It had been a few days after Team Flash had met, officially, Nora Allen-West, and needless to say everything was confusing to say the least. Two people in particular didn't know what to make of it: Barry and Iris. However there was also someone who felt even more conflicted about it: Caitlin Snow. At times she didn't know whether or not to believe Nora's rather far-fetched story, and yet at other times she couldn't help but wonder if it was true.

From what she had seen during the events of Reverse Flash, it was possible, and at times she had seen that the possibility of time travel and jumping between different dimensions was possible, as Barry himself had experienced with Flashpoint, or during the many arrivals of Zoom, Savitar and the numerous Harrison Wells's from the different Earth's, just to name a few individuals. Though if Caitlin had to admit it, she wished and hoped that it wasn't true. And the reason for that was because she was in love with Barry...

She knew it was selfish and wrong, but she couldn't help it. She was head over heels for him in ways she, at times, struggled to describe. She knew how long she had been having these feelings for, as they began to surface during the start of their partnership when Barry first got his powers, though they certainly began to manifest more and more as the days, weeks and months began to surface...especially on the day when Barry had lost his powers and when they went to that bar were they sang "Summer Loving" together, even if she had been drunk during that night.

And as time had gone on, she could swear that they shared feelings for each other as well, whether or not Barry and herself admitted it or not. Hell she even had to admit that if Barry hadn't been around, she'd have become Killer Frost a lot quicker, or she would never have been able to break free from her control before and during her servitude with Savitar. And, she had to admit, that whilst Cisco and Wells may have been reasons for her to stay around after the Particle Accelerator went into overdrive, but ever since the day they became a team Barry had been the reason she had stayed and came back to Star Labs numerous times over, just like when Cisco asked her to help them get Barry out of the Speed Force over 6 months after she had gone off the grid.

She even had to admit that, whilst Killer Frost would never admit it herself whenever she was around and in control, she thought that Killer Frost also had feelings for Barry as well, with Savitar being the proof since she trusted him without a moments hesitation even if he was another version of Barry. She guessed that was why Iris had been so cold around her, no pun intended, and even mistrusting of her whenever Barry and Caitlin were around one another or in the same room alone with one another. She even knew that Iris on more than one occasion had been cruel and harsh to Barry, even at one point trying to prevent Barry from coming back from the Speed Force.

She had even tried to control her and Killer Frost. Barry was the only one who truly could help her with Killer Frost if and when needed, Iris had merely irritated both of them to the point that Caitlin had briefly broken control at one point to threaten Iris about still having an arm. Caitlin sighed sadly as she slowly buried her head in her hands a bit. Barry deserved happiness, and he wasn't getting that with Iris no matter what anybody said. It was just a forced relationship built on nothing but Iris wanting Barry to herself. Caitlin though thought she could give Barry the true happiness he wanted...even if this was selfish thinking from her part.

"You okay Cait?" She heard from behind her, recognizing the voice instantly. She turned her head briefly and saw the Scarlet Speedster himself standing behind her in the archway to the main lab. She smiled a little when she saw him, Barry's presence always seemingly managing to bring a smile to her face. "I'm fine." She said simply, Barry smiling a little before walking over slowly. "I...wanted to apologize to you...for being an ass since I got back." He said sincerely, Caitlin surprised that he's bringing this up, but smiled slightly that he did.

"You helped me return from the Speed Force...and since then I've treated you badly, I've been a real jerk...and I feel really bad about it, and I'm sorry about it." his words were genuine and sincere, and sounded like they were coming from the heart. Before he could speak another word, Caitlin got up from her chair and walked over to her Speedster love interest and hugged him gently. "Thank you...and you don't have to say anything else." she said with a small smile, Barry left surprised a bit by that, but he smiles as well a little as he hugged her back gently too.

Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted when they soon heard an alert on the computer console about a new Meta-Human being in the area, causing them to turn around and look at the screen and causing them to break from the hug, much to both of their disappointment. "It looks like a Meta-Human has been spotted outside of..." Caitlin began, but stopped before she could finish, a look of concern soon appearing on her face as Barry asked. "Cait? Outside of where?" "It's right outside of Star Labs." she responded, which surprised and shocked Barry as he soon told her "Call Cisco, I'm going after it!" And before she could say another word, not that she was going to argue on this point anyway, he sped away as fast as he could whilst changing into his suit in the process as Caitlin made a call to Cisco.

Soon Flash exited the building and stopped in front of the building, seeing in front of him somebody he neither knew nor recognized...mind you he never did at first with new Meta-Human's if we're being fair...the Meta-Human in question was a male in his early 20's, but who's body looked as pale as ice and snow. He wore what almost looked like a black combat vest by design, though it wasn't one clearly, and a red sleeve-less jacket covering it, some of the jacket looked torn at the bottom in numerous places to make it look a little like lower strands of a cloak, and he wore a red hood that completely covered up his hair but exposed his face, like he wasn't even trying to hide his identity.

