'Keep my head upright, hold my thoughts in line, hunt what you can't find
Slow my heartbeat down, get my insides out, find my insides'
It was late in the afternoon when Joe climbed the stairs leading up to the porch of the West home. He was exhausted, the last two days spending all his efforts focused on trying to solve the Stagg Industries break-in, desperate to find a lead that could bring some hope to finding a cure for Barry.
The witnesses hadn't been able to ID their captors, Barry confirming they were all wearing plain clothes and masks, no distinguishable characteristics, and the scientists had yet to find anything missing from their laboratory. The day after the seizure, Barry was able to return to the scene with the CCPD and had found the bullet fragment that had grazed the Flash embedded into a wall. He had brought it back to S.T.A.R. Labs to analyze, commenting on how weird it was to be investigating himself. He didn't get very far in the process before needing to rest. Cisco was going over all the information he could on the Stagg meta-human department research and Caitlin was obsessively analyzing the sample from Barry's injury. She said it wasn't enough to try to reverse engineer a cure but was trying to come up with some sort of solution. So far she'd only been able to treat his symptoms.
Barry didn't have much appetite, his movements slow, needing to nap periodically throughout the day. To someone not in the know, it appeared just like any normal virus, not a poison slowly destroying the cells that allowed him to heal himself, to do impossible tasks. Barry's fever continued to spike occasionally anytime his body attempted to fight off the virus that was destroying his cells. He had been warned by Caitlin to not use his speed at all, that accessing his powers would, in turn, increase the occurrence of seizures, the fever, and she suspected then increasing the level of cellular necrosis. But Barry's body intuitively kept attempting to heal itself, every time it did it sapped a little more of the Speed Force from his system and weakened the young man further.
As Joe entered the home, he saw Barry's sneakers and Iris' heels laying in a pile by the door. Joe sighed in relief, glad that his kids were home. Cecile came around the corner from the kitchen, a dishrag thrown over her shoulder, greeting him with a melancholy smile. He leaned in for a kiss, hands coming to rest upon her hips. She reciprocated the embrace cautiously, only the bottom of her palms making contact with his shoulders as she kept her flour-covered hands from dirtying his suit. She'd been baking. Cecile was a relatively health conscious person, baking only when stressed. As the pulled away from the embrace, he could see the concern in her eyes.
Barry, Iris, and Wally were not her children, but she'd embraced them and their strange little family dynamic without judgment and with all the love and acceptance Joe could ever hope for in a partner. His love and concern for his children's safety became hers and Joe could see it in her eyes now as she motioned with her head upstairs. She'd taken a few personal days to keep an eye out and to be a helping hand while Joe worked the case and tried to find a way to help his son.
The second seizure happened shortly after Barry began analyzing the bullet at S.T.A.R. Labs. After 24 hours under observation, Caitlin only let Barry leave S.T.A.R. Labs on the promise he would rest and return immediately if his condition worsened at all. Caitlin had given them a handful of auto-injectors with the serum used to stop the seizures, two of which had happened since Barry's release. Joe and Team Flash had been able to convince him to take time from CCPD, using his sick time and claiming the flu, as well as time from being the Flash, Ralph, and Vibe keeping the city safe while Caitlin and Harry worked to figure out the cytotoxin and create a cure. Convincing Iris and Barry to stay with him at the West home had been significantly easier. Between Joe, Iris, and Cecile, Barry always had someone there if he needed, not that Barry wanted that at all. The kid was too independent and didn't like feeling incapable. But when the fever did start to rise, having them there to help bring his temperature down or help him when he felt too tired to move, Barry was grateful. He hated being a burden but was thankful for the family that never made him feel like he was one.
With a kiss on the cheek to Cecile, Joe made his way up the stairs slowly, his own exhaustion and worry making him feel older than he usually felt. The first door on the right was Barry's old room where Iris and Barry had been taking up residence for the last two days. His hand slowly twisted the knob while the other gripped the inner edge of the door as he slowly eased it open. Evening sunrise from the window in the hall cast orange light through the room as Joe peeked his head in, relief instantly washing over him.
