Thank you Amybrightranger for delivering this prompt and my god. This small little side project turned into a 10k short story. The longest one that I've written and it look a while to proofread myself. Please enjoy this little #snowbarry mess and hope to see you all for the next one. Hopefully.
"There's no way that he could've disappeared like that." Caitlin pointed out as she worked alongside Cisco as the two of them furiously hacked away at their computer terminals. "For someone like Barry to vanish without leaving a trace..."
"Another Earth?" Cisco said, finishing her thought. "Not possible. If a breach did open, we would've been able to detect that. I think he's still on this Earth somewhere... but I don't know where here is." He said with an exasperated sigh.
It's been two days since anyone's heard from Barry and they were beyond code red. Their computers beeped again, an indication that the search returned nothing and he slammed his hands onto the table as a response, a choice that he instantly regretted. "Damn it." He groaned, his hands shaking from the pain. They still weren't completely healed from Cicada's attack and he felt so helpless sitting here. "If I could just vibe him just once..."
"No!" Caitlin chided, the doctor side of her glaring at Cisco. "The last time you did that, you almost passed out from blood lost."
"I know but I have to do something." He argued. "You know that he would do the same for us."
Caitlin nodded, quite understanding his frustrations. Ralph was already hitting the streets, following up on every possible lead but she couldn't help but feel like it was just another dead-end. She didn't say anything, hoping that she would be proven wrong but the more she thought about Barry, the more her anxiety grew. She didn't like not knowing where he is.
"I have the answer." Sherloque suddenly announced as he strolled into the Cortex. "It's so simple, even someone like you can understand it Ramon."
"And you call yourself the multiverse's greatest detective." Cisco muttered. "What took you so long? Had to make a quick stop in Gotham to ask Batman for help?"
"Of course not." The detective scoffed. "I taught Batman those skills. Why, without me, he would be like the baby giraffe and speaking of baby giraffe, where is he anyway?"
"Ralph's following up on some leads." Caitlin answered, turning her attention to Sherloque. "Did you find something that can help us find Barry?"
"Of course not. How can you expect me to come up with something when I have nothing to work with?"
Cisco's jaw dropped. "You - how - what!" He balled his fingers into a fist and brought it to his mouth, choosing to bite down on his finger, bandages and all. "Just tell us what your answer is."
"It's simple. To find your Barry Allen, we need to another Barry Allen to show us the way." Sherloque explained. He turned to Cisco and threw him his extrapolator. "Be a dear and open a doorway to Earth-115."
"Why are you giving it to me? You know how to use this thing too!" Cisco shouted, throwing it back. The two of them continued to toss the device at each other until Caitlin had enough and snatched it out of Cisco's hands.
"Give me that!" She gave both of them death stare before entering the coordinates into the device. Her eyes doubled-checked the configurations once more and pressed the button. A breach then opened right in front of them, the three of them waiting with anticipation as a figure slowly stepped through. "I swear if this is another Wells..." She heard Cisco mutter under his breath.
"It's not." She whispered back, her eyes widened as she immediately recognized the person. How can she not? She would know those green eyes anywhere. "That's Barry..."
Cisco agreed, unable to wipe that big smile off his face. "Dude!" He shouted, running up and greeting his best friend's doppelganger. "I mean I know you're not our Barry but you are a Barry so... Welcome to our Earth!"
Her eyes met his, brown meeting green. She knew that this wasn't her Barry. Her mind understood but her heart wasn't listening. It continued to flutter against her chest, beating louder and faster the longer she maintained eye contact with him.
He broke eye contact with her first, taking the opportunity to survey his surroundings. He had to remind himself that this wasn't his universe anymore. These weren't his friends, his colleagues... his family. He turned his head and recognized the man with the fedora. "Sherloque." He greeted, acknowledging the detective. "It's been a while."
"Indeed it has Bartholomew Allen."
"Barry." He corrected, his tone dropping several degrees as he stared at the man. "I hope you didn't call me here to just waste my time."
"Of course not. You're a dear cust- friend of mine. I would never do that to you." The detective answered, clearly trying to stay on the man's good side. "I called you here because their Barry Allen went missing several days ago and as great of a detective that I am, I think that we need someone of your... expertise to find him."
"And what kind of expertise is that?" Cisco chimed in. "I mean aside from being all dark and gloomy, I don't see anything special about him. Does he have powers like our Barry? Is he the Flash on his Earth as well?"
"No and I don't know what this Flash is." Barry replied, folding his arms against his chest. "Powers are for people who need an advantage. For what I do, I don't need any powers. It's too messy. Creates unnecessary trails."
Cisco started laughing, shaking his head. "You sound like you work for the mob. You almost had me there but you have to get up pretty early to pull one over me." He turned towards Caitlin and rolled his eyes. "Can you believe this guy Caitlin? There is no way that Barry, or any Barry in fact, would be anything other than a hero. It's just impossible."
She wanted to agree with her friend but from the way that Sherloque was tiptoeing around him. It made her a little cautious. "Cisco. I don't think..."
"It doesn't matter what you think of me." Barry answered, interrupting Caitlin. "I'm nobody. No records, no digital footprint. Not from all the jobs that I've done in my universe. You want to know who I am? You can call me the Chemist but I really don't care what you call me. Just don't waste my time."
"Oh that's just great." Cisco grunted, turning around and glared at Sherloque. "Of all the Barry's that we could have called, we get this guy?. Earth-2 Barry would have been more helpful. What is this one going to do? Go Al Pacino at our problems?" The two men started arguing with each other, insults flying back and forth.
Caitlin shook her head, slightly embarrassed at their childish display. She turned and gave Barry an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, their usually never like this."
