Aliens of National City

 A model inmate at a prison for aliens is one of the few to have kind words of appreciation or respect for how Hank Henshaw ran things.

"He knew there were two responses to caging a beast: its broken or it gets angry. He understood that if you treat people like animals you're gonna get bit. But more than that, he knew that sometimes just the inability to move or to change was enough to break someone...or at least quiet them. I never gave him any trouble...so he never had to calm me down. What I knew, I shared. But unlike literally everyone else here, 'what I knew' was never a priority for him. He was misguided and single-minded but duty-bound. His regard for his code of honor and responsibility...in other words his inability to see past his own uniform was unfortunate for some but helped him recognize and appreciate her own dedication to her people and exception-less belief in honesty and honor. She wasn't a monster, like some people there but she was a criminal, so she absolutely deserved to be there. The only reason I'm at the DEO not a regular prison is my physiology is such they would accidentally kill me. Table salt burns through the soft tissue of my throat and the stuff they use to calm unruly inmates would give stop my heart flat. So I serve my time in the one place equipped for someone as weird as myself...without issue and without complaint.”

She's explaining all this to the new director, J'onn J'onzz. Who after a few minutes asks what crime she committed to get arrested in the first place. Since she was arrested through normal channels and not captured by the D.E.O. Her face grows sad, she sits cross-legged on the floor and says "I beat the hell out of a guy who turned out to be a cop."

"One of the main things presented in the case against me was that I had the disregard and the audacity to attack an officer of the law. And no offense but I'm starting to think your justice system is a little broken. If a person's status is such that it's a worse crime to rob them, or you get a more severe punishment for wronging them, shouldn't they bother telling you what they are? If I'd known, I would have pulled back. To me a cop is either in a dress uniform or...in a blue outfit with a badge on his chest. I never saw a uniform or his badge. Without explaining my ignorance or my other-worldliness I couldn't tell them this, and I doubt people would have listened.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I beat the hell outta the guy, enough so that  he died from his injuries 3 weeks later, but I didn't decide to be a cop-killer like they presented of me...I DIDN'T KNOW!"

J'onn looks like he wants to say something, but decides against it. Instead he crouches down, eye-level with the complex riddle of a prisoner. "I am listening if you will keep talking." He says simply.

"It's been 11 years since I was sentenced. I keep my head down. I'll serve my time. Although I still am trying to figure out how the hell I killed the guy in the first place." Her voice went completely silent.  Almost entreatingly she looked up at J'onn J'onzz. "Am I the only one of my kind that you have on file? Can you check? The only thing I can think of for how someone of my build, size and weight to be able actually kill a cop, physically speaking, is if my people are just that much stronger than human beings."

   "And you didn't tell anyone?"

"No, And actually, maybe that's something that earned me a little admiration from Henshaw. that I would rather accept what happens and deal with it than try to change anyone's mind. Introducing the public to some strange human-looking visitor from another planet wasn't something he could hold with. It was actually in his mandate at the time to prevent that from happening. Aliens who look like aliens is one thing. But to prevent witch hunts and people turning on each-other for fear of 'infiltrators'. It was enough to show him I would rather go to prison and just deal with it than create mass panic or a scene. Maybe learning we had so much in common was enough to quiet his suspicions of me."

"I didn't know him very well, only saw his bad side..." Eloise raises an eyebrow. "I don't actually look like this. In my native form I look like a monster, and an imposing one even as far as monsters go. He saw me like that...and reacted accordingly."

"I...I won't say I apologize...but I do regret it."

"Thank you." J'onn said sincerely. "Anyway, if he didn't think he needed to hurt you, he wouldn't have wanted to. And I guess you're right: most prisoners here probably would want to tear *my* head off."

"...He knew." Eloise said suddenly. "That's why he never did anything to make me mad. He knew I was only capable of those things when I was ticked off...so he never did anything that might make me mad."

It occurs to Eloise out of nowhere that she's very nearly free. The charge was manslaughter not murder, and rightly so because it wasn't premeditated and she didn't have a weapon. She has served 11 years of a 15 year sentence and she only has 4 years left. And that's where the story leaves off. I'm left wondering as the author if the actual legal system does the 'taking days off for good behavior' thing for manslaughter? Because if they do, she was a model inmate for the last 7 of these 11 years and her sentence might actually be commutable, without any extenuating circumstances like her alien physiology, the law not being able to take her alien strength and her essentially being a foreign child despite looking old enough to buy alcohol without getting carded.

After treating Henry's wound and not batting an eye at J'onn's green Martian-ness J'onn challenges Eloise in such a way that she locks herself in her bedroom.

J'onn J'onzz: (Uncertainly) why do I get the feeling we just repaid kindness with betrayal?

