Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit Fan based story; The FLASH and all related characters are owned by DC comics, the CW and anyone I may have missed.
Once again I thank all you guys who reviewed the last chapter; changingdestiny40, Mr Panda, AReiss215, Mason Marek, Flash and jinx777
Mr Panda: Yeah last chapter was rather dark and maybe I did take Iris' multiple deaths too far but it was mostly to show how far Barry was willing to go to try and save her, why he refused to time travel after that and to show that Time does not like being tampered with. As for Snowbarry you'll see some more moments here.
Flash: Calm down I've updated it's right here.
Here's Chapter 10 which slightly follows episode 18. Things are going to be heating up very soon so hold on to your butts as everything happens at once.
The Flash: Rewriting History
Chapter 10: Squash that Bug-eyed Bandit
"Cisco look I know you believe Dr. Wells and Joe but as I scientist I need some proof." Caitlin said as She and Cisco walked into the cortex.
"Proof?" Caitlin and Cisco turned around to see Barry walking into the lab, readjusting his blazer as he did. "Proof of what?"
"That there's a new Meta-human on the loose." Cisco quickly answered.
"Really?" Barry was genuinely surprised. He didn't remember a meta-human appearing between The Trickster and Bug-Eyed Bandit.
"That's why I'm saying I need proof." Caitlin added, Barry noticed her shift slightly. "Cisco wants us to dive right after this Meta-Human when we know absolutely nothing about them."
"OK, well I can check police records and see if there are any open cases that are bizarre." Barry offered his friends.
"Awesome." Cisco said as he took a sip of his jumbo slushy.
"Dude, it's like nine in the morning and you're drinking a Slushy?" Barry asked fairly rhetorically.
"Don't judge. You eat more junk food in an hour than people usually eat in a week." Cisco fired back.
Barry smirked to himself after hearing Cisco's comment. He really missed these days with, as he like to call it, Original Team Flash. He got that name from Felicity and her way of calling her, Diggle and Oliver the Original Team Arrow.
Barry glanced over at Caitlin and noticed that she was biting her lip, a sure sign something was bothering her. "Hey Caitlin, are you OK?" Caitlin turned to look at Barry. "You're doing that thing where you're biting your lip." Internally Cisco was freaking out, it appeared that keeping their investigation of 'Other-Barry' a secret from other Barry was going to be tough if he could notice they was something up.
"Uh, oh I'm Fine Barry, I just" She grabbed her tablet and went through some of her notes trying to hide both her emotions and herself if that were possible. "I noticed that it's about time for a physical. You know, just to make sure there's nothing wrong."
"You wanted me to come back to the lab for a physical? Geeze Dr. Snow if you wanted to get me naked you only had to ask." There he went with his flirting and the odd thing was Caitlin was a little more vigilant at noticing it as was Cisco.
"Well, I'm going to get out of here before you two do anything, you know, unprofessional, so yeah…" Cisco awkwardly backed out of the room leaving Barry and Caitlin alone. "I'll see you guys later."
There was a huff in her voice, a sound Barry knew all too well as it was the sound she made when he said something that annoyed and excited her. She looked like she wanted to say something, but no words were coming out of her mouth.
"So that was awkward." Barry said trying to mitigate the obvious sexual tension he 'deliberately set up.
"I have no response to that Mr. Allen. Now take off your shirt."
"Yeah sure no problem" Barry removed his blazer and pulled off his sweater and undershirt.
Caitlin did her best to try and stay in full on doctor mode as she rubbed a swab on his arm to draw some blood. She was going to get some answers of her own regarding Barry's behavior the best way she knew how, through him.
"So, how did things go with Iris this morning?" Caitlin asked as she lightly stabbed his shoulder with a syringe to draw some blood. She hardly noticed him flinching; it was either from the question or her drawing his blood or as a real out there answer it was from her touch, though as a doctor she was being very professional.
Barry hung his head as he thought back to that morning. "I told Iris." That caught Caitlin's attention.
"You told her what?"
"Everything Caitlin" Two words and Caitlin knew exactly what Barry had told Iris. "What I mean is; I told her I was the Flash."
"Oh…how did she take it?" Caitlin removed the syringe with Barry's blood and turned around with a stethoscope. She placed it on his chiseled chest the cool metal sending a shiver down his body. "Breathe in"
He took in a large breath of air. "Not as well as I hoped." Barry said while exhaling. "It's like…after I told her she went through every emotion before settling on an eerie form of sadness."
