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

[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."

[iamnotuptight]

"That's probably wise." Cait said with a warm smile.

"It is!" Jesse said proudly. "It's sort of a new addition to STAR Labs, but it's been a fun one!" She wouldn't mention the change to the timeline. That was a whole other issue that didn't need to be addressed right now. "Race ya there?" She teased.

Caitlin smiled. "I'd be more than happy to join you. This way." She started leading Peter towards the hallway while Jesse zipped through the hall at super speed.

Cisco elbowed Claire gently in the side, waiting for the trio to leave earshot. "I've seen Caitlin all twitterpated before. That's her twitterpated smile." Then he nodded for them to follow. "But I'm excited to read those books!"

[swoopyhair]

Peter laughed at the teasing challenge. While he still felt the tingle in the back of his head when Jesse raced through the hall, he couldn't access the power he'd absorbed from Barry. Instead he walked with Caitlin, glad to let her lead the way, and steal a moment with her in the process. "Never thought I'd see a place made for testing abilities like this. I... didn't think anyone would care enough to bother."

Maybe it gave him an idea of what Claire hoped to achieve by going public. But he hated the idea of conceding that point to her. For all the Evos who'd enjoyed coming out and living openly, there were even more who felt even more pressure to stay hidden, and he blamed her. Never mind that if not Claire, it would have inevitably been someone else. Better her than another Samuel Sullivan. Not much better, though.

Claire lingered back with Cisco, a thoughtful look on her face as she watched Peter and Caitlin trail after Jesse. "Peter's really charming, I don't blame her. I'm not sure what he might be thinking here, though. It looks like he likes her, but he also lights up when he thinks he can help someone. I think the Killer Frost thing got to him."

It'd be a little funny if while she was purposely trying to set Cisco up, Peter and Caitlin worked themselves out. At the same time, though, if this just was his hero crap and he ended up hurting Cait somehow, Claire would personally kick his ass, family or not.

"Barry's gonna love hearing about this, but I think he'll be sorry he missed it. Then again, I'm sure Peter will be happy to test it with him, too," she said, smiling at Cisco.

Your reply is damn near clockwork. XD I stayed up for it <3 Sorry mine are so chaotic.

[iamnotuptight]

"Dr. Wells designed this whole building. Or... rather, Eobard Thawne did. But Harry has one almost identical on his Earth. Though ours is more geared to training and assisting a speedster. We started out as sort of a rag-tag group protecting ordinary people from the Metas we created to a facility designed to both protect against the misuse of powers and the assistance in learning to work with powers. We've rehabilitated some. We've helped strays. I think it helps that it's run by people who are or understand Metas. That and the CCPD knows we work with The Flash, so they trust us to handle things." Caitlin explained as they walked. This was starting to feel to her like when she first met Jay, or, Hunter. He'd been so kind. They'd clicked and he'd been interested in the Lab. In her work. The sudden shock of fear hit her so hard it stole her breath away but she tried to play it off as a chill. There was so much trauma left behind by Zoom.

Cisco nodded. He understood that completely. "I don't know what to do about Killer Frost." He admitted. "We'll have to see if that pendant keeps her under control. I'm not as afraid of her hurting us as I am of losing Caitlin. Killer Frost hates Caitlin as strongly as Caitlin is terrified of Killer Frost. But like I said, I've gotten through to Killer Frost before. So I don't think she's as heartless as she claims to be."

Cisco watched Harry head into the hallway. "You kidding? Barry's gonna wanna test himself against all of you uncle's powers!" Cisco said with a laugh and opened a breach into the Speed Lab. "Short cut, Bestie-In-Law?"

Best way to spend my bus ride to work! XD It's all good. Rest well! <3

[swoopyhair]

Peter was right, however accidentally. Something like this was exactly what Claire would have hoped for by going public. Resources to help people, with and without abilities. Working together. Maybe it had seemed like a pipe dream as a teenager, but STAR Labs was that pipe dream come true.

