In a Flash

by DarkElements10

[First in Blindsided Series] "A picture is worth a thousand words, but it doesn't tell the whole story." When Barry comes across a new Metahuman with telescopic vision and a photographic memory, everything about the life he knew gets thrown out of focus. The smallest move, the smallest decision can change the resolution of your life from in focus to blurry all in a flash. SEQUEL UP

38. See It to Believe It

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"See It to Believe It"

---

"No, mom, I'm not in trouble."

Cisco paced back and forth in his office, his phone pressed to his ear. Holding his hands over the receiver of the phone, he looked over at Caitlin. "How do moms always find out something you're keeping from them?" Caitlin shrugged her shoulders before smiling in amusement, her eyes stuck on the computer she was using.

Putting his phone back to his ear, Cisco started talking loudly over his mom. "Ma. Mom. Mami! No, everything's fine, I'm not in trouble. I was helping a friend, that's all. No, mami, I'm not going to jail, lo prometo. Te amo, mami. No, no quiero hablar con Dante. Adios, mami." After ending the call, he mimed throwing his phone at the wall. "The way my mom can figure things out really scares me sometimes."

"She's just worried," Caitlin replied, turning in her chair to face him. "Dante's party was the first time in a while you two were in the same place together."

"I know," Cisco replied, dropping down into the empty chair beside her. He lay sprawled in his chair as if he had no energy left in his body before continuing their conversation. "Anyway, I don't think I've been asked that many questions at one time before." Sitting up straight, he ran his hands over his face before he dropped his hands into his lap. "Oh, wait, yes, I have. Hartley barely stopped questioning me and my qualifications after I was hired at STAR Labs."

"It was really that bad?" Caitlin asked with a frown.

"Barry tried to warn me, but that was awful," Cisco replied, nodding. "First they questioned us in a room by ourselves, and then they questioned us again all together to make sure our stories stayed the same." He reached for the bag of Hershey Kisses sitting on the table next to his arm and retrieved a piece. Unwrapping the foil from the candy he said, "I feel bad for Barry. He's had to go through that once before, and they brought up his parents, too." He popped the piece of chocolate into his mouth. "He kind of broke down afterwards. I don't blame him."

"Poor Barry," Caitlin said, her frown deepening. "He doesn't deserve any of that." She shook her head back and forth. "None of you guys deserved that. Surely there are better ways to get information from someone."

"According to Eddie, Internal Affairs aren't actually looking to get anyone fired," Cisco replied. Caitlin gave him a curious look. "He and Iris showed up to give their support." He rolled the small sheet of foil into a ball and added it to the growing stack by his elbow. "Good thing too, Barry really needed it. And Averey?" He took another piece of candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth, shaking his head. "If Barry hadn't said anything, they would have really grilled her about her arrest."

"Oh no."

"Yeah, Barry told Eddie that they asked Averey about her prior arrest and he wanted to make sure that she was ok and he explained everything he knew about Internal Affairs then."

"Did that bother you?" Caitlin asked. "Eddie stepping in I mean."

"What?" Cisco asked. "Why?

"You said it yourself that everyone has problems when guys like Eddie exist," Caitlin replied with a half smile. "And you like Averey."

Cisco lifted a finger in the air to respond, but only managed to open and close his mouth. The strong smell of chocolate reached his nose with each breath out of his mouth. What he said was true; the average looking guy was always skipped over for the more handsome type. It was no wonder people preferred Dante over him. Dante got all the girls' attention as they grew up, and he was just cute.

"Need I remind you that you're the one that thinks he's hot?" he asked, finding a comeback. He smiled in triumph when he saw the light pink tinge that suddenly appeared on Caitlin's cheeks.

"I meant genetically speaking," Caitlin insisted, her mouth opening in an 'O' of surprise at his comment, "scientifically, even. It was an observation."

"Mmhmmm." Caitlin made a face at Cisco's smirk and reached for the pile of balled up foil, throwing it at him. "Hey!" Shaking out his shirt, the foil dropped to the floor. "No, I don't have a problem with it. They're friends He's helped her through a lot."

He did notice, though, how more comfortable and relaxed she seemed to be when talking with the police detective. Then again, a lot of people felt safe around that kind of authority figure. But Averey was receptive to his actions when her mugshot was shown to the room. He got a hug and a kiss on the cheek from her, and she wasn't too quick to let go of his hand, either. Out of Barry's sight of course. With everything he had to deal with, it would be better not to have that in his face, either.

He hadn't ever seen Averey like that before; caught off guard, defeated, disappointed in herself, and embarrassed all at the same time. When he first met her, she was tenacious enough to get answers from Dr. Wells that she broke into STAR Labs, open to doing her part in helping them understand metahumans more, and wanted to do her best as Visionary. He saw cracks in her wall of confidence from time to time, but she had never been that down on herself in front of him. He couldn't really blame her, he didn't know how he'd act if someone took parts of his past and shoved it into the faces of his friends without so much as a warning or some sort of apology.

"Just think about it, though. I mean, three months in jail?" Caitlin asked, reaching for the bag of Hershey Kisses.

"And she was initially arrested for gang affiliation." Caitlin's eyebrows lowered, her lips pulling down in the corners into a frown. "What?"

Caitlin was silent for a moment longer. "I don't know," she admitted, her eyes narrowing just slightly. "When I was at Averey's place—" Her face cleared and she shook her head. "It was probably nothing. But, I couldn't imagine what that was like. And then she was stuck at Belle Reve for nine months, not knowing or understanding what was going on." Her eyebrows lifted. "And then we questioned her right after her encounter with Farooq. It's no wonder she didn't say anything about it."

"We had to check to make sure we weren't dealing with anyone dangerous," Cisco reminded her. "We did the same with Bette when she first got here. And we checked out everything we could about Barry."

"If you call Facebook stalking 'checking everything out'," Caitlin said.

"Hey, you had the task of looking through the DMV and any police records, I was going the more practical way us millennials use to look up people," Cisco said, his voice shifting up to a higher range in his defense.

He could justify it all he wanted, but it didn't make him feel much better. The night that Farooq broke into STAR Labs, they had agreed that they would help Averey until anything suspicious came up in their background check on her. When her background came up on their database search, he and Caitlin had come to the decision that they wouldn't bring up what they found. Only when she offered the information would they talk, and they briefly had upon her waking up in the medical bay. She had insisted that her being arrested wasn't her fault.

"I just don't know how to bring up that we've already seen her criminal record."

"I'm sure no matter what she'd understand." Caitlin tried to be helpful but looked as uncertain as he felt. "It's better that we found out when we did."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Are you worried she'll be mad? Because Averey doesn't seem like the angry type. I don't think I've ever really seen her mad." Cisco shrugged. "We were lucky that we found her so quickly that night. So we could start helping her understand what was going on. I mean, she went so long with her abilities by herself." Angling her head downwards, she suddenly became interested in unwrapping the foil around the candy.

"You're thinking of Ronnie," he said. Using his feet, he pulled his swivel chair closer to his friend and placed his hands over hers. "We'll figure things out, Cait. We always do. The most important thing is, at this time, he and Professor Stein are not in any danger."

"That we know of," Caitlin replied with a sigh. "I've been keeping a close eye on them, their medical tests always come back normal for them. However, I imagine there's only so long a body can take with two entities inside of it. One has to come out as the more dominate one even with the medication they're taking. In this case being—"

"Professor Stein," Cisco said, finishing her sentence. He groaned, watching Caitlin start to chew on her bottom lip, her eyes darting back and forth around the room. "Ronnie's strong, Cait. Neither of them would have made it this far without both of them. I know you know that. The good thing is, with them being here, you know he's not out on the streets anymore. He's getting good sleep, good food, and good help."

"What help we can give them," Caitlin replied. "I still haven't figured out how to unwhammy Barry—at least not in a way that wouldn't harm Averey in the process—and a part of me also thinks it's ok that he's angry. He deserves to show his anger, to let out what he has been keeping himself from feeling, but then I feel guilty for not helping. Because I don't exactly know how to help. I don't know—" Her chest lifted and fell as she took in a deep breath of air. She then shook her head back and forth. "I'm sorry; I don't mean to bring down the conversation. I'm making it all about me."

"You're entitled," Cisco assured her. "You have to walk around here every day with your fiancé who isn't actually your fiancé, but is your fiancé part of the time, who you thought was dead, but was actually alive this whole time, and because of that, you're distancing yourself from someone you're still in love with." He couldn't make this stuff up even if he wanted to, but it all sounded like a movie. Seeing the attempt of a smile on Caitlin's face made Cisco's shoulders drop.

How could he not notice how much pain his friend was in? Immediately after Ronnie's death she was so focused on making sure Barry didn't die that he wasn't sure if she ever really had the chance to grieve. Even now, he wondered just how long she was going to put off feeling something.

On the one hand, the worry and fear of his income, the potential impact the explosion would cause to his resume, and his reputation in the field of science caused many restless nights. On the other hand, there was nothing that could take away his sense of pride for what they had accomplished. He just had to keep reminding himself that it was an accident and even the greatest scientists in the world had large setbacks.

Not that it seemed to rattle Dr. Wells. It was that sort of quiet confidence that made Cisco choose to continue working with him after everyone had written him off. It was that confidence that made Cisco wonder why Joe had his suspicions about him in the first place. Sure, Dr. Wells seemed to know a lot about metahumans and Barry's abilities in general, but he had been working in the world of science for years, surely there were some theories and scientific findings that he could relate to Barry sooner or later.

Barry Allen. He used to just be "the guy who was struck by lightning and lived" to Cisco. Now Barry was one of his greatest science projects and, even better, one of his greatest friends. Whether or not Dr. Wells knew the risks of turning on the particle accelerator that night, it had definitely changed their lives, in some ways, for the better.

