So, um . . . I may have gotten a little too excited when I realized we are in the single digit number updates away from the finales book, so . . . surprise?

Team Flash does some recruiting, the heroes do some digging, and while there are several friendly faces, some unfriendly ones show up, too. Also, I may be ship teasing again.

***

Previously

Caitlin flinched when she heard the icicle Killer Frost had carried shatter on the floor, and she watched on-screen as her Killer Frost form disappeared. How had everyone gone so wrong so quickly?

"Anything new?"

Caitlin quickly exited out of the footage she was watching. "No sign of DeVoe," she told Iris.

Iris raised an eyebrow. "I meant with you," she said.

Caitlin sighed, bowing her head. "No," she answered. "No cold signatures anywhere in the city. Killer Frost is nowhere to be found."

"That doesn't make sense," Iris frowned, leaning against the table. "I mean, DeVoe created every bus meta for a reason. I mean, he had no interest in Barry's powers or Cisco's, or any of the metas in Iron Heights, so I don't know why he would suddenly want yours."

"We all saw what happened," Caitlin said glumly. "When DeVoe touched me, my powers disappeared. Had to be him."

Alarms suddenly started wailing, and the two women ran out of the lab to join Barry in the cortex. "DeVoe?" Iris asked.

"Uh, satellite's picking up three different pocket dimensions opening in Keystone," Barry answered, pushing off the table and turning around. "Let's each – " He faltered, seeing Caitlin sadly shake her head. "All right, you and me, right?" he looked at Cisco, who nodded. "Let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Iris leaned over the console. "Wait, wait . . . they all just closed."

"What?" Barry blinked, looking over her shoulder.

"Huh," Cisco frowned. "Wrong coordinates? Maybe he made a mistake?"

"He doesn't make mistakes," Barry shook his head. "He must want something in Keystone."

Iris tapped the console to see what was nearby, and Caitlin swallowed. "Tracy Brand's lab," she said. "He's going after Fallout."

"All right, call Tracy," Barry ordered. "Tell her we're coming for Borman, OK?"

"Wait, and gonna do what?" Caitlin frowned.

"Just to take him somewhere else," Barry shrugged.

"Well, we can't take him here!" Cisco scoffed. "We can't even contain his fallout!"

"Tracy's barely been able to contain his powers as is," Caitlin nodded.

"Yeah, the guy's a nuclear explosion waiting to go off," Cisco pointed to her. "And I don't know about you, but I've had my fill of nuclear bombs this year."

"But if we can cool him down, we can get him somewhere safe," Barry argued.

"What about Snart's cold gun?" Iris wondered.

"I mean, I have a prototype, but to modify it to our needs, that would take at least a day," Cisco shook his head.

"We don't have that kind of time," Barry paced anxiously. "DeVoe's coming for him."

"DeVoe has known our every move," Iris nodded. "I mean, we've gotta do something that he hasn't accounted for."

"How are we supposed to find a way to cool down Borman and take him somewhere DeVoe won't know about with a plan he won't see coming?"

Barry snapped his fingers. "The Legends have been dealing with some sort of water witch and have manufactured guns to deal with her," he said. "I can call Sara and ask her to come."

"And if those guns aren't enough?" Iris asked.

Barry scratched his head. "Kryptonian freeze breath?" Caitlin suggested.

"Yes," Barry pointed at her. "I'll call Sara, you two get Kara. Talk to Dig, see if he can call Lyla and see if A.R.G.U.S. has anything off the grid."

"The Legends and Supergirl," Iris nodded. "Do we need a Plan C?"

Barry grinned. "I might have one."

***

"A metahuman who can become a nuclear bomb?" Oliver said blankly.

"Cool!" Ruby grinned, then blinked when Caitlin and Iris looked at her. "But terrible!"

"I mean, yeah, it shouldn't be a problem," Kara nodded. "Just transport and making sure he doesn't blow up."

"Exactly," Caitlin nodded.

