CHAPTER FOUR: BACK FROM THE DEAD

The moment Ella was able to breath was the moment she imagined Barry's room, and in an instant there she was. She landed right in front of the dresser, where she spent most of the time when she was in his room earlier.

Ella spun around, crying out, "Barry!" but he was already on his feet, his bare chest braced for attack. He relaxed when he realized it was her, though then his eyebrows scrunched with worry.

"Ella, what's wrong?" Barry asked, his voice low with concern. He came to where she was, placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort. The sight of him shirtless and with his sweatpants hung low on his hips, would normally only be a sight for her dreams, but that was the last thing on her mind.

"This-this-this man…" Ella tried to speak, but her voice shook like her body did. She put a hand to her mouth and fell against Barry, feeling like she needed someone to hold her tight to keep her from breaking apart. He wrapped his arms around her, causing her head to fit in the crook of his neck.

She breathed in Barry a moment before she continued on to his chest, "In all black, suddenly appeared in my room. His eyes were black, like… like his soul was black. He knew you… and he knew me. How does everyone know me!?"

Ella could feel Barry stiffen next to her. She took a breath and pulled away, feeling safer with Barry.

"Zoom," he said with restrained anger. "Zoom was in your room? What did he say?" His eyes bore into hers, with a fire she'd never seen with him.

She swallowed before answering, "He came in and stood there and just stared at me. Then he said 'Ella' like he hadn't seen me in a while and it was a shock. I tried to tell him I didn't know him, but he said it wouldn't be that way for long, and to enjoy my time with you while it lasted." Ella dropped her face in her hands before finishing, "I have no idea what he meant, Barry! Zoom, I guess."

Barry took a breath, trying to control his emotions. In a harsh voice, he asked, "Wanna know a secret?"

He didn't wait for Ella, who knew more secrets than she knew what to do with, to reply.

"There's currently a breach that connects us to a different universe. And that's where Zoom comes from. He's hell bent on destroying me and becoming the Fastest Man Alive. Though I don't know why he's trying so hard, he's already proven to everyone how I can't beat him," Barry paused, bitterness etching its way into his voice, before he shook his head, "Anyways. There's doppelgangers of us in Earth 2. Maybe yours meant something to him. They're often… opposite of what we're here."

"Has this breach always been there?" Ella asked, her eyes wide. She couldn't quite grasp yet what he was saying. There's no way…

"No… I created it, by accident. All that's happened, is on me. Long story short: I can time travel, and I tried to go back and save my mom," Barry admitted, his eyes downcast as he told Ella one of his biggest regrets. "And I made a deal with an enemy from my future, but future me showed up as present me was about to save her, right in front of past me, and told present me not to do it. So I didn't," he swallowed, his voice thick with that last admission.

Ella was quiet as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. All the 'future me's' and 'past me's' and 'present me's' was all so confusing. She quickly decided it didn't really matter in this moment and said quietly, "I'm so sorry, Barry." Her eyes were steady on his face, though he wouldn't look at her. "I can't even imagine…"

Barry swallowed and finished his story, "When I got back, a major fight ensued, ultimately causing the breaches. Soon we started to meet metahumans from 'Earth 2' and eventually Zoom. Harry and Jay came around that time. You'll probably meet Jay soon enough. Harry didn't seem to know recognize you from over there, but maybe Jay will."

Ella's face scrunched up in thought. "Are the breaches both ways?" He nodded the answer. "But if he still has connection to Earth 2, why would it matter if I could remember him? Why doesn't he pop over and visit Earth 2 Ella?"

"Because, maybe… Earth 2 Ella is dead," Barry said gently, causing Ella's face to drop as things slowly started to connect in her mind.

"Oh… but he said I will know him. He knows I'm not that Ella, right? I would never…" A look of disgust crossed her face. In another universe, she means something to someone like Zoom? "'My love…'" she echoed his words. "I can't believe I'd do that!"

"You think you're his lover?" Barry asked and Ella nodded to answer. "That is really messed up. But that doesn't change the fact that that's not how it works. You're not going to become Earth 2 Ella just because he wants you to. You're two different people…"

"But what if he knows how to do it? I don't want to be a person that loves him!" She exclaimed, causing Barry's hair to rise with the static she accidentally gave the room from her distress. Ella took a deep breath, recognizing the feeling of being about to lose it, and noticing the way his hair began to float.

"El, that's not going to happen. I won't let that happen," Barry promised, finally meeting her eyes.

There was a knock on the door that startled them both.

"Barry?" Joe called and Barry looked like he was caught doing something he wasn't suppose to.

