"Am I alive?"

"You're alive," Cisco confirmed. "What were you thinking?"

"Don't yell at me, I just got struck by lightning!" Parker whined.

"You aren't Barry—"

"Don't." Parker snapped. She raised her hands and pushed her palms into her eyes. Her chest raised, held, then fell with a shaky sigh. "Please don't."

Cisco obeyed. She heard the wheels of a chair skid across the floor and sit at her bed side.

"I told Caitlin about our suspicion of Wells. Not surprisingly, she said it was crazy. All I asked of her was that she keep Dr.Wells out of the Cortex for the morning."

"Why?"

"When we trapped the Reverse-Flash, the machine failed, but I couldn't find any failures or find out what happened.." Cisco trailed off.

"You think he may have had something to do with it," Parker concluded.

Cisco nodded, taking a deep sigh. Parker slid one hand over both her eyes and patted the air with her free hand until Cisco grabbed it.

"My heart goes to you, man. This probably isn't easy for you."

"It's just.. How was I so blind? How did you see it, and Cait, Barry and I didn't?"

"Because he's not my idol and I don't spend any of my free time with him if I don't have to."

"Yeah, that's probably why," Cisco said, chuckling.

Parker smiled. "So, what happened with my leg? Is it ugly? I probably can't wear shorts ever again."

"It looks pretty bad ass. I mean, it shows you survived. I think that's pretty damn good reason to show it off."

"Cisco Ramon, you are the greatest friend in the history of ever. You're going to be my Maid of Honor when I get married."

"I also think I would look bad ass in a dress."

He kicked his feet on the bed and still holding her hand for comfort, they launched into conversation to entertain them.

>>>>

Come morning, Parker was actually the first awake. It wasn't by choice or on her own, it was because of her cell phone buzzing on the metal tray.

From: Caitlin Snow

Hey, Cisco wasn't answering his cell phone and I know you're at the Lab with him since u almost died. Sorry about that, BTW, r u ok? Hope so. You two have maybe an hour at the most, get moving.

Parker wiggled her hand out of Cisco's and slapped his shoulder until he woke up. She had hoped he would have fallen off his chair, but he didn't. The lame engineer just opened his tired eyes.

"Carry me downstairs, we've got an hour at the most," Parker ordered.

Parker tried to hide her surprise when Cisco swept her into his arms like she weight as much as a leaf.

"Yes, I lift," Cisco smugly said.

Parker scoffed.

When they arrived at the machine, Cisco set her on the floor by the entrance.

Time was short for them, and he apologized for not being able to go through the trouble of finding a seat.

The machine had to be set up, so to pass the time, Parker finally examined her leg. Last night, Cisco had her on so many medicines that relieved the pain.

Turns out, Parker had lost feeling from the knee down in her right leg. Her calf muscle was torn through, third degree burns surrounded the area. It was a nauseating sight.

"We should probably go to the hospital for this," Parker announced, her mouth in a frown.

Cisco waved his hand. Only about five percent of his attention was on her, the majority of it was spent setting up the machine again. His hands moved slowly and carefully, ensuring each part was intact and being used correctly.

Parker squinted her eyes, peering at the computer Cisco was on. He typed wildly on it, scanning every system apart of the machine, scouring every piece for an answer on what went wrong. Two statements popped up when Cisco finished:

CONTAINMENT SYSTEM FAILURE.

ALL SYSTEMS INTACT.

Cisco sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. He tried searching for the problem in the computer, and the machine. There was nowhere else the problem could have happened unless it was manual.

"Did you try turning it off and back on?" Parker asked sarcastically.

Cisco turned to face her, the most annoyed look on his face. Keeping their eyes locked, Cisco did as she suggested, completely sure that wasn't the problem. He clicked the button, turning the system on and opened his mouth, ready to rub it in Parker's face. But that's not what happened.

A little shriek came from Parker's lips.

Cisco spun around. The Reverse-Flash was standing in the middle of the trap. And he was staring straight at Cisco.

"My goals are beyond your understanding."

Cisco let out a relieved sigh and explained that it was simply a recording from that night. (Or so he thought.)

"Dr.Wells, we meet at last. My goals are beyond your understanding," Reverse-Flash continued.

"Or within them, apparently," Parker mumbled. "How did he create two versions of himself in the same timeline?"

