"You can be so stupid sometimes."
Quiver
Chapter 30; Fallout
As Charlotte waited in anticipation for Barry to respond back to Dr. Wells who was continuously calling out for him through the mic, her heart was beating rapidly. It was worse than all the other times that Barry hadn't responded to them because Caitlin was also there with him, and she couldn't lose two friends at the same time.
"Barry, what happened out there?" Dr. Wells demanded.
"Are you guys okay?" Cisco asked them with worry lacing his voice. Charlotte didn't blame him; she was just as nervous as he was.
"I think so," he responded after checking on Caitlin.
Charlotte let out a deep breath before she heard Caitlin say, "Oh, God. The nuclear explosion."
"There's no telling how much radiation we were exposed to," finished Charlotte with a grim look. She looked over at Cisco who looked down at the monitors.
"Wait wait, wait, wait, wait, this can't be," muttered the long-haired male. "The Geiger counter in the suit it's reading less than one millirad."
"But that's normal," Barry said.
"There's no radiation," concluded Dr. Wells. The three people in the Cortex shared a look before turning their attention back to the computers. There was a pause before Cisco asked Barry if the device worked and if they were separated. Barry said he didn't know as he moved closer to the place where 'Ronnie' was before the explosion.
Overhearing the conversation through Barry's suit, Charlotte led out a large grin as she heard both Ronnie and the Professor talking separately. Barry then announced that they were coming home. Charlotte grabbed Cisco's hand and dragged him over towards the elevator when she heard it ding. They let go when the doors opened, and the two started walking closer when they saw Ronnie walk towards them.
"Ronnie Raymond," Cisco grinned as Ronnie walked over to him. They high-fived before hugging each other. "I missed you so much, man." Ronnie looked over at his blonde friend who looked as if she were about to burst from excitement. He held his arms open, and Charlotte rushed over to him with no hesitation.
"Careful, Blondie," he chuckled as she hugged him tightly. She let go with a large smile plastered on her face. She looked over at Caitlin who was staring at Ronnie with adoration.
"I'm so glad you're back," Charlotte smiled.
"I shouldn't have locked you in there," frowned Cisco, causing Ronnie to look back over at him.
"Hey don't," he scolded.
"Welcome back, Mr. Raymond," Dr. Wells said as he wheeled over with a smile.
"Dr. Wells," Ronnie greeted. "Caitlin told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry."
"I'm responsible for putting myself in this chair. You are responsible for my still being alive - thank you."
"You said you'd bring him back, and you did," Caitlin praised Dr. Wells as she wrapped an arm around Ronnie. He did the same thing when she thanked the man in the wheelchair.
"Excuse me?" a voice interrupted causing the whole group to turn around. There stood an older man with glasses and dirties clothes. "Are we all planning to sing Kumbaya next?"
"Professor Stein, I presume," Wells guessed.
"Harrison Wells," he stated, knowing who the man was. "Do you have somewhere I can freshen up and get a change of clothes?"
"Of course."
"Right this way, Professor," said Cisco as he led him out of the entryway. Charlotte smiled one last time at the couple before following the group. She stopped following them around the Cortex entrance and walked inside. What she didn't know was that Barry followed her.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi?" she responded back as more of a question. She didn't know why he greeted her seeing as he saw her just before he ran off to help save Ronnie and the professor. "What's up?"
"I didn't realize you and Ronnie were so close," he stated, walking over towards the computers. He leaned against the table as Charlotte stood in front of him with her arms crossed. "I've never seen you act like that towards anyone."
"Well, he's like a brother to me. I do the same with Oliver when he's not being a pain in the butt." Barry simply nodded his head as Charlotte raised an eyebrow at him. She decided not to ask him about it and sat down in her chair. Caitlin and Ronnie walked into the Cortex and went straight to Caitlin's lab where she proceeded to take tests on him to see if he was okay.
"Your vitals appear to be normal, except you have a slight fever of hundred point six," she chuckled, taking the blood pressure monitor off him.
"Cait, I'm fine, I promise," he reassured.
"I know, but we just need to be -" Ronnie reached forward and kissed her just as Charlotte and Cisco walked into the lab.
"Yep, just when I forgot how awkward it was to walk in on you two," Cisco commented as Charlotte chuckled.
"Well, you can get used to it again," Caitlin smiled at him.
"So I did a full medical workup on the professor," Dr. Wells announced as he wheeled himself into the lab with Professor Stein following behind him. "It turns out that now that he and Ronnie are separated, they no longer possess the ability to harness nuclear energy."
