— still a hero.
summary || `` trapped in the worst earth to ever exist, the scientist finds herself in a confession made by the dark speedster. ``
pairing: headcanon–blitzkrieg!barry x fem!scientist!reader
song recommendation: innocent (taylor swift)
lowercase is intended…
— themes and warning/s: fluff, enemies to lovers-ish, swearing (?), suggestive for a moment (but not really?), comfort, mentions nazis, mentions death (nobody dies though), and a bit angsty
— a/n: actually, i have absolutely no knowledge of comic!blitzkrieg but ever since i found out that this character was cut out of crisis on earth-x (alleged..? so not sure), i knew i had to write about angsty barry with a different flavor and storyline… did i nail it? did i nail it better than the cw– anywho, enjoy! (i also write for k-pop on my main account so if you’re into that, follow @mgnifiqueyoo ^^)
[ total words: 3.3k ]
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alright.
here's the so-called thing: it's been weeks since the nazi in the black suit stopped the führer from executing you and you just couldn't stop thinking about it.
you were from earth-1, a curious scientist who had gone to lengths to explore the multiverse and it just so happened that you landed on this one. i mean, what's wrong with living on an earth where the nazis won? haha, everything.
everything's seriously fucked up.
“hey!” the speedster was aggressive but not in a way that you'd expect as you stood there in the middle of a red 'x' symbol on the cemented ground, ready to be shot with one of those arrows that killed the innocents who chose not to conform. you opened your eyes to see that the hooded führer, leader of the entire world, was even startled by how the black streak was stopping him from ending your final breaths. “i know this is for the fatherland but she’s done nothing. she's not the one who stole the samples from us. you've got the wrong girl.”
the führer, an awful version of the star city mayor, oliver queen, lowered his bow and you were just mind-blown that he'd even take it into consideration.
“are you sure about this? because i’ll put an arrow in your eye if we're both wrong.” he taunted through gritted teeth as the speedster ran towards him, stopping right in front of him. he was so fast that you couldn't even tell if he was teleporting or running.
he is the fastest man alive after all.
“oh, right. i'm sure,” the masked accomplice answered with a chuckle, later placing his hands behind his head as if this was all a game to him. “and also, i can easily kill you right now but i wouldn't do that since i'm telling you the truth.”
“good point.” the archer responded, breathing in as he turned around to face his other men, who had now lowered their guns as well while his kryptonian wife squinted her eyes, quite disgusted.
“we're done here. she's in blitzkreig's hands,” he told her, which almost made her feel nauseous. — she anticipated your death the most but that's not even the weirdest part about her; she's literally an alien. “she's of no importance anyway.”
and somehow, that brought you here; you're now in the headquarters of those nazis, waiting for the speedster to show up. why? because he ridiculously called you in the middle of the night and you think that it's an emergency.
oh, right. you're his speed mentor these days. that's why he did that.
“where is he?” you mutter in almost a whisper, bouncing your leg furiously as the heel of your shoe tapped the floor's tiles. time is ticking and you're getting anxious. what if this is a trap, right? that could get you killed.
but what if it isn't? then, something else must be up.
a familiar gust of wind strikes into the room, even snatching your wrist watch away as he checks the time himself. “i'm not too late, am i?” he asks in a joking manner as you can't help but let out a sigh, trying to keep your patience together. for the record, you thought he was getting killed and for some reason, you kind of wished that something as serious as that was actually happening instead.
“... was there even an emergency?” you question, your brows already knitting lower as he lets out a chuckle. “so, there's no emergency,” you utter, still trying your best not to say anything that'd annoy him – which would later convince him to turn you to the führer or just kill you himself. “great. that's understandable.”
the strange meta laughs even louder, later looking down at you with his bottom lip bitten by himself as if he'd been viewing you differently.
“don't sulk about it, doc. remember, you signed up for this,” he tells you to quit thinking about it as a bad thing, tilting his head to the side. you could just see it in his eyes – the desire to annoy you in that high chair you're sitting on. “would you rather be an earth-1 fugitive or be a free man- well, woman, on this earth? plus, you're my property anyway. you've already gotten so many privileges with just that.”
he's smug, unserious, and unbelievably so overconfident that even as bad as siren-x wanted to replace him – but mainly because of her feelings for the one and only führer but let's not dive into that love triangle between an alien, a meta, and the jacked apple of their eye.
“but i do have a problem… surprisingly.”
you raise both of your eyebrows, intrigued by how his mood shifted. you never expected the blitzkrieg, killer speedster faster than thawne, to consult you about a problem. he's never had them before and it just shows how bothered he is by this so-called problem.
so, what is it?
“are you… running differently?” the question almost sounded like a joke to him if it weren't for that genuine look on his face. the speedster crosses his arms, slightly puckering his lower lip out while he's obviously frowning at you through that mask. it's hard to make out what his face actually looks like but for some reason, you can read him so well.
but then, he lets out a quiet snicker. “no, that's a shit guess... guess again.” he was eager to let you find out the reason yourself that you just spent a few seconds (fifteen or so?) thinking of a possible answer.
and when you looked back up at him, you shake your head, causing him to roll his eyes, annoyed again. “guess again- come on, you’re not an idiot. if you were, then i would’ve let you get killed.”
“i literally don’t know. i’m sorry.” you apologize – well, more like forced to do so – as he slouches his shoulders in disappointment. he just couldn’t believe that it’s hopeless for you to know what his problem was!
even though he was being totally vague and unreasonable at this point, he knew you knew him in a different way; in a way that you knew what he’s like even without knowing the face behind the mask.
so it just surprised him that you had no idea what he’s talking about.
he takes in a deep breath, readying himself to tell you the issue; the main reason why you’re here in the lab at three o’clock in the morning all by yourself and… him, of course.
“i can’t sleep and i don’t know why… this is my first time, alright? don’t judge,” he blurts out, the confidence stripping away little by little as you take a moment to understand what he’s telling you. is he not joking with you? that’s a new thing.
he’s always so fond of ruining your days whenever you come around to work at the laboratory but he seems so different now. way too solemn for you to think he’s even joking at this very moment.
“... you can’t sleep well, is that why you called me here at 3 am?”
and shockingly, he nods right away, determined to learn more about his ongoing problem. “yes and god, it’s horrible. everytime i close my eyes, i keep on thinking about something else and the next thing, my mind’s all about her.” blitzkrieg runs his mouth almost faster than he could do with his own legs that he doesn’t even realize that he let an important and rather private detail slip.
her
who was she?
“... her?” you ask, watching how his already dilated eyes almost jump out of its sockets, terrified to find out that you heard him say those things hilariously clear. in panic, the wrist watch he snatched from you drops from his grip, resulting in him looking down to see what he’s done.
“is she an ex-girlfriend?” you continued to ask him, not letting the key part of his sleeping problem get ignored as you find yourself getting even more interested.
“um… no, she isn’t. not an ex or anything,” he answers truthfully, the unknown awkward side of him taking over his voice as he later picks up the wrist watch from the floor. handing it to you, he manages to keep his distance, his hands intertwined with one another while he stands stiffly. “but, uh, i count her as somewhat of a friend- it’s complicated.” he crosses his arms, slightly nodding as those words of denial flow out of his lips, his eyes clearly avoiding yours.
‘is he having a crush on someone?’ you think, tilting your head to one side as you lean your chin over your knuckles, unsure of what else you could make out of this brand new information that you’d rather expect from the ruthless kryptonian with the heart disease.
“look, i’m not a therapist or anything so i’ll use my logic instead,” you start with a disclaimer, leaning your back against the rails of the high chair as he nods once again, still willing to listen. “so, what are those thoughts specifically? i mean, there’s a really huge chance that those thoughts could be distracting enough to not make you sleep.”
he stares at the other side of the room, silent again. you could tell he was so bothered by his own late-night thoughts that he could spend seconds staying quiet just by thinking about them. “... i keep on remembering how she’s looked me in the eye, scared shitless. untrusting. overall pathetic… but for some reason, i always feel the need to protect her.”
“... you could feel that?”
“i said don’t judge.”
but it was too unexpected for him to feel that way about someone! whoever that girl was, you were so sure that blitzkrieg loved her whether he’d admit it to himself or not.