"It's open!" He replied back and pulled away from Ella, putting distance between them.

Joe peered his head in with an eyebrow raised. "You know that open door rule is still in effect."

"Joe, I'm 25 years old—" Barry began, rolling his eyes.

But Joe cut in with, "And you're still living my house—"

"And that's not even what was happening!" He threw his hands up in exasperation. He felt so pressured to be with Ella in a certain way that he just wanted to push it away, even though he liked being with her. Even though he could see it happening. Then Barry remembered Joe didn't know just how much Ella was supposedly a part of his future yet. He took a breath. "Zoom was here. He was in Ella's room," Barry informed him, his face turning serious.

"He was in my house? No. No." Joe entered the room. His eyes flashed with anger.

"We don't know why he came here, but he knows Ella. Or Earth 2 Ella," Barry corrected himself before adding, "He said he was coming back for her, saying she will remember him soon enough."

"But I'm pretty sure that's not how it works," Joe said, with a question mark in the tone of his voice.

Barry groaned. "Exactly, and… exactly."

Joe rubbed a hand over his head, mulling over the situation at hand. "Well then… we can discuss this more tomorrow. There isn't anything we can do. It's been a long day for Ella. Hell, for all of us," he finally put in and Ella and Barry nodded their agreement.

"I'm just going to let Cisco and Caitlin know what happened." He went to his bedside table and began texting his friends. He glanced up at Ella, who looked completely overwhelmed again. "Are you okay, El?" Barry asked.

The expression cleared on her face and she answered softly, "I'll be okay."

There Ella goes trying to make everyone else around her feel good. "Are you sure?" Barry pushed, but Ella just nodded, so he and Joe walked her back to her room.

"Sleep well," She said with a smile, though she knew she wouldn't be.

But it wasn't the first time she tried to portray something she wasn't in the past five minutes.

Ella wasn't going to be okay.


Ella slept fitfully for the rest of the night. When she rolled over for the millionth time and opened her eyes, she was relieved to see light peeking through the blinds of the window. Throwing the blankets off her, she made her way to the small bathroom tucked in Iris' room.

She hesitated before walking in, as she remembered she hasn't looked at herself in a mirror in months. She braced herself for what she was going to see.

The first thing Ella noticed was the bruises under her eyes, the cheekbones on her face, and the paleness of her skin. Then she caught her eyes in the mirror and saw how hollow she looked. She wasn't fooling anyone trying to act like she was okay, but she was still going to do it the same. Ella never wanted to be a burden to anyone.

As she finger combed her hair, after noticing how she didn't feel her sparking fingers on her head, she thought of the night before. Of Zoom and of Barry. Being absolutely terrified in Zoom's presence and feeling absolutely safe in Barry's arms. And how Zoom seemed to want her and how Barry did not.

Ella closed her eyes to force these thoughts out of her head before she squeezed a little bit of toothpaste on her finger to brush her teeth, wishing when she came in contact with her hands it calmed her.

She tried to think of what today would entail rather than what her life would entail as she showered, and tried to imagine she was washing yesterday away and down the drain. She was calm. She was going to stay calm today. She wasn't going to hurt anyone else. It was like a mantra she was saying in her mind.

When she went downstairs, Joe was standing alone in the kitchen. A cup full of coffee was in his hand as he greeted her, "Good morning, Ella."

"'Morning, De—Joe," She quickly corrected herself, remembering that he told her what he wanted to be called last night. She felt uncomfortable without Barry there, like she was opposing on Joe. Like she didn't belong.

"There's coffee in the pot and mugs in that cabinet," Joe told her, directing her with his eyes and pointing with his own mug of coffee.

"Thank you." She slowly made herself coffee, feeling self-conscience.

"Sorry we didn't have anything of Iris' that fit you. I didn't realize she had enough room in her closet at her apartment to fit all her clothes," He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, "Though knowing her, it's probably overflowing her closet and taking over her room."

"It's okay, you've done enough already. I'm going by my apartment today and I'll grab clothes," Ella replied politely, tugging at the hem of the STAR Labs shirt Barry lent her last night. She had matching oversized sweatpants.

"You didn't sleep well," He observed, before taking a sip. His eyes were on her.

"How'd you know?" Ella said softly, with a smile, trying to remember how to be social. It's always something she's had to figure out, like she's doing it for the first time each time she does it.

"It's these mad cop skills of mine," Joe joked, coaxing a real smile out of her.

Ella laughed, slowly starting to ease, though she still didn't know what to say, but she wanted to. A thing Ella always struggled with and she was glad that this was what she was worrying about right now. It felt so normal.

