Chapter 2
Once again, Caitlin woke up on Barry's couch alone. She rubbed the blurriness of sleep from her eyes, noticing that the TV was off. She presumed she'd fallen asleep in the middle of the movie because she couldn't remember the ending but she could remember Barry's enthralled expression as the plot unfolded.
Caitlin loved watching Barry's face during their movie nights and usually his impish, enthusiastic responses kept her awake long into the night. But yesterday had been a long day, even for her, and she'd barely kept her eyes open through their customary dinner of fancy takeout – the "fancy" part being the dime-store candles Barry set up around the room.
"All ladies deserve candlelit dinners," He'd explained the first time he'd done it.
"I'm not a lady; I'm a scientist." Caitlin remembered replying.
"You're my lady." Barry had insisted, and she was too touched to argue with that.
Now, as she woke up, she became aware of Barry's little preparations for her awakening. He'd covered her in his fluffiest blanket and stuck a post-it note on the lamp. She reached over to take it.
Cait – Jay called.
Dr. Light's at a bank downtown.
Going to stop her and scout the city.
Hopefully be back before you wake up, but if not I made coffee.
Your donuts are by the microwave and I set the timer so you'll be on time for work.
Love, Barry
Caitlin smiled softly. She hadn't been very supportive of the whole superhero thing at first, but it made Barry happy. When he was Zoom he felt like he had the power to stop people from feeling the pain he'd felt as a child when his mother was murdered. When she'd realized how much it meant to him, she couldn't keep him from it. Being in love meant making sacrifices and compromises for your partner, and Barry was worth every ounce of terror Caitlin felt when he didn't call or come back on time.
By the time the alarm went off, Caitlin was almost out the door. As she turned the timer off, she frowned. Grabbing a post-it from her boyfriend's desk, she scribbled down a note in her most legible handwriting.
Bartholomew, She wrote his full name so he would know she was serious.
You missed breakfast and now owe me dinner.
Love, Caitlin
Before she left, she laid his clothes out on the bed for him so he would hopefully avoid aggravating his boss with his tardiness. Not that she expected or even wanted him to change – that was one of the nice things about Barry; somehow, he could gain superhuman abilities and still seem like the same guy who'd tripped over flat surfaces for twenty-four years. In the midst of incessant changes to the world and the people who lived in it, Barry was a constant. Her constant.
Z
"Dr. Wells," Cisco was bouncing from one foot to the other, clearly agitated.
Harrison sighed and gestured for him to come in, but the panic in the boy's eyes was enough to form a rock in the pit of Harrison's stomach. "What happened this time, Cisco?"
"I was watching NewsTube – I mean, I was done with my work. Well, I was in the middle of an experiment but the chemicals needed to be refrigerated until they were at sub-zero temperatures and I calculated that that would take about thirty minutes and I already finished my other assignment so it's not like I was wasting time or…"
"Mr. Ramon." Harrison intoned. "I repeat; What happened?"
"It's the Flash." Cisco said in a hurry. "There was some sort of incident downtown – Flash and Zoom were doing one of those charity races and suddenly something, some creature…I don't even know what it was, it looked like it just kind of emerged from their speed trails." He shuddered. "It was pure black with blue lightning and it just stood there shrieking and then it just disappeared in a blur."
Harrison was leaning forward, expression carefully blank. "What happened to Flash and Zoom?" He asked. "Were they hurt? Did they confront the creature?"
"After it disappeared, it looked like they chased it but there isn't any more footage." Cisco took a deep breath. "Dr. Wells, I've never seen anyone move like that. Not even the speedsters. This thing…I don't think it's a metahuman. I don't think it's even remotely human."
"What else do you suppose it could be?" At this point Harrison was keeping his voice low to avoid attracting attention and hoped the young engineer would follow his lead.
This was the question Cisco had been waiting for. He leaned forward, bracing his hands against the desk. "Flash and Zoom have referenced something in interviews called the Speed Force. I think it's the source of their power."
"What are you saying?" Harrison was a genius. He knew what Cisco was implying; he just had to hear it out loud.
"I think that Flash and Zoom are conduits between Earth and the Speed Force. And I think this…Black Flash…used them to get into our world, our dimension of reality."
"If that's true," Harrison murmured, "Then we will need to turn our attention to how to combat this creature and prevent others of its kind from following it here. We can't count on J…on the Flash to do it on his own."
"Well he's not really alone." Cisco pointed out. "He has Zoom."
"True." Harrison mused. "But my point still stands. Take a few lab techs with you and see what kind of energy readings you can pick up from the site of the creature's entrance into our world. We need to work with every scrap of evidence we can find."
"Absolutely." Cisco nodded resolutely and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Cisco?" Harrison called. "There's no need to inform Dr. Snow or anyone outside of the two of us about this project or the creature."
