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Chapter Text

Iris drew her eyes away from Detective Pretty Boy and held up her computer. “Can I go charge this up in your lab? I wanna make sure nothing got damaged when…”

“When a thief hit me in the face with your laptop? Thanks, the concern is overwhelming.”

Iris held her hands up. “Hey, noses heal. But I haven’t backed up the latest updates to my dissertation, so if I lose the stuff I’ve written in the last week, I’m screwed. ‘Cause it’s due Friday. C’mon, don’t you want to see me looking all cute in my cap and gown next week?”

Barry rolled his eyes, but led the way up to his lab. Iris eyed the wet floor as she entered.

“Okay, now I know what my next article’s going to be on. Lack of proper roof maintenance in the Central City Police Department.”

“That corner looks dry. Why don’t you take it over there, just in case.”

Iris crossed the room to plug in her laptop as Barry turned on his own computer to check the particle accelerator coverage. She pulled up her dissertation. Everything looked exactly as it should have been. Iris breathed a sigh of relief and uploaded the changes to Dropbox. “Yes! Everything’s fine. You still have to buy me a graduation gift.” She looked up and noticed Barry staring intensely at his computer screen. “Barry?” She walked back over to see what had him so interested.

“Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator, but so far, have been unable to regain control of the system...”

And suddenly the computer shut down, followed by a bright flash of light. Iris and Barry stared out the window, transfixed.

“What the hell?” Iris murmured. And then a strange wave of light grew up from STAR Labs, knocking the lights out as it crossed the city. Barry moved away, and Iris followed him, but stopped short when she noticed the liquids floating out of their beakers. She started to ask Barry what was happening, but he looked as confused as she did. He had frozen where he stood, pulling on the chain to close the skylight. The metal chain.

“Barry!” Iris grabbed arm, yanking him away from the chain and pushing him back. “There’s a lightning storm! What the hell were you-“ She didn’t get a chance to finish. A lightning bolt came down through the skylight and struck her in the chest, throwing her backwards onto the shelves knocking them to the floor as she landed.

“Iris! Iris!” Barry ran across the room and reached down, feeling for a pulse. He couldn’t find one. “Not you too, Iris. Please, not like this. Help! Somebody help her please!”

NINE MONTHS LATER

I only wanna die alive. Never by the hands of a broken heart. Don't wanna hear you lie tonight. Now that I've become who I really am.

Music. Voices. Those were the first things Iris became aware of as she woke up. Ugh, no. Too early. Keep sleeping. Sleep is good.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to keep her up to date on pop culture. I mean, she can hear everything, right?”

“Auditory functions are the last sensory faculties to degenerate.”

Wait, she didn’t recognize those voices. Where the hell was she?

This is the part when I break free ‘cause I can't resist it no more.

Iris shot up straight in bed.

“Oh, my God!” the guy across the room yelled. It would’ve been funny if Iris weren’t feeling more freaked out than he was.

“Where am I?”

“She’s awake!” the woman said. She pulled out a flashlight and started shining it in Iris’s eyes. Iris stood up, trying to get away from her. It took everything in Iris’s power not to take a swing at the doctor. The guy with her must have sensed that because he put a put soothing hand on Iris’s arm.

“Relax. Everything’s okay. You’re okay. You’re at Star Labs.”

“STAR Labs? Who are you?”

“I'm Cisco Ramon. She's Caitlin... Dr. Snow.”

The doctor was holding out a specimen cup. “I need you to urinate in this.”

Cisco jerked it out of her hand. “Give her a minute.”

Iris pulled away from both of them, putting her hands up defensively. “What the hell is going on here?”

“You were struck by lightning.”

“Lightning?” She caught sight of herself in the video monitor. Her eyes drifted down to where her tank top had ridden up. Muscle had replaced what had once been soft curves. “Lightning gave me abs?”

“Yeah, it did,” Cisco said appreciatively.

Iris turned her eyes back to Cisco, who immediately shifted his gaze back up to meet hers. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”

Caitlin glared at Cisco for a moment before turning back to Iris and leading her over to a chair. “Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration.”

“You were in a coma,” Cisco explained.

“What? For how long?”

“Nine months,” called a voice from behind Iris. She turned to see a familiar face, one that had stared at her from the covers of Barry’s favorite books for years.

“Welcome back, Ms. West,” Dr. Harrison Wells said. “We have a lot to discuss.” He nodded in the direction of the door before wheeling through it.

Iris looked back at Caitlin and Cisco in confusion before chasing after him. “I don’t understand. This isn’t a hospital. What am I doing here?”

“Do you remember what happened to the particle accelerator? According to Barry’s account, you were watching the coverage before you were struck.”

The memory played through Iris’s mind. “Something went wrong. There was this weird light.”

“There was…an anomaly. The electron volts became unmeasurable, the ring under us popped. Energy from that detonation was thrown into the sky and that, in turn, seeded a storm cloud, that created a lightning bolt…”

“That struck me.”

Dr. Wells nodded. “I was recovering myself,” he said, gesturing towards the wheelchair, “when I heard about you. The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outages every time you were going into cardiac arrest, which was actually a misdiagnosis because you see, you weren't flatlining. Your heartbeat was moving too fast for the EKG to register it.

“I'm not the most popular person in town these days, especially with Mr. Allen, but he and your father gave me permission to bring you here, where we were able to stabilize you.”

“Barry? Barry’s okay?”

Dr. Wells smiles and there’s something in there that make Iris uncomfortable, although she doesn’t know why. “Yes, Mr. Allen is perfectly fine. He’s been here every day.”

Barry. Dad. Suddenly, Iris felt this incredible desire to see them. “I have to go. I have to see them.” She looked down at her pajama pants and bare feet. “I need shoes.”

Without another word, Iris took off back to the Cortex, leaving Dr. Wells dumbfounded.

Twenty minutes later, Iris arrived at the police station, wearing Caitlin’s “in case of lab accident” outfit and shoes, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, because seriously, could no one find a hair stylist who made house calls for coma patients?

Still, all things considered, she felt pretty great as she walked through the familiar territory of the precinct. She headed straight for Barry’s lab and paused at the door. Barry was drinking coffee and staring at something on the computer screen.

“God, have you even moved from that spot in the last nine months?”

Barry’s head shot up. He stared at Iris for a moment, like he expected her to disappear. Then in one swift movement, he rose from his chair and ran to her, lifting her up as he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips at his enthusiasm.

“Oh my God. You’re awake. You’re here... You’re wearing Caitlin’s blouse,” he said in mild confusion.

“Well, I wasn’t about to try and grab a taxi in my pajamas. I have an image to maintain in this town.”

“You took a cab? We would’ve come and gotten you. Why didn’t STAR Labs call us?”

“I wanted to come here on my own. I didn’t really give them much choice. I needed to see that you were okay with my own eyes.”

“That I was okay? Iris, I watched you die. You kept dying. Your heart kept stopping.”

Iris grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. Barry looked a little uncomfortable at the gesture.

“It’s still beating.”

“It feels really fast. Did they check you out before you left?” Iris shifted a little under his gaze. “Of course. You didn’t give them a chance to. Let me. I know I had a stopwatch around here somewhere.” He spun around to look for it and knocked the coffee mug off his desk.

Which paused in mid-air. Wait, no it didn’t. It was still falling, albeit very slowly. Why wasn’t Barry catching it? She looked up at Barry, who was holding similarly still, searching for the stopwatch, not even realizing he had knocked the coffee mug down. Iris reached out and plucked the mug from the air, righting it and setting it back on the desk.

Suddenly the world started spinning again. “Whoa, thanks. Nice reflexes.”

Iris laughed nervously. “What kind of friend would I be if I let your favorite cup break?” What had just happened? Some kind of hallucination? “Now forget about the checkup. I’m fine. I promise I’ll go back to STAR Labs and let them do all the tests they need to, but first I want to see my dad.”

Chapter Text

Detective Pretty Boy (and, man, she was really going to have to learn his actual name soon) was the first one to spot Iris coming out of Barry’s lab. His face lit up with more joy than someone should have over seeing someone they’ve never actually met. “Hey, Joe, we’ve got a visitor here to see you!”

Joe glanced up from his desk to see who it was and nearly fell out of his chair when he saw his daughter. He hurried up the stairs and met Iris halfway. He enveloped Iris in a big hug. “You had us so worried, baby!” he said, planting a kiss on Iris’s forehead before pulling back.

Iris shrugged. “I feel great now. Rested.”

Pretty Boy smiled at her. “Great. Now maybe these two will actually be able to get some work done.”

“Detective West, we've got a 515 in progress at Gold City Bank, two dead,” said an officer Iris had never seen before. “Storm's really picking up on the South side. I'd grab your rain gear.”

Joe sighed. “Sorry, baby. Duty calls. Barry, make sure she gets home all right, got it?” Barry nodded. “C’mon, partner,” Joe called to Eddie (ha! she did remember his name!).

Eddie shrugged on his jacket. “Glad to see you back on your feet, Iris.”

She nodded. “Thanks.” She waited until he and her dad were out of earshot before turning back to Barry. “Partner? What happened to Chyre?”

Barry pointed over to the memorial on the wall. “The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed him. Mardon and his brother died trying to escape. Their plane crashed. Eddie’s actually been pretty great. He covered a lot of your dad’s shifts so he could stay with you. I think Joe’s really warmed up to him. Or at least he’s started calling him by his real name.”

Captain Singh walked out of his office. “Allen! Where the hell is that report I asked for?”

Barry winced. “Getting it, sir! I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

Iris nodded, watching Barry bound back upstairs. She heard a voice call her name and smiled at the officer, who was in the middle of booking a suspect. In the brief second he was distracted, the suspect turned and reached for his gun.

Before she knew it, Iris had sped across the room and grabbed the gun from his hand, replacing it in the officer’s holster and shoving the suspect back for good measure before returning to her spot on the other side of the room.

A moment later, Barry appeared beside her. “Okay, so I’ve still got some tests to wrap up around here, but if you want to hang out for a little while, we can head to your house afterward, help get you settled in.”

“Uh, actually, you know what? I think I left …something…at STAR Labs. So, I’m gonna head back over there now, and I’ll meet you at the house after, okay?”

“You sure? I can drive you.”

“Unless something’s changed in the last nine months, Barry, you don’t own a car.”

Barry grinned sheepishly. “Joe’s, uh, kind of been letting me borrow yours. I’ve been taking really good care of it. It’s probably cleaner than it was when – " Iris cut him off with a glare. “I mean, you know, it’s not good to leave a car sitting for too long and all. But if you want it back, it’s yours. Obviously.”

“You know, I probably shouldn’t drive today. So why don’t I just take a cab back and then I’ll meet you at the house, okay?”

Iris turned and headed out the door. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps when she noticed her hands were shaking. No, not just shaking. Vibrating. Moving too fast to see clearly. She took a few more steps and suddenly her feet were out of control, running towards STAR Labs before she could stop them.

Seconds later, she was inside the Cortex, with Caitlin, Cisco and Dr. Wells staring at her as the assorted paperwork of the lab fluttered back down. “I don’t think I’m as fine as I thought I was.” She stamped down on the smoking leather of the shoes and then glanced back up at Caitlin. “And I owe you a new pair of heels.”

Chapter Text

Iris tugged on the helmet, putting the final touch on the ridiculous outfit she was wearing. She was running through an open field, why the hell did they think she would need a helmet?

Or maybe Cisco just wanted an excuse to make more toys.

“What about her?”

“What about her?”

“She doesn’t seem to be enjoying this as much as you two do.”

Cisco shrugged. “She’s a doctor. She takes her worrying very seriously.” Off Iris’s unconvinced face, he continued. “Okay, your dad and Barry already know, so I don’t think she’ll care if you know, but if she asks, they told you. Her fiancé died in the explosion, and she’s…still dealing with it, I guess. Normally, she’d throw herself into her work, but you know, nobody really trust STAR Labs to do anything, so her work has consisted of one patient and inventorying the closed labs and this one really weird side project. But there is an actual personality lurking beneath the ice queen façade, I swear.”

He finished making whatever adjustments he needed to the biometric sensors, and Iris lined herself up at the starting line.

“Ms. West, while I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint.”

Iris nodded. On Cisco’s signal, she took off running, taking Dr. Wells advice and resisting the urge to go full out on her first run. She felt the wind and power rush past her face and she pushed herself a little further, sending adrenaline through her body. She pushed a little further and saw lightning sparking up from her skin.

“It wasn’t my dad, Iris. I didn’t lie to the cops. He didn’t do it.”

“I know, Barry. I believe you.”

“It was the man in the lightning. He did it.”

Iris was so caught up in the memory, she didn’t notice she’d run out of track. She tumbled headfirst into the barriers and heard more than she felt something in her wrist crack.

Oh. That was why she needed the helmet.

*

“Your wrist is fine.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s fine’? I felt it snap.”

“It’s fine now,” Caitlin clarified. “Three hours ago, you had distal radius fracture.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I’m pretty sure impossible doesn’t really apply to your situation anymore,” Cisco said.

“I guess not. For a second there, I thought I saw…”

“Thought you saw what?” asked Dr. Wells.

“How much has Barry told you about his family? His real family? Or why he came to live with us?”

Caitlin shrugged. “Not much. He said he went to live with yours when his mother died.”

“His mother was murdered. The police arrested his dad, but Barry’s always said it was someone else, but his story has been …hard to believe. He said it was ‘the man in the lightning.’ And today when I was running, I saw lightning coming off my body. And I’m starting to think Barry’s been right all along. Whoever killed his mother, I think he’s like me.”

Dr. Wells smiled. “I think I can honestly say, there’s no one in the known universe who’s quite like you.”

Iris grabbed her coat. “I need to see Barry. If he’s been right all these years…” she started to walk away.

Dr. Wells reached for her arm. “Iris, if Barry really did see what he thinks he did. Telling him before you have any evidence, before you have any idea of who it could be, you could just be…”

“…opening up old wounds. Maybe.” Iris sighed. “Okay, I won’t tell him anything. Yet.”

*

When she arrived at the police station, Barry was on the phone, staring out the window. She held back for a moment, trying not to eavesdrop, but failing miserably.

“I know I said I would come visit soon, but Iris just woke up and it’s kind of a terrible time to go on a vacation.” Barry smiled. “Yes, I’m sure mini-Diggle is the cutest thing in existence. And if she’s anything like her parents, quite possibly the most badass newborn of all time.” He paused, listening. “Yeah, soon, I promise….Love you too. Bye, Felicity.”

Barry slipped the phone in his pocket and turned back to his desk.

“So, who’s Felicity?” And the sight of Barry Allen’s shocked face outweighs any guilt she would’ve felt about listening in.

*

It took five blocks for Barry to finish gushing about his new long-distance girlfriend.

“And, Felicity’s great, and she’s supersmart, and I would’ve told you sooner, except that I couldn’t. Technically, I did tell you, you just couldn’t hear me, and you almost met the last time she came to Central City. I mean, she came with me to visit. And I realize now that sounds totally weird, but she’s great I promise. Even Caitlin liked her, and she was pretty strict about the ‘family only’ visitation otherwise.” He paused for breath. “Please say something.”

“I think she sounds great. If she’s half as great as you’re making her out to be, she’s still miles beyond all your other girlfriends. She certainly can’t be any worse than Beck-y Coo-per.”

“Oh, c’mon, that was eight years ago. Are you ever going to let that one go?”

Iris opened her mouth to make her clever retort, but before she could, she spotted a police car skidding on a patch of ice. Ice? In October? Before the weirdness of it all could sink in, she realized the squad car was veering onto the sidewalk and coming straight for Barry.

Iris knocked him to the ground, feeling a vague sense of déjà vu as she did. The police car crashed into the bridge behind him. She looked back at the road to see the suspect staring back at her. Mardon. The name flashed in her brain case Barry and her dad had been working on. She chased after the car and dove through the window, feeling the spray of glass against her skin. He reached for a gun, but Iris grabbed it from him before he could and whacked him across the face with it. Instinctively, Mardon slammed on breaks and the car skidded to a stop at the side of the road. Fog engulfed the street around her and filled the car. By the time it cleared enough for Iris to see anything, Mardon was gone.

*

Iris and Barry watched the police officer get loaded into the ambulance.

“I hope he’s gonna be okay,” Iris said.

“That was so weird. The fog, the ice. What were you thinking, chasing after him like that?”

“I was, uh, trying to see where he went so I could tell the police, since they were losing him.”

“Barry! Iris!” Joe jogged over to them.

“We’re fine, Dad.”

“What were you thinking having her out here like that?” Joe yelled.

“Out here like what? Walking down a public street?” Iris asked.

“You just got out of a coma, you do not need to be taking risks like that.”

“Risks like what? Like walking down the street accompanied by a friend?”

“Like jumping in front of runaway cars. I told you, if you see danger you run the other way!”

“And leave Barry to get hit by a car?”

Joe opened his mouth to argue, but realized he couldn’t. “You’re not a cop!”

“Because you wouldn’t let me!”

“Joe, we need to talk.”

“Not now, Barry.”

“Yes, now. Look, I’ve been trying to tell you about these cases for months.”

“Barry, don’t start with that ‘wide world of weird’ crap right now. I can’t do this with you today.”

“There was ice in the street, Joe! It’s sixty-five degrees out. There’ve been weather anomalies at each of these crimes.”

“It’s Clyde Mardon,” Iris said. Joe and Barry turned to face her. “I got a good look at him. It was him. He must’ve survived the plane crash.”

“Don’t you start too.”

“You said he was killed in the storm that night?” Barry asked. “But they never found the body, right? Because there was no body. He lived, and now somehow, he’s controlling the weather.” He waited for Joe to respond, and when he didn’t, Barry sighed. “Of course you don’t believe me. You never believe me.”

"You really want to do this? Out here? Fine. Mardon is dead. There is no controlling the weather, Barry. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night. It was your brain helping a scared little boy accept what he saw.

“My dad did not murder my mother.”

“Yes, he did! Your dad killed your mother, Barry! And I am sorry, son. But I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did. I have done my best to take care of you since that night, and I have never asked for anything in return, but what I do ask now is that you for once in your life see things as they are.”

Barry stare back at Joe for a moment before replying, “I do.” And with that, he turned and marched past Joe.

Iris sighed, watching him go. She turned back to her dad. “He’s telling the truth, you know.”

Eddie ran over to them, nodding a greeting to Iris before holding out a paper to Joe. "You're not going to believe this. We got the eyewitness sketch of the robber from the bank job. If I didn't know better, I'd say that's Clyde Mardon."

Chapter Text

“I talked to Barry. He said there have been cases popping up all over Central City for months. I’m not the only person with abilities, am I?”

Dr. Wells glanced back at Cisco and Caitlin. “We aren’t sure.”

“How are you not sure? Either I am or I’m not which is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

“The accelerator went active. We all felt like heroes, and then... It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, x-elements-”

“That sounds like a sci-fi movie,” Iris interrupted.

“And how exactly would you describe yourself, Ms. West?” Dr. Wells asked. He pointed to an image on the computer screen. “We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City. Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... Who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself.”

"Meta-humans?”

“That's what we're calling them,” Caitlin said.

“I met one today. He's a bank robber, and he can control the weather.”

“This just keeps getting cooler,” Cisco said excitedly.

Iris glared back at him. “This is not cool. He killed a cop, my dad’s partner and he’s getting away with it! He must have gotten his powers from the storm cloud, the same way I did. You’re gonna need me to stop him.”

“It’s a job for the police,” Dr. Wells said. “You’re no cop.”

“So I’ve been told,” Iris said. “But they’re not the ones who created this problem and they aren’t the ones who can stop it.”

“We cannot risk your life on this! Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world... Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines, treasures buried deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero! You're not a hero. You are just a woman who was struck by lightning.” He wheeled out of the Cortex.

Iris glowered angrily at his back until she was sure he was gone, then turned back to Cisco and Caitlin. “I don’t care what he says. I’m stopping Mardon. But doing it by myself is going to be harder. So do I have your help or not?”

Cisco’s face brightened. “I think I have something that might help.”

A moment later, she was staring at a bright red suit. “What is it?”

“It was designed to replace the traditional suit firefighters wear. I thought if STAR Labs did something nice for the community, maybe people would start to forgive Dr. Wells.”

Cisco shrugged. “No one’s been willing to try it out yet.”

“How’s it going to help me?”

“It can withstand extreme heat and friction, so it should hold up to your speeds, and the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control.

Caitlin walked in with a tablet. “I’m tracking weather anomalies around Central City. We got a ping at a farm west of town.”

“All right. Let’s do this.”

*

Iris arrived at the farm just in time to see a tornado bringing debris down on her dad and an unconscious Eddie. She plucked the flying door out of the air and threw it down with a strength that surprised her.

“Iris! The tornado’s picking up speed! If it keeps up it could become an F-5!”

“It’s headed straight for the city. What do I do?” Silence awaited her on the other end. “Cisco! Caitlin! How do I stop it?”

“If you ran the opposite direction around the tornado, maybe you could…unravel it? But it’s dangerous! Your body may not be able to handle it,” Caitlin said. “You could die.”

“A lot of other people could die if I don’t.” Iris took off running, as fast as she could. There was not turning back now.

“It’s working and the suit’s holding up!”

“But she isn’t!”

“She can do it!” Cisco said seriously. “I know she can.”

A spark of blue lightning hit Iris (it didn’t hurt any less than the first time) and a gust of wind blew her off her course. “It’s not working! The storm’s too strong!”

Suddenly a new voice piped up over Iris’s earpiece. “You can do this, Iris," Dr. Wells said. "You’re right. I created this problem. And a lot of people have been hurt because of me. But you’ve been made stronger. And you would’ve have received this gift if you couldn’t use it. So, run, Iris! Run!”

Iris took off with renewed strength. Mardon watched on in confusion as his tornado disappeared around him. As the last of it disappeared, Iris drew to a halt. To find Mardon had given up on supervillainy and returned to the classic “pull a gun when someone’s not looking” maneuver.

“I didn't think there was anyone else like me,” Mardon sneered.

“I'm not like you. You're a killer.”

Mardon’s finger clenched around the trigger. Iris prepared herself to run, but before he could fire, she heard a gunshot ring out from behind her and Mardon fell dead to the ground.

She whipped her head around. Her dad was running toward her, gun still raised, as if waiting for Mardon to rise from the dead like a horror villain. Which, considering everything they’d just seen, was probably fair.

“Iris?” Cisco’s voice crackled over the earpiece.

“Mardon’s down. Everyone else is fine.”

Joe stopped, staring at his daughter in disbelief. “That was…how did you…what…the lightning did that?”

“Kind of.”

“What I saw…There was lightning all around you just like-“

“Just like Barry said he saw when his mother died. I told you he was telling the truth.”

Joe shook his head. “Iris, you cannot tell him!”

“He deserves to know the truth! People have spent half his life thinking he’s a liar or insane! We have proof that he what he saw is possible, and you still want to keep that from him?”

“Baby, listen. Barry has been obsessing over this case ever since that night. If he finds out there’s a lead, he’s going to chase it.”

“He should.”

“This happening to you and whoever killed Barry’s mother? That’s not a coincidence. Whoever killed his mother was in his house for a reason that night. You tell him this now, and you are going to send him on a chase straight to a murderer with superpowers.”

For a second, the image of Barry lying cold and dead on the ground appeared in Iris’s mind.

“We can’t tell him Iris. Not until we know more. Not until we know a way to protect him.”

And part of her knew that not telling Barry was going to come back to bite her. But the fear of his mother’s killer coming back for Barry outweighed everything else.

Iris sighed. “Okay.”

*

Barry walked into Jitters accompanied by Cisco. Both looked a little surprised to see Iris behind the counter.

“You got your old job back!” Barry leaned in to whisper. “Don’t tell the new girl I said this, but her Americano’s got nothing on yours.”

Iris smiled, writing Barry’s name on the cup. “You’re the fifth customer to say that to me today.” She passed Barry his usual order and waited for him to settle at a table before turning to Cisco. “When did you two start hanging out?”

Cisco shrugged. “I don’t know. Somewhere around April when he and Felicity started asking for weird favors and we discovered a mutual love of Star Wars. Why, do you have a problem sharing best friend?”

“You think it might be a little harder to lie and sneak around superheroing when he’s hanging around STAR Labs?”

“I think it’s going to be hard to lie to him no matter what. But c’mon, you really think Barry’s going to jump to the conclusion that you’re the one running around saving the city? People tend to expect the people they know not to change.”

*

Dr. Wells stood before the monitors, watching the footage yet again. He watched the lightning bold destined for Barry Allen strike Iris West instead. “One way or another, I will have my revenge. No matter who I have to get it on.”

Chapter Text

Iris was done. She still couldn’t get the smell of smoke out of her hair. She was exhausted. She was hungry. And she was tired of waiting for Barry’s super-slow self to meet her at Jitters like they had planned, so she showed up at his lab instead, ranting as she went in. “’Write a scientific article,’ he said. ‘Expand your horizons. Prove you can write in any area.’ Guess what, Barry? Science is boring. I’m bored. I blame you.”

But Barry seemed to have heard none of her carefully planned speech. He was half lost in conversation on the phone and half caught up in his lab work. “Do they have any leads yet?...You didn’t? Why not? Never mind, stupid question. Is there anything I can do? …Yeah, I need to wrap up a case here, and I’ll get on a train to Starling. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What was that about?”

“A close friend of Felicity’s died.”

“Oh my God. I’m sorry.”

“She wanted to get a, um, second opinion. She said the cause of death seemed suspicious.” He shook his head to clear it. “You look nice. Why do you look nice?”

“The university is giving Simon Stagg some big award. You said you’d help me understand the scientific stuff for that freelance article I’m writing, remember? Because all the major publishers tend not to hire people who haven’t written anything in nearly a year and haven’t actually received their diploma yet because they didn’t submit their dissertations before getting struck by lightning. Seriously, making me wait till this December? So unfair. So you were going to help me sound smart, but relate everything so that even us non-nerds could understand?”

“Right. Sorry, I’ve been caught up in this really bizarre robbery case, and then Felicity called me. I just need to change and we can go.” Iris nodded and followed him out to the car. Waiting for Barry Allen with superspeed. Even worse than before.

*

Barry and Iris clapped politely as Simon Stagg finished his speech. “Well, his work in organ transplants sounds like it’s done a lot of good. But still – bored.” She reached for a champagne flute, which Barry took out her hand.

“Pretty sure journalists aren’t supposed to drink on the job.” Barry set the glass back on a table, but as soon as his back was turned, Iris picked it back up and guzzled it down, waiting for the familiar warmth to spread through her and was disappointed when it didn’t. She quickly downed another glass. Nothing. Crap.

Iris focused back in on Barry’s spiel about cellular regeneration, but was interrupted a moment later by the sound of gunshots ringing out. Barry pushed Iris behind him, and she resisted the urge to just grab him and superspeed away, instead settling for tugging on his arm to get him out of harm’s way.

A robbery. That’s all it was. Let the bad guys take their stuff, and no one would get hurt. Don’t make a scene. Trust the CCPD to do their job. Besides, she hadn’t exactly brought the suit with her.

The robbers were getting to make their way out the door, when a security guard with the world’s worst timing came out yelling, “Freeze!” The four gunmen turned back to face him. The security guard seemed to realize the flaw in his plan. “Dr-drop your weapons!”

And four bullets were headed straight for him. Iris ran forward, carrying the guard out of the building before chasing after the robbers. Before she could catch them, a wave of dizziness swept over her and she fell to the ground.

“Iris! Iris!” Barry’s voice brought her back to consciousness. “Thank God! You scared the hell out of me. What happened? One second you were there and then next thing I know you’re gone.”

“I ran after them to try and get the plates,” she answered. “I passed out.”

Barry nodded. “Okay, I’m taking you to STAR Labs.”

Iris started to protest, but she couldn’t very well fight crime if she passed out every time she ran after the criminals, so she let him lead her to the car and drive her to STAR Labs.

Barry wanted to stay with Iris, but she insisted he head back to scene, especially after he mentioned the similarity to the case they’d seen that morning.

Iris waited for him to leave before flatly asking Caitlin, “Okay, what’s wrong with me?” It didn’t take more than some quick bloodwork to figure out what had gone wrong. She was about to argue with Cisco that eating six hundred fifty tacos a day sounded insane and way too expensive for a barista’s income, when her father’s voice interrupted her.

“So I was investigating a crime scene, when Barry calls me to tell me that I need to get over to STAR Labs because Iris fainted. While she was at the crime scene I had gone to investigate. Where a security guard reported being whisked outside faster than a speeding bullet. Which actually coincides with a lot of strange cases about this red streak running around the city. Is there something you need to tell me?”

“You didn’t tell your father we’d been working together?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Dad, I can explain.”

“We’ve been through this, Iris. You are not a cop. You are not prepared to handle these situations.”

“Mm-hmm,” Caitlin murmured, earning annoyed looks from both Wests. “Don’t look at me,” she said to Joe. “I’m on your side.”

“Detective, we all want what’s best for Iris,” Dr. Wells said.

“If you wanted what was best for Iris, you’d try to talk her out of this lunacy instead of encouraging her to go out there and risk her life.”

“You saw a man control the weather? What are the police gonna do against someone like that?” Iris asked. “Since the accelerator explosion we suspect there may be more like him.”

“And you're gonna do what? Catch them? Are you insane? You think because you can run real fast that you're invincible? You're not! You're just a kid. My kid.”

“I’m not a kid anymore, Dad! And you can’t tell me how to live my life! You don’t know everything! You were wrong about Barry’s father and you’re wrong about this! I can protect people! I can save them! And I’m going to!”

Joe’s eyes fell on the other people in the room, and Iris was suddenly acutely aware of that this wasn’t a private conversation. “You say I don’t know everything? Neither do you. Any of you. You aren’t prepared for any of this. But I hope for everyone’s sake, you get it figured out real fast.”

Chapter Text

Iris stopped by Barry’s lab the next day, avoiding Joe even as she passed right by him.

“Why is your dad mad at you?” Barry asked.

“You noticed that, huh?”

Barry shrugged, turning back to his microscope. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Joe’s silent treatment often enough to recognize it. So, what’s going on -”

Iris ran around him, speaking too fast for him to hear. “You wanna know what’s going on? I’m fast now. I’ve been saving people. And you would think it was the coolest thing on earth! But Dad doesn’t want me doing it, and he doesn’t want me telling you. ” Iris stopped back where she had been standing.

“-with you two?”

“It’s nothing. He just raised an independent daughter who makes her own choices, and he’s mad that’s what he got.”

Barry’s equipment started beeping. He leaned over to check the results. “That's impossible.”

“What’s impossible?”

“There was a murder last night. These skin cells belong to the murderer, but these cells are naive. Stem cells that they can replicate and become any cell the body needs.”

“So?”

“So, these cells shouldn’t be in adult skin cells. Something strange is going on here.”

Strange. That was the keyword now. Iris pocketed one of the samples to take back to STAR Labs. “You’ll figure it out. I’ll see you later.”

“Later? You just got here.”

“Yeah, I know.” Crap. “Um, I just wanted to let you know that Caitlin said she’d help me out with the science for my article, so you’re off the hook.”

“You sure? I could still-“

“No, it’s fine. I’m actually on my way to meet her, so I’ll talk to you later.”

Iris had barely gotten downstairs when she saw most of the police force heading out in bulletproof vests. She stopped Captain Singh as he went by. “Captain! What’s going on here?”

Singh looked conflicted as he answered Iris. “Your dad and Detective Thawne went to Stagg Industries to speak to Simon Stagg. An armed gunman just fired shots. Stay here. I’ll call you when I know something.”

Iris waited for him to walk out before racing away and changing into the suit.

She arrived at Stagg Industries a moment later to find three identical gunmen firing shots at her dad. And they were getting closer. She disarmed them quickly and ran straight for Joe. “Go!”

“No,” Joe said stubbornly.

Iris rolled her eyes, and grabbed her dad, pushing him out of the building before he could protest. She ran back into the building. “Whoever you are, give yourself up.”

The man closest to her answered in a robotic voice. “Sorry. We are not going anywhere.”

“Until Simon Stagg is dead,” concluded all the men in a creepy chorus.

Iris rushed forward and began knocking the clones to the ground, but every time she did new ones would appear. Iris West was a fighter. Her father had taught her well. But there were too many of them. And they fought dirty. Soon they had had knocked her to the ground. Before she could recover, she had three guns trained on her. She gathered her strength darted out of the building.

*

“You got blood on my suit,” Cisco said accusingly while Caitlin tended to the abrasions on Iris’s face.

Iris shot Cisco a glare. “Good thing it’s red then. You can thank our not-so-friendly metahuman for that.”

“Danton Black,” Dr. Wells said. He's a bio-geneticist specialized in therapeutic cloning. Growing new organs to replace failing ones. Apparently Stagg stole his research and then fired him.”

“I saw Black create duplicates from his own body,” Iris said.

“That's pretty ironic,” Cisco said. “The guy specialized in cloning and now he can make xeroxes of himself.”

“If he was experimenting on himself when he was exposed to the dark matter wave released by the particle accelerator explosion—“

“Meet Captain clone,” Cisco concluded. Off the rest of the group’s annoyed look, he assured them, “Don't worry. I'll come up with something cooler.”

Iris turned and started out of the lab.

“Where are you going?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Dad was right. I'm in way over my head. Yeah, I'm fast, but I am no warrior. Man, I could barely fight one meta-human, let alone six.”

“Iris. I understand. Today was a setback. But any grand enterprise has them. And we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times.”

“This wasn't a grand enterprise, Dr. Wells. This was a mistake.”

*

Iris was just closing up Jitters when Barry walked in, looking super-excited. “Sure, ignore the closed sign.”

“Oh, come on. I need to show you something. It’ll pique your journalistic curiousity.”

Iris sighed. “Fine. But lay off the leftover cronuts. They’re mine.”

“Awfully demanding for the woman who’s constantly stealing my fries, but okay.” He set his computer on the table and pulled up a website. “I know this is gonna sound crazy, but just hear me out.”

“Is this about your blog again? Because I swear, Barry, if you show me that guy who talks to fish one more time…”

“All right, my evidence was a little shaky on that one, but this is different.” Barry started clicking through websites, all talking about a mysterious streak rescuing people throughout Central City. “She’s been spotted at a fire, bank heist, even the awards ceremony when the guard was almost shot. He said he was wooshed outside.” He looked back at Iris. “There’s someone out there saving people.”

Iris let out a shaky breath. “Barry, you’re a scientist. These sound more like science fiction.”

“Iris, I’ve been telling you what happened the night my mom was killed. I saw streaks and lightning. These witness are seeing the same thing. Maybe whoever this is can give me answers about what happened that night. Maybe she can tell me who killed my mother.”

I wish I could, Bear, Iris thought. Her phone ringing shook her out of her thoughts. She checked the screen and saw that it was STAR Labs. “Look, I told you I’m through,” she answered.

“I know. But you need to get to STAR Labs right now.”

Hearing the normally calm doctor sounding panicked sparked Iris into motion. She pushed Barry towards the door, forcing herself to move at human speed. “Sorry, I have to go. A friend needs me.” She locked the door and took off, rounding the corner and getting out of sight before he could stop her.

Barry sighed. “And my computer is still inside.”

Chapter Text

“Iris, it’s okay!” Caitlin insisted.

Iris stopped, staring at the unmoving Danton Black. “That’s not him, is it?”

“It’s a replica. I took the skin cell sample you brought me from Barry’s lab,” Caitlin said. “I wanted to see if I could trigger the in vitro cultivation process and learn how Black multiplies. So I exposed the target cells to a protein gel, and they began replicating...into that.

“Why isn't he... It doing anything?”

“We did a brain scan,” Dr. Wells said. “Involuntary motor functions are active, little else.”

“We think it's acting as a receiver,” Cisco said.

“The clones are an empty shell without Black,” Caitlin said. “Shut down the real Black, and you might shut them all down.”

“How do we know which one's the real Danton Black?

“That occurred to me given your own passing out,” Caitlin said. “Black has limits, just like you. Controlling all of those clones must require a tremendous amount of physical strength. So, look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue. He's the prime.”

“Just a theory... But one you might want to put to the test, Ms. West.”

“Plus, I whipped up these high- calorie protein bars for you to keep your metabolism up,” Cisco said.

“Any chance they taste like brownies?”

Before Cisco could answer, the clone started to move. Caitlin let out a scream, but two shots to the clone’s chest stopped him and made Caitlin scream again.

“Anymore of them?” Joe asked from the doorway, weapon still drawn.

“Nope,” Caitlin answered.

“Why did it start moving?”

“My guess is, the prime is on the move,” Dr. Wells said. “This one heard the summons to battle.

“And I know where he was summoned to,” Joe said. “Stagg Industries.”

“You should call it in,” Iris said.

“Police can't fight this,” Joe said. “What Black's become, like Mardon... it’s beyond me. The only person it's not beyond is you. You gotta do this. I get it. Go stop him.”

Iris smiled and rushed away to suit up.

*

Iris arrived at STAR Labs just in time to save Simon Stagg from getting a bullet to the chest. “Stay here!” she commanded.

She rushed back to Danton Black. “I know Stagg stole your research, but that doesn't give you the right to murder him.”

Black pulled the trigger. Iris dodged the bullet, watching it fly past her in slow motion before taking off, knocking out as many clones as she could find. She studied them, searching for the real one when another clone came up behind her.

“You think this is about my job,” one clone said. Iris rushed at him, pushing him into a wall and knocking the gun out of his hands. “This is about Elizabeth.”

“She was my wife,” said another clone from behind Iris. He fired shots and Iris went after him, knocking him to the ground.

“She had a degenerative coronary disease. She'd been on the transplant list for years, but... Time was running out.”

“You were gonna grow her one,” Iris finished.

“I was so close. Until Stagg stole my research. So he could reap the glory. And I got to bury my best friend. Now... I'm alone.”

Iris ran forward, knocking the speaker to the ground. That seemed to have pissed Black off because suddenly they were multiplying, coming at her too many to count. Sure, alone. With his dozens of clones. Who were punching and kicking Iris mercilessly. She gave a few quick punches to the clones closest to her and managed to break loose from the throng.

“Find the prime, Iris!” Caitlin called over the coms.

“There’s too many of them! It’s impossible!”

“Nothing’s impossible, Iris. You’re proof of that, baby,” Joe said.

Thousands of the clones were coming now. Too many to tell apart. It seemed impossible, but Iris was quickly learning that word was not meaningful as it had once been. She fought her way through the crowd, until finally at the back of the crowd like he’d been playing a game of chess, the real Danton Black. Iris plucked him out of the crowd and threw him against the wall, knocking him out. And immediately, she heard a sickening thud throughout the building. She looked around to see that the clones had fallen to the ground unconscious.

“Iris? Iris!” Her dad’s voice came over the ear piece.

“I’m fine. Everything’s okay. I got him.” All right, “fine” may have been overstating things a bit, but it was nothing an hour of rest and a hot bath wouldn’t solve.

And then Iris heard it. The sound of a supervillain rising back up after his supposed defeat. She dodged his attack, and Danton Black went flying through the window. She chased after him, catching his wrist before he could fall to his death.

“Hold on!” she yelled.

“No!” Black said, and a second hand grew out of his forearm, clutching Iris’s hand and pulling it off his own (disturbing on a number of levels). Iris’s reached out again for his hand, but gravity caught him before she could. She raced back down the stairs, trying to reach him before he hit the ground, but it was too late.

*

Iris sat in the living room, typing up her article on Simon Stagg. The tone of the piece had changed due to Danton Black’s involvement (no, Cisco, she was not going to be referring to him as Multiplex in her article), but she was still hoping she had something publishable. She heard the front door open, and called out “Hi!” to her dad.

“Pepperoni with extra cheese still your favorite?”

“As long as there’s plenty of it, I don’t care what’s on it.” She reached for a slice. “So, I’m assuming the pizza is the closest thing I’m getting to an apology for telling me not to go through with this crimefighting thing.”

“Eat your pizza.”

“I know you want to protect me, Dad, and I love you for that, but I’ve got to make my own choices now. I’m twenty-four years old.”

“You’re twenty-five.”

“Damn.” Stupid coma. Iris sighed. “I’m an adult. I’ve got to make my own choices. And these powers I’ve got, I can’t waste them. I have to use them, I have to help people. You can understand that, right?”

“You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

Iris laughed. “Yeah, I wonder where I get that from.” Her phone buzzed. Iris glanced at it and sighed. “Speaking of stubborn…”

“Barry post another update to his blog?”

“Well, that mysterious streak is sure getting around.” Joe shot her an annoyed glance. “Do I need to show you pictures of the cute little girl I saved from a burning building? ‘Cause I’ll do it.”

“I’m proud of what you’re doing, sweetheart, I am. I’m just worried.”

“About me or Barry?”

“I can’t worry about you both?”

“You can and do. You sure this wouldn’t just be easier…”

“Not now, Iris. Not until we have solid information we can give him.”

Iris nodded. Fine. She could wait. If it meant protecting Barry, she could. After all, she’d been protecting him since she was ten years old.

*

Simon Stagg’s arrogance had always been one of his more off-putting qualities, Dr. Wells thought as he listened to Staggs speech. “The woman in the red mask is the key. And I’m gonna get her.”

Dr. Wells pulled off his glasses. “The woman in the red mask? She’s called the Flash. At least, I think she will be,” Wells said, rising to his full height. “The future’s changing constantly. I’m actually very curious about how it’s all going to turn out.”

“What the hell?”

In response, Dr. Wells stabbed him in the chest. "Forgive me, Simon. I worry that you will think this is personal, and it's not. It's just that the woman in the red mask... The fastest woman alive... she must be kept... safe. I can’t risk anymore changes to the timeline.”

Chapter Text

“Central City’s finest coffee for Central City’s finest! “ Iris announced as she entered Barry’s lab, passing coffee to Joe, Eddie and Barry. And, yes, it was a gesture of appreciation for their hard work. It was also a chance to find out what the police had learned about the attempted armored car heist that morning. And see if there were any new bad guys she could track down.

“Can’t stay, Iris, got a case to follow,” Joe said, grabbing a coffee.

“Thanks, Iris,” Eddie said, smiling. Iris smiled back.

Joe seemed to notice the look. “Let’s go, partner,” he called.

The smile dropped from Eddie’s face as he hurried after Joe.

Barry smiled at Iris. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That was a moment.” Barry gestured back and forth between Iris and the open door. “Between you and Eddie.”

“There was no moment.”

“Kinda was.”

“And moving on…any new cases you’re just dying to talk about?”

“Our Red Streak has been very busy. She stopped an armored car robbery today.”

“Impressive.”

“Which brings me to something I wanted to talk about. You know my blog?”

“About the strange and wondrous things happening in Central City?”

Barry nodded. “I want to make it better. I thought partnering up with an actual journalist to write the posts might help it look a little more professional and help keep some of the crazier people off the blog.”

“I think as long as you’re blogging about impossible things, the crazies are going to keep on coming. And, I don’t know. I’d feel a little weird getting involved in your side project.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like I don’t know who those anonymous comments criticizing my grammar in the nicest way possible are.”

“You figured me out?”

Barry scoffed. “Please. When do you run into nice Grammar Nazis online?”

“Never,” called a voice from the doorway. “Grammar Nazis, weirdos, nerd rage…the internet is a very scary place.”

Iris turned to see a pretty blonde woman coming into the lab.

“Felicity!” Barry said, rushing over to her and kissing her.

Felicity kissed him back but pulled away quickly. She walked over to Iris, extending her hand politely. “Hi. Felicity Smoak.”

“Iris West,” she said, returning the handshake. “So you must be the mysterious new girlfriend Barry can’t stop talking about. I was starting to think you were fictional.”

“Nope, totally real. And it’s nice to meet you. I mean, while you’re awake. I’m glad you seem to be back to normal.” Felicity gestured towards the skylight. “This is where the lightning came in?”

“Yeah. You’d think I would stop coming here after that. I mean, it’s gotta be a sign, right?”

Barry shook his head. “Uh-uh. If I had to work here for nine months while you were in a coma, I think you owe it to me to keep visiting.” He turned back to Felicity. “Speaking of visits, what are you doing here? Does Oliver….” Barry glanced at Iris out of the corner of his eye. “Does Oliver need something?”

“Oliver? Who’s Oliver?” Iris asked.

Barry sighed. “Oliver Queen.”

“Oliver Queen? Like the Oliver Queen?” Iris slapped his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me you know Oliver Queen? And are apparently favor friends.”

Barry rubbed his shoulder. “Iris wanted to organize a search party when his boat went missing. She used to have a major crush on the badboy billionaire types,” he said, ignoring the death glare Iris shot him.

Felicity shrugged. “Mostly reformed badboy and no longer a billionaire.” She turned back to Barry. “And no, Oliver doesn’t need a favor. I got a new job, and my boss is kind of weird, but the good news is, the pay’s great, and he’s so desperate to keep me on staff that I can actually take a vacation after one week of employment. So, there’s that.”

Iris sensed a need to get out of the couple’s way. “You know what? I’m gonna go. Let you have some time to show Felicity the sights. But stop by the house for dinner tonight. I’d love to get to know you better. And I’m sure Dad wants to try out his patented Joe West Interrogation Technique on you.”

“Oh, he has,” Felicity said. “Twice.”

*

The doorbell rang at 6:30 just as Iris was putting a casserole into the oven. Iris pulled the door open. “Since when do you ring the doorbell? Or show up early?”

Felicity smiled. “He doesn’t. He had some work to finish at the station, so I told him I’d come over and give the two of us a chance to talk.” She held up a box. “I brought cupcakes for dessert.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure. Come on in.” Iris stepped out of the way. “Barry has a lot of great things to say about you.”

Felicity set the cupcake box on the table. “You, too. You were all he talked about for nine months. Now, all the Iris talk is mixed in with talk about his cases and that Streak that’s been running through the city. So, you’re still all he talks about.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s okay, Iris. I know. I know you’re the Streak.”

Chapter Text

Even by Iris West’s standards her heart was beating really fast. “How – how do you know that?”

“You’re not even gonna try to deny it? Thanks, I appreciate that. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. Iris West wakes up from a coma after being struck by lightning during freaky circumstances, and a few days later a woman starts running around town at superspeed accompanied by flashes of lightning. Really not that hard to figure out.”

Felicity shrugged. “Unless you’re Barry Allen. Then the girl next door stays the girl next door. He kind of has a major blind spot when it comes to you.”

“You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

Felicity shook her head. “No. It’s not my secret to tell. But if you think he can’t handle it, you’re wrong. Like, really wrong.”

“Has Barry told you? About his mother? What he really saw that night?”

Felicity’s expression softened. “He has.”

“I can’t tell him about this. Not until I can give him some answers about his mother.”

“I get that. It’s just that, in my experience, keeping secrets about family tends to end badly.”

Iris nodded. “You’re probably right. But I’d rather have him mad at me later, than running off halfcocked after some metahuman murderer. “

Felicity can’t help but agree. Barry, thoughtful crime investigator that he is, is still the man who played hooky from work and lied his way into an ongoing police investigation six hundred miles from home on the idea that it might be a bizarre case.

Iris sighed. “As much as I appreciate you taking this so well, why are you?”

Felicity smiled. “You’re not the first superhero I’ve come across.”

“I’m not?”

“Nope. More like fourth? Although, you are the first one with actual powers.”

“The Arrow,” Iris said as realization struck. “You work for the Arrow.”

“With,” Felicity insisted. “I work with the Arrow. Same way Caitlin and Cisco work with you.”

Iris sat down. Seriously? What hadn’t she figured out? “How do you know that?”

“It seemed like a pretty obvious conclusion. If you’re the Streak, and you don’t seem to be working alone, who are the most likely candidates to help? Since it’s not Barry, the people who work at STAR Labs seem like the next likely suspects. They certainly have the knowledge for it. And then I hacked into STAR Lab’s satellite and eavesdropped on your communications, so yeah, now I’m sure.”

“This is really not how I saw tonight going,” Iris said. “I really thought I’d spend the night asking deeply personal questions and giving you the third degree about your intentions with Barry.”

“You can still do that. But if I pass, can I come to STAR Labs tomorrow? And see your speed. ‘Cause I’m dying to see it in person.”

*

The next day Iris showed off her speed, while Felicity fangirled over meeting the great Harrison Wells, and Cisco fanboyed over being two degrees of separation away from the Arrow. Afterward, they met Barry at Jitters for coffee.

“My girlfriend and my best friend laughing and having fun without me. Why do I get the feeling there have been embarrassing Barry stories?” Barry asked, greeting Felicity with a kiss.

“Oh, there have been. Many of them,” Felicity replied.

“Okay, both of you know I have enough embarrassing stories on you both to last a lifetime.”

“Go ahead and try. I’m sure I’ll say more embarrassing things about myself than you could ever come up with,” Felicity said.

“And I have no secrets from Felicity,” Iris said. “Apparently.”

“You know, I’m gonna go call work, make sure everything’s okay.” Felicity said, stepping away to make her call.

“So does she really get the Iris West seal of approval?” Barry asked once she was out of earshot.

“Yes. She’s a little…unusual, but she seems to really like you. I took her to STAR Labs to show her around, and Caitlin and Cisco seemed to like her almost as much as you do. I think Cisco was just glad to have someone around who could understand his technobabble.”

“I understand it…most of the time,” Barry replied.

“Anyway, she seems to belong to you and Cisco’s very rare species of adorable nerds.”

Felicity popped back in, holding a flier. “Speaking of adorable nerds, there’s a trivia night tonight. Wanna team up? There’s caffeinated beverages on the line, and I could use a relaxing night out.”

Barry grabbed the flier from her hand. “Oh, look, they’re looking for teams of four plus.”

Iris shrugged. “So ask Cisco. He’s kind of the king of trivia.”

“I had someone else in mind.” Off Iris’s confused look, he continued. “Eddie?”

“Eddie? This doesn’t really sound like something he’d be interested in.”

“No, but you are.”

Iris shook her head. “No, Barry, I already told you, there was no moment.”

“He likes you. Besides, it’s been like a year since you went on a date.”

“Hey! Nine months of that does not count! And I would’ve had a date nine months ago, if I hadn’t canceled to go to your stupid particle accelerator. Which, damn, did anyone tell that guy what happened to me? ‘Cause he probably thinks I just blew him off.” Iris waved it off. “Whatever, he wasn’t that cute anyway.”

“And people say I babble,” Felicity muttered. “Eddie’s Joe’s partner, right? Tall, blonde and handsome?”

“Yes,” Iris said automatically, and then bit her lip. She could feel Barry’s smug smirk even as she avoided his eyes.

“Oh good. Then that is him ordering coffee,” Felicity said.

“Hey, Eddie!” Barry called.

Iris shot him a glare, thankful laser beam eyes weren’t one of her powers or she would have just murdered her best friend.

Eddie walked over. “Hey, Barry. Iris. I don’t think we’ve officially met,” he said, extending a hand to Felicity. “Eddie Thawne.”

“Felicity Smoak. We were just making plans to come to trivia night later, but we need a fourth. Wanna join us?”

Eddie hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m not usually that good at trivia.”

“Oh, come on,” Barry said. “It’ll be fun. Right, Iris?”

Iris pulled out her best fake smile. “Yeah. You should come.”

Eddie looked surprised, but nodded. “Yeah, I think I can make it. I’ll see you tonight.” He waved at the group with his coffee cup and walked out.

Iris turned back to Barry. “What happened to shy, nerdy Barry Allen? You barely ask out girls yourself, what are you doing setting me up?”

“I just think it could work.”

“He’s my dad’s partner. It’s not gonna work.”

Barry shrugged. “Find out tonight. If it doesn’t work, worst case scenario, you’re up seventy-five dollars in gift cards.”

“Yeah. At the place where I make coffee. Oh joy.”

Chapter Text

All right, fine, trivia night could have been going worse. E=MC Hammer had been in second place most of the night, mostly due to Eddie’s insistence on hitting the buzzer despite being the least nerdy person in the room.

“Sorry, I thought I knew that one.”

“It’s fine,” Felicity said. “Just save it for the sports trivia. Pride and Padawans are going down.”

And maybe they would have if Eddie’s phone hadn’t started buzzing right then. Eddie read the screen and sighed. “I gotta go. Snart’s been spotted downtown.” He smiled at Iris. “This was fun. We should do it again sometime.” He took off quickly.

“Snart?” Iris asked.

“Our armored car thief,” Barry said. “I better go too. They’ll need CSI soon.” He gave Felicity a quick kiss goodbye.

Felicity turned to Iris. “So I’m guessing the team has completely fallen apart?”

“Sorry,” Iris said, getting up from the table. “Duty calls.”

Felicity sighed. “Shame. I really think we could’ve taken those Padawans.”

*

Iris arrived on the scene in the midst of chaos. She ran forward just as Snart leveled a blast at Joe. She pushed him out of the way, getting hit in the ribs with the blast that sent her flying backwards, landing in a heap on the floor. A blast that hurt more than anything else in the past month had. What the hell?

“Are you okay?” Joe yelled.

“It burns,” Iris hissed.

Snart aimed another blast at Iris. She took off, letting the blast him the column where she’d been standing.

A sick grin came over Snart’s face. “Time for a test run!” he said. “Let’s see how fast you are.” And he began aiming at innocent people all across the theater. Iris ran, shoving people out of the way left and right, but the injury had slowed her down. She was barely able to reach them in time.

Iris heard a voice crackle over a walkie-talkie. She and Snart turned at the same time. A security guard was coming up the ramp towards Snart. He leveled a blast at the guard. Iris raced forward, trailing behind the blast, almost overtaking it, but not unable to reach the man first. She could only watch in horror as he fell to the ground.

“No!” she screamed. She reached the man, but it was too late. He had died instantly. “No,” she whispered.

*

“It's still numb,” Iris said, resisting the urge to poke at the damaged skin to test her statement.

“It's presenting itself like third degree frostbite,” Caitlin explained.

“I thought she had hyper healing?” Felicity asked.

“It's been slowed,” Caitlin said. “If your cells weren't regenerating at the rate they are, your blood vessels would have frozen solid and the nerve damage would have been permanent. You're lucky to be alive.”

“Snart wasn't a meta-human. He has some kind of gun,” Iris said. “It froze things, slowed me down... enough that I wasn't in time to save someone.”

“According to his record, Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?” Felicity asked.

“S.T.A.R. Labs built the cold gun,” Dr. Wells said.

“Dr. Wells and Caitlin had nothing to do with this,” Cisco said. “I built the gun.”

Iris shook her head in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Because speed and cold are opposites,” Cisco said. “Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level. When there's no movement at all, it's called absolute zero. I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero.” Cisco lowered his head guiltily. “I built it to stop you.”

“To stop me?”

“I didn't know who you were then, Iris. What if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?”

“When exactly did you make this, Cisco? When you handed me a suit and said ‘I know she can do it’? When you were sending me into burning buildings? When you and Caitlin were saving me from poison gas? What exactly have I done in the past month to make you think I was going to turn on people?”

Caitlin jumped in to Cisco’s defense. “We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up. In the wake of that, you can understand why Cisco would want to be prepared for the worst.”

“I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why you didn’t trust me. After all we’ve been through, I thought we were friends.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on Cisco’s face. “We are, Iris.”

“If you had just told me, I could have been prepared. But instead, someone died tonight.”

Cisco hesitated, biting his lip before speaking. “And I have to live with that.”

“No, Cisco. We all do.” Iris turned and walked away. She wanted to storm out of STAR Labs altogether, but she settled for heading to the treadmill instead. She had training to do.

*

Iris wasn’t sure how long she had run, but by the time Felicity worked up the courage to follow after her to the treadmill, she knew it was late.

“Iris! Iris!” Felicity called. “You’re exhausted. You're healing. You need to rest."

Iris slowed to a stop, breathless and dripping with sweat. “Last I checked, you weren’t my doctor.”

“No, but I’ve had enough experience playing doctor to know when someone needs to stop overthinking things and just go to bed.” Felicity shook her head. “And I mean ‘playing doctor’ as in providing medical care to the Arrow, so forget whatever alternate definition crossed your mind.”

Iris sat down. “I can’t. Stop overthinking things and go to sleep, I mean. I keep seeing that man in my mind every time I close my eyes. I was supposed to save him.” She sighed and stood back up. “I need to go faster.”

“Iris, this isn’t your fault. And it’s not Cisco’s either. I know your upset but you have to look at this from his perspective.”

“I have. He didn’t trust me. So much that he decided it was easier to break the laws of thermodynamics than to just talk to me.”

“Listen, I’ve been doing this superhero thing a lot longer than you. Building a team like this takes time. Trust takes time. You’re going to have missteps. All of you. And this is Cisco’s,” Felicity said. “But don’t give up on him yet. He’s trying to do the same thing we all do. Use his abilities for good.”

Felicity headed for the door, then stopped and turned back to Iris. “I’ve see firsthand what this life can do to people. It’s a lonely path. Don’t make it any lonelier than it has to be.”

Reluctantly, Iris followed Felicity back up to the Cortex.

“I figured out a way to track Captain Cold,” Cisco said.

“You gotta stop naming these guys,” Caitlin said.

Iris crossed her arms, but turned back to Cisco. “How?”

Cisco smiled, grateful she was at least looking at him again. “The cold gun is powered by an engine control unit, a microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratios so the sub-cooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and...”

“Explode?” Felicity said.

“Right. This E.C.U. was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet. If I boost the signal using Central City's network and send a false update, we'll get a ping back, and then... “

“We can locate Snart,” Dr. Wells said.

“How long will it take?” Iris asked.

“First I have to hack into the City's network, so I don't know, 30 minutes, maybe?”

Felicity grinned as she sat down at a computer station. “I can do it in less than one. When it comes to hacking, I'm the fastest woman alive.” She cracked her knuckles. “Ow! That was not as badass as I pictured,” she said, fingers flying over the keys. “All right, I'm in.”

Iris mouth dropped open, impressed and surprised. “Are you kidding?”

“All right, I'm sending the updates," Cisco said.

"We're connected," Felicity said. "Network is triangulating the location.”

“We got him,” Caitlin said. “He's heading west on Nelson toward the train station.”

“If he's leaving, it appears Mr. Snart may have gotten what he came for,” Dr. Wells said.

“When we put our minds to it, nothing can stop us,” Cisco said.

Iris rolled her eyes, but ran quickly to change into her suit. Once she had, she made a point of switching the earpiece off.

“You turned your ear piece off. How are we gonna talk to each other?”

“Oh, now you wanna talk?” Iris said. Before Cisco could reply, she had left STAR Labs.

Chapter Text

Iris caught up to the train easily enough. She broke through a window and landed in front of Snart. “If you wanted to get away you should've taken something faster than a train.”

“That's if I wanted to get away,” Snart sneered.” I've seen your weakness at the armored car, then at the theater. You care too much. See, while you're busy saving everybody, I'll be saving myself.” He aimed the gun. Iris instinctively flinched, but the gun wasn’t aimed at her. It was aimed at the floor. As she felt the car lurch to a stop she understood why.

Snart pried the doors to the car open as the train derailed. “Good luck with that,” he said as he jumped off the train.

So many people, Iris thought. But she felt the familiar burst of adrenaline and rushed forward, plucking people from throughout the car and moving them to a safe distance before going on to the other cars. She stumbled to a stop after emptying the last car, but fell quickly to the ground as she felt a blast hit her back, letting out a sharp yell as she did. She forced herself to roll over. She tried to get up, but her back and stomach were hurt worse than before.

“Pretty fast, but not fast enough,” Snart said. Ugh, great, Iris thought. We’re on to the villain monologue portion of our evening. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Iris hissed.

“You forced me to up my game, not only with this gun, but with how I think about the job. It's been educational.”

“Drop it,” came a steady voice from behind him. Iris and Snart both turned to see Cisco holding up a large weapon, with Caitlin and Felicity trailing behind him carrying its power source. “This is a prototype cold gun, four times the size, four times the power.”

Snart turned back to Iris. “I was wondering who you were talking to.”

“Hey, unless you want a taste of your own medicine, I'd back the hell up.”

“Your hands are shaking. You've never killed anyone.”

“You’re trying to kill someone I care about. Seems like a good time to start… Captain Cold.”

Snart smirked at the nickname.

“I will shoot you,” Cisco said, raising the gun higher.

“You win, kid,” Snart said, lowering his weapon. “I'll see you around.”

Cisco spun around, keeping the gun trained on Snart. “Hey, leave the diamond.”

“Don't push your luck,” Snart said without looking back.

Cisco watched Snart move out of sight before powering down his own weapon. “Couldn't shoot him if I wanted to. This is actually the S.T.A.R. Labs vacuum cleaner. With a lot of L.E.D's.”

Cisco reached for Iris’s hand, helping her break through the ice that had anchored her to the ground.

“Thank you,” Iris said.

*

A couple of hours and many hot chocolates later, Iris was starting to feel better.

Cisco, however, was still frustrated. “We've been trying to track Snart, but he must have disconnected the signal somehow.”

“We'll find him, Cisco,” Iris said. “Together.” Because nothing raises moral better than realizing your supposedly traitorous friend really does have your back.

“You have a great team here, Iris,” Felicity said. “But I should probably be getting back to my own.”

“Thanks for your help, Felicity,” Iris said. “I’m sorry I pulled you away from spending more time with Barry.”

Felicity shrugged. “He’s used to it. I’ve been pulled away for ‘work emergencies’ on more than a few of our dates. We’ll find time eventually.”

“Dating heroes sounds exhausting.”

“It can be. But it doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort. Which reminds me,” Felicity said, pulling a card out of her purse. “There’s no Jitters in Starling, so this won’t do me any good.”

Iris took the card. A twenty-five dollar gift card to Jitters. “How’d you win this? Seventy-five percent of the team ran off to fight crime.”

“I’m just that good,” Felicity said. “Or there were only like four more questions and I stuck around long enough to make sure we got our second place prize. I thought you and Eddie could use it.”

“I’m not dating Eddie.” “Okay. But if you were, keeping the home field advantage might be a good tactic. Just a thought.”

Iris smiled. “Bye, Felicity,” she said, reaching for a hug. Felicity returned it. “If you need my help, I’m just an internet connection away.” She turned and headed out of STAR Labs.

*

Iris arrived at the police station to find her dad and Eddie writing up reports on their experience with Snart. “So, Barry told me Snart managed to get away.”

Joe reached over to hug her. “Not without causing a hell of a train crash first. And trying to shoot your old man.”

“Oh my God. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Fortunately my partner had my back.”

Iris eyed Eddie for a moment. “Yeah, it helps to have partners you can trust.”

Joe dropped his voice to a whisper. “I heard the Streak showed up. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Dad. Or I will be by tomorrow.”

Joe nodded. “I’m going to go talk to Barry. See if he’s been able to track down the origin of that weapon yet. I’ll see you later.”

Iris nodded and let him go, deciding for Cisco’s sake not to tell her dad just now that Cisco’d been the one to create the weapon that could’ve killed his daughter. Instead, she walked over to Eddie. “I heard you saved my dad tonight. I wanted to say thanks.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Your job is having my dad’s back. I appreciate that. And, we won this,” Iris said, brandishing the gift card. “So how about I thank you with a cup of coffee that I didn’t make?”

Eddie glanced between the card and Iris in confusion. “Are you-are you asking me out?”

Iris shrugged. “It’s just a coffee. For it to be a date, there will have to be a trip to somewhere I don’t work. We can get coffee and then decide.”

“What about your dad?”

“He can get his own coffee.”

Eddie smiled. “Okay. Tomorrow, right? Because if I drink coffee now I'm never going to sleep tonight.”

Iris laughed. “All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Iris West would be the first to admit that her life was unusual, to put it mildly. But unusual reached a whole new level when your best friend caught you at a crime scene wearing a mask.

Of course, Barry didn’t know he’d found his best friend at a crime scene. All he knew was that he’d finally found the mysterious red streak he and Iris had been writing about.

But Barry wasn’t stupid. And mask or no mask, he’d recognize Iris if he got a halfway decent look at her.

So Iris did the smartest thing she could. Vibrated her face to a blur and got the hell out of there.

*

“When were you planning to tell me that Barry saw the Streak?” Joe asked.

“That wasn’t planned. We were at the same crime scene. He’s a crime scene investigator. It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Iris said.

“It’s more than that. He said you’re helping him with his blog now. Don’t you think he’s getting too close to this?”

“It’s Barry. He’s spent most of his life too close to this,” Iris said. “And if I’m working with him, I can…nudge his investigations in a safer direction.”