Henry Allen: (sadly) Because that's exactly what we did.

The Martian word 'attuned'

 An original story of mine and a story that just felt like it needed writing.

“Dining on ashes J'onn?” Kal'el said floating a few feet above the balcony.

“That's a new one.” J'onn J'onzz said distractedly. "From you anyway."

“If the dark and slightly brooding look fits...and it seems to.” Kal'el landed at J'onn's left and walked over to him, smiling warmly.

“Well if it means chewing on the dry bones of your own stupidity, it does.”

“What's wrong? I know this doesn't mean what it should but I've never seen you like this.”

“Nikita compared me to Hank Henshaw.” The alien said miserably.

“You mean the military jerk who kept her prisoner for five years and tried to execute you on the spot? That'll do it.”

“Believe it or not Clark, that's not the problem. The trouble is...I think she was right.”

Kal'el of Krypton, or Clark Kent as he was known by most people on Earth, put his hand gently on J'onn's shoulder. “I'm here to listen if you want to talk.”

J'onn looked at his compatriot. “Not here. This place has more ears than I'd like to admit.”

“My father's place. 68.4 north Longitude, 77.2 West Latitude You'll need a heavy coat or thick skin.”

It took a moment for J'onn to react to his friends invitation. And a minute longer to understand it. “Well Clark I appreciate it. I'm just not sure...I'll see you there.”

“Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude.” Kal'el said amiably when he crossed the threshold into his second home. It was quite a beautiful place, a crystalline ice palace On Baffin Island just West of Greenland in the Arctic Circle. J'onn resumed his human form as soon as he landed, which made Kal'el smile slightly. “You don't have to hide here J'onn. We hold your people no ill-will. Besides...it is considered more honest.”

“...Very well.” J'onn closed his eyes and his skin quickly changed from that of a human African American male to the lime green pallor of his own race. His legs grew, his chest shrank slightly and his head sloped backward as it grew a good 12 centimeters.

“Master Kal, I did not know we'd be receiving guests.” A mild voice said from the near-distance.

“Kalex, fabricate some Rhown wine for me and my guest to share and then leave us to ourselves.”

Two champagne flutes of a carbonated beige colored liquid materialized on the pedestal in front of them. “Privacy mode initiated.”

“That's convenient.” J'onn said mildly.

“I didn't think this would be something meant for other ears.” Clark hesitated a moment. “And I get the feeling I should feel honored you would share this with me.”

Kal picked up a flute of the drink, J'onn raised his in a toast. “Tsu freynt, alt aun nay.”

“ 'To Friends, old and new.' ” Kal translated. “I didn't know you spoke Kryptonian.”

“It's an antidote to arrogance and a reminder of our humanness that we can still surprise each-other, the 4 of us.” J'onn said with a slight grin. “First I have to ask you if Nikita ever told you the story of how we met. Rather to what degree of detail she shared the story.”

“That Hank Henshaw took her and Jeremiah Danvers on a mission to execute a 'particularly dangerous alien' a description she and Jeremiah both laughed at until Hank told her it was a Martian they were going after. That she was ashamed of her mistake when she actually saw you.”

“Because unlike the human inhabitants of this world, she knew both Green and White Martians existed. Jeremiah Danvers and I held each other in high regard. Now that I know he's still alive, I can assume we still do. That was entirely due to the fact that Nikita trusted me without hesitation. For the past 4 years she and I have been working to make the DEO 'more like what it is today and less like what it was when I was first brought through its doors'. How many times have we heard her say that? And yet I never stopped to ask her, or even consider what it was like when she was brought into the DEO. I realize I'm telling a story in a very bad order here but...I just listened to a more detailed description of what Henshaw was really like pouring out of her mouth than what I've heard from anyone at the DEO since I arrived. And along with stories of why he's such a blind arrogant idiot and why she holds Jeremiah in such high regard in the first place. But the best part: she told me exactly what it means to be a low-level empath. I always assumed it meant the signals or readings in her mind were faint, distant or easily muddled. It turns out she senses the literal thoughts and intentions of anyone she's within 20 meters of, their very nature and essence ring into her ears...into her mind's eyes. Nothing can convince her not to act upon it. Do you know there are two species in the known galaxies that physiologically make her sick, no matter what she senses from the person?”

“I knew she reacted horribly to Infernians and White Martians; they make her double over in pain. It was Infernian to commit the attack for which I squarely blamed our Daxamite guest.”

“I found such a creature in her apartment, a White Martian. And their kind are monsters... abominations...murderers to me and of my people. Not only did she not let me take that thing into custody, Nikita stood in my way and told me to stand down. Among other things she said that her apartment, which she is beholden to me to be able to use is as much a sanctuary of peace as it is a sanctuary of life and that if I continue to disrespect that and use the wrong end of my anatomy I would quickly find out how thoroughly even a pacifist like herself could kick my ass.”

