03

Cracks In The Wall

EARTH-1

Iris's footsteps crunched over the fallen leaves as she made her way through the cemetery. Though there was a specific headstone she had in mind to stop at, she couldn't help but be sidetracked as she went along. Her eyes swept over the names on the headstones. David Chyre. Eddie Thawne. Patty Spivot. Henry Allen. Not to mention those that had been friends of her family as long as Joe had been part of the CCPD. Those who'd passed years before and those that had passed recently, struck down by Zoom in his bid to take over Central City.

So many lives that were gone too soon. It was devastating. The city went into mourning of the police officers and the man that had been found innocent of the crime that had turned him into a social pariah. For nearly a week people wore black, spoke softly, reminded their neighbors and friends they were there for each other if needed. She hadn't seen the city take such a call to action before.

"It's too bad it had to be under such sad circumstances," Iris murmured. She hugged the bouquet of flowers closer to her chest and continued through the rows of headstones. She sucked in a deep breath of the crisp, cool air and let it out, a fog moving in front of her. Tilting her head back, she looked at the sky. The perfectly clear sky with the sun shining brightly.

How was it possible for some of the days with the most beautiful weather to be during some of the most difficult situations? Iris slowed to a stop when she spotted a familiar figure kneeling by the headstone she had come to visit. It took her a few seconds to recognize Wally, he hadn't seem to hear her approach he was staring so intently at the name that sat across the face of the concrete slab.

Francine West.

Wally sniffed and pulled his arm beneath his nose, only looking up when Iris knelt next to him. He looked at her in surprise and she put the bouquet she brought on the patch of grass in front of the headstone. Then she placed her hand on Wally's shoulder and gave him a tiny smile. Wally smiled back, but it faded after a moment. Iris understood. Francine hadn't died too long ago and while they had all known she was sick, they never knew the depths of her sickness. She kept it a secret, the cancer that had come after her long struggle with a pill addiction. Hadn't wanted anyone to worry.

Joe stepped up the best way he could through the last of her life. They spoke with each other often and he visited her in the hospital after every shift. They relayed everything to their children, what was going to happen once Francine passed. Wally would move in with Joe, he'd go to counseling sessions to wrap his mind around what would happen, Iris was to go, too. In her own sessions as well as ones with Wally, they had to learn how to be family. Iris had smiled and shook her head in at the notion.

Learn how to be a family. How funny. Wally was already her family, the moment he was born. Sure, she had been shocked and angry at first to know what her father had kept from her. Just as Wally was with his mother for keeping Joe from him for so long. They commiserated with each other and grew closer with the childhoods they missed being a part of. Her little brother. Iris always wanted to be able to say that.

It hadn't been too long, a few months.

It'd come so suddenly.

And her father hadn't taken it very well. He was distancing himself. She could tell, he didn't have to tell her, that her father blamed himself for what had happened. Blamed himself that their family couldn't have been complete years before, when they would've have the time to be back together. Blamed himself that he wasn't wealthy enough to afford the best hospital care she could need in her final days. Blamed himself for the pain she felt the last few days before death had finally, peacefully taken her.

Iris did her best to talk him through it but he continued to shake her off, burying his head into his work at the CCPD and as his position as Best Man for Captain Singh's wedding.

"How long have you been here?" Iris asked after a few long moments of silence.

"Not long," Wally said. "I only had one class today."

"Well, it's good you're not skipping anymore."

"Yeah…my GPA couldn't handle it." Wally managed to chuckle. "It doesn't take long for your grade to plummet but it takes a long while to bring them back up." He shook his head. "My advisor has said that to me before, but I didn't realize how true it was."

"You're telling me," Iris agreed. She sat on her heels, dropping her hands to her lap. "My first year of college I was so into socializing and the parties and everything that when I got my grades back for the first semester, dad nearly blew a gasket. And then my advisor was on my butt to make sure I brought them up again."

"You? Skipped classes to go to parties?" Wally asked.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That the perfect Iris West doesn't seem like the class skipping type."

"I'm not perfect!" Iris reached out and jostled Wally on the arm. The two laughed and leaned against each other as they continued to look over Francine's grave. She moved her arm around his shoulders and said, "You know if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here. And so's dad."

Wally shook his head. "Dad hasn't been around much lately."

"You know he's hurting, too."

"You've never know it," Wally said bitterly. "From the way he acts. He just keeps—"

"—Pushing his nose into his own work, gets tunnel vision, throws himself into danger with his job?" Iris gave a teasing smile. "Sort of sounds like someone I know." Wally shook his head. "You're exactly like him, Wally, the way you were trying to help out with the Flash…"

"That's because I can help people," Wally said. "I want to help people. I want to make the world a better place and all that but…I don't know." He licked his lips and finally turned to look Iris in the eye. "Something's different since we were there, seeing Zoom fighting Barry. Knowing Barry and Cadence are Flash and Flare and that you guys are doing everything you can to protect the city…since then, recently, I've gotten the feeling that I'm destined for much more than classes and grades."

"Or maybe you got knocked silly by that energy wave," Iris teased. She reached up and gently rocked Wally's head back and forth. "Or all of that street racing has rattled your brain around a bit. Makes me wonder if my little brother could ever have been normal."

