Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
"Your world is in danger, Barry Allen. Please, just let me explain. I mean you no harm." Jay pleaded.
"How do you know my name?" Barry demanded.
"I know all your names." Jay looked at everyone. "Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Detective Joe West, Detective Patty Spivot…"
"Enough." Joe and Patty readied their guns.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Patty demanded as Jay raised his hands in surrender.
"This world is in danger." Jay said.
"What other worlds are there?" Cisco asked hesitantly.
"When you created the singularity above Central City, you also created a breach between my world and yours." Jay explained.
"I'm sorry, a breach?" Iris stared.
Jay nodded. "Yes, a portal connecting our two Earths."
"And what precisely is your concern?" Stein inquired.
"A few days ago, you found a dead man named Al Rothstein at the nuclear plant. But then a different Al Rothstein tried to kill you." Jay explained.
"Atom Smasher." Cisco whispered.
"That man was from my world." Jay said. "If he got through the breach, I suspect there'll be more to follow."
"OK, so, Jay, how exactly do you know all of this?" Barry inquired.
"Where I came from, I was a speedster like you. They called me The Flash." Jay revealed. "Before I arrived on your Earth, I was in a fight with a man named Zoom."
"Zoom?" Barry blinked. "I've heard that name before. Atom Smasher, he said Zoom sent him here to kill me. Who is this guy?" He demanded.
"He's a speedster, like you and me. And fast. Maybe the fastest of all. But evil. He is an unstoppable demon with the face of death." Jay said. "We were engaged in our fiercest battle ever, racing throughout my city. But I wasn't fast enough to stop him. Zoom had me beaten. He was about to kill me when suddenly there was a blinding light and the sky split open. A breach, between my world and yours, caused from the singularity. It pulled me in... and I somehow ended up in your world. Powerless. Unable to return home."
"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.
"I lost my speed." Jay said.
"How?" Barry inquired.
"Not entirely sure." Jay said.
"These past six months you've been here in Central City. Why not confront us before?" Patty asked.
"I'm in a foreign world here, Detective. I didn't know who you all were. Took me that long to piece it all together." Jay said.
"So that's how you know our names. You've been following us." Iris realized.
"Look, I know how this sounds." Jay said, leaning to the desk. "The existence of another Earth, you, another Flash, it all came as an unexpected shock to me, too. I just wish there was something I could do to convince you."
"There is. We're gonna... do some tests on you. See if you're telling us the truth." Barry neared Jay, glaring in mistrust. "'Cause if you're not, this Zoom, he's not gonna be your only enemy." He warned.
"Is any of this possible?" Iris wondered as Caitlin was running some tests on Jay. "A breach to another Earth? It's not, right?"
"The contrary. Just recently, the many-different-worlds theory proposed interaction with parallel universes was plausible." Stein said. "Now, if what Mr. Garrick's saying is true, that theory's been proven sooner than we all thought."
"It doesn't add up." Barry said.
"I'm gonna be honest here, I don't understand what the hell any of you are talking about." Joe admitted.
"So, Jay is saying he's from, like, a mirror-world." Cisco said.
"Some sort of a parallel universe, similar to ours, yet different in many ways too." Patty said.
"Multiverse would be a more apt description." Stein said.
"No, not helping." Joe shook his head, still confused.
"Bless your heart." Cisco muttered before Stein approached the table, picking a marker.
"OK, let's see if this helps." Stein drew a circle. "This is our Earth. Let's call it Earth-1." He labeled it as 'E-1' before drawing another circle, labeling it 'E-2'. "And this second Earth, let's call it Earth-2. This is where Jay claims to be from." He then drew multiple circles on the table. "And these other Earths, three, four, five, to infinity, all of them, are nearly identical to ours. And they all exist at the same time, giving us endless alternatives to what we have here." He gestured at the circles. "For example, the Joe West on Earth-2, your doppelganger, he might not be a detective. He could be a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. And you, the Barry Allen here is The Flash, but over there, he could be an electrician.
"So, I'm assuming that the people on all these other Earths work to make money to pay bills and such." Joe tried.
"I would imagine." Stein nodded.
"So we got that in common." Joe nodded, glad to have at least some semblance of normalcy. "I'm heading back to the station. Call me when this makes a little bit more sense. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole idea of time travel." He left as Patty picked her coat.
"I should head back too. If something happens, I'll let you guys know." Patty said before leaving.