"At least I got married before I got dumped by my lovers."
"How many times do I have to tell you?! Gypsy didn't dump me! It was a mutual break up! It's like I'm talking to a brick wall."
"It's fine." Barry replied. "And for the record, I'm not that kind of cleaner." He saw that inquisitive look on her face and chuckled. "I have certain talents that makes me desirable to my employers. Skills that set me apart from everyone else."
"And Sherloque called you because he thinks you can find our Barry?"
"He knows I can." He boldly stated. "If he didn't think I could, I wouldn't be here."
Caitlin bit the lower part of her lip, trying to get a read on this Barry. Everything that he's saying, his body language. It was more confident, more arrogant. It was the completely opposite of her Barry and even Killer Frost was a little wary of him, which is a first for her. "Please find him." She quietly pleaded. "He's everything to us."
Before Barry could answer, a pair of heels echoed through the hallways of S.T.A.R Labs and everyone turned around and saw Iris, who was standing at the entrance to the Cortex with widened eyes. "Barry." She breathed out. "I knew you were alright!" She ran straight towards him, arms out ready to hug him but just as she was within arm's length, he moved out of her way. She turned around and looked at him, shocked at his reaction. "Barry?"
"What the hell do you think you're doing Iris West?" He hissed. His hands were balled into a fist, clenched tightly but the murderous intent in his words were enough to make everyone go on high alert.
Iris took a few steps back, now standing a few feet away. She swallowed her fears and tried again, not quite understanding the situation. "It's me Barry. Your wife."
"You're no wife of mine." He snarled, his eyes angrily glaring at her. "My wife died two years ago because you arrogantly wrote that bullshit article on metahuman trafficking, even though everyone warned you not to do it. Your stubborn attitude cost a lot of people their lives that day."
"Wait. Wife? Article that I wrote?" She whispered, trying to make sense of his words but the only thing she could really focus on was that she wasn't his wife. It never occurred to her that there was a world, a universe out there where she wasn't his wife. Even after everything that they went through, she thought that they would always be fated to be together. She looked up and saw that pair of angry green eyes glaring back and she shrank under his gaze. "Are you saying that we're not married?"
"Ding ding." Barry sarcastically answered. "Now if you're done wasting my time, then maybe I can get to work on finding this world's Barry Allen." He turned heel and walked towards Sherloque and Caitlin, who tried to look nonchalant but failed miserably. "How can this Barry be married to that woman?" He whispered to himself but it wasn't low enough that Caitlin overheard him.
She held her tongue and despite the numerous questions that she had for him, she could tell that he wasn't going to be in the mood to answer any of them. Not after what just happened. She turned her head slightly and saw Iris sitting by the computers with a dejected expression on her face. Cisco took the seat next to her and was doing his best to keep her from crying. She turned back around and saw Barry looking through a list of well-known criminals in Central City. His fingers continued scrolling through each of their profile. "Useless. There's nothing here." He exclaimed. "I assume that you want me to find Barry under any circumstances correct?"
"Yes." Caitlin adamantly answered, speaking up for the entire team. "Without a doubt."
"Where can I go if I wanted to have a drink with the most dangerous person in Central City?"
20 Miles outside Central City
Standing outside the Mudslide Bar, Barry and Caitlin stood there watching as several shady patrons came and went from the bar. "You know I can do this alone." He mentioned, taking notice of her worried expression. "I'll be fine."
"I don't think a gun is going to scare them though." Caitlin pointed out, her finger halfheartedly poking the gun on Barry's back. "No offense but compared to Snart's cold gun and Rory's heat gun, yours doesn't seem very intimidating."
"Like I said, I'll be fine." Barry repeated, his voice firm. His eyes remained fixated on the front door, taking note of every little thing. He already surveyed the building thanks to Cisco's blueprints so he was fairly confident about walking in there alone. "Wait here. This won't take me long."
"I don't think so." She argued. "What if things escalate while you're inside? You're going to need some backup and I can't think of anyone better than Killer Frost. People still fear her you know."
"Wait. Hold on, you're Killer Frost here as well?" He asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. "You know what, never mind." He started walking off, leaving Caitlin confused. He knew that when he accepted Sherloque's offer to come to this universe, there would be similarities but he didn't think that she would be similar to her...
Caitlin quickly caught up and reached for his arm. "Hey, you can't walk in there with that." She pointed at his gun. "They'll kill you on the spot."
"The gun isn't for them." He retorted. "And don't worry. I would be more concerned about them." He walked up and saw the bouncer by the door. The man was in his mid-thirties, bald with a lot of tattoos. Just another hired muscle for this city's criminal organization. He sighed and was about to walk past him the man stepped in his way. Barry raised his eyebrow, almost if he was silently asking the man why he would do something so stupid.
"You're not on the list." The bouncer stated, looking impassive at Barry. "It's a private party."
"I'm sure I'm on the list." Barry replied, staring right back. "Can you check again?"
Before the bouncer could say anything else, Barry slammed both of his fists into the man's knees, the force of the hit caused the big man to drop down to the ground, crying out in pain. He struggled to get back up but when he saw those cold green eyes, the only thing he could do was whimper. "Please don't."
"Don't what?" Barry asked, "Don't make a mess?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer as he brought his own knee up and smashed it against the man's jaw, knocking him backwards and through the door. "Guess I was on the list after all." He muttered and stepped through the mess.
The way that he handled the situation left her speechless. She knew that there was something different, something dangerous about this Barry but having it seen firsthand... it left her a little worried about Sherloque's choice. Frost, on the other hand, was impressed with the entire display.