"If I'm not normal, it's only happened since I met you," Wally teased. "You must've rubbed off on me. I'm sure Barry would agree."

"Barry liked to watch zombie movies and rate them on a scale of realism," Iris said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, I think you'd find yourself SOL on that one." They laughed again. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

"I hope it's on you, I'm starving," Wally said, climbing off the ground.

"What happened to the money dad gave you?" Iris brushed off the seat of her skirt as she got up as well. She eyed Wally suspiciously when he looked away. "Don't tell me you lost it with another one of your street races."

"Okay, I won't tell you."

Iris sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know how people wonder what they did before they had siblings? I'm sure I had a lot more money."

Wally laughed.

Cisco walked into STAR Labs with two big bags of Big Belly Burger clutched in his hands. He looked over as Caitlin gently pushed herself back and forth in her chair, phone pressed to her ear. He walked in front of her and held up the bags. Caitlin glanced at him and waved her hand, pressing her phone together to her ear.

"No, I'm sorry. I told you that I didn't make that purchase," Caitlin said firmly. She listened for a moment and closed her eyes. "There has to be some mistake, I wouldn't spend that much money on one pair of shoes." She paused. "Then someone forged my signature. I…yes, please keep me informed of this." She hung up her cell phone and set it aside so that she could write a note on her tablet then turned to him, brown eyes wide. "That was my bank, this is the third time I've had fraudulent charges on my credit card."

"For shoes?" Cisco asked.

"For a pair of $500 leather stilettos," Caitlin said. She motioned to herself. "I can't afford to buy those shoes."

Cisco gave her a funny look, sitting down next to her. He set the bags of food by their computers. "Cait, you're freaking loaded." He backed away when Caitlin glared at him and he held up his hands. "Okay, okay, your mom's freaking loaded. But, still, you're pretty well off and you know, we're being paid well, too. Who thinks you wouldn't buy a pretty good pair of shoes as a treat to yourself?"

Caitlin's eyebrows rose in amusement. "Leather stilettoes?"

Cisco shrugged. "You've got the legs for it." Caitlin laughed and thanked him before turning his attention back to her computer. Cisco beamed, pleased that he managed to ease her mind a little, and motioned to the bags of food. She took one and opened it. "I got your usual if that's okay. My treat." Caitlin smiled her thanks, though it was obvious she was still preoccupied with her banking issues. "Third time, huh?"

Caitlin nodded around her bite of food. "It has to be the same person, because each time they keep buying leather things. A jacket here, shoes there. A bracelet. Next thing I know, they're going to be knocking over jewelry stores and banks." She bobbed her head back and forth. "If they had any taste they would've gone to a book store or a tea house or something."

"So other than this banking fixation, how was your night last night?" Cisco asked. He grinned around his burger. "Did you get into any wild and crazy parties? Check out any new romance novels? Is Fabio still modeling for those?" He lifted a finger. "You know, I should get all of the credit for him deciding to stye his hair like that."

"You weren't even born yet."

"Maybe I vibed it to him."

Caitlin laughed again. She shook her head, started to answer, then stopped, eyebrows coming together. "Actually, I don't remember too much from last night. Got home from work, had some dinner…was conked out by ten."

Cisco snorted, shaking his head. "You really know how to live a rock and roll life, Caitlin." She shoved him on the arm and he smiled at her. Feeling his cheeks turn red, he turned to face his computer screen, hoping she'd do the same. It was starting to get out of hand now, how much he looked forward to seeing her. How a touch on the arm would make his skin burn for hours on end.

They were friends. He knew that. But lately….it was hard to see her as just a friend. Their relationship—friendship he quickly reminded himself—had always been good from the beginning. Caitlin was the first one to be friendly to him once Harrison Wells hired him to be part of STAR Labs. She gave him the tour around the facility and warned him about things to stay away from and how to get along with some of the other workers. (Though Hartley Rathaway was always going to be a pain in the ass).

And now over the last three years they'd grown to be like family. But what did you do when you started to feel something different after that? I should probably talk to Barry, Cisco thought. He looked up as there was a bamf sound and Cadence appeared in front of them.

"Hey guys," she greeted with a wave.

"Hey." Caitlin look at her watch. "Lunch break already?"

"Yeah, I've only got about a half hour," Cadence said. She grabbed an empty chair and pulled it over to join them at the computer desk, taking the bag Cisco offered to her. "I thought I'd come by to see if I've missed anything? The meta app has been pretty silent."

"Nothing over here," Cisco said, typing a few keystrokes on his computer. A map of Central City opened to track movement within the city. Caitlin glanced over then picked up her phone to check it. "Looks to me like nothing's been going on in Central City."

"Cool," Cadence said. "A free day." As if on cue, the three reached out and knocked on the counter of the computer desk at the same time then laughed.

"By the way, Harrison and Tess are on their way back from the Metahuman conference," Caitlin said. Cadence nodded in response to acknowledge she heard her while Cisco added, "At least someone is acknowledging metahumans."

"And as anything but threats to the city," Cadence agreed. She frowned, checking her phone and seeing that she didn't have any messages. "When'd they call?"

