Chaos on Earth-2

by TrueHorror88

He did it to save his new home. His family, to save his daughter and the woman he loves. But instead Seth Fury was flung into Earth-2 and became Zoom's prisoner. Now aiming to use everything in his powers to find his way back to his Earth and reunite with the ones he loves, he fights. But it won't be easy. How will Earth-2 fare against a true demon? A mutant? A Lethal Protector.

21. Chapter 21: Running to Stand Still

And now another bedtime story for you wonderful people in the world.

Once again, I hope you all are safe and healthy wherever you might be, and please continue to be cautious with human contact.

Thanks for all the reviews, means a lot to me and keeps me going.

Now without further ado…

ENJOY!

Chapter 21: Running to Stand Still

(Note: Play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Love to Sing)

Christmas music was blaring out of the speakers around the shop. A lot of customers sung along the music, finding it pleasant and calming and enchanting in these Christmas times. Children were running amok in the store to find something that piqued their interests, all of them hopelessly desperate for something they could show off to their friends after Christmas Eve.

Matt Stark had to sidestep out of the way as a volley of young children rushed towards him with screaming demeanors. Chuckling at the sight, he mutters. "Christmas is either joyous or hell in a store." When asked by them, he accepted the offer to go with Frankie and Caitlin for some Christmas shopping.

"Uncle Matt, what're you doing?" His niece Frankie Fury got his attention when running to his side. "I thought you'd have found presents by now."

"I said I would go with you and your mother for Christmas shopping, Frankie. I never said I had to do some Christmas shopping myself." Matt clarified for his niece with a playful smile.

Narrowing her eyes, she says with crossed arms. "You sure you actually bought presents, enough for everyone? You didn't get them off eBay, did you?" Her questions came out in an accusatory tone.

"Is that what you think of your cool uncle Matt now? The one who happens to be an awesome engineer and builder of armored suits." He joked and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his side which made her giggle in embarrassment. "I already got you presents, honey. Don't you go doubting me now."

"I won't, Uncle Matt." She looked down with a saddened tone.

"What's wrong, Frankie?" The nanite mutant asked in worry when seeing her eyes point downwards.

"You're not the only one, Frankie." Both she and Matt looked to the side when seeing Caitlin Snow walk towards them with a shopping basket around her arm. It was full of groceries for cooking later on and other items. With her free hand, she strokes her daughter's hair and says. "It's our first Christmas without your Dad, and it feels empty. Hollow even."

"Yeah… I really hoped that we could have spent Christmas with him." Frankie admitted in a saddened tone. "I miss him."

"Me too, baby girl." Caitlin hugged her daughter.

Seeing their sad faces, Matt thought about the elemental's words to him in the past and told them. "You know what Seth would tell you?" They looked to him with confused eyes. He smiled. "He would say he's still with you in your hearts, he's still here with you and he wants to hear about this Christmas when he comes back. So enjoy it to your fullest, and he can hear all about it when he comes back. He might even get jealous. Oh, that'd be the day."

Frankie smiled with a brief laugh. "Yeah, that'd be the day."

"Guess we're gonna have to one heck of a Christmas Eve to make your Dad jealous, Frankie." Caitlin said with a chuckle.

"That's the spirit." Matt said with a happy smile as they continued walking.

Caitlin looked curious and then asked the nanite mutant. "Matt, where's Liv? I haven't seen her all day."

"She used the dimensional transport device to go to our home world, to talk with her Dad." Matt explained. "Think it was to tell Director Fury of Seth being alive on Earth-2 and maybe hash out some other details or something."

"You think Grandpa Nick will come for Christmas?" She directed to her mother and uncle at the same time.

"Who knows? Big chance of that happening, your aunt has a history of getting what she wants. Unless there's an attack on New York, again." Matt joked with a twist of his head.

Caitlin laughed at that and then looked shocked when looking to the side. "Matt, Frankie did you guys see these?" Following the direction of the doctor's eyes, both couldn't help but laugh at their findings that met their eyesight.

The three of them was looking at a pyramid of stacked action figures in packages. But it was the action figures themselves that shocked them. It was action figures of Barry Allen's superhero persona, The Flash. And he wasn't the only one there. There were others. Some of them were action figures of Iron Knight. Others were of Angel Fury. The married couple's superhero personas are there too, all of them with different patterns and colors.

Looking further up the pyramid of action figures, they found action figures of Magenta in colorful packages. Frankie smiled and took one in hand.

Caitlin found another package and grabbed hold of it. She smiled at the sight of that familiar form, now in action figure size. An action figure of Venom himself, surrounded by different raising plastic elements. The doctor wondered what Seth would say to this. "Wouldn't mind this, actually." She placed the package of the Lethal Protector action figure into her shopping basket.

Seeing that, Frankie quips. "Think Dad will like that one?"

"He is gonna need a belated Christmas present when he does return." Caitlin laughed to herself.

Matt was happy that the two was able to enjoy themselves like this without Seth. But he couldn't wait for the elemental to return so the two can create more moments like this. In the corner of his eye, he saw children rushing to the other stacks of action figures and taking toys of Venom. "He's gonna love this."

He got worried when a few of them engaged in a tug of war.

X

(CC Jitters)

The shopping malls weren't the only ones embracing the Christmas mood. The popular and busy-as-always coffee shop in Central City, CC Jitters are also in full swing and taking the Christmas times. With them not serving holiday's specials, their superhero drinks have been selling like hotcakes.

Detective Joseph "Joe" West was enjoying the times at the coffee shop himself as he stood in line. He was waiting for his daughter to come herself, he already ordered coffee drinks for them both. He bought a Flash for her and a Venom for himself. The detective was surprised by how much his friend's dedicated drink had been bought, easily becoming the second most popular menu option.

It was a definitely gonna be a strange Christmas this year without that obnoxious elemental. But until he comes back, they're gonna have to make do with Seth's sister and his brother-in-law, his daughter and his girlfriend. The four of them should make up his trash-like attitude…

"Nope, not even close." Joe realized with a chortle. Seth Fury had a personality that was unlike anyone's in this city. Not even criminals had an attitude could be compared to his foul mouth.

As he took out the money to pay for the order, he looked to the side and saw his daughter, Iris West walking to him, holding two packages in her hands. "Whoo!" She feigned a surprised and excited expression, bringing the two packages of action figures into her father's face. Joe laughed at the action figures of both The Flash and Venom. "I had to fight some old lady for the last ones. They had pyramids of toys of the other heroes, but they didn't any Green Arrow dolls."

Her father frowned at that last statement. "Don't know why you'd want a toy of that crazy man." They moved to a table and the detective admitted. "I can't figure out what to get Barry. Already figured out what to give Frankie, but not him."

"I'm surprised you already thought of Frankie's gift." Iris admitted with surprise.

"Wasn't hard. Gonna give her an action figure of herself, plus a gift card to a shopping mall. Caitlin said she had to get clothes that she didn't make herself with her symbiote's powers." The detective revealed proudly.

"She's gonna love that." Iris was surprised with how much her Dad had settled into the role as Frankie's uncle. "I was thinking you could give Barry this." She pulled out a blue shirt from her shopping bag for her father to see.

Joe had to admit, it was a nice choice for a Christmas gift. "Oh, that's nice." Nice, but simple and too… mundane. "But I kind of want to get him something more meaningful. I mean, it's been a strange, emotional 12 months."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me." Iris said with a saddened face, removing her coat.

Gaining a sympathetic expression, he shared her daughter's saddened face. "Oh, I know, babe. I miss Eddie too." He sipped on his bitter Venom drink, feeling it sting his taste buds for a few seconds before he could enjoy it.

"How about you get Barry a really nice watch? Like Grandpa Ben gave to you." Came the suggestion from his daughter.

Liking that very idea, he pointed a finger at his daughter he agreed. "That ain't a bad idea." He turns his wrist around, examining his watch from his father and thought back to the memories of his old man. "You know, my dad only gave me this watch because I was always late."

With a raise eyebrow, Iris was in disbelief as she said. "You?"

"Yeah." Joe gave a chuckle. "He always gave a gift with a not-so-hidden message, like this watch or the time he bought me free weights because he said I was too skinny." Iris chuckled through the mouthful of coffee. "I told him, "When I have a son, I'm only giving him fun presents.""

Unbeknownst to Joe, those words bore a hole in the deepest pits of her soul. A void itself forming, and slowly being filled with the waters of sadness.

Those waters filled her ears, her father's next words coming out in a fading sound. "This thing barely works. Don't know why I still wear it." The detective began to tap his useless watch repeatedly.

Though they came in a fading sound, the reporter managed to hear his words and said… regretfully. "Because it's from family."

Joe turns his attention to his daughter again, this time seeing the saddened and regretful expression on her face. "You sure you're all right?"

Registering the concerned eyes of her father on her form, the reported forced an assuring smile. "Yeah, yeah. I promise." She drank her coffee again.

X

(CCPD, CSI Lab)

Inside of the CSI laboratory, things were going well for CSI scientist Barry Allen and Detective Patty Spivot. Both of them embracing one another with their arms around each other, their lips connected and kissing each other passionately.

Patty removed her lips from her boyfriend's and feigned reasoning. "You know, we should really be more professional."

The secret speedster couldn't keep a cocky smirk from forming on his face. "You do realize you initiated that." He spoke with a chuckle.

The detective laughed. "Yes, and I'm fully prepared to reprimand myself then. I'm just saying, you know, anyone could walk in, like, Joe or Captain…" she trailed off, and the moment they stopped they heard feet walking into the lab.

Turning towards that direction, they found Iris walking into the room with an embarrassed expression.

Patty let go of Barry, who greeted the chuckling reporter. "Yo."

Trying to not make the situation more awkward, Patty tried to lie out of it. "But I-I-I- have, like, a 4:00 to 12:00, but…"

"Yeah." Barry followed her sheepish lie.

"I'll see you later." Patty said as she moved away from him.

"All right." Barry told her as she moved away.

Patty looked to Iris. "I'll see you at Christmas."

"Yeah, okay. Bye." Iris told her with a smile. She turned to Barry with the same smile. "I'm so happy for you. Truly."

Nodding his appreciation, he also voiced them. "Thank you. It means a lot to me that you like her." They stared at each other for a while and the speedster sighed. "I don't know. Wells, um, he left me that message where he said that I'd never really be happy. And for a while I really started to believe him, but, now… I… I don't know. Maybe there is a way to…" Barry stopped himself when seeing Iris form a saddened face.

No, not saddened. Devasted and burdened by the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. It breaks Barry's heart to see her like this. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" He fired off his questions in concern.

The dam broke and Iris let the tears flow. "I'm so sorry. I can't keep this in anymore, Barry." She confessed to Barry. "I know that I was so mad at you and Dad for not telling me that you were The Flash, but when I found out about this, I didn't know what to do."

Every word she uttered came out with a breaking voice. "What? What's going on?" Barry tried to console her, hoping that she would tell everything that was weighing her down.

Iris confesses everything. "When Francine came back, my Dad told me not to trust her and he was right. Id didn't know how much." Barry waited for her to release everything that was withheld in her heart. "When my mother left us… she was pregnant." Barry's eyes widened as she continued the world-turning confession. "She had a son. Joe's son. My brother."

Barry was shocked by what she just revealed. The woman who was gone and turned her back on her family a long time ago, the woman that Joe stated had passed away… had another secret that now burdened the very daughter that she turned her back on.

"What's his name?" Barry inquired.

"Wally…" Iris answered with watering eyes. "Wally West…" Barry listened. "When I found out, I told her to leave and never come back and to never tell my dad, but Barry, I feel… I feel like this is hollowing me out. Every time I look at Dad, I feel like I'm hurting him. I don't… I don't know what to do."

The speedster disagreed with that. "I think you know what you have to do." He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I can't. It's gonna kill him." Iris countered.

Shaking his head, Barry stated. "No, it won't. You don't have to do this alone. We can tell him together."

"Thank you." Iris expressed. It was really helpful with the speedster here. It felt like the burden on her shoulders was lessening now thanks to him.

"Yeah." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. The speedster noticed something outside of the window of his lab and smiled at the sight. "Hey, look." Iris turned her head around to look in the direction of his eyes. They both smile at the sight. "Snow…. Maybe it'll be a white Christmas." He hopefully said.

"That'd be nice." The reporter said with her head leaning against Barry's shoulder.

X

(Felicia's Penthouse)

They weren't the only ones taking in the snowy weather that was falling over the entire city. On the balcony of her penthouse suite, Felicia Hardy, the infamous cat burglar of Earth-616, watched the snow fall on every building and every lake within her field of vision. She was leaning on the railing with her right elbow placed on it, her hand right placed on the side of her face.

A single finger of her right hand playing with a single strand of her platinum blonde hair that was running down the side of her face. Her other hand was twirling the martini glass in it, swirling the alcohol inside of it as she enjoyed the view.

The infamous thief was appreciating this day in the snowy weather that follows Christmas time. And with a drink in her hand, she could enjoy it to the fullest. She brought the drink to her lips, sipped on the alcohol. "Perfect."

Hearing a sloshing and whooshing sound, she sighed in mock annoyance. "Way to ruin my moment. Can't a girl get some peace and quiet around here?"

A female voice chuckled behind before walking towards her with heels clacking. "Think that's not possible with you, Felicia."

Turning around to face the female mutant herself, Felicia chuckled. "What's up, Pink Beauty?"

Olivia Fury-Stark laughed and walked to her, her right hand grabbing strands of her long magenta-colored hair. "Still magenta, Cat. Learn your colors, would ya?"

"Sounds like work and no pleasure." She reached for the table beside her, lifting a drink for her friend as well. "What's with the heels? You used to say wearing them is like choking your feet." Felicia was honestly surprised by the mutant walking so well and elegantly in heels.

"Thought I'd try to get the hang of these deathtraps." Olivia said with her left hand taking the glass in the thief's hand. "No Christmas decorations up yet?"

With a smirk on her face, Felicia said. "Only type of Christmas this gal needs are a drink, surrounded by goods and rolling around in cash naked in my bed." For empathize, she had a hand sliding down her stomach.

The mutant frowned at that image. "TMI, Felicia!" She exclaimed and the burglar laughed. Drinking from the glass, she said. "You wanna spend Christmas with us maybe?"

Felicia turned around, looking to the city of this world before she leans over the railing. "Not in the mood for a pity Christmas invite, Liv. But thanks anyway." She sipped on her glass again.

Patting her shoulder, the mutant corrected her feelings. "Not a pity invite, Cat. A hand to God invite to Christmas party at the West residence. It'd be nice."

Felicia counters. "Think anyone of them would have a thief from another universe? Under a detective's roof?"

"Think anyone of them would have a pair of killers from another universe? Under a detective's roof?" Olivia counters using the thief's own words. Felicia looked stumped. "You might have a past, Felicia. But me and Matt have one ourselves, one that's reddened with the blood of our enemies."

"You really think any of them would want there to spoil your party? Christmas's mostly for family alone." The cat burglar sadly asked without making eye contact.

Sighing, the psychic reminded her. "If you're not thinking of my niece or Caitlin, then you're dead wrong." Felicia faces her. "You're Frankie's mentor, you've been a friend to Caitlin, you've been me and Matt's friend since forever now. Why wouldn't any of us want you there? Heck you're practically family now, Cat."

"Thanks… but not sure."

It was unusual for Olivia to see Felicia Hardy, the usually confident and fearless woman, so distraught and fearing right now. It was a surprising sight to see the infamous thief so unsure of something, especially to attending a party with friends and family.

At the thought of that party, Olivia tried another tactic. "There's a guy who's single and might need to mingle."

The thief chuckled. "Thanks, but Cisco's a bit short for me. But I do love that hair." She added with a purr.

"Not him." The psychic was thinking of Jay Garrick.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Matt, Caitlin and Frankie returned from their Christmas shopping a while back and made their way to the S.T.A.R. Labs facility. In there, Matt and Caitlin worked with the powerless speedster of Earth-2, Jay Garrick. All three of them were looking at the monitor before them, seeing the map of the city with bright stops all over it, indicating the locations of the breaches.

Gesturing to the screen, Jay suggests. "I was just thinking that if we could inject an unstable neutrino burst into the individual breaches, it might cause them to seal on their own."

"Sealing them up good." Matt noted.

Caitlin then followed. "And stop Zoom from travelling back and forth between our worlds."

Frankie tilts head as she looks down on her Caitlin and the others from her crouched position on the ceiling. Hearing a yawn in her head, she hears her "other" speak with a lazy tone. "Is the nerd talk done?"

The host laughed at her symbiotic partner's behavior. "No not yet, Magenta. Stop being such a baby."

"I was born a year ago, of course I'm still a baby, dummy!" Magenta exclaimed in a childish manner. Yawning once more, the symbiote stated. "Wake me up when nerd session's done." Frankie frowned when nearing an immediate series of snores following her partner's words.

Jay nods his agreement with the native doctor. "At least then we wouldn't have to worry about him sending any more metahumans over for Barry to fight."

"Yeah. But we can't seal all of them." Caitlin stated with a smile.

