(Sorry I didn't update yesterday! You have no idea how tired I was. Don't leave me. And remember: detailed reviews really encourage me to keep going! I love knowing all your thoughts and feelings. Please don't stop! -Doverstar)
For a substance so adrenaline-inducing, the smell of coffee was a comforting one. Caitlin was pleased to find that no matter which Earth, which Central City was in question, there was always a CCJitters with its warm colors and warmer beverages. Earth-66's S.T.A.R. Labs was a suffocating environment. The place that was more home to her than her own apartment back in Earth-1, in this world, the place you were least likely to find her. Suddenly Jitters was safer, more comfortable; she'd even memorized the names of at least two baristas.
She had been on Earth-66 for a week. A full seven days. And every day the chill she felt without her Team Flash family got deeper and deeper. Every day she worked hard at restoring some part of the building she was used to spending all hours in. Every day she searched for work, something for Savitar to do to create a living for himself, without connecting him to his former life. Not that he thanked her for it—but it wasn't as if she'd told him what she was doing.
Barry's time remnant was applying the same tunnel-vision fallback his counterpart often did when things were unclear. He was throwing every waking minute into increasing his speed.
Caitlin didn't know if it was still a bit of a twisted god-complex bleeding through, or if it was the fact that, when it came down to it, all any speedster could ever truly count on was running. The human brain released endorphins when running at certain lengths, endorphins similar to the kind it released when too much alcohol was consumed. Because Savitar was a duplicate of Barry, he inherited the inability to get drunk. He was left without the average person's escape—perhaps running at superhuman speeds was his substitute. Caitlin had never asked Barry about it; she hadn't needed to. Usually Barry ran to help someone. Savitar was only running to help himself.
Heat Wave hadn't been seen or heard from again, not since the day Savitar had preformed his surprise rescue mission. No more metahumans—and Caitlin had confirmed, through extensive research, that Mick Rory's abilities were a side affect of this Earth's particle accelerator explosion and not due to a heat gun—no more incidents, either. At least, not that she knew of. Savitar didn't share what he did on his exploits around and around the city, but she had decided after the skyscraper event that she didn't need to worry about his intentions. Besides...she had him bugged. She had installed comms and one of Cisco's disguised tracker-patches in his jacket the night after he'd taunted her into using her powers. Maybe it had been spite, but tagging him without his consent could only produce good things, of that she was certain. And according to the monitors back in the nearly-refurbished Cortex, he really hadn't been doing anything but running.
They hadn't spoken about the burning building and they hadn't spoken about his random, wicked desire to say hi to Killer Frost for a 'little bit'. Looking back on the encounter, Caitlin could only feel disgust and a fair amount of embarrassment. She should not have been baited so easily into losing control, especially not by him. She should've been more cautious—it was just—again and again—that face. Net of scars or not, she could not look at Barry Allen and naturally build a wall around herself. It was too hard, impossible.
The two of them had settled into a daily routine of avoiding one another. Savitar was out blazing around the city before she woke up, and should she venture downtown herself, he would be in his makeshift living quarters when she got back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Out of sight, out of mind. She didn't harbor any theories that he was doing it because he felt guilty—she could tell there wasn't an ounce of guilt in him. Not for what had happened after the whole Heat Wave nonsense, anyway. No, he was probably avoiding her for a very normal, human reason. He did not like her. Not as a friend, not as a guide, not as anything at all. Not even as a person. It radiated off of him when they managed to be in the same room—she was part of Team Flash, and that made her lower than lint in his eyes. Barry's face or not, she was finding it very difficult to scrape any natural, positive emotions regarding him out, either. Especially after what he'd done to try and goad Killer Frost out of hiding.
The best place to deviate from him, to feel warm again, to be at home where she wasn't at home, was Jitters. She sat at a corner table, laptop out, reading up on the differences in this world and the possible jobs Savitar could apply for. There were more than a few roadblocks in this process. Each time she clicked to fill out an application, she couldn't even get past the request for a full name. What should his employers, Earth-66's general population, call him? She reached for the B key and pulled away several times. Caitlin couldn't bring herself to type Barry's name. With every try, all she had to do was picture that grin he'd worn, his little shrug, the blue of his damaged one eye, and she retreated. There was just no way.
