It Had To Be You

by noblecrescent

Her focus has always been to graduate & stabilize her job - no where in there did that include becoming a metahuman. Left with a side Belén fears, she tries to make a life with Star Labs & Barry Allen. Despite the darkness, the secrets & the fear driving she & Barry apart, it never lasts...because in the end: "There can never be another. It had to be you," they say to each other.

14. Shackles of Bonds

'Nobody move! I mean it!'

'Please, d-don't hurt-"

"Yeah, yeah, 'don't hurt me, please' I've heard the story , I don't have time for this - put the money in here-" there was a gesture of a bag,"-or then I will stuff you with this."

A massive blob of purple shot straight through the glass display at the entrance of the store, causing several people to scream.

"Money. Now."

Belén clicked pause on the video and thought for a minute of what she'd watched. Her eyes scanned every person in the convenience store looking for just one person...but came up short.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Plasticine was fed up with the relentless whimpers and pleads from the people in the store. Out of frustration, she shot yet another purple hit across the store. It hit the wall and splattered everything nearby. Turning her perfectly covered face to the cashier, she waited for the money to be deposited in the brown bag she was holding out. "Hurry up, hurry up," she leaned forwards to see how much was already in the bag. "Oh, look at that, I got what I needed - thank you." With a big smile she made her escape.

Belén switched to the next video and proceeded to watch yet another robbery from Plasticine. However, when someone knocked on the bedroom door she quickly shut her laptop thinking it was Iris. Joe had already been kind enough to let her stay in his home, the least she could do was keep his wish of leaving Iris out of anything metahuman related.

"Bells, hey," Barry peeked through, looking almost afraid of what he'd find inside.

Belén waved him off and grabbed her laptop again. "You know you don't actually have to knock right? This is your room after all."

Barry fully stepped into what used to be his bedroom in the West house. For the last couple of weeks, Belén had taken it as a guest room until she felt well enough to return home knowing her father wasn't going to be there anymore. "I'd rather knock and avoid...certain situations," Barry cleared his throat. If it were any other moment, she would have laughed. Nowadays, she only gave a look of silence. "Listen, Dr. Wells thinks it's a good idea to start, you know, maybe training a little more? Now with, well…" he didn't want to outright say 'the man in yellow' in case she would take it even worse than he did when he was younger.

"I said no the first time, and the second time, and...yeah, the tenth time," Belén sighed. She kept the videos on her laptop mute but kept a close eye on the screen for the person she was searching or. "I don't...I can't be out there again…"

"Why not?" Barry thought it was a stupid question but it was worth it if she just talked again. None of them had had such luck in getting the old Belén back. It became tougher when she refused to use her powers and go to STAR Labs altogether.

"I'm sorry, I just can't," Belén shook her head.

"You know we can't help you if you don't tell us how you feel…"

"But that's just it, I don't know...I don't…" she looked frustrated, and so she closed her eyes and exhaled. "When you were little, and your mom's...murder happened...how did you feel?"

There were many words that came to Barry's mind then, but he settled for the one that he knew she was probably going through. "Helpless."

"Yeah, because you were a kid, and you had no way to help," Belén opened her eyes again. "Now, my Dad was murdered and I'm an adult, have powers, am more or less smart, yet I can't do a single thing to help. I don't want to say that my problem is greater than yours because it's not but I feel completely and utterly helpless right now."

"Well, see, this is why you need to come to STAR Labs with me," Barry walked up to the bed and took a seat on the side near her. "We can practice and then-"

"I can't," she refused again. "I can't even dream to catch that man. I'm not fast and I don't think my powers are good enough to go against him. If I can't use them to help you catch this guy, why use them at all? What's the point?"

What an awful way to think, thought Barry. If he said that out loud the conversation would spiral into an argument and that was the last thing he wanted. He understood anger manifested itself differently in people, and this was apparently how Belén handled it. Well, it was better than him who punched walls and people, but he still didn't like it on her.

"You're Dad wouldn't want this, Bells…"

"Yeah, well, my dad's dead so I don't think it matters what he wanted."

Barry could see this was a lost cause at the moment. There were moments where Belén seemed to be on a much more cheery mood, but then there were these days where she hit...low. It was a process, and that's what everyone around her thought. All they had to do was just help her throughout it.

"What are you doing?" he noticed she was too delved into her laptop screen at the moment.

Her eyes briefly looked into his then quickly returned to the screen. "Just...something..." She glanced at him again and felt the rush of guilt fill her up again. She understood that at the moment she was being difficult - with everyone - and yet they all showed her the utmost patience. She turned her laptop over for Barry to see the current video which was yet again of Plasticine in the middle of another heist. "Felicity hooked me up with like every footage possible of Plasticine robbing."

"You want to catch her badly, then..." Barry mumbled. He hadn't been sure where Belén was in her brother's case and he hadn't touched the subject knowing it was still too soon to even talk about.

"I...I don't know, honestly," Belén admitted and turned the laptop back to her. "I just want to know if my brother's been with her in any of the thefts she's committed. So far, only Azul and that Pixel chick have aided her on occasions."

"That's...good?"

Belén sighed. "I honestly have no idea. I don't know what the hell I'm doing, but...right now, I just...I need to know if he's been out there doing crimes like any other bad meta we've seen."

Barry nodded. "If you need anything on that, you know we're here for you."

"Yeah, I know," she went back to her laptop, indicating in her own way that the conversation was over.

Not wanting to push, Barry let it be and got up from the bed. "If you need anything, just ask, okay?"

Belén's face softened as she recalled something that had been nagging her for days now. "Wait," she stopped him midway to the door, "There is...one thing.. I've been meaning to ask…"

"Okay," Barry turned back, "Anything you need," he could tell this was something important judging by her constant shifting and fiddling fingers.

"Well, I don't know if it's important - well, it's important to me - but I don't know if it would be important to you or anyone -"

"If it's important to you, it's important to me," Barry clarified at once. He came back to her side. "What is it?"

Belén opened her mouth several times, but nothing came out. She stuck her index finger's nail between her teeth and slowly began to explain. "You know the, uh, the, um...the present you gave me for Christmas?"

"Yeah?"

"It's tomorrow night...and…I know it's...way late but..." Belén gave a light shrug as if that would explain everything she couldn't say.

"You don't want to go anymore?" Barry guessed. Iris had been telling him of her constant failed attempts to get Belén out of the house. He'd already assumed a while ago that his gift would become one of those failed attempts to get out.

"Not exactly that…" she gave a sheepish smile, "I...don't want to go...alone. See, you're the one that...that gave me the present, and...my Dad...he helped you…" she took in a small breath before beginning over again, "It would really mean a lot...if you came with me."

"Oh," Barry's eyebrows raised up in surprise.

"It's just...it would feel like a last connection to my Dad, you get me?" Belén found it hard to explain without making it awkward. She felt her face warm but she pushed through - this was important to her. "You both worked on it together and…" her courage faded in a snap and she shook her head, "What am I saying. You don't want to go to that."

"No, it's fine - I'd love to!" Barry exclaimed, although somewhat blushing himself.

Belén visibly relaxed upon hearing his answer. "Really? Because...because you don't have to. I know it's kinda weird but…"

"I understand, don't worry," Barry assured. He reached for her hand and gave her a smile.

~ 0 ~

"Wait a minute, she asked you out on a date?" Cisco arched an eyebrow, a wide smirk settling across his lips.

Caitlin, who was coming around with fresh new papers for their training session, smacked Cisco upside the head and ignored his cry of pain. "She did not, weren't you listening?" She put the papers down on the table beside Dr. Wells, who was also shaking his head at Cisco. "Barry," she said after a moment, looking a bit anxious suddenly as she looked over to the metahuman finishing up his soda, "You do know that's not a date right?" she asked cautiously.

Barry had told them of Belén's current situation of the day and couldn't help sharing her request with them either. To answer Caitlin's question, he gave a firm nod. "I know that, Cait."

"Good," Caitlin visibly relaxed. "Because I think this is very important for Bells. This is her last connection to her father and it would be incredibly inappropriate for you to even think about-"

"You don't have to finish that, Caitlin," Dr. Wells interrupted, missing Barry's grateful glance towards him. "I think Barry understands quite well the situation Miss Palayta is in."

"I do," assured Barry. "I figure this is a way to start getting her back on her feet."

"She still refuses to come to STAR Labs?" Cisco inquired.

"Greatly," Barry said, adding afterwards with great discord, "She says if she can't help catch the man in yellow then why use her powers at all?"

"That's horrible," Caitlin made all face.

"Yet quite understandable," Dr. Wells said. "It's a normal reaction to a situation like this one. We only have to help her realize that people need her. Like Barry, she has the quality that makes her susceptible to helping anyone despite her own situations. She will come around, just give her some time."

The group felt a little more confident after hearing Wells' words. Being an expert he had to know what he was talking about, right?

"In the meantime, I need to do this again," Barry got up from his chair, motioning to the training area ahead of them. "I need to be ready for the man in yellow next time."

