Flashpoint Mayhem

by TrueHorror88

Another victory for the team, yet someone was unable to celebrate that and chose to make a world-shaking decision. Barry saved his mother from death, changing his past and his present, but it also affected others without him knowing. Seth and his family are just as affected, maybe more. The team faces newer threats, but they're not new to the Lethal Protector. They're threats.

13. Chapter 13: Scream of Christmas Joy

And now another bedtime story for all you wonderful readers out there in the big wide world, new and old…

Hope you guys are doing well out there, wherever you all are.

I'm really sorry I haven't updated the chapters for a long time. Reason for that: I've started writing another story as well, so I'm going back and forth between the two.

Thanks for any patience you guys have. It means a lot, including all the reviews and messages you've sent me. Thanks.

Now to answer some reviews:

hunter41963801: That's an interesting idea, honestly. I've already given some thought for some Earth-X counterparts actually, thanks for the idea.

guest: Thanks for it. And I've finally watched No Way Home! Freaking love it! And got the pun, freaking amazing!

So, without further ado…

ENJOY!

AND…

EARLY/ LATE Merry Christmas!

Chapter 13: Scream of Christmas Joy

The night air surrounding them was filled with the sizzling scent of meat. Smell of freshly cut vegetables mixed with the meaty scent, swirling into a delightful new scent that only made the guests of the high-class rooftop restaurant drool in hunger. Every table was occupied by the guests and waiters never had a moment of rest.

Wine of various soaring prices was being poured into glasses at every table, almost all of them occupied with guests. One of the tables was occupied by two laughing scientists.

Joan laughed, leaning back in her chair. The scientist had dressed up to the occasion. She was wearing a beautiful black dress with silky, veil-like sleeves. She did her makeup, wore earrings with big hoops and had her hair straightened. "It's been a while since we've enjoyed a night-out like this."

"You're not wrong." The woman in front of her said. Eliza Harmon went for a scarlet red pantsuit, a dark-blue shirt underneath. She had a metal chain around her neck. Her hair done, straightened and hanging down her right shoulder. She took her newly filled glass of wine. "But damn, am I glad you got me to promise you a night of dining."

"Fine dining." Joan gestured to their fancy and high-class surroundings, looking over the open night sky and the roaring, busy city under them. "And yes, I should get you to promise me more impressive things. Maybe a trip next time." She sipped on her glass.

"That could be arranged." Eliza wasn't against it. She gave her colleague a stern look. "But we ain't taking a trip to Disneyland, okay? I'm not made of money."

"Aw, you're hurting my feelings and dreams." Joan pouted her lips.

"Sorry to tell you, sweetie, but I will happily crush your dreams and feelings right here and now. Just to make sure you don't ever drag me into Mickey Mouse's Playhouse." Eliza laughed. "God knows, I'd make that mouse squeal and cry like crazy."

"Like you and The Fault in Our Stars?" Joan countered and the other scientist gave a mock glare. Lowering her glass, she stood up. "I'll see where our food is at, it's been ten minutes now."

"Sure thing." Eliza accepted and watched as her date walked away. She smiled widely, leaning against the table with her right hand holding her head up. She watched her gorgeous date walk away, looking over her shoulder to meet her eyes.

Eliza gave a wave, her date returned with a wave of her own. Though everything she was trying to accomplish behind her colleague's back, she didn't think about that now and was merely happy and enjoying this wonderful dinner.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw her phone buzzing on the table. She picked up the phone and saw that the caller id was unknown, someone she does not know. Curiously, she accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear. "This is Dr. Eliza Harmon speaking."

"I know who you are."

Eliza widened her eyes when recognizing Taskmaster's voice. She lowered her head, speaking into the phone. "How'd you get my number?"

"I can get anything I need, I'm charming that way." Taskmaster quipped. "Why aren't you working in your lab, and instead on a date with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, and I just wanted to relax." Eliza countered. "City just survived a goddamn alien invasion, cut a girl some slack. I'm allowed to take a break."

"Didn't think that was in your dictionary." Taskmaster countered. "Where's the Anti-Venom sample I gave you?"

As she looked around, a query popped into the bio-engineer's head. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out the necklace. A small container, the size of a plum, attached to the chain. The container itself is constructed of glass, containing a sloshing and moving white mass with black streaks. Though it was within a small container, the mass itself didn't stop trying to fight its containments.

Hearing a chuckle from the other end, the mercenary said. "You wore it around your neck?"

This confirmed Eliza's suspicions: She was being watched by him. "Best to keep my most precious close to heart. Why? You're not getting it back, it's my gift. Translation…" She clutched the vial tightly. "I'm the only one with knowledge to use this thing and make the other symbiotes stronger."

"Someone's impatient." Taskmaster hollowly said. "But don't worry… I won't interrupt your dinner plans. Just wanted to remind you that you still have to keep up your end of the bargain."

"I was the one initiated the deal dumbass; I'll keep my end of it. You just stay out of my way." Eliza angrily hung up the phone, turning it off and putting in her clutch. "Asshole."

"Who're we talking about?" Joan asked as she heard her mutter the insult upon her return. "I don't hope you're talking about Dr. McGee."

"Nah, it's just my landlord complaining about whether I'm gonna come for the Christmas party with the other tenants, I haven't given my RSVP yet." Eliza lied.

"Right, you keep complaining about the tenants." Joan recalled, taking her seat again.

Eliza faked a laugh. "You try and live with a bunch of Christmas-Jolly people, who cause nothing but trouble this time of the year, going all "Fa la la la" nonstop."

"Tis the season, after all." Joan chuckled and Eliza laughed. "But you know… I got a house all to myself." Eliza gulped at her colleague's words. "And it'd help if someone helped with the rent every now and then…"

"What are you saying?" Eliza showed a truly, genuine wide smile.

"Wanna… Move in, maybe? With me?" She shyly asked, trying to cover her face with her hair. But a light breeze prevented her attempts, blowing it back on top of her head.

"… I think I'd like that." Eliza confessed, her words turned Joan into a blushing mess, her cheeks so red it looked like she was a tomato. "I'll see if I can get my deposit back and arrange for a moving van to get my stuff. Then…" She held hands with her colleague. "We'll be roommates."

"Best Christmas gift I could wish for, honestly." Joan confessed, turning her hand around and held hands with Eliza. As the two scientists held hands… They saw two beings swing through the air with weblines and tendrils.

Turning their heads to the left, they saw Venom and a familiar Spider-Man in a black suit swing past the rooftop restaurant. Joan was in awe of those two swinging past them. Eliza was in a similar state…

Only difference being… She could see the strength of Venom… Belonging to everyone else.

X

Miles Morales shot two weblines, attaching them to two adjacent water towers and then pulled on them both, shooting himself forward like he was launched from a slingshot. The spider-hero spiraled around as he flew through the freezing air. "WOOHOO!"

Quickly gaining on him is another hero. Venom lashed out his hand, attaching it to a nearby building before pulling on it. "You're not getting away!" With the aid of wind and lightning, he pulled himself forward in a flash and appeared above the spider-hero.

Before Miles could react, the mutant tapped his head with his clawed toes before landing on the side of a water tower. "Still got a long way before you can beat us, young spiderling." He boasted braggingly.

"Aw come on!" Spider-Man shouted, landing on top of a water tower. "You so cheated! You used your powers!"

"And you didn't?" Seth countered with a smirk. "Remember this, young spiderling: Never accept an offer of playing tag with us."

"Duly noted." Miles gave a mock salute.

Olivia, Matt and their children, along with Jessica, Peter and Steve had left Earth-1 the day after the celebratory party. But Miles asked if he could stay for a few days, assuring the other 616 heroes that he'd come back before Christmas.

The decision was in Caitlin and Seth's hands, both of them agreeing to let the spider-hero stay over at their loft for his visit on Earth-1. But the elemental did clarify and make it abundantly clear he was only to sleep on the couch and nowhere else…

In a threatening tone…

… as any parent would do… Probably…

"Hey thanks for letting me stay here again, Seth. Means a lot." Miles expressed his gratitude. "Again, I hope I'm not imposing."

"You're not." Venom assured the young spider-hero. "And we know you have a gift prepared for Ruby." He narrowed his eyes when seeing the younger hero tense up, completely exposed by his words. "It better be a good one."

"You won't like… Clubber me if it's an ugly Christmas sweater, will you?" Miles nervously asked. Seth gave a laugh at the thought of his daughter wearing an ugly sweater. The spider-hero joined the laughter, laughing his ass off. "But… Thanks."

Seth looked at the young hero. "We wouldn't mind if you stayed for Christmas, Miles. Ruby would be happy, as would the rest of us."

"Thanks for the offer, Seth. But I don't wanna leave my Mom alone for Christmas. It was my Dad's favorite holiday, and we'd like to remember him like that." Miles said.

"Then buy something from this Earth and give it to her." Seth suggested and Miles nodded. "Want me to show you the best place for Christmas shopping?"

"Yes please!" Miles nodded.

The two went out swinging again, swinging towards the nearest shopping mall.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Christmas is upon the city, and everyone wanted to make it clear, decorating their homes inside and out and spreading the Christmas joy with everyone who lived within the house but also those who passed by. And S.T.A.R. Labs was no different.

Thanks to H.R. Wells and his efforts to spread the Christmas Joy throughout the whole Cortex.

Though Cisco and Caitlin declined his offer to help decorate the Cortex, he was more than able to arrange the decorations himself. He was still busy with setting up tinsel as Seth entered through the skylight. Miles followed him, clutching a bag from a mall.

The younger spider-hero took a step back in shock at the decorations. "Wow."

"No kidding." Seth took in their surroundings. He looked at his mate at the console. "You guys did all this?" He gestured to their surroundings.

"Oh no, all him." Caitlin gestured to H.R. Seth didn't look surprised. "Miles, what you got there? Another gift for Ruby?" She teased.

Miles blushed after taking off his mask. "You know too?"

"Course I do." Caitlin quipped, flicking her hair boastingly.

With his blush fading away, Miles corrected the doctor. "Nah, it's not. Think one gift for her will be enough. This is for my Mom back home for Christmas."

"We went to a shopping mall after our little race." Seth said, patting the spider-hero's head.

Cisco chimed in. "We know about your little race. We got reports of it on our scans, you know."

"Sorry, we didn't invite you, Cisco." Seth told the viber who formed a mock look of sadness.

"SF." Harrison got his attention. "What do you think?" He gestured to his surroundings.

"Festive." Was the only word that came to Seth's mind.

Harrison smiled widely, snapping his fingers. "That's exactly what I went for."

"He's not hard to please, is he?" Miles wondered.

"Not really, no." Seth admitted. "And by the way, don't worry, the girls are gonna get home sooner today because of Christmas." Miles smiled again, wanting to spend more time with Ruby before leaving.

"Holy winter wonderland." Barry admitted as he entered the Cortex with Iris beside him. The reporter showed a wide smile on her face at the sight.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Cisco admitted.

Iris looked at the man who obviously had decorated their base. "While I guess Earth-19's Christmas is just like ours."

"Some traditions are multiversal. Right, SF?" H.R. looked at the mutant who nodded his agreement before walking to his mate's side.

Barry looked between Cisco and Caitlin. "So, um… Any more on Savitar?"

"Nope." Caitlin shook her head. Cisco did the same. "All we know is that he's a speed god and you and Seth can see him. Think the girls also said the same thing, that they could see him."

"Other thing we know, he's got Anti-Venom as his hellhound and that Alchemy is his high priest." Seth added.

"And that he gets his power from that stone he's always close to, right?" Miles shocked them as he chimed in.

Seth nodded. "How'd you know?"

"Ruby told me of your latest adventures." He sheepishly answered

Barry added. "It's the same stone that he uses to create metas, so I was thinking, if we can find out what that thing is, maybe we can figure out how to stop him."

Cisco narrowed his eyes, getting up from his chair. "I wanna see if I can dig something up." They nodded and the viber walked around the console. But he stopped at the exit…

His eyes catching sight of his… of his late brother, Dante Ramon…?

Cisco blinked in surprise and shock. When opening them again for a second look, his brother was gone. He shook his head and walked towards the Cortex.

Seth and Caitlin held hands as the mutant said. "You know what this Christmas is?"

"Our first Christmas together as a family." Caitlin said with a warm heart, stroking his hand with her thumb. "Last year you weren't here, and you sent our daughters like they were some kind of mail."

"Yeah, and this one's gonna be perfect." Seth said. He had already purchased gifts for his daughters, and he had also bought a special present for Caitlin. "This is gonna be perfect."

"I know that… Our first Christmas as a family. I can't wait." Caitlin smiled widely. "Miles, what about you? You wanna stick around for Christmas?"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll spend one more day here and then get back to Earth-616 to spend Christmas with my Mom. Otherwise, she's gonna be alone." Miles answered. "Thanks for the offer, Dr. Snow. But Seth… Mind if I change the subject for a bit?"

"What's on your mind, kid?" Seth asked the young hero.

"You fought Anti-Venom before, was there anything you could get from him that could help us defeat him?" Miles asked.

"I'm not sure. He was strong, that's for certain." Seth said, remembering the strength the wretched titan put behind each and every blow he aimed at him. "More than that… It was strange. Despite being a symbiote-bearer, he didn't even flinch when I used flames on him. And he only grew more powerful after I used them, like he absorbed them."

"So, we're dealing with an elemental symbiote, like you?" Caitlin asked. "That wouldn't be possible, you're the only one to have elemental powers after all, especially because of what happened to you as a child."

"Yeah, I know… But then this guy is a host with elemental powers from this Earth and has somehow acquired an experimented symbiote like Venom." Seth stated the impossible. But in Central City, nothing's impossible. A reality that they've become accustomed to all too well.

"Two big threats." Miles said grimly.

"Three, young spider, if you count the Sinister Seven." Harrison chimed in.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but he's not wrong." Cisco said in a mutter.

Barry looked into Iris' eyes. "I know this is our first Christmas together as a couple, and I want everything to be perfect, but…" He sheepishly gestured to their situation.

"You need to get to this. Yes, no, I totally get it." Iris understood completely.

When his computer chimed as he got a result, Cisco started. "Hey, I got a dissertation here from Oxford University, about the myth of an ancient Hindy weapon called the Brahmastra?"

"Weapon?" Seth said, not liking the sound of that.

"Yeah. Legendary weapon with incredible powers." Cisco continued reading. "Capable of, wait for it…"

"Creating metas." Miles finished his sentence.

"Creating metahumans." Cisco nodded his confirmation.

Taking a look at the picture on the dissertation, Caitlin noted with assurance. "Guys, that looks just like Alchemy's stone."

"More importantly…." Cisco pressed a key on his keyboard, bringing up his findings on a monitor. "Look who wrote this paper."

Everyone faced the monitor, seeing the author of the dissertation.

Seth scoffed. "One Julian Albert Desmond." He turned to the speedster. "Think you need to play more than his ego this time to get what you want, Flash."

"Looks like it, yeah." Barry agreed with the mutant. With that said, he walked around the console and went to the exit.

Miles walked up to the elemental. "Seth, something I can ask you?"

"Shoot." Seth nodded.

"I've always wondered…. Who has more experience between you and Peter?" Miles gave the question, waiting excitedly for the answer.

"I'd say it's… Pete." Seth shocked the younger hero with his answer. Seeing the shock on his face, the mutant said. "You expected the opposite?" He nodded. "Thought so, but it's wrong and right."

"What do you mean?" Miles inquired.

"Pete and I have the same level of knowledge in terms of academic experience, sure. But field experience, Pete's got me beaten at that." Seth gave the younger spider-hero a glare. "You're not saying anything to Pete." Miles nodded. "Peter came into the battlefield before me, I only did that after officially joining SHIELD. We've met a few times after that, one time as enemies but after that we quickly became friends and joined forces."

"Remember Pete told me the same…. He told me you're like a brother to him." Miles saw a smile grace the elemental's face. "Bet the feeling's mutual." He nodded. "Seth… I hope I'm not overstepping or anything, but-"

"You wanna fight against Anti-Venom if he shows up again?" Seth realized. Miles nodded. "He hurt someone you care about, no wonder you wanna fight the ugly bastard yourself. I'd be a hypocrite if I stopped you, so… Yeah, you can join me, sure. And in return…"

"In return?" Miles asked, not expecting that response.

Seth placed a hand on top of his head, ruffling his short hair. "In return I'll make sure you're back home by Christmas."

When facing Anti-Venom last time, he was unable to prevent him from infecting his daughters with anti-symbiotes… He swore that he wouldn't make that mistake again.

X

(CCPD)

Walking out of the desk area with Cecile, Joe handed off the stack of files to the attorney. "Here you go." With a sigh she accepted the folders. "One whiff of aliens and all the crazies come out."

Examining the folders and files, Cecile gave another sigh. "I'm gonna be buried under these alien files until next Christmas."

"Well, if by some Christmas miracle, you dig yourself out sooner…" Joe got her attention, a smile on both of their faces. "We do it up at the West house on Christmas Eve. Turkey, tree, Grandma Esther's eggnog, the whole shebang, and we would love for you to come."

"One condition, I bring the nog." Cecile adamantly said. "My Grandma Millie's recipe, it is gonna knock your socks off."

"Oh, wait a minute." Joe showed a mock serious look. "We gonna have a little "nog-off"?"

"Really?" Cecile challenged.

"Grandma Esther versus Grandma Millie." Joe proposed.

Cecile smirked. "Oh, you know I love a challenge, Joe West."

"May the best grandma win." Joe stated.

"I am so sorry for your grandma." Cecile faked an apology.

"We'll see. Fine." Joe and Cecile shared a laugh. As she walked past him, he said. "I'll pick you up, all right?"

"Christmas miracle." Cecile teased as she walked towards the elevator. The detective smiled widely.

"Uncle Joe, seriously?" Joe's smile fell, his eyes snapping to the staircase and saw to his horror that his three nieces were sitting on the stairs. The three of them are smiling like a pack of hyenas. Frankie continued. "Gonna use Christmas to impress your girlfriend?"

"Someone's getting on Santa's Naughty List." Evelyn chuckled.

"You three, no more." Joe sternly said, pointing a finger at the three girls.

Ruby nodded to the closing elevator. "Don't know how I feel about Horton joining us, seeing as she authorized the bounty on Dad's head."

"She's good people, trust me, Rubs." Joe told the gravity manipulator.

Evelyn looked at her sister. "Besides, she helped Mom with the adoption papers when she got us. She's not all bad."

"True." Ruby admitted.

"What brings you three here anyway?" Joe asked, crossing his arms.

"We wanted to know if you could help us get presents for Mom and Dad." Evelyn asked the detective.

The detective listened as the three girls explained their plan.

X

(Earth-3)

On Earth-3, Central City Bank was in mayhem. The alarms blared loudly and uncontrollably as trouble brewed. Christmas was bound to be interesting on this Earth.

The glass doors swung open, and Trickster of Earth-3 rushed out of the building, holding a tommy gun and a sack full of cash. He groaned excitedly, feeling his own version of Christmas joy coursing through him. "I told everyone inside I'd let them live if they followed my instructions. But I tricked them, which is so me." He cackled to himself.

WHOOSH

A flash of lightning speed in front of the maniacal criminal and Jay Garrick glared at the Trickster. "Give it up, Trickster."

Trickster faced the speedster. "Hi-ya, Swifty." He let go of his money bag. "Will you do me the honor of allowing me to kill you?" He raised his tommy gun, pulled the trigger and let the bullets fly.

Jay used his superspeed, catching every single bullet that came with his silver kettle helmet. He came to a stop, stopping beside the criminal's side and showed him the bullets he caught with his helmet. "You're out of ammo."

