Dropping In

[swoopyhair]

Once he'd gotten word from Noah that it would be safe, Peter was eager to visit Central City and see Claire. It was nice to hear she'd finally settled down, and something he expected to happen sooner or later. What he didn't expect, however, was to hear she'd gotten herself into a relationship. At least not so soon after moving in.

But he understood all too well what it was like to fall in love with someone at first sight. He was glad that it seemed to be going much better for his niece than it had for him.

There was also some lingering curiosity about the dream he'd had. The one where he was in that weird room with Claire and a bunch of people he didn't know - her friends, he would later learn after talking with Noah. He assumed he'd meet them eventually, though maybe not today. It would make sense if she wanted to introduce him slowly and let them build up trust in him. She'd never been so open with her relationships that he could remember - the last one he knew anything about had been with Gretchen and even then he barely had met the woman. Peter didn't want to push too hard and end up distancing himself from Claire all over again. He was all too aware that his involvement with Sylar had put a strain on them, and he wanted to use this time to try and set things right.

Claire had texted her address just after moving in, so he knew right where to go. But rather than teleport directly into the apartment, Peter popped into the hallway. He was planning to surprise her, and now that he was there, he hoped she was home so he didn't have to text her and ruin the surprise.

He knocked twice, then waited for her to answer.

Comments

Ha, nice! Claire will probably say something like it at one point whenever she gets the chance.

[swoopyhair]

Claire settled almost immediately as Barry kissed her. Peter could still feel her concern, but for now at least, she was content to let the issue drop. She could argue with the best of them, he knew from experience, so he was glad to see she finally could choose her battles. Or maybe Barry had a unique advantage over everyone else - Peter assumed it was this, actually.

"Don't worry," Peter assured Cisco, grinning, "I'm around all kinds of moods in my paramedic job, this is almost a break for me." The antics between the two men seemed to be the norm, and he could feel the strong family bond everyone shared. Even Claire, despite being a relative newcomer. Obviously they'd taken her in immediately, she already seemed right at home. He was glad for her, knowing how much she'd been wandering, and again feeling a sting of shame in remembering how he'd let her down for so many years.

"Is it the plague mask guy? Be safe out there, babe." Claire frowned, concerned, even as she leaned up to steal a kiss. "I'll be alright. We're probably just gonna be here, but if anything changes I'll let you know. Maybe today will be one day without an emotional roller-coaster or some kind of crisis..."

"Hey, whatever comes our way, I've probably got an app for that," Peter joked, hoping to be reassuring. "Claire was talking about having tests done with her regen." He held up his hands in a gesture of openness. "If she trusts you, so do I. Whatever I can do help us learn. There's a lot I'm figuring out, myself." It almost felt like way back in the beginning, when he was first absorbing powers and still thought he could be a hero. Peter tried to rein that feeling in some, lest he get too excited.

It didn't fully set in on Peter that he was now surrounded by a gaggle of scientist (and Claire) nerds who wouldn't be shy about their eagerness to learn.

I'm always here for puns and dad jokes!

[feelthelightning]

"Ever seen any of the Avengers movies? This guy's the Hulk when it comes to rage issues." Cisco said through a mouth full of brownie, pointing his thumb at Harry who was standing just outside the Med Lab door.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Ramon!" Harry snapped and Cisco paused chewing just long enough to glare daggers at Harry. But the emotions between the two were hardly vitriolic. There was a strong fondness between them. Yes, this was their normal dynamic and Harry's perceived agitation was mostly all bluster.

Barry ignored the two grown toddlers and nodded. "Yeah, Alchemy. We... find these skins like the victims were just squeezed out of their skin like an empty tube of toothpaste. But the Husk is gooey and semi-transparent. We've ID'd a few of the victims, and each one..." Barry looked deeply concerned, then was choked with guilt. This was his fault, he just couldn't figure out how Alchemy was doing it. "Each one goes from normal human to Meta. But it's not just that. These are all people who were Metas in Flashpoint. That timeline I created then reset. Somehow Alchemy knows about Flashpoint and they're turning people into Metas that shouldn't be." Barry was finding it hard to make eye contact with Claire out of shame. "None of this would be happening if I hadn't screwed with the timeline." He said quietly so it wouldn't carry past her.

Caitlin stepped out past Harry and smiled warmly at Peter. She was wearing a new necklace with a pendant that glowed a bright blueish white in the shape of a snowflake. "I'm Dr. Caitlin Snow! Just call me Caitlin. I try to make sure no one kills themselves." She said with an airy laugh. "Harry said you're Claire's uncle we've heard so much about! It's nice to finally meet you!" She held out a hand. There was nervousness rushing off of her in waves for so many reasons. She had the energy of a frightened rabbit.

Same! Absolutely assume that Claire tells Barry every goofy joke she hears, 'cause she will. <3

[swoopyhair]

"Hey..." Claire reached up and touched Barry's cheek, gently turning his face toward hers. "You didn't hurt those people, Alchemy did. Please, try not to be so hard on yourself." She was really starting to believe that all this timeline screwing - by Metas and Evos alike - had led her to Barry. The future still wasn't set in stone, but choices clearly led to different outcomes, if there were infinite Earths to reflect that. Hearing Barry explain it to Peter really made her stop to consider her beliefs on the topic, hence her faraway look back at the apartment.

Plus she'd taken a small moment to spiral, thinking about certain choices she'd made, and the Earths where she'd done things differently. But she knew it would lead her nowhere good to dwell on that too long. She offered Barry a smile, keeping her voice quiet. "If there are others Alchemy hasn't gotten to yet, it's not too late. You can help them. I believe in you, Bear."