The curtains were drawn and the light was dim in the room. Iris was sitting up in the bed, pillows propped behind her as she leaned back against the headboard with her legs outstretched. Barry was lying to the left of her, curled up on his side, head in her lap with his arm draped over her thighs, face smooth in peaceful sleep. Iris had her right arm resting around Barry's shoulders pressed up against her body while her left hand gently combed through his hair.
"Hi Daddy," she greeted quietly, smiling up at her father as he entered the room, slowly approaching the bed.
"Hey baby," he smiled, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before leaning over his daughter to press a hand softly to Barry's forehead. He was warm but not enough to cause concern, a fine sheen of sweat across his brow. Joe found himself sighing again in relief.
"104.2," Iris answered the unasked question, motioning with her head to the thermometer that rest upon the nightstand. "I checked it about a half hour ago."
"You comfortable?" Joe asked as he smoothed the thin sheet draped over Barry's waist.
"A little warmer than I'd like. He's like a heating pad but I don't have the heart to move him," Iris smiled slightly. Joe nodded, looking over his shoulder and seeing that the armchair was pulled up beside the bed, Iris' laptop sitting abandoned on the cushion. Joe moved it to the floor and plopped himself down into the chair. A soft strained moan and a furrow of his brow disrupted Barry's peace before he settled once more, cheek nuzzling against Iris' legging-covered thigh.
"He's in pain too, isn't he?" Joe sighed. Iris looked up at her father and nodded.
"There have been a few times I've caught him trying to hide it, trying to quiet a moan or not show a muscle spasm," Iris said softly as she pressed the back of her hand against his forehead, checking to make sure his temperature was still within reasonable limits.
"But of course he hasn't said anything," Joe sighed, shaking his head. "Why does he do this to himself?"
"You know Barry. He doesn't want to worry us, doesn't want to be a burden. I thought I'd keep him company, try to get some work done while he napped but he kept tossing and turning," Iris explained quietly, her eyes focused on the gentle rise and fall of Barry's body as he slept, her fingers slowly massaging his scalp as she ran them through his hair. "After about an hour I eventually climbed onto the bed and pulled him over to me. He settled almost instantly and he's been asleep since."
Joe took in the sight before him, imagining Barry instantly melting into a peaceful slumber in the arms of Iris. Even as kids she'd always had a calming effect on him. From nightmares to stressing about college, Iris always had a way of settling Barry's racing heart. Seeing his daughter comforting the sleeping man Joe viewed as a son, seeing the intimacy of two people who loved each other so deeply and always had, Joe smiled to himself at how he'd reacted to seeing their affection when they first started dating. Nothing had changed in their behavior except now they were expressing their love in the way Joe always knew would eventually come. He almost felt silly now thinking about how squeamish both he and Barry had been about showing that affection in front of him. But the awkwardness was short lived and soon seeing it warmed Joe's heart because he knew Barry and Iris were truly happy with each other.
"Dad?" Iris questioned softly, interrupting her father's internal musing. He spared a glance at his daughter, smiling at her now instead of just to himself.
"Sorry, baby. I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Do you remember when you guys were sixteen and Barry's girlfriend had broken up with him. What was her name?" Joe asked, Iris giving him a weird look before she responded.
"Becky Cooper," the disdain that dripped from Iris' voice was a shared feeling for Joe.
"He was so broken after. It was the first time he'd let his guard down with someone other than us, which was hard for him to do after he lost his parents. She ended up using him to get back at her ex-boyfriend, twisting his insecurities, manipulated him into his first time, only to leave him the day after and telling him he was too broken for anyone to really love him." Joe had to swallow down the anger.
"I remember. It was the first time I'd ever felt the desire to break someone's face," Iris sneered at the memory, fleeting quickly when she felt Barry's arm wrap around her hips tighter, sighing as he burrowed closer against her as if even in his sleep he sensed she needed the calming effect he had always provided to her.
