.:26.

Cisco crossed his arms as he waited for the protective plate covering Hartley's cell to open. They had to feed everyone they kept within the Pipeline, but Hartley? He could starve to death for all Cisco cared. As a matter of fact, if there was any way he knew of to wipe that smug expression off the metahuman's face starving him probably wouldn't be the way to do it. Whacking him silly like a piñata may do something and he really did need the practice for the next Ramon gathering.

As the protective plate moved away, Cisco rolled his eyes, seeing that Hartley was already smirking. Didn't this guy have any other expression he showed on his face? Anything that would at least make a him a little bit likeable? Even as Hartley's eyes flickered over to the Big Belly Burger bag that sat atop the cart beside Cisco, the mechanical engineer couldn't help but allow his temper to flare.

He absolutely hated Hartley Rathaway.

"You know, I would prefer to have Thai food," Hartley commented. "I've had a real big craving for it."

"Well too bad, buddy, this isn't a buffet," Cisco replied. "And it's also not a restaurant. You'll take what you get and eat it." He opened a small door and shoved the bags of food inside before closing the door once more. Hartley's eyes passed over the food but he didn't move o take it. "Or you can starve to death, that's fine with me, too."

A chuckle escaped Hartley's lips. "I don't think you'd want hat, Cisco. You're too good to want to place ill will on anyone else."

"On anyone else, maybe," Cisco agreed. "On you? I'd rather see you rot in the ground."

"Tough words for someone who has lost so much already. Or are you still on the bottom of the pile of your family's pecking order. I seem to remember your brother Dante being here at one point, because you wanted to prove to him that you were really contributing to your family."

"Shut up," Cisco murmured.

Of course Hartley knew the best place to get at him, to pick at his shell. His parents, his brother, his family…they were never that great to him. Yes, their holiday parties and things were great and his mother was a mean flamenco dancer, but he was the black sheep of the family for sure. Everything Dante did was gold while everything he did was crap and looked down upon. He was the one with the real job and his brother was the one who wowed the crowd with his piano playing skills.

Anyone could play the piano. How many people were able to create a suit for the Fastest Man Alive, keep up with the upkeep, and continue to create gizmos and gadgets that no one else would ever think of. Then again most people wouldn't ever be able to know about them as they couldn't see the normal light of day in case things went badly. But that wasn't the point.

"Now with Ronnie and Martin Stein back here I'm sure you all are going to have a lot of questions that you'll need to answer by the general public. What was it that caused them to be missing for so long and what did the Particle Accelerator have to do with it? I'm sure Dr. Wells would love to have the police sniffing around when he's got such a big secret to hold."

Cisco felt his body immediately freeze. That was right. In the commotion with Firestorm's resurgence he completely forgot about whatever Hartley had against Harrison. Which seemed to be the reason for him coming back and wreaking havoc in the first place.

"Ohhh." Hartley pouted. "Don't tell me that you started to look at Harrison Wells like a father-figure. Just remember, I made the same mistake too and look where that got me." He examined his nails before looking around his cell. "A cell that's no bigger than ones they have in jail. And, as I'm sure you know by now, he already has a kid and a grandson, why would he want anyone else in his life? Maybe they know all his secrets too…how much can you trust them?"

"I can trust them 100% more than I can ever trust you," Cisco snarled. He reached out to press the button that would move the protective plate along Hartley's cell once more.

Hartley cleared his throat, his eyes boring into Cisco's. "It's always secrets that tears families apart, so why won't you believe that this one is being torn apart as well?" His eyes narrowed for a moment. "And there's another question of why you're so worried about it. Last I've checked, you were the one that locked Ronnie in the room."

Cisco's eyes shifted away from Hartley.

"Oh! That's it. You're still upset over the fact that you killed Ronnie. That's it, definitely. But what if I were to tell you that you weren't the reason for Ronnie being killed. No. Not at all. You see, it didn't matter whether or not you closed that door because the Particle Accelerator was going to explode anyway."

"Cisco." Turning around, Cisco found Harrison slowly wheeling his way up the ramp towards them. His eyes were locked on Hartley's as he moved forward. Finally, he came to a stop, resting his hands in his lap. "I was wondering where you got off to. You were only supposed to give food to all of our prisoners, not stop and chat."

"Are you afraid I might have told him something you don't want to get out?" Hartley taunted.

Cisco watched as Harrison's eyebrow twitched but the pleasant smile never left his face. Instead, he folded his hands and watched Hartley for a long moment. Finally, he turned his attention to Cisco and nodded towards the button on the wall. "Please close this pod. There isn't anything else that we need Hartley for."

But what's Hartley talking about? Cisco thought, doing as he was told. He's mentioned the same secret over and over again and Dr. Wells have never tried to correct him on what he's been saying. What does he have over him? He looked at Harrison once more, dutifully following him as he went back to the medical room.

Cisco sighed heavily as he watched Brady sit on the side of Cadence's bed, watching her. Every now and then he would sit up straight and peer over her face, as if expecting her to wake up, then his shoulders slumped and he went back to picking at his fingernails. A breathing mask was placed over her face, an IV in her arm, and a heart monitor attached at least let them know the damage from Firestorm's nuclear explosion hadn't been too bad.

