I stood in the cortex, dressed in a burgundy blouse, one that was tucked into black jeans, black boots on my feet, my hair straight as per usual.

I was deprived of sleep, and needed caffeine to jolt me up.

More caffeine.

Barry ran in, "Tachyon scanners set up at every half-mile interval across the city."

Caitlin walks in, "And the seismometer is searching for sonic booms in the hundred-megahertz range."

"As for the satellites, I've got Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha scanning for her yellow-purple lightning signatures." Cisco walks over and points out.

I yawn lightly, running a hand through my hair.

"Hey- you look tired-" Cisco notices, sipping his slurpee, "Do you want me to go get you a coffee or something-"

"No thank you-" Barry wraps his arm around me, replying for me, "She's already had three."

"That doesn't mean I don't need more-" I began, hopeful that I would get more coffee.

Barry shook his head, "She doesn't need more."

"Okay- well, what about a slurpee?" I try to persuade.

Barry shot me a look, "That still has caffeine."

"Well, honey-" I trail off, gesturing with my hands as I spoke, "There's a lot of benefits in getting me a slurpee."

"Oh yeah?" Barry rubs my arm, "Name one."

I began to smile very innocently, "It'll make me very, very happy."

Barry playfully rolls his eyes, "Fine-"

Barry runs off, appearing to my side within seconds, handing me a blue slurpee.

"I love you-" I kiss his cheek, taking a sip of the slurpee.

Barry kisses my head, "I love you."

"Aye- we're twinning-" Cisco hits his cup against mine in a cheers motion, sipping his also, "I am clearly the Samantha of this group, right?"

I scoff, "Yeah, okay, Miranda-"

He looked at me, his jaw dropping.

I wink at him playfully, looking at the monitor, "So, technically, if Nora uses the Speed Force-"

"We'll find her." Barry nods, staring at the screen, "Kinda thought she'd pop right up."

"If she's even here." Cisco spoke, "How can you guys be so sure that she even came back from the future in the first place?"

"Because Thawne sent her." I told him, "He showed her a new way to time-travel, something that can't be detected."

Barry nods, "But as soon as she starts running again, we're gonna be able to bring her home."

"Well, Team Flash, Nora Allen is not the only time traveler who's absent." Sherloque walked in, Ralph by his side.

"We've been running down abandoned buildings, foreclosed condos-" Ralph continued.

Sherloque nods, "Anywhere that Grace Gibbons may have hidden her younger self, but-"

"We got bupkis." Ralph sighed.

"And we have no idea why she stole the Cryo- Atomizer, except that it was worth killing my dad for." Caitlin looked down at her feet.

"Cait-" I quietly spoke up, "If you need more time-"

"Yeah, we're more than capable of chasing a wild goose or two on our own." Cisco finishes my sentence.

"Thank you, I'm fine." Caitlin weakly smiles, "I'd rather be working."

Ralph nods, "On that note, I'm happy to help you follow that lead on the atomizer."

"Really?" Caitlin questions, "What about Sherluck?"

"Sherloque." He corrected her, "Do you think any of you will get this right at any point at any time in your life? Sherloque-"

Sherloque sighs, "No, I'm going to continue the quest for Nora Allen. I feel somewhat responsible."

As Caitlin, Sherloque, and Ralph leave Cisco, Barry and I alone, Barry and I's phone start to vibrate in unison, as I set my drink down and look at the screen, "CCPD-"

"There was a break-in at an architecture firm on 34th and Williamson." Barry read off his phone, "Meta-suspect. Citizens reporting an explosion there."

"Sounds like you guys might need an extra set of hands." Cisco points at us, spinning before walking out of the room, "I'll grab my gear-"

-

"I just talked to one of the architects here, and G. Simone & Associates used to do all of this high-profile design work- like casinos, banks, military bases-" I explain to Joe, stood at the scene, "But apparently, last year, they had been working with an anonymous client."

"So because our thief covered his tracks, we have no idea who that client might be." Joe nods slowly.

"Hey." Barry called for us, "Look at this."

Joe and I walked over, looking at what he was showing us, "Look at these hard drives. Fried from the inside, like in a massive power surge."

Joe's eyebrows furrow, "A server like this would have a surge protector, right?"

