STAR Labs, Earth One.
"Barry! You're needed at the Cortex!"
Kara and Barry, who were just walking away from the Pipeline, ran at superspeed toward the Cortex where they heard Zoom screaming in pain. The two of them ran to the room where the glass had been broken earlier as Caitlin, Cisco, and Harry recoiled back while blue electricity was going all over Zoom's body. Barry and Kara watched in wide-eyed horror as Zoom opened his eyes wide and sat up howling in pain while reaching for the person closest to him.
Caitlin.
"No!" yelled Barry as he ran towards Caitlin and pulled her away while Kara put her hands over her mouth as she watched Zoom's body start to vibrate uncontrollably while arching his back, and pulling his head back as he howled in pain once again. Barry stopped next to Kara while Caitlin while holing on to him as she looked away, the screams of the man ringing in her ears.
"Barry!" yelled Zoom as he looked at the Flash who had his jaw set, and was simply glaring at him, "please! Help me!"
"Sorry," whispered Barry as his heart raced in his chest. He was very aware of what he was doing as he held onto Caitlin, whose arms were around his neck, and her head on his shoulder while her eyes were closed and all she could whisper to herself was 'sorry'. Barry stroked Caitlin's back while Kara stepped back until she was right next to him while her eyes remained wide open in shock. Barry didn't know what Kara was thinking, he didn't know if she thought he was a monster for not helping Zoom after seeing first-hand what he was going through.
The fact was that Barry was having doubts as well. He was watching the blue electricity crackling faster on Zoom's body as his howls of pain grew louder.
"I hate you!" screamed Zoom as he turned towards Barry, "I hate you!"
"Goodbye, Jay," whispered Barry as he felt a slight squeeze on his arm. Turning his head, Barry saw that Kara was holding onto his arm while continuing to look at Zoom. Suddenly, his screaming stopped as his eyes went wide open. Barry and the others saw his body start to disintegrate until there was no trace of him left.
The bed that he had been sitting on was now empty as Caitlin stepped back from Barry, wiped her eyes, and nodded her head when Barry asked her if she was going to be alright. Barry caught a glimpse of Cisco and Harry creeping towards the bed, looking cautiously at the bedsheets, while Caitlin turned around and looked on while Kara stood helplessly. Caitlin then slowly made her way to the bed while Kara and Barry just stood together; and it was a second later when Kara realized that she had been holding onto his arm.
And quickly let go as her face turned slightly red while Barry couldn't help but smile.
"It's over," mumbled Harry as he stepped back from the bed before sighing in relief, "it's finally over."
"Yeah," said Cisco, "where'd he go?"
"I remember the same thing happening to Telemetry," replied Barry, "her body just disintegrated like Zoom's."
"Maybe he's in the Speed Force, or he's gone," said Harry turning around and facing Barry, the man then put his hand on her shoulders and nodded his head before thanking him for Zoom's demise. Before Barry could say anything, Harry stepped u to Kara as well and thanked her. He then rushed past them and headed for the console where while saying that he needed to find Jesse.
Barry and Kara looked back at the man as he reached the console before turning back to Cisco and Caitlin walking towards them.
"Guess it's really over," said Caitlin while she looked over her shoulder at the bed one last time before turning towards Barry again, and giving a sad smile.
"Are you going to be ok?" asked Kara, a question that made Caitlin nod her head.
"Cisco," said Barry, "I know you have a lot of questions about Kara, and..."
"Oh you know I do," interrupted the young man as Kara chuckled.
"I need to know if the breach underneath STAR Labs is active," asked Barry shaking his head with a smirk on his face as he continued his previous questions. Cisco nodded his head while rushing to the console., He checked the computers while Barry, Kara, and Caitlin walked down a gentle slope to the main floor before looking up and saying that the breach still existed. Barry then asked if he and Harry could set up the speed cannon again, that they'd need the device to get to Earth Two and then return after they had broken out Zoom's prisoner.
"Right," said Harry as he looked up from the screen, "the man in the metal mask."
"Yeah," replied Barry.
"Setting up the cannon's gonna take two hours, at least," said Cisco as he grinned at Kara, "unless someone here can help carrying the extremely heavy rings out of storage and…"
"Real subtle, Cisco," whispered Caitlin as she leaned forward while shaking her head.
"What?" asked Cisco in mock outrage, "those weigh a lot and it could be nice to see Powergirl here in action and…"
"Supergirl," corrected Kara and Barry.
