* Some vague spoilers from season 3, only up to 3x04.

"I'll shatter your entire nervous system without breaking a sweat."

It wasn't just the certainty and cruelty of Reverb's voice that ate at Cisco as he slept. It was the knowledge that he could do the same thing. He had the ability to shatter someone's nervous system. He could do that. Obviously the awareness of this ability terrified Cisco. But also impressed him.

If you were told with near scientifically theoretical certainty that you could shatter someone's nervous system, wouldn't you be tempted to try it? Not even necessarily that you want to hurt anyone. But knowing you have that power, how could you not be tempted to test it?

Cisco's mind's eye flicked through the few moments he spent with Reverb. He was second only to Zoom himself. Reverb had people who answered to him. And, of course... while he was alive... Reverb still had his brother.

"You don't even know how powerful you are..."

How powerful is that? Powerful enough to test the vibrational frequency of the dead versus the living? And determine how to bring back the dead? Or how to Vibe himself back through the timeline to when Dante was alive so that he could save him?

"CISCO!"

He turned his head and with an almost painful jolt to his heart, he saw he wasn't asleep. He was in S.T.A.R. Labs. And Barry was yelling to him.

Hm?" Cisco said, turning to focus on Barry, "Sorry, I was, uh... thinking about something else."

Barry opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. He turned back to his tablet and said,

"These blue lights are popping up everywhere, man, and people are starting to think it's Zoom related." Barry crossed the room to monitors where Cisco was sitting and said, "I mean, we know it's not him but... it's gotta be something, right?"

Cisco pushed his hair back out of his face, trying to wake up and not lose time again.

"W- yeah. Totally. I just... I don't know, man, we don't even know that this thing is bad yet, whatever it is. Is this really our ballpark yet or..." Cisco turned, smirking at Barry, "Maybe this is a CCPD meta human task force type deal! You'll get to listen to Julian telling you how wrong you are..."

Barry groaned, smirking at the thought.

"No... no way in hell is Julian gonna figure this out before me." Barry grabbed his jacket, "I'll see you tomorrow, Cisco."

And with a gust of wind sending Cisco's hair and papers flying, he was gone.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Cisco took deep breaths, jumping up and down, hyping himself up, "Just concentrate on... fuck... no... okay..."

I Vibed through a dimension to find Barry when he was trapped in the Speed Force. And I could take Iris with me. But... I wasn't really there, I guess. It was more of an ethereal type-

"Cisco?!"

That was Caitlin. But she'd left to see her mom hours ago... hadn't she?

"What're you doing here so early?! It's six in the morning!"

Shit.

"You're not sleeping again, aren't you?!"

Swallowing is very difficult when your mouth is this dry.

"I- what're you doing here this early?"

"I wanted to... do some tests... not important! What're you doing here?! You need sleep, Cisco!"

"I... I can't. I keep Vibing and I don't know how to stop it. I thought if I Vibed intentionally that it'd come sorta like a dream, like it did before I knew I had powers, but... I've been... losing time." He knew she was gonna flip at that.

One... two...

"Losing time?!" There it is. "Cisco, why didn't you tell me?! This is serious! This could be a neurological condition, this could be-"

"I know! Alright?! But I was... I was scared."

Caitlin was silent for a moment, processing it.

"You said before... that you've been Vibing Reverb? And that... you were becoming him?" She said cautiously, "Is it... this fixation on turning evil that's just-"

"Just me making myself turn evil?! You mean like you're afraid that you're turning into Killer Frost?"

"Why would you think-?"

He wasn't angry. He sounded more... cold. Cruel.

"You've been acting weird. You've been seeing your mom a lot more. You've running tests on yourself. I just put two and two together and..." he stopped, realizing what he was saying and he reeled it back in, "I'm... I'm sorry, Caitlin. I've been thinking it for a while but I didn't want to bring it up until you were ready to talk about it... I just... I'm sorry."

She nodded, accepting it but she was verging on tears.

"We'll figure this out, Cisco."

And she left.