Flashpoint: Heroes

"I could power through if Snow would let me. I can deal with the pain and balance issues this damn thing is causing." Harry gestured to the ear Cait had packed with cotton. But that wasn't his only issue. It was just, in his opinion, the most annoying, because it threw off his balance.

"No problem!" Jesse smiled. She got up again and this time moved to Caitlin's computer. Speed typing until she came up with the specs for the chameleon's venom and the related antidote. "The venom replicates itself in the body rapidly by converting proteins in the blood into the venom's proteins to overwhelm the host. You and Caitie programmed an antidote to do the same thing, using the broken down components of the venom as fuel for the anti-venom?" She said as she speed-read the file. "Repeated anti-venom doses run the risk of developing an anaphylactic reaction, but I assume your healing factor will take care of that. And I know Barry's will. Claire, can I draw some blood?" She looked up from the PC to ask.

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Admittedly, Claire had only caught the last half of that, lost in her thoughts as she had been. But it was probably the most important part, about anaphylaxis. "I think the regen healthcare plan covers that," she said with some levity. "I've never been allergic to anything before."

It had seemed to her, going by what Caitlin said before, that there wasn't much of the venom left in their systems - just enough to disrupt their powers without causing any other symptoms. Both she and Barry had reported feeling fine.

"Of course," she said, moving to one of the exam beds. Her food was pretty much finished, anyway. She'd clean up after the blood draw. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she had a feeling that one more dose of the antidote would do the trick. "Sorry, I kinda zoned out there. Trust me to get distracted by worst case scenarios when literally nothing is happening."

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"Good to hear!" Jesse said chipperly. And found one of Cait's phlebotomy kits. She rolled a chair up and put on sterile gloves, put on a tourniquet, stabbed the site, and drew a couple tubes of blood. Her expression lit up when she saw how immediate the puncture healed. "Wow! I heard you hear fast, but that's insane!" Even slowed by the venom, it was impressive to her. "Barry and I still take a few minutes for something like that to disappear."

"Don't worry about being distracted." Harry spoke up. "Let me worry about the doom and gloom, okay?"

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There was almost no reaction to the needle, as Claire quite literally didn't feel it at all. She only looked down as Jesse wowed at how fast the puncture wound had closed up. A couple small drops of blood lingered.

"Oh, yeah. Usually it wouldn't even bleed this much." There was barely a drop when Thawne had taken her blood. She suddenly wondered what he was doing with it, what kind of texts he might be running... but she knew she couldn't ask.

Maybe he was trying to find a way to use it to make himself stronger. What an idiot she'd been.

"You know I can't do that, Harry," Claire trailed off for a second, then decided to go the cheeky route. "It's my doom and gloom, and I don't wanna share."

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((Idk where my message went, but I thought I typed "half of that was BS anyway" I must've accidentally cut it or something.))

"Why are we talking about doom and gloom?" Caitlin asked as she brought back a vial of Barry's blood to put in the centrifuge. Jesse was quick to label Claire's and slot it in as well before Cait turned the machine on. It was quiet as it went about its cycle.

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"I caught myself being a Debbie Downer" Claire admitted sheepishly, moving to start cleaning up after their lunch. "It'll pass, it usually does." Until the next horrifying thought occurred to her, anyway. It was why she rarely slept.

"How long should that take?" she asked, nodding toward the centrifuge after disposing of their trash. Today had been one thing after another, it felt like; she was hoping for a little break.

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"Jesse and I can have the results to you both in about 45 minutes. It needs to spin for fifteen, then we'll test both samples and see what we find." Caitlin gave Clair's arm a gentle squeeze. "I know you're worried about Barry, but he'll be okay. We'll work on sythesising the antidote in the meantime. That process will take much longer without a live sample of the venom to work with."

"My notes." Harry reminded and Caitlin nodded. She hadn't forgotten that Harry had done a full spectrum analysis of the venom, in case they had to recreate it for this reason. That was the annoyance of anti-venom. It required the source venom to build from.

