A/N: Un-betaed. Read at your own risk.
The morning after you realised that you're insane and potentially fucked up in the head just like your supervillain doppelgangers should be…mind-opening.
Or, at the very least, Barry should feel like he was reborn anew as a completely psycho killer.
It was not.
If anything, it was confusing and exasperating as fuck.
"Do I even want to know?"
Barry sighed, honestly not impressed at the unwanted guest in his freezer.
Really. He was asking the serious question here. Did he really want to know?
"No," Savitar grumbled, teeth chattering as he nudged Lucy's corpse to the side and crawled out of the freezer. "Fun fact….," he gritted out, wrapping his arms tight around his exposed torso in the futile effort to keep warm, "…phasing from inside a freezer is hard," a choked freezing gasp, "…shit, your freezer is colder than Frost's ice."
"Then, the heck are you doing inside there?"
Like usual, nothing that Savitar made ever made sense.
"Hey, while we're at it, let's lock Barry inside here and see if he can phase out."
"Savitar."
Barry stood his ground when the scarred speedster glared at him. Nuh-uh. He was way past the line of sanity to even consider the cons of trying to defy the time remnant. They were equally insane, so Barry wasn't going to show any fear now.
"This is all your fault. You and your icy new girlfriend," the speedster muttered, rubbing both of his palms together.
"Wait, what?"
"Your fault. You and your ice heroin."
Barry's mind immediately classified 'ice heroin' as two separate types of recreational drugs before he realised that Savitar probably was talking about Caitlin and Frost. He blinked at the freezing man, confused and a bit insulted for being blamed of a crime that he wasn't even aware of.
"What did we have anything to do with this?!"
Savitar simply shivered and glared at him.
"I didn't tell you to accompany Lucy in the freezer!" Barry denied the unspoken accusation though he couldn't help but wince upon seeing the bluish tinge on the scarred speedster's skin.
"Your fault," a pause and a freezing gasp, "…cold."
Taking pity of the time remnant's condition, Barry held his tongue and scrambled to look for anything to help warmed Savitar up. However, since they were technically in his lab-slash-morgue and everything here were either sterilized tools, cold metal furniture or plastic sheets, there was nothing that could be potentially warm at all. Sighing (and wishing that the Flash wasn't entirely possessive), Barry wrapped his arms around Savitar's bare waist, feeling the time remnant stiffened in discomfort upon the first touch as Barry tried to transfer as much as his body warmth as possible.
"Oh, fuck not you too—" Savitar hissed and tried to squirm free, looking oddly terrified for some godforsaken reasons. "Fucking hell, you have a fresh corpse in there, Ripper!"
"I'm aware," Barry rolled his eyes, kicking the freezer's door shut as he half-dragged the squirming Savitar into his much warmer living room. "I came here for the full intention of morning sex with her and your presence kill the mood."
"Geez, what a way to make a man feels special, Rip."
"You're an uninvited cock-blocker, so….," Barry huffed, shoving the speedster onto the couch and threw the blanket towards the man. "What the hell are you doing in my freezer out all of place?"
"It's auto-lock. Couldn't open it from the inside, too cold to phase out."
"You're not answering the question, Savitar."
Savitar shivered. "Last place he'd look."
"He, who?"
"Your fault."
Barry was so tempted to toss his coffee pot to the time remnant's head.
Really, Savitar was trembling in frozen cold. The speedster wouldn't notice Barry's intention quick enough to avoid the assault.
But, he has made a new resolve that he would at least be the sanest among the three versions of insane Barry Allen in this building, therefore he held the urge and proceeded to brew his much needed coffee.
High alcohol tolerance and side-effect of the Flash's healing serum still didn't excuse him from having a headache caused by his weird doppelganger.
Speaking of that, he wondered if continuous use of Flash's healing serum that Killer Frost injected to heal his sprained wrist would alter his DNA too because Barry honestly thought a bullet through his brain sounded really nice right now. If the one-shot of the serum could grant him a tiny piece of his doppelganger's insane healing rate, continuous use might have made the effects permanent.
He honestly has lost count on the times he wished taking a bullet to the head wouldn't kill him.
Such wonderful healing rate would make dealing with his superpowered doppelganger so much easier...such as this trembling and practically half-frozen speedster hogging his couch and his blanket. The speedster who was probably too cold to function.
Because there was no way in normal circumstances that the scarred speedster would snuggle to the gigantic fluffy teddy bear that the delivery service has left on his couch. Nuh-uh. This sight has started to freak Barry out a bit.
Ha. Ha. Error 404: Savitar has malfunctioned.
Barry wondered if it was still proper of him to give this custom-ordered teddy bear as a Christmas gift like he originally intended. Wouldn't that be a bad manner to give used items as Christmas gift?
How the hell was he going to pry Savitar away from the teddy bear?
"Why the fuck is this teddy bear so warm?" Savitar mumbled, but he showed no intention of detaching himself from the plush toy, but instead seemed to be relying on it for warmth when he rubbed his palms and pushed them up the fluffy fur. "Warmth."
"Custom-made plush toy that maintain a regular human body temperature," Barry replied nonchalantly, wondering if he has some alcohol left to dump into his morning coffee. "It's fully safe, so even if you threw it into the washer, it won't electrocute anyone."
Savitar shifted his gaze to stare at him, his cheeks were still pale and tinted with bluish hue, but the amused disbelief was prominent in his expression.
"What?" Barry snapped, feeling self-conscious all of sudden.