"I think you mean the reverse-Flash," Cisco said quite proudly, and when everyone gave him looks he rolled his eyes. "He said it, not me. And he's right. Yellow suit, red lightning, and evil... the reverse of Barry."

Caitlin made another face and turned to the computers. "Meh."

Wells gave a short smile of amusement as he admitted, "Actually, I kind of like it." Cisco beamed and shot Caitlin a smug look.

"All right, I'm still ready for another round," Barry started making way for his suit. "How many more drones do you have left?"

Cisco went in the opposite direction for the remaining drones. "Two. And they've got lasers."

"No," flatly went both Caitlin and Wells.

~ 0 ~

"So listen," Iris cautiously began as she sat beside Belén on the couch, both deciding - with Iris leading by about 40% - to have a movie night, "I was thinking we could maybe go tomorrow night to the little music fest the city's having down at the park?" Belén was midway through opening her mouth when Iris quickly jumped in, fearing her idea would be shot down like many others had been prior. "It doesn't even have to be for a full hour! We can just go, see how many free meals we can get by batting our eyes at the guys selling. It's just all about being out there. So, what do you say? I heard there was gonna be some of that lemon pie…" she nudged Belén with a knowing smile. "I know it's one of your favorites…"

Belén tugged on the blanket Iris had brought down for them, lightly smiling as she said back, "I can't."

Iris, assuming it was another failed attempt to uplift her friend, began to add on more reasons for Belén to agree. "There's going to be music, and lots of food - and did I mention pie?"

"No, Iris, I mean I can't go for real. I have other plans."

"Oh," Iris blinked, wondering for a moment if she had already gotten Belén to agree to a different event and just forgot about it.

Belén could see how stumped Iris was and decided to make it easier by explaining. "Tomorrow's the date for the aerial dancing show, remember? I'm going to use the tickets Barry gave me for Christmas."

"Oh you're going!? That's wonderful!" Iris beamed and hugged Belén until she realized something important. "Hold on," she pulled away to suspiciously look at Belén, "You said tickets in plural. Who are you going with? Can't be me, I've got a shift at Jitters."

Belén dreaded her answer but saw no way to get out of it. "I asked Barry if he would come with me." Iris bit on her tongue to keep in the first thing that popped into her mind. But her growing smirk said it all. Belén sighed and looked straight at the movie, her thin pajamas suddenly becoming like an extra layer of heat. "It's not a date, Iris West, so you better not even start."

"I'm not…" Iris reached for a couple popcorn on the coffee table.

"I asked him because he was the one who gave me the tickets in the first place," Belén continued, clearing her throat. "And because I know my father helped in that and I want...that connection...to live on. It's important to me."

Iris could see it was and so, for once, kept away all her teasing. But the smirk on her lips didn't go away. She leaned back on the couch, holding her last piece of popcorn as she watched the movie. "You gotta at least let me help you get ready tomorrow night."

Belén considered the idea for a minute, looked down at her messy hair, picked at a strand and shrugged. "My hair could use a little toning up."

As Iris laughed with triumph, Belén smiled to herself while sporting a light pink blush on her cheeks.

~ 0 ~

The following morning had been taken up by an odd case of breaking into a garage of prestigious cars covered under white sheets. Barry found the garage door had been frozen by none other than a freeze gun, making it easy for the thief to break in. The odd case was that no cars were stolen. Everything was in its place as it should be, thus allowing for the conclusion that the break-in had been more of a trap for the Flash. Knowing this, Barry rushed to STAR Labs to explain to the others so they could get working on a plan.

"Captain Cold is back?" Cisco was still in mild shock. The last time they'd met the man it had been a close call. If it had not been for Belén, their plan of using a vacuum as a gun would have failed and they would have died...

"For a non-metahuman, Leonard Snart is proving to be quite the nemesis," Dr. Wells remarked, although not entirely surprised to hear Snart was back.

"He still has the cold gun, the one he stole from us, the one I built," Cisco reminded glumly.

"Well, what does he want this time?" Caitlin asked from Barry.

"The Flash," he frowned. "If Snart wants a fight with the Flash, then I'll give him one."

He was so sure of it until Wells swayed his head. "Well…"

"You don't think I should?"

"I didn't say that," Wells clarified, "But, Barry, as fast as you are, you cannot be everywhere at once. And it becomes then a question of priorities. Now, in the last month, you have made a commitment to increasing your speed, enhancing your reflexes, and it's working. You're finally getting faster."

"Okay, but what am I supposed to do, just ignore Snart?"

"We could always ask Bells," Cisco reminded quietly, unsurprised to see the round of shaking heads st him.

"Not a good idea," Dr. Wells was the one to say it out loud. "If Miss Palayta is not focused she will only get herself hurt and perhaps even others."

"...there is always Nina," Caitlin quietly spoke up as well.

"She's not trained enough," Barry put that idea down, mostly for the sake of Nina's safety.

"She helped take you down back when you were whammied," Caitlin then said back.

"This is not her fight, it's not Bells' either, Snart is looking for me," Barry finally said what had been behind his earlier reasoning.

"The last time you had a fight with Snart, a train derailed. You were lucky to get all those people to safety," Dr. Wells began laying out the truth as it was, "And if you don't give him that fight…"

"He may just back off, and there'll be no casualties," Barry finished in a mumble, knowing fully well that was a high possibility. It just didn't mean he liked it very much.

"Look, Barry, Cisco and I will work with Joe and the police and devise a way to catch Cold-" Wells noticed the impressed look on Cisco's face and playfully rolled his eyes, "-Yes, I said it, Cisco. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I heard it."

"Yeah, we can definitely come up with ways to neutralize Snart!" Cisco exclaimed.

"Listen, Barry. Whether or not you go after Snart, that's your choice. We here, we will do whatever we can to support you. But after this past Christmas, after the events with the reverse-Flash... I just think he poses a greater threat to all of us."

Barry gave in with a small nod. "Okay."

~ 0 ~

"We're leaving in five minutes, Belén, and that's whether or not you have shoes on!" Iris gave her last firm warning from downstairs before crossing the living room to retrieve her purse. She was worried Belén was wasting time on purpose so she wouldn't have to go out anymore. Well, Iris was not gonna have that.

Someone knocked on her front door, and rather than answer it first, she hollered up to Belén that she would be coming upstairs whether Belén was finished or not to take her to the mall. When she opened the door and found Eddie on the other side, her boyfriend was in a state of surprise.

"You realize that can qualify as kidnapping right?"

Iris rows her eyes and gave him a short kiss before letting him inside. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was gonna see if you wanted to have lunch but apparently you have other plans…" Eddie's eyes drifted towards the stairs where he assumed Belén was.

Iris apologetically smiled. "I'm sorry. I told Bells we were gonna go to the mall today and...well...sorry…?"

Eddie lightly sighed, not too surprised. "You know, if she's ready to go to the mall then I think it's high time you told her you were moving in with me."

"I've been wanting to, I promise, but...I've can't just abandon her like this," Iris trailed off, feeling like she was between the wall. She had made plans with Eddie to finally move in with him but after Belén decided to temporarily stay with her, Iris didn't have the heart to tell Belén about moving out. She knew Belén was still struggling to get back on her feet after her father's death and Iris didn't want to make her feel forced into leaving. Belén had to leave when she wanted to, when she felt ready to.

Unfortunately, this was testing Eddie's patience. He wanted to help Belén as much as possible too, but he just didn't understand why he and Iris couldn't do that while also living together. "Iris, how much longer are you going to be living here?" he asked her.

"Until Belén decides she can go back to her house," Iris answered firmly. "And then...we can move in," she smiled at him, taking his hands, "And that shouldn't be long okay? I promise."

And at that moment, they heard footsteps coming down the staircase. A minute later, Belén emerged, neatly dressed with a low pony tail behind her shoulders. "Hi, Eddie," she greeted politely.

"Hi, Belén," Eddie gave her a small hug, discreetly taking notice of how put together she was in comparison to the last time they'd seen each other. Maybe Iris was right and this wouldn't take much longer.

"What are you doing here?" Belén asked him.

"I was, uh…" Eddie faltered in coming up with an excuse fast. Thankfully, his clever girlfriend was right beside him.

"My Dad forgot something from work and Eddie was passing by for it."

"Oh, okay," Belén nodded. "I'll give you guys a moment then. Iris, I guess I'll wait outside then?"

"You bet you will," Iris pointed warningly at her. "Because we're going and that's that." Belén rolled her eyes, took her bag off the table, and went for the door. When she was gone, Iris turned back to Eddie, once again apologetically smiling. "Soon," she repeated, giving him another kiss to seal her promise.

~ 0 ~

When Barry entered his lab, he found Joe working at his desk with plenty of files spread around. "Joe, hey."

"Hey. I'm glad you're back. I've been going over Snart's files," Joe reached for a Jitters cup he had on the desk and handed it to Barry.

"Thanks. Yeah, I need to talk to you. As CSI, my work on this case is done. And as the Flash, I don't think I can focus on Snart right now."

Joe arched a questioning eyebrow. "You mind telling me what brought about this change of heart?"

"This man in yellow, the man that killed my mom, is still out there. I have to be ready to face him, which means amping up my speed. It's a question of priorities."