"I'll keep an eye on dad." Jesse said. "You can go to Barry if you want."

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"It's not only Barry I'm gonna be worried about, it's all of you. My circle's more than doubled in very a short span. It's been a long time since I've had so much to lose." It truly made her realize just how much she'd isolated herself on the road. She had gotten better over the last few years, but in the beginning, she'd go months without visiting even her parents.

"Strange how it's both more motivation to be careful, but also more to fight for." There was an apologetic look toward Harry, because damn it, Claire did want to try to be careful for him. And she made sure to collect that hug from Jesse. The way she said she'd 'keep an eye on dad' almost sounded like they were sharing.

She excused herself to head into the Cortex, shooting Cisco a smile before kissing Barry's cheek. "What'd I miss out here?"

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Jesse gave her a tight squeeze and Harry looked fondly at both of them. Even Caitlin had this proud mother look in her eyes. She loved her found family, and it just kept growing. And as fas as Jesse was concerned, they were sharing Harry as a dad.

Barry seemed to nearly glow when she kissed his cheek. He'd finished all five of his burgers and was just nursing a soda. But with Claire back in the room, he looked more complete.

"We were just talking about how Cisco is able to eat two triple triples almost as fast as Barr is able to wolf down five burgers and only one of them is a speedster." Joe said with a laugh. Cisco threw a gummy worm at him.

"Hey! I was starving!" Cisco defended then held out the bowl of gummy worms to Claire. "Worm? They taste great and make perfect projectiles!"

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Claire felt more settled back at Barry's side, and it showed. She stuck close, giggling at Cisco and Joe's antics, plucking one of the gummy worms from the bowl to nibble on.

"I probably would've devoured mine a lot faster if I hadn't been yapping," she laughed. "That place isn't messing around with extra pickles, I think I had nearly half my body weight in them."

Glancing back to the med lab at Jesse and Harry now, from a distance they reminded her even more of herself and Noah. "Y'know, I'd always wanted a sister. My brother and I have never been close. I hope he's found people like I found you guys."

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"Girl, you got a pickle problem." Cisco said with a laugh and popped another worm in his mouth. "You shoulda seen the guy at the counter's face when I asked for all those pickles. He thought it was a prank."

Barry pulled a chair right up next to his and gestured for her to sit with him.

"Jesse's a good kid. She's got a lot going on, just like the rest of these kids." Joe followed Claire's gaze. "Wells fell into our group, an angry, desperate father to save his daughter and the moment we brought her back, she was part of our surrogate family. It doesnt take long, Claire. It's probably because, fifteen years ago, Barr was thrust into my household without warning, so taking in family has just become second nature to all of us."

Cisco held up a gummy worm like he was toasting a cup. "Here, here!" He popped it in his mouth. "You're one of us now, Phoenix Down. Yo! We can call you Phoenix!" Cisco, stop naming people.

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"I am a pickle problem," she returned cheekily, settling into the chair next to Barry. Her arm leaned against his as she took his hand to hold.

"I was adopted, so I know family isn't all about blood. My brother and I both were adopted, actually, but... he has his reasons." Mostly that Claire's regeneration and the ensuing chaos had upended his entire life, and while it wasn't her fault, he still harbored a lot of resentment about it. She didn't blame him.

The rest of her group was spread out, and with varying degrees of closeness. Allies she'd picked up in the old days when her ability had first manifested, as well as new ones she'd made in her travels. She was even on better terms with her paternal grandmother, though she'd yet to meet her half-brothers, Simon and Monty. Neither of them had expressed interest, even after all these years, and she wasn't going to push things. She didn't mind respecting their wishes even if she was curious to get to know them. Then again, it was also possible they still didn't know they had a half-sister, she couldn't say for sure. Either way, she didn't see it as her place to impose herself on them.