She needed a break. Just one little break from searching. Normally Caitlin was content to gorge on her work; for her, to feel productive was to feel full and happy. But today, with everything so unnecessarily difficult around her, she just wanted to read something that didn't have anything to do with fixing someone else's problems.
So of course, she went right to Mind Hacks—a popular science site she'd had bookmarked since its fruition. A little light reading would do wonders for her exhausted mind.
There was a very shrill beeping in her purse, and Caitlin jumped, her mug of hot tea rattling on its saucer. Cisco's walkie talkie did not come with a vibration setting.
Fishing it out, Caitlin accepted the call. She let her thumb rest on the side of the device, where an invisible heat sensor allowed her to transform the walkie talkie into a neat little bluetooth device she could wear like an earring.
A voice crackled out, "Cait?" and the cafe was softer and even more inviting with its addition.
"Barry!" Caitlin breathed, every muscle in her body relaxing. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."
"Hey hey, that sounds an awful lot like the best bio-engineer in the multiverse!"
"Oh—hi, Caitlin!"
"Tell her I'm eating a cruller every day. And my leg's almost totally healed!"
Caitlin nearly cried, hearing so many familiar tones at once. Cisco, Iris, Wally. It was as if her heart had just been plugged in, the way you plug in the lights on a Christmas tree.
The smile was evident in Barry's voice. "Sorry. I put you on speaker."
"Believe me, I don't mind," Caitlin mumbled, wishing she'd chosen waterproof mascara this morning. "How is everyone?"
"We're fine," Barry promised. "We're all fine."
"How's it going with the job hunt?" Iris demanded.
In the background, shuffling could be heard as Cisco berated Wally. "Okay I know you speedsters need your calories, but that is one too many donuts."
"Dude, you don't even like the cream-filled ones, chill out—"
"I can literally see you getting wider, and your suit does not come in XL, pal."
Caitlin fought a chortle and answered Iris, "It would be going a lot better if I knew what he wanted to do."
"Haven't you asked him?" Barry seemed surprised.
Caitlin was silent, running her finger along the rim of her mug.
"Are you biting your lower lip right now, because—I can't see it."
Caitlin released her lower lip guiltily. She cleared her throat. "No."
"Cait."
"He wouldn't answer me if I did ask, Barry. I've told you, he's barely here as it is. I know we came here with an adequate amount of funding, but—what's going to happen when that runs out and he still hasn't shown any interest in a normal job?" She let her hand flop down on the table, just as exasperated with this Earth's speedster as she could be with Earth-1's.
Barry's small sigh rattled the audio's foreground and she tried not to wince at the fuzziness assaulting her ear. It wouldn't do to be making faces when the patrons in the cafe couldn't see who you were talking to. Central City—all Central Cities—had enough crazies to go around.
"Keep working on it, okay? We'll brainstorm over here, too, don't worry. If he doesn't want a normal job, then...what about one that's not so normal?" She could practically see Barry pressing an unnecessary hand to his forehead, as if to shield his eyes. In a moment he'd probably let his arm drop back down. Sure enough, she heard the slap of his hand against his jeans, with a much more silent pulse of fuzziness.
"I'm not sure the Flash is the best way to move forward where he's concerned," Caitlin muttered, closing her eyes to the thought. The icy episode from days earlier had her shying away from the pursuit of a Flash on this Earth—she didn't think there was much evidence supporting the heroism in this Barry Allen.
"You said he saved those people from the burning building the other day," Iris reminded her, as if reading her mind.
"Which I still do not believe," Cisco informed them from somewhere else in the room; he was shouting.
"She said there was a news report, everybody got out," Wally argued, not sounding too interested either way.
"And you trust everything you see on TV?"
"I didn't see it."
"Aha!"
"Guys!" Iris cut them both off, talking over them. "Caitlin, all I'm saying is, if he really did save those people, I mean—he didn't have to, did he? But he did it anyway. That's got to mean something. He could be the Flash again if he wanted to."
"And from what you've told me, it sounds like he might want to," Barry added, eager to hand Caitlin the bright side as usual.
"That was before he tried turning me into Killer Frost," Caitlin finally huffed.
