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]

Peter got to work tending to Jesse, trying his best not to get in Harry's way. The it was routine enough work that he could do it in just about any circumstance. This was hectic, but he'd been in busier ERs.

"She seems stable," he said, once the monitors were hooked up. Still unconscious, but not critical.

Stubbornly, Claire didn't really want to sit, she wanted to help. But as she started unwrapping the nutrient bar, she started to feel a bit dazed, so she thought better of arguing. Nope, she totally didn't almost stumble into her seat, she was fine.

Once seated, she took off her mask and tried not to sulk as she ate. Instead she just looked tired and worried, which she was. While the bar was pretty mid (sorry Cisco, maybe she could help workshop that), it was still better some of the more questionable gas station protein bars she tried on the road.

She missed the speed already. The rush of lightning, running with Barry, feeling powerful. Now she truly felt weak, but she knew that was just because of the glucose crash.

"What can we do for him?" Peter asked, motioning toward Wally and the cocoon that, to his horror, looked like it was solidifying further. "I could probably break it," he did have super strength, after all, "but that might be too risky."

[feelthelightning]

Harry tried to stay out of Peter's way while still being as close to Jesse as he could. Once Peter had her all hooked up, he settled on his knees beside her bed and held her hand. He wasn't about to let her go, even for the few seconds it took to get a chair. "Don't do this to me again, Jess." Harry whispered. She'd spent time in a coma once already, because of him, and he knew this was different, but he couldn't help the fear.

Barry hovered around Claire, worriedly as she stumbled her way into the chair. He rubbed her shoulders. "You really were amazing out there." He added again.

Cisco took the stone box down to his lab for the time being, keeping it safely closed.

"I don't know." Cait answered. She felt out of her depth here. "I can't penetrate this shell, but it is giving off biological readings." She put the scanner down. "It's showing identical readings to the husks CCPD has been finding of the previous victims in the Alchemy case." Her lips were pressed into a thin line. "If you crack the casing, it could kill him. If these husks are like butterfly cocoons, Wally could be..." She threw her hands up. "In the previous cases, the victims were having dreams of a life where they were Metas. Barry said it's from the timeline he created, called Flashpoint. Then they heard Alchemy's voice telling them where to meet him. That he could give them their lives back. Wally was having those dreams. Joe agreed to let him set a trap for Alchemy. That's why he was there. If this is what Alchemy did to the others... he's turning Wally into a Meta. This thing is rewriting his DNA."

[swoopyhair]

"I was just followin' your lead," Claire said, partly our of modesty, and partly because she didn't feel like she actually helped anyone just yet. Jesse was still unconscious, and Wally was still in that cocoon. She desperately wanted to go be near Jesse and Harry, but she wasn't feeling steady enough. Barry already seemed worried enough about her, she didn't need to go tripping around the lab. As she nibbled at the energy bar, her free hand lifted to rest on one of Barry's at her shoulder. "Is Joe on his way here?"

Peter only knew so much about this Alchemy situation, but what he did know wasn't promising. It sounded like they might just have to wait out this process, and he didn't necessarily like that. "Didn't all of the other victims die? Or... maybe there's something that freaky mask guy did to kill them, and we stopped him in time." He really hoped that was the case. This was another of Claire's friends through Barry, he thought - he didn't know Claire and Wally hadn't actually met yet.

He laid a hand on Caitlin's shoulder. "Take a breath, you're doing fine. We'll be here to help him when that thing breaks."

[feelthelightning]

"You weren't following anyone's lead when you stopped Savitar. That's his name. The God of Speed." Barry tucked her hair behind her ear. "Joe's on his way. He doesn't let me run him anywhere. But he'll be here as soon as the speed limit allows." He looked to the Med Lab, but it was already a little packed. And he knew it would get worse when Joe did arrive.

Cait looked shocked for a moment. She realised he wasn't part of the information pipeline they had just yet. "No. Actually, they're almost all still alive. ...they just mostly turned into killers." So, not really promising. "I guess calling them Alchemy's victims is probably misleading. But one was a teenaged girl who hadn't been bad. She'd used her new powers to defend herself against her abusive foster father. She almost went down the wrong path, but Barry and Jesse stopped her and talked her down. So, I call them victims."