Ronnie and Professor Stein were sitting on their own beds with Caitlin doing another check on them. It had to be done. Since they were split apart Harrison had insisted they were continuously checked so that there wasn't another risk of a nuclear fallout. If it weren't for Cadence's absorbing as much of the blast as she did, it would've been worse for Barry and Caitlin, who had become caught up in it themselves, at least of the tail end of the blast. It was the blast of pure energy that had gotten them rather than the nuclear energy and radiation.

"Where's Barry?" Cisco asked.

"The CCPD were responding to the sound of the blast and Barry went along with them," Caitlin explained. "I guess to throw them off the trail a little." She smiled at Ronnie after removing the stethoscope from his chest and then moved over to Professor Stein to do the same. Then she pulled the plugs from her ears. "Everything has continuously been steady. I think they're going to be okay."

"That's certainly good to hear," Harrison said. "Because there ought to be some good news before I say what I have to say." He cleared his throat, eyes briefly shooting over towards Cadence before looking at the others once more. "I haven't been entirely truthful with all of you. Any of you. The Particle Accelerator…Hartley warned me that there was a chance it could explode. His data did not show 100% certainly, just that there was a real risk. But I made the decision that the reward outweighed the risk." He paused. "I'm sorry."

Cisco pressed his lips together. What? What? Harrison was the one that knew there was a chance of the Particle Accelerator going off? And Hartley told him? Ugh, he never hated Hartley more….trying to blackmail Harrison like that. But at the same time…He knew. Cisco reminded himself. He knew of the risk and decided to do it. And it killed so many people. Not just the ones who were at STAR Labs that day but those who were ultimately hit by the wave of energy. The hospitals were filled with injuries and emergencies. Even Cisco's mother and father had to be treated for minor injuries after the explosion. Ronnie—as they he had thought—had died along with others in STAR Labs. He had broken his arm, Caitlin had bruises, cuts, and abrasions, and Harrison lost the use of his legs. All because of a risk.

And it was a good risk. The technological advances they could make because of the Particle Accelerator working? They were scientists, wasn't that the point? And it wasn't like Hartley was completely trustworthy as it was. And what could they have done to change the outcome?

Cisco looked up, locking his eyes with Harrison and he swallowed hard. He could see it in the man's eyes, the guilt of the consequences. And yet he could still see in his eyes that he thought he made the best decision. If he hadn't done that, they would've have had Barry be the Flash, the heart of the city. But then again…there wouldn't have been any metahumans around either.

And you wouldn't have found your new family if it hadn't have happened, Cisco reminded himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he spotted Caitlin pull herself up to her full height and place a cold glare on Harrison. It was colder than the looks she would give right after the explosion. That's right, Cisco reminded himself. They were in a relationship. This must hurt her more than anything else…

Caitlin slowly walked over to Harrison and stood in front of him, clenching her hands into fists. The only sound that broke through the room was the sound of Cadence's heat monitor steadily beeping. "The next time you choose to put our lives and the lives of the people we love at risk, I expect a heads up," she hissed at him.

"Dr. Snow—"Harrison started but Caitlin raised her hand, cutting him off.

"Look what you've done, Dr. Wells!" Caitlin cried, eyes flashing. "Ronnie and Professor Stein were fused together and could've killed themselves because they were trying to keep anyone else form getting hurt. You could've killed Barry; you killed all of those other people. And look what all of this has done to Cadence! She might be dying too, but we don't know for sure. And it was all because of your selfish pride."

"Caitlin," Ronnie said, grabbing her attention. He reached up a hand and placed it on her neck, gently rubbing her skin. "Everything's fine now. Professor Stein and I…we're fine now. Everything's going to be okay."

"And yet for the past year I thought you were dead. I grieved your life." She then turned her attention to Professor Stein, who watched the spectacle stoically. "Clarissa grieved your life!" He lowered his head at the mention of his wife. Cisco knew everything about Professor Stein's life and what he left behind through research after Hartley's initial inklings of what happened to Ronnie. It had to have been hard to realize that her husband was missing and more than likely wasn't coming back. But to not know what happened and just sit and wonder? That had to have been worse. "And yet you can't seem to understand everything Harrison has done has done nothing but hurt this city more than it has helped." Caitlin took in a deep breath through her nose. "I…" she trailed off. "I need to be alone."

She shook off Ronnie's arm as she moved to leave the room, but wasn't fast enough for Professor Stein. "My dear, I understand you're upset by what you've been told, but this isn't something that you can take to heart. It is something that has happened in the past and the only thing you can do right now is take that and look towards the future."

"Trust me, I will," Caitlin agreed. "I'm not going to let a mistake like this happen again." She pulled her arm from Professor Stein's grasp and left medical room.

Harrison twisted his mouth to the side and wheeled closer to the bed where his daughter lay, but turned his attention to Brady, who sat quietly throughout the conversation. The young boy lifted his chin and looked Harrison in the eye. "I don't expect you to be very happy with me either," Harrison said to him. "And I don't blame you."

Brady shook his head. "I'm not mad," he said. He turned towards his mother and brushed a strand of her hair off her forehead before looking back at Harrison once more. This time a look of determination was in his eyes. "My Mom will do anything to protect everyone she loves. And she did that. But she's a fighter. She'll be okay." He nodded to confirm his words.