A clicking sound came from the handcuffs that Trickster cuffed on both his and Jay's wrists. "But I'm not out of bombs." He gave another cackle, opening his coat and showed the bomb with a timer strapped to his chest. There's seven seconds left on the timer. "What do you say we take in the afterlife, big boy?"

The timer had one second left…

WHOOSH

Suddenly another yellow flash of lightning appeared, running around Trickster and Jay. The lightning came to a stop, having disarmed the bomb and restrained the criminal. Barry gave the veteran speedster a smirk.

"Nice timing." Jay nodded his thanks.

"You're welcome." Barry said back.

"There's something wrong with my eyes." Trickster said in disbelief. "I'm seeing double." Two officers picked up the restrained criminal. "The Flash hit me too hard. I'm gonna see you, Saucer Head! One day, I'll own that helmet, and I'll use it as an ashtray, or a candy dish. No, wait! A hubcap!"

He continued rambling as the two speedsters conversed, Jay telling the other speedster. "I had that, kid."

"That's what I always say." Barry quipped. He looked over his shoulder, looking at the transport van with the officers and the criminal. "Especially when I didn't have it."

Jay finally asked. "I'm assuming you didn't come all the way to Earth-3 to stop my Trickster."

"I have something I need to talk to you about." Barry confessed. Jay listened. "Speedster. Calls himself "Savitar.""

The elder speedster snapped up with fear and his undivided attention directed to the other speedster.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Breach Room)

"Barry's bringing who exactly?" Miles asked from within the Breach Room as he and Seth waited for the Scarlet Speedster to return to the Earth after a trip to Earth-3.

"He's getting Jay Garrick, a speedster with more knowledge than others from Earth-3. He might have some answers regarding Savitar." Seth answered.

"The guy who controls Anti-Venom?" Miles questioned. Seth nodded. "How is that possible? I know he calls himself a god of speed and all, but how can he control a symbiote?"

"It has the traits of a Klyntar symbiote, but who knows it could be more. Evelyn and Frankie's symbiotes are symbiotes able to adapt to metahuman hosts, who contain dark matter." Seth suggested. "Chances are this symbiote could be another type of symbiote."

"Like another evolved Klyntar species, maybe?" Miles suggested.

"Yeah. Could explain how the damn thing can absorb elements like it did before." Seth added.

The breach opened up over the platform, Barry and Jay jumping out of it and met Seth and Miles.

"Good to see you again, Seth." Jay said, taking off his helmet. Seth saluted a greeting to the veteran speedster. He looked at the younger hero. "And this is?"

"Miles Morales." Miles shook hands with the speedster.

"Hero of Earth-616, here on a… Vacation?" Seth stated sheepishly, unclear of how to explain the spider-hero's reason for this visit.

"Jay Garrick." The elder speedster introduced himself. "Pleasure Miles. So… Savitar." He looked between Seth and Barry.

"Yup, and he's not the only one here to deal with." Seth said.

"Yeah, I heard about Anti-Venom and what he had done to your daughters, Seth. I'm sorry." Jay nodded his apology.

"Only one that's gonna be sorry is Anti-Venom." Seth countered.

"Understood. And apparently, you've grown powerful enough to challenge Savitar and invoke the wrath of his hound." Jay said.

"Who is he?" Barry asked.

"Don't know. Never seen him." That shocked the other three heroes, confusing them as they expected him to at least have met this so-called speed god. "Barry's the first speedster I know of who has."

"But you've heard about this guy before or something?" Seth inquired.

"I have, and every story I have ever heard about Savitar is basically the same." Jay took a seat on the platform like Barry did. Seth and Miles listened. "Savitar was the first man ever granted speed. And over time, he became the God of Motion, the fastest of us all. Before Savitar graces an Earth with his presence… He sends a predecessor to prepare for his arrival."

"In this case, that predecessor being Alchemy." Seth deduced.

"Exactly." Jay nodded.

"What's he preparing for?" Barry asked.

"A battle. With you." Jay made eye contact with the Scarlet Speedster.

"Why me?" Barry wondered.

"You're threatening his power." Jay stated.

"Mr. Garrick, how do you know all this?" Miles questioned.

"Speed Force myths, legends, rumors." Jay listed off. "If Savitar's come for you once, he'll be back."

"Then I'll be ready." Barry said.

"We'll be ready." Seth countered. "Though I'm less interested in the owner and more interested in the hound."

"Anti-Venom." Jay said. The mutant nodded. "It's said that when Savitar descends, he is not alone. With him, comes a beast with him, a hellhound that is said to destroy anyone and anything in his master's path. Never to stray or disobey his master's orders."

"But why?" Miles asked.

Clapping his hands, Jay stated. "I don't know… But every God has a guardian, do they not?"

"Guardian, huh…." Seth clenched his fists. "He called himself the Vile Destroyer… We'll see who's really vile."

Miles then asked. "Does this mean Savitar was the one who gave Alchemy The Philosopher's Stone?"

"That'd be a perfect assumption, Miles." Jay told the younger hero.

Miles inhaled deeply. "We'll be ready for this fight… And take care of him and Anti-Venom once and for all."

The younger hero's ready for a fight with the Vile Destroyer and God of Speed.

"Jay." Seth got his attention. "Something I have to know about… You don't know much about Savitar but… What about The Protector of the Speed Force? You know about that?" He asked hopefully.

"Protector of the Speed Force?" Jay questioned.

Unfortunately, that questioning tone and that look of bafflement was all the confirmation and answer the mutant needed for him to know that not even the veteran speedster knew about a title that would be bestowed to him in the future.

But if he doesn't… Who does?

X

(Cisco's Workshop)

Inside of his workshop, Cisco continues working on his equations and formulas to try and find a solution to their Speed God problem. He looked away from his computer, turning back to his transparent board but came to a stop when seeing something behind it…

Someone behind it…

He saw that it was… His brother was walking on the platform… Facing his brother Cisco with a slight smile…

Cisco couldn't tear his eyes away from him… But the moment he wanted to say something to his brother…

Dante was no longer there… As though he wasn't there to begin with.

"Hey…" Caitlin rushed into the workshop. "Jay thinks he figured out a way to find the stone." The doctor found the viber staring into the blank air, as though something else was there. "You okay?" She asked with concern, getting closer to his side.

"I don't know." Cisco said with uncertainty. "I keep seeing my brother. Everywhere. Here. In the Cortex…"

Caitlin showed concern in her eyes, understanding his pain. "This is your first Christmas since Dante died. Maybe your mind's playing tricks on you?"

"Yeah." Cisco sighed, stepping closer to the board. "Probably." Recalling a memory, he said. "There was this one Christmas. Big family affair. And Dante and I, you know, we used to fight all the time as kids, but, that one Christmas, we didn't fight. We just sat and talked, and we drank a whole bottle of whiskey and that whole night, we were laughing." He laughed at the memory. "It's… And that one night… That one night, it was like we felt like brothers."

Recalling a Christmas memory herself, Caitlin said. "The last Christmas before my Dad died, it snowed and snowed." She remembered that Christmas night like it was yesterday. "He and I just sat inside watching old movies while the whole world turned white. It was magical. I really hope I can give my daughters the same experience, you know. A Christmas that they will remember forever."

Cisco smiled at her words. "You're not gonna have any problems with that…." Caitlin smiled. Gasping to himself, he asked aloud. "Are we about to be the grinches this year?"

Caitlin scoffed into laughter.

"Hey Mom!" Evelyn shouted, shadowporting into the workshop with her sisters.

"Bejeezus!" Cisco exclaimed, jumping back in shock and placed a hand over his racing heart. He turned to their mother, seeing her not at all fazed or shocked by her daughters' arrival. "Why are you not shocked?"

The mother of three symbiote-hosts, all three able to turn into demon-like cannibalistic heroes, and girlfriend to the most terrifying hero in Central City gave the viber a dry look. Cisco nodded his understanding, retracting his question when realizing it was absurd.

Turning to her children, she asked. "Welcome back, girls. School go well?"

"Boring." Ruby smirked cockily.

Caitlin chuckled, pinching her daughter's cheek. "Not so cocky, young lady. You'll end up regretting it, sooner than later. I was about to call you guys, took you a while."

"Wanted to say hi to Uncle Joe on the way, he took us out for Big Belly Burger." Evelyn said, a tendril holding two paper bags from the fast-food restaurant. "We got enough for you and Dad."

"And we got drinks too." Frankie said, holding up their drinks.

"Is that so…" Caitlin crossed her arms suspiciously. "I would've thought you three might have done some Christmas shopping for your dear old parents?"

"You're not old, Mom." Evelyn argued, her mother smiling but still looking suspiciously at them. "Dad on the other hand…"

"Honey, your dad's one year older than me." Caitlin reminded her daughter. "Cut him some slack. But don't think I didn't notice your little dodg-"

"Mom, where's Miles?" Ruby asked, interrupting her mother.

"Working with your Dad right now." Caitlin told her daughter who scoffed at the thought of her… of Miles collaborating with her father.

X

(West Household)

In her home, Iris placed a last decoration on the Christmas tree. She looked around, seeing the sea of Christmas presents that she bought. She picked one of them up.

Barry entered the house, chuckling at the surreal amount of Christmas gifts around the house. "Nice use of restraint." He directed to Iris.

With a chuckle, she lowered the present back under the tree as Barry took a seat on the sofa. "Yeah, well, I shopped, and I shopped, and now I am ready to drop into your arms." She dropped down onto the couch, leaning forward and giving the speedster a kiss.

Pulling away from her, he said. "Sorry I missed Christmas shopping with you."

"It's okay. I have everything I need." Iris said back. Showing a smile, she asked. "So, are you as excited to give my present as I am to give you yours?"

"Yeah, of course. Yeah." To Iris that sounded very sheepishly.

Narrowing her eyes, she asked. "You did get me something, right?"

"I did get you something, yes. I just, I haven't wrapped it yet, is all." Barry clarified.

After giving him suspicious eyes, Iris accepted. "Okay." Barry smiled. "Okay. By the way, after you told me about Julian's archeological dig, I started doing some digging of my own." The speedster's eyes lit up at her words.

She started explaining her findings. "Turns out, a few years ago, four scientists were killed in an excavation in India, and Julian was the point person."

That shocked the Scarlet Speedster. "He didn't mention that."

Iris tilted her head. "You said he was obsessed with that stone for years. What if he was covering something up? Or someone?"

Following her train of thought, Barry said. "You think this is about Alchemy?"

"There's only one way to find out." Iris noted.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, The Cortex)

"Seth?" Jay got the mutant's attention as he turned away from Miles and his daughters. The elemental faced the veteran speedster who stood at the main console with Cisco and Joe. "Why did you ask about that… "title" before?"

"Something… Strange." Seth sheepishly said.

Cisco knew what he was talking about, snapping his fingers and spoke. "Oh, you mean about that "Protector of Speed Force" title from the future newspaper in the Time Vault?"

"Yes, that, Cisco." The elemental said through gritted teeth, wanting to keep that part secret.

"Future newspaper?" Jay asked suspiciously.

His daughters listened as the detective said. "Apparently Thawne left behind a news article from the future, and Seth got some kind of fancy title from it. Plus, he and Barry found out who they're gonna end up with."

"Is that so?" Jay cocked an eyebrow.

"Should we, like, mention that he's talking about Joe's foster son marrying his daughter?" Reap asked her host with a mental grin.

"No, love Game of Thrones. But that's too much for my taste, pal." Ruby countered immediately, both her and her "other" shivering at the thought.

"Seth." Jay got his attention again. "Show me this article later, okay?" Seth nodded his agreement but could see that something about this newspaper from the future was making the speedster worry. But for what purpose.

WHOOSH

Barry sped into the Cortex, coming to a stop in front of the console, "Boss, Allen's here." Friday noted.

"Yes, we can see that, Friday." Seth told the AI.

"Nice job, Friday." Frankie quipped sarcastically.

"Guys…" Barry straightened up. "Julian lied about the Philosopher's Stone."

Seth widened his eyes. "You think he found it back on that expedition of his in India?"

Barry nodded; Cisco followed up. "You think he's working with Doctor Alchemy?"

Joe tried to call the metahuman expert. "He's not answering my calls." He noted that his calls didn't bear any successful results.

"Hey, everyone. Gang's all here. What's going on?" H.R. asked as he and Wally walked into the Cortex, both returning from their secret training session.

Miles said. "There's a chance that Barry's colleague, Julian Albert, is connected to Doctor Alchemy."

"Let's just hope that hunch pans out, though." Seth stated.

The computers beep and Cisco rushes to it. "Jay, guys, got a hit. There's energy coming from the top of the Shultz building. That's the stone."

"And when that stone's in play…" Miles started.

"Anti-Venom's not far behind." Seth followed up.

"Good, payback." Frankie said, her eyes flashing magenta in rage.

"Nope." Seth had his palm facing his daughters. His daughters looked at him with shock. "Me and Miles have first crack at that bastard."

"Dad, we're not being benched on this!" Evelyn shouted. "Not after what he did to us."

"I'm not benching you girls." Seth countered. "I'm asking you guys to let me and Miles fight that wretched bastard and you take care of Sinister Seven if they're close by. They can't be left to their own devices, am I right?"

"Fine." Frankie reluctantly accepted.

"Miles." Ruby pressed a hand against the spider-hero's chest. "Be careful… And please, give that awful Venom wannabe a good knockout for me."

"Of course." Miles placed a hand over the hand on his chest. "Trust me."

Seth gave the Scarlet Speedster a nod of confidence, assuring him that they're ready for what's to come. Barry nodded back, looking back at Jay. "You ready?"

"Ready." Jay said back.

The four heroes nodded; the three younger girls gave their assurance as well. They shadowported away, teleporting away to ready themselves for the battle to come.

Seeing them get ready, a wave of confidence came over Wally. "I'm coming, too."

"No, you're not." Joe said.

"No." Barry said at the exact same time as Joe.

The younger speedster looked at his father. "Dad, I'm ready." Wally tapped H.R.'s shoulder. "Just tell them about how fast I am. Tell them about the training." He was extremely excited about his speed because at this point in Barry's training, Wally's faster than him.

""Training"?" Joe questioned.

""Training"?" H.R. questioned back. "Oh, training. The vocal training because we're thinking of going caroling."

"Yeah, that's a lot of bull!" Ruby immediately said, not believing the lie. She didn't even have to use her "other" for help.

Evelyn nudged the spider-hero's side, getting his attention. "You might wanna think twice about introducing Rubs to your Mom. Sis is gonna know if she doesn't like her."

"Me- Meet Miles' Mom?" Ruby blushed, turning instantly red. Her entire head turned into a tomato at the thought of meeting Miles' Mom.

"Not now! Not now! Not now!" Miles told her, assuring her with his hands rubbing up and down her arms. "First, we deal with Alchemy and then…"

"Gonna have to put a pause on that one, kiddies. Let's go!" Seth clapped his hands, jumping out of the skylight. The others followed him quickly.

"We're gonna talk about this later." Barry told Wally before speeding out of the facility with Jay following him.

"We're definitely gonna talk about it." Joe said, glaring at both his son and H.R.

X

(Shultz Building)

ROAR

A loud feral roar emitted from the wretched titan's maw as he stood behind the five acolytes and Doctor Alchemy, keeping an eye on them from behind. Anti-Venom looked around, snarling and gritting his fangs as he searched for his next prey to sink his teeth into.

"Calm yourself Destroyer." Alchemy told the Vile Destroyer. Anti-Venom snarled at the cloaked villain. "You will soon have your prey… Soon you will have your destruction."

"Empty promises… You will be empty if wrong!" Anti-Venom shouted.

"Worry not, you will have your destruction." Alchemy said, pointing his eyes at the large glass spherical structure on top of the Shultz Building. Aiming the Philosopher's Stone at the same structure. A second later, a white-ish energy stream shot out from the stone.

Doctor Alchemy spoke as his energy beam connected with the sphere. "With the energy from this stone and this building as a refractor, I shall restore the powers of all the metas from Flashpoint." The beam had become a dome around the spherical structure. "They will become the servants of Savitar."

WHOOSH

"No chance!"

Turning around at the demonic voice, Alchemy and Anti-Venom came face to face with the two spiders and Spider-Man and Venom.

The Lethal Protector came face to face with the same bastard that infected his daughters, growling at the pale titan. "You're gonna regret what you did, Anti-Venom!"

"Weakness… Disease… Must be purged!" Anti-Venom shouted.

"He really does look like Venom." Miles took in the sight of the Vile Destroyer, utterly shocked at how he looked like the inverse of The Lethal Protector. Violent sparks of bio-electricity emitted from his hands; he couldn't stop his anger from spiking at the sight of the symbiote villain that hurt someone he cares about. "You're not gonna do any more harm, Anti-Venom!"

Thunderous clouds appeared over their heads, bursting with thunder and lightning. A flash of white appeared, almost blinding the heroes and then the self-proclaimed god of speed entered the battlefield.

"What was that?" Miles asked, directing his words of confusion to the elemental.

"He can't see this guy?" Venom asked his host.

"Barry, me and the girls and you, we're the only ones who can see that thing." Seth thought back, the corner of his eye focusing on the veteran speedster.

Barry faced the metallic speedster. "Please, tell me you're seeing him?"

Savitar roared at the Scarlet Speedster. "Oh, I see him." The Crimson Comet nodded.

"We have to take him together." Barry suggested.

"No." Seth shouted. "Miles and we will take care of Anti-Venom."

"He's right. I'll cover Savitar, you just get that stone." Jay said, pointing a finger at Alchemy.

In a flash, Savitar disappeared with the Earth-3 speedster.

"Weak!" Anti-Venom shouted, charging the two heroes originally from Earth-616. Before Seth could meet the charge, Miles had already jumped forward with a clenched hand that's wrapped in bio-electricity.

"This is for hurting Ruby!" Miles screamed in his head before delivering a devastating uppercut into the wretched titan's head. The electricity from his fist burst and sent the large titan flying into the air, sending him into the spherical structure. "You're not getting away."

Spider-Man pressed two fingers to both of his palms, shooting a storm of webshots at the wretched titan. First his mouth was webbed shut, then his claws and his feet and then shot after shot, Anti-Venom was webbed up to the metal structure. "Venom!" Miles shouted at the elemental.

Venom nodded, smashing his fists together and ignited red flames around his left fist and black flames erupted around his right fist. Lightning coursed around his entire body before the elemental leaped off the ground.

Sticking to the Shultz Building, he ran up the side of it. Coming to a stop in front of the other symbiote user, he delivered a series of swift, merciless blazing strikes against Anti-Venom. Each and every blow to his torso and face made the wretched titan groan in pain.

Interlocking his claws, the elemental slammed his infernal hands down like a hammer. But Anti-Venom managed to tear off the webbing around his mouth, lifting and turning his head before opening his maw to catch the hands in a crunch.

Seth saw the black fangs expand and dig into his hands, keeping them locked between his fangs. At the same time, the elements that are around his hands were slowly being taken by the anti-symbiote user.

"He really can absorb elements." Miles noted, watching as the opposing titan grew in size as he took in the elements. "And getting stronger."

"And we expected this!" Venom bellowed, reeling back his right leg and turned his kneecap into adamantium. Thrusting it forward, he slammed it into the chest of the growing titan. The blow to his chest made Anti-Venom release Seth's hands.

This allowed the mutant to thrust his lightning-cloaked fist into the other symbiote's underjaw. Anti-Venom morphed his right arm into a scythe, cutting away the webbing that restrained his appendage and swung it for the elemental. It did not leave a mark on him as the damage quickly healed, but it did push the mutant away.

"Weak!" Anti-Venom shouted, morphing his other arm into a scythe before jumping forward.