Something about that last sentence didn't sit well with Joe. "Your mom's killer isn't the only reason you've been doing this. You told me that if you could use your powers to save someone from a burning building, you would."

"Look, Dr. Wells and STAR Labs are gonna work with you," Barry tried to make things a little better. "Cisco thinks he has a way to protect the police against Snart's cold gun."

"Barry, I can understand if you're scared. We talked about this."

"Of course I'm scared, Joe!" Barry snapped, though regretted it a second later. He was just frustrated nothing was going right. "This guy could run into the precinct and kill everyone in here in seconds. He threatened Iris. He killed Bells' father. I won't let him hurt the most important people in my life again. If that means devoting every second I have outside this place to getting faster and to stopping him, then that's what I'm gonna do. I'm sorry. I've made up my mind."

He didn't give Joe a chance to retaliate as he left in a rush.

~ 0 ~

"Hey, Barry, come in," Iris was the one to greet at the front door. "I thought you were going to be Eddie."

"Eddie? Why?" Barry asked, mildly confused while scanning the immediate area for Belén. Her show would be starting soon, and being who he was he'd ran a little late.

"We made dinner plans," Iris closed the door behind him. "But listen, I'm glad you're here on your own cos I'm a little worried about Belén."

"What is it?"

"I'm having a little trouble getting her to come downstairs…"

But by the look on Iris' face, Barry could tell it was a little more than that. "How little?" he asked.

"She locked herself in your room."

Somehow, Barry was not surprised.

Iris shook her head, leading him towards the stairs. "She was all gung-ho until I said I'd let her borrow my purse tonight. I walked out of the room to go get said purse and when I came back, she locked herself inside! And she refuses to come out! She doesn't want to go anymore."

"We'll just see about that," Barry straightened himself up and started up the stairs.

"Please get her to go," Iris called from her spot downstairs. "Eddie's gonna be by any minute now and I just...I really think this can be good for her."

"Don't worry, Iris. It'll be fine," Barry assured. He left her to go upstairs. He came up to his old bedroom door and used a vibrating hand to unlock the door.

Belén seemed to be expecting him to do something like this as she immediately threw a notebook at him from the bed. "I thought you said you would always knock."

Barry bent down to pick up the notebook that had hit him square in the chest. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." He stood back up and placed the notebook on the edge of the bed.

She was sitting on the same side of the bed, dressed in a green and blue, plaid, dress with black tights underneath. Her hair had been put into a low, side ponytail with all her curls hanging loosely. Beside the bed laid a pair of small heeled, black boots.

"You look wonderful," Barry thought it a good place to start, though he really did mean it.

"I'm not going Barry," Belén shook her head. "I'm sorry I wasted your time, I'm sorry for wasting Iris' time but I just...can't."

"You said it was important to you, remember?"

"Yes, I do, but...it's hard."

"Of course it is."

"I mean this is the last connection I have to my Dad. After this, I won't have anything else. I don't...I don't want that to go away."

"But if you never went, then you would lose that connection without even experiencing it." Barry came over to her side. "And your father's idea will have gone to waste. Do you want that instead?"

"...no," Belén answered meekly.

"Then, why don't we go and at least give it a chance? Don't forget that while your Dad did help I was the one who had the idea. You really want to void my gift?"

"Barry Allen are you really going to guilt me into this by pouting at me?"

Barry felt childish as he pouted at her but also felt quite comfortable with her. She tried upholding her look but she scrunched her nose in defeat.

"That's not fair!" she playfully growled and crossed her arms, huffing afterwards. "You can't do that to me."

"Well, you can't expect me not to try. Up, up we go!" Barry seized her hands and easily pulled her up to her feet, ignoring her groans. "C'mon!"

"No!"

"Bells, this is ridiculous, let's go before we're really late!"

"Barry, I can't!"

Barry stopped at the door and looked back at her, more or less irritated. "Why not?"

"I don't have my shoes on," Belén pointed down to her feet.

"Oh! Sorry!" Barry instantly let her go and rushed to retrieve her boots by the bed.

"I can get them on-" Belén shut her eyes at the strong gust of wind that surrounded her in the next seconds.

"Can we go now?" Barry asked after successfully putting on each boot on her feet.

"I could have put those on myself, you know," Belén said, mocking a scolding look.

"Yeah, but I'm quicker. So, can we go now?"

"I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"Nope!"

Although Belén gave a deadpanning look, Barry ignored it and went right ahead in speeding them to the theater where the Dream would be performing at. The moment Belén saw the place she gasped and froze on her spot.

"A-are you okay?" Barry worriedly asked her, looking between her and the theater which was beginning to crowd at the entrance.

"I-I just...need a moment," Belén made a gesture with her hands and turned away from the theater.

"It's okay," Barry assured her. "You just need to take it slow. You can do this."

"My Dad used to be front row..." Belén pointed back at the theater and slowly turned to face it again. "Every show I did..." but the words failed her. It brought back so many memories she had long ago buried. She had left aerial dancing because her mother told her too, and had never quite gotten over it apparently as she came to realize now. But everything was different now - her number one supporter for aerial dancing was gone and even as she went to just watch a show she could feel it was no longer the same. Her heart hurt, and her mind whizzed.

She felt something soft take her hand, snapping her from her thoughts.

"You can do it," Barry whispered to her, gently gripping her hand.

Belén felt slightly better then, without an explanation. She allowed him to lead her towards the theater, listening to his words of encouragement. Their tickets allowed them a good seat up front.

The stage was lightly colored at the moment, but its rainbow swirls were still clear enough to brighten up the dark room. Barry was all about the science, and the facts and the logistics, and what he saw that night was not logical.

It started slow and with soft pastel colors. Three female dancers appeared first, all dressed up in cream-colored one-suits with their hair tied up in high pony tails with white flowers embedded around. Different colored silks were dropped from the ceiling, two per dancer. It was unlike anything Barry had ever seen, and that was saying something considering he was the Flash who fought metahumans on a daily basis.

Silk was wrapped around ankles as the dancers swung till their feet were high in the air and their hair flung around. At one point, Belén had to hold onto Barry's arm to keep him from swooping in as the Flash because he was so sure one dancer was going to slip and fall. This was, admittedly, making it worthwhile for Belén. She loved being back in the environment she had left and it was amazing to see so many familiar people doing what they loved up on stage. Every minute or so she would get a new memory from her times up there. It made her heart swell, no longer hurting like before.

All that ran through Barry's mind, in the meanwhile, was: Holy shit, Belén actually did this stuff. She actually got up and did this. What. The. Hell?

Every now and then, he would literally glance at his concentrated friend and try to imagine her up on stage.

When a dancer wrapped a silk around their waist and leaned impossibly back, he wondered if Belén was capable of such flexibility. Could she sway her arms so delicately like the brunette up on stage? At one point, a dancer wrapped a green silk around one of her thighs and used it to swing down and proceeded to entwine another piece of silk over her other thigh. She swung herself again in a sitting position, opened her arms and swayed them again before completing another swing so that her head was down below. She grabbed both silk pieces on her sides and flapped them wide. The crowd 'awed' and cheered at her, and no one louder than Belén. At the end of the show, both metas were so delighted with what they saw that neither of them realized they had yet to abandon the theater and were but one of the few watchers left.

"I am so glad that we came," Belén laughed to herself as she reached for her purse. "I...I haven't been to one of these in a long time, oh my God."

"I...can't believe this is actually something real," Barry admitted, still gaping at the stage where a couple of dancers were still at. "Belén, are you sure you did this?"

Belén laughed and turned around, about to respond a full 'yes' when someone else called her name. Momentarily confused, she looked about for the source until she saw a tall blonde coming towards them from the stage.

"Mark?" she blinked, unable to really confirm it was who she thought it was under the dim lights.

"Belén? Have you really come back to us?" the blonde hopped off the stage and walked up to the two.

"Oh my God, Mark!" Belén exclaimed and immediately threw her arms around the man's shoulders.

"I thought I recognized that laughter," Mark pulled away and looked over to Barry, the latter standing awkwardly behind. "She just has a specific laugh you can't really...misplace…"

"Yeah," Barry agreed weakly, looking to Belén.

The ombre-blonde smiled, for the first time, at both of them. "Barry, this is an old friend of mine from when I was on the team."

"Hi," Mark politely shook Barry's hand. "Mark Forneez. Nice to meet you."

"Barry Allen," the meta introduced himself politely.

"Barry got me the tickets to see your show," Belén explained to Mark.

"Ah, nice move," Mark gave a knowing smile that put both receiving-enders in state of flushes.

"Christmas present, friendly present…" Barry sputtered but not a complete sentence.

"Barry's one of my newest friends so he didn't really know about my past until I mentioned it," Belén tried to explain in a way that would set it clear how they were only friends and that this had been just a friendly present. "He thought it would be nice - and it was really nice," she made sure to tell Barry himself. "My Dad did well to give you the idea."

"Right, I heard about your father, Belén," Mark said, his voice softening as he looked at Belén. "The entire team did, actually. We're really sorry."

