38 hours before Doctor Wells goes to the future.

"Bethany messed up my order again!" I yelled as I walked into the he cortex, everyone's eyes on me with wide eyes. "Just let me deep fry her press on nails!" I slammed my drink on the table, Cisco's hands stretching in front of the keyboard in case it spilled.

"It was just the wrong cup size." Caitlin said as she sipped on her drink. I grumbled, crossing my arms as I leaned back.

"Bethany better sleep with one eye open tonight." I muttered as Cisco's eyes widened.

"Okay, never mess up Cora's order." Cisco noted as I nodded, waiting for Barry to enter the Cortex.

"Okay, I'm here. Sorry Iris said something about printing 2000 copies of missing persons instead of 200 for Eddie-" Barry made eye contact with me as my face suddenly changed from a happy expression to a sad one.

I still missed Eddie. Not as much as Iris, but I didn't have a good feeling about how things would end.

"So. . . Anything in Wells?" Barry asked before he too became sad.

"Well. . . I kept asking myself. . . why would Wells pretend to need a wheelchair?" Cisco asked as he brought over Wells chair.

"Sympathy?" Barry suggested.

"Something he made that he put into his wheelchair to make him faster?" I said as Cisco stopped, turning to me. "Before you ask, no, I'm not reading your mind. I'm just really go old at guessing."

"That's freaky how accurate you are." Cisco said as he ripped open the back of Wells wheelchair to reveal some weird tech.

"Woah. That looks like some Back to The Future type shit." I muttered as Cisco nodded in agreement.

"It looks like the tech inside Gideon." Barry said as Cisco once again nodded.

"I measured the output, and this thing is kicking off serious juice. I mean, we're talking enough to power all of Central City." Cisco said as I raised my brows.

"Seriously?" I asked as Cisco scoffed.

"Oh yeah."

"What do you think Wells was using it for?" Joe asked as Cisco shrugged.

"I think this thing is some kind of battery." Cisco said.

"Battery?" Barry asked.

"As in Wells was using it to power himself." I answered as Barry made an "o" with his lips.

"To gain more speed." Cisco said

"And that's why he's so much faster than you." Joe said as we all nodded.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Everyone jumped as Cisco and I ran to the monitors, my heart dropping as well as my mouth. "T-the particle accelerator. I-its-"

"It's been reopened." Cisco finished for me as I turned to Barry, whose eyes widened.

"How is that possible? It blew up!" Caitlin said as I shook my head in confusion.

"It-It had to have been rebuilt." I answered as my mind suddenly grew a lightbulb.

"Wells." Barry and I said in unison.

"Even if he did rebuild it, how did Dr. Wells turn the particle accelerator on?" Caitlin said as I looked at Barry.

"He's here." Barry muttered as I felt my heart stop

"That's why we couldn't find him. He's been inside S.T.A.R. Labs the whole time." Joe said as Barry gave us a look we all knew.

"I'll get the soda." I muttered as we all ran to the accelerator.

"Why did you bring the soda?" Joe asked as Cisco and I held two cups of soda.

"Whenever something happens with the Reverse-Flash, liquid floats in the air. You know, Barry's fish tank... Wells's champagne... Lance's coffee. Remember that? If this does the same thing, we'll know that Wells is in there." I said as Joe clicked his tongue.

"Do it." He said as Barry nodded, opening the doors. I turned to Cisco, who had a scared look on his face.

"Cisco?" His head snapped my direction as he got out of his trance, both of us watching our drinks float in the air. "Well. I always thought I'd see this happening in space." I said quietly before more beeping went off.

"Woah woah woah what's happening?" I said as I looked around.

"Prisoner release protocol initiated." A female auto mated voice said as my eyes widened.

Suddenly, a woman was in front of me, her fist connecting with my face. "Peek-A-Boo." She said before disappearing again.

"Shawna. Heh. Didn't think I'd see your big-eyes face again." I snickered, shaking my head as I pulled my fists to my face.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck in that box?" She snarled as I shrugged.