"Professor Stein, you seem to be running a little hot as well," Caitlin told him. "Same as Ronnie - a hundred point six."
"Hardly a sweat, Dr. Snow. And hopefully now the only thing Ronald and I have in common -"
"It's Ronnie," the younger man corrected
"You gonna miss being able to fly," Cisco asked Ronnie with a childish grin on his face.
"Yeah, maybe if I was the one holding the controller," Ronnie spap, looking at the professor.
"Meaning?" The professor walked towards Ronnie as Cisco's grin fell.
"Meaning, you weren't the most conscientious body-mate."
"So you do not consider keeping you alive to be conscientious?" Stein shot back.
"Alive? We were living under a bridge, eating garbage."
"I did not determine that it would be my mind that would dominate our existence, 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 looked over at Caitlin causing the Professor to do so as well. "You kept me from her."
"Which is likely why she's still alive," Stein argued in a calm tone. "Now I believe you and I have spent quite enough time together. I would like to go home to see my wife." Dr. Wells offered Charlotte and Barry to bring him home so that Charlotte can drive him instead of Barry running the professor around. He brought Barry because he knows Stein better.
"I can't believe it," Professor Stein commented as they approached the front door. He stopped the two before they could knock on the door and asked what he should say.
"I don't think you're going to have to say anything," Barry shrugged. Charlotte gave the speedster a look before turning back to the professor. Before she could get a word out, Clarissa opened the door and ran towards her husband.
"Oh, Clarissa," Stein started when he saw tears form in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I put you through this." They kissed, causing Charlotte to look down at her feet, before embracing each other. After they broke apart, Clarissa looked at Barry and Charlotte before mouthing a 'thank you'.
"Mister, uh... Barry and... Charlotte."
"Yeah?" the two asked in unison.
"I-I know I can be difficult, but thank you for bringing me home."
"We'll see you soon, Professor," Barry smiled before the two walked away from the Stein house. "Hey, can you bring me to the station? Joe needs me," he asked her, glancing down at his phone. She politely agreed and dropped him off at CCPD before she received a text from Joe saying to meet him and Barry at the old house. She let out a sigh before she started to drive over there.
Once she arrived, she pulled up next to the curb followed shortly by Joe's police car. She climbed out of the car earning a confused look from Barry. She looked at her shoes at she followed the two men towards the old Allen residence. Joe opened the door and Barry looked around at his old house with a nostalgic look.
"It's smaller than I remember," he finally said.
"It's because you're bigger. Have you been in here? I mean, recently," Joe added as the three walked into the living room where Nora was murdered.
"No. I haven't been in this house since that night," Barry commented, looking around the kitchen before stepping foot into the living area. Joe and Charlotte had moved over to the device that Cisco and Charlotte made using the old mirror.
"Bar?" Barry looked over at Joe before the detective continued, "This mirror... you remember it?"
"Yeah. Belonged to my grandma. How is it still here?"
"Just be glad it is. Look I don't fully know how Cisco and Charlotte did it, but -"
"Did what?" Barry asked, looking between the two of them. "Joe, what are we doing here? What is Charlotte doing here?" Charlotte turned on the machine, and her heart broke when she saw the look on Barry's face when he saw Nora Allen screaming. "Mom."
"You can definitely see two very fast people fighting around your mother," Joe pointed out.
"Two speedsters," concluded Barry.
"You see that?"
"The blood?" Barry asked, looking at the red mark that Joe was pointing at.
"Cisco and I had the DNA tested - Joe too," Charlotte spoke up for the first time, finally finding her voice. "It's yours."
"No, it's not. That's impossible," he denied, shaking his head. "I wasn't even downstairs yet."
"No, Barry. Not that you," Charlotte said as she pointed towards the living room entryway. She used that same finger and pointed it at Barry. "This you. Cisco and I had the samples analyzed and the proteins in the blood were that of an adult, not a child."
"But that means -"
"The second speedster, the one trying to stop the man in yellow -"
"Is the Flash," Barry breathed, cutting off Joe. "That's me."
___
"Time travel," Dr. Wells concluded after Charlotte and Barry had explained to him what happened. Barry did most of the talking seeing as Charlotte was still uncomfortable with the idea of Joe thinking that Dr. Wells killed Barry's mom. "If last five months have proven anything, it's that anything can exist, but to actually travel through time?"
"Well, the greatest minds in human history put their collective genius towards solving that puzzle.
