— 𝒮 —

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒 opened to reveal Ronnie, Caitlin, Barry, and, now in his normal form, Martin Stein.

"Ronnie!" Sophia's face broke out into a grin as she embraced Ronnie, who had, luckily, been given a fresh sweater, as she murmured, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Ronnie chuckled, patting her back. "Cait told me you're a supergenius now."

"I wouldn't say supergenius," Sophia laughed.

"Uh, an IQ of seven billion and thirty-two counts as supergenius," Cisco butted in, a grin on his face as he took his turn in hugging Ronnie.

Sophia stepped over to Barry, whose suit was covered in ashes. She brushed some of it off of his shoulder, giving him a small smile as she gently asked, "You okay, Cran-Barry?"

"Never been better," he reassured her with a smile.

She scrunched her nose. "I'm sure you've been better."

"Welcome back, Mr. Raymond," Dr. Wells greeted as he rolled up.

"Dr. Wells," Ronnie said as he stepped towards him and shook his hand. "Caitlin told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry."

"I'm responsible for putting myself in this chair," Dr. Wells said dismissively. "You are responsible for my still being alive. Thank you."

"You said you'd bring him back and you did," Caitlin said gratefully as she put a hand on Ronnie's back. "Thank you."

Dr. Wells smiled as he gave her a small nod. "You're welcome."

"Uh, excuse me," cut in Professor Stein. "Are we all planning to sing Kumbaya next?"

Dr. Wells' sincere smile turned into an amused one as he turned to the man and said, "Professor Stein, I presume."

"Harrison Wells." Professor Stein gave a nod. He gestured down to his burnt and torn clothes as he asked, "Do you have somewhere I can freshen up and get a change of clothes?"

— 𝒮 —

"Come on," Cisco insisted as he tugged on Sophia's sleeve, "let's go check on Ronnie."

With a nod, she followed him into the Med Lab, where Caitlin was supposed to be checking Ronnie's temperature in—only to find the two of them in the middle of kissing.

"Yup," Cisco said loudly, causing the two of them to break apart and chuckle. "Just when I forgot how awkward it was to walk in on you two."

Caitlin grinned. "Well, you can get used to it again."

"So, I did a full medical work-up on the professor," Dr. Wells announced as he entered, Professor Stein trailing behind him, "it turns out that now that he and Ronnie are separated, they no longer possess the ability to harness nuclear energy."

Caitlin examined the tablet that Dr. Wells had given her and looked up to the professor. "Professor Stein, you seem to be running a little hot as well. Same as Ronnie—a hundred point six."

"Hardly a sweat, Dr. Snow," he reassured her with a smile. "And hopefully, now the only thing Ronald and I have in common—"

"It's Ronnie," Ronnie corrected him.

Professor Stein gave a curt nod. "Mm."

"Hey," Cisco said with a grin as he looked at Ronnie. "You gonna miss being able to fly?"

"Yeah, if I was the one holding the controller," Ronnie said accusingly as he turned his gaze back to Professor Stein.

The professor raised his eyebrows and took a step forward. "Meaning?"

Sophia nudged Cisco's side, muttering a "Nice going" and receiving an awkward look in return.

"Meaning you weren't the most conscientious body-mate," Ronnie clarified as he stood up.

"So you do not consider keeping you alive to be conscientious?" Professor Stein asked incredulously.

"Alive?" Ronnie echoed, his eyebrows lifting. "We were living under a bridge, eating garbage."

"I didn't determine it'd be my mind that would dominate our existence," Professor Stein said, "but thank God it was. I could feel your fear and panic—emotions that likely would have gotten us killed in that state."

"You kept me buried down," Ronnie said harshly. He gestured back at Caitlin as he continued, "You kept me from her."

"Which is likely why she's still alive," the professor rebutted. "Now, I believe you and I have spent quite enough time together."

"Yeah," Ronnie agreed, his gaze hardened on the man.

"I would like to go see my wife," requested Professor Stein as he turned to Dr. Wells.

