said flatly.

"Vigilantes have to be to do what they do," he drawled. "Otherwise I would be your average, law-abiding citizen. So. You both want to stay?"

"What would you have us do?" Caitlin asked again.

"Nothing." Flakes of dried blood cackled softly as he scratched them off his jacket. "Leave it to me."

"Seriously? In your condition? You'll break those stitches!"

"I won't waste your hard work, don't worry." She could hear the smirk in his voice. "You'll be with me for at least an hour and a half before I can do anything. Don't ask why – I can't give away all my secrets, Doctor. Still want to stay?"

Caitlin shared a glance with Diana. The younger woman looked just as nervous as ever since Zoom showed up, but she nodded in agreement.

They still had a good amount of time left before she had to give Sharon the keys.

"We'll stay."

Zoom grandly motioned to the room with his arm, as if he were welcoming them into his home. "Make yourselves comfortable. It'll be a long wait."

He wasn't lying.

It came to the point where Caitlin had to excuse herself to get water bottles for them. After a moment's hesitation, she grabbed one for Zoom too, including a straw.

Diana murmured her gratitude when Caitlin handed her a bottle. Zoom's reaction was hidden by his mask when she offered him one, but she could almost feel him raise his eyebrows.

"How thoughtful," he said, taking it from her hands. The paper wrapper crinkled loudly as he ripped it off the straw. "Should I suspect foul play?"

"I didn't poison it, if that's what you're asking."

"That wasn't what I was asking." He slid the straw into a mouth-slit.

The image was frankly jarring. There was something very bizarre about watching an infamous vigilante casually drink water from a straw, and through this method nonetheless. Caitlin wrenched her gaze from him, seemingly interested in the opposite wall as she downed her own drink.

A loud, slurping noise drew her attention back to the speedster. He had finished it, but was still trying to imbibe the stubborn drops that clung to the bottom.

She cleared her throat. "I can refill that for you," Caitlin offered, raising her hand.

He immediately pulled the bottle away from her reach and made a scolding noise. "Don't think you'll be getting my identity so easily, Doctor. We've only just met."

Dammit. That didn't surprise her. Of course he'd suspect she would try and get a DNA sample.

Instead of accepting the attempt, she arched an eyebrow. "Haven't you heard of doctor-patient confidentiality?"

Diana choked on her water, coughing.

The speedster's reaction was far less restrained and more astonishing. He laughed loudly, his whole frame shaking from the force of it. The corners of his eyes crinkled in genuine mirth. "Smart girl," he wheezed, standing up. "I'm not surprised. You have to be if you work at S.T.A.R. labs, hmm?"

Caitlin froze. Her lab coat and name-tag had been devoid of the logo, so how did he…?

"Don't look so horrified," Zoom's amused voice pulled her from her frantic thoughts. He took a step forward, breaching her personal space. His hand fell heavily on her shoulder as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. The speedster's cool breath tickled her sensitive skin. "The news may not report your names, but gossip spreads fast. Such is human nature." His grip tightened, but not enough to elicit pain. "Be wary. If I'm aware of your special status…"

Her heart leapt to her throat. If Zoom – of all people – knew this, then there was no doubt it had leaked to others as well. People who were not so civilian-friendly as he was. The implications were staggering. Caitlin barely succeeded in schooling her expression in time.

"You may tell your team about my…visit, if you wish," he added softly. "How CCPD decides to react is another matter entirely."

"Thank you," she managed to say evenly when he finally withdrew. "I'll take that to heart."

The man tilted his head to the side, his dark eyes scrutinizing her. In spite of knowing his position towards the average civilian, falling under his keen examination still unnerved her. Caitlin swallowed, but did not back away. She held his unblinking stare. Her pulse thudded rapidly against her neck.

Several seconds passed. It felt like an eternity.

Finally, a raspy chuckle broke the tension. The tears on his mask stretched. He was close enough for her to make out the shadowed grin behind the mouth-slits.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Dr. Snow." This was the first time he addressed her by her surname. The way he dragged it out, as if he was tasting it, sent an uncomfortable, crawling sensation across her skin. Whatever he had seen in her eyes, the thing that made him laugh at her audacity – it was as if he was acknowledging her for it. The realization made her panic – what was she thinking? There were times to be defiant, and this was definitely not one of them. The way everything suddenly became personal told her this wouldn't be the last time she'd see him. She had gotten his respect, but more disturbingly, his interest. The unhinged, murderous vigilante was interested. In her.

I'm screwed. I am so screwed. You idiot, you couldn't have kept your head down like any other smart person, you had to look him in the eye, what were you thinking–

"I told you, don't look so horrified. You have nothing to fear from me. Unless…" His eyes narrowed. "Are you secretly a serial killer, Dr. Snow?" he asked seriously.

