Second Chances: Flash - Rough Draft

Chapter 20

Okay, so the season 8 finale of Flash was awesome, especially how it ended and the war with Barry and Thawne ended up and while I'm pretty sure that I know who the new season 9 big bad will be, I don't want to say anything, simply because I don't want to spoil anything, but to be clear, if it's who I think it is, I will not be bringing that character in until I see how they do it in the arrowverse. Also, am I the only one who's bummed that Cisco never showed up in season 8? I'm glad it wasn't the series finale, because they cannot do the series finale without Cisco Ramon, since he is a member of OG Team Flash. Now on with the chapter.

After Team Flash got all settled into their new base, they met in the new Cortex to discuss the events of the party.

"So, has Ronnie asked any questions about how the hell his future father-in-law is still alive?" Cisco asked Caitlin.

"A few, but so far I've been able to convince him that I had no idea he was still alive." Caitlin said.

"And what about Crystal's powers?" Barry asked.

"That was harder to explain, mainly because I didn't want to have to lie to him about that." Caitlin said.

"Then don't." Barry said, causing Caitlin to look at him.

"Are you serious?" Caitlin asked and Barry nodded.

"We know Ronnie can be trusted. The only difference between this reality and the one regarding him is that he's not half of Firestorm." Barry said.

"That is a definite plus, since it means that I won't have to worry about him flying up and dying in a singularity again." Ronnie said.

"Considering Thawne knows I'd never open up that wormhole for him again, the singularity would never happen." Barry assured her.

"Anyways, I feel like we've gotten off topic." Joe said, bringing them back on topic.

"Right, sorry. But how the hell did Icicle escape his prison? The only people who know about that are standing in this room, along with Crystal and Caitlin's mom?" Cisco asked.

"No, there's one other person who likely knew about him too and this is exactly the kind of thing he'd do." Barry said.

"You think Thawne let him out?" Iris asked.

"It's the only explanation, since this is exactly the kind of thing he'd do. He knows he can't beat me with his reduced speed, so instead, he finds other enemies to throw at us to keep us distracted." Barry said.

"Yeah, but Barry, this is different than before. Before he'd just let us fight the weekly, but now, bringing in Icicle, it's almost like he's trying to make things personal." Cisco said.

"Because that's exactly what he's doing." Barry said.

"How can you be so sure?" Caitlin asked.

"Because these kinds of mind games are his specialty. Throw us a bad guy that we'll want to try to help instead of fight and keep our attention off him." Barry said.

"Barry's right. This does fit into Thawne's MO." Joe agreed.

"Okay, but how do we help him, since it took watching Icicle nearly beat me to death to get my dad to take back control of Icicle and right now, there will likely be a warrant out for his arrest if anyone recognizes him." Caitlin said.

"Maybe Joe and I can use that to our advantage." Ralph said.

"What do you mean?" Barry asked.

"I mean, I think the fact that Carla signed her husband's fake death certificate is enough to warrant a police investigation." Ralph said and Joe nodded, very glad that Ralph was his partner.

"We'll head over to Tannhauser to question Carla and also let her know what happened." Joe said.

"Cisco, why don't you and Caitlin head up to the Tannhauser site up north to see if you can find anything that might help you find a cure for him. It should help that Tina will give us full access to all of Mercury Labs' metahuman research." Barry said and Cisco and Caitlin nodded.

"I'll head back to the Citizen and put out a story to warn everyone about this." Iris said.

"Oh speaking of that, Iris, I was wondering if it would be possible for Allegra to start an internship at the Citizen?" Caitlin asked and Iris smiled.

"I was hoping you'd ask me that, because the answer is yes and once she turns 18, I'm more than happy to turn that into a job." Iris said and Caitlin smiled.

"Plus, it will also give us a way to keep an eye on her in case she starts showing signs of light powers again." Barry said and Caitlin nodded.

"I'll call Crystal and fill her in." Caitlin said.

"Good. But Caitlin, you should also go home and talk to Ronnie. You've put it off long enough and if there's one thing we've learned from all of this, it's that keeping these secrets from the people we love doesn't end well. Besides, he's likely suspicious enough after seeing Frost shoot ice out of her hands." Barry said and Caitlin nodded.

"I'll talk to him tonight." Caitlin promised.

Speaking of Ronnie, he was currently picking Allegra up from school, since while Caitlin had gone to work for Mercury Labs following Star Labs being officially shut down after the reveal that its owner was actually a psychopath, Ronnie had decided to take some time off before he committed to another job. Of course, that was before he found out that his future sister-in-law was actually a metahuman and he was pretty sure his fiance knew that. But for now, he'd wait until Caitlin was ready to tell him about it, so he'd focus on his relationship with his daughter. A thought that brought a smile to his face, since while once upon a time, he'd thought he'd never want kids. How wrong he'd been, since the moment Caitlin had told him about Allegra, he'd agreed to at least let her stay with them temporarily until they could find her a new adoptive family to keep her out of juvie.

That had been 2 years ago and now Ronnie couldn't imagine anyone else raising his daughter, since Allegra had quickly become the only person he loved more than Caitlin and he knew that Caitlin was okay with that, since she felt the same way.

Anyways, Ronnie was now picking up his 15 year old daughter up from Central City High.

"Hey, I thought it was mom's turn to pick me up?" Allegra asked, not that she was complaining, since it meant that she didn't need to take the bus, since her mother had basically forbidden her from taking public transportation for some reason, not that Allegra was complaining, since she hated the school bus and one of the first things she'd learned after coming to live at the Snow-Raymond house was that her mother's word was law. And it was a law she'd learned not to break if she wanted to keep her phone privileges.

"Not anymore. Caitlin said that until I start working again, I'm on chauffeur duty." Ronnie said with a chuckle.

"Can't say I blame her, since she's the one making money in this family. When are you going to go back to work?" Allegra asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. But for now, we need to get home, though your mom did tell me to tell you that she may have gotten you an internship at Central City Citizen." Ronnie said and Allegra was thrilled.

"How did she pull that off?" Allegra asked excitedly.

"It sounds like one of her coworkers at Mercury Labs is dating the Editor in Chief of the Citizen and a good friend." Ronnie said and Allegra smiled as they continued talking. However, what they did not realize was that they were being watched.

Esperanza Garcia was watching her cousin from the shadows, wishing more than anything that she could interact with her.

"Do you have eyes on the target?" a voice asked in her ear.

"Yes, but there are too many people for me to do anything, especially since you said to avoid drawing the attention of the Flash right now." Esperanza said.

"Keep an eye on them. Icicle should keep Team Flash busy, but I want you to keep tabs on Snow's family for the time being." the voice of Eobard Thawne said in her earpiece.

"Understood." Esperanza said, though she hated the fact that she had to take orders from this monster, she had no choice. So for now, she would obey. Until she could find a way to free herself from these new chains.