“but that’s not all, i also think of her in ways that i probably shouldn’t tell you,” he says in a teasing tone, his signature smirk finally showing up within his lips after long moments of just pure seriousness and deep down in him, he’s wishing to make you feel the nosiest you’ve ever been. “... or should i?”
you squint your eyes at him in confusion, torn between being nosy and being a decent “doctor” or whatever he wants you to be.
“you seem excited to tell me so do as you please,” you say with a slight chuckle, trying your best to be relaxed about it as if you’re not interested to listen in the first place – which, in reality, you actually are.
“what? you want me to tell you?” he’s around the middle of laughing and panicking as he avoids that look on your face again, just like earlier. in response, you hum, still playing the chill listener, who would choose to keep the darkest secrets of her friends to herself than letting them have their own privacy.
after all, you’d swear to tell no one.
it’s not really much of a big deal.
he then faces you once more, eyes looking at you from top to bottom as he takes a step or two towards you. suddenly, he lifts away the mask from his face, finally revealing his biggest secret to you with anxiety firing up his nerves – and apparently, you knew who he was all along.
well, his earth-1 counterpart at least: bartholomew henry allen, the chemist from central city’s police department; someone that your past co-worker julian albert used to dislike for months.
“barry allen?” you whisper in disbelief, carefully bringing your palm to your lips to shush yourself as he nods slowly. to be honest, he’s been waiting ages for you to figure that out but it seems that you’ve brushed those thoughts away for a reason that he had no idea about.
“anyway, back to the topic, are you sure that you want to know what i think of her?” he changes the subject as quickly as possible, which causes you to take a second before nodding along. well, it’s quite a thing for this earth to get shocking with the counterparts – this man in front of you would be called a “modern hero” in your world yet in this one, it seemed that wasn’t the case.
let’s face it. even this version of barry would call himself unkind. “oh, and before you ask why i showed you my face, that’s because i trust you,” he begins with a reminder, hoping that you’d take note of that as you nod once more. your ears are basically ringing, tingling, and almost itching to listen to what he’d tell you. “i want you to tell no one else about this, is that clear?”
and of course, you nod another time, already getting even more impatient as minutes pass by.
“i don’t think i should explain further when i tell you that i think about her a lot in bed,” barry admits with a smirk on his face as one of your eyebrow arches in curiosity. you later let out a hum, a cue for him to continue with his stories; you’re now definitely sure that he really does like her, whoever she is.
“i think about how her skin would feel under my fingertips once she finds out who i really am.”
he takes another step towards you, his eyes fixated on his gloved hands as he looks back into your eyes in a way that he’s almost telling you something that shouldn’t be said.
something that’d put himself in danger. “often times, i’d think of playing the hero over and over again… just so she knows that i’ll put my life on the line for her,” he says, later glaring back at you with a hint of desperation. — he’s been waiting for seconds, minutes, days, and even weeks to tell you this. to tell you all about it. to tell you that this girl he’s talking about is no stranger to you.
he then takes the empty seat next to yours, keeping his head down for a while. for him, saying things like these is a struggle, especially since he lives in a world where freedom couldn’t be an option unless you’re wearing a badge. and even though you were his “speed doctor,” he knew that you wouldn’t still be treated the same way as he was and the constant reminder of that was crushing him slowly.
and then, he lifts his head up and says, “i’ve been thinking about you all the time.”
you freeze in your seat as if time has stopped, taken aback by how he’s now talking about you and not someone else you didn’t know. barry reaches for your hand and you let him take it, placing it over his chest as if he’s asking you to check his pulse.
“when doctor west… iris was executed by thawne, i thought that i could never feel this way anymore,” he admits, softly caressing your hand. the rough leather of his suit grazes over your skin so gently like a feather that he almost forgot that he’d also use that same hand to drill into someone’s chest, even taking their heart out for the fun of it. “but you… you made me realize that i wasn’t always a monster. that i once loved someone… that i was once human.”
“... barry-”
“you don’t have to say anything,” he cuts you off, shaking his head as if he’s actually giving you control of the situation unlike usual, wherein it’s always his call that matters. and deep down, you didn’t know what to tell him.
everything was happening so fast that you couldn’t even believe that this earth’s barry is the man behind that dark mask, which would usually be seen before someone’s death.
he then takes another deep breath, returning your hand back to you as he looks out at the window, spending a few moments to think about what he’s done. — he fell in love with you already and it’s too late to crawl out of the deep pit that has no floor; a wide space like an ocean but instead of waters, it’s all those things about you. what he liked about you from head to toe. the things that his mind would be focused on every single night.
he couldn’t sleep, yes.
but he’d always smile whenever he remembers that somebody like you exists in his life.
a life so dark, so broken, so warped that he believes that he doesn’t even deserve to feel loved.
“i can take you back to your earth, where you belong. i know you’ve been staying here for months…” he trailed off, thinking about it deeply. he's torn between it. just because he could love, that didn't mean he's an angel – he's a thousand miles away from it.
he wants you here all to himself and owned by no one else but him. he craves for you to be around him all the time. he wants your eyes on him only.
but he knew it would hurt you.
and it almost kills him to think of that.
“... but you deserve to go home.” he was miserable. deep down that silly, menacing facade was just someone so in need of feeling something. anything. and god, was it so addicting to feel some love for once. “because in the end, you'll always be that person who reminded me of who i used to be… who i wished to be.”
there was long, loud silence. a silence that ticks like a time bomb, pressuring you to think of how this all would turn out to be. after all, what would happen next is in your hands.
“i’m starting to think that there’s a reason why i ended up here,” you said with a gulp, about to make the biggest decision ever. he raised an eyebrow at you, confusion shown within his whole face as he cocked his head to the side with a question that remained in his mind– what exactly did you mean?
“this world needs saving… and maybe we’ll be the ones who’d save it.”
the speedster had a frozen look on his face, clearly not expecting that those words would even come out of your mouth.
“do you really think that it’s not too late for me to change?” hope was seen in his eyes, his brows furrowed in both confusion yet belief in what you’d tell him next as you nodded, your soft palm later reaching for the side of his face.
he closed his eyes so tightly for a long moment, his chest rising up and down so quickly in anticipation.
he’s never felt a touch like that in ages. the last time he’s ever felt a hand graze over his skin was the moment he’s locked eyes with his iris, who had been fighting for her life ‘til her last breath.
i’ll be okay, she said no matter how the red pooled over her chest, the blade that thawne held seconds before was sticking out of her.
the very moment he’d realized that this agenda that the new reich had implemented was not worth doing at all.
“there’s a hero in all of us,” you said, your hand slipping away from his skin slowly when he’s suddenly reached out for it, holding your arm so dearly like fragile, thin glass. “and you already saved me.”
“let’s go save the world together, then?”
“of course.”
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Ch. 9: Killer Frost
Pairing: Barry Allen x OFC // Fandom: The Flash
Story Masterlist • Previous Stories: Rise Up • It Had To Be You
Belén’s Masterlist • Fanfic • Ao3
Taglist: @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel @stareyedplanet @foxesandmagic @frostandflamesfanfic
Belén and Joe desperately tried to see the force that held Barry against the wall but try as they might, they just couldn't. Anais, on the other hand, was terrified and awed. Her eyes glowed her golden hue and she directed heat beams at the metallic armor of the unknown enemy but it was like a minor cut. If anything, it just agitated the enemy even more. In a flash of a second, it was in front of Anais, grabbing her by the neck. She was thrown across the room, landing on a table which then turned and crashed on the ground.
The armored enemy returned for Barry in less than half a second. Barry could say he didn't even feel when he was briefly let go for Anais. "What the hell are you?" Despite his struggles, Barry couldn't free himself from the grasp around his neck.
"You may serve the speed force, Flash, but I rule it," the metallic armor responded. "You are only a man, but I am a god. Your god. I am Savitar."
Kill us! Get it! Or get out! Belén struggled to breathe in regularly. The voices - sentient as ever - were squirming with the fear of death and wanted to make it known.
"Alchemy!" Joe, at this point, didn't know where to aim his gun but Alchemy made it easier since he was making an escape with the stone that crystalized Wally.
"STOP!" Belén screamed, however for the others it was on behalf of Barry, but she really needed the voices to be quiet or she would lose her sanity there and then.
"Let's go for a run, and give her some space," Savitar said to Barry then zoomed out of the place with him.
Belén dropped to her knees and looked around at the mess they'd created. She screwed her eyes shut when the voices echoed for them to leave.