Peter looked to the new arrival with a warm smile. He noted the unique pendant she wore, but didn't know the significance. Though he did find it pretty cute it was a snowflake and her name was Snow.

"Yeah, that's me. Peter Petrelli," he introduced himself and took her hand to shake. The nervousness radiated from her, and by contrast he was practically exuding calm. His initial apprehension about meeting Claire's new friends had faded away pretty quickly. "It's really nice to meet you, Caitlin. I can't guarantee I won't have any near death encounters at some point, but at least I have Claire's regen? I bounce back almost as fast as she does. Plus I'm a paramedic, and before that I was a hospice nurse, in case you ever need a hand."

He will love that. XD Also, Peter is welcome to hear any loud italic thoughts.

[feelthelightning]

"I don't know them all. Just the ones Kid Flash--" The calm Claire had been helping him reach was gone in an instant, replaced by suffocating panic. It struck him so badly that even the air around him became charged with static. Wally! "You're right! I've gotta go!" He kissed her quickly and sped off with the typical whoosh.

Cait hadn't noticed Barry's panic, but she did notice him whoosh away. Still, she laughed. "Well, I'll do my best to see to your wounds just in case." She promised. Her hand lingered a moment too long then she pulled it back and fidgeted. The most awkward, nervous human being to ever breathe. "It'd be nice to have some extra help in the Med Lab. Jesse's amazing, but we've been working non stop on V-9 testing and trying to counter an agent that would disable Claire's regen that I think I worked her to exhaustion." She glanced back at the lab.

That is my favorite method for hearable thoughts so thank you. :D

[swoopyhair]

No one had mentioned a Wally before, Peter didn't know who that was. Was he connected to Kid Flash? That had been the last thing Barry said before that loud thought slipped out. He was hesitant to ask, because he really was doing his best to stay out of everyone's heads.

Caitlin lingering didn't bother him much. The poor woman seemed so anxious that he almost wanted to offer her a hug, but he decided not to in case it made her feel worse. Instead he offered a soft, reassuring smile. "I have no idea what most of that means, but I'll be happy to help. Pretty sure Harry might never forgive us if we worked Jesse to the bone."

It was fairly obvious even without empathy that Jesse was Harry's priority in pretty much everything. Naturally, it reminded him of Noah and Claire. Nathan hadn't been much of a father like that to any of his kids, even Peter had to admit that no matter how much he idolized his brother. Harry certainly came across gruffly, but it seemed to come from a place of caring.

"Oh, right!" Claire piped up, catching his attention. "Velocity 9 is a drug that can give people superspeed, temporarily. But it's super dangerous and highly addictive. So Caitlin and Jesse have been testing with my blood to see if I can use it safely." She paused, and it was fairly obvious to Peter that she was debating with herself about how much to tell him. "If it works, Barry's gonna teach me how to use it so I don't crash-- and I can learn how to throw lightning! It would only be a once-in-a-while thing, though. For situations when I might really need it, like... when I talk to Thawne."

No wonder her thoughts had been so excited back at the apartment, and no wonder she'd hesitated to tell him more. This was exactly the kind of thing Claire would have wanted for years. Back then, he might have balked at the idea, maybe he even would have tried to talk her out of it. Now, though... she seemed to have a level head about the whole thing amidst her excitement. Plus she had a team of literal geniuses to back her.

That bad future seemed to have been well and truly avoided, yet he still occasionally worried about her going dark side. Peter knew that was stupid. Maybe she was even more of a hero than he was now.

He watched as Claire stepped over to Caitlin, gesturing at the necklace. "New bling?" she asked playfully, then perked up even more. Somehow she failed to notice the irony in teasingly asking about new bling. "Oh, wait-- is this what I think it is? It's an improvement on the design, if so." It was asked in such a way that indicated there was other information Peter wasn't privy to. He understood that Barry worked with other Meta-humans, and he knew Cisco was the guy with the mutual visions, but he wasn't sure of the other Metas on their team. Even with the strong emotional ties in the room, he wasn't feeling any powers from them.

Then again, he wasn't really feeling the Speed Force anymore, either. He made a mental note to ask if there was some way he could test it. For now he didn't want to draw that much attention to himself.

Same! That's how I always handle it too!

[iamnotuptight]

The soft, reassuring smile did wonders for Cait. She eased some and returned the smile. "Harry has a strong work ethic and I think Jesse inherited it. But you're right. He's the protective type." She faced Claire on that note with an excited smile. "Good news! It seems after 97 consecutive tests, your cells show no signs of cellular degeneration! It should be safe for you to use. Medically speaking." She couldn't say if the concerns of addiction would be a problem. That was partly psychological and not something she could test with blood samples. "Whenever you and Barry are ready, we can start a live test, but I want you to tell me immediately if you feel any strange symptoms when it wears off. I have benzodiazepine, buprenorphine, acamprosate, disulfiram, methadone, and naltrexone on hand just in case. Not that they will probably help much given how quickly you metabolise medication, but the benzodiazepine can be loaded into the nanobots we use to tranq Barry and it's used to stop convulsions in case you have a serious reaction. But that's just all worst case scenario." Cait rambled. "I'm not instilling confidence, am I?"

Harry walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze of reassurance. One of his very rare moments of physical contact. "Snow. Breathe." He let his hands fall away when she took a breath and nodded. Then he got himself a brownie, joining Cisco.

