— 𝒮 —

"𝐇𝐎𝐖'𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because I can come over and—"

"I'm fine, Barry." Sophia sighed, leaning back on her couch and shutting her eyes. "You don't have to be so worried! You're putting Caitlin to shame."

"Well, considering the fact that my girlfriend has three fractured ribs, I think I have a right to be worried!"

"It's been almost a week, and I'm recovering fast, I swear." She wasn't lying—the few days of rest had, admittedly, been extremely helpful to her recovery. She was able to walk at least a mile without her chest bursting in pain, so that was a plus.

That wasn't enough to convince him, apparently. "Do you know how long it takes for fractured ribs to heal?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you seriously questioning if I, a super genius, knows something?"

"Sophia."

"I'm totally okay, honey, I promise," she said, lifting her head and rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "Please, just get back to work, I know Captain Singh's been—"

A gust of wind suddenly blew past her, and Barry was in front of her.

"—pestering you about—god-fucking-dammit, Barry Allen!"

"What," he teased as he sat down next to her, his airy attitude instantly clashing with her irritation, "you're not happy to see me, Snowpea?"

"I'm okay!" she huffed, turning her phone off and putting it on the coffee table in front of her. "I don't need you babying me!"

"Okay, fine." He shrugged, slinging an arm around her and kissing the side of her head. "Then I just want to hang out with my beautiful girlfriend instead."

"You're supposed to be at work."

"I get it done pretty quick, anyway," he told her with a wave of the hand, accompanied by a grin. "Did you take your medicine today?"

"Yes."

"Did you practice deep breathing?"

"Yes."

"Did you ice your chest?"

"Yes."

"Did you—"

"Barry," she sighed, grabbing his arms and causing him to frown. "I love you, but please. Enough."

"And I love you," he insisted as she tilted her head forward onto his chest. "Which is why I'm just making sure—"

"I'm more than capable of following my doctor's orders. Especially since she texts me reminders every five minutes." Her phone chimed, and she grabbed it, rolling her eyes in amusement as she saw the message. "There she is now. 'Make sure to take another Advil in an hour. Don't you dare play any contact sports.' Does she think I'm a ten-year-old boy? What am I gonna do? Go in the yard and play football?"

Barry chuckled as she put the phone back on the table. "She's just overprotective."

"Sounds like someone else I know," she muttered as she straightened up.

"Okay, okay, I'll let it go," he sighed, raising his hands in defence. "How was your day?"

"Uneventful." She frowned, leaning back against the couch and taking his hand in hers. "Life's no fun now that I've been banned from STAR Labs."

He shrugged. "It's only for a couple more days. And, honestly, I'm glad you're banned."

"Barry!"

"Oh, come on," he laughed as she pouted. "Literally one day after you got hurt, you were in the workshop and carrying all those heavy things—"

"They weren't that heavy!" she protested with a shake of the head (though she knew very well that they were that heavy, and the pain she got from it—though she refused to admit it to the others—was overwhelming).

"They were over ten pounds!" he argued. "You're not allowed to lift anything more than ten!"

She shrugged. "I still think Caitlin overreacted."

"And everyone else, including me, thinks that Caitlin reacted perfectly."

"Yeah?" she scoffed, indignantly folding her arms. "By banning me for a week?"

"Baby, you know I want you there, making . . . whatever you were making, but your health comes first."

Sophia frowned before shrinking down in her spot. She let herself tip over until she was snuggled into Barry's chest, and as his arms snaked around her, she muttered, "Why do you have to be so nice? It's hard to be mad at you"

He chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "So sorry."

She stayed in that position for a few more minutes, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the warmth of his embrace. With all the craziness lately, it was rare for her to sneak in a good hug or two.

"Take advantage of being at home," Barry said softly, tightening his grip around her. "Watch a couple of movies. Read a book. Ogle at photos of me."

She giggled. "Shut up."

"Seriously," he laughed. "There are some good photos of me on your phone."

She rolled her eyes. 'Good' was a word for it. 'Ridiculous,' 'laughable,' and 'stupid' were other words that could describe them.

