You Bring Out The Worst In Me~

[nevergetshome]

It had been some time ago that Thawne had gotten the results of Claire's blood. He messaged her and to his surprise the text kicked back. A phone call told him the number had been disconnected. It only took a little bit of research with Gideon to get her address from this time period only to find out she'd moved. Recently. And where had she moved to? Of all places in the world but Central City. The hometown of his foe. A place he spent fifteen years of his life. It was time to visit his old rival.

Silent observation was key. He kept his distance, but immediately, he felt something interesting. Barry Allen was having trouble handling the Speed Force. The fumbles were small, but enough that he could feel them when Barry faltered. Ahh, so this was around his encounter with the Chameleon. That made sense. What drove a dagger into his heart though was to see Barry Allen and Claire Bennet together. After he'd shared everything with her. Told her how Barry ruined his life. Even if he never said Allen's name, he called him the Flash, and she clearly knew who he was. How could she betray him?!

Just one more reason to hate Barry. One more thing Barry stole from him. One more reason to destroy The Flash. He'd have to teach them both a lesson.

There was a knock at Noah's hotel door. Harrison was standing politely on the other side, waiting for Noah to answer.

Comments

[infinite1ups]

Noah didn't love the idea of anyone being hit with a dose like that, but he had to admire Harry's willingness to do so. It matched his own, and he wouldn't have to say so for Claire to know that. The look she gave him said as much, almost a quiet plea to not start in on her too. He wouldn't gang up on her, there was no need.

"We've got enough heads to put together that we can probably figure out how to avoid that," he said instead. These were no doubt some of the brightest minds he'd had the pleasure to work with. Some of the Company founders had been brilliant in their own right, but Harry and Jesse ran circles around them, intellecutally. "Besides, we don't know what he's planning at all, this is all still pretty hypothetical."

Claire could get pretty set in her ways once she set her mind to something, but this was enough to talk her down. For now, anyway. It didn't take much to set her off lately. Having so much at stake made her more sensitive, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She was trying not to sulk, trying not to feel like she was being lectured - even by Barry - and so she was slow to respond.

"Before Thawne's interruption on my morning, I had other news for you, Claire." Noah was once again saving her, and she didn't bother trying to hide her relief. "I think I've found a spot for the new office. Angela will be coming to check it out."

Claire's gaze briefly shifted toward the med lab before looking forward again. "Let's hope she doesn't have any dreams about Cisco," she said quietly, managing a smile. "That's where Peter gets his Precog from. Well, the dreams. He used to be able to paint the future, but he lost that one."

She rested her head against Barry, giving his waist a light squeeze where she had her arm around him. "If there's a way to dampen my regen, there could be a way to make it stronger. I already know my blood heals others, maybe if those proteins could be synthesized, more people could heal like me. Thawne and I talked about doing exactly that, just not with a method for it in mind." Her healing factor was stronger than that of the speedsters, Thawne included. She wondered if he might look into enhancing his own healing, rather than trying to weaken her. It'd be another way for him to be better than The Flash.

[captaincaveman]

Jesse timidly stepped up to agree with Noah. "That's what I was saying. It'll be okay." She was younger than Claire, so it felt odd trying to assume a big sister role, but she wanted to be as comforting as she could. She knew what it was like to be the target and even more so to know that you were being used to hurt someone you loved. So her heart went out to Claire in steadfast solidarity. She'd been targeted and used specifically to make her father bend his knee to Zoom. She knew how much she'd hated feeling helpless as she watched Zoom use her as a threat and she was sure Claire was feeling that same thing now. "And... it's okay if you need someone to talk to." Jesse said even softer. "'Cause I know what you must be feeling."

Harry almost seemed like hearing Jesse say those words knocked all the wind from his sails because he almost staggered before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her close to his core. Jesse tucked her head under her dad's chin. It was comforting but also the easiest way to disarm him when he was being fightey.

Barry hadn't meant to come off as lecturing. If he'd known he had he would have apologised immediately. But he held her and kissed the side of her head again tenderly.he followed her gaze to Cisco, who was sitting on the medical cot on his tablet because Caitlin wouldn't let him leave until she was sure he wouldn't fall over.

"I think he'll be okay." Barry reassured. "He bounces back pretty quickly. Even without a healing factor." He turned his attention to Noah. "Let us know if you need any help setting up."

