— 𝒮 —

"𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘?" 𝐒𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 her head into the workshop, her eyes searching for the man in question.

When she didn't see anything except for her and Cisco's toys (one of which she needed to get back to), she sighed and headed back into the hallway.

She called out again, "Barry?"

Still no response. Where was he? She leaves him alone for twenty minutes, and he suddenly disappears . . .

Sophia headed into the Cortex, immediately searching it as she stepped in. "Barry, where are—oh. What's this?"

She stopped in her tracks, surprise taking over as she spotted him, though a grin quickly grew onto her face.

She quickly recognized the black blanket he was sitting on as one of the STAR Labs merchandise they used to sell before the particle accelerator ordeal. But even better was the other thing laid out: a pepperoni pizza.

"I figured since we didn't really have time outside of STAR Labs to go on a date, we could just have our date here." He gave her a cute grin, patting the empty spot beside him for her to sit. "Especially since it's just us tonight."

"Wow, Barry, this is great," she giggled as she sat down. "But it would've been nice to have been informed beforehand."

He shrugged as he took two slices of pizza, handing her one. "Surprises are nice."

Sophia raised her eyebrows as she bit into the slice. "Yeah, but I could've at least dressed up if I had known."

He shrugged again as he ate his pizza. "You don't need to dress up, you already look beautiful."

"I'm wearing my work clothes!" she pointed out with furrowed eyebrows. "I think it'd be better to wear a dress or something."

"I'm wearing work clothes, too!"

"Barry, your work clothes are literally just normal clothes."

"You've got a point there," he laughed, looking down at his own clothes. "But, anyway, you'd look good in anything you wear."

"Oh, yeah? What if I wore a taco suit?" she questioned. She had indeed seen an ad for a taco suit online the week before for eighty dollars, which she obviously did not purchase (she did) (for Cisco) (he loved it).

"You'd still look as beautiful as ever."

She squinted her eyes. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment if you're saying that I'd look the same in both a taco suit and a fancy dress."

"Of course it's a compliment," he laughed. "I'm saying that you're just so beautiful, it doesn't matter what you wear."

"I feel like you're exaggerating a bit, but I'll take it," she giggled. "But thank you, I think you'd look just as handsome if you were wearing a trash bag."

"Why thank you." He grinned. "Maybe I can wear that to work tomorrow?"

"Please don't." She shook her head, laughing at the idea of Barry showing up to a police station dressed in a garbage bag. "When I said you don't wear work clothes, I didn't mean you should use a garbage bag as work clothes."

"Okay, you've convinced me, Snowpea. I won't."

"Good."

He gave her a cute grin before changing the topic. "Anyway, that day I went back in time last week . . . that was one hell of a day."

Sophia sighed. "I bet."

"I won't say anything that'll—" He straightened up, realizing something. "Wait, can I tell you now?"

Sophia thought for a moment, debating it in her head for a few moments before shrugging. "I mean, it's been a week. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt, the chances of something bad happening is only zero-point-zero-three percent."

He gave a nod. "Right, okay, so basically, after the morgue and everything, we'd gone to CCPD to talk to Singh. Then we went to Joe's car and started driving somewhere, and then Mardon attacked. And then Cisco showed us this thing he made called the Wizard's Wand, which was like a lightning rod that helps attract unbound atmospheric electrons."

Sophia squinted her eyes as she tilted her head back. "I think Cisco showed me that."

Barry nodded. "So, Joe went to CCPD, and Cisco went with him to give him the wand, but then Mardon attacked, so Cisco called me. But then Mardon . . . Because of him, Captain Singh became paralyzed. And then we went back to STAR Labs, and, y'know, you and I—" He wiggled his eyebrows, resulting in a giggle from her. "And then we found out Joe got kidnapped and that Mardon was going to create a tidal wave to destroy Central City—"

Sophia's eyes widened at the ending. "What a twist."

"So then, I had to run along the coastline faster than I've ever run before and then, boom, I was in the past."

"And then everything changed because you didn't listen to me." Her bitter tone betrayed the sweet smile that she was giving him.

"Yeah, but I mean" —a sly grin appeared on his face— "it turned out better than the original day, didn't it?"

"You got lucky," she warned, though she still chuckled. "It could've been way worse. Remember that next time."

