Song I listened to for this chapter: We're Dancing By: PYT from Center Stage album
Chapter 4: Secretly Helping
Cynthia wakes up just like she does every other morning. It feels like nothing has changed even though, since the particle accelerator explosion, almost everything has changed. Yes, she still has the same job, still lives in the same place, and still goes to the same places, but now things like Joe calling her and asking her if she has seen her brother make her mind wander to different possibilities. So, when Joe did just that because Barry was late for a crime scene again it took her a few minutes to realize where else, except at his apartment, Barry could be. Cynthia picks up her phone and calls Cisco.
"Hey, Babe, what's going on?" Cisco answers, obviously seeing her name before he answered.
"Hey Cisco, is Barry with you?" She asks as she slightly blushes at the nickname.
"No, he just left because Joe called him to a crime scene," Cisco says. Cynthia can tell he is multitasking by the tone of his voice. She rolls her eyes, not really taking offense since they are both the type of people who, when they are working on something interesting, don't want to stop until it is done.
"Okay, well that's good, because Joe called me. I know you are absorbed in your work so I'll see you later," Cynthia comments.
"Bye, see you soon," Cisco says and they both hang up. After almost finishing the little bit of work she had, Cynthia decides to take a break and goes into the main lobby. Just at that moment Joe and Barry walk out of the elevator. Going over to them she hears them whispering about Barry's new powers. Both men acknowledge her but continue talking to each other.
"Believe me, I'm dealing with it too. I've always had a very simple set of beliefs. Gravity makes things fall. Water makes things wet. And up until a few weeks ago, I believed the fastest man could run a mile was four minutes, not four seconds," Joe tells Barry.
Barry smiles and remarks, "I could do it in three."
"That's not relevant Barry," Cynthia states, shaking her head at her brother. Barry stops smiling and nods at Cynthia and Joe.
Before the two of them expose the secret, Cynthia pulls Barry away from Joe saying, "Don't you have evidence to process?" They both walk up the stairs towards Barry's lab.
"Maybe that lighting strike killed your common-sense brain cells, or maybe it's all the superheroing," Cynthia states once they are in the lab.
"So, Cisco told you?" Barry questions with a confused look on his face.
"Well, after Joe called me and I said you weren't with me, I called Cisco to see if you were at STAR Labs. However, by the time I called, you had already left," Cynthia explains.
"Then there have been news reports about a red streak at a fire this morning," she finishes.
"This is what we all talked about at STAR Labs. I don't understand why everyone is so upset?" Barry questions.
"Hey, I am just concerned about you. These powers are new, which means we don't know what kind of effects they could be having on you or others," Cynthia points out.
"Yeah, ok," Barry accepts her answer with a sigh.
Looking at the clock on the wall Cynthia realizes what time it is, "Hey you want to go get some lunch?"
"No, I have to process this evidence," Barry declines.
"Well, don't starve yourself," Cynthia jokes and leaves Barry to his work.
As Cynthia looks for a place to eat she considers asking Cisco if he wants to join her. Thinking about it, she decides not to because she remembers him saying he had just started some new project. Cynthia didn't always understand him when he started talking in tech lingo. However, she always at least tried and she was always supportive when he was excited about something. Deciding not to get Big Belly Burger, Cynthia went to a Mexican restaurant instead. When she got back to her apartment to put her leftovers in the fridge her cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID it was Joe again.
"The last time I saw Barry he was in his lab," Cynthia sighs, wishing her brother would get his act together a little more.
"That's not why I am calling, Cynthia," Joe remarks acerbically. Cynthia waits for Joe to continue. "Simon Stagg's benefit was just attacked by armed gunmen," Joe informs her.
A panic rises in Cynthia as she realizes, "Barry and Iris were going to that." Cynthia immediately hangs up and heads back to her car. The drive was short, but only because she broke the speed limit and passed a lot of people illegally. When she gets to the scene she shows her ID and they let her through. Cynthia sees Barry, Iris, Joe, and Eddie all gathered together and she runs over. "Is everyone ok?" She frantically asks.
"Yeah Barry just fainted," Iris explains. Cynthia hides her suspicious look by hugging her brother.
"Well thank God," Cynthia states with a sigh.
"Do you need a paramedic to look you over, Allen?" Eddie asks.