The powerless speedster looked confused. "Why not? It's to keep Zoom from getting over here all the time?"

"We have to keep one open so Seth can get back. None of us want him stuck on another Earth." The doctor admitted.

"Got that right, yeah." The nanite mutant said in agreement.

"He must be a big deal for everyone here to vouch for him." Jay said.

"Nah, not like that. He's just the only kind of gigantic pain in the ass that we can handle and we surprisingly enough like him." Matt feigned disdain for his brother-in-law.

Caitlin gave the mutant a glare. "Do you want me to tell your brother-in-law of your feelings?" That sounded like a threat that had the nanite mutant shaking his head in rapid succession. If he didn't have an adamantium skeleton, he might just snapped his own head off. The doctor smiled at his reaction before facing Jay Garrick with an appreciative expression. "It means a lot."

"What does?" Jay asked.

"You looking after us here. Matt, Olivia, Frankie and Barry. They've been through a lot the last few weeks." Caitlin looked upwards to her daughter. "And there's a few of them who means a lot to me now."

Jay chuckles. "They're not the only people I want to keep safe."

"Geez, thanks but some of us are taken." Olivia announced her presence to the group as she and Cisco stepped into the room.

Matt spun the chair around for him to look at his wife. "Thought there was something good happening today." He got up from his chair and walked to her.

Pretending to form an offended expression, she said. "I hope you're talking about me, or I'm gonna whup your ass and fillet your brain."

"Is that so?" He challenged with a smirk.

Cisco leant against the doorframe and groaned. "Oh, dear Lord, just kiss already. Oh, the thirst is real." He complained.

"Ew!" Frankie was grossed.

Caitlin gives Cisco a stern look. "Cisco, watch your language around my daughter, please."

"Yeah, not cool, Cisco." Olivia joined on the stern looks.

Matt laughs before directing to the native engineer. "Is everything all right?"

Cisco nodded. "Yeah, Jarvis and I keep checking, but all is quiet on the metahuman front. Hey, you think Zoom decided to take Christmas off?"

"What's Christmas?" Jay asked.

Releasing herself from the ceiling, Frankie landed on her feet and explained. "Not much. Well, it's this holiday we have where we cut down trees and sing songs to celebrate the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago, and then the Romans killed him so we give each other gifts…."

"That's your explanation?" Cisco wondered of the young magnekinetic metahuman. Caitlin couldn't help but be proud of her daughter at that long explanation that left the others shocked.

Olivia laughed. "Yeah, Caity, she's definitely your kid alright."

"Without a single doubt." The nanite mutant agreed.

As they all moved into the Cortex, the powerless speedster revealed. "I know what Christmas is."

"Tricking our niece like that, Jay. You're on Santa's naughty list now." Olivia scolded. She sighed and said. "You know, Joe and the others are having people over for Christmas Eve, they said we could invite whoever we want. Wanna join, Lonely Flash?"

"Really?" Jay asked in shock. "Didn't think you and your husband liked me?"

"Jury's still out on that." Matt revealed flatly.

"But you're sort of part of the team, so why not?" The psychic said.

Caitlin widened her eyes with realization. "Liv, do you know if Felicia has plans for Christmas Eve? I was planning on inviting her, but I haven't had the time myself to visit her to invite her."

"Thank fucking God!" Olivia exclaimed happily, her words coming out in a roar. "I was with her before, and she said she didn't think any of us would want a thief under a detective's roof."

"What kind of crap is that about?" Frankie asked, her mother pulling her hair in mock sternness.

"Of course, she'd be welcome." Caitlin followed up as she ruffled her daughter's hair, making Frankie blush in embarrassment. "I'll find her later and invite her myself."

"Oh, this got too emotional for me." Cisco complained, getting everyone's eyes on him. "Have you guys seen Harry?"

"Uh, no, I have not. I told him to rest." Caitlin then points out. "He's just as stubborn as all the rest of my male patients in this place."

"Yeah, they're all useless." Olivia says in agreement.

Caitlin chuckles and states with a stern glare. "And whose wounds did have I have to patch up again because she reopened them again when training with her husband and Black Cat, for the fifth time this week?" She hummed in wait for the answer. Olivia whistled innocently and playfully, not wanting to admit the doctor was right.

"I'm gonna leave you guys to figure that one out yourselves, okay? I'm gonna go find Harry." Cisco told them before turning around. "Holy Hannah!" He exclaimed in surprise when suddenly coming face to face with Harrison "Harry" Wells from Earth-2. "Hi." He properly greeted the scientist from Earth-2.

"Hi." Harry flatly replied.

With a narrowed eye, Cisco asked. "Everything okay?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?" Harry continued his line of flat replies.

Cisco chuckled mockingly as the scientist walked away. "Why wouldn't it be?" He even recited Harry's words.

Olivia laughed-

"Yikes!"

But then her telepathy registered the voice of someone's thoughts, someone new and unfamiliar. Urgently her powers activated, spreading over her entire body and she rushed to the railing of the main console. She jumped over the main console with a single leap and rushed into the corridor when landing on the floor again.

"Livia, what's wrong?!" Her husband called out to her, but she had already run out of the room. "The fuck?" He rushed after her.

Olivia's eyes were shrouded with psychic energy and she looked around as she rushed through the corridor. Taking a turn to the left, she walked into Cisco's workshop. With slow and cautious steps, she walks deeper and deeper into the room. Shifting her head from side to side in search for the person who wields that voice that she's never heard before.

It was a young girl's voice, that was certain. Mot much older than Frankie most likely. But the way it let out that shocked exclaim worried the psychic, but it also frightened her which led to her taking her razor whip off her belt. Knowing that it probably was a young girl, she decided to not release the whip from within the handle.

"Anyone here?" She called out and waited for a reply. Olivia didn't hear one but continued walking into the room. "Last time, if there's anyone here, show yourself." Again, no reply.

As she waited, Matt walked into the room with Cisco behind him. "Livia, what's going on? You rushed out of the Cortex in a hurry. Why? What's going on?"

Turning around to look at her husband, she said. "Back in the Cortex I heard someone's thoughts. Someone new and unfamiliar."

"An enemy? Another one of Zoom's metas?" Cisco fired off his inquires.

"Not sure. But it was some young girl, probably around Frankie's age." Olivia stated. "But I have no idea who it was, I've never heard her voice before."

"So someone walked into S.T.A.R. Labs unannounced and without being detected…" He and his wife directed their eyes to the native mechanical engineer. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault!" Cisco waved his hands at the glares coming his way.

Olivia narrows her eyes. "Coming from the very guy who keeps rejecting my husband's offers of improving the facility's security."

"Yeah. Two hours, and I can turn this entire a giant deathtrap from the Saw movies." Matt confidently stated.

"No! And those are horrible movie references!" Cisco pointed out.

Both mutants looked at him like he had two heads.

X

"Wow!" Evelyn released when she returned to her former position before disappearing into a shadowy smokescreen. She returned to the alleyway beside CC Jitters. Looking to the side, she saw Ruby giving her a look of impatience.

"Wanna tell me why you left me hanging here while you disappeared off to God knows where?" Ruby asked rudely.

The young metahuman thought she would have been used to Ruby's foul mouth by now, but she was wrong if her face of sourness. "You might wanna learn to lessen that attitude of yours."

"Maybe I'm gonna do that when you tell me where you puffed off to." Ruby retorted.

"Alright." Evelyn then explained. "I teleported because I wanted to see if there were some places that were familiar here to the ones I used to visit back on my Earth."

This intrigued the powered assassin. "So where'd you puff into then?"

"S.T.A.R. Labs." Evelyn revealed.

"S.T.A.R. Labs?" Ruby repeated. "Never heard of that one before."

"You don't have one in your universe?" The metahuman asked and the assassin nodded her confirmation. Evelyn inhaled before explaining. "Scientific and Technical Advanced Research Laboratories, or just S.T.A.R. Labs for short. It's an advanced scientific facility in my world, one of the foremost leaders of the world in artificial intelligence, genetics and metahuman studies. That's how it is in my world, at least. Not sure about this one's though."

"You know a lot about that place?" Ruby's eyes expanded with realization. "You stole from the place, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did." Evelyn came clean, shocking the assassin at how honest she became. Seeing the reaction on her face, the metahuman defended, in her own way. "It was really easy to steal from that place. It was like stealing candy from children."

"You've never actually done that, have you?" Ruby worriedly asked of her sister.

"No, of course not. I'm not that kind of person." Evelyn assured her sister.

"That's good and all." Ruby admitted. "But why the heck did you look so out of breath when you came back?"

The metahuman explained. "I think someone figured out I was there. I listened in on their conversation and I tripped. For some reason, one of them acted up and tried following me. I managed to get into a workshop and teleported out of the way before she into the place."

"It was a woman?" Ruby's interest was further intrigued.

"Yeah." Evelyn said as she reached into her pocket. "But I did manage to pick this one up." Ruby saw her pull out an ID card. It was of a woman with light-brown hair and hazel-grown eyes, a beautiful woman. The former assassin read the name on the card.

"Caitlin Snow"

"Why'd you take this one?" Ruby asked the metahuman. "And why does she look so familiar?"

Evelyn gave her a dry look. "You don't remember the name, do you?" She got a shaking head as a response. "Seth's girlfriend is someone named Caitlin, his daughter's mother's name is Caitlin Snow. And she's the doppelganger of Killer Frost."

Ruby realized what she was aiming for now. "So this is Caitlin Snow. She's pretty."

"Yeah. I saw her back at the facility. She was really nice and cool and funny with her daughter there too." Evelyn realized what that meant. "Guess that means she's our mother and the girl's our sister."

"Meaning that the two of us are sisters, too." Ruby said with a smile to the metahuman. "We're from different universes and have a family now."

"Yeah… really weird." Evelyn looked to the corner. "Wanna go for coffee at… Jitters? Weird not to call it Jitterbugs."

"Sure but we don't have any money." Ruby pointed out.

"I can fix that." Evelyn assured her before walking to exit of the alleyway and into the street. Just as she did, she saw a man with a coffee cup in his hand. Keeping a smirk from forming on her mouth, she walked forward and when close to him, she fell forward.

The man saw her fall and stopped walking, using his body to keep her from falling onto the ground like a cushion. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, I'm not." Evelyn assured the man. "Thanks for that." She leant off him and stood to her full height again.

"Be careful and watch where you're going, alright?" Evelyn nodded to his concerned statement before bidding his farewells and walking away.

As he walked out of their eyesight, Ruby walked out of the alleyway and looked to Evelyn. "You get it?" The metahuman pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket. "He had a wad of that in his pocket?"

"A really sketchy guy." Evelyn admitted before they walked to the coffee shop entrance. "Let's go, my treat."

"Sure thing, Sis." Ruby joked and walked after her sister.

X

(Iron Heights Prison)

"Please tell me this is not happening…" Barry begged of the detective after meeting up underneath the prison facility, having heard what happened. A really bad, bad thing happened. With him, he brought Olivia Fury-Stark and her husband Matt Stark.

"Why this day of all days?" Olivia groaned.

"Can't criminals just have a single day off, or something?" Matt said.

"It's official, Santa hates us." Making eye contact with the heroes, Joe explains, with the use of quotation marks. "This "sudden" blizzard took out cameras and the security system."

"Anyone hurt or worse?" Olivia asked as they walked into the underground section of the prison.

"Only a few guards hurt. But thank God nobody was killed, but there's no trace of Mardon, Jesse, or Snart." Joe told them.

"Oh that's awesome, we got a terrorist, pissed off weatherman and a snarky Snart on the loose." Olivia quipped.

"Can Christmas get any better?" Matt sarcastically stated.

Joe then looked to the secret speedster, the boyfriend to his partner. "Speaking of this entire mess, with Mardon back on the scene…"

"Yeah?" Barry replied.

And then he was confused by the detective's response. "Patty might not be thinking so clearly."

"What do you mean? What does Mardon have to do with Patty?" Barry asked.

Before the detective answer, he noticed that the psychic was narrowing her eyes on his head. "You're reading my thoughts, right?"

"Yup." She simply replied.

"You're not gonna stop invading my privacy, are you?" Joe asked.

"Nope." Once again, a simple reply.

"Your wife's a nightmare." Joe told the nanite mutant who gave a shrug.

A while later, after the detective explained everything to them, all four of them moved to the cell that once held the madman known as the Trickster. When walking past the threshold, they saw Detective Patty Spivot spinning back to her full height, her face masked with an array of emotions. The strongest ones there…

Pain and regret like vengeful ghosts from the past haunting her with dreadful memories swarming her mind.

Patty gave the two secret mutants a quick and confused glance before turning to Barry and Joe. "The unexpected drop in barometric pressure had to mean Mardon was back in town."

"Patty…" Barry tried to talk to her.

But the female detective wasn't finished yet. "Jesse was on full communication lock down, but that doesn't' mean Martin and Snart weren't in contact." Patty looked to the two mutants. "And, sorry for asking, why are you two here?"

Pointing a finger to Joe, Matt explained. "I work with S.T.A.R. Labs and Joe knows the people there. Barry too. They wanted an extra set of eyes in case of any technical stuff that might go over their heads."

"Not me, the prison called me. They told me my favorite patient broke out of prison so I wanted to check it out myself." The psychic explained, both Joe and Barry looked sheepish at that. Neither knew whether to believe that or not.

"Patty," Barry managed to his girlfriend's attention. "Joe told me about Mardon."

The female detective looked at her partner with disbelief. Followed by a scoff, she says to Barry. "I can't talk to you about this." She walked past him and rushed into the corridor.

"Hey, Patty, it's okay." Barry tried to console her, but she was already out of the room. "I got it." He told the others before walking after her.

When left alone, Joe turned his head to the psychic mutant. "You talked with this guy?"

"Yeah. Nutjobs are in my wheelhouse." Olivia sweetly replied.

Joe looked to the nanite mutant once more. And once again, he stated. "Your wife's a nightmare, Matt."

X

(Okamura Toys Shipping Facility)

Abandoned for years now, the old shipping facility that was used to ship Okamura Toys would have been thought to be without souls whatsoever. But that was only hopeful thinking. This Christmas had anything but miracles in store for the city of heroes.

And the eerie singing that comes from within the facility confirms the coming disaster.

Toys, ranging from action figures for boys and dolls for girls, placed on the table before him as the terroristic jester sang. "Deck the halls" he reached for a toy on the table as he continued. "With body parts from a girl named Holly" He picked a teddy bear. "Fa la la la la la, la la la la"

Having heard that… ominous Christmas song, Leonard Snart points out. "I don't remember those being the lyrics."

James Jesse twirled around with a chortle. "I am tremendously creative. That I can tell you." He assured the Cold Gun wielder.

"You'd be better be." Mark Mardon stated when joining them. "I didn't break you out- I didn't break either of you out because I was looking to make some new friends." He flatly told them whilst walking past ropes of baby doll heads.

The Trickster then scolded him. "That is the not the holiday spirit, Marky-Mark! Christmas is a time for togetherness. And what says togetherness more than mass graves?" He hummed questioningly at the end, waiting for their agreements.

Captain Cold turned his eyes to Mark. "So why did you break us out?"

Weather Wizard pointed a finger to Snart. "Well, I owed you one, and this guy, he's just crazy." Jesse looked at offended at Mark's words, his face forming a pout. "It's a compliment." The Trickster's frown turned upside down. "And we all want the same thing."

Having looked at Jesse's choice of attire, Snart snarked. "Fashion advice?"

"To see The Flash and those other masked circus freaks dead." Mardon snarled.

Jesse thought out. "Well, that was more of a New Year's resolution, but, hey, I'm flexible." He straightened his bowtie.

Getting up from his seat, Leonard reminded. "That hasn't gone so well for anyone in this room. They might not have their giant oaf anymore, but what makes you think you can stop him and the rest of them this time?"

"One of them is a kid, at best. We distract that one, the flying lady and Robocop, then it's three against one." Mardon formed a smirk. "Plus, The Flash isn't quite what he was." They listened as he explained. "See, another speedster dressed all in black nearly took him out a few weeks ago. Even used him as a shield to stop the other two from offing him. He's vulnerable. He's weak."

Leonard advised the weather-controller. "It's a mistake to underestimate him, not to mention the others. They're no pushovers."

Raising his hands, gesturing to their capabilities, Mardon listed. "With my power, his…" he struggled to find Jesse's core power. "…flair, and your smarts, we can put them in the ground for good."

"Tell me your plan." Leonard demanded.

"Tell me you're in." Mark countered his demand.

"I'm thinking about it." Snart stated.

Mark chuckled. "What's the matter? A few months in the clink make you soft, did it, Snart?"

Captain Cold, in an instant, pulled out his Cold Gun and charged it, pulling the trigger to ready a cold blast. Weather Wizard, with both hands, formed icy mist that converges to a single spot and forms a large ball of ice. "You wanna dance?" Mark challenged.

"Boys, boys, boys! Play nice!" James Jesse came between them. He turns to Mardon. "Mellow out, Mardon." He snaps to Snart. "Don't have a snit, Snart. Here's an idea." Gleefully, he proposes an idea. "We all go out, have a few drinks, kill some carolers. We'll all feel better."