"I'm still stuck on the fact that I don't know what happened to the machine," Cisco said.

"Oh, I'm not like the Flash at all."

"Some would say I'm the Reverse."

Parker's head snapped to the left, her face molding into a state of confusion, but at the same time, unsurprised. Her deduction about Dr.Wells being able to walk was correct. He stood in the doorway.

So then why is he showing us..?

"You're incredibly clever, Cisco. I've always said so," he complimented.

Cisco's lips split in realization. The idea of Dr.Wells not being who he said was always insane to Cisco. But with the assumption finally proven, he couldn't deny it any longer.

"You're him," Cisco mumbled. "The Reverse-Flash."

"You and I have never been truly, properly introduced. I am Eobard Thawne."

"Like Eddie?" Parker asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Let's call him a distant relative."

"The night we trapped the Reverse-Flash, there were two of you," Cisco recalled.

Dr.Wells held up his finger. A second later, a replica was pulled from his body. Between the original and the replicate, a black blur ran back and forth, making it whole before it disappeared.

"It's an after-image. A speed mirage, if you will. "

Cisco's hands went to his forehead. His inhales were panicked and short— he sounded close to hyperventilating.

"You were right," Cisco said to Parker. "He was there that night in Barry's house, fifteen years ago. He killed Nora Allen."

"It was never my intention to kill Nora Allen," Dr.Wells casually mentioned. "No, no, I was there for Barry."

"Why? You're his friend, you've been teaching him to—"

"Go faster," Parker filled in. "Fast enough that he'll die, right? Because you know you failed to kill him the night of Nora's murder. So you found an alternative."

Dr.Wells shrugged his shoulders, not giving her the satisfaction of a straight answer.

"I have been stuck here, marooned in this place for fifteen long years. And the Flash, and the Flash's speed, are the key to my return to my world. My time. And no one is going to get in my way."

Parker's heart started to race as Dr.Wells stopped pacing and stood in front of Cisco.

He held his hand in the air, vibrating it at a high speed.

The skin between Cisco's eyebrows scrunched; his lips turned upside down. Tears fell from his dark eyelashes.

"I can help you," Cisco whispered.

"You're smart, Cisco. But you're not that smart," Dr.Wells denied.

That's the moment everything clicked for Parker. Wells was admitting all his secrets to them, because they were close to figuring it out, and he knew it. His plan was to unveil the truth and then kill them, keeping Barry from finding out.

Parker turned her head to the wall she sat against and looked for something to hoist her up. It was her duty to try to get someone out alive, even if it wasn't her.

"Do you know how hard it has been to keep all of this from you, especially from you? Because the truth is, I've grown fond of you. And in many ways, you've shown me what it is like to have a son."

Parker screamed as Dr.Wells' hand went straight through Cisco's chest. His last gasp was audible, and with a single blink, multiple tears dropped from Parker's eyes.

Wells ripped his hand from Cisco's chest and fell to the floor, his lifeless eyes meeting Parker's.

She slapped her hand over her mouth, squeezing her brown eyes shut. Heavy, heart wrenching sobs made her rock back and forth on the floor.

"Parker Sylas: the variable that went wrong.."

Dr.Wells grabbed Parker's jacket and ripped her from the floor. One hand held her against the wall by her shoulder; the second holding her jaw.

Wobbly, due to the fact she couldn't stand on her own, she grabbed his outstretched arm and dug her fingers into his jacket. Her teeth bit into her tongue, keeping her lips from quivering. In her dying moments, she wanted to remain calm.

"I planned to kill you from the second I hired you. You were going to start meaning something to Caitlin, Cisco and Barry, and then I would rip you away from them. It wouldn't mean anything for our team, based on the scientific knowledge you lack.. But it would be a push for them.

What I didn't plan was for our speedster to fall in love with you. You're their weakness, his weakness— the key to him running faster. When you died, I'd sprout the 'She would want you to continue,' and he would. Barry would run faster than ever, and then.. Then, I would get to go home."

"Guess your wish is coming true," Parker growled.

"Any last words?"

"Fuck you."

Dr.Wells laughed and nodded his head. "Predictable, coming from you."

Parker slammed her eyes shut when his grip on her jaw tightened. Using his speed, he jerked her chin past her shoulder. The sickening crunch of her spine ensured her death.