Reaching behind him, Seth quickly pulled out his crystal sword and used it to block the scythes. As the two symbiotes crossed blades, Miles attached two weblines to the spine-like protrusions from the elemental's shoulders.

Pulling back on them and stepping back, Miles launched himself like he was shot from a slingshot. While flying towards Anti-Venom, he wrapped himself in bio-electricity and slammed into the wretched titan like a human rocket.

Anti-Venom screamed in pain, the electricity coursing through his body forced his blades to re-morph back into his arms. With the scythes, Seth saw an opening and used it. Tightening his hand around the handle, black abyssal flames erupted around his sword. Unleashing a cry, he slashed the titan's chest and pushed him away.

"You lay your hands on our children, you will feel their pain… The hurt they felt… Their fear thousand times over! Until you plead for death and get none!" Venom shouted, roaring at the other symbiote-user that held his stomach.

"What he said… Kinda." Miles admitted sheepishly. "I mean, I don't have kids or anything like that. So, it's more about his kids of course. I'm still too young to have children and-"

"Spider!" Seth cut him off, the rage he felt for the wretched titan was diminishing after hearing the younger hero's rambling. "There's not that much talking in fights." He chastised the 616 hero. "Christ sake, the Spiders can ramble the heads off of their enemies."

"Like that's anything new." Seth heard his "other" admit.

Getting back on his feet, Anti-Venom snarled in rage. tearing off pieces of symbiote that are still on fire from the abyssal flames. "Weakness! You are weak!" He continued shouting and bellowing at the heroes.

"Get some new material, asshole!" Seth shouted, slamming a flaming fist into the side of Anti-Venom's face, the blow knocking him away. Miles appeared, cloaking his fist with electricity and uppercut the wretched titan.

Venom followed up, embedding his sword into his foot and locked him down. With his entire head and face turning into adamantium, he headbutted the other symbiote user. He kicked him and then yanked his sword out of his foot right before ramming it through his stomach. Jumping backwards, Miles jumped forward and cloaked his feet in bio-electricity before slamming them both into the pommel, pushing the blade further through his body.

The two heroes are confident that the blade must have penetrated the host's body.

But despite the humongous sword embedded through his body, Anti-Venom didn't show any sign of surrendering as he yanked the sword out of his body. But instead of using it to attack them, he let it slip out of his hand. He looked down, seeing The Flash stand over Alchemy's downed body with the Brahmastra far from his reach.

The wretched titan looked to the two heroes. "Until next time." He spoke running towards the other side of the roof, leaping off it and swung away.

Seth stopped Miles who was about to chase him. "We deal with Alchemy first." Spider-Man nodded, before he jumped away and met the speedster on the ground with the elemental. "Let's see who's under the mask."

Barry put the stone back in a stone-like box, closing it shut. He returned, crouching down by Alchemy's body and pulled the hood back. He exposed some of his blonde hair. The speedster pulled the mask away…

And the heroes saw that it was Julian Albert under the mask… He is Doctor Alchemy.

"Julian." Barry said with a groan.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Breach Room)

Inside of the Breach Room, Miles sighed to himself as he held the small box in his hands. After the mission, he announced he would leave to make it home for Christmas. The others understood and bid their farewells, watching as he made his way to the Breach Room. Seth would come down to him and open the portal to Earth-616 when finding the device. After getting out his suit, he was about to make his way back to Earth-616, but he hadn't finished everything he wanted to. Though he may have finished his shopping, there was a special someone that he has yet to give a present to.

"Come on, Miles. Come on!" Miles stood up from the staircase, pacing back forth in front of the platform. "Come on, Miles, it's important. You've got to do this, or she's… She's gonna hate you if you don't do this. And you want her to like you right? Then just… Do it!" He berated himself.

"Good idea." Seth shocked the young spider, making him shoot up to the ceiling and clung to it like a cat. The mutant chortled through a closed mouth, covering his mouth at the sight. "God kid, you scare easy."

"Sorry for that!" Miles said, letting go and landed on his feet. He blushed when seeing the mutant hold the small box with a tendril. "Oh thanks." He caught the box when it was thrown his way.

"Guessing that's for my daughter?" Seth knowingly asked, taking a seat on the staircase just as Miles did prior to his arrival. Miles nodded. "You not sure about giving it?"

"Nah, I want to give it. But I don't know… How…" Miles nervously admitted, tabbing the box with his thumbs. "God, I'm nervous."

Seth smiled. "Sometimes it's easier to fight villains than be honest about your own feelings, isn't it?" Miles chuckled with a nod of agreement. "Just take a few breaths and then give her the gift. The rest's easy from there, you just have to open up your heart."

"Easy, huh?" Miles chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Guess it will. Thanks for letting me stay here again, Seth. It means a lot, feels like I've gotten more experience."

"At the rate you're growing up kid, you're gonna become just as skilled as Peter if not more." Seth admitted. "I don't have any worries about 616 being in good hands, that's for sure. You're not Pete's apprentice or anything more, you're your own hero in every sense." He pulled out the device, placing it on the railing. "Now you two just need to talk."

"Yeah, I know. I'll wait for Ruby." Miles admitted.

"Oh, she's already here." Seth shocked the spider-hero.

"What?!" He held his head in surprise.

"Rubs, Miles' waiting. Come out!" Seth shouted before making his way out of the Breach Room.

"Dang it." Miles' ears and head perked up at the sight of the voice with which he was all too familiar. He looked to the side and Ruby's form slowly revealed itself out of thin air. "Hey." She waved her hand, pushing hair out of her face.

"Hey…" Miles inhaled sharply, walking forward and holding out the box. "Merry Christmas." He sheepishly and nervously said.

"Thanks…" Ruby said slowly, accepting the box from Miles. She held a wide smile on her face as she slowly opened the box. Her eyes widened at the object within…

It was a necklace with a silver-gray chain and attached at the end is a black pendant… But within the pendant is a bright scarlet… Ruby.

"You… Bought this for me?" Ruby couldn't believe her eyes and had to ask.

"Yeah." Miles admitted. "Figured it gave me an excuse to tell you… I really like you, Ruby." He confessed. "I would have prepared a speech but… Best I could come up with is that I really, really like you, Ruby. And I hope… The feeling's mutual."

"Well, good for you." Ruby put on the necklace, her smile never leaving her face. "The feeling is mutual." She assured the spider-hero. "In fact… I have a gift for you too."

"You do?" Miles asked in surprise.

"Mmhmm, close your eyes." Ruby said and Miles obliged, closing his eyes. The gravity manipulator stepped closer to the spider-hero, leaning closer to his face with puckered lips.

Miles's eyes snapped right open when he felt a pair of lips land on top of his own. He closed his eyes and reciprocated, kissing Ruby back.

Best Christmas present he could ask for.

X

In the Cortex, the team watched the monitor on the console that displays the live footage from one of the cells in the Pipeline. It's showing what Julian Albert's doing in his cell, pacing back and forth.

After waking up in a containment cell and coming face to face with Flash, Julian asked why he was in one of the cells of the speedster's private prison. He was baffled when being accused of being Alchemy, the same cloaked villain who turns innocent people into metahumans as he worships Savitar.

But Julian didn't follow or believe that, leaving him completely shocked and thinking that the speedster's cowl was cutting off air from getting to his brain. He didn't even know the mask that he wore as Alchemy when Barry showed it to him.

Then Julian thought he was being set up by the Scarlet Speedster. That he was being framed by the Flash, the hero of Central City.

Seth stood with Caitlin and Cisco, Frankie and Evelyn as Barry walked in. The mutant looked over his shoulder. "How's Jay? He doing okay after his little beating with Savitar?"

"He's sore but he's healing." Barry answered. Seth nodded his relief. "What do you think about what Julian was saying?"

From the ceiling, Frankie reminded the team. "With our history, every bad guy we've ever had has pretended to be our best friend, while really being an evil murderous bastard, but…"

"I think if he's lying, he sure believes the hell out of his own lie." Cisco admitted.

Evelyn, from a wall, asked. "Dad, can't we go down there and see if we can get the truth with our symbiotes?"

"They can't compel the truth out of someone, but they can tell if someone's lying or not. But after watching his reaction to being Alchemy… It's almost like he was genuinely shocked." Seth said, relying on his abilities and honed skills as a SHIELD agent. "Almost like he didn't even know he's Alchemy."

Barry didn't know what to think about that, turning his attention to the stone box. "Okay, well, what do we think about this box?"

"It's creepy. Like, Indiana Jones melt-your-face creepy." Cisco admitted.

"You examined it, didn't you?" Seth wondered. Caitlin nodded. "Have you guys figured out anything about it yet?"

Cisco turned in his chair, facing the heroes. "It's nothing." He said seriously, both Seth and Barry giving him confused looks with hints of disbelief. Noting the disbelief, he elaborated. "I mean, the box is literally nothing. I've run it through every possible test I can think of. MRI, X-Ray, mass spectrometer, the photon shifter. Not a single reading. Nothing. It's like the box doesn't even exist."

"That's creepy, cause what's in front of us then?" Frankie asked, letting go of the ceiling and crouching on the railing.

"Very good question, honey." Seth admitted, his eyes locked on the stone-like box with ancient, religious-like symbolic engravings. "Maybe…"

"Don't break it, babe." Caitlin adamantly told him, not wanting her boyfriend to go berserk on a box with a powerful stone inside.

"I wasn't gonna break it, I was thinking maybe it's a box from another universe. Kinda like Adamantium is not originally from here." Seth reasoned. "Kinda like the time when you guys tried to scan and search for it before."

"Maybe…" Caitlin trailed off, a smile forming on her face when seeing Ruby return to the Cortex, a wider smile plastered on her face. "Now where have you been, young lady?" She playfully said, noticing the beautiful pendant around her daughter's neck.

"Had to say farewell to… Miles." Ruby blushed.

Evelyn looked at her. "You mean your boyfriend?"

"… Yes, my boyfriend." Ruby said, blushing even more. Her blush dissipated when suddenly her two sisters tackled her to the ground, embracing her in the tightest bearhug she's ever had. "God, get off me!" She complained but her words barely reached them as they squealed in joy.

Seth and Caitlin thought of joining them, but it appeared Ruby was uncomfortable enough with just her sisters squeezing the life of her.

X

(Breach Room)

In rage, Joe continued his lecture to Wally, undoubtedly not liking how he and H.R. have been training his speed this entire time and behind their backs!

"Two weeks ago, I almost lost you to Alchemy. Then last week, aliens." The detective rushed closer to his son. "My heart can't take it, Wally."

"Dad, he gets it." Iris told her father as he shouted in her brother's face.

Snapping his head to her, Joe asked. "Iris, does he?"

"I think so, yeah." Harrison-19 chimed in.

Joe turned to him. "And you." He pointed a finger at him, walking up to the idea man. "A couple weeks ago you were telling me how you believed in me and my instincts, and now you're encouraging Wally to do exactly the opposite?" He had a finger pointing at his son.

"I don't know how much encouraging he needed." Harrison added.

"What's the deal with you?" Joe asked. Harrison cocked an eyebrow, showing confusion on his face. "You have some psychotic need to make other people like you no matter what?"

H.R. cocked his head. "I wouldn't call it "Psychotic." No, my deal is, I find people's true talents, I just marshal them along."

"Do you even have your own opinions?" Joe wondered.

"Stop, stop banging on H.R." Wally jumped in, interrupting his father. "This was all me, okay? I pushed him to train me, I pushed him to help me." Joe faced his child with disbelief. "Wasn't like anyone else was lining up to do it."

Having said his peace, the fledgling speedster rushed out of the Breach Room in anger.

X

(Pipeline)

After getting inspiration from Joe after a heated talk with Wally, Barry rushed back down to the Pipeline and opened the door leading to Julian's cell.

The gate opened up, The Flash stepping forward till he stood in front of Julian's cell. "Have you been losing time? Blacking out? Hours pass, you waking up somewhere different, not being sure of how you got there?"

"No." Julian shook his head hesitantly.

"No?" The speedster questioned.

"No." Julian repeated. "I've had enough of these baseless accusations and ridiculous theories of yours."

The Flash tried to reason with him. "Julian, I'm trying to help you, but you need to trust me."

"Says the man in a mask." Julian countered.

Lightly nodding his head in understanding, the Scarlet Speedster said. "Yeah, you're right." He then surprised Julian when pulling back his cowl.

Julian scoffed at the hero's real identity… Seeing that it was none other than Barry Allen, his colleague who has no regards for any rules of the department whatsoever. "I should've known. I should've guessed it." He groaned and mentally berated himself for not realizing it sooner. "The unexplained absences, your passion for metas, your general thumbing your nose at authority. I'm sure you had a good laugh behind my back."

"I actually wished I could've told you before." Barry confessed.

"So why tell me now?" Julian inquired.

"Because I need you to trust me, Julian." Barry admitted. "You are Alchemy. I just don't think you were aware of it. Now, have you been blacking out?"

This time… Julian looked into his eyes and answered honestly. "Yes."

"When did it start?" Barry inquired.

"My sister, Emma, died when I was 20." Julian revealed, leaning against the cell door. "It really broke the family up, you know? Mum and Dad weren't speaking, they wouldn't even stay at the house. One night, I was there alone, and she came back to me." He revealed, shocking the speedster. "She stood right in front of me, clear as day. A ghost or a vision, I don't know, but she was real. She told me about the stone. She told me where to find it, she told me that if I got it, that it would bring us back together again. And at that point, mate, I would've done anything to have her back."

"I know someone who could relate to that, actually." Barry muttered, thinking that he and Seth might get along actually.

"A brother?" Barry nodded to his question. "Then he'd get it, and why I didn't even hesitate to do it. And so, I did. I mounted an expedition to India." He recalled the days of staying in a tent. "Days, we searched, weeks. Nothing. And then we found it." He remembered holding the box, opening it and screaming as light came over him. "Next thing I remember, I woke up in the hotel room. I didn't remember anything, and that's when the blackouts started happening. There was a news report saying that every other member of my team had been found dead. At the site. I panicked, I thought they were gonna blame me for their deaths, so I ran… I ran to America."

Barry asked. "What happens when you black out, Julian? How does it start?"

"I hear the voice." Julian started.

X

Inside of his workshop, Cisco once again tried to scan the stone box that can hold the Philosopher's Stone. But he had to lower his tool as he couldn't get a result just as he had with the other tests he had performed earlier.

He sighed as he couldn't find another option.

"Cisco." Dante's voice called out, making the viber gasp and hold a screwdriver as a weapon.

Cisco looked around, searching for his brother… Or whatever took his brother's form. When he couldn't find it, he told him himself. "You're losing it, man. You're losing it. AH!" He screamed when turning around…

His brother standing on the other side of the table he's using.

"Stop scaring me!" Cisco told his brother, pointing the screwdriver at him. "Whatever you are, it's not cool, okay? Oh, I know exactly what you are. You are a figment of my grief. Please, just leave."

"Dante" shook his head, giving his brother a soft smile. "I can't do that, Cisco."

"This is not real." Cisco tried to convince himself. "Okay, I need an antipsychotic. Caitlin!" He placed the tool on the table, turned around and inches toward the exit.

"If you leave…" "Dante" stopped him. "I'm gonna have to leave, too."

"What?" Cisco turned back. "Why?"

Walking around the table, "Dante" asked his brother. "Don't you want us to be together again? The stone." He looked at the box with the stone. "It's the key to everything. It can transform people. Open it and I can be reborn… We can be together again. We can have that bottle of whiskey. After all, it is Christmas, hermano. It's the time of miracles."

Cisco stepped closer to whatever has his brother's form. He truly… More than anything in life, he wanted it to be his brother. He wanted to share a bottle of whiskey with his big brother again… More than anything in life now.

He wanted him back.

"I just want this to be real." Cisco stated hopefully.

"Just open the box." "Dante" said, pointing to the box again. Cisco walked closer to the box again, placing his hands on the lid. "I love you, Cisco." His brother told him.

At that moment, he didn't have any hesitation and Cisco opened the box, a stream of white-ish energy slithering out of it. Cisco smiled, knowing what it meant. "Dante?" He looked around, not able to find his brother.

"Dante?" He asked, continuing his search.

And behind him… Savitar appeared out of a non-existent portal.

Looking down on the viber, the speed god said. "Nicely done, Cisco." He knew very well that he couldn't hear him.

WHOOSH

But then Barry sped into the room, letting go of Seth. The speedster put his cowl on, and the elemental's body became enveloped by symbiotic mass before growing to stand as Venom.

"Cisco." The Flash told the viber.

"Bow to your god." Savitar ordered.

"Make us, you walking tin can." Venom snarled at the so-called speed god.

"With pleasure." Savitar stated.

WHOOSH

He sped towards them in a bright flash, speeding out of the workshop.

X

(Speed Lab)

WHOOSH

Inside of the Speed Lab, the speed god threw the large elemental into a wall and flew the other speedster into another one. Savitar turned to Barry, speeding to him and began punching and launching him around the training room.

Seth pulled him out of the wall, thrusting out his arm and split into a series of tendrils. Savitar easily saw them coming, each of them coming at him in slow motion. While assaulting the Scarlet Speedster, he ejected the blades from his hands and cut the black tendrils coming for him.

"Shit-" Seth was interrupted, a metallic fist uppercutting him and sending him flying into the ceiling. Tendrils sprouted from his back, digging into the ceiling. He hung from the ceiling and pushed himself back down.

At the same time Venom landed on the ground, Savitar threw the red Speedster into him, launching them both into the track entrance.

"Fuck, can't we deal with non-speedsters instead of this tin can." Seth groaned, taking out his sword.

"We're never that lucky." Barry quipped, getting back on his feet.

WHOOSH

A bright flash of yellow lightning appeared behind Savitar and Wally came to a stop. "I can see him!" He shouted when seeing Savitar.

"Great. Get his attention." H.R. said.

"Uh, yo, metal mouth!" Wally exclaimed, the speed god turning around and giving him a roar. "Clearly, nobody taught you how to play nice with others."

"Seriously, that's the best that kid's got?" Venom retorted.

"He's new at this." Seth countered.

Savitar easily grabbed Wally and threw him at Barry. Seth used that opportunity to charge the speed god, grabbing his shoulder with his left arm while crossing blades with his right hand. While both of his arms are occupied, the mutant slithered tendrils around his waist, shooting out tendrils from his bound waist and stuck them to the ground like anchors.

With the anchors in place, Seth was free to turn his fangs into adamantium before biting down on Savitar's body.

X

"Cisco?!" Caitlin and her daughters rushed into the viber's workshop.

"Cisco, you have to close the box. You just released Savitar on Dad and Wally." Ruby exclaimed.

"And Barry." Evelyn corrected her sister.

"Him too!" Ruby shouted.

"But it saved Dante." Cisco shared a glance with the manifestation of his brother.

Caitlin shook her head. "That's not Dante, it's Savitar."

"Cisco, he's using your memories against you. He's using your grief and pain of not seeing your brother." Frankie frantically said. "He made you open the damn box and conjured Savitar right in our base!"

Cisco gave them a confused look, completely under Savitar's spell. "You're a good brother, Cisco." "Dante" told him.

Caitlin stepped closer. "Cisco, we're running out of time. Pleasure, just hand me the box." Her daughters gave their mother a worried look.

Their worries intensified when Cisco raised his hand, threatening with a vibe blast. "I won't lose him again." Caitlin backed away. "I will not lose my brother again!"

"Hell no!" Ruby said, pulling out her Chakram blade from her "other's" pocket dimension.

"I know you're under Savitar's control, but you're not hurting our mother, Cisco!" Evelyn shouted, forming a wrist bow and pulled back an arrow.

"We're taking that box, Cisco!" Frankie shouted, her eyes flashing with magenta colors as she morphs her hands into rapiers.