"Some of the info on that drive is about artificially synthesising the components in your blood to use as a healing aid. I don't read as fast as Jesse, so I only got the cliffnotes version for now, until I can sit down and read it uninterrupted." Harry said in a softer tone. Jesse really did melt him into a softie. He closed his eyes to recall the quick glance he'd taken of that section. "It looks like the first step was testing your blood against his own samples then artificially recreating it to see how similar the results were. His first live test only had a 20% boost and his own healing factor wiped out the injection in less than ten seconds. I didn't see much past that before moving on."

[infinite1ups]

Claire knew well enough not to make a fight out of it, not to let her ego get the best of her. They were all under stress and just trying to do their best to support each other. To support her. Barry had a good heart, so it was easy to remind herself that he really was trying to help. She nuzzled in a little more as he kissed her, soaking up all that comfort.

She was used to being a target; Sylar and the old Company had been after her, as well as the government. Though the former two had been after her, specifically. Nathan had tried his best to protect her from the government plan, but it had been his plan, and she was disgusted that he'd order his own people hunted down while giving her a free pass. All because he hated that he wasn't a 'normal' human.

They hadn't had enough time to truly sort out their differences over that before he died. His legacy was making it up to her, that much had been added to his will at some point. The means to set herself up for the future, and possibly make something more of herself. Maybe there was some shame in accepting apologies in cash, but she wouldn't let herself feel bad about it.

She smiled at Jesse and Harry, once again reminded of herself and Noah. He must have been having the same thought, because he had one of those Dad Smiles on. Barry was right, it was entirely too late to back out of this family. She loved them all too much.

"Thawne took a few vials," Claire recalled thoughtfully. "I don't know how many tests he can really run with that. Is it possible he might try to get more?" The thought of him trying to steal her blood was so absurd that it was almost comical, but the man seemed like he could be unhinged enough that she really couldn't rule out the possibility. "I guess unless he could find a way to recreate it himself."

[captaincaveman]

"Thawne's said before, the timeline is malleable and the more a Speedster messes with it, the less the rules apply to them. Which, I'll wager, is why he's still around. But with as little regard as he shows for the timeline, I'd imagine going back and reusing the same samples wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him." Clearly, Harry hated that thought for so many reasons but if it kept Thawne away from Claire, he'd prefer it.

"He can't get close to you with the watch on. Not without tipping one of us off anyway." Barry said. "The only other way for him to get more would be to steal it from the lab or anywhere else that has your blood on hand." It was a risk and Thawne had just proven he could be inside the facility without anyone even knowing, but once Harry got his security measures up and working, it wouldn't be as easy for Thawne to ghost right inside.

"But this is all just conjecture." Harry said. "We don't know what his plan is at this stage. We could all be in danger or there could be no danger. Whatever the case, we'll be as prepared as we can be."

[infinite1ups]

Interestingly, that same rule didn't apply to Hiro Nakamura. Or at least, that's how she understood it. Then again, maybe his condition had been unrelated, and not a side effect of abusing the space-time continuum. Even after their jaunt into the past, they had never exactly been close. Peter and her father (both of them, actually) had spent more time with the guy than she ever had.

"No danger is a bit of a stretch, given my track record," Claire said in an obvious attempt at levity. It got a huff of a laugh from Noah. Each of them had their brushes with danger. This kind of life was never completely without some kind of risk, no matter how careful she was.

All the more reason to stay put, she thought. That, and it was nice to finally have a home again.

If any of her samples had turned up missing, Caitlin would've noticed by now. So that was a comforting thought, at least. There were plenty on hand, given they'd been doing regular testing to check for the Chameleon venom. She hated the thought of what Thawne might be able to do with the infected blood.

"There are no bio samples remaining from the old Company," Noah offered helpfully. "I ensured Claire's were destroyed years ago, after Suresh used some to save my life." Bring him back to life, more accurately. "All that remains are paper and digital files. Claire's been helping me go through them to digitize and purge those records." Thawne was less of a worry on that front, but given all the plans to test out how Meta and Evolved human powers interacted, that sort of research might attract the wrong sort of attention sooner or later. It happened with the old Company, despite their strict rules about discretion.