"Eerie how?" Caitlin readjusted the stethoscope to his back. Unbeknownst to her the touch of the metal reminded Barry off his version of Caitlin, the one she would become.
"It feels like Iris could blow up at me and Joe at any given moment." Barry sighed heavily. "I thought that telling her the truth about me being the Flash and how I feel about her…I thought she would run into my arms."
Caitlin grabbed a cuff her desk and wrapped it around his arm and began to inflate it. "Don't worry Barry, Iris just needs to process what she just learned. I'm sure she'll come around though I can't promise things will go back to the way before."
"But they will be better." They spoke those five words at the exact same time and Barry and Caitlin locked eyes for a moment as another awkward silence drifted over them.
"That's what you told me back in January right?"
"Yeah, I did say that didn't I?" Caitlin said breaking the eye contact and getting back into doctor mode. She would be lying if she said Barry telling Iris he was the Flash made her feel uncomfortable. She felt like with Iris in the loop now things won't be the same, like Barry will once more turn his full attention to Iris, and to be honest it made her feel jealous that Barry now had the option to confine in Iris with everything as there were no secrets between them, though the ball was in Iris' court to decide how they were to proceed with their relationship.
"Hello? Earth to Caitlin!" Barry's voice brought her back to reality. Catlin looked at Barry with a blank expression before he gestured to the cuff on his arm. "It's a little tight."
"Oh, sorry Barry." The bio-engineer quickly looked at the dial "Blood pressure is 160 over 90, which is normal for you."
"I guess that's good." Barry said as she removed the cuff. "anything else you need?"
"Not really, I just thought I'd bring something up I noticed the last time you were out." Caitlin headed over to her computer and Barry followed closely behind her while putting his shirts back on. "Here's your data from a few weeks ago." She opened a file that displayed everything they knew about his powers.
"Ok, what are we looking for?"
"This," Caitlin opened another file. "These are the readings from the other day. Your average speed is nearly double what it normally is, you're constantly pushing 2000 miles per hour and yet your energy levels are depleting."
That was unsettling for Barry. Sure he was faster, he was older and more experienced so he knew the limitations he had but according to the data his connection to the Speed Force was slowly deteriorating.
"How much?"
"About five percent" Caitlin showed Barry exactly what she was talking about.
Barry had no clue where this was coming from. He was losing his connection to the Speed Force. This could be caused by any number of things; all the time travel, Thawne could be siphoning his speed, or the Speed Force was naturally leaving him because the time line he originated from was being rewritten, effectively erasing this version of him from existence. Perhaps he would never get to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
"Is there any way to reverse it?" Caitlin listened as she heard a slight quiver in his voice.
"I don't know Barry. I'd have to run some more tests. But I will let you know as soon as I learn more."
"OK," Barry nodded sadly before feeling his phone go off in his pocket. "Hey Joe."
"Hey Barry, I hope you aren't doing anything Barry cause we need you down here. Got one of those strange murders that usually leads to a Meta-Human." Barry knew what that meant, the Bug-eyed Bandit Brie Larvan was in town and she was active.
"I'll be right there Joe." Barry said before hanging up. "That was Joe. I've got to go, Could be our Meta-Human." He said with a wink before flashing out leaving Caitlin alone in the med bay.
Arriving at the new Crime scene Barry inspected the victim's body. She was covered in bee stings.
"What've we got Bar?" Joe asked as he cautiously approached his son.
"Bee stings" Barry replied. "The victim was punctured by enough bees to trigger a severe case of anaphylaxes."
"Damn…" Whoever this was Joe couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly he determined the cause of death.
"Well, I can't be certain until I have Caitlin run the blood to confirm my theory."
"All right Barry." Joe took a deep breath and decided to ask his 'son' something that had been bothering him for a while now. "Hey have you spoken to Iris recently? She seems mad, and when I say mad I mean like eerily calm."
The sound of Iris' name caught Barry off guard. They hadn't talked, not since Barry told her that he was the Flash. And now it sounded like she wasn't talking to Joe either. "Uh, actually I haven't talked to her in a while Joe. We sort of had a big fight, or a falling out of sorts."
"Really?" Joe was positive he would have heard about a fight between Iris and Barry if not from either of them then from at least Eddie. For Joe those two were a match made in heaven there was no way they could have a falling out of any kind. "What were you two fighting about?" Barry looked around before pulling Joe to the side out of ear shot of the other cops.
"I told Iris Joe."