Belén gave a small nod and received another tight hug. "Thanks, Mark."

"If you need anything, please just let me know. You know where to find us, right?"

"Still practice in the building right?"

"Always," Mark gave her a nudge.

"Thank you, Mark."

"Well, it was nice seeing you again - nice meeting you Barry - but I have to get back and help with the clean up." Mark started backtracking when Belén called for him again.

It ashamed Barry to think it was high time for them to leave and with that leave they would put Mark behind as well. Belén looked pretty content for the first time and who was he to tear her away from it? In the end, Belén had only called Mark back for an exchange of phone numbers. Afterwards, the two were back out in the streets on the way home. It didn't take long to start feeling like normal, and Barry had a lot to say about the show.

Every now and then Belén would chuckle at one of his crazy comments and questions. They hadn't even thought of just speeding back to the West residence yet, too engulfed in clarifying and praising the show.

"But honestly speaking, did you really used to do that?" Barry had asked for about the fifth time, still suspiciously staring at her.

Belén swayed her head with another soft laugh. "Yes, Barry, I did. I promise."

"So you actually swung on those silks like there was no tomorrow?"

Belén had to laugh and stop to do so. She covered her mouth and looked at him. "Seriously? Like there was no tomorrow?"

Barry widely smiled, partly out of embarrassment but mostly because she was actually looking like she was having a good time. Mark was right - she had a laugh that could not be mistaken for anyone else's. He quite liked it, actually.

"A figure of speech…" Barry coughed.

"So like, you basically? You run like there's no tomorrow. Does that work?"

"Yes, yes it does!"

Belén laughed again but suddenly admitted. "If you ever do doubt my word, though, there are videos of my old performances...if you'd like to see them, you know."

"I think, after seeing all that tonight, I would very much like to," Barry said with a matching smile for Belén.

"Okay," Belén couldn't think of much more to say, and she was very greatful for the darkness covering up her blush.

"Uh, we should, um...get you home," Barry gestured ahead, as if the West house was just down the block.

He was nervous, yes he was, and he wasn't quite sure why. Belén nodded, understanding what he was trying to say. He took hold of her from the side and in a second they were standing on the front porch of the Wests'.

"Thank you for the gift, Barry," Belén said quietly, still genuinely smiling. "You were right in making me come, and seeing it all, I just…" she felt her eyes shimmer with tears and, embarrassed, shook her head. "Sorry…"

"It's fine, don't you worry about it," Barry assured, hoping she wouldn't suddenly grow grim again. "I'm very glad this helped you, because we all love you Bells. And, STAR Labs does kinda miss you, you know."

"Right," Belén chuckled to herself, clearing up some of her loose tears. "I haven't seen them in forever."

"Cisco is finishing his new suit for Nina and she's not quite happy about it," Barry confided, both then laughing.

"He's not making her a skirt right? Because Nina will beat the crap out of him."

Barry laughed. "Uh, no, I don't...I don't think so. But it is coming out pretty cool."

"I will think about checking it up," Belén said truthfully. She stepped forwards and kissed his cheek so suddenly it froze him in place. "Right after I look for those videos I now owe you."

"R-right," Barry nervously nodded in what he thought was an idiot kind of way. She looked so nice in front of him and all he could do was nod?

"Goodnight," Belén wiggled her fingers and turned for the door. She thought her shoes were doing a funny walk - did she forget how to walk?

As soon as Iris heard the door unlocking she turned off the television in the living room and jumped to lean on the couch. "So, how'd it go!?" she excitedly asked.

Belén smiled softly and felt, after weeks of gloominess, good. "It was lovely."

Iris gave her teasing smirk and warned Belén they would have to talk about it after she got some drinks for them. Belén didn't even care at the moment. She was just happy, very happy. Belén reached to push some hair back but instead spotted the ugly green patch on her wrist. Her eyes widened in horror and quickly stuffed her hand inside her coat's pocket.

She couldn't even afford to be really happy now?

Get it together, Belén. No one could ever see that. Ever.

~ 0 ~

"Here, take these," Maritza handed over a couple pills to Rayan, along with a glass of a water. Maritza tried hiding her worried expressions as soon as Angie and Noah walked into the apartment.

"I don't see my sister with you," Rayan rubbed his temples, impatiently waiting for the pills to make effect on the nasty headache he had.

Noah rolled his eyes, quite used to that greeting nowadays. It was the same or each time he came. "You know, I don't understand why you don't do the same to her," he gestured to Maritza.

"She's my sister, moron, she has other things to worry about. You, on the other hand, only have this one task. So tell me, why isn't it done yet?"

"It would be easier if you just let me bring her here," Noah began the same point he always made when they got on the topic.

"She has to come willingly, we've been over this. I want her to realize this is where she belongs...with her brother and her sister."

"Oh that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Angie dropped herself on the couch across the siblings. She rested an elbow on the couch arm-rest and smirked at them. "Do you really think that goody two-shoes is going to leave her life of hero for this?" she languidly gestured to the place.

"Not to mention the fact she likes her partner," Noah added and elicited a laugh from Angie.

"Right," the blonde wagged a finger in the air.

"Is one of you about to say anything intelligent soon?" Rayan snapped.

"It's true and you know it!" Noah shut him down. "You see it too you just don't want to admit it. Your sister works with the Flash, she is probably near him more than anyone else. The way in which she defends him...c'mon!" he laughed at their ignorance. "It's obvious! The good news is, is that she hasn't realize it yet or it would've been public already. Which means, there is still a chance, albeit a tiny one, but there's still one. You just had to acknowledge it and make plans around it."

Angie gave him a curious glance. "That's actually smart. I think I like you now."

Noah playfully rolled his eyes at her. He pushed her elbow off the armrest to take a seat. "Thanks."

"You two are unbelievable," Maritza spat. "Belén is difficult, I know, but she's going to realize that she needs to be with us. After all, we were all affected by the stupid Particle Accelerator. Once she knows what happened to all of us, she'll understand."

"Well, unless one of you-" Noah gestured to her and Rayan, his words laced a warning, "-gets off your high and mighty thrones to do something with us, you can forget it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's time to show yourselves to her. Tell her what's going on already, then we'll know who's side she's really on."

The suggestion was troubling for both Maritza and Rayan. Rayan could only think about it so much until his head began to hurt with more force. The headaches had been coming and coming for the past months.

~ 0 ~

In STAR Labs, Caitlin searched for anything Firestorm related online. She was certainly not expecting company at the moment, considering this was something delicate.

So, when Barry came in with a polite 'hey' she gasped and jumped in her chair. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

Caitlin turned her chair in his direction and smiled. "No, it's okay. I was just kind of focused."

Barry looked at the computer and saw glimpses of Firestorm articles. "Gotcha. What's firestorm?"

"It's one of the last things Ronnie said to me before he... flew away," Caitlin made a face as she realized just how that sounded. "My dead fiance can fly. I haven't broke that to my parents yet." She shook her head and then noticed the everlasting smile on Barry's face, even as he drank from a Jitters cup. "You doing okay?"

"Mm?" It appeared Barry had forgotten he was with Caitlin as he nearly choked on his coffee. He looked down at her, momentarily flushed while she knowingly smiled.

"I forgot to ask, how did it go last night with Bells?" she asked then.

"Good," Barry tried to remain casual but even he had become aware of his lasting smiles. "It went good."

Caitlin liked seeing him happy, but she felt a responsibility to remind him of the important details that pertained to last night. "Barry, you do remember that it wasn't a date...right?"

Barry's face immediately went red. He put his coffee down and cleared his throat, all the meanwhile Caitlin studiously stared at him. "O-of course I do, C-Caitlin! How could I forget?"

Caitlin's smile softened. "I was only reminding you. So tell me, did she like the show?"

"She loved it. It was like getting a glimpse of the old Bells."

"That is very good news," Caitlin pointed at him then turned her chair to face the computers again. "I wish I had good news like that."

"What exactly are you trying to find?" Barry leaned closer to the screens, seeing multiple articles about Firestorm.

"Just, anything about Firestorm. But, nothing comes up except gibberish," Caitlin sighed. "Like it doesn't exist."

Barry tilted his head, eyes scanning the abstracts of several articles, quickly seeing it had nothing to do with what Caitlin was looking for. "What if...what if Firestorm isn't a word?" he suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Ronnie was an engineer, you're a scientist, you're both accustomed to using acronyms for works."

Caitlin then understood what he was trying to say and started retyping. "What if Firestorm isn't a word?" She typed the acronym F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M and this time only one article popped up. She clicked on it and out came a long reading. "Fusion ignition research experiment and science of transmutation originating RNA and molecular structures." She read aloud but got to the bottom part and sheepishly looked at Barry. "It's 800 pages."

Unsurprised, Barry stepped closer to the computers and began reading at top speed. In less than a minute he was finished. "There's a lot of stuff in there, but it mostly focuses on transmutation, which is the process of altering the structure of an element by unzipping the atoms…"

"And rebuilding it to create an entirely new element," Caitlin nodded.