Caitlin beamed at Claire and nodded. But don't worry, Claire, she noticed too! "It is! Harry finished it this morning! I don't think he's slept at all... but it has a state of the art battery cell, which is what gave him the idea for the power source for the speedster shield, and it can recharge in the sun or fluorescent lights so I don't have to take it off at all! It's also water proof and durable. He thought a pendant would make it look less obvious." She then caught Claire's hand with a bright smile and whispered, "When did this happen?"

[swoopyhair]

Nanobots? That was a thing? Peter could hardly believe what he was hearing. He'd acquired technopathy from Rebel, but even with it, he wasn't the most technologically-minded guy. He rarely used the power unless he absolutely had a need to. The last time had been to sneakily unlock a car door to free a trapped accident victim. It was way better than breaking windows.

Claire seemed a little surprised by what she was hearing too, so he didn't feel alone in being out of his element. Still, he knew his niece was already more used to things being... like this. She seemed excited by the news, clearly not deterred whatsoever by the warnings. If she had any worries, she was hiding them extremely well.

"That's excellent news! Ah, I can't wait to test it with Barry!" Claire was practically bouncing, but she quickly settled back down and turned more serious. "It's a beautiful design, I'd say it's some of our resident genius grump's prettiest work. And don't worry, if I feel anything that seems off, I'll let you know. Ninety-seven tests, though! All of you better be getting some rest, dang it." It was her turn to be mother hen, apparently. "Better make sure you and Jesse get a brownie before Cisco and Harry eat them all, too." She shot them both a cheeky grin, then turned back to Caitlin and immediately blushed, her voice lowering. "Oh-- uh, last night. Wasn't really planned, but you know how we both are."

Peter idly wondered what the snowflake could be for, since it was obviously a device of some kind. Was she a Meta? That would be up to her to disclose, of course. He was glad, at least, that Caitlin seemed a little more at ease. His empathy wasn't the kind that could project his emotions onto others, but he'd always had that chill aura about him. It was part of what made him such a good nurse and paramedic.

"Claire wasn't exaggerating when she talked about how smart you guys are," said Peter, almost in awe. Even with all of his abilities to help, their skills blew his out of the water. That was fine with him - he could contribute in other ways. He looked to Caitlin with curiosity, though also with slight concern. "You think this Velocity stuff could be like heroin to her?" He'd been on OD calls, it was nothing he wanted to see Claire going through. Not to mention his history with Isaac Mendez. "Psychological effects would be harder to test for, too."

His niece scoffed in a way that was so very her. He recognized that confidence all too well. "I tried a bunch of drugs, nothing got me addicted. I'll be fine," she said, trying not to sound petulant.

[iamnotuptight]

"It is, isn't it? I was surprised by the design! Harry can be thoughtful sometimes." Caitlin teased. "Impulsive and overly passionate?" Cait said with a soft smile. She rubbed her thumb over the ring then let go of Claire's hand. "Congratulations. You both seem to make each other very happy, so I'm happy for both of you." It was heartfelt and honest. Then, a little louder, she added, "And thank you for the brownies!"

The question from Peter caught her by surprise, and she looked much like a deer in headlights. That frantic rabbit energy was right back. I should have stayed in the Med Lab! But it seemed like at least the pendant was exactly as Harry had promised. It was stronger than the dampening cuffs, and there wasn't even a hint of Killer Frost despite her panic.

"I-- well, um..." She stammered, but Harry walked up and pressed a brownie into her hands.

"I helped Zolomon, or Zoom as he was called, develop Velocity-6 on my Earth. At the time, I thought he was our Earth's Flash trying to stop Zoom and he needed an edge because Zoom was just too fast. Unbeknownst to me, Hunter Zolomon and Zoom were the same person and he became addicted to the drug. Not only that, but it was killing him. He couldn't give it up and it disabled his ability to heal. Snow and I re-engineered the formula and seemingly fixed the fatal flaw of Velocity-6 so that it re-enabled the healing factor, but only so long as it was in Zolomon's system. We went through a few iterations, landing on nine. It seemed the most stable. Another scientist, Eliza Harmon, managed to recreate our formula for herself and used it but she wasn't a Meta. She became addicted to the drug just like Zoom. Without a sample of her formula, I can't say if it had anything to do with her own design being similar to V-6 or if it was identical to V-9. V-9 is untested in that area. Shortly after Eliza stole our samples of V-9, she died due to her lack of a healing factor. And the dose she forced onto my daughter was flushed out of her system with a blood transfusion." Harry said that last sentence through clenched teeth. He did not mourn Eliza's death at all. "So yes, there is a very real danger of addiction, which is why we're only administering a dose in a controlled environment so we can monitor Bennet. I promise you, Petrelli, her safety is our utmost concern." He offered Claire a soft, Harry-esque smile. "Not just because she makes us brownies."

But his gaze then hardened back into dad-mode and he put a hand on his hip. "Were these drugs more of you 'experimenting'?" The disappointment was palpable.

[swoopyhair]

"Thanks. I... have never been happier, honestly." Claire was beaming, sunshine incarnate as she had a tendency to be. Though Peter too was hit with a wave of disappointment at the flippant admission to experimenting. On one hand, he understood her curiosity, and even from a practical standpoint he could see why she'd want to test in case anyone tried to dose her with something against her will. On the other... he hated that she'd done so on her own.