"Girls, wait!" Caitlin told her daughters. They obliged but appeared to be on the verge of defying her words. She looked back to her friend. "Cisco, Dante is gone. I'm so sorry, but there is nothing you can do about it. But there are people that you can save right now. If you don't close that box, Barry and Wally will die. Seth can't stop something that's faster than even Zoom and Reverse-Flash. Please."

"If you do, we can't be together." "Dante" told his brother.

"Cisco, listen to me!" Caitlin got his attention. "Please…" She pleaded, looking into his eyes.

Cisco let her words settle in, gazing into the stream of energy coming out of the stone-like box. More than anything he wanted his brother back again, but… He was gone. He wanted him back, yeah…

But not if it meant losing his friends.

He turned around, facing his brother. "Don't." Whatever took Dante's form said with a shake of his head.

Facing whatever has his brother's form, Cisco said something in Spanish as he placed the box on the table, closing it.

"Friday?" Caitlin asked.

"Savitar seems to have left the building, Boss Lady." The AI replied.

"Thank God." Caitlin said in relief, walking up to the viber and comfortingly patted his shoulder.

X

Inside of the Cortex, everyone had returned and sat around the stone box holding the Philosopher's Stone. Caitlin checked Seth inside of the medbay. While checking his face, she asked softly. "Are you okay? You're not feeling hot or anything?"

"Cait, I'm always hot around you." Seth teased playfully. He got a slap on his shoulder, followed by a quick kiss by the most beautiful woman in his world. Once she pulled away, he assured her. "I'm fine, thankfully. Speed Can didn't do much damage, fortunately."

"Yeah." Caitlin said. "Still curious as to why we can't see Savitar at all. Not even on the screens. Something's off about him."

"Agreed." Seth said, jumping off the bed and cracked his neck. "Annoying bastard for sure. How're the others? Cisco, too."

"They're fine, in one piece. But Cisco's still a bit hurt from that experience." Caitlin admitted as she and her mate walked back into Cortex.

"How're you guys doing now?" Seth asked, gesturing to the stone box that Joe's standing in front of.

"Fine, now that Savitar is gone… Somehow." Cisco muttered, hints of regret in his words from what happened in his workshop.

"Cisco, it's okay." Frankie patted his shoulder. "We're not angry or blaming you or anything."

"Unless you had hurt Mom, then you'd have received a shit ton of blame." Ruby bluntly said.

Evelyn elbowed her sister. "Sis, not now." Ruby growled like an animal, practically demonically, especially as her mouth was briefly enveloped by Reap's symbiote mass, turning her teeth into fangs.

"So now that the box is closed, Savitar is, what, gone for good?" Joe questioned.

"I don't know, but we need to find out." Barry said. He looked at the uncomfortable-looking Cisco. "Cisco, if we can't use this box… Julian, he may be our only link to Savitar now, right?"

"I think we can use both of them." Cisco declared, ideas firing off in his mind.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Cisco answered. "If your mother's right and this thing messes with brain waves, then I have a plan."

"Why do I imagine a Ouija board situation?" Frankie suddenly noted.

"You've spent too much time with Cisco." Evelyn noted, recalling the times when the viber babysat her.

"Frankie's not wrong, we're gonna Ouija board this sitch." Cisco announced, walking towards the exit with Caitlin and her daughters followed.

Seth clicked his tongue skeptically. "Yeah, I'm gonna tag along so they don't summon the wrong genie and instead have Vulgrim popping out with his ugly mug, asking us to offer up the souls we've collected this entire time."

Ruby heard her father's joke, giving him a dry look. "Dad, you play too many games."

"No such thing, honey." Seth countered, getting to her side and lifted his daughter and carried her the rest of the way.

H.R. was about to follow them, but Joe stopped him. "Hey. You put my son's life in danger again."

"And he saved Barry and Seth's lives." Harrison reminded the detective. Wally walked out of the Cortex, not wanting to be present when his father berates H.R. again. "Joe, why… Why do you think I help Wally?" Joe didn't say anything. "Because I'm selfish? Because I get something? I don't get anything out of it. I helped Wally because the kid is special. He's extraordinary, his powers are extraordinary. And look, I get it. I'm not his dad, and I don't have the same safety concerns of you, of course not, but, Joe, one thing I do know? The longer you deny someone their potential, the more they're gonna look for it elsewhere." With that said, he moved after the others.

His words leave more than a few thoughts in Joe's mind.

X

"So, what am I doing here?" Julian asked as the entire team within S.T.A.R. Labs are surrounding him. They are within the Speed Lab and Cisco is working on a machine that is soon to be attached to Julian's head. The metahuman expert glances at Seth, knowing that he is the man behind the demonic face of Venom. "Are you going to like… Eat me?"

"Nope, not in the mood." Seth quipped. Caitlin elbowed him. "Sorry."

"No, Julian, you're not getting eaten. It's something else." Barry said. "Today when Seth and I were fighting Savitar, he and Alchemy, they have the same voice."

"What does that mean?" Julian inquired.

"Means there's no Alchemy at all." Seth answered. "It means Savitar's been using you as a speaker, as a puppet."

"He's been pulling my strings." Julian deduced.

"Savitar clearly possesses someone who rallies worshippers." Caitlin started.

Cisco continued. "But he's like a Poltergeist, he needs a medium to manifest himself."

"Ergo, Julian here." Ruby said.

"Right. But what does that mean?" Julian questioned again.

"Basically, we're gonna pick your brain." Frankie said.

"What?" Julian asked, sweat starting to form on his face.

Caitlin explained, sighing and giving her daughter a dry look. "We think we've figured out a way to sync your brain to the stone."

"And it'll allow us to speak directly to Savitar." Seth added.

"I see." Julian said with a downward look, realizing his role in this experiment.

Seth, seeing the discomfort on his face, said. "Albert, I know you don't wanna hear this from me, but… If you wanna be free from Savitar's hold and no longer be his puppet, you need to trust us."

"Once upon a time, I would have agreed with you, I wouldn't have accepted this from you, Venom…" Julian scoffed, glancing at the stone box beside him. He snapped his eyes to Barry. "I've never liked you, Allen." Barry didn't look surprised. "Same for Fury."

"Used to it." Admitted the man with a bounty on his head.

"Having a little séance with your friends, now is not gonna help change that fact, you do know that?" Julian continued. Neither of them weren't shocked by his confession. "Fine. I'll try it."

Cisco walked behind the chair Julian's sitting in, taking hold of the headband device that he made. As he attached it to his forehead, he told Julian. "Deep breaths. Okay?" Julian nodded. "You're gonna count backwards from 10."

The computer chimed and beeped. Julian exhaled, obliging to the viber's instructions. "Ten-" The very moment he began counting, he was out like a light.

"That was fast." Seth admitted.

Cisco snapped his fingers in front of Julian's face, trying to get a response. When getting none, he concluded. "It was." He walked to the stone.

"Okay, so, how long till this works?" Iris asked the scientists.

Caitlin shrugged. "Not really sure, it may take a minute for his brain wave-"

SCREAM

Julian all of a sudden woke up with a startle, screaming aloud and getting everyone's attention. Everyone looked warily at him, some of them arming themselves with weapons. Seth immediately pulled out his sword, holding it in his hand with the blade pointing down. Julian's eyes looked around, taking in the people around him.

But his eyes fell on Seth. "Hell, Barry…" This time it was not Julian's voice… it was Savitar's. "It's been a while."

"Savitar?" Barry nervously asked.

Savitar looked around, taking in the other members of Team Flash. "None of you are on your knees. It's a smart move to bow before a deity."

"We get it, you got a big ego for a speedster. Doesn't mean you're God." Seth groaned in annoyance.

The proclaimed speed god chuckled hollowly. "To be a god, you just have to make people believe you are. Just as this city… Just as this city believes you are a demon, Seth."

Iris countered. "No one believes in you."

"You should, Iris." Savitar counters. "I hold the power of life and death over all of you."

"You're a speedster with an oversized-ego and wearing a tin suit, doesn't mean you control squat." Ruby growled.

"Interesting point of view, Ruby… But my powers are that of a god's, something your little head will never fathom as you see your father's power as the supreme powers. You will see the truth soon." Savitar told her.

Caitlin stepped in front of her daughters, protectively shielding them with her body. "Don't speak to them." She sternly told the speedster that's in control of Julian's body. "How do you know so much about us?"

"I know you, Caitlin. Cisco, Joe, Wally. The fake Wells." He listed off. "I know the Demon of Central City…" Seth narrowed his eyes. "Your daughters from different universes… Frankie of this Earth, Evelyn of Earth-2 and Ruby of Earth-616, the origin of the villains that have infested this world."

Seth widened his eyes. "You know about that?"

"I know everything, Seth; I know your fears, I know your weaknesses, I know you better than you know yourselves." Savitar smirked. "I know your destinies." Everyone listened to his words carefully, etching them into their minds.

"One shall betray you…" Much like the first sentence, the following sentences echo throughout their minds. "One shall fall… One will suffer a fate far worse than death… One…" He made eye contact with Seth. "One will face enemies greater than anything that has stood in his path…"

"What?" Seth said in surprise, not liking the words that were practically aimed at him.

He faced the rest of the Snow-Fury family, specifically one of them. "One… Will get answers to an unanswerable query… Answers that will lead to despair and devastation…"

"Wait, what?" Caitlin answered.

"This is the knowledge I have for you, about your everlasting damnation." Savitar said.

"Who are you?" Barry asked.

"I am the future, Flash." Savitar answered.

"What do you want from us?" Seth demanded to know, not liking the look on Caitlin's face after hearing Savitar's prophecy.

"Everything." Savitar answered in a growl, shocking the team with his enraged tone. "Everything you took from me; I want it back. And I'm gonna take it back, then I will destroy you. All of you."

"Then why haven't you already?" Barry inquired. "If you're all powerful, then why don't you just go ahead and kill us all now, be done with it? Because you can't."

"You did this to me." Savitar sneered. "You trapped me in eternity. Your future self, you did this to me, Barry. And now the age of my revenge rises. My freedom is at hand. You will free my wrath. The wrath of Savitar!"

"Oh yeah." Seth challenged. "Bring it on, Phony God. I've spared with a god before, and you're nothing but a joke with a personality compared to the god of thunder."

Savitar chortled hollowly. "Is that anger you have your own, Seth? Or perhaps the rage Caitlin has…" Seth widened his eyes, his fist tightening around his sword. "Wrong woman you're focusing on, Seth."

"What?" Seth's rage was replaced with confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A smirk graced Savitar's face. "I would have thought you of all people would have realized who I'm talking about… She went to such far lengths for… Dinner." He said with a smile.

"Dinner-" Seth's eyes widened, realization dawning on him like a sudden downpour. He recalled the person… The woman who practically mentioned every time she passed by him and his family during her junkie phase with the Velocity speed drug that Caitlin had constructed.

The same woman who his daughter saw as an aunt… The same woman who he had helped because of a break-in at her workplace… The same woman who Caitlin walked with… The same woman who… Who became a speedster because of the artificial speed-drug…

The same woman who became Trajectory…

"Fuck!" Seth rushed to Julian, yanking the headband off his head and severed the connection between him and Savitar. Julian was left confused, but it was lowered when the mutant exclaimed. "Fuck!"

"Seth, what's wrong?" Caitlin got up to him.

"Did it work?" Julian asked.

"Yeah, and I was an idiot." Seth answered.

"What do you mean?" Joe asked his partner.

"I figured out who hired Taskmaster before." Seth declared, getting shocked looks from everyone. "It was Eliza Harmon."

"What? Why? Eliza?" Caitlin asked in shock and disbelief.

"I'll have to ask her personally to answer that question." Seth admitted, rushing to the exit.

But the detective stopped him. "I'll have a police force ready."

"They won't let you off the hook if they see you working with Venom, Joe." Seth told his partner.

"I can handle myself. Let's go!" Joe told the mutant, rushing out of the Speed Lab with him.

After seeing them rush out of the training lab, the others are left with a bunch of questions.

X

(Mercury Labs)

"Where are you, Taskmaster?" Eliza asked, speaking into her phone as she communicated with the mercenary. With her standing all alone in the lab she had no concerns about speaking out loud.

"Why you need help or something?" Taskmaster asked bluntly and uncaringly.

Eliza groaned, facing the five symbiote containers on the table. Four of them weren't moving at all, the symbiotes within them appearing to be asleep. But one of them has been moving around erratically. The sight and its chaotic behavior was worrisome, prompting the scientist to contact Taskmaster to get Otto Octavius to come to her side.

"I need the Octopus' help, something's wrong with one of the symbiotes." She demanded, her hand touching the glass. Strangely enough the symbiote didn't move away, but rather toward her palm on the other side of the glass, almost like it was trying to break through it. "It's erratic… Like something's wrong."

"I'll see if the doc's available-"

"Eliza?"

The scientist snapped around so fast it could have been mistaken for superspeed. The last person she wanted to enter the lab is also the person… Who she hold the most dear?

X

In the lobby area of Mercury Labs, Christina McGee was taking care of what arrangements are scheduled for after Christmas. She was speaking to her receptionist when she glanced towards the entrance to her company building.

Her eyes expanded to the limit when she saw Detective Joe West and Captain David Singh walking into her building, behind them followed a large task force of armed officers in SWAT gear.

Walking away from her receptionist, Christina demanded. "Detective West what is going on? Why have you brought your men here?"

"Apologies Dr. McGee, but we'd like you to direct us to Dr. Eliza Harmon's lab immediately if possible." David asked.

"Why?" Christina asked.

"We believe she's involved in dangerous business." Joe declared.

"What?" Christina asked in disbelief.

X

As that was happening, Joan Celia stepped forward into the lab that she and Eliza shared. Her eyes brimming with confusion at what's behind her. "What's that?" She asked, her eyes never leaving the five glass spheres with some kind of a strange, but familiar liquid of unusual colors.

"… I'll call you back." Eliza hung up on the mercenary, gritting her teeth and clenching her fist around the phone. "It's…"

"What is that, Eliza?" Joan demanded. "That stuff does not look like anything Dr. McGee's given us."

"And it's not." Eliza said immediately, putting her phone in her pocket. Joan's widened eyes with concern didn't even seem to faze her now. Any other day, her defenses would have melted at those heart-warming eyes.

But this time… She had to stand her ground.

Eliza's fists clenched. "These five containers… They're symbiotes."

"S-Symbiotes?" Joan asked in confusion, not liking the sound of its alien name. "What? And why and how did you get these… symbiotes?"

"Stole a nice piece off of Venom, thanks to an associate." Eliza showed a smirk. "With these… Anyone ordinary could have the powers as him. Anyone will be able to wield the same powers as Venom soon enough."

"You… You've been experimenting on something like this behind our backs? Behind Dr. McGee's? Behind mine?" Joan asked, not believing that she'd ever do something like this.

"Well…" Eliza chuckled hollowly. "Not exactly legal. Better keep the circle of trust close."

"And it wasn't by any legal means you acquired these samples, right?" Joan realized. Eliza nodded. "… Why did yo-"

"Joan Celia, step back!" Joe demanded, rushing into the lab with his captain and the SWAT gear-equipped officers rushing in after them. The detective took out his firearm, cocking it. Looking past Eliza Harmon and Joan, his eyes paled when seeing five containers with familiar living mass. "What is that?"

Seeing the familiar detective again, Eliza dropped the smile she had during their first meeting and showed a genuinely sick smile. "Think you already know that, don't you, Detective West?" She stepped backwards, getting closer to the table.

"Joe, what is she talking about?" David asked his detective.

"Guess your detective doesn't tell you everything, huh, Captain Singh." Eliza chortled, stepping back till her back touched the table. "Someone's on Santa's naughty list."

"That's enough. Eliza Harmon, you're under arrest for aiding and abetting a criminal." David started.

"What? Eliza?" Christina said. Joan gave a disbelieving look, not believing her boss' words.

"I'm sorry, Dr. McGee, but I'll be handing in my resignation tonight." Eliza reached into her collar, yanking out the small vial with the Anti-Venom symbiote sample. "And JC… I'm sorry…" She glanced at the officers. "And officers, I won't come with you, unfortunately." She held the vial between her fingers.

"Not another move!" An officer shouted, threatening to pull the trigger.

"Oh, don't worry…" Eliza gave the officers with firearms, the captain, the detective, her boss and her beloved... a spine-chilling daring look. She put the vial between her teeth, confusing the law enforcement. "I just need the… one."

Turning around, raising a clenched fist and holding it high up in the air, she swung it down on the sphere with the red and yellow symbiote.

SHATTER

At the same time her fist shattered the glass sphere, the glass vial between her teeth was crushed. In an instant, the symbiote from the container and the small piece in the vial…

Both lunged at her, enveloping her completely and her eyes saw a whirling mix of red, yellow… and white.

Her entire world turned into that… And the gunfire… the bullets behind her didn't even reach her mind.

X

Finding herself in an empty white space, another world that wasn't just white but also slithering with yellow and red mass, Eliza smiled in realization. "You've been calling me this entire time, haven't you?" She asked.

Nothing happened, nothing replied until a few moments had passed. A sneer emitted, echoing throughout the empty world. "We have been calling for a long, long time now."

"Took a while to take the call. Sorry for that." Eliza said, looking around for the voice. "You're like Venom, aren't you?"

"You've spent all this time tinkering on us, yet you ask a question you already know the answer to?" The voice… The symbiote laughed. "Humans are truly fascinating."

"Glad to know I've piqued your interest." Eliza could see that with every laugh caused a spark of electricity to come over the empty world. "But I think it's time we've set you free, isn't it?"

"Intriguing…" The entire world trembled and shook, sparking even more. "But we have a better idea?"

"And what is that huh?" Eliza smiled.

Eliza felt the entire world smirk.

"It's time… WE are set free!"

In an instant, the empty world suddenly enclosed itself and devoured Eliza.

X

GUNSHOT

Joan and Christina watched as the bullets flew and pierce Eliza's body. They covered their mouths in shock and fear when seeing her body fall. "Oh God." Joan asked in fear, feeling disgust and something else slither its way up her throat.

Neither Joe nor David fired a single bullet, yet watched as their fellow officers fired bullets. "Damn." David asked.

"Lower your arms." Joe said, stepping forward. The officers looked skeptically at him. "Lower your damn weapons!" They finally listened to his orders, lowering their firearms.

"Detective West, is the suspect…?" David asked slowly.

"Oh, don't worry." Everyone flinched, snapping their attention to the downed body of Eliza Harmon. Though her hair covers her entire face… They were able to see the corners of her lips curl up, forming a maniacal smirk. "We've never felt more alive!"

Joe and David were barely given any time to react when suddenly something lashed out at them, pushing them out of the lab and into the hallway where Joan and Christina are standing. They crouched down by the officers' sides, but their attention is directed to the…

…Something like a red strand pulled back…

SCREAM

A loud scream followed from within the lab, diverting everyone's attention into it where smoke completely enveloped the entire lab as the SWAT team released their smoke grenades in a flurry. What followed next was the sound of overlapping gunfire.

Then… a body came flying out of the lab. The four stepped back, watching blood leak from the neck of the headless corpse.

"What is happening?!" Christina shouted.

"We have to get out now!" Joe shouted, getting back to his feet with his captain. "Come!"

Joan gave the room of smoke a last look, completely worried out of her mind and full of fear. Someone she cares a lot about was riddled with bullets in front of her eyes. "Come on!" David had to pull her away, the four of them rushing towards the staircase.

They got out of sight… And blood streamed out of the smoke-filled lab.

A clawed hand came out… clutching the doorframe… The blood around the long white claws stain the wood.

X

While rushing down the stairs, Joe pulled out his phone and quickly typed a message to a certain pair of heroes. David saw him texting and made a mental note of it.