“White Martians are aggressive, relentless and egotistical. That's not just me repeating what you told me, my Kryptonian father said the same thing. Why would she defend one of them?" Kal-el mused. "And I am assuming this is at the core of this whole situation?”

“Nikita told me that as a White Martian, Meagan is shredding her insides. Who she is as a person she is calming me...Nikita...down. And that I was the one making her sick. I couldn't believe it. I still have trouble accepting it. When she told me I was the one reminding her of Hank Henshaw, I said what's probably the most thoughtless thing to ever come out of my mouth. I insisted that she remember I knew what Henshaw was like. She was there when we he tried to cut me down.”

“...And she reminded you that by comparison you were there for five minutes...she had to live under him for five years.” Kal'el finished slowly.

“Apparently he was a far more violent and thoughtless warden than I had given him credit for. And the one time she fought back was for Jeremiah's sake and not her own. She told me few days after we'd met that her treatment at the DEO had improved tremendously, but  it was still incredibly new to her. I'm sure she's told you the same.”

“She never stops saying it...but never says anything more either.” Kal'el agreed.

“I am seriously regretting never asking her before...what her life was like even a year before I knew her. Truth is I never even tried to think about what it had been like before, what it was like under Henshaw for her or anyone else. With Me'gann standing right there she explained how she and Jeremiah became such a close team. Basically they respected and trusted each-other so completely that Henshaw brought them on missions together...a military unit is supposed to have each-others backs and they did so quite naturally...the two of them I mean. Then she turned to look at me with the most devastated expression you could ever fear to see on someone's face and said 'I understand you might not want to see me again. And you probably won't want me working at the D.E.O.; and that's alright. But there is nothing you can do to stop me from being exactly who I am.' Then asked me to leave her house, leaving her and her guest alone. I've never felt so insulted and yet rightly-embarrassed in my life. When I got back to the D.E.O. I talked to a few other inmates and realized how greatly their lives improved once I took over. Understand I did nothing as director except make sure they deserved to be there before keeping them locked up and they got medical treatment they weren't allergic to. Today I've learned even that was an improvement from their treatment at the hands of that monster Henshaw. I thought I knew him because he wanted me executed rather than captured. But he was...”

“...Everything you don't want to be.” Kal'el finished lamely.

“Exactly. And well, do you remember how it felt getting 'dressed down' for bad manners?”

The oblique reference was not lost on the Kryptonian. “Thank you for putting it gently. I don't think I'll forget that any time soon: I assumed Mon'el was responsible for an attack he was physically incapable of and jailed him at the DEO without a trial...something Nikita rightly pointed out I didn't have the authority for. In the process reminded a former DEO prisoner of the treatment she fought so hard to overcome. Worse, I became everything the two of you were trying not to allow...and acted as if in control of the situation.”

“Okay, that part I don't know about.” J'onn said quickly.

“I speak as a citizen of Earth when I meet people from other planets; after all I was raised here. But when I spoke to Mon'el I spoke as though I was an agent of the DEO, as if my prejudices towards Daxamites was DEO policy. And as if it was with their--your authority I was detaining him. The dressing down she gave me was mostly for being so completely wrong about a person and misusing an authority I had no right to claim. She said I 'was the DEO's strongest alien ally but still an ally of the DEO, not a part of it'. And that 'If I was going to speak as one of us, I might want to get my perspective straight'. I never knew she had so much passion, I never knew her to speak with such fierce conviction. It threw me completely off. I asked her what had infected her with this much 'passionate intensity' and she said 'you should ask the man whose face J'onn is wearing for that one.' Not exactly anyone's finest moment.”

"You can say that again." J'onn replied, thoroughly dejected.

Nikita has her own off-site apartment provided by the D.E.O. And several days after these events, Jeremiah stop by Nikita's place at J'onn's behest to learn if Nikita is ticked at J'onn for a falling out and what the heck even happened in the first place. Twenty minutes of exposition follow explaining the avoidable, if understandable missteps that cropped up at the D.E.O over the past 11 years, a lot of which played out, or RE-played out under her roof the last time she saw the Green Martian to whom she was beholden and with whom she was 'attuned'. Green and White Martins are the equal of what would happen if Isaac and Ishmael took their people along such divergent paths that they became two separate races instead simply having 2 separate religions...And hated each-other's guts. She had been 'harboring' or protecting a white Martian, knowing what it was. Something J'onn had not like nor understood. Nikita stares Jeremiah in the eyes:

“Believe me, I know where he was coming from. But from my perspective he was still judging someone for their race and their looks instead of on their own merits, instead of seeing the individual before them for who they really were. Or even bothering to look. When we first met J'onn I could tell the kind of person he was, regardless of which breed of Martian he was, or that he was one. My inherent tendency worked to J'onn's advantage then. I simply extended the same courtesy, or rather proclivity and consideration to my guest. And that's the other thing. I ended up kicking J'onn out of my apartment, I flat out told him to leave because the alien he was so intent to drag away to prison was a guest under my roof and my responsibility. One thing that has been true for the last 27 years is that no one with a brain in their skull insults a friend on mine in my house.. Not even my closest friends get away with THAT.”