"Mr. Allen will take you," Dr. Wells reassured him with a small smile.

Cisco turned to Sophia as the others left, a troubled expression on his face as he squinted his eyes and slowly asked, "That wasn't . . . my fault, was it?"

"It kinda was," she answered with a wrinkled nose. She was about to retaliate from the playful punch Cisco gave her when her phone rang, and she instead glared at him as she answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, Soph," Joe spoke. "Barry hasn't answered any of my calls."

"Yeah, well . . ." She glanced over at Barry, who had just entered the Cortex. "A lot of stuff has happened."

"I know . . ." Joe sighed. "I want to talk to him about what we discovered. I want you to come, too. Can you tell—"

"Got it," she reassured him. "We have to do something really quick first, but I'll make sure that we get there soon."

"Thanks."

"Mhm," she hummed in response before hanging up.

She walked over to Barry, who was waiting for Professor Stein to shrug his coat on, and tapped his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Barry questioned as he turned to her, raising his eyebrows.

"Can I tag along?" she asked with a bright smile.

A grin spread onto his face as he nodded. "Of course."

As soon as Professor Stein was ready to go, Barry tightly grasped the both of them and sped them into a nice neighbourhood.

The sun was masked by the clouds above, hiding from the cold breeze that washed upon them as they walked across the lawn of the professor's home.

"I can't believe it," Professor Stein breathed out as they stepped onto the porch, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sleeves. Before they could reach the door, however, he suddenly turned around to face them and held a hand out. "Uh, wait. Uh . . . What should I say?"

Sophia gave him a small smile, exchanging a knowing look with Barry as she reassured him, "I don't think you're gonna have to say anything."

The door then opened, revealing a blonde woman of shorter stature, who had a look of disbelief on her face as she saw her husband.

"Clarissa," Professor Stein murmured as he turned to her, a small smile on both of their faces, "I'm so sorry I put you through this."

Clarissa wrapped an arm around him and quickly kissed him before she placed her face into the crook of her husband's neck.

Sophia smiled as she watched the two embrace, and gave a small nod as Clarissa pulled back and mouthed, "Thank you."

Before she could pull Professor Stein in, he turned to them. "Mr . . ." He paused for a moment before correcting, "Barry. Sophia. Listen, I know I—I can be difficult . . . but thank you for bringing me home."

Barry smiled as he gave him a curt nod. "We'll see you soon, professor."

As the door closed, Barry gave a small sigh and turned to Sophia as he raised his eyebrows. "Back to STAR Labs?"

She shook her head. "Joe told me he wanted to meet us at CCPD."

"Oh." Barry nodded slowly, the corners of his lips then tugging downwards. "Is that why you wanted to come here with me?"

Sophia nodded, to which Barry looked slightly crestfallen. Nonetheless, he still regained his composure and grasped her tightly before speeding them both into his lab.

"God," she groaned as she clutched her stomach. "Horrible."

As Barry chuckled at her, they looked to see that Joe was leaning against his desk, watching the news report on the explosion that the Ronnie/Stein splicing had caused.

"Hey," Barry greeted as they walked up to him, grabbing his attention.

"I left you three messages," Joe said exasperatedly as he turned to them.

"I know," Barry sighed. "I'm sorry."

"About the lack of communication or that hole out in the badlands?" Joe questioned as he gestured towards the computer screen.

"We're all fine, thanks," Barry said amusedly, nodding.

Joe shook his head, letting out a small sigh as he reassured them, "I wasn't calling about the explosion. Sophia and I" —he glanced over to her nervously— "have to show you something."

Barry looked towards Sophia, who had begun to follow Joe out of the room. "What?"

Barry's question, however, remained unanswered as the three of them made their way to Barry's old house.

It seemed that Joe had already spoken to Shirley about this as he took a key out and unlocked the door, leading the way inside.

Barry looked around, his eyes a little wide as he stepped inside and allowed his gaze to roam over the inside of the house. He paused as he turned to the living room, and he remarked, "It's smaller than I remember."

