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.

18. Chapter 18: Untouchable

Hey you all wonderful folks.

Back again after a very long time of non-writing due to a number of reasons. And it's the first chapter I'm posting in the new year of 2023…

A very late Happy New Year, you all!

A lot of things have happened in my personal life, such as staying in Malaysia for a short while for work purposes, and due to the long hours I don't have as much time to write.

Hope you can forgive me for taking too long with this story. This goes out to the long-time readers and the newcomers. I appreciate all the reviews and messages you've all sent me.

Thanks for it, your words are my fuel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. In the future I will try and increase the amount of time I use on the story, but unfortunately I can't guarantee anything.

Now to answer some reviews:

hunter41963801: Glad to hear my friend. Your idea does sound really interesting and could be really fun. I will see if I can incorporate it in a future chapter, as long as it's okay with you.

guest: Glad I could help, Kevin Conroy's passing hit us all hard. I'm not lying when I say he has been an important part of many comic lover's childhood.

Guest: Well, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that. But granted, in Seth's case, he's more accustomed with his far more angrier side. Wouldn't you say?

And now…

Without further ado…

ENJOY!

Chapter 18: Untouchable

Flashes from the numerous cameras shined the hallway of Tannhauser Industries after their latest break-in. Various CSI scientists from CCPD took everything as samples, ranging from glass fragments, metal shards and even a number of hair follicles. A number of officers had come as well to close off the scene, the urgency of Carla Tannhauser's 911 call.

Along with Detective Joe West who was interviewing the CEO of the research company, Seth had come as well to examine damage left by Anti-Venom. He and the detective were the first ones to talk to Carla, having previous relations to her and familiarity with the company facility.

Having gotten the all-clear from the CSIs, Seth was less concerned about contaminating evidence as he grazed the large footprint in the floor. It was akin to his own…

Meaning the number of candidates with the same size was narrowing down.

"Anti-Venom." Seth muttered to himself, realizing that this was him and no one else.

Joe, moving towards him, heard the mutant's words. "Think it was him?"

"Riot couldn't have done this, too little damage." Seth chuckled to himself. "I mean, Joey Rose. First, I meet Rajeet's Earth-1 doppelganger, now I've met Rose's obnoxious doppelganger. What awesome luck I have."

"But you really think it was Anti-Venom?" Joe asked.

"Fits the pattern." Seth admitted, standing back up on his feet. "Caitlin attacks Anti-Venom, big guy hacks a computer somehow and gets every piece of info on her, then he breaks into her mother's place of work."

"And gives her quite a scare." Joe nodded to the woman's arms that are still shaking.

"Still weird." Seth admitted with crossed arms.

"What is? You're the one who was clear on this being Anti-Venom's handywork." Joe noted his confusion.

"No, not that. It's that she's alive." Seth muttered under his breath after pulling Joe away and out of hearing distance. His partner's confusion remained strong. "Symbiote 101, they eat brains, human brains." He reminded him, briefly making the detective gag at the disgusting mental image that followed. "So, one of the strange things about this symbiote and Eliza's army, they don't eat humans."

"Except for Scream, she killed and ate some good people." Joe stated as a reminder.

"True…" Seth sighed in frustration. "So many variables with these symbiotes that I'm still not getting at all. It's frustrating."

"Don't think about what you don't have, think about what you actually do have." Joe advised the mutant.

Seth gave him a look. "That another one from the West Handbook of Wisdom?" He joked.

"Absolutely, but still gunning for a new title, though." The detective joked back. "But what do you think he's doing here?"

"Didn't seem like he wanted to actually harm Carla, she's still alive." Seth noted.

"And judging from this…" The detective referred to the doorless door entrance. "Looks like he wanted to get something from here. But what?"

"Nothing of importance to that freak of nature." Carla intervened. "He tore down the door, and reached in and got a few files of mine."

"What kind of files, Dr. Tannhauser?" Joe questioned.

"Old project files… And some personal ones of mine." The CEO answered vaguely.

"Anything of relevance he may have said?" Seth wondered.

"He…" Carla scoffed to herself. "He said my name, and my husband's too."

"Thomas?" Seth asked.

"Yeah." Carla nodded. "He said both of our names and then he charged at me, I guess. But he didn't attack me, I closed my eyes for a second and next thing I knew, that monster was gone."

"And you don't think there's any of your files that may have been stolen?" Joe questioned.

Carla shook her head. "I've looked at the files that were dropped and peeked into the file room, except for a door, nothing's missing now."

"Doesn't sound like he stole something then, but searched for something." Joe said. "We'll stay a while longer, if okay, Dr. Tannhauser?"

"Please do. And Dr. Fury…" The company CEO faced the elemental. "Is it possible for you to keep this between us?"

"You don't want Caitlin to know about this?" Seth deduced. Carla nodded. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth sheepishly, he admitted. "Unfortunately, before I left our house, I informed Caitlin of where I was going. She may have already suspected this."

"Wonderful." Carla rubbed the annoyance out of her eyes, not cloaking her irritation by any means. She looked to the side and saw her assistant waving her over. "I need to attend to some other matters, so excuse me, gentlemen."

The two of them watched as Carla moved away, before they faced each other. "What's the plan now?" The elemental inquired.

"We've done all we can here, let's go back to the station." Joe looked around in search. "Just realized that Barr's not here."

"Oh, he's gonna race your son." Seth revealed.

"What?"

X

Standing in the middle of a long road, the two hero speedsters of Central City, each one looking at the road with intrigue and delight. The only one who wasn't enthusiastic about this idea is Eclipse who had her back facing the road while she kept her arms crossed.

"Still hate this plan!" She complained.

Hearing her fifth complaint, Barry looked over his shoulder. "Come on, Evie, it'll be fun."

"Not fun, ridiculous and stupid. I don't get why I'm here for this race, I'm not a speedster!" She complained further.

"This is the starting line to our race, it's gonna be cool." Barry stated.

Grinding her gears, Wally quipped. "So come on, don't start acting like you've already lost."

It worked and she snarled at the yellow speedster. "Get ready to eat your words, Flasher, I'm gonna leave you tights-spangled morons in the dust." She declared confidently, turning around to face them.

Flash smiled, gesturing to the nearest stop sign. A strange additional device was attached under the sign. "Cisco's set up sensors along the course, and he'll be tracking our speed all the way to the finish line on the other side of town."

"No, this is it…" Kid Flash faces his mentor. "The day the greatest upset in speedster history goes down."

"Wally…" Barry shook his head.

Eclipse groaned. "Metahuman history. Besides, you two are gonna owe me money after I win."

"Guys, come on, this isn't about winning or losing, okay?" Barry told them, hoping their current goals would be replaced. "This is about training so you can get faster and beat Savitar and save Iris."

"Yeah. Which I'm gonna do." Wally assured him.

"Okay." Barry nodded.

"But first I'm gonna make you both eat my dust." Wally added.

"Okay, you know, there is a reason they call me the fastest man alive." Barry smugly said.

With a loud groan, Evelyn pressed on her earpiece. "Mom, is this punishment for thrashing that construction site? Cause this is annoying and unnecessary on all fronts. I've already apologized."

Both speedsters gave her a look, but Evelyn didn't care about their glares.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Back in the facility, the rest of the team looked at Caitlin with shocked eyes, wondering what her response to her daughter is gonna be.

Pressing on the comms system, the mother told her daughter. "Honey, this isn't a punishment. It's an opportunity for you to train, you said you wanted to learn how to get faster."

"Yes, FROM Dad. Not these two tights-spangled morons." She countered.

"You know, we can hear you right?" Wally reminded her over the comms.

"You know, I don't care, right?" Evelyn countered smugly.

Frankie looked at Ruby. "She really is taking after you, Rubs."

"Don't act like this is my fault." She countered gruffly.

"Cisco, we good?" Barry asked the viber through the comms.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" Cisco started, speaking as an announcer at a race. "The Central City Metahuman 500 is about to begin, but first…" He turned away from his computer to face the members of the team. "I've got five-to-one odds Barry takes down Wally and Evelyn. Any takers?"

"Yeah. Game of speculation?" H.R. stood up, raising a drumstick sky-high. "Are we- We're betting? Yeah. No, I'm in." He walked around the main console, excitement filling his being. "On my Earth, financial wagering was banned after an unfortunate incident with Vice President Al Capone."

His words raised many questions in the heads of the other members of Team Flash.

"Well, lucky for you, you live here now." Iris told him with a pat on his shoulder. H.R. agreed with an excited nod. "Put me down for $20 for Barry." She declared.

Harrison looked around, searching for Joe and Seth. "Oh, neither Joe nor SF have returned. Would have loved to see who they'd bet on."

"Think we know who Dad would have bet on." Ruby stated.

Frankie followed up. "Not to mention, Uncle Joe wouldn't join in on this. That's a Sophie's Choice he'd never make."

Caitlin proudly stated. "$80 dollars on my little girl. Mama needs a new confocal microscope."

Leaning over to her sister's ear, Frankie asked. "Wasn't that the one Dad broke?"

Nodding her head, Ruby said. "No wonder if she wants a new one. She may as well buy a second one, Dad's bound to break the new one anyway." Frankie didn't argue with her sister's logic.

Having typed in Caitlin's bets, Cisco turned to the last member. "All right, H.R., you put your life in my hands, so I know for a fact you like high stakes. How much you in for?"

Tapping his drumsticks, Harrison stated. "Wallace's recent speed tests ensure that it is a lock." He stated confidently. "Put me down for an Abe Lincoln." Caitlin and her daughters looked confused, humming their confusion as well. "$100. Whatever $100 is on this Earth, put me down for that."

"Guys, we're ready." The Scarlet Speedster declared.

"All right, all right. All bets are in, and may the odds be ever in your favor." Cisco turned back to his computer. "Lady and gentlemen…"

X

"… Start your engines."

By now the two speedsters had taken a running position, each ready to speed off like a pair of shooting stars. Evelyn remained standing as she was, inhaling deeply and exhaling the same amount, her markings taking place on her face.

"Ready." Barry started, lightning dancing over his body.

"Get set." Wally continued, lightning sparking over his form.

"Go!" Eclipse shouted.

WHOOSH

The two speedsters ran ahead, quickly getting out of sight. The remaining metahuman shadowported, leaving a fading mass of smog. Two flashes of lightning ran through the entire city, they passed by the numerous sensors, each of them displaying the metahumans' passing by them on monitors in S.T.A.R. Labs. They raced through the streets without showing any signs of slowing down.

Eclipse was no different, shadowporting from one spot to another. She didn't miss a single sensor, and unlike the speedsters', her course is much different than theirs.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

Continuing his self-appointed role as an announcer, Cisco reported. "At the first marker, one-third of the way in, Flash is in the lead…" He narrowed his eyes, looking at the screen. "Or is that Kid Flash?"

"Kid Flash!" H.R. stated confidently. "Come on, Little Joe from Kokomo, mama needs a pair of shoes. Come on, Wallace. Down the lane!"

Noting his reaction, Iris stated. "I think he's done this before."

Ruby dropped off the ceiling and landed on the console railing. "Banned gambling, my ass. This Wells is a rule-breaker."

From the ceiling, Frankie kept her eyes on the monitors and followed her sister's path on the course. "Evie's tracks seem different from Barry and Wally's."

"It is." Caitlin nodded her head. "Barry and Wally are grounded; their course is on the ground. That was how Cisco set it up for them. But Evie's A different case, she can teleport and can make a foothold anywhere. Her course includes sensors on elevated spots." She nodded to the screen again, showing that her daughter's passed by five sensors. "Hers are all over the city, on top of skyscrapers, in the streets, places that she doesn't usually go to."

Looking directly down at her mother, Frankie said. "Usually." Caitlin winked at her daughter. "Evie's got the home field advantage."

"Wait, what?" Iris asked.

X

As they continued through the course, the two speedsters passed by the local mega mall. Rounding a corner, the two lightning blurs ran through the gaps of a long traffic line.

A few of the passengers took out their phones, trying to snap photos of the speedsters.

As they passed by another stop sign, the sensor marked them with a bright red light.

By passing the second marker, Kid Flash had taken the lead. But the ordinary civilians on the streets struggled to make out which of them were in the lead. It was impossible for them to distinguish between the lightning flashing past them.

But now they were neck-to-neck, running beside each other and without showing any ounce of slowing down. Each of them kept a bright smile on their faces, both of them feeling the thrill of competition coming boiling up inside of them.

Flash and Kid Flash looked ahead at the same time, seeing a massive building in their path. Each of them continued towards the building. Both reached the brick wall….

But each took a different approach to getting through his obstacle.

Shaking his entire body, down to the molecular level, Barry phased through the brick wall.

Not possessing the same ability as his mentor, Wally put a foot on the surface and ran up the wall.

By now, Barry had phased through the building and came out the other side. Wally ran over the building, rushing down the side and followed his mentor when reaching the ground. However, when he reached his position, the mentee found his mentor standing victoriously, having already passed the final marker.

"Come on, man!" Wally started, coming to a halt in front of Barry. "That didn't count. You know I can't phase yet."

"Man, you just saw me do it, right?" Barry reminded him. "And you have to be ready to face any obstacle that's put in your path."

Wally countered. "Yeah, well, don't worry, Barry. I'm gonna get faster. Pretty soon, I'm gonna be faster than you."

"Oh yeah?" Barry amused his claim. "Well, until then, what's my name?"

"Loser."

Both speedsters snapped their heads to the side, finding Evelyn sitting on top of a lamp post. "For speedsters, you two sure took your time."

"Y-Y- You were waiting here the whole time?" Wally asked.

"Yeah. I did, I won." Eclipse smirked widely, one of her wings revealing a mouth that stuck out its tongue. "So… What's my name?"

X

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

Jumping through the skylight, Seth landed on the ground. "I'm back!" He declared. Turning his eyes upwards…

He halted his surprise when seeing his mate hold out her hand in H.R.'s direction, the Earth-19er looking like a deer caught in headlights. Cisco and Iris were laughing their asses off as they saw that happening. Frankie and Ruby were just as entertained by this.

"What's going on here?" Seth questioned his mate.

Caitlin looked at him with a wide smile. "H.R. lost a bet, owes me $160."

"You bet? Double down?" The elemental directed to Harrison. He gave a nervous chuckle in response. "Never bet against my daughter, Wells. World of disappointment awaits those who trifle with my family."

"Now Mom's getting her confocal microscope." Ruby stated.

Seth faced his mate. "You wanted that new microscope?"

Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest, mockingly taking a stern stance. "Considering my last one broke, then yeah."

Emotionlessly, making sure that none of his feelings showed on his face, the mutant walked over to the medbay entrance. Caitlin and the others watched as he reached to the side of the doorframe. He pulled out a large box. With it in his hands, he walked over to his mate. "Sorry for breaking the confocal microscope, I got you a new one as part of the apology."

"Babe, seriously." Caitlin smiled. "You didn't have to go that far; I wasn't angry or anything."

"I know that, silly. But I broke it, only right for me to buy you a new one. Besides, it's important for your work, after all." He told her with a loving smile. "I'll help you assemble it."

"It's a date." Caitlin smiled.

"Mom!" Evelyn exclaimed, shadowporting into the facility. Her parents, her sisters and the rest of the team turned to her with surprise. "That's the last time I agree to such a boring race."

Holding up the box with one hand, Seth turned to his daughter. "Thought you'd appreciate the race; it'd help out with your training."

"You were in on this too, Dad?" Evelyn exclaimed with gritted teeth, undoubtedly irritated by her parents' decision. "It was a waste of time, Dad."

"But you did say-"

"I said I wanted to learn speed-based techniques from you. Not Barry or Wally." Evelyn reaffirmed her previous statement to her father. Seth watched her carefully. "It works better with you- WOW!" She exclaimed when a number of black tendrils spouted from her father and tried to strike her.

