34

Gorilla At Large

"Hi," Leah greeted as soon as she opened the door to her house. She stepped backwards and allowed Conner and Brady inside. Closing the door behind her, she motioned towards the living room. "We're just in there. Alicia only just got here."

Brady briefly nodded at Leah's statement. He didn't pay much attention to what she was saying, too awestruck by the extravagance that was Leah's house. Very similar to his mother's childhood home—of which they visited at least twice a year—but something he hadn't expected from Leah or her parents. Now that he thought about it, he didn't remember ever being at her house before. Probably her parents not wanting anyone around. He leaned back and forth, glancing at the kitchen and what appeared to be a den—with a lamp stuck to the ceiling in the far back corner. So preoccupied that he didn't notice Conner's awkward greeting.

They first moved to hug each other, then stopped, Conner leaned in as if he were about to give her a quick peck on the cheek, then the two simply relied on high-fiving instead. Nevertheless, the shy smiles on their faces quickly blossomed to big grins. Brady finally snapped back to attention at the sound of the door closing behind him, he turned from the pictures lining the walls of the hallway.

"Are your parents home?" He asked.

Leah's shoulders raised and lowered in a nonchalant shrug. "My parents are never home," she said flatly. "It's the only reason you're here." She turned on her heel and led them to the living room. "Otherwise, I'm sure they'd be constantly popping in, wondering what we're doing."

Brady frowned, tilting his head. He'd been under the impression that Mr. and Mrs. Brooklyn were parents by name, not by what they did. Leah commented every now and then about their dislike of metahumans. But as far as he was concerned, they didn't know she was a meta. And if they did…they hadn't done anything to show it yet, other than the comments they make about the metahumans and how unsafe Central City was because of them.

"It's not like Central City is any more unsafe than Gotham," Leah would comment, speaking of her former home. Her home life was something she didn't talk about much.

Brady exchanged a glance with Conner, who looked as disturbed by her offhand comment. He knew what having a bad life was. It was only a matter of time until he had to go back into hiding. So far, no one knew Conner was in Central City, but it was only so long it'd stay a secret and things would get worse. Not just for him, but for his mother and Oliver as well. Then there was Brady's home life; everything he had was perfect, now that he was able to get past his mother's lies about his father for years, but he knew it was a bit messed up his life was put on the line every day to save the city from criminals.

If anyone figured out who he was, he was sure his mother, Barry, Ryder, Harrison, Tess, Cisco, and even Caitlin would all go to jail for child endangerment. Or whatever it's called, Brady thought, trying to remember the words he'd heard thrown around the many times he'd had to speak to CPS as he was growing up.

"Finally," Alicia huffed when Brady and Conner arrived in her line of sight. She slumped back against eh expensive cushions of the equally expensive couch and folded her arms. "I've got to get this stuff back to my dad. He'll, like, explode when he, like, sees it's missing. And I'm going to be the one in trouble when he, like, goes nuclear."

"I thought you said your dad would let you do whatever you wanted," Brady pointed out, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the coffee table. He couldn't help but notice how shiny the veneer coating was. Compared to the furniture in his own apartment—his mom made sure to remind him to use a coaster if he had a drink—it may as well have been a diamond. Once more, Brady's gaze lifted to the walls of the living room, no pictures there, but many framed awards.

Alicia rolled her eyes and slid to the floor between the couch and the table. She leaned forward, resting her arms over the folders sat in front of her. Obviously to stack her claim over the information inside, doing her best to keep it as confidential as possible. "I'm sure that doesn't include sneaking into his personal files and stealing stuff off his work computer." She pouted. "If he finds out, he'll cut off my allowance."

"How much allowance do you get, anyway?" Conner asked.

"My mom says I can't tell or I'd be bragging."

Conner smiled politely and nodded to the folder. "Are we all agreed that we don't tell anyone what we find with this?" Brady and Leah nodded. "Good." He reached out to take the folder, but Alicia pressed her weight on it even further.

"Wait," She said firmly. "Just…one more time…what do you need this stuff for?"

Brady tried to stay patient. His fingers twitched in anticipation. Who knew how long it'd take until Leah's parents returned? He didn't want to get caught with anything they may find. Let alone, any of them getting in any trouble for it. There have been some things that have happened as of late he had no idea how to explain. Being questioned like this was certainly one of those things.

"My mom and Barry need it for their cases."

"So why don't we just give it to them?"

"Because, I don't think they're supposed to have it." That was the most honest Brady was going to get about it. Especially when the information resting inside the folder was what needed to get to STAR Labs. And how would STAR Labs get that information without having to admit they broke into CCPD computers to do so—or had an informant to do it for them. All the 'what ifs' were starting to make his head hurt. "Or else Barry and my mom and Joe would've had it already."

"Detective West?" Alicia's nose wrinkled. "He, like, does the metahuman task force, right? Shouldn't he already have this stuff?"

"Not unless your dad really doesn't want the rest of the CCPD to know," Conner pointed out diplomatically. Brady nodded in agreement. "He doesn't want metas in the city at all, Detective West is trying to do is get the bad ones off the street. That's different."

"It's like Lex Luthor," Leah added. "They say on the news that he tried to have the Vigilante Registration Act go through in Smallville. He's probably having the same thing happen here. But with metas. Your dad's initial Registration Act didn't go through but…adding someone in politics to his plan, it may work for him." She leveled her gaze at Alicia. "You've never said…what do you think about metas?"

Alicia stared back at her classmates. She chewed her lower lip, eyebrows coming together. Her eyebrows lowered, slowly, she sat back, placing her fingertips atop the folder. She pushed it away from her, closer to the center of the table. Finally, she dropped her hand to her lap and said, "I like metahumans. I like The Flash and Flare and Shadowhunter. I want them to be able to help us. I want to stop the bad guys but…I don't want all metas to go away."

