The Waverider comes back to chaos, Iris brings a frenemy, and Brainy has some tweaking of plans to do.

Enjoy the first part of "The Flash!"

***

"I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately," Barry said as he leaned over Sara's shoulder, watching her smoothly pilot the Waverider. "But thank you for this."

"We're a team, Barry," Sara smiled up at him. "We've got your six. Besides, after what happened with Fallout and the Nazis, I want to punch this son of a bitch in the face."

Barry smirked. "Only if I can watch."

"He's your bad guy. You'll get the front row seat."

"Deal."

Something on the console blinked, and Sara nodded. "Gideon, let everyone know we're coming up on Central City."

"On it, Captain Lance."

"This is exciting," Barry bounced in place as he sat in one of the chairs directly behind Sara. "I've never actually time jumped before in this ship."

"Let's hope you hold onto your dinner or lunch or whatever you had to eat before you joined us in the Wild West," Sara said, hearing the rest of her team come to the bridge. "It can be a bit of a shock." She pulled the lever to take them out of the temporal zone –

And she quickly swerved the Waverider to the side so she didn't run into a purple beam pulsing into the sky. "What the – ?!" Zari screeched as she went flying through the air, crashing into Wally and Nate, the trio ending up in a pile of limbs.

Barry clung to his harness for dear life as Cisco yelped and crashed into another seat. "What was that for?" he protested.

"I think your Thinker is still a few steps ahead of you," Sara gritted her teeth, settling the Waverider on the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Oh, no," Kara blanched, seeing the purple beam shooting into the sky.

Barry flashed off of the bridge and out of the Waverider, Cisco barreling after him. Sara settled the Waverider and flung her harness off, then charged after them. "Let's go, everyone!" she shouted.

***

When Barry arrived in the cortex, all of the power except the emergency lights were off. When Cisco and Sara breached in behind him, Barry pointed at his friend. "Cisco, we need power!"

"Working on it!" he rushed off.

He ran past Caitlin, whose face was drained of color. "There you are," she panted. "I've looked around, nothing is working, not even cell phones."

Barry closed his eyes in defeat. "That's what I was worried about."

"So is this it?" Oliver asked as he and Kara arrived next, the rest of the teams spilling in after them. "DeVoe's . . . Enlightenment?"

"Cait?" Barry looked at the doctor.

"I checked everything while you were gone," she said as Wally helped Joe with Cecille. "DeVoe replaced the satellite you destroyed with the S.T.A.R. Labs satellite to set off the Enlightenment."

"We just checked outside," Ray jogged in. "There's no power anywhere."

"Our car just stopped working," Joe nodded.

"Thank God we were close by," Cecille sighed. "I mean, the hospital is another three miles away."

"The hospital?" Alex blinked.

Cecille abruptly cringed and doubled over, groaning in pain. "Joe?"

"The sky turned purple, and she started having contractions," Joe explained.

Barry blanched. "Cisco! Hurry!"

"Well, if a car can't take her to the hospital, maybe we can – ?" Mon-El began.

"No," Caitlin shook her head. "No flying or running. It's not safe for Cecille or the baby."

"What about the Waverider?" Jax suggested.

"If DeVoe's draining the power from everything, I don't want to risk the Waverider shorting out," Sara shook her head.

"Then what are we gonna do?" Joe huffed in annoyance.

Caitlin shrugged. "I have everything here I'd need to deliver a baby."

Mick looked at her, impressed. "You can do that?"

Joe and Cecille looked just as stunned, and the lights suddenly flipped back on. "Thank God," Barry sighed in relief.

"Great," Caitlin grinned nervously. "Uh, let's go see how dilated you are!"

"OK," Cecille swallowed hard.

"Breathe, baby," Joe helped her after Caitlin. "Breathe."

"I can help," Alex volunteered.

"Thanks," Caitlin nodded in agreement.

"OK, power's on," Malcolm looked around. "What now?"

"Well, if we're fighting a super genius, I might as well go call our own," Kara held up her extrapolator.

"Do it," Oliver nodded.

Kara nodded back and headed to the corner to see if it still worked, then Cisco poked his head around the corner, looking concerned. "You're gonna want to see this."

Kara didn't look up from what she was doing, but Barry, Oliver, and Sara followed the other metahuman into the time vault. "This is pretty neat," Sara looked around in interest.

"DeVoe must have predicted Harry would build his own thinking cap and power it with the dark matter from this tube," Cisco led them over to the podium and ejected a thick tube from it.