~ 0 ~
From the cortex, the others tried to get ahold of Barry but were stumped to find him virtually all over the city.
"The suit's tracker must be malfunctioning," Cisco tried to get in touch with Barry himself. "It says he's appearing and reappearing all over the city at once, and that's impossible. He can't be moving that fast."
"Well if he can't, maybe something else can…?" Iris nervously watched the blinking dot meant to be Barry go in and out of appearance in every corner of the street map.
"What about the others?" Caitlin murmured as she switched to the comms. They might not have visuals on the subway but their communications were still intact. "Belén? What's happened over there?"
"I-I messed up, Caitlin!" Belén was quick to respond and let her frantic state be felt from across the city. "S-something took Barry! And it hurt Anais! Wally too - I don't know! I just don't know!"
"I got it!" Cisco cheered with his arms in the air. "Whatever it is, it stopped at the waterfront!"
"We have to get to him," Iris looked between the two considerably.
"Anais is down and I...I don't think I can reach them," Belén sounded on the verge of tears. They had yet to know what happened to Wally because she messed up.
"Cisco, you can open a breach and get you both to the waterfront," Iris thought of instead since this was a clear emergency.
"Guys, I can't," Caitlin gulped just by looking at her hands. "It's too dangerous."
"I'm begging you. Please!"
~ 0 ~
"Still alive down there?" Savitar's taunt came through the raspy, drawling voice of his his armor. Even as Barry tried getting up, Savitar forced him to stay put with a foot on him. "You are only a shadow beneath my throne. You are the past, whereas I... I am the future, Flash."
A breach opened up across them and out jumped Cisco and Caitlin. Cisco lost his balance with the source of energy he just pulled for the breach.
Caitlin wiggled her fingers and looked up ahead but all she saw was Barry in midair. "I can't see it!"
"Just do it!" cried Killer Frost in Caitlin's mind. Even as she shivered from it, she fired a large quantity of ice, probably more than she ever created since she got the powers. It encapsulated Savitar's form and made it visible for her and was able to feel the deep cold through Savitar's grasp.
Barry heard the cracking of the ice and the next he knew, he dropped to the ground. Savitar had disappeared. Cracks of ice sprawled underneath Barry's form, but otherwise he felt he would manage to pull himself up with Caitlin's support.
"Oh, boy. I'm gonna feel that tomorrow. Ah," Cisco groaned as Caitlin helped him stand. "That was a new and painful use of my powers." Caitlin rubbed his arm and looked back to Barry. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just cold," Barry nodded them. "Thanks for coming."
~ 0 ~
"Barry, you're already healing. You should be fine soon," Caitlin moved over to the x-rays she'd taken from Cisco, the man lying on a bed with a hand on his forehead. "Um, Cisco, the MRI I did of your brain shows changes in the capillary morphology similar to that of a mini-stroke. I wouldn't try an intra-dimensional breach like that anytime soon."
Cisco nearly went pale as he sat upright. "Okay, okay. Mini-stroke? You can't just gloss over that like that, okay? What does that... what does that mean? Am I gonna have this migraine for the rest of my life?"
"It means you should take a few aspirin and you'll be fine," Caitlin reassured him his health.
"Oh. Well, just lead with that next time!"
"Cait, I know what a risk you took using your powers," Barry stopped her just as she was leaving the side room. "Thank you."
"I didn't do anything..." Caitlin said sheepishly.
"Well, you saved my life."
"You've saved mine plenty of times. I'm gonna go check on Wally," Caitlin turned to finally leave. As she walked on, her eyes flickered silver to dark. Let me out, Caity…
~ 0 ~
Shortly later, Belén and Anais had joined the group in the cortex, each one looking worse for wear in their own way.
"Anais, you're okay?" Cisco asked, much kinder than before now that he knew where his dampeners had actually gotten to.
Anais knew this and scowled at him in return. "You care?"
Cisco figured he had that well earned. "I said I was sorry—"
"Keep saying it, then," she walked past him to her folded suit left on a chair.
"What are you doing?" Barry asked, curiously watching her get the suit.
"I'm leaving," she announced sharply.
"What - now? You're choosing to leave now?" Cisco blinked. Just when he was beginning to like her a bit more.
"Caitlin said I finished with my tests and Barry said I could leave whenever I wanted to after that. Well, I want to leave now," Anais informed them and walked up to them. She didn't quite care for the group's reaction. "No offence, but I didn't come here to sign up for another war."
"Uh, no, you just stole the passageway of another man," Cisco reminded him but it did no good for the case.
"Here," Anais handed Barry a card with a number on it. "I'm not disappearing, but I...I just don't want to be here anymore. I just got out of a war, I can't get into another one. You understand, right?"
Barry gave a nod without the intention of pleading her to stay. Unfortunately, he could understand what Anais was trying to say. In the end, this was their problem with Savitar and Alchemy, not hers.
"Iris got me the cellphone, I will answer if you call, I swear," Anais stepped around Barry and stopped by Belén. "Please take care of yourself, okay?" Belén meekly nodded and rubbed her arm. Anais was sure there was something Belén wasn't saying but who was she to start asking questions? All Anais wanted to do was get the hell out of there before something targeted her next.
"Well, there's your daughter!" Cisco gestured after Anais once she was gone, eyes set on Barry and Belén. "You're not going to stop her!?"
Belén shrugged at Cisco. "What do you want us to do? Call her to come back and fight a battle that's not hers?"
Barry tucked the card with the number inside his pocket. "Maybe she's making the right call, alright? Let's just give her some space."
Cisco wasn't even going to waste more breath on the matter. "Fine, whatever. So what was that thing in the waterfront, anyways? All frozen and whatnot."
"I don't know. But now we know Alchemy is just the lackey," Barry said. "Whatever that thing was, it's what we're really up against."
"So why couldn't any of us see it?" Belén asked. "Joe and I, we-we tried but...there was nothing." Of course maybe she would have seen more things if she wasn't dealing with the insanity going on in her head.
"Maybe it was a speedster thing?" Cisco offered, even though there was no clear explanation for it. "I mean, Anais saw it, right?"
"Maybe, but I think he's more than a speedster," Barry admitted. "I mean, when he had me, it wasn't like we were even moving; it was just like, 'bam!' we were instantly somewhere different, even from my perspective."
"Did he say anything else?"
"He said his name was Savitar."
"Nice name," Belén said distractedly. She felt the echo of pain on the side of her head.
"Bells…" Barry stepped towards her but she sniffed and nodded to the threshold.
Belén blinked at Barry, her face flushing when she realized she wasn't paying attention again. "Uh, Wally's still...I'm so sorry." She shook her head and rushed out of the cortex.
Barry was exhausted and yet this single moment felt even worse than him getting punched by Savitar. Whatever was going on with Belén was distancing them again and the last time that happened, Belén almost didn't come back from it.
~ 0 ~
A few hours had passed by since they brought Wally back and since then, Caitlin had performed a series of tests to see his condition. Her news wasn't relatively the best except that Wally wasn't entirely dead.
Belén heard the whole news and couldn't take the guilt. She cooped herself up in the greenhouse room and tried her damn best to meditate. It wasn't working. In fact, it was perhaps one of the worst meditation attempts of her life. Belén felt like sobbing at one point. That was when Barry found her.
"Bells, c'mon..." Barry had no sophisticated strategy to get her to open up. He was too tired for that stuff today. He sat down on the floor directly in front of her, crossing one leg over the other as if he was going to meditate with her. For the first couple of minutes, he didn't say anything to her. He just looked at her.
Belén did the same. Somehow, the silence between them was even more difficult to manage than when Barry actively tried to find out what was going on with her. In the end, she gave up. "It's my fault," her confession was a quiet whisper.
"Your fault?" Barry repeated. He hoped that it was glaringly obvious how eager he was that she had finally said something to him. Hopefully it would pave the way to her revealing what was really the problem.
Belén swallowed hard. "Yeah," she nodded. "I messed up. I messed up so badly. I let Wally walk right past me to that stupid stone! He was right in front of me and do didn't do anything!"
Barry was still, honestly, stumped about that moment. Even though there was still some fuzziness about what happened there, he knew something prevented Belén from stopping Wally. She was right. He had walked right past her and she didn't do anything. That wasn't like her. Lately, she wasn't acting like herself. "Bells, you have to help me out here, what's happening? I-I am being patient, but...look at yourself. It's like when Datura was getting to you and...and you shut yourself off from everyone, including me."