"Phoenix," Claire repeated, thoughtful. It was a bittersweet train of thought, but fortunately it was more sweet than bitter, bringing out a smile. Sorry, Cisco, she doesn't get the Phoenix Down reference. "Considering my bio-mom and dad had the powers of fire and flight, respectively... kind of funny how well it fits. I like it. Just don't ask me to dress up like a bird."

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Barry snorted a laugh and held her hand tightly. He brought it to his lips to kiss her knuckles affectionately. "You're the best pickle problem." He said softly against he skin.

"Barr was put in my custody when Henry was wrongly arrested for the murder of Nora Allen. It was rough, but Henry wanted me to take him in. It's impossible to say no to that face." Joe gestured at Barry. He casually didn't admit that he was the one who arrested Henry for the murder of Nora and didn't believe Barry or Henry that he didn't do it. It took fifteen years and the appearance of the Flash before Joe even considered that maybe something was fishy about that murder. But it was Joe who put together that somehow, Dr. Wells was the Man in Yellow before everyone else. Then it was his turn to be on the side that no one believed. Because how could a paralysed philanthropist be a murderous speedster?

"Well, when he comes to his senses, he'll see how amazing his sister is." Joe said matter of factly.

"That settles it," Ciaco jumped out of his chair with so much force it spun and rolled until it collided with a wall. "I'm making you a suit!"

"Cisc--!" Barry tried but Cisco was already running down the curved hall to his lab. "...o." he sighed. "I guess you're getting a suit."

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Barry's laugh was very quickly becoming one of her favorite sounds. She briefly let her head rest on his shoulder, a little bit of comfort for both of them. Yeah, she already knew all about not being able to say no to that face. He just had that way about him.

Claire's smile turned slightly bashful, and she waved her free hand almost dismissively. "Lyle's not an evolved human. He went through a lot because I am: missing school, missing sports, almost ruining his chances at college, our parents divorcing. He might never forgive me, and that's okay. I don't think it makes him a bad person, just someone who wants to move on with his life and be left out of all the craziness." Never mind that for most of it, she'd been a victim, too. Never mind that their parents had both worked at convincing them the divorce had nothing to do with either of their children.

"But thank you. I'm just extra glad to have all of you, now."

Cisco was up and going so suddenly that it took Claire a few seconds to realize what he'd said. "That's really not necessary!" she called after him, whether or not he could hear it.

She might even have gotten up to follow, but she was quickly distracted by a series of vibrations from the phone in her pocket. It was going off so much that it almost startled her - she'd nearly forgotten about the thing. Quickly, she pulled it out and frowned as she unlocked it.

"Aw, crap. I'd been texting my dad this morning before Harry came by. Then, y'know, everything happened. I got distracted. For all he knows I've dropped off the planet, and now he's freaking out," she explained as she scrolled through notifications for text messages, missed calls, and voicemails. "My uncle too, and my mom, and my grandmother?" Her eyes went wide, and she looked up at Barry and Joe.

"Uh... my dad's here. In Central City."

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"When Wally came into the family it was... similar." Barry admitted. "He didn't know I was The Flash, but everyone else knew. He'd been living with his mother and Joe didn't know he even existed. Joe had a biological son this whole time that he'd never met, then Wally's mom died and he met the rest of his family and all they did was sing my praises. He felt... shut out and inferior. He was understandably upset and rejected Iris and Joe."

"Barr..." Joe started but Barry held up his free hand to stop him.

"I told them to remember that I'm still flawed like everyone else and to remember that when talking to Wally. He didn't need to like me, he needed to like Joe and Iris. Even when I gave Zoom my powers for Wally's life, I didn't tell him who I was. He didn't need that weight. Family is hard to figure out, but there's always a path. Lyle might still come around." Mr. Optimist reassured her.

Then Claire's phone started going off and Barry looked at her worriedly. "Shoot! Let them know you're okay. I can run us back to your place." It would be a risky run, but he'd protect her if he had another tumble. "People from Earth-2 vibrate at a more errat--"

"--HIGHER!" Harry yelled from the med lab.

