33

It All Came Back To Earth-1

EARTH-2

"Right this way, Mr. Allen."

"Thank you."

Earth-2 Barry pushed his glasses up his nose and followed the security officer down the dark, damp hall to the visitation room. He cleared his throat, tightening the knot of his tie to ensure it wasn't coming lose. Then he ran a hand over his hair, stopping for only a second, dropping his hands to his sides. There was no point, he realized. The same thing happened every time, but he still couldn't help himself. There were too many people who would say he was crazy for going.

He never had said he was completely sane. He was the one with his head in the clouds, the one who was always racing after metahumans and the like so that he could provide justice to everyone that deserved it. Even those metas that were a victim of their circumstances deserved justice. It was why he was in the prison in the first place.

Just visiting.

Honestly, he hoped he never actually ended up there. Hoped he didn't have to go visit again anytime soon. The walls were too dark, the air was too damp, the guards watched him too closely. There were too many people he'd seen unfairly put away. Thankfully, this would be one of the last times he'd have to go. After that day, things should be easy. Should go back to normal. As normal as his life could be.

"You have ten minutes."

Earth-2 Barry nodded as he dropped himself into the chair waiting in front of the glass partition. He reached out and picked up the phone mounted to the wall right beside him. Around him, other visitors were already speaking to their loved ones. Earth-2 Barry took in a deep breath, waiting for the phone to be picked up on the other end.

When it was, Burnout simply lifted an eyebrow and said, "You really have to stop visiting me. It's just wasting your time."

"I don't see it that way," Earth-2 Barry replied. He pushed his glasses up once more. "I've visited a lot of people in prison and I've never seen it as a waste of time."

"It's a waste of your time to see me, I mean," Burnout insisted. "I'm the one who's actually guilty of my crime. You really can't do anything to get me off this one." She shrugged carelessly. "Now, I admit I should've been a little more careful when it came to the clues I left behind, but what can I say? The chase is just as interesting as the crime."

Earth-2 Barry lowered his head, shaking it. "I don't believe that." He quickly corrected himself. "I don't believe that you believe that."

"Then you don't know me very well." Burnout lifted an eyebrow. "Anthony Bellows is dead, Barry. There's proof of me being there all over the place. Now, I'll admit I was careless in a few areas but this isn't something that concerns you."

"It does when I know you didn't do it," Earth-2 Barry insisted. Burnout gave him a confused glance. Hadn't she just told him evidence pointed back to her. Unrefutable evidence. He worked for the CCPD for God's sake, even he knew a sure thing when he saw it. "I mean, I know you did it, that much is obvious—the evidence—like you said—it was—you couldn't—I mean—"

"Please get to your point," Burnout interrupted. "This is really starting to get eat up my visitation. And I'm expecting someone." To add to her point, Burnout looked at her wrist, as if looking for a watch then sighed heavily. She leaned back, turning her gaze toward the ceiling. Barry leaned forward, to see what she was looking at—a clock, and thunked his forehead against the glass. "Yeah, you might want to be careful about that."

"You're waiting for someone," Earth-2 Barry remarked. He thought for a moment. "You're waiting for your son."

Burnout's expression immediately changed. What was once cool detachment changed to that of blazing fury. She leaned close to the glass, her breath fogging it up. "You don't know what you're talking about. You need to stop coming here. And you need to leave me alone." She moved to hang up her phone.

No. It couldn't end yet. Not until he got the chance to say what he needed to say. Frantically, Earth-2 Barry stated to tap his fingers against the glass, rapidly, until Burnout huffed, keeping herself from slamming the phone back to its receiver.

"What?" She asked.

"I know you didn't do it on your own merit," Earth-2 Barry explained. His words came out in a rush, rapidly falling out his mouth only to be replaced by more words. "I know it wasn't what you wanted to do. Breathtaker and the rest of the Assassination Bureau"—he watched her grasp tighten on her phone. And if it weren't for the anti-meta shackle around her ankle, he knew it would've immediately burst into flames—"They're the ones who are more into the whole thing. I know that. I know you're just using it to try and fill the void—"

"—Fill the void?" Burnout interrupted. And yet, she still didn't hang up.

"Cade," Earth-2 Barry said. And nothing more.

He simply said her name and watched Burnout's face turn pale, fall. Nothing more than sadness reached her eyes. How long had it been since anyone called her by her actual name? If the mind-meld was any indication, between her and Earth-1 Cadence, a lot time. It had to hurt more than she allowed herself to feel. Just as it hurt whenever he felt Earth-1 Barry's struggles with his parents, over his creating Flashpoint, over everything.

And, part of him, the true Earth-2 part of him, knew Earth-1 Barry was going to be struggling for a long time. How many times was he to wake up in the middle of the night from a nightmare that he wasn't even having? That the other part of him was suffering through because he wouldn't allow himself to fully talk or think about it. Burnout had to be going through the same thing. It was impossible to ignore it.

"Don't call me that," Burnout murmured.

"It's your name."

"No one calls me that. Not anymore." Burnout shook her head. She took in a deep breath. "How'd you find out?" She asked. Earth-2 Barry's eyebrows came together. He wasn't quite sure he knew what she meant. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait too long for her to press forward. "How'd you find out I was here? It wasn't mentioned…part of my plea…"

"You haven't been convicted of anything yet," Earth-2 Barry insisted. He lowered his voice, glancing at the officers continuing to stand around them. Hearing a baby cry, Earth-2 Barry glanced directly to his right to see a baby no older than one reaching out towards his mother, who wept silently behind her side of the glass, held tightly by the woman's husband, who bounced her up and down on his knee. "And the longer you go without being convicted, the better chance you have to get out of there. I know that Breathtaker—"

"How do you know?" Burnout insisted.