Belén bit on her bottom lip nervously. As hard as things were getting, she was scared to tell Barry what was happening. "It's scaring the living crap out of me right now," she admitted.
"What is?" Barry gently pushed for the answer. He reached for one of her hands on her lap, enveloping it between his hands. "You can tell me anything."
"I'm afraid how you'll take it," Belén said, watching him carefully. Already, she saw a spark of guilt in Barry's eyes. She couldn't imagine how he would take the news that his changing the timelines truly affected her and Caitlin in the worst ways. She couldn't do that to him. "But it's okay. It's okay. I have it under control."
"But, Bells—"
Belén leaned forwards and pressed a kiss on Barry's lips. She smiled softly at him, eyes looking at him fondly. "I really love you, do you know that?"
Barry recognized a tactic when he saw one and he was ashamed that it worked. Belén was purposely keeping something away from him and he couldn't force it out of her. The only thing left to do was wait and tell her that he loved her too.
~ 0 ~
"Alright then," Veronica settled a folder of evidence on the interrogation table and watched the lone acolyte of Alchemy's shift nervously in his chair. "Now that you lost the monk disguise, we can talk. Let's start with Alchemy."
The man gave her almost a sneer.
Veronica raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't test these waters," she warned in a deadly tone. "Why don't—" the door of the room burst open with Joe.
He let the door slam behind him as he walked over to the table. "Tell me about Alchemy," he commanded. "What he does, how he does it. Say it now."
There, the man repeated his sneer. However, he spoke this time. "His powers are beyond human understanding."
"Try us," Veronica leaned back on her chair and motioned him to get a move on.
The man merely smirked. "Oh, you will be tried. All of you. When my master rises, the human race will be judged. From where I'm sitting, you will not fare very well."
Veronica was about to tell him how delirious he was when Joe reached out and grabbed the man by the nose, almost threatening to break it. Veronica, startled, straightened up on her chair.
"You think I'm playing with you? My son is in one of those cocoons, and you're gonna tell me how to get him out. Now talk!" Joe ignored Veronica's attempt to get him to stop. He was beyond words at this point. The only salvation was the relentless knock on the door.
"Please just stop," Veronica warned him when she went to go answer. "Caitlin?" she blinked then looked past her to see if she was alone.
"It's Wally," the brunette said, immediately catching Joe's attention. The man hurried over. "He's out of that thing. He's fine."
"And he's okay?"
"Yeah. He's fine. I promise."
"Oh, thank God. Thank you, Caitlin," Joe glanced back at the suspect.
"You should probably go see him, then," Veronica smiled at him. "I can take care of this joke in ten minutes."
Joe laughed and merrily went on his way.
"Actually, Belén is waiting for you in the reception," Caitlin informed Veronica. "She said it's something important."
"Oh, wonder what it is now," Veronica smiled again and walked out of the room, leaving the door to close on its own.
Caitlin struck a boot just before it did close. She waited until Veronica was out of the way then walked in, backwards, and shut the door. Her eyes flickered to the security camera up on the ceiling and shot a hand up at it, freezing it completely.
"Where is Alchemy?" she revealed her silver eyes. The white streaks of hair were already making its presence on her head. "Tell me where Alchemy is."
The man eyed her with curiosity. He was not afraid, merely interested like he expected this to happen. "I sense great fear in you. You fear your power, your own greatness."
"I don't fear anything anymore," Caitlin's voice overlapped with Killer Frost. "Where is Alchemy?"
"The only one I fear is that whom Alchemy serves, the dark lord Savitar."
Caitlin regarded that with some amusement. Her eyes became a stronger silver as she rose her hand with threatening ice. "Maybe it's time you started fearing me."
GetHimGetHimGetHim, Killer Frost commanded and this time had the perfect control over Caitlin. Ice spread to the suspect's hands, causing terrible screams to erupt.
In less than a minute there was pounding on the doors. Caitlin's eyes briefly reverted to their normal chocolate brown. Caitlin herself whimpered as she felt the force that was Killer Frost trying to push her way out again. Her eyes flashed silver again and she filled the air with a cold fog then allowed the door to open. As the two officers hurried inside, she slipped out and shut the door, icing the doorknob as a measure of caution.
She was on her way out when someone called her back.
Julian Albert stood behind with an air of confusion as he heard his co-workers calling for help from the inside of the interrogation room. When he turned to Caitlin, he gasped at her very near proximity.
"I need you to come with me," she informed with her frost smoking up from her hands.
~ 0 ~
Joe came in a hurry into Wally's room and was stunned when he found his son was in the same condition as when he left. He met the others' confused looks and explained to them that Caitlin had assured him that Wally had woken up.
"What? I didn't even see her leave," Cisco realized that Caitlin had been out of sight for a while now.
"She said that?" Belén asked, focusing on the more important details of the story.
"Yes," Joe said, quite irritated to see that it was all lies.
"That's not like Caitlin..." Iris shook her head, thinking the same as the others.
Belén was the first to realize what was going on. Iris was right. Caitlin wasn't like that. Caitlin didn't lie to get officers out of interrogation rooms.
But she knew a certain metahuman who would do all those things.
~ 0 ~
The precinct was on red alert when Barry got there. Before he reached the offices, Veronica caught him on the side, startling him.
"You have got some explaining to do!" Her snap put him even worse for wear.
"What!? I—"
"Come here," Veronica grabbed Barry by the collar and dragged him into the bullpen, ignoring his 'what' again. She stopped by her desk and pulled up the security feed of the interrogation room where they'd kept Alchemy's acolyte. "Caitlin just attacked two officers, one suspect and kidnapped Julian."
"What?" Barry leaned closer to the screen just to make sure they hadn't made a mistake. He could only see Caitlin's side profile as she iced down the camera.
"No one's recognized her from the video but if Julian gets out first, he'll turn her in," Veronica warned him. "What the hell is going on?"
"I...I don't know," Barry rubbed his forehead. Killer Frost was making her appearance, that's what. Just like her earth 2 doppelganger, the ice made her bad.
"When did she get powers? And why would she take Julian?" Veronica's questions went unanswered.
Barry couldn't focus when the bigger issues were at hand. It would be a race to find Caitlin before the cops did.
~ 0 ~
As soon as she could, Belén fled to her greenhouse room to call a certain doppelganger to answers. She faced Datura on a video call while she paced back and forth. "What the hell is happening? Killer Frost is already taking Caitlin over! You said there was more time!"
Datura snickered on the other end. "I said there was only a question of who would end up taken first. Looks like I got the answer. Killer Frost was always a rowdy, annoying meta."
"Well now she's inside my friend and she's making Caitlin do things she would never do!"
"That's the point, stupid," Datura rolled her eyes. "Killer Frost wants access, and since Caitlin is probably getting more desperate, it's been easy for Killer Frost to take over."
"But she kidnapped a friend — Killer Frost kidnaps?"
"No," Datura said with some thought put into it. She looked to the side as she recollected patterns of the Earth 2 meta. "She kills. It's in her name. I think this little outburst might be Caitlin and Killer Frost together as a...mixture. One is just fighting the other."
"So, Caitlin is actively fighting back but losing?"
"Don't know. Look at her intentions and then let me know," Datura winked then shut off the call before Belén could say more.
Belén stuffed her phone in her back pocket then rubbed her face. "Caitlin, what are you doing?" She hated to think what Caitlin might be feeling - if Caitlin was feeling anything as herself at all. If what Datura said was true, then perhaps Caitlin was on her way to merging with Killer Frost to create a whole new person.
Who would that person end up, though?
~ 0 ~
"So, they don't know why she took Julian?" Cisco asked just to be sure. He was currently trying to locate Caitlin's location and a little stress might be making it more difficult.
"No, they don't. But more importantly, they don't even know that it's Caitlin yet, so we need to find her before they do," Barry couldn't hide the urgency in his words.
"Okay, let's say we do find her, then what are we going to do?" Iris made them stop for a moment. "It's obvious she's not thinking straight but have we thought about the reasons? Maybe something that could help us?"
"Killer Frost from Earth 2 is inhabiting Caitlin's mind," Belén walked in, her face expressing nothing but guilt. "Caitlin is literally having a battle with another person inside her own body."