"No, it doesn't look like that's needed. I'll watch him," Cynthia interjects quickly. She pulls Barry away before he can get another stern talk from Joe. After getting Barry into her car, they head off.
"Where are we going?" Barry wonders.
"To STAR Labs," Cynthia answers.
"What? Why? I'm fine!" Barry states, wounded that his own sister doesn't believe him.
"Because you need to be checked out if you're having these attacks," she tells him with a stern look as they walk into the cortex. Fortunately Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells are all there.
"What's wrong?" Wells asks, clearly sensing the tension.
"Apparently after using his powers Barry has been experiencing some side effects like dizzy spells," Cynthia explains with a sly grin. The three scientists get up and Caitlin immediately starts examining Barry.
"You lied to us! How could you not tell us you were experiencing dizzy spells? We're your doctors. God knows what's going on inside your body. Your cells are in a constant state of flux. You could be experiencing cardiopulmonary failure or a transient ischemic attack!" Caitlin yells. Cynthia flinches a little at Caitlin's anger as she stands next to Cisco on the other side of the hospital bed Barry is sitting on. Barry looks confused and turns to Dr. Wells for clarification.
"Mini stroke. Probably not," Wells clears up the confusion.
"You, of all people, should know that in science we share. We don't keep secrets," Caitlin says a little calmer, but still clearly angry. She strides out of the room clearly fuming. Barry slumps a little, showing how upset he is that he upset Caitlin.
"Wow, I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie," Cisco states. He hands Cynthia the tablet he was holding and leaves the room after Caitlin.
Barry straightens up and asks Wells, "Ronnie was Caitlin's fiancé?" Cynthia had heard about Ronnie from Cisco before. Caitlin didn't like to talk about him, probably because it brought up bad memories of his death. Cisco had talked fondly of him, giving Cynthia the impression that they were good friends before Ronnie's death.
"Yes, he is missed," Wells answers Barry. Barry had a weird mixture of emotions on his face that Cynthia could only slightly make out. One she did see was a little bit of jealousy. She had seen that emotion before whenever Barry saw Iris with another guy. "Let's go see why this keeps happening," Wells declares. After Cisco and Caitlin came back, the whole group went into another room that had a giant treadmill in it. Cisco gets super excited as Barry, who is in sweats walks up to the treadmill.
"We're all set over here," Wells says from the computers that were on the other side of the window where you could watch the person on the treadmill.
"A little padding. Just in case," Cisco assures Barry referring to the boxes behind the treadmill, as he leaves and comes to sit at the computers with Wells, Caitlin and Cynthia.
"You're sure about this, Cisco?" Barry questions.
"Most home treadmills don't even come close to your speed. This one has been Cisco'ed," Cisco says into the com system that was there so you didn't have to shout. "Trust me, it can handle your speed," Cisco states.
"Okay," Barry sighs and starts running. He starts at human speed and then shifts to inhuman speeds.
"Heart rate, blood pressure, nerve conduction all normal," Caitlin states as she stares at the screen with all the readings.
"For Barry," Cynthia adds.
Caitlin nods and continues, "Brainwave function within standard limits."
Cisco laughs and remarks, "I told you the treadmill could take it." Cynthia puts her hand on Cisco's and squeezes it, trying to convey how proud of she is of him; they share a smile.
"Caitlin., look at the glucose levels," Wells points out. Cynthia assumes that that is the one area of the screen that is very low.
"Oh, my God. Of course," Caitlin realizes.
"Right?" Wells agrees.
"It was so obvious. Glucose levels," Caitlin chides herself.
"Barry! We think we know why you keep…," Wells starts. Barry suddenly falls off the treadmill and passes out, slamming into the boxes Cisco had set up. "… passing out," he finishes. Caitlin quickly hooks an I.V. to Barry after they get him back on the hospital bed. It is some time, and a lot of bags later that Barry wakes up.
Barry groans, "I passed out again?"
"Total metabolic failure brought on by acute hypoglycemia," Caitlin explains. "I'm not eating enough so an I.V. bag and I'm good to go?" Barry reasons, still looking at Caitlin. Cisco chuckles and turns Barry to look at all the bags.
"Try 40," Cynthia informs Barry.
"Guess you were thirsty," Wells comments taking a drink from his own water bottle.
