𝐉𝐎𝐋𝐓 - caitlin snow

22. Crutches

"When?"

"When the real Flash gets back." HR muttered, and Anna saw Jesse's face fall. She ran out of the room. "That came out wrong, um... Wow. Put my foot in it." HR sighed, running after her and calling her name.

"Is it Barry?" Iris said as Joe and Anna rushed in behind her.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked in panic.

"Did something happen to him?" Joe questioned.

"We don't know. One second, the telemetry was perfectly normal, and..." Caitlin explained.

"Then his vitals, they just started crashing." Julian trailed off. Suddenly, the beeping flatlined.

"No." Joe muttered.

"Cisco, is he..."

"I don't know, I don't know." Cisco repeated, putting on his goggles.

"Find out!"

"I can't. The tether's gone." Cisco explained.

"What? That was him and Wally's lifeline out of the Speed Force." Joe said. Anna grasped onto Caitlin's hand.

"How are we gonna get them back?" Iris questioned.

"I don't know that we can."

"What's happening? Do you think you can reel them in?" Julian questioned as Cisco made a breach into the Speed Force.

"I don't know. I've never felt this much harmonic feedback. It feels like the Speed Force is about to..." Cisco trailed off when Barry and Wally jumped out of the portal, making it close.

"Hold on a second. Three speedsters go in, and only two come out." Cisco counted, noticing that Jay, who had gone in to save them, wasn't present.

"Jay..." Barry sighed. "Jay stayed back... to save Wally."

"Come on, Wally, let's get you checked out." Caitlin grabbed Wally by the shoulder and led him towards the medbay.

"The Speed Force. And it just appeared to you in the form of Eddie Thawne?" Cisco said as they admired Jay Garrick's original helmet that had brought them back.

"And Ronnie?"

"And Snart. All to teach me another lesson." Barry added.

"Which was what?"

"Saving Iris is my responsibility and mine alone. It's why the Speed Force didn't let me take Wally's place, why Jay sacrificed himself to do it. So I could finish this." Barry looked back to the helmet.

"Jay, hero among heroes."

"We can't just leave him in there." Caitlin pleaded.

"We won't. I'll beat Savitar. We'll get him out."

"Good, 'cause it seems to me the Speed Force is a little bit of a crazy place. Just ask Wallace." HR muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, what... what Wally saw... it's gonna haunt him for a while. So until he can get past it, and he's really ready to go back out there, Kid Flash is... gonna need to take a break for a while." Barry explained.

"You show those villains on Earth-3. Nobody messes with our Jesse Quick." Caitlin said as she hugged Jesse. She was returning to Earth 3 to protect it while Jay was gone. Anna's legs were fully healed, so she didn't need crutches anymore.

"That's right. You give them hell." Cisco nodded at her.

"You know I will."

"Seems like we are always saying goodbye, huh?" Anna noted as she hugged Jesse. "You'll always be the fastest, Jesse."

"We're here if you need us, all right? Safe travels." Barry hugged her as well.

"You ready?" Jesse motioned to Cisco and Anna once she had said goodbye to HR.

"Yeah." Cisco mumbled as he changed the dials and Anna created her ball of energy. Cisco created a breach as Jesse stepped forwards and jumped in as it closed.

"So, fun fact... uncovered by our intrepid Jesse Quick, in her latest dust-up with the so-called "God of Speed," guess who feels pain." HR said when she left.

"What... what exactly are you saying? Are you saying that underneath the suit of armor that's he's..." Julian trailed off.

"Yes, James. He's not a god. He's just a man, baby." HR replied.

"A man?" Anna questioned.

"Yeah."