"It's ok. Don't doubt your abilities, ok?" he asked. "You're smart, you're capable of doing whatever it is you want to accomplish. I've been lucky enough to seen it firsthand." He gently squeezed her hands. "Just don't forget that you deserve time to let out anything you've been holding back."

Caitlin gave him a smile of thanks. "I will, Cisco," she replied.

He twisted his mouth to the side, scrutinizing her. He remembered when she said the exact same thing before throwing herself into her work for the past year. "Promise me."

"I promise."

"Good." He matched her smile with one of his own. "Hey, so, speaking of Ronnie. At Dante's party—"

"Oh," Caitlin said, interrupting him. "I was feeling down about Ronnie. Dante's birthday party was kind of like the wedding reception I always dreamed of having. Our friends and family around us, having a good time, and enjoying each other's company."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad," Cisco said, his smile starting to turn into a frown.

"Oh, no, it's ok," Caitlin replied, "I needed to be there and I wanted to be. It was fun. But, I'd be lying if I said, I didn't want to give you and Averey some time alone."

"As if I needed the help," Cisco said with a mocking laugh of haughtiness. "My game is pretty on point, I think." He watched as Caitlin's eyes widened slightly before she started looking around the room again. The muscles in his face relaxed and he stuck Caitlin with a look of annoyance. "Ouch. That's cold, Snow, even for you."

"But it worked," Caitlin said with a sheepish grin.

"I guess I can't be too mad at you, then," Cisco said with a sigh, as if he was doing her a big favor.

Caitlin made a face at him in mocking offense, her upper lip curling. "How noble of you," she said, dryly.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, a shudder rolled through Cisco's body, goosebumps appearing on his arms. He felt like he was vibrating, like how he felt whenever he was standing too close to loud playing speakers at the club. His head suddenly felt stuffed, and everything was foggy. A rushing sound (water, or wind) reached his ears, and he found himself frozen to the spot, unable to shake his head, or even lift his hands to his ears to block out the noise.

He tried to call out to Caitlin but her image flickered in front of him like bad reception on a TV until she disappeared, and he stood facing the contraption they had built to capture the Reverse Flash. Chest lifting and falling rapidly, Cisco slowly turned away from the machine and stared at himself as he stood in front of Caitlin and Averey, trying to shield them with his body.

"You used us!" Cisco cried. "To create the particle accelerator." Cisco watched his own face scrunch up in pain. "Hartley warned you but you pushed us to finish the accelerator because you knew it'd give Barry his powers. You killed innocent people."

"And for that I'm sorry." Cisco jumped at the cold, calculated voice and turned to face a standing Dr. Wells. His jaws parting, his bottom lip started to quiver. "I really am." Dr. Wells's face darkened and he menacingly stalked towards them. "But nothing and no one will get in my way." He grit his teeth. "I'll make sure of it."

"Please don't," Caitlin cried, her voice filled with fear. They shuffled backwards, clinging tightly to each other, trying to put as much space between them and the evil metahuman. Cisco lifted his hands to cover his ears but he could still hear it all, as if it was being projected into his head.

"You don't have to do this," Averey said, her voice wobbling.

"I'm sorry, Caitlin," Dr. Wells said, never breaking his eye contact with Cisco. "I truly am. You've, somehow, started to get me to feel normal, like I could be happy here. But, it's not enough." His lips lifted just slightly into a smile. "I really do appreciate the two of you. You've been so loyal to me, so…" His gaze flicked over to Caitlin for a brief second, "loving."

"We helped you build this place," Cisco said. He sniffed, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. "We've helped you, we can help you with this. We can."

"But then you'll know who I am," Dr. Wells protested, "and what I can do."

As quickly as the vision came, it melted away from view as his eyes focused on the movement in front of him. Caitlin was gazing at him in concern, eyebrows pulled closer together, head tilted slightly. What was that? But he couldn't bring the image back. It was almost like he had never had it in his brain in the first place.

"Cisco?"

Blinking, Cisco removed his hands from Caitlin's giving her a gentle smile. "Sorry," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "Just thinking about something."

"That's ok." Caitlin opened her hands, making a face at the chocolate that was no smeared across her palms. "Oops." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Thermal heat and chocolate never mix. How could I have forgotten?"

"Yeah," Cisco agreed, barely listening to her. "Caitlin, there was something else Barry had said."

He got out of his seat and wandered over towards his workstation. His eyes drifted over the sheets of metal stack in the corner, the small array of metal engravers that sat beside the stack, and finally to the skate sharpener he had situated on the table. All those times he was dragged into antique shops with Caitlin and he actually found something useful. It was a "nice haul" as Caitlin would put it; but a skate sharpener wasn't anything to sneeze at compared to the jewelry she could find.

"Well?" Caitlin prompted. "What'd he say?"

Shoulders dropping, Cisco sighed, dragging his finger tips across the skate sharpener, where a sheet of metal was had partially been carved in a half moon shape. How to bring up that their boss could potentially be a killer? Furthermore, how to explain how he was starting to think it was true, but every time he could picture it, it slipped away like sand through his fingers no matter how hard he tried to hold onto it? They had spent so much time defending not only Dr. Wells but their own jobs in the wake of the media storm that descended on STAR Labs. Were they really defending a real murderer?

"Cisco!"

"He said he thinks that Dr. Wells is the Reverse-Flash," Cisco blurted out. At her silence, Cisco lifted his head from the contraption at his desk and turned to face his coworker. "Cait? Say something."

"Normally, I can force a laugh at your bad jokes," Caitlin commented.

"Ouch."

"But this isn't funny," Caitlin finished, ignoring Cisco's comment. "Dr. Wells? He wouldn't do something like that. He couldn't do something like that." She shook her head back and forth, hair flying around her face. "He's wrong."

"Yeah, well, Barry hasn't really been wrong about a lot of things," Cisco muttered, rubbing at his chin. "I mean, he had always insisted on there being a man in the lightning he saw in his house that night."

"He's wrong about this," Caitlin insisted. "What could Dr. Wells possibly gain from killing Barry's mother?"

"I don't know," Cisco admitted. He threw his hands up into the air before crossing them over his chest, making his way back to the chair he had just abandoned. "Caitlin, I don't know. I just know that Dr. Wells was adamant about the particle accelerator going online despite what Hartley warned him about."

"Cisco, come on," Caitlin said with a roll of her eyes. "Everything we do here is a risk, you know that. Just because we had one little set back doesn't mean we just stop what we're doing." She pointed a finger at him. "You were just as excited about the particle accelerator going online as we were. Plus, you were never that open to anything Hartley ever had to tell you, anyway."

"And you were just as mad at Dr. Wells as I was that he didn't listen to Hartley," Cisco replied solemnly. "If he had listened, maybe Ronnie wouldn't be the way he is now. There could be a lot that he knows that he hasn't told us."

"Everyone has their secrets, Cisco."

"I thought you always said 'In science we share'." Cisco used air quotes. Caitlin's dark eyes steeled as her words were thrown back at her. "It would have been great if he shared that little bit of information from the get go." He swallowed. "Maybe he's not being forthcoming with how to fix Ronnie, either."

"He's trying, Cisco," Caitlin said, in a low tone of voice. "You're working with him, you're seeing him try."

Yeah, if you want to call being shooed off a project at every turn working with him. "Look, you know how much I hate admitting that Hartley is right about anything," Cisco said, putting his hands up defensively, "but I'm only 23 years old. I don't know as much as Dr. Wells does. I don't know what to do. Dr Wells seems to have an answer for absolutely everything. So how come he doesn't have an answer for this? This one metahuman thing compared to all the others we've dealt with."

"Even someone as smart as Dr. Wells can be stumped by something," Caitlin replied. "It happens to the best of us. My old mentor, Professor Bishop, even said that's when the best discoveries are made: when you don't think there is an answer. Maybe Dr. Wells doesn't have one now, but we shouldn't count him out."

Cisco closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh through his nose. He lifted his hands over his face and slid them over his hair, pulling it back into a ponytail between his hands before allowing his hair to fall down around his shoulders. "I'm just saying," he said quietly, "that things around here may be more complicated than we realized."

"You don't know that."

"I have my doubts, too, Cait, believe me. I mean, I don't know how I'd react if this was a second thing to blow up in our faces."

"You have no proof, Cisco. I have to see it to believe it."

Talk about things blowing up in your face, he thought with a smile that was half bitter and half amusement. As his words sunk in, his smile slowly faded. Maybe that's it. "Caitlin," he said slowly, "I think I know how to get Ronnie and Professor Stein back to normal."

"How?" Caitlin asked around another piece of chocolate. Her eyebrows lifted, eyes losing their hard look to let through a glimmer of hope.

"Well, Dr. Wells and I have been working on a quantum splicer," Cisco admitted. He lifted his thumb to his mouth, starting to chew on his thumbnail. "We don't have anything that can store enough energy in the splicer to really make the device work, but we've been trying." He shifted his gaze over to her, taking in her reaction. "Remember when I was explaining to Averey what kind of nuclear reaction inside Ronnie could occur?" Caitlin nodded. "I hate to be crass, but, I think we need to let that nuclear reaction occur."

"Cisco, are you out of your mind?" Caitlin asked, her jaw going slack. "A disaster like that—we were lucky that the initial explosion occurred in Smallville. Too many people could get hurt."

"Too many people have already been hurt," Cisco replied. "You've been keeping track of Professor Stein and Ronnie's medical results, right?"

"Yes," Caitlin agreed with a nod of her head. "Their temperature hasn't increased, there are no fluxuations in their vitals. Everything has been normal. For them, anyway."