"I don't know," she finally sighed, turning serious as she shifted downwards and rested her head on his lap. "I can't just sit down and relax—especially at a time like this. I feel useless."

"You're not useless, Snowpea," he chided softly, beginning to play with her hair. "You're doing as much as you can from home. Trust me, Cisco complains that you're now bossing him over the phone instead of real life, and that it's somehow worse."

"He gets too distracted if I leave him alone," she mumbled. "I need to keep him focused."

"And you've been doing that." He bent over to kiss her cheek. "Which is why you've been the opposite of useless."

She exhaled, tracing her finger over the stitching on his jeans. "Life was so good just a year ago, before all this particle accelerator and meta-human shit."

"It was," he agreed.

She frowned before shifting so that her face was turned upwards, and her eyes instantly met his. Her frown suddenly began to pull in the opposite direction. Her hands made their way to his cheeks, cupping them and adjusting to his warm skin.

"You know," he murmured as her hands guided his face to hers, "life's still good right now."

"Not as good," she mumbled as their noses brushed against each other's, and her eyes focused on his lips.

"Life was pretty good then," he sighed, his hot breath tickling her face just before his lips grazed against hers. "But it's so much better now that I'm with you."

She pecked his lips before grinning. "You know, I can think of a low-intensity activity we can do."

— 𝒮 —

Sophia straightened out her jacket as she headed towards the Cortex.

Her pace was a little slow. While she was recovering from her injuries quite speedily, breathing a little too heavily only struck up the pain in her chest.

She grinned and waved as Caitlin appeared on the other side of the hallway, though that grin was soon wiped as Caitlin huffed:

"You are banned for one more day!"

Sophia scoffed. "Cisco said it was urgent!"

Caitlin sighed, wringing her hands. "No, you should be at home. Resting. In bed."

"This is basically my home, Cait. I'm here more than I am at my actual—" Sophia paused as they entered the Cortex to see Barry, Cisco, and Joe. "Oh. Hey, guys."

Cisco, who was standing behind Wells' wheelchair, looked up. "Glad you two've finally decided to show up."

"Finally?" Sophia scoffed as she approached, and she kissed Barry's cheek before pointing out, "You called us, like, fifteen minutes ago."

Cisco shrugged, taking a sip of his soda from Big Belly Burger through a straw. "Barry got here thirty seconds after I called."

Caitlin rolled her eyes as she rebutted, "Barry also has super speed."

"Anyway," Sophia sighed, placing her hands on her hips as Barry's arm made its way around her waist. "Why'd you call us in at ten at night? Why's Wells' wheelchair here?" She paused as she made the connection. "Oh."

Cisco sighed, spinning the wheelchair. "I kept asking myself why would Wells pretend to need a wheelchair?"

Caitlin shrugged. "Sympathy, I suppose."

"That's what I thought at first," Cisco agreed. "But he's the Man in Yellow—the Reverse-Flash. He's much smarter than that. Sympathy can't be the only reason."

"Yeah, it was a misdirect," Joe said simply. "Just like everything else Wells has done. I mean, the last person we'd suspect to be the Man in Yellow is the one who lost the use of their legs."

Cisco grinned. "That's exactly right, Joe. Which is why I started messing around with the wheelchair." He placed his drink onto the ground and flipped the wheelchair onto its side, letting out a small grunt. "And that's when I found this."

He leaned forward and reached for the bottom of the wheelchair, which was now facing them. He swiped open a cover to reveal some sort of device.

Sophia's eyebrows furrowed, and she brushed Barry's hand off her waist before crouching to get a better look at it.

The entire device was circular, and four strips of thick lining rested on the edges. A stripe of glowing blue went across diagonally, with a similar stripe of green going the opposite direction, and it seemed that some sort of energy was flowing through it. The entire device glowed gold, and most of its luminescence originated from the core. A light buzz was coming from it.

"Damn," Joe breathed out. "You can't get that at RadioShack."

Barry lowered himself before pointing out, "It looks like the tech inside Gideon."