"Sorry," said Cisco while holding his hands up in surrender.
"I'll help you," said Kara as Cisco punched the air before asking her if she could carry him, and the both of them could fly to the storage area.
"Sorry about this," said Caitlin as she whispered at Kara.
"It's fine," replied Kara waving her hands, "I do make sharp turns though."
Kara then sped out of there with a screaming Cisco, leaving Barry, Caitlin, and Harry alone in the Cortex. Harry, who tasked the STAR Labs satellites to search for deadzones; explaining to the group that since he and Jesse vibrated at a different frequency then the natives of Earth One, their presence created pockets of deadzones around them. It was after he finished his explanation that Harry spotted something odd in the readings on the exotic energy that was coming off the open breaches, and frowned before looking up at Barry and Caitlin.
He then looked at Barry, and said that he was sorry.
"For what?" asked Barry confused.
Harry sighed before telling the young man that all the breaches were already fully open, and travelling back to Kara's Earth, and back again would tear the breaches open even more. He said that they hadn't checked the data on the breaches since Barry had just returned, but what he had just seen was worrying. The breaches were wider than before since more energy was coming through. While Barry and Caitlin looked on, Harry explained that it was entirely possible that metahumans from Earth Two could chance upon these larger breaches and travel to Earth One. And that included one of their enemies who was forcibly sent to Earth Two a few months ago.
"Grodd," frowned Barry, "that's who you're talking about."
"Yes," replied Harry as he walked around the console, "I'm sorry Barry, but you need to take Kara home. It's a risk to leave these wider breaches open for too long. Once I find Jesse, she and I are also leaving for Earth Two."
"For good?" asked Caitlin in surprise.
"Barry and Kara stopped Zoom," replied Harry, "now we have a chance to rebuild."
"I'll talk to Kara," said Barry as he rubbed the back of his head, "I promised her a trip to Earth Two, and… and I need her anyway. I won't be able to break the prison the mask man is in on my own. We'll get him back here for medical attention, and then I'll take Kara home."
"I'm sorry, Barry," said Harry.
"But first, I do have a return a favour," said the Flash as he sped off past Harry and Caitlin.
STAR Labs, three hours later.
It would be three full hours later that the speed cannon was fully operational, and the breach in STAR Labs stabilized. With Caitlin, Barry, and Harry working alongside Cisco and Kara… the blonde alien told them everything about who she was. Barry chuckled when he saw the faces on Cisco, Harry, and Caitlin when Kara revealed she was an alien. And it was Kara's turn to giggle when she saw the looks of their faces when Barry told them that he fought alongside a Martian.
And that led to Kara answering so many related questions by the three scientists.
It would be later that Barry approached Kara, who was looking transfixed at the blue coloured portal, and asked if he could talk to her in private. Nodding her head, Cisco thanked her for her help before she walked away with Barry. She listened in silence as Barry told her about Harry's finding about the widened breaches while nodding her head in understanding. As they were walking through the hallway, taking the longer way towards the elevators that would take them to the cortex… Kara glanced over at Barry as they walked in silence.
Kara had met a superhero who was just like her in many ways, and she would never see him again. And it was that thought that upset Kara.
And she wanted to hide it.
"So I'm leaving after our trip to Earth Two?" asked Kara.
"Yea," whispered Barry as they continued walking through the hallway.
"Maybe it's better if you send me back now," whispered Kara as the both of them stopped walking. She could see that Barry was about to say something, but Kara was the one who spoke first saying that he had said it himself… the breaches had widened more than before and villains from Earth Two could drop in at any moment, "including a telepathic gorilla."
"Kara," said Barry, "I promised you a trip to Earth Two, and yea.. the breaches have gotten wider than before, but Harry thinks that it'll be a while before any meta stubbles onto a breach. So, we could…"
"Either way it means we don't see each other again," said Kara as Barry looked away and nodded his head.
"Yea," replied Barry.
"So," Kara suddenly perked up with a smile, something that made Barry raise an eyebrow at the young woman, "let's get going then. We have that…"
"Easy," said Barry as he placed his hands on the young woman's shoulders, "I do have a few favours to return."
"oh?" replied Kara.
"You hungry?"
Barry and Kara raced over to the Cortex where there were two tables full of burgers and fries, with Cisco begging Caitlin for the whistle that was around her neck. Curious about what was going on, Kara couldn't help but smile when Caitlin said that she wanted to see who was much faster.. Barry or Kara.
