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

[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."

[iamnotuptight]

"I don't know. Barry can travel faster than light when he wants, but teleportation is pretty instant." She said with a smile. There were too many people in her life who could do the puppy dog eyes. It just wasn't fair. "The only help for me is a Meta-human cure, I think." It may sound like an offhanded comment, and that was because she wanted it to sound that way. No one knew she was actively trying to find a way to develope a cure. Cisco had suspicions but wasn't about to actually snitch on her.

Caitlin watched him shimmer out of sight with fascination. Cisco's attention was drawn to the floating cup with a wide grin. "Barry's gonna kick himself for missing out on all your power demos." He said.

"I'm sure you kids will find time to plan." Harry promised.

"Easily." Cisco answered with defiance. "Wounded? Keep those crocodile tears to yourself." He teased. "Why don't you meddle with Harry's love life? Or Caitlin's? Or Jes--" Harry shot him a venomous look and he hung on to the name altering it part way through for the sake of his own life! "--us? Jesus? I was totally gonna say Jesus. Not Jesse. Nope. Never. Why," He laughed nervously. "would you think I was gonna say Jesse?" Cisco dipped behind Claire so she was between him and Harry. "Save me!"

[swoopyhair]

"I appeared in the parking lot just in time to see Barry running up the side of the building," he explained, "I focused on Claire to 'port in here. So he got me by a few seconds." It was also Peter's first time at STAR Labs, now that he was familiar, he could pop right into the Cortex, and that'd shave off a second or two.

He laughed quietly. "That kind of speed is nothing like Evos, it's still blowing my mind a little. But do you really think a cure is the only option? I mean, if there was another way, would you want that?" If she was truly set on a cure, he knew he shouldn't push too hard. Asking once couldn't hurt too much, he hoped.

Claire laid a dramatic hand over her heart, mock-pouting at Cisco. "Who said I'm singling you out, huh? I have other friends. But I'm not sure if I know anyone good enough for Jesse. If anyone hurt her, I'd help him hide the body." She looked to Harry with that last bit, then she put on the innocent smile again. And yeah, she did shift more so Cisco could hide behind her. "You, though... I'm actually not sure. It's hard to guess what you might be into, but I might have had an idea or two."

She already had thoughts about the way Peter was looking at Caitlin, and she wasn't touching that. It was hard to tell if that look was his natural inclination to help someone who was struggling, or something more. With Peter, it could go either way.

Peter grinned at Cisco, shrugging. "I don't mind demoing again. He's seen invis and TP now, and he has his own lightning. Only difference is mine is blue." Nope, he wasn't warned about that being bad.

"Right! We don't need a demo of that," Claire said quickly.

[iamnotuptight]

Cait made a silent 'o' with her lips then giggled. "Did you say the word race? He must've hit some pretty high speeds if you did. But he still has to run slower when he's carrying someone. Not just the drag force, but the damage to their body." Her smile was warm, a sharp contrast to her buried powers. "I'd like to say Barry is a special case, but we don't have too many data points to compare him to. I mean, we have Jesse and the real Jay Garrick, who's been doing this thing for a while. But I never clocked him. Jesse is fast, but Barry's top speed is just the tiniest bit faster. Then again, he's had his power longer than Jesse, so he's trained more. Reverse-Flash and Zoom are different cases, and both faster than Barry. But of them, Reverse-Flash is the fastest." The light and excitement in her eyes when talking about her research into Meta powers dimmed at the question. "...I hadn't thought about it. It's not like I can miss something I never got used to having. How useful could ice powers be?"

Harry smirked approvingly. But Jesse huffed and punched her dad's arm in protest. Harry's smirk faded when Claire declaired that she was hunting for him too. "Just don't." He said flatly, but when Jesse elbowed him, he added a bit more gently, "I have no interest in 'getting back in the saddle' as it were."

Jesse touched Claire's shoulder and she'd feel the sudden shift in the world around them as everything froze but them. "Dad... sorta saw mom as his soulmate. I bet you had no idea he was that kinda romantic. Sorry about the Flash Time, but he'd get mad if he heard me talking about mom. It's been a decade and he still won't let himself get over her death." She dropped them out of Flash Time.

Thank goodness for Claire's objection, because both Jesse and Harry seemed to instantly get antsy at the mention of blue lightning.

"Zoom's lightning was blue. It's how he got his name. He kidnapped my daughter to use as leverage for four months. When I didn't do exactly as he wanted, he tortured me with that lightning. Threatened to do the same to my Jess." Harry said slowly.

"He never touched me, dad. I promise." Jesse assured him.

"So, understandably, Jesse and I might have a strong reaction to sudden displays of blue lightning without warning." Harry gave Claire a grateful look for her immediate thoughtful understanding.