By the time they entered the bar, everyone in the room was silent, their eyes staring at the newcomers. Caitlin shrank under their gaze and stayed close to Barry. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary?" She whispered behind his back. "Maybe we should come back when it's less populated."
"I can't think of a better time than this one right here."
"That's what I was afraid of." She muttered. "Do you want me to bring Frost out? I think she really wants to have some fun." She counted at least 30 people in this bar alone and that's just only the amount she could see. There was probably more waiting behind closed doors. "I really think you should reconsider our options for backup."
"It's going to be fine. I just want to have a little talk with Carlos Pluckett." He casually walked up to the nearest table and sat down, smiling as he looked around. "I think this guy knows Carlos."
The man whose table that Barry just occupied frowned. He chugged the rest of his beer and slammed the glass on to the table. "You got a death wish or something?"
"No. I just want to know where Carlos is. I heard that nothing gets moved in this town without him knowing about it."
"I don't know any Carlos." The man replied, pulling out a very sharp knife. "I think it's best that you stop asking questions."
Barry sighed and then without warning, his legs kicked the chair out from under the man and watched as his head bounced off the table. Before the man could fully grasp the situation, he was already standing behind him, pulling upwards on the man's arms at an uneven angle. "Mercy please! Just let go man!" It didn't matter how many times he pleaded with Barry, it fell on deaf ears. "I swear I don't know any Carlos!"
"That's disappointing." Barry answered, his eyes glaring hard at the whimpering man. He applied a little more pressure before smashing the man's head into the ground, rendering him unconscious. "I'm going to ask once more. Where can I find Carlos Pluckett?" He looked around the room, his eyes looking for any subtle movements but when no one moved, he sighed and walked up to the bartender. "What about you Charles Brown? You work at the bar. Are you going to tell me you never heard of him as well?"
Charles looked surprised and he could feel everyone's eyes on him. "Not-nothing. I swear it mister." He stammered. "I ain't know anything. I'm just your humble barkeep."
"What about you Steve Palmer? Or you Erik Razar?"
Caitlin looked around the room as well, astonished to see fear in each of their eyes. She couldn't help but smirk as Barry walked over from table to table, randomly calling out their names. She could see it in their eyes. They were debating who was more terrifying. This random guy or their boss. Even though this Barry preferred doing things this way, there was some resemble to her Barry, with the way that they both share the same determination in getting the job done.
Perhaps this one wasn't too bad.
"Enough already. Can't a man come in here to enjoy his beer without some pretty boy vigilante banging up the place?" A tall muscular man that Caitlin didn't recognize stood up and stomped over. She was about to switch into Killer Frost when she saw Barry shaking his head. She frowned but stood by the door. Her hands tightly gripped onto the chair, silently wondering why he still refuses to let her come into the field with him.
"Who do you think you are? Waltzing in here and demanding answers. I've never seen your mug before so I'm going to give you to a count of five to get your scrawny ass out of this bar."
Barry sighed. Why do they always insist of doing things this way? It would be much easier if they just told him what he needed to know. He locked eyes with the taller man and ducked under the wide haymaker. From his eyes, it was too slow, too choreograph, too damn easy to read. His body automatically sidestepped the next few punches, weaving in and out and without any hesitation, he was already inside the man's personal space and delivered a hard blow to his solar plexus.
The man staggered backwards, trying to catch his breath but Barry didn't let him. He crouched a little bit, spreading out his center of balance and with one quick movement, he jumped up and smashed his knee against the man's face, effectively neutralizing the imminent threat. He turned around and stared at everyone else. "Anyone else feeling lucky?"
Caitlin felt a pair of hands grabbing her by the throat and panic spread through her body. She could smell the liquor coming from the man's breath and was about to let Frost take over when a single gunshot blew past her. The hands that were on her throat suddenly loosen up and she quickly broke free. She turned around and saw a frightened man shaking in place. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as a small dark patch appeared on his pants.
"No one touches her." Barry whispered, his finger still on the trigger. "She's off-limits to everyone and anyone."
Even though she wasn't standing next to him, she could feel the intensity from his words and she knew that it wasn't just another idle threat. It was a promise and on some minuscule level... she felt sorry for whoever got in their way.
S.T.A.R Labs
After passing over the relevant information that he retrieved to Sherloque, the detective waved adieu and started to analyze the data. He promised to come find him the moment he had something and Barry retreated to one of the guest rooms at S.T.A.R Labs. He stood by the window, staring into the night sky. The door swooshed open from behind him and he turned around, surprised to see Caitlin standing there with several blankets and pillows.
"Hey Barry... I hope you don't mind but I brought you some essentials..."
"Thank you." He softly answered, "You can leave them on the couch." He then turned back around, once again staring off into the horizon. He thought that she would eventually leave on her own accord but when he didn't hear the doors open, he turned his head and saw her sitting there, those brown eyes of her staring at him. He didn't say anything else, walking over and taking the seat across from her.
"I just wanted to also say thank you for saving me today." Caitlin said, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "I didn't mean to lose focus like that."
"Don't worry about it Caitlin." Barry calmly answered. "It happens but the important thing is that you weren't hurt. I don't think I could've lived with myself if something happened to you again."
"Again?" She asked, "What do you mean again?"
He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, a move that reminded her of Barry. She couldn't help but to reminisce, thinking back to all the times when her Barry would do the exact same thing when he was uncomfortable. "Did you know my doppelganger in your universe?"
He slowly nodded his head. "Yeah... you could say that."
"Do you think you could tell me about her? I've always wanted to know if the multiverse theory about our doppelgangers were true but after looking at the other Harrison Wells... it doesn't instill me with a lot of hope."
