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"Allen."
"Allen!"
"ALLEN!"
Barry startles awake to a voice he'd rather forget. Blinking twice, he speeds the man at the side of his bed into the wall and holds him there by the throat.
"Thawne," the speedster growls at the surprised man he has pinned. Fake Dr. Wells, the man who was really Eobard Thawne and Nora Allen's murderer, rolls his eyes at the name.
"Very funny, Allen," his voice sounds a little different, more like a harsh whisper. "Though, I must say, I don't understand your world's sense of humor."
Barry's confused but even more angry. He pushes a little harder at the man as he demands to know, "How are you still alive?"
"Because neither Zoom, the other Meta's, or your collections of friends and family have gotten around to doing it," Not-Dead Wells/Thawne frowns. "What's your problem today, Allen?"
Cisco walks into the room and startles at the scene in front of him.
"Uh, what are you doing to Harry, Barry?" the genius asks slowly. "Did he start throwing your things around too?"
"Cisco," Barry smiles. "Where-How did I get here?"
The speedster looks around at the familiar walls of STAR Labs. Last he remembered, he had laid down to sleep in his bed.
"You zonked out after making your rounds last night," Cisco keeps glances between the two worriedly. "Seriously, Barry, what are you two fighting about?"
"Apparently," Not-Dead Wells/Thawne frowns from his trapped position. "Mr. Allen here woke from the wrong side of the bed."
"Did you try to experiment on him while he was sleeping or something?" the genius accuses, but only half-heartedly.
"That's an uselessly unintelligent question, Ramon," the other man returns. He looks to his captor. "Are you going to keep me here all day?"
Even though every part of Barry protests the action, he reluctantly steps back and lets the man go.
"What did you mean by 'my world'?" he asks. Maybe this is some sort of alternate dimension he's run into...Even though he can't remember getting here.
"Barry, are you okay?" Cisco places a hand on the speedster's shoulder. "You look a little lost, dude."
That doesn't answer his question. Not-Dead Wells/Thawne keeps frowning as he tells him, "I am Wells. I'm from what you like to refer to as 'Earth-2.' You are The Flash and I need you to help me stop the speedster Zoom."
"Earth-2?" None of this is making sense to the hero. "Cisco, where's Len?"
Maybe his partner can explain everything. Maybe they fought a Meta and Barry hit his head and now he's suffering from memory loss.
"Len?" the genius's brow furrows. "Who the heck is Len?"
"Len," Barry's confusion is mounting with each breath. "As in Leonard Snart? Captain Cold?"
"Why would you want to talk to the guy who keeps double crossing you?" Cisco scoffs. "The dude's only good for causing problems."
That's wrong. It's so very, very wrong. Why would Len have returned to a life of crime?
"What about Wentworth?" Barry asks next.
"Ugh, man, that is a terrible name," his friend shakes his head in pity. "Also, I have no idea who that is."
Barry's heart feels like it has stopped beating. The world hazes around him and he falters a few steps back.
"Woah there," Cisco approaches him with open arms, but the speedster waves him away.
"Did you run across anyone suspicious last night?" Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells sounds worried. Worried?
"I wasn't out running last night," Barry tells them. "I worked at the CCPD, had dinner with my family and went to bed."
"You mean Joe and Iris?" Cisco asks, arms still slightly extended in case he has to make a last-minute catch.
"I mean my whole family," the speedster frowns, anger and worry fighting to overwhelm his confusion. "I mean Joe and Iris and Lisa and Len and Wentworth."
"Who is this Wentworth?" Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells growls.
"He's my son!" Barry barks. He feels like he can't breath. His heart isn't working and now his lungs are failing too.
This is wrong. This is so wrong!
"Allen," Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells takes a cautious step closer while Cisco gapes at him with a wide, open mouth. "You don't have a son."
That's all the speedster can take.
Barry runs.
He runs throughout the city first to blow off steam, then goes straight home to see if Joe is there. His foster father is and for a moment, Barry thinks he can breathe again.
"Barry?" Joe jumps off the couch as his eyes grow wide in worry. "What's the matter? Did something happen?"
