Chapter 2

The Current Timeline

Iris is furious. She storms off, enraged and Barry's pretty sure he's in for the silent treatment until she's ready to yell at him for it. And once she shouts at Joe about it too, well... he's going to be getting twice the silent treatment for the price of one.

Eddie, however, is quiet all while Iris shouts at him. And Eddie stays when Iris leaves. Barry hopes that's a good sign.

"Will you tell me about what's been going on, from the start?" Eddie finally asked.

Barry nodded and then hesitated. "Are you angry too? I mean... I get it if you are, I never should have hidden this from either of you no matter what Joe asked..."

But Eddie shook his head negatively. "I'm not angry, Bar."

The nickname sends a frisson of warmth running along Barry's spine. "Really?"

"Really. You didn't know me at first. And you told me now because you do know me and trust me. That means a lot to me, Barry. It really does." Eddie offered Barry a grin. "But, yeah, you really screwed up with Iris."

"I'm not looking forward to getting the silent treatment on two fronts once she yells at Joe," Barry sighed, dropping back down to sit by Eddie again. They were at Joe's house at the moment, but Captain Singh had asked Joe to be his best man at the upcoming wedding. Thus Joe was out doing best man duties, which tonight included helping them pick a menu for the reception. He probably wouldn't be back until late.

When Barry closed his eyes, he could still see Rob fighting back tears over David's condition in that day that wasn't. But that wasn't real any more. It never happened. David Singh and Rob McKenna were going to get that fairy tale wedding they deserved.

"It was fun at first," Barry said quietly. "Using my powers. And it... mostly it still is. There's nothing like the feeling of interacting with the world and moving so fast that it seems like everything else is standing still. I mean... it's the best runners high, so I know it's just happy chemicals making my brain buzz, but... it feels like magic."

Eddie grinned. "That sounds amazing."

"It really is." But sometimes when he fought, his powers felt a lot less amazing. "The first meta I fought was Clyde Mardon. When he you and Joe at the barn, he created a tornado that would have destroyed the city. I almost couldn't run fast enough to unravel it, but somehow... second try I managed it."

"You saved my life," Eddie realized, straightening up a little.

"If you hadn't been knocked out, you'd have been one of the first to know the truth about me." Barry sighed and shook his head. "I was exhausted and we hadn't yet realized that I wasn't eating enough to maintain my altered metabolism. After taking out the tornado I was probably on the verge of a hypoglycemic collapse. Mardon pulled out his gun and he was going to shoot me. I think he'd forgotten about you and Joe, he was so angry with me for stopping his fun... and then Joe shot him first.

"After that, he asked me to keep it all secret from Iris. Keeping secret from everyone else too was pretty much implied." It had hurt, being asked to do that. Being asked to keep this huge thing from Iris... like Joe was asking Barry to just... cut her out of his life. Or cut himself out of her life, rather.

He'd felt quite suddenly like something inhuman. A freak.

That was why he didn't tell Joe that he was... testing his powers with Cisco by stopping crimes and saving people from fires. It had felt like Joe didn't merely disapprove of Barry using his powers to help people, but that he disapproved of Barry's very existence. He didn't want this Barry, but the one he'd been before the lightning strike.

They'd never really talked about it and enough had happened that Barry knew it was really just his rejection sensitive dysphoria kicking him in the ass, but at the time it had felt very, very real.

Barry moved on to talking about Danton Black - Multiplex - and how at the same time Barry'd also been struggling with fainting spells. "I mean, it probably should've been obvious I wasn't eating enough with all the energy I was expending, but somehow all of us missed it."

Eddie is an excellent listener as Barry tells his story. His eyes widen and he gasps 'holy shit' as Barry tells him about finding the clone standing in the middle of STAR Labs cortex and he holds Barry's hand as he stumbles over telling him about how Danton Black let go.

"It's not your fault, Bar. Some people... don't want to be saved. His wife was dead and I think... maybe he planned on joining her no matter what the outcome of his plan was."

"Maybe." Barry leaned against Eddie's side for a long moment. "After all that and Simon Stagg still disappeared right after. No one knows what happened to him." Quietly he said, "Mason Bridge thinks Dr. Wells is involved somehow. Apparently he went to see Dr. Stagg after the cleanup of Black's clones was completed."

"Yeah, I think he came in for questioning after Stagg was officially declared a missing person," Eddie said. "If I'm remembering correctly... Wells said Stagg was already gone by the time he got to the man's office. The security system went offline right after Danton Black arrived and didn't go back online until the following day. So no one knows where Stagg went after speaking to the police that night."