"Yeah," Joe replied, "it's because you're bigger." He brushed past him and headed in as he asked, "Have you been in here? I mean, recently?"

"No," Barry answered as they wandered through the rooms. "I haven't been in this house since that night.

Joe walked over to the projector and called, "Barr. This mirror—do you remember it?"

Barry walked over to him, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at it. "Yeah. It belonged to my grandma. How is it still here?"

"Just be glad it is," Sophia sighed as she came to Joe's side.

"What—" Barry looked around. "What are we doing here?"

Joe gestured for Barry to come onto their side and nodded towards Sophia, who then flicked the projector on.

Barry's eyebrows knit tightly together as he stared at the image of his mother, and he took a few steps forward as he uttered, "Mom."

"You can definitely see two very fast people fighting around your mother," Joe said gently.

"Two speedsters," Barry realized.

Joe walked onto the other side of Barry and pointed to the blood that was projected onto the wall beyond. "You see that?"

"The blood?" Barry questioned.

"Sophia, Cisco, and I had the DNA tested," Joe told him as he turned towards him. "It's yours."

Barry shook his head. "No, it's not. That's impossible; I wasn't even downstairs yet."

Sophia sighed as she walked towards him, placing a hand on his arm as she corrected, "No, Barry, not that you. This you." She pointed towards him, causing his eyebrows to furrow. "I analyzed the samples, and the proteins of the blood were that of an adult, not a child."

Barry's eyes widened as he turned back to face the speedsters. "But that means—"

"The second speedster," Joe said, pointing towards it, "the one trying to stop the man in yellow—"

"Is the Flash," Barry finished for him, his eyes glued onto the red blur. "That's me."

— 𝒮 —

"Time travel," Dr. Wells uttered, nodding slightly.

Joe, Sophia, Cisco, and Barry had just finished recounting to him their discoveries, and he was just as amazed as they were at their findings.

"If the last five months have proven anything, it's that anything can exist," Barry pointed out. "But to actually travel through time?"

"Well, the greatest minds in human history put their collective genius towards solving that puzzle," Dr. Wells replied with a small smile.

"So?" Joe questioned. "Is it possible?"

"Yes, it's possible," Dr. Wells confirmed. "But problematic, I mean, assuming you could create the conditions necessary to take that journey—well, that journey would then be fraught with potential pitfalls. The Novikov principle of self-consistency, for example—"

"Wait," Joe interrupted as he put his coat onto a chair, "the what now?"

"If you travel back in time to change something, then you end up being the causal factor of that event," Sophia explained to him.

"Like," Cisco added, "Terminator."

Joe nodded as he pointed towards Cisco. "Ah."

"Or," Dr. Wells continued, "is time plastic? Is it mutable whereby any changes to the continuum could create an alternate timeline?"

Cisco pointed his pen toward Joe and said, "Back to the Future."

Joe nodded. "Oh. Saw that one too."

"'Doc Brown,'" Dr. Wells imitated. "Tremendous picture."

"Right," Joe sighed. "So, what's the answer?"

"I might be a clever guy, Joe, but if you're asking me to give you a working theory on how to travel through time, I'm afraid I just can't do that," Dr. Wells apologized.

"What about you, Soph?" Joe questioned as he turned to her. "Aren't you a . . . genius, or whatever?"

"Supergenius," Cisco corrected with a grin. "With an IQ of six billion, three hundred and two."

"I'm only a supergenius on things that actually exist and aren't theoretical—which does not include a working way to time travel," Sophia sighed. "Though, there is someone we can talk to." She turned her eyes to Barry and raised her eyebrows. "Mind taking a trip back to Professor Stein?"

Barry gave a quick nod, and after grabbing her, he sped her to the front door of Professor Stein.

It was already dark out, though the porch was lit by the lights overhead, and the moonlight gently illuminated the road for them.

Barry knocked on the door, and only a moment later did Clarissa open it.

"Barry, Sophia," she greeted in surprise.

