Disclaimer: Based on characters and references created by DC Universe and the CW, which I do not own. Enjoy!


Iris stares at her wedding ring, seeing the faint reflection of herself. She can almost make out the weariness on her face, the furrowed brows that are part of her disappointed stare. Disappointment in herself.

She hears footsteps behind her, but she does not turn around.

"We checked for any sign of Nora," Cisco's voice echos in the small lab. "She's no longer in Central City."

"Fine," Iris says in a flat tone.

After a while, she can hear Cisco walking around to her side. She can partially see him from the corner of her eye. "Are you alright?"

"Sure."

"Is this about Barry, Oliver, and William escaping? We're going to find—"

"What if we shouldn't?" Iris asks, looking up to meet Cisco's gaze. "What if that's the right decision? You know how well it went for Oliver last year when he spied on his team. When he didn't trust them."

"We made the decision together."

"And we're still uncertain about what's going on!" Iris shoots up from her seat. "I mean, we weren't even sure if what we did was right! Now they're who knows where because we can't trace a extrapolator that's not our own. And Nora…" Iris bows her head, places a hand on the table next to her, and sighs. "Nora has defied me before because she was angry. But now she and I have been getting along, understanding each other better. I refuse to believe that she would just take the extrapolator and run without good reason."

Cisco raises an eyebrow. "You think that Nora believes what the three of them said to us?"

Iris looks up to him again and shakes her head. "I think she knows that it's the truth. She acted impulsively before, but she loves her father as much as she loves me, if not more. I think she wouldn't help them if she couldn't see any truth in her father's words."

Cisco shrugs his shoulders. "Well, even so, where would she—"

"Um, guys," Ralph calls from the doorway, his tone a bit shaky. "Nora's back…with company."

Ralph moves away, revealing Nora standing next to Felicity, who shoots a glare as soon as she sees them. Along with them are John Diggle and Mia Queen, Oliver and Felicity's daughter from the future, who also shoot glares at them.

Iris' eyes grow wide at this unpleasant surprise, her lips parted.

Cisco echoes her sentiment with a silent, "oh…crap."


"You locked them up in the pipeline!" Felicity shouts at Iris.

"We had to get control over the situation." Iris tries to assure.

"By locking them in the pipeline?!"

"Look!" Cisco chimes in. "I admit that we messed up and we regret what we did. But we couldn't risk the chance of something else happening."

"And you didn't think of checking the red-light clouds shooting yellow lightning from the sky?! It is literally right above you and you…"

Mia sees Nora, Barry and Iris' daughter, watch the conversation going on right in front her. Her teeth softly bite her lip, keeping a fist close to her face to cover it. Feeling like she should say something, Mia walks over to the cortex computer, where Nora is standing, and says, "If you're worried that this bickering is your fault, it's not."

Nora turns and nods. "I know. I just hate to see them fight like this, especially when there's a mystery to be solved."

Mia shrugs her shoulders. "Fair point. But your mom kind of deserve this, given she and the rest of your team locked both our fathers and my half-brother without reasonable cause. Right?"

When Mia turns back to Nora, her eyes are wide and her mouth is partially open, her finger and thumb lightly touching her chin. Her gaze is not focused at the group, as far as Mia can tell anyways.

Mia places a hand on her shoulder. "Nora?"

Nora turns to her, quickly asking, "Did they say red clouds and YELLOW lightning?"

"Uh, yeah," Mia confirms. "Why—"

Before she could ask, Nora speeds her way out of the room. The unexpected speed blows at Mia's hair and forces her to take a couple steps back. As the winds settle, she can no longer hear anyone arguing. She sees everyone looking at her direction with confused looks.

"Where did Nora go?" Iris asks.

A possible answer comes when an alarm starts to ring in the room. Not a very loud one, but it makes all of Team Arrow flinch.

"That's the alarm for the teleport room!" Cisco yells. "I think Nora is activating the machine!"

All of Team Flash runs out of the cortex, with Team Arrow following behind.


If I'm right, this should also be the frequency that—

"Nora!" Iris yells as Nora works on the teleport control panel. "What are you doing?!"

"Possibly getting us answers!" Nora answers as she finishes placing the frequency that matches the amount of red light in the sky. "Red sky with yellow lightning. Who else do we know that wears those same colors?"

"Flash," Caitlin answers. Nora looks up and sees everyone there and Caitlin looking at her with narrow eyes. "You think your father has something to do with this after all?"

"No," Nora responds while checking the calibrations. "I think A Flash has been trying to breach into our world for some time, but something is preventing him. If the red light is the frequency at which he is traveling, then I think I can bring him here."

"No, Nora!" Iris insists, putting a hand on Nora's arm. "Even if it is 'A Flash,' we don't know if he's friendly or not."

"If I'm wrong about the red light, nothing happens," Nora rebukes. "If you're right, then we'll be prepared. I know the risks, but this is possibly our only chance of finding out what's going on."

Iris looks at the machine for a moment, her face scrunching slightly. She then looks back at Nora. "Are you sure about this?"

"About 70%. But it's better than nothing."

After another brief pause, Iris lets go, letting Nora finish her work.