"If there's a next time."

"There will be," she said firmly. "And you better listen to me then, or else I'm gonna bash your head in."

"Awesome." He folded his arms, and the exasperated expression he was trying to pull off was terrible. "That's a really sweet thing to say on our first date."

"Isn't it?"

She gave him a grin, and his fake-annoyed look soon faded into a smile. She took that moment to indulge in his sweet eyes and the fondness within his lips. And she counted her lucky stars that she was the girl that got to have him.

"Barry?" she said softly, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Hm?"

"How do you not have, like, a million girls throwing themselves at you?"

He suddenly looked baffled. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on," she laughed. She chucked under his chin, eliciting a small grin from him. "You're so cute. And smart. And funny. And a superhero—though no other girls know, to be fair."

"I don't know if anyone else thinks that way." He rubbed the back of his neck, his face now sheepish. "I don't think there were a lot of girls that liked me, like . . . ever."

She raised a brow. "What about the other way around?"

Barry narrowed his eyes. "Girls I liked?"

She nodded. "Mhm."

"Uh . . ." He thought for a moment, squinting his eyes as he looked up. "I mean, there were a few."

She slowly nodded. "Uh-huh, a few meaning, like, three, or thirty?"

He shrugged. "Three hundred."

She widened her eyes dramatically, playing along. "That's a lot."

"No, no," he laughed, "only, like, four girls. Not including you."

"Did you ever date any of them?" Sophia rested her chin on her hand as she looked towards the man, who furrowed his eyebrows at this question.

"Are you seriously asking me this?"

"It's good gossip." She shrugged. After a moment, she waved a hand in the air and shook her head. "You know what, maybe I'll ask Joe, I'm sure he'll—"

"Nope, nope, it's all right, I'll tell you," Barry interrupted her, shaking his head quickly. "To be honest . . . I don't really remember any of their names."

"Ooh, that's cold, Elder-Barry," she remarked as she scrunched her nose. "Are you going to forget my name?"

Barry shifted closer to her, her heart beginning to race faster as his hand moved onto her shoulder. He gave her a warm smile as his face began to lean towards hers. "I could never."

Their faces were now just inches apart, and she could feel his warm breath tickling her chin.

A malicious smile came onto her face as she put her hand onto his chest and softly pushed him backwards. "I bet that's what you said to those other girls, too, huh?"

He laughed as he shook his head. "No!"

"Tell me one name," Sophia pleaded as she raised one finger.

Barry frowned for a moment. "There's only one I remember."

"Perfect! Tell me."

"Well, actually . . ." He ruffled his hair, seeming almost as though he didn't want to tell her. Although, that was understandable—they were on their first date after all. "Before I met you, I liked Iris. For a pretty long time, actually."

Sophia was taken aback for a moment as the name registered in her mind. "Whoa, really?"

He gave her a nervous nod, seeming anxious about what she would think about that. However, his agitation was soon brushed away when she giggled.

"Honestly, I would've had a crush on her too. I mean, damn. She's gorgeous."

Barry chuckled, now relieved, "You're more gorgeous."

A serious look came upon her face as she wagged a finger at him. "Don't even joke about that, Barry."

"I'm not joking!"

Sophia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thinking for a moment before asking, "So, when did you stop liking her?"

The real question was, how did he stop liking her? Barry's great and all, but if Iris ever wanted Sophia's number . . .

"We're still talking about this?" he questioned incredulously, his eyebrows raising.

Sophia shrugged. "Well, you know, I could go to Iris—"

"No!" he quickly answered. "She doesn't even know!"

"Even better."

"Jesus—I'll tell you!" he laughed. "Honestly . . . I stopped liking her as soon as I met you."

"So I'm some kind of rebound?" she teased, finding amusement when he immediately shook his head with alarm.

"No, no, it's not . . . It was like . . ." He took a breath, his eyes flickering towards the ground before coming back towards her. "The first time I met you, I forgot who Iris even was. I felt like I already knew everything about you before you even said your first word to me."

Sophia furrowed her eyebrows at his statement, although she could feel a blush starting to come on. "The first time you met me was when you woke up from a nine-month coma."

"Shut up." A grin slowly spread onto his face. "You know what my first thought was when I woke up?"

"'What am I doing here?'" she guessed.

