Belén emerged from the hallway, holding her tablet to her chest, and came to the scent of delicious breakfast. She didn't even blink when Barry sped her into a seat. She only put the tablet down on the table and began typing. She'd been able to smoothly recover from her poisonous battle with Datura and Poison Ivy, but only a couple of small worded sentences were able to come out her mouth without it still hurting her.
"How are you feeling?" Barry came by with a plate of cut up apples he knew she liked.
Belén raised the tablet for him to read.
'I know you're only doing this to butter me up since you're going to Earth 2 today,' he read out loud. Belén got up from her chair and went around the table, pointing at the different meals he'd made to proving her point.
With a sheepish smile, Barry reached for her hand to tug her to him. "Yes, alright, I'm trying to stay on your good side. Sue me." Somehow even when Belén wasn't able to speak, it had still been quite an argument.
Belén took the tablet from the table to write a new message.
'Or you could let me come with you,' Barry frowned at her afterwards. "No, Bells—" hearing the 'no' again made Belén turn to leave so he quickly held onto her, "C'mon, don't do that!" She crossed her arms and glowered. "We talked about it—" Belén cleared her throat and tilted her head, making him re-evaluate his statement. "Okay, we discussed and you listened but you have to agree that it made sense."
It angered Belén even more that it really had made sense. She couldn't talk which meant if she were in trouble the chances of getting back up were scarce. Plus, since they had Poison Ivy in their possession, they assumed Datura was raging with new revenge plans for her. They certainly didn't need that kind of attention in this quick trip they were planning on. They needed to get in and out as fast as possible without attracting too much attention. This was why only Barry, Cisco and Harry were going.
'I'm scared that something might happen to you over there," she typed on her tablet. 'That's Datura's home - Zoom's home. They know every crook and cranny...and you don't.'
Barry acknowledged the concern with a nod of his head. She was very right about that part - he'd been thinking about it ever since he decided to cross worlds. He gingerly took her tablet and set it down on the table then put his hands on her arms. "I know you're concerned but we have to help Harry and his daughter. If Datura's really about Poison Ivy, then Jesse could be in even more danger. We can't leave her to her luck."
Belén sighed. "...care-ful..." she said in a strained voice.
"I will be, I promise," Barry lowered his head to capture her lips in a kiss. "Now would you like some breakfast?" Belén had to nod because everything around her really did smell delicious.
~0~
Everyone was standing in the portal room of STAR Labs, pretty unsure of how this plan would go. They were simply hoping for the best because...what else could they do?
"Alright," Jay stood in front of the three travelers, "Barry, listen to me. You're about to go through the looking glass. You're gonna see things that look and feel familiar, but they're not. Up is down. Black is white, and do not let yourself get sucked in emotionally, and good luck."
Barry nodded his head that he understood. "Look, if we're not back in 48 hours, that means that Zoom has us. If that happens, you have to close the breach."
A second later, he was smacked with a tablet on his back. "OW!"
"Nu-uh!" Cisco snatched the tablet from Belén, looking offended on behalf of...the tablet. "You do not use my baby to hit something!"
Belén glared at him too.
"She doesn't get to talk, so that means she can use what she wants to get the point across," Iris came by and swiftly took the tablet from Cisco to give back to Belén. Cisco rolled his eyes and went to Caitlin, hoping to give her one task for him in case things went south.
"Yeah, I got the point," Barry tried rubbing his back where he got hit.
"Just get back here in one piece," Joe said for all three of them.
"Yeah, don't make us come and get you," Iris wagged a finger at him.
"I know," Barry nodded his head. He then looked at Belén for the longest time until she sighed and gave the tablet to Iris. She raised a finger at the portal then moved her finger to point at the spot they stood in. Even though it was pretty difficult to understand what she meant, Barry got it. "I'll do my best to come back, I promise."
Belén raised her head, seeming like she wanted to argue that specific word choice but for the sake of time she let it go. She grabbed his face and kissed him for a significant amount of time instead.
Finally, Cisco just cleared his throat to get them apart. "Yo, we got another world to go to? Remember that?"
Belén blushed but didn't bother with him. She gave Barry a last hug and stepped back so that they could finally get going.
"Is anybody else feeling panic right now?" Cisco said once he, Barry and Harry stood directly in front of the portals. "I chickened out of bungee jumping when I was 18, but this is categorically a lot scarier."
Jay moved back to the controls. "Once I turn the speed cannon on, the three of you will be able to pass through unharmed, but Barry, you need to make sure you keep your speed up."
"Mm-hmm. I... I got no spit," Cisco opened and closed his mouth in horror.
"Jaws," Harry recognized the line, mistakenly.
"I'm not just quoting "Jaws." I mean my mouth is really dry right now!"
Behind them, there was a snicker. Belén had made the 'chicken wings' motion.
"I see you Bells! There's a reflection!" Cisco frowned.
"Do not get distracted by anything you see along the way," Jay's loud voice cut them off.
"What are we gonna see?" asked Barry after a moment.
"Everything."
Oh, that made things sound better. Barry grabbed the back of Cisco's and Harry's collars. "Do it, Jay. Okay, let's go." He took in a big breath and ran straight into the blue portal.
Like Jay had said, there were numerous images that started passing them by including a man with a bow and arrow, a blonde woman with an orange mask over her face and a gorilla.
"Look out!" Jay called to the others remaining in the portal's way. Something cracked and suddenly one of the circular portals rolled off its place. Joe was able to pull Iris and Belén out of the way, and so Jay ran to push Caitlin away as well.
Belén gaped at the sight and coughed at the smoke.
"Uh, what just happened?" Iris looked at the two scientists remaining with them.
Jay helped Caitlin get up, both seemingly fine. "With the rest of the breaches closed, the energy surge to this last remaining breach must have destabilized it," Jay theorized.
"Well, what does that mean?" Joe raised an eyebrow.
"As long as it's unstable Barry and Cisco will be trapped over there."
Belén turned her head at Jay then slowly to the portal and loudly groaned. 'Of course!' she wrote on her tablet.
~ 0 ~
Arriving to Earth 2 was quite a sight since everything seemed to have a more futuristic touch. And since they were in STAR Labs, there was plenty to see in terms of advancements. Harry led the way to an office but of course he had to wait several times because both Barry and Cisco were touring around the place.