"I know you're one lonely fucker, but I don't think it is to this point…," Savitar shuddered, hunching when he let out a tiny kittenish sneeze into his blanket. "Holy damn fuck, Ripper, you're weird."
"Says the guy who accidentally trapped himself in the freezer and is currently cuddling a teddy bear," Barry deadpanned, deciding that he was going to hell anyway and dumped a generous shot of bourbon into his coffee. "And I ordered that as a Christmas gift. It's not for me."
"The hell you're doing buying Christmas gift in October, weirdo?"
"Early shopping," Barry shrugged. "My schedule is booked throughout November and December—hospital and orphanage visits, Team Frost's party, Queen's Christmas Gala, my own Thanksgiving charity event, CCU's Winter Fiesta …," he listed as he poured another mug of coffee for his guest, his frown deepened for each event he listed down. "And you have no rights to call me weirdo. I found you in the freezer."
"It's your fault that I have to hide in your freezer," Savitar snapped back, sounding genuinely disgruntled.
"Uh-huh…," Barry nodded sceptically, downing the whole tall glass of coffee and bourbon in one gulp.
He definitely was going to regret this.
"It's the last place he is going to look for me," the scarred speedster mumbled, curled up in the swaddle of fluffy blanket. "He knows I'm not a masochist, and cold is painful for speedsters."
"Why are you hiding from him anyway?" Barry frowned, striding across the room to bop the warm mug to Savitar's head, of which the speedster promptly grabbed and pressed to his cheeks. "Usually, you two break out to a brawl whenever you have an argument."
A very terrifying brawl that looked like two gods fighting each other.
That description might be a bit too true considering that Savitar called himself the God of Speed while the Flash was mutated to a whole new level of living being that could very well be considered as a god of his own species.
Barry couldn't suppress the horrified shiver that racked down his spine.
His doppelgangers' domestic spat was terrifying.
"I had enough of being pinned down to every flat surface available thank-you-very-much," the speedster grumbled, shooting another glare towards Barry. "And it's all your fault."
Barry inhaled a deep breath, calculating the alcohol he has consumed last night and contemplating the health trouble he would face if he downed another tall glass of alcoholic coffee, before deciding that it wasn't worth to risk his liver since he has dangerously exceeded the healthy amount of alcohol he could consume for the week. Thus, he patiently smiled at his doppelganger, showcasing the brightest smile he could muster.
"And why is it my fault?" he asked, as patient as he could.
"Your drug hijacked his system and give him insatiable libido, you sadistic doctor," Savitar gritted out in between multiple continuous sneezes. "He didn't want to stop."
Oh.
Oooooh.
Barry might have forgotten to inform of that probable side-effects since he wasn't expecting the experimental drug to actually work on Flash at all.
"You literally have brothels business," Barry deadpanned. "Brothels. Filled with men and women to serve that specific purpose."
"Frosty threatened to freeze his dick and smashed it to pieces if he breaks the remaining prostitutes," the time remnant shuddered, and Barry couldn't help but give the same reaction—he knew that Killer Frost has a sadistic streak and would be all too happy to do just that. "He probably could regrow it back—don't ask, not even I could understand how his healing works after the second lightning—but no one want that kind of pain."
"So, you volunteer as tribute."
"I was volun-told as a sacrifice."
Barry chuckled, placing a hand on the speedster's shoulder. "We appreciate your selfless sacrifice."
"Fuck you."
Before Barry could retort, there was a loud bang on his door, followed by the Flash's voice announcing that he was coming in. Barry has that split second of seeing Savitar's face paled in panic before the speedster ran away the exact time Flash phased in, leaving Barry to clean after his spilled coffee. Flash shot one look at the empty glass on the counter, to the spilled coffee on the floor, connected the dots that there were originally two people in the room, and promptly broke to a giggle.
"I assume that you didn't see which direction he ran away?"
Barry quirked a smile and shrugged. "Not a speedster. My eyes couldn't catch your movements."
"I can turn you to one if you want?"
Barry pretended to contemplate the offer—weighing the advantage of having amazing healing abilities and superspeed that would immensely help with his researches and night job versus the probability that his already compromised sanity could be destroyed even more if he allowed himself to be completely mutated with the Flash's cells—and shook his head.
Nah, he wasn't going to deliberately subject himself to be the Flash's guinea pig.
"Awh, you're no fun."
"Not fond of being experimented on, Flash."
"It wouldn't hurt," the Flash pouted, and he must have been in a very good mood because it took only a quick blurred movement for Barry's slightly messy living room to be spotless clean again. "I would be happy to have you on my ranks."
"I thought that offer is open even if I'm not a meta?"
"It would be more fun if you're a meta," the Flash shrugged, very causally raiding Barry's fridge, only to scowl at the lack of edibles inside. "And you need to do your groceries. Or at least inform Gideon to restock your fridge."
"I'm not even staying here long, Barry," Barry sighed, checking on the teddy bear to see if it can be salvaged as a proper gift. "There is no use for restocking when I only stay here for a couple of days."
On a brighter note, the teddy bear still look brand-new, so maybe Barry didn't have to order another one. The waiting list was impossibly long, and it was such an exclusive custom-made too, that even if Barry misuse Flash's absolute authority to fast-track his order, he wouldn't be able to get a new teddy bear before Christmas.
And he really wanted to give this to Frost. He was positive that Frost would appreciate the artificial warmth of the teddy bear since not many people on the team would willingly hug her for more than a few seconds.