Cisco smiled.

"Yes," Harrison agreed. He reached out and gently smoothed Cadence's hair back. "She's a fighter."

Barry sighed, stretching his arms over his head as he and Joe walked into CC Jitters with the rest of the CCPD behind them. The trip up to the Badlands had been a waste of time, but he had to pretend there was something for them to look over. He had pulled Joe aside and explained what was going on but they still had to go through the motions. Maybe he really needed to do it, to keep himself from freaking out. If they hadn't had gone out there to help Ronnie and Professor Stein then Cadence wouldn't be lying in STAR Labs in a coma.

But if they hadn't had gone to help them, then they would've lost two lives for nothing. And who knows if the blast would've stayed in the Badlands, it could've had a further reach than any of them would have expected. Barry couldn't get the thought of what happened after he came to out of his head.

"Barry! Barry! Wake up!"

Feeling his shoulders being shaken, Barry's eyes slowly opened. At first he had to wave some smoke and dust out of his face. Then he had to swallow hard a few times, to pop his hears. Once they popped they started to ring quietly, alerting him he had been damaged in some way though his body certainly didn't feel it. Coughing, Barry sat up with the help of Caitlin as she grabbed his arm, pulling him into a sitting position.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Caitlin asked as Barry continued to try and find his bearings.

"Yeah," Barry replied, voice hoarse. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you." Caitlin threw her arms around Barry's neck and the two friends hugged each other tightly, trembling. They could've been killed by that blast if Barry hadn't been able to run fast enough to get them to safety. Despite being able to heal quickly Barry could feel the soreness in his muscles and bones and knew Caitlin had to be worse. But what about the others? The thought seemed to have crossed their minds at the same time for they both let go and scrambled to their feet.

Caitlin flung her arm across Barry's shoulders and Barry picked her up, hurrying her to where the explosion originated from. He placed her on the ground, looking through the thick smog and dust that covered the area. Caitlin bobbed and weaved, looking through the area until she saw a figure lying on the ground. Caitlin hurried down the slope and towards the figure with Barry following her. As Caitlin hurried down to Ronnie's side, Barry spotted Professor Stein and went to him. He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and turned him over to his back.

"Professor Stein?" He called. As the man coughed, coming to, Barry got a good look at his face. He had met the man before, on the way to Central City, from Starling, to meet up with Iris before the Particle Accelerator was turned on. "Professor Stein, are you okay?"

"Yes," the man replied after a minute. "Why, yes, I do believe I am." He allowed himself to be brought up off the ground. Grasping Barry's hand he held it firmly. "I don't know how you did it, but thank you so much."

"You're welcome." The two then turned to find Caitlin and Ronnie in a tight hug, her face buried in his neck and his in her hair. "I hate to break this up, but we should get these guys back to STAR Labs to see how everything's worked out." Caitlin smiled and nodded, then her smile faded and her eyes shifted around. "Where's Cadence?" Barry's heart leapt into his throat and he twisted around, trying to find his fallen friend. He didn't see anything within the blast radius but if she had been that close to Firestorm when the explosion when off, she couldn't still be that close. "The blast would've knocked her away from them."

"I'm on it." Barry nodded and turned on his heel, running up to the edge of the blast zone. He shifted back and forth, hoping to find her. Then the wind shifted and he saw a crumpled figure lying on the ground. "Over here!" He called before racing over to her. "Cade? Cade, wake up!" He went to grab her shoulders but quickly pulled them back once he had been burned. "Ah!" He shook off the stinging pain before grabbing her shoulders firmly. He leaned over her soot filled face, her goggles dangling around her neck, cracked in the corner. She didn't move. "Cade. Can you hear me?" He leaned back, breathing heavily, unsure of what to do. "Cadence!" He shook her shoulders and her head flopped back and forth.

Barry gasped for air, waiting for the others to get to him. "Cade, come on you have to wake up." His voice cracked as he continued to plead with her. "Hey, come on. Please. Please, wake up. Please!"

"She must've absorbed the blast," Caitlin said, skidding down to Barry's side. She started to reach out her hands but didn't come nearly as close as Barry due to the intense heat coming off of her. "It has to be doing something with her powers but I can't tell unless we get her back to STAR Labs." She shook her head. "I can't tell if she's breathing."

"There's a reason Cisco made this suit with a firefighter in mind," Barry pointed out. He reached out his hands and scooped them under Cadence's body, pulling her into his chest. Cadence's head lolled to the side, eyes still closed. "I'll be back."

He zoomed to STAR Labs and into the medical bay, placing Cadence onto a bed and shouting for Cisco and Harrison to help him. Then he came back with Caitlin, Ronnie, and Professor Stein. The two halves of Firestorm went to be checked out while Harrison, Cisco, and Caitlin went to work putting as many monitors onto Cadence as they could while Barry stood aside, comforting Brady as best he could. But he knew it was better for the young boy to let his feelings out, it was what he needed once his mother passed.

He couldn't save Cadence just as he couldn't save his mother.

