Glad You Came | The Flash 1

Chapter 36

Jackie leaned against the wall, "She's gonna be hungover."

Barry laughed softly, drinking some of his coffee, "Oh, I can believe that." The elevator dinged, revealing Caitlin, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing sunglasses to block off the bright lights, "Hi."

Caitlin reeled back from the two, "So loud."

"Oh, ho-ho. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Let's just say I envy your inability to get drunk." Caitlin scrunched down, "And that you-" She pointed at Jackie, "Didn't get drunk. I don't remember much from last night."

"Yeah." Barry nodded his head, "That's probably for the best."

"Summer Lovin." Jackie song softly, making Caitlin cringe.

"Oh, God. That I do remember."

Barry and Jackie laughed, "You're going to be forever teased."

Caitlin rolled her eyes behind her glasses, "You guys sang too."

"We did."

Barry's smile faltered when he walked into the cortex, "What's wrong?"

"Cisco and Emily..." Dr. Wells had his arms crossed over his chest, "Has something they need to tell you."

"Hartley's gone."

"He escaped from the Pipeline? How is that even possible?"

"Not unless-"

Cisco cut Jackie off, "I let him out." His eyes moved to Caitlin, "Are you mad? I can't tell with those glasses on."

"I'd like to yell and wave my arms, but I'm afraid I'd throw up."

"Why?" Barry demanded, "What were you thinking? You know how dangerous he is. And Emily, how could you let something like this happen?"

"Don't... Don't blame any of this on Emily, she didn't know I let him out until he got away." Cisco looks down, "Hartley said he knew what happened to Ronnie."

Caitlin took off her sunglasses, "I told you to let it go. I didn't want you looking into that for me."

"I wasn't doing it for you. I..." Emily gently took Cisco's hand, "I sealed Ronnie into the accelerator before it blew. He told me to wait two minutes, and I waited, but he didn't come back. And I can't stop thinking, 10, 20 seconds and... Ronnie wouldn't be like he is right now. I've wanted to tell you so many times. I'm so sorry."

"So you carried that around this whole time?" Caitlin walked around the desk to stand in front of Cisco, "Do you know what Ronnie would say if he was here? He would say that you did the right thing. It wasn't your fault. What happened that night wasn't anybody's fault. Come on." She gave him a small smile, "Don't we have a teleporter to catch?"

"We do have a teleporter to catch. And fortunately, we do have a promising theory." Dr. Wells rolled in front of the computer, "Take a look at this. Now, this is the normal behavior of the particulate that Shawna left behind. Watch what happens when we remove light." He tapped against the remote, "Shawna can only become entangled with something she can see. Take away her ability to do that-"

"She can't teleport."

Dr. Wells glanced up at his daughter, "Exactly."

"So, we just need to get her into a dark space." Barry's phone begins to ring while Caitlin spoke, "How do we do that?"

"That's a valid question."

"I mean..." Emily frowned slightly, "If only I knew how to like create this bubble of darkness to surround her."