Chapter 26: The Flash ~ Girls Night Out ~ Part Three
***
Caitlin was sitting in the cortex, trying to stitch her wound when Iris walked in. "Let me help you," the bride-to-be whispered. When Caitlin opened her mouth to deny help, Iris insisted, "please."
Caitlin sighed, acquiescing. "OK. It's already knotted, you just have to pull it tight." Iris nodded, bending down and taking the tweezers, pulling the thread. "Thanks," Caitlin whispered.
"Yeah," Iris nodded, setting the tweezers down.
"What happened?" Caitlin asked timidly.
"You don't remember?" Iris asked, surprised.
"When she's in control, I don't remember much of what happens," Caitlin admitted. "Did she . . . hurt anyone?"
"Just that snake-eyed scumbag," Iris answered, and Caitlin scoffed. "Didn't kill him, though. So, the cure . . . it – "
"Didn't work," Caitlin said bitterly. "Not all the way."
"Which is why you wanted to leave tonight?" Iris guessed, and Caitlin sighed, nodding slightly. "And why it took you six months to come back?"
"When Cisco said he was gonna get Barry back from the Speed Force, I thought that maybe I could come back and make up for some of the pain that I caused," Caitlin explained. "But she's getting stronger." She scoffed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "I never should've come back."
"That's not true, Caitlin," Iris shook her head. "You can always come back to your friends. Why didn't you tell any of us?"
"I didn't know who to talk to," Caitlin admitted.
"Could've talked to me," Iris offered. "I'm your friend, Caitlin."
"Work friend," Caitlin corrected. "I mean, it's not like you and I have become besties over the last few years."
"Yeah, I guess we haven't," Iris admitted, sighing.
***
"Hey!" Ralph perked up when a security guard walked past the cell. "Jerry! Buddy! We gonna get that phone call or what?" The guard just kept on walking. "Hey! Come on, man! I know you can hear me!" he sang. "I'm right here! Hello!" He scoffed, turning around and walking back alongside the bars. "OK, great."
"You just know don't you?" Cisco scowled from where he sat on the bench, another inmate asleep on his shoulder.
"I've been in here a few times," Ralph nodded, then examined the bars. "You know, I could wiggle through these bars and get us out of here. Maybe make my finger into a key . . . that'd be pretty sweet. A lot of pressure put on the index finger, though. Iron versus flesh! What do you think?" he asked, sitting down by Cisco.
"I think you should stop talking," Cisco deadpanned.
***
Over by the toilet, Barry finished throwing up again and groaned in pain, holding his head as Joe patted his back comfortingly. "Ugh," he grimaced. "I don't ever have to drink again."
"Words uttered by everybody who's ever had too many," Joe couldn't help but smirk, holding out a towel. "Here."
"Ugh," Barry winced, unfolding the towel to wipe his mouth. "This was a bust, huh?"
"Bachelor party," Joe sighed. "Happens."
"What's up with you?" Barry asked, leaning on his fist and looking at him. "All night, you've seemed preoccupied."
Joe took a deep breath, then confessed, "I'm worried."
"About what?"
"Being a dad again. I'm almost fifty, Bar. When I saw that video Cisco made of you and Iris when you were kids, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was . . . I was young the first time I did this. And seeing Joanie? Ugh. It's hard raising humans, Bar."
"You'll be fine," Barry told him.
"I barely get enough sleep as it is, worrying about you three, especially with Wally being gone. Add to that a crazy baby schedule. Feeding, the crying . . . I'm honestly scared to death."
Barry looked at him, then spoke up. "Joe, when yo urasied Iris, you were alone. When you took me in, you were alone. And, you know, when Wally showed up, you were alone. You did that all by yourself, single parent. No one could've done a better job. Now you've got a partner. You've got family. You've always been there for us when we've needed you, and now it's just our turn to do that for you. We will."
Joe smiled, holding out his arm, and Barry leaned into Joe, letting his foster father put his arm around him. "I know you will," Joe nodded, patting his hand.
The door to the room opened, and Barry and Joe both blinked as Oliver walked in with another guard. He raised an eyebrow as he looked in the cell, then pointed to Barry, Joe, and Cisco. "I'll take those three," he said before turning to leave.
Ralph cleared his throat loudly, and Oliver stopped, giving him a deadly look. He gave Barry a clear look that asked "really?" Barry just shrugged helplessly, and Oliver rolled his eyes, groaned, and pointed at Ralph. "Four," he grumbled.
Cisco immediately shot up, heading for the door. Ralph quickly caught the inmate's head, lying him down before following.
***
"These tears are more than just water," Felicity said, walking up with a Petri dish with a tear. "When ingested, the dark matter inside it alters the brain function like that of a psychoactive drug."
"Like an opioid?" Kara asked.
"It's like a love drug," Felicity said. "From tears."
"If this spreads, Central City's gonna have a drug problem on its hands," Cecille swallowed.
"Oh, yeah," Felicity agreed.
"OK, well, we need to stop Amunet and save the Weeper before that happens," Iris said.
"How do we find her?" Cecille asked Caitlin.
"I don't know," she answered. "She's smart. Off the grid, always on the move, never leaves a trail."
"What about her powers?" Kara asked. "The metal she controls, do you know what kind it is?"
"Some kind of alnico alloy," Caitlin shrugged.
"Think you could use the satellites to track it?" Kara asked Felicity.
"You mean run a geological scan of the city for small-scale signatures of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt?" Felicity snorted. "Girl, please."
She typed on the computer, and it zoomed in on one area of the city. "There," Cecille pointed. "She's headed to Lawrence Hills. That's . . . that's all industrial out there. That's steel mills, docks, warehouses."
"OK, we need to stop her," Iris said.
"OK," Felicity nodded, following.
"Guys," Caitlin swallowed, stopping the four of them. "I can't go with you. If I lose control, I could become a liability. I'm sorry, Iris. I can't go."
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