"We're gonna need to fashion you a new diet based on your metabolic changes. I've done a few calculations," Cisco starts.
"He used tacos," Cynthia interrupts holding back a giggle at her Cisco's enthusiasm.
"What about cheese and guac? That is like a whole other set of equations," Cisco turns to go back to his work.
Cynthia is about to laugh when a voice makes her stop, "For Mexican, I recommend Tito's. On Bruckner Avenue? Best burrito in the city." Joe has arrived.
"Detective West. What brings you to STAR Labs?" Wells greets casually.
Staring straight at Barry Joe states, "When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing a little research. Turns out there have been reports of a red streak around the city, stopping muggers, rescuing people from burning buildings…"
Turning to Barry, Wells questions, "You didn't tell him we were working together?" Everyone is paying attention to the tension in the room. Cynthia is standing next to Cisco with her hand and arm around his.
"Joe, I can explain," Barry tries.
"You already have a job in law enforcement, Barry. Both of you do. I suggest you get back to them," Joe commands.
"Mm-hmm," Caitlin agrees. Joe looks over at her. "Don't look at me. I'm on your side," Caitlin justifies. Barry looks more upset at Caitlin's comment then what Joe has said.
"Detective, we all want what's best for Barry," Wells tries to defend their actions.
"If you wanted what was best for Barry, you'd try to talk him out of this lunacy instead of encouraging him to go out there risking his life," Joe argues.
"You saw a man control the weather. What are the police gonna do against someone like that? Since the accelerator explosion, we suspect there may be more like him," Barry finally speaks.
"And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just a kid. My kid," Joe protests.
"I'm not your kid, Joe. And you're not my father," Barry yells. "Our father's sitting in Iron Heights. Wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him. And you're wrong about this," Barry debates a little calmer, gesturing to Cynthia when he talks about their father. "Now, I may not be able to help him, but 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 even try," Barry declares.
"You think you're so smart. All of you," he glares at them, "But you don't know what you don't know. And I hope that you're clever enough to figure it out before somebody gets killed," Joe concludes. Joe glances at Cynthia. She doesn't want to get yelled at more so she just looks at the ground and leans into Cisco. Joe storms away without saying anything else. Even though Joe is gone the tension in the room is still thick. Barry sits on the edge of the hospital bed seeming to be in deep thought. After a minute, Cisco, Caitlin, and Wells go back to working on other things.
Cynthia feeling a little out of place walks over to Barry, "I was going to go back to the station to do more work, do you want to come with me?" Barry nods and stands up. Cynthia gives Cisco a quick kiss on the cheek and she and Barry leave.
The next day was mostly quiet until later in the day when Cynthia went to check on her brother. Apparently Joe had left his lab looking pissed, and Iris had walked into his lab looking angry: The officers sometimes gossip.
"Hey Barry," Cynthia announces herself as she enters the lab. There are empty boxes of donuts on one table and papers everywhere.
"Hey Cindy," Barry replies without looking up.
"You okay?" Cynthia questions.
"Yeah, why?" Barry asks, finally looking up.
Cynthia goes and stands next to him, "I've been worried about you since last night and there are rumors of another fight with Joe."
"Yeah and Iris is angry at me now too," Barry admits. Cynthia doesn't know what to do so she pats Barry's shoulder. "I've got to get this to the captain," Barry tells her as he holds up a report.
"I'll walk with you," Cynthia says as she turns towards the door. They walk downstairs to find out that chaos has erupted. People are running around everywhere. Barry and Cynthia look at each other in confusion before spotting the captain.
"Captain, what's going on?" Barry inquires as he passes by.
"Not now, Barry. An armed gunman is shooting up Stagg industries," the captain informs them.
"Joe's there," Barry mutters. He looks at Cynthia who nods and whispers, "Go." Barry runs up the stairs back to his lab and in the next second Cynthia barely sees the streak go by her and out of the station.
After thinking for a moment, Cynthia makes a decision and leaves the station as well. She parks well away from the action and tries to be as quiet as possible while still going fast as possible as she looks for her brother and Joe. When she finally gets into the section of the warehouse where Barry is, Cynthia realizes that he's in trouble: He's surrounded by a bunch of copies of the same guy and is being beaten. Cynthia just reacts and reaches out her hand. She senses that one of the guys is slightly different from the others and concentrates on that one. All the men stop beating Barry up for a second, which is enough time for Barry to speed away and avoid further attack. Cynthia knows she needs to get out of there and to STAR Labs as soon as possible. She narrowly avoids the cops and Joe as she leaves. She gets to STAR Labs just as Caitlin is finishing looking over Barry.