"I remember coming home that night and finding you in his room, like this, propped up against the headboard and him with his head in your lap. When you guys were thirteen or fourteen I'd been terrified to find you in that position, two teenagers who weren't actually siblings, experimenting. But all I saw was love, all I saw was your fierce need to protect him and his reliance on your presence and I knew I didn't have to worry."
As her father spoke, Iris looked down at Barry's face where his head rested on her thigh, continuing to gently smooth his hair back, loving how soft the unkempt brown locks were, a floppy mess as Barry hadn't put the pomade in the last few days. His cheeks were flushed and warm but it was the most rested she'd seen him in days. She just wished it didn't take something trying to kill him to get Barry to slow down.
In a sound that seemed so loud in the quiet evening of the room, Joe's phone went off from his pocket.
"Dad!" Iris hissed.
"Shit!" he cursed, quick to grab it before it could disturb Barry but Iris felt Barry shift, rubbing his cheek against her leg before beginning to stretch his body as he was roused from his slumber.
"Damnit," Joe cursed again, before answering the phone, excusing himself from the room as he went to the hall to talk. Iris sighed and looked down at where Barry was gazing up at her through half-lidded eyes.
"Hey," he whispered, both a furrowed brow and sleepy smile on his face as he tried to blink out the tired haze from waking up.
"Hey babe," she smiled down at him, combing his hair back from his eyes with her fingers. "How ya feeling?"
"Not too bad," Barry yawned, reluctantly uncurling himself around Iris as he pushed himself up into a seated position next to her. "How long was I out?" he asked as he tried to stifle another yawn.
"Not long enough I think," Iris teased as Barry moved till he was half sitting, half lying in the bed. He wrapped his left arm around Iris' shoulders and pulled her close to him against his chest, Iris resting her forehead against Barry's neck.
She pressed her hand against Barry's chest, just above his heart, the rhythm of his heartbeat was calming, steady, consistent, and grounding. She used to press her hand over his heart countless times when Barry was in the coma at S.T.A.R. Labs. After watching him flatline so many times, even after they assured her he was stable, she couldn't help but need the reassurance. When Barry had first woken up and surprised her at Jitters, he had taken her hand and placed it over his heart, almost as if he knew.
"I'm sorry, Iris," Barry whispered, his thumb softly stroking her arm draped across his waist.
"For what?" Iris asked, lifting off him slightly so she could look up at him.
"For getting myself into trouble. Again," Barry sighed, looking down at her with guilt filled eyes. "It's been a whirlwind since I got back from the Speedforce. After everything me being gone put you and everyone through I-"
His words were interrupted when Iris grabbed his chin gently and leaned up to press her lips against his, capturing his mouth with a long, deep kiss. Their lips parted and she pulled away just enough, pushing her forehead against his.
"Stop, Barry," She whispered. He was the only person she knew who would feel guilty about suffering. His lips were dry, could feel the heat from the skin of his forehead as it pressed against hers, and hair damp with sweat but it didn't phase her. She would stay as close to him as possible for as long as she could.
Before she could say anything else, before she could ask him how much pain he was in, Joe re-entered the bedroom, phone in his hand.
"We have to get to S.T.A.R. Labs. They found something."
"It was a trap," Barry repeated Harry's words, his hands raking through his hair as he hung his head.
"It looks that way," Cisco nodded, looking around the Cortex at the gathered group, his attention shifting between Barry seated in a chair in the center of the room and Caitlin who was checking Barry's vitals. "The bullet was hollowed with a capsule containing the cytotoxin Harry found in your wound. We think whoever has been breaking into Stagg Industries has been stealing research on metahumans and staged this escalated hostage situation to lure you there with an attempt to test out their weapon."
"So you think this scio-toxic-" Joe started.
"Cytotoxin," Wells corrected.
"Right, that," Joe pointed at him before folding his arms over his chest. "You think they set this up to kill Barry."
"I don't necessarily think that was its purpose," Caitlin chimed in, stepping over to the workstation to analyze Barry's blood sample. "I think it was designed to neutralize his powers, not kill him."