"I was on the phone with them before the bank called. They were checking in to see what's going on here. Nothing with the Assassination Bureau so far. No signs of White Hot, Breathtaker, Mindboggler, Incognito, or Stratos today. Not that that's a good thing, it could mean anything."

Cadence nodded in agreement. "After what happened yesterday…with that vision…" She shook her head. "They may already be planning something. Other than trying to drive me completely crazy."

"You haven't had anything before then?"

"No. Nothing. White Hot would pop up every now and then to bring me messages and we'd fight. But that was it. It wasn't until then that I got a vision. If it wasn't that I knew Mindboggler' tactics, I probably would've thought I was just hallucinating." Then her eyes narrowed and she turned her attention back to Caitlin, suddenly asking, "The bank called again?"

Cisco laughed at the abrupt change of subject. "Apparently whomever is stealing her identity has a fixation on leather," Cisco said. He hid a smile as a wide smirk slid onto Cadence's face.

"Well, well, I always thought there was some sort of a dominatrix inside picture perfect Caitlin Snow," She teased. Caitlin balled up a napkin and tossed it to Cadence, who caught it and immediately reduced it to ash. "Geez, Cait, it's like you can't take a joke. I'd hate to see what happens when you really let loose." She and Cisco broke out into laughter again and were so preoccupied with teasing Caitlin that they didn't notice Barry arrived until he sucked in a sharp gasp of air.

"Barry!" Caitlin said in surprise. She looked at her watch. "You made it back in record time." She, Cadence, and Cisco got up from their seats and went to greet him. "How was the convention?"

Barry's face screwed up in confusion. "Convention?" He repeated, but allowed the hug she gave him.

"After a few days with all of that knowledge being put in my head, I think I'd be a little delirious, too," Cadence teased. She threw her arms around Barry's neck and gave him a kiss. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Barry said quietly.

"I missed you," Cadence said. "Well, as much as I could." She shrugged and tossed a smile over her shoulder. "I guess I'll have to share the limelight with the citizen of Central City again. It was fun while it lasted."

"Hey man." Cisco reached out and slapped his hand into Barry's. The moment their palms touched, everything took on a blue-gray tone and Cisco felt himself vibing. A gasp escaped his lips as everything came to him at once, swirling around until he came to a stop in…was that STAR Labs?

"Trippy," Cisco muttered. He was in STAR Labs in STAR Labs. But, this other STAR Labs looked a little different. The decorations were different, holding gold and green colors rather than the silver and gray that had been a STAR Labs staple since Harrison—Eobard—created it. No, this was different, it looked…like what he would do if he were ever given the chance to decorate their technological space.

"Is there a better way to get to work than a helicopter?"

Cisco's eyes widened and he turned around, hearing his own voice. He gaped, watching a well put together version of himself walk into the Cortex of this other STAR Labs, a tall, leggy blond hanging off his arm. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a sleek as the rest of his suit, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

The woman who stood beside him shook her head and giggled as Cisco agreed. "No! There's no other way to go to work than a helicopter. You'll never want to take any poorer transportation again." That Cisco turned and the real Cisco followed his gaze to see Barry and Wally walked into the Cortex. The other Cisco's nose wrinkled as irritation crossed his face. "I told you never to come back here." He pointed at Wally. "I make you a suit so your clothes don't explode and you leave me out of everything. That was our deal! Deal?"

"But we need your help," Wally pleaded. He took a step forward and motioned to Barry, who stood beside him, staring at Cisco in surprise. "You've seen the Rival on TV, God knows what he's going to do next. We have to stop him."

"Then stop him." Cisco waved his hand. "You know what happens if you mess with a speedster? A vibrating hand through the ribcage." He tapped his chest. "That's what happens, okay? No!"

"Cisco, you're not going to help us?" Barry finally asked.

Cisco looked him up and down, upper lip curling. "Who the hell is this?"

"Cisco—"

"—uh-uh—"

Barry rolled his eyes. "—Mr. Ramon, you want to do this. You care about helping other people. I heard a story about you when you were fifteen and your brother Dante owed a bookie, you gave him all of the money you earned delivering pizzas to help him."

"How did you know that?"

As quickly as he started to vibe, Cisco was brought out of it. He gasped and dropped his hand from Barry's and looked his best friend in the eye. Barry looked back at him, eyebrows furrowing together before his eyes widened in recognition. He realized Cisco had vibed him and saw everything.

But what was it he had seen exactly? A life where Cisco was clearly very wealthy and…Wally was The Flash? "What the fuck…" Cisco whispered.

"Cisco," Barry said.

Caitlin and Cadence exchanged glances. Before anyone could ask what was going on, an alarm went off and Caitlin hurried back to the computers to read it. "We've got a thief," she explained. "Has already targeted a bank and a few jewelry stores."

"I got it," Barry said quickly when Cadence moved to go.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You just got back, you don't want to rest a little bit?"

"Trust me, I've rested enough," Barry said. He looked at Cisco before turning and racing into his suit and out to the field. Cisco walked over to Barry's mannequin and looked it over. He started at it for a long moment then pressed his hand against the mannequin and vibed everything that had happened in Flashpoint.