"There is, uh, one problem that remains. If Mr. Garrick is telling the truth, there is a breach somewhere in Central City that we need to find and close for good." Stein said.
"Yeah, but how do we find it? We don't even know what to look for." Cisco pointed out.
"Well, I... I suggest we put our heads together and come up with a solution. Not literally, of course. Those days are over." Stein said, missing Ronnie.
"What'd you find?" Iris asked as Caitlin returned to the Cortex.
"Well, Jay's heart rate is extraordinarily low. And he does have regenerative capabilities. Other than that, I'm not seeing any evidence of the Speed Force in his system." Caitlin said.
"We don't even have proof that he's a speedster, much less from another Earth?" Barry asked, skeptical.
"Not necessarily." Caitlin said.
"What does that mean?" Barry asked.
"Well, Jay doesn't know this, but while I was testing his heart rate, blood pressure, and motor responses, I also measured his autonomic reactions while we were talking." Caitlin said.
"You gave him a lie detector test?" Iris realized.
"And he passed it." Caitlin nodded.
Barry turned to Jay, still skeptical. "What if he's not a good guy, and he just wants to find our weaknesses?" He turned to Caitlin. "Keep running tests. See what else you can find out."
CCPD
Patty was at her desk before a blonde man with unshaved chin approached her. "Detective Patricia Spivot?"
Patty looked up at him before noticing the British accent. "Can I help you, Mr…"
"Doctor Julian Albert." He offered his hand as Patty shook it before realizing who it was.
"Mr. Albert. You're the one, who had applied to the Anti-Metahuman Task Force, correct?" Patty realized as she looked at his application form.
"Yes, I was hoping—"
"I'm sorry but it's a bit too late. Everyone quit, there's no task force anymore." Patty said apologetically.
Julian chuckled. "Well, quite frankly, I'm interested in joining the task force."
Patty narrowed her eyes. "You do realize that metahumans have powers, do you?"
"I've spent four years in the military, Detective, and I have medical training. I can handle myself." Julian assured. "I studied history, biology, science and archeology."
"How long have you been working here at the force, Mr. Albert?" Patty asked.
"Few months." Julian said.
Patty sighed. "Are you aware of what happened to Detective West's partner?"
"Are you referring to Eddie Thawne or Fred Chyre? Because I'm aware of what happened to both of them. I'm just asking for a chance." Julian pleaded as Patty considered.
"I'll think about it." Patty said as Julian smiled.
"Thank you."
S.T.A.R. Labs
Barry locked Jay up in the Pipeline cell. "I hope you understand why we have to do this."
"I get it, kid." Jay nodded.
"You're doing what you think you have to. But you'll all realize soon enough that this, the tests, it's unnecessary." Jay assured. "I want to help you, Barry, not harm you."
"You're not the first person that's said that to me." Barry said, still distrustful.
"If what you told me about Zoom is true, that he sent Rothstein here to kill you, instead of locking me up in here, you better start listening." Jay warned. "Because if Zoom is involved, you are gonna need a lot more than just me at your side to stay alive."
"Barry, there's a fire at the waterfront. Fire department's en route." Cisco called out.
"I'm on my way." Barry said.
"Be careful." Jay warned.
Barry nodded before he sped off.
Later, Central City
The Flash sped into the mall, spinning his arms around to create cyclones as he extinguished the flames. "That was a big fire." He panted out, tired. "It's out, Cisco."
"Copy that, see you in a bit." Cisco said.
The Flash turned around but suddenly he was hit in the face by some large sand fist as he fell down. From the sand morphed a man, who smirked at eying the Flash. "I thought it would be harder than this."
The Flash dodged as the man tried to attack with his sand fist and rushed at him but ran right through him as the man dissolved into sand, much to his shock.
"Barry? Hello? Are you there?" Cisco called out.
Realizing he couldn't deal with the metahuman right now, the Flash ran off.
"What was that?" Cisco asked.
"I don't know. We need to find out." Barry said.
The following morning
"Hey, Barry." Patty called out as she neared Barry, while the police and firefighters were examining the crime scene.
"Hey." Barry turned to her.
"So, who or what did this?" Patty asked.
"Pfft. Well, definitely a metahuman. Had a pretty solid look at him between punches. And he was, like, made of sand." Barry said.
"A sandman?" Patty asked as Barry nodded.
"These walls are too porous to pull any prints. I can't even get one off the boat, but check this out." Barry pointed at the walls.