But she easily dodged them and jumped onto the ceiling. Shooting a glare in her father's direction, Evelyn snarled. "What's the big idea, Dad? Attacking me out of the blue like that, I'll pummel you next time."

"Big words you got there." Seth crossed his arms. "More importantly, you're still full of energy. Race wasn't that challenging, huh?" Evelyn nodded her head. "Fine, go to the Klyntar Lab. I think I have something that can help you."

"Finally!" Evelyn beamed before shadowporting.

"Ruby." Seth got her attention. "You go yourself; it'll be worthwhile for you to watch and learn."

"Sure thing." She gestured to her sore arm. "Can't do anything with my arm in a sling anyway." Ruby accepted, walking towards the exit.

Frankie looked down at her father. "Sorry, Dad, but I have a few make-up classes left. Speaking of…" She turned her gaze to her mother. "Mom, mind helping me out? I got Chem homework."

"Sure thing." Caitlin faced her mate who put the box on a nearby table. "Date's gotta wait a bit."

"Just a bit, be back in a flash." Seth quipped before placing a kiss on her cheek. He walked towards the exit, making his way to the Klyntar Lab.

Iris looked at Frankie. "What did you mean by Evie's got home field advantage in the race?"

"Barry and Wally might know the city on a good level, seeing as they zoom around like crazy." Frankie started. "But Evelyn shadowports on a daily basis, even sometimes in her sleep. She ends up in all kinds of places in the city. She knows the city like the back of her own hand. From the location of the markers, she must have used shortcuts only she knows while using shadowporting."

"That explains a lot." Iris agreed.

X

(Klyntar Lab)

"Know what you gonna tell Evelyn?" Seth heard his "other" question.

The mutant continued his path. "Got a pretty good idea what to do with Evie."

"One idea pops up and it sounds applicable for her." Venom stated, having already assessed his host's idea. "You doing okay, buddy?" He had to ask when feeling a wave of uneasiness.

"Joe's still in the dark about Iris' situation… And I work with him regardless." Seth stated.

"Bet you hate agreeing to Iris and Barry now." Venom noted.

Seth inhaled deeply. "Yeah. Big time." He admitted to his "other" as he stood in front of the entrance to the training lab. He walked inside, seeing that Ruby had taken a seat on the platform and Evelyn's on the ceiling with a smile on her face.

It was directed to her father. "Finally!" She exclaimed, dropping off the ceiling and landed on the floor in a soundless crouch. "Took your damn sweet time."

"Well excuse me for having to reschedule my plans with your mother." Seth quipped back.

Ruby shivered. "Gross."

The elemental reached where his daughter's standing. "Ready?" She nodded. "Take a few steps." Evelyn backflipped and put distance between her and her father. Taking a battle stance, she awaited his instructions. "Okay. Let's begin."

"You wanna get faster, with your light element." He got her confirmation with a nod. "Okay, here's an idea." Showing the idea itself, lightning erupted from his body and enshrouded him. "What do you think?" He inquired of his daughter as he put his hands in his pockets.

"A lightning veil?" Evelyn asked. Though she's seen her father use that technique multiple times as the protector of Central City, her knowledge of what it entails remains limited. "I've seen you use it before, Dad, but what does it actually do?"

"Pop Quiz time." Evelyn and Ruby widened their eyes and gaped their mouths in surprise at their father's serious deadpan voice. Tapping the side of his head, Seth stated. "How does the brain send signals throughout the body?"

Ruby answered. "Electrical signals from the brain are sent through the nervous system."

"Point one for Ruby Fury." Seth declared while the lightning remained strong around him. Ruby rolled her eyes. "But yeah. It's electrical signals that are sent from the brain to the entire body. I've found a neat way to take advantage of that with my lightning."

"How?" Evelyn asked.

"By using lightning, I generate electrical pulses to stimulate all of my body's muscles to increase my reflex speed. I also use it to speed up the signals that are sent from my brain to my muscles, further increasing my otherwise normal speed." Seth explained.

"And using that with Venom, you're able to get even faster." Ruby realized.

"Bingpot." Seth nodded. "Because of this technique I'm able to react to foes who rely on high-speed movement like speedsters. But there are side-effects to this application." Both Ruby and Evelyn listened closely. "Whether it's an animal or a human, increasing electrical pulses causes the body pain no matter what." Pressing his right nostril, he showed the effect firsthand as a trail of blood came out. "In my case, I get nosebleeds."

"Think the same will happen to me?" Evelyn nervously asked.

"Unclear, but I'm sure you can get the same result with just stimulating your muscles with light." Seth explained. "So, try it out. Focus only on your light, and imagine you're circulating that singular element throughout your body."

Nodding her acceptance, Evelyn did as her father instructed. With a deep intake of air, she relaxed her body. The markings on her face appeared, showing that she's tapping into her powers. Both Ruby and Seth were used to seeing her body enshrouded by both light and darkness, but the sight of her solely using light surprised them.

Seth smiled at the sight. She was already an expert in the use of spreading both light and darkness, so it was no shock to see her effortlessly spread light throughout her body. Opening her eyes, she faced her father with a smile. "Easy."

"Figured you'd say that. With your experience, it was a no-brainer." Seth gave her a thumbs up. "Time to see if you can handle the pressure now." He beckoned her over.

Cracking her neck, Evelyn resumed her fighting stance. She jumped ahead, shooting like a bullet towards her father. The light she emitted from her entire body shined brightly like a star, making Ruby cover her eyes. Seth didn't move an inch, his eyes staying stuck on his daughter. She got close to him, about to deliver a strike to him…

But to her own shock, she continued in her path, not able to determine her strength or even control her speed, and traveled past her father.

"What the-"

SMASH

Both Seth and Ruby flinched when seeing Evelyn slam into the wall. The force of her abrupt collision caused numerous cracks to spread across the wall surface. Seeing her sister's body slamming into the wall, the gravity manipulator had to question. "Sis, you alive there? Not dead or anything?"

Using her wings to widen the hole in the wall, Evelyn finally got out of the wall with a groan. "Who the hell asks their sister whether they're dead or not, you moron?!" She grabbed her head and fell down to the floor. "Why the heck did that happen? I was about to attack you Dad, but then I'm rocketing into the wall instead."

"Don't be too hard on yourself; I had the same problem when I did it." Seth assured her. While walking over to her, he continued. "You're not used to moving at such high speeds, that's why you were caught off-guard and ended up slamming into a wall."

"I'm not used to moving at that level of speed?" Evelyn questioned. But hearing her father's words, she couldn't help but agree with him. The moment her feet left the ground, she felt herself shooting like a bullet that surpassed its normal speed limits. "I figured it'd be like my usual speed, so I'd have a handle on it pretty easily."

"Something new you've just learnt about is never learnt easily." Seth said coming to a stop in front of his child. "Practice, and your body's gonna get used to it in a jiffy. On that note…" He gave a smirk, one that did not settle well with his daughter. "For the rest of the day, whether you're here or at home doing chores, you're gonna continue with this constant light enhancement. Until you're able to move without losing control."

Evelyn's mouth widened at her lesson. "Our neighbors aren't gonna like that, they're gonna think we're hosting a rave inside of our house." Ruby stated.

"True enough, but they have that huge ugly tree sticking its branches into our property so even-steven." Seth mischievously said. "Also Ruby, you're probably wondering what this has to do with you, right?" She nodded. "I want you to practice the same, channel gravity force throughout your entire body." Raising a hand, he pointed a finger to his arm in the blue sling. "Definitely gonna help you gain some resistance to gravity."

"Okay." Ruby accepted.

"Goodie." After disabling his lightning shroud, Seth smiled and turned on his feet before walking over to the exit of the training lab.

"Wait, Dad, that's it?" Evelyn expected her father to get more practical, putting his own technique to use for her to see. "Nothing more than that?"

"You've seen me use it a bunch of times already, kiddo, you just gotta work it out on your own now." Seth stated bluntly. Before he could get any more questions heading his way, he exited the training lab with a fake yawn.

"Thought you were gonna give them more?"

"Doesn't help them if I come with all the answers. Granted, what I did now was just answer-adjacent. But that's all I'll give them." Seth said with a proud smile.

"…" Mentally narrowing his eyes, Venom wanted confirmation. "You just wanna get on with your date, don't you?"

Seth came to an abrupt stop, his smile fading away and his eyes widened in shock like a deer caught in highlights.

"Busted."

X

"Anti-Venom went to my mom's company?" Caitlin asked her mate for clarification.

After helping Frankie with her homework, Seth joined Caitlin in the Cortex and they began assembling the new confocal microscope while diving into their menus from Big Belly Burger. As they began constructing the equipment, the elemental told his mate about the event that took place at her mother's research company.

Seth nodded, a tendril from his right palm tightening a screw while his left hand took a fry out of the bag. "She's okay, missing a door to a file room, but fine all the same."

The mutant held out the fry for his mate. Accepting it, Caitlin said. "Glad to hear." After biting it in two, she deduced. "Bet my Mom told you not to say anything about the break-in."

"Like mother, like daughter, both off-the-chart smarts." Seth joked. "But according to your mother, it sounded like Anti-Venom had gathered more info on your side of the family. He asked about your father, actually."

"My Dad?" Caitlin asked in surprise. "Why?"

Unsurely shrugging his shoulders, Seth stated. "Maybe to get more information on you. Not everything about you is on the World Wide Web, might have wanted to get firsthand info about you."

"From my mother? And my dead father? Seriously?" Caitlin had to laugh at that suggestion. "But there wasn't anything other than that?"

"No, according to your mother it didn't seem like he stole anything." Seth answered. "Something weird about this case too."

Caitlin, eating a fry, said. "You're not referring to the fact that my mother and her colleagues are still with their heads attached, are you?" Seth coughed on his soda at that description. Laughing at his reaction, she added. "I'm pretty sure I'm the second best Klyntar scientist."

"I'd argue you're sharing the number one spot though." The mutant admitted.

Sharing a laugh with him, Caitlin inquired. "Speaking of weird…" Seth gave her his full attention. "You've noticed how Evelyn's been acting? Like her obsession with getting stronger and faster even."

"Yeah, and so soon after Kai left." Seth tightened his hold on his burger, most of the condiment and pickles either spilling out or shooting out like bullets. Another reaction that made Caitlin laugh. "If that weasel said something to my little girl, forget the essay, I'm gonna wring him like a dirty towel."

"Honey, they were on a coffee date, they'd have to be talking otherwise their third uninvited companion would think it's awkward and maybe take over the conversation all-together." Caitlin quipped. "But maybe it's something they talked about."

"I'll talk to her if you want." Seth offered as he attached the specimen stage to the device.

"Sure. I can do a checkup on Ruby's arm and help Frankie with her Bio homework in the meantime." Caitlin agreed as she finalized the device when she attached the objective lenses to. "Ta-da!" She exclaimed with jazz hands.

This time Seth laughed at her reaction.

X

(Snow-Fury Residence)

Whenever morning lights shine through the windows of a family-packed house, it's usually the parents that wake up early.

But for the Snow-Fury family, the one to wake up before either parent, or even her sisters, is Evelyn. Having been up for two hours now, she had been sitting alone at the dining table, tossing and turning the pieces of milk-drowned cereal in her bowl with her spoon.

The question she got from Kai before kept her up most nights, giving her very little sleep, and she'd wake up in the morning and take her seat by the table. A bowl of Krunch Cookie Crunch cereal in front of her, untouched and the chocolate pieces slowly turning the milk brown after absorbing the flavors of the cereal.

"My future…?" She muttered to herself, continuing to swirl the cereal around in the milk till it looked like a whirlpool of chocolate milk.

"Evie?" Evelyn turned her head, seeing her father descending from the stairs. "What are you doing up now?" He asked after glancing at the watch. "Get back to sleep, you'll be drooling at the table in school otherwise."

Evelyn gestured to her untouched breakfast. "Already got up, brushed my teeth, and even got my breakfast ready. Can't go to bed knowing I've done all this."

"Okay. Fine. Not gonna argue on it." Seth walked over to the table, pulling out a chair. "So, let's talk about something else…" He took a seat whilst she looked up at him. "What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" She questioned, finally taking a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

The elemental tapped her shoulder, giving her a dry look. "Honey, you're not fooling anyone here, neither me nor your mom. We know something's different about you, like you're way more determined… Or even obsessed with getting stronger, faster, learning new techniques. Something's off about you, clear as day."

"I'm fine, Dad." Evelyn stated adamantly.

"Are you?" Seth questioned. As expected, the next look his daughter gave him is one of annoyance. "Sure, you're not just…. Diverting your attention somewhere else?"

Her annoyance turned to anger. "You think I'm distracting myself with training?" Seth didn't answer, letting her be the judge. Knowing whatever she'd answer, her father's "other" would determine the viability of her response, she got up and spoke. "I'm gonna finish the rest in my room."

Before he could fire off another question, Evelyn shadowported away and into her bedroom. Seth rubbed his eyes. "As far as parental guidance goes… How'd you think that went?"

The question was directed to his "other", but instead of getting an answer from Venom… He received…

SNORE

Venom was sleeping and snoring obnoxiously inside of his head, the mutant twitching his eye in response.

X

After a somewhat silent breakfast with his family, mostly because Evelyn remained angry most of the meal, Seth joined Joe in a police car, onto their next crime scene. When he asked the mutant about what made his family breakfast, the detective laughed at his partner's explanation and didn't stop anytime soon.

"Screw you, West." Seth stated as he got out of the police vehicle, the two of them reached the crime scene at Luigi's Restaurant.

"Dude, you gotta see it from my side." Getting out of his car, Joe looked at the mutant from the other side of it. "You, master of elements and whatnot, finally know what it's like to have a teenage daughter, like the rest of us mortals. It's golden." He continued to laugh. "I love it."

Seth scoffed. "You mean to tell me Iris was like this growing up."

"Yeah… Like every teenager growing up. There comes a time when your kids will not listen to you… at all. Especially when they feel pressured by their own thoughts." Joe tapped the roof of his vehicle. "Chances are it is something bothering and making her stubborn."

"Yeah… Think you're right." Seth scratched the back of his head before moving to the entrance. "But what do I do?"

Joe patted his back. "Be patient, and let her come to you." Seth smiled at the simple advice, hoping that his daughter would do so and come to him and Caitlin with what's on her mind.

Entering the restaurant, the two walked into the kitchen and went to the wine storage room. Seth took in the interior, everything screaming of first-class. Even the stone sculptures were so intricate and delicate that some of the officers feared touching them. Only thing that didn't fit the scenario is Barry and Julian crouching by the covered body of the latest departed.

Taking note of their presence, Barry looked in their direction after standing up. "Hey guys, this one is… Uh…" He struggled to find an appropriate word.

"Pretty ghastly, fellas, I warn you." Julian didn't have the same problem as his CSI colleague. He pulled the cover off the head, surprising them both when they saw the body's decayed head.

"That's the body?" Joe asked with surprise.

Barry faced his foster father. "Yeah, why?"

"Cause he died less than eight hours ago." Joe surprised the scientists.

Seth gave his partner a surprised look. "Eight hours? You absolutely sure, Joseph?" He asked, using a pencil to open the jaw of the decayed body.

Joe gestured to their surroundings. "He was a chef here, Stuart Holzman…" He looked at his notes. "And the owner confirmed that he was working last night."

"That's a lot of damage in a short amount of time." Barry noted as he took his jacket.

"An extreme amount of damage. This level of decay…" Seth examined the eyeless sockets of the deceased. "Eight hours alone is crazy. Straight-up unbelievable."

"Another Tuesday in Central City." Joe quipped. Hearing their assessments, he inquired. "We thinking he's a meta?"

