Howdy guys! So the next 3 chapters to end Season 1 will be coming up next! Can I get a hell yeah for who's excited? But don't worry I will be continuing into season 2… But as I am amidst writing out all three as you read on…. I'd really like to know what you'd hope to see in the upcoming chps. Aka a marriage, proposal, death… an heavy emotional scene… heartbreak… Let me know so I can hopefully give you guys a bit of what you're looking for plus it will help me a lot improve my writing and story telling J
Much appreciated and love from your Evolution of Snowbarry author Katherine!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor it's characters
Barry's POV
"Flash missing vanishes in crisis…" Cisco read out loud.
Barry's eyes followed a Cisco read, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. What the hell was this? As his eyes scanned over the candid photo of the Flash, Barry focused on the article. He needed to know what happened.
"After an epic street battle with the Reverse Flash our city's very own scarlet speedster disappeared in an explosion of light." Barry mumbled as he read the words projected in front of them.
"Barry, look at the date." Caitlin's voice cut through his thoughts. Shaking his head Barry looked up to see the date that read: April 25, 2024
"April 25 2024… guys when I fought the Reverse Flash during Christmas he said that we'd be fighting for centuries." Barry relayed his voice quiet.
"Wait, you can't really think that this is from the future?" Caitlin insinuated… her voice trying to disguise her denial.
"That means Dr Wells or whoever he is… is also from…" Cisco began to piece things together.
"The future." Barry finished.
"I have to say I'm really digging the brighter red suit and the white on the symbol that's dope!" Cisco said, pausing before continuing.
"Wait a second, suppose we now change the colour on your suit will it be because we got the idea from this picture that would mean that we're living a causal nexus... wow this is so trippy. Like Marty in the polaroid trippy." Cisco's voice pitched up in excitement.
"Not as trippy as the name on the by-line" Caitlin pointed out staring blankly at the name printed in bold.
"Iris West….Allen?" Barry began to read before his voice trailed off.
It took a minute for Barry to digest what he was seeing… Wait, this couldn't be right! He couldn't marry Iris… could he? His eyes widening, Barry peered over his shoulder to Caitlin who was looking anywhere but him and the article. He watched her for a moment longer hoping she'd look up and he'd catch her eye, yet her attention seemed focused on her knotted hands as she bit down on her lip.
"Mazel tov?" Cisco congratulated unsure.
"Hebrew. Ancient language of the Jewish people" A foreign voice echoed through the room startling them.
Barry's body tensed at the unfamiliar voice, his eyes searching everywhere for the source.
"Oh nahuh… what the hell was that?" Cisco yelped.
"Is someone here?" Barry asked hoping someone to emerge into view. "Hello?" Barry demanded.
Suddenly the article in front of them was replaced by a large 3D hologram of a face.
"Good Evening Barry Allen." It spoke.
"Ahh ummm… ugh h-hi! Wh—you know who I am?" Barry stammered as he looked at the hologram.
"Oh course. Barry Allen Director of Central City Police CSI division." It replied.
"Director?" Barry mumbled as he looked back at Cisco.
"I guess you get a promotion." Cisco smiled at Barry with raised eyebrows.
"Also known as the Flash. Founding member of the-" It continued.
"Wh—What are you?" Barry interrupted.
"I'm Gideon an interactive artificial consciousness."
"Huh A.I. Sick!" Cisco responded in awe.
"You know Dr Wells?" Barry interrogated needing answers.
"Yes."
"Do you know who he really is?" Barry pressured eager to learn all he could.
"I don't understand the question."
Now a step closer to getting all the answers he needed Barry's mind was suddenly a buzz with questions he didn't know where to begin.
"I-I—what—what is he doing here? Why did he come here?" Barry asked settling on the burning questions as to why now, why everything.
"To kill you."
With Gideon's answer Barry froze, paralysed by the hard truth. The urgent beeping of Cisco's phone pulled Barry back out of his own mind.
"Wells is in the building!" Cisco panicked.
"Wh-What? How do you know that?" Caitlin stammered in anxiety.
Barry turned to face Cisco, eager to know who he knew.
"I put a tracker on his wheelchair… which if we're wrong about him and he is paralysed, then I'm going to hell for that one." Cisco mumbled under his breath.
"He's in the cortex as we speak, so ask questions FAST!" Cisco's eyes snapped up to Barry alerting him to the urgency of them leaving.
With his heart beating loud Barry spun around immediately. There was one question that had been haunting him since that night. That's the answer he needed.
"W—Why did he kill Nora Allen?"
"Because he was angry."