"Gasoline burns." Patty said as she looked around.
"Water didn't go off. Sprinklers weren't working." Barry said.
"An arsonist." Patty realized.
"It may have been a metahuman."
They turned around to see that Julian had entered.
Barry narrowed his eyes as he neared him. "I'm sorry, you are…"
"Dr. Julian Albert." He offered his hand. "Barry Allen, correct? Privileged to meet you."
"Hey." Barry said, shaking his hand with Julian.
"What makes you think it was a meta?" Patty asked.
Julian accompanied them to the generators, with one of the cables severed. "This is the point of origin of the fire. You see that?"
Patty took a closer look. "I don't know a sandblaster on the market that can make a cut that precise."
"This may be a work of a meta." Julian nodded. "I've found a sample and also some fingerprints on the back of the pipe. I think you and I will work together quite well, Allen. And perhaps with you too, Detective Spivot."
"Well, you've impressed me, I'll say that much." Patty said.
"Thanks." Julian before he shook his hand with Barry. "Pleasure to meet you, Allen."
"Thanks." Barry said as Julian left before Barry turned to Patty. "Who's that guy?" He asked.
"Apparently, your new colleague and he wants to join the Anti-Metahuman Task Force." Patty said. "Look, he seems nice and enthusiastic but I don't want to see him get hurt, Barry. I don't know what should I do."
"Well, I think you can keep an eye on him. Can you?" Barry pointed out.
"I can try." Patty shrugged. "Whether I actually can manage that is a different matter altogether."
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
"Found it at the crime scene. I mean, it's gotta be from the metahuman that attacked me." Barry said, showing Cisco the vial of sand.
"Huh. What is this stuff? Sand?" Cisco inquired.
"It's not sand." They turned to see Jay, who had entered the Cortex. "It's human cells whose myosin II protein have migrated to the cell's periphery."
"Jay's a fellow science nerd." Caitlin explained. "Those cells have the ability to rearrange and harden, giving them the appearance of sand."
"And how do you know this?" Barry asked.
"They belong to a metahuman I've fought before named Sand Demon." Jay explained.
Cisco got up, gesturing with his hands. "I know you're new here, so I'm just gonna break it down for you. The whole "naming the bad guys" thing, that's my jam." Jay nodded before Cisco chuckled. "But you know what? I'm gonna let you have that one because I actually kinda like it. I'm not mad at that one." He then noticed the shirt Jay was wearing. "Is that Barry's sweatshirt?"
"Oh, uh, sorry." Iris flushed. "It was all we could find, so—"
"I was gonna say, because it looks a lot smaller on you, right?" Cisco smiled at Barry. "I gotta do this thing."
"So, who is this Sand Demon?" Iris asked.
"I don't know his name, but I know how to stop him." Jay said.
"You know what? I think we'll be fine on our own." Barry said, still not trusting him.
"Look, Barry, I don't know what else I can do to prove to you I'm on your side." Jay said, clearly frustrated from Barry's mistrust and the test they had done on him. "I've been poked, prodded. I even subjected myself to a full body scan."
"I was being thorough." Caitlin defended.
"Sand Demon's from my world. Let me teach you how to stop him." Jay offered.
Barry shook his head. "Yeah, I don't need you to teach me anything, Jay."
"Zoom sent Rothstein here to kill you. He must have sent Sand Demon here to do the same thing." Jay pointed out. "Don't you get it? Anyone close to the Flash, all of you, are in a lot of danger."
"All right. If you're so good, you would have caught him already." Barry snapped, nearing him as Jay sighed. "Let's get Jay back to his cell."
They locked Jay in the Pipeline cell before Barry went out, while Patty called.
"Hey, Barry, we ID'd the meta. The fingerprints belong to Eddie Slick, we tracked him to his address." Patty said, while on a stakeout for Slick.
"All right, where are you? I'll meet you there." Barry said.
Central City
Slick spotted Patty in her car as he ran off. "Too late for that. I've been made." She went out, chasing Slick before he was facing Julian, who aimed his gun at him as Slick raised his hand in surrender.
"Well, I hope my application still stands, Detective." Julian smiled.
Later, CCPD
Slick was in the interrogation room as Joe showed him the photos of the crime scene. "That look familiar?" Slick looked away before Joe grabbed him by the back of his head, forcing him to take a closer look. "How about now? What's it look like?"
"A fire." Slick said.
"There you go, genius. It's the fire you started in the third ward last night." Joe said.