Every. Last. Thing.

Cisco lowered his hand from the mannequin just as Barry came sliding back into the room with a bright smile on his face. As if he was happy to be able to stretch his legs again. Not like he hadn't had time to do that when he was out in Flashpoint, Cisco thought. Being able to run that far and do whatever he felt like while ruining the rest of our lives.

It took only a minute for Barry to come back, his foot sliding across the ground. He stood up straight and tossed a couple of bolts into his palm. "Looks like this guy is going to be in for a nasty shock when he tries to ride again."

"Well, he's not going to be the only one," Cisco said, voice dripping with ice. He folded his arms and stared hard at Barry. "Right, Bare?"

"Okay, what's going on?" Caitlin asked.

Barry waved his hand. "Nothing." He quickly took in a breath, his eyes flickering to Cisco's and he changed the subject to a lighter conversation topic. Cisco could hear the nervous quiver in his voice. "But what kind of idiot thinks that I can't outrun bullets? They should know by now there's not much that I can't outrun. Now, what should we call him? The crook?" Barry asked. He looked around the room as they made a face. "Lame, huh? Okay, how about—"

"How about thief?" Cisco interrupted. His eyes narrowed. "He robs stuff, he's a thief." A sarcastic chuckle escaped his lips and he pointed at Barry. "But you'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you?"

Barry took a breath through his nose. "Cisco, not now."

"When would be a good time for you, then, Barry?"

"Okay!" Cadence stepped between Barry and Cisco and looked back and forth between the two of them. "What is going on? The second Barry got back, you want to rip his head off. I know you have a bromance that's big enough to threaten my relationship with Barry, but I didn't think you were that mad he went to the convention without you."

Cisco snorted. It had nothing to do with the convention. He opened his mouth to reply when another alarm went off. He sighed in exasperation and turned to Caitlin, who was still standing at the computers. Funny how they were just saying nothing was going on.

"Guys," Caitlin said, her eyes wide as she lifted her head. "A breach is opening."

Barry and Cadence grabbed Caitlin and Cisco and hurried them down to the basement of STAR Labs. Once they arrived, Cisco went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out an assault rifle, pointing it directly at the swirling blue vortex that slowly opened.

Barry exchanged a glance with Cadence before turning back to the vortex. Cadence ignited flames up and down her arms, falling into a fighting stance as she waited. She held her breath. Anyone could be coming through the breach at that moment. Burnout. Killer Frost. Other Earth-2 doppelgangers. Zoom. But Zoom had been defeated hadn't he? They'd seen it with their own two eyes.

Speedsters can come back from a lot of things, Cadence reminded herself. Don't let your guard down. She clenched her hands into fists, steeling her muscles. Finally, she could see a dark shape start to move through the breach before landing on the ground in front of her. She immediately relaxed when Harry took a few steps to keep his balance.

Harry Wells sucked in a deep breath and held up his hands, noticing Cisco's gun. "I come in peace," he said sarcastically.

"Man." Cisco lowered his gun, but just barely. "It's only Harry."

"Allen," Harry said.

"Wells," Barry said back.

A smile started to form on Harry's face. "I need your help."

"With?" Cadence asked. The word barely escaped her lips before she was smacked with a harsh gust of wind that shot out from the breach. Her hair and clothes were whipped by the wind a streak of golden lightning circled them. When it stopped, Jesse grinned at the group. "Jesse." She walked forward and gave her a hug.

"Hey!" Jesse hugged her back then turned to the others, lifting her hand to wave to them. They didn't wave back. As a matter of fact, they were all stunned. "How's it going?"

"You're a speedster?" Caitlin asked eyes and mouth open as wide as the rest of Team Flash.

"Yeah." Jesse's grin was unflappable as she rested her hands on her hips. She tucked her hair behind her ears and waited for someone to say something. "it's pretty cool right?" She prompted.

It took Barry a lot longer than the others to recover. He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he stuttered, "H-h-how-how did this happen? Wh-when? W=what?" Barry asked. He rubbed his hands over his forehead.

"A couple of days," Harry explained. Barry let out a quiet 'oh my god' in response. "I guess when Barry got his speed back, when Wally and Jesse were hit with that wave of energy, it was a wave of dark matter. And she was affected. Totally affected. I want to run some tests and see how much."

"We could always use the Speed Lab," Caitlin suggested, recovering from her surprise. Cisco folded his arms and nodded quietly.

"The Speed Lab?" Harry and Barry repeated in unison.

Cadence lifted an eyebrow to answer her boyfriend. "Yes, Barry, the Speed Lab. The very same Speed Lab you run in every time you're trying to push yourself to go faster. It's like your second home." He smiled and nodded, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So, you're another Speedster, huh?" She asked and Jesse nodded again.

"We could use another speedster," Caitlin said. "Considering we have the Assassination Bureau to deal with."

"The Assassination Bureau?" Barry blurted. He looked at Cadence who looked back at him in exasperation. "They're back?"

"Yes! Barry, they've been out of the pipeline for months now. It's not a secret." She grabbed his arms. "What's the matter with you? You ran to the convention, otherwise I'd say you were experiencing jet lag or something."