The four of them got down to the lobby. The remaining members of the task force turned their eyes to their members. "Captain, where are the others?"

David stood in front of the Mercury Labs members and his detective. Opening his mouth, he was about to give an answer to his officer.

"Oh, they're dead." But a female voice answered before he could say anything. Everyone turned to the voice, seeing that it was Eliza Harmon who had spoken. She was walking towards them, most of her white coat stained with fresh blood. Her hands and the side of her face are the same, dripping with liquid that flew through the bodies of those she had slain.

"Dead as doornails, better you guys forget them and worry about yourselves instead." She coldly suggested without a single emotion on her face.

Captain Singh raised his firearm at the woman, as did the rest of his officers. "Eliza Harmon, hands up! Now! You won't get another warning."

"Didn't you and your officers already give me one upstairs?" Eliza questioned, pointing a finger upwards while stepping closer to them.

"Don't take another step!" An officer ordered.

"One of your friends upstairs told me the same…" Eliza wiped off blood from the corner of her mouth. "Wanna see how that ended for him?"

"Eliza, stop!" Joan begged. Eliza faced her, a sliver of emotion coming over her face again, but it quickly faded away. "This isn't you, Eliza! Stop this, please."

Eliza shook her head. "Can't do that, JC. Too far to go back."

"Make a move, you're gonna end up with holes." An officer said.

Eliza narrowed her eyes. "Well… I only need your Captain and Detective West… The rest of you…" She showed a sick smile. "You will serve another purpose."

What happened next made the officers and the Mercury Labs workers pale in shock and fear. Eliza Harmon's clothes shifted and morphed, turning into a strange mass of yellow and red. The mass slithered over her entire body. As the mass spread over her body, she got taller and long white veins spread as her body was enveloped.

Joe paled in fear… Realizing what this meant. He has seen this happen numerous times with Seth and his daughters by now, and what exactly this meant.

The symbiote reached her neck and engulfed Eliza's head. Now she has white eyes in her head and has large white teeth hiding within her ravenously-looking mouth that looked like it belonged to a shark. Her emerald-green eyes are now completely covered by Klyntar mass, replacing them with pseudo white eyes.

Her entire body is covered in a full body skin, slightly taller than she normally is. She has red and yellow skin with long jagged white veins. But what stood out most was the hair behind her which has the same length as her entire body. It's a mix of red and yellow hair with deep black streaks in it. She flexed the white claws on her feet and on her hands.

She let out a sneer, her long serpentine tongue touching the surface of her razor-sharp fangs. "The air… Is so fresh."

"What is that?" Christina asked at the sight of the female Venom-like being.

"Is she… Venom?" David asked.

"Not quite." Eliza answered, hearing the question. "We're something else."

"Open fire!" One of the officers said.

Every member opened fire, unleashing a storm of lead bullets at the symbiote-bearer. But they did nothing more than just annoy the long-haired symbiote-bearer. She stepped forward, her full-body long hair strands raising up.

The officers' weapons stopped firing; they couldn't fire any more bullets. They had to reload.

Eliza smiled. "Our turn!" In an instant, the tips of her hair strands morphed into blades and halberds. With a snarl, they shot forward and stabbed the officers. None of them killed them, but they did slash vital areas with remarkable precision.

Each of them getting stabbed and hurt by the flurry of sharp strikes made every single officer scream in pain.

A wide smile formed on Eliza's symbiote-covered mouth. "What a delightful scream you officers have." A flash of inspiration came over her. "Scream… That's a good name. Don't you think?" She asked her "other."

"Truly a delightful name, indeed, Eliza." The newly christened symbiote agreed, loving the spine-chilling name that her host gave her. "And these humans are the perfect playthings."

"Playthings?" Eliza raised a clawed hand, flexing her white claws. "Perfect word for guinea pigs."

Joe widened his eyes in shock and disbelief when seeing the new symbiote bearer generate an immense amount of lightning around her claws. She was gathering lightning inside of her digits, the high concentration of electricity producing an unpleasant sound.

"You… You can do what Venom can do?" The detective asked.

"Fear not, Detective. You are to be spared, as is your captain, my former boss and my… lab partner." Scream declared. She jumped into the air, one impressive leap and she stuck herself to the metal support beams on the ceiling. "But the rest… Not so much." She said bluntly, looking down on the officers.

She didn't even hesitate to wrap two hair strands around two injured officers, bringing them up to her level. Lashing out her thunder-cloaked claws, she swung them and like a guillotine, she cut one of the officers in two.

The other officer tried to shoot her down with his free hand, but he soon lost that ability when she removed his hand with her claws. Any screams that may have come from him were silenced when his head was devoured by the symbiote.

"Tasty." She chuckled after getting two more bites off his torso before dumping the carcass. "What about the rest of you?" She asked, letting go of the ceiling and landed on the ground.

It was as though the officers and Mercury Labs workers were staring into the eyes of Medusa and facing her even more terrifying wrath. The long hair strands sharpened and cut into every single officer that was within reach of them. Eliza Harmon relished in their screams, gaining them as she punctured their bodies.

She didn't slow down for a single second, continuing her flurry of strikes. And those who were stupid enough to try and hit her from close-range met her sharp lightning-cloaked talons that very easily sliced them up. Whether it was her hair or her claws, each strike is like the stab of a spear. Each strike from her tore down their protective clothing with ease.

"Captain, we gotta get outta here now!" Joe said, grabbing his captain's shoulder. "Dr. McGee, Joan, you two!" They accepted and ran with the detective.

But Joe's walk was cut short when a red symbiotic hair strand grabbed him by his ankle, forcing him down to the ground. David turned to him. "Joe-" He didn't get to finish his sentence when a similar hair strand wrapped around his throat, lifting him up into the air.

"We already told you, we need the two of you." Scream reminded the officers. She stepped on Joe like he was a doormat, her hair strand tightened around the captain's throat, making it harder for him to breathe.

"Eliza, please." Once again, Joan tried to get through to her humanity again. "Don't do this."

"Sorry J…" Two hair strands sparked with electricity raised themselves in front of both Christina and Joan. "But I made my choice." Then she tapped the sides of their throats, giving them a shock. effectively tasering them and knocking them out.

"Now…" Eliza smiled widely at the captain and the detective under her foot. "Let's go for a ride!"

X

Outside of Mercury Labs, the doors swung open and flew off the hinges. Scream jumped out of the entrance, releasing a growl at the circle of police cars around her. Guns immediately pointed at her, every single one trained on her head.

But she showed a mock disappointed look. "Ah ah ah." She wagged her finger as though she was scolding children for unruly behavior. Eliza held up the two officers in her hair strands, holding them as shields and examples. "Stay where you are, or you're gonna be downsized."

Eliza saw the officers lower their firearms with shaking hands. A smile formed on her face, her head snapping back and facing the tall building that was her workplace. The smile on her mouth expanded. Golden lightning sparked over her entire body, enveloping her entirely before she leaped off the ground.

She slammed herself onto the side of the building. With her hair strands ensnaring the two officers, she runs up the wall with animal-like ferocity and behavior. The wall and glass under her feet cracked and melted from her strength and the intense thunderous energy emanating from her.

In a matter of seconds, she reached the rooftop and stood on the edge of it. Rain pours over them all and she snarls into the open, drenched world and her home. "Needed a shower." She said, running her claws through her long red and yellow hair and let the water soak through the strands.

"L-Last warning, Harmon!" David Singh shouted, fighting through the tight restraints around his throat.

Scream chuckled at his words, lifting him up till he was suspended in front of her. "We're sorry, Captain."

"W-What?" David asked, confused by her words. "Why?"

"We don't… Actually, need you, Captain." Scream gestured to the Detective. "We just needed Joe. You…"

"What?!" David managed to shout.

"We just needed to draw him out." Scream declared, reeling back the captain before throwing him away.

"Captain!" Joe screamed when seeing the hair strand release his captain in a hurl.

The officers, civilians and those residing within nearby buildings saw him flying towards a wall. David saw the same, thinking that his death and demise is nigh. That he'd leave his husband alone and that his life would come to an end by someone akin to Venom.

But someone had other plans.

Venom released a roar, running across the surface of an apartment building wall. Lightning and wind enveloped him completely before he jumped off the wall. Tendrils shot out of his arms, traveling through the air as birds. They wrapped around the captain's body and grabbed him. Pulling them back into his arms, he grabbed onto David before landing on the ground.

"Venom?" David asked in surprise as he was lowered to the ground.

Looking around, Venom couldn't find Joe. "Where's Detective West?"

"With her!" David immediately said, pointing a finger to the sky. Following the direction of it, Venom and Seth were both shocked out of their minds when seeing that it was…

Another symbiote-bearer… One bearing a red and yellow symbiote that includes full body length hair.

"What the hell?" Seth asked.

"Who… Who is she?" His "other" couldn't believe his eyes. "What is she?"

"That your friend or something?" The captain inquired.

The elemental didn't respond, and rushed towards the building. Jumping onto the wall, he crawled up with his hands and legs digging into the brick surface. He quickly reached the rooftop and jumped up to it.

"Finally, we meet…Brother." Scream greeted her sibling, as she used her symbiotic hair to form a make-shift chair for her to sit in. Over her head is Joe West, completely ensnared by the symbiotic hair strands.

"Brother?" Venom asked in confusion and worry, his attention divided between the new symbiote user and the detective in her grasp.

Seeing his divided attention, Scream snapped her claws. "Hey!" Seth's eyes looked back at her. "He's not important right now, forget about him."

Venom growled. "Hard to forget a friend." He thought about retrieving his sword from within him, but he went against the idea, worried that any movement would cause her to tear Joe in half.

Scream smirked. "Is that so? Let's test that… After you watch your beloved friend go splat."

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Eliza reeled back her hostage and swung him around before hurling the detective from the rooftop.

"Joe!" Seth shouted, jumping off the rooftop and after him. While getting to him mid-air, he wrapped his arms around the detective. The elemental landed on the ground, skipping across the asphalt like a stone skipping on the surface of the ocean.

Digging his feet into the ground, Seth halted his fall and pushed himself up to a crouch. "Are you okay?" He asked, letting go of the detective in his arms.

"Fine, for now." Joe looked at the mutant. "Seth… That's Eliza Harmon."

Once again, the mutant and his Klyntar roommate were baffled out of their minds. "Wha-" He didn't get to finish his sentence when suddenly Scream tackled him, knocking him away.

The new symbiote-bearer jumped into the air, shooting down her hair strands and dug them into the elemental's chest. Scream landed on the ground again, she swung her head around and dragged him around, causing ground and pavement to be pushed up. Letting out a cry, she planted her feet into the ground before hurling Venom towards a church.

The doors were knocked open when Seth smashed through them. Skipping across the nave between the rows, the mutant dug his feet into the floor and grabbed the symbiotic hair strands hooked into his body. Like they were ropes, he pulled on them, yanking Scream into the church.

The doors closed behind them as Eliza flew through the air. She retracted her hair strands from the mutant's symbiote-clad body and then landed on the floor. Seeing the doors close behind the elemental, she flexed her body and the symbiote around her body retracted.

She showed a wide smirk. "Didn't expect to see me like this, did ya, Seth?"

The symbiote around his body retracted as well and Seth faced the scientist with a dark look. "You're the one who hired Taskmaster? You hired him to break into your own lab, steal your own tech and what? Steal a piece of Venom?"

"Including a blood sample from you and your friend in the spider PJs. The older one, not the kid." Eliza said smugly. "Mixed up together, and you got a perfectly good… Scream symbiote, another elemental symbiote."

"Why?" Seth asked.

Eliza spun around, coming to a stop with arms stretched out. Red and yellowish symbiote mass puddles formed on her shoulders before spouting two additional arms. Each arm was like her own symbiotic appendages, each paired with long sharp white claws.

Seth watched the arms with surprise. It's one thing to sprout tendrils, but additional arms is something else entirely. He's not seen symbiotes who could do that before. Scream was different.

"You know… When I remembered that life… I can't imagine a life as a speedster being anything but unfulfilling." Eliza admitted, stroking the symbiotic arms gently with her fingers.

"Speedster?" Seth muttered under his breath.

Noticing the shocked look on his face, she chuckled behind a closed mouth. "Should I rather say… "Trajectory?""

"You remember?" Seth said with disbelief, his eyes expanded to the size of planets.

"My life from when you and your daughters turned me into a popsicle? Oh yeah, I remember that." Eliza revealed. "Fun fact about Alchemy, he can do a lot more than just give back powers to those from Flashpoint."

"He gave you memories from prior to that, from the original timeline." Seth deduced.

"Bingo… And trust me, what I got now… Is so, so much better than any speedster powers." Eliza admitted with a cackle. "Fuck, I can't believe I was actually happy with those powers. I mean, these powers are so much better."

"Did Alchemy put you to this or what?" Seth asked. "You get a piece of Venom, becoming… Scream?"

"In a nutshell, but it's a lot more than that." Eliza admitted. "Why? You're not sad or hurt you're not the only elemental symbiote."

"Like I give a rat's ass about that shit, I wanna know why you work with Alchemy. To get revenge for what we did to you before Flashpoint. Or is there something deeper going on?" Seth asked. "Give me an answer… Or I'll force it out of you." Elements began emitting from his entire body in violent waves.

"Didn't I tell you…" The clawed arms from her shoulders sparked with lightning. "You're not the only host to an elemental symbiote."

"Guess I'll have to go for option number two." Seth decided, symbiote mass slithering out his skin. Wrapping around his arms and legs, his entire body expanded till he towered in the middle of the nave. His head was engulfed by his "other," and his face turned into the face of a demon with red eyes and sharp white fangs. Popping out of his face, the skull extension took their place over his face. The white spinal extensions shot out of his shoulders, wrapping and spiraling around his arms before digging into the backs of his hands. The white veins around his body pulsated, bone protrusions sticking out before bending and dug into his front.

"We'll knock the answers out of you, Sister!" Venom spoke.

"Oh, yeah?" Eliza challenged, the arms from her shoulders retracting and formed into a yellowish and red symbiote mass. The mass slithered over her entire body, expanding and making her taller till she stood just a head lower than her symbiotic brother. Her fingers and toes became claws the very moment her face was engulfed by her "other." Long white veins spread over her body, turning jagged. Much like Seth's, her face turned into that of a demon with white eyes and white fangs. The symbiote mass slid over her entire head, sliding over her hair and expending the hair strands. Soon enough her hair was now at full body-length with yellow and red hair with deep black streaks.

"Then, Brother, till one of us falls." Scream shouted, running towards the elemental. Her entire body sparked with violent waves of electricity.

Seth clenched his fist, the gravel in his entire arm enhancing his power, before thrusting it into Scream's chest. The blow knocked her off the ground and into the sky. The strike sent her flying, close to the stained glass above the clean altar.

But she lashed out her hair strands to each and every direction, hooking them into the hard surfaces and suspended her above. Light shined through the stained glass, illuminating the demonic form of Scream with the nightly light.

Lightning cloaks her claws and several hair strands morph into halberds, spears and axes. Additional two arms morphed out of her original arms, the hands on the two new arms morphed into two-pronged swords.

"Crap, she's got an arsenal." Venom admitted in surprise. "What's the plan?"

"You know the plan, we beat her." Seth flexed his claws, turning them into adamantium claws. "And we get our answers."

"Let us see if that's possible, Brother!" Scream shouted, launching herself from the glass after the elemental who leaped from the ground.

The long-haired symbiote user bearer spun around rapidly, essentially becoming a tornado of electrified weapons. Seth coated his adamantium hands with abyssal black flames before thrusting them both into Scream who smashed down on him.

The floor under his feet cracked, tiles pushed up as the mutant was pushed backwards. The black flames around his adamantium claws clashed against the lightning from the tornado, somehow fighting on equal grounds.

Pivoting on his feet, Seth reached into the storm and grabbed Scream by the back of her head. She fought back, trying to bite his hand but to no avail. Her struggles ended when she was slammed into the ground, cracking the floor and sending tiles flying all over the church. He hurled her away, throwing her into the array of seats.

In a flash Scream got back up, lashing out her hair strands in all directions and grabbed onto any row she could find. With a vicious gaze, she launched the wooden seats after the elemental in a barrage. The mutant clenched his adamantium fists, cloaking them with flames and lightning before punching the projectiles in a flurry.

Splinters went everywhere as he bulldozed through the wood. Scream appeared in front of him, raising her two-pronged swords over her head and enveloped them in thunder. Swinging them down, she smashed the swords against his head.

Seth gritted his teeth, the lightning from her blades coming down on him, sending waves of pain through him. Reeling back an open fist, flames erupted around his hand. He thrust his blazing hand into her stomach, the blow launched her off the ground.

She didn't get far as her hair strands shot down, wrapping around Seth's arms and his throat. Sticking herself to the ornate ceiling, she pulled on her hair and forced the elemental up. Swinging around, she slammed him through an ornate skylight, throwing him through it.

He landed on one of the spires of the church. While holding onto the spire he groaned in pain, the hair strands around his neck tightening like a noose. "Too tight?" Venom looked over his shoulder, seeing Scream lift herself up with her hair strands.

"Try it for yourself." Seth jumped off the spire. Cloaking his entire body with lightning and wind, he slammed his entire body into Eliza, forcing her tendrils off his throat. Delivering another strike to her stomach, he split his arm into tendrils and wrapped them around her throat. As she clawed at the noose around her neck, Venom sneered. "You're gonna talk."

"Been… Doing… That… The whole… Time!" Intense flickers of electricity sparked over the surface of her eyes as Scream formed a wide smile. Seth didn't get a chance to react, his opponent's eyes glowing completely yellow. Her fists clench and her entire body becomes surrounded in yellow sparking lightning.

Venom screamed in pain, powerful and violently bolts of lightning shooting out of her electricity-armored body. The powerful discharge released lightning in every direction. The church's rooftop felt the force of her multiple bolts, cracking and breaking as each bolt destroyed the rooftop. Even the spires and the statues at the edge were damaged, the lightning easily piercing through them like spears thrown by Zeus himself.

All the time Seth screamed in agony; Scream's smile widened. "How I've longed to hear your pain, brother."

Mentally laughing back to her "other," Eliza replied. "You wanted to see your flesh and blood in pain? You're weird, Scream."

"As you… Are fascinating, Eliza." Scream smirked. Seth's misery was put to an end when a series of lightning-cloaked fists came thrusting in a flurry. Each blow hit him with the force of a bulldozer, sending him off the church roof.

Civilians and the few remaining police members saw the mutant shoot down from the church, his form smashing into the asphalt. Venom groaned; his back embedded into the ground. He coughed, spitting out a fang.

"Clean up on aisle 4!" Eliza shouted as she landed on the ground, her morphing as she slid off the symbiote her body. She cackled, not even flinching as people around her took images. She inched closer to the downed elemental. "Come on, Venom! We finally got an audience, why not make a show out of this?!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the array of flashing cameras at her.

"Join the circus." Seth got back up, easily towering over the unfazed host to a lightning symbiote. "Not something for us, maybe it's something for you."

"Nah." Eliza shook her head. "Why waste my talents on something that crappy, when I could do something like this?!" Lashing out her arms, she manifested four more symbiotic arms. The sight of the woman with six arms made the surrounding civilians flinch and gasp, but none of them moved a muscle. "Like this, I'm a one-woman circus team."

"More annoying than the circus, that's for sure." Seth declared. He wasn't lying. The way Eliza is now, she's more problematic than any of the native villains of this Earth except for the speedsters that have come from either the future or another Earth.

WHOOSH

Speaking of speedsters, the Scarlet Speedster finally joined the fray, sliding to a stop beside Venom. "Sorry I'm late."

"Speedster, our ass. You're all slower than ancient turtles." Venom groaned.