"Ella, you know you're welcomed here, right? I trust you… that's part of my cop skills too. I've seen Barry come a long way with his powers and so will you," He put in, with an earnest tone, catching Ella's eye.

She nodded and Joe added, "And it's okay to not be okay. You didn't ask for any of this and it's a lot you've been given. It's almost not okay to be okay right now."

She looked away then and answered, thinking of her parents, "If I act like I'm okay, it gives me hope one day I will be okay." Though in her entire life, it has not happened. Ella almost told Joe about her parents, but it was then that Barry decided to enter the room.

He looked just as tired as she felt. His hair was still damp from a shower, Ella noticed as he made his way to the coffee maker. Shirt tails and collars poked out of brown sweater and black corduroys hung loose on him.

"Well, aren't we a lively bunch this morning," Joe deadpanned, as he rose an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee.

Barry let the cabinet door slam shut and his mug clang on the counter before bursting out, "I just don't… like that Zoom was here. In our house. That's like, crossing a line or something." He finished the little outburst with a sigh, before putting the cup down and saying, "I need to go for a run. I'm just—I'm going to Jitters. Coming, Ella?" He looked at her, but she shook her head with a bitter laugh.

Raising her silver laced hands, she answered sarcastically, "Yeah, sure, and possibly shoot the barista with lightning for getting my drink wrong? Sounds like a good idea." Plus, she could tell he wanted some space. All Ella has done is add extra stress to Barry and the team since waking up.

Joe snorted, his lips pressed to his mug, and Barry shrugged, "Most people need a shot to wake them up in the morning."

"Yeah, normally of espresso," Ella rolled her eyes and put one hand in her pocket. The other one she used to sip her coffee.

Barry chuckled lightly. "Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked.

"I'd take a venti ice coffee with two shots of espresso," Ella replied, somewhat covering her sheepish grin with the cup of coffee she had in route to her mouth.

"I think I'm learning you have a coffee addiction," Barry said with a smile.

"Hi, my name is Ella and I am addicted to caffeine," She joked.

"Well, I'm heading to the station. See you, Barry. Ella," Joe cut in, patting Barry on the shoulder and nodding at Ella, before walking out of the kitchen.

"I better go too. Meet you at STAR Labs?" Barry asked, and when Ella nodded, he ran off.

Now that she was alone, she took a deep breath and imagined the desk where Cisco and Caitlin sat in the main room. Then she disappeared.

Cisco nearly fell out of his chair when the lightning dropped from the ceiling and onto the desk. Ella rolled off the edge and landed on the floor.

"Ow," she muttered, lying on her back for a moment before pushing herself up.

"Bolt! We have to call you Bolt, because that was just… just freaking awesome, man," Cisco exclaimed, awe overcoming his voice. And his face. And the rest of the body. He was wide eyed with excitement.

"I'll think about it, Cisco," Ella said, wiping the back of her sweats off.

"Oh, and sorry… you're okay, right?" He got up and made his way to her, looking her up and down for any visible damage.

She blushed. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just remembered the desk a bit too vividly."

"Is that how it works? You imagine a place and you're there?" Cisco asked, the eagerness returning.

"Basically," Ella answered with a shrug.

"Oh! I have something for you…" He said, ushering her over to where Barry's Flash uniform stood. Another case stood beside it, but a white sheet was draped over it. "I'm not quite finished yet, so no grand reveal quite yet, but these are done and I thought you might want them." Cisco pulled open the drawer at the bottom of the case and handed her a pair of dark purple gloves.

"These will absorb the static in your hands and lessen the energy of your lightning in general. So, with these on, your hands won't spark and your power will be a bit less controlled by emotion," He explained as she pulled them on.

Ella held her hands out in front of her and a wave of relief overcame her. She pulled Cisco into a hug and thanked him, and he made a note of how he didn't even feel her calming touch.

He was a bit disappointed they worked, for he had a lot of things to be stressed about and he wanted to be comforted about them. Though he supposed he could talk about them like a normal person, but really… that wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Barry was getting coffee at Jitters… I'm going to see if I can help him real quick. I'll be back!" Ella exclaimed and in a blink of an eye, a lightning bolt shot through the ceiling.

Cisco stood there in awe for a moment yet again, before whispering, "Wow."

Ella landed in the alleyway next to the coffee shop, before excitedly running into the building. She found Barry sitting at a table, waiting for the drinks. His head rested on the table and his eyes were shut. It made Ella smile.


"Hey, Barry!" She said excitedly, touching his shoulder. He was startled awake, but he put his head back down when he saw it was her.

