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.

20. Chapter 20: Attack on Gorilla City

Hey, you all wonderful readers!

I owe you all a massive apology!

For the last few months, I've been dealing with some heavy writer's block, changes in my personal life, good and bad, finishing an education, and trying to find a job. It's taken a massive toll on my life, so while I didn't want it to, it affected my mental health and it affected my writing process.

I'm really sorry for it taking so much time to finish up this chapter. I am truly sorry.

But I am thankful for those who have written messages to me and written reviews on the latest chapter. Thanks to you and the support I've been given from others, I managed to finish up the chapter finally.

Lots of things have happened lately since the last time we saw each other, right?

We finally got Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse out and it was amazing on so many levels. When it came out on digital, I've literally watched it 7-8 times already. PC and browser complained a lot. What did you think of the movie?

Also, I watched Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and the 3rd Guardians of the Galaxy movies. I liked the latter more than the former. What about you guys?

Also elephant in the room: Flash finally finished up its final season, finishing off on season 9. I have mixed feelings about the series finale, honestly. Loved that Caitlin came back, hated that Frost is gone after becoming Deathfrost, and kinda liked Khione.

Tell me what did you guys think of The Flash TV show and how the ending left you feeling.

Also been watching some different DC animated shows and movies, freaking love how dark they are, especially JL Dark: Apokolips War!

Now to answer some reviews:

hunter41963801: Glad to hear you've liked the chapter, my friend. My apologies for taking so long with this chapter, especially as you've been wondering about the progress of this chapter. Thanks for your continued support, my friend. Glad to know you looked forward to E1 Evelyn Sharp joining the fray. It won't be the last time.

guest: Glad to hear, buddy. Hope you liked the story so far and also hope you liked the Flash. Wow, buddy. You have a large number of places to take inspiration from. Hope you're story is going well and that it's work you enjoy greatly.

Ace Xavier Omni Productions: If Seth were to meet the Joker, I'd say maybe. Maybe find some similarities between them. But I hadn't considered much of a meeting between them, honestly. Maybe I'll give it some more thought as continue this journey.

And now…

Without further ado…

ENJOY!

Chapter 20: Attack on Gorilla City

Inside their secret hideout, Evelyn Sharpe watched from the ragged and dirty couch with an unfazed gaze as Rajeet and Joey devoured the food they'd been given. She groaned at their mannerism, or lack thereof, their eating habits made animals seem more elegant.

Looking to the side, she saw that their latest recruit was still in the corner of their hideout. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything since he was brought here. Griffin had his head leaning against the wall while he was sitting there.

"Damn it." She mutters under her breath before picking a plate with food and a water bottle. She stood up with the items in hand and walked towards Griffin Grey.

But Rajeet told her, after swallowing a handful of tater tots. "Don't bother, Sharpe. He's not gonna eat anything. Same goes for drinking."

Evelyn stopped, looking over her shoulder. "What makes you so sure? Did you try already?"

Shaking his head, Rajeet clarifies. "Nah, Ellie tried. But the kid there is stubborn as a goat."

"Still, he needs the food." She argued.

Licking his fingers clean, Joey argued. "The ones that want to die don't want anything other than death."

Seeing her reach his spot, Griffin looked up with sunken eyes. "What do you want?" He asked raggedly like he was out of breath.

She didn't say anything, not because she didn't have anything to say, she could say a few words. But she stopped cause the sight of the mechanical collar around his neck was still off-putting for her. It's one that Taskmaster, the skull-masked mercenary, has put on him. But the details she was none the wiser on.

Crouching down on a knee, she put the plate and the water in front of him. "You need to eat. You want to die that badly?"

"What you guys… Did to me… Made me do… I want it to end right now." Griffin said desperately.

"You wanna die for it?" She asked.

"Better than being one of you." He says with disgust in his voice.

"Well, you haven't tried it yet." Both of them looked in the direction of the open door where Eliza walked in after closing it behind her with a tendril. "There's a world of possibilities that comes with these powers, Griffy. You'll love it."

She came to a stop, seeing his state. "When was the last time you ate?"

"He hasn't..." Evelyn said. "Not since he became Phage."

"Don't call me that." Griffin groaned, loathing the name and the torments it brought into his life.

Eliza crouched down before him, lifting his chin, and narrowed her eyes on the collar. "What's this?"

"A collar." Evelyn answered.

"I know that." Eliza rolled her eyes. "I'm wondering why he's wearing it."

Evelyn answered. "Taskmaster put it on him. But I got no idea what it's doing to him, but he's been weird ever since he got it around his neck."

While she was speaking, Eliza had her fingers on the collar and examined it. "I can see that and I get why…" She looked towards a dark corner, completely enveloped by shadows. "His collar emits low soundwaves throughout his entire body every half second."

Stepping out of the shadows came Taskmaster, almost as though he was hiding in them the whole time. "The doctor made this while he was fixing up his arms, said this will prevent the kid from going on another rampage again."

"Any side effects I should know about?" She asked.

"Nothing worth mentioning." Taskmaster said, moving towards one of the side rooms.

With a sigh, Eliza tells Griffin. "Sorry Griffin, didn't think they'd put a collar on you like this."

"Like… hell you are." Griffin closed his eyes and fell asleep, too tired to even talk.

"Sleep depreciation and momentary loss of movement." Eliza muttered under her breath, she could easily assert and conclude the side effects from the collar's use when she saw how weak Griffin is now. "I'll take this off your neck soon, Griffy. I promise."

Evelyn was shocked by that tone, like it was caring and out of concern. She didn't expect that from the woman who arranged his kidnapping and turned him into Phage.

X

"Gorilla… City?" Seth asked the Earth-2 speedster again, still not believing what he said.

One thing was fighting a gorilla with telepathic powers, but a whole city of them… That's gonna be a whole new type of cake to swallow. And a different type of beast to face off.

Jesse nodded her head, the others listening as she continued. "It's been two weeks since he disappeared. I mean, no one's seen or heard from him since." The poor girl was in a frantic, running back and forth erratically.

"Slow down." Barry told her. "Just start from the beginning, okay?"

"Yeah, like the obvious question would be, why did your dad even go to… Gorilla City?" Ruby doubted her own words. "Can't believe what I'm saying here, honestly."

Joe chimed in. "I'm with Ruby on that one, Can we slow down even further? What the hell is Gorilla City?"

"Okay." Jesse nodded. Clearing her throat, she says. "So, there are sentient, highly intelligent evolved gorillas in Earth-2. And they all live in a city deep in the heart of Africa."

"We sent Grodd there when he went after Fay Wray here." Cisco declared.

"Real stupid, should've killed that humongous ape." Venom stated.

"We may have screwed the pooch there, yeah." Seth agreed, even though the elemental wasn't on Earth-1 during those events.

"Grodd's there?" Joe asked. Barry hummed his confirmation. "Why on Earth, any Earth, would your father wanna go there?"

"Maybe he wants to wrestle a gorilla?" Evelyn's eyes lit up.

Frankie faced her sister with an incredulous look. "Is that a thing there, like that whole "Wrestling with an alligator" thing?"

"You mean boxing a crocodile, moron." Ruby corrected her sister.

The ferrokinetic's eyes sparked purple for a second. "No, it's alligator and wrestling."

"And I'm saying it's wrong, it's a crocodile and boxing." Ruby's gravitational forces shook the ground.

The others snapped their eyes to them, wondering why the two could choose now to get into a squabble.

"Girls, we're in the middle of something." Caitlin put a stop to their fight, or what could ignite a fight. Both of them lowered their arms. "And don't pick up on your dad's and uncle's bad habits, would you? It's a bit of a bother sometimes."

Seth felt like he was to blame because of that statement.

"Good to know they haven't changed at all." Jesse laughed.

"Sorry for that, Jesse. I'll keep those two on their best behavior. So, please… Continue." Caitlin told the Earth-2 speedster.

"Sure. We received a mathematical cryptogram at our S.T.A.R. Labs." Jesse started. "It was highly complex. It took a week to decode it, but my dad and I did."

"What did it say?" Iris questioned.

"It was an invitation from the gorillas to my dad." The Earth-2 native replied.

"Why your old man, though?" Seth inquired.

"They wanted to meet him." Jesse answered. "So, he mounted an expedition with 10 other people, and they went into the jungle. But they failed multiple check-ins, and a search party went in after them." She inhaled sharply with teary eyes. "But all they found were the bodies, all of them beaten to death." They could all hear her voice's sadness and fear, seeing how she fought the urge to break into tears. "But no one's seen my dad. I mean, is he-"

"No. No, he's alive." Barry assured the scared girl. "They went to a lot of trouble to get him there. They need him for something."

"And if Grodd's behind this sitch, small chance of him wanting to kill someone who has his father's face." Seth added. "But whatever they want Harry for, we're gonna figure out what that is."

Jesse leaned up against the console railing, despair and fear on her face.

Ruby assured her friend. "Jesse don't worry. We'll bring your old man back, safe and sound. Then we can hear him complaining the entire time."

Hearing the words, Jesse looked at the gravity manipulator. "No more "Whiny?""

Smirking back, Ruby retorted. "Day's still young."

"Oh! There you are!" Jesse snapped her head in the direction of the voice, locking eyes onto H.R. who came out from the side lab. "I've been looking all over for you." She smiled widely. "Are we going for coffee or what?"

"Dad!" Jesse ran into his arms.

"Oh!" H.R. gasped softly, hugging the girl.

"Jess, that's not exactly…" Seth trailed off, the Earth-19er continuing.

"Yes. That's how you say good morning, people!" H.R. stated, directing his words to the other team members. "With hugs!" Jesse looked confused and surprised, pulling back and looking at the man with her father's face. "Hi." He greeted her warmly, making the female speedster suspicious.

"Jesse, that's not who you think it is. This is H.R." Caitlin explained.

"Remember the Wells you and your father helped fish out of the multiverse? This is him." Seth informed the metahuman.

Caitlin added. "You met him briefly before you left last time."

"Ah!" Giving a courteous bow like a gentleman, H.R. said. "At your service, Madame."

"He's Harry's replacement." Wally added.

"Some would say "improvement."" H.R. argued humorously.

"Bad time, Wells." Evelyn told the Earth-19er.

"What?" He asked.

Cisco explained. "Um, this is Harry's daughter."

"Yeah." H.R. said.

"Harry's been kidnapped, H.R." Evelyn told him.

"Eep!" H.R. gasped, slapping his hand over his eyes in embarrassment. "I didn't know. I'm so- I thought-"

"Sorry about that." Jesse apologized to him.

"I'm sorry, too." H.R. said back. "I'm sorry I took the smile from your face."

"Don't worry about that, Wells." Seth cracked his hands, getting his and Jesse's attention. "We're gonna get it back when we rescue Harry."

"What are you thinking about?" Iris' question to Barry got the team's attention.

He faced his beloved. "The future…"

X

(S.T.A.R. Labs, Speed Lab)

"City Still Recovering From Gorilla Attack…"

They all had their focus on that singular headline from the future, a title that very well explained their current situation.

"That headline…" Seth groaned at the headline.

Joe held back his groan. "So, you're thinking this headline and Harry being taken are tied together?"

Crossing his arms, Barry said. "I mean, it can't be a coincidence, right? Harry getting lured to Gorilla City. Grodd must be planning something."

"Knowing that ape, he's got something in the works." Seth added.

"Yeah, and it seems like he's planning to come back to this Earth." Caitlin continued.

"And not alone, by the sound of it." Cisco said, holding back a fearful gulp.

"Well, if they need Harry there, maybe he's the key." Ruby stated.

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asked.

Frankie elaborated. "We get Jesse's dad out from there, then maybe we can stop Grodd's plans and whatever he's planning here."

"And maybe that changes the future." Barry quickly added.

"Which could change my future." Iris deduced.

Joe wrapped an arm around his daughter, holding her close, fearing that she was gonna be taken from him. "So, we save Harry, we save Iris. But you're not sure."

"No, but I'm going either way." Barry steadfastly replied. "Harry's my friend. I'm not gonna just abandon him. I'm going back to Earth-2."

The viber added. "And I suppose you'll want somebody to come with you who's gonna open those breaches for you?"

"We had so much fun last time." Barry said, trying to assure his friend.

"Fun-ish. I'm in." Cisco said, he looked to Seth. "Think we could breach Matt over; we could probably use someone with some major firepower."

Seth raised an eyebrow, insulted by his friend's words. "Dude, I'm gonna come too, I got fire and power more than that whining junkyard."

Much like Cisco and Barry, the rest of the team seemed apprehensive about that idea. Well, everyone except for Ruby and Evelyn.

Caitlin stepped forward. "I'm gonna come, too. I have a special connection with Grodd. Maybe we can use that to get through to him." She suggested.

"Yeah, I'm gonna come now." Seth steadfastly said, not budging now.

"What?" Barry said.

