A/N: 10th chapter. What a milestone. Not much to say. Just responding to reviews.

Response to reviews:

Chloe (Guest): Thanks. I am planning on doing that, I'll just take a few chapters to get to it. Maybe chapter 15 or something.

September 4, 2016

S.H.I.E.L.D. Base

Mace, Coulson, May, Simmons, Fitz, Mack, Hunter and Bobbi stood in the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s office as they were just introducing themselves to the new guy that Daisy and Elena brought with them. Apparently, his name was Barry Allen and he had helped Daisy out by giving her a place to stay for the past two weeks. The agents had been very grateful to Barry for his help. If that wasn't good enough, then the fact that Mace was officially welcoming Daisy back to S.H.I.E.L.D. as an official agent. He wanted to hold a public ceremony as he wanted the public eye to see Quake joining S.H.I.E.L.D. as an agent. Daisy wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of a public ceremony but after everything she had done, she was accepting practically everything she could get. On the plus side, the ceremony was only intended for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents only. Daisy had asked Mace if Barry could come as she wanted him by her side. At first, Mace was hesitant but he was willing to invite Barry.

"Welcome back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Johnson." Mace said, holding his hand out to Daisy.

Daisy shook it immediately. "Thank you, Director."

Mace smiled as he and Daisy dropped hands. The rest of the agents and Elena were smiling proudly for their friend, even Barry could feel the corner of his lips perching into a smile, though he restrained himself and kept the same grim look he had on his face the entire time. Daisy then went on to hug each of her friends, Coulson, May, Elena, Fitz, Simmons, Mack, Hunter and Bobbi. All of them, they'd all forgiven Daisy. Barry smiled sadly at the sight, it reminded of him and Team Flash. At least, a version of him and Team Flash, one that could've been but never was. Daisy's actions were much more forgivable than Barry's and the very thought of that scared him. At that point, once Daisy was done greeting (or rather, tightly embracing/hugging) her friends, Mace had walked over to Barry as all the agents watched Mace (and more importantly, his reaction) like hawks.

Mace held out his hand to Barry. "Thank you for everything that you have done for Agent Johnson here, Mr. Allen."

Barry locked hands with Mace. "I was just doing what I could."

"From what I hear, Agent Johnson is rather fond of you."

Everyone then turned their attention and their eyes to Barry, awaiting his answer.

Barry remained stoic. "We're friends."

"Well, if you'd like, you could join the ceremony later today. Agent Johnson seems to want you there."

"I'll be there."

"In that case, I suppose we'll do that. Then, we'll have a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent drop you off. We won't be needing you for anything more."

"He could be a little useful." Daisy intervened.

"Useful how?" Mack said.

"I take it you're all looking for The Flash." Barry said as everyone, especially Mace, turned their attention back to Barry.

"We are, why?" May asked.

"I know a thing or two about him." Barry said.

"You know who he is." Mace (incorrectly) deduced.

"And where he is." Barry pointed out, waiting to build up to the climax.

"Who is he?" Bobbi asked.

"Who is The Flash?" Mace repeated.

"You're looking at him." Barry said as he waited for the explosion.

Everyone in the room, except for Daisy, stared at Barry in shock, stunned by what they had just learned. Even Yo-yo was shocked, Daisy hadn't told her who The Flash was or even that Daisy met The Flash. For a while, Yo-yo had believed that she was the fastest person in the entire world and she was, until The Flash showed, having been much faster than Yo-yo could've ever been. The entire room was silent, everyone was staring at Barry, no one breaking the deafening silence. Until Mack spoke.

"So let me get this straight," Mack said. "You want us to believe that you, a random friend that Tremors met, are secretly a vigilante who goes around the world at super speed, during the night and beats criminals to a pulp with your bare hands."

"That would be putting it very, very briefly and simply but yeah." Barry said. "And why do you call Daisy 'Tremors'? What kind of nickname is that?"

"How do we know you're really him?" Fitz asked, ignoring Barry's question.

"You want proof," Barry realized. The agents nodded. "Fine then."

Barry ran out of the office in a flash of orange lightning. In mere seconds, he returned to the room, orange lightning trailing his back. Suddenly, everyone in the room had vanilla ice cream in a classic waffle cone in their hands, even Coulson and May had one.

