Chapter 103: Trade Up

"Let her go, Reverb," Flash ordered angrily into his comm as he tightened his grip on Rupture.

"No dice, amigo. Zoom wants to see you again, and since we can't have you discovering our hideout and all, he sent me to collect."

Flash snorted. "If Zoom wants me so badly, why not just grab me himself?"

He could hear Reverb shrug. "Zoom's the boss. I just carry out his orders. And his orders were clear — he wants you, mostly unharmed, anyway possible. But for Officer West here… well, he said nothing about her, did he?"

"I swear to God Reverb, if you hurt her…"

"Ah, ah! Are you forgetting who holds the cards now? You're in no position to demand anything, Flash."

Flash narrowed his eyes. "Am I? Hey, Rupture? Wanna say hi to your brother?"

Rupture spat onto his suit. "Fuck you."

"I'll take that as a no."

Reverb fell silent for a moment. "You have Rupture?"

"I do. I guess we're at a stalemate, aren't we?"

"We are. I have your friend, you have my brother. I guess there's only one way this can go."

"Yeah, there is. Where do you want to make the trade?"

He could feel Reverb's smirk. "I'm feeling a bit lazy, so how about here, at Jitters? You bring my brother, I give you back Officer West, and we all go home."

"Sure," the Flash said dryly, knowing full well that the moment the trade was made someone was going to double-cross the other.

"See you then."

"Yeah, see you." The Flash turned off his comm and looked down at his captive, who was still glaring up at him. "Come on, fake-Dante. Let's send you back to your real family."

"For the last time, my name is not fake-Dante!"

Literally thirty seconds later, the Flash and Rupture appeared in the shop formerly known as Jitters, where the entire front has been destroyed. The Flash stepped over the debris, dragging Rupture behind him as he approached a lounging Reverb, where a trembling Iris was sitting next to him. He had a single hand trained on her, ready to blast her with vibrations and turn her into mush at any second.

"I've got your brother," Flash told him as he pulled Rupture in front of him, a knife in hand. "Now give me back Officer West."

"And risk you killing him?" Reverb retorted, grabbing Iris by her shirt. "Hell no."

"Well, right back at you. I'm not giving him when she's still with you, so I guess we're going to have to coordinate this, aren't we?"

"I guess so," Reverb said angrily, slowly.

The Flash gave him a single nod and then guided Rupture forward, watching as Reverb did the same with Iris. The two approached each other slowly, and just as they were about a foot away, slowly let their respective captives go. The Flash then went to speed Iris away, only to suddenly collapse. He turned around and looked at his back to see a speed-dampener dart had been fired at him, lodging itself into his skin.

"FLASH!" Everyone turned around to see Detective Eddie Thawne, along with his metahuman task force, each aiming directly at the prone speedster. "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

"Eddie!?" Iris gasped out.

Eddie blinked when he heard his name, and glance towards Iris, eyes widening. "Iris? What are you doing here?"

"Forget that, you need to stop those two—" Iris was cut off with another vibrational blast, the third one she had been hit with tonight.

Reverb dropped his hand and grinned at the shocked detective. "Thanks… Eddie, was it? I'll be sure to tell Zoom about this. Maybe he'll spare you when he takes over the city."

Then, before anyone could react, he opened a breach beneath his feet, swallowing away him, Rupture, and most importantly, the Flash.

An hour later, Officer Iris West was sitting at the back of an ambulance van, getting checked over by a paramedic. By 'sheer luck', she only had bumps, bruises, and scrapes. A worrying amount, but no injury that was truly serious. She was instructed to periodically treat her injuries and rest, and in a few days it would all heal. Iris nodded automatically at the advice, and then slumped the moment the paramedic was gone.

Once she was alone, she took out her phone and made a group text to everyone in her contact list that was in the know. Her fingers trembled as she typed out one of the last messages she had ever wanted to send: 'Zoom has Barry'.

Zoom has Barry.