He noticed the way Caitlin seemed to suddenly tense up. Or freeze, if he was going to borrow the pun. A hand reached on instinctively to rest on her shoulder. "Hey, you okay? I know all that back there must have been kinda heavy for you."

Claire chewed on Cisco's words for a few seconds. Between Cisco and Peter, and all the rest of them, maybe they could get through to Killer Frost. It'd be up to Caitlin, though. If she wanted to find a way to be rid of her powers, that was her right. It was yet another reason she wanted to go public, hopefully to enable someone working on research with the goal of to giving Evos, and now Metas, that choice.

"Peter will be so game for that," Claire laughed, delighted as ever by both the breach and the nickname. "Always! Ha, can't wait for Barry to hear us Bestie-In-Lawing at each other, he'll love that too." She stepped through into the Speed Lab eagerly to meet the others. They'd definitely beaten Peter, Caitlin, and Harry, but she expected to see Jesse zipping around the place.

Hope you had a nice ride!

[iamnotuptight]

She was glad Claire was working with them and she knew Barry wanted them to work in tandem with The New Company so it followed the same path as STAR did in helping Evos and keeping everyone safe. To her, it seemed like Noah was on the same page, especially seeing as his daughter was an Evo, so she had faith.

This time the tough made her jump a duck out of it, like a cat dodging being pet. Jay, stop! Please! She brought both arms up around herself and chewed on her lower lip as the memory screamed through her head. "Y-yes! S-sorry! ...sorry." She was wound tightly like a spring with a storm of emotions and trauma woven to the core. After a moment to compose herself, she moved back into physical range of Peter and seemed to find some comfort in his presence.

"I'm... sorry about that. I just... Zoom terrorised us all in different ways." She admitted. "It's only been a couple months since he..." When did she become so vulnerable? Oh, right. When Zoom destroyed her. "Talking about Killer Frost is surprisingly easier than talking about Zoom." She offered a sad smile.

Cisco grinned at Claire then followed her through the breach. It closed behind them and they were met with the familiar sight of yellow lightning zipping around the elevated circular track on the outer perimeter of the room. Jesse wooshed to a halt beside them when she saw them, smiling like a loon.

"Hey, guys! I guess Peter and Caity get third place!" She teased.

"Harry's on his way too, but I bet he's gonna get coffee first." Cisco added.

It was OK! Now it's my ride home, lol.

[swoopyhair]

Peter pulled his hand away as Caitlin recoiled from him. He hated that anyone had hurt her deeply enough to cause such a reaction. It took a lot to make him angry, but that did it.

He didn't let it show, though, instead staying as soft and calm as he could. "You don't have to apologize. If anything, I should. I get a little too handsy for my own good, I guess," he smiled sheepishly, hoping to be comforting. "Are you gonna be okay? I can back off if you need space." She seemed a little calmer, but he couldn't be certain if he was the cause.

Once in the Speed Lab, Claire beamed at Jesse running around on the track, and her smile didn't fade a bit as the speedster joined her and Cisco. This was exactly why she adored Jesse. She then looked to the track, almost wiggling in excitement. "I can't wait until it's me running around in there. But... I'm waiting for Barry. There's no way I'd do it without him."

Her mind wandered for a second, and then she suddenly giggled, nudging Cisco. Jesse might not get the reference, but he definitely would. "I compared Barry's lightning to Pikachu when he was showing off in the kitchen. Well, Zapdos is basically a lightning Phoenix."

Yay home!

[iamnotuptight]

"No! It's not you. It's literally me." She admitted with a sheepish smile knowing how that line usually came across. "You're such a calm presence. I was letting myself relax and my mind told me this was exactly how Jay--Zoom got to me. And I spiralled. He pretended to be our friend when he arrived. He showed up before Harry. He tried to make us turn against Harry when he did show up. Told us he couldn't be trusted. That a man like him would stab us in the back and was full of darkness. I mean, he did stab us in the back, but that was because of Zoom. But other than that, Zoom was projecting. Weirdly, I think he actually did care about me in his own sick and twisted way." There seemed to be a lit of that going around it seemed. With Thawne actually caring about Claire's safety.