J'onn J'onzz: Let me assure you that if it wasn't her decision to stay, it would be both arrogance and stupidity to try to keep her here. Also, since she's decided you're worth fighting for, I'd have to be either a fool or suicidal to try to threaten you.

...Elana is of a race that once they set thier mind to something, whether to make themselves rich at all costs or live as a beggar, they do that thing to the fullest. They are extremely single minded once they've made up thier mind. She is also of a race that can kick a Martian's ass if they want. So staying out of their way, or not getting in thier way, really is self-preservation.

After treating Henry's wound and not batting an eye at J'onn's green Martian-ness J'onn challenges Eloise in such a way that she locks herself in her bedroom.

J'onn J'onzz: (Uncertainly) why do I get the feeling we just repaid kindness with betrayal?

Henry Allen: (sadly) Because that's exactly what we did.

Fortunate Imperfection

 Nikita, Martin Stein and J'onn J'onzz are standing in the main compartment of the DEO listening to a transmission from unknown aliens. Martin and J'onn laugh at the absurdity of the aliens transparently-false claim of non-hostile intent. Nikita is thoughtful.

“They're not waving their hands around in the air if that is what you think. They really mean what they say.”

J'onn turned to her with an expression of thorough surprise, and more than a little dubiousness. “Don't tell me your empathic powers work that far?”

“No, I just don't have your perceptions. Your problem reading the footprints these guys leave in the sand isn't with their prints, it's with your perception. That's why having me around was such a good idea in the first place.” She sighed and tried again. “ 'We pose no threat to human inhabitants. Understanding IS our purpose.' from a completely blank slate what did I just say? Or let me put it this way, am I human?”

“Of course you are! I mean by anything that matters you...” Martin shut himself up as he realized where she might have been going with this.

“By anything that matters to you, and by how you measure the word 'human'. But let's face it, I'm not. I'm a sentient, intelligent, organic being, but I'm Zavallen. Most species out there when they say human they don't mean 'from Earth'...they mean 'having evolved from earth-simians'. If you put the three of us plus the Flash in a room together, some aliens, especially those non-corporal ones for whom 'life is easy a quirk of matter, nature's way of keeping meat fresh' wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Or the differences are all they would see. Because humans can't do things the Flash does, they wouldn't consider that Stein and the Flash could even be the same species. J'onn wouldn't be protected if humans were declared safe, not once they saw him shift. 'Understanding is our purpose'...there isn't exactly a moratorium on that you know. Not even here. I...I am sorry, J'onn but it's kind of unavoidable at this point. Or would be shortly at least.”

“Why is that, what are you talking about and why do you have a more troubled, 'stunned silent' look on your face than I have ever seen there before?” J'onn J'onzz asked as curt and respectful as ever.

“I'm from a planet where only 1 in every 13 sentient beings were of the same species and only about 1 in 30 were of the species native to that planet. It wasn't out of the ordinary to have groups who had been there for 2 or 3 generations but ultimately had come from somewhere else. It was gracefully and vocally inhabited compared to Earth. I didn't think anything of it; it's what I knew. But because of where I was born I know things about at least 16 different species that people here never met. I am familiar with alien races that unless they are extra-terrestrials themselves, most people who live on this planet have probably never heard of. Despite my classification at first as an 'enemy alien', I don't know if Henshaw really saw me as one. He saw me as a fountain of information about what sort of alien threats were out there and how we could defend ourselves if things got bad. An asset or an advantage probably. He wanted to know his enemy. I could help him do that. Ultimately understanding was his purpose. That didn't stop him from being a dick about it.”

“Reduced to it's most basic elements, every word is true. They don't mean what we think they mean. Because they just don't think along the same lines we do.” Martin finished lamely. He turned to J'onzz. “And, I take it you are not...” J'onn shifted into his natural green form. “...one of us.”

“The last son of Mars but not the last survivor of it....Depending on your point of view.” J'onn J'onzz said quietly, echoing what he knew was in Nikita's thoughts.

“What the crap!” The woman said, jumping off of the table. She backed into the medical cabinet with a look of complete shock on her face. “What in the name of all thing rational and sane is going on?”