Barry blew out a heavy breath in frustration. Gideon wasn't giving him a full answer. He needed an explanation. He needed to know why!
"About what?" Barry yelled.
"That you escaped."
Barry stopped confused. Escaped?
"He's on B level coming this way." Cisco prompted them to go.
"What does he want from me?" Barry pushed angrily.
"For you to be the Flash."
This wasn't making any sense? Why would he want him to become the Flash only to want him dead?
"Maybe that's why Wells let the particle accelerator explode so that you could become the Flash." Caitlin suggested filling in some of the blanks.
"Why I mean for what reason—" Barry began to ask before Cisco cut him off almost immediately.
"Guys we got to go he's almost here!"
"Barry…" Caitlin pleaded with him, her voice rising with panic.
"Alright." Barry agreed, taking Caitlin's hand in his leading them out.
"Wait… wait a sec."
Barry stopped in his tracks turning to Cisco.
"What if holo over there tells Wells that we were in here?" Cisco muttered.
"That would be bad." Caitlin whispered.
"If I could get into its operating system maybe I can disable its memory core." Cisco implied.
Right. Letting go of Caitlin's hand, Barry moved back over to Gideon.
"Uhh, Gideon can you show us where your operating system is?" Barry asked hastily.
"Certainly."
From behind Gideon a portal of the wall opens revealing some sort of highly advanced, alien like technology.
Laughing rhetorically, Cisco backed away with hands raised. "Ahhaha yeah… nope that's not going to happen."
"Guys he's in the corridor!" Caitlin informed them as she eyed the tablet Cisco handed over to her.
"Ugh um Gideon could you just like not tell him that we were in here." Barry asked desperately as a last resort. Internally praying for some kind of miracle.
"Sure. Of course. I will accept any command given to me by you." Gideon replied.
"BARRY!" Cisco shouted.
"Come on we got to get out of here!" Caitlin pleaded as she stood by the door beaconing him to leave.
"Wait—Wait why would you accept my commands?" He asked curiosity taking over.
"Because… you created me."
Utterly shocked by the truths of the future, Barry stood paralyzed by the overwhelming influx of information coursing through his brain. The voice of Caitlin calling his name made him snap back into the reality of their immediate danger.
"Barry…"
Seeing the fear in her eyes, Barry flashes to them, bringing his arms around both Cisco and Caitlin as he hurled them out of the room to the parking lot just before Wells rounded the hallway corner.
Placing them back on solid ground, Cisco curled over holding his stomach as he fought the urge to throw up.
"That was close." Cisco muttered.
Barry looked down at Caitlin as she looked up at him. With an arm still around her Barry pulled her to him tightening his embrace as she nestled herself into his shoulder, her heart still beating as fast as his was.
*Barry's Apartment*
Barry opened his apartment door, welcoming the judgement of Joe as he and Eddie rushed passing him to get inside.
"Really? For three smart people that was pretty stupid. What if Wells had caught you in that-" Joe scolded as he threw his jacket over the back of the sofa, staring judgingly at Barry.
"Time vault" Cisco finished.
"Thank you" Joe nodded back to Cisco.
"Okay. I know we've seen a lot this past year but time travel?" Eddie brought up speculative.
"I did it." Barry mumbled.
Suddenly all eyes were on him. Staring at all the baffled faces in the room, Barry pushed himself off his kitchen counter stepping forward as he spoke.
"Or I will do it I mean." He continued shrugging his shoulders as he shoved his hands into his pockets
"Excuse me?" Eddie coughed.
Thinking of how to explain, Barry caught sight of Cisco and with a sympathetic look for assistance, Cisco jumped in to help.
"One of the two speedsters in Barry's house the night his mother died was Barry. I mean the Flash. He was there… which means that one day in the future Barry will travel back in time to that night." Cisco explained.
"Okay." Eddie said dumbfound.
"Actually I wasn't talking about that. I… kinda… already time travelled… by accident." Barry whispered as he looked around to everyone in the room.
"What?" Joe questioned his whole body turning to face Barry. Barry exhaled, his chest deflating as all the left his lungs.
"Well…I was running to try and stop this tsunami from hitting the city—" Barry began to explain fast.
"When was that?" Caitlin interrupted as she edged off couch to listen.
"A few weeks ago… right before you started getting those dreams." Barry replied muffled.
"Oh you mean the ones where Wells uses his super speeding hand to shred apart my heart, those?" Cisco replied taking a seat as he silently relieved those nightmares.
"Yes. Right, so what if they're not dreams?" Barry suggested.
"What else could they be?" Caitlin replied.
"Memories." Barry stated.