"Does that make me Psyduck?" Cisco asked jokingly. "She's totally Pichu." He pointed to Jesse.

"I don't... okay, maybe I over do it a little. Some times. But not that badly!" Jesse protested with a giggle.

"Who's Caitlin? She's not really one of the birds." Cisco mulled it over. He was enjoying this game too much. Thanks Claire. "Peter is so Ditto!" He concluded.

Perfect addition, 10/10 no notes, I giggled.

[swoopyhair]

He was pretty sure he'd used that line in a breakup once, or had at least heard it. Who hadn't? But he softened more as Caitlin told him he was a calming presence. That made him feel a lot better.

"I know it can be hard to trust again after you've been hurt so deeply," Peter said quietly, offering a hand. "All I want is to help. Hopefully Claire can attest to that, if it's hard to take my word for it."

Most villains, in Peter's experience - like Claire's - had something that while it didn't necessarily redeem them, it was something that seemed to prove they had at least some emotions beyond being terrible. And Claire, he couldn't help but notice, had a knack for creating some kind of soft spot in bad people, it seemed. Sylar had been so fixated on her, and she had never wanted to help him the way she seemed to with Thawne. It must be difficult for her too, if Thawne looked like Harry. Her relationship with Harry seemed almost father-daughter in nature, and clearly she thought of Jesse as a sister. What had her relationship been like with Thawne? He was almost afraid of the answer.

Claire furrowed her brow a little as she considered. "I love Psyduck! I would've said Espeon, but then, I'm partial to the Eeveelutions. Aw, Barry would be the cutest Jolteon," she sighed, then shook her head at Jesse. "You're perfect just like you are, and I'll kick anyone who says otherwise. And Pichu is so cute!"

She would, too. Caitlin was trickier to choose for, so she put that on hold. "Oh my gosh," she snorted a laugh. "Peter will have no idea what that means, but he's totally Ditto. When Harry gets that disappointing little frown on, that's just Shroomish. I don't know about Caitlin, though. She could be an Ice type, but not necessarily."

Giggles achieved! XD I'm glad! Also, Cait is so, so broken. She crumbles under kindness.

[iamnotuptight]

Cait stopped in the hall just outside the Speed Lab and leaned against the concrete. "What's worse, I was the one who pushed Barry to trust Jay. His instincts were telling him something was off about Jay... Hunter, when he arrived. After Thawne betrayed us, Barry didn't want to trust anyone new. I should have listened to him. Thawne, Hunter... but you're not them and I need to not wall myself off. If I do, I'll just grow cold and become her." For once, she wasn't talking about Frost. But he didn't have to know that.

She looked at his hand and took a deep breath then took it with a soft, brave smile. "I know you do. It isn't so much you I don't trust. I don't trust my own judgement anymore. Cisco's the only one who knows this, but after Hunter... let me go, I kept hallucinating him. Every loud noise, every sudden movement, I saw Zoom. He broke me so thoroughly." She squeezed his hand for support and brushed tears from her eyes with her free hand. "Why am I telling you this?" She asked and shook her head. "You don't need my trauma. You're just so easy to talk to. I'm sorry."

Thawne was a special kind of crazy, but Hunter seemed a lot more unhinged. He'd tried to go the Stockholm Syndrome route with Caitlin and seemed to think everyone was just as crazy as he was. They just needed to unlock their crazy. He thought he could bring Barry to that point by killing Henry in front of him and he'd thought he could just keep Caitlin until she accepted her own darkness. At least Thawne accepted that he was the one with problems. Sure, he blamed Barry for them, but he knew and accepted he was the crazy one.

"Ohhhhh, Espeon! I'd like to change my answer! Totally Espeon! ...or actually, I'm probably Absol. I predict disaster." Cisco tipped his head, thinking. "Cait could be Froslass or if we're not going ice, Chansey."