"Oh I'm starving." Hunter groaned as he began eating the ice cream, bit by bit.

"Brilliant!" Simmons exclaimed as she and Fitz stared at both Barry and the ice cream in shock.

"Hmm, vanilla ice cream," Daisy said. "Would've gone cookie dough."

"It was easier if I got one that you could all have." Barry pointed out.

"Well, I'm sold," Mace said, sounding very intrigued. "How'd you know vanilla was my favorite?"

"I didn't." Barry said. "Vanilla's a universal ice cream flavor, pretty much liked by everybody."

"What about the people who don't like vanilla?" Bobbi asked.

"Well they're just retarded," Barry said, stunning everyone in the room. "Vanilla is easily in my Top 3."

Some of the agents couldn't help but chuckle at what Barry had said.

"Well, Mr. Allen, thanks for proving your identity and sugarcoating it…" Mace said, eyeing his ice cream. "...literally. Pun intended."

"Look, you need my help," Barry said. "I don't want to do this any more than most of you do but we have no choice. The Watchdogs are working with an enemy of mine, the same enemy who sent Alchemy after Daisy two weeks ago."

"Who is this enemy?" May asked.

"His name is Savitar," Barry explained as everyone in the room listened in to the conversation. "He claims to be the God of Speed and he can only be seen by speedsters, specifically speedsters who get their powers from the Speed Force."

"What's the Speed Force?" Fitz asked curiously.

"The Speed Force is the source of power for the speedsters that use it," Barry explained. "It's an extra-dimension made of pure energy and it encompasses the Multiverse. A speedster friend even once described it as eternity itself."

"Oh my god." Simmons said, her jaw was dropped as was Fitz'.

"So if we encountered this 'Savitar' guy," Daisy said. "You would be able to see him since you're powered by the speed force but the rest of us wouldn't be able to, not even Yo-yo. Since she isn't a Speed Force speedster."

"Exactly. Now, as I was saying," Barry got back on track. "Only speedsters that are powered by the Speed Force can see him. To everyone else, he's invisible. Why is that? I don't know. I've been trying to figure it out for months before I even came to this earth."

"This earth?" May asked, wondering what Barry meant.

"Oh yeah," Daisy said. "I forgot to mention, he's from an alternate universe."

Fitz and Simmons gasped as they turned their eyes to Barry and started talking over one another.

"You're from an alternate universe?"

"How many earths are there-"

"Is there an infinite number of universes in the Multiverse-"

"How did you come here-"

"Enough!" Barry raised his voice, silencing the pair of scientists at once. "Can I tell you everything about this later when we aren't at war with an evil speed god?"

Fitz and Simmons slightly nodded as Barry sighed in relief. Mace then stood between Barry and the agents as he faced them, completely blocking their view of Barry.

"Well, seeing we and Mr. Allen all have a common enemy," Mace said. "I'd say it's time for a good old-fashioned team up. We have to trust each other. A team that trusts-"

"Is a team that triumphs, we know." the agents said simultaneously as Mace raised an eyebrow.

"I guess you all know that by now," Mace said. "but I am right, aren't I, Mr. Allen?"

Mace then turned around to face Barry but when he looked out to the door, Barry was already gone. He'd just vanished, without a trace. The only evidence of his existence were the melting ice cream cones each of the agents had. Mace sighed in disappointment as he turned back to face Daisy.

"Does he-" Mace didn't even get the chance to finish.

"Yeah, he does that a lot." Daisy said. "By a lot, I mean all the time."

"Guess we're going to have to wait until the ceremony is over to get him." Mace said disappointingly.

"You're really gonna have to explain him to us, Daisy." May said.

"It's a long story…" Daisy said.

Flashcave

In the Flashcave, underground under the mansion, Barry was packing some of his belongings and his suit. He packed all his things into a bag, Daisy had offered to let Barry stay over at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and she has promised Barry that Mace and the team would be the only ones to know Barry's identity unless Barry decided to reveal his identity to anyone else. Of course, Barry didn't plan on revealing his identity to anyone else. He had to make sure that his secret identity was actually secret, unlike the number of people who knew being in the double digits like when Barry was back on Earth 1.

