Three young children, known as the Baudelaires, sat in the back of a light-colored vehicle which was currently taking them to the residence of their new guardian. Recently, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire had narrowly escaped the clutches of the villainous Count Olaf at the Luck Smells Lumber Mill. The man was always chasing after them in order to get his hands on the children's enormous fortune. "It is most fortunate that this next person on the list was able to take you three in" said their bank executor, Mr. Poe, who was driving them to their destination. "What's our new guardians name?" Violet asked. She and her siblings were hoping whoever it was would be kind and caring like Uncle Monty and nothing at all like Count Olaf. "His name is Joseph West and he works as a police detective for the Central City Police Department" replied Mr. Poe. 'Central City?' Klaus thought. He and violet remembered reading about that place in the newspaper. About the particle accelerator explosion, the many crimes commited by the superpowered meta-humans and the superhero speedster, The Flash, who would always put a stop to them.
The two Baudelaires were a little concerned about living in a city housing dangerous metas, especially since The Flash had mysteriously vanished and hadn't been seen in six months. "I think you children will have a good home here" said Mr. Poe. "I hope so anyway because I've received a promotion. Vice President of Orphan Affairs" he announced proudly. "Which means I'll be too busy to check in on you orphans". They continued on until they reached an old but nice-looking house. "and we've arrived at last" the banker told them. They all got out and stepped out onto the sidewalk and the Baudelaires gazed up at their latest home. A few rough coughs from Mr. Poe caused them to turn and face them. "Now children, I do wish I could stay and introduce you to Detective West when he arrives, but I must return to the bank at once." Violet and Klaus each gave him disappointed looks while Sunny just said "Geeo (Why am I not surprised)." Then, after one final cough and a small wave, Mr. Poe went back to his car and drove off. Once he was out of site, the Baudelaires went to sit on the steps of the West residence. "I just hope Detective West can get here soon" said Klaus. "And that he's a nice guardian" added Violet. All three observed the surrounding neighborhood. "Who knows, maybe Central City won't be so bad" she said, trying to be optimistic. Klaus simply looked at his sister. He hoped she was right, but with the way things were going for them lately, he didn't feel sure. So, the children just sat in complete silence and awaited their newest guardian's arrival, hoping that Count Olaf wouldn't find them again.
Detective Joe West was driving home after a long day on-duty. Ever since his adoptive son, Barry Allen, went into the Speed-Force to prevent Central City from being destroyed, he and his daughter, Iris, his biological son, Wally, and Cisco Ramon spent the last six months doing their best trying to protect the city in the Flash's absence. This wasn't an easy task though. Earlier that day, the team barely managed to prevent the teleporting meta-human, Peek-A-Boo, from escaping Central City. Now he was heading back so that he could meet up with the Baudelaire children who would soon be placed in his care. Joe had recently been informed by a Mr. Poe that he was the next legal guardian who thee three orphans would be assigned to after the unfortunate deaths of the previous ones at the hands of Count Olaf. This guy seemed to follow the kids everywhere, all because he wanted to acquire their money. Joe couldn't figure out why the late Mr. and Mrs. Baudelaire would entrust the safety of their children to him. He'd never even met the two. But he wasn't about to turn away kids in need. He'd do his best to protect and raise them just like he did with Barry after his mother was murdered. As soon as Joe reached his house, he spotted the Baudelaires waiting for him on the front porch steps, but he could see no sign of Mr. Poe anywhere. After parking his car, Joe got out and went to greet the three children. "Hi" he called out as they got up and approached him. "Hello" Violet responded as she and her siblings reached the man. "You must be the Baudelaires" Joe said as he smiled.