"If you think I'm letting Caitlin go into a jungle where there's a chance she's gonna encounter a freaking horde of dangerous telepathic gorillas without me, you're dead wrong." Seth said adamantly. "Not to mention the more medical support you bring, the better. And I… Can put the fear of God into that damn ape."

Joe gives him a dry look. "And you're suggesting you'll bring all of that into a city full of apes like Grodd, you'll either scare them all or give them an excuse to pounce on you all. You want your friends' blood on your hands?"

"Uncle Joe!" Frankie exclaimed, feeling like it was too harsh on her father to say it like that.

"It's okay, honey." Seth put a hand on her shoulder. The entire team was shocked by Joe's words, but only Jesse was surprised by his cruel and cold tone, directed at someone he considers a close friend. The elemental affirmed. "I'm coming, no matter what. But Joe does have a good point, so I'll shadow those going with camouflage."

"Will that work with telepathic foes?" Cisco asked.

"I've lived with one most of my life, Cisco. I know how to empty my mind of thoughts." Seth said, using all of his S.H.I.E.L.D. training during this mission.

"Great, yeah, I'm coming, too." Jesse jumped in.

"No, I'm sorry, Jesse. No." Barry dejected her.

Jesse affirmed. "Look, I didn't come here for you to take all the risk. I'm going to help."

Barry countered. "Your dad would kill me if I let you come along. And I'm pretty sure he'll figure out a multitude of ways to kill the rest of the team."

"He can certainly try." Seth said with a smirk.

Jesse reminded them. "I'm a speedster now, okay? I can take care of myself."

"I know, which is exactly why I need you to stay here." Barry said back. "I mean, this city needs protecting while we're gone."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms and gave the Scarlet Speedster a stern glare. "Barry Allen, I'll have you know that my daughters are more than capable enough to protect our city even if it was only just one of them here."

"I- Yeah, you're right. Sorry for that." Barry shivered, thinking that Caitlin was getting more and more like Seth every day.

"Yeah, they can handle any threats as they are right now." Seth added.

"Agreed. But… Doesn't change the fact that Jesse can maybe teach Wally a thing or two while we're gone." Barry nodded to the two speedsters he's taught.

Wally smirked. Jesse turned confused, facing the smirking speedster. "Wait. What is he talking about?"

"Um…" The yellow speedster raised his hand, demonstrating his new abilities and vibrated his hand in front of her.

"Wow…" Jesse trailed off, dryly shocked. "So, you're- you're a speedster now."

He smiled. "Yeah, we're both speedsters now."

"Great… Yeah, that's, uh…" Jesse cleared her throat. "That's awesome."

Ruby gaped her mouth in realization. "Oh yeah, you probably don't know about us."

"Know what?" Jesse turned to her and her sisters.

Evelyn started off, shadowporting and took a standing position on the ceiling. "Ruby and I got an upgrade while you were gone."

Using gravity to shoot her off the platform, Ruby stuck to the wall on the other side of the Speed Lab. "Evie and I got symbiotes ourselves after we were poisoned with anti-symbiotes by Anti-Venom. It was the only way for us to live."

"So… Both Eclipse and Destroyer got symbiotes too? And Anti-Venom?" Jesse asked, shifting a finger between them.

"Well, my name is Genysis now, though. But yeah, we've gotten major upgrades now." Ruby smirked, squatting down on the wall.

"Wow… I mean, wow." Jesse said, moving away slowly. As they saw her move away, they all saw how unsurprised she appeared, which surprised them.

Wally pointed a finger in the direction in which she left. "I, um, thought she'd be more excited than that."

Frankie cleaned her ear. "You actually think your power is anything that special. I mean, these last few years all the big baddies we've had are speedsters. I mean, it'd actually be a surprise if Uncle Joe got speed powers next."

"What?"

Joe questioned, not wanting to have such a power at all, either on this Earth, timeline or any existence.

X

(Snow-Fury Residence)

"Also, why are we not coming with you?" Ruby angrily stated her question, crossing her arms as her parents walked down the staircase with clothes suited for traversing through a jungle.

Caitlin put on her jacket and spoke. "Cause we need someone here to hold down the fort on our house, keep up the housework and take care of our city."

"And clean up animal excrement when we suddenly get pets." Seth put down his and Caitlin's bags on the table. "On that note, try and make sure your sister doesn't bring Mrs. Coleman's cat over again when she shadowports again. That thing sheds more than any animal should ever be able to." Hearing his own words out loud, the mutant says. "On second thought, I better tell her myself." He jumps up the staircase and goes to his daughter's room.

"Also, Uncle Joe's gonna come over a few times, drop off some food in case we take a while on Earth-2." Caitlin told her child.

Ruby clenched her teeth, forming a sheepish expression. "Actually, Mom, just tell Uncle Joe that he doesn't have to fix food for us. The others and I talked and we agreed that wanted to try and cook ourselves."

"What?" Caitlin asked in surprise. "But I thought you guys loved the food he brings over."

"Unless it's his Grandma Esther's recipes…" She snickered. "But Uncle Joe and Dad are… Their relationship is rocky now because of everything with Savitar and what might happen to Iris." Ruby started. "And honestly… We don't like how Uncle Joe is around Dad, though he does have a good reason. But what he said before in the Speed Lab, crossed a line."

"Ruby…" Caitlin started, but her child cut her off.

"Mom, please. Let's just do it ourselves." She pleaded to her mother.

Inhaling deeply, Caitlin let out a deep exhale. "Fine, honey. But I don't like it. I don't want you and the others distancing yourself from Uncle Joe."

"For now, it's just what we're gonna do." Ruby said.

"Okay, I'll tell Joe when I see him at S.T.A.R. Labs." Caitlin accepts, but is very much against the idea still.

X

(Breach Room)

When nighttime fell over the city, the team had already readied themselves for their adventure into Earth-2. Caitlin and Cisco were getting their clothes ready, making sure to wear clothes that could handle jungle heat and what else they could find in such forestry areas. Seth changed his clothes with his "other's" help, putting on a green T-shirt, a pair of trekking pants, a pair of studded boots with steel toes and a black bandana. Much like his mate's, he chose a hooded jacket to keep him cool in a tropical climate but it was lightweight in comparison, allowing for better movability.

From the ceiling where she's sitting cross-legged, Evelyn blew a raspberry out of annoyance. "I wanna go to Earth-2 too!"

Ruby raised her eyes in confusion. "Why would you wanna do that, moron? We didn't exactly have a peachy time last time we were there, you know."

Looking down at her sister, Evelyn says. "Well, Dad told us that Iris is pregnant and I want to see how she's doing."

From the Breach Room platform where she and Barry are talking, Iris looked up at them with wide eyes. "I'm pregnant?"

The gravity manipulator corrected her. "Your doppelganger is, yeah. But I get where Evie's coming from, Iris and Barry helped us and Dad a lot on Earth-2, would be nice to check in on them."

"Exactly!" Evelyn exclaimed happily.

Caitlin chuckled, hearing her daughters' wishes to see an old friend. She turned back to Frankie whom she had been speaking with for the last few moments. "Okay, honey, repeat what I've just said."

"Why am I the one who has to remember them now?" Frankie asked.

"Ruby doesn't listen and Evie shadowports away when I try and talk to her." Caitlin smirked. "Come on now."

Rolling her eyes. Frankie recited. "Don't kill each other in the field. Don't kill Wally or Jesse, mostly focusing on Ruby not doing that. Don't destroy the city while you're gone. And don't throw any parties while you're gone."

"Good." Caitlin proudly said, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Proud of you, baby."

"And no boys." Seth quickly adds. His daughters throwing them glares. "Glare all you want, but bring any boys to our house, I'm gonna start buying firearms and hanging them up on display."

"I will make sure he does not ever bring a firearm to scare away boys." Caitlin tells her children. "But seriously, no parties or anything while we're gone. And don't burn down the house." She adds her own rules.

"Fine!" Frankie exclaimed with an annoyed groan.

As that happened, Barry said. "…And make sure Wally doesn't-"

"I know." Iris cut him off.

"Because, you know, sometimes he can be a little-"

Iris cut him off again. "Barry."

"You know, if given the opportunity-"

"Barry!" Iris cut him off again with an exclaim this time. "I am very good at bossing my little brother around, okay? Don't worry."

"All right." Barry nodded.

Ruby opened her mouth, but Caitlin covered it with one hand. "No threatening to discipline Wally if he acts cocky or something in the field."

Her mother knew her too well.

Iris told the speedster. "Just, please don't do anything stupid."

Playfully countering, Barry said. "You mean like voluntarily going to a city of super-apes?"

"I'm being serious." Iris said. The speedster smiled. "Rescue Harry, but other than that, you don't have to do this for me."

"Everything I do is for you." Barry confesses. He leans down to kiss his beloved.

While Seth was talking with his daughters, Joe went up to Caitlin. "Hey, what's this about the message about not needing to cook for the girls? They getting tired of my cooking already?"

Caitlin chuckled sheepishly, trying to school her expression as best as she could. "No, it's not that, Joe. The girls want to try and cook themselves for a bit while we're gone. They are at that age where they want to try and prove themselves as mature adults, Joe."

"Really?" Joe asked. "Didn't think those kids would be into cooking, honestly."

Shrugging her shoulders, Caitlin said. "They're maturing. But I told them if they ever change their mind…"

"I'll be there in a flash." Joe quipped, finishing her sentence.

"Absolutely." Caitlin smirked.

Joe walked away, turning towards Barry and Iris. Despite his cheery words and his tone, the detective did think there was more to what Caitlin said. Her and Seth's daughters may not be fans of his Grandma Esther's recipes, but they do enjoy the other recipes he does make.

He has a feeling there is more to it than their mother is letting on.

But he pushed those thoughts to the side as Joe reached his daughter and the Scarlet Speedster. "Y'all know Wally can hear you, right?"

"Sorry, Wally." Barry told his protégé. The younger speedster threw up his hands in protest.

The detective, hugging the red speedster, tells him. "Be safe. Hey, you see anything hinkey, you run." Barry chuckled. "Listen to me. I don't need to tell you that."

"I promise." Barry said with a nod, assuring the detective who got a smile from that.

On the platform, Seth asks Ruby. "You gonna pay another visit to the hospital to check on Patience?"

"Yeah, I am." The gravity manipulator nodded. "She's still hospitalized until further notice. But she is getting better, at least according to the doctors there."

"Good thing her old man's okay with you visiting." Frankie says.

"Yeah, well, he knows me." Ruby says. Her eyes snapped to the door to the side. "What the hell?"

"What?" Seth asked her. The same door she's facing opens up and Julian walks through it, wearing clothes that do not resemble his everyday clothes. It appeared to be clothes belonging to that of a jungle and a temple explorer. "What the hell?"

Everyone faced the direction of Julian, Joe laughing at the metahuman expert's attire. Julian shook hands with him. "Detective."

Cisco chuckled, trying not to laugh out loud. He turns to the metahuman expert. "Indiana Jones, much?"

"Cisco, my friend, this is not my first expedition…" Julian told him. "…And, believe me, this is the perfect attire."

Crossing his arms, Seth thought. "Forgot he was leading an expedition into a jungle before when he was searching for the Philosopher's Stone."

"That may be the case, but Earth-1 jungles are nothing like Earth-2 adventures." Venom stated. "Unless there are telepathic gorillas he forgot to mention when he tried to find that damn awful stone."

"Does not seem like that's the case…" Seth thought back, keeping an open mind.

Barry told the expert. "Wait, Julian, what's going on? I thought you were gonna cover for me."

Facing him, Julian answered. "I spoke to Captain Singh. He thinks we're at a morphology conference up in Bludhaven." Barry scoffed. "So, if it's all the same to you…"

"All right." Barry smiled with a nod.

Caitlin faces her mate. "What did you tell the precinct when you requested leave?"

"Daughters are sick, told 'em it was an all-hands-on-deck situation at the Snow-Fury house." Seth said. "They understood immediately." Caitlin nodded her understanding, meanwhile, their daughters gave him a dry look, wondering why they were being used as an excuse. "But Albert, you don't have to come, you know. You've never even met Harry."

"Come on, Fury." Julian scoffed. "Chance to travel to another dimension? I mean, I wasn't gonna miss that."

"We're not going sightseeing." Caitlin reminds him.

With a dry look, Julian pulls out a gun from his waist. "Neither am I."

Cisco, gesturing to the firearm, states. "Well, damn."

Seth turns to his daughters and the two speedsters who are gonna stay behind. "All right, you five, keep our city safe while we're gone."

"We will." Wally said.

"Don't worry about that, Dad. We got it handled." Frankie showed a thumbs up. Her father nodded his understanding.

Jesse faces the team going out to save her dad. "Hey, guys, if you see my dad, just tell him-"

Barry cuts her off. "You'll see him real soon, Jesse. Speedster's honor."

"Let's do this." Seth said, stretching out tendrils from his body and wrapping them around his mate, Cisco and Julian.

