.:10:.

Harrison pressed his lips together firmly and watched as the entries to the digital database flew out in front of him. His eyes scanned the papers back and forth. There didn't appear to be anything about the Black Flash in there, killing the Flash. Only that the Flash seemed to have vanished in some sort of a crisis. That was okay. That's what he expected to see. If there were anything else, it would spell out trouble for him and what he was trying to do.

On the other hand, there being a Black Flash in general wasn't something he had anticipated. That meant there was something wrong with Barry, but he wasn't quite sure what it was; moving too slow? Using too much power so that his body couldn't cooperate? Maybe he was just seeing things, there hadn't been any indication otherwise that the Black Flash was really around, but if Barry had seen him in Central and Starling City…

"Thanks Gideon," Harrison said with a wave of his hand. "That's all I needed to see for today." He turned on his heel, footsteps echoing across the white metallic floor. One he reached the end he lowered himself into his wheelchair and carefully left the room, knowing there was a chance anyone could be there to catch him in the act.

Harrison wheeled himself out to the Cortex and lifted his chin when he found Barry leaning against a computer bay, looking at his feet. Hearing him approach, Barry lifted his gaze towards his mentor's and gave a hopeful smile.

"After running the diagnostics on your body, there wasn't anything that I found to be out of the ordinary," Harrison said. Barry let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. "So I can't believe it is anything that has to do with your own abilities that are creating this BlackFlash that you've seen." He waited, resting his hands in his lap as Barry shook his head, turning his gaze away from his mentor. Harrison could see the frustration flash through his eyes and truly did feel for Barry. There was already so much going on in his life and adding this to his plate was something the young man didn't need.

Especially after what had happened in Starling City. He had gotten a big dose of reality from Oliver, about what it meant to be a 'hero' in Starling compared to Central City. Then he got slapped in the face once more when a member of his own team agreed with the way Oliver was running things, though having her own reasoning for it. Harrison could understand Barry's plight, feeling as if everything was falling down around him and everything that he knew to be true was a lie. But there was truth in what Mr. Queen had to say, Oliver realized. They were going to have to work harder, smarter if they were to take down all of the metahumans that came their way.

Not that they didn't take it seriously before, Harrison reminded himself. Just that we'll need to move things a bit quicker than I anticipated. He cleared his throat, paying close attention as Barry turned back to Harrison, still as perturbed as he had been before.

"I know what I saw, Dr. Wells," he insisted. "The BlackFlash was there, it looks like a zombie in my suit. A black suit! And it keeps telling me that I'm going to die."

Harrison wheeled forward and grabbed onto Barry's wrist, holding tightly. "Has it ever managed to touch you? To get a hold of you in some way?"

"No. Not really. I mean." Barry ran his hands over his face, easily remembering what had happened the last time he had come across the meta. Not in Starling, when it chased him around the city, but through Central City when it told him about his future. If what he was saying was true, as it were. "I was paralyzed. Something about it was keeping me on the ground, I couldn't move, couldn't run. But it didn't do anything to me. It just told me what it could do and ran away. Then I saw it in Starling City…."

"Yes, yes, we know the events surrounding that," Harrison interrupted. Nodding, he lowered his hand from Barry's wrist and placed his mouth in the palm of his hand. A million thoughts raced through his mind, crisscrossing and twirling as he tried to make sense of it. "What sort of headspace were you in when you saw the BlackFlash in Starling City?"

For a moment, Barry wasn't sure how to respond. He was angry but determined in Starling, because of his fight with Oliver as well as taking down Digger Harkness. But when he had seen it the first time in Central City he was just running around to burn off some energy and to enjoy the beautiful day that came from it. Harrison cut him off before Barry could explain his feelings adequately, not wanting to exacerbate the tension even further.

"Right, well, it's not anything that I believe will hinder to us at the moment," Harrison said. Especially as I can't find anything through my future works about it. Barry's eyes narrowed. "I understand that sounds really strange, but there is something that I feel that we're missing here that you seem to have forgotten for the long while we've been doing this."

"What?"