"What's the range on the watch, exactly? I don't think I asked before." She looked curiously at the device on her wrist. Since Harry had given her the first one she really hadn't put much thought into it until it had gone off that same day. "It seems like it's pretty close, right?"

[captaincaveman]

Hiro wasn't beholden to the laws of the Speed Force. It was a living energy with rules it tried to enforce. But its speedsters were able to outsmart it and its enforcers if they understood how it worked. Like Thawne.

Harry huffed an amused breath from his nose and rolled his eyes at her teasing. "In as little danger as is relative for us." Harry corrected. Because he also had to admit, in the time she'd known him, he'd been attacked three times, and she'd seen at least the aftermath of one and been there for one.

Thawne wouldn't need the samples with the venom to get the venom. He could just as easily steal Caitlin and Harry's research on the anti-venom to rebuild the venom if he so chose. Or, even easier, fo back in time and recruit Chameleon. But he didn't like working with unpredictable elements and no one was allowed to kill Barry Allen except him. Which was what posed such a problem with this new timeline, because he knew for a fact Savitar was already in play even though Barry didn't yet, but now he didn't know the outcome...

Harry nodded when Noah answered. "But there were other samples stored in facilities at some point in time?" Look, Noah, he isn't being condescending. "We're used to thinking linearly. But with time travelling speedsters, you have to get used to thinking on a different level. If there has ever been a stockpile somewhere and there was ever well known documentation of that stockpile, Thawne will know when and where to look. Gideon is able to scan data stored on any device with a connection in any time and amass that data in a search. It's an incredibly complex time travelling AI assistant." That was the terrifying long and short of it.

"For normal meta detection, it's quite close. Less than a metre. Speedster detection, it will detect them before you see them. Originally I designed them to detect the Speed Force, but after re-activating it on this Earth, I had to turn that functionality off. Now, it detects the Negative Speed Force in the same way. As long as Thawne is the only user here, it's a Thawne detector. It will pick up the NSF from a block away."

[infinite1ups]

Getting a laugh from Harry (well, as close as he came to laughing most of the time) was just a bonus. Claire's smile widened; she looked quite pleased with herself.

Noah understood the need for the question. Even evolved humans could time-travel, after all. And with Thawne the risks were \greater, given his increased capabilities with both abilities and tech. "There were. Claire's, around the mid-to-late aughts, and Adam Monroe's before that. Plus other samples from folks with various abilities, over the years. The Company was slow to transition from analog files. To be honest, we're only doing so now because we have a technopath at our disposal, and we won't be transferring all of it. We'll still have paper files in fireproof cabinets."

Pyrokinesis and other fire-related powers were somewhat common, and the old Company had made plenty of enemies. "Money isn't really an option," he said, almost sheepishly. "We also have an alchemist on our team."

"Sylar," Claire muttered, wrinkling her nose. She almost said more, but decided against it. That was an argument she could have with her father later. Instead, she focused on Harry's explanation about the watch's detection capabilities. It tracked with what they had experienced the other day, when Caitlin had pinged the alarm. How close had Thawne gotten before then? Close enough to find out she was with Barry. The knowledge that he could've been anywhere, at anytime, was unnerving.

"Could there be more than one person using the Negative Speed Force, or is that unlikely? He told me I wouldn't be able to handle it, but his explanation was more that I'm too... good. It didn't sound like there was a limit, from what he said." She still doubted how good she truly was, but she had to admit, she wasn't nearly as far gone as Eobard was.

[captaincaveman]

"So, depending on if that information ever makes it into Thawne's hands, he may have access to more samples from the past, as well as other Evolved Human samples." Harry didn't like it. Even if all the files were just hard copies now, some idiotic historian in the future could digitise them later and that would give Gideon access. He turned to Barry, "Allen, you need to lock me out of Gideon in the Time Vault. It won't stop him, but it will slow him down."

Barry hesitated. "But it will slow us down too if you can't access Gideon." Barry objected and Harry gave him that stern look that told him not to argue. So he disappeared in a flash from Claire's side. After a few seconds he returned exactly in place like he'd never left. "Done." He said solemnly.

Harry nodded his thanks to Barry then returned his attention to Noah. At that name, he frowned. "You work with Sylar?" Yes, that was blatant judgement in his tone. Defensive on Claire's behalf.

"Theoretically, there could be more. But we haven't seen--" Harry began to answer Claire's question then Barry interjected.