Joe knew what Barry was talking about and he was assaulted by a flurry of emotions, shock, anger, disappointment, concern, and anger."You told her? How could you do that Barry? We agreed it was best not to tell her! Now she will be in danger!" Barry did not like Joe's tone at all but to be fair he might deserve it.
"You think I don't know that Joe?" Barry fired back not quite able to hold his anger back. "I've been lying to Iris for years and yet whenever I want to make a decision concerning the woman I love I always go through you and it always ends up hurting her even more!"
"She's my daughter!" Joe argued back. "I know what's best for her!"
"No you don't Joe!" Barry was very angry, in his rage he grabbed his bag and ran to STAR Labs, he needed to blow off some steam, and get the blood analyzed.
"You were right Barry, it was death by apitoxin." Caitlin said as she finished running the sample and reentered into the cortex.
"Great, this is my worst nightmare come true…" Cisco grumbled, both Barry and Caitlin chuckled slightly at Cisco's plight they knew he wasn't a fan of bees, mostly from the night they watched Wickerman, even if that was a deleted scene. "A meta-human who can control bees…"
"I wouldn't go that far Cisco." Barry hit a few keys on a keyboard and brought up some information about the bees in question. "Ms. Kang had enough venom to kill a herd of elephants and yet a honey bee can only deliver about 0.1 milligrams of apitoxin from its stinger, hardly enough to kill her."
"Perhaps this meta-human can alter the toxicity of the venom." Dr. Wells added his two cents as he wheeled next to Barry, resulting in a silent glare from the speedster that lasted less than one tenth of a second.
"No, I don't think that's possible." Barry replied "And I know that's coming from the guy who can run at mach speeds."
"There were no stingers in the victim which is completely unnatural for a Honey Bee." Caitlin added while looking over the file Barry brought them. "I agree with Barry about these not being natural bees, controlled or otherwise."
"Either way, anyone care to join me in engineering a high tech beekeepers suit and gizmos to kill the little diablos?"
"Well if you're planning to run away from a bunch of bees I recommend not going under water. The Bees will wait for you to surface." Everyone turned to see Felicity standing in the doorway of the cortex.
"Felicity, what brings you back to Central City?" Caitlin asked as she embraced her friend happily.
"Oh, um, not much, just uh, could you guys join me outside for a moment?" The blond IT replied.
While Felicity led everyone outside Barry couldn't help but let his mind drift to the life Felicity led in the Future.
April 13 2024
"Hey Felicity" Barry said as he walked into the office of the Palmer Tech. CEO. The Blond CEo looked up from her desk to see her one time crush and now current best friend. Maneuvering her chair out from behind her desk Barry knelt down to hug his friend.
"Hey Barry, how're you and Caitlin holding up with you know…" Felicity knew the subject about Caitlin's condition was a touchy one.
"She's getting worse every day…" Barry sullenly replied looking down at Felicity's ring less finger. It had been ring less since early 2016 since she and Oliver called off their engagement and ended their romantic relationship, that was eight years ago. "How're things with you?"
"Oh, they're fine. I'm just a single lady running a multibillion dollar company." The paraplegic replied. "Oh and did I mention I've gotten really good with this chair?" She proved her point by spinning around and doing a wheelie. Barry cracked a smile; it was nice to see that Felicity still retained a portion of her perkiness despite everything that happened to her. "So, what brings you to me tower?"
"Like I said, Caitlin is fading. She acts like nothing's wrong but I can see how her powers are slowly killing her Felicity. Two months ago everything was normal but now she can't leave our bed without starting to freeze, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time until there's nothing we can do."
"And obviously you're worried about the baby as well aren't you?" Felicity asked.
"Yeah, we almost had a scare when Caitlin's body attacked it when she first began to deteriorate. And now we try to hide it but…I'm afraid we will lose the baby if she gets worse."
Felicity sighed heavily. "Barry, you and Caitlin are two of the strongest people I know, you've been through so much crap and yet you still found happiness with each other. You will find a way to save her Barry."
"There's only one way I can think of Felicity but to save Caitlin I may have to destroy the world as we know it."
Present Time
Standing outside Team Flash watched the skies as Ray Palmer came barreling in landing and cracking the ground with his high tech suit.
"Hi! I'm Ray!" He waved happily at them.
Back inside the lab Ray and Caitlin walked out of her lab "Well my ears finally popped so that's a good thing."