"I thought you were going to STAR Labs," Barry replied through a yawn.

"I did, look!" Ella brought up her hands to Barry's face. He straightened up again and grabbed them. He inspected them, holding them close to his face.

"No lightning from my fingertips and it'll help me stay in control," She echoed Cisco's words from earlier.

Barry smiled sleepily and put her hands down on the table. "That's really cool, El."

"Barry!" a barista called his name and they both went to the hand of plane to get their drinks.

Ella handed his drink to him, but not before reading the label. "Dang, Barry, six shots!?"

"I didn't sleep last night. Like, at all," He replied before taking a sip of his bitter drink. "I was going to stop by STAR Labs before going in to work, but I think I might go in early and take a nap."

But then his tired eyes suddenly perked up, causing Ella to look behind her. There a women stood in cut off jean shorts and low cut tank top. One side of her hair was buzzed and the other fell into a pixie cut. A hand on her hip caused her top to slide up, revealing a sliver of skin. Her other hand held a phone that she was intensely staring at. And Barry was practically drooling at her.

"Faye!" the barista called the name and she perked up, walking over the counter.

"Barry," Ella muttered quickly before she came by, to bring Barry back out of whatever disgusting place he'd fallen into, but the smirk on Faye's face told her she liked the attention. She bumped Ella's shoulder before making it to the counter.

Barry returned with a less enamored look on his face, but the damage was done. Ella felt herself shrink inside. It didn't help when the women came over and leaned an elbow on their small table, blocking Ella from Barry's view. She glared at the back of Faye's dark hair.

"You know, I'm just gonna be real… I know you from somewhere," Faye stated, her eyes boring into a tongue-tied Barry. She sucked her cherry red lip and tapped it with a black nailed finger, exaggerating just how hard she was trying to remember where they had met before… but Ella knew she knew exactly where. Faye knew Barry and how to play him. His cheeks weren't the only place blood was rushing.

But Barry had no clue.

"I-I-I d-don't…" he tried to speak, but his mouth went dry and words failed him, causing Faye to light up in a sultry grin. She leaned in ever so little, lips slightly parted. She shrugged and pushed herself off the table.

"Mmm… maybe I'm wrong. But I wouldn't mind if I did know you…" Faye said. Barry swallowed, his face lighting up in excitement. She added, "They call me Faye."

Ella bit her lip and turned away, unable to watch him make an even bigger fool out of himself. The barista at the counter gave her a sad smile, having watched the whole encounter. Was her heartbreak written across her face?

"That's Barry, and I'm Ella," she unexpectedly, even to herself, spoke in a cold voice. "Barry, it's time to go. You'll be late for work." Ella could hear her own jealousy and she hated herself for it. And if she could hear it, so could Faye. Just like an animal, she pounced on Ella's insecurity.

Ella wished she was still in her coma. She wished her body had just waited 24 hours to bring her back. And maybe she would have never come in contact with this women in front of her. Maybe she could have controlled her powers a little bit better and maybe Barry wouldn't be so against loving her.

Faye finally turned to her, with icy eyes matching Ella's tone. "Whoa, jealous girlfriend alert. You might actually be pretty if you weren't so green. You do realize he's allowed to have friends, that you don't own him?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Barry blurted, finding his tongue at long last. Those words caused Ella's eyes to sting and throat to close.

"Ooooh, but it looks like she wishes she was," Faye snickered. Finally, Barry looked at Ella and his humanity came flooding back to his eyes.

He stiffened, falling out of his lust-filled reverie. Even with the gloves on, the air in the room suddenly got dry. He gave Ella a look. Did she wish she was his girlfriend?

"El, um—" Barry turned back to Faye, "Listen, Faye, it was good to meet you. I'm sure we'll see each other around, but Ella and I, we, uh, we have a thing, and we're going to be late if we don't go. Right now." He grabbed Ella's arm pulled, forcing her to move her frozen body.

"Oh, I'm sure. I own the bookstore across the street. Used to be Addie's Bookstore? I'm going to completely redo it. It was sooo outdated and disgusting. See you around," Faye waved her fingers and sauntered out the front door.

Once outside, Ella jerked her arm away from Barry and stomped over the alleyway she appeared in earlier.

So many emotions swelled inside her, but then she froze and gasped, as Faye's last words sunk in. "Did she say Addie's Bookstore?" Her eyes went wide and she only felt one thing: terror.

The next instant, she was standing outside her bookstore. She peered up at where the 'Addie's Bookstore' sign in thick, block lettering should be and instead saw 'It's Your Fate Bookstore' in slanted, cursive writing. In that moment, Ella didn't care if anyone saw her use her power.

