Flash 13
Two weeks later.
"There he is." Caitlin breathed, seeing the homeless looking guy. Barry placed his hands in his pockets and just watched. "Looks like the location was correct" Robin huffed.
"Of course it was" Barry's eyes remained on Robin as she walked with Caitlin to the man. She hadn't actually changed that much. Her hair was a little bit shorter and straighter but apart from that she didn't look different.
"Professor Stein?" Caitlin asked carefully. The man limped away.
"Ugh, I told you to stay away from me." Robin stared at the man, a strange chill running down her spine.
"And I will, but there's someone else who wants to talk to you." Clarissa, Martin's wife, stepped closer. Cisco had managed to track her down and bring her to them.
"Martin? Do you know who I am?" The man, Martin, or Ronnie turned around.
"Clarissa."
"Is it really you?" Ronnie grunted.
"I don't know. I hear the other inside of me." Robin actually took a step back at that. It was Ronnie. Barry reached out to her but hesitated. He then just placed his hand on her shoulder, silently offering her is strength. "He wants to go home to her. To them. But we can't. I want to be me again."
"Martin..." Clarissa tried calmly. "What's my favorite color?" Ronnie blinked, breathing heavily.
"You could... you could never decide, so you chose stripes." Clarissa gasped, her hand shooting to her mouth. "You shouldn't see me like this." Ronnie tried to turn away but Clarissa grabbed his hands.
"I see you. I see you, Martin." Ronnie pulled her hands to him and closed his eyes. "These people can help you. They say they can. Please let them." He opened his eyes again and focused them on the group.
"Please... Help us." Robin and Caitlin shared a look, both knowing what they had to do.
-
Finally back in the lab Robin had nestled herself back behind her desk, a comfy blanked around her shoulders. Caitlin had insisted she should warm up, saying she was way too cold but it didn't take a meta to know she wanted to make sure Robin didn't leave again.
"Well, we got him." Barry blinked. "Them. Now what?" Wells rubbed his face.
"Well, Stein clearly thinks he can separate himself from Ronnie's body using nuclear fission." Caitlin shook her head.
"What do you think?"
"What do I think? Is it possible? Theoretically. But splitting an atom and splitting a man are two very different things." All of their heads turned as Ronnie walked into the room, looking exactly like his old self.
"I don't suppose it's necessary to point out you're all staring?" Robin blinked and turned back to her computer screen.
"Our apologies." Ronnie looked around.
"It is remarkable. I feel clearer than I have since the accident. What did you give me?" Robin looked up, absently biting her thumb.
"A cocktail of anti-psychotics, depressants, and mood stabilizers." Ronnie blinked but smiled.
"The same formula used to treat dissociative identity disorders." His eyes found Caitlin's. "I assume this was your idea? Very clever, Cait." Caitlin froze.
"Don't call me that. Please." Ronnie noticed his mistake and nodded.
"I apologize." Robin stood up, the blanked falling onto the chair.
"We'd like to run some tests on you" They turned to her, the air becoming a little bit more breathable. "If you don't mind." Ronnie nodded.
"Of course, Dr. Grayson." Caitlin exhaled before she led him to the lab. Robin was about to follow when she noticed Barry walk off, his phone on his ear.
-
For the next half an hour Robin watched Caitlin talk to a half naked Ronnie. Not creepy at all. Finally Wells came back with Barry. Caitlin joined them as well. Robin had just handed her a glass of water when Cisco walked through the door, his eyes wide.
"That's not freaky at all." He breathed before he saw Robin. "Robin!" He grinned and hugged her. She laughed and patted his back.
"It seems Ronnie's fight with The Flash has exacerbated the Firestorm Matrix. It's unstable." Cisco and Robin released and walked after them into the cortex. "Exponentially increasing the rate of fission inside his body."
"Well, how long does he have?" Wells stopped.
"If his temperature keeps rising at the current pace, no more than a couple of hours." Barry crossed his arms.
"But you can fix it, right? I mean, you... you can separate them before it's too late."
"Any attempt we make to separate the two of them could be catastrophic... a nuclear explosion. And a nuclear explosion of this magnitude would level this entire city. Unless..." Robin looked up.
"Unless what?"
"Unless the host body were no longer functional." Caitlin's eyes widen.
"You want to kill Ronnie?"
"No, I don't want to kill Ronnie. But in this scenario, Ronnie is the host body."
"If you kill Ronnie, you kill Stein. That's two people."
"I don't know how else to stop it. And my guess is that if Ronnie and Professor Stein knew the consequences that we were all facing, they would make the same decision. It's two lives for millions." Robin shook her head.