"I measured the output, and this thing is kicking off serious juice," Cisco said. "I mean, we're talking enough to power all of Central City."

"Seriously?" asked Joe.

"Oh, yeah."

"What do you think Wells was using it for?" questioned Sophia as she slowly straightened up.

"I think this thing is some kind of battery," Cisco answered.

"Battery?" Joe repeated with furrowed eyebrows.

"As in, Wells was using it to power himself." Cisco nodded as he picked up his drink. "To gain more speed. And that's why he's so much faster than you."

Cisco grinned and took a sip of his soda, clearly proud of his discovery.

Taking the spotlight away from him, however, was the computer as it began to beep.

Sophia's eyebrows furrowed, and she followed Cisco and Caitlin towards the main desk, hurrying as fast as she could handle.

"The accelerator," Cisco breathed out. "It's been reactivated."

Sophia's eyebrows furrowed as she came to his side, seeing the confirmation on the screen. "It can't be."

"How is that possible?" questioned Joe as he and Barry came up to the front of the desk. "It blew up."

"It had to have been rebuilt," Cisco agreed incredulously.

Barry's eyes slowly lifted. "Wells."

"Even if he did rebuild it, how did Dr. Wells turn the particle accelerator on?" Caitlin pointed out.

Realization dawned onto Barry's face. "He's here. That's why we couldn't find him—he's been inside STAR Labs the whole time."

Drawing his gun from the inside of his suit jacket, Joe immediately headed towards the hallway, Barry and Cisco following behind him.

Sophia turned to follow them, but just as she took a step forward, her arm was grabbed and she was yanked back.

"Oh no you don't!" angrily whispered Caitlin, causing Sophia to sigh. "I will ban you for another day! As your doctor, I—"

"Cait, it's fine," Sophia whispered back, shaking her arm off of her and receiving a scowl in return. "Nothing bad is going to happen!"

And before Caitlin could rebut, Sophia quickly left the Cortex and followed the other three towards the Pipeline.

Joe was leading, his side pressed against the wall with his gun drawn just in front of him. He paused right before the entrance before swiftly stepping forward and pointing his gun in front of him.

When he slightly lowered his gun and continued forward, the others knew it was okay to advance.

"Cisco," Joe murmured as they slowly inched forward, "what'd you bring that orange soda for?"

Cisco slipped the lid of his cup off. "Whenever something happens with the Reverse-Flash, liquid floats in the air. Y'know, Barry's fish tank, Wells' champagne, Lance's coffee. Remember that?" His voice was shaky as he glanced down at the cup. "If this does the same thing, we'll know that Wells is in there."

They stopped just in front of the cell door. Barry turned to Cisco and nodded. "Do it."

Cisco took a deep breath before nodding. He placed a hand on the tablet and opened the door.

A low whirring sounded as the door slid upwards, revealing the jail cells that were stored inside.

Joe and Barry were the first ones to step inside, walking down the strip that led out as they glanced around the large space. With a cautionary glance at Cisco's soda—which was still obeying the laws of physics—Sophia took a tentative step inside.

"Man," Joe breathed out, and though his voice was quiet, his words still echoed. "This . . . is big."

"Guys?" suddenly came Cisco's voice.

Sophia barely had the time to see the orange soda that was floating before a streak of red whipped past her, causing her and Joe to stumble back against the metal tubes.

The familiar streak of orange quickly followed, and Joe shouted, "Barry!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," exclaimed Cisco as he hurried up to them. "What do we do now?"

A loud whirring caused them to turn to face the back of the room, where one of the cells with a prisoner inside was moving.

"Prisoner release protocol initiated."

"Oh, no, no, no," whispered Sophia as the cell door of Peek-A-Boo—a meta-human who could teleport within the range of her sight—opened.

They only had their eyes on her for a second before she disappeared, and she reappeared just beside them only a moment later.

Sophia had hardly any time to react before pain struck her jaw. Panic shot through her as her feet lost the reassurance of the ground, though it lasted only a few seconds before she fell onto the track below.