"She's becoming Killer Frost. It's just like in the Vibe," Cisco shook his head.
"We don't know that yet," Barry reminded, but the doubt was still hanging over everyone's head.
"Her mother said the more that she uses her powers, the faster she's gonna go," Belén relayed what Caitlin once told her. "These powers aren't just powers, they're actual people that Datura siphoned. They're sentient and some of them are more forcible than others."
"How do you know that?" Iris now laid suspicious eyes on Belén.
"Because that's what Datura told me," Belén replied, hiding behind the technicality that she was not lying. "We just need to find Caitlin and make her see what's happening."
"I tried pinging her cell and Julian's, but she must have ditched them both," Cisco said with a groan of frustration.
"Stop thinking Caitlin is a regular person and start searching for another meta with cold powers," Belén moved over to him. "The answer here is not to ignore. Caitlin's powers, they're cold, so...could we use something we used for Captain Cold?"
"We tracked him using the satellite to scan for ultraviolet cold signatures," Cisco thought about it then snapped his fingers. "You're good!" he told Belén, making her smile, and got back to work. "Frozen food warehouse! That's where she is! Okay, I'm gonna isolate the feed so that no one else can see it!"
"Please do," Belén hurried after her suit.
"Figure out what she's making Julian do," Barry instructed as he went with Belén. The two would certainly need to know to help.
~ 0 ~
Julian worked incredibly fast despite the fear over his shoulders. Caitlin had him searching for acolytes of Alchemy and with a good motivation too. Find someone or be killed. She had already proven that she was willing to follow through by giving a deadly frostbite on his wrist, so...
"I found two individuals that have searched for the name Savitar. Here are both their addresses, both of them in Central City," he stopped working and looked at the woman. He still couldn't believe this was Caitlin Snow, a friend of Belén's who'd gone mad all in a week since the last time he saw her. "What exactly are you gonna do to them?"
"I don't know," Caitlin admitted as she walked a bit to the side. Killer Frost was screaming in her head to do something more fun, to use her powers. But all Caitlin wanted to do was silence her forever. "What am I doing?" She asked as herself. The noise of typing brought the more suspicious Killer Frost out. Julian had attempted - successfully - to send a message to the police. Angrily, she iced his laptop and destroyed it. "What part of "I'll freeze you to death" did you not understand?"
"Stop!" Barry sped in with Belén. Both were stunned to see Caitlin's appearance. It was half her, half Killer Frost.
Exactly what Datura said, Belén remembered.
"Get out of here," Caitlin warned them with one hand raised.
"You know we can't do that," Barry shook his head.
Belén swallowed hard and moved towards the woman but Caitlin brandished a frosty hand. "What are you doing?" Belén whispered in disbelief. "I know the powers are doing this but you have to fight it."
"Take her out. Take her out!" Julian frantically urged behind Barry.
"That's what I'm doing," Caitlin responded as herself, taking Belén by surprise. "I'm not trying to hurt someone—"
"You are wiring to hurt someone!" Julian was the first one to argue. "Knock her out!" he ordered the two known metas.
Barry didn't hesitate to knock him out instead. Belén threw Barry a look for that, eyes sharp with disapproval.
"Priorities," Barry reminded, though his lips did try to form a smile when Belén returned her attention to Caitlin.
"Cait, these powers, we can work with them—"
"I'm doing something about it!" Caitlin snapped at Belén. "I'm finding Alchemy!"
"We will find him. All right? Together," Barry misunderstood her intentions, as did Belén, and hoped to be reassuring.
"No. You don't understand. I don't want to lock him up. I need him to help me," Caitlin frantically argued.
"Help you what?"
"I need him to get rid of my powers!"
Both Belén and Barry paused in their tracks. Belén sighed at the brunette. "Caitlin... I'm not sure Alchemy can deal with...this sort of power," Belén felt sorry to say. She wished it would be that easy.
"You don't know that it doesn't," Caitlin very logically made her point. "I need her to stop talking to me! To stop controlling me!"
"Then let us help," Barry slowly reached out for her. "We all love you, and we will do everything that we can to help you. We've been through too much together to let each other down now."
Caitlin's eyes glimmered blue and silver. "Like you helped your mother?" Her voice vibrated with Killer Frost's. "Or Wally? Or me? You keep messing with everyone's lives, wrecking everything, and we're left behind to pick up the pieces from your mistakes. Some things you break can't be put back together!"
Barry, ashamed, took that with a hang of his head. "I can fix this."
Killer Frost had no mercy. "Oh, like you fixed Cisco's family? You didn't tell Cisco that you screwed him worst of all, did you?" she purposely spoke louder for the audience watching from STAR Labs. "You hear that, Cisco? Dante was alive, healthy and happy, until Barry created Flashpoint. When he reset things, that's what killed him. Barry is the reason your brother is dead."
"Caitlin, stop!" Belén ordered but Killer Frost was not done.
The best thing about accessing Caitlin's mind was getting a full view of her memories. "You're both—" she nodded to Belén and Barry, "—meant for each other, you know. Keeping secrets, it's what you do best. At least Datura was never a hypocrite about it."
Belén's anger was quick to form. "Be quiet!" she hissed, not entirely as herself, and nearly attacked if the police force hadn't arrived.
Before the bullets could reach them, Barry got them across the room towards another exit. "Bells?" he worriedly saw her holding her head again, reminding him of the last time they'd been like this.
Caitlin, on the other hand, saw a golden opportunity. She created an icicle and stabbed Barry on the lower part of his ankle, and smirked at Barry's cry of pain. "That severed your triceps surae. Even with your healing abilities, it'll take four hours to regenerate! Don't follow me!"
"Caitlin—" Belén didn't even move an inch before Caitlin threw another threat.
"Follow me and I'll say everything," Caitlin rushed out of there.
Belén pursed her lips together, guilt settling over her like layers of mountain.
~ 0 ~
Both Veronica and Joe walked into the cortex, Axel in tow behind his grandmother. The two detectives moved directly for the side room where they could see Barry. Axel, in the meantime, stayed behind with Cisco, chatting him up with questions over what was happening but Cisco barely regarded the boy.
"I'm not a good doctor so just...tell me if that hurt?" Belén slowly pulled her hands off the bandage she'd wrapped around Barry's ankle.
"It hurts as much as I deserve probably," Barry mumbled, feeling pain alright but it didn't exactly come from his injuries.
"They took Julian to County General," Veronica informed them both. "Mrs. Andrews is with him which is why I had to bring Axel around." Axel had given up on talking to Cisco and now directed all his questions to Iris.
"He's still out cold. How hard did you hit him?" Joe had to wonder.
"I don't know. I didn't mean to knock him out," Barry swallowed the pain he felt and he moved his legs to one side of the bed.
"Mhm," Belén's sharp eyes made him reevaluate his statement.
"Or maybe I did," he relented and got himself up. Belén rolled her eyes and let him move towards the cortex.
Barry saw Cisco crossing the cortex for the desks, and took his chance at a little explanation. "Cisco. Hey, man, um, what Caitlin said…"
Cisco stopped and sent him an scrutinizing glance. "Was she lying?"
"No. Um…"
Cisco almost rolled his eyes despite tears threatening to break free. "You're sorry? That you killed my brother? 'Cause he was here. He was alive—" he enunciated slowly, one hand jabbing at Barry's shoulder, "—until you created Flashpoint, until you did this!" he shoved the speedster backwards.
Axel scurried from Iris towards his aunt. "Why are they…" he stopped when Belén warned him to stay quiet with a finger over her lips.
"I don't even know how to feel right now. All I know is Caitlin is out there, and we need to find her. Can we do that?" Cisco backed to the desk, not giving much of an alternative. "I hacked Julian's computer. Caitlin had him look up two addresses: 16 Hawthorne Avenue and 1104 Truman Place. She's trying to find the acolytes, I was trying to say."
"What exactly would she want with Alchemy's followers?" Iris wondered out loud.
"Caitlin doesn't want her powers so... she thinks these acolytes can take her to Alchemy who would then take away her powers," Belén explained. It was exactly what Caitlin, in such a state, would attempt to do.
"We heard," Cisco muttered from the computers.
"Well, two acolytes, two addresses. Which one's she gonna hit first?" Veronica inquired, but knew there was no certain answer.