"Well, the article was co-written by Jason rush, who's a grad student here at Hudson university. So if anybody knows what happened to Ronnie…"

"Maybe he does," Caitlin said hopeful. "Thanks!"

~ 0 ~

When Iris walked down the staircase, she was largely confused to find the foyer room full of empty cardboard boxes. What got her more was Belén standing by the staircase closet with another box in hands.

"What's going on?" Iris asked slowly, taking the last couple of steps down.

"You're moving out," Belén shrugged like it was casual.

Iris' eyes widened. "How…?"

"I heard you and Eddie yesterday before going to the mall," Belén elaborated as she put the box down on the floor. "Iris, I had no idea what you were planning. If I had, I would've stayed at home."

"No, this is exactly why I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to feel guilty," Iris walked forwards.

"It's the truth," Belén repeated. "It's not fair for me to bring you down in my grieving period. I don't want you to stop living your life because I sullenly stopped living mine. You are moving out because a wonderful man's patience is being tested out there and it's just morally wrong."

The two shared a small laugh and got straight to work. In about an hour, the foyer room and parts of the living room were covered with boxes, clothes draped over couches and tables, personal objects on the floor and part of the staircase.. They had even gotten Joe to help, surprising him first that it was actually going to happen now. Apparently he was quite happy Belén was staying over because that meant his Iris wasn't going anywhere for at least another while. It made the two women laugh.

Sometime in the middle, Barry showed up as well, and he was just as surprised as Joe had been when he saw all the moving-out boxes lying about. "What's going on here?"

"You came to help her pack?" Joe inquired, although unbelieving it as well.

"No, no, no. Iris called and said that she had something for me."

"Yes, I do!" Iris got up from a nearby box and walked over to pick up a red backpack from the floor. "Bells actually found this in my closet."

"I thought it was just a backpack," Belén came over, seeing how wrong she was judging by Barry's ecstatic face.

"I haven't seen this in years!" he exclaimed as he took the bag, ignoring both Joe's and Iris' laughter.

"Well, the nerd survival kit is still intact," Iris patted his arm, still teasing him by laughing.

"Hey, Rayan used to read those," Belén inched closer to Barry as he pulled out an old comic book from the backpack. "He used to get mad at me for even breathing around them. What's so good about them anyways?"

"Don't even get him started," Iris shook her head.

"Once he starts he can't shut up," Joe added.

Barry, red-faced, gave them both a mini-glare. "Alright then." Belén laughed while he put away the comic into the backpack again.

"I think I'm late for work," Iris had checked her phone. "Dad I promise I will clean this up when I get back, okay?"

"Don't worry, Iris, I got it," Belén waved it off. "Least I can do for everything you've done for me."

"Thanks, Bells," Iris gave her a quick hug before heading out.

"Joe, do you mind if I have a quick word with Barry? I have to leave anyways too," Belén said sheepishly before adding, "And don't worry, unlike Iris I will have this cleaned up when I get back."

"How about you just don't leave either so that way Iris can stay again?" Joe tried his luck for the last time, making her chuckle. "Yeah, it was a long shot." With a light sigh, he signaled he would be upstairs.

"You're going back home?" Barry assumed immediately after they were left alone.

"Mhm. It's time I stop forcing people to mourn with me," Bells nodded. "Did you know that Iris had been planning on moving out but postponed it for my sake?"

"Well…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck.

Belén tilted her head disapproving. "And you didn't tell me either. Great."

"Iris asked me not to…" Barry sighed. "We just wanted to help you as much as possible."

"Well," Belén didn't look as upset as he thought she would be, "I'm going back home. It's time to face what is now my life. But listen, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Shoot then."

There was an immediate shift in attitude in her. Her eyes seemed to shimmer, not of tears as they commonly did but of excitement. "I met with Mark this morning…"

See, something about that sentence didn't make Barry feel quite good. He was aware of it too and felt more puzzled than ever.

"...and we got to talking. He's become one of the leads of the team and, so...he has more authority than other dancers. I told him how much I realized I missed the place, the dances, my old friends...and he offered me a chance to come by and just, you know, start practicing again." There was a visible streak of shock etching across Barry's face and Belén jumped to add something more, thinking he was disapproving. "It's nothing promising, though, just...just a way for me to keep that connection with my Dad, you know…"

"Bells, I think...that's great," Barry began, and she immediately relaxed.

"You think so?"

"Yes! I mean, I think it's what you've needed, honestly. You seemed to be missing that part of your life and if, if that Mark guy is willing to help then...you know, go for it!"

The biggest smile spread across Belén's face. "I think it is what I needed. For the first time in weeks it's making me feel something besides grief. And it...it feels nice," she exhaled.

"I'm happy for you," Barry truthfully said, although a part of him wondered if this meant they would be seeing even less of her. She was already refusing to come to STAR Labs, how would this affect things?

"I'm going to go tell him yes right now!" Belén's announcement brought him back to the present. She was looking for her jacket somewhere in the mess, babbling on about setting up a meeting with Mark.

Deciding to be helpful, Barry sped around the room and put away everything in sight, leaving a neatly stack of packed boxes by the door.

"Oh that was so nice of you," remarked Belén with a sheepish smile, "But, um...my jacket was somewhere in the mess...and you probably put it away."

Barry turned back to the boxes, sighing as he went back through them, all in the meanwhile Belén stood there and laughed at his antics.

~ 0 ~

That night, STAR Labs kept true to their word and came up with designed shields that were meant to protect policemen from Snart's ice gun. Assuming the next spot Snart was to attack, the policemen, including Joe and Eddie, filed out towards the local mini-airport where Mr. and Mrs. Rathaway would be arriving with a million dollar priced artwork. Sure enough, Snart made an appearance...but he was not alone. The shields were meant to protect below average temperatures but were not equipped to protect against violent flames. In other words, they had not calculated for Mick Rory, and a heat gun, to be there as well. There were minor casualties, but enough to put some chaos in the CCPD.

Barry was one of the first to hear and immediately arrived at the building, where sure enough they were in the middle of trying to get back in order. He found Joe by the threshold of the main offices.

"Hey, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine," Joe nodded. "Snart's new partner, he's got this handheld flamethrower. Almost everyone was treated on the scene, but... We got two in the burn unit, though."

This made Barry feel incredibly guilty. He should have been there - he needed to have. "I'm sorry," he said, though knew it meant nothing now. "I should've listened to you."

"It's all good. But... The next time Snart and his pyro pal show up, you make them sorry they ever messed with you," Joe warned with a finger before whipping out his phone. "I got to call the hospital."

Barry nodded, intending on seeing it through.

~ 0 ~

"I love it," Belén chuckled as she and Mark stepped out of the theater. Belén held Mark's cellphone and was scrolling through pictures of the team. "These are so incredible, I can't believe you guys went on to New York. And England!" Mark laughed alongside her. "Oh my God, is that Casey?" she stopped at a picture of him and two blonde women in front of a beautiful garden. "I haven't seen her in years. She wasn't in the last show, right?"

"She's with her sister - she's got a new niece," Mark informed with a bright smile on his face.

"I can't wait to talk to her when she comes back," Belén gushed over the thought of speaking to old friends. She gave Mark back his phone and settled down. "I'll see you Friday, then?"

"Friday," Mark nodded, giving her a goodbye hug. "Get your silks and training clothes ready."

"I definitely will," Belén assured. With a last goodbye, they went in opposite directions. She pulled out her phone to search for any missed calls. There were, unsurprisingly, several from Cisco and Caitlin. Her fingers hovered over each of their names, unsure of how to even call back. She made it like a life mission not to step foot in STAR since her father's death. It felt like she failed her father and that STAR Labs was reserved for the heroes that were actually heroes capable of doing their duties.

The moment she stepped in front of her car - her brother's old car - she heard a whizzing noise followed by a loud crack behind. Her eyes widened at the sight of the frozen window on her driver's side. Slowly, she turned around and saw none other than Leonard Snart and, unknown to her yet, Mick Rory.

"Long time no see," Snart devilishly smirked her way. "You shoot, you dance - if you come up with a third one you could be a triple threat."

Belén's heart hammered as the second man, Mick, stepped towards her. "N-n-n-n-no! Let's be rational!" she threw her bag at them and made a run for it.

Unfortunately it didn't work out.

~ 0 ~

Iris set down two mugs of cofee for a pair of customers at a table, asking them if there was anything else they would need. Upon a 'no' she turned back for the counter, and as soon as she looked up to the incoming customers, she found Maritza coming in holding the hand of her son Axel.

"Maritza, hey," Iris greeted, unable to mask her surprise in her tone.

"Hi Iris!" Axel greeted much like a four year old would, with excitement.

"Hello there, Axel," Iris smiled at the boy and headed back for the counter.

"I know it's strange seeing me," Maritza said quietly, understanding perfectly well the resentment she'd been getting due to her distance of her family. If they only knew why.

"Well, I just think when one of your parents die, it's customary to be close to your siblings," Iris said, rather coldly, not that she cared.

"We all mourn in different ways," Maritza said weakly.

"But family is important, too. They stick together in tough times, and you chose to wallow in your grief alone, leaving your sister alone in the process."