Earth-2 tightened his grasp on his phone. He heard the plastic slowly start to crack. He was running out of time, if he didn't get everything out now…it'd be harder for things to keep moving forward. There was too much that needed to be said, if he didn't get it out soon then things would turn catastrophic.

"The crimes don't fit the motive," he explained. "Why would you continue to do Breathtaker's bidding if you have all the money in the world?" Burnout's face returned to the stoic expression, practically carved of granite. "Then I looked at all your past crime scenes…including what happened with Zoom and Killer Frost. You never did those things for the person that was controlling you. It took me a while to figure that out, that you were working on your own, for your own terms.

"Why would you need to continue killing people? You didn't. You didn't even need the money. You have more than enough money to figure out how to live on your own. To get your son back if you wanted. So it had to be something else that's pushing you forward. But you continue to work with them anyway. And it took me a long time to realize it's just because you're lonely."

Burnout continued to stare at him.

"You don't have anyone else in your life," Earth-2 Barry explained. "And because of that, you feel there's not much more for you to do than what you already know. You're not gaining anything from this. The money means nothing to you or else you would've spent it on anything you could. It's just something in your life to fill the void…" he took in a deep breath and drove the point home. "Of what you've been seeing from Earth-1. Of what you've been seeing since the mind-meld."

Earth-2 Barry watched Burnout's face closely. She didn't blink for a long time. She lowered he phone from her ear, took in a deep breath, and looked away from Earth-2 Barry. She clenched her teeth together, her breaths making whistling sounds as the seconds passed. Finally, she brought the phone back to her ear and looked him in the eye.

"You've been doing the same, haven't you?" She asked. Earth-2 Barry's eyebrows twitched. He didn't respond. Her question had proved it. He was right, about everything. Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to be right. Because it meant the next part was going to be even harder to face. "You've been throwing yourself in your work. Doing everything you can not to go home because of what you've seen. Because of what you know. And…" she thought for a moment. And for that brief moment, a smile came to her face. "Your parents keep asking you about our job. About what you've been doing. How you've been doing. About your love life. All of that. And you have no answers for them. Except the same ones you've been giving before, the ones you don't correct."

Throughout the conversation, Earth-2 Barry felt a lump start to rise in his throat, thickening as the seconds passed. Barely able to hold himself together. He sucked in a shuddering breath, which was magnified on Burnout's side of the phone. And yet, she continued to look him in the eye. Her hand shook.

"You shouldn't have come here, Barry," Burnout said. The finality in her voice made Earth-2 Barry sit up straight. His heart thundered against his chest. He had to get her to understand, had to get her to see reason. "There's nothing you can do."

"I'm going to get you out," Earth-2 Barry said. "I have to." He saw the officer on Burnout's side moving closer to her. Motioning for her to hang up the phone. Their time was just about up. "I'm not going to give up on you."

"You have to," Burnout said. She glanced at the Officer that moved behind her shoulder, motioning for her to hang up. "There's nothing we can do." She hung up the phone and stood up, holding out her hands. Earth-2 Barry watched as the Officer slid handcuffs over her wrists—not needed, Earth-2 Barry thought, for the anti-meta anklet she had—and snapped them on tight.

Watched as she glanced at him one last time before ducking her head and allowing herself to be led away, back to her cell. Earth-2 Barry hung up his phone and nodded to the Officer on his side, ready to leave. And so he followed the Officer out of the prison, the Officer stopping only in the front door to watch Earth-2 Barry go to his car.

For a long time, Earth-2 Barry sat in his front seat. Staring into space. Staring at nothing. Staring at the golden hue the sun washed over the city. The hue that seemed to fade when Zoom had control over everyone within the city, reigned it with terror all the while trying to find a Wells that had managed to escape to another Earth.

Now Zoom was gone, things were going back to normal, and yet he could still see things were falling apart.

And it all came back to Earth-1.

EARTH-1

Barry grinned over his shoulder as she raced along the streets of Central City. He zig-zagged through the morning traffic, leaping over benches and other obstacles that came his way. Seeing a flash out the corner of his eye, he saw Wally and Jesse running along behind him. Saw their streaks of color—red and orange—slowly coming up behind him. Slowly, as Barry was still too fast for them to catch up.

Their training was coming along smoothly, with more time Barry was off the force, the more time he had to train them. Wally equally gave his attention to school and his own training, often taking time between his classes to beg Barry to race him. Jesse, on the other hand, continued to travel back and forth between Earth-1, 2, and 3, as she fulfilled her duties. Trained on Earth-1, visited her father on Earth-2, and helped Jay protect Earth-3.

Facing forward again, Barry continued to run. Continued to do everything in his power to keep the nagging thoughts form entering his mind. Flashes of the nightmares he continued to have. It had been particularly bad that night. A nightmare that lasted until all hours of the morning. Giving him hardly any time to sleep, making him move through the rest of his day in a daze, wondering if he was still dreaming.

Every time, Barry would jerk awake. His eyes would fly open, a sharp breath would escape his lips, his breathing was ragged, voice hoarse from the screaming he'd subconsciously tried to suppress and simultaneously let out. All because he couldn't get the images out of his head, of his friends, of the love of his life dying. All because he was always too slow. One second. One half-second. A full minute. Too slow, every time.

And every time Barry shot awake, bringing a hand down from behind his head to wipe away sweat, Cadence would be awake seconds later, looking at him with eyes filled with concern. And each time he'd simply just say, "Bad dream. Go back to sleep," pressing a kiss to her forehead as he did so. Nevertheless, Cadence would still watch him, waiting for him to go to sleep himself before doing as she was told. It wasn't always possible.

