Author's Note: Just a note, the name Belén is pronounced as Beh-len with an extra emphasis on the second syllable (hence the accent over the 'e'). So it's Beh-lén. (And not like the name Helen).


2 Weeks after the Particle Accelerator explosion.

Iris had a chair propped up beside Barry's bed inside the hospital room. As Barry slept through his coma, Iris could only stare at him, hoping in the next minute he would wake up. Her father had stepped out for a minute to talk to the doctor about Barry's condition, leaving Iris to look over him alone for a while.

After there was a soft knock on the door, Iris tore her gaze from Barry to look over. Belén stood there, with a neckbrace, dressed in a hospital gown with a white robe over it. She felt awful, but when she learned of what could've been like with other patients - among those Barry - Belén was super grateful of her recovery. Coming in with an injured neck and back was nothing to joke over. The fact she had been near more dangerous conditions scared her to the bone. Thankfully, the doctors told her she would be fine eventually, but she would have to take it easy for a while. There was just a funny taste on her tongue she couldn't get rid of no matter what she drank or ate. She wondered if it was because of all the medication she was on at the moment.

"Hey," Belén greeted quietly, slowly coming in.

Iris was glad to see her friend out of her room and walking about. That was the only thing helping her at the moment, that not everyone was gone. She rose to her feet to greet Belén but the ombre-haired woman motioned with a hand for Iris to sit back down.

"You look awful," Belén blurted and sighed at herself, "And by that I only mean it looks like you haven't slept in a week."

"Your assumption would be right," Iris leaned back on her chair. Wearily, she rubbed her temple and glanced at Barry, "I keep thinking if I close my eyes for even just a minute I could miss him waking up."

Belén's dark eyes flickered to the motionless Barry beside her, "I'm sorry," she said, both to him and Iris.

By the time she had come around she was in a hospital room with her father at her side. He had explained and reminded her of what had happened with the accelerator. Thanks to him, she learned of many tragedies that had struck Central City in less than a minute and of the future tragedies that would occur if doctors couldn't come through for patients. Among those, she learned of what happened to Barry in his lab. Though she wanted to go see how he and Iris were doing, she couldn't really get up until a day ago.

"Did they give you any news?" Belén asked Iris after a moment of silence.

"No," Iris plopped down on her chair, "It's a coma, meaning there's no precise moment of waking up. There's no knowing if he's going to wake up."

"Hey," Belén cut her off, "He's going to wake up. Sooner or later, he's going to open his eyes and he's going to be up and about."

A small smile spread across Iris' face, unable to restrain her hope after hearing Belén. She turned her gaze back to Barry and set herself to wait once more for Barry to open his eyes.

~ 0 ~

2 months after the explosion.

Belén walked down the upstairs hallway of her house, dressed in all black, and came to a stop at an open room. Her eyes couldn't help scan the entire room without tearing up again. The unmade bed was just another reminder of how sudden everything had been.

She closed her eyes just as the first tears rolled down her face. Someone else came up behind Belén and promptly closed the door to her twin brother's bedroom. Belén sniffled as her father, David Palayta, turned her to him.

"I want him back," she said with a strained voice, pursing her lips together to withold a sob.

David quickly took her into a hug, "So do I, sweetheart, but..." he gave a shake of his head, and it was enough to tear down through Belén's barrier. She burst into sobs.

Belén's slightly older twin brother, Rayan, had gone missing a month ago with no clues as to where he could have gone. The only remains was his car that had been left in the middle of a street after an apparent 'accident' with another car. Everything belonging to Rayan was still in the car, except for Rayan himself. His family, though split up, was doing everything they could to find Rayan Palayta. However, there was another tragedy that struck the family and deferred from all attention on the case.

"C'mon, Maritza is waiting for us at her place," Belén's father informed as he ended the hug and put them into a walk for the stairs.

Belén cleared her face of tears and took a breath in, "I can't. I told Iris I would come with her to Star Labs and see Barry."

"Today?" David raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Belén, you know I already don't like you visiting that place-"

"I do it for Iris-"

"I don't care who you do it for. That place is the reason for all of these tragedies that happened in the city," David raised his voice, "And I do feel for the Wests but that does not change the fact that Star Labs is a horrible place with horrible people."

Belén was not in the mood to argue, she didn't feel like she had the energy to fight. "They're not awful, Dad. I've met them, and I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that they are good people. I will go to Maritza's after I visit Star Labs."

Her father gave a disapproving sigh, though Belén knew it was more for the fact she was going to the rival Labs of his precious job. But she told him she would accompany Iris to Star Labs every day after Joe West had relinquished Barry for Dr. Wells to take the young man to the lab in order to receive better, proper attention. Iris needed support from everyone around her, and besides, Belén felt like she owed Barry that much as well. Without knowing her well, he had stood up for her against her boyfriend. That made him a friend and friends are always with each other no matter what.

"Tell Maritza I'll come by later," Belén gave her dad a kiss on the cheek and hurried off to pick up Iris at her house.

~ 0 ~

"I'm sorry I didn't go to the funeral," Iris was saying as the two women entered the now-shut-down Star Labs.

Belén motioned with a hand it was fine, "Maritza knows your family is in pretty bad shape too, don't worry."

"Still, I can come after this," Iris insisted. Besides the fact that Belén had shown solidarity for Barry and her family, Iris still felt terrible for Belén's older sister, Maritza, losing her husband due to the Particle Accelerator. "It must be hard losing a husband like that. I want to show my support."

Belén half-smiled, "She'll be very thankful for it. I know so."

The two women walked through the solitary corridors of the building until they came up to the cortex room where Barry was being kept in. With him were the only two remaining Star Lab employees, Cisco Ramon and Dr. Caitlin Snow.

"Afternoon," Belén politely greeted when she and Iris came into the room. The two employees looked up from their computers with smiles and replied back to the ombre-haired woman.

"Hey, Belén," Caitlin did a small wave.

"Hey, Bells!" Cisco also waved at the woman, much more excited to see her and Iris than Caitlin. It'd been pretty quiet since the day of the explosion and having two pretty girls visit a patient was not bad for entertainment.

Iris went straight for where Barry was, "How is he?" she looked back at the two employees with hopeful eyes.

Caitlin sighed, by now used to giving bad news to people, "Same as always, I'm afraid."

Belén followed to where Iris went and looked at Barry, "He's going to wake up," she said told Iris, sounding so sure Iris could almost believe it.

"How do you know?" Caitlin asked from her spot.

"Because-" Belén looked back at the brunette woman, "-he's not dead nor missing. He's got all the things he needs to wake up. The world left him here for a reason, it's just he likes sleeping a lot…"

Iris half-smiled after hearing Belén , "He was always oversleeping in the mornings."

"See?" Belén looked at her with a smile, "Right now he's just breaking his record for oversleeping."

"I would appreciate it if he stopped trying to break it, then," Iris sighed, looking up from her best friend. She left her purse on a chair and pulled her phone out, "I need to call my dad, let him know how Barry's doing."

"Go ahead," Belén motioned for her to walk out for privacy, "I can keep watch on him," Iris gave a grateful smile and left the room to call her father.

"Hey, Bells," Cisco called seconds later, "I was talking to Dr. Wells and he said there was no problem if you wanted to interview us for your article."

Belén felt a little joy return to her for a minute. She had asked them a week ago if she could do interviews on the Star Labs employees for their perspective of the explosion's aftermath. She thought it was a good idea to show the city that Star Labs was not that horrendous place full of evil as they now liked to see the place. But barely seeing Dr. Wells was delaying the article. Thankfully, Cisco had graciously offered to ask him himself.

"Thank you, Cisco," Belén turned to them, genuinely grateful. At least one thing had gone good in such awful moments.

At that moment, Belén felt her cellphone vibrate in her jean's pocket and pulling it out she found it was Carlton. With the face she was making, she alerted Cisco and Caitlin of just who it was. While knowing them only for a month and a half, the three had gotten a little closer than with Iris for some reason. It could be, or probably was, that Iris came directly for Barry, always at his side and talking to him. Belén, coming for support, often felt like she was intruding on Iris' talks with Barry and commonly excused herself to find Cisco and Caitlin.