"We got to watch both," Barry decided. He was shot down before he even took a step towards his suit.
"You're gonna stay here. You can barely walk," Joe pointed him to the chair.
"We can take care of Hawthorne," Belén moved over to Cisco.
"I'll take Truman," Veronica volunteered.
"I care about Caitlin, but I don't want to leave Wally," Joe admitted.
"Dad, Barry and I will stay with Wally," Iris offered instead. "You go with Detective Greene."
"Alright," Joe sighed and moved with Veronica.
Belén started for her suit in the meantime.
"Cisco, if you find her…" Barry trailed off when Cisco directed a cold glare on him.
"I won't call you. You've done enough," Cisco mumbled and went on his way.
Belén came back but before she even called for Cisco, Barry motioned her to stop. "Just be careful," he told her and limped his way to Wally's room.
"Look after him, please?" Belén asked Iris quietly. Iris assured she would, allowing Belén to go on in a relative peace.
~0~
"The acolyte's on the second floor," Veronica settled her eyes on the apartment across them. She picked up her coffee cup then offered the second one to Joe. He shook his head and simply stated ahead. "I understand how you feel about Wally but he's going to be okay."
Joe's face said something else. "How would you know?"
"I think logically," Veronica shrugged. "If they wanted him dead, then that would've happened yesterday."
The manner in which she said it was so...carefree. There really was no trace of concern in her. "How do you do that?" Joe asked incredulously.
Veronica gave a small smile. "You're forgetting my own children have been affected. My eldest is in prison for murder and theft, my son is dead and my youngest...just won't stop fighting. After a while, you catch on that no matter how many times you attempt to stop them... they won't."
"So, what? I'm just supposed to let them do what they want even when my gut tells me something's off?"
"No. You use that intuition to help them. At the end of the day they're young and don't have the same experience that we do. That's why they need us," Veronica said with the utmost certainty. She exchanged a smile with Joe after. "So next time, just follow your intuition."
~0~
The first acolyte had been signaled out as the one chosen by Caitlin. She was sneaky like Killer Frost, but cautious like Caitlin as she waited for the acolyte, named Craig apparently, to come out of his bedroom. Just as the he went for the temperature controller, she let the hiss of her ice scare him into turning around.
"Both of my parents are doctors. It's all I ever wanted to be. Growing up, I used to practice the Hippocratic Oath. I was obsessed with it," she started moving towards the nab who only plastered himself against the wall. "If anyone was even gonna step on a bug, I would say, 'Do no harm'. It's built into my DNA." She raised a finger at him, letting ice encapsulate around it to create a perfect icicle. "Unfortunately, my DNA isn't what it used to be. So, believe me when I say answer every one of my questions, or I will harm you and your family." This left the acolyte with no choice. "Who is Alchemy?"
"I don't know. I've never seen him without the mask!"
"I know he can give people powers. Can he take them away?"
"Yes. But you can't make Alchemy do anything. He's just an acolyte, like me," the man admitted, his eyes constantly flickering to the icicle threatening to claw his eyes out. "We both serve the speed god, Savitar. He's shown us the future. I saw you there." Caitlin's eyes turned back to their regular color, even the icicle disappearing from her finger. "You were glorious and powerful. My lord has special plans for you. He will come to you and speak to you. The honor of that is..." his laughter only brought out Caitlin's fear even more. "He will call you...the Bringer. After all, only you, Caitlin Snow, can bring Her."
Caitlin backtracked, her eyes going back and forth between blue and brown. She was terrified. She needed to leave - now! She hurried out of the house, but by the time she managed to get out, Killer Frost was surfacing again. The light rain made for an eventful night, at least that's what Killer Frost kept saying in the head.
"Caitlin!" Cisco's voice stopped her across the road.
She smirked at him. "Really? You brought your toys?" she nodded to his goggled which he had yet to put on.
Cisco's hand gripped around hid goggles. "I'm hoping it won't come to that."
Caitlin raised her icy hands. "It won't."
"Look, I'm not leaving you out here. I want to help you."
"There's only one person who can help me."
"Really? You really think seeking medical advice from someone named Dr. Alchemy is the way to go?"
"Why not? My name is Killer Frost," Caitlin threatened to shoot frost from her hands.
Cisco moved a step forwards. "Your name... is Caitlin Snow.
"Can Caitlin Snow do this?" Caitlin's eyes glowed stronger. Killer Frost commanded her to start firing, and so she did. Icicles stormed towards Cisco and since he couldn't bring himself to attack yet, he ran for cover behind a tree.
Caitlin pulled back a hand to fire stronger but a vine latched onto her wrist, preventing her from moving it. Belén stood behind her, very much in the same cautious state as Cisco. "Caitlin, please!"
"My name is Killer Frost!" Ice zoomed up Belén's wrapped vine, forcing her to let it go before it reached her. Caitlin then whirled around and blasted a powerful mass of frost at the other woman. "Why fight me? We could be a killer team, you know."
Belén motioned Caitlin to calm down. "Caitlin, I know it's hard. The voice is strong but you are stronger. Don't let her control you."
"I'm doing fine, thanks! Can't say the same for you!" Caitlin swung icicles like boomerangs at Belén, forcing the meta to fight back. She moved forwards as her poison swished forwards along with pieces of vines trying to trap Caitlin but it wasn't enough to keep her down. The frosty meta engaged Belén in hand combat.
"Belén! Move!" Cisco put on his goggles, figuring that the best thing would be to bring Caitlin back to STAR Labs...and for that she needed everyone to help.
"I can't!" Belén was in the middle of dodging Caitlin who was probably drawing on Killer Frost's combat skills.
"Unleash those powers," Killer Frost taunted in-between punches. "You know they're itching to play!"
She's right. Let us out! Belén heard the voices begin to scream. With that distraction, Killer Frost backhanded her to the ground.
"Come on out!" she practically demanded, going as far as putting a boot over Belén's back.
Belén screwed her eyes shut but this time the voices weren't going away. They were doing the same thing Killer Frost said to. They wanted to come out.
Caitlin was drawn back by the noises of a zip. She caught Barry's light as he charged towards them. She froze the roadside and watched as the speedster slipped over and rolled on the ground. She walked over to him, glaring down. "How's the leg?"
Barry hated her sense of humor at the moment. He saw her boots from the corner of his eyes and retaliated in the simplest way. He swiped his arm across her legs and knocked her down beside him.
"I'm sorry, Caitlin," he heard her groans beside him and truly felt bad for her. Everything she said was right. It was his fault.
"That was cold, Flash," she gave him his due. "But this is colder." She jumped to her next move and straddled him, planting her lips over his for a frosty kiss.
Cisco knew it was time to act no matter his feelings. He could practically see Barry's blue face thanks to Caitlin. Belén was still on the ground once again raging at herself to 'stop' ... again. Cisco put on his goggles and struck Caitlin with a vibe energy that knocked her over a car. Cisco then came running forwards.
"Start vibrating. It'll warm you up," he left that advice for Barry on the ground.
Caitlin was just attempting to get up when she felt a hand curl around her ankle. "Oh let go you pathetic plant girl," she hissed with a raging icy hand.
"You wanted me out? Now I'm out," Belén had an unusual glare on her face, her eyes glimmering colors.
"Bells, just hold her!" Cisco ran up to them with the intention of knocking Caitlin out.
"I've got a better idea," Belén smirked. Heat erupted from her free hand and sent Cisco back against the same car that Caitlin had rolled over.
Start killing! Get them all out! Let us be free! The voices chanted in unison. Belén felt herself slowly lose against them. She didn't want to be like Caitlin, she wanted to control them...but she was so tired. The stronger they got, the less pain Belén felt, the less stress and ache.
"Well, you came out to play," Caitlin as Killer Frost looked down at Belén with a smug face.
Belén held her head in pain. "Leave me alone, Frost!"
Caitlin circled the woman, taunting her to come out and match her powers. "We could have some fun, can't you see? I hadn't thought about it before but, after all you were the one who wanted me to come out with Caitlin."
"I SAID STOP!" Belén screamed and whirled around to deliver a punch across Caitlin's face. She raised her hands above her head and let white energy blink into existence around them.
"Belén?"