Barry was quiet for a moment. In fact, the whole other end was quiet. Caitlin's first instinct the night Savitar had toyed with her was to call Barry. When she'd told him what had happened, he had been furious. She'd had to talk him down; he had speculated opening another breach to confront his double. Trying to retrieve Killer Frost was no small potatoes. Once Caitlin had convinced him that Savitar showed no actual signs of converting her for world domination purposes—just a twisted desire to have her lose control—Barry had relinquished the world-hopping idea. But he remained overly cautious ever since. Cisco was now calling her the same time every night to get an update on Savitar's ''tude', but Caitlin suspected it might also be to check that she still sounded like Caitlin Snow, and not her wintery counterpart.
"You can come home whenever you want, Cait," Barry was telling her now, voice smooth and gentle. Soothing. "But you're there to give him a chance to do the right thing, right?"
"I'm here to try," Caitlin admitted.
"Then keep trying. I know you, I know you can do it. He doesn't have a lot of other options now, he'll come around."
"And if he steps out of line again, tries any funny business," Cisco added cheerily, "we just pop over, confiscate the Hammond Cuff, and it's bye-bye Pizza Face. Easy."
"Cisco," Caitlin groaned, finger to her temple.
"I'm just saying. My body is ready."
Caitlin shook her head fondly. "Barry, can't you think of anything he could do? Didn't you ever want to be anything other than a forensic scientist?"
"I wanted to be a detective at one point," Barry recalled. Caitlin could hear Iris laughing, but it sounded disjointed, as if she were trying to cover it up. A second later Barry's indignant "Excuse you," could be heard.
"I can't picture you walking around in a suit with a gun like my dad, that's all," Iris was explaining, full of mirth.
"Thank you. Thank you for that."
"And I can't picture Savitar doing the same," Caitlin cut in, sighing. The laughter on the other end died out. "I don't think he'll want anything to do with Barry Allen's lifestyle. And that includes his more domestic line of work."
"Then don't try to make him Barry Allen," Barry replied. "Try to make him the Flash."
"Barry—he—"
"I know, but—he can't be a god anymore, he doesn't need to. He can't be a rogue. He needs an outlet. And I know for a fact that the best version of me—the version that makes me feel...whole...is the one where I'm the Flash. He's gotta want that, somewhere deep in there. You just have to remind him what that feels like. Helping people."
Caitlin glanced around the room, trying to picture Savitar sporting red again. It wasn't easy. "But suppose he just—"
She dropped off, eyes widening. A flash of white hair, a familiar turn of the head.
"Oh my—" She put a finger to her communicator, pressing it further in, making sure they could still hear her as she whispered, "You are not going to believe who I'm seeing right now."
"Who is it?" Cisco's voice was high with excitement. "Caitlin?"
"Mar—Martin Stein," Caitlin hissed.
"For real?"
"He's standing in line not ten feet away from me!"
It was definitely Professor Stein. Smart tweed jacket, polished spectacles, scanning the bake case with scary-intelligent eyes. He had his hands folded behind his back, and when the barista got his attention, he adjusted his glasses and straightened up, clearing his throat and stepping up to order.
"How does he look?" Barry asked.
"Fine," Caitlin replied, surprised. "He looks fine. He's—I think he's ordering a muffin."
"What kind of muffin?"
"Cisco."
"It could be important! Every little detail, guys."
"It's cranberry," Caitlin informed them distractedly. Her mind was whirling. "I think I'm going to talk to him." She was already scooting off of her stool.
"Cisco, pull up everything you can on Earth-66's Martin Stein," Barry ordered.
"Already on it."
As she approached the older gentleman, Caitlin suddenly hesitated, wondering what on earth she was going to say. What excuse did she have for talking to him? For all he knew, she was a complete stranger. She'd done her best to keep a low profile on this Earth, what with her doppelganger being dead here and all, but no one had recognized her yet. It was lucky she was only staying for a few weeks. Would Stein have any connection to S.T.A.R. Labs on Earth-66? She knew from research that her name had been included on a newspaper's list of the dead after the particle accelerator of this world failed, but had he seen it? Best just to introduce herself as Doctor Snow.