"We believe this was meant as an experiment to test their meta-gene suppressing drug and the Flash is an easy target to obtain due to his heroics," Harry agreed.
"Why would they do that? Who would do that?" Iris questioned, staring at the monitor that showed Barry's vitals. His temperature was still higher than it should be, heart rate and blood pressure all higher than normal. He was only getting worse and Iris was getting scared.
"It's gotta be a short list," Cisco moved to the computer console, typing away frantically. "Luckily Ralph knows a lot of undesirables and is out there hitting up every snitch and contact he can to see if anybody has heard or seen something. But whoever it is has to have the resources, funding, knowledge, and motive. Someone who deems metas enough of a threat to create something to neutralize a meta's powers."
"But it's not doing that. I mean yes it's weakening his powers but-" Iris' voice trailed off, afraid to finish the thought they all had that this may actually be killing Barry. "What do they have to gain from that?"
"Trial and error. Any experiment you have to test it to see if it works. I'm the test subject and it's a failed experiment," Barry answered, head bowed, rubbing at his neck.
"Your Speed Force levels are at 72%," Caitlin lifted her head from the computer console. "It's succeeding in neutralizing your powers but I think the destruction of your cells is an unforeseen side effect. Barry, your blood work is showing results like the first tests we took when you came here after the lightning bolt struck you."
"What does that mean?" Cisco asked, stretching his hands behind his head, frustrated and fearful.
"While he was in the coma after being struck by lightening his DNA was essentially transforming his body to assimilate to the Speed Force and it nearly killed him," Harry provided, having studied Caitlin's files when he joined Team Flash so he could compare the results this Earth's failed particle accelerator and the one he had been responsible on Earth-2. "Now that it's being ravaged by this toxin, his body is regressing to that state of instability, manifesting in symptoms similar to when he was comatose. "
As they continued to speculate, Joe moved over to where Barry was sitting silently, still rubbing at his neck. Joe moved in front of the chair, kneeling down in front of where Barry sat. He placed his hand at Barry's chin and lifted his head to look at him. "Barry, I need you to be honest with me. How bad are you actually feeling?"
Barry looked at his adoptive father through hooded eyes, Joe seeing how hard Barry was trying to hide the pain and tiredness. But he couldn't bring himself to answer.
"Barr," Joe encouraged, receiving a sigh as in response before Barry finally shared.
"You remember when Zoom took my speed?" Barry asked quietly, feeling a slight twinge of guilt as he saw Harry tense at the mention of his past indiscretions. "It's kinda like that, but painful, like static electricity all over. Like I can feel it sparking out as it goes away."
"Oh Barr," Joe sighed. Leave it to Barry Allen to suffer silently, once again keeping from them his pain as not to burden them.
"Joe, I'm sor-"
"Hey," Joe interrupted, moving his hand to cup Barry's cheek. "Don't apologize. And don't keep your pain from us. We're here for you, okay?"
Barry nodded, a small smile easing the tension in his face. Joe smiled back, his thumb rubbing gently along Barry's cheek as he stood.
"I'm gonna cross-reference all medical and science grants for research into meta's, see if I can hack into Stagg's files and hopefully find a trace or paper trail," Cisco announced to no one in particular, not tearing his gaze from the screen.
"You think whoever…is behind…" Barry's voice trailed off, swaying as he stood from the chair.
"Barry?" Joe said, moving an arm around Barry's shoulder, noticing how warm the speedster felt now from just a few moments ago.
"It's coming," Barry panted. Joe quickly led Barry to the med bay, reminding him to just breathe. Barry could warn them now when the seizure was coming, his body temperature always spiking right before.
"Keep working," Caitlin pointed at Cisco and Harry as she and Iris followed Joe and Barry, rounding the corner just in time to see them barely get Barry onto the bed before the seizure gripped him.
Cisco resisted the urge to follow, hearing Caitlin calling out instructions to Joe and Iris, hearing the painful grunts of Barry as his body betrayed him, trying to focus on the task at hand while his friend was suffering in the room adjacent to them.