A groan escaped her as pain shot up her chest. That wasn't great for her ribs—and she was sure she'd be subject to scolding from Caitlin after.

A couple of thuds sounded as Joe and Cisco fell close by, and Sophia looked up to see that Peek-A-Boo had taken Joe's gun.

Sophia flinched when Peek-A-Boo shot the button to close the door, and her panic only grew. She hurried to her feet with Cisco's helping hand and gave the two a desperate look when the door shut.

"Oh my God," Sophia breathed out, realization then hitting her. "Caitlin."

Luckily, only a few minutes later, Caitlin, with the help of Iris and a wrench, had managed to both get an unconscious Peek-A-Boo back into the cell, along with freeing the other three.

"You okay?" Sophia asked worriedly, watching as Caitlin rubbed her neck, which Peek-A-Boo had choked.

"Yeah, I will be. Thanks to Iris," she reassured her while the cell door closed. She turned to Iris and sent her a smile. "I'm glad you showed up."

Iris pressed her lips into a smile before sighing. "How do you think she got out of there?"

"Wells must have released her," answered Cisco gravely.

"Help!"

Sophia's eyebrows furrowed. The voice sounded far away—as if it was coming from inside the Pipeline—and she couldn't quite place the owner.

"Wait a sec," whispered Joe, holding a hand out towards them. "Did you hear that?"

"I checked all the containment cells," said Caitlin. "Everyone's accounted for."

"No, no," whispered Joe. "Listen."

"Help! Down here!"

— 𝒮 —

"Your vitals are normal, but you're just a little dehydrated," sighed Caitlin. "The IV should help with that, but drink some fluids and stay off your feet. Okay, Eddie?"

Eddie had been the one calling in distress. He was stashed underneath the Pipeline, where Wells had been hiding this entire time. Luckily, Joe and Iris were able to help him out of there, and, thankfully, he hadn't been all too hurt.

He smiled. "Thanks, Caitlin."

A sudden gust of wind drew their attention to the entrance of the Cortex.

"Wells got away," Barry exhaled, and his hands dropped to his knees as he bent over. He let out a deep breath. "He was too fast. He's always too fast." He straightened up, and then took notice of the man sitting on the hospital bed. "Eddie."

"We found him under that hatch in the Pipeline," Cisco told Barry as Eddie waved.

"I'm so sorry," Barry sighed as he approached, shaking his head. "I thought I looked everywhere for you."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Eddie reassured him.

Sophia hurried to Barry's side as fast as her awfully sore chest would let her, and she placed a hand on his arm. "You okay?"

He exhaled. "I'm fine."

"Um, well," said Iris to her boyfriend, "you know, all that's important is that we're all safe and back together, right?"

Eddie's lips pressed into a smile, and he nodded.

"Eddie," said Joe, his hands tucked into his pockets, "why'd he take you?"

Eddie sighed. "I don't know. He said that we're . . . family. Said his real name is Eobard Thawne."

Sophia suddenly turned to Cisco as she remembered the dream recollection he had told them about.

"Eobard Thawne," repeated Cisco, folding his arms as he walked closer. "It's just like in my dream."

"Did he say anything else?" questioned Joe. "I mean, anything that could help us figure out what he's really after?"

"He didn't say much," Eddie replied with a slight shrug. "Just kept working on some tube."

"A tube?" repeated Sophia with furrowed eyebrows. "What did it look like?"

"Metallic and . . . futuristic," Eddie answered. "He said it was the key to him getting back everything that was taken from him."

Barry's face scrunched. "The key? I don't understand. What—?"

"I don't know," Eddie sighed. "Look, I just wanna go home. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course," Caitlin reassured him.

"I'll make sure he gets some rest," Iris mumbled as Caitlin carefully removed the IV tube.

Once Iris and Eddie had left the Cortex, the five of them huddled closer, and the worry was growing worse.

"What do you think Wells was talking about?" muttered Barry, though he only received shrugs in return.

The computer began to beep once more, and Cisco rushed over to see what it was.