“That is, pretty much what I'm wondering right now.' I said mildly. And by 'mildly' I mean in a voice squeakier than mickey mouse.

“I have a better question, what is happening in the first place?” J'onn said to the rest of the room.

“I don't...why am I not sensing any-thing from you that's like before? I...J'onn...is that you?”

“Okay, do you know me and if so, how?” J'onn asked the stranger.

“I, I know someone named J'onn Jo'nzz yes. But no, I don't think you and I have ever met.” I think J'onn found this as difficult a concept to wrap his mind around as I did. But I never got a chance to ask. “Sad thing, after five full years my first reaction at seeing Henshaw's face is to totally and completely freak out. I...I am sorry for my over-reaction.”

“If you knew the original Hank Henshaw, I wouldn't call that an over-reaction. Well, not from what I've heard anyway.” I said aloud.

“That's the thing, where I'm from for the past 2 years Henshaw's been doing what he can to be different, to be better than he was before. I was an 'enemy alien' here 5 years ago. And when his world changed to go upside down, he changed ours to correct it.”

“Okay, slow down please. Start with where you are from.”

“ 'Simultaneous realities in parallel places'.” She said as if quoting a lecture. “Think alternate timelines that co-exist rather than replace each-other.”

“Parallel universes.” I quipped.

“Exactly.”

“And in your world Henshaw became a force for good? I'm sorry, I don't see it.”

'J'onn, where did you first meet Henshaw? You must have done in order to have his face. You assumed his identity...where did you first encounter their agents? Was it in Peru, Guatemala?”

“The Canadian Rockies actually.”

“In my world Henshaw led a five man team into a remote location in Peru. He was the only one to make it out alive. But he told of a revelatory experience he had, learning he had been so completely wrong about one of his lefftenants..”

“..Jeremiah Danvers.” J'onn said in an echoy voice.

“He talked about how Jeremiah stood up for him like a mouse to a lion. When you first met, you fought and he lost. Jeremiah defended him...to you. 'I might not like him but he's still my commanding officer'. And 'there are rules even in war he's no threat leave him be', sort of thing. No one blames you. They were on a mission to kill you. No one knows where J'onn Jo'nzz is, they leave him alone and they leave anyone who isn't actively trying to hurt other people alone. As far as Henshaw knows, Jeremiah died saving his life. Which is why he's so cautious now about who he deems an enemy and where he sees 'dangerous threats'. He doesn't want to underestimate or rather misjudge anyone as badly as he did Jeremiah Danvers...or fail him a second time by seeing foes where there are only friends.”

“Wow, that...is a lot to process.” I whispered.

“You're a lot alike Winn, that's why I didn't notice right away.” She smiled, I smiled back, pretty awkwardly. “Winn works at the DEO on my world also. I may be a half-breed but I have enough of my mother's gift to tell if someone has a suspicious vs a trusting mind, a hopeful or an aggressive one.”

“You're an empath?” J'onn interposed.

“My mother's people were. My father was a human scientist. I was born in Salida Colorado. I'd say it's time for introductions. My native name is Saran. Most people call me 'Sasha'.”

“Understandable.” I said quickly. She started rubbing the side fo her head. “What's wrong?”

“I, I don't want to be a jerk, but can I, find a compartment to claim as my own? I need to lie down.”

“Oh God of course.” J'onn said sounding shaken. “Winn, will you take her to basic quarters please.”

I put her arm over my shoulder as I guided her out of the infirmary. When we got to at least her temporary quarters she slid into the cot and laid herself back against the wall. “I hope you'll be comfortable here.” I told her. I honestly couldn't think of anything to say.

“Thank you.” She whispered. “Thank you for your kindness.”

Wells was Right

He Got it.

“Detective, how are you?” Harrison Wells said from the 'entryway' to STAR Labs.

“I'm alright, Dr Wells, thank you. I was hoping I could enlist that huge science brain of yours to solve an annoyingly enigmatic case of mine, and catch a killer in the process.”

“Are you asking me because I'm a scientist or because I'm the biggest enigma you know?”

“Both actually. He is...one of the wild-world of weird cases we've been busy chasing down.”

“The reason you don't want Barry on the case taking down this particular bad guy with us?”

“The case is the murder of Nora Allen...Barry's mother.”

All calm and humor evaporated from Well's face. It actually took a few moments for him to speak again. “Why don't we get to the hands on science part of this building. We've some things we need to discuss, and hopefully to discover.”

Joe West wondered very much at this but he was not about to lose an opportunity to answer his many questions about the impossible killers, and messed up humans that had become part of his daily life... especially not if those answers were to come from the normally tight-lipped professor that led the team.