Though, Barry's imagination of Frost's reactions was interrupted when he felt statics in the air. It was a familiar sensation—after months working with the Flash, he was used to the raw energy his doppelganger leaked out. Though, the thing that he wasn't used to, was the sudden change of the air. Prior to his latest attempt of experimental drug, the speedster has difficulty to suppress his power, walking around like a literal overcharged energy reactor ready to explode. However, since Barry arrived here yesterday, he noticed that his doppelganger was able to suppress the raw energy; it was as if the speedster has better control of his new power.
Thus, this sudden shift from peaceful serene environment to tensed air that was literally charged with statics invoked a shiver down his spine. Barry immediately turned around, his fight-or-flight instinct was triggered as his mind urged him to seek comfort in the ice blade he always kept near, only to blink in confusion at the stare his doppelganger was giving him.
Barry retreated, his mind was jumpstarted by the fear as he promptly charted the best escape route he has.
There was none.
If the speedster snapped into his violent mode, Barry was officially fucked in the worst way possible.
"Flash?"
As if to make it worst, the beaming smile Flash gave him was creepy and completely unsettling.
"Barry?" He tried again, hoping the name would snap some senses into the speedster's head.
"I'll have Gideon to keep an inventory of your quarters."
"There is no need for that—"
"Better be prepared," the Flash interrupted, his teeth flashed in a bright smile. "We never know if you might need an extended stay here."
Barry gaped.
That, was not a good omen at all.
"You're not out patrolling?"
Caitlin looked up from the book she was reading and shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "My doctor forbade me from getting into trouble."
That much was true, since Barry technically did ask her to stay out of trouble, though, to be honest, she was pretty annoyed the team has outvoted her and sit her out of the patrol team. Despite her protest, her team didn't listen to her, saying that she was too distracted while Frost was too exhausted after taking over the control from Caitlin for three days straight.
Okay, scratch that. Caitlin was very irritated when her own team didn't trust her.
"Wise of you to follow his order," Barry smiled—a genuine beaming smile that make Caitlin felt even worse.
She was counting on him to be visibly upset.
It was horrible of her part, but she was expecting Barry to be more upset and devastated. At least she wouldn't be alone at the receiving end of the team's sympathetic gazes. Heck, she would do anything to stop the team from treading on thin wire around her just because they feared they would trigger another emotional outburst. She was fine now. The shock has left her and now, all that was left was anger and determination to hunt Ripper and all of the villains on the maniac's friendlist.
"He's a scary guy when he's mad," Caitlin teased, trying to latch onto whatever positivity that the man was holding on. "Frost kept saying that it would be unwise of us to disobey him."
Barry's laugh was the sunshine that was absent in the cortex for the past few days. Caitlin kinda missed his warm nature.
"She was right," he snorted in between huffed laughter, looking completely at ease.
Caitlin envied him. Barry bounced back from shock and grief faster than anyone she had ever met—and she has met numerous amazing people, including but not limited to a fellow vigilante, a powerful alien from a parallel universe, an assassin slash captain of legendary time travellers and so many of her other allies.
None has ever bounced back to normalcy as quick as Barry. Not even Oliver, whom she has thought as her own mentor and has been in the same predicament as Barry.
Those two men could totally bond over their supposed dead girlfriend coming back to life with a splash of evil.
"You look better than the last time we see you," she commented, taking in the laidback smile and the teasing glint of the surgeon's eyes—wait a minute….
This was not Barry.
Caity, Frost hissed, finally awake from her slumber. Stay cool.
Her other self must have noticed it too, or perhaps was awaken from slumber at the sudden spike of adrenaline in their shared system.
Flickers of lightnings almost always a bad omen that signalled a speedster in disguise.
And most speedsters they have met were evil. Zoom the last year's menace, Impulses the juvenile villain from parallel universe, Reverse Flash—the crazy guy who kept yelling at Caitlin for being Central City's hero instead of his idol, the-Flash-whatever-the-hell-he-was—and did she mention Trajectory yet? Because that bitch was worst of all evil speedsters, despite being the quickest to be stopped.
"Am I?" he said, tipping his head slightly to the side as if he was pondering on her statement, his lips curled to a cruel smirk that did not fit Barry Allen that she knew at all. "I guess the family visit did me great."
Stay cool, Caity. He might already have Barry in captive.
I know. Caitlin thought back, schooling her face to a composed mask and stared straight into his eyes. Stay on alert, Frosty. We might need to fight.
"How's the family, Barry?" she prompted, eyes seeking for the slightest shift of his expression that may hint of the fate of their resident doctor.
He shrugged, smiling at her good-naturedly but never breaking the eye contact.
She suddenly found it difficult to maintain the eye contact, her instincts begged her to lower her gaze, to submit to the top predator. She fought that instinct, curling her own lips to a saccharine smile despite the fear that engulfed her.
Then, he snorted, shoulders hunched as he almost doubled over in laughter.
"Couldn't even impersonate him, huh?" he murmured, and all of sudden his posture changed—arrogant and confident now—while his voice dropped a register lower, sounding too dangerous and cruel for Caitlin's comfort.
When he looked up again, there were no veils that hid his eyes. Caitlin has seen those exact look in so many others—the villains that she has fought or helped her friends fought. Those eyes carried the soul of a man that has been roughen over the years, the ones that has seen and suffered so many, that has faced the hate and lived within it that they ended up sounding like they hated the world and wanted to watch the world burn at their feet.
"What tip me off, snow kitten?"
As alarming as this revelation was, Caitlin remained cool and simply gave him another smile.
She survived seeing a villain with her best friend's face terrorizing the city. She could deal with this one.