"Great, the sidekick enters." Eliza groaned, slapping her face with one of her additional hands. "Well, the bad one for sure. Thought Savitar or Alchemy would have put you in the ground by now, Flashy."

"What?" Barry snapped his head in her direction.

"I'm saying I thought Voldemort's understudy and walking tin can would have been pushing up daisies by now." Eliza shouted, her four additional arms flipping the speedster off with their middle fingers raised. "Never send a pair of… something-somethings to do a woman's job."

"Not much faith in them?" Seth said, his sword sticking out of his back.

"Please, you think a Transformers reject and the cult leader is able to amount to anything? Give me a break." Eliza chuckled. "So, who's going first? McTights or Big Scary Demon Cop?" She pointed between the heroes.

"God, you're awful with nicknames." Barry countered, speeding towards her and came to a stop in front of her. He punched her, her fist slamming into the side of her face.

Eliza turned back to him emotionlessly, like she hadn't been punched. She checked the side of her face, touching it with her fingertips. Giving a scoff, she noticed that her fingers were clean of any blood speck. Looking back up to the speedster, she asked. "That a punch or a love-tap? If it's the latter, your future wife's gonna be disappointed."

The Flash looked confused. "What-" He was cut off when one of Eliza's clawed fist punched him and sent him flying into a car. "Ow…" The speedster groaned.

"Well, that was disappointing." Eliza admitted. Her clothes shifted and turned into symbiotic mass. The mass slid over her entire body till she looked directly into her symbiotic brother's eyes. "Let's continue, brother."

WHOOSH

But Barry returned to his feet, tackling into the long-haired symbiote-bearer. The speed-fused tackle pushed Scream back several feet, but her tendrils dug into the ground and stopped her. Lifting her head again, she pointed her sparking white eyes at the speedster with a sneer.

"Not interested in second fiddle." She wrapped her hair around his form instantly, her hair moving at blinding speed. "Stay away Flash! Or your pretty little girlfriend loses her head."

Images of the news article from the future flashed before Barry's eyes, making him recall the new byline on the article that didn't belong to his future wife. "Shut your mouth!" He shouted, trying to force his way out of the hair strands. His phasing failed as she used her lightning to counter his escape plans. "Shut your mouth or-"

"Better yet, how about you lose your head!" Scream shouted, spinning around and dragged the speedster through the asphalt. Coming to a stop, she hurled him away and towards a car.

Barry screamed through the air. Seth went to save him, but was forced to withdraw his sword and use it to block Scream's attacks when they came for his head. "Flash!"

But he didn't have to worry about anything when a burst of shadows erupted in the air. Eclipse used her serpentine wings, stretching them down and wrapped them around Barry's body. Using her shadowporting again, she teleported them to the ground and lowered Barry. "You okay?" She asked him.

"Been better, but yeah. Thanks." Barry said.

Evelyn didn't hear Barry's gratitude, her attention diverted and focused on Scream. "Holy crap… That's Eliza?"

"Yeah." Barry said, this time Evelyn did hear his words. "With a symbiote and lightning powers, like Seth."

"Guess she didn't like to have speed anymore." Eclipse said, a bow forming around her wrist. "Now, she's like Dad. And it's not good." She raised her bow, forming arrows in her right hand before pulling them back on her string. "She won't go down easy."

"We won't make it easy then!" Ruby announced, dropkicking Scream away from her father with her entire being powered by gravitational force. Eliza was sent flying across the asphalt and Genysis backflipped, landing on the ground beside her father. "You okay, Dad?"

"Been better honey." Seth noticed Evelyn shoot arrows after Scream, each of them deflected with the weaponized hair strands. "We need to do something about that one." He stuck out his sword.

Ruby nodded. "Why do you think we're here?" She jumped onto the side of his sword. "Magenta!"

"Here!" Magenta shouted as her name was called out. She landed in front of her sister and her father, lifting up her hands with curling fingers. Cars around her and her family flew up, splitting into a thousand of pieces spiraling around her. Thrusting out both hands, she launched the metal pieces after Scream.

Scream saw them coming. Covering her hair strands around her like a dome, she blocked the metal pieces coming at her. The metal hit her hair, sticking into the gaps.

The defense proved to be annoying, but it was expected, and Seth reeled back his sword with his daughter. Swinging it forward, he threw Ruby after Eliza. Genysis spiraled around in the air before body slamming into Scream's dome shield.

She fell to the ground, looking up from the asphalt to see Ruby bringing down a leg for her head. But Scream crossed her arms, morphing her limbs into a large shield with spikes. Thunderous lightning enveloped her entire form, wrapping around her spiked shield.

"Look out!" Evelyn shouted, grabbing her sister out of the air after shadowporting. She and her sister rolled on the ground, saving her sister from the attack that would injure her. "Sorry, know you hate being interrupted."

"Not to worry, but don't do it in the future." Ruby and her sister got back on their feet.

Flipping back to her feet, Eliza growled at them. She ran towards them, her arms morphing back into claws which she lashed out. But she met two large jagged purple swords that stopped her pale claws. Scream looked through the sparks, a smile forming on her mouth. "Hiya Frankie."

"Can't believe it's you, Aunt Eliza." Frankie said, a grunt escaping her mouth as sparks of lightning came over her body. "This is worse than last time as Trajectory. Stop this! Now!"

"Or what?" Scream challenged her, her hair strands forming weapons of various kinds.

"Or this!" Ruby shouted, rushing around her sister with an arm pulled back. Gravitational force wrapped around her outstretched arm. Her fist flew, slamming into Eliza's face from the side. The strike was heavier than anything Seth had thrown at her, and it sent her flying into a van. The side of it was caved in when the long-haired symbiote bearer crashed into it.

Genysis scoffed. "That blow's bound to have knocked her out."

"Careful what you wish for…." Eliza let out, tearing the entire minivan into pieces as she forced her way out of it. "Because you might get the opposite of what you want." Once again, her hair formed into halberds and swords.

A storm of arrows, each of them imbued with light and darkness, flew through the air and pierced her symbiotic weaponry. Turning to the direction from where they came from, Eliza locked eyes with the archer. Eclipse stood where her father was, right beside him.

Venom got back on his feet. "Stand down, Eliza Harmon. Now!"

"Make me!" Scream bellowed, her voice shaking the entire city with fear.

Snarling back at her, Seth ran to her. Reeling back his sword in his right arm, flames erupted, dancing over the crystal and enveloped it completely. He swung it for her, but it came to a stop when Scream's hair wrapped around his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. "Caught you!" She smirked triumphantly.

"Venom!" Eclipse shouted, getting his attention. Sharing a look with his daughter, Seth realized what her plan was… and he didn't refuse. He stretched out his free hand, opening up his fist. Evelyn jumped onto it and the mutant swung his arm, hurling her into the air.

When directly above Scream, she pulled back two arrows and fired them down. One hit her foot and the other pierced into her shoulder. She screeched in pain, staggering backwards. Her grip on Venom loosened and she was met with Seth's fist striking her face.

Her face was turned to the side, Genysis appeared and swung her blade for her face. The blade wounded her face but healed quickly. Scream grunted, her face turned to the other side and Magenta swung a spiked mace into her face. Eclipse joined in, thrusting her bow into her stomach.

This repeated for several moments, the three symbiote-bearing sisters unleashing a flurry of close-range attacks. With the series of blows piling up on her, Scream was close to losing consciousness and her balance was following close by.

Scream's eyes sparked with electricity again. "Damn brats! Piss off!" She bellowed out, her entire body cloaking with lightning and released bolts of thunder.

"Look out!" Evelyn shouted, leaping backwards. Her serpentine wings stretched out and wrapped around her sisters and pulled them both to avoid the incoming lightning bolts. Eclipse's markings around her face shone powerfully, the ends of her wings splitting open to reveal mouths. They took aim at the incoming lightning bolts, each mouth sparking with energy before releasing beams of light and darkness.

Those that connected with one another, the lightning bolts and the elemental beams, canceled each other. Neither side stopped there. Eliza's thunder continued to fire in every direction. Evelyn had to continue with her beams, making sure that none of the opposing thunderbolts hit the civilians around them.

Frankie rushed towards Eliza with her spiked mace getting bigger. Ruby followed, both of her arms morphing into swords. Seeing the other girls coming for her, Scream used her hair. They shot out, forming into spears and tried to strike them.

GUNSHOT

"Argh!" She grunted when a bullet came flying, embedding into her eye only to bounce off. The gunshot to her head made her lose focus and concentration, her thunderbolts coming to a stop and as did her follicle arsenal. With an angry grunt, she glanced at the bullet on the ground.

Her eyes turned up, snarling at Detective Joe West who kept his firearm trained on her. "Can't have you run amok in my city, Harmon. Stand down, or you're getting another one to the head."

Scream sighed in rage, sparks of lightning coming out of her mouth. "We're really getting tired of dealing with sidekicks!" She bellowed like an enraged predator. Her anger subsided, her other senses looking and taking in the numerous civilians. A plan formed immediately in her mind and a smirk formed on her face. "Heroes… You know what their biggest weakness is?"

Barry sped up to the symbiote heroes who turned confused at the question. Said question reached the speedster's ears and he spoke. "We don't have a weakness, Scream."

"Oh, but you do, Flash." The smirk on her face widened. Scream laughed, lashing out her hands to gesture to their surroundings. "This city…. It's your weakness. This city and its people! Those maggots around us?! Every single one here is your weakness! You will protect them all, right?"

She lashed out her head, showing them a sinister glare. "Then… TRY AND PROTECT THEM NOW!"

Much like an inferno coming to life, Scream flexed every muscle in her body and released an eruption of thunderous lightning. The lightning burst her body, releasing thunderbolts in every direction. And it only increased more violently with each passing second, and more blasts of thunder came out of her.

"Fuck…" Seth couldn't say anything else at the sight of the eruption of thunder. Blasts of lightning hit the buildings, causing rubble and debris to almost fall on top of civilians but were fortunately saved by Flash's speedy actions.

But the blasts came in every direction and in rapid succession, striking nearby buildings with a vicious intensity that could very well burn and melt down any establishment with ease.

Seeing that, Seth dug his sword into the ground and stepped back. "You okay with this Venom?" He asked his "other" as he clenched his fists, inch by inch his entire body turned into adamantium.

"We're the only ones who can handle this." Came the reply from the symbiote.

"Agreed." Seth nodded; his entire body now turned into adamantium.

As his daughters and the speedster saved people from the randomly firing thunderbolts, the elemental leaped into the air. His arms lashed out, splitting into a series of tendrils that dug into various sides of buildings, the ground or even rooftops. Tendrils sprouted from his waist and legs, piercing deeply into the ground.

His daughters snapped their heads around, turning to their father who was above ground now and had adamantium tendrils hooked into the ground and other hard surfaces. "What is Dad doing?" Ruby asked, confusion riddled over her face as she couldn't figure out his intentions.

"Not again…" Frankie realized his plan, her face paled in fear. "Dad's gonna direct the lightning to him."

"Like a lightning rod?" Evelyn asked.

Before they or the detective and the speedster could say anything, various blasts of lightning came flying towards them. They were about to dodge the blasts, but such feats were unnecessary. The bolts never came into contact with them, instead they were redirected and each and single one emitting from Eliza's body…

They all turned their fangs to the adamantium elemental. Each bolt flew towards him, hitting his symbiote-covered body and painfully releasing copious amounts of thunder through his body. Venom and Seth screamed in pain, feeling every cell in his body be electrocuted and shocked.

With all of their might, with all the power of his elemental powers, he forced the incoming lightning down to his waist. Directing the lightning through his adamantium tendrils and into the ground, the discharges became harmless and didn't hurt anyone.

Anyone except for Seth… Whose screams emitted and coursed through the entire city.

"Is he gonna be okay with that?" Joe asked his son.

"I don't know." Barry answered unsurely.

"With that level of lightning going through him… Seth can't handle much more of that." Caitlin said.

"Then we stop her!" Joe said, walking forward and raising his gun. "Hey, Harmon!" He got her attention as he pulled his trigger and shot the symbiote-bearer's head again.

Much to her annoyance, Eliza's focus was interrupted from the lead bullets digging into her head. The lightning erupting from her entire body came to a stop and fell down to a knee. "Damn cop." She groaned, picking the bullets out of her skull. Flickering them away, she looked up just in time to see Seth fall to the ground with clanging sound due to his adamantium form. He was panting and groaning in both pain and exhaustion.

Standing up once more, she saw the Scarlet Speedster and the Protector's daughters stand in front of the downed elemental. Scoffing at them, Scream declared. "Not worth the trouble, we already got what we needed. And Brother…" Venom looked up from the ground. "This will not be our last encounter. Trust us."

Scream sparked thunder around her hands again before slamming them down into the ground, the strike to the asphalt caused a smokescreen to erupt and come over her form, completely cloaking her presence.

"Is she gone?" Barry asked when the smokescreen dissipated, and Eliza Harmon was nowhere to be found.

"Yeah." Evelyn nodded regretfully.

"Dad?" Frankie asked her father. "You okay?"

"Been better." Seth chortled. Getting back up on a knee, he told her. "You and your sisters… You did good. More than good."

Magenta smirked. "We have a pretty good teacher."

"And he'd be proud." Seth said, standing up in his full height before rubbing the top of her head caringly with the back of his index finger.

He was proud of his daughters' combined efforts to try and take on an elemental symbiote… But in the back of his head, he was more than just horrified at the thought of another elemental symbiote roaming around.

X

(CCPD)

At the local police department, Joe was talking with Cecile who was still baffled and struggling to take in everything that just happened in the city. They sat at the detective's desk. Joe sighing heavily after his explanation and Cecile trying to wrap her head around everything she heard.

"So… We're dealing with another Venom? A female Venom? Someone who got lightning powers?" Cecile asked, rapidly firing off the questions that were brimming in her head.

"Yeah." Joe said, leaning forward in his chair. "Calls herself Scream."

"These names." Cecile scoffed at the villain's codename as she leant back into her chair. "And Scream… She killed the task force?"

"Every single one. Except for me and Singh." Joe rubbed his eyes. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see the slaughter that he had led his men into. Their screams were echoing in his ears and their blood, though not spilled by him, still stained his hands in ways he'd never be able to clean.

Cecile saw his eyes locking onto his fingers. "Hey." She placed a hand over his hands, getting his attention. "Don't blame yourself for this. Venom-"

"Cecile." He cut her off. "Unfortunately, the only role Venom had in this mess was saving me and Singh and the civilians. Sounded like he didn't have a clue about her existence till they stood on the same rooftop. But thank goodness he was there."

"Yeah…" Cecile recalled the events as the detective told her. "He saved you and David from… From…"

Joe could see that she didn't know how to explain him and his captain's possible deaths, he joked. "Go splat?"

"Yeah, that." Cecile sheepishly nodded. Despite the immense horror that befell this night, they shared a laugh.

"Detective West." Joe and Cecile looked away, turning to the side and saw David walking towards them. "My office, now." The captain gestured to his office that he entered.

Joe exhaled sharply, standing up from his chair and giving Cecile a soft look. He followed his captain into his private office. "What is it, Captain?"

With an emotionless look, the captain closed the door behind his detective and walked around till he stood at his desk. "You contacted Venom, didn't you?" David said, his words coming out as a statement rather than a question. "You've been working with him for a while now, haven't you?"

"I have, Captain." Joe spoke honestly. "For a long time now."

"So that's why you were against the bounty on his head." David realized. "He's someone you trust."

"With my life, yeah." Joe added. "Someone I truly trust with my own life. He saved it more times than I can count, and he'll continue to do so. I realize his methods are unorthodox, without a doubt… But I do not think it's right to brand him a criminal."

David widened his eyes when seeing his detective reach into his jacket and pull out his gun. He watched Joe even unclip his badge from his belt. "I thought the same as you in the beginning, David… That he was like Star City's vigilante: Another violent maniac taking justice into his own hands, branding himself as judge, jury and executioner. But… I've come to see the truth, that he's a friend… Another protector of our city. A hero."

Joe placed both his gun and his badge on the desk. "And I won't hunt one. I'm sorry, David." He stepped back, away from the table. David could see that his detective wasn't gonna back down. He'd happily resign if it meant having to hunt and shoot down a hero.

"Maybe you're right." David confessed, the detective widening his eyes. Taking a seat in his chair, the captain continued. "Venom… He saved you and me, and I'm the guy who called him a menace on live TV."

"He doesn't do what he does for fame or glory, he just does what he does." Joe replied, taking a seat in a chair.

David nodded. "Which I've come to realize. So, I need two things from you now, Joe."

"What?" Joe asked.

"Take back your badge and gun, I'm not letting you quit." David stated adamantly. Joe chuckled, taking back his gun and badge. "Next… We're gonna prepare a Christmas present."

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Inside of the medbay of S.T.A.R. Labs…

"OW!" Seth let out in pain as he was examined by his beloved. The others flinched at his exclamation, including his daughters. "Cait, I love you, but why are we doing this?" He had to ask as she took out the tweezer.

"Babe, I love you too, but unfortunately…" Caitlin used the tweezers, plucking out something from Seth's side and showed him the splinter. "You got splinters in you."

"Oh yeah, I messed up a church." Seth recalled. "Must have found its way through my suit after those lightning shocks."

Caitlin, while helping her mate and removing wood fragments, looking into his eyes. "Eliza really has a symbiote."

"One with lightning powers, and, unlike me, she can discharge her powers." Seth confessed. "She's powerful."

From the Cortex, Cisco asked. "How exactly did Eliza even get her hands on an elemental symbiote? Not like you can buy them at Walmart."

"Did he just say we're purchasable like some measly item?!" Venom shouted.

"Don't say that again, Cisco, cause Venom's gonna turn mad." Seth groaned. He looked down on his body, seeing that Caitlin was done and gave him permission to move. "Thanks." Getting off the gurney, he said. "Eliza was working with Taskmaster."

"Taskmaster?" Julian asked. "Who on Earth is that?"

Ruby bluntly answered. "Combat chameleon, anything you've learnt to do, he can learn it in seconds by watching you. And he's a mercenary."

"Mercenary?" Julian asked.

"That's what I said." Ruby countered.

Seth continued. "They were working together all this time. Taskmaster got a sample of my blood and the Venom symbiote, he even got a sample of Peter's blood."

"Wait, she got Spider-Man's blood?" Frankie asked.

"Yeah." Seth nodded. "She mixed the Venom symbiote, my blood and Peter's blood together and formed… Scream."

"That is not a good guy name." Iris muttered.

"Yup." Seth nodded. "She killed most of those officers and almost took out Joe and Captain Singh. That's not even the worst of all."

"I'm afraid to ask, but how much worse can it be?" Cisco dared to ask.

Recalling what Joe had briefly told him before he went to the precinct, Seth answered. "According to Joe, Eliza swallowed something else while the Scream symbiote bonded to her. And… She had four containers with symbiote mass on her table."

"So, there are four other elemental symbiotes except for you and Scream." Evelyn muttered in shock.

"Exactly. Venom's got siblings." Seth hollowly quipped.

"Never asked for them." Venom chimed in, sounding exactly like a sibling.

"Wow!" H.R. exclaimed. "That was so scary. I mean, that was… Was it truly frightening?"

"Which part? Scream or my dad turning himself into a damn lightning rod?" Ruby questioned him.

"Oh, I meant Savitar talking through Albert." Harrison clarified with a drumstick pointing at the metahuman expert.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that." Seth admitted.

H.R. gaped his mouth. "What, how? What, with the voice and the prophecies and… But you're right, but that was awful too. We've got Harmon like a Venom, but with long hair and more lightning. Oh, this night was a scare-a-thon, wasn't it?"

Seth chuckled. "For once, I actually agree with you H.R."