"I'm not following." Joe interjected taking a step back lost.
"Oh alright what if that day Cisco found out that Wells is Reverse Flash and then Wells killed him but when I ran back a day I changed the timeline so that event never happened." Barry took a stab and explaining.
"If that never happened then how can Cisco remember it?" Joe pointed out.
"I don't know... uh I think the important thing is he does" Barry stated looking at Cisco.
"Umm we have to access Cisco's memories somehow. Somewhere in his subconscious is the key." Barry continued.
"The key to what now?" Joe asked.
"Getting my dad out of prison." Barry responded promptly.
"And how are we going to do that?" Caitlin questioned.
"We are going to get Wells to confess to killing my mom."
Caitlin's POV
*S.T.A.R Labs*
Caitlin hovered over Cisco's shoulders as he continued to tinker with the glasses they'd use to help Cisco re-enter his dreams.
"So this will allow Cisco to see into his dream?" Barry whispered as he observed Cisco working.
"I got the idea from a journal article on lucid dreaming therapy. They think it can be used to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder." Caitlin smiled proudly at her idea.
"Hah traumatized… stressed… check and check." Cisco muttered sarcastically as he finished some of the final touches to the design.
"The theory is that it will allow people to objectively re-enter their dreams and face their fears. Still working on the talking part…" Caitlin shrugged as she examined the glasses closely, her mind tinkering away for a solution.
"You're sure this thing isn't going to… you know mess with my brain." Cisco asked warily as he stood back staring at the highly modified glasses.
"Hmpf, the amount of electricity required to trigger lucid dreaming is harmless… probably." She tried reassuring Cisco, as she placed a hand on his shoulder smiling warmly at him.
"Who's going to be lucid dreaming?" Wells' voice called them out from behind them. Startled, Caitlin turned around to see Wells comfortably lurking in the doorway of the cortex.
How long had he been there?
Caitlin turned to Barry then Cisco, both looking at her. Rolling her eyes internally, Caitlin face Wells with a smile as she began to lie her ass off.
"Ummm… with all of the meta-humans in Central City people have been seeing some strange things. Things that they don't understand and it's really just a matter of time before psychological issues are developed." She lied.
Turning back to the boys for support, both remained lip tight and nodded in agreement as she finished.
"And lucid dreaming will help the doctors better understand their fears. Intriguing. Course… you still need to guide the patient from the outside right? Direct them to specific aspects of that dream." Wells added.
"We're still working on a communications interface." Cisco whispered.
"When we dream… the middle brain lights up with electrical activity, whereas the higher brain remains dormant. Once we find a way to make both parts of the brain active then it's just a matter of finding the frequency that will stimulate the language centre." Wells informed them as he began working at the computer, eager to help them.
Manoeuvring over to Wells, Caitlin watched over his shoulder as he worked at the solution the needed.
"Then the dreamer could speak… he could describe his own dream" Caitlin agreed with Wells analysis.
"Exactly." Wells replied.
"Or her dream it could be used for anyone." She corrected herself almost immediately.
"Yeah right it's not gender specific. I would try a frequency of 45hrtz" Wells proposed coming to a solution on screen.
"Yes, of course. Thanks Dr Wells." Caitlin smiled shifting back to the glasses adding a few minor adjustments to her equations.
"Course. You never seem to seize to amaze me." He beamed with pride before leaving the room.
Barry's POV
*CCPD*
As Caitlin and Cisco finished up with the glasses, Barry headed back to the CCPD to work over on his day job. Walking out of the elevators and into the lobby, Barry was loudly order over to where Captain Singh stood characteristically stern and stressed.
"Allen the Owen's case I'm still waiting for the fibre evidence and the ballistics report. Are you on vacation or something?" he yelled.
"No, I'm so sorry—It's I've been distracted by another case… which is no excuse… it's just I—" Barry excused.
The chiming of the Captain's phone, Barry notices a sudden shift in the Captain's body muscles.
"Okay. Just ugh get me the reports when you can. There's no rush." He replied lightly leaving Barry momentarily stunned by his uncharacteristic kindness.
"Alright." Barry muffled under his breath.
"Uhh, Captain…. Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Ahh yeah. It's just since Rob and I have been planning the you know, wedding… between the florists and the hundreds of kinds of cake filling and who could sit next to who…." Pausing, the Captain reached out placing a hand on his shoulder releasing a deep breath.
"Never get married Allen." He said sincerely as he looked into his eyes.
"Right." Barry gulped nodding wide eyed at his boss's advice.
Backing away slightly unbalanced by the weird exchange, Barry stumbles into Iris.