"Good." Brady paused, waiting to see if she was being insincere in any way. He saw she was telling the truth and nodded. They were all on the same page. It sent a wave of relief through him. Taking a deep breath, Brady opened the folder and at the same time, the four pre-teens leaned forward to examine the papers themselves.

The first thing Brady noticed were the pages upon pages of reports. Reports that had large black chunks spread throughout paragraphs of text. He frowned deeply. "What's this?"

"I couldn't get all the original files," Alicia said, defensive. "Daddy wouldn't have it all on his personal computer. And, besides, it'd be under, like, a hundred passwords. This was the best I could do."

"No one's accusing you of anything," Leah reminded her friend. "It's just, ugh, frustrating." She dropped her chin in her hands. "It leaves a lot of holes in what we're trying to find."

"Literally," Conner agreed. He pushed a few pages aside and grabbed two that had what looked like profiles on the front. "Oh, listen to this. Rosalind Dillon and Scam Scudder. Both used to work with Leonard Snart and Mick Rory on their heists." Brady's eyebrows rose. Conner glanced at him and Brady nodded for him to continue. "According to this report, Snart was angry that Dillon and Scudder were bragging about their heists and confronted them the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion. The dark matter affected them when it went off, making both metahumans. Dillon is able to control the feeling of vertigo and Scudder can control glass."

"Like those guys at the soccer game that one day," Leah said. "This is them!"

"'Okay, but why would they want to attack a soccer game?" Alicia shook her head, wrinkling her nose. "That doesn't make sense. All they wanted was to rob banks and get money."

"Whoever said the soccer game was their target?" Brady pointed out. His mind ran a mile a minute. Things were never as easy as they appeared. The two metas he fought…they had to have been trying to get away, or were trying to make some more money. People of Central City, before the prevalence of metahumans were very trusting. They kept their car doors unlocked all the time. Not to mention at soccer games, the feeling of camaraderie between parents was palpable. "What if there was something else they were after?"

"Like wallets and CDs?" Conner asked.

"No," Brady said slowly. There was something he was missing, he was sure of it. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Now he knew how frustrating things were in STAR Labs first hand. Sometimes they had nothing more than facial recognition to go off, sometimes nothing more than a tiny clue left behind, but it ended up working out. What was it that they could figure out from that day that'd help them?

Brady slowed his steps as he came down the side of the hill, making sure not to fall. His footsteps crunched over the gravel as he slowed to a stop, slinking closer to the robber. The robber muttered to himself as he moved through the console, pushing aside receipts and pieces of paper. Finally, he produced a GPS and stuck it in his bag before hopping down from the driver's seat. He moved to close the door, flinching when Brady announced his arrival with, "You know, it's not nice to take things that aren't yours."

The robber jumped and whirled around. He glanced at Brady with a look of disgust and a wave of his hand. "Why don't you mind your own business, kid?"

"This is my business," Brady replied.

A dry laugh escaped the robber's lips. "What do you think you are? The Flash?"

"No." Brady smirked. "I'm much worse."

He held his hands out to his sides, black orbs starting to form over his hands. The robber looked at him in growing suspicion before Brady threw his hand forward. The balls shot towards the robber. He leaned out of the way and held up his hand. The object he was holding, what looked like an ordinary mirror, absorbed the attack and shot back towards Brady.

The robber looked at him with a grim smile that faded when Brady phased, allowing his attack to move back through him. When his attack struck the ground behind him, the asphalt warped, and created a small crater. The robber's eyes, wide with horror, shifted back to Brady. Brady's smirk immediately faded when he saw the robber whip out a pistol and pointed it directly towards him. He could phase as much as he wanted, but nothing was scarier than staring down the barrel of a gun.

The robber smirked at him, taking a step closer to the young boy. "Now, why don't you be a good little boy and run away?"

In response, Brady's gaze shifted as he thought of what to do. But only for a second. It was exactly the second he needed. The robber squeezed an eye shut to bring himself better aim. Before he could fire, Brady rolled to the side loose gravel scratching over his arms and legs. He came a stop on his knees and grabbed handfuls of gravel and whipped them towards the robber.

The robber brought up his hands to shield himself, slowly finding he wasn't being hit. He opened his eyes and looked around to see Leah standing nearby, holding her hands up, her grasp holding the gravel above the robber. Then, with a smile, she lowered her hands, the pieces of gravel shooting towards the robber one by one. With the added gravity on the gravel, they shot into him, embedding into his skin. The robber cried out in pain and brought up his mirror once more.

It took Brady only a few moments to realize he was a meta of some sort, able to use his mirrors to deflect whatever was coming to him. Enough so that the gravel that struck the glass was sucked inside then shot back towards them. Frowning, Leah twisted her hand, aiming the gravel towards the robber once more. He gritted his teeth and reached his hand towards the side mirror on the door.

While the robber was preoccupied with Leah, Brady used his powers of invisibility to move closer to the robber. Close enough to grab the door handle of the unlocked car and pull as hard as he could. The door swung open and struck the robber on the side of the head so hard that he stumbled to the side. He regained his footing and punched his fist against the mirror in his hand. When he pulled his hands away, he dropped the frame to the ground and heaved his hands forward.

Brady jumped backwards, the gravel making his feet slip out from beneath him. Just in time, but not fast enough. As he fell his arms flung up, causing a shard of glass to scratch up his arm. Leah flung herself to the ground. At the same time, throwing out her hands. The robber growled as the ground started to crack beneath him, his body sinking towards the ground. He struggled to bring his feet upwards but found he couldn't move them. No, Leah was causing his center of gravity to increase, forcing him lower and lower into the ground.