"Belén," Caitlin tilted her head, wearing that motherly disapproving look Belén had come to recognize in only so little time, "when are you going to break it up?"

"I'm looking for the best moment, I promise," Belén said, and she meant it. She couldn't take Carlton's shouts anymore, and much less his rude behavior. She just didn't want their break up to turn into such a fuss.

"Best moment could be now," Cisco muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Caitlin.

Belén sighed before taking the call, "Hello? What's-"

"Where the hell are you?" Carlton's sharp demand cut her off instantaneously.

"I'm with Iris at Star Labs-"

"Why are you there and not at Maritza's husband's funeral? Did you really leave your sister hanging for some guy you barely even know?"

Belén rolled her eyes, "I'm coming later with Iris, there's no problem."

"No, there's a big problem because you're supposed to be here with your family. I'm here and I look like a damn idiot trying to explain to others why you aren't here!"

Belén was seriously in no mood to hear Carlton's shouts. She surprised herself with her next words, "I will be there when I get there but in the meantime leave me the hell alone," she promptly hung up afterwards.

Cisco was the first one to clap and actually made Belén chuckle in embarrassment, "You go girl! Yeah!"

"Cisco," Belén playfully rolled her eyes. She knew she would be paying for that one later but in the meantime she just wanted to help out here.

"Hey," Iris returned looking somewhat better than before.

Belén knew the reason why and couldn't help tease, "So, talking to Eddie Thawne gives you the smileys now?"

Iris became flustered as she walked past Belén, going back to Barry, "Shut up, Belén. I only talked for five minutes with him. My dad's on a case so he answered."

"Oooo," Belén teased like a school girl, "you two are so going to end up together, mark my words."

"I don't know about that," Iris waved her off, wishing they could stop discussing the topic in front of Cisco and Caitlin. She didn't feel quite comfortable just yet with them but apparently Belén did.

"Mark my words," Belén nudged her and got Iris to chuckle.

~ 0 ~

As promised, Iris accompanied Belén to her older sister's husband's funeral after spending time with Barry. Iris was used to the gloomy atmosphere around her by this time so entering Maritza's home full of mourning people was nothing new to her mood. Due to the explosion of the particle accelerator, Maritza's husband had landed in a critical state after being caught up in the shockwave while driving and only lasted a month in the hospital before passing away. Needless to say, Maritza was both despondent and furious with the situation. Still, at the moment, she could only release tears for relief.

"Maritza," Belén quietly went up to her sister with Iris beside her.

The older brunette turned to face the two women, "Belén, where have you been?"

"Totally my fault," Iris raised a hand to signal her guilt, "She accompanied me to see my best friend."

Maritza was well aware of Barry Allen's condition, both from Belén and the news. She gave a small nod of understanding, "Thank you for coming, Iris. I know you're not having it so easy either."

"We're here together, to support each other," Iris said and gave her a hug.

"Auntie Belén," called a four year old boy who made his way over to Belén. The boy, Maritza's only son, stopped in front of Belén and hugged her waist.

Belén half-smiled and hugged him back. "Hey there, Axel," she ruffled his dark brown hair. The boy giggled and rushed off. "How is he?" she asked Maritza.

Maritza smiles through teary eyes, "He doesn't understand sometimes. He asks when his dad is coming home, but…" she started sniffling again until getting to the brink of sobs.

"Mommy," Axel raised his head at the sound of his mother nearly crying. He came rushing back to his mother's side.

"Hey, why don't we go get yourself cleaned up a bit?" Iris quickly suggested before the boy copied Maritza's tears. With Maritza's nod, Iris led her away from Belén and Axel.

"Mommy?" Axel leaned in the direction Iris and Maritza were heading off to.

"C'mon Axel," Belén turned away with him, putting on a smile for him, "Let's go find your grandparents, yeah?"

"Okay," Axel glumly gave a nod of his head. Belén took his hand and led him further down the room to find his grandparents.

~ 0 ~

4 Months After the explosion.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being late! Class went a little later that I thought 'maybe it's just best to walk out' but then my professor-" Belén apologized frantically when she entered the cortex room.

Iris looked up from Barry with a small smile, "Belén," she cut off the woman before she ran out of air from her long ramble, "it's okay. You don't have to come everyday."

"I already told you I would, so let's stop reminding me nonsense," Belén waved a hand off and took a deep breath to gather herself up. She pulled her jacket off and placed it over a nearby chair along with her bag. Afterwards she noticed the different face Iris wore, one she only really saw when Iris spoke to a certain someone, "Iris, what are you thinking of?"

Iris almost blushed of being caught, "Nothing…" Belén narrowed her eyes, putting on her thinking face which Iris knew wouldn't go away unless she spilled, "Okay, well, Eddie called. He, um...he asked if I wanted to get some lunch or something…"

"And you said yes right?" Belén nearly didn't let Iris finish. She rushed up to Iris and gently shook the woman, "Iris West, tell me you said yes?" Iris had that apologetic smile that told Belén the opposite, "Iris!"

"I can't leave Barry," Iris gestured to her comatose best friend, "Besides my dad, I'm all he has right now. I don't want to leave him for some guy."

"Some guy that clearly has an interest in you and one that you so clearly like back," Belén left Iris to grab the woman's belongings.

Iris followed the movement with confusion, "What are you doing?"

"It's barely two thirty, so there's still time for you two to have lunch," Belén returned holding out Iris' purse and blazer.

"What?" Iris blinked, unable to react even as Belén proceeded to dig for Iris' phone in her purse.

"Call him, tell him you most certainly can do lunch today," Belén waved Iris' phone to her face. "Oh, maybe even do a little walk around the park? I always thought that was kind of romantic like in the movies-"

"But Barry-" Iris tried cutting in again but Belén wouldn't let Iris get out of this one.

"I can stay here," she volunteered happily, "I have nothing to do today besides write an article and do some biology homework. And, it's all on the computer."

"Belén," Iris sighed, unsure of what to do then. She glanced back at Barry, wishing he could just wake up already and let this entire nightmare be over. Unfortunately, Barry remained as he had for the past four months: sleeping.

"It'll be fine," assured Belén, following Iris' gaze, "He won't know a thing. At the very least he'll know someone annoying was talking for hours on a stupid article."

Iris smiled at that. "Well...he did say the way you talked fast was cute. Maybe he really won't mind," she had said without thinking.

Belén looked at her, mildly surprised, "He said that?"

Realizing her error, Iris shut her eyes, biting her lip, "Don't tell him I said that. It was just a comment."

Belén chuckled, momentarily blushing. "My lips are sealed. But that's even better then. He won't mind listening to me while you go and have your lunch date. So go!"

Iris blushed as she started heading for the doors, "I'll call you later, then!"

Belén waved, "And I'll be waiting for it!"

After a couple minutes, Belén looked for her things and pulled out her laptop from her bag, "Well, Barry, get ready," she warned as she plopped down on Iris' chair, "You're about to hear a lot of talking right now," she opened her laptop and set to work on her newest article assignment courtesy of Linda Park.

~ 0 ~

Belén felt quite accomplished as she got out of her car - well, her brother's car. She had managed to finish her entire article during her stay in Star Labs. Now there was only the part of handing it over to Linda to read over for a final edit. Of course, Belén's good mood drained enough to erase that accomplished feeling when she saw her boyfriend, Carlton, coming out of her house.

"Oh no," Belén closed her eyes as she remembered she had had her own date today which she'd completely forgotten. To begin with, she really didn't want to go but it hadn't meant she was willing to ditch him.

As soon as Carlton saw Belén coming up to the house he turned fierce to the point of near shouts again, "Do you want to explain where the hell you were today!?"

Belén cleared her throat awkwardly and replied, "I was doing some work-"

"You weren't at CC Pictures so don't even try using that excuse on me," snapped Carlton.

Belén nodded, her fingers gripping the strap of her bag over her arm, "I was at Star Labs looking after Barry while Iris was out."