"Of course." Cisco agreed.
He knew about Harrison's need for privacy, so the request didn't come as a surprise to him. He had no way of knowing that there was anything other than a business motive behind it. After he left the office, Harrison got up to close the door. He made his way over to his desk and picked up his phone.
"Hello, Operator?" He said. "Get me Barry Allen."
Z
"What was that thing?" Barry finally demanded. "It was like some sort of living shadow."
Jay didn't look up from the device he was tinkering with. He hadn't wanted to talk about the incident after they'd lost the creature on the outskirts of town, and Barry had been late for work anyway so he didn't push too hard. But now it was different. They were in the storage unit with the police scanner on what seemed to be an eerily quiet night. And Barry was practically vibrating with anxiety.
"I have no idea." Jay replied. "I've never seen anything like it."
"It came out of our speed trails." Barry went on. "Why would it do that? Do you think we led it here?"
"We couldn't have known this was going to happen."
"But it happened!" Barry shouted. "What are we going to do about it? If that thing kills someone, it'll be our fault!"
"No, Barry, it won't." Jay turned to face his protégé. "Just because it came from our speed trails doesn't mean we're responsible for its actions. Whatever it is, we're going to find it and deal with it but we are not going to agonize over it like its Pandora's Box and we just released all the evil into the world."
"What if it is?" Barry asked in a low voice.
Jay sighed. "Pandora's Box is a fable warning people about heading the instructions of those who are experienced with the outcome. We have no idea what this thing is. We didn't break any rules or disregard any warnings to bring it here. It's scary and probably dangerous, but it's not our fault. We're going to protect this city anyway, because that's what we do. Not because we feel guilty." He leveled a gaze at Barry. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," Barry swallowed hard, then met Jay's gaze. "What are we waiting for? Let's find this thing and see if it comes in peace."
Z
"Well, well, well, Dr. Snow. I'm not surprised to find you still here."
Caitlin smiled over her cup of coffee. "Nor I, you, Mr. Ramon."
Cisco took a seat across the table from her. They were in the breakroom after most other employees had left for the day. Glancing at the clock, Cisco threw his co-worker a lopsided grin. "Waiting for a certain forensic specialist, are we?"
"Perhaps." But the smile in her voice betrayed her. "And who are you waiting for? A certain barista?"
Cisco blushed. "Kendra and I are just friends." He mumbled.
"Of course." Caitlin smiled sweetly. "Barry and I used to be 'just friends,' too."
Cisco glanced around. "It's not that I wouldn't like for Kendra and me to be something…more intimate…it's just that I get this vibe from her sometimes, like she's still hung up on someone else." He shrugged. "I don't want to risk pushing her away."
"You're a really great guy, Cisco." Caitlin said sincerely. "I'm sure Kendra will realize that soon."
Before he could reply, an alarm blared through the building. The two scientists exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"Is that a security alarm?" Caitlin gasped incredulously.
Cisco's eyes widened. "The experiments!"
"What experiments?"
But the Latino had already shoved away from the table and sprinted into the hallway. Bewildered, Caitlin followed him down the stairs to his lab. In front of his file cabinet decorated in comic book hero symbols, a man in a dark blue parka stood, rifling through the files.
"Hey!" Cisco shouted without thinking. "Get away from there!"
The man turned fluidly, one arm stretching out to point some sort of bulky gun at the scientists.
"Look out!" Caitlin tackled Cisco to the ground as the man fired his weapon. She felt something stream over her back, and then she screamed as excruciating pain overloaded every nerve in her body. It was like she'd just been dipped in liquid nitrogen.
"Caitlin!" Cisco shrieked as he watched his friend's convulsing body ice over. He reached out to her, but her skin was cold enough to burn his hands and he immediately jerked back. Turning with fury to their assailant, he scrambled to his knees only to see the same weapon pointed directly at his face. "My cold gun." He realized numbly. His invention. His precious experiment had hurt his friend.
"Oh, so you're the mastermind behind this little toy." The man smiled in a cruel way. "I believe it's fair to say that I'm a fan of your work."
"You hurt Caitlin." Cisco said. "She needs help."
"I don't think help will arrive fast enough for her." The man shrugged. "Pity. She seemed quite attractive."
Cisco shivered with rage, looking over the barrel of his cold gun into the man's dark goggles. "Go ahead." He seethed. "Shoot me. I deserve it for letting someone like you take my invention."
"Ah, but I might need you again someday, Mr. Scientist." The man smirked. "So I think I'll leave you alive…for now."
Cisco watched him back out of the room, files in hand. As soon as the thief was out of sight, Cisco lunged for the lab's phone.
"I need a medical team down here immediately prepped to treat severe hypothermia and frostbite!"
Caitlin was still writing on the floor, and Cisco let a few tears slip from his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Caitlin." He gasped. "I'm so sorry."