“You need to nudge him away from this one. He doesn’t need to be around the Streak, Iris. Whoever killed his mother? He’s still out there. And the more there is about you, the more likely that man is to see it. And when he comes for you, he’ll come for Barry too. And he can’t protect himself like you can.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to him.”

Joe raised his eyebrows.

“What, now?”

“You really want to give that boy time to think about what he saw last night?”

Iris ran to the police station.

*

“We don’t have enough proof for this story, Barry. We need to back off this one until there’s more evidence.”

“I saw her, Iris. She wears a red suit with a lightning bolt on her chest.”

“Barry, you were drinking last night. How sure can you be about this woman or her chest?” Ugh, I spent too much time with Felicity.

“I was drinking, not drunk. You had more shots than I did. There was a woman in a mask. I think she smiled at me.”

“If she was wearing a mask, she doesn’t want you to know who she is.”

“I don’t need to know who she is,” Barry said. “At least, not yet. Right now, the important thing is getting the truth out there. If I can get proof that there are people with superspeed out there, then maybe I can get someone to believe what I saw the night my mom was killed. Maybe I can finally help my dad.” Barry sighed. “You know how much I want answers about this. Why can’t you be more supportive?”

“I just don’t know how much an anonymous blog is going to be taken as proof,” Iris said.

“My whole life, you’ve been willing to believe these impossible things I’ve been telling you and now that it’s actually happening here, you’re telling me there’s not enough proof? That doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know what’s going on with you lately, but until you’re ready to actually write this blog with me, instead of stopping it, I guess I’m on my own.”

*

It was nice to meet another metahuman who wasn’t a supervillain, even if she had almost blown Iris up. Bette San Souci was struggling with her powers, just like Iris was. It was good to have a friend who understood what you were going through. Iris was enjoying helping her train when she got the phone call from her dad.

“I see your little conversation with Barry was a rousing success. He just posted another story about the Streak.”

“Dad, I tried. Really, but you know how stubborn Barry can be.”

“He put his name on it, Iris. If the man who killed his mother sees this…”

“Oh, God.”

Joe sighed. “I just wanted you to know. Bye.” He hung up before Iris could say anything else.

“What was that about?” Cisco asked.

“Barry posted about the Streak again. He put his name on it.”

“That’s not good. If one of these bad metahumans finds out a cop is writing about them…”

“It’ll put a target on his back, I know. Believe me, I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

*

This was terrible plan. Showing up at Barry’s apartment like this and certainly a violation of the terms they’d agreed on when he’d given her his spare key, but Iris didn’t see where she had a lot of options. It was here or the police station, and a vigilante strolling into a building full of cops in costume sounded like an invitation to get arrested, no matter how fast she moved. Or at the very least, to piss off her dad.

So here she was standing in his living room when Barry arrived home.

“Oh my God. You’re her.”

Iris spoke with a voice that sounded nothing like her own. “Barry Allen. I hear you’ve been writing about me.”

“You are real.” He glanced around, noticing the state of his apartment. “I’ve been meaning to clean up, let me just…” he reached some clothes that were lying on his couch.

“Or we could go someplace else. Meet me on the roof.” And with that, Iris took off out the open window.

A few minutes later, Barry caught up to her, panting.

“I need you to stop writing about me,” Iris said from a dark corner of the roof.

“I need people to know the truth. What you can do, the people you’re saving. People need to know they have someone helping them. I have so many questions. Where are you from?”

Iris raced to another corner. “I can’t tell you.”

“Who are you?”

“You do know the point of a mask, right?”

“Better than most. How can you do what you do?”

Iris ran to a ledge on a higher section of the roof without answering.

“You are the least cooperative superhero I’ve ever met.”

“There’s more to this than you can understand. Please just trust me. I need you to stop.”

“Can you stop? Stop running into buildings and saving people in a flash?”

“I’m not doing this for the glory.”

“No. Heroes never do.”

Iris turned her back on him, not able to stop the smile that came across her lips as her best friend called her a hero.

“I’ve been searching for someone like you for most of my life,” Barry said, inching closer, afraid she’d take off again if he moved too quickly. “When I was a child, I saw my mother killed by something impossible. My father went to prison for her murder. And for years, I’ve been telling people that I saw a man surrounded by lightning kill my mother. Shrinks analyzed me. Kids at school laughed at me. My foster dad told me that what I saw was just my brain’s way of blocking out the trauma. Until recently, only one person has ever believed me.” Barry moved closer. “Then you came along. You are proof that people like the man I saw exist. Proof that I’m not crazy.” He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. “Please. Help me save my father.”

Iris reached a hand up to the one resting on her shoulder, not turning to face him. “I will.” And she raced away down the edge of the building.

*

“If you came to do laundry, I already have a load in,” Iris said as she heard Barry enter the house.

“No, actually, I came to talk to you.” Barry sat down in the chair next to Iris. “Singh found out about my blog. He asked me to take it down. He said he can’t have anyone in his department writing about the strange things going on in this city, whether they were related to ongoing investigations or not. I told him I couldn’t take it down because not all the pieces were written by me. So he requested I take down the pieces with my name on them, and told me I should let my partner take over the blog.”

“Barry, this is your project, I don’t know if I’d feel right doing it without you.”

“I met her, Iris. She’s real. I – I touched her. For years you have been the only person who believed me about the things I’ve seen. I need you to believe me now. You’re the only one that I can trust to make sure the truth actually gets out there. You were right. An anonymous blog is not going to help anything. But a journalist writing this, someone who didn’t talk about bizarre cases until now. People might actually believe her. I need people to believe in this if I’m going to save my dad. Will you help me?”

Iris stared at Barry, the feeling of déjà vu overtaking her. “I will,” she said.

Barry’s eyes locked with hers, and for a second she wondered if there was a flicker of recognition there. But Barry only nodded, whispered a “thank you,” and then headed back out into the night.

Chapter Text

To understand what I'm about to tell you, you need to do something first. You need to believe in the impossible. Can you do that? Good, because if you can’t, this world is going to be a lot harder for you to accept.

Strange things have been happening all around us. Things that even the most brilliant minds struggle to comprehend. One thing’s for certain: the war between good and evil has gotten a lot more complicated. Criminals aren’t content to stick with traditional weapons. Supersoldiers, ice guns, earthquake machines and yes, even men who turn to poison gas. The world’s a scarier place than it was five years ago.

But there is good news. Despite the people bringing harm to this world there are others trying to bring justice. Our officers and firefighters who struggle to protect out cities just like they always have and new heroes. Those who put on masks to save the places and people that we love. Even though they choose to remain in the shadows, their good work is still noticed. To all of you doing your part in this fight, I want to say thank you.

Iris stared at the screen a long moment. Was her post too self-involved? She hadn’t technically mentioned the Streak (and God, did she want to change that name), but everyone in Central City would know that was one of the heroes she referenced. But then again she’d thanked the local law enforcement and referenced the heroes in Starling City too.

Maybe taking over this blog was a bad idea.

Iris sighed. No, she’d told Barry she would do it. She hit “post” and stared at the hit counter, waiting for a change. After a few moments, the views slowly began to rise and a new comment notification appeared in the right hand corner. She clicked to open it.

BHAllen89 says:

Great article, Iris!

And to you know who, if you’re reading this, can we meet tonight? Same place as last time. I’ll be waiting.

Damn. Let it never be said that Barry Allen wasn’t persistent.

Iris grabbed her phone.

Are you stalking my blog now? I literally just hit send.

A few seconds later, the reply came.

It’s still set to my email address. I get notifications of changes to the site.

Okay, she was gonna have to fix that soon.

And using the comments section to send messages to your superhero friend?

She didn’t exactly give me her number. It was this or set a fire and wait. This seemed less likely to get me arrested by my own boss.

Iris rolled her eyes. Yeah. Probably better to get this over with.

She suited up and raced over to Barry’s apartment building, where Barry sat in a folding chair on the roof.

“Wow, that was fast,” Barry said, standing up. “Not that I didn’t expect you to be fast, I just really wasn’t sure you’d keep reading after you told me to stop writing.”

“You said you needed to talk to me,” Iris said, distorting her voice. “Or were you hoping to meet Lord Voldemort on the roof tonight?”

Barry’s eyes lit up. “You’re a Potter fan?” He shook his head and gestured towards Iris’s costume. “What am I saying? Of course you are. Red and gold, lightning bolt.”

“I didn’t come here for book club,” Iris said. “And when I told you to stop writing about me, I didn’t mean to just hand the reins off to your friend.”

“Yeah, but that was a good article, right? I mean, I know she didn’t mention the Streak by name-“

“Thank God.”

“What you don’t like the name? I thought it had pizzazz.”

Iris rushed to another corner of the roof. “Says the guy who uses the word ‘pizzazz.’”

Barry raised his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. She can think of something else. Or you could just tell me your name.”

“I’m not telling you my name.”

“Well, I’ve got to call you something. Mildred?”

“Do I look like a ninety-year-old woman to you?” Iris hurried to another section of the roof. “Wait, did you pick that one just ‘cause it had ‘red’ in it? How long have you been saving that joke?”

“Since I realized I wasn’t getting your actual name from you. And since I’m not getting that, care to share any other info? Hobbies, interests, favorite foods?”

“I didn’t come for an interview. I came because I thought you needed me. If you don’t, I should go.” Iris turned towards the ledge.

“Wait! I’m sorry!” He stepped closer. “You said you were gonna help me. Have you found anything about the man who killed my mother?”

“Not yet,” Iris said, her voice shaking more than usual. “So far, I’m the only speedster I know about.”

“Speedster?”

“Seemed appropriate.”

“Maybe I should call you Porsche.”

Iris laughed and the distortion made it sound creepy to her own ears. “No. I’m much faster than that.”

A siren blared in the distance. Iris and Barry both turned towards the skyline, searching for the lights.

“Gotta run,” Iris said, stepping over the ledge and racing gravity to the bottom.

Barry ran to the ledge, watching the streak of golden lightning zigzag across the city. “Gone in a flash once again,” he muttered. He grabbed his chair and started to head back inside, then paused. “Flash. Huh.”

Chapter Text

A car chase. Pretty typical crime or so it seemed. Until the jackass in the yellow Humvee made no effort to avoid running over a kid who was crossing the street. Iris sped him out of the way, just in time.

Eddie stepped into the Humvee’s path, firing shots at the driver…who didn’t even slow down.

“What the hell?” Eddie said, shocked motionless in the road as the driver barreled through the police barricade.

“Eddie!” Joe shouted, shoving his partner out of the way.

Okay, now it’s personal, thought Iris as she sprinted past the truck, knocking his sideview mirror off for good measure. Insurance would cover it for the owner anyway.

Iris stopped in front of him at a dead end. “Get out of the car,” she said in her most authoritative tone.

“If you insist,” the driver said. He stepped out and suddenly Iris realized that she’d seen the guy before.

Tony? she thought. She didn’t have much time to question it as he ripped the door off its hinges and flung it at her. She ducked down, the door embedding itself in the fence behind her.

“I don’t normally fight girls, but for you I’ll make an exception.”

“And I don’t normally fight douchebags, but – no, wait, that’s wrong. I exclusively fight douchebags.” She drew back a fist and flew forward with a swift right cross – and felt the pain radiate all the way to her shoulder as she heard more than one bone crack. She watched his hand transform to metal and then he backhanded her across the face.

Iris went flying, landing hard on the pavement. She started to push herself up, but then he was there, hovering over her.

“I’d stay down if I were you. I’d hate to cause any more damage to that beautiful body of yours.”

With a final burst of energy, she rose from the ground and took off toward STAR Labs, where she collapsed inside the Cortex.

“Iris?”

“Iris! Oh my god, are you okay?”

No, of course she wasn’t okay. What the hell kind of doctor couldn’t tell that the bleeding, semi-conscious woman on her floor was not okay?

Cisco and Caitlin helped her to a bed, where Caitlin checked her injuries.

“Thirteen fractures,” Caitlin announced. “That's a new record, and that's just in your hand. You also have a concussion, three cracked ribs, and a bruised spleen. Even with your powers, you'll need a few hours to heal.”

“What exactly did you hit?” Dr. Wells asked.

“A man. And then the pavement,” Iris said, struggling to sit up, which only earned her a stern doctor glare from Caitlin. “He was a metahuman. When I hit him, his skin changed to metal.”

“You went after a metahuman alone?” Cisco asked. “Why didn’t you call us?”

“I thought I was going after a carjacker,” Iris said.

“You’re lucky he didn’t knock out your teeth,” Cisco said. “Those puppies don’t grow back.”

“Yeah, real lucky,” Iris muttered. Wait, maybe she was. “I recognized the guy. I went to school with him. His name’s Tony Woodward.”

“Cisco, dig up everything you can on Tony Woodward,” Dr. Wells said. “Miss West, let your father know you’re staying here tonight. Rest. Heal.”

*

Iris entered the police station the next day, hoping Barry had managed to get some intel on Woodward that STAR Labs could use to track him down.

She ran into Eddie first. “Hey, Eddie, how are doing?”

“I shot a guy in the head last night, and then he tried to run me over. So, confused?”

Iris shrugged. “That makes sense. Want me to buy you lunch? I promise it won’t be interrupted by carjacking potential zombies.”

“No.”

Iris was taken aback, but she managed to keep the smile on her face. “Okay, right, you’re busy, so I’m just going to go talk to Barry, and-”

“No, I don’t mean no to lunch. I mean no to these little not-quite dates we keep going on. We obviously like each other. Dinner, tonight. Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up at Jitters.”

Iris smiled. “What, Detective? You won’t pick me up at home like a real gentleman?”

Eddie’s face grew serious. “I’d like your dad to continue trying to keep me alive, so no.”

“Seven o’clock. Jitters. It’s a date.” Iris checked her watch. “And I need to go talk to Barry real quick.”

“No publishing details of an ongoing investigation, Iris,” Eddie called as she walked away.

Iris turned and smiled back at him, then held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor, Detective.”

“Okay, tell me everything you know about this unstoppable carjacker,” Iris said, stepping into Barry’s lab.

“Nobody’s unstoppable. Although, he might come close. You’ll never guess who it is. Tony-”

“-Woodward.”

Barry’s face fell. “Oh. I guess you could.” He passed Iris a photo. “Security camera caught him robbing three ATMs after he jacked the Humvee. He’s been off the radar for ten months. Looks like he’s making up for lost time.”

“Ten months, huh?” Sounded about right.

“Yeah. I can’t wait to bring him in.”

“Still holding a grudge?”

"This is the guy who beat me up almost every day in fifth grade. So yeah, I am still holding a grudge.”

“Well, good luck tracking him down. Maybe I can spread the word on my blog to be on the lookout for him?”

“Yeah, sure. Just keep the details of his bulletproof forehead to yourself for now, okay?”

“Hey, I’m not the one leaking details of a police investigation to the press, blabbermouth.”

*

“So Barry’s childhood nemesis is an unstoppable metahuman? That sucks,” Cisco said.

“I had a childhood nemesis,” Caitlin said. “Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair.”

“Jake Puckett,” Cisco said. “If I didn't let him copy my homework he'd give me a swirly.”

They turned expectantly to Iris.

“What? No one bullied me. I was nice, my dad was a cop, and I hit really hard. People knew not to mess with me.” Iris sighed. “At least until now, when I go up against unbreakable guys who can kick my ass. What are we gonna do about him?”

“Glad you asked. We’re gonna train you. Karate Kid style.” Cisco led the way to a metal humanoid contraption. “Behold! I call him Girder.”

“I know how to fight, Cisco,” Iris said.

“No, you knew how to fight. As a tiny, normal girl…woman. But this, this is superpowered combat. Super strength versus super speed. You have the power to take him down. You just have to channel your speed the right way.”

“I have ice and bandages standing by.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Caitlin.”

Cisco grabbed a remote control. “Now obviously your Girder is a moving target, so…” The machine began to lurch from side to side, throwing punches. Avoiding the punches was no problem. But when Iris started throwing punches at the robot, the metal didn’t yield. She threw out a right cross and suddenly the machine shifted forward, slamming a metal fist into Iris’s shoulder, throwing her back to the ground.

“Pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder,” Iris groaned.

*

After Caitlin had fixed her shoulder, Iris was relieved call the training session short for her shift at Jitters, where the espresso machine might have been a pain in the neck, but had so far never physically attacked her. She was in the middle of making a nonfat soy latte when she heard a voice call out her name.

“Iris! Long time, no see.”

She turned towards the door to see Tony strolling in.

Crap.

Chapter Text

“I gotta say Iris, you look amazing.”

“Yeah,” Iris said trying to hold in the shudder of revulsion that went through her. “You too.”

Tony didn’t pick up on Iris’s complete lack of interest. “I got a gym at my place. Been living out in Keystone on the West Side, and you should, uh... you should stop by sometime.”

“So, uh, can I get you a drink? To go?”

“No, I came to see you.”

“How did you know I was here?”

“I've been reading up on The Streak.”

Crap. Had he figured it out?

“Found your little blog. Why are you writing about this chick?”

“She’s a hero.”

“I say she's a coward, and I happen to know that she got her ass kicked last night and ran off like a scared little girl. You should write about that. Do you have any idea who she is?"

“Haven’t actually met her.” Technically not untrue. Can’t meet yourself. “So, um, if you don't want a drink I should probably get back to work.”

“Actually I'd prefer to buy you a drink. What time you get off?”

Iris reached into the pocket of her apron, dialing her dad’s number by memory. “Thanks, Tony, but I already have a date tonight. With a detective. He works with my dad. And Barry.”

“Allen’s a cop?”

“CSI. He’s been following an interesting case. Some guy who seems bulletproof. But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Tony smirked. “Give me the phone, Iris.”

Iris gripped the phone a little tighter. Just how would he react if she took off running right now?”

“Now!”

Iris startled at the harshness of his voice. She passed the phone to him. His fist turned to metal as he squeezed the phone tighter, crushing it.

Tony dropped it in the tip jar, along with a roll of bills. “I’m sorry. For the damage.”

Iris watched him head out before moving behind the counter. She grabbed the landline and dialed her dad’s extension at the precinct. “Tony Woodward was just here.”

“What? Did he suspect anything?”

“No. He was here because I blogged about the Streak. He told me he had a place in West Keystone. Do you know where that might be?”

“Barry and Eddie found out he used to work at Keystone Ironworks. Which closed down ten months ago. Turns out the reason Tony fell off the radar was because he fell into a vat of molten metal.”

Iris sighed. “Let me guess. The night of the particle accelerator explosion?”

“Got it in one.”

“I’m gonna check it out.”

“You can’t. Barry and Eddie are already there.”

Of course they were. “Okay, fine. I’ll head over after they clear out.”

Iris hung up and got back to work, waiting for Joe to let her know Barry and Eddie had left. It was hours later before Joe called back.

“Hey, Dad. Did they find anything?”

“Iris,” Joe said, sounding exhausted, “Tony found them at the Ironworks.”

“What?”

“He knocked Eddie out and took Barry.”

“Oh, God.”

“Why would he take Barry?”

“The Streak. Tony was looking for…her. He read my blog.” Iris sighed. “Barry asked to meet up with her again in the comments. Tony must have seen it. He’s using Barry to get to her.”

“Do you think he’s gonna hurt him?”

Flashbacks to elementary school played in Iris’s mind. Tony had certainly had no qualms about hurting Barry then. His moral compass didn’t exactly seem to be pointing true north now. “We’ll find him, Dad. Nothing’s gonna happen to him. I’m going to STAR Labs now.”

Iris raced to STAR Labs. “He took Barry,” she said, entering the Cortex. “Get everything you can. Satellites, security cameras. If you can’t hack into them, call Felicity.”

“Relax, Miss West. We’ll find Barry,” Dr. Wells said.

“And if we do? I lost the first time. I didn’t even try to fight him when he showed up at Jitters. Maybe if I had…”

“You would have risked revealing your identity and endangered civilian lives. You did the right thing, Iris,” Dr. Wells said.

“We still don’t have a way to stop him.”

“Maybe we do,” Cisco said. “Joe got me a metal sample Barry dug up at the first crime scene. Based on its density and atomic structure, if you impact it at just the right angle, at just the right speed, you could do some serious damage.”

“How fast would I have to go?” Iris asked.

“Factoring in the metal's tensile strength, estimated dermal thickness, atmospheric pressure, air temp, you'd have to hit him at approximately... Mach 1.1.”

Caitlin’s jaw dropped. “You want Iris to hit something at 800 miles an hour?”

“837, actually.”

“That's faster than the speed of sound.”

“I know. She would create a sonic boom, which, as I've said before, would be awesome.”

“I've never gone that fast.”

“Yet,” Dr. Wells said.

“I can't believe we're actually entertaining this idea,” Caitlin said. “I mean, she'd need a straight shot from miles away.”

“What do you want me to do?” Iris said hotly. “Leave Barry alone with a metahuman psychopath?

“Five point three miles, theoretically,” Cisco said. “Do it right, you'll take him down.”

“Do it wrong, you'll shatter every bone in your body,” Caitlin said.

“It’s Barry. I have to try.”

*

“CCPD is not going to take kindly to you kidnapping one of their own,” Barry said, ignoring the pain that radiated up his arm as Tony shoved him through the door to their old elementary school. “You’d be better off leaving me here and making a run for it.”

Tony scoffed. “Running away? That’s more your style, right, Allen?”

“It beats living in the past. What do you want from me, Tony?”

“It’s not you I’m interested in. It’s your little leather-clad girlfriend.”

Barry paled. “She’s not gonna fall for your trap. She’s not stupid.”

“She seems to have an interest in you. Not the smartest decision she could make.”

“What do you want with her?”

“Your friend Iris has been writing about her. I beat the Streak, and the whole world’s going to see what I can do.”

“That’s what this is about? Fame?”

“I want to get what I deserve.”

Barry nodded. “I can understand that. And you know what? I think you’re going to.” He reached for the fire alarm beside Tony’s head and pulled. The bell rang throughout the building.

Tony grabbed Barry's arm and threw him into the lockers, his head slamming against them. “Stay down, Allen.”

*

“Fire alarms going off at Carmichael Elementary,” Cisco said.

“That’s where Barry and I went. And Tony,” Iris said.

Cisco pulled up the security camera feed on his computer and pointed. “He’s there. And Barry doesn’t look like he’s doing so hot.”

Iris nodded. She changed into her uniform and took off for the school.

Tony stood over Barry, taunting him. “You never could put up much of a fight, Allen.”

“Good thing I can,” Iris called out in her distorted voice.

“You came to save your little fanboy?”

“This is between us. Let him go.”

“No. I’d rather let him watch while I break every bone in your body.”

Iris dove forward, ducking under his punch and sliding through Tony’s legs to the spot where Barry lay. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, although Iris thought his speech sounded a little slurred.

“Stay here.”

Iris stood back up. She ran back over to Tony, who took a swing at her, but she ducked underneath his arm and aimed a swift kick at his back. “Too slow.”

Tony threw a few more punches, which Iris was able to avoid, sending Tony punching the wall instead.

“This is pathetic. A grown man, still picking on the same kid after all this time. You get all these powers, and that’s what you want to do with your gift? Bully and steal? That’s all you could come up with?”

Iris grabbed the flag pole that stood next to her and swung it at Tony, catching his face but pissing him off more than causing any damage. His face changed to metal as the pole hit him, and he caught the end of it, swinging Iris back and forth into the lockers on either side of the hallway.

As if from a long distance, she heard Barry scream “No!”

There was only one way she could save him. Iris pushed herself off the ground and took off running out the double doors at the end of the hall.

Tony turned back to Barry. “There goes your hero.”

Iris stopped short as she reached the end of a street. “Cisco! Is that far enough?”

“Yes! Go for it!”

Iris turned and darted back down the street, seeing but not hearing the glass that shattered in her wake. She broke down the double doors as she ran back into the school, soaring through the air, her punch colliding with Tony’s jaw before they both fell to the ground, followed by a loud bang echoing around them.

“Super sonic punch, baby! WOOOO!”

God, she needed to remind Cisco that the comms device was right in her ear. Which she would. As soon her hand stopped throbbing.

But then she heard something else. Tony, rising back to his feet. Before she could figure out how she was going to hit him again, with what was almost certainly a broken hand, Barry had struggled to his feet and hit Tony in the exact same spot she had. Tony stumbled back to the ground.

“I have been waiting to do that for fourteen years!” Barry yelled, clutching his hand. “And now I need a doctor.

“Yeah, me too,” Iris mumbled from her spot on the floor.

*

Iris headed straight for Eddie’s desk at the precinct. “All right, one of these days, you and I will have a date that is not coffee. And there will no supervillain interruptions.”

“Agreed. But don’t you think you’re saying that a little loud? Your dad could be back over here any minute.”

Iris glanced around the room. “Then I better make this quick.” She cupped her hand around his cheek and leaned forward, her lips meeting his. Eddie’s eyes widened in shock, but a second later he was rising out of his seat just a little, eager to meet her kiss. After a moment, Iris pulled away. “I don’t usually kiss on the first date. So considering how slim the chances of us getting to a second date are, I figured I’d better go ahead and give you the preview.” She straightened back up just in time to hear her dad calling out her name.

“He knows,” Eddie whispered.

“How’s Barry doing?” Iris asked.

“Just sprained his wrist," Joe said. "Said he wanted to talk to you. He thought it would make a great story for your blog. He tried to call, but…”

“But a supervillain smashed my phone. Add that to the list of sentences I never thought I’d say. I’m gonna go talk to him.”

“Okay, I’ll see you at home.”

“Bye, Dad. Detective Thawne.”

Iris entered Barry’s lab. “So, I hear you fulfilled your childhood dream of punching Tony Woodward in the face. Was it everything you hoped for?”

Barry smiled. “In the fantasy version it hurt less, but yeah, it felt pretty good.”

“Since when can you throw a punch? I’ve been sparring with you for years and my record’s spotless.”

“Oh, a, um, friend of Felicity’s taught me. Ex-military. He seemed to think it might be useful.” Barry held up his bandaged hand. “He wasn’t wrong.”

“All right, tell me all about it. I know you can’t wait to see this online.”

“She was amazing, Iris. I mean, I’d met her a couple of time before, but actually watching her in a fight...I can’t describe how cool it was. Tony never stood a chance. She appears and disappears in a flash.”

“A flash?”

“Yeah.”

“I like it,” Iris said.

“Yeah, me too.”

*

Joe sat in his living room, files from Nora Allen’s murder scattered across the table. All the evidence, Barry’s account, things that had sounded impossible until his own daughter had gained the exact powers Barry had talked about. He finally had the pieces to the puzzle. He just had to put it together.

And then the house went dark. Joe reached for his gun, but a whirlwind of red lightning knocked it out of his hand. In the lightning, he could make out a humanoid shape. A man dressed in yellow, with glowing red eyes. The man pushed Joe back. Joe heard glass shatter and things falling all over the room and within a few seconds, it was done.

Lamps lay on the floor. Books were scattered across the room. And the table lay empty; the files were gone.

Joe surveyed the room, looking for some kind of proof that what he’d seen was real. And he found it.

A message carved into the wall. Stop or else.

And underneath, his favorite photo of Iris and Barry, with two knives through their chests pinning it to the wall.

Chapter Text

It has now been 311 days since lightning struck.

Iris checked herself in the mirror for the tenth time. The green dress looked great, but something was missing. Maybe those over-the-knee boots she never wore anymore.

They were totally impractical for running, but she shouldn’t need to run tonight. She had a date. With Eddie.

She jogged down the stairs.

“Hey, you’re looking nice. What’s the occasion?”

“I, um, have plans with Caitlin tonight. We’re going to this karaoke bar.”

“You look a little overdressed for karaoke.”

“Yeah, well, Caitlin wears dresses and heels just to work with me and Cisco. Who knows what her going out clothes look like. Don’t want to look like a slob next to her.” She kissed her dad on the cheek. “I’ll be late. Don’t wait up.”

“Not making any promises.”

Iris headed out the door, walking a few blocks away. It wasn’t like she liked lying to her dad. She was going to tell him the truth. Eventually. Once she knew that whatever she was doing with Eddie was worth mentioning.

Eddie pulled up to the corner. “Need a ride, miss?”

“Why thank you, Detective. A girl can’t be too safe out here all by herself.” She slid into the passenger side and gave Eddie a quick kiss. “So, where are we going?”

“This jazz club on Seventh. It’s supposed to be great.”

Iris nodded. “Uh-huh. And who exactly told you about this supposedly great jazz club?”

Eddie bit his lip. “I’d rather not say.”

Iris leaned back into her seat. “Yep. That’s who I thought.” Subject continues in pursuit of the heroic, much like her predecessor. The changes to the timeline have been drastic, but fortunately, the most important facts have stayed the same.

Harrison Wells scrolled through to the next screen. The Flash Vanishes in Crisis.

Her relationship with Edward Thawne is…disconcerting, to say the least. If they don’t choose to end it soon, steps will have to be taken to force the issue. However, for the moment, the future remains intact.

*

Eddie had just dropped Iris off two blocks away from home when her phone rang.

“Cisco, I can’t thank you enough for waiting until after my date ended to call me with a crisis. What’s up?”

“Break-in at the Petersburg electrical substation. And now there’s a power drain.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

Iris changed into her suit and raced to the substation. She arrived to find a man siphoning electricity from the machinery. Blue streaks of lightning went from the reactor to his hands.

“I’m pretty sure this is a restricted area,” Iris called.

The man stopped what he was doing to face Iris with glowing eyes. Vampire, Iris thought as he looked at her, but no, that was crazy. Even by this town’s definition.

The meta threw his hand out at Iris, blue lightning moving towards her. Iris leapt out of the way, letting it hit the wall behind her.

“Whoa, dude. No one has to get hurt here.”

“I need to feed,” he said.

Okay, maybe vampire wasn’t as far off as I thought.

The man shot out at her again. Iris avoided him, but on his third try the lightning caught her back.

It hurt. Like the life was draining out of her.

No. Not like this. She was The Flash. She would not be taken down by electricity. Iris bolted away but couldn’t make it far before her energy gave out and she fell to her knees. Lightning guy caught up to her. She rose back to her feet and tried to make her get away, but felt a sharp pain that started in her back and spread throughout her body. Lightning flashed all around her, through her. And then it was over.

“Too much. Too much,” the meta mumbled, stumbling away.

“Iris, run! Get out of there!” Caitlin yelled.

Iris stood and sped a few steps away before her legs gave out underneath her.

“I…I can’t. I can’t run.”

“What?”

“My speed. It’s gone.”

*

Caitlin had a thousand questions when she picked Iris up from the substation, very few of which Iris could answer. She wanted to run every test she could think of, but Iris insisted on just going home. Caitlin relented, collecting only a blood sample to take back and test, along with the vitals that had been recorded during the attack.

“Are you sure?”

“I feel okay, just tired and…normal. I think I need to sleep more than anything.”

“Come to STAR Labs first thing in the morning, okay? We’ll try to figure out if this is…”

“Permanent?” Iris said. “What if it is? Am I just supposed to go back to my normal life? Forget that there are supervillains running around my city?”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Get some rest.”

Iris nodded and entered the house as quietly as possible. Which turned out to be unnecessary. Her dad was sitting in a chair facing the door when she walked in, a book in his lap.

“I thought I told you not to wait up.”

“I thought you couldn’t get drunk. Why is Caitlin driving you home?”

“Because it would’ve taken me hours to walk.”

“What do you mean?”

“There was a … disturbance… tonight. I went to fight a metahuman, and whatever his power was…my speed’s gone.”

Joe jumped up. “What? How did he-?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how he did it. I don’t know if I can get it back, and no, I don’t know what we’re going to do if it doesn’t come back soon.” Iris sighed. “I’m tired. I literally had the energy drained out of me tonight.” Iris squeezed past him and headed up the stairs.

“Iris.”

“Tomorrow, Dad. I just…I really can’t talk about this right now.”

Chapter Text

Subject’s powers seem to have completely disappeared. Her speed is approximately that of the average woman of her fitness level. A search of future records reveals no references to The Flash, and searches for Iris West yielded only her journalistic achievements.

*

Barry hurried through the precinct. Late. Again. He glanced at his watch as he maneuvered through the crowded building.

“That’s a quality time piece, young man.”

Barry looked back up at the man who’d spoken and a rush of anger went through him as recognition dawned, although he’d never set eyes on the criminal in front of him.

William Tockman.

“Thanks,” Barry muttered.

“They took mine, all of them.”

Barry’s voice came out angrier than he meant for it to. “I guess you shouldn’t have – “ he cut himself off before he revealed details that weren’t part of any official police report. “I guess you shouldn’t have done whatever it is you did.”

The officers transporting Tockman pushed past Barry. Barry rushed over to Joe just as Captain Singh walked away. “Joe! I think I finally ID’d our electrocution victim from yesterday. Casey Donoghue. But get this, his security badge was used to get into the Petersburg substation last night right before the grid blacked out. I think it might be time to bring The Flash in on this case.”

“Something tells me she’s already on it, Barry.”

The lights began to flicker. In the midst of the distraction, Tockman managed to unlock his handcuffs and pull a gun from the holster of the officer in front of him. He fired a quick shot into the back of the man’s head. Screams echoed throughout the building.

Joe stepped forward, putting himself in the path between Barry and the gunman.

“Guns on the floor!” Tockman shouted.

Joe reached for his gun, wondering if he’d be able to fire off a shot before Tockman could.

“It should take you less than three seconds to discard any thought of rebellion and comply. I take it I don't need to count out loud.”

Across the room, somebody else was thinking the same thing as Joe. He aimed his gun, but Tockman fired a shot into his chest before the man could pull the trigger.

Joe dropped the gun to the gun, hands out in a gesture of surrender, rotating his body to stay between Barry and the gun as Tockman came closer.

Tockman tilted his head, studying Joe’s body language as he walked toward them. He met Joe’s eyes and the fatherly worry there was evident. “Funny,” Tockman said. “I don’t see the family resemblance.”

Chapter Text

The entire city was in a blackout. However Farooq Gibran’s powers worked, they were strong. Iris tried to reach her father to let him know what was happening, but she got no answer. From him or Barry or Eddie. Desperate, she tried one last number.

“Not now,” Captain Singh answered.

“Captain Singh, wait,” Iris said urgently. “I’ve been trying to reach my dad and Barry, but there’s no answer on their cells or at the station. What’s going on?”

Captain Singh sighed. “There’s a hostage situation, Iris. Joe and Barry are inside. I’ll call you when I know more.” He hung up before Iris could find out anything else.

“Dad and Barry are in trouble,” Iris said. “I need my powers back now.”

“I have a theory.” Dr. Wells said. “We may be able to get your powers back, but it’s risky.”

“I don’t care. What do I need to do?”

*

Nothing makes a situation feel hopeless like getting yourself handcuffed in your own police station. By your own cuffs. While your superhero daughter just happens to powerless on the other side of town. Or at least that’s what Joe thought.

“Tockman,” Singh’s voice came out over the walkie-talkie. “Tockman. Tockman!”

He clicked on. “I am presently in control of eight of Central City's finest, three underpaid assistants, and one CSI.”

“You've got demands; I want to hear them,” Singh said. “But first I need a show of good faith. Let some of the hostages go.”

“Would you prefer I sent them out alive or dead? Please be more specific.” Tockman began listing his demands. “One helicopter, one vegetarian takeout meal, one laptop with eight gigabytes of RAM will be delivered on this roof at exactly 53 minutes and 27 seconds from now, or I shoot a hostage.”

Tockman was so focused on the task that he didn’t see Eddie sneaking up behind him, lining up a headshot that could take Tockman out.

Joe made eye contact with Eddie and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. No, too soon. Too many ways this could go wrong.

“There is a citywide blackout. I'm gonna need more time,” Captain Singh said.

“Captain, you may delay, but time will not.”

“Benjamin Franklin,” Joe said.

“Very good, Detective.”

“End this now, and I'll talk to the D.A,” Joe said.

Tockman stared out the window, deep in thought. “It was your district attorney that denied me furlough so I could visit my dying sister one last time, say goodbye to her in person. That's time I'll never get back!”

Joe locked eyes with Eddie and nodded his head. Tockman was desperate and had grudge against the CCPD. One way or another, this was going to end with someone dead.

Better him than an innocent person.

Tockman finished his speech. “So however long I have in this life, I promise not one second more will be spent in a prison cell.”

Eddie moved across the station, out into the open for the clearest shot. Joe and Barry watched, holding their breath.

Eddie fired a clean shot, straight into Tockman’s back and watched as his body jerked in response.

“Got him,” Eddie said triumphantly, lowering his weapon. The grin fell off his face however, as Tockman turned around and fired two shots into Eddie’s upper arm. Eddie stumbled backwards falling to the ground in front of Barry.

“Eddie!” Barry shouted. “Eddie, man, are you okay?” Stupid question, Allen. He’s been shot. Barry shifted forward, trying to get a closer look at the wound.

Tockman pulled open his shirt, touching the bulletproof vest there with a sigh of relief before picking the walkie-talkie back up. “An officer was just shot 9.2 seconds ago. I'd pick up the pace in meeting my demands, Captain.”

Chapter Text

“Please, he's bleeding. You have to let us get him some help,” Joe said.

“You'll stay where you are,” Tockman said. "No one's coming in, no one's going out. Not until I get what I want.

“And while you're killing time, he's bleeding out.”

Tockman laughed, the bastard. “As if you could kill time without wounding eternity.”

“Henry David Thoreau,” Joe said.

“Ooh, good.”

“I can help him,” Barry said. “I know how to stop the bleeding.” He turned his body, trying to show the cuffs. “If you unlock these.”

“Why should I do that? I’ve already killed two officers.”

“Which means the cops won’t stop chasing you if you get away,” Barry said. “If you let him die when he has a chance at survival, you’re just going to make this harder on yourself. Let me save him. Please.”

Tockman moved closer, squatting down to make eye contact with Barry. Barry held his gaze, resisting the urge to flinch away. “One wrong move, and I have an entire department’s worth of bullets for you, kid.”

Barry swallowed and nodded his head.

Tockman unlocked the cuffs. Barry moved slowly. He reached for his briefcase and pulled on gloves. He searched through the briefcase, looking for supplies he could use treat the injury.

“What? No ‘thank you’?”

“They call you the Clock King, right?” Barry asked casually, keeping his eyes focused on Eddie as he cut away the shirt sleeve from his arm to get a better look at the wound.

“A somewhat florid appellation, but I've grown to see the humor in it.”

“Yeah. Because you’re on borrowed time,” Barry said confidently. “You’re going back to prison.”

”Really?” Tockman laughed. “And how do you reckon?

“Because The Flash is coming.”

“Huh,” Tockman said. “Then what is it that’s taking her so long?” He stared at Barry for a long moment before Singh’s voice crackled over the radio, and he walked away to continue negotiations.

“I wish I knew,” Barry muttered.

“Barry,” Eddie whispered.

“Hey, man. You’re going to be okay,” Barry said, hoping he wasn’t lying.

“Ankle holster,” Eddie said.

“What?” Barry said. He glanced down at Eddie’s ankle. His spare gun sat there, unnoticed by Tockman. Barry shifted, reaching for the gun slowly. Tockman’s attention was still focused on his conversation with the captain.

Barry lifted the gun out of the holster. He stayed low to the ground, not wanting to bring any attention to himself after Tockman seemed to have dismissed the possibility of Barry being a threat. He moved closer, trying to get a clear shot. He would only have one chance.

He took a deep breath and aimed.

*

“You? You managed to shoot the Clock King?” Iris asked, perusing the flower selection in the gift shop.

“Why do you sound so shocked? Joe didn’t take teenage me to the firing range alone. You’ve seen me shoot before.”

“Yes, and I’ve see many of those paper people come back completely unharmed.”

“And a lot that didn’t. Plus, I was highly motivated.”

“I’m just glad you’re all okay. Poor Eddie.”

“They have him on the good painkillers, though. So how did you spend the blackout?”

“Hanging out with Caitlin and Cisco. At least until I found out about the hostage crisis at the station. Then I spent the remainder of it freaking out.” She grabbed a bouquet.

“What do you think? Daisies?”

Barry took the bouquet from her hands and set it back. “I have always been partial to irises,” he said, placing a new bouquet in her hands. “And then he’ll remember who they’re from.”

They headed upstairs, where Joe sat with Eddie, who smiled more than any man who’s just been shot had any right to.

“My hero!” he shouted when he saw Barry. “Joe, Joe, did you see this guy? He was awesome today. Shot the gun right out of Clock King’s hand.”

“I didn’t exactly shoot it out of his hand. I shot his forearm so he couldn’t grip the gun anymore,” Barry explained to Iris. “And then I shot him in the leg when he lunged at me.”

“And you,” Eddie said happily to Iris, “giving me flowers before I get you flowers. We’re doing this dating thing totally backwards.”

“Dating?” Joe asked.

“Shhh,” Eddie whispered. “It’s a secret. Don’t tell Joe.”

“As entertaining as this is, I think I need to go…get a cup of coffee,” Barry said, scurrying out the door.

“Well, I guess that answers my follow-up question of ‘how many people have been lying to me?’”

“Dad, we just…”

Joe held up his hand. “Don’t. We’re not talking about this now. Boy’s already been shot once today.”

“Well, if you tried that I would just have to run away with him,” Iris said with a smile.

“Run away as in….run run? You got your powers back?”

“Powers?” Eddie said. “That is so cool!”

“Maybe we should talk about this at home,” Iris said. She leaned forward, kissing Eddie on the cheek. “Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow.” She pointed at Joe. “No shooting him.”

“No, Iris,” Eddie said impatiently. “Clock King shot me. Joe’s my partner. He can’t shoot me.”

“Yes, Eddie you’re exactly right. He can’t shoot you.”

*

Barry sat in the waiting room, sipping his awful vending machine coffee and waiting for someone to walk out of Eddie’s room and tell him just how pissed off Joe was about the Iris-Eddie dating situation, when a familiar red and yellow blur sped past him. She stopped at the end of the hallway, her silhouette outlined in the street light that shone through the window.

“You’re late,” Barry said. “The only crime happening here is false advertisement, because this is definitely not coffee.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there tonight,” Iris said. “I had my own crisis to deal with.”

“It’s okay,” Barry said. “If I get damseled two weeks in a row, the guys make fun of me. It’s probably better I took care of this one on my own, earned some brownie points from the captain. Besides, Clock King shot my girlfriend a few months back, so I kind of owed him one.”

“He shot Felicity?!”

Barry gave Iris a puzzled look. “You…know who my girlfriend is? Is this like a full-on superhero stalking?”

“Not stalking. Just doing my research. Girl’s got to know who she can and can’t trust.”

“And do you trust me?” Barry asked.

“Have you seen me talking to anyone else?” Iris asked. Before Barry could reply, she took off down the hallway past him.

Chapter Text

Anger-inducing metahumans. Sure, that was a thing the world needed. As if the metas going evil on their own wasn’t enough, now they had to take innocent people with them. And it was making her job way too freaking difficult. Iris had enough bad guys to fight without having to also deal with pissed off SWAT team members taking shots at her dad. She lunged at Joe, knocking him to the ground. The sniper cocked his gun, ready to take another shot, but fell to the ground as two arrows struck him in the chest.

Wait. Arrows?

“Nice suit,” the Arrow said in his trademark growl. He parkoured off a column and disappeared through a window.

A cheerful voice came over Iris’s headset. “Hope you don’t mind me sending backup.”

“Hey, I told you not to hack this signal anymore!”

“If I don’t stop hacking when the US government tells me not to, I’m not going to stop for you, Cisco,” Felicity said.

Joe eyed his daughter suspiciously, oblivious to the conversation she was listening to. “Do you know that guy?”

Iris sighed.“No, but we have a mutual friend.”

*

An hour later, Felicity walked into STAR Labs, drinking a Big Belly milkshake.

“Sorry to barge into your crime scene like that. We’re in town working a different case, and the call came over the radio. Flash wasn’t there yet, and I kind of figured you and Barry wanted Joe to come home alive.”

“We do, thanks. Who exactly is ‘we’?” Iris asked.

“Me. The Arrow. A couple of other associates.”

“Do you get confused?” Cisco asked. “Keeping track of who knows whose secret identities?”

Felicity sighed. “More than you can guess. But we discussed it and thought maybe you’d like a little extra help on your rage-inducing metahuman. Crazy people attacking the city is one of our specialties, you know.”

“Sure. Do you need any help on your case?” Iris asked. She gestured to the room around them. “We’ve got resources.”

Felicity smiled. “Thanks, but we have a, um, consultant, in town who’s already working on it for us.”

Caitlin walked in, reading something on her tablet. “According to Joe, the officer who was affected tonight says he saw a flash of red before he lost control. I suspect the meta is inducing rage via the ocular nerve,” Caitlin said.

“Cool,” Felicity said, earning herself a disturbed look from Iris. “I mean, awful.”

“Oh, and Dr. Wells wants to see you,” Caitlin said. “Both of you.”

“Ooh, somebody’s in trouble,” Cisco said.

“We are not,” Felicity said, heading out of the room with Iris. Once Cisco was out of earshot, she whispered, “Are we?”

“Don’t look at me. I’m not the one who hacked his satellite. Again.”

“So, The Starling City Vigilante is in town,” Dr. Wells said as they entered.

“He goes by the Arrow now,” Felicity said.

“Yes, Felicity, I’m well aware of the code name he’s currently using, but in my experience, changing a name doesn’t change the person behind it.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning that the Arrow, while he has done many good things for Starling City, also has a certain reputation. One that our Flash would do well to stay away from.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry, are you actually giving me the ‘don’t run around with bad boys’ speech? Because I already got that from my dad when I was thirteen. And seventeen. And a little bit last week.”

“I don’t think it’s wise for you to form an association with a man who’s wanted for murder in at least a dozen different cases in the past three years.”

“That’s – that’s not what he does anymore. I wouldn’t be working with him if it were. I made that very clear when I joined his operation,” Felicity said.

“No one is impugning your character, Miss Smoak. I’ve seen what kind of work you do, and our team is better for having had your help. I do, however, find it difficult to trust a man when I don’t even know his name. And so I was hoping that you could help us trust him. Who is he under the hood?”

“That is not my secret to tell, Dr. Wells.”

“You’re right. I’ll figure it out on my own.” Dr. Wells wheeled himself back to the Cortex.

“Do you think he’s actually going to figure it out?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t know. In my experience, figuring things out is what he does best.”

“You believe me, right? That the Arrow’s not dangerous. I mean, not to us. Or innocent people.”

“I trust you. You trust him,” Iris said. “For now, that’s enough. If it’s not, I’ll let you know.”

Chapter Text

“Arrow got the name of the guy you’re looking for,” Felicity said quietly when Iris came to get her coffee order. “STAR Labs is already tracking one Roy G. Bivolo.”

“How did he get the name? Wait, I don’t want to know. Then I don’t have to lie to my dad.”

“I take it Joe’s on the ‘we don’t trust the Arrow’ train also?”

“What do you expect? He’s a cop.”

“A cop with a vigilante daughter. Seems like he could be a little more understanding,” Felicity said.

“Dad’s a little …overprotective. Even now. And he has a very clear cut idea about how things are supposed to operate. Supervillains and metahumans? That’s new. He’s still forming his rules about them. But the kinds of criminals Arrow fights? Drug lords and terrorists, they still fall into his traditional sense of justice and he wants them caught by traditional means.”

“Traditional means don’t always work.”

Iris nodded. “And believe me, he knows it. But that doesn’t mean he’s ready to trust people who go out there on their own and answer only to themselves.”

Felicity’s phone lit up. “Cisco got a hit off the facial recognition. You’re welcome, by the way. Traffic cameras just caught Bivolo entering a residence at 168 Jarvis. We should let The Arrow know.”

“I can handle this solo. I've done it before.”

“Iris, maybe you should wait for back up.”

“Maybe Dad and Wells are right. Maybe I shouldn’t be working with the Arrow. Especially since we don’t actually know each other.”

“Are you-“

“I know what I’m doing, Felicity. I don’t need his help for this.”

*

The house was far too dark and creepy for the middle of the day. Why couldn’t the supervillains ever just have a nice, average house as their secret headquarters instead of making Iris feel like she was walking into a horror movie?

She reached for the locked door, shaking the deadbolt until it fell out of place and pushed the door open. The room looked empty, minus the extremely creepy paintings scattered on easels all over the place in various stages of completion.

“I knew you'd be coming for me,” Bivolo said from the shadows. “I could see it in your eyes at the bank. When I turned those people against each other, it made you angry.”

Iris rushed at him, slamming him into the wall and giving him a few slaps, which seemed like a good idea at the time.

Until his glasses fell to the ground.

“Have some real anger,” Bivolo said, eyes glowing red. Iris’s grasp slipped and she was disoriented for a moment as she tried to get her eyes to focus. By the time she could, Bivolo was gone.

*

Caitlin studied Iris’s eyes. “No signs of macular damage. Your retina and cornea seem unaffected.”

“I told you, I'm fine.”

“You said Bivolo whammied you,” Felicity said. “No desire to go MMA on any of us?”

“No. Yeah, I mean, something weird happened with his eyes for a sec.”

“Weird how?” Caitlin asked.

“Everything went red,” Iris said.

“You were right,” Felicity said, looking at Caitlin.

“Next thing I know, Bivolo was gone.”

Caitlin shook her head. “You should’ve listened to Felicity. You shouldn’t have gone in alone.”

“I always go in alone,” Iris said. “Now the Arrow shows up and suddenly you think I can’t handle it on my own? I’m fine. His powers didn’t work on me.” She shook her head.

“I’m gonna go. See what leads I can track down.”

*

Iris posted to her blog, letting her followers know to be on the lookout for a rageaholic metahuman, who “anonymous sources” said was named Roy G. Bivolo, then headed to the police station to see what if Barry could offer any new information from the forensics of the case.

Only when Iris arrived, Barry wasn’t working on the Bivolo case. He was messing around with a boomerang. And he wasn’t alone.

“It seems to be some sort of composite or high-density plastic reinforced with carbon fiber, but I haven’t been able to find a manufacturer, which suggests your killer is making his own weapons, but I haven’t found an M.O that matches in any of our databases.” Barry probably would’ve continued babbling on if Oliver hadn’t cleared his throat to signal Iris’s arrival.

“Hey, Iris!” Barry said a little too cheerfully. “Great! You get to meet Oliver. I told you she was kind of a big fan back in the day.”

“What’s Oliver Queen doing here?”

“He, uh, needed some help. He got a speeding ticket. Thought since Singh owes me one, I could help him take care of it. Which I can’t. Because that would be wrong.”

“Felicity Smoak used to work for you.” Iris laughed. “And something tells me she still does. It’s you. You’re the Arrow.” She turned back to Barry. “And you’re working for him.”

“That’s – you – how did you – I don’t technically work for him.”

“No, you work with him. What exactly is it that you do for him? Run around doing whatever he asks you to, tampering with police evidence, putting yourself at risk.”

Barry opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Oliver did. “I assure you, Barry was made well aware of the risks when he joined my team. He can take care of himself.”

“No, you’re wrong. He can’t even keep himself out of harm’s way here. You know your buddy’s been held hostage twice in the last two weeks. That’s gotta be some kind of record.”

“Hey!” Barry said. “I got myself out of danger both times, too.”

“Yeah, sure. ‘Cause the Flash laying out Tony first had nothing to with it. You had that situation handled perfectly.”

“I don’t know about ‘perfectly,’ but-“

“God, Barry, you still don’t see it! Danger and darkness have been coming for you since you were a kid and you never think to avoid it. You just keep running straight at the monsters. And if you don’t stop, it’s going to get you killed too.”

Barry pulled back, his jaw dropping at her words.

“Iris, I understand that your upset, but maybe the middle of the police station isn’t the best place to have this conversation.” Oliver laid his hand on her arm, stepping in front of Barry just a little.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Iris said, pulling her arm from his grasp and pushing Oliver back, a little too fast, a little too hard. Her eyes flashed red. “You may be a good shot, but you don’t have your little bow, and you have not seen what I am capable of.” She took off in her trademark red and gold blur.

Barry stared out the open door after Iris. “Did she just -? Were her eyes-?” Barry shook his head. “That’s not how she is, Oliver. I’ve seen her pissed off before, but that’s not what that was.”

“That was a very angry woman with superpowers. Call her dad. I’ll call Felicity.”

Chapter Text

Barry took off down the hallway to find Joe while Oliver called Felicity.

“So I figured out who the Flash is,” Oliver said. “More accurately, I confirmed who the Flash is.”

“What did she do?” Felicity asked.

“Yelled at me and Barry for letting him work with us and then took off running. Fast.”

“Oh, frack. And Barry saw it?”

“Yeah. I think he’s going to be pretty angry when he finds out you knew. Of course, that’s nothing compared to Iris, who’s been hit with…” Oliver sighed. “Metahuman rage.”

“Told you you’d end up using the term. All right, I’m at STAR Labs. They’re working on a cure. Caitlin has an idea.”

“Don’t you think that’s the first place Iris will come looking?”

“Maybe. It’s also the only place that can hold a metahuman.”

*

“Joe!” Barry said, catching hold of his foster dad’s arm. “Joe, have you seen Iris?”

“No. What’s wrong?”

“The rage-inducing bank robber. He’s affected her.” Barry watched the terror grow in Joe’s eyes, more than just fear for his daughter, fear for the people of the city. “You know, don’t you? You know she’s-“ Barry’s voice dropped to a nearly inaudible whisper “- the Flash.”

Joe nodded. He sighed and placed a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “Son – “

Barry shrugged the hand off his shoulder. “Don’t. Not now. We have to find Iris before she hurts someone. She’ll never forgive herself if she does.”

“STAR Labs.”

“What?”

“We need to go to STAR Labs. They can help her.”

They drove to STAR Labs with the siren on.

“So everyone’s in on this? Cisco, Caitlin, Dr. Wells? Y’all told everyone but me?”

“They’re her doctors. They knew before I did.”

“And you didn’t think I had the right to know? Her powers are exactly like the man who killed my mother. But you know that. I’ve told you what really happened a hundred times, and you’ve never believed me.” Barry shook his head. “You’ve known my father was innocent for two months and you never came to me. You never tried to get him released.”

“You think this is a coincidence? Iris getting these powers, the man who murdered your mother having them? It’s not. And maybe I should have told you, but I was trying to protect you.”

“I’m not eleven years old anymore, Joe.”

“No, but you’re still my kid. And it is still my job to keep you safe.”

“You can’t protect me by lying to me. Not anymore.”

When they walked into STAR Labs, the team was already discussing what they were going to do about Iris. “If the colors she saw from Bivolo affected her, then there’s a set of colors that will get her back to normal,” Caitlin was saying as Barry and Joe walked in. But the conversation went silent as they all turned towards Barry.

“Oh, look, my girlfriend’s already here,” Barry said. “So it really is everyone that knew before me.”

“Okay, you know from personal experience that I am not allowed to give out secret identities if it isn’t life or death,” Felicity said.

Joe looked back at Barry, confused.

“I work with the Arrow,” Barry explained. “What was it you were saying about trying to protect me?”

“I’m sure that both Iris and Mr. Queen appreciate your discretion, Felicity,” Dr. Wells said. Off the roomful of stunned faces (and Cisco’s absolutely giddy one), Dr. Wells added, “Told you I’d figure it out.”

Felicity sighed, picking her phone back up. “So I guess there’s no point in telling him to stay away anymore.”

“Considering what she can do, that lunatic might be our only chance at stopping her,” Joe said.

“A cold gun would come in real handy right about now,” Cisco said.

“Disappointed, Cisco? That you can’t shoot me in the back?”

They all turned towards the doorway, where Iris stood clad in her Flash suit. She rushed forward, grabbing Cisco by his hoodie and slamming him into the work station behind him. “You pretend to be my friend, pretend you believe in me, but you never did.”

“Iris, baby, let him go.”

Iris sneered. “I am so sick of being told what to do. If it’s not you bossing me around like I’m still five years old, or their voices in my ear telling me how to do my job, it’s hipsters who think I’m too stupid to make a damn coffee order right.”

“Iris,” Barry said, moving closer to her. “You don’t want to hurt him. Cisco’s your friend. All of us here. We’re your friends. We’re your family. We want to help you. Please. Let us help you.”

Iris scoffed. “You think you can help me, Bear? I’ve been taking care of you since we were kids.” Her voice softened, just barely. “I take care of everybody. And you still think I can’t even take care of myself.” She released her grip on Cisco and disappeared in a flash of light.

Cisco’s legs gave out underneath him. He slid to the floor as the team closed in to check on him. Except a few faces were missing. “Uh, guys? Where are Barry and Felicity?”

Chapter Text

Normally, familiar sites in a new city are comforting. Felicity, however, did not find it comforting to know that Central City had its own surplus of abandoned warehouses.

Her earpiece still up and running with a signal Cisco could trace? That was reassuring, although it didn’t quite dissipate the fear caused by being kidnapped by Barry’s crazy superpowered best friend.

“I have been trying to protect him for months and this whole time, you’ve been dragging him into vigilante work behind my back.”

Felicity flinched, scrambling away from the approaching woman. “I didn’t drag him into anything. Well, okay, technically, we did drag him to the lair the first time, but he’s been making his choices ever since then.”

Barry rose to his feet, putting himself between Iris and Felicity. “Iris, this isn’t her fault. I’m an adult. I made my choice.”

“You chose wrong,” Iris said, tossing Barry out of the way.

“Barry!”

“You think you can just come here like everything’s normal? Pretend to help me and then sneak around behind my back putting people I love at risk?” Iris grabbed Felicity by her jacket collar and rushed forward, slamming Felicity into a wall, raising her fist to deliver a punch.

“Iris, don’t! Please!” Barry screamed from his spot on the floor.

Iris hesitated for just a second. But a second was all Oliver needed. Iris felt a sharp pain in the back of her knee and lost her grip on Felicity, giving her the time she needed to slip away.

Barry rushed to Felicity, slipping an arm around her to help her stay on her feet. Iris pulled the arrow from her knee, ignoring the pain as she turned to Oliver, her mind focused on the new target. Oliver kept his bow pointed at Iris as he spoke to Barry. “Get Felicity out of here! Now!” Barry hesitated, looking back and forth between the nocked arrow and Iris. “She heals. Felicity doesn’t. Run, Barry! Run!”

Sure, run from the Flash, Barry thought. He gave one last look at Iris, unsure of who he was hoping would win the fight.

Beside him, Felicity kept her mind on the mission. “Cisco, you got a ride ready for us?”

“Joe and Wells are on their way. Just as soon as they get Iris back to normal.”

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about the Arrow,” Iris said. “Written a few of them myself. I have to say, Oliver Queen is not the man I expected to be behind the mask.”

“Barry believes you’re going to change the world. I don’t think he meant for you to do it like this.”

“Yeah, well, Barry tends not to get what he wants.”

Oliver shot an arrow that Iris easily dodged. “You missed,” she said.

“No.” And suddenly an explosion knocked Iris off her feet. She pushed herself back up, disoriented as she looked for the Arrow again. She felt an arrow strike her shoulder and stumbled forward, suddenly feeling lightheaded. “Two thousand milligrams of horse tranquilizer. Should be hitting you anytime now.”

Iris pushed herself back to her feet, she turned back to face Oliver, vibrating her body so the tranquilizers dissipated around her in a green mist.

Iris ran straight for Oliver, then turned at the last second and began running laps around him, trapping him inside a swirl of lightning. Or so she thought. Oliver shot out a line and began reeling himself up to the top of a building. Iris raced him to the top and grabbed the anchor just as he arrived. “It’s rude to leave in the middle of a conversation.” She yanked the arrow from the wall, and Oliver fell back, shooting out another line to catch himself before hitting the ground.

Iris raced back down the side of the building. “Is that all you got?” Iris rushed at Oliver, who started throwing out kicks and punches as fast as he could, but to Iris he looked more like an eighty-year-old man doing tai chi. She ducked and dodged, before laying in a few blows of her own against his abdomen. That was when he managed to crack her across the face with the handle of his bow. She went in again, hitting him hard in the face, hard enough to send him flying backward across the ally.

Oliver pushed a remote control and two arrows flew out from his motorcycle, striking Iris in each leg. She fell to the ground as she saw headlights coming toward her. She felt two strong arms lifting her up, pinning her arms to her sides, and okay, when she pictured Oliver Queen wrapping his arms around her, this is not what she had in mind, thank you very much.

The STAR Labs van turned, stopping at the end of the alley. The side door flew open and a strobe light came on, flashing a rainbow of colors at Iris’s eyes. She felt Oliver release her, her eyes still transfixed by the lights. After a moment, the lights stopped, and Iris slowly came back to her senses, sliding back to the ground as she was reminded of the pain in her legs. She pulled the arrows out, immediately regretting the decision as a fresh wave of pain washed over her.

Iris stared up at Oliver, who was looking down at her with concern. “Both legs? Really, dude?”

“I tried just one earlier. It didn’t work.” Oliver held out his hand. “I don’t think we’ve properly met. Oliver Queen.”

Iris took his hand, letting him help her to her feet rather than shaking it. “Iris West.”

“I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Iris shook her head. “Let’s make it now. I’d like to show Bivolo he picked the wrong person to get angry.”

“You sure you’re ready for that?”

Iris nodded. “There’s two of us and one of him. I’m ready this time.”

Tracing Bivolo didn’t take long. Someone who manipulates people like he could didn’t worry much about what would happen if the cops arrived. He was, however, surprised to see Arrow and the Flash arrive in his newly found hideout. Of course he didn’t see them for long thanks to one of Oliver’s flashbang arrows.

Iris walked up to him throwing Bivolo against the wall. “Roy G. Bivolo, you have failed this city.” She grinned back at Oliver. “How was that?”

“Needs more bass.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Everyone’s a critic.”

*

Iris smiled as she handed Felicity her latte. “On the house. Because apparently Hallmark doesn’t make an ‘I’m sorry a psycho metahuman made me try to kill you’ card.”

“I hear they’re thinking about doing a small printing of them. But just for the Central City market.” Felicity smiled. “I’m not mad. You weren’t yourself. I know that.”

“I wish I could convince everybody of that. Barry can hardly look me in the eye.”

“He will forgive you for lying to him eventually. I mean, he gets the whole superhero secret identity thing. It’s not exactly a new concept for him.”

“Yeah, but this…”

“Barry is not going to throw away his oldest friend over one lie. That I am sure of.”

“Thanks.”

Oliver walked up to the counter. “You ready to go?”

Felicity nodded, taking the tray of coffees. “Yes. I’m just gonna go find Diggle and let you heroes say goodbye.” She turned and walked out.

“I just wanted to say thank you again. For…stopping me,” Iris said. “God, if Barry or Felicity had gotten hurt…I never would’ve forgiven myself.”

“That’s what Barry said. I’m glad I was able to help. Hopefully the next time you need my help, it won’t require shooting you.”

“Three times. You shot me three times.”

“Yeah, most of the time I can take people out with one. I think I need an upgrade in your case.”

There was a terrifying thought. The Hood with Flash-proof weaponry. “I have superpowers and a blog. Tread carefully.”

“You have done a remarkable job protecting this city. I think you’ve definitely won the people’s hearts,” Oliver said. “And someone else’s.”

“What? No, that’s not…he has a girlfriend, we grew up together. It’s not like that.”

Oliver smiled. “Okay.”

“It’s not.”

“Okay.”

“And Felicity? What’s the story there?”

Oliver laughed.

“Hey, you started this.”

“She is…with Barry. And until she decides something else, that is the end of the story.”

Iris smiled. “Okay. Take care of yourself, Oliver.”

“You too.”

*

Iris knocked on Barry’s door.

Barry tugged the door open and crossed his arms. “Using the front door. That’s new.”

“So I guess that answers the ‘are you still mad at me?’ question.” She pushed past him. “Too bad. We need to talk and we’re not having this discussion in the hallway.”

Barry sighed and closed the door. “You lied to me, Iris. About something connected to my mother’s murder. And you let me talk to you, both versions of you, every day like you knew nothing was up. Even after you told me you’d help my dad, you still didn’t trust me with the truth. You or Joe.”

“This wasn’t about trust. I didn’t have any answers for you, Barry. I don’t know who the man in yellow is. I don’t know why he was in your house that night, and I don’t know how he got his powers before I did. I couldn’t come to you with this without being able to explain what happened on the worst night of your life.”

“Because you thought I would do something stupid.”