I see what you did there!

[swoopyhair]

"There was a bit of a challenge in seeing who would get here first," Peter admitted sheepishly. "I don't doubt he was showing off a little."

"We did a sonic boom!" Claire interjected, obviously still thrilled about the experience. Then, she sighed wistfully. "I can't wait to go faster."

That didn't surprise Peter at all. Thankfully, he trusted Barry and everyone here at the lab to keep Claire safe. Sometimes that meant keeping her safe from herself. He heard a stray thought from her, something about going faster than she had with Thawne, which immediately concerned him, but he decided to ask her about it later, in private.

Outwardly, he was also grateful for Claire's warning. He hadn't planned on giving a demo of the lightning anyway, since everyone here was already familiar with it. But it was helpful to know for the future.

"Good thing I figured you guys didn't need to see it, and then Claire spoke up. You guys have some real doozies when it comes to bad guys. I'm sorry you had to deal with that." Peter shook his head, then smiled at Caitlin. "Hey, no pressure. It's just a thought. Ice powers can be pretty useful," he said. A hand came up, the moisture in the air starting to crystallize as he channeled his cryo ability. "I got it along with the water from Tracy Strauss. She works in DC, helping to make sure the government doesn't come after us again. I think she'll be occasionally consulting for the New Company too, so you might see her around Central City eventually."

"Tracy's good people. She saved my dad and I when we got buried alive in a trailer, 20 feet underground. She used her water ability to tunnel down to us, then we swam up. It was a close one for my dad," Claire said, frowning. And then she'd immediately disappointed him by going against what would have been his dying wish.

It was hard to regret the jump as much now, after hearing about the multiple Earths. All of her choices brought her here, to Barry, and all of these people she loved so dearly. She wouldn't undo a single thing.

In truth, Claire hadn't considered anything too seriously, when it came to Harry. She remembered his reaction when the topic of Jesse's mom came up. Jesse pulling them into Flash Time only confirmed what she already knew, and she gave her "sister's" shoulder a quick pat before they went back to real time. She wasn't even that surprised to hear about Harry being a romantic - that kind of grief was the kind that came from a deep love. "Don't worry," she assured Harry, "I really didn't have any plans, just a silly thought. Before I met Barry, I genuinely believed I'd never get married or any of that. Now look at me."

Claire gave Cisco a nudge. "Sorry Bestie, you're at the top of my Spreading The Love pyramid scheme," she teased. "And, while I'm convinced y'all will be adorable, I also selfishly kind of want to see what you make of all her weird ghost hunting gizmos with your tech wizardry."

XD Puns are funs

[iamnotuptight]

"Barry's one of the kindest people you will ever meet, but he can be kind of a showboat. Only in good fun, though. Not when there are real stakes." Cait admitted. She smiled at Claire's excitement over the sonic boom.

"That's my boy!" Cisco said excitedly. "The sonic boom is so bad ass, right?! Not gonna say Barry's confidence at Mach speeds is all me, but... It was." Cait rolled her eyes at Cisco but said nothing on the subject.

"We've also got some pushovers too." Harry admitted. "A couple have reformed into heroes. You're only hearing about the worst of the worst."

"And... I did get Killer Frost to help us save Barry and Jesse on Earth-2. She even fought Zoom to help us escape. So there's that." Cisco added. It made him wonder if maybe Killer Frost could be reached. He knew Caitlin was terrified of her but she'd helped them even when she didn't have to. It was never part of the deal to defend them against Zoom.

"Why were you buried alive in a trailer?" Jesse asked with alarm in her tone. Perhaps the better question was 'how' did that happen. Cisco pointed at Jess and nodded as if seconding her thought.

"I also wanna hear about these ghost hunting gadgets." Cisco said, intrigued.

Claire's name just works so well for it too!

[swoopyhair]

"It was so cool!" Claire practically squealed with glee, then immediately looked a bit bashful. "We set off a couple car alarms, but I'm sure it's fine."

Naturally Peter didn't want to push Caitlin into doing anything that made her scared or uncomfortable, but he was starting to believe that maybe he could get through to Killer Frost if he just tried. It wasn't something they had to rush into trying, though. He wanted to get to know Caitlin more first. Her safety and comfort were the priority, whether she kept her powers or not.

"Samuel Sullivan - the leader of the Carnival I almost joined." Did she mention she almost joined a Carnival? "He was luring Evos to work at the Carnival because having more evolved humans around him bolstered his ability to control the Earth. Not, like, the planet Earth, but the literal ground. He planned to open up a big sinkhole and kill a bunch of people. My dad and I were trying to stop him, along with Peter. Samuel found out and trapped my dad and me," Claire explained. "But one of Dad's old Company partners, Lauren, called Tracy to come and help us."