"Possibly." The metahuman expert said. "Although certain chemicals can cause a similar reaction."

"Yeah, any acid with a pH below two." Barry followed.

"Not to mention, putrescine and cadaverine are hella toxic and cause a body to decompose. But…" He sniffed. "There are no foul smells here, so that rules out those two."

"Doubt its hydrochloric acid." Julian noted. "We could be looking for an aggressive variant of a necrotizing fasciitis." He lifted the decayed left hand of the deceased.

Seth looked over his shoulder at his partner. "Flesh-eating disease, fun stuff."

"In a restaurant?" Seth laughed at the look of horror on Joe's face. "I'm never eating out again."

"Thought you were already a takeaway addict." The mutant smirked. The detective playfully kicked his leg. "An autopsy might shed some light on what the hell did this." He told the two CSI scientists.

"Agreed." Julian nodded. "Unfortunately, County denied my request for a 3D-image medical scanner, which would make short work of the process."

Barry pitched in. "Okay, well, we have one at S.T.A.R. Labs."

Julian gave him a serious stern look. "Allen, this is an active investigation. There is protocol to follow." He got a look from Joe, telling his thoughts. "Surely?" He directed to him.

"Not if we're gonna figure this out." Barry argued.

"Plus, best thing we can do is use whatever resources help us get to the bottom of this ASAP. Otherwise, more innocents are gonna end up as mummies." Seth gestured to the decayed body.

Hearing their reasonings, Julian finally nodded his head. "Okay. I'll bag the body myself and meet you there."

"Great." Barry nodded. Barry, Joe and Seth walked towards the exit and got out of the restaurant. When they passed the threshold, they found Iris interviewing another officer. "Iris." The speedster called out to his girlfriend…

In front of her father…

The reporter turned to them. "Hey. You okay?" Barry asked, noting her downed expression.

Gathering her bearings, Iris nodded her assurance. "Yeah, I'm just running up against a deadline, so…"

"Since I have you both…" Joe started.

"Oh, what I don't count?" Seth crossed his arms, faking hurt.

"No, you don't, not at all." The detective countered before turning to his kids again. "I wanted to ask, um, Cecile's daughter, Joanie, is in town, and I was thinking that maybe we could all get together… If you don't think it's too soon. I mean, I haven't exactly been dating Cecile for that long-"

"It's not too early, Joe." Barry assured him.

"Yeah?" The detective nodded his head.

"Yeah." Barry assured him.

"And Jitters, is that cool, or is that too casual?" Joe directed to Iris.

Iris told her father. "Dad, don't worry, okay? It's great. Joanie's gonna love you."

Joe smiled widely, putting a hand on each of his children. "I love my kids. I'm gonna set it up. Thank you." The speedster bid him farewell and, together with his girlfriend, they watched him walk away.

"It's nice to see him so happy." Barry admitted.

"Yeah, it is." Iris agreed with a saddened tone.

Hearing her tone, Seth questioned. "You doing okay, Iris?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Seth." She told him.

"You sure?" Barry inquired her.

Iris said. "Hey, I need to show you something at S.T.A.R. Labs. Seth, come too."

Both powered heroes accepted her instructions and followed her to the facility.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

The three of them made their way back to the facility, where they stood in front of the transparent board in Cisco's workshop. The same board with all the headlines from the future that they wrote down to prevent the dark future that's looming over them and Iris.

The reporter tapped on the board, gesturing to a specific headline. "Look." The powered guys narrowed their eyes on the headline of "Luigi's Restaurant Reopens." Seth widened his eyes in realization. Iris saw his reaction and stated to them both. "That's the name of the restaurant where we just were."

"Yeah." Barry nodded his head, having a feeling of where this is going.

"I spoke to the owner, and he doesn't think that the restaurant can survive an attack like this, that they'd most likely have to reopen under a new name." Seth absentmindedly walked to the board as well, grazing the surface. "It's all coming true, guys." Iris continued.

"No." The speedster denied with a shake of his head.

Iris glanced at the board. "I thought things were changing."

"Things are changing, okay. They are." Barry assured his girlfriend. Pointing to the board of headlines, he said. "I was supposed to stop Plunder, right? And instead Wally did. And we're gonna stop Savitar, too. I'm making sure of it."

"Not the only future we have to prevent." Seth stated as he looked at the headline that involved his beloved. "Killer Frost still at Large." He read to himself. "Cold or not, you're still Caitlin Snow, Cait. It won't change you."

"What if we can't stop all of this?" Iris argued, snapping the mutant out of his thoughts when he heard her words devoid of hope. She was speaking directly to Barry now as she added. "I'm scared, Barry."

Barry walked up to her. "Okay, look. Maybe we should tell Joe."

"No, no. No, we agreed that we wouldn't." Iris stated steadfastly. Seth clenched a hand, pushing it against the board. "Besides, you saw him earlier. He's planning for a future with Cecile. If we tell him about Savitar, it's all he's gonna think about. I can't do that to him. I won't."

"Okay…" Barry walked closer to her. "Whatever you want. But listen to me. I promise you; I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that that future never happens."

"Okay." Iris said, hearing his words. Barry placed a kiss on her forehead to assure him.

"I'm gonna go." Seth told them before walking towards the exit.

"Seth." Iris got his attention.

Coming to a stop, the mutant stated her thoughts. "I know, I know, Iris. No telling Joe. But I have to go and help Cait and Albert with the autopsy." Before either of them could state further things, he walked out of the workshop with a pit in his stomach.

X

Having changed into protective clothes that resemble hazmat suits, much like his mate and Julian, Seth entered the medbay to begin the autopsy.

"Sorry for taking too long." Seth told them as he took in the body bag on the table. "So time to begin?"

"Yes." Julian stated as he rolled a table closer to the table. "But I do not see the sense in having three scientists perform one autopsy."

"Seth knows powers more than anyone in this building, and studied them longer. He might have some insight to offer." Caitlin stated. "If the cause of death is from a power, he'll know it."

"Are you really that well-versed in powers?" Julian questioned.

Seth looked at him. "Studied them for a long time, lived with them longer, and known them just as long." He answered.

"Let us hope that's enough." Julian stated in a daring manner.

"You trying to pick a fight with me, Albert?" Seth said, a vein immediately popping out of his forehead.

Caitlin rubbed his back comfortably, getting him to calm down. "Seth, remember you'd tear him to shreds if it erupted into a fight. Not exactly a fair fight." She moved closer to the operating table again. "What's his name?"

Putting on gloves, Julian stated bluntly. "Doesn't really matter much now, does it?"

"Of course, we should call him by his name. After everything he's been through, he deserves that much respect." Caitlin argued respectfully.

Reaching into his pocket, Seth pulled out the page he got from Joe's notepad. "His name's Stuart Holzman, chef at Luigi's. He worked the late night shift."

""He" is a corpse, thus impervious to such bedside manners." Julian admitted.

"Well, thank goodness 'cause I'd hate to have to subject him to yours." Caitlin countered with just as much bluntness.

Seth chuckled to himself at his mate's counter, giving her a proud wink in response. "Nice burn, Mom!" The mutant and Caitlin looked to the glass panel, both seeing Frankie, Ruby and Evelyn on the other side. Ruby was the one who spoke through the microphone.

"Didn't you guys have chores to take care of?" Seth questioned them.

"All of them are done." Frankie replied.

"Great, now we have an audience. I would consider changing your manner of parenting." Julian sighed. Both parents gave him cold glares. He picked up his recorder. "Victim is male, between 30 and 40, with a highly necrotized epidermis."

Caitlin, as Julian spoke into his recorder, pulled the zipper down. But to her and his mate's shock, dust came out of the opening.

"What the heck?" Seth admitted.

Caitlin pulled it all the way down and opened the body bag. Julian continued speaking into his device. "We plan to do a full-body scan and a chest wall retraction-"

"Albert." Seth cut him off.

"Look." Caitlin directed his attention to the open body bag.

Julian joined them and showed the same level of shock when peering into the body bag. A massive pile of dust remained in the body where the decayed body of Stuart Holzman was supposed to be.

"What we saw at the restaurant wasn't the full force of the decay." Seth said.

"Yes, the decay continues even after the tissue's dead." Julian followed up.

"Then this isn't a bacteria." Caitlin continued. "Or any other disease known to medical science."

"So we're not looking at a chemical like we thought, which means we're looking for something else." Seth deduced.

"Lovely, practically hands us the conclusion, doesn't it?" Julian voiced his frustration as he took off his gloves and was in the process of taking off his scrubs. Without saying more, he left the medbay lab in a hurry.

"You think something else is bothering him?" Caitlin directed to Seth.

"Who knows with that guy." Seth said as he took hold of a scalpel. He dug into the pile of dust and scooped up a small amount on the blunt side of the blade. "But the thought of someone who can cause this level of decay is…"

"Unbelievable." Caitlin admitted. She took out a glass plate and held it out to her mate. Seth put the dust on the plate. "Think we should examine this soon."

"That sounds interesting." Evelyn announced her presence, both her parents turned in her direction and saw her with her sisters sitting on the table. "What? We're not allowed in here or what?"

"Not necessarily." Seth told them as he zipped up the body bag. "How's your training going?"

"Good." Evelyn answered. "And Dad." Seth faced her. "I'm sorry for being an ass in the morning, just dealing with some stuff."

"Girls, mind coming with me for a bit." Caitlin had Frankie and Ruby follow her out of the medbay, allowing Evelyn and Seth to talk privately.

Seth smiled at her strategy. "Smooth, your Mom, don't you think? And about your behavior this morning, wouldn't call you an ass, kiddo. It's just you being a teenager, I know that. And I should be sorry for being nosy."

"Think that's you being a father, Dad." Evelyn chuckled. "But about what's been on my mind…" Seth turned to her, giving his child his full attention. "I was thinking about my future, Dad. Kai asked me what my decision on my future was. Cause back on Earth-2… I always talked about becoming an interior designer, following my birth mother's footsteps and continuing to be an athlete on the sidelines. But now…"

"Only thing you can think of is being Eclipse." Seth cut her off, finishing her own sentence. He pulled up a chair to her side, taking a seat on it. "Had the same problem myself."

"What do you mean?" Evelyn questioned.

"I was experimented on, Evie, turned into a living weapon by a bunch of mad scientists." He stated. "At some point, I figured that was my future. My ending. I'd be some weapon of mass destruction all my life. Figured Weapon X Hades would be the only label on my life, on my future." Seth told his child.

"Did… Did it ever change?" Evelyn asked, listening closely to her father's words.

"It did… My sister." Seth stated. "Don't remember if I've told this before, but after Matt, my sister and I were rescued, your Aunt Liv couldn't stand being near any doctor. If a doctor or a nurse so much as approached her, she'd fling them across the room without hesitation. It wasn't because she wanted to, of course, it was a defensive mechanism developed through fear. During those times I couldn't help but envision her getting sick one day, and she wouldn't even go to a doctor to treat her pain."

Seth clenched his hands. "Back then I also had the image of almost burning my sister from an earlier mistake after my mutation manifested. Maybe at first, I took on the role of becoming a doctor to rectify that horrible mistake. But afterwards, learning that there were numerous others just like Liv and other mutants who couldn't be treated by normal doctors, I put my heart and soul to becoming a doctor for both mutants and humans. That's where my passion began for it."

"Mom said being a doctor was all she ever wanted, her parents are doctors and she practically installed the Hippocratic Oath in herself." Evelyn recalled. "You chose to do it for your sister and your fellow mutants."

"More or less, and I only got that feeling when I was around seventeen or eighteen." His metahuman daughter turned shocked at that sentence. Seth nudged her arm gently. "The point of my boring story is that you don't have to worry about your future too much. Take a few beats, think about yourself now and take it slow. Cause what you're doing now is great, honey. You're more responsible than most kids your age."

"Figured you'd say something like that, Dad." Evelyn shocked her father this time. "But I don't know what to do now. Maybe something like a sabbatical like Ruby's plan might be on the table."

"Whatever you choose…" Seth squeezed her hand comfortably. "Know that we got your back."

"Did you take a sabbatical, Dad?" Evelyn wondered as he stood up, taking off his scrubs.

Shaking his head, Seth answered. "No. After S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, I immediately went to work as a field agent. Wanted to work, get a house, preferably one that wasn't under my Dad's surveillance." He revealed as he walked towards the exit.

Her father exited the medbay, leaving Evelyn to think about her words with her father. "S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, huh…"

X

(Speed Lab)

GASP

Following a unison of three gasps, three sharp intakes of air came from Barry, Cisco and H.R. Wells when they saw Wally ricochet off the wooden practice wall after he ran out of the track course and into it.

He hit the floor hard, H.R. making another loud, sharp into intake of air. Wally grunted on the floor. "No. Ow!" He walked off the platform and towards his downed protégé.

"That hurt like-" Wally gestured to the wood wall.

Harrison chuckled. "Like you ran into a giant wooden wall? Cause you did." He helped his mentee back up.

Cisco corrected the Earth-19er. "That was not just any big wooden wall. That's double-reinforced quebracho. Except for what our crazy elemental got flowing through his blood, that's like the strongest stuff on the planet right here."

Kid Flash faced the viber, pointing to the wall that stands as his adversary for this practice. "Well, fantastic choice, Cisco."

Barry jumped in, pointing to the same wall that stands as Wally's adversary for his training. "Well, it shouldn't matter if it's wood or steel or stone. If you're moving fast, you can phase through anything."

Wally nodded his understanding. "Even molten lava?" H.R. mused the idea. "You know, if you ever ended up in a volcano?"

The yellow speedster faced the senior speedster again, a look of query on his face. "You know, I still don't get it. How do you do this?"

"All right, here, watch." Jumping onto his foot, Barry walked to the wooden wall. "When you vibrate at the natural frequency of air…" By now, he and Wally stand in front of the practice barricade. "Your body, your cells, will be in an excited state…" He vibrates his hand, making it enter a state of phase that makes his appendage phase through the wood. "That'll allow you to phase." He finalized when retracting his hand.

Despite the explanation Wally remained unsure. "Yeah, it's not really helping. What exactly do I do?"

"Connect with your body, right?" Barry instructed him. "Connect with the air. Be pure electricity. You have to feel everything that's around you, all right?"

Mulling it over in his head, Wally surmised. "So go fast and feel things. Yeah. No worries." He walked backwards, passing by H.R. Wells.

"You can do this, Wallace." The Earth-19er encouraged the speedster who took a stance in front of the track course entrance.

"Okay. All right, all right." Wally jumped up and down, readying himself for another attempt to phase through the wooden wall. "You can do this." He told himself with a sharp inhale. With a determination driving him, he sped towards the wall again.

But much like his previous attempts, the yellow speedster ended up grunting on the floor when he bounced off the barricade. Barry suggested to his mentee. "All right, again. Yeah?"

Wally jumped back on his feet. "You got this!" H.R. encouraged him before the metahuman sped onto the tracks.

Harrison whistled his impressiveness, but Barry voiced his thoughts. "This isn't working."

"It's not working." H.R. agreed.

The senior speedster asked him. "You've been training him. What's worked?"

"You know what works with that guy?" H.R. stated, getting Barry and Cisco's attention. "Vocal encouragement. You got this, Wallace!" He showed the yellow speedster his words of encouragement.

"I don't know why you ask him." Cisco stated when he saw the look on Barry's face, seemingly not getting anywhere with H.R.'s answer.

Facing the viber, Barry questioned. "Well, what did Wells do with me?"

"His plan was more methodically constructed than John Doe's in Seven, and he had a bit more time to work it out by, give or take, 15 years."

"Well, we don't have 15 years." Barry argued.

With no other ideas coming to either of the metahumans, H.R. suggested. "Why not let Seth take a crack at our struggling speedster?"