"So, is it possible?" Joe asked Dr. Wells.
"Yes, it's possible. But problematic. Assuming you could create the conditions necessary to take that journey - well, that journey would then be fraught with potential pitfalls," Dr. Wells explained. "The Novikov principle of self-consistency, for example."
"Wait, the what, now?"
"If you travel back in time to change something, then you end up being the causal factor of that event," Charlotte tried to make clear to Joe.
"Like Terminator," Cisco added, pointing his pen at the detective. Joe let out an 'ah' sound as he understood his reference.
"Or is time plastic? Is it mutable whereby any changes to the continuum could create an alternate timeline."
"Back To The Future," added Cisco, again.
"Oh, saw that one too."
"Doc Brown," smiled Dr. Wells. "Tremendous picture."
"So what is the answer?" Joe asked him.
"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."
"There is someone else you can talk to about this," Cisco stated causing Barry and Charlotte to give him a questioning glance. When he didn't answer automatically, Barry raised a brow at him. Cisco gave them a look back before it finally clicked in Charlotte's brain. She let out an 'oh' before grabbing her coat and running out of the lab.
Barry looked at Cisco before Joe before Dr. Wells who gave him a look that told him to follow her. He jogged after the blonde, calling out her name, but he didn't know where she was. A second later she appeared by his side, grabbed his hand, and pulled him out to her car.
"Where are we going?" Barry asked her, not realizing that their hands were still intertwined. Charlotte, however, did and dropped it immediately. She tried not to let her blush show when she turned around to face him.
"You can be so stupid sometimes," was what she said before opened her car door. Barry blinked at her bluntless before sitting down in the passenger seat. "Professor Stein."
They arrived at the Stein household again and walked towards the door. Charlotte rang the doorbell and crossed her arms as she waited for someone to answer the door. A few seconds later, Clarissa opened the front door and was shocked to see the two back at their house.
"Barry? Charlotte?"
"Mrs. Stein, I'm sorry to bother you here, but is Professor Stein here right now?" Charlotte asked politely.
"Well, after a year apart, I'm not letting him out of my sight," she chuckled. "S.T.A.R. Labs did quite a few tests on Martin, didn't they, and they said he was fine?" she asked them with a worried expression on her face.
"Yeah. Why, is something wrong?" questioned Barry.
"He just seems a little different, is all."
"Different how?"
"He's been asking for pizza," she answered. "Martin despises pizza." Not a second later, the professor came walking towards the door in haste as he asked if it was the delivery man at the door. When he saw the two standing there, he stopped.
Oh, Ms. Queen. Mr. Allen. I suppose it's too much to hope you moonlight as a pizza boy. I am famished." Barry gave Charlotte a look before rushing off. The blonde looked over at the Steins with an awkward smile before Barry came back with a box of pizza in his hands.
"Oh, bravo!" Professor Stein exclaimed as Clarissa handed him the pizza box. "Please, come in." Clarissa welcomed the two younger adults into the house as the professor opened the pizza lid. "What can I do for you two?"
"We needed to talk to you about a paper that you wrote twenty five years ago for the Oxford University Press," Charlotte told him.
"I've written many papers for that publication. Could you be more specific about the subject matter?"
"Time travel." Stein, who had taken a bite of the pizza, looked up at her before glancing over to Barry. He set down the pizza and ushered them into another room. He walked over to a blackboard that had a sheet covering it. He pulled it off, showing the many mathematical equations underneath.
"These are just a few of the random thoughts I've had on the subject," he explained to them, excitedly.
"Few?" Barry repeated in disbelief, eyeing the Professor Stein.
"See, I believe that space-time is a free-flowing highway that intersects the physical world," he continued, ignoring Barry comment. As he spoke, he led the two over to his desk where he sat them down into two chairs. "We live in - 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 - so you're saying that this is actually possible to to travel into the future?" asked Barry, sharing a glance with Charlotte.
"Undoubtedly."
"What about the past?" Charlotte added.
"Yes." He made fists with his hands and started pounding them together from excitement as he walked towards the other side of his desk. "My own personal choice would be the Chicago World's Fair, 1893. I-I think Nikola Tesla and I would have some wonderful arguments. What about you? Would you be interested in taking a trip into history?"
"I think that I already have," Barry revealed. Seeing the confused looked on the professor's face, Barry went on to explain, "Professor, um... fifteen years ago my mom was murdered and we recently discovered some evidence that I was there that night, and not just as a kid, but as an adult."