"We'll figure it out, Ramon," Wells said, a supporting hand upon Cisco's shoulder, a rare showing of the normally uncharacteristically kind behavior Harry would occasionally allow to make an appearance.
"I'm glad you're here to help with this, Harry."
They shared a tense smile between them as Cisco returned to trying to track down anyone who could potentially be hurting his friend. Thirty minutes went by before Caitlin and Joe emerged from the medbay. When they entered the cortex, Harry and Cisco both turned to see both of them looking completely drained.
"It's taking him longer to recover," Caitlin sighed, reaching for a now cold mug of coffee and wishing she had something stronger. "I had to increase the dosage of the medication but after we were able to stop the seizure, his fever and heart rate skyrocketed."
"And now?" Wells asked, handing Caitlin his fresh cup of coffee that he had yet to drink from. She smiled in appreciation and took a long inhale of the coffee, a satisfying sip, and then answered the question.
"We were able to get the fever to break a bit but we had to hook him up with an oxygen mask, an IV and a comparative dose of Ibuprofen."
"What's comparative?" Cisco asked, not looking up from the computer screen.
"Normal dose is 400mg. For it to even work on Barry I had to put him on a dose of about 4000 mg," Caitlin said, moving to sit at the computer console beside Cisco. "Unfortunately even still with the reduced Speed Force in his cells his metabolism will burn through it pretty quickly but hopefully it'll help with the hyperpyrexia at least."
"His breathing and heart rate are down," Joe sighed, his hand massaging his forehead. "Iris is trying to keep him cool and calm but he's confused, frantic. This is really wearing him out."
"Not just him," Wells added quietly, looking at the exhausted expressions on Joe and Caitlin. He cared for this team but was able to emotionally detach easier. He shared their concern but Wells could resist being as deeply affected they all became when one of them was struggling. Right now with Barry suffering, it appeared to him that the rest of the team was almost feeling the pain themselves as well. He just hoped by being a little more removed emotionally then they all were, maybe he could provide the semi-objective opinion and rational mind.
"The toxin is feeding off his charged cells. What if we used a power dampener, cut off their food source?" Cisco suggested.
"That's idiotic," Wells scoffed.
"And that's not helpful," Cisco scowled before returning to the computer.
"Guys," Caitlin warned, shaking her head. "What I think Harry meant to say was that if we use a dampener it will cut off his healing capabilities as well. I tested some of the toxin against a sample of my blood and it killed the cells immediately. His powers are slowing down the necrosis. We cut that off, it could kill him within a few hours."
"So instead we let it kill him slowly," Joe said quietly.
"It's painful for him, I know," Caitlin sighed. "But it buys us time to come up with an antidote."
"This doesn't make any sense," Cisco huffed, slamming on the keyboard, interrupting their conversation. As he looked up he was met with three very confused faces. "I keep getting interference every time I try to use the satellite. It keeps pinging back like something is interrupting the uplink with a strong signal."
"You're saying someones blocking the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite?" Joe folded his arms over his chest.
"I'm sayin' someone's receiving signals from S.T.A.R. Labs but it's not going to our satellite," Cisco started to explain but was interrupted by a large crash and Iris shouting. They all ran towards the medbay where they saw Barry sitting up in bed with a scalpel in his right hand, shaking. Iris was trying to pull it from him. The bedside medical tray was overturned, the source of the loud sound they heard, Barry still with the oxygen mask over his face, his brow and bare chest covered in sweat, a cut on his left bicep, right below the healing gunshot wound, dripping blood down his arm, and his eyes somewhat glazed over.
"Barry, stop!" Iris yelled, one hand trying to pull the scalpel from Barry's shaking hand, her other wrapped around his forearm.
"I have to get it out!" Barry shouted back, his voice desperate. They ran to Barry's bedside, trying to help Iris stop Barry from harming himself.
Joe and Cisco each grabbed one of his arms and got a hold on his upper body while Wells grabbed his legs, holding Barry down to the cot.
"No! Please, I can feel it!" Barry's shouted as Joe and Cisco wrestled his arms down to his side, Iris finally able to grab the scalpel from his fist.