"I know it was bad, and that nothing I say can make it better," Maritza sighed. "I just...I just want to see my sister but no one was home."

"That's cos she's been staying with me and my Dad," Iris revealed, although there was something about her tone that put Maritza on edge. It was no longer cold nor anger seeping out.

"But…?" Maritza drew out.

"It's just...I haven't spoken to Bells since yesterday."

"What do you mean?" frowned Maritza. "Have you tried calling her?"

Iris bit her lip, her eyes discreetly glancing towards the wall clock that struck one p.m. and she now knew she couldn't keep thinking it was nothing.

~ 0 ~

Barry, Cisco and Dr. Wells were hunched over the desk computers in Labs, listening to Cisco's newest discovery over the cold gun and the heat gun.

"See, when the heat gun was fired, it increased the surrounding temperature of the air dramatically, sort of like an extreme heat wave," but Cisco had to stop for a moment as a new realization struck him. "Heat Wave."

"Stop doing that," Dr. Wells scolded but there was no actual meaning behind it.

"Okay. I measured the temperature output of both the cold and heat guns, right? And while the cold gun achieves absolute zero, the heat gun successfully reaches absolute hot, or the hottest temperature an object can reach."

"Planck temperature," Barry understood fast.

"So potentially, these two guns could cancel each other out," Wells liked what he was hearing.

"Yeah, but to do that, you'd have to make them cross streams," Cisco glanced over to Barry.

"You mean like Ghostbusters?"

"That film is surprisingly scientifically accurate. And really quite funny."

Barry rolled his eyes at him, leaving it at that because his phone was ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out, saw Iris' name and took the call. "Iris, what's up?"

~ 0 ~

"Hey, Barry, listen, I was wondering if you knew where Belén is?" Iris turned her back on the counter, lowering her voice so that the nearby Maritza wouldn't hear her. "I haven't spoken to her since yesterday, and, well...at first I thought it was nothing but now Maritza's here and-"

"Maritza is there? What is she doing there?"

"She's come to see her sister obviously. But the point here is she stopped by Bells' home and she wasn't there either."

"Maybe she just overslept or something," Barry suggested. "Or maybe she's at CC Pictures."

"That's what I thought in the morning but, well…" Iris trailed off, biting nervously onto her nail.

"Well?"

"I went into your room, Barry, and she wasn't there. The bed - it was untouched. It was like she hadn't slept in it."

~ 0 ~

That put Barry on alarm as well. He glanced at Cisco, the latter conversing with Dr. Wells over future plans with the guns.

"Do you know if she slept over with someone else?" Iris asked then. "I thought Caitlin-"

"No, Cait went to have a word, um...she's not with Caitlin," Barry felt it was not his place to divulge information on Caitlin's whereabouts last night seeing it had to do with Firestorm.

"Okay, now I'm feeling bad because I waited too long. I swear I thought she was with Caitlin or something…"

"Don't worry Iris, I'll figure it out," Barry assured, although he wasn't too sure himself. It wasn't adding up.

"I'll keep Maritza busy I guess," Iris said glumly before hanging up.

Barry hung up afterwards and looked around, trying to come up with quick places he could check easily. Just as he was going to put away his phone it vibrated again. Thinking it was Belén, he hurried to answer without checking the ID.

"Bells!?"

"Barry-" it was Joe, "-you need to get over here. Fast."

~ 0 ~

Out in the parking lot of the local community theater, the CCPD had put cautionary tape around Belén's car. Barry went straight past the officers, up to Joe.

"Joe, anything?"

"There's no sign of Belén anywhere," Joe shook his head, moving aside so he could see the car behind. "We found her bag over there-" he pointed a few feet from them, "-but nothing else."

Shattered ice pieces were left near the car, some of them coming from the iced, cracked window. "Oh my God," Barry whispered at the sight, running a hand through his hair. He could see nothing that could tell him whether or not Belén was severely hurt on the spot, but nothing guaranteed she wasn't now. Determined, he turned back to Joe. "We're getting her back. We have to find Snart."

"Damn right we do. Come on, let's go," Joe gestured for them to get a move on.

And so they returned to the CCPD to continue the investigation. The moment they arrived, they were greeted by Eddie with a new file in hand.

"We got a hit," he announced, "A second pair of prints," he handed Joe the manila file, "They belong to a Mick Rory."

"Who is he?" asked Barry.

"Big-time arsonist," Joe explained. "He and Snart worked a job last year that went bad. Half of Rory's body was burned in a fire that got out of control. He escaped from an ambulance on the way to the hospital, hasn't been seen since."

"Why would they kidnap someone like Belén?" Eddie frowned at them, utterly lost.

Singh came out of his office with a finger pointed at the higher placed televisions. "Joe, Thawne, it's on every station."

They all looked up to the unmuted television that sure enough was broadcasting an unusual stream. Snart was up-close and personal on the screen, while Mick held onto Belén.

'Greetings, citizens of central city. I am Leonard Snart. But you can call me Cold. I'm gonna make this very simple for everyone…'

~ 0 ~

"Oh my God..." Angie's mouth fell open at the television screen and immediately turned up the volume. "RAYAN!" she called for the man in the hallway. "You have to see this now!"

Rayan came out grumbling, about to tell her off for disturbing his sleep when he saw his sister on screen with two well known criminals. "What...?"

'...That red streak you've been hearing whispers about, the one mysteriously saving people these past few months? Well, surprise, he's real...'

~ 0 ~

"Is that…" Maritza looked up to one of the Jitters televisions, seeing past Snart's face to Belén in the background.

"What in the…?" Iris stopped pouring coffee to look up as well.

'He calls himself the Flash. Porter and Main, tonight, sundown. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Flash. Show the whole world you're real...'

~ 0 ~

'...Or this woman dies."

Though Belén was being pointed at she didn't care. She wasn't thrashing against them, nor looked the least bit afraid anymore. Once she learned their plan she knew there was no reason to be. They weren't after her. She was just a means to get the message through.

She met the camera with a straight face. "You don't have to," was all she said to the camera, hoping to God Barry would understand she would get out of it herself. She didn't want to force him to expose himself to the city.

The problem was Barry had made his decision before the transmission even ended.

~ 0 ~

Angie boredly stared as Rayan threw the television control at her television. "I'm gonna have to bubble wrap everything in this goddamn place," she muttered.

Rayan stalked into the hallway and Angie got up to follow. "What are you going to do?"

"FIND MY SISTER!" he screamed in her face and went into his room, slamming the door on her.

Angie felt no guilt whatsoever in hoping that they never did. She was becoming a nuisance, honestly.

~ 0 ~

"That hurts!" Belén hissed when Mick tied her second wrist down to the chair. She hated the rotten smell the warehouse they were in gave off, and she hated the two men around her who seemingly wanted nothing with her but to use her as bait. Mick ignored her and squatted down beside her, eyeing her. "What?" she snapped, meeting his look.

"You're a friend of his, huh?" Mick asked.

"You can say that," Belén smirked crookedly. "And I nearly shot yours."

"Nearly," Snart called from his spot across, hunched over a table.

"He's fast... Like fire," Mick suddenly said, whipping out a lighter and slowly waving it between him and Belén. "Fire, it's undefinable. Heat, light, energy. It's an evolution when things burn."

"Go get help," Belén concluded and looked away momentarily. "You're sick, do you know that?"

"Maybe you're the sick ones. You ever think about that?"

"Oh, good comeback," Belén rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you anyways?" she eyed his burned skin. "You didn't ever think going to the hospital might help all that?"

"The fire revealed my true self, showed me who I really am. I wonder what your Flash will reveal when I burn his suit and skin off," he smirked at her, but it made no difference for her.

Belén leaned closer to him. "You won't be able to lay even a finger on him."

"So sure?" Mick challenged her, but she didn't falter.

"Absolutely. I'd say leave him alone but after what you did he's coming, and when the Flash is angry...watch out," the light smile on Belén's face only irritated Mick more.

"You're so sure he'll come to help you yet you told him not to," Snart turned from his table. "Which is it?"

"I hope he doesn't," Belén admitted. "But 99.9% of me knows I'm lying to myself if I think he's staying put."

Snart rolled his eyes and moved onto business. "Mick, time to go." Mick gave one last smile to Belén, who glared in return, and got back on his feet.

Mick rose up but not before pressing a red button on a small device strapped to the bottom of Belén's chair. "You better pray the next people that come through this door is us." He made sure to tie a gag around her mouth tightly.

"Nice to see you again, shooter-girl," Snart called and Belén tried to insult him through the gag.

When they two criminals had gone, Belén calmed down and let her vines wrap over the gag until it was untied and fell to the ground. The same thing happened with her wrists and feet. She was free, but she couldn't make her move without setting off the device under her chair.

"Just...great," she huffed at her predicament.

~ 0 ~

Momentarily alone in the cortex room, Barry stood in front of his suit on display. He was just waiting for the 'go' sign from Joe. The entire city was probably waiting for him and that...that put him on edge.

"She said you didn't have to," Caitlin's voice made him jump on his spot. She and Dr. Wells were the only ones left in the building since they would be monitoring him in the street. Cisco and Joe were tasked with finding Belén.