"Guess I'm going," Dig shrugged. "Lyla's got to have something."

"I'm in, too," Oliver added.

"And me!" William chimed in.

"Me, too." Kara turned to see Lena shrug as she stepped in through the doors. "I mean, more tech support can't hurt, can it?"

"And you want to see Harry," Kara teased with a smile.

"Shut up," Lena sighed.

"Oh, Mom, another universe is so cool!" Ruby jumped up and down, eyes wide. "Can we go? Can we go?"

"Ruby!" Kara laughed. "Let your mom rest!"

"Actually, it might not hurt to bring her with us," Lena pitched in. "I mean, just to make sure if she does turn back into Reign and we didn't catch something – "

Sam balked. "Yeah, I'm coming with you."

"Yes!" Ruby cheered.

"So you've got us, and I'm assuming Sara's gonna say yes," Oliver frowned. "What was Barry's Plan C?"

***

Leo should've figured the final battle on Earth-1, ending the reign of Black Arrow and Overgirl, had been too good to be true. The Freedom Fighters should've been less cocky in sweeping Earth-X. If they'd searched correctly, they wouldn't be in the mess they were in now.

Consequently, he was sweeping the warehouse while he heard Ray fighting outside, unable to believe who they were looking for. "War's over!" Leo called, walking down the stairs, cold gun at the ready. "Bad guys and girls lost. Nazi regime's been dismantled – " He checked behind him, thinking he had heard something move, before he continued walking. "And the rebellion's in charge now," he finished. "Why don't you turn yourself in? save us the Tom and Jerry. Find some other misguided cause to get all aggro about." He checked behind himself, then turned back around –

He received a sonic scream to the face, much more powerful than he'd heard the metahumans on Earth-1 use, and he was propelled backwards to the ground. "Not this night," a female voice snarled, warped by the mask the woman in black with dark red stains on her gloves, boots, and coattails wore as she stalked forward. "We will fight until every last one of you finds the same fate as our brothers and sisters."

She raised her knife, and Leo flinched, then he was picked up by a gust of dark gold lightning. When he found himself on his feet again, he found himself deposited by Cisco Ramon, and Barry Allen was in front of him. He blinked, then frowned. "Your timing is impeccable."

"We need your help on our Earth," Barry said.

"Right now?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "I'm kinda busy."

"Doing what?" Cisco snorted. "Dying?"

As if on cue, Ray flew down the stairs, panting hard. "We need to go," he gasped. "Now!"

Leo checked back the way he had come to see the woman in black hurrying forward. "Touché," he admitted.

"Wait, what?" Ray blinked.

Cisco opened a breach, and Barry sped all of them through. What they missed was the woman in black delivering her sonic scream again, pushing the breach to stay open . . . and the gust of blood red lightning that suddenly zoomed down the stairs, scooped the woman up, and ran through the breach with her.

***

"OK," Ray frowned, scratching his head as he looked at the images Team Flash had pulled up. "This is a new one, even for Earth-X."

"It's new for us, too," Kara nodded from where she, Oliver, Dig, Lena, Sam, William, and Ruby stood.

"So, you're trying to stop a guy who thinks he's smarter than everyone and his true-believer lover, who are hell bent on achieving their evil machinations at any cost," Leo summed up. He turned around. "Well, it's right up our alley."

"And it sounds like we're having quite the party," Sara sauntered into the cortex, dressed in her suit.

"Sara," Barry smiled in greeting, walking around the console. "Thanks for coming."

"Hey, any time," Sara gave him a hug and held up the gun she held. "So who're we freezing?"

"If everything goes according to plan, no one," Barry shrugged, looking around. "Hey, guys."

"Red," Mick nodded.

"We were heading to see our families anyway," Jax nudged Lily. "Figured we'd drop by, too."

"And we've got two guns," Ray held up his. "So, here we are!"

"With friends," Sara smiled. "Hey, Leo, Ray."