And yet Bridge had been so certain he was on to something... Barry shook it off for now.

"Do you, uh... want something to drink?" Barry stood up and stretched. "I think I need something to drink. My throat's getting dry."

"Sure, any beer in the fridge?" Eddie asked.

"Yup. Oh, so weird fact: my sped up metabolism means I can drink something that's straight up one-hundred percent alcohol and I'll still never get drunk." Barry ran to the kitchen and back and then handed Eddie a beer, flopping onto the couch next to him with one of his and grinning at the startled look on Eddie's face at the casual use of his powers. "I have to actually like the taste now or it's just not worth drinking at all."

"The tragic downsides to super powers," Eddie deadpanned and then grinned, clinking his beer against Barry's before twisting the top off.

Barry's still catching Eddie up on things at ten when Joe texts that he'll probably be out past midnight. Which is for the best because by that time Barry's reached the story of Roy Bivolo and how ashamed Barry is to have hurt Eddie. There might've been tears. And hugging. And Eddie promising Barry's forgiven, that he'd forgiven Barry for it a long time ago.

They've taken a movie break by the time it's almost midnight and Barry's phone rings with Caitlin's ringtone.

"Hey Caitlin, is there an emergency?" Probably not, Cisco's emergency app hadn't sounded the alarm. And he really needed to get Eddie and Iris to add that app to their phones...

"Cisco is in the hospital," Caitlin said and suddenly Barry's on his feet. "He collapsed and he's unconscious. Some woman brought him to the hospital and there's no sign of Hartley. He's not answering his phone."

"I'll check Cisco's apartment and then meet you at the hospital?" Barry asked, already looking for his keys and wallet. He can hear Eddie standing up too.

"Hopefully Hartley's there, but Cisco didn't have his wallet or his phone on him. Something is really wrong, Barry." Caitlin sounded scared. "I'm Cisco's medical proxy, so I should be able to find out more about what happened to him from the doctors. But if Hartley's missing..."

"I'll find Hartley, Caitlin. I promise."

"I have to go, Dr. Nguyen just walked in."

"I'll be there in ten minutes, just text me the hospital," Barry promised and then they both ended the call.

"Barry, what's going on?" Eddie's hand on Barry's shoulder steadies him.

"I'm not sure. Cisco collapsed and is in the hospital. Caitlin's finding out more. The thing is, there's no sign of Hartley Rathaway. He's been... he's a whole complicated story I haven't even gotten around to telling you yet, but he's been crashing at Cisco's apartment lately. They've gone from disliking each other to being fairly attached at the hip. So Hartley should have been the one who brought Cisco to the hospital. Instead there's no sign of him."

"Want me to go with you to check the apartment?" Eddie asked.

"I... yes." Barry is a trained investigator, but he looks for evidence and clues. Eddie's the one who's good at predicting behavior and if Hartley really is missing, Barry's going to need all the help he can get so that he's not just running around the city aimlessly.

Eddie grabbed his stuff and then let Barry pick him up before running them both to Cisco's apartment. It's pretty much immediately obvious something was wrong. The front door is unlocked. There's Chinese takeaway left uneaten in bags by the front door. Cisco and Hartley's wallets and keys are still on the entry way table, their phones on the coffee table. Nobody is home.

Cisco's building super isn't thrilled about waking up in the middle of the night, but he's a lot more cooperative when Eddie flashes his badge and tells him that one of the building's residents was brought to the hospital after an assault and they're trying to determine where it happened and if the person who'd been staying with him should be considered a missing person. They're allowed to check out the building's CCTV footage without a warrant, since this is a matter of resident safety. There's only a couple of cameras to review footage from - most of them exterior cameras - and Barry can run through them at speeds that Eddie seems pretty impressed with. It doesn't take long before Barry finds the footage of a pretty brunette paying off the delivery guy from the restaurant to hand over the food. No sound, which meant they didn't know what she'd said to convince the delivery guy to let her take the delivery off his hands. A few minutes later she shows up again on the same camera, following Hartley and Cisco out. She's got a grip on one of Cisco's shoulders and the way she's holding her other arm, hand hidden between her body and Cisco's, tells both Eddie and Barry she's got a gun on him.