"Joe," the speedster desperately hopes the man will help things make sense. "Do you know where Wentworth is?"
"Who?"
Barry blinks at the older man, "Wentworth." He waits a second before adding, "Your grandson?"
"Grandson?" Joe scoffs. "Barry, what are you talking about? You and Iris aren't even dating anyone, how can I have a grandson?"
No. No. No. NO. NO!
The speedster runs over to the Snart's house. There's no one inside. The house is empty and when Barry looks out the front window, he sees the "For Sale" sign in the front.
"No," Barry clutches at his head. "No! What's going on?"
He has to find Len. He can finally explain all of this.
Barry runs throughout the city in search of his partner. It's takes a few minutes, but to the speedster, it's feels like days.
Leonard Snart is laying back on a beat up couch while Mick Rory works on his gun. Both men turn their full attention to the un-costumed hero when he stops a few feet from them.
"Len," Barry heaves a sigh of relief. "I need your help."
"Who's the punk?" Mick growls at him, picking up a piece of pipe off the floor. "He just ran in here like The Flash."
"I thought you didn't want other people to know your precious identity," Len drawls, rising to his feet. "Why are you running around without your suit?"
"Len," the speedster forces his chest to stop heaving so he can put a serious tone to his voice. "Where is Wentworth?"
"Who?" Mick asks, turning to Snart.
"Not sure myself," Len tilts his head as he takes a few steps forward. "If that's another friend of yours that's gone missing, I can assure you, I had no part in it."
"He's our son!" Barry speeds the last few steps to the other man to grab up the front of his shirt. "We were all together last night but when I woke up, no one seems to know about him!"
"I think the punk's on something," Mick chuckles. "Care to share some of whatever you're on?"
"Get your hands off me, Barry," Len orders. The old 'Captain Cold' tone sends an unpleasant shiver down Barry's spine and he lets go immediately.
"I don't know what's wrong with you and I don't care," the criminal tells him with a frown. "But if you don't get your little hero butt out of my place, things will heat up unpleasantly for you."
Heat Wave's gun charges to the speedster's right. Mick Rory smiles at him as he points the weapon at Barry's face.
Bad Puns. Captain Cold tone. Mick Rory not knowing who he was.
This wasn't his Len. These wasn't his world.
What the heck has Barry gotten himself into?
He runs.
Barry goes back to STAR Labs. If there's any hope of him getting back to where he belongs, it's with the others back at their base of operations.
Caitlin and Cisco turn identical looks of worry/relief at him when he stops in the Cortex.
"Where have you been, dude?" Cisco demands, throwing his hands in the air. "You don't have your phone and we keep getting random pings of Metahuman activity!"
"Joe says you showed up looking for your son?" Caitlin has gotten out of her chair and approached her teammate like he was a frightened animal. "Barry, there might be something wrong with your brain. You need to let me take a look at you."
"There's nothing wrong with my mind, Caitlin," Barry frowns. "I know what's wrong and it's got nothing to do with my head."
"Then what's got you looking to be besties with your arch-nemesis and wanting to play daddy to a nonexistent kid?" Cisco scoffs. Caitlin shoots a withering glare to the genius and it makes their teammate blush.
"Listen," the speedster takes a breath to calm his nerves. "I don't know how, or even why, but this is not my world or dimension or whatever. I know it sounds weird, but I don't belong here."
"Weird?" the genius scoffs. "We have proof of other worlds and a man walking around with the face of your mother's murderer. I think 'weird' should be taken from our vocabulary."
"Thanks, Ramon," Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells remarks sarcastically as he joins the group. "Why don't we bring that up a few hundred more times?"
"Harrison," Caitlin steps closer to the man before her other teammate can counter. "Do you think it's possible this isn't our Barry but one from another earth?"
Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells looks at the speedster, considering. He removes his glasses to rub at them with the hem of his shirt, then puts them back on and addresses the female scientist, "Anything's possible. We can test to see if he emits a different frequency than the one from this earth. That way we can know for sure."
"Right, of course," Caitlin smiles. She turns to Barry, "Is that okay with you?"