"Mrs. Stein," Barry sighed, "I'm sorry to bother you here, but is Professor Stein here right now?"

"Well, after a year apart, I'm not letting him out of my sight," she reassured them as she folded her arms. An uneasy look came over her face as she squinted her eyes and asked, "STAR Labs did quite a few tests on Martin, didn't they? And they said he was fine?"

"Yeah," Sophia confirmed with a nod. "Why? Something wrong?"

Mrs. Stein gave a small shake of the head. "He just seems a little different, is all."

Now more concerned, Sophia tilted her head and asked, "Different how?"

She glanced over her shoulder before telling them, "He's been asking for pizza. Martin despises pizza."

"Is that the delivery man?" asked Professor Stein as he came to the door, though the hopeful glint in his eye disappeared as he saw who it was. "Oh, Mr. Allen. Ms. Byun." He focused on Barry as he asked, "I suppose it's too much to hope you moonlight as a pizza boy. I am famished."

Barry gave a small shrug and nod as he muttered, "Okay."

Sophia fixed her hair as it blew to the side, and a moment later, Barry was back with a box of pizza.

"Oh!" Professor Stein exclaimed joyously as he was handed the box. "Bravo. Please come in."

Sophia and Barry exchanged a look of amusement before entering the home, and they stood in front of Professor Stein as he opened the box and gazed down at the pizza fondly.

"What can I do for you?" asked Professor Stein as he began to pull a slice out.

"We needed to talk to you about a paper you wrote twenty-five years ago for the" —Sophia squinted her eyes for a moment as she recalled the paper she had read some time ago— "Oxford University Press?"

"I have written many papers for that publication," Professor Stein said quickly. "Could you be more specific about the subject matter?"

"Time travel," she clarified.

Professor Stein paused as his pizza entered his mouth, and it was clear that he was much more excited about this than the pizza.

Leaving the pizza in the kitchen, Professor Stein led them to a different room, where a portable chalkboard stood, draped in a cloth.

He pulled the cloth down to reveal a series of equations and theories scribbled down in white chalk, and he told them, "These are just a few of the random thoughts I've had on the subject."

Barry raised his eyebrows as he repeated, "A few?"

"See," the professor began as they turned and began to walk towards the other side of the room, "I believe that space-time is a free-flowing highway that intersects the physical world." He wrung his hands as Sophia and Barry took a seat behind his desk, and he continued, "We live in the moments between the on and off ramps. Theoretically, to travel through time, one merely needs to find a way onto the highway."

"Okay. So you're saying that this is actually possible, to travel into the future?" asked Barry, a little nervous as he shifted in his spot.

"Undoubtedly," answered Professor Stein with an excited smile and nod.

Barry nodded. "What about the past?"

"Yes." Professor Stein lightly hit his fist against his palm as he went around his desk and mused, "My own personal choice would be the Chicago World's Fair, 1893. I think Nikola Tesla and I, we'd have some wonderful arguments. What about you?" he asked as he leaned towards Barry. "Would you be interested in taking a trip into history?"

Barry gave a slow nod before he answered, "I think that I already have. Professor, um . . ." He bowed his head for a moment before continuing, "Fifteen years ago, my mom was murdered, and we recently discovered some evidence that" —he glanced at Sophia— "I was there that night, and not just as a kid but . . . as an adult."

Professor Stein, who looked to be in a stupor, gazed off to the side as he muttered, "That must be a side effect of your incredible speed. In some future date, you actually move so fast that the resulting kinetic energy buildup smashes a hole in the space-time continuum!" he exclaimed as he hit the side of his head with a grin. He chuckled happily for a few moments before noticing Barry's sullen expression. "You seem disappointed by the prospect."

"I mean, if I do . . ." Barry looked up to him, his eyes beginning to glimmer with tears as he gave a small shrug and pointed out, "somehow make it back there to that night, then . . . it means that I didn't save her. My destiny is to fail."

Sophia sighed, gazing at Barry for a moment before turning to Professor Stein and murmuring, "Would you mind giving us a moment, Professor?"