He chuckled, giving a small nod. "Okay, yeah, but after that."

Sophia squinted her eyes. "'Who are these people?'"

"After that."

"'Why does my body hurt so much?'"

"After."

"'Am I a modern-day Frankenstein?'"

He scrunched his face. "No, I didn't think that at all."

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Really."

"Okay, then you better tell me, because I am all out of guesses," Sophia sighed dramatically, giving him a shrug.

Barry nodded. "It was: 'This girl is the most beautiful person I've ever seen.'"

She laughed. "Okay. But damn."

"What was your first thought when you saw me?" he asked curiously, an amused glint in his eyes.

"Barry, c'mon, when I first saw you, you were in a coma!" she protested as she folded her arms.

"And?"

"I thought you were really cute," she giggled. "But then I questioned whether what I was thinking was morally wrong or right, because, for all I knew, you could've been married and had seven children."

He raised his eyebrows. "I was not."

She rolled her eyes in amusement as she agreed, "Well, I know that now."

"I'd hope so."

Their attentions were suddenly turned to the computer as a shrill alarm sounded, and the two of them sighed.

"Damn, so soon?" Barry complained, a small pout forming on his face.

"I thought it was gonna happen sooner, to be honest." Sophia shrugged as she walked over to the computer.

"Okay, yeah, but I was hoping to squeeze in a kiss before it happened." Barry gave her a cute grin as he walked towards her, coming to her side to see the reason for the alarm.

"Here." Sophia turned to him and planted a kiss on his lips that lasted no more than a second. "Robbery on 4th at Dayton Jewelry. Go."

— 𝐵 —

Standing in front of Sophia and Joe in his lab, Barry pulled down a board that was covered in photos and newspaper clippings of Harrison Wells.

"This is everything that we know about Harrison Wells . . . which is actually not a lot," Barry admitted sheepishly as he took a step back.

"Didn't you read a book about him?" Joe questioned.

He had. It was not helpful.

"Six hundred pages and the big takeaway is he's enigmatic," Barry replied glumly as he spread his arms out.

"Your mom was killed by a speedster. Wells' machine turned you into a speedster. That's way too many coincidences for this old cop." Joe shook his head as Barry rubbed his eyes and took a seat in the chair to the left of Sophia.

Barry looked up at the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed. "Do you think that he wanted me to become the Flash?"

Sophia gave a small sigh. "Everything he's done since that night you got struck by lightning—bringing you to STAR Labs, giving you the suit, training you—it's all been to keep you safe."

"And to make me faster," Barry added. "Wells once said that he needed more speed from me. Why?"

"I don't know. He wants something from you, Barry," Joe murmured as he got up and walked over to the board. "We just need to figure out what it is."

"Let's go get him," Barry insisted, "let's get some answers."

Joe shook his head. "We can't do that now as much as we might want to."

"Joe, you had your suspicions about Wells from the very beginning," Barry pointed out. "You thought that he might be the man in yellow."

Joe gave a humourless laugh as he turned to them and rebutted, "Except the blood from your house didn't match him."

Barry rubbed his forehead. "All right, so maybe he's not the Reverse-Flash. You think he knows what happened. He may have the key to getting my dad out of prison."

Sophia put her hand on Barry's shoulder, causing him to look at her. "Whatever Wells wants from you . . . it started fifteen years ago. He's been patient. Scary patient. Barry, we have to be . . . just as patient."

Their concentration was suddenly turned to the left as the sound of explosions rang through the air.

Immediately, they rushed towards the window, their eyes widening when they saw the smoke rising from what seemed to be a playground.

It was too late for the Flash to help whatever the hell had just happened.

— 𝒮 —

"Tricked you. Ha, ha. Look who's back. My tricks. My treat," the voice of a masked man spoke into the camera as he spun around, the video footage playing on every monitor in the Cortex. "But I'll give you something good . . . to eat. Today's special: A city in ashes. The Trickster proudly welcomes you all . . . to the new . . . disorder."

"Talking in the third person," Cisco commented as he glared at the video. "That's never a good sign."

"You're mad because he named himself," Sophia scoffed, only earning herself the same glare from him.

"Actually, he didn't," Joe said, causing them to look at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Twenty years ago, Central City was hit by a series of terrorist attacks. One man killed at least ten civilians, two cops. That guy called himself the Trickster."

