── ⚡ ──

"Keep this handy," Cisco told Joe as they stood in the foyer of the precinct, Haylee placed the wand on the podium. "We mean it, Joe. Don't go playing the big hero," Haylee told him sternly. "It'll protect you from Mardon's powers," Cisco told him. "Yeah, you two, I got it," Joe told them before turning to walk into the office room. "Hey, Joe..." Cisco spoke, Joe turned to look at him. "I know you got a lot going on right now, but... you mentioned Doctor Wells might have had something to do with Barry's mother's murder. Why did you think that?" Cisco asked him.

"Oh, it doesn't matter. I was wrong," Joe answered while Haylee looked at Cisco noticing the worried glint in his eyes. "But you seemed really sure of it," Cisco replied. "Look, Cisco, I can't talk about this right now, okay?" Joe asked him. Cisco sighed and nodded before looking at Haylee. "Come on, let's go," Haylee told him before they made their way over to the elevator as others walked out of it. Haylee nudged Cisco when the two of them spotted Mark Mardon walk out of the elevator, Haylee went to follow but Cisco stopped her.

"What are you doing?" Haylee asked Cisco as the elevator closed. "You can't risk revealing yourself, I'll call Barry," Cisco told her as he pressed on Barry's contact name. "But what if he?" Haylee asked before closing her eyes, she knew Cisco was right and she could only hope that Barry gets there in time. "Barry will handle it, Haylee. Just keep calm," Cisco assured her. "I am calm, Cisco," Haylee replied. "Then why are the lights flickering?" Cisco asked her. Haylee looked over and then looked down at herself, seeing little sparks flowing over her.

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Haylee and Cisco sat at the main desk with matching frowns on their faces as they thought about Mardon attacking the precinct. "All right, you two, I'm heading home," Caitlin told them as she grabbed her bag before looking at them. "Cisco? Haylee?" Caitlin tried to get their attention as Haylee focused heavily on the schematics of the forcefield contraption that was made to catch Reverse-Flash. "All right, fine, I will watch every episode of The Walking Dead with both of you," Caitlin said but it didn't get the reaction she was looking for.

She walked up to the two of them and rested her hands on their shoulders with a motherly sigh. "Hey, you two couldn't have stopped Mardon from attacking the police station, especially with the risk of revealing yourself, Haylee. It's neither of your faults," Caitlin assured then as she squeezed their shoulders. "No, that's not it," Cisco said before glancing at Haylee who nodded along with him as she turned to Caitlin. "What do you think of Dr Wells?" Haylee asked Caitlin. "What do you mean?" Caitlin asked them.

"I mean, do you think he's capable of doing something bad?" Cisco asked her. "Is this because of what Barry said he heard?" Caitlin asked him. "Ever since the Particle Accelerator exploded, there's always someone who's got it in for Dr Wells," Caitlin told the two of them. "No, no, it's more than that. Joe said that maybe Dr Wells was somehow involved in Barry's mother's death and her murder," Cisco explained to Caitlin. "That's absurd," Caitlin told them while crossing her arms against her chest.

"Yeah, I know, and that's what I said, and we proved that it wasn't the case... But I'm just saying, some things aren't adding up," Cisco replied to her while Haylee sighed. "Like what, for example?" Caitlin asked. "Come here and look at this," Haylee told her before turning to the screen. "The night we trapped the Reverse Flash in the force-field, he escaped because the containment system failed, but we checked that data three times, and the supercapacitors were still fully charged when he got out," Haylee explained to her.

"The numbers don't add up, Caitlin. There's no reason that the containment system should have failed," Cisco added to Haylee's explanation. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation," Caitlin tried to argue. "One perfectly good explanation is that Wells did something to the trap, Caitlin. I mean, how well do we really know Harrison Wells?" Haylee asked Caitlin who stared at her wordlessly. "Are you suggesting that Dr Wells is in league with The Man in the Yellow Suit?" Caitlin asked them.

"I'm... We all saw that thing nearly kill him that night," Caitlin said after receiving no response to her question but Haylee sighed. "Caitlin... He nearly died, but there is something off about Harrison Wells and we need to find out what," Haylee told her. "What you're saying doesn't make any sense. That's crazy," Caitlin told them as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Can you keep Wells out of Star Labs tomorrow morning?" Cisco asked Caitlin. Haylee looked at her phone as it vibrated against the desk, she picked it up to see Jesse's contact.