Desperately, the robber reached for the largest shard of glass nearest to him. Brady moved forward on his hands and swung his feet below him, around his body in an arching pattern. As he did so, his legs glowed black and he sent out another blast of energy. He missed. The robber grabbed onto the shard of glass and disappeared inside. Like before, his energy blast struck the asphalt, leaving a warped hole in its place.

In surprise, Brad and Leah climbed off the ground, brushing dirt and gravel off themselves. Brady walked over to the shard of glass the robber disappeared through and frowned, seeing it was completely shattered, glittering along the ground.

"What was that?" Leah asked. She pulled her hair behind her ear and glanced at Brady, who walked over to the area they had just fought in. He grimaced, seeing the person sized dent in the car door that stood ajar.

He ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away sweat. He shook his head. "I have no idea" Brady finally replied. "A meta, obviously but…what kind of meta?"

Leah shrugged, folding her arms. "A glass meta? They can control all kinds of glass to their whim?" It was a pretty good guess, but Brady didn't think so for sure. If he was a glass meta, he would've done something else to prove it. Create his own glass, manipulate all the glass in the area. Fix the car so that it didn't appear to be broken before he let? From what Brady could see, looking around at the other cars, all the sideview mirrors were broken.

No, that couldn't be it. "But he didn't control it, just used it to transport himself," Brady murmured. He scratched the back of his neck. "At least he's gone, I can tell Barry and my mom about it later." He glanced towards the soccer game, realizing there wasn't much time for him to get back. "Thanks for having my back."

"So, this Sam Scudder guy was there that day," Leah spoke up. "But…Dillon wasn't. She was nowhere or the police would've mentioned her."

Alicia shook her head. "Not, like, unless the police were trying to draw out any accomplices," she said. "My dad talks about it all the time. Saying there's certain information that's released to the public and certain information that's not so those with that information are more likely to track a source if it leaks. If Dillon wasn't there, the police may have already had her."

Conner flipped his pages back and forth, shuttling through them. He shifted his position on the floor. His eyes roved over the sheet, then he shook his head as well. "No, these would've said something about that. There has to be something else that's linking them together."

"Other than this Snart guy?" Alicia asked.

"Snart's dead." Brady said it so matter-of-factly that it took him a second to realize his mistake. Alicia looked at him closely, her eyes narrowing. Obviously, it was something she knew, but hadn't expected him to know. Something the police would've kept quiet but only those that were close to the case would know. Brady took a deep breath and charged forward with his explanation. "Still, they worked out of the same group, Mick hasn't been seen in years, it doesn't necessarily mean their entire group has fallen apart."

"But the Particle Accelerator links them as well," Leah said slowly. Her eyes shifted towards Brady and Conner. "They were all here when it went off. And it gave two of them powers. Snart and Mick didn't have any, they used the guns."

"Wouldn't Detective West know that?" Brady asked, quickly. "He's working with the metahuman task force, and Barry and Julian Albert work with metahumans. So, wouldn't the entirety of the CCPD knew those that had been affected? Would they have some sort of a database?" He braved the chance to look at Alicia, startled to find she was already looking back at him with an expression so intense it made him uncomfortable. "What?"

"How'd you know Smart's dead?" She asked.

"My mom must've mentioned it, or Barry," Brady explained. He worked hard to keep his voice steady. How could you be so stupid? "Or maybe even Julian or Detective West. They all worked with the people left at STAR Labs at some point." He shrugged. "And Snart is the link between all of them."

"So is the Particle Accelerator," Conner pointed out. He put his papers down and tapped them with his fingers. "Everyone that's mentioned here was in Central City when it went off."

"So?" Alicia flipped her hair over her shoulders. "Like, we were all here when it went off, too. And we're not metahumans." She placed a hand to her chest. "I know I'm not."

"I'm not," Conner added quickly. He then flushed when Brady glared at him. Honestly, he hoped Conner got the mental threat Brady had of wanting to punch his best friend hard on the arm. His quick response compared to Brady's and Leah's hesitant ones—startled by the quick turn of conversation topic—made silence stretch through the room. "Come on," he said to Alicia. "Don't you think we'd know if any of us were metahumans?"

"Maybe," Alicia agreed. "But, there have to be more metas than we've seen. This city is filled with thousands of people and daddy's in charge of making sure they're all safe."

"Technically," Leah said slowly, softly. "It's the Flash and Flare's job to make sure everyone in the city is safe."

"Before they got here, it was the police and will always be the police that'll keep us safe. I mean,"—she paused, letting out a deep breath— "Shadowhunter saved me, saved us, when the Metapocalypse was going on. I don't have a thing against metas, but the police really are doing their best to help them—help us."

"By getting rid of all of them?"

"Well." Alicia paused. "We have meta dampeners at school now." Brady sat up straight, an icy chill running down his spine. He looked at Leah out of the corner of his eye, who stared at her best friend. Alicia blushed, knowing she'd said too much. "Or, like, we're going to get some, you know? Because, we, like, keep getting attacked by metas and our school shut down. We don't want any more of our classmates to be in danger, do we?"

"No." Brady frowned. He took a deep breath to steady himself before asking. "But if the police have information about known metas…does this include anyone in school who is a meta, too?" He thought about the Instagram account and other social media groups they had set up for metas they'd found in Carmichael Elementary School. They'd been so careful in finding those metas and being sure they had place to feel safe. But if the police already knew…?

Alicia shrugged. "I didn't see anything in this stuff about kids being metas. Just some of the older known ones. The Reverse-Flash, Zoom, Flash, Flare, Killer Frost, Vibe, Shadowhunter, Savitar, Breathtaker, Mindboggler, Incognito, Stratos…those are the ones the city sees a lot. The others…they've, like, got identities. Names to faces."