"Man, I didn't start no fire there last night." Slick protested.
"What? Were you out of town? Your cat get sick?" Joe asked sarcastically. "Well, let me guess. You don't start fires anymore. You been rehabilitated."
"Yeah, I done it before. So what? I didn't do this one." Slick said.
"I always start a fire with something that's hard to trace. You know, like acetone or something." Slick said.
"Or maybe you don't need to use accelerants anymore. Iron Heights can hold people like you now. You know that, right?" Joe said.
"You think I'm one of those metahuman freaks?" Slick demanded incredulously. "If I had powers, you don't think I would have used them to get away from you?"
"December, 2013. Where were you?" Joe inquired.
"Why?"
"Answer the damn question. Where were you?"
"Blackgate Penitentiary. You don't believe me? Check your records."
Barry and Patty were observing Joe on the other side of the glass. "Do you think I should let Albert on the task force?"
"Well, he seems like a nice guy and he means well. And clearly, he can handle himself." Barry said.
"But we're talking about metahumans, Barry." Patty said. "It's dangerous to go after them and I know he means well but I don't want to see him get hurt."
"Listen, if he's anything like you or me, there's no way you're gonna talk him out of it." Barry pointed out. "Look, I think that at the very least, you can keep an eye out on him."
"You really think I can?" Patty questioned.
"I'm sure you can." Barry assured before Joe went out.
"OK, so, Slick wasn't in Central City the night the particle accelerator exploded." Joe said.
"Are you sure?" Patty raised her brow.
"He's a dirt bag, and an arsonist, but he's not lying about this. He's not a meta, Patty." Joe said.
"Slick is the guy who jumped me." Barry protested.
Joe pointed at Slick. "Do you think it's possible that the Slick in there has a..."
"…a doppelganger?" Barry asked as Joe nodded. "I don't know."
"At this point, we can't rule anything out." Patty said.
S.T.A.R. Labs
Caitlin and Cisco were watching on TV the broadcast of the Green Arrow before Barry entered.
"Yo." Barry said.
"Yo. The sample you gave us? Not sand. Definitely human cells." Cisco said.
Barry sighed. "Yeah, I know. It's not him, I get it."
"I hate to say it, but I think this Earth-2 theory is starting to make sense." Cisco said, folding his arms.
"For real?" Barry raised an eyebrow.
"What, you think Jay is lying about the Sand Demon?" Iris questioned.
"I don't know. That's my point. But I'm not gonna just believe some guy that walks in here and says a few things that sort of check out." Barry said.
"Sort of? He was... he was right about Zoom." Cisco reminded.
"We don't even know anything about Zoom." Barry snapped. "What is Zoom? Is Zoom even real? Right now, that's just, you know, a story around a campfire." He added before turning to Stein. "I mean, have you discovered a breach yet?"
"Not yet, but we know how to now." Stein said.
Barry turned to Caitlin. "Have you found one thing to suggest that Jay is a speedster? Is the Speed Force even in his system?"
"It doesn't appear to be, no." Caitlin shook her head.
"See? We are scientists." Barry said before turning to Iris. "You are a journalist. We test, we prove, we report. That's what we do. Except right now, nobody here wants to do any of that except me."
"Can we have the room for a minute?" Iris asked as they left her and Barry alone. "What has happened to you?"
"Are you... me?" Barry asked incredulously.
"Yes, you. The you that I grew up with. The you that is my best friend. The you that became The Flash. I haven't seen that you in a very long time." Iris said.
"A lot's changed, Iris." Barry said.
"Yeah, it sure has. You have learned how to not trust people. What is it about Jay that you don't like?" Iris questioned.
"I don't know." Barry said, leaning onto the computer.
"It's because he reminds you of Harrison Wells." Iris said.
"I trusted that man for months. We all did. And you know what? Eddie is dead. Ronnie is dead. And a whole lot of other people in this city, they are dead because we trusted him. I'm not gonna let us make that mistake again." Barry said.
"Barry, not everyone is Harrison Wells. Besides, you defeated him because you trusted in people. Because you believed in them." Iris said as she went next to him. This team that you have here, they will follow your lead. They'll do what you say. But if they think that you don't believe in them, it won't be long before they don't believe in you."