Now as he went through the line that formed at the counter of Jitters he tried not to let his aching feet and heavy heart pull him down. But it was hard. How was he supposed to have these powers if he couldn't avenge his mother's death and not save anyone else that needed help? There was always a risk when they went off to fight a metahuman, he just didn't think it would be that bad. He didn't think he would see anyone so close to him, someone he cared about, fall like that.

"Hey," Joe said from behind him. "Once Captain Singh clears out then you can head back to STAR Labs. Right now you deserve a break."

"Yeah, I guess," Barry said.

"You've got that Hartley guy, it's not like all of this was for nothing," Joe reminded him. "If he hadn't said anything to you about Ronnie and Professor Stein then who knows when the explosion would've happened. It could've hurt or killed even more people." He sniffed. "Not that any of us would know it, I can't expect Harrison Wells to be one that would warn anyone of anything before it happens."

Barry's eyebrows furrowed together as he turned back to Joe and studied him. "What's with you and Dr. Wells?" He asked. "I know you two don't really see eye-to-eye but it's like you're waiting for him to do something wrong every time he so much as breathes." The two ordered their drinks and went to an empty table. Barry took a sip and rubbed his hands on his pants legs. "So what's up?"

"Nothing," Joe insisted. "It's just that…" He pressed his lips together, gently blowing air behind them. "I have this feeling that he's hiding something. About what's going on with Hartley Rathaway."

"Well, Rathaway is a complete jerk so I understand that he might not have bragged about him," Barry pointed out.

"Just like he doesn't brag about his dead girlfriend?"

Barry felt his face grow pale. So Joe knew about Tess. He tried to keep his face neutral but by the way Joe was looking at him, he knew his surrogate father knew for sure that Barry knew about Tess as well. He opened his mouth to try and protest, to wrap his head around it and instead found himself babbling. Joe managed a small laugh before he shrugged innocently.

"He's taken up a big part of our lives, Bare," Joe explained. "I just wanted to know more about him. To see if there's anything that he would like to share in his otherwise mysterious existence." He gave Barry a pointed look over the top of his mug as he drank from it.

"So ask me." Barry tried to keep his voice neutral but didn't sound as convincing as he had hoped.

"I'm just saying that it sounds like you don't know him as well as you think. That he's not as forgiving about his life than we have been to him."

A sigh escaped Barry's lips. He brought his hands up and rested them on the back of his head as he tried to figure out how to explain the situation. Barry shrugged in a non-committal manner. "I know about Tess. I know he has a daughter, a grandson. I know he has an amazing background in science. I've read his entire biography. I know a lot about him. His background with Tess might be—"

"—Did you say Tess?" Iris asked, walking over to the table.

"Hi baby," Joe greeted his daughter, wrapping his arm around her in a hug.

"Hey," Iris replied. She turned and gave Barr a hug as well before taking a seat at the empty table along with them. "Do you mind if I join you? Eddie's other there talking to Captain Singh and some of the other higher-ups." She tilted her head in his direction. "And I don't particularly care to sit and watch him try to play nice with the man." The three exchanged a glance and started to smile a little.

"So what are you doing here?" Barry asked. "Shouldn't you be working hard to become the next big journalist at the Central City Picture News?" He and Joe exchanged a glance as Iris rolled her eyes and ran her hands over her face. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Just that I'm not the best writer at the Central City Picture News," Iris replied. She hugged her arms to her chest. "It turns out the real reason they hired me is because of my so-called connection to the Flash. Which I don't have. And I've been teamed up with Mason Bridge who is a legend, who I admired, before he told me I was a worthless, talentless Millennial. So, I'm screwed."

"You're not screwed, Iris," Joe pointed out. "You're just having a bit of a setback."

Barry nodded in agreement. "If this Mason guy doesn't see what a talented journalist you are, then he's probably a lousy writer."

Iris raised an eyebrow. "He won the Pulitzer. Twice."

Barry grimaced and exchanged a look with Joe, who also tried not to let the amazement of her statement get to him. Instead, Barry cleared his throat and nodded like a bobble head. "G-Good for him then."

Laughing, Iris pulled her hair back from her face. "Thanks anyway, for trying to cheer me up." She sighed. "They want me to write as the Flash and only the Flash. And if I don't' write something really great, really good then I think I might be fired before I even really start."

"Don't' worry, we'll figure out a good story for you to do," Barry reassured her. "I'll help; you know I'm always here for you." He tried to push away the pang of guilt. How true was that? They hadn't really spoken a lot throughout the last couple of months but he had been really busy with all of his metahuman stuff and her job. At least he was making up for it now. "Do you have any leads?"

"Well, it's funny that you mention it." Iris tapped her fingers along the edge of her mug, stalling before she continued. "It's funny that you mentioned Tess. There's a Tess Morgan that I see here at Jitters every now and then. I've talked to her a few times. And she seems to have something about her. I'm not sure what, though. She's said that she's from Starling City but has been to Maryland, Coast City, Central City, Keystone City, Astro City, Midway City…but that she was in Coast City recuperating from a car accident. And she has background in science and she seemed to know Dr. Wells…"

Barry held his breath as Iris explained what she knew. If this Tess was the same person Harrison had spoken of then this Tess Morgan was Harrison's wife and Cadence's mother. Except she wasn't dead, she was very much alive and in Central City. And it didn't seem like anyone else but Iris knew.