"Yes sir" said Violet. "I'm Violet and this is my brother Klaus and my sister Sunny." "It's very nice to make your acquaintance Detective West" Klaus said as he and Violet shook his hand. "Oh, you can just call me Joe. Everybody else does" he replied. Joe then looked around before asking the three kids "Um, is Mr. Poe close by? I'm assuming he has some paperwork for me to fill out." "No, he just dropped us off here before heading back to the bank and we've waited for you since then" Klaus told him. This shocked Joe as soon as he heard it. "Wait, you mean he… he just left you here? By yourselves?" he asked with a slightly stunned expression on his face. The children simply nodded their heads in response to this. "Boong (He's often very neglectful of us)" said Sunny. Once he recovered, Joe then said "Alright, well, why don't we head inside, and I'll show you to your rooms." After Joe held the door open for each of them, the baudelaires took in house's interior, which looked warm and homey. "so, did you have a nice ride over here?" asked the detective. "We did thanks" Violet said. "Aeeyah (Although, it was quite uneventful)" Sunny added. Her brother and sister softly chuckled at this. Klaus now remembered something he wanted to ask Joe about. "Detect… Joe, how exactly are you related to us?" Confusion came over the man's features before he answered "Well, the thing is I don't really have any relation to your family. None that I know of anyway. In fact, I never even met your parents." All three Baudelaires glanced at each other with looks of concern. "What's wrong?" Joe asked. "Well, you see… all of our other guardians were related to us in some in one way or another" Violet said, "and it's stated in our parent's will that we're to be raised by our closest living relative if anything ever happened to them." The detective considered this for a moment. "Ok, tell you what, I'll do some digging and try to find out why your parents listed me as a potential guardian."
This relieved the children somewhat as Klaus said "Thanks, we appreciate that." Glad to have alieved their concerns, Joe then told them "Anyway, there are two spare bedrooms upstairs, so, Klaus, you can take one and Violet and Sunny can have the other." Before he could lead them upstairs, though, Violet spoke up. "Um, if it's alright with you, Joe, me and my siblings would prefer to stay together in one room.' "sure, that's fine" Joe said. Her request sounded understandable, considering everything these three had been through. As they walked upstairs toward one of the bedrooms, Joe said "So, my daughter is coming over for dinner and my girlfriend will be bringing over take out." He turned to the kids and asked "Chinese sound good to you?" After nodding their heads yes, the Baudelaires went into their new room as joe went on talking "Alright then, I'll just let you three get settled in and when it's time for dinner you can come meet more of the family and we can get to know each other." Giving him small smiles of appreciation, Klaus and Violet both said "Thank you" and after giving them a friendly smile in return, Joe went back downstairs. "Duumbeeoo (Well, he seems quite decent to me)" said Sunny, happy with how things were going so far. However, the two other orphans were still worried about a certain fact. "Even so, I'd really like to know why Mother and Father selected Joe as a possible guardian, despite not being a relative" replied Klaus. "Especially since our parents never met him" Violet agreed before saying "Let's just hope his investigation will give us some answers. And he has been a decent guardian so far." "I agree, but will he be able to see through whatever disguise Count Olaf has whenever he finds us?" Kaus said. None of them said anything, but the looks on each of their faces said something like 'Problably not'. For now, the Baudelaires put aside their worried about the Count and looked forward to having dinner with Joe's family.
When the hour finally came, the three children went back downstairs and helped set the table for dinner. Just before they finished, Joe's daughter, iris, and his girlfriend, Cecile, finally arrived and the kids and the kids went over to meet them. "Hi there" Iris said when they came up "you're the Baudelaires right? Nice to meet you. My dad told me you'd be coming today. I'm Iris and this is Cecile" she spoke as she gestured to the woman beside her. "Hey" Cecile greeted as she smiled at them. "It's a pleasure to meet you both ma'm" Violet said. "My name is Violet, and this is Klaus and Sunny, my brother and sister." "Good evening" Klaus told them and Sunny did the same. "Nemboh (Good evening)." "Aww, she's so cute" said Cecile and the baby giggled at this. A few minutes later, all six were sitting in the dining room, enjoying their Chinese food while Sunny had a celery stick. "My baby sister prefers harder foods" was Klaus' answer when Joe asked about this. "So, are you three settling in here ok?" asked Cecile. "Just fine thank you" replied Klaus. "Your home is quite delightful" added Violet. "Well, thank you. I've always thought there was a certain charm to this house" said Joe. Iris quietly chuckled at that but said nothing. "Numenga (It's definitely better than the previous homes we've stayed in)" Sunny piped up. Klaus, however, responded. "Except Dr. Montgomery's place. Don't forget about that." Confused by the exchange between the two Baudelaires, Cecile asked "Um,… did she she actually say something?" "Yes" Klaus answered. "And you were able to understand all that?" Violet then told her "She's our sister so we've always understood her. Plus, Sunny is smarter than she looks." Klaus interpreted the infant's speech. What she was saying is that your home is much nicer than most of the places we've been in."