"That must be a side effect of your incredible speed," Stein deduced. "In some future date, you actually move so fast that the resulting kinetic energy buildup smashes a hole in the space-time continuum!" He smacked his hands against his forehead in excitement as Barry looked down. "You seem disappointed by the prospect."
"I mean, if I do somehow make it back there to that night, then it means that I didn't save her," Barry started. "My destiny is to fail."
The three eventually headed out of the room and into the kitchen. Charlotte wanted to do something to help lift Barry's spirits, but she was a person who comforted people with physical touches: a hug, hand holding, even putting a hand on a shoulder. But things had been weird between the two of them since Linda, and Charlotte didn't know how she should help him.
She sat down at one of the chairs in the kitchen as the professor went to get a drink of water. He grabbed a glass cup and went to fill it up when he suddenly gasped. He dropped the glass and leaned against the table.
"Martin?" Clarissa ran over to her husband and helped him stand straight; Barry and Charlotte had also rushed over to the Professor. "What's wrong?"
"I-I don't know," he stuttered. "I... I feel terrified. My-my heart is racing. I think - I think Ronald is in trouble."
"How could you know that?" Charlotte asked.
"Jitters," Stein gasped. "He needs help." Charlotte turned to Barry and told him to go. He rushed out of the room, leaving the three behind. Charlotte looked over at the professor and his wife; Clarissa looked worried for her husband and Professor Stein had a pained expression on his face.
"Take me to S.T.A.R. Labs, Ms. Queen," the Professor ordered.
"But, Professor -" He raised a hand, cutting her off mid-sentence. Clarissa tried to protest, but Stein was determined. Charlotte reluctantly brought him out to her car and drove him to S.T.A.R. Labs. Once they were inside, the two walked to the Cortex.
"Okay, let's just finish this," she heard Barry say, sounding very strained and in pain. "I gotta get to Stein's house. Eiling's gonna be after him too." Ronnie turned to the entryway where Professor Stein stood; Charlotte was still in the hall.
"Stein's fine," he told them, still looking over at Stein.
"How do you know?" Cisco asked.
"He's right there." Everyone in the room looked over at the Professor as Charlotte walked in behind him. When she saw Barry on the examination table with needles in him, she called out his name and rushed over.
"What the hell happened?" she demanded, staring at the fragments piercing his skin.
"Eiling," Barry gasped as Caitlin pulled another needle out.
"I don't think Mr. Raymond and I are as distinctive as we had hoped," the professor announced, ignoring the conversation that Barry and Charlotte were having. After getting all the needles out from Barry's skin, Charlotte helped him stand up. Ronnie and Professor Stein were hooked up to machines that showed the brainwave functions on the monitor. "I'm still inside Ronald," Professor Stein concluded, after Caitlin explained to them what was happening on the screen.
"There has to be a better way to rephrase that," commented Cisco, earning a chuckle from Barry and Charlotte.
"Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta all your brain waves are perfectly in sync," Caitlin explained with a small shrug. "The chances of that happening are next to impossible."
"Impossible's just another Tuesday for us, remember?" Barry said.
"Yeah, but this is like some Twilight Zone level stuff," Cisco told him, earning a nod from Barry, "and I say that knowing full well that we have a guy locked up in our basement who can turn himself into poison gas."
"Wait, really?" Ronnie asked in disbelief.
"Dude, that was, like, week three."
"Look, if this Eiling is as dangerous as you say, then I need to warn Clarissa," Professor Stein declared, ripping the device off of his head.
"I promise, I can get Clarissa out of the city in time, but we need you to stay here," Barry said.
"Professor, I need you to trust us," Charlotte spoke calmly. He glanced over at her before turning back to Barry.
"Very well." The Professor started to walk away with a downturned expression on his face, and Charlotte watched him leave with sad eyes. Cisco also started to leave as the blonde turned to look at Ronnie.
"Are you okay?" Charlotte asked, moving closer to him. He took off the device from his head and stared up at one of his best friends.
"Yeah, it's just not the S.T.A.R. Labs I knew," he sighed.
"Ronnie," she started while crossing her arms and frowning, "this isn't the world that you knew."
"Tell me about it."
__________
unedited
a/n: this took longer to write than expected... 3,500 words... i also know that it's not friday but my birthday is next week so my family is spending the weekend celebrating so i'm going to update today.
i also changed my name if anyone noticed. love-is-a-sickness was a name i came up with in like sixth grade or something like that for another website and it stuck for a while but i hate it now so i changed it.