Iris wanted to scream. To shout. To yell. To shoot something, to hit something, even if it was herself. But most of all, she wanted to cry. That monster had Barry in his clutches again, and there was nothing Iris could do about it. If she had just run with everyone else when Reverb attacked Jitters, this wouldn't have happened. Reverb wouldn't have the leverage to trade her away for Barry or his brother, Barry could have taken him down before Eddie arrived—

Eddie. Iris knew it wasn't entirely his fault, but it was so hard not to be angry at him. Why did he have to jump the gun like that? Why hadn't he observed the situation more, noticed that Iris was being held hostage? Why… Why did he have to hate the Flash so much? If it hadn't been for her, and for him, Barry wouldn't be held captive by the monster who had broken his back. Who had slaughtered so many people, had terrorized his own earth and now had plans to do the same to this one.

Would she ever see Barry alive again? The thought of losing him, like she had all those years ago when her father came to her with that tear-stained, solemn face, was haunting. She had been faced with that possibility the first time Zoom showed up, and it had been terrible. Iris wasn't sure she could ever survive feeling that pain a second time. She'd rather die.

"Iris."

Iris held back her tears as she glanced at her boyfriend, who approached her carefully with a regretful expression. "Are you alright?"

Those words caused Iris to tighten her fists. "I'll live," she told him curtly.

Eddie winced, shamefaced. "I'm sorry."

"For what, Eddie? Hating the Flash so much that you completely ignored how he was trying to rescue me from a hostage situation?" Iris tried to stop herself from raising the volume of her voice, she really did, but she couldn't help the anger that leaked out.

"I know, I know!" Eddie quickly responded, holding up his hands in a calming motion. "I screwed up. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to save the Flash away from Zoom. You know, the mass murderer who slaughtered dozens of innocent people, crippled the Flash, and then swore on live TV he was going to conquer Central City?"

"I GET IT!" Eddie shouted, only to cringe as people cast looks their way. He moved closer to her, lowering his voice. "Look, Iris, I admit I jumped the gun. But we had an arrest warrant for the Flash, we had to take him in. You understand that, right? Who knows what he would've done after he had saved you — he probably would've killed those guys and done God knows what else."

As Eddie went into another rant about the Flash, Iris felt herself grow colder and colder with every word. It wasn't true, none of it was true. The man Eddie was trying to describe was not who the Flash was, and this time, Iris knew that for sure, because she knew who was behind the mask. She knew who was behind the mask, and… and…

I can't do this anymore. She realized.

It was easier when she didn't know who the Flash was. When Eddie's rants about him weren't about her closest friend. She knew that the hatred Eddie had for the Flash, as increasingly irrational as it was becoming, hadn't faded in the least when they first got back together. But true to his word, he hadn't let it consume their relationship. He had remained attentive to her, focused on her. And it was good, even if things didn't quite have the spark that it used to.

Things were different now. Barry was the Flash. Barry was the Flash, and Iris, despite her initial reservations, despite those months of estrangement, had never intended on turning him in. She knew in her heart of hearts that Barry was a good man, that he was trying to help people, to save people, even if his methods had been unsavory at times. And those months… they had hurt. She didn't want to admit it, but she had missed Barry so much. As much as she hated seeing him in that hospital bed after Zoom's attack, she'd never regret finally reconciling with him afterward.

Her best friend was the Flash, and her boyfriend hated the Flash. Would probably always hate the Flash, more than he could ever love her. And Iris… Iris couldn't have both of them, as long as it held true. Eddie's hatred had become so ingrained in him that it was unlikely he would ever let it go, even if the Flash saved his life. While Barry could never give up being the Flash, not with threats like Zoom or the Dominators out there. Not when he had those powers, or even without them. He had other skills, after all, that made him dangerous, that would allow him to help people. Because even after everything that had happened, that's all Barry had ever wanted to do in the end. Help people.

Iris would have to choose. Barry, or Eddie?