The explanation infuriated Carlton more, "So you ditched me for a vegetable on a-"

"HEY!" Belén furiously cut him off, not about to let him insult someone who could not defend their self at the moment, "You are not going to insult one of my friends right now, do you hear me? This is our problem and-"

"Shut up!" Carlton exclaimed. "We're not seriously going to have an argument over a guy that hasn't even opened his eyes in months?"

"You're the one that keeps insulting him!"

"Because lately, all you ever do is spend time at your job or with him and those other leftover Star Labs employees! I can't believe it," Carlton laughed to himself, "my girlfriend prefers the company of a vegetable-"

Belén surprised herself when her hand flew to slap him across the face. She blinked rapidly but her mouth opened up and words came out before she realized. "Don't you talk about Barry that way – nor any of my friends for that matter! You are a horrible person! And you know what? You and I are done. I'm breaking up with you, Carlton."

It took a moment for the declaration to process in Carlton's head and in that moment Belén pushed past him and headed for her house. Belén was just making her way up the front porch steps when he turned to her and called out, "You can't break up with me, Belén! Especially over the vegetable and the leftovers!"

"But I am," Belén smirked. "You always belittle me and I've always let it slide…but no more. You insulted someone in a coma, Carlton! Who does that?"

"Your father's not going to be happy-"

"But I'll be and that's what matters," Belén cut him right off, a smile spreading across her face, "I expect some type of status on Facebook on your part saying how bad of a girlfriend I was. I look forward to reading it...right before I unfriend you."

"Belén!" Carlton screamed and made Belén flinch, "You're going to pay for this. I swear to God you are going to pay for this."

While the threat did make Belén shift uncomfortably she didn't show it in her tone, "I don't give a damn. Goodbye," she waved with her fingers and continued her way home.

And what do you know, upon entering the house she felt a big weight lift off her shoulders.

~ 0 ~

6 Months after the explosion.

"But did you at least start it already?" Cisco asked Belén as the two made way into the cortex room, both holding coffee cups in hands, "I'm telling you the show is worth it! It gets so good!"

Belén chuckled as she listened Cisco ramble on about his current favorite show, The Walking Dead. He had a way of over-talking as well, though she mostly never understood much of it considering it was always sciency and technology.

"Bells, you have to watch it!" Cisco insisted, stopping by the computers while Belén went straight for Barry.

"Oh Cisco, maybe tonight," she gave a light shrug and looked down at Barry, "...do you think he liked the show?" she found herself asking.

"Barry?" Cisco repeated for confirmation.

"Mhm," Belén let a small laugh out, "It's just, it's barely occurred to me that while I've been looking after him for months I don't really know him."

"Well, if he doesn't like the Walking Dead then this friendship ends here and now," Cisco made a face that had Belén laughing again. He grinned and took a sip of his coffee before gathering courage for something else, "And you know what else, Bells?"

"Hm?"

"I don't know much about you either," he admitted, "You think we can grab some coffee some time?"

"Um, Cisco…" Belén motioned motioned to their current coffee cups in their hands.

"Oh," Cisco blinked and coughed out of embarrassment, "What I meant was if you-" he gestured to her, "-wanted to...get something to eat…"

The question left Belén a little startled as it was something she truly had not seen coming. It was true that she had grown a bit closer to Cisco than Caitlin, with Cisco going as far as giving her a nickname - Bells - to solidify their friendship. Belén wasn't sure if she could see anything past that, especially given the fact she was still trying to get over her recent relationship with Carlton. With a light clear of her throat she glanced back at Barry, "I...,um…"

"Not right now," Cisco clarified, knowing she had been left in care of Barry until Iris finished her shift at Jitters, "Maybe later tonight - or tomorrow, or…"

Belén slowly returned her gaze back to him, now wearing a small smile, "Cisco, I haven't really...um...been on a date since...you know…"

"Since you broke up with Carlton, I know," Cisco nodded.

"I don't really know…" Belén slowly continued, now fiddling with her coffee cup. "The idea...it...it scares me a little, honestly..."

"It's weird, I get it," Cisco flushed and laughed, something Belén easily saw, "Probably shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no," Belén came back to him, smiling lightly, "Let's do it," she said, a bit nervous. "One night...maybe it can help..."

Cisco's eyes widened with delight, "Really?"

Belén nodded, "Yeah. And just so you know, I don't like Chinese food."

"Got it," Cisco promised her and proceeded to make an excited fist pump in the air, something that had Belén laughing for a good five minutes.

~ 0 ~

8 Months after the explosion.

The metahuman Plasticine burst open the doors of a jewelry shop by shooting massive purple blobs that stuck on the pieces of doors now on the floor. Her black boots' heels clicked as she strode up to the cashier. With her masked face, she spoke to the man with a modulated voice. "Money, now."

The cashier, startled, tried to sway the woman from her initial order, "U-uh, perhaps you want to...um...think…"

The woman rolled her eyes, "You're not listening - give me the money in the cash register and count yourself lucky I'm not here for the diamond necklaces."

"But...but…" the cashier subtly tried reaching for the alarm button under the display tables.

Knowing what he was up to, the woman threw a hand in the air and released some purple spheres that went straight for a security camera above them. The cashier flinched as the camera was completely covered in the mass. However, it didn't stop there. Its mass spread to the other cameras set up in the room until they were all buried under the mass.

Plasticine remained in her spot and merely cast glances around to the now scared customers and employees, "Don't make me ask again - give me the money," she held a hand towards the cashier, "or the next thing that gets crushed will be you."

And seeing there was no other way to escape death, the cashier quickly dug into the register's cash.

~ 0 ~

9 months after the explosion.

"Caitlin, are you sure this will help?" Belén closed her laptop with a deep sigh as, once again, she failed to understand another biology chapter.

Caitlin, who sat at the cortex desk, looked up for a minute to nod, "Yes. The website guarantees you will learn more than your actual professors have been able to."

Belén rose from her chair and turned to pick up her bag from the floor and placed her laptop inside, "Well, I hope so. I have to pass this biology class if I want to graduate. It's my last class and, of course, I barely get it."

"It's not that hard," Caitlin remarked but earned a loud scoff in response.

"Says the perfect bio-engineerist," Belén glanced over her shoulder, "This class was born for Dr. Caitlin Snow. Belén Palayta was born to write…and talk...and dance..."

If Caitlin hadn't lost what she had from the accelerator, she would have smiled at that. Instead, her eyes returned to the computer screens in front of her, "You'll do fine, Bells."

"I sure hope so," Belén grabbed her bag and headed for the doors, "I have to do this stupid DNA model which I haven't even started yet."

"Gonna get a start on it already, then?" Caitlin turned her chair to face Belén as she passed by.

Belén came to a stop beside the computers and shook her head, "I'm gonna go to the CCPD first," her voice visibly grew quieter as she explained, "I have to see how the case is going."

Caitlin gave a nod, "Then we'll see you tomorrow?"

Belén sighed, "Guess so. Thanks for staying with Barry, though. I'll make it up tomorrow."

Caitlin made a motion it was fine. Since Iris was covering a shift for her friend at Jitters, Belén was staying with Barry for the meanwhile but Belén had not accounted for the last minute lessons her professors were leaving her. As Belén was leaving, Cisco was coming in with a small bag of foam.

"Bells, I found this and thought you might want it for that project you told me earlier about," he held the bag for her to see.

Belén peered inside to see the small foam bits and smiled, "Thank you Cisco. And when they promptly burn because I messed up I'll be sure to send you a picture of it."

"That's what I'm counting on," Cisco grinned and headed to take a seat beside Caitlin.

Belén rolled her eyes, "You're rude!"

"What? It'll make a good Instagram picture and you know it."

Belén made a face and instead bid her goodbyes, "I'll see you guys later," and she walked out.

~ 0 ~

It had only been an hour since Belén left Star Labs and since then all Caitlin and Cisco had done was argue. Currently, Caitlin was looking over a journal Belén seemingly forgot to take with her while Cisco played music over the speakers, and loud too.

With a groan, Caitlin looked up from the page, "Do you have to play that out-loud? I'm trying to help Belén here."