She stopped and took a shaky breath, collapsing onto her stool like she list all her energy. "Thank you. And thank you for taking care of Jesse. I'll... probably need your support when Joe arrives. He's Wally's father."

[swoopyhair]

"Savitar." It sounded less weird than calling him the God of Speed, she supposed. "Peter stopped him. I just... yelled at him. But I guess it was enough of a distraction." Claire wasn't letting herself take much credit for anything, at least not until she knew everyone would be okay. Besides, Savitar was probably still going to come after her. They hadn't stopped him at all, and now he'd probably want to kill her more.

But, there was one thing in which she could allow herself to find a little joy. Claire smiled faintly up at Barry. "I liked running with you," she said, almost shy.

It was a relief to learn that most of Alchemy's victims had survived the process, but the reality wasn't a that much more comforting. All killers? Whether that was Alchemy's influence or not, Peter supposed they'd find out when Wally emerged from that cocoon.

"Hey, I got you," he assured Caitlin, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I think Jesse's gonna be okay, once she wakes up. She must have really gotten her bell rung. I thought speedsters could heal?"

[feelthelightning]

"You saved me. Peter saved you." He was having none of this. The ice had run Savitar off, but she'd stopped Savitar from continuing his barrage and Barry's body was very grateful for that.

"Running with you was like a dream." Barry admitted with a blush. It was difficult to let himself revel in it too much right now, with Wally encased and Jesse out cold, but he'd loved it! "Next time we do that, we're doing it without an emergency so we can savour it."

Caitlin smiled weakly. "I agree. They do. Not as fast as you and Claire, but that's why she doesn't have any visible injuries. I'd bet he just hit her hard enough to knock her out. She should be okay. In my experience with Barry, he can drop off for a few hours when he's been clocked too hard, without having any actual damage. I'd be worried if she were actually still bruised when they brought her back." Since her vitals were fine and she didn't have any visible head trauma, Cait wasn't so worried. She could tell Harry probably made the same assessment, even if he was watching her like a hawk.

[swoopyhair]

That got her. Claire grinned in spite of herself. "I... did save you. I'll always save you." She caught his hand and kissed the knuckles. "Next time, we're definitely having a fun run. With pink lightning! I don't know how it got like that. It was yellow at first, when trying to get control of myself 'cause my heart felt like it was gonna run right outta my chest. I thought about you and that helped me calm down."

There wasn't much they could do for either of their patients at the moment, so Peter was content giving Caitlin whatever support she needed. "Can I get you anything?" he asked her, fingers stroking gently over her hair. "Coffee or something, while we wait?"

[feelthelightning]

"I've never seen pink lightning before. But it suits you." Barry pulled a chair up beside her and sat down, making sure his hand didn't tug free of her hold. "You ran for love." It sounded just as cheesy in his head but he was okay with that.

Caitlin leaned into his touch, letting her eyes close for a moment. "No." She admitted then seemed to hesitate. "Just... don't stop doing that."

It wouldn't be long before Joseph came running through the Cortex and into the Med Lab. His hands were on his head, panic in his eyes as he saw the cocoon. "He's--he's still in that thing? Why haven't you cracked him out?" He sounded less than rational right now and it made Caitlin freeze up.

"Detective!" Harry snapped without looking up from Jesse. "Young West is mid transformation. If Snow broke the cocoon now, it could kill him." Someone had been paying attention, even as he sat there worrying about Jesse. "We just have to wait."

[swoopyhair]

"I ran for you." Claire was doubling down on the cheese. She leaned in closer as Barry pulled up a chair next to her. "Savitar was hurting you... I had to stop him. Cisco at least yelled for me to get my suit. How's it look?"