"I have." Barey had the decency to look ashamed.

"You-- you have?" Harry sounded exasperated and judgemental again. He pulled away from Jesse to put his hands on his hips and look admonishing. "You have." He said again. "This has to do with that other timeline."

"Flashpoint, yeah. He went by the name The Rival. He was an evil speedster who used the Negative Speed Force. He was what made me realise I needed to set the timeline right. Or part of it... I'm sorr--"

"Save it." Harry sounded even more irritated. "So, yes, Ms. Bennet, there could be more than one person. But the odds that this Rival exists in this timeline are slim. Right, Allen?"

"Right, Dr. Wells." Barry still sounded like a kid who had been caught stealing from the cookie jar. To help elaborate to Claire, Barry added, "The Negative Speed Force is a truly hateful thing. You have to be a speedster and have hatred in your heart to harness it. It isn't something that just happens. Even Zoom's speed wasn't Negative."

[infinite1ups]

Claire wasn't a big fan of the tension mounting; it didn't do much to help her own frayed nerves. Plus, Barry had this kicked puppy quality that made her chest ache, even if she understood Harry was just trying to keep everyone safe from Thawne, and there were other things that clearly happened before she met any of them. She gave Barry an extra squeeze of a hug when he was back at her side. There'd be even more cuddles at home, she'd make sure of it.

"He has a lot of assets that he's willing to put at our disposal, and Angela decided it was too valuable to pass up." Noah explained, not looking terribly pleased about it. He hated how uncomfortable it made Claire, but he was also being tugged in several different directions about the situation. Part of the agreement was that Sylar would stay away from Claire, and he was honoring that so far.

Of course it was Angela's call, in the end. The last of the remaining Company founders. Noah had just been an agent, and now a right hand man of sorts, because of their family connection and other history.

"Peter says he's making progress, whatever that means." Claire didn't bother to hide the sarcasm in her voice. The entire situation left her unsure of who to be the most upset with. Even she had to admit that Sylar had been a victim for some of it. He didn't deserve what Angela and Parkman did to him.

She sighed, hating that she had to accept this fact sooner or later. "I can deal with Sylar, if I have to. Better the devil I know." At least she could be fairly certain he wouldn't hurt her - he'd just be annoying as hell.

[captaincaveman]

Harry wasn't about to forgive Noah for that one just yet, but he wouldn't make a huge scene about it right now. They had enough to worry about with Thawne and timelines and the like. He did, however, pointedly add, "I've found out first hand what happens if you push too hard, Mr. Bennet." Jesse stepped back into her dad's bubble and leaned against him almost like an apology. He'd almost died when she ran away, so they had both learned lessons in that moment. Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of the last words she might've said to her dad before he died would've been that he was just as bad as Zoom.

"Just keep him out of Central City." Barry warned as he held Claire. "He might be an Evolved Human, but he won't see me coming if he upsets Claire." Yep, that sure was a threat.

[infinite1ups]

The last words Claire had said to Noah before he'd gotten fatally shot were an argument. She might have even told him she hated him. It was truly a stroke of luck - maybe even a miracle - that Mohinder had her blood samples and that the transfusion had worked to bring her father back. So she would have known exactly how Jesse was feeling.

Now she leaned into Barry, feeling prouder of him than ever. Even Noah could respect that reaction, and it showed.

"It's part of our agreement," Noah assured them. "Sylar will stay away from Claire unless he's needed, and even then he's still on notice."

Even Sylar's telekinesis couldn't move faster than Barry. She glanced up with unbridled adoration. "You'd mop the floor with him," Claire sighed. She might even have swooned a little before she relaxed again. "Honestly, though, I'm surprised he'd agree to work with Angela after everything she did to him."

Noah shrugged. "He says it's his best shot at trying to prove himself. But I'd be lying if I said the situation with Angela wasn't tense sometimes. Peter's been keeping the peace."

And didn't that sound just like her uncle? She was almost afraid to explain the context. It was one of the more fucked up situations her family had been in.

"To make a long, messed up story incredibly short: Angela convinced Sylar that he was my dead bio-dad because she couldn't handle losing her eldest son. Who Sylar killed. He then proceeded to live as Nathan, shapeshifted and essentially telepathically brainwashed, for months, believing he was Nathan Petrelli. I hugged that man, believing him to be my father. But it was Sylar." Claire winced as she explained. Truly, she didn't blame Sylar for it, as much as she hated him. None of it was his choice, and he'd been furious to have it done to him.