"I don't know," Barry said slowly. He rubbed his temple. "It just…feels like everything's leaking together in my brain. It's hard to keep everything straight." He shook his head. "I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought."

"So, are you going to help me or what?" Harry demanded.

Cadence looked at her watch and shook her head. "I can't, I have to get to the hospital to meet with a client."

Jesse made a face. "I didn't think the dead really liked to talk back to those that were cutting them open."

Cadence laughed. "That's not my job anymore. All of the people I work with now are much more lively." She thought for a moment. "Do you want to come?"

"What about the tests?" Caitlin asked.

"I'm a speedster, it won't take long for me to get back and do any tests," Jesse pointed out. She stood next to Cadence and rested her hand on her shoulder. "And maybe this can be a bit of some sister bonding time that we didn't get to do the last time we were here."

"No," Harry said shortly.

"Hey, you know if anyone, I can protect her," Cadence reassured him. "And considering she only got her powers a few days ago, she may have trouble keeping up her speed. If we need to get somewhere fast, I can teleport. After our shifts are done," she nodded to Barry, "we can do the tests. In the meantime, just make sure that Central City is clear."

"You got it," Cisco agreed with a thumbs up. He turned and walked by Barry, hitting him with his shoulder, before leaving the basement.

"I'll go see what's up," Caitlin said. She smiled to Harry and Jesse. "It's nice to see you guys again." With that, she hurried after Cisco. Harry rolled his eyes and gave Jesse a look, who returned it and followed them out.

Cadence tapped Barry on the chest with her finger. "Hey, space cadet," she said, getting his attention. He blinked and looked down at her. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he said.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He licked his lips. "I'm just tired and, you know, thinking about all the work I need to do tomorrow. I'm sure Captain Singh is going to have a lot to say."

"Well, he signed off on letting you go, so there's not much he can say, really," she reminded him. "And I think he's a little more concerned that you get your suit on time."

"My suit?" Barry repeated.

"All the groomsmen have to wear one." She tilted her head and smiled a little. "What are you doing later today?"

He shrugged and looked around the basement. Folded his arms, rocked back and forth on his heels. "Nothing," he said slowly. "Right? I'm doing nothing. I think. Yeah. Nothing. Why?"

"Because I still plan on taking you out, I want to hear everything about the convention." She reached up and ruffled his hair. "Maybe it'll ease some of that load you're carrying. I'll see you later, okay?" Barry nodded and she smiled and gave him another kiss before stepping around him. She motioned for Jesse to follow her.

"Is Barry always like that?" She asked.

"On a good day," Cadence joked back. She held out her hand towards Jesse. "Come on." Jesse took it and Cadence teleported the two to the hospital. She walked the two up the sidewalk that stretched around the front. "So you got your powers a few days ago?"

"Yeah, it was wild." Jesse shoved her hands into her pockets and shortened her stride to fall in step with Cadence. "One minute I was brushing my teeth, the next I went through my morning routine and my chores at warp speed. I may have run into the walls on more than one occasion, dad wasn't too happy about that. But it's so cool."

"Well, once we see where you are in the Speed Lab, I'm sure Barry can give you some pointers on how to keep control of your powers." Cadence waited for the double doors of the hospital to slide open before going inside. She went straight to the elevator and pressed her thumb into the call button. "Dealing with new powers can be pretty difficult, especially depending on your emotional state around them."

"Who's emotional? I'm excited! Just seeing what Barry was able to do was amazing. Really inspiring." They stepped onto the elevator and waited to be taken to their floor. "I wanted to be able to help people, too."

Cadence couldn't help the proud smile that came to her face. "Yeah, Barry seems to have that effect on people."

"And now that I have these powers and there's no Flash on my Earth, maybe I can be that Flash," Jesse continued, her eyes shining with excitement. "I'll be able to keep everyone there safe, help rebuild, bring hope back to the city. Zoom's gone, but things aren't the same as they used to be."

"I'm sure you'll be a great help for Earth-2, but you have to crawl before you walk and you have to walk before you—"

"—Run?" Jesse broke in.

Cadence smiled. The elevator doors opened and the girls went out onto their floor. The second they did so, Cadence sensed something was wrong. Something sinister was around. She knew it was coming, it was the primal sign of danger that everyone got. Whether or not one listened to the feeling made for the fight, flight, or freeze response. And, unfortunately for whomever was causing her discomfort, Cadence was a fighter.

Her eyes swept back and forth over the faces of the doctors and nurses that passed her. Then, as she approached the receptionist's desk, she spotted John James, the biggest thorn in her side. When he saw her approach, he stopped pacing and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"I was called here," Cadence said calmly. She reached to her hip and produced her badge. "Or did you forget that I was specifically assigned to this case?"

John glared at her, red, watery eyes narrowed so tightly she wondered how he was able to see. As she watched, he lightly swayed on the spot, mentally confirming Cadence's suspicion that he was drunk. "This isn't a case! This is my daughter!"