There hadn't exactly been time to strike a pose in the mirror, but she knew immediately that it was comfortable and did exactly what it was made to do - she expected nothing less from Cisco, knowing his work. "Only thing that wasn't ready was the gloves." Claire wiggled the fingers on her free hand, maybe admiring the ring on her finger just a little bit in the process.

Peter smiled, keeping his hand working through Caitlin's hair. As Joe burst in, understandably upset, Peter slid in closer to offer her more support. He'd felt her tense up. Fortunately, Harry was on top of things.

"The waiting part kinda sucks," Peter said softly.

[feelthelightning]

"You did." He gave her hand a squeeze. "It looks great! Can't say I'm sad about the gloves right at this moment," he admitted and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of it gently. "But if I know Cisco, those gloves will be ready in no time." Especially after they had a panic test run of the suit itself.

He startled when Joe barrelled past them even though he knew to expect it. He sighed and held her closer.

Caitlin was eternally grateful for Peter's support. Even for Harry's fielding of Joe's ire.

"I never shoulda let him do this! I knew it was a bad idea! That boy's been jealous of Jesse's speed the moment she showed up here with it. Bar told me he was a speedster in that other timeline and I knew better than--"

"West! Please, just..." Harry didn't really have a suggestion. He just wanted Joe to calm down.

Caitlin shifted slightly and stood up. "I'm... gonna check on Barry." She nodded towards the door, hoping the fact that she hadn't brushed him away would let Peter know he was welcome to follow her. As a matter of fact, she wanted him to. She just needed away from Joe's emotional energy right now and she wasn't even an empath.

[swoopyhair]

Claire was all too happy to get a little extra cuddle in. She kissed Barry's cheek, flushing at the compliment even though she'd been fishing for it.

She felt bad that there was basically nothing they could do except wait. She'd never been particularly good at that.

Peter took the cue from Caitlin and followed her out to the Cortex, gently closing his hand around hers. He should probably check on Claire, now that her speed had worn off. But she seemed to be fine, thankfully. Though he didn't have to ask - or read her mind - to know she'd be disappointed to be back at regular speed.

"You guys alright?" Claire asked as they joined Barry and her.

Peter nodded and lingered close to Caitlin. "Yeah, think it was just getting tense in there. Understandably so."

I'm pretty sure Peter is becoming Cait's emotional support person

[feelthelightning]

"You make a beautiful Phoenix." Barry admired her.

Barry wasn't any better at waiting. He hated it even more once he got his speed. It drove him nuts! So he could sympathise.

Caitlin breathed a sigh of relief and held his hand. "Thank you." She whispered to him softly once they were out of the lab. She approached Claire and Barry, smiling warmly at them. "Joe was being a bit much, but I get it. What about you two? You feeling okay, Claire?"

Peter's absolutely fine with that. <3

[swoopyhair]

Well, that just made Claire blush more. "And we make a good team," she said heart-eyes on full display. "The Flash and Phoenix."

"Anytime," Peter murmured, quickly dropping a kiss to the side of Caitlin's head. It was incredible, how much she was already trusting and relying on him for comfort. He hadn't expected it at all when he first popped into Central City, but he couldn't be more pleased it was happening.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Claire replied with a nod. "Was starting to feel the crash, Cisco's energy bar thing sorted me out. But... I might see if he'll let me workshop the recipe with him. I'm a baker, after all."

She looked to the Med Bay. "Is Harry okay?"

Re: Peter's absolutely fine with that. <3

[feelthelightning]

"That has a pretty nice ring to it." Barry admitted happily.

Caitlin blushed and tried to quell the flutters it caused. She was a nervous ball of energy that was now also a flustered ball of energy. She hadn't forgotten the quick little kiss to her forehead before he'd teleported away, either. She opened her mouth to speak, but only croaked ineffectually, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "I-I'll leave that between you and Cisco." Please ignore her blush, Claire. It's not really there! God, please ignore it! She isn't completely enamoured with your uncle! Nope! "Can I um... take your pulse? To make sure things are normal?" She held out a hand hoping Claire would offer up one of her wrists. At the question, she glanced back at Harry. "He will be. When Jesse wakes up. Jesse spent some time in a coma before she manifested her powers. It left him understandably scarred."