"This is amazing. Half these things are just ideas on our Earth!" Barry laughed as he passed a model of a rocket ship.
"Come here," Cisco pulled him towards a golden mural. They posed for a quick picture and missed Harry's murderous glare towards them.
"Ramon!" he hissed.
"What?" Cisco glowered back but then went back to checking the pictures he'd taken so far.
"This is not a sightseeing tour!"
"Speak for yourself," Cisco muttered. "We want our grandkids to know we did cool stuff."
Barry would have laughed had it not been for seeing Henry - the man who almost became part of Firestorm - coming towards them. He pulled on Cisco's arm, and just as Henry greeted Harry, the two Earth 1 men yelped.
"I thought you might've left town with all that's been happening," Henry threw the two an odd look.
"Right…" Harry knew his absence would lead to questions inevitably.
"Are your friends okay?" Henry finally asked since neither Cisco nor Barry seemed to calm down.
Harry warned the two to calm down before they got themselves caught. "Yes, they're... they're fine. They're excitable. This is, um…"
Henry went ahead and introduced himself to the two. "Henry Hewitt, lab assistant. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Cisco swallowed hard. "And you... um, this is Barry…."
"And this is Cisco," Barry gulped.
"I'm Cisco. Yeah. And you are just a nice, normal guy," Cisco's voice shook with terrible fear.
"Okay, um…" Henry withdrew from that conversation and looked at Harry. "Dr. Wells, will you and your visitors be needing the conference room?"
"Not necessary, Henry. Our visit will be short."
"Okay. Good to see you. Good to see you, sir," Henry turned to leave, but not before giving Barry and Cisco another look. As soon as he was gone, Harry turned on the two with another glare.
"He's a bad guy on Earth-1!" Cisco argued.
"He looks just like him!" Barry added.
Harry released a breath, not about to waste time with them, and led them to a room where they were sure not to be interrupted. As soon as they walked in, they found a screen with a familiar female news reporter giving a broadcast.
"Hey! That's Nina!" Cisco happily pointed at the screen where Earth 2's Nina Clarke was giving the news.
It really surprised them how much she looked like their Nina.
"A reminder that a citywide curfew has been issued. No unauthorized person is to be out after 9:00 p.m. A recent increase in Zoom attacks has led Mayor Snart to extend the curfew. The curfew was first issued after a series of terror attacks throughout the city…"
Harry put down his hidden gun on a table and sighed. "It's worse. It's worse than when I left. Zoom has turned up his reign of terror."
Barry did not need to see more to agree. He turned to Cisco and motioned him to get started. Since Cisco had gained better control of his powers, going as far as making specific goggles for his cause, they thought it would be much easier to find Zoom with them. "All right, then let's find Zoom fast. Cisco, do your thing."
Cisco took out his black goggles and put them on. "All right, Zoom... You can run, but you can't hide." Now, he concentrated hard on finding Zoom but nothing came to mind. He lowered his goggles and looked at the two. "All right, you know what? You guys are crowding my space a little bit. I can't perform like this under pressure, okay? If you could just step back just a little bit, I need to do my thing."
Although it seemed ridiculous, Barry took a step back and motioned Harry to do the same.
"All right. My mojo. Take two... Mm, ah. All right, Zoom. You can run…" Cisco once again did his 'thing' and waited to see Zoom...but got nothing.
Harry lost his patience. "Ramon!" he practically shouted. "What's happening?"
"You know, I don't know, okay?" Cisco snapped and pulled the goggles off. "I can't see anything. I don't know what's wrong. Maybe I lost my powers."
Barry didn't think that made quite sense. "I didn't lose my powers. Why would you lose your powers?"
Cisco was closely examining the goggles and raised his eyebrows when he saw the glitch. "Oh, here we go, the wavelength trigger's not responding, but that only happens if…"
"The frequency is imbalanced," Harry rubbed his face. "Our Earth vibrates at a different frequency than yours."
Cisco let his goggles wave in his hands. "Harry, without that frequency... We're up a creek."
Barry shook his head at him. There was far too much at stake for something like this to happen. Just as he turned away, he spotted himself on screen with E-2 Nina. His mouth fell open and simply pointed at the screen in his shock.
"The latest attack was orchestrated by Zoom, and we understand that citizens of Central City are scared, but I can assure you the CCPD has been working diligently…" E-2 Barry was in the middle of giving his words to the public.
"That's me," Barry could not stop blinking.
Cisco had himself a good laugh with the appearance of his friend's doppleganger. "Yeah, it is!"
'...Under the leadership of Detective West. We will stop Zoom. That's a promise…'
"The leadership of Detective West!" Barry felt somewhat relieved to know that at least something remained the same in this new world.
"So Joe's still a cop here," Cisco hummed.
"Yeah, but more importantly, I'm still a CSI," Barry grinned as a new idea popped in his head. "I have a plan."
Before either Cisco or Harry could question it, Barry sped out of the room. In a second, he was back with his doppelganger.
"What just happened!?" E-2 Barry took in a breath and turned to the three, of course struck when he saw his other self.
Cisco pointed at him like a child in excitement. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, doppelganger!"
E-2 Barry tried processing where he was and how it all happened. "What... who are... who are you?" he asked his doppelganger. "How do you look like me?"
Harry did not have time for this. "Allen, what are you doing?"
E-2 Barry was immediately grinning at the sight of him. "Harrison Wells. The Harrison Wells. Oh, my God, am I in S.T.A.R. Labs?" his eyes scanned the room and nearly fell over from his excitement. "Okay, I have no idea what is going on here, but I've always wanted to meet you. Your thesis on string phenomenology was revolutionary to me." He moved up to Harry, completely engulfed with the man. "I had the magazine laminated so I could keep it. I... I just want to emulate…"
Cisco didn't know which Barry to laugh at - the dorky one from this world or the embarrassed Barry he knew? Harry discreetly tossed Barry a taser while, at the same time, pointing E-2 Barry away for a moment. Barry didn't hesitate to use the taser on his doppelganger.
"What did you do!?" Cisco was horrified as E-2 Barry fell back on a chair, completely unconscious. "What's wrong with you? Have you turned into an evil you?"
"Relax. Just knocked him out," Barry let him see the taser.
"Oh, well, why'd you even bring him over here?"
"So he could become him," Harry rolled his eyes.