"And, for the most part, they were less than desirable. The last one being the Lucky Smells Lumber Mill" Violet added. "Wait a lumber mill?" asked Iris, arching one eyebrow up. "For real? How'd you end up there?" The two orphans looked at each other before Klaus said "It's a little complicated." After a brief silence, Violet finally asked "Joe, me and my brother have been wondering… we've read a lot about The Flash and how he helped the CCPD protect Central City from the other meta-humans, but since he disappeared six months ago, how exactly have they been able to deal with the meta attacks without him?" A slight tinge of sadness went through the detective before he said "Well, we've gathered plenty of information on metas over the years, which has helped us handle them better. But we also have help from two other superheroes named Kid Flash and Vibe. "I remember reading about Kid Flash almost a year ago" said Klaus "although, we've never really learned much about Vibe." Iris decided to fill them in. "Oh, he's a pretty cool hero. Able to create portals and travel instantly to anywhere around the world." "Yeygigma! (Quite an extraordinary feat!)" commented Sunny. "Yeah, it's a pretty useful gift when chasing down other meta-humans" Cecile said to the Baudelaires. "well, even with his powers, he doesn't always catch his target. They sometimes get away. In fact, one nearly did not too long ago" said Iris, referencing the incident with Peek-a-Boo earlier that day. "I see" Klaus replied. "So, Iris" Violet began "what do you do for a living?" "I used to work as a journalist for the Central City Picture News, but lately, I've been working at S.T.A.R. Labs" said Iris. "S.T.A.R. Labs?" repeated Violet with raised eyebrows, her interest piqued. "Yeah, the place where they come up with all different kinds of new ideas and technologies" replied Iris having noticed the fascinated expression on the young girl's face.
"What's your position there?" Violet asked. Iris thought for a second before saying "I'm a research assistant." "I'd like to obtain a position over there when I'm old enough. I enjoy inventing things" replied the eldest Baudelaire. "Oh, that's neat" said Cecile "what kind of things do you like to make?" "Many different kinds" said Violet. Cecile then looked over to Klaus. "What about you Klaus? You got any hobbies or anything?" "Well, I like to read books and I remember pretty much everything I read" said the boy. After a minute, Sunny whined a little, getting the attention of her siblings. "Relax, Sunny" Violet said, laughing softly "I'm sure Cecile didn't forget you." "What did she say?" asked Cecile curiously. "She says that she enjoys biting things and that she has incredibly strong teeth." "Really?" said Iris with the tiniest bit of skepticism in her voice. Sunny proceeded to pick up her celery stick and, in a matter of seconds, managed to completely chew it up and swallow it. Joe, Iris and Cecile just stared with wide eyes after witnessing this causing the baby to grin. 'Is she some kinda meta?' thought Joe before he asked "How long has she been able to do… that?" "Since she was born" Klaus answered. After this, Violet then asked "Excuse me Joe, I was just wondering, who lived in the second spare bedroom?" The man suppressed another swell of sadness before saying "Uh, my son, Barry Allen. He's actually adopted. I took him in after his mom was murdered." He paused before continuing. "His father was framed for it. He spent years in prison before we found out he was innocent. He got released but… he was murdered not long after." All three Baudelaires instantly felt sympathy for Barry. He was an orphan just like them. "Anyway" Joe said "Barry eventually got his own place and a job as a crime scene analyst at the CCPD." "When will we get to meet him?" asked Klaus. "He's actually on sabbatical in the Cech Republic. I'm not sure when he'll be back" Joe answered.