"It's Christmas," Harrison reminded him. "Relax. Take some time to yourself and your family. If anyone deserves it, it's you. You've worked really hard sine you've woken up from the Particle Accelerator explosion and you've done it all without a thank you, or the recognition that you truly deserve."

"I guess," Barry said slowly. His mouth twisted to the side and he rolled his neck for a moment. Harrison smiled a little as his protégé finally put his hands into the pockets of his jeans and crossed his legs at the ankle. Oliver Queen was right about one thing, Barry certainly was the kind of hero that Central City needed. "But…I don't need that recognition. I just want to help in any way that I can. If all of these metas are going to be running around Central City, it's my job to stop them right? And if the BlackFlash is going to be chasing me around every time I use my powers…"

"Barry, as long as metahumans are around, you're always going to be the enemy of something or someone. If you dwell on how many people that can be, then you won't be living, you'll be anticipating. You'll be worrying. You'll be waiting for the world to pass you by and that's not the sort of life you should be living."

Now Barry gave a wry smile. "Are you kicking me out, Dr. Wells?"

"I'm kicking you out of STAR Labs, Mr. Allen," Harrison said. The two exchanged a smile and he extended his hand, which Barry grasped and shook firmly. "Go home, be with your family. Have a good holiday."

"Thank you, Dr. Wells. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye, Barry."

Harrison watched as Barry left cortex at top speed, leaving a burst of wind in his wake that moved his hair off his forehead. He ran a hand through his hair then stretched his arms over his head. Dropping his arms, he crossed them over his chest and let out a low sigh.

Things were progressing much quicker than he thought.

Brady looked up at the man and woman that stood in front of him with a mixture of curiosity and fear. He didn't know what they wanted but it had to have been okay if his Mom had allowed them into the apartment. He had been working on the week's worth of homework he had neglected to bring to Starling City when he had heard the front door open.

"Yes, may I help you?" He heard his mother ask.

Easily recognized her tone as one of controlled anxiety, Brady slid off of his bed and hurried over to the door to his room. He poked his head around the door and looked out towards the front door where he found his mother dressed in her workout clothes, pulling her hair up into a ponytail as she stood in front of a tall man and woman who were dressed in suits, holding onto matching suitcases.

"My name is Laura Peck and this is my partner Jason Brubeck, we're here from Child Protective Services to ask you and your son a few questions," Mrs. Peck said conversationally.

Cadence glanced over towards Brady's room and her eyes locked onto his. Knowing he was caught, he stood up straight and pushed the door open, walking over towards them. "What's going on?" He immediately moved to his mother's side, looking up at them with a hard stare. If he could face down Bronze Tiger, he could deal with these people, too.

"They're from Child Protective Services and just want to ask us a few questions," Cadence replied. With a nod, she took a step back and allowed the two into the apartment. She closed the door behind them and looked down at Brady, making a funny face, which he returned with a light laugh, then ushered the two into the living room, pulling out chairs for them. Brady flopped down on the couch and stared at the adults. They didn't look like they were from the police, but he could tell from his mother's stance; arms crossed with one hand brought up to cover her mouth, that it was serious. He then reached out his hand and shook the hands that were offered of him.

"We just want to ask you a few questions, Braden," Mrs. Peck said with a kind smile.

"My name's Brady," he corrected her.

"Brady. I'll be sure to remember that." Brady leaned back against the couch, kicking his legs back and forth as Mrs. Peck and her partner Mr. Brubeck sat in the kitchen chairs across from him. "Like I said, we just want to ask you a few questions."

"Okay," Brady said. He chewed his lower lip; watching s the two pulled out a notepad and uncapped their pens. "About what?"

"About your life," Mr. Brubeck said. He gave a small, comforting smile. "How old are you?"

"Eight. But my birthday is coming up."

"You must be excited." Mr. Brubeck's smile widened. "Christmas and your birthday all in one month. Do you get double the presents?" His eyes shifted over towards Cadence, who continued to listen quietly. "Do you have a party?"

"Yeah." Brady nodded, pushing his bangs into his face. "My Mom throws me a party every year. Last year we went to Coast City."

"That must've been really fun."

"It was. Went to the beach. And to the pier. And went to the movies." Brady nodded again. "I had a lot of fun."