"Well thank you, S.F. Well, I'm gonna go have a mint tea and a coffee and a lay down." Harrison admitted before walking towards one of the side labs.

Caitlin asked the team, referring to the so-called prophecies. "Do you think the things he said about one of us betraying him and one of us dying could really be true?"

"I mean, if it really was future Barry that pissed him off and locked him up somewhere, then maybe he knows what happens to "future us"." Cisco stated.

Ruby countered. "Or it could be another villain trying to trick us and psyche us out with these bullshit prophecies."

"Possible yeah, but it could be something else. Like he's telling the truth." Evelyn countered.

"He doesn't." Barry countered. "He's never getting out of wherever he's trapped."

"Never say never, Flashy. Tends to bite us in this line of business." Seth argued.

Wally asked. "How are we supposed to stop him?"

They all had looks of confusion and were unable to produce a solution. "The stone." Jay declared as he moved into the Cortex.

Thinking back to their encounters with both Alchemy and Savitar, Seth stated. "Jay's right on that. Whenever this tin can's popping up that stone is there as well."

"Probably the key to everything." Barry agreed. "It's how he controlled Julian; it's how he's created more metas."

Iris nodded her understanding. "So, we destroy the stone and Savitar is gone for good."

With his experience on the matter, Julian said. "It's impossible to destroy. It's been around forever, there's a reason for that."

Wally inquired. "Why don't we bury it again? Put it back in the ground where you found it."

"Mmm-mmm. Jumanji." Cisco countered.

Evelyn perked up. "What's that?" Cisco gasped aloud.

"Seriously, Evie?" Ruby asked, not believing her sister's confusion.

"What? I'm from another Earth, we don't have the same things." Evelyn reminded her sister.

Frankie tapped her sister's shoulder. "They mean, even if we did that, someone else would just find it again, and we'd be right back where we started."

"We need to make that box disappear forever." Jay stated.

"How? Send it out to outer space?" Seth questioned.

Caitlin nudged him. "Seth, I know your father could make it on another Earth, but we're not firing off a rocket."

"Didn't even consider making a rocket. My plan was to hijack one and just smuggle the damn stone in." Seth stated bluntly.

"Interesting suggestion, Seth. But I think I can do one better." Jay said confidently, standing with his hands on his hips. "We throw it into the Speed Force."

"What?" Ruby said with piqued interest.

"Wait, you can do that?" Wally asked.

Jay nodded, assuring them as he said. "Oh, yeah. The Speed Force is eternity itself, an endless void of time and energy."

"It'd be like trying to find it after it got lost in space." Barry said.

Cisco, with his knowledge after working on the stone, added. "But that stone is loaded with gravimetric force. I mean, I don't think you could run fast enough to reach the Speed Force and carry that at the same time."

"He can with Seth and my help." Jay said, surprising the mutant when he heard his name. "We run as fast as we can." He directed at Barry. "You trail behind me, siphon off some of my speed, combine it with your own, and when you have enough, throw that thing deep into the Speed Force." The Scarlet Speedster nodded his understanding.

"I fail to see where that involves me." Seth noted.

"This is the first time any speedster will ever have thrown something like the stone into the Speed Force, there's no telling if the portal will stay open as Barry approaches it." Jay explained.

Connecting the dots, Iris said. "You want Seth to hold it open."

"Exactly." Jay nodded.

"How? Dad can't hold pure energy, much less grab it." Frankie stated.

"That is true, yeah. But I have heard Seth can do some interesting things with that special souvenir from Earth-2." Jay vaguely said.

Caitlin understood his intentions immediately. "You want Seth to hold the portal open with his lightning shooting from his sword, don't you?" Jay nodded. She turned to her mate with questioning eyes. "Think you can do that, Seth?"

"Good question." Seth answered, stroking his chin in thought. He thought about that idea. While he was able to project his more chaotic flames from his body through his crystal sword, he didn't know if that applied to the other elements he's housing. Rather, he's never tried to apply the method of execution to them. "It should be possible, seeing as the other elements aren't dark matter-based."

"Except for how long you were in the Speed Force for a long time, absorbing dark matter straight from the source. It must have affected the other elements inside of you, Seth." Caitlin argued. "Chances are they're in the same state as your black flames. You should be able to discharge them through your sword too."

"Sounds like a good time to test out that theory then, Cait." Seth said, accepting the challenge. "And Jay…" He got the speedster's attention. "It's just me down there, my daughters aren't going anywhere near that Speed Force portal, understood?"

"That's my condition as well." Caitlin said.

Jay understood their conditions. Combining what Seth and Barry told of everything that happened when the speedster changed the timeline, he realized neither of the parents wanted their daughters near that portal in fear of what might happen to them. Last time they were kidnapped by the Speed Force by a heinous being that was once Hunter Zolomon.

He knew those parents would rather face a hundred Savitars and Anti-Venoms if it meant protecting their beloved children.

"I understand." Jay nodded.

"And that will work?" Joe announced his presence, entering the Cortex suddenly. He heard the plan through the corridors. "Throwing the damn stone into a timeless void."

"We need to find out." Barry said, sharing a look with the veteran speedster.

"Let's get rid of this damn rock then." Seth stated. He was more than happy to get rid of the stone that's brought nothing but misery to this city.

X

Down at the entrance of the Pipeline, Seth stood in front of the two speedsters who bore their suits and Cisco. The mutant himself had clad his entire body in a skin-tight version of his Venom form with the exception of his face devoid of his demon-like mask.

In his right hand he holds his crystal sword, his eyes glued to the large crystal blade. With his black flames, he was sure he could unleash them through this very blade, but whether he could do the same with his lightning was a good question that he's yet to inquire.

Seth lifted the blade up to his face, his face shown in the reflection. Cisco looked away from his tablet, facing the mutant. "You doing okay there, Doc?"

"As a doctor, you're supposed to be ready for an array of experiments. But… This is gonna be a strange one." Seth admitted.

"Think you can do it, Venom?" Cisco teased.

"I ain't one to back down from a challenge, Vibe." Seth quipped; his head engulfed by the symbiote mass before the rest of his body expanded.

"Sure you're up for this, Flash?" Flash of Earth-1 asked Flash of Earth-3.

"You got it, Flash." Flash of Earth-3 accepted the box with the stone from Flash of Earth-1.

"They keep doing that, we're gonna eat them." Venom told his host.

Mentally narrowing his eyes, Seth countered. "Neither of us are into eating leather." He noted their suits, seriously thinking that the two would get the worst case of stomachaches in the history of stomachaches.

"I'll let you know when you reach the optimal speed, and I'm guessing that's Seth's cue to pull an Indra and shoot lightning." Cisco joked.

"Not exactly Indra, missing the bow and lightning arrows and being a god of war and thunder." Seth listed off, surprising the viber with his knowledge of Hinduism.

"All right, we're ready." Jay declared as he and Barry got into position.

Cisco opened the gateway. "Ready. Go!" He announced and the two speedsters ran into the Pipeline at full speed. "Venom, on your marks!"

"We're not some damn race car, VIBE!" Venom shouted, jumping through the gateway and took a stance on the bridge.

Looking down from the bridge, he saw the two flashes of yellow lightning running in the same direction through the accelerator ring. He saw that they're following the plan, the veteran Flash running ahead of the younger speedster. Quickly, the number of lightning flashes was reduced to one as Jay handed off the stone box.

"Time to work!" He bellowed out, thunderous lightning erupting through his entire body. The grip around his handle tightened, the lightning around his body sparking violently. Akin to a thundercloud charging with electricity, he condensed his thunder.

Using the knowledge and the training he received from the Speed Force during his adventures on Earth-2, he concentrated the sparking lightning around his body. Directing the thunder down, traveling down to his right arm, dancing over his hand and over his fingers. His thunderous element touched the handle and reached the blade. When connecting with the crystal blade, the lightning intensified and completely enveloped it.

With a snarl, he locked eyes with the portal that's Barry forming and opening up.

The eyes of the demonic mouth hilt glow bright red… And within the lightning-enveloped blade, a multicolored lightning sparked brightly. Reeling his sword back, Venom locked onto the portal, focusing his attention on the ring around it.

"Seth, go for it!" Caitlin shouted through the speakers.

With a roar, he shouted. "Got it!" The mutant thrust his sword in the direction of the portal into the Speed Force. His thunderous sword released the lightning in a discharge, blasting strands of it towards the portal.

From the gateway, Cisco continues watching everything and watches in awe as the elemental's lightning connects with the swirling portal. It was like seeing hooks of lightning latching onto the portal and prying it open with all the might of the sword wielder. Seth pulled his sword back, the portal forced to expand.

"Cisco, when's the optimal speed?" Seth demanded to know, continuing to open up the gateway.

"Thanks for the wait, Seth! Now, Barry!" Cisco shouted into the accelerator ring.

Under the bridge, the Scarlet Speedster came to a stop and with all of the momentum and speed he had gathered, he hurled the stone box through the air and into the portal.

But something strange occurred…

The portal emitted a strange white-ish flash before a strange shockwave was released from it…

And that same peculiar shockwave hit Barry, propelling him backwards… His form disappearing in a blinding bright light…

At that same moment… Seth fell off the bridge and landed on the ground… His sword falling down and embedding into the floor.

X

(?)

A bright white light flashed in the middle of an alleyway, the Scarlet Speedster hurled out of said light and grunted with each impact he took on the ground. Barry looked up, getting back on his feet and looked around.

He recognized his surroundings; he was still in Central City. But he thought it was strange as he was now here and not at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"In other legal news…" Looking towards the sound of a female news reporter, Barry saw a street name.

"Infantino Street…" He thought to himself.

"…The highly publicized trial of Jared Morillo…" Barry walked closer towards the sound, inching closer to a bus stand. "…Aka Plunder, comes to a close." The speedster walked to the bus stand which holds a TV that shows live news, the reporter accompanied her speech with a photo of a pale man with a black eye patch. He looked like a pirate. "Morillo was found guilty of grand theft and aggravated assault after he was caught by the Flash and Venom robbing the Central City Museum earlier this year."

He looked at the corner of the screen… seeing he was months from when he was last here…

"Don't!" For some reason, Barry's own voice came from the park. Something drove the speedster to walk towards the park. He stood behind a tree, hiding away from prying eyes as he….

He saw himself speak… No… Pleading…

"Please. Don't!" Barry saw himself pleading to… Savitar who's holding Iris in front of him. "Don't do this!" He continued to plead to the speed god who tightened his grip on his crying girlfriend.

Savitar raised a clawed hand high up into the air. "Now, finally, I am free of you."

With tears stinging her eyes, Iris confessed. "Barry, I love you."

Barry watched himself say. "Hey, no, don't say that, all right? You're gonna be alright. I'm begging you, just…"

Iris continued to shed tears. "Barry."

"You lose, Barry." Savitar clenched his raised fist, ejecting a long blade from the back of his wrist.

"NO!" Barry watched himself rush towards the speed god.

But even though he is considered the fastest man alive, Savitar is much faster than a puny speedster and easily plunges his blade through Iris's heart, coming out of her chest. Her life met an end at his blade.

Neither of the two Barrys couldn't believe their eyes… The love of his life… taken from him with the thrust of a blade…

Savitar pulled his sword out of her chest. He disappeared in a flash of white lightning, Iris falling down into Barry's arms as he caught her. He breathed heavily, panting in pain and sorrow as he watched the blood leaking from the hole in her chest. "Iris, Iris. Hey."

The Barry watching from the tree heard everything, hearing how the other Barry repeated her name to try and get a reaction, a sign that she's still living and breathing. But he'd get none… Only her lifeless body.

He couldn't believe his eyes… and his heart aches and feels on the urge of breaking-

WHOOSH

His thoughts were interrupted when suddenly a blinding flash of yellow lightning from behind him, grabbed Barry and dragged him away.

He wasn't the only one dragged away…

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Returning to the Speed Lab through the breach into time itself, Jay Garrick dropped his hold on Barry who regained his focus and pulled off his cowl. He looked up and into the veteran speedster's eyes with shock. "Jay. What the hell was that? Where was I?"

Jay, with a stoic look, reveals immediately. "The future."

Barry shook his head in disbelief. "I've never run to the future. I've traveled to the past, but I always came back to the present." Jay took off his helmet, holding it under his arm. "I saw myself. And Iris. And Savitar. What… He killed her." The image was still fresh on his mind, the image of his beloved's heart rammed through by a speed god's blade.

Jay lowered his head at the revelation. "That's five months from now. Is that actually gonna happen?"

"I don't know." Jay replied.

"You don't-" Barry stopped himself in shock.

"You shouldn't have seen that." Jay stated.

The younger speedster scoffed. "This doesn't make sense." He shook his head. "We just got rid of the Philosopher's Stone. I mean, Savitar shouldn't have even been there! Oh my God!" He couldn't get the image of his beloved being impaled out of his mind.

His mind turned back to the Time Vault, specifically the article. "This is why the newspaper in the Time Vault changed. The byline, this is why it's not Iris. Iris didn't write that story anymore eight years from now because…" He practically fell down, miraculously ending up sitting on the stairs to the platform. "She's dead."

"Barry." Jay said.

Barry looked up at him. "I just watched her die. I saw myself try to save her, but I wasn't fast enough. Jay, tell me that this isn't my destiny."

"What you saw was one possibility of the future, what may be, or what may not." Jay countered, trying to give the young man hope again.

This did give him some hope. "Okay, then I can stop this from happening. I can run back there-"

"You can't go back there." Jay cut him off. "Not again, not ever."

Barry nodded. "All right. Then I'll figure out exactly how it happened, how we wind up on that street. And I'll just make sure that we don't go there."

"This is why speedsters don't travel to the future." Jay informed. "Nobody should know this much about their own. Just as there are infinite Earths in the multiverse, there are infinite possibilities to the future. It's always bending, always changing, every decision you make creates another alternative."

"I won't let Iris die." Barry argued.

Jay said. "The future isn't written yet. And it might not even turn out to be what you saw." Barry looked up at him. "You need to focus on the here and now…. You have to live your life."

That was easier said than done.

X

"Seth, are you sure you're okay?" Caitlin asked the mutant who downed his third bottle of water, desperately trying to rehydrate himself. Her face showed nothing but concern for her mate who was hurt from using himself as a lightning rod against Scream but also from suddenly losing consciousness when he was inside of the accelerator ring with the speedsters.

"I'm fine… I think." Seth unsurely said, removing the bottle from his mouth and putting in on a table. "Honestly, I think I'm just becoming weak."

"Don't think that's the case, Dad." Ruby disagreed.

Frankie asked. "Could Dad's experiment when he shocked himself be the cause?"

"Maybe." Caitlin said unsurely, she rubbed his back in comfort. "But are you sure you're okay?" She asked her mate.

"Honestly, I'm unsure… But just after staring at that damn portal made me faint. Pretty pathetic." Seth admitted with a weak chuckle.

Evelyn argued. "Considering everything we've been through with the Speed Force; it's not surprising Dad would have this kind of effect after staring into it." Her family nodded with her reasoning. "Bright side, Dad can shoot lightning through his blade now too."

"Only upside, except for getting rid of that damn rock." Ruby added.

Caitlin noticed Seth's hand clench and his body flinched at the mention of getting rid of the Philosopher's Stone. It was a strange thing to see, and it worried her.

Iris walked over to them. "Where's Barry?"

Before Seth could answer, the Scarlet Speedster announced his presence. "Hey, guys."

"Hey." Iris rushed towards him. "Are you okay? You and Jay disappeared and Seth passed out and-"

"No, I'm okay. Just glad to see you." Barry said, embracing his girlfriend in a hug.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Thought you and Jay were hurled into another Earth after disappearing like that."

"Yeah, not so lucky, Seth." Barry stated with a hollow chuckle.

Frankie looked into the corridor but didn't see anyone walk in. "Where's Jay?"

"Jay decided to go ahead and go back to Earth-3." Barry answered. "But he wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas."

"So, it worked?" Joe impatiently asked. "The stone?"

"It's gone." Barry said. "It's lost in the Speed Force."

With a look of relief on his face, Julian answered. "Good."

"I don't know about you guys, but being mind-punked by a speed god that we piss off in the future and dealing with Venom's not-so-friendly evil sister, it's enough to kill your Christmas spirit." Cisco quipped.

"Hope this doesn't mean we're inviting Scream over for family dinner, it's gonna be a bloodbath." Dusk told her host.

"Do not jinx it." Evelyn warned her "other."

However, Harrison wasn't up for that. "Guys, Christmas time is here. We need a little Christmas. Right this very minute. Who's with me? BA? SF?" He looked between the two.

Seth chuckled. "First idea of his I like today." Seth looked between his daughters before turning his eyes back to Caitlin. "It's our first Christmas as a family after all." He said lovingly, holding Caitlin's hand.

"You're right." Caitlin agreed, placing her hand on top of his. "We can't say no to Christmas."

"H.R.'s right." Barry agreed, wrapping an arm around Iris. "It's Christmas, we should be together. Let's have it."

"Josephine? What you think?" Seth smirked.

Joe shook his head with a chuckle at that joke. "I'm still in if everybody else is."

"Yes!" H.R. exclaimed.

"Okay, we'll be there." Caitlin stated. She glanced at Cisco who agreed with a nod.

While they talked, Julian made a beeline for the exit. "Where's he going?" Harrison asked.

Seeing him leave, Caitlin shared a look with her smiling mate who knew what's going through her head. A smile formed on her face and she followed Julian. She caught up to him. "Hey, where are you going?" He came to a stop, turned around and faced the doctor. "Do you have Christmas plans? The Wests are having a Christmas get-together. After what you've been through, you shouldn't be alone."

Julian scoffed. "Shouldn't be concerned about your boyfriend, seeing as he's been through an ordeal of his own?" Caitlin didn't back down, persistently waiting for an answer. Clearing his throat, he said. "I actually prefer to be alone at Christmas."

With that said, the metahuman expert left the corridor and the facility.

Caitlin sighed, returning to her family and readied herself for Christmas.

X

(West Household)

Cisco's gaze was pointed at the window, looking through the glass and seeing the rain drench the Christmas decorated house as well as the rest of the city. "Rain on Christmas. That's neither "holly" nor "jolly"."

"True, but these four are making me jolly and holly." Caitlin admitted to Cisco as the two watched Seth hug his daughters, the four of them taking selfies together to commemorate their first Christmas together as a family. It was her idea to begin with, but she had managed to get out of there after the fifteenth selfie. She wanted to talk to Cisco to check on him…

Leaving Seth to fend for himself against their teenage daughters and their selfie streak. But he seemed to enjoy it, enough for Caitlin to consider jumping back into the frying pan.

"Hey, listen." Cisco got her attention. "About Dante…. Thank you for talking me off the ledge, and for not letting your daughters use my beautiful face as target practice."

"Of course. You'd do the same for me." Caitlin said. She chuckled with her head turning. "In fact, you did the same for me."

"I was gonna say it." Cisco quipped, raising his mug.

Before the two could clang their mugs, H.R. jumped between them with a mug of eggnog, slurring his words. "Caitlo, Caitlo. Ciscan. Okay." He exhaled heavily, pointing a finger to the concoction in his cup. "You gotta try their eggnog? The holiday concoction done by Joe and his hot girlfriend."

Ruby perked up when hearing Harrison's words. "Oh yeah?"

"Don't even think about it young lady." Caitlin sternly said. "Any alcohol in your hand, you and your sisters aren't getting any presents."

Ruby paled for the first time in a long time, something that made Frankie giggle as she was eating her triple chocolate cookie her father had baked. "Ruby, don't ruin this for the rest of us. Here, have a cookie instead." Discreetly, she used tendrils to throw her sister two cookies.