"Very philosophical but I rather make sure no one dies." She nodded to herself, turning to Cisco. "Come on, I think better with coffee" Cisco shrugged and together they walked out. Barry watched the two go before he made his decision and dashed out.
-
"Where's Robin?"
"Jitters. She said that the coffee at S.T.A.R. Labs tastes like dirt"
"Thanks Cisco"
-
"Any man who drives safely while kissing a pretty girl is not giving the pretty girl the attention she deserves.If I learned anything this past year, life's too short not to live."
-
"Hey." Barry called, walking into the core, Robin at his side. "Anything?"
Doctor Well's nodded. "I have an idea. It's a bit of a Hail Mary, but Cisco and I are going to give it a try." His eyes found Robin's. "Can I count on your help as well, Robin?" Robin nodded, stepping towards the lab.
"Always."
"Thank you."
"I'll get Professor Stein." Cisco walked in, stopping Barry.
"Looking for the professor? Yeah, he's gone." Wells sighed. "Caitlin, find him" She nodded and turned to her computer. "Robin, Cisco, with me" Robin nodded and followed him to the lab.
-
"You guys almost done?" Robin nodded, solding the last piece. She had also changed to her suit. Cisco had even made some adjustments while she was gone. The suit was now also electricity proof, something they were all really glad about.
"I found Stein." Caitlin declared, walking into the room. "He's in the Badlands. Middle of nowhere, 30 miles outside of Central City." Wells looked up.
"Minimum safe distance. He's sacrificing himself."
"How much time does he have left?"
"12 minutes."
"And... We're done." Robin nodded and carefully took it. Caitlin frowned.
"What is it?"
"This is a Quantum Splicer."
"Will it work to separate them?" Robin shrugged.
"Let's hope so"
"Now, Barry, even you can't outrun a nuclear blast, so you get this device to Professor Stein, and you get out of there as fast as you can." Barry reached out to take the splicer but Robin stepped out of his reach.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going with you." He shook his head. "I'm not letting you bring Caitlin into this." She declared, her eyes in Caitlin. "I will bring him back."
"No, you're not. It's too dangerous!" Robin walked into the core, grabbing her mask.
"You don't know how to operate the splicer."Barry stalked after her.
"Cisco's gonna talk me through it."
"There's not enough time. And besides, I didn't just come back to sit behind my desk again " She held out her free hand. "Let's go."Barry turned to the others. Wells gave him a nod. Barry sighed but nodded. Robin smirked and jumped on his back, the safest method to speed with Barry. Barry turned to the door.
"Barry." Barry turned to him. "Bring them both back" Barry nodded and sped off. The remaining team watched them blur away all of them feeling like they were repeating the last time Ronnie and Robin were in this situation.
-
Flash and Robin stopped in the middle of nowhere, leaving Robin a little disorientated. She blinked rapidly, until the sight of Ronnie with a gun pressed against his head filled her vision.
"Professor Stein!" She ran towards him. He froze. His eyes widen as he noticed them.
"What are you doing here? You can't be here! Get her out of here" Robin shook her head, stepping closer.
"Please, look, Ronnie's still in there somewhere." Ronnie pressed the gun firmer against his head, stopping Robin.
"All those people... Clarissa... I won't let them die! It's better I end this now." Barry held up his hands, stepping besides Robin.
"We can separate you! We can stop the explosion." Ronnie lowered the gun.
"How?"
"A Quantum Splicer." Robin continued, showing him the device in her hands. "It's a fission device designed to bombard your atoms with as much energy as they experienced in the particle accelerator explosion. It should be enough to separate you." She stopped and took another step forwards. "Please, Professor, you have nothing left to lose." Ronnie fell silent, going over the possibilities before he nodded and took the device. A small spark of energy transferred between them. Robin took a step back, choosing to ignore it.
"Ronnie, Caitlin told me to tell you that she loves you" Ronnie stared at her and nodded. He placed the device on his chest. Belts shot out and clasped themselves around him. "I look forward to meeting you in person, Professor." He closed his eyes, heat and energy slowly ejecting from his body.
Robin and Barry watched as the red, fiery substance erupted from him. Suddenly Cisco's voice reached them.
"It's not working! He's not gonna make it." Indeed, more and more energy escaped Ronnie. He now looked more like a bomb than a human being.
"He's gonna blow."
"Get out of there."
"Barry, get out of there now!" Barry immediately reached over and grabbed Robin's arm. She shook her head, not wanting to see her friend die, again.
"No! No!"
"Robin, we have to go." She turned to look at her, actual tears in her eyes. She took a shaky breath and nodded. Barry nodded as well and sped them away.
"Run!"
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