.:37:.

"You think this is a good idea?" Barry asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he and Harrison moved through the pipeline, towards the cells that housed the metahumans. "To let him go?" He ran a hand over his hair before moving in front of Harrison's chair and crossed his arms. "He tried to destroy the city…he has the power to take down our communication links, he managed to have a whole team of metahumans to work together with a team from A.R.G.U.S. to kill me and you. Why in the world would you want to release him back to…back into the city?"

Harrison let out a light sigh, resting his cheek in his upraised palm. His blue eyes shifted back and forth for a few minutes, as if he was trying to figure out the best way to answer, before bringing his hand back down to his lap. "You've brought up some good points, Mr. Allen, however I have one more point I think you'll agree with." He cleared his throat then rolled his chair closer to the speedy metahuman. "He had the ability to put the entire city of Central City under his control with a power we're still not really sure is his only power or how he's able to do it. That's the sort of thing that many people could become…enamored with if it was found that we have that sort of metahuman."

Barry nodded lightly, eyebrows furrowing together.

"I assume you know what I'm implying when I say that," Harrison continued.

"Eiling. You're afraid Eiling is going to figure out that you have Breathtaker, and use him to continue with his super-soldier project."

"Correct. And I am very inclined to note that I'm not just thinking about our best interest, but I'm thinking about the city as well. The metahumans we've continuously had to face when they pop up are certainly not a match for the sort of things that Breathtaker can do. Especially if Eiling ends up becoming a military mastermind of some sort. So, we have an even trade." Harrison called up a cell and the doors opened to find Breathtaker floating inside, red cloak billowing out from underneath him as if there were an industrial fan underneath him. "We let him go…if he manipulates the minds of everyone in Central City back so that they don't know of the existence of metahumans and the like. Then, while they're all knocked out and have this moment in their lives replaced with a memory that isn't particularly real you will go and fix the city. Thankfully there wasn't so much damage that can't be replaced…as quick as a flash."

Barry gently shook his head, sucking his teeth into his mouth. Then he turned on his heel and started to pace back and forth. Every now and then he would turn his gaze back to Breathtaker, watching as the metahuman continued to hover, listening quietly. So they would re-arrange the minds of everyone in Central City to forget metahumans and everything that had happened that night. Would that mean that they would forget the Flash and Clyde Mardon and the Particle Accelerator explosion? Will they forget about the Flash?

No. No…that wasn't the way things were going to go. That wasn't going to work. There were too many what ifs and risks to take. They didn't know the extent of Breathtaker's powers or how long it would last until it wore off. Then what would happen? No, pushing away the potential existence of metahumans wasn't something they could do.

"I'll fix the city, that's not going to be a problem," Barry said, turning back to Harrison. "But we can't have them think that there aren't any metahumans after what some people saw. Even if Breathtaker managed to make them do that, there's still Iris's blog and all of the posts that are around the internet anyway. And the footage that was put on the news…"

"That can be taken care of within a matter of moments," Breathtaker commented. "Especially as what I've seen as of late, most of the sort of journalistic tendencies are digital and is something I could have erased as soon as you tell me to." He turned towards Harrison. "I do that, you let me go."

"And you leave Central City," Harrison added.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Now, Harrison, that wasn't the agreement we came to when you first presented me with this deal."

"That was before we changed the extenuating circumstances surrounding it. You get rid of all of the evidence of what happened tonight, so that it can't be broadcasted or spread anywhere else, lest General Eiling or someone equally as manipulative catches wind of it. Then we'll let you go."

Barry chewed his lower lip as he turned back to Harrison, who was now watching him intently, eyes shifting back and forth with each of Barry's movements. Barry, let out a light sigh then zipped up to the cortex, changed into his suit, then zipped back down in front of Harrison, all in the matter of a few seconds. Harrison leaned back in his seat and smiled up at the hero.

"You just focus on repairing the city and showing that you're the hero you always have been destined to be, and I'll take care of the rest of this," Harrison said. "Trust me, everything will be fine."

Another sigh escaped Barry's lips before he smiled a little. He really did trust Dr. Wells; he had no reason not to. Even when he had been kidnapped by the Suicide Squad and Assassination Bureau, Harrison had done his best to buy him some time, to help him, to put himself into the line of fire so that they could save the city. He was always the driving force behind the work they had done with STAR Labs, pushing him to be stronger as time went on and he did his best to continue to be the savior of the city. If he thought letting Breathtaker go— a metahuman that was far beyond his strength and power—then it was probably for a good idea. It was safer than leaving him within the pipeline where he could adapt to the intricacies of their prison and take it over before they could even blink.

"I'll be back soon," Barry promised. He slid his mask over his face and got to work.

Once finished restoring the city back to its former beauty, Barry slowed down at his apartment, Barry looked at his watch then changed into his work clothes and hurried off to the CCPD. He hurried inside, his bag bouncing against his side and immediately went to Joe's desk. Joe looked up and, when spotting him, immediately grabbed onto his arm and dragged him to the break room. He looked around o be sure there was no on inside before closing the door behind them.