"Better keep those snug and tight." The viber quipped.

"Course." Seth said, empathizing with a squeezing of his tendrils.

"Good." Cisco put on his goggles and turned them on. Thrusting out his hand, he opened a breach that connected to the coordinates of Gorilla City on Earth-2.

"Hold on." Barry put a hand on Cisco and Seth's shoulders before running into the breach.

"Good luck, guys." Frankie told them.

X

(Earth-2)

In the big and wide jungle, massive towering trees doing very little to shield the tremendous and almost-deadly sunshine raining through the gaps in leaves, a single breach opened up.

WHOOSH

And through that open breach, Barry and the others brought the rescue team over and they landed on the ground. When touching the grassy grounds, the mutant released his tendrils from the others' bodies. Julian was laughing in disbelief and excitement the entire time.

The viber removed his goggles and turned to the metahuman expert. "How was that?"

"Bloody brilliant." Julian laughs.

Seth turned to Caitlin. "Ready to get Harry?"

"Yeah, I am." She tells her mate.

"Guys!" Barry said, standing on a fallen tree trunk and getting the others' attention. "We made it." He turned his back in the direction of a gap in the forestry.

Facing the gap in the trees, the rescue team saw what was far off in the distance. And they couldn't believe what they saw in the far distance, their eyes going wide beyond anything that resembled their previous limits.

"Welcome to the jungle, baby." Cisco announced.

Far off in the distance, they could see a very prominent stone temple. The statue of a massive gorilla on top of it.

"Guess it's time for me to go dark." Seth said as he made his way to a tree.

Caitlin turned to him. "You're not gonna go far from us, are you?"

"Course not, I'll stay in the trees, jump from one to another, and make sure none of you get ambushed while being camouflaged." Seth explains as he walks up the trunk. "Don't worry, I'll watch from above and keep an eye out." He declared confidently as his form began to vanish into thin air, becoming one with the surroundings.

"Thanks, babe." Caitlin tells him.

"That's kind of reassuring." Cisco smiled.

They began trenching through the forestry, taking in their environment with awe in their eyes.

"Earth-2 Africa." Cisco said with a small exhale. "Not hot. Guess global warming's not really a thing here." Flies buzzed around him and the rest of them, the viber slapped one that got close to his neck. "But bugs are!"

Laughing from on top of a branch, Seth chimed in. "Must be bugging you out." He spoke out loud, still invisible and unseeable as air itself.

"Your puns are awful, Seth!" The metahuman countered while Caitlin laughed at her mate's joke.

"I know I'm bugging you with all these puns, but I can't help it. It's just my insect-tinct." Seth countered with another bad pun, making Cisco groan out loud and Caitlin laughed harder.

"You're making me regret bringing you along, Seth!" Cisco said.

Barry chuckled. "Think those puns would've been better suited if Peter used them." He referred to the spider-hero of Earth-616.

"Ah, you know Peter by now, Barr. He's sticking to his home turf." Seth chuckled.

"You spend too much time with that wall-crawler." Venom countered with annoyance in his voice.

"Someone please help me out." Julian got their attention. "How exactly does saving someone on this Earth prevent an attack on ours?"

The Scarlet Speedster explained. "If Grodd is planning to attack, he's gonna need to open a breach to our Earth, and the only one over here that can open one is-"

"Harrison Wells." Seth cut in from above.

"The one and only, well, on this Earth at least." Barry continued. "So, if we save him from Grodd, then he can't get to our Earth, the attack never happens, we change the future, and we're one step closer to saving Iris."

"Happy endings all around." Seth said, taking a seat on a branch.

Caitlin looked up, facing a shaking branch. "Seth?"

Disabling his invisibility, the mutant made his presence known and looked down at his mate. "Yeah, babe?"

Looking ahead, seeing that the others had gone ahead, Caitlin turned back up. "Think the girls are okay?"

"Worried about them?" Seth jumped off the branch and landed on the ground beside her. "I admit, those kids have been put through the wringer lately."

"That's putting it lightly. They just keep… Fighting, fighting and fighting…" Caitlin sighed. "I'm scared that they're gonna run on fumes sooner or later at this rate. The girls have been fighting the Sinister Seven and Eliza's Thunderbolts for so long now. Those girls are still young and they're focusing on fighting, dealing tragedies left and right when they should be dealing with…"

"School, boys, graduation, hanging out with friends, breaking rules." Seth chuckled, leaning against a tree.

Mimicking her mate, Caitlin stated as she leaned against the tree. "Yeah. Parts of me actually wanted to bring them along, give them a taste of a new Earth."

"Think maybe only Frankie would've gotten a new taste, Rubs and Evie probably got their fill of Earth-2 during their last stay here." Seth argues.

"Good point." Caitlin sighed. "Honestly, a little getaway for the family could be good."

"I agree, and we will." Seth took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "We're gonna have a crazy Snow-Fury family vacation sooner or later, just the five of us."

"I hope so… And hopefully I get to hear more of your past, Seth." Caitlin said.

Seth knew what she was talking about. The news of him keeping his psychological condition hidden was still weighing on her mind. He never had any intentions of keeping it hidden or to himself, but the news and the fact that he had this all along was still something that shocked Caitlin and the rest of their family.

Squeezing her hand, he tells her. "I'm sorry I never told you Cait. But I swear, it was never a secret."

Caitlin nodded with a smile. "I know that, Seth. But… Promise me, when it's just us… Tell me everything about you."

Placing a kiss on her hand, he tells her. "I promise, with all of my heart, that I will tell you everything you want to know about me."

"I'm keeping you to that." Caitlin leaned closer and kissed him on the lips. He returned the kiss.

He pulled away from the kiss with a smile on his face. "Want some water?" He asked as he pulled out a water bottle.

"Sure." She accepted the bottle which he opened for her. The two walked together on the grassy grounds. "Best to stay hydrated on a parallel Earth."

Watching her swallow a mouthful of water, Seth asks with a gesture to their surroundings. "How does it feel to be back here in this alternate universe?" He knew her experience on this Earth wasn't one that she'd wanna revisit, but being back on this Earth made him want to check on her.

"It's so weird being back here." Caitlin says, tightening the lid on the bottle. "You know, this is where I met my doppelganger, the evil one, Killer Frost." She adds quickly. "Well, evil-one-turned-good-one."

"Yeah, she turned over a new leaf when she saved you and Cisco." Seth chuckled.

"I remember that." Caitlin smiled. But her smile faded when their first encounter returned to the forefront of her mind. "But, when I first met her, she was the one I am always afraid of becoming."

"You do remember that was Hannibal Bates, right?" Seth nudged her. "And she may have been evil in the beginning, and you have seen "her" die in front of you. But that will never happen to you, Cait."

"Thanks, Seth." Caitlin said, loving his optimism and how he was trying to ease her worries. "I know you only came for me, and I really am happy and glad you're here."

"For you, I'd cross the multiverse, go through hell and back, and fight thousands of armies." Seth assures her with a smile.

"… Since it's you, I'm sure you actually could do that." Caitlin said with another wide smile.

"You know me, I protect my family to my dying breath." Seth assured his beloved mate. The two walked closer and closer to the others. They saw Julian putting his water bottle away. "Albert. How are you doing? You know we're on our way to a city of telepathic gorillas. Not the destination anyone would choose for a vacation."

Julian smirked. "On the contrary, Dr. Fury. I live for danger."

"That's good to know at least." Seth said, reaching a tree. "I'll go above again, get a bird's eye view, and keep an eye out for any trouble." Caitlin nodded and watched her mate jump into the air, disappearing immediately before the branches over her head began to shake.

Caitlin walked up to the others. Cisco's device beeped and chimed as they were nearing the coordinates. "We're close, guys." The viber announces as they get closer and closer to the location. The beeping from his device rapidly increased.

They came to a stop, every one of them looking around in search.

Caitlin's ears perked when she heard a strange trilling sound from a device. "Do you hear that?"

Julian readied himself, taking out his firearm. "This is it." Cisco told the team.

From the tree branches, Seth narrowed his eyes when he saw large footprints on the ground. "Venom…"

"We're ready…" His "other" stated.

An eerie feeling came over both the host and his symbiote companion, both of them raising their guard in anticipation.

Cisco moved forward, his feet touching a metallic device on the ground. Removing his foot from it, he reached down to pick it up. He saw what it was that he stepped on… The very next generation watch that Harry Wells invented, including the very detector chiming right now as it detects the presence of dark matter in the metahumans in its vicinity.

Alarms began blaring inside of Barry's head. "It's a trap."

GRUNT

The speedster let out a grunt when a sharp and sudden pain erupted from the left arm. He saw a dart embedded in it.

The same pain spread from Cisco's neck where the dart pierced into him.

The same happened to Julian when a dart pierced into his thigh.

Caitlin looked down, seeing that a similar dart had been pierced into her abdomen.

Seth widened his eyes, watching as his friends and his mate fell to the ground one by one. "Fuck." He cursed in thought.

But his train of thought was cut short when several darts came flying towards him from behind. Disabling his invisibility, he shot out several tendrils from his back and deflected them. "Damn apes." He growled as the darts pierced into trees and the ground and shattered when they were flung into rocks.

He leaped off the branch and landed on the ground. "Fucking apes." He underestimated them. while he can be invisible and no one would be able to see him, with telepaths invisibility and camouflage are meaningless cause they scour for their targets' thoughts.

Turning his eyes downwards, he saw the darts sticking into his friends' bodies. "Gotta get these guys out of here first." Keeping his eyes open and his guard up, the mutant used additional tendrils to take out the darts before wrapping them around his teammates.

However, as he did, what he saw was several stone-bladed spears coming down on him. and behind them were boulders.

"Spears and boulders raining down… Did they come prepared for us?" Seth had another eerie thought forming in his mind, but he pushed it aside as the spears got closer.

With the number of projectiles closing in, he knew he couldn't deflect them. Not without risking some of them landing on his team. Instead of using defense to protect his friends and his beloved, he chose to his offensive capabilities to protect those he cares about.

Enveloping his arms with symbiote mass and turning every inch of his physique into adamantium, he thrust his clawed arms upwards toward the raining projectiles. His appendages elongated, splitting into tendrils and breaking the spears into pieces. Once they were out of the way, he wrapped his tendrils around the boulders and threw them away. The force of which he used to throw them caused them to shatter into pieces or knock down trees.

"Need to move!" He urged himself but then another wave of tranquilizer darts. But they came towards the unconscious Caitlin if they continued on their current trajectory.

Acting faster than he ever thought was possible, he jumped in front of her swung his adamantium tendrils and shattered the darts.

"Behind you!" Seth heard his "other" exclaim. The elemental swung his head around, seeing boulders fly towards him once more.

Using tendrils again, he pushed Caitlin out of the way and crossed his arms over one another to shield himself. The massive rocks slammed into him at the same time, pushing the mutant off the ground and into a tree. The trunk cracked from the force.

Seth fell to a knee in front of the cracked tree, looked up and saw a massive tree filling his vision the next moment. It came too quickly for him to guard and the elemental was sent hurling through the cracked tree another number of trees.

Spitting out blood, he forced himself to stop with a hand digging into the dirt. But the moment he looked up-

SLAM

Another array of massive rocks rained down on him. He grunted as each rock fell on top of him, groaning with pain until he was completely buried under the rocks. His grunts stopped when he finally lost consciousness from the barrage of boulders.

Footsteps echoed as several gorillas made their presence known, walking closer to the downed rescue team that entered their territory.

A familiar and menacing gorilla landed on a downed tree trunk, courtesy of Seth getting rid of boulders, and he looked down on the heroes that had come.

"Welcome, Caitlin." Grodd telepathically greeted his former caretaker. "Knew you'd come, Flash… And… Demon." He declared, shuddering in the direction of the pile of boulders where the elemental is buried underneath.

Walking up next to his fellow telepathic gorilla is another large gorilla… Walking on two legs and bearing much darker black fur. Unlike Grodd's body whose scars are hidden under his fur, this hairy animal has many more scars on his body, visible for all and anyone to see. As though they're displayed as if out of pride of the many battles he's survived. And unlike most of the primates around them, his body is much bigger than Grodd's, almost towering over his fellow gorilla.

In its right hand is a single massive boulder… Much like the previous ones he's thrown before.

"So, this is the Demon that you've come to fear… Grodd." The other primate stated telepathically, doing nothing to hide the impressiveness in his thoughts for the opponent who faced his attacks head-on.

"Be wary, Malavar. Venom… Is fearsome." Grodd tells Malavar.

Malavar did not disagree, feeling that the elemental was still alive under the boulders.

And how impressed he was by the mutant… did not fade.

X

(Earth-1)

Cautiously walking through the busy halls of the local hospital of Central City, Ruby made her way to Patience Turner's room.

"Busy as always…" She mutters under her breath.

"Considering everything this city's been through lately, unfortunately, it's no surprise that this place's flooding with patients." Reap told her partner.