Cadence felt her temper flare. And at that exact moment, a stack of papers sitting on the receptionist's desk down the hall burst into flames. She shrieked and moved to smother the flames as quickly as possible. "Your daughter, if I have my way, will be far away from you." She put her badge back on her hip. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a few questions I need to ask her." She took a step forward but John continued to stand in front of her. Cadence tilted her head back and stared hard at him. "Get the fuck out of my way." Her voice took on a low, dangerous tone. "Now."

Cadence wouldn't be scared away from the height and weight John clearly had over her. She'd faced too many metahumans for her to be intimidated by a . Then, finally, John stepped out of the way so Cadence could walk by. She went into the hospital room, pushing the door open with a flattened palm.

A friendly smile came to Cadence's face. "Hey Frankie," Cadence greeted as she walked into the hospital room. Frankie Kane looked up through her bangs, pulling her jacket back over her arms. She fiddled with the gloves that rested over her hands. "Long time no see, huh?" Frankie shrugged and her eyes shifted over to Jesse. "This is my friend, Jesse. Jesse, this is Frankie Kane."

"Hi," Frankie said with a wave. Then she brought her hands back to her lap, playing with her fingers. "Um. How are you?"

Cadence continued to smile. "As fine as can be, considering the run in I just had with your father—"

"—Foster father," she interrupted then bit her lower lip, lowering her gaze.

Cadence made a sound of agreement. Then she tilted her head to the side, getting another angle of Frankie's face. Of the bruise that seemed to take over the entire right side. No wonder she had been called back in. How many times had she met up with Frankie over the years? Enough so that her suspicions of abuse not being listened to was really starting to piss her off. But there was only so much that could be done when Frankie wouldn't cooperate.

"Right, right. So, what'd he do this time?" Cadence asked, folding her arms. "Throw you down the stairs? Push you into a wall?"

"No." Frankie shook her head.

"Knock you down?"

"No."

"Kick you?"

"No!" Frankie lifted her head and stared, eyes wide at Cadence. "No, he…he hasn't done anything. I'm just a bit of a klutz."

Cadence backed down a little. At least she had her answer. Every time Frankie would deny anything was wrong, her eyes would flicker over towards the door as if expecting her father to barge right in. "I understand that. Part of the reason I got into gymnastics and cheerleading was because I kept falling over all the time."

"Really?" Frankie continued to play with her fingers.

"Really?" Jesse repeated with a laugh.

"Yep." Cadence nodded. "I couldn't go anywhere or do anything without tripping, falling, or hurting myself in some way. So I did those to get a better sense of balance. Not to mention I loved it since first saw it." Frankie smiled at her. "What about you? Are you into anything? Any sports?"

"Not so many sports, I guess," Frankie said. "Field hockey, maybe. But…I really like to draw."

"Can't hurt yourself drawing, can you?"

"No. Not really. Not except the stray paper cut. Those always hurt."

"You're right." Cadence's smile faded. "But it can't hurt as much as a punch to the face." Frankie's smile faded. "I've had a few of those myself. I'd recognize the swelling and bruise pattern anywhere." Frankie ducked her head. "Frankie…" Cadence rested her hands on the end of the examining table and leaned towards the young teen. She waited until Frankie lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. Tears brimmed her lashes and her breath shook. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. And I really want to help you."

Frankie looked back at Cadence and for a long moment it was like she zoned out, was anywhere but in the moment.

"Frankie?" Jesse asked after a minute.

She continued to stare.

Cadence frowned. "Frankie?" She repeated.

Frankie blinked and her eyes came back into focus. She pulled her sleeves down to meet the ends of her gloves. "Nothing's going on," she said in a low murmur. "I'm fine. Can I go now?"

Cadence nodded and backed away so Frankie had some space. She jumped down from the examining table and left the hospital room, immediately swept up by her father.

Foster father, Cadence corrected herself.

Brady closed his locker door and backed away, keeping his head ducked low so not to stand up too quickly. He'd already had one too many run-ins with the corner of an open locker door with the back of his head. Though it was a good excuse if he ever wanted to go to the nurse to get out of class. Middle School was already so different than elementary school was.

They were still expected to ask if they could go to the bathroom but now they were also expected to do multiple hours of homework a night. Not to mention the exams they'd be taking at the end of the semester. And his classes were in so many different rooms he could never remember what his schedule was telling him. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one having the same troubles. But at least there were enough students around so that following a crowd to figure out where they were going was easy.

"All clear," Brady said, shifting his backpack up his shoulder.

Conner nodded and closed his locker with a quick slap of his palm. "How many more times do you think you'll hit your head?"

"Enough so that I'd willingly use my powers to keep it from happening." Brady rubbed at the spot on the back of his head, feeling a flash of pain despite having been clear. "Mom said if she has to heal me one more time she may as well staple my head back together."

Conner laughed. "Can she do that?"

"She learned some surgery stuff when in school, but I don't think I'd trust her with a stapler." Brady blew his hair from his face and changed the subject. He lowered his voice, looking around for a moment. "Did we get anything else?"

"Oh, right." Conner dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He turned the screen towards Brady and pulled up their private Instagram page. At the bottom, Brady could see a few more accounts had requested for permission to follow the account. Then his eyes flickered to the number of messages they had. "Yeah, we've got a few more."