Not that he'd made himself available to her for help, he remembered bitterly. She had been all but begging him for guidance, and he turned her away, afraid he'd somehow lead her down a path of darkness. It was a miracle that he didn't push her right down that path himself when he turned his back on her.

Peter focused up as Harry explained more about Velocity, and the more he heard, the less he liked it. He felt like he could trust Caitlin's judgement and professional opinion, however. She didn't strike him as the type who'd push for anything unsafe, not with all the anxiety that radiated off her. It eased his worries that Claire would be testing thoroughly before she used this substance out in the field, surrounded by people who would clearly stop at nothing when it came to keeping her safe. He could be content with that for now.

Beside him, he felt Claire's emotions doing a bit of ping-pong, from warm and pleased as Harry smiled at her, to slightly embarrassed as he called her out. It was very much the disappointed dad tone, and Peter quietly found it amusing. Just what she needed - more dads. "I'm glad she's got good people behind her. Well, more good people." Even if it was a stark reminder of how much he'd failed in that department. "All any of us ever wanted was to protect her."

"Yeah, it was experimenting," Claire admitted, then shrugged. "I just wanted to see what would happen. This one time at a party, I watched a guy slip something into this girl's drink when she wasn't looking, so I grabbed the cup and chugged it. You should've seen the look on his face." She laughed a little, then shifted awkwardly.

"You've never had to deal with things that can actually affect you before. Whatever substances you tried, they weren't in your system long enough for you to feel anything, let alone for your body to become dependent on them," Peter reminded her, trying to be gentle about it. Unlike her, he'd actually had the chance to get drunk before he absorbed regeneration the first time. "And you know what else is addicting? Power. You've never had power like this before. Be very careful, Claire."

"Oh, please. It's not like you're addicted to your powers," she protested, crossing her arms.

"No, but back when I had my original mimicry, I had to be vigilant so I didn't become too dependent on them. The way it works now is a little more self-regulating, but I'll always have to be careful to some extent." He reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "You can still do incredible things just the way you are."

"Now you sound like Barry." Claire tried to roll her eyes, but a smile erupted despite her best efforts not to let it. "He said I'm perfect with or without powers. Y'all gotta stop, it's really gonna go to my head."

"Does that mean you'll listen, then? 'Cause he'd also be telling you to be careful." He glanced around quickly at the rest of the crew, then stopped suddenly as his eyes passed over Cisco. It was like his brain had to buffer for a few seconds, and he chuckled quietly. "Whoa. This almost feels like the dream I had. Are you getting that, too?"

[iamnotuptight]

"That's exactly the problem." Harry cut in. "Addiction to power." He added. "Zoom was addicted to power. Enough that when he saw the opportunity, he jumped Earths to come here so he could steal Allen's speed. He tried to steal Garrick's speed but couldn't accomplish it without my help. That's why he kidnapped my Jesse." His tone had started out stern but lost its strength near the end. "I'm not saying you're anything like Zoom, but you need to be careful. Adrenaline is a drug you can feel and believe it or not, I know what it feels like to be addicted to that high." He gave her a softer look that said 'lecture over'.

Cait still had that nervous rabbit energy about her, nibbling on her brownie quietly off to the side. She was not getting between grumpy dad mode and his target. At least not when she shared his concerns to an extent. "We'll make sure everything runs smoothly." She assured. "If it does, then you're free to use it outside the lab." Caitlin smiled. "Barry and Peter are right. You don't need powers." Said from someone who wanted so badly to get rid of her powers.

"Powers are just a headache anyway." Cisco added with a smile. He brushed the back of his hand under his nose, checking for blood just to be sure and chuckled. "Yeah, I'm getting that too." No blood. "Identical as the feedback loop I had. But I'm good right now. I think it was just me Vibing you seeing my Vibe was making me Vibe too many dimensions at once, which strained my powers. My Vibes work off of dimensional energy and too much sends me into overdrive. But we Gucci now."

That tiny spark of Speed Force left over from Peter having touched the Speed Force once would tingle in the back of Peter's mind. Even without the speed, he could still slightly sense natural Speed Force users when they used the Speed Force now. In a rush of air and yellow lightning, a young brunette stopped in the middle of the Cortex. She smiled, crystal blue eyes sparkling. "I'm missing a party? Why didn't anyone wake me?" Jesse asked.

[swoopyhair]

Even Claire couldn't deny that she was something of an adrenaline junkie. She'd just learned to get her fix in more controlled ways, like bungee jumping in Hawaii or ziplining in Vegas. Even just letting Barry run with her was a rush the likes of which she'd never felt before, one she was all to happy to let him share with her. But that, at least, was always on his terms.

For a moment it looked like she might say more, but then Peter was distracted once more by that familiar tickle in his head. It felt like what he'd experienced with Barry, but this time the feeling didn't linger, and there were no other lasting effects. His heartrate stayed normal.

Interesting, he thought, how he could still sense the Speed Force despite not being able to access it. He idly wondered if he'd be regain that access once he was near Barry again, or if there was temporary access with a set time limit and cooldown period. Good thing they had a whole entire lab to test. It would be useful to know if they ever needed someone else with that kind of speed. Considering what they were up against, he wanted all the help he could get.

"Jesse! You all should be resting, after how busy you've been. I'm glad you caught some Z's." Claire stepped over to hug the young woman, and in doing so instantly confirmed Peter's guess. By process of elimination, of course this was Harry's kid. The only one they had spoken about that he hadn't yet met. He watched his niece step back and excitedly wave a hand toward him. "My uncle's here! This is Peter. Peter, Jesse."