"Iris, hey!" He called out as he caught before tripping over.
"Barry!" she laughed steadying herself as she gripped Barry's arm for support.
Once Iris regained her balance, Barry removed his has immediately shoving them in his pockets.
"Are you okay?" Iris quizzed curiously as she tried catching his eye.
"Yeah I know—Yeah that was…. That was just really weird. Captain Singh was nice to me." He fumbled with his words as he swivelled back indicating at Captain Singh with his thumb.
"Oh he was in a good mood he's about to get married." She laughed at Barry's weirdness.
"Lucky. Him…. yeah I umm its-" Barry trailed off as he began to back away scratching his head.
Thinking he was in the clear, Iris' voice chased him down. Closing his eyes, Barry took a deep breath before stopping, turning around to face Iris with a broad smile.
"Hey um can I talk to you in private its work related…" she whispered as she looked around her cautiously.
"Yeah okay… now is not a great time I'm sorry I've got-" He mumbled trying to excuse himself.
And as if Eddie couldn't have better timing, he came waltzing up to them.
"Hey there beautiful…" He greeted Iris with a quick kiss on the lips.
Barry stood between them awkwardly trying to look away from their public display of affection. Clearing his throat, Eddie turned to him as if he had just appeared out of nowhere.
"Hi" Barry waved awkwardly.
"Barry could I grab you for a second?" Eddie asked a wide grin plastered across his face.
Barry looked at Eddie, he couldn't remember seeing anyone so happy than the man standing before him. What was this guy on? And where could he get some? He joked to himself.
"Yeah absolutely." Barry agreed, welcoming the interruption. With Eddie dragging him away, Barry followed closely behind eager to get away.
"Okay can you call me when you're done? Its… it's really important." She called after them before they disappeared by the stairs.
"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled under his breath.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Barry stops to face Eddie.
"What's up?"
As Barry waits for a reply he watches as Eddie digs into his jacket pocket only pull out a mint green box. Opening it, Barry sees a ring.
"Oh… Oh okay! What did she say? Or wait you still have is so you haven't done it and asked her yet or you did ask her and she said…" He mumbles.
A million and one things start to rush through Barry's mind. If Eddie proposes and she says 'yes' then the article in the time vault isn't true… or is it? Could it be?
"I was going to propose tonight…"
Was?
"Alright." Barry sighed waiting for further explanation.
"But I went to Joe to ask for his blessing. He said no."
"He did?" Barry replied shocked.
"Repeatedly."
"Weird." Barry whispered under his breath.
"I know. I need you talk to him. Find out why."
"Wh—Eddie…" Barry stammered taken by surprise.
He didn't want to get involved in anything.
"Look, I know me asking you like this… it's a little awkward…"
"Yeah." Barry breathed. That's an understatement. He thought to himself.
Tearing his eyes away from a pleading Eddie, Barry's eyes caught sight of Cisco and Caitlin hopping off the elevator. Catching Caitlin's eye beaconing him over Barry nodded turning back his attention to Eddie.
"…But you know how heartbroken she's going to be if she finds out that Joe's not on board." He continued.
"Yeah, yeah alright I'll talk to him about it." Barry replied hastily distracted.
"Oh thanks I appreciate it so much. And so will the future Mrs Thawne. Iris Thawne. Ahhah... Sounds pretty good huh?"
Without replying Eddie strode away giddy as his future with Iris seemed bright.
"I have a feeling she's going to want to hyphenate." He mumbled to himself immediately shaking away the thought feeling awkward and weird as he took the steps to his lab two at a time.
Caitlin's POV
*Barry's Lab*
Taking the liberty to set up Barry's lab while the wait for him to join them, Caitlin distracted herself with the task hand, trying very hard to cease her mind from dwelling on that by-line. Hearing the grunting of Barry as he skipped up the stairs, she ordered to take a seat on the stretcher Joe had promptly prepared earlier.
"Okay can we go over this one more time?" Cisco said taking a deep breath.
"Yes. You put the glasses on, fall asleep and start dreaming. Not that hard." She stated handing Cisco the glasses.
"Yeah except I'm pretty sure I die in this dream. If I go back into it… am I going to die in real life? What are we talking about here? Is this like Inception or Dreamscape?" he rambled on.
"Here drink this." Joe rolled his eyes handing him a half filled glass of milk.
"Why am I like five?" Cisco mumbled sarcastically.
"Just drink it." Joe ordered.
"Okay ill drink it."
As Cisco downed the glass, Caitlin took it from him easing him down gently on the stretcher.
"You're going to be fine Cisco." She reassured him.