Cisco quickly typed into the computer, a look of amusement coming onto his face as he pulled up the pictures of the Trickster at his trial. "Whoa. Someone was rocking the unitard."

"James Jesse?" Caitlin read out.

"Like Jesse James," Joe confirmed, "only more twisted."

"Where is this Mr. Jesse now?" Dr. Wells questioned.

"He's serving several life sentences at Iron Heights. He was the most dangerous thing Central City had ever seen," Joe explained grimly.

Barry folded his arms as he turned back toward the group. "You mean until the particle accelerator blew up."

Dr. Wells furrowed his eyebrows. "Um . . ."

"Barry, Soph, and I . . . will go see this James Jesse at Iron Heights," Joe said quickly in an attempt to draw the attention away from Barry's bitter attitude. "See if he can give us something that can help us catch his groupie."

"I'll analyze the video and see if I can figure out the source," Cisco told them as they began to leave.

About half an hour later, the three of them were walking through some sort of underground tunnel in the prison, accompanied by the prison warden, who was leading them to James Jesse's cell.

"I've never seen this part of the prison before," Barry remarked as they walked through.

"I had to have this cell specially built for James Jesse about five years ago," the warden informed them as the lights dimmed for a moment before light resumed.

"Why's that?" Joe questioned.

"A criminal psychologist set up weekly visits with him." The warden stopped beside the cell, facing them before he sighed. "James talked the shrink into committing suicide."

Sophia's eyes widened a little as she shifted closer to Barry, and she only felt slightly reassured as he placed a hand on her back.

"Oh." The warden reached down into his pocket before handing Barry a plastic bag full of red licorice. "You're gonna need these."

Barry looked down at the candy with furrowed eyebrows. "Okay."

The three of them then walked into a darkly lit, empty room, which only had three plastic chairs, facing the glass that separated this room and the cell. Through the glass, a sitting man was visible, one that she recognized from the photos: the original Trickster.

"Gentlemen and lady," James Jesse's voice was low and enticing as he spoke. "Please, be seated."

Joe introduced them as they sat down in the chairs, Barry sitting in the middle. "I'm Detective Joe West. This is Barry Allen, and this is Sophia Byun. Uh, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Mm . . ." He raised his head as his eyes shifted to Barry, his voice singsongy as he giggled, "I can smell them in your pocket."

Barry took out the plastic bag and walked over to the door that was the gate to Jesse's cell.

"Yesterday, hundreds of these parachute bombs" —he opened the slot that was attached to the door, putting in the bag, along with a folder that held pictures of the scene— "were released throughout Central City."

Jesse chuckled as Barry took his seat. "Huh. Fun idea. But not an effective delivery system. How many died?"

"No one," Joe informed. "Luckily."

"You know, when I was free and at my height . . . a day without casualties was like . . . Well, like the Cubs winning the pennant. It just never happened!" Jesse chuckled in amusement.

Sophia spoke up as she rolled her eyes, "The explosives that were found in the parachute bombs had the same explosive composition as the bombs you set off twenty years ago."

Jesse's smile faded. "That's impossible. I never told anyone that formula."

"The signatures are an exact match," Barry told him as he leaned forward.

"He called himself the Trickster too, just like you," Joe added with raised eyebrows.

"He is nothing like me, detective," Jesse spat. "Nothing."

Joe seemed entertained as he pressed, "Do you know who he is?"

Jesse leaned back, before getting up with a sigh. He picked up the photos that Barry had given him and inspected them for a moment.

"Oh . . . If I did . . . I would tell you. So you could find him, cut off his head, and throw it right in his face." He pressed the photo of the parachute against the glass for them to see. "No, this is obviously the work of a rank amateur at best. A mere pretender angling for my throne."

"I hear you. So," Joe got up, stepping closer to the glass as he pleaded, "help us catch him. Prove there's only one Trickster.

Jesse chuckled as he took a licorice stick, twirling it around. "Trying to trick the Trickster, Joseph, hmm?" He put the candy under his nose, sniffing it before walking back to his chair. "No. There's only one way . . . this could happen. Whoever he is . . . he must have found my lair. I ask only one thing." He sat down, crossing his legs. "When you find this shtick stealer; this gimmick grabber; this pathetic, wannabe fake—make sure your safety's off," Jesse laughed maniacally as he took a bite of his licorice.