Cisco ignored her look of doom, "He likes this song," he nodded to Barry.

Caitlin rolled her eyes and closed the journal in her hands, "How could you possibly know that?"

"Iris showed me his Facebook page. I mean, he can hear everything, right?"

"If that were true I think he would have woken up just to tell Belén to be quiet."

"Hey!" Cisco pointed at her, looking offended on behalf of Belén, "You leave Bells out of this."

Caitlin playfully rolled her eyes and made way for the computers. "Not even because she dumped you you'll stop defending her?" she asked with a teasing smile across her lips.

Cisco shook her head. "Ha, ha, you know she didn't dump me. We both mutually agreed it wasn't going-" but he was interrupted by a loud, deep gasp.

Barry had woken up with a violent jerk upright.

"Oh, my God!" Cisco jumped back while Caitlin ran up to the now conscious patient. Cisco reached for the intercom. on the desk to call for their boss.

"Where am I?" Barry was almost spazzling as he regained full consciousness over his surroundings.

"Doctor Wells, get down to the cortex, like right now," Cisco left the message over the intercom then rushed to help Caitlin.

She was holding a small flashlight over Barry's eyes, "Over 110. Pulse 120. Pupils equally reactive to light. Look at me," since Barry was trying get out of bed she forced him still by grabbing his head, "Look at me."

Cisco gently pushed Caitlin off, knowing she was probably scaring Barry more than he already was, "Hey hey. Oh, oh, relax. Everything's ok, man. You're at Star Labs."

The last of what Cisco said registered in Barry's head, "Star Labs?" he looked over at Cisco, "Who are you?"

"I'm Cisco Ramon. She's Caitlin -" he knew that was wrong, according to Caitlin and started over again, "Doctor Snow."

And promptly, Caitlin showed up holding a small container, "I need you to urinate in this."

Cisco, once again, pushed Caitlin away, "Not this second!"

Barry was beginning to calm and finally able to get off the bed, "What, what is happening? What is going on?'

"You were struck by lightning, dude," Cisco reminded, the hint of fascination unable to be hidden.

Barry had turned to a mirror nearby and gaped at his appearance, "Wh - lightning gave me abs?"

Caitlin made a face, sounding confused herself despite having studied his case over the months, "Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration."

Cisco led Barry to a chair and sat him down, "Come here, have a seat. You were in a coma."

"For how long?" Barry truly tried taking it in and hoped to remember what happened. For the moment, all he remembered was the Particle Accelerator event he attended with Iris.

Dr. Wells had entered the room, or wheeled in, and answered Barry's question, "Nine months. Welcome back, Mister Allen. We have a lot to discuss."

Barry roughly swallowed as he desperately tried recalling all his memories. It was turning out to be a much more difficult task. Even as Wells talked him through it, as well as showing the now-damaged particle accelerator to him, Barry was still hesitant to believe it was all true.

"It's hard to believe I'm here. I've always wanted to meet you face to face," he told Wells who took it with amusement.

"Yeah? Well, you certainly went to great length to do it. Star Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a class 4 hazardous location. Many more were injured. Myself amongst them."

Barry blinked from hearing such a disaster and even glanced at Caitlin and Cisco to see if it was all true. "Geez. What happened?"

"Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online, exactly as planned," Wells began, "For forty-five minutes I had achieved my life's dream and then, then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became unmeasurable, the ring under us popped, energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky, and that, in turn, seeded a storm-cloud…"

"That created a lightning bolt that struck me," Barry realized quick.

"That's right," Wells nodded, "I was recovering myself, when I heard about you. The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time you were going into cardiac arrest, which was, actually a misdiagnosis, because you see, you weren't flat-lining, Barry, your heartbeat was moving too fast for the EKG to register it," Barry's mouth opened in gape, "Now, I'm not the most popular person in town these days but, Detective West and his daughter gave me permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you."

Barry soon remembered his best friend, "Iris?"

"Iris, yes. She came to see you quite often."

"She talks a lot," Caitlin commented, "but no where near as Belén does."

"But they're both hot," Cisco added like it was a grand detail that no one should overlook.

Barry started for the exit, "I need to go."

Caitlin reached out to stop him, "No, you can't!"

"No, no, no, Caitlin's right," Wells quickly said, "Now that you're awake; we need to do more tests. You're still going through changes, there's so much that we don't know."

Barry turned to them, "I'm fine, really. I feel normal. Thank you for saving my life," and he rushed off.

"Really?" Caitlin, exasperated, called out. There was still so much to do and he was just gonna leave?

Suddenly, Barry poked his head into the room. "Can I keep the sweatshirt?" he gestured to his Star Labs sweatshirt Cisco had handed to him earlier.

Wells sighed, also irritated but displayed more patience than Caitlin, "Yeah, keep the sweatshirt."

With a grin, Barry thanked them and hurried off.

~ 0 ~

Iris was serving a customer coffee when Barry came rushing into Jitters. He nearly bumped into some people walking out because of his hastiness but he didn't quite care. Apparently, it had been 9 months since his family had seen him, and he had seen them, so he figured it was okay to bump into people for the moment. Iris gasped when she saw him, nearly dropping coffee all over her customer. She apologized but left the coffee pot on the table to run and greet Barry in a tight bear hug.

"Oh my God! You're awake!" she refused to let go for a minute or two as she decided whether the situation felt real enough told believe, "Why didn't Star Labs call us?"

"I just woke up," Barry chuckled as he finally got Iris to look let go.

Iris quickly took him by the arm as if he were going to fall any moment, "Should you even be on your feet?" she frantically questioned him.

Barry laughed again at her over-concern, "Iris, I'm okay," he assured her, but the fact didn't make Iris feel better.

"I watched you die, Barry," she said sadly, "You kept dying and your heart kept stopping."

Barry recalled what Wells had told him but preferred to keep it to himself. There was no point in bringing up stuff that wouldn't matter anymore. Instead, he patted his hand over his heart, "Still beating," he smiled.

As if to confirm for herself, Iris leaned to hear and frowned at the results, "It's beating really fast…"

Suddenly, two waitresses behind them crashed into each other and broke their plates and glasses. Barry blinked as everything went slow as if he were in one of those action movies.

Iris, who saw everything normally, turned to her co-workers, "Are you okay, Tracy?"

"Yeah, I got it," Tracy waved a hand as she and the other employee started picking up the mess.

Barry was still trying to get over what had just happened to him when Iris returned to their conversation, "My dad is gonna be so happy to see you. Let me get my stuff, ok? I'll be right back."

Barry gave a small nod and waited for Iris to pick up her things. Meanwhile, he replayed the scene that had happened before him. Had he dreamed it all? It could possibly have been a side effect of the coma - illusions. That had to be it, right?

~ 0 ~

Belén was frantic as she stood in front of Captain Singh's desk, almost to tears as she listened to the man close down her brother's case. It was bad enough to know the case was being closed, but even more when Singh informed her he already had this talk with her parents and that he had expected for them, or one of them since her parents were divorced and her mother lived in the next city, to tell her themselves.

"You can't do this!" Belén's voice shook with a threatening sob. "He's not-"

"He is and I'm very sorry," Singh sighed, knowing his apology meant nothing. It never did when families were given the unfortunate news their loved one(s) were dead.

Belén slammed a hand on the desk, teeth gritted together as she continued arguing. "He's not dead! I know he's not! He is out there and he needs our help!"

"Miss Palayta, you have to understand that due to the Particle Accelerator's activation, there were many disappearances that were left inconclusive. What you say may possibly be true, but...the chances of it are not as high as one would hope."

"And the chances will get lower if you stop helping!" Belén exclaimed, balling her fists.

"This is the not the first case we've closed to lack of evidence, but rest assure if anything comes up that could help...we will re-open it."

Singh's words did nothing to comfort her. With a terrible glare on the man, she stormed out of the room.

~ 0 ~

While there was chaos being unleashed inside Singh's office, not too far away was Barry and Iris, Barry receiving the embarrassment of a lifetime as all the officers greeted him from his long absence.