Cisco bit off a piece of jerky. "Might end up with Wally's noggin getting cracked."

"Yeah, or he'd be in tears." Barry added.

"Well, excuse me for not using my heart!" The three members in the Speed Lab froze in place when they heard the mutant's voice bellow out of the speakers. "I'm a teacher, you morons, heart is not part of the job description."

"You sure about that?" Barry questioned.

"You doubting my abilities as a teacher all of a sudden, Barry?!" The speedster shivered in his spot, fearing that the elemental would tear down a wall and tear him to pieces. "Guess what, I doubt your decision-making all the time. And with good freaking reason! So for that little snipe, no I'm not gonna help you out with Wally. I got my own kids to teach, you know."

"Oh, how's that going?" H.R. asked over the speakers.

X

(Klyntar Lab)

"About as expected." The elemental replied as he casually stepped to the side, avoiding Evelyn's next high-speed attack. "Friday, cut the connection. No need for more distraction and all." He told the A.I. while seeing his daughter bounce off the ground and onto the wall, rolling up the surface.

Caitlin and Frankie watched from the platform. In the air over the heads of her family members, Ruby was levitating with a book in front of her face. Much like her, the book's held up by gravitational power from the gravity manipulator. Even the pages turned with her powers.

Putting on a show, Seth performed a playful spin as he dodged Evelyn's next attack. Coming to a halt, he looked up at Ruby who's over his head. "The gravity she's emitting throughout her body is increased from all directions, making it seem like she's levitating."

"But in actuality, she's actually being pinned from all sides mid-air by her own gravity." Venom followed his host's thoughts.

"Growing up quick that one." Seth gave a brief smirk before performing a backflip. With his action, he avoided another attack from Evelyn. Landing on his feet again, he faced his other daughter. "So is she."

Evelyn slid to a stop, landing on the ground with all both hands and feet on the ground. Her entire body brimming with a powerful bright shine. "Am I even getting closer to hitting you?"

Scratching the bridge of his nose, Seth answered. "Maybe."

His reaction made Evelyn groan to herself. "Seriously, Dad?" Her annoyance was clear as day.

"Well, you are getting closer, that's for sure." He held up the edge of his coat, showing that it had been lightly seared. "But you're not used to moving at such high-speed, so you don't know how to control it now."

Dimming down the light, Evelyn stood back on her feet. "Got any ideas, Dad?"

"Hmmm…" Seth wanted her to come up with ideas on her own without a doubt, but he could easily see the mental struggle she's experiencing. At the same time, he also noticed how out of breath she is along with the slight bruises on her hands and legs that are quickly healing. Rubbing his chin, he suggested. "Seeing as your body isn't used to it, use it only in training, and in the field use it only as a last resort. Either as a short-burst to get away or as a sure-fire attack."

"A sure-fire attack?" Frankie questioned.

Seth faced her. "You know what I mean: An attack that you only use when you're absolutely sure you can take down your foe with a single attack. But for now, only use it in training. Evie's body still isn't used to moving at high velocity, fighting against her."

"Like how my gravity used to hurt my arms from inside." Ruby realized, continuing to read her levitating book.

"Precisely. If the vessel's unable to contain the power, it'll end up cracking when something messes with the power." Seth explained.

Giving her mate a look, Caitlin reminded him. "Try not to call our daughters a "vessel" in the future."

"Sorry, babe." Seth shot her an apologetic look.

"Boss." The A.I. got the elemental's attention.

"What's up, Friday?" Seth asked.

"Detective West called, there's another body."

With a sigh, Seth muttered. "Another day at the office, huh?" He turned to his mate. "Wanna set up the medbay?"

"Think we'll have an examinable body this time?" Caitlin questioned.

"One can only hope." Seth quipped.

X

Inside of the city, police cars had already closed off the back alley that was the latest crime scene near the lounge. Barry, Julian and Joe have already begun their examination, standing over the latest body. Other CSI scientists walked past them, taking inventory of the crime scene.

"Body was found by that bicyclist. Same MO as the first one." Joe said. Gesturing to the decayed but still-intact corpse, the detective continued. "This victim was performing here last night. He's a lounge singer named Julip Mendez."

That name snapped Barry's eyes to him. "Julio Mendez?" He recalled where he heard that name before, where he even saw the person. "In Flashpoint, he was Captain Mendez."

Julian faced the speedster. "Sorry, in Flashpoint, this alternate universe that you lived in…" He pointed to the corpse. "He worked at CCPD?"

"Yeah." Barry nodded. He narrowed his eyes, the gears in his head turning rapidly. "Wait a second. The other… The other vic, Stuart Holzman, do we have a photo of him?"

"Yeah." Julian pulled out his phone and scrolled through his phone.

"Can I see it?" Having found the photo, Julian handed Barry his phone with the photo.

"That's him." The metahuman expert told his colleague.

Barry thought back to his time in Flashpoint, thinking back to the police department of the alternate timeline. Another image from his time in that timeline came to front of his mind, an image of him interacting with a certain officer. "He was a cop there, too."

"So, this is the second dead cop from Flashpoint?" Joe questioned.

The speedster nodded his head. "Yeah. We've got to figure out who this guy is."

Julian looked down at the body again. "Well, if we hurry, there's still a chance we can get some of the attacker's residual DNA before this corpse disintegrates, but we've got to move quick."

Gesturing to his son, Joe added. "Barry, you can help with that."

"All right, come on." In a flash, Barry sped away with both Julian and the decayed corpse of Julio Mendez. The flash of yellow lightning returned and the speedster slid to a stop. "Anybody see me?"

"Damn, I barely saw you." Joe looked down at his watch. "Look, we've got to get going." He said, referring to the date he has scheduled with Cecile.

"Hey, Joe, hold up." Barry kept Joe there. "Look, I know how excited you are for this coffee thing with Joanie and Cecile, but I think we should hold off. I don't think it's a good idea right now." Unbeknownst to Joe, the speedster's mind was clouded by the images and thoughts of the dark future that's looking over Iris.

"Barr, these two attacks don't establish a pattern." Joe assured his son. Barry looked unsure. "And, besides, I'm a cop. I canceled my plans every time I was in danger, I'd never leave the house."

"I hear you." Barry heard him and knew how excited he was for their families to meet one another. "I would just feel a lot better knowing you were someplace safe."

"Name a place safer than a coffee shop with my two speedster sons." Joe challenged his son, holding up two fingers. Barry didn't argue, but remained reluctant. "Meeting Joanie is important to Cecile. Therefore, it's important to me. Some things are worth taking risks for."

Barry nodded his agreement. "All right. Let's get out of here."

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Medbay)

Standing in the medbay once again, the three scientists consisting of Caitlin, Seth and Julian rebegan their examination of the decayed corpse, this time finally able to perform an autopsy on a corpse that wasn't a pile of dust.

"Told you we'd have a body." Seth nudged Caitlin's side.

While examining the body's face, Caitlin threw him a look. "You were lucky." Seth stuck out his tongue playfully.

"Anything?" Julian questioned them both.

"Aside from this body disintegrating before our eyes, nothing unusual." Caitlin replied.

"Which is concerning honestly." Seth admitted.

Julian stated. "There must be a heightened point of necrosis somewhere. Look." He instructed them both, they both shot a glare. It went unnoticed by the metahuman expert who looked at his watch. "We have less than 50 minutes before this corpse disintegrates into ash like the last one. We need to find it now."

"We're aware." Caitlin countered, frustrated by Julian's behavior like he's in charge.

While Caitlin focused on the right arm, Seth gently pressed down on the chest. The mutant removed his hands from the decaying chest plate, specks of ash on his fingertips. "Any other day, this could be an interesting topic for an experiment."

Hearing the elemental's thoughts go adrift, Julian suggested. "This might be a faster process if I did it alone."

"You know, I've done autopsies before, Julian." Caitlin voiced her frustration.

"So have I, not to mention the corpse from the Lizard incident was examined by us." Seth reminded the metahuman expert, voicing his own anger.

Scoffing, he said. "I'm well aware. This might just be a quicker process if I did it alone."

"Wait, Cait." Seth got her attention, his eyes pointing down at the corpse's right arm. "Right hand."

Caitlin followed his eyes, turning over the right hand. "What are you doing?" Julian questioned.

"The gradation is darker on the palm of his hand from the point of contact." Caitlin pointed to the palm.

"So poor Mendez died from a handshake?" Seth wondered out loud.

"Quite a theory you're brewing, Dr. Fury." Julian walked around the table and towards their side. Seth stepped backwards.

As Julian used a pair of tweezers to retrieve a sample from the hand, Caitlin faced the metahuman expert with a dry look. "You know, I used to think Barry was overreacting when he complained about sharing a lab with you, but now I understand his frustration."

"Agreed, and I'm the last person in this facility to agree with that one." Seth followed up.

Holding up a piece of skin, Julian countered. "Believe me, no one is more frustrated than I." He walked towards one of the machines.

"You do realize that it's possible not to be a jerk all the time, right?" Caitlin had to ask him.

"Want a handbook?" Seth asked.

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes. But Dr. Snow, may I remind you that your boyfriend eats people." Julian countered as he put the sample into the machine.

Seth snarled. "Wanna end up as my next meal?"

"Calm down, babe." Caitlin told her mate comfortingly.

The DNA scanner began to examine the sample. After beeping a few times, the results from the test showed up on the computer screen once the scanning process was completed. It showed two DNA strands side by side.

"Two strains of DNA." Caitlin said.

"One of them belonged to Julio Mendez, as expected." Seth replied.

"The other one must be from our killer." Julian said.

"And it's a metahuman from the DNA." Seth replied, looking over the DNA strand to the right side of the screen.

Another screen popped up, showing the metahuman DNA database. "But, you know, there's something else here." Caitlin noted while the registered metahuman DNA was compared to the ones in the DNA database. "One of them DNA strains has an element in it."

"Anything we've ever seen before?" Seth asked, not recalling a component that resembles the one in the metahuman DNA strain.

"I have…" Julian said slowly with a horrified expression.

"Where?" Seth inquired.

Continuing to wield his look of horror, he said. "In all the meta husks created by Alchemy." Both powered doctors faced him. "Which means the meta that killed our two innocent people… Was created by me."

"Means we're dealing with a Flashpoint meta." Seth stated to himself. "The unwanted gift that keeps on giving."

"On that, I agree." Julian stood back up. "Another one of my mistakes." Without saying another word, the metahuman expert walked out of the medbay.

"He really loves storming out of this place." Seth sarcastically said.

"Too much on his mind." Caitlin noted. "Must be weighing on him with the Flashpoint metas showing up now."

"You mean, he's blaming himself, right?" Seth said. Caitlin didn't do any action or say anything as a form of agreement, but the expression on her face spoke volumes. "No matter how much we tell him that it was Savitar's fault, that he wasn't in control-"

"He just won't accept that." Caitlin finished her mate's sentence. "Considering you're the one with the most experience in blaming yourself…" She put a hand on Seth's shoulder. "Why not have a talk with him?"

Seth looked over his shoulder, placing his hand over hers. "You think I can get through that thick head of his?"

"Only one way to find out, right?" Caitlin quipped. "Oh yeah, that reminds me." Seth raised an eyebrow. "Ruby went to Joe at Jitters; she forgot one of her schoolbooks at his house."

"When did she stay at Joe's place?" Seth questioned.

"Yesterday. In her own words, she got "Tired of hearing Evie's whining."" She laughed at her own daughter's words. Seth joined her, the two of them laughing together.

X

(CC Jitters)

The entrance doors' bell rang when they opened up, Ruby Fury entering the coffee shop. Much like all of her visits to the local attraction, almost all of her six senses were bombarded by smell of, sight of, or even the sound of coffee brewing.

But she turned all of those sounds off, turning her gaze around in search. "Where is Uncle Joe?"

"Look up." Reap told her host.

Following her "other's" advice, Ruby turned her gaze upwards and saw the side of her uncle's head on the upper floor. "Oh, yeah, he was meeting Cecile's daughter and all." She recalled as she went to the staircase, walking up the stairs in a hurry.

"Is my mom right?" Ruby stopped on her way to the upper floor, the unfamiliar voice from the floor making her stop. "Who is the real hero, Flash or Kid Flash?"

Hearing that question, the gravity manipulator had a feeling on who was on the receiving end of that question. "Poor uncle Joe." She admitted with a chuckle as she made her way up the stairs.

When finally reaching the upper level, she heard her uncle state. "They both are." He was clearly unsure of how to answer that question, especially with the two speedsters in question sitting by his table with his daughter and his girlfriend and her daughter. "They both do great things for Central City."

Joanie, the young woman in purple shirt and black pants and a gray scarf around her neck, persisted. "Okay, but if you had to choose?"

"I don't… I don't think I could choose." Joe admitted, struggling to come up with a better response.

"Yeah, but if you, like, had to." Wally jumped in, wanting to know who his father would deem the real hero.

Joe told his son. "Um, could you go get me some cream, Wally, please?" He changed the topic as he gave him the cream cup. Wally got up from the table, walking past Ruby who gave a surprised look.

"Sounds like a boring question." Ruby jumped into the discussion, garnering the attention of them. "Hey guys."

"Ruby, hi." Joe greeted his niece.

Cecile greeted the girl with a nod. "Ruby, good to see you again. This is my daughter, Joanie. Joanie, this is one of Joe's partner's daughters, Ruby."

"Nice to meet you." Ruby told Cecile's daughter as she walked closer to their table.

"You too." Joanie leant forward, placing both arms on the table. "But you said it was a boring question. So, what about you, who do you think is the real hero?"

Iris chuckled to herself. "You're gonna be surprised by the answer."

"Neither, both of them are boring as hell." Ruby admitted immediately. "I think Venom is a better hero."

"Venom? Isn't he that huge brute, swinging his sword left and right and destroying everything?" Joanie asked. "Is he really a hero?"

"Saved a lot of people, sure points in that direction." Ruby argued.

"If you say so, but I'm skeptical." Joanie admitted.

Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby didn't give Joanie's words much thought. She turned to Joe. "Uncle Joe, can I get your house keys? I forgot one of my books at your place yesterday."

"Of course, sweetie." Joe reached into his pocket and threw her his keys.

With one hand, she caught the keys. "Thanks, Unc. Nice to meet you, Joanie." She told the attorney's daughter. She turned around and walked towards the stairs, stepping down the steps. But her phone rang, making her halt. "What now?" She asked when seeing it was her father who called her. "Dad, what is it?" She replied to her father after answering the call.

"Rubs, you still at Jitters?" She heard him ask.

"Just about to leave, yeah. Why?" She questioned.

"Your mother and I finally managed to get some DNA off Mendez's corpse. We got a match for it thanks to the CCPD records."

"We got a name for our meta villain?" Ruby whispered her question.

"Yeah, Clive Yorkin. Friday's sending info to you and your sisters at the same time." Seth told his child.

Ruby's phone chimed again. Seeing it, she saw it was a photo of the metahuman criminal. "This is Yorkin."

"Also, Evie's on her way to you now. If Yorkin shows up, you and Evie are to face him, okay?"

Hearing her father's strange adamant voice, she questioned. "Why so steadfast on that, Dad?"

"This guy can disintegrate humans with a touch. Close-range fighters like me, Frankie and the speedsters aren't gonna be able to do much against someone like this. Long-range fighters like you and your sister stand a better chance than the rest."

"Sounds reasonable. Okay, you got it." Ruby nodded. "If we see Yorkin, we'll-"

"Detective Joe West." A voice called out. Everyone in the coffee shop turned their eyes to the person standing in front of the entrance. Having received photos of him, both Ruby and Barry were shocked to see Clive Yorkin standing there. On the upper floor, Joe stood up and walked to the railing to face the man who called out his name. "Long time no see."