"Captain," Leo threw off a tiny salute.

"Oh, this could get confusing," Palmer frowned.

"No kidding," Terrill agreed.

"Let me guess," Sara leaned against the console. "DeVoe?"

"DeVoe," Iris nodded.

"And he actually is smarter than everyone," Barry looked at the Earth-Xers. "He created twelve metahumans just so he could steal their powers, and he left everybody dead in the process."

"Including Ralph Dibny," Iris swallowed. "Who was a team member of ours."

"What?" Kara balked.

"Oh, my God," Dig swallowed.

"I'm sorry," Terrill apologized. "That's rough."

"All these deaths have been rough," Barry gestured to the board of metahumans. "We can't dwell on it right now, you know. We have to focus so DeVoe doesn't know what we're doing and we have a shot at saving Borman."

"Which is why we're all here, I'm guessing," Kara looked around the room.

"Seems a bit overkill," Sara noted.

"Better safe than sorry with DeVoe," Iris shrugged.

"Oh, I see," Leo looked around. "We're just outside the box enough to catch DeVoe off-guard?"

"And they need these guns," Sara held up her cold gun lookalike.

"Oh?" Leo put a hand on his protectively. "For what?"

"We've been working on modifying a radiation hazmat suit to regulate his internal temperature to keep his core from raising to the point of detonation during transport," Caitlin pulled up schematics. "The cold guns and Kara's freeze breath would be our backup."

Leo hummed. "It must be happy hour. You got a four for one."

"Not sure I like being called that," Kara scratched her head.

"What happened to Killer Frost?" Oliver asked.

Caitlin ducked her head. "She's gone," she answered.

"What?" Lena blinked in surprise. "What happened?"

"DeVoe," Caitlin deadpanned.

Lena winced. "I'm sorry, Caitlin."

"All right," Leo nodded. "You get us for twenty-four hours, not a minute more."

"Wait," Cisco blinked. "Why not?"

Leo smirked slyly while Terrill blushed, and Mick smirked. "Mazel tov."

"I think these two are about to make honest men out of each other," Sara grinned.

Terrill cleared his throat and took off the glove on his left hand, showing the engagement ring he wore. "Tomorrow," he nodded.

"Awesome!" William grinned.

"Congratulations!" Kara cheered.

"That's so exciting!" Caitlin gushed as congratulations rang out through the cortex.

"We figured if you two could make it, so could we," Leo clapped Barry and Cisco on the shoulders.

Both men blinked rapidly, and Sara dissolved into laughter. "What?" both asked.

"No, we – " Iris began, pointing between herself and Barry.

"He teases," Terrill sighed.

Leo grinned at them. "So where's Borman going?" Jax asked.

"I called Lyla," Dig stepped forward. "A.R.G.U.S. has a facility in New Brighton. High tech, high security. He should be safe there."

"And how long till you're done with the suit?" Barry asked Caitlin.

"Few more tweaks," she answered.

"OK," Iris nodded. "I'm gonna go call my dad and let him know the plan."

Cisco turned around and pointed at Lena. "And since I have a pretty good idea on who you want to see, let's go find him."

Lena fidgeted, but followed after Cisco as he left. "And, uh . . . " Sam looked around. "What should we do?"

"Well," Kara smiled. "What questions do you have?"

"Oh, my God," Sam's eyes widened. "So many."

***

Harry was fiddling with utensils when Cisco and Lena walked into the lab. "Hey, Harry!" Cisco grinned.

"Hey," Harry looked up briefly, then did a double take. "Lena?"

"Hey," Lena smiled, walking up to him. "Good news. Sam's back."

"She is?" Harry grinned. "That's wonderful! So why are you here?"

Lena blinked, then rolled her eyes, used to his bluntness by now. "Kara's helping with Borman."

"Ah," Harry nodded. "Good to see you, but – " He held up his full hands, then maneuvered to hug her how he could. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Lena assured him. "I'm just happy to see you."

