Chapter 102: The Missing Link

"Do you sleep?" Cisco demanded as he stepped into Barry's personal lab to see the man once again at work.

"I do," Barry admitted, not even bothering to look at Cisco as he worked on the latest iteration of the miniature Doppelsensor. "I just don't need as much as you. I've functioned on four hours of sleep with little to no complications."

"But why would you?" Cisco complained.

Barry gave him a flat look. "What do you want, Cisco?"

Cisco grimaced. "You know how you're technically my boss, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Do you think you could give me some kind of assignment today?"

Barry stared at him. "What are you trying to get out of?"

Cisco slumped his shoulders. "My parents have decided we're in need of another family dinner. Since, you know, the last one was several months ago."

"And…?"

"I don't want to go, Barry!" Cisco wailed, burying his head in his hands. "The last thing I want to spend my night doing is watching my parents fawn over my brother."

Barry sighed. "Cisco…"

"Please?"

The speedster stared at his friend for a long moment, before taking a deep breath. "No."

Cisco reeled back, shocked. "What?"

"Cisco, do you love your parents? Your brother?"

"Wha—Of course I do!"

"Well, so did I," Barry said, a little coldly. "My mother is dead. My father is out in the woods, trying to recover from years of wrongful imprisonment. Do you have any idea what I'd give to have a dinner with all of us together again? The same kind of dinner you're trying to use me to help you blow off?"

Suddenly, Cisco looked ashamed. "A lot?" he answered weakly.

"A lot." Barry swallowed slightly as the bittersweet memories passed through his mind. "Cisco, I know your parents aren't perfect — no parent is. But you love them, and they love you, even if they don't show it often enough. They're much older than you, and they're not going to be around forever. Don't you think you should spend as much time with them as you can?"

Cisco began tapping his foot and licked his lips. "I just wish they were better. That they would treat me like they do Dante," the engineer confessed.

Barry placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Go to the dinner. If you don't find some way to enjoy yourself with them, then that's on me. But… I think you'll find that they care more than you think they do."

"I hope you're right."

Barry smiled at him, then perked up slightly. "Here, take this." He handed the miniaturized Doppelsensor over to Cisco, who blinked.

"Why?" his friend asked.

The speedster shrugged. "I need a second pair of eyes to figure out if there's any kinks and Hartley's out right now. Plus… a feeling."

"A feeling?" Cisco looked unimpressed.

Barry shrugged. "A feeling. Something doesn't feel right Cisco, and for whatever reason, I think it has to do with you. I've learned to trust my instincts over the years, so if they're telling me to give you that, I'm going to give you that."

Cisco frowned and glanced down at the device in his hands.

Eh, whatever. It's not like I'm going to need it.

Iris frowned heavily as she watched her boyfriend assemble the anti-metahuman task force, issuing orders all pertaining to the detainment of the Flash. She had been tempted to intervene, to talk some sense into Eddie, but Barry's words echoed through her mind. Do not draw attention to yourself, Iris, her best friend had said. Zoom might have a spy in the precinct. And even if that weren't the case, if you advocate too much for me, the wrong people might take notice and try to figure out your connection to me. Just stay low for now. Express disappointment, but do not clarify what, exactly, you're disappointed in.

They were all valid concerns, and Barry had given valid advice, which was why Iris wasn't speaking up now. But… it still hurt, to hear all those people who had once praised Barry condemning him for crime a he didn't even do. It reminded her of when she had shunned her best friend for keeping so many secrets from her. It had hurt to do that, but at the time she thought she was right, and had been proven brutally wrong over the course of the last month.

She wanted to be there for Barry. She honestly did. Barry had always been there for her, after all, even when he had never really been there at all. It was his memory that had propelled her to ignore her father and chase after her dream of being a police officer. That had opened her mind to the wider world, had allowed her to connect with Henry, who had filled the hole that she had selfishly pushed Joe out of. And while she would always regret how unfairly she had treated her father all those years, she could never regret building that relationship. Henry was as dear to her as Joe was.

Barry was her best friend. Would always be her best friend. And to see his alter-ego maligned like that, for a man who was a far worse monster than he could ever hope to be… it sickened her.

"Iris," Iris peered up at her boyfriend as he approached her with a solemn face. "I know this is hard for you. I know you believed in him a lot."

"Yeah, I did." I still do.

Eddie put a tentative hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

A brief fury flared in Iris, but she beat it down. It wasn't Eddie's fault, after all, that he was thinking these things. There was enough reasonable suspicion to at least bring the Flash in while they investigated Hunter Zolomon's death. No, the person to blame was Zoom, for framing Barry and playing this sick game with all of them.

"No, Eddie," Iris said shortly. "I'm fine. Now if you need me, I'm going to Jitters. I need a break." Hopefully, a cup of her favorite coffee would calm her down and remind her of what was at stake.

Cisco grumbled as he parked his car into the driveway. He wasn't worried about getting called out on it — his parents had only one car and Dante certainly didn't have his own. His current job didn't pay enough for him to support one, even with their parents' help. While I not only still have a high-paying salary, but also a fleet of company cars at my disposal. Cisco couldn't help but think resentfully. Infinitely more successful and yet forever in his brother's shadow. Such was the life of Cisco Ramon.