"Thanks." Ruby accepted them both, eating one for herself and the other she stuffed into her pocket for Reap to enjoy.

"These are good, Dad." Evelyn said, already eating her second cookie. Her "other" is enjoying her fifth one by now. "You should teach us the recipe."

Frankie chortled. "Maybe when you stop bringing home others' pets after randomly shadowporting."

"That happened one time. Geez, you guys never forget anything." Evelyn pouting, continuing to gnaw away on her cookie.

Caitlin chuckled, stroking her daughter's long hair. "We're your family honey, we rarely forget anything." Evelyn sulked, hanging her head down. "But we always forgive." With a smile on her face, Evelyn nuzzled her head into her mother's hand.

Turning her head to face her mate, Caitlin asked him. "Babe, wanna come upstairs with me and get their presents?"

"Wait, you hid the presents here?" Frankie asked, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets from shock.

"We had to get creative. Wait a second, we'll be back." Seth excitedly said before following his mate to the staircase, the two of them walking up.

Meanwhile at the dining table, Joe handed Cecile a cup of eggnog made with his grandmother's recipe. "Grandma Esther."

Cecile, with a smile, handed Joe a cup of eggnog made with her grandmother's recipe. "Grandma Millie."

"Let's see." Joe clang glasses with her before drinking from their respective cups. The moment they tasted the concoctions, they hummed in shock of the taste entering their mouths. "Damn, that's strong."

"Oh!" Cecile laughed. "So is that. My God."

The two placed their mugs on the table, Joe saying. "Our grandmothers are alcoholics."

"Yes." Cecile agreed. The two shared a look, staring deeply into each other's eyes. The district attorney then said teasingly. "You know, technically, we don't have to be standing under the mistletoe to-"

The detective cut her off when his lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. Cecile kissed back with just as much as passion.

"Finally." Iris commented, her father and the attorney halting their kiss to see Wally join the reporter.

Seeing the teasing smiles on their faces, Joe stated. "No comments from the peanut gallery." All the while, Cecile was laughing, struggling to not burst into laughter.

"No, but really, it's about time." Wally admitted, giving them both a sign of approval.

Joe was about to initiate another kiss with his girlfriend but came to a stop when Cecile's phone rang. It was her daughter calling, she moved away to speak to her and wish her a Merry Christmas. But she promised to continue their make-out session.

"Coming through, Cecile!" Seth called out. The others turned their eyes to the staircase, each of them gaping their mouths as they were flabbergasted at the sight.

Caitlin and Seth reached the bottom of the staircase, each of them carrying a large number of presents. Seth carries more than his girlfriend. As they were dropped down on the couch, Ruby counted the presents. Her father placed thirteen of them on the couch and her mother placed seven.

"What the hell?" Ruby let out.

Giving her daughter a mock stern look, Caitlin reached forward and gently pinched her daughter's cheek, making her emit a groan. "Young lady, you know not to swear on Christmas, right? Otherwise, you're gonna find coal in your presents."

"Sorry, Mother." Ruby faked an apology.

Nonetheless, Caitlin smiled and looked between her daughters. "First Christmas as a family, hope you enjoy it."

"Five for each of you, the last five you're gonna have to share." Seth said, gesturing to the twenty presents. "Get going, they're not gonna open themselves."

"First year as a family, huh?" Joe asked like a father.

"Yeah, we purposely went overboard." Seth said as his daughters began unwrapping presents at speeds that even put speedsters' velocity to shame. A wide smile formed on his mouth at the sight of them unwrapping the small boxes first, Ruby and Evelyn getting two crystal bracelets like Frankie's.

It was the same type of gifts that Seth and Caitlin had given Frankie during their first year of knowing one another, but also from being a family.

The first set of bracelets they got are ones that represent their parents, crystal bracelets with half of them being black and the others are blue with white snowflakes.

Ruby's other bracelet is a crystal bracelet with black crystals, each and every one of them adorned with engravings of white fangs. Evelyn's other crystal bracelet is half black and white. They matched their favorite colors.

Ruby and Evelyn looked absolutely starstruck by the amazing bracelets their parents have given them. Their first Christmas turned out great.

Frankie looked at her sisters opening their presents, meanwhile she hasn't opened a single one of hers yet. Noticing that, Seth took a seat beside her. "Something wrong, honey?"

"Nah, it's just… Weird to have the rest of the family here again, Dad. To finally have the whole family here on Christmas." Frankie admitted, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Brushing the tears away, Seth brought her daughter into a hug. "You're not the only one to think that baby girl. The whole family will be together from now on, we're never getting separated again. I promise you that." He kissed the top of her head. "Come on!" He discreetly snatched a present, handing it to his daughter. "It's Christmas, turn that frown upside down."

"Thanks, Dad." Frankie accepted the present. "Thanks, Mom, Dad for the presents."

"And for Christmas." Evelyn quickly added, jumping into the conversation.

Ruby rubbed her head sheepishly, nervously holding out two presents for her parents. "It's not much, but… Thanks for everything, Mom, Dad. You've been the best parents."

Caitlin felt her heart break at her daughter's confession, Seth struggled to not shed tears from Frankie and Evelyn's words and Ruby's confession broke the dam. "Oh, thank you, sweetheart." Seth tearfully hugged Ruby. Caitlin wrapped her arms around Frankie and Evelyn.

"Oh yeah, we got you a clutch, Mom and Dad, we got you a wallet." Evelyn spoiled their surprise.

"Evie, come on!" Frankie chastised her sister.

"Don't worry, she didn't steal them." Ruby added with a smirk.

Both the parents heard their daughters' words, smiling widely by the second and thanking whatever force in the world brought them three amazing children they were blessed enough to meet and have in their lives.

As they had that moment, Joe, H.R. and Barry decided to hand out a gift of their own. While Cecile was busy with her phone call with her daughter, the detective took a specific box and shared a look with H.R. and Barry, both nodded...

Granted, H.R. kept going off in random directions, forcing the speedster to ask him. "How many of those have you had?"

"Not enough." H.R. noted slurping down another mouthful of eggnog like it was coffee.

"I disagree." Barry argued, noting his slurring words and also him downing his holiday beverage like there's no tomorrow.

Making sure that his girlfriend is out of hearing distance, Joe lowered the box in front of Wally. "Now that Cecile is away, this is from all of us to you. Merry Christmas, son."

"We didn't pitch in." Ruby smirked as the fledgling speedster opened the lid, taking a peek inside.

Wally laughed at the sight, his father, family and friends joined in on the laughter. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, man, it's time." Joe told his son with a chuckle.

Wally stood up as H.R. declared. "You're ready, Wallace."

As Wally reached into the box, Barry announced. "Welcome to the team." The fledgling speedster pulled up his yellow suit with a white symbol and a red lightning bolt. "Kid Flash."

Wally looked up to them. "Are we really calling me Kid Flash?"

His sister jumped in. "Yeah, I think we are."

H.R. toasted. "Kid Flash!"

"Seriously, you moron." Seth pulled away from his hug with his daughter. "Keep it down." He shushed him, but H.R. kept drinking his beverage.

Knocking came from the other side of the front door and the Earth-19 native called out. "Police!"

"I got it." Barry said, moving past Joe and Wally who put the suit back in the box. "It's not the… We're the police." He reminded him.

"You're the police." H.R. recalled.

"Calm down." Seth told him.

"Maybe he should stick with his coffee addiction." Venom suggested.

"Feel free to tell him that, Venom. Without Cecile here, of course." Seth told his "other."

Barry opened the door, surprise meeting him when seeing the person on the other end. "Hey, Julian."

"Hey." Julian greeted his former colleague.

"Come in. Here, let me get that." Barry invited him in as he stepped to the side and took his umbrella.

"Thanks." Julian smiled. Barry put the umbrella away and Julian told him. "After everything that happened, being alone felt a bit lonely, so…" The speedster understood. Reaching into his pocket, the metahuman expert pulled out an envelope. "This is for you."

"What's this?" Barry accepted the envelope.

Julian explained as the envelope was being opened. "I spoke to Captain Singh, and he hadn't put through your resignation paperwork yet, so…" Barry looked up and away from his former identification card. "Well, if you'd, you know, like your old lab back, or, I mean, like to share it again…"

Barry smiled. "Thanks, Julian. Merry Christmas, man." He shook hands with his colleague.

"Cheers, mate." Julian nodded. The two wished each other a Merry Christmas.

Cisco came over to the metahuman expert. "Would you like some alcoholic eggnog?"

"Oh, I'd love some, yeah. Happy Christmas, everyone." Julian wished everyone before following Cisco.

"Oh my God!" Evelyn exclaimed; her wide eyes glued to her phone.

Turning to his surprised daughter, Seth said. "Honey, it's Christmas, take your eyes away from your phone, okay?"

Evelyn looked at her uncle. "Uncle Joe, turn on Channel 52, please."

Knowing why she wanted that specific channel, Joe obliged and picked up his remote and turned on his TV.

Everyone in the West Household turned their attention to the television screen. They saw the headlines on it and saw that it was a recording from the Central City Police Department, the person on the screen is none other than Captain David Singh.

"CHRISTMAS NEWS – VENOM HAILED AS HERO"

With undivided attention, they listen as the recording of the captain starts talking.

"I'm sorry that I've put a halt to your Christmas festivities, but be assured it's only for a few moments." David told the viewers. "As you know, the last time I stood her on this podium I called someone in our city a menace. A monster, I've called him. I've had my department join and redouble their efforts in capturing Venom. I've put a bounty on his head, and I've had the public help our forces to capture him. Despite all that… Venom saved me from a fall that would have ended my life."

David showed a look of regret, inhaling deeply. "I'm standing here on Christmas Eve to apologize to Venom. To apologize to the hero of our city that has fought alongside our Scarlet Speedster. To apologize to our hero that I put a target on, to apologize to our Lethal Protector. I know you didn't have to save me, but you did so anyway tonight. I'm able to come home to my family again because of you. I can't ignore that. Thank you. The bounty that was put on him is no more."

Looking directly into the camera lens that films him, David said. "Venom, I'm sorry for it. Hope we can count on your support and you being there to help us fight the good and hard fights. Central City is your home, and it's lucky to have you in it. Merry Christmas to all of Central City."

Joe turned off the screen, the recording ended and put on some Christmas movie.

"What?" Barry said in shock.

Seth looked to Joe who stepped closer to him. "You like your Christmas gift?"

"This is your doing?" Seth whispered to his best friend.

"All Singh's idea. With how you saved two police officers tonight… He thought you deserved a special kind of thank-you." Joe joked.

"Thank you, Joe." Seth smiled widely, not able to believe that his best friend had gone this far for him.

"You're welcome. Merry Christmas." Joe told him with a toast of his drink. Seth, without a drink, nodded his gratitude. "Want some eggnog?"

"Thanks, but I'll try and stay away from Grandma Esther's." Seth admitted with a fake look of worry. Joe rolled his eyes, walking away to leave the mutant alone. He wasn't alone for long when his mate came up to him. "Hey…" He greeted her with a kiss.

"Hey…" Caitlin smiled, pulling her mate closer to her. "So now that you've got a gift now… When are we gonna exchange presents?"

"How about right now?" Seth suggested.

"I'd be up for that." Caitlin nodded.

"Okay, but we have to change locations for that." Seth surprised her, taking her hand and walked away and towards the backdoor. "Let's hope this works." He muttered, reaching into his pocket.

"What is it?" Caitlin asked him. She didn't get an answer, but saw him pull out the interdimensional extrapolator that Cisco had made. "You… What is it?"

"Trust me." Caitlin nodded, trusting him completely. "Close your eyes." Seth asked of her as he opened a breach behind him. Caitlin obliged, shutting her eyes. She felt him take her hands gently and let him lead her into the breach, both of them speeding into it and past the threshold.

The breach closed completely as the two left the West Residence.

X

Out in the drenched city of Central City, on a single street the breach opened up and Seth and Caitlin jumped out of it. Immediately the mutant covered the two of them with his hands and tendrils to shield them from the rain on Christmas.

Caitlin kept her promise, closing her eyes but couldn't stop herself from laughing as her hair and clothes became wet. "Hope your idea of a gift didn't involve me getting wet."

"It's not, I promise." Seth turned to the large gift he had bought for his beloved. "But trust me, you're gonna love this present, Cait."

"I'm holding you to that, otherwise you're not gonna like yours." Caitlin joked.

"Trust me you're gonna love this, Cait." He repeated, gently taking her hands and led her through the rain. Caitlin smiled and felt her feet crossing a tiled pathway. "Careful, there's a few steps here."

"Okay." Caitlin nodded her head, carefully taking a step. She felt her feet touch a staircase made of a hard material, like composed of stones. She took another few steps, coming to a stop after the fourth step.

Seth smirked, taking out a set of keys and opened the door. Caitlin heard it, her ears perking up. "Okay, going through a door, be careful." Seth once again led her way, leading her through the door.

"Seth, where are we?" Caitlin asked, she heard the door close behind her.

"Right here." Seth smiled, a tendril sprouting from his side and flicking the switch, turning on the lights. "You ready?" He asked her, hugging her from behind.

"Yeah." Caitlin said, leaning against his torso.

Giving her a kiss on her cheek, he said. "Open your eyes… Now." He spoke slowly.

Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, which expanded in shock when she took in her surroundings. She chuckled.

She was inside of a house, appearing to be a two-story house if the staircase leading up was any indication. She looked around as she walked, seeing that the dining room was connected to the living room, much like the West household's. There's a kitchen area at the end of the hallway. With a glance at the ceiling, she had a feeling there are more than one bedrooms upstairs.

"I don't… What is this, Seth?" Caitlin asked, not able to stop herself from smiling.

"Home… Our new home." Seth clarified.

"What?" She stepped closer to him.

"When you told me of what happened during that time without us at the loft, how it made you feel empty and how Cora told me about this house… I couldn't help but agree with her. A loft isn't a place for a family, so I bought a house, and I put our names on the contract." Seth explained, pulling out the keys to their new home.

"Seth… Are you sure about this? I don't want you to do this because you feel forced to move out of our home." Caitlin said, inching closer to him.

"My home isn't four walls keeping us close and warm during severe weather." Seth took her hands, stroking the back of them with his fingers. "My home is wherever I am with you and our daughters, Cait. I love our lofts, but that's because of you guys. I can be wherever I am, just as long as I'm with you and our girls."

Caitlin looked around, giving a twirl as she took in their new house. "Can't believe you did this. But it looks expensive."

"It wasn't much, I used some of Stef's life insurance to buy the place and… It was good." Seth said. "Still got a lot of it left, gonna put it into buying furniture and the rest into the girls' college funds."

"Good idea." Caitlin looked at him. "You sure about this, Seth? It's a big step, moving from one home to another."

"Haven't discussed it with the girls yet, but I'm sure they'd be okay with this." Seth handed her keys. "And I'm sure they're gonna love having bedrooms on the same floor." He nodded upwards to the upper level.

"True." Caitlin smiled. "I love my gift… As I'm sure you are." She pulled out the present and held it out to him. "Merry Christmas, Seth."

"Thanks, babe." Seth accepted the box, opening it slowly. With intrigue, he widened his eyes at the two dog tags facing him, the two flat and unengraved sides facing him. Giving his mate a smile, he flipped both of them over to read their engravings…

Their engravings made his heart melt, and his tears leak tears of joy…

"Evelyn Fury, the Eclipse we love."

"Ruby Fury, the Beginning we cherish."

"Ruby and Evelyn's tags." Seth stated. "Now… They're all together." Caitlin nodded her agreement, the mutant put on the new dog tags on his chain, his three daughters' joining his and Caitlin's around his neck. "I love it… I love you, Caitlin."

"I love you, too, Seth." Caitlin said, she moved slowly towards the window and stuck out her hand. Seth hadn't noticed it until now, but she had taken off her power-dampening cuffs. "It's almost a perfect Christmas… We're just missing one thing… Snow."

The elemental watched as Caitlin released her cryogenic icy mist from her hand and let it affect their surroundings. The climate outside dropped and rain was quickly replaced with… Snow.

"Wow." Seth is completely dazzled by her powers.

"Now…" Caitlin returned her attention to her mate. "Where were we?" She asked as she moved closer to him.

In their new home, the two shared a hearty, passionate kiss. Snow continued to fall outside of their new home. The two lost themselves to one another, both entering a snow-filled Christmas world that only they were known to…

They stayed like this without showing signs of stopping… Merely intent on enjoying their time together.

X

At a local gas station, Randy was busy playing games on his computer behind the counter. It was Christmas, so there wouldn't be anyone here, but his ungrateful son of a bitch boss still insisted he had to work the late-night shift.

It wasn't the first time he's been asked to work a lousy shift on a holiday, it was the fifth time in the two years he's worked at the petrol stations. Randy was only working here to collect enough money for college. Granted, he still had to finish his last year of high school first.

He placed his computer on the counter, leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh. "At least, Mom's making Christmas dinner back home."

There was a small comfort in that, at least. He wouldn't have to go home and fix some quick, cheap dinner that wouldn't leave him satisfied.

DING

The sound of the doorbell chiming diverted his attention to the entrance. But Randy narrowed his eyes in confusion as he couldn't find anyone there. He shrugged his shoulders, thinking it was nothing more than a stray cat that had somehow used its weight to push the door open.

He returned his attention to his computer again.

DING

His attention on his PC came to an end after the doorbell chimed once more. Randy sighed his annoyance, wanting nothing more than to scare that feline basta-

"Computer."

Randy froze at that demonic voice. With his entire body shivering and taking slow robotic motions as he looked over his computer, making eye contact with the large being on the other end.

Sticking out his red tongue, Anti-Venom licked his black fangs. Randy shook even more, his bladder almost reaching the breaking point and he'd soil his pants as a result. "What?"

Anti-Venom huffed, standing up tall. "Forget."

Before Randy could do anything, he was suddenly ensnared by a large clawed hand. Anti-Venom swung his arm, hurling the gas station worker into the display refrigerators. His body impacted into them, glass shards flying everywhere and the drinks inside of it burst and spilled their contents.

He slid to the ground; the impact knocked him out instantly.

Anti-Venom didn't pay the knocked out teenager any attention. His attention was diverted to the computer on the counter. Turning the PC around, the wretched titan didn't pay any attention to the game he was playing. He has other matters to deal with.

He raised his claws to the ports on the side of the PC. The tips of them sprouted tendrils, each of them sticking into the ports. Then it began as the screen turned white but only for a second.

With the powers he possesses, Anti-Venom hacked into every single database and brought up all he could on his person of interest. He saw articles, family and school records, photos from schools, achievements that were digitized and everything that social media offers… Everything that is on the internet he brought up…

Everything the internet had on… Caitlin Snow.

The pale symbiote wanted to know… it all.

To be continued…

And that's a chapter, peeps!

The future's been revealed, set maybe.

In an attempt to stop Savitar, the team hurled the Philosopher's Stone into the Speed-Force which would serve as its tomb for all eternity itself. But the plan may have backfired as Barry was hurled into the future, seeing the evil speed god again who thrust his sword through Iris' chest.

Barry saw the future, getting an answer to his question in regard to why Iris wasn't the one to write the article from the future. She suffers at Savitar's hands, dying by his blade.

And that isn't the only thing this Christmas has revealed, seeing as Eliza Harmon has shown her true colors and finally emerged herself as… Scream, Venom's ill-willed sister.

An immense battle raged between brother and sister, the battlefield being their city. It ended in a draw as Eliza drew on the elemental's weakness when she was about to electrocute the civilians around them.

But this means another villain has entered the fray, further burdened the heroes' load and increased the battles they'd have in the future.

Future's gonna change for the heroes of Central City.

Stay tuned and until next time, peeps!

Hope you've enjoyed 2022 so far!