"But how?"

Brady was starting to grow frustrated. There had to be something they were missing. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Something his mother had said before. "Amunet can get anything and everything she wants." The answer was right there. The Encyclopedia that had been on the computer that Snart and Mick had stolen and sold to Amunet. They at STAR Labs were the only ones who kept track of every meta they'd come across. Even ones on other Earths. A pet project Caitlin had started that Bruce Wayne had given grant money to continue.

It, simply, had fallen into the wrong hands.

And, if that were the case, it meant somewhere within Chief Pauslon's files…he knew his, Leah's, Barry's, and his mother's true identities. Not to mention Caitlin's and Cisco's…and maybe even Harrison and Harry and the Reverse-Flash and…

This wasn't good.

"Hey." Conner shook another sheet of paper. "This talks about some new shots we have to get at school." His eyebrows furrowed together. "I never got a new shot."

"Me neither," Alicia said.

"I did," Leah murmured. "So, did Brady."

"I haven't gotten mine yet," Brady said. "My mom signed the form and dad's taking me."

"They said that our medical records weren't complete and we needed to take them," Leah continued. Brady let out a low humming sound. Somethign wasn't sitting right with him. He was sure cement had started to gather at the bottoms of his feet, nailing him to the floor. "How many people are on that list?"

"Not many. Some people from our class. Some from others…"

Brady snatched the page from Conner's hand resulting in Conner giving him a dirty look as he shook out his hand. Papercut. Brady did his best to keep from visibly trembling as he looked over the names listed before him. They weren't outright mentioned as metahumans, that gave him some sense of relief. But…a lot of the names he read, including his own and Leah's, were people they'd found to be metahumans themselves.

"Your name wouldn't be on here anyway," Brady said after a minute. "You moved before it came out. The nurse said to me that I've missed it because I've been gone from school so much."

"That's not weird, is it?" Alicia asked.

"Maybe not, but…why would it be in with all this stuff?" Brady asked.

And why is a lot of it blacked out? He shook his head. So many answers but still even more questions. He gathered everything and put it back, running it through his head. Everything went back to Amunet; she had given the information to whomever asked for it because she had the information sold to her from a computer stolen from STAR Labs. Dillon and Scudder had to be working with her or for her in some way, and their information was known by the CCPD. It all pointed to the scary thought that the CCPD were coming that much closer to 1) knowing the identity of every metahuman in Central City and 2) being able to eradicate all of them if needed.

"Thanks for getting us all of this stuff, Alicia," Brady said sincerely. He carefully passed the folder to her. "It's really helped us out."

"You're welcome," Alicia replied. "I just hope you got everything you needed."

"Not everything, but enough to help my mom."

"What do you get out of it?" Brady froze. His eyebrows shot upwards. He kept himself as calm as possible, making the motion. Hopefully it made him appear to be confused rather than surprised or guilty. "You say you're helping your mom and Barry. But, what are you getting out of it? What are you hiding?"

Brady chewed his lower lip. What would Barry do? He took in a deep breath and tapped into the mindset of Shadowhunter. Not that Shadowhunter was a different person by any means, but a stronger part of him. A more confident part. It helped to keep his lives separate if he got into different mindsets for the different parts of his life. "I'm not hiding anything," he said slowly. "I just care about metahumans and I don't think they should be treated any differently." He shrugged and added in jokingly, "If they're criminals on top of that, that's their problem."

Alicia laughed, immediately relaxing. Brady grinned in response. "I agree." She tucked the papers back together and sighed down at the folder. "I don't hate metas…I just wish I could get daddy to change his mind about them."

It'd make my life a lot easier, Brady thought. A lot of our lives. He was broken from his thoughts when his phone buzzed out a significant pattern. One of warning. Leaning to the side, Brady pulled out his phone and looked at the screen, seeing a text from Cisco.

S.O.S. GET TO STAR LABS NOW.

"Whoa, I have to go," Brady said. He hoped he sounded the correct amount of worried and not enough for them to ask for details. "Sorry guys, I'll see you later."

"Is everything okay?" Conner asked.

"Everything's fine," Brady replied. "It's just…some wedding stuff my mom wants help with."

"They're working on the wedding already?" Leah's eyebrows rose.

"Well, my grandma is. She's really excited and she tends to get carried away with these kinds of things." Which certainly was true. If memory served correct, it wasn't much longer until they were going to have their engagement party. And his mom and Barry had only just gotten engaged. "Don't be surprised if you get dragged into helping in some way."

Alicia made a face. "'I don't even know her."

"Doesn't matter," Brady said with a small smile. "She'll find a way to get to you." Brady left Leah's house, texting back that he was on his way. He then texted Leah and Conner what was really going on and that he'd meet up with them later. Once he was down the street and around the corner from the house, Brady phased through the ground and headed towards STAR Labs.

Jesse frantically paced the floor of the Cortex. She shrugged off any of Wally's attempts to comfort her, her hand up to her mouth, chewing on her thumbnail. "The locator cube dad sent over is late," Jesse explained. "Two weeks late. That means he's been gone that long." She reached up and grabbed her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut, bending over as if to ward off an oncoming blow no one else could see. "I just saw him…I just visited him. I should've known something was wrong. How could I have been so…so selfish."

"Jesse, calm down," Barry reassured her. He reached out a hand, forcing her to stop. He felt her tremble beneath his hand. Not just for her worry but due to her inability to sit still. It seemed that all speedsters lost their ability to control every bit of their nerves as soon as the Speed Force set in. Or, if he were being more pragmatic, it was nothing more than pure, unadulterated fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of being so short cited that other things managed to fall through the cracks. "Start from the beginning. Why was he in Gorilla City?"