"Feels like that's on us for letting it get this bad." Ruby replied with regret in her voice, keeping her voice to a whisper to not arouse attention from others. She turned her eyes upwards again, seeing a man and woman in black suits and tinted sunglasses in front of Patience's room.

"They weren't here last time." The gravity manipulator was noted.

When she came to a stop in front of the room, the two guards in black faced her. "Name?"

Raising an eyebrow at the woman's demanding tone of authority, Ruby gave a small sigh. "Ruby Fury."

"Business?" The other guard asked.

"My friend's hospitalized." Ruby dryly declared her business.

Before they could ask further, a voice shouted from within the room. "FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, GUYS, LET HER IN ALREADY!"

Ruby kept herself from laughing when she saw the two guards flinch from the voice. The guy coughed sheepishly and opened the door for Ruby, letting her see her hospitalized friend Patience in a gown and sitting upright on her gurney.

Her friend has an impatient look on her face as Ruby walks in. Before the door is closed, Patience calls out to them. "Also, give me a Big Belly Burger already!" The woman groaned and left to give the girl another burger from the fast food restaurant.

The door closed and Ruby chuckled at her friend. "Hospitalized and still barking out orders like some army general."

"Well, I wouldn't be "barking out orders" if the guards my dad assigned would stop to inspect every single person coming into my room. Hell, they even suspected the doctors and nurses of being threats to his daughter or something." Patience chuckled, stopping mid-way due to the pain from her bandaged forehead.

Ruby rushed to her side. "Easy."

"Yeah, even laughing causes pain nowadays." She said, leaning back into her bed. "Thanks for coming, by the way. Believe it or not, you being here puts me at ease. Always nice to have a friend around."

"You're right, I don't believe you." Ruby retorted with a smirk, sitting down in a nearby chair. "How's your shoulder?"

Patience, pulling down the collar to expose her damaged but bandaged shoulder, stated. "Still aches when I move… Or breathe deep."

"Sorry, this happened to you, Patience." The gravity manipulator stated some regret in her voice.

Showing a confused look, Patience told her. "Not your fault, Rubs. Not like you were there." She chuckled dryly. "But what do you think Griffin would think if he saw me here?"

Resisting the urge to flinch and lower her head in more regret and self-hate, Ruby mustered up a quip. "Well, I'm sure he would be happy and over the moon that his best girl finally gets some proper rest. Even if it's because of the drugs she gets."

"Well, they help numb the pain." Patience throws back. "Sorry about the guards out there looking like they'd search you."

"Your dad got them?" Ruby knew her father's a lawyer, but being able to afford such professional guards was something that she struggled to understand. Does her father make that much money in his profession?

Patience nodded. "Those two morons came from a security company he did some legal work for in the past. You know the story. Guy does a solid for a company, the company returns the favor with two professional guards watching his only child while she's on R&R in a hospital."

"Damn good work he did, especially if they have to listen to his kid's commands." Ruby chortled.

"Oh no, that's all on me. Drove them nuts till they started listening." Patience smirked.

Ruby then stated. "I saw Mrs. Grey before I came to you."

Patience's smirk faltered. "Is she okay?"

"Cried herself to sleep again, barely eating and only asking about her son." Ruby gulped, recalling her visit to the mother in pain. "She heard the news of Griffin's father getting killed and feared only the worst for Griffin."

"Think she'll be okay?" Patience asked.

"She will… When her son's back home." Ruby had more than enough reason to put Eliza and her gang of bastards through hell and back for what they'd done. She would get Griffin back again, back to Patience and back in his mother's arms…

She wasn't gonna let anything stand in her way to get to do that goal.

X

Meanwhile in the city, Magenta and Eclipse traverse through the open air over the streets of their home. While their sister is tending to her friend at the hospital, the two of them responded to the robbery alert taking place at O'Sullivan Bank.

The two metahumans quickly made their way to the bank location and they stuck to the side of a nearby tall building. They looked down and watched as a pair of robbers rushed out of the front entrance.

Eclipse put two arrows on her bow and aimed. "I'll take care of them, sis."

"Wait." Magenta stopped her sister. She pressed her earpiece. "Friday, where are Jesse and Wally?"

WHOOSH

Before the AI could respond, the two symbiote-bearers saw a pair of yellow lightning flashes speed up to meet the robbers.

"Think you just got your answer, Little Boss." Friday told Frankie.

"Yeah, we got it. Thanks Friday." The ferrokinetic replied dryly.

Evelyn tilted her head. "You wanna see how those two do together in the field?"

"Should be in their wheelhouse if they think a bit." Frankie shrugged her shoulders.

"Let's go dark. See how they do it." Evelyn suggested as she turned invisible. Frankie nodded and she turned invisible as well. The two leaped off the building and went down to the archway at the bank entrance.

X

"Didn't you hear the news, huh?" Kid Flash sarcastically tells the two robbers that are each holding a duffel bag full of money and firearms in their other hands.

"What news?" The first robber questioned.

With a scoff, Wally stated. "That you don't mess with Kid Flash."

The other robber countered. "We've got to get back to our friends. They're expecting us."

"Yeah, they picked some real winners." Jesse Quick mocked.

Sharing a look with his fellow robber, the first robber faced the heroes. "I know, which is more than I can say for you two." The two raised their firearms, aiming at the speedsters.

"Be right back." Wally stated before moving towards them in a flash.

But the two robbers immediately pulled their triggers, releasing a bullet each that Kid Flash avoided with ease. Jesse flinched at the gunshots, but was surprised by them suspending in the air in front of her.

He resumed his path and delivered a series of punches and fast jabs to the robbers, both grunting at each strike. Their grunting and screams came to an end after they both had their hands tied together.

Kid Flash returned to Jesse's side. "Sorry, I had to stretch my legs."

"Do that faster." Magenta got the speedsters' attention, the two of them seeing her twirl the fired bullets around above the palm of her right hand. Eclipse stood beside her. "Run faster before the opponents have a chance to attack. Basic strategy, noob."

"Figured I didn't have to worry," Jesse smirked.

"Oh, that's…" Wally trailed off, several civilians coming out of the bank and from the streets. "There's nothing to see here, guys. It's just getting a couple of fools getting their asses handed to them."

Evelyn scoffed. "He sure loves the attention." She muttered to herself, loud enough for her sister to hear as the yellow speedster thanked the civilians' applause.

X

(Earth-2, Gorilla City)

Continuing to pant in exhaustion and slight pain, Seth reached back again and grabbed hold of another dart. Without so much as a grunt of pain or any sound indicating he was suffering, he pulled out the tranq dart and held it in front of his face.

Unclenching his hand slowly, he let it roll out of his palm and it joined the other seven darts he had already pulled out and left on the ground. The mutant's vision blurred, still feeling the effects of the remaining ten darts pierced into his back.

Seth looked down at his lap, Caitlin's head still lying on his thigh. In the prison dungeon, he and his mate were sharing a prison cell. The one next to them is one that Barry solely occupies. The one next to his is one that Cisco and Julian share.

Unlike him, everyone else was still asleep from the sedatives that had entered their bodies. The only reason why he woke up was from his lightning shocking him awake. And unlike the others, who each were knocked out by one dart, he had been sedated by numerous boulders and strikes. After that, he woke up with seventeen darts in his back.

"Grodd knows about me and Venom, the extra darts must've been to subdue us both at the same time." Seth thought to himself, surmising the darts being the reason why his elements and his partner's healing capabilities are limited extensively.

The only reason why he was still on his ass, pulling out darts for so long and it is taking so long was because of their lingering effects as their liquid is still in his system.

"Absolutely… Annoying…" Venom mentally panted in his host's mind. Much like the elemental, the Klyntar was still feeling the effects of the telepathic primates' tactics on him. "Those damn… Monkeys are gonna get it!"

"How about we just start with Grodd…" Seth said yanking out two darts from his back. With his hand alone, he crushed the two darts with ease as his fingers and palm alone turned into adamantium, reducing them to pieces.

When he did that, a creaking sound echoed throughout the dungeon and woke up the others.

The first one to wake up is the woman whose head is in his lap, Caitlin's eyes snapped wide open and she looked up to see Seth pull out a dart from his back. "Seth!" She snapped up into a sitting position, watching him drop the dart.

"Morning babe. Sorry, I forgot to brew a fresh pot of coffee." Seth quipped with a half-smirk.

"Not the time for jokes, babe." Caitlin countered urgently, cupping her mate's face. She looked over his body and saw the remaining darts in his back.

The others woke up next, one by one. The first one to get back to his feet and look around is Barry. "You guys all right?"

"I'm alright, compared to Seth at least." Caitlin said, her eyes going over the darts in her mate's back before she took them out gently.

"I'm good too." Cisco declared.

Julian checked his holster. "I've lost my gun, but I'm all right." He looked at Seth. "Looks like Seth got a different kind of welcome greeting than the rest of us."

Chuckling to himself, Seth countered. "Yeah, you got the dirt-cheap welcome treatment, I got the VIP treatment."

"Not funny." Caitlin pulled the last dart out of his back. "But if they had already tranqed you once, why do it 17 times more?"

"They didn't." Seth shook his head, flexing his shoulders with an exhale of relief. "I knocked away the tranqs they shot after me. When that didn't work, they switched to blunt force and knocked me out with boulders and spears."

Cisco checked his body over, as well as the bodies of the others. "Is that why we're not hurt? You made sure we didn't get hurt."

"Not easy, but doable." Seth took a seat, sitting cross-legged like a monk. "But they took advantage of me protecting you guys which is when they decided to bury me under another huge number of boulders."

"Seriously?" Julian asked.

Nodding his confirmation, Seth continued. "I woke up before and was weak as hell from all those damn darts inside of me. Because of it, my powers aren't at their max level and Venom's also weakened a lot."

Caitlin looked at the small puncture holes in his back. "That's why you haven't healed yet. Those drugs are interfering with Venom's powers."

"Never even thought it was possible. But considering Grodd's part of this, I'm guessing he's warned the other apes about me." Seth stated, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing.

"Why would he solely warn the other telepathic primates about you, specifically?" Julian questioned.

Barry replied. "Grodd's terrified of Venom, or the symbiote in Seth. Animals can sense them in a person and they just… get scared."

"Fascinating prospect, Fury." Julian noted.

Cisco shook the bars. With them not budging at all, he turned to Barry. "Well, looks like you're gonna have to chase us out of here."

Barry went up to the bars and grabbed hold of them. He tried phasing but all that came out was a strange thrumming echo from the cage. "I can't." The speedster said. "I don't know. Something's holding me back. Can you open a breach?" He directed me to the viber.

Raising a fist, Cisco closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to conjure up the energy needed to open a pathway between universes. But much like the speedster, the viber was unable to use his powers. "No dice."

While keeping his eyes closed, the mutant stated. "If both of you are unable to use your powers, maybe it's not the cell that's the issue."

Barry narrowed his eyes on the mutant. "Grodd must be dampening our powers?"

"Somehow, yeah." Seth declared as damp emitted from various areas of his body.

"And what are you doing there? Not like we want a steam shower or something, dude." Cisco said.

The elemental said. "I'm purging the tranquilizer out of my body with fire. We're in enemy territory now, and we need to be battle-ready." He looked behind them, facing a staircase with open eyes. "We have a guest."

They all turned their eyes in the same direction of the stairs, seeing a familiar and friendly face revealing itself after walking down the stairs with booming steps. The man is none other than Harry Wells of this Earth.

"Harry?" Caitlin smiled, rushing to the bars again. "You're all right!" She exclaimed ecstatically.

Noting the lack of reaction from him, Seth narrowed his eyes and stood up.

"Wells!" Barry exclaimed. "Hey! You've got to help us get out of here before the gorillas come back."

Seth sighed. "That'd be a good idea, Barr… If that was actually Wells in control." "Harry" turns his eyes to him. "What, you thought you could actually fool us… Grodd."

"Hello…. Demon…. Flash." Grodd greets the two of them through the voice of Harrison Wells of Earth-2.

"Yeah… That's Grodd." Barry realized, facing him with angry eyes.

"Wait. What? That's Grodd, the gorilla?" Julian asked. "He's talking through Wells? That's a thing?" The metahuman expert asks the other members of the rescue team.

Cisco nodded. "Yeah, yeah, sort of trips you out at first, but, trust me, you get used to it."

Seth, facing Harry, tells Julian. "Oh right, Grodd's a big coward. He likes to use puppets to do his dirty work. Especially when he wants to talk to someone. Pay no mind to it, he's just scared of little old me." Grodd growls through Harrison. "Grodd, let our friend go, or I'm gonna find your real body… And I'm gonna remind you of your worst nightmares made incarnate."

Julian watched as Harry's hand shook, as though a fear inside of him was causing him to tremble.

"Seth's right. This is between you and us." Barry stated. "Let him go."

"Not yet." Grodd growled.