"I heard it's. . . Unpleasant." I faked throwing a punch, a smirk on my face as I swung my other fist, knocking it in her teeth, then connecting my other fist under her jaw.

She flew a few inches off the air before smacking her head on the ground, knocking her cold. Cisco and Barry's mouths were dropped open as I hissed, shaking my hands in pain.

"That really hurt." I groaned as Cisco scoffed, shaking his head.

"No. That was freaking AWESOME." Cisco said as I snickered, staring down at Shawna.

"How did she get out?" Joe asked as Barry turned to him.

"Wells must have released he-" Cisco started before I cut him off.

"SHH!" I said as I pressed my finger against my lips. "Do you hear that?" I whispered as everything went silent.

"Help!" Someone screamed in the distance as my eyes widened.

"Eddie." I muttered before breaking into a sprint towards his cries for help.

"Help!" The cries became clearer as I yanked a hatch open, jumping into it as I ignored the fact there was a ladder, bending my knees as I landed as gracefully as I ever have in gymnastics.

Thank god for my mother.

"Eddie!" I yelled as I ran towards him, quickly untying the knots around his wrists. "Eddie can you hear me?"

A weak smile spread in his face. "Cooorrraaaa." He elongated my name as I scoffed, helping him up as Barry came in.

"Jesus Christ Eddie." Barry muttered as we helped him up the ladder.

☀︎︎

36 hours until Doctor Wells goes to the future

"Your vitals are normal, but you're just a little dehydrated. The IV should help with that, but drink
some fluids and stay off your feet." Caitlin said to Eddie and Iris.

Frankly, Cora still didn't like the idea of having Iris in STAR Labs, but since Eddie was found here, Cora didn't have a choice but let her in.

I patted Eddie on the shoulder, reminding him he missed out movie night, getting a weak chuckle from him before I walked away, out of the Cortex before I blew a fuse that was unnecessary.

After a few minutes, Eddie and Iris walked out. "Get home safe, you two." I said with a smile as they both nodded, waving goodbye before Barry walked out.

"Hey Bar." I said with a smile as he did, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before he got to the point.

"Look, Cisco is looking back in the Particle Accelerator for some type of tube. We need your help back in the Cortex." He said. I shrugged, nodding as I followed Barry back.

"Guys I found it." Cisco said as he showed us the tube. I frowned, noticing how futuristic it looked.

"Can't you just turn it off?" Joe suggested as Cisco scoffed.

"Do you see a power button on here?" He asked as Joe went silent. I sat down in my chair, Barry's hand on my shoulder. I reached up to grab it, his thumb now rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

"Best I can tell, 36 hours." Cisco answered as I felt myself shudder, Barry's hand gently squeezing my shoulder as a way to reassure me.

"That's when Wells will be back." I whispered.

"Why would Wells want the particle accelerator to work again? It's not like it was a success the first time." Cisco scoffed as I shrugged, standing up as Barry's arms wrapped around my torso, and Cisco couldn't help but crack a smile.

"What about the meta-humans that are trapped down there? They'll turn into meta. . . Toast." I said as Cisco frowned.

As everyone talked, my mind raced away somewhere else. A place where Oliver Queen once inhabited.

"Lian Yu." I said as everyone turned to me.

"What the hell is a Lian Yu?" Joe asked.

"The island Oliver was stranded at for five years." Barry informed them all as I nodded.

"A.R.G.U.S. built a covert military prison on it." I said as Caitlin nodded, starting to follow the idea.

"It's where Oliver keeps his most dangerous criminals." Cisco said as I nodded.

"So we ship them from one illegal black site to another?" Joe said as I shrugged.

"It's the only place they can stay." I said.

☀︎︎

15 hours remaining

I sat in the passengers seat as Joe drove to the airport. "You know Joe, in the past year that I've come to know you, we never actually got to know each other. Like, you're Barry's father, and I don't even know your favorite color." I said as Joe chuckled, tilting his head.

"It's cyan (idk)." He answered as I smiled.