Barry nodded his head. "While you guys work on the goggles, I will go to CCPD as him and see if I can figure out what information they have on Zoom's previous sightings. We can use those sightings to triangulate Zoom's hideout."
"Good. That's a good plan," Cisco had to agree. "Just remember what Jay said, okay? Things here are all sorts of trippy."
"Look, it'll be fine. I can handle it," Barry tried to be cool about it. He took off the circular glasses off his doppleganger and put them on. "It'll be easy."
~ 0 ~
As it turns out, his doppleganger's clothes were not as comfortable as they seemed at first. Barry tugged at the choking bow-tie around his neck while he waited for the elevator to open up. He had no idea what he was going to find on the other side, but he had to be able to control himself.
Well, the first surprise came almost immediately after he stepped out of the elevator. Two police officers were in the middle of bringing Captain Singh - or maybe not Captain - into the bullpen like any other criminal.
"Look, I don't know nothin', so I ain't sayin' nothing…" the man was in the middle of saying.
Barry had to look away to hide his shocked face. "Woah…" he rubbed his temple. The moment he raised his head again, he came face to face with Deadshot. "Okay, Deadshot what…" he immediately took a step back.
Deadshot mockingly laughed then became dead serious. "That's not funny, Allen. I hate that nickname. Okay, look, I know I'm not... I'm not the best shot in the department, but…"
But someone else started to laugh. "Not the best?" Iris West came striding out of the offices, surprising Barry even more to find her as a COP cop. "Lawton, you are the worst shot in the entire department. Hey, why don't you book Singh, and I'll be in there in a moment?"
Singh sighed, clearly agitated with them both. "Whatever you say, partner. Oh, and just for the record, my marksmanship proficiency ratings went up by two points last month. All right?"
Iris had to hold back her laughter again. "Two points, woo…"
"You're Detective West…" Barry's words just came tumbling out his mouth. Oh he was sure if Harry were near he would've given one of his murderous stares. Barry knew he needed to get it together already.
Iris suddenly smiled with a trace of...was that sympathy? Barry wasn't quite sure. "Hey, you know the Captain said you didn't have to come in today, right?"
"Uh...yeah, but…" Barry's eyes flickered to the side as he came up with a reasonable excuse. Why wouldn't he - or his doppelganger - come into work today? He rubbed his face when no excuses came to mind.
Iris put a hand on his arm, still with a sympathetic smile on her face. "Barry, you can go home. No one here faults you. We know the day…"
"...the day…?" Barry repeated, still lost as ever.
"West!" Maritza Palayta came down the staircase with a file in hand. "Do you know where the hell Thawne was? I've been looking - oh, Barry, hi," her face softened much like Iris had.
Barry now had to get over the fact that Maritza was also there...not in prison. "You're a cop?" the words just tumbled out of his mouth.
Maritza gave a brief look at his question and laughed it off. "Right. Let's keep me in the courtroom where I belong, okay?"
"You're a D.A.?" Barry really had to keep himself in check or this was already over. Oh this is too much. Will Belén be popping out anytime soon? Okay, that idea made Barry grin a little. What would Earth 2 Belén be like?
"I was just telling Barry that he didn't have to come in today…" and now Iris was giving a stern look at Maritza, her hands on her hips, "...just like you didn't have to."
A flash of hurt rushed through Maritza but just like that it was gone. "Nonsense, my sister wouldn't want me to miss my job that she knew I loved so much. Anyways, could you tell me where Thawne was? I know you were making out with him thirty minutes ago."
Iris cleared her throat, obviously embarrassed by the accusation. "I wasn't. But...if you need him...he's downstairs."
Maritza smirked. "Mhm. I'll see you both later," she said and walked off.
Something around Iris' wrist began to bleep, and Barry recognized it was the same watch Harry often wore. "That's so weird," she tinkered with it.
"What's that?" Barry, for instinctive motions, took a step back.
"My meta-human alert app," Iris briefly looked at him. "It thinks that you're a meta-human. That is so weird."
"Yeah, it must be on the fritz," Barry looked away guiltily.
Iris shrugged. "Yeah. We have to go. My Dad's show's in a bit. You're coming right? Or...you know, he totally would understand if you didn't feel up for it…"
Barry wished that whatever she was talking about would just be said so that he could learn to act how his doppelganger would. It was heavily annoying.
~ 0 ~
A bank robber was mercilessly thrown against a shelf. He shook his head from the pain and scrambled to get up, of course when he saw the white-haired woman coming after him his legs felt week and went back down.
"Come on," went the woman with an edgy, crispy voice. Her blue leather boots clicked against the cemented ground. "Where do you people get off robbing Central City's Royal Bank? This town belongs to Zoom, and those of us he deems worthy enough to enforce his will."
The man didn't know what to do against her. Killer Frost hardly ever left her victims alive. In his attempt to make it out alive, he pushed the bag of money towards her. "H-here, take it."
Killer Frost grinned and bent down to dip a perfectly manicured hand into the bag. "Thanks a million. Or should I say two?" she took out a wad of the money. Her icy blue eyes caught the man trying to make a run for it and effortlessly threw a shard of ice through his back, killing him instantly. Kind of weary, she got up and moved to the second man still fearfully inching his way to an escape. She grabbed him by the shirt and picked him up.
"No, wait!" cried the man. "Don't hurt me!"
"Hurt you?" Killer Frost mocked him. "I just want to give you a kiss." And indeed she did kiss him with her dark blue lips that proved to be as cold as she was. The man's entire face froze up and died before he hit the ground.
She missed the third man, in her excitement, who was about to shoot her. Thankfully, a blast of fire ended that pretty quick.
"Now what did I tell you about watching that behind?" Deathstorm smugly inquired, his flames still encircling him much like Earth 1's Firestorm did.
Killer Frost smirk and walked up to him. "I thought that was your job." She kissed him and unlike her last victim, her ice made no effect on him whatsoever. "Good thing the only man I can kiss is the only one I want to."
"HEY!"
The two metahumans broke apart to look across them. They stiffened at the sight of Datura.
"If you're done playing with these—" she gently let her boot's heel touch one of the dead men, "—playthings, there's a job to do. We've got breachers and you know what happens to those…"
Killer Frost's white eyebrows raised. "Ooh, you know my favorite thing is to kill people from other Earths."
