A/N: Hey! Made it on time this week! Nice. First off, review responses.
alaskanbirdfriend - Thanks, and good eye! My intention was for his names (others given at the beginning of chapter 12) to be similar to Lucifer, like Child of the Fallen.
Flashy... - Thank you, so much for the support! One of the main things I struggle with is keeping them in character, which is tough when they have all been changed from Barry's death, especially Barry.
Brian Hughes - You say that as if it doesn't happen every 10 seconds.
Second, view count. As I am writing this, we have a total of 10,591 views. Seriously. Over ten THOUSAND views. How even. I... I just... you know, even though I'm a writer, I can't seem to think of the right words. Seriously, I am amazed at how many views that this story has. Also, we have 60 followers, 47 favorites, and 47 reviews. I am just as amazed at that I never thought that this story would become this big. I mean, relatively. Still, thank you all so much.
Lastly, news about the future. We are nearing the end of this story. maybe a few more chapters.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own DC, CW, or any of its shows and characters. I do however own the plot of Resurrection. Oh, and I also don't own Star Trek (You'll see. I might not need it, but I'm paranoid so...).
The next morning, after Caitlin made contact with Riser, Sam, Cisco, and Barry were hanging out in the cortex, talking about plans.
"So," Cisco started, leaning forward in his chair. "any word on our illusionist?"
"Not that I know of. What about Rising Star?" Sam responded, gesturing to Cisco.
"Not since yesterday." Barry cut in. "Well, I guess it's good that we don't have anyone to worry about. Oh! I almost forgot! Joe is supposed to wake up today!"
"That's today? We should contact Wally and Iris, tell them to meet us at the hospital." Cisco offered.
"Yeah. Can you do that? As well as fill Joe in on all that's happened." Barry nodded towards Cisco.
"Sure." Cisco got up and headed to a computer near the display case.
"Hey, Barry. I got word from the overseers that they have a job for us if we want to take it. Turns out that losing us wasn't good for them." Sam said.
"Have they said what the job is?"
"They sent something..." Sam then stood up and faced the entrance of the cortex. He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them with a blue flame. He stretched out his hand and sent the same blue flame down his arm, coating it.
Once it reached his fingertips, Sam started mumbling something under his breath. As he was, the flame began flowing off of his fingertips and around him. The flames started to form symbols, like an alphabet to an ancient language. Once they had surrounded him entirely, they began spinning.
Sam drew his hand back before shooting it out again. The flames that were swirling around him then moved out in front of him. He finally dropped his arm and extinguished the flames in his eyes.
"Here, I'll translate." Sam took a deep breath and began.
"Sam and Barry:
Good day. We know that you two are no longer actually working for us. However, if you find you have some time to spare, we would like you to help us out with a mission.
We are having some trouble with the antimatter universe. It seems that they are attempting to break free and cause another crisis. We hope that you two can assist us in taming the Anti-Monitor and his rebellion against us.
You will be compensated for your efforts. If you do choose to help, please find us in the Watchtower's Edge. See you then.
Thank you,
Overseers."
"Seriously?" Barry asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow while Sam cleared the letters. "He's actually trying to destroy everything again?"
"Apparently. What do you thi-" Sam turned around to Cisco who was wide-eyed.
"That was... AWESOME! What did you even just do?!" Cisco shouted, amazed at the feat that Sam just pulled off.
"I connected with the Speed Force and it told me a message. It took the flames I offered and wrote it down in my language. Think of it as handing them a pen and paper and asking them to write down what they needed me to hear."
"Cool! Anyways, I don't see why you shouldn't go? I mean, It's pretty quiet here, and we can always just boost Wally with the capsule I made so he can find you guys if we need you." Cisco explained, cooling down all of a sudden. Sam and Barry looked at each other for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah. I think we will go." Barry was about to open a portal to the Speed Force when Cisco stopped him.
"Don't you need to change?" Cisco gestured to Barry and Sam's attire. They both looked down. Barry was wearing a S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt and sweatpants, and Sam was wearing a white tee-shirt and jeans.
"We have suits in the Watchtower, and we won't need the special monitoring tech since you won't be able to monitor us anyways," Barry reassured him, adding a small comforting smile at the end. Barry then punched the air to his left, causing a portal to open up.
"Alright. Be careful!" Cisco called, attempting to make his voice cut through the wind circling around the room.
"Never will be!"
A few hours after Barry and Sam left, Caitlin arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs. Walking from the lobby to the cortex, her head was still swirling from the encounter with Rising Star. A war was raging on in her mind. On one side of the battlefield is her trust in Barry, saying that the notion of 'all that the Rising Star wants is for Barry to stop killing' is a complete ruse, and he really wants to use her. On the other is, to put it best, where the deserters from the other camp go. That side houses the faltering trust in Barry and the notion that the Rising Star is telling the truth. Both sides have solid arguments and reasons to be where they are and why they are fighting for what they are fighting for.