"Okay."
As he settled down, Caitlin placed the glasses gently over his eyes. Her own keeping a wary eye on Barry who was hovering parallel her on the other side of the stretcher.
"The glasses are emitting a low level delta wave. Which should help you fall asleep." She informed Cisco.
"Okay I got to warn you though it usually takes me a long time. I mean I'm not saying I'm like an-" Cisco trailed off falling into a deep lucid dreamstate.
"Ahhh so that's how you get him to shut up." Joe piped up with a laugh.
Caitlin chuckled at Joe's comment, shifting herself to the set up computer system beside her.
"He's entering REM. It's working."
Caitlin hears Barry huff out in amazement.
"Cisco can you hear me? You're dreaming bud." Barry soothes gently.
"Guys this is mad freaky!"
"Okay well umm where are you?" Barry asks.
"Umm… In the cortex. I mean I know I'm just dreaming I'm in the cortex but it feels so real."
"What is the dream you doing?"
"Ah Caitlin just left I asked her to take Wells to Jitters."
Barry looks to Caitlin as he asks the questions. Caitlin shrugs her shoulder, remembering that she hasn't lived the reality Cisco's in.
"Why did you want Wells out of the Lab?"
"I think he may have tampered with my work but I need to check. Okay, okay I'm walking to the bunker. Oh man I love this shirt and I thought the dryer ate it."
Caitlin peers over her shoulder to see Joe trying to stifle his laughter. Caitlin smiles as she returns her attention back to Cisco.
"Focus, Cisco."
"Okay, okay. Alright. Now I'm running tests on the containment system. This data doesn't make sense. All the super compaciters are all full charged there's no way that the man in yellow should of escaped. Oh my god. It's just a hologram. He tricked us. Oh god Wells is here."
"Cisco it's just a dream, he can't hurt you." Cisco reminded him, her voice definitive and soothing.
"You better be right about that….. Eobard Thawne"
"Thawne? Like Eddie Thawne." Joe pushed in asking.
"You killed Nora Allen."
"Wait, Nora? What about my mom… Cisco?" Barry probed.
"He didn't want to kill her. It was you Barry. He was trying to kill you Barry."
The beeping of the computer pulled Caitlin's attention. His vitals were spiking and they were rising fast.
"He's blood pressure is 200 and he's heart rate is 147 guys he's losing higher brain function. Cisco you're going to be okay it's just a dream, you're going to be okay."
"He's hand it's vibrating he's going to kill me!" Cisco began to panic.
With his vital signs not improving, Caitlin started to worry. If they didn't get him out now he was going to have a stroke.
"OMG he's going to have a stroke!" she yelled at the others.
"Okay get him out of there!" Barry instructed.
"Help me!"
Caitlin spun around immediately to one of the other computers linked to the glasses. Typing away furiously at the keyboard Caitlin worked as fast as she could to bring Cisco back and power down the device.
"Cait!" Barry's voice rang out strained.
"Oh god! Help me!" Cisco screamed jumping up ripping the glasses off.
"You're okay. It was just a dream you're okay." She cooed as she placed a hand over his chest, trying to rest him back down. Just breathe Cisco. Just breathe.
"Oh god… it felt so real." Cisco said shaking.
Caitlin looked for Barry, swivelling around Barry had moved into the corner of the room a hand over his forehead.
"Barry?" Caitlin asked moving towards him concerned.
"My mom… this was my fault." He whispered.
Barry's POV
Just as Caitlin reached him placing a hand on his arm, Barry's phone rang startling him. Without checking the caller ID, Barry picked up the call.
"Hello?"
"Where are you?" Wells voice demanded.
Barry froze. His eyes wide, Barry looked at Caitlin with fear in his eyes.
"Barry… Barry, are you there?"
"Dr Wells… yeah, sorry. It's just a bad connection right now." Barry fumbled with his words.
"Where have you been?"
"Uhh, nothing why what's going on?"
Taking the phone from his ear, he placed the call on speaker so that everyone else could hear.
"A fire… a huge fire has just erupted."
"A fire where?" Barry sighed in relief that they hadn't been caught.
"New Brighton. Bradford Tower High Rise."
"I know the building that's where Captain Singh's fiancé works." Joe cut in.
"I'm on my way."
*Bradford Tower High Rise*
As Barry entered the burning building, all around him he saw people shrinking into corners trying to escape the raging fires burning throughout the floor of the building.
"Dr Wells the sprinklers. They're not working." Barry coughed as he tried to seek out where everyone was.
"I see that, just get everyone out of there Barry." He instructed.