Whether it was because they liked the idea or just keep him from suggesting more, no one knew. But both of them powered down, nonetheless.

"All right." Mark walked forward, his eyes pointing at the Cold Gun wielder. "So what's it's gonna be, Snart?"

Snart gave a piercing glare at the weather-controller.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

As he and the others watched the three mugshots of Leonard Snart, James Jesse and Mark Mardon on the wall monitor, Cisco gave a daunting and hollow laughter, similar to that of an evil Santa Claus. "Oh yeah. Weather Wizard, Captain Cold and The Trickster."

"Great, who pissed off Santa this year?" Matt let out with a groan, hoping that this Christmas would be criminal-free.

"But what are we going to do against them?" Frankie asked.

Caitlin rubbed her daughter's back comfortably. "Baby, remember there's three of them and four of us, with you and your Uncle and Aunt. This year, the scales do tip in our favor."

Olivia announced honestly. "Depends on what they do. Trickster's a known terrorist, Wizard's a weather catastrophe at the snap of his fingers, Cold's a smart and calculated criminal even without that gun of his."

"And I'm gonna be no help without my speed, so…" Jay trailed off sadly.

Cisco calls out while pointing to the top of his head. "Oh, oh, light bulb here. I have an idea. Something me and Matt worked out a while back, after he used one of my ideas for Liv's weapons."

"You mean, those Wands things, right?" Olivia turned confused at her husband's words. Matt then further explained. "Those things I used on your weapons back when we have to transport the metas. I made them to let weather attacks be absorbed into your whip and sword so you could send them back again."

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Olivia vaguely remember a similar speech a while back.

Cisco nodded and then explained. "Most weather phenomena are marked, no pun intended, by the charge of electric charge and pressure in the atmosphere."

Matt nodded. "Big chance, we could just map out those fluctuations-"

"To pinpoint his location." Barry interrupted the nanite mutant.

"Yeah…" Matt said suspiciously.

"Right, it would just be a matter of removing all…"

"The electricity from his immediate surroundings." The speedster interrupted the vibing metahuman.

Then, together, Barry, Cisco and Matt stated, at the same time.

"""Attracting it to one spot."""

Cisco was smiling happily at this while the others looked confused. "The same way a lightning rod does. Only instead of a lightning rod, we could use-"

"A wand?" Barry finished off for the mechanical engineer.

Matt and Cisco shared a confused look. The native engineer's smile faltering from the confusion. "Did we already have this conversation with him?"

"I don't know." Matt answered Cisco's question before looking to the speedster. "Did we, Barry?"

"Kind of." He vaguely replied.

"What?" Frankie looked confused.

"What does that mean?" Harry inquired.

Barry then revealed. "All right, so the last time Mardon attacked, he, um, generated a tidal wave that destroyed all of Central City."

"Oh yeah, and you brought my daughter to a tidal wave, like any responsible adult would do in times of crises." Caitlin sniped coldly, with an equally cold glare at the speedster, making him shake like a leaf in the wind.

"And Seth died." Matt said.

Harry looked between them and said. "So why are you not all sleeping with the fishes?"

"Gotta give you a handbook about being nice." Frankie quipped.

"Would good would that do?" Harry quipped frankly and Frankie felt like slapping herself again.

"Earth-2 has "The Godfather"?" Cisco asked intrigued and surprised at the same time.

"Every Earth has "The Godfather," Vito." Harrison bluntly said. Jay nodded his confirmation of the movie on their earth.

Barry then explained. "So I ran back through time. One day into the past and I got a do-over and I stopped Mardon before he could hurt anyone. And stopped Thawne from killing Seth."

"You shouldn't have messed with the timeline." Harry warned.

"Heard that one before." Matt stated.

"Yeah. But the good news is, in that timeline, you created The Wand and it worked. So you just got to do it again." Barry said... then realized what he was saying and what it meant. "For the first time."

"Yeah, no pressure." Cisco said, completely pressured by that fact.

"Don't worry, Cisco. I can give a hand. I did make smaller versions before, a bigger one is no problem." Matt assured the mechanical engineer.

"Me too." Jay pitched in.

Cisco looked with a smile. "Three worlds joining together?"

"I like that." Jay complimented.

"Nice." Matt agreed.

"Okay, Nerdvengers, get going!" Olivia stated in a mock announcer voice. They laughed at her joke before walking away. Matt winked and blew her a kiss before walking around the corner. The psychic laughed to herself. "That hubby of mine."

Frankie chuckled at their antics before noticing the otherworldly scientist's behavior. "You doing okay there, Harry?"

Harry looked to the young metahuman. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He walked away.

Frankie looked to her mother with a pout. Caitlin's eyes turned stern. "Frankie, you're not going to pour eggnog down his throat to get him into a better mood?"

"Why else would you explain his holiday blues?" Her daughter replied.

"Frankie, you know his situation. It can't be easy knowing his daughter is entrusted someone else." Caitlin told her.

"He can trust Seth." Barry pitched in.

"Told him that more than enough times, trust me." Caitlin said.

Barry nodded his acceptance. "Yeah… guess it's gonna take some time. Look, I'll be right back. I have something I have to deal with." He walked to the exit.

Caitlin stroked her daughter's hair and said. "Since we don't have anything to do now, how about we go get Felicia to come to Christmas get-together at the West house?"

"Sure thing, Mom." Frankie smiled.

X

(CCPD, CSI Lab)

Now Barry and Iris had to face a hard obstacle together. The hardship of telling the detective who raised them of his wife's greatest secret ever since she disappeared from the lives of his and his own daughter's.

Be it good or bad, their dreadful time to tell everything to him… arrived.

Joe walked into the CSI lab. "Hey." He greeted them and watched them both wear heavy expressions on their faces. He couldn't help but chuckle at their faces. "Okay, the last time the two of you were looking at me like that, it was when you both took my convertible on a joy ride and wrapped it around that big oak tree on Fairmount Drive."

Iris wasn't here to be amused by past mistakes; she was here to reveal the truth. "Dad, um…"

Seeing that she was struggling to bring the words forth, Barry helped her along. "All right, Joe, we have something we need to tell you."

"No, um…" Iris stopped him and took it upon herself to tackle this. "I have something that I need to tell you." With each word escaping her mouth, a step was taken towards her father till she was before him. "It's about Francine."

Joe gave his undivided attention. Iris looked to Barry, wordlessly asking if this truly was the right thing to do. She received a nod of confirmation from him. Teary eyes and shaking breathing took over. She had to clear her throat before croaking out. "When she left us…" Her eyes piercing into her father's again. "… She was pregnant."

Like bricks falling down to pieces because of the demolition of a treasured home, the detective felt pieces of his heart breaking down as the news was brought down on him like a hammer. His facial expression matching his heart's current condition and turning broken. He couldn't bring his face around to face the children he raised himself, shame coming over his face like tears from his eyes.

Not even as he asked them, could he bring himself to look to them. "Did she have the baby?"

Tears on her face glazes her face and her shaking voice remained strong as she answered heavy-hearted. "Yes… His name is Wally." That name struck the detective's chord. "Wally West."

The detective placed his hands on his sides and let out with a shaking voice himself. "Short for Wallace." The others looked to his back at that sudden deduction. "That's what we were gonna name you if you were a boy."

Iris stepped forward, heading towards her father's side. "I only found out a couple weeks ago. Dad, I am so sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She could see that he was inhaling deeply. "That's why she reached out to us after all these years… She wanted us to know before…sh-"

"Before she died." The detective cut off his daughter. He was in disbelief about everything. "And I thought Francine was running out of surprises." His children wanted to give him some time. Try to…

None of them knew what their help would do for him. Hopefully, very hopefully, his pain would be eased.

Snatching his coat from the table beside him, Joe snaps around. "I got to get to work." He rushes to the door.

Before he makes it, Iris calls out. "Dad listen- Dad."

He stops himself and turns to face his daughter. "I'm… I'm sorry. Just let me sit with it." He finished off heavily before walking out again.

X

(Felicia's Penthouse)

With fingers gracefully going through the collection of vinyl records, Felicia's eyes look intrigued at the one her fingers touches. She pulls it out of her collection and holds the record sleeve with both hands. "Gotta have Redbone for Christmas." She chuckled to herself before taking the vinyl record out of its cover.

The infamous burglar twirls the record in her hand before walking towards the vinyl record player near her couch. But she came to a halt when the sound of her elevator chiming. Felicia got wide-eyed and tilted her head when seeing Frankie and Caitlin walking into the penthouse. "I admit, I love seeing you both here, but what brings the Snow-Furys to my lovely estate?"

"Just Fury here, Felicia." Frankie reminded her mentor.

"Don't forget Snow." Caitlin acted in mock hurt. "Been a while since we saw each other, Felicia."

"Yeah sorry I didn't pop by to say hi when you guys were fighting an immortal madman in a trenchcoat." Felicia apologized.

"Well…" Caitlin smiled. "You can make up for that with your assured arrival for a Christmas get-together at the West house."

Felicia narrowed her eyes. "Livy told you, didn't she?"

"Yeah." Frankie nodded and walked to her mentor. "Come on, Felicia. It'd be nice for you to be there as well. Christmas is about being with family."

"Which you are." Caitlin stated. "So come and be with family, would you? All of them wants you there."

"Especially me and Mom." Frankie pitched in with a cute smile.

Rolling her eyes, Felicia wrapped an arm around her disciple and pulled her close. "Using those baby blues of yours to trick me, Rose? Guess I taught you right."

Caitlin chuckled. "Oh, so you're the one I have to blame for all those puppy dog eyes I've been getting from her lately."

"Guilty as charged." Felicia said. "Since you're here, how about you stay for a couple of hot chocolate? I got mini-marshmallows." She stated like a fisherman waiting for the fish to take the bait.

"Since you're asking so nicely, sure. We can stay for a few cups." Caitlin said with her hand stretched out to the burglar. "Just promise to be there and not bring anything inappropriate, alright?"

"Way to take the fun out of it, Caity." Felicia pouted.

X

(West Household)

"Do you think that he's gonna be okay?" Iris asked Barry. Both of them returned to their home after bringing the news of Francine and Joe's child to the detective.

"I do, yeah, I think…" Barry said with confusion as he closed the door. To say it was hard would be an understatement. "It's just a lot to take in." he dropped his keys on the table beside him. "He just needs a little time to process it."

Both he and Iris looked to their living room, seeing the fireplace alit and one of their recliner… occupied by the last person they expected to see in their house.

"Ho, ho, ho." Leonard Snart greeted The Flash and the CCPN news reporter as he sat with a hot cup of hot cocoa in his hand. The cup designed to be the face of a reindeer. As they stare at him with continuous disbelief, Captain Cold drinks from his cup. "Mmm." He groans at the taste. "Cocoa isn't cocoa without the mini marshmallows. And you're out. I checked." He placed the cup on the table beside him.

WHOOSH

In an instant, Barry sped to him and pulled the criminal from the recliner before slamming into bricked wall above the fireplace. The speedster pinning Leonard to the wall. "Are you out of your mind? Breaking into my home?" He snarled directly into his face.

"Careful." Snart warned. "I made an upgrade to the Cold Gun. If I release my grip from the handle, the core goes critical." Barry points his eyes to the elemental gun. "You might make it; she won't." Leonard nodded to Iris.

If it was bluff or not, Barry couldn't take that risk. Not at the expense of Iris's life.

Barry reluctantly released his grip on his Snart's jacket. Leonard kept a cool and calm expression on his face as straightened his jacket. He faced Iris next. "Read your article on the disappearing middle class. Strong point of view. Nice prose style."

"Yeah, well, who needs a Pulitzer when you have a homicidal maniac's seal of approval." Iris quips when walking towards them.

"Didn't Barry tell you? I had a rough childhood."

Iris counters. "Everyone in this room had a rough childhood. Get over it."

Barry makes eye contact with the criminal. "Why are you here, Snart?"

"I got the Noel spirit, wanted to give you a gift." Came the quip from the criminal. "Mardon broke Jesse and me out to kill you and your merry band of do-gooders. With Big Bad Venom gone from the game and you damaged goods, Mardon thinks there's a chance now. Jesse's on board, of course. He's shaking with excitement. Me, I'm gonna pass."

"Why? You grow a conscience?" The reporter said.

"Mardon wants revenge. Jesse wants chaos. I'm just not invested like they are." Leonard admits.

"You mean there's no money in it for you?" Iris states his true thoughts.

Leonard smirks at the blunt tone. "I was never much for non-profit work."

"If you're not in with them, then tell me where they are." Barry demands.

"Nah, consider me more of a secret Santa." Leonard walks to the speedster. "Besides, you and your friends love to solve a good mystery." He walked past the two of them, making his way to the exit.

The speedster scoffed in disbelief of those words before swinging his head towards Snart. "You are full of it, Snart." The criminal waited. "I think my friends and I saved your sister's life and you just can't stand owing me a marker."

"Thought there was bad blood between you and the knight." Snart recalled.

"All in the past now." Barry assured the criminal. "And I hate to break it to you, but that… that right there is called honor."

"Go on, make your pitch. I can see you're dying to." Snart impatiently stated.

"Help us stop them." Barry said.

Snart waved his hand. "Sorry, I'm not interested in being a hero."

Once again, Barry had to scoff no matter what. "Well, you're doing a pretty lousy job being a villain this week."

The wielder of the Cold Gun put an end to this tedious conversation. "Merry Christmas, Barry." He walked out of the household the next moment.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Pipeline)

Frankie walked through the corridors leading to the Pipeline. She was trying out walking on the ceiling without the need to crawl. So far, it was going well.

"Where are you going, Frankie?" Magenta asked of her host.

"Wanna see what's up with Uncle Joe." She replied. Frankie got worried for him because he hadn't been himself lately.

"Think we're not the only one."

Stopping herself the metahuman felt her "other" mentally point her eyes to the back of them. Both of them see Barry Allen walking in their direction. "What's going on, Barry?"

"Gonna go check up on Joe, think he's in a space where he needs someone to talk to. Wanna go with?" Barry asked the magnekinetic.

Letting go of the ceiling, Frankie landed before the speedster with concern on her face. "What's going on? What happened to Uncle Joe?"

Knowing that ever since her father was presumed to be dead she and Joe have grown closer over the last few months, Barry decided to convey the secret to the young metahuman. She was a trustworthy individual that Joe himself trusts as she was his own family.

At the end of it, Frankie was left with unfathomable shock. But she managed to push it aside to ask him. "Francine kept her child, Uncle Joe's child, secret from him all these years?"

"Yeah. Iris has a little brother that she never knew about and Joe had a son he never knew about." Barry stated.

"Let's check on Joe then." Frankie adamantly said before walking to the Pipeline, Barry right behind her.

The two walked to the entrance to the Pipeline. There they saw Joe perched up against the wall with a single hand on a cylinder. "Hey, Uncle Joe."

"Hi, Frankie." Joe manage to force a smile.

Registering the attempt of a reassuring smile, Barry told him. "Joe. I told Frankie about… Francine."

"And your son, Wally too." Frankie sadly said.

Dropping his smile, Joe found himself conflicted. He didn't know whether to scold Barry or to thank Barry for bringing Frankie into this. She's a smart girl who's endured at lot in her life. More than any teenage girl her age should experience.

The horrors of a terrible foster home with heinous foster parents. Dark matter turning into a metahuman. A piece of Venom giving her a symbiotic partner herself, Magenta. Both she and Magenta bonding for the first time to engage in a terrifying match against Carnage. With the red symbiote bearer winning victoriously, she was forced to be held hostage to lure Seth and Venom into a fight with Carnage. She had to see the man who would later become her father be impaled by a large spear. She had to witness her own father… sacrifice himself to protect her and this entire world.

Not everyone like her could come out so strong as she has.

Joe inhaled sharply and said, telling them both. "I was just thinking about a big drug bust that me and Singh made about ten years ago. Afterward… we went for a steak lunch to treat ourselves for a job well done and while we were ordering," he gestured to his chest with a pained expression. "I got this feeling in my chest. Like my heart was being squeezed. I knew something wasn't right."

His eyes met Barry's. "So I called your school, Barry, and the nurse said to me that she was just about to call me. Iris was on her way to the hospital."

"When her appendix burst." Barry remembered.

Joe nodded. "And I knew it, I could feel it, right here." His hand pressed against his chest. "I knew my kid needed me." His face was breaking slowly. "So if I have that feeling as a parent… why didn't I feel it from my son?"

Frankie shook her head, trying to relieve the weight of his burden. "Uncle Joe, it's not your fault. You didn't know about him."

"Sorry, sweetie, but it was." Joe confused them. "When Francine left rehab that last time, I should've looked for her. I'm a cop. I could've found her. Brought her back here." He gestured to the very ground of which this facility is founded on, the city itself. "Tried again. Tried harder."

"You were protecting Iris." Barry said in an effort to comfort him.