"Barry!" Caitlin hovered over him, strong hands grasping the sides of his neck, willing the frantic man to look at her. "Barry, stop struggling. We're trying to help you. You're going to hurt yourself!"
"Dude, calm down!" Cisco shouted over Barry's shouts as he writhed as best he could against the men restraining him, twisting and pulling but his strength was weakened and not match for the grip they had on him. Caitlin moved away to rush for the tranquilizer solution Harry had developed, taking a small enough dose to act as a sedative to calm down her patient and injected it into his IV line.
"Barry, you need to calm down," Iris tried not to shout, trying to will the panicked eyes darting all across the room to settle on her, her hands cupping his face. The oxygen mask fogged as Barry panted, brow furrowed, and strength weakening as the sedative started to calm him down.
"Barry, enough!" Joe shouted, his voice echoing in the room as the fatherly tone stopped all the members of Team Flash in their tracks. Barry's watery gaze finally settled on Joe's warm brown eyes and suddenly he stopped all his struggling. Joe, Iris, Cisco, and Wells all eased up on their grip on as his scrambling ceased, letting go and standing by in case Barry had another fit. Caitlin moved to the bedside, shining a penlight into Barry's eyes before moving her hands to examine the fresh cut on his arm.
"Cait," Barry's voice was desperate, his hand grabbing at her sleeve. "There's something in my arm. The electricity being generated when I had the seizure, I could feel it stinging."
"Barry, your fever…"
"No, Cait," Barry interrupted, voice pleading. "Please."
Cisco wasted no time, grabbing the portable scanner and handing it to Caitlin. At her incredulous look, he just shrugged back. Caitlin feared it was just a fever delusion but they'd encountered some strange things. Cisco who was ever the conspiracy theorist was quick to buy into Barry's claim. With a sigh, Caitlin ran the portable X-ray over Barry's arm, up and down and stopped suddenly on her third pass.
"I need forceps and a scalpel."
"This is some nice tech," Cisco said in wonder as he inspected the microchip implant Caitlin had extracted from Barry's arm under the microscope. It was no larger than a grain of rice. "I mean to put an RFID transponder in a biocompatible silicate glass enclosure, along with a cytotoxin and introduce into the body via a bullet set to release both at contact, this would be totally dope if it wasn't so diabolical."
If Cisco was talking to anyone in particular, he made no effort to let them know. He was currently seated at the workstation in the medbay while the rest of the team was huddled around Barry who was sitting upright in the gurney, his right arm stretched over his torso as his hand gripped the left arm right below where Caitlin was wrapping it. The chip had migrated down his bicep from where it had been implanted by the bullet wound and was buried deep inside his upper arm. Between the bullet wound that still hadn't healed completely, his own haphazard cut, and Caitlin's incision, the bandage now covered his entire upper arm from shoulder to above his elbow.
Wells hovered over where Cisco was examining the implant while Joe sat on a stool not far from the bed, trying to keep himself from hovering over Barry, desperate to take care of his son but taking a step back because his father's worry had to take a back seat to the worry of a partner. Iris sat on the edge of the right side of the bed, her hand rubbing gently up and down Barry's blanket-covered leg, having held his hand through the whole procedure. Unlike her father, she had no thought to quell the desire to hover, unsure if the need to be Barry's side was for his sake or her own.
Barry had been nearly silent the whole procedure, small moans or hiss in pain being the only noise when he really wanted to shout. The only saving grace was that his powers were compromised enough that Caitlin was able to use an anesthetic to numb the pain enough to not make him want to pass out. He was trying to be as strong as possible. He knew they were all worried, felt powerless to help him as he was losing. And he was losing. His healing abilities were focused solely on fighting off the toxin as it ravaged his cells. Any attempt at using his speed only agitated his condition. He was tired all the time, the fever came and went in waves, the seizures taking a lot out of him any time his body went into overdrive trying to stop the deterioration of his condition. He was also hiding how painful it was. His whole body ached and he could feel the energy, not just the Speed Force, leaving his body. But he couldn't let on to them just how bad it was because he could not be responsible for squashing their hope.