"Yes, yes," the professor said quickly, casting a worried glance towards the man as he began to head towards the door. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Sophia shifted herself to face Barry once the door had shut, and she gave a small sigh. "Barry, because you're you, I already know you're feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt—"

"How can I not?" he questioned, his eyes still watering as he met her gaze. "My mom died because . . . because of me."

"Not necessarily," she pointed out, though she knew there was probably no other reason. "For all we know, you could've gone all Darth Vader and turned to the bad side, and maybe even gotten possessed by a demon."

"Not funny, Soph," Barry chided, though his lips were beginning to turn up into a smile. "And demons don't even exist."

"As far as we know," she pointed out with a raised finger. She gave him a reassuring smile as she placed a hand on his shoulder and shrugged. "Barry, when the time comes to deal with that, we will. But for now, we have to figure out how time travel even works. Even I don't know, and I have a trillion and seven IQ."

Barry wiped at his eyes, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "Have you guys ever even tested your IQ score?"

"Yeah, that was one of the first things we did," she answered with a smile. "It was four hundred and thirty, but Cisco and I like to just go with random numbers."

"Ah." Barry sighed as the two of them got up and started their way out the room, "You and Cisco are pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah." Sophia glanced at him as they went through the door. "We started at STAR Labs on the same day. And seeing that Hartley was an ass, we stuck together . . . and, yeah, we've been best friends since."

As they entered the kitchen, both of their attentions were quickly snapped to the Professor as he dropped a glass and held onto the table for support.

"Professor," Barry called as the two of their paces' quickened.

"Martin," his wife murmured worriedly, then clutching onto his shoulder to carry him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, his voice quivering and his breathing shortened. "I feel terrified. My heart is racing. I think" —he let out a quick breath— "I think Ronald is in trouble."

"They're still connected," Sophia realized with a small gasp. She turned to the man beside her as she quickly said, "Barry, uh, they're probably at Jitters, you need to go!"

"What about you?" he questioned, his voice now a little frantic.

"Don't mind me, just go!"

Barry, however, ignored her request as he picked her up bridal-style and sped her back to the Cortex. Of course, it was no time wasted; he had to grab his suit from the mannequin anyway.

Cisco and Dr. Wells were already there, unsuspecting of any problems as they worked diligently at the main desk.

They looked up in alarm at Sophia's sudden appearance, and she fixed her hair as she breathed out, "The two of them—Ronnie, Stein—they're still connected."

Cisco's eyebrows furrowed as he pushed the keyboard back. "How do you know?"

"Professor Stein, he—he could feel that Ronnie was in trouble," she answered; "he said he was terrified, and his heart was racing."

Cisco disregarded most of the sentence as he got to his feet. "Ronnie's in trouble?"

"Barry's gone for him, don't worry," she reassured him, glancing over to Dr. Wells, whose eyes were squinted in thought. "They should be back in no time, safe and sound."

A few minutes later, Sophia realized she was very wrong—they had not come back safe and sound.

Well, Caitlin and Ronnie had, thankfully. No one could say the same for Barry, however.

Barry had about a hundred needles protruding from his body, and he groaned in agony as the group rushed him onto the hospital bed.

Sophia, Ronnie, and Dr. Wells watched in concern as Caitlin slipped her lab coat on and began pulling the needles out, while, in gloved hands, Cisco held a small metal bowl that she dropped the needles into.

"Hurry," Dr. Wells warned as Barry let out another grunt. "Barry's wounds are starting to heal with fragments under his skin."

"It's just like that time I stepped on a sea urchin," Cisco commented, a traumatized look expressing itself upon his face. Catching sight of Barry's glare, he added on, "Only much worse."

"Ugh," Barry groaned, causing Sophia to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Just don't pee on me."

Sophia, keeping her hand on his shoulder, scrunched her face as she said, "You know that's a myth, right?"

Barry gave another groan as Caitlin pulled another needle out, his body lurching slightly.