Barry nods. He doesn't have any better ideas. The sooner they believe him, the sooner he can go home.
Caitlin and Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells run some sort of test and their matching frowns are more than disconcerting.
"You appear to be from this earth," Caitlin tells him worriedly, glancing at the older man for confirmation of something she already knows.
"Whatever you think," Supposedly-Earth-2-Wells frowns. "You're from this earth. You are this world's Barry and we need you to get your memory back so that you can get faster and defeat Zoom."
"Harry," the female scientist sighs.
"What?" the man growls. "I don't have time to play nice with a speedster who's imagination is running away with him."
"Maybe he's been affected by a Meta and doesn't know it?" Caitlin offers, looking to Barry as if he'd know.
He doesn't.
He's just as lost as the people in front of him and every breath hurts as his head continues to spin with each blink.
"Barry?" Caitlin's voice spikes in worry just before the world fades to darkness.
When Barry wakes again, he's immediately confused. Instead of being in his bedroom or one of the spare rooms of STAR Labs, he's in one of the containment cells.
"Barry?" Joe's voice calls to him.
The speedster rolls away from the back wall and stands to look at his foster father standing on the other side of the glass.
"Are you okay, son?" the detective asks.
"Why am I in here?" Barry hits the glass, the pain is a good distraction from his anger.
"Calm down, son," Joe lifts his hands in a placating manner and tries to smile. "You were acting strange earlier and we only put you in here for your own protection."
"My protection?" the speedster laughs. He bangs on the wall again. "Let me out of here!"
"I can't do that, Bare," the older man shakes his head slightly. "You're not yourself. The others are trying to figure out what's wrong with you but, at least for now, I need you to stay put. Okay?"
"No," Barry growls. "No, it is not 'okay'! I am locked in a cell while my family waits for me in some sort of other dimension. Don't you want your Barry back?"
"From what Caitlin and Wells tell me, you are my Barry," the detective's face morphs again as his eyes shine in the low lights. "Bare, please, try to remember."
"I do remember, Joe," the speedster smirk humorlessly. "It's because I can't forget that makes this so hard."
"We'll figure this out," the detective says firmly. He points at the younger man, "I'm not giving up on you."
With that, Joe turns and leaves.
Barry stumbles backwards and leans heavily against the wall as he slides down to the floor. Once seated, he pulls his knees up and rests his head in his hands.
Will he ever make it home?
They leave Barry in the cell for a week while they try to "figure things out."
They come up with absolutely nothing.
Barry's mind keeps going back to the others: HIS family.
Were they safe? Were they in separate universes, worlds, or whatevers? Were any of them together? Was Wentworth alone?
That last thought sent a violent shudder throughout the speedster's body.
Barry couldn't stay here anymore. If they didn't let him out, he'd break out any way he could.
Suddenly, the lights go out and Barry's head shoots up in confusion.
Are they under attack?
The door to his cell opens and the speedster wastes no time getting out. Footsteps echo in the hall as he makes his escape. Even though they weren't "his" friends, Barry still stops at the Cortex to see what happened.
Captain Cold, in his complete get-up, turns to smirk at him while Heat Wave points his weapon at Caitlin, Cisco, and Earth-2-Wells.
"Barry," Len-no-Snart drawls at him. "I haven't seen you in a while and thought I'd check up on you."
"What do you want?" Barry asks, muscles tense as he keeps an eye on both criminals.
He had forgotten how stressful it was to fight against the duo.
"We're here to break you out," Snart smirks. "I found out your supposed teammates were keeping you locked away and thought I'd help free you."
"Barry, please," Caitlin speaks up, but her voice is strained. "We were only trying to help you."
"Help him?" Heat Wave laughs. "By locking him up?"
"Let's go, hero," Cold steps to Barry's side and motions with his arm for the speedster to go with him. "I promise to not lock you away when you don't agree with me."
"Though he might clock you over the head!" his partner laughs again.
"Allen, don't!" Earth-2-Wells orders. "You're still our only hope to stop Zoom."
"I'm sure the brain squad can figure out something without you," Snart sneers.