"Yeah, like I can go to sleep after that." Cadence rubbed her shoulder, where a red continued to blaze against her skin. He'd thrashed around more often that time. "You punched me so hard I'm surprised I didn't fly off the bed." She sat up and glanced at the clock, shoulders slumping when she saw it was seven. No pint in going back to sleep if she'd be up to start her day in a half hour anyway. She yawned and reached out, rubbing Barry's back as he swung his legs to the side, resting his feet on the cool floor. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. "You were screaming all night. And I'm not sure how many more times I can hear you moan Savitar's name without getting concerned."

Barry chuckled. Shook his head. "That's not funny."

"I'm not being funny." Now awake, Cadence flicked on the lamp on her bedside table, casting an amber glow around the room. "Barry, you haven't been sleeping. And I know this is all about Savitar and Alchemy. We all want this to go away, but avoiding it isn't going to help things." Barry twisted his mouth to the side, dropping his head even further. The knots in his back ached every time he took a breath. Knots that'd only release themselves once he truly found peace. "I think we know that first hand."

And it almost tore us apart, Barry thought. He didn't say it out loud, didn't need to. The resignation that made his shoulders drop even further proved it. Instead, Barry rolled back around and stretched out on his side of the bed, looking up at Cadence who stared back down at him. "Now that we're awake, do you want breakfast?" He asked.

Cadence rolled her eyes. "Don't change the subject, Bartholomew."

Barry's eyebrow quirked upward. "Bartholomew?" He repeated. He couldn't remember her ever addressing him by his full name. Not including when she proposed to him. His eyes flickered to the ring that sat on her left hand, shining gently in the light. It was still hard to believe how things continued to work for them. "Am I in trouble?"

"'Trouble' is if you wake me up again tomorrow," Cadence warned. She rubbed at her eyes, sounded exasperated. "This is the fourth night in a row."

A smile curled on Barry's lips. "I know something else that happened four nights in a row."

Cadence made a face and rolled her eyes while Barry chuckled at his innuendo. As true as it was. "Being smug is very unbecoming, Barry." She leaned over and gave him a kiss, making his smile widen. "Especially when I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you." She pushed off the covers and padded toward their bathroom. "Just for that, I'm using up all the hot water."

Barry rolled onto his back. "I take quick showers anyway," he called.

"That's why you always stink," Cadence called back.

It was then Barry's turn to roll his eyes…before he lifted his arm to sniff under his armpit. He didn't think he smelled too bad, but what did he know? His suit made him aerodynamic, less susceptible to friction, and made it so that he was never recognized…but it did start to smell quickly. He really needed to get on Cisco creating a super washing machine for their clothes.

Speaking of clothes…his eyes swept their room, where all his things were scattered around, waiting to be put back in their proper place. He'd been so busy with the future he hadn't thought of unpacking. And, truth be told, part of him worried something would tear them apart again, and he'd move back to Cisco's couch the second he started to unpack. No time like the present.

Barry got to his feet and zipped through the room, filling his closet with his clothes and putting all his other knick-knacks in the correct places. Then he raced down to the kitchen to clean things up while Brady put on the finishing touches of their breakfast; fluffy pancakes and syrup.

"You spoil us, you know that," Barry greeted, coming to a stop behind the young boy.

"I spoil you anyway." Brady flipped a pancake to his plate with a quick flick of his wrist, holding spatula. He gestured to the comically filled plate beside him. "That's yours. These are mine and moms." He moved the plates to the table and sat down, immediately picking up the jug of syrup and uppended it onto his plate.

Barry watched for a few seconds. The puddle growing larger and larger as they passed. "I think that's enough," he said.

"Not yet," Brady replied. He held the syrup bottle even higher, making more pour out. His eyes stared intently at the long line of syrup oozing over his plate. The sweet scent filled the then breezed through the kitchen, greeting her son with a kiss to the back of his head. "That's enough," she said. Brady hummed in content and put the bottle down. He motioned to the tank sitting on the counter. "Don't forget to feed Gordon."

"Gordon?" Barry repeated. It took him only a moment to realize it was a play on the name 'Flash Gordon'. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel a minor sense of possession over the turtle. "His name is McSnurtle."

"I'm not naming my turtle something dumb like McSnurtle."

"Your turtle?" Barry repeated. He was sure it'd been his as soon as it came through the door. He looked to Cadence for help but she merely held up a hand. The universal sign that she wasn't going to get into it. "For real?" It was something as small as a pet that could easily be replaced if needed, still, Barry was surprised she didn't back him up.

"The second HR brought it here, it became his," Cadence pointed out. "Good luck getting it back.".

"Now, if you go me a dog…" Brady sing-songed.

"Don't start." Cadence started to eat then stopped. Her eyes narrowed, sweeping around the kitchen as if noticing it for the first time. Barry hadn't noticed there was anything amiss, happily tucking into his breakfast. He glanced up, from eating a slice to find his girlfriend's—fiancée's—arms folded. His eyebrows twitched up in question. What? "Barry, are you pregnant?" Cadence abruptly asked.

Barry's eyes shot open in surprise. He glanced at Brady, who mimicked his mother's stance, folded arms, tilted head, and all. The situation would've been funny if it weren't so preposterous. Science aside. "What? No! No, I'm not preg—no. Wait." His heart started to race. "Are—are you-I mean, we're not—are you?"