The woman is wearing gloves, so none of the prints Barry might find on the takeout containers or plastic bag would be hers. And the timestamp tells Barry that Hartley and Cisco were missing for hours before Cisco was dropped off, unconscious, at the hospital.

"Caitlin mentioned that some woman had dropped Cisco off at the hospital," Barry said.

"Let's head there next, I can probably get us a look at the CCTV footage there too, see if it's the same woman," Eddie replied, practically reading Barry's mind.

"Um... how about while you're doing that I check in with Caitlin and drop off some fresh clothes and stuff for Cisco when he wakes up." Because he would wake up. Maybe a little concussed or something but... he'd be fine. He had to be fine.

"Sounds good." Eddie's hand on Barry's shoulder is the stabilizing presence Barry needs to stand back up and keep going.


They end up calling Joe to update him on what's going on. Which means that Barry has to admit he's told Iris and Eddie the truth. Joe is clearly furious and Eddie refuses to leave Barry alone with him to get yelled at, which is sweet.

Barry's pretty sure that if he got yelled at right now he'd start crying, so he's especially pleased to have Eddie on his side in the midst of this mess.

There are no photographs of the woman they're looking for, though Barry sketches out a good likeness of her. They also identify the most likely places near the hospital where someone could hide that they'd kidnapped someone, but Barry's run through those areas yields nothing useful. He winds up back at the station with Eddie and Joe, who are pointedly not looking at each other.

"I think this is about all we can do right now," Eddie said. "We can track down the delivery guy in the morning to see if he knows anything more about our suspect. And Cisco will be awake. Right now, we should get some rest so that we're ready when it comes time to rescue Hartley."

Joe reluctantly agrees and, well, Barry feels like he's been awake for nearly two days. Which, given his panic induced time travel episode, he really has been. It's not until he's half asleep in the passenger seat of Eddie's car - which Eddie had picked up and driven to the station after their visit to the hospital - that Barry realizes they're not headed for Joe's house.

"Where are we going?" Barry asked.

"I thought you might rather stay with Iris and myself tonight. Iris might be upset with you, but she's not going to yell at you while you've got a missing friend and another in the hospital. I can't really say the same for Joe." Eddie reached over and, playfully, ruffled Barry's hair. "Let us look after you okay?"

"Okay." And Barry's only sort of aware of the rest of the drive and the walk from the car to Eddie and Iris' apartment afterwards. He zombie walks to the couch after kicking off his shoes in the entry, curling up on a couch that feels gloriously comfortable to his exhausted body.

Someone - Eddie - drapes a blanket over him. And he's dimly aware of hearing Iris' voice. But everything just kind of fades away entirely until morning finally comes and Caitlin calls again to let Barry know that Cisco's awake... and that Hartley's not their only missing person.

Leonard Snart and Mick Rory - as well as Lisa Snart, apparently Leonard's younger sister - have both Hartley and Cisco's oldest brother, Dante. And as for what they want? A new set of Cold and Heat guns.


Barry investigates the warehouse where Cisco remembered the Snarts and Rory holding him hostage, but there's no sign of where they went. If Hartley or Dante had any idea where they were being taken, neither had been able to leave any clues.

He wishes he could go back to before he left Iris and Eddie's apartment, when he got a hug from both of them and a kiss on the cheek from Iris... he'd felt safe there, with them. Barry loves his powers and he loves helping people, but part of him is so tired of never feeling safe anymore.

At the same time it worries him a little just how much that moment felt like the one from the day that wasn't. And with Cisco having wound up in the hospital in place of Captain Singh... Barry has to wonder if maybe Dr. Wells had a point about not meddling with time travel. What if there really is some... analogue to the hurricane and tsunami down the road?

With no idea where to look for Hartley and Dante, Barry reluctantly heads in to work. He has to hope that Hartley really can give Snart what he wants, because right now that's the only way he and Dante are getting out alive. Cisco was lucky Snart was compassionate enough to release him to the hospital, but something told Barry that the others aren't going to have that same luck.


"Hey Barry," Cisco said when Barry answered the phone.

"Cisco. How are you feeling? Any better?" Barry gripped the phone tightly.

"Yeah, I'm, uh... I'm feeling a lot better. Caitlin took me back to STAR Labs to run more tests, but... I... remembered something. An address that, uh... I heard Heatwave mention. Think you could check it out? It might be a longshot but if Hartley and Dante are there..."