"Hello, there." Peter offered a smile and a wave, unsure if Harry might stare daggers at him for touching his daughter, even if it was just a handshake. "Another super science genius, Claire said. And a speedster too, it looks like." He was still catching up on who had powers and who didn't. "I, uh... I felt it, just now as you ran in." He realized now that it hadn't come up until now when the three of them arrived at the Lab. "When I met Barry at their place, we kinda had a moment when I was absorbing his speed. He talked me through it so I didn't crash out. I thought it was gone, though, until just now. Seems like absorbing Meta powers works differently for me compared to Evo abilities."

[iamnotuptight]

Jesse hugged her back tightly and giggled. "I slept like... four hours! 'm good! Besides, if my dad and Caity are gonna pretend they don't need sleep, then I don't either." She said stubbornly and shot them both sharp looks, clearly deliberately tattling on them. "And believe me, I tried to get them to sleep." She said, crossing her arms once Claire stepped back from the hug. But as soon as she was introduced to Peter, she smiled just as brightly again and ignored the wave, holding out a hand. "Jesse Wells!" Kid had a lot of spunk and she wouldn't let her dad dictate who she could or couldn't shake hands with, Peter.

"Yeah, I'm a speedster. I haven't had my power as long as Barry." She admitted. "I'm our Earth's Flash. Sorta. I go by Jesse Quick." She flashed her dad a grin and he looked so proud. "Since our Flash turned out to be Zoom in disguise. "The Speed Force is... well, it's special." She admitted. "It's a rush! But that makes sense, yeah. Barry and I can feel each other when we run. Or when other Speed Force users run. It's like... a tingle, right?"

Clumsy thumbs!

[swoopyhair]

Peter grinned as he shook Jesse's hand. He liked her spunky personality, and he figured it was at least partly why Claire got along with her so well. The two seemed to be pretty alike in some ways.

"Yeah, a tingle. First time I've ever had a Spidey Sense," he joked, laughing quietly. "I didn't actually get to try running fast. My heart was racing so much, and it kind of overwhelmed me at first. Overloading with powers was a problem in the past so I'm extra careful now. Barry helped me get under control, but I teleported here while he ran with Claire. I don't feel it anymore, though..."

He lifted his hand and tried to get the lightning to dance across his fingers again, but nothing happened. "I think it might be temporary?"

"Or maybe you have to be close to the source. You got it from Barry, and he left," Claire suggested, the she looked to Jesse with a rueful, but playful smile. "Four hours. Sheesh, you sound like me."

"That's also a possibility. I'm not sure how to test it. My power absorption doesn't work the same way it used to, even with Evos." He looked almost embarrassed. "It's heavily focused on empathy and sharing a connection with someone. For Barry, that connection was Claire."

And of course his niece beamed again. "That tracks," she said, and didn't elaborate. "Then she turned to Harry, Cisco, and Caitlin. "You guys aren't off the hook, you know. Whatever we get up to today, tonight better be rest time, or I'm personally going to tuck you all in." Somehow she managed to make it sound like a threat, albeit a loving one.

"She'd probably do it, too. She used to come to New York and force me to take a day off 'cause I work so much." Peter instantly regretting mentioning it, watching Claire's smile falter. Yeah, she had, and he'd done his best to shoo her away so he could go back to saving people.

To her credit, though, she didn't say anything and turn it into an argument. He expected to hear about it later, instead.

"One of these days I'm cooking y'all dinner too, so please send me your food preferences and dietary restrictions soon." Yes, that did sound exactly like Claire was giving them homework. It wasn't often, but she could put a little authority in her voice when she wanted.

"What's Earth-2 like?" Peter asked before he could stop himself. The curiosity was too much to ignore, especially now with two residents of another Earth right there.

XD It happens

[iamnotuptight]

Cisco pointed his third half eaten brownie at Claire. "Hey now, sister! Don't lump me in with the degenerates! I got my beauty rest, thank you! A full 8 hours on the lab couch while Harry did his Dr. Frankenstein routine! There's a reason I always look like a Latino God and Harry looks," he gestured up and down Harry's lanky form with the brownie. "like that."

Jesse giggled at Cisco and broke out into a full laugh when her dad beaned Cisco in the back of the head with a whiteboard eraser. Cisco squawked and threw it back indignantly and hit Harry square in the chest. To his credit, he looked pleased more than annoyed and caught it before it fell to the ground.

"My Earth is kind of more advanced but with older looking designs, I guess? Cisco called some of the stuff giving Steampunk, but I dunno what that means. Our cars are emission-less, we have a SkyRail system that dad designed. It runs through the twin cities. They're working on implementing it in other major cities. Oh! A difference I know about, we still have Atlantis! We have a lot less murder-y crime, which is why I'm able to stay here for so long. Our last serial killer on record was literally Zoom." She chewed on her lip, trying to think of anything relevant.

"Apparently our car designs are sleeker models of your Earth's 1960's models. From what I'm told." Harry offered. "Everything here is so boxy."

But then Jesse hooked into something else. "We can test your power if you want! Does it have to be a shared emotional target or just a strong emotion? Claire warned us you had telepathy, before we agreed to greenlight you visiting. I mean, we have a lot of secrets we keep to protect out loved ones, so don't be mad. But if that'll help you sync with my speed, you have my consent to sorta read my mind to align our emotions, if that makes sense?" She offered. Jesse was just as science minded as her dad, so testing for a theory was just as exciting for her.

"Jess."