"Dude," Cisco adds his own protest. "Captain Cold cannot be trusted."
"I'm sick of all this talking," Mick walks up to the genius and backhands him.
"Hey!" Barry shoves the criminal away the same time Snart shouts out, "Mick!"
Earth-2-Wells runs from his spot to grab a large gun and shoots it at Snart.
The criminal ducks behind the computer desk, then pops back up to return fire with the Cold Gun.
Caitlin has helped get Cisco into the corner to huddle away from the fire fight while Earth-2-Wells slides out of the Cold Gun's range and shoots at his enemy again.
Whatever the weapon fires hits Snart in the chest and the man goes flying into a wall with a loud thud.
"Len!" Barry stops fighting Mick to go to the other man's side. The Captain's out Cold and there's some blood coming from the back of his head.
Anger burns inside of the speedster as he gently lays the man back down. Heat Wave is back on his feet and shouting as he fires his weapon at Earth-2-Wells.
This is wrong. This is Wrong. This IS Wrong! THIS IS WRONG! THIS IS WRONG!
"STOP!" Barry shouts, covering his ears like a child as he shuts his eyes tightly.
Please.
Please, whoever or whatever did this to me.
Let me go back.
.
..
...
.....y....
...ar..
Ba..
..rry!
Barry!
Barry startles awake to a voice he'd never forget. Blinking twice, he stares at the man frowning at him.
"Len?" the speedster whispers, voice weak with the desperate hope thrumming inside him that this was real.
"Cisco!" Len's frown turns into a smirk as he shouts for the other man. "He's awake!"
"Finally," the genius sighs as he comes into view. "You had us worried there, man. It was like coma part 2."
"Where's Wentworth?" Barry asks first, voice still terribly quiet.
"He's at home with Lisa," Len frowns again. "Barry, what's wrong?"
"I'm sorry," the speedster smirks, speeding out of the bed to pull his partner into a tight hug. "I'm back. I'm really back!"
Instead of pushing him away or pulling back, Len surprisingly returns the hug.
"You were attacked by a Meta," Cisco explains while Barry finally lets his partner go. "DreamKiller had you in some sort of nightmare state and we just now figured out a way to snap you out of it."
"DreamKiller?" Barry tries to think back.
'...A bank alarm. A laughing man. A voodoo mask. Then darkness...'
"Right, that's how," the speedster shakes his head. "Wow, that was awful."
Barry looks at Len, "Did you catch him?"
"Don't worry," his partner drawls. "Nightmare Man is locked up tight where he belongs."
"We talked about this, Len," Cisco sighs. "I name them, you catch them. No re-naming."
Len only shrugs, eyes trained on Barry with warm, blue eyes.
"You sure you're okay, Barry?" Len asks. "You're still breathing a little hard."
Barry smiles as he shakes his head, "It was just a bad dream. Just give me a minute and I'll be fine."
"Sorry!" Caitlin rushes into the room. "Sorry, Lisa called to check on Barry just before he woke up and then she wouldn't get off the phone right away. She's bringing Worthy here right now. And I texted Joe and Iris too."
"Caitlin," Len catches the scientist's attention. "Could you check Barry before they get here? He's still acting twitchy."
"I'm fine!" the speedster protests, but the scientist has taken his partner's side and pushes him back in the bed to check him over.
Barry is given a clean bill of health and they all walk into the Cortex together.
"Day!" Wentworth runs into the room, trailed by a flustered Lisa.
Barry scoops his son up and gives him the same treatment he gave Len earlier. The toddler gives back as good as he gets.
"Finally woke up, Sleepyhead?" Lisa asks as she crosses her arms. "You had us all worried, Barry Daddy."
"Sorry," the speedster smiles as he gives his son one last squeezing hug. "It was no picnic for me either."
"What were you dreaming about?" Cisco asks, startling everyone. He rolls his eyes at his sudden audience, "Come on, I know you're all just as curious as I am."
"Let's just say," Barry answers as he looks at his family. Happiness swelling in his chest to replace all the fear, worry, and confusion of the last few dream days. "I have never been so thankful to have all of you in my life."
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