Then, at the very thought of Earth 1, Barry's grim look dropped to a sort of saddened look on his face. He missed the people he loved and cared about, he missed his friends, his family: Joe, Iris, Cisco, Caitlin, Oliver, Diggle, Felicity. All his friends and family. Barry wished he never left Earth 1, he wanted to go back but he couldn't. Not only did Team Flash not need him anymore but they didn't want him around anymore. Specifically Cisco and Caitlin. Barry's heart ached at the memory of the betrayal he had faced at the hands of his two closest friends, his best friends.

Maybe if you weren't an idiot, they'd still be your friends. Barry thought to himself in self-hate. He slipped his bag over his shoulder as he took one last look at the Flashcave. He wouldn't be leaving the base forever, he would still use it as back up base in case the S.H.I.E.L.D. base was destroyed or if he ever needed anything from the Flashcave, most of Barry's equipment was here as the only thing he was really bringing was his suit and Gideon. Everything else would remain in the Flashcave, Barry still didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D. with any of his resources, let alone trust them enough to stay over at their place. However, he knew Daisy and he trusted her and Daisy trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. (at least, some of the people in it).

If Daisy trusted S.H.I.E.L.D. to the point that she did, then Barry could've gone with it. Still, he remained cautious and he decided to take it slow. Baby steps, Flash. Barry reminded himself. He held his bag as he sped out of the Flashcave in a streak of orange lightning as he ran towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.

Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D.

"So…" Mace asked as everyone in the Director's office turned to Daisy. "What's the story with Barry?"

"Well, to start we're gonna have to go back a bit…" Daisy sighed, beginning her story as Mace, Mack, Coulson, May, Bobbi, Hunter, Simmons and Fitz all tuned in. "When Barry was eleven years old, his mother was murdered." Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows. "His mother was killed by a speedster named Eobard Thawne, a psychopathic archenemy Barry has. Barry's father was arrested for the crime and he went to prison and rotted there for fifteen years."

"Oh my god." Simmons said, covering her mouth.

"Why did this Thawne guy kill his mum?" Hunter asked. "Does he have some beef with him or something?"

"Barry and Thawne? Oh, don't even get me started on those two," Daisy sighed. "Barry's like all of S.H.I.E.L.D. put into one person and Thawne would be Hydra. They're opposites, enemies, archenemies."

"Right but that doesn't answer the question," Hunter said. "Why kill mummy Allen?"

"That wasn't Thawne's original plan," Daisy said, confusing Hunter even more. "Originally, the plan was for Thawne to kill Barry, eleven year old Barry but he failed. Future Barry Allen went back in time with Thawne and he stopped and rescued his younger self. Thawne was outraged and he came up with a different plan. He thought that if Barry were to suffer a tragedy painful and horrific enough, as a child-"

"Barry would never recover…" May realized, catching onto the pattern. "He'd never become The Flash, never save all the people he saved."

"Yeah," Daisy said. "That was Thawne's plan but long story short, it didn't work. Barry became The Flash and eventually he stopped him but Thawne came back. Ever since Barry first fought him, Thawne swore to destroy Barry's life, to kill as many people as Barry saved. To be the reverse of him. Hence the name, Reverse Flash. He was the reverse of Barry in every way. All the people Barry saved, the ones he loved, all of it."

"Why?" Mack asked curiously.

"That is something you'll have to ask Barry." Daisy answered.

"Still doesn't explain why he's here." Coulson pointed out

"I'm not even finished yet," Daisy said. "A year after Barry defeated Reverse Flash, a speedster named Zoom killed his father in front of him." Again, everyone in the room raised their eyebrows in shock. "Barry was broken and he was grieving. After he defeated Zoom, he went back in time. He reset the timeline and he prevented his mother's death and his father's. He created a new timeline called Flashpoint, one where his parents never died."

"Wait, he traveled back in time?" Simmons asked.

"And created a new timeline?" Fitz added.

"Yeah." Daisy replied.

"So, he created an entirely new existence and changed his entire world?" Coulson said. "Wow, here I thought the Avengers were pretty cool, this is next level."

"Right," Daisy said, slowly dragging out the one word. "As I was saying… Eventually, after creating Flashpoint, Barry realized he made a mistake and he tried to reset the timeline. In order to do that he…."

Daisy then stopped in her tracks, realizing that she'd be hitting a very sensitive spot for Barry. Mace and the agents noticed this as they all furrowed their brows.