"What? Of course not!" she exclaimed heatedly.

Zoom laughed at her indignant expression. "What a relief." He took a step back. Electricity started to hiss over his chest – only a few at first, before it steadily increased in number and soon crackled across his entire body. The intermittent blue light eerily highlighted his already imposing figure. "Remember what I said. It would be a shame if something happened to you."

A blinding flash of blue lightning. When Caitlin regained her sight seconds later, the afterimage of the speedster's energy still burned in the back of her corneas, he was gone.

Along with every trace of his blood.

...

Caitlin decided she would tell her team about Zoom – once she figured out what the hell had happened.

It was Saturday morning. Sleep hardly came to her last night. The speedster's warning hung ominously over her head. As soon as she had the chance, Caitlin texted the team about a possible leak, leaving out the source of the intel. After that, most of her waking hours had been spent furiously writing down everything she observed from their encounter. And now in the Cortex, when she was supposed to be working on her project, yesterday's events continued to be on the forefront of her mind. The brown-haired woman flipped through her notes, tapping her pen impatiently against the table.

First off, Zoom's abilities. Everyone knew about his enhanced speed, but what about the extent of it? He had used a bleach solution to disinfect the areas, and she knew this because of the resulting smell and the significantly lighter bleach container. The bleach solution should have been on those areas for at least twenty minutes before he could mop it up – but everything had been done in several seconds. That was impossible. He was defying time and space. This wasn't just speed. This was something else.

Time manipulation? No, that didn't make any sense either. Their sensors showed he had broken the sound barrier several times before. He couldn't do that unless he was a true speedster. Or maybe he could? Urgh. Caitlin massaged her aching temples. She was a bio-engineer. This wasn't her field of study at all. She would have to bring this point up later to Harrison and Hartley.

Second, his injuries. Caitlin was almost certain he had an accelerated healing factor. She had been paying attention to his breathing the entire time. It started out irregular and weak, but it gradually evened out to a normal one. That was only one indicator and could possibly mean nothing, but in the state he had come to the clinic, there was surely internal injuries too. He also implied that he had this ability. If that was the case though, why didn't it extend to his outer wounds?

Which brought up the main question. Who or what had put him in that condition in the first place? Someone or something out there had been fast enough to outmaneuver him. Or maybe…maybe it wasn't that at all. Maybe it wasn't so much as out-speed as it was outwit.

Maybe something affected his powers.

Zoom's lightning. Nothing from the news, reports, or pictures prior to yesterday have shown this change in color. It had always been yellow. But now it was blue.

This was the key to the whole puzzle, she was sure of it. But no matter how long Caitlin stared at her notes or replayed her memories, the answer was just not coming to her.

It was frustrating. There was some angle she was missing, a piece she couldn't see. Without it, the conclusion was just hovering centimeters above her grasp. She was so close. If only life was like those TV shows, Caitlin thought disgruntledly. Having a spontaneous leap of intuition would be helpful right now.

Zoom had practically handed her a trove of information about himself, voluntarily. He knew she was on the meta response unit. He knew they worked with CCPD. He knew coming to her at all would result in an outcome that outweighed the initial benefits. But he did so anyway?

The man was insane. There was no doubt about it. He even admitted it himself.

Unless there was an ulterior motive. This meeting wasn't coincidental at all. Goosebumps rippled across her skin. If he had specifically sought her out in his time of need, if he had cared enough to give her that warning, then he knew her. Either he was someone she was acquainted with…or he had been stalking her and the team.

The latter seemed more likely. She couldn't think of a single individual in her life who was crazy enough to do what he did.

Caitlin closed the journal and slammed it down onto the table with a little more force than necessary. A low whistle sounded outside her office.

"Damn girl. What did that table ever do to you?" Cisco asked, grinning.

She sighed, picking up the journal again and walking over to them. "Nothing. Just worried about that leak."

"You and us both," Hartley said. "Cisco was texting me at two in the morning about some strange noise he heard. Turned out it was just his dog snoring."

"In my defense, it was a really loud snore. The whole house shook."

"Impossible."

"Keep saying that. I'm gonna make you babysit him when I go on vacation. We'll see who's right then." Cisco's lighthearted voice became solemn when he addressed Caitlin. "Hey, you never mentioned how you knew about the leak."

"It's…a long story. Best if we wait for Dr. Wells before I explain. I still can't believe it happened myself."

"Wow, that bad?"

The look on Caitlin's face was answer enough.

"Need a stress ball?" Hartley held it out to her. "Better to take out your anxiety on this than on innocent pieces of furniture."

That got a laugh out of her. "Nah, I feel better already. Thanks."