Barry sighed. "Dark matter that he could then siphon off from S.T.A.R. Labs to use to infect the world."

"So Harry was essentially his test subject?" Oliver asked.

Barry nodded furiously. "He knew if he could reboot Harry's brain, he could reboot everyone's."

Sara snorted. "Ignore us. Let's just unleash Lena on this bastard."

"Don't tempt me," Barry rubbed a hand over his face. "What about Gideon? Could she hack into the satellites?"

"No," Cisco shook his head. "Purple haze took her out, too."

"You have Gideon here?" Sara asked in surprise.

Barry grimaced. "Long story."

"And since everyone's brains are about to rebooted, we don't have time for one," Oliver nodded. "OK. We need a game plan. Where do we start?"

Barry chewed his lip, closing his eyes. "I don't know," he admitted.

"It's OK, Barry." The quartet turned as Iris walked into the time vault, a reassuring smile on her face. "I think I do."

Barry and Cisco blinked in surprise as Marlize DeVoe stepped inside after Iris, a determined look on her face.

***

"So it's like when Brainy sent us into the Dark Valley to find Sam?" Kara asked.

"It is similar," Brainy paced the lab, fingers steepled. "Except we are working with a weaker mind." He paused. "Is this where I say no offense?"

"None taken, man," Barry couldn't help but grin.

"Look, I love Inception as much as the next guy, and yeah, this worked for Supergirl, but sending Barry into DeVoe's mind?" Cisco scowled.

"His mind is the only one fast enough to survive the linking process without any harm," Marlize nodded.

"What about Wally?" Zari frowned.

"I'm staying with my dad and Cecille," the other speedster immediately shook his head.

"How would this help us to stop him?" Sara asked.

"If we can find the good left in Clifford and help it retake control of his mind, that good could overpower the bad," Marlize answered.

Barry raised an eyebrow. "You think there actually is good left inside him?"

Marlize sighed. "I know that this is hard to imagine, but there was a time when Clifford was nothing but good, when he truly wanted to help the world. It's the dark matter he infused in his brain that changed him. So yes, I do believe that there is some good in him some way, we just need to find it."

Felicity, who was manning the computers nearby, looked at Barry and nodded. "We've seen what dark matter can do to crazy metas."

"I'm still volunteering to punch him," Sara raised her hand.

"I'll back you up," Kara muttered.

Marlize shook her head. "There are many of you here, yes, but you pose no challenge. Clifford created the bus metas and the combination of the abilities to ensure that he could defeat anyone whose assistance might be enlisted."

Brainy hummed, rocking on his heels. "Clever man," he mused. "But not as clever as me."

Winn, who was helping Iris at the console, snorted. "Let me guess, he's a 3.583 level intellect?"

"Close," Brainy nodded, completely serious. "I place him at 4.162."

Marlize frowned in confusion, and Mon-El cleared his throat. "Sometimes nodding when he stops usually works just fine."

"How long do we have until our minds get wiped?" Amaya asked.

Marlize pointed to the screen displaying the satellites. "We have until the permeation grid hits 100%."

Leo eyed the screen warily, watching it tick to 24%. "That's comforting."

"How would we get me inside his mind?" Barry asked.

"Well, it would be relatively simple if we had the Legion cruiser," Brainy huffed. "We need to find a way to transfer your consciousness into his."

"No," Cisco immediately raised his hands in surrender. "You know what happens every time I try to vibe him. I can't do it."

"I do," Marlize nodded. "But I don't think it's your power we need, Mr. Ramon." She turned and pointed to the medical bay, where Caitlin and Alex were fussing over Cecille. "I believe it's hers."

***

"Ah, yes," Brainy examined the device Marlize was working on. "Yes, this will amplify Ms. Horton's telepathic ability to link the Flash's consciousness to DeVoe's, wherever he may be."

"It could also provide a one-way link so that he doesn't realize that someone is inside his mind," Cecille added.

Lena tilted her head, nodding thoughtfully. "So it's kind of like a one-way brain radio."

Marlize blinked, considering. "I suppose so, yes."

Lena grinned, squeezing Harry's hand and making him blink at her. "That cerebral inhibitor of yours is going to be put to good use."

Harry smiled, but it was obvious he didn't completely understand what Lena was saying. The smile slid from Lena's face, and Marlize cautiously approached. "I'm sorry about your friend," she whispered. "His mind could – "

"Your apologies aren't going to make him better," Lena said coldly.

Marlize bowed her head, then blinked when Brainy plucked the inhibitor out of her hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Dox," she began.