[swoopyhair]

Most of the time, everyone ignored how flustered Barry got her, so Claire would of course return the favor for Caitlin. She offered up her free hand, her pulse indeed back to normal. The V-9 was out of her system, and Barry's presence was calming, as always.

"I didn't feel any negative effects while I was running, either," she went on to say, knowing that would also be important to share. "Once I got used to it, I was fine. I was as fast as Barry!" She was going to be riding this high for days, at least. Nothing had ever felt so invigorating, or so rewarding. It'd only feel more rewarding once she was absolutely certain that Jesse and Wally would be okay.

But knowing she'd saved Barry... that was a sense of joy and relief beyond measure.

"So we got Alchemy, but surely this Savitar is gonna come back, right?" Peter asked, finding himself curious now that he'd stopped to reflect on the afternoon's events. "We might need a bigger cold blast, or something to combo it with, next time."

[feelthelightning]

Cait was grateful not to be called out. She was flustered up a storm. It took her a little longer than it should have to take Claire's pulse, just because she couldn't focus. But once she did, and got a decent resting heart rate from her Cait offered Claire a tight smile. "That's good to hear. I wish we'd been able to run the first test with you hooked up to monitors, but... oh!" She darted over to the cluster of consoles in the Cortex and skimmed one of the screens for a moment. "Cisco said that suit is finished, right? Then we do have biometric data on you the whole run! Just like with Barry." She'd look it over a bit later. Right now, she was directing it to download to her lab so they didn't lose the data.

"You were just as fast! And with training, you can go faster. That's why Zoom was faster than I was. You'll nerd that burst of surprise speed if something goes wrong with Thawne. But I just wanna enjoy running beside you before we focus on that." Barry admitted with a smile. "We did catch Alchemy. He's in the Pipeline. I'll... be eager to talk to him when he wakes up." Barry's expression darkened. "I know him. I'm curious to hear his excuse. But even with Alchemy locked down, I don't think Savitar is gone for good."

"We still have Snart's Cold Gun. ...and me." Caitlin suggested. "And whatever info Thawne has on this Savitar guy should be useful, right?"

"Maybe Harry's speedster shield will even work against him." Barry suggested.

[swoopyhair]

"Oh, yeah. Cisco said the gloves aren't ready, but everything else is good to go. Mask worked fine with the comms and all." Claire did her best not to draw any attention to what was obviously going down between Caitlin and Peter. They were just too cute, though! She couldn't help grinning. Obviously it was her uncle's business, whoever he decided to get involved with, and neither of them had ever really interfered in each other's lives to that extent. If they were all happy, not much else mattered. Peter was more of a friend than an uncle, even if he did get protective of her. Claire didn't think the two of them dating would change her relationship with either. Except to feel even more like family.

Faster than Barry. That was still wild to think, and something she wasn't prepared to believe until she actually saw it. "We are definitely running as soon as possible," she said softly, not even trying to hide how giddy she was at the idea. What he said next was surprising enough to dim her smile, however. "You know Alchemy? Is that why you looked so... upset when you came up here from the Pipeline?" That look of frustration hadn't escaped her notice even when she was close to crashing out after the V-9 wore off.

"I know two other cryo users," Peter offered. "I don't know if my strength would be enough to hold Savitar alone, but maybe myself and Mohinder together. And, as much as no one wants to hear it, Sylar may have a few tools at his disposal that can help us. Do you think there's anything special about that armor Savitar wears? 'Cause that could be a vulnerability we can exploit."

[feelthelightning]

"Cisco designes the suits to read biometric data so we can keep track of your heart rate and BP from the Cortex while you're out in the field. He designs all the suits like that as a precaution so we know immediately if something starts going wrong. Just in cast you get incapacitated and can't call for help, we know to Breach to you and pull you out." Caitlin explained.

Barry nodded and looked grim as he answered, "It's Julian." He almost growled. "I can't believe he worships Savitar and is going around creating Metas. Especially after his whole speech about how they're the problem with Central City." But he took a calming breath and focused on Peter's concerns.