Recognizing that same sentence, he points a finger to Barry and states. "I've been telling myself that for 20 years… A 20-year lie, but I wasn't protecting her, I was protecting myself. I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't… I hated not being able to help Francine…. So it was easier for her to be dead. Out of my life. Out of my lives. But it wasn't for Iris… I was being selfish." His cheeks were wetting with tears and his throat hurting as it felt like it was drying up. "And that poor boy paid the price."

"Joe…"

"Uncle Joe…"

"He never had a father." Joe stated, knowing that both of them knew what that feeling was like. "… to read to him at night… show him to throw a football… to make him feel safe… and loved." Both could hear how his entire being was weighted down by the revelation of his son that he never knew existed. "Who taught him how to be a man, Barry?" Before Barry or Frankie could say anything, Joe continued with a heartbreaking voice. ""Him." I can't even say his name…. What have I done?"

Barry stepped forward. "Joe, look… You have been there for me every day since I met you. You have." He empathized when the detective looked full of self-doubt. The speedster put his hand on his shoulder. "You would have done the exact same thing for him if you could have, I know it. I'm sorry."

"He's not the only one, Uncle Joe." Frankie got their attention. "When I thought Dad died in the Singularity explosion, trying to save the city and the rest of the world… I was devasted. I thought I had lost the one man who would be there for me in my life… and then you came along and stood by me as I felt alone again. You were there for me and my Mom when we thought we had lost Dad."

"Mom was just settling into her new job at Mercury Labs, but you personally asked your Captain if there was any way for you to make time for me and my Mom. You'd drive me to school and you'd even pick me up at the exact time I was done without fail. And when you heard that Mom would be working long shifts, you made sure to make extra food at your own place so you could bring me dinner. Mom knows it and told you didn't have to, but you said you wanted to."

Frankie stepped closer to him. "Does that sound like a selfish man? No it doesn't. Uncle Joe, you might think and call yourself a selfish man, but I will happily come to your side and tell you that you're anything but that."

Joe couldn't help himself but cry tears of joy from her words and hugged Seth's daughter tightly. "Your father's gonna be proud of you when he comes back, honey."

"And he's gonna be grateful that his best friend helped out his daughter so many times." Frankie said into his neck while tightening the hug.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

Olivia turned around to see Caitlin coming towards them with a dramatic triumphant smile. "Wild guess: We're gonna have one strange housecat for Christmas this year?"

"Yeah we are." Caitlin nodded. "Thanks to my daughter's puppy dog eyes, taught by Felicia Hardy herself." The doctor gave a mock bow.

Laughing at that, Olivia said. "Turning her signature weapon against her master like that?" the psychic made a dramatic move of wiping a tear away. "I'm so proud of your little girl, Caity."

"Not more than me." Caitlin said with a proud and motherly smile.

Matt and Cisco and Jay walked into the Cortex. The nanite mutant looked between them and asked. "What's wrong? Did Felicia say no to Christmas?"

"No, she's coming. Thanks to our little niece." Olivia said with a smile.

"Do I wanna know how sweet Frankie got a thief to attend a Christmas party?" Jay asked,

Cisco patted the man's shoulder and told him. "My man, that's a bridge you do not want to cross."

Suddenly a static sound emitted from their monitor. Followed by an eerie singing voice. "Flash-y the red-nosed speedster" The people in the Cortex faces the scream and sees and hears James Jesse's song. "Had a very shiny suit… His friends oh so merry in their own… And if you ever saw them… You might want to puke…"

He made a gagging sound as well as a motion matching that same sound. The Trickster greets. "Merry Christmas, kiddie-winks! I'm back!"

"Jarvis, work your magic!" Matt called out to the AI from their world.

"As you wish, Sir." Jarvis replied.

Frankie and Barry walked into the Cortex after talking with Joe. They listened as the terroristic madman continued speaking. "Citizens, you know, the holidays can be a time for gentle reflection on the year past. Our ups and downs, our triumphs and heartaches, but don't forget, it can also be a time for disemboweling our enemies."

"We don't have a Trickster on Earth-2." Jay Garrick points out.

"He's on of a kind." Caitlin commented.

"My stocking won't be completely stuffed until it's filled to the brim with bloody Flash parts. And don't worry, I'm sure Santa's workers can find some use for the other heroes' scattered body parts when I send them in Christmas presents. I heard they're very handy." Jesse cackles. "So what do you say, speed freak and his merry band of heroes? You wanna roast chestnuts?"

"Jarvis, how it's looking?" Matt asked the AI while placing the arc reactor over his chest. Pressing in the middle, he releases the nanites and they adapt to his body. His entire body instantly covered by white metal plating. Light began shine out of the SHIELD logo in the center of his chest.

"Not appearing to find the signal's source yet, Sir." The AI replied.

"What about the video? Can't it help us?" Frankie suggested with a question.

"Yeah, she's right. Are they any clues as to where he is based on the video?" Barry asked with a gesture to the video on the monitor.

"None that I can see." Cisco walked to the nearest computer, typing and stopping the video at point where they could see his face on the screen.

Jay narrowed his eyes on the screen. "Guys, there's a reflection of something in his cornea, see?"

Cisco zoomed in on the Trickster's eye. "What is that?" Olivia asked when getting close to the screen herself.

"Not sure… But I think I've seen it somewhere before." Caitlin admitted.

Harry joined them, and after Cisco zoomed closer in on the madman's eye, he instantly knew what the reflection of the toy is. "That's Mr. Jiggle Wiggle."

"Come again?" Cisco asked, not knowing if he was hearing correctly.

Caitlin was hit with realization. "It's a doll. A stuffed children's toy. Think Seth said he wanted to get one for Frankie at some point."

"Really?" Frankie didn't know whether she wanted a stuffed children's toy like that, even if it did come from her father.

"I gave one to my daughter when she was six." Harry revealed.

Thanks Jarvis and Cisco, their search for Mr. Jiggle Wiggle went well and brought them results. "Mr. Jiggle Wiggle was manufactured by Okamura Toys…Yahtzee!" Their search brought the engineer's attention to the computer screen again.

Jarvis took over. "Okamura Toys was once in possession of a shipping facility in Central City. Said facility was shut down four years ago; it has remained deserted ever since."

"What if Weather Wizard's there?" Cisco worriedly thought out loud.

"I'm guessing the wand's not finished yet?" Olivia rhetorically asked.

"You guessed right, Livia." Matt nodded. "So what if it's not finished yet?"

"The Trickster is." Barry confidently said.

"Frankie, you ready?" Olivia asked with her body being enveloped by the nanites from her box. Her suit forming and her hair shooting into the air before floating around like a living being.

Frankie nodded and looks to her mother. Her clothes changing colors into pink and the veins of pitch-black and pure-white ran over her body in a spiraling pattern. "Mom, I'm going."

"I know. Be careful, sweetie and listen to your Uncle and Auntie." Caitlin told her with a caring smile.

X

(CC Jitters)

"My stocking won't be completely stuffed until it's filled to the brim with bloody Flash parts. And don't worry, I'm sure Santa's workers can find some use for the other heroes' scattered body parts when I send them in Christmas presents. I heard they're very handy."

Everyone in the city saw James Jesse's video on the channels. CC Jitters were there to watch it too.

Ruby Hale and Evelyn Sharp are on the upper level of the coffee shop, having listened to what The Trickster's provocation aimed towards the heroes of this city. Each of the girls looked at the video footage with different feelings each.

The metahuman was scared of what this madman had in store for the heroes. While she was curious about them each, she was also worried that this terrorist would bring nothing but death down on the heroes. She wondered if, like Seth, that these heroes are related to the elemental on the other Earth. If so, her fear and worries would grow tenfold.

Unlike Evelyn, the former HYDRA assassin was intrigued about this. A madman publicly challenging an array of different heroes, on Christmas Eve? What's not to like about it? Parts of her couldn't help but want to meet these heroes and see if she was capable of beating them at her current level. Aside from The Flash, she didn't have the faintest idea as to who these other heroes might be.

"Someone challenging a group of heroes like that? Ballsy." Ruby admitted.

Evelyn didn't know if her sister was complimenting the madman or acknowledging his willingness to challenge them. "You're impossible to understand, you know."

"I take that as a compliment." Ruby said with a smile before sipping on her Venom drink. "Not bad."

"I think it's a bit bitter." Evelyn had gotten the same drink, apparently a popular option on the menu. There were others, but they ran out of supplies for today. Even their names were pulled off the menu board. "What should we do now?"

"Think we should do what Dad said and stick with his plan: Find this Matt guy and give those bags." Ruby nodded her head to the metahuman. "You still have your bag?"

"Yeah. You?" Ruby nodded her confirmation. "Good… wonder what we should do now?" Evelyn narrowed her eyes and thought of the heroes. She wondered what would happen to the heroes now as they would no doubt accept the challenge.

Trickster's a villain and as heroes, they can't turn a blind eye to this challenge.

The young metahuman clenches her hand at the thought of those heroes being hurt, knowing some of them are of Seth's family.

Unbeknownst to her, her markings began to appear. The long white crescent moon under her right eye and the markings on her forehead while her body emits light equal to that of her two elements.

Ruby noticed the shine and whispered loudly. "Are you insane?! Shut it off!" She grabbed hold of her sister's hand.

But that was a mistake as in an instant, darkness emitted from Evelyn's body and swallowed them both before lifting into the air, dissipated and the two sisters gone like the wind. The steaming liquid in their coffee mugs rippling from the shockwave that came as an aftermath. But no one to see them.

X

(Okamura Toys Shipping Facility)

The black shadowy smokescreen appeared again two blocks from the shipping facility that was once used for Okamura Toys. As it disappeared again, Evelyn and Ruby jumped away from one another. The former assassin swung her head around in search, not noticing that the metahuman's light was slowly fading away.

Ruby sends a heartless glare to her sister. "What did you do, Evelyn?! Why did you shine up in a coffee shop?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry." Evelyn apologized. "It's just… stranger here. I feel like my teleporting is too easy here, like it doesn't take much effort now."

That caused a confused look to form on Ruby's face. "So you're saying it's so easy to puff around in this universe that you're struggling with it?" Evelyn nodded embarrassedly. "We need to get your powers checked, cause they're weird as hell."

"Tell me about it." Evelyn wholeheartedly agreed with her.

They both looked to skies, having heard sounds of what sounds like a jet engine flaring. Its sound was masking two other sounds. One of clattering feet, the other of… crackling lightning.

"Hide!" Ruby stated and pulled her sister into the darkness of the shadows cast down on them by the tall buildings beside them. "Be quiet."

"Alright." Evelyn gulped. "Don't be Zoom…"

X

"Don't be Zoom…"

Widening her white lenses at that same voice she heard back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Angel Fury stopped herself into a hover. She turned her eyes around and once again looked around with her eyes clouded by psychic aura.

"… Who are you…" She asked to herself. Olivia considered spreading out a field with her telepathic powers to maybe hone in one a mind but couldn't risk hurting the person as they sound to be young. "…I wasn't going crazy before, someone else is here. First S.T.A.R. Labs… and now here, too… why?"

"Angel?" She looked to the side and saw Iron Knight fly towards her. Halting himself into hover, he asks. "What's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

While she did want to confide in her husband, they had a pair of criminals to catch and put behind bars in Iron Heights. "I'll tell you, but later. Right now, we have cross off a few names of the naughty list."

"Yeah, alright. Let's go." Matt accepted and flew ahead.

Giving once last glance to her surroundings to see if there truly was someone there, Olivia flew after her husband to go to the shipping facility.

X

Following the lead she found herself, Detective Patty Spivot found the way to the Okamura Toys shipping facility with ease. Having recognized the reflection of the stuffed children's toy in Trickster's cornea, she instantly tracked down the facility.

She walked into the seemingly abandoned facility with one hand holding her firearm and her other holding her flashlight. The place that was once used to bring children nothing but smiles and good memories, now brought colder-than-Christmas shivers down her spine.

Patty maneuvered her way past ropes of hanging baby doll heads, her eyes darting from side to side to find the man who ended her father's life.

WHOOSH

A gust of wind from behind brought her attention to that direction. Her flashlight pointing towards him and shining light over The Scarlet Speedster's form. He wasn't the only to enter. Magenta, Iron Knight and Angel Fury appeared next and stood before the detective.

Surprised to see her there, Barry asked with a vibrating voice to keep his identity concealed. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as the rest of you. Trying to catch a murderer." Patty's reply came out with a coat of anger.

"Without backup, detective? Doesn't sound smart." Iron Knight quipped. Patty opened her mouth, but before a word could escape, the next sound caught their full attention.

"Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel" they snapped around, pointing either whips, swords, repulsors and guns at the singing mechanic toy. "I made it out of clay" This just took a turn down Ominous alley.

"We can't let Christmas hog all the holiday fun!" James Jesse's voice spoke through the toy, making them all fear what he had in store for them. "Happy Hanukkah!" An armada of wooden spinners spun out of crates from around them. "I made you of C-4!"

"Gotta give the man points for creativity." Iron Knight admitted.

Elbowing her Uncle, Magenta stated. "Not the time right now, Knight!"

"Yeah, we have to get out of here." Angel Fury noticed that the spinners were closing on them from all sides. "Back to back! Magenta push them back with your powers!" Magenta nodded lashed out her hands, pushing the wooden spinners backwards by focusing on their metallic internals with her magnekinetic powers.

Barry and Patty went back to back, as did Olivia and Matt. "Let's lessen our plate a bit, huh?" The nanite mutant raised his hands, pointing the repulsors at the fleet of spinners.

"You sure that's a good idea? We are dealing with C-4 now." Olivia reminded her husband.

"Right." Matt forgot. He didn't want to go sky-high before Christmas Eve. Or after, for that matter.

"I'm afraid we are definitely looking at closed casket funerals." James's cackling voice came out of the doll's recorder.

"There's nowhere for me to run us to!" Barry exclaimed in his vibrating voice.

"So what should we do?" Patty directed to the group of heroes.

Olivia looked up, to the skylights above them. "Think the best-"

"Hold me!" Barry shouted, cutting off the mutant while he embraced in a hug with the detective.

Matt looked confused at the two. "What the-"

"I'm seeing someone." Patty stated.

"Me too." Barry said. The mutants and their niece couldn't help but find it ironic. "Don't let go."

"What's their plan?" Magenta asked as she continued pushed back spinners.

She and the mutants got their answer when the speedster, while being embraced by Patty, spun his arms around. Increasing the speed of his arms, funnels of wind unleashed from his limbs. The wind aided the magnekinetic, pushing back the wooden and weaponized spinners, but also pushed both the speedster and the detective off the ground.

Seeing them both fly, Olivia asked. "Two flyers here, and they don't even think to ask for us? Churlish."

"Let's go after them!" Matt and Olivia shot into the air. "Frankie, latch on!"

"Coming!" Magenta hurls her arms upwards and extends tendrils from it, latching on the mutants' arms before pulling on them, catapulting herself from the ground and up to the skylight.

EXPLOSION

The very moment she let herself be launched into the air; the wooden spinners exploded. Bringing down fire and smoke in the abandoned facility.

Frankie felt the burst of wind hitting her back and pushed her higher into the sky. But before she could be launched higher into the skies, Matt grabbed her right hand and Olivia grabbed her left hand. "Wow!" the metahuman let out in shock of her flying family keeping her in the air.

"Got you, Frankie." Matt assured her.

"Really can't keep our eyes off of you, can we?" Olivia joked with a snicker.

Looking downwards, Frankie felt her cheeks redden in embarrassment. "You guys are embarrassing me!" She whined.

"It's our job, kiddo!" Olivia joked as she and her husband lowered her to the ground. Placing themselves back on the ground, they noticed that Barry was also landing on the ground themselves.

Without even giving a single sign or word of gratitude, Patty walked out of the speedster's embrace. "Detective." Barry called out to her.

"It was all just a trap for you guys." Patty pointed a finger to the group of heroes. "Mardon and Jesse aren't even here. They're still on the loose."

"Wait a minute." Matt demanded. "How'd you figure out they might be here?"

Patty answers. "Because there was a reflection in Jesse's eye of Mr. Jiggle Wiggle. And that's the thing that my Dad bou-" She cut herself off instantly. "It doesn't even matter."

"Is that why you came here without backup? Because of your dad?" Magenta scolded her.

"Sorry, but none of you know anything about me." Patty stated steadfast.

"Much to your dismay, we know you're being reckless." Olivia countered. "And we're sure that the people in your life, your loved ones who cares enough about you to not want to see you get hurt."

"Except Mardon didn't kill my father. I did." Patty confessed.

Magenta's eyes expanded to new limits at that confession. That a detective had taken the life of her own father shocked her, completely overwhelming her.

The metahuman felt herself calm down slowly. She realized the reason for that when the inner voice in her mind spoke. "Don't worry, she's both lying… and being truthful?"

"What do you mean?" Her host asked.

"Wrong girl you're talking to, Frankie." The symbiote stated.

Frankie shifted her eyes to the detective again. "What do you mean?"