Barry folded his arms as he considered. "It's not that I don't trust them. I've learned the hard way not to trust the bad guys. Or have you forgotten how Snart tried to double-cross us, when we had to get the metas out of the Pipeline?" Iris stared. "All we have is Jay's word about him being a good guy and I'm not gonna take a man at his word just like that again. Never again. Let me make this clear, Garrick stays in the Pipeline until we can confirm his story and we don't have time for infighting due to needing to stop Sand Demon. If this is too much for anyone to handle, they know where the door out is." He left angrily as Iris sighed, staring at him.
Later, CCPD
"Get to walking." Joe pushed Slick out. "I don't want to see your ugly mug around here again."
"Sayonara." Slick said.
"We didn't have probable cause." Patty said as Julian observed.
"I understand." Julian nodded.
"Listen, Albert, as for the metahumans, remember, nothing is ever as it seems." Patty said. "You won't mind telling us why do you want to be on our task force?"
Julian was about to open his mouth before Slick returned. "What does he want now?"
Joe and Patty turned around, glaring. "Didn't I just tell you I didn't want to see your ugly mug around here again?"
"Well, you're gonna have to, Detective West. So I can get to the Flash." Slick suddenly formed a sand fist, knocking Joe down.
Patty and Julian aimed their guns, shooting at Slick but the bullets went right through him. Slick knocked Julian down before he smiled at Patty.
"I like you. You'll do the trick... just fine." Slick disarmed Patty before taking her.
S.T.A.R. Labs
"Finally come to your senses?" Jay asked as Barry opened the Pipeline, realizing he had no other choice but to trust him.
"Sand Demon kidnapped Patty." Barry said.
"And you need my help?" Jay realized.
"I need you to help us save her." Barry said. "Before something happens."
"I guess you're gonna have to trust me now, huh, kid?" Jay realized as Barry snorted.
Barry let Jay into the Cortex as he filled them all in. "We're looking for any structures that promote humidity. Greenhouses, grow rooms, anything of the sort. His body will literally start to fall apart if he becomes dehydrated."
"Like dry sand." Caitlin realized.
"Exactly. Sand Demon always attacks on two fronts. He creates a diversion, then strikes when you're distracted." Jay said.
"OK, then what do we do?" Barry asked.
"We use your speed to get to him before the distraction can happen." Jay said.
"Jay, how do I stop somebody who can slip through my fingers?" Barry questioned.
"The way I was never able to. With lightning." Jay said.
Cisco clapped his hands, enthusiastic. "Yo, are you about to pull a Zeus right now?"
"What are you talking about?" Caitlin said, confused.
"Barry's gonna hurl lightning from the energy he creates when he runs." Jay said.
"Because lightning plus sand equals... glass." Barry nodded.
"Time to learn something new, kid." Jay said.
"All right." Barry chuckled before spotting Joe. "Give me a sec.". He went out to approach Joe. "Hey, are you good?"
"That was Singh. CCPD still hasn't found anything yet." Joe said.
"We're gonna find Patty. We have to." Barry said. "Whatever it takes."
"I've searched all the vacant buildings in Central City and none of them fit the description that we need." Caitlin said.
"And I've looked at any draw upticks on the electrical grid. Nothing out of the norm, I'm afraid." Stein sighed.
"We gotta do whatever it takes. I'll be back." Cisco said as he got up. He approached the sample of sand in the lab and touched it as he took deep breaths. "OK, come on."
"Flash is coming for you, you know?" Patty said, restrained to a chair.
"Yes, I'm sure he is." Slick said.
"You can't beat him." Patty said.
Cisco breathed out heavily as he returned back to S.T.A.R. Labs, with Stein staring at him. "Mr. Ramon? What are you doing down here?"
"I figured out where Patty is." Cisco said.
"And how exactly did you do that?" Stein questioned.
"Just a hunch." Cisco shrugged. "We gotta tell Barry."
Elsewhere, Barry was training with Jay as he ran around, throwing lightning at the practice dummy but missed.
"Again." Jay ordered.
"I've been doing this for an hour." Barry sighed. "It's not working."
"It's because you're trying to rush it. This is the one time you need to slow down." Jay said, approaching him. "Let the energy pass over you, then simply direct it to where you want it to go."
"All right, Jay..." Barry sighed. "I don't know if I'm gonna get this in time."
"You'll get it. I believe in you." Jay assured.
"The last person that helped me like this was a man that I looked up to. Idolized. He taught me how to get faster, how to get stronger, how to use my powers to save people. That same man murdered my mother." Barry said, grudgingly remembering Thawne.