"He what?" Mace asked.

"He had to beg Thawne to kill his mother. Again and in front of Barry." Daisy said as everyone's eyes grew large, this was certainly shocking.

"He had to do what?" May asked, even she was shocked.

"He had to beg the man who murdered his mother to do it again." Daisy said.

"Jesus Christ, ghost stories." Mack muttered under his breath.

"The timeline was reset," Daisy continued, hoping to take this off of everyone's minds. "but things weren't the same. There were changes to the original timeline."

"What changes?" Coulson asked.

"Well, one of Barry's friend's daughter became a son," Daisy said. "One of Barry's friends, Caitlin, Barry's closest friend, gained superpowers at the cost of them coming from a psychopathic, murderous alter ego. And another one of Barry's closest friends, Cisco, lost a brother, he died in a car crash or something. It was chaos."

Everyone pondered to themselves as Daisy continued with the story.

"Cisco and Caitlin couldn't forgive Barry and for a while they both hated him for it," Daisy said. "They called him for it and at one point, Barry snapped. He couldn't take it anymore. He rebelled against them and he left his family and his friends and for four months, he trained with a group of warriors called the League of Shadows. They were based on an ancient group of warriors called the League of Assassins."

"What's with all the cool names?" Coulson asked.

"Barry trained with the League for four months," Daisy explained. "He did anything they asked him to do. To quote him 'If they asked me to burn the world down, I would've done so without a second thought.'"

"God." Mack breathed.

"Barry did whatever the League asked him for four months," Daisy said. "except kill. Barry vowed to never kill, to never take a life."

"Morally strong. Nice." Hunter said.

"Why the strong morals?" Mace asked.

"I don't know," Daisy said. "Maybe Barry wants it to be the one thing that separates him from everyone else."

"Considering the kind of enemies we go up against, he might want to make a change or two to that," Bobbi faced. "We've had to kill pretty much any enemy we've faced in order to stop them."

"Bobbi's right," May said. "Barry's moral code is not only gonna get him killed while our enemies keep killing innocents but it's gonna cost our agents out on the field. Especially if Barry won't compromise his morals."

"We'll have this discussion later and more thoroughly," Mace said. "For now, let's just get ready for the ceremony. We have not one but two agents coming on board today."

"Hold up, Barry's joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Mack asked, stepping forward.

"As a scientist, Agent Mackenzie," Mace said. "Not as The Flash. Mr. Allen seemed pretty determined about that, he wants his secret identity to remain a secret. Considering everything he's done for us and for Agent Johnson, this is the least we can give him."

Mack nodded in agreement.

"So, where's Barry?" Coulson asked.

"He should be back," Daisy said. "I'll go freshen up and then I'll check on him."

Coulson nodded as Daisy walked out the door of the office, walking down the halls of the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Eventually, Mace dismissed the agents, sending them back to their work. Coulson, however, was simply staring at the security footage of the new prisoner: Edward Clariss or as he was more commonly known, The Rival. The footage showed Clariss pacing around the interior of his cell, powerless at the hands of power-dampening devices. Outside the cell area, on the other side of the one-way mirror, the security footage showed Barry Allen standing behind the mirror, watching Clariss, a blank but dark look on his face. Coulson merely continued watching the security footage for about twenty minutes when he heard footsteps walking towards him.

Coulson turned around to see Daisy standing near him. She looked better and more freshened up. Her short, black hair was no long ruffled all over and her eyes were no longer covered in black mascara. Daisy wore a black t-shirt, black jeans and her leather black jacket. She reminded Coulson of the Daisy Johnson he knew last year, only, her hair was black instead of brown. However, Coulson knew she would never be like that again, Not after Lincoln's death, she would. Daisy was never going to be the same. She would no longer be the humorous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of a hacker that Coulson and the team once knew. She was now just Daisy Johnson, the Inhuman vigilante Quake and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Hey Coulson." Daisy said softly.

"Daisy," Coulson greeted, turning his head back to the screens showing the security footage he had been watching. "What can I help you with?"

"Could I talk to you for a moment?"

"That's what we're doing, isn't it?"

"Please Coulson, really."

Coulson sighed for a moment as he turned himself away from the screen to face Daisy.