"You know, I don't know about this story," Barry snapped back to attention as he found himself saying it. "It might be prying a bit too much into her personal life."

"But just think about how this can go. She's obviously a really big person in the science industry so knowing that she's back in Central City for whatever reason has to be a great story. And if she has a past with Dr. Wells, I can get him in on the story as well," Iris insisted. "Maybe clear his name."

Barry looked over at Joe and he could see a storm brewing within the man's eye. He really, truly wanted to encourage Iris as much as she could with the job she had, but at the same time it was too close to STAR Labs. Too close to Cisco and Caitlin and Ronnie and Professor Stein. Too close to everything that made a difference in his life and the future of Central City. Joe took a deep breath to steady himself and Barry knew he was about to disappoint Iris.

"I kind of have to agree with Barry, I don't think it's a good idea," Joe said slowly.

Iris shrugged. "I'm not going to stick with stories about the Flash. I'm going to be the best journalist I can be."

"But with Dr. Wells, he's really, very private about his life—"

"—and you don't know Tess the way I do," Iris insisted. "She'll sit down and talk to me. Or at least let me make a little bit of a story about her. I think it's really good and that my boss would like it." She brought her mug back toward her chest. "I thought you would be proud of me."

"We are proud of you," Barry insisted. "It might just be a good idea to start off with a smaller story." He gritted his teeth together, hoping his frustration didn't show. "Maybe start with a story on the Flash so that your boss can see what you can do, when listening to his suggestions, and then do some other stories."

Joe pointed towards Barry. "That's a really good idea. And it'll be a win-win for both you and your boss." He leaned over and gave Iris a kiss on the side of the head. "You're going to be great, baby. But right now I think I need to save my partner." He smiled at Iris and Barry before getting up from the table and walked over to Eddie, who had been sending him looks for the past few minutes.

Barry smiled and turned back to Iris, reaching out to grab her hand. "Iris, you're an amazing writer. You can do this."

"Thanks." Iris smiled and squeezed his hand back. "It's nice to know I still have my best friend on my side."

Barry nodded back. He started to say something else but stopped when his cell phone started to ring. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. His heart immediately slammed into his throat when he spotted Brady's name pop up on screen.

"Hey Brady, what's up?" He asked, turning away from Iris.

"You need to get back here now! Hartley got out."

Brady walked into the Cortex, watching as Cisco held Hartley's gloves in his hands and twisted a screwdriver in it. He sat down next to Cisco and leaned over to watch what he was doing before sighing quietly. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm trying to figure out how Hartley was able to use these gloves," Cisco replied. "That dick—" he immediately broke off, looking down at Brady's face. "I mean, that jerk really knows his way around gadgets and I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what happened here."

"Oh." Brady nodded and continued to watch quietly, twisting a slingshot back and forth in his hands. Cisco noticed it and asked him about the weapon. "I brought this in for show and tell today. I've had it for a long time. Mom got it for me one Christmas. I'm a really good shot, I can knock down a pop can from ten feet away."

"Wow, that's pretty far," Cisco said.

"Mhm. I practice as much as I can. I bet I can get even further now." Brady turned and pulled the pocket of the slingshot back as far as the weapon would allow the stretch, closing one eye as he did so. "I bet it could really come in handy."

"How are the others doing?" Cisco asked gently. He put down the gloves and turned towards Brady, resting his hands in his lap. "Has there been any change?"

Brady frowned, lowering his head. No. There hadn't been any change. His Mom was still lying quietly on the hospital bed and Ronnie and Professor Stein were starting to get restless being stuck in the medical room. But they had no choice but to stay there until they were given 100% clearance to leave STAR Labs. Brady explained so and his frown deepened. "I think my Mom was mad at me before this happened. Because I had to show Conner that I had powers."

"You were protecting everyone in your school, Brady," Cisco gently reminded him. "If I was in third grade and I had powers, I'd do the same thing. And it was really brave."

Brady shrugged. "I just did what my Mom or Barry…or you or Caitlin would do."

"And we need more kids like that in Central City. You did good, kid." Cisco reached over his desk and pulled a Twizzler out of the packet, handing it over to Brady. The young boy took it and smiled as Cisco picked one up for himself, holding it out. "You did good." The two slapped their Twizzlers together before taking a bite. Cisco grinned and turned back to the gloves.

Brady kneeled on his chair and looked over the techno glove, tilting his head to the side as he quietly chewed on the candy. "So why do you hate Hartley?"

"Because he's a dick," Cisco blurted before squeezing his eyes shut.

"You mean a jerk," Brady reminded him.

"Thanks."

Soon the boys became so engrossed in their work that they didn't notice Caitlin walked back into the Cortex until she was right beside them. A sigh escaped her lips and she grudgingly asked, "Where's Dr. Wells?"

"I don't know," Cisco replied. "He went somewhere after you blew up at him." He gave her a meaningful glance before sitting back and motioning to Hartley's gloves. "But I've been doing some work on this and Barry was right. Hartley was using sonic resonancy and intensity regulators measuring decibels."

"Huh?" Brady's nose wrinkled.