"No," she could barely whisper the word. "No."

"Ella…" Barry was right behind her. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say.

She covered her mouth with her hand, to keep the tears pushed in and then took off towards the alleyway.

"Ella, wait! What are you going to do?" Barry asked, catching up to grab her shoulder.

"I'm going to see my parents," She answered in a barely restrained voice. She swallowed and tried to breathe through her nose. Ella never loses it in front of anyone, but she was currently so dangerously close.

"El, let's talk about this first. Anger and control don't tend to come hand and hand," He suggested cautiously, "And you're currently really mad and you don't have a lot of control over your powers yet."

"You don't have control over your dick and yet you go out in public. What the heck was that, Barry?" Ella suddenly screamed at him, all the emotions flooding her at once. "You were drooling over her. And I resisted the urge to wipe that smirk off her face, didn't I? I can control myself in front of my parents," Ella finished through clenched teeth.

Barry paused in shock, feeling like everything he ever knew about Ella was shattered.

"I wasn't- I didn't- she was just…!" Barry tried to defend himself, blushing, but he shook his head. Other matters at hand, but he didn't even know what else to say. He was speechless. He'd never seen Ella react like this before, and it was a normal reaction… for a normal person. She was so far from normal, though.

And then something softened in Ella's face and she took a deep breath, momentarily shutting her eyes. "I'm sorry, Barry. The bookstore is everything to me," you're everything to me, she continued internally. "And she somehow took it from me." and she's everything I'm not, and you liked it. But she kept that last bit to herself.

Barry ran a hand through his hair, trying to compartmentalize the issues at hand. "I'll go with you to make sure—" but Ella was already shaking her hand at what Barry was saying.

"You being there would just make everything worse right now. I'll be okay. Tell me…" She hesitated before asking, for she truthfully didn't want to know. However she needed to. "Did my parents come visit me? Ever?"

Barry went quiet, thinking about how to sensitively put that they didn't visit much. Ella had been in their care for many months and they only came a handful of times.

But his silence answered the question enough for her. "They probably wished you had let me die," She said in a broken voice.

"No, Ella. They did visit. It wasn't often, but they did…" Barry tried to comfort her, but it really wasn't a good situation. He didn't realize how badly her parents had affected Ella.

"Barry, I don't think they ever wanted me, but how would it look if they abandoned their child?" Ella asked, thankfully rhetorically, because Barry didn't know what to say. He had a sudden wave of longing for his mom. He never questioned whether he was loved or not… "I just need to get this over with. Maybe I'll give them what they want."

And with that, Ella shot up to the sky and suddenly Barry was standing alone. He took a worried sigh before glancing at his watch. He was suppose to be at work 10 minutes ago.


Ella anxiously played with tips of her gloved fingers as she made her way across the sidewalk and the stairs of her parent's home. She paused at the door and waited over a minute till she rang the doorbell.

And then she forgot how to breathe.

"Pardon me, Cheryl—I'm so sorry for the interruption! You were the only person I was expecting this morning…" Ella heard her mother's muffled voice through the door and she almost cried. But she kept herself together.

No more crying, she promised herself. She thought of Cisco when she thought that, superheroes don't cry.

The door bursted open and her mother snapped, "What?"

Ella didn't know what she was going to say till the words fell out of her mouth. "Hello, Mom."

A scream escaped her mother before a hand shot up to cover her mouth. "Donna!? Donna!" Cheryl called from behind her in concern, but Donna's eyes widened in panic and she yelled behind her, "I'm fine, Cher—just one moment. It's—it's… just one moment."

Her mother slammed the door shut, pushing Ella back as she came out. Donna suspiciously looked around before turning to her daughter. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed, just inches from her face.

Ella swallowed, slightly taken aback. "'Oh my gosh, Ella, you're out of your coma! I'm so happy you're out of your coma!'" She mimicked sarcastically what her mother should have probably said.

"They said… those idiots at STAR Labs said you were braindead," Donna tried to defend herself, but she swallowed and her eyes darted. She was lying.

"Cut the crap, Mom. You and Dad have always hated me! This is just the first chance you've had to get rid of me since I never wanted to leave Grandma's bookstore!"

"Hated you? Please, Ella, that's so childish. You are so-" Donna began, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you never loved me," Ella wanted to yell it at her, but it only came out in a broken whisper. She sniffed before adding, "Grandma's the only one who ever loved me and you sold it! You sold her bookstore. That meant everything to her and everything to me! Why would you do that?"