"Or," Joe suggested, holding up his hand. He glanced around the room, making sure others were as confused as he was before pointing out what was even more important. "Slowing down even further, what's in Gorilla City?"

"A pile of kittens, I bet," Iris said sarcastically. Joe pointed a finger at her and Iris held her hands up defensively, doing her best to keep a smile from coming to her face. But failed. Messing with her father when he already felt out of the loop of science talk was always going to be entertaining.

"Okay." Jesse sighed. She pressed her palms together and looked directly at each member of Team Flash. They all gathered together as soon as she got the locator cube, taking Wally and Joe along for the ride from the CCPD to the Cortex. "There are sentient, highly intelligent gorillas on Earth-2 and they live in a city deep in the jungle of Africa."

Cisco stared as soon as 'Africa' was mentioned. Caitlin looked at him before rubbing his arm soothingly. Fighting against Grodd the last time he'd been around had been a difficult task for all of them. Not just because Grodd was a formidable opponent, but because of the emotional toll it took on them. "We sent Grodd there after he went after Caitlin."

"Grodd's there?" Joe asked. His eyes bugged out of his head, finally understanding what was being said. "Why on Earth—any Earth—would your father want to go there?"

"A connection," Jesse explained. She took in a breath, steadying her voice. Her resolve came close to breaking numerous times as she waited for the team to show. "When Harrison,"—she nodded to the scientist who stood calmly aside the group— "and my dad did their mind-meld, it gave them the ability to see into each other's lives."

"Just like we did with Burnout and Earth-2's Barry," Cadence realized. She still remembered the rush of 'downloading information' of her doppelganger's life. Saw everything that'd happened to her in her life, how things could've gone differently had she made different choices when they came to her. Barry nodded in agreement. "But that still doesn't explain what they want with Harry. Just because they did a mind-meld doesn't mean they're the same person."

"I believe I can explain that," Harrison said. He took a step forward and addressed everyone in the Cortex. "Grodd and I had a connection. Even before Eobard took over my body, the advanced mind-meld, I call it, we had a bond. I raised him since he was a tiny chimp and he's always thought of me as a father of sorts."

"Yeah, and Caitlin as his mother," Cisco murmured in agreement. Then his voice took on a sarcastic tone. "Who couldn't see a bad outcome from that?"

Cadence shot him a look and he immediately fell quiet. She then turned to her other Earth sister and nodded for her to continue. "They just wanted a connection with Harry?"

"Not just with Harry," Harrison said slowly. His eyes blinked rapidly as his mind shuttled through the numerous outcomes of Grodd's repeated presence in their lives. "General Eiling's place in his life had an influence on him as well."

"No, they…" Jesse paused, thinking hard. She pressed her fingertips into her forehead. "We got a mathematical cryptogram at our STAR Labs. It was highly complex, it took us weeks to figure it out. But we did. It was an invitation from the gorillas to my dad."

"Why Harry?" Brady piped up. He sat at the computer desk of the Cortex while the others stood around. "Why not just get Harrison if he was the one who had the actual connection with Grodd?"

"They wanted to meet him. And, honestly, my dad wanted to know the same thing. So, he mounted an expedition with ten other people and they went into the jungle. But, they failed to contact multiple check-ins and a search party went in after them." Tears gathered at her eyes. She sniffed loudly, working hard to keep herself from completely breaking. Wally moved forward and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. "But all they found were the bodies. All of them beaten to death…but no one's seen my dad. I mean, is he—"

"No," Barry said emphatically. So strongly that his friends stared at him in awe. "He's alive. They went through a lot of trouble to get them there, they need him for something. We just have to figure out what it is."

"Well, clearly, they want one of the smartest men on the Earth," HR pointed out, waving his drumstick back and forth. He motioned to Jesse, who looked back at him. "I'm sorry this is all taking the smile out of your face, but you should be flattered. They have one of the brightest minds out there with them. I would know." He tapped his drumstick against the side of his head. "I see it all up here."

"Maybe that's all we should do," Iris suggested. "A mind-meld works like Cisco's vibing, right? Maybe we can just get Harrison and HR to use their mind-meld to figure out where Harry is and how to get to him."

"And maybe what these gorillas want him for," Wally added. His tone lifted earnestly, ready for anything that'd make it so that Jesse would smile again. Behind him, Barry turned away, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.

He saw it again, that night. The night that would ruin his life. All images of it flashed through his mind. He worked hard not to focus on the horrific images. The ones that haunted him every night and kept waking him up, screaming at the top of his lungs. No, his mind focused on just before that, when he was looking at the broadcasted news report. All the headlines that flashed through at the bottom.

Killer Frost still at large.

Music Meister pens 6-book-deal.

Central City recovering from Gorilla Attack.

"Mind-melds only work to see what has happened in another's life," Harrison said. Hands planted on hips, he shook his head sadly. "Up until the moment we meld with them again. It is similar in that basis of vibing, yes, but it isn't as much of what Cisco can do."

"Well, don't look at me," Cisco said. He held up his hands. "Unless you get a gorilla here, I'm not going to get much vibing done. That hunk of junk,"—he motioned to the black cube sitting on the computer desk with Brady— "hasn't been doing much for us since it got here."

"It only gives the message the cube intends once," Jesse explained. Her voice wobbled and she buried her face against Wally's chest. "It can't be used by anyone other than the intended recipient."

Barry ran his hands over his face. Just once. Just once he wished he could go a day without having to be reminded about the future. Everyone knew now, he wasn't shouldering the burden on his own anymore. He just wished he could give the others a peek into the future as well, to know how badly it was scarring him. Especially when, just maybe, they had the chance to change the future.