"He was using blasts of sound waves to demolish things," Caitlin simplified the explanation.

"Oh."

"But that's not the strange part," Cisco continued. "This is a very powerful device and he had it on the lowest setting. He could've destroyed his father's building in one blast. Almost as if he wanted to…" he suddenly trailed off, face turning pale. He got up from his seat and pushed over to the next computer and cursed when he saw the image—of Hartley's cell—was empty save for some glass sitting on the ground.

He had gotten out and was somewhere in the building.

Letting out a curse, Cisco pressed a button on the keyboard and an alarm started to blare, then he moved to the microphone that sat nearby and said, "Dr. Wells, there's been a pipeline breach." He then pushed away from the desk and raced out of the cortex with Caitlin taking his spot.

"What's going on?" Brady asked.

Caitlin glanced at him for a moment. "Somehow Hartley managed to get out of his cell in the pipeline though I'm not quite sure how he did it." She continued to tap the keys on the keyboard, alternately looking up at the screen. She frowned when she realized Cisco hadn't come into view on any of the screens yet. "Cisco?" She called. "Cisco, can you hear me?!"

All of a sudden footsteps headed their way and when Caitlin and Brady turned around, Hartley flung out his arm and caught Caitlin on the side of the head. She crashed to the floor and Brady immediately took a few steps back in case he was hit, too.

"Caitlin!" He cried.

Hartley turned his way and Brady immediately reached into his pocket for the stones he had in his pocket. Sticking one in the pouch, he pulled it back and let it go, striking Hartley on the side of the face. Crying out in pain, Hartley pressed his hand against the spot as it started to bleed. He glanced at his hand then glared over at Brady.

"What can a little kid do?" He asked himself, racing over to his gloves and snatching them up.

Brady pulled out another stone and fired it at Hartley once more, this time missing, but hitting the side of his glasses, putting a crack in the lens. Ignoring him, Hartley went over to the computer Cisco and Caitlin had been working on and pulled something up, staring intently at the screen. Brady raced from his room and ran towards the medical bay. He flew into the room and crouched down on the floor.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Ronnie asked him.

"Yes, what is it with all of the blaring sirens?" Professor Stein added.

"I need to call Barry," Brady explained. "Hartley's gotten out." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed in Barry's number. He picked up and Brady practically shouted into the phone, telling Barry what happened and to get to STAR Labs as quickly as he could. Then he hung up the phone and his eyes widened. "What about Dr. Wells?" He asked.

As soon as the words came from his lips there was another blaring sound, this time coming from nearby. Slapping his hands over his ears, Brady looked up to find the monitors surrounding Cadence were starting to go haywire. He stood up and watched as Cadence's eyes flew open. Almost as if she didn't have any wires on her body she leapt out of bed, wiping off the electrodes and ripping the IV out of her arm.

"Mom!" Brady cried happily.

"Where's Harrison?" she barked at him.

"I don't know," Brady replied.

"Stay here," she instructed before turning and running out of the room. Brady looked back at Ronnie and Professor Stein before he raced after his mother, closing the medical door behind him and hearing the sound of the mechanical latch engaging. The two ran through the halls of STAR Labs until they found Harrison lying on the ground, far away from his wheelchair, with Hartley walking closer to him.

"Tell me Harrison," he said to Harrison. "Am I still your guy?"

Cadence held up her hands and shot a stream of fire towards Hartley, causing him to back up. This time her flames were an even mixture of red and a maroon-ish black color and brilliant. They shot towards Hartley enough so that he backed up a step. Then she clapped her hands together, causing a shockwave to hit him and knock him back even more steps. "Don't touch my Dad!" She spat. Brady stood at Cadence's side, holding his lock on Hartley with his slingshot.

Hartley looked at them and held up his hands. He shot out a blast of sound towards them and the three were flung across the hallway before falling to the ground, when they looked up, he was gone. Brady landed hard on his stomach and wheezed for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath. He pushed himself to his knees before finally getting in another breath. "Mom?" Brady grabbed his mother's hand and helped her up. He grinned up at her. "You're okay."

"I'm okay," Cadence repeated. She ruffled his hair then turned back to Harrison, grasping his shoulder. "Dad?"

Harrison groaned and shook his head. He looked up at Cadence and nodded before turning his attention to the man that caused a blast of wind to buffet them. Barry skidded to a stop, breathing heavily from his effort of running at top speeds. "Dr. Wells!" He cried. Then his eyes shifted to Cadence and his face softened with so much relief Brady thought he would cry. "Cade!"

"Promise." Cadence accepted the hug Barry gave her and nodded over to Harrison. "But we need to get him back into his chair."

"Yeah." Barry reached down and grabbed Harrison's arm while Cadence took the other. She then placed her free on Brady's shoulder, squeezing it tightly, and the three whisked off to Harrison's abandoned wheelchair. Once they replaced him in the seat, they went back to the cortex where Caitlin waved a flashlight over Cisco's face.

"He's okay," Caitlin reported. "Just a slight concussion."

"Yeah, and it's going to be worse once I get my hands on him," Cisco mumbled.

"That won't be necessary, Cisco," Harrison said.