"And you think she meant that?" Barry asked her, meeting her soft smile.

"Yeah. But I think we all knew you wouldn't do it."

"If roles were reversed she would be doing the same," Barry said with the utmost certainty. "We're partners. I told her I'd have her back and she said she'd have mine."

Caitlin nodded, seeing there was nothing left to say on the matter. "Then go get them."

A second later, Barry's phone buzzed from his pocket, and when he answered it was Joe. "Okay, you're on," the man said with a tinge of fear. "Good luck, son."

"Thanks," Barry moved to hang up when Joe added as a final warning.

"Barry, after tonight, everyone's gonna know that the Flash exists. Are you ready for that?"

Barry understood completely the implications and still stood by his decision. It was worth it. She was worth it. "I'll see you soon," he said to Joe and finally hung up. He put away his phone and looked at his suit again.

"I'll go get Dr. Wells," Caitlin wished him good luck and went on her way.

Barry glanced to the side where Belén's green suit had been placed weeks ago and left untouched. He didn't realize it till then how much he missed seeing her in it, having her working beside him. Well, there would be a next time, he thought. There was no way in hell he was going to lose.

~ 0 ~

Zipping through the night streets of the city, Barry was very punctual in meeting Snart and Mick. The precise street had been evacuated and policemen, including Eddie, were on standby watching.

"The Scarlet speedster. Any preference on how you'd like to die?" Snart was the first to make a greeting. He waved his gun with the biggest smirk on his face. "The flame or the frost?" Barry only stared, though his mask covered up his anger it was pretty evident how he felt. "Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha. Ready when you are." Snart powered up his gun, as did Mick, and both shot forwards their respective beams.

Barry went right past them, easily dodging said beams. He gave only a second of a gap before he zipped right past them, disorienting both thieves for a minute. The second time around, the thieves had caught on. Snart caught Barry on surprise and, instead of directly hitting Barry, he formed an ice wall in Barry's direction. The speedster screamed in both horror and terror as he went straight first into the structure of ice. He tumbled on the ground, landing against a thrashed car.

"Barry?" he heard Dr. Well's voice through the comm. "Barry, are you okay? You know what you have to do."

"Yeah, get them to cross their beams and cancel their guns out. I know."

Mick stepped forwards and blasted flames from his own gun, causing the car Barry was hiding behind to explode into flames. Barry sped right out of it and onto a lonely side corner where he could catch his breath.

"It just not as easy as it sounds," he told Wells afterwards.

~ 0 ~

Belén was, shamefully, bored waiting to be rescued. She liked fairy tales, but she wasn't exactly liking having to once again be helped as if she couldn't do anything on her own. "What good is it to have powers if you can't use them," she sighed to herself. Maybe if she'd been practicing like Barry had told her over and over she would have more creative ideas to use her powers.

She heard a noise from the front doors and thought it to be someone else, seeing they were trying to bring down the locks. She heard a freezing noise, and for a minute thought it was Snart again. But the doors blasted into icy pieces and in came a familiar voice.

"Boy you sure love to get yourself into trouble, don't you?" Azul strolled in.

"You?" Belén frowned.

"Try not to conceal your disappointment," he rolled his eyes. "I'm not Flash but I do make an effort here. Would you like me to dress in red?"

"I can't...I can't decide if that was flirting..." Belén blinked, honestly having a hard time deciding.

"Is that disappointment I hear again?" Azul's smirk irritated the hell out of her.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Azul laughed and started coming for her when she shouted again. "No! Don't come any closer! They put a bomb on the chair!"

"Why don't you just use your powers to escape? I thought that was the point of them."

"Escaping is no problem for me, idiot," she raised her free hands. "It's me getting out before the bomb goes off that's the complicated part."

"Thank goodness we've got someone better," Azul shot her wink. "Come in!"

Belén heard new footsteps and strained her neck to see who it was, as her chair was facing the other direction and she couldn't risk moving the bomb strapped underneath "Who's that?"

It was a tall man, dressed in black and grey leather, walked in. He wore a black, half-mask. However, the mask didn't stay on for long, as his hands reached up to take it off. Belén gasped loudly, unable to decide if she wanted to scream or cry at the same time.

"Hello my dear sister," Rayan greeted with the kindest smile ever, one that made Azul stop to question if this was the really the man he'd been working with. "Long time no see."

~ 0 ~

With the crazy shooting his way, Barry had no choice but to run up alongside buildings to dodge them or at least reflect them. However, on one of those he was struck by one beam and fell to the ground.

From the sidelines, Captain Singh ordered the other officers to get moving. "The fight is spreading beyond the evac area. We need to expand the perimeter."

"We can't," Eddie said determinedly. "We can't let this spread." He snatched up one of the designed STAR Labs shields and ran off, ignoring the calls of his name.

~ 0 ~

"It's okay, I can get you out," Rayan assured his younger twin. "This might feel a little weird, okay?"

"Weird how - AH!" Belén yelped in surprise as her body literally levitated off her chair. She turned her head frantically to see herself floating towards her brother and Azul. "H-how are you doing this!?"

Rayan hid his struggling face as he answered. He'd been having minor pain when using some of his powers but this was pain. He wasn't liking it, and he definitely wasn't going to show it. "With much love, Belén. I got you, don't worry."

"You're a telekinetic!" Belén exclaimed, gently dropping into his brother's arms.

"And you're a poisonous meta," Rayan's matching brown eyes met his sister's. "We've both changed."

Belén was put down on her feet. Her eyes shimmered with tears as she took in the fact her brother was right there in front of her again. She gave him the biggest hug possible. "I missed you so much!" she stifled a cry.

"As did I," Rayan admitted, relishing in the moment. "But, don't you think I've ever stopped watching over you."

Belén pulled away and smiled what she thought was probably the ugliest smile ever as it was covered in loose tears and dirt from her kidnapping. "I needed you, Rayan. Dad...he's…"

"I know," Rayan's eyes glistened as well. "And I want you to know that I will catch this guy and I will make him pay for what he did."

"It wasn't the Flash, did you get that message?" Belén asked quick. "It wasn't him, okay? It was a different speedster. They call him...the Reverse Flash apparently. It was him. He killed Dad because of some tachyons."

Rayan took Belén's hand and started leading them for the broken doors. The warehouse was not too far from the beginnings of the city.

"We're gonna find him, Belén. I swear."

"Why did you come for me?" Belén looked between him and Azul. "You say you've been watching over me, but when I needed you most you weren't there."

Rayan sighed. "It's complicated, Belén. But I wanted to be there. Things are…"

"Complicated," Belén finished for him. She glanced at Azul with nothing but disapproval. "You've been hanging out with the wrong crowds, Rayan."

"A lot's happened since the last time we saw each other," Rayan cleared his throat. "I was kidapped by some...gang, and it took me months to escape."

"I know, but why didn't you come back home?" Belén asked softly. "I've been looking everywhere for you and...you've just been playing hide and seek. You had your freaky metas come after me! You had them shoot me!"

"I didn't know it was you behind the mask!" Rayan immediately clarified. "Pixel got hell for that after I realized it was you."

"Rayan, what's happened to you?" Belén looked her brother up and down. She felt something was off about him, besides the new abilities and the evil crowd he was with.

"I survived," Rayan said coldly. "The Particle Accelerator did this to me. It did this to all of us," he gestured to the trio. "What I've done, I've done because of them. They have to pay for what they've done-"

"What?" Belén blinked. "You mean STAR Labs? No-"

Rayan reached for her hands and cut her off. "I want you to come with me. Your abilities are extraordinary, but you are wasting your time with the Flash and all the other accomplices. You belong with me, with your family."

Belén looked at the city and suddenly saw two distinct rays of orange and blue shooting into the sky. "The Flash…" she went wide-eyed at her brother and Azul, "...he's...he's fighting the two that kidnapped me. We...we gotta help him."

"Belén, you're not listening!" Rayan snapped, unusually harsh. Her widened eyes laid on him again and showed, frankly, some fear. "You need to come with us!"

"I am not going anywhere with your nor your little band of criminals," she snapped. "They're thieves! Murderers!"

"You've been looking for me, Belén, and here's your chance to reunite with me. We can take down the bad guy, and we can take revenge on those who have wronged us. Most importantly, we can be a family again."

"Rayan-"

"Don't call me that," he shut his eyes for a moment. "I want...I want to be called Neuro."

"What?" Belén's eyebrows raised together. "No, your name is Rayan and you can help. Please, we need to go help my friend."

Rayan gripped her hands, imploring her to listen by tugging her closer. "I came out because you were in deep trouble, Belén. I wanted you to come to me because you wanted to. So please, I'm asking you to come with me now, and forget all that you know from that Flash, that...that crazy idea you can be a superhero."

"Rayan, I-"

"Don't you want to be with your family?"

"Don't...don't do this…" Belén could see the decision she was being forced into, or at least unfairly by the circumstances. "Rayan, I love you, and I want to be a family again…" but her eyes drifted to the city again, where the gun beams were growing wilder.