Taking a step forward, Barry was hindered to a halt as a fire whipped in front of him sending him a step back instead.
"No I can't. I can't save them all! Dr Wells please! What do I do?" he pleaded with the man who killed his mother.
"You create a vacuum. Rotate your arms at super speed. That will create a wind funnel that will suck the right out of the room."
Taking a deep breath, Barry put his trust back in Wells and did as he was told. As Barry began to rotate his arms, it seemed to make the fire worse.
"It's making it worse!"
"Barry listen to me, you need to move your arms faster. I believe in you Barry."
Closing his eyes, Barry opened them with a new charge of electricity pulsing though his muscles, Barry tried again this time successfully exhausting the flames out. As the flames were extinguished Barry hurled over, his hands on his knees as he took a beat to recharge. It worked. He thought to himself relieved.
*S.T.A.R Labs*
Shrugging into the last layer of clothing, Barry fixed the collar of his coat shutting the locker door as he did. The subtle hum of Wells' motorized wheel chair caused the hairs on the back of Barry's neck rise. Barry shivered the eerie thought and turned around with a wary smile that did not reach his eyes.
"Mr Allen. Tonight at the fire… I saw hesitation. I saw you doubting yourself why is that?"
Barry froze unsure of what to say. Shifting his weight on the other foot Barry coughed to clear his throat before speaking.
"I don't know... ugh I guess I was afraid I couldn't save everyone." He mumbled before stepping around Wells to leave.
"Right. But if there is anything I have learnt in our time together Barry… it's that the only thing standing in your way of achieving every goal that set for yourself is you. There is no limit, to how strong you will get or how fast you will go… everything that you will need… you already have." Wells spoke catching Barry before he left.
Taking a deep breath Barry mustered all the strength he could to restrain himself from pinning this man against the wall and demanding a confession.
"Thank you Dr Wells." Barry paused.
"You know I couldn't have done any of this without you." He spat out trying hard to disguise his hatred.
"I feel the same way about you." Wells smiled warmly.
Barry returned the smile with a gesture of a nod. The moments silence t came after, signified the end of their conversation and permission for Barry to finally leave. As his back was turned away, Barry stalked out of the room. When he was out of sight, Barry unclenched his fists turning them back from a pale shade of white to a warm hint of pink as the blood resumed flowing through his fingers. Taking a deep breath, he kept his head high moving as quickly as a normal person could and leave.
*West Residence*
Closing the wooden door behind him, Barry leaned his forehead down against the cool grain of the wood in exhaustion. Feeling Joe's eyes boring into the back of his head, Barry lifted his head turning to face Joe with a weak smile.
Joe didn't say a word; he just held out a beer and waited. That's what Barry loved about Joe. How well he knew him. Joe was a man of few words… he knew what Barry needed and when he was ready he'd be able to open up about it.
Taking the beer from Joe's hands, Barry held it up in a salute of thanks before taking a big gulp. Like it would do anything to him anyways.
"It's so strange... I mean I look at him now and I know that he killed my mom and sent my dad to jail but… sometimes he's just so kind and in the moment I actually like him… but you never did." Barry sighed as he slumped down onto the arm of the sofa resigned.
"No." Joe responded flatly.
"No…" Barry laughed at himself for having been so delusional.
"Well at least now we know who to trap him. I mean in Cisco's dream he confessed to everything if we can just recreate those conditions he'll do it again." Barry chirped up trying to see the bright side in all this heavy darkness around him.
"Man Bar—Taking down bad guys… pulling confessions, I'm the cop I'm the one who's supposed to be doing this." Joe said in a low protective voice.
"Look, if we're going to get him to confess… it has to be with someone that he truly trusts. Someone he'll genuinely let his guard down with. H—he thinks of Cisco like a son." Barry started to argue.
"Well then we need to do a better job at protecting him then I did protecting you."
"I'm not sure what that means." Barry answered confused.
"Barry this is all because of me…"
"No." Barry said bluntly cutting Joe off.
"I shouldn't of let Wells take you from the hospital all of this is on me."
"If you hadn't let him take me I would be dead for sure." Barry argued.
"But even then I knew something wasn't right. Everything in my gut was telling me not to trust him. But I did. Because I was so desperate to see you okay."
"Joe. This isn't your fault. It's not your fault. Look every bad thing that has happened to us. All of it. It was him. And now he's going to pay for it." Barry stated with finality and confidence.
Caitlin's POV
*S.T.A.R Labs*
As she rode the elevator down towards the lower floor of S.T.A.R Labs Caitlin couldn't help but fidget with her hands as she bit down on her bottom lip as a nervous habit. When the doors opened, Caitlin couldn't have stepped out faster, having her nerves take over her body.