"I'm so stupid," Caitlin exhaled after dropping the needle into Cisco's bowl. "Jason Rusch, the grad student who is helping Professor Stein with his Firestorm research, he said that the Army took all of Stein's material when he disappeared. I should have known it was General Eiling."

"Not your fault," interjected Dr. Wells as Caitlin began to extract another needle. He nodded towards Ronnie. "He thinks you hold the keys to the ultimate human weapon—both of you."

"Okay," Barry sighed. "Let's just finish this. I gotta get to Stein's house, Eiling's gonna be after him too."

"Stein's fine," Ronnie reassured him, then turning to the Cortex entrance.

Cisco's eyes flicked to him for a moment. "How do you know?"

"He's right there."

They all turned to see that Professor Stein was, indeed, standing at the entrance of the Cortex, an unsettled expression on his face.

"I don't think Mr. Raymond and I are as . . . distinctive as we had hoped."

— 𝐵 —

The group—save for Dr. Wells—were now in the training room, with Ronnie and Professor Stein, both of them wearing STAR Labs sweatshirts, were hooked up to a brain monitor.

Barry folded his arms, peering at the brainwaves that were displayed on the TV monitor. Although, he wasn't too sure what to make of it; they just looked like lines to him. They could be good, bad, horrible, whatever, he wouldn't know the difference.

Professor Stein read the screen before remarking, "I'm still inside Ronald."

"There has to be a better way to phrase that," Sophia murmured with a wrinkled nose, causing Barry and Cisco to give her an amused grin.

"Beta, alpha, theta, delta . . . All of your brainwaves are perfectly in sync," Caitlin told them.

Sophia shook her head. "The chances of that happening are next to impossible."

Barry, who was standing next to her, sighed as he put his hands on his hips and pointed out, "Impossible is just another Tuesday for us, remember?"

"Yeah, but this is like some Twilight Zone level stuff," Cisco interjected, "and I say that knowing full well we have a guy locked up in our basement who can turn himself into poison gas."

That caught Ronnie's attention. "Wait, really?"

"Dude, that was, like, week three," Cisco answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Look," interrupted Professor Stein as he took his brain monitor off and stood up, "if this Eiling is as dangerous as you say, then I need to warn Clarissa."

Barry immediately knew this was a bad idea; the last thing they needed was for Ronnie and Stein to be separated, and for Eiling to get a hold of one of them.

Barry stepped up towards him as he reassured, "I promise, I can get Clarissa out of the city in time, but we need you to stay here. Professor, I need you to trust us."

Professor Stein stared at him for a moment while considering before giving a sigh and conceding, "Very well."

— 𝒮 —

The group came to the Cortex the next day, only to find out from Dr. Wells that the Army had infiltrated the building and had taken Professor Stein.

Dr. Wells, luckily, remained unscathed, but that didn't stop the group's worry.

"He didn't hurt you?" Barry questioned as he walked up to him, the rest of them staying behind the main desk.

"Barry, I told you, only my pride is hurt," answered Dr. Wells heavily. "Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to take on armed soldiers."

Caitlin put her hands on her hips as she asked, "Where do you think Eiling took Stein?"

"I imagine some off-the-books military research facility," Dr. Wells responded.

"We have to get him back," Barry told everyone determinedly.

"Easy," Dr. Wells chided as he raised a hand towards the man. "Eiling has already demonstrated he has the weaponry to disable the Flash or worse."

"Well, we can't let him turn Stein into a weapon," protested Sophia with folded arms.

Ronnie nodded, turning his attention from her to Dr. Wells as he raised his eyebrows. "How do we find him?"

Simultaneously, everyone realized the answer as they turned to face Ronnie.

Ronnie, however, seemed to be clueless about the fact that the answer was, in fact, him. "What?"

They quickly hurried back into the training room, where Caitlin ushered Ronnie onto a chair and hooked up a brain monitor to him.

"No abnormal brain activity," she remarked as soon as the information had popped up on the computer screen next to her. "All vitals steady."