Cadence smiled. "Aww, you haven't stammered around me in a long time," she cooed. Barry felt himself blush as Brady mimed sticking a finger down his throat. It wasn't his fault he seemed to stutter and stammer every time he was around someone he thought was attractive. As Iris and Cadence pointed out anyway. (Though the former didn't seem to notice she was one of those women once upon a time).

"I'm not pregnant, Cade," Barry insisted. There goes that idea. They certainly were not ready to be having any children but having the thought put into his head wasn't too bad. If he was going to move on…

"Are you sure?" Cadence teased. She motioned around the kitchen. "Because, I noticed you cleaned up our room, too. You're kind of doing this nesting thing that I did when I was about to give birth to Brady. So if you have something you need to tell me…" Her words trailed off with a trill at the end.

"This isn't funny," Barry said.

"Are you planning on having kids?" Brady added, getting in on the jokes. Though Barry could see the smile on his face was much too inappropriate for his own comfort. Brady waved his fork towards Barry. "Better start planning now. I don't know if you noticed, but we're expensive."

"Believe me, bud, we've noticed. I don't need another one of you." Cadence reached out and tweaked her son's nose, making him push her hand away. Then she eyed Barry carefully. "Look, I we're trying to work on this whole communication thing, right?" Barry nodded. "I don't think we're ready for couple's counseling yet, but you're kinda making it hard. Since you're not really talking about your nightmares."

Barry shrugged again. Tried to be nonchalant. Everything in his life was nonchalant now. "Well, I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life and...now, they're just a part of me."

"Yeah, but we haven't been there for all those terrible things," Brady piped up. He looked to his mother, who nodded in agreement. Barry took a breath through his nose. Sometimes he forgot Team Flash, at the beginning, was just him, Caitlin, Cisco, and who they thought was Dr. Wells. It had been so long ago and since Cadence and Brady first came into their lives…he couldn't remember much of life without them around.

"We've seen some of it though," Cadence said. "This is different. It feels different. And there's something you're not telling me. I know it." She then glanced at Brady. "Unless this is something like how he knew you were going to propose to me. I have no idea how he managed to keep that a secret for that long."

"Me either," Brady piped up. "That nearly killed me."

"Yeah, and that sucker punch you hit me with nearly killed me, too." Barry couldn't help but let sarcasm slide into his voice. As much as he deserved it, it really did hurt. Coming from someone who could phase as a power, he, at the moment, wondered if Brady were able to become super solid as well.

Brady snorted. "It might've hurt, but definitely wouldn't have killed you." He pointed to Barry, emphasizing his point. "Not that I couldn't have done it if I wanted to." He shared a smile with Barry and Cadence, finishing the last of his breakfast. "Is everything okay, Barry?"

"Everything's fine," Barry replied. He then quickly added, "Nightmares of the future aside." Which was the truth. It took a few moments for Brady and Cadence to look convinced. "Anyway, what about you? How are you feeling with the whole future thing?"

Brady still hadn't spoken about it too much. It worried Barry a bit, only because he had gone through the same thing once his mother died. The difference being he was all talked out, after having been to therapy session after therapy session, interrogation after interrogation. This was different, Brady's mother hadn't died yet. Knowing the future was a tough pill to swallow, it was harder, knowing it was something the eleven-year-old-boy had to dread when he should've been excited to get older and experience new things.

But it was a risk they had to take, Cadence pointed out during one of their many conversations about making Brady an official member of Team Flash. "He'd already put his own life in danger multiple times, and we do it every day. We don't talk about it, but it's something that's a reality for him."

"I don't know," Brady said with a teasing grin that easily matched his mother's. "It hasn't come yet."

Cadence rolled her eyes as Brady laughed at his own, albeit lame, joke. "Go away," she prompted.

"Going," Brady agreed. He immediately jumped up, putting his dirty dishes in the sink.

"Where are you going?" Barry asked, cluing into the conversation. He was sure Brady didn't have a soccer game or a soccer practice for another week. Off on break for the holiday. New Year's was coming close. Then again, his mind had gone in so many different directions as of late he probably would've forgotten any of his own appointments.

"Just hanging out with Conner, Leah, and Alicia," Brady explained.

Barry's eyebrows quirked upwards at the mention of Alicia's name. Not only did he notice there wasn't any trace of malice that was usually heard when Brady spoke of her, but he did notice Brady hesitate a tiny bit while speaking. Most others wouldn't notice—though mother's intuition seemed to be real as Cadence looked at her son strangely as well—but with Barry's personal passage of time, it was an obvious difference.

Sensing their looks, Brady shrugged and continued to rinse syrup off his plates. "She's kind of a package deal to Leah so, whatever. But we're going to hang out and practice lacrosse." Brady grabbed the fore mentioned stick from the side of the cabinet and his keys before racing from the apartment. "Bye!" He called over his shoulder.

"Bye," Barry and Cadence called back. Barry waited for the door to close before saying, "I think he's up to something."

"He's always up to something," Cadence concurred. "It's just not worth the energy to worry about it all the time."

Barry only had the chance to eat for a few more minutes—twenty max—enjoying one of the few slow moments in his day before he received Wally's text, asking to go on a sweep of the city. For training, of course, Wally added. Though in Wally-speak, it meant he was asking permission to go wild and stop some bad guys. And why not? Even Barry needed it sometimes.

That's what brought Barry to racing around the city with the other speedsters on his heel. Since everything with the Music Meister and Lover had ended, he'd smiled a lot more. And running always made him smile the most. There was just something so revitalizing about it. Like nothing else mattered so long as he was running.