"Then I think we should try it before things take a turn for the worse," Cisco said, getting to his feet a second time. "Call Barry and get him here as fast as he can. Call Averey, too. I'm going to find Dr. Wells and let him know. I'll explain everything then, I promise."

Putting a hand on Caitlin's shoulder, he gently squeezed it, trying to reassure her as much as he could before he hurried out of the room. Rushing through the winding halls, he called for Dr. Wells, his voice bouncing off the walls in every direction. After taking the elevator up to the main floor, he hurried into the Cortex, and stopped short when he spotted the work station in the center of the room.

Duh, Cisco! He gently hit himself on the forehead with the palm of his hand. Dropping into his seat, he slid over to his workstation and pulled the small, circular microphone towards his mouth. "Dr. Wells, you're needed in the Cortex right away." Settling back in his seat, he waited for everyone to join him in the room.

Barry arrived first, hair tousled, and stubble on his chin and upper lip. Cisco stared at him, never seeing him so untidy before. At times he even wondered if sweaters and button down shirts were back in style due to how often he had seen Barry wear them. "What's going on?" Barry asked, his voice sounding groggy; as if he had just woken up. Maybe he had, Cisco reasoned with himself. Without a job to get to, and the ability to do everything pretty quickly, why would he be in such a rush to get out of bed every morning? "Caitlin said it was urgent."

Isn't it always? Cisco nodded his head.

"Averey can't make it," Caitlin said, hurrying into the room as fast as she could go with her heeled feet. "She says she's swamped at Jitters and can't duck out, but wishes us luck with separating the two."

"What is so urgent, Cisco?" Dr. Wells asked, maneuvering his wheel chair into the room.

"I think we've been going about separating Ronnie and Professor Stein the wrong way," Cisco explained. Barry and Dr. Wells stared at him. "We're thinking about what could happen if they go nuclear and I think we should let them do that. Go nuclear."

"Mr. Ramon," Dr. Wells said, fixing Cisco with a stare, "I sincerely hope you know what you are insinuating."

"The quantum splicer we're building is supposed to give Ronnie's body enough energy, the same amount of energy from the particle accelerator, to separate him and Professor Stein," Cisco replied. "At this moment, we don't have anything to help give him that much energy, except for allowing the nuclear explosion to happen."

"Whoa, Cisco," Barry said, looking more awake than he had a moment before. "That's risking a lot."

"When we give him that splicer, to try and separate them, we're running the risk of things going wrong anyway," Cisco pointed out to him.

"Even if we gave Barry a head start with police ordered evacuations," Caitlin said, eyebrows furrowed, "he wouldn't be able to get every last person in Central City out of here." She turned towards Dr. Wells, speaking directly to him. "The second that nuclear explosion occurs, whether or not it's successful, we're essentially bringing General Eiling right to us. He'll know what's going on." Dr. Wells slowly nodded his head. "He went as far as embedding a tracking device into Bette's arm and followed her here." She started nibbling on her bottom lip again. "Who's to say he's not waiting for all the metahumans he's encountered recently—The Flash, Plastique, Visionary, Firestorm—to be in one place before attempting something?" She looked around at each entrance as if expecting the military man to pop out and swarm them in that moment.

"There's no reason to get ahead of ourselves," Dr. Wells said. His calm words were a stark contrast to how narrow his eyes were. "STAR Labs is still safe for any and all metahumans as long as I am here. However, I am not going to dismiss the threat General Eiling poses as well as the very real threat of the nuclear reaction."

"What other choice do we have?" Cisco asked. "If General Eiling wants to find someone, you know that he has the resources to do so."

"Your assumption, while lacking grace, is correct," Ronnie commented as he stepped into the room, his arms crossed over his chest. He lifted a hand in a wave as all eyes went to him and Bette who stood by his side. "Please excuse the interruption. We could not help but wonder what the commotion was that sounded so dire. My two cents on the matter; General Eiling will not rest until he gets what he wants. An admirable quality of sorts, but in this case, one of understandable concern." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Ronald and I have decided that—"

He slowly closed his eyes, shaking his head back and forth in the same manner a disappointed parent would. Clearing his throat, Ronnie lifted his head gazing at everyone in front of him, his gaze lingering on Caitlin a moment longer. Cisco looked over at her in time to see a muscle in her jaw twitching. "I believe it would be best if we—"

"Don't even think about it," Caitlin interrupted him, pointing a warning finger at Ronnie. "You're not going to give yourself up."

"Ronnie, Professor Stein, please reconsider," Barry requested. "You don't have to leave. We can figure out a way to help you."

"While I do appreciate your optimism, General Eiling has once before gained access to STAR Labs, Mr. Allen," Ronnie said, leveling his gaze at him. "Surely you can see how central this place is to us, to you. Given the right circumstances, more advanced technology to know how to 'dispose' of us so to speak, I can assure you, he will return, and he will not leave until he gets what he wants."

"I think leaving is the best option," Bette spoke up. "Go somewhere we can't be found." She lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "If it's not Eiling, there's going to be more people who will question things and want to exploit our abilities for their personal gain."

"Iris did warn me that Mason Bridge has become increasingly interested in STAR Labs," Barry said, slowly nodding.

"Considering the lack of innovation at STAR Labs at the moment, that's going to be one sad article," Dr. Wells muttered. Humor was evident on his face for a moment before it disappeared. "I must ask you to reconsider."

"If you leave, he'll just continue to chase you," Caitlin pointed out, "and that's no way to live. It's how you've already been living." She stepped closer to the two metahumans, twisting her fingers together. "Don't you want to stop looking over your shoulder every day? Wondering who you can trust? You know you can trust us here at STAR Labs."

"I—" Ronnie suddenly reacted as if he was kicked, "we have managed on our own with my intellect just fine. With all due respect, miss."

"That's understandable, Professor," Dr. Wells said, slowly nodding, his fingers stroking his chin. He then wrapped his long fingers around the control stick of his mechanized wheelchair and maneuvered himself closer towards the metahumans. "Again, I must ask you to reconsider. No one else has your best interest at heart like we do here." Removing his glasses, he massaged his eyes with the pads of his fingers. "I have dedicated my work to try and understand why you, Ronnie, and Barry, and Bette, and Averey, and anyone else like you that wants help—real help in understanding your abilities—to understand exactly how the dark energy affected you, and how we can help you adjust to your new life. Think of it as an experiment if you will; the methods in gathering data for an academic article. From one adorer of knowledge to another, please stay."

Ronnie let out a frustrated sigh, putting his face into his hands. "I do not think you understand," he said in a tight voice, annunciating every syllable in his words. "This city is not safe as long as General Eiling is around."

"And it's not just us," Bette added, "there were other people with abilities in Belle Reve. They were known as The Meteor Freaks." Surprise appeared on her face, like she had recalled a memory that had long since been forgotten. Maybe it had been.

"Meteor Freaks?" Cisco repeated.

"People from Smallville who gained abilities from the meteor showers that occurred there. One of the inmates, or patients, they could leech powers from someone else. General Eiling was working with a General Lane on the research of those metahumans who gained abilities from the meteors shower."

"Seems Wade is not going to give up on his enhanced gene therapy project," Dr. Wells said with a slow shake of his head. "At first, he just wanted to be able to gain the ability to read minds for interrogation purposes, but now…" He let out an odd laugh. "Well, now we know things have changed."

"Don't you see? This just further proves that Eiling will not rest until he gets what he wants," Ronnie said in a tight voice. "I apologize. I have to do this, I see no other way."

"I agree," Bette said, tilting her head in Ronnie's direction. "I don't see anything we can do but leave."

"Let's not be too hasty," Dr. Wells insisted. "I said I would find a way to separate you two and I will." He shifted his gaze over to Caitlin. "I promise I will get you back to your families in one piece." He placed his glasses back on his face. "First and foremost, General Eiling wants the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M project, and we'll make sure he doesn't get it." Ronnie didn't looked convinced, but nodded his head. "Mr. Ramon, I believe we must give your proposal a shot. I'll collect the quantum splicer, I may have an idea on how to finish the device."

"Quantum splicer?" Ronnie repeated, his eyebrows lifting. "Impressive. I am curious to know where you propose we test this out."

All eyes turned towards Cisco and he stared back at them. "I haven't exactly gotten that far," he admitted.

"What about the pipeline?" Barry asked. "If each pod can individually house a metahuman and stop the effects of their abilities from aiding in an escape, couldn't it hold back an outward blast if one were to occur?" He shrugged when she was met with silence. "I'll admit, it's a bit of a long shot."

"It's the only plan we've got," Dr. Wells said, slowly nodding his head. "Except, the pods are, like you said Barry, alleviating the effects of the metahumans abilities. So we cannot put Ronnie in one of those pods."

"I don't understand, where is he going to be?" Caitlin asked.

"In the particle accelerator," Barry replied. "The blast can follow the same path it took before and go straight up into the air." He snapped his fingers together and pointed upwards. "The particle accelerator has already received some extensive damage, though. But maybe if I can run fast enough, I can momentarily take the oxygen out of the room and kill the fire."

"What are we going to do with the other metahumans?" Caitlin asked. "We can't keep them down there and hope they don't get blown to smithereens."

"Not all of them, anyway," Cisco replied. "But one of them, I wouldn't be too upset with."

"Cisco!" Caitlin admonished.

"I'm just saying!" Cisco put his hands in the air. Maybe that is going a bit too far, Cisco. You may hate the guy, but no need for wanting to see him hurt. He had even felt bad for the guy when he was fired from the laboratory. "As long as they have the cuffs Peekabo and the Mist, for example, couldn't go anywhere, but I think it'd be best if we put them in one of the armored trucks below STAR Labs. Like you said, the explosion would follow the same path out."