"We ended up stopping Samuel, with help from Hiro and Ando. Sylar helped, too. He saved my friend Emma," Peter added, ignoring his niece's displeasure at hearing about anything good Sylar had done. It would have been all too easy for Sylar to kill Doyle, or to kill Emma for that matter, but he'd refrained. Just as Peter was now refraining from mentioning that they'd stopped Samuel from revealing Evos to the world with a mass murder only for Claire to out herself immediately after.

Claire was all too happy to oblige Cisco before her uncle took it upon himself to mention that, because it was on her mind as well. Her friends were smart enough to do the math: an event at a Carnival, plus her Ferris wheel jump, equals...

"Becca's got these devices that can allegedly detect or channel ghosts? And this thing that somehow helps them communicate with the living. I spent the night in an abandoned hospital with her once. Never again!" At least she could laugh about it now. "I went in as a skeptic. But even without the doodads I was hearing whispers in some of the rooms, and I swear I felt something brush up against me when she was in the hallway. Didn't sleep for almost a week after."

It does!

[iamnotuptight]

"Psh! I mean, sonic booms can shatter glass, so that's probably the best outcome, honestly. The damage we had to pay for when he stopped Girder the first time he went Mach 1.1 down a busy street. I'm glad Wells was paying for it at the time and not us or we'd still be working it off." Cisco said casually. "He's a lot more careful about where he hits those speeds so the boom doesn't break things. Or eardrums."

"Why am I not surprised you actually considered running away to join the circus?" Harry asked dryly. Claire, he's gonna put you in a padded box and only let you out under supervision at this rate.

They definitely would've put two and two together. At least Harry would have. And his scolding would have continued. "Ghosts are a hoax." He said confidently. But Cisco looked fascinated and intrigued!

[swoopyhair]

"Pretty sure if we went much faster than that, we'd need to be suited up, right? I mean, it gets kinda toasty." Claire asked, almost uncharacteristically cautious. She was mostly worried about Barry's safety and making sure her clothes didn't burn up, rather than her own well-being.

"Harry, please. The carnival. I'd never join a circus, I hate the way they mistreat the animals. And I hate clowns." The two of them would both need supervision! Harry had as many mishaps as she did, in the short time she'd known him.

"I wouldn't say it was ghosts, but there was something there. Some kinda energy. Something awful." Thinking about it now made her shiver, arms crossing over her abdomen. "Bex writes about real stuff too. I have some of her books."

Peter was still thinking about the sonic booms. With Edgar's speed, he could run from New York to Boston for clam chowder on his lunch break, but he hadn't created a sonic boom in the process. He looked to Jesse curiously. "I can stop time. Would that even effect you?"

[iamnotuptight]

"You would." Caitlin confirmed. "The friction at Mach speeds sets clothing on fire. For some reason you seem to be protected when Barry keeps you close, personally, but that doesn't count for clothing. Mild wind burn is the worst I've even gotten, when in reality, my skin should burn up just like clothing. I assume it has something to do with the Speed Force."

Harry rolled his eyes like a teenager. And put a hand on his hip. "They're both horrendous places to work." He insisted. Look, he didn't consider himself a risk factor because he'd already lived his life.

"I'd love to read them!" Cisco said excitedly.

Jesse looked curiously to Peter. "I'm not sure. We could always test it! I can move so fast, it looks like time is standing still around me. So it'd be interesting to test in the Speed Lab! If you're willing, I mean."

Cait moved a bit closer into Peter's orbit. "I can be handy just in case anything goes awry. I'm used to dealing with speedster mishaps."

[swoopyhair]

Thinking about Barry running with her was the best way to get rid of those heebie jeebies from remembering the haunted hospital. "I don't feel the burn in a painful way, but I definitely feel the warmth. And I know to keep my face down." See, Harry? She wasn't always careless.

"The carnival would've been nice without Samuel, I think," Claire said thoughtfully. "A traveling bunch of people who just wanted to entertain and make everyone happy. In a way, that inspired me to hit the road. Well, that and my bio-mom."

Jesse's offer was one Peter was ready to jump on. He nodded, smiling with a boyish excitement that wasn't too different from Barry. "That's be cool. I'm assuming the Speed Lab is for testing how fast you can run? Or some other kind of monitoring...?" He looked to Caitlin with that same wide smile, though perhaps a bit softened. If he could show off more for Cait, all the better. "Hopefully there won't be any mishaps, but I'd love it if you joined us."

Claire smiled at Cisco, nodding with subtle enthusiasm. "I'll hit up my bookshelf later and let you borrow 'em. The real topics are good, but my favorite of hers is the one about Bigfoot and the Chupacabra and stuff. It's so interesting how those stories came about."