Barry turned the corner of the street and came face to face with a plume of smoke in front of him. He slowed a little, not enough to be seen by normal vision, but enough so that he could take in the scene in front of him. Was someone else starting fires again? Trying to throw the city's perception of Flare off-kilter once more? No, he realized after a second. The people streaming out of the building, running as fast as they could weren't stopping and staring. Weren't watching what was going on. Even those that were spectators listened to the CCPD as they shouted for them to "get back" because it was "too dangerous" to be "too close".

No, it was a real fire. Barry didn't think before he charged into the building with Wally and Jesse behind them. Already dressed in their suits for their patrol, they didn't need to waste any time racing back to STAR Labs. The second Barry came to a stop inside, he noticed the immediately change in temperature compared to outside. It was hot, and would've felt hotter had he not been wearing his suit. The fire had been raging for a while.

"The fire departments aren't close to making it," Barry explained to Jesse and Wally, who waited to be told what to do. Even in an emergency, they were still being trained to on what to do in certain scenarios. A real fire had to be handled differently than flames that Cadence could produce and control towards them. "Go make sure everyone's outside."

Wally and Jesse nodded before taking off. The second they moved, Barry realized he should've warned them to go slow. The added oxygen from their movements made the flames in front of him burst toward the ceiling. The sudden flash of light made Barry throw his arm over his eyes and back away. Dots swirled in front of his vision, he needed to move fast.

"Help!" Barry zipped to the sound of the voice. A closed door leading to an office filled with smoke. He peered inside, just as the voice shouted again. "Someone help me! I'm trapped in here!" It sounded familiar.

Wally and Jesse arrived beside Barry, whooshing aside the smoke, giving Barry a direct view into the office to see Detective Patterson lying under debris that'd fallen from the ceiling. Barry sucked back so hard he started to choke, smoke entering his lungs. He turned away, bringing his closed fist to his mouth to cough.

"Everyone else is out," Jesse reported. "Sorry it took so long, we grabbed as many as we could to lessen the trips." Her chest heaved, whether it was from effort or the building heat around them, Barry wasn't sure.

Wally stared at Detective Patterson, his eyes growing wide as the seconds passed. Since arriving in Central City, Wally had quickly fallen into the family that was the CCPD. And while Detective Patterson had moments of being abrasive, Wally respected the man. He wouldn't let anything happen to him. And he wouldn't let Detective Patterson come close to seeing his identity either. "We have to get him out of here. This place is up in flames any second."

Barry shook his head. He wouldn't let that happen. Not just because of Detective Patterson, but also due to what'd happen if the warehouse burned down. People would lose their jobs and it'd be another cost for the city to fix. In a second, Barry noticed the dark marks around the sides of the door. He pointed it out to the two speedsters. "You see this soot around the door?"

"Yeah," Wally breathed. He started to subtly cough, covering his mouth with his hand. Beside him, Jesse started to take in shallower and shallower breaths. With her hands planted on her hips, she radiated an air of calm, but Barry could see the tension start to form in her body. She was starting to get scared.

"The room has no ventilation," Barry explained as quickly as he could. They didn't have a lot of time. The flames were already starting to warp around them. "So if we open the door now, the sudden in rush of oxygen will cause an explosion."

"A flash over," Jesse agreed, to which Barry nodded at. "That's what kills most fire fighters. When they try to ventilate a fire, and don't have enough access points, the resulting oxygen increase catches them off guard."

"Hey!" Detective Patterson shouted again. His voice weaker now. He coughed louder and louder, sucking in smoke as he worked to get out of the way of the debris covering his body.

Wally glanced at him then back at Barry. "So what do we do?" Even if they raced in after opening the door, he didn't think they were fast enough to outrun a flashover. Certainly weren't fast enough to get to Detective Patterson beforehand, he was completely surrounded by flames.

"Create and exit point for the heat and smoke and remove the oxygen at the same time," Barry explained.

"Which will put out the fire," Jesse agreed.

"HELP!"

Barry put himself into position, lifting his arms. He started to rotate it, moving faster and faster as the seconds passed. A wind started to kick up from his movements, sending smoke in all directions. Jesse coughed hard, turning away. Wally, on the other hand, stood his ground. "When I say, open the door." Barry instructed. He continued to wave his arms. "Now!"

Wally opened the door and Barry continued to swing his arms, attacking the flames with the rapid air currents. Within seconds, the smoke and flames were gone, prompting Barry the opportunity to run inside, grab Detective Patterson, and run back out. The two came to a stop to the thunderous applause of the CCPD and civilians that stood aside.

Detective Patterson blinked hard, working to figure out where he was. One second he was in a burning building, screaming for his life, another he was outside. Detective Patterson placed his hands on his knees and coughed hard. He nodded to the Flash. "Flash, thanks," Detective Patterson gasped.

Barry nodded and ran away with Wally and Jesse running after him. They didn't stop running until they were in STAR Labs, removing their masks. Jesse continued to cough every few seconds, prompting Barry to put a hando n her shoulder.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, I'll just find Cade and get her to remove the smoke from my lungs," She said. "Or ask Caitlin to check me out. But it's not too bad. I've been through worse." 'She gave a small smile. "Wait until you see the HeatWave on my Earth and Earth-3."

Barry smiled and nodded, though he had no intention of every running into those men. Different Earths or not, Mick Rory was not someone he wanted to cross. Thankfully, Jesse's coughing was already starting to subside. Barry even found himself starting to smile at his own rescue for the day.

Wally, on the other hand, recovered quickly, practically bouncing off the walls of the hall that led to the Cortex. "Man, that was so dope," he crowed. He addressed Barry. "How do you stay so calm? You're like scary calm in the middle of a fire."

Barry gave a modest shrug. "Just experience. It's why it's important for you to follow me and learn everything you can."