She even wondered if Ollie would be proud of her for managing to keep calm and able to relax against her own chair while in the presence of a potentially dangerous meta.
"Did you steal this face like Koh…," Caitlin hummed, eyes flashed white as she channelled Frost's raw strength—a warning to him that she wasn't as defenceless as the name he called her—all the while leaning into his space. "….or you're like Hannibal Bates? Taking people's faces by simply touching them?"
To her internal frustration, the only reaction she received from him was the slight amused quirk of his brow as his gaze flickered to her hair.
"Amazing," he murmured, sounding strangely like Barry—the impressed authoritative tone the surgeon often used early during their relationship—as his hand reached out to the tip of her bi-colour hair. "You're both, neither Frost nor Caitlin, but an equal combination of both. How did you do it?"
The hair at the back of her neck raised as goose bumps erupted all over her body. She could literally feel statics grazing every inch of her exposed skin the closer she was to him. How could he even do that? All of the previous speedsters have to move to create statics, but he didn't even budge from his seat. It was like the air particles were moving for him to create this suffocating environment.
"Practice," she forced a smile, determined to not panic. "A dear friend once told me that we're the same, that the differences between Frost and Caitlin was a mere illusion, that I have to embrace both sides…," Caitlin tripped over her words near the end, the worry over Barry finally struck her. "So, we try to balance both sides at the same time."
God. What the heck has this imposter done to Barry?
"You're doing great," he nodded thoughtfully, brushing her hair in the way that only Barry Allen ever done to her and tucked it behind her ear. "And I applaud your attempt to look intimidating. You're giving your best effort, kitten. Simply wonderful, though there are room for improvement."
That comment struck a nerve in Caitlin.
He then let out a soft gasp when a thin sheet of ice formed over his cheek, a generous courtesy of the irritated Frost.
"Can you say that again? A little bit louder, please," Caitlin said all too sweetly, light-heartedly taunting him though her voice edged with the cocky tone of Frost.
We're getting better at balancing, Frost thought, pleased with herself.
We still couldn't be in control at the same time, though, sulked Caitlin.
An improvement is an improvement, Caity.
Head in the game, Frost. Things could easily go Titanic if we didn't focus.
"So," she said, grasping the man's wrist, effectively stopping him from touching his frozen cheek. "Where is my friend? Where is the real Barry Allen?"
He had the balls to smirk at her.
"I don't know," he shrugged nonchalantly. "You didn't put a tracker on him?"
Caitlin allowed herself to be a bit more ruthless and grasped his wrist tighter, her hair lost the balance she has tried to keep as she felt Frost emerged from her subconscious, the ominous wisp of white mist slowly encased the imposter's arm. His brows shot up to his hairline when Frost completely took control, the curl of his lips was sultry when he shifted his head to plant gentle kiss over her knuckles—his lips was blazing hot against her skin.
Frost took only a split second to manoeuvre him around, pinning the taller man face-down onto the control table, all the while keeping her frozen grip on his wrists as she restrained him.
She was expecting some form of retaliation.
She wasn't expecting the quickened breathing and the wild gasping that looked very much like the onset of a panic attack. The ominous crackling of lightnings that made all the appliances in the cortex seemed to suffer sudden epilepsy were something that she did not expect too.
This was a bad sign all over.
"Let. Go."
She visibly flinched at the raw anger in his voice and the violent crackles of lightnings in his eyes. Though, she tightened her grip on him, letting her cold mist seeped out to cuff his wrists as she whispered back, channelling enough of her own rage to match his.
"Not until I know that my friend is safe."
The wild gaze he shot at her made it seemed like he was already plotting a thousand ways to kill her.
And she had the hunch that he would've done so if only she wasn't pulled away from the speedster by the very man she was internally worrying over. Barry—hopefully the real one—held a hand to keep her in place as he helped the imposter up and gently wrapped his fingers around the freezing ones. Frost watched in confusion when Barry murmured inaudible words to the panicked man, keeping his fingers wrapped tight around the digits that Frost has frozen. It seemed like he was encouraging the speedster to phase out of the ice cuff—and when he did, the cuff fell onto the floor with a loud clang. Barry kicked the cuff away and continued consoling the speedster, though, he did lift his head just enough to stare at Frost; his gaze briefly flickered to the case where they put their sedatives. He gave a little nod to Frost, mouthing for her to be ready should they needed the sedatives.
"Hey, hey…," she heard him murmured soothingly, and the realisation hit her when Barry planted his palms over the other man's cheeks, all the while murmuring softly; "…you're safe. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you. There is no need to fight. No need to fight…"
Shit. This was the man who often turned defensively violent as he retreated to a mind state where he was convinced that everyone was out to hurt him.
And she just had to pin him down and forcefully restrain him—the very action that probably triggered this panic.
We make a bad call, Caitlin chirped, though there was denying the slight guilt and worry that stemmed from her side of the mind.
That we did, Frost agreed, inching a bit closer to the sedatives should the situation called for it.
It took a solid five minutes of watching Barry murmuring the same thing over and over again when the speedster seemed to finally calm down from whatever murderous rage he was feeling. He nudged Barry away with an annoyed scowl on his face, causing Barry to beam in response, and Frost instantly relaxed upon seeing the familiar warm sunshine smile.
"Not going to snap, kid," the speedster grumbled, refusing the hug Barry so openly offer. "She simply took me off guard."
Frost crossed her arms over her chest and gave her best smug smile at him when he glared at her.
He deserved her reaction, despite the panic she unintentionally unleashed.