"I'm no scientist or anything, but—I get that he's definitely a big name on that Earth." Iris was reading an article aloud to her. "Renowned for his theories on the principle of causation, having accepted numerous awards for his studies and essays on transmutation, Martin Stein is head of Hudson Industries. His company has been making great strides in the world of science since 1987..."
"Basically he's the same brain there as he is here," Barry summarized, his voice slow and distracted as if he too were reading. "The only difference is...that...he turned Hudson University into some kind of ultra-rich research facility."
"And he's not one half of a sick superhero fusion called Firestorm," Cisco sounded as if he were speaking around a donut of his own.
"And that," Barry agreed.
"Man, if you could get him to sign on," Cisco realized, and there was a sound like the rolling back of a chair, "he'd be perfect for Team Flash 66. Which is totally what we're calling it now. I mean, we had Harrison Wells, what's Savitar gonna have? He hasn't made any friends, has he?"
"Not that I know of," Caitlin whispered, eyes still on Stein.
"I knew it. Poor baby's forever alone." Cisco snorted. "Thank the Lord."
"Cisco's right." That was Barry again. "We've had our fair share of Wells' to help us out. Cait, just...I don't know, get on his good side. If we wanna try to rebuild Savitar his own team, he's gonna need a genius backing him up."
"That's if he even wants a team." Cisco coughed. "Sorry, not helping."
Caitlin took a deep breath. "Okay—okay, I'm—I'm a student, I'm a young—no, that won't work..."
"Maybe you...just moved to town?" Iris suggested.
"And you've heard of him. That way you won't even be lying," Wally chimed in.
"We'll toss some references your way," Cisco offered. "I've got a bunch of news articles and essays standing by. Just do what Simon says and you'll be fine."
"I'm going in," Caitlin announced, resuming her approach. She heard Barry snicker at her somber tone and rolled her eyes. She was nervous.
Of course, when she did catch up to him he was turning around with a hot drink and paper to-go bag in his hand, and he nearly collided with her.
"Oh!"
"I beg your pardon, I'm so sorry," Martin Stein blustered, giving her an awkward little nod and trying to move around her.
"No, no—" Caitlin fixed a smile upon her face. "It was my fault, I just—I recognized you from—you're Professor Martin Stein, aren't you?"
"So smooth, so smooth," Cisco praised. Wally was chortling.
Professor Stein blinked more than he needed to, frowning at her. "Yes—yes, that's right. And who might you be?"
"Cai—D-Doctor Snow." Caitlin shook his hand with difficulty; he had to set the coffee down on a nearby table. "I didn't mean to bother you, but I've...I've always wanted to meet you. I'm a very big fan of your work."
Stein's eyes lit up. "My work? In what way?"
"Uhhhh, let's try—transmutation," Cisco ordered. "But don't go from memory, there's no F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. Project on his Earth."
"Essays," Wally clipped onto the end of Cisco's sentence, and Caitlin could imagine him pointing helpfully at the articles on a monitor.
"Your essays on transmutation," Caitlin stammered. "They are truly inspiring."
"Ah." Stein squinted, looking pleasantly surprised. "I see, well—thank you very much. It is a largely unexplored territory, I admit, but...absolutely fascinating content if one is willing to put in the work."
"Absolutely," agreed Snow.
"If one were to combine two different elements," Stein was monologuing excitedly, "by rewriting certain atoms on a subatomic level—this is all hypothetical, of course...there could be some very promising opportunities to influence the country's fighting forces, the men and women who protect our borders, with a weapon—controlled, obviously, and in the proper hands—that..."
Caitlin nodded, not finding it difficult to look interested; he was speaking her language. Even if she had heard most of it already from the Stein she knew.
"He wrote some stuff on time travel, it looks like." Iris had taken the mic. "Should we go with that too? Do you want me to read it to you?"
"She can't answer you," Cisco admonished.
"Read it." Barry sounded impatient.
"Okay...okay, here's a clipping from an interview," Iris began.
"I agree, completely, yes," Caitlin interrupted Stein. "And your theories on time travel—I mean—" she began repeating what she heard Iris telling her, not surprised to find it sounded very familiar. "That time is a kind of highway...something you could access if you had the right tools..."