The mutant clenched his fists. "You that big of a glutton for a beating, Grodd?"

"No!" Grodd exclaimed, his hands still shaking. "I need him."

The speedster narrowed his eyes. "For what? Why'd you lure him here?"

"For you… and the Demon." Grodd growled, shifting his gaze between the two powered males. "Need your help."

""Help?"" Julian repeated skeptically. "You got a funny way of asking for it."

"You sent me here, remember?" Grodd growls at them. "To live in this hell, where I am forced to serve under the rule of Solovar."

"Solovar?" Seth questioned with a raised eyebrow as the mind-controlled Harrison Wells walked around the cells. "Who's that? Your new owner?"

"NO!" Grodd roared, angered by the mutant's insults. "He is the leader. Leader of Gorillakind, ruler of Gorilla City. And now he wants to rule the humans. He will bring war to your Earth."

Barry blinked his eyes in confusion. "Why?"

"He has seen many conflicts between gorillas and humans." Grodd started. "He is afraid the humans will attack, but now that you're here, he will bring the fight to you."

The elemental scoffed. "So what? You lured us here to stop your big bad ruler? Out of the goodness of your heart or something?"

"As trespassers, you will be sent to the arena and executed." Grodd tells them.

"Of course, we are." Seth sighed.

"What?" Julian exclaimed. "How about a signpost at the front? "All trespassers will be executed." That wouldn't be the worst idea, would it?"

"It will be Solovar's great honor to kill you himself." Grodd says, facing the Flash. He turned to Venom. "But Demon, the honor to vanquish you is in Malavar's hands."

"Oh golly." Seth rolls his eyes.

"But, Flash… Demon… If both were to be defeated, the other gorillas would see weakness in Solovar's leadership, in Malavar's military-honed strength, and would no longer follow him." Grodd tells them.

Barry shook his head. "Well, I'm not gonna kill anyone, not even a gorilla."

"Kill or be killed!" Grodd shouted, making Caitlin flinch.

Seth took her hand, her entire being softening up and relaxing when she felt his hand embrace his.

"This is the only law Gorillakind understands." Grodd continued. He faces the elemental. "Demon understands the law of the jungle."

"Only got one here I wanna kill, and it ain't this Malavar or Solovar or whomever you wag your tail for, Grodd." Seth countered, shooting the gorilla a piercing lifeless look.

"Grodd do not way my tail for ANYONE!" Grodd bellowed out at the mutant who remained unfazed and stared with his lifeless look.

"How do you benefit from this, Grodd?" Barry asked.

"Solovar falls, I take his place. I rule the gorillas. And I promise to keep them in Gorilla City." Grodd explained.

"While that sounds like a reasonable plan and all… Grodd, how do we know we can trust you?" Seth asks, leaning against the bars of his cell. "How do we know this isn't just your latest plan to tear us to pieces, throw us to the wolves, or gorillas in this case, for sending you into this so-called hellscape?"

"Because… Even though you sent me away…" Grodd walked along the front of the speedster's and the mutant's cells. "Your Earth is still my home. And there are those among you I will never forget." He shoots a look at Caitlin.

Seth looked over his shoulder, seeing a smile on Caitlin's face. He was still shocked by how much her heart could reach out to others and have such a lasting effect on them. He would never be a fan nor would he trust Grodd, but perhaps his mate's heart could have changed those Caitlin has interacted with.

A loud gasp from Harry Wells drew the team's attention, all of them watching as he fell to the ground.

Before they could check on their friend's well-being, heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance to the prison dungeon, and they looked up to see Gorilla Grodd himself stepping past the threshold. Speaking telepathically, he told them.

"Kill Solovar, kill Malavar and Central City will be spared. Fail, and see your home turned to ash."

Kill or be killed… That was the only way out of this situation that the heroes have fallen into.

X

(Earth-1, S.T.A.R. Labs)

On Earth-1, Ruby was sitting by the main console of S.T.A.R. Labs in the Cortex. She reviewed the footage that was taken at the last battlefield between her team and Eliza and her Thunderbolts. She sighed with anger and rage, still not liking or forgiving herself for letting Griffin get pulled into their circle.

Leaning back in her chair with another loud sigh of annoyance, Ruby calls out to the A.I. "Friday, give me the list of Eliza's Thunderbolts. Include their powers."

"You sure, Angry Boss? You've been through the list before and you've met them all in person already." Friday told her.

"I'm sure." Ruby affirmed.

Taking control of the wall monitors, Friday showed images of the requested targets and their powers. Each monitor showed two images, one of them being the host's face and the other being their face when becoming one with their symbiote.

"Thunderbolts' leader: Eliza Harmon. Codename: Scream. Powers: Klyntar host and powers typically of one plus Lightning generation and manipulation. She seems to prefer to use her hair to fight, form weapons and such."

"She's the only one with a symbiote that seems alive." Ruby noted. "The others seem… Not alive. Artificial symbiotes… Can't believe it's a thing now. On top of that, there's a second head to their group: Taskmaster. We still don't know what he's planning." She gives another sigh. "Continue." She instructs the A.I.

"Following her emergence as Scream, bloody I might add, the next one to show is Rajeet Kumar. Codename: Lasher."

"Ice powers along with standard symbiote powers." Ruby chimed in.

"Uses additional tendrils spouting from his back along with his ice." Friday adds. "After him came Joey Rose. Codename: Riot. Symbiote bearer with adamantium powers, able to reinforce his skin and symbiote flesh with one of the hardest metals in this universe."

"Sticks to close-range fighting, really puts his "absolutely-power" thing into practice especially as he solely uses his fists in a fight." Ruby said.

"Next up on the Thunderbolt enrollment is Evelyn Sharp. Codename: Agony. Symbiote host with water power, archery and marksmanship skills."

"Same one who's holding an unfounded grudge against Evie for her living a happy life and hers is down in the dumps." Ruby hollowly chuckled. "Ridiculous idiot."

"Last one on the roster is Griffin Grey." The name made Ruby tighten her hand. "Codename: Phage. Symbiote bearer with the dual elements, power over fire and wind. He tends to use close-range tactics, but if he were to use long-range attacks, he could turn an alleyway into ashes in one fell swoop."

"And due to his psychological condition, he's unstable and unable to control his symbiote. I managed to help him, but it wasn't easy." Ruby leaned against the table, hanging her head down. "I hope I can do that again somehow…"

"You will."

Turning her head around, Ruby was unsurprised to see both of her sisters walk up to her. "You two suck at spying."

"That or you're too good at figuring out someone's eavesdropping on you." Evelyn countered, taking a seat beside her sister.

Frankie sat on the console table. "I'm not gonna ask if you're okay, sis. I already know the answer."

"Thanks." Ruby replied. "The hell are we supposed to do against these guys?"

"We're gonna find a way and beat them all, Rubs." Evelyn assures her sister. "We've defeated them before, we've defeated the Sinister Seven, and we're gonna do it again."

"And we're not alone, we got a whole team with us. Including our parents, you know." Frankie nudges her sister's arm.

"Yeah… Wonder how Mom and Dad are doing in Gorilla City?" Ruby asked out loud, truly wondering what kind of adventures her parents were having on another Earth.

X

(Earth-2, Gorilla City)

Back in the prison dungeon of Gorilla City, the rescue team was left alone since Grodd left them. Harry Wells had been put into the speedster's cell.

Caitlin looked at Seth's back, the holes getting covered by a slithering black symbiote mass before retracting and showing that the holes had completely healed. "Looks like you're back to full strength."

"Thankfully, yeah." Seth flexed his right arm and his forearm turned into adamantium. Returning it to normal, he opened his hand and sparked lightning in his palm before replacing it with a black flame. "And my powers are back too. Good."

Julian then asks. "That means you'll tear down these bars and get us out of this godforsaken city?"

"Trust me, as much as I want to, it won't be easy." Seth said.

Cisco continued for the mutant. "Even if we did that, we'd be facing an entire city of telepathic super-strong gorillas. And even if Barry ran us all out, they'd follow us pretty easily, wouldn't they?"

"They know the terrain better than us. One wrong move out there, they can pounce on us like we're meat to the wolves." Seth followed up.

"Guys…" Caitlin got her mate's and Barry's attention. "Guys, you really think you could kill this Solovar or that Malavar?" Barry looked unsure and Seth was skeptical. "Do you think you could take a life?"

Facing his mate, Seth told her. "I've taken a life before, Cait. You know this. Whether it was for our family or for protecting the innocents, I've taken many lives up to this point."

Julian asked. "Think you can add another one to that list?"

"Julian!" Caitlin scolded him for asking such a tasteless question.

Before the questions could continue, another familiar sound of echoing heavy footsteps reached their ears from the entrance. They turn their heads to it and they are surprised to see who is walking through.

Three gorillas walk through the entrance. One is the familiar form of Grodd…

The other is a tall and muscular albino Gorilla, with fur as white as snow. His form towering over Grodd's and standing tall and proud like a king.

The third one is one having height as the white gorilla, but bearing darker pitch-black fur, even darker than Grodd's hairy physique. And his body's riddled with scars, exposed and shown for all to see.

The three telepathic primates came to a halt in front of the cells. The three of them looked over the prisoners, the white one and scarred one drifting their eyes to the elemental more than once.

But it was the scarred one that shot the mutant a daring look.

The white one looked between them again. "It is as I feared. The human's court war with gorillakind."

The scarred gorilla scoffed. "Then perhaps they are either foolish enough to think themselves strong enough to face us, or they merely wish for death in battle."

"Enough, Malavar!" The white primate told his fellow gorilla. "Why did you not tell me, Grodd, more humans had entered the city?"

Grodd, facing his king, stated. "I was about to inform you, Solovar."

Solovar growled, swinging his fist into the Earth-1 primate and sending him flying to the stairs.

"With one blow alone…" Seth muttered under his breath.

Solovar turns to Malavar. "Malavar! What reason do you present for not informing me of these humans' trespassing into the city?"

"I am the general of Gorillakind's defenses, Solovar. If they were to be breached somehow, I, myself, will act and vanquish any threats to our home." Malavar informed, looking at Seth. "Grodd told me many tales of this human, a demon himself, a threat to all of Gorilla City. I wanted to face him myself."

"So, you're the one who knocked me out before… Not really nice, you know. You're gonna regret that, Malavar." Seth growled.

Malavar grinned. "Demon or human, I welcome any challenge."

"Why?" Solovar returned to the topic, facing the entire team. "Why are you here? To study us like animals? Make us your pets?"

"No. No!" Barry shook his head. "We came here in peace. We entered your city by mistake. We mean you no harm. Please, just let me and my friends go, and I promise, we'll never come back here again."

Solovar concentrated on Cisco, his telepathy reaching into the viber's mind and taking control. Cisco's eyes closed, rolling into the back of his head. Opening them again, it wasn't him in control anymore.

"My brethren have seen you." The team turns to the viber who's now a medium for the leader of the telepathic gorillas of Gorilla City.

"These apes sure like puppeteering whenever they feel like it." Seth thought to himself, knowing full well that the telepathic primates could hear his thoughts.

"Your fate is sealed." Solovar told them. "You will all die by my hand in the arena so that all will know that Solovar's justice is wise and swift."

Cisco fell to the ground, Solovar releasing his hold on him and turning his gaze to Caitlin who gasped. "Cait?!" Seth snapped in her direction.

Opening her eyes again, Caitlin faces him passively without a single emotion in her expression or her eyes. "Demon… Your death will be at the hands of my general, Malavar. He will vanquish you in the arena, just as I will bring the end to the rest of you humans."

"Get. The hell. Out. Of her." Seth sneered his words, glaring at the gorilla leader himself with lightning and flames erupting all over his body.

Malavar turns his gaze on the elemental, narrowing his eyes and using his telepathy to reach into his mind to take control. But when he tried to, a voice spoke back.

"Stay out of our head you filthy primate unless you wish your career to end bloody and headless."

Malavar jumped back in surprise. His sudden action made Solovar release his hold on Caitlin. Before she could fall to the ground, Seth caught her with his arms. Seeing that she was alright and unharmed, he returned his lifeless and cold glare to the two telepathic primates.

"All right, let's make a deal then." Seth snarled. "Me and Flash are gonna fight you both, Solovar and Malavar."

"Just the two of us against the two of you." Barry said, immediately agreeing with the mutant's proposal. "But if we beat you, you let our friends go and you leave us alone for good."

Telling them all telepathically, Solovar states. "I accept."

"As do I." Malavar replied with a smirk.

"Humans and their arrogance." Solovar said. "First you will suffer, then I will grant you each a horrible death."

X

(Gorilla City, Arena)

Numerous cries echoed from every single seat in the massive arena of Gorilla City.

The death match was about to begin… deciding the fate of the team from Earth-1.

The participants from both sides walked towards the middle of the humongous arena.