But wait! Noah had more. "This is after Angela and her late husband both lied and convinced Sylar he was their son to manipulate him. So, yeah. There's tension."

They were the most dysfunctional family, loyal to a degree that was probably unhealthy, she thought. It was almost a little embarrassing.

[captaincaveman]

"That's pretty messed up." Jesse blurted out and Harry looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Jesse." His tone was admonishing, but... he wasn't going to lie, he agreed with her.

"No, dad. Literally no one is in the right there." Jesse was a very strongly virtuous coded young woman and Harry loved her for it, but he also knew the world was never shades of black and white. Not that he thought this was any decent shade of grey on a moral compass.

[infinite1ups]

Noah would be the first to admit he wasn't one to shy away from morally grey, but he also knew this was a much darker shade. It had been an ugly situation all around, and no one really knew how to stand up to Angela, who had been nearly mad with grief.

"It's not my proudest moment," Noah admitted. "Not that any of it was my choice, but I didn't push hard enough to stop it."

Claire felt even more of a sisterly bond to Jesse in that moment. Her morals were a little stronger, most certainly due to Sandra's hand in her upbringing, but even she had her ethical blind spots. She liked to think she'd taken the best of all her parents, adoptive and biological.

"Angela worked pretty hard to make up for that. She's not like, the kind of grandma who I'll go make cookies with or whatever, but she had my back after my jump, and even more after I ran away. She defended me when my dad wanted to drag me back to DC." Claire had expected Angela to be as mad as Noah has been. But it was her grandmother who pointed out how impressive it was that she'd stayed under the radar for months.

"And she was right about that," Noah admitted. "You proved that you can take care of yourself out here."

Claire shrugged, from her cozy spot nestled in at Barry's side. "Somehow, despite all this, we're kind of closer than ever? Except Sylar, of course. But the fact that I haven't made good on my vow to kill him, well. It's not only because I haven't figured out how yet. I still hate him, I just don't know if he's worth the effort - living well while he's been miserable is some pretty good revenge."

[captaincaveman]

Hey, Harry was by no means on the side of good karma either. But being around Barry for these last two years had swayed him some towards the side of redemption. That and wanting to be someone his daughter could be proud of had helped. But even this was darker than the straight up murder he'd committed in his opinion. There was something truly twisted in brainwashing another person into thinking they were someone else and keeping them around to act as a stand-in.

"You and my dad have a lot in common. Moral ambiguity included." She said and instantly regretted it when she felt Harry stiffen and pull away slightly. "I-- I didn't mean..."

"No, you're right. I was just thinking the same thing." Harry admitted and kissed the top of her head.

Barry shook his head. "He's not worth having that blood on your hands, honey." He said softly. Barry didn't kill. Even as much as he hated Thawne, he wanted to lock him up, not kill him (for now). He'd lost his cool with Zoom, but regained it and let the Time Wraiths deal with him in the end.

[infinite1ups]

Claire had noticed the same similarities, particularly when Harry talked about how far he would've gone to save Jesse. Noah would've done the same, and probably worse, to save her.

There was a lot he'd done that she still didn't know about. That she might never know about.

"I've killed anyone, but I came damn close a few times," she said thoughtfully. Noah looked somewhere between proud and uncomfortable. She absolutely got that from him. He'd even helped. "I don't think I mind bloody hands if it means one less monster."

Though her ordeal with the Chameleon had haunted her at first, she'd gotten over it when she reminded herself that it had nearly killed three people she cared about. Yeah, she'd only met Leonard Snart the one time, but that sort of trial won her loyalty faster than just about anything.

That loyalty, when someone earned it, was one of her better traits. But her occasional fixation on vengeance was one of her worst. Fortunately, she could be talked down from that ledge.

"He's behaving, and he's leaving me alone. That'll do for the time being." Sylar couldn't touch her now, not with Barry around. And he'd be jealous, not just of Barry's power, but of their relationship, which gave her a certain satisfaction she refused to admit to. "If he can behave, so can I. Even better if he's willing to help us against Thawne."

