The silence always breaks eventually, spurred on by a police alert or a visitor or, more rarely, a breakthrough.
Today, the breaking point is Joe's return.
With Wally.
All four drift back into the Cortex. Barry doesn't bother concealing his face. He's not the Flash anymore.
"I'm sorry," Joe says. "But he figured it out, and he deserves to know."
"Yeah," Barry says. His voice is lower and rougher than he expected, and he clears his throat and tries again. "Yeah, you should know." He gestures around him. "Welcome to S.T.A.R. Labs, I guess."
"So you're the Flash?" Wally asks, a little hesitant.
Barry nods. "I used to be." He lifts his hands helplessly. "I don't have my speed anymore."
"And there are alternate universes?"
Wells gets impatient. "Yes, there are alternate universes. Zoom is from Earth-2, the same place I'm from, and Allen had the brilliant idea to reopen a breach and let Zoom through. That's why you were kidnapped, that's why Allen lost his speed, and that's why the serial killer Hunter Zolomon has Snow right now."
"Hey," Barry says, seeing how overwhelmed Wally is. "It's going to be fine. We'll figure something out. We always do." He looks at Cisco. "Have you been able to vibe anything?"
Cisco has his arms crossed and is staring vaguely into space. He jolts to attention when Barry addresses him. "Um, not really. I've gotten vague glimpses of him running. That's all. Not enough to locate him."
"Not that we could get to his location anyway without the Flash," Wells adds.
"Hey, I'm sure we can solve this problem," Iris says. "We've gotten through everything else so far. We beat Jay once."
"That was before we gave him Barry's speed," Wells mutters.
Wally, who's been glancing around at all four of them, says, "Wait. There's Zoom, there's Hunter Zolomon, there's Jay. Who are all these people?"
Joe puts a hand on Wally's shoulder. "You might want to sit down. It's a lot to take in."
Obediently, Wally sinks into a chair.
Over the course of a few minutes, Barry, Cisco, and Wells explain. Everything from Eobard Thawne to the singularity to Zoom. All of it in far more detail than Wally really needs.
But it's therapeutic for them. Some sort of release. And, who knows, maybe talking through the past will help spark a plan for the future.
As they explain, Barry finds that he can't keep his voice from shaking—and not the type of vibration that disguises his identity from others.
Cisco keeps glancing at Jay's hat on the floor across the room and then looking away with a glare.
Whenever Wells speaks, which isn't often, he does so in a clipped, irritated tone—the only way he knows to hide other emotions.
Iris does her best to keep the mood light, but considering the subject, it's not an easy task.
Joe lets the others explain, instead watching Wally for his reaction.
For his part, Wally remains calm during the summary of events. His eyes seem to grow wider with every word, but aside from that, he sits very still and doesn't react.
Joe's worried. He, of all people, knows how difficult it can be to accept this supernatural knowledge. Wally is so perfectly calm that it concerns him.
"Okay," Wally finally says when they're done. "So how are we going to get Caitlin back?"
Barry, Cisco, and Wells look at each other. All of them are exhausted by the recap of the past two years, the summary of everything they've gone through.
Though, to be honest, they have not just gone through it, not only survived it, but won.
Barry considers all the metahumans he's defeated, up to and including the Reverse Flash, all the people he's saved, all the lives he's impacted despite being put at a disadvantage in the past.
Cisco plays with the glasses in his hands and thinks about all the new powers he has, just waiting for him to discover and use them.
Wells thinks back to their rescue of Jesse on Earth-2—regardless of where she now is, she's far safer than she was in Zoom's power—and if they broke someone out of Zolomon's prison once, maybe it's possible to do so again.
Joe and Iris exchange a glance. Both of them have spent enough time with the S.T.A.R. Labs team to understand what's just happened.
The silence has broken, like the calm before a storm. The wait is over. Barry may have lost his lightning, but everyone can sense the shifting winds.
Here comes the storm.