"Yes, how fortunate for you. Remember the rules — I will be watching you." She pointed a gloved finger at them both. "And you know what happens when you disappoint me." She flexed her hand for them to get the idea, and of course they did.
Neither wanted to be siphoned of their powers.
"Go," Datura stepped aside and snapped her fingers. As of late, she had less of patience with anyone. The city had come to notice the absence of her long time partner - Poison Ivy.
~ 0 ~
Barry came to the bittersweet realization that his parents were alive and well on this Earth. Unfortunately, neither were home because he'd given them a trip as a gift for their anniversary. It just left him in his childhood home. As it turned out, Iris and Joe still lived together, and more importantly, right across the street from them. While Iris got changed in her home, he was left in his, and...there were so many memories he wished he could have with his parents but were that of his doppelganger' were various portraits of him as a young child, a teenager, and adult...and with his parents. It seemed so perfectly...normal.
His heart ached for it.
He wandered up the staircase and, just like his childhood home, he found his room at the first open door. There were no childhood toys except for a few tinkering chemistry sets here and there. He smiled knowing that maybe he and his doppleganger weren't all that different.
Well, except for clothing style. That was totally different.
He came to a stop when a portrait caught his attention. Finally. He started to smiling like an idiot. His hand carefully lifted the portrait and traced it with a finger.
It was his doppelganger carrying Earth 2's Belén on his back, both smiling. It looked like they were in a park, and Barry dared to think it was Belén's favorite park in the city. She seemed to like the same fountain from their Earth too.
"At least something's stayed the same," Barry was glad to see. From a first glance it looked like E-2 Belén was exactly the same as his Belén...except for her hair. Instead of the usual ombre-blonde he knew (and loved), this Belén had dark brown hair that fell in curls.
He put the portrait down and hurriedly began to get 'changed' for whatever it was Iris was dragging him to. Before he left the room, though, his shoe stepped over something on the ground that gave a loud 'crack!' in response. He quickly looked down to see another portrait, faced down.
"Barry! C'mon!" he suddenly heard Iris' downstairs. Did she have a key to the place?
In his scramble, he quickly picked up the portrait and threw it under the bed…
"Wait!" his eyes blinked rapidly when the actual picture registered in his mind. Just like that, he dove under the bed to retrieve the portrait.
"Barry!" Iris called from the hallway. "C'mon! We're going to be late!"
"In here!" his muffled voice called.
Iris hurried in, wearing a formal green and black dress and looked around the room with a wrinkled nose. "Barry, you really gotta clean up in here." Barry didn't hear her since he was much more focused on the portrait in his hands. "What are you doing under your bed?" Iris frowned and moved over.
Barry finally emerged from the bed, but his eyes were glued to the portrait in his hands. He had never felt his heart raced more than now. His mouth was opened and his eyes were widened.
"What are you looking at?" Iris came behind him to see the portrait. "Oh…" suddenly her playfulness was gone.
My doppleganger wins, Barry thought with the biggest grin on his face. Because, in his hands he held a wedding picture of his doppelganger and Belén.
"Oh my God…" Barry didn't even know what to say that would cover all his feelings at the moment.
Iris understood but for a different reason. She put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly. "I know it's hard, Barry. Especially today."
"Hard?" Barry whipped his head in her direction, suddenly confused. "That's not how I would describe it."
"Yeah, I know. I'll never understand what it's like to lose the love of my life because Eddie and I aren't even married. I know," Iris took the picture from Barry and walked over to a table, completely missing Barry's horrified face behind her. She gingerly put the portrait back in its place.
"E-excuse me?" was all that came from his mind.
Iris turned around and sighed. "Look, I know today's hard since it's Belén's death anniversary but it's like Maritza said...Belén wouldn't want us to miss out on the things we love."
"Wait, what—"
"And I know for a fact she wouldn't want you to be so sad all the time."
"Wait, wait, wait, Iris...she's….she's…" Barry really wanted to get his thoughts in order just so that he could say the right words. Unfortunately, Iris - being under the guise he was her best friend - continued to speak about how he should 'move on' and whatnot while dragging him to Joe's 'show'.
~ 0 ~
Caitlin and Jay worked hard on the broken portal with Belén tinkering in the background with some tools. She came back holding a wrench for Jay, then proceeded to throw Caitlin a sour glance.
Caitlin sighed. "You can throw me all the looks you want but I am not letting you practice. The Azalea needs her rest too."
Belén rolled her eyes, huffed and meant to walk away when Joe came in.
"How's it going?" he asked the two.
"Uh, slow, which is not a good adjective when it comes to a speed cannon," Jay stopped for a moment to look at their work.
"Well, we got another problem…" Joe regretted to inform.
In the next five minutes, Joe had shown them a civilian video in the cortex of a new metahuman terrorizing the city. It appeared the man had extra strength and he cursed the ground with his bare fists.
"His name is Adam Fells, but he calls himself Geomancer," Jay said once he recognized the man in the video.
"Br-breecher?" Belén croaked out.
"Stop talking," Caitlin pointed a finger at her.
"No, he's not a breecher," Jay answered. "Fells died on my Earth. This must be his Earth-1 doppelganger."
"Well, at least now, we know his name. Might be a little easier to track him down," Joe shrugged.
"Yeah, but with Barry gone, how are we gonna stop him even if we do find him?" Caitlin asked.
Belén cleared her throat and raised a finger.
"Veronica would kill me," Joe nearly laughed.
Belén glowered.
"I wouldn't recommend it either," Caitlin shook her head. "You're barely getting back to normal."
"What about Shivhan?" asked Joe. "Where is she?"
"She went back to her neighborhood to close things up in her apartment," Caitlin explained. "She's moving here for the time being now."
"Alright fine, we've got Jay. You could shoot yourself up with that stuff. What was it? Velocity…" Joe waited for someone ti finish the sentence for him.
"Velocty-6," Jay did in the end, but he wasn't happy about it. "I cannot take V-6.
"But it gave you your speed back long enough to get that bullet out of Wells,saved his life."
Jay was getting agitated and both women could see it. "Joe, don't ask me to take Velocity-6 again."
Joe tried to contain himself but his patience was reaching the limits. "Look, Jay, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but Barry is protecting your world, and our world needs a Flash right about now."
Belén purposely cleared her throat.