"What do you like to do for fun? Your mother mentioned that you like to play sports?"

"I play soccer!" Brady sat up straight, his eyes lighting up. "It's my favorite sport. I play all the time, on this team I'm on. We play all year." He rubbed the palms of his hands on the legs of his jeans. "I play Midfield."

"I bet you score a lot of goals then, huh?" Mrs. Peck said. Brady watched as she kept her pen poised over her notepad, not having taken any notes while Mr. Brubeck had scribbled away, after each question he had asked him.

"I guess so." He shrugged.

"So why don't you tell me about school? Do you like going to school?"

"I like school," Brady replied. "It's fun. I have some friends and we play together at recess. I really like my French class."

"Oh, you take French? How are the rest of your classes? Do you like them too?" Brady nodded. He continued to answer every question that was brought his way, looking at his mother every now and then see if he was saying the right things. But she continued to watch the man and woman in front of them, her thumb slowly moving across her fingers. "So how are things here at home? You must love your mother a lot." It was then that Brady noticed she started to write, once he started to answer the questions about his home life. "I bet she takes real good care of you."

"I love my Mom," Brady nodded earnestly. "She always takes great care of me. She makes me food, she washes my clothes, and she helps me find my cleats when I can't. She packs my lunch every day. She helps me with my homework. She teaches me things. She's really brave."

"How so?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Brady could see Cadence stiffen slightly, changing her stance so that her hands were resting in her lap, but holding tightly onto each other. "Because she's raising me all on her own." He had never really questioned it that much; though he did wonder about his Dad here and there. It wasn't something that was inherently important to him, not until recently when he found out who it was. Knowing it was kept from him for so long hurt him more. Swallowing, Brady lifted his head and watched as the man and woman continued to write notes on their notepads. They asked her a few more questions about their home, thanked Cadence for allowing them in, and left the apartment.

Brady went over to the front door and peered through the peephole, watching them leave, before jumping down from the stool and going back to his mother, who went into the kitchen. "Why were they asking me so many questions?" He asked her.

"I told you, they were from Child Protective Services," Cadence explained, gathering things together for his lunch. "They wanted to ask some questions about how I'm taking care of you."

Now Brady's eyebrows furrowed together. "But why?" He asked, walking over to the counter, resting his arms on it. He looked up at his mother. "You take great care of me. Anyone can see that."

"Because of the night you got on the bus to STAR Labs when the Assassination Bureau and the Suicide Squad were attacking. The driver remembered you had gotten onto the bus that late at night and called the CCPD for a welfare check." She gave him a funny look. "Just think what would have happened if they heard about Bronze Tiger attacking you."

"I wouldn't have told them that."

"I know. But who knows the sort of things they've managed to dig up." Cadence quickly put his lunch together and tossed it into a brown paper bag. "Or tried to question." She reached out and stroked Brady's cheek. "They're just doing their job, bud, you're not going anywhere." He smiled as she seemed to have read her mind, quickly putting him at ease.

Brady nodded. He reached out and took his lunch bag and looked over his mother for a long moment. "Is that why you're mad at Dr. Wells?" He asked her, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "Because he wasn't around to be your Dad?" Cadence opened and closed her mouth for a moment before bringing her hand up to her forehead.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I guess so. It's hard to grow up and realize that you don't really have a father figure or mother figure as the case may be, in your life because of decisions they made that they thought were the best at the time." She shrugged and reached out, ruffling his hair. "Have a good day at school; I'll be at the bus stop to pick you up later."

"Okay. Have a good day, Mom." Brady stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his mother's waist. He stepped back and started to leave the apartment, then turned back around. "Mom, can we invite Ryder to my birthday party?"

Cadence's eyebrows rose for a moment before she nodded. "If that's what you want."

"It's what I want."

"I'll send him an invitation later."

A bright grin spread across Brady's face. "Thanks, Mom. I love you, bye!" He waved and hurried out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to the bus stop at the end of the street just as the bus pulled up. Stuffing his lunch bag into his backpack, he walked up the stairs and onto the crowded bus. Looking around for an empty seat, he found one by a boy he hadn't seen before. He slid down into the seat and propped his backpack up onto his legs as the bus started up one again.