Barry saw the excitement in her eyes and it was the same look that his Caitlin used to have whenever she was excited about something. He wanted to decline, to change the subject since he didn't want to talk about her but being here... all those feelings that he buried deep within him were coming back to the surface. He averted his eyes but it was already too late. It didn't matter if he closed his eyes and pretended that he was alone.
He was already picturing her.
"She was just like you Caitlin." He softly said. "Smart. Strong. Amazing... She was the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. From the first time I saw her, I knew that nothing else mattered in the world. As long as I was with her, I knew that no matter what happened, we would be okay."
Just hearing the way that he described her doppelganger, Caitlin felt her cheeks heating up. "She sounds amazing."
"She was but the only difference between you and my Caitlin was the fact that her last name wasn't Snow... It was Allen."
Her eyes widened. "You don't mean..."
"Yeah... Her name was Caitlin Allen. She was my wife of five years."
As soon as those words left his mouth, her mind literally exploded from the news. It was unbelievable, that there was a universe out there where a Caitlin Snow ended up with a Barry Allen. Not Iris West and Barry Allen but with her and Barry. The romantic in her wanted to squeal, that there was a small slimmer of hope that they would end up together. She mentally chided herself for getting being so excited. "Are you sure you had the right Caitlin Snow? Are you positive that it was me?" She managed to squeak out. "Not Iris in any shape or form?"
It was silly, the way she was asking him to confirm but she wanted to hear him say it.
He reached for her hands and gently squeezed. "On my Earth, my heart only belonged to one woman and one woman only. She and I..." He paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "Let's just say that there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."
The last part he said with such fierce determination that she could feel the love coming from him. She then remembered the words that he had with Iris and she couldn't help but to ask. "What happened to me... I mean her..." This whole doppelganger business was very confusing.
"She passed away."
Her entire world stopped, like glass shattering from a mirror. "How?" She whispered, somewhat afraid to hear about her untimely death.
Barry took several deep breaths, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "It took us by surprise and... it was my fault. She shouldn't have been there that night but for some reason, she was and when she heard the gunshot, she took the bullet for me."
"Oh Barry." She whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
He shook his head, trying to hold the tears at bay. "It's going to be okay though. Sherloque promised that in exchanged for my assistance, he's going to help me track down those responsible for her death."
"Don't do that." Caitlin said, her hands firmly squeezing his. "I know that I'm not your Caitlin but if she was anything like me, she wouldn't want you going down this path. You're a good man Barry Allen. Don't throw your life away and be consumed with revenge. There's nothing down that path so please, please don't do that."
"I can't." He whispered, shaking his head in disagreement. "It's too late for me. The things that I've done... She wouldn't be proud of me."
"She wouldn't care for any of that Barry. She knew who you were, deep down inside and she still fell in love with you. Whatever happened that night, you have to understand that no matter which universe we're in, Caitlin Snow will always love her Barry Allen."
"Just like how Barry Allen will always love his Caitlin Snow." He said, smiling for the first time. "So I promise you Caitlin. I will find you your Barry Allen and then maybe, we can talk some sense into your man."
Caitlin couldn't help but to return his smile, pulling him into a hug. At first, she felt him tense up but as the seconds passed, she felt him relaxing and returning her hug. She pulled away and despite everything, a pang of sadness washed over her. It was a sad truth because no matter how hard she tried to convince herself. This Caitlin Snow doesn't get to end up with her Barry Allen.
At least not in this universe...
Cortex - Next Morning
"Good morning. Good morning!" Sherloque greeted as Barry walked into the Cortex. "Thanks to the information that you procured for us. I was able to narrow it down to four possible locations but unless I have more, I cannot pinpoint it any further."
Barry nodded and started scrolling through the four possible locations. He looked at the list and cross-referenced it with what he knew from his universe and this one. It wasn't exactly logical but from what he's seen, the underlying details remained the same, no matter what universe you ended up in. From the four that Sherloque profiled, he's already eliminated two of them. In his eyes, those two facilities were just too new. It was unlikely that they could be used to contain someone like Barry without drawing too much attention. Too near civilization. They would most likely want a location that's more remote and out of the way.
More black ops.
That left him with two possibilities, one that was just outside Central City near an abandoned power plant and one that was underground in the sewers. He was just about to pull up the heat map for those places when he was interrupted by Iris, who walked right up to him.
"Whether you like it or not, I'm going to be coming with you." She declared. "Barry's my husband and I need to save him."
"Do you have any metaphysical powers? Can you defend yourself in a fight where the other person is trying kill you?"
"No but -"
"Then you're only going to get in my way." Barry firmly stated. "I don't work with people that I don't trust and you, Iris West, I do not trust."
"I don't care if you trust me or not! The only thing that matters is getting Barry back!" Iris shot back, standing her ground. "Can you just stop playing the tough guy for once and just let me help? I don't know if you're aware but you're about to go into unknown territory alone. Who knows what might be there. The smart play is to let us come along to help you."
"I don't work with people I don't trust. No matter what the job is."
The words hit Iris like a slap in the face and everyone in the room knew it. They could feel the anger just radiating off Barry. Caitlin looked towards Cisco, silently telling him to get in the middle of this and Cisco feverishly shook his head. This was one argument he will not get involved with.
"Look at my face Barry. Does it look like I'm going to stab you in the back?"
"Why don't you take a good look at my face?" He took several steps forward, his angry eyes glaring straight at her. "Does it look like you're dealing with your husband right now? Does it look like I want your help?"
