Disclaimer: The following is a nonprofit Fan based story; The FLASH and all related characters are owned by DC comics, the CW and anyone I may have missed.
Thanks to all of you who reviewed and waited extremely patiently; Starcalista, dreamworld, thatmarvelgeek, Marcus S. Lazarus, ISeeItIShipIt, ButterflyBlueEyes, brico4899, Guest (1), Adrien, 20080634, and AnimeGalaxy.
A/N: So I went back and combined Chapters 8 and 9 so here's the new chapter 8 which is longer and has a bit more detail. I apologize for the extremely long wait but I already sort of explained myself.
The Flash: Moving Forward
Chapter 8: Two New Meta-Humans
Meanwhile at the Central City Bank there was a click and the door to the main vault swung open revealing a group of men in full black suits and face masks
"Let's go boys we've got" Their leader said as he pulled back his left sleeve and looked at the six watches on his wrist. "Exactly three minutes and twenty five seconds to load up as much monetary items as we can."
His gang made their move and began to shove stacks and stacks of cash, jewelry and some gold into black duffle bags.
"Time's up, let's get moving." William Tockman said to his cohorts. All of them except one stopped stuffing bags. "You have wasted fifteen seconds." Tockman pulled out a small pistol and shot the one who hadn't stopped stealing. "Head to the van, you have ninety five seconds." They grabbed the dead man's bag and all headed to the back of the bank and out the door they came in.
As they started up the van and began their getaway a lone figure landed in front of the oncoming van.
He wore a black and orange t-shirt with thick shoulder pads, black pants, a vest that appeared to be made of Kevlar, and dark combat boots. His crew-cut showed off some of his black hair while the majority of his face was obscured by the orange lensed goggles he wore. On each arm he wore what looked like mechanical gauntlets each one had an orange glow on the palm.
"Shit it's him!" Tockman said nervously "Shoot him!" Some of his men pulled out their guns and began to shoot.
The man in front of them just held out his hands and projected an energy field in front of him. The bullets harmlessly hit the field and felt to the ground devoid of all motion. He pushed his arms forward and projected a powerful wave of nearly invisible energy at the oncoming van and the moment it struck the van quivered and began to fall apart before it skidded to a stop leaving the robbers kind of dumb struck for a moment.
The thugs pulled out their guns while Tockman made a break for it. In an instant all their guns began to shake before falling apart.
"Alright, this is your last chance." The vigilante said "Surrender before I'm forced to hurt you some more." They didn't.
Each one charged the vigilante and he proceeded to beat the snot out of them using vibrational blasts, knocking them down and out. He then proceeded to run after Tockman and corner the Clock King in an abandoned building.
"It's over Clock King." The vigilante said
William Tockman just chuckled as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at the hero. "Oh? And what's going to stop me from shooting you?"
The vigilante made a gesture that resembled his eyes rolling. "You know that's not going to work on me."
"Perhaps not" Tockman said "but it does take 0.009 seconds for a bullet to travel ten feet." The air around the vigilante began to vibrate creating a barrier.
"That's why I've got this barrier." He held out his hand and Tockman's pistol began to shake before it fell to pieces "And now you've got no weapon."
Tockman grunted and held his hands up in surrender. The vigilante approached him and produced a pair of hand cuffs form his belt. "William Tockman you are charged with Third Degree Robbery," Tockman took this chance to try and catch the hero off guard by drawing a knife to slash the vigilante's throat but his fist was stopped and the hero punched him in the face knocking him out cold. "You're under arrest." He said as he cuffed Tockman.
Raising his left hand to his ear he activated his comm. "Hey Eddie. I've got a special delivery for you tonight."
"Does it have anything to do with the alarms going off at the Central City Bank?"
"Uh, yes…"
"Alright Cisco I'm heading over there now. See you soon."
-Meta-human signatures detected-
"Hold that thought Eddie, I'm getting a new Meta-human signature."
"We haven't had one of those in a while."