"For the record, I think you have this coming," Barry retorted, patting the speedster's shoulders gently before turning around to face Caitlin with an apologetic smile. "I'm very sorry for whatever he had done or said to you, Frost," his eyes made that adorable puppy thing again, and Frost was instantly calmed, cracking a smile when he leaned closer to whisper conspiringly at her. "Told ya that he is terribly immature."
"I heard that, brat."
Barry turned around, the infamous irritated scowl was plastered on his face again. "Good. Because I need you to hear that. The hell are you doing threatening my friends?"
"You didn't tell me that the doctor you partnered with to help me is the Frost."
"Not my secret to tell," Barry sighed, staring at Frost again, and this time the guilt was evident in his expression. "I'm sorry. I don't know how he knew of your secret identity," he apologized profusely, looking much like a kicked puppy that even if Frost wanted to be angry at him, her anger would've been smothered in mere seconds.
"Photoshop. Google. Educated guess. Not in that particular order but it was easy to guess and easier to make she confirm it," the speedster scowled, walking up towards them and by then did Frost finally noticed the slight differences in the brothers' physique.
Despite their strangely identical faces, the older man has a better form—wider shoulders, sturdier frame, literally one-inch taller than Barry, and upon shedding his jacket, Frost noted that he has more sculpted arms than Barry too.
Does 'steaming hot and sexy' run in their genetics?
Frost, NO.
What the hell, Cait?
Caitlin pulled a quick run-through of all the times Barry has ever talked about his supposedly dangerous half-brother before letting out a sigh that could have been the most exasperated sigh in mental arguments history.
Things almost went Titanic on us, we just barely dodge the disaster…and you're already ogling our iceberg.
Hey, that iceberg can give Ollie a run for his money.
FROST.
Caitlin groaned loudly in their shared subconscious, prompting a gleeful smile from Frost's own lips. She shifted her attention to the brothers, slightly surprised that even with the raw power she felt leaking out of the older man, Barry was still able to look dangerously angry as he engaged in what it looked like an aggressive whispering contest between the two.
It was almost hilarious to see Barry's exasperated scowl when the older between the two shouldered past him to stand in front of Frost.
"Sorry for the scare, doc," he hummed, cracking a smile that by now Frost was convinced as the Allen's trademark smile. He offered his hand then, beaming brightly as he introduced himself. "Matthew Thawne."
"Frost," she resisted the urge to comment about his abnormally hot hand, but instead schooled her face to a professional smile. "Caitlin Snow when I'm not so snowy."
He nodded thoughtfully, his gaze flickered to her snowy white hair. "Sorry again," his smile was sheepish, though he didn't seem like he was really sorry for his actions. "I was just curious if I was right about your secret identity. Little brother has his mouth sewn shut about you,"
"You could've asked nicely," she smiled back, a bit intrigued at the sudden shift of his personality—he seemed a bit harmless and warm now, much like how Barry usually act. "Provoking me was not the wisest idea."
Maybe he was just really good actor and the danger she saw in his eyes earlier was an act?
He briefly touched the freckles of ice on his cheek and quirked a smile. "Yeah, that was stupid."
"Very stupid," Barry loudly agreed.
"Reckless is a better term," he shrugged, his lips forming a smirk that hinted that the danger Frost felt from him before was very much real, though the teasing glint in his eyes was as harmless as Barry's. "I love danger," he grinned and gave Frost a quick once-over. "And I do find dangerous girl attractive."
Barry dropped the case he was holding.
"WHAT THE HELL, MATT."
That was the first time Frost ever seen Barry looking genuinely scandalized.
Therefore, she decided to play along.
"Do you enjoy getting hurt?" she purred, trailing one painted finger over the flaking ice of the man's cheek. "Are you that masochist, Matty?"
She was completely ignoring the horrified shriek of Caitlin in their shared subconscious and the disbelieving look on Barry's face.
Matthew's gaze flickered just briefly towards the-still-gaping-in-utter-shock-and-disbelief Barry before his smirk widened, the mischievous urge glinted in his eyes as he leant into her personal space, standing way too close for comfort.
"That depends," he hummed, so close to her that she could make out the freckles of dark blue in his green eyes and the statics that he seemed to naturally discharge. "You're a sadist, doc?"
Frost might grow fondness for this man after all. He played her game and enjoyed it.
Caitlin wanted to adopt Savvi, so Frost can totally adopt Matthew. There. Fair and square. They both have a personal favourite when it came to Barry's half-brothers.
Thus, she shrugged casually, curled her lips in a sultry smile and purred almost too sensually to the man; "Only half of the time."
"Oh?" Matthew cocked an eyebrow, leaning even closer to her. "What about the other half?"
How traumatized Barry would be if Frost get rid of the little distance between them and kissed his older brother? You know, for purely scientific purpose. She has never kiss Zoom when he was using his superspeed.
His blazing hot palm curved around her cheek and she was so tempted to test his speed.
"ALRIGHT, YOU TWO STOP RIGHT THERE!"
That came from both outside and inside her mind.
Frost was instantly pulled back into their shared subconscious as Caitlin resurfaced. Caitlin stepped back, creating a generous distance between her and Matthew. She rubbed her cheek, unable to shake the heat of his palm away from her skin, and if her face felt hot because of that, or she really blushed in frustration at Frost's mischievousness, she didn't want to know.
"Ah, it was going so well," Matthew sounded genuinely disappointed, which make Caitlin even more embarrassed to meet his eyes. "You're such a brat, Barry."