Wally nodded. "And then I get to kick ass." A statement, not a question. Once he was off training, he'd be ready to take on anything that came his way.

"Yeah, right," Barry agreed. He greeted Cisco and Caitlin with a nod. They nodded back; Cisco with his eyes on the morning talk show he was watching while gently blowing on a mug of coffee and Caitlin sitting at her own desk, staring at a spreadsheet on her computer. From Barry's glance, she was looking over their Meta Encyclopedia. "Just keep doing what you're doing. You're doing great, you guys. There's always going to be something going on so you're going to get as much training as possible."

"Yeah," Jesse said slowly. She glanced at her boyfriend then asked, "But when do we get to go out on our own?" Clearly both wanted to go out on their own, not just Wally. "On Earth-3 I go out all the time but…"

Barry held up his hands. "Just have some patience you guys."

"But Brady's been out on his own," Wally practically whined.

"Trust me, if Cade and I had our way, he wouldn't have." Heart attacks weren't common for 27-year-olds and he'd certainly had a few of them since learning the things he'd done to stop Metallo and Geomancer to name a few. "The times he went was when we really had no choice. Just…trust me. It's coming, okay?"

"Fine." Wally sighed. He looked at his watch. "Oh man. Jess, we've got to get going." He addressed Cisco's curious glance, attracted by the weariness that suddenly came to Wally's tone. "We're meeting Joe for breakfast."

Barry looked at the time himself, leaning over a nearby computer, his eyes widening. "Right, and I've got to meet Iris. I don't want to be late." He closed his eyes, taking a step back when Wally and Jesse both disappeared in flashes of light and gusts of wind.

"I think at this point we've all just come to expect it," Caitlin called from her desk. She ran a hand through her hair before rubbing her eyes. Her words punctuated with a yawn. "Cisco and I have started telling you that things happen a half hour later because of it."

"For real?" Barry asked. His voice took on exasperation. You'd think by now they'd understand that even if I have all the time in the world, there's still a lot I need to do? He smiled.

"For real," Cisco agreed. He turned his attention to Caitlin. He swirled his finger in a circle. "And what about you, little miss? What's going on with you?"

Caitlin eyed him warily. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't the first time you've come to work yawning all over the place and rubbing your eyes. I'm not sure the racoon eyes are your thing, but you seem to be doing a pretty good job of it. I think you need to smear your eyeliner a little bit less, but it's a good first try."

Caitlin glanced at the sides of her hands and sighed heavily, seeing her makeup had become smeared. "It's just another one of those nights," she explained. She opened the drawer by her desk and rummaged around in the purse she placed in the bottom. "I keep feeling like I'm sleeping for a long time and then I'm exhausted. But I'm not remembering my dreams either. It's just… black."

Barry took in a deep breath. He hated to ask, but he doubted he as the only one suffering from knowing the future. And, truth be told, he sort of hated how calm everyone was being about it. Cadence acted like it was a long way off and why bother worrying about the future. Cisco and HR buried themselves in Cisco's lab to work out different ways to stop it—or else Cisco did while HR bugged him, and…Caitlin and Iris hadn't said anything otherwise.

"Does it…?" Barry started. He took a deep breath, licked his lips, steeled himself. "Does it have anything to do with what I saw?" He gestured feebly forward. Gestured towards the future. "Maybe you've been having nightmares and just don't remember it."

"That would explain my bout of sleepwalking," Caitlin murmured, more to herself than the others. Barry and Cisco exchanged confused glances. "When I wake up, sometimes I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, or in my closet, or I'm at the front door."

"Jeez, Cait, do you need us to make you a bell?" Cisco asked. He nodded toward the necklace around her neck. The snowflake on the front glowed brilliantly. "It'll go brilliantly with the other piece of jewelry you've got."

Reaching up, Caitlin grasped her necklace and shot him a fond smile. "I don't think things are that drastic. But Barry may be right. We're thinking about the future a lot and even though we have a lot more stuff to preoccupy our lives…I must still be subconsciously worried about it."

"Well, don't worry. Because we're going to stop this, okay?" Barry reassured her. "I promise."

"I know, Barry. Thanks." Caitlin smiled back at him.

Barry looked at the time once more and groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Great, now I'm really going to be late."

"Before you go," Cisco shoved his hand into the air and waved it around. "Have you seen Cade?" Cisco's eyebrows came together in concern. "It's not like her to miss out on a patrol. She loves them almost as much as you do."

Barry heaved a sigh and admitted, "I think she wants to lay low for a while. Just until everything blows over. The news reports about Music Meister weren't very nice to her, even though she did a lot to help."

"She always does a lot to help," Caitlin said soothingly. As if Cadence were there and she were directly speaking to her best friend. "The city owes her a lot for what she's done. And us, too. She's saved us more times than I can count."

"You, maybe," Cisco corrected her. Barry and Caitlin both glared at him, making him smile sheepishly. "I mean, yeah, she's been great."

"So to have these people think she's a threat must be really hard. I'll talk to her later. Don't worry, Barry, just make sure you're not late to meeting up with Iris. We may be used to it, but Iris has had to deal with your tardiness for years, and I don't know how much longer it'll be before she can't take it anymore."

"Don't remind me," Barry said. "I'll see you guys later." He raced to his mannequin, placed his suit on it, changed back into his clothes—mentally cursed out Cisco for not making his ring yet—and hurried to the Central City Picture News.

He came through the front door at a steady pace, but his sudden appearance still made Iris jump when she noticed him standing by her desk. She'd been so engrossed in her work that her nose nearly pressed against her computer screen.

"Barry!" She placed a hand to her chest. "God, you scared me!" She turned and whacked him on the arm with the notebook she was holding. "Stop doing that!"