"A typical metal-oxide varistor protects against a thousand joules." Barry stood up, looking between us.

I thought to myself, staring at the hard drives.

Shamefully, I begged the question, "How many joules does a lightning bolt have?"

Barry looks at me confused, "A billion."

Joe picked up quickly. "What, you think this was Nora?"

"No, this couldn't have been." Barry shook his head instantly, "I mean, our scanners would've picked her up."

Cisco walks over, "Yeah, about that I just picked up a frak-ton of background particle radiation."

"Particles?" Barry repeats, "Tachyons?"

"Negative tachyons." Cisco corrects him.

I looked at him, "That's a thing?"

"I mean, negative tachyons can't generate lightning, right?" Barry questions.

"Unless negative tachyons don't just offset positive ones like we thought." Cisco thought out loud, "Maybe they actually siphon positive tachyons."

Joe puts it together, "Stealing speed from the Speed Force like a parasite?"

I looked at my husband, "Barry-"

"That's what Thawne taught her how to do." Barry knew what I was thinking, "She's using negative tachyons to run and avoid our scanners."

"Yeah, but why would Nora be trying to avoid us?" I quietly question, "We're her family."

Joe sighs, "I don't know, but if she's stealing blueprints, this ain't gonna be her last stop."

-

My hand glides across the sheet of paper as I wrote, seated at my desk at CCPD, working on a case.

My attention was brought elsewhere when Cecile stood in front of my desk, "Zee- we need to talk."

"Okay?-" I was pulled up to Barry's Lab, one that was empty as per usual.

"G. Simone & Associates has spent the last year working for McCulloch Technologies." Cecile hands me the folder, crossing her arms.

I lean against Barry's desk, "The weapons manufacturer?"

Cecile hums in response, as I looked through the pages, "They just built a factory in Keystone."

"Missing blueprints, top-secret facility-" Cecile sighs, "I think we might have a heist on our hands."

"You think Nora's going after these weapons?" I questioned, noticing the look on her face.

"No, maybe she's just trying to get them off the market-" Cecile shook her head, suggesting. "You know, like the time that Barry and Ralph were gonna buy the Toastmasters."

"Cecile- she's on a mission for Thawne." I sigh deeply, putting the folder down, "He doesn't think that small- he never does."

"Okay- uh-" I sigh, standing up straight, "Barry's caught up scanning for negative tachyons, so we should dig into what kind of weapons McCulloch is making. I could give Iris a call and see if she knows a whistleblower down by the DOD- or I'll just call in a favor-"

"Uh, Zee-" Cecile took a step away and faced me once more, "Are you sure there isn't anything else you'd like to talk about?"

I stare at her, reading her expression, "You used your powers on me- why did you use your powers on me? Never use your powers on me-"

"I can't help it-" Cecile blurts out, "Come on- you can talk to me.

"Look when I saw Nora in 2049, she was so upset and so angry, Barry not being there with me only provoked that." I vent it out, "Then she comes back to this time and and she doesn't even come home?"

I sigh, "I mean, even if she's mad at Barry or she wanted some kind of sci-fi weapon- then why didn't she just come to the rest of us for help? Why would she go at this on her own?"

"There's gotta be a good reason." Cecile grabbed my hand, "I know it."

-

I stood in Barry's Lab with Cecile, bent over as I typed on my laptop, Cecile writing on a sheet of paper.

Barry ran in, his eyes scanning around the room frantically, landing on me, a slight red tint behind the glossy sheet over his eyes, "Zee-"

I looked up, concern instantly crossing my features, as I dropped what I was doing, walking over to him, "Barry-"

He bent over, hugging my tiny body, holding onto me tight.

"Hey- hey-" I rubbed his back, my cheek pressing against his head, "What's wrong, what happened-"

"Nora broke into the Starchives." Barry pulled away, breathing heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"Nora did what?" My eyes went wide.

"Nora broke into the Starchives." Barry sat down in a chair, "I thought I could stop her, but I couldn't- she stole Spencer Young's phone."

Cecile processes what he's saying, "Spencer Young's hypnotizing phone?"

"Yes." Barry nods quickly, huffing, upset over his encounter with her.

"Barry, it's okay-" I crouch in front of him, grabbing his hands, "Did you find out what she's doing?"

"No, no- I tried." Barry told us, his grip tightening on my hands, "I-I thought I could convince her to come home."

"But- her face started vibrating,  and then her eyes-" Barry recalls, his eyes connecting with mine, "-her lightning. Zee, her lightning- it was red."

I exhale sharply, "Just like his."

"I thought we had time to reach her, but he got to her." Barry said defeatedly, "Thawne really got to her-"

"Uh, guys-" Cecile spoke up when my laptop started beeping repeatedly, "-there's a blinky red light thing on the computer."

I got up, walking over, typing away, pulling up the footage, "Another alarm went off at Star Labs."

"This was only five minutes ago-" I exhale sharply, closely watching the footage, noticing the two people dragging Cisco and Sherloque away, "Joss Jackam and Peter Merkel?"

Cecile looked at us, "How would they get into Star Labs?"

"Nora had someone in her ear." Barry came to my side, "It was a coordinated assault."

I bury my face into my hands, "Nora's working with them."

-

"Nora put together a team to break into McCulloch Technologies- a weapons manufacturer." I explained to Joe as he was now up in Barry's Lab with us.

"But- not just any weapons." Cecile adds in, "The city has contracted these guys to clean up the shrapnel from the Star Labs satellite."

"Let me guess-" Joe inhales sharply, "-none of that crap ended up in the dump. They used it to make meta-tech like Spencer Young's phone."

"My source says that McCulloch is debuting a new line of products tonight." I cross my arms.

"That's a perfect cover-up for a break-in." Joe nods, "We have any theory on Nora's motive?"

"Well, Cicada's dagger dampens the abilities of meta-humans nearby, but it wouldn't have any effect on meta-tech." I explain, shrugging gently, "Maybe Nora wants to catch Cicada?"

"Or do something worse." Barry mutters from where he was seated, deep in thought.

"Barry," I sigh deeply, my attention on him now, "Don't say that- please."

"This is exactly what I was afraid of, Zee." Barry looks up at me, "Thawne's been manipulating her. Now she's acting like him, talking like him."

"She's our daughter, Barry." I argue, "Just because he's been manipulating her- doesn't mean she's capable of killing Cicada."

"She's working with Rogues." Barry sat up, "She kidnapped Cisco and Sherloque- we don't know what she's capable of."

Joe faces him, "So- what do you want to do, Barr?"

"We bring her in." Barry spoke straight up, "We use Cisco's force fields, Ray's nanites-"

"We're bringing her in, before she steps anywhere near that building." Barry stood up and left the room.

"Barry-" I chase after him, catching his wrist, "Stop-"

Barry faces me, "What?"

"Why are you treating Nora like she's our latest super-villain?" I confront him, letting go of his wrist, my hands dropping to my sides, "It's only pushing her away."

"What are we supposed to do?" Barry spoke defeatedly, "Just let her keep taking advantage of us?"

"No- we need to find out where she's coming from." I argued, "We try to figure out why she's doing this- Barry, there has to be a good reason."

"It doesn't matter why, Zee!" The hurt Barry was feeling got the best of him as he raised his voice, causing me to slightly flinch, "This is Thawne. It's his plan."

"Yes, I agree- this is his plan- but this is our daughter." My voice fell gentle, "Telling her everything she doesn't want to hear isn't going to bring her home, Barr."

"I thought we were past this, it's-" Barry stares at me, "It's not okay for her to work with Thawne. You saw him- you said he's manipulating her."

"But- I didn't say that we should completely disregard her reasoning and throw her in the pipeline." I fought back, "We're taking this up the wrong way, Barry."

"Thawne needs her, Zee." He shot back at me, "He needs her."

"And you're not wrong." I cross my arms, "But- Barry, you and I both see it- Nora thinks he's changed. That he's trying to redeem himself- and he does want to stop Cicada. The only reason Nora hasn't come home is because she knows you don't trust her. Because her working with Thawne throws trust off the table completely."

Barry sighs, as I continued, "And I completely understand that. I know- what kind of person Thawne is- and what he's done- to all of us, to you. But- pushing the fact that Thawne can't be trusted and Nora needs to stay away from him isn't going to bring her home. We need to understand why she's doing this- listen to her reasoning."

Barry stares at me, paying attention to my words.

"I don't trust him as much as you do-" I inhale sharply, "But- Nora does."

"Barry, having Nora in our lives has made us better people. And for Nora-" I swallow hard, "Shouldn't we at least consider the possibility that she did the same to Thawne?"

-

Well, our plan to get Nora back was going well.

I had hoped.

We had used some sort of device I didn't fully understand to disguise ourselves from Nora, as Joe, Barry and I followed her right inside the building that night.

Eventually, their plan came into action, as they decided to knock us all out, and get to the Forge.

But soon after, we found out Weather Witch and Bug-eyed Bandit had turned on Nora, and now, we were in the Forge, held hostage, along with Nora.

"Good evening, Central City-" Weather Witch spoke to the camera, smiling wickedly, "We've prepared a special show for you."

"Tonight's festivities will feature several expendable worker bees-" Bug-eyed Bandit spoke, "The employees of McCulloch Technologies."

"Unless the Flash comes down here in the next 30 seconds and reveals his identity to the world." Weather Witch winks, "Gucci?"

Nora scoffs when Weather Witch put the phone down, "You don't want the money?"

"Oh, no- we want the money." Weather Witch laughed, "We just wanted to make a name for ourselves first."

"So, what, outing my dad makes you legitimate Rogues?" Nora questions, "I trusted you."

"Oh, God." Weather Witch laughed, "You sound just like Silver Ghost when I left her in Bolivia. At least you'll die fast."

She looked at Bug-eyed Bandit, "I'd say it's been about 30 seconds, right?"

As Weather Witch held her staff, ready to kill Nora right then and there, The Flash had appeared a few feet behind them, "Wait!"

Little did they know, we were only pulling what Joss Jackam fell for a while ago.

"I am here-" He spoke, holding his hands up.

"All right, Speedy." Joss walked over, "Show us your true identity. Mask off."

"Dad, please." Nora begged, also fooled, "You do not have to do this."

"I have to." He spoke, stepping closer, "I am a man sitting alone at the dinner table."

Joss whispered to Brie, "Is he drunk?"

"See, when you're in position to feed the world, it can make it hard to be a father." He went on, "You have to constantly ask yourself, is what's right for the world what's right for your child?"

As he was stalling, Barry had gotten out of the handcuffs and had gotten Nora, Joe and I out also.

"Hey, can we get on with it?" Brie question, becoming impatient.

"No-" Joss shook her head, "Did you seriously think I was gonna fall for this again?"

She took her staff and shot at the hologram, revealing that it truly wasn't Barry.

I cocked the gun in my hands, pointing it right at Joss and Brie, as they quickly turned, looking at the three of us in confusion.

I used my device, revealing myself as did Barry and Joe.

"I'm sorry-" The corner of my mouth slightly turned up, as I shoved the device in the pocket of my leather jacket that I wore instead of the ridiculous outfit Joe had on, "Did we step on your moment?"

"Holy shrap-" Nora was shocked, her eyes wide.

Joss looked between us all, "How the hell is this even possible?"

"We bypassed security while you were busy with General Cloud." I shrug, "It was fairly easy, actually- you walked us right inside."

"You're outnumbered, ladies." Joe spoke, "Drop your weapons."

Bug-eyed Bandit used her bee devices towards the damper, Weather Witch shouting as they attempted to make a run for it, "Don't let them hit that dampener."

"Get the hostages out of here." Barry instructed, "We'll handle the Rogues-"

I nod, Joe and I quickly making sure each hostage made it out of the vault.

I looked at Joe, "We gotta get back in there-"

Joe nods in agreement, only for us to both Soto and notice Peter Merkel out of all people slowly pull himself out of the trash can, his bones crunching.

"What the hell is that?" Joe watched with wide eyes.

I huff, "You don't want to know-"

Our guns clatter onto the ground when Peter knocks them out of our hands, getting to Joe first, twisting his arms and knocking him to the ground.

Peter turns to me, ready to knock me to the ground like he did with Joe.

I scoff in humor, my foot coming in contact with his jaw as I spun kick, landing a solid punch in his face, knocking him out, his twisted body falling to the ground.

Joe looks at me, pushing himself onto his feet, "Nice work-"

I grunt, grabbing my gun from the ground, "He's lucky I didn't throw his ass off a roof."

-

"Interesting friends you made there, kiddo." I exhale deeply, crossing my arms as I stood with Nora and Barry in the Lounge.

"Yeah, I thought I could control them, steal the weapons back after we lifted them, but I got in over my head." Nora quietly spoke, "Even if it was for a good reason."

Barry sighed from where he sat, "Nora, killing Cicada is not a good reason."

"No, I-I wasn't trying to kill Cicada-" Nora stammers, walking away from us and to her back, pulling something out, "I needed this."

"Uh-" I slowly walk over to her, Barry by my side, "What exactly is that?"

Nora held the weapon in her hand, explaining, "It's a weapon built from the solar reflector panels from the Star Labs satellite, capable of destroying any object down to its atoms, and it's the only thing that can destroy Cicada's dagger."

"Nora, why didn't you just tell us?" I questioned.

"Because I wouldn't have believed her." Barry answered for her, coming into realization, "'Cause it's Thawne's plan."

"I knew how angry Dad was." Nora went in depth, "And then you came to the future without him. I just thought he'd never believe me."

"Plus, I had to stay in a seriously unschway headspace to use the negative Speed Force." Nora adds in, "But- I know now. I don't ever want to leave you guys again. And if that means not following through with Thawne's plan, I'm okay with that."

I inhale deeply, shooting Barry a look.

"I think we should use it." Barry quietly said, looking up.

Confusion crosses over Nora's face, "You what?"

"Did I just hear you correctly?" I questioned.

"We have to stop Cicada." Barry sighs, "I'm never gonna like where this plan comes from. But if this thing works sounds like our best shot."

"You really believe him?" Nora quietly asks.

"I believe in you, Nora." Barry crosses his arms. "And I'm sorry that I made you feel otherwise."

I softly smile, placing a hand on Barry's back.

"Dad, that stuff I said earlier-" Nora began.

"I deserved it." He stops her, "I shouldn't have left you in the future. I shouldn't have put conditions on you coming home. I'm sorry- I love you."

"We both do." I spoke, Nora's smile growing wider, "We're never gonna leave you again, Nora- I promise."

"I love you guys-" Nora smiles at us, "More than you know."

"Wait a minute-" I looked at Barry, "Are you seriously telling me that I wasted so much of my breath telling you that you were right and we shouldn't use Thawne's plan- or work with him in general- only for you to say that we should use his plan in the outcome?"

Barry breaks out into a smile, wrapping an arm around my neck, pulling me into his side, "Shut up-"

I broke out into small laughter, as Nora joined in, the three of us hugging the conversation to an end.

-

"So- what's the verdict?" Barry questions Cisco as he walks into the cortex with Nora and Sherloque.

"Nora's story checks out-" Cisco held the gun, "This thing has got a prismatic battery supercharging its reflector panels. So if anything's gonna destroy that dagger, it's this mirror gun."

"That may be easier said than done." Ralph walked in with Caitlin.

"Why's that?" Sherloque questioned.

"We figured out what Cicada took from my dad's lab." Caitlin inhales sharply, "It's your cure prototypes."

I cross my arms, "Why would she need those? They're just prototypes."

"No, they're not just prototypes-" Cisco's voice fell low, "They're failed, broken versions of the cure. If a meta-human takes that without the proper treatment-"

Nora sighs, "They would die."

"Cicada has a lethal virus on her hands." Sherloque crosses his arms.

"That's why she stole the atomizer." Ralph pieced it together, "So- she can spread the virus."

"She has weaponized the cure." Sherloque says, looking between us.

"This is it." Cisco glances between us all, "This is the nightmare."

I face Barry, a sigh leaving my lips, "Barry-"

Barry looks at me, "Cicada's gonna kill every meta-human in the city."

authors note:

hi hi hi there's only two chapters left, i'm sad

and i haven't updated in two weeks, my bad

i've been updating my alec lightwood book, which you guys should totally go read in the meantime.

i also have a jace herondale book which you should also go read.

jace herondale : predestined
alec lightwood : forelsket

those are the titles and you can find them on my profile !

ahahaha look at me, plugging my books at every opportunity.

vote and comment loadssss !