"Stop harassing my friends!" Barry fumed, and Caitlin couldn't help but internally cooed—the surgeon's 'little brotherness' seemed to come out as he berated his older brother.
"Not a harassment when she played along," Matthew hummed, tipping his head back to wink very suggestively at Caitlin. "Hello to you, Dr. Snow."
Barry was never as sensually smooth as Matthew.
"Why are you like this?" Barry grumbled, looking genuinely traumatised and scandalised. "Why are you even here? Why did you follow me here? You're good. The drug is working, what else do you want? Go back home, brother," he whimpered, waving the amused older man away. "Shoo, brother, shoo. Go home."
"What am I? Little chicks that you can shoo away just like that?"
"Go home. For fuck's sake, stop this embarrassment."
That was actually pretty cute, Caitlin wasn't going to lie.
Make sense that he wanted to skip town and visit his hidden family after the ice-witch debacle. Frost commented, a sense of fondness spread from her side of the mind as Caitlin stared at the brothers' interaction. They're a fun bunch.
He looks more relaxed now, Caitlin agreed, remembering the angry man she saw in Frost's memories from a few days ago and this cutely grumbling man in front of her. Family really did great on his mental well-being.
Typical siblings' dynamic. Asshole older brother, uptight middle child and adorably shy youngest brother, Frost mused, cracking into a manic cackle in their shared subconscious. Matt and Len would bond so well.
"I should've poisoned you while I can," Barry grumbled, shifting his face just slightly from the control table to cast a glare to Matthew. "Make you overdosed or something…."
"That's a third-degree murder," Matthew piped back, very casually resting his arm over Barry's head. "You're supposed to save lives, not take it."
The brothers exchanged a weird look—Barry was scowling while Matthew was grinning knowingly at him. The exchange made Caitlin has this distinct hunch that the brothers were exchanging an inside joke that she didn't understand.
"Jerk," Barry was the first to look away, staring angrily at the keyboard and sulked in silence.
I think the asshole trait is a dominant trait in all big brothers.
Caitlin couldn't even argue with Frost. Not when Matthew rested his chin over his palm, successfully using the top of Barry's head as his armrest.
We should never allow Matt meet Len. Ever, Caitlin stated, already imagining the chaos that would ensue if Len has a good speedster ally (for once!) to tease both his younger sister and their resident doctor.
I disagree.
Frost, imagine the chaos.
What's wrong with chaos?
Caitlin couldn't help but feel that if she and Frost were actual sisters with separate physical bodies, Frost would have founded the Legion of Asshole Older Siblings with Matt and Len.
Thank fuck that Frost was just her alternate personality and Caitlin was an only child.
"Why are you even here?" Barry huffed, struggling to wriggle his head free from being Matthew's armrest, but the older must have been strong, because Barry's effort was completely useless.
"Wanna meet my doctor and personally thank her for my wonderful recovery," the older man hummed, winking flirtatiously at Caitlin again. "Thanks a lot for your effort, Dr. Snow."
"Alright," Barry growled, finally able to wriggle free from his unsightly fate of being an armrest. "You've already met and thanked her. Now, why don't you run back home?"
"No," Matt grinned, now wrapping his arms around Barry's shoulders, successfully stopping the doctor from sulking away. "I'm staying for a few days."
"Matthew."
"Bartholomew."
Barry scowled. "Don't call me with that ugly name."
Matthew merely shrugged and ruffled Barry's hair. Caitlin's interest was peaked when the older man sighed softly—his whole body seemed to relax, his expression softened a bit as his arms slipped lower around Barry's ribs for a quick hug before he promptly backed away like the hug didn't even happen. The speedster looked away, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze as he shoved his hands into his jeans' pockets.
"I'm staying with you until after they exhume her," he said softly, tipping his head just enough for Caitlin to see the fleeting smile on his face before he shifted his gaze back to the walls.
Caitlin felt her heart melted.
That was so thoughtful of him. Matthew came all the way here to Central, despite knowing the probability of him snapping and lose control as the stress of city life caught up to him (that was the reason Barry didn't live with his half-brothers here in Central after all), despite the chances of losing his own sanity—the older man still came to support Barry when the doctor needed moral support the most.
Okay, that was pretty sweet.
Caitlin subconsciously nodded to Frost's comment, feeling her chest warmed a bit at the positive feels this whole situation emitted to her solitary heart. She was alone with a team that didn't trust her to be able to control herself, therefore this sweet sibling supports she witnessed from the brothers was like a soothing balm to her literally frozen heart.
Distracted with the 'sweetness' of the situation, Caitlin completely missed the disbelieving glare Barry was giving to Matthew and the cruel smirk that the older man shot back to the livid doctor.
Sometimes, ignorance was bliss.
They should've won awards for this.
That was what Barry thought when he saw how smitten Caitlin was with Flash's acting and how easily the hero believed the impromptu skit Barry had to put up to explain Flash's sudden appearance here.
He should've expected this.
With Savitar conveniently in hiding, Killer Frost threatening to freeze a very vital part of his anatomy and Deathstorm was shipped to Asia to check on their underlings there—it was obvious who the Flash would bother to ease his growing boredom.
It was Barry. Poor human Barry of a parallel universe who didn't even has a sliver of winning chance against the sadistic speedster.
And for records, that was the first and last time Barry was ever going to play the role of frustrated younger brother. He could sense the smitten heart of Caitlin Snow, could almost hear the internal coos of the woman over his cuteness when she observed the skit he has spontaneously orchestrated.