"Yeah, lucky me. It's two." Cisco said as the hologram dissipated "Hopefully these guys are friendly unlike the last dozen or so."
"Let me know if you need some back up."
"Will do Eddie." Cisco ended the call. The Vigilante looked down at his wright gauntlet as a hologram of Central City was projected out from it, highlighting the Meta-human signal. "Haven't had any meta humans in a while." He said to himself. "This'll be fun then, I wonder what I'm going to name you?"
Not too far from Cisco, Barry and Caitlin were walking down the street. Barry had decided to not use his speed due to the fact the City was very different from what it had been ten years ago, there were new buildings and restaurants, even streets had their signs changed.
"So where does Cisco live again?" Barry asked turning to Caitlin.
"Well, his apartment should be around here, but everything's different now." Caitlin looked up from the phone she and Barry were forced to buy.
When they had walking into the store the teller almost laughed at them for having such out dated phones. They were forced to buy the cheapest most up to date phones they could.
"Agh! This is so frustrating!" She sighed. These new phones were nearly impossible for her to figure out. Thousands of different holographical HUDs were projected in their faces that they couldn't decipher what was what. "Were in our mid-twenties and we can't figure out how these phones work! I mean seriously we're supposed to be part of the techy generation and yet we're like…like…"
"Our Parents?" Barry filled in. "or Grandparents."
"Exactly."
Barry just chuckled. Sure it was weird that they were now trapped in the future but somehow they could only see the positives and Barry couldn't see himself being stuck in the future with anyone else, wait? What? How could he not see himself stuck here with anyone else? Shouldn't he be easily able to imagine Iris here with him? Why could he only think about Caitlin? Was it because right now she is the only remnant from the life they had? Or was it something more? No, it couldn't be.
"Barry!" Caitlin calling his name snapped him out of his thoughts. "You Ok? You spaced out there for a second."
"Huh? No, I'm fine." Barry said "Wait, why did we stop?"
"Because we're lost." Caitlin told him.
"Great." Barry said he looked down the road and a man in a large coat and hat was walking briskly towards them. Being suspicious Barry quickly wrapped an arm around Caitlin's arm and pulled her close "Laugh at something I said." he whispered to her.
"What?"
"Just laugh."
"Hahaha!" Caitlin let out a forced laugh.
"That was such a fake laugh." Barry was trying not to laugh at Caitlin, who just rolled her eyes.
"Don't move!" Barry and Caitlin looked up to see the man aiming a gun at them. They were startled at first but soon Barry grew a wide grin on his face.
"Are you serious?" He asked. "You're mugging us? Seriously out of everyone in all of Central City you picked us."
"What is wrong with you?" The mugger demanded as he shifted his gun between Barry and Caitlin. "Stop talking and give me all your credits! Now!"
"Um…What are credits?" Caitlin asked. The mugger looked between the two of them like they each grew a second head.
"This isn't funny." The man said as he cocked back the hammer and aimed at Barry's head. "I'm gonna count to three and if you don't give me your credits I'm gonna blow a hole in the both of yous!"
"Ok, but you're really going to hate yourself." Barry said smirking while he positioned himself between Caitlin and the mugger.
The mugger pulled the trigger, and in that instant Barry and Caitlin were gone and so were the man's clothes and gun and standing next to him was a Cop who looked just as confused as the man.
Barry put Caitlin down not too far from where they were and started to chuckle out loud while Caitlin began to berate him for his recklessness.
"Oh, come on Caitlin. You've got to admit that was pretty funny."
"Maybe it was but if you weren't faster than a bullet we would both be dead right about now."
"Stop right there you Metas!" Barry and Caitlin were startled by the arrival of a second voice behind them. "Put your hands behind your head and turnaround so I can see you." Barry and Caitlin did as they were told and when they turned around both of them and the man who was arresting them were shocked. "Barry? Caitlin?" He said realizing who they were. He lowered his hands from his friends and quickly closed the gap between them. After getting a good look at them Cisco embraced his friends, who he thought were long dead, in a tight hug. "Oh, my god" He said through tears "I thought you guys were dead."