Belén lowered her arms but kept the moon energy stirring between her hands as she turned to face Barry. He was stunned to find Cisco outcold over a car, Caitlin pretty much under the same state on the ground and... Belén being the cause of it. Her white eyes made him fear that perhaps Killer Frost wasn't the only one who was affected by the siphoning device. Had he done that to her as well?
"Shoot," Belén commanded, but as herself trying to regain control. The power around her hands struggled to keep itself going. "I don't want…" her white eyes flickered to Caitlin, "...I don't want to be...like her...knock me out!"
Barry couldn't believe his ears. Belén stumbled towards him, begging him to do what she asked. "But Belén—"
"KNOCK ME OUT!" she screamed at Barry, eyes flickering to gold. The sight terrified him. "DO IT!"
Barry shut his eyes and absolutely hated himself. He streaked forwards and knocked Belén down as cautious as possible. A smack would be enough, he hoped.
~0~
The next time Caitlin awoke, she found herself inside the pipeline with the group, save Belén, staring at her from the other side with sympathy. "Phew, guess I just needed a little sleep. Thanks, guys. I'm feeling much better now. It's okay. You can let me out. I promise I'm not gonna hurt anybody." Her eyes blue eyes scanned the group to see if anyone faltered, but they knew better. "Hmm. Guess you're all smarter than I thought. You know, that was some blast there, Vibe boy. It kind of hurt."
Cisco's eyes were still glossy with tears. He couldn't believe this is what they were reduced to in the end. "I didn't want to hurt you."
Caitlin's face contorted to disgust. "You're pathetic."
"Alchemy can't help you. But we can. I promise," Barry couldn't stop staring at her, hoping that she would come out of her trance.
Caitlin scoffed. "Oh, like you promised Eddie? And like you promised Ronnie? You know, for a hero, Flash, you sure let a lot of people around you die."
"This isn't you talking. It's the powers. They're messing with your mind. You're sick—"
"Killer Frost might be in my head but Caitlin is broken, Barry. And that's all your fault," Caitlin tapped her finger against the wall. A smug smile spread across her face, almost threatening to laugh. "But this time around, justice came through. You're not getting away with a happy ending this time. You hurt the person you supposedly love most. Belén? She's going to become just like me and then we'll take this city together."
Barry swallowed hard, the guilt he felt once now too hard to push with words of comfort. "We're not letting this happen…" He reached for the controller's to close the pipeline up.
"You did this to me!" Caitlin raged from the inside just before she was lost behind the pipeline.
"Do you have any idea how we can reverse this?" Barry turned to Cisco, hoping for anything at this point. "How we can get her back?"
Cisco refused to look at him. "It's like Caitlin said: sometimes when things get broken, they can't be fixed."
~0~
Belén sat at the edge of the medical bed with her head held low in shame. She couldn't stop staring at the meta dampener cuffs adorning her wrists. Cisco must have put them on her after being taken back to STAR Labs. The voices were dead silent in her head. It was as if everything was normal again.
Except she wasn't. She was far from it.
The sound of footsteps rose her head. She was mortified to see her friends and mother staring at her with...pity. She pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head over her knees.
"I'm sorry," she said, not that it mattered. She had punched her friend and thrown the other over a car. One apology made no difference.
Barry asked with a pleading look to let him talk to her first.
"Do not let her become like Caitlin," Veronica warned with the same hostility she once showed him when they first met. She was angry. Hell angry.
Barry cleared his throat and walked into the side room once the others had gone. "This was it, wasn't it? The thing that you were hiding? It was about this and Caitlin."
"I could never say anything about Caitlin. It wasn't my secret to tell," she rose her head once more. "And I just didn't want you to think it was your fault."
"But it is," Barry said grimly, "This is all my fault. In the other timeline, this didn't happen to you. It didn't happen to Caitlin either."
"It does no good to think about that anymore," Belén said, letting out a heavy sigh, "You can't change it anymore. If I could, I would have tried to fix this on my own."
"But you shouldn't have to," Barry said, coming over to sit down on the bed with her, "This is my fault so please let me help to fix this. We're a team, right? You and I, we're partners above everything and everyone else. Please, trust in me that I will fix this."
"There's not much to work with," Belén said, "The voices are just getting stronger now."
"These voices... there's more than one?"
Belén nodded. "There's three. One who controls earth, the other controls the moon elements and the other has heat abilities. They're some of the victims Datura siphoned and killed. They're mad and they want to be free. Datura said that it's only a matter of time until I lose it. She was right about Caitlin, so…"
"Datura?" Barry raised an eyebrow at her. "You've been speaking to that woman?"
"Yeah, she called me one day because apparently she can now see the future sometimes. I visited her too," Belén said, deciding it was best to put it all out there now that the truth was out. "We, uh, we made a deal. She said she'll help and in return, she'll get Frost's power back. But being honest...I don't think she'll be able to reverse it. And I certainly don't want to wear these," she raised her cuffed hands. "If I have to live with these powers, then I want to control them. I don't want to hide them."
Barry ultimately knew she wanted the cuffs off. He could already hear Veronica shouting that it wasn't the safest thing but...he had already messed up by creating this situation. The least he could do was give Belén her choice. It was all he had. He reached over and unlocked the cuffs. Cisco had placed a password on it just in case Belén switched personalities again. Belén was a bit awed that he was listening so easily. Anyone else would've told her absolutely not.
"I'm sorry for doing this to you, but I swear I will do anything and everything I can to help you," Barry promised her. "Just please don't feel like you need to be sorry. This isn't on you."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't exactly help to hear you continually blame yourself. There's nothing you can do by that," she leaned her head against his arm.
"I should have just followed you inside the house," Barry deeply regretted that night he changed the timelines. He had everything and he didn't see it. It would probably be his biggest regret.
"But you didn't, and that's the fact. I'm sorry you feel this way but...there is nothing you can do to change it. There is no fixing. We are not projects," she shifted her head to look up at him. "We are your friends and we need you."
Barry wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. "I've been the villain of this story, Bells."
"Change the course," Belén said, resting her head on his shoulder.
Their moment was cut short when the lights mysteriously malfunctioned in the building. The only possible source of power had to be from Wally. The two metas hurriedly rushed towards Wally's room and found Joe in the middle of breaking Wally out of his cocoon.
"Joe! Hey! What are you doing?" Barry frantically urged him to stop but Joe had already made the decision long before. "You can't cut him!"
"I have to!" Joe argued back. He didn't want Joe to follow in Caitlin's footsteps, nor Belén's. With the help of a power saw, the cocoon was opened in half but along with it came an odd noise.
Barry figured what it was and sped the others away from the cocoon just as an energy exploded from it. Smoke filled the room over the tipped over furniture. There was only s familiar vibrating noise heard and it wasn't from Barry.
Wally stood in the middle of the room, his entire body vibrating. His gaze slowly went around the room but he never made a noise. Then, just like that, he zipped out of the room.
The group quickly intended on finding him, as well as seeing what exactly the cocoon made him.
"No sign of Wally. I've got the satellite scanning the entire city for rapid movement," Cisco called from the desk.
"If he's a speedster, he could be halfway across the country by now," Iris remarked, still unable to believe what they'd seen mere minutes ago.
"Barry, we have to find him," Joe felt the urgency of a parent but also knew it was his fault. He had only wanted to help his son before something bad happened.
"I'm more worried about what happens when we do find him," Barry admitted. "He didn't seem like he was all there."
"I shouldn't have cut him out of that thing," Joe put his hands over his head.
"If we have no way of knowing what effects Wally did under...should we really try to find him first?" Belén asked. "We need to be smart about this and the only one who could possibly know is…"
"Caitlin," Barry exhaled. "We need a biochemist."
"And how do we break her out of...whatever is in her?" Veronica inquired, accusing eyes landing on her daughter. She had spotted the clean wrists.
Belén sucked in a breath and walked to the desk. "Killer Frost from Earth 2 expects us to fix Caitlin by erasing the powers, her mind. If we want Caitlin back, then we need to remind her who she is."
"Remind her who she is? I think I can do that," Barry decided to play one last card and headed for the pipeline.
Veronica quickly took her daughter by the wrist to the side. "What the hell are you doing? Where are the cuffs?"
"I'm not wearing them," Belén pushed her mother's hands off and returned to the desk.
"I knew we shouldn't have given Barry the password," the woman came after her.