"We said no!" Caitlin and Joe exclaimed together. With a growl, Belén stalked off. After a moment or two, Joe left as well.
Jay took a moment to himself before facing Caitlin. "Caitlin, I like the way you look at me with warmth and pride, and I'm not... I'm not worthy of those."
Caitlin smiled out of confusion. "Yes, you are."
"No, I did a terrible thing, Caitlin. When my world's particle accelerator went off, I became a speedster. I became the fastest man alive, only... only it wasn't enough for me," Jay said, and once more looked away from Caitlin. "I wasn't... I wasn't fast enough. So I figured with my scientific background, I could increase my powers, and... I did."
Caitlin blinked. "So you've taken Velocity-6 before?"
"Yes. But there were some unforeseen side effects…"
It only took a second for Caitlin to understand what he was implying . "This is why you didn't want Barry to take it or even know about it. Datura never siphoned your speed, did she? This is what's making you sick. Velocity-6 is killing you."
"It was better for you to think that she did instead of admitting I did something stupid. But I wasn't lying when I said that stuff was dangerous," Jay sighed. "I've made so many mistakes."
Caitlin didn't falter and put a hand on his arm. "You have something now that you've never had before. Me."
~ 0 ~
Dead. She was dead. This was all that Barry could think off as Iris brought him into Jitters. Not even Joe West the famous jazz singer could catch his attention.
How could Belén be dead? That wasn't...that could not be right. But then he started to remember the sympathetic smiles from Iris and Maritza...and Maritza's words…
"Hi, Dad," Iris greeted her father with a hug.
"Hey, baby," Joe kissed her head then glanced at Barry. "Is he okay?"
"I told him you would understand if he didn't show up, but…"
Barry was once more subjected into a sympathetic smile. She's actually dead, he thought.
Nope, Earth 2 lost.
"Y-yeah…" was all Barry could say for the moment. He now had the biggest urge to go home and see his Bells. She was probably mad as hell with him for leaving in the first place but she was mad as hell and alive.
"Look, I have to go back…" Joe made a motion to the small stage set up.
"Yeah, of course, good luck," Iris smiled at him and took Barry to the couch chairs further down the room.
Outside Jitters stood Killer Frost, Deathstorm and Datura.
"Sensors indicate the breacher is in there," Datura pointed them to the front doors. "Get them out by all means."
"What's a breacher doing here in the first place?" Killer Frost thought to ask.
"I'm sorry, did I give you leeway for a question? No, I didn't. Get in there before I decide to take your pretty little frost from you."
Deathstorm pulled Killer Frost towards the coffee shop. From behind Datura waited until they had busted into the place, before throwing a vine up to the second floor windows. She had a pretty good idea of who the breachers were and she was dying to get some revenge. She had come up with the perfect revenge plan.
"Don't stop singing, old man," Deathstorm called to the shocked Joe.
"That's our song," Killer Frost picked a lollipop from a table.
Barry's eyes widened but at this point he was so weary with the unfortunate surprises thrown his way. So not only was his girlfriend dead on this world but his best friends were evil?
"So which one of you lounge lizards is in the wrong universe?" Killer Frost, wearing Caitlin Snow's face, taunted the fearful humans. She bit the rest of her lollipop and let the cane fall. "Hmm? Show of hands. Don't be shy." But of course everyone quaked with every step she took.
Barry knew he would have to act, but to go against someone that looked like one of his best friends was just foul play. From the corner of his eye he could see Iris discreetly pulling her gun from her bag. That really wouldn't end well.
"No, no, no," he whispered to her and tried making her put it away. Iris' eyebrows knitted together, of course confused.
Killer Frost turned to them because of their commotion. She donned a flirtatious smile at Barry, much like Poison Ivy. "Hey, handsome. You got something you want to tell me?"
"No," Barry did not hesitate to answer.
"No?" Killer Frost put her hands on her hips and released a breath, mocking a pout. "Baby," she turned back to Deathstorm, "No one's talking to me."
Deathstorm raised his flaming hands. "What if I make 'em scream?"
Iris jumped from her chair and took aim on the two. "CCPD! Everyone get out of here!" she instructed the crowd who did take the warning. "You are both under arrest."
Killer Frost almost laughed and walked forwards. "Ladies first."
Barry's heart thumped wildly as he jumped from his chair. "Caitlin!"
Killer Frost raised one eyebrow. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."
"But that is your name, isn't it? Your real name?" Barry could see a faint trace of his Caitlin somewhere along that pale face of hers. "Please, look... I know you. Don't do this."
Both Iris and Joe looked at him like he'd finally lost it.
Killer Frost returned with everything that made her, her. "If you knew me at all, you would know that I hate the name Caitlin. I'm Killer Frost!" her hands wrapped up in billowing icy smoke. She threw icicles their way but Barry turned over a sofa chair and let them pierce through that instead.
"Go, all right. Go, go!" he told Iris in a hurry.
Iris got up and meant to run with her father when Deathstorm threw flaming bolts at them.
"Iris, look out!" Joe pushed Iris out of the way and took the blow.
"Dad!"
Deathstorm was about to attack again, towards Iris, but a vine crashed through the window and threw him against a wall. Killer Frost's white hair flipped with her as she turned to her boyfriend's sprawled body in confusion.
Datura jumped in through the broken window and, shocking, landed just in front of Iris. "No," she spoke like a mother scolding her children. "I said get the breacher! You do not go after them."
Deathstorm, in his rage, moved to attack her but Barry acted faster and sped them all out of the place. The three Earth 2 metahumans found themselves at a town square pond.
"There's the breacher!" Datura groaned, slapping a gloved hand to her masked face. "This wouldn't happen if Poison Ivy was here. You're both a bunch of idiots!"
"But she's not, is she?" Deathstorm snarled at her. "Where is she, hmm?"
"Don't play with me, Deathstorm, you know what'll happen," Datura then pointed them at Barry. "Him. Get him."
There, none of three had any disagreements.
"You shouldn't have come here, Flash. You're in my territory now," Datura had a promising smile on her face. She was telling the truth after all. Earth 2 was her domain, not his. "Get him."
Barry had his prime opponent but between her and him were Killer Frost and Deathstorm - also known as his best friends. "I don't want to hurt you…"
Killer Frost nearly laughed at the absurdity of his words. "Trust me, you won't," her voice shook with a new power. She threw ice fields towards him but he sped away to dodge them all.