"Barry?" Caitlin's voice wafted to him. Low, and as gentle as always. Soothing. She always knew when it was the best time for him to talk and how to get him to talk. Barry turned to face her. "You're really quiet. What are you thinking about?"

Barry sucked in a deep breath. "The future," he admitted. "He tapped his forehead. "I remembered something…I was looking at a TV broadcast about everything the night that you…" he swallowed hard. "Then night you died." Caitlin, Iris, and Cadence all took in sharp breaths at the same time. The mere mention of the future was more painful than they'd outright admit. No matter how firm they were about changing the future. "One of those headlines…it said that Central City is going to be attacked by gorillas, that it was recovering."

"So, you think that that headline and Harry being kidnapped have to do with each other," Joe asked.

Barry nodded. He took a step forward, pleading towards his friends. His team. "It can't be a coincidence, right? Harry getting lured to Gorilla City?" He held up his hands then slapped them to his side. "Grodd must be planning something."

"Seems to me like he's trying to get back to Central City," Cadence suggested. "And not alone, by the sound of it." She thought for a moment. "Gorillas, like humans, are social creatures. I bet if I were to watch him as much as I've watched other people…they'd react the same. If he's trying to get somewhere, he'd use every resource around him to do so. Including using Harry."

"Maybe if we stop Grodd and rescue Harry, it'll change the headline," Cisco said. He reached out, grabbed Caitlin's hand and squeezed it firmly. She smiled back at him. "Change the future…"

"Mm." Joe grunted. He closed his eyes briefly. Barry watched him. He knew exactly what was going through Joe's head. He'd do anything to save Iris. But was he willing to sacrifice Barry's life to do so? Could he really exchange the life of one of his children for another one? "We save Harry we save them…but you're not sure."

"No," Barry admitted. He wasn't very sure about a lot of things as of late. But that wasn't going to stop him. He needed to do something. "I'm going either way. Harry's my friend. I'm not just going to abandon him. I'm going back to Earth-2."

"And I'm assuming you'll want someone to go with you to open some breaches," Cisco said. He bobbed his head back and forth and started to talk to himself. "We had so much fun last time." Then he paused and corrected himself. "Fun-ish. Whatever. I'm in."

Caitlin surprised him and everyone when she took a step forward. ''I'm going to come, too," she said. "I had a special connection with Grodd, maybe we can use that to get through to him."

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "Okay." There was no point in denying her going. It was inevitable, just as it was for Cadence to go as well. He didn't have to ask her, have to look at her. The moment he said he was going, he knew she would be going as well. Not just for him, but for Jesse. Harry wasn't her father, not exactly, but Jesse was her sister and she'd do anything for her family.

"Great, yeah, I'm coming, too," Jesse said.

Barry immediately shook his head. He waited for her to wipe away her tears, to wipe away the astonished expression that replaced her determination. "No, I'm sorry, Jesse. No." She started to protest but he held up his hand, cutting her off. "Your dad would kill me if I let you go along."

"Well, my dad hasn't killed you yet and I've been your partner for years now," Cadence pointed out. Barry gave her a look that easily showed his 'for real?' expression. His case was further decimated when Brady pointed out that he and Cadence let him go out into fights as well.

"I'm a speedster now," Jesse added, voice firmer. She pushed Wally's arms from around her and stepped closer to Barry. Her eyes flashed with lighting. "I can take care of myself."

"I know, which is exactly why I need you to stay here. I mean, this city needs protecting while we're gone." Barry couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "And besides, maybe you could teach Wally a thing or two." Wally's head tilted as he gave Barry a 'are you serious?' look, making Barry's smile slowly start to grow.

"But—"

"—I can stay here," Brady suggested. Barry's surprised glance turned his way. He'd honestly expected Brady to want to come along to Gorilla city, to beg to go, having missed out on some of the last adventures they'd taken when traveling between worlds. But that was then. Brady seemed sure of himself as he continued. "Someone's going to need to help Wally while he's out in the field if all of you are away and,"—he couldn't help but add with a cheeky grin— "I've got more experience than he does."

"I'm right here," Wally declared, throwing his hands in the air.

Barry continued to eye him warily. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's not like you to agree to this so quickly," Cadence added. She looked closer at her son, eyes roving over his face and body. She quickly deduced form his body language, hands tapping along the end of the table, he was keeping something from them. "What's going on?"

"I got some information today," Brady said slowly.

"What kind of information?" Harrison asked. He didn't demand it, but his voice took on a tone so harsh it made Barry shiver and suddenly wonder if it was a good idea to leave Brady there with the man that had once been his greatest rival.

"About metas and the CCPD. And, believe me, it isn't good."

Julian sat huddled over his work desk. Pen in hand, he wrote as quickly as he could, getting down as much information as he could before the testing finished. A stack of papers rustled gently beside him. Julian lifted his head, staring at the papers. A few seconds of stillness, then the pages would crinkle again. Lifting his hand, Julian held it in front of the papers and the breeze that was blowing. He frowned, not feeling anything. And yet, the pages continued to blow, growing stronger by the second.

Finally, they fell. "Bloody hell." Julian's eyes squinted, willing the pages to move once more. Nothing. Silence stretched through his lab—things really had gotten quiet since Barry had left the CCPD, relieving Julian of his constant noise of fidgeting-before Julian sat up straight. His eyes glazed over, shoulders rolled back, spine disappeared into his back as if his body had been pulled by marionette strings. There was a strong gust of wind and a flash of white light shot through the room. Savitar towered over him. "Well?"

"He's going," Julian said, Alchemy's voice coming from him. "Just as you said he would. Everything's going to plan."

"Good."