"Oh, you scared the hell out of us, kid," Iris' father, and Barry's adoptive father, Joe, was telling him.

A policeman beside him added, " Yeah, that was quite the nap you take there, baby-face. And you still look twelve."

Barry rolled his eyes at the comment while Iris chuckled. Joe put a hand over Barry's shoulder, "You look okay. Are you really?"

"Yeah," Barry assured, beginning to grow tired of the same question.

A policewoman came rushing towards the group, "Detective West, we've got a 5-50 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. Storm's really picking up on the south side."

"Grab your rain gear," Joe told the other officers, "I'm sorry, Barry, I gotta run."

"Do you need my help?" Barry quickly asked.

"No, you take it easy," Joe pointed him, warning the young man to stay put, "There'll be plenty for you to do once you've settled in. Let's go partner," he looked over to his new partner, Eddie Thawne.

"Hey, Allen," he greeted Barry, "Glad to see you."

"Thanks, Eddie," Barry politely said back.

Eddie then looked at Iris, "Hey, Iris."

Iris sucked a small breath and put on her best act, "Detective, you should go, my dad doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Eddie nodded and told Barry, "Glad you're back," before following after Joe.

Iris sighed when Barry saw the small shrine memorial for Joe's old partner, "The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre. Mardon and his brother died trying to escape their plane crash."

"You're a lousy police department!" Belén's shout rang throughout the room as she stormed out of Singh's office. She knew it was childish to shout but her emotions were all over the place right now.

Iris quickly glanced to see her friend rushing to leave the place. "Bells!"

Belén looked up and gasped at the sight of Iris with Barry. Immediately, a good portion of her anger was filed away for another moment. "Oh my God!" she hurried over and, like Iris, greeted Barry with a tight hug, "You woke up!"

"Quite literally an hour ago," Barry chuckled and hugged back, "It's nice to see you again, Belén."

"It's really nice to see you up and walking!" Belén laughed for a moment, but as much as she tried being happy there was always that part of her with her true feelings making itself visible.

And because Iris was there, she recognized the feelings quite well. "Bells, what's going on?"

"I don't...I don't want to ruin..." Belén's eyes briefly flickered to Barry, "...your moment..."

"Hey," Iris reached to touch Belén's arm, "you can tell us. What's going on?"

Belén couldn't help sniffle as she breathed in, "I'm happy you're back, Barry," she said instead then glanced at Iris, "Good things had to happen for someone at least."

Barry looked at Iris for some explanation for Belén's words but Iris focused entirely on Belén. She stepped closer to Belén, hoping to get her talking. "What is it?" she softly asked.

Belén's tears found their way out at the same time her words did, "They closed Rayan's case down for the moment. Apparently there's no more evidence."

"Oh, oh no!" Iris took Belén into a hug and glanced at Barry who was staring in utter confusion. Belén's brother was dead!? Well, he didn't even know Belén had a brother to begin with...or maybe he did and he just couldn't remember. 9 months in a coma did that to you.

Belén recollected herself for the sake of her appearance and Barry's newfound consciousness. He didn't deserve such a spectacle during his first hours back in the world. She wiped some tears off her face and stepped back from Iris. "I'm sorry, Barry. It's good to have you back again. I'm happy for you and Iris," she sniffled and went on her way, ignoring Iris' calls for her to wait.

"What...just happened?" Barry asked after a minute of silence.

Iris sighed and looked at him sadly, "Belén's brother went missing a while after the Particle Accelerator explosion and the police had been following the case. You know, Belén kept telling me you would wake up one day soon and that everything would be okay. I had to admit I had my doubts but in the end she was right. Now...I feel bad for her."

"Why?"

"Because you're awake and I know everything is going to be okay for us. But, Belén will probably never see her brother again. She's helped a lot in these past months and she doesn't deserve this."

"No one does," Barry corrected with a small sigh, also feeling sorry for the ombre-blonde woman. As he looked back at the room he saw, once again in slow motion, an arrested man try to take a gun from an inspector holding him. Without thinking, Barry rushed to stop him all in the matter of a second - and no one ever noticed.

"Screw you!" the arrested shouted at the inspectors.

Barry could no longer ignore the fact this had happened a second time. He faced Iris who took notice of his change in attitude, "You ok?" she asked.

"I-I'm fine," he said slowly, making a move to leave, "I-I just need some air. I'll call you tonight. All right?" he didn't wait for Iris' answer before he ran off.

He made it to the alleyway near the department and felt his hands and legs shaking. Seeing his hands vibrating, he raised them. "Wh-what's happening to me?" Without his permission, his legs ran off in high speed and he crashed into a police car, shattering its front, "Ah!" he shouted as he found himself going head-straight down the alley. He abruptly stopped and took a moment to think about it. When he realized he could run faster, he went for a test drive and ran down the remainder of the alleyway into the back of a laundry van, "Awesome!" his head poke up from the pile of laundry bags with a wide grin, no longer afraid.

~ 0 ~

After returning to Star Labs and explaining his happenings to Caitlin, Cisco and Dr. Wells, he was taken out for a practice session of his abilities. As Barry was changing into the needed attire, the three employees worked on the equipment.

"You don't really believe he can run that fast, do you?" Caitlin asked Dr. Wells as they wound up some wires.

"Oh c'mon," Cisco cut in with a loud scoff, "did you not read about the purple girl who stole from the jewelry store last month? If she shoots out purple stuff from her hands why can't Barry run fast?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes in response. At that moment, Barry joined the group wearing a bright red racing suit.

"How does it fit?" Cisco asked.

"It's a little snug," Barry answered in an uncomfortable manner.

"At least you'll be moving so fast, no one will see you," Cisco tried to cheer him up, "See, you thought the world was slowing down, it wasn't. You were moving so fast, it only looked like everyone else was standing still." Barry looked like he hadn't understood any of it...because he hadn't. "Doctor Wells will be monitoring your energy output, and Caitlin your vitals," Cisco added after a moment of awkward silence.

"What do you do?" Barry asked him curiously.

A wide grin broke across Cisco's face, "I make the toys, man. Check it," he held a small headset to Barry, "This is a two-way headset with a camera I modified. Typically designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or, in your case, potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome."

Caitlin came by to check over some equipment at the table Cisco had set down his 'toys'. As she lurked through them, she noticed Barry's look on her, "What?"

"Nothing," Barry shrugged, "I just noticed you don't smile too much," and it was true, he thought. Cisco couldn't stop smiling when it came to all these possible power talks and even Dr. Wells managed a smile here and there.

Caitlin took a breath before she answered, "My once promising career in bio-engineering is over. My boss is in a wheelchair for life. The explosion that put you in a coma, also killed my fiancé. So this blank expression kinda feels like the way to go."

Barry raised his eyebrows in surprise at such a cold response. It reminded him a little of Belén only even she managed to smile despite what she was going through.

"Mister Allen," Dr. Wells' voice cut through Barry's thoughts, "while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint."

"Yeah," Barry understood and went to the starter line. He took a deep breath and started running like he normally would...only to realize he was running at light speed.

"He just passed 200 knots per hour," Cisco gawked.

"That's not possible," even Caitlin was left gaping at such speed they were seeing.

Everything was going fine until Barry started to think of his mother's murder that involved pretty much the same type of lightning that was now his. Heavily distracted, he ran himself straight into a row of barrels at the end of the track. A couple of hours later would find Barry and the others back at Star Labs where Caitlin had taken his injuries under her work.

"It looks like you had a distal radius fracture," she concluded three hours later but her voice sounded in awe.

"Had?" Barry raised an eyebrow, confused of the choice of words.

"It's healed," Caitlin motioned to the X-rays she had taken earlier, "In three hours."

"How is that even possible?"

"We don't know. Yet."

"You really need to learn how to stop," Cisco couldn't help his chuckle as he replayed the image of Barry crashing into the row of barrels. It was like a video game, only this probably hurt Barry.

Wells was more concerned than amused, "What happened out there today? You were moving pretty well, and then something caused you to lose focus."