“Because I thought that you would do something reckless. This is not someone you can afford to be reckless about. If we’re going to find this guy, we have to have evidence and a plan. Right now, all we’ve got is one eye witness account from fourteen years ago.”

“We might have more if you had just told me the truth.”

“I’m sorry. But you know now. So what do you want to do?”

Barry shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Chapter Text

“No, this is a terrible idea,” Iris said.

Cisco broke out the puppy dog eyes. “C’mon, please. It’ll be good for us. A Team Flash road trip, picking up pointers from the OG superhero team.”

“You do realize how boring a road trip sounds to someone who can break the sound barrier, right?”

“Long, yes. Boring, no. I am the king of car games. And snacks. Cailtin’s in.”

“Sorry, Cisco. I have to work.”

“So? Fake sick. It’s not like you’re really gonna need those sick days now that you can heal.”

“Uh huh. And how exactly did you and Caitlin get out of work? Considering you are literally the only employees at the lab.”

“That is …a problem to be dealt with at a later time. Come on. It’s not a Team Flash Road Trip without the Flash.”

Iris shook her head. “So take a Cisco and Caitlin road trip, say hi to Felicity for me, and I’ll watch the city all by my lonesome until you get back.”

“Or you could ask Barry to help you. Since apparently he knows how to provide superhero backup.”

“Barry is still not talking to me. Or my dad.”

Cisco nodded. “Yeah, he’s freezing me out too. I thought nothing healed the bonds of friendship like a Monty Python marathon, but no such luck.”

“He’ll come around. We just need to give him some space for a little while.” Cisco opened his mouth to interrupt. “And, no, by space I do not mean completely leave town to visit the – what did you call it?”

“Arrowcave.”

“That doesn’t even make sense. Arrows don’t go in caves. They go in quivers.”

Cisco frowned. “Okay, just for that, no souvenir mug for you.”

*

It was a slow night in Central City. Iris had monitored for crime, but there’d been none. None. When was the last time that happened? So she had settled for Netflixing some Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes (hey, hot chicks with superpowers had to stick together) and was midway through her third episode when the phone rang.

“Hey, Caitlin, how’s Starling?”

“It has a shady boomerang-wielding psycho breaking into a secure, top-secret government facility. You interested?”

Iris was in the suit and out the door before she paused long enough to tell Caitlin that she was definitely on her way.

*

Iris managed to save Oliver’s life pretty quickly although their boomerang man got away. She ran into the Arrowcave (dammit, Cisco, why did that have to be so catchy?) to see four familiar faces. Two who looked guilty, one who looked pissed off, and one who looked like she was seriously reconsidering ever being a part of these teams in the first place.

Barry spoke first. “What are you doing here?”

“Caitlin called me. What are you doing here?”

“Felicity called me. She said she needed some forensics help on a case.”

“That was before we got here,” Cisco said. “She hadn’t told us he was coming when we called you.”

Felicity groaned. “And this is why I ask people to call before they come for a visit.” Felicity leaned forward. “No offense, Iris. And thank you for saving Oliver’s life.”

“I owed him one, remember?” Iris turned back to Barry. “And what are you doing here? I thought you were still mad at everybody for lying to you.”

“I’m not mad at Oliver. Oliver hasn’t been lying to me.”

“A sentence no one has ever said in my entire life,” Oliver said, walking into the lair with Roy, Diggle and Lyla trailing behind.

Barry rolled his eyes. “Or Digg. Or Lyla. So yeah, when my friends needed me, I came.”

“So you got bored with the lack of crime in Central tonight too?”

Barry sat down in the chair next to Felicity. “So bored. I was about to go digging through the cold case files when Felicity called.”

It was then that Iris realized she was being stared at by a member of Team Arrow she hadn’t yet met. And that her mask wasn’t in place. Oh, well, nothing she could do She held out her hand. “Iris West.”

Lyla stuttered. “You’re – you’re – ”

“The Flash,” Iris finished. “Is that going to be a problem? Because I would really rather not have a secret government agency after me if it is.”

“No. No, we’re good.”

“We’ve got evidence,” John said. “Barry, do you think you can put this back together to trace it?”

“Is that ARGUS property?” Lyla asked.

“Not anymore,” John said.

Barry looked over the shattered pieces of boomerang. “It’ll take a while to reassemble.” He glanced over his shoulder at Iris.

Iris rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure, now you want my help.” But she began putting together the boomerang pieces as if they were a children’s jigsaw puzzle.

“Cool,” Barry said. “These are a bit more teched out than the one you guys brought to Central City.”

“3D printed polymer with a circuitry weave,” Cisco added, taking the boomerang from Barry’s hands.

“Some of Harkness' boomerangs exploded,” Roy said.

“Maybe if we figure out where Harkness got the supplies, we can use that to track him,” Caitlin said. “These weren't made by Kaboom Boomerang,” Cisco said.

“Kaboom Boomerang?” Barry asked.

“Yeah, you know, he has exploding boomerangs,” Cisco said.

“That's not your best,” Iris said.

“Really? It makes perfect sense—“

“Cisco,” Oliver hissed, shutting him up pretty quickly. “If Harkness didn't make them, we need to find out who did.”

“And who he made the buy off of,” John said.

“Marcos,” Cisco said. “You see this collapsible node design? Dead giveaway. That's his signature. “

“We need a location on this...” Oliver gestured to Cisco for the name.

“Klaus Marcos.”

Felicity typed away at her computer. “No known home address or place of employment for Marcos. But he was arrested last year by an officer Quentin Lance.”

Chapter Text

“I’m not sure what’s more shocking. Learning that the Arrow is a member of the Bratva or that Barry Allen has ties to the Russian mafia,” Iris said

“I can still hear you,” Barry said over the coms.

“I know.”

“Well, I may not actually be a member anymore," Oliver said. "We had a falling out last year. But this is where they run their cybercrimes division.”

“This Markos guy going from identity theft to tricked out boomerangs. Seems a little farfetched, don’t you think?” Iris asked.

“Says the girl with superspeed?” Roy asked. Iris shot him a glare. “Huh, I thought Thea was the only girl…woman who could look that annoyed with me.”

“Kalishnikovs everywhere,” Diggle said, walking back to the group.

“I have no idea what that means,” Iris said.

“Automatic rifles,” Oliver said. “And since you’re the only one of us faster than a speeding bullet…”

“I got this,” Iris said, speeding away.

Thirty seconds later, she had an entire roomful of mafia henchmen knocked out, tied up and their guns safely hidden away. Iris was half-tempted to take a picture and send it to her dad. He would’ve been so proud.

Oliver came in a moment later, nodded curtly at the unconscious mafiosos, and kept walking to a door that he kicked in. Iris figured he probably could’ve just turned the handle, but it probably wouldn’t have been as intimidating. And judging from the fact that Klaus Markos took off running the second Oliver entered the room, his way seemed to be working.

Iris rushed past Oliver, shoving Markos into a wall. “My friend wants to have a conversation with you.”

“You made this for Digger Harkness,” Oliver said, his voice sounding deeper and angrier than Iris had ever heard it, with or without digital manipulation. “I want to know where he is.”

“Go to hell,” Markos spat.

Oliver quickly fired an arrow into Markos’s right shoulder. Iris jerked back, surprised at Oliver’s bold move and just a little disappointed that she hadn’t anticipated it so she could catch it.

“The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in is an arrow coming out!” Oliver said, marching forward and grabbing the shaft of the arrow. Markos gave a hiss of pain.

“Whoa, hey, what are you doing?!” Iris yelled.

“Getting information! Where is he?!”

“I don't know!”

“If you want to be able to raise your arm again, tell me where he is!”

“Here!” Markos shouted, pulling a cell phone from his pocket. “Harkness gave it to me. It's encrypted. I had an order ready for him. I called, he came. I don't know where he is, I swear. I swear!”

Oliver grabbed the cell phone and walked away, eerily calm for a someone who had just been torturing somebody. Iris didn’t want to see what he had planned next. She grabbed Markos and ran him to the police station, swiping an officer’s handcuffs so she could cuff him to the filing cabinet, before hurrying back to the warehouse.

Oliver studied the phone. “Felicity can crack the encryption. Use this to track down Harkness.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Iris asked in disbelief. “You tortured that guy.”

“I interrogated him.”

“My dad and Dr. Wells both told me not to trust you. I went out on a limb because Barry and Felicity trusted you and because you helped me. I didn’t sign up to help you torture people. That’s not how I operate.”

“My world is different from yours, Iris. This isn’t Central City. This isn’t superpowers and science fiction come to life. The rules are different. And I didn’t ask you to come here. You decided to. If you don’t like my methods, you’re more than welcome to go back to Central City.”

*

Iris beat Oliver back to the Arrowcave and pulled Barry into a corner. She pulled off her mask. “Your friend is a psycho.”

“Yeah,” Barry said. “Which is why we’re glad he works for the good guys.”

“You were listening, right? He tortured that guy. How can you be okay with this?”

Barry shook his head. “I’m not okay with it. But I’ve been doing this with Oliver for almost a year now, and his way gets results. This guy sold weapons to a rogue secret agent who tried to kill Lyla. Lyla, who is definitely one of the good guys and also happens to be the mother of Diggle’s two month old daughter. So, yeah, if Oliver has to fire a couple of arrows at bad guys to keep the people I know safe, I’ll deal with my conscious later.”

“That’s not what the Barry Allen I grew up with would say.”

“A lot can change in a year.”

Oliver walked in and passed the cell phone to Felicity to decrypt. Barry headed over to Felicity to try and help. Iris took a seat on the stairs. How could Barry just let this go? He worked for the police for crying out loud! He was supposed to be all about law and order and finding justice the right way.

A lot can change in a year. Especially in a year where your best friend was in a coma. When you make new friends with people who fight crime. And not just criminals, but souped up Mirakuru terrorists who invaded the city without mercy. Of course Barry had changed.

Iris was only dimly aware of the conversations around her until she heard Felicity shout triumphantly. “I got him! He's in a warehouse at the corner of Infantino and Adams.”

Iris walked back over to the team.

Lyla stared incredulously at the screen. “Is that-- A.R.G.U.S. spy satellite?”

Felicity smirked. “Yeah. Maybe. Thermographic imaging shows ten bodies inside.”

“Harkness knows we're coming,” Diggle said.

“I can track the cell phone's position with this,” Cisco said, holding up his own cell phone.

“Cisco, you're with Diggle and Roy,” Oliver said. He turned to Iris. “Are you still in?”

“I’m still here, aren’t I?”

“I’ll see you there.”

Iris raced across town, forcing herself to slow her pace so she didn’t get there too far ahead of Oliver. She tied up the bad guys once again, leaving them conscious so Oliver could ask them about Digger Harkness.

Iris gestured to men around her as Oliver walked in. “Go ahead. Ask away.”

Oliver raised his bow and fired, and for a brief moment, Iris thought he was aiming for her. It was only as the arrow sailed past her that she realized it was aimed at the armed man coming up behind her. She watched the man sink to the floor.

“Oh. Thanks,” she said. Then she turned back to Oliver, suddenly worried. “He's not dead, right?”

“Tranq arrow. Same thing I used on you in Central City.”

Diggle and Roy came in, weapons drawn. “Cisco has the van running,” Diggle said. “I see you met Harkness' hired muscle.”

“Harkness isn't here.” Oliver turned back to the assortment of hired goons. “Hey! Where's Digger Harkness?”

“Never met 'em,” answered a biker-looking guy said from the floor. He reached up with his bound hands to Oliver. “But he paid us 10 Gs to give you this.”

Oliver picked up the phone.

“Ten'll get you twenty this belongs to Harkness,” Diggle said.

“What does that mean?” Roy asked.

“That Harkness played you,” Iris said.

Across town, a phone began ringing in the Foundry. “I could’ve sworn I turned that off,” Felicity said, picking up the phone.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“Markos’s phone. I shut it down after I decrypted it.”

“Could someone turn it back on remotely?” Lyla asked

“And back trace the trace?” Felicity asked. “We have to get out of here now!” Felicity rose to her feet, Barry pushing her towards the exit, only for a boomerang to go flying across her path and into the desk beside her. They changed direction, Caitlin trailing behind them, taking cover behind the tables and shelving units.

“Hello, Lyla,” Harkness said. “It's been a long time.”

Lyla moved back a step, grabbing a few of Roy’s flechettes, as she ducked behind a table. Boomerangs flew, missing Lyla before making their return to Harkness. She threw the flechettes, but Harkness ducked, deflecting the flechettes with a boomerang.

“Guns!” Lyla shouted.

“Cabinet, third drawer!” Felicity called back.

Lyla reached for a gun, and dropped down behind the desk, firing shots from around the corner. Dozens of shots, but against all odds, none of them hit Harkness.

“Know what I like most about boomerangs, Lyla?” Harkness said. “They're proof that things can come back to haunt you.”

Lyla paused for a moment to reload as Felicity made her way to another cabinet, searching for her own weapon.

“You had a bomb in the back of my head,” Harkness said. “I have a little something special for the back of yours.”

Lyla rose back to her feet, ready to take her final shot against Harkness, but he moved a beat quicker, releasing two boomerangs.

“Lyla! Get down!” Barry shouted. But it was too late. One of the boomerangs made embedded itself in Lyla’s chest, knocking her to the ground.

“No!” Felicity shouted. She pulled the pin on the grenade she had taken and threw it at Harkness. He avoided the blast and ran away, his mission complete.

Barry rushed to Lyla, holding his hands to the wound. “Caitlin! Caitlin!”

“Stop the bleeding,” Caitlin said, shifting into doctor mode. “I need Lidocaine.”

“We have epinephrine!” Felicity said, gesturing towards the medical supplies.

“That'll work,” Caitlin said, grabbing it and running back to Lyla.

“Hey, hey, stay with me!” Felicity said, hovering over Lyla. No, no, no. Not again. They were not losing another member of this team.

Caitlin knelt beside them, jabbing the needle into Lyla’s upper arm. “Ok. Just try and keep her awake. Can you hear me? Lyla? Lyla!”

“Lyla?” Felicity said through tears. “She's not breathing!”

*

The run back to the lair seemed an eternity to Iris, which was nothing compared to the panic Diggle felt. He’d driven back to the Foundry so fast, he had almost beat Iris there. John jumped out of the car, the others trailing behind him as he rushed down the steps. “Lyla! Lyla! She's not moving.” He turned to Caitlin, looking for answers, fearing the worst.

“I've got her stabilized, but I can't operate on her here,” Caitlin said.

John turned back to Iris. “Iris,” he said quietly, his tone pleading.

“Starling General's at Eighth and Wilcott,” Oliver said.

Iris moved forward, picked Lyla up gingerly. She cradled her close, trying not to jostle the boomerang, afraid of doing more harm than good. She made sure she had firm grip on the other woman before she took off towards the hospital certain she was breaking her last speed record.

Chapter Text

Iris came back to the Foundry after delivering Lyla to the hospital and dropping Diggle off to be with his wife (ex-wife? girlfriend? whatever, their dynamic was totally confusing her), and getting a status report from Caitlin. She found Oliver staring into space, brooding in the corner.

“Lyla’s in surgery. Caitlin says the outcome looks good.”

“This is all my fault,” Oliver said, not turning to face her.

“Generally speaking, I think it’s best to blame the wounds on the guy who stabbed a woman in the chest.”

“I tortured Markos to give up that phone. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me.”

“I get the feeling you don't say that very often.”

“To do what I do, Iris, it takes...conviction,” Oliver said, turning to face her. “But... More often than not, it's the will to do what's ugly. Every time I do that, I'm... I'm trading away little... pieces of myself. You called me a psycho?”

“You heard that, huh?”

“Maybe I am. Because the part that I'm trading away is the Oliver Queen I used to be. The man without the mask. And lately I've been feeling like there is... nothing left except the Arrow.”

Iris took a step closer, looking Oliver in the eye. “I think that’s crap. Look, I don’t know your whole story. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through in the last seven years, but I know Barry and I know that he trusts you. I’ve read the articles and watched the news, and I saw the look on your face when Lyla was hurt. You've convinced yourself that everything you've been through took away your humanity, but that can’t be true because you still care about the people that you fight to save. You wouldn't have survived, much less come out the other end a hero, somebody who wants to do good, if you didn't have a light inside of you.”

Oliver sighed, opening his mouth like he was ready to argue, but the door opening caught their attention.

Felicity walked towards them slowly. “I'm sorry if I'm interrupting. I ran facial recognition on Harkness and I have a match.”

“Where is he?”

*

Train station. Of course he was. His mission was complete (or so he thought) and he had two vengeful superheroes on his back.

Iris cased the train station before entering, finding Harkness’s location and clearing out the civilians before dropping Oliver at the scene.

“Get on the ground,” Oliver said firmly.

Harkness laughed. “Why would I want to do that?”

“You hurt a friend of mine,” Oliver said. “You really think there's anywhere in the world you could run where we won't find you?”

“Hmm, probably not. Which is why I have a contingency in place.” Harkness pulled a remote control from his pocket and clicked a button on it. “Five bombs planted throughout Starling. Now, you can stop me, or you can stop the bombs. But you can't do both.”

Iris froze. Disarming bombs? Not exactly in her wheelhouse. “Bombs are armed. In 90 seconds, this city will be on fire.”

“Go,” Oliver said.

Iris took off, instinct pulling her away before she realized she had no idea where she was going. “Guys!” she yelled into the earpiece. “Harkness just triggered five bombs throughout the city. We don't know where.”

Felicity’s came through her earpiece. “To blanket the entire city, he'd have to use—“

“Radio controlled IED,” Cisco finished. “But if we key into the detonator's frequency... “

“We can pinpoint the location of the bombs,” Felicity said.

“Yeah, great,” Iris said, understanding none of their nerd talk except the bottom line. “Where are they?”

“Nearest one is behind a restaurant at Faith and Flower,” Cisco said.

Iris skidded to a stop at the address. If I were a bomb where would I be? She opened the first trashcan slowly, afraid of triggering some hidden booby trap. Nothing. She glances towards the restaurant as she heard laughter. The place was packed, filled with people sitting at the outdoor tables despite the chill in the air. She opened the next trashcan and found the bomb, digital timer counting down ominously.

“Ok, hey, guys, I found it. I'm going to run it out of the city.”

“Iris, wait!” Cisco said.

“Pretty sure I can’t.”

“We think the bombs might be linked,” Felicity said.

“What?”

“Press the emblem on your suit,” Cisco said. “I installed a mini-cam there last week.”

Iris did as she was told and a second later Cisco’s voice came through loud and clear.

“Ok. You see the secondary trigger? It's not just a receiver. It's a transmitter.”

“Iris, if you try to defuse the bomb, the secondary trigger's going to transmit a signal and the rest of the bombs are going to explode.”

“She’s running out of time,” Barry said.

“You have to defuse all the bombs at the same time,” Cisco said.

“What? I’m not Multiplex, I can’t be in five places at once.” Panic filled Iris’s mind, but quickly faded as she realized her solution. “But we can.”

Iris raced back to the lair, grabbing Roy first and checking the screen for the closest bomb’s location and grabbing a pair of wire cutters from the toolbox before setting him down in an alleyway a few blocks away. She repeated the process four more times, until only Barry remained at the Foundry. Sorry, Bear. But one of us is definitely making it back to Dad, she thought as she raced back towards her own bomb.

“Ok,” Cisco’s voice rang out through the line, steadier than Iris would have expected. “Everyone has to cut their wire exactly on three. 1, 2, 3!”

Iris clamped down on the wire, praying everyone else did the same and closed her eyes, waiting for the blast of heat from the bomb and letting out a sigh of relief when none came.

“Screw you, Captain Boomerang,” Cisco said.

Iris smiled. Couldn’t have said it better myself,” she thought as she hurried back to the train station.

“It means I have some humanity left,” Oliver was saying as she skidded to a stop. He turned his back on Harkness, who pulled a boomerang from his jacket. Before he could throw it, Oliver turned around, firing a swift arrow into Harkness’s right hand, pinning it to the column.

Oliver turned back to Iris.

She shrugged. “Okay, that one he deserved.”

*

It was later, after delivering Digger Harkness to a prison in the middle of the North China Sea and watching Oliver’s face light up with his new suit from Cisco that she met up with Oliver Queen once more in yet another abandoned warehouse.

“We could’ve invited everybody. They’d like this,” Iris said.

“No, they’d love this, but this is between us,” Oliver said.

“Us? Excuse me, this was your idea.”

“You can't expect me to believe that you don't want to know, once and for all, who would win-- me or you,” Oliver said, smiling.

“Assuming you don’t shoot me while my back is turned.”

“You know, Roy doesn’t bug me nearly as much about the time I shot him.”

“What?”

“Long story.”

Iris shook her head. “I have superpowers. You have arrows. That run out and that I can outrun.”

“I have strategy and tactical awareness and seven years of experience on you.”

“I think you just didn’t invite everyone because you didn’t want them to see you get your ass kicked by a girl. Which you will. Badly.”

“Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that.”

Iris pulled her mask on and raced to the other side of the building.

“Ready!” Oliver called.

“Set!” Iris yelled back.

Oliver smiled again, firing arrow after arrow that Iris easily caught before rushing forward.

Chapter Text

“All right, Grandma Esther’s eggnog,” Iris said, passing her dad a mug. “Light on the bourbon.”

Joe took a sip and smiled. “Always did enjoy your definition of ‘light.’”

Iris took a drink. “Yeah, it’s not quite the same without getting the buzz from it.”

There was a knock on the door. “I got it!” Iris said, racing for the door.

“Hey! We agreed no superspeed! It sends tinsel everywhere.”

“Sorry!” Iris called back, pulling the door open.

Barry stood there, hands in his pockets. “Hey.”

“What are you doing here? And since when do you knock?”

“Joe invited me. He said you guys were decorating the tree today. And I lost my key. Did you not want me to come?”

“No! I mean, I want you here, I just didn’t know you were coming. I thought you were still mad at us.”

Barry sighed. “You both lied to me, and no, I’m not totally over that, but it’s Christmas. Where else am I going to go?”

“Felicity’s?”

“She’s Jewish.”

“Oh. Tell her ‘Happy Hanukah’ for me.”

“I will.”

Joe called out from the living room. “Barry! Come on in, son, we got plenty of eggnog.”

Iris moved out of his path. “Come on. These ornaments aren’t going to hang themselves.”

Barry shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it on the couch, grabbing an ornament out of the closest box and hanging it on the tree.

Joe’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and sighed. “And the Christmas tradition continues. Detective West….Yeah? …All right.” He hung up. “Sorry, kids, the D.A. wants to ask me some questions. Make sure there's some nog left for me when I get back.” Joe grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

“No promises,” Barry muttered, sipping from his cup.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Iris raced up the stairs, grabbed a box from her room and raced back down. She turned off the TV and took Barry’s hand, leading him to the floor.

“What's happening?”

“Come on,” Iris said, smiling.

“Oh, come on, we're doing this already? Christmas isn't for a few days.”

“I couldn't wait any longer. Don’t pretend you didn’t bring mine. I know you did.” Barry’s sighed and reached into his jacket, pulling out a small box. Iris took it, practically bouncing with excitement. “Yes! Me first!” She tore through the paper and opened the box, pulling out a gold ring on a thin gold chain. “Barry!” Iris gasped. “My mother’s wedding band?”

“A replica, yeah,” Barry said, returning her smile. “I mean, you were devastated when you lost the real one.”

“Our fifth grade field trip-“

“—to the zoo,” they finished together.

“You cried for weeks,” Barry said. He reached for the chain. “Here. Let me.”

Iris turned around to let Barry clasp the necklace. “I can’t believe you remembered. This is the best present I could have asked for.”

Barry shrugged. “I cheated a little on the gift. Actually got it for you last year for a combined graduation/Christmas gift, but you…missed them both.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Iris said, pulling Barry into a hug. She passed Barry his own present. “My gift so sucks in comparison...”

“No,” Barry said tearing into the paper to reveal a microscope.

“Cisco said it’s the best one on the market,” Iris said. “I thought you could maybe use a new one. It's lame, I know.”

“No, no, this is great. I love it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course.”

There was another knock on the door. Iris pulled the door open to see Eddie. “Hey, Eddie,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.

“Hey. Nice ring.”

“Isn’t it? Barry’s Christmas present. It’s an exact replica of my mother’s.”

“How thoughtful,” Eddie said, forcing a smile.

“C’mon, let’s get to tree trimming,” Iris said. “And the shirt box with your name on it should in no way indicate I’ve gotten you something shirt-related for Christmas.”

It was later, after Barry had headed out and after a few cups of Grandma Esther’s eggnog that Eddie brought up the elephant in the room.

“Did Barry seem a little odd to you today?”

Iris shrugged. “Barry’s usually a little odd.”

“I don’t think he was happy to see me. Do you ever think he might like you?”

“What?” Iris shook her head. “No.”

“He gave you a wedding ring.”

“Oh, you didn’t get our save the date announcement?” Iris quipped. Eddie paled. “I’m kidding, silly. We’re best friends. He knows how much my mother’s ring meant to me. And he has a girlfriend.”

“I’ve seen him look at his girlfriend. And I’ve see him look at you. It’s not all that different.”

“No. No, it’s not that. Things have just been…complicated with him ever since I woke up, and I think he’s just…trying to reconnect.”

“He’s trying to reconnect. I just don’t think it’s in the way you think.”

Chapter Text

Barry studied the crime scene. It all looked so familiar. But no, it couldn’t be…

Joe pulled him from his thoughts. “What are you thinking?”

“The blood splatter patterns and trajectory of the remains... only a high-speed collision could have done this. But to cause this type of damage to a human in this space? Whatever hit them would have to have been moving fast.”

“High speed like NASCAR or…?”

Eddie came up to them. “Get this. The witness says all he saw was a blur. Sound familiar?”

Barry pushed past Eddie to the witness. “You saw a blur? Wh-what was it?”

“Whatever it was, it was looking for something.”

“What did it look like?”

“Like a-a man in some kind of yellow suit.”

Barry’s eyes went wide. He nodded at the witness and rushed back over to Joe.

Joe placed his hand on Barry’s arm. “Okay. Barry, listen...”

He didn’t. “I have to check my files. Joe, you heard him, right? The man that killed my mom... he's back.”

“I know.” Joe sighed. “He's been in town for a few weeks now. He paid a visit to me at the house. He took all the evidence from your mom's case. The files are gone.”

“Why wouldn't you tell me this sooner?”

“I couldn't.”

“Why?”

“Because he threatened to kill you. And Iris.”

*

It was weird to have everybody gathered at STAR Labs, but the days of trying to pretend that Barry wasn’t on their team were over. After all, he was the resident forensics expert.

“The crime scene at Mercury Labs was on a floor with highly secured vaults, and the witness said he was looking for something,” Barry said.

“Whatever it was, he wanted it badly enough to kill for it,” Dr. Wells said.

“Doctor, what do you know about this Mercury Labs?” Joe asked.

“Mercury was one of S.T.A.R. Labs' major competitors until our little setback, and then it catapulted to the forefront led by Dr. Christina McGee, brilliant but egocentric physicist,” Dr. Wells said.

“It says here Dr. McGee has secured half a billion dollars in private funding to develop, and I quote, ‘prototypes for the technology of the future,’” Iris said.

“Well, I'll be. Tina's messing with tachyons, superluminal particles,” Dr. Wells continued off the confused looks of the non-scientists.

“Of course,” Joe said, his tone vaguely sarcastic. “So what could someone do with one of those...”

“Tachyons,” Wells supplied.

“Thank you.”

“Well, I don't know,” Dr. Wells said. “Become invincible? if you could devise a matrix stable enough to harness their power, you could travel faster than light.”

“He's gonna try to get them again, so we need to get what Mercury has and use it as a lure.” Barry said.

“That’s not a bad idea, Mr. Allen,” Dr. Wells said. “You and Joe take care of that. Cisco, Caitlin, let's start engineering a trap.”

Joe and Barry nodded, heading out the door.

“I’m on it,” Cisco said, taking a seat at his computer.

Caitlin nodded, but instead of following after him, she turned to Iris. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure,” Iris said, following Caitlin out of the lab. “Are you okay? You seem…off.”

“I didn't sleep much last night.”

“Yeah, me either,” Iris sighed. Pondering whether or not your best friend was secretly in love with you could do that to a girl.

“Um, so I was catching up on your blog, and this story caught my eye... about a man whose head and hands burst into flames?”

“The burning man? I don’t have much to go on for that story. Scattered eyewitness reports, no real proof. I mean, there’s a reason I haven’t brought it up with the team,” Iris said.

“I think I saw him,” Caitlin said. “And I think I know who he is, but I just…I want to be sure before I drag The Flash into this. You’ve got enough on your plate if the man in yellow really is back.”

Iris nodded. “Okay. I’ll send you what I’ve got. But Caitlin, if this guy pans out, I don’t think you should go looking for him alone.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t be.”

*

Barry stared up at the bulletin board. The pictures he had seen a dozen times, all the evidence that had never added up, every lie that had ever been printed about his father.

Memories flashed through his mind of the night his mother died, the last night he had spent with his parents.

He was back. The man in yellow. The man who had murdered his mother. The first speedster Barry had ever met.

He should’ve looked into the case more. Asked the Flash more. It wouldn’t have done any good; Iris didn’t know any more than he did about that man, but Barry should have tried. He should have done more to avenge her, to free his father. He should have done more.

Barry rubbed his eyes, rising to his feet and walking to the window. Lightning flashed outside. Once again he was reminded of Iris, just like he was every time he saw a storm now.

Wait, what was that? For a second Barry could have sworn he saw someone out there, staring back at him from the ledge of a building. He straightened up. Oh, God. It was him.

In a second, the man had run away, leaving red streaks of lightning in his wake.

The door to his lab banged open. “I’m still one step ahead of you, Barry,” came the deep, demonic voice.

Before Barry could even blink, the man in yellow had crossed the room and grabbed him, speeding them both across the city.

Chapter Text

The Man in Yellow released his grip on Barry, who tumbled unceremoniously across the bright green grass. Wait, green grass? In the middle of December? Barry pushed himself off the ground to get a better look at his surroundings. Central City Stadium.

Barry stuck his hand in his coat pocket, searching for his cell phone. God, he was screwed. He needed Iris, and even as he tried to dial her number through touch alone (nearly impossible, God, he would have killed for a flip phone), part of him was hoping she wouldn’t come. He’d be damned if he going to let this man take another woman that he loved from him.

By some miracle, the call went through. Iris was wiping down the tables at Jitters, when her phone began to ring.

“Hey, Bear, what’s up?”

Barry’s voice was distant, muffled. “It was you. You were the one in my house that night. You killed my mother! Why?”

A distorted laugh came through the phone. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Shit.

Iris changed into her suit, phone in hand as she spoke into the coms. “Cisco! I need you to trace Barry’s phone. Now!”

“On it!” Cisco said, tapping away at the keyboard. “What’s going on?”

“He’s with the man in yellow. Hurry, Cisco!”

“Got it! Central City Stadium!”

Iris took off running.

“Who are you?” Barry screamed. “What do you want from me?”

Suddenly, Barry was lifted up by the lapels of his coat. “I want you to die.” Barry went sailing through the air, but just before he collided with the goal post, he felt himself being plucked from the air.

“I got you,” Iris said, setting him down on the ground.

The Man in Yellow laughed that cold, cruel laugh once more. “The Flash and the Lightning Rod. Some things never change. Always drawn together.”

Iris rushed forward, fist raised to punch him. She wasn’t nearly far enough away to manage a supersonic punch, but it would have to do. She jumped, ready to feel her fist collide with his face, to feel his bones shatter on impact, but before she could, he caught her fist and twisted her arm behind her back until she heard and felt the sickening CRACK as the bone broke.

“Hey!” Barry shouted, rising to his feet and moving towards the man, even as Iris shook her head at him, warning him not to. Before he could realize what was happening, Barry was face down on the ground once more, a boot pressed into his spine.

“What are you going to do, Barry? You’re out of your league.” The man lifted his foot from Barry. “Not even the Flash can stop me. You will lose to me. Just like you always have. Just like you always will. It is your destiny, as it was your mother’s destiny to die that night.”

And in a flash of red lightning, he was gone.

Barry rushed over to Iris, gently feeling her arm, but even with him barely touching it, she hissed with pain. “Okay, we need to get you to Caitlin.”

Iris nodded, speaking into her mic. “Cisco? We could use a ride.”

*

Barry hovered behind Caitlin, receiving annoyed glares from the doctor as he kept getting in her way. “You’re sure she’ll be all right? No permanent damage?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “I’ll heal. You’re the one who could’ve died, Barry!”

Barry shook his head. “No. No, he would have killed me if he wanted to. He didn’t.”

“Then what did he want?” Joe asked.

“To prove that he could get to me. To prove that we can’t stop him.”

“We can, Barry,” Cisco said. “We’ll find a way.”

“He was toying with us,” Barry said. “With both of us. This was some sick game to him.”

“He’s right,” Iris said. “The way he talked to us. It was like he knew us. And he was fast. He was too fast for me.”

“The question is, how do we catch someone that even you can’t keep up with?” Barry asked.

“The beautiful thing about force fields, Mr. Allen, is they're impervious to speed,” Dr. Wells said. “Now, we're almost finished fabricating the trap, and all that remains is for Detective West to procure the bait.”

“I'm on it,” Joe said, heading for the door. Barry followed after him. “Barry, why don't you stay here?”

“No, Joe, today is not the day to tell me to stay behind.”

Chapter Text

Barry had secured the tachyon device from Dr. McGee. Word spread quickly around the precinct that there was a second speedster out there. And that this one wasn’t nearly as friendly as the Flash.

Eddie went up to his partner. “Hey, Joe, you got a second?”

“Not now, Eddie.”

“I read the witness statement. The man who killed those guards moved just like the Flash. I know you got something in the works.”

“Yeah, but you don't want any part of this.”

“Yes, I do, Joe. These cases need closer oversight, and you know it. If there’s someone like the Flash running around, committing murders and stealing dangerous technologies, we need our best officers on it.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We need a task force. I’ve already cleared it with Singh.”

Joe shook his head. “This is too dangerous, Eddie.”

“Which is why you can’t do it alone.”

*

“The tachyon device is in place,” Cisco said.

“You think it'll work?” Iris asked.

“It'll work,” Cisco said confidently, walking away checking things on his tablet.

“So how do we advertise to him that the prototype's here?” Barry asked.

“We'll take care of that,” Dr. Wells said.

Barry glanced back and forth between the two older men, suddenly feeling tension in the room. “What's the problem?”

“Barry, Iris...” Joe started. “Me and Dr. Wells have spoken, and... se think it would be best if you two weren't here for this.”

“What are you talking about?” Barry said.

“You're too close to this,” Joe said.

“Or maybe you're not close enough. If you hadn't been too scared and warned me that he was here weeks ago, I could have been prepared for this.”

“I think we can all appreciate Joe's concern for you and Iris, Barry,” Dr. Wells said.

Iris placed a hand on Barry’s as she stepped up next to him. “I'm the best chance at catching this guy! I should be here.”

“He beat you last time, Iris,” Joe said. “You’re not strong enough to take him. Not yet.” Joe shook his head. “Whatever sick motive this guy has, you two are at the heart of it. And I don’t think putting you in the same room with him after last time is a good idea.”

“This man stabbed my mother through the heart and sent my father to prison for it. This is my fight!”

“Not today, son,” Joe said.

Barry grabbed his coat and stormed out.

“Barry,” Iris called after him, but he was gone and she was pretty sure he didn’t feel like talking anymore.

*

Barry’s phone rang as he reviewed the evidence for the millionth time. “Hey, Felicity.”

“Hey, Barry.” Felicity said. He could picture her trying to smile as she spoke, although she sounded as tired as he felt. “How are you doing?”

“Honestly? Kind of awful. The man who killed my mom is back and-”

“I kissed Oliver!”

“What?”

“What? Oh my God, Barry. He’s back? What happened?

“Typical supervillain behavior. Attempted robbery, murdered security guards, kidnapped and taunted me, hurt Iris, ran away to do it all again. You kissed Oliver?”

“It’s complicated. He was leaving for the middle of nowhere to duel the world’s greatest assassin and save his sister, and he told me he loved me, and I just…I couldn’t keep pretending that I didn’t have feelings for him.” Felicity laughed. “Of course, you know what that’s like, don’t you?”

“What are you-”

“Barry, let’s just stop. Stop pretending we don’t know why we ended up together. Oliver was with Sara, and Iris was in a coma, and you were scared of admitting how much you cared about her because you were scared of losing someone you loved again. I get it. And we seemed perfectly perfect for each other.”

“I guess it’s true what they say. Opposites do attract.”

“You want my advice, Barry? Tell Iris. I know it’s a risk, but I think she could be worth it.”

Barry laughed. “Really? You want me to take a page out of Oliver Queen’s Dick Moves and tell my friend’s girlfriend I’m in love with her?”

“I’ve seen the way you look at her when she isn’t looking. She deserves to know there’s someone looking at her like that.”

“You know I’m still here for you. If you ever need anything.”

“Same. Not even the fastest woman alive could keep me away. Just promise me you won’t ever tell her I said that.”

“Happy Hanukah, Felicity.”

“Merry Christmas, Barry.”

*

When Barry arrived back at the house, the door was unlocked, so he slipped in quietly. Iris sat on the couch, sipping hot chocolate as she took notes searched through posts on her blog.

“Hey, Barry. All right, so I’ve got my readers looking out for anything unusual, but until the last week it seems like the only speedster they’ve seen is, well, me. And nothing I can find helps give a location.” Iris glanced back at Barry, who was looking at her seriously. She closed her computer and stood up, reaching out to hug him. “It’s okay, Bear. We’ll get this guy. I promise.”

Barry returned the hug, holding Iris close as she stroked his back, trying to bring him some comfort. He sighed. “I love you, Iris.”

She smiled, squeezing Barry just a little tighter. “Aw, I love you, too.”

He pulled back, hands resting on her shoulders. “When we were kids, I loved you before I even knew what the word "love" meant. And then my mom died, and I had to go live with the girl that I had a crush on.”

Iris sat down, her legs no longer having the strength she’s become so used to.

Barry sat down beside her. “Look, I... there were so many times that I wanted to tell you... Junior prom, when I went away to college, when I came back from college, nights that we stayed up talking, all the birthdays, all the Christmases, but I... I never did. After I lost my mom and my dad, I was afraid that if you didn't feel the same way, I would lose you, too.” Barry shook his head. “And then you got struck by lightning, and I came so close to losing you that I tried to convince myself not to feel that way about you to make it easier. But I couldn’t. And I know that things are crazy now and you’re seeing Eddie, but I just…I couldn’t keep lying to you. Not with this, not when this guy’s back and I’m just…so terrified of losing you.”

Iris felt a tear trickle down her cheek. “You’re not going to lose me, Barry. I promise.”

Chapter Text

God , I could use a drink, Iris thought, letting herself get distracted once again from her research. It wasn’t every day your best friend told you he was in love with you, had always been in love with you. How could I have been so clueless? How could I not have seen this? I thought I knew him better than anyone.

The phone buzzing broke her out of her thoughts.

S.O.S was all it said.

Iris changed and raced over to STAR Labs, where she found the Man in Yellow holding her father in a choke hold, with unconscious (dead?) SWAT officers on the ground.

“I warned you not to hunt me.”

Iris took advantage of the man’s distraction and pushed him away from her father and out of the room. But then the other speedster pushed back, and suddenly they were spinning, getting nowhere and holy crap they were going up and yep, that was the skylight, and oh, wait, still going up, until gravity took it’s toll and sent them both speeding back to the ground. Iris stumbled backwards as the Man in Yellow overpowered her, sending her flying into a car windshield.

But then he was gone, and Iris saw why. He was racing back to Cisco and Caitlin, who had of course followed the action outside. Damn their curiosity. No, no, he’s not hurting anyone else I love.

Iris launched off the car managing to get in between her friends and the speedster, but he rushed her, knocking her to the ground. Before she could get back on her feet, he had lifted her off the ground and slammed her back down. She staggered to her feet and aimed a punch at the man, but he avoided it, catching her once more and swinging her like a rag doll across the parking lot. She tried to stand again. I have to stop him. I promised Barry, she thought wildly. She aimed another punch, but he caught her hand and she heard as much as felt the bone in her wrist snap. She swung wildly with her left hand, hearing a satisfying crack as she hit his jaw, but the satisfaction was fleeting as the Man in Yellow laid punches into body and finished with an uppercut to her chin.

“Iris!” Caitlin shouted, and she would have been angry about her friend revealing her identity if the Man in Yellow hadn’t already tugged down her mask. He let go of her and she landed on her back. The man stepped over her.

This is it. I’m sorry, Barry.

But instead of a killing blow, Iris felt heat flow over her body as flames threw the Man in Yellow back. Iris turned her head to see a man on fire. The burning man?

The Man in Yellow stayed back. “Our race is not yet done. See you soon, Flash.” And he was gone.

Cisco and Caitlin ran forward. Cisco knelt down, helping Iris to her feet, while Caitlin moved to the Burning Man, staring at him like she was seeing a ghost.

“Don’t look for me again,” he said warningly. And he ignited himself once again, leaving twin trails of smoke and fire as he leapt into the sky.

Iris stumbled over to Caitlin, cautiously putting a hand on her shoulder. “So that was….”

“My dead fiancé,” Caitlin said, eyes locked on his path.

Iris stared at the sky after Ronnie for a moment. “For what it’s worth…I like him.”

*

Iris arrived back at the police station, heading for Eddie’s desk. She laid a hand a hand on his shoulder, making him jump before he realized who it was and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whoa. It’s just me. I hear you had a rough night.”

“I…I shouldn’t be alive right now. There’s a lot of good officers who aren’t tonight. Because I decided we needed a task force to deal with these….”

“Metahumans.”

“What?”

Iris sighed. “STAR Labs is calling them metahumans. They’re people who got powers the night of the particle accelerator. I’ve been helping STAR Labs find them.”

“And your dad?”

“He knows about them, yes.”

Eddie shook his head. “What about The Flash? What do you know about her?”

“I know that she is the reason my father and my boyfriend are still alive.” She handed him his jacket. “Come on. You look like you need a little Christmas.”

*

Iris held Eddie’s hand as she walked into the house. “Merry Christmas!” she called.

“Hey!” Cisco called, leaning his head over the back of the couch.

“Hey! What are you guys doing here?”

“Joe invited us,” Caitlin said.

“And Dr. Wells?” Iris asked.

“Uh, he wasn't feeling up to a social gathering, but he appreciated the invitation,” Caitlin said. “Eggnog?”

“Always,” Iris said, smiling. She turned back toward the fireplace, where Barry sat. She caught him staring at her hand clasped in Eddie’s and she let go, suddenly feeling guilty, but Eddie didn’t seem to notice. He followed after Caitlin to get their eggnog.

Iris sat down at the edge of the hearth. Barry reached out a hand cautiously. “Careful. Don’t want to get too close to the fire.”

Iris smiled. “Wouldn’t be the first time tonight.” Off Barry’s confused look, she added, “Long story. I'll tell you later.”

“Listen, Iris, about what I said earlier…”

“Barry, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“For lying to you, for not being able to stop this guy-“

“That’s not your fault-“

“And for not being able to say I love you back like you love me. Because you deserve to have that, Barry, you do.”

“Iris, it’s okay. We’re okay. I just – I just wanted you to know. How I felt.”

Iris nodded. “Okay.” She stood back up. “I’m gonna go get some nog. Refill?” she asked, holding out her hand for the mug.

“Sure.”

In the corner, Joe and Cisco talked over their own cups. “Mm. Day like today, grandma Esther's eggnog seems a little light on the bourbon,” Joe said.

Cisco laughed, then stared thoughtfully over Joe’s shoulder at Iris. “Hey, Joe.”

“Hmm?”

“I saw something weird tonight.”

“Yeah, Cisco, I saw it too.”

“No, I mean, when The Flash and the Man in Yellow were going full-on bumper cars on each other, I was watching the electricity coming off of them... yellow and red electricity. When Barry was a kid, he said he saw red and yellow lightning in his house the night his mother died.”

Realization dawned on Joe. “There were two of them.”

Cisco nodded. “The man in yellow may have killed Barry's mother, but there was another speedster there that night.”

Iris passed Barry an eggnog and popped her head around the corner of the doorway. “Dad! It’s time.”

Joe and Cisco headed into the living room. Joe took the ornament Barry handed him and placed the angel on top of the tree, Iris bursting into applause as he did. Instinctively, Iris turned to Barry, a habit formed out of fifteen years of Christmas celebrations together, and caught him staring back at her, a small, peaceful smile on his face.

Oh. So that’s what that smile meant.

Chapter Text

My name is Iris West, and I’m the fastest woman alive. But I just found out I’m not the fastest person alive. That title belongs to the man who killed my best friend’s mother. But not for long.

Or at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m out here letting my friend shoot rockets at my face. Which he is getting way too much joy out of.

“That was too close!” Caitlin yelled.

“She told me to make it hard,” Cisco said, eyes locked on the missile.

“Pretty sure she didn’t tell you to make her dead.”

“C’mon, Cisco, is that all you got?” Iris teased over the coms.

Cisco looked over at Wells, who sighed. “Bring it,” he said.

Cisco smiled and fired off another missile that went off closer than Iris would have liked, knocking her to the ground. Iris rose back to her feet, eyes sparking as a plan formed in her mind. A second missile fired, heading straight for her. Iris didn't move.

Caitlin didn’t share her friend’s confidence. “Why isn't she running away? Iris, run away.”

Iris stood where she was, sidestepping the missile until it started to pass her and then grabbing it from the sides, and spinning around, so that the missile was redirected towards the drone. The explosion that followed made Iris grin and made Cisco cringe. Yep, that was going to be expensive.

“Very impressive, Miss West,” Dr. Wells said later while Iris ate her weight in Big Belly Burger. “Your reaction to stimuli at super-speed continues to improve.”

“It's still not enough.”

“It will be,” Dr. Wells assured her. "You keep working like you are, you stay focused like you are, and you will be ready the next time your man in the yellow suit comes around.”

“I think you mean the Reverse-Flash.” Cisco’s partners gave him annoyed looks. “What? He said it, not me. And he's right. Yellow suit, red lightning, guy and evil. Plus, I’m like ninety percent sure it was a white guy. Total reverse of Iris.”

“Meh,” Caitlin said, shrugging.

“Actually, I kind of like it,” Dr. Wells said, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

“So, we’ve narrowed the suspect pool down to Caucasian males with chins. Awesome,” Iris said, standing back up. “All right, I'm ready for round two. How many more drones do you have left?”

“Two,” Cisco said excitedly.” And they've got lasers.”

“No,” Caitlin and Wells said.

*

Training sessions would soon take a backseat to the current criminal activities, as Iris and the team found out when Barry stopped by the next day.

“Captain cold is back?” Cisco asked.

“For a non-metahuman, Leonard Snart is proving to be quite the nemesis,” Dr. Wells said.

“He still has the cold gun, the one he stole from us, the one I built,” Cisco said.

“There’s enough guilt to go around, Cisco,” Iris said. “If I’d just caught him the first time…”

“It’s too late to play the ‘What Could Have Happened’ Game,” Caitlin said. Iris had the distinct feeling she was talking to herself as much as Iris and Cisco. “What does he want this time?”

“The Flash,” Barry said. The rest of the team turned to him. “He used the cold gun. He knew we would recognize it, yet he didn’t even try to take anything. It’s a message. To you.”

“If Snart wants a fight with the Flash, then I'll give him one,” Iris said.

“Well...” Dr. Wells started.

“You don't think I should?”

“I didn't say that. But, Iris, as fast as you are, you cannot be everywhere at once. And it becomes then a question of priorities. Now, in the last month, you have made a commitment to increasing your speed, enhancing your reflexes, and it's working. You're finally getting faster.”

“Okay, but what am I supposed to do, just ignore Snart?”

“The last time you had a fight with Snart, a train derailed. You were lucky to get all those people to safety. And if you don't give him that fight...”

“He may just back off, and there'll be no casualties.” Iris sighed. Would Snart just back down? He’d seemed less interested in hurting people and more interested in money the first time they’d met, but this time, as the cliché goes, it was personal.

Dr. Wells had already wheeled off, making plans. “Look, Cisco and I will work with Barry, Joe and the police to devise a way to catch cold. Yes, I said it, Cisco. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I heard it.”

Cisco smiled, but let the joke go. “Yeah, we can definitely come up with ways to neutralize Snart. We got this.”

“Listen, Iris. Whether or not you go after Snart, that's your choice. We here, we will do whatever we can to support you. But after this past Christmas, after the events with the Reverse-Flash, I just think he poses a greater threat to all of us.”

It was true. Reverse Flash was the real threat not some thief with a sci-fi gun. Cisco could counteract the tech, and then they’d just be thieves. A problem the police could handle.

“Okay. Okay, I’ll back off this one.”

Chapter Text

Iris had gotten home from a rough shift at Jitters to find her dad waiting in a chair with a stern look on his face. “Were you waiting up for me?”

“Why aren’t you going after Snart?”

Iris slid off her shoes. “You talked to Wells, didn’t you?”

“Of course I talked to Wells. And Cisco. They’re actually helping the police with the Snart case.”

“Last time I fought Snart, we derailed a train. People could have been hurt. If staying away is the best thing I can do to keep people safe, it’s what I’ll do.”

“There was a time when you staying out of danger would have made me very happy. But this, this isn’t like you.”

“What’s not like me? Not listening to your advice? Trying to stop the guy who killed Barry’s mother? Who threatened Barry. Along with everyone else I care about. We know nothing about this guy. He’s more powerful than me. We’re only alive because he decided to walk away from our fight, for God knows what reason.”

“I’m not saying that shouldn't be your priority. I’m just saying it doesn’t seem like you to let this go.”

“I’m going to bed.” Iris started for the stairs, then turned around. “Since we’re already having a fight, let me ask you one more thing. Did you know Barry’s been in love with me for, like, ever?”

Joe didn’t answer, but the expression on his face spoke volumes.

Iris laughed. “You’d think sooner or later we’d run out of secrets.”

*

When Iris walked into STAR Labs the next day, Caitlin was staring intensely at her computer screen.

“Hey,” Iris said, making Caitlin jump. “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.”

Caitlin shook her head and forced a smile. “No, it's okay. I was just kind of focused.”

“Research mode? Been there. What's firestorm?

“It's one of the last things Ronnie said to me before he... flew away. My dead fiance can fly. I haven't broken that to my parents yet.” She took a closer look at Iris. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, just a fight with my dad, and, um, Barry told me he’s in love with me.”

“Huh. I guess I owe Cisco a latte.”

“What? You two made bets on whether or not Barry was in love with me?”

“Oh, we both knew Barry was in love with you. Cisco just thought he’d tell you before you figured it out on your own.” Caitlin shrugged. “Sorry. I thought you’d see it sooner.”

“How did everyone know but me?”

“Honestly? The coma. The way he could just come in and talk to you for hours and the way he looked at you. Guys don’t look at girls that way when they’re just friends.”

“I just…I miss us being us. I’ve barely spoken to him since Christmas, and I miss having him around, but…”

“But everything’s changed now.”

“Yeah.”

“Before I met Ronnie, I knew exactly what was going to happen every day of my life. It was predictable. I like predictable. But when Ronnie and I started dating, everything started to change. He made me try Indian food and scuba diving. At first it was scary. But then it was better. Things weren't really normal with him pining for you and you guys lying to each other. Whatever happens next, it will be better.”

“Wait, Caitlin. Scuba.”

“What about it?”

“It was my PE credit in college. Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, it's an acronym. What if firestorm isn't a word?”

Caitlin reran the search. “Fusion ignition research experiment and science of transmutation originating RNA and molecular structures.” She groaned then glanced hopefully at Iris. “It's 800 pages.”

Iris leaned over the keyboard to get a better look at the screen and began looking over the pages, eyes fluttering and fingers blurring as she scrolled through the document. When she was finished, she closed her eyes tight and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing away the studying-induced headache that had cropped up. “Okay, that is more scientific reading than I have done in my entire life up to this point, but….it was about transmutation, which is the process of altering the structure of an element by unzipping the atoms –“

“-and rebuilding it to create an entirely new element,” Caitlin finished.

“Well, the article was co-written by Jason Rusch, who's a grad student here at Hudson University. So if anybody knows what happened to Ronnie... “

“Maybe he does,” Caitlin said, her voice sounding more hopeful than Iris had ever heard it.

“Maybe.”

“Thanks, Iris.”

“Anytime. Actually, no. Never ask me to read that much nerd talk ever again.” Iris’s phone began buzzing. She turned, answering the call. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?...What?...He did what?...Was anyone hurt?...Yeah. Okay. Bye.” She ended the call and turned back to Caitlin.

“What was that?”

“Cold has a partner. With a heat gun. Cisco’s shields didn’t work against it. Two guys ended up in the ICU.”

“Your dad and Eddie?”

“They’re fine. I’m gonna check my blog, see if anyone’s got anything on their whereabouts. You need any more help tracking down your lead?”

“No, I got it. You get Snart.”

*

Finding Snart was easier said than done (big surprise there). She’d managed to dig up some background on Mick Rory, Snart’s partner, but nothing that told her where he could be hiding. She checked with Eddie and her dad, but the police hadn’t managed to find out much more than her. She was walking into Jitters for the morning shift when something caught her eye. A car covered in ice, even though there’s been no rain or snow in a week. She ran forward and realized she recognized the car. It belonged to Caitlin.

“Oh, my God.”

Chapter Text

The parking lot was swarming with cops. As much as Iris had wanted to immediately run off and talk to Cisco and Dr. Wells, she had to handle it the right way. She felt like she had answered every question a thousand times. No, she had no idea why they would take Caitlin. Yes, they had spoken yesterday. No, Caitlin hadn’t said anything about seeing Snart or Rory around.

Eddie came up to her. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. We’ve just, you’ve just got to find her.”

Eddie put a hand on her shoulder. “We will.”

Iris nodded, placing her hand over his. “I’m gonna get to STAR Labs. See if Cisco’s got any ideas to stop this new guy.”

“We’ll call you if we find anything.”

Iris walked away, switching to superspeed when she got around the corner and rushing to STAR Labs.

“Have you found anything?”

Cisco pointed to the computer screen. “When the heat gun was fired, it increased the surrounding temperature of the air dramatically, sort of like an extreme heat wave. Heatwave.”

“Not the time, Cisco,” Iris said.

Cisco nodded. “Okay. I measured the temperature output of both the cold and heat guns, right? And while the cold gun achieves absolute zero, the heat gun successfully reaches absolute hot, or the hottest temperature an object can reach, Planck temperature.”

“So these two guns could cancel each other out?”

“Yeah, but to do that, you'd have to make them cross streams.”

“What, like in Ghostbusters?”

“That film is surprisingly scientifically accurate,” Cisco replied.

“Okay, I can do that. But we’ve got to find out where they are first. Have you had any luck tracking temperature fluctuations in the city?”

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Dr. Wells said, pointing to the TV screen. Cold was on screen with Caitlin struggling against his partner. Cisco turned up the volume.

“Greetings, citizens of Central City. I am Leonard Snart. But you can call me Cold. I'm gonna make this very simple for everyone. That red streak you've been hearing whispers about, the one mysteriously saving people these past few months? Well, surprise, she's real.”

“No,” Caitlin whispered in the background, struggling harder to get out of Rory’s grasp.

Cold ignored her, continuing his speech. “She calls herself the Flash. Porter and Main, tonight, sundown. Come out, come out, wherever you are, Flash. Show the whole world you're real. Or this woman dies.”

Caitlin moved closer to camera. “No, don't come for me. Stay away!”

The screen went black.

Iris’s phone rang. “Hey, Dad. I’m guessing you saw the news.”

“Yeah. The whole department did. If the Flash comes out tonight, you’ve got backup, but are you ready for this? For the whole world to know that the Flash is real?”

“It’s Caitlin. I’m going.”

*

Iris waited for sunset and went out, running through the streets, then straight through the police tape blocking the street, to the astonished whispers of the officers behind her. She stopped in the middle of street when she saw Cold and Heatwave heading her way.

“The Scarlet Speedster,” Cold said. “Any preference on how you'd like to die? The flame? Or the frost?”

Iris walked towards them, refusing to play their game.

“Not in the mood for chitchat. Gotcha. Ready when you are.” They leveled their weapons and fired. Iris dodged the streams, zigzagging across the street, letting the surroundings take the brunt of their blasts. Cold blasted a fire hydrant, making Iris take a hard turn left to avoid the ice, losing her balance and stumbling as she did.

“Iris, are you okay?” Dr. Wells asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. “You have to get them to cross streams.”

“I know,” Iris said. Suddenly the car she was next to burst into flames. She could hear Heatwave cackling in the background, along with the sound of them firing up their guns once more. She raced up the side of a building. Back and forth, trying to get their weapons to cross, but to no avail. She leapt off the side, making a three point landing in the middle of the street. Which would have been a lot cooler if she hadn’t immediately been knocked off her feet by the blast of the cold gun.

She was still in pain, still trying to get her legs to move, to unfreeze, do something, when she saw the two supervillains bearing down on her. Her legs still wouldn’t cooperate. She saw the guns fire and braced herself for the rush of pain, but then something blocked her view of them.

Cisco’s shield. And Eddie was carrying it.

“Hold on!” he shouted. For a second, Iris was afraid he was too close, that he’d recognize her under the mask, but he wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were locked on the criminals in front of them. “I got this! Go, go!”

And Iris managed to get her legs under her and took off, pulling Eddie along with her and dropping him out of harm’s way before heading back to the street.

Cold and Heatwave parted ways, finding their best shots to take down the Flash.

“I can't get them to cross streams,” she said into the comms. “Speed isn't getting it done.”

“You're right,” Dr. Wells said. “Maybe the way to do this is not by going faster.

“It's going slower,” Iris said. Crap. This is gonna hurt. “Okay, I can do this.” She rushed forward, closer to the gunmen, and then slowed her pace to a walk as the guns found their target. It hurt. Worse than cold, worse than lightning, worse than poison gas. Cold and Heatwave followed her path, getting way too much joy out of seeing her suffer. In the instant before their beams collided, Iris took off, letting the streams cross.

Watching the two men get blasted off their feet and collide with the ground was more satisfying than it should have been. But not nearly as satisfying as watching Snart scramble for his cold gun, only to put her foot on it at the last second.

Snart laughed, not an evil laugh but like he was genuinely amused by the turn of events. “Didn’t see that coming. You win this time.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Iris said. Eddie ran up to them, gun trained on Snart. “Thank you, Detective,” Iris said, distorting her voice, before running off to STAR Labs.

Chapter Text

Cisco was sitting with Caitlin at STAR Labs, her hand gripped in his when Iris raced into STAR Labs. Iris skidded to a stop in front of them, making Caitlin flinch just a little.

“Are you okay? Is she okay?” Iris looked Caitlin over, checking for signs of damage, but aside from looking scared to death, Caitlin seemed fine.

Caitlin nodded. “I’m fine. Thanks to your dad.” Cisco cleared his throat. “And Cisco.”

Iris reached out, pulling Caitlin into a hug, which she gratefully returned.

“I’m so sorry, Caitlin,” Iris said.

Caitlin shook her head. “This isn’t your fault. It’s one of the risks of the job. Maybe I need a mask.”

“If you’re serious, I will totally get on that right now,” Cisco said.

Caitlin laughed. “I’m fine, really. I just need to get home. Get some rest.” Caitlin stood up. “Give me a lift?” she asked Iris. “Pretty sure my car is still a frozen cube in evidence lockup.”

“Joe said he’ll get it back to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, sure,” Iris said. Caitlin threw her arm over Iris’s shoulder, and Iris grabbed onto her and sped her back to her apartment.

Caitlin stumbled over to her couch and sat down, taking an uneasy breath.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Iris said, sitting next to her.

“Yeah, of course,” Caitlin said. “Except that the last time I was by myself I got kidnapped and strapped to a bomb, so…”

“You want me to stay?”

“I have a really nice guest room,” Caitlin offered.

Iris laughed. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

*

“What do you mean you’re moving in with Caitlin?”

Iris rolled her eyes, pulling the packing tape over the flap of the box. “I mean I have a new roommate. And good news, she’s someone you already approve of.” She sped the box back over to Caitlin’s and when she returned Joe was still staring at the spot where she’d been. “Relax, Dad, we just started talking and she was freaked out about the kidnapping thing and I mentioned wanting to get out on my own more, and the guest room was right there, so here we are.”

“Does this have anything to do with our fight a few days ago?”

“No, Dad. It’s about the fact that I’m twenty-five years old and have lived in this house my entire life. It’s about me being adult enough to fight crime and have a master’s degree, but not to move out of this house. And maybe, yes, it would be nice if I could go back to my own place after an argument instead of storming into my bedroom like a sullen teenager.” Iris sighed. “You know, you didn’t give Barry this much grief when he moved out.”

“Barry’s not my little girl. And he’d never been threatened by supervillains when he moved out. It was a lot less stressful.”

“I have superpowers and I’m moving in with my doctor. Pretty sure I’ll be fine.”

The doorbell rang. “That’s Eddie. He said he’d help me move today.”

“Help you don’t actually need,” Joe reminded her.

“What kind of boyfriend doesn’t help his girlfriend move? I couldn’t deny him the experience.”

Iris raced back downstairs and opened the door. “Hey, babe,” she said, kissing him.

Eddie wrapped his arms around her. “Hey.”

Joe came down the stairs at that moment, clearing his throat as he glared at Eddie, who stumbled back a step.

“Add that to the list of reasons I’m glad to be moving out,” Iris muttered. Iris grabbed a box off the coffee table and passed it to Eddie. “Start loading up the car. I’ll help in a second.”

Eddie took the box out, and Iris turned back to her dad. “You’re gonna be okay with this, right?”

“I’ll learn to live with it,” Joe answered, taking a seat on the couch.

Iris leaned over, hugging him. “I’ll be fine. Promise.”

“Yeah, you better be,” Joe answered, kissing her on the cheek.

Iris stood back up and spotted the picture of her and Barry on the end table. “Hey, Dad. You mind if I take this?”

“No, go ahead.”

Iris picked up the framed photograph. Things had been so much simpler when that picture was taken. Was it really only two years ago?

They’d find their way back to that. She was sure of it.

Chapter Text

“Hey, I’m home,” Iris called, unlocking the door, the scent of garlic wafting towards her.

“Hey!” Barry called back from his spot sprawled across the couch.

“Hey, baby,” Joe answered, setting a dish on the table.

“Okay, you invite Barry over for dinner and not me? Not cool.”

“If I invite you over, I don’t get a week’s worth of leftovers out of this spaghetti. Plus, he was standing right there when I mentioned food. He invited himself.”

Barry nodded. “I did. It was really rude.”

“But if you want to stay, you’re more than welcome to.”

Iris held up her hand. “It’s fine, Dad. I’m supposed to meet Caitlin and Cisco at the Chinese buffet by STAR Labs. Use this souped-up metabolism to get my money’s worth. I just came to pick up a few things I left.”

“Since you’re here, Central City Picture News called. I left the number on the fridge.”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Chill. Just did.”

Iris ran into the kitchen pulling the name and number off the fridge. “You know, things like this are why cell phones were invented,” she called back to her dad as she dialed the number. She was half-convinced this was some kind of prank, when a gruff voice picked up on the other end.

“Hi this is Iris West calling for Eric Larkin.”

“Miss West, glad to finally hear back from you. I’ve been reading your blog on the Flash. There’s some quality work there.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Listen, a spot has opened up in my reporting staff. Would you be interested?”

She was hallucinating. She was dreaming. She’d never woken up from her coma and everything about her becoming the Flash and everything up to this moment was an elaborate virtual reality her brain had concocted. “Yes, that sounds great,” Iris managed to say.

“All right. We’ll see you Monday morning. Nine o’clock.”

“Thank you sir. I’ll see you then.” She hung up the phone and let out a squeal of delight.

“Was that a good scream or bad scream?”

Iris smiled as she headed back in. “Good! So good! I just got offered a job as a reporter at Central City Picture News.”

“That's awesome!” Barry said.

“The editor's a fan of my blog!”

“That is amazing,” Barry said, wrapping his arms around Iris.

“Oh, God,” Joe said, taking a large sip of his wine.

*

Saying she was nervous was the understatement of the year. Take on supervillains? Sure. Deal with her best friend suddenly (not so suddenly) being in love with her after fifteen years in the friend zone? Okay. Fine. First day at her first real grownup job with actual reporters and maybe a Pulitzer Prize winner or two? Yeah, maybe she could just fight Captain Cold again. She was getting really good at that.