"I just talked to Dr Wells he's attending a lecture down town won't be back till five." She said taking a deep breath as she meet with the rest of the team down there stopping beside Barry.
Resting her hands by her side, Caitlin kept her focus on the trap that they had set from the Reverse Flash. As Barry stared down at her, she suspected he start to sensing her nervousness. Caitlin felt as Barry's fingers intertwined themselves with hers. Felling him squeeze her hand, she was immediately comforted by his reassurance. Tightening her fingers around his Caitlin, felt the slight ease of worry lift from her mind.
"Alright, Cisco you know when he gets here you need to be working on the trap so he sees you set off the hologram." Barry instructed, his hands still firmly glued to hers.
"Hold on isn't that… in your dream where everything went all…" Joe mumbled.
"Call—ii—ma temple of doom. Yeah that definitely happened but… this time I'm ready for him. I originally designed the force field from keeping a speedster from getting out. But I reversed it. It won't let one in."
Caitlin's eyes were on Cisco as he stepped inside the large contraption, switching on some invisible force field. As Cisco turned around he eyes zeroed on Barry, using his forefinger he indicated to Barry come and get him.
Barry looked down at her a lazy smile across his face.
"Back up." He whispered dropping her hand.
Caitlin stepped back a few paces as Barry geared up to run up to Cisco. As Caitlin held her breath along with everyone else, she watched as Barry flashed towards Cisco ramming into the force field, bouncing back into the metal tool box with a loud clash. Without hesitation, Caitlin ran towards him skidding to kneel by his side.
"Barry are you okay?" she asked her voice tense with concern.
"Ahhh… it works." He rasped.
"Okay as long as I'm inside Wells won't be able to get near me." Cisco said approaching them.
"And I will be in the cortex watching and recording everything that happens." Caitlin added helping Barry to his feet.
With a hand over his chest, Barry snaked an arm around Caitlin holding her tight against his side as they went through the plan.
"As soon as we get the confession we need to get free my dad I'm moving in."
"So what do I do?" Eddie piped up.
"Wells also threatened Iris so if something goes wrong here we need you to keep an eye on here until Wells is neutralized." Joe instructed.
Caitlin watched the intense gaze Eddie gave Joe.
"I'll always keep Iris safe Joe." Eddie retorted bluntly before turning his back and leaving.
Barry's POV
"What?" Joe looked to Barry in utter confusion.
Sighing Barry indicated with his head that they step aside and talk. Eyeing him warily, Joe agreed walking ahead. Barry kissed Caitlin's hair before sliding his hand from her back and following after Joe.
As Barry caught up with Joe, Barry ran his hands through his hair unsure of where to begin or even what to say.
"So umm Eddie told me what happen that you coboshed his proposal." He began.
"That was supposed to be between him and me." Joe grumbled grumpily.
"Look I soooo agree with that and I, and I know that we have a lot going on right now and I should definitely be the last person pleading Eddie's case… but I don't get it Joe… why did you say no?" Barry blurted out.
"Because if Eddie proposes to Iris… she's going to get caught up in the moment and the romance. And she's going to say yes."
Barry was momentarily stunned and lost for words. With his brows creased together in confusion Barry spoke again.
"And what is wrong with that? And yet again I don't know why I'm saying this or getting more involved."
"Because one day she's going to wake up and realize she married the wrong guy. But she'll stay anyway because she made a promise. I don't want that kind of life for her or him. She's got feelings for you… Barry. She may not know how she's going to deal with those feelings right now… but I know her. They're there. Always have been. You know that too."
Barry took a step back unsure of what he was hearing or if he was hearing them right… What the hell?
"Joe it's too late for that. I'm in love with Caitlin. Whatever feelings I had for Iris… they're not the same anymore…. You need to let her make her own choice." Barry argued passionately.
Before Joe could respond Barry's phone began to buzz pulling his attention from this absurd conversation.
"Speaking of Iris she sent a 911… I'll talk to you later."
Caitlin's POV
*That Night*
Caitlin had remained in the cortex all night, trying to busy herself with work. Busying herself with anything to keep her mind of what they were about to do. This was it.
Hearing the motorized wheel chair of her boss enter the room, Caitlin dropped whatever she was doing to greet him.
"Hello Dr Wells… how was your lecture?" she said politely.
"Oh boring…tedious..."
"Platitudinous?" she offered.
"Couldn't have said it better." He laughed.