"I started remembering something," Barry sighed and decided to tell them the truth, "When I was 11, my mother was murdered. It was late, a sound woke me up. I came downstairs, and I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad. He's still sitting in Iron Heights for her murder. Everyone, the cops, the shrink, they they all told me what I saw was impossible. But what if the man who killed my mom was like me?"

While Caitlin and Cisco exchanged looks of even more awe and pity, Dr. Wells took the response himself, "Well I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind."

"Are we done for the day?" Barry couldn't help ask, feeling much more tired than he was used to. Then again, in the past he couldn't run at light speed so that could probably be it.

"Yes," Dr. Wells nodded, "but we do expect you to come back for further tests," Barry nodded in agreement and so Wells wheeled out of the room.

"Oh, hey, if you're going back to Iris could you give her this?" Cisco hurried to the computers where Caitlin had put away Belén's forgotten journal, "It's not hers but I figured she could just hand it to Bells later."

"Bells?" Barry remained confused for a minute on the name he had never once heard.

"Belén," Cisco explained with a sheepish smile, "I kinda give nicknames to everyone. Could you just take it to Iris please?"

"Why is this here?" Barry looked at the others while he took the journal into his hands. It was clearly a class journal but the fact it was Belén's and not Iris' left him wondering how it could have ended up here.

"Belén came with Iris over the nine months you were here," Caitlin explained, "Sometimes with Iris, sometimes on her own when Iris had a class or a shift."

"Belén stayed here...with me?" for some reason that made Barry feel a little guilty.

"Talked your ears off, how did you not hear that?" Cisco commented behind him with a chuckle.

"Cisco," Caitlin scolded him for the joke.

"Oh, she knows I kid," Cisco waved her off without much care.

Barry stared at the journal in his hands and, without thinking about it, asked, "Did you guys hear about her brother?"

"Yeah," Caitlin sighed quietly, "just another of the fallen. I mean...that's what we're assuming by. Many people went missing because of the Particle Accelerator."

"They closed the case down today," Barry looked up to the employees, noticing their change in attitude signifying they hadn't learned about that yet.

"Poor Bells," Cisco sucked in a breath, "She really does not deserve this."

Barry agreed with a nod and started off, though stopped when he had a change of destination, "Hey," he glanced back to the room, "Do you guys know where she could be at this time?"

Cisco checked his watch and made a face, "Oh, at the park. That's her brother's favorite place in the city. Definitely can find her there."

"Thanks," Barry waved and hurried off. He had no idea what exactly he wanted to tell Belén but he knew he had to be there to at least thank her for what she had done in the nine months he was out.

~ 0 ~

As Cisco had predicted, Belén was sitting at one of the park benches alone. While there wasn't something precise to look at, her eyes had a gaze at the fountain where there were several candles and other small trinkets placed on the ground. No matter how many times she looked at the spot she always ended up in tears as if it were the first time she was looking at it.

"Belén?" she heard her name being called and looked up to see Barry coming to take a seat beside her, holding her journal in hand, "Hey…"

Belén sniffed and wiped some tears off her face, "Did I forget that at Star Labs?" she pointed to the journal, "I'm always forgetting stuff…"

Barry took a seat beside her and gave the journal back, "Cisco mentioned you left it earlier."

"Well, thank you," Belén placed the journal beside her, "Not that it will make a difference - I'll fail the class anyways."

Barry couldn't quite configure such hoplessness in the woman that had seemed so cheery the last time they met. But then Barry reminded himself it had been nine months ago and in those nine months many things had happened to Belén.

"It's me," Belén suddenly said, her eyes back on the fountain, though she was able to see the surprise on Barry's face, "I know that look you have - 'is that really Belén?' Yes, it's me. My Dad did the thing months ago so I know what it looks like. Even Iris does it sometimes...but she doesn't tell me.

"I-I'm sorry," Barry became flustered and looked away from her after realizing he had only been staring at her. Instead, he saw what she had been staring since he arrived. "What's...what's that?" he nodded to the fountain.

"When my brother went missing I came here and I put some things of his there," Belén answered almost monotonously, "Since then my sister has added some things, his friends too, and my dad." She let a moment of silence pass between them before asking, "Barry, no offense, but what are you doing here?" she tore her gaze from the fountain to look at him, "You should be with your family. Iris has gone mad for these past months and I know she can use her brother with her. Don't waste your time on a stranger."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't consider people who visit me nearly every day while I'm in a 9 month coma to be a stranger," Barry lightly smiled at her, slightly disappointed she didn't smile back.

"Of course I visited you - I like you," Belén shrugged casually, "But that doesn't change the fact you know nothing of me and I know nothing of you."

"Then let's start again, and this time I promise not to fall under a coma on the same night," Barry shifted to face her, holding his hand out to her, "I'm Barry Allen and you?"

Belén playfully rolled her eyes, showing off a hint of a smile that made Barry beam, "Belén Palayta," she said as if there was nothing left to do. She shook his hand afterwards, "And if you fall into a coma tonight I will beat you."

Barry laughed at the threat that didn't really sound like a threat when it came out of her mouth. "I promise not to. So, you want to tell me how I can help with your brother's case?"

Belén's playful aura disappeared at the mention of her brother, "There's nothing the police department can do now, apparently. There's just no evidence to support he lives."

"Good thing I'm here then because I happen to be very smart," Barry pointed to himself.

"Barry, there's nothing you can do," Belén repeated, sounding hopeless herself, "There's nothing no one can do. Everything points to Rayan being dead, but…"

"You don't believe it," Barry finished for her.

"Of course not," Belén agreed, "Not till I see his corpse. I can't let you help because I'm afraid you're just going to tell me what everyone else has - there's nothing left to do," her dark brown eyes glistened with tears as she looked back at him, "And I'd rather not hear that again."

"I'm sorry, Belén," Barry apologized as if it were his fault, "I know what it's like to lose a family member. The pain is like no other."

Belén sniffled and struggled not to cry there and then, "Rayan is my twin. We've gone through life always together. When my parents divorced...and everything around us turned hectic, Rayan was always there to make me feel better. I can't...I just can't accept he's gone. He can't...he can't be."

"Belén," Barry said before she broke down.

She caught herself and jumped out of her spot on the bench, "I need to go," she snatched her journal off the bench.

"No, Belén, stop," Barry got to his feet and turned her around to him, "Let me help, please."

But Belén shook her head, smiling in what one would call amusement, "I know you like to help people, but this is one problem you cannot solve. I will take my burden and I will do what I can with it," she gently pushed his hand off her arm and walked away.

Barry felt a new sense of helplessness as he watched Belén leave. That was certainly not the way he wanted things to end. He glanced at the small set of trinkets left for Rayan at the fountain, letting his mind wander to strategies he hadn't yet considered.

~ 0 ~

With a long sigh, Iris walked along the street with Barry, listening to what he had to say about Belén as well also explaining to Barry about her secret boyfriend, Eddie Thawne. Barry had caught them kissing earlier at Jitters and of course he wanted to hear the story of how that happened.

"You can't tell my dad," Iris warned, "He doesn't know about me and Eddie."

"Doesn't seem like anyone's in on the secret," Barry shrugged.

"Well, Belén knows," Iris said, not sure if that made things better, "She was actually the one who encouraged me to do it. When you were in the hospital, Eddie covered my father's shifts so that we could both be with you. I thanked him with a cup of coffee, and things just kind of happened. He kept asking me out and when Belén forced me to go out it turned out to be good."

"Dating your partner's daughter, it's not against department regulations?" Barry joked with her and got a small laugh.

"Oh, ha, ha, very funny," she playfully rolled her eyes.

Barry glanced back and saw a police car chasing after another. It skidded closer to them and knowing it would hit them, Barry grabbed Iris by the arms and sped them away before going to chase the pursued car himself.

When Barry got into the car he came to the shock of finding Mardon, the precise one that was supposed to be dead, inside. Causing an accident with the car, Mardon jumped out of the car and made an escape on foot while also creating a thick layer of fog to hide him. Just as Barry rose to his feet, he saw the fog cause a car to crash into Mardon's car and flip over not too far away. Breathless from such a catastrophe, Barry looked around hoping to find even a glimpse of Mardon but unfortunately there was nothing left but injured innocents and death.