Iris settled into a seat at the table, wondering vaguely if she was stealing some latecomer veteran’s seat. She turned to the reporter next to her to introduce herself. “Hi. I'm Iris West. It's my first day.”

“I can see that.”

Iris smiled back nervously. “Really? Does it show?”

The reporter gave her a blank, uninterested stare. “Uh, the fact that I've never seen you before shows.”

Mr. Larkin entered the room. “Mr. Bridge! Nice of you to make an appearance at a staff meeting.”

“I do love a good shmear," Bridge said, as Iris processed just who she was talking to. Mason Bridge, the Pulitzer prize winner. So much for making a good first impression.

Larkin gestured towards Iris. "Everyone, welcome Iris West, our new cub. Anyone want to volunteer to be her mama bear?" All hands stayed down. Iris couldn't help feeling like the little kid who'd just been chosen last in gym class. "Mason, you picked a bad day to actually show up. “

"I don't nanny," Mason argued.

"I lost the ability to make a joke back in '05. Today, you do. Deadlines. All new stories are due on my desk at the end of the day.”

Iris decided to jump in before Larkin could walk away. “Oh, actually, I had an idea for a piece. There's this program in Keystone that helps battered women get back on their feet.”

“Ah, that sounds really great, West," Larkin said unenthusiastically. "Actually, any thoughts on a piece about The Flash, something you haven't written about yet, something new?”

Iris's excitement deflated once again. “Um, no. Not currently.”

Larkin sighed. “All right. Sally forth, everyone. Sally forth.”

Iris headed to her desk, not sure if she should actually work on the Keystone piece or not. Larkin hadn’t technically said no, although it was obvious he wanted a new Flash story. Although, wasn’t that cheating? Using her superheroine career to further her journalistic one?

In the end she decided to work on both pieces since it wasn't like she didn't have the time, glancing around the office every now and then to double check that no one had noticed her fingers moving just a little too quickly over the keys.

Iris’s phone rang. “It’s my first day of work, Cisco. This better be a life-threatening emergency.”

“Hartley Rathaway. Psycho former STAR Labs employee with sonic technology and a grudge against his family and Dr. Wells is attacking Rathaway Industries downtown. Life-threatening enough for you?”

Iris sighed. Well, she had said supervillains would be easier. “On my way,” she said, grabbing her giant purse with the Flash suit inside.

Hartley was blasting at police cars when Iris arrived on the scene, but as far as she could tell no one was seriously hurt, so she took him out with the old-fashioned playground move of shoving him to the ground. “It's over, Rathaway.”

Hartley smirked. “You know my name. I know some names too. Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Harrison Wells.”

Shit.

“I can hear the radio waves emanating from your suit,” he continued, rising back to his feet. “About 1900 megahertz. Is that them on the other end, listening? Are they gonna hear you die?”

“No. They're gonna hear you get your ass kicked.”

“Okay,” Hartley said, sending out a sonic blast that knocked Iris into the glass Rathaway Industries sign.

Nothing wounded but her pride, Iris stood up ran back to the police cars, pulling batons from the officers’ holsters and throwing them at Hartley. He cowered for a moment before aiming his gauntlets at Iris, who promptly ran up and pulled them off of him hands, tossing them to the ground behind her.

Iris slammed Hartley into the wall of the building. “Gotta say, after all the smart people I’ve meet at STAR Labs, I was expecting you to be a little smarter.”

“Smart enough to have figured out who Harrison Wells really is. You see, I know his secret.”

Chapter Text

“You know, a lot of guys might be into getting handcuffed by a woman in a mask and head to toe leather, but you’re just not my type,” Hartley said as Iris pushed him down the hallway at STAR Labs.

“Thank God for small favors.”

Caitlin and Cisco were waiting for them. Hartley smirked when he saw them standing there. “Well, well, well, the gang's all here. You've lasted a lot longer than I would've thought, Cisco”

“And you didn't last ten seconds against The Flash,” Cisco said.

“I was thinking of calling myself Pied Piper,” Hartley replied.

“Hey! I assign the nicknames around here. Although that one's not bad.”

Hartley turned to Caitlin. “Caitlin...” She raised her eyebrows to acknowledge him. “Never did get that wedding invite.”

“Shut the hell up!” Iris said, shoving Hartley forward.

Cisco took it from there. “Stay in front of me,” he said pushing Hartley a little harder than necessary down the corridor to the Pipeline.

Iris turned back to Caitlin. “You okay?”

“Yeah. For Hartley that was actually fairly tame.”

“I got to get back to work. You’re sure you guys got this?”

“I’m sure. I should probably check on Cisco, though. Make sure Hartley hasn’t said anything to make Cisco want to beat him to death.”

*

When Iris arrived back at Central City Picture News, Larkin was looking for her. “West, where’ve you been? Eyewitnesses say The Flash thwarted an attack downtown today.”

“Yeah, Chief, I was actually following a lead on the suspect. He used to work with some friends of mine. I thought I could get some background, see what makes someone go from spoiled rich genius to supervillain.”

Larkin looked surprised but nodded. “Okay, good work.” He started to walk away and then turned back. “Oh, and don’t call me ‘Chief.’ Mason, you're looking particularly rumpled today.”

“Mm-hmm,” Mason mumbled.

“So, what are we working on?” Iris said, leaning on Mason’s desk.

“I am following up on a lead on corruption at the DWP. And apparently you’re covering The Flash story. So what, first you and The Flash are besties, now you know people at STAR Labs. How many connections do you have around this town?”

Iris decided it would be a bad idea to mention her dad, boyfriend and Barry all worked for the police department. Mason was already looking at her like she’d been handed the job on a silver platter. “I thought connections were generally considered a good thing in the world of journalism. Was I wrong?”

“No, it’s just most reporters don’t seem as close to the stories they’re following.”

“I know Larkin hired me because he thinks I have some in with The Flash, but I didn’t take this job because I wanted to follow her around all day. I want to do more. I’m serious about my career.”

Mason sneered. “Why? Because you write a blog? My mother writes a blog.”

“I may not have a lot of experience, but I do have... “

“Spunk? Grit? Gumption? What is this, a chick-lit novel?”

*

Iris walked into Jitters and settled in at table with Barry. “No matter how bad my day goes, it’s still nice to know I can come in here and not have to pour anyone coffee.”

“Your day went bad?” Barry asked. “Why? I thought you were so excited for this new job.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “And you caught a bad guy in like, ten seconds. That’s got to be some kind of record.”

“And that was great, no, but the job just…isn’t what I thought it would be. Like my idol, Mason Bridge, basically told me I only had this job because of my connection to The Flash.”

Barry cringed and tilted his head.

“No. Shut up. You cannot side with the jerk when I’m having the worst day ever. You know that.”

“But I mean, the blog is how you got the job. And the blog is about The Flash and metahumans and every crazy thing that’s ever happened in this town. You can’t honestly say you didn’t expect to be covering the superhero beat.”

Iris sighed. “I guess not. But, Barry, I’ve wanted this for so long. I was a journalist way before…you know. And I don’t need you know to be the sole reason I have a job. I’m supposed to be a reporter even if I hadn’t become…right?”

“Iris, I can’t imagine a world where you aren’t someone who fights for justice and the truth, whether that’s with a costume or a pen or a Wi-Fi connection. You were born for this. Really.”

Iris smiled. “Thanks, Bear.” She noticed him staring into his coffee cup just a little too intensely. “All right, what is it?”

“What’s what?”

“You. You’ve got something you want to tell me. Get it out.”

“I talked to Joe today.”

“Okay, no shock there.”

“He had some…concerns. About Dr. Wells’ involvement with Hartley Rathaway.”

“He used to work for him. Wells fired him. He’s pissed off. Seems pretty cut and dry to me.”

“It’s more than that. This isn’t ‘I got fired, let’s trash the boss’s car’ there’s something deeper going on here. Personal.”

“Like, what?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping you could figure that out.”

Iris’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID – Dr. Wells. “Hey.”

“Listen to me. Hartley escaped. He's loose in the facility.”

Chapter Text

Iris raced to STAR Labs, finding Caitlin in the Cortex, pushing herself back to her feet. “Cait, are you okay?”

Caitlin nodded. “Cisco and Dr. Wells?”

Iris ran off coming to Dr. Wells in the hallway. “Where is he?”

“He’s gone.”

And no way of knowing where he went. “Where’s Cisco?”

“The Pipeline, maybe?”

Iris nodded and took off toward the Pipeline. It looked like a bomb had gone off, which technically it had. She skidded to a stop when she saw Cisco lying in the debris, blood streaked across his face. “Cisco?! Cisco, can you hear me?” Iris’s heart sped up as she checked Cisco’s pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it. “Oh, thank God. You’re gonna be okay. I got you,” she said, slipping her arms under his back as carefully as she could and speeding him back to the medical bay. She settled him on a hospital bed before running back to the Cortex and grabbing Caitlin and bringing her to Cisco’s side. “He’s hurt. I don’t know how badly,” Iris said, stepping back to let Caitlin work.

*

Cisco’s eyes fluttered open. “Hey. Welcome back, Mr. Ramon,” Iris said with a smile.

Cisco smiled back as he started to sit up, sending a rush of pain through his head. “Ooh. Oh, man,” he said, clutching his head. Memories of the last few moments before the explosion came back to him and he shot straight up. “Caitlin?”

Iris put a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Hey. She's fine. See?” she said pointing to where Caitlin was coming back into the room.

“You need to rest,” Caitlin said, trying gently to push Cisco back onto the bed. “You have a concussion. You're lucky.”

Cisco rolled his eyes and turned back to Iris. “Please tell me you got him.”

Iris shook her head. “The attack on his family's company must have been a fake out so we'd catch him.”

“And give him direct access to S.T.A.R. Labs,” said Caitlin.

“But, why?” Iris asked.

“I should've known he was up to something. This is my fault,” Cisco said.

“How could you have known? I’m the one who fought him. I should have known something was up. I shouldn't have left before... “

Wells wheeled into the room, holding up his hand to stop the conversation. “This is no one's fault but mine. I earned the blame... I'm not interested in sharing it. Hartley doesn't think I've paid for my crimes.”

“What crimes?” Iris said. “It was an accident.”

“A preventable one.”

“What are you talking about?” Caitlin asked.

“Hartley warned me that there was indeed a chance that the accelerator could explode,” Wells said. “His data did not show 100% certainty; just that there was a risk, but it was a real risk. And yet I made the decision that the reward... that everything we could learn and everything we could achieve, that all of that... simply outweighed that risk. I'm sorry.”

Iris glanced at her friends, anger and confusion evident on their faces.

Caitlin’s eyes grew cold. “Then the next time you choose to put our lives, and the lives of the people that we love, at risk, I'll expect a heads up.” She turned and headed for the door.

Cisco’s eyes followed her and for a moment, Iris thought she was going to have to stop him from chasing after her, but instead he sighed and leaned his head back against the pillow.

Dr. Wells wheeled out of the room. Iris followed after him. “If you think you can just drop a bombshell like that on them and walk away, you’re wrong. You owe them a lot more than that. For breaking their trust, for Ronnie.”

“They might soon get more than that what with Hartley so intent on sending me to the next world.”

“Do you really think that’s what they want? They care about you. We care about what happens to you.”

“Hartley’s not going to stop until I’ve paid for my crimes. Not until the truth comes out.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Tell me, Miss West. How would you feel about getting an exclusive interview with a reclusive physicist?”

Chapter Text

Iris had had hundreds of conversations with Harrison Wells in the last four months, but suddenly, sitting across from him for an in-depth interview for an actual newspaper, she was feeling nervous.

Dr. Wells smiled. “Miss West, if either of us has anything to be nervous about, I assure you it’s me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Iris muttered.

“Iris,” Dr. Wells said warmly, “I am certain that you have a bright career in journalism ahead of you. Whatever happens today.”

Iris smiled back, turning on the recorder app as she put on her serious reporter voice. “Dr. Wells, you tell me that you want to share new information on the particle accelerator explosion.”

“That’s correct. The Norris Commission has already revealed the details of the circumstances that led to the explosion of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator. Or rather, the details as they knew them. Now, the Commission's finding was that the catastrophe was caused by a chain of events that nobody could have predicted, including myself.”

“Just to be clear, are you saying you had prior knowledge that the particle accelerator could explode?”

“The truth is I was warned there was a chance the particle accelerator might fail. I was warned by a former colleague... a friend. I chose to ignore the warning and in so doing, I failed this city. I failed this city and I failed those who trusted me the most.”

“Dr. Wells, what do you have to say to the people who’ve lost friends and family as a result of the explosion?”

Dr. Wells sighed. “There aren’t any apologies or reparations that I can make that will change what’s happened. All I can say is, we at STAR Labs are trying to undo the damage unleashed on this city. By coming forward today... it's my hope I'm taking the first step toward regaining the people’s trust.”

“Do you have any intention of rebuilding the particle accelerator, either now or in the future?”

“Of course not.”

*

The story was on the main page of Central City Picture News’s website that night, with plans for the front page of the print edition the next day. It wasn’t long till news networks were broadcasting news of Wells’s confession nationwide. It was only a matter of time until it caught Hartley’s attention. Team Flash waited at STAR Labs for Hartley to strike again, with Cisco blatantly ignoring Caitlin’s medical advice as he tried to figure out what Hartley had been working at when he let himself get captured.

They didn’t have to wait long before Hartley’s voice came crackling over the STAR Labs intercom.

“Nice gambit, Harrison. But this isn't over.”

Dr. Wells sighed. “Hartley, what do you want? What do you want, Hartley? I already gave my mea culpa today.”

“The city already hated you. Admitting the truth? I know what that was. You think I can be deceived that easily? No. You want to finish this game once and for all, then why don’t you move your precious scarlet knight? While I take out a few pawns.”

Over the speakers, the team heard a shattering of glass before the communication went dead.

Iris suited up quickly. “All right, Cisco, where am I going?”

“I can’t backtrace signal. He could be calling from anywhere.”

“Cisco, scan for seismic activity,” Wells said. “If Hartley's using sonic blast, the vibrations could cause tremors.”

“Got it!” Cisco exclaimed. “The Keystone Cleveland Dam.”

“Iris!” Dr. Wells said before she could take off. “Don't underestimate him. He's brilliant.”

Iris tapped her earpiece. “Good thing I’m bringing three geniuses with me.”

Iris arrived at the dam just in time to see a woman and her car flying off the bridge. Iris plucked the woman from her falling car and settled her back on solid ground. Most of the crowd didn’t need another hint. People fled from the scene as quickly as they could.

Hartley marched forward as Iris heard Dr. Wells’s voice in her ear. “Iris, you need to disarm Hartley immediately. Immediately! Do you hear me? He is a master of distraction. He is a master of hiding his true endgame.”

Suddenly, the cars closest to Hartley, the ones that held people who had been too terrified to move, flew into the air. Iris leapt forward, pulling people from the cars and moving them to safer locations.

“Uh-oh,” Cisco said.

“Uh-oh what?” asked Dr. Wells.

“I figured out what Hartley stole from STAR Labs. He stole all the data on Iris’s molecular scans.”

“Why?” Caitlin asked.

“He can get her frequency,” Dr. Wells said, moving closer to the mic. “Iris, you need to get out of there! You need to get out of there immediately!”

Hartley launched blast after blast at Iris who easily zigzagged past them, yanking the gauntlets off his hands and knocking him to the ground as easily as she had the first time.

“It’s over, Hartley. You’ve lost.”

Hartley laughed. “Amazing. He replaced me with you? Total moron. I got you with the same trick twice.”

Iris fell to the ground as the overwhelming sensation that her skull was being split open took over.

Hartley rose back to his feet. “I got the idea watching you and Harrison chit-chat. Using your suit's own speakers to kill you. That feeling? That's your organs shearing apart. And you activated the frequency when you disarmed me. In chess, we call that a discovered attack. You don't see it until it's too late. Right, Harrison?”

Iris tasted the blood in her mouth as she tried in vain to rise back to her feet, to get away from the awful sound that was ripping her body apart.

“Iris’s vitals are bottoming out. We need to do something,” Caitlin said.

Dr. Wells nudged Cisco away from the computer. “What are you doing?” Cisco asked.

Dr. Wells fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed. “Iris is on the travel road of the dam, at rush hour, surrounded by cars. Many of those cars are going to have satellite radio. Satellite sends a signal to the car, song comes out the speaker...”

“Yes! I know how satellite radio works!” Caitlin snapped. “How does that help Iris?”

“Well, I'm gonna have the satellite send something other than a song. Hartley is about to hear something he was not expecting, a sound wave that will meet the frequency of and destroy his weapons.”

“You don’t seem so special anymore. I wonder if he’ll even miss you. Or is the fastest woman alive just as disposable as all his other favorites?”

The pressure on Iris’s skull lessened slightly. Hartley looked up, searching for a sound that was imperceptible to Iris’s own ears. Hartley raced back to his gauntlets picking them up as he shouted. “No, no, no, no, no, no!” Whatever he had planned to do failed as the gauntlets exploded, along with his cochlear devices. He fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

Dr. Wells smiled. “Checkmate. Iris, can you hear me?”

“Kind of,” Iris half-shouted, rising back to her feet.

*

Iris arrived at Central City Picture News the next day to find a stunning number of her co-workers actually knew her name. But nothing was as shocking as Mason Bridge coming to her desk and offering her a plate of donuts.

“You managed to snag an exclusive interview with Harrison Wells?”

“Is that surprise or admiration I hear?”

“He’s barely spoken to the press in fifteen years, and he’s willing to come out of seclusion to be a cub reporter’s first front page story?”

Iris shook her head. “I told you. I know the people at STAR Labs. Dr. Wells kind of…saved my life.” A couple of times, but who’s counting?

Mason eyed Iris carefully as the realization sank in. “Iris West. I knew I’d heard that name before. The particle accelerator, you were – ”

“Struck by lightning. Comatose. Nine months. He and the people at STAR Labs, they saved me. When no one else could. I owe him for that.”

“That’s one way of looking at it. Of course, the other way of looking at it is that if he had listened to his team in the first place, you wouldn’t have needed saving.”

“Yeah, well, I’m learning that clinging to the past isn’t the healthiest way to handle things. So I’m moving on. Another day, another story.”

“Right,” Mason said. “I heard your buddy The Flash was at the bridge the other night.”

“Saving innocent lives from a psychopath according to eyewitness reports,” Iris said.

“A psychopath who used was fired from STAR Labs,” Mason replied.

“Psychopaths and advanced physics don’t mix well. Obviously.”

“It just seems that all these strange happenings lately….they all seem to lead back there, don’t they?”

Iris shrugged, turning back to her computer. “I don’t know. But, then again, I’m not the experienced reporter that you are. Maybe I just don’t see it.”

“Don’t worry. If there’s a story there, I’m sure you’ll see it eventually.”

Chapter Text

“I still can’t believe you were actually able to get reservations here,” Iris said taking the last bite of crème brulee.

Eddie smiled back at her. “I may have helped solve an armed robbery case that happened here last month. The owner wanted to repay me.”

“So you protect and he serves you the good wine,” Iris laughed. “Sounds fair.”

“I thought we needed a nice date. I know with all the metahuman crimefighting we’ve both been busy.”

Iris froze, the wine glass caught halfway to her lips. Eddie gave her an odd look. “I know I’ve been busy with my caseload lately and judging by the bylines you’re racking up, so have you.”

“Right. Lots of stories to cover, research to do. Very time consuming.” Or at least it would have been if she didn’t type thousands of words a minute and personally witness most of the crimes herself. As is, it made it pretty easy to balance the work and superhero life. Throwing in the social life on top of it, however, made things a little complicated.

“But I’m not working tonight,” she said, leaning forward.

And then her phone rang. She sighed pulling the phone from her purse and glancing at her screen. “It’s my dad. I’ve got to take this. I’ll be right back.” Iris ducked out towards the restroom. “Cisco, I am in the middle of a date. My first date with Eddie in weeks. Weeks. Unless this is an absolute supervillain emergency, the cops can handle it.”

“Fine. But tomorrow morning, when you get handed the story about a little old lady getting robbed…”

“That is not fair and you know it.” She locked the bathroom door and changed quickly into her costume before diving out the window. A moment later she climbed back through the window and changed back into her dress. “It was a guy and he was young. Date night, Cisco. Respect it.”

Iris settled back into her seat with Eddie as paid the check. “So, where to next, Detective?”

“No, I picked dinner. You tell me.”

“All right. How about a stroll by the waterfront?”

Eddie smiled. “That sounds perfect.”

Iris heard her phone buzzing once more. She sighed. “Okay, last call of the night, I promise. Just let me take this,” she said heading back to the restroom and locking the door behind her.

“Hello?”

“Hey, sweetie, I know you’re on a date, but we got a jumper on 52nd and Waid.”

“Yeah, got it. On my way.” She raced to the building, grabbed the jumper and set him on the ground next to her dad and headed back to the table. “All right, last distraction. I promise. So, ready to go?”

*

The next morning she met Cisco and Caitlin for coffee before work.

“So, you got in pretty late last night,” Caitlin asked as she sipped her latte. “Did you and Eddie have fun?”

“Yeah, we did. Of course, we probably would’ve had more fun if somebody didn’t call with a criminal emergency every ten minutes,” Iris said, looking accusingly at Cisco.

“Hey, when I have the superpowers, I’ll do the crimefighting. Until then, it’s all on you.”

“I’m just saying. It would be a lot easier to date Eddie if The Flash would stop interrupting Iris’s dates.”

“Referring to yourself in the third person,” Cisco said. “Not a good sign.”

Iris ignored him, turning to face Caitlin. “I mean, we’ve been dating for two months. And by now, I normally would have…” She stopped. Nope, this was not a coffee in the morning conversation. This was a midnight and working on our second bottle of wine with your roommate conversation. Or it would have been, if alcohol still affected her.

Unfortunately, her friends had caught on to her train of thought. “You two still haven’t…” Caitlin let the question trail off. “Actually that makes a lot of sense. With your increased speed and heart rate, there are a number of things to consider before you…take the next step with someone.”

“Plus, when you go really fast, you make lightning. Think about poor Eddie, this could be like a thousand times worse than sticking your finger in an electrical outlet,” Cisco rambled on.

Iris shot him a glare. “Cisco, if you keep talking, I will speed you to Blüdhaven and leave you there with no wallet or cell phone, okay?”

Cisco’s phone rang, making him jump. He looked at the screen. “Oh, look it’s the least scary West. The one with the gun. I’m gonna go talk to him now.” He walked away from the table, casting a wary glance Iris’s way.

Caitlin smiled. “Subtle’s never been his strong suit. Everything will be fine, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, sure. As long as I don’t electrocute the guy I’m dating everything will be just great.”

Cisco popped back over to the table. “Hey, I gotta go. Joe needs a little scientific expertise at a crime scene. I’ll see you guys later.” Iris turned back to Caitlin, whose eyes were locked on the television screen behind Iris. Iris looked back to see a man on a stretcher being loaded onto an ambulance.

"Quentin Quale was attacked near his lab at Concordance Research last night,” the newscaster said. “There were several unsubstantiated reports of the so-called ‘Burning Man’ in the area following the attacks.”

“Burning Man?” Iris said. “As in Ronnie?”

"As in Martin Stein walking around in Ronnie's body, yes."

Chapter Text

Iris sped into Barry’s lab. “Hey, I need a favor.”

“Yeah,” Barry answered automatically. “Wait, I should probably ask what it is first.”

“Can you go asking questions to Martin Stein’s wife about his disappearance?”

“Martin Stein? The professor?”

“You’ve heard of him?” Iris asked.

“He’s won the Conway Prize for Scientific Advancement three times, of course I’ve heard of him.”

“You think you can get some intel on him for me?”

“You think a police cover works better than a journalist cover? Wouldn’t Joe be a better choice for this?”

“He would be, but he’s off on some top secret mission with Cisco.” Iris waved her hand, cutting Barry off before he could ask. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. Neither of them.” She handed Barry the information she’d printed off at STAR Labs. “Remember Caitlin’s not-so-dead fiancé Ronnie? Apparently he and Stein merged together in the explosion.” Barry didn’t respond, staring at the case file she’d handed him. “Hey, earth to Barry? I just said two people merged together to create a flying human comet and that gets no reaction from you.”

Barry shook his head. “No, I mean, yes, that’s completely weird, I just. I met him. The day of the accident. He was on the train. He seemed nice. He quoted Einstein to me.”

“I told Caitlin I’d help track Ronnie and it seems like tracking Stein might actually be the best way to do that.”

“Yeah, I’ll see what I can find out.”

*

Barry came back with some interesting news. Clarissa Stein seemed to have a metahuman stalker.

“How worried should we be?” Iris asked.

Barry shrugged. “Maybe not at all? It sounds like he’s trying to protect her.”

“The same way Ronnie showed up to protect Caitlin the night Reverse Flash and I fought.” Iris sighed. “He, they, may be trying to protect them, but that doesn’t make safe. We’re talking about someone not in their right mind, or body, who lights on fire. Even with the best intentions, this is literally a volatile situation. We need to monitor the situation to make sure it doesn’t get any worse.”

“So what you’re saying is Clarissa Stein gets another metahuman stalker?”

“Well, it sounds creepy when you say it like that.”

*

Caitlin and Iris sat in the STAR Labs van, trying not to get too close to the house.

Iris poured herself some more coffee. “No matter what Dad said, I always thought stakeouts looked exciting. But trying them out first hand…”

“They’re incredibly boring,” Caitlin finished.

“The boring-est.” She studied Caitlin more closely. “Are you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because we’re currently staking out the home of your not-so-dead fiancé’s…other wife?”

“I just want him back. Home. With me. Whole.”

“We can help him, Caitlin.”

Caitlin looked doubtful.

“We will, Caitlin. Six months ago, I looked beyond saving and look at me now. I’m a superhero. We’ll find a way.”

Just then Iris saw the streaks of fire coming down the sky and landing behind the Stein home. “He’s here,” Iris said. “Call Dr. Wells.” She dashed away to where he was skulking around outside. “Professor Stein? Ronnie? Do you remember me? I’m Caitlin’s friend. You saved me at STAR Labs a couple of months ago? We want to help you, so if you could just – ” The flames around Ronnie relit “- not do that.”

Ronnie shot his hands out, flames coming straight at Iris. She ran out of the way, the fire hitting a parked car behind her.

Iris rushed forward, slamming him against the column at the end of the driveway. “I don’t want to hurt you!” Iris shouted. “I don’t think you want to hurt me either.”

Ronnie gripped Iris’s arms, and just as she was thinking how relieved she was that the suit was fireproof, they were lifted up into the sky. Oh, shit, I hate when this happens, Iris thought. She grabbed his arms, terrified of falling, as she stuck the small GPS tracer she had palmed onto Ronnie’s coat. The STAR Labs van tailed them as they flew over the city. For a moment, Iris was distracted, looking down at where Caitlin was driving, and in that moment, Ronnie let go of Iris’s arms. She fell, her speed doing no good without a surface to run on. Just before she hit the ground, just before Caitlin could run her over, she was lifted back up and thrown through the air, skittering across the roof of the van and tumbling over the back for a slightly softer landing. She heard the breaks squeal as the van came to a stop. Ronnie landed a few feet away and drew back, preparing to throw a fireball at Iris, when Caitlin jumped out the van.

“Stop! Don’t!”

Ronnie stopped, staring a Caitlin for a moment before leaping back into the sky.

Caitlin ran over to Iris. “Are you okay?” she said, scanning for injuries.

Iris nodded, groaning a little as she sat up. “That did not go like I planned.”

Chapter Text

Caitlin shifted nervously on the Steins’ front porch.

“You can do this,” Iris said.

“She’s going to think we’re insane,” Caitlin said.

“Then we will just have to prove her wrong.”

Caitlin rang the bell. Clarissa Stein opened the door. “Hi, Mrs. Stein. We have some new leads on your husband’s disappearance and we were hoping we could discuss them with you.”

“Of course,” Clarissa said, stepping back and opening the door wider to let them in.

Iris held out her hand. “Iris West, nice to meet you.”

Clarissa shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. Do you work for the police or STAR Labs?”

“Neither, actually. I’m a reporter for Central City Picture News.”

Clarissa’s features grew a little colder. “I’m not interested in speaking to the press at this time.”

Iris shook her head. “I’m not here as a journalist. I’m here because I spoke to your husband recently, and I think STAR Labs can help him, the same way they helped me.”

“You – you spoke to Martin?”

“I did. It’s complicated. You may have seen reports on the news. The crazy things that have been happening in the city since the particle accelerator explosion.”

“I have,” Clarissa said warily.

“It’s true,” Iris said. “Some people have changed since the explosion, including me. And we think your husband might be one of the people affected.”

Caitlin held up the photo of Ronnie. “You said you’d seen this man around?”

Clarissa took the photograph. “Yes. The young man from the police department said he was a person of interest in Martin’s disappearance.”

“He’s more than a person of interest. He was one of the engineers that built the particle accelerator.” Caitlin took a deep breath. “And he was my fiancé. Ronnie Raymond.”

Clarissa frowned. “And you didn’t think this information was pertinent the last time we met?”

“I didn’t think you’d believe the story the last time we met. But I need you to now, because this might be the only way to bring Professor Stein and Ronnie home.”

“Bring them home?”

“Mrs. Stein, we believe that your husband and Ronnie were merged together during the particle accelerator explosion,” Iris said.

“What?”

“Are you familiar with your husband’s experiments in molecular transmography?”

“Somewhat,” Clarissa said.

“We believe he was working on an experiment that night. It seems Ronnie and Professor Stein were merged together during the explosion,” Iris said. “We have video that says it’s true.”

“It’s why a man who looks like my fiancé has been following you,” Caitlin said. “He’s been following me, too. He’s confused. Two minds at war, he doesn’t know who he is. We thought if both of us went to him, we could convince him to come with us. If we can get him to come with us to STAR Labs, we may be able to help him. Both of them.”

Clarissa stumbled back onto the couch. “I just – this is a lot of information to take in.” Clarissa looked back up at Iris. “You said STAR Labs helped you? How?”

Iris smiled, speeding to the kitchen and returning with a glass of water for Clarissa. She held it out to her. “They helped me become The Flash.”

*

The three women followed the tracker Iris had placed on Stein to his location. He was hiding under a bridge downtown. Caitlin sped up when she saw him. “Professor Stein?”

“Ugh, I told you to stay away from me,” he said, walking away.

“And I will, but there's someone else who wants to talk to you.”

Clarissa stepped past Caitlin. “Martin?” He stopped turning back to face his wife. “Do you know who I am?” she said, moving slowly closer. Caitlin had warned her about the danger involved.

“Clarissa.”

“Is it really you?” she asked, tears in her eyes.

“I don't know,” he said, desperately through clenched teeth. “I hear the other inside of me. He wants to go home to her,” he said glancing at Caitlin. “But we can't. I want to be me again.”

“Martin,” Clarissa said. “What's my favorite color?”

“You could... you could never decide, so you chose stripes.”

Clarissa gasped, reaching for Ronnie’s face.”

“You shouldn't see me like this,” Professor Stein said, pushing her hand away.

Clarissa reached for him again, cupping her hand around his cheek. He didn’t pull away this time, instead wrapping both hands around her wrist and leaning into her touch. “I see you. I see you, Martin.” She lifted her other hand and placed it on his. “These people can help you. They say they can. Please let them.”

Professor Stein kept his eyes locked on Clarissa’s for another moment before turning his gaze back to Caitlin. “Please... help us.”

Chapter Text

“Whatever prescription cocktail you’ve got him on, it’s working,” Iris said. “Along with the healing powers of a shower.” She sidled up to the monitor Caitlin was working at. “How’s it going?”

“Great. Why wouldn’t it be? Just because my possessed fiancé is walking around the lab he died in a year ago?”

“I meant the tests you ran on Ronnie. Stein. Whoever.”

“Oh. He, they, seem all right. Temperature’s hot. 108 degrees Fahrenheit. Which can probably be expected when you spontaneously burst into flame.”

Cisco walked into the lab looking dazed. “That’s not freaky at all.”

Dr. Wells wheeled over to Caitlin’s work station. “The rising temperature. It’s not a good sign. He’s unstable.”

Iris glanced back over her shoulder. “He seemed to be doing better.”

“Not mentally unstable. Physically unstable. It seems Ronnie's fight with The Flash has exacerbated the Firestorm Matrix. Exponentially increasing the rate of fission inside his body.”

“Well, how long does he have?” Iris asked.

“If his temperature keeps rising at the current pace, no more than a couple of hours.”

“But you can fix it, right?” Iris asked. “You can separate them before it's too late.”

“Any attempt we make to separate the two of them could be catastrophic,” Dr. Wells said. “A nuclear explosion. And a nuclear explosion of this magnitude would level this entire city. Unless...”

“Unless what?”

“Unless the host body were no longer functional.”

Caitlin’s eyes went wide. “You want to kill Ronnie?”

“No, I don't want to kill Ronnie,” Dr. Wells said, annoyance creeping into his voice. “But in this scenario, Ronnie is the host body.”

“If you kill Ronnie, you kill Stein. That's two people,” Cisco said.

“I don't know how else to stop it,” Dr. Wells said. “And my guess is that if Ronnie and Professor Stein knew the consequences that we were all facing, they would make the same decision. It's two lives for millions.”

Caitlin turned to Cisco and Iris. “Can you give us a minute?”

“Caitlin,” Dr. Wells began.

“I've already lost Ronnie once. I'm not going to do it again. You said we have a couple of hours. Use them.” Caitlin walked away, leaving Wells to go back to planning

Cisco waited for him in the hallway. “Dr. Wells, you don't really think we should kill Ronnie, do you?”

“Stay here, Cisco.”

Iris headed back to Ronnie/Stein. “Hey. Can I get you anything?”

He smiled. “A glass of Chateau Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan 1982 might be nice.” The smile fell from his lips. “Or maybe it wouldn't. This body's taste buds would obviously be different from my own. Perhaps I'm now a light beer man.”

Iris shrugged. “It could be worse.”

“Like being a living nuclear bomb?”

“I – uh – “

“Unstable nuclear fission was always a danger in the transmutation process. Plus, you and your friends argue very loudly.”

“I’m sorry. But, my friends, Dr. Wells. They’re geniuses. They’ll figure something out. They always do.”

Professor Stein smiled sadly. “I’m well aware of your friends’ talents. They’re Ronnie’s friends too.” He tapped the side of his head. “Lots of memories. They’re what made Ronnie seek out Caitlin in the first place.”

“Thanks for that. I mean, I know you were really there for Caitlin, but still I appreciated your help with the Reverse Flash that night.”

“Don’t we all have to be there for each other?” Professor Stein said. “What is that Einstein quote? ‘Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.’”

“The unofficial code of the superhero.”

“One you seem to live by, Miss West. At least if my understanding of your time as The Flash is any understanding. It seems you’re constantly thinking of others.”

“Some take up more brain space than others.”

“Someone special on your mind?”

“Yeah, I mean, kind of special. I don’t know that we’ve really figured out where we stand. It’s been…complicated.”

Professor Stein smiled. “Ah, ‘complicated.’ A classic romantic impediment. If I learned anything this past year, life's too short not to live.”

*

Iris walked into the police station, heading straight for Eddie’s desk, relieved to see that her dad was nowhere in sight, and sat on the edge of the desk.

“Hey,” Eddie said, settling back in his chair. “This is a nice surprise.” He sat back up a little straighter. “Or is it? Did we have plans I forgot?” he asked, reaching for his phone.

“No,” Iris laughed, pushing his back down. “I just thought I would pay my favorite detective a visit.” She leaned in for a kiss.

“What was that for?” Eddie asked.

“Just making up for lost time,” Iris said. “I know things have been weird lately. I’ve been…distant. And distracted.”

“You’ve been busy,” Eddie said, not quite convincingly. “New job, new place.”

“I know. But still. You’re an important part of my life and I’m going to make time for you. I promise.” She leaned in for another kiss, but after only a few seconds, Eddie pulled away. “My dad’s staring again, isn’t he?”

“Like always,” Eddie said, waving into the distance.

Iris’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. Cisco. Of course.

“What were you saying about fewer distractions?” Eddie joked.

Iris rolled her eyes as she answered the call. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Stein’s gone,” Cisco said.

“What? I’ve barely been gone an hour!” Iris turned back to Eddie. “I’ve got to go. Work emergency. Please don’t read too much into this, okay?” She hurried out the door, switching to superspeed and changing into the suit as soon as she was around the corner and arriving at STAR Labs seconds later. “How did you lose him that quickly?”

Cisco glanced back at the phone he was holding before hanging up. “He wasn’t exactly locked up in the pipeline,” Cisco said. “But look we think we have a plan. Well, if it works. Which it might not. It was thrown together kind of suddenly,” he said, casting a wary glance at Wells. “And that’s if we can find him.”

“Which I have,” Caitlin said, re-entering the room. “He's in the Badlands. Middle of nowhere, 30 miles outside of Central City.”

“Minimum safe distance,” Cisco said.

“He’s sacrificing himself,” Wells realized.

“How much time do we have?” Iris asked.

“Twelve minutes,” Cisco replied. He handed Iris a round metal object. “This is a Quantum Splicer.”

Iris took it, staring at the contraption oddly. It definitely did not have a power switch on it. “Will it work to separate them?”

“We'll know in 12 minutes,” Wells said. “Now, Iris, even you can't outrun a nuclear blast, so you get this device to Professor Stein, and you get out of there as fast as you can.”

Caitlin jerked the device from Iris’s hand and walked away, grabbing her coat from the other room.

“What are you doing?” Iris asked, following after her.

“I'm going with you.”

Iris shook her head. “No, you're not. You heard Dr. Well. I may not get be able to get out of there in time. I definitely do not need passengers.”

“You don’t even know how to operate the splicer!”

“Cisco can talk me through it.”

“There's not enough time. You need me.”

Iris looked back at Wells, who waved her off. “Go!” he shouted. Iris rolled her eyes, but wrapped an arm around Caitlin’s waist and took off with her friend by her side.

As Wells and Cisco watched them go, one of the computers began beeping. Cisco ran to check it.

“What was that?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Uh, comm system's on the fritz,” Cisco said. “I'll be right back.” Cisco walked down the hall of STAR Labs, dialing Joe’s number as he went.

“Cisco, what’d you find.”

“I'm not proud of it, but I ran the samples. One wasn't identified, and the other had a match.”

“Cisco, you're hesitating. Was it Wells?”

“No, it's not Dr. Wells. I told you, he has nothing to do with this. But I know whose blood it is. It's Barry's.”

“We already know Barry was there that night.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You don't understand. There are things wrong with sampled.”

“Wrong how?”

“The sample had high levels of P16. That's a protein that builds up in the blood as we get older. And these levels were way too high for an 11-year-old. This sample was from Barry as an adult.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Joe said.

“That’s not the only thing that doesn’t make any sense,” Cisco said. “The blood sample I matched it against is from after the particle accelerator. You and Barry donated in case we needed it for Iris.”

“I remember.”

“The one we got from the crime scene is…altered.”

“What do you mean ‘altered’?”

“There are markers in the DNA consistent with metahumans.”

Joe furrowed his brow in confusion. “What are you saying? Barry’s a metahuman, too?”

“No, that’s what makes it so weird,” Cisco said. “Our Barry’s not; his DNA checks out. But somehow, one of the speedsters in his house that night…was Barry.”

*

Iris and Caitlin arrived at the Badlands just in time to see Professor Stein placing a gun to his (Ronnie’s) temple. “Professor Stein!” Iris shouted.

Stein lowered the weapon. “What are you doing here?” Stein yelled. “You can't be here! Get her out of here now!”

Caitlin moved towards him, hands raised. “Please, look, Ronnie's still in there somewhere.”

“All those people... Clarissa... I won't let them die!” Stein shouted. “It's better I end this now,” he said, raising the pistol once more.

“We can separate you!” Caitlin yelled. “We can stop the explosion.”

“How?”

“A Quantum Splicer. It's a fission device designed to bombard your atoms with as much energy as they experienced in the particle accelerator explosion,” Caitlin explained. “It should be enough to separate you.”

“Please, Professor, you have nothing left to lose.” Iris said.

“Ronnie, if you're in there, I love you,” Caitlin said.

He stared at her for a moment and the next thing Caitlin knew, Ronnie’s lips were on hers like they had never been apart. After a moment, Professor Stein pulled back. “That was from him.”

Caitlin smiled. “I look forward to meeting you in person, Professor.” She turned the device on, watching as it attached itself to the professor.

He stared at it, watching, waiting, until suddenly his body was alit with fire from head to toe.

“It's not working!” Caitlin shouted.

“He's not gonna make it,” Cisco’s voice sounded in Iris’s ear. “He's gonna blow!”

“Get out of there,” Dr. Wells said. “Iris, get out of there now!”

Iris rushed forward, wrapping her hands around Caitlin’s waist.

“No! No!” Caitlin shouted, fighting her grasp as she reached for Ronnie. The flames were growing wider and wider.

“Caitlin, we have to go!” Iris dragged Caitlin back, barely managing to pick her feet off the ground, moving as quickly as she could to outrun the blast, but still Iris felt the heat on her back as she ran.

Chapter Text

Cisco’s voice was loud in Iris’s ear. “What happened? Are you guys okay?”

Iris rose to her feet, pulling Caitlin up with her as she surveyed the damage to answer his question. White ash rained down like snow, but for a nuclear explosion, it seemed a little tame.

Caitlin didn’t seem as calm. “Oh, God. The explosion. There’s no telling how much radiation we were exposed to.”

“Wait... wait, wait, wait, wait, this can't be,” Cisco said. “The Geiger counter in the suit... it's reading less than one millirad.”

“No idea what that means, Cisco,” Iris said.

“It’s normal,” Dr. Wells said. “There’s no radiation.”

“Let’s check it out,” Iris said, wrapping an arm around Caitlin’s waist and speeding her back to edge of the crater. Caitlin inched closer to the smoking epicenter, Iris following close behind.

“Did it work? Did you separate them?” Cisco asked.

“I don’t know,” Iris said. She watched Caitlin approach Ronnie, who was just starting to sit up.

“What’s your name?” Caitlin asked him.

A bright smile like Iris had never seen him wear broke out on his face. “Ronnie Raymond,” he said, leaning forward and pulling Caitlin into a kiss. That lasted about three seconds before the sound of someone clearing his throat interrupted them.

“Uh, pardon me,” Professor Stein said. He gestured towards his smoldering shirt. “But I could use a change of clothes.”

Iris smiled. “Good to see you in the flesh, Professor Stein.” She clicked back onto the headset. “It worked. We’re coming home.”

*

 “Joe, what are doing here?” Barry asked as Joe unlocked the door to what had once been his childhood home.

“I probably shouldn’t be doing this,” Joe said. “But I’ve kept enough secrets from you. I don’t want to keep anymore.”

“It’s smaller than I remember,” Barry said, entering the foyer with a dazed look. “What are you talking about? What secret?”

Joe walked over to the contraption Cisco had set up. “Bar, do you remember this mirror?”

“It belonged to my grandmother,” Barry said. “How is it still here?”

“Just be glad it is,” Joe said. “I don’t know how Cisco did it…”

“How he did what?” Barry asked. “Joe, what are we doing here?”

Joe waved Barry towards the wall and turned the switch on the machine. A life-size 3-D image filled the room.

“Mom?” Barry said, his eyes brimming with tears. He turned back to Joe. “What is this?”

“It’s a photograph. In the mirror. Something about vintage photography. Ask Cisco if you want the science behind it. But we have photos of what happened to your Mom that night.” He pointed to the images flashing by. “You can definitely see two very fast people fighting around your mother.”

“Two speedsters,” Barry said.

Joe pointed to a spot on the wall. “You see that? The blood? Cisco and I had the DNA tested. It's yours.” Barry shook his head. “No, it's not. That's impossible. I wasn't even downstairs yet.”

“No, Barry. Not that you. Another you. Cisco had the samples analyzed and the proteins in the blood were that of an adult, not a child.” Joe paused, eyeing Barry carefully. “And a metahuman.”

“But that means... “

“The second speedster, the one trying to stop the man in yellow...”

“Is me,” Barry said. He shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. I’m not a metahuman.”

“No, you’re not. But photos and DNA just confirmed the story you’ve been telling for fifteen years. There was someone else in this house that night. Someone that sped you out of there. And somehow Barry…it was you.”

Chapter Text

“Time travel?” Iris asked. “Is that even a thing?”

“You’ve broken the sound barrier, met men of steel and oh, yeah, the two guys who turn into one flying pyromaniac, but this surprises you?” Cisco aksed.

“Okay, but saying I become a time-traveling metahuman? When? How?” Barry asked.

“Well, the greatest minds in human history put their collective genius towards solving that puzzle,” Dr. Wells said. “Time travel, not time travel catered specifically to you.”

“So. Is it possible?” Barry asked.

“Yes, it's possible, Mr. Allen. But problematic. Assuming you could create the conditions necessary to take that journey... well, that journey would then be fraught with potential pitfalls. The Novikov principle of self-consistency, for example.”

“Wait, the what, now?” Iris asked.

“If you travel back in time to change something, then you end up being the causal factor of that event,” Barry explained.

“Like Terminator,” Cisco said.

“Ah,” Joe said.

“Or is time plastic? Is it mutable whereby any changes to the continuum could create an alternate timeline,” Dr. Wells said.

Joe and Iris turned to Cisco for clarification.

“Back to the Future,” he replied.

 Dr. Wells laughed. “Doc Brown. Tremendous picture.”

“So what's the answer?” Joe asked.

“I might be a clever guy, Joe, but if you're asking me to give you a working theory on how to travel through time, I'm afraid I just can't do that,” Dr. Wells said.

“There is someone else you can talk to about this,” Cisco said.

*

Iris and Barry rang the bell to the Steins’ house. A moment later, Clarissa Stein opened the door, flashing the pair a concerned look. “Barry, Iris. Is something wrong?”

“No, Mrs. Stein. We’re sorry to bother you, but is Professor Stein home?” Iris asked.

Clarissa crossed her arms, glancing back into the house where her husband was. “After a year apart, I’m not letting him out of my sight.”

“I know the feeling,” Barry muttered.

“S.T.A.R. Labs did quite a few tests on Martin, didn't they... and they said he was fine?” Clarissa asked.

 Iris nodded. “They ran like about a thousand tests on him and Ronnie. Why, is something wrong?”

“He just seems a little different, is all.”

“Different how?”  Barry asked.

“He's been asking for pizza. Martin despises pizza.”

Martin came into the foyer. “Is that the delivery man? Oh, Mr. Allen, Miss West. I suppose it's too much to hope you moonlight as a pizza girl. I am famished.”

Here I thought my days in the food service industry were over. Then again we are here for a favor. “Okay,” she said, disappearing for a moment and returning with a pineapple pizza a moment later.

Professor Stein’s face lit up with joy at the sight of the pizza box. “Oh, bravo! Please, come in,” he said, pulling a slice out. “Oh, mmm. What can I do for you?” he asked around a mouth full of pizza.

“I needed to talk to you about a paper that you wrote 25 years ago for the Oxford University Press,” Barry said.

“I've written many papers for that publication. Could you be more specific about the subject matter?”

“Time travel.”

It was enough to make Professor Stein put down the pizza (temporarily). He ushered the pair into his study, unveiling a board full of equations that Iris didn’t understand.

“These are just a few of the random thoughts I've had on the subject,” Professor Stein said.

“A few?” Iris asked in disbelief.

“See, I believe that space-time is a free-flowing highway that intersects the physical world. We live in the moments between the on and off ramps. Theoretically, to travel through time, one merely needs to find a way onto the highway.”

“Okay, so you're saying that this is actually possible to... to travel into the future?” Iris asked.

“Undoubtedly.”

“What about the past?” Barry asked.

“Yes. My own personal choice would be the Chicago World's Fair, 1893. I think Nicola Tesla and I would have some wonderful arguments. What about you? Would you be interested in taking a trip into history?”

“I think that I already have,” Barry said. “Professor, um... 15 years ago, my mom was murdered and we recently discovered some evidence that... I was there that night, and not just as a kid, but as an adult.”

“How – how did you manage that?”

“I saw a second person in my house that night. A speedster who pulled me away from the house when my mother was killed. I think it was me,” Barry said.

“Then you were affected by the particle accelerator in the same way as Miss West?” Professor Stein said, gesturing between the two.

“No, that’s just it I wasn’t, but…”

“But the evidence speaks for itself,” Professor Stein concluded. “Whatever evidence that may be. Without a particle accelerator explosion, I’m not sure how you could gain the abilities of a speedster. Perhaps some sort of encounter with Iris’s powers,” Professor Stein mused. “And then in some future date, you actually move so fast that the resulting kinetic energy buildup smashes a hole in the space-time continuum!” The professor was shouting with excitement now, so full into Doc Brown territory that he hadn’t noticed the way Barry’s face had fallen. Iris reached for his hand. Professor Stein noticed the gesture and focused back in on Barry. “You seem disappointed by the prospect.”

Barry shook his head. “I mean, if I do somehow make it back there to that night, then... it means that I didn't save her. My destiny is to fail.”

“I don’t think we can assume the timeline is immutable if time travel is one of the factors, Mr. Allen. If there’s a way to go back and change the past, then perhaps destiny is a theory that’s been disproven.” Martin reached for a glass of water from his desk, but as he pulled it toward him it slipped, shattering as it hit the floor.

“Professor, are you all right?” Iris asked, as Clarissa came in to check on Martin.

His hands were shaking as he replied. “I feel terrified. No…it’s not me…it’s Ronald. Ronald’s in danger.” He looked into Iris’s eyes. “He needs you. Jitters! Go!”

Iris was too focused on worrying about Ronnie to question just how the professor knew he was in danger. A moment later, the professor’s fears were proven correct, when she spotted eight armed soldiers, all with their weapons trained on Ronnie. Iris disarmed them quickly, leaving only the man who seemed to be in charge standing; she had some questions for him.

The leader pulled a glowing box from his pocket, tossing it into the air, where it exploded, sending a rain of sharp metal into Iris’s skin. She fell to the ground. Dammit, Cisco, you couldn’t have thrown some Kevlar into the tri-polymer weave?

Ronnie knelt on the ground next to her, trying to figure out a course of action that wouldn’t put Iris in more pain.

“Stings, doesn't it?” the man said. “Had that one developed especially for you. Micro-fragments attracted to kinetic energy. Firestorm was tonight's main objective, but getting you... that's just gravy.” Headlights shined in the older man’s face as a STAR Labs van pulled into the alleyway. In one quick, fluid motion, Ronnie rose back to his feet, clocking General Eiling in the face.

The door to the van flew open. “Get in!” Caitlin shouted.

Ronnie pulled Iris up and into the van as Caitlin hit the gas, tires screeching as she raced back to STAR Labs.

Eiling’s soldiers began coming back to their feet. “Gentlemen, we are at war,” Eiling said.

Chapter Text

“You need to hurry. Iris’s wounds are starting to heal with the fragments still under her skin,” Dr. Wells said as Caitlin pulled the spikes from Iris’s skin.

“This is just like that time I stepped on a sea urchin,” Cisco said, earning him a glare from Iris. “Only much worse.”

“Just don't pee on me,” Iris hissed.

 “We really need to do something about you getting your scientific knowledge from Friends reruns,” Cisco said.

“I'm so stupid,” Caitlin said. “Jason Rusch, the grad student who was helping Professor Stein with his Firestorm research, he said that the army took all of Professor Stein's material when he disappeared. I should have known it was General Eiling.”

“Not your fault,” Dr. Wells said. He turned to Ronnie. “He still thinks you hold the keys to the ultimate human weapon... both of you.”

 “We need to hurry,” Iris said. “I gotta get to Stein's house. Eiling's gonna be after him too. Barry’s with him. Someone needs to warn them.”

“They’re fine,” Ronnie said.

“How do you know?” Cisco asked.

“Because they’re here,” Ronnie replied staring at the doorway where Barry and Professor Stein stood.

“I don't think Mr. Raymond and I are as distinctive as we had hoped.”

*

Caitlin and Wells ran tests, proving the two men were still linked, their brain waves perfectly in sync, which Caitlin assure the non-biologists in the room was nearly impossible.

Professor Stein stood when he saw the results. “I need to go to Clarissa. I need to warn her before Eiling goes to the house.”

Iris blocked the Professor’s path. “I can get Clarissa out of town. Somewhere safe, I promise. But if Eiling’s after you, we need to figure out how this – “ she gestured between Martin and Ronnie – “works before he does.”  Iris glanced over at Barry. “They’re probably safer at Dad’s. Can you get them set up there while I take care of Mrs. Stein?” Barry nodded and Iris was ready to run off, when Professor Stein grabbed her hand.

“Wait,” Professor Stein said, grabbing a piece of paper from the desk and writing down an address in Pittsburgh. “Take her here. There’s a colleague I can trust there.”

Iris nodded and sped off.

*

Harrison Wells wheeled into the Army  facility with very little notice. As if they’d been expecting him. But of course, Eiling would expect him. If not for Ronnie’s sake alone, then certainly now that The Flash was involved.

General Eiling smirked when Wells entered. “Harrison.”

“Wade.”

“I had a feeling you would be wheeling by. Tell me. They still pulling needles out of Iris West?”

Wells locked eyes with Eiling, his face an emotionless mask.

“I’m not stupid, Harrison. It’s not that hard to draw a line from The Flash to her most dedicated fan.”

There was a threat in his knowledge of The Flash’s identity. One that threatened Harrison’s plan. “I don't know how Firestorm works,” he said truthfully.

“Well, you may not know the how, but you know the who. Both of them,” Eiling said. “Thanks to you, it's the dawn of a new age, Harrison.” Eiling leaned in menacingly. “Cold War, the War on Terror. We'll seem like cave men fighting with sticks once those two freaks bind together.”

Dr. Wells shook his head in disgust.

“Well, you know where to find me when you've come to the right decision. And I know you will. After all, you're the smartest guy I know.”

*

Iris walked through Central City Picture News, studying research for a rare non-metahuman article on her tablet, when she heard footsteps running up behind her. She turned her head to see Mason Bridge with a file folder in his hand.

“Oh, hey, hey. You said you knew some of the leftover scientists at the S.T.A.R. Lab.” Iris froze, trying to put on a smile as she nodded. “What about a Caitlin Snow, M.D. You know her?”

Iris thought of lying, but it would be too easy to track the truth. “Yeah, she’s my roommate. And she treated me during my coma. Why do you ask?”

“There was an incident at a local coffee shop. She was there.” He held up a security camera image of the attack at Jitters. “Didn’t you say you worked there?”

“Gimme this,” Iris said, taking the picture out of Mason’s hand. . Great. A clear image of Caitlin and Ronnie at the site of a suspicious military operation.

“Witnesses swear they saw soldiers shooting the place up, so I contacted the Army's media relations division and asked, ‘Are soldiers permitted to operate like that on U.S. soil?’ You know what they told me? Hooah.”

“That’s…weird,” Iris said lamely. She passed the photo back to Mason.

“Maybe you can use some of those connections you have.  Find out what Caitlin and the Jitters staff saw that night.”

Iris’s phone began buzzing. “Right. I’ll get on that,” Iris said. “I’m gonna get this.” She walked away from Mason, and back to her desk, glancing at the screen. Dr. Wells. “Hey, Dr. Wells. It sounds like the Firestorm situation just got a little more complicated.”

“No kidding,” Wells replied. “Eiling has Stein.”

Chapter Text

“What happened? Are you okay?” Iris asked as she walked into STAR Labs.

“Only my pride is hurt,” Wells said. He gestured towards his wheelchair. “Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to take on armed soldiers.”

“Where do you think Eiling took Professor Stein?” Caitlin asked.

“I imagine some off-the-books military research facility,” Dr. Wells said.

“We have to get him back,” Iris said.

“Eiling has already demonstrated he has the weaponry to disable The Flash, or worse,” Dr. Wells said.

“Well, we can't let him turn Stein into a weapon,” Caitlin said.

“How do we find him?” Ronnie asked.

Caitlin and Dr. Wells locked eyes. Caitlin gave a slight nod, and a smile fell on Iris’s face as she realized what they were communicating.

Ronnie looked between the three of them. “What?”

Five minutes later he was hooked up to an EEG machine along with Caitlin’s standard medical equipment. “No abnormal brain activity,” Caitlin said. “All vitals steady.”

“You really think Ronnie can somehow feel where they're keeping Stein?” Iris asked.

“Ronnie got dizzy when the soldiers grabbed Stein, and Stein developed Ronnie's obsession with pizza,” Cisco said.

“I don't feel anything right now,” Ronnie said.

“Just keep trying,” Caitlin said.

“Whatever this is, it doesn't have an on and off switch,” Ronnie said.

“It's possible it's just some kind of residual connection,” Dr. Wells said. “A temporary link to your time together.”

A shiver passed over Ronnie. “Wait. I feel something. I'm... I'm cold.” Ronnie rubbed his arms. “Stein. Stein’s cold. Wherever he is. Cold and scared.” Ronnie’s head snapped back and his back arched as he let out a scream.

Caitlin and Cisco rushed forward, latching onto Ronnie. “You’re okay. You’re okay. We got you,” Cisco said. Ronnie sat up, seeming to relax a little before another wave of pain tensed his muscles.

“What's happening to him?” Iris asked.

“Nothing's happening to him,” Dr. Wells said. “It's happening to Stein, and Ronnie is feeling his pain. I was wrong. The connection's not temporary. It's only getting stronger.”

“Just hold on,” Caitlin said, wincing as she watched her fiancé writhe in pain.

“Water,” Ronnie said. Cisco looked at him in confusion, but handed him a glass. Ronnie smashed the glass against the table, making Cisco jump back. Ronnie grabbed one of the shards and began digging into his skin.

“Ronnie, no!” Caitlin shouted, reaching for the glass.

“Caitlin, wait!” Iris said.

“He’s cutting himself!”

Iris pointed to Ronnie’s arm, where he’s written a crude . “It’s a message. Let him.”

A moment later the word where was carved into his left arm. Ronnie stilled as he waited for a response, some proof that his plan had worked.

“Anything?” Caitlin asked.

“Nothing. Just cold. Like pressure on a metal surface. On and off and on and off,” Ronnie said. “Tap, tap. Tap.” He paused. “Tap, tap.  Tap, tap, tap.”

“Morse code,” Dr. Wells said.

“I got this,” Cisco said, reaching for a pad of paper.

“Same thing again,” Ronnie said. He repeated the sequence.

“27,” Cisco said.

“But what does it mean?” Caitlin asked.

“Army bases. They sometimes go by numbers,” Dr. Wells said.

Cisco typed away on the computer. “Facility 27, about 300 miles away. It was shut down in 1961.”

“That's where they're keeping Stein,” Iris said.

“Bet you that's where they're keeping aliens too,” Cisco said.

“There are no aliens, Cisco,” Iris said, heading for the door.

“I’m coming with you,” Ronnie said, following after her.

“No, you’re not,” Caitlin said, putting up her hands and blocking his path. “You can’t.”

“I’m connected to him. I have to go.”

“But did you ever stop to think why your connection to him is growing stronger by the minute?” Caitlin asked. “Maybe you're being drawn back together. Maybe your proximity will cause you to re-merge into one.”

“And what happens to me if he dies?” Ronnie said. “Caitlin, I was wrong. I thought we could get away. Live a normal life together but this – “ he gestured towards STAR Labs – “this is our normal. You risking your life to save people, me running into the pipeline for you. That will always be who we are.”

Tear pricked Caitlin’s eyes as she nodded.

“The quantum splicer,” Cisco said, holding out the device. “Maybe it could be of use to keep you you.”

“Thanks,” Ronnie said. “Let’s go,” he said to Iris.

“Wait,” Caitlin said, pulling him towards her and planting a kiss on him. Reluctantly, she let go. “Come back. All three of you.”

*

Iris skidded to a stop just inside the rusting fence of Facility 27, releasing her grip on Ronnie. She glanced at the “Trespassers Will Be Shot” sign. “Well. This is creepy.”

“Stein's inside,” Ronnie said, staring at the ominous-looking building. “I can feel our connection growing stronger, like he's pulling me.”

“It's as I feared,” Wells said over the coms. “The Firestorm matrix is building toward a proximity reemergence. Like all matter, it yearns to be whole. If you do merge... we might not be able to separate you again.”

Ronnie shook his head, focusing on Stein. “Eiling has a gun to Stein’s head. He’s about to pull the trigger.”

Iris took off into the building and grabbed Stein just as Eiling pulled the trigger. She carried him back outside and set him down next to Ronnie. “Whoa,” Stein said. He eyed Ronnie. “Never thought I’d be happy to see you.”

“Likewise,” Ronnie replied. But celebrations were cut short as a Jeep pulled up. One of the soldiers inside fired a missile at the trio, but Iris ran forward, plucking it from the air and spinning it back toward the sky like she had practice so many times with Cisco. Only this was no ordinary missile and instead it exploded as soon as Iris made contact with it, coating her in some kind of burning white chemical.

“Run!” she shouted at Stein and Ronnie, who took off just a little too fast.

“Iris, I'm picking up some serious pH numbers on your suit,” Cisco said.

“They hit me with some kind of chemical!” 

“It's a weaponized phosphorous. Water or foam won't extinguish it,” Cisco said.

“But you can't burn in a vacuum, so you need to create one,” Wells said. “Run, Iris. Run!”

Iris took off in a circle.

 Ronnie and Stein ran down a hill trying to seek cover, but the soldiers were right behind them, firing in their direction. “We need to merge again,” Ronnie said.

“Ronnie, no!” Caitlin wailed.

“Cait, we're dead if we don't.”

“Listen to me,” Dr. Wells said. “The last time you two combined, you both fought it. This time, don't. Accept the change, accept the balance. Accept each other.”

“Once more unto the breach, dear friend,” Martin said.

Ronnie nodded. “Cait... whatever happens, just remember I'll always love you.” Ronnie turned on the quantum splicer and reached a hand towards the professor. Before their hands could even meet, the two men were dissolving and merging into one. Their eyes and hands glowed with fire.

“Can you hear me, Ronald?”

“Professor,” Ronnie said, making his way back to the fight.

Martin’s voice echoed in Ronnie’s head. “It appears we merged properly on this attempt. Wells was right about balance and accepting. Behind you!” A Jeep came down the road, with three soldiers firing at the duo.  Firestorm fired back, the Jeep going up in flames as the men in it attempted to jump out.

Firestorm took to the sky racing back to where he’d left Iris. He knocked back the fighters surrounding Eiling and focused on the general. “Eiling, this ends now.”

“Yes, it does... For both of you,” Eling said throwing a glowing device into the air. It let out a blue pulse, knocking Firestorm to the ground as it extinguished him flames. “An ion grenade. Just bombarded your cellular structure with enough ions to destabilize your matrix. Mr. Raymond, Professor Stein, you're both fine Americans.” Eiling pulled his gun from his holster.  “Your country thanks you for your sacrifice.”

Firestorm ducked, anticipating the sting of a bullet, but Iris came out of nowhere, punching the general in the face as she knocked the gun from his hand. He fell to the ground.

Iris gasped for breath. “That was a lot of running. Even for me.” She helped Firestorm to his feet. He reignited the flames moving closer to Eiling.

“Ronnie?” Iris called out nervously. He turned his glowing eyes back to her. “Home?” she asked.

He smiled. “Yeah.” He leapt into the sky as Iris took off running, two glowing yellow streaks in the night.

*

 Caitlin studied the burn mark on Iris’s rib cage. “I think it looks worse than it is,” Iris said.

Caitlin was about to argue with her friend’s stubbornness, but the sight of Ronnie entering the med bay distracted her. “Ronnie or Stein?”

Ronnie smiled. “It's me, Cait. It's both of us. Somehow.”

 “Acceptance is a powerful thing,” Dr. Wells said.

“Powerful enough to reverse it?” Caitlin asked.

“We could try,” Ronnie said. The team backed away as Ronnie closed his eyes. He lit up once more and for one horrible second Caitlin thought he would be lost to her forever, but then Stein and Ronnie were both there.

“I think we're getting the hang of this quite nicely,” Martin said with a smile.

Caitlin ran to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Ronnie returned the embrace, holding on to her like he might never let go, and when he did his face looked pained.