"What happened to you out there?" Joe demanded. "The last thing we knew, the city was up in chaos, with you and the Flash nowhere to be found." He lowered his breath, leaning towards Barry. "Am I correct in assuming that the Arrow and his company managed to help the Flash out a little bit?"

Barry raised an eyebrow before looking around the break room. He even spun around in a circle and looked towards the ceiling to double-check there was no one around. Then he turned back to Joe with a raised eyebrow. "Joe, this isn't a gossip column, there's no one around to hear us." Once he got his joke out of the way, cleared his throat. "It was a mess. The Assassination Bureau and the Suicide Squad were working with the metahuman Breathtaker and he was trying to take over the city so that he could blame it all on Dr. Wells and have him thrown in jail."

Joe's eyebrows lifted in surprise before a bemused grin slid across his face. Barry could see that he didn't really understand the entire story and he rushed to explain.

"Okay, it goes like this. Breathtaker is a metahuman that has powers that none of us can even being to know, and he managed to have Lucas, Leah, a metahuman called Incognito, and Cadence to fall under his power because he promised them money and a better life. They blindly did everything he told them to do and in Cadence's case, knew that she was actually Dr. Wells'…" Barry trailed off for a moment, knowing it wasn't his place to reveal that sort of information. "Actually a closer friend that we originally thought, and had planned this whole thing to get back at him and to use his knowledge of the particle accelerator for something. So that Leah used her mind control powers to manipulate Michael Bloom into kidnapping Brady to be sure that Cadence would help them. We didn't know at the time that the only reason that Brady was never afraid or had any lasting effects of it afterwards was because Leah mind manipulated him into thinking that everything was okay and that he would be taken back soon.

"So Cadence worked with the Assassination Bureau to leave a trail of random deaths around the city so that when they killed Dr. Wells, it would seem like an accident. And the best way to get to him was to get to me so they had Cade look for me so that she could get me and Dr. Wells into custody. And while this was going on, they teamed up with the Suicide Squad as a means to get them into the city so that they could follow the progress of the drug Vertigo to be sure that the Church of Blood wasn't leaking over here and they ended up all under Breathtaker's control. Cade started to feel bad about what was going on, breaking away from Breathtaker's hold and tried to tell me what was going on, but never got the chance because the Assassination Bureau had been watching her just as much as they had been watching me and after the fight I had gotten into with Oliver, Cade, and Roy they kidnapped all of us. Then at the same time this was happening, I guess to detract from the fact they knew the Flash's identity, Breathtaker created nothing but chaos all over the city to blame it on Dr. Wells and have him run out or killed and then they would have the metahumans take over the city."

Barry finished his explanation and took a deep breath, realizing he had been rambling as the story went on. He glanced at Joe and smiled a little at the stunned expression that was held upon the man's face. Joe reached up and ran his fingers along his beard and goatee before he crossed his arms over his chest. He turned his head aside for a moment then turned back to Barry, that familiar grin sliding onto his face again before he started laughing, this time a real laugh.

Tilting his head to the side, Barry watched him for a minute before joining him with his own laughter, albeit it was a very confusing one. "What's so funny?"

"You know how you can do that thing where you vibrate your vocal chords so that no one can recognize your voice?" Joe asked. Barry shrugged and nodded. "While you were talking…you were talking so fast that you lips were moving so much so that they blurred. And I mean like,"—he brought up a finger and ran it up and down his lips, making a blabbering sound—"so I didn't hear anything you said after Breathtaker wanting to Dr. Wells and his knowledge of the particle accelerator for something."

The two laughed again and Barry shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Long story short, the Flash has cleaned everything up and the journalistic evidence of Breathtaker and his broadcast to the city has been erased." He shrugged. "Now it's mostly hearsay and potential witness accounts. But I don't know how much of that they'll believe since most people don't believe in the Flash." A pang of sadness washed over him as he turned his gaze to the floor. Barry wasn't doing any of his work with STAR Labs for the fame; he wasn't doing it for the recognition and the praise. He did it because he felt it was right and he felt in his heart he was meant to be doing it. But it would be nice if every now and then he got a 'thank you' or some sort of feeling that people were glad to have him around, rather than afraid.

"What does that mean for Breathtaker?" Joe asked. "You said he's a really powerful metahuman."

"We have to let him go," Barry explained. "It's too dangerous for him to be in the pipeline if he figures out how to take control of our system. So, he's erasing all of what happened…and we're letting him go. The rest of the metahumans, Lucas, Leah, and Incognito are staying in the Pipeline." He let out a low breath. "Breathtaker didn't really care about them and what they did for him as long as he managed to do what he needed."

"I don't know, Barry, I don't really like the idea of that."

"What other choice do we have?"

Silence stretched out between the two of them as the reality of their situation fell around them. That's what Barry had wanted to bring up to Harrison, but couldn't find the way to do so. The man instilled a lot of confidence in the decisions he made and Barry did agree with him a lot of the time. This was just something he had to trust him with, too.