Barry laughed, wincing in pain against the slap to his arm. Iris grinned back at him. "You tell me to stop running in here, I do what you ask, and you still get mad at me. I can't win with you!"

"You never could, Barry," Iris teased. She crossed her legs at the knee, motioning for Barry to sit next to her. "I'm just glad you're finally coming to terms with it." She then sighed, tapping her pen against the notebook that sat aside her, filled with scribbles. "Sorry, I was just finishing up some notes on my story."

"Anything interesting?" Barry asked.

Iris gave a sardonic smile. "Not unless you count figuring out who won the basketball game last night any fun," she said. "Now, don't get me wrong, I can watch March Madness until I'm blind, I love me some basketball, but writing this all out is so boring. I don't know how Linda did it."

"Speaking of Linda, why isn't she writing it?" Barry asked.

Iris gave him a funny look. "She's moved to California, remember? She got a better offer writing in Los Angeles. Last I heard, she was working on becoming an actual news reporter. On TV and everything." Barry thought for a moment, wondered if that was something he should've known and chalked it up to Flashpoint that he didn't. Or it was just, simply, that he hadn't been paying attention. "I mean, since she and Wally broke up, things had been kind of tense so…"

"Yeah, I can understand that," Barry said. At least he managed to say it without a trace of bitterness. "Anyway, I don't mind waiting. I always enjoy watching you do your reporter thing. Even when I had to stay up with you all night on a deadline in high school."

Iris laughed. Her laughter slowly faded. "Yeah, well, at least I'll have these, you know. All the bylines. I'll leave something behind. A legacy."

Barry shook his head. He grasped Iris's hand and squeezed it firmly. "Hey, everything that's going to happen in the future, we're going to fix things, alright. It's not going to happen." He looked down at their hands. Funny how years ago, that would've been his dream. That his future would've been him holding her hand and preparing for a wedding. Their wedding. When he'd been absolutely in love with her. And he still completely cared about her, just in a different way. It was where his life had been moving, before other moments set in motion changed everything. Changed his future, his present.

Who knew what else they could change? "No matter what, we're going to do everything we can to make sure nothing happens to you guys. Okay?" Iris didn't response. "I don't want you to worry about this."

"I'm not worried for me, I'm worried for dad," Iris defended. She shook her head. "He's…he's already gone through a lot. Francine's…she's gone. And now Wally's a speedster and he's putting his life on the line and you're constantly putting your life on the line and now me…" she shook her head. "I don't think he can take it. Part of me wishes I hadn't told him, but he needed to know. We all needed to know."

Iris slid her hand out from Barry's. "I don't want to obsess over the future and what may or may not happen. I just want to deal with what's happening now." She thumped her notebook. "Even if it means obsessing over sports figures." She lifted a finger. "Remind me to never go into sports, no matter how good the pay is and if I get the chance to meet LeBron."

The two laughed.

Iris opened a new notebook and pulled out a tape recorder. She turned it on and moved it closer to Barry. "Are you ready?" She asked. "I'm going to be asking you a lot of questions."

Barry smiled back. "Ask away."

Wally and Jesse stopped at the corner of the CCPD, waiting for the light to change. Like Barry, Wally enjoyed moving as fast as he could, pushing himself to run faster and faster. But he also had moments of enjoying how calm and slow things could be. Especially when that slowed down time was when he wasn't in class. As much as he loved engineering, nothing got to him more than how long seconds and minutes took. Especially when he was in classes he didn't prefer and could get through the work in the five seconds it took to flip through a book.

Wally smiled down at Jesse, who smiled back up at him. Even if they sat back and watched Barry take down whatever they were stopping that day, it brought them one step closer to being the heroes they could be.

"You're in a really good mood," Jesse remarked, squeezing his hand.

"It's…it's just a rush, you know," Wally said. "Being able to finally be out there and see action again. I just…I can't wait to be able to do this for real. Instead of just training all the time."

"Well, training isn't so bad," Jesse reminded him.

"Easy for you to say, you get to see some action when you're out with Jay," Wally said. The light changed and the young couple started across the street to the CCPD. "And the Trickster's always up to something over there so you get more time to practice everything."

"That's what you think," Jesse said. "Jay trains me just as much as Barry does. If anything, I put in more training hours than you do. It's all just to get us ready to go when something happens. And, in Central City, something always happens." Wally didn't seem convinced. "Would you relax? Think of it this way, the more time we train, the less time we spend in the Medical Bay. And the less time we spend in the Medical Bay, we have more time to spend with each other."

Wally pretended to pout. "So you wouldn't even visit me?"

"Only if you're good." Jesse stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making Wally smile widely. "it's not like they're saying we're not good," Jesse then said to reassure them. Wally had to admit that was true. They give us our props every time we do something right. "It's just that…we do need the training. There's always something that we can improve on."

"That sounds exactly like something Barry would say."

"And Barry has a point. Just as Cadence has a point that we need to work on our fighting without relying on our speed."

"God, they sound like our parents sometimes, you know."

Jesse smiled. The two went into the CCPD and towards the bull pen, waiting for Joe. As they approached, they heard Detective Patterson's voice drift out, prompting them to move closer.

Wally's smile faded once he realized he, and whom he recognized as Officer Kim, conversing about their save that morning. Jesse glanced at him, squeezing his hand once more. This time, Wally didn't respond to it, instead he continued to listen.

"I just don't understand why you're defending the yellow guy," Detective Patterson said. "I mean, yes, he goes everywhere The Flash goes. But this morning for example, he's just standing back, waiting for the warehouse to burn down. And what about that other speedster that was with them?" Wally looked to Jesse, who deeply frowned as well. "He didn't do anything."