Caitlin nodded and tried to smile as tears pricked her eyes. “It's okay. I understand. You have to go.”

“How'd you know?”

“I'm connected to you too.”

*

Iris typed away at her computer, working on a decidedly normal piece on the hospital’s new children’s ward, when Mason set down a plate with a Danish on it along with a set of blueprints on the edge of her desk.

“So, what’d you learn?” he asked eagerly.

“Not much,” Iris said. “Caitlin said yes there were soldiers shooting up the place. She made a run for it and vowed to get a new coffee shop since that’s the second time in two months lunatics with guns have shown up while she was there, but she said that’s all she knew.” Iris shrugged. “Not really enough to quote her on.”

“Although that is weird, right?” Mason pressed. “Her being kidnapped and shot at in the same coffee shop like that. And not just regular crimes. Supervillains and soldiers.”

Iris shrugged again. “I – I don’t know what you expect me to say. This town hasn’t been normal since – “

“Since the particle accelerator.” Mason spread out the blueprints.

“Do you even know what any of that does?” Iris asked.

“Nope, not a clue. But then…I’m not the one who hangs out there. In close proximity to Harrison Wells and his loyal band of minions.”

“My friends aren’t minions,” Iris said. She glanced down at the particle accelerator blueprints. “And what new angle do you even have? He admitted he knew the accelerator might blow two months ago.”

“What if he’s lying?” Mason asked. “What if he did it on purpose?”

“You’re accusing Dr. Wells of doing something like that on purpose? The man saved my life!”

“Your life wouldn’t have needed saving if he hadn’t nearly killed you.” Mason picked up the blueprints and pushed the Danish towards Iris. “Food for thought.”

*

Iris settled into the seat next to Caitlin and Cisco at Jitters. “So did everything go all right for the big send off? Are Stein and Ronnie okay?”

“They’re fine,” Caitlin said. “His friend in Pittsburgh is going to help them manage their condition.”

“And how are you holding up?” Iris asked.

“I’m fine,” Caitlin said. “Just because I had Ronnie, then I lost him. Then I found him again, but he wasn't actually Ronnie. Then I got him back but just for a day until I lost him again. Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

“You guys are like 10 seasons of Ross and Rachel, but just, like, smushed into one year,” Cisco said, making Caitlin smile.

“We’ve got to do something about you getting all your romantic references from Friends reruns,” Iris said.

“That is what The Princess Bride is for.”

“I’m not heartbroken this time. I love Ronnie. I always will, but there's not this devastating hole inside me. I have a life, and it's a good one.”

“Yeah, about that,” Iris said. “Would now be a bad time to tell you there’s a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist looking a little more closely into what’s happening at STAR Labs?”

Chapter Text

“When you said you wanted to go bowling, I thought you were excited about the game. Now I see you were all about the bowling alley nachos,” Eddie said smiling.

Iris grinned, biting into the delicious unnaturally cheesy goodness. “It’s an American tradition,” she replied.

“You’re missing your turn.”

Iris rolled her eyes, but stood up. “For a guy who’s trailing by thirty points you sure seem eager to hurry up and lose.” She rolled her frame, landing a strike. “Forty points.”

“I really didn’t have you pegged for a bowler.”

“This is one of my favorite places in the world.”

“Iris! Hey!”

Iris turned to see Cisco and Barry coming towards the lane. “Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”

“Avoiding family dinner,” Cisco said.

“Cisco, you can’t keep avoiding your family,” Iris said. “You have to face them sometime.”

“That’s what I told him,” Barry replied.

“You took him bowling!”

“All right, so maybe I was sending mixed messages.”

“He’s been talking about this place for weeks,” Cisco said. “He wouldn’t shut up about how awesome it was.”

“We used to come here as kids,” Iris explained to Eddie.

“Did you hear the owner’s thinking of selling?” Barry asked.  “Maybe you can write a piece on it. Generate some interest on it.”

“Yeah, a puff piece on my childhood bowling alley,” Iris said. “Larkin will love that.”

Barry laughed. “Okay, point taken. I'm serious, though. With a little bit of press, the lanes could be designated as, like, a landmark or something.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Iris said. “You guys wanna join us?” She turned back to Eddie. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Are you sure?” Barry asked. “We don’t want to interrupt your date.”

Eddie forced a smile. “No, it’ll be fun.”

“We can take these nerds.”

“Oh, you think so?”

“Pretty sure, yeah,” Iris said.

*

An hour later and they were into their second game. Iris and Eddie had won the first, despite Cisco’s frequent coughs of “cheater” when Iris’s ball rolled just a little too fast down the lane.

“You’re just mad you don’t have my amazing athletic ability,” Iris said.

“Athletic?” Cisco scoffed. “Please, like this is a real sport.”

“Real or not, I am still better than you,” Iris said. She reached over, plucking a French fry from Barry’s plate.

Barry pulled them back.  “Hey, you wanted the nachos. Back off.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “At least I can eat them without getting ketchup all over myself,” she said, reaching up and wiping the red splotch from the corner of his mouth.

Eddie watched the exchange, the smile falling from his face as he did, until he was interrupted by the sound of his phone beeping. “I gotta go. Emergency at the morgue.” Iris leaned forward to kiss him goodbye, but he ducked away. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said.

Barry shrugged on his jacket, following after Eddie. “Hey, can I get a ride? They’re probably going to need someone from the crime lab.”

Eddie’s smile was more like a grimace as he nodded. The two headed out the door into the parking lot.

“You gonna beat ‘em there?” Cisco asked.

“To the morgue? Why? What am I going to do at the morgue?”

Cisco shrugged. “I don’t know. But criminals already broke up your date. Might as well investigate.”

Iris glared at him. “You just want keep the rest of the fries for yourself,” she said, but she took off towards the morgue anyway.

Iris raced through the city, a familiar blur of lights, until she felt someone gaining on her. She glanced to her left and saw…herself. The mirror image stared back at her for a moment before continuing on her way. Iris skidded to a stop. What the hell was that? She glanced around, looking for some sign as to what could have happened, but there was none. Just the few people out on the street. A woman screaming at a cab. Two people pulling their barking dogs away from each other. She watched a digital clock turn to 10:00. Right, she was on a deadline. She had a crime scene to check. She sped away, arriving at the morgue.

“Iris, what do you see?” Cisco asked as he climbed in the van and headed back to STAR Labs.

“A dead body.”

“You’re in a morgue. That’s kind of what you expect.”

“The coroner. He’s dead.”

*

Iris met Barry and her dad back at STAR Labs for the official story behind the dead coroner.

“Okay, get this,” Barry said, pulling up the crime scene photos. “The coroner had multiple impact bruises on his torso, all the size of a tennis ball. Judging by the amount of ice and water on the morgue floor, I'm guessing he was killed by hail.”

“Hail? Indoors?” Iris asked.

“Does that sound like anyone we know?” Joe asked.

“But he’s dead,” Iris said.

Barry hit something on the computer screen. “The morgue had dictation software installed. They got audio of the killer.”

The killer’s voice rang out through the lab. “I'll stop when you tell me who killed him.” He paused, leaving only the sound of the coroner’s gasping breath. “I want a name.”

The coroner’s  voice croaked out. “It was Detective West. He shot him. Detective Joe West killed your brother.”

Mark Mardon’s voice came over the recording loud and clear. “He will pay for what he did,” followed by the sound of the hail that had killed his victim.

Everyone in STAR Labs turned towards Joe, but it was Cisco who spoke first. “A back from the dead metahuman gunning for our favorite detective. Awesome. Our lives aren’t complicated enough as it is.”

Chapter Text

Iris moved towards her father. “Okay, we’re getting you out of here,” she said, grabbing his arm. "Somewhere safe, where Mark Mardon cannot get to you.”

Joe pulled out of her grasp. “I am not hiding from Mardon. I’ve been a cop for twenty-five years. You think this is the first punk who’s threatened to kill me?”

“He’s a metahuman who wants revenge for his brother’s death. And apparently got the same powers as Clyde.”

Caitlin made a note on her tablet. “Which means genetic similarities do play a role in which powers a metahuman receives.  Both brothers survived the plane crash, and then the dark matter released from the particle accelerator explosion affected them both in virtually the same way.”

Barry shook his head. “Based on what you told me about the battle with Clyde Mardon, his brother has way more control. Creating a storm like this, inside – “

“You’d have to be a weather wizard!” Cisco interrupted. “Ooh, been waiting since week one to use that one.” He took a sip of his smoothie, the grin on his face quickly disappearing. “Ow!”

“Trigeminal headache?” Caitlin asked.

“What?”

“Trigeminal headache,” she repeated. “Brain freeze.”

“Then why don't you just call it a brain freeze?”

Joe ignored them as he spoke to Iris. “So I'm guessing you running around a twister in the opposite direction isn't gonna to do the trick this time.”

“I just remembered,” Cisco said. “During our run-in with Mardon, Clyde Mardon, I was tinkering with something to help attract unbound atmospheric electrons.”

“Like a grounding mechanism?” Barry asked.

“Yes, 'cause the only way that Mardon can control the weather is if he can tap into the atmosphere's natural electrical circuit, and if we take away that circuit, clear skies.” Cisco’s eyes lit up with ideas and he made his way to his workshop with Caitlin following after him.

Joe’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. “Singh's checking in. I gotta go. Bear, you need a ride back to the station?”

Barry nodded, following Joe towards the door.

“We'll find Mardon,” Wells called. “Don't worry.”

“I'm not worried at all,” Joe replied, not looking back.

“Well, he's taking being targeted by a revenge-seeking meta-human rather well, I must say,” Dr. Wells said.

“A little too well,” Iris said, her eyes on the door.

 “Don't worry, Iris. Your father will be fine, I promise.”

Iris forced a smile. “Of course he will.  I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.”

“Mm-hmm?”

 Iris took a deep breath. “Look, last night, on my way to the morgue, I saw something.”

“What'd you see?”

“Me. I was running and I turned and I saw myself. Or I don't know, another Flash running beside me.”

“Interesting,” Dr. Wells murmured.

“Yeah, it was,” Iris agreed. “But you’re the scientist, so I was hoping I could get more of an explanation than ‘interestting.’”

“Could be an optical illusion, a mirroring effect caused by wind shear and light, a speed mirage, if you will.”

Iris shook her head. “It didn't seem like a mirage. It… she seemed real.”

“I tell you what. Let's focus on finding Mardon, and once he's safely contained in The Pipeline, we'll investigate this.”

Iris nodded. Whatever it was, it hadn’t seemed dangerous, and she had other stories to investigate.

*

Iris typed up the story on the coroner’s murder, warning the public about the supposedly dead metahuman’s recent return.

“’Weather Wizard,’” Mason read over her shoulder. “Why do you always have to name these guys?”

“I love alliteration,” Iris replied. She nodded at the folder in Mason’s hand. “You got something for me?”

Mason pulled out a photograph. “Simon Stagg, remember him? He hasn’t been seen in like six months.”

“I thought the rumor was he was a recluse. Went all Howard Hughes.”

“This was taken the night that Stagg went missing,” he said, holding out a black and white photograph of Dr. Wells outside the door Stagg Industries. “The last person to leave Stagg Industries the night that Simon Stagg disappeared.”

“This doesn’t prove anything,” Iris said defiantly. “Circumstantial evidence.”

“It’s enough for me to develop a theory. Every trail in this file leads to one person, Harrison Wells. You know him, Iris. I need you to start asking the hard questions. Even if you don’t like the answers.”

Iris waited until Mason had left before speed-reading the file. There were more details about the Simon Stagg disappearance, along with a few details from the particle accelerator explosion and, of course, his connection with General Eiling. Iris grabbed her phone, ready to start with the most obvious resource.

“Hey, baby what’s up?” Joe answered.

“Hey, Dad, I had a question about a missing person’s case. Do you know anything about the disappearance of Simon Stagg?”

“Barry and I aren’t at the station right now. We’re on our way to Big Belly if you want to meet us.”

“No, thanks. I need to follow up on this story for Mason.”

“I’ll check when we get back,” Joe said. “Of course, this storm is going to slow us down. It is really pouring out here.”

“Storm?” Iris glanced out the window at the beautiful blue sky. “What storm? There’s not a cloud in the – Mardon.” Iris dropped the phone, heading towards the Big Belly Burger near the precinct.

Joe’s police cruiser was stopped in the middle of the road, rain beating down from the single black cloud that hovered above the car while a single bolt of lightning slowly moved to the car. A small blue pickup trailed behind them. Iris didn’t have to look at the driver to know who it was.

Iris flung open the passenger door and pushed Barry and her father through, the lightning moving closer to them as she went.  She threw them to the grass as the car exploded. “Still think you shouldn’t be worried?” Iris snapped.

*

Iris didn’t think she’d ever seen Captain Singh look more worried than he did when Barry and Joe came back to the precinct following the attack. “You're confined to the precinct until Mardon's caught.”

“David, you said it yourself. That son of a bitch killed my partner,” Joe replied.

“And I'm not gonna lose you the way I lost Fred Chyre.” Captain Singh sighed. “Look, I can't stop you being pissed, Joe, but I can keep you safe. If The Flash hadn’t been there you and Barry would be dead.”

“Yeah, you were lucky she showed up,” Iris said meaningfully.

Singh eyed her for a long moment before turning back to Barry. “Allen, make sure he doesn't go anywhere.”

“I need to be out there,” Joe protested, turning back to Iris and Barry.

Iris scoffed. “You’re lucky to be in here. My first plan was to leave you stranded on Lian Yu until Mardon was caught, but Oliver had objections.”

“So do I,” Joe replied.

“See, you and Oliver are agreeing on something already. I knew you two would make progress.” 

Joe ignored her attempt at humor and started walking towards his desk.

“Look, Dad, I know you’re not happy about this but you are always the first one to tell us when you think we’re taking too big a risk, so will you please listen to me for once in your life? I took down Clyde. I can take down his sleaze bag brother too.”

“You didn't do that alone, remember?”

“You're right. But that’s exactly what got us into this mess in the first place.”

“How are any of these guys going to protect me?”

“They’re not,” Iris said. “Our friends at STAR Labs are.”

Chapter Text

Cisco presented his shiny new toy. “I call it the Wizard's Wand.”

Caitlin rolled her eyes. “Subtle. How does it work?”

“Think of it like an active lightning rod. You just point it at the sky, and it'll suck up whatever energy's floating around it like a sponge.”

“And it'll stop Mardon?” Iris asked, taking the device from Cisco.

“It'll certainly slow him down,” Wells said. “If there's no atmospheric electrons available to him, there's no way for him to control the weather. Good work, Cisco, as always. If you excuse me, I'm gonna go stretch my legs.” Dr. Wells wheeled his way out of the room. Iris watched him as he left, Mason’s warning playing through in her mind. Could Dr. Wells really be responsible for Stagg’s disappearance?

Caitlin eyed her friend carefully. “You okay? You seem a little off.”

Iris shook her head. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just…Mason, my mentor at the paper thinks there’s something suspicious going on with Dr. Wells.”

“Like what?” Caitlin asked.

“Like he might be involved with what happened to Simon Stagg. Apparently, nobody's heard from him or seen him since the night I stopped Danton Black.”

“What'd you tell him?” Cisco asked.

“That he’s got no proof, which he doesn’t.” Iris grabbed the wand off its stand. “I’m gonna get this to the police station. They should probably have it on hand in case Mardon shows up there.”

*

Joe took the wand from Iris’s hand. “Is there anything that boy can’t come up with?”

“I hope not,” Iris said, propping herself on the desk. “He’s promised me an exclusive interview when he wins his first Nobel.”

Joe laughed. “His first? That’s ambitious.”

“Okay, my words not his. But with everything happening in this city, and all the new science that’s coming out of it, I’d expect it sooner rather than later. Especially with him already at the center of it.” Iris spotted Eddie heading to his desk. “All right, I’m gonna go talk to my other favorite detective.”

Iris walked over to Eddie’s desk, perching herself on the corner. “Hey, you never called me back after you had to leave our date. What’s going on?”

“I didn’t like watching you flirt with Barry all night?”

“What?” Iris scoffed. “That is crazy. I was not flirting with Barry. He’s just a friend.”

“So is Cisco. You didn’t touch Cisco the same way and smile at him all night.”

“Because I’ve known Barry…forever. He’s just –“

“Like family. I know. But you’re my girlfriend. I don’t like feeling like the odd man out when you two are together. And I shouldn’t have to.”

Iris sighed. “Eddie, Barry is always going to be a part of my life.”

“I get that,” Eddie said honestly. “But there’s something more there. Something that we don’t share. And one way or another, something’s going to have to change.”

Iris opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind throwing her father through the doors separating the lobby from the rest of the precinct.

“Joe!” Eddie shouted, drawing his gun.

“No, run!” Joe shouted, holding up a hand to stop Eddie, Fred Chyre’s death fresh in his mind.

Iris ran away, using the distraction to her advantage as she disappeared and reappeared wearing The Flash suit. By then, glass was already flying in the station as Mark Mardon brought down two lightning bolts. One aiming for Captain Singh, the other towards her father.

Iris moved as fast as she could, shoving her father out the way, but not fast enough to save Singh, the lightning bolt striking him in the chest and throwing him back against a filing cabinet.

Where the hell did that wand go? Iris thought, searching frantically for Cisco’s weapon. She found it, thrown back by the wind behind the reception desk. She raised it into the air, the wind and fog seeming to disappear within the glowing blue orb at the top. Mardon stared at her and the wand for a moment, mystified.

“Captain!” Eddie shouted, hovering over Captain Singh. Iris whipped her head around.

“David?” her father said quietly. There was no response. Joe looked at Iris. She dropped the wand and raced over to the Captain, cradling him in her arms and speeding him to the hospital.

*

Barry was on the couch when Iris managed to drag her dad home from the hospital. The doctor had been very clear that she wasn’t going to budge on the “family only” rule, and after much cajoling, Joe had let Iris take him home. Which was pretty telling as to his mental state considering Iris hadn’t actually gotten behind the wheel of a car in over fifteen months.

“How’s Captain Singh?” Barry asked.

“Not so good,” Iris answered. “The doctor said he might never walk again, let alone be back on the force.” Iris settled onto the couch next to Barry. “They wouldn’t let us in to see him. His fiancé’s with him.”

“You’re both staying here tonight,” Joe said in a commanding voice. “Mardon’s looking for blood, and he is not above taking family for family.” He gestured between Barry and Iris. “Stay here. Look out for each other.” Joe sighed. “I’m gonna grab a couple hours sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Barry watched Joe head upstairs before smiling back at Iris. “Why does Joe think I’m here? I wasn’t about to let him stay by himself with a metahuman killer after him?”

“Same,” Iris said. “I don’t know why he’s worried about us. For once, the psycho killers don’t seem the least bit interested in us.”

“It is a refreshing change of pace,” Barry replied. “I’ll definitely take it over ‘taken hostage four times in as many weeks.’”

“It was three times! Rage Iris did not take you hostage. She just casually kidnapped you and threatened your girlfriend.”

“Semantics.”

“Words are kind of my job.”

“I can tell. From the way you use the third person like it wasn’t you just because you were high on metahuman rage.”

“Okay, fine, I kidnapped you. Which I am sorry about. I just wanted to keep you out of all this drama.” Iris sighed. “Unfortunately, you love the superhero drama, and will just find your way to lesser heroes if I don’t involve you.

“You know technically I have been at this longer than you.”

“Shut up,” Iris said, whacking him on the shoulder, making Barry laugh. She smiled at the sound and then the smile fell from her face. This was exactly what Eddie had been talking about. That connection he wasn’t a part of.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Iris shook herself out of it. “Fine, just remembering something Eddie said. At bowling, do you think we were too…you know?”

“What happened to being great with words?”

“I’m serious.”

Barry shook his head. “No. What makes you say that?”

“Just something Eddie said. I think he was jealous.”

A smirk played at the corner of Barry’s lips. “Jealous? Why?”

Because you bought me a wedding ring, she thought. “I guess he just thought we were a little…more than friendly.”

“Well, he was wrong. You made that very clear at Christmas,” Barry said.

A little too clear? Iris wondered. No, no, I’m with Eddie. Barry and I are just friends. “Okay, there’s nothing more we can do about Mardon tonight,” Iris said, eager for a subject change. “And I’m definitely too wired to sleep.”

“No,” Barry said, shaking his head. “No, we are not watching Mean Girls again.”

“Don’t act like you don’t laugh at everything Tina Fey says in that movie.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Fine. Turn on Netflix. I’ll make the popcorn.”

Iris smiled. Always nice to have something you can depend on.

They didn’t make it to the end of the movie. It was after sunrise when Iris felt a hand on her shoulder shaking her.

“Iris! Iris!”

“Five more minutes,” she muttered.

“Joe snuck out!” Barry said.

“He what?” she said, sitting up.

“There’s a note on the fridge saying ‘After Mardon’ and he’s not answering his cell or the police radio; I already tried.”

Iris pulled on her shoes. “And what exactly does he think he’s gonna do when he finds him? Stop him with a gun? The man shoots lightning bolts!”

Iris’s phone rang. She checked the caller ID and saw it was Eddie. “Hey, Eddie, listen I can’t really talk right now. My dad went after Mardon.”

“He found him.”

“What?”

“I followed him to Mardon’s old hideout. It was a trap.” Eddie sighed. “Mardon took him.”

“He what?”

“Mardon has your dad, Iris.”

Chapter Text

Barry drove them to the station, after advising Iris that “it might look a little suspicious if we get there in ten seconds.” It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes between the phone call and their arrival at the station, but when they got there, Eddie was already mobilizing the entire force to bring Joe back.

“We've seen what Mardon can do, but do not forget, he is not invincible. He is still a man, at best, a criminal.”

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Iris whispered.

“We’ll find him,” Barry said.

“I should be out there. I should be bringing him back.”

“Hey, come here.” Barry reached for her shoulder, turning her towards him. “We are not losing him, okay?” His hand moves upward, caressing her face. “We will bring him home. I promise.”

Staring into the familiar, warm green eyes, Iris knew they would. “Okay,” she said simply.

A ghost of a smile played on Barry’s lips as he moved his hand to her shoulder. They turned back to Eddie’s briefing the other officers.

“We will scour the city until we find Joe,” Eddie said, the determination clear in his voice. He shifted his gaze back to Iris, hoping he had convinced her, given her some sense of relief…but no, clearly, Barry was.  The pair noticed they were being watched and Barry’s hand fell from Iris’s shoulder, their gaze drifting guiltily to the floor.

“Move out!” Eddie shouted to the officers.

Iris’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the unknown number and answered. “Hello?”

“I have your father,” Mark Mardon said. “He's a little broken, but still alive. If you want him to stay that way, come to the waterfront, south side. Oh, and Iris, you tell the police, your father's dead.”

Iris heard a splash and then silence as the phone went dead. “He has my dad. He says if I tell anyone, he’ll kill him. He wants me to meet him at the waterfront.”

“Okay, are you gonna – fwoosh?”

Iris shook her head. “No, he wants me. Regular me. If he sees The Flash…”

Barry nodded. “Okay, then I’m coming with you.”

“No, Barry!” Iris said, struggling to keep herself from yelling. “It’s too dangerous. If something goes wrong, I cannot lose you both.”

“You’re not to lose anyone today, I promise,” Barry said. “But we’re doing this together.”

“Bear – “

“He’s my family, too, Iris,” Barry reminded her.

Iris sighed but nodded. “Okay let’s go.” They hurried towards the door, catching Eddie’s attention as they went.

*

Cisco stared at the hologram in front of him, reversing the playback once he actually figured out how to work the technology.  It was a video. A recording. The Reverse Flash hadn’t been in the trap that night. No, it couldn’t be. Cisco walked closer to the image, fascinated, horrified, impressed. Then how could Dr. Wells have been pulled in? Unless…“I can’t believe this.” The whole fight was staged? Why? For what purpose?

“Oh, I'm not like The Flash at all,” spoke the red-eyed image.

“Some would say, I'm the Reverse,” Dr. Wells finished.

Cisco jumped, turning towards the voice, his gaze shifting just a little as he realized Dr. Wells was standing. For the first time in over a year. Well, for the first time that Cisco had seen. Shit. It’s true. And he knows. He knows I know. The Friends reference played in Cisco’s head despite the seriousness of the situation. Run, Cisco thought.  Right, run from the guy who’s faster than Iris.

Dr. Wells entered the room slowly, and somehow that made everything worse. He was clapping and Cisco wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be sarcastic or if he was genuinely impressed with Cisco’s detective work. “You're incredibly clever, Cisco. I've always said so.” And suddenly Dr. Wells looked so disturbingly proud that Cisco was sure the clapping had been genuine.

“You're him. The Reverse Flash.”

Dr. Wells took a few steps closer. “You and I have never been truly, properly introduced. I am Eobard Thawne.” He gave a deep nod, a small bow, like this was some kind of serious, solemn meeting, not –

No, don’t think about that. Keep him talking. “Thawne? Like Eddie.”

A faint smile appeared on Dr. Wells – no, Eobard’s, dammit – face. “Let's call him a distant relative.”

Cisco gestured towards the machine behind him. “The night that we trapped the Reverse-Flash, you almost died.” Caitlin treated him, he was definitely injured – Oh, God, he was with Caitlin. WHERE’S CAITLIN?

“Mm-hmm.”

“There were two of you.”

Eobard held up a single finger. Whether he meant, “wait a minute” or “no, just one,” Cisco wasn’t sure, but a second later he was running back and forth between two places, two blurry images coming into view. Cisco moved closer, fascinated, theories of how it could be possible swirling inside his head.  The images solidified into two men standing still until one of them moved and spoke. “It's an after-image, A speed mirage, if you will.” And there he was with that damn bow again, like a magician performing a trick. The other Eobard caught up with him, merging the two back into one figure. He walked towards the work station.

Cisco clutched at his head as more bits of truth caught up with him. His breath was coming quicker. “Joe was right. You were there that night, 15 years ago, in Barry's house. You killed Nora Allen.”

Eobard closed the laptop Cisco had been working at. “It was never my intention to kill Nora. I was there to kill Barry.” Eobard smiled at Cisco, moving closer to him. God, what kind of monster smiles when they talk about murdering a child?

“Why? He was eleven. What could he have possibly done to make you want to – “ Cisco couldn’t even say it.

Eobard came closer, circling Cisco like a shark with its prey. “Not where I come from. Where I come from he’s the fastest man alive. Or should I say when I come from.”

“The other man Barry saw that night. It really was him, or – ”

“An alternate version of him. From an alternate universe. The same one I come from. One I was prepared to recreate, until your friend made one choice that screwed everything up for my future.”

The pieces clicked into place. “Iris. She wasn’t supposed to get struck. You meant for that lightning to strike Barry. That’s what all of this –“ Cisco gestured wildly at the building surrounding them “ – that’s what it’s all been about. Making The Flash. Making Barry The Flash.”

“I came to get revenge on Barry Allen.” Eobard laughed. “And the irony is, I stopped him from becoming the man I hated. After being stuck here, marooned here in this place for 15 long years, he’s just the sidekick.”

Eobard waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. They’re still important to my plan. The Flash and The Flash's speed is the key to my returning to my world. To my time.” He stopped, staring intensely at Cisco. “And no one is going to prevent that from happening.”

“I can help you,” Cisco said, unsure himself if he was bluffing or desperate enough to barter helping a supervillain in exchange for his own life.

“You're smart, Cisco,” Eobard said approvingly. He raised his right hand into the air, and it started to vibrate, the threat hanging in the air. “But you're not that smart.”

Cisco dropped his head, the tears springing to his eyes. No, not like this. This can’t be how it ends.

Eobard stepped closer, lowering his hand just a bit. “Do you know how hard it has been to keep all of this from you, especially from you? Because the truth is, I've grown quite fond of you.”

Cisco looked up, the praise from his mentor still affecting him.

 “And in many ways, you have shown me what it's like to have a son.”

Cisco tensed, forcing his gaze on Eobard as his muscles shook with anticipation of what was to come.

 Eobard shot out his hand, plunging it into the young man’s chest, shredding his heart almost instantly, speaking once more into the boy’s final seconds of consciousness. “Forgive me, but to me, you've been dead for centuries.” Eobard ripped his hand from Cisco’s chest and he fell to the floor, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He sighed, giving Cisco’s body one final glance before stepping back into the elevator.

*

Iris slammed the car door shut, resisting the urge to speed off. “What do we do?”

“He’s watching for us. He’ll make first contact,” Barry said.

A huge bolt of lightning flashed above the lake. “I think he just did,” Iris said. “Crap, the wand. It’s still at the station. I didn’t think…he’s gonna kill everyone. Barry, you need to get out of here. Run, Barry!”

“What? No, I am not going anywhere.”

“Barry, I am not going to lose anyone else that I love!” As she spoke the words, the full meaning behind them became clear. Iris loved him. Not like a friend, not like family. God, he was so much more than that. Home, harbor, guardian. “I love you,” she said again more certainly. “I mean. I love you, too.”

Barry smiled. How crazy was it that while the world crashed down around them she could still feel transfixed by the beauty of his smile? “I’ve always loved you,” he said.

Iris could feel the smile spreading across her face as Barry leaned forward, his hands in her hair, leaning so his lips touched hers, and was she in superspeed? Because it felt like this moment would last forever and yet it still wouldn’t be long enough. Slowly, Barry pulled back, his forehead brushing Iris’s as he did and was that a tear running down her cheek? Had it been there before?

“Iris?”

She turned her head at the familiar voice. Eddie was running towards them and he couldn’t have looked more heartbroken. “Eddie, what are you doing here?”

“I followed you. When I saw you leave, I thought Mardon had called you.” Eddie glanced out at the the giant wall of water heading towards the city. “I guess I was right. About a couple of things.”

“Not now, Eddie,” Iris said, pulling out her phone. She dialed Caitlin.

“Iris, oh, thank God. I need to talk to you. Dr. Wells, he isn't – “

“Hey, there's no time for that right now, all right? There is a tsunami heading for the city. How do I stop it?”

“Theoretically, if you can create a vortex barrier along the coastline, a wall of wind, that would be able to sap the tidal wave of its energy before it hits the city,” Caitlin answered.

“By running back and forth.”

“Iris, I don't know if you can run that fast.”

“I have to try,” Iris said. Iris hung up the phone, glancing back at Eddie. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.” She didn’t know if she meant her feelings for Barry or the wardrobe change she was about to do. She spun around, changing into the familiar red suit. “Get out of here! Both of you!”

Iris raced back and forth along the shoreline. She could feel that she was going faster than she ever had before, but the tidal wave seemed to only grow larger. She screamed, feeling an adrenaline rush as she pushed herself just a little further, lightning crackling across her skin. She let out a scream and –

Suddenly it was night. Had Mardon made clouds that thick? Thick enough to block out all the light? She looked around. No, she wasn’t on the shore anymore. She was in the city. And she wasn’t alone. There, running next to her – another Flash.

Iris skidded to a stop. She gasped for breath as déjà vu took over. The barking dogs. The clock changing to 10:00. The woman screaming for a cab. She’d been here before. This exact moment. She shook her head. No this is impossible.

“What the hell just happened?”

Chapter Text

Cisco’s voice was loud in Iris’s ear. “What’s wrong?”

“What?”

“You stopped in the middle of the street and then said ‘what the hell?’ Is everything okay?”

Iris shook her head. “I – I don’t know. Something…something weird is going on here.”

“Well, unless it’s an emergency you’d better get going. Or Barry and Eddie are going to beat you there.”

“There?”

“Iris! The morgue. You were checking out a case. Did you hit your head?”

“Oh, right. The morgue. On my way.” Iris took off running again. At the morgue, she saw the same scene she’d witnessed before – dead coroner, surrounded by water and ice.

*

Iris went to bed not long after she got home from the trip to the morgue, half-hoping the strange repetition of events from the day before would fade with sleep, but she awoke to find that the memories lingered in a way a that a dream’s did not. She logged onto CCPN’s website to see that the coroner’s death had still happened, the date in the corner confirming her fears. Today was the day before Mardon had attempted to destroy the city. That had happened. Iris was positive of that. Only now it hadn’t. Not yet. Which meant she could stop it. But first she had some questions. She quickly dressed and got ready and raced to STAR Labs to talk to Dr. Wells.

*

Iris didn’t get a chance to discuss her problem with Dr. Wells, though before Barry brought the team his intel from the crime scene.

“Okay, get this,” Barry said, pulling up the crime scene photos. “The coroner had multiple impact bruises on his torso, all the size of a tennis ball. Judging by the amount of ice and water on the morgue floor, I'm guessing he was killed by – “

“Hail,” Iris and Barry said together.

“Okay, that’s a weird guess,” Barry said.

“It does sound like somebody we know, though,” Joe said.

“A dead someone,” Cisco said.

Barry hit the computer screen. Once again Iris heard the voice of Mark Mardon as he threatened her father and killed the coroner.

“A back from the dead metahuman gunning for our favorite detective. Awesome. Our lives aren’t complicated enough as it is,” Cisco said.

“You have no idea,” Iris muttered.

“His powers do seem to be much more advanced than those of his brother,” Dr. Wells observed.

“Creating a storm like that, indoors –

“You’d have to be a Weather Wizard!” Cisco and Iris finished. Cisco glared a little at Iris thinking of the same nickname, and took a sip of his smoothie. “Ow!”

“Trigeminal headache?” Caitlin and Iris said.

Cisco glanced between the two women. “Okay, you two are spending way too much time together.”

Dr. Wells eyed Iris carefully. “Ms. West? Could I have a word, please?”

Iris nodded, following Dr. Wells into the other room and closing the door behind them.

Dr. Wells’ voice was harsh when he spoke. “You ruptured the time continuum, didn't you? You're experiencing temporal reversion.”

 “Going back in time? Yes.”

“How long?”

“Uh, about a day and a half,” Iris said. “It was tomorrow morning and I went back to last night. It's like I'm living it all over again.”

“Yeah, well that's good. That means there's not too much you could've messed up yet. How did this happen?”

 Iris shrugged. “I... I don't know. I was running faster than I have ever ran because I was trying to stop the – “

“No. Do not tell me. I do not want to know anything about the future you experienced. Nothing!”

Dr. Wells sounded angry and just a little desperate. He seemed so sure that telling him was a bad idea. Iris nodded. “ Okay, but Dr. Wells, the city…”

“Iris. Time... is an extremely fragile construct,” Dr. Wells said. “Any deviation, no matter how small, could result in a cataclysm. Now here's what you're going to do. Everything you did before. Every word you uttered, every step you took, you're going to do again. And you're not going to tell anyone this happened.”

“Dr. Wells, my father – “

“No one, Iris. Do you understand me?”

“All right. You’re the expert.”

*

In his time vault, Eobard Thawne stripped off his glasses as he pressed his hand to the white console in the center of the room.

An indistinct humanoid form appeared in front of him. “Good day, Dr. Wells.”

“Time will tell, Gideon. Show me the future.”

“As you wish,” Gideon said. The newspaper image of Iris decked out in the Flash suit beneath the headline Flash Vanishes in Crisis. “The future remains intact, Dr. Wells.”

Thawne breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. It seems our Ms. West hasn’t changed the future too drastically this time. If anything changes, alert me immediately,” he said, sliding the glasses back onto his face.

“Of course, Doctor,” Gideon said.

*

Dr. Wells knows best, Iris thought. You should listen to him. She knew he was right. She believed he was right. That interfering with the timeline could have severe consequences. But the image of a lightning bolt barreling after Barry and her dad flashed in her mind. A tidal wave bearing down on her city.

Screw the greater good, Iris thought. She raced to the building Eddie had identified as Mardon’s former hideout and scoured through it. When she found Mardon, he was stretched out on a bed, reading a newspaper. He rose to his feet when he saw Iris run into the room in a blur of yellow lightning.

“I didn’t know there was anyone else like me,” he said.

“You’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Iris said. “Good thing you’ll have plenty of time to read in prison.” She snatched him by the collar and had him across town and in the pipeline in under a minute.

“I’m gonna break out of here,” Mardon promised. “I’m gonna create a tidal wave that destroys your entire city.”

“Not today,” Iris said, pushing the button to send him out of view.

“That’s gotta be some kind of record,” Caitlin said.

“Yeah, she caught the bad guy, very nice,” Cisco said. “Now how am I going to get out of my brother’s birthday party?” he said walking out of the pipeline with Caitlin.

Dr. Wells turned his chair sharply to face Iris, and she resisted the urge to back up a step.“Do you have any idea what you've just done?”

“Yeah, I do. I just saved a lot of people.”

“I warned you not to mess with the timeline.”

“Dr. Wells, you don’t understand. The fate of the entire city was at stake. I did what I had to do.”

“Whatever tragedy you think you've just averted, time will find a way to replace it and trust me, Iris, the next one could be much worse.”

Chapter Text

Iris typed up her report on the coroner’s murder, her fingers moving just a little too fast from the words that had already formed in her mind.

“’Weather Wizard,’” Mason read over her shoulder. “Why do you always have to name these guys?”

“Because my mentor didn’t teach me any better,” Iris replied, hitting save. She nodded toward the folder in Mason’s hand. “What’s the story?” she asked, knowing exactly what she would see.

Mason pulled out a photograph. “Simon Stagg, remember him? He hasn’t been seen in like six months.”

“Rich, creative people have done crazier things than hide out for six months,” Iris pointed out.

“This was taken the night he went missing,” Mason said, holding up a photo of Dr. Wells entering Stagg Industries. “Why would one of his competitors be there right before he disappeared?”

“I’m sure it’s not what you think,” Iris said. “Dr. Wells has ties to labs all over Central City.”

“Yes, but none of those companies had their founders disappear right after meeting with your friend,” Mason said.

“That doesn’t make him guilty of – what, kidnapping? Murder?”

“Harrison Wells is far from innocent,” Mason said. “All that time you spend with him, you should know better than anyone.”

“All that time I spend with him? What makes you think we spend that much time together?” Iris asked.

“When I started to suspect he had something to do with Stagg’s disappearance, I…started following him.”

“You know there are anti-stalking laws in this country, right?” Iris asked, crossing her arms. “And my dad’s a cop.”

“Hear me out,” Mason said. “I started following him. Which is harder than it sounds because he doesn’t really go anywhere. Except to see you. So this known recluse happens to meet up with Simon Stagg right before he disappears. Wouldn’t that man be a suspect in his disappearance?”

Iris sighed. “Okay, yes, that does sound suspicious, but I know Dr. Wells – “

“Why? Why do spend so much time with Dr. Wells? I get that he supposedly saved your life, but you seem perfectly healthy now. Why do you spend so much time with him?”

“I – that’s not – I mean – “

“Whatever the reason, Iris, his secrets are going to come out. You need to be ready to protect your own.” Mason dropped the file on her desk. “That’s what I’ve got on his connections with Stagg. I’ve got more information safely locked away.”

He walked away. Iris reached for the file, knowing what she would find inside.

Iris’s phone rang. She checked the display and answered. “Hi, Dad.”

“ So when were you planning on telling me you took down Mardon?” Joe asked.

“I... I just haven't had a chance yet,” Iris said. “I’ve been swamped with work here.”

“You type ten thousand words a minute and have all the facts you need for your story. You couldn’t have taken two minutes to give your dad a heads up?”

“Are you mad at me?” Iris asked.  “I stopped the bad guy. Who was gunning for you, I might add.”

“No, I’m not mad. But I am curious. You usually tell me what’s going on at STAR Labs and today you didn’t. That’s not like you.”

“Look, Dad, you're gonna have to trust me, okay? I stopped Mardon. He wanted you. I thought it was safer if you stayed out of it. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I should have.”

“You sure that’s all that’s going on here?”

No, I time traveled and allegedly screwed up the timeline. But you don’t need to know that. “I’m fine, Dad. Everything’s fine.”

*

Iris went to STAR Labs on her lunch break, where she and Dr. Wells attempted to recreate the time travel with no success.  Iris slowed to a stop on the treadmill. “I don't get it. I've been running just as fast as I was when it happened, and nothing. I'm still here.”

“Any number of things could've triggered the wormhole that allows you to repeat your day,” Dr. Well said. “Your emotions, your circumstances, your cortisol levels, all of the above.”

“Well, the adrenaline was definitely going. Between Barry and Eddie and the city about to –“

“Don’t say it. No details. I’ve already told you.”

“Mardon’s already in the pipeline. What do you thinks going to happen?”

“I don’t know, Iris. Time is a very fragile thing. The alterations to the timeline…”Dr. Wells shook his head. “I have no idea.”

“Well something had to change, right? I mean, if I’d done things exactly like before, I would have just gone back in time again and be Groundhog Day-ing this whole thing until the end of time. Or the city would have been destroyed. There was no way to win by repeating yesterday’s moves.”

“Maybe not. But altering the timeline will have consequences. Of that I am sure,” Dr. Wells said.

Iris’s phone chirped. She looked down to see a text from Eddie asking her to meet him for lunch. “I gotta go,” Iris said. “I think it’s time to face one of those consequences.” She sped out of STAR Labs to the police station.

“That was fast,” Eddie said as she walked in.

“I was on my way to see Dad,” Iris lied.

“You sure you weren’t on your way to see Barry?” Eddie asked with a knowing look.

For a moment Iris panicked. Did Eddie remember the events of the altered timeline? No, that was impossible. The bowling alley. This is still about the bowling alley. “We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Eddie.”

“Well, I was. I’m supposed to be your boyfriend, but if anyone had seen  us last night, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been the first guess for who you were dating.”

Iris smiled. “Would you have ranked above Cisco?”

“This isn’t funny.”

“I know,” Iris said.

“At Christmas you said you didn’t have those feelings for Barry.”

“I didn’t,” Iris said, unable to meet his eyes.

“You didn’t?” Eddie repeated, ducking his head down to try to meet her eyes. “Does that mean something’s changed?”

“I don’t know,” Iris said. “Yes. Maybe.” She sighed. “It’s a complicated situation. Even more than you think.”

“It seems pretty simple,” Eddie said. “You picked him.” Eddie walked, leaving Iris staring at his retreating back.

*

Iris opened the door to her apartment, the smell of chicken cooking greeting her as she walked in. “Hey!” she called. “I thought you had plans with Cisco,” she said walking into the kitchen. Iris grabbed a fork and picked a chunk of chicken out of the stir-fry Caitlin was making.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. “Family drama at the birthday dinner. We left pretty early. Cisco said he was going to meet Barry for a drink. How’d your day go?”

 “Pretty typical day. Stop a supervillain, write a story, break up with my boyfriend.”

Caitlin’s eyes bulged and she dropped the spoon back in the pan, turning her full attention to Iris. “You broke up with Eddie? Why?”

“Actually, he broke up with me. At least I think he did.”

“Again, why?”

“Because I told him I had feelings for Barry.”

“You what?!” Caitlin shrieked. She pulled a chair out from the kitchen table. “Sit. Explain.”

Iris took a seat as Caitlin settled down across from her. “I can’t. I can’t explain it because it doesn’t make any sense. I just…realized that my feelings had changed.” She sighed. “Maybe they changed before. I don’t know. I just…I couldn’t lie to Eddie anymore. Or myself.”

“Have you told Barry?”

“No. I haven’t seen him yet, and the whole thing’s just weird and awkward.”

“Only if you make it weird and awkward,” Caitlin said. “You like him, he likes you. You’re both single adults. Talk to him. I’m sure it’ll make things better.”

Iris’s phone rang again. She checked the display and glanced at Caitlin. “Are you psychic or something?” She answered the call. “Hey, Bear.”

“Hey. So do you want to tell me what happened that made Eddie punch me in the face?”

Chapter Text

Iris groaned. “He punched you?”

“Yeah. Hard. What happened?”

Iris sighed. “We broke up. He…thought you had something to do with that.”

“What? Why would he – why would he think that?”

“Listen, Bear, it’s kind of a long story. Can I meet you for lunch tomorrow and explain then?”

“Yeah, that sounds great. I gotta go ice my face and meet Cisco anyway. I’ll see you then.”

“Bye.” Iris hung up the phone to find Caitlin staring at her. “What?”

“You’ve got a date with Barry,” Caitlin said in a singsong voice.

“What? No. We’re having lunch. I’ve had lunch with Barry thousands of times. It’s not a date. “

“Maybe not yet…but it could be.”

*

Iris sat down across from Barry. “Sorry, I’m late. I had to make a stop.”

“Saving a cat from a tree?” Barry asked.

“Close. Bank robbery on Seventh.”

“Why does anyone still try that?”

Iris shrugged. “Criminals are dumb.” She got a better look at Barry’s face. “God, that looks like it hurts. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever been punched in the face.”

“Yeah, but I was much less angry when I used to do it.”

Barry smirked. “That’s cute. So, what happened? I thought you guys were doing great.”

“We were. I just – we were in different places in the relationship.”

“And he thought your place was with me?” Barry asked.

“It’s complicated,” Iris said. “He loved me more than I loved him.”

Barry nodded. He looked uncertain about what he was trying to say. “And he thought that I’d done something to make that happen?”

“I guess so? I’m not sure exactly what he thinks happened,” Iris said. “I didn’t give him much of a reason, I just told him my feelings had changed and then it was over.”

“So what does that mean for us? Does that mean something for us?” Barry asked, a smile just barely turning up the corners of his lips.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” she said. “God, this was so much easier before,” she muttered.

“Before?”

“Nothing. Never mind.” Why was it easier to admit she loved him when they were waiting for a tidal wave to crash over the city? Why was she less sure of her feelings sitting in a restaurant they’d eaten at a hundred times than to tell him in what could very easily have been the last moment of their lives?

Her phone rang, snapping Iris out of her thoughts. She looked at the display to see Caitlin’s name. “Sorry, I’ve gotta take this,” she said to Barry. “Hey, Caitlin, what’s up?”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt your not-a-date, but have either of you heard from Cisco?” Caitlin asked. “He never showed up for work and he’s not answering his cell. That’s not like him.”

“No, hold on,” Iris said. “Bear, have you heard from Cisco? Caitlin says he didn’t come to STAR Labs this morning.”

Barry smiled. “No, I actually left the bar early. There was this gorgeous girl flirting with him, so I headed out. Sounds like they had a good time.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “He says he hasn’t seen him since last night.” The call waiting beeped. Iris glanced at the phone. “My dad’s calling. I’ll call you if I hear from Cisco, okay?” She switched lines. “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

“Leonard Snart’s back,” Joe said.

“What? Cold’s back?” Iris said.

Barry choked on his drink. “Captain Cold is back?”

“He’s at the Santini crime family casino. He robs the Santinis, we could be looking at the beginning of a mob war.”

“I’m on it,” she said. She ended the call. “I gotta go. Trouble, big trouble. We’ll talk later,” she promised, heading out of the restaurant before Barry could respond.

Barry sighed. “So I guess I’ll still be waiting for the answer to that ‘us’ question.”

*

Iris ran into the casino just after the gunfire broke out. She shoved a mobster out of the way of Snart’s freeze ray before disarming the other criminals. There was a woman with Snart, holding some kind of gun that Iris didn’t recognize. Where had they gotten the weapons? Cisco had destroyed the cold and heat guns when Snart and Rory were arrested.

“How many times are we gonna do this, Snart?” she called.

“Until one of us wins!” Snart yelled, cocking the gun.

Iris ran to the woman Snart was with and pulled her back to where Iris had stood before, the mysterious new gun aimed at the woman’s neck. “Drop it, Snart!”

Snart raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. “Who are we kidding? We both know you’re not gonna hurt her. By the way, meet my baby sister. Lisa, Flash. Flash, Lisa. She’s making the rounds, getting to know your team. She met Cisco last night. The kid works fast,” he said, raising his weapon a little higher. “If you want to see your friend alive again, you’ll get your hands off my sister.”

Iris weighed her options quickly in her head. She could probably disarm Cold and have him in police custody in about ten seconds, but she had no way of knowing where Cisco was and no way to know if he would be safe until Iris could find him. Snart still had one accomplice on the loose. Reluctantly, Iris loosened her grip on Lisa, who took control of the gun back, smiling as she did so. Lisa went to stand beside her brother.

“Let him go, Snart,” Iris said.

“I’ll think about it,” Snart said with a sneer. He turned and started out of the casino. Lisa followed after, waving at Iris one last time as she left.

*

Iris sat back in STAR Labs, the Flash suit still on as she and Wells reviewed the footage from the bar Barry and Cisco had been in the night before.

“So there's Cisco getting into a car with Snart's sister,” Wells said. He sighed. “And the license plate is iced over.”

“Car’s probably stolen anyway,” Iris said. “He’s managed to stay hidden the past two months, why would now be any different. I screwed up. You were right. If I hadn’t gone back in time, Cisco would be safe.” She shook her head. “Or maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe the tsunami would have – “

Dr. Wells held up a hand. “Stop right there before you cause another disruption to the timeline.” He turned his chair away from Iris, refusing to listen.

“Please, Dr. Wells,” Iris said. “It’s too much. I can’t keep it myself anymore. I need to talk to someone about this.”

Dr. Wells turned his chair around. “All right. I’m listening.”

“In version one of this day, a tsunami is bearing down on the city, Captain Singh may never walk again, and I kissed Barry Allen and Eddie knows I’m The Flash.”

“You kissed Barry?” Dr. Wells asked.

“That’s the part you’re clinging to?”

Dr. Wells shrugged. “I have a feeling your love life is probably the least of my worries about time travel.”

“Yes, I kissed him. And today, I broke up with Eddie. Or Eddie broke up with me, maybe, and I was going to talk to Barry about my feelings, but then without the life-threatening disaster…”

“You were less certain of your feelings.”

“I couldn’t just say it. I couldn’t risk the relationship we have. I love him too much to lose that, you know? Especially if it was just an adrenaline rush thing.”

“I understand. Human emotions are complex things.”

“I thought going back in time would protect people, but not at the cost of Cisco’s life.”

“This ability of yours is dangerous, Iris,” Dr. Wells said. “What if you traveled back decades? Centuries? Imagine the havoc you could wreak.”

“Barry’s supposed to time travel to the night his mother was killed. You’re saying that he shouldn’t?”

“Right now, I am saying that Mr. Allen would be better off not knowing what you’ve discovered about this particular ability. If he were to go back in time and safe his mother, how many more lives would he alter? How many lives could be lost?”

Caitlin burst into the lab. “I’ve got nothing on satellite thermography. Did you find anything?”

“We couldn’t get a plate off the video feed,” Iris said. “I’m sorry, Caitlin.”

Caitlin shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Iris. I just wish I knew what else we could do.”

“We’ll find him, Caitlin,” Dr. Wells said. “We’ll get Cisco back.”

 “I'm back.” Cisco’s voice came softly from the doorway of the Cortex.

Caitlin beat Iris to him, throwing her arms around him “Oh, my God. Are you okay? We were so worried.”

“What happened?” Dr. Wells asked. “How did you escape?”

“I didn't,” Cisco said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Snart just let you go?” Iris asked. “Why?”

“He, um... he tortured my brother,” Cisco said, his voice shaking. “And he said he was gonna kill him if I didn't... if I didn't tell him...” Cisco stared at the ground, not meeting Iris’s gaze.

“Tell him what?” Caitlin asked.

Cisco raised his head, locking eyes with Iris. “Who The Flash really is.”

Iris let the knowledge sink in. He knows. Snart knows who I am.

“I’m sorry, Iris. I’d have died before I told him. But they were gonna kill my brother.” Cisco’s voice broke as the tears began to run down his cheeks. “I couldn't let him do that.”

“It’s okay,” Iris said, moving forward and resting a hand on his shoulder.

Cisco shook his head. “I’m sorry, Iris.”

“No.”

“I'm so sorry.”

“This happened because of me. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Iris said. She reached up, pulling Cisco to her, her head on his shoulder. “I'm the one who's sorry.” Cisco’s arms tightened around her for a moment before he pulled away, turning back to the door. “Where are you going?”

Cisco stopped and looked back at the rest of the team. “I don't deserve to be here. I won't be the one to put you in jeopardy. Not again. Never again,” he said, walking out of the lab.

Chapter Text

Barry walked into STAR Labs. “You got Cisco back?”

“Yeah, he’s safe,” Iris assured him. “He’s leaving Team Flash, but he’s safe.”

Caitlin shook her head. “Dr. Wells will convince him. Trust me. But for right now we need to figure out a way to stop Snart and his psychotic band of outlaws.”

“I know where they’re gonna hit next,” Barry said. “The casino wasn’t the target. It was phase one.”

“So what’s phase two?” Iris asked.

“Casinos keep tons of cash on hand to cover their markers, not to mention the money that they make,” Barry explained. “But if they're under attack, the protocol is to relocate the money outside the casino.”

Cisco and Dr. Wells re-entered the lab. “He’s planning to take get the cash on the road,” Cisco said.

“Like a good, old-fashioned stagecoach robbery,” Barry replied. “I’ll say this for him, he respects the classics.”

“Where’s the truck now?” Cisco asked.

Caitlin brought up the satellite imaging again. “On its way out of town, at the corner of Churchill Street. With two motorcycles gaining on it.”

“I’m on my way,” Iris said. She changed into the suit and raced to the scene just after Rory fired off a shot at the back tire of the eighteen-wheeler.  She scooped Snart off of his seat, leaving Lisa to climb out of the sidecar to stop the bike. Iris ran Snart to the middle of the woods, tossing him off her shoulder, and getting just a little too much joy from the brief flash of confusion and nausea that flickered across his face at the change in surroundings.

Snart recovered himself quickly, pulling off his helmet. “Good to see you. Iris.”

Iris pulled the cowl away from her face. “We need to talk.”

Snart sneered. “What about? Your article on the battered women’s sheltered in Keystone? Very nice. Really tugged at the heartstrings. Or maybe you want to talk about how your dad was one of the officers who arrested me?”

“He was doing his job. Arresting murderers. It’s what good cops do,” Iris said.

“I wouldn’t know,” Snart murmured. “My old man wasn’t much of a cop. Or much of a dad.”

“So because you had a terrible childhood, I let you go?”

“No, because I have a secret uplink ready to broadcast The Flash’s identity to the world you let me go,” Snart said.

“We’ve been at this a while, Snart. You really think I care more about having my identity revealed than the safety of my city? Or my friends?”

“No,” Snart replied. “But if it didn’t matter, you wouldn’t wear a mask.”

“You think you can just walk away scot-free? This needs to end.”

“Oh, we both know that’s not going to happen,” Snart said, pulling off his goggles. “I can’t stop stealing any more than you could stop chasing down back guys and stories.”

“Then take it out of my city,” Iris said.

“It was my city first,” Leonard said.

“Listen. We both know you’re on borrowed time when you go up against me. You say you’ve got a private uplink that can release my identity, I say I’ve got a well-guarded hacker friend who’s smarter than you and can outdo whatever computer magic you’ve set up.”

Snart smiled. “The blonde. I knew I was forgetting someone. But if you were sure about that we wouldn’t still be here.”

“No. We’d be in my top-secret prison that can hold guys much more dangerous than you.”

“Impressive.”

Iris rushed forward, stopping inches from Snart. Her withering stare would have looked dangerous if you didn’t know she had powers. “You get one chance, Leonard. You say you’re a good thief. Fine. Be a thief. I’m not here to protect stuff. But I won’t watch anyone else die because of you. And you and your people will stay away from me and mine, do you understand me? You threaten anyone else that I care about, and I won’t care who finds out my identity.  You and your little rogues’ gallery will never see the light of day again.”

Snart looked her up and down. He nodded slightly. “I guess your secret’s safe with me. Flash. For now.”

Iris stepped back. “Good.” She tugged the cowl back into place.

Snart glanced around at his surroundings. “I don’t suppose you’d give me a ride back to town, would you?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Sorry. I promised my dad I wouldn’t run around with the bad boys.” She pushed past him and took off back to the city.

Cold scoffed. “Rogues’ gallery. Cute.”

*

“You’re not gonna tell me I screwed up again, are you? Letting Snart go?” Iris asked Dr. Wells the next night at STAR Labs.

“I think you did what you felt was best. That’s all any of us can do,” Dr. Wells said. “Now let’s be thankful that the timeline is safe.”

Iris smiled at Dr. Wells. “Oh, I had a question for you. It’s been so crazy here, I keep forgetting. Do you –” Iris was cut off as her phone started ringing. She read the display and sighed. “Sorry, it’s work. I better take this.” She walked into the hallway for some privacy. “Hey, Mr. Larkin.”

“Iris, have you heard from Mason?” Larkin asked.

“Not since yesterday morning, why?”

“He and Park were here late last night. She says he told her he had some big story to finish last night when she left around midnight. And then he never showed up at the office today, his computer won’t even turn on, and no one’s been able to reach him.” Larkin sighed. “I was hoping he’d contacted his favorite cub reporter.”

“He hasn’t,” Iris said, thinking about the story she knew he’d been working on. The information Mason had supposedly locked away somewhere safe. Information he’d claimed would expose the truth about Harrison Wells. “I’ll let you know if he contacts me,” Iris said, but in her heart she knew she was never going to hear from Mason Bridge again.

“I hope he hasn’t gotten himself tangled up with the mob again,” Larkin said before hanging up.

No¸ Iris thought. Something much, much worse.

“Everything okay, Iris?” Dr. Wells called out, making Iris jump.

“Yeah,” Iris said, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. “Everything’s fine.”

“Did you say you had a question for me?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Never mind. I think I’ll figure it out on my own. I’m gonna head on out.”

“Good night, Iris.”

“Night, Dr. Wells.”

*

Iris sat on her father’s couch, hugging her knees tightly to her body, staring at the family picture on the mantel. The one taken a few months after Barry had moved in, when they were starting to feel like a family, when Barry could finally smile without feeling guilty. When he could make it through the night without waking up screaming for his parents.

Had Iris been working with the man who’d caused Barry all that pain?

Iris heard the door opening and turned to see her dad coming in.

“Baby, what are you doing here?” Joe walked closer, taking in her body language and red eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Tears streamed down Iris’s cheeks. “Dad, what made you trust Dr. Wells? When I was in a coma that he caused what made you trust him to take care of me?”

Joe sat down on the couch and wrapped an arm around Iris. “I didn’t. But I thought I was watching my only daughter die. He said he could help you. No one else thought they could. We had nothing to lose. I would’ve teamed up with the devil himself if I thought it meant saving you.”

“I’m starting to think we did," Iris whispered.

“What?”

“Dr. Wells. I think he killed a friend of mine,” Iris said. “And…”

“And what?”

Iris looked her father in the eye. “I think he’s the man in yellow.”

Chapter Text

“Here’s everything we know about Harrison Wells,” Iris said, gesturing to the papers and pictures spread out all over the coffee table. “And for a detective and reporter our findings are disturbingly limited.”

“There’s a whole book on him right there,” Joe said. “Anything useful in it?”

Iris shrugged. “It’s more theories and academics than anything personal. He became withdrawn and isolated following the tragic death of his wife. That’s it.”

“Barry’s mother was killed by a speedster. Wells’ machine turned you into a speedster. Barry says he saw himself as a speedster. That’s way too many coincidences for this old cop.”

“Do you think he wanted me to become The Flash? You think he planned this?”

“I don’t know,” Joe said. “But he sought you out at the hospital. Whether that was an agenda or guilt, I don’t know. Everything he’s done since then – the medical care, the suit, training you, it’s all been to help you.”

“And to make me faster,” Iris said. “After I fought Reverse-Flash at Christmas, he was so excited about me increasing my speed, he didn’t want me to think about anything else, including fighting Snart. That doesn’t exactly scream ‘philanthropist.’”

“I agree, he wants something from you. The question is what?”

“We could always just try asking him,” Iris offered.

“And if he is the man in yellow? That didn’t work out so well for us last time,” Joe said. “The best thing we can do for now is keep our suspicions to ourselves.”

“That includes keeping it from Barry.”

“I thought that was supposed to be my line,” Joe said.

“Well, you were right. If we tell him now, he’s gonna go straight for Wells. And if Wells really is the Man in Yellow, then best-case scenario is he taunts Barry and runs away again. Worst case scenario…” Iris trailed off. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Except…”

“Except what?”

Joe sighed. “Cisco ran the blood samples from the night Nora was killed. They didn’t match Harrison Wells.”

“You suspected him enough to run DNA tests on the evidence, but not to tell me?” Iris asked.

“If I had told you I suspected him before I had proof it would have turned into an argument. And afterward, Cisco’d proven it wasn’t him. I thought there was nothing to tell you.”

“Only now it looks like he does know something about what happened fifteen years ago. If we could find out what that is, we just might be able to get Barry’s dad out of prison,” Iris said.

“Whatever Harrison Wells wants, he has kept it hidden for fifteen years. He has been patient. Scary patient. We have to be patient too. You have to play it like you don’t know anything.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Iris said. “I’ve got plenty of practice.”

Suddenly a low rumble filled their ears. “What was that, thunder?” Iris said, moving towards the window.

“It’s sunny outside,” Joe said. “Thunder with no clouds usually means you.”

“Or Reverse-Flash,” Iris said. She pulled at the curtain. Smoke rose up from downtown in the distance. “Bomb,” she said, racing out the door. The park was full of kids with their parents and baby-sitters. Including one child who was still entranced by the sight of the presents floating down from the sky. The boy reached for the gift-wrapped box, despite his father’s pleas. Iris took the boy in her arms and carried him to his father before he could reach it. She did another lap around the park, moving people out of the park. She stared out at the smoking landscape.  “Great. Crazy bomber guy is just what this day needed.”

*

The team stood at STAR Labs watching the news coverage of the bomber’s video rant. “Tricked ya. Look who's back. My tricks. My treat. But I'll give you something good to eat. Today's special. A city in ashes. The Trickster proudly welcomes you all to the new disorder.”

“Talking in the third person. That’s never a good sign,” Cisco muttered.

“You’re just mad because he named himself,” Caitlin said.

“Actually he didn’t,” Joe replied. “Twenty years ago, Central City was hit by a series of terrorist attacks. One man killed at least ten civilians, two cops. That guy called himself The Trickster.”

Barry pulled up an image of the man on the screen.

“Whoa. Someone was rocking the unitard,” Cisco said.

“And here I thought Trickster the Sequel’s fashion sense was bad,” Iris said.

“James Jesse?” Caitlin asked.

“Like Jesse James, only more twisted,” Joe explained.

“Where is this Mr. Jesse now?” Dr. Wells asked.

“He's serving several life sentences at Iron Heights,” Joe said. “He was just about the most dangerous thing Central City had ever seen.”

“You mean until the particle accelerator exploded,” Iris said, anger seeping into her voice.

“Um….” Dr. Wells said.

“I just mean we’ve stopped a dozen metas. This copycat will be easy,” Iris said. “I gotta get to the office. Taking on some extra stories while one of our reporters is out of town. I’ll see what I can find out about our tricksters.” She walked out before anyone could stop her.

“Joe, is everything all right with Iris?” Dr. Wells asked. “She seemed cranky.”

Joe shrugged. “Just work stress. Even The Flash can have a bad day. Bear and I will head to Iron Heights; see what we can get out of the original recipe Trickster. Maybe there’s something that can help us stop his groupie.”

“I’ll analyze the video and see if I can find its source,” Cisco said.

*

Iris was surprised to see a familiar face entering CCPN. “Eddie, what are you doing here?”

Eddie’s face was serious, with no hint of the warm smile Iris had grown so used to seeing. “Official police business. Your boss says one of your co-workers hasn’t come into work in a week. Mason Bridge. I remember you mentioned him before. Do you anything about his whereabouts?”

“No, but I already told Larkin that.”

“When?”

“What?”

“When did you talk to Larkin about Mason disappearing?” Eddie asked.

“After the first day he didn’t show up to work,” Iris said.

“And you haven’t said anything to me or your dad about it?” Eddie asked. “That’s not like you.”

Iris crossed her arms and stared at him coldly. “Why would I have mentioned it to you, Eddie? You broke up with me and you punched Barry.”

“I apologized to Barry for punching him. I know I crossed a line,” Eddie said. “And you broke up with me.”

Iris rubbed her forehead. “I haven’t seen Mason. I haven’t heard from Mason. I don’t know any leads he would have been following out of town or any plans to go on vacation. Is there anything else you needed, Detective?”

“No, I guess that’s all,” Eddie said.

Iris’s phone rang. She pulled it from her purse. “It’s my dad, I better get this.” She walked away from Eddie. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?”

“Barry and I got a lead on The Trickster’s old hideout. The copycat might be there. We’re going to check it out. Probably wouldn’t hurt to have backup.”