"Dad, I'm losing the sling now. Yorkin's at Jitters." Ruby informed her father before hanging up. Stepping backwards, out of the civilians' field of vision, she tore off her sling and rolled her right arm to test it. "Time to work."

"Stealing your old man's catchphrase?" Reap teased her host.

"Shut it." Ruby countered, making sure she wasn't within the range of any security cameras before she used her "other's" powers to turn invisible.

Meanwhile, Joe shot the unknown metahuman a strange and baffled look. "Do I know you?"

"You don't remember me?" Clive asked. Wally, standing in front of the counter, stepped out in the middle of the coffee shop. He listened as the metahuman continued to talk to his father. "You and your cronies had a very fun time ruining my life. Not gonna let you do that this time around."

Steadfastly Joe countered. "I think you have the wrong guy."

"No, no." Clive steadfastly argued. "You're the Joe West I remember. Looking a lot more full of life now, though, but don't worry." He looked at a nearby table, two fingers of his left hand touching the wooden surface. "I can change that." He admitted as the table began to disintegrate into dust, even the potted plant wasn't spared from the decay.

"Everybody, get back." Joe instructed the civilians before taking out his firearm.

As her boyfriend aimed his gun at the metahuman, Cecile told her daughter urgently. "Joan, go."

"Everybody, get out of here. Everybody, go! Go!" He told the civilians before sending a subtle nod to Wally who made eye contact with him.

Wally ran out the back entrance with the other civilians, using that opportunity to speed away when he was away from prying eyes.

"Yes, everybody, run." Clive casually told them without facing them, his eyes remaining on Joe West. "I only want him." The detective never stopped aiming at the villain. Examining the pillars hold up the upper floor, he said. "You can't hide up there, Detective. No one can hide from me anymore."

"Joe." Barry told the detective worriedly.

"One more step, and I'll shoot." Joe warned the metahuman villain.

With hand outstretched and near one of the support pillars, Clive smirked. "Didn't work then, won't work now, either." He moved his hand closer to the pillar.

Joe, seeing that his warning didn't reach his ears, pulls the trigger and shoots three bullets for him.

At first, he figured they had some effect on the criminal due to him flinching in his place, but instead of leaving Clive Yorkin riddled with bullet holes, dust slid down his chest. His third bullet, much like its predecessors, touched his body and turned to dust immediately.

Joe and Barry were shocked to see that projectiles couldn't even pierce him, let alone damage him.

"Told you." Clive stated smugly.

WHOOSH

"Stop!" Wally put a halt to Clive's attack.

Clive looked over his shoulder, seeing the yellow speedster move towards him. "Ah!" The criminal stopped him. "You can't touch me, Speedster."

Knowing that was true, Wally looked up to Barry for directions. The senior subtly spun his arms around, giving his mentee the means of fighting back against the villain. Wally nodded his understanding.

Clive went to touch the pillar, about to bring down the entire establishment to get his revenge on Joe West. But before his fingers could touch the solid support beam, the speedster behind him. violently spun his arms around and released two spiraling gusts of air.

When they connected with his body, Clive was shot off the ground and through the back entrance. Glass shards scattered everywhere. But despite being slammed into a wall, that did not stop the metahuman from getting back on his feet quickly and making his way away from the coffee shop.

He made his way to the streets, seeing that a number of people and cars passed by him. The villain smirked, realizing that with so many people here he could easily force Detective Joe West out of the building and into his clutch.

"I ain't done yet, Detective West." Clive reached down his hand, about to touch the asphalt under his feet.

"Yes, you are!"

Snapping back to his feet and instinctively thrust out his hand, his five fingers touching the trash can that was hurled towards him. The very moment his fingers came into contact with the metal object, it completely turned to dust.

Clive, looking through the dust remains, saw who was responsible for hurling the metal projectile. He found to his shock a pair of heroes consisting of Genysis and Eclipse. The former holding up another trash can with the tongue from her collar, the latter holding an arrow on her bow which is aimed at the criminal.

"You're two of those brats who run with Venom, aren't you?" Clive asked, inwardly shocked that these two are appearing to be ready for combat.

"We are." Eclipse simply answered.

"Now… We're the ones who are gonna haul your ass to Iron Heights, degenerate." The gravity manipulator declared confidently before throwing the trash can after him.

Once again, Clive lashed out his hand and disintegrated the trash can to dust in a heartbeat. The dust scattered and hit his face.

Seeing that his vision was compromised, Evelyn released her arrow and let it fly towards him. Clive brushed the dust out of his eyes, but he didn't have time to react to the arrow that came his way. However, his powers kicked in when it touched his body and the projectile turned to dust.

"Didn't you get the memo? I'm untouchable, kid!" Clive shouted.

"Okay, I know Dad said we're a better matchup against this guy than rest, but how?" Eclipse asked while retracting her bow, realizing that arrows wouldn't make a dent on him.

"From what we've seen so far, his powers decays solid matter." Genysis breathed sharply, her gravity began to enwrap her body akin to an armor. On the alley wall, she took a stance similar to that of a pro boxer. "Bright side, our powers don't revolve around solid matter."

"Good point." Eclipse realized what she meant and clenched her fists, concentrating pure darkness in her palms. Wisps of shadows emitted from between the gaps between her fingers. Thrusting out her left hand, she shot out three strands of darkness towards Clive.

The criminal stood calm and confident in the face of the next strange items to turn to dust when touching his body.

But to his surprise, when they finally made contact with his body they didn't disintegrate. Instead, they hit his stomach and sent him off the ground. He was hurled into a wall. Sliding down the brick surface, he held his stomach in pain. "What the heck?"

Genysis dug her feet into the brick surface under her feet. "If you don't like pain, then get off the battlefield!" She shouted, shooting herself off the wall with gravity catapulting her off the surface. Like a cannonball, she appeared in a flash in front of the criminal and reeled back a fist.

But Clive saw it coming this time, holding up his hand to block the fist that'd disintegrate next.

But the opposing hand didn't decay when he touched it. Or rather, it was as though something else met his hand. Despite his hand grabbing onto something, he couldn't see it. It was an invisible force that coated her hand, preventing direct contact between him and her.

"For real, what are you kids?" Clive wanted to know, wondering how his very touch could decimate buildings but not even scratch the two heroes in front of him.

"Gravity and darkness don't have a solid form, Yorkin. We're the last people you'd ever wanna go up against!" She snarled. Using her other free gravity-clad fist, she delivered a straight jab to his face, causing his head to reel back into the wall behind him.

Not showing any mercy the gravity manipulator spun around, striking his side with a gravity clad foot. The metahuman criminal was hurled off in the direction of the alleyway entrance, skipping across the asphalt till he slammed into a parked car.

Eclipse shadowported to the entrance of the alleyway, facing the metahuman villain with a glare. "Ready to give up."

Clive looked up again. "Not quite." As he got up, he purposely put a hand on the car that cushioned his fall and it crumbled to dust. "But I wonder what happens if I do this!"

To the heroes' horror, Clive slammed both hands on the ground. His decay spread from his spot to the lanes, turning the asphalt to dust and anything on them met the same fate.

"Crap!" Genysis shouted, jumped into the air. Using what her father trained her to do, she increased the output of her gravity armor to the point where she stays suspended in the air with gravity. Thrusting out her hands, she forces numerous cars and vehicles up into the air, out of the decay's range.

Eclipse shadowported to the side of a tall building. Thrusting out her hands and her wings at the same time, she focused on the civilians within the decay's range. Before the rapid decay could touch them, she had strands of her darkness wrap around them and pull them into the air. Her wings did the same, wrapping anyone that her darkness couldn't reach. They continued to do this, using darkness and serpentine wings to get people away from the decay and pull them into the air along with their vehicles.

But the heroes stopped once they saw that the decay stopped, but not without leaving a massive hole in the middle of the lanes. While holding up a number of civilians with their own means, the sisters shared a look. They then snapped their eyes to where Clive stood.

Waves of regret come over them when seeing that the metahuman criminal was nowhere to be found. "He's gone…"

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs)

The team gathered in the Cortex, reviewing what befell at the road near CC Jitters. Everyone bears baffled expressions after learning and witnessing Clive Yorkin's powers.

Cisco, looking over his DNA scans, stated. "This guy's got the touch of death."

"Yeah, he does, and it's not just people." Barry said, running a hand over his face.

"Anything he touched turned to ash as well." Seth said, his eyes pointing at a monitor that showed the footage of Clive creating a massive hole with his touch. "Good thing, I sent you two after him." He directed at Evelyn and Ruby who leant up against the railing. Frankie was on the ceiling.

"Yeah." Wally said in agreement. "Heck, these two just pummeled him without hesitation out there on their own without guidance."

Ruby looked over her shoulder. "Dad gave us the run-down, and I saw his powers first-hand. If you can deal damage without physically touching him, then you're good to go."

"But the damage he did to everything else was immense." Evelyn followed up, her eyes looking at the same monitor as her father.

"And all that from just one touch." Frankie bit her finger in thought, wondering how she'd be able to fight against someone with that kind of power.

"Joe…" Barry turned to the detective. "I really think you should just stay here until we find Yorkin."

His daughter stood beside him, and Joe replied to Barry. "No, I'm gonna go check on Cecile and Joanie. They were pretty shaken up." He moved towards the exit.

"Dad, are you crazy? This guy wants to kill you." Iris stopped her father. "If it wasn't for Wally, Barry and Seth's girls, he could have. He could have killed any one of us."

Stutteringly, due to the shock he's feeling, Joe countered. "Come one. We have been through much worse metas than Yorkin." A look of unease came over his daughter's face, the sight alone making him question her mindset. "What?" Iris gave a saddened sigh. "Iris, I'm fine." The detective assured his child, walking closer to her. "We're all fine. We're not losing anybody today."

"Maybe not today but soon." Iris admitted with dread lacing her words.

""Soon"?" Joe asked in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Wait. What are you saying?"

"Iris." Wally jumped in, arguing with her current path.

"Wally, he needs to know." Iris stopped her brother's advances.

"Needs to know what?" Joe asked suspiciously.

Seth clenched a hand around his forearm.

Iris looked at Barry who nodded his acceptance, agreeing to her choice to disclose the truth to Joe. She turned back to her father, slowly gathering up the courage to reveal everything. Once she was sure her heart was steeled, she revealed. "When Barry threw the Philosopher's Stone into the Speed Force, there was an explosion, and he was propelled to the future."

"The future?" Joe asked for confirmation.

Barry nodded his head. "It was a few months from now."

"My consciousness was hurled along for the ride." Seth pitched in. Joe turned even more confused.

"What the two of them saw was Barry himself standing before Savitar…" Tears began to swell in Iris' eyes. "And me…" Same tears began to roll down her face. "Right before Savitar killed me."

The news hit Joe like an anvil had been dropped down on him. He didn't know what to do or say under the pressure he was feeling right now. It was as though he couldn't even breathe properly. His mind faring no better than the rest of him, struggling to process the dreadful information he's just been given.

When he managed to process what he heard, he asked. "You're saying that, in a few months, you die?"

Iris nodded her head.

"Unless we can change the future, Dad." Wally walked up to him.

Joe walked to the center of the Cortex. "Which we're gonna do, Joe, okay? I'm not… We're not gonna let this happen." Barry told the detective.

"How long have you known about this?" Joe asked, noting that there wasn't a lack of surprise on any of the other members' faces. He turned around, seeing that there wasn't any surprise on his nieces nor his partner's faces. Not even on H.R.'s, Caitlin's and Cisco's faces. "How long?!" He demanded.

His raised voice made his nieces flinch, they weren't used to hearing him raise his voice like that.

"A couple weeks ago, Joe." Cisco answered.

"And you're just telling me now? That's my daughter!" Joe gestured to Iris in a shout.

"Dad, I didn't want them to say anything because I knew how you would react." Iris defensively said.

"This is not something you keep from your father, Iris! You should've known that, and you should've, too." Joe accusatorily pointed a finger at Barry.

"I know, Joe." Barry whispered.

"Look…" Joe got their attention once more. "I can even understand why they didn't wanna tell me…" He pointed to Cisco, Harrison and Caitlin. "Because they didn't grow up under the same roof that you did. They don't know. They don't know what my baby girl means to me, Barry, but you do."

"I know." Barry nodded.

"And so do you, Seth!" Joe looked in his direction. The mutant facing him passively. "You're a father yourself, you know what it's like to have children, what it means to be a parent." He walked towards him. "You know what a child means to a parent… And you didn't think I had a right to know about this."

"Dad, that's not-"

"Seth!" His daughter's words fell on deaf ears as Joe snatched the mutant by his collars, pulling him close. His actions make the others jump to their feet. "You know what it's like to lose a child, and you didn't think I had a right to know about my own child's death?!" For once, the detective sneered at his best friend.

"Joe!" Caitlin called out to him.

Worried she might intervene, Seth held out a hand in her direction, wordlessly telling her to stay where she is. Seth pointed his eyes to his friend again. "Joe… I'm sorry."

PUNCH

"DAD!" Iris called out to her father after his action.

Blinded by rage, Joe surprised all members on the team when he swung his fist into Seth's face. A speck of blood hit the floor, only getting bigger as more drops rained down from the mutant's mouth. The detective reeled back his hand; the knuckles bruised from the one strike.

Barry went to them. "Joe-"

But much like Seth had done with his mate, the mutant held out his palm at the speedster. He shot him and the rest of the team a look and a shake of his head, telling them to stay out of the way. Eyes turned back to Joe. "You wanna hit me, keep it going. I have no excuse, Joe. But I am truly… Sorry."

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it. Not this time." Joe let go of Seth's collar. "I…" He sighed. "I can't believe it, Seth. You know how a loss like this can affect a parent… And you still kept it from me. I…" He couldn't bring himself to say anything else so he left the Cortex.

As soon as he left his side, Caitlin shot up from her chair and rushed to Seth's side. "You okay?" She asked him as she held his head gently.

"Fine… Compared to Joe." Seth admitted, still feeling for his best friend who just punched him. He knew more than anything that he was the one in real pain now.

"Seth, I'm sorry for that." Iris told the mutant.

As he wiped the blood off his mouth, Seth faced the reporter. "Don't be, I deserved that. Hell of a friend I am to keep that kind of secret from him."

"I'm sorry for making you do that, Seth." Iris told him. "I'll talk to him." She walked after her father.

"I'm gonna go to CCPD, see if I can find anything that might lead us to Yorkin." Barry said, walking together with Iris through the exit.

Wally and Cisco walked off in their own directions. The Snow-Fury daughters rushed to their father and mother. "Dad, are you really okay?" Frankie asked.

"Like I said, honey, I'm fine. But it's a better state than your Uncle Joe's." Seth assured his daughter, but neither she nor the rest of the family found it convincing in the least. His eyes showed more hurt than anything.

"Really?" Caitlin stroked his hurt lip. "Are you sure?"

"… I don't know." Seth touched his bruised lip. Normally he'd have his "other" heal this in an instant, other times he'd use his elements to defend himself. But it wouldn't have had any merit. This way, he was able to feel some of the pain Joe is feeling. "I'll go clean this up." He muttered, walking towards the medbay.

Facing their father walking away, the three daughters had waves of mixed emotions and feelings come over them. It was the fight time they saw Joe raise his voice and actually raise his fist to hurt someone he considered a close friend. But it was also the first time they witnessed their father being hurt from an attack that he could've easily dodged.

"I honestly think…" Caitlin started. "I think we just saw your father's human side."

"We're used to seeing the hero and mutant side of him." Ruby noted.

Frankie started moving. "I'm gonna check on him, okay, Mom?"

"Sure thing, honey." Caitlin told her. She gave a nod to her other children, telling them they could check their father as well. They moved in unison towards the medbay.