Caitlin felt herself shaking her head at her friend's antics. How could she not understand how this Barry was feeling? In some strange way, this man was her husband and as his wife, she should've already known. Maybe it was her own stubbornness that didn't her allow to see the bigger picture but it was clear to everyone else that this Barry didn't want her help.
"It doesn't matter which Barry you are. It doesn't even matter which universe you're in. You're always going to have an Iris West in your life. I've seen the future Barry. You and I are destined to end up together. Whether we're falling in love or we're married, you and I are meant for each other."
Caitlin's jaw dropped, shocked at just how brazen Iris was. She was about to speak up when Barry started laughing. He continued to laugh and then shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. If you really believe that, then I would hate to be your husband on this universe." He spun around and walked away from her. "Because in my universe, I was married to Caitlin and she is, without a doubt, a hundred times the woman you'll ever be."
Everyone's eyes widened, their eyes now focused on Caitlin. Her cheeks quickly blushed and glared at Barry, who merely smirked in return. "That's not me." She weakly squeaked out, silently wishing that a sinkhole would open up right about now.
"It's time to wake up Iris West. You are not always the center of attention so please stop deluding yourself that there is some grand plan in stored for you." He left it at that as he walked out of the room, leaving everyone speechless.
Caitlin didn't hesitate and ran after him, giving Iris an apologetic look as she ran passed. It took her a few seconds to catch up to Barry, eventually matching his pace. "You know you didn't have to do that right?"
"You know this Iris better than I'll ever will. Do you think she would have taken a simple no for an answer?"
"No..." She reluctantly answered. Even though Iris was a good friend to her, there were times where her stubbornness irritated her. "I just feel bad for her... I know what she's going through..." She whispered, her eyes staring at the ground as they walked away from the Cortex. "Losing Barry hurts... It feels like someone just ripped a piece of my heart away..."
"And that's why I married my Caitlin. It's because of what you just said that made me fall in love with that big heart of yours." He stopped walking and smiled. "I'm glad that you're still you here."
Caitlin felt her cheeks turning red. That damn heart of hers keep fluttering whenever she's with him and a part of her knows that this isn't her Barry but it didn't stop her from imaging a future where maybe one day... she can have it with hers.
"Are you coming Cait?" Barry suddenly asked, his voice interrupting her thoughts. She looked up and found Barry standing by the door, fully equipped and looking at her hesitantly.
"You want me to come with you?" She asked. "Are you sure? I thought you would want to do this alone?"
He paused and then turned his head, slightly embarrassed. "I wouldn't mind... if you came along." He quickly said and walked off. If he only stayed for a few more seconds, he would have seen that big smile on her face.
Underground Sewers
After the second time around, Cisco's device was able to breach them somewhat closer to the underground facility. Caitlin made a face when her boots hit the muddy waters, quietly sighing as she groaned. Frost recently brought these boots and she could hear her other persona grumbling in her mind.
Barry walked in front of Caitlin and started looking around, assessing their surroundings before moving. For some reason, Cisco was only able to find partial blueprints for this place which struck him as odd. He was about to signal to Caitlin when he saw her changing into Frost and smiled. "Hello Frost." He greeted. "It's nice to see you." His heart skipped a beat when that brunette hair turned frosty white, reminding him of his own wife.
Frost made a face as she stared at her new boots. She uttered a few choice words before turning her attention towards Barry. They didn't need to exchange pleasantries because whatever Caitlin saw, she also saw and even though she was a little bit more cautious of this Barry, she could tell that this one cared for Caitlin just as much. She walked up to him, ignoring the fact that they were still standing in the muddy waters and poked him with her finger. "You better protect Caity." She said, "If anything happens to her, I will freeze your bits off."
"I would die before I let anything to her."
"Good." She answered. Her finger then slowly dragged itself across his chest, almost in a seductive like motion. "I would hate to mess that pretty face of yours up if you didn't."
His hand reached up, gently wrapping themselves against her finger. "Why Frost, if you wanted to just touch my face. All you had to do was ask." He whispered, smirking as he then walked away. "But I like it when you're more dominate."
"Wh-what?" She stammered, her cheeks blushing in response. She was about to utter a response back when she saw that Barry was already walking away. "Do you even know where you're going?!" She shouted as she rushed to catch up to him.
"I saw the partial blueprints for this place. If we go for another thirty feet, we'll find the entrance but from that point onward, we'll be doing this blind." He explained. "We'll have to be our own eyes and ears."
"Lead the way then."
They walked in silence, with Barry taking the lead. As he continued onward, he would casually sneak glances towards Frost from the corner of his eye. He knew he shouldn't be doing this but it was hard when the woman with him was literally his wife from a different universe. There has to be a loophole in there somewhere that makes this all okay. He racked his brain for a few seconds, wondering if this would be considered cheating if you're cheating on your wife with another version of her...
He quickly shook his head, the logistics of that thought was starting to hurt his head.
While deep in his thoughts, the walk didn't seem so long and they eventually hit that dead end. Barry stared at the wall for a few seconds before pulling out his gun. His finger tapped a few buttons on the side and was about to pull the trigger when Frost walked past him. She put one hand on the wall and turned towards Barry. "I suppose you'll want to blow up this wall."
"That's the plan."
She shook her head and then ice shot out from the palm of her hand. Pretty soon, the entire wall was covered in ice. Feeling satisfied, she tapped her knuckles against the wall and it shattered in response. "Never send a man in to do a woman's job." She teased. "Do you mind if I take the lead now?"
Barry shook his head and gestured for her to go ahead. "I prefer the view from back here anyway." He nonchalantly replied. "It's much better if I do say so myself." He heard a snort from her and took it as a sign to start walking. "What kind of place is this?"