"You're lucky you didn't break your neck." Caitlin replied as she walked past him and over to Felicity's side, right between the blond and Barry. "Why is it that billionaires like to become superheroes?" She wasn't really expecting an answer but Barry surprised her.
"I think they use the superpower of money to feel like they're actually changing something."
"It was a rhetorical question Barry." Barry smirked as he looked over to Cisco and Ray animatedly talking about a name for Ray.
"The A.T.O.M. suit, quite the technological marvel you created Mr. Palmer." Dr. Wells said to the billionaire. "I can honestly say I'm impressed."
"And he's never impressed." Caitlin added.
"Thanks, but I can't quite keep it up." He responded to Dr. Wells, earning quizzical looks from everyone after hearing the innuendo. "I mean the suit!" he corrected.
"Yeah he means the suit!" Felicity added on maneuvering her way to Ray's side. "Everything down there works just fine I can attest to that. Nothing needs to be fixed!"
"Yeah the sex is great." Ray was no longer filtering his words in a similar manner to Felicity.
"Oh, god there's-"
"Two of them" Barry finished Caitlin's sentence before flashing a small smile in her direction.
Ray turned to Cisco and asked him to help tinker with his suit to which both Cisco and Dr. Wells were OK with it.
"But what about the case Barry brought us?" Caitlin asked
"Don't worry about it." Barry told her. "I'll keep my eyes and ears open
"Yeah and in the meantime Caitlin and I will make a Jitters run." Felicity pipped in.
"Sure" Caitlin nodded.
At CC Jitters Felicity and Caitlin walked away from the counter after getting their order of Java, Coffee, and Lattes for themselves and the four boys back at the lab.
"So, how're things here in Central City?" Felicity asked.
"Uh, they're fine, why do you ask?"
"It's just that I couldn't help but notice something going on between all of you guys and Barry." Felicity took a sip of her java. "It's like Central City and Starling City switched places."
"Sorry, its just…now's a very strange time for us." Caitlin responded as they sat down at an open table. "First Dr. Wells was attacked and almost killed, and then Barry started to act very strangely, he thinks we don't see it but we do. It's almost like he's-"
"Flirting with you?" Felicity finished earning a slightly stunned look from Caitlin. "Oh, come on Caitlin I could see it the moment I walked in the room. Barry is acting like he's completely smitten with you."
"That's impossible Felicity." Caitlin argued. "Barry's not in love with me, he still is in love with Iris."
"Doesn't look that way to me." Felicity took another sip with a knowing smirk. "When I first came her I could see how infatuated with Iris Barry was, but now he's giving the same looks to you."
"Even If he were interested in me, which he isn't, it would never work between us." Caitlin argued.
"Give me three good reasons why it would never work." The blond IT challenged, needless to say Caitlin was stumped as to what to say next.
"Uh, both of us are in love with other people. If it doesn't work out it will ruin our relationship. And…uh…" Caitlin struggled to find a third reason why any possible relationship with Barry would not work.
"Hey Caitlin. Felicity? What brings you to Central City?" Caitlin and Felicity turned to see Iris entering Jitters and walking towards them beaming her usual smile, though both Caitlin and Felicity felt something a little off about her smile like it wasn't genuine.
"Iris hey!" Felicity jumped up an embraced the other woman. "Oh, nothing much brought us here. My boyfriend just needs some help with this new gizmo he's invented."
"Well, I'm sure the minds at STAR Labs can help him out. Who's your boyfriend?"
"Ray Palmer." Iris' eyes widened.
"Oh my god!" She was clearly excited for Felicity. "You're dating Ray Palmer? As in Ray Palmer, founder and CEO of Palmer Technologies? As in, one of the richest men in the world alongside Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor and formerly Oliver Queen?"
"Yes, that very same Ray Palmer."
"Wow, I am actually a little jealous of you right now." Iris replied honestly. "Sure Ray Palmer isn't as hot as Oliver Queen but he's still quite the catch Felicity."
"Thanks Iris."
"Hey, uh Caitlin, could I talk to you in private?" She looked uncomfortable as she shifted her gaze towards Felicity. "It's about Barry's Lightning Psychosis."
Caitlin looked confused for a moment before realization hit her. "You know don't you?"
"Barry told me a week ago, so can we talk I more-"
"Felicity already knows." Caitlin words were rather dull and there was a hit of apprehension for Iris' answer.
"So everyone but Eddie knows Barry's secret." Iris stated the fact so vague Caitlin was unsure if it was even supposed to be a question and it was probably safest not to answer. "How are all of you able to lie to us?" That time it wasn't quite a rhetoric question.