"What is it?" Coulson asked.

"It's just..." Daisy began. "...I know that me leaving was a lot for all of you to take in. I did something wrong, I hurt my friends and the people closest to me. I did horrible things and though I was hurt and angry, I shouldn't have done the things that I did. I know that it was plain unforgivable. And I'm sorry."

"You want forgiveness," Coulson said, placing a hand on Daisy's shoulder. "You never needed it."

Then, Daisy and Coulson wrapped their hands around one another, their heads leaning on each other's shoulders as they hugged each other for a moment. Eventually, after a few moments, the two separated as they stood a few feet away from one another.

"You know you could do me a favor," Coulson said as Daisy stared at him in confusion. "You could tell Barry how you feel about him."

"Shut up," Daisy muttered under her breath, making Coulson smirk. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah?"

"Simmons should check you for a brain injury or something."

Daisy turned around, walking out of the room as she searched for a certain, 6' 3" tall male, who was somewhere around the base. From the security footage Daisy saw from her corner vision, Barry was in the interrogation room, behind the prison cell area Clariss was in. While Daisy was walking down the halls, she couldn't help but think about what Coulson had said. Should she have told Barry how she felt about him? Did she feel something for Barry? Yes. a part of her said inside herself. God yes. Daisy couldn't help but feel warm whenever she was around Barry, it was an effect that not even Lincoln, Ward or Miles ever had on her. It was something else, something different. Then, Daisy thought of when she and Barry had almost kissed back in the mansion. She couldn't help but be saddened with disappointment, part of her wished that they had just kissed, that they weren't interrupted. Then, it struck Daisy, she truly did have feelings for Barry, she truly did love him but how could she tell him? How would she tell him? Did Barry feel the same way? Daisy wondered. Of course he didn't, he loved Iris not her and he would take Iris over Daisy anytime.

Daisy couldn't help but find herself split into two between telling Barry how she felt and keeping quiet. She forcefully shook it off her mind as she came close to a door. She opened the door, walking into the interrogation room as she saw Barry inside. Barry had changed his clothes for the ceremony, he was now wearing full-on dark blue suit. Black jeans, dark blue shirt and a dark blue blazer. Daisy hadn't seen Barry in such style, though she did, in some way, like it.

"Hey, Barry." Daisy said, catching Barry's attention.

"Hey Daisy." Barry replied, greeting his friend.

"What're you doing here?"

"Just thought of coming here, keeping an eye on Clariss."

"'kay."

"He reminds me of Thawne."

"Yeah, you mentioned both he and Thawne have red lightning."

Barry sighed. "Not just like that, they both want to be faster than me. To destroy me and the people I love and care about. The only difference between them is that Thawne takes it to a whole other level."

"He really did a number on you, huh?" Daisy asked as Barry nodded in response. "Is he really so obsessed with destroying your life?"

"Yeah, he is." Barry said.

"You mind if I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what?"

"After everything Thawne's done to you..." Daisy began. "...all the people he's killed and murdered, why haven't you killed him?"

Barry then turned around to face Daisy, casting a somewhat stunned look at her.

"I know, I know," Daisy said quickly. "You don't want to kill Thawne because-"

"I do." Barry replied, cutting Daisy off as he turned back to face the one-way mirror, watching Clariss.

Daisy stared at Barry in confusion. "What?"

"I do want to kill him," Barry said darkly as Daisy tuned into his words. "All I've ever wanted to do is kill him, my entire life. For everything he's done, murdering my mom, hurting the people he's hurt, killing all the people he's killed, I've wanted to kill him. Rip his heart out, tear him to pieces, break his neck, anything. I've wanted him dead, I've wanted him dead more than anything I've ever wanted in my entire life, ever since my mother was murdered..."

As Barry was speaking, Daisy couldn't help but notice the darker side of Barry she was seeing right now. This was a Barry Allen full of darkness, rage, pain and suffering. One who had been forced to be held back, to be buried within for years but now, he was finally set free. Daisy continued listening to Barry's conversation.

"...so yes," Barry continued. "I do want to kill him, I've always wanted to but I haven't. There's a reason for that. When I was eleven, Thawne murdered my mom. Everyday, since then, I've had to live with consequences and the pain of that decision, Thawne's decision, to take my mother's life, to kill her, to murder her. If I do the same thing, if I kill, if I cross that line, if I go down that path, I'd become Thawne. I would destroy everything I ever stood for and I don't want to do that. I don't want to become the very thing that took my mother from me."