On one side is the leader of Gorillakind, Solovar, wielding a spear in one hand and a shield in the other. Beside him is his general, Malavar, the gorilla who protects his fellow primates with his strength alone. His hands were adorned with iron brass knuckles.

On the other side of the arena are their opponents.

One is the Scarlet Speedster from Earth-1, the Flash, donning his prominent red suit.

Walking beside the speedster is the Lethal Protector of Earth-1's Central City, Venom. The elemental mutant's human form is hidden under the symbiote mass that's long since enveloped his body, making him stand at the same towering heights as the two leaders of Gorilla City.

The warriors on either side stood in the middle, facing one another with undivided attention.

"Gotta admit…" Barry turns his head to the elemental. "Figured with you being here, more of these gorillas would've been terrified of you like Grodd is."

"They're different. You're forgetting that Grodd was Carnage's plaything while they were down in the sewers. That fear of facing Carnage is etched into his body and mind. He's projecting that fear onto us." Seth stated. "But these apes…" He gestured to the gorillas around them, roaring from their seats. "They don't know that fear. And even if they did, their numbers are bigger than us. We are two, and they are a nation."

Barry exhaled. "Why aren't they in fear?"

"To them…" Seth faces Grodd and Solovar, both of them standing steadfastly in front of them. "They feel something else."

To most, if not all animals, symbiotes residing within a body like that of a human's, is symbol… A feeling of terror that warrants certain death dawning over them.

But to the two guardians of Gorilla City, those who have absolute faith in the power and the strength they possess… It's a shot of adrenaline instead…

Strong enough to set their fighting spirits ablaze.

And have them take up their arms in the name of Gorilla City's protectors…

"Speedster and Elemental vs. Super Gorillas." Cisco said from the prison dungeon. His words reached their ears through their comms devices. "Best worst video game ever."

"At least we got good spectators in our friends than the one we have up there." Seth looked over his shoulder, seeing Grodd look down at them with an expectant expression. Even from the distance between them, the two on the battlefield could see him hoping they'd follow his instructions.

"What's the plan then?" Barry asked.

"Halt our execution. Then we take care of everything else." Seth answered.

"If not, we die and so do our friends." Barry declared.

"Exactly." Venom clenched his fists.

Malavar growled with a gleeful smile. "Have you finished your talk? Prepared to die?" He clenched his fists, raising his brass knuckle-adorned hands.

Pointing his spear at the speedster and the elemental, Solovar said. "After you die, your friends will follow you into the black."

"We'll see." The Scarlet Speedster said.

"Do not assume yourself the victor before the fight, Solovar. Your kingdom will watch their leader and general fall to their knees today." The Lethal Protector declared with a snarl.

"Okay, Barry, I've got a plan for you. It's all about the speed punches." Cisco said. "Seth, these big guys are your territory, just hit them hard once or twice. That should be enough."

Dropping his hands down, Seth countered with an incredulous look that the viber couldn't see. "You really think it's gonna be that easy?"

Before the viber could give a response, Solovar slammed the pummel of his spear into the ground. Both he and Malavar roared, announcing the start of the death match that'd decide the fate of the rescue team of Earth-1.

Venom rushed like an animal on all four towards Malavar, Flash took charge as well towards Solovar.

Malavar rushed towards the elemental, and Solovar stood his ground.

Jumping off the ground, both Seth and Barry launched themselves towards their opponents.

Malavar reciprocated the elemental's leap into battle with one of his own, the two colliding into each other when they met. The speedster went towards Solovar, but the leader of Gorillakind used his shield to hurl the metahuman away.

The Scarlet Speedster screamed as he was flying through the air.

Both Venom and Malavar landed on the ground, the telepathic primate swung his right fist. His hand met the side of the elemental's face. But the sight still surprised the general of Gorillakind as he was used to sending enemies flying away with the strength behind these fists of his.

However, the mutant here stood his ground and countered with his fist slamming into the side of Malavar's face. While his strike didn't send him flying, the force behind it did push the gorilla general back a few feet.

Malavar leaned down, putting his hands to the ground, and looked at the ground under him. Blood pooled under his gaze, all of it coming from his broken jaw. Despite the pain from his mouth, the gorilla general looked up with a smirk and watched the mutant's reaction.

"Get up. We're not done." Venom instructed his foe.

As his gorilla opponent got back up on his feet, the elemental spread his senses to the limit and saw Solovar deliver a shield slam to the metahuman's face which shot him through the air with blood specks coming out of his mouth.

Catapulting off the ground, the mutant caught the speedster in his arms. "You okay?"

"Argh!" Barry grunted in pain. "Don't hold me like a baby, please."

"Sensitive." Seth released the metahuman and let him down.

"Change of plans, Barry. It's all about the running away." Cisco instructed the speedster.

"Wait." Cait stopped the viber and speedster before he could. "What about a lightning throw?"

"Yes! Barry, lightning throw!" Cisco exclaimed.

"Go, we'll hold them off." Venom told the metahuman.

"Worth a shot. Thanks." Barry said, running towards the walls of the arena. He ran on the arena walls.

The two gorilla leaders glance at the speedster running on the arena walls. But their eyes returned to the elemental who sneered at them. Sharing a look between themselves, they ran towards Venom.

Digging his feet into the ground, Seth swung his left arm to meet Malavar's fist that thrust towards him. Stretching out his claws, he grabbed the gorilla general's fist and tightened the hold with his claws tightening around it.

Solovar appeared from behind his general, swinging his spear for his head. But leaning his head back, Seth avoided a direct strike to his head. As though he anticipated that evasion, the leader of Gorillakind swung his arm bearing his shield.

However, Seth raised his arm and blocked the shield slam with his forearm. His makeshift shield shocked Solovar who put all of his strength into slamming his barricade into the elemental.

Venom faces both telepathic gorillas, roaring at them before pushing them back with all of his might. Before either of them hit the ground, the elemental charges at them again in midair. The two gorillas barely got a chance to react before their faces were covered by their opponent's hands.

Unleashing another deadly loud and powerful bellow, enough to reach the ears of all gorillas in the audience seats, Venom slams both leaders of gorillakind downwards and into the ground. The force if with was powerful enough to cause a massive explosion-like cloud of dust to erupt from the area the gorillas were launched into.

Landing on the ground again, Seth watched the dust cloud completely cover up the two foes. "Feels good to beat someone like this…"

"Nice job, Seth! Just pummel them into the ground like that! Keep going." Cisco exclaimed.

"Splendid, Seth." Julian stated.

Caitlin had no words at the moment… And he couldn't see it, but she was bearing a lot of confusion within herself.

The dust cloud dissipated, courtesy of the two gorillas swinging their arms around to blow it away. Despite the strike that hurled them into the battlefield, both Solovar and Malavar were barely harmed.

"Tough bastards." Seth heard his "other" chuckle.

Using the back of his hand, Malavar wiped off blood from his chin. "The Demon is a worthy adversary."

"That will not allow his life to be extended after trespassing into Gorilla City." Solovar told his general. While he telepathically spoke to him, he watched as the Scarlet Speedster ran around in a circle on the arena walls. "The other human is attempting something."

"Take care of him, I will face the Demon." Malavar slammed his fists together. Receiving a nod of confirmation from his leader, the general rushed towards the elemental.

Taking a stance, the mutant stood his ground when the gorilla general arrived at his location and began swinging his fists. Seth countered with his own two fists, slamming into his foe's. But using the maneuverability of a gorilla, he jumped onto the elemental's chest and slammed his knee into Venom's face.

The blow pushed the mutant back a bit, allowing Malavar to interlock his fists and slam them down on Venom's head like a sledgehammer. But this hammerblow was blocked by Seth's left hand which he used to pull the gorilla general off his body.

Swinging his foe around, Seth grabbed his arm with both hands before slamming him into the ground. Malavar grunted in pain, coughing up bile. But the mutant's strike to his head held enough power to knock him out immediately with that blow.

"One down…" Seth looked towards the last remaining foe.

Solovar was running towards the middle of the arena with all of his speed, holding his spear high and proud like he was gonna throw it. But when he reached the middle of the arena ring, the leader of Gorillakind jumped into the air, discarding his shield.

When he finally landed back down again, he slammed the pummel of his spear into the ground. His collision with the battleground, the energy and speed he had gathered, converted into a powerful shockwave that radiates outward from the impact that he hit. The shockwave kicked up a massive dust cloud that reached every inch of the arena ring.

Seth covered his face with his arms when the dust storm hit him. But Barry was the unlucky one who was hit too, knocking him off the arena walls as Solovar's attack to stop him from running in a circle was successful.

This caused the speedster to skip across the walls of the arena at high speed before slamming against the ground.

"Come on, Barry. Get up, man!" Cisco exclaimed.

Barry tried, but he immediately fell back to the ground with a grunt of pain. "Oh, my days, this is quite the reversal of our fortune." Julian muttered hopelessly.

"Damn it!" Venom exclaimed as he saw Solovar running towards the speedster, aiming to deliver the final blow. He ran towards Barry as well, hoping to get to him before the leader of Gorilla City.

"Reversal…" Cisco muttered, realization dawning on him. "Barry, it's time to pull a Reverse-Flash." Barry pushed himself up to his knees, realizing what his friends were aiming for and turned around to see Solovar come down to him. "Do it!" The viber exclaimed urgently.

Flattening his right hand, the speedster vibrated his hand rapidly before striking the telepathic primate in his stomach. His attack sends him flying, and onto his back. The leader of Gorilla City roared until he hit the ground, knocked out completely.

Seth came to a halt, walking towards the metahuman. Solovar was groaning and grunting in pain.

The gorillas looked between their defeated leaders with confusion, wondering why the trespassers hadn't taken their lives yet.

"I won't kill him." Barry spoke to the citizens of Gorilla City. "I won't!"

Seth spoke up next, looking between the rows of telepathic gorillas. "Your leaders will not perish today, nor will they die by our hands. We know of your fear of humans."

"You think we want war with gorillakind." Barry panted in exhaustion. "We don't. We're not all murderers and killers."

"Humankind does not seek war with gorillakind. We only want peace ourselves… Which is why both your leaders are alive and will be spared." Seth said, gesturing to the defeated leaders.

"We call it mercy." The speedster finished.

But before they could add more to their words… Several boulders came and hit the mutant, sending him into the arena wall. Barry tried to act himself, but a pair of tranq darts hit his leg.

Just as the mutant was lying unconscious now, Barry immediately passed out due to the drug traversing through his system.

X

(Prison Dungeon)

Much like Caitlin had done when she regained her consciousness, Seth stirred awake and looked up to see his mate smiling down at him. He chuckled, knowing that she had placed his head on her lap.

"Morning, sunshine." Caitlin greeted him smirkingly.

"Morning." Seth sat up, shaking his head. "Gotta admit, I keep expecting old-fashioned manicures or pedicures, but instead I get rocks to my face."

"Well, we're just sitting in our cells, all by our lonesome." Caitlin sarcastically quipped.

"That, I would've liked myself." Seth craned his neck. He looked through the gaps of their cell and into the adjacent one. There he saw Barry and Harry still passed out. "Is he still asleep?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Julian said.

As if on cue, Barry stirred and turned around till he was on his back. He groaned and woke up. "What happened?" He questioned the team.

Cisco smirked. "Congratulations, you guys won."

The speedster looked at the side, seeing that Harry was still unconscious. "What about Harry?"

"He's still catatonic." Caitlin said.

"Who knows what that damn monkey did to him." Seth scoffed.

Hearing her mate's words, Caitlin asked him. "Seth, about your fight against Malavar…" He turned to her. "Why didn't you use any of your elements in the fight?"

"That is something I'd like to know as well."

The team turned their eyes to the entrance where they saw Malavar walking through. Despite the fight he partook in and failed, he was still strong and standing tall and proud like any general. The gorilla came to a halt in front of the cell that Caitlin and Seth share.

"Demon… I watched you at our initial encounter. You hold great power, yet you did not use them in our fight. What is the reason? Tell me." The telepathic primate demanded.

Standing up from the ground, Seth walked over to the bars, facing the general. "Cause you… Neither you nor Solovar committed a sin that warrants death." Malavar's eyes and the eyes of his teammates widened in surprise at his confession. "I won't take the lives of fellow protectors who want to defend their home. If the positions were reversed, I'd have done the same. Minus the deathmatch in an arena, too much for my taste."

The gorilla was shocked. These gorillas, like himself, were used to dealing with humans and their greediness. They'd do anything to enslave them to exploit their powers no matter what. Yet before him is a human who didn't want their lives no matter what. He and Solovar may have held their weapons high and pressed on their throats, yet this… Demon did not desire any carnage that'd cost the lives of him or his leader.

Malavar laughed. "Perhaps, there will come a time when you and I will fight once more, Demon."

"Maybe. Or maybe we will fight together." Seth smiled back.

"What is your name, Demon?" Malavar asked.

"…Venom." Seth answered.