His hazel eyes moved down to the video game that rested in the boy's hands and he leaned over, eyes widening. "No way! Is that the new Aeternoblade?"

The boy smiled and nodded, his blond hair falling into his green eyes. "Yeah, I just got it a couple of weeks ago. It's my favorite game." He lifted the handheld device, raising his eyebrows. "Do you play?"

"Yeah! My grandparents just got me a new Nintendo 3DS a couple of months ago. I've been dying for that game. I asked for it for Christmas." Brady reached into his backpack and pulled out his own game player. "So far I only have the new Mario game, though. But that's fun, too."

"Mario is awesome," the boy agreed. He lowered his game back to his hands. "My name's Connor."

"I'm Brady."

Iris blew a bow off of her lips and turned her attention back to the box that sat in front of her. She picked up a piece of tape and placed it on the center of the wrapped package to be sure it would hold together. Then she turned her attention to the sides of the box and folded the wrapping paper over, taping it all together. With a flourish, she added a bow to the top and quickly wrote who it was for.

"Wow, you've really got the hand of this whole wrapping thing," Joe commented as she walked into the living room, fastening the tie around his neck. He paused as his eyes roved over the piles of boxes that sat in front of his daughter. "Am I going to have a heart attack once I see your credit card bill?"

"Not unless you want to cause yourself any harm," Iris chirped in reply. She laughed as Joe leaned forward towards the box she had finished wrapping and picked it up. Seeing his name on the tag, he shook it around. "Daddy! Be careful!" She grabbed onto the box and pulled it away from him.

"Well, at least I know it's expensive," Joe pointed out. "Which brings me back to my potential heart attack from the credit card bill."

"I pay for my own bill and besides, once you see what it is you're going to love it!" Iris clasped her hands together in her lap. "Starling City was so much fun, Dad. I wish you could've been there. Eddie and I went to Star Bridge and the Grell Museum, and Papp Stadium. They already have everything decorated for Christmas, it was so beautiful."

"It sounds like you had a good time," Joe added.

"Oh, a great time!" Iris nodded. And it certainly had been a great time. She hadn't been to Starling City before and it was really fun to see how much there was to do and see while out there. Being able to spend it with Eddie made it that much better, but still a little nerve-wracking. She had no idea what to get him as a Christmas gift, it was their first holiday together as a serious couple and Christmas was a big one. It was even bigger than Valentine's Day. And even though Barry, Cadence, Caitlin, and Cisco had made so many strange excuses to leave at odd hours, they all had such a great time in Starling City. If any of the pictures on her phone were any indication, they all had a blast.

She couldn't help but smile when she came upon the image of the seven of them posing on the Star Bridge, all making funny faces at the cameral Cisco's smoldering look making her laugh each time. Then there was Cadence's birthday party, which was a great time that everyone had, if there was one thing that Oliver Queen was good at, it was throwing a party.

Her eyebrows furrowed together for a moment as she thought of the party, realizing that she and Barry hadn't really spent a lot of time together that night. He had spent a lot of time with his other friends, signifying how close he had managed to come with his peers. She could still remember the time when she was his only friend, especially right after the death of his mother. It was good to see him come out of his shell, but a little strange as well.

"Barry and I went shopping for your gift, so if you like it, it's from both of us. And then Catlin, Cadence, and I—"

"—Wait a minute," Joe interrupted, holding up a hand. "They were there too? Caitlin and Cisco and them?"

"Yeah. We all stayed in the same hotel and hung out and got to know each other a bit more. And then Caitlin, Eddie, Cadence, Brady, and I went shopping for some gifts." Iris continued, not noticing the worried expression that came onto her father's face. "It was really cool to have a girl's day out while we were there; Caitlin even said that she may go to one of Cadence's Zumba classes though she says she's not a good dance." She laughed, brushing her hair out of her face. "I don't think anyone could be as bad as Eddie, though."