“Yeah, I’m on my way.”

*

The warehouse was creepy. Like creepy clowns and scary mannequins and the worst that nineties fashion had to offer creepy. When Iris got there, Barry and Joe were standing at a creepy self-portrait of their bomber that had been painted across a set of heavy double doors.

“Locked door,” Barry said, gesturing to the entrance. “Wanna save us the trouble of tracking down a locksmith?”

“What, the Arrow didn’t teach you lockpicking?” Iris said, stepping up to the doors.

“He seemed to think my CSI skills were my best asset.”

Iris placed her hands on both doors, vibrating the metal until the lock mechanism came lose. She smiled when she heard the click. “And that’s how it’s done.” She yanked on the doors, when she heard a ticking sound. Oh, no. She lunged at Barry and Joe shoving them away from the flames as the bomb exploded.  She lifted herself up as the heat died away. She stepped through the doors, looking for whatever had to be so carefully guarded and found…nothing. A room filled with shelves and absolutely nothing in it.

“Well, your guy was definitely here,” Iris called out. “Bad news is, whatever he was looking for, he’s got it.”

Chapter Text

“We talked to the Trickster,” Barry said as he entered STAR Labs. “Apparently, he is now short one giant, city-ending bomb.”

“Which according to the new guy’s vlog, he is totally prepared to use,” Cisco said.

“All right. For the record, I cannot carry a giant bomb out of the city if we find it, so work on your backup plans now,” Iris said.

“I can talk you through disarming a bomb,” Cisco said. “Probably.”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Iris said.

Cisco’s eyes brightened. “Did you just – “

“Please, I lived with Barry Allen for seven years,” Iris replied. “Can you trace the video he put up?”

“I tried, but this guy is using some crazy Felicity-caliber scrambler like I've never seen,” Cisco said. “The origin of the upload's coming from hundreds of different locations. Until he uploads another video, it's gonna be tough.”

“He could have leveled the city by then,” Iris said. “If we don’t find him in time…”

“Hey, I said tough, not impossible,” Cisco replied.

“Iris, we’ll catch him. We always do,” Caitlin said.

“Not always,” Iris muttered.

“Ms. West, may I have a word?” Dr. Wells asked, wheeling into the other room.

Iris felt a rush of panic. Did he know something? Her eyes flickered to Barry’s, and he seemed to read the fear there because his brow furrowed with confusion and concern. Iris drew her gaze away from Barry as she followed Dr. Wells out of the room. “What’s up, Doc?” Iris cringed mentally. Any worse at playing it cool and she would be Felicity.

“Iris, I’ve noticed you seem a little off today.”

Iris shrugged. “We’ve got a lot going on. Caitlin’s right. We’ll get through it.”

“I know you’re worried about your friend.”

“What?” Iris asked, flashing to Barry. Was that a threat?

“The missing reporter. It was on the news.”

He was checking. Searching for a reaction. No, she couldn’t give him anything. “Right, well, it’s just not like him. I mean, getting caught up in a story, yes, but not leaving people wondering where he is. At least not according to Larkin.” She decided to lay it on a little thick. “And I’m sorry. For letting my work life impact my…other work life.”

Dr. Wells waved it off. “No, it’s in your nature to worry about people. It’s what makes you so suited for your jobs. And I’m sure your friend will be just fine. Probably just doesn’t realize the worry his absence has caused.”

Iris forced a smile. “Right. That – that makes sense.” Iris glanced at her watch. “I need to get back to the office.”

“Of course,” Dr. Wells said with a nod.

Iris walked back through the Cortex. “Call me if you get anything off that video,” she said to Cisco as she headed out the door.

Barry followed after her. “Iris, what’s going on?”

She brushed him off. “Not now, Barry,” she said, walking out.

*

Iris’s phone rang while she was working on a story. “Hey, Dad, did you hear anything about the Tricksters?”

“Why is Eddie looking into Mason’s disappearance?” Joe asked instead.

I’ll take that as a no. “I don’t know. Maybe because he’s a cop?”

“We do not want him anywhere near this this.”

“And you think I do? What am I supposed to tell him? Mason’s officially listed as a missing person. I don’t think there’s lot I can do to stop him.”

“No. There’s not a whole lot Iris West can do,” Joe corrected.

Iris sighed. “Oh. Her.”

*

One minute, Eddie was walking out of Jitters with a large coffee, ready to get through the night shift. The next, he was standing on top of the roof. He tried to steady himself as he searched for the person who’d moved him, hoping it was The Flash and no the other one.

“Sorry, detective,” Iris called in her distorted voice from a higher section of the roof. “The ride can be unpleasant when you don’t expect it. Or so I’ve been told.”

“Somehow I don’t think you did that so I could experience the world’s shortest roller coaster ride.”

“You’re right. I need to talk to you about one your cases. The disappearance of Mason Bridge.”

“What do you need?” Eddie asked.

“I need you to stay out of it,” Iris said.

“I’m a cop. I can’t just –”

“I think the other speedster is behind it.”

Eddie stopped. “What makes you think that he’s responsible?”

“You know that whole ‘staying out of it’ thing? You’re doing it wrong.”

“I can’t just drop a case because a superhero asked me to.”

“You don’t have any leads to pursue at this time,” Iris reminded him. “And I need you to not find any. The man in yellow does not want to be found out. He does not want witnesses. You got lucky last time. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be lucky again.”

“So the man in yellow– “

“I’m on the case. Let me handle this one. Please.”

Cisco’s voice came over Iris’s headset. “The Trickster’s broadcasting again.”

Iris grabbed Eddie, rushing him back down to his police car, and hurried away, whipping out her phone after she had cleared some distance. She pulled up the broadcast.

The new Trickster was on screen grinning in all his costumed glory. “Get ready for the games to begin! I have...a bomb.” He moved to reveal the giant wooden crate with a cartoon bomb on the front. “It's a big bomb. It'll make a big bang and then a big hole and then a big drop in the pop-ulation. But never say The Trickster is not fair. The bomb is somewhere between 52nd Street and Avenue B.”

Iris took off searching checking up and down each street in the grid, but not finding anything. “Guys, I can’t find it! I need your help!”

“There's nothing on traffic cams or CCTV,” Caitlin said.

“I retasked the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to scan the area for incendiary devices,” Cisco said. “A bomb that large should be giving off some kind of thermal or chemical signature.”

“Well, then why can't you find it?”

“Because it's a trick,” Dr. Wells said. “The bomb's not there.”

“No, it has to be,” Iris insisted. “I'm gonna keep looking.”

“That is what he wants, for you and the police to keep running around in circles. There is something else going on, Iris. I can feel it. Now, trust me.”

Iris bit back a sarcastic answer. “I'm gonna keep looking.” She took off running again covering every square inch of the

 “Iris!”

“Why doesn't she just listen to you?”

A few seconds later, Iris spotted the crate. “I found it,” she said triumphantly. She popped the box open only to find it empty. “There’s nothing in here.” She sighed. “It was a trick. There’s no bomb.”

“Uh-oh, there's an explosion at Iron Heights,” Cisco said.

“This was all a diversion,” Dr. Wells said. “The prison was the real target. James Jesse. I guess he's tricked us all.”

 Iris called her dad. “Dad, there's no bomb in the city. It was a diversion so The Trickster could help James Jesse escape.”

“We know,” Joe said. “Surveillance cameras at Iron Heights picked up our Tricksters escape. They took a hostage.”

“Who did they take?” Iris asked.

“Henry Allen.”

Chapter Text

Iris watched over the monitors as Barry and her dad talked in the other room, torn between wanting to give them their privacy and wanting to comfort Barry herself.

“It’s not your fault,” Caitlin said.

Iris turned back towards her, forcing a smile. “I should’ve listened to Dr. Wells. I shouldn’t have fallen for that. I should’ve known better.”

“He’s called The Trickster for a reason. It’s what he does,” Caitlin said.

Iris glanced back at Barry on the screen. “I can’t let him lose anyone else. I told him I would help save his father.”

“And you will,” Caitlin said. “The entire police force is on this, Cisco’s tracking any heat signatures a bomb could give off. We’ll find him.” Caitlin nodded back towards the monitor where Joe was leaving a still shaken Barry. “You’re up.”

Iris nodded, passing her dad as she went to the Pipeline where Barry was. Joe squeezed her shoulder as he passed by.

Iris sat down on the floor next to Barry. She slipped her hand into his.

“Do you think my dad’s alive?” Barry asked, keeping his eyes locked on the floor.

“I think it’s less of a risk to them to keep him alive while they’re planning whatever it is they’re planning,” Iris said.  “I’m so sorry, Barry.”

Barry turned to face her. “It’s not your fault, Iris. There’s no way you could’ve predicted this. I was at the prison. They made the connection, and thought the dad of someone who worked for the police made the perfect hostage,” Barry said. “This is not on you.”

“Still if I hadn’t been searching for a bomb…”

“Then what? You wouldn’t have been at Iron Heights looking for a breakout either way. We just need to get him back.”

“And we will.” Iris’s phone chimed.

“You gonna check that?” Barry asked, pulling his hand from Iris’s grip and wiping at a stray tear.

“Well, I wasn’t going to,” Iris said, pulling the phone from her pocket. It was a text message from Larkin.

Need you to cover the mayor’s campaign fundraiser tonight.

Iris typed back quickly. Can’t. I’m helping a friend with a family emergency.

I need a reporter there, West. Mason was supposed to cover it.

Iris felt a twinge of guilt at the message.

“Go, Iris,” Barry said, reading over her shoulder.

“No, I need to be here in case we get anything about the Tricksters,” Iris said.

Barry smiled weakly. “Something tells me we can you back here pretty quickly if we need you.”

“Okay,” Iris said. She wrapped an arm around Barry’s shoulders and pressed her lips to his temple, her mind flashing back to the last time she had kissed him. She stood up, her hand lingering on his shoulder a moment longer. Barry’s eyes stayed locked on hers, and suddenly Iris was remembering the conversation they’d never had a chance to finish. “I’ll see you later tonight,” Iris said.

Barry nodded. “Okay.”

*

Iris walked into the event, flashing her press pass at the door and heading straight for the champagne, hoping to get at least a placebo effect to counteract this terrible day.  She downed a glass. Nope, nothing. She sighed. Maybe she could have Caitlin whip up a batch of those super-alcoholic daiquiris once this chaos was over. She spotted the mayor and made a beeline for him. The faster she could get a good quote, the faster she could be done with the event and back with Barry.

“Oh, Mayor Bellows, hi. This is a lovely party,” Iris said.

The mayor smiled back. “Thank you.”

Before she could ask him anything, she heard a voice calling for everyone’s attention.

“Welcome, welcome, Central City's finest. How about a toast to Mayor Anthony Bellows?”

Iris studied the man at the podium. Despite the gray hair and glasses, she knew she had seen him before. Of course, any man who tried to pull off wearing a unitard in public was going to be pretty memorable.

Well, at least one thing was going right. She’d managed to track down the Trickster.

Chapter Text

Mayor Bellows was already onstage, pulling the mic from James Jesse’s hand. Iris couldn’t hear what the mayor said, but a moment later, James Jesse was pulling off his wig and glasses, announcing his identity to the room. “James Jesse, the original Trickster, and you all know my associate, Axel. And we are here to relieve you fine people of all your money.”

Mayor Bellows scoffed. “What makes you think that anyone in this room would give you a cent?”

“Because that champagne they just slurped down like so much fruit punch,” the Trickster said. “I added a little something special to it. Trimethylmercury 32. Poison.” Several gasps went up throughout the crowd. “Without the antidote, you'll begin to feel the effects in about, oh, um... one hour.”

Suddenly a man near Iris began coughing and foaming at the mouth. Iris gasped and started to move forward, but there was nothing she could do. The man was already collapsing to the ground.

“I remember you,” the Trickster said, smiling as the man gasped his last breaths. “You got to the party about an hour early. I offered you the very first glass of champagne. An hour is plenty of time for all of you to call your bankers and transfer everything you have to the account number on the bottom of your glass. Once my young friend and I are rich, you'll get the antidote. If any of you decide to call 911 instead, well, then we switch to lead poisoning.”

There was a moment of chaos as people began pulling out phones, frantically trying to get through to their banks. Iris slipped to the edge of the crowd. No one was paying attention to her, least of all the

She arrived at STAR Labs, fairly certain she had broken her personal record. The rest of Team Flash turned towards her.

“Good news: I found the Tricksters. Bad news: They just poisoned the champagne at the mayor’s fundraiser with something called trimethylmercury 32 and we have – “ Iris glanced at her phone – “fifty-seven minutes to get those people the antidote and stop the Tricksters from getting away with everyone’s entire bank accounts.”

“Please tell me you didn’t drink the champagne,” Barry said.

“Of course I drank the champagne,” Iris said.

“All right, the antidote to the poison is easy to synthesize,” Caitlin said. “I should be able to produce it soon.”

*

Thirty minutes later, after taking the antidote that Caitlin was sixty percent sure Iris didn’t need, Iris  sped back to the fundraiser with enough doses for the people at the party. She zipped through the crowd, injecting everyone with the serum before disarming the Tricksters and slamming James Jesse against a wall.

“Where’s Henry Allen?” she demanded. “He’s the only hostage you have left. You’re going to jail either way.”

“I think we can manage one more,” Jesse said with a smile.

Iris didn’t hear Axel coming up behind her until something clicked into place around her wrist. She looked down to see device, making the tell-tale beeps of a bomb.

“Are you familiar with the movie Speed? Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock? See, you're the bus, and that's the bomb. A kinetic bomb, actually, and if you go below 600 miles per hour, it'll explode. Same thing happens if you try to remove it.”

Axel flipped a switch on the switch.

“Ooh, it’s active!” Jesse exclaimed. “Run, run, run, run, run!”

Iris took off running. “Cisco, what do I do?”

“He’s not lying. It’s a bomb and it will explode if your speed drops.”

“Pretty sure running forever is impossible,” Iris replied.

Dr. Wells pushed Cisco away from the microphone.“Iris, do you see any walls nearby?”

“I’m in the city of course there are walls nearby!”

“Well, that’s good. Because I’m going to need you to run into one. Or more accurately, through one.”

“What?” Cisco, Caitlin and Iris all said in unison.

Dr. Well seemed unfazed by his colleagues’ lack of faith. “If you vibrate at the natural frequency of air, your body – your cells – will be in a state of excitement that should allow you to phase right through that wall, leaving the bomb on the other side.”

“Should?” Iris asked.

“You can do this. I believe in you.”

“I can't do it.”

“Listen to me, Iris. Breathe. Breathe.”

Iris focused on Dr. Wells’ voice, trying to follow his instructions.

“Feel the air. Feel that wind on your face. Feel the ground, your feet lifting you up, pushing you forward, and the lightning. Iris, feel the lightning. Feel its power. Its electricity pumping through your veins, crackling through you, traveling to every nerve in your body, like a shock. You're no longer you now. You're part of something greater. You're part of a speed-force. It's yours.”

Iris closed her eyes as she ran, some piece of her that she didn’t understand clicking into place at the words.

 “Now do it.”

Iris braced herself for impact as she ran through an abandoned building, the bomb bracelet clattering to the ground at the first wall. Iris ran on until she had gone through the entire building and come out the other wall. She heard the explosion behind her and looked back. The building was in flames, but not destroyed. No civilians were in danger.

“Iris!” Caitlin called over the sounds of the explosion. “Iris, are you there?”

“Oh, that was weird. I’m okay.” She rested her hands on her knees, catching her breath more from the panic than from the run itself. “We got a location on the Tricksters?”

“CCTV picked them up in a stolen blue Honda heading east from the fundraiser,” Cisco said. “Probably off to spend the millions they managed to steal before you intervened.”

“Yeah, that is not happening,” Iris said. She took off looking for the car, and a moment later she was throwing James Jesse into the back seat while she got herself behind the steering wheel. “So I took care of the bomb. You’re both on your way to Iron Heights.” She looked in the rearview mirror at Jesse. “Well, back to Iron Heights in your case. So, why don’t you tell me where the prisoner the guards might actually miss is?”

*

Iris raced into the abandoned building the Tricksters had directed her to. She pulled Henry Allen from the chair just as the knife trap above his head opened up. She rushed him into the empty alleyway. “Your son really wants to see you.”

Henry studied her closely. “Iris?”

Iris tugged her cowl away from her face. “Hi, Mr. Allen.”

“Your dad must be either really proud or completely terrified,” Henry said with a smile.

“Both.” Iris laughed. “Definitely both.” She reached up, pulling him into a tight hug. “But seriously, if I don’t get you to Barry soon, he’s going to be really mad at me, so…” She held onto him tightly as she rushed him back to STAR Labs.

Barry shot up from his seat when they entered the room. “Dad!” In three long strides he had reached his father and flung his arms around him.

“I’m right here, son. I’m okay,” Henry said.

*

Iris walked into her dad’s house. “Did Barry handle his dad going back to prison okay?”

“About as well as could be expected,” Joe said. “But he did go on a twenty minute rant on the way home about how he wants to double up his efforts to bring the Reverse Flash to justice.”

Iris sat down on the couch next to her dad. “You didn’t tell him did you?”

“That we thing his science hero might be working with the man who killed his mother?” Joe said. “No, I decided to keep that one to myself.”

“Good. Because I want to keep Barry as far away from him as possible because I am more convinced than ever that Dr. Wells is the Reverse Flash.”

“Baby, Cisco said the blood test proved that the man in Barry’s house that night was not Harrison Wells.”

“I know,” Iris said. “But when he talked me through phasing through the bomb – it was like he knew. Like he had felt it before. Words are my specialty and that was firsthand experience. So maybe he switched the results or got Cisco to lie for him, but one way or another, Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash.”

Chapter Text

“I’ve got a strange case I need to talk to you about,” Barry said.

Iris shuffled the phone to her ear so she could keep typing up her story. “Strange as in ‘I get a byline out of this’ strange or…”

“Strange as in I’m halfway to STAR Labs where the good equipment is, so I can investigate the lady with hundreds of puncture marks all over her body.”

Iris sat up straighter. “Wait, Barry. Maybe you should keep this at your lab. Since it’s an official police investigation.”

“Okay, since when do vigilante crime fighters worry about doing things by the book?” Barry asked.

Iris sighed. “Fine. I’ll meet you there.”

“There’s no need to rush. I’ve got to get the science stuff done before I can get The Flash on the case." He hung up before Iris could say anything else.

Iris sighed before hanging up and calling her dad.

“Barry’s on his way to STAR Labs.”

“I know. Who do you think was at the crime scene with him?” Joe asked.

“Do you think that’s the best idea? With what we know about Dr. Wells?”

“I think he’s as safe now as he ever has been,” Joe said.

“So, not very?”

“If we start keeping Barry away from STAR Labs now, Wells is going to know that we’re onto him, and that will put us all in a hell of a lot more danger than we’re in right now. Right now we need to keep things as normal as possible.” Joe sighed. “And for us, using STAR Labs to help solve a weird murder is normal, so play it cool.”

“Play it cool when all my friends are unknowingly working with a murderer? Easier said than done.”

“The more people know, the more danger they’re in. And…”

“And what?” Iris asked.

“And we still don’t know why the test results came back saying that Dr. Wells wasn’t in Barry’s house that night. If Cisco had anything to do with fabricating the results – “

“He wouldn’t do that,” Iris insisted. “He’s on our side.”

“Cisco made a cold gun to use against my baby girl. His track record shows he doesn’t always make the best choices.”

“Okay, okay. I get your point. I’m heading to STAR Labs. Pretense or not, I don’t want to leave Barry there unprotected for long,” Iris said.

“Hey, I’m not arguing.”

*

“Death by apitoxin,” Caitlin said as she entered the Cortex

“Honeybee venom,” Dr. Wells clarified, nodding to Iris.

Cisco’s eyes went wide. “Bees. Why did it have to be bees? Y'all, I don't do bees. Ain't nobody got time for bees.”

Dr. Wells ignored him. “But when a honeybee stings, the stingers are literally torn from their abdomen, and they die.”

“But there were no stingers in the body and no dead bees in the car,” Barry said.

“A honeybee can only deposit .1 milligrams of apitoxin when it releases its stinger,” Caitlin said.

“And yet, Ms. Kang was found with enough venom in her system to kill a herd of elephants,” Dr. Wells said. “It appears not only is a meta-human controlling these bees but also increasing their toxicity.”

“Bees communicate by releasing pheromones,” Barry said. “Maybe this meta's controlling them through secretion?”

“Anyone want to join me in getting a beekeeper suit?” Cisco asked.

“Please tell me the Flash suit is bee-proof,” Iris said.

“I'm pretty sure you can outrun a bee,” Barry said.

“Just don't run into a lake,” called a voice behind them. The team turned towards the doorway to see a familiar blonde standing there. “Bees will wait for you to come up for air and then they'll sting you,” Felicity continued. “Discovery Channel. Turns out there's a lot to discover.”

“Felicity, what are you doing here?” Iris asked as Barry rushed forward to hug his ex-girlfriend.

“Can you guys come outside for a sec?” Felicity asked.

*

“What exactly are we waiting for, Ms. Smoak?” Dr. Wells asked as Caitlin checked her watch for the eleventh time in five minutes.  

“Up there,” Felicity exclaimed, pointing at an object coming into view in the sky.

“Is that a bird?” Caitlin asked.

“It's a plane,” Cisco said, squinting up at the sky.

It became clear that the thing in the sky was in fact a man in a metal suit, when he crashed to the ground, shattering the pavement outside STAR Labs.

“It's my boss,” Felicity said.

The man in the suit pulled off his helmet and grinned, waving at the team. “Hi. I'm Ray.”

*

Caitlin checked Ray for injuries while Iris, Felicity and Barry caught up.

“So, Ray’s your boss?” Barry inquired. “Just your boss?”

Felicity smiled. “Barry Allen, are you jealous?”

“What, no I just – what about Oliver?”

The smile fell from Felicity’s face. “Oliver is…complicated.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “There’s the understatement of the year.”

“Anyway, Ray was working on a suit to help protect the city. He asked for my help because apparently this is my life now,” Felicity said. “I figured some of the greatest scientific minds of our time could help him work out the technological kinks.”

“I just wish you would’ve called first,” Iris said. “We kind of have a lot on our plate right now with this metahuman bee attack.”

“Which we can help with,” Felicity said.

Ray and Caitlin re-entered the Cortex. “Well, my ears popped. That’s something,” Ray said.

“You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck,” Caitlin said. “What is it with billionaires and being superheroes?”

“You pick a name yet?” Cisco asked gleefully.

“I’m thinking The Atom,” Ray answered.

Cisco shook his head just a little. “You married to that?”

“This is quite the technological achievement you have here, Mr. Palmer,” Dr. Wells said as he studied the schematics for the suit. “I’m impressed.”

“And he is never impressed,” Caitlin said.

“The only problem is I can’t keep it up,” Ray said. His face went red. “The suit! The suit is the only thing I have trouble keeping up.”

“Oh my god, he’s worse than you,” Iris said to Felicity.

“I know from Felicity that you have been very helpful with Iris and the Flash suit,” Ray said.

“Thanks for outing my secret identity, by the way,” Iris said.

Felicity winced. “Sorry. I was trying to help and it just slipped out.”

“And I was hoping I could get another set of eyes on my problem,” Ray said.

“Like I said, we’ve been just swamped around here,” Iris said.

“Caitlin and I can assist you with your bee problem, Iris,” Dr. Wells said. “And I’m sure Cisco and Barry would be willing to help Mr. Palmer.”

“Hell yes!” they said together.

“Great,” Felicity said. “Why don’t Iris and I run – well, drive – to Jitters and pick up some Java?” She turned back to Iris. “Sound good?”

Iris nodded and followed Felicity to her car.

“So, do you want to tell me what’s really bothering you?” Felicity asked. “You’re acting almost as broody as Oliver.”

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s not because I told Ray your secret, is it? Because I promise, he is totally trustworthy.”

Iris shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I’m just – I don’t want to put anybody else in danger.”

“Um, yeah, about that. Me? Superhero sidekick. Kind of perpetually in danger,” Felicity said.

“Not this kind,” Iris said. “Please, Felicity, let me at least keep one person I care of out of this whole mess.”

Felicity frowned. “Okay…for now.”

Iris’s phone buzzed. She read the text. Another attack. Folston Tech. “I gotta go. The bees are back.”

“Beeee careful,” Felicity sing-songed.

Iris stared at her. “Seriously.”

“Sorry, bad pun, just don’t die.”

Iris jumped out of the car, changing into the suit before arriving at the scene of the attack. She arrived to find people fleeing the building, but the bees’ damage had already been done. A dead man was slumped over in one of the offices with the same puncture wounds Barry had described. “I’m too late,” she said into the earpiece.

“Where are the bees?” Cisco asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t see them.” No sooner had Iris spoken than the swarm of bees began pouring out of the dead man’s mouth and surrounding Iris. “Nope. They’re right here.” Iris took off, the bees following with surprising speed, seeming to come out of every corner of the building. “How do I get out of here?”

“Take the northeast crossway,” Cisco said. “It's the quickest way out of the building.”

Iris followed Cisco’s directions, but came to a dead end, allowing the bees a moment to catch up with her. “They’re everywhere. I’m surrounded.” She felt the first sting, followed by another. Guess the suit’s not bee-proof. She dove out the window, the shards of glass sticking in her skin along with dozens of stingers, and it occurred to her a moment too late that this would’ve been a great time to use her newfound wall phasing trick. She tried to keep running, but her legs gave way as the poison coursed through her system and she fell to the ground. Distantly, she heard her father calling her name, and then her vision went dark.

Chapter Text

Joe pulled out his phone and dialed Cisco before starting chest compressions on Iris. “Cisco! She doesn’t have a pulse!”

“Get back! Step away from her!”

“What? Why?

“There’s a defibrillator in the suit. We need to jumpstart her heart.”

Joe stepped back.

“Charge it to 360 joules,” Caitlin instructed.

Dr. Wells tapped at the keyboard. “Charging in three, two, one.”

Blue sparks charged through the suit, making Iris’s body jump unnaturally.  The contrast from her normal yellow lightning was jarring.

“Hit her again,” Caitlin said urgently. “400 joules.”

“Charging in three, two, one.”

The blue electricity coursed through her body once more, and this time Iris’s eyes flew open and she gasped for breath. She blinked up at her father in confusion. “Dad?”

“Oh, thank God,” Joe sighed, pulling Iris close to his chest.

*

Cisco put the suit back in its case while Caitlin examined the worst of Iris’s stings. “That is it for the defibrillator. It is completely fried.”

“You’re lucky to be alive,” Dr. Wells added.

“I was very specific that you not die,” Felicity said.

“Yeah, that’s kind of a deal breaker for her,” Ray said with a smile.

“Cisco, what happened out there? I thought you said there was a way out,” Iris said.

Cisco placed a hand to his. “I’m sorry. I led you the wrong way. The schematics we had were out of date.”

“Out of date? That’s never happened before,” Iris said, an edge of panic in her voice.

“So, what? You think Cisco was trying to get you killed?” Felicity asked, chuckling awkwardly.

“What? No. Why – why would he do that?” Iris asked, looking back and forth between Cisco and Felicity suspiciously.

“He wouldn’t,” Felicity said, eyeing Iris strangely. “That’s why it’s a joke.”

“Right, joking,” Iris muttered.

“Iris, it’s our job to keep protect you,” Dr. Wells said. “Today we failed and for that I am truly sorry, but that will just serve as reminder to be more vigilant in the future.”

One of the monitors beeped, and Caitlin went to check it. “Good news,” Caitlin said. “The apitoxin is out of your body. You are good to go.”

“Great,” Iris said, hopping off the table and changing out of the STAR Labs sweats. “Maybe I can go back to Folston, ask some questions of the staff, see if anyone knows why someone would go after him.”

“Iris, don’t you think you should slow down?” Barry asked.

“Barry’s right,” Felicity said. “I mean you did just die.”

“I’ve had worse. Or at least been unconscious longer. I’m fine. Really.”

“You can take one night off, Iris,” Dr. Wells insisted. “I’m sure your father will be willing to share what he learns from questioning the witnesses.”

“Come to dinner with us,” Ray said. “Felicity mentioned how much speedsters need to eat. I’m guessing more so when you’re recovering from a killer bee attack. You can bring Barry.” Felicity shot him a glare at this statement, as Barry turned looked at Ray curiously. “I just mean Felicity’s told me so many great things about you both,” Ray added. “I’d love to get to know you both better and hear about the work you’ve done here.”

“And I’m sure you’d both love to hear the story of how the Arrow kicked Ray’s ass last week,” Felicity said, giving Ray a pointed look. “Plus, there’s this French restaurant I’ve been dying to try.”

“Chez Massimo? I tried to get us a reservation there for months,” Barry said, and Iris felt the slightest twinge of jealousy at the reminder of the pair’s past relationship.

Felicity shrugged. “Apparently, it takes being the CEO for a Fortune 500 company.”

Ray smiled. “It does have its benefits. So, what do you say? Tonight, seven o’clock?”

Iris glanced at Barry, who shrugged. “It sounds fun,” Iris said finally. “Although if Oliver didn’t shoot you four times I think I’ll win in the ‘I Battled the Arrow and Lost’ stories.”

“Oliver shot you?!” Ray exclaimed.

Felicity put a hand on his arm. “It’s a long story. One she can tell you tonight.”

*

“YOU ELECTROCUTED ROY?!” Iris exclaimed.

“A little louder, Iris. I don’t think they heard you in Keystone,” Felicity said.

Iris gestured to the empty restaurant. “I think we’re fine.”

“That was the point of reserving the entire place,” Ray added. “Not having to whisper about the crimefighting. And Roy’s fine.”

“It still hurts,” Iris said.

“So that’s how you got your powers?” Ray asked. “The lightning strike plus the particle accelerator gone wrong and BAM – you’re a superhero. That must be amazing.”

Iris tensed just a little. “Yeah, well, the coma wasn’t great.”

“No kidding,” Barry mumbled.

Iris glanced at Barry and went on. “But I get to help people and stop bad guys, so yeah, I enjoy it.”

“And working with Harrison Wells, that has to be incredible,” Ray said. “Especially for you Barry. Felicity says you’re as big a fan as I am.” Ray gestured to Iris. “Of course you would be, he saved Iris’s life.”

“I have to admit he wasn’t my favorite person right after the accelerator blew,” Barry said. “But his work is incredible.”

The waiter’s entered the dining room. “The food’s here!” Iris said, grateful to put an end to the conversation about the Great Harrison Wells.

The distraction was brief, however. A moment later, the tiny appetizers had been eaten, and Barry and Ray had resumed their discussion of how Harrison Wells’ work had changed their lives. Iris remained quiet, nodding and smiling politely when she had to. Felicity seemed to be the only one to notice the change in Iris’s demeanor.

“Iris, are you okay?” she asked.

Iris plastered on her fake smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, I just, I think I’m gonna go to the restroom,” she said, rising from her seat and focusing on moving slowly back to the lobby.

Felicity let her exit before getting up herself. “That actually sounds like a good idea. Be right back.” She found Iris sitting on a bench in the restroom with her head in her hands. “What is going on with you? You’ve been acting weird ever since Ray and I got to town. And don’t tell me you’ve just been busy lately. Oliver might be joining the League of Assassins, Laurel’s the Black Canary and Thea’s training with Malcolm, so we’ve all got a lot on our plates right now.”

Iris lifted her head. “Who’s Laurel?”

“Not the point,” Felicity said. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t tell Barry,” Iris said quietly.

“Oh, so we’re playing that game again,” Felicity said.

Iris rose to her feet and headed for the door.

Felicity caught her hand before she reached it. “I’m kidding. If you don’t want me to tell Barry, I won’t tell Barry.”

“Promise?” Iris asked, realizing as she spoke the word how childish she sounded.

Felicity didn’t seem to notice. “I promise.”

Iris sat back down and took a deep breath. “Dr. Wells is the man who killed his mother.”

Felicity’s eyes widened, and she took a seat next to Iris. “How do you know?”

“A reporter friend was investigating Dr. Wells because he thought he had killed a corporate rival who’d gone missing. And then my friend Mason disappeared before he could take it public. And Wells knows things that only another speedster could, like he’s experienced it. The pieces add up, Felicity.”

“Okay, but if he killed Barry’s mom, then why would he help you now?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t know. I know anything anymore. What he wants, why he did it, who I can trust.” Iris locked onto Felicity’s eyes.

She nodded. “That’s why you got weird with Cisco today. You think he and Caitlin are helping him,” Felicity said. “But that doesn’t make any sense. They saved you today. Like they’ve saved you half a dozen times before.”

“Wells has saved me just as many times, and I was wrong about him. What if I’m wrong about everything else?”

Felicity opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to figure out what to say, but was interrupted by the sounds of Iris’s cell phone.

Iris studied the display. “Bee emergency at STAR Labs. I’ve gotta go.”

“You still want to save their lives,” Felicity said gently. “That’s a good sign.”

Iris took off for STAR Labs and arrived to find the Cortex looking a little worse for wear. There was one bee in the lab, seemingly paused in mid-air in front of Dr. Wells. She resisted the urge to let the bee do what it would and reached for one of the vials from Caitlin’s workstation, trapping the bee easily.

Cisco put aside his laser gun aside and ran up, grabbing the vial from Iris’s hand with a shudder. “Let’s see what makes this bee so poisonous.” He ran away, passing the vial to Caitlin as quickly as he could.

Dr. Wells smiled at Iris. “You saved my life. Thank you.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a hero if I didn’t,” Iris replied without smiling back. She followed Cisco and Caitlin into the med bay, where they were studying the bee under a microscope.

“That is one odd-looking bee,” Caitlin said.

“That’s because it’s not a bee at all,” Cisco replied. “It’s a robot.”

“No way,” Caitlin murmured, pushing Cisco out of the way to get a better look.

“So, it’s not a meta,” Iris said, leaning forward to see the bee. “Just another run-of-the-mill death machine villain. Great.”

Chapter Text

Upon learning their newest villain was tech-based instead of meta, Iris immediately brought Barry, Felicity and Ray back to STAR Labs for their insight.  Cisco was already gushing over the machine when Iris brought them back. “This is unbelievable. This thing’s got a 360-degree vision system. I mean, we're talking multiple micro-cameras all coming from various angles at the same time. Which means...”

“It can view the whole room at once,” Ray finished. “That is – “

“Amazing,” Cisco chimed in, completing Ray’s thought.

“Disturbing,” Caitlin and Iris said.

“It’s also nowhere tech that’s nowhere near market,” Cisco said. “Whoever’s behind this is a tech genius, and considering I’m working on a flying suit in the next room, I think I’m qualified to say that.”

“That does significantly narrow down the list of suspects,” Dr. Wells said. “Cisco, you said the second victim, Bill Carlisle, was a robotics engineer. Let's cross-reference his previous employers with those of Lindsay Kang.”

“Allow me,” Felicity said, jumping in front of Cisco to take the rolling chair in front of the desktop. “Mama’s been away from a keyboard for too long.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she searched.

“You know, you should probably talk to someone about this technology addiction you have,” Iris said.

“Sure, everyone says that until it’s your help they need,” Felicity said. “Got it. They both worked at Mercury Labs.”

“Barry, call Joe,” Dr. Wells said. “I think it's time we paid a visit to an old friend.”

*

Felicity and Iris went for that coffee they had never gotten while the Cisco and Ray worked on the suit. Barry and Dr. Wells had met Joe at Mercury Labs to talk to Christina McGee.

“I’d worry about having caffeine this late if I didn’t think the night was likely to keep us up all night anyway,” Felicity said.

“Yeah, most villains in this town respect the curfew,” Iris said. “But not our crazy bee lady. I just hope we can stop her before she kills anyone else.”

“You will,” Felicity said. “It’s what you do. It’s what you all do.”

“Oh, so I am going to get the speech? ‘Cause for a second there I thought you’d skip it.”

“Yeah, you’re getting the speech. The speech about how Cisco and Caitlin have had your back since before you even knew them.”

Iris opened her mouth to speak, but Felicity held up her hand.

“I know. I know. Dr. Wells was there too. But Cisco and Caitlin aren’t Dr. Wells. They had nothing to do with Barry’s mother’s murder. And you know they had no idea the particle accelerator was going to blow. Even if they did have too much trust in Dr. Wells, they never would have risked Ronnie like that.”

Iris glances up at Ronnie’s name, surprised to hear it on Felicity’s lips, but she can’t deny the truth in the statement. She saw their reaction when he came back.

“Okay, you’re right. They’ve been with me up to now,” Iris conceded. “But what if I tell them and it backfires? What if they don’t believe me? He’s their mentor. He is their hero, Felicity.”

Felicity shook her head. “You’re their hero, Iris. You. Because they are good people with good hearts who want to save people. Just like you. And whatever loyalty they have to Wells isn’t going to outweigh the truth when you are ready to tell them. Which you’re going to have to do eventually. Because they deserve to know who they’re working for, and not knowing does not make them safer. Or Barry.”

Iris nodded. “Okay. You’re right. They need to know. I’ll tell them. I will. When there aren’t killer bees on the loose.”

Iris’s phone lit up with a message from Barry. Brie Larvan is the queen bee. Roboticist with a grudge. Tracking her now. Will call if we find anything.

“We’ve got a name. Brie Larvan. Wanna head back to STAR Labs and see what we can find?”

Felicity rose to her feet. “Of course. If I can’t enjoy a night out on the town in this dress, the least we can do is fight crime.”

*

“Nothing to go on yet,” Caitlin said, not lifting her eyes off the monitor as she heard Iris and Felicity walk in.

“Then what are you watching?” Iris asked, circling behind Caitlin to get a look at the monitor. She saw Cisco, Barry and Ray laughing and talk as they worked on the Atom suit. “Aw, adorable nerd overload. Look at this.”

Felicity walked up, gesturing towards the monitor. “See, he gets along with these two. Why can’t he get along with Oliver?”

“Because Oliver’s jealous and also Ray electrocuted Roy?” Iris asked.

“Like Oliver hasn’t done worse,” Felicity muttered.

“Oliver got over being jealous of Barry. He’ll get over being jealous of Ray…eventually,” Iris said.

A fluttering of metallic wings got their attention.

“It must have been reactivated,” Dr. Wells said. “And if it's being controlled wirelessly...”

“I can trace its signal and figure out where it's trying to go,” Felicity said, taking a seat at the desktop. Her fingers worked over the keyboard for a moment before her eyes went wide. “Oh, no.”

Dr. Wells turned to look at her monitor. “Oh, boy.”

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“The swarm is headed for Mercury Labs,” Dr. Wells said. “Brie Larvan's going after Tina.”

“Guys, we need you back here,” Caitlin said into the mic.

Iris changed into her suit and quickly returned. “How do we stop them?”

“She's got to be remotely piloting those bees from somewhere,” Dr. Wells said.

The guys walked in from the basement. “We need to stop this bug-eyed glasses woman,” Cisco said.

“And her mini bandits,” Ray said.

“Bug-Eyed Bandit,” they said together, sharing an approving nod.

“Got her,” Felicity said. “She's in an abandoned greenhouse.”

“Iris, you have to take out Brie. It's the only way to stop these nanodrones.”

“What about Dr. McGee? The bees are already there.”

“The defibrillator in your suit is broken,” Caitlin said. “You cannot risk going near Mercury Labs.”

“Bees can't penetrate my suit,” Ray said. “I'll go.”

“Whoa,” Cisco said, holding up his hand. “We haven't tested out the new power system yet.”

“We'll do it now,” Ray said.

“We’re following you,” Barry said.

Caitlin grabbed her coat. “I'm driving.”

“Dr. Wells...” Iris said uncertainly.

“Mr. Palmer will protect Tina. Go.”

Chapter Text

“Found her,” Ray said, as Mercury Labs came into view and he zoomed in on the bees outside of the top floor.

“Felicity, can you jam their frequency?” Cisco asked.

“I already tried, but I might be able to direct them to a new target,” Felicity said. “Ray, get ready for incoming.

Ray smiled. “We have the technology.” He flew closer to the bees, hitting them with a blast of electricity and flying away, leading them from Mercury Labs and Dr. McGee.

Iris zipped into the warehouse to confront Brie Larson. “It’s over,” she said to the super villainess’s back.

Brie spun in her seat to face her.

“You think Dr. McGee betrayed you. I can imagine how much that must hurt. But I can’t let anyone else die.”

Brie sneered. “You think you understand the sting of betrayal? I'll show you what it means to be stung.”

A low buzz grew louder as the bees swarmed around Iris. She took off running, making her way to the exit, only to find her path blocked by another group of bees. They circled Iris, moving closer. Iris ducked down, trying to go underneath the bees only to have them stop inches away from her feet.

“Iris, I have control of the bees,” Felicity said.

“Yeah, I figured.”

“I’m the queen of this hive,” Brie said.

“Ooh, she’s good,” Felicity said. “She’s like my nemesis. I never had a nemesis before. I kinda like it.”

Ray led the bees out of the downtown. “Barry, Cisco. What do I do next?”

“Head for the ocean,” Barry said.

“The bees aren’t waterproof,” Cisco said. “Their electronics will fry.”

“Got it,” Ray said. “But wait, so will my suit!” Ray followed the directions anyway, blasting at the bees once last time before ducking into the water, and quickly coming back out. He glanced back over his shoulder. The bees hadn’t followed him back out. “Guys, the bees are done for, but so’s my suit. I’m losing propulsion control.”

“Can you see the van?” Cisco asked.

“Yeah.”

“We’ll catch you,” Cisco said.

“You will?”

“We will?” Caitlin and Barry said together.

“We will,” Cisco repeated. Cisco rushed to the back of the van, throwing open the doors while the van was in motion. “Keep it steady!” he yelled.

Ray moved closer, barely airborne as the suit shorted out. He landed hard in the back of the van and pulled his helmet off.

“The Atom lives,” Cisco said, grinning. Ray laughed, raising his hand for a high five. Cisco’s hand met his and Cisco winced in pain. “Yeah. Version 2.0 gets softer gloves. Definitely.”

Ray grimaced. “Sorry.”

Felicity and Brie continued their online battle. “Oh, you want to bring it?” Brie said. “It's been brought.”

Felicity’s computer sparked and began smoking. She yelped. “Rude.”

The bees were swarming Iris once more. “Felicity, right now would be a good time to do something.”

“No one goes after my friends,” Felicity said, typing furiously.

The bees flew towards Iris again. She tried backed away. “Felicity!”

“Got it!” Felicity exclaimed as the bees fell to the floor.  She jumped from her chair. “Boom! Drop the mic! It’s metaphorical, of course, ‘cause I don’t have a real…mic.” She said, gesturing lamely to the mic attached to the desk.

Iris rushed back to Brie, handcuffing her to the chair, sending it spinning in the process. “Brie’s restrained. Call my dad.”

The van pulled back into the STAR Labs parking lot. “Some kind of team you have here,” Ray said as they got out.

“It helps to have friends in your corner,” Caitlin said, smiling.

Cisco trailed behind the rest of the team. He saw the bee flying out of Ray’s suit, heading straight for the target that had attacked it earlier. Cisco ran forward, blocking the bee’s flight path. The bee’s stinger dug into the skin of his neck, the toxin taking effect quickly. He swayed on his feet, spinning so that he faced Ray once again. He gasped for breath.

Ray turned at the sound. “You okay?”

Cisco’s eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed to the ground.

“Cisco!” Caitlin shouted, dropping to her knees beside him and beginning chest compressions.

Barry searched Caitlin’s bag for epinephrine while Ray grabbed the earpiece from his suit. “Iris, Cisco’s been stung.”

“I’m on my way,” Iris said, running back to STAR Labs. She skidded to a stop next to Cisco. Her mind searched for a way she could help him; the hospital was too far. “Defibrillator,” she muttered. “Back up, I’m gonna try something.”

Tears brimmed Caitlin’s eyes as she moved back.

Iris vibrated her hands until the familiar yellow sparks appeared. She pressed her palms against his chest, letting the electricity flow into him. Cisco’s body jerked upward, thumping back against the pavement. She shook his shoulder. “Cisco? Cisco, can you hear me?”

Cisco’s eyes flew open as he gasped for breath. He gripped the hand Iris offered with surprising strength as she helped him to a half-sitting position. “Either my fear of bees is over or it just got a lot worse.”

Caitlin sighed with relief. “Thank God you’re okay.”

“No one’s ever taken a bee for me before,” Ray said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, bro,” Cisco said, his easy grin sliding back into place.

“You took the bee for him?” Iris said, smiling back at Cisco. “Wow. Big damn hero.”

The smile on Cisco’s face grew a shade brighter. “Was that a Firefly reference?”

“Seven years in a house with Barry Allen,” Iris reminded him.

*

“Another exciting end to a trip to Central City,” Felicity said.

“Sometime when I visit we really need to do something normal like visit a museum,” Iris said.

“Yeah, bomb collars have kind of spoiled the experience of looking at expensive pretty things,” Felicity said. She held up her hand. “Don’t ask.”

“Okay,” Iris laughed. “Ray, I hope you were able to solve your tech problem.”

“I was actually,” he said, pulling something out of his pocket. It was a vial containing one of Brie Larson’s bees. “All this time, I've been looking at the power source the wrong way. I kept thinking we needed to go bigger. But the solution, as always, is simply to go smaller.”

“That’s great,” Iris said.

“And how about you? Did you ever figure out what you’re going to do about your problem?” Felicity asked.

Iris nodded. “Yeah. I’m gonna trust my friends. Turns out they’re really trustworthy. Even if they do occasionally out my secret identity.”

“Yeah, but who would’ve solved your bee problem if I hadn’t?” Felicity replied. She leaned forward, hugging Iris quickly. “Good luck. Call if you need anything. Ray has a helicopter. We can bring the cavalry if you need us.”

“I know. Thank you,” Iris said, pulling back. “Bye, Felicity.”

*

The door to the West home flew open. “All right, where’s this famous Joe West Spaghetti I keep hearing about,” Cisco said.

Caitlin shook her head, smiling as she followed him in.

Iris and Joe sat on the couch, grim looks on their faces as their friends came in. Their combined research on Dr. Wells lay spread out on the coffee table.

“Iris, this dinner looks suspiciously like an intervention,” Cisco said. “There’s a disturbing lack of garlic aroma.”

 Iris rose to her feet. “We need to talk.”

“Nothing good has ever followed those words in the history of mankind,” Cisco said.

Iris pointed towards the chair.

Cisco sighed, taking a seat. Caitlin perched on the arm of the chair next to him. She noticed the papers strewn across the coffee table. “What is all this?”

Joe stepped up, pointing to the left side of the coffee table. “This is everything we know about The Reverse Flash.” He moved his hand to the right. “And this is everything we know about Harrison Wells.”

Caitlin shook her head. “I don’t understand. What do Dr. Wells and The Reverse Flash have to do with each other?”

“They’re the same person,” Iris replied.

Caitlin stood, and for a second Iris thought she was going to walk out. Instead, Caitlin just walked closer, looking at the table full of evidence. “You think Dr. Wells is a speedster? He’s paralyzed.”

“Are you sure?” Iris asked. “When was the last time he let you run any tests on him?”

“And why would he kill Barry’s mother?” Caitlin asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.” She looked to Cisco for backup, but he had gone still and quiet, sinking himself deeper into the chair. “Cisco, say something.”

Cisco looked up. It was a moment before he spoke and when he did, his voice was slow and uncertain. “I’ve been having these dreams. Mostly at night but sometimes during the day. But they don’t feel like dreams. They feel real.”

It was a strange segue, but Iris had never seen Cisco looking more subdued. “What happens in the dreams?”

“Dr. Wells is The Reverse Flash, and…he kills me.”

Chapter Text

Iris walked back into the house, balancing the pizzas in her arms. “No one touches this pepperoni. It’s mine.”

“Coast City?” Cisco said, throwing open the next box open and pulling out a slice. “Sweet! Hey, you think maybe next time you can hit San Francisco for some Chinese food? ‘Cause there’s this place I saw on Food Network and - ”

“Cisco?”

“Yeah?”

“Eat your pizza.” Iris put another slice on a plate and offered it to Caitlin, who shook her head.

“I’m not hungry. Let’s just get started.”

“Okay, six months of investigating Harrison Wells has led us nowhere, so we're going back to the beginning to see what we can find out,” Joe said.

“What does that mean?” Caitlin asked.

“Road trip, baby,” Cisco replied, tapping his beer bottle against Joe’s.

“They’re going to Starling City,” Iris explained.

“Starling City? Why?”

“To investigate the car accident that Dr. Wells was in with Tess Morgan 15 years ago,” Joe said.

“I don’t understand. Why?”

“Dr. McGee said that after the car accident, he became a completely different person,” Joe said.

“Yeah. His fiancée died. That changes a person. Believe me.”

“Caitlin, we believe that Dr. Wells is the Reverse-Flash and killed Barry's mother, and he may have done the same thing to Tess Morgan,” Joe said. “We have to learn everything we can about that night. See where it leads us.”

“So, um, you’ll cover for me with Dr. Wells, right?” Cisco asked.

“You mean lie?” Caitlin asked.

“Yes?”

“I need some air,” Caitlin said, walking outside.

“Caitlin!” Iris called as Cisco followed after her. The door slamming in front of him stopped him.

“I don’t think Caitlin’s with us,” Joe said.

“Understatement,” Cisco replied.

“See? This is exactly why I was worried about telling them,” Iris said.

“Give her a chance,” Cisco said. “She’ll come around. Just – stay close to her while we’re gone, okay? Caitlin’s not exactly the best liar to begin with, and if she’s not sure about Wells…”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to her. Stay close to STAR Labs.” Iris looked back at her dad. “I’m more worried about what you two are going to find in Starling.”

“I’m not worried about what we’ll find,” Joe said. “I’m worried he’s covered his tracks too well to find anything there either.”

*

Eddie passed the case file to Barry. “No priors, no arrests, not even a speeding ticket. And everyone who knows this woman, coworkers, neighbors, say she's the kindest, nicest, most honest woman they've ever met.”

Barry sighed. “So, unless she woke up this morning and out of nowhere decided to become a criminal...”

“Maybe we should be looking for a meta-human,” Eddie said. “One that can control people's minds. Coerce them into becoming thieves. Is that even possible?”

“How is that still a question?”

“If there’s a criminal meta on the loose, we need to contact The Flash,” Eddie said. “Do you think you can have Iris put the word out?”

“You could always ask her yourself,” Barry said.

“We’re not exactly back at favor-asking level yet,” Eddie said. “Could you just find out?”

*

Barry found Iris at her desk at CCPN. He slid her a copy of the case file. “Mysterious case. Seemingly upstanding citizen caught clearing out the safety deposit boxes at the bank she works at. No priors, multiple witnesses say she left work early, but the cameras don’t lie.”

Iris took a look at the still from the surveillance video. “Unless you’re in Central City. Then they just might. I’ll head to STAR Labs. See what Caitlin can find out.”

“Caitlin? Doesn’t this seem more like a Cisco thing?”

“He’s out of town. Some kind of family thing,” Iris said. “I didn’t push it. You know he gets when you bring up his family.”

“Short staffed this week,” Barry said. “Between Cisco and Joe gone.”

“Yeah. Bad time for the bad guys to show up.” Iris grabbed her coat and the file. “I’ll get this to STAR Labs, see what we can find out.”

*

Iris set a cup of coffee from Jitters and the case file down at Caitlin’s work station. “Hey, we need to talk about last night.”

“We really don’t,” Caitlin said, rising from her seat and heading for the med bay.

“Listen. I know this is hard to wrap your head around. It’s hard for me too. But I need you with me on this. We need you to see the truth.”

Caitlin spun back around. “What truth? Because you say it, he’s a villain? What about all the times he saved your life? Ronnie’s? This whole city?”

“I know this is hard for you. I get what Dr. Wells has done for you and Cisco, but he is not what he claims to be.”

“You keep saying that. But if you want me to believe you, I’m gonna need to see some hard evidence,” Caitlin said.

“Evidence of what?”

Dr. Wells’ voice made both Caitlin and Iris jump, but Iris brushed it off with a startled smile. “Evidence of a potential metahuman bank robber.” Iris rushed off, grabbing the case file from the desk and passing it to Wells. “Either a typical good girl gone bad, or metahuman psychic influence. Caitlin votes for the first one.”

“As always, Miss West, we are more than happy to assist you with your case,” he said, thumbing through the thin file. “Have either of you heard from Cisco? It’s not like him to be late.”

“He had to go out of town,” Caitlin said quickly. “His brother needed a ride to see some specialist about his hands. They say this guy can practically work miracles, but he might be gone a few days.”

Iris’s phone rang. She was surprised to see Eddie’s name on the display. “Eddie? What’s wrong?”

“Hey, I know Barry told you about our bank robbery. I’m tailing a suspect who tried to sell the stolen goods, but if this guy’s a meta I could need The Flash’s help now. Near the corner of Queen and Main.”

“I’ll see if I can a hold of her,” Iris said.

“I gotta go. I think he made me,” Eddie said, following after the suspect.

The suspect turned his head, spotting the detective and switched to a run. Eddie chased after him, gaining ground and getting close enough to tackle the other man to the ground, spilling the briefcase of jewelry across the sidewalk. Eddie pulled the other man to his feet, but he resisted Eddie’s grip, and throwing the detective back into the post. He punched at Eddie, but Eddie blocked it, landing a punch into the man’s stomach and pulling him into a headlock that the man quickly slipped out of. He elbowed Eddie in the stomach and drove a knee into his head, dropping Eddie to the sidewalk before running away. A second later, Iris skidded to a stop behind him.

“You can’t get away from me that easily,” she called.

The man smiled. “Watch me,” he said. He grabbed the shoulder of a heavily made up teenager, who barely glanced at the man as he passed. He stopped at the corner and stared at Iris, his body shrinking and contorting quickly until he took on the appearance of the girl. He gave one last wave at Iris before rounding the corner and disappearing into the crowd. Iris followed after him, but could see no sign of the girl he had been only a moment before, only a busy street full of people wondering why The Flash was standing still on the street in broad daylight.

“Well, at least it’s not mind control.”

Chapter Text

“A shapeshifter?” Caitlin asked.

Iris nodded it. “One minute, it was a man, the next he was a teenage girl.”

Dr. Wells nodded. “That's fascinating. Today's physicists have always regarded programmable matter as nothing more than a theory, but I guess your shape-shifter proves it can be done.”

“So this…person…can just transform into anyone they touch?” Caitlin asked.

“It’s more than that,” Iris said. “I mean, he didn’t even make skin contact with the girl he shifted into. He absorbed it through her clothing.”

“The question is, does he mimic a person’s looks or does he copy their entire genetic structure?” Caitlin asked.

“Excellent question, Caitlin,” Dr. Wells said. “It could mean the difference in having a methuman who could merely expose The Flash’s identity versus taking it over.”

“So if he copies my DNA, he copies my speed?”

“Precisely.”

“One evil speedster in my life is enough, thanks,” Iris said, earning her a glare from Caitlin. “I’ll keep my hands to myself for now. Two questions: how do I catch someone I can’t touch and how do I find someone who can look like anyone on earth?”

“Like most things, you’ll need to start at the beginning,” Dr. Wells said.

“Like the first cases where someone was caught on camera and still claimed it wasn’t them?” Iris said. She sat down at the computer. “I don’t supposed Dad would mind me borrowing his CCPD account for this.” She typed away and a moment later a list of crimes was onscreen. “Whoa, frighteningly long list. Multiple crimes like this all dating back to a month after the particle accelerator explosion.”

“And the first one was?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Jacob Fisher. A teller at the Federal Credit Union. Claims he was innocent, and was framed by his best friend, a Hannibal Bates,” Iris said. “Who wouldn’t go bad with a name like that? I'll pass this along to the CCPD, see if they can track him down.”

“Good,” Dr. Wells said. “If you need any more help with this case, please let us know.”

“I always do.”

*

Caitlin felt her heart speed up as she stood on Dr. Wells doorstep. No, she thought. There’s nothing to be afraid of. They have this whole thing wrong. All of them. If I could just make them understand that. She rang the doorbell. They refused to see reason, though. She would have to do this on her own. She waited for Dr. Wells to answer the door, but before he could, Caitlin felt the familiar, terrifying rush of being lifted off her feet and moving at superspeed. She came to a sudden stop, rocking on her high heels for a second before Iris reached out a hand to steady her.

Caitlin stared at her friend in shock. “Are you stalking me now?”

“Stalking is a strong, though not inaccurate, word choice,” Iris said, crossing her arms. “What were you doing at Wells’s house?”

“I was going to talk to him. Get some answers of my own,” Caitlin said.

“Are you crazy? You cannot talk to him!”

“So I’m just supposed to stand by and watch you ruin this man’s life? Ruin my life?”

“How – how are we ruining your life?” Iris asked.

“You didn’t see what happened after the accelerator blew. You don’t understand. Those nine months were the worst of my life. I lost Ronnie. I lost every shred of credibility I had as a scientist, and Dr. Wells stood by me the entire time. He is the one who convinced me that everything would be okay again,” Caitlin said. “If what you’re saying is true, then everything I have done since I set foot in STAR Labs has been a lie.”

Iris sighed. “Caitlin. I know that this is hard for you. I’m asking you to trust me over someone you have worked with for years. I get that. But you have to consider the risks. If I’m wrong, then what? Worst case scenario, a man loses his reputation. But if I’m right, and we don’t try to discover the truth, then we are letting a murderer go free, letting Barry’s dad sit in jail for a murder he didn’t commit, letting an evil speedster wreak havoc on this city and risking the lives of everyone we care about.”

Caitlin sighed. “You had to go and be logical about this?”

“I heard that’s how you appeal to the scientifically minded,” Iris said. “Please. Just wait until Dad and Cisco get back. They just might come back with the evidence that will make you believe us.”

Iris’s phone rang. She pulled it from her purse to see Barry’s name on the display. She held up a finger to Caitlin. “We are not done talking about this.” Iris answered the call. “Really not a good time, Bear.”

“You’re telling me,” Barry said breathlessly. “Eddie and I are chasing down a metahuman posing as his sweet little grandma. And he is surprisingly fast. We could use The Flash.”

“I’m on my way,” Iris said. She hung up and turned back to Caitlin. “Barry found our shapeshifter. I gotta go.” She grabbed Caitlin and raced back to their apartment, dropping Caitlin in the living room.

“You do realize you left my car down the street from Wells’s house, right?” Caitlin asked.

“Good. Hopefully that’ll keep you here until I get back,” Iris said. She changed and raced over, hearing a gunshot as she entered the neighborhood. By the time she found Eddie, he was kneeling beside two fallen officers, trying to apply pressure to a gunshot wound.

Eddie looked up when he heard Iris’s arrival, and he looked immensely relieved to see The Flash there. “Get them to the hospital. Please.”

Iris nodded, approaching the injured men, trying to determine who to take first and just how to get them there without exacerbating their injuries when one of them spoke up.

“Why’d you do it, Thawne?” the man gasped.

Chapter Text

The video played onscreen at STAR Labs.

“What do you want us to do, Thawne?”

“Die.” The menacing Eddie look-alike raised his weapon and fired three shots, two at the officers and then the final shot at the cruiser’s dashboard cam, turning the video into a grainy, staticky mess.

“This is not good,” Iris said.

“The D.A. is not buying the ‘Eddie’s evil twin did it’ theory,” Barry said.

“Has she seen what’s happening in this city?” Iris asked.

“It doesn’t mean she can ignore video evidence when Eddie was found at the scene of the crime with the victims’ blood literally on his hands,” Barry said.

“He was trying to help them,” Iris said.

“I know that. I was there,” Barry said. “But she’s not going to believe me unless she sees some hard proof.”

“Yeah, been there,” Iris murmured, staring into the med bay where Caitlin was currently talking with Dr. Wells, shooting nervous glances at Iris from time to time.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said, turning her attention back to Barry. “Just get back to your lab. Eddie wasn’t the one to shoot those cops. There has to be some kind of forensic proof of that. Just go find it.”

Barry nodded. “Okay, I’ll call you when I find something.” Barry headed out, and Iris went into the med bay to talk to Caitlin and Dr. Wells.

“We need to stop this guy and we need to do it now,” she said.

“We have a theory,” Caitlin said. “I may be able to create a serum that will terminate the polymerization reaction, essentially forcing the bonds to revert to their original form stopping him from being able to control his power.”

“And you know how to do that?” Iris asked.

Caitlin shrugged. “I think so. But it may take a while.”

“The faster the better.” Iris cringed. “And I realized how cliché that sounds coming from me. But we have a shapeshifting meta who’s willing to kill.”

“Time is of the essence,” Dr. Wells agreed. “We understand. Trust me, we’ll do everything in our power to stop him.”

Iris nodded, forcing a smile. “Thank you, Dr. Wells. I’m gonna head back to CCPN, see if I can figure out a pattern to these attacks, find out what he might do next. Call me when you have that serum ready.”

“We will,” Caitlin said.

*

Between the pattern of robberies and Hannibal Bates’s pre-accelerator life, Iris was able to determine one thing about him: he liked money. That was it. No pattern that she could find, nothing that would determine his next move, nothing that would help Eddie avoid prison time. All the powers she had, all the resources available and nothing. She had reached a dead end. She headed for the police station, hoping Barry’d had more luck than she’d had. He was working in his lab when she got there.

“I’ve got nothing,” she said. “Please tell me you’ve had more luck finding out how to prove Eddie’s innocent.”

Barry shook his head. “Nothing yet. Captain Singh is still trying to convince the D.A. that it’s not Eddie, but so far I haven’t found anything that would prove that.”

“I thought I could find a pattern to this, figure out where he would go next, but the crimes seem so random. But I do have some good news. Caitlin and Dr. Wells are working on a way to take that guy down.”

“Really?” Barry asked. “That is good news. What are they gonna do?”

Iris shrugged. “Some kind of serum to put his cells back where they were. I’m not sure about the science behind it. You’d have to ask her.”

“I’m sure if the D.A. saw somebody shift into a completely different person right before her eyes, it would convince her of Eddie’s innocence.”

“I hope so,” Iris said. “Ugh. I cannot wait to bring this guy down.”

“You’re going to bring this guy down?” Barry said.

Iris rolled her eyes. “I know he got away from me once, but I’m gonna stop him. I’m not going to let another innocent man go to prison.”

“Of course you’re not,” Barry said, smiling.

Iris heard a thumping noise from the vicinity of Barry’s locker. She moved past Barry, trying to find the source of the sound. “What is that?” she asked. In response she felt a crushing blow to the back of her head that sent her world into darkness.

“That is the real CSI waking up faster than I thought he would,” Hannibal replied. He reached a hand to Iris’s shoulder, and within seconds he had taken on her appearance. He reached for her bag, rummaging around until he found her STAR Labs guest badge. “STAR Labs. Of particle accelerator fame. Of course The Flash works there.”

*

Caitlin was studying something under her microscope when she heard Iris’s voice.

“Please tell me you have had better luck with your serum than I’ve had tracing our metahuman’s whereabouts.”

“I’m almost finished,” Caitlin replied. “Not one hundred percent sure it’ll work, considering we don’t know exactly how his powers work, but it’s better than we had before.”

“Good because I do not want to see another innocent man go to prison.”

Caitlin sighed. “I’m not going to get into another argument with you, Iris. I want Barry’s dad released just as much as you do, but I won’t say that I believe your theory right now. I can’t.”

Iris blinked in confusion for a moment before nodding. “I don’t want to fight with you either. We need to work together before more people get hurt.”

“You’re right. It’s going to take both pf us to stop this everyman.”

“Everyman?”

Caitlin frowned. “Bad nickname?”

Iris smiled. “No, actually, I kind of like it.”

Chapter Text

“Iris! Iris, wake up! Please, wake up!” Barry shouted, shaking Iris’s shoulder.

Barry’s voice pushed through the fog, bringing Iris back to consciousness and bringing an enormous headache along with it. She groaned. “Not going to school today, Bear. Tell Dad I’m sick.”

Barry laughed with relief at the sound of her voice. “High school was a long time ago, Iris, and I need you to wake up. Please. For me?”

Iris’s eyes flew open. She immediately closed them back at the sight of the bright florescent lights of the precinct. “Ugh. Bad guy hit me?” she asked, struggling to sit up as she attempted to vibrate through the duct tape that bound her wrists together.

“Bad guy knocked us out,” Barry clarified, reaching for her ankles and unwinding the duct tape. “And if you could stop getting knocked out in my lab, that would be great.”