That wasn't him. He was not cute. He was a psychopathic serial killer. No one should look at him and equate him with 'cute' or any words that carry the similar meaning.
Though, that was the best he could come up with on the spot—the best he could conjure in that dangerous moment he walked into the cortex and saw how close his doppelganger was to losing control.
Dude, not even Savitar dared to pin the Flash with his face down against any surface (and the scarred speedster was the one whom the Flash trusted the most), moreover to cuff the man and rendered him helpless. That was like the biggest no-no on Dark Earth, the number one rule for everyone who valued their life.
The last thing you wanted to do was to trigger the Flash's deep-set trauma and unleash the speedster's violent defence mechanism.
"They really trusted you," Flash whispered, the vibration of his voice made it clear that he was suppressing a laughter. "Holy shit. How did you make these lambs trusted a vile wolf like you?"
"Oscar-winning acting skill," Barry mumbled back, pointedly not looking at his doppelganger that was posing as his older half-brother.
Wherever in the hell did the name 'Matthew Thawne' came from anyway? Was that a multiverse inside joke?
But serious talk though, Barry deserved an award for best actor. He has the whole city fooled with his acts. He demanded an award.
"A nice speedster for once…," Cisco trailed, the awe was evident in his voice as he gave Flash an appraising once-over look. "And damn, you actually have the build of a superhero."
Was it Barry or it felt slightly disturbing to see Cisco checking out his doppelganger—the alternate version of his own self?
And for the nth record of the day, the Flash wasn't even that much bigger from Barry. The speedster only seemed bigger because his shoulder was a bit wider, arms a little bit more sculpted and he stood a little bit taller and more arrogant since he was so used to intimidating people to grovel by his feet. That's all. Flash was the warmongering dictator of Dark Earth while Barry was the humble kind-hearted doctor of his very peaceful Earth. One was a position that demanded submission while the other was humbly bowing to help others—it was perfectly normal that the way they stand was different and it affected the way their heights looked like to other people.
Point was, they were practically the same size, but Cisco was still eyeing Flash like he wanted to eat the speedster alive.
(In a completely non-cannibalistic way, of course).
Which was even more disturbing now that Barry thought of it.
"Dude, I have been waiting for this," Cisco started to ramble, visibly buzzing in energy. "I mean, like, Len doesn't want a supersuit and the rest of the heroes of the team are girls, so I have been waiting for so long to make a suit for a male hero," he popped his lollipop out, pointing the sweet sticky end in Flash's direction. "Please tell me that you're staying here and join our team?"
"Look at the nerd goes…," Lisa teased, though Barry couldn't help but wince when she too, was checking out his doppelganger.
The way her gaze lingered a bit too long on the stretch of Flash's tight slim fit shirt told Barry that Cisco wasn't the only one who was distracted with the speedster's radiation-induced physique.
"Lise, you don't understand…," Cisco bounced, grinning excitedly. "A speedster that isn't trying to kill us. This is such a nice change!"
Barry would've pointed out that Flash would be all too happy to kill all of them if only that revelation wouldn't put him in a questionable position.
"You didn't even ask him if he wanted to join…," Lisa mused, and Barry was so tempted to ask Flash to wear his jacket back because it was disturbing to watch the older woman eye-raping his own doppelganger. "Not that I would mind. We could use an extra set of power."
Cisco clicked his tongue. "Who doesn't want to be a superhero?"
It was a rhetorical question, but Barry was again tempted to point at the Flash. The speedster was a hero once, and now has vowed to never return to the path of heroics again.
So, yeah. There were some people who didn't want to be a superhero. In fact, Flash was actively avoiding everything that might drag him back to the path of heroics.
"Cisco, he can't," to Barry's luck, Caitlin has taken the initiative to stop the excited scientist from hoping too much. "He isn't…," she hesitated, shooting a look in Barry's direction.
"Matt is mentally unstable," Barry quickly picked up her explanation, giving his best comforting smile to the disappointed scientist. "Sorry Cisco, but I don't think his mental health allowed him to be part of the team."
"Ouch, brother," Flash mocked a hurtful tone, placing a hand dramatically teasing over his chest. "Can you be any crueller to me?"
"Truth hurts," Barry chirped, reaching a hand to pat Flash's upper arm like the good-natured younger sibling he was supposed to act as. "I'm sorry, Matty."
"Breaks my heart right there, Bear," Flash whimpered, sounding convincingly heartbroken that made Barry flinched when Cisco, Lisa and Caitlin shot a reprimanding look at him.
Fucking hell. How exactly he was the bad guy now when Flash was evidently the worst out all of reincarnations of Barry Allen that he has personally met.
"I think we need to get some quality rest at home," he smiled to the team, keeping his grip on Flash's shirt as he dragged the older man out. "I'm tired from the travel, and he needed a proper sleep to maintain his sanity."
With that, he bid quick goodnights to the team, grabbed his suitcase and left the cortex without another word. He only released the Flash once they were far enough from the hearing range of the team. He wanted to end this meeting as quick as possible so that he could has a serious unfiltered talk with the Flash in the privacy of his lair.
"Run us home, now."
Flash rolled his eyes but complied to the request anyway.
The nausea from being zipped from one place to another was inevitable—especially after that heavy dinner he had not an hour ago—so by the time they arrived in his lair, Barry was fighting his throat to keep his dinner in his stomach. He took a few seconds to recover, feeling the weight of Flash's amused gaze on his back as he relied on his table to support his body.
"You wouldn't be nauseated if you could run as fast, you know?"