She was saddened to realize it really wasn't as much of a choice as she thought it was. In the end, even without the Flash, without Barry, her relationship with Eddie wasn't working out. Hadn't been working out for a while now. Dad was right, Iris thought, ashamed, I allowed this to go on for too long. I strung him along, and now… now there was no way either of us aren't going to get out of this hurt.

"We need to break up."

Eddie stilled. "W-What?"

"We need to break up, Eddie," Iris said, voice trembling. "I… I can't do this anymore. Our relationship doesn't have the same spark any more, and now this—"

"Iris, I'm sorry—"

"I know, Eddie, I know," Iris tried not to cry, she really did, but everything that had happened tonight was beginning to overwhelm her. "I know you're sorry, and I accept your apology, but while this doesn't help, this isn't the only reason why we need to break up. Eddie… we're not going anywhere as a couple."

Eddie leaned against the edge of the ambulance van, face perplexed and pleading. "What do you mean, Iris? I mean things have been going well so far—"

"Eddie, how many months ago did you ask me to move in with you?"

The detective fell silent.

"That was almost a year ago, Eddie," Iris answered her own question, gripping her pants. "Almost a year ago, and I still haven't moved in. I thought it was because I wasn't ready, and it's true. I wasn't. I'm still not. And I don't think I ever will be."

"Iris, I can change—"

"No, Eddie. It isn't just you. It's me too."

Eddie swallowed. "What do you mean?"

Iris inhaled deeply. "The reason I got back together with you is because you were my first serious boyfriend. You were the first person to really make feel alive ever since… ever since I lost Barry. And I wanted to hold on to that feeling so strongly. I didn't want this to be over."

Her would-be-ex-boyfriend crouched down and took her hands in his. "Iris, it doesn't have to be over. We can start over again, try to figure things out. Please."

But Iris shook her head. "That's just it, Eddie. It's already over. It's been over for a while, and both of us weren't willing to accept it."

"Iris—"

"Please, Eddie." Iris' lip trembled. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. You deserve better than this. We both do."

Eddie dropped her hands, a single tear trailing down his cheek. "It's over?"

Iris hugged herself, clutching her arms. "It's over," she confirmed quietly.

Eddie stood back up and turned around, hand on his forehead. "Fine," whispered out quietly, heartbroken. "Fine."

And then, he walked away.

I'm getting sick of this, Barry thought angrily as he tried to pick the meta-dampening cuffs that had been snapped on him the moment he landed here and been shoved into this cage. Stupid speed-dampener. If he had just gotten the dart out of him before most of the serum had seeped into his blood…

Luckily, Reverb hadn't stuck around too long for gloating. He had quickly taken Rupture out for medical treatment and to get his brother's own meta-dampening cuffs off. Which was all well and good, because Barry didn't know if he could stop himself from shout abuse at him. God, he was so pissed off.

"Flash?" A vaguely familiar voice called out to him.

Barry turned towards the direction of the voice and blanched. His clothes were ragged and dirtied, much like his face, and he looked completely haggard, but it was unmistakable. He was a mirror image of Rupture.

Dante Ramon. Cisco's brother.

"Dante," Barry breathed out.

Dante blinked heavily. "You know who I am?" the man asked, astonished.

"Your brother Cisco is a friend of mine. He and your parents have been worried about you." He had surmised as much by the panicked look Cisco had worn when he explained why, exactly, he had breached into Barry's lab without warning.

His fellow prisoner snorted. "Yeah, right. Cisco is the one who stuffed me here."

Reverb. He must have helped Rupture switch with Dante when he first started impersonating Cisco. "No, he didn't. Dante, the Cisco who took you here was not Cisco."

Dante scowled up at him. "What the hell do you mean by that? It sure as hell looked like Cisco."

"I know," Barry said slowly, "But it wasn't him. He was an impostor."

"He knew my high school crush!"

Probably because Rupture had the same crush in high school. "Because he… studied you. Studied you and Cisco, before replacing your brother. We just recently got the real Cisco back and managed to send him back into hiding. We didn't realize you had been replaced too, because…" Barry trailed off.