"Same here," Harry smiled.

Cisco peered at what he was doing. "Is that it? Are you done?"

"Yeah, well, the truth is, the first one was the hard part," Harry said. "This one is simply, basically following the plan's – "

"Precisely," Cisco grinned, picking up what Harry had been working on. "Let's take this for a spin, shall we?"

"Oh, all right, go ahead," Harry sighed, pulling out a rolling chair. "Here, have a seat."

"What is this?" Lena frowned, looking at the cap Cisco put on his head.

"Thinking cap," Cisco grinned. "Harry was able to use it to help us against DeVoe, so I asked him to build a second."

"And it's safe?" Lena asked cautiously.

Cisco gestured to Harry. "He's all right, isn't he?"

Harry cleared his throat. "All right, then."

"Hey," Cisco gave him a look as Lena stepped back. "I trust you."

"No, I know that," Harry assured him. "OK, here we go." He pressed a few buttons. "Connection established."

The cap lit up blew, and Cisco grinned. "Tickles."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"Kinda feels like my conditioner – " Cisco broke off, eyes widening. "Ooo!"

"That's your synaptic activity enhancing," Harry told him, adjusting the switches.

"Whoa," Cisco breathed. "Boy, is it ever! It's like a party in my brain! I can see why you like this thing so much. I can feel my neurons firing – OK!" The cap suddenly started sparking, making Harry blinked rapidly. "Oho! Pikachu!"

"Um," Lena hurried forward, holding her hands up. "Harry?"

"Go ahead!" he waved her forward. Lena picked up the cap and took it off Cisco's head, wincing as the lights shut off. Harry took the cap from Lena as Cisco ran his hands over his head, checking his hair. "You know what, I think what happened, probably a hyper-limiter valve that, uh – "

"Promethium ion diodes," Cisco took the cap back.

"Promethium ion diode, yep," Harry nodded.

"They overloaded the cap."

"Overloaded," Harry agreed, Lena looking between the two oddly. "Real bummer. Oh, well. We tried."

"How the hell did you get promethium ion diodes?" Cisco frowned.

"Oh, I got 'em," Harry shrugged. "In my lab on my Earth. Had 'em there, but I'm all out, unfortunately."

Cisco frowned. "We don't have any here. It would take us weeks to get some."

"Oh, well," Harry shrugged, not seeming too bothered by the statement. "Well, you know what, we'll put in a back order. I'll see if I can come up with something else."

"Right," Cisco nodded as Harry left.

Lena watched him leave, then slowly turned back to Cisco, who blinked when he realized she was looking at him. "What?"

"I know I don't know Harry as well as you do," Lena frowned. "But that seemed . . . off."

"He has his off days," Cisco shrugged.

"Right," Lena said slowly, looking at the way Harry had gone.

***

"All right, look," Barry pointed along the map with Oliver, Kara, Sara, Jax, and Leo. "I think we should take Highway 14. It's as rural as we're going to get. It's a straight shot to New Brighten, best chance to get Fallout to safety."

"Sounds like a plan, Barry," Leo nodded. "You know how I feel about plans."

"Yep," Barry smirked.

"What's this about plans?" Kara frowned.

"Apparently he and this world's Snart had very different ideas about how to prepare for something," Oliver answered.

"Oh," she nodded.

Leo observed the board of metahumans, then pointed. "This was your team member, right? Ralph Dibny?"

Barry looked up, then swallowed when he saw the picture. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Elongated Man."

"Elongated Man?" Leo parroted. "Don't remember someone with that name being a part of the fight against the Nazis."

"No, no," Barry shook his head. "He, um . . . he wasn't ready yet."

"Ah," Leo nodded in understanding. "A rookie hero. So you trained him?"

"As much as I could, yeah," Barry nodded.

"Damn," Jax whistled.

"It's not easy to lose someone on a team," Oliver sighed. "Especially someone you've mentored."