And, with this information in mind, they took his word and went to Jesse's lair—an abandoned warehouse.

Sophia wrinkled her nose at the sight as they walked in; the lights were almost blinding, and colourful clown costumes filled the room. There was a gleeful mannequin who was wearing Trickster's suit, and, judging by all the dust that was layered on top of it, it was clear that it hadn't been touched in a while.

"This looks like nobody has been here since the '90s," Joe observed as they searched the place.

"Yeah, look at this thing." Barry lifted the sheer, purple cape that was wrapped around the mannequin, his face scrunched in disgust. "You think Jesse doesn't know who this new Trickster guy is?"

"He seemed pretty ticked off that someone was besmirching his bad name." Sophia shrugged, her eyes squinting at the bright, red lights that were hung in the corner.

"Hey." Barry caught their attention as he pointed toward a garage door that had a spray-painted clown face decorating the middle.

As Sophia and Joe walked up to meet him, Barry pressed his hands against the door and vibrated them fast enough until the lock broke off.

He wrapped his hand around the door handle, and muttered, "Let's see what he's got stashed in there."

Suddenly, Sophia found herself on the ground ten feet back, Barry's arms wrapped around her; he had managed to run the three of them further away as a bomb exploded, the flames flying out the door before swiftly disappearing.

"Damn," Joe coughed as a wave of smoke overtook them. "You good?"

Sophia quickly got up, the others following as they walked back towards the room. There were metal racks that she assumed were supposed to be holding all of Jesse's toys.

They were empty.

"The copycat," Sophia sighed. "He took everything."

They immediately headed back towards the prison, and, once again, the warden led them towards Jesse's cell.

Before they made it there, however, Barry spoke to the man, "Hey, can we have a second?"

"Yeah, sure." The warden nodded before walking off.

Barry made sure the man was gone, and then headed to a cell at the side, where his dad was sitting on his bed.

Henry looked over at him, a smile spreading on his face as he got up and walked to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, we have some questions for an inmate about a bombing case," Barry explained quickly, his hands clutched around the metal bars. "Dad, listen. I'm close. The man who put you in here, I'm getting close. Closer than I've ever been."

"Barry," Henry said gently, "we have talked about this."

"I know. And I'm done talking." Barry shook his head. "You're not gonna pay for another man's crime anymore."

Sophia put her hand on his shoulder, murmuring, "We should go."

He nodded before giving Henry one last look. "Just hang in there, okay?"

Joe joined them not too long after as they went back to the room connected to Jesse's cell.

Jesse seemed displeased with the fact that the scent of licorice was missing as he pouted. "What, no candy, fellas?"

Joe walked right up to the middle of the glass. "That storage space you sent us to was booby-trapped."

"You can never be too careful with your private things," Jesse said unapologetically.

"You were protecting nothing," Sophia scoffed as she folded her arms. "Your secret stash was empty."

"What do you mean?"

"No firearms, none of your explosives, nothing," Joe informed him.

"Whatever you had in there, it was stolen," Barry added on as he stepped up next to Joe. "All of it."

"No. He's stealing my legacy." Jesse began to seethe, his breathing shortening as he growled, "Whoever this is . . . you need to find him. I will not let this, this . . ."

"Trickster?" Joe finished his sentence with raised eyebrows.

"That is my name, mine!" Jesse exclaimed furiously.

"What was in that room?" Sophia questioned. "What were you keeping there?"

"A bomb." Jesse's voice began to calm as he admitted, "A really big bomb."

Barry's eyes narrowed as he slowly asked, "How big?"

"Bye-bye, Central City," Jesse answered, his voice low.

Sophia's phone suddenly buzzed and she picked up. "Cisco?"

"Yo. This Trickster guy just posted a vlog, you gotta see this. I'm sending you the link."

"Okay." She clicked on the link as soon as it delivered, turning her phone sideways and standing between Barry and Joe so that they could see.

The copycat was in the centre of the video, a smug grin on his face as he spoke, "Denizens of Central City. Or those of you who remain. Welcome to Boom Day, ha-ha-ha. I'm very proud to report that my first trick was an exploding success."