Looking to the side lab on the right side, she remembered Julian is also here. She walked over to him. The metahuman expert heard her entering the side lab and sarcastically noted. "Well, that went swimmingly."

"Joe's right. We should have told him before now." Caitlin admitted.

Julian shook his head. "What you should've told him is that I'm the one responsible, that the meta trying to kill is one that I created."

Comforting him, she told him. "Julian, you can't change what happened to you. It's not your fault."

Closing his folders in anger, Julian shot up from his chair. "You keep saying that, but it is my fault. People are responsible for their own actions. To say otherwise is just… It's just a way to make yourself feel better."

Caitlin flinched at that response, hearing that there was more to it than he let on. "Is that what you think I'm doing?" Julian face her. "Making excuses for things I've done in the past?" He didn't counter or argue, leaving her to scoff in disbelief. "You know, I'm really starting to regret bringing you in here." She finalized before moving out of the side lab and towards the medbay to check on her mate and daughters.

X

(West-Allen Residence)

In the following evening, Iris is home alone and is in the process of writing an article about Clive Yorkin's attacks at Luigi's and at the lounge, exposing his identity as a metahuman. But her process came to a halt when the thoughts of her father's outburst returned to her mind.

She knew he was dealing with a lot, having been delivered such devastating news. He was feeling betrayed right now by some of the most important people in his life.

With a sigh of concern, she turned to her phone and picked it up. Dialing in her father's number, she put the phone to her ear. "Come on, Dad." She whispered in hope. But despite her hopes he didn't pick up the cellular device and her call reached the voicemail. "Hey, Dad, it's me, calling again. Look, I know you're upset, but, um, give me a call back, okay? I love you."

Hanging up on her phone, she returned her attention to the article and edited the title.

"Luigi's Restaurant Site of Metahuman-"

KNOCK KNOCK

The reporter stopped writing when she heard a knock on her front door. She stood up. "Honey?" She called out, thinking it was Barry and he had forgotten his keys.

But it definitely wasn't Barry on the other side of the door, as the door itself instantly turned to ash. The last speck of dust from the disintegrating door fell to the floor, revealing Clive Yorkin who lowered his hand after brushing off dust.

Iris, making sure her eyes were solely on the metahuman to avoid suspicion, pressed her panic button discreetly.

"Good evening, Iris West." Clive greeted her.

"Clive Yorkin." Iris notes.

"Oh nice, your Dad's been talking about me. Warms my heart." Clive chuckled, tapping his chest.

"Why are you here?" Iris asked.

"You know, initially, I wanted your dad dead, but then I thought, if I really wanna make him suffer…" Iris grabbed a candle holder off the dinner table. "I should kill his daughter instead."

Iris countered. "This is not how I'm supposed to die." She swung the candle holder with a grunt.

But he easily grabbed her weapon with his hand, clutching it tightly and his powers turned it to dust instantaneously. "Well, I'm pretty sure it is." Menacingly he inched towards her with a raised hand. Instinctively, she raised her arm to block his incoming attacks.

WHOOSH

A flash of yellow lightning burst in through her now decayed door. "No, stop!" Wally shouted. But Clive did not stop.

Time slowed to a crawl Wally ran ahead with superspeed. Putting everything he has in his running, he rushed towards his sister whose fate might be sealed from the criminal's touch of death.

But no matter how fast he ran, no matter how much he put into running…

He couldn't reach Clive Yorkin before he put his hand on his sister's forearm.

Time returned to normal, Kid Flash pulling Iris out of Clive's arm reach. The reporter gasped as she saw black veins spread across her arm from the area he touched, fear and pain mixing together in a whirlpool.

"Too late, Kid Flash." Clive taunted the speedster. He growled in rage, about to make another attempt to strike the criminal. "Me or her." He dared him with the impossible choice before walking away with a smirk on his face.

Wally knew he couldn't chase him…

It'd cost him his sister.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, A few minutes earlier)

Inside of the empty medbay Seth hissed in pain while looking at the mirror. The saltwater he used to rinse the small wound was making it hard for him to focus, trying not to drink the cleaning solution. He focused on treating the wound, but with what's on his mind it was difficult for him to focus on cleaning such a simple wound.

His disoriented focus caused him to drop the bottle of saltwater into the sink. "Damn it!" He shouted to himself when seeing drops of it pouring down the gasket.

"Let us heal it for you." Venom offered his host again despite Seth telling him to not heal it.

"I can take care of it, Venom. Quit asking, it's fucking annoying." Seth snapped at his partner. He picked up the bottle and placed it on the shelf. Clenching his left hand, icy mist emitted from his hand. "Sorry." He told his "other", seeing that his anger is affecting his powers and caused a big lump of ice to form in his hand.

"No biggie." Venom assured his partner, having received worse from him during the worst days of their life together.

"I know you care, Venom. I get it. But for now…" He pressed the ice to his busted lip. "Best I let this heal on its own. Just to take my mind off things."

Before he could continue his conversation with his "other", Seth tensed up when he felt a pair of arms slip under his arms and wrap around his form. He relaxed when that person's arms hugged him gently. Looking over his shoulder he looked at the person he loves more than the entire world.

Caitlin placed her head on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, her eyes looking at the bruised lip where he is applying a lump of ice to. She found it odd to see an actual wound on him, it might have been the first one she's ever seen in a long time.

"Been better." He honestly said, raising his other hand to stroke the side of her face softly. "How are the girls doing?"

"They're more worried about their dad now than their uncle right now." Caitlin replied, her hand traveling up his body before reaching his wounded lip. He flinched at her gentle touch. "Been a while since I've seen this."

"Me getting wounded?" He asked.

"You in pain." Caitlin clarified, gently rubbing his lip. "And I know it's not from this."

Seth smiled. "You know me too well." He sighed heavily, facing the mirror again. "I never should have kept this from Joe. I should have known better, better than anyone here on the team."

"I agree we shouldn't have kept it from him. But you can't blame yourself like this, Seth." Caitlin started. "You know the pain of losing a child, yeah, and you were trying to protect Joe from the same."

"I did." Seth turned around, fully facing his mate. "But honestly, no matter what my choice was, it doesn't justify what I did. Joe was right, I kept this important information from him and took away his right to protect his child. With this information, he could have helped protect his child-"

Caitlin put a finger on his lips, cutting him off. "And if you had told him this, he might have ended up going up against a speed god. That fight wouldn't have ended well." She took his face in her hand. "But you'd have respected him for it, nonetheless."

"So would you." Seth knows his mate's thoughts. He closed his eyes, letting her love come over him from the contact they're sharing.

"We'll figure out a way to make it up to Joe, together." Caitlin cupped his head.

The mutant smiled at her, opening his eyes again. "If we're able to do so, yeah." He unsurely said.

But if the punch that Joe delivered the mutant was any indication, he had to wonder if such a thing was possible. If there were even the smallest chance of the two of them rebuilding their friendship again. Or was Seth's mistake too big for anything to fix it, for anything to even remain of what they had…

WHOOSH

"Guys!" Kid Flash sped into the medbay, garnering the doctors' attention. But what worried them the most and got their concern was Iris in his arms…

And her left arm where there are black veins spreading from.

"Fuck." Seth muttered.

"Oh no." Caitlin covered her mouth.

"Yorkin got her."

X

Quicker than most speedsters could do under pressure, the two doctors immediately got a gurney ready and carefully placed Iris on the bed. Wally stepped off to the side, giving the doctors the room to work. When they heard about what happened to Iris, the Snow-Fury daughters called the entire team and informed them of what happened.

Joe was the first one to arrive, followed by Julian, Cisco and H.R.

"Seth, get her heart rate." Caitlin told her mate.

Giving her a nod, the mutant took out a thermometer. "Friday, get a scan going. We need to see how far the decay's spread by now."

"On it, Boss." The A.I. stated.

Joe stood over his shivering daughter who's in pain. "I got you, baby girl. I'm not going anywhere."

Having taken her temperature, Seth told his mate worriedly. "Elevated heart rate. Temperature's 104."

"Friday, give me the scan." Caitlin demanded. The A.I. turned on the nearby monitor, showing the spread of the decay through Iris' body. "God." She let out in horror.

Julian faced the same monitor. "The decay's reaching her subcutaneous tissue."

WHOOSH

A flash of lightning sped into the medbay, revealing Barry who immediately got to his girlfriend's side. "I'm here, all right? What happened?" He looked up at the doctors.

"Yorkin went after her." Cisco replied.

"Why didn't you call me?" Barry questioned the viber.

With regret cladding his face, Wally sadly replied. "Because I was here."

"You call me! All right?" Barry bellowed at his protégé. "We have to give her something. There has to be something we can give her."

"Not gonna work, it's not bacteria. Any antibiotics won't work on this." Seth gestured to the spreading decay.

"We have to do something. Nothing's not an option." Joe stated, fearing for his daughter's life.

A flash of inspiration hit Caitlin. She turned to her mate. "Seth, what about we use your blood to fight off the decay? Like how you fought off Carnage's blood."

Mulling over the idea himself, Seth had to shoot down the idea. "Possible, but we ain't got time for that. That concoction needs hours in a centrifuge for it to be safe enough to travel into a human body. Otherwise, the elemental remnants in it would tear through the injected person. Worst case, their immunity would be destroyed in an hour. It'd need at least six hours or so to be prepared."

Caitlin groaned at that news. "And we don't have the time to do that now."

"Okay…" Cisco jumped into the conversation. "What do you do when a banana ripens too quickly?" The two doctors had a look of horror. "Put it in the freezer."

"That's brilliant." Julian admitted. He turned to the powered doctors with control over ice. "Either of you can freeze her arm. It will stop the spread of decay and give us some time to find a cure."

"I trust you guys." Iris told them.

"I can freeze, but I can't go to those limits. Subzero isn't somewhere I can reach so easily." Seth answered, not knowing if he could reach those temperatures with his element. "Or rather I don't even know if I can."

"I can't either, even if I wanted to." Caitlin stated fearfully. "We're not talking about a cold blast. This is a specific and continuous cold stream."

Seth elaborated. "Too high of a temperature and the decay continues spreading. Too low, frostbite will take their place and destroy Iris' nerve endings."

Caitlin added, hints of fear remaining strong. "And that long using my powers, I could lose control."

"Caitlin, you're strong, okay?" Iris stated her assurance. "Stronger than you know. You're not going to lose control."

"That makes two of us." Seth told his mate, giving his own assurance and his belief.

"Caitlin. Try, please." Joe pleaded.

Caitlin remained reluctant. Her ears perked up at Iris' grunting and wincing as the black veins continued to spread, her suffering showing no signs of stopping. Right now, she was the only one to help Iris.

Steeling her nerves, she took off her power-dampening necklace and put it on the nearby table. She lowered her hands, but didn't make contact with Iris' arm yet.

Seeing her arms shake, Seth put a hand over her right one. "You control the frost, Caitlin, not the other way around. Trust yourself, and know that you can control it. I believe in you. Our daughters believe in you. Just… Believe in yourself." He whispered softly into her ear.

Inhaling deeply, Caitlin steeled her heart now before finally putting her hands on the reporter's arm. Exhaling, she let the ice from within her release from her hands. She closed her eyes, imagining the spread of the frost and making it a reality.

Her envisioned reality took place, from her hands frost began to spread. It began to coat her arm, covering the appendage and the black veins of decay. The frost has stopped and the decay have seemingly has stopped spreading.

"It worked." Cisco smiled.

Joe was able to breathe. "Thank God."

Caitlin and Seth's daughters entered the medbay. "Mom, are you doing okay?" Frankie questioned.

"So far, so good." Caitlin told her daughter, trying to keep up a tough façade but her worry still showed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Joe saw Wally walk away. "Wally, where are you going?"

"Out of the way, where I can't screw up again." The yellow speedster stated before walking out.

The elemental turned his head, facing the Scarlet Speedster. "Go to him." Barry looked at him. "Right now, we don't need someone on our team spinning out. So go, get through to him."

Barry looked at Iris. She nodded weakly. "Do it. Wally needs you too."

"Okay." He told them both, kissing his girlfriend before leaving the medbay.

"Really think a talk will help out now?" Ruby had to ask her father.

"They're both speedsters now, but they began differently." Seth told his daughter. "Lot of people helped Barry through his… transition." He said for a lack of a better word. "One of those people was your great mother here, for example."

"Didn't deserve the help, if you ask me." Evelyn threw in her two cents.

"Agreed." Seth threw in his own cents. His words get a subtle glare from Joe. "But he did have Cisco, two Wellses and Jay and Zolomon. Granted, two of them turned out to be bad guys, from what I've gathered."

Cisco pitched in. "But despite that, they were good teachers who taught him how to use his powers." He received a call from H.R. on his phone, the viber walked away to take it.

"What's that got to do with Wally now?" Julian asked.

Whilst her focus remained on Iris' decay. Caitlin answered. "Cause there's a chance Barry thinks he hasn't been a good teacher for Wally now."

"Teaching someone isn't easy." The mutant followed up. "Sometime the teacher's teachings aren't right or the student's not getting the teachings. It's a whole new horizon for Barry to trench through, it's a lot more than just doing something and expecting you to follow. Teaching's about inspiring and empowering those you teach to succeed on their own, hoping they can stand on their own with what you've taught them."

"Think it'll work?" Iris questioned, trying to distract herself from the pain of both decay and frost.

"Cross your fingers and don't die in the meantime." Seth quipped.

X

(Breach Room)

Inside of the Breach Room, Cisco, Barry and Wally moved off the platform and went to stand on the same floor as H.R. Wells. The speedsters are impatient and eager to hear of the idea that'll help them catch Clive Yorkin. According to the viber, the idea the Earth-19er came up with "defies time and space."

Barry found Joe there and Harrison's examining the Vibe Goggles.

Cisco clapped his hands excitedly. "Okay. Here's what we know. We know Yorkin's going after cops in Flashpoint, right?" He stood beside H.R. "What we don't know is who he's going after."

"Right." Joe nodded his understanding. "So how do we do that?"

Together H.R. and Cisco replied.

"We vibe Flashpoint/ We vibe Flashpoint."

The Scarlet Speedster looked confused. "Flashpoint doesn't exist anymore."

"Stop you right there, B.A." H.R. stopped him and his thoughts from going further. "Flashpoint doesn't exist anymore in this universe."

Cisco continued. "But in quantum mechanics, the Daughter Universe Theory tells us-"

"For every decision you make, a universe exists where you don't." Kid Flash jumped in. "Yeah, I actually went to that class."

"You better be going to all your classes." The detective told his son.

"Okay…" Harrison continued. "So, if there is a universe where you stay in Flashpoint, Francisco here could vibe it." Barry smiled.

Joe looked at Cisco. "And you're sure you can do that?"

"No. No, not at all." Cisco shook his head, not giving the detective any assurance. "But Gypsy did say I could do some pretty incredible things with my powers."

"Yes, she did."

Cisco playfully slapped H.R.'s shoulder. "Things I'm not ever aware of yet, so things I haven't even imagined."

"Well, let's get to imagining." Joe said.

"All right." The viber readied himself.

"What do you need me to do?" Barry questioned him.

As H.R. dramatically gestured him towards the viber, Cisco instructed. "All I need you to do is just stand there, focus on Flashpoint, okay? Focus on CCPD, Joe, Mendez, that part of it, and I'll take care of the rest." He told the speedster while gesturing to Joe with his Vibe Goggles.

Receiving a final nod of confirmation from Barry, Vibe put on his goggles. Placing a hand on the speedster who's focusing on Flashpoint, Cisco vibed the alternate timeline that Barry created.

And in a number of flashing lights, the vibe was brought to him.

X

Cisco gasped, looking around in surprise and shock. His disbelief was staggering as he found himself in the alternate timeline via a vibe.