"Sylar would ultimately be up to Claire." Except, he know if he got desperate enough to save her and they were running out of time, he'd go to Sylar anyway for help saving her. "The armour protects him from the insane speed he has and from his own static build up. Running that fast, while he was dragging me, I could feel it. My suit barely protected me. I could feel it heating up and the static was overwhelming. The only reason he kept stopping briefly all over the city with me was so it didn't kill me. He seemed to know just how long to run before it would start causing damage. There are two blades that retract out of the wrists, and Joe's bullets just bounced off the armour without leaving a dent. He even used a Mercury Labs Pulse Rifle like Harry's and the suit just absorbed the energy. And it either gives him strength or he's just that strong, but he lifted me like I weighed nothing. That's all I could really tell about it, unfortunately."

[swoopyhair]

Claire was tempted to say it wasn't likely she'd be incapacitated, but... she knew better. And besides, she was far too shocked by Barry's answer to her question.

"What? Julian. The asshole you work with?" She shifted in her seat, and nearly got up before she stopped herself. There were other things to discuss, clearly, and unfortunately she couldn't go down to the Pipeline and kick Julian's ass. She wanted to kick Savitar's ass even more for hurting Barry, and it showed in the way she leaned closer to him as though that would protect him now.

Peter tilted his head thoughtfully, mulling over the explanation of Savitar's armor. He was also curious about this Julian guy, if he was someone who could upset both Claire and Barry that much. Not that it took much to piss off his niece. He'd ask about that later. "What if we turned the metal into something else? Something a little more fragile." He looked to Claire. "But it would require Sylar."

She sighed. It was always going to come down to this, wasn't it? "Fine," she huffed. "He owes me. It's the least he can do after traumatizing me for years." Just a tiny reminder of those memories made her shiver.

"You know, it's kinda funny for someone to use the name Alchemy when Sylar can turn literally things into gold." Peter shrugged. It was partly how the New Company was being bankrolled, in addition to his late father's wealth. "It's an idea, at least. Depending on how thick that armor is, Savitar might not be so well protected from weapons like Harry's rifle, or from the heat and static when he runs, if it were made of gold."

It was a fine idea, but Claire's focus had gone back to being angry about Julian in an effort to distract herself from dark memories. "That's just it! That son of a bitch." She lightly smacked the arm of her chair. "Alchemy was turning people into Metas, and the Metas ended up being killers, right? Julian hates Metas and said they're the problem. Kinda convenient to have a list of problematic Metas to point the finger at, isn't it?" There wasn't any clue as to how Savitar fit in with it all, but that part seemed pretty cut and dry to her.

[feelthelightning]

"Yeah, that asshole." Barry agreed. He looped an arm around her shoulders both for support and because he could tell she wanted to give Julian a piece of her mind. He did too, but not right now.

"That could work. I hope he doesn't have to know what kind of material it's made of to transmute it. Firestorm could do something similar but he had to be in contact with it and he had to know what it was to transmute it." The idea was promising, though. If Savitar's suit couldn't withstand the friction and heat... "I firmly believe there is just a person in that armour. Not some God. So if his armour can't protect him from the speed, he'll have to slow down. And that means he can be caught."

Barry shifted uncomfortably. "It's not that simple. These Metas were all Metas that existed in the timeline I created when I went back in time and saved my mother from Thawne. They're just normal people in this timeline. But in that one, Wally was Kid Flash, because I wasn't The Flash. So it's not like he's picking people at random. They're all lives I messed with by accident." The shame and regret was so heavy in his voice. Peter might sense the slightest bit of bitterness from Caitlin that she felt guilty even feeling towards Barry. There was contention over this timeline.

[swoopyhair]

"He just has to get close enough to touch," Peter said. "Which is a challenge in itself, but I'm inclined to agree with you. Savitar is just a guy in armor, whoever he is. Otherwise, I don't think a little blast of cold wouldn't have chased him off like it did."