On one hand, Barry has been a friend for almost a decade. On the other, is this man really the Barry she knew? Both Barry and Sam are adamant about the evils of the Rising Star, but they are also both hardened killers, so it would make sense that they would tarnish any threat to their lifestyles...
By the time she reached the cortex, her mind was so muddled with debate and conflict that she didn't even realize that she had been standing in the entrance of the cortex for about 3 minutes. She also didn't hear Cisco, who had been slowly approaching her and was now a few feet from her, shouting at her.
"CAITLIN! ARE YOU OKAY?! IS FROSTY COMING BACK?! GRODD? CAITLIN?" Eventually, she snapped out of it. Once she realized what happened, she wanted to shrink down in embarrassment. She gave a sheepish smile to Cisco.
"Sorry, I spaced out for a minute there."
"A minute? Caitlin, you didn't respond for nearly five! Are you okay? Whats going on?" Cisco's expression softened, morphing from a panicked expression to a concerned one.
"Nothing, I... I'm fine."
"Caitlin, you know you're a really bad liar. Also, someone who has nothing wrong going on doesn't black out, standing up, for five minutes straight. What's going on?"
"Nothing! I said I'm fine!" Caitlin snapped, causing Cisco to reel back a bit. His face quickly flashed a fearful look before returning to a concerned one. Caitlin seemed to notice this and softened her face as well.
"Sorry. You're right, I do have a lot on my mind, but I'd rather not talk about it." Caitlin said, voice soft to compensate for the shouting she just put out.
"It's fine," Cisco said. They both moved further into the lab. Cisco went back to the computer near the display case that he was in when Caitlin entered, while Caitlin went to the med-bay to do some research to clear her head.
After a few minutes, Cisco entered the med-bay. When Caitlin heard the door open, she braced herself, expecting another lecture about her black-out.
"Hey, I'm gonna head out. According to Barry, Joe's supposed to wake up today. You can come too if you want. Iris and Wally will also be there."
"I'll pass. I have some work here that I need to do. When Joe wakes up, make sure to give him my regards." She added a little smile at the end to mask the torture that Barry's name brings about.
"Alright. Call me or Wally if you need anything." Cisco left the room and opened a breach to an alley a block away from the hospital. Once she heard the breach close, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She was beginning to push the debate to the side, but Barry's name brought back the torture. She gave up on making any progress in her work, saved it, and laid down on the med-bed to think. (A/N: Ayyyyyyyyy med-bed.)
In truth, the entire Watchtower is the Edge. When the Speed Force built it in the beginning of forever, they built it on the edge of the multiverse. At least, the multiverse that they existed on. Imagine two circles drawn on a white-board. One is empty, only an outline, and the other is neither filled nor empty but has an infinite number of small dots in it. This is, in a very simple way, the true multiverse.
The empty circle is the antimatter universe, aka. the antiverse. The other is the multiverse cluster. This multiverse cluster is where everything living is. This cluster is in direct opposition to the antimatter universe. The Speed Force built a barrier around the cluster and placed a citadel on it. This citadel became known as the Watchtower. The Watchtower spans the entirety of the barrier. However, there is one place that can truly be considered the Edge.
There is a city built directly facing the antimatter universe. This city is the first line of defense against attempts to destroy the multiverse by the antiverse. This city is what is known as "The City on the Edge of Forever," (A/N: Here's what the extra disclaimer was for. I know some of you are shaking your heads at me right now, but... deal. It sounds cool, so I used it.) but is more commonly called the "Edge."
The Edge is not a lovely place to be. It's filled with militarization and is one of the most fortified places in the entire cluster. The Edge is only spoken about in hushed whispers, everyone wanting to keep it out of their heads. And rightfully so, as it is the closed place to the one thing that has the power to destroy everything. Granted, the Speed Force is so powerful that it would never happen, but it still gives chills. Even some of the most hardened agents of the Speed Force tense up at the thought of even traveling there. Sam and Barry don't have that problem though. They've been so many times, it's almost like a second home to them.
In fact, it felt almost welcoming to return after so much time being spent away. When they stepped through the portal, they were in the main terminal in the capital of the Watchtower. Barry and Sam walked up to one of the terminals. A camera appeared and scanned both of their faces.
"Passphrases," the computer said.
"Nora," Barry said. The computer responded with a positive beep.