"Barry would make a precious Jolteon." Jesse said thoughtfully. Then giggled and hugged Claire. "Thanks! Pichu is super cute!" She thought about her dad as Shroomish and cackled. "I think Shroomish is outside the gens Dad knows, but I agree totally!"

Poor Cait! She deserves all the good in the world. ;-; <3

[swoopyhair]

He did, of course, assume she meant Killer Frost, but he didn't really know what to say about it. She was venting a lot more than he'd expected, given how nervous and skittish she'd been back in the Cortex. As much as he hated that Caitlin had been through so much trauma, it meant a lot that she felt like she could confide in him already. So rather than jump right to finding solutions, Peter just listened. Sometimes that was all a person really needed.

Okay... listening, and a little comfort. He kept a hold of her hand, lifting the other to gently brush a lock of hair back away from her face. "It's okay. Pretty sure it's the empathy; this happens to me more than you'd think. I don't mind." Sometimes he felt like he was made to help take on other people's struggles. It was what drew him to nursing in the first place. He returned her brave smile with a fond one, albeit a touch bashful. "I especially don't mind if it's you. You can talk to me about whatever you feel comfortable telling. It'll stay between us."

Peter was still extremely worried about Claire seeing this Thawne guy, but the team here knew more about the situation than he did, so he was hesitant to protest too strongly. He hadn't heard anything from Noah about wanting to stop such a plan from happening, so either Bennet was on board with it, or he wasn't aware of the plan at all. Noah had seemed in the know about everything else, which made it hard to believe he'd be in the dark on this. Likely, the fact that it was the threat of a permanent death for Claire made things more desperate, which Peter completely understood.

"And Absol has great hair," Claire pointed out, gesturing at Cisco's hair with a grin. "Froslass and Chansey are both good choices for Cait." She happily returned the hug from Jesse. "Let me guess, gen one mostly? 'Cause Mankey or Primeape also work - grumpy and punchy."

And yet they screw her over in the end. ; ; She 'dies' almost as much as Thawne.

[iamnotuptight]

Cait was more prone to breaking down one on one than in front of a group, so she tended to keep her walls up more around the team and put on a brave face when they were all together. Cisco, Barry, and Harry were all good at seeing through it at this point. But for her own sanity, they rarely poked at it unless they were alone with her. It helped immensely that Peter was just so easy to talk to, which probably did have to do with his empathy. But she hadn't even considered that until he brought it up.

"I'm not... like assaulting you with all my feelings, am I?" She asked, ashamed of her own emotional state. Her brown eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he brushed her hair out of her face. It was such a gentle touch, she almost melted. "Thank you." She said earnestly. "I mean it. Can we... wait a minute before we step into the room?" Cait dabbed under her eyes with her sleeve, trying desperately to soak up whatever tears escaped without ruining her makeup. "If Cisco sees me like this, he'll worry." She brushed her thumb over the skin of Peter's hand and took a steady breath. "I bet you say that to all the girls." She teased, trying to bring the atmosphere back to something more normal and less heavy.


"I have the best hair in the building!" Cisco did a little show-y hairflip and it made Jesse laugh. He was a damn peacock sometimes.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah, Gen 1. Maybe 2. But unlikely. I'm not as schooled on it as Cisco, but I at least know more than Dad. We had this game on our phones where you could walk around and catch virtual Pokemon through augmented reality! It was super popular for a while. I used to play it on my way to Uni." She giggled.

Not here, she's not. ♥ They all might go through some shit but dang it, they're gonna be happy!

[swoopyhair]

"No-- you're fine, I promise. I'm used to it, with the work I do." In a calmer setting like this, it was far easier for him to take the brunt of those emotions, as opposed to out on the job. Those worst days of of his patients' lives, or sometimes their last days. Her teasing got a little laugh out of him, and he looked down as he shook his head. "There'd have to be girls for that to be the case," he admitted. "I've been single for... I think it can be legally called an embarrassingly long time."