"Because you two aren't close," Reverb's voice echoed throughout the room as he reentered the lair, Rupture trailing behind him with a new uniform and a mask on. It was a decent getup, Barry had to admit. "And as annoying as that was, it made things so much easier for us," Reverb taunted them as he exchanged glares with Dante.

"What the hell do you mean?" Dante demanded angrily, grabbing the bars of the cage. "What did you want with me? What did you want with my brother?"

Reverb shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just needed to pal around as him for a while to get some things done. Boss' orders."

"Boss?"

The breacher simply smirked.

Dante's scowl deepened, and he glanced at Rupture. "What about him?"

If anything, Reverb's smirk widened, and he gestured his brother over. Rupture stepped forward and removed his mask, revealing his face and causing Dante to back away in shock. "What the hell?" the eldest Ramon brother exclaimed quietly.

"Rupture here has been impersonating you ever since this Cisco, Reverb, brought you here," Barry explained, glaring at his captors. "Cisco just found out tonight, and only barely managed to get your parents and himself out of the house in time. He sent me to apprehend him, and I succeeded, but Reverb took someone else hostage and forced me to trade Rupture for him. Then the police got involved, and, well." He lifted his now cuffed hands for emphasis.

"It was a pain impersonating you, by the way," Rupture told his still-shocked doppelganger in a casual manner. "Your life is sad. Your job is terrible and doesn't pay well, you still live with your parents, and you barely have any friends. Honestly, this," he gestured to the cage, "is probably a step up from your usual routine."

"Oh, shut up," Barry scoffed. "At least he isn't a wanted criminal on his own earth and working for a sociopathic serial killer."

Rupture turned away from his doppelganger to glare at the Flash, crossing his arms. "Pretty smug for a man stuck in a cage, Flash."

"Considering that my guards are you two, that's reason enough," Barry insulted back.

The other metahuman flexed his fists as he leaned forward, near one of the openings between the bars of Barry's cage. "You know, I never paid you back for that stab wound you gave me."

"Go ahead," Barry dared him. "The scar wouldn't be anything new."

Rupture grinned and uncrossed his arms, drawing forward—

WHOOSH!

"Rupture."

The now white-faced metahuman quickly skedaddled away in the opposite direction, back towards Dante's cage, with his head bowed. His brother was similarly cowed, and moved to stand next to him. Zoom stared at them with his dark gaze, the blue lightning crackling around him slowly fading away to a stop.

Satisfied that they knew their place, Zoom turned his attentions back to the prisoners. He barely glanced at the cowering Dante, who had backed away into the farthest corner of his cell, shivering. No, he only had eyes for Barry, as always.

"Flash."

"Zoom."

Barry didn't bother to fight when Zoom reached into his cell with his clawed hands and slowly removed Barry's cowl and half-mask, revealing his secret identity to everyone present. He had no doubt the Earth-2 metas already knew, and Dante was Cisco's brother. If anyone had to find out without his consent, well enough that it was him.

And besides, this was a long time coming.

Zoom stepped away as soon as he was done, eyes taking in Barry's entire form. Then, he reached behind his own mask with his hand, unzipping the back of it and pulling the flaps forward, snapping them off to reveal the handsome face of Hunter Zolomon.

"Hunter Zolomon," Barry seethed, stepping forward so he was eye to eye with his enemy.

"Barry Allen," Hunter grinned, a psychotic edge to his expression as he did the same. "It's about time we had an honest conversation with each other, don't you think?"

And now, we move to the face-to-face confrontation we have all been waiting for. Including me. Seriously, I've been waiting for this conversation for so long, I can only hope I do it justice next chapter.

Eddie and Iris broke up. This has been planned for a while, for this arc, and I hope it made sense. This time, it's permanent. They're not getting back together.

And Dante! You all found out what happened to Dante. He'll have a role to play in the following events, as you'll soon see. But I needed to introduce him now.

Please comment or review, flames will be ignored, constructive criticism welcome, and don't forget to update the TV Tropes page!