"Let's get to work," Dr. Wells announced. "Caitlin, I'd like you to oversee the removal of the metahumans in the pipeline; make sure they're all where they need to be. Barry, be ready just in case we need to get out of here in a hurry. Cisco, take Bette and Ronnie down to the pipeline—"

"I remember where it is," Ronnie solemnly. Angling his head to the side, he silently regarded Caitlin. His shoulders lowered and his body seemed to curl in on itself just slightly, sinking into a more relaxed stance. "Cait. I'll be ok. I promise." He stepped forward, gently grasping Caitlin's shoulders before he kissed her. "You don't have to follow me. I'd understand if it was too hard for you." His lips lifted in a small curl of a smile before he turned and left the Cortex. Caitlin hesitated, twisting her fingers together before following him, releasing a deep breath of air in a sigh. Cisco watched her go.

"She'll be ok, Cisco," Dr. Wells said to his colleague before moving to leave the room.

"Right." Cisco nodded, turning his attention away from his friend's retreating form. "I'm with you. We should get the splicer."

"No!" Dr. Wells said forcefully. "I can get it." He stopped his chair, but didn't turn around to face Cisco as he addressed him. "I need you here making sure everything runs smoothly."

"Ok." Cisco watched Dr. Wells leave before turning to face Bette who was still standing in the doorway of the Cortex. "Everything will be ok."

"Will it?" she asked. "Again, I'm going to be the one starting this reaction. The first time was an accident." She slowly shook her head back and forth before scoffing, her upper lip curling just slightly. "No one even asked me if I wanted to do this."

"We can't do this without you, Bette," Cisco replied.

"Yeah." Bette crossed her arms over her chest, her fingers tapping on her arm. "And then I'm the one who takes the blame when things go wrong." Cisco pulled his eyebrows towards each other. "People just see me as some weapon they can use whenever they want."

"That's not what we're trying to do here," Cisco reassured her, stepping closer to her. "You're helping someone. You're helping Caitlin, and Ronnie, and Professor Stein, and his wife, Clarissa." Bette's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything. Cisco leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why did you decide to join the military?" Bette merely stared back at him. "If you don't want to answer, that's ok. I'm just curious."

Bette still didn't say anything. Cisco gave a slight nod of his head and turned to leave when she started talking. "I joined up with my friend, Cameron Scott," she explained. "Only he went into the Air Force while I joined the Army. He always had a fascination with airplanes, and he badly wanted to get out of the city. Keystone has made a name for itself as being the center of heavy industry, but Central City was on the up and up. Central City was filled with arts, and sciences, and business. We didn't know what we planned on doing after school. The military was a way out. I was doing something worthwhile, and giving myself time to figure out what I ultimately wanted to do with my life. As you can see, that really worked out well."

"Did you both make it home? When we first looked for you, his name was used as your emergency contact."

"Did we make it home in one piece, you mean?" Bette allowed a hint of a smile to come to her face. "That depends on your definition." Cisco allowed himself to join in her quiet laughter. "Yeah, we both made it home ok. It's been hard readjusting back to life outside of the military. Despite how different things are, he still has my back."

"Well, I don't know where he is now, but let me have your back now," Cisco insisted. "If anything were to go wrong, it's all on me. I've accepted my role in how you got your abilities in the first place, I can and will accept this, too."

"Why?" Bette asked, eyes narrowing slightly as she regarded him.

"With the particle accelerator, we knew that it could give us advancements in technology, and medicine, and scientific research that had never before been discovered," Cisco replied. "In a way, we did get that new discovery, but since we were the cause of it, we should be held responsible and we should try and find a way to help those who didn't choose to live their lives this way. Whether that's by learning what caused the alteration to their DNA and to what extent, how to live with their new abilities, or how to get rid of them, I want to do my best to help."

"I understand," Bette replied. "I'll help in any way that I can."

"Thank you," Cisco said with a smile of relief. "Thank you, Bette. This could be really big." His eyes widened and he nervously chuckled. "No pun intended."

"Dr. Wells is lucky to have you here," Bette said with a close-lipped smile. "You and Caitlin have been so loyal to him." With those final words, she made her way towards the pipeline. Cisco watched her go and let out a heavy sigh.

"So I've been told," he muttered before following her. Pushing as much confidence into his body as he could, he clapped his hands together as he reached the pipeline. "Ok guys, we've only got one shot at this. Have all the metahumans been taken out o f the pipeline?"

"They're all accounted for," Caitlin replied with a nod, looking up from the tablet in her hands, "some with more choice words than others."

"Great. Is everybody else ready? Once this door closes, it's up to Bette and Barry on the other side. Barry, get Bette into one of the pods as soon as you can." He turned towards Ronnie who was standing by the pipeline entrance, staring into the giant machine.

"You're staring," he said without turning around to face Cisco.

"Are you ready?" Cisco asked, ignoring the annoyance in Ronnie's tone.

"Sure." With that, Ronnie stepped down into the pipeline, his footsteps echoing around the large, empty space. Cisco looked over at Caitlin who started chewing on her bottom lip again. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her and she was inching closer and closer towards the opening to the pipeline.

"Caitlin," Barry said quietly, reaching up to grasp the mask to his suit. "Everything will be ok." He pulled the tight red material over his hair and down over his face, securing it around his chin and eyes. He was about to set foot into the pipeline when the sound of Dr. Wells's motorized wheel chair reached their ears.

"Use this," Dr. Wells said, holding the object in his hands out towards Bette. "It's the quantum splicer. Secure it to his chest and then start the nuclear reaction." Bette nodded, taking the quantum splicer from him. "Once this is activated, you won't have a lot of time. The energy this gives him will immediately start to bombard his body." He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Good luck. And Barry?" Barry tilted his head back just slightly to indicate that the scientist had his attention. "Run."

Cisco waited until Barry and Bette were inside the pipeline before using the pad beside the door to close and secure them inside. "Ok," he said with a firm nod. "It's up to them now." The words were barely out of his mouth when he felt himself stumble as the ground below him started shaking.

"Let's hope this works," Dr. Wells said, tightly gripping the arm rests of his wheelchair.

"No, no, no." Caitlin gripped her head, chest rising and falling as her breaths came out quick and short. "Ronnie!" She hurried over to Cisco who put his body in the way of the panel on the wall. "Cisco, you have to get him out of there."

"Caitlin-ow! Calm down! Ouch!" Using his arms, he tried his best to shield his face from Caitlin's frantic slaps and hits as she tried to gain access to the pipeline door. "Stop!"

"Ronnie! RONNIE!"

"CAITLIN!" Cisco grabbed onto Caitlin's shoulders, shaking her. Her eyes were wide with fear and rimmed with tears. It was the same fear that he could feel trying to claw its way to his chest. So far, he had done well enough to keep that fear from appearing on his face. As long as he had metahumans to help feed and secure in their specific pods, his mind didn't have to wander back to that night. "Listen to me!" He shook her again. "I know this is hard for you."

"Cisco, get him out of there." Caitlin's lips shook as she spoke, her words barely above a whisper. "Please."

"If you open those doors now, we could be incinerated," Cisco replied. He planted his feet on the floor, steeling himself for the desperate, angry, and worry-filled actions of his friend. Caitlin grit her teeth, trying to get past him. "Caitlin, I can't let you do this. Ow!" A spot right behind his ear started throbbing with pain after Caitlin grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled. "Hair pulling? Really?"

"Let me go! He's going to be hurt. He's going to be hurt."

The ground shook a second time, harder than before. Cisco stumbled back against the wall, trying to find something to grab onto. A crashing sound reached his ears and he looked up to see the rafters of the ceiling shaking violently. Pieces of metal started hitting the ground one right after the other.

"LOOK OUT!" Cisco shouted over the noise. Caitlin glanced upwards before throwing herself to the floor out of the way of an air vent cover that came crashing down towards her, covering her head with her arms as she did so.

A loud crack split the air and Cisco hurried in a hunched stance to his boss's side. Dr. Wells wasn't even flinching as pieces of metal fell around him. He kept an intense stare on the closed pipeline door. "Come on, Dr. Wells—let's go." He grasped Dr. Wells under the arms and tried to lift him out of his chair and found the older man's weight to be heavier than he realized. The muscles in his arms burned with effort as he tried to support Dr. Well's weight.

"Just leave me here," Dr. Wells declared.

"No way!" Cisco replied through clenched teeth, trying again to lift Dr. Wells out of his seat. When the burning became too much, he dropped Dr. Wells back into his seat, the breath of air he was holding expelling in one single breath. Breathing heavily, he planted his foot on the side of the wheelchair and grasped the arm rest, pulling it towards him.

When the wheelchair was angled enough, Cisco grabbed Dr. Wells again and pulled him out of his chair, dragging him across the floor, the chair clattering to the floor behind them. Come on, come on. We're almost there. His back was becoming sore from pulling Dr. Wells and the bits of the ceiling that was hitting him as it was being knocked loose from the ceiling. "Almost there," he said between gasps of air, walking backwards as quickly as he could. Once coming upon an alcove in the wall, he pulled Dr. Wells to safety, grasping onto his pants legs to tuck his legs safely inside.

"Cisco," Dr. Wells said, grasping tightly onto Cisco's elbow as he was pulled into the young scientist's chest to shield him from any falling debris. "Thank you."

Squeezing his eyes shut, he held Dr. Wells close behind him praying and willing the shaking to stop. When would it stop? His heart hammered in his chest, adding to the cacophony of the room breaking down around him. Dr. Wells tightly clung to him, his fingers digging into his muscles as the tremors started to lessen in intensity. When they stopped moments later, Cisco continued to crouch in the alcove, feeling every cell in his body continue to shake.