"Then Venom…" Malavar turned around, walking towards the exit. "I do hope we will meet on the battlefield again in the future."

"For once I agree with you." Seth chuckled his response as the gorilla general walked out of the prison dungeon.

Cisco chuckled. "Guess someone got the general's respect."

"From a general, it's an impressive thing to achieve." Julian said. "Bravo, Seth."

"Did nothing that important, guys. Just wanted to make a pile of bodies this time." Seth chuckled.

But suddenly, Harry's head snapped up, to the point where it was shocking that he didn't break his neck, and stood up. But his eyes and face were emotionless and passive, indicating that someone else was steering his mind and body.

"Oh great, he's back." Seth rolled his eyes.

"Flash… Demon…" Grodd said, using Harry Wells as a medium again to talk with the team.

"We won." Barry told the telepath. "Solovar promised to let us go."

"No." Grodd growled.

"No? What was that again, Grodd?" Seth asked, but remained passive.

"I don't understand." Barry stood up.

"Solovar's words mean nothing now." Grodd replied.

Seth scoffed. "Of course. This was your plan all along, right Groddy?"

"What'd you mean…" Realized dawned on the metahuman expert. "You never had any intentions of letting us go, did you?"

"I told you I needed you." Grodd elaborated. "I could not defeat either Solovar or Malavar in combat, but you could. You won, and now I am the ruler of Gorilla City, and all the gorillas will follow me."

"You stinking, damn… Cowardly ape!" Seth snarled, clenching his fists. "Solovar never had any intentions of attacking Central City. You do!"

"You took my home from me, and now I will take it back!" Grodd exclaimed, shifting his gaze between the mutant and the speedster. "The gorillas saw what you and the Demon did, Flash. They saw you defeat their leaders, and now they are afraid of humans and will do anything I order, and I will order them to invade your Earth, and your city will burn!"

"You were planning this the whole time." Barry realized.

"Yes." Grodd smiled. "Father taught me well. Always think ahead. And I had plenty of time to think in cages built by you and then by Solovar."

"Then why don't you just kill us, huh?" Cisco questioned. "Since we already did your damn dirty work for you?"

"Still need you. Grodd said.

"If you think any of us are doing more for you, you damn coward, then guess your old man didn't teach you that well." Seth mocked him.

"Not you, Demon. Or you, Flash. But you." Grodd, using Harry's own hands, pointed to the person next to Julian.

Cisco looked between his fellow friends in confusion, the others facing him. "Me?"

"You will open a breach to First Earth. My army will cross that breach, and all the humans in Central City will burn before gorillakind." Grodd declared.

Barry faces the mind-controlled Harrison Wells. "Grodd, you are smart, maybe smarter than all of us." He steps closer to him. "Smart enough to know that you cannot do this. Intelligence and violence, they're opposites from each other. What you wanna do, it's not logical, not for someone as wise as you are."

However, Grodd counters. "You forget, Flash, I am an animal. I am a gorilla. Kill or be killed!"

Seth clenched his fist, which burst into bright red flames. "Animal or not, you do know we're gonna get out of this cell, and I'm gonna make you beg for death!" He bellowed out at the telepath in control of his friend.

Whether it was due to his words or it was the primate's plan all along, but Grodd's mind control ended, and Harry fell to the ground. Descending the stairs next to their cage, was Grodd himself. "No, you won't. You will die."

Seth scoffed, smiling evilly. "Guess being Solovar's pet for all this time made you delusional." His smile faltered and his eyes turned blood-red. "We will… make you beg!" He finalized his declaration with his fist slamming into the bars, forcing the telepathic primate to jump back in surprise.

Fear spread across the surface of his eyes and his face, making him grit his teeth before he walked away.

"Better run, Grodd. You're finished when I get my hands on you." Seth growled with rage. His daughters are on Earth-1. He knows better than anyone, except Caitlin, that they wouldn't fall to the likes of that cowardly telepath.

But against an army of telepathic primates like the residents of Gorilla City, they'd fight for their lives.

And he wasn't gonna let that happen.

"All good and all, Seth." Julian started. "But any promises of payback against our telepathic foe is wasted as long as we're inside of these tedious cells." He tapped the bars on the one he was residing in.

"Good point, Albert. Which is why Barry, and I are gonna put our powers to the test." Seth shared a nod with the speedster who nodded back in agreement. "He's gonna phase, I'm gonna break."

Both faced the bars on their respective cells, the speedster put his hands on the bars and the elemental turned his fists into adamantium. Barry began to phase, trying to turn intangible enough to get through the bars that held them. Seth grunted, pulling and punching the bars that restrained them.

The two of them went at this for a while, continuing with their best efforts to get through them. But despite that, the bars didn't budge or bend an inch.

But all the unsuccessful punching and phasing made Harrison Wells stir awake, his eyes snapping wide open. He turned his head, seeing Caitlin looking at him from behind the bars of her cell. "Snow?" He asked in surprise.

"You okay?" Caitlin asked him with a gentle smile.

"I have a headache, I guess." Harry said with a groan from all the banging. "And I don't think it's just from the banging, honestly. And I think-" He sniffed his armpit. "Is that me I smell?"

"That counts as okay." Caitlin said with a tilted head.

Harry realized, where he was and remembered everything. "Jesse, my daughter, where is-"

"She's fine. She's on Earth-1." Caitlin assured the Earth-2 native who stood back up. "She's totally fine."

He looked around and saw that they weren't alone in this prison dungeon. "Barry, Cisco…" He saw Seth punch the bars with an adamantium fist again. "Fury… You guys all came for me?"

"A city of evil genius apes, sounded like fun." The viber sarcastically said.

"Plus, we avoided an execution. Good times." Seth gave a thumbs up.

"Well, I'm sorry for that almost happening, and I don't deserve your rescue, but thank you, Snow. Thank you, Fury. Thank you, Barry. Cisco." Harry looked at Julian, giving him an incredulous look, on account of his attire. "Indiana."

The others laughed and chuckled while Julian rolled his eyes. "It's Julian Albert, thank you, and I came along for…" He scoffed. "I live for danger."

"Looks like you came to the right place." Harry said back.

Barry, having sat down and given the bars an exhausted look, stated. "I still can't phase through the bars. We have to find a way out of here so we can stop him."

Seth gritted his teeth, punching the bars in rage and frustration. "Damn it, what the hell's wrong with me? Any other day, I could tear this bar to pieces like paper. But now…" The mutant looked at his hand, only parts of his skin remaining adamantium. "What's going on?"

Harrison looked at the mutant. "Think it's because of the darts they used on you, Fury. They're different from the ones they used on the rest here. They didn't just use tranqs on you."

"What?" Seth asked.

Caitlin turned to him. "What do you mean, Harry?"

Harrison explained. "Grodd's faced you before, he knows the threat you represent to him and the rest of Gorillakind. They prepared darts with liquid that would temporarily tamper with your X-Gene."

Turning to his hands again, Seth realized. "Those darts tampered with the output of my powers; my elements aren't at full capacity."

"Exactly." Harry nodded.

"Grodd really planned ahead for you, Fury." Julian stated.

Seth, piecing everything together, turned to Harrison again. "When Grodd took control of you, he used your knowledge to make those darts, didn't he?"

"Unfortunately, yeah." Harry said. "Sorry, Fury."

"Don't be. I'll get some payback for us both." Seth assured the Earth-2 native.

"You keep saying that, but what if we can't get out?" The metahuman expert questioned. "What if we're stuck here? What if this is the way-"

"Well, we can't think like that." Barry cut him off. Shaking his head, he groaned. "Where there's life, there's hope."

"And if there isn't life?" Cisco questioned.

The mutant raised an eyebrow. "That some deep question coming from you, Cisco. But what's your point?"

Facing the others, Cisco answered. "Grodd needs me to open a breach so he can attack Earth-1. What if I wasn't alive to do that?"

Caitlin, with wide eyes, asked. "You planning on dying?"

"Only if you kill me." Cisco said.

"Cisco, that ain't funny." Seth countered, clenching his fists. He saw Caitlin stiffen and flinch at that suggestion.

"I'm not joking, Seth. Look this is something we have to consider." Cisco started. "Right now, I can't think of any other way to stop them. They'd have no other way of getting to Central City."

"He's right." Julian stated. "Cisco's death would change the newspaper headline in the future."

Harry jumped off the cell bars. ""Headline"?"

"Long story." Seth told him.

Julian then added. "But it would also make another one come true… The one about Killer Frost."

"What?!" Caitlin exclaimed, snapping her head in Cisco's direction. "You want me to kill you?"

"Think about it." Cisco argued. "Grodd doesn't know you have cold powers. You might be able to use them."

While Caitlin was gaping her mouth in disbelief, Harry said. ""Cold powers"? She- You have cold powers. I knew it." Realization dawned on him. "I knew that you and I did not get Barry out of that mirror."

"Cait." Seth got her attention. "You're doing that. There's no going back for that. I don't believe you'll be evil or that you'll be some evil villain or whatnot, or even that you'll be Killer Frost for the rest of your life. But we're not returning to our daughters and you're in pain of becoming someone you're not."

"Seth…" Caitlin couldn't help but smile.

"I'm a huge hypocrite for saying what I've said so far, especially about the killing part, but I don't ever wanna see you become someone or something you're not. Someone that'll doubt herself, in fear of hurting herself, others, our daughters… That's not you, Caitlin." Seth tells her passionately.

"I love you." Caitlin tells her beloved mate, who mouthed the same words back. Turning serious, she snapped her head in Cisco's direction. "Okay, Cisco, I'm not gonna kill you, and neither is anyone else, okay? So, let's come up with the next best plan that doesn't involve murdering one of our friends."

Cisco threw his hands up in dismay.

"Well…" Seth, thinking it over quickly, stated. "We might be able to do something other than that."

"Seth's right and so is Cisco." Barry stood up, having the same train of thought as the elemental. "It's the only way. One of us has to die."

Seth faced the speedster. "Or… two of us, to be sure."

Both the mutant and the metahuman shared a smirk, agreeing with their plan.

X

(Earth-1, Snow-Fury Residence)

In the Snow-Fury residence of Earth-1, the three Snow-Fury children are seated around the dinner table and tasting the cooking that all of them helped cook. It was the first time they cooked by themselves, cooking classic spaghetti and meatballs.

But Ruby was the only one chewing a meatball slowly. "Yeah, I'm sure we burnt some of the meatballs."

Frankie picked out a piece of onion from her meatball. "I still think we could cut the onions more thinly than just hurling in big chunks of it."

Evelyn pouted. "Well, I like them like that. More bite to them. But we're skipping the sun-dried tomatoes. They're not good."

"You just don't like salty food." Ruby elbowed her sister who criticized her choice of ingredient.

Taking more spaghetti and putting it on her plate, Frankie stated. "Well too much sodium ain't good either, you know."

Rolling her eyes, Ruby countered. "We have two doctors for parents, moron. We don't need you helping in."

Putting down her fork, Evelyn solemnly asked. "Think they're doing okay? Mom and Dad and the others?"

"They're gonna be fine, sis." Frankie assures her sister. "By now, they've probably found Harry and they're just finding a good spot to breach back home."

Ruby leaned back in her chair. "Probably after Dad's torn out Grodd's heart, you know."

"Think it will be that easy?" Frankie questioned. Her sisters turn to her with confusion and question marks on their heads. "It's Gorilla City. I don't doubt Dad's powers at all, I know he's powerful. But against a city of telepathic gorillas like Grodd, it's gonna be difficult for even Dad to fight through something like that."

"You're not wrong." Ruby questioned her sister. "Frankie, you saw Dad and Grodd fight before?" Frankie nodded. "How did that go?"

"Dad was absolutely…. Enraged." Frankie couldn't find any other word to suit her father's behavior back then. "When Grodd tried to use him to kill me, Dad broke his hold and he tore into him like a predator clawing into its prey. How Grodd survived that is still surprising… But he did."

"Well if he did that…" Evelyn smiled. "He's gonna regret that. Never mess with a demon's family after all."

X

(Gorilla City, Prison Dungeon)

After several moments, Grodd returned to the prison dungeon to check on his prisoners again. He briefly contemplated holding another public execution again, one that would kill them all.

But when he finally entered, the telepathic primate's eyes expanded when he took in the sight that welcomed him in the dungeon.

In their respective cells, both Seth and Barry lie on the ground. The speedster was lying alone in his cell, his skin blue as ice and appearing to be dead. The elemental was lying on the ground as well, but he had a strange crystal-like sword embedded in his stomach.

Caitlin was crying beside the elemental and Harry kept checking on the speedster's condition.

Seeing Grodd here, Caitlin said. "S- Someone attacked him while we slept. Seth… He was stabbed and… He's dead. The darts you used on him and the rocks, his healing couldn't keep up with it all. He was too weakened."

Harry continued, speaking of Barry's condition. "Allen started coughing, violently, it was strange. He clutched his side and then just keeled over suddenly. Snow thinks one of his kidneys must have been ruptured from his injury. He went into shock. His heart stopped."