"Cisco?" Caitlin asked surprised to see their friend dressed up like a super hero "Is that you?"
Cisco pulled back from the embrace and took of his goggles. "The one and only." He proudly proclaimed. "Oh, don't call me Cisco, it's Vibe when I'm in costume." He added.
"Vibe?" Barry asked
"Yeah, Vibration Inducing Badass Exo-suit, or V.I.B.E. for short." Caitlin just laughed at the name. "What? Dumb name? I'll have you know it took me a whole month to come up with that one."
"No, I actually like the name." Caitlin said. "Oh its good to see you Cisco." She embraced he best friend tightly.
"Good, now tell me how the hell you aren't dead? And why you look like you haven't aged a day." Cisco asked as he and Caitlin separated from the bone crushing hug.
"It's a long story Cisco, ok maybe not that long," Barry said smiling "But it is one you, Joe, Iris, Hal and even Eddie and Ronnie might want to hear." Cisco shifted uncomfortably. "Wait, Cisco what's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just…you guys might not like what you learn."
"What are you saying Cisco?" Caitlin asked before Cisco sighed heavily.
"Come on I'll take you guys to Iris' house. You can explain it to everyone there. And in the mean time you can explain to me why my suit is saying both of you are meta-humans." Cisco said turning to Caitlin.
Caitlin's eyes widened as both Barry and Cisco looked at her, not even she knew she was a meta-human. She didn't have any powers from the particle accelerator so why did Cisco's machine say she was a meta?
"What?" Was the only word that came out of her mouth.
Over in the Park where Barry and Caitlin had reemerged from the Speed Force, two men were standing there with equipment. One of these men was a scientist and the other was Paradox.
"Is this the place Elias?" the man wreathed in red electricity inquired.
"Yes it is Paradox." Dr. Elias replied "It's brimming with Tachyons."
"So, the Flash is back after nearly a decade of being dead." Paradox said grinning.
"Finally we can get more access to the Speed Force." The greedy scientist said. "Wait a minute" Paradox perked up at Elias' words. "I'm picking up signals for two meta-humans in this location." He turned to Paradox. "The Flash isn't alone."
"All the better."
"What do you mean I'm a meta-human Cisco?" Caitlin said firmly and defensively. "There's no way I'm a Meta!"
"Well Gideon here says you're both Meta-humans." Cisco said "And we all know Barry is a meta-human so there is a high chance that you've also become a meta-human in your absence Caitlin."
"Look Cisco I'm perfectly normal." Caitlin replied calming herself down a bit. Barry turned to look at her, filled with concern. "Look I don't have powers." She extended her hands and began to wave it back and forth. "See no pow-" She was cut off when she saw their expressions. "What are you two looking at?"
Your hands…" Cisco began to say but his shock got the better of him. "They're so, so…"
"Fast." Barry finished.
To Caitlin, her hands were moving back and forth at a normal pace, but to Barry and Cisco they were moving super-fast, like a blur.
When Caitlin focused on her hands she could see them moving quickly, like Barry's powers. Freaking out a bit Caitlin grabbed her wrist and tried to stop her hand. "What's happening to me?" Barry immediately took her hand and held it still, or as still as he could.
"Cait, Cait look at me." Barry kept trying to calm her down and get her to forget about her vibrating hand. "Cait!" He practically yelled her name and finally got her attention. "I get it, you're scared and confused. I was the exact same way when I first got my powers." Caitlin opened her mouth to respond but she closed it almost as soon as she opened it. "Just look at me Cait." He said gently as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumbs. Slowly, very slowly, her hand stopped shaking and returned to its normal non vibrating state.
"Oh man" Cisco ran his hands through his short hair. "You've got speed powers Caitlin! I guess this makes you the Lady Flash." The bioengineer was not amused by the nickname Cisco just gave her. "Sorry, not a good time for that."