~ 0 ~

"That poor man," Iris breathed at the sight of accident the cars left behind, "The way that fog came in, I have never seen anything like it."

Joe had listened to the accident over the communication system and rushed to the site knowing Iris and Barry had been near it, "Barry! Iris!"

"I'm all right, Dad," Iris hugged him and smiled.

"What the hell were you thinking having her out there?" Joe promptly got on his irritated act for being near the pursuit, "No, no, no and I told you!" he pointed at Iris. "When you see danger, you run the other way! You're not a cop!"

"Because you wouldn't let me!" Iris had to snap back.

"You're damn right!"

Barry was not in the mood to hear another round of arguments concerning Iris' real passion, "Joe, I need to talk to you."

"It can wait," Joe waved him off but it did not work.

"No, now. I know who did this," Barry announced, "It's Clyde Mardon. I know, everybody thinks he died in a plane crash after the Star Labs explosion, but he is alive. All right, something happened to him that night. I, I think he can control the weather. The recent robberies, they all happened during freak meteorological events. And when I just confronted Mardon, the street was instantly enveloped in fog. Of course you don't believe me. You never believe me."

Joe shook his head, running a hand down his face, "Okay, you wanna do this now? Out here?" he motioned to the public area but that didn't move Barry away, "Mardon is dead. There is no controlling the weather, Barry. Just like there was no lightening storm in your house that night. It was your brain helping a scared little boy accept what he saw."

Barry became angry that topic had been brought up and once again discarded as irrelevant, "My dad did not murder my mom."

"Yes, he did!" Joe erupted into small shouts, "Your dad killed your mother, Barry. I am sorry, son, but I knew it, the jury knew it, now he's paying for what he did."

Iris saw enough and exclaimed, "Dad, enough!"

"No, Iris!" he snapped at her too then continued with Barry, "I have done my best to take care of you since that night, and I never asked for anything in return, not even a thank you, but what I do ask now, is that you for once in your life, see things as they are."

Angrily, Barry stalked off, choosing not to waste time with people who clearly would not believe him. His stop became Star Labs as there was some people that needed to do some explaining.

"I wasn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator explosion, was I?" he demanded of Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Cisco the moment he entered the cortex room.

"We don't know for sure," Dr. Wells answered with an awkward clear of his throat.

"Purple girl," Cisco made sure to remind, though it only confused Barry as he hadn't yet caught himself up with the latest in Central City.

"What happened the night the particle accelerator exploded?" Barry inquired from the true.

"Well, the accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes, and then, it all went wrong," Dr. Wells replied, "A dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world, anti-matter, dark energy, X-elements…"

"Those are all theoretical…"

"Purple girl!" Cisco insisted with a loud groan, as if there wasn't more evidence needed than that incident to prove powers were a side effect from the explosion.

With a sigh, Wells nodded at Cisco's comment, "We've mapped dispersion throughout and around Central City but we have no way of knowing exactly what or who was exposed. We've been searching for other metahumans, like yourself."

"Metahumans?" Barry stopped him at the new word.

"That's what we are calling them," Caitlin explained quietly, not too happy with the situation herself, "Up to now there's only really been one other person who exhibited abilities like yourself."

"Well I saw another one today," Barry declared, "and he's a bank robber and he can control the weather."

Cisco giggled like a child, "This keeps getting cooler and cooler. Super speed," he pointed at Barry, "Weather controller and purple gumbo controller?"

"Purple Gumbo?" Caitlin repeated, making a disapproving face at him.

"Yeah, I know, not the best description but there's not much to go by," Cisco gave a big shrug.

"Hello!?" Barry waved his hands to get their attention, "A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did. From the storm cloud. He's still out there. We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else."

"Barry," Wells shook his head, "That's a job for the police."

"Yeah, well, I work for the police."

"As a forensic assistant."

"You're responsible for this. For him!" Barry accused Wells, even more angry than when he walked in.

"What's important is you!" Wells argued back, "Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm, and it healed in three hours. Inside your body, could be a map to a whole new world genetic therapy, vaccines, medicines, treasures, Barry. Deep within your cells, and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero. You're not a hero. You're just a young man who was struck by lightning."

Once more shot down, Barry stalked off. Was no one seriously going to try and help him with this case?

He supposed now...he could understand...Belén.

~ 0 ~

Belén furiously stood with her arms crossed and struggled not to cut off her parents in the middle of their 'what we think is best for you' lecture. She was still trying to get over the fact her mother was in the city again. It made a lot more sense when she realized Veronica Green had only come back to lecture her.

"And so, we think it would do you good if you accompanied me back to Starling City," her mother concluded.

The face Belén wore told Veronica and her ex-husband she was outright refusing the suggestion.

"I cannot believe this is the reason you came back from Starling," Belén laced her words with scorn and resentment, "Cos that's the only way you'd come back, huh? When we're so broken you can't possibly do a worse job than before."

"Annah-Belén Palayta you do not speak to me like that," her mother's voice rose in tone yet it didn't make Belén flinch one bit.

"I speak to you however I wish," Belén bitterly laughed as she glanced at her father, "Did you really think this would be a good idea, Dad? Have her take me away?"

"Belén," David sighed, "I'm afraid you're going to enter some sort of depression state. I think a little time away from Central City could be a good thing for you. There is nothing but sad stories here - your brother's missing case, crimes increasing, people getting hurt, even Iris' poor brother in that coma."

"He woke up, dad," Belén slowly said, the energy to fight slowly leaving her system. She was beyond tired having to explain to her own father why she couldn't let go of Rayan disappearance, "Not everything is so 'sad'."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that," David honestly said, "But I still think taking a small trip to Starling could help you."

"Come darling," Veronica stepped towards Belén, "You can stay with me. And, you can even see the Lances' remember? You used to be so close to them. Their father still works at the precinct with me."

"Of course I do," Belén muttered, "Just like I remember all my other friends from that city but that does not mean I want to go back. Besides, you do remember I still have a class to finish before I graduate?"

"We went to the university and talked to the dean - they understand our situation and were willing to give you permission for a month absence," her father explained, but that only infuriated Belén more.

"You went to my school behind my back!? What is wrong with you!?" Belén growled and stalked away from her parents, "I am twenty-five years old! You cannot treat me like this!"

"We're not treating you like a child if that's your argument," Veronica frowned, "We simply agreed this would do good for you and your health."

"What?" Belén laughed and turned to them, "So you think bringing me to the city that gets mauled every couple months will do good for my health?"

"We have help," Veronica assured, sounding almost offended.

"I'm not going anywhere," Belén declared firmly, "I will stay here and I will continue to look for Rayan on my own if I have to. Since, you know, you apparently ceased to care for him."

"We love Rayan," David's voice also rose, "But after months of nothing there is not enough hope to keep us going, sweetie. Rayan is dead, and we have to move on."

"He is not dead, Daddy," Belén's voice turned frail as she returned to him, her eyes filled with fresh tears. She grabbed his hands and pleaded him to listen to her. "You gotta believe me, okay? I can feel it. He's my twin and I know he's still alive somewhere out there. We just need to keep looking."

"Belén, I am a cop and I know what these cases do to people," Veronica sighed, "And I know when to stop believing in what is not. Rayan is dead, sweetheart."

Belén's anger returned in a flash, "NO!" she screamed, "He is not and I will not stop looking for him! I'm not going anywhere so you can head back to where you came from!" with that, Belén ran out of the house before her parents could continue arguing with her. She didn't understand why in such a large city she felt so alone and helpless.

~ 0 ~

After several hours, and a sudden trip to Starling City for advise, Barry returned to Star Labs where now Caitlin and Cisco were. He was determined to implement some change in the city whether they wanted or not.

"I've been going over unsolved cases from the past 9 months, and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths, and missing people," he announced to them, "Your metahumans have been busy."