"You think Ronnie can somehow feel where they're keeping Stein?" Barry, who was sitting on one side of Sophia, asked dubiously.

"Ronnie got dizzy when the soldiers grabbed Stein, and Stein developed Ronnie's obsession with pizza," Sophia pointed out with a shrug.

Ronnie shook his head. "I don't feel anything right now."

Caitlin placed a hand on her arm as she pleaded, "Just keep trying."

"Whatever this is, it doesn't have an on and off switch," he insisted.

"It's possible it's just some kind of residual connection," Sophia sighed, eliciting a nod from Dr. Wells, who was on her other side. "You know, a temporary link to your time together."

"Wait," Ronnie spoke, his eyebrows furrowing as he slowly straightened up. "I feel something."

They all watched him with bated breath as his breathing slowed, and his eyes slowly roamed around the room as he thought.

"I'm cold," he suddenly noted.

Ronnie then gave a gasp as his back arched, and he let out a scream of pain while Cisco rushed up to him, both him and Caitlin holding down either side of his body.

"What's happening to him?" Barry questioned as he stood up, his eyes fixated on the man who was continuing to gasp and wheeze.

Sophia shook her head as Barry looked at her. "Nothing's happening to him. It's happening to Stein, and Ronnie's feeling his pain. I was wrong—their connection isn't temporary, it's only getting stronger."

"Just try and hold on," Caitlin breathed out.

"Water," Ronnie gasped, glancing over to the glass of water on the table next to him. "Water."

Cisco grabbed it and handed it to Ronnie, only for him to pour the water out and smash the glass against the table.

Ronnie used the sharp edge of a shard of glass and began to cut into his arm, causing Caitlin to cry out, "Ronnie, no!"

"Wait, Cait, wait," Barry interjected.

"He's cutting himself," she protested, giving him a look of fury.

"I know." Barry nodded before raising his eyebrows. "Let him."

They all watched as Ronnie etched the word 'WHERE' into his skin, the bright red highly contrasting his fair skin.

"Anything?" Caitlin asked after he had finished, her eyes worriedly glancing at the wound.

"Nothing," he breathed out. "Nothing, just—just cold, like a metal surface. Pressure on and on and off. Tap, tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap."

"Morse code," Dr. Wells realized.

"I got this," Sophia reassured them, then closing her eyes as she concentrated on the code.

"Same thing again," Ronnie told her. "Tap, tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap, tap, tap."

"Twenty-seven," Sophia answered as she opened her eyes.

"What does it mean?" Caitlin questioned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Army bases," Barry realized with widened eyes. "They sometimes go by numbers like Area fifty-one."

Cisco nodded, rushing over to the computer and beginning to type into it before he declared, "Facility twenty-seven about three hundred miles away. It was shut down in 1961."

"That's where they're keeping Stein," Barry said with a nod.

"Bet you that's where they're keeping the aliens too," Cisco interjected seriously, causing Sophia to roll her eyes in amusement.

"I'm coming, too," Ronnie spoke, then beginning to get off the bed.

"No, you're not, you can't!" Caitlin exclaimed as he got to his feet.

"I'm connected to Stein," he pointed out. "I have to go."

"But did you ever stop to think why your connection to him is growing stronger by the minute?" she rebutted. "Maybe you're being drawn back together. Maybe your proximity will cause you to re-merge into one."

"And what happens to me if he gets killed?" Ronnie countered with raised eyebrows. "Cait, Barry was right. The world's different now. Look, I thought we could get away—start a new life. A normal life, together. But there is no normal life for us. You will always risk your life to try and help people. And I will always be the guy that runs into that Pipeline for you."

Caitlin bit her lower lip, giving him a small smile as she nodded her head.

"The quantum splicer," Cisco said as he grabbed it off the counter and offered it to the man. "It was used to separate you once. Maybe it could be of use to keep you, you."

"Thanks," Ronnie whispered as he took it from Cisco. He turned to Barry, giving him a nod. "Let's go."

"Wait," Caitlin interrupted, causing him to pause. She stepped around to him and kissed him before murmuring, "Come back. All three of you."