"It worked! I'm here." Cisco announced, still in surprise. "Huh. For some reason, I thought Flashpoint would look a lot different." He let out in slight disappointment as he took in the CCPD of Flashpoint. "Okay, all right, if I were Joe West, where would I be?"

"He was at the same desk." Barry informed from the present.

"Got ya." Cisco smirked when he found the detective.

He was being followed by his Captain of CCPD Julio Mendez. "If it wasn't for this takedown, we'd be having a different conversation right now, Joe." The captain told his detective in an enraged tone.

"Understood, Captain." Flashpoint Joe told his Captain.

The viber chuckled at the conversation. "Joe's in trouble."

From the elevator a pair of officers came out, both of them escorting one Clive Yorkin who's in metahuman power-dampening handcuffs. The female officer declared. "Ladies and gentlemen, for today's perp walk, we have a literal degenerate. The one and only, Clive Yorkin!"

"Here we go." Cisco listened closely as the female officer continued to speak, the other officers and staff of CCPD showering them with applause.

"Captain Mendez, Detective West, thanks for the assist." The officer told her captain and the detective. "Couldn't have bagged this goon without you."

"Get him to Iron Heights." The captain told his officers.

The officers walked him towards the cells, walking past Cisco who narrowed his eyes on the female officer's name tag.

Following him muttering the name, the vibe ended…

Bringing him back to reality in a series of flashing lights…

X

Having been brought back from his vibe, Cisco took off his goggles. Barry, having followed the same vibe, stated. "Stone."

The viber nodded. ""Stone." That was the other cop. And let me tell you, she loves her perp walks."

Realization dawned on the detective. "Laura Stone, she's a PI."

Cisco pointed in his direction. "Yeah, that's her. It was you, Mendez, Holzman, and her. You guys took down Yorkin in Flashpoint."

Counting the number of cops that've been killed, H.R. informed. "Well, then that means she is the only one that Yorkin hasn't gone after yet. Classic example of saving the best for last."

The detective stated. "I'm on it. You guys stay here and try to figure out how to catch somebody we can't touch." He moved towards the exit, intending on using his means as a detective of CCPD to track down the private investigator Laura Stone.

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Medbay)

Despite using the power of ice, Caitlin felt herself sweat as she continued the steady ice stream across Iris' arm. The sweat drops hit the gurney sheets, staining them, or they'd hit the frost, immediately freezing upon collision with the ice.

Before more of them could hit either Iris or the gurney, Seth reached over the reporter, who's breathing slowly to mitigate the pain, and used a napkin to wipe off the sweat. "Cait, you want me to take over for a bit?"

Caitlin chuckled weakly. "We both know there's a chance you can't go low enough Seth. This is a metahuman power-based decay, metahuman power-based frost can keep it at bay." The mutant didn't argue with her, knowing full well she was right.

Looking around as best as she could, the icy metahuman asked. "Where are the girls?"

"They didn't wanna stay put like this, they decided to go out and find Yorkin themselves." Seth replied. "Worried if Frankie were to go up against him."

"I'm sure in that case, her sisters or her father would jump in and take care of him." Caitlin said, confident that when one member of her family were to fight this metahuman the others would step in and be the swords and shields they needed.

"Damn right." Seth smiled.

Looking back at her mate, Caitlin assured him. "Seth, if you want to, you can go out and help the girls search for Yorkin."

"And leave you all alone? No chance in hell." Seth smiled. "Ow!" He let out when feeling someone slap him dangerously close to his private regions. While shielding them, he looked down and saw Iris give the mutant a mock glare.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" She managed to breathe out.

"Sorry for that, Iris. Briefly forgot you were here." Seth admitted bluntly.

Iris looked at Caitlin. "You really think he's a doctor?"

"One can only hope." Caitlin quipped.

"Gee, thanks for ganging up on me." The elemental fakes hurt. "Also, really not a fan of that close shot to my balls, Iris."

"Well, I'm not a fan of you forgetting your patient." The reporter countered.

"Fair enough." Seth accepted. Looking through the entrance, he pointed his eyes at the other side lab and saw Julian being approached by Barry. "Gonna see what Albert's got. Maybe he's got something." He said, moving towards them after stepping out of the medbay.

Barry looked over his shoulder. "How's Iris?"

"Doing as good as she can, I guess." Seth replied. The two powered beings face Julian.

"Julian, you have anything?" The speedster asked as the metahuman expert did extract a sample from Iris to example.

Sighing, he told them. "Look, it's early days… But first tests show that her blood is attacking the cells in her body."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "That's the opposite of your blood, it causes your cells to regenerate." He directed at Barry.

"Precisely." Julian nodded.

An idea popped up in Barry's mind. "Can we use my blood to save her?"

Julian got up to his full height. "Listen, I don't think that your blood is the key to saving Iris, but I do think it might be exactly what we need to take down Yorkin." Barry wore a saddened expression, feeling like he was unable to save his beloved. "All is not lost, mate."

Suddenly alarms began blaring over their heads, the three of them swinging their heads in the direction of the medbay. Together the three of them ran towards it, two of them with heads swirling with fearful thoughts of their beloved ones.

"Cait!" Seth shouted as he entered the medbay first.

Julian and Barry followed up, the metahuman expert glanced at Iris. "The decay is spreading." He noted when he saw the dangerous virus-like veins spreading out from under the frost layer.

"Why?" Barry asked, dropping down by Iris' side.

"I don't know." Julian shook his head, turning to the monitors.

Iris began spasming on the bed, grunting in pain with her head twisting from left and right.

"Cait? Caitlin." Seth got his mate's attention. Fearfully slow, she turned her eyes to him and showed them flash white with a cold layer of ice coming over them. "Cait!" He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm losing control." She admitted, feeling herself losing to the frost. Her eyes flashing between their natural brown color and ice-cold whiteness.

"Cait, you're not losing control." Seth assured his mate, believing her fully without a shred of doubt. "The decay's spreading, you can stop this. We need you, Caitlin. Iris needs you now."

Iris gasped, twisting and turning more in the bed. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." Barry assured his girlfriend.

….

…

The sides of Caitlin's mouth curled up into a smirk. Seth saw that and noticed something else in her smirk, something maliciously cold. Something that wasn't Caitlin's.

"Just a little bit longer, and she's dead." Caitlin started with a twisted smile, her eyes maintaining their frosty white coldness. "How's that for changing the future?" She told Julian and Barry.

"Caitlin, listen to me." Seth put his right hand over her left one. She faced him, her twisted new-found sadistic smile disappeared. "I know who you are, Caitlin, and you do not wanna do this."

"He's right." Julian jumped in.

Caitlin turned her eyes to him, the smile on her face returning with a vengeance and this time with anger. "This is who I am. You said it. It's time for me to take responsibility for my actions. Time for me to own who I really am."

"Caitlin, please listen to me." Seth got her attention again. "Look, I vaguely have an idea of what Albert told you, but I know better than anyone in this entire city who you really are. You're Caitlin Snow." He squeezed her hand. "I don't know the battle going on inside of you, I really don't know. I don't know what it feels like for you to be fighting like this, giving it your all to stay afloat, to stay in control. But I know you're stronger than that. You're afraid of Killer Frost, but I know you're not gonna lose to the ice within you. You're not weak."

"You're stronger than that ice, because you only used that ice twice. To protect our daughters." Her eyes flashed at the memories Seth brought back to the forefront of her mind. "You did some horrible things, like kidnapping Julian, but you did to save our children. That's your strength, Caitlin. Your willingness to save lives, be it family… Or friend." He nodded to Iris, the person who needed her help right now. "Your heart is your real strength, Caitlin. You have something that not even I or the others have, you're stronger than us. This fight against the frost you're afraid of…" The mutant put a hand to her face, grazing the area under her left eye. "You can win this fight. I know that. So do you, inside of your heart."

As he grazed her cheek and he squeezed her left hand, he looked down at Iris. "Caitlin, please believe in yourself, use that strength in your heart. Iris needs your help right now."

Each word of his were like embers of a gentle flame that only she alone could feel, the love of his flame warmed her. The frosty layer of whiteness within her eyes melted away. The sadistic ice that had slowly begun to enwrap her, warping and twisting her being, melted away with the flames he produced.

It all melted away at that moment.

Caitlin turned her attention back to agonizing Iris. She returned her hands to their former placement on the reporter's arm, resuming the continuous stream of ice to halt the spreading decay. Iris began to breathe normally, the agony she felt before subsiding for the moment.

"Thank goodness." Barry said, kissing Iris' hand in relief.

"Thank you, Cait." Seth smiled at her.

"Thank you for not giving up on me." Her mate told him wholeheartedly.

"Of course." Seth stroked her back.

"Close one." Venom admitted.

"Means you're the only one to worry between the two of us." The elemental countered.

Once again, the alarms began blaring and shouting over their heads. "Seriously, this city really doesn't sleep."

"Go." Caitlin told Seth. He looked in her direction for assurance. "Go for it."

Having gotten confirmation and acceptance from Caitlin, Seth immediately rushed out of the medbay, Barry followed him. "Friday, give us the rundown!" The mutant called out.

"It's Joe's panic button." The AI revealed.

Wally, Cisco and H.R. joined the powered heroes at the console. "He must be on that train." The yellow speedster noted.

"There is no way that train can stop." Harrison followed up, seeing that the bridge had collapsed on the monitor.

"Call my kids, get them to that place immediately." Seth told Cisco and H.R. They nodded, turning towards the monitors. "Let's go, guys." He told the speedsters.

"Thought you couldn't get close to this guy without getting harmed?" Barry asked.

Clenching his fists, Seth stated. "I think I've got that covered. Let me handle Yorkin if it comes to that."

Nodding their heads in agreement, the speedsters sped away with the elemental.

X

WHOOSH

The two speedsters and Venom arrived at the train tracks where the bridge collapsed. They looked ahead and saw that the train was still coming at full speed, the engine chugging loudly and the train horn blaring just as loud.

"It's not gonna stop in time." Wally admitted fearfully. "We have to get everyone out of there. Or Seth, think you can stop it again?"

"Maybe, but…" Venom looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. "Think he'll stay put while we do that."

Barry and Wally followed his line of sight, and saw that Seth's daughters had already arrived, initiating a fight with the metahuman.

"Doubt that Yorkin can slip away from our kids, but on the off chance he does, he will only increase the spread of his decay." Venom admitted.

"He's right, we don't have enough time to get everyone out." Barry stated.

"Take care of the train, we'll take down Yorkin." Venom growled. Jumping into the air, he shot out tendrils and swung towards the battlefield.

Returning his attention to the squealing and screeching train, Barry got an idea. "We're gonna move the train."

"How are we gonna do that?" Wally questioned; their strongest power fighter just moved towards the actual battlefield.

"I'll vibrate it." Barry shocked Kid Flash with that simple statement. "I'll vibrate it fast enough that it can phase through this."

"You can do that?" Wally questioned.

Facing him, Barry confessed. "I don't know, I've never tried before."

"All right." Wally accepted with a nod, watching as his mentor sped towards the train.

As he did so, the yellow speedster ran towards the battlefield where Seth and his children were dealing with Clive.

X

Thrusting out a hand at the massive sphere of scrap metal coming towards him Clive laughed as it instantly turned to dust, scattering all around him.

"Didn't you brats hear already? I'm freaking untouchable!" Clive boasted.

"Oh, can it already!" Genysis catapulted herself to him, delivering an uppercut into his stomach with an arm enshrouded in gravity. The blow to his guts knocked him into the air, allowing the gravity manipulator a chance pivot and deliver a roundhouse kick to knock him back across the asphalt.

But his impact with the ground was canceled out as the very asphalt turned to ash with his single touch. Clive pushed himself back up to his feet again, the dust being pushed back. "You brats really need a timeout." He spat out a mix of blood and bile.

Appearing in front of him with a makeshift right arm made of scrap metal, Frankie swung her fist. "Piss off, jackass!" She exclaimed, aiming for his face.

Clive reacted quickly, thrusting out his hand again and let it pulverize the mechanical appendage immediately.

Eclipse shot tendrils of shadowy darkness, wrapping them around her sister's form and pulling her away before the decay reached her body. Magenta released the rapidly decaying arm and watched it turn to dust as her sister pulled her away. "Careful, Sis. This guy's powers aren't exactly a good matchup against you."

"I know, but figured it'd be worth a try." Frankie admitted.

Clive Yorkin cracked his hands. "Come on, now. Not getting tired on me, are you?"

"We're not." The evil metahuman snapped his eyes up in time to see the humongous form of Venom who dropped down in front of him.

The evil metahuman jumped back at the sight of the Lethal Protector who appeared in front of him. "Doesn't matter how many of you show up. I'll turn you all to dust!" He thrust out his hand for the elemental.

His daughters were worried, appearing to be ready to jump in to save their father from the touch of death that Clive possesses. But Seth remained standing as a barricade, unafraid of the hand that could perish him.

A clench of his hands, and akin to an eruption from a volcano, black flames burst out of his body and clad him similar to an armor. The evil metahuman's hand went to make contact with him, but the intense heat from the abyssal flames hurt his skin and made him retract his arm.

"Damn!" He said, holding his hand and saw a small burn on it. "The hell?" He directed at the strange ominous armor of pitch-black flames.

"Didn't you just say you're untouchable?" Seth raised his arms, increasing the flames around his fists. "Two can play at that game." He admitted, swinging his infernal arm like a hammer for the criminal.

Clive, once again acting on instincts alone, thrust out both hands. But the flaming arm still made it nearly impossible for him to make physical contact with the demonic elemental. Venom continued swinging his arm, making direct contact with his enemy and knocked him into a lamppost.

Much like all else that he made contact with, the evil metahuman's powers turned the lamp into dust instantly.

Frankie looked in disbelief as her father remained standing despite facing the same touch of death that turns metal to ash. "Dad's strong, but how does he make contact like that without being affected."

"His flames." Ruby realized.

A question mark appeared over Evelyn's head. "What do you mean?"

Genysis elaborated. "The flames on his body are keeping him from touching Yorkin and even harming him. On top of that, the flames are dark matter-based so they might actually put Julian's theory to the test and actually burn out the decay."

"They might?" Evelyn noted.

Their mutant father made contact with the degenerate once more, thrusting a flaming hand into him. "Little by little, Yorkin has managed to graze Dad's arm despite the flames."

"Gaps in the flames?" Magenta wondered.

"No, probably instinctively touching Dad to defend himself." Ruby replied. "We need to prevent more of that happening, we don't know for sure if Dad's flames can purge the decay."

"Yeah. Good idea." Evelyn agreed.

But before any of them could move towards the enemy and help their father, they turned their eyes to the train again. Stopping his assault on the villain, Venom looked at the train as well and saw the same as his children…

The train holding numerous innocent passengers… began to shake… No…

It began to vibrate intensely, appearing to enter the same stage as a speedster who's about to phase through solid obstacles. And when it reached the collapsed bridge on the tracks…

….

The train passed right through the obstacle, each cart passing through it and coming out the other side unscathed. The heroes widened their eyes in surprise at the sight, one speedster is able to phase an entire train on his own.

"Impressive, Flash." Venom noted and jumped into the air, avoiding the degenerate's touch of death. He increased the flames around his arms, intertwining his fingers and raised them up high. With a warcry, he swung his interlocked hands down like a blazing hammer.

Clive saw the shadow over his form, making him jump backwards to avoid it. The elemental's attack connected with the ground instead, causing a massive dust cloud to erupt and cover them both.

Seeing that both the train was unharmed and that mutant was still fighting the dangerous degenerate, Wally pressed his earpiece. "Barry? Barry?"

"We're good, man." Barry told the yellow speedster. "Took a lot out of me, but it worked."