"See, he had a little shoe shop, and we didn't have any money, so I worked there after school." Patty explained, but she was far from done. "Except one day I decided not to show up, because I was being stupid and silly with my friends. I didn't even call to tell him that I was ditching." Her face was covered with regrets of the past. "So he brought the deposits to the bank, not me. He was shot and killed by Mardon, not me."

Barry was able to piece together everything now, everything that led Patty's life to this moment. Like the lightning from the sky that struck him and made him The Flash, the bullet that struck down Patty's father made her into the determined detective she is now. "That's why you became a cop. Joined the metahuman task force."

"It'll be legal when I kill Mardon." Patty said, none of the heroes liking the sound of that. "I have made my whole life about getting justice for my father, even if it meant I didn't have a life… and now I met a really great guy, and that doesn't even feel real to me and I'm scared he's gonna find out how angry I am." The Flash lowered his face, or rather, Barry Allen lowered his face. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"Sometimes it's just easier to say things to someone with no face." Barry stated.

Patty looked between the heroes again. "Thank you all for saving me." She turned to walk to her car.

"You know," Barry started. "even if you get the guy who ruined your life, it doesn't always make things better."

"It has to be better than this." Patty countered before getting into the car. The speedster and the other heroes watched as she drove away.

When she was out of eyesight, Matt walks to the speedster. His helmet dematerialized into nanites and retracting into his suit. "You okay, Bar?"

"I… I really don't know, man." Barry scratched the side of his head.

Understanding his feelings Matt looked to the side and saw his wife looking around similar to that of a hound. Heading towards her, he inquired. "Something you wanna say?"

"Yeah…" Her own mask dematerialized so she could ask. "Remember me saying I heard another person's thoughts before at S.T.A.R. Labs?" He nodded. "I just heard that same person's thoughts before getting into shipping place here. But it was weird."

"Because of what they were thinking?" The nanite mutant suggested.

"Yeah. Like I said before, it was a young girl, around Frankie's age most likely. But what scared me was her thoughts." Olivia made eye contact with her husband, a worried looking between them. "The kid was thinking… "Please don't be Zoom."" Matt paled with his hands clenching. "She sounded really scared. Think that poor girl met Zoom before."

"You think she met him when he was last here?" Matt asked in concern

The nanite mutant received a shrug of uncertainty. "I don't know. Her thoughts got my attention on the way here, but I couldn't go after her or even check out her location with a wide-spread psychic field. Was too worried of what the field could do to her mind if they connected." Came the response from the psychic.

"You hear her thoughts now?" Matt asked.

"No, sadly no." Her hands compress. "I don't know what's going, but I hope we can find her."

"We'll find her Aunt Liv." Frankie stated, having heard the entire conversation as she was close by. "But you sound worried."

"Guess it's natural for me." Olivia chuckled. But the mutant was earnestly worried about the girl, hoping for the chance to find her and make sure that she was okay. And why she was at S.T.A.R. labs.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

The next day, at the facility, everyone had gathered to talk about both the threat the couldn't find yesterday, but also the events regarding Patty Spivot. The Nerdvengers, as Olivia called them, finished preparing the Wizard's Wand and it was being placed on a platform.

As that was happening other people were doing their own things. Barry was trying to get hold of his girlfriend for what felt like the millionth time, but like the other attempts, no success. Olivia was with Frankie and Caitlin by the main console of the Cortex.

The female mutant revealed the thoughts she heard yesterday, at both in their facility and near the destroyed shipping facility. Having heard that Caitlin suggested running through security footage from the nearby blocks to check the shipping facility. Olivia had Jarvis run through the previous scans of the S.T.A.R. Labs facility to track any strange and unusual persons.

With the doors as they still are, the possibility of someone walking into the place definitely crossed their minds.

"You really think this young girl walked into the facility?" Caitlin asked. The psychic gave her a dry look, as though the doctor just let out a bad joke. Rolling her eyes, she conceded. "Fine, it's very possible someone did walk into the facility without any of us noticing."

"That's weak, Mom." Frankie criticized her mother, who stuck out her tongue.

The psychic laughed at their family antics. "Gotta love you two no matter what. Especially in this time of year." She looked down at the keyboard.

Seeing that reaction to her own words, Caitlin directed to her daughter. "Sweetie, could you check on your Uncle Matt?"

"Sure." Frankie instantly replied, already knowing that her mother was hoping for a time to speak with her Aunt alone. So she walked to her Uncle in the private lab to the left.

"Why'd you get rid of my loving niece like that?" Olivia said in an accusatory tone.

"Remembered a Christmas tradition that you and Seth used to do a lot." The doctor saw her eyes grow with happiness and shock. "The two of you have this tradition where you would go to different shops and buy tons of pre-made cookie dough and mountains of chocolate. You'd spend the entire day, after buying each other gifts, and make loads, and loads of triple chocolate chip cookies." Olivia smiled at that memory. "When Stef and Bucky joined your lives, they also joined in on the Christmas tradition. Matt too, if I recall. And I think there was something about your Dad getting so made because of, and he said, I quote, "we made so frigging many cookies.""

""But we didn't care. It was our thing, after all."" The psychic knew the rest of the words. "Last Christmas I was in my Stasis and Firestorm was acting like a guard dog to protect me. He didn't get to spend Christmas with me. This year, it's my turn to spend Christmas without Seth." She looked to Caitlin's eyes. "Guess that goes for you too."

"Yeah…" Caitlin said with a saddened. Olivia realized what she said and gulped. Before she could apologize for her mistake, the doctor beat her to the punch with a smile forming on her face. "But then we're gonna have to make sure we have an incredible Christmas to make him jealous, even introduce Frankie to the Fury Christmas tradition of Earth-616."

"Honestly, Snow-Fury does sound cooler." She said with a teasing voice, managing to get the female doctor to blush up a storm. "Guess someone's thinking of the future with my Big Bro, huh?" She playfully stated, the blush on Caitlin's face intensifying. At this point, her head looked like a ripe tomato. Seeing that, the psychic couldn't but continue her teasing. "Careful when you think of my brother, it's gonna suck if our only doctor passes out because she can't stop thinking of my brother."

"Stop it!" Caitlin slapped her shoulder in defense. "I can't let my daughter see me go red like a flame."

"On the bright side: You don't smoke when you blush." Olivia referred to her brother's disadvantage when crushing on someone.

"Miss that…" Caitlin admitted with a longing look. Shaking off the feelings, she turned her attention to the screen again. "Jarvis, did you find anything from yesterday's scans that indicate a different person in here?"

"Unfortunately, Dr. Snow, but there doesn't appear anyone were there yesterday." Jarvis replied.

"Chances are, it either happened so quickly the scanners didn't pick anything up, or maybe she appeared in the period of between scans." Olivia rubbed her head. "Gotta figure this one out as soon as possible. While taking care the Jesse and Mardon duo, of course."

"No rest for the wicked…" Caitlin commented before walking around the console to go to the platform with the Wand.

"Patty, it's me… Again." Barry spoke into the cellphone; another voicemail being recorded as his girlfriend remained unreachable. "I'd really love to talk. I'm worried about you. Anyway, just give me a call when you get a chance, all right? Thank you. Bye." Barry shut off the phone.

Matt and Frankie walked into the Cortex again, seeing Jay run his eyes over the Wand once more. "Garrick, don't worry, we finished it."

"Let's have the expert who used it before check it out." Jay Garrick stated. "Barry."

"Yeah?" The speedster looked to the powerless speedster.

A quick gesture to the weapon, and he asked. "How's it look?"

Inhaling sharply at the memories of the last time this sword was wielded, Barry admitted. "Wow, eerily familiar."

Matt tapped his shoulder. "How's it going with Patty? She okay?"

"She is, um… hiding a lot of pain behind her smile." He answered heavyhearted.

Thinking of her own relationship with Seth, Caitlin advised. "They say couple start to resemble each other after a little while. That's how it was with me and Seth. I think I began to get some of his… dark humor after a while."

"You did. You really did, Caitlin." Barry instantly confirmed without hesitation. Caitlin giving a dry look while her daughter laughed. "The thing is, I mean, she only opened up to The Flash, not me. So even if I got her on the phone, I don't know what to say."

"From what I've heard from Joe," Olivia got their attention. "just being around you can be a big help."

"Thank you…" Barry told her in gratitude.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Breach Room)

It felt like an instant, but nighttime had already come over the city of Central City, casting darkness over the metropolis. But the underground section of S.T.A.R. Labs remained bright as ever as the lambs above his head kept shining.

But Harrison Wells from Earth-2 was not keen on meeting up with this menace again. The speedster's last visit, however, changed his mind for the better. For the better of his child on that Earth.

Which confused him as he had heard this Venom… Seth character had protected her the entire time. But after a visit from Zoom… it was wrong… perhaps a lie. And, maybe after the vibe, he died in a battle to protect Jesse.

WHOOSH

Harry couldn't put more thought into that scenario as the breach opened up. The next second, it closed but not before Zoom appeared out of it. Standing menacingly with blue lightning running all over his pitch-black form.

Neither of them looked willing to acknowledge one another. Zoom narrows his eyes and asks. "Have you decided?"

"I need more time." Harry said.

"Don't we all." Zoom quipped. "Decide."

"I need more time." Harry strongly counter the speedster's demands.

Zoom thrown in another incentive. "Maybe if I go up there and kill a few of your new friends…"

"No!" Harry replied defiantly, not wanting to see any of them killed at the hands of the man who has his daughter.

"One more day." Zoom gives his condition. "I'll tell your daughter you said, "Hello.""

At the mention of his daughter, Harry asks. "What about Seth? About Venom?"

This caught Zoom's interest. "You know?"

"I do." Harry flatly replied, but he was curious as to how the speedster would respond.

"Then you know that no one can defeat Zoom. Not even Venom."

WHOOSH

Having said his deal and his demands, the speedster turned around and rushed back into the breach, returning to his home universe of Earth-2. Leaving Harry Wells to slightly gape in his shock and despair.

Perhaps the hope of Venom protecting his daughter was no more.

X

(CC Jitters)

"You really shouldn't drink this much coffee, you know." Evelyn told her sister who was drinking from her third mug of CC Jitters' Venom coffee drink.

Ruby put the cup on the table. "I need to stay caffeinated."

"Why? Wanna out-hype a speedster or something?" Evelyn said with a chuckle.

"No, need to be ready for when you begin to puff out again like before." Evelyn dropped her face. The former assassin then said. "Think we should talk about last night."

"What is it? I'm gonna try and get hold of my teleporting again, I promise." The metahuman assured her.

But that wasn't on the assassin's mind. "It's what happened yesterday, and who we saw." Evelyn recalled that someone did almost find them after she accidently teleported them near the shipping facility. "We saw that flying woman before, and I think I've seen her before… from my universe."

"Another hero from your universe like Se… like Dad?" Evelyn asked.

"Yeah… I saw her once in the past, but I don't remember her name." Ruby smiled. "Just remember that she was incredibly strong."

"Sounds like a role model for you." Evelyn teased.

"But I was thinking though. That woman who almost found you at S.T.A.R Labs and the woman who found us before last night, they must be the same person. They must know the others then… so I was thinking… I think we should show ourselves to them." Ruby suggested and Evelyn reeled her head back in shock with an intake of air. "I think it's safer that way, and we have to give those bags to that Matt guy still."

"Yeah…" Evelyn's fiddled while still around the mug.

"What's up with you?" Ruby narrowed her eyes to slits.

Evelyn reveals. "Aren't you… scared of meeting Seth's family; his sister, his brother-in-law, his daughter and girlfriend." Ruby listened to her sister's confession. "I'm scared of meeting them. We're just strangers from another Earth who… who're just gonna jump into their lives all of a sudden, and when we do, we're just becoming Frankie's sisters like that and this Caitlin's new daughters." Her hands tighten around her mug. "You really think they'll accept us into their lives… and not give us the boot when they see us?"

Ruby understood Evelyn's fears. Unlike her, the metahuman was scared of experiencing the same hell of not being accepted because of who she is. Her family gave her the boot when they found out about her being a metahuman and they assumed she was the one responsible for killing her own two parents.

Understanding her feelings Ruby comfortably said. "…Think they'll just accept an assassin like me into their place. Especially since I come from a Nazi organization back in my world." She surprised not just Evelyn but also herself when she reached over and cupped her sister's hand. "Just so you know… if they wanna give you the boot, I'm with you."

Evelyn looked shocked at those caring words from Ruby. "Why?"

"Dumbass… we're sisters now, aren't we?" Ruby chuckled with an honest smile. "We gotta stick together, right? That's family, after all."

"Thanks, Sis." She flipped her hand around and cupped Ruby's hand gently. "So what's the plan then?"

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, both Cisco's satellites and Jarvis's citywide scans picked up a presence.

Barry took notice of it and pointed at the monitor which showed both results, each one identical to the other. "What's that? Is that Mardon?"

Cisco, who was seated at the main console, nodded. "That's definitely him. Atmospheric pressure just dropped 200 hectopascals."

"Where, Cisco?" Frankie asked as her aunt and uncle equipped their suits.

"Central City Square." Cisco answered.

Caitlin knew of an event taking place there. "The tree lighting ceremony."

"Thousands of people are gonna be there." Matt notified horrified by what the criminals might do to thousands of innocent people.

Olivia looked to the screen again, and her eyes saw something weird there. "Matt, what's that on the screen? Is Jarvis glitching or something?"

Matt looked to the monitor himself and widened his eyes at the growing yellow dots of energy signatures. "Jarvis… are those signatures…"

"Unfortunately, yes, Sir. The energy signatures you are currently seeing on the screen are those identical to that of weaponized machines." The AI explained.

"That many of them? And they're all near Central City Square?" Jay asked.

"Looks like The Trickster has more in store for this Christmas than Santa Claus himself." Matt scoffed and turned his head to Caitlin. "Caitlin, mind if we bring Frankie into this?"

Caitlin looked baffled. Olivia added. "Matt's right on this, Caity. Frankie's a magnekinetic, she can pull or even repel machines. It will definitely come in handy in this case, we don't know what Jesse's planning right now."

"I know." Caitlin looked to her daughter. "Baby, be careful and don't do anything rash, all right?"

"Gonna try, Mom." Her daughter quipped, her symbiotic partner enveloping her body the next moment. "We're going."

"Be careful, all of you." Caitlin told with a glance to the others. They nodded instantly.

Barry snapped around and took hold of the Wand. "Barry, take care of Weather Wizard. We'll go to CC Square and check out the situation there. You worry about Weather Bitch."

"I will." Barry assured with a confident nod. He sped out of the facility while the others jumped and flew out of the skylight.

X

Lightning clouds gathered above his head, thundering and booming violently at Mark Mardon's commands. Weather Wizard looked content with the fleet of thunderous clouds in the skies, so he turned his eyes to the tree lighting ceremony.

It was gonna be a hell of a lightshow when he's gonna bring down thunderstorms on thousands of people. And from the ledge he was standing on now, Mark had the best seat in the house.

He did wonder what James Jesse meant by his words before. "Since it's Christmas, why not bring in a little fantasy?!"

WHOOSH

Hearing a speeding wind sound, Mark Mardon swung his head backwards to see the Scarlet Speedster standing there with a strange wand-like contraption. "Oh, glad to see you. Maybe you can help me."

"Help get back in to a jail cell? It'll be my pleasure, Mark." Barry quipped.

"No." Mark holds up a hand. "No, see, I'm trying to decide if I should kill everyone down there with a deadly hailstorm, or, little trickier, with acid rain, what do you think?"

The Flash raises the Wand and taps it against the forehead of his cowl, pretending to think over those terrible options. "Ah, let me think, um…How about neither?" He offered his option before holding up the wand. "You see this wand here? Guess what?"

Before Barry had the chance to continue his words, the atmokinetic metahuman leaned backwards and let himself fall over the edge of the building. The sound of rushing wind didn't reach the speedster's ears as he rushed to the edge himself.

He then got the shock of his eyes as he saw Mark Mardon hover clumsily down with small windstorms erupting from his palms. "Uh… guys? He's flying."

"He's flying? Since when can he fly?" Caitlin fired off in shock.

Cisco tried to explain. "Well, he's using his powers to alter the air pressure around him to create pockets of updraft that can-"

"No, he can fly." Harry cut off the mechanical engineer.

"Matt, you guys close to the ceremony?" The speedster asked.

"No, not yet. You go and get Mardon!" Matt shouted over the rushing wind that stroke his mask.

"Yeah!" Barry shouted back and sped after the atmokinetic metahuman, initiating a chase.

X

"Guys, we're here!" Iron Knight shouted into the comms device as he and his wife and their niece arrived at the tree lighting ceremony at Central City Square.

Olivia looked and a scowl formed on her face behind her mask. She pressed a finger on her comms and stated. "You were right, Caity. They are thousands of people here." Her eyes were looking downwards at the sight of those innocent people underneath her. "We have to get them out of here."

"But how?" Frankie asked.

Matt's scanner blinked on his HUD screen and he saw two arrows pointing to the sides, to the left and right. "Barry's on his way right now with Mardon." He narrowed his eyes on the other arrow. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?"