Sara considered Barry, whose face wiped clear of emotions. "You seem like you're doing OK, though," she nudged him. "When did this happen? Just a few days ago? That's impressive."

"I am OK," Barry insisted. "I'm just trying to do what I have to do. I'm trying to stay on task."

"Oh?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you're doing?" He turned around to pace. "You all have seen the Nazis fight. Most of you saw Earth-X. All of you have seen the New Reichsmen in action. Do you know how many rebels we lost over the years, trying to defeat those Nazi bastards?"

"Countless, I'm sure," Barry answered.

"Not countless," Leo turned back around. "Counted. 18,322. 3,769 were under my watch, and I felt the weight of each of their deaths. I still do, some years after they die."

"Oh, my God," Jax swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Kara whispered.

"Thank you, Ms. Danvers," he nodded to her. "The thing I realized is that to continue to lead, to be clear-headed, I had to grieve for those men and women I lost. So I did, each and every one."

"It was like that for me when Krypton died," Kara gulped. "I could remember the population that was on the planet at the time. And even though Argo survived – "

"Wait, what?" Jax did a double take.

"Where?" Leo blinked.

"Not the time," Oliver cut his hand across his throat.

"It's still too many people," Kara finished.

"We were never the same for a while when our Snart was gone," Sara agreed.

"Emotion's not weakness, Barry," Oliver looked at his friend. "It's strength."

"Look, Barry," Leo stepped forward. "You want me to help you move a metahuman nuclear bomb that some genius with nearly every meta-power on this board is after, I will do what I can, as long as your head is on straight." He smirked. "Because if I die before Ray and I get married, Ray will kill me."

Barry snickered. "I'm pretty sure we've threatened each other with that, too," Oliver looked at Kara.

"There's a surprise," Sara snorted.

"Suit's ready!" Caitlin announced as she walked into the room.

"And Fallout is ready at Tracy's lab," Iris added.

"So let's get to Keystone," Joe nodded, looking at Barry. "You good?"

Every head in the room swiveled to look at Barry, who nodded. "I'm good."

Leo nodded. "Then let's go get our guy."

***

"You're telling me I have to wear this thing the whole time?" Borman looked down at the hazmat suit he was wearing as Barry, Joe, and Iris led him to the truck.

"Yeah, look, the suit protects us from you so that we can protect you from the guy that's trying to hunt you down," Iris nodded.

"Why is he after me?" Borman wondered.

"Honestly, Neil, we don't know," Joe shook his head. "But we want to find out as much as you do."

"And we will," Barry promised. "Trust me."

Borman nodded. "Saved me once, Flash. I trust you to do it again." He frowned when he saw Caitlin with a syringe by Kara, Jax, and Sara. "What's that?"

"I whipped up this cocktail of atomized DTPA and potassium iodide," she answered. "It should flood our thyroids with enough non-radioactive iodine so that if our containment suit doesn't work, it should offer us some protection from radiation."

"Some protection," Leo's eyebrows raised, tilting his neck to let himself get injected. "How vaguely reassuring."

Jax winced slightly when Caitlin injected him next, and Sara rubbed where she was injected. "How long will this last?" she asked.

"Two, three hours max," Caitlin answered.

"You'd better get going," Iris winced.

Barry nodded as Caitlin finished the injections. "All right, let's just go over the plan one more time, OK? I'm going to be running ahead of the truck with Supergirl, scouting the route for any signs of trouble."

"Right," Iris nodded. "I will be at S.T.A.R. Labs tracking any pocket dimensions en route."

"And I'll be in the truck with Neil monitoring his vitals and RADS," Caitlin nodded.

"With us at the ready, in case our meta of mass destruction here goes all mushroom cloud," Leo nodded, looking at Borman. "No offense."

"And I'll be driving," Joe finished. "And reciting every prayer that Cecille's ever taught me."

"I might join you," Iris admitted.