"Excuse me," Haylee told them before walking out into the hall. "Hey J, what's going on?" Haylee asked the moment she answered. "Captain Singh may never walk again, his fiance is distraught and Joe is way too prideful for his own good. Mardon has threatened Barry, Iris, you and me, so Joe wants us to stay out of it," Jesse explained to her as he looked over at Barry, the two of them were at the CCPN looking for Iris. "Joe does realise that Barry and I are capable of looking out for ourselves, right? He is so adorably protective," Haylee replied with a sigh.

"How about your end?" Jesse asked her. "Cisco and I are hoping that Caitlin can keep Harrison out of Star Labs in the morning so that way we can get a safer and better look at the containment system without having to look over our shoulders," Haylee explained to Jesse before leaning against the wall. "Need me?" Jesse asked her. "Nah, you just stick by Iris and keep her safe. Let's just hope Joe doesn't do anything too rash," Haylee answered. "And let's hope Cait can keep Wells away long enough to find what you're looking for," Jesse replied.

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Barry and Jesse headed to the West household where they found Iris on her phone before she looked up at the two. "Hey, have either of you heard from dad? He's not answering his cell," Iris told them as Jesse let out a slow breath. "Uh, no. Haven't talked to him," Barry answered her as he walked towards the couch, sitting on the back of it while Jesse sat down on the couch. "I'm starting to worry about him. What are you doing home so early, with Jesse?" Iris asked them, Jesse and Barry shared a glance.

"We were looking for you, actually," Jesse told her as she sat down facing the two men. "We just met your friend Mason, and he said he had some kind of proof that Dr Wells did something. Do you know what it is?" Barry asked Iris. "No, he hasn't told me," Iris answered him. "All right," Barry replied. "So, how are things going with Haylee?" Iris asked him with a giddy tone, a wide smile on her face. "Things are great. Uh, I actually..." Barry looked at Jesse for a moment before sighing, "Uh, I've been thinking about... proposing."

Jesse's brows raised at the comment while Iris squealed like a little girl before jumping up and hugging Barry. "That is so adorable! Oh, my God! You two are destined for each other! I just..." Iris calmed down and sat back on the couch while Barry fought the blush on his cheek as Jesse smirked. "I'm so happy for you, Barr. You and Haylee are living proof that love can survive anything," Iris told him before Barry's phone rang. "I've gotta get this," Barry walked away from them.

"And what about you? How are things going with Linda?" Iris asked Jesse. "Why do you say it like that?" Jesse asked her. "Like what?" Iris asked him. "Like how you used to say "Becky Cooper" when Barry dated her," Jesse asked. "Oh, come on. Becky Cooper was a nightmare of a high school girlfriend, and Barry should have never dated her when Haylee was right there," Iris argued back. "Okay, so you're saying that Linda is "Becky" material?" Jesse asked her as Barry walked back over.

"I mean, I wouldn't go that far. She's... hot and nice and smart and she is really good at her job. I just..." Iris trailed off noticing the looks on both Barry's and Jesse's faces. "I don't think that she's the right one for you. Not like Haylee is for Barry, at least. You know?" Iris asked as she shrunk into her seat thinking about what Linda accused her of. "Then who is?" Jesse asked Iris. They all fell into silence while Barry coughed, "I'm gonna get some water." Barry awkwardly walked into the kitchen leaving Jesse and Iris alone in a room full of tension.

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Caitlin agreed to distract Harrison, her reasoning being that she wanted to prove his innocence rather than his guilt. "Let's see if you can tell me what really went wrong," Cisco spoke as he connected a cord to his laptop, Haylee stood beside him. "Hey Co..." Haylee spoke softly gaining his attention. "If Harrison turns out to be the bad guy, don't go blaming yourself. I know you... And I know you'll be coming up with a thousand or so points as to why you should've solved it sooner, but don't... None of us knew," Haylee told him, her hand resting on his shoulder.

"And if he's innocent?" Cisco asked her. "Then we'll never speak of this again," Haylee answered, the two shared a smile before doing their secret handshake. "I don't understand. This doesn't make any sense," Cisco told Haylee as they focused on data starting the containment systems were all functional. "Something is not right," Haylee said as Cisco closed the laptop, the two of them walked over to the machine. The machine sparked to life revealing a hologram of Reverse-Flash behind a fake force field.

"Cisco..." Haylee breathed out as the two interlocked their hands for comfort. "My goals are beyond your understanding," The distorted voice of Reverse-Flash spoke, Haylee and Cisco were frozen in place for a moment before Cisco typed on the keyboard rewinding the clear recording of the hologram. "Dr Wells, we meet at last. Accompanied by Haylee Brager, what a wonderful surprise," Reverse-Flash spoke leaving chills down Haylee's spine, she looked down at the bracelet on her wrist and tore it out before throwing it across the room.