"Yes!" Stein had been standing beside a raised table, now he slid easily into a chair and she quickly took the one opposite to it. "Yes, I've been studying this for half my life. I believe that time travel is not only possible—it is the key to so many wonderful possibilities in terms of learning, growing the human race, helping them stretch to new heights—the knowledge man could possess—"
"Preach. Preach it!" Cisco crowed.
"Exactly!" Caitlin found herself getting into the idea, perfectly aware she had experienced the ramifications of time travel and had come out a little worse for wear. "Who knows what we could open ourselves up to if we spent more time on our pasts, our futures..."
"Precisely!" Stein beamed at her. "And I believe the gateway to such a brave new world is speed."
Caitlin smiled back. "You know, Professor Stein...I have a feeling you could be right about that."
"What did you say your name was, miss?"
They spent the next hour discussing every scientific probability that came into their heads. Caitlin felt her brain expanding just being in the same room with the sharp, breezy older man. How had she not sat and had coffee with him before? On her Earth? She'd been so focused on separating him from Ronnie when they'd first met, she hadn't realized she could gain a kindred spirit. Now he was one of the Legends, it was too late. But she had today, she had this afternoon, and it was iron sharpening iron. She hadn't felt this enthusiastic about science in a long time; the last three years had been all about helping the Flash. Stein seemed relaxed too, very clearly enjoying himself. This was far easier than she had expected. She would've thought he'd be aloof, very busy, but after a while she began to get the sense that Martin Stein had not had someone to geek out with in ages.
"Get to know him," Barry instructed as she was finishing off her third cup of tea. "Ask some more questions—not about science."
"What, like she's on a date?" Iris chided. Caitlin tried to control her expression.
"That's not right," Wally muttered.
"No, just—be a little warmer, Cait," Barry elaborated. "You're too stiff."
Well, excuse me, Caitlin wanted to huff. How stiff could she be? She was already happily bouncing theories and facts off of the gentleman. Any warmer and it might look suspicious. This wasn't the Professor Stein she and the rest of the team had grown to love. She had to find the right mixture of friendliness and estrangement. Kind enough to become friends, distant enough to maintain the idea that this really was their first meeting. It was a formula, she could master it.
"As much fun," Caitlin began, setting her mug down, "as we both know the world of science and biology can be, it's nice to get away once in a while. Do you mind my asking what you do on your days off, Professor?"
Stein's cheery demeanor dropped a little, and he stuttered, glancing down at his coffee. "Well, I...I must admit I don't have much of a personal life." He gave an awkward little chuckle. "Mainly I spend...most of my days at the, er, the hospital, really."
Caitlin's stomach turned over. Her heart beat gray for a moment. "The hospital?" she repeated.
Stein fiddled with his cufflinks. "Yes. My wife, I'm afraid, is not, shall we say, long for this world." His tone had become too quiet, too passive.
"Abort," came Cisco's voice, dull and tired all of a sudden. "This might not have been the best idea, guys."
"Let him finish," Barry murmured.
"I'm so sorry," Caitlin whispered.
"Yes, well." Stein's eyes were on the sleeve around his cup. "It's a form of damaged lungs, something the city's best doctors cannot seem to rectify."
"How did it happen?" Caitlin bit her lip. "If...you don't mind my asking."
"Not at all," Stein sighed. "I've had to explain to much of the press and concerned, distant relatives. It's become a kind of script to me. This will be no different." He took another deep breath, but by this time he spoke in a monotone reminiscent to Savitar's. "It was after a meeting with some of my staff. We were discussing whether or not we should take advantage of the rather deserted S.T.A.R. Labs. You may have heard of it, just east of here a bit? Yes, well, I conceded that, given the terrible tragedy of Harrison Wells' beloved particle accelerator's combustion, it would be in poor taste to 'swoop in', if you will, and snatch up a place that had belonged to so many intelligent, promising men and women and their research. Regardless, the meeting ran long and Clarissa—my wife—decided to meet me at one of our favorite little bistros instead of the parking lot. Evidently she managed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bistro was attacked by..."
Stein paused, licking his lips. He looked up at her, probing, and removed his glasses.
"Miss Snow, do you believe in the impossible?"
Caitlin saw green eyes and risked a tiny smile. "Yes I do, Professor Stein."
"To what extent?"