"And make sure Wally doesn't—"

"I won't—"

"—Because, you know, he can be a little—"

"—Barry—"

"—If he's given the opportunity, he will—"

"—Barry!" Iris threw her hands into the air, immediately cutting Barry off. He waited patiently as Iris stood up from the step she perched herself on in the Tipton basement. Barry did his best not to look around. The basement held too many memories for them. It was where Jay—rather, Zoom—had first arrived on their Earth and created havoc for them. The same place area of STAR Labs where most of the power of the Particle Accelerator blew, injuring those on the floors directly above—including Caitlin, Cisco, and Harrison. Barry made himself focus on Iris. "I can boss my little brother around like no one's business, okay? Don't worry. Just…please don't do anything stupid."

Barry tugged on the ends of his gloves, making sure they fit snugly around his fingers. His cowl sat around his neck, ready to go. "You mean like voluntarily going to a city filled with super apes?" Barry asked.

He looked over when he felt an arm rest on his shoulder and found Cadence leaning against his side, grinning at Iris. "Besides, have you met him?" Cadence added, placing her free hand on her hip. "Anything he does on instinct is almost always something stupid."

Iris grinned back, making Barry roll his eyes. It was one thing to have Iris tease him while he was growing up, another when Cadence started to tease him since first meeting him, and an entirely other thing when they both got in on it. "I'm being serious," Iris warned, her smile finally fading, noticing the roll of his eyes. "You've run into things like this before…and you've managed to come back so far. Go rescue Harry, but don't run off of your emotions."

"I'm not," Barry said, trying to reassure her. He let out a frustrated grunt when Cadence took his arm and pulled him aside. Clearly, she wanted to be sure the message got through to him. He was getting it form his best friend, and would probably get it form Joe, he didn't need it from his fiancée either.

"I'm just saying," Cadence said slowly. "I know how your mind works. And I know how mine does. It sounds silly but…things were different when we were just friends, when we were just partners. Even when we were just dating, but now…" She looked him in the eye. "Everything you're doing now is about the future. Whether it's the future or our wedding…your mind isn't present. You don't have to do this for me."

Barry smiled. "Everything I do is for you." He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss, which made her smile, despite the stern warning that still reflected in her eyes when he pulled back. "I'm not going to do anything without running it by you first."

"Okay, you don't have to go that far," Cadence said. "I just need to be sure I'm bringing back Barry and not a body."

Barry grimaced. "I…don't think I can promise that," he said slowly.

"That's reassuring."

Barry chuckled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. Then he turned to accept the hug Joe opened his arms for. Joe squeezed Barry tightly, flowing as much love to him as he could. "Be safe, or you'll have to answer to me," he warned. "Gorilla or not, I don't think you want to answer to me." Joe stepped back and cupped Barry's face in his hands. "And if you see anything hinky, you run."

"Take care of Brady for me," Cadence said to Iris. "With this meta stuff. Chances are, something's going to happen and I need you to make sure he doesn't pull a Barry and do something stupid."

"Don't worry mom, I'm much smarter than Barry," Brady said, puffing out his chest as if to prove his point.

"Watch over my brother and watch over Brady," Iris said, counting off on her fingers. "I think I can handle that. And when it's slow, I can have Brady help me on…" she exchanged a meaningful glance with Cadence before concluding with, "my project, now that we know more from the CCPD," making Cadence give her a grateful smile before hugging her.

"Alright." Barry moved to Brady's side, waiting for mother and son to finish their hug before he grasped the young boy's shoulders. "Make sure the city's face while we're gone. I'm counting on you." Brady nodded earnestly. Barry could see in his eyes he'd take his job seriously.

Barry then dropped his hands from Brady's shoulders and took a step back. He nodded to his friends that would be going with them, and they moved to the platform that sat on the far side of the room. Cisco put on his Vibe goggles and punched his fist forward. A swirling vortex opened prompting Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Cadence, and Jesse to leap through.

The moment they passed through, the breach winked out. Leaving the basement of STAR Labs in darkness.

GORILLA CITY, EARTH-2

Beads of sweat immediately popped up on Barry's forehead the moment he landed in a crouch on the dense jungle floor. The humidity rose so quickly, a stifling cloud he nearly choked on. Thank God, I didn't put my hood on, Barry thought, bringing up an arm to pull against his forehead. Though he wasn't sure how the rest of his suit would fare, feeling sweat start to collect on numerous parts of his body. Cisco would not have a good time cleaning his suit that time.

"How was that?" Cisco asked, lowering his arm. He pressed his hands to his knees, sweat pooling down to his chin. The humidity added to the energy exhibited to get them to Earth-2 took more out of him than any of them thought. Jesse reached over and held his arm, keeping him up.

"Perfect Cisco," Barry said. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Great job."

A low grumbling sound filled the air, making them all stand still. Though none of them had moved an inch from arriving, whatever had created the noise turned them into statues. When the grumbled filtered out and the sounds of buzzing bugs and cawing birds returned, they all relaxed.

"Is everyone okay?" Caitlin asked. She looked to Cadence who, like Cisco, had her hands on her knees and was breathing hard. Sweat pooled down her face, making her periodically slam her eyes shut, the stinging salt burning her eyes. "Cade?"

"I'm okay," she said. Finally, the fire-metahuman stood up and wiped at her face, cheeks flushed. "It's just really hot." She fanned her hand by her face. "I'm good," she insisted after a moment of silence from the others. Her eyes locked on Barry as he studied her. "Promise."

Barry nodded back. "Well," he remarked, looking around the dense forest. "We made it."

"Welcome to the jungle, baby," Cisco murmured. His eyes shifted over the clearing around them. The group exchanged glances and nods before starting forward at a slow, steady walk. Barry had to keep himself from racing forward as the seconds passed. Not just because what was a leisurely stroll to many was a snail's pace to him, but due to apprehension.