"You are… you are legally dead," Donna said, finally looking slightly regretful. Or maybe she was just regretful just for the fact she got caught. A look of horror on Ella's face caused her to quickly add, "It's surprisingly very easy to make someone dead. A couple hundred bucks and a Jane Doe." Her mother winced at her own words, but Ella couldn't fathom why. Perhaps her words didn't sound so awful in her head?

Nonetheless, they were.

"Listen, Cheryl's here- you remember her- and I should really get back…" Her mother tried, her body as stiff as a board. She kept glancing back at the door.

"What do you expect me to do now?" Ella asked, wondering if this was it. She should just take her death and go. As much as she fought for her parents, it was a losing battle.

"Well… I never expect you to make it out of that coma!" Her mother finally admitted, exclaiming in a loud whisper, glancing to the door behind her.

Ella didn't say anything, deciding what to do next. Letting go of her parents was a huge decision, though really the only choice. It was against her code to overstay her welcome. She was about 24 years into that overstay.

"And then… then you almost killed us! Lightning coming from your hands, from the ceiling! You're a freak now more than you ever were before. You're not safe, and then I saw the incident at the warehouse! You're a menace and shouldn't be on the streets," Donna said in a rush, as if these reasons justify her actions. Then she sighed dramatically, "But if you leave now, and never, ever return, I won't turn you in. I'll even give you a box of your clothes that are packed in your old room."

Turn her in? She was dead! Give her back her clothes? They were hers!

"Okay." Ella's voice was emotionless when she finally gave her answer and Donna visibly relaxed.

"Good. Good, I always knew there was some common sense in you. I will go get your clothes, so you can leave. Oh, and that damn cat."

Ella long learned her mother didn't have a filter, but tonight she was on fire.

"You still have Leo?" Among the burning anger she felt for her mother, cold relief began to intertwine.

Donna shook her head in disgust. "Your father formed a bond with it, but all it does is lay in your room and yowl."

She gave Ella one last look before returning inside.

"Oh, Cheryl—again, I apologize. It's… DAV. I'm donating Ella's clothes in memory of her generous heart. It's what she would have wanted! They're up in her old room. I'll be right back," Donna said as she slipped in and quickly shut the door behind her.

"Oh, Donna! You are the sweetest soul," Ella heard Cheryl's cry through the door.

Ella had half the mind to walk in the house and call her mom out on her bull crap, but she just felt so defeated.

They might not be legally dead, but they were now dead to her.

Her mother opened the door and kicked the box out, a yelp coming from inside. Then Donna slammed the door shut without another word, leaving Ella alone to say goodbye to all she's ever known.


When Ella arrived back at STAR Labs, it looked like she was ready to pass out. Cisco's look of utmost concentration smoothed into a look of concern. She gently put the box she was holding on the ground and, much to Cisco's surprise, pulled a cat out. Leo rested against her chest, tight in her arms.

"You okay, El?" Cisco asked, relieved she made it back in one piece. Though he was thinking of a way to sensitively ask if all that she encountered today was still in one piece, and then he raised an eyebrow. "Made a little friend today?"

"My parents killed me. They literally killed me," Ella answered, shaking her head in disbelief. She put her back to the desk and slid down till she sat on the floor. Sitting cross legged, she stroke Leo as he purred against her.

Cisco saved what he was working on and joined her on the floor.

She looked at him when he sat down. "They found a Jane Doe somewhere and paid a coroner to declare me dead." She then brought her cat to face him. "This is Leo. He's my cat. I had him… before. My parents kept him."

Cisco whistled. "And I thought I had parent problems." He scratched Leo's soft head, the purrs vibrating his hand.

Ella smiled sadly. "Yeah, pretty sure my parents are going to clean out the Worst Parent Awards of 2015." She shrugged before adding, "It's almost a relief. I spent most of my life trying to get them to love me. Now I'm dead."

"Well, you look pretty damn alive to me and I love that about you," Cisco replied, shrugging.

A real smile fell over Ella's face, and seeing that, Cisco dropped up, excitedly. "I got the prototype of your suit done!"

Ella jumped up too, careful with her cat, wanting to push down her unhappiness, and not let Cisco lose his. He no doubt worked hard on this, and she would admit, that she was pretty dang excited for the suit.

"Cisco, this is amazing. Thank you for doing this!" Ella exclaimed excitedly when they both stood before the case that stood next to Barry's, which held her suit.

"Don't thank me yet! You haven't even seen it," Cisco said, but he smiled anyways.

"Cisco, you are such a genuine person and you care so much about little details in other people's lives. I'm going to love this, I know it."