Looking to his wife, Matt answered. "I had Jarvis keep track on the other signatures we found before and now that we're actually here, I just picked up on even more of those signatures."

"How many?" Magenta asked.

"It's increasing at this point, but it looks like there's more than fifty of them." The nanite mutant worriedly revealed.

"That's not good." Olivia said. Determined she looks down to the ground and directed to the group of humans who have noticed them. "All of you get out of here! You're in danger!"

They began to mutter in fear of what she just said and looked to each other. A few of them even looked upwards to the Iron Knight. Seeing them look to him, he shouted. "Listen! All of you need to get out now!"

Having heard that booming voice, people began to scramble and begin to run out of the way. However, they stopped the Scarlet Speedster rushed down the side of a tall building and pointed the Wand towards Mark Mardon. The device doing as it was designed to and sucked the air from his small windstorms.

Mark was left no other choice and accept his fate and send clashing down on the ground, rolling on it with grunts escaping his mouth every second. Screams overlapped as the criminal was grunting and send down on the asphalt.

Matt slammed down on the ground, pointing both of his repulsors at the criminal. "Stay down!"

"You're done for, Mardon!" Olivia shouted and swung her bladed whip in the air.

Magenta snarled at him like a predatory animal. "You won't hurt anyone!"

The Flash then said. "You didn't really think we'd let you hurt all these people, did you?"

As he got up, Mark said. "No, of course not, but I bet you guys are gonna let me hurt you." He directed to the speedster.

Before a certain revelation of his brother-in-law, Matt would gladly have let that happen. But with that revelation revealed to him, his mind was changed forever, and he have now forgiven the speedster. "And why exactly would we do that, Mardon?"

Their attention was diverted when the sound of wheels skidding connected with their ears. They saw a golden Christmas present coming towards them, a red ribbon around the present. It stopped right in front of the speedster's feet.

He, Olivia, Frankie and Matt snapped their eyes to the side, to the direction of the suspicious present. They saw to their shock, James Jesse sitting on Santa's throne in a Santa Claus outfit. "Feliz Navidad!" He announced his presence to them in Spanish, saying "Happy Christmas" in that language. "Time for a real war on Christmas." He cackles madly.

"Crazy's still crazy." Olivia insulted her patient.

"What is this?" Barry referred to the present at his feet.

Mark then answered for his… insane comrade, pointing a finger to the box. "That is a box with a bomb in it."

They all formed horrified expressions. They only intensified with James's dark revelation. "Yup, I've handed out about 100 of them today." He leant back in the chair with a candy cane in his hand. "It feels so good to give."

Mardon explained their horrible plan. "You see, right now, there are 100 random children who've each taken home a box just like that one and are shoving it under their Christmas tree." He smirked. "There's no way for you four to get to all of them, even if you knew where to look."

"You scumbags! Endangering children and their families?!" Olivia felt her hate increase.

"Monsters!" Frankie snarled at them.

"Sweetheart, you might wanna take a look in the mirror, you're a bit more monstrous yourself." James gestured to her demonic form.

"Oh, no." Barry muttered before pleading. "Please don't do this."

Mark looked offended. "What? Me? Kill 100 families? No, that's up to you guys. See, I'm happy just to take your life, Flash."

James got off his chair and looked to the mutants and the magnekinetic above his head. "Don't you flying man and lady, plus the crawling kid, worry about a thing. I got something for you guys too. It's Christmas, meaning there's work for everyone!" The Trickster whistled loudly.

""Merry Christmas!""

""Merry Christmas!""

""Merry Christmas!""

A series of mechanical voices began to chant those exact words from above their heads and the mutants looked upwards to a shocking sight, their niece shocked like them at the horrifying sight.

Above their heads, high above their heads, what looked like flying mechanical… elves hovering there. Their wings mechanical and flapping repeatedly. Like Christmas elves from stories and movies, they are wearing green clothes with red spiking collars. Black belts around their waists with golden yellow buckles and green shorts. Their mouths moving as they continued their heinous and creepy chants. Their hands wrapped around big black bombs, made to be comical as they have that same design.

Even the word "Bomb" written on each one of them in big red letters.

"What… What are those?" Frankie asked in horror as she saw the number of flying machines went from ten to thirty in the blink of an eye.

Mark chuckled. "Well, it's Jesse's idea. He thought to bring in a little fantasy. Which is this… apparently." He swirled a pointing finger to the flying elves.

The Trickster retook a seat in the throne again. "Didn't wanna go for the Wicked Bitch's look. I mean, monkeys? For Christmas? Even I'm not that stupid. So did a little… adapting, if you will. And they are 100 of those jumping into the air right now. They're going round and round above the city, maybe two or three times around in the sky before diving down on people like amateur divers at a kiddie pool."

"You sick bastard!" Matt shouted at the man, pointing his repulsors at him.

"Sure you wanna do that?" Mark inquired, halting the mutant from projecting energy blasts. "Remember, they're 100 of those in the air right now. You sure we're worth wasting that ammo on?" the atmokinetic saw that, even through the knight-like helmet, that the knight was enraged and his blood boiling. He faces all the heroes with swinging looks. "So this is how it's gonna be. You four are going are to take care of the flying elves before they kill random folks on the streets. As they do that…" he turns to The Flash. "You are gonna stand there and let me end you. Very publicly… and very painfully…and I'll let everybody live, but… if I see even a little flicker of electricity on you or any of the flyers here again… then the caskets makers in this town are gonna have a very merry Christmas."

James continued his villainous and mad cackle. His cackle loud enough so the thirty flying elves separated and flew their own direction.

Mark finalized. "So, heroes… what's it gonna be?" He holds out his hand for the speedster. "Huh?"

For what felt like eternity, none of the heroes dared make a move. Even the mutants couldn't bring themselves to fly or leap away, not knowing what direction to charge towards.

The Flash then made his decision and looked to the flyers and their niece. "Guys. Go take care of the flying elves." They looked shocked. "You know you're the only ones who can take care of them. I can't fly or jump as high as you guys can, and I don't have the weapons or firepower to take down that many weapons. You have to go… I can handle this one on my own." He holds up the Wand and places it in the criminal's hand.

"There you go." Mark acted proud of his decision. He looks at the heroes above. "Don't you guys have some place to be or something?"

"Son of a bitch!" Matt considered shooting his head right here and now.

"Knight!" The Flash called out. "Save the city!"

"Fuck!" Matt growled. "You better not die, Flash!" he shouted before spinning around and shooting into the air.

"We're gonna kill you if you do!" Angel Fury let out before following her husband.

"Thought we were past that." Barry directed with a chuckle to Magenta.

"This time, it's because we care about you." Magenta lashed out her hands and wrapped them around a lamp before shooting into the air.

"Oh ain't that sweet?" Mark chuckled as he formed an ice ball in his right hand before thrusting it into the speedster with a warcry, sending The Flash into the ground.

X

"Jarvis, get us the locations of all of those flying monkeys now!" Matt shouted into his comms devices, ordering the AI while he spins around and shoots two devices to his wife and his niece each. "We have to separate for these things."

"100 vs three? I like those odds." Olivia confidently said.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a literal blast." The nanite mutant admitted while his HUD screen began to chime repeatedly. "Those devices, apply them to your eyes and they're gonna show the way to the nearest group."

"We need to divide and conquer." Magenta suggested, causing her uncle and aunt to stop and look at her. "We all know it's the best option at this point. Don't worry, I will take care of a smaller group. But you guys are better suited taking out big groups of targets. So please… let's split up and take them out while the others at S.T.A.R. Labs take care of those exploding presents."

Olivia reluctantly agrees. "Magenta's right."

"Yeah… she is." Matt agreed, same level of reluctance as his wife. "Alright, me and Angel will take care of forty each, Magenta you take care of the last twenty, can you handle those?"

"Yeah, trust me." The metahuman said confidently.

"Always, kiddo. Be careful, both of you." Iron Knight exclaimed with his wings flaring and shooting him towards the direction of the right side.

"You too, Matty!" Angel Fury exclaimed with psychic aura around her body, her body catapulted to the direction of the left side.

"Let's go!" Magenta and Frankie shouted out loud before jumping into the air herself. Tendrils shooting out and swinging straight ahead.

100 flying Christmas elves are waiting for them.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

"Frankie…" Caitlin muttered after she listened in on their conversation. She knew her daughter was strong, but this could very well be too much for her. But all she could do now is believe her daughter and trust her and her abilities. "I believe in you, Frankie…"

"They're gonna kill Barry." Cisco stated after hearing the speedster be dealt with another ice blast.

"Unless we find those bombs while the others take care of those flying elves." The powerless speedster said. "Cisco?"

"Jay… there's no way. It's not like they're those elves, they can't be tracked. There's no way for us to find so many bombs." Cisco regretfully said.

"There is a way." Harry flatly admitted.

"To find 100 randomly-placed bombs?" Cisco wanted confirmation from the otherworldly scientist.

Harry turns his head to him. "We don't have to find 100. We just have to find one. And then we get rid of them all."

"How?" Caitlin asked inquiringly.

"A breach." Jay followed the man's line of thinking.

Harry nods. "That's right. We sent Grodd away. We can do the same to these bombs, all of them." He turns to the mechanical engineer. "Do you have a drone in your workshop?"

"Yeah." Cisco answered.

"Does it fly?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Cisco recited his answer.

"Good. I'm taking it. You're not getting it back." Harry was already in the process of moving towards the exit.

"I'll warm up the van." Cisco moved after Harry, Jay following them.

Caitlin remained at the console. "Please… save the city, guys."

X

""Merry Christmas!""

"Mommy! Look!" A little girl tugged on her mother's sleeve and pointed a finger to the sky, pointing to one of the many flying Santa Claus workers.

"What is…" The mother asked herself as she and her daughter took in the confusing but also terrifying sight of the flying machines that chants their Christmas greetings. "Sweetie stay close to me, alright?" She asked. The two weren't the only ones to watch them. Dozens or even more watched as forty flying elves flew above their heads.

Their worries and confusions, mostly their fears, were reduced at the incoming form of Iron Knight flying towards the gather of flying elves. They saw him elongate the arm blades he possesses and increased his speed.

Increasing the output of one of his wings, Matt charged into a spin and swung his right arm. His energy blade connected with an elf, cutting it in half and leaving a small-scale explosion in the air. Steadying himself, he aimed at another one with his repulsor. With a quick charge of energy converging to it, the nanite mutant released a repulsor blast at the flying machine.

"Two down, huh?" Matt muttered behind his mask with a scowl, his eyes focused on the remaining thirty-eight flying machines. He didn't have time to go through them one by one. "Time to work, right Seth?" He smirked behind his mask and shot forward again.

Both hands grabbing hold of two machines by their wings, his own blazing much stronger right now. Throwing the two machines in his hands like balls, he watched them connect with five and explode above the streets. The debris of seven machines falling on the heads of civilians, but at least they're alive.

His shoulder plates opening up and arming small missiles. Crossing his arms over his chest, he swings his eyes around behind his mask and locks onto the flying machines. Clenching his armored hands, he uncrosses them and releases an array of missiles for the targeted machines.

Explosions came filled the air over the streets as twelve more elves met their fates upon impact with the mutant's weaponry. Blasting through the immense smokescreen with incredible speed. "Jarvis, we're down to nineteen now, aren't we?"

"Affirmative, sir." The AI confirmed his thoughts.

"Can we take them out in one fell swoop with an unibeam?" He asked his calculating AI partner.

"It is possible, but we would have to get them above the streets, much higher than they are now."

Matt narrowed his eyes and his arms formed into long ion cannons. "Remember that code, Ivan Vankov used on Hammer's shitass droids?"

"I believe I know where you're going with this, Sir." The AI spoke in a cheeky tone.

"Get them to target me now, old friend." The repulsor energy around his cannons turned red before he pointed them at the remaining group of elves. In rapid succession, energy blasts shot out of their barrels and hit the flying elves, red light coming over their flying mechanical forms. They looked to lose the ability to fly for a brief moment, but they steadied themselves and spun around to look at the nanite mutant.

"They're now going after you. I might suggest a higher venue for the party, sir." The AI jokingly said.

"You and your jokes, J."

Thrusting his feet forward, the thrusters halting his flight with their energy output. Increasing that very output, Matt lashed his hands downwards and shot into the air like a rocket ascending from its platform. The flying elves followed after him, fighting and slamming into each other as though it was a game of tag.

"Merry Christmas!"

Matt scoffed. "Your singing and chanting and shit…" he spun around energy shining in his arc reactor on his chest and repulsor energy converging into his cannons, pointing them at the nineteen elves converging on his spot. "Is fucking annoying! Merry Christmas this, jackasses!"

Unleashing an unibeam from his chest and unleashing a series of energy blasts from his cannons, he watched as one by one the elves' numbers reduce with each departing repulsor blast. A massive smokescreen was before his eyes now, clouding his vision.

Then a single elf flew through the smoke and neared him.

But within an instant, Matt had the barrel of his right cannon pressed to it stomach. A mere flex of his limb, and a repulsor blast ventilated the Christmas elf with an explosion as the aftermath.

Once dissipated, the nanite mutant looked around and saw that no more of Trickster's creations were near him. "Time to check on Livia and Frankie."

X

""Merry Christ-"

Two of the Christmas elves were cut off when the adamantium razor whip cleaved through them. Angel Fury flew towards them and spun around, the psychic aura intensifying before lashing out her right leg. The psychic's foot met an elf's back and kicked it into another one higher up in the air. Explosions ringing in her ears.

Olivia compared the sounds of both explosions and the sounds of that abysmal chanting. "Yeah, those explosions are hell of a lot better than those elves."

She lashed out and gathered psychic energy into the palm of her hand, quickly forming a sphere. Compressing it further, she hurled it towards four of them. Their chanting cut short along with their mechanical lives.

"Eight down!" Angel Fury wrapped telekinetic energy around three of them, with a swing of her hand she forces those three into another group of five elves. The explosions brought more civilians' attention to the sky, seeing Angel Fury chasing mechanical Christmas fairytale beings.

"Sixteen… Damn this is taking too long!" More psychic energy enveloped the female mutant's form before launching herself. Swinging her whip around, she unleashed a succession of slashes that connects with various elves.

Six more of them were destroyed.

The flying elves snapped their heads and around to see the female mutant. With a whirl of her whip, she cuts down two more. "Should be twenty-four." She said unsurely. She noticed the remaining sixteen elves with their heads pointing to her.

Using the device on her right eye lens, she zooms in on their faces and sees them redden their eyes while they were fixated on her form. "Don't rush boys." She quipped as the mechanical elves dives towards her.

Landing on the nearest edge of a rooftop, Olivia uses her powers to wrap the razor whip around her right arm like a gauntlet. "Let's dance!" Jumping to the side, she sends her fist into the face of an incoming elf, slamming it into the ground. Before it could explode, the mutant threw into a group of five others. Watching at the sight of their numbers reducing to ten, she smirked.

Raising her hands and pointing her palms at the five that comes towards her. She stopped the movements of those five and pulls to her. The momentum of the psychic pull made the mechanical beings fly unsteadily and uncontrollably.

When one of them came within arm's length, the psychic thrusts and arm forward and grabbed hold of the mechanical elf. She threw it into the air, swiftly grabbing hold of two others and threw them upwards, following the same path as first one.

Forming two spheres of psychic energy into her palms, the mutant jumped backwards and thrusted her hands upwards, firing the spheres into the air and towards the three elves. A loud explosion came over them. Performing a front spin, she jumps into the air and swings her whip downwards, cleaving through the stomachs of two elves.

Returning to her feet again, Angel Fury leaped forward. Telekinetic powers strengthening the muscles inside her arms before taking hold of two elves and slammed them into the ground. Performing a simple backwards jump, she let herself be launched further back thanks to the shockwave of the explosions of two those elves.

The three last ones looked at her and with another powerful swing of her whip, she cracked their bodies open and watched them explode. She panted heavily and had to place one knee on the ground. "Too… fucking many elves."

"No kidding." Iron Knight agreed as he landed beside his wife. Crouching beside her, he places a hand on her shoulder and asks. "Are you okay? You look tired."

"Too many Oz-wannabe monkeys." Olivia groaned and wiped the edge of her mask, a small drop of blood stained on the tip of her clawed finger. "Damn… I've gotten rusty."

"That's up for debate, babe." He noted when inspecting the damage left behind by his wife's destruction.

"Let's fly, Frankie's waiting." The psychic stated as she returned to her full height.

"Yeah, she is. Let's go!" Matt exclaimed loudly as he and his wife shot into the air again.

X

"Piss off!" Magenta screamed as she saw the twenty flying elves chasing her. All of a sudden their eyes spark red and they decide to chase her.

What's embarrassing is that she didn't even have the chance to take down a single elf yet.

"Merry Christmas!"

And their chanting wasn't much help either.

"Frankie, pull them to you with your powers and then cut them down. Your close-range fighting is your strongest ability right now, take advantage of it!" Her "other" shouted. Ever since she was born, Magenta watched her host become stronger and stronger, and as the symbiote bonded to her she knew what her strengths are.