Joe pointed towards Jesse and muttered, "Show him."

Sophia pressed her phone against the glass for Jesse to see as the copycat continued, "But I think you all deserve . . . something much, uh . . . bigger."

Jesse's eyes were fixated on the man as he shifted forward. "No, no, no."

"So for my next trick . . ."

"Take off my mask, you fraud."

"Keep your eyes glued to this website."

"Pretender. Sham."

"What the Trickster has planned for you all . . ."

"Take off my mask."

"Ladies and gentlemen."

"Take off my mask!" Jesse yelled before dropping to his knees, and he broke out into sobs.

— 𝒮 —

"This was posted a few hours ago." Dr. Wells stared in interest at the TV screen on the wall, which showed the paused video. "Whoever this Trickster is . . . he's certainly not shy."

"Not every criminal likes to hide in the dark," Barry said blatantly, a sour expression on his face.

Joe and Sophia exchanged looks of alarm before she quickly turned to the man who was leaning on the desk. "Cisco, can you trace where the video was posted from?"

"I tried," Cisco sighed. "But this guy is using some crazy, Felicity-calibre scrambler like I've never seen. The origin of the uploads coming from hundreds of locations. Until he uploads another video, it's gonna be tough."

"He has the capability to destroy the city," Barry pointed out as he folded his arms.

A small smile grew onto Cisco's face. "Hey, I said tough, not impossible."

"Barry, we'll catch him," Caitlin reassured him. "We always do."

"Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells spoke up. "A word please."

Sophia silently groaned.

Only a few minutes later did Barry speed away, and Sophia's eyebrows furrowed.

There was a small beeping noise, and Cisco leaned forward, a groan escaping his lips. "The Trickster's going live again."

Sophia sat down beside him, speaking into the microphone to communicate to Barry, "Heads up, Trickster's broadcasting again."

Cisco played the video on the TV screen, The Trickster's unpleasant face filling the screen.

"Get ready for the games to begin! I have . . . a bomb." He moved to the side, showing the wooden crate that had the drawing of a bomb sprayed on the side. "It's a big bomb. It will make a big bang . . . and then a big hole, and then a big drop in the population. But never say the Trickster is not fair. The bomb is somewhere . . . between 52nd Street . . . and Avenue B."

A second later, and Barry had already searched the city. "Guys, I can't find it. I need your help."

"There's nothing on traffic cams or CCTV," Caitlin told him as she shook her head.

"I retasked STAR Labs' satellite to scan the area for incendiary devices." Sophia's eyes searched the map as she murmured, "Bomb that large should be giving off a thermal signature."

"Then why can't you find it?"

Dr. Wells leaned forward. "Because it's a trick." Cisco, Caitlin, and Sophia turned to him in surprise as he continued, "The bomb's not there."

"It has to be. I'm gonna keep looking."

Dr. Wells quickly shook his head at this. "That's what he wants, you and the police to keep running around in circles. There is something else going on. Trust me."

There was a short silence.

"I'm gonna keep looking."

"Barry," Dr. Wells sighed, leaning back in his wheelchair.

Cisco turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. "Why doesn't he just listen to you?"

"I found it."

"Uh-oh." Cisco's eyes widened as a bright red alert popped up on the screen. "There's an explosion at Iron Heights."

"This was all a diversion," Dr. Wells realized as his eyes widened.

"The prison was the real target," Sophia sighed. "James Jesse. I guess he's tricked us all."

— 𝒮 —

"We were able to identify the other Trickster," Joe told them as he slowly paced around the Cortex. "His name's Axel Walker, age twenty-five. He and James have been corresponding through snail mail for over a decade.

"I should've been there," Barry sighed, folding his hands.

Sophia put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. "We're gonna find your dad, okay?"

While the Trickster and his copycat were making their getaway, they had taken Henry, Barry's father, along for the ride.

"Definitely," Cisco agreed with a nod.

"I guess I should've listened to you," Barry said bitterly to Dr. Wells before walking out the door.

Dr. Wells gave a hopeless look to Sophia, and she gave him a small smile before following Barry out.

She quickly found him sitting in front of the vault in the Pipeline, and she sighed.

He stared despairingly at the chunks of metal as he pulled his knees in, wrapping his arms around them.

She sat down next to him, peering worriedly at his face as she softly asked, "You okay?"