Jesse clearly felt the same. As they trekked through the jungle she'd have moments of speed that'd propel her up and down the hills much quicker than the rest of the group. Then she'd slow down and wait for the others, tapping her foot, impatiently glancing over her shoulder at the next hill as they came to meet her before she took off again.

And still, the group continued to move along in silence. They quickly shot down Cisco's suggestion of a sing-a-long and talking about the movies they'd seen recently. The only sound heard from the group was their stomping over twigs and branches that'd crack beneath their feet and their heavy breathing. Every few moments, Cadence would stop to put her hands on her hips and tilt her head back, working to catch her breath. But she continued to stay with the group. At least, when she and the others weren't consistently slapping themselves to get rid of the bugs hovering around them.

"Earth-2 Africa," Cisco grumbled as they went. "Guess global warming's not really a thing here." He slapped the side of his face so hard that a bright red handprint appeared. "But bugs are!" It was the only time they laughed, the situation too serious to find much mirth within it.

Finally, as they crested a hill, Barry saw a peculiar sight in the distance. A gorilla head carved out of stone resting on a large stone wall. Steadily approaching it, Barry could see it was the entrance of some sort of civilization; could see the large looming masses of gorillas lumbering inside.

Barry took in a deep breath. "Let's go," he murmured and continued walking. He had to ignore the need for his muscles to jump into action. To start coursing Speed Force energy within it to propel him forward, abandoning the rest of the team to look through the ruins for Harry and get back out. It'd leave anyone else sitting ducks for whatever was waiting for them. Better to take their time rather than storm in without a plan. Going in and starting to punch would be the worst line of attack. Especially when the gorillas they were going up against were sentient.

If Grodd managed to give us problems, a whole horde of them would be even worse, he rationalized.

"Does anyone want some water?" Caitlin asked, breaking into Barry's thoughts. She fumbled with the water bottle attached to her hip, starting to open the top.

"I'm okay, thanks," Jesse said quickly. Barry agreed. Cisco took a few sips then handed the bottle to Cadence, who nearly downed half of it, leaning heavily against a tree behind her. Caitlin watched her in concern. She took the bottle back from the fire-metahuman and froze the contents inside, placing the bottle against her forehead. Jesse noticed and asked, "Cade, are you okay?"

"Just hot," Cadence replied. She managed a small smile. "Usually, that's not something I'd complain about." Aa lifeless laugh escaped her lips.

Barry stopped and looked at her. She really wasn't looking good. Her skin was flushed, eyelids drooping low, body bent in half as she worked to catch her breath, holding the frozen water bottle against her forehead. A beeping noise from a watch Cisco wore caught Barry's attention, despite keeping his eyes on his fiancée.

"We're close, guys." Cisco called out, studying his tracker. He turned his way and that, following the tracker as the beeping increased. Finally, it stopped, seeming to lock in on something. Cisco bent down to pick something up off the ground.

Caitlin followed his movements then frowned. Her head whipped around, eyes darting back and forth over the thick jungle. She could've sworn she heard something. "Did you guys hear that?" She asked.

"Hear what?" Jesse asked.

Barry looked to Cadence, who tilted her head, loose strands of hair falling out of her face. Her eyes slowly turned orange as they shifted around the woods, changing to her thermal vision. She couldn't see anything yet, nevertheless, her hand slowly crept toward the pistol strapped to her thigh. Barry took a step aside and looked to the ground, indents catching his attention.

He knelt to one knee, examining it further. Immediately, his mind warped back to the case he was looking over the day of the Particle Accelerator explosion. The case with Mark and Clyde Mardon. The case that started with a footprint he'd been able to easily track. Much different than the indention in the forest floor he saw below him; Mark's and Clyde's were from shoes, the on the ground resembled a massive hand.

"There's footprints," Barry murmured.

Then he heard a gurgling sound and looked up to see Cadence grasp towards the tree closest to her. She started to slide sideways, Caitlin and Jesse moving to hold her up. "Too hot," she gasped. "It's too hot."

Barry clocked into it in a second; the increased humidity combined with her powers was making her internal temperature rise. Rise to much dangerous levels if they didn't get her somewhere cooler. He started to say as much when Cadence suddenly stiffened, uttering a small yelp, her hand flying to her neck, before she crumbled to the ground. A dart poke out of her skin and into the air.

"It's a trap!" The words barely got out of Barry's mouth before an injector struck him on the neck. Within seconds, Cisco, Caitlin, Cadence, and Jesse were struck as well. The concoction inside immediately slid into their veins, knocking them out in seconds.

The group crashed to the ground, eyes falling shut.

They were dead to the world, unable to see Grodd's approach until he was on them. His eyes roved over the group. /Welcome Caitlin. Knew you'd come…Flash./

A/N: I've had this portion (and the Abra Kadabra portion) planned out since it first aired. Of course things leading up to it had to change every now and then, but I'm excited to finally get to it. This one was more straight to the point of the episode, but things do change as it goes on. And, now we know how much the CCPD knows about metas and how they got their information. Wait until the next part for you to see what I've got in store for Brady, and the rest of Team Flash of course, but especially Brady.

Cheers,

-Riley

Review Replies

Ethan: A lot of things are Barry's jam as we can see from the show. Draychon, cooking, and a lot of nerd things.

DarkHelm145: Yep, just a little more lighthearted. It was meant to be that way on purpose. Just to ease up a bit as we move into the last portions of the story. I'm not saying it's ending anytime soon, but that it's getting to the climax and falling action.

PowerHero432: The comparison with Earth-1 and Earth is something you should definitely keep an eye on, lol. I can't say much more than that. You'll see a lot of Cade and Jesse working together with the Gorilla City stuff, I had that planned since starting this season within the series. I just hope all the other Gorilla City stuff ends up being just as good!