Wells led Detective West into the anteroom of the rather amazing STAR Labs facility and within an hour Joe West and Harrison Wells were consumed with analyzing the physical evidence from a murder that had brought Joe's family together. From the man who created the Particle Accelerator and the meta-human hero known as the Flash.

“Is it possible that someone with Barry's abilities killed his mother?” Joe asked bluntly.

“Now we reach the core.” Harrison said coyly. “You want to know if my particle Accelerator had anything to do with creating this monster. Do I assume correctly you've had this notion in your head the entire time we've been talking?”

“I didn't believe Barry's story. For 14 years I thought Henry Allen was guilty, because I couldn't believe that sort of impossible even exists. But Barry does,stuff right out of the Twilight Zone is a weekly occurrence now. I have to consider the possibility it existed back then.”

“But my Particle Accelerator didn't.” Wells said pointedly. “Someone or something impossible killed Nora Allen that night. He killed more than just Barry's family actually. And yes, my accelerator created the meta-humans we deal with on a daily basis. These freaks were my fault. I can't deny that and I don't. But my work is not the only source of trouble for this city, and not every wild and weird story comes out of my experiments.” His voice took on a dangerous edge. “I'm fairly certain that monster had nothing to do with me, no one knew who I was yet.”

“The timing is more than a little suspicious don't you think?” Joe said is a deliberate, slow tone, openly challenging the genius who wormed his way into their lives without a word of his own origins. A challenge that was met with a steely glare.

“Ask the man in yellow for why he showed up when he did, outta the blue. He thinks for himself and changed the world overnight. Whatever the heck drew him here, why we've never even seen him since...” Harrison Wells took a physical step back. “Yeah, the timing is less than coincidental. But if you're looking for explanations, I don't know the why. and as far as the how I'm as in the dark as you are....and searching for exactly the same answers...Almost exactly the same.”

Detective Joe West stared at the normally unflappable man who had unraveled before him. There was not a lot that could rile a self-possessed professionally restrained man like Harrison Wells. It was one of the reasons he'd felt safe coming to the man with his suspicions, that he knew sounded like accusations. Somehow he had a feeling that it was something way more personal than Joe's rush to judgment that had animated him so completely.

“You've seen him too.” Detective West realized aloud.

“Seventeen years ago.” Harrison replied sadly. “He's why I moved to Central City in the first place. Meting him that night is why I created started the foundations for STAR Labs when I did. What he took from me, is why it took 14 years to achieve my life's dream.” Sinking into a desk chair Wells put his hands over his face. When he did look up, Joe was staring at him with an expression he'd never shown the man before: a look of compassion. “Joe, Barry doesn't know my story. He has enough on his heart, he's been through enough trying to catch up with this creep. And I know him well. The fact that my masterpiece cause more suffering and more monsters is something I have to live with every day. But THIS monster, he's the one pulling the strings and I want answers as badly as you do. I don't have them Joe. To summarize my entire attitude and answer: If your chasing the man in Yellow, you cannot find a stronger ally than me. If you want answers about MY life story, look up Tess Morgan. More specifically, look up where she was December 15^th 2002. Then decide if I have a good enough reason for keeping my past to myself.”

When Detective Joe West walked into the Cortex at precisely 7:03 pm that evening, he looked like he wanted to bury his head in a bag of potatoes. He didn't sit down, only tapped on the door-frame to signify his presence. Wells waved him in but did not verbally acknowledge his presence, until Joe placed a box of very expensive Irish Whiskey on the table.

“I take it you're not here to make more accusations.” Wells said briskly..

“Doctor Wells, I don't know what to say. I looked up Tess Morgan...I'm sorry I had no idea. When you mentioned adapting and evolving to a new life before...you weren't talking about after the accelerator exploded; you meant losing her, your wife.” Wells sat back in his chair, motioning for Joe to take the seat beside him. “Something must have created this monster, and the accelorator created a lot of them. I...I'm not trying to make excuses I just...I hope you understand why I squirel-brained. Finding answers based on what information I have...it's in my job description, as a cop...”

“And finding answers to life's greatest mysteries is in mine...as a scientist.” Wells offered. “I understand the need to understand everything Joe. Detectives who follow leads and geniuses who need answers both have a tendency of getting obsessed. But this was personal for you. And however little emotion I show in my daily life...I do understand trying to keep your family safe.”

“What was she like?”

“Strong, brilliant, the most musical laugh. We were married to the work as much as to each-other. Making a facility like STAR Labs was something we were thinking about anyway, we just couldn't find a place to put down roots that wouldn't turn into a media-government circus if we ever got it up and running. I later learned the car accident...wasn't an accident. Someone or something r wanted me out of the way...tried to kill me that day...She died instead. So I decided to move here. The best place I can think of to build our dream...even if she couldn't see it.”