Caitlin turned to him and when she spotted Cadence up, her face softened the same way Barry's did and she hurried over and gave her a tight hug as well, pinning Cadence's arms to her sides. "It's good to see you back on your feet. Don't ever do that again!"

"Thanks," Cadence replied. "So what did I miss?" As Barry and Cisco explained everything to her, Caitlin picked up a tablet that sat by their side and started to slide her finger along it. Her eyes widened as the seconds passed until she made a sound of surprise. "What?"

"Your power levels," Caitlin said slowly. "They've skyrocketed since before you woke up. Strength, speed, even portions of the metahuman factor in your DNA. It's like…it's like when you absorbed the energy blast that you—"

"—that you managed to get past your plateau," Harrison interrupted. "I can't say I'm entirely surprised, fire is the element of chaos and there's nothing as chaotic as the nuclear explosion from Firestorm."

"Well, that's great," Cadence said. She started to smile. "That means we can go after Hartley and stop him."

"That's not a good idea," Caitlin insisted. "Not only have you just woken up and we can't get a complete grasp on what your power is like now. But what if you can't control it? And in a fight against Hartley, who can use sound to do anything, it may be more catastrophic than you think."

Brady took in a deep breath. "Then let me go," he said. All eyes turned to him and he looked back at them with as much maturity and seriousness he could imagine. "I can help. I promise I'll stay out of your way, but I can help. I know it."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Barry asked.

Cisco shrugged. "If there's anything better than an eight year old secret weapon I don't know what is," he said. He slowly started to grin. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he's taken down by him."

"What if you get hurt?" Cadence asked.

"I already got hurt when Firestorm's explosion hurt you. Nothing can hurt worse than that," Brady said honestly. "And, I can phase through things, I can get things to phase through me. I can't get hurt." He turned back to Barry and pressed his palms together. "I know I can't completely control my powers yet but I can help. Please! If Mom can't go, then you'll need someone else to help you."

"If we're going to make a decision then we'll need to make it now," Harrison said from a computer. "I've got Hartley locked at the Cleveland Dam."

"Why would he go so far as the Cleveland Dam?" Cadence asked.

"Seismic activity from the gloves, cracks the dam and…" Caitlin trailed off.

Brady held his breath as Barry tilted his head to the side, briefly closing his eyes. Finally he opened his eyes once more and nodded. "Okay, you can come with me," he finally decided. "But you need to listen to everything I say."

"Got it." Brady nodded.

"Oh." Cisco walked over to the room that held Barry's and Cadence's suits and grabbed a small device off of a metal table. He walked it back over to Brady and pressed it into his hand. "This is so you can communicate with us while you're out there. We can hear everything you say and vice verca." Brady nodded and fastened the ear-piece to his ear.

There was a crashing sound and everyone turned to watch Hartley climb atop a car after blasting one with a soundwave from his gloves. Barry pulled up the hood of his suit and grabbed Brady's arm, pulling the young boy onto his back before he raced to the Dam where Hartley was waiting for him.

"Barry, you need to disarm Hartley immediately. He's a master of deception and you'll never know his true endgame," Harrison said.

Barry nodded and set Brady down before turning to stock the hail storm of cards that Hartley sent up into the air. Brady ran to the side, dodging a rainstorm of glass and ducked behind a toll booth. Catching his breath, he turned and watched as Barry zoomed around, taking innocent bystanders out of their cars before turning back to Hartley.

Hartley sent blast after blast of wave Barry's way and Barry continued to zip back and forth across the road, managing to sidestep the blasts. He moved closer and closer to Hartley until he grabbed Hartley's gloves and slid them off the metahuman's hands, shoving him to the ground. Hartley immediately fell over and looked up at Barry as the speedy metahuman walked closer and closer to him.

"It's over, Hartley!" Barry declared. "You're finished."

Even from where he was crouching, Brady could see the smirk slide onto Hartley's face. "It's so funny," he drawled. "That you think he would replace me with you. A total idiot. I got you with the same trick twice." With that, there was a low sound of the gloves starting to vibrate and Barry screamed, his hands going to his head.

"Barry!" Brady called, hearing Caitlin's and Cadence's voices in his earpiece as he did so. Then Brady realized his mistake and he slapped his hand over his mouth. But Hartley didn't notice, instead he continued to walk around Barry in a circle, watching with fascination.

Barry continued to clutch the sides of his head in a death grip, falling to his knees. He coughed, blood spurting out of his mouth. He keeled over, curling up into a ball as he continued to groan. He coughed again and another spray of blood came shooting out, soaking into the pavement.

"Oh, that feeling you have through your body? That's the feeling of your organs ripping apart," Hartley stated. He placed his hands on his hips. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

There has to be something I can do. Brady looked down at his feet and found larger rocks scattered around. He picked up a handful and shoved one of the largest ones into the pocket of his slingshot. Then he got to his feet and ran out from behind the tollbooth. "I hope this doesn't hurt too much!" He called before launching a rock at the side of Hartley's head. It hit him with so much force that Hartley fell to the ground with a cry of pain. He whipped around and glared at Brady.

"You again!" He cried. He lifted his gloves and sent a shockwave of sound Brady's way.