Barry sighed. "Look, guys, I know DeVoe's hit us pretty hard, but right now, let's just . . . let's try to forget what he's taken from us, and stay focused on taking something from him by getting Neil safely to A.R.G.U.S. We do that, whatever DeVoe has planned falls apart. Winning this battle may just win us the war."

"Hear, hear," Leo nodded. "Let's all make sure we keep our heads in the game so we can stay safe out there."

Barry rolled his eyes as Caitlin and Jax helped Borman into the truck, Joe heading for the driver's seat. "I know what that was about."

"It was a good speech, Barry," Leo patted him on the shoulder. "Just making sure you heard it, didn't just give it."

Barry frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Sometimes if you don't confront your feelings, they will confront you," Kara answered.

"Happens to the best of us, Barry," Sara told him. "Even me."

He sighed. "I'm good, guys. I promise."

Leo hummed noncommittedly, then hopped into the back of the truck. "Stay safe, you two," Sara said.

"You, too," Barry nodded. Sara climbed in back, and he turned to Kara. "Ready?"

"Always," she nodded.

***

"All clear on my end," Iris said over the comms. "There's no pocket dimension activity in the area."

"Roads are looking good, too," Barry reported. "Joe?"

"Yeah, the rig is secure," Joe chimed in.

"Caitlin?" Iris asked.

"RADS are good, heartbeat regular," Caitlin confirmed, checking her tablet.

"Feels good to be doing something normal," Jax remarked from where he and Sara were leaning against the walls of the truck. "Something . . . I dunno, sciency."

"What, not that into totems and time demons?" Sara smirked.

"I wasn't too into you getting possessed by a totem and a time demon," Jax shrugged. "Sue me."

"Feels weird not being there with you, though," Lily said over the comms.

"Yeah," Jax smiled. "Same here, sister."

Caitlin suddenly giggled, and they turned to see her looking at a slip of paper. "On Earth-X, we have a saying," Leo said. "If you laugh out loud, you got to share the joke. Byproduct of living on an Earth where joy is a scarce commodity."

"It's a Post-It note from Killer Frost," Caitlin answered, holding it up. "It's how we talk . . . talked," she corrected, reading from it. "Broke the thermostat again. I think it hates me."

"Aww," Sara grinned. "That's cute."

"Do you miss her?" Leo asked.

"It's not that," Caitlin sighed. "It's just that . . . we were starting to become close lately. And I know how crazy that sounds considering we're talking about someone who actually lived inside of me."

Leo snorted. "I'm on an alt-Earth transporting a human bomb with an escort that can literally run back to the future. Your story is the least crazy thing I've heard all day."

"Did you just hear us talk about totems and time demons?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

Caitlin smiled. "One thing's for sure," she looked down. "I will mis those little notes."

"Well, if there's one thing I've learned, it's OK to miss someone we've lost," Sara said. "Even if she's an alter-ego."

Barry suddenly appeared in the truck. "How's he doing?"

"Good," Caitlin checked her tablet. "His RADS are low, vitals seem stable. I gave him a sedative, and it seems to be working."

"OK, good," Barry nodded. "We're almost there."

"Guys," Iris interrupted. "There's pocket dimension activity."

They suddenly flew into the air, then the truck suddenly collapsed back on the ground. A cry came over the comms, and Oliver's worried voice asked, "Kara?"

"Dad?" Iris asked.

"I'm trapped in here," Joe grunted. "The doors unlocked, but – but its just like it weighs a ton."

Static suddenly came over the comms, and Barry shook his head. "The comms are out. It's DeVoe."

"He's here?" Borman balked.

"We've got him," Sara told Barry.

He nodded and took Leo out with him, Kara getting up off the ground, wincing in pain. "You good?" Barry asked.

"Yeah," Kara looked around. "I can't see him."

"And you wouldn't, Ms. Danvers." The air seemed to splinter behind them like a mirror, and DeVoe stepped out, clad in a black overcoat. "Mr. Allen, as usual, you're a step behind me."