"I'll take your word for it," Joe said with a laugh as he tried to imagine his partner on a dance floor. "Though from the way I've seen him run I may agree with you." Iris joined in on his laughter and he moved to the floor of the living room, next to his daughter. He reached out and put his arm around her shoulders. "You know, I'm really proud of you."

"For my epic gift wrapping skills?" Iris grinned.

"Considering I can't wrap a gift to save my life, yeah," Joe said. He laughed a belly laugh. "I have to go to the mall and get them wrapped so you don't find out what your gift is."

"It's not my fault that you're bad at hiding them."

"It's bad that you bring Barry into it every year, you think you would've grown out of it by now."

"I want to be a reporter, Daddy; I need to find all the facts." Iris shrugged then teasingly poked her father in the stomach. "If it comes down to snooping for my gifts, then so be it." She laughed and wrapped her arms around her father, resting her head on his shoulder. The two were silent for a long moment, reveling in their moment by themselves. "This is nice; we don't really get to spend a lot of time together anymore."

"I know," Joe agreed. "I'm called away at all hours for my job; you're in school and working at CC Jitters. But I have never been more proud of you." He leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, you'll be even more proud once you see my even more epic decorating skills." She bounced to her feet and grabbed onto her father's arm, pulling him up with her. "You get the boxes of decoration and I'll start mapping out where we're going to put the lights and the tree and the wreath." She held her hands up in a square formation and squinted an eye as she looked through it. "I'm thinking we can put the tree in the corner of the room this year, to maximize on space." She whipped around at the sound of the front door opening and saw Barry walking through the front door, carrying wrapped boxes in his hands. "Barry!"

Her squeal of excitement caused Barry to let out a cry of surprise and lurch forward, nearly dropping his boxes all over the floor. Iris bounced over to him and helped him pick them up. "Geez Iris, why don't you take it down a few notches? It's still early."

"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited." She helped him up and reached out, grabbing onto his arm. "Christmas is my favorite time of year; the lights, the carols, the whole family together…" she trailed off, batting her eyelashes at him. Barry stared at her for a long moment before he suddenly turned his head away and looked at Joe, eyes widening in recognition.

"Oh, Iris, I can't stay and help," he said quickly. "I have so much I need to do. I just stopped by to drop off these presents."

Reaching out, she poked him on the shoulder before crossing her arms. "And while you're here you can help us decorate." Barry opened and closed his mouth, trying to form an excuse and Iris tilted her head to the side. "C'mon it's tradition. You know you want to help us. We'll turn on A Christmas Story and listen to Christmas music and you can't forget Grandma West's eggnog." Barry tried to find an excuse to get out of it and she stuck out her lower lip, batting her eyelashes.

Sighing heavily, Barry closed his eyes. "Fine," he finally replied. "I'll help out."

"Yay!" Iris could hear her father laughing and turned to him, just as he brought a mug of coffee up to his mouth to hide it. "Alright, Dad, you and Barry find the boxes of decorations and I'll start moving things around so we have enough space to put things up."

Barry mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'tyrant', and laughed, quickly moving away as Iris reached out a hand and shoved him once more. She placed her hands on her hips and looked around the room, mentally visualizing where things were to be placed. Then something at the windows drew her eye and she gasped lightly.

A shimmering yellow outline of a man looked into the window at her, its red eyes boring into her. And as she watched the hand of the man lifted and slowly waved at her before it suddenly disappeared as if it hadn't been there in the first place. Blinking rapidly, Iris rubbed at her eyes and looked at the window once more, still nothing there.

She turned her attention to Joe and Barry as they came back into the room, holding large boxes with lights, wreaths, and Santa hats spilling out of them. Iris turned back to them, her excitement immediately snuffing out worries of what she had just seen.

"Let's get this party started!"

A/N: So this is the start of a lot of big storylines that are coming through this story (BlackFlash, Rogues, Reverse Flash, and other original ones like Flash Fire had done) and I'm excited to have gotten here as quickly as I did. The whole Reverse-Flash/Dr. Wells thing in the show was the best part to me (and thank God Tom Cavanagh is back in the season).

And the first time we see Brady's POV. I've had a few guesses as to what's going on with him, what do the rest of you think?

Cheers,

-Riles