Brady held his breath and concentrated hard, tapping into his powers so that it went through him. Now Brady smirked as Hartley stared at him in confusion. Brady then turned his aim and shot rocks towards the cars closest to Hartley. After a few hits the car alarms started to blare, sending a wave of sound straight into Hartley's already sensitive ears.

He cried out, bringing his hands up to cover them, twisting to the ground.

"Good job, Brady," Caitlin congratulated him. "That was just what we needed.

"With the car alarms masking the sound, I can tap into the satellite radio systems and send a frequency signal to Hartley that's just enough to make him dilapidated. It will meet the frequency of and destroy his weapons."

Brady watched in fascination as Hartley's screams turned more desperate once his gloves started to spark and short circuit before exploding in his hands. Then he screamed loudly, at the top of his lungs, and slapped his hands over his ears before pitching to the ground.

Barry took in a loud gasp and shakily got to his feet. Brady tucked his slingshot into his pocket and hurried over to Barry, grabbing onto his arm. "Are you okay?"

Brady then jerked his head back when Barry practically screamed, "I'm fine!" back into his face. Wiggling a finger in his ear, Barry used his other one to place his hand on Brady's shoulder and squeezed it. "Thanks to you."

Brady grinned.

"Now that we've got Hartley back into the Pipeline with no way out, there's plenty more we have on our hands," Caitlin remarked. "We've got Firestorm to work with, to see how that's going to pan out, and we have Cadence's and Brady's abilities to work through." She smiled over at the two as they smiled back. At least, Brady did, Cadence looked frustrated.

"So I managed to finally get through my plateau because of the explosion and yet I'm right back where I started." She held up her hand, creating a fireball over her hand to prove her point, them winced as it nearly immediately blew out of control. So much so that Barry raced across the room to grab a fire extinguisher, then moved back, blasting at her hand. "Woops."

"Well, it's not like we don't have the time for practice," Harrison remarked. "There's plenty for us to do where it won't get boring." He stretched his arms. "Now, I'm going to make sure that Ronnie and Professor Stein aren't waiting to start a revolt that we've kept them in our medical bay for so long. Why don't the rest of you go and get some rest. You've certainly deserved it."

He smiled to the group before heading out of the Cortex. He only made it around one hallway before he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Harrison slowly turned his chair around his eyebrows rose when he spotted Cadence walking his way, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes, Cadence?" He watched her continue to walk towards him. "What may I help you with?"

"I just wanted to say…" Cadence looked towards her feet then looked up at him through her bangs. "Thanks, Dad."

Harrison immediately froze in his seat before turning to look at her. He had heard her say it when Hartley was going to attack him, but he hadn't been so sure at that point. Maybe it was wishful thinking as he thought he certainly was going to die in that moment. But now she was saying it directly to him.

Cadence kneeled down in front of him. "I heard what you said," she explained. "When I was out. That I'm a fighter." She smiled. "Even through these past few months you've been more like a Dad to me than my own father has been. And in your own way you've pushed me to be better than I have been because you believed I could do it. And you've tried to protect me the only way you knew how. That's what helped me get past my plateau. Not whatever I absorbed from Firestorm's blast. You." She gave a small smile. "And I wasn't going to let some psycho like Hartley call you his Dad, either."

Harrison smiled.

He reached up his hand and placed it on top of his daughter's, squeezing it hard enough for her to know he wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

"Mica Love, I presume," Breathtaker said. He extended his hand towards the well dressed African-American woman, who eyed him warily. Finally, Mica reached out her hand and shook Breathtaker's firmly before turning to Mindboggler, Stratos, and Incognito with nods, which they returned.

"I'm glad you could make it," Mica said in her low voice. "Amanda Waller said you might show up. The others are here, but I'll show you to the one who convinced me to take on this job. He said it would be the better way to make sure our presence in the government is taken seriously." With that, she turned on her heel and moved across the crowded casino, the Assassination Bureau following behind him. He reached a craps table and stretched out his hand, placing it on the shoulder of the silver-haired man standing at the table. "General Eiling, your cohorts are here to see you."

General Wade Eiling glanced at the group over his shoulder before slowly climbing down from his stool. He then turned and clasped his hands behind his back, studying the faces—or lack thereof in Breathtaker's case—of the Assassination Bureau. "Well," he said with a satisfied smile. "It's about time."

A/N: So, what'd you think? I thought this was a great way to have Ronnie stick around and bring in drama with SnowWells and SnowStorm, as well as give Barry and Brady some time to figure out how to fight with each other with the absence of Cadence.

And I know I've ignored Cisco for a bit (and the point that Bette had come back in an earlier chapter) as well as not developing Cisco's and Cadence's friendship as much, but this chapter changes that to show more of it as well. Thank you for being patient.

For those waiting for even more BarryCade, there's more in the next chapter to make up for the lack of it in the last few chapters. Thanks!

PS – In case anyone was confused, when Barry found out that Hartley got out to when it jumped to Brady's POV in the next section was a bit of a overlap of time.

PPS - My sisters' and my crossover Flashpoint is coming soon. So you'll want to check out In a Flash (on this account), The Mark of Sage (on Crystal Manning) and Flash Fire (as well as this story) to get caught up on everything before it goes up.

-Riles