"Cisco," Dr. Wells said, tapping him on the arm. "Cisco, we need to open the doors!"

"Dr. Wells, are you ok?" Cisco asked, ignoring Dr. Wells's command to look him over. "Does anything hurt?"

"Well, I can't feel my legs," Dr. Wells said flatly, giving Cisco a look of frustration and annoyance. "You don't think that would be a problem, do you, Mr. Ramon?"

"Very funny." Cisco straightened the abandoned wheelchair before returning for Dr. Wells. Cradling the back of Dr. Wells's neck with one arm and bracing the back his knees with the other, Cisco let out a grunt of effort as he lifted his boss in the air. The muscles in his lower back spasmed as he leaned arched his back to counteract the weight of Dr. Wels in his arms. Shuffling forward in quick steps, he all but dropped the man into his chair when his arms gave out. "Sorry."

"Not like I could feel it anyway," Dr. Wells replied, waving him off.

"Caitlin?" Cisco asked, kneeling beside his friend. He waved a hand in Caitlin's face before holding up four fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four," Caitlin replied, pushing his hand away. She squinted against the light in the room. "I'm ok."

"Good." Cisco placed a hand on Caitlin's shoulder and gently squeezed it before hurrying to the wall panel and inserting the code to open the heavy particle accelerator door. Wringing his hands together, he shifted his weight from foot to foot as he watched the door lift second by second. "Come on, come on, come on. Open!" An acrid smell hit him full force as wisps of smoke floated out of the cavern. Coughing and waving the smoke away from his nose, he peered into the dark area. "Barry? Bette?"

"Ronnie!" Caitlin and Dr. Wells were now standing by his side, trying to see through the dissipating smoke.

"I think we're going to need some new clothes," Barry said around a coughing fit as he stepped out of the particle accelerator, tightly gripping Professor Stein. Their faces were smudged with dirt and grime. Professor Stein's glasses sat askew on his face, his clothes ripped and torn. Bette followed behind them, helping Ronnie who was leaning heavily against her, shirt barely hanging onto his torso by a swatch of material.

"Ronnie." Caitlin stepped over to the long haired man, peering up at him in wonder. Ronnie removed his arm from around Bette, giving her a smile of thanks, before allowing her to step into his arms. "I can't believe it. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ronnie reassured her, placing a kiss on top of her head. "I'm back."

"Come on, let's get you all to the medical bay," Caitlin offered, looping her arm around Ronnie's waist. "You all have been through a lot."

"Welcome back, Mr. Ramon," Dr. Wells said with a smile, offering his hand to Ronnie as he passed him. "And you as well, of course, Professor Stein. It certainly is good to see you both."

"Happy to be here," Professor Stein said with a chuckle, removing his arm from around Averey's shoulders to touch his own chest. "In one piece, I must add."

"Good work, Barry," Cisco said, offering his hand to Barry who smiled and clapped his gloved hand into Cisco's. "I knew you could it."

"It was a group effort," Barry replied. "But we couldn't have done it without you, Cisco." Coughing, he lifted a hand to his chest and turned towards Bette as Dr. Wells motioned for everyone to follow him to the medical bay. "Still think you can't be of help around here?" Bette's lips barely lifted in the corners in a smile.

Cisco stayed behind to secure the pipeline once more, watching the door slide shut with a smile. Once again, STAR Labs had a triumph, even if it was a small one. This was what he was here for; to help the people of Central City. If that meant they had to start with their work family that was ok. If Barry could continue to live his life despite anything people assumed about him and his family, then he could too. All of the negative opinions, and Cisco's own fears and doubts could suck it.

"Cisco?"

Cisco turned away from the pipeline and gave Caitlin, who was walking towards him with meaningful strides, a smile meeting her halfway to return her tight hug.

---

Eddie tossed his work phone into the passenger seat of his car before tilting back in his seat, running his hands repeatedly over his face. He loved his job but he was glad for not only his shift for the day to be over as well as his upcoming day off. Juggling multiple cases when he had a partner like Joe to work with was extremely easy to do, but when he was working by himself (or with any other floating partner Captain Singh assigned to him for the day), he felt like he was drowning in paperwork, calls, and meetings with Captain Singh.

On top of everything he had to deal with in office or on the street, the Metahuman Task Force added much more onto his plate. Leading meeting after meeting to discuss how to better themselves for the next attack and to learn from their mistakes from their previous encounters was more taxing than he imagined when he first pitched the idea. The Flash was no longer the center of the Task Force's attention, and often made calls easier for them, but Eddie still harbored some resentment for taking the job away from the police.

No one could ever predict someone like the Flash would appear. It wasn't like anything he had learned from countless hours in classrooms and pouring over textbooks. There wasn't an online course he could take on working alongside metahumans. If Joe had no problem working with the mysterious red clad speedster, then he could learn to accept the changing world around him.

Eddie jumped, a scream slipping out of his mouth, grabbing the seat belt that sat across his chest when he heard knocking on his window. "Son of a—" allowing his body to relax, he rolled down the window and made a face at Joe's laughter. "That's not funny."

"Good to know you've still got quick reflexes, partner," Joe commented, resting his arms against the windowsill.

"I need it with whom I've been assigned to work with," Eddie said, trying to calm his racing heart. Tugging on the brim of his cabbie hat, Joe regarded him with curiosity. "Detective Woodley."

"Oooh," Joe said, making a face. "Oh, no. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," Eddie popped the buckle of his seatbelt, "I can't wait until you can come back to work." Gathering his belongings, he climbed out of his car and slammed the door shut behind him. Squinting an eye against the setting sun he said, "When is that again?"

"Whenever the Chief decides to call," Joe replied, clapping Eddie on the shoulder. "It should be any day now, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm hoping for sooner."

"Me, too. Fingers crossed." He lifted his hand and wrapped his index finger around his middle finger as the two men started across the open parking lot towards CC Jitters. "Thanks for meeting up with me, Joe."

"It's not like I have anything better to do, right?" Joe asked. Eddie opened his mouth to reply before snapping it shut. Joe lifted an eyebrow as he looked over at his partner. "That was a joke."

"Right. Right!" Eddie replied, letting out his breath in a whoosh of relief. He mimed wiping sweat off his forehead. "I knew that! Ha, ha, ha."

Joe looked like he was going to comment but instead shook his head, blinking repeatedly. "That's one thing I didn't miss," he muttered, glancing both ways for street traffic before making his way through the crosswalk. He looked back at Eddie over his shoulder. "Thank you for not dropping me the second I was suspended. I've seen a lot of people climb the ladder with interesting tactics."

"Whenever it is that you get back to work," Eddie said, holding his bag to his side as he hurried to catch up to Joe. "I want you to hit the ground running. We can't waste any time."

"Ok, but why meet up at Jitters of all places?" Joe asked, hopping up onto the curb.

"More people there, the less likely we'll be overheard," Eddie replied. "Plus, technically, I'm still on duty so I can't go to the bar." He twisted his mouth to the side in a grimace. "No matter how badly I want to at the moment."

"Mmmm, one of those days, huh?" Joe asked.

"That has stretched on forever and ever," Eddie replied with a nod. "In fact, every day has felt like that and I've honestly started to forget what day of the week it is." He stretched his arms over his head. "Work has been so busy for Iris and I that we have barely had any time for intimacy."

"Ok, ok, I got it," Joe said, loudly talking over Eddie. He looked like he was one step away from covering his ears with his hands. "Didn't miss that either."

"Sorry." Eddie gave Joe an apologetic grin as he reached for the door handle of Jitters. "Sometimes I forget Iris is your daughter."

"How so?"

"Because most times she's completely unlike you. Thankfully."

Joe pointed a finger in Eddie's face before gently jabbing it into his chest. "Watch it," he said in a warning tone despite the small smile on his face, "I will get back to work, soon, and then you're going to pay."

Eddie put his hands up defensively. "I'll buy your coffee to make up for it," he replied.

"That's a start."

"Just find a place for us to sit," Eddie replied. He stopped short seeing not only how packed Jitters was, but all the boxes stacked into every corner. "If you can."

"Tracey," Joe said, gently grabbing the arm of one of the waitresses nearest him. "Hi, Detective Joe West."

"Iris's dad, of course. I remember," Tracey said, pushing her glasses up her nose. "We miss her around here, but we were so excited to hear that she got a job at Picture News." She gave the two men a tired smile. "Detectives, what can I do for you?"

"What is going on here?" Joe asked.

"Inventory," Tracey replied, planting a hand on her hip. "Not just for Jitters, but to make sure we have everything for the Mercury Labs Symposium; we have new machines, new cups, everything. We're closing for the weekend so everyone is trying to get their coffee fixes in now." She shook her head, shaking out the thoughts of work and gave them a smile. "Speaking of which, can I get you two anything?"

"Small caffè mocha for me, please," Joe replied.

"Make that two," Eddie replied, "on me."

"Of course." Tracey patted her pockets and the pockets of her apron, finding a small order pad. Reaching up for her hair, she felt around for her pen before writing down their orders. "Ok, I'll get that to you shortly. There's a free table on the second floor landing."

The two men thanked Tracey before making their way through the crowded paths, carefully stepping past chair legs and bag straps, to make their way up to the second floor of the coffee shop. Eddie set his bag down on the floor and proceeded to put his arms on the table, putting his head on his arms.

"I don't know how you do it, Joe," Eddie said, shaking his head back and forth, voice muffled. "I mean, you know I respect you and your work." Joe nodded his head. Eddie lifted his head and looked Joe in the eye. "I just don't know how you can go to work day in and day out with everything on your shoulders as the man in charge."