"Peniel," Sam said. The computer gave the same beep. Two doors leading into 3 foot wide capsules opened in front of them. Barry stepped into one and Sam into the other. When the doors closed, a screen was revealed on the other side. On the screen was a list of locations. The passphrase was used in combination with the facial recognition to scan for clearance. Because of their experience and rank, Barry and Sam were able to access pretty much every location on the Watchtower. Both of them found the Edge and selected it. A confirmation popped up on the screen and both accepted it.
In an instant, they were both in identical tubes in the Edge. They both stepped out and looked at the city-scape. Artillery was scattered about on roof-tops. In the center of the city was a large dome, much like an observatory. On the top, facing the sky, was a large metal tube. The building was the Center of Defence against the antiverse.
There was a long line of people trying to get into the building. Barry and Sam paid no matter to them and approached the front entrance, skipping the long line. Many protested, and they were both stopped by a guard. He obviously didn't recognize two of the greatest warriors that the Speed Force ever had because of their lazy attire.
"You two need to stop there and leave the city while you can or get in the back like everyone else. The antiverse is attempting another attack." The guard said, obviously nervous.
"We understand that. In fact, that's why we were called here with top priority," Barry responded. The guard still didn't recognize them.
"I need some ID." Barry simply looked at Sam. Sam nodded, looked back at the guard, and sprung his wings and ignited them. The guard stepped back and widened his eyes. The crowd gasped, some tripping over their feet while stumbling back. The guard looked at Barry who was now vibrating.
"This good enough for you?" Barry spoke in his masked voice, the one he always used when he would speak to enemies in his Wraith suit, a voice that everyone in the Speed Force would recognize.
"More than enough sir." The guard saluted them, hitting his chest with his fist before extending his arm into the rest of a Roman salute. "I apologize for not recognizing you two. Head on in."
"Don't sweat it," Sam said as he extinguished his wings and hid them. "It's not like we're dressed as we usually are."
They both walked into the building and found it bustling with people. They managed to navigate through the crowd and made their way to the top floor. After another passphrase check, they entered the floor. In it was a large conference table. Against the back wall was the bottom of the large tube sticking out the top. A few people were sitting around the conference table with the main embodiment of the Speed Force at the head. When Barry and Sam entered, everyone stood and saluted them, and Barry and Sam did the same.
"Barry! Sam! Welcome! We're glad you decided to come help us." The Speed Force said. It had taken the form of a Caucasian man in his late twenties.
"We thank you for asking us for help. Know that you can call on us any other time as well." Barry said.
"Of course. Have a seat." The Speed Force gestured two chairs on the other head of the table. The pair took their seats. "Now, for the reason we are all here.
The Anti-Monitor is attacking us again. From what our spies tell us he is preparing another antimatter cannon. However, we believe that it is merely a diversion. We believe that he is preparing an army of antimatter soldiers. Anything that they touch in this universe will be destroyed, along with themselves. Think of it like suicide bombing the multiverse out of existence.
According to our sources, he has only produced enough to destroy a single star, about 20 times bigger than Earth-1's sun. This is one batch, and the production of the soldiers will get faster as he perfects it.
Barry, Sam. Your jobs are to locate the facility where the army is being produced and shut it down. Once that is done, we will travel to your location and destroy the army with everything we have."
"How do you expect us to survive in the antimatter universe?" Sam asked.
"We have made you both custom suits that can withstand the cancellation of your matter by the antimatter. We have also made signal beacons that can travel between the cluster and the antiverse. One of them is for signaling us that the production is destroyed. The other is an emergency signal. If everything doesn't go according to plan, then press this and we will start the attack anyways, but with an extra goal to get you two out of there."
"Alright. When do we start?" Barry asked.
"Now. Here are your suits." The Speed Force gestured to the right, where a wall opened up into an armory. The group walked in to find weapons and armor everywhere. Against the wall facing the entrance were replicas of the Phoenix and Wraith armor. Both were significantly darker and seemed to feel slightly out of place as if they were photoshopped in by a 5-year-old. "Don't worry, they won't stand out as much in the antiverse. In fact, they will look just how your normal suits look, except for being darkened because this is a stealth job." Sam and Barry both changed into their suits. They fit like they normally would.
"Alright. Send us through." Sam said, turning to the Speed Force.
"Gladly." They all stepped into the main room and towards the tube. Two slots opened up on the front of it. Barry and Sam stepped into the slots. The doors closed and a projection of the outside room hovered in front of their faces. The tubes that they stepped into began to move to the center of the cannon.
"Keep in mind that we will be waiting for the signal. So if you get caught, don't hesitate to contact us if you can't get out of it." The Speed Force said one last time. "Godspeed."
Caitlin had dozed off on the bed after an hour of thinking. She was eventually awoken by the sounds of chatter emanating from the main room of the Cortex. She hopped off the bed, made herself look presentable, and exited the med-bay.