“You say that like it’s something I do on a regular basis,” Iris replied. “How did you get out of the locker?”

“You think Oliver didn’t tell me how to break out of an enclosed space?” Barry said. “Are you injured? Concussed?”

“A headache,” Iris answered. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re the one without rapid healing.”

“I’m fine. I was only out a few minutes before you showed up,” Barry said.

Iris shook her head. “No, I’m taking you to Caitlin. You need to see a doctor.” She looked around. “Where’s my purse?”

“I’m guessing your evil twin took it,” Barry said. “My wallet and cell are gone too.”

“I said Caitlin and Dr. Wells were working on a serum to stop his powers and that I’d fought him before. He has my STAR Labs badge.” She rose to her feet. “I have to go.”

“Wait, Iris, I – “ Barry began, but Iris was gone. “I figured out a way to prove Eddie didn’t do it.”

*

When Iris arrived at STAR Labs, the shapeshifter was standing way too close to Iris as she worked on something at her works station. “Get away from her!” Iris commanded.

“It’s the shapeshifter!” Hannibal said, putting himself in between Iris and Caitlin. “Stay behind me!”

“You know she’s not going to fall for that, right?” Iris said.

Peering over the shapeshifter’s shoulder, Caitlin looked

“No. No more tricks. No more games. You’re going to jail for what you’ve done,” Hannibal said.

Iris rushed forward closing the distance between them. “You have to catch me first.”

Caitlin grabbed the syringe from the table and stabbed it into the side of Hannibal’s neck. He froze in place, screaming in pain and shock as he switched between different forms quickly, from Iris to Eddie to an old woman and a young woman and finally Barry before collapsing on the floor of STAR Labs.

“I guess your serum works,” Iris said.

“I guess so,” Caitlin agreed. “And I knew he wasn’t you. I was just waiting for a good distraction.”

“Sure. Whatever you say.”

“So what are we going to do with him?” Caitlin asked, gesturing towards their unconscious adversary.

“I don’t know,” Iris said. “I don’t think Iron Heights could hold him and he knows my identity. But I need to get proof to the CCPD that he’s the one committing these crimes or Eddie and a lot of innocent people are going to go to prison.”

“Let’s get this guy to the pipeline and then you can call Barry,” Caitlin said.

Iris nodded, picking up Hannibal bates and delivering him to the pipeline before rushing back. She called Barry.

“Should I assume our meta has been dealt with?” Barry asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Safely locked in the pipeline,” Iris confirmed. “I’d send you a pic, but he looks like you now, so it might creep you out.”

“I was going to tell you before you ran out on me while I was talking, I think I found a way to prove Eddie’s innocent,” Barry said.

“Really?”

“There’s no gunshot residue on Eddie’s hands. And the surveillance video shows Eddie shooting with his left hand.”

“But Eddie’s right-handed,” Iris said.

“Exactly,” Barry agreed. “But, here’s where our meta got sloppy: he shifted inside the police station.”

“What?” Iris said.

“There’s video of a woman turning into Eddie in the hallway of the police station before he came to talk to me. It proves someone was turning into Eddie while he was definitely in another part of the building being interviewed by the police.”

“And does this video happen to show…"

“Happen to show The Flash speeding out of my lab a little while later? No, somehow there’s a glitch in the video not long after we see the shifter. Weird, right?”

Iris sighed with relief. “Thanks, Bear.”

“Just…look out for security cameras, okay?” Barry said.

“I’ll try,” Iris said. “How long until Eddie gets released? And what about the others?”

“Eddie probably soon, once I pass this proof to Singh and the D.A. The others will probably take longer,” Barry replied. “I’ll call you when I know something for sure.”

Iris had barely hung up the phone when Caitlin’s began to ring.

“Hey, Cisco,” Caitlin said. She glanced up at Iris. “Yeah, she’s right here. Hold on. Cisco says they’re back in town. He wants us to meet them at his uncle’s warehouse downtown. He says they found their proof.”

Iris grabbed Caitlin and ran across town, finding Cisco and Joe in one of the storage rooms. “What are we doing here? Why couldn’t we talk back at the house?”

Cisco stepped out of the way, clearing her view of the table behind him. “You dad seemed to have a problem with us bringing a dead body back to his house.”

Iris’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my god, who is that?”

“It’s Harrison Wells,” Joe said.

“What?” Caitlin asked.

“The night of the accident with Tess Morgan. Afterwards, Dr. McGee said he was like a completely different person,” Joe said. “It’s because he was. The real Harrison Wells died that night.”

“No.” Caitlin shook her head. “That’s impossible.”

“I ran the DNA test twice, Caitlin,” Cisco said. “Check it yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“But if that’s true, and this is Harrison Wells, then who have we been working for all this time?”

“That is a very good question.”

*

Cisco typed away, 3D blueprints flying across the screen as he studies them.
“What are you doing?” Caitlin asked, walking up behind him.

“After the accelerator exploded, I built a 3-D model of S.T.A.R. Labs so that I could pinpoint exactly what caused the malfunction,” Cisco said.

“And you never used it?” Iris asked.

“Of course I did,” Cisco replied. “I just never had any reason to look at any areas outside of the pipeline or the cortex. It's a big building. Lots of places for Wells to hide something.” The computer screen lit up as a section of the blueprints turned red.

“What is that?” Iris asked.

“That shouldn't be there,” Cisco said. Cisco jumped up grabbing a sonic device Iris didn’t recognize. He moved quickly through the building, Caitlin and Iris following behind. He got to the hallway from the blueprints and slowed down, holding the device to the wall. It began beeping, slow at first then louder and faster. “I'm picking up more activity around here. Tachyons.” He switched off the device and pointed. “There.”

They stopped, studying the wall, running their hands over it as if they would find a switch or a seam to reveal a secret passage way. Suddenly a section of the wall lit up underneath Iris’s hand. Chunks of the wall separated like pieces of a puzzle and slid away, revealing a dimly lit room. Iris looked at her friends before entering. Cisco and Caitlin followed after her. All three jumped as the doorway slid back closed behind them. A light flickered on in front of them, revealing a display with the Reverse Flash suit inside, nearly identical to the case in the Cortex that held Iris’s suit.

“Oh, my God,” Caitlin said, moving closer towards it with Cisco right behind her.

More lights came on, revealing a bright white dotted room. Iris spun around taking in the details of the room until she saw something that made her stop. “Guys. Come here.”

They moved closer, studying the image that had Iris frozen in place. An image hovering in midair of a newspaper Iris had never heard of, The Central City Citizen. One with a blurry picture of Iris as The Flash underneath a headline that said Flash Vanishes in Crisis. With a date at the top. April 25, 2024.

“What the frak?”

Chapter Text

“Crisis? What crisis?” Caitlin asked.

“That’s what you’re wondering? Not where the hell did Early Edition here come from?” Cisco asked.

“It came from the future,” Iris murmured. “Which means our mystery man came from the future.”

“Why? Why would he come from the future?” Caitlin asked.

Iris gestured to the newspaper. “Future history right here, maybe there’s an answer here.” She read aloud the first few lines. “ ‘Our very own Scarlet Speedster disappeared in an explosion of light last night following an epic street battle with the Reverse-Flash. According to witness reports, the heroine began fighting the Reverse-Flash near midnight, aided by local hero Vibe as well as Star City’s Green Arrow and The Atom. The cause of both the fight and the explosion remain unknown.’ So, I disappeared and no one knows why?

“Check out your suit. The brighter red, the white on the symbol. That’s dope,” Cisco said. “Did I make that? ‘Cause now I want to make that. Wait a minute. Suppose we now change the color on your suit. Will it be because we got the idea from this picture? That would mean we're living in a causal nexus. This is so trippy. Like, Marty and the Polaroid trippy.”

Caitlin shook her head. “Forget that. It’s not the only time you’re mentioned on this page, Iris. Look.” She pointed to lower right-hand corner of the paper at another, much smaller headline. Local Journalist Dies in Crisis Battle.

Iris skipped down to that article. “ ‘The Citizen’s own Iris West-Allen’ – West-Allen? West-Allen?!”

“Mazel tov?”

“Hebrew. Ancient language of the Jewish people,” a serene robotic voice chimed in, making the three friends jump. The newspaper disappeared as the three surveyed the room, searching for the source of the voice.

“Nuh-uh,” Cisco said. “What the hell was that?”

“Who was that? Hello?” Iris called.

A translucent blue female form appeared where the newspaper had been. “Good evening, Mrs. West-Allen.”

Iris shook off the difference in name. “Hi. Um, do we know each other?”

“Of course. Iris West-Allen, reporter for The Central City Citizen, winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. Also known as The Flash, founding member of the Just-“

Iris waved her hand. “Okay, okay, I get it. You know me. Or future me, at least. Who are you? What are you?”

“I am Gideon. An artificial intelligence construct.”

“AI?” Cisco said. “Sweet!”

“You’ve been working with Dr. Wells?” Iris inquired.

“Yes,” Gideon said.

“So you know who he is? His real name?” Iris asked.

“I don’t understand the question,” Gideon replied.

Iris looked back at her friends, who only shrugged. She tried again. “What does he want? Why did he travel back in time?”

“To kill Barry Allen.”

Iris’s breath hitched and her heart raced. As if from a great distance, she heard Cisco’s phone buzzing. She turned her head towards it.

Cisco stared at his phone, his mouth hanging open. “He’s back in the building.”

“What?” Caitlin asked. “How do you know that?”

“I put a tracker on his wheelchair,” Cisco replied. “Which, if we’re wrong and he is paralyzed, I’m going to hell for that one. He’s in the Cortex. Whatever you’ve got to ask, ask it now.”

“Why did he kill Barry’s mother?” Iris asked.

“Because he was angry.”

“About what?”

“That Barry escaped,” Gideon replied.

“He’s on B level. He’s headed this way,” Cisco said.

“What does he want with us?” Iris asked.

“He wants The Flash,” Gideon answered.

“Maybe that’s why Dr. Wells let the particle accelerator explode. To create The Flash,” Caitlin said.

“Why? For what reason?”

“Guys, we gotta go,” Cisco said. “Wells is almost here.”

“Okay, okay,” Iris turned to go, but Cisco stopped her.

“Wait a second. What if HAL here tells Dr. Wells we were in here?”

“That would be bad,” Caitlin said.

“Maybe I can get into its operating system and disable its memory core,” Cisco said.

“Gideon, can you show us your operating system?” Iris asked.

“Of course,” Gideon replied. A thin, flat metallic piece appeared that didn’t look like the inside of any computer that Iris had ever seen.

“Ha! Yeah, no, that’s not gonna happen!” Cisco exclaimed.

“Guys, he’s in the corridor,” Caitlin said.

“Okay, Gideon, could you just not tell him we were in here?” Iris asked.

“Of course,” Gideon said again. “I will accept any command you give me.”

“Iris, come on, get us out of here,” Cisco said.

“Wait.” Iris turned back to Gideon. “Why will you follow my commands?”

“Because your husband designed me to follow all commands given by members of the Allen and West families.”

Iris looked back at Cisco and Caitlin in confusion, but didn’t waste any time, grabbing them both and rushing out of the room just before Dr. Wells came around the bend.

Dr. Wells entered and started up Gideon. “Good evening, Gideon.”

“Good evening, Dr. Wells.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine.”

Iris didn’t stop running until she reached her dad’s house, dropping Cisco and Caitlin off on the couch.

“Dad, are you here?”

Joe hurried downstairs. “What’s wrong, baby?” He saw that she had brought her companions along with her and his voice sharpened. He pointed a finger at her. “What did y’all do?”

“We found Dr. Wells’s secret lair,” Iris said.

“Time vault,” Cisco clarified. The other three looked at him in annoyance. “What? He’s a time traveler. I’m calling it a time vault.”

“I need to sit down,” Joe said, taking a seat in the chair near the fireplace.

“We’re not really surprised by that part, are we?” Caitlin asked. “We knew time travel was a possibility. After all it seemed like Barry becomes a speedster and travels back in time himself.”

“He’s not the only one,” Iris said.

“Obviously,” Cisco replied.

“No, I mean…” Iris sighed. “Dr. Wells told me not to tell you.”

“We’ve since learned that he’s a time-traveling, identity-thieving murderer. Ignore him,” Joe said. “Don’t tell us what?”

“I kind of time traveled. It was an accident,” Iris said. “I was running really fast to stop a tsunami from hitting the city – “

“When was that?” Caitlin asked.

“About a month ago,” Iris said. “When Mark Mardon showed up. Right before Cisco started having those dreams.”

Cisco rubbed at his chest. “Oh, you mean the ones where Wells uses his super-speeding hand to shred apart my heart? Those dreams?”

“Yes. Those dreams,” Iris said. “But what if they’re not just dreams?”

“Then what are they?” Caitlin asked.

“Memories,” Iris said. “I wasn’t with Cisco that day. I don’t know what happened to him before the tsunami. But I did tell Cisco that Mason was investigating Wells. What if Cisco figured out what Wells was up to and Dr. Wells killed Cisco to cover his tracks? Only then, I erased that timeline, so Cisco never died. It never happened.”

“So if it never happened how can Cisco remember it?” Joe asked. Cisco pointed at Joe, wondering the same thing.

“I don’t know,” Iris said. “But he does. We can’t ignore that.”

“She’s right,” Cisco said. “I’ve had this bad feeling for a long time, and I’ve been trying to ignore it, but I have this feeling if we keep doing that, a lot more people could get hurt.”

Joe felt the weight of Cisco’s statement wash over him. He knew what could happen when you ignored your instincts. The memories played back in his head. The first time he had met Dr. Wells, weeks after Iris had first gone into her coma.

“Joe, you need to go home,” Barry said. “It’s not going to do Iris any good for you to end up in a hospital bed yourself.”

“I’m not doing her any good anyway,” Joe said. “The least I can do is watch over her.”

Barry sighed, but passed Joe the cup of coffee he had asked for.

The monitors hooked to Iris began beeping and screeching as Iris went into convulsions. Barry ran towards her, while Joe ran into the hallway calling for a doctor. “Help! My daughter’s coding!”

“She’s supposed to be in stable condition!” Barry yelled, cycling through every piece of medical knowledge he had before the doctors arrived, as if he could do something for her that they couldn’t.

Doctors and nurses crowded around Iris, ushering Barry and Joe out of the room. “How can she be seizing? She has no heart rhythm.”

Joe stared in through the window, while Barry wandered to the end of the hallway, rubbing his hands over his face and trying to halt the tears that were spilling over onto his cheeks.

“They can’t save her,” someone called, voicing Joe’s worst fears.

Joe drew his eyes away from Iris to stare at the man sitting in a wheelchair in the hallway.

“But I can,” Dr. Wells said certainly.

“I know you are. You’re that scientist Barry’s obsessed with. The one who blew a hole in the city.”

“Harrison Wells, and interestingly enough, my facility is the very place I would like to take your daughter.”

 “You're out of your mind,” Joe said. “You’re the reason she’s in a coma in the first place.”

“That never my intention,” Dr. Wells said sincerely. “I understand why you’re reluctant to trust me. But, Detective, give me a chance.”

“I think we already know what you're capable of, Doctor. You hurt a lot of people that night.”

“So those doctors in there, they're good enough?” Dr. Wells asked. “The best in the city, best in the country. Look at them. They have no clue what's going on. They're baffled, and the reason for that is what's happening inside Iris is a mystery, and they don't have the tools to solve it.”

“But you do?” Joe asked.

“That's right. Millions of people used to look at my lab, and what did they see? They saw the future,” Dr. Wells said. “Well, let me take that technology, let me take that know-how into ensuring that your daughter actually does have a future, Detective. Let me save her.”

Joe studied the doctors and nurses trying to restart Iris’s heart for another moment before locking eyes with Dr. Wells once more. “Then save her.”

“Dad? Dad, are you listening to me?”

Joe turned back to his daughter. “Of course, baby.”

Iris looked at him strangely for a moment and then continued talking. “We need to help Cisco find those memories. That could be the key.”

“The key to what?” Joe asked.

“The key to getting Henry out of prison. The key to finding out just what Dr. Wells wanted. Maybe the key to stopping him,” Iris said.

“And how are we going to do that?” Caitlin asked.

“We get him to tell us,” Iris said.

Chapter Text

Iris studied the glasses Cisco was welding. “You really think these will let Cisco see into his dream?”

Caitlin nodded. “I got the idea from a journal article on lucid dream therapy. They think it can be used to help people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Cisco scoffed. “Traumatized, stressed? Check and check.”

Caitlin continued. “The theory is that it will allow people to objectively enter their dreams and face their fears. Still working on the talking part.”

“And you're sure this thing isn't gonna, you know, fry my brain?” Cisco asked.

“Oh, the amount of electricity required to trigger lucid dreaming is harmless,” Caitlin said. “Probably.”

“Who’s going to be lucid dreaming?” Dr. Wells asked as he entered the room, making Iris wonder just why Cisco had turned off his Wells tracker.

“Uh, with all of the meta-humans in Central City, people have been seeing some strange things...things that they don't understand. And it's really just a matter of time before psychological issues develop,” Caitlin said.

Dr. Wells studied the glasses. “And lucid dreaming will help the doctors better understand their fears,” Dr. Wells said, nodding. “Intriguing. Of course, you still need to guide the patient from the outside, right? Direct them to specific aspects of the dream.”

“We're still working on a communications interface,” Cisco said.

Dr. Wells wheeled towards the computer. “When we dream, the middle brain lights up with electrical activity, whereas the higher brain remains dormant. Once we find a way to make both parts of the brain active, then it's just a matter of finding the frequency that will stimulate the language center.”

“Then the dreamer could speak,” Caitlin said. “He could describe his dream.”

“Exactly.” Dr. Wells typed at the keyboard. “I would try a frequency of 45 hertz to start.”

“Thank you, Dr. Wells,” Caitlin said.

“Well, you never cease to impress me, Caitlin.”

*

The makeshift lab Caitlin had set up in the West home did nothing to assuage Cisco’s fear that their dream deciphering machine wouldn’t damage his brain. “Okay, can we go over this one more time?”

“Yeah, you put the glasses on, fall asleep, and start dreaming. Not that hard,” Caitlin said as she adjusted the machine. Iris couldn’t help but chuckle at her comment.

Cisco rolled his eyes. “Yeah, except I'm pretty sure I die in this dream. If I go back into it, am I gonna die in real life? I mean, what are we talking about here? Is this Inception or Dreamscape?”

Joe handed Cisco a glass of milk. “Here. Drink this.”

Cisco scoffed. “What, am I five?”

“Just drink it,” Joe said.

Cisco took the glass. “Okay, I'll drink it.” He downed it in one gulp and passed the glass back to Joe.

“You're gonna be fine, Cisco,” Iris said as he settled back on the couch.

Caitlin placed the glasses on Cisco’s head. “The glasses are emitting a low-level delta wave which should help you fall asleep.”

“Okay,” Cisco said as Caitlin adjusted the machine. “I got to warn you, though, usually it takes me a long time. I mean... I'm not saying I'm, like... an insomniac or any...” Cisco didn’t finish his thought, instead tilting his head as he drifted off to sleep.

Joe smiled. “Ah, so that's how you get him to shut up.

Caitlin studied the image on her laptop. “He's entering REM. It's working,” she said, her face lighting up.

Iris moved closer to Cisco. “Cisco. Can you hear me? You're dreaming.”

A blurry world of memory overtook Cisco. “Okay, I will take Dr. West to Jitters so you do whatever it is you want to do,” he heard Caitlin say.

Cisco studied his surroundings. “Whoa. Guys, this is mad freaky.”

Iris spoke up first. “Okay, um, where are you?”

“Um, in the Cortex. I mean, I know I'm just dreaming that I'm in the Cortex, but it feels so real,” Cisco said, poking himself in the arm in his dream world as his body lay still. It felt real.

“What is dream you doing?” Iris asked.

“Caitlin just left. I asked her to take Wells to Jitters.”

“Why do you want Wells out of the lab? I think he might have tampered with my work. I need to check,” Cisco said. “Okay. I'm walking to the bunker.” He looked around one more time, studying his clothing. “Oh, man, I love this shirt. I thought the dryer ate it.”

Joe burst into giggles at the comment.

Iris glared at her father as he covered his mouth. “Focus, Cisco.”

“Okay, okay. All right. Now I'm running tests on the containment system. This data... It doesn't make any sense. All the supercapacitors... They were all still fully charged. There's absolutely no reason that the Man in Yellow should have escaped,” Cisco said as his dream self fiddled with the controls. An image of the Man in Yellow appeared in the center of the containment area, repeating the familiar speech they had heard back in December. “Oh, my God. It was just a hologram. He tricked us.”

Cisco heard a voice call out behind him. “Hello, Cisco.”

Cisco spun around. “Oh, God, Wells is here.”

His companions noticed the terror in his voice. “Cisco, it's just a dream,” Caitlin said. “He can't hurt you.”

“You better be right about that,” Cisco replied.

“My name is Eobard Thawne,” Dream Wells said.

“Eobard Thawne,” Cisco repeated.

“Thawne?” Iris asked. “Like Eddie?”

“You killed Nora Allen,” Cisco said.

“It was never my intention to kill Nora,” Dream Wells said.

“What about Mrs. Allen?” Iris asked. “What’s he saying, Cisco?”

“He's confessing,” Cisco said. “He... he didn't want to kill her. It was Barry. He was trying to kill Barry.”

Iris looked at her father with terror, only to have her focus broken by the sound of the monitor beeping. She turned her attention back to Caitlin.

“His blood pressure's 200 and his heart rate is 147,” Caitlin said. “Guys, he's losing higher brain function.” She put a hand on Cisco’s shoulder. “Cisco, you're gonna be okay. It's just a dream. You're gonna be okay.”

Dream Wells stood in front of Cisco, his hand vibrating the air around him. “I have grown quite fond of you, Cisco.”

Cisco panicked. “His hand... It's vibrating. He's gonna kill me!”

“Oh, God. He's gonna have a stroke,” Caitlin said.

“Wake him up!” Iris shouted.

“In many ways, you've shown me what it's like...” Dream Wells began.

“Help me, please!” Cisco screamed.

“To have a son.”

“Help me!” he screamed again. The hand went through his chest. “Aah!” He sat up quickly as he was pulled out of the dream, yanking the glasses off as though the entire dream world was contained within them. He started pulling at ever censor Caitlin had placed on him before he fell asleep.

 Caitlin wrapped an arm around Cisco. “You're okay. It was just a dream. You're okay.”

Cisco rubbed at his face, trying to awaken himself more. “Oh, God. It felt so real.” He looked up at Iris, whose mouth was still hanging open in shock. “Iris? What do we do now?”

Iris looked to her father, who could only shrug. “He was after Barry. This whole time. Why?” Iris asked.

Cisco shook his head. “We’re missing something. There’s stuff missing in my dream. I could feel it. Maybe if I – “

“You are not doing that again,” Iris said firmly.

“You could have died,” Caitlin said. “No, no more dream walking.”

“Fine by me,” Cisco muttered as Caitlin took his wrist, checking his pulse once again.

Iris’s phone began to vibrate. “Hello?” she answered without checking the screen.

“Where are you?” Wells hissed.

Iris’s breath caught in her throat. Did he know what they were doing?

“Iris. Iris, are you there?”

“Dr. Wells. Yeah. Sorry, bad connection,” she lied.

“A huge fire just erupted,” Dr. Wells said.

Iris turned her phone to speaker mode. “A fire? Where?”

“New Brighton. Bradford Tower High-Rise.”

“I know that building,” Joe said. “That's where Captain Singh's fiancé works.”

“Headed there now,” Iris said. She raced across town, running past Captain Singh and the fire chief as she sped into the building.

The flames were huge and burning hotter than Iris had expected. Also unexpected was the sheer number of people still in the office after dark. At least twenty that Iris could see and that only included the ones in the main open air office. Worse yet, the flames were spread out, blocking Iris’s access to people throughout the room.

“The sprinklers aren’t working!” Iris shouted.

“I can see that,” Dr. Wells said, studying the building’s schematics. “Just get everyone out of there.”

“I can’t! The flames are too hot! I can’t get to them! Not all of them!” As if they’d heard her, the flames expanded and lashed out at her. “Dr. Wells, please! I don’t know what to do!”

“You create a vacuum,” Dr. Wells said. “Rotate your arms at super-speed. Wells: That'll create a wind funnel that will suck the air right out of the room.”

Iris tried it, spinning her arms in circles like she was sure she’d done in some ridiculous aerobics class before running had become her life. The flames reached out for her and the people she was trying to save and man, it was a good thing this had never become a firefighter’s suit, because it wasn’t ready yet, Cisco. “It’s making it worse!”

“Iris, listen to me. You need to move your arms faster!” he yelled. Dr. Wells took a breath, calmed himself. “You can do it, Iris.”

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, tried again, spinning her arms as fast as she could. The blaze faded away. Iris kept spinning her arms until most of the smoke disappeared as well. She scanned the room, checking for people who needed immediate medical attention, but everyone seemed like they were all right. Coughing and sooty, but not seriously injured.

Iris ran off, back to STAR Labs for a shower and the pretense of a normal case follow up with Dr. Wells. She was walking back into the Cortex, trying to determine if the scene of smoke still clinging to her was all in her imagination or if she needed to be prepared to field questions about it at work tomorrow when Dr. Wells wheeled in.

“Miss West. Tonight, at the fire, I saw hesitation. I saw you doubting yourself. Why is that?” he asked.

“I don't know,” Iris said. “I mean, when I tried to stop it, it just worse and…I didn’t want to see anyone else die because I wasn’t fast enough to save them.”

“Right,” Dr. Wells said with a nod. “But if there is anything that I have learned in our time together, Iris, it is that the only thing standing in the way of you achieving every goal that you set for yourself is you. There is no limit to how strong you will get or how fast you will go. Everything that you need, you already have.”

“Thank you, Dr. Wells,” she said. She grabbed her purse. “I’m gonna head home now.”

Dr. Wells nodded a farewell.

Iris turned towards the door and began walking but stopped short, turning on her heel. “You know, I couldn't have done any of this without you.”

“I feel the same way about you,” Dr. Wells assured her.

*

Iris sat on her father’s couch, rubbing at her temples, trying to ease the headache forming. “It’s so weird. I know he’s a terrible person. I know he’s the one responsible for killing Barry’s mother and breaking up his family, and a thousand other horrible things. But tonight I could not have saved those people without him, and no matter what he has done, I can’t help being grateful to him for that. For all the lives he’s helped me save.” Iris sighed. “But that doesn’t make up for all the bad he’s done.”

“No,” Joe said, settling on the couch next to Iris. “No, it doesn’t.”

“In Cisco’s dream, he confessed,” Iris said. “Maybe we can make him confess again if we recreate those conditions.”

“Those conditions got Cisco killed last time,” Joe said.

“Because he was alone,” Iris reminded him. “He won’t be alone this time, he’ll have us. We won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Then we’ll have to do a better job protecting him than I did protecting you.”

“Protecting me? What are you talking about?”

“Iris, this is all happening because of me.”

“No, Dad.” Iris shook her head.

“I never should have let him take you from that hospital. I never should’ve put you in a position to get involved with this psycho.”

“If you hadn’t, I would’ve died,” Iris reminded him.

“I knew something wasn’t right with Wells,” Joe said. “But I was so desperate to save you that I didn’t care.”

“Dad, it’s not your fault,” Iris said. “It’s his, okay? He lied and killed and that is all on him. And we are going to make him pay for every bit of it.”

Chapter Text

Sneaking around plotting against Dr. Wells at home was one thing. Trying it at STAR Labs in broad daylight? That just felt like they were asking for trouble. But there they were, literally setting a trap for the man in his own lab.

Caitlin walked back in. “I just talked to Dr. Wells. He's attending a lecture downtown, won't be back until five.”

Joe put his hand on Cisco’s shoulder. “All right, Cisco, you know when he gets here you need to be working on the trap so he sees you set off the hologram.”

“We need to keep the conditions close to the original timeline, to make sure Dr. Wells…” Iris trailed off.

“Crushes my heart in the palm of his hand?” Cisco supplied.

“Tries to crush your heart in the palm of his hand,” Iris corrected. “At least if your countermeasures work. Please tell me your countermeasures work.”

“Only one way to find out,” Cisco said, grabbing his phone and climbing up onto the containment area. “Originally I designed the force field to keep a speedster inside. But I reversed it, so now it won’t let one in.” He pressed something on his phone and a wave of energy flickered outside the containment area before going invisible once more. He raised his hand beckoning Iris forward.

She backed away, trying to give herself some space to ramp up speed. “You sure about this?”

Cisco nodded.

Iris rushed forward, aiming at the force field and hitting it hard enough to throw her backwards and into the wall before crashing on the floor. All of Barry’s nerd lectures about Newton’s Laws of Motion suddenly became remarkably clear.

“Iris! Are you okay?” Caitlin asked, hurrying to her.

“Ugh. Warn a girl next time,” Iris said, pushing herself off the ground.

“Okay. As long as I’m in here, Wells can’t get to me,” Cisco said.

“And I will be in the Cortex monitoring and recording everything,” Caitlin said.

“As soon as we get the confession we need to get Barry’s dad out of prison, I move in, get Wells to the Pipeline,” Iris said.

“What about Barry? How do we know he’s not going to show up tonight and discover what we’ve been working on?” Caitlin asked.

“I called in a favor with Singh. Barry’s working overtime tonight, analyzing some backlogged evidence,” Joe said. “Surrounded by cops, miles away. It’s as safe as we can get him without shipping him off to Robin Hood.”

Iris nodded. “Okay. Good. I’ll be back by five to set up.” She turned and walked down the hall.

“Iris, wait!” Joe called. He sped up to her. “What are you thinking?”

Iris shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, if this works, we’ve just given Barry the greatest gift we could ever give him. We give him his dad back. We give his mother justice. But if we get this close and it doesn’t work…”

“It’s gonna work. It’s gonna work and Barry is going to be so happy that we saved his dad that he won’t even care that we lied to him,” Joe said.

Iris smiled. “I hope that’s true.”

*

Caitlin was working on her computer when she spotted Dr. Wells entering the building on the monitor. She still felt surprised to hear him come up behind her in the lab.

“Hello, Dr. Wells,” she said, fighting to keep her voice from shaking. “How was your lecture?”

“Boring, tedious,” Dr. Wells said.

Caitlin forced a smile. “Platitudinous?”

Dr. Wells smiled back. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. Where’s Cisco?”

Caitlin walked past Dr. Wells, hoping he couldn’t see the fear creeping into her expression. “He’s down in the bunker. He thinks he’s finally figured out what went wrong at Christmas when we tried to catch the Reverse Flash.”

“Did he say what he’s found?” Dr. Wells asked.

“Nope, just that he thought he’d found the key to everything.”

“Maybe I’ll wheel down there,” Dr. Wells said. “See what he’s found out.”

“Okay,” Caitlin said softly. She watched him exit the room. She sighed and leaned into the microphone. “He’s on his way.”

Cisco stared at the hologram, hoping that the terror at what was about to happen would read as shock at discovering Wells’ true identity. He turned around as the elevator doors opened.

“Hello, Cisco,” Dr. Wells said as he stepped off the elevator. Stepped. No use in pretenses now. He applauded. “You’ve been busy.”

“Not as busy as you,” Cisco muttered.

Dr. Wells smiled. “You really are incredibly clever, Cisco. I’ve always said so.”

“You’re him. You’re the Reverse Flash. Joe was right this whole time, wasn’t he?”

“Good ol’ Joe,” Wells said, walking to the desk and closing the laptop. “Joe West had his doubts from day one. The first time he met me at the hospital he knew something wasn’t right.”

Iris glanced at her father as they hid behind the machinery.

“Cops,” Dr. Wells muttered. “As inconvenient now as they will be in a hundred year.”

“You killed Barry’s mother,” Cisco said. “I wanna know why.”

“It was never my intention to kill Nora,” Dr. Wells said. “But from my perspective, she was already dead.”

His hand was already raised. This was sooner than Cisco remembered. The timing was off. He backed away slowly towards the containment area.

“It just happened sooner than it was supposed to. And not for the last time,” Dr. Wells finished.

Iris turned to her father. Was that enough?

Joe shook his head. “No confession,” Joe mouthed.

Iris turned back to Cisco and Wells, just in time to see Cisco stumble backwards, falling onto his trap.

“Oops,” Dr. Wells said, sneering down at Cisco.

Cisco rose to his feet, shaking his head and pulling out his phone. “You’re not going to get away with this,” he said.

Dr. Wells stepped onto the edge of the platform. “I’m not going to get away with it?”

Cisco hit a button on his phone and the wave of energy went up around him.

Dr. Wells laughed, lowering his hand. “You’re smart, Cisco.” He moved forward at a slow, steady pace. “But you’re not that smart.” He raised his hand once more.

“Cisco!” Caitlin yelled, taking off from the Cortex like there was something she could do once she got there.

Joe leapt to his feet, firing three shots at Dr. Wells in quick succession.

“No!” Iris yelled, running after the bullets. She snatched two from the air, aiming for the last one and instead knocking herself against the force field, flying across the room once more. The final bullet hit its target. Wells slumped to the floor as blood poured from his chest.

“He’s no good to us dead!” Iris shouted.

Caitlin ran into the room, climbing onto the platform with surprising speed considering the four-inch heels she wore. She clutched Cisco’s arm. “Cisco, are you okay?”

“Never sleeping again,” Cisco said. “Otherwise, I’m good.”

Caitlin knelt down, taking Dr. Wells’ pulse. She sighed. “He’s dead.”

“He didn’t confess,” Iris said. “What are we gonna tell Barry? ‘Your mom’s murderer is dead, but sorry, Henry’s still gonna be in prison the rest of his life ‘cause we screwed up?’ How am I gonna tell him that?”

“Iris, I –“ whatever Cisco was going to say was cut off as the body in front of them shifted. “Whoa!” Cisco cried. “What the hell?”

On the floor at their feet lay the faceless corpse of Hannibal Bates.

The PA system kicked in. “I said it before. I’m always one step ahead. Flash. Allow me to re-introduce Mr. Hannibal Bates and his remarkable transformation capabilities. I knew that ability would come in handy. It always does,” Dr. Wells said. “I have to say. It came in handy sooner than I expected. It seems you have inherited your father’s penchant for investigation, Miss West.”

“You used him,” Iris said. “You used all of us.”

“He served his purpose, Miss West,” Dr. Wells said, the calm, familiar way he said it only made Iris angrier. “The promise of freedom, and he was willing to do whatever I asked.”

“So much for your promises,” Caitlin said. “We stood by you after everything. After Ronnie. How could you do this to us?”

“Oh, Caitlin, you have no idea what kind of hells you have been spared thanks to my intervention,” Dr. Wells said.

“There’s no point in hiding anymore,” Joe said. “You’re not the real Harrison Wells. Just tell us who you are.”

“You know who I am. You know what I’m capable of.”

“Is that a threat?” Iris asked. “You go through all this just to kill us?”

“I don’t wanna kill you, Iris,” Dr. Wells said with surprising sincerity. “You’ve become a vital piece of my plan. And after all I’ve worked for these past fifteen years, I never thought I would enjoy working beside you this much. But that doesn’t change what needs to happen.”

“Then stop hiding. Come out of the shadows and face me,” Iris said.

“Oh, we will face each other again. Soon, Flash.”

Cisco’s phone buzzed. “He’s in the time vault!” Cisco shouted.

Iris raced away to find the time vault empty, save for Wells’ wheelchair sitting in the middle of the room. She stared at the wall, where a newspaper showing her destiny had been only days before. Instead there were rows and rows of videos playing. Scenes she recognized and ones she didn’t. Her at CCPN talking with Mason about his story. Barry in his lab talking with Oliver. Her and Caitlin talking in their apartment. Cisco storming out on Joe at the police station. Barry and Felicity in bed at Barry’s apartment. Her and Joe revealing the truth to Caitlin and Cisco. Her shoving Barry away from skylight and crumpling to the ground.

“He’s known. Every step of the way he’s known. He set his own trap,” Iris whispered. She rushed back to the Cortex, just as the rest of the team arrived. “He’s been watching us every step of the way. I need to go. I have to warn Barry. He doesn’t know. He’s not safe.”

“Go!” Joe said pointing towards the doorway.

Iris ran to the police station, sending papers flying across Barry’s lab.

Barry didn’t even glance up from his microscope as she arrived. “Oh, thank God. I’m bored out of my mind and I’m starving. You think you could swing by that place in Chicago for deep-dish pizza? I’m buying.” He lifted her head, taking in her obvious distress. He rose to his feet, crossing the room and setting his hands on Iris’s arms. “Iris, what’s wrong?”

“I screwed up, Barry,” she said.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I found out who the Reverse Flash is,” Iris said.

There was another whoosh of air in the lab as Dr. Wells appeared behind Barry. “Actually, she found out who the Reverse Flash was weeks ago,” Dr. Wells said. “She’s been holding out on you.” He grabbed Barry and in a blur they were gone.

“Barry!” Iris screamed. She chased after the other speedster, but lost sight of him as they reached the street. She spun in a circle, searching the street for some sign of the red lightning, but they were gone. “Barry," she sighed.

*

It was a cliché. Tied up by the villain in some dank, mysterious basement. But Barry couldn’t think about that now. He couldn’t focus on the fear. He’d finally found him after all these years, the man who’d killed his mother. He finally had the chance to hear why.

“Why’d you do it?” Barry asked. “She was innocent. She never did anything to you.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Wells said. “She had you. And you have been a thorn in my side for more years than I care to think about.”

“What have I ever done to you?” Barry asked.

“It’s not what you have done,” Dr. Wells said. “It’s what you will do. Or, more accurately, would have done. Because I’m about to give you a gift, Barry Allen. I’m about to tell you all about the life you could have lived.”

It wasn’t the first conversation he’d had like this, not that Iris West would remember, having been mid-coma at the time. Eobard thought back to that night many months before.

He checked the lab one last time, even though he knew Caitlin had no reason to turn back. She was meticulous about not leaving things behind when she left for the evening.

“You look so young,” Eobard said. He rose from his chair to get a better look at her. “I could kill you now,” he said, vibrating his hand and holding it menacingly over the young woman’s chest. “I’ve done it before…not that it took. You always have been a stubborn one. Ruining my plans. Fifteen years I spent on this one. Fifteen years plotting for Barry to become The Flash and just like that” – he snapped his fingers – “you step in and undo all my hard work. Fate’s tricky. I come here to destroy Barry Allen and everything he holds dear, and here I am, fighting to save the life of the person he cares for most. To make you The Flash instead of him. Although, between your brother and the twins, I have to say – it does make sense. It’s clearly in the genes. This is nothing personal, Miss West, not for you. It’s your husband – friend, I should say – that I have an issue with. And he is on borrowed time.”

Chapter Text

Think about your best friend. It could be your wife, your father, maybe someone you grew up with. It's the person you can't wait to talk to at the end of the day. The person who knows everything about you, who roots for you.

Now imagine this person was taken from you. What lengths would you go to to get him back?

“Hey, Joe, have you seen Barry?” Eddie asked.

“What? No, uh, he took some personal time. Went to visit some friends in Starling City,” Joe said.

“Oh, okay. I thought I’d get him the evidence on these gold store robberies, see if he can find anything we missed,” Eddie said.

Joe reached out a hand for the file. “I’ll put it in his lab, let him know when he gets back in town.”

“Thanks, Joe,” Eddie said passing him the file.

Joe took it and headed to Barry’s lab. He set the file on Barry’s desk and turned towards the bulletin board behind it. He raised the cover in front of it and studied the evidence Barry had collected over the years, the most important facts missing from it. Would they have been able to protect him if they’d just told him the truth? Would his son be here now?

A burst of wind behind him jerked Joe out of his reverie. He turned towards Iris. “Did you find anything?”

“Do you see Barry standing next to me?” she snapped. She sighed, rubbing at her temples. “I’m sorry. That was harsh. No sign of Wells or Barry.”

“You don’t think Wells…” Joe trailed off, unable to voice the fear that plagued his mind.

“No,” Iris said. “He still needs something from me. He knows he would never get it if he killed Barry.”

“Then if this is just a scare tactic, why isn’t he contacting you?”

Iris shook her head. “I don’t know. But it sounds like he and Barry have some kind of history…in the future. Whatever his plan is, it’s about the both of us.”

*

“Why are you keeping the creepy cameras Wells used to stalk us?” Iris asked as she walked into STAR Labs.

“First rule of mechanical engineering: never throw out good tech. Especially tech from the future,” Cisco said as he worked.

“Too bad he took off with Gideon. I probably could’ve gotten some answers from her. Well…it,” Iris said.

An alarm went up from Cisco’s computer. He checked the screen and turned back to Iris. “There’s a an attack at Central City Gold Reserve.”

“Another gold robbery?” Iris asked. “Hey, that gold gun you made Lisa Snart doesn’t need refills, does it?”

“I’m offended you even have to ask. And no,” Cisco said.

“Okay, I’m on it,” Iris said. She changed into the suit and took off for the Gold Reserve.

The guy with the gun was scary looking, but as far as Iris could tell, he was just an ordinary, albeit heavily armored, man. She stopped in front of him as he fired at the SWAT team, thankful her appearance shocked him enough to cease fire so she didn’t have to dodge bullets.  “You picked a really bad time for this, dude.” She approached the man, but as she did, she was hit with overwhelming pain and visions that brought her to her knees. Fear coursed through her veins. Scientist, doctors. No, not doctors, not really, they wanted to hurt her. She tried to push herself back off the ground, but failed. She looked at the armored man, waiting for him to shoot her while she was down, but he had fallen too. But a moment later, he straightened up to his full height and turned back, running away as if Iris wasn’t even there.

The vision faded as Iris tried to catch her breath. “What the hell was that?”

*

Caitlin flashed a tiny light in Iris’s eyes. “Your eye movement is normal. No signs of neurological damage.”

“Do you think the thief could’ve been a metahuman who put the whammy on you?”

“I don’t know. When Rainbow Raider whammied me, all I felt was anger, but this was different. Pure, unadulterated fear,” Iris said. “And then the robber went down too. I don’t think he was the one pulling the strings.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe we were both whammied.”

“You’re not the only ones,” a voice called out from behind them.

The three team members turned towards the door.

“So, I just have to know, does this have anything to do with why you broke up with me?” Eddie asked.

Chapter Text

Iris pushed back the panic that had set her heart racing. She turned to her friends. “Guys, could you give us a minute?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Cisco said.

“Because this certainly has nothing to with us,” Caitlin said, following behind Cisco out the door.

“How did you figure it out?” Iris asked, crossing her arms only to immediately uncross them because she remembered that thing about defensive body language and didn’t want Eddie thinking she had anything else to hide.

“I’m a detective. It’s what I do,” Eddie said sharply.

Iris sighed. “Fine. What clues did you follow?”

“Well, for starters, Barry wasn’t at work today. Not that that’s unusual. But Singh didn’t know anything about it, and Barry usually at least makes up some kind of excuse when he’s going to miss work and tell the Captain directly. And then Joe was clearly lying to me when he said Barry had gone out of town. So I checked the security footage from the hallway outside Barry’s lab. And found a figure with red lightning being chased by a someone with yellow lightning. I’ve met the Reverse Flash and The Flash. So I was able to put two and two together.” Eddie sighed. “Probably should’ve figured it out sooner. Why else would The Flash be confronting me, at Jitters of all places?”

“I’m sorry for lying to you. I just – I thought it was best to leave you out of it,” Iris said.

“More proof of why it didn’t work out between us,” Eddie said.

“Probably,” Iris admitted.

“So Barry’s missing?” Eddie asked.

Iris nodded. “The Reverse Flash. He took him. I don’t know why.”

“And you don’t want the police involved in this?”

“God, no,” Iris said. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. You remember what happened the last time we got the police involved with the Reverse-Flash. I do not need any more deaths on my conscience.”

Eddie nodded. “Well, I’m involved now. What do you need?”

“I just need you to keep everyone at the precinct out of this. Cover until I can get Barry back, please.”

“Got it,” Eddie said. He started for the door, but Iris stopped him.

“You should probably know – Wells is the Reverse-Flash.”

Eddie turned back, his eyes wide with shock. “Wells? Paralyzed Wells?”

“Not really paralyzed, not really Wells. Turns out he’s a time traveler, and, according to Cisco…his name is Eobard Thawne.”

“Thawne? Like me?”

“I don’t know that there’s any relation. There’s a lot I don’t know,” Iris admitted. “If I find out anything, I’ll tell you.”

“That’ll be a nice change of pace,” Eddie mumbled. He walked back to the Cortex. Iris followed after him, just in time to see Cisco grab the phone and start stammering something about computer orders.

She waited until Eddie was gone before speaking to them. “Subtle, guys.”

Cisco hung up the phone. “So, Eddie didn’t seem too angry.”

“No, he didn’t,” Iris agreed. “He’s a good guy.”

“Speaking of good guys, don’t you think it’s time you called for backup?” Caitlin asked.

“I have. Felicity says something called the League of Assassins is in town and they can’t spare anyone. From the name alone, I’m inclined to believe her. And I’m guessing you already tried to contact Firestorm,” Iris said.

“They haven’t called back. But they will, I’m sure of it,” Caitlin said.

Iris shook her head. “They’re not here now. Which means that for now…”

“We’re on our own,” Cisco finished.

“And so is Barry,” Iris said.

*

Barry twisted his head towards the hatch as he heard Dr. Wells enter. “Did you at least bring me a burger this time?”

“Human beings have been known to go two months without food. So no need to worry about that just yet,” Dr. Wells said.

“If you even plan on letting me live,” Barry said.

Dr. Wells smiled. “I told you I would tell you about the life you would’ve lived, Barry. And I haven’t done that yet.”

“How do you know about what life I was supposed to live?” Barry asked.

“That’s easy, Barry. I’m from the future. And in my future…you were The Flash.”

“You’re full of crap,” Barry said.

“We both know that’s not true. You’ve seen the DNA test yourself. You were The Flash. You were the one who saved your child self that night.”

“So you’re saying I don’t become a speedster in the future…”

“I’m saying you were already supposed to be one. But you’re no hero, Barry.” Wells chuckled. “You’re just the sidekick.”

*

“I just got a call from Dad,” Iris said. “The Central City Gold Reserve is about to transport $300 million in gold bars to their Coast City vault. Singh told Dad they think the Man in the Mask is gonna make a play for it.”

“Okay, but we still don't know if he's responsible for those weird images you saw,” Caitlin said.

“No, but I can’t just let this go,” Iris said.

“How are they transporting the gold?” Cisco asked.

“Ice cream truck,” Iris said.

“You’re kidding me,” Cisco said.

“I wish I were.”

Cisco sat down at his computer and hacked a surveillance feed for the truck. “Uh, you might need to get there now. The truck just got hit by a land mine.”

Iris was suited up and halfway there before Cisco could say anything else. “Is Dad okay?” she asked.

“We don't know yet,” Caitlin said.

Joe was fine, although facing down a very scary man with a gun. Iris arrived on the scene and shoved the gunman against the armored car.

Iris turned to her father. “You okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

“I’ve had better days.”

“So has he.” Joe knelt down beside their bad guy. “Let's see what Goldfinger has to say for himself.” He tugged at the other man’s mask to see a familiar face.

“General Eiling?” Iris asked.

*

There was definitely comfort in having Eiling be the one trapped behind glass, although the dead eyed stare was a bit unnerving. “What is wrong with him?”

“I pulled a bullet out of his shoulder,” Caitlin said. “And it didn't even seem like he felt it. I did a complete body scan, and otherwise, General Eiling is perfectly healthy.”

“So why is he just standing there like a robot?” Joe asked.

Cisco walked into the Pipeline. “I just got off the phone with ARGUS. Officially, Eiling is on administrative leave.”

“Unofficially?” Joe asked.

“I spoke with Diggle's wife, Lyla, and she said Eiling's been missing for the past three months and ARGUS is covering up for it.”

“Makes sense,” Iris said. I haven’t seen the general since Ronnie and I broke Professor Stein out of that military facility. I'm sure they're covering that up too.”

 “So where has he been since then?” Joe asked.

“We could always ask him,” Iris said.

“General Eiling, why were you trying to rob the gold reserve?” Joe asked.

“Maybe he's in some kind of a trance?” Caitlin suggested.

“General, do you remember anything?” Iris asked.

“Flash,” the general replied in a gruff voice that sounded nothing like his usual tone.

“Flash?” Iris turned to Caitlin. “Why does Eiling know I’m The Flash?”

Caitlin could only shrug, but Eiling spoke again.

“Eiling not here. Eiling bad.”

“Maybe it's some kind of psychotic break presenting itself as dissociative identity disorder.”

“Caitlin,” Eiling said. “Caitlin good.”

“Oh, uh, thank you?” Caitlin said, looking to her friends for an answer.

“Hmmm. Forget multiple personalities. You guys have seen The Exorcist, right?” Cisco asked.

“You and your movies,” Joe muttered.

“Keep talking to him,” Iris said to Caitlin. “Since you’re the good one.”

“Uh, why is Eiling bad?” Caitlin asked.

“Eiling hurt me. I hurt Eiling.”

“You're not Eiling?” Caitlin asked. “Then who are you?”

“I... Am... Grodd. Fear... me.”

“What is a Grodd?” Iris asked.

“That’s probably easier to see than hear,” Cisco said. He gestured for the team to follow him back to the Cortex.

A few minutes later, Iris was watching a video of Caitlin feeding a gorilla. “Of course. He’s a gorilla. Why didn’t I think of that?” Iris said. She turned back to Cisco. “Just what were you guys doing with a gorilla?”

“Five years ago, Eiling and Wells were working on a project to expand soldiers' cognitive abilities during battle,” Cisco said.

“What we didn't realize is that Eiling was trying to create soldiers with psychic abilities,” Caitlin said.

“What do you mean ‘psychic’?” Joe asked.

“Eiling was trying to create these super-soldiers with telepathic and telekinetic capabilities,” Cisco said.

“But when Dr. Wells found out about the terrible experiments that Eiling was doing, he shut down the entire project,” Caitlin said.

“A psycho killer and an animal rights activist. Talk about having layers,” Joe said.

“What happened to Grodd?” Iris asked.

“We don't know,” Caitlin said. “After the Particle Accelerator exploded, I went down to check on him, and his cage was empty.”

“So he could have been affected by the same energy that hit Iris?” Joe asked.

“When the dark matter hit Grodd, all the drugs and serums that Eiling injected him with could've activated,” Caitlin replied. “Maybe the Accelerator explosion created a meta-gorilla.”

“And I think we know what happens when a super-intelligent ape who's pissed off at humans escapes captivity,” Cisco said.

“Cisco's right,” Caitlin said. Her companions gave her a strange look and she held up a hand. “About the first part.” She clicked on something on the computer and a CT scan filled the screen. “This is the first brain scan that I did on Grodd. His primary motor cortex and Broca's area are lit up like a Christmas tree.”

“From Eiling's experiments?” Iris asked.

Caitlin nodded. “And this is the brain scan that I just did on Eiling. His brain is lit up in the exact same way.”

“So Grodd and Eiling are connected somehow?” Iris asked.

“I think that somehow, Grodd is transmitting neural signals to Eiling's primary motor cortex,” Caitlin said. “Mind control, telepathy... who knows what Grodd is capable of now?”

“What do we think Grodd wants? Revenge?” Iris asked.

“I do not like the fact that Wells rescued Grodd,” Joe said.  “I don't think it's a coincidence that this gorilla shows up at the very same time we're looking for Wells.”

“Grodd and Wells always did have a special bond,” Caitlin said. “It wouldn't surprise me if Wells was using Grodd to distract us.”

“If we find Grodd, we find Wells,” Iris said. “If we find Wells, we find Barry.” Iris clapped a hand her forehead. “Oh my God. It makes sense now.” She sat down at a computer and logged into her CCPN account.

“What makes sense?” Cisco asked.

“There have been reports of some sort of animal down in the sewers.”

Cisco nodded. “Mmm-hmm. Alligators. C.H.U.D.S. R.O.U.S'es?” Caitlin rolled her eyes while Joe and Iris shook their heads. “Am I the only one who watches movies around here?”

“Uh, anyway, a few months ago, two sewer workers went missing. The search party reported hearing strange animal like noises down in the tunnels, which I chalked up to weird plumbing problems.”

“Where exactly did they go missing?” Joe asked.

Iris pointed at the screen. “Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street.”

Cisco sat down beside her. “There's an access point to the sewers about two blocks east of that intersection.”

“I'll start there,” Iris said, rising from her seat.

“Not alone,” Joe said. “You already lost to this thing once. I'm coming too.”

Cisco scoffed. “Huh, wading through miles of rats, roaches, and human excrement... count me out.” Iris and Joe raised their eyebrows at him, making Cisco sigh. “Count me in.”

“You’re the ones who lost the damn gorilla in the first place,” Joe said.

*

Iris and Cisco followed behind Joe, dropping flares as they went. Iris couldn’t help but think of Hansel and Gretel.

“I can’t believe I’m down here looking for a supernatural gorilla,” Joe said. “I’m terrified of regular gorillas.”

“So that’s why you never took me and Barry to the zoo,” Iris said.

A growl echoed through the sewers. Iris raised her tranq gun, ready to fire as they rounded a corner.

“What was that?” Cisco asked.

“Probably not a Rodent of Unusual Size,” Iris muttered as a normal rat skittered past them.

“Whoa, do you guys see this?” Cisco said, holding a flare close to the wall. Graffiti littered the wall. “Grodd” written over and over again. Cisco dropped the flare next to the writing. “I guess we’re in the right place.”

“Somebody wanna tell me what we’re looking at here?” Joe asked, studying the graffiti that became slowly more literate, as other drawing a simple words appeared.

“He’s getting smarter,” Cisco said. “He’s evolving.”

“Great. Just what we need. A smart superpowered gorilla,” Joe said.

Heavy footsteps sounded through the sewers.

“If I hadn’t seen Jurassic Park, I wouldn’t be nearly as freaked out right now,” Cisco said.

Growls and footsteps echoed through the pipes. Iris couldn’t tell exactly where they were coming from, but they were loud.

“So, if he’s getting smarter, could he have gotten bigger too?” Joe asked. Another loud rumble came through the sewers. “That must’ve been a truck passing over, right?”

Another growl followed by a shadow at the end of the tunnel made Cisco jump, stumbling over something so that his helmet and headlamp fell to the floor, sending the team into near darkness.

“Cisco?” Caitlin said over the comms. “What happened?”

Iris fired down the long tunnel. She wondered if she had hit anything, but a second later was assaulted with visions of needles and the same sense of terror from earlier that told her she had probably hit her target. The visions knocked her to the ground, but she didn’t stay there long before she felt herself being thrown against  the wall with a force she was sure had shattered her arm.

“Iris!” Joe shouted. He moved into position, firing his rifle down the tunnel while Cisco knelt beside Iris, checking her condition. “We’ve got to get out of here!” Joe yelled.

“She’s unconscious!” Cisco responded, trying to shake Iris awake.

A huge, hulking figure appeared, jerking Joe out of the tunnel, the rifle falling to the ground.

Cisco turned his head, but the other man was gone. “Joe! Joe!”

His echo was the only response.

Chapter Text

Iris’s eyes flickered open to the familiar STAR Labs ceiling.

“She’s awake!” Cisco called to Caitlin as he stepped closer.

“Please tell me that was a nightmare,” Iris said as she sat up.

Cisco shook his head. “I’m sorry, Iris.”

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. “Okay, we need to go back out there. We have to get my dad.” She threw her legs over the side of the bed.

Caitlin laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You’re still healing.”

“I can run just fine.”

“We don’t know where Grodd took Joe,” Cisco added.

Iris sighed. “First, Wells takes Barry and now uses Grodd to get my dad. I’m not doing such a good job of protecting my family.”

“There’s a tracker in the tranq dart you hit Grodd with. It should activate and send us a location any time now,” Cisco said.

“My dad doesn’t have time to wait, Cisco. He’s in the hands of a murderous gorilla, I need to go,” Iris said, standing up.

“And if Grodd gets into your head again and controls you like he did with Eiling?” Cisco said. “What then? Who’s going to protect the city from a mind-controlled Flash?”

“Ok, so build me something. There’s got to be something you can make that will keep him out of my head.”

“I don't know. Maybe if Dr. Wells were here, we could figure out something,” Cisco said.

“We don’t need Wells,” Iris snapped. “He was never on our side, not really. He never really wanted to help people, but that’s what we do. This is my dad. He was only down there because he was trying to help us. You’re a doctor and you’re an engineer and somehow there has to be a way to keep Grodd out of my head, and you need to find it, because you know if it were the other way around he would find a way to help you.”

Cisco sighed and nodded. “We’ll find a way.”

*

“She’s gonna find me, you know,” Barry said. “And you.”

Eobard chuckled as he worked on some project that Barry couldn’t see. “She’s got someone else to find right now,” he said pulling up a chair and sitting down, leaning forward, uncomfortably close to Barry. “We’ve got plenty of time to talk, Flash. Well…Barry.” Eobard shook his head. “I do find it amusing how even when time keeps you from getting the powers, you still manage to get yourself into superhero work. You know, I haven’t found any records to indicate a friendship with Oliver Queen prior to you becoming The Flash, so it is interesting that it happened here without it. Time travel is a messy thing.”

“So, you traveled back in time to what? To keep me from becoming The Flash? You got that, so what are you still doing here.”

“Well, I came back in time to kill you. Young, vulnerable, powerless Barry Allen dies and poof! No Flash,” Eobard said. “I didn’t count on you following me.”

“Which is why Joe and Cisco found Future Me’s blood at the crime scene.”

“Got it in one. And of course, you had to save your own skin. Which left me with only one way to hurt you, Allen.”

“You killed my mother,” Barry spat.

Eobard laughed again, and the sound made Barry want to rip the man’s throat out. “I thought I could stop you. Stop you from becoming The Flash by breaking you. Only then I got trapped in the past, long story, and I needed a Flash. I just didn’t count on it being Iris.”

“The particle accelerator. You did it on purpose. All the people who died. You murdered them.”

“A small price to pay to restore what was meant to be,” Eobard said. “But maybe it’s better this way. I still have a Flash to fight, but I’ve destroyed the legacy of Barry Allen.”

“You didn’t destroy me,” Barry said. “You didn’t break me, whatever you were hoping to do. I’m still here.”

“For now.” Eobard turned back towards Barry and hit a button on his watch.  A hologram popped out of it, and two pictures of Iris stood out on the newspaper page. Eobard didn’t give him long to read, but it was long enough to catch the words “Flash Vanishes” and “Iris West-Allen.”  Eobard smirked when he saw the realization hit Barry. “Knowing you get your true love, only to lose her so soon. Does that destroy you?”

*

Cisco showed Iris the helmet he had designed. “It uses magnetic resonance to neutralize any foreign neurological stimulus.”

“So it’ll protect me from mind control?”

“Theoretically,” Caitlin said. “But we have no way of testing it out, so I can’t make any promises.”

“It’ll work. It has to,” Iris said.

A beeping from the computer made the three turn.

“The tracker just came online,” Cisco said. “Ready to test your helmet?”

Iris changed into the suit and tugged the helmet on outside of the cowl. “I’m ready to save my dad. Five point three miles, right?”

“No way. You’re gonna do it?” Cisco asked excitedly.

“Unless you have a better way to take down a supergorilla.” Iris took off running, skidding to a spot in range.

“Okay, you’re in position,” Cisco said. “One, two, three.”

Iris ran forward, getting herself in form to throw the best punch. Grodd turned towards her as she neared him. She aimed a fist at his jawline and –

He caught it in his enormous hand, absorbing the blow, before gripping her hand and flinging her like a ragdoll across the sewer. She heard her headset clatter across the cement. She scrambled for it, pulling it back on. She rose back to her feet. Grodd stared at her, a mix of anger, confusion and determination on his face. It took her a moment to realize why.

“It’s working, Cisco. The headset works,” Iris said.

“Yeah, but the supersonic punch didn’t,” Cisco said. “Try some speed punches.”

Iris launched herself forward, aiming dozens of blows against Grodd’s torso to no effect. “It’s not working!” she shouted.

“Maybe you can try-“

But Iris didn’t get to hear Caitlin’s suggestion. At that moment Grodd grew bored with being a punching bag and grabbed Iris by the throat. She heard her friends yelling for her as she sailed through the air and a solid brick wall before landing unceremoniously on the train tracks.

“The headset’s offline,” Caitlin said.

“It must have collided with something,” Cisco said.

Iris stood back up, only to be knocked back to the ground at the psychic attack that hit her. Eiling, doctors, fear, experiments, no, no, no, not real, but the pain, oh that was real.

“Human, weak,” came Grodd’s voice in her head.

Maybe he’s right, Iris thought.

“Her brain activity is off the charts. It’s way worse than last time,” Caitlin said. “She’s paralyzed.”

The monitor lit up. “There’s a service train coming,” Cisco said. Cisco’s fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to hack into the train but it was no use. “I can’t stop it.”

“Iris, get up!” Caitlin exclaimed. “You have to get out of there now!”

Iris struggled to her feet, faltering as she was hit with another psychic attack.

“Iris, get up!” Cisco yelled into the mic. “We need to save your dad. We need to save Barry. We have to stop Grodd and Reverse Flash and we can’t do that without you, so you need to GET UP, IRIS!”

They needed her. Her family, her friends, her city. Images popped into her mind, pushing away Grodd’s telepathic influence.  Barry waiting for her at the bottom of the steps the night her came to live with them, her father teaching her how to throw a punch, meeting Caitlin and Cisco for the first time, saving her father from Clyde Mardon, Barry telling her how he felt at Christmas, his kiss before she turned back time, and was she really going to die down here without bringing that moment back to reality?

Iris launched herself off the ground, pressing herself against the wall just in time for the service train to whiz by. In between the cars, she could see Grodd staring at her with clenched fists. She steadied herself, preparing. When the train passed, she leapt onto the tracks, tempting Grodd out. Grodd jumped toward Iris and she ran past him, just as another train came speeding down the tunnel, taking Grodd with it.

Iris breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried to her father, who lay crumpled on the ground in one of the tunnels.

“Iris?” he whispered as he saw her, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Dad,” she breathed, dropping to the ground beside him. She gripped the hand he held out to her. “I’m here, Dad. I’ve got you.”

“Iris?” Caitlin’s voice came in her ear.

“I’ve got him,” Iris said. “I’m bringing him in.”

*

Iris paced back and forth in front of the cell in the pipeline, Flash suit in its case, because Eiling already knew who she was. But they couldn’t leave him locked in here now that he was himself. She sighed and placed her hand of the keypad. The panel slid up, revealing a fully cognizant General Eiling.

“Miss West. How nice of you to visit. Here for an interview?”

“If I thought I could get the truth out of you I might be,” Iris said.

“I’m not the only one with secrets, Flash,” General Eiling said. “I know your identity, so now I’m your prisoner, is that how it works?”

“No, actually,” Iris said. She reached her hand back to the panel and the glass doors slid open. “Your brains scans show Grodd is no longer controlling you. This prison is for metahumans, so you’re free to go.”

Eiling walked down the ramp towards the door.

“You will get what’s coming to you eventually,” she said to his retreating back.

Eiling stopped and turned back toward Iris. “I’m not ashamed of my actions, Miss West. You’ve seen what these metahumans are capable of. Soon your prison won’t be enough.”

“Not all of us are dangerous.” Iris looked Eiling up and down. “Sometimes the greatest threats to public safety are human.”

“Everything I did, I did to protect my country. And sooner or later, you’re going to need my help, because I know more about that damn ape than anybody else, especially now. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a gorilla to hunt.”

Iris watched Eiling leave before heading back to the med bay.

“I said ‘be still,’” Caitlin chided Joe. “You have three fractured ribs.” She glanced at the door when Iris came in. “Any chance he’ll listen to his daughter better than his doctor?”

“He never has before,” Iris said.

“I’ll be fine,” Joe replied.

“Dad, you need to rest,” Iris said.

“I still can’t believe Grodd became so violent,” Caitlin said. “He was always such a nice gorilla.”

“What was his lair like?” Cisco asked.

“Terrifying,” Joe said. “I don’t like that he’s still running around out there.”

“Yeah, but then again, where would we have put him?” Caitlin asked. “We’re not exactly equipped to hold a telepathic metagorilla.”

“I’ll work on it,” Cisco said. “Grodd-proof cell, less destructible headset.”