Felicity jumped in saving Caitlin from answering. "Well, don't think of it as lying. Think of it as protecting everyone with a fib."
"Geeze…" Iris huffed. "I don't know how you guys managed to do this for so long. Not telling Eddie is killing me and he can tell something is bothering me."
"Well, crazy idea here, why don't we all go out for dinner?" Felicity offered.
"What like a double date?" Iris asked
"More like a triple date, you, me, Eddie, Ray, Barry and Caitlin." She turned to Caitlin who started to choke on her coffee. "A little wine and dine can fix just about everything."
"That sounds great…" Iris said with a hesitant tone. To completely honest she was still fairly mad at Barry for, well pretty much everything but she couldn't be mad at Caitlin, Cisco Dr. Wells or even Felicity.
"Well, I guess I can't back out of this one." Caitlin's heart was beating at what felt like twice as fast as normal.
Meanwhile back at STAR Labs while Cisco and Ray were tinkering with the A.T.O.M. suit Barry headed down into the Particle Accelerator to meet with his younger counterpart.
Barry looked up as he sat in his cell to see his imposter counterpart standing in front of him. He glared at his older self before standing up and slamming his fist against the glass that separated them. Sure the Future Flash couldn't see nor hear Barry at the time but that didn't mean he didn't know he was there. The older Flash pushed a button on his wrist and suddenly Barry came back into full focus and sound.
"I know you're angry with me Barry." The Blue Flash said
"Oh you think?" Barry fired back.
"I would be just as angry as you if I was in your situation."
"Then let me out and see just how angry I am!"
"I cannot do that. If I were to let you out now then you would unravel everything I am trying to accomplish."
"What are you trying to accomplish? You haven't exactly been forthcoming with your plan."
"I told you before that I am trying to save the life of the people I love."
"And you're doing a fantastic job from the sound of it." Despite all his friends and family not knowing where he was Barry was completely cut off from the outside world. His older counterpart was giving him three meals a day, clearly to keep his energy levels low,
Future Barry dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He put it into the slot in the cell giving it to younger Barry. "Don't bother trying to call for help, I can remove that phone from your grip before you finish dialing.
"What is this?" Barry asked as he picked up the phone.
"Just listen to the voice mail on it."
Barry selected the phone icon and skipped over to voice mail, there was only one and it was from Caitlin, dated September 24 2016 and it was almost thirty minutes long.
"This…This is from"
"Just listen to it. It should explain why I am doing these things."
Barry selected the message and it began to play.
"…ha…huff…ha…huff…ha…huff…Come one B-B-Barry…" Caitlin's voice sounded tired and weak, plus she was breathing extremely heavily. "…Please…please pick up…huff…" Barry turned to the Future Flash and saw a tear forming in his eye. "…I-I know you're on a d-d-date with I-I-Iris t-t-tonight Barry…ha…huff…b-b-but could you p-p-please answer…?" Caitlin sounded like she was choking on tears, her voice was barely above a whisper but Barry could clearly hear her distress. "…ha…huff…Barry…I'm frightened…these men…ha…huff…they work for Damian D-D-Darkh…They attacked us at…ha…huff…Mercury Labs…I…I" Her voice faded out for a second and the sound of her moving was heard before she came back. "…ha…huff…They've killed so many people…ha…huff…I'm scared B-B-Barry…ha…huff… I locked myself in sub-b-zero unit DJ-FFNM-119…ha…huff…Please Barry…ha…huff…please…save…" Her voice faded out from the message but it still continued. Barry looked at his older counterpart for some kind of cue but Caitlin's voice came back more full of energy and panicked than before. "Please!" There was a sound that sounded like her banging on glass "Please don't! Don't!" There was a hissing noise followed by a scream.
"CAITLIN!" Barry yelled into the phone completely forgetting that it was a voice mail.
"There's more…"
After what felt like hours of silence and the sound of Caitlin's breath growing shorter and weaker she finally began to speak once more. "…ha…huff…Barry…I…I don't know if…if I'll make it out of here…They turned to unit on and…and…sob…" She was freely crying in the message now. "I know this is probably the worst timing but…Barry, I want to say something I should have said a long time ago…ha…huff… I…I…" And the line went silent once more only this time nothing came back through.
"What was that? What was she going to say?" Barry demanded as he turned to his older counterpart.
"Does it really need to be said?" He asked. Barry turned back to the phone silently looking at it as the silence continued.