When they hang up, Barry takes off for the address Cisco gave him. It's a house in an upscale neighborhood not far from STAR Labs and the back door is already unlocked. In the upstairs hallway, Barry sees Rory walking into one of the rooms, so Barry rushes forward and knocks the big man out. Behind the door is... Hartley.

"Hartley," Barry hissed softly, stepping over Rory's unconscious body and looking Hartley over, "are you okay?" He looked okay, but that didn't mean he wasn't hurt.

"Unharmed." Barry breathed a quick sigh of relief hearing Hartley say that. "Same for Dante, but he's still down the hall with the two Snarts. Is Cisco... is he okay?"

Barry nodded. "Cisco is okay." For now, anyway. "I'm going to grab Dante and then get both of you to safety."

"Snart has a new and functional Cold Gun and Lisa has access to the finished Heat Gun," Hartley warned.

"Got it. Stay here." Barry ran down the hall, took a moment to peer into the room Hartley'd indicated. If he was fast enough, he could grab Dante, drop him off at STAR Labs, come back for Hartley, and then... hopefully stop the Snarts and Rory from getting away. Taking Hartley first chanced them realizing Barry was there and using Dante as a hostage against him. But taking Dante meant that Hartley would be in danger... but Hartley was free and already going for Mick's gun. He'd be relatively safe long enough for Barry to grab Dante and come back.

So that's what Barry did. And, thankfully, it all worked out. Right up until Barry's being forced to evade an ice blast from the new Cold Gun. The closed quarters do not work in his favor and he winds up iced to the floor. And while it's a relief to hear from Hartley that the new guns have a sort of kill switch built into them, it's concerning that they got away with the plans for a new gun too.


The rest of the day feels disjointed after the action filled morning and, somehow, Eddie convinced Barry to come back to his and Iris' apartment again for dinner.

There might have been a bribe of all you can eat pizza and Barry joking that Eddie should be careful when he promises a speedster lots of food, because Barry can eat a lot these days. And needs to eat a lot at that.

"It was actually kind of a struggle at first," Barry admitted, back on the couch after the pizza's ordered, Iris sitting next to him and apparently too curious to be angry with him anymore. "I could never seem to eat enough and I... I always feel like I'm eating too much just because it's so much more than everyone else eats. Keeping my weight up in a healthy range wasn't easy. It's why I passed out at that thing at Stagg Industries," he added, nodding to Iris.

"So it technically was a lightning-coma thing after all," Iris mused. "No wonder there's never any leftovers at dad's anymore."

"My grocery bill has turned into a small fortune. I've been buying in bulk, but..." Barry shrugged. "If you thought I ate a lot as a teenager when I had all those growth spurts, this is... Cisco actually estimated out the amount of food I need to eat per day in tacos and it was ridiculous. He and Caitlin came up with some power bars that help me hit my calorie intake, but the things still kind of taste... dry and card-boardy. The recipe is a work in progress."

"Okay, I've got to know, how many tacos?" Iris asked with a smirk. Barry... wondered if he was missing something there.

"Uh... what was it... like, eight hundred... eight hundred-fifty, actually. Though apparently it was a completely different number if guacamole was included on the tacos. I sort of just tuned him out at that point."

"That's a lot of tacos," Eddie said, dropping onto the couch on the other side of Barry and sliding an arm around Barry on the couch. Not touching him, but making him oh so hyper aware of Eddie's presence.

"Hence the power bars. Super calorie packed for a hungry speedster's metabolism." Barry shrugged and added, "it's actually probably a little more now. My top speed has increased and so has my average running speed. And with more speed I expend more energy and thus..."

"Need more calories," Iris finished. "How are you paying for all that food?"

"Dr. Wells has insisted that I put it all on his and STAR Labs' tab. Or most of it, anyway. He say's it's because he feels responsible for me having to put up with the downsides to my abilities, but..." Barry hesitated. "The person who really killed my mom is back. And he's like me. A speedster. He calls himself the Reverse Flash and Joe... Joe thinks that Dr. Wells has something to do with him too."

"All the more reason to have us around to help you," Eddie said, shifting his arm forward to curl around Barry's shoulders.

Barry told himself it wasn't really a possessive gesture, just a reassuring one.

"I'm always going to be there to support you, Barry," Iris promised. "I'm just... glad you're finally letting me."

"Me too." Barry felt himself relax as that feeling of comfort and safety from that morning filtered back in and he contemplated asking to stay on their couch again. Just for one more night.

None of them noticed in the air vent above the steady gaze of a camera pointed right at them.