"Alright, let's go!" Frankie shouted and stuck her feet to the wall of a building. She sees four elves coming to her and forms jagged swords on both arms. Concentrating on the four elves, without the use of her hands, she used her magnekinetic powers to bring the elves closer to her.

As they were close to her now, she jumped off the building and swung her blades left and right, cutting down those four elves in an instant. The explosions behind her pushed her forward with a violent burst of wind. Tendrils came out of her back and attached to the nearest walls and kept her suspended there.

"Thanks, partner." The metahuman told her "other" in gratitude for saving her.

"Save it till we're out of this mess, stupid." Came the quipping statement from the symbiote.

Frankie nodded and saw that she was in an alleyway. More accurately, she was above the ground with her tendrils keeping her between walls. Turning her head around, she sees the chanting elves flying towards her. Releasing the tendrils from the walls, she backflipped into the air and ran up the side of the wall. Her arms returning to their original shapes.

She saw an elf flying down the side of the wall, trying to dive into the metahuman. Narrowing her white pseudo eyes on that mechanical elf, she thrusts an arm outward, sending out a tendril that attaches to the bomb. Spreading the symbiotic mass over the entire bomb in the elf's arms, Frankie strengthened the hold.

Wrapping her fist around the tendril like a rope, Frankie pulls the elf into two elves behind her. The explosion of three elves damaging the wall and sending pieces of brick down to the ground. Leaping off the wall, she thrusts her arm out again, splitting it into dozens of tendrils.

A large quantity of them dodged the incoming tendrils, but three of them were penetrated. Before they could explode, Frankie uses them like a mallet and swings them into the two others. Explosions appears and blasted the tendrils with fire causing the metahuman to gain a pained expression.

The tendrils retracted to her arm and she had to hold it with her other hand. Her eyes focused on the remaining ten mechanical elves that fly before her eyes in a circular pattern, like bees. "Let's clean this up now!"

"Wait!"

Frankie was halted by the sudden shout from her partner. "What's wrong?" she inquired.

Instead of getting a verbal response, Frankie felt Magenta mentally turn her gaze to the side and she followed that same direction. There, to her shock, she saw something coming out of the side of a building. She didn't know what it was, nor could even give them a name to what it was…

But… it looked like massive pitch-black smoky miasma came out in a stream. Slowly, the steam began to take the forms of what looked like tendrils of pure darkness with the speed of bullets. They slammed into the five of the elves in an instant, not affected at all by the explosions.

While she was shocked by those darkness extensions, Frankie's attention was diverted by the loud sound of cracking metal that multiplied instantly. She looked to the remaining elves and sees them… being compressed… by an invisible and powerful force.

Frankie shifted her gaze around her, thinking that it was her Aunt Liv's telekinetic powers that was destroying the remaining elves. But she was nowhere to be found. The metahuman looked back to the compressing elves, she sees that the last five have now been completely turned into metal balls with wings. When they fell to the ground, she looked around again in search.

"What was that about? How and where did those things come from?" Magenta asked regarding the tendrils of darkness.

"And how did those elves be crushed like that?" Frankie asked regarding the sudden and unexpected destruction of the elves.

"Magenta!"

She looked backwards to see Iron Knight and Angel Fury flying towards her. "Hey." She greeted them flatly, still shocked of what she just saw.

"What's wrong, Magenta?" Matt asked.

Olivia took the time to inspect the damage of her niece's attacks. "Nice job, Frankie. Impressive work. Gotta love the destruction here."

"That wasn't me, at least not all of it." Frankie's response surprised them.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked-

"Her again!"

Her eyes snapped open and this time she rushed forward like a bullet, adamant and determined to find the source of that voice. Her husband and niece calling after her, but their voices fell on deaf ears for now as she flew through the air.

"Not this time!" She shouted and landed on the street in a rough slide. Stopping herself, she looked into the nearest alleyway. Olivia was confused that she didn't find anyone there… but she did find something else amidst trashy alleyway.

Even though it was covered by the shadows of the buildings beside her, she did see through the shadows and did find some kind of… smoky remains of… something there. Before she could go and inspect it further, she watched as the smoky remains of the… darkness… vanished.

She has watched crazy and strange things her entire life, but that was something that she hadn't witnessed before. "What was that…?" "There's more to that girl than I thought… I have to find her."

"Angel?!" She heard her husband call out to her. "Everything good?"

"Yeah!" She replied, she would tell him everything later. "Let's help Flash now!" She shot into the air and flew to the speedster.

"Yeah." Matt slowly agreed.

"Aunt Liv's weird now." Frankie admitted.

"Oh yeah, she is." The nanite mutant agreed before grabbing his niece's hand and flying with her towards the Flash's location at Central City Square.

X

"Cisco, Frankie and the others took care of the elves!" Cisco heard from Caitlin, who was monitoring the entire situation at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Great. That's one problem taken care of. How's Barry doing?" He asked Caitlin over the phone.

"He's not doing too well." Caitlin sheepishly stated as she was unsure of how to explain how their friend was being beaten with the powers of weather itself. "Take care of things on your end, quickly."

"We will." Cisco assured her before hanging up, he took out the tablet and began to make adjustments to the drone. While doing so, he asked Harry. "Harry, what is the plan?"

Jay took out a bomb from a present box, one that Harry acquired for them, and held the bomb carefully as he walked to the drone. Harry explained as he did so. "One of the 52 breaches opened by the Singularity is 1/4 mile directly above the city. And we are gonna use your drone to put this bomb into that breach." He walked over to the drone itself, to make firsthand adjustments after having screwed some necessary parts together.

"Okay, how does that work? One down, 99 to blow." Cisco stated.

Harry answered with his eyes on the drone. "Basic physics, Ramon. Magnetism." He briefly glanced at him, seeing that the native engineer was looking like a blank slate, not a single idea of what his words means. "Magnetism. Magnets of opposite poles attract one another. Help me out, Garrick." He asked of the powerless speedster.

Holding the bomb carefully in both hands, he walks to the drone while explaining. "If we can change the dimensional frequency of this bomb and get it through that breach…"

"It'll drag all the rest of the bombs right along with it." Harry continued. He took the tablet out of Cisco's hands. "I'll drive. Okay, hold on."

The three men stepped back from the drone as the bomb began to beep repeatedly, indicating its time for detonation was closing in on them. Harry began operating the drone, getting it to fly from its platform. He used the controllers to direct it to fly straight upwards.

They watched as the drone continue flying straight up. As it was close to the gateway, the breach itself opened up before their eyes. The drone passed the threshold and flew into the breach. They didn't even have to wait a second as an array of flying presents comes from every possible angle.

All of them making their way into the breach… one by one, each one of them began to explode within the breach.

Cisco became ecstatic at that vision. "It's working." In his excitement, he clapped on Harry's shoulder.

X

The Flash groaned on the ground, having been hit with hail the size of a baseballs, send into the air with a geyser of wind and then met with cackling lightning him like a truck.

Still in pain, his ears perked at the sound of feet walking on the ground. "Flash, you all right?" He heard Mark Mardon feign concern. James Jesse's cackle mixing as he was looking at the Flash like he would a broken and disfigured toy. "You don't look so good." Barry tried to get up and Weather Wizard had a bright idea. "I know…I'll give you a jolt."

Electricity crackles heavily as Mark points his left hand to the sky, lightning heeding his command and striking down on his outstretched hand. Channeling the lightning through his body to his right hand that is holding the Wand, he delivers a lightning bolt to the speedster's body, hitting him right in the middle of his chest.

The lightning attack let up and The Flash fell to the ground once more. "Oh!" Both James and Mark shared an exclaim of delight.

Weather Wizard looked at the Wand in his hand with a sigh of satisfaction. "I'm done. He's all yours." He told The Trickster.

With an everlasting wicked smile on his face, James Jesse walked towards the downed speedster who groaned in pain. "Oh God."

The Trickster chuckles at that. He crouches beside the speedster, a hand reaching into the side of his coat. "To think this city worships you!" He pulls out a large knife with another ominous chuckle. "But, when I kill The Flash and sent his friends' parts to the junkyard… they'll realize I'm the man who saved Central City!" he closes on the speedster's cowl with the knife raised high.

But explosions far above in the sky… much farther from their current position.

Concern came over The Trickster and he directed to his partner. "Was that you?"

Mark answers quickly. "No! Gut him!"

"All right, I'm gutting already!" James exclaimed back.

"Barry, the bombs are gone." The speedster heard Cisco inform him.

That news made The Flash raise his head high and electricity crackles over his eyes. Seeing that, The Trickster let out. "Uh-oh."

WHOOSH

Barry rushed to his feet and slammed James Jesse into a streetlight before wrapping Christmas lights around him like rope. Using that same momentum, he speeds into Mark Mardon with a tackle, sending the atmokinetic flying and grabbing the Wand out of his hands.

He points the Wand at the enemy metahuman, sucking up all the atmospheric pressure from Mark and nullifying his abilities. They both panted from exhaustion and pain. The speedster pressed a finger to his comms device. "Knight, what's the status on those elves?"

"They just saw Nightmare on Christmas. In 3D and oil for soda." Matt quipped. "We're on our way to you, Bar."

"Thanks." Barry said gratefully, he then saw a police car coming his way. An eerie feeling came over his form at the car. The feeling was confirmed when Detective Patty Spivot stepped out of the car, with the metahuman task force-issued Boot weapon. Vibrating his vocal cords, The Flash told her. "Detective, it's taken care of. They can't hurt anyone else."

Barry looks away from her to gesture to Mark Mardon on the ground. But it was a mistake as he failed to hear the sound of a short energy surge in The Boot weapon. It's mechanized hook shooting out and grappled onto the Flash's thigh before shooting out small chains to the ground, anchoring the hero to the ground.

The Flash was forced to the ground, landing on one knee. "What are you doing?" She didn't answer the hero's question and threw The Boot weapon to the ground. "What are you doing?!"

This time she answers, to which she needed her firearm that she pulled out of the holster. "This is for my father." The gun was aimed at the downed enemy metahuman.

"No, no, no, Detective!" Barry chanted to her, worried that she might take that step and end with blood on her hands. "Detective, no. You can't do this."

Patty counters. "He killed my father for a couple hundred dollars." Her next words come out in a sneer, directed to Mark. "What was so important that my father had to lose his life?" She wanted to pull the trigger right now as she saw that happy smile on Mar's face.

"Mardon will get what he deserves!" Iron Knight shouted as he lowered himself to the ground. Both Olivia and Frankie landed on the top of a streetlamp, one for each.

Patty glared at the nanite mutant. "He deserves to die!"

"Not like this, Detective Spivot!" Olivia shouted, her hand wrapping around her whip handle. But she saw the speedster slowly shake his head disapprovingly, telling her not to do anything like hurting her. Deciding to go with his plan, she returns her whip to her belt.

Mark looked at the detective without any fear. "You don't have it in you, pretty lady."

Patty remained determined. "I've been asking myself that for the last four years, and now I know." She stated in a growl.

"Detective, don't do it!" Frankie jumped down on the ground, looking at her solely.

"No, Patty!" The Flash managed to get back on his feet, forcing him to with the Boot still anchoring him to the ground. "You pull that trigger; your life ends too. You will go to prison." She turned still, standing frozen with her gun still pointed at Mark. "Everything and everyone that you could have had in your life will be taken from you… Again." Those words resonated with the detective's feelings, making her take in every word that came next. "Mardon can't take anything else from you unless you let him."

Magenta inched closer to the detective's standing. "Sure, we didn't know your father, but he's a parent, they all want the same thing: For their child not to go down the wrong path. He wouldn't want this." She points a finger to the downed atmokinetic. "Not over this piece of scum."

"Magenta's right." The Flash agreed. "Not over him." He continued trying to help his girlfriend. "Please. Please." He waited and hoped that his words were able to reach the detective, she who was hidden behind massive barricades of grief and guilt.

Hoping to connect to the woman who thinks her hands are responsible for her father's death.

Patty Spivot then spoke, holstering her gun again. "Mark Mardon, you're under arrest." She bent down and flipped the metahuman to his stomach so she could cuff his hands behind his back.

James Jesse cried at that beautiful sight. "That was beautiful."

"Shut up, Jesse." Olivia slapped his head, but he just kept sobbing.

Barry sighed in relief. "Nice job, Speedy." Matt told him while forming an energy sword on his right arm.

This time the speedster gulped in fear of the formed sword. "You're not going to go all "Saw" on me, are you?"

"A, that was because of a deathtrap game. B, the guy sawed his foot off, not his entire leg. C," he flipped the sword around in his hand after detaching it from his gauntlet. "you wanna chop it off yourself?"

"NO!" Barry exclaimed loudly in the nanite mutant's face, making him hold up his hands in defense. But not before a chuckle came out.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

Only a few people remained in the Cortex. Barry had taken off his suit, having placed it on the mannequin, and walked to the middle of the Cortex, rotating his shoulder a few times because of the lingering pain from Weather Wizard's beating. Though the rest of his body wasn't much better, still sore from the relentless attacks.

"Barry, hey." Joe got his attention when walking into the Cortex.

"Hey." Barry said back.

"Everyone's heading back to our place for Christmas. Though, Frankie and Olivia and Caitlin are picking up Felicia now and they have to get something else on the way." Joe informed him and he got a nod as the response. "You okay?" He asked his adoptive son.

"Yeah, no, nothing a little metahuman regenerative healing capabilities won't cure." Came the quip from Barry. He then asked. "How'd it go with Francine?"

Joe gives a surprising answer. "It was good. It was really good, actually. I mean, I spent so long lying about her being dead that I started to believe it myself. But the truth is, those feelings were always there. That anger, that regret, the guilt…sigh… I just didn't realize how much I needed to forgive her. And now… there's room for another West." He let out happily, purely ecstatic about this.

"Did you meet him?" Barry asked, happy for him.

"No." Joe shook his head. "He still doesn't know. That'll come."

"Wow. You have a son." The speedster said in disbelief.

No more in disbelief than Joe himself. "I know, right?"

"It's crazy." Barry admitted.

Joe points a finger at the speedster. "Speaking of which, take this." He took off his watch that his father gave him.

"What?" Barry said with surprise. "No, no, no, no, I can't take that." He tried to push the watch back to the detective's hand.

The detective tried to do it another way. "I've always said that one day I would give this to my son…" With a smile on his face, a wide and proud smile indeed, he hands the watch back to the speedster. "And now I have." Barry formed a smile of genuine happiness. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas. Thank you." Barry thanked his adoptive father.

The two of them embraced one another in a heartwarming hug. Both chuckled as their arms were wrapped around one another. Joe, with a smile, said. "Love you."

"I love you too." Barry said back as they unwrapped their arms from each other.

"See you at the house." Joe clapped his son's shoulder before making his way to the exit.

"Yeah." Barry nodded. With a heavy expression on his face he walked towards the private lab on the left side, passing the threshold and stands before the class panel. Looking through with a deep sigh, he sees the form of the working scientist, Harrison Wells from Earth-2. He wrapped the watch's straps around his wrist

Blinking his eyes, he didn't see Harry… but instead he saw Eobard Thawne working. Another blink, and he saw his Earth-2 counterpart once more. And though he knew the truth, he felt he had to say it. Say it out loud to someone wearing his face.

"I know that you're not him…" he twisted his head around. "But he's not here and I have to say this for me." He confessed. "In that video message, you said that… That I would never really be happy… And I've been trying… I've been trying really hard." He breathes in deeply. "After what Joe said, and helping Patty, I realize that you're still in my heart… How much I hate you…for what you've done. I don't wanna hate you anymore, I can't. I can't hate you anymore." Had there been anyone else with him, his next words would have shocked them with an overwhelming force.

"I forgive you."

On the other side of the panel, Harry noticed the speedster's gaze looking into the room. Pressing a button on a tablet, he started speakers. "Do you need me for something?" Came the question.

"No, no, I'm good." Barry assured him. "You know, you should come over for Christmas tonight. You shouldn't be alone."

"It's a nice offer." Harry admitted. "I can't celebrate without my daughter."

"All right." Barry accepted before walking home.

X

(West Residence, The Front Porch)

"Finally, here!" Olivia shouted in mock exhaust, like she had just journeyed through the Sahara Desert.

"Aunt Liv, it's your fault for taking too long back home. You just remembered that you wanted to bake triple chocolate cookies for everyone, just before we had to get out." Frankie felt the need to remind her aunt.

Olivia glared and ruffled her niece's hair. "Well, it was time to introduce you to the family Christmas tradition, kiddo. Even at a last-minute notice."

"Yeah, it was nice to spend time with you three like that." Felicia admitted with a smile. She looked to the female doctor. "Caity, what about JC? Is she not joining us?"

Caitlin shook her head. "No, she wanted to stay at the hospital with her dad this Christmas."

"Hope her old man gets better." The thief said.

"Same here. Stan was nice." Frankie let out.

Felicia stroked her head while asking Olivia. "Livy, think Matt brought that eggnog of his?"

"Yeah. Don't hog it all, Mama's looking for booze this year." Olivia had to make up for the previous Christmas she missed.