"It's okay, dad. I trust Claire, so by proxy, I trust her family." She said with a smile.

[swoopyhair]

Claire seemed satisfied with Cisco's interjection, and laughed right along with Jesse at his and Harry's antics. "I also didn't forget to send a couple emails with some contact info," she added, her voice taking on a sort of sing-song quality. "I'm sure a certain someone will be reaching out soon."

Peter had no idea what that was about, but given the tone of Claire's voice, it sounded like she was setting Cisco up. He knew she'd collected an assortment of friends who were scattered around the country, but he didn't know enough about them to venture a guess as to who she might be referring to. One of them had been in New York for a while, and had packed up to tag along with Claire for a while before he'd gotten a chance to meet her.

It didn't help that he'd spent so much time keeping distance between them - he could've been so much more involved. Then again, did he really want Claire trying to set him up with her friends? His love life was a mess and had been for years; no one needed to be subjected to him and his issues.

He was utterly fascinated by the descriptions of Earth-2. Giving Steampunk was evocative enough for him to get a mental image, along with Harry's descriptions of the cars. It sounded... nicer, than this Earth. He knew better than to get too idealistic, though. Despite there being infinite Earths, the likelihood of any of them being perfect was incredibly small. Like everything else, there were probably good and bad things about every Earth.

"A strong emotional connection of any kind, really. Anything shared between me and the other person works best. A lot of times, unfortunately, it ends up being trauma bonding. Or, it can be as simple and literal as letting someone explain how they feel when they use their powers. That's how I picked up Technopathy from Rebel," Peter explained, then ran a hand through his hair. "There's not a hard and fast rule to how it works, but at least it seemed to work the same way with Barry as it has with others in the past. I just don't know if there's something I'm missing when it comes to retaining the power permanently. We'd have to determine whether it's related to the Speed Force itself, or if it's a thing with all Meta powers, I think."

He smiled softly, shaking his head. "Hey, it's totally understandable that you have your secrets, that's the last thing I'd get mad about. Funny enough, that is one thing I've noticed: Telepathy isn't as good a shortcut for gaining powers as I might like. If nothing else, though, it's a surefire way to share thoughts and find common ground to talk and connect on." There was a pause, and he almost seemed a little shy before he added, "I don't mind showing off powers, though, if it's something that could end up being helpful. I mean, this seems like the place to do it."

[iamnotuptight]

Cisco blushed and Harry raised an amused eyebrow. "Anything that can shut him us is worth noting." Wells said with a smirk.

Jesse looked giddy. "Well, Claire is like a big sister! If that helps! Also, I totally love seeing new powers! Especially when they're not trying to kill me! Show off all you want!"

"You don't want anything to do with mine. They're a pain." Cisco said flatly. There was still that hatred of them because of Thawne.

"Trauma bonding?" Caitlin asked meekly. "Do any of your powers... terrify you?" Her tone was careful, but fear rolled off her in waves as strong as Barry's love.

I forgot I gave him TK and electro until I looked at my list. XD

[swoopyhair]

There was a look of pride on Claire's face that almost rivaled Harry's when Jesse called her a big sister. But then looked like if she'd been holding something, she might've thrown it at Cisco, Harry-style. "Hey. Your powers saved our butts when you breached in to stop Hartley. And the God of Speed Vibe gave us a lot of info to work with," she reminded him. Peter realized she was probably talking about the day Noah had asked him to be dropped off in Central City. Noah filled him in later and mentioned something about her being attacked, but that she was safe.

"Precog powers can definitely be a pain," Peter agreed. "I've had two different kinds. The paintings were more helpful, but I don't have that one anymore. Dreaming the future can be confusing as hell." Breaching sounded useful, though. Similar to teleportation, but easier to move a crowd, he guessed.

He was close enough to Caitlin to really feel the emotion in her words, and it almost made him want to reach out and comfort her. But he didn't want to make her uncomfortable because she seemed so skittish. "They have in the past." His voice was quiet as he answered honestly. "I had a nuclear power, I was afraid I was going to explode and destroy New York if I couldn't get it under control. And when I first took Sylar's power, I was terrified I'd become like him. Intuitive Aptitude comes with a... hunger, an obsession with knowing and understanding everything, with gaining power and knowledge. It's part of what made Sylar what he was. I know from experience how hard it is to keep under wraps. Now it's held back by my empathy and the way it's caused the Aptitude to evolve into a more emotional one than analytical."

Peter took a deep breath and seemed to relax some. "But the rest of my powers are part of me now, just as the people I've gotten them from are part of my life. It's how I remember them, and their impact on me." He held out his hand, and with a gesture, lifted the container of brownies off the table and rotated them in the air before setting them back down. "Telekinesis from Sylar - it's not even his original power, but it's so deeply a part of him now, that I was able to absorb it. I got electrokinesis from him the same way, because he got it from someone we both knew."

[iamnotuptight]

"Yeah, well you don't know what it's like to be told you're only special because a murderer who you trusted killed you and gifted you powers!" Cisco snapped back, not even meaning to let that out. It... just came out. When Harry swatted him upside the head for being dumb, he flinched harder than he should have and Harry froze. He knew immediately what his mistake was; looking like Thawne.

Harry whispered a soft "...sorry." to Cisco and left the younger genius' side, moving to the far back of the room, almost like putting himself in time out. But he was trying to give Cisco breathing room from the trauma his face causes. And it helped, as much as it pained him to admit. Cisco lowered his shoulders a bit so they were no longer hiked up to his ears.