"It's a tough break, but I'm not him." Jay assured.
"Yeah." Barry nodded.
"I know where they are!" Cisco called out as he entered with Stein. "The abandoned Woodrue grow house. That's where Slick's keeping Patty."
"Dude, great job." Barry hugged him tightly.
"And I was thinking, if I were Sand Demon and I were attacking a speedster on two fronts, I would probably want to slow you down, like, by using a concussive bomb or something like that." Cisco said.
"That's a good thought. He's actually used one on me before. His body absorbs the blast so it doesn't affect him." Jay said. "Well, kid, gonna have to think of something."
"You know what? What if we give Slick a diversion?" Barry turned to Jay, an idea forming in his mind. "He knows you, right? You said you went up against him."
"Yeah, but, Barry, I don't have my speed." Jay reminded.
"He doesn't know that. You got your suit?" Barry said.
"Sure. Well, except my helmet." Jay said.
"Helmet?" Stein blinked.
"Silver kettle helmet? Gold wings?" Cisco realized.
Jay stared. "Don't tell me you guys found it."
In the Cortex, Caitlin handed Jay his helmet as he chuckled. "Never thought I'd see that again." He laughed softly. "It was my father's, from the War of the Americas."
"Did you just say War of the Americas?" Cisco demanded.
"I wish you would have just told us you lost your helmet. Would have saved us all a headache." Barry said as Caitlin helped Jay put on his helmet. "Well, sure you want to do this, Flash?"
"Yeah. Let's go see what you're made of... Flash." Jay shook his hand with Barry.
Central City
Slick heard a gust of wind as he smirked. "Is that you, Flash? Found your way here." He turned around to face Jay.
"I came quite a distance." Jay smirked.
"I thought you were dead." Slick stared.
"You were wrong. Like usual." Jay quipped as Slick neared him. "Let the girl go."
"Have at it. But you touch her, she goes boom. And I think even you aren't fast enough to save her." Slick gloated. Jay attempted to hit Slick, who dodged his punches. "Quite a bit slower on this Earth, aren't you, Flash?"
Jay hit Slick in the face as it dissolved into sand for a moment before reforming. Slick retaliated by pummeling Jay, who coughed out. "You don't have your speed, do you?"
"Slick's distracted. Go, Barry!" Cisco ordered.
Barry sped in, grabbing Patty as the bomb went off and the explosion knocked them away. Barry turned to Patty, who groaned. "You OK?"
Patty nodded. "Just a little banged up."
"Must be my lucky day." Slick smirked. "Zoom sent me here to kill you. Now I get to kill the Flash from two worlds before I go home." He grabbed Jay by his throat as Jay choked out.
"He's choking Jay!" Caitlin cried out.
"Barry, you gotta do something now." Iris said.
Barry sped around Slick before he threw lightning. Slick turned into glass as he fell back before shattering into pieces.
"You OK?" Barry asked as he turned to Jay.
"Yeah. I'm OK." Jay assured. "Nice shot, kid."
"Flash?" Patty called out.
"Coming."
"Coming." Barry and Jay said in unison, nearing Patty, who stared in disbelief.
"You killed him." Patty breathed out, looking at the shards. "Barry…"
Barry turned around and looked in remorse before turning to Jay. "You didn't tell me he was going to turn into glass."
"I… I didn't anticipate for this would happen, Barry, I swear." Jay said. "If there had been any other option, I would've taken it."
"Patty…" Barry turned to her.
"Can you just get me out of here?" Patty sighed.
CCPD
"This is the second metahuman you've killed." Patty said after Caitlin had treated her and Jay's injuries as she and Barry walked down the corridor.
"I swear, I didn't know this was going to happen." Barry said. "If there had been any other way, I would've taken it."
"Barry… I get that." Patty said, holding Barry's hand. "It's just that… I know that you didn't have a choice. But don't act like it's fine, OK? I'd be surprised if you weren't bothered by what you had done."
"Honestly…" Barry sighed. "I keep telling myself I'm not Wells or Oliver but what's been going on recently… makes me question that."
Patty smiled as she kissed him on his cheek. "Well, hold on to that doubt. I think it's what makes you who you are. Just, please, don't go down darker paths because it might be easier for you, since you'll only end up stop recognizing yourself."
Barry nodded, considering as they went out before Julian approached. "Is this a bad time? I can come by later, if—"
"Oh. Barry, can you give us a minute?" Patty asked as he nodded and left Patty and Julian alone.