"Well, drumroll please…" Cisco replied, blushing at the praise and a tad bit nervous now that he really got Ella wrong and she'll hate the suit but being Ella she'll never say.

He took a breath and pulled the covering off the case. He immediately looked over at Ella to see the first look that crossed her face.

And it was happiness.

Ella's suit was the color of purple grapes with accents of silver. It looked like it was made in leather and would snug her body. It came with a mask that covered her eyes and gloves that she already wore.

"The suit is like the gloves I already gave you. They will absorb the excess static and the energy of your lightning, making both things more manageable." Cisco introduced the suit and then asked, "How'd the gloves do today?"

Ella sighed, thinking about the way she reacted to Faye. And the things she said to Barry. "Probably saved a couple lives today, specifically Barry and his new girlfriends'," she answered, voice filled with chagrin.

"Barry's new girlfriend?" Cisco echoed, noting the look of sheer heartbreak on Ella's face.

She sighed deeply again, but shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter. It's his life… his choice."

Something ached in Cisco's heart. "It looks like it matters to you."

"What matters to me has never truly mattered. The only things I truly cared about have died or been stolen from me. Or will never love me back," Ella admitted softly, nervously playing with the tips of her gloves.

Cisco paused and said, "Never say never." It was the most cliché thing in the world to say, but it didn't make it any less true.

The room was quiet as Ella admired Cisco's hard work. "I think Bolt is a pretty kick butt superhero name," she finally said with a smile.

"Is Bolt the official name?" Caitlin asked, peering over her clipboard as she walked into the lab.

Ella looked at Cisco. "Yeah. Yeah, I think it is."

Cisco grinned and Ella thought, I could possibly love seeing him smile.


The walk up to Cisco's apartment was like one of those dreams where you're walking down the hall and the door at the end of it never gets any closer and you spend eternity trying to get to the damn door, but to no avail. He was tired. He threw himself into making a suit for Ella and barely slept the night before in the process. He was ready to pull on sweatpants and unwind by killing some aliens.

Finally, after a thousand years, Cisco makes it to his floor, but to his surprise, there is someone waiting outside his apartment. Her back leaned against his door and a lollipop stick stuck out of her red stained lips and her black rimmed eyes were closed.

It's very, very rare a hot girl in cut off shorts and tank top waits outside his door (read: never happens). He checked her out, trying to figure out where he could possibly know her from, but he just couldn't place her. Though he was liking what he saw, especially the pixie cut with the buzzed side.

Cisco almost made it to his door before she finally opens her eyes. Her face lit up in a small grin.

"Well hello, Cisco. You don't know me… yet," She shrugged, pushing herself off the door. "But I'm a seer and I know all about you. I'm here to make you stronger," there was a long pause before she finished with, "You can call me Faye."


Barry felt slightly on edge with Ella in the room over. After she relived her last moments with her mother, and another slew of 'you're always welcomed at my place, Ella' from the team, she decided to return to his house. Even with her new purple gloves, she had a nervousness that she was going to lose control, and she felt Barry was the only one who could stop her.

After taking off his shirt and pulling on pajama pants, he crawled into bed. Waves of embarrassment washed over him every once and a while when he thought of his day… when he thought of Faye. He had made a fool of himself and Ella's words echoed in his mind, he had been a dick. Drooled over Faye like she was a piece of meat. Though she had ate it up, it doesn't make it right.

But Barry still wondered if Faye had felt the same pull he did when his eyes locked with hers.

He shook his head to the empty room. It didn't matter. The odds of him seeing her again? Pretty much zero. Plus the person he became when she was around? He didn't like that. Though he had to admit he had liked her. Faye seemed wild and unpredictable and she would be completely his choice. But what was so bad with Ella…

Barry's cell phone went off, interrupting his thoughts. He pulled it off charge to see a picture of Oliver Queen on his screen.

"Hello?" Barry said as he answered the phone. He pulled his legs up, cross legged at the end of his bed.

"When were you going to tell me you pissed off a warlock, Barry?" the gruff voice of Oliver started right off.

But Barry was confused. "I… don't know what you mean?" He tried to think what he could possibly mean and… oh.

"An old buddy of mine came in contact with a man who calls himself Decree, who is declaring war on some girl. He told me how the girl was kidnapped and ended up in a coma. But shot and killed one of Decree's buddies before whatever happened to her. Somehow Constantine was able to pop by to tell me what's going on, even though he doesn't have super speed or anything..." Oliver explained, trailing off pointedly. "They're gearing up their forces since apparently the girl is awake now. Do you know where she is?"

"I—yeah, well, she's been staying with me, but for barely twenty four hours. The coma changed her…" Barry began, trying to find the right words to say she wasn't just in a coma, but she had been dead just moments before.