"Everyone, get ready!" John yells, pulling out his gun. This prompts Mia to get her bow and arrow out, Caitlin to become Killer Frost, and everyone else to get into ready stances. Iris and Felicity, meanwhile, retreat to the back for safety.

Nora presses the button to call a breach in. After a moment of nothing happening, a yellow bolt of lightning flashes on the teleport's platform, followed by a breach. Running out of it is, as Nora predicted, another Flash.

But when he stops and slowly lifts his head up, she does not see the face of Barry Allen. It was someone whose presence felt haunting to Nora. Her eyes, as well as everyone else's, grow wide. Her jaw is the only one that drops, while everyone looks at him as if it wasn't that much of a surprise.

It…can't be!


As William moves closer to the barn, he can hear Connor grunting over and over. The sound of rapid movement can also be heard. When he finally peers around the large entrance, he can see Connor, his hands wrapped in cloth, punching a small bag hanging from the floor above him. Seeing some hay missing from the floor, William can guess what the bag is full of.

"How often am I going to use hay filled bags to vent out my frustrations?" William asks.

Connor delivers one last punch that sends the bag flying back and forth on the rope. He catches his breath before saying, "When you're older…too often."

He grabs a clean dish towel and uses it to dry his face and hair. He picks up his jacket from the floor. "I know what you're going to say Will—"

"Let me say it anyway," Will pleads.

Connor, after a moment, nods.

William then says, "I have been angry at Dad before. For making myself believe that Mom's death was his fault when I always knew it wasn't. For not telling me he became the Green Arrow again. But I have always understood how…temperamental he could be. I knew that he wasn't the most patient of people and that he could make mistakes. I thought I would be used to that at your age, become patient with him. But the way you glared at him…"

Connor sits against the wall to their left, next to the table. He breathes a weary sigh before answering, "You're right. I am used to Dad's behavior. It's a lot like Bruce's. But…when I met Nora, when I discovered that she inherited Barry's Super Speed, she already had some training. Don't know from who, but…I wanted to help her the same way Dad helped Barry. Teaching her how to case an environment, being cautious and learning what you can before going into a dangerous situation."

"And it didn't end well?" William asks, judging from the increasingly upset tone of Connor's voice.

He nods. "She never approved of my training style. Bruce's training style. So, she left. I only ever encountered her again when I found out she was in 2018 Central City."

"That's how you managed to get Devoe's chair?"

"Yeah." Connor looks over at William with a focused stare. "The point is that Dad tried to push Barry when he shouldn't have. That's not how Barry operates. He's works better with positive reinforcement, like…" Connor's eyes grow wide and his jaw slightly drops. He looks away from William and to the floor. "Like Dad," he says, his eyebrows furrowing.

William becomes confused. Dad showing positivity?

"Hey Will," Kara's voice calls out from behind him. He looks back and sees her walking from the corner of the entrance. "Did you find—"

She stops dead when she sees Connor in his drenched T-shirt. In fact, she looks like she is almost gawking at his arms that are not as muscular as their dads are, but still strong looking. William can't help but give an amused smirk. Connor, however, maintains his focused stare.

Kara eventually shakes her head, quickly saying, "I'm sorry, I just didn't think you were—"

"What do you need Kara?" Connor asks quickly.

"She was bringing me here," A familiar voice calls from the barn entrance. Out of the corner comes the familiar, smartly dressed, and handsome yet rugged face of his guardian, Bruce Wayne.

Connor quickly stands up. "Bruce. What are you doing here?"

"Clark called me," Bruce answers. "He told me about your situation. And that you brought a couple people with you, one of which is your father."

Connor raises his hands up defensively. "I never told them anything about you, if that's why you came here."

"I never had any doubts about that." Bruce reaches into his pocket and takes out what looks like a few arrowheads with strings of yellow lights running from the tip to the bottom. A few of them diverge from the center line. "I just thought I should give you these as a precaution."

William recognizes what those are immediately. "Those are—"

"Power dampening arrowheads," Connor finishes. "But we wouldn't get those right for another few years."

"Well, after the explanation about the triple cube from younger you, I realized the type of algorithm needed to adapt to alien, meta, and magic sources."

William can see Connor smirk at him. "The triple cube, huh?"

"It just kind of inspired me," William says.

Bruce walks over and gives the three arrowheads to Connor. "These only shut down powers for a limited time and these are the only ones I could make in such a short notice. Use them wisely."

"Thanks," Connor says before taking them and putting them in his pocket. "I will."

"Good. I would help further, but there's trouble brewing in Gotham that requires my attention."

Connor nods. "Understood."

Before he can leave, Bruce places a hand on his shoulder. "But if you find that you need help, never hesitate to call."

Connor nods. "Will do, Bruce. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The three of them watch Connor run out of the barn in the direction of the house.

"Where is he going?" Kara asks.

William smirks. "I think he may have found an answer."


After a while of searching, Oliver finds Barry sitting on one of the handrails on the porch, his back supported by the beam behind him. Oliver walks up until he is at the fence.

"Hey," He says as casually as he can.

"Hey," Barry responds in a somber tone and he doesn't look towards him. Obviously, he is not over the argument they had. "If you're looking for Older Will, he's in the barn."