At the same time, Datura made her own departure.
Killer Frost hadn't been able to hit Barry once and growled. "Kill him," she looked expectantly at Deathstorm.
He burst into flames and started throwing bolts of fire towards Barry. The speedster metahuman made a run around the place and stopped in front of a golden statue resembling Jay in his Flash suit.
"Come on. God, this is making me so hot," Killer Frost smirked as she watched.
Barry pulled off the helmet off the statue and used it to deflect incoming fire bolts from Deathstorm. One of the deflected bolts went directly to Killer Frost, throwing her onto the ground.
Deathstorm desisted from the fight to go pick her up. "This ain't over, breacher!"
Barry counted on it but he just watched them go. He turned his attention to the remaining metahuman he thought was still there. He was severely upset to find Datura had escaped like nothing.
Only Iris' voice managed to bring him back from his plans on finding Datura. Joe was still hurt and he would be needing medical attention.
~0~
When Harry found out what occurred he was, unsurprisingly, furious. "Killer Frost and Deathstorm…."
"You know them?" Cisco asked grimly. He couldn't believe Caitlin's and Ronnie's doppelgangers were metas serving under Zoom's dominion.
"More importantly, they know you now; they know that you're here!" Harry shouted at the affected Barry.
"So Caitlin and Ronnie's doppelgangers are evil? Those are some dope names, though," Cisco mumbled.
Harry paid no attention to him at the moment. "This was supposed to be a surgical mission, Allen. Find Zoom's lair. Rescue Jesse. Get in, get out, not get involved!"
Barry was not here to be lectured like a child. "All right, well, look, I am involved, okay? Joe's in the hospital. They nearly killed him!"
This made no difference for Harry. "No, he isn't. Joe West, your Joe West, is alive and safe on your Earth, so is Caitlin, so is Iris! These people, Barry, they're mirror reflections. As far as your life is concerned, they don't exist. Killer Frost, Deathstorm, they know that you're here. Then it's not long before Zoom does too, and then my daughter's dead, and that's on you!"
While it stung Barry, he did not give up on his stance. "Jesse still has time, okay? Iris and Joe need me now. I have to get back to them!"
"She is not Iris!"
"She is Iris!" Barry snapped. "Okay, she is to me! No matter what universe I'm in, these people are my family! I would think by now you should get how important family is. I'm going, Wells. I have to."
Cisco looked between the two men with a grim face. To him they were wasting time arguing.
"We need to find Zoom!" Harry insisted just as Barry turned to leave again.
"You want to find him? Fine," Barry turned sideways, "Tell us where to find Datura, then." Harry sighed and just stared at him. This was about to turn into the same argument from earth 1. "I saw her tonight and if anyone can get us to Zoom it's her and you know it!"
"We can't…" Harry wanted nothing more than to keep that woman away from them, but no one could understand why.
"I mean, it would be easier…" Cisco spoke up, earning himself a sharpened stare from Harry. "She's not fast. She leaves traces behind."
"We'd have even more ways of finding her if Harry would just tell us who she is," Barry snapped, once more raging over the fact Harry refused to tell them who was Datura in reality. Harry claimed it was pointless and that this time he was actually trying to do good by them."I mean if you would tell us we could search for her right here in the lab but no, you don't want to!"
Harry rubbed his face. Part of him wanted to just tell Barry and make him shut up already, but the other part knew that would be a tactical error. He was sure if Barry got a look at the real face of Datura he wouldn't fight and that would mean he was in her hands. "I'm not saying anything. Ramon, find Zoom now."
Barry shook his head and sped out, leaving Cisco to deal with Harry's attitude.
~0~
On Earth 1, the Geomancer was making his appearance known by rumbling the streets. No police cars could catch him despite not having true speed. His strength covered him.
A police car swerved into the street just where Geomancer had stopped. Veronica and Joe emerged from either sides with their guns in hand.
"CCPD! It's over, Fells!" Joe shouted.
Geomancer merely smirked. "No offense to you boys - and lady - in blue, but I'm waiting on the man in red."
"Oh please, all this just to get the attention of the Flash? How bored are you?" Veronica rolled her eyes.
"Not bored enough to wonder whether the Flash will show. I've been causing tremors for days and no sign of him. I think he's gone. What is it they say in boxing? Let's get ready to rumble." Geomancer raised his fists in the air, about to plummet them into the ground when a speedster came in and threw him back.
Both Veronica and Joe were stunned to see Jay on the site, donning his version of a suit.
"I heard you were looking for The Flash…" Jay stepped forwards.
~0~
From the lab, Caitlin monitored the vitals of the man, with Belén. "Looks like the Velocity-7 is working. Now, go get him!" Caitlin paused to admire her work then turned to Belén...only to find the woman gone. With a sigh, Caitlin rubbed her face.
Cisco would be deeply ashamed of her for falling for the same trick twice.
~0~
Geomancer was about to do his usual trick when Jay ripped his helmet off his head and turned the lightning bolts on the sides of it to create whirlwind of force that threw Geomancer back.
Joe, stunned, lowered his gun. "That's a new one."
"aha…" Veronica nodded her head slowly.
"Is that all you have?" Geomancer snorted.
Jay remained his usual, cool, self. "You don't ever want to see all I have." He meant to speed up to Geomancer but suddenly his legs slowed down and toppled over himself.
"The Velocity-7's wearing off!" Caitlin worriedly exclaimed.
Geomancer grabbed Jay from the head. "You've heard what an eight on the Richter scale can do to a city. Imagine what it's gonna do to your skull."
But then Belén swooped in and smacked him back with a trusty vine. Veronica nearly fell forwards at the sight of her daughter.
"Bel - Joe!" Veronica turned on her partner.
"We said no!" went the man in defence.
Even though it hurt like hell, Belén blew her famous poison towards Geomancer. For extra measure, Joe started to shoot as well. He could see Belén straining herself. Geomancer couldn't take both blows and so he had to make a run for it.
Veronica immediately ran for her daughter while Joe went for Jay.
"You hurt?" he helped Jay up to his feet.
Jay groaned from bruises he was sure would be forming along his body. "My pride...and my body. Pride and my body."
"What the hell were you thinking?" Veronica's voice carried over. She was pulling Belén towards them, the ombre- blonde wearing a scowl across her face. "We told you no - Caitlin told you no! You're still out of commission!"