"Did you honestly think murdering a sorcerer, however justifiable it was, would come with no repercussions?" Oliver asked, incredulous, barreling through questions. "You did know Decree got away, didn't you?"

A slight edge filled Barry's voice. "I've kind of had other things on my mind, Oliver, like being responsible for this breach and all those lives destroyed thanks to Zoom… thanks to me. Not mention the fact I have no idea how to defeat Zoom but he can so easily defeat me. Which I didn't need to pop over to tell you since it was on every news source in the country."

A loud sigh bursted through the speaker. "Okay, I get it. You have a lot going on. But this threat is just as real as Zoom. The girl—"

"Ella," Barry put in, sounding frustrated but mostly just at himself. He knew Decree was out there, probably doing something, but out of sight out of mind? He didn't want to think what he was doing.

"Ella, then. Ella has a target on her head and sorcerers are not something to take lightly, Barry. They're not anything like you've ever fought," Oliver cautioned him. "Some of them have been alive for hundreds of years. They have patience and they won't attack till they have a plan. And if it's been 8 months since she killed him, they've had plenty of time to put something together already."

Barry let out a weighted sigh, which Oliver could hear over the phone. "Barry, there is hope. You just need to prepare. Ella needs to stay confined somewhere safe. Heck, so does Caitlin and Cisco. With magic, the possibilities are endless, especially since I have a feeling they have no qualm about using black magic."

"Has there-have you heard any word of Ella's recovery?" Barry asked slowly, trying to see what could be used as a surprise. He had a feeling Ella wouldn't be sitting this one out, but they were going to have to have a lot to work on in the meantime.

"What do you mean? Other than the coma, was she seriously hurt?"

Barry paused before answering. "Well, considering she originally died, yeah… she was seriously hurt."

"Explain." Oliver demanded, making Barry relive that fateful day yet again. The way Ella's body turned into his mothers and how guilt took over till he couldn't take it anymore.

"A bolt of lightning connected us and I thought she was… going to explode. It ran through her veins and she burned so bright. I finally broke the connection. By this time, Decree was gone. When she looked stable enough, I took her back to the labs. It wasn't long after lightning powers become known. Ella can transport as a lightning bolt and can control lightning too," He finished, before pausing to think. "Well, we're working on the controlling bit. Cisco made some gloves that help with it, but… we had a pretty bad incident yesterday, just hours after she woke up."

Then Barry added, "And somehow she's connected to Zoom. He visited her last night and it looks like Earth 2 Ella was his girlfriend. This is so messed up, Oliver. I'm so screwed." The admission took Barry by surprise, but he immediately realized Oliver was the only one he could tell his insecurities to. He had to be strong for his friends in Central City.

"No, Barry. You are strong enough to do this. You will find a way to beat Zoom. Maybe Felicity and I can come up in a couple days as a pair of fresh eyes," Oliver suggested. "We definitely need a break from what's going on down here."

"I'd take all the help I can get," Barry answered. Some of the anxious knots in his stomach finally started to loosen up.

"We'll see you soon. Keep working with Ella, but keep your eyes open. You have to be prepared for anything," Oliver ended with that and hung up.

Barry put the phone back down on the side table and fell back against the bed, groaning. He knew he would never change his decision to save Ella if given it again, but all the things that have come with her being back… the fear of her losing control, the stress of Zoom threatening to take her, and now this? A group of sorcerers and seers and who knows what else was coming to Central City for revenge.

The whole city was now in danger for something that Barry did. Again.

He looked at the time, debating when he should tell the team what Oliver said, and decided to wait till morning. It wouldn't be too long before they were all back together at the labs. He would give his team one more night free of this new burden, a luxury Barry wouldn't get.

He didn't sleep well that night.


AN: wow y'all, thanks for all the support! it's literally the best thing ever. I hope you like the addition of Faye. She plays a big part in my story. :) and she's so much fun to write! let me know what you think.

I also wanted to apologize for how long it's been! I went to China on a missions trip and I got two thousand words in the chapter, but it just wasn't done and not at a good place to post. and then I had a week off but somehow I got addicted to American Horror Story, and then Daredevil, and then working a crapton, and I never got around to finishing it… I know, I'm the worst. so I didn't fall off the side of the earth—I just went for a visit and fell in love with some orphan kids, but I'm back and at it! ;) - Anna

PS. special shout out to xRedxMoonx! She helped me edit some of the chapter and I'm so thankful!

Aaand accidentally posting the last chapter instead of this one and having to delete it ftw :P