“You're chasing him to.” Joe said stoically.

“Ironically, I think if I ever met him I owe him a thank you. If I hadn't moved here, I wouldn't have been around to help take care of Barry. I would never have had a team to help make that dream a reality.... I wouldn't have had Sisko and Caitlyn to help build the accelerator, or to stand beside me when it blew up in everyone's face. Until the accelerator exploded Barry was the only person to believe in the impossible, and I imagined he got teased pretty regularly for it. Now because of my failed experiments, the world has a man in red to help deal with the crazy. Ultimately though, unless the man in yellow was messing with Tachyons there's no way he could have originated from my work, from something we...I...hadn't even built yet.”

“Okay...what's that look on your face?”

“Tachyons, little bits of time-travel THAT'S how he did it! I...Barry and I need to find this creep and kick his speedster ass. Failing that we need to train him, Barry I mean, to be the hero this city needs right now. Are you with me, Joe?”

“Taking down metas who abuse their powers, helping innocents deal with getting them, that's what I signed on for. It's my job and my duty. Raising a hero like my son for people to look up to, making him fast enough to kick this creeps ass if we ever see him again? That's a bonus! I am totally in!”

“Barry is lucky to have you on his side Joe.”

“He's lucky to have you too.”

A brief conversation between devastating revelations:

“Doctor Wells, can I talk with you for a minute?”

“I'm always here to help Barry, what's up?”

“You seem different, like something's weighing on your heart that wasn't there before. And if this is because of Ronnie...what happened to him.”

“Barry, Ronnie's death was a noble sacrifice and a freely given choice. I don't feel anything for him other than he should be an example we all aspire to emulate given the opportunity. But before he...the last conversation we had together was very different...and, well you know how people regret 'never having the chance to say things' or to 'take them back'. Because of his death, I will never get the chance to tell him I actually heard what he said!”

“Do you mind telling me what it is he DID say?”

“The people who died or were changed in the accelerator are my fault. Even if I couldn't have seen it coming. But there is one death that can be placed ENTIRELY at my front door, from long before you and I ever met. Ronnie found out my 'deep dark secret' and told me to stay away from you. Something I actually admire him for, he wanted to protect you. And I can't help thinking that he had a weird sort of a point. If keeping you safe meant keeping my distance.”

“I'm the one who decides if I want you in my life Harrison. And I want you in my life. If YOU want to leave fine. But don't leave because someone who barely knows you...barely knew you... thinks you don't belong here anymore.”

Fully cognizant of the irony of his advice. “One day I might. And if I do, I just don't want you to think I'm leaving you out in the cold.”

Blissfully ignorant of the uncomfortableness of the conversation. “You do what you gotta do Doctor Wells. Just do it for yourself and no one else, a'rigte?”

“We did it...It's over.” Barry Allen sighed with relief.

“Not yet. You still need to end it.” Harrison Wells said from behind him. Barry turned around and saw the man he'd called his mentor standing beside him quiet and still, with his hands at his sides in a gesture of surrender. For a moment he didn't know what to think.

“What are you doing?”Harrison actually seemed surprised at the question.

“You said when this was over and the city was safe, you'd kill me. And I promised I wouldn't fight you. I wasn't lying when I said I cared about you Barry, and I know what I've done. If this is what you need...” To Barry's lasting shock Wells actually lowered himself to his knees. “Then finish it.”

“Why, why would I do this?”

“That'd be stating the obvious. I don't think either of us need the remi...not what you meant is it?”

Vibrating his right hand Barry Allen, a hero known as The Flash, approached his nemesis. “I want to hear you say it.” He said strongly and softly.

“I killed your mother and I've done nothing to free your father. This may sound ironic coming from me but I'm tried of running, of trying to forget or deny my past. For the past 3 years I've done what I could to make you better than the Rival and stronger than Zoom. After this you will be.”

“...You're wrong about that.” Barry said lowering his hand and his voice. “Killing you wouldn't make me better than zoom it would make me the same as him. Killing anyone in cold blood would just make me as petty and self-absorbed as the Rival. I refuse to be either one. Get Up.”

Later Harrison Wells stood in the cortex, standing alone in front of Sisko Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Detective Joe West and young Eddie Thawne, Joe's partner on the Central City police force. He didn't seem willing to say anything more, he just stood there as The Flash filled his friends in on what he'd learned, and what happened 17 years earlier. “There's one thing I need to show you...then we can finally be out of each-other's lives. “Gideon, bring up file ninety-four-thirty-one Zed please.”

“Of course Doctor Wells.” A soft, feminine voice spoke from literally thin air. A film projector, or the screen for one appeared and pages of information scrolled down the 'page' two fast for anyone but Barry to read. “Download complete Doctor Wells, will there be anything else?”