[captaincaveman]

Barry shook his head lightly. "When Zoom killed my father in front of me... I'd just gotten him back. He'd been in jail most of my life because Thawne framed him for killing my mother. When Thawne gave me the confession as Harrison Wells saying he killed my mother, I finally had him back. Then in no time at all, Zoom took that away from me and made me watch him kill my dad, thinking it would make me just like him. A murderer. He was almost right. If Harry," Harry inclined his head hearing his name. "and Joe hadn't stopped me, I would have. I was so angry, so broken, I wanted to kill him. I wanted revenge. But Harry shot me. And Joe locked me in the Pipeline to cool off."

"And Allen came around in the end. There are other ways to deal with monsters, Ms. Bennet. Zoom was the monster who kidnapped Jesse, dominated my entire world, wiped out most of my Earth's law enforcement, tortured me," Harry tugged down the collar of his shirt to show the top of the lichtenberg figure scarring Claire saw when she first met him. Scars only obtained by being high voltage electricity. "and used me to steal Allen's speed. He came here to conquer this Earth. He pretended to be our Warth's Flash at the same time and pretended to be Allen's friend. Kidnapped Snow and mentally tortured her. He's killed more people than I could keep track of. The definition of monster. I have a lot to atone for after what I did working under the pressure of Zoom to save Jesse, and some," He glanced down at Jesse subtly so she wouldn't notice. "call me a monster for what I've done. I've murdered people, used and betrayed good people. I nearly got Allen killed. I stole his speed for Zoom. Detective West was ready to put a bullet in my head for everything I did to his foster son." He was painting this picture for a reason. "Ms. Bennet, would you have had it in you to pull the trigger, seeing Allen flat lining in the med lab, covered in blood, because of what I'd done to help Zoom?"

Barry wanted to ask about Sylar helping against Thawne, but he was almost afraid of interrupting Harry right now.

[infinite1ups]

Claire listened, her jaw set, as both men made their cases. She was quiet for a moment, half stewing (nothing personal, it was a reflex) and half thinking of how to respond. But all in all she kept her expression even.

"I'm not saying it'd be easy," she began. "In fact, I'll tell you what I told Thawne, when I first met him. It'd be a last resort. Not something I take lightly. When I fought the hardest, I felt I was backed into a corner. And, for most of it, I was still a teenager."

Physically, she hadn't changed much since then. She wasn't sure if her slowed physical aging had any effect on her mental and emotional maturity - it could really go either way, but maybe that was down to her personality.

"Here, where I'm as safe as I'm gonna get, it's easy to say I could let a cooler head prevail and make the best decisions. It's always different in the moment, but even in the moment, killing hasn't ever been my real goal. When I drove Brody Mitchum into a brick wall, I wasn't trying to kill him, I just wanted him to stop hurting girls. Lori didn't want to come forward, and I couldn't tell anyone what happened to me because I was still keeping my regen a secret. He taunted me about it while I was in the driver's seat of his Mustang. No one in town was gonna believe a couple random girls over the star quarterback in a Texas high school, he was untouchable, and he knew it."

"Nobody except your mother and I," Noah interjected, and she nodded. "To be fair to Claire, this is largely due to my influence. I haven't always set the best example." Brody Mitchum was lucky Noah hadn't gotten to him first.

"I can't say I would pull the trigger on you, Harry," she continued. "But I also can't say I wouldn't find some other way to lash out. I haven't been in those situations for a long time, so I got... soft, I guess. Things are ramping up now in ways they haven't for years. Maybe I'm overcompensating for having let my guard down so long, and suddenly having so much more to lose."

[captaincaveman]

"I believe I said, Barry dies, you die." Joe said as he walked into the Cortex. "We're debating morality? If it helps, I shot him the day I met him."

"You thought he was Thawne." Barry defended.

"Yeah, and you caught the bullets, thank God. Patty Spivot shot him in the heart the day she met him, too. We nearly lost him. She also thought he was Thawne."

Harry rolled his eyes. This was derailing his entire moment. "Okay, I get it. Everyone's first reaction is to shoot me. I've been decked by Garrick and Detective West."

"Twice." Joe corrected. "He's pissed me off a number of times, but now," He shrugged. "he's part of the family."

"My point is, I would have deserved it, but you shouldn't have my blood on your hands Ms. Bennet. Allen showed me a kindness I didn't deserve, but sometimes, that's all it takes." There were cases where kindness wouldn't earn them any favours, but not all monsters were too far gone.