"What's the purpose of it?" Joe asked.
"It's not a tracker. I think its to send information…" Cisco's voice trailed off as an idea struck him, moving to leave the room. "I'll be back. I gotta make a call."
"It makes sense," Iris thought, trying to piece together the information they did have. "If this whole thing is an experiment, then this implant could be sending the data it's collecting to whoever is responsible for this."
"Vitals, levels, results," Wells nodded. "Their way of reporting their findings without having their test subject in front of them."
"Hey, that 'test subject' is my kid," Joe gave Wells a disapproving glare.
"Joe," Barry interjected.
"No, Barr. I don't care what any of this is or why. I want to know how we're going to fix this and who's responsible," Joe's voice was strained. He was tired of feeling like he had no control over the safety of his family. He had become a cop to serve and protect, had become Barry's guardian to keep him safe and for him to thrive. The universe kept testing both of those oaths; Barry always found himself in the thick of danger, especially since he became the Flash, and Joe kept finding it more and more difficult to be an upstanding officer of the law when the desire to kill the people that harmed his kid kept coming.
"I think I've found the way we can solve both of those issues," Cisco said as he rejoined them. "Or at least found the someone who can."
'Hey, Team Flash' the familiar female voice came through the speaker on Cisco's phone as he set it down next to the keyboard.
"Felicity?" Iris asked.
"Yep," Cisco responded as he retook his seat at the computer in the medbay. "Felicity was able to interrupt the signal from the RFID, is currently hacking into the remote system, and is gonna feed us the data."
'We can find the who, the what, and hopefully the where,' Felicity chimed in, the distinct sound of rapid keyboard tapping clear in the background.
Barry quickly got up from the gurney, a steadying arm around his waist from Iris as he swayed slightly, went thankfully unnoticed by anyone else in the room as they all gathered around the workstation.
"You were right," Caitlin said, looking over the stats on display, the information tracked of his condition since being infected identical to her own notes she was keeping. Heart rate, temperature, all the vitals showcasing how Barry's body was responding to the toxin.
'This is information is from the source itself' Felicity said as Cisco's computer screen soon came to life, metahuman case files from Stagg Industries and research notes flooding the screen. Suddenly a dossier of Barry appeared.
"They know you're the Flash," Iris said with a gasp, horrified at the detail in the document, medical records, personal history, and exploits as the Flash all on display. She moved her gaze to the man next to her, seeing him close his eyes and sigh at the weight of what they were seeing.
"Felicity, can you find out where the signals are being sent to?" Cisco asked as he skimmed the research notes. She didn't respond but the sound of her keyboard continued in its ferocity until suddenly it came to a stop.
'An army satellite base located in Star City under the command of a General Wade-'
"Eiling," Joe growled, not needing Felicity to finish the sentence.
"Of course it's Eiling," Cisco snapped his fingers.
"He's got the resources and it's not like this would be the first time," Caitlin added. "Think about Bette, think about Ronnie and Professor Stein. He hates metas and we haven't heard much from him since the whole Grodd incident. Maybe he's been silent because they've been working on a meta reversal toxin. Something to neutralize a meta's powers."
'The base has been out of operation for years and only in the last two years has been reactivated. It's been labeled as a database entry facility for a few classified projects for the government and military. But most of the information is sealed, which is a sure indication of shady business."
"So we go to this base, talk to Eiling, tell him his plan sucked, and get him to give us the antidote," Cisco said, spinning in the chair to face the group, arms stretched behind his head.
"I swear, Ramon it's like you don't even hear yourself churn out these stupid ideas," Wells mocked, hands on his hips.
"Actually it's not," Barry finally spoke, backing up to sit on the edge of the cot, all eyes on him now. "Think about it. He's known my identity for years now. The fact that he hasn't come after me prior to this means he thinks I'll be useful to him. His toxin failed. He gains nothing if I'm dead."
'I'll talk to John, see if he can get you access to the base. I'll be in touch,' Felicity said before disconnecting the call.