He'd barely made time for his own family, let alone his love life. It was almost sad to think about. The job had been fulfilling enough, saving lives every day, plus helping Sylar when he could. Or so he thought. Now he saw what he'd been missing. Thanks to Claire. If she hadn't reached out and insisted he come see her... Sure, Noah and his mother had gotten on his case about helping with the New Company, too. But it was mostly Claire's increasingly desperate pleas to stop pushing her away that did the trick. Peter knew he'd have to thank her later.

"We can wait until you're ready." He paused, almost awkward. "Do you... need a hug, maybe? If you ever wanted to hide, I can turn us literally invisible, so there's that."

Claire laughed too, twirling a lock of her own hair around one finger. She liked wearing it longer now, hanging in golden waves down to the middle of her back. "I could take second place. If I didn't go for regular trims, I might end up looking like Rapunzel. It grows like a weed," she said, amused.

"That game sounds super cool! I got a little console thing while I was on the road. I was never much of a gamer before, but it was fun to play different things whenever I took a break from driving. Mostly I like catching all the Pokémon. Making them fight feels so mean! After every battle I just want to give them hugs."

Agreed! We'll make sure they all get their happy endings that they deserved!

[iamnotuptight]

"I'm fortunate most of my patients have been here. Dr. Wells snagged me right out of University, pretty much. My dissertation was my resume more or less. Or so he said. Now I wonder if it wasn't just because he knew in the future I'd work with Barry." It was hard not to doubt yourself when someone like Thawne wrecked your life. But Peter's admission made her offer a bashful smile. "My husband died in a particle accelerator explosion. Came back to life as a merged being. Became a superhero. Then actually died in a new particle accelerator explosion. My second ever boyfriend turned out to be a supervillain. So, I think being single for an 'embarrassingly long time' is probably better than my track record."

The awkward pause earned him an endeared smile. "I think I'd like that." She opened her arms for a hug. She didn't used to care for hugs but Barry and Cisco had warmed her up to them. And now they were just such a comfort. She was sure, it was only a matter of time before they grew on Harry, too.

"Careful, you'll trip Barry up with all that hair when he's running with you." Cisco joked.

"I mean, it's Gotta Catch 'em All not Gotta Fight 'em All." Jesse said with a smile. "The phone one was more about collecting than fighting."

[swoopyhair]

He listened as Cait explained a little more of her past to him. Yeah, no wonder she could be so fearful. He understood that kind of trauma, even if he usually tried to ignore his own. "Before the single period was... Nearly as bad as that, to be honest. Kind of why I ended up single. Family drama, relationship drama, all wrapped up with superpowers. I threw myself into my paramedic work to avoid it all."

Peter stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. He was a very affectionate person by nature, but he'd isolated himself from any meaningful connections so much lately that he sort of needed the comfort, too. It was a relatively loose hug, though, allowing Caitlin to pull back whenever she wanted to. "How do you feel now?" he asked quietly.

"That's what hair-ties are for," she said cheerfully, but she did blush a little. "Exactly, Jesse. See, you get me. If there was a game like that when I was traveling, I would've caught so many! I went to all the States, and a little of Canada and Mexico too."

[iamnotuptight]

"I'm sorry." Cait said softly. She hated that he'd also had it rough. But the hug was nice. She did squeeze a little tighter then let go after a few moments, stepping back. It was something they clearly both needed and she was sturdier after the hug.

"Better. You?" She smiled warmly. "I'm ready to join them when you are."

"Good, because I was starting to feel awkward standing back here, waiting for you two to pull it together." Harry said with two cups of coffee, one in each hand, further down the hall. He'd been hidden past the bend so he was out of sight. "I didn't want to interrupt by walking past. I have some manners, despite what they say about me."

Jesse looked a bit surprised. "Canada and Mexico? Oh... I guess travel here is different here than it is back home. When Dad was young, probably my age, he was in the War of the Americas. We've just sort of been North and South America since then." Jesse said with a shrug. It was way before her time.

"That's the war Harry said Hunter's dad fought in before he killed his wife?" Cisco asked and Jesse nodded.