"I will take approximately 11.26 seconds," he waved her off, taking something from his suit and mumbling incoherently.

"All right," Malcolm walked into the room, a scowl on his face. "We're just going to be sitting ducks while Barry tries to find the good part of a madman. What a party."

"Sound familiar, wizard?" Slade snorted.

"Magician."

"If you please, gentlemen?" Marlize huffed.

"Yeah, that won't get you anywhere with them," Laurel sighed.

Marlize looked exasperated, but she took a deep breath and turned around. "Mr. Allen, the chair," she gestured to the large hoverchair in the lab. "Ms. Horton, the gurney."

"Hang on," Jax frowned. "Barry's getting in that thing?"

"It is the only way to establish a transcranial link between Ms. Horton and Mr. Allen," Marlize nodded.

"I'll be all right," Barry promised, climbing into the chair.

"Excellent!" Brainy popped up from whatever he was doing. "Recall what I said about your mind being weaker?"

"Vaguely," the speedster said dryly, making Joe snort.

"You are still quite strong, especially with how fast your mind works, as it is connected to this Speed Force," Brainy explained. "I modified the inhibitor and was able to connect it to two of the crowns like we used on Supergirl, Black Wolf, and Ms. Luthor. You should be able to take one other person with you as long as it is not an alien or a metahuman."

Kara grumbled in annoyance. "That knocks a lot of us out."

"And as much of a geek moment as that would be, I'm of no use if I'm not by a computer," Winn added.

Barry looked around to see who that left: Oliver, Malcolm, Slade, Sara, Amaya, Zari, Mick, Palmer, and Leo. "Don't volunteer all at once," he made to joke.

Sara's lips quirked up in a smirk. "If you'd waited a second longer, you'd have heard me do it."

"You sure, boss?" Mick frowned.

Sara nodded. "It'd be either me or Oliver, and I think we all know who works better with that team." Oliver conceded with a nod, and Sara grinned at Barry. "Now I have another way to pay you back for helping in the Wild West."

Barry sighed. "I thought we weren't doing this anymore."

"Sorry, Barry," she smirked, sauntering over to where another chair had been placed. "You're stuck with me."

"What a shame."

"Very well," Brainy walked over. "If you will just ease back, Sara." She tilted her head back, and Brainy placed one of the crowns in the center of her forehead. "And you, Barry." He relaxed as Brainy did the same to him. "And now the inhibitor."

Marlize took it from him and fastened it to Cecille's forehead. "Mr. Allen, put the cap on your head."

Barry nodded, picking up DeVoe's cap and placing it on his head. "Once Cecille has locked onto DeVoe's brain waves, we'll transfer your consciousness to his amygdala," Caitlin explained. "That's the part of the brain that connects emotional significance to memories."

"Where the good memories are, we will find the good part of Clifford," Marlize nodded.

"Glad one of us is confident," Sara muttered under her breath.

Barry, one of the two closest to her, snickered when he heard it. Brainy, on the other hand, gave her a confused look, but didn't say a word. "Good luck, you two," Slade wished.

"Thanks," Barry nodded.

"Here we go, Ms. Horton," Marlize said, tapping the center of her tablet.

Cecille's eyes fluttered shut, and Barry and Sara exchanged quick glances. "See you on the other side," Sara told him.

Barry smiled in response, then closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself falling through the air, bouncing off a bus, and landing flat on the ground. He groaned in pain, then heard a similar thud nearby. "Oh, God," Sara groaned. "What was that?"

Barry climbed to his feet and brushed his suit off, then turned to see Sara do the same. "You good?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm OK," she nodded, rolling her wrists and looking around. "Where are we?"

Barry looked down the street, recognizing Central City. When he turned back around, his eyes widened. "This is where I came out of the Speed Force."

Sara turned to see the blue bus behind them, and she pointed to it. "The bus in bus metas?"

"This is it," he nodded.

Sara frowned, hearing a buzzing noise nearby, and she pointed. "And that's DeVoe?"

Barry balked when he saw the hoverchair emerge from the treeline, and he quickly grabbed Sara, running them onto the bus. Sara stumbled a bit when she got her feet back under her, then when Barry grabbed her and pulled her down, she went with him. Barry finally peeked out the window, watching the hoverchair float by.

Seated inside was DeVoe. "You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned.

***

Because I am such a WhiteFlash shipper and Brainy could totally figure out some way for at least one other person to join Barry on his mind meld mission. So I picked the other team not-engaged team leader.

I'm getting to the busy point of the semester, so no promises on new updates, but keep your eyes open!

graphic by marvelity