“You get to fulfill your original purpose now Gideon, Barry Allen will need your help.” He pulled a thumb drive from the interface. “This is a database, I discovered when we first laid the ground-work at Star Labs. It seems to deal primarily with a hero called the Flash and his two closest allies: The Arrow, and the former villain Frost. When I first found it, I started following the history it presented like a script, trying to make sure the world had these heroes. It's why I fast-tracked the Particle Accelerator, why it blew up in everyone's face, why I'm so convinced Killer Frost will one day just be a part of you Caitlin and...it's why I see such hatred in your eyes right now Barry. Seeing the man in the yellow suit kill you mother as a child...it's what inspired you to investigate the impossible and is why you became a hero when you got your powers not a criminal or swollen with pride like most meta-humans. I know that sounds trite but take it from the expert here. “The world doesn't need another speedster, it needs the Flash.” That's what Gideon told me not long after I uh...activated her. I didn't realize what she meant until I started working with you. When you look at me and I looked away, it's not that I was afraid of my feelings, but that I was afraid of yours. Afraid of your anger, your scorn...and I'd lose any chance of calling you my friend.”

“Prism, Firestorm, Robin's Heir, Cicada, Overlord, Pestilence...any reason we haven't heard of any of those bad guys yet?” Sisko Ramon asked in his traditional lightly sarcastic voice.

“You're not there yet.” Harrison answered. “The record covers 10 years of heroism and equality; we're on year 3. Firestorm's not a bad guy, just messed up...another victim of my hubris.”

“One question Harrison,” Joe West said peaceably. “What have you been doing since then?”

“I stopped following the pages like a script and started seeing them as guideposts and mile-markers. Until one of these creeps showed up I tried not to rely on it too much...or dwell on it. The ship where I found Gideon and this record, might have belonged to the Reverse Flash. It's where I found the Yellow Suit. It wasn't until Joe confronted me on something that I put it together.”

“What you told me about Tess, that was real?”

“Yes, Joe. I was more or less hunting the man. He DID take my wife from me. I've not seen a thing of him since the accident. He must've returned to his own time. After I read Gideon's records, I took it upon myself to fulfill his role in history when the time came. Barry is the hero the world needs, because of that tragedy. He's not just another meta-human: he IS the Flash.”

Detective Thawne spoke. “Okay time for the obvious question, who the hell were you talking to?!”

“Why don't you ask her, she's interactive you know?”

“Ma'am...Gideon did he call you?” Eddie said uncertainly. “Who are you?”

“I am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness.” The soft female voice that had sounded once before answered almost instantly. “Forgive the otherworldly effect of my disembodied voice, the visual circuits of my matrix were severely damaged. Doctor Wells has done his best to repair me..”

“Just tell them your manufacturing origin Gideon.”

“I've never understood your reluctance Dr. Wells. You are a genius by the human standards of this time. But in response to your prompt: Star Labs, research and development March 18^th 2024.”

“You mean to say, seven years from now, Doctor wells invents you, here at Star Labs?”

“Incorrect Mr. Allen, You do.”

“In Gideon's original records I died tonight, supposedly helping you fight your newest 'big bad'. But I knew that was just the official story, a cover-up. I knew you'd killed me, for what I'd done to you. Anyway six years from now you discover something called the time vault and within it purely theoretical plans from an inter-active artificial consciousness that takes you less than a year to bring into reality you call her 'Gideon'. The ship I found had a copy of her program.”

“And you integrated her into the Star-Labs mainframe.” Caitlin said in a strange voice.

“I figured it would be helpful having a future computer around, help interpret and analyze any threats, meta human or otherwise we come across. You can do the same thing if you want. Now can we get down to it please...What happens to me?”

“We record your posthumous confession, get my dad out of prison, burn your house to the ground, make an official report that you were inside of it...perhaps that one of your experiments quite literally blew up in your face, you leave Central City and NE-VER come back.” Barry said as calmly and emphatically as if he were rewriting history by sheer force of will. “Doctor Wells, you were doing what you thought was needed, to protect me and the city. And you didn't delude yourself into thinking it was justified. I don't know anyone else who could have made such a sacrifice and not lied to themselves about it. Also, I read Gideon's original report, just now. The one you must have read as your mile-marker. Originally when we went out to fight Clariss today HE revealed your secret, and I killed you in blind rage, feeling all betrayed. That's why you 'needed to tell me now' isn't it? Not just to rob him of that victory...but spare me from that regret.”

“On this much you must believe me: Since I've gotten to know you, I would never do anything deliberately to hurt you.”

“And on that score, I do.” Barry Allen answered.

“....Me too.” Joe West said in a strong voice.