Brady nodded and watched as Conner shifted through the messages to find those that had videos attached. Videos of kids their age showing off the powers they had, some explaining how they had to hide theirs while others explaining they decided not to hide it. He nodded, watching all of the messages before motioning for Conner to put the phone away.

"So that's more people I can tell the others about," Brady said, continuing to grip the straps of his backpack. "There's more in Central City than I thought."

"Well, the dark matter wave did get pretty far," Conner said. He folded his arms and leaned back against their lockers. "There's so many people that were probably more affected than we thought. And others who weren't affected at all." He tapped his chest. "I'm not."

"Maybe not affected, but afflicted," Brady teased.

Conner smiled. "Vocab word?"

Brady rolled his eyes. "I had them drilled into my head all summer so I'd be caught up when we got back. Around all of the camps and hanging out with mom, and the places that MaMaw took me and then hanging out with Dad…" his nose wrinkled. "I'm surprised I'm still standing."

"Must be that whole metahuman body thing," Conner suggested. "That really could come in handy. Or even Barry's speed."

"Yeah, that way you can get back and forth from—" Brady cut himself off, chewing his bottom lip. Then he twisted his mouth to the side before scratching the side of his head. "There's probably something we can do."

Conner shook his head. "No, I already tried."

"Maybe you didn't try hard enough."

"What else would you do?"

"Probably hope that my powers of blending in would actually turn my invisible. They can't see me, can't find me."

Conner smiled a little. "Speaking of Barry, did he get back yet?"

"Not yet. But he should be back today." Brady started to smile again. "You know he gets about science and everything. If he could marry it, he probably would." The two laughed and Brady looked over his shoulder when he noticed Conner's gaze shift to the side. "Do you want me to leave?" He asked, seeing Leah push her way through the crowd of leaving students towards them.

"Ha ha." Conner straightened himself when Leah walked over, dragging Alicia by her elbow as she went. "Hey," he greeted the two. "What's going on?"

"Did you get a lot of homework, too?" Brady asked.

Leah rolled her eyes. "School's only just started up again and I'm already bogged down with homework. And my mom and dad say I have to keep up with an 'A' average."

"That strict?" Conner's eyebrows rose in surprise when Leah nodded saying, "You have no idea." Then she glanced at Alicia and didn't say anything else. Brady quickly understood what that meant. It had to do with how they didn't like that she was a metahuman and were doing everything they could to keep her from using her powers. It was the same story she'd given all summer when she couldn't stay out too long or had to do extra chores and everything under their parents' watchful eye.

"Talk about strict, my mom and dad freak out if I'm not back before the street lights come on," Alicia agreed.

"Wouldn't want a metahuman to kidnap you, right?" Brady asked.

Alicia shrugged "That's what my dad says. There's always a risk when metahumans are around."

Brady's eyes flickered over her, trying to keep his frustration from showing. "And I bet you agree with that, right?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. There are some dangerous ones, but not all of them. Not the Flash or Flare or Shadowhunter or some of the other ones." She shrugged. "But dad always likes to get his way so mom and I just go along with it. He was really upset when his Registration thing didn't work out."

"But he still made the city curfew," Conner pointed out.

"Just to make sure people are safe."

"If that's what makes him feel better," Brady said. Conner gave him a look and Brady held his hands up defensively. He knew he was being rude but all the same he couldn't think of how easily Alicia had changed her tune about metahumans. At first, she did nothing but mimic her father's words about how metahumans were nothing but dangerous for Central City and that they should all be eradicated. That was something that tended to be deep seated within those who already had their opinions and weren't easily swayed. "I'm just saying."

"Well, I have to get home," Leah said. "My mom's taking me to my dance class. Even though it's not too far from here." She rolled her eyes before hitching her bag up over her shoulder. "She insists she takes me everywhere."

"Too bad you can't fly," Brady remarked.

"I know." Leah gently tapped Alicia on the arm. "See you tomorrow. Bye guys."

Brady, Conner, and Alicia waved after her. Hugging her books to her chest, Alicia asked the boys. "What about you? Do you have soccer practice today?"

"Not today, it was cancelled for rain," Brady said.

"And I'm not really playing soccer anymore," Conner agreed, voice turning low, almost wistful. Brady's shoulders slumped and he looked away from his best friend, suddenly feeling very annoyed. He bid goodbye to his friends, promising that he'd get online to play a video game with Conner later, then joined the streaming pile of kids that were leaving the school.

Quickly looking both ways, Brady phased himself through a few that were in his way before hurrying down the rest of the steps and onto the sidewalk below. He made it a few steps before realizing he recognized the person walking his way, hands on his head, muttering to himself. Brady smiled and hurried up to him.

"Barry!" He called.

Barry looked up and gave a visible smile of relief when he saw the young boy. Brady increased his speed towards his friend. "Whoa!" Barry grabbed him and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Ow! Uh, Barry?" His cheek squished against Barry's chest before Barry grabbed his shoulders and knelt down to look him in the eye.

"You're the same Brady right?" He asked. "Nothing's different? Nothing's changed?"

