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"Barry, what happened that night?" Alex soothingly tried to hold his shoulder to keep him calm.
"R-robberies," his breathing was labored and his gloved hands clenched the sheets, "breacher."
"What's that? Some sort of code for something?" Mon-El looked at Alex.
"No," she shook her head, "meta-human with breacher abilities. That's extremely rare, I've never heard of someone with that natural capability before. What happened next, Barry?"
"Wormhole," he shuddered, shaking in the bed under Mon-El's grip, "Speed f-force."
"The wormhole could've messed with his powers," Alex exhaled roughly, "technically the speed force is just another dimension, so this breacher could've manipulate it like any other dimension."
Barry nodded weakly, trying to signal that Alex was correct.
"Okay, okay, Barry, shh," she rubbed his shoulder, "we're going to take care of you, you're safe, all right? Just relax."
She saw some tension release from his shoulders, but there was still stress and pain lines etched into his face. Alex administered a few more cc's of morphine in case.
"Anything else?" Mon-El urged.
Barry gave him a tired look, his eyes clouded and lips the same color of his pale skin, "Cisco…breacher too."
"Cisco Ramon?" Mon-El looked at Alex. He hadn't been around as long as everyone else, so this was all a little bit of a shock to him, "He's a meta-human too?"
Alex nodded, "Barry-"
"Alex, what are you doing?!"
They all turned their heads to the door to see a fuming Kara followed by Winn and Henshaw.
"Kara," Mon-El looked at her, relieved, "Thank, God."
"Alex," Henshaw looked at her, a degree of shock in his eyes.
She couldn't handle the look of shock and fear some of them directed at her and guilt swelled in her chest. But she reminded herself of Barry's plight and how this was a key way to save him.
She exhaled deeply, her heart tearing in her chest as Barry's wide, scared eyes looked at her in desperation, "Barry, last question-"
"Alex, stop!" Kara took a step forward.
"Barry, how can we reactivate the speed force in your cells?"
"Stop it, Alex, enough!"
"We need to know!" she retorted.
"Y-you-" his eyes fluttered.
Oh no, he's out.
"You've got to…" Barry's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped limply against the bed.
"Barry!" Kara surged forward at his side, pushing Mon-El out of the way.
"Quick, charge the paddles!"
"The glasses!" Iris shrieked, looking at their only hope of finding Barry get crushed under the boot of the meta-human, "NO!"
Julian was dragging Cisco to the floor, out of the chair, and Caitlin hesitantly approached the now unconscious meta-human.
"Cisco?" Julian gently patted his cheek, "Can you hear me, mate?"
No response.
"Caitlin?" Julian looked at her, "What happened?"
"I've got to get them in the lab," she confirmed, getting to her feet, "we need two gurneys down here."
"What are we going to do?!" Iris gestured to the broken pieces of their only hope scattered on the floor.
HR, Joe, and Wally came sprinting back down.
Joe looked at the scene before him, "What the hell happened down here?"
"Oh no, the glasses!" Wally ran and knelt down by the remains of the Vibe glasses.
HR helped Julian by grabbing Cisco's feet while Julian gripped his underarms. They gently maneuvered his body on the emergency gurney and Caitlin jogged over, testing his reactiveness and responses.
"What does this mean?" Joe looked between Iris, Wally, and the glasses.
"I don't know," Julian sighed, placing his hands on his side, "usually Cisco is the one with the answers."
"Quick, we need to get them upstairs," Caitlin pursed her lips.
"Just hold on a minute," Joe stopped them, "why is no one reacting? The glasses are broken."
"They don't know how to fix them, Dad," Wally ducked his head, "only Cisco does…"
"Well, wake him up then," he realized the insensitivity once the words left his mouth. He didn't mean them and Cisco's health was his top concern, but he just wanted Barry to be all right, "I-I'm sorry, that was harsh."
"I'm gonna try to see what happened to them, see if they're in a coma or this is just temporary. With a few tests we can find out and then we can plan the best course of action," Caitlin looked at Joe with sympathy in her eyes, understanding his frustration.
"Meanwhile," Julian started forward, "I'll salvage these pieces," he gestured to the broken glasses, "see what I can piece back together."
HR and Joe moved forward, helping Caitlin push the two gurneys to her lab to examine them. Julian, very gently, placed the pieces of the Vibe glasses in an evidence bag and walked out with the remains. That just left Wally and Iris.
Once everyone cleared out, Iris sat down heavily in the chair, her face in her hands and tears starting to stream through her fingers.
"Iris," Wally sat down by her, "it'll be okay, everything will work out."
"Wally, Barry could be virtually anywhere and dead for all we know…"
"This is Barry we're talking about, Iris," Wally shook her shoulder comfortingly, "he defeated the Reverse Flash, Zoom, Captain Cold, Heatwave, and countless other meta-humans. If anyone can find a way out of this, it's Barry."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Iris rested her head against her brother's shoulder, a semblance of hope fluttering within her. She didn't see the look of dread and fear that passed across his face when she wasn't looking.