"I was hoping you had considered—"
"Actually, that's what I want to ask you. Why do you want to join the Anti-Metahuman Task Force?" Patty asked.
"Because they've been gifted this incredible power and all they can do is terrorize a city." Julian said. "I don't have a deep, personal reason to go after them. It's just that I see person after person transformed, given these extraordinary abilities and I watch them be squandered. Robbing banks, hurting people, spreading fear. It's not just a crime. It's an absolute waste." He looked envious. "Can you imagine what it would be like to have those powers?"
"What about the Flash?" Patty pointed out.
"I'm not a xenophobic, Detective." Julian sighed. "I just… it's killing me to see that… all of them are squandering their powers on stealing money and hurting people and… I know the Flash is trying to do the right thing but I just need to at least feel like that at least I can still make some difference. I'm not saying that the Flash is evil. But relying only on him makes me feel powerless against them. And I don't want to feel like that."
Patty considered. "Monday. 8 A.M. Don't be late for task force, Doctor Albert." She offered her hand as Julian shook it.
"Thank you. You won't regret this." Julian smiled.
Joe went down the stairs to see his ex-wife, Francine at the elevator, much to his shock.
S.T.A.R. Labs
"Any progress with the electrophotography?" Stein asked as Cisco was working on the computer.
"The satellite picture of the city's still rendering." Cisco said, typing away.
"While we wait, care to tell me what's going on with you?" Stein asked.
"What? Nothing." Cisco lied.
"Two hunches in one day. Slick's locale, and that he'd be using a concussive bomb to thwart Barry." Stein said as Cisco stared.
"Do I need to inform you of the odds of such a prediction?" Stein said as Cisco hesitated to look in his eyes.
"Something's happening to me. I'm starting to perceive things. Horrible things." Cisco said, looking worried as he turned to Stein. "It started after Wells killed me in the other timeline. It came back when Atom Smasher attacked on Flash Day, and then again when Sand Demon showed up. I get a vibe, and then a vision of something that's already happened, and then it's gone." He took a breath. "That's how I knew where Slick was."
Stein seemed enthusiastic. "Cisco, this is amazing. We... we have to study this, figure out just what to do…"
"No, no, no, we're not doing any of that, and we're certainly not telling anybody, either." Cisco protested as he got up.
"Cisco, I would think you'd be the one most intrigued with knowing exactly what this is and how it works." Stein said.
"I'm seeing things I don't want to see." Cisco snapped. "And knowing things I don't want to know. I just want it to stop. Professor, I don't want anyone to know about this. Not yet." He pleaded, turning around.
"It's OK to be afraid, you know?" Stein assured.
"Wells told me this was my future. That he gave me this power. But everything he did was evil. That's what scares me, Professor." Cisco said. "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone about this."
"I promise." Stein nodded.
The computer went off as Cisco stared at the screen, revealing multiple breaches in the city. "Oh, wow."
Stein showed everyone the breaches on the screen in the Cortex. "It appears that while we were indeed successful in closing the Singularity, there was an unfortunate side effect."
"What are you talking about?" Barry asked.
"Using electrophotography, Cisco and I were able to search Central City for any signs of energy entering our Earth from another dimension. "From any "breaches", as Mr. Garrick described them." Stein said.
"But, of course, there isn't just one breach. There's 52 of them scattered throughout the city." Cisco added.
"These breaches are pockets of time and space folded into and upon itself. But the most significant breach of all appears to be this one." Stein said as Cisco zoomed the map.
"And where exactly is that located?" Caitlin asked.
"It's here, inside S.T.A.R. Labs." Stein said. "And just beyond that breach is an entirely diff... fferent..." Suddenly, he spasmed and collapsed to the floor.
"Professor? Professor!" Cisco exclaimed as they neared the unconscious Stein.
I know that it might be stupid to involve Julian but don't worry, I mainly plan for him to be a supporting character in the background, like Singh or Linda or like how Pike and Walter are supporting characters in Arrow and he's going to have a bit similar role as Patty did in Season 2. I just did this to make sure Patty would somehow be more involved with Team Flash and he's not going to be much of a jerk like in the show and not too involved.
Plus, I could see both sides regarding Team Flash trusting Jay (Hunter) and Barry not trusting him just yet but how everyone questioned Barry's calls in that episode was just annoying.
And again, it's stupid how it was shrugged off like nothing that Barry killed again.
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.