"Oh, no, no, no!"

"What?" questioned Sophia, though she didn't get a reply as Cisco dashed out of the room.

Barry let out an exasperated sigh. "What now?"

They got to know only a few minutes later when Cisco, who was now somewhere in the Pipeline, video-called them.

They watched on the computer monitors as he showed them the tube that Eddie had been talking about, which had been inserted into the accelerator. The top of it was made of metal, though the rest of it, was something that Sophia couldn't identify. It was glowing blue, and some sort of energy was swirling inside.

"Um, are you seeing this? That's the tube that Eddie was talking about," Cisco said, gesturing towards it. "It's some sort of power source. That's what's charging up the accelerator."

Barry sighed. "Can you shut it down?"

Cisco's face scrunched up. "Do you see a power button anywhere on this thing? Dude" —he moved his phone so they could get a better look— "this thing is from the future—it's beyond me. I press or touch or cut the wrong thing . . . I could bring the building down."

"Okay," Sophia groaned, "how long until it's fully functional?"

Cisco shrugged. "Best I can tell . . . thirty-six hours."

Barry folded his arms. "That's when Wells will be back."

"Why would Wells want the particle accelerator to work again?" questioned Joe with furrowed eyebrows.

"I don't know. It's not like it was such a big success the first time."

"It made me the Flash," Barry pointed out.

Caitlin raised her eyebrows, and a dark look crossed her face. "That's not all it did."

— 𝒮—

"So, what happens if the particle accelerator turns on while the meta-humans are in containment cells?"

Sophia gave Caitlin a grim look before glancing down at the security footage of the four meta-humans in their cells. "They're toast."

"We put them there," Caitlin sighed. "Now their lives are in danger because of us."

"Look," interjected Joe, who was standing at the side with folded arms, "I think you all know I've never been a fan of this arrangement here. I thought the whole plan was to rehabilitate them and set them free."

"It was," Caitlin agreed with a small shrug. "We've been a little busy."

"Well, if they stay in there, they die," Cisco pointed out. "And if we let them go, they destroy the city."

Barry, who was sitting in a chair opposite the side Joe was on, called, "We're gonna have to move them."

"Move them where?" questioned Joe. "Iron Heights can't handle meta-humans."

"You're right," Barry agreed. "But Lian Yu can."

"What the hell's a Lian Yu?" asked Joe.

"Lian Yu's the island where Oliver was stranded for five years," Barry answered, leaning forward in his chair. "ARGUS built a covert military prison on it."

"It's where we sent Captain Boomerang," Cisco added.

"Oliver keeps his worst criminals there. They won't be able to escape," Barry reassured. "More importantly, they won't be able to hurt anybody."

"Great." Joe sighed. "So we ship them from one illegal black site to another."

Barry scrunched his face as he leaned back in his spot. "Yeah, I guess so. Yes."

"How do we move them to Oliver's own private Alcatraz?"

Barry shrugged. "I'll call him. Maybe he can help transport. And, Cisco," he added as he got up, fishing his phone out of his pocket, "if we do this, nobody can get loose."

Cisco nodded. "I might have a way of getting them out of here safely."

— 𝐵 —

"Okay, so ARGUS has a transport plane that can take the meta-humans to Lian Yu," Barry said hushedly to Joe in one of the hallways at CCPD. "We just need to get them to Ferris Airfield."

Joe's eyebrows raised. "So Oliver Queen came through."

"No, actually," Barry sighed, leaning back against the wall. "It was not him. Apparently, he's in Nanda Parbat—

"What?"

"—wherever that is, I don't know. I called Lyla, Diggle's wife. She's gonna hook us up." Barry took a step closer, his voice growing even quieter. "So, what about CCPD giving us an escort?"

"Man, it ain't happening," Joe said with a shake of the head. "You saw me talking to the DA. She was very clear; I could lose my badge. I could go to jail. We could go to jail."

"We are protecting people," Barry rebutted.

"We are, Barry, but I'm a cop," Joe sighed, shrugging. "There's a certain set of rules I need to follow. And this year" —he glanced over his shoulder— "I broke all of them. Lying to my boss—"

"I know."