“That’s not what we need to be focused on right now,” Iris said. “It’s just another distraction. That’s what Wells has been doing. Taking Barry, taking Dad, sending Eiling on a gold heist. We can’t get distracted anymore. We need to focus on finding him because whatever he’s plotting, it’s something big. I can feel it.”

*

Eobard put the final piece into his machine and smiled as it began to glow blue.

“So now what?” Barry asked.

“Now I have the key,” Eobard said.

“The key to what?”

Eobard walked past Barry ascending the ladder back to the pipeline. He put the tube into position and the pipeline lit up. “Time to go home.”

Chapter Text

“I want you to take a moment, and think about all the things that define your life. All the people you love. Your job. Your coworkers. Your home. And now imagine if one day, in a flash, all of that vanished. Would you simply accept your new life and continue on? Or would you do whatever it takes... to get back what was taken from you? Because... I can assure you. I will get everything that was taken... from me.”

*

It wasn’t the first time Iris had scoured the city looking for Barry. It wasn’t the first time she had come home empty-handed. No signs, no leads to follow. However, it was the first time she had rushed into STAR Labs and put away her suit only to find Cisco sitting in the dark in Wells’s wheelchair.

“Gah!” Iris yelped. Her hand flew to her chest as her heart raced. “You scared me.”

“I thought Oliver told you to be more aware of your surroundings,” Cisco said.

“What are you doing sitting in the dark like a supervillain?” Iris asked.

“Thinking like one,” Cisco answered. He tapped the arms of the wheelchair. “Why would Dr. Wells pretend to be in a wheelchair?”

“Because if you kill a bunch of people in an explosion, you’re more sympathetic if you at least look like you got badly injured yourself?” Iris offered, moving closer.

“He’s the Reverse Flash. He’s the fastest man alive, he’s always one step ahead. It’s not just a misdirect, it’s something more,” Cisco said. He rose from the chair and knelt beside it, feeling the sides of the base for some kind of secret hiding spot. He glanced back up at Iris. “You know this’ll go a lot faster if you help?”

Iris rolled her eyes, but knelt down beside him and hurriedly felt along the wheelchair until she found a panel that slid open to reveal a familiar-looking piece of machinery with a glowing X. “Bingo,” she said, angling the chair towards Cisco, so he could get a better look.

“It looks like the tech inside of Gideon,” Cisco said. He went over to his work station and picked up and picked up an electrometer, bringing it back to the machine. “Whoa,” he said a moment later.

“Good whoa or bad whoa?” Iris asked.

“Serious power whoa. This thing could power the entire city,” Cisco said.

“Why would Wells need that?”

“Speedster battery.”

“A what?”

“He’s so much faster than you. It’s because he has help,” Cisco said.

“So he ’s a liar and a cheater,” Iris said. “Good to know.”

“Call your dad. I’ll call Caitlin. They need to get here. We have to figure out what this means,” Cisco turned his back to dial Caitlin’s number and jumped a moment later as a phone rang behind him. He turned to see Iris standing there with a slightly annoyed Joe and Caitlin.

“It was faster,” Iris reminded him. “Go ahead, tell them.”

Cisco held up the tech. “Wells has been recharging his powers this whole time. He had a battery hidden in his wheelchair.”

“How does that even-“ Joe began, only to be cut off by the beeping of an alarm. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Caitlin and Cisco rushed over to their workstations. “No, no, no,” Cisco said.

“What is it?” Iris asked.

“The accelerator. It’s been reactivated.”

“What? How?”

“It had to have been rebuilt,” Cisco said.

“Even if he did rebuild it, how would Dr. Wells turn the particle accelerator on?” Caitlin asked.

“He’s here,” Iris said. “It’s the only place I didn’t look.”

Joe pulled his gun as he headed to the Pipeline with Iris.

“Stay here,” Cisco told Caitlin, grabbing his soda off the desk, following after the Wests.

Joe gave Cisco a glance over his shoulder. “Why’d you bring that orange soda, Cisco?”

“Liquids float in the air around the Reverse Flash sometimes, remember? Barry’s fish tank, Wells’s champagne, Lance’s coffee,” Cisco said. “It might give us an advance warning. You ready?”

“Open it,” Iris said.

Cisco put his hand against the screen and the door to the Pipeline opened. Joe and Iris stepped inside cautiously, while Cisco held back.

“This is big,” Joe said in awe as he stared into the accelerator.

Cisco stared in horror as the soda began rising out of the cup. “Oh, God. Uh, guys?”

Before Iris and Joe could react, a red blur whizzed past them out of the Pipeline. Iris took off after him as he raced out of STAR Labs and into the city.  She almost caught up to him, but just as she reached out to grab him, his speed doubled, heading across the water. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before running back to STAR Labs. As she entered the Cortex, she heard a loud bang. She watched a bullet slowly moving towards Caitlin’s forehead. She rushed forward, yanking the bullet from the air and throwing it towards the ground before slapping Peekaboo upside the head, knocking her out.

“Good timing,” Caitlin said. “What happened to Reverse Flash?”

“He got away. Again.” Iris sighed. She lifted Peekaboo up and ran her back to her cell. As she did she heard voices calling out. She opened the Pipeline to see her father and Cisco standing on the ground below.

“I was gone one minute. How the hell did Peekaboo escape and attack you all in one minute?”

“Wells must have let her out,” Cisco said.

Suddenly, Joe jerked his head to the side. “Did you hear that?”

Cisco looked up at the other cells. “It looks like Peekaboo’s was the only cell opened.”

“No, not coming from the cells,” Joe said. “Listen.”

A moment later, they heard the voice again, clearly this time. “Help! Down here!”

Iris ran towards the sound down a steep ladder inside the Pipeline. “Barry!”

“Iris! Oh, thank God!”

She tore through the tape that bound his wrists to the chair. “Are you hurt?” she asked, looking him over for injuries. “What am I saying? You need a real doctor. Let’s get you to Caitlin.” She wedged herself under his shoulder to help him stand just as her father climbed down off the ladder. Iris forced herself to move slowly. She didn’t want to risk whiplash on top of whatever else Barry had been through.

“Thank God, son,” Joe said, coming to take Barry’s other arm. “Are you all right?”

“I will be,” Barry said.

Slowly, they got him back to the med bay for Caitlin to check him out. “You’re dehydrated, but your vitals are normal. You should be fine.”

“Barry, did he tell you anything? Anything we could use to help find him?” Iris asked.

“He said his name was Eobard Thawne. He’s from the future. He…he came back to kill me, but killed my mother instead. He said he was trying to stop me from becoming The Flash.” Barry scoffed, looking up at Iris. “I guess he succeeded.”

Iris sighed. “Did he tell you anything about his plan? Why he’s turning the accelerator back on?”

“He was building something. Some kind of tube. Futuristic. I didn’t recognize it. He said it was the key to going home.”

“Speaking of which, we should probably get you there,” Iris said. “You could use the rest.”

“And she means ‘home’ as in home with me,” Joe said. “Not that shoebox you call an apartment.”

Caitlin began removing Barry’s IV. An alarm sounded, that sent Cisco running to the monitor. He studied the screen for a moment before sprinting back towards the Pipeline. “No, no, no.”

Iris looked at Caitlin confused. “What the – why is he running?”

A moment later, Cisco’s face filled the monitor. “This is the tube Barry was talking about. It’s some kind of power source. He’s using it to charge up the accelerator.”

“So turn off the power,” Iris said.

“Do you see an off switch?” Cisco asked. “He can out-engineer me like he can outrun you. If I try to shut this down, for all I know I could trigger another explosion.”

“You say it’s charging the accelerator,” Iris said. “How long until it’s fully charged?”

“Best guess – thirty-six hours?”

“He’ll be back then,” Iris said. “Make sure his little science project works.”

“Why would he rebuild the accelerator? It wasn’t exactly a success the first time,” Joe said.

“I don’t know. It made a Flash. It worked almost exactly how he wanted it to,” Iris said.

“It made more than The Flash,” Caitlin said.

“The other metas,” Iris said. “We’ve gotta get them out of the Pipeline.”

Chapter Text

“We can’t just let them go, that’s crazy,” Caitlin said. “One of them just tried to kill me.”

“If they stay, they die,” Iris said. “We locked them up to save other people, not to get them killed. So where can we take them so that no one dies?”

“Iron Heights can’t hold metahumans,” Joe said.

Barry’s face lit up as an idea came to him. “Lian Yu?”

“Oliver Queen’s crazyass island?” Joe asked.

“That’s it’s unofficial title,” Barry said. “ARGUS built a covert military prison on it. They use it to house some pretty powerful people. Captain Boomerang, Deathstroke.”

“I still have nightmares about that guy,” Cisco muttered.

“It could probably handle metahumans,” Iris said.

“So we’re just supposed to trust the Arrow’s illegal island prison?” Joe asked.

“Yes,” Barry and Iris said together.

“Technically it’s more legal than what we’ve got going here,” Iris said.

“I trust Oliver. If Oliver trusts ARGUS enough to send criminals there, that’s good enough for me,” Barry said. “At least until we have a better option.”

“And how are we supposed to get them to Oliver’s personal Alcatraz?” Joe asked.

Iris turned to Cisco. “Cisco, figure out some way to get them out of here safely. We cannot risk any of them getting loose.”

“On it,” Cisco said, walking out of the cortex with Caitlin trailing behind him.

“You can’t stop five metahumans by yourself,” Joe said. “I don’t care how fast you are.”

Iris sighed. “I have an idea for backup…but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

*

“Give me another one. Ice cold.”

“God, could you be more cliché?” Iris said from the doorway of the bar.

Leonard Snart turned towards the door with a sneer. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Scarlet Speedster.”

“We need to talk,” Iris said. She gestured towards the pool tables at the back of the bar.

“And here I thought you were just here for the food. The pickled eggs here are fantastic,” Snart said.

“I’m not here for food. I need your help.”

“You must be pretty desperate if you’re coming to me for help. But I admit, you’ve piqued my curiosity. What do you need?”

“Help transporting people out of the city.”

“How many?”

“Five. Metas. Very powerful. Very angry.”

“And you want me to help save you from your enemies? Freeze the problem if things go wrong?”

“It’s not like you’ve had a problem using it on people before,” Iris said.

“First rule of business: protect yourself. Why should I help you usher your enemies out of town?”

“They’re not just my enemies. They’re yours too.”

“I doubt that.”

“Most of them are thieves, which means they’re cutting into your business,” Iris said. “And unlike you they will destroy this city.”

Snart turned his head sharply away from Iris. “It’s not my problem.”

 “C’mon, Snart, where’s your hometown pride?” Iris chided, stepping back in front of Snart. “You really wanna see your city destroyed? You can’t rob anyone if there’s no one alive and nothing to steal.”

Snart sauntered past Iris and back to the bar. “It’s a compelling argument, but if you want my help I’m gonna need something in return.”

“Like what?”

Snart pulled a pen from his pocket and reached for a napkin. He scribbled something down and slid it across the bar to Iris.

She snatched the paper from Snart and read it before crumpling it back up. “No. No, that’s not gonna happen.”

“Then I can’t help you.”

“There has to be something you want that I can actually get you,” Iris said.

“Let me think about it,” Snart said. He walked out of the bar and back into the daylight.

*

“Are you out of your mind?” Joe asked. “You talked to Leonard Snart?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Iris asked. “ARGUS could only offer a flight. Lyla said we had to get the metas to Ferris Airport ourselves.”

“And Oliver was busy?”

“He’s out of the country. The way Lyla talked about it, I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon.”

“And Snart was the best you could do?”

“Ronnie and Dr. Stein couldn’t get here either. I ran out of superheroes to ask for help, so yeah, I asked a villain.”

“He’s tried to kill you,” Joe said. “He could’ve killed Caitlin and Cisco.”

“He didn’t,” Iris said. “I don’t trust him, but I can take him. And he’s never tried to destroy the city, unlike some people in that cell. He seemed like the best option.”

“It’s a sad day when Leonard Snart seems like the most reasonable option,” Joe said.

“I don’t disagree,” Iris said. “But the particle accelerator goes online in – “

“Sixteen hours!” Cisco called.

“Sixteen hours, Dad. We don’t have time for a better option. We have to get the metahumans out of here in time and make sure no one escapes and attacks civilians if Cisco’s transportation fails.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Cisco said, not taking his eyes off his computer screen.

Iris rolled her eyes. “Snart’s the only person who can do that and isn’t busy somewhere else right now.”

“Glad to hear I meet your, oh-so-strict criteria, Flash,” came Snart’s familiar drawl from the doorway.

“Cisco, I think we need to talk about a security upgrade,” Joe said.

“Oh, but then how would I come tell you I’ve thought of something you can do for me?” Snart said.

“What do you want, Snart?” Iris asked.

“A fresh start,” Snart said. “My dental records, DNA, fingerprints, criminal record, ever speck of information about Leonard Snart wiped off the face of the earth. CCPD, FBI, internet, gone. All of it. Shouldn’t be too hard for the Fastest Woman Alive and her team of geeks, right?”

“The brass on this dude,” Joe said. “You really think we’d do that for you?”

“Yes,” Snart turned to Iris. “Because you said it yourself, I’m your only option.”

Iris glared at him for a moment before responding. “I’ll do it.”

“Iris. We need to talk. Now.” Joe walked away and Iris followed him into the other room. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t just erase Snart’s criminal record.”

“Oh, we both know I can,” Iris said. “And if you’ve got a better option, I’ll take it. But if we don’t do this, people will die.”

“What’s wrong with you? You can’t just work with this killer. That’s not you, Iris.”

“At least this time, I know I’m dealing with a killer,” Iris snapped. “Do you know how many people would still be alive if I’d figured Wells out sooner?”

“That is not on you, baby girl.”

“No. It’s not. But when Wells turned me into The Flash, he didn’t care what happened to anyone else, and now, he doesn’t care if the other metas live or die. I do. And I can save them. But I need Snart’s help to do it.” She stalked back off into the Cortex. “Cisco! If I do the legwork, do you think you can cook up something to get rid of Snart’s digital record?”

Cisco sighed, but nodded. “Fine. But for the record, I’m really getting tired of using my tech prowess to help this guy.”

“Duly noted,” Snart said, turning towards the door. “See ya soon, Cisco. Lisa’s been dying to see you again.”

Iris and Caitlin turned their heads sharply to Cisco, who held up a hand to stop them before they could say anything. “Like I’m the only one to have inappropriate chemistry with a villain.”

Chapter Text

Clearing all the physical evidence of Snart’s existence from the offices of the CCPD took even less time than Iris expected. Was it that easy to just erase years of criminal activity? She dropped the boxes at Leonard Snart’s feet. “There. That’s the last of it. No trace of Leonard Snart. Google can’t even find you now.”

“Excellent,” Snart said with a smile. A second later the boxes were solid gold cubes.

Lisa Snart stepped out of the shadows. “I hear we’re going to be working together.”

Iris sighed. “Great. Two Snarts for the price of one.”

*

Having Team Cold and Team Flash in the same room was probably the most awkward meeting Iris had ever taken part in. Lisa glanced around the lab with vague interest. “Funny. For a girl with a lightning bolt emblem I would have expected this place to look a little more…stylish.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Why is she here, Snart?”

“Sure, I’m gonna face off against five meta criminals without having at least one person I know has got my back,” Snart said. “You’ve got your crew. I’ve got mine.”

“No Heatwave?” Caitlin asked, her voice dripping with disdain.

“We had a falling out. Again,” Snart said.

“What a shame,” Cisco muttered.

“Aw, Cisco. Are you still made about last time?” Lisa asked. “I thought our kiss made up for that unpleasantness with Mick.”

Caitlin and Iris turned their heads towards Cisco. “YOU KISSED HER?!” they said in unison.

“Calm down. It was before I knew she was Captain Cold’s evil sister,” Cisco said.

“Oh, come on, ‘evil’ is a strong word choice,” Lisa said. “I’ve been thinking about you. A lot.”

“Really?”

A smile played at the corner of Lisa’s lips.

Cisco shook his head. “Well, stop. ‘Cause this?” He gestured between himself and Lisa. “It ain’t gonna happen.”

Lisa took a step closer. “A girl can hope.” She sauntered past Cisco back to the other room where her brother had gone.

Cisco watched her walk away before turning back to his friends. “Really not enjoying being one of the good guys this week. Really not.”

“You cannot fall for the girl who kidnapped you,” Iris said.

“I know!” Cisco sighed. “Fine. Back to business.”

“You’re gonna tell me how we’re getting the metas out of town?” Iris asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s a genius plan. I just had to call in a favor from the one relative that actually likes me.”

*

“Isn’t your uncle going to get suspicious about why you keep borrowing his freezers?” Iris asked as she saw the Ramon Shipping truck.

“This is Central City. Pretty sure people are starting to learn it’s safer not to question suspicious activity,” Cisco said. “Anyway, I retrofitted the cooling system with the wheelchair's power source to create an energy damper.”

“What does that mean?” Iris asked.

“Basically, the back of this rig is being flooded with so much power that it's effectively creating a transient pulse strong enough to disrupt the meta-humans' powers, so we can get them to the airport and get them on a plane without them getting fresh on us,” Cisco explained. “Technically, we need somebody with a Class A commercial driver's license to drive this, though.”

“I can drive it,” Lisa said.

“You can?” Caitlin asked in surprise.

“I have a Class A CDL,” Lisa said. “Even a thief needs a trade to fall back on.”

“All right. We’re meeting ARGUS at the airport in two hours. Let’s load ‘em up,” Iris said.

*

Within minutes, they were on the road, unconscious metahumans safely in the back of the truck driven by Lisa. Cisco monitored the metas vitals, while Iris controlled the traffic. Joe and Snart drove alongside the truck, watching in case anything went wrong inside. They arrived at Ferris Airfield without incident, until, predictably, all hell broke loose. The ARGUS plane was just in sight, when Cisco jumped out of the truck, yelling. “Guys, guys, we have a problem! The damper's fluctuating. The rig's losing power. I don't know why.”

“Can you stop it?” Iris asked.

“I’m trying,” Cisco said. “I don’t know what went wrong.”

“Oh, God,” Caitlin said, looking up at the sky. The team turned to follow her gaze. A freak storm had come on, lightning striking the ARGUS plane that was now falling from the sky. Iris watched in horror as the plane crashed in the distance and exploded, unable to prevent it.

“Mardon,” Joe said.

The doors to the truck opened behind them. “Trip’s canceled!” Mardon yelled. The other metas jumped out along with him, except for Peekaboo, who found it wiser to disappear rather than face off against The Flash for the second time in two days. Nimbus had shifted into his poisonous cloud form. Joe began firing at the other metas while Iris tried to lead Nimbus away from her friends. She spun her arms in circles, trying to dissipate the green cloud. From the corner of her eye, she saw red lasers firing as she heard her father’s gunshot and Caitlin screaming something about Ronnie. Through it all, she noticed a distinct lack of ice and gold. Damn it. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted the Snarts. The cloud in front of her finally reformed into Kyle Nimbus, who took off running, as Deathbolt began firing his laser eyes directly at Iris, who easily dodged the shots. She was so busy running from them, though, that she didn’t see the lightning bolt coming at her, and yeah, it hurt as bad as the first time, only without the blissful unconsciousness taking over.

Iris heard Mardon say, “Finish her, Simmons,” and all Iris could think as she lay on the ground was how frustratingly pointless her death would be. Deathbolt wasn’t even her villain. She braced herself for the impact of the blasts, only to hear the familiar sounds of the cold gun powering up, and suddenly the frozen corpse of Jake Simmons was falling to the ground.

“How ‘bout we call tonight a tie?” Snart said, stepping closer to Mardon and Bivolo.

Bivolo’s eyes lit up as he prepared to turn his powers on Snart, but Lisa sidled up beside him, placing the gold gun to his temple. “I'd power down if you don't want me to melt your face,” Lisa said.

“Let’s all go our separate ways,” Leonard said, lowering his gun. “My name is Leonard Snart.”

“I know who you are,” Mardon snarled.

“Always pleased to meet a fan,” Snart replied. “Just remember who it was made sure you didn't get thrown on that plane bound for nowhere.”

“You’re just letting us go? Why’d you shoot that guy?” Mardon asked, nodding towards Deathbolt.

“He owed me money.”

“What? You want a ‘thank you’?” Mardon asked.

“Who doesn’t like a ‘thank you’?”

“Thank you,” Bivolo said nervously, shrugging when Mardon turned a glare towards him.

“You are so very welcome,” Leonard said. He walked over to Iris, while his sister took the gun off Bivolo, watching as the two men simply walked away from the scene.

“You sabotaged the truck,” Iris gasped from the ground, still in too much pain to stand.

Snart crouched down beside Iris. “It’s not my fault Cisco didn’t guard the truck against his own weapons,” he said.

“Why did you let them escape?” Iris asked.

Snart pulled down his goggles. “Because now they all owe me. And something tells me they'll be a lot more use to me as part of my rogues than rotting away in the North China sea.”

“My dad was right. I never should have trusted you,” Iris said.

“Liars and thieves can’t be trusted. At least now you know to trust your reporter instincts, Flash,” Snart said.

Iris managed to sit up just a little. “I did.”

Snart gave her a confused look.

Iris gave a small laugh that made pain course through her body. “You have a secure uplink that can expose my identity to the world. You really think I wouldn’t set up my own with yours? You always forget. Not all my friends work at STAR Labs.”

“I always forget about the blonde,” Snart said.

“Mutually assured destruction, Snart,” Iris said. “Our deal still stands. You come anywhere near my friends and family, you will never see the light of day again. ‘Cause ARGUS really isn’t going to like you being responsible for their agents’ deaths.”

Snart laughed as he rose back to his feet. “It’s never boring going up against you, Iris. Good luck with all of this,” he said, gesturing towards the airfield. “I’m actually really excited to see how it all turns out.” He climbed back on to his bike, Lisa getting on behind him.

Cisco came running up just then, kneeling beside Iris. “Hey. Hey, you okay?”

Lisa smirked at Cisco as Leonard cranked up the motorcycle. “Bye, Cisco.”

Despite himself, Cisco turned towards the sound of her voice, watching them drive away, before turning back to face Iris and checking her pulse. “Are you okay?” he asked again.

“Next time I try to partner up with a Snart, remind me of this moment,” Iris said.

“Yeah. Same.”

Chapter Text

Iris sat by the particle accelerator when Barry walked in. “Barry, what are you doing here? You should be home resting.”

Barry sat down beside her. “There’s at least seven supervillains on the loose in or near this city. I can’t think of a safer place to be than beside The Flash.”

“I screwed up, Bear. Big time. I thought I could work with Snart. I thought I could trust the devil I knew, but he was one step ahead of me the whole time, just like Wells.”

“They’ve been one step ahead of you because they don’t care who dies in the crossfire,” Barry said. “You do. And sometimes we lose. Because caring is one more responsibility that the bad guys don’t have to carry.”

“We haven’t talked about it,” Iris said.

“Talked about what?”

“Wells took you because of me.”

Barry’s eyes darkened. “I’m pretty sure he took me because of both of us.”

Iris studied Barry quizzically. “What exactly did Wells say to you?”

“He and I were enemies in another life. That’s why he’s tried to ruin mine. That’s why he killed my mother. That you and I were – “ Barry cut himself off and turned his head towards the ground.

“You and I were what, Barry?” Iris asked. When he didn’t lift his head, Iris continued. “Married?”

Barry jerked his head back up to face Iris. “You know?”

“A weird computer from the future told me. Long story.”

Barry shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

Iris felt her heart drop. “Why – why not? Your feelings – did, did they change?”

Barry shook his head. “No, of course not. But, Iris. He showed me the future for us. More than one, and we keep losing each other. I die or he murders you or you die saving the world, but it never ends well for us. Never. And I can’t go through that again. Not after my mom.”

Iris felt tears welling up in her eyes. “So because some lunatic shows us a magic newspaper, we call it quits before we even give ourselves a chance?” Iris shook her head. “No, that’s not gonna happen. That man does not control my destiny, and he doesn’t control yours. The fact that we completely screwed up his plans without even trying to proves that. Forget Wells. Right here, right now, do you want to be with me?”

A smile lit Barry’s face. “I will always want to be with you.”

Iris smiled back. “Something we agree on.” And then suddenly, Barry was leaning down towards her and she was lifting her head towards his. Their lips were about to meet when alarms sounded throughout STAR Labs, making Iris jump to her feet.

“Oh, I spoke too soon.”

“What the hell is that?” Barry asked.

“Guys, the particle accelerator is fully charged and online!” came Cisco’s voice through the speakers. “Whatever Wells needs it for, it’s ready.”

Iris and Barry made their way back to the Cortex. Caitlin and Cisco sat at their computers, eyes fixed on the monitors. “He’s here,” Caitlin said, her voice shaking.

Iris looked down to see Wells on the surveillance footage, slowly, deliberately walking towards the gates of STAR Labs, breaking the lock and turning a wicked smile towards the camera.

“Iris, don’t even think about it,” Joe said.

“You can’t face him alone. You know that,” Caitlin said.

“I can and I will,” Iris said. She ran off, skidding to a stop in the STAR Labs parking lot.

“I heard your prison transfer didn’t go so well,” Eobard said. “I’m so sorry.”

“Part of your plan?” Iris called. “The metas escaping?”

“Actually, no. That would require being able to predict whether Leonard Snart’s going to be on the side of good or evil on a given day and even with intimate knowledge of the future, that’s kind of a crapshoot.” He walked forward slowly. “I am impressed that you went to such lengths to protect those people from harm. A true hero.”

“You’ve hurt more than enough people,” Iris said.

“I know. You think I’m a villain.  But if you were to look back, look back carefully at everything I've done, every wheel I have set in motion, you would realize I have only done what I had to do. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“And the particle accelerator? What’s the necessary evil there?”

“Well, why don't you go on inside, and let me show you.”

“You know what, I already trusted one bad guy today and had it literally blow up in my face,” Iris said. “So that’s not gonna happen.”

“I’ve shown you more than once, Iris. You can’t beat me.”

Iris felt heat burning up behind her. She turned her head to see Firestorm striding forward, the flames fading away as he did. I guess Clarissa finally got through to them, Iris thought.

“Wow, you brought yourself a friend,” Eobard said.

A second later Iris heard a familiar thwick of an arrow being fired, and Oliver Queen was ziplining down to land beside her.

“Did you really have to wait till the last possible second?” Iris asked.

“You know I have problems of my own, Iris,” Oliver said.

“Yeah, we’ll get to them as soon as we take him down.”

“Welcome, Mr. Queen,” Eobard said gleefully.

“I don’t care how fast you are,” Iris said. “You can’t be in three places at once.”

“No? Trust me. This – this is gonna be fun.” Eobard shot out his fist as Firestorm’s flame re-lit. Iris braced herself for a fight, feeling the power course through her body. Oliver nocked an arrow and drew back the bowstring, steadying his aim. A yellow suit flew from Thawne’s ring and he rushed forward, enveloping himself in the suit. Iris ran forward to meet him and they quickly became locked in a battle, dodging each other’s punches and throwing their own.

“Move, Iris!” came Oliver’s gruff voice, frustrated at having no target to aim at, but God, Oliver, I’m trying, can’t you see that?

Iris tried to punch Eobard, but he caught her wrist and used the leverage to slam her against the chainlink fence, his other hand wrapping around her throat. He threw her across the lot, Iris crashing into the STAR Labs sign. A second later, she heard Eobard hiss in pain as Oliver’s arrow embedded itself in his knee. Firestorm flew down, aiming the flames toward Eobard, who created a whirlwind that blew Firestorm back as the flames extinguished themselves. Iris took off after him, racing up the side of a building to pluck Ronnie from the air and set him back down on the ground.

Eobard yanked the arrow from his knee and studied it.

“Nanites,”Oliver said. “Courtesy of Ray Palmer. They're delivering a high frequency pulse that's disabling your speed. You're not gonna be running around for quite a while.”

The red glow faded from Eobard’s eyes and he smiled back at Oliver. He rushed at human speed towards Oliver, who swung his bow at Eobard’s face, making a satisfying crunch as it landed. Eobard came back with a few punches of his own. Oliver swung the bow at Eobard’s legs. He jumped over it, landing a kick at Oliver’s torso. Oliver swung the bow towards Eobard’s face once more, following up with a left hook. Oliver went low, aiming for Eobard’s midsection and was hit with several blows to the face. Oliver rose up again, this time whacking Eobard across the back of the head with the bow. Eobard was disoriented. Oliver used the opportunity to land a kick on his chest, knocking Eobard to the ground.

Eobard reached out for a pipe that lay on the ground and rose back to his feet, aiming at Oliver’s face, who easily the attempt and punched Eobard in the jaw. Eobard swung again, the pipe making contact with Oliver’s stomach. Oliver brought down the bow with his left hand, and Eobard countered, blocking the blow with the pipe. Oliver let the bow drop and grabbed the pipe, pulling Eobard closer and landing a punch with his right hand before grabbing the pipe with both hands and using the leverage to knock Eobard into a pile of debris that had never been removed from the first particle accelerator launch.

To Oliver’s surprise, Eobard began vibrating, much like Iris had when he’d shot her with horse tranquilizers all those months ago. Oliver picked up his bow and tried to aim another arrow at Eobard’s chest but before he could release the string, Eobard had sped toward Oliver and knocked him to the ground, the hood falling back from his face. Oliver tried to push himself off the ground, but couldn’t free himself as the other man gripped his throat tightly.

Eobard raised his right hand, the molecules vibrating and blurring so that Oliver could barely make out the shape of the hand. “The history books say you live to be eighty-six, Mr. Queen.” He lowered his hand towards Oliver’s chest. “I guess the history books are wrong.”

Oliver’s life flashed before his eyes once more and he hoped Iris would tell his friends the truth, that they would realize he’d never truly meant to betray them. He grit his teeth, preparing for the moment of impact, but suddenly a red and yellow streak flew past and Eobard was gone.

Iris threw Eobard at the dumpster. “You’re done killing my friends,” Iris said.

“That’s the spirit,” Eobard said in his distorted voice. “But you can’t stop me, Iris. And you never will.” Eobard took off running again, up the side of STAR Labs.

Iris chased after him, finally catching him and landing a punch before turning and running away from him. Just as she had hoped, he raced after her, up to the tallest point of STAR Labs. “Now!” Iris yelled as Eobard landed in front of her. Firestorm shot out their hottest blast, throwing Eobard off the tower like a Disney villain. He landed on the roof of a car in the adjacent lot, crushing it and shattering the windshield. He rose to his feet again, only to fall back to the ground as another of Oliver’s arrows landed in his back, this time right by his heart. Eobard fell to the ground, unmoving. Oliver walked over to him, nocking another arrow just in case the speedster recovered again. Iris ran down the side of the building to where he had fallen and Firestorm followed after, extinguishing their flames to stand beside Oliver. The three heroes stood together, watching with anticipation, but the Reverse-Flash remained still.

Iris turned towards the two men. “Thanks, guys. And I say this with complete sincerity – I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“No problem,” Ronnie said.

Iris took in Oliver’s haircut and wardrobe change. “You look much better in green,” she said.

A flicker of a smile passed over Oliver’s face. “Can’t say I disagree. Remember those problems I mentioned? I’m going to need your help with one of them.”

“Anything you need,” Iris said. “Just name it.”

Oliver gave a solemn nod and charged off, while Ronnie made a beeline for STAR Labs and Caitlin.

Iris clicked on her headset. “Barry? I got him.”

Chapter Text

“Patience, Miss Smoak. All we have to do is wait,” Malcolm Merlyn said.

“Wait for what?” Laurel Lance asked.

A low rumble of thunder sounded across the dungeon walls. “The thunder,” Malcolm said, gazing up at the ceiling.

Iris raced around the ancient building carved into the side of a mountain. It was just like Oliver had said it would be. She ran inside, looking for her friends and the strangers Oliver had told her were his allies. The first she came across was the Asian woman she hoped was Tatsu. Iris vibrated the shackles that bound the other woman loose, and locked the guards who escorted her up in a separate room. She surveyed her surroundings, taking in the hot natural spring surrounded with candles. “Huh. You know if you guys would just give up on this assassin thing, you could make a fortune in the spa business. Just saying.” She continued through the fortress, knocking out the other guards/ninjas/assassins as she went, before finally coming to the dungeon where her friends were being held.

“And people give me crap about my illegal prison,” Iris said. “I’ll tell you what, it’s a lot nicer than this.”

“Iris!” Felicity exclaimed with exhausted delight. Iris glared at her friend, jerking her heads towards the supervillain. She could feel the familiar sparks across her eyes as she did so. “I mean, uh, your irises are glowing. Did you know they did that, Flash?”

Malcolm rolled his eyes. “We don’t have time for the attempt at subterfuge, ladies. Just get us out of here.”

Iris placed both hands on the door and vibrated until the door shook off its hinges, falling to the dungeon floor with a loud thud.

“They’ll have heard that,” Diggle said.

“They’re unconscious,” Iris replied as she unlocked her companions’ chains. “It’s not my first rodeo.”

Malcolm led the way to the weapons room. Felicity hung back by Iris while the rest of the team checked over their equipment for damage.  “Thank you,” she said. “And not to be greedy, but we could really use your help with the whole Starling City Supervirus thing.”

“I would, Felicity, but I’ve a got a captive Harrison Wells and a particle accelerator to deal with in Central City. You know what happened the last time one of those went off,” Iris said. “I’m sure Oliver can handle it.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” Diggle said as he loaded his gun.

“Oliver hasn’t been very forthcoming with his plans lately,” Laurel added.

“Okay, well, honestly that kind of sounds like par for the course for Oliver,” Iris said.

“He also had Lyla kidnapped and left our seven-month-old alone,” Diggle said.

“Okay. Um, that definitely sounds bad, but Oliver just helped me stop Reverse-Flash and saved all your lives, so wardrobe change aside, he sounds like the same Oliver Queen. Which means in his own twisted way, he was probably trying to do what he thought was right.” Iris shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on with him, but I know that even if he’s tried to push you away, he still needs you. All of you.” She nodded at the team once more. “Good luck.” Iris took off running again, not stopping until she was back in Central City.

Diggle stared at the space where the speedster had just been. “That is never going to get less weird.”

*

Iris arrived back at STAR Labs to find Barry sitting there waiting for her.

“Are they okay?” Barry asked as Iris put her suit back in the case.

Iris nodded, leaning back against the work station. “Yeah, they’ll be fine. There’s something weird going on with Oliver.”

“No surprise there,” Barry muttered.

“But they’ll work it out.”

“They always do,” Barry said.

Iris jerked her chin towards the monitor. “Have you been to see him yet?” she asked.

“No,” Barry replied. “I thought it would be better if we both went.”

She reached her hand down to Barry. “All right, so let’s go.”

“I don’t know if – “

“Barry. You’ve waited fifteen years for answers. Don’t you think it’s time you got them?”

Barry sighed, reaching up to take Iris’s hand, entwining their fingers together. Hand in hand, they walked to the Pipeline. Iris pressed her other hand against the plate by the cell and a moment later, Eobard Thawne stood in front of them on the other side of the glass.

“You know, when I imagined us having this conversation, I really thought it would just be the two of us,” he said to Barry. He shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your interrogation. You start.”

“I’m not sure how,” Barry said. “Thawne. That’s your name, right? Eobard Thawne?”

“Since the day I was born,” he replied.

“And when is that?”

“One hundred thirty-six years from now. This isn’t what you want to know.”

“What did I ever do to you? Why did you try to kill me? Why did you kill my mother?” Barry shouted. Iris gripped his hand tighter, and Barry glanced down, reminded that he wasn’t alone this time, and took a deep breath, steadying himself.

“Because I hate you,” Eobard said simply. “The future you. At least in the future I’m from. We’re enemies, rivals.”

“Why are we enemies?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You killed my mother! You tore my family apart! It matters!” Barry yelled.

“It’s a future that no longer exists. It doesn’t matter,” Eobard repeated. “What matters if that neither of us could defeat the other. We were too evenly matched. Until I got the upperhand. I learned The Flash’s identity. Barry Allen.”

Iris turned towards Barry in surprise as Barry studied the floor. She looked back at Eobard. “You’re saying I wasn’t The Flash?”

Eobard shook his head. “Nope. Barry was. And – actually, no I’m gonna spoil that one for you. You’ll all find out eventually.”

“You knew about this?” Iris asked Barry.

Barry sighed. “He told me, when I was kidnapped.”

Eobard shrugged. “You know the next part. Future Barry and I fought. You saved yourself. I killed your mother, altered the course of your destiny. Only then, I altered the course of mine, you see, without the first Flash I had no way to harness the speed force. I had lost my way home. So I was left there in the dark age of the year 2000, and the only way back was to create the thing I hated most. I had to recreate The Flash.” He looked over at Iris. “But fate had other ideas.”

“The lightning bolt. You were standing there before me. I pushed you out of the way. If I hadn’t then you…” Iris trailed off. She turned her attention back to Eobard.  “So if you didn’t get what you wanted, why did you still save me? Train me? Help me save all those people?” Iris asked.

“Because Barry or not, I still needed a Flash,” Eobard said. “Somebody fast enough to break through the space/time barrier and create a stable wormhole through which I could return home.”

“After everything you’ve done, why would I help you?” Iris asked.

Eobard smiled, his eyes flickering to Barry. “To give the man you love what he deserves above all else – the life he should have lived. To undo the evil I did and reunite the Allen family.”

Chapter Text

Barry broke out of Iris’s grip and placed his palm over the handprint by the door, sealing Eobard Thawne away once more. He marched back out of the Pipeline, Iris following after him.

“Barry, did you hear what he said? I could bring your mother back. I could get your father out of prison. I could fix everything that went wrong in your life,” Iris said. “We have to at least consider the possibility.”

“He’s a liar, Iris!” Barry exclaimed. “And a murderer! He cannot be trusted!”

“I’m not saying we trust him. But if he altered history who says we can’t alter it back? Set right what went wrong.”

“What if it’s another trick? What if he’s only saying this to make everything worse? To get you killed? To gain more power? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” Barry said, walking away.

“What’s the quote you used to have up in your room? The one by that famous scientist. Not the Einstein one, the other one. ‘Nothing is too wonderful to be true,’” Iris remembered.

Barry stopped. He turned around to face Iris. “That’s actually only half the quote. The other half being ‘if it be consistent with the laws of nature.’”

Iris smiled, walking past Barry. “Well, we’ve got a physicist on hand. Let’s find out if what Thawne’s saying is consistent with the laws of nature.”

*

A boyish grin lit up Martin Stein’s face as he considered the possibility of time travel. “The rare opportunity to go back in time and right a wrong and save Barry’ mother's life. Quite the paradox Harrison has presented you both with.”

“The chance to be with someone you love?” Caitlin said, taking Ronnie’s hand. “Seems pretty cut and dry to me.”

Professor Stein glanced at his companion and his fiancée and a faint smile appeared on his lips. “At first blush, Dr. Snow, it would appear so, but this gift has unparalleled risk. Barry, the night your mother died, the night you saved yourself from being killed, that event altered the timeline you were already on and changed the course of history. We are living in a parallel universe, one similar but with many differences from the timeline Eobard Thawne originally came from.”

“More than you know,” Iris said. “Like Barry wasn’t just the other speedster that night. I wasn’t supposed to be The Flash. Barry was.”

Martin let the shock of the statement wash over him. “Fifteen years of compounded differences. It’s not that surprising it resulted in different people being affected by the particle accelerator that night.”

“The day I traveled back in time, there were a ton of differences and that was over a thirty-six hour period. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people who would have died, including Cisco, exposing Harrison Wells’ secret, our –“ Iris glanced at Barry, who looked at her curiously – “other stuff.”

Martin nodded. “One different decision, no matter how big or small, impacts everything that follows. Moments upon moments, choices upon choices. No relationships, nothing would be as it is today, and you'd never know the difference because you'd never remember any of it.”

Barry turned to Iris. “If you save my mom, my dad doesn't go to prison. I never live with you and Joe.”

Cisco looked at Iris. “You might never meet me. Or Caitlin.”

“More importantly,” Martin said. “You never become The Flash. Truth is, there's no real way of knowing what your lives will be.”

Joe rose to his feet. “There's no choice here. You have to do this. You gotta change the past, Iris.” He walked out of the Cortex.

Iris looked between Barry and her father with an expression of bewilderment. “Did he just – okay, nuh uh, he is not walking away with that line. Family meeting, come with me.” She stalked out with Barry trailing behind her.

“Dad! What, that's it? You think I should just do it? Change the timeline?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Is this about me not being The Flash? What, you’re still trying to keep me out of the crimefighting business?”

Joe held Iris’s gaze. “I could not be prouder of the woman and the hero that you’ve become. But you heard the professor. It’s not the way things were supposed to be.”

“So I never come to live with you, and you're okay with that?” Barry asked.

“Barry, all I have wanted for the past fifteen years was to give you the best life I could. The kind of childhood you deserved. But the chance to grow up with both parents?” Joe shook his head. “How can I say that I don’t want that for you? Wells has messed with your lives for long enough. Iris, if you can fix this, you should.” With that, Joe continued his walk out of STAR Labs.

“Even when I ask him for advice, it is never what I think he’s going to say,” Iris said. She turned back to Barry. “So what, I do it? Help me out, here, Bear, ‘cause I have no clue. It’s your life, it’s your family and I want to give you that, I do, but it’s fifteen years of history and lives and it’s going to change everything, good and bad. And I don’t know if that’s going to be a good thing or not. And I love being The Flash. I love saving people. I love making a difference in the world. I love knowing that I did good. But…everything I’ve done wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be you, and I don’t know what to do with that.” She shook her head. “If I make the wrong choice, I can’t redo it. There’s no do-over here and it effects your life as much as mine, so tell me, Barry. What do we do?”

“There’s no way I can answer that without being selfish,” Barry said. “It’s rewriting my history to save  my mother. But Well, Thawne, whoever. He’s evil. Undoing everything he’s done has to be good, right?”

“But he wants us to undo it.” Iris sighed. “Then again, he also wanted to save Central City more than once and stop bad guys. Why can’t it just be simple?”

Barry laughed. “Because it’s time travel. It literally doesn’t get more complicated than that.”

Iris laughed with him, but it quickly faded away. “I have to do it, right? It’s setting right what went wrong. It’s fixing the moment where the universe broke, right? I save Nora and things go back to …whatever they were supposed to be. Right?”

“I can’t tell you the right choice, Iris. I can’t.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d say that.” She walked away.

“Where are you going?” Barry called.

Iris looked back over her shoulder. “To make a deal with the devil.”

*

Iris brought up Wells’s cell. He stood on the other side of the glass looking even more smug than he had before.

“Huh. You actually worked that out faster than I thought you would,” he said.

“So how does this work? Your grand plan?” Iris asked.

“Well, it's really not that grand at all, Iris,” Wells said. “In fact, it's rather simple. We use the particle accelerator.”

“The particle accelerator?” Iris asked. She laughed. “You expect me to trust you with the particle accelerator that killed seventeen people?”

“Last time, my plan was to use it wrong and create The Flash. This time, the accelerator will operate exactly the way it was designed to. Except, instead of two particles moving in opposite directions, colliding at the speed of light in the inner ring, we're only going to inject one particle into the accelerator. And it collides with you,” Thawne said. “And if you can go fast enough, Iris, if you can hit that particle with enough speed, you will punch a hole right though the fabric of reality. And you will create a portal connecting this time to infinite times. A wormhole. Through which one might travel back to the past, say, to the night Barry’s mother died or forward to the future, to, say, my time.”

“If?” Iris asked. “What happens if I don't reach that speed?”

“If you don't achieve the desired velocity, Iris, you will die.

Chapter Text

The team was gathered around the Cortex as Iris shared what she had learned from Dr. Wells.

“No, no, you can’t do it.”

“I thought you said it was my decision, Barry,” Iris replied.

“That was before I knew it was a suicide mission.”

“It’s not a suicide mission,” Iris said. “He said I could die. If I don’t go fast enough. Which I will, I just need to reach – what speed was it, Professor?”

“Mach 2. Minimum,” Professor Stein said.

“See?” Iris said. “It’s not even that fast. There are jets that go that fast.”

“Oh, is that all?” Cisco said sullenly. “Just go as fast as a supersonic jet and rupture a hole in time. Or die. No big deal.”

“Funny. I seem to recall somebody cheering me on the first time I went supersonic,” Iris reminded him.

“That was when you were trying to punch a bully in the face, not rewrite history or die. And I’m not at all interested in helping you get yourself killed.”

Iris leaned closer. “Are you interested in time machines?”

Cisco eyed her suspiciously. “Go on.”

“Wells doesn’t have his speed all the time. If I open a portal to send him back in time, he can’t get there on foot. So, time machine. He’s got the plans and parts squirreled away around STAR Labs.” Iris looked between Barry, Cisco and Ronnie. “So, what do you say, boys? Wanna build a time machine?”

Cisco sighed, looking back up at Barry. “She knows us too well.”

Barry shook his head. “She really does.”

*

Iris left the guys to their engineering project and headed to the newspaper to make an appearance. As long as she kept the stories coming in, he didn’t care too much if she missed the occasional staff meeting

“You know, I didn’t think I would actually find you here,” Eddie said.

Iris jumped at the sound of his voice. “Eddie! What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

Eddie smiled. “I was actually going to ask you that. Joe and Barry weren’t at the station today and Singh didn’t know why. And, as I realize now, that usually means something Flash-related. No one answered their phones, so I decided to check and” – he gestured towards Iris – “here you are. Which leaves me just a little confused.”

“Crisis. Of course. It’s mostly in the scientific stages, so I’m not gonna be much help until we’re ready to do the legwork.” Iris shook her head. “I don’t meant to drag you into all of this.”

“Is it the Reverse-Flash again? Is he back?”

“He’s caught,” Iris said. “That’s not the problem. The problem is – so much more complicated than my usual ‘capture the bad guy, save the city’ kind of problems. And I keep trying to convince myself that I’m making the right choice, that there is a right choice, but I just don’t know.”

“If there is anything, I know about Iris West or The Flash, it’s that she will find a way. And kick ass doing it,” Eddie said.

Iris smiled back. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’m just not so sure.” Iris’s phone began to vibrate. “Perfect timing.” She answered the phone. “Hey, Cisco, what’s up?” She listened to his panicked chatter for a moment. “Wait, hold up. What’s a singularity?” Iris’s eyes widened. “Uh, okay. That would be bad.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Cisco, I’m aware that potentially ending the world is worse than bad.”

“What?” Eddie asked, but Iris waved him off.

“Yes, I know we need to talk about this. I’ll be there in a minute.” She listened again. “She needs me to pick up her dress? What dress?” Iris’s face lit up and she clapped a hand to her mouth in shock. “Oh my God, they are? That’s amazing. I’m on my way.” She glanced back up at Eddie. “I might be bringing a guest.” She ended the call. “So, the world might end if I follow up on my original plan, but on the plus side, Caitlin’s getting married.”

Eddie stared at Iris in confusion, unsure which piece of information to follow up on first, before deciding to stick to the simpler subject. “To who?”

“Ronnie Raymond.”

“The STAR Labs engineer? I though he died in the accelerator explosion.”

Iris stood up, grabbing her purse as she clapped Eddie on the shoulder. “Oh, we have so much to catch you up on.” She took a few steps toward the door, then turned back to stare at Eddie. “Well? Are you coming?”

“Coming where?”

“To STAR Labs. I think you know too much to turn back now.” She reached out a hand. “Besides, the superspeed trip’s a lot more fun, when it doesn’t take you by surprise.”

Eddie took Iris’s hand, and the two disappeared in a golden streak of light.

*

They arrived at STAR Labs where the rest of the team waited. Iris released Eddie from her grasp and laid the garment across the top of the work station. She reached out to Caitlin and hugged her. “Congratulations, you guys. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled back, turning her attention to Professor Stein. “That is, if the world’s not gonna get sucked into a wormhole. ‘Cause I have to say, I think that would put a damper on the honeymoon.”

Stein gestured towards the screen. “We’re about to talk to Dr. Wells about that.” The video monitor clicked on. “Mr. Thawne,” he said, making both Eddie and Eobard look his way. “We’ve discovered a danger you failed to mention about the particle accelerator. That opening a portal through time could prove harmful not only to Miss West here, but could potentially open a wormhole that could destroy the city or even the world.”

“Well, sure, there's a bit of a risk,” Dr. Wells said.

“I would hardly refer to possibly causing an extinction-level event as ‘a bit of a risk.’”

“Yeah, and your accelerator's been about as reliable as the beater I drove in high school,” Joe said.

Dr. Wells chuckled. “Let me ask you a question. How many metahumans... how many dangers... have we faced this year together? Or did you forget that was me fighting alongside each and every one of you? I have been planning this for almost two decades. It will work.”

Cisco remained less than convince. “And how do we make sure we don't open a black hole in the middle of Central City?”

“So, once the wormhole stabilizes, Iris will have one minute and fifty-two seconds to alter the past and return to this time. If and when she does that, you can close the wormhole, and we can all live happily ever after. Almost two minutes. More than enough time to save Nora.”

“But not enough time to stop you from going home?” Iris asked.

Dr. Wells shrugged. “Everything's a choice.”

“And what if I'm late?” Iris asked.

“You won't be. I’ve seen what you can do, Iris. You’re more than capable. So I guess the question is, do your friends and family believe in you as much as I do?”

Caitlin reached for the remote and turned off the monitor.

Iris shook her head. She turned and walked out of the Cortex. She took a seat on the treadmill and put her hand in her hands. She lifted her head up as she heard her father enter. “So, I don’t run fast enough I die. And I run fast enough, but don’t save Nora and get back fast enough, a black hole will open up and take out the city and maybe the world. You still want to tell me that going back in time is the right thing to do.”

“Iris, I am just as lost in this chaos as you are,” Joe said.

Iris shook her head. “But you seemed so sure before.”

“I was lying. Parents so that sometimes. Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, knowing when your kids should time travel. Look, I’m scared. And this whole thing is way outside my wheelhouse. But I don’t want you to make a choice out of fear because you think I don’t believe in you, because I do, baby. Always. It’s Wells I don’t trust.”

Iris looked towards the door. “I’m surprised Barry didn’t follow us in.”

“He already told you once it’s your decision. No matter how much he wants his mother back, he’s not gonna ask you to risk the world to save her.”

“But if I can do it, I should, right? I mean, if I could go back in time and save Mom, I would do it without a second’s hesitation. So why shouldn’t I do that for Nora if I have the chance? Because I’m scared I can’t do it? Or because I’m scared of losing Barry if he’s not with us?”

A flicker of regret passed over Joe’s features. “No matter what happens, you and Barry were friends before. You can’t just erase that connection by saving Nora. But it’s not without risks and you have to consider that. The choice is still yours, Iris. Do what you think is right.”

Iris nodded. “Okay. Okay, I’m gonna do this. I’m going back in time. I’m gonna save Barry’s mom.”

Cisco’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Listen, I hate to interrupt what I’m sure is a touching father/daughter moment that I was not listening in on, but if you don’t get back here soon, then I’m gonna have to be best man and maid of honor. ‘Cause these two are ready get hitched, like now.”

Iris laughed, rising to her feet. “That was fast. Then again, they have been waiting for over a year. C’mon, we’ve got a wedding to get to.”

*

“Is this actually binding?” Ronnie asked as they waited for Caitlin to maker her entrance.

“My father made me become a rabbi before he would send me to MIT,” Professor Stein said. “This will be ‘legit,’ as the kids say.”

“No kids say that.”

“Let's not fight on our wedding day,” Stein teased.

Ronnie shook his head, turning as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Caitlin gave a sheepish smile as she stepped closer to Ronnie.

“If it's all right with everyone, I'd like to skip all the Hebrew,” Professor Stein said, earning a chuckle from a few members of the wedding party. “I've learned a lot about merging one's life with another this past year. Yet, for all the incredible advancements in science we've all been party to, the mystery that brings two people together through love is still the province of magic. Mr. Ramon, the rings please.”

Caitlin passed Iris her bouquet as Cisco pulled the makeshift rings from his pocket and offered them to the happy couple.

“I owe you a real ring,” Ronnie said.

“I don't need one,” Caitlin replied. “I have everything and everyone that I could ever need right here. And... if all the events of the past year have led us to this moment, it was worth it. I love you, Ronnie.”

“Well, those sound like good enough vows to me,” Professor Stein said. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“Stop telling me what to do,” Ronnie joked to his companion. He leaned forward, cupping his hands around Caitlin’s face and kissing her.

Iris raised the bouquet and cheered. As she did though, the panicked thought came into her mind – what if this is one of the moments I erase by going back?

Chapter Text

The team crowded around the doorway to the Pipeline as Iris prepared for her trip to the past. There were more than a few teary eyes as they made the final preparations.

Caitlin hugged her friend. “Good luck, Iris. I know you can do it.”

“That makes one of us,” Iris muttered as she pulled back.

Cisco stepped up. “Okay, so there’s gonna be two Barrys in the past. Remember you’re not there for them; you’re there for Nora,” he reminded Iris. “Let Future Barry protect Past Barry and then you take care of Nora, all right?”

“Yeah. No sweat,” Iris said.

Cisco smiled back at her. “May the Speed Force be with you.”

Iris leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and she felt Cisco’s arms embracing her back. “If this works, I’m really going to miss your nerdy references for every situation.” Iris moved on to her father. “You’re not even gonna know I’m gone.” Or Barry.

Joe didn’t try to hide the tears in his eyes as he reached for his daughter. “Be careful, baby,” he said.

“I always am, Dad,” Iris said.

Barry came forward as her father stepped away. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”

“What kind of hero am I if I can’t help the people closest to me?” Iris asked. “You deserve a life with your parents, Barry. Your mom deserves her life. Your dad deserves a life where people don’t think he murdered the woman he loved. It’s the right thing to do.” She leaned a little closer. “You gonna kiss me goodbye or what?”

A blush spread across Barry’s cheeks. “Your dad’s looking.”

“He’ll get over it,” Iris said.

Barry smiled, leaning down and Iris stood on tiptoes to meet him halfway, and his lips were warm against hers and was she vibrating or just tingly because they were finally here, finally back to the kiss she’d erased and oh crap, I’m about to erase it again, aren’t I?

Joe cleared his throat, and Barry jerked back like he’d been burned.

“Well, that was sudden and romantic,” Cisco said. “Who’s ready for some time travel?” He hit the button, opening up the Pipeline. Iris entered, walking across to Thawne’s cell as the rest of the team returned to the Cortex.

“Remember, Ms. West, assuming you achieve the proper velocity and open the wormhole, you will only have one minute and fifty-two seconds to save Barry’s mother and return. Or else...

“I know,” Iris said. She stopped in front of Eobard’s cell.

“Well... you hold the future in your hands now, Ms. West,” he said. “And I know you can do it. Now... Run. Iris. Run.”

She took off as fast as she could around the circle.

“The accelerator's structural integrity is holding,” Ronnie said.

The building shook as though a small earthquake had passed through it.

Joe straightened up, staring at the monitors. “What was that? Is Iris okay?”

“Yeah,” Cisco said. “She just passed Mach Two.”

The accelerator blurred around Iris as she ran, then suddenly out of the blur images appeared. Memories. “I was waiting for you to bring Barry home,” she heard her younger self say.

“Looks like he's going to be staying with us for a while,” her father said as Iris reached for Barry’s hand.

But no, this wasn’t right. It wasn’t the moment she was looking for. It was too late.

“Iris, what you're seeing is the Speed Force,” Eobard said. “Your past, you present, your future all at once. So you need to focus on where you want to go.”

Focus, right. She needed hours before that. She tried to focus on that night back to before her father had gotten the call that had changed their family forever, but images kept blurring past her that didn’t make sense. A pale woman with white-blonde hair and glowing eyes, a museum with two golden statues out front, and wait was that Leonard Snart?

“Think about that night. Think about Barry.”

She rushed past the images, focusing on her own memory of that night, her warm, calm house as Little Iris sat in the living room watching TV with her father, blocks away from the tragedy striking the Allen family.

The coffee rose from Professor Stein’s mug. “Inject the hydrogen particle now.”

Iris collided with the particle and disappeared into the year 2000.

“What was that? Did it work?” Barry asked.

“She’s gone. She did it,” Cisco said.

“The wormhole’s stable. Start the clock,” Professor Stein said.

Cailtin hit the countdown clock as Joe and Cisco rushed to Thawne’s cell.

Iris ran past her house to the Allens. She arrived on the lawn just in time to see a costumed Barry and Reverse Flash crash through the living room window. She rushed forward after them, then paused at the broken window without going in, remembering Cisco’s words. She wasn’t supposed to interfere yet. Let Barry save Barry, then save Nora, that was the plan. It went against every instinct to hold back as the other speedsters circled the screaming woman, especially as she heard young Barry screaming for his mother, but she had to wait for the right time. And that was when he spotted her.

Barry, wearing a costume so similar to her own, paused in his path, seemingly unnoticed by the other speedster, who continued circling his prey. The adult Barry stared at Iris for a moment in confusion and then his eyes lit up with recognition. He held up his hand to her and shook his head before taking off past the Reverse Flash and running out the front door with the younger Barry.

This was it, the moment she had been waiting for. The moment to save Nora. But Barry had told her not to? Why would any version of Barry tell her not to do this? He was from the future, right? Did he know something she didn’t?

Eobard Thawne picked up the knife, and Iris flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and hating herself for not stopping the tragedy from the past from playing out again. The sound of Nora hitting the ground made Iris’s eyes snap back open as the Reverse Flash ran from the scene. She saw Henry lying on the floor, knocked out at some point in the chaos of the preceding events. She stepped forward, moving way too slowly considering she was on a deadline. Nora Allen lay on the living room floor, moaning tears slipping down her cheeks.

Iris knelt beside her, taking the older woman’s hands. “It’s okay,” she said. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“My husband and my son,” Nora said. “Are they okay?”

“They’re safe,” Iris said, fighting the tears that welled up in her eyes. “They’re going to be fine.”

The words seemed to bring some comfort to Nora, but then confusion sunk in. “Who are you?” she asked.

“I…I’m…I’m from the future,” Iris stammered. “And I came back here to help Barry,” she lied. “And to tell you that he’s gonna be okay. He’s going to grow up safe and protected and loved and he’s gonna be a good person who helps people. So you don’t have to worry him. He’s going to be okay. I promise.”

A faint smile passed over the dying woman’s lips. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Iris felt the other woman’s grip loosen on her fingers. “Mrs. Allen?” she asked, but the blank eyes staring back at Iris confirmed her fears. Nora was gone.

*

“I think it’s time to say goodbye to Harrison Wells,” Professor Stein called over the PA system as Barry, Cisco and Joe marched Harrison Wells to the time sphere.

“It’s beautiful,” he said upon seeing the time machine. “Rip Hunter would’ve been impressed. He built the first one of these. Interesting man.”

The sound of clanking metal got the attention of the four men. A strange silver helmet with gold wings skidded across the floor towards them.

“What the hell is that?” Joe asked.

“That’s my cue to leave,” Eobard said. He walked back over to Cisco, and Cisco tensed, half-expecting the speedster to shove his hand through his heart. “Thank you, Cisco,” he said instead, with surprising sincerity.

Cisco couldn’t meet the speedster’s eyes. “Don’t ever come back,” he said.

Eobard gave a slight nod and turned to Barry. “No hard feelings, Mr. Allen,” he said.

“I hate you,” Barry replied with vitriol Joe had never expected to hear from his son.

“And I hate you. And I sometimes wonder which of us is right,” Eobard replied. He climbed into his time ship, sealing it shut as Joe holstered his gun.

Slowly the ship rose into the air.

“Thirty seconds,” Professor Stein called.

Eobard piloted the ship closer to the wormhole. “Home,” he whispered with tears in his eyes.

Suddenly a figure flew out of the wormhole, slamming a fist into the windshield of the time sphere, shattering the vehicle and sending Joe, Cisco and Barry flying with the force of it.

“Oh, my god,” Caitlin said, watching on the monitor.

“Iris?” Eddie said.

“We have to shut down the wormhole,” Professor Stein said. “Quickly!”

Caitlin nodded, taking off running for the pipeline, Ronnie close on her heels.

“You didn’t save her?” Thawne asked in bewilderment. “Why?!” he screamed, rising to his feet. “You could’ve given him his life back. You could’ve set things right.”

Iris rose to her feet. “A wise man once told me that time is an extremely fragile construct and that any deviation, no matter how small, could result in a cataclysm. I’m pretty sure it’s the only truthful thing you ever told me. And a good man just told me it was a bad idea.” She looked down at the ground, where Barry was staring up at her in hurt and confusion. “I’m sorry, Barry. You told me not to.”

“I-“

“Future you,” she explained.

Eobard tugged on his mask. “Trust me, in a few minutes Future Barry won’t be an issue.” His body began to vibrate and he raced around the room for a moment before drawing back his arm and hurling a lightning bolt at Barry. Barry was blasted back into the wall and fell to the ground, not moving.

“Barry!” Iris screamed. She ran towards him, but was thrown back into the wall as Eobard refocused on her.

“I’ve killed you before,” Eobard said. “But I’m gonna enjoy it so much more this time.”

“Nobody else dies because of you,” Iris said. “No one.” She slipped an arm from his grip and landed a punch to his jaw that startled him enough to get her off the wall. She rushed him backwards, landing punch after punch until he ducked and swept a leg across, knocking her off her feet. From her spot on the ground, she kicked out landing several speed kicks against Reverse Flash’s legs. He drew back and Iris stood back up, launching forward and slamming him into the opposite wall. He didn’t stay there for long, running forward and slamming Iris into the wall. He landed speed punches against her before gripping her by the throat.

Eobard drew back a vibrating hand. “I’m going to kill you, and then your family, your friends, everyone you’ve ever loved. I always win, Flash.”

Iris waited for the final blow, but instead the Reverse Flash stopped and his hold on Iris weakened and slipped away and he slumped to the ground. It was then that Iris saw why.

Barry Allen stood there with glowing yellow eyes, his body still shaking.

“Barry?” Iris asked.

His eyes flew from Eobard’s body back to Iris. The lightning faded from his eyes, reverting to their normal bright green, and his body went still. He lowered his hand. He took in a shaky breath. “Probably not the best idea to throw a lightning bolt at a potential speedster in the middle of a particle accelerator.

“Oh my God, Barry!” Iris threw her arms around his neck and he returned the embrace lifting her off the ground with the force of it.

“It’s okay. We’re okay,” Barry said.

Iris buried her head into his chest. “I’m so sorry, Bear. I wanted to save her, I tried to but you were there and you said not to, and I knew there had to be a good reason if you did. I knew it.”

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Or not,” Cisco said.

Iris pulled back. “What are you talking about?”

Cisco pointed towards the accelerator. Iris followed his gaze to the spot where the wormhole had opened. It had been shrinking only now it seemed to be reopening, spreading itself wider and wider.

“Professor, what the hell is going on?” Iris said into the comms.

“Professor, I closed the wormhole,” Caitlin insisted.

“It seems our Dr. Wells miscalculated the time needed to close the wormhole safely. Or he lied,” Professor Stein said.

Debris began flying into the wormhole.

“We have to get out of here now,” Iris said.

Barry nodded, grabbing Joe while Iris grabbed Cisco and rushed out of the building. The rest of the team coming out soon after.

Team Flash stared at the sky, where a blue and black storming vortex had opened up as far as the eye could see.

“What’s it doing?” Caitlin asked.

“It’s feeding,” Professor Stein said. “The singularity won’t stop, even after the earth is gone. I'm afraid the accretion disc has already assembled.

“What does that even mean?” Iris asked.  

“The diffuse material that's in orbital motion around the singularity. We have to disrupt the motion,” Professor Stein said.

“Like when I unwound the tornado?” Iris asked.

“Only bigger. And scarier,” Barry added.  

Professor Stein shook his head. “That event has an energy level of at least 6.7 Tera Electron Volts. It cannot be stopped.”

“I have to try,” Iris said.

“We have to try,” Barry corrected. The rest of the team turned towards him. “Two speedsters. Double the energy. A better chance of stopping it.”

“Barry, you just got your powers, we don’t even know your limits yet,” Iris said.

“And if the singularity eats the world, that’s not going to matter. Iris, this happened because you tried to save my family,” Barry said. “Let me help you. Let’s end this. Together.”

Iris took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Together.”

The two speedsters steeled themselves and took off in unison towards the singularity.