Oliver nods his head with closed eyes. He knows he needs to talk with Older William as well, which will be just as hard. "I know." He looks back up before continuing, "But I came here because… I owe you an apology."

Barry looks at Oliver with a surprised stare.

"I tried to push you and I shouldn't have. I was acting out of line. I'm sorry"

Barry doesn't say anything for a moment, just looking blankly at the handrail. "No," He says as he jumps down from the handrail and walks to Oliver. "I should apologize. You were right. You shot me before to help me and…I did it as a pitiful act of revenge. I should've taken things more seriously."

"Yes, you should've!"

Out of nowhere, they hear Older William's voice in the direction of the barn. They see him jogging from there, his jacket covering a drenched T-shirt.

But that didn't matter to Oliver. When Older William stops just close to him, he tries to say, "William. Look, about what happened at—"

Older William waves a dismissive hand. "Yeah, yeah. All is forgiven. But listen!" He starts beaming a wide smile. "I figured out why you guys are having trouble using each other's powers."

Both he and Oliver raise their eyebrows in response.

"We keep establishing that you guys switched realities, not powers. But we never asked to what extent. If you guys are each other, that means you also have not just each other's traits, but the mindset to use said traits." He points to Oliver. "Dad, when you fight, you channel your anger and darkness and turn it into a weapon. It gives you focus when you're using a bow and when fighting one on one."

Oliver nods his head in agreement. "You're right."

Older William then points to Barry. "And Barry. You're the opposite of that. You're compassionate, outgoing. You work better when in a positive mood."

Barry smirks and points out, "Like Oliver when he was laughing at my dislocated thumbs!"

"Exactly!" Older William confirms. "When you guys first developed your powers, you also created a mindset to base those powers on. These include emotion."

"Like when you told me to get out of a speedster's mindset?"

"Just like that. You guys need to be the opposite of what you usually—"

Suddenly, a familiar whooshing sound is heard not far from their position. Behind Older William is a breach, most likely from Earth 1. To them, knowing who has the transponder, it can mean only one thing.

However, instead of Nora, it is Cisco, waving to them and saying "Guys!"

Older William and Oliver turn to Barry quickly, but he is one step ahead of them. He vaults over the fence and aims a concussion arrow right at Cisco.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hey!" Cisco yells as he puts his hands up. "Put the bow down!"

"How do we know you're not going to take us back in your meta prison?!" Older William yells.

Suddenly Nora shows up next, pushing up in front of Cisco. "Guys, wait! He believes you! They all believe you now!"

The three of them let out a sigh of relief. Barry lowers his bow and relaxes his arm.

"I told you to let me go first!" Nora whispers angrily at Cisco.

"Okay, okay," Cisco replies defensively. "Sorry. Lesson learned."

"So, you did it Nora?" William asks, just to be sure. "You convinced all of Team Flash?"

Nora shakes her head. "I didn't." Just then, one more person steps out of the breach. Someone Oliver and the others can barely see. "He did."

The man walks next to Nora, revealing himself to be an elderly gentleman in a suit similar to the Flash's. However, this suit is a darker shade of red and is made of a different fabric, something akin to Barry's first suit, instead of teflon.

"Hello gentlemen," The old man greeted, his voice sincere.

"Wait a minute," Barry says, walking up to the man with narrow eyes. "Jay Garrick?"

"No," the man responds, shaking his head.

The response makes Barry's eyes widen. "Oh my God. Dad?"

The man shakes his head again. "My name is Barry Allen."

Barry takes a couple of steps back, looking at the man claiming to be Barry Allen. Oliver realizes that it must be like the universe pulling some cruel joke. If he ever saw himself looking just like his own father, the image would haunt him too.

But it is something Oliver knows that they cannot dwell on. He asks, "You're from another Earth?"

Older Barry nods. "I am. From Earth 90, to be exact. Like you, my world was victim to the reality changes you are experiencing. And I know the person responsible."

Oliver takes a couple of steps forward and asks, "You know who's doing this?"

"I do. His name is Mar Novu. He calls himself the Monitor now. He has been unleashing the Book of Destiny upon the Multiverse. Your universe is the only one he hasn't touched."

"Why would 'Mar Novu' do this?" Barry asks.

Older Barry places his hands on his hips. "That's still a mystery to me. He somehow believes that events are conspiring for somebody important to arrive. Someone called the Chosen."

Barry and Oliver look at Older Barry with curious looks. Older William, however, just looks down at the ground, as if pondering something.

"Who is the Chosen?" Oliver asks.

Older Barry shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm not going to let whoever Novu gave the Book to this time wreak anymore havoc."

Older William raises his head. that last line probably got his attention. "How do you know Novu did that?"

"Because that's what he did on my Earth. On every Earth. He never usually uses the book himself. He lets somebody else use it. Usually a psychopath that is left brain dead from being too weak minded. Earth 90 is barely recovering."

Older William nods his head after another brief pause of thinking. "Then we haven't got time to waste. We need to go back to Earth 1 and—"

"Guys!" Clark yells from the house, the door swinging open. "Get Kara! She needs to see this!"