Barry quietly shushed her, holding a finger to his lips. He pulled her towards the wall and before taking the next corner, he slowly peaked his head out. This was place supposed to be abandoned for years, deprived of human contact so why in the world was he hearing that faint mechanical hum? It didn't make much sense. His eyes slowly scanned the area, careful to not draw any attention to himself. His ears listened but what stopped him from doing anything else was that symbol on the wall.
It made his blood run cold. To see Cadmus here.
Frost frowned and decided that she didn't feel like waiting anymore so as her ice powers started to manifest themselves, a pair of hands yanked her backwards and back against the wall. "Don't." He harshly whispered. "From this point out, we need to be careful of everything that we do. That means we don't blow stuff anymore."
"What? Why? Do you know where we are?" Frost asked, taking note of the seriousness in Barry's tone. "You do don't know."
"This is Cadmus." He explained. "I don't know if you guys ever encountered them before but on my Earth. They're an independent government agency that has their own funding for their projects. They make ARGUS look like girl scouts compared to the things they've done." He then took a small device out from his pocket and pressed the green button before tossing it on the floor. "The man behind Cadmus... he was the worst of the worst."
Frost looked on curiously as she watched the small device transformed itself into a small drone. "What is that thing going to do? Why not just let me freeze the damn thing and be done with it?"
"Because your way constitutes an exit plan. We'll go with your way when we need something big but for now, let's do things my way first." He took out a second device and pressed a few buttons. They watched as the drone quietly flew up underneath the camera and attached itself to the underside of the device. Within a few moments, the device that Barry had on his hand buzzed and he smiled. "Now we can go. I looped the footage so they can't see us coming."
They walked past the camera and turned the corner, a big empty corridor waiting for them. As they walked past it, Frost couldn't help but feel like something bad was about to happen so her senses were on high alert. It didn't take them long to find themselves staring at a big metal door that was blocking them from advancing any further.
"Looks like I'm up."
Barry frowned at the simplicity of the door. If this Cadmus anything like the one he faced on his Earth, this door would surely be booby-trapped. He opened his mouth slightly and noticed a quaint metallic smell in the air but before he could connect the dots, Frost already had her hands against the door and sparks appeared the moment she made contact.
His eyes widened and his body automatically reacted. His legs were already in motion before he could fully understand the situation. He sped towards Frost, forcefully shoving her out of the way and taking the blunt of the electric attack. Frost groaned as her body rolled on the floor but she quickly pushed herself back onto her feet. "Barry!" She shouted as she ran over.
With each step that she took, she slowly reverted back to Caitlin and by the time she reached Barry, he was already on the floor, groaning from the pain. She gently turned him over to get a better look but he waved her off, his body already struggling to get back up. "That was not fun." He hoarsely said. "Remind me not to do that again."
"You idiot." She softly chided him. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I promised that nothing would happen to you." He answered if that was the most obvious thing in the world. He grunted as he reached for his gun and pointed it at the door.
"I don't think you can blast your way through that Barry. That door looks like it was designed to keep people out."
"Or to keep something in." He muttered. He turned around and held the gun up for Caitlin. "This isn't your standard gun. Just stand behind me and I'll show you what I mean by that." His finger was itching to pull the trigger. Something that he hasn't done since that night at the bar. As soon as they were back far enough, he held the gun up and fired. Ice shot out from the gun, surprising Caitlin and before she could speak up, he eased up on the trigger and pressed another button and a roaring fire exploded from his gun.
"Explain." Caitlin said, mildly impressed with the weapon in Barry's hands. "How did you manage to combine both the cold and heat gun into one?"
"I didn't. You managed to convince Ted Kord to work with you on this idea." He said, smiling coyly at her. He continued with the repeated stream of hot and cold at the door before pressing another button. A single bullet shot out and exploded in a green ooze, completely covering the door. She was about to say something else she would hear hissing coming from the door.
"Cisco would have a field day if he can have a look at your gun. I'm pretty sure that if he had any cash, he would even pay you for that opportunity."
"I'm sure it would be a fascinating study but this gun doesn't leave my side. It's not that I don't trust him. It's just that this was the only thing that I have left of my wife..."
She blushed at his words, trying everything she can to push down those feelings. It was getting harder and harder to differentiate between her Barry and this Barry. The longer she spends with him, the less she could tell them apart. Aside from this one not having metahuman abilities, his personality was just like her Barry but in some ways, not her Barry as well. It was just all too confusing.
"We should hurry." Barry announced as the acid finally melted through the door. "Once we step through there. I want you to be on your guard Caitlin. There's no telling how many there are on the other side."
Hearing the worried tone in his voice, she straightened up her posture and together, they walked through the door. She could feel him tensing up with each step that they took. "Are you okay Barry?" She asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice.
"No I'm not." He admitted. "I was praying that Cadmus didn't exist here like it does on my Earth..."
It didn't take a genius to figure out that this place held some bad memories for him. Caitlin stood a little closer to him, her hand on his back. "What did they do to you?"
He chose not to answer, instead choosing to continue onward. He didn't make it three steps before the alarms started blaring through the facility. Caitlin jumped up in surprise and started to panic. She looked over towards Barry who stood there stoically, his gaze fixated at the ramp leading up to the second floor. "Barry?" She slowly asked, noticing the cold expression on his face.
"Can someone please tell me why on earth someone would break into this facility?" A rough voice yelled, echoing through the empty corridor. "And why does one of them have the same face as the Flash?"