He also had either 2 utility belts attached to his waist, or just 1 big one, that, alongside some strange metal things that were completely attached to the jacket, were holding both the jacket and the vest together in place. He also wore some black finger-less gloves on his hands that were attached to a metallic gauntlet each, black trousers and lastly black boots with metal attachments that came up to where the boot met nearly met the knee. What was spooky about him more than his incredibly pale skin however was his eyes: one eyes was a magma orange and the other was an ice cold blue...and it looked like he was staring into Flash's soul.

Caitlin, meanwhile, had already brought up the security camera feed from one of the outside camera's to the building, and was both surprised when she saw this unknown Meta-Human and worried for Barry, not trying to hide it due to her being alone at the moment. "Barry...." she said aloud, though it was barely that of a whisper, as if her voice had been caught up for reasons unknown, which surprised her. She knew it shouldn't be, since they've run into numerous, maybe hundreds, of Meta-Humans in the many years...but something made her worry about this person, similarly to when they first encountered Zoom, or when they were trying to hunt down Savitar before...that time...

Cisco soon arrived at Star Labs quickly enough, in part due to his powers, and soon said urgently "Caitlin, what's going on? Where's Barry?" His answer soon came quicker than he expected when he looked at the screen, seeing Barry standing outside of Star Lab with the unknown Meta-Human looking directly at him. "He just appeared outside of Star Labs, and Barry went to check on it." Caitlin said worriedly, trying to hide it as best as she could...however she was unaware that Cisco saw that she had a look of both concern and worry on her, a look he had seen on a number of occasions since Barry had come into their lives and became The Flash, however he'd always kept quiet about it out of respect for Caitlin, figuring it was nothing. He returned his attention to the monitor, as now was not the best time to mention this.

"Who are you!" Flash soon shouted at the unknown Meta-Human, however he didn't reply, as he just continued to look at him with a glare that, if looks could kill, which with Meta-Humans you never know, Barry would probably be beyond dead, if there was such a thing. "What do you want?" Flash soon shouted out again, getting the same non-speaking response...instead the Meta-Human briefly pivoted on his side, and in a flash, no pun intended, he was away in a streak of dark gold lightning, shocking Barry, Caitlin and Cisco upon seeing this! "He's a speedster!?" Cisco said shocked, Caitlin unable to speed in surprise. Barry quickly raced after the new Speedster in a streak of yellow lightning, attempting to catch up with him and not let him get away!

Flash was surprised however when he managed to catch up to the Speedster, almost as if wasn't trying to get away, but he pushed that aside as he continued to try to race after him, seeing no reason to dwell on the matter as he chased after him. Despite him keeping up with the Speedster, he found it impossible to overtake or take down the new Meta-Human as they raced through the entire city, one street at a time, twice. Flash turned his head briefly to try to look at the new Speedster...only to be surprised when he saw the Unknown Speedster smirking a devilish smile almost briefly, before stopping suddenly, catching Flash off-guard, before quickly raising his hands in front of his chest and then shockingly firing shards of small sharp icicles directly in Flash's line of sight!

Flash was barely able to react in time, managing to swerve around in time to avoid most of the shots as they hit a nearby building wall...however, one of the icicles ended up cutting near his ribs, drawing blood instantly, and causing Barry to cringe in pain, the icicle surprisingly causing about as much pain from a cut as a javelin would when impaling somebody in the chest, and causing Flash to instantly fall onto his knees, his pain senses in overdrive shockingly. The Unknown Speedster simply smirked as he stood watching, ""Barry!"" Both Caitlin and Cisco shouted out from the lab shocked, worry and concern taking over all thoughts.

Flash tried to get up, his legs wobbling for a brief few seconds as he tried to block out the pain. The Speedster smirked a little at that, and soon moved a hand in front of himself before waving his hand towards himself in a "Bring It" way similar to that of the famous wrestler, The Rock. He then turned and quickly sped away in the reverse direction to where they had been previously running. Barry soon placed his hand on his bloodied wound, and soon looked to his hand, and although it wasn't entirely clear due to color of his suit, he could tell the wound was not as serious as it felt. He soon tried to bottle up his pain before trying to sped off after the Speedster.

This time however, it took him a lot more effort just to keep up with the Speedster, and Barry didn't think it was because of his injury just now. The Speedster did not look towards Flash, not even entertaining the idea from the looks at it. Barry tried to speed up a little faster, the pain continuing to build, though this time it felt more of a mental pain than a physical one, and even speeding up a little made him feel like he could break mentally. He was able to notice that they were approaching Star Labs once again, and fast...then something surprising occurred...