Caitlin opened her mouth, but found she didn't have a response at the ready. Finally she settled for, "I think you'd be surprised."
"Then perhaps you will believe what many others do not in my little story. According to witnesses, according to Clarissa, the last time we spoke—there was a man at the bistro that night. A man responsible for her pain, a man whose actions have her struggling for every breath she now takes." He pounded the table with a weathered finger. There was no eccentric, lovable glint in his eyes here. This was a man suffering and angry. "Authorities will swear by the use of a poison gas bomb, a kind of hidden weapon, but I believe it was that man's doing. And I don't mean by way of tactical props, I mean he was the gas. He literally transformed himself into a cloud of chemicals fatal to the human system."
"The Mist," Caitlin heard Barry breathe in her ear.
"Now, I know it seems illogical, but according to my extensive research, there was no sign of a bomb. No sign of any equipment forcing the substance in from the outside, it came from the inside of the building. My wife was one of the few that made it out alive that night...but barely. Her lungs are corrupted in a way that cannot be resolved." Stein put a hand to his head. "It's far-fetched, I realize, but—"
"No," Caitlin reassured him, leaning down a little to look him in the eye. "No, I believe you, Professor."
"You do?" His voice wavered.
"Of course." Caitlin looked down at the table. "I've lost someone I cared about to...to the impossible, too."
Stein's eyebrows came down, he peered at her as if he could force her secrets out with intensity alone. "How do you mean, my dear?"
"Careful, Caitlin," Cisco interrupted. Caitlin had almost forgotten they were all listening back on Earth-1.
"It's—complicated." Caitlin took her time, choosing her words carefully. "Just that I know what it's like to face the—"
A very shrill, piercing sound of static blared in her ear. She heard Cisco say, "Not cool!" and Barry's disjointed voice warning her, "We're being cut—" before all noise died completely.
Then, from the silence, a crackly "Caitlin!" burst out. Caitlin's heartbeat quickened.
Professor Stein straightened. "Miss Snow?"
"I—I'm so sorry, Professor, I...just one second, please excuse me..."
Caitlin ducked away from the table, her back to the genius. She cupped one hand around the device in her ear. The voice that had called her name sounded muffled, but she recognized it.
"Barry? What is it?" Caitlin whispered. "What happened to the connection? Is something jamming—"
"It's me," came the blunt interjection.
Caitlin's head reared. "Savitar?" she sputtered.
"Get back down here. I'm guessing you'll wanna see this."
"How did you know about the comms?" Caitlin demanded. Under Cisco's instruction, she had connected them to her walkie talkie, just in case. It saved space in her purse, rather than carrying a headset, the walkie talkie could serve both Team Flash and Barry's remnant.
"You're loud. You're slow. You're pretty terrible at stealth mode. I knew you bugged me the minute you left my room. Get back down here," he repeated, more slowly, as if she hadn't been paying attention the first time.
Caitlin glanced back at Professor Stein, who was drinking his coffee and staring out the window, probably in an attempt to give her some privacy—though there were far enough away from one another not to be able to hear her conversation.
"What do you need?" Caitlin huffed. "I'm busy."
"Now."
With that, he severed the connection.
Caitlin tapped the bluetooth speaker, trying to make sure he had actually hung up on her and the machine hadn't just turned off due to low battery. Of course he had. Trying to control her temper, she turned to Professor Stein, gathering up her things.
"I am so, so sorry," Caitlin said again, picking up her coffee. "Something just came up."
"Of course," Stein cleared his throat. "Well, I must say, it was rather refreshing to meet you, Miss Snow. I don't get much conversation apart from the staff at my company and, you know, the odd nurse when visiting Clarissa."
Caitlin shook his hand, smiling, recognizing the pain in his eyes and throbbing for him. There was nothing she could think of to say.
"I do hope to see you here more often," Stein confessed. "It was so nice to feel...inspired again."
"I feel exactly the same way, Professor." Caitlin grinned at him. "And I would like that very much."
Satisfied in her work, she rushed from the cafe, wondering what in the world the Flash's double wanted now.
(Next chapter coming soon. Sorry if some of this one was boring, but Stein's presence needed to be established sooner rather than later. More Savitar in the next one, I promise! -Doverstar)