Barry tightened his grip on the gun as a man walked out from the shadows, his eyes boring into him. "General Eiling." He spat out. She could feel the anger radiating off him but for her, this was the man who intentionally made her life a living hell. This sick, twisted man who wanted nothing but weapons for war. Memories of Ronnie... and Grodd came rushing back to her and then Frost took over. She snarled and sent a blast of ice towards the man, intending to kill him in one quick move.
Eiling snorted as he watch the ice come but before it could reach him, the ice melted into nothing but water vapor. With a snap of his finger, the general was down on the ground, a big confident smirk on his face. "A woman who can shoot ice. That's very interesting." He stated and snapped his fingers once more. A breeze blew into the room and standing before them was Barry Allen in his Flash costume. "Having someone of your abilities could be very beneficial to our country. A man who can run faster than lightning and a woman who can shoot ice... Flash and Frost... What a combination you two can make. Imagine the endless possibilities!"
Her eyes widened, surprised and shocked to see her Barry standing there. She screamed out his name, trying to get his attention but she then noticed that his eyes were different. They weren't their soulful green anymore. They were just dark. Almost if all free will was taken from him. She took a step forward but Barry stuck his arm out, stopping her. "Don't." He warned. "That's not your Barry. Not anymore."
"What do you mean? He's right there! I can get through to him!" She cried. "I know I can help him!"
"You'll die if you help him Caitlin!" He yelled, stopping her dead in her tracks.
Caitlin turned and saw Barry, standing there holding his gun pointed at her. "I will not watch you die a second time Cait. Please don't make me do this." He pleaded. She finally understood why it was so painful for him. She tore her eyes between this Barry and her Barry, biting her lips as she struggled internally.
"Enough of this." Eiling said. "Take care of them Flash."
"Don't!" Barry shouted, swinging his gun towards the general. "This shot wasn't meant for you Eiling but I swear, I'll take it if I have to."
"What do you think that pathetic gun is going to do?" Eiling drawled. "In case you've forgotten, I have the fastest man alive. He'll get to you before you can even pull that trigger."
Barry then turned his gun away and pointed it towards Caitlin. His index finger pushed another button and then pulled the trigger. "I'm sorry." The bullet then exploded as soon as it touched the ground near Caitlin, a force-field quickly surrounding her. She ran towards the barrier, banging her fists against it; screaming with each blow.
He looked at her, mouthing an apology. He saw the anger, the rage in her eyes but he turned away, reminding himself that this was in her best interest. As he turned back around, he found himself faced to face with himself. Something that he never thought would ever happen. He saw those familiar green eyes and intuitively raised his arms up, already anticipating the right hook.
The attack didn't stop from there. No matter how much his guard remained up, those blows kept coming, heavier and faster than he could've have imagined. He was starting to lose feelings in his arms, and without realizing it, the next blow broke through his guard and sent him scrawling backwards on the floor.
Barry panted and pushed himself up. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a metallic vial. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it on this Earth but it seems like I have no other choice." He struggled to his feet and he stared at the Flash, mentally laughing at the irony of it all. He shook the tube in his hands. "I never imagined that we would be using this on myself. The irony of it all..." He then threw the vial onto the ground, shattering the contents everywhere.
"What the hell is that supposed to do?" Eiling asked, narrowing his eyes. "You could have used your weapon but instead, you take out a test tube. You didn't even throw it at him." He sighed in disappointment. "Kill him Flash."
"That also wasn't meant you for Eiling." Barry explained, his body taking a step back and smiled. His eyes watched as a dark cloud started to form and without warning, started chasing after the speedster.
Caitlin's eyes widened, hundreds of thoughts going through her mind. She screamed for Barry to run, to come to his senses before it's too late but it fell on deaf ears. She turned to the other Barry, glaring at him. "What did you just do?"
"It's something that we created in case we run into speedsters like Zoom or Savitar. Since we know how hard it is to take down someone who runs at super speed, the only way to stop them is with these microbes. These little guys will chase them to the ends of the earth and render them powerless."
"You can't do this Barry!" Caitlin yelled and then Frost took over. She glared at the force-field and then started blasting it with her ice powers. The barrier hummed angrily in response so she pushed even harder, determined to break free.
"You can be angry with me and even hate me Caitlin but I promised myself that nothing will hurt you. On this earth or any other earth!" Barry then charged towards the Flash, seeing as how he was now standing still. He threw his own punches, knocking the speedster to the ground and used his gun to start beating on him. "I'm sure you would have found another way Barry but I don't have the luxury of time to do just that. Forgive me!"
After the fifth blow, Barry stood over an unconscious Flash and glared at the general. "It's over Eiling. I'm shutting you down!" He pointed his gun at the general. He tapped several other settings and it started humming. "You've destroyed countless lives with no disregard to anything. Your moral compass is broken just like all the other monsters out there. This nightmare ends here."
"Let me?" Eiling laughed and pulled out his own firearm. "A civilian like you won't understand what's at stake here. The world is changing and to fight those meta freaks, we need our own metahumans. Soldiers that we can completely control. The Flash was the first in line here."
"You're a sick man." He pressed a trigger and a high power laser beam shot out. Eiling rolled to the side and fired his gun. Barry saw the bullet and sidestepped. The two of them continued dancing around, firing with the intention of killing each other.
While that was going on, Frost continued to pour all her powers into the force-field, knowing that everything has a limit. She just had to keep doing it until this damn thing broke. She growled and pushed even harder, feeling the fatigue growing but with one last blast, the barrier shattered. She turned her attention and fired a beam of ice at the two men, separating them completely from each other.
"Enough!" She angrily hissed and ran over to Barry, who was unconscious on the floor. Her fingers gently caressed his cheeks before turning back into Caitlin. She immediately went into doctor mode and started doing a basic medical examination. Half way through her exam, she heard him groan and she gently probed him. "Barry. Barry. Please come back to me."