She entered into the cortex to find all of the West's and Cisco talking and laughing. She stood by the doorframe and watched.
"So this Rising Star guy, is he good? Because I'm getting two different stories here." Joe asked. Cisco opened his mouth to respond but stopped. He squinted his eyes in thought before speaking.
"Barry and Sam say that he's a bad guy, so..."
"Well isn't that enough? Why wouldn't you trust Barry?"
"No, you've got me wrong. I trust Barry, it's just that we think that he's lied to us once or twice, but we aren't sure about it." Cisco reassured. He cast his eyes to the left where he saw Caitlin leaning on the doorframe. "Hey, sleepy-head! How's it going?"
"Good." She looked at Joe and walked over to him, hugging him when she reached him. He quickly reciprocated. "It's good to have you back."
"Yeah," Joe responded, pulling away. "How've you been in the time I've been asleep? From what I hear, a lot's happened."
"Yeah, that's right. We can fill you in on it later." She walked over to stand beside Cisco.
"Dad, I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch with us? Since we don't know when Barry will be back, we might as well go now." Iris asked Joe.
"Sure! I'd love to." Joe flashed his trademark grin, walking out with Wally and Iris in tow. "Have a good day, you guys!"
"You too!" Cisco shouted. After a few seconds, Cisco chuckled.
"What?" Caitlin asked.
"Nothing, it's just... I'm glad he's back. It's been strange not having him around."
"Yeah," Caitlin responded.
After that, Cisco started thinking about the blackout from that morning again. Caitlin didn't really like to hide anything from the team, especially him. After the Killer Frost incident during Savitar's reign, she always confided in him whenever something was wrong. They were close after all. They had been supporting each other ever since the accelerator explosion. This was the first time in years that she hid something from him. And that scared him.
He knew the struggle that she was having. Although she tried to hide it, Cisco always noticed that she would tense up at the mention of Barry's name, or him going out on a mission. Normally, he would chalk it up to nerves about him dying again. However, because of the issue of Barry killing, he was pretty sure that she was thinking about that a lot.
But why? The only other time she tensed up before Rising Star was when Barry mentioned "dealing with" people. Ever since Rising Star came on the scene she had been on edge.
Suddenly, Cisco remembered what Barry told him. "If he does try to turn people, he will go after Caitlin first. If he does go after her, you need to be the one to pull her from his grasp." What if-
"Hey, Cisco," Caitlin said. Cisco shook his head and looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"That's alright." Cisco smiled. "I'm sure you have a lot on your mind."
"That's another thing." Caitlin glanced at the entrance to the Cortex, then back to Cisco. "Come with me." She got up and walked to the med-bay. Cisco stood and followed, confused. When they walked in, Caitlin shut the door behind them.
"What's up?" Cisco asked. Caitlin took a deep breath.
"What I'm about to tell you, you cannot tell Barry." Alarms, siren, bells, whistles, whatever you want to call them, every single one of them sounded at maximum intensity in Cisco's head. He, however, remained calm.
"Okay... what is it." Cisco braced himself for what was coming. Something, whether it be his vibing or human intuition, told him that what she was about to say was not going to be good. Caitlin took another deep breath and continued.
"I... I contacted and spoke to Rising Star."
No. No, no, no, no, NO. Cisco had to calm himself down. She only spoke to him. Granted, she felt comfortable enough with contacting an accused power hungry killer, but she hasn't said that she believes him.
"Why would you do that?" Cisco asked this in the most non-threatening way possible.
"Because I wanted to get information for myself."
"Isn't Barry's word enough?" This is it. What she says next will be confirmation of something. Ideally that she trusts Barry.
"No," Caitlin responded quickly.
"Why not? What's making him untrustworthy?" Cisco asked with a slightly pained expression.
"Rising Star is a huge threat to Barry's habit of killing. It would make sense that he wants to slander Rising Star's name."
"What about Sam? He hates Rising Star!"
"Sam's just as bad! He's a killer just like Barry. Also, we barely know him." Cisco bowed his head and rubbed his neck.
"Well, what did he say?"
"Exactly what Barry said that he would say. That he only wants to stop his killing spree."
"Do you believe him?"
"I don't know."
"Alright, well listen." Cisco walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "How many times have trusting someone new been good? Wells 1.0, bad. Jay/Hunter, bad. Wells 2.0, good. DeVoe, bad. The majority of the new people that we trusted have turned out to be bad. Barry is a good person. Just because he's tainted doesn't mean that he cares more about an obsession with killing than us. You know how much he cares about this team and everyone in it." Caitlin nodded at the end.
He convinced her.
Almost.
A/N: Oof. That happened. Hope yall enjoy! Drama is gonna be skyrocketing in these next few chapters.