"Yay, puns," Leo drawled. "You Earth-1 villains sure are a hoot."

"You have no idea, Mr. Snart," DeVoe said.

"You're not taking Fallout," Barry said.

"I can, and I will," DeVoe countered. "If not here and now, then after your top-secret transfer to A.R.G.U.S." Barry blinked, and DeVoe sighed. "Yes, I know." He pointed to his head. "Remember?"

"Good," Barry narrowed his eyes. "I won't have to feel guilty about doing this."

He slammed a tuning fork-like device on the ground, creating a sonic pattern that plowed into DeVoe. Kara blinked, watching DeVoe seem to fold backwards, extending backwards and not collapsing like intended. "Whoa."

"Well, that de-escalated quickly," Leo frowned.

"The miniscule sound waves produced by that toy trinket of yours are far too weak for this new body of mine," DeVoe gestured. "What a gift Mr. Dibny provided." He smirked slyly. "Well, it was a gift in a manner of speaking." He adjusted his voice suddenly. "Right, rookie?"

Barry froze, and DeVoe cackled as the device fell from his hand. "Barry," Kara whispered.

"Why such turmoil in your mind, Mr. Allen?" DeVoe tilted his head, walking forward. "Allow me to ease your pain."

A sonic scream suddenly came from nowhere, and Kara flinched, bending down and covering her ears, able to stay put while Leo, Barry, and DeVoe went flying. "Rao," she groaned, her hands coming away red. She stared at the blood on her fingertips, then looked up when she heard footsteps approach.

She faltered, staring up in shock at the very familiar face in front of her, yet the dark red splotches on her suit, gloves, and boots were very new . . . and she had a very good idea about what they were. "Pathetic," Laurel sneered. "You actually look exactly like her."

Kara swallowed, eyes widening. "The Bloody Banshee."

Earth-X Laurel grinned, opening her mouth again, and Kara finally got to her feet, punching Banshee as hard as she could. Banshee flew back, and Kara turned to find DeVoe, only to see mirror fragments where he had disappeared. Kara ran to wake Barry up, then heard a familiar crackling sound.

In the next second, her blood felt like it was on fire, and she let out a wail of pain, sinking to the ground in spasms, reaching up to where searing pain was in her neck. A quick look at her hands showed green veins, and before she fell unconscious, she saw a crackle of red.

The doors to the back of the truck opened, and Sara jumped out, eyes wide. "Supergirl?" she ran towards where Kara was spasming on the ground.

Red obscured her vision, and Sara faltered when she saw the vibrating figure in front of her. The vibrating stopped, and Sara found herself faced with a man in a black suit piped with red she had seen on only three people: Barry, Wally, and Eobard Thawne. The difference between them was the two lightning bolts shaped like the letter S on his chest plate.

She couldn't see his face because of the cowl and mask similar to what Thawne had worn, but there was no mistaking who this was. "Blitzkrieg," she whispered in horror.

Red lightning crackled in the air, and Sara's vision went black.

***

"That's it," Borman unbuckled himself, standing up. "I'm leaving!"

"No, no, no, I need you to stay here and calm down," Caitlin shook her head, running after him. "Neil, wait – !"

Borman threw the doors open, and Jax balked when he saw who was outside. "Laurel?"

"Not quite," Banshee shook her head, one cold gun holstered to her leg. Sara's gun was in her hands and aimed at Joe, the blonde herself nowhere to be found. "I want you all to listen to me very carefully, and hopefully, I won't have to raise my voice. This truck is now mine."

***

And now my goal for the rest of this episode's chapters is to get as close to 5K words as possible because that's how it worked to end on the cliffhanger I wanted. Oh, well . . . I'm pretty sure I can make that happen. I have explaining to do with Blitzkrieg and the Banshee anyway.

There may be another update before the weekend comes! Keep your eyes peeled!