Cecile decided it was best to change the conversation, so she began speaking to Joe. "Ok, so I only have a couple more boxes to bring over." "We have no more room in the garage or the basement" Joe responded. "Right, or we could just get rid of some more of your stuff" said Cecile. "Like what?" Joe asked. "Like, babe, do you really need all the smelly old records in there?" she asked. "Oh Cecile…" Iris warned. "Records? You mean my vintage jazz LP collection that I painstakingly and carefully collected over the last 30 years? Really? Those are my loves, babe. There going in the coffin with me when I die." Cecile then offered a 'compromise'. "Ok, maybe we could bury them now, and you can just join them at a later date." "Oh, you got jokes" remarked Joe. "Yeah" Cecile responded. The Baudelaires watched the couple's back and forth with slight amusement. "You lucky I already gave you the key, because I'm starting to rethink this whole move-in thing" Joe mockingly warned. "No, you're not" Cecile said grinning. "No, I'm not" said Joe grinning back. The two then laughed before sharing a quick kiss. After this, Cecile noticed the three kids watching them before quickly and awkwardly looking down when she saw them. "Um… why don't I go make some coffee?" she said and headed for the kitchen. "Obvious" Joe muttered. Noticing that they had finished their dinner, he then said "Alright you three, it's about time for you to turn in. I'll be taking you to get enrolled in school tomorrow." "Yes sir" said Violet and Klaus as they got up to take their dishes to the kitchen.
Once the two came back, they collected Sunny and made their way back to the upstairs bedroom. "Goodnight Joe" they told him. "Goodnight" said Joe, giving them a warm smile as they passed. As they reached the top of the stairs, Klaus said "Wait, I think I'd like to ask Joe a little bit about the school we'll be attending." "Ok" said Violet and they went back down the stairs only to stop half-way after catching Joe and Iris' conversation. "Ok, so, ever since Julian moved back to London, they have been short-staffed in the crime lab at CCPD, and I've been stalling Singh with this whole story of Barry being on sabbatical in the Cech Republic…" Joe was saying when Iris interrupted him. "And they wanna hire someone to replace him. Yeah, they should. They need help. Barry's not coming back so…" "You don't know that" Joe said. "Yes, I do" replied Iris. "Sweetheart" began Joe "I'm very proud of you for taking the lead with Wally and Cisco at S.T.A.R. Labs, and I let you have your space, so that you'd have time to deal with what happened." "Dad, I'm fine ok" said Iris. "I'm not. We lost him, Iris. My son, your everything" he responded in a pained tone. Violet and Klaus looked at each other with concerned and confused expressions. Lost him? Did Barry die somehow? If so, the why haven't they told anyone? Why the need to make up this story about him simply being away? The two then resumed listening. "Dad, what do you want me to do?" said Iris. "Curl up in a ball and cry all day? I can't do that. Barry told me to be strong. I'm being strong."
"When H.R. died, we had a funeral." Joe started. "We spoke about his life. Maybe, we should do the same thing for Barry, give us all permission to grieve." "And what are we gonna bury, dad?" Iris asked. "An empty suit in the lab?" after a moment of silence, Iris got up and said "You know what, thank Cecile for dinner. I'm gonna get going." And with that, the young woman left the house, not realizing the Baudelaires had eavesdropped on her and Joe. The three orphans were shocked at what they just learned. The police detective's adoptive son had died and, for some reason, this was kept a secret by him and his daughter. The children wondered what could've happened that would cause them to conceal it. Not wanting to be noticed by their guardian, all three quietly went back upstairs to get ready for bed.