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Dante didn’t understand when the girl he met at his birthday party handed him a thin envelope, her eyes red and puffy. “It’s from Cisco,” she said, her voice hoarse. “He said it was for you and your parents, if something…I…”
“If something happened,” he finished. Dread pooled in his gut. “Something like—like last spring with those rogues, or..?”
She shook her head. “I… no. We knew there were risks but… I don’t know how, or what, but…He and the Flash are—gone. I’m sorry, I can’t—I can’t stay.” She left in a hurry, leaving Dante standing, holding the packet.
He sat down on the piano bench, staring at it, plain white, no writing, sealed. He should wait for his parents, he knew but…Whatever was inside, was for him as much as them, and in the last year he thought maybe he’d gotten to know his baby brother a little more, cared more than his parents had. With trembling fingers, he opened the envelope, and pulled out the first sheet. It was crossed through, but still readable.
Mama, Papa, Dante,
If you’re reading this, I’m either dead or Caitlin thinks I’m dead. And people Caitlin thinks are dead but really aren’t have this habit of dying soon anyway, or else being in situations where—never mind. Look, before you start blaming my friends or science in general, you should know that I chose this. Me. I knew there was a risk.
You might as well know the truth. Not that you cared a whole lot, but hey, I figure you might as well know now. I haven’t been wasting my life at STAR Labs. I’ve been saving lives. I work with—worked with—the Flash. Yeah, I made the costume. I helped him train, I saved his life. And I know that even if I told you, you wouldn’t be proud. Probably wouldn’t believe me. Whatever. It’s true, though. I made a difference. A big one. And, and I don’t even know why I’m writing this, cuz yeah things have been better but would you even notice if---
The second sheet was similar, ripped from a yellow legal pad, crumpled and smoothed.
Mama, Papa, Dante,
If you’re reading this, I’m dead. You should probably know. So don’t complain when I don’t call on mother’s day and miss Dante’s birthday. It’s a long story with too much science you wouldn’t care, but there’s a girl in trouble and I’ve been helping the Flash—Dante knows that ask him—and I need to help save her. The thing we’re fighting, it was on the news last October. The thing that almost killed the Flash, my best friend. And it’s dangerous and who knows, maybe everything’ll go fine but I don’t think so. I’ve just got a feeling. So I dunno, before you complain that I never call or whatever, this’s why.
Don’t let Tia Rosaria plan the funeral or whatever. In fact, don’t invite her. I get to be petty, I never get to be petty, you never let me, so I’m being petty now. Or, I dunno, whatever. I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Dante flipped it, looking for more but the letter cut off there. A third sheet was folded in with the rest, and Dante pulled open. A teardrop landed on the page; he brushed it away.
Mama, Papa, Dante,
If you’re reading this, I’m probably dead.
I don’t know what to put here. We’re leaving in an hour and I just—I’m not the disappointment. I’m not. Or maybe I am, maybe none of this matters, but. You have to know. You have to know who I am. Or. Was. Vibe. I see things, I can see things that haven’t happened, or things that happened inanother place, sometimes in another world. I’m a metahuman. And I’ve done things, good things. Over Christmas, I helped save a hundred families from bombs. And before that, I helped my friends fight an assassin who—no, you wouldn’t believe the story, but that’s just one thing. I’ve been helping the Flash save lives since STAR Labs blew up. Well, plus nine months. So all the crap you gave me, about not living up to my potential? Yeah, my potential saved the city, like, at least three times over. So maybe remember than instead of the time I quit guitar lessons. You owe me that much at least. If you couldn’t figure out who I was, you could at least remember it.
I’m going to another world. It’s a long complicated story, at least half a season of tv right there, but there’s other words, and the one that everyone saw last year? The blue lightning? Yeah. That’s what we’re fighting. Because if we don’t, there’s no one else to, and –so yeah. I hope we did it. Not just for you. For my other family, at STAR, and for everyone on both these worlds. I guess you guys’ll know soon enough.
I have a lot to say, but I don’t know, I just…
There’s patents. In my name. After I died—look, long story, time travel’s a thing, google it if you don’t know what that means, no, I’m sorry, that was rude, I—anyway, I was a grown up , oh look at Paco, look at Cisco doing his own taxes, did the grown up crap. Any money from them will go to the house payments you have left, and then, I dunno. Yours. If Dante can ever get a real girlfriend and get married, use it to send the kids to college. Just don’t name them after me. So, even if this fails, not useless. Not the disappointment. Shit. We have to—it’s time.
Dante traced the letter under shaking hands. It had to be wrong, the woman, Caitlin, had to be wrong. Cisco wasn’t dead, not without saying goodbye, not without knowing…knowing what?
There was one more slip of paper.
Mama, Papa, Dante,
If you’re reading this, I’m sorry.
Love,
Cisco