"Did…did she die?" Barry finally asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes, Dr. Snow died that day." The Older Barry replied as he walked closer to the glass separating present and future. "It took three years but we were able to save her, though she was never the same." He looked into Barry's eyes and smiled. "Ah, there it is."
"There's what?" Barry was really starting to lose his patience.
"There's the spark I need in you."
"What spark? Just what the hell are you talking about?"
"You're eyes are now the same as mine, after I heard that message." He looked down at the slot used to pass the phone. "Now, give it back to me." Young Barry looked down at the phone then back up at his older self and with reluctance he placed it in the slot. A moment later it was back in the hands of the Blue Flash who stuffed it into his coat pocket.
"So now what?"
"Now? Nothing's changed." He pushed a button and Barry was cut off from all visual to his younger self.
"HEY! WAIT!" Young Barry slammed his fists angrily against the glass as he was hidden and all sounds were cut off.
"Looks like our beekeeper, and no we aren't calling them that, is making a move at Folston Tech." Cisco said as soon as Barry entered the room. Barry quickly looked around to see that neither Caitlin not Felicity were back yet, it was only him, Cisco, Ray and Dr. Wells in the main Cortex.
"I'm on it!" Barry flashed over grabbed his suit then Flashed out of the Lab.
Barry ran to Folston Tech in under a minute. When he got there police were already on scene, among them was Joe and Eddie. Not wanting to talk to Joe, Barry blitzed past them and into the building finding the corpse covered in bee stings.
"I found the victim. He's dead."
"Well this meta-human should be around there somewhere." Cisco's voice came through. "I'm picking up movement in the Northwest corner of the third floor. Chances are that's out guy!"
Barry raced over there to find himself standing opposite of Brie Larvan, the Bug-eyed Bandit as Cisco and Ray nicknamed her.
"Brie Larvan!" Barry called out in his superhero voice.
"Apparently you know me, but I do not know you." She replied. Barry could see her fiddling with one of her mechanical bees and the remote for the swarm he know was hiding in the ventilation system.
"Doesn't matter. I'm taking you in for the murders of Lindsay Kang and Bill Carlisle!"
"Try taking me in!" Larvan challenged as a large swarm of mechanical bees burst forth from all the vents around them and moved in to attack Barry.
"Too easy." Barry said simply as he began to swing his arms in circles creating a small cyclone of wind to keep the bees at bay. The gust was so intense that Larvan found herself being pushed back, closer and closer to the window behind her.
"Freeze! CCPD!" Barry stopped his cyclone and looked over his shoulder to see Joe pointing his gun at Brie Larvan's head.
The Bug-eyed Bandit caught a glimpse of the Flash glancing at Detective West and with a gesture of her arm the swarm moved in and attacked Joe.
"JOE!" Barry yelled as he grabbed his foster Father and flashed him out of the building. This didn't happen in the original time line.
"Guys! Help! Joe's been stung!" Barry called into his comm.
"get him back to the Lab dude! We can't tell what's wrong with him from here!" Cisco called out.
"Alright! Call Caitlin and Felicity! Tell them to get back to STAR Labs!"
"We're already here Barry!" Caitlin's voice said through the comm. "I've already got the med bay set up!"
Barry was there in less than one second and laid Joe down on the bed. "He's got no pulse!"
"He's in Cardiac arrest!" Caitlin began to work like a madman as she grabbed a nearby defibrillator. "Charging to 360 joules!" She prepped the machine and placed each paddle where it was supposed to be.
"Charging in 3…2…1…" Cisco counted down as the device powered up.
"Clear!" Caitlin shocked Joe's heart and everyone waited with baited breath for a heartbeat that didn't return. "Charging to 400 joules!" Her voice was cracking a bit as Cisco amped up the voltage.
"Charging in 3…2…1…" This time Barry counted down.
"Clear!" Once again the defibrillator failed to restart Joe's heart.
"Do it again!" Barry yelled at Caitlin while tears were forming in his eyes.
"I can't! If we go any higher we run the risk of frying Joe's heart rather than fixing it!" She argued back
Slightly aggravated and desperate Barry pushed Caitlin out of the way as he stood over Joe. "I'll do it myself!" he clapped his hands together and began to rub them incredibly fast, generating electricity around his hands. Using his own hands as defibrillators Barry shocked Joe's heart twice.
-beep- The heart monitor picked up Joe's heartbeat and everyone exhaled a breath they didn't even know they were holding.