"And Zoom got what was coming to him." Barry said confidently. "I upset the Time Wraiths enough to get their attention and they found him. They were much angrier with him for everything he'd done, so they took him instead. Wish I could do that with Thawne." Barry frowned. "What did this Brody guy do to you?"

[infinite1ups]

As Joe entered, Claire brightened a little. The Dad Energy was going to be off the charts. Despite the serious subject matter, it was amusing to think about.

"It's one thing to make a bad choice in a bad situation, a decision no one should ever be forced to make. It's another when it's someone actively out to harm me or my people out of malice. When I've reacted violently, it's been toward the latter," Claire pointed out softly. Time for the proverbial two birds with one stone, making her point while also answering Barry's question. "Brody tried to assault me." It was the gentlest way she could prhase that.

"And when I ended up accidentally dead in the struggle - there are some situations where I don't revive immediately, and this was one of them - he dumped my body like trash. It's incredibly lucky I was found the same night, otherwise who knows how long I would've been out there, wherever he left me. Instead I woke up in the morgue and snuck home in the early morning."

She paused, awkward. "I did try to talk to him in the hospital. To apologize, I guess. I'm not sure why, it's not like he deserved my kindness. But... he didn't remember me." Her gaze shifted uneasily to her father.

"He was given a second chance. I didn't think Claire would've liked it if I killed him," Noah said, as a vague explanation. His morally gray implications were clear in the way he kept his tone mild.

Claire shrugged. "When I crashed the car, I was thinking about how many more girls he would hurt if I didn't stop him. Boys like him never get in trouble for that stuff, so I felt like it was up to me to do something. I wasn't really thinking about whether he'd live or die."

[captaincaveman]

Joe would really have to ask when he became 'fun dad'. Because Harry was certainly grumpy dad. But hearing what happened to Claire sobered up his more playful mood real quick. Like Harry, he'd do a lot to protect Iris, and if some hothead tried to force himself on her, the punk would find out why you don't mess with a cop's daughter. "I'm not gonna get used to hearing that you woke up dead." He muttered. "This healing thing just sounds like magic to me and my kid's the Flash."

Harry lifted his chin a bit and looked to Noah. "I know I'm here preaching second chances, but call me a hypocrite in this case, because you're a bigger man than I am, Mr. Bennet. I wouldn't have let him live."

"Dad!" Jesse admonished. "You were doing so good." She sounded disappointed.

"You've been through a lot." Barry said softly and caged her with his arms protectively.

[infinite1ups]

"I almost didn't," Noah admitted, appreciative that Harry understood. "I gave him an opportunity to forget about all the terrible things he things he'd done and maybe make something better of himself."

Claire leaned her head on Barry's chest, arms looped around his waist. But despite the subject matter, she cracked a grin.

"Technically, I woke up alive," she said cheekily. "But really, I was glad there was no one in the exam room. I stole a lab coat and snuck out before anyone caught me." Thinking about how filthy she'd been afterward made her skin crawl, and she shivered.

"Shit." Her head lifted, and she looked a bit like a deer in headlights. "Thawne knows. We were geeking out over our respective abilities, and he knows about... how to take me out like that. The kill spot."

"Claire, you didn't." Noah's voice had gone cold. She stiffened in Barry's arms.

"We were both just going back and forth, and he was doing that thing where he was worried about how much I get injured. He thought I had only almost died, so I clarified... with too much clarification. At the time there was no reason to think he'd hurt me, he kept lecturing me about hurting myself." A lot like Harry's lecturing, but she left that part out.

[captaincaveman]

Barry held her even tighter when she stiffened, as if she could protect her from her father's ire. But even Harry seemed to echo Noah's concerned annoyance. At least Joe just looked worried. Also, Harry would appreciate not being compared to Thawne, thank you. Despite the hand full of similarities.

"You're far too open with your weaknesses." Harry scolded.

"I'm pretty sure she gets that." Barry defended. He's been on this end of the scolding before too, so he felt bad for her. Harry, his father, and Joe all got on his case when he got back from the Speed Force after getting his speed back reminding him he wasn't invincible. Not that he thought he was.