Cait nodded her agreement with him on the matter of fearing powers. "Some powers... need to be suppressed." She said softly. "I'm glad you were able to get you Aptitude power under control. Something like that sounds scary to live with. Knowing you could be a ticking timebomb..."

Cisco seemed to relax more when the brownie box floated around and he watched it settle. "That seems pretty nifty."

[swoopyhair]

It felt like everyone got tense from a moment, which confirmed Peter's suspicions that this was deeper than the usual banter. He watched as Claire moved to Cisco's side and gave his arm a gentle, comforting squeeze. "I know what it's like to be told I'm special by a villain who killed me and took my power," she said sadly. "Not quite the same, but I know how being special can feel like a burden."

Peter was hit with waves of bitterness each time the word special came out of her mouth. The hurt she felt at his closer relationship with Sylar really cut through. It was still a betrayal to her, as it probably should be.

Not to mention, what a betrayal it was to Nathan. His brother. The man Peter supposedly idolized. What a mess.

As if he didn't feel bad enough, he noticed how Claire looked away when Peter showed off the telekinesis. How many times had Sylar attacked her with it? He'd used it to saw open her skull, got God's sake. Sorry. He gently thought the word into her mind, but she didn't look at him.

Yeah. Me too, was all he got in response.

"It comes in handy," Peter said to Cisco, his tone lighter.

'Super handy for cutting my skull like a can opener," Claire muttered. It looked like she had more to say, but she bit her tongue.

Peter did his best to ignore it and stay positive for Caitlin. Clearly these questions and comments were coming from a place of experience. "Anything can be manageable with enough practice. Some are just more difficult than others, but I know a lot about controlling powers, so does my mentor, Claude."

He held up his hand again, grinning suddenly. "If you think teke is cool, check this out." With a look of concentration etched on his face, Peter's hand seemed to go invisible, but upon closer inspection, reflections from the lights in the room could be seen in the shape of his hand and arm. They were enttiely made of water. "I can do ice too, but I think this looks more impressive."

[iamnotuptight]

"Sorry, I didn't mean to downplay what you went through." Cisco apologised and smiled weakly at her. "Maybe it's not the same, but it's just as hard." Cisco flinched again when he heard what had been done to Claire. "Maybe don't tell Barry about that..."

Caitlin withdrew more and shook her head, pressing her lips together into a tight line. "You say that, but you haven't met my alter ego. Not everything is manageable." But she watched Peter's new display with curiosity and awe. She almost reached out to touch, but stopped herself. When he explained she withdrew her hand even faster, snapping it back to clutch the snowflake shaped pendant. "Water? That's interesting. We haven't encountered any Metas yet that can manipulate water like that. We had Nimbus who could turn himself into Hydrogen Cyanide gas, but not water vapour and the Mardon brothers who could control the weather, which included rain, but that's still different."

"On my Earth, we had a hydro-physiological Meta-human named Silas Waters. Went by Slick. He could do the same thing." Harry said from his corner of the room.

Caitlin rubbed her fingertips over her pendant. "I can do ice too. Well, not really me. My alter ego can." Her eyes welled with tears. "Everyone always said Ronnie and I were like fire and ice. And Ronnie turned into Firestorm and I'm turning into Killer Frost. Fire and ice." A broken sob escaped and she covered her mouth like she hadn't meant to let it out. Jesse zipped to her side and held her.

"Ronnie, her fiancé, died closing the singularity caused by Thawne when he tried to get back to his timeline a little over a year ago." Cisco explained.

And as soon as she'd started to heal, Jay showed up and she fell in love again only to lose him then be betrayed by him. She walked over to the comms console and took off her pendant. She picked up Cisco's coffee as icy fog rolled off her hands and her breath could be seen. The cup frosted over and she tipped it upside down, letting the frozen cylinder of coffee fall into her palm. Her hair started to bleed white and she quickly put the necklace back on, forcing the change to reverse. She put the frozen coffee back in the cup.

For a moment, as her hair had started to change, it would almost be impossible for Peter not to hear the angry voice in Caitlin's head clawing for control. Frustration and cold rage at being suppressed and ignored. Frost wanted blood. She wanted freedom. She wanted to destroy Caitlin.

"Hey! That was fresh, hot coffee!" Cisco lamented.

[swoopyhair]

"You didn't downplay anything," Claire said, quiet but firm. "It is just as hard. Two things can be true: what Thawne did to you sucked, and where your powers came from doesn't make you any less incredible." She bonked her head against his arm affectionately. "You're the best Bestie-In-Law ever."

Peter let his arm go back to normal, intrigued by Caitlin's reaction, and then deeply concerned. Alter ego...? But then she was taking the necklace off and he realized its purpose immediately. He winced at himself for implying ice powers weren't impressive, but he also got the impression she wouldn't take offense given how terrified she was of her own powers.

And with the onslaught of vitriol that hit him telepathically, he understood why. The voice in his head was decidedly not the Caitlin he was getting to know so far. He looked stunned for a few seconds, then quickly composed himself. She was already worrying about this enough, he didn't want to make her feel worse. But the concern was obvious on his face. Not pity or fear toward her, it was a genuine desire to help, mingled with a touch of helplessness because he didn't know how to help her.

"The necklace suppresses your power," Peter observed. What he really wanted was to ask if it suppressed the voice he heard, but he thought he'd rather save that for a private moment. The Company would have killed for that kind of tech back in the day, he thought suddenly. He hoped his mother's plan for a New Company was truly headed in a better direction - even if it was, something to control dangerous powers would still be useful.