"First of all, I'm not 'in charge'," Joe said after a second of silently staring at Eddie. "We're partners. We work together. And secondly, you just do the work. It's that simple. Don't take it home with you. We have hard jobs, but even we deserve a work/life balance." He made a face looking like he would rather be anywhere then there in that moment. "Unfortunately, from what you mentioned before with Iris, it seems like you have let work get to you." He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.

"Here are your drinks," Tracey said, appearing by their sides.

"Thank God," Joe said, reaching for the heavy mug handed to him.

Eddie gave her a smile of thanks before taking his drink. He almost felt bad for having to mess up the intricate looking design created on top of the whipped cream, but the rush of sugar, and the feeling of the hot liquid warming his body made up for it.

"Ahhh, I needed that," Eddie said with a satisfied sigh after he smiled.

"You look like it," Joe commented.

"Thanks."

"Just being honest."

"Thanks for that, too."

Joe chuckled into his beverage. "Stop worrying," he said, setting his cup down onto the table. "You've been thriving since you came to Central City. I'll be the first to admit it."

"I think you're the only one who will, to be honest," Eddie said with a short laugh of his own.

"Maybe, but I'm not the only one who thinks so," Joe replied. "Iris wouldn't be with you if she didn't think so, either. You barely knew me or Iris before you volunteered to take all my shifts so I could be at the hospital with Barry." Eddie tapped his fingers on the sides of his mug. "You take your job and your role as a partner seriously. Anyone can see that."

"Thank you."

Joe nodded, taking a look around Jitters before putting his sights back on Eddie. "I know you care a lot for Iris," Joe explained, briefly closing his eyes, "she's a great girl, as I'm sure you know, and while I haven't been too happy with the two of you, it's clear you're both serious about each other." Eddie nodded his head, widening his eyes slightly to urge his partner to get to his point. "I understand you're still having to deal with things from before you arrived in Central City—"

"You don't know anything about it," Eddie said quietly, feeling his jaw clench. He started shaking his head. He didn't want to think about it. Not now. Hearing the sloshing of his drink, Eddie realized his hand was shaking and tried to steady it enough to take a long sip from his cup.

"Captain Singh gave me some information when you were first signed on to be my partner," Joe explained and Eddie felt his jaw drop just slightly, grip tightening on the handle of his cup. "I know you have been through some tough experiences, but it made you a hard worker. I've seen that work first hand and I know you're a great detective despite what happened."

"Joe," Eddie blinked repeatedly before he parted his lips, "What's your point?"

"You're not the only one who watched a former partner be shot and killed from a wound to the neck," Joe said flatly.

Eddie opened and closed his mouth before settling back in his seat, dumbfounded. He had heard only good things about Detective Chyre, but knew nothing more than that he passed in the middle of an ongoing investigation and that Joe was present at the time. Still, it wasn't anything he was ready to open up to Joe about. Every day he was learning that they had more in common than he realized.

"Joe, I'm sorry," Eddie said quietly, "I had no idea."

"I'm glad you were able to find someone who makes you happy," Joe said, angling his head in a slight nod to acknowledge Eddie's apology. "I really mean that. I'm glad that in light of what happened to Barry, Iris was able to find you. I know your job is important to you and that you like to see things through, but I don't want it to consume your life. That's all."

"You've taken late nights working overtime on cases before," Eddie protested.

"And I've taken case files home, too," Joe admitted, "but, I still took the time to relax and hang out with Barry and Iris as they grew up. God knows, I sat through many of Iris's temper tantrums wanting me to spend more time at home. Plus, I needed to after what happened to Barry's mom. Once I turned my back, he could be out the door in seconds, wanting to run away."

"That's surprising considering how late he always is," Eddie commented.

"Barry is a hard worker," Joe replied, talking slowly. "He likes to make sure he's given a crime scene the best of his expertise. Often times, that means he's up way late waiting for things like tests to finish. Which means, often times, he over sleeps."

"I'm not complaining about it," Eddie said, putting his hands up defensively. "Barry does good work, and he always gets it done when it's needed. You've taught him well." It was Joe's turn to thank him. "Come on, Joe, everyone continues to talk about what happened with Henry Allen that night, but they haven't talked about what Joe West has done since then."

"And that's why you make such a great partner," Joe said with a teasing smile, "you can talk me up so I don't have to."

Eddie let out a loud laugh. "That's what I'm here for," he said between gasps for air as Joe started to laugh with him. He looked over at Averey as she came up the stairs, stopping short when she spotted the two police detectives.

"Hey, Averey," Joe greeted her.

"Hiii," she said slowly. Her deer caught in headlights look slowly relaxed as she looked back and forth between the two of them. She turned to glance at the stairs before facing them again, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth. "You blokes seem to be in a good mood."

"Just taking some time to catch up," Joe asked as his laughter faded.

"Oh." Averey looked surprised and then confused. "You mean you're not—aren't you here to talk to me?"

Eddie lifted an eyebrow, turning towards Joe who looked just as curious as he felt. "No," Eddie replied, looking back at her. "What made you think that? Should we be here to talk to you about something?"

Averey's cheeks puffed up, eyebrows lifting, before she pressed her lips together. "Noooo," she replied after a moment of silence, clapping her hands together, lifting up on the balls of her feet. "In fact, forget I said anything. It was good seeing you guys, I just need to fetch another box of the mugs upstairs and count them." Eddie watched as she started taking each step upstairs slowly, tilting her head from side to side. "Again."

"What's up?" he asked, turning in his seat to see if he could figure out what she was looking at. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and with the sun going down, it was hard to see anything outside of the windows.

"Just checking for rain."

"It's not supposed to rain today."

"Oh. Well, you know how the weather is around here. It can just pop up whenever it wants."

"Not since Mark Mardon disappeared," Joe commented.

"Wait, hold on," Eddie said to Joe. "Clyde Mardon's brother?"

Joe's eyes widened as if he let slip some information , and he proceeded to take his time sipping from his mug. Averey commented on how she should finish her shift and continued making her way up to the attic of CC Jitters, almost at a run. Settling back into his seat, scrutinizing Joe, a thought struck Eddie.

It was funny how, now that it was mentioned, he hadn't noticed until that the metahumans that had attacked the city lately had mysteriously disappeared after their appearance and short time wreaking havoc. Mark Mardon's voice had been heard on a recording at the morgue the night the coroner was found dead, but then he had never appeared in the city afterwards. Eddie had always assumed he was just waiting to plan out his attack, but maybe that wasn't true. Maybe the Flash had something to do with that, too.

Eddie knew that metahumans weren't being housed at Iron Heights. They were still working out a plan to fund a new wing for metahumans and it still needed to built. He just never took a lot of thought after what happened to them after their "case" was closed. The Flash would always rush off with them and that was it. The city was safe again for the time being.

"Joe," Eddie said to his friend, "do you know who the Flash is?"

"He's the guy keeping our city safe," Joe replied with a nod.

"Come on, Joe," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes. "You kept metahumans a secret from me for a while, but everyone knows that weird things are going on in the city without reading the news. People know that the Flash exists. I sure do now since he kicked my butt up and down the street."

"I thought you dropped the Task Force hunt against him," Joe commented.

"I did," Eddie replied, reaching for his phone as it started to ring in his bag, "and I'll admit I jumped the gun on going after him, but if we're going to be partners, we can't keep secrets like this. Especially when the Flash has been helping us out. I want to know what's going on in this city."

"I hear you," Joe replied as Eddie glanced at the screen of his phone. "But, I really don't know much more than that."

"Hold on, it's Iris," Eddie said, sliding his thumb in the direction the green arrows on his phone indicated for him to before lifting it to his ear. "We are going to finish this conversation, Joe. Hey, babe." Joe shifted his gaze up to the ceiling, shaking his head back and forth. "Wait, wait, hold on, what's wrong? I'm with your dad." Sweat rushed to his armpits, heat encircled the collar of his shirt, and his heart dropped when Iris's panic-filled voice reached his ears. Joe waved his hand in Eddie's direction, trying to get his attention mouthing, "What happened?" over and over again. "We're on our way now. We're going now. Call the police if you haven't done so yet."

"What is it?" Joe asked, already on his feet.

"My—our apartment has been ransacked," Eddie replied, quickly gathering his belongings.

"What? Is Iris ok? She's not hurt?"

Eddie shook his head. "She said she stopped by after meeting with her advisor before she was going to meet up with Mason Bridge to cover a story about STAR Labs or something and found the place torn apart," Eddie replied, nearly choking himself in his rush to get his bag over his shoulder. "I have to go."

"Calm down, partner," Joe said, catching Eddie's arm as he went to hurry past him. "Iris is ok. You just heard her tell you that she wasn't hurt. Hold on to the fact that neither of you were there when it happened."

"You didn't hear her voice, Joe," Eddie said despite nodding repeatedly at his statement. "I have to get home right now. I'll just go pay and—"

"Don't worry about it, partner," Joe said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll pay, you just get on home, check on Iris, and make sure nothing was stolen or tampered with." Eddie opened his mouth to protest (he had already offered to pay for Joe's drink and it was on his way out the door) and Joe nudged him towards the stairs. "I'll meet you there."

Eddie hurried out of CC Jitters, into his car (throwing his belongings haphazardly into the passenger seat) and hurried to his apartment building cursing any traffic he encountered along the way. Flying up the stairs, he came to his apartment and stopped in the doorway as his belongings practically spilled out into the hall.

"What the hell?" he breathed, carefully stepping over the overturn end table sat by the door. Jaw dropped, he did a slow turn, taking in every angle of the apartment.

The couch was knocked over with its cushions strewn across the floor, covering the discarded DVD discs that glittered a spectrum of colors against the light. Cabinet doors were open, some still holding dishes, some empty as they were smashed on the floor. The plants had been knocked over, dirt covering the ground in piles, pictures were laying on the floor with their frames cracked, only the hooks and other wall fasteners still on the wall. Shoes were dotting the hallway to the back rooms, and he could only imagine what it looked like in there.

