Only Because I Need You

Spill

Cisco felt breach energy vibrate through him. It was time. He was in the Cortex, standing over the comms on the main desk, "Barry, the speed Lab," he barked over their link. Iris and Harry stood to either side of him, Harry was monitoring Barry's vitals and Iris was keeping watch over the small blonde boy that was under their protection. Sonny was sitting close to them on Caitlin's chair, spinning himself in circles. Cisco pitied the boy, he had long since grown bored of his situation and simply wanted his family back together.

"Got him," Barry announced down the intercoms. Cisco felt a sigh of relief escape his lips. The last several breachers they had attempted to restrict had evaded them masterfully. The past few weeks had been tough, they were fighting off breachers left, right and centre. Some were less challenging, but others were masters of their bounty hunting art. Barry himself had found it very difficult to keep up with the number of enemies they were fighting and since Killer Frost was not an option, sometimes the fighting had fallen to Cisco. Not that he minded, but he much preferred being in the Cortex, where he could put his mind to more important work.

"Good, take him to the pipeline, we can question him there," Cisco told Barry. He was just hoping that their whole ordeal would be over soon so they could focus on finding Caitlin. Her missing presence was weighing in him even more since they were under constant attack. He had no one to share his late night jello feasts with, he had no one he could vent to when Harry got on his nerves for the one hundredth time and he no longer had his best friend who he could depend on for anything. With her missing and him being in constant alert, his motivation had plummeted, the only thing that kept him ticking was the hope that he would find her again.

"On it," there was a whoosh over the intercoms. Barry let out an audible gasp, "Cisco, you'd better come down here," his voice shook a little. Cisco bit his lip as curiosity and dread niggled away at him. With a soft groan he turned, leaving Harry and Iris in the Cortex. He could feel his hair swinging around his ears. An exasperated breath escaped his lips. He walked down the familiar halls that were haunted by the memories of a better time. Every corner he turned gave him a different memory, most of them involving Caitlin. She had really become one of his best friends. A sad smile graced his lips. She was always there for all of them, fixing up the team when they got hurt and helping to solve meta cases. Sometimes Cisco wondered where they would be without her, only to realise that the answer was nowhere. They would have crashed and burned a long time beforehand without their toffee haired bio-chemist. He figured that was why the team was struggling to help Sonny, they were missing one of their members. It was like trying to win a race with a three legged horse.

His arrival in the pipeline pulled him from the depths of his mind. Barry turned to face him, his scarlet cowl was pulled securely over his features. Yet Cisco could tell Barry was spooked. The man's face was pale and drained. The breacher was locked in one of their small containment chambers, and he was tucked safely away behind a thick pane of glass. Around his wrists was a tight cuff, preventing him from using his Meta abilities. Cisco stopped in his tracks. He recognised the meta's face. He would recognise it anywhere. He had not seen that man in a very long time. It was Dante. Cisco found himself suppressing tears, Dante was just as he remembered, even if his hair was a little longer and his clothes more scraggly. His dark clothing was baggy and nothing like Cisco's Dante would have worn. Yet it was Dante no doubt. Cisco sucked in a deep breath, he had to remind himself that his brother was dead, the man he was looking at was not the same person. A small stab of pain infected Cisco's heart. He would never see his real brother again.

Cisco joined Barry's side, facing off against the steely faced breacher, "Dante," Cisco cleared his throat, his eyes never left his brothers.

The Breacher's features sharpened, "Well if it isn't little Cisco," his voice. Cisco had forgotten the sound of his voice. It rolled smoothly off of his tongue, only to melt into the air around him. Cisco cursed his brain for forgetting the sound of his own brother's voice. It was unavoidable, but that didn't make it acceptable in Cisco's eyes. He should always have remembered the sound of his brother's voice, for he would never hear it again.

"Who hired you?" Cisco asked, his own voice was monotonous and stoney.

"Straight to the point, no time for formalities," Dante chuckled, "maybe you are more like my little Cisco than I first perceived," he crossed his arms over his chest and a taunting smirk snaked over his lips.

"Who hired you?" Cisco repeated the question. His voice was a little more animated with force, but it still remained dead and lifeless. He could not show the turbulent storm that was wrecking havoc in his emotions. He was staring his dead brother in the face, but he couldn't hug him or tell him he was sorry. He had to be harsh and uncaring because it wasn't really his brother. A soft rush of air blew over Cisco, Barry had left and he was very grateful.

"Why should I tell you?" He snorted, rolling his eyes.

Cisco pressed his lips into a thin line and crossed his arms squarely over his chest. He tilted his head to the side, "what am I like in your world?" He asked, holding the hard stare of Dante. If the breacher truly was Cisco's brother from another universe, then hero believed he could convince him without using brute force.

Dante paused. His eyes narrowed a little and he leant back wards from the glass, "dead," his voice crackled a little. For just a moment, Cisco could have sworn that Dante's eyes glittered with unshed tears. Cisco felt as though someone had squeezed the air from his lungs. They were both feeling the exact same thing. The trauma that came from staring into a dead siblings eyes possessed them both.

"What would your Cisco thought of you trying to steal a child from his father to give to one of the largest thieves in the multiverse?" Cisco tilted his head to the side, raising a dark eyebrow. He was taking a risk, for all he knew the Cisco of his earth could be just like the Cisco from earth two. When Dante did not reply and shifted his weight awkwardly , he got his answer, "if the Cisco from your earth was anything like me, then I can assure you he would not want you to do this,"

Dante's gaze dropped to the floor, "the leader of the Breacher's Brotherhood is a man named Tate Johnning. He lives on your earth, but that is all I know," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Thank you," Cisco told him, but Dante did break his eye contact with the floor, "I am sure your Cisco would be proud," he got no reply. With a half hearted sigh Cisco turned around and left the pipeline, locking it down as he went. For the first time in a long while, he felt at peace. He felt as though he managed to take one step closer to his brother, even if it wasn't truly his Dante.