"Yeah, maybe, but we've still got our other problem." Wally looked into the cloud, seeing Clive come out of it and Seth followed. The former landed on the ground, whilst the latter joined his daughters on the lamps around them. "Yorkin's still here."

"Forget what they say, heroes?" Clive smirked, directing his words to all heroes. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

"You have to stop him." The Flash told Wally. "I don't have it in me right now. I need you to get your blood into him. It'll counteract his cells and negate his powers."

"How am I supposed to do that when I can't even touch him?" Wally questioned his teacher, watching as the symbiote-heroes resumed their attacks on the degenerate. They used a combination of ranged and close-range attacks to take him on, but it was mostly Ruby and Seth bringing the pain.

"You're gonna phase it into him." Barry snapped him out of his thoughts.

"You know I've never done that before." Wally countered.

"And you just watched me do something I've never done, but I did it because I had to." Barry argued. "All right?" Wally took off his glove on his left hand, picked up a rebar with his right one and cut a hole in his ungloved hand. "I know you can do it, okay? I need you to believe it, too, just like you did when you defeated Rival. You can do it, use the opening that Seth and the others are gonna make, and run towards it."

Wally closed his eyes, focusing with all of his might. "Now, run, Wally. Run."

With his mentor's last words of encouragement, Kid Flash ran ahead with lightning sparking over his entire body. He felt himself becoming one with the lightning that's crackling within his core.

Seeing the speedster beginning to move, as well as beginning to vibrate his entire body, the four symbiote heroes jumped into the air. Evelyn shot a few arrows, aiming for the degenerate's feet. But Clive immediately saw them and jumped back, avoiding them.

At that moment, Wally appeared in front of him in a flash and got close to him. His body didn't collide with the criminal's, instead…

It went right through him as Wally successfully phased through him.

Kid Flash landed on the ground behind the degenerate who felt him phasing through him. Clive touched his body, seeing if anything happened after that. He turned around, finding the yellow speedster checking his healed hand with a victorious smile. "It worked. I did it." The hero stated.

"You sure did. Goodbye, Kid Flash." Clive snatched his right hand, letting his touch of death bring forth his end.

Or it would have if Wally hadn't already neutralized his powers. Wally smirked at the sight and faced the degenerate. "Oh, look at that! Your powers are neutralized, Yorkin."

"What did you do?" Clive asked as he looked at his hands.

"I won." Kid Flash quipped.

"Good, means we can finally do this!" Magenta got their attention, jumping off of an elevated spot to deliver a dropkick to the degenerate's face and knocking him out. He fell to the ground with bile coming out of his mouth. She landed on the ground. "Been waiting for that."

"Nice job, Kid Flash." Venom told the yellow speedster. The elemental extinguished the flames around his body, and to his daughters' horror…

Same black veins on Iris' left arm were on both of his arms.

"Dad, your arms!" Ruby pointed at his arms.

"Don't worry, honey." Seth lifted his arms. "The decay's not spreading, we're using our flames to prevent them from spreading." He assured his children, black flames erupting near the decay, keeping it from spreading.

"Why, Dad?" Evelyn wondered. Much like she does, her father can attack from a distance and inflict damage on an opponent like Clive.

Without hesitation Seth confessed. "Wasn't right that your mother was the only one to take on a risk."

X

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

Everyone stood around the gurney that Iris is occupying, waiting for her to wake up. Seth was the only one not standing by the bed, he was sitting on a chair at a table. Busying himself with wrapping his forearms and hands in bandages after his exposure to Clive's decay.

Looking away from Iris for the moment, Caitlin peered her eyes in her mate's direction and saw him busily enwrap his arms with bandages. She heard his dangerous and reckless tactics against the evil degenerate. She may have taken another risk herself when she relied on her powers to slow down Iris' decay, but Seth could have lost his arms with that plan.

What went through his head to make him take on such a dangerous risk?

"Hey, Iris." The Scarlet Speedster gently said, stroking her arm as she slept peacefully.

The reporter stirred in her sleep, opening her eyes slowly and looked up. "Dad." The first person she laid eyes on was her father.

He smiled at her, feeling a sense of nostalgia come over him. "The last time I was this happy looking into your eyes, you'd just been born."

"Hey." Barry softly said, getting her attention. "It's okay. You're okay. Yorkin's done."

Iris blinked. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened." H.R. took over. "Wallace was a total badass. That's what happened! Translate." He poked Cisco's chest.

The viber elaborated. "Yeah, while Seth and his crazy kids kept him busy, Wally phased his speedster blood into Yorkin and neutralized his powers."

"That's the science behind it." Harrison said.

Wally looked at Barry. "I had a great teacher."

Iris looked at her bandage arm. "And me?"

"Once Yorkin's blood was stabilized, we actually managed to get an antidote that cured you." Julian stated.

"We gave the same one to Seth." Caitlin continued; the reporter turned shocked at that. "You'll have to wear the bandage for a few days, but, other than that, you're absolutely recovered."

"Thank you. I know what you risked for me." Iris told Caitlin gratefully, appreciating everything she's done for her.

"I had some help." Caitlin looked at Seth who showed a thumbs up with a bandaged hand.

Iris faced the mutant. "What happened to you, Seth?"

Clenching his bandaged hand, Seth quipped. "Things got close and personal between me and Yorkin, to say the least."

"First and last time that ever happens, okay?" Caitlin sternly told her mate, not wanting him to do that ever again. "You could have died."

"Not my first brush with death, Cait. Couldn't let you be the only one to take a risk, you know." Seth admitted.

His casual tone about his close encounter with death didn't sit right with Caitlin.

"Couldn't have done it alone." Joe said. "It was all of us working together." He looked at everyone in the medbay…

Everyone except for Seth.

"Yeah." Harrison stated. "Really proud of everybody." He clapped his hands. "Great job. Big ideas today."

"Did you do anything today?" Ruby wondered, not knowing of his latest idea that defied space and time.

The detective returned his attention to his daughter, but his words were directed to the entire team. "My point is, if we're gonna save Iris from Savitar, we're gonna have to up our game. No more lies, even well-intentioned ones. We have to be completely real with each other."

Caitlin and her daughters turned their heads at the same time, looking at Seth and wondered what he'd say to that.

Barry started. "I agree."

"I agree with Joe too." H.R. followed up.

"From here on out, complete honesty." Barry assured both Joe and Iris.

Seth didn't say a single word. Caitlin went to him and gave him a smile. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Seth assured her, but it was very unconvincing.

As they talked, Joe and Barry talked by themselves by a nearby table. "Barr." The detective started. "Savitar's prophecy of someone dying, was that Iris?"

Reluctantly, but keeping his word on being more honest, the speedster nodded. "Yeah, but it's not gonna happen."

Joe faces him. "Look, I'm glad she comes first in your life now. If you're gonna date my daughter, that's the way it should be."

Barry quipped. "You're still a close second."

Joe laughed. "I'll get some grub, bet Iris must be starving being bedridden like this." Having announced his intentions, he moved towards the exit and moved into the hallway.

"Joe."

The detective came to a stop, turning around and saw Seth standing there. "Seth."

"Like you said, sorry ain't gonna cut it this time." The elemental stated. "But that's the only thing-"

"Seth." Joe cut him off. "No matter what you say, it won't justify what you did." Seth clenched his hands, regret continuing to stain his face. "You… You're my friend, someone I work with every day. And you still kept this from me, something about my daughter."

"I know." Seth breathed in sharply.

The detective breathed in sharply. "We're still partners, we'll work together no matter what to save Iris. But that won't change the past, okay? I'll be there for your daughters and Caitlin when they need it, but… You and are… Whatever friendship we had is over."

With that declaration, Joe moved towards the elevator and entered it. The doors closed, leaving the mutant alone with his thoughts and his regrets of ever agreeing to Iris and Barry's requests.

"How did I ever agree with them… I'm the biggest idiot in the world." Seth admitted out loud.

"If sparing one's friend such horrors is the makings of an idiot, I believe we all are then, aren't we?"

Seth scoffed at Julian's words. "Perhaps, we are." He told the metahuman expert who walked up to him. "Eavesdropping, are we?"

"I was on my way out to work, just happened to overhear your conversation." Julian explained.

"Work? At this hour?" Seth raised an eyebrow.

He explained. "There's still one husk meta out there, and I intend to find him. Good night." He bid his farewells, walking towards the elevator and pushed the button.

"You're not weak, you know." Seth surprised the expert with his words.

"What do you mean?" Julian asked.

"You think you're weak because of what Savitar did to you, well, I disagree." Seth stated.

"The strength that Caitlin had to stay in control… I believe it came from you, Seth Fury." Julian told him.

"She always had that in her, trust me. Cait's always been that strong." Seth admitted.

"Well thanks to you and her combined efforts, we made sure Iris didn't die at the hands of Killer Frost." Julian said.

"Coming from the one guy with the most blood on his hands who's been mistaken for a bad guy more than once, you have a good guy in you, man. Show him to the rest of us, sure he'll be a fine fit for the team." Seth stated, turning on his feet and walked towards the Cortex.

"Wait, Seth." Julian stopped the mutant as the elevator doors opened up behind him. "I believe you once said you're an elder brother yourself. Went to extreme lengths to save your little sister, Cisco added once."

"A hop, skip and a jump into another universe is all it took. No biggie." He sarcastically said. "Best decision I've made, granted it did involve my sister being kidnapped which was the one downside… And I have to work with speedsters."

"Sounds like quite the story." Julian stated, walking into the elevator. "Wanna share over a drink?"

"…" Shrugging his shoulders, Seth moved towards the elevator. "First round's on you, Albert."

"And the rest are on you, I assume." Julian countered.

"In your dreams." Seth said as he texted his plans to Caitlin.

X

In the Cortex, Caitlin's phone chimed and she saw it was a message from Seth. Reading the message, she looked up from her phone and faced her daughters. "Your father's going out for drinks with Julian."

"Seriously?" Ruby wondered from the railing she's sitting on. "Last person I ever thought Dad would have drinks with."

Evelyn pitched in. "Considering what happened today with Uncle Joe, it wouldn't be too bad for Dad to expand his friend circle."

"And it also helps get his thoughts off everything that's been happening lately." Frankie added.

"Girls." Caitlin got their attention, interlocking her fingers. "What happened out there? What made your father go to such lengths?" She asked her children, hoping they'd have some ideas especially as they saw his actions firsthand.

"Think…." Ruby clenched her fists. "I think it was Dad's way of making up for what he did to Uncle Joe. He was willing to put everything on the line to try and fix his friendship with him."

"That's… Absolutely crazy." Evelyn said, but she couldn't argue with that. His way of fighting against Yorkin seemed so self-destructive. "But it seems spot-on."

"Mom, what do we do?" Frankie asked her mother.

Caitlin leant back in her chair. "I really don't know."

For a scientist of her caliber, Caitlin struggled to find a solution to help her most beloved. But whatever might happen, just like he helped her stay in control today, she made sure he was in control and she's gonna help her however she could.

That was the one and only decision she could come up with to face off against the threats of Savitar…

And Eliza Harmon…

X

ROAR

A bright flash of red erupted, knocking both Lasher and Riot away from the source and sent them both into a massive wall. Both symbiote-bearers' bodies dug into the surface, cracks emitting all around them.

Both fell out of the holes they made, Lasher being the first one to hit the ground. As Riot followed, the ice-user's mouth unhinged and Rajeet's head stuck out. He spat out blood from that one attack. Despite blood coating his every tooth, he smirked. "Gotta love this."

Cackling himself Riot's mouth slithered off and showed Joey Rose's head. "This makes our old initiations seem bleak in comparison, you know." He flexed his adamantium muscles again. "But hell… That guy's absolutely nuts!"

"Ellie…" Rajeet stood up again, his arms morphing into blades and ice beginning to coat them both. The six tendrils flailing around from his back began to coat with ice as well. "You created one hell of a monster."

"Fits…" Joey's head got engulfed by his symbiote once more. "Fits with our crowd, doesn't it?" He clenched his arms and turned them into adamantium.

Reforming his head, the ice user dug his two arms and the six tendrils into the ground. The ice blades on each of the appendages spread and released a massive ice wave from each one. They all converged to the target that had begun to writhe in pain, clutching its head tightly.

But the beast on the other end, saw the ice streams traveling towards it.

A flash of red decimated three of them instantly, causing pieces of ice and rock to fly off in various directions. But the remaining three ice streams continued on their path, connecting with the manic beast's feet and spread all over its entire body and covered it in a thick layer of frost and ice.

"Let's hope that holds him in place…" Lasher put his two hands together, ice beginning to form between them and took the form of a massive staff. At the top of the staff, a curved ice blade formed. He swung the ice scythe around.

Turning his arms into adamantium he formed maces on both hands. From the wrists, they extended and Riot swung them around. "Just so we can knock him out!"

The two criminals rushed towards the hesperidium monster. Lasher jumped into the air with his scythe and when he was within range, he swung it downwards for its head. Riot appeared in front of it, uncrossing his arms and swinging both adamantium maces for its torso.

…

ROAR

But another mighty roar bellowed from within the ice cocoon, a massive red flash decimating the ice constraints. The bright magma-like glow enveloped both Riot and Lasher completely and it only intensified from there-

EXPLOSION

Massive, destructive flames erupted in a powerful explosion. The ceiling melted to pieces, causing the pieces to fly off in numerous directions. Both Riot and Lasher were unconscious, burned by the cataclysmic inferno that they invoked.

The source of the flames was unharmed, leaping out of the sea of flames that it was responsible for.

Hearing the strange whooshing sound of flames dancing abruptly, Lasher regained consciousness and covered his body with ice to heal the burn damage done to him. "Fuck… How we survived that is beyond me."

"Makes two of us." Rajeet turned his head in the direction of the decimated entrance. Eliza stepped out, releasing powerful lightning pulses that extinguished the flames around her. "And I'm a scientist."

"Guess you were outsmarted." He quipped, standing back up on his feet. But he barely managed to stand upright before he fell back down on his knees. "Crap, that guy… He knocked more than the wind out of me."

"If it wasn't for Lasher, all your bones would've been broken." Inwardly Eliza was shocked that he was even alive right now, especially after seeing the state of the area. "I had no idea he would be able to cause so much damage."

"No kidding." Rajeet panted heavily, every breath he took making it harder and harder for him to breathe. "Why's the deal? What do we now? Hunt him down?"

"Not we, you and Joey are gonna rest and recover." Eliza knew that if they were to follow the orange beast in their current state they'd be nothing more than dead weight. "I'll handle this."

Rajeet scoffed. "Really doubt even you could handle that freak on your own, Ellie."

"I didn't say I'd go alone." She corrected him. Turning her head to the entrance, she faced the person that came with her. "Ready for your first mission?"

"Bring it…"

The person on the other end of the conversation sneered the words out. Rage seems within every word, rushing like a violent torrent…

To be continued…

Clive Yorkin emerged, hungry for revenge against Joe West for what he did in Flashpoint. His plans were to truly hurt the detective, putting him through pain that was unlike anything, and what better way to do that than hurting his daughter.

He set his goals on that and in the process of nearly killing Joe, the news of Iris' death by Savitar's blade was revealed to the detective. Furious and enraged, Joe struck Seth with his fist out of anger as even someone he considers a close friend.

That single strike put an end to their friendship once and for all.

But as Clive Yorkin tried to get revenge on all those who captured him in Flashpoint, thwarted by the heroes of the city, Lasher and Riot helped break in the new symbiote-bearer who wields a tremendous power. Enough to ignite a powerful red flash.

Due to that incredible strength, and following the orders by their leader, Eliza, Rajeet and Riot tried to subdue him but failed to. As such, Eliza entered the fray along with someone else.

What adventures await the heroes of Central City next? And will Seth and Joe ever amend their friendship?

Time will tell…

Stay tuned and until next time, peeps!