"No promises, Livy." Felicia said in a sing-songy voice.

"Come on, the others are waiting." Caitlin said with her arm around her daughter's form, pulling her close to her side. They walked through the door, the doctor greeting them giddily. "Knock, knock!" she and the others waved excitedly as they listened to bouncy Christmas music.

The large Christmas tree in the corner of the living room was the first they noticed, right beside the lit fireplace, blazing with warm flames. Christmas tinsels all around them. Various kinds of colorful Christmas lights entangled with the tinsel and wrapped around the Christmas tree, their light touching down on the presents under it.

They saw Iris hang a Flash symbol ornament around on a branch, the lightning bolt ornament shining brightly amongst the others. There was even a white Venom ornament, showing his demonic face. A strange choice of decoration for Christmas. Cisco and Joe were sitting on the couch, two pitchers and a single mug in front on the table while they hold their own mugs. Barry and Jay were engaged in conversation with each other.

"Hiya, guys!" Matt greeted them with a tray of mugs. "Eggnog, anyone?" Olivia looking with slit eyes. Seeing his wife's eyes, he laughs. "It's the Stark concoction, Livia."

"Now you're talking, babe." She grabs a mug from the tray and kisses her husband on the lips. The mutant then drank from the mug, enjoying the overly boozed drink. "Missed this." She muttered before walking to the nearest recliner.

Caitlin tilted her head. "Does Liv drink this every Christmas?"

"Yeah, favorite thing about this time of year." Matt revealed in a joking tone.

Felicia got a mug herself and drank from it. "Not the only gal who thinks that." She sipped on the drink.

"I guess that's not for me, is it?" Frankie pouted.

"No, young lady. You're not touching that." Caitlin told her daughter in an overdramatic stern tone.

Joe heard the doctor's words and called out to his niece. "Don't worry, Frankie. I got hot chocolate here with mini marshmallows, just for you." She points to a steaming pitcher.

"Yeah! Love that old man!" Frankie heard Magenta loudly exclaim.

Frankie rubbed her ears, feeling like she heard the exclaim coming from the outside of her mind. "Thanks, Uncle Joe!" She rushed to the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. "Love you."

"Love you too, kiddo. Now come and drink some before it gets cold." Joe told her and he saw her jump over the back of the couch before landing in it. "Yeah, no more jumping in my house, alright?"

"No promises." Frankie cheekily replied.

Caitlin was about to take some eggnog for herself to enjoy but she was stopped when she found something familiar on a step on the staircase. She took it in hand and held it close.

Matt was about to join his wife when he saw a wide smile form on Caitlin's face. "Caitlin? Why are you smiling like that?"

"Just… a really good memory comes back to mind." Caitlin blissfully admitted.

"Oh yeah?" Matt asked.

"Gonna keep that one to myself, Matt." Caitlin told him with a smile. She nodded to the door, "I'm gonna step outside for a bit for myself. If Frankie needs me, I'm outside." She picked up a mug of eggnog from the tray. "Gonna take this one to go."

"Sure thing, remember your jacket. It's pretty cold." Matt told her and she accepted with a nod and took her coat off the racket before stepping outside.

As the door closed, Matt walked back to the others and placed the tray on the table. Frankie looked around. "Uncle Matt, where'd Mom go?"

"Outside. Don't know why, though." Matt said while sipping on his own concoction of eggnog.

"Dude, you made yours too strong again." Cisco complained after sipping on the Stark drink. But he couldn't keep himself from drinking it again.

"It's good, Matty. Don't listen to Cisco, he's a meanie." Olivia said with a mock hurt look for her husband's sake.

KNOCK

Hearing the knock on the door, Iris stepped past Barry as she informed. "Oh, let me get that." When reaching it, she opened the door and saw Patty Spivot standing there with a happy smile and a Christmas sweater on her, with an imprint of a goofy reindeer. Forming a smile herself, Iris greets her with a hug. "Hi, I'm so glad you could make it."

"Aw, thank you for having me." She thanked her with her arms reciprocating the hug, finding it somewhat difficult with one hand holding a bottle of wine and the other one holding a present. Unwrapping her arms, she handed Iris the bottle. "Merry Christmas. This is for you."

"Thank you." Iris gratefully accepted the gift.

"Of course." Patty closed the door and turned to see Barry walking to her.

"Hey." He greeted her with a face of concern.

"Hi." She knew the origin behind his concerning face.

"I've been really worried about you. I've been calling." Barry told her.

Patty confesses. "I know… and I'm really sorry. I just have been dealing with something by myself, but I want to tell you about it. I think that I'm ready to. Someone, actually a few others too, reminded me of what's important, so if you want to hear, I would like to share it with you."

Barry chuckled. "That would be the best gift I could get."

"Yeah?" Patty playfully asked. She received a hum of assurance from him. "I don't know." She holds up the present. "This is a really sweet sweater."

Taking it in his hand Barry looked down her own sweater with a chortle. "I hope it's as sweet as this one."

"It's matching." Patty told him.

They shared a brief kiss, which Felicia called out to. "Guys, there's children in the house keep that to a minimum." They separated and saw her chuckling along with the others.

"Who are you?" Patty asked.

"She's a friend of the family." Joe answered, surprising the cat burglar. "Heard she was gonna be alone and I told Frankie and her mom to get her come here… Detective Spivot."

"Hi." Patty greeted her partner awkwardly.

Joe got up from the couch and walked till he stood before her. "What brings you here?"

"Merry Christmas." Patty told her partner with a hug. She then stepped backwards. "Well, uh, I'm… Barry's girlfriend." She wrapped an arm around him and he did the same with her.

"About time." Joe said, not at all surprised by this revelation.

Frankie turns to her Aunt as she gets up. "I'm gonna go check on Mom, okay?"

"Remember your jacket, Frankie." Olivia gave the all clear. Frankie took her jacket off the racket and walked out the door.

When it was closed, all of a sudden, another knock comes from the other side of the door. Joe turns confused and looks to his daughter. "Are we expecting anybody else?"

"Not that I know of." Iris revealed, her father walking to the door.

"Maybe Harry changed his mind." Barry suggested.

Olivia and Matt shared a look, both knowing that Harry was shot by Patty a while back. Would definitely bring some tension to Christmas Eve.

Joe opened the door and was shocked by the person standing there.

Dark-skinned like he and his daughter, wearing a black shirt and black pants and black jacket over his T-shirt. His black hair crew-cut. Dark-brown eyes looking at the detective. Inhaling deeply, he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Wally. I'm Francine's son."

Iris walked closer to her stumped and speechless father. Shifting his head around, the detective realized he didn't say anything and had to remedy that. "I'm… I'm… I'm Joe." He shook hands with his… son. He gestured to Iris. "This is Iris."

"Hi." Iris greeted… her brother for the first time ever.

"Hi." Wally West greeted… his sister for the first time ever. He turned to… his father. "Uh, I just wanted to… I don't know." Like Joe, Wally found himself speechless too. With a gesture to the living room full of people, he continued. "I guess now's a bad time. You've got company, so…"

"No." Joe stopped him. "No, no, no. Come in." he stepped aside for Wally to walk inside and Joe closed the door.

X

Caitlin was standing outside of the West residence, standing on the grassy front yard. She walked up to the staircase till she stood on the porch. Leaning against the wooden railing, she holds her right hand high above her head. The tips of her thumb and her index finger holding the item above her head.

It was the object that made Seth and her share a passionate kiss on this very porch last Christmas. While it was strange time for them last year, with her thought-to-be-dead fiancée Ronnie Raymond returning to the realm of the living with flaming hands and a blazing head.

As well as him relentlessly attacking Seth for some reason, thinking that Caitlin was in harm's way when near the elemental demon.

That night was the Christmas night that Seth thought Caitlin would leave him because of her fiancé returning to life, thinking that her true love had come back to her, to get back into her life. But she assured him that she wasn't going anywhere, that she wasn't stringing him along. She couldn't believe that he thought she even consider leaving him because of Ronnie's return.

A night of many revelations and declarations. Seth swore to Ronnie himself, Professor Martin Stein himself back then, that he'd attack them both if they ended up hurting her in any way. That was only one of the multitude of times when he jumped in front of danger for her.

Venom and Cure.

He was the venom that was always gonna protect the cure, her. Dangers can range from fiery attacks from a metahuman to a massive Singularity, but he wouldn't even hesitate to stop them, to be the Lethal Projector that takes them on. For her or his family, nothing could make him stand down.

She loves him…

He loves her…

…beyond the measly confines of different universes… even if they currently are on other universes.

While she looked up to the item in her fingers, she used her other hand to run over the necklace of Venom's face that protects the snowflake. It was the best present she could ask for. A gift that represented Seth's feelings for her, that he would be protecting her no matter what.

Then her fingers grazed the pink crystal beside it, the symbol of their daughter kept right beside her parents. In the past, Caitlin didn't anticipate having children so suddenly, especially in this city, filled with new threats and dangers that could get anyone hurt or worse. But with Seth reentering her life as her true love, she… turned into a wonderful mother.

She was thankful to Seth for having introduced her to this kind of life.

Caitlin returned her focus to the mistletoe. "Thank you, Seth… I love you."

"Mom? What's that?" Frankie got her attention with an inquiry.

"Oh hey, baby." Caitlin held up the plant. "It's a mistletoe. A hemiparasitic plant from the genus Santalaceae family in the North America, I think."

Frankie crossed the distance between her mother and herself, quickly so she wouldn't say anything else. "Mom, I love you, but I already know about that plant. You told me about it a while back. Just for Christmas, I think you said."

"Sorry, honey." Caitlin looked longingly at the plant in her hand. "Your Dad and I was right here, under a mistletoe and we kissed each other." She chuckled. "Sorry, I'm a bit emotional on your first Christmas with me, baby."

"It's okay, Mom." Frankie told her. "I miss Dad, too. I hope he comes home at soon too." She looked sad.

Her mother took her arm and wrapped it around her daughter, pulling her close. "Wanna know what your Dad and I did before standing under the mistletoe?"

"No, I'm scared." Frankie staggered back in fear of what she might hear.

"Calm down, Frankie." Caitlin reached into her pocket and pulled out a small red box. "We gave each other presents."

Frankie smiled widely, her partner reaching in her pocket to pull out a similar box. "Guess it's the same here."

"Like mother, like daughter." Caitlin joked, but was inwardly proud still, as she handed Frankie her gift. "Open it."

Holding the box in one hand, she flips the lid open. The metahuman finds a gold chain in the box. Briefly making eye contact with her mother in confusion, she pulled on the chain. When fully pulled out, she was instantly surprised at what she saw. It was a single dog tag.

"I think you said you wanted something like this when you checked out your dad's pair." Caitlin remembered.

"Yeah, I remember that too." Frankie turned the dog tag around to look at the engraving. "Frankie Fury, the Magenta of our hearts." The young metahuman recognized that engraving. "Dad, has that same engraving."

"Yeah, he does." The mother stroked her shoulder. "I really am sorry he's not here, baby. I wish he was here, but he's busy on another Earth and taking of things there, in his own way. But he's fighting his way back here."

"To us, Mom." Her daughter told her in comfort. Her father wasn't just fighting to get back to her; he was fighting to back to them both. "Dad's fighting to get back home, get back to us. He's the Lethal Protector after all. I miss him too, Mom. But…" She holds out her package for her mother. "Maybe this can help you a bit?"

Smiling happily at her daughter, the mother took the present and opened it. Caitlin wondered if it was the same as her present, because, like with hers, she finds a chain in the box. Like her daughter did, she pulled the silver chain and pulled it out of the box. Her eyes watered at the white heart-shaped locket, the engraving of a blue snowflake on it. "Open it, Mom."

Hearing her daughter's words, Caitlin excitedly opened it. Tears fell from her eyes at the picture in the locket. The picture of her and Seth's faces close to together, their lips locked in a long and blissful kiss that slowed down time itself. It was a good memory for both her and Seth.

"Frankie…" Caitlin lost the ability to speak and had to show actions instead. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her close. Her mouth leaning down and kissing the top of her child's head. "Thank you for it, baby." She said into her hair with a loving smile.

"You're welcome, Mommy." Frankie rubbed her head against her mother's arms.

Unwrapping her arms from her, the doctor stated sadly. "I really am sorry; I didn't get you any other presents. Well, aside from an action figure of yourself."

"That's cheesy, Mom." Frankie giggled. "But I don't need any other presents."

"Maybe we could change that?"

Both Caitlin and Frankie snapped their heads around in confusion to that strange new voice talking to them. They were met with two young girls, both unfamiliar to them.

One is a long brown-haired girl with blue eyes. She is wearing a red hoodie and blue pants. Her hair pulled into a ponytail. She was looking nervously at the two of them.

The other one is a short bleached blonde-haired girl. She is wearing a grey shirt underneath an army jacket and black pants. She was looking more confident but also slightly concerning as she turned to the brown-haired girl beside her.

"Who are you two?" Caitlin asked, stepping in front of her daughter, fearing that these two might be some of Zoom's metahumans out to strike them on Christmas Eve.

"Don't worry, we're not enemies or anything." The bleached-haired girl said, her hand gesturing to herself. "My name is Ruby." She gestures to the brown-haired girl beside her. "This is… This is my sister, Evelyn." Evelyn shyly waved to them. "And we know you're Frankie Fury and Caitlin Snow."

This time Frankie stepped past her mother to stand beside her, her partner slithering underneath her clothes to make sure she was prepared to strike if the need for a fight arose. "How do you know that?"

Evelyn looked at her with an honest expression. "Because…." She smiled. "We're your sisters, Frankie."

Both of them looked shocked… like the moon had just been dropped before them.

Cause it felt like it.

X

Instead of enjoying Christmas Eve with friends or family like others are doing this very moment, Harry Wells was waiting around for another visit from his least favorite person he knows, seeing as the monster is the one who has his claws around his daughter.

WHOOSH

Hearing a familiar whooshing sound, the man from Earth-2 saw the pitch-black speedster speed through it. Static sounds of crackling lightning came from his body, walking forward the lightning stopped. "Time's up, Wells. What's it gonna be?" Zoom snarls.

Harry points a finger at him. "I know what you're doing." He said in an accusatory tone. "I know why you keep sending villain after villain from our Earth to this one." Lowering his finger, he walks forward to the speedster. "You want Barry to get faster. You want him to get stronger." He turned around and listed off. "You want him to become more powerful, more full of…Speed Force." He realized what the villain's plan was, turning back to face him. "You're fattening him up like a Christmas goose."

Zoom didn't deny it. Rather, he confirmed it. "The more power he has, the more I can take… and you're going to help me." He adamantly said at the end.

"And Venom won't stand in your way?" Zoom narrows his eyes on Harry's words. "Heard he's a handful."

"Not enough… for me take Jesse back again right in front of his eyes." The speedster casually said with a chuckle.

At those words, Harrison demanded with stern and emotionless expression, but inwardly completely angered. "Let me see her first."

Zoom didn't say anything but sped into the breach again. A millisecond later, he comes back to Earth-1, his claw tightly held around the har of Jesse Wells. She was back to her full height and looked up, her eyes tearing up and gasping at the sight of her father. "Daddy?"

Tears and snot running down her face as she rushes into her father's open arms. Harry closed his eyes, happy and overjoyed to see his daughter again. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Please help me." She begged of her father. "Don't let him take back there."

Harry nodded. "I won't-"

WHOOSH

Harry didn't even get the time to register the blue lightning that pulled his daughter out of his arms. He just looked at his empty arms with a gaped mouth.

The speedster demanded. "Now… decide. In return for your daughter's life…" he wanted the man to finish it, knowing that he knew it was.

He didn't have a choice. Help people who've become close friends and lose his daughter… Betray them and get his daughter back again…

The choice was obvious.

"I'll do it." Harry stated his decision, but the look in Zoom's eyes told him he wanted more than those measly simple words.

"I'll help you steal The Flash's speed."

Anything to help his daughter… Harry would do it without hesitation… even if it meant stabbing his friends in the back.

Anything to save his daughter from Zoom's claws…

To be continued…

And that turned out to be one strange Christmas indeed.

Prison breakouts and attempts at mass murder on Christmas, murderous elves, action figures of the heroes new and old, the two new Fury girls drinking too much Jitters coffee, revelations falling down on everyone like rain: Joe and Iris getting a surprise visit by Wally West. Caitlin and Frankie getting a surprise visit from their two new family members, Evelyn and Ruby, two girls from each their own different universe.

Things are gonna be crazy to see how the team, not to mention Frankie and Caitlin, will react to the words coming from their new proclaimed family members' mouths.

Christmas turned one hell of a mess, wouldn't you guys say? But then again, had it been normal, that would have been worrisome.

The Snow-Fury family's gonna find this hard to believe with these two girls just showing up and saying they're Frankie's sisters out of the blue. As well as the others on the team.

How will this revelation and Harry's new role as Zoom's companion affect Team Flash in the near future? A joyous future with happy memories to be made? Or perhaps a disaster lying in wait?

Stay tuned and find out.

Until next time, peeps!