[infinite1ups]

She'd sort of expected Barry to be just as disappointed with her. Maybe he was, but outwardly he defended her. That was a huge relief, and she settled once again. She definitely thought she was invincible sometimes, despite knowing otherwise.

These last few reminders of her weaknesses were sinking in more than they had in the last. Claire still couldn't say for sure if they'd stick.

"Thawne warned me about it too, when I told him," she said with a bitter huff of a laugh. "He was concerned, or pretended to be." Though in her opinion, his worry over her had been genuine. The pain in his voice on that recording haunted her.

But she was also determined to find a bright side. "If Sylar gets out of control again, at least more people can know how to take him down. There's a spot in the back of the head, right at the base of the neck. I had a branch stuck there. Anything would work, though. A bullet would probably be the most permanent, since it's the hardest to remove. We'll still revive once it's out."

Noah's agitation had lessened slightly. Claire knew from looking at him that she wasn't out of the woods yet. "That is helpful," he conceded. "So far, Sylar's been stable, though now there are many more variables we can't predict, so he's on the back burner. Any tests or help we need, we'll be calling in Peter - he can be trusted."

With Sylar's ability and the obsession - the Hunger, he called it - within him to know how everything worked, she was worried when it came to him learning about things like the Speed Force and the NSF. Especially the Negative Speed Force. No matter how much he was trying to turn a new leaf, that was a man with a lot of hate and anger. If any non-Meta could figure it out, it'd be Sylar. Figuring things out was literally his superpower.

"I think we should learn more about the interactions between Meta and Evo powers sooner rather than later, then," Claire said, somewhat distantly. Her mind was a thousand miles away, haunted by two villains now. "I want to make sure it's safe for Peter."

And to make sure there was no possibility Sylar could tap into powers wielded by Meta-humans.

[captaincaveman]

"When Thawne was pretending to be Dr. Harrison Wells, he did a lot of things that messed with my head and emotions, Claire. The man saved my life countless times. He helped me get faster, helped me save lives, he protected all of us. According to Cisco, he called him a son just before killing him. Even after I found out he was the Reverse-Flash, but had to keep playing along so he didn't know, it was almost easy to forget he was the man who killed my mother when he'd talk to me. Like he cared about me. Like he wasn't a psychopath." She'd feel Barry start to tremble half way through that rant. He was fighting back his own emotions.

"Barr... I'm pretty sure he knew you knew. The man was always onto us, with all his... surveillance cameras..." Joe trailed off, looking alarmed.

"He's locked out of STAR Labs Gideon now. He can access any of it!" Barry quickly addressed Joe's fear.

"Why didn't we do that before?" Joe asked.

"Because he was dead." Barry said but at Joe's confusion, remembered the altered timeline and amended, "Because we didn't know he'd be back and it locks Harry out too." Joe responded with a little 'Ah.'

"What about decapitation?" Harry asked nonchalantly. "If Sylar ever comes after you again, I think just separating his head from his body might make things easiest. Store them in different locations so they can't rejoin." He felt Jesse shiver at just how easily her father suggested that. Even Barry looked a bit unsettled, but he wasn't completely against it if it saved Claire's life... he just wouldn't be the one doing it.

"Jesse and Snow will work on Thawne's data while Ramon and I work on security. I can fill in knowledge gaps if Jesse and Snow need assistance."

[infinite1ups]

Barry's trembling broke her heart all over again, and it was her turn to hold on protectively. "Babe, I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet, the words intended just for him. She regretted bringing up Thawne at all, much less appearing to give him the benefit of the doubt. How she felt was hard to ignore, but she could at least shut the hell up about it until she finally squashed those feelings for good. What would it take?

"Decapitation would work. But I... don't think there's any coming back from that at all," Claire said with a shudder. Sure, maybe their heads could be reattached, but she didn't want to find out first hand. Anyone with intent to hurt her, who knew of her regeneration, would probably come up with decapitation on their own just like Harry did.

"That's not something we ever tested with Monroe at The Company," Noah added. Claire paled a bit. She'd read Adam's file, and knew that Adam Monroe was absolutely the reason why her dad had fought so hard to keep them from getting her. To save her from facing the same fate, but also to keep her away from him.

"Dad and I can fill in with Evo knowledge from our end, too." She tried to smile, once again looking toward the med lab. "Looks like Cisco's gonna be okay."