"—ignoring the law. I mean, at what point do we become no different than the people we're fighting?"

That caused Barry to stare at him with furrowed eyebrows and hushedly exclaim, "We are way different!"

"How?"

"We only break the rules to help people."

— 𝐵 —

"Barry, are you sure about this?"

"It's our only option, Soph," sighed Barry, glancing up at the blue and red sign of the Saints and Sinners bar before pressing his phone closer to his ear. "CCPD's not gonna help us."

"But him?" she questioned desperately. "I'm sure we can figure something else out."

"We don't have time to figure something else out."

She was quiet for a moment before sighing. "Okay, fine. But is it the best idea that you go alone?"

"I'm the Flash," he pointed out, his upper lip curling. "I'll be fine."

"I know, but . . . maybe I should come with you."

"Why, so he can kidnap you again?" he scoffed. "I don't think so."

"He only kidnapped me because I was alone, so I think—"

"I already said no, Sophia. Besides, your ribs—"

"They're fine!"

"They are not fine!" Barry exclaimed before rubbing his forehead. "I'll be okay, I swear."

Barry didn't need to see her to know she was frowning. "I'm just saying, I think it'll be better if I come with you."

He shook his head. "I'm not risking you getting hurt again."

"What about Joe?"

"He's still at work."

She let out a long sigh, and Barry knew she was about to concede. "Just . . . Just be careful, okay?"

"Always. I gotta go," he muttered, glancing at the bar. "Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

The bar was dark as he entered, though the red lights on the walls were enough to keep it lit. It was empty—he could've guessed as much, seeing that it was the early afternoon.

As Barry slipped his jacket off, he quickly spotted Snart, who was leaning over the bar, clad in leather. It seems that Snart, just as quickly, noticed his presence.

"Well, well, well," Snart mused as he turned to face Barry. "If it isn't the Scarlet Speedster."

"We need to talk," Barry replied, and he wasn't all too fond of the smirk that grew on the other man's face.

"You want anything?" Snart asked, walking across the room before stopping at one end of a pool table. "Beer? Food?"

"No, I'm good," Barry answered, stopping on the opposite end and dropping his jacket on the edge. "I need your help with a problem."

"Must be pretty desperate to come asking for my assistance, but I'll bite." He sat on the edge of the table and played with one of the balls. "What do you need?"

Barry lowered his voice as he replied, "Help transporting some people out of the city."

"How many?"

"Five." Barry sighed. "Five very bad, very angry people . . . who have powers."

"Powers, hm?" Snart nodded. "So you want me to, what, freeze the problem? Protect you from them if anything goes wrong?"

Barry gave a slight nod. There really wasn't any other way to put it.

"First rule of business, always protect yourself," Snart said, getting off the table. He slowly began to walk towards Barry. "I'm not gonna help usher your enemies out of town."

"Hey, they're not just my enemies," Barry muttered, catching his arm and pulling him closer. "They're your enemies, too."

"I doubt it."

Barry sighed, glancing to the side before looking back at him. "They will destroy Central City."

"It's not my problem."

"You said that you love it here," Barry whispered, stepping closer as the other shied his face away. "That this is your home."

"I do and it is."

"Well, guess what," Barry said quietly. "These people get loose—there won't be a city to love anymore. You won't be able to rob anyone if everybody's dead.

Snart paused for a moment and turned. "It's a compelling argument," he agreed while walking to a table, pulling a pen out of the inside of his jacket. "If I'm gonna help you out," he began, scribbling something on a piece of paper, "I'll need something in return."

Barry sighed as he walked over to him. "Like what?"

Snart slid the paper bearing his request towards him, and one glance at it made Barry scoff.

"No. This is impossible. I can't do that."

"Then I can't help you."

"There has to—" Barry took a moment to calm down from his slight outburst, and he lowered his voice, "Snart, there has to be something you want that I can get."

Snart folded his hands on top of the table and thought for a moment. "Let me think about it."