Barry and Caitlin turned to Cisco. "How is that possible?" The Flash asked. Aside from himself, The Reverse-Flash, and Paradox no one had developed speed powers. Caitlin also looked like she really wanted an explanation.
"It must have been the Speed Force." Cisco said "Caitlin's exposure to the Speed Force caused her to absorb some of its energy granting some of the same abilities as you Barry."
"That…actually sounds very simple." Caitlin turned to look at Barry surprised how well he was taking the fact she had the exact same powers as him, Ok maybe not exactly the same powers after all if she did get them from absorbing some of this Speed Force then there was no telling if this was permanent or temporary. Personally Caitlin was hoping this was very temporary and maybe a dream.
"I'm glad you two are taking this so seriously but how do I stop?" Her hand was once again shaking uncontrollably.
"Here, let me help." Barry said as he took her hand "just try and concentrate on it stopping. After a while stopping yourself from vibrating will be second nature." He reassured her as her hand slowed down until it looked normal.
"Thanks Barry."
"No problem Cait. At least I can help you control your powers since, you know, they're identical to mine."
"Uh, did I miss something while you two were gone?" Cisco asked looking at how Barry's hands still held Caitlin's.
They let go and Barry turned back to Cisco. "Um, I think a better question is what did WE miss over the last ten years?"
"Oh" Vibe said slightly somber. "There may be some things you guys don't like here."
"Cisco we can handle it, now let's all head to Joe's house and let him know we're alive."
"Can't do that Barry." Barry opened his mouth to ask why but Cisco answered his question before it was even asked. "Joe…Joe is dead." The words hung in the air somberly as Barry felt his legs give out from under him and he collapsed to the ground. Caitlin caught him, thanks in part to her new super speed, and eased him down the rest of the way having his upper body propped up against her.
Looking up at Cisco with an expression of utter disbelief and tears in his eyes Barry asked his friend one thing. "When?"
"Two years ago." Cisco hung his head a little lower. "During an attack by Grodd."
"Grodd? What's a Grodd?" Barry asked
"He's a Gorilla." Caitlin explained. "One of the animal subjects we had back at S.T.A.R. Labs. He was actually really sweet whenever I visited him." She reminisced a time when Grodd handed her one of his things. "Aside from me the only other person he liked was Dr. Wells. They had this, special relationship before he disappeared after the Particle Accelerator explosion."
"And before he went all Planet of the Apes on us." Cisco added "Did I mention he hates humans aside from Wells and Cait?"
"So this gorilla killed Joe" this wasn't a question.
"Worse, he used his mind control abilities to force Eddie to kill Joe." Barry and Caitlin were stunned. Eddie, the goody two shoes cop was forced to kill his partner and girlfriend's father by a telepathic gorilla. "Joe and Eddie had cornered Grodd. We had no idea his telepathy had gotten so much stronger, and he…he forced Eddie and Joe to turn their guns on each other. Joe died on route to the hospital while Eddie…well perhaps you should see for yourself."
"Cisco, what happened to everyone else?" Barry asked. "How many others have died?" Vibe hesitated not wanting to answer knowing how hard his two best friends would take it.
"It would be easier if I just show you." With a sigh Cisco held out an open palm and multiple holograms appeared. Holograms of Ronnie, Hal, Oliver, Joe, Snart and even a bunch of other people Barry and Caitlin did not recognize.
Dr. Snow couldn't bring herself to turn away from the image of Ronnie. The man she loved, lost and found again was dead and this time it was for real. She could not feel them but tears began to well up in her eyes.
Cisco noticed his friends' distress and turned the hologram off. "Every one of them died over the last decade." Barry and Caitlin turned to Cisco with full attention. "After you guys vanished, well I guess you just came here, heroes were no longer untouchable. Anyone who has the ability to do the right thing is afraid to stand up and put it all on the line. So now there's only a few of us heroes left; me, the Atom, Artemis, and a few others. Sadly more and more heroes are giving up too early when it gets too hard."
"But why is Snart on your list of fallen heroes? He kidnapped me and threatened Barry."
"Captain Cold joined us several years after you time jumped."
"Us?" Caitlin asked
"Oh, right you never met the other team."
"What other team?" Barry asked
"Ray Palmer, Professor Stein, Sara Lance, Leonard Snart, Mick Roy, Kendra Saunders, Jay Jackson, Cater Hall and Rip Hunter." Cisco rambled off nine names.
"Still doesn't explain it." Barry added. "We don't even know half those people."
"Well whatever, Snart isn't a bad guy, he may be a thief but he developed a code after you vanished. One of his main reasons for joining us was because 'Without the Flash, Central City just isn't fun anymore.'" Not believing what he was saying, Barry gave Cisco a questioning look. "Look, Snart may have been a thief but honestly he and Heatwave made good allies, especially after Snart's sister took over the Rouges."
"But, what about Ronnie? And Hal? And Oliver?" Caitlin began to ask desperately.
"All three of them died saving their Cities or in Hal's case the world." Cisco explained.
Tears began to well in Caitlin's eyes at the thought of Ronnie being truly dead in this timeline. It was something she just didn't think she could handle. "How? How did Ronnie die?"
Cisco looked nervously towards Caitlin before taking a deep breath. "Ronnie…He was stabbed through the heart by a Meta-human names Carl Sands, A.K.A. Shadow Thief."
And Caitlin lost it. Her legs gave out beneath her and her hand instinctively flew to her mouth to cover an inaudible gasp while the tears began to cascade down her cheeks. She felt like she was crying for quite some time, maybe a few minutes or maybe it was a few hours either way she only stopped when She felt Barry place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"So, everyone we know and love is dead." Barry restated that fact to which Cisco nodded.
"Well, not quite everyone." Vibe began. "Iris and Eddie are still around. Come on, I'll take you guys to see them."
Back at the rundown lab Dr. Wells walked the halls of his facility. When he first went to the past to kill Barry he found himself trapped in the past for fourteen years and then when things were looking up Barry runs into the Future and leaves the Reverse-Flash trapped in the past once more. Now after a quarter of a century of being trapped in his equivalent of the Stone Age he was even more desperate to get home.
Placing a hand on the usual wall Eobard Thawne entered into his lab and walked up to the control panel.
-Good Evening Dr. Wells- The holographic face projected outward.
"This isn't the time for formalities Gideon." The Time Traveling villain reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out two vials of blood. "I need you to run an analysis on these blood samples."
-Certainly, might I ask what they are for?-
"I just want to see how Dr. Snow's time in the Speed Force affected her." He put the blood vials into the slots and they vanished into the machine.
-Of course- Gideon's face blipped out of focus and two screens came to the forefront. Both showed blood streams were moving extremely quickly, though one was slower than the other -Dr. Snow's blood is showing signs of hyper excitement-
"Interesting, Dr. Snow has developed Super Speed." He looked closely at the samples. One was continuously slowing down while the other was speeding up. "No, her blood is absorbing the momentum of Barry's blood." A chair came out of the ground and Dr. Wells sat down. "Dr. Snow has become a Speed Stealer." He turned to the other wall and placed his ring against it revealing his yellow suit. "As Barry always said, two speedsters are better than one."
Cisco led Barry and Caitlin up the steps to Joe's old house.
"Iris lives in Joe's old house?" Barry asked as they stopped in front of the door.
"Yeah, after Joe was killed Iris moved back in this house with Eddie. She didn't have the heart to see it go on the market since it was all she had left of Joe and you."
Cisco rang the doorbell and a moment later the door opened revealing a little boy and a little girl both looked to be around five maybe six years old. They both had black hair and their skin was a slightly lighter shade than Iris' tone.
"Uncle Cisco!" The two kids cried out happily before they wrapped their little arms around Cisco.
"Hey Dawn, Don." Cisco embraced the kids. "How are you two doing?"
"We're great!" the boy Don said happily.
"Did ya catch any bad guys today?" Dawn asked
"I sure did." Cisco said "Oh, I want you two to meet some friends of mine." Cisco turned around. "Dawn, Don, these are Barry and Caitlin, two of my best friends."
Caitlin crouched down to their level and smiled warmly at them. "It's nice to meet you."
Barry just stood there analyzing the two kids and his heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces. Any possible future he apparently had with Iris was flushed down the drain if he wasn't around. Sure he was currently, or at least he was dating, Linda ten years ago it just couldn't fill the void in his heart that presented itself everytime he saw Iris with Eddie and now knowing that she and Eddie would have a decent life even having two kids it just hurt.
"If you are Uncle Cisco's friends how come we've never seen either of you?" Don asked
"Don you dummy." Dawn nudged her twin in the ribs before pointing at Barry. "That's Uncle Barry. The one mommy always talks about."
"Right, the one from all the photos."
"Dawn, Don! Who's that at the door?" A feminine voice called out from around the corner. Hearing that voice Barry perked up recognizing it immediately.
Iris West walked out from around the corner and the moment she saw Barry she froze and dropped the plate she was holding, in a rush of speed and a flash of electricity Barry as inches from her having caught the plate.
Barry slowly rose until he was standing u straight; his face was mere inches away from Iris'. "Hey Iris"
Tears were beginging to form in her eyes as she cupped barry's face and felt his features. She didn't know if this was a dream or not and right now she was praying that it wasn't.
"Is it really you?" She asked
Barry placed his hands onto Iris' and his smile grew. "Yeah, it's me."
"Oh my god…" Iris let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and out of nowhere Iris leaned in and kissed Barry on the lips. Barry was taken aback by the sudden lip connection and he was upset when she pulled back. "That's for being alive." Iris said. SLAP Out of nowhere iris slapped Barry across the face. That startled Barry far more than the kiss. That's for lying to me about everything." Barry stood there rubbing his cheek before being caught off guard again when Iris pulled him in close once more. "And this, this…I don't know why I'm doing this." The moment their lips met they both melted into each other. Barry's arms slowly drifted down to Iris' waist while her hands trailed down his cheeks and snaked their way around his neck as they deepened the kiss.
"EWW!" Barry and Iris broke apart when they heard Don, Dawn and Cisco simultaneously. "Gross!"
Caitlin had watched Iris and Barry, her heart had felt a slew of emotions none that she could process. She was happy for Barry and Iris, but at the same time it felt like she was being stabbed with a knife and Caitlin knew she would be lying if she said she didn't picture Barry kissing her like that.
"Cisco, why don't you take the kids to the kitchen. I just finished preparing the pasta."
"Sounds good." Cisco said as he took Don and Dawn's hands. "Come on kids. Your mom made Pasta."
"Yay!"
"I'll go with you." Caitlin interjected not really wanting to eb in the same room as Barry and Iris at the moment.
"Actually Cait, can you stay?" Barry asked her specifically. "Well, I mean we're both in the same predicament you know?"
Caitlin smiled before taking the few steps so she was standing close to Barry and Iris.
"Ok, so Um, let's sit down." Iris said as she led them over to the sofa.
Looking at the piece of furniture Barry just chuckled to himself. "I guess some things never change. Not even after a decade."
Iris ran a hand through her hair and awkwardly looked back and forth. "Uh, sorry about that, that kiss was kind of…uncalled for."
"Huh? Oh, No, no…no it was…well that was…"
"Incredibly stupid." Iris put the words from his mouth and contorted them into something else. "I just couldn't control myself you know?"
"I wouldn't say that." Barry said while shrugging his shoulders in an adorkable way.
"Yes it was. I'm a married woman and here I am kissing my foster brother after believing him dead for ten years."
"Oh, we weren't dead." Barry gestured to himself and Caitlin. "We were sort of blasted into the future."
"You mean Caitlin was blasted into the Future and you ran after her, right Barry?" Barry and Caitlin looked at her with wide eyes.
"When'd you find out?" Caitlin asked.
"Shortly after Barry vanished looking for you." Iris said to the doctor. "When The Flash rescued me from the falling ship I heard you voice Barry. And shortly after you disappeared I went to Cisco and Dr. Wells to see if they were working on a way to bring you back. Heard them speaking about how you ran into a wormhole after Caitlin the previous day, the whole thing just clicked in my head."
"Are you mad? You know that I was lying to you about it?" Barry asked nervously.
"At first I was beyond mad. You were my best friend Barry. How could you lie to me about something like you being the Flash?"
"Believe me Iris, I wanted to tell you so bad. I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out about my powers but I didn't. I wanted to keep you safe."
"Huh, that's funny."
"What's funny?"
"That doesn't sound like the Barry Allen I know and loved. That sounded more like my dad." Barry hung his head in defeat. When he looked up he could see the tears and hurt in her eyes.
"Iris, I know you're mad at me and Joe but please, please don't take it out on anyone else." Barry pleased with the love of his life, the same woman who apparently moved on when he was 'dead'.
"I didn't take it out on anyone Barry." She replied before her voice began to choke. "I just…I just pushed my dad away Barry." Barry made a move to comfort her but she waved away his hand. "When my dad died Barry I felt so alone I didn't get to say goodbye to him, like what with happened with you and Caitlin. The only person I could talk to was Eddie and even then he was as upset as me."
"Cisco told us what happened." Caitlin chimed in. "We're so sorry Iris."
"If only we were there." Barry took her hands and looked Iris in the eyes. "If we were there we could have saved both Joe and Eddie from Grodd."
"It wasn't your fault." Iris reassured them.
"No, it is Iris!" Barry's tone startled both Iris and Caitlin. "I swear to you Iris, when Caitlin and I get back to the past we'll keep joe safe no matter what!"
"Barry…" Caitlin placed a hand on his shoulder to try and reassure him but Iris beat her to it with words.
"Barry, I've known you for fourteen years and even then I never really knew you, but I did know that you would do everything you could to help the people you care about." She wiped away a tear from Barry's face. "Let the past go Barry."
"But, I…I can't…we can't." Barry looked from Caitlin back to Iris. "How can I let go of the past when that's exactly where we belong? I swear to you Iris when Cait and I get back we'll fix everything to the way it's supposed to be." He was determined to find the man who murdered his mother, stop Paradox, keep Joe, Ronnie, Hal and everyone else alive and one day win Iris' affection.
"Barry…" Iris sighed. "As much as I hate that my dad is gone and that we missed a decade together I still love my life here. I have a solid career at Central City Picture News, I have Dawn and Don, and I have Eddie."
"But-"
"I don't want things to change Barry." Iris cupped his cheek. "I've accepted how my life's turned out and I honestly don't want it to change. I think you should try and move on."
"Uh Iris." The three of them turned when they heard Cisco's voice from the kitchen. "A little help?" Cisco poked his head around the corner, Barry and Caitlin noticed Iris's kids literally hanging from Cisco's arm and leg.
Iris smiled before getting up and heading over to her kids, leaving Barry and Caitlin in the living room.
"So, what do we do now?" Caitlin asked.
"Well, the way I see it we have two options; one we can still try and get back to the past and prevent all of this from happening or"
"Or?"
"We could stay here and start moving forward with our lives." Barry said to the lovely Dr. Snow.
This is the end of the chapter
Please tell me what you liked, didn't like, look forward to/think will happen, or your general thoughts and comments, this'll help me make this story better; I'm a big boy so I can take criticism. And if you Review you get a Shout Out and questions answered either Privately or in the next chapter.
Have a Fantastic day