''Are you ok?" Cynthia asks, already knowing the answer.
Barry winces and says, "I got my ass handed to me."
"You got blood on my suit," Cisco remarks in a sort of condescending way.
"I think some of it is his," Barry responds back as he gets up.
"Another not so friendly metahuman?" Cynthia states rhetorically.
"Danton Black. He's a bio-geneticist specializing in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones," Wells explains, bringing up a picture of Danton on one of the big screens in the room.
"Apparently, Stagg stole his research and fired him," Caitlin reads from the screen where information from many sources is up next to Danton's picture.
"I saw Black create duplicates of himself from his own body," Barry reveals.
"That's ironic," Cynthia comments in a sort of mumble.
"Yeah, Black specialized in cloning and now he can make Xeroxes of himself," Cisco picks up Cynthia's line of thinking.
"If he was experimenting on himself when the particle accelerator exploded...," Wells starts.
"Meet Captain Clone," Cisco finishes, smiling like crazy. Cynthia smiles and chuckles at her boyfriend's quirkiness. With everyone in the room looking at him, he frowns and retorts huffily, "Don't worry, I'll come up with a cooler name than that."
Barry starts to leave, and his sister catches him, asking, "Where are you going, Barry?"
"Joe was right," he sighs. "I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six," Barry explains dejectedly. Cynthia thinks that is ridiculous and wonders whether she should reveal her powers. Maybe it'll make him feel better about his?
Cynthia goes to do just that when Wells speaks, "Barry, I understand, today was a setback, but any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times."
Barry shakes his head, "This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake." Barry slowly walks out of the room with his head hanging down. Cynthia heaves a big sigh and turns to Dr. Wells.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" She inquires.
"Can you change Barry's mind?" Wells wonders.
"Sorry, no. I think the only one who can help Barry change his mind is Joe," Cynthia honestly replies.
"Actually, Cynthia, I could use your help," Cisco states. Cynthia smiles bright and goes over to help her boyfriend. Sometimes she thinks that Cisco makes up jobs to keep her there. It makes her feel some butterflies in her stomach that Cisco wants her around that much. She had dated guys before that had wanted her far away from their work, their other friends and interests, and was never quite comfortable with them.
Wells says he needs to run an errand and leaves for a while. They are still working when he comes back. Then, Caitlin makes something incredible happen. As if they are in some sort of low budget sci-fi movie with bad CGI, this figure starts to grow. Cynthia hides behind Cisco as the figure forms into Black. Caitlin, being the first one to come out of her shock, calls Barry.
"I know, but you need to get to STAR Labs right now," Caitlin insists and hangs up. By the time she hung up the phone they had gotten over their shock. Black just stands there and they all realize that it's not really him: The clone is harmless. Barry races in at lightning speed, messing everything up.
"Barry, it's okay," Caitlin assures him.
"It is not okay. Black is here, and he's just standing there," Barry starts but quickly realizes what the others had already figured out.
"That's not him, is it?" Barry concludes a little shamefacedly.
"It's one of his replicants," Wells supplies.
"How did you get it?" Barry asks in confusion.
"I grew him," Caitlin answers proudly. Barry looks at Caitlin with a mix of shock and pride. She moves to one of the big screens that displays her work and explains, "I isolated a sample of Black's blood from your suit to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So, I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating into that." Barry pokes at the clone as well as waves his hand in front of it: It shows no reaction.
"Why isn't he doing anything?" Barry questions.
"They did a brain scan," Cynthia starts.
"Involuntary motor functions are active, little else," Cisco finishes. Cynthia has a fleeting thought that it should feel weird that she and Cisco are finishing each other's sentences but she focuses on the situation at hand.
"We think it's acting as a receiver," Wells informs him.
"The clones are an empty shell without Black. Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down," Caitlin states.
"But how do we know which one's the real Danton Black?" Barry brings up a valid point.
"That occurred to me, given your own passing out," Caitlin began.
"Black has limits, just like you," Cynthia contributes.
"Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue: He's the prime," Caitlin advises.