Storing the car keys into his pocket, Cisco rang the doorbell. He could use the house key, of course, but then he'd be scolded for not allowing his family to properly greet him. He tapped his foot for a minute or two and the door finally opened, and there was the person he was the least looking forward to seeing.

"Dante," Cisco painted on a polite smile as he greeted his brother.

Dante had his own polite smile. "Hey, man. Come on in. Mama and Papa are almost finished setting the table."

Cisco tried not to strain his smile too much as he walked inside and towards the dining room, where Rosita and Armando Ramon were indeed setting the table. There were the customary greetings and the final touches on the food, and then they were seated down for the meal. He tried to keep reminding himself of Barry's words as the conversation spiraled into familiar territory, of his parents praising Dante for whatever minor feat he managed while only making courtesy acknowledgments of Cisco's accomplishments. There were compliments, of course, but Dante would always be the favorite.

Except, it seemed, Dante was not reveling in it. He seemed to cringe at every oblivious, admirable comment their parents paid towards him. It was strange. Cisco knew his brother — he reveled in the praise, let it wash over him like rain. Perhaps because it was all he had, considering where his life had gone after those golden years of a mildly talented adolescent concert pianist came to an end.

Cisco paused. That was mean. And analytical. … I've been spending too much time with Barry.

Eventually, the meal came to an end. Cisco packed up the requisite leftovers and made to leave, taking out his car keys with one hand while lugging a reusable storage box filled with food in the other. Alas, that had caused the miniature Doppelsensor to fall out of his pocket. Cisco was about to set down the box to pick it up, only for Dante to do it first.

"What's this?" Dante asked, observing the device.

Cisco sighed. "It's nothing, man. Just something my friend gave me—"

Dante ran his finger over the button, and winced as a vibrational frequency echoed throughout the room, catching their parents' attention. The blue light on the Doppelsensor turned red. Cisco froze.

Something doesn't feel right Cisco, Barry had told him, and for whatever reason, I think it has to do with you.

"… something my friend gave me… because he had a feeling," Cisco slowly continued as the room fell silent and the air grew tense. It seemed the entire Ramon family was sensing the changed atmosphere, judging by the sound of the lack of movement from behind him, where his parents were.

"A feeling about what?" Dante asked, eyes narrowing.

Cisco frowned, and subtly glared back. "A feeling that I might need it. And I guess he was right."

"Oh?" Dante smirked.

Then his eyes glowed red.

It was only thanks to Barry's training that Cisco had the wherewithal to drop to the floor and dodge the blast of red energy that fake-Dante threw at him. From behind him he could hear his parents scream and despite the threat in front of him Cisco could not help but glance back, sighing in relief when he saw that they had also managed to dodge the blast and were just cowering in the corner. He dodged a kick and another blast from fake-Dante and flipped himself back up, once again thankful for Barry's horrible training from the deepest pits of hell.

"Where's Dante!" He shouted, throwing a blast of his own which Fake-Dante lazily avoided with a simple turn of his chest. "WHERE'S MY BROTHER!"

"Not here, Vibe," Fake-Dante shot back nastily, grabbing a metal knife and channeling the red energy he was using through it. The following blast was less powerful but more precise, allowing for more effective aim. Cisco ducked behind a nearby couch and then fired another vibrational blast in return.

"What did you do to him, fake-Dante!"

Fake-Dante growled. "My name is Rupture. And don't worry, your Dante is alive. Kind of whiny though, from what I hear. I was thinking of killing him later after all this was over. I know he annoyed Reverb when he was impersonating you, so I'm sure he'd enjoy it too."

Cisco heard his parents gasp at those words and scowled. There was no hope of hiding this from them, and Dante… they didn't get along, but Dante was his brother. He loved him. And to see this impostor wearing his face, casually threatening to kill him…

"Give me back my brother," Cisco hissed, now using both his hands for his vibrational blasts.

Rupture's smirk widened. "No." He ducked under the blasts, and then aimed the knife upward, knocking down one of the light fixtures above. It fell down — right on top of Cisco.

Cisco groaned as he collapsed back to the debris-filled floor, quickly trying to lift the fixture off of him. Rupture gave him a disparaging look, before turning his attention towards Rosita and Armando. Cisco spotted this, and grew even more furious.

"You know, living in this house for the past few weeks, faking being your son, was pure torture," Rupture started as the knife glowed ominously scarlet. "Dante this, Dante that, Dante, remember when you played at Carnegie Hall? Dante, play for us! God, I wonder how my doppelganger was able to stand it! Then again, considering his job, I guess being your trophy child is one of the few highlights of his pathetic life. I'll be doing him a favor when I kill him, just like how I'm going to kill you."

The Ramons trembled and held each other as this villain who wore their son's face approached them with a murderously gleeful expression. Cisco tried to stand back up, but felt another sharp pain in his back, and winced. No, that wouldn't work. But maybe…

He had never opened a breach without his goggles. That didn't mean he needed his goggles. Cisco stretched out his arm and using the boost from both his willpower and sheer adrenaline, created a breach beneath his parents just as Rupture's red blast energy fired. They disappeared into the breach and Cisco quickly followed them with a breach of his own before Rupture could react.