For a brief moment the Speedster looked up seemingly to the stars, or wherever he was looking at as it was hard to tell with the hood on, before simply stopping and standing still...and by the time Flash stopped near the front door to Star Lab...he was surprised to see that the Speedster had stopped just over 5.3 Miles away. "He's stopped!" He managed to barely wheeze out, the pain beginning to get on his nerves. Caitlin was now becoming worried about Barry, Cisco though soon said. "He's over 5.3 Miles away Barry, hit him now!"

To that, Barry said to that as he gasped a bit, hitting his side to try to psych himself up and block out the pain. He then began to speed up and ran the entirety of the 5.3 Miles towards the Speedster, building up more speed and beginning to form electricity into his fist, charging up for his super sonic punch...all whilst the new Speedster stood still, watching...before Flash delivered the punch dead on straight to the Speedster, knocking him back into a nearby lamp post!

Barry soon collapsed down on a knee, more blood seeping from the injury, in part due to it somehow getting worse when he was doing his super sonic punch. Soon though Caitlin and Cisco came running out of the scene from one of Cisco's rift portals, Caitlin running over to Barry to check on him and Cisco went over to the Speedster to see if he was unconscious. "Barry! Are you okay!?" Caitlin asked as she checked on his injury, surprised when she saw it was a deep cut despite being small and the icicle having scrapped past his ribs. Barry though soon placed a hand on his side before saying "I'm...fine. Help Cisco." He said that through gritted teeth.

Caitlin was worried about Barry still, but nodding as she got up and went over to the Speedster. She then took the Freeze Gun she had quickly grabbed from the lab before she and Cisco had left, and then used it to freeze the Speedsters arms and legs in place for now. Barry was able to get up as Cisco forced the Speedster up, somehow, with Caitlin's help as they began to take him to one of the cells in the Particle Accelerator...however as they did, Barry thought he saw the seemingly unconscious body of the Speedster having a smirk on his face as he was being dragged away...and Barry couldn't help but worry that his "victory" was anything but a victory...

An hour later:

An hour had passed since they had brought the Unknown Speedster into his cell at Star Labs and Barry was currently being patched up by Caitlin, but even now Caitlin could both see and sense that something was bothering Barry as she patched him up. Since they had brought the new Meta-Human into the cell, Barry had asked Cisco to bring up the security cameras for his cell and keep it on whilst he was here. When asked why, and after Barry stopped cringing a bit, he told them that the Speedster had been smirking when they brought him in, and it didn't feel like a challenge or that he was even trying to beat him. For most people, that would have raised a suspicion alone, but for the trio of Team Flash that sent off warning flags in their brains.

Caitlin was soon finished patching up Barry. "You were lucky it barely scrapped your skin, but whatever happened had caused your pain receptors to go into overdrive." she explained as Barry put his shirt back on. "Though if what you said is true, then that is the least of our worries." She said, Barry nodding slowly. "It's strange...it was like I wasn't even a threat to him, or...he was testing me to see what I could do." he explained, not noticing Caitlin had a look of concern on her face yet. Soon Cisco came in.

"He's still unconscious for now, but the strangest thing is that he's not in any of the systems at all." Barry and Caitlin looked at him surprised, Barry asking "What do you mean? Like he's from another Earth?" Cisco soon says "It's possible, but I did a facial recognition after the security camera's outside his cell went online, and there was no match to any database system at all. You name the system: he's not on it." Barry and Caitlin were surprised by that, Caitlin soon saying "Maybe we should try a DNA test. See if anyone that might be related to him can help us, and to also get a basic reading on his powers perhaps."

Barry looked instantly to Caitlin as she spoke, not taking his eyes off her when she spoke, even if she didn't notice at first. He soon nodded as he slowly got up. "Do it. It's something at least." They walked out into the main Lab...and as soon as they did they saw the Speedster was now surprisingly sitting with his legs crossed and his arms on his legs; his legs and hands having no sign of the ice that Caitlin had restrained him in with the gun. "How...did he do that so quickly?" Cisco soon asked, verbally asking a question that no doubt was in the back of their minds, even if they had a vague idea with the guy being a Speedster.

"Why is he so calm...?" Barry said, barely audible and barely above a whisper, though Cisco and Caitlin were able to hear it and were just as surprised as he was. "I have a really bad feeling about this..." Caitlin said aloud, and her feelings on the matter were shared with her two best friends. Barry nodded to that as he began to head down to where the Speedster was, Cisco following afterwards, Caitlin though went to the desk and began the DNA sample test, watching from the console to keep an eye on the others...though she couldn't hep but feel worried.