"Then let's go," Rayan said quickly. "Now is the time for you to get out. Come with your brother."

Belén swallowed hard and let her eyes fall on the city again. Her heart beat rapidly as she thought of Barry fighting off Snart and Mick on his own. They were partners and this was what they'd promised to do, help each other. She'd been nothing but difficult lately and, even though she deserved to be alone, Barry had been there trying to cheer her up nonstop.

She took back her hands from Rayan, and with tears falling down her eyes, she shook her head. "He's been there for me and now I can be there for him. I want to be there...and I want to help people. I've just been so obsessed with you that I forgot about me. I can't keep doing that."

"Belén..." Rayan was definitely not liking where this was go.

"Dad would be so disappointed," Belén continued, her voice frail yet assertive. "In you. Not me." That wounded him, Belén could see it all over his face. "If you really want to be a family again then you'll leave all of this and come with me right now to help my friend. It's your decision now."

Rayan gaped at his sister, but she did not budge from her stance.

~ 0 ~

From his abrupt fall, Barry could not quite get up yet, even as Snart and Mick approached him. Just when the two were about to shoot their respective guns, Eddie managed to get through and shield him and Barry from the beams.

"I've got you!" the blonde officer exclaimed, though struggled to uphold his word.

With little energy, Barry sped them out of the way to safety. He left Eddie and returned to the street. "I can't get them to cross streams," he spoke into the comm. "Speed isn't getting it done."

"You're right," Wells said, as if just realizing it himself. "Maybe the way to do this is not by going faster."

"It's going slo-"

Someone else shouted from across, close to where Snart and Mick were. Thick vines had wrapped around a figure, revealing to be 'the Azalea' - and she was not happy. One thick, strong vine went straight for Mick, punching him across the face and knocking him to the ground.

"What's the matter?" she called to Snart who was taking in the uninvited opponent. She was furious, and it wasn't totally with him which only made things worse. Because she was in civilian clothing - though wearing a makeshift mask of her vines and azaleas - the blotches of green were trickier to hide. Belén could feel that uninvited rush of powers washing over her.

Go away, she desperately wished.

A low growl slipped through her mouth, indicating she was losing the internal battle. Before she knew it, she thrust a tendril of vine directly for Snart. The man barely dodged it but Belén was quicker in her state. She snapped the tendrils like lassos and forced him to continue jumping to dodge. He directed his gun at her and began to fire several times.

Relieved to see her, and a bit afraid for her life, Barry zipped across the street and got Belén out of the way. He hid them behind another car. "Bells?" he noticed she wasn't quite herself but blamed it on her kidnapping.

Belén gasped and came back as herself. Her eyes darted to ever inch of her body and was grateful to see the green had gone...she was just left wondering for how long.

"Belén?"

She met eyes with him and remembered where she was. "Oh...oh! I had a plan!"

"I kinda had one too...you shouldn't be here," Barry could hear Caitlin repeatedly telling him to tell Belén to get back to STAR Labs for a check up.

Belén shook her head. "Nope! I have a plan and it's quite easy too! It involves no more burned suit…" she was having a good eye on his tarnished suit, even making a face.

"New partner, Flash?" Snart called to them.

"They're allowed," Belén popped up from behind the car. "Now choke on this!" she sucked in a breath and released the familiar mist of pink poison towards him and Mick.

"Azalea!" Barry feared for a minute her anger would get the best of her and make her do something she would later regret.

Snart started coughing, forced to drop his gun as he clutched at his throat. "Dark…" he smirked nonetheless her way. The same was happening with Mick.

Belén jumped onto the car and watched with pride. "But not a murderer. The poison is enough to make you weak, but you'll be fine." She swung one arm to the right and slammed Mick with a tendril of vine against a closed shop's door. She snatched the heat gun then swung her other arm to the right and left Snart lying against a mailbox. She picked up the cold gun and brought both guns into her arms.

Barry got on his feet and looked at the sight Belén had left. "Did I mention I love having you as my partner?" he moved around the car and helped her get down. Before he could see her teary eyes she threw her arms around his neck for a well-needed hug.

~ 0 ~

"What do you mean she...chose another?" Maritza was appalled to hear such a story from her younger brother. The two were sitting inside the warehouse that had been hardly touched since Rayan's headaches started.

"Exactly what I said. Belén made me choose," he said, sounding truly offended of the matter.

"Well, I'll give her points for being a lot tougher than we thought," Maritza ran a hand through her hair. "I mean...I guess we didn't really think about what she would say."

"How could we? Neither of us are with her enough to know her," Rayan shrugged. "We've left her with some new people who...who are changing her every day."

"Then maybe that's what we need to work on," Maritza resolved. "We need to remind Belén that family is everything. She's always been family-driven so it shouldn't be that hard."

"You think so? Because I saw a different light in our sister's eyes. She actually wants to become a hero," Rayan shook his head. "Imagine that?"

"I do, but that's where we'll need to show her how awful STAR Labs actually is. It's just a matter of reminding..." Maritza put her arm around her brother's shoulders and gave a smile for both of them. "We can do it, Rayan."

But somehow, internally, she wasn't exactly sure.

~ 0 ~

The next day, Iris had finally finished packing and was now watching Eddie and Barry carry down her last box from upstairs. She didn't think it was all that heavy but apparently the two had disagreed.

"I think that's it," she said cheerfully nonetheless.

"This better be it," Eddie mumbled as he placed the box down with Barry.

"Well, like you said, you're ten minutes away, so if you forget something…" Joe had began to say when his eyes teared up.

"Okay, Dad," Iris gave him a tight hug.

Joe laughed. "I can't say it enough. I'll miss you."

Eddie walked over to the two. "You know you can come around anytime, Joe. Just give us a heads-up." But the look on Joe's face made him reconsider. "Or not. Come around whenever. You want a key? I'm gonna go." He quickly went back to the box and on his own picked it up. "I'll wait...in the truck." On his way out, he bumped into Belén, making her stumble back a couple steps. "Sorry, Belén!" he apologized but she laughed and stepped aside for him to keep going.

"Careful on the last step!" she made sure to warn before stepping inside. "Are you all set then, Iris?"

"Definitely," Iris said.

Belén was able to see the twinge of guilt in Iris' words and shook her head. "Iris, I'm gonna be fine, honest. I just...actually came for some things I left upstairs."

"You already left?" Barry asked, surprised of this. It had been late in the evening when Belén was able to return from the police department after giving her formal statement.

"This morning," she nodded, speaking quietly and averting her eyes from him.

"I guess...there's nothing left to say then," Iris stepped up and hugged her friend. "You know I really am ten minutes away, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Belén tried to remain happy for Iris, because she was, she just couldn't help feel like the loneliness would be more challenging than she thought.

"I gotta go," Iris looked at her father and Barry. "I'll see you guys later, okay."

Belén awkwardly smiled as she gestured to the stairs. "I left my laptop upstairs earlier. I'll be out soon too, promise."

"It's fine," Joe smiled her way.

"Thank you for everything," Belén honestly said and started up the stairs when she remembered. "Actually," she turned to the side facing the two men, "I don't suppose you thought about my suggestion from earlier?"

Joe raised his eyebrows, apparently having thought about it. Confused, Barry waited for some explanation but it never came. "Uh, what, uh, what explanation?" he finally asked.

"Belén was making a couple good points that I thought were...true," Joe began, but had trouble to finish.

"I said that maybe you could move back in," Belén contently finished for him. "I have never been to your place but everyone says it's a death trap-"

"It is," Joe made sure to leave clear. Barry shot him a small glare.

"I was just thinking maybe it could be easier for both of you…" Belén said kindly, leaning on the banister. "And I promise I didn't girly your room up. I didn't touch anything...I didn't understand what many things were, especially that one with a little mirror." She made the gesture of a circular mirror with her index and thumb.

Barry chuckled and glanced at Joe. "You know, it is getting hard to hide the blasting in and out of my apartment at all hours of the night from my neighbors. I suppose it would make sense for me to move back in. I mean, I am a millennial. That is what we do."

Belén rolled her eyes. "Well, you guys can figure that out. I will go get the rest of my things."

"Do you want some help?" Barry was too quick to volunteer, but he was surprised to have such a faster rejection from her.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," she made a hasty retreat to the second floor.

Barry glanced back to Joe, making a confused gesture. Joe just shrugged and went on with the topic.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think...roomies, definitely," the choice wasn't difficult for Barry to make. Still, as happy as he was to come back home, he couldn't help wonder what was up with Belén.

There was still the unaccounted way of how she managed to escape from wherever it was Snart and Mick had put her away in. After getting to STAR Labs, they helped heal her and whatnot but they could not get her to speak about her escape. She wouldn't budge. There was something that happened and she didn't want to say it - in fact, she didn't want to remember it.

---

Author's Note:

Man I love Captain Cold so much, too bad he had to go down in the chapter! As for Belén, tough situation she was in right? The poor woman...

On an unrelated note have you guys seen that Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost is reported to be one of the lead roles in the Flash film!? I. Am. So. Frikin. Excited. About. That! I just love this character so much I'm happy to see her getting more exposure!