"Do you think my dad is still alive?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, yes, he is. Of course." She nodded quickly. "Jesse only took your dad to use as leverage. He might be crazy, but he's not stupid. And everyone upstairs is looking to find him."

"So . . ." he murmured, his eyes beginning to glimmer with tears, "now I'm supposed to just leave my dad's fate in the hands of a man . . . who may have had something to do with my mom's murder." He gave a small scoff before shaking his head. "Sophia, I can't do this."

"Yes, you can." Sophia gave him an encouraging smile as his watery eyes looked into her hopeful ones.

Barry soon became angry, swallowing back his tears. "This doesn't make any sense. I mean, if Wells is a murderer . . . why does he wanna help me? Why has he helped me stop so many criminals, or saved Ronnie? Why didn't I see this? "

She sighed. "Barry, I spent more than two years with this man, and I saw no fault in him. Whatever else he is . . . he is Harrison Wells. You love science, he is science. It's like you made best friends with Einstein."

He slowly looked over at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're saying I wanted to be tricked."

"You always wanna be the person who sees the best in people." She smiled, resting her hand on his arm. "As fast as you are . . . that's your real power. Don't let Wells take that from you." She chewed on her lower lip for a moment and gave a shrug. "I don't know . . . I don't know why he's helping us. All that matters is that he is."

Barry was silent, the tears only gathering more and more in his eyes. "I can't lose my dad, Soph." His voice broke as he buried his head into his knees, allowing the tears to spill out.

Sophia wrapped a comforting arm around him, a small frown on her face.

"Come on, we should go," she whispered gently after a few moments.

He lifted his head, nodding as he wiped his eyes.

— 𝒮 —

"Anything?" Barry asked Cisco desperately as the shrill ringing of Joe's phone filled the air.

He shook his head. "I'm scanning traffic cams. I got nothing."

Joe picked up. "Hey, baby. Iris?"

They all turned to him at his worried tone, their eyebrows furrowed as their breath suddenly became bated.

Joe put it on speaker, a familiar voice playing through, "How many of you feel the trimethylene-32 coursing through your veins?"

"That's him—that's Jesse," Barry realized, recognizing the voice that was coming from the small speaker.

Sophia looked toward Cisco, and she quickly asked, "Can you ping her phone?"

"I'm on it." Cisco began to type furiously, his eyes narrowed as he did so.

"Trimethylmercury-32 is a relatively fast-acting poison," Sophia worried, looking to Barry, whose eyes widened.

"Is there a cure?" he questioned.

"Yes," Dr. Wells reassured him with a nod. "We can synthesize the antidote."

"Cisco, where is she?" Barry asked as he turned to the man.

"City Hall," Cisco informed, reading off the map before looking at Barry.

Joe nodded, a look of realization dawning on his face as he informed them, "The mayor's having a fundraiser."

"Barry, do not underestimate the Trickster," Dr. Wells called after him as he sped away. He then looked at her. "Sophia, make—"

"The antidote? On it." She nodded, getting up and heading towards the table that held the chemicals that she needed.

"Where's Henry Allen?!" Barry demanded the Trickster, his voice loudly playing over the speakers.

The Trickster's voice came over the comms as he spoke to Barry, "He's where you'll be soon—Heaven. Are you familiar with the movie Speed? Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock? You're the bus and that's the bomb. Kinetic bomb, actually. If you go below six hundred miles per hour . . . it'll explode. Same thing happens if you try to remove it. Ooh! It's active, run, run, run!"

Sophia's head turned to the main desk to watch the three's eyes widen in fear.

"Cisco!" Barry yelled out as Sophia hurried the antidote.

"He wasn't lying." Cisco's eyes were narrowed in concern as he looked at the suit's data, his words making Sophia's heart sink. "That thing's linked to a speedometer. It will blow if you stop moving."

"I can't run forever!"

"There's gotta be a way to get it off him without damaging it," Caitlin said desperately.

Dr. Wells rubbed his forehead. "Barry, do you see any walls nearby?"

"Why?"

"Because I need you to run into one," Dr. Wells answered before pausing. "Or, more accurately, through one."

"What?"

"If you vibrate at the natural frequency of air . . . your body, your cells, will be in a state of excitement that should allow you to phase right through that wall. Leaving the bomb on the other side," Dr. Wells explained.