Barry and Cisco soon arrived at the Speedsters Cell, and they opened up one of the doors that kept him sealed in, even if they didn't open the cell door. The Speedster himself was still sitting with his arms on his lap and his legs crossed, his eyes closed still, however they soon slowly opened as the bigger door opened and revealed Barry and Cisco. The Speedster remained sitting down briefly as if he wasn't particularly bothered by their presence...but he soon slowly uncrossed his legs and stood up, standing up straight as he looked at them...then he removed his hood, revealing he had long, shoulder-length black hair with silver strands in certain areas of the hair. The fact that the hood was able to conceal it and make it seem like he didn't have any hair was intriguing if anything to the others, but not too important to them.

The Speedster continued to burn a glare into Barry, not even glancing at Cisco for a split-second, which made both the latter person and Caitlin feel rather uneasy as they watched. Barry looked at the Speedster with a glare as well, his arms crossed across his chest as he looked at the Speedster. After a bit Barry soon spoke. "Who are you?" He said, but the Speedster didn't answer for a full minute. When he did his voice sounded deep and dark, with a hint of venom in his tone as he spoke to him, yet also he spoke rather quietly too, though loud enough for the trio of Team Flash to hear him. "My name...is Frost Star." Cisco chuckled a little before saying "'Frost Star'? That's the best you could come up with?"

The newly revealed Frost Star didn't respond, not even taking his glare off of Barry, however what he did say directly to Barry surprised the everyone in the building. "That DNA Test your running won't help you...it will only show you what you will come to fear in time." He smirked a bit a little, a small evil smirk pocking through on his lips briefly. "And you won't be the only one as well...'Flash'..." Barry soon said after a bit "I'm going to guess that you're not from this universe...another Earth maybe..." Barry began to speculate, to which Frost Star interrupted him instantly "Same Earth, different timeline...one that YOU ruined."

As he snapped at the Scarlet Speedster, his eyes glowed darker colors, smashing his right fist against the glass, causing Cisco and Barry to unknowingly back up a bit, and even caused Caitlin to do the same in her chair surprised. The Speedster glared to Barry more as he says "And if you think that you've won because you produced a little party trick like that, and because you've got me locked up inside this...'cell'...you're wrong. Deadly wrong..." Cisco soon said after a moments hesitation "That's big words for somebody who got beat and is in the cell!" This time the Speedster did look to Cisco, though rather slowly, and this time he had a dark smirk on his face that unnerved Cisco.

"You know...Cisco right?...for one of the smartest scientists in the world...you really are rather stupid at times." Frost Star said, beginning to start pacing around the cell he was in as he continued speaking. "Do you think you've beaten me just because I'm in here? Allow me to ask you one thing...what makes you think that I didn't let you win? That I didn't want to be captured?" That brought a frightening chill to Team Flash's souls as Frost Star smirked a bit, before going down back onto the floor, crossing his legs again and placing his hands on his laps again and putting the hood back on as he said, surprising the duo in front of him. "Speak to me again when you've actually found out the DNA Test results...otherwise, don't bother talking to me."

They are surprised by that, Barry soon saying "Wait, you've got more questions to answer!" Barry shouted, but to no avail, as Frost Star just sat there silently with his eyes closed and not looking up at Flash, not even paying him any attention at all, even when Barry bashed his fist against the glass to try to get his attention. He was clearly fighting for a lost cause with trying to grab his attention. Eventually they gave up and went back up to the main lab, Barry saying "He's hiding something, he's way too confident." "But as to what it is we've got no idea. The tests haven't come through yet, strangely. It should have come through by now." Caitlin said, the proof being shown on the computer screen, surprising Cisco and Barry.

"Well, we'll need to tell the others about this. Maybe Joe can help prepare for him or something." Cisco said, though Barry was skeptical at this. It wasn't that he had anything against his foster dad/father-in-law, but he didn't know if involving him in a matter involving yet another Speedster was a good idea, as previous ones like Zoom and Savitar were proof enough. Caitlin could see something was bothering Barry, since the two knew when something was wrong with one another. Cisco soon headed off to make a call, but Caitlin moved next to Barry as she asked "You okay?" Barry looked to her a bit and smiled a little briefly.

"Not sure to be honest...I can't help thinking there is something we're missing...and it's right there in front of us." He said, Caitlin saying as she sat next to him "Well, I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle, Mr. Allen." trying to lighten the mood a bit with a small smile, Barry laughing a little before saying "I'm sure we can handle it too, Dr. Snow." The two laughed a bit with one another, neither knowing that their Speedster 'prisoner' was wearing a dark smirk on his face...

Author's Side-Note: If you want to know what Frost Star looks like clothing wise and skin tone wise, have a look at one of the Dark Apprentice outfits from Star Wars The Force Unleashed II Endor DLC mission, and that more or less looks like him with a number of differences. Also, in case you are wondering, it's basically my own version of what may occur in Season 5 of The Flash, as it was not released yet when I started this.