"Joe?" Barry questioned with a quivering tone.
"Barry…" Joe opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of his son. Any doubts he had about this beign Barry had been washed away as no one could fake the level of concern or sacrifice he was willing to endure for Joe.
"Thank god…" Barry slumped back into a chair next to the bed. "Thank god you're safe."
"What happened to that woman?" Joe asked jumping immediately into cop mode.
"For now she got away." Barry said before standing up. "But I'm going after her. She won't get away with what she did to you."
"Bar…" But Barry ignored Joe's words as he flashed out of the medical bay grabbing his suit and heading out to hunt for the Bug-eyes Bandit.
"Barry? Where are you going?" Cisco's voice said over Barry's com link.
"I'm looking for the Bug-eyed bandit!" Barry called back.
"Bug-eyed Bandit? You nicknamed the Meta?"
"Uh…Yeah and she's not a meta and those Bees she controls, they're machines." Barry responded
"When you get back we'll talk about who gets to name the bad guys. But for now how do you know they're machines?"
"I left one of them in a vial on your desk before I left Cisco." Barry replied. "And call Eddie, tell him there's going to be a special delivery for him shortly."
"Uh…Ok…but wait! How do you know where you're going?"
This time Barry had to lie. "Well, unless Felicity back traces the signal I'm gonna have to check every nook and cranny until I find her."
"I'm on it! Ow! Damn why do I always do that!" Barry smiled to himself when he heard Felicity crack her knuckles. Not even thirty seconds later her voice came on again. "Got it! She's in an old warehouse in the older section of the city."
"I'm on my way!" Barry replied and in an instant he was there and then he was at the precinct with Brie Larvan cuffed to a Eddie's chair with a sign that read;
-To Detective Thawne, The Flash-
And no sooner had he dropped the Bug-eyed bandit off at the station than he was back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Barry made his way back into the Cortex and hung his suit up on the mannequin just in time to see Caitlin, Iris, Felicity and Ray waiting for him.
Seeing Iris there was quite unsettling to some degree as they hadn't really spoken since he told her the truth and from the looks of things she was still kind of upset with him.
"Uh, what's going on?" He asked. Searching his own memories he didn't remember any event like this.
"Well, Felicity invited us to join her, Ray, Iris and Eddie to go out to dinner tonight." Caitlin said nervously rubbing her hands together. There was a feint trace of her biting her lip which Barry noticed.
"Oh, uh…" Barry rubbed the back of his head nervously since he was woefully unprepared for this kind of event especially if Iris was still angry with him. "Ok, when is it?"
"I got us reservations at seven at one of the best restaurants in Central City, one of the perks of being well known." Ray said animatedly in a way that heavily reminded Barry of Felicity. He knew why Ray and Felicity broke up but a part of him had hoped things would work out between them, heck after breaking up with Oliver she and Ray thought about renewing their relationship but unfortunately Ray was forcefully abducted from Team Legends and he was never heard from again.
February 24 2022
Team Legends along with The Flash, Killer Frost, Green Arrow, Spartan, Speedy, and the Black Canary of that year were battling it out with Vandal Savage in Coast City. Rip hunter Came to the year 2022 to grab Barry, Caitlin, Oliver, Diggle, Thea, and Laurel to help them deal with Vandal Savage at a point in time when he was too dangerous for Team Legends alone.
The battle was fierce and long before our heroes came out on top with Savage defeated, though Kendra was unable to kill him as he broke a poisonous pill before she could kill him.
It was during their after party that things got bad for Ray.
"I would like to propose a toast." Ray said as he raised his glass and everyone followed suit. Felicity sat next to him in her chair with their fingers intertwined. "To great friends." he gestured to everyone in the room. "To those we care about." Everyone turned and looked at someone they loved, in Barry's case he turned to Caitlin and she turned to him. Out of the corner of his eye Barry could see Oliver eying Felicity who refused to look his way, instead she kept her gaze on Ray. "And to a bright future we make for ourselves."
"CHEERS!" Everyone called out before they could take sips from their glasses there was a crashing noise as a small bluish object came hurling through the window.
-Scanning for Compassion- it said as it circled around each individual until it reached Ray. -Raymond Palmer of Earth, You have the Ability to Feel Great Compassion- Everyone watched as the indigo ring flew onto Ray's finger and enveloped him in a flash of light of the same color. –Welcome to the Indigo Tribe-
When the Light Cleared Ray Palmer stood there not in his A.T.O.M. Suit, rather it was a version of said suit that resembled clothes that Native Americans would have worn. His exposed skin was decorated with indigo markings and in his right hand he held a wooden staff whose top glow the color indigo.
"Ray?" Felicity asked tearfully.
"Nok" Was all Ray said to everyone before vanishing in a flash of indigo light leaving behind a stunned Flash, Team Legends and a heartbroken Felicity.
Present Time
"You OK Barry?" Ray asked the speedster.
"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine." Barry shook his head as he was snapped out of his thoughts. "What were we discussing?"
"Can you guys make it tonight?" Ray reinquired. "I can put the reservation in but it would be easiest if I knew how many of us were going.
"I guess we can go." Barry sent Caitlin a look she recognized as empathy. He could see that she felt extremely awkward about this triple date especially since Felicity was seemingly forcing her and Barry together and in front of Iris no less.
"Unless you guys are too busy with Flash related things." Iris added as she subconsciously folded her arms across her chest.
"I don't think anything will get in the way." Barry turned from Caitlin back to Iris. "We'll see you guys at seven then."
"Alright we'll see you guys there." Felicity said before taking Ray's arm and hauling him off out of the cortex and back to their hotel.
"I guess I'll go get ready then." Both Barry and Iris could hear the uncertainty in her voice. "I'll just meet you guys there."
"I can give you a lift Cait." Barry said placing a hand on her shoulder which made her jump.
"Uh, there's no need for that. I can drive myself. Besides, it looks like you two need to talk before tonight." Dr. Snow began to ramble while backing off to her lab to grab her purse and coat and soon she was getting out of there like a bat out of hell leaving Iris and Barry alone in the lab.
"Iris, look I-"
"You don't need to say anything Barry. I get why you hid this from me but we're best friends. We shouldn't keep things like this from each other." Iris took a few steps to close the gap between her and Barry. "I can't say I'm not mad at you Barry, to me it feels like I don't know you anymore, actually it feels like I never knew you at all."
Barry reached out and took Iris' hands in his own. "Iris...if you're going to be mad with anyone please just be mad with me. I-"
"I already talked with my dad Barry." Iris looked over to the medical bay where Joe was resting. "He's fine, Caitlin called me almost as soon as my dad was out of the red. He might not have said it, but he is still mad at you for 'getting me involved' in this life of yours."
"I haven't really talked to him since I ran out to catch the one responsible, and before that we had an argument about me telling you."
Iris sighed and gave Barry a reassuring smile. "I guess I should go let Eddie know about the triple date tonight."
"Yeah, I guess so to." Iris gave Barry a hug before turning to leave but she stopped in the door frame turning back to the speedster.
"And Barry"
"Yeah?"
"You should really sort out your feeling between Caitlin and me. It isn't fair for you to lead her on like I've done with you. Don't make the same mistake I did." She gave Barry a sad smile. She could tell that he loved Caitlin more than her, and she was surprisingly OK with the idea of Barry and Caitlin together, after all she was in a committed relationship with Eddie and couldn't just break that off when he's done nothing wrong. As of right now She and Barry had to restart their relationship from scratch, maybe one day they would get to the level of friendship they once had, before Barry got struck by lightning.
But one thing was for sure, this was going to be the most awkward triple dates in the history of triple dates.
Meanwhile Cisco was running some diagnostics in his lab when he noticed something out of the ordinary. One of the Cells in the Pipeline was showing signs of sporadic elevated energy levels, which shouldn't be possible for two reasons. 1.) The Cells are designed to nullify Meta-Human powers and 2.) That Cell should be empty. How could an empty Cell generate those high energy levels? The answer was simple, it couldn't.
"Dr. Wells, I think I found something." Cisco called into the intercom hoping that his mentor heard him rather than Barry.
"What is it Cisco?" Wells asked as he rolled into the room mere moments after Cisco called for him.
Slightly surprised that Wells was right behind him so quick Cisco whirled around. "I found some funky energy reading coming from the pipeline." Cisco said as he showed the secret time traveler. "Do you think its from the 'Other-Barry' or our Barry?"
"Judging how these readings happen once a day and that they're happening while our Possible Fake Barry is not here I think we should investigate this cell. Which one was it again?"
"The one we designed to hold the Reverse-Flash."
Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, look forward to/think will happen, or your general thoughts and comments, this'll help me make this story better; I'm a big boy so I can take criticism. And if you Review you get a Shout Out and questions answered either privately or in the next chapter.
Have a Fantastic day.
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