"Crimson." I replied as Joe smiled.

"Hey! Let us outta here!" I heard Mark Marion yell as I rolled my eyes. "Where the hell are we anyway?" He asked as I started to laugh my ass off.

"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy." I said as I started cackling, bending forward,m as I held my stomach, Joe raising a brow at me.

"Is that some type of millennial thing I'm too old to understand?" Joe asked as I wiped away my tears of laughter, gasping for air as we pulled up to the airport.

"Do you really think Leonard is gonna help us?" I asked as Joe sighed.

"If I've learned anything about being a cop, you never trust a criminal." Joe said as I gave him a wary look before getting out of the truck.

Before I closed the door, Iris rang my phone. "Iris. . . Hey now really isn't a good-"

"EDDIE PROPOSED!" She screamed my mouth dropped.

"I- WHAT?" I yelled as Joe walked around the truck, furrowing his brows. "Eddie proposed?!" I repeated as Joe suddenly looked angry but happy. Oops.

"Yes and I said yes! Oh my god. Cora I can't even-"

"Iris. While I would love to squeal with you, I can't. Bye bye now I'll call you in like half an hour if I don't die." I said before hanging up.

"Eddie proposed?" Joe asked as I nodded. He went silent, either from loss of words or anger.

"Let's just get this over with." Joe said with a roll of his eyes. I nodded, starting to walk towards the backend of Cisco's uncles truck.

"Oops." I turned my head to hear Cisco say as I frowned, looking at him. "The dampeners fluctuating."

"What?! But that means-" I yelled out an 'oof' as I rolled backwards several times before landing on my stomach as the truck doors swung open.

"Perfect." I grumbled, standing up on my black heeled boots. "Guess the party has really started, hasnt it?" I said as I tried to read all of their minds, but only one thing was clear.

"I have to get out of here."

"I'm so out of here." Shawna said before disappearing. And I haven't seen her since.

"Time to take your last breath." Kyle Nimbus said as I scoffed.

"I don't think so, Cloud Boy." I joked as lightning began to dance around Barry.

I turned to see Caitlin attacking Cisco, realizing that Prism had escaped as well. "Don't look at Prism!" I told myself, staring down at his feet before turning to Barry, who was about to go for him.

Suddenly, I heard the noise of Snart's cold gun starting up, everyone stopping before they had the chance to fight back.

I seemed to zone out once again, a dark feeling in my mind and chest as Leonard talked to the inmates, who suddenly ran off.

I zoned back in, the dark feeling disappearing as I glared at Snart. "I always knew I could never trust your family."

"And yet you were friends with my sister." Leonard scoffed as I glared at him.

"Only because she dangled me over a building threatening to let go of me if I didn't befriend her." I said as Cisco gasped.

"The toxicity." He muttered.

"Now, they all owe me." Leonard said before strutting away.

☀︎︎

2 minutes remaining

"Man, I've seen the way that Oliver does things . . . and he's not afraid to just do whatever it takes. . . to get what he needs, and I thought that I could do that too. I thought I could just use Snart, but instead he used me." Barry said as I hugged him gently.

"You aren't the Arrow, Barry. You're the Flash. And that's better than what Oliver could ever be. No offense to him." I said as Barry chuckled, kissing the top of my head. "And that's not the kind of hero you are anyway."

"Then What kind of hero am I?" Barry asked as I looked up at him, a small twinkle in my eye as I smiled.

"The kind that cares about whether or not
those criminals lived or died.

"I mean, whatever Mardon and Nimbus and Shawna did, they're human beings and you knew letting Wells use them as pawns was wrong. You know the difference between right and wrong. And you weren't willing to blur the lines between the two. That's the kind of man you are. And that's what makes you different than the Arrow." I said with a smile as Barry slowly came to have a smile too.

His hands reached the side of my face, pulling me into a long kiss in the middle of the hallways of S.T.A.R. Labs.

And in this moment I finally knew one thing.

I'm in love with Barry Allen.