The Ramon family dropped into the middle of Barry's lab, much to the speedster's shock. "Cisco!?" Barry called out his friend's name as Cisco groaned and got up.

"Dante," Cisco huffed out, getting back to his feet and grabbing his aching back, allowing his parents to do the same. "He was replaced by his Earth-2 doppelganger a few weeks ago. Calls himself Rupture."

Barry paled. "He didn't have a file in the metahuman database. Zoom must have deleted it before sending him in as a precaution. Since you two don't have a close relationship and don't hang out that often, Dante was the perfect disguise for Rupture to hide himself in while carrying out the subtler aspects of Zoom's plan."

"He might still be there," Cisco pointed out, wincing as he grabbed the edge of the table to stabilize himself. "You should go catch him."

Barry nodded and then immediately sped away.

"Francisco?"

Cisco cringed as he turned around to see his parents, both with harried, expectant looks on their faces. They were both looking directly at him.

This was not going to be fun.

Rupture scowled as he kicked around a broken piece of table. Well, that was a bust. He was not looking forward to reporting to Zoom that his cover was blown. Their leader might be a lot more merciful lately, but Rupture was not foolish enough to believe that he would forget this. He would have to be mighty careful not to anger the speedster in the foreseeable future.

WHOOSH!

Rupture sighed as he turned around. "Sir, I—" he stopped cold.

That was not Zoom.

The metahuman aimed his knife directly at the Flash, but it was quickly knocked out of his hands by the Flash's own knife. The Flash sped forward and grabbed his knife before it could land on the ground and stabbed it into Rupture's shoulder, causing him to scream. Flash ignored the scream, opting instead to whip out a pair of meta-dampening cuffs and snap them around Rupture's wrists.

"You're going to A.R.G.U.S.," Flash growled out, "where they're going to have fun time picking your brain until you tell them what you were doing for Zoom and where exactly the real Dante Ramon is."

Rupture glared at him as Barry grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and prepared himself to speed him over to the Central City A.R.G.U.S. base. However, the buzzing sound of his comm coming to life stopped him.

"What?" Barry demanded curtly, hand on his comm.

"Hello, Flash," Cisco's voice said in a suave, cold way that was decidedly not the Cisco he knew. "I believe I have something of yours."

Ten minutes earlier…

"Thanks, Natalie," Iris smiled at the barista as she handed over her drink.

"Anytime, Officer West," Natalie chirped, giving her customer a final wave as she moved on to the next patron in line.

Iris felt her smile fade as she turned away and searched for an empty spot to sit. She finally spotted an empty place at the bar stools. She quickly rushed there before anyone else could grab it and sat herself down, resting her elbows onto the table and sipping the warm latte slowly and carefully. The taste of sweetened caffeine filtered through her mind and simultaneously heightened and calmed her senses. Just the pick-up she needed.

Which, fittingly, is why the entire front of Jitters exploded from behind her.

Iris whipped her head around as people screamed around her, drawing out her gun. "OUT!" She yelled as she gestured people to the other exit on the other side of the shop. "EVERYONE OUT!"

She trained her gun on the growing silhouette behind the smoke as the other people inside left and followed her instructions. "STOP! CCPD! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

A blast of vibrational energy knocked her back before she could shoot, however, forcing her to let go of her gun. Iris pushed herself up with her own hands as she glanced up at her attacker.

Cisco.

She stared.

"Hello, Officer West," Cisco — no, not Cisco, Reverb— smugly smirked down at her. "I've heard much about you."

Iris got back to her feet and swung a fist at him, which he dodged — leaving him open for a fierce stomp to the foot. Reverb winced, only to forcibly twist around when Iris' next punch swung and hit true. She followed up with a few more, only for Reverb to blast her again, sending her back to the floor.

"You know, normally I'd kill you for that," Reverb casually stated as he picked up the disoriented Iris by the front of her shirt. "But unfortunately, I still need you, so you get to live for now."

"What could you possibly need me for," Iris asked as she fruitlessly tried to struggle out of his strong grip. "I'm just a beat cop."

Reverb clicked his teeth and shook his head in an amused fashion. "Oh, my dear. You and I both know you're a lot more important than that."

Iris glared up at him. "I'm not giving you any information about the Flash."

"Of course not," Reverb grinned down at her. "You're gonna give me the Flash instead."

You know, I wasn't originally planning on giving Dante/Rupture such a large role, but when I was rewriting my notes I needed something to make things flow better in regards to Zoom's plan. I was re-watching Season 2 and the episode "Rupture" came up (one of my favorite episodes) and I thought "Of course! Dante!" He was the perfect bridge for everything I needed to make these things happen!

I'm sure many of you had forgotten him too. Well, part of the Zoom arc is expanding more on our heroes' doppelgangers, and Rupture is, in fact, a doppelganger, albeit for a minor character. Consider that character ascended.

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