"--at a higher frequency than the matter on this Earth, so they disrupt cell phone signals." Barry explained to Claire, unaware that she already knew.

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Barry's optimism was one of those things that made them just different enough to be interesting. Claire certainly had her fair share of sunshine and rainbows, but with some things, she tended to be more pessimistic. Realistic, she would say. His unyielding belief that things could get better, and the drive to work toward making things better - they were both things she sorely needed.

It was part of what had drawn her to Peter, even before she knew he was her uncle.

She gave Barry's hand a squeeze, even as her brow was furrowed with worry. It would be a risky run, and funny enough she had her own thoughts of breaking their fall rather than letting him do it. Regardless of the venom, she still healed faster, and she couldn't feel pain.

"I forgot to tell Dad about it. He knows about Meta-humans, but then I got nervous about throwing parallel Earths into the mix on top of it." Claire huffed a sigh, jabbing out a reply to her dad with one thumb. Just a simple "sorry I'm OK" that frankly looked a little pathetic after all of Noah's panicked texts.

Seconds later, her phone started buzzing again, somehow sounding even more insistent. She excused herself with a sheepish smile and answered. "Heyyyy, Daddy. Yeah, my phone was out of service for a bit, I forgot to warn you that's a thing that can happen here-- yes-- I know-- I'm safe, I promise. I'm with Barry and-- yeah, we're figuring that out now." She stopped and listened as Noah really got going with his lecture. It would be hard to make out exactly what he was saying through her phone's speaker, but he sounded both stern and worried.

"I'll text you the second I get home." Gosh, that felt good to say. Home. "Sorry, Dad." Her voice sounded smaller as she hung up, almost a little defeated. "Hoo boy. I haven't heard him like that since he first found me after I ran away."

She looked to Barry, trying not to look as worried as she felt, and failing. "If you think you can run us to my place safely, we can do that. Otherwise... we can figure something else out."

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Barry was known for his pep talks and his unwavering optimism. It was what made Oliver call him a guardian angel of Central City rather than a vigilante. It was when Barry needed a pep talk of his own that things were dire.

He watched her get up and answer her call from her dad, looking worried, only able to hear her side of the conversation. What he wouldn't give for Kara's hearing right now. Joe exchanged a look with Barry. He could guess how that conversation was going, because he'd had it with Barry before and they'd both seen Harry have it with Jesse when she ran away.

When she came back he nodded, getting up. "Yeah, I can." He assured.

"Or, I can drive you two home if you want." Joe offered.

Caitling stepped into the Cortex, having noticed the commotion. "I'll come by with Cisco later to pick up the STAR Labs van and drop off the prepped antidote, if that's okay?"

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Fortunately, Claire was pretty good at hyping up and pep-talking other people. You can take the girl out of the cheer uniform... but some of that S-P-I-R-I-T was still in her, especially when it came to supporting the people she loved.

"I'm fine with either option, though maybe it's best we don't risk you taking another spill," she said with a glance at Barry. "Thanks, Joe."

Caitlin caught her attention next, and she gave a nod. "Oh, yeah. That's totally fine. I put STAR Labs on the safe list with the security at my building, so they would've kept an eye on it." After hearing herself say that, she thought it might sound weird. "The Petrelli family took over management of my apartment building. My bio-dad's family."

Despite the urgency in her father's voice, Claire really was reluctant to leave. She'd been having a nice time, and she was eager to see the results from the newest bloodwork. "Sorry for the sudden departure, and hey. Just call or drop by if you need anything else from me. I'm sure once my dad sees me he'll calm down. Then again, with the new news I have, he might not." But the situation also felt a little silly, and she couldn't help but laugh. "Dang, it's almost like I'm getting caught out after curfew and I'm about to get grounded."