"Oh, you know it's me," said Barry.
"Uh huh," replied Kara with her hands on her hips while she raised an eyebrow at Barry, "sure you are."
"Am to," said Barry.
"Not," said Kara.
"To."
"Not."
"To."
"Not."
"Hey," said Cisco who had his hands up, "eat, no talking."
"Let's see whose faster," grinned Kara. She was very aware that this was the last and only time she would ever see Barry again. So she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. As she was ushered towards a table while Caitlin was giving her tip and encouragement, Kara was secretly thankful that Barry chose to send her home after the trip to Earth Two. One part of her was upset that she would never see him again, but the other part was glad that they could spend time together.. that he opted to spend time with her instead of taking her home immediately. But, as she stood behind the table, Kara knew that there could be anything more than just a friendship between them.
She knew it would hurt her badly if there was anything more.
So, she faked a smile just as she had done earlier in the hallway, and taunted Barry.
"Get set," said Caitlin as she raised her hand just as Harry walked into the Cortex with Joe and Iris.
"What's going on here?" asked a surprised Joe who was motioning towards Barry and Kara, who held back a gasp at seeing the two members of the West family. The one thing going through her mind was that they looked just the same as the ones from Earth Two.
"We're trying to see who's faster," said Cisco before shushing everyone while Caitlin handed the young man a stopwatch.
"Get set," repeated Caitlin while Joe and Iris whispered at Harry in regards to what was going on, and who the mysterious blonde was, "go!"
Everyone in the Cortex, with Joe and Iris in surprise, watched as Barry and Kara super sped their way through the burgers and fries on their respective tables. With Barry finishing a second after the blonde woman, the both of them stared at each other as they finished chewing the last bite in thir mouths.
In the end, Kara was the one who cheered just as Barry finished swallowing the food.
"I was actually trying to be careful," grinned Barry as Kara chuckled. It was then that Barry introduced Joe and Iris to Kara. They chatted for a few minutes, the blonde talking about who she was, and how Barry was sent to her Earth to save her.
"That's Barry," smiled Iris, "he does that."
"And now," said Barry as he stepped forward and stood net to Kara, "we rescue the man in the mask. And then…"
"So wait…" said Joe as he looked at Kara, "you can't ever come back again?"
"She can't," said Harry, "the breaches will widen even more when Barry sends Kara to her Earth, and will widen again when he comes back. I've already changed the output from the footballs to account for the increase in the breach sizes. I'm sorry, Kara."
"It's alright," she replied as she nodded her head, "I'm ready."
Just before entering the breach in the STAR Labs basement, Barry turned to Joe and asked him to call Henry. That he was needed in STAR Labs, that he had a surprise. Before anyone could ask what the surprise was, Barry launched himself and Kara through the breach, and into Earth Two. It would be there that the two superheroes ran and flew to Zoom's lair where they found the masked man. Barry looked around while Kara asked the man to move back before she punched into the glass shattering it. Barry, upon seeing that Killer Frost, the duplicate of Caitlin was not only alive.. but kept as Zoom's prisoner, was surprised.
"Barry?" Kara called for him as she helped up the masked man who was mumbling something while shaking her shoulder. Barry ran over to them, while Killer Frost was still in her prison demanding to be let out, and told the masked man that he promised he'd return.
The masked man nodded his head excitedly while mumbling something unintelligibly. It was only when that Kara broke the rear of the mask, did it fall off the man's face, and onto the floor with a clang. Kara stepped back to Barry's side as he gasped at the bearded man standing before him who was looking at his hands, and then at the two of them.
"You… you are…" said Barry in disbelief as he recognised the look of the man. He seemed a bit older, more grizzled, but it was no mistake that the man in front of him looked just like Henry Allen. But before Barry could finish what he wanted to say, the man interrupted by introducing himself.
"My name is Jay Garrick," said the man as Barry's eyes widened in surprise, as did Kara's, "I'm the real Jay Garrick. Thank you, Barry… thank you and… and it's good to see you again."
The man calling himself Jay then turned to Kara, and smiled.
"I'm guessing you're not my Earth's Kara, but it is good to see you anyway."
"Excuse me?" asked a surprised Kara, "you know me?"
"Kara Zor-El, the last daughter of Krypton," said Jay as Barry and Kara looked at each other, and then at Jay, "also known as, Powergirl."
TBC.