"You don't want to be a killer," Daisy realized. "Or a murderer."

"Yeah," Barry said. "And yet at the same time, I've wanted to kill Thawne more than anything. To just break my code and end him...but if I do that, if I let myself go to that dark place, that dark abyss, not only does Thawne win but I would never come back."

"What do you mean you'd never come back?" Daisy asked, and that's when the realization hit her. "You mean...you'd never stop...killing?"

"No, I wouldn't," Barry admitted. "I don't have the strength or the ability to control myself if I kill. If I killed Thawne, it wouldn't just be him. I would kill over and over again, ruthlessly. I don't trust myself to have control like that. My way of controlling myself is not killing in the first place."

"Sometimes you just have to believe in yourself to have control," Daisy said as Barry turned and faced her. "Trust always comes later. It's a leap of faith and then a bit of belief."

"Guess so..." Barry said. "...you know it's funny, this reminds of a saying an old friend of mine back on my earth had...'If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world remains the same.'"

"Wise."

"Yeah, he always has been. I always asked him, 'Well, what happens if you kill two killers? Or more?' Then, he replied, 'Then that makes you not only a murderer but you've just made yourself as worse as the two killers, only it's all put into one person.' Until now, I never really understood but now, I do."

"Some friend, huh?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Barry," Daisy said as Barry turned to face. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What?" Barry asked, intrigued by what Daisy was about to say.

"Barry..." Daisy began. "I-"

Daisy never got to finish as she was interrupted by the sound of the interrogation door opening. Daisy and Barry looked over to see Jemma Simmons at the doorway.

"The ceremony's about to start," Simmons said. "You better get ready."

"We're on our way." Barry said as he turned to Daisy. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing," Daisy said quickly, shaking her head. "It can wait."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright, let's go."

Barry and Daisy followed Simmons out of the door, leaving the interrogation room as they headed for the ceremony room.

Later

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Jeffrey Mace stood in the middle of the ceremony room as multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were spread out across the rest of the room, including Mack, Coulson, May and everybody else. The 'ceremony room' was really just the main science lab room cleared out and somewhat emptied. Then, the ceremony began as Mace made his speech.

"Good evening to you all," Mace greeted. "I've called you all here today because today, not one but two new agents are joining us. I'm proud to present, Agent Daisy Johnson, otherwise known as Agent Quake."

Then, Daisy stepped forward as everyone in the room began applauding, the sounds of their applause echoing throughout the entire base. Daisy and Mace shook hands firmly.

"Welcome back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Quake." Mace said.

"Happy to be back, sir." Daisy replied.

Then, the two separated as Daisy walked back into the crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. She hid in the corner of the crowd as Mace continued his speech.

"Last but definitely not least," Mace continued. "I'm happy to present, the newest member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the newest addition to S.H.I.E.L.D. Science and Technology Division. I present to you...Agent Barry Allen."

Then, Barry came out of literally nowhere as he stood beside Mace. The crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. began applauding louder than before, Daisy and the team couldn't help but notice some of the female agents smiling at Barry and commenting about him.

"What, do they think he's handsome or something?" Hunter said, eyeing the female agents.

"He is good looking." Bobbi said as Hunter glared at her. "It's the suit, not him."

"He does look nice." Daisy said.

"Someone's got a love interest." Mack teased.

Daisy elbowed Mack in the arm. "Shut up."

Barry and Mace shook hands with one another.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Allen." Mace greeted.

Barry nodded. "Sir,"

Barry then stepped back as he and Mace waited for the applause to end, Barry knew that this was a big step. He was no longer Barry Allen, the nameless, lonely man who was secretly The Flash. Nor was he Barry Allen, CSI, forensic scientist or cop. He was now Barry Allen, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. That was who he was. At least as Barry Allen, as The Flash, it was much more complex. Then, Barry felt a hand pat his shoulder as he turned around to see Daisy and the rest of the team close to him, the hand on his shoulder was Daisy's.

"Congrats." Daisy said.

"You too." Barry replied.

Coulson walked forward and held out his hand to Barry. "Agent Allen."