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"Don't worry, I'll always fire off a text before I come visit. And I'll be sure Cisco does the same before he or Harry drop in. And I do mean drop in. Harry's not allowed out of STAR Labs for a while unless he's escorted by someone who can get him out of danger either in a flash or a breach." Caitling said lightheartedly with a smile. "Cisco will breach into the hallway, not into your apartment, by the way. I thought I should clarify." She added quickly.

Joe got up and headed for the elevator. "I'll get the car started. You two lovebirds meet me down in the parking lot when you're ready. Barr, you gonna call Singh?"

"Uh, yeah!" Barry wrapped his arms around Claire and kissed her softly. "I probably can't do that in front of your dad, so I'm gonna get as many little kisses in as I can right now."

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"That all sounds good to me," Claire agreed. "Stinks for Harry, but I'll be here to visit him plenty, too." Besides, he likely wouldn't be too upset about his house arrest while Jesse was here on Earth-1, she figured.

"I can't say he'd get mad or anything, just that he probably won't be used to it." Her arms slipped around Barry in return, and she helped herself to another kiss. "And if you stay the night again, then you can kiss me all night." What better way to make them both take it easy than cuddle time?

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"Oh, believe me, I'm sticking by your side until I know you can heal without issue." Barry assured and stole another kiss. "I'll call my boss on the way to the apartment and get my leave set up."

Caitlin looked like she couldn't handle just how cute they were, with her arms held tightly in a hug across her chest, fists tucked under her chin, and bright smile on her face. "Go, you two."

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Caitlin's voice made Claire blush, because for a few seconds she had definitely forgotten about other people. She drew back and took Barry's hand, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, we probably shouldn't keep Joe waiting. Or my dad, for that matter. I told him I'd be home soon." And considering she hadn't actually made the drive on the way there, she couldn't hadn't thought to give him an estimation on how long it would take.

She quickly said her goodbyes, to Caitlin, and waving through the window at Harry and Jesse in the med lab. Cisco seemingly hadn't reemerged from his fashion design, but he'd get filled in on what happened, no doubt.

"Next time, I'll drive," she told Barry as she let him lead the way out of the lab. But then, her bus was highly recognizable, and she was pretty sure she'd told Thawne about it. Even if she hadn't, once he realized she was in Central City, it wouldn't be difficult to spot her ride. Shit. She might have to look into getting something else to drive, something that blended in better. Ugh, maybe a boring SUV, like her dad.

Claire would deal with that later. For now, she had things to look forward to so she was going to let herself bask in that on the way back to her apartment.

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Joe drove them back and Barry made the call to Singh. Arranging a week off for an emergency appendectomy, which seemed to go over just fine. Joe held in a chuckle until Barry hung up. Commenting that he would run out of organs to remove at this point. To which barry lamented that he knew and clearly felt guilty over it.

At Claire's apartment, Joe hugged Barry and offered an opened armed gesture to Claire for a hug too. If she wanted one. "You kids take care. Let me know wa soon as Caitlin gives you both a clean bill of health and don't you dare do anything stupid while you're both still sick, got it?"

Edited Date: 2025-09-07 07:56 pm (UTC)

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Claire had figured two or three days, at most. But a week? It worried her, made her think maybe she'd been too optimistic about how long it might take for the toxin to clear from their systems. She didn't let it show too much, instead tried to focus on how nice it was that they could have the extra time together.

Of course when Joe offered a hug, she happily took one. There was no such thing as too many dad hugs, as far as she was concerned. She pulled back with a grin, playfully waving a hand in dismissal. "Not gonna happen. I've never gotten to take sick time, ever. I think I might ham it up like we're staying home from school. Chicken noodle soup, some bad daytime TV, the whole nine."

After they dealt with her dad, anyway. Once Joe had left, she took a deep breath and texted Noah to let him know they were home. Then she set her phone down and scrubbed a hand over her face, sighing. "I know it'll all be alright once we explain what happened, but I'm still nervous."

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