"Eddie!" Iris hurried towards him from the hall and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Eddie squeezed her back just as tight, trying to stop his body from shaking. "Oh, Eddie, I'm glad you're here."

"Iris," Eddie said, snapping out of his slack-jawed stare to grasp Iris's face in his hands. She sniffed, looking up at him with tear rimmed eyes. "Are you ok? You're not hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Iris replied, shaking her head back and forth and giving him the best smile she could. "Really. I called you as soon as I got here." She weakly lifted a hand in the air indicating the apartment around her before she dropped it down to her side. "I just can't believe this. Who would do this?"

"I don't know." Eddie put his face into his hands before sliding them up over his hair and then clasped the back of his head. With his line of work, he did often get the threat of revenge from an arrestee, but he never took any of those threats seriously. "But I'm going to find out. I promise."

"No, Eddie, just let the police handle it," Iris said, laying a hand on his arm.

"I am the police," Eddie replied. His shoulders slumped and he gave Iris an apologetic look. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I just can't stop thinking that you could have been here when this happened."

"Yeah, or you," Iris reminded him. "What are we going to do?"

"Make sure nothing was taken," Eddie replied looking around the apartment again. Easier said than done. "And we talk to the police. In the mean time, I think you should go home and stay with your dad."

"What about you?"

"I can get a hotel room or something. It'll be fine." He pulled her to his side and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I promise. It'll be safer at your house." Looking around for a place to sit, he walked over to the kitchen table and dropped into one of the only chairs left upright. "You said you were going with Mason Bridge to do a story on STAR Labs?"

"He says it's going to be a big story," Iris agreed with a nod of her head. "That small earthquake the other day seemed to originate from there. It's a great opportunity." She clasped her hands together as she moved to join him at the table. "As far as I'm concerned, the only real story there is how they helped save Barry after his accident. I think if I could write it well enough, Mr. Larkin will see I can do more than write about the Flash."

Eddie nodded. If only the Flash was here to help us. He gave Iris a reassuring smile, placing his hand over hers. "I'm sure it'll be great," he said.

The police soon arrived and Eddie and Iris relayed as much information as they could, explaining in as much detail as possible where they were as the crime took place, what they had done as soon as they arrived at the apartment, and anything else they could say to answer their initial questions. As Eddie slowly made his way through the apartment, taking notes on a scrap piece of paper he found on the floor of what was out of place, Joe, Averey, and a disheveled looking Barry arrived and started helping wherever they could.

"It's going to take forever to put everything back," Iris commented with a tired sigh, pulling her hair up into a ponytail after she and Barry straightened the couch.

"We'll all pitch in and help, sweetie," Joe said from the kitchen as he carefully lifted plates back onto the higher shelves. He frowned when he saw the growing pile of broken dishes before turning towards his daughter. "Aww, man. Not the Mickey Mouse cup. You loved that cup!"

"Right?!" Iris threw her hands into the air.

"Things will go back to normal before you know it," Barry added, dropping down onto the couch. His mouth twisted to the side just slightly. "No one around here saw or heard anything?"

"The police asked the neighbors, but they couldn't give much," Iris replied, sitting down beside him. "They checked the security footage and it seems like the cameras went out during the robbery and started working again afterwards. There's no footage." Eddie looked up from his list in time to see her placing her hand on Barry's knee. "Anyway, Barry, how are you doing? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Barry replied, giving her a bright smile. "Don't worry about me."

"I can't help it," Iris said. "You had a hard time with Internal Affairs, but I'm sure you and dad will be cleared in no time."

"Yeah. Thanks, Iris."

"I reckon nothing's been stolen," Averey said to Eddie, joining him at the entrance of the hallway to the back rooms.

"How can you be sure?" Eddie asked, shifting his gaze from Barry and Iris to her.

"I remember where you were setting everything up when Iris first moved in," Averey replied. She started pointing. "Books over there, organized by author, cookware over there, organized by size, and CDs over there, organized by genre. It's all still there, just now on the floor. Only, I'm not too surprised they didn't take that ugly couch or any CDs what with your bad taste in music." Eddie barely cracked a smile. "Ay, sorry, mate. That was supposed to be a joke."

"It was kind of funny," he admitted. "And there's nothing wrong with that couch."

"Now who's joking?" All traces of humor then left her face. "Are you doing anything next Saturday?"

"Not that I know of, why?" Eddie asked.

"It's Barry's birthday," Averey replied, "and after everything that's been going on, I think he deserves a day of stress-free fun. I was thinking of throwing him a party."

Eddie let out a short laugh. "I think we could all use some of that," he replied. "I'll be sure to clear my schedule. What were you thinking?"

"Mini golf, laser tag, maybe a trip to the beach, anything," Averey listed off. "Or, if we celebrate early, they're holding Trivia Night at Jitters. I heard it's always a good turn out and its good fun."

Eddie made a face. The last time he attended a Trivia Night, he proved that he wasn't the best at thinking under pressure. Trivially, anyway. Stick him in the middle of a fire fight and he could keep his calm, cool, and collected composure.

"Trivia isn't exactly my forte," he replied.

"You mean there's something you're actually not good at?"

Scratching the side of his jaw with his pen, Eddie took another look around the trashed apartment for the umpteenth time, his gaze landing on Iris and Barry. He couldn't secure his ex-partner's job let alone his own house, so, no, he wasn't good at everything, but he sure as hell was going to keep his relationship with Iris intact no matter what happened. As he watched the two childhood friends, he did feel some annoyance bubbling under the surface, but he also couldn't help but smile.

Despite how shaken up she was, Iris was worried about Barry's well being (and Eddie was concerned too; despite how late Barry could be getting to work, he was never seen with a hair out of place) and that compassion was something that made him attracted to her in the first place. She was worth protecting; the world didn't see that much compassion every day and it was nice to have someone to work for.

"Hey, Averey?" Eddie held his pen and paper out towards her. "Could you double check everything for me, since you seem to remember where everything used to be? I need to do something real quick."

"Sure, no problems."

Eddie headed into the back bedroom, checking over his shoulder to make sure that no one was following him. Stepping over the mess, he made his way into the closet (the only place that looked like it hadn't been touched as it already was pretty junky) and reached up for a stack of shoeboxes on the shelf. Even nearly being an even six feet tall, he stood on his tiptoes to grab the highest box he could and carefully angled the stack towards him until the uppermost box slid off and he caught it in his arms.

Lowering himself into a seated position on the floor, he lifted the lid of the box and removed his old boxing gloves, tape, wrist, and elbow braces until he reached the bottom where a small light blue box sat. Closing his eyes, Eddie lifted the small box and slowly opened the lid. Cracking open an eye, he peeked at its contents and let out a sigh of relief.

The ring was still there.

---

"You realize we're getting ready to close, right?"

"Does it look like I care?" Averey asked the receptionist of Mercury Labs, drumming her fingers on the smooth wooden counter top. The woman lifted her eyebrows looking more annoyed than she was when Averey had banged her fist repeatedly on he locked front doors until they were opened.

After helping Eddie and Iris get some semblance of security and normalcy back to their apartment, she turned down a lift back to her place and took a bus across town instead. Luckily there wasn't a lot of people on the bus that late otherwise she probably would have faced property damage charges from the punches and kicks the seat in front of her received in her frustration. She just knew Gavin and the others had something to do with this.

"It'll only take ten minutes."

"Fine. Ten minutes."

She retrieved a visitor's pass out from one of the drawers behind the counter and handed it to Averey. "Cheers." She quickly attached the pass to the bottom of her shirt on the way to the elevators. She rode the elevator up to the fifth floor and practically burst out the doors as they slid open.

Marching into Gavin's office, she kicked the door shut behind her and declared, "You're a real piece of shit!"

Gavin looked up from his computer screen, hands hovering over his keyboard, and twisted his wrist to look at the time on his watch. "Well, that didn't take too long," he commented before shrugging and fixing Averey with a 'what's your problem' look. "You said not to go near your family, so we didn't." He looked her up and down. "Why do you care so much about that Detective anyway?"

"Because he's my friend!" Averey replied. Gavin's eyebrows lifted. His chuckled response angered Averey and she felt her fingers curling into a fist. She didn't know why, even now, she was surprised that he could be so calm about what it was that he had done. She crossed the room and slammed her hands down on his desk. "You've already got me doing what you want, leave him out of it!"

"You should be happy; you weren't part of it," Gavin replied, shrugging. "At least in that regard you can honestly say you had nothing to do with it." He turned back to his computer and started working again, the sound of his fingers tapping against the keys filling the air. "I hope you realize by now that your words, to me, are just words. I always need to make sure that you'll act when you need to. If I need to give you a reason for that, then so be it."

"You told me I didn't have to worry about it," Averey said quietly, more to herself than to Gavin as she suddenly remembered his words from the night of Dante's party. She removed her hands from the desk and tightly crossed them over her chest. "That's why you said that I didn't have to worry about any calls."

"You're still a liability to this, Averey," Gavin said, sounding like he was getting impatient with a child. "It's obvious you're not as dedicated as the rest of us, but I'm still holding up my end of the bargain. You pay off your debt and you're free to go. No questions asked." He stopped typing for a second time and reached out a hand, pressing his palm against the surface where she had her hands a moment before. A white light glowed under his hand, his eyelids fluttered, and his eyes took on the same white glow. As the glow faded, he chuckled. "You know, I really don't like having to put so much of my energy into making sure the rest of you guys will do as you're told."