"And now it's iced coffee," Claire piped in cheekily, clearly hoping to break up the tension.

Peter's focus was still on Caitlin. "I have... so many more questions. But I don't want to overwhelm you or anything." He shifted awkwardly, a sheepish smile forming. "I could always 'port for a coffee run, too."

[iamnotuptight]

Cisco gave her a short one-armed hug. "Bestie-In-Law?" A range of emotions swirled across his face like a storm: confusion, realisation, excitement, surprise, then disappointment. "Wait! Did you and Barry get married and not invite me?"

Cisco was a lot less quiet than Cait had been, so that caught Harry's attention and he keyed into the conversation the best he could from where he was.

"It does." Caitlin answered with a nod. "Harry made it for me last night. We've met... who I'll become from his Earth if we let Killer Frost out. So I've been wearing Meta suppression tech that Cisco and Thawne made, but... it wasn't strong enough and it needed to be charged regularly. Harry solved both those issues for me."

Cait held the pendant tightly in one hand, close to her chest. "If I become her, there's no coming back. I'll become a monster." She took a breath and composed herself, letting go of the pendant. "It's fine. You can ask me anything. I'll try to answer."

Cisco waved off the offer for coffee. "Nah." Though he had chuckled at Claire's joke. "Anger Management over there always brings me a new cup when he gets one for himself and the guy lives off caffeine. I legit think he'd actually die with out coffee."

Harry took that as a sign that he was no longer causing Cisco distress and gravitated close once again.

[swoopyhair]

"No way! I'm... jumping the gun a little," Claire answered playfully, lifting her hand to show Cisco the ring. "But close enough, right?"

"There's no separating Killer Frost from your power? Does the necklace suppress her as well? When you took it off... I heard her. Is that in your head all the time?" Peter asked gently. He was very much trying not to read Caitlin's mind now, whereas before he couldn't shut out that barrage of icy rage even if he'd had the presence of mind to try.

Niki Sanders had her an alter ego, he remembered. Her sister, Jessica. But eventually Niki learned to access her enhanced strength without Jessica having to take over. He couldn't recall exactly how she'd done it, though. Jessica hadn't truly been evil, just far more ruthless than Niki had been.

Peter wondered if he might be able to help with telepathy, maybe find a way to suppress Killer Frost. But it was something he wouldn't attempt without Caitlin's permission, and only if they had a set plan for what he was going to try to do. He knew all too well how telepathy could break a mind, and he didn't want to risk harming her in the process. "My bad, I know that's a lot at once. Answer what you can," he added, reaching to gently squeeze her arm. Sorry, Cait, he's just as touchy as Claire.

There was a laugh at the Anger Management nickname, and she offered Harry a smile as he moved closer to join them. "I was so right to get ahold of Becca. No shade to Jitters, but she makes the best coffee I've ever had. She's on a hunt for her blog now." Claire knew Peter was totally on his I can fix everything mood now, so she was letting him go along with that. "You really think Barry and I would go and get hitched without you guys? We're not that impulsive."

[iamnotuptight]

Cisco's bright smile was back and he practically bounced in his spot as he looked at the ring. "Congrats, dude! That's awesome!"

Jesse smiled at them and zipped over to look at the ring with a bright grin. Even Harry offered her a smile of pride.

"There isn't, no. Every time I use the frost power, it starts to pull me under and pushes Killer Frost to the top." Cait took the questions in order. "It does suppress her. I only briefly hear her when she starts to take over. Then it's like I'm under water." She looked down. "I'm sorry you had to hear her... she's so angry." Cait offered him a smile when he squeezed her arm. "It's okay, really. I've been through a lot recently. Cisco, Barry, and even Harry have all supported me through it." She just didn't want to turn into Killer Frost and cause them pain in return for everything they've done to help her.

"What other powers have you got?" She asked with a smile.

"Wouldn't he? You have met the man you're engaged to, haven't you?" Harry asked playfully and leaned against the console.

"You're secretly evil." Cisco pouted at Claire and blushed.

[swoopyhair]

Getting to officially share the news with her friends made Claire even happier. Even the day's emotional bumps couldn't keep her down.

"You don't have to apologize. I can feel it, how much it worries you, how hard you have to work to hold her back." He paused, eyes almost pleading, head tilted. Peter could do the puppy look too, it seemed. "I don't know how to help, but if there's anything I can do... I'll be here in Central City for a while, and even when I go back to New York I'm only a teleport away. Almost as fast as Barry."

He smiled more as he considered the question. "I think I've covered all of them-- oh, I have enhanced strength. Saying so feels too much like bragging, though." His hair fell in front of his eyes as he ducked his head shyly, and he lifted a hand to brush it back. "And I showed Barry and Claire this one, but not you guys."

Then his body almost seemed to wave and shimmer as he vanished into thin air. He picked up the coffee cup with Cisco's frozen coffee so that it looked like it was floating in midair. Then after a few seconds, he shimmered back into view and set the cup down. "I can share that one with another person, too, but I have to be touching them."

"Aw, Harry. I'll be the first to admit the temptation to run off to Vegas is pretty strong... but it wouldn't be the same without our family," she said with a content sigh. "And really, We've got too much else going on to be planning a wedding on top of it. None of that has even been a conversation. I've been too busy giggling every time I call Barry my fiancé." And sure enough, there was a giggle.

Claire grinned innocently at Cisco. Full on cheeseball mode. "How can you look at this face and call me evil? I'm wounded."