He blinked owlishly at her. "I wasn't joking."

"Sure you weren't," Caitlin said dryly. "When is Dr. Wells coming again?"

Cisco checked his cellphone. "Hmmm, should be here by now actually. Must've gotten held back in a meeting. Guess we can – oh look!" He waved to the approaching young woman. "There's Wells Junior! She can be our proxy."

"Hardy har har." The heady scent of coffee washed over them when Jesse stepped into the Cortex. "Just for that, I'm not giving you your drink, Cisco."

"Aww, c'mon. I was just kidding!"

"I'll forgive you this once." When Jesse's attention shifted to Caitlin, her smirk gave way to a wide grin. She pulled out the object she had been cradling under her arm. "I just came back from the free clinic. Diana told me to give you this. She said it was from one of the volunteers."

Caitlin accepted the plain white gift box. "A volunteer?" she asked, nonplussed. The weight suggested it was clothing. "Did she say who?"

"The guy who ruined your lab coat or something? Apparently he gave it to her when she was about to go to the clinic before running off somewhere –" She paused abruptly. "Are you alright Caitlin? You look pale."

Caitlin forced a smile onto her face. "I'm fine, thanks. Uh, I'll be back in a moment. I forgot something."

As soon as she turned away from them, the smile fell off her mouth. She forced herself to walk slowly to her office. The chair creaked slightly when she sat down. Caitlin placed the seemingly innocuous box on her lap, her hands hovering over its sides.

There was no doubt it came from him. Poor Diana. She hoped he hadn't scared the living daylights out of her. But Jesse didn't mention anything odd about the woman's manner, so maybe she ought to give Zoom the benefit of the doubt.

This was mostly likely a lab coat to replace the one he had disposed of. Even so, Caitlin's hands trembled when she finally moved to pull off the lid.

A relieved sigh came from her when she saw what it was. A lab coat with no insignia or tag. That was thankfully anticlimactic. There was a folded piece of paper resting on the front. She flipped it open.

For your troubles, the note said. The words had been formed using letters cut from magazines and newspapers.

Too bad he hadn't printed it. They would've been able to track his location down – or at least, the printer he had used. She put the note on the table to show to the others later and picked up the lab coat.

Something slithered out and fell to the ground. Caitlin glanced down, and although her current emotional state was mired somewhere between a mix of apprehension, exasperation, and confusion, she couldn't stop the startled chuckle from slipping past her lips.

It was a fake one-hundred dollar bill.

He really did have a twisted sense of humor.

Author's Rambling Note:

Let me start off by saying the meeting between Zoom and Caitlin was not coincidental at all. You probably spotted something off about the situation the moment it looked like he was out of speed-force, but his voice and eyes are still altered. So what gives? You'll see next chapter. xD

As a consequence of writing this alongside my other Caitlin/Zoom fics (like I literally have multiple windows running at the same time on my laptop and I'm jumping between them back and forth as I'm writing), the way I've written them in that series has spread to here. So Caitlin and Hunter/Zoom are also asexual in this fic – you have my apologies if that isn't what you're interested in. However, I do have a SnowHunter fic I scratched into a spiral where they're not asexual. This one will be uploaded after I update my other fics. It is a T-rated fic though, so don't expect any explicit smut from that one. But stuff within a T-rating? Huh. Who knows? ;-p

Caitlin and her humor in such a dire situation is inappropriate and jarring, but I've definitely seen that among medical professionals – or any person who has to cope with a tense scenario, really. They do it to maintain their calmness. But speaking of her job, she's stated to be a bio-engineer on the Arrow wikia – but how the heck does she have medical training and is capable of performing a lobotomy (aka neurosurgery?!)? That's not how degrees work. o_0 Show logic, amirite? xD But I've decided to take this route too to make life easier, so I'm the one to talk lol. Hence the discrepancies and illogical stuff you see in here.

For a scary evil dude, Zoom is hilariously snarky in the show. His sense of humor is twisted too lol. Some examples: the "Merry Christmas" scene, "I need more time" – "Don't we all" scene. I'm definitely not a witty person, but I hoped I managed to carry this particular trait of Zoom's to this fanfic successfully. Except now I think I made him too playful. Oops. Oh well. Crackfic, baby. Impish!Zoom creeps me out though when I remember his voice lol.

Ronnie plays a role later in this fanfic. But in this AU as of now, he's never worked at S.T.A.R. labs, so Caitlin doesn't know him. Yet.

Reviews are love! You have no idea how much they mean to me. I always doubted my ability to write, so any constructive criticism, or even just a simple comment makes me happy and motivates me.

This fic is also posted on Archive Of Our Own under the user Floating_Red_Lotus.