His eyes slowly opened, blinking slowly as if he was trying to adjust to the lights in the room. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes and without warning, coughed up some blood. He rolled over onto his side and felt a pair of hands helping him, rubbing his back. "Cait?" He groggily asked. "Where... am I?"
"You're safe Barry." She whispered, relief washing over her as she pulled him into a tight hug. "You're safe."
"You fool!" Eiling angrily shouted, pointing his gun at them. "How on Earth did you undo that? He was the perfect soldier. Do you have any idea what you just cost me?!"
"They're people just like you and I Eiling. No one gave you the right to do as you please. You don't get to make yourself God."
"You're nothing more than a mere pawn to me. All of you are! When I'm through with you, I'm going to enjoy breaking the two of them!" He pulled the trigger and fired. Caitlin's eyes widened and without thinking, threw her body on top of Barry's. She clenched her eyes shut and waited for the pain but it never came. She heard someone grunting and when she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see Barry standing in front of her. She didn't even get a chance to scream out his name when he collapsed to the ground, firing a shot in return.
Eiling didn't expect such determination from the man so when he saw him falling, he thought it was the end of it but somehow, someway, that bastard managed to get off one last shot. He felt a burning sensation in his chest as he flew backwards, the last thing he thought about was just how miserable this world was...
Caitlin gently put her Barry down and rushed to the other Barry. "Barry! Why?" She asked, tears forming in her eyes. No matter which version of Barry it is, her heart ached in pain that he got hurt because of her.
"I told you. I couldn't watch my wife die a second time... even if you aren't my wife on this Earth..." She threw her hands to apply pressure on the wound. He turned his attention to his doppelganger and smiled. "He's so lucky just to have you in his life... I think that eventually... it'll all work out Cait. You just... have to... believe."
"Stop talking!" She said, tears continuing to fall from her face. "I can save you! I'll breach us home and I'll fix you right up!"
Despite the pain, he shook his head, feeling his strength fading fast. "Hey. Hey." He whispered. "Listen to me beautiful... I can feel her calling me Caitlin so please don't cry over this. I've lived my life doing what I wanted. Protecting the woman that I love..."
He coughed and closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips. "He's going to need you for a while... so don't pass up on this opportunity that I created just for you."
She blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay. "What about your revenge? What about your wife? Don't you need to avenge her?!"
"I think... she would have understood..." Barry slowly answered. "I'll always love you... Caitlin. No matter which universe you're in... Remember that."
Two months later
Barry was standing on top of star labs, staring off into the sunset. He felt a slight chill and shivered. He knew he should have brought a jacket with him but for some reason, he was enjoying this sensation. The feeling of actually being cold. It had a numbing effect that he welcomed.
After what's been happening recently, it felt him questioning his purpose in life now that his speed was gone. According to Caitlin, they don't think it's permanent but it will take time to undo the changes. He could see the disappointment in her eyes but he assured her that it wasn't a bad trade off. It was something that he would have done himself in a heartbeat.
Getting out of Eiling's control was well worth the trouble but he couldn't help but feel like a part of him disappeared that day. Even though he couldn't run like before, there was this little spark of the speed force within him. He could feel it still lingering there and that was enough to give him hope. The world might be okay without the Flash for a while.
Ever since he came back, Iris and Caitlin remained by his side. While Caitlin was worried about him as his personal physician, Iris was extremely worried about him and how the loss of his powers would affect him as a person. Both Caitlin and Cisco voiced their concerns and it was good enough for him but apparently, it wasn't good enough for her.
They had a long discussion that resulted in several fights afterwards but at the end of the day, they realized that they weren't meant for each other. They saw each other as someone else and just leaned on that until the mirror broke. It was hard, signing those papers that day but he knew it was the right thing to do.
"You're going to catch a cold you know." Caitlin said, interrupting his thoughts. He turned around and gave her a small smile. "That would be a first in a very long time. I don't think I would mind it though." He admitted. "It feels kind of nice."
"You know everyone's worried about you. They thought you disappeared again."
"I don't think I would've gotten very far." He joked. "I'm pretty sure you would have caught me before I even made it to the elevator."
She giggled and stood next to him. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Do you think that we'll ever be able to return to normal?"
She bit her lips, knowing that it was a loaded question. "It all depends on what normal is." She said quietly. "Are you saying you want to reconcile with Iris and get your powers back?"
Barry shook his head. "Just the latter." He said. "Is it wrong that I want to be out in the field with everyone? I feel kind of useless just standing here. I feel like I can be doing more..."
She reached for his hand, gently squeezing it. "You know we're almost there right? Whatever the other Barry infected you with... it was a double edged sword. It not only cured you of whatever Eiling did but it also dampened your speed. I've never seen anything like this before but I promised that we will bring you back to normal Barry."
"I know you will."
Just as she was about to let go of his hand, Barry stopped her and held on. "Do you think... that maybe you'll want to grab a bite to eat with me?" He shyly asked. "Like a date. Or not. Whatever you want. I can pick you up or we can just eat in." His cheeks blushed with every word, wishing that he could stop himself. "Please stop me if I've just ruined our relationship."
"I'd love to have dinner with you Barry Allen." Caitlin answered, her cheeks flushing red as well. As she stared into those green eyes that she loved so much, she couldn't help but be reminded of the other Barry. The way that his eyes held nothing but love for his wife. It was just a small insignificant feeling that left her feeling slightly jealous that her doppelganger found her happy ending...
But now... the future that the other her had... maybe it was possible for her to have that as well.
If she really wanted it...
And she did.
Fin.
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