A tall, older man dressed in army uniform walked out of the shadows. "My name is General Wade Eiling. I hear you are quite a special young girl," he said. Something about him made Claudia shiver. "Let's see what you can do."

Two guards grabbed Claudia from behind and began to march her out of the cell. "No!" she screamed. The two guards dropped her and covered their ears. Even Eiling twitched.

"We'll come back in a few minutes," he said. "Hopefully then you'll be more cooperative." On his way out, Eiling handcuffed Claudia to the radiator, then dropped the key just out of her reach.

The door swung closed, and Claudia waited until she thought they might have left. Now, how do I get out? she wondered. Out of desperation, she looked at the key on the floor and tried to move it. She wasn't thinking about how it was probably impossible, just that she needed to get out. I can't die here. I have so much left here! Jem, Barry, Cisco, Caitlin and I'm halfway through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Before she knew it the door was open and she slipped out into the dimly lit corridor. She walked down it until she recognised the room she'd been in earlier. Cisco was still there, and she knocked on the small window at eye level. He saw her and she opened the door for him. They both ran for it, not even pausing to think about how dangerous their situation was. After a tense few minutes they made it out of the facility where Cisco hotwired one of the vans – "I am an engineer" – and they drove away.

They headed back to S.T.A.R. labs triumphantly and were greeted by a frantic Jem.

"Oh my stars, are you ok?" he asked and signed.

"We totally had that," said Claudia. "Like, I saved the day."

"No, not that. Barry's been kidnapped."

"What?"

"You heard me!" shouted Jem.

"No, I didn't!" shouted his sister. "And that is why Barry Allen is in danger."

"What? It's not your fault."

"Guys?" Caitlin waved from the computer. "We found Barry."

"Somehow I feel like that's not a good thing," muttered Claudia.

"He's in a warehouse," announced Cisco, but Claudia was steadfastly looking at the floor. Cisco placed a hand her arm, and when she refused to look at him he moved his hand down and took hers. Sighing, she met his eyes. "It's not your fault," he said. "We'll find Barry, together." Claudia closed her eyes and leant against him. At least she wasn't alone. "Hey," whispered Cisco, jogging her arm. "I have something to show you."

A few minutes later Claudia emerged wearing a floor-length black dress with a jagged hem and floaty sleeves.

Cisco explained what it was, "I designed it with a notorious figure in mind, the Wicked Witch of the West. But it's not all style, it will help our Claudia use her powers to the best of her ability. The sleeves won't get in the way of her powers, and also since we can't communicate with her over the phone like we do with Barry, I added a little something extra. What looks like a watch is actually a text-phone, so anything we type here," he pointed to a new keyboard on the desk, "will be transmitted to it letter-by-letter for her to read and her spoken response will be relayed back to us by phone."

"You really thought this through," commented Jem.

"Yeah, well…" said Cisco. Claudia smiled back at him.

Jem signed something to his sister and she signed a reply back at him angrily.

"What…" began Cisco, but Jem shushed him.

More fast signing followed and Jem eventually gave in. "Right," he said, "I'm going to Jitters. I'll leave you to it."

"Jem just told me he won't be responsible if I get hurt. As if I care," said Claudia.

"We have your back," Cisco promised her. "Also, what does this mean? I saw you two do it a lot." He made his right hand into a C shape and held it in front of his chest, then moved it down, back, then forwards again in a curve shape.

"That's my name sign," she explained. "It means awesome with a C. Jem's is clever with a J." She demonstrated placing a fist on her temple and moving her little finger in a J shape twice. "But you can't name yourself, a deaf person has to do it."

"Do I have a name sign?" he asked, fascinated.

Claudia laughed, "when I've thought of one I'll tell you."

"If you're quite finished," snapped Caitlin, "we have a superhero in need of saving."

"And one right here to do it," said Claudia.

AN - in this AU Captain Cold, Heatwave, Eobard Thawne and General Eiling are all working together to try and defeat team flash. There's going to be about two more chapters then the sequel. Let me know what you think!