Claire train of thought wasn't so easily steered off this track. "But that's part of it. He obviously has it out for you, and you said he hates The Flash, right? With Savitar being so fast, he'd obviously know about time travel and different timelines. Savitar could have been telling Julian who to target to make you look bad." She really felt like she was on to something, here. "Are there more people Alchemy hadn't gotten to before we caught him, and is there anyone Julian could have a personal connection to? He could have agreed to work with Savitar as some kind of revenge against The Flash."

[feelthelightning]

"If we slow him with ice and I speed Sylar in, maybe we could do it. But the ice didn't hold him long, so I'm thinking his armour is not just heat resistant but cold resistant. That ice would've stopped me for a good few minutes, even if I started vibrating immediately." This was starting to sound like the beginnings of a plan to Barry. Once out of the suit, maybe the ice would hit harder and Harry could dart him.

"I... don't know. Julian wasn't here before I changed the timeline. When I reset it, he was one of the changes that appeared. That's what happens when you mess with time. You can't put it back exactly as it was. And I messed with a fixed point, so things were going wrong. I just wanted to know what it was like to live with my parents for a while..."

That broke Caitlin's heart. As angry as she'd been to find out that Barry had turned her into Killer Frost, she felt bad for him. "From my memory, Julian's been here for almost a year. But to Barry, he's known him for a month."

[swoopyhair]

"Sylar can teleport the same way I can, if that helps." It was just enough of a plan to give Peter back a little of his optimism. He was proud of Claire trying to work on the angle with this Julian guy, too. It was hard to shake her once she got an idea in her mind.

Claire gave Barry an extra snuggly hug, then kissed his temple. "We'll have to talk to him," she said, determined. "Or... you and Joe, anyway. But it's not police brutality if I hit him, just saying."

"Claire." Peter had to try not to laugh, though. Her anger was kind of cute, in a way, even if he knew better than to underestimate her. "I get how messy time travel can be. That's why I don't do it, anymore. Stopping time, sure, but that won't be of any use to us now. I tested it with Jesse just before the SOS came in for you."

A testament to how crazy things had gotten, that both of them had forgotten to tell Barry about it until just now. Peter continued, "She ran around the track in the Speed Lab, but the friction of running through stopped time built up too much static electricity and caused an EMP."

"Yeah you know me," Claire murmured, giggling. Like the song. "Sorry, I've had that pop in my head every time someone said EMP. We wondered about it being something to use against either Savitar or Thawne, though. It knocked all of us on our asses and cut the power in the whole building."

[feelthelightning]

"It'll take some coordination, but that probably works better." Barry agreed.

He leaned into Claire's snuggles and laughed at her comment. "I'll talk to him when he wakes up. As The Flash. Find out what he knows."

Barry looked surprised. "Was anyone hurt?" Always his first concern. But Claire's giggle and song lyric made him smile. "It sounds similar to how we throw lightning. So it could be used as an area of effect attack. It's something I'm gonna teach Claire later. We run in a circle at high speeds and build up a charge until it feels like it's about to blow then give it an outlet and direction. Jay taught me how to do it... before we knew he was Zoom." Why was everything he knew learned from evil speedsters?

[swoopyhair]

"Harry and Cisco had some minor cuts on broken coffee mugs, but they're fine," Peter replied. "Caitlin and I patched them up." He gave Cait's hand a squeeze and smiled softly.

Making Barry laugh was always the ultimate accomplishment, in Claire's eyes, so she was clearly pleased. She was even happier about learning more speedster tricks later. Maybe she was swooning a little.

"It was pretty forceful," she recalled. "All of us got knocked down, including Jesse. I'm not sure if it's something that could be channeled in a specific direction like throwing lightning. Still a good thing to have in our bag of tricks." Bonus, it wouldn't be from an evil speedster.

Peter nodded in agreement. "And I'll talk to Sylar, see if there's anything else he's got that might be helpful. And I'll warn him that if he doesn't behave, I won't stop any consequences coming his way." That included ass kickings, being shot at, and getting dropped off in Antarctica.