"Agent Coulson." Barry greeted back as he shook hands with the ex-director.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., kid." May said.

"Thank you," Barry said. "All of you. This...this is a lot."

"No, thank you," Simmons said. "If it weren't for you, Daisy would've been kidnapped by Alchemy those two weeks ago."

"Well, I guess we're even." Barry said.

"I guess." Mack said.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Barry noticed a red sort of cape on the ground by the doorway. From the shadow on the ground, he could see that the cape was attached to something. Or rather someone. The cape then moved as it disappeared behind the door, indicating that the person at the doorway had been moving.

"Excuse me for a sec." Barry said.

"Yeah, sure." Bobbi said as Barry went out the door.

"What's that all about?" Hunter asked.

"He's probably nervous," Fitz suggested. "I mean, Daisy, didn't you say he doesn't like large crowds?"

"I mean, he prefers to be alone," Daisy said. "but he isn't scared of large crowds."

"He probably just needs to check something." Simmons said.

In the hallways, Barry exited the doorway of the ceremony room. He then stopped in his tracks at the sight of the man in front of him, the man was dressed in blue, full-on, ninja-like clothes. A red cape that hung from his shoulders and a sort of necklace that was wrapped around his neck. Barry knew exactly who this man was, he'd met him before, he met him back on Earth 1, when he was training with the League of Shadows.

"Strange." Barry greeted.

"Barry," Doctor Stephen Strange greeted back. "Good to meet you again. Specifically on my earth."

"Yeah, that makes sense. So, why're you here?"

"Right, we need to talk, in private, if you don't mind."

"Alright, do your thing, let's go."

Strange nodded as he turned around and with his sling ring, he began his usual arm movements, a sort of portal then opened, the edges of the circle-like portal were sparks, the kind that would be seen in fireworks. Strange and Barry both walked through the portal before it closed behind them, shrinking into a small sparks that eventually dissipated into nothing.

New York City

NYC Sanctum

In Strange's sanctum, Barry and Strange stood in the middle of the large, mansion-like area. They were greeted by the grand, large staircase.

"So..." Barry said, taking of his blazer as he set it on a nearby chair before folding up his sleeves. "...what exactly did you want to talk about?"

Strange then turned to face Barry. "You remember when I first met you, I told you that there would be a time where the Multiverse would need you?"

"Yeah, I do." Barry replied, criss crossing his arms. "Why? What about it?"

"Well," Strange said. "That time is coming sooner than I thought, not right now. But soon."

"And I'm still not ready."

"There's still more for you to learn, more you need to master. Don't worry, Barry. My job is to make sure that you are ready."

"Okay."

"But right now, I need you to focus on stopping Savitar. And I can't help you."

"Why?"

"If I do, we could end up moving this threat to the Multiverse much sooner than we'd think. See, Barry, affecting the timeline goes both ways. Change the past, timeline changes and there's consequences. Change the present or the future, there's still consequences. So, if we want to change the future, in our favor,"

"We have to be careful and smart about the events that we alter."

"Exactly. Your war with Savitar, Alchemy and the Cult is one that you and your friends S.H.I.E.L.D. have to fight. It's your battle. Right now, that's your biggest priority. Alongside, going with the events of the rest of the timeline."

"What do you mean?" Barry asked.

"Barry," Strange began. "When you came here in July, you completely changed the course of events for this entire year alone. Your arrival has prevented many things while bringing in many more."

"Savitar being one of them."

"Exactly. Again, right now, Savitar is your big problem. After that, until this Multiverse level threat arrives, you have to train and you have to let the other heroes around you do their work. Don't interfere with their destinies."

"I have to be a side gig." Barry said.

"It's not like that," Strange said. "It's like I told you. You're the hero the Multiverse deserves..."

"But not the one it needs right now." Barry finished.

Strange nodded.

"Alright," Barry said. "Good talk."

"Always a pleasure to meet a friend." Strange said as he and Barry shook hands.

"By the way," Barry asked. "This Multiverse threat. You mentioned it was a powerful being, you never told me his name."

"I didn't." Strange realized.

"What is his name?"

Strange uttered one word, one that Barry didn't find pleasing. "Galactus."

A/N: Dun! Dun! Dun! That's it for this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think. See you in the next one!