Joe and Eddie were currently responding to a bomb threat that had been called in at Central City Plaza in the center of town and the threat was a nuclear one. Joe was very glad that Barry was back from his vacation, since this might be a case where Team Flash would be needed.
"How the hell did the Royal Flush Gang get their hands on a nuclear bomb?" Eddie asked as Joe swerved through the city as they got to the plaza to find Team Flash fighting the Royal Flush gang. Flash was fighting Queen, their telepathic leader and King, the strongman of the group while Vibe was fighting Ten, the group's acrobat while Ice Maiden was dealing with Jack, who had laser vision.
"Damn it, looks like our supers are occupied." Joe said.
"That's fine. They can keep the gang occupied. I was trained to disarm bombs while I was in the military. Cover me, I'll see if I can disarm it." Eddie said and Joe nodded as they rushed towards the bomb, which was in the center of the plaza, which thankfully had already been evacuated.
"Go." Joe said as he hoped that Eddie would be able to disarm the device.
That was the last thing Eddie remembered clearly before the world went dark. Everything after that was a blur. He vaguely remembered other details, him trying to disarm the warhead, but it was too well protected and he didn't have enough time, along with Team Flash trying to prevent the explosion as well.
Then he remembered a bright flash of light and searing heat and pain from the force as if it was practically tearing him apart, and yet somehow, he stayed alive before the world went dark. His first thought was that he was dead, when suddenly, he woke up.
"What the hell happened?" Eddie asked, since he definitely felt different. Especially since he was now wearing some kind of silver suit with red boots and gloves.
"Detective Thawne, you're awake. We weren't sure you would." a voice that Eddie vaguely recognized as Barry's stepsister Caitlin Snow said as she rushed forward, wearing what looked like a replica of Ice Maiden's suit.
"What happened? What am I wearing?" Eddie asked as he tried to remove the suit, only for Caitlin to stop him.
"Don't. That containment suit is the only thing keeping you alive." Caitlin said.
"What?" Eddie asked, trying to remember what happened.
"You helped save a lot of lives, since you managed to slow down the bomb's reaction long enough for the Flash to contain the radiation in a vortex to siphon it into space while Ice Maiden cooled down the reaction to stabilize it. But you were exposed to a huge amount of radiation. It's a miracle you're still alive, since it practically tore you apart, but then you kind of reassembled into some kind of energy form. We managed to get you here in enough time to put your energy form into this containment suit to keep your energy stable and intact." Caitlin said.
"Wait, what?" Eddie asked.
"You're a metahuman Detective Thawne and it's lucky you are, since your meta gene activating is the only thing that saved you." Caitlin said.
"Wait, we? And that suit. You're Ice Maiden." Eddie said, trying to distract himself from what she'd told him.
"Yes, she is Eddie. And I'm the Flash." Barry said as he walked into the medbay, wearing his Flash suit with his cowl down.
"Barry. You're the Flash? Does Iris know?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah she does. And I'm sorry I couldn't stop this from happening to you. I should've stopped the bomb before it had a chance to detonate." Barry said, feeling guilty but Eddie waved it aside.
"It's not your fault. You didn't set the bomb and you still managed to prevent it from turning Central City into a radioactive crater." Eddie said.
"Thanks to you. You're a hero Eddie." Barry said.
"But I'm stuck looking like this forever?" Eddie asked.
"Not necessarily." Caitlin said, since they'd been running tests on Eddie since they'd stabilized him in this suit.
"What do you mean?" Eddie asked.
"I've been running tests on your abilities and you seem to be able to manipulate matter on the atomic level. With enough training, you should be able to manipulate your appearance to look like your old self." Caitlin said.
"Really?" Eddie asked, hopefully.
"Yes, but it will take time and training." Caitlin said.
"And the Flash has already told Singh a cover story that while you survived the explosion, you were badly hurt and he took you to a special facility to recover. You're on indefinite paid leave to recover." Barry said.
"What about Jesse?" Eddie asked, wondering about his girlfriend.
"We know Jesse Wells is your girlfriend and we're actually planning on bringing her here, since we've been keeping tabs on her since her dad was killed by the same guy who killed my mom and we think it's best to bring her into the fold, since she's been getting kind of reckless. Don't ask. But she'll be here soon. And if she really cares about you, then she won't mind this." Barry said.
"Thank you Barry." Eddie said.
"It's the least I can do." Barry said.
"Barry, don't go there. I don't blame you for this, since I was doing my job and it sounds like I might be able to do that in a new way soon." Eddie said.
"Does that mean that you want to join this life?" Barry asked.
"Maybe." Eddie said.
"Well, if you do, we're happy to train you." Barry said.
"Thank you." Eddie said.
"Of course. Now you should rest. After all, you've got a long road ahead of you. I'll let Joe know you're awake, since yes, he knows about this too." Barry said and Eddie nodded as he laid back down on the bed, wondering if he'd be able to salvage his life after this.
I hope you all enjoyed this twist, since I feel like this does better by Eddie than the Arrowverse ever did and makes him the hero he deserves to be. Especially since he already kind of looked the part and this is better use of him. I hope you liked it.