Barry held a finger in the speedster's direction, making sure that he first swallowed the bile that threatened to lurch out of his throat before he retorted;
"Not going to be your guinea pig, Matthew."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Flash grumbled, striding towards Barry in three large steps. "Offer still stands, though."
It would've warmed Barry's heart when his doppelganger gently massaged the back of his neck, but this was the Flash, and everyone knew that each of the speedster's action has a reason or some sort of catch. Flash wasn't massaging his throat out of the pure non-existent goodness of his heart.
"What the hell are you doing here, Flash?" Barry snapped the moment he regained his bearing back, arms crossed as he glared at his doppelganger.
"Bored," the speedster made a show of an exaggerated yawn. "Everyone is busy. There is no more resistant force to kill…and I couldn't find Savitar, so I thought I'd bother you."
Barry hated how blatant the speedster was.
"Is killing Frost in your anti-boredom checklist too?"
"Not really," Flash hummed, his lips curled to a somewhat fond smile. "That was…unexpected," the fond smile grew into a manic grin in matters of seconds. "What an interesting woman you coveted, Ripper."
"I do not—" Barry instantly denied but was cut off before he could even start.
"Oh, did you not?" the Flash smiled, head tipped in a way that reminded Barry of a curious cat about to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. "You're awfully protective of her…," he pondered, lips quirked to a taunting smirk. "Not that I don't understand. Even Savitar has once had a rendezvous with a doppelganger of hers."
How would you respond to that?
"Anyway, I thought you would appreciate my presence here," the Flash remarked, striding across the room towards the glass display. He phased a hand through the glass to grab Barry's mask, running his fingers along the golden lining thoughtfully. "You promised that child something…," he nodded in the direction of the door that lead to the place Barry was working on Lucy. "It might be easier with my interference," he smirked, and all of sudden he was towering over Barry, gently placing the mask in Barry's hand. "Go as Ripper. Heal them as Scarlet Ripper—make them remember you as you tore their hearts out. Make them know that their recovery was at the expense of their sister's life."
Barry cocked an eyebrow. Yes, it would be much easier to fix the siblings if he had the Flash's powers in his side. Either he has Flash kidnapped the teenagers from their hospital bed so that Barry could conduct a reparative surgery on both of them as an honour to his promise to Lucy; or he could do the kidnapping himself—something that he wasn't so confident in. He usually has his victims willingly came with him, not kidnapped from hospital beds.
It was such a tempting proposal from the speedster, but...
"What's the catch?" Barry asked, not even hiding his distrust.
"A good laid?" the Flash joked, the tone of his voice was teasing and he immediately broke to a laugh when Barry rolled his eyes. "The goodness of mankind?" he shuddered violently, as if the mere notion of the idea itself was disgusting to him. "I don't have any specifics in mind."
Barry scowled. "Isn't that so comforting coming from you..."
"Okay, fine. Consider that it is my payment for the show tomorrow," the speedster decided, looking so pleased with himself. "I have seen Joseph West's anguish when I killed my Iris. I have seen his horror when he woke up from mind-control and realised that he has murdered his own daughter. And that one time when I pitted them against each other—that one was such a wonderful show," the Flash hummed happily, seeming like he was lost in good memories.
Yep. There it was. The real reason the Flash left his position as the absolute power of his world. It was because the speedster wanted to witness the pain on everyone's face when the CCPD dug up Iris' grave, only to found nothing inside.
Iris' preserved corpse now resided in Barry's lab on Dark Earth as a wall ornament.
They won't find anything in the grave tomorrow.
"You know, Ripper? I have yet to see West's reaction when he realised that her daughter has turned evil. I have never thought of that plot before," the Flash cackled, seeming like he was brimming in excitement. "This time, it would be a unique show."
Barry wondered how many universes out there has become the stage of the Flash's favourite show—The Tragedy of Iris West.
"….It would be a better show if we have guest appearance…," the Flash murmured to himself, as he started to pace—his speed gradually grew as he spoke. "Yes…that would be a wonderful. Should we have extras too? Or a splash of gore and action…?"
Barry decided to stop listening in to his doppelganger right then. It wasn't like he would understand anything soon, considering the Flash's pacing has grown in speed, causing the older man to gradually turn into a blur of silhouette that was pacing back and forth across the room. Barry was in no way able to understand speed-talk despite being the doppelganger of the speedster, so he might as well gave up from trying to listen to his doppelganger's plotting.
Pointedly ignoring the pacing blur, Barry hacked into the database of the hospital Lucy's stepsiblings were admitted to and proceeded to search for their files.
He needed to do his homework on them if he was ever going to hold his end of the promise he made to Lucy.
After all, he was brought up to be a man of his words.
A/N: This chapter didn't go as planned. I was planning to reveal the fate of Lucy and her stepsiblings inside this one, but the minor events kept squirming their way in, thus making this chapter went far longer than intended. So, I cut it to half. I have larger plan involving Rod and Emmy; since Flash would interfere more than Barry thought while 'fixing' those kids, so their roles needed to be explored a bit beyond the surface. Flash even has hinted it throughout the last few chapters, but more obviously in this one.
And the Flash totally has some loose screws in his head.
Anddd...the teddy bear was the hint for incoming fluff chapter that may come when this story progressed into Christmas event. I think we need a break from this insanity that has escalated with the story's plot.
P/s: I'm totally in love with Steve Rogers now, so anyone wanna see Detective Rogers taking the case as Joe's partner? I originally wanted to use an OC, but heck Captain America is easily loveable.