"Mom, you can't just lock them up! I mean, that's exactly what Caitlin tried to do and look where she is right now?" Belén turned to Cisco with the most sincere face possible. "Cisco, I swear I am so sorry that I threw you over a car! I'm sorry that I lied to everyone but you cannot force me to shut my powers away!" she shouted. "Like I said to Barry I am not a project to fix!"
Get them. Make them fear you, Belén closed her eyes and leaned on the desk. The others exchanged cautious glances.
~0~
Caitlin was smug when Barry reopened her prison. It was going to be difficult convincing her but Barry was not planning on stopping.
"We need your help, Caitlin. Wally... he's... he's out of the cocoon, but his biochemistry is all out of whack. He went AWOL."
Caitlin casually leaned against the back wall of the pod. Her lips formed a mock pout. "So?"
"So, when we find him, he's gonna need your help. He's gonna need your medical expertise, your experience with metas. What he needs is Caitlin Snow, MD."
Caitlin gave a mocking laugh. "So, you came to try and talk some sense into me."
"No. I came to let you go," Barry moved to the controls again and opened up the pod.
Caitlin waited a second fir any trick he might be holding back on. Barry just stood there waiting for her. She mocked him and walked out. "For a smart guy, that was an awfully dumb move."
"Like I said, you're free to go."
"What's the catch?"
"You have to kill me," Barry answered in a matter of fact tone.
From the cortex, Iris was deadlocked on the plan, thinking it stupid. "What is he doing!?"
"He's bringing Caitlin back," Belén shushed her, she and Cisco being the only ones not as worried. She had faith that their friend was still there, and if Barry really wanted to help them then he needed to be the one to take the leap. He was faster; he could move if he needed to.
Caitlin raised an eyebrow at Barry and moved up to him. He didn't move an inch. "You want to fight, Flash?"
"No. I'm not gonna fight you," Barry continued with his nonchalantness. "But if you want to leave this room, you're gonna have to kill me."
"Don't think I won't," Caitlin warned, Killer Frost lacing every word spoken.
"Then do it."
Caitlin turned her palm over and created one lone icicle.
Barry braced himself and didn't move an inch. Caitlin, for some reason, only raised the icicle to his chest. "What are you waiting for? What's the big deal? Come on! Live up to your name, Killer Frost. I want to see some killing!" he grabbed onto her wrist holding the icicle and yanked her forwards. "You want to be the villain? This is what they do. They kill their friends, because nothing matters to them anymore, right?"
Caitlin seemed to struggle to push the icicle. Killer Frost raged to do it already so they could go. I can't, Caitlin was the one to think. She's not in control.
"Kill me, Caitlin!" Barry practically ordered to the still woman. "You can't do it. You can't, because underneath all that cold, you're still you."
Caitlin released a shaky breath, Killer Frost's rage was being sealed away at least for the time being. She was not a killer. Killer Frost could not make her become that. Absolutely not.
The blue in her eyes faded away and were replaced by tears. She dropped the icicle in her hand and broke into sobs. "Barry!"
Barry hugged her with no hard feelings. "It's okay. I got you. It's okay." He held her tight and sighed of relief to have her back with them.
~ 0 ~
Caitlin felt a huge relief having the meta-dampeners back on her wrists. Her mind was clear again, there was just her and only her. It left her entirely focused on Wally's current state, the latter still unfound. She'd taken a couple of bits left over by the cocoon to see where exactly Wally's structure was at the moment. And because of it, she was able to form an injection that might help him.
"I think extracting Wally early from that cocoon left him in a fugue state. His synapses aren't used to functioning at super-speed, so his mind and muscles are misfiring," she stopped by Barry with the serum ready to go.
"I mean, will this stuff help?" Joe eyed the serum with weariness.
"I've synthesized a neural compound that I think will get his mind and body running at the same speed. We just have to find him first."
"Well, computers aren't doing a damn thing," Cisco muttered from his spot at the desk. He rubbed his face then dropped his hands and turned to the group. "I don't know what else to do."
"But maybe Joe does," Veronica gave the man a glance, knowingly smiling. "Father's know best. "What's your intuition saying?"
Joe had to smile, but didn't disregard her attempt that fast. He got to wondering if perhaps Wally wasn't lost. What if he had just...gotten nostalgic in that state he was in? When nothing made sense, what kept him together?
"The house that he grew up in," he said before he could even solidify the thought. "He used to go there when he missed his mother. In Keystone."
"Let's go," Barry got ahold of him and left together.
As soon as they were gone, Caitlin moved towards Cisco and Belén with that face that spelled utter guilt. "I, uh... I just wanted to…"
"It's okay," Cisco got up from his desk and hugged her tight. "You scared me for a second, getting all Mother of Dragons on me with that hair."
Caitlin managed to chuckle but she was still feeling pretty bad in regards to Belén. "I shouldn't have said anything, b-but I...I wasn't…"
"You don't need to explain anything to me, Cait, I know exactly what that feels like," Belén raised her hands. "I guess they had to know sometime…"
"Still freaked us out…" Iris was heard mumbling from her spot. "I nearly went reporter on you two earlier."
"I know," Belén mocked a putout face. "But it's a scary thing, and that's why we kept quiet. But rest assure—" she placed a hand on Caitlin's arm, "—that we will find a way to help you. Datura said she wanted her power back, so...she's on board."
"Woah, woah, we're letting psycho-Belén help us now?" Cisco went wide-eyed at the news, something that both Iris and Veronica shared.
"You can't be serious," Veronica shook her head. "Tell me you're not serious."
"Who's psycho-Belén?" Axel looked up from the tablet he'd gotten from home.
"No one, go back to your games," Veronica shushed him with a pointed finger.
"It's okay, we're on the same boat - believe it or not - so she's helping," Belén made it clear this was something that had already been decided.
"But did she ask for something in return besides her power?" Caitlin had to wonder. Datura, while Belén, was still dangerously ambitious.
Belén cleared her throat and shook her head. "Nope, just Frosty back." There was no point in telling Caitlin that she would also have to give up her powers to Datura as well. Caitlin felt terrible enough.
That would just remain her little secret till the end.
~ 0 ~
"Oh, so she got back to normal?" Belén rolled her eyes at her doppelganger's disappointment of Caitlin triumphing over Killer Frost.
"Please, don't try to hide your goodness…" Belén sat down on the edge of her bed and glared at Datura on her phone screen.
"Can't hide what I never had," Datura snorted and put a finger to her chin. "Though I do have to express my disappointment of getting this prediction wrong."
"What prediction?"
"I saw Killer Frost in all her frosty glory," Datura shared the vision she'd gotten that day, earlier, but nonetheless about Killer Frost.
"So your psychic abilities aren't always correct, then?"
"Well of course not, the future is never written in stone."
"So...right now, what do you see about...me?"
"Ooh, scared are we?" Datura was quick taunt before laughing. Belén hated her, she really did, because it was fear that was constantly coursing through her. Datura leaned closer to the screen. "I see nothing."
"I know you see something you—"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Dream about that," the doppelganger spat and ended the video chat.
Belén growled and tossed her phone over her shoulder. She buried her face in her hands and thought about the possibilities if she did not learn to control these powers. She already made it clear to her friends that suppressing them was not an option for her - it never would be.
When she heard the front door unlocking, she quickly jumped up from the bed and ran up to the mirror. She didn't want to look so distressed when they had oh-so many problems as it was.
"Yikes," she whispered at her reflection. She combed through her hair with her fingers and walked out of the room to see how Barry did with...getting Julian not to say a word about Caitlin. She offered to go herself but Barry decided that he needed to, because it was part of him owning up to his mistakes. Barry had a somber face until he saw Belén coming out of the hallway. "So, how did it go?" she leaned against the hallway threshold. "Is he going to tell? Do you need me to try?"
How could Barry tell her that one of her closest friends had forced him to quit his job so that Caitlin could avoid jail? He couldn't. At least not tonight when Belén was already looking far too tired to deal with something else. "He's not going to say anything," he informed her with a the tiniest of smiles.
A big relief washed over Belén, even making her laugh towards the end. "Oh my God that is so good to hear!" she walked over and hugged him tight, swaying them a bit.
"Yeah," Barry rubbed her back and rested his chin over her head. Keeping his sudden departure from his job wasn't going to last a day, probably not even a week, but for tonight he would like to give Belén a moment of peace.
After everything, she deserved that much.
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