"Neither of them could be saved…" Grodd stated in surprise.

"No, they couldn't." Caitlin said, her tears falling on her mate's lifeless face. "I couldn't save them."

Grodd pulled open the gate to the speedster's cell. "Move." He instructed Harry who moved away, allowing the gorilla to place a finger on his skin. "Cold."

Cisco gulped. "They're dead."

The telepathic gorilla turned his attention to the mutant with a sword in his guts. He opened the cell and entered, ushering Caitlin away who crawled away. She watches as the gorilla touches his skin. "He is… Gone as well."

Tears continue to fall from Caitlin's cheeks.

"They were of no use to me anyway." Grodd growled, taking hold of Seth's leg and dragging him out of the cell. He did the same with Barry's body. Closing the cells again, the gorilla dragged them away and closer to the piles of bone on opposite sides.

When close to them, he hurled them both into a pile. Grodd resumed his walk out of the prison dungeon, leaving the humans to sit in their despair.

When they were sure he was out of hearing distance, Caitlin wiped the tears off her face and stood up in a hurry. "Come on, Seth. Time to wake up." Inside of herself, she hated that he come up with this awful "playing possum" plan of his. Especially as it was to extreme lengths.

She opened her jacket, pulling out the pouch she had in one of her inner pockets. She opens it, briefly looking inside of it before hurling the pouch out through the gaps. It fell on the side, the opening wide open and something sliding…

No…

Slithering… Out of the bag.

What oozed out of the bag was a moving black substance, moving towards the elemental's body.

"Oh dear, that's…" Julian gagged as he watched the moving ooze. "I cannot believe that Seth carries that thing around in his body."

"Careful, that "thing" has a mind of its own." Cisco playfully warned him.

"And careful yourself, Cisco. Venom's no "thing."" Caitlin reminded the viber.

The symbiote finally made contact with his host's body, slithering through the skin of his hand and entering Seth's body.

As that happened, Harry called out to the speedster. "He's gone, Barry. Grodd is gone."

As though the speedster heard his words, after several moments of not moving, his body began to vibrate suddenly.

"Come on, Seth. Venom, please. Help him back to his feet." Caitlin pleaded to the symbiote inside of her beloved's body.

Seth's lifeless fingers began to move, flexing and curling strangely before his entire right arm was enveloped by symbiote mass. It raised itself and grabbed the crystal sword by the blade.

"Well, that's not creepy at all." Cisco admitted.

"Agreed, mate." Julian gagged.

Displeased by their words, Venom raised Seth's left hand and flipped both the bird with his middle finger raising upright.

The blue hue around Barry's face dissipated like frost melting away from immense heat, and the speedster woke up with a gasp.

He wasn't the only one to wake up with a sharp gasp, as Seth woke up afterward when the sword was yanked out of his body. "Holy hell!" He gagged and coughed violently as he pushed himself upright. "Okay, wow!"

"Yeah, you and me both, buddy." Barry agreed with the mutant, speaking hoarsely between coughs.

"Yo, it worked!" Cisco exclaimed, but Caitlin and Harry hushed him. Neither they nor the rest wanted the full wrath of Gorilla City to rain down on them. "It worked." He whispered.

"Seth!" Caitlin whispered loudly, garnering his attention. "That's the last time, and I mean, the last time you ever stab yourself like that again!"

"10-4, babe. I'm beginning to hate Triple R, myself." Seth said.

"Also, Risky Remedy Removal plan? Not a good name, bro." Cisco told the elemental.

"Not now, Cisco." Julian told him. "Guys, are you both all right? Huh, mates?"

"Good on my end." Seth said, getting back on his feet.

"Same. I'm good." Barry nodded.

Caitlin turns to the speedster. "I didn't freeze you too much, did I?"

"No, I'm good." Barry assured his friend.

"Let me get that." Seth went to the massive lever and wrapped both of his arms in symbiote mass before grabbing hold of it and pushing it up. With his increased strength and adamantium reinforcement, it was quickly pushed up. The doors opened up, allowing the others an exit.

They immediately moved out of their cells.

Seth let go of the lever, turning around to meet Caitlin who stood behind him and slapped him. "Ow." She surprised him with a sudden but passionate kiss. "That's always a welcome."

"Never use that plan again. And I'm happy you're okay." Caitlin smiled.

"Likewise." Seth hugged her. "Barr. Time to dash."

The speedster nodded.

WHOOSH

He immediately sped grabbed the rest of the teammates and ran out of the prison dungeon.

The Scarlet Speedster ran his friends out of Gorilla City and towards the jungle, deep into the forestry where no gorilla could see them.

"All right!" Barry said, dropping them off and stopping at a spot far away from the gates of Gorilla City. "We should be far enough out that you should be able to use your powers."

Harry urgently stated. "We need a breach open right now."

"More like yesterday." Seth added sarcastically.

"Guys, we've got to go before they realize we're gone!" Barry stated just as urgently.

A massive roar from a familiar gorilla echoed throughout the forest, and the team recognized the origin of the roar.

"It's too late for that." Julian said.

The heavy footsteps of Grodd got louder and louder and they got closer and closer.

"Open a breach! Now!" Seth exclaimed, pulling out his sword and swinging his weapon into a tree. The single strike cut the tree in two, grabbing the biggest piece of it and hurling it in the direction of the roaring footsteps.

Jumping in front of his friends, Cisco lashed out his hand and shot a vibe blast into the open air in front of them. Unlike before in the dungeon, the viber managed to open up a breach. "Time to warp out of this madhouse."

"Less talking, more moving!" Seth exclaimed, hurling more and more tree trunks. "Grodd, next time I see you… I will make you beg for death." He declared his promise in a mutter as Julian and Barry jumped through the breach.

"Seth!" Caitlin got his attention.

"Let's go! Cisco, catch up with us!" In a hurry, Seth picked up his mate in his arms and jumped through the breach.

"Like I'm staying behind." Cisco countered, jumping through the breach as the last.

When the viber passed through, the breach closed down and Grodd was left alone. Roaring his anger as his plans have been foiled…

Once again… By the Flash and Venom…

X

(Earth-1, S.T.A.R. Labs, Breach Room)

On top of the breach platform, a blue breach came into being. Through it came out Harrison Wells of Earth-2 and Barry Allen. They landed on their feet, turning their heads to the breach again and seeing Seth jump out next with Caitlin in his arms.

He slid to a stop, Caitlin's hands tightening around her mate's neck. The two of them face the breach like the others, waiting for Cisco's arrival. After another second, the viber came out and landed on the floor and the breach closed immediately.

"We're home." Caitlin said with a smile.

"Yes, we are, my love." Seth said, leaning down to kiss his mate.

The mutant let her down and then from the entrance into the room, came some friendly faces consisting of Jesse, H.R., Wally, Joe and Iris. And from a plume of darkness, Evelyn, Frankie and Ruby rushed towards their parents.

Hugs were shared between them all. Jesse hugged her returned father. Barry hugged Iris and Joe. The three Snow-Fury daughters embraced their parents.

"You guys took way too long for a rescue mission!" Ruby complained into her mother's hair as she hugged her.

"Well, your dad had to be a drama queen and stab himself to play possum." Caitlin quipped back.

Evelyn pulled out with shock on her face. "Wait, what? You stabbed yourself, Dad?"

"Long story, kiddo." Seth ruffles his daughter's hair.

"Guess we can talk about that back at the house, right?" Frankie asked.

"Absolutely." Seth nodded.

"Word of advice… Don't volunteer for these things." Cisco pantingly told Julian. "Nothing ever tries to rip you limb from limb if you don't volunteer."

"I'm fine." Harry smiled, his daughter checking the wounds on his face. "I'm so fine. Thanks… Thanks to our friends, our good friends." He gestured to those around him and his daughter.

"You're welcome, Harry." Caitlin told him.

"But seriously, try not to get caught by super gorillas again, okay? Gonna be a pain in the ass to go through that mess all over again." Seth quipped.

"Duly noted, Fury." Harry nodded his confirmation.

"I… I think…" H.R. got their attention, especially Harry's and gestured to him. "I just forgot just how handsome you were."

"Oh." Harry remembered, seeing his doppelganger. "I forgot. He's… You're still here."

"Yeah! Still here." H.R. took his hat off for his doppelganger from Earth-2.

Harry wasn't surprised. "I guess we have your tactical and technical genius to thank for getting us out of that fix." He stated, walking closer to his doppelganger.

"You're off the marker on that, Harry." Seth chortled.

"What?" Harry questioned.

"No, no. Nah." H.R. countered.

"Nah?" Harry recited, directing it to Cisco.

"Nah." The viber repeated. "You were completely right about him. He's a total fraud. He's not even a scientist." H.R. agreed with every statement. "And I'm sure he couldn't even remember an ATM code if you tried."

Harrison-19 sighed heavily. "All those numbers."

"It's only four digits. Why is he still here?" Harrison-2 asked the team of Earth-1.

Cisco sighed. "Because we couldn't do it without him."

Following the traditions of his home Earth, Harrison-19 bowed in gratitude. "I thank you, Francisco."

Confusedly Harrison-2 tried to mimic the gesture but stopped. ""Francisco.""

"Don't ask, you might regret it later on." Seth chuckled to himself. Harry accepted and agreed completely.

Wally asked them. "Yo, so what actually happened? You fight some really super-smart apes or what?"

Julian smirked. "Yeah. Yeah, we did. And they were smart, but today at least, we were a bit smarter."

"What about Grodd? He still breathing or what?" Ruby questioned her father.

"He's… Still breathing, yeah." The mutant said with regret in his voice.

But he does have a promise to keep, and he will make that ape beg for death.

X

(Snow-Fury Residence)

"That is the LAST trip we ever take to a gorilla-populated city on another Earth!" Caitlin exclaimed as she fell onto the couch, leaning up against her mate. It was still evening and the entire Snow-Fury family had another good family dinner, eating fillet steaks with bearnaise sauce and mashed potatoes on the side.

With the safe return of the entire team, it seemed appropriate to eat something special for dinner.

Seth laughed, wrapping his arms around his mate's body. "On that, I agree with you completely."

Looking up at him, she reminds him. "And no more playing possum on your part."

"Promise, my love." Seth said, kissing the top of her head. "How are you feeling about today, Cait? You used your powers today. You did it for us, you were scared but you did it anyway."

"Course I did." Caitlin looked into his eyes again. "I love you, after all, Seth. With all of my heart. I want to protect you just as much as you wanna protect me and our family."

"And you did. And I love you with all of my heart too." Seth confessed.

Caitlin's smile faded. "And I love that love of yours, but I'm also afraid of my powers, and not what they could do to me, but what they could do to anyone who gets close to me."

Tilting her head upwards with his fingers, Seth tells her earnestly. "Cait, I'm not afraid."

"I know you're not, but I feel like you should be, honestly." Caitlin replies just as earnestly. "Fearing me might sound like a threat to others, but it's just good advice honestly."

"I'll never fear you, babe." Seth assures her. "But this fear you have…" He knows it's understandable for her to harbor such a fear for her powers, especially as she saw someone with the same face and name wield her powers and use them in the name of evil until she changed her path in life.

But that was enough for her fear to remain strong as bedrock. The fear would have to be broken down and built back up into something more and something better, showing her how to use her powers for good and how they can benefit those around her and not hurt them as she fears.

In the past he had the same fear as she has now, especially after his flames from his mutation manifestation grew so ravenously, they almost hurt his little sister. But thanks to those around him…

"Those around me… Back then…" Seth muttered.

"What?" Caitlin asked.

A bright and wide smile formed on the mutant's face. "That's it!" Seth exclaimed, shocking Caitlin into sitting upright. "Cait! Let's go on a trip. To another Earth. The whole family."

"What? Seth, I honestly think I've had my fill with Earth-2." Caitlin chuckled sheepishly.

"No. Not Earth-2." Seth put a hand on hers. "Earth-616."

Caitlin's eyes widened and her mouth as she heard that suggestion…

The entire Snow-Fury family… going to Earth-616?!

To be continued…

And that's a chapter peeps after so long.

I know this chapter is shorter than recent ones, but the following ones are gonna be longer, and I can promise you all that.

The heroes of Central City went on a rescue mission, saving Harrison Wells of Earth-2 who had been kidnapped by Gorilla Grodd as he set his sights on Earth-1 Central City, intent on watching it burn under his gorilla army.

However, it was foiled by Seth and the rest of the team when they retrieved Harry, who was the brains, and incidentally also Cisco, who was the one who'd open the breach to Earth-1.

Next chapter won't be E14 of Flash season 3, though. Next chapter's gonna take place on another Earth. Earth-616… Wonder what Seth's got planned for his family on his origin Earth. But whatever it is gonna be, it's gonna be…

Marvelous!

Stay tuned and until next time, peeps!