"Barry, are you okay?" Brady stared as Barry started to shake his shoulders and continued to repeat eth same questions as before. "No! Barry, nothing's changed."

Barry nodded and raised himself to his feet. Then he stopped an did a double take as he looked over Brady. "Did you get taller?"

"Barry, what's going on? You're acting even weirder than usual." Brady shoved his hands into the front pocket of his sweatshirt. "Did you really go to a science convention or did you run so much that your brain bounced around?"

Barry shook his head. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair. He paced back and forth for a few moments before he turned and clasped his hands together. "I made a mistake," he blurted. Brady's head jerked back in surprise. "With everything that's happened with Zoom and…and my dad dying, and my mom…I couldn't take it."

"I thought you were doing okay," Brady said slowly.

Barry stared at him. "Were you when your grandfather died?"

Brady frowned. He did the best he could. He did more chores around the house and took more responsibility because his mom was clearly hurting so badly. But he still felt himself getting stuck in moments of sadness as well. He loved his grandparents and when his grandfather died, he tried hard not to let it get to him. But there were times where the tears would come before he could stop them and they'd drip down his cheeks and soak the books he was reading. But to lose a parent? He couldn't imagine that. The thought of losing his mom in a meta-fight gave him a healthy dose of fear from time to time. And for years he hadn't known who his father was, but now…

"I just couldn't take it anymore, you know," Barry started up once more. Brady watched him pace back and forth as he spoke, knowing he was talking to himself, trying to get everything out more than talking to Brady. He spoke faster and faster, words moving at warp speed, making it harder for Brady to keep up as the seconds passed. "Knowing that I couldn't save either of them when I had the chance. I mean, I had the chance. When I went back in time the first time, I mean, the second. I saw my mom. I had the chance to save my mom but I decided not to, I couldn't do it. Too much could've happened, I wouldn't…"

He swallowed hard and kept going. "I couldn't take the pain anymore. I was tired of having to put on a brave face, to pretend to be happy all the time when inside I was dying. I had to change things. I wanted a new life. I wanted to start over. So, that's what I did. But somehow, I made things worse. I reset everything and put it back to the way things were before but nothing is the same not everything is the same. I really screwed up, and I don't know if I can fix it."

Barry finally stopped talking and Brady placed a hand on the side of his head. His head was spinning. He knew Barry could talk fast and be a little neurotic, but this was something on an entire different level. He thought of everything Barry told him and quickly zeroed in on one thing. "So you ran back in time, stopped the Reverse-Flash from killing your mom?" He asked.

"Mhm." Barry nodded.

"And you…lived with your mom and dad over there, came back here, and noticed that things were different?" Brady continued.

"Yeah, exactly."

Brady's eyes shifted back and forth. What could have possible changed? As far as he knew, everything was the same it always had been. He still had his powers, his family dynamic was the same, and Black Blade was much of a pain in the ass as he'd always been to him. Just like White Hot and the Assassination Bureau being a pain the ass for his mom. Still, Barry didn't look like he was lying about what happened. "Like what?" He finally asked.

"Everything!" Barry blurted. He started to pace again. "I knew some things were weird. But before I could figure out how much, I had to deal with—"

"—That guy on the motorcycle," Brady said, remembering the whispers from the bus ride to school that morning. Everyone had been glued to their phones, trying to track the thief that had been on a spree robbing banks and jewelry stores. They craned their necks to look out the windows, trying to catch sight of the Flash anywhere.

"That guy on the motorcycle," Barry agreed. "I went back to STAR Labs and that's when I realized that a lot had changed. Cisco was pissed at me, and I couldn't figure out why and…" he took a deep breath. "Brady, I made a mistake."

"You can say that again." Barry and Brady turned around to find Jay Garrick—the real Jay Garrick—standing behind them with a stern expression that only a father could muster when he was disappointed. "We need to talk."

A/N: So, this last part of Flashpoint was done differently on purpose but you'll see what Barry went through to get back in another part. I hope the change doesn't throw you off too much, you already know I like to change things to make them flow a bit differently. Not to mention it keeps the pacing up a bit. We've got fights coming in with the next chapter.

Please remember to review; any feedback helps me become a better writer and motivates me to write more. I respond to every review, even anonymous ones.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Josephguy217: Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's always nice to hear.

DarkHelm145: You're very welcome for the shoutout. It's a fun story. And I'm glad things are making more sense now that it's happening all at the same time.

Ethan: The reason that Ryder explained in the last chapter. If there are people that have been following their medical progress, suddenly being healed would be too much of a change that it'd cause too many people to look into it. Especially any doctors that may want to take a DNA sample or cells of some sort to re-create it. Nah, Cade would be happy to watch him play lacrosse, she doesn't get too squeamish about him being hurt.

Yummers: Thank you! Here's the update.

Babyj: Yes, there'll be more of White Hot and the Assassination Bureau explanations as the stories go on. And as you can see, I did something different with the rest of Flashpoint.

Guest: Thanks! Glad you like the idea.

Spinquin142: Yes, one of the things I hope to change is that it's not a complete word for word thing with the episodes like I'd done in some places before. I think it makes things stronger if I don't.