In one of those cases was Belén's twin brother's case and after carefully reading it over and knowing what other officers didn't, Barry was sure Rayan Palayta's disappearance had been at the hands of metahumans. That was the precise reason the police department wasn't able to help her anymore - they didn't believe.

"I'm not blaming you, I know you didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know you all lost something. But I need your help to catch Mardon, and anyone else out there like him. But I can't do it without you."

It didn't look like Cisco and Caitlin were very surprised to hear those words. It almost seemed like they had been thinking similar thoughts before. Cisco stood up and started for a mannequin display across the room, "If we're gonna do this I have something that might help. Something I've been playing with," he turned the mannequin over to reveal a bright, red costume sitting on it, "It's designed to replace the turnouts firefighters traditionally wear. I thought if Star Labs could do something nice for the community, maybe people wouldn't be so angry at Doctor Wells anymore."

"How is it gonna help me?" Barry eyed the red-leather, one suited thing with hesitance.

"It's made of a reinforced tri-polymer. It's heat and abrasive resistant, so it should withstand your moving at high-velocity speed," Cisco explained, "And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus, it has built-in sensors, so we can track your vitals and stay in contact with you from here."

"Thanks," Barry loved the streak of luck. "Now, how do we find Mardon?"

Caitlin cleared her throat to signal her cutting in, "I re-tasked Star Labs satellites to track meteorological abnormalities over Central City. We just got a ping," she pulled up a version of the map on one of the computer screens hung on the walls. "Atmospheric pressure dropped 20 millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city."

"That's where the brothers hid last time," Barry realized and rushed for the suit, "We gotta go!"

~ 0 ~

Out in the farm was, as Barry predicted, Mardon Clyde hiding. With him was Joe and Eddie who followed leads using the last time the case had been opened.

"Mardon? On your feet. Hands on your head," Joe warned as he pulled out his gun, Eddie doing the same beside him.

Mardon did no such thing and only stood across them. "You got me. The night of the storm, after Star Labs blew, after our plane went down, and I woke up on the ground, alive. When I saw what I could do, I understood. I am God."

"Shut the hell up! Turn around!"

Mardon ignored the order and caused an explosion nearby with his powers, "You think your guns can stop God?!"

"Why in the hell would God need to rob banks?" Joe snapped.

"You're right. I've been thinking too small," Mardon turned around and easily began to create a tornado that caught two of the policemen on site. Joe was caught by a chunk of debris picked up from the ground.

Barry arrived in time to help the police, now in disguise, and was able to hear Cisco and Caitlin from the earpod built into the suit.

"Barry, Barry, this thing is getting closer," Cisco warned as the tornado did indeed pick up speed, "Wind speeds are 200 miles per hour, and increasing. Barry, can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Loud and clear."

"If it keeps up, this could become an F5 tornado!"

Barry looked at the tornado and its possible direction, "And it's headed towards the city. How do I stop it? Guys? What if I unravel it?"

"How the hell are you gonna do that?" came Caitlin's icy scolding tone through the earpod.

"I'll run around it in the opposite direction, cut off its legs!"

"You'd have to clock 700 miles per hour to do that," warned Cisco, sounding doubtful.

"Your body may not be able to handle those speeds. You'll die," added Caitlin.

"I have to try," Barry insisted and didn't wait for another round of warnings when he started to run.

"The suit's holding up!" Cisco exclaimed, now sounding excited his creation was working.

Caitlin, on the other hand, was focusing more on Barry's vitals, "But he's not!"

Barry found himself promptly thrown out the tornado and fell to the ground, "He's too strong."

Suddenly, Dr. Well's voice came over the headset - and with encouraging words, "You can do this, Barry. You're right, I am responsible for all this. So many people have been hurt, because of me, and when I looked at you, all I saw was a potential victim of my hubris, and yes, I created this madness, but you, Barry, you can stop it. You can do this now, run! Barry, run!"

Barry took in a big breath as he once again attempted to fight off Mardon. However, this time Mardon pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Barry.

"Hey! I didn't think there was anyone else like me," he commented in genuine surprise.

Barry took that as an insult and promptly replied with, "I'm not like you. You're a murderer."

Before Mardon could do more Joe was able to get out of the debris and shoot Mardon right on the chest. He then looked at the new man in red, easily identifying him as Barry.

"Barry?" Caitlin asked in concern, having heard nothing but a gunshot.

"It's over, I'm okay," Barry soon reassured then faced Joe, unsure of what to do nor say next.

"What you can do...it was the lightning bolt?" Joe was the first to break the silence, still glancing from where the tornado had originated then back to Barry.

"More or less," Barry gave a light shrug.

I'm sorry, Barry. I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Joe started to ramble in his apology, "And I called you crazy for chasing the impossible. But you really did see something that night your mom died," and then it hit him, "And your dad is innocent. I need you to promise me something. I don't want you telling Iris about anything you can do. Any of it. I want her safe. Promise me."

While the idea didn't sit well with Barry he agreed to it and relieved Joe. He gave a nod, "Okay."

~ 0 ~

"Great job!" Cisco gave a high-five to Barry when he returned to the cortex.

"It did feel good," Barry couldn't stop smiling like an idiot as he came to join them. Even Caitlin looked more pleased than she had since he'd met her.

"Good job, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells also said, "But you realize there will be more training sessions. You cannot go around without a proper plan."

"Understood," Barry nodded.

"You should let me upgrade that thing more," Cisco pointed to the red suit, "I have a couple more ideas."

"Actually," Barry stepped away, his smile turning into a cheeky one that told the others he had another plan in mind, "do you think it can go out for one more trip? A real small one, promise."

"What did you have in mind?" Wells inquired.

"Caitlin, do you think you can make a call to someone?"

Caitlin gave a nod, "Yeah. Who'd you have in mind?" she asked, wondering what-oh-what did the new metahuman have in mind.

~ 0 ~

Belén was sniffling in the middle of her conversation over the phone with Iris. She was walking back to her house under a dark night, and she sincerely hoped her father had gone to sleep and that her mother had already left. She was in no mood to see them nor talk to them. She had finished a conversation with Caitlin over the phone, explaining what occurred and while it did feel good to vent to someone, it was still not going to get Rayan back. Now, she was having another venting session with Iris.

"You're not actually going to leave, right?" Iris was concerned after hearing all that had happened in the Palayta residence. She knew that the relationship between Belén and her mother wasn't quite good and she sincerely thought if Belén went back with her mother...it would only cause bigger problems.

"No, of course not," Belén angrily replied, "As if I would listen to them about this. I'm not going anywhere. No one wants to help me but that's not gonna stop me."

And suddenly, a fast wind picked up and the next thing Belén knew she stumbled back holding a piece of paper in her hand. Her dark eyes scanned the immediate area for anything suspicious but there was no one in the streets except for her. She looked down at the paper and turned it over, seeing the words 'I will help you' written across it.

"Iris, I gotta go," Belén said absentmindedly and hung up. She made face, scrunching her nose, as she reread the words, "What the hell...?"

Another fast wind happened and a bright manila folder laid right in front of her feet. Belén slowly bent down to pick it up and upon opening it she was surprised to find it was her brother's case. The police department had locked away all of his cases' contents, declaring it officially closed. There was a blue sticky note stuck to the front of the folder.

I'll help you find your brother.

Belén didn't know why she was beginning to smile. She was just reading random notes.

"Who's out there?" she found herself asking, but received no answer. Instead, she felt arms around her and suddenly she was standing just outside of her house's front door. Almost amused, Belén whirled around to the front yard, hoping to catch a glimpse of what ever was doing all this. She rushed to the small steps leading up to the porch and looked out, "Come out," she pleaded softly and was mildly disappointed nothing, or no one, ever did. She looked down at her folder and smiled again before turning and heading inside her house.

Barry watched from a hidden spot as the woman smiled and walked inside the house. Over the earpod came Caitlin's voice, the tinge of disapproval not bothering him. "Barry, are you sure this was a good idea?"

"She smiled, Caitlin. She just wants someone to help her and it just so happens that I can actually help her now," Barry grinned and turned to return to Star Labs and call it an eventful night.