"My goals are beyond your understanding," The hologram continued while Cisco looked at Haylee who had watery eyes, betrayal settling within her brown eyes. "I can't believe this," Cisco voiced while Haylee swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, she refused to cry over this no matter how harsh the betrayal was. She truly looked up to Harrison Wells, not only as her idol but like an older brother considering she only consider Joe as her father figure and no one else would ever replace that.

"Oh, I'm not like the Flash at all," The distorted voice spoke. "Some would say, I'm the Reverse," Harrison's voice caught their attention. The two best friends turned to look at him, one looked at him with wide eyes while the other glared angrily at the man that stood before them. Harrison began clapping as he looked from Haylee to Cisco, "You're both incredibly clever. I've always said so." Haylee protectively grabbed Cisco's hand and pulled him back from Harrison who began walking towards them.

"You're him. The Reverse-Flash," Cisco breathed out while the lights in the room began to flicker due to Haylee's anger. "You and I have never been truly, properly introduced. I am Eobard Thawne," Harrison told them, the name sent a wave of familiarity as the Bolt's words echoed within her mind. Those closest to you aren't always who they seem. "I knew something was off about you," Haylee spoke before shaking her head. "Thawne? Like Eddie?" Cisco asked him. "Let's call him... a distant relative," Harrison told them with a smile.

"And me?" Haylee asked him. "You, however, are my aunt. In my time, you willingly gave some of your powerful blood to my mother which was used to help modify me. You even helped raise me," Harrison told her with a kind smile on his face but Haylee scoffed. "Just what I needed, another psychopath relative," Haylee replied. "The night that we trapped Reverse-Flash, you almost died," Cisco spoke as he stepped to the side creating a small distance between him and Haylee who was trying to keep her power under control.

"There were two of you," Haylee added. "It's an after-image, a Speed mirage if you will," Harrison told them before demonstrating it. "Haylee and Joe were right," Cisco muttered out as his breathing became more panicky. "Ah, yes. I noticed the change of trust," Harrison said looking at Haylee whose eyes began to glow brighter. "You were there that night, 15 years ago, in Barry's house. You killed Nora Allen," Cisco said. "And you saved me from my biological father," Haylee added before taking a deep breath.

"It was never my intention to kill Nora. I was there to kill Barry," Harrison informed them which only made Haylee much angrier. "Why? You're his friend. You've been teaching him how to go..." Cisco trailed off as Harrison continued, "Go faster, I know. A means to an end. And I'll tell you why. Because I have been stuck here, marooned here in this place for 15 long years. And The Flash and The Flash's speed is the key to my returning to my world. To my time. And no one is going to prevent that from happening."

"We can help you," Cisco quickly replied hoping that would save them from the inevitable death that was heading their way. "You're both smart. But not that smart," Harrison replied as tears left Cisco's eyes, the sight made Haylee angrier. "Do you know how hard it has been to keep all of this from you?" Harrison asked before looking at Haylee, "Especially from you?" Haylee scoffed at his words. "Because the truth is, I've grown quite fond of you," Harrison told Cisco before stepping closer to Haylee. "Sorry about this," Harrison whispered before pulling a device out.

Haylee watched as he threw it up, a bright light was sent out and Haylee was thrown across the room, her power subsided and for the first time since waking up from the explosion, she felt completely and truly human. "No..." Haylee breathed out as pain shot through her body, the tingle of her power trying to fight the device made her feel like she was burning in a fire. "And in many ways, you have shown me what it's like to have a son," Harrison spoke as his hand began to vibrate, Cisco let more tears fall which only pained Haylee more.

"Cisco!" Haylee screamed out as a large burst of electricity formed around Haylee like a ball before Cisco suddenly slid across the floor to safety. A gasp left Cisco's lips as he looked up to see Haylee standing where he stood, Harrison's hand through her chest as tears fell down her face. "No, no, no, no, no... I'm sorry," Harrison pleaded as he pulled his hand from her chest, Haylee stumbled back before falling, Cisco barely caught her before she hit the ground.

"H-Haylee..." Cisco sobbed as blood coated her lips, broken breaths left her mouth as tears fell down her face. "Don't close your eyes... fight it," Cisco cried as he ran his fingers through her hair, holding her close to him as Harrison stumbled back watching the scene before him. "I can't lose you, Haylee... I-I can't..." Cisco's voice cracked as he spoke. "I-It's o-okay... I... It'll be o-okay. It doesn't... It doesn't hurt," Haylee whispered before swallowing carefully. "T-Tell Barry... you-you have to tell Barry..." Haylee cried out before taking her last breath.

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Author Note
*Sobbing in Australian*

-Rose <3
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