"Any luck on Cox?" Henshaw looked at Winn.
"Scanner should be ready in a few more minutes.."
Their talk was drowned out by the bickering from the next room.
"Alex, how could you? Barry is my friend, and you tortured him!"
"Kara, I didn't mean to hurt him, but it was necessary to help the situation."
"He might not wake up!"
"I had to do something. I know his condition is bad-"
"Like you care about his condition!"
"Actually, I do!" Alex stood up, "Kara, the clock is ticking! Barry is on every medicine and maxed out! If I don't find a way to get him back to Star Labs then-"
"How long?" Kara calmed.
"Let's just say he won't make it through the night."
"Winn!" Kara shouted, knowing him and Henshaw were eavesdropping, "Cox's location?"
"Match just popped up!" he yelled back, "Uh…he's working at a law firm on National Dr."
Kara marched out of the room, ready to fly into action and track down Cox.
"Kara, wait!"
"What?" she looked back at her sister in irritation.
"Just-" she exhaled sadly, "find him fast."
She nodded curtly before shooting out of the DEO facility and up into the open skies. Her mind was hellbent on finding Cox and she zipped down to his location in no time. Her Supergirl outfit gleamed in the sunlight and she landed confidently on the balcony of the building, outside office 207.
A man was typing away on his laptop inside. Kara gently tapped against the glass, getting the man's attention. The minute he saw Kara, he almost fell out of his chair before scrambling over to the door and gawking at her in awe.
She motioned for him to step outside and he fumbled with the handle before facing her on the balcony.
"Y-y-you're-"
"Cox?"
"Yes," he gulped nervously. She glanced at the nameplate on the desk to confirm.
"I need your help."
"M-my help?"
"Yep," she nodded, "you're gonna have to come with me."
Before he could respond, Supergirl swooped down and grabbed his torso, hoisting him to the sky with her as she flew off back in the direction of the DEO, Cox screaming the whole way.
She deposited him carefully to the floor in the main cortex of the facility.
"Supergirl!" Henshaw protested, "This is a confidential government facility, you can't just bring strangers in here without proper authorization!"
"I know," she ducked her head, "but I couldn't wait. Besides, his eyes were closed the whole ride."
Cox, eyes still screwed tight, nodded feebly.
"This is Cox?" Alex looked at the frightened man sprawled on the floor, looking up at these unfamiliar faces in shock.
Kara nodded. Winn looked from the monitor from the man and flashed a thumbs up.
"Look," Cox stuttered, "I-I don't know what's going on here, but I have my rights-"
"Please, Mr. Cox," Henshaw held up an irritated hand, "you're not in any trouble."
"Yes, I know," he stood up, wiping down his suit jacket, "she told me that. Then, I got a ride over National City. How do you think that went?"
"I'm sorry," Kara's shoulders sagged, "I didn't mean to harm you in any way, but our friend needs your help."
"You keep saying that, but unless he needs a good lawyer, then I'm of no use to you. Good day," he sniffed, marching to the door.
Alex had trouble believing that evil meta-human and this guy were in a way connected.
"Sir," Alex called after him, "if you could, just please follow me."
"Why? You can't hold me here."
"You don't even know how to get out of this place," she countered, "If you'd just follow me for five minutes, I'll arrange for a ride back to your offices and work it out with your boss regarding your absence."
He seemed to mull over the proposition, noticing the advantage he held, "I want a full-paid roundtrip plane ticket and a week vacation too."
"Fine," she gritted her teeth, "now, follow."
He saw the stern look that Henshaw was throwing his way and he begrudgingly followed Alex into the elevator. Kara, Winn, and Henshaw stepped inside with them. The elevator traveled down a floor and they all shuffled out.
Cox looked right and left at the many faces and bodies surrounding him. He didn't want to be here at all.
Think of the vacation, think of the vacation…
The dark-haired woman opened up a glass door, and stood grimly in the doorway. Cox turned around and saw the avoiding glances from the others, refusing to look into the room.
"W-what's in there?" he stammered, noticing their tense body language.
No one answered, but Alex nodded with her head, a gesture that he come inside. He took painful steps forward, eyes closed as he finally stepped over the threshold.
When he opened them, he faltered a few steps back.
"O-oh, God…" Cox trailed off. There was a bed in the center of the room surrounded by a horde of monitors and IV stands. In the bed was a young man with dark hair and pale skin. He would look very healthy and handsome if it weren't for his ashen grey flesh, the sweat matting his skin against his head, a tattered and bloody bright red suit, and a gruesome leg injury.
He tried to double back out of the room, but Henshaw's broad body blocked the exit.
"What do you want with me?" panic started to creep into his voice,"Why do you need my help? L-look, you've got the wrong guy, I'm not a doctor-"
"No, you're not," Alex interrupted, "but you are special."
Okay, these people we're really crazy.
"Special how?"
"Special abilities."
"Abilities?" he scoffed, "You're out of your goddamn mind!"
"Are my abilities so hard to believe?" Kara interrupted, "Why can't you have some?"
"B-but you're Supergirl!" he looked her up and down, "You're an alien from another planet, and I'm just a guy from Brooklyn!"
"We're wasting time…" Mon-El tapped his foot against the floor.
"Look, this is gonna sound crazy," Winn stepped forward, "that's the Flash, and he was sent here from another Earth that vibrates at another frequency so we can't see them, but your doppelganger is an evil meta-human with breacher abilities that sent him to our Earth but somehow manipulated the speed force in his cells so now he can't heal rapidly as usual and if we don't connect with Star Labs from his Earth soon, then he's dead, you got it?"
The group was silent for a moment.
Then Cox made a mad dash for the door.
"Look!" Winn grabbed his tablet as Kara and Mon-El stopped Cox and pulled him back. He thrust the image of the breacher meta-human in front of Cox's eyes and they widened immediately.
"W-what? No, that's impossible-he-he's me, but I-"
"Yes, we know that isn't you," Henshaw confirmed, "but we want to know if he's similar to you."
"You mean if I can 'breach' like him?" he whimpered, looking at the malicious glare on that man again.
Alex nodded darkly.
"There's no way, I think I'd know if I had abilities or something-"
"Look at him!" Alex shouted, pointing at Barry below her, "Look! He will die because you were unwilling to try!"
"Alex-" Kara tried to soothe.
"I-I'm not unwilling, it's just-"
"You can't just give up, you did this to him!"
Cox immediately got defensive and angered by her comment, "That monster is not me."
"He's right," Mon-El sighed, "Alex, this was a long shot anyway, not all of the dopplegangers are exactly the same as those on different Earths."
"But it's our best option," Alex countered, "without him, it's over!"
She stormed out of the room, giving one last forlorn look at Barry as she left.
Henshaw went after her and Cox shuffled his feet nervously.
"So…there's no possible way?" Kara looked at him with deflated hope.
"I'm sorry," his shoulders sagged.
"It's okay," Winn shrugged with a sad smile, "thanks for trying. I'll call your boss later this afternoon."
Mon-El, Kara, and Winn slowly shuffled out, leaving Cox alone with the young man unconscious in the bed. He felt a part of him nag that essentially he did this to him, and he was therefore obligated to at least look at the boy. Cox moved forward, standing right at the bedside and looked down at the pale, dying "Flash."
"How could I…?" he trailed off. There was no way he could. It wasn't him.
He looked down at his hands.
Just try it, it won't do you no harm.
He closed his eyes, reached deep down within him, thought of the injured man in the bed, the desperation in his friends' eyes, and felt a spark between his fingers. Cox opened his eyes in shock.
"What the-?"
That's it! It's working!
"Do it again, come on, you can do it," he tried to press his fingers against one another again. This time nothing.
"Keep going." he heard a new voice behind him and Cox whirled around in surprise.
It was Henshaw.
"Oh, uh, I was just-"
"Nobody is judging you here."
"Well-"
He stopped abruptly when he saw the normal, human looking General morph into an exotic, multi-colored alien.
"What the-?!"
"Calm down," Henshaw raised a hand, "there are no secrets here. This is a place where we encourage your powers, for you to grow. Your body is the perfect environment for your abilities to manifest, you have majority of the genome requirements as the other breacher."
"I don't have powers-"
"Enough, stop denying it. You look at that boy in the bed and you tell me one more time that you don't have capabilities."
"I…" Cox trailed off, sighing deeply once he saw him again.
"That's what I thought. Continue."
Cox looked at him nervously, then turned back to his hands, scanning them intently. How could he open up dimensions just by willing it? That was physically impossible, it denied every law of the Earth, right? It had to!
But not everything was impossible, apparently. Not 20 minutes ago, he was flying over the city in Supergirl's arms. Who knew his day would take such a turn?
Cox took a deep breath and clasped his hands. The temperature of the room dropped, a slight gust passed him, and he opened his eyes to see a small, blue breach in front of him.
Cox's eyes widened, and he almost passed out, "Holy sh-"
"Incredible," Henshaw cut off, nearing him, amazed.
Cox let his hands go and immediately the wormhole disappeared.
"Do it again," Henshaw gave him a stern look.
There was no use in arguing after seeing that stern look.
He took another deep breath, willed for a larger breach and his power commanded. A sizable wormhole opened, about the size of a watermelon. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and he panted as he couldn't keep it up anymore.
"I-I'm sorry, it can't go anymore."
"No, that's fine," Henshaw smiled, "we've got our breacher now."
Chapter 6 coming soon!