"Whatever," Belén rolled her eyes.
"Oh, so you can't speak but you can say that?" Veronica continued scolding but Belén was flatout ignoring it.
~0~
With earth 2 Joe West dead - at the hands of Killer Frost and Deathstorm - Iris was itching to get them both locked up. Knowing this, Barry couldn't leave her on her own, not when he could help. Cisco, much to Harry's fury, helped come up with something that would hopefully help against Killer Frost. The two earth 1 metahumans strode into the station where Iris and Lawton were getting ready to head out.
Cisco could only see half of Iris but was already amazed by the similarities of her doppelganger. "Oh, Iris-"
Iris in return whipped out a weapon against him, a taser, and Cisco jumped back. "Do I know you?"
Cisco was scrunched up in fear. "Does she know me?" he asked Barry.
Barry sighed and came up with the only excuse that would eliminate second and third questions from Iris. "This is Cisco Ramon...one of Belén's old friends."
It worked.
Iris automatically lowered her weapon and adopted a warm smile. "Did you work at Mercury Labs with her too?"
Cisco blinked and looked to Barry for help but he was also taken by surprise. So this earth 2 Belén had been a scientist of some sort? Hm, why did that sound familiar?
Because Barry did not answer, Cisco came up with something himself. "Yes...I did. Love my Bells!" Iris made yet another face of confusion. "I built a weapon that I think we can use to neutralize, um, Killer Frost's powers," he motioned to the black case he held.
Iris didn't hesitate to trust and went to take the case from him. "Great, thanks. I'll take it."
Cisco stepped back and held his case closer. "Uh, please, I should really take this."
Iris raised an eyebrow. "No offence but my trust in Mercury Labs tech and employees vanished a year ago when my best friend died. I'm taking this myself."
In his shock, Cisco let the case easily be taken by her. "E-excuse you? Did...did you just say...Bells…"
Iris sighed. "Alright fellas, I understand it's a hard day - especially now that my Dad shares the anniversary with Belén - but I've got a job to do. One of my snitches gave me a lead on Killer Frost and Deathstorm's location. We're gonna bring them in."
Cisco threw an accusing glance at Barry but kept it bottled up for another time. How could Barry not mention that Belén was dead in this world? That was just rude. "Look, I'm the only one who knows how to operate that device so you have to take me. I'm better than Mercury Labs employees alright?"
"Yeah well I think anyone now is better than that place," Iris shrugged. "I can't put a civilian in harm's way."
Cisco blew an air from his mouth. "Look, I've seen fire, and I've seen rain. I can handle myself, okay, Detective West." He then snatched the case from Iris' hands and dared her to take it away.
"Fine. Lawton, let's move," Iris walked past him and Barry. Lawton moved behind, a little cclumsily.
"Uh, dude?!" Cisco smacked Barry on the arm. "What the hell!? How could you not tell me about Bells!?"
"Excuse me, I'm still trying to get over it myself," Barry ran a hand through his hair. "The Belén in this world worked at Mercury Labs and that...why does that sound familiar?"
"Didn't Harry mention that he thought Datura worked in Mercury Labs before she went all siphoner?"
Barry's eyes widened. "What if that's related?" before Cisco could question the relevancy of it, Barry started leaving. "What if somehow Datura had something to do with whatever caused Bells to die?"
"Well, then maybe that could explain why she now wants the Bells of our world…" Cisco said, somewhat sure. "Maybe Belén was a metahuman here too."
"I'm going to find out! I'm sure my doppelganger has something on them in his lab!" Barry started going up the staircase. "You help Iris! I'll be there soon, I promise."
Because Cisco saw no point in stopping him, he agreed and left Barry there.
Everything in the lab was almost the same as his, thank God. Barry went speeding back and forth looking for anything regarding Mercury Labs and Belén. He found some papers here and there but nothing conclusive until he came across the online file.
It was one thing to hear that Belén was dead, but another was to see the reports and pictures.
Annah-Belén Palayta, or Annah-Belén Allen as was her technical legal name, had indeed worked as a scientist in Mercury Labs up until last year when an unexpected explosion in her department had taken her life. There were various evidence samples taken from the site but no body was ever recovered. As Barry looked on, his eyes teared up. He just couldn't believe it. It was as if he was reading someone else's case, and while that was technically true he couldn't think of it as someone else...it was Belén.
Barry was about to close everything down until he eyed one detail…
Somewhere along the crime scene, one lone datura had been recovered. Barry raged at the sight and threw everything off the desk. He would not let Datura get away with it. Using his speeding powers, he went through every last detail on the metahuman, putting puzzles together to figure a way to find her.
~0~
A poisonous garden surrounded the greenhouse where one lone metahuman was presumed to be residing in. Barry balled his fists on his sides, his eyes narrowing on said building. He held his breath and sped right into the greenhouse which turned out to be bigger than he assumed. He went throughout the entire area searching and searching, but never found much. He did, however, find curious things belonging to his doppelganger, Maritza's...Veronica's and even Rayan and David.
"What the…?" Barry stepped back from everything he found. As soon as he did, the lights went out. Barry quickly scanned the area as best as he could in the dark.
There were swishing noises up above and Barry was sure he could see a figure swinging from one metal pipe to the other.
"I know it's you!" Barry started calling upwards. The figure stopped and sat down on a rail. "Turn the lights on and show your face, Datura."
"Ever since you took Ivy from me, I've not found the reason to keep the lights on," Datura boredly explained from above. Barry squinted his eyes to see her better but for the life of him could not. "She needed solar energy to keep herself strong, but—"
"SHOW YOURSELF!" Barry shouted frantically. "You killed the Belén of this world! Show your face you coward!"
A small laughed flew from above. "You think I don't show you my true identity because I'm scared?"
"Why else? No metahuman of this world every bothered to hide their faces," Barry gritted his teeth, getting half a mind to speed her down himself.
"Honey, if I don't show you my face it's not because I fear you. Let's call it...sentimental value."
"Take your crap and—"
"Ooooh, the Flash can use colorful words. I'm impressed. All that Zoom's done and I'm the one who gets under your skin?" Datura laughed again and from his spot Barry could see her head dangling from the rail she was sitting on. "Same old story, I guess."