"Or she," Officer Kim pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "We don't know if these speedsters are men or women. They could be women." Jesse smiled smugly. "And in any case, they're learning the ropes." She shrugged in a give-them-time sort of way.

Detective Patterson wasn't moved. He simply snorted and rolled his eyes. "Okay, but when we send rookie cops out onto patrol, we don't expect them to perform," He pointed out. A laugh escaped his lips. "I mean, come on! We're professional."

"Look." Wally and Jesse both jumped when Joe rounded the corner of the Bullpen, across from them, to address Detective Patterson. Even from their distance, Wally could see the 'Papa Bear' expression on Joe's face. "I think the yellow guy is going to surprise you. Once he gets some more experience, he'll give the Flash a run for his money. And the other speedster is doing just as well in her own right."

Jesse beamed once more.

"See," Officer Kim pointed out. "She's a she."

"And how would you know that Detective West?" Detective Patterson folded his arms. He looked at Joe closely. "Oh, right, you spend a lot of time around those STAR Labs nuts."

Joe visibly bristled. "Those nuts are the only ones who know anything about metas. If I didn't work with them, the entire city would be at a loss of what we're up against. Including us. Cisco Ramon is the one who created the specified shields we have for going against metas." He then adopted a friendly smile and added, "And you know metas are Barry's jam."

Silence stretched between the three CCPD employees. Three different levels of seniority in the group. Detective Patterson and Joe had a civil relationship with each other, Wally knew from listening to Joe's stories about the force. Yet, their views on metahumans are what drove a wedge between them, just as it did with Chief Paulson.

When Detective Patterson spoke again, his tone was even measured. "Last I checked, Mr. Allen didn't work here anymore," Detective Patterson pointed out. "Not to mention, I don't really see Mr. Albert being allowed to work along with those at STAR Labs either." He raised an eyebrow towards Joe. "Becoming a little possessive on sources?" Joe made a face. "And, anyway, I just think these new guys just aren't that fast. Maybe they're just cowards."

"You don't get paid to think," Joe snapped. "And Kid Flash ain't no coward!"

"Kid Flash?" Detective Patterson threw his head back and laughed. He threw his hands into the air for good measure. "See, the name says it all. I say just send them to Keystone. We already have a Flash." He waved his hand, pushing himself off the desk he'd been perched on. At the same time, Wally and Jesse raced out to the front of the CCPD and pretended to walk inside for the first time a few seconds later.

Joe walked out the bull pen, shaking his head. His face lit up when he saw them. "'Wally, Jesse!" He glanced around, appearing apprehensive. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Any of what?" Wally asked, as innocently as possible.

Joe's smile widened. "Nothing," he said. "Just a cop being stupid. Are you ready for breakfast?"

"After the morning we had, I'm ready for two breakfasts," Jesse said with a grin.

Joe gave a hollow laugh. "I'm not made of money, Jesse."

As soon as the female speedster's name was mentioned, a breach opened in front of her. She didn't have a chance to react before something heavy rocketed out of it, landing in her hands. Jesse cried out in startled pain, from the sudden weight that crashed into her. Then her breath caught in her throat, looking over the item. The shiny, metallic box that resembled nothing but a cube with a button atop. To Wally and Joe, who stared at the box with confusion, it was nothing.

To Jesse…to Jesse, who knew exactly what it was, she could only look at the box with trepidation. Her breath caught in her throat, breathing immediately becoming irregular. She struggled to breathe, feeling as if she were taking in more smoke.

"What is that thing?" Joe asked. His upper lip curled as he studied the box. Wally leaned close and looked it over as well. Nothing too interesting about it. And yet, his girlfriend looked like she'd just seen a ghost. "It looks like a bomb."

Joe's hands tensed. "Careful mentioning the word 'bomb' around an officer," Joe reassured them. "My heart still hasn't gotten over the last time we had a rain of bombings all over the park." He looked at Jesse, who continued to stare at the cubes in her hands.

"What is it, Jesse?" Wally insisted.

"It's…it's a Locater Cube," Jesse murmured. "They…they have them on our Earth when you need to find someone. Or…when someone needs you to find them." She turned it over and ran her thumb over the serial number, recognized it. "It's from dad."

"Your dad's sending you a cube to find you?" Wally asked. "Doesn't he know you're on this Earth? You were just visiting him."

"No…" Jesse pressed her thumb into the button and a translucent map of the world opened. Joe and Wally immediately barricaded themselves around Jesse, hiding the technology from prying eyes. "He…" she watched as the view of the map switched from the world to a dense jungle area. It looked to be pinpointing on something, swirling, swirling…finally, a red dot frantically blinked in the center of Africa. "He wants me to find him," she choked out.

"Well, where is he?" Wally asked.

Jesse swallowed hard. "Gorilla City."

A/N: Well, it's been a while since we saw anything on Earth-2 and here we are again. Things certainly are picking up. But, as the story goes on, you'll see a lot of changes from the show to make my version of Savitar, Alchemy, etc. make sense. So some lines will be the same, but some instances of things will be different, as you've seen in this chapter.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Ethan: Julian never had to say what Cadence would get in response; it was implied. If Cade gave him the information he needed, Julian wouldn't out Caitlin/Killer Frost to everyone, just as he'd done when forcing Barry to quit. And, yes, Julian is a prick. He's meant to be that way, so it means if everyone hates him, then I'm writing him well. Lol.

DarkHelm145: You'll find out soon. ;)

PowerHero432: Yep, yep, ass-kicking on numerous fronts.