Joe hummed in agreement then walked over to Barry and wrapped his arms around him. Barry reached up and hugged Joe back, feeling the man trembling and realized how scared the man had been for him once they had been out on the streets with regular humans and metahumans running around, creating chaos. Barry and seen and cleaned up the aftermath of it, but it hadn't really hit him as he hadn't been there. But knowing that Joe, Eddie, Iris and the rest of the CCPD had been out there in all of that, it really hit him.

"I'm glad you're okay," Joe said, still holding tightly onto Barry. "Last we heard was after you had gotten saved from Bivolo, then we didn't hear anything from you once the city went to hell. I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay," Barry replied. "I don't know what I would do without you or Iris. And with all of this going on, I didn't think…" He lowered his head, feeling tears popping up in his eyes. The idea of losing them was too much to bear, let alone think about. "I'm sorry I didn't—"

"Barry, it's okay, you had a lot to do. Without you and the Arrow and the others…this city probably wouldn't still be standing." Joe patted him on the back then grinned as he pulled back. "You've done a lot to help and I know that's a heavy weight for you to bear. I'm glad you're okay. I'm proud of you." He patted Barry on the back and took a step away just as the door to the break room opened and Eddie and Iris hurried in.

Iris's gaze immediately turned to Barry and she hurried over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Barry! I'm so glad you're okay!" She said, hugging him tightly.

Barry hugged her, gently rubbing her back as he did so. "Yeah, Iris, I'm fine." He looked down at her as she took a step back and continued to look up at him, concern washed over her face. "Look, I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to call or—"

"Of course!" Iris squeezed his arm. "The telephone and power lines have only just gotten back up. And…and the Flash ahs restored the city so now people can get back to their homes. Evacuees are coming back…" she pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Sorry, I know I'm rambling I'm just glad you're okay." She hugged him again and Barry let out a light laugh, returning the hug once more. He held onto her tightly, suddenly feeling a wave of relief wash over him, not realizing how much he had hoped that she was okay. Now that she was in front of him, safe, unharmed…

"And you too, Eddie," Barr suddenly added, lifting his gaze to meet Detective Thawne's as he placed his hands on his hips. Iris let go of Barry and he moved over to Joe's partner, unsure whether to give him a hug or to hold out his hand, but Eddie beat him to it, pulling him into a sincere-yet awkward, hug. "I heard the CCPD did a lot to evacuate the residents of the city."

"Yeah, we did everything we could," Eddie agreed. He cleared his throat, exchanging a glance with Iris and Joe for a moment. "There was only so much we could do, but we did our best. Even with the crazies running around."

"Do you remember that Harley girl, with the mallet that we had seen back in the department store?" Iris asked, bringing Barry's attention back to her. Yeah, he remembered her. The girl that had a rifle and a mallet in her ammunition and was probably more than a little bit crazy. "She was out on the streets, I ran into her when I was trying to find my Dad and Eddie. But…the Burning Man saved me. He saved us."

"Burning Man?" Barry repeated, hoping that the sudden deer-in-headlights expression that flashed across his face didn't give anything away. Joe glanced over at Barry and, recognizing the look, took a step forward.

"There was so much that went on that night, it's going to be really hard to process everything," Joe said. "As a matter of fact, I'm sure Captain Singh is going to be calling all of us in to talk about what happened and how to go on from there." He turned to Iris and leaned over, giving her a kiss on the side of the head. "Let me know when you're done with your shift, baby."

Iris rolled her eyes. "Daddy, I'm old enough so that you don't need to take me home from work."

"I know, but at the moment we're not sure how many people have taken advantage of what happened and escaped holding facilities or are armed and dangerous. I can't risk that. So call me as soon as you're done, alright."

"Fine." Iris hid a rolling of her eyes towards Barry, who smiled.

Barry followed the three out of the room, waving goodbye to Iris, before following Joe and Eddie to the lobby of the CCPD where Captain Singh had called the entire police force together. Barry leaned against the banister of the stairs as he listened to Captain Singh explain their relief efforts and what they would be doing going forward as well as increased patrols and what sort of protection they would be wearing. Barry hardly listened to what was being told to him, not only did it not specifically pertain to him, but because it wasn't exactly what his life was about anymore.

His job with the CCPD was his day job while metahuman busting—as Cisco called it—turned out to be his life. Being struck by that lightning had done more than just give him the powers he had quickly grown to love; it gave him a different outlook on life but made him realize how different he was to everyone around him. His co-workers did their jobs then went home to their families. He went to a different kind of family, to a different home than he had grown up with. But both of his lives were important to him, nevertheless.

A small smile started to stretch across his face.

And he wouldn't change anything about it.

A/N: Geez, having updated twice the week before last and then once last week makes it seem like a week-long wait is forever. Haha. I hope you guys liked it.

Cheers,

-Riles