"Lady, I don't know what story you're reading, but this isn't it. We're here for Jesse, but if I can put you in jail in the process then it'll be a win-win for all of us," Barry started moving towards the figure.
Datura laughed softly and stood up on her rail. "You know, ever since Ivy was taken, I've thought about the different ways I can get revenge..."
"Hm, really?" Barry asked boredly, stopping when he heard her swishing again. She was on the move above.
"I thought to myself 'what's the best way to hurt you and your partner?' and then...it came to me."
Barry took a step back when he finally saw her figure land on the floor.
"I'm wearing it," Datura's cold voice rang after a moment. "Everything I could ever use to hurt you is right on me. It's in me. It's me."
"You're going to tell me where Zoom is," Barry scowled. "Before or after you tell me why you killed Belén, I don't care."
"I didn't kill her…" Datura emerged from the darkness, this time her mask gone from her face to reveal her familiar features, "...I am her."
Despite being at his top health, Barry felt like the air in him had suddenly vanished. His feet stumbled back a couple steps. He tried to speak but no words could form. His mind was completely frazzled.
Datura's red lips curled into an amused smile. She extended her hands forwards, wrists together. "Do you want to lock me up now?" Her taunting voice couldn't register in Barry's ears. "Here," she stepped forwards, her gloved hands nearly touching his face, "Take me to prison." But Barry could not move just yet...and this only caused her to revel in her revenge. "Can't do it?" she laughed and swung her hands to her chest.
The smile on her face was neither sweet nor warm - it was malicious. It just didn't...fit. None of it did.
Belén - or, Datura - smiled with her vibrant red lipstick covering her lips. The black and red body suit gave off the malicious vibe she wanted to portray. Barry had seen her suit so many times but this time...it hit different. It was still a long body suit with exposed sides and halter neck. The bright red, elastic waist corset covering her exposed sides and black fishnet band over it was still there... Her squared cutout sleeves still went down to her wrists, tucked underneath black gloves. She still worse a red, circular chain belt around her hips. She still wore the red heeled boots...
Her dark brunette haired was curled and pushed behind her shoulders with one lone purple and red datura sitting on the side of her head. Her usual warm brown eyes were dark and mischievous. The aura of superiority that surrounded her sickened Barry.
She was Datura...but Datura could not be Belén. She just couldn't be.
Barry pulled back the mask of his suit and rubbed his face, hoping that when he would look again this would turn out to be a trick of some sort. "No, no, no, no...NO!"
Datura didn't flinch under his shout, instead she just tried not to laugh again...barely.
"You can't be her! You - you can't! You're not - you're B-Belén! Not...you can't be!" Barry was about to touch her but an instinct snapped his hand back.
"Fight me now, Flash," Datura challenged, knowing fully well that he wouldn't. Barry shook his head. She moved towards him but he kept moving back. "Do it! Hurt me like you said you would! C'MON!"
Barry felt an overwhelming power wave over him. He opened his mouth but she kept shouting at him to fight her - enjoying his pain obviously - until Barry decided he couldn't do it. He couldn't face her. He barely had time to remember Poison Ivy's warning that he wouldn't be able to fight her once he knew...
Datura's laughter echoed in the greenhouse after Barry had sped out of there.
~ 0 ~
Cisco regretted ever wondering what his doppelganger was up to. Surprise, surprise, he was evil just like Caitlin's and Ronnie's dopplegangers...and what was more - he ruled over Killer Frost and Deathstorm. In fact, the two were scared to death of Reverb.
That was a sight to see.
But of course with Reverb's superb, advanced powers, who wouldn't be?
Cisco couldn't wait for the moment to get Barry in there. He wasn't sure which of the three metahumans they had in front of them would attack first and he wasn't itching to find out.
Of course maybe they should have thought their numbers better than this.
Barry swooped in - disoriented from his earlier encounter - and hoped to bring down the metahumans with Cisco's help here and there. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do but he did know that he needed to go see Belén right now, his Belén.
"And who the hell are you?" Iris was tired of meeting different masked people that night.
"Look, Detective, just get out of here, all right?" Barry turned to her, begging her to just listen for once.
"No, not without them," Iris pulled the gun Cisco'd been carrying and shot directly towards Killer Frost and Deathstorm, only getting her shoulder. In retaliation, Deathstorm threw fire her way but Barry sped her behind some barrels.
"Stay here!" he told her once more.
Deathstorm garnered more flames as Barry returned to the 'playing field'. "Round two," Deathstorm smirked and started to fight again.
Meanwhile, Cisco battled his own doppelganger through words. "Look, mirror-mirror, I already told you I'm not going to the dark side with you."
Lawton came screaming and shooting at Reverb...only to not get a single bullet in the metahuman. Reverb blinked behind his goggles.
"You're a rotten shot." He shot his energy wind and blasted Lawton against the wall, knocking him out. "I'm not."
Cisco gawked. "Are you telling me I can do that?"
"I can show you," Reverb offered.
Barry's cry made Cisco turn to see the speedster being thrown against a wall then to the ground, and if it wasn't enough Deathstorm kept shooting and shooting fire his way.
"No!" but before Cisco could run to help, Reverb grabbed and punched him.
He then joined Deathstorm and shot his own powers at Barry.
"Stop, both of you!" Killer Frost stumbled as she got up. "Zoom wanted him alive! You know what Zoom will do if you don't obey him!" but neither man listened to her.
Deathstorm suddenly gasped when a blip of black appeared behind. Zoom had jabbed a hand through his chest.
"NO!" Killer Frost screamed and fell back to her knees.
Zoom stepped over Deathstorm's corpse and walked up to Reverb who'd shrunken in fear. "What did I say you should do if you encountered a speedster?"
Reverb looked down. "Leave him unharmed."
"Does this look unharmed to you?"
Because Barry was groaning on the ground, unable to get up for the moment.
Reverb didn't answer. Zoom killed him in a snap then zipped back to Killer Frost, grabbing her by the neck. "I'm happy to see at least one of you knows their place. Fail me and I'll have you siphoned and killed."
Now when he sped away, he didn't do it empty handed...he took Barry with him as well.
Author's Note:
I felt so evil for putting Barry through that but this is the turn that sets a lot of things in motion for this story and even the next. And did yall catch that specific image Barry saw when they crossed to Earth 2? I'm so excited for that bit! It's coming up in a few chapters!