"What are you talking-?" Averey's sentence trailed off as she looked down at her hands. How could she have been so stupid? He could see exactly what she was thinking and picturing in his mind the moment she had touched his desk. There went her quick plan to throw her involvement with the Mercury Labs hit.

"You're going to come to the Mercury Labs Symposium," Gavin said, reaching for his desk drawer. "You will be prepared to carry out whatever we need to do. And if the Flash decides to interfere," he set a black rounded object onto the table, "you will defend yourself."

"What is it?" Averey asked. "It looks like a Poké Ball or something."

"It'll stop the Flash, that's all you need to know." She reached out for it and Gavin grabbed her wrist, tightly squeezing it. Whether it was in warning or just to stop her, she wasn't sure, but wouldn't put it past him if it was the former. "Don't activate it in here unless you want to know what it feels like to fall onto a cactus plant." Slowly uncurling each finger, he let her go. "You're not giving me a lot of options here, Averey. If you want out, and you obviously do, I want you out with the least amount of problems; I'm not that much of a prick. I just need you to cooperate with me. Now can I please get back to work? I still have a day job."

"Oh, whatever!" Averey stormed back to his desk and knocked his stapler, cup of pencils, and a small stack of paper onto the floor with a sweep of her arms. "You leaked that Mercury Labs information the first second you got. You have Dr. McGee at your fingertips and you know it."

"Because she wasn't doing as she was told," Gavin replied evenly. "Look, you're not any better than the rest of us. You were starting to be looked at the second you stole those shoes. Just so you know."

"That wasn't my fault," Averey replied. How many times was she going to have to say that?

"It never is, is it?" Gavin asked, leaning back in his chair. "I think the only time you've ever claimed responsibility for your actions was the minute you pleaded guilty for shoplifting. Everything else you've been trying to not be associated with. That's what your real problem is. Just accept it, every decision you've made has lead you here, whether or not you really believe in them. You're not as innocent as you've convinced yourself!"

She had heard enough. Averey turned to leave, giving him the finger as she did so. Once she was back in the elevator, she started to pace in a tight square. "This is getting too close, Ave. Way too close." She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She had never thought she'd do anything like steal from Dr. Wells let alone having Eddie's apartment broken into just to pay off her debt. Groaning, she slumped into the corner, allowing the handrails of the elevator to hold her up. "Just face it. You've really stuffed up this time."

What else was she expecting? Her life was filled with wanting to do things for herself and dealing with those consequences. It all had started when she bulldozed her way into trying to find her dad despite her mom's misgivings. How many times had she been told to just drop the subject and that she would be told everything when she was older? Constantly being told to wait until she was older was the most frustrating thing she had to deal with when her mom promised that she told her daughter everything.

After that, she tried to take control of her time in court thinking that honesty all the way was going to help. She faced a hefty bail amount and what seemed like a long stretch in jail for that. It wasn't that long ago where she decided to face Bivolo all by herself against Dr. Well's wishes and, in order to do so, she stole STAR Labs property. Adding that into her continued theft as part of the Royal Flush Gang, Gavin was right: she wasn't as innocent as she was trying to see herself as. The threat of harming her family and friends had only become a reality when she heard of Henry's stabbing, and now Eddie's apartment being broken into. She had so many opportunities before hand to ask for help and she still thought she could do it her own.

Having her past criminal history up in the Internal Affairs investigation was embarrassing and made her angry whether or not she could have prepared herself for that possibility. She never wanted to be that Averey again, the Averey that was so focused on what was in front of her, that she couldn't see what was happening around her. And yet, she knew that she was looking to end up in the same place. As the days went by, it was only a matter of when. Staring into the eyes of her mugshot, Averey could see all of her worries, insecurities, and fear wrapped up in that one picture. It was those same emotions and thoughts that had kept her up her first few nights in Keystone City Jail, crying.

How had things gone so bad so quickly without her realizing it?

Because you've always been so focused on what's in front of you, Averey thought bitterly. You never paid attention to what was going on around you. She started to repeatedly hit the back of her head against the elevator wall. "You can't do it on your own, Ave," she said to herself. "Not anymore. You just can't. You need help."

She jabbed her index finger against the starred number one and stared at the changing numbers on the floor indicator as it lowered. With a soft ding, the doors slid open and Averey stepped out onto the ground floor of Mercury Labs. As she passed by the receptionist desk, she spotted Dr. McGee making her way to the exit.

"Dr. McGee." Averey hurried to unclip the visitors pass from the bottom of her shirt. Practically throwing it in the face of the person manning the desk, she hurried after the scientist, repeatedly calling her name. Bursting out the front doors of Mercury Labs, a blast of the cool night air hit her in the face. "Dr. McGee!"

Hand digging through her purse, Dr. McGee turned around to face Averey. "Yes?" she asked, abandoning her search through her bag to tuck her hair behind her ears, peering through the lights lining the walkway.

"Hi, I'm Averey Moore, I don't know if you remember me," Averey said, walking up to Dr. McGee thrusting her hand towards the woman.

"Ah, yes, I remember everyone that inquiries a position at my facility," Dr. McGee replied, shaking her hand. Her grip was tight on Averey's hand. "I also remember you standing on the side of Harrison Wells when he made his announcement to Central City. It's nice to know that he still has a support system." A soft expression briefly passed over her face before it was replaced with curiosity. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering," Averey said, rubbing her hands together, "are you planning on attending the Mercury Labs Symposium?"

Dr. McGee pursed her lips for a moment, almost as if she was checking if had in fact heard what was just asked of her. "Well, it is a big event for my laboratory, it's a good opportunity to look for potential hires, and I am giving the opening speech," she replied, haughty. "Of course I'm attending." She moved to step past her and Averey blocked her path.

"Don't go."

"Sorry?" Dr. McGee gave her a surprised look. "I assure you I'm planning on attending." She side-stepped Averey and headed towards the parking lot.

"Please," Averey said, hurrying after her, walking quickly to keep up, "don't go. I can't explain why, but it'd be better if you weren't there."

"We have engineers, scientists, and some of the brightest minds of your generation flying from all over at a chance to work in these halls," Dr. McGee explained, never breaking her stride, "I must be there to greet them."

"But, you don't understand!"

Dr. McGee stopped walking and turned around to face Averey. "You are correct, Miss Moore, I don't understand why you're trying to defer me from attending an event that's been held for the past three years and continues to grow in attendance."

As she waited for an answer, Averey's mind went blank. "I just don't think it's a good idea," she finally said.

Dr. McGee stared at her. "Right," she said with a nod. "Miss Moore, this wouldn't be a tactic from Harrison Wells would it? If I know Harrison, he'll do anything for scientific advancement. And, furthermore, I must ask if he ever plans on returning my tachyon prototype to me."

"I don't know."

"I see." There was an air of finality to Dr. McGee's tone. She retrieved her keys from her purse and angled her body towards the parking lot. "Well, I must be going, I still have a lot to do to prepare to make this event a success."

Oh, you have no idea how much I want it to be, too, Averey thought as she watched Dr. McGee leave. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed fistfuls of her hair, pulling it until her scalp tightened and she let out a loud groan of frustration.

Henry woke abruptly when a metallic clanging sound reached his ears. Cracking open an eye, he watched as a bright light bounced wildly around the wall of his cell. First he rolled onto his back and peered out the window into the dark night.

What time is it? He thought groggily, waiting for his eyes to adjust. It definitely wasn't time for count. The clanking sound came again, louder, more hurried. Rolling onto his stomach, he lifted himself up onto his forearms and peered out through the bars of his cell. Lifting a hand, he squinted against the bright light shining in on him before it clicked off.

Henry blinked repeatedly, a cloud of color sitting in the center of his vision. Letting out a sigh, he dropped his face into his pillow as he waited for the color to disappear. His muscles relaxed and he found himself drifting off to sleep when the sound of keys jangling reached his ears shortly followed by a heavy click and the sound of his cell door sliding open.

"Henry Allen?"

"Mmmm?" He lazily lifted his hand into the air before dropping it back down to his side. "I'm still here."

"Good."

A hand clamped down over his mouth. Henry tried to pry the hand off of him, swinging his legs up to try and kick whoever it was that held him, but they pressed down harder and harder on his mouth. Thrashing around in his bed, the metal frame of his bed squeaked and scraped against the floor. He tried to make as much noise as possible despite knowing that no other inmate could help him even if they did wake up. Maybe a guard actually was patrolling around and could hear him?

"Stop, stop, stop!" Something heavy hit the side of Henry's head and he stopped moving, breathing heavily through his nose. The hand was removed from his mouth and he gasped for air before something cold was pressed to the side of his head. Hot breath washed over his face and a harsh voice whispered, "This isn't a trick, but follow me for your treat." Henry grunted as another hand slapped down onto the center of his chest, grabbing a handful of his prison uniform, hauling him to his feet. "Move."

Without seeing who his assailant was, Henry was forcefully removed from his cell and through the halls of Iron Heights.

---

A/N: I've been working on a one-shot where it shows more with the Internal Affairs investigation so keep an eye out for that. Thanks for all of your feedback with that scene, everyone.

Ethan: The one-shot mentioned above will be showing individual questioning from Internal Affairs. You're not the only one who had that thought of them being questioned separately. Yes, Cisco was vibing at the water cooler. Whenever I watch TV episodes I think about Averey's story and where she would be at that point, so I see where you're coming from.

BabyJ: Despite that one episode where Henry was stabbed while in Iron Heights, I always felt like he would be the type of person who would do whatever he could that fit his morals to help keep himself safe so he wouldn't have to always be checking over his shoulder, so to speak. With his profession, and how prisoners could get injured, I thought it worked that they would recognize his medical talents and inmates would put it to good use. I'm glad you liked that aspect.

Thanks for reading, everyone.