"Just a theory, but one you might want to put to the test, Mr. Allen," Wells indicates.
"Plus, I whipped up these high- calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up," Cisco says as he goes over and puts one in Barry's shirt pocket. Suddenly the clone starts to move, causing Cynthia to back away from it. Barry moves in front of Caitlin to protect her when she cries out. Gunshots ring out and the clone drops to the floor dead. Everyone glances up to see Joe with his gun still pointed at the clone.
"Any more of them?" he asks.
"Nope," Cynthia confirms.
"Why did it start moving?" Barry wonders, still right next to Caitlin.
"The prime. My guess is, the prime is on the move. This one heard the summons to battle," Wells reasons.
"And I know where he was summoned to. Stagg Industries," Joe indicates.
"You should call it in," Barry suggests.
"Police can't fight this. What Black's become, like Mardon, is beyond me. Maybe way beyond them, too. The only person it's not beyond is you. You gotta do this," Joe encourages.
"I get it," Barry mutters with a sigh.
"So, for once in your life, do what I tell you to do: Go stop him," Joe commands with a small grin.
Barry nods his head, looks at Caitlin who gives him a nod, speeds into his suit, that he had left there, and then speeds away. Everyone hurries to the desk so they can all know what's happening through the com system. He arrived back at Stagg Industries in record time, and immediately went to Stagg's office. Unfortunately, Black was already there, but Barry was able to save him from being shot.
"Stay here," Barry tells Stagg and zooms away to get Black. Black must have multiplied because Barry didn't immediately attack him. "I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder," Barry tries to talk to Black. In what Cynthia assumes is a process of elimination for Barry, he starts randomly attacking clones as Barry and Black talk.
"You think this is about my job? This is about Elizabeth! She was my wife. She had a degenerative coronary disease and had been on the transplant list for years, but time was running out. So, if I couldn't get her a new heart…" Black starts to explain.
"You were gonna grow her one," Barry follows, knowing Black's research. There are gunshots but the suit tells everyone that Barry is okay.
"I was so close. Until Stagg stole my research so he could reap the glory. And I got to bury my best friend. Now I'm alone," Black finishes sadly. There are more sounds fighting, and it doesn't sound like Barry is winning.
Caitlin and Cynthia share a look and Caitlin reminds Barry, "Remember, Barry. Find the prime."
"There's too many of them to fight," Barry complains.
"Barry, you need to isolate the prime," Wells reaffirms.
"I can't. It's impossible," Barry sounds defeated.
Cynthia is about to argue with him when Joe beats her to it, "Nothing's impossible, Barry. You taught me that. You can do this." Cynthia inwardly smiles and knows that that is exactly what Barry needs to hear right now. Then they hear Barry fighting what sounds like thousands of clones before a banging sound interrupts everything. There is silence and everyone starts to panic.
"Barry! Barry, are you all right?!" Caitlin yells into the mic, clearly concerned.
"I'm fine. I'm fine. It's done," Barry finally speaks. They all sigh with relief, but apparently they began celebrating to soon because they hear Black get up and burst out a window. Barry catches him because they hear him say, "Hang on!"
"No!" Black insists.
"Don't," Barry grunts as he tries to pull Black up. There is silence again and then Barry says, "Black's dead."
They're all listening to the news on one of the screens talk about what happened, "Central City police officials are now confirming former employee Danton Black…"
"I tried to save him," Barry proclaims.
"Doesn't sound like he wanted to be saved. Some people, when they break, they can't be put together again," Wells professes.
"Some people heal even stronger," Barry says as he turns to everyone.
"I hope so," Wells replies.
"Well, at least Multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone else. Told you I'd come up with a cool name," Cisco remarks.
Cynthia smiles and states, "It's perfect." She grabs Cisco's hand and lays her head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I may be the one in the suit doing all the running, but when I'm out there helping people, making a difference, you're all out there with me," Barry begins. "Finally realized something, we were all struck by that lightning," Barry declares. If only he knew how true that was. With the crisis averted, there's no need to tell everyone about her powers. However, Cynthia prays that when she does reveal them, it won't be the worst thing she's ever done.
Author's Note: This chapter was really hard for me so I would really appreciate if you would comment on it. Thanks to my beta tj6james6. I don't own The Flash or any characters associated with DC comics.