"Barry, you can't be serious," Joe said, folding his arms over his chest.
"What have I got to lose?" Barry snarked, not looking up as he reached for the t-shirt he had abandoned during the procedure, pulling it over his head.
"So we're just gonna go in there and make demands," Joe scoffed.
"Not we," Barry said, looking up to meet Joe's eyes, defiant. "Me."
Silence and tension fell over the room as Barry and Joe's gaze didn't waver. Iris herself sensed what was coming, having grown up with many arguments starting just like this one between her father and her friend. When they were younger it was about Henry's innocence, when Barry was finishing college it was about Joe not wanting him to work for the police due to its potential danger, and over the last few years about Barry being too eager to put himself in harm's way as the Flash.
"Can we have the room, please," Joe demanded rather than asked, his eyes not breaking contact with Barry. A quietly muttered 'uh-oh' from Cisco was all that was said as he, Harry, and Caitlin left the room. Iris lingered back before her father nodded at her, signaling her to leave as well. She was reluctant but knew this wasn't negotiable.
"You are not going alone," Joe said, his voice low and steady but filled with that disapproving tone Barry had heard many times in his life, some in this very building. 'You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not. You're just a kid. My kid.'
"I'm not putting anyone else at risk," Barry countered, standing now toe to toe with his adoptive dad.
'If I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it. And you can't stop me. So don't try.'
"And what are you going to do?" Joe replied, voice rising as his arms crossed tighter over his chest, a look of aggravation between his tight lips and furrowed brow. "You are ill, Barry. You don't stand a chance by yourself against someone like Eiling who is clearly hellbent on putting you down!"
"This is my job, Joe!" Barry shouted back, his right hand pointing to himself. "I may not be able to use my powers but I'm still the Flash! I'm not dead yet!"
Joe stopped and stared, arms uncrossing as if his whole body released its anger, taken back by the anguish in Barry's voice.
"Barry," Joe said, voice quiet now. "That's not what I meant."
"I know," Barry sighed, bringing a hand to his head, clenching his eyes tightly as he moved to sit back down on the bed. "I'm sorry, I know you're just worried. It's just, I'm not used to being, feeling this helpless. It's like everyone is talking around me about me and there's nothing I can do. Its frustrating and I need to do something."
Joe didn't say anything at first, just watched his son admit to him about how powerless he felt. Joe could understand that feeling. He didn't know how to help him, how to fight this. This toxin was killing his son and Joe was terrified to even fathom the idea of Eiling getting his hands on him, taking him to study and experiment.
"I just don't want you to get hurt," Joe said quietly, coming to sit beside him.
"And I don't want Eiling getting anyone else I care about on his radar," Barry replied, moving his right hand to thread through his hair, damp with sweat, hoping Joe didn't notice the fever coming back as he felt the warmth spread through his body.
"Barry, you saw that file. They already know about me and Iris," Joe rested a hand on Barry's knee beside him. "I can't lose you."
"What about if Caitlin and I go with you," a voice said from the door behind him. They both peered over their shoulders to see Cisco in the doorway. Both men shot him a look of daggers. "Would you be less mad if I said I wasn't eavesdropping but was coming to get my phone that I left at the desk?"
"No," Joe glared.
"Okay fine," Cisco put his hands in his pockets, moving further into the room. "Look, Eiling already knows Caitlin and I are in this whole thing with Barry but he doesn't know we have powers. And while you guys were standing off, Felicity called me back and told us Dig knows a guy who can get us in."
"Felicity called?" Barry asked, a small amused smile on his face. "I thought you said you left your phone in here."
"Oh," Cisco cringed. "Okay, my bad, I was eavesdropping."
Barry chuckled and Joe shook his head, knowing the discussion was now over. Barry was going to face off with Eiling, his two best friends by his side. He trusted Mr. Diggle to watch their backs but it still put Joe on edge thinking of the potential danger they were about to walk into. He couldn't already help but feel like he was losing is his son, he didn't like the idea of putting him in a position where danger wasn't possible but instead inevitable.