As Barry and Ronnie rushed away, the rest of them headed back to the Cortex and took their seats at the main desk, waiting for someone's voice to call through the comms.

It wasn't long until Barry spoke, presumably about the location, "Oh. This place definitely doesn't look too shady."

"Stein's inside," Ronnie confirmed. "I can feel our connection growing stronger like he's pulling me."

"That's what I was afraid of; the Firestorm matrix is building towards a proximity re-emergence," Sophia said worriedly into the microphone. "Like all matter, it yearns to be whole." She glanced over to Caitlin, who was next to her, before sighing and continuing, "If you two merge . . . we might not be able to separate you again."

"Eiling has a gun to Stein's head," Ronnie said slowly, causing the others to straighten up in alarm. "He's about to pull the trigger!"

Luckily, they were able to hear Professor Stein's voice only a moment after, "Whoa. I never thought I'd be happy to see you."

"Yeah," Ronnie returned, "likewise."

"Let's get out of here," Barry said quickly.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of Barry's scream, and their attention turned to the suit monitor.

"Barry," Cisco said into the microphone, "I'm picking up some serious pH numbers on your suit."

"They hit me with some kind of chemical!"

"It's a weaponized phosphorus," Cisco realized as he looked at the pH numbers. "Water or foam won't extinguish it."

"But you can't burn in a vacuum," Dr. Wells continued. "So you need to create one. Run, Barry. Run."

As Barry began to run, Ronnie spoke, "We need to merge again."

"Ronnie, no," Caitlin immediately answered into the microphone.

"Cait, we're dead if we don't."

"Listen to me," Dr. Wells said. "The last time you two combined, you both fought it. This time, don't. Accept the change. Accept the balance. Accept each other."

It seemed as though they agreed to this as the professor sighed, "Once more unto the breach, dear friend."

There was the sound of only gunshots for a few moments before Ronnie spoke, "Cait . . . whatever happens, just remember: I'll always love you."

Sophia placed a hand on Caitlin's back, rubbing it gently as the woman's reddened eyes began to water.

It wasn't long until the duo had succeeded in defeating Eiling, and Barry, along with Firestorm, arrived back in the Cortex.

Barry's suit was completely tattered, and Sophia tried her best to calm down the horrified Cisco as Barry tore it off and changed into normal clothes.

Sophia frowned as she walked up to Barry, gesturing for him to lift his shirt. She let out a small gasp as she saw the terrible burns that decorated his body, though he gave her a reassuring smile.

"I think it looks worse than it is," he told her, though she rolled her eyes.

Sophia gave an amused scoff, "I think you think I'm stupid."

He gave her a grin. "Never."

Their attention then drew to the Med Lab as Cisco and Firestorm walked out, and Caitlin tentatively approached.

"Ronnie or Stein?" she asked nervously.

"It's me, Caitlin," Ronnie reassured her before pausing and squinting his eyes. "It's both of us. Somehow."

"Acceptance is a powerful thing," remarked Dr. Wells from behind.

"Powerful enough to reverse it?" suggested Barry with raised eyebrows, rubbing his side.

"We could try," agreed Ronnie.

Everyone backed up to give him space, though their eyes remained fixated on him as he shut his eyes and steadied his breathing.

Suddenly, a burst of flames began to shoot out from his body, the flames growing stronger and brighter by the second, and eventually causing them to shield their eyes.

Once the flames extinguished a moment later, they were pleased to see that there were now two people standing in the middle of the room—they had separated successfully.

"Oh," Professor Stein breathed out, a grin forming on his face. "I think we're getting the hang of this quite nicely."

With a wide smile on her face, Caitlin walked up to Ronnie and embraced him tightly.

As they pulled away, Caitlin glanced over to Professor Stein and gave Ronnie a smile. "It's okay. I understand. You have to go."

Ronnie's eyebrows furrowed, though he had a slight smile as he asked, "How'd you know?"

Caitlin smiled. "I'm connected to you too."