"Should?"

"You can do this," Dr. Wells reassured him as he leaned forward, "I believe in you."

"I can't."

"Listen to me, Barry. Breathe," Dr. Wells murmured. "Breathe. Feel the air. Feel that wind on your face. Feel the ground. Your feet lifting you up, pushing you forward, and the lightning. Feel the lightning. Feel its power. Its electricity pumping through your veins. Crackling through you . . . travelling to every nerve in your body like a shock. You're no longer you now. You're part of something greater. You're part of a Speed Force. It's yours."

Sophia watched with furrowed eyebrows as Dr. Wells closed his eyes. The way he spoke, the way his face contorted, it was almost as if he were . . . reminiscing.

That was . . . oddly suspicious.

Dr. Wells' eyes snapped open. "Now do it."

"How?"

Then, the small noise of an explosion burst through the speakers.

"Barry?" Caitlin called tentatively.

"Oh! That felt weird." Barry's voice reassured them that he was still alive, and Sophia let out a sigh of relief. "I'm good."

Swiftly, Sophia poured the finished antidote into a syringe gun.

A moment and a gust of wind later, the gun was out of her hands and on its way to be used.

— 𝐵 —

Barry had managed to save all the attendees of the fundraiser, thanks to the antidote Sophia had whipped up. The Trickster and his copycat were both arrested, and Barry was able to save his father.

As usual, quite the happy ending.

The next day, Henry Allen stood in the middle of the Cortex, perplexed as he looked around at their medical instruments.

"Wow," he murmured. "Half of this stuff didn't even exist when I was practising."

Cisco grinned. "Yeah, well, I'd be happy to give you a crash course on all of it if you get out."

"Oh, Cisco," Sophia sighed as she put her hand on his shoulder, while Henry squinted his eyes at him.

"I'm gonna shut up now." Cisco nodded quickly.

Henry laughed, his smile wrinkles becoming prominent, "That's okay." He walked up to Barry, who was gazing at his suit as it rested on the grey mannequin. "You gotta tell me: What does it feel like when you're running down the street like a bat out of hell?"

Barry glanced over at Dr. Wells, who gave him a smile in return, though Barry only felt uneased by it. "There's no feeling like it."

"I bet." Henry nodded. He turned to the rest of them and smiled. "Actually, you're all heroes in my book. Especially you, Dr. Wells." He stepped towards the man in the wheelchair, extending his hand to him. "Thank you. For everything that you've done for my son."

Dr. Wells shook it. "Well, your son is an extraordinary man, Dr. Allen. I will do everything in my power to ensure Barry's future."

Barry was troubled as he watched this exchange; he wasn't so sure that Dr. Wells was being completely truthful in that last statement. It quickly contorted into a smile, however, as his father turned to him and embraced him in a tight hug.

Barry closed his eyes and hugged him a little tighter. It wasn't every day that he got to hug his father.

After a few moments, Henry released his son and turned to Joe, putting his wrists together as if he were waiting for handcuffs. "It's time, Joe."

"No," Joe chuckled, pushing his hands down.

"No?" Henry repeated.

"No."

"Okay." Henry grinned before he and Joe departed.

— 𝐵 —

A few hours later, Sophia wandered into the Pipeline; Barry had told her to meet him there a mere few minutes before.

He was sitting on the edge of the side, and he kept his gaze on the wall opposite him as he heard her approach.

"Hey." Sophia sat down next to him, her eyebrows raised. "What's up?"

"How do we figure out what Wells is up to?" he questioned, as he leaned his elbows on his knees and rubbed his eyes.

Sophia sighed, shutting her eyes as she leaned back.

Barry turned to face her, his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed the crease in her forehead. Her eyes soon opened to match his gaze and her lips pursed.

She was quiet for a moment before murmuring, "You know . . . when Wells was talking to you about phasing so you could get the bomb off of your wrist . . . the way that he described how to run . . . feeling the wind . . . and the power . . . it was like he was talking from experience."

Barry's eyebrows knit together tightly, his light eyes searching her dark ones as he slowly asked, "What are you saying?"

"I don't know how . . . but he's the man in yellow," Sophia clarified with a sigh, causing his breathing to shorten. "Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash."