⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
do you believe in destiny, juliet?

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

"OKAY, YOU GUYS, I'm here," Barry announced. "You got my location?"

Every equation and idea that that little thumbdrive Barry received from Thawne had brought them to one device — the tachyon enhancer. Harry had built it, and today, Barry was testing it out. He had run all the way to Keystone City, and from there, they would see how fast he got back to Central City with the device.

"You're good?" Cisco asked. "You don't need to, like, stretch or something?"

"No, no, no, I'm good, I'm good," Barry answered.

"Let's take this tachyon enhancer out for a test drive."

"Hoo, yeah, I feel that."

"That is the tachyon device powering up the Speed Force in your cells like a quick charge battery," Caitlin explained, watching his vitals on the screen. "It's kind of like the way Juliet's energy increases in her body when she uses her powers. How do you feel?"

"Different," Barry replied.

"Let's see how long it takes you to get back here," Cisco said. "On my count. Three, two, one, go!"

Juliet watched the screen carefully. Instantly, the second Barry started to run, he quite literally zoomed. The screen was even having trouble keeping up with him because he was going that fast. She raised her eyebrows in impressment.

"Dang, this thing got you cruising."

"How fast does he normally go?" Iris questioned.

"Not this fast," Caitlin responded.

"Not even close," Cisco added. "Are his vitals okay?"

"Yeah, they're perfect."

"Cool," Iris commented. "It's like having a pit-stop attached to your chest."

"Guys, I can go faster," Barry admitted.

Cisco smirked. "Do it."

The screen moved even faster, showing Barry's speed. Finally, after a couple moments, a flash of yellow lightning sped into the room. Juliet jumped slightly as the papers all around her flew up into the air.

Barry turned around to face them, pulling his hood down while breathing heavily, and looking very . . . panicked, for some reason. "I'm back. What . . . how long was I gone?"

"Let's put it this way, you just annihilated your old record," Cisco told him.

"Yeah, you went four times faster than you have ever been," Caitlin stated.

"Four times?" Barry repeated in shock. "That's as—"

"Fast as Zoom," Harry cut in, walking into the cortex. "Well, faster, actually."

Barry took the tachyon enhancer off of his chest. "Hey, uh, do we think that, um, we can get this thing smaller? It kind of sucks."

"If it sucks, then yeah."

He smiled widely before turning to the others. "All right, so now all we have to do is figure out how to get back to Zoom."

"Yes, uh, just a minor issue," Cisco voiced. "We closed all the breaches and have no idea how to reopen them."

Juliet shrugged. "Fair enough."

Barry looked at Harry. "Wells?"

"Yeah, I have an idea, Allen," Harry said. "Let's keep the breaches closed forever. Forget about the breaches. Forget about Zoom."

"Wait, I'm sorry, I thought that you were on board with this."

"No. No, I said I would help you get faster and help Juliet get more powerful. I did not say I would help you give the man who kidnapped my daughter and tortured her a chance to do it again."

"Hey, we are not gonna let that happen," Iris insisted.

"Oh, you're not gonna let that happen," Harry continued. "Gosh, I wish I'd known that the first time. You don't understand. Zoom is different than us. Zoom is not tied to anything. Zoom does not care for anyone. I do. My daughter's out here on this Earth somewhere. I have to find her. We all have people that we care about. Zoom will use that against us. Believe me."

Juliet twisted her Sagittarius ring around her finger nervously. She was conflicted. On one hand, she needed to see Zoom go down. After all the pain he caused Earth-Two Juliet and the way he betrayed them, he had to go. Yet on the other hand, if Zoom managed to find Noelle or her parents, she would maybe go insane.

"Maybe we should just leave it be," Caitlin suggested.

"No," Barry refused. "No. Look, no. Look, we're — we're not turning our backs on another Earth. We're not gonna let Zoom get away with everything that he's done."

"Right now, there is no way to another Earth, Allen," Harry reminded him. "Let's keep it that way."

Barry watched him walk away before turning back to the group. "We're getting back to Earth-Two. With or without his help."

"Let's go to work," Cisco agreed.

Juliet's eyebrows knit in thought as she watched Iris pick up her jacket and walk away. "You got somewhere to be? Your help, aka keeping me sane, would be greatly appreciated."

Iris stopped in her tracks. "Uh, yeah, I would. It's just, I have a date with Scott."

"Oh, right, the editor guy." Juliet smiled gently at her. "I'm glad you're moving on, babe. You deserve it."

"Yeah, and well, I wouldn't have been able to do it without your guys' support. It means a lot to me, so . . ."

"Of course," Barry said.

"Thanks," Iris voiced.

"Yes, for sure."

"Well, hey, I mean, if you don't get this breach problem fixed by tonight, pencil me in for tomorrow?"

"You're on the schedule," Juliet agreed. "Have so much fun."

Iris grinned at her before walking away. Juliet watched her go for a moment. She was so proud of Iris.

Barry then caught her elbow. "We need to talk."

Juliet looked up at him. "Uh-oh."

"It's not bad, promise." He then paused for a second. "Well, actually, it depends on the way you look at it."

"Barry."

"Right," Barry said before clearing his throat. "When I was running back, I accidentally went too fast, and it opened a breach to another Earth."

Juliet blinked — uh, what? "You traveled interdimensionally by running?"

"Yeah. And on this new Earth, I met an alien who was also a superhero. Her name was actually Kara, but she went by Supergirl."

Her eyebrows raised. "Supergirl?"

"Supergirl," Barry confirmed.

Juliet stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't have the brain capacity for this."

They tried to solve the breach problem, but in the end, they had no luck. With a promise to come back later, Barry had ran back to Keystone City and grabbed some pizza for them while Juliet went to Joe's house. Together, they had a family dinner of three since Iris was still on her date.

"Man, I love it when you train in Keystone City," Joe commented, waling back into the dining room with three beers in his hands.

"Mmm-hmm," Barry agreed.

"Hey, you two sticking around after dinner? Me and Wally are gonna watch Formula One."

Juliet shook her head, dropping her half-eaten crust on her plate as she took a sip of her beer. "Back to the lab. We have to find a way back to Earth-Two."

"Can't you just stick Wells on it?" Joe inquired.

"No, he refused," Barry replied. "Doesn't want me or J or anybody opening the breaches again."

"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this about a man I shot at and punched in the face, but I think you should listen to him."

"Why?"

"Barry, Jules, it worries the hell out of me the thought that you want to go back to Earth-Two," Joe revealed.

"I'm not leaving my counterpart in a world like that," Juliet protested. "Besides, I'm getting stronger. I can feel it. And Barry is fast as fuck now. We can take him down."

"All I'm saying is, you already escaped the hornet's nest once. Why go back and kick it again?"

Wally then walked through the door. "Hey."

"Wally!" Joe exclaimed. "We got some pizza here all the way from Keystone City."

"Hope it's cool I brought my laundry over."

"Of course. Barry and Jules used to do their laundry here all the time when they were in college."

"It's not my fault the machines always ate my quarters," Juliet argued playfully. "So sorry you have to go through that, Wally. My condolences."

"Actually, I'm not, uh, living on campus anymore," Wally admitted.

Joe stared at him. "What? Since when?"

"Since room and board became way more expensive than I thought."

"Man, I can help you out with that. I mean, I figured your money must be tight after paying all your mother's medical bills. How much more is it?"

Juliet and Barry shared a glance before taking sips of their beers at the same time. This wasn't about room and board being too expensive, they knew that.

"No, it's, uh, it's cool," Wally reassured him.

"Come on, Wally, let me help you out," Joe pleaded. "Plus, I got that mini-fridge in the garage. You can use that, too, if you want."

"Joe, I'm good. Really."

"All right."

Wally picked up his laundry. "Uh, let me just put these in real quick."

Joe sighed. "Man, I can't figure that kid out sometimes. I wonder if his doppelganger's that complicated."

Juliet then straightened up, a new idea popping into her head, because there was somebody who could still open breaches. "Barry."

Barry nodded to her. "And this is why we're forever lovers."

They quickly went back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Everyone was in the cortex, including Cisco, who was writing down a multitude of equations that made Juliet's head spin on the whiteboard. Cisco looked frustrated as well, his face smushed against the glass.

"Hey," Barry greeted, his eyes locking on the whiteboard. "Wow. Um, any ideas?"

"Well, the best plan we've come up with so far is to set off a nuclear warhead next to the city's electrical grid, so . . ." Cisco answered.

"So, let's not do that," Juliet suggested. "Um . . . we might have another idea, actually."

All of them then went downstairs. Harry was working over the tachyon enhancer in Cisco's workshop.

"Tell me everything that you now about Cisco's doppelganger," Barry ordered.

"Reverb," Harry began.

"What were Reverb's powers on your Earth?"

"Well, he could tap into the multi-dimensional energies between Earths. He could see through dimensions. Find breachers, like Ramon."

"I mean, we — we saw Reverb do more than that though, right?" Barry asked. "I mean, we saw him shoot vibrational bursts out of his hands. Really painful ones."

Juliet squinted. "I think I was too busy getting kidnapped to notice, really."

Barry pushed her head away gently. "J."

"Right, sorry."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin questioned.

"I — I mean, Reverb had the ability to somehow manipulate that multi-dimensional energy," Barry explained.

"What's your point, Allen?" Harry interjected.

"My point is, if his powers are linked to the energy that ties together the multiverse, if he can manipulate it—"

"Then he can open a breach to any Earth he wants," Caitlin finished.

Juliet nodded. "Exactly. And if Reverb was able to do that . . ."

"I could do it, too," Cisco said.

She pointed to him. "You got it, Cisco."

"Thanks, JJ."

"Cisco, I think that the way back to Earth-Two is you," Barry announced.

They went to the breach room to practice — because, after all, the breach room would be the most practical place to try and open a breach. Cisco faced towards the speed cannon, his hand out and his eyes closed. Juliet watched him closely as he just stood there, tilting her head in thought. Well, this was riveting.

"I got nothing," Cisco admitted after a while.

"Try again, okay?" Barry urged.

"Barry, Jules, what if he can't do it because he thinks he can't do it?" Caitlin questioned.

"He can do it, though." He raised his voice. "You can do it."

Cisco raised his hand again, but once again, nothing happened. He scoffed in frustration.

"Hey, you can do this," Juliet encouraged gently. "This is going to work, promise. Maybe this is the wrong place."

"Or maybe I'm just not the right man for the job," Cisco argued, making Juliet frown. "Right? Let's go."

"Cisco," Barry protested when he walked away.

Caitlin sighed. "I'm sorry, you two."

Juliet nudged Barry's side with her elbow. "This is going to work, you know. Maybe it just takes time."

Barry nodded, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Juliet leaned into him slightly, sighing a little. What a wreck.

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

BARRY HELD THE tablet in his hands, leading them through an abandoned hospital that could supposedly help Cisco. "This area has the highest levels of residual trans-dimensional energy. Should be able to open the breach that used to be here." He then stopped when the tablet beeped rapidly. "It's right here. This is it."

"For real?" Cisco inquired. "In this Patch Adams nightmare right here?"

"Yeah."

"Love it."

"Cisco, you don't have to do this anymore if it doesn't work," Juliet told him. "We're just testing a theory. But you got this."

"Okay," Cisco agreed, rubbing his hands together.

He held out his hand and closed his eyes, but after a moment, he dropped everything.

"What?" Barry asked.

"I can't do it," Cisco responded.

Harry then walked in. "That's right. You can't."

Juliet blinked at him. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Ray of Sunshine. What are you doing here, anyways? I thought you said—"

"I know what I said. But you're not gonna stop, are you?"

"Didn't plan on it."

"Okay, Juliet St. James, then I'm gonna do what I can to make sure you and Allen don't get killed," Harry said. He held up Cisco's goggles. "I recalibrated these to the electromagnetic frequency of this Earth. It should help you access enough of the trans-dimensional energy to manipulate it.

"Just like Reverb," Cisco stated. "All I'm missing is the guyliner and the transformation's complete."

Harry tossed the goggles to him. "Take 'em out for a spin."

Cisco put on the goggles, which instantly glowed blue. He reached up, hesitating for a second, before holding his hand out. Slowly, he curled his hand into a fist. In front of Juliet's eyes, she watched as Cisco's hand got covered by the blue, cloud-like light that usually came with a breach. She smiled, it widening even further when Barry pulled her close to him with his arm.

"It's working," Barry stated.

The energy expelled from his fist, created a swirl of light and clouds in the middle of the room. Juliet watched in amazement as the breach grew and grew.

"It's working."

And then it wasn't. Cisco suddenly gasped, and the growing breach disappeared as he ripped off the goggles. Juliet's smile slipped off of her face, and she straightened up slightly, looking at Cisco in concern.

"Hey, what — what happened?" Barry asked. "You were doing it."

Cisco shook his head, looking very panicked. "No, no, no, no. I — I can't do this."

Juliet frowned. "Cisco—"

"Don't. Please, don't ask me to do this. Please."

Juliet watched him walk out, her frown deepening. She wondered what had gone so wrong.

They went back to S.T.A.R. Labs without Cisco. Instantly, Harry hunched himself over a workbench in the medbay, focusing on something intently.

Juliet was tired. She couldn't keep up.

"Hey, what do we got?" Barry questioned.

"It's your tachyon absorption enhancer upgrade," Harry answered. "Retrofitted from when it was used to steal your speed, to now give you more of it. Almost done."

"That's amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Is Cisco back?" Juliet questioned.

Caitlin shook her head. "I haven't seen him."

"Check his workshop," Harry voiced.

Juliet nodded and walked out of the medbay, only to see Joe and Iris entering. "Oh, hey, guys."

"Hey," Iris replied. "We just came by to see if you guys needed some help."

"Oh," Barry let out.

"Uh, sure," Caitlin agreed.

"Yeah."

"We can always use an extra set of hands. Do you want to help me in the med bay?"

Iris grinned. "Yeah." She then pointed at Juliet. "You coming, or do you have other superhero things to do?"

Juliet looked up at Barry. "You got Cisco?"

Barry smiled. "I'm famous for my pep talks."

"Mmm, right." She smiled to herself when Barry kissed the top of her head before walking with Iris, lowering her voice. "He is not famous for his pep talks."

"I heard that."

Juliet glanced back at him. "No you didn't."

She then sat down on the bed in the medbay, but her eyes locked through the glass. Barry was laughing at something, his eyes squinted and his smile practically as bright as the sun. Juliet stared at him, her heart beating against her chest incredibly fast. She couldn't believe that she got to be with him forever.

"They really have a special bond, don't they?" Caitlin inquired.

"Yeah, they sure do," Iris agreed.

Juliet looked at her best friend in concern at the tone of her voice. "You okay? What's wrong?"

Iris sighed. "I don't know what I am. Last night, I was supposed to go on a date." She then started to explain, more so for Caitlin. "My first real date since Eddie died, but at the last second, I just — I couldn't do it." She moved some of her hair off her shoulder. "My destiny was originally supposed to be with Eddie, but now I'm just Iris West, and I don't know what to do with that."

"Destinies change," Juliet reassured him. "You won't be lonely forever, I swear."

"Your destiny isn't changing. I feel like I'm just stuck."

"Barry and I aren't the only examples of shit like this," Juliet insisted. "Don't base everything off of us."

Juliet's eyes then flickered to her boyfriend again, and yeah, she believed in destiny.

〖   ϟ   〗

I hate this.