"Umm...Where's Cisco?" Wells asked as his eyes scanned the rest of the room for her colleague and friend.
Trying to act normal, Caitlin scooted past Wells towards the computers in the heart of the room.
"He's in the bunker. He thinks he finally found out what happened at Christmas. You know when we were trying to catch the Reverse Flash." She replied calmly even though the palm of her hands began to sweat.
"Yes I remember. That night... Did he say what he found?" He asked, his interest peaked.
"Nope. Just that it was important." She muttered in response.
"Oh, good for Cisco. Maybe I'll wheel down there and see what he's got." He smiled before leaving the room.
Caitlin eyes followed Wells as he left the room. When she was sure he was out of ear shot she alerted the others.
"Here he comes."
Barry's POV
Running so fast, the world around him slowed down, Barry could only watch as the last bullet pierced his body.
"NOOOO!" Barry screamed as he came to halt heaving.
"He didn't confess!" He cried, rushing his hands through his hair in desperation.
"Cisco, are you okay?" Caitlin ran toward him worried.
"Yeah I'm never going to sleep again but I'm okay." He replied taking a moment to get back his bearings.
Barry stared down at Wells. No! This can't be happening. His dad! This was his only hope. Barry watched as Caitlin carefully knelt down by Wells' side checking for a pulse.
"He's dead" she confirmed.
"He didn't confess. Joe this was it! My dad's going to be in prison forever." Barry turned around in frustration.
"Barry I'm sorry." Joe whispered guilty.
"Hey… whoa what the hell?" Cisco screamed.
Dropping his hands, Barry turned around looking at Cisco; he followed his gaze to Wells who seemed to be morphing. Bates. Feeling a brief revival of hope, Barry let out a deep breath. As fast as the feeling came it vanished by the realization he knew. Wells knew. With a renewed anxiety Barry fisted his hands in his hair. Suddenly the chilling voice of their once mentor… hero and friend rang though the air.
"I told you this before… I'm always one step ahead. Flash…allow me reintroduce you to Mr Hannibal Bates and he's incredible ability to transform into any person he touches. I knew that ability would come in handy… I did not expect it to come in handy this soon hhahaha"
"You used him! Like you used all of us." Barry yelled.
"He served a purpose. Didn't take much convincing. Just the simple promise of his freedom."
"You ruined my life. You ruined all of our lives." Caitlin cried painfully.
"We stood by you after everything that happened." She continued.
"I can see how this must be difficult for you to understand but trust me your lives now are so much better because of what I have done for you."
"You don't have to hide anymore we know you're not Harrison Wells just tell us who you are." Joe called out.
"A confession will get you nowhere. You've seen who I am… you know what I can do."
"You want to kill me go ahead… I'm not going to fight you but just tell the police what you did and get my dad out of prison." Barry pleaded desperate.
"I don't want to kill you Barry. I need you. And….i did not anticipate as difficult as the past 15years have been for me how much I would come to love working with you. With all of you. And yet that does not change what needs to happen."
"Then face me now!" He spat out with an anger that even scared him.
"Oh we'll face each other again. I promise you soon. Very, very soon!"
"He's in the time vault!" Cisco yelled out.
Before he could let anyone stop him, Barry flashed out leaving the rest of them behind.
"Barry!" Caitlin's distant cries disappeared behind him.
*Cortex*
As Barry staggered back into the room, Barry's chest rose up and down as he breathed heavily trying to catch his breath.
"It was all a set up. We thought we set a trap for him but he set a trap for us. Omg Iris." Barry's eyes widened in realization.
"We need to find Iris."
"Why?" Joe asked confused.
"Wells he's been watching all of us. He has surveillance cameras set up everywhere. Our homes, my lab, the police station… Picture news…. Cisco text me when you have a location." Barry instructed before rushing out again.
Iris' POV
Iris fell to her knees helpless as she stared off into the darkness unsure of where her fiancé was taken.
"Hey it's me!" The Flash cooed.
Iris gripped onto his arm desperately. She couldn't breathe. The man she loved was just taken by the Man in Yellow.
"He took him. The Man in the Yellow he took Eddie." She stammered through big deep breaths.
"I promise I will find him okay." The Flash reassured her as he helped her up.
"What is happening?" she cried, scared and determined for answers.
"Listen to me. Go home. Don't say anything to anyone. I swear to you I'll bring him back alright." He replied before sliding out of her hold and speeding away.
"Wait st-" she called out into the night.
As his fingers left hers, a spark of electricity shocked her. Shocked her to the reality and the truth behind the identity of the hero behind the mask.
"Barry?"
So how did you guys like that? Let me know!