In the cortex of STAR Labs, Amunet stood before The Flash's suit dummy, a smile on her, "Oh, look!" She said, dropping her American accent, talking back in her normal English one, "A little hidey-hole for your outfit," she then turned around, seeing Supergirl, The Flash, and Caitlin staring at her annoyed, with Mon-El sitting behind the console, "Where's yours?"
"Mine?" Supergirl questioned.
"Don't you have a hidey-hole too?" Amunet asked.
"It's not called a hidey—" Supergirl started, before grumbling under her breath. She walked over to Amunet, before pressing a button on the wall, by The Flash's suit dummy, before it mechanically got pushed to the side, and another suit dummy for Supergirl's appeared. She then looked at Amunet, who smiled some more, "Satisfied?"
"It's so cute!"
"Hi, excuse me!" The two turned back to see Mon-El raising his hand, getting their attention, "You don't seem too concerned that DeVoe is about to launch a bunch of satellites into space that are gonna reset all of our brains — well, their brains. Mine will stay completely intact."
The Flash slowly shot him an annoyed look as Supergirl walked away from Amunet, standing back in the place she was, on the right of Caitlin.
"Oh, no, love. I find it very troubling," Amunet said as The Flash looked back at her, "The Professor turning everyone in the world into a dimwit is...tragic. It's brilliant. But tragic," she then smiled.
"So will you work with us? Help us stop DeVoe?" Flash asked, and Amunet fixated her attention onto him.
"Just...that thing," she said, pointing at his cowl, "Why do you still have it on?"
"My— It helps me protect my identity," Flash stammered.
"No," Amunet laughed, "No, it's doing a terrible job."
"What?" Flash asked.
Supergirl eyed the two nervously as Amunet began to slowly approach her husband, "Yes, you see, that stoic jawline, patrician profile," Amunet listed off, circling around The Flash as Supergirl eyed her, "You're so obviously the speedster I tried to procure from the warden. May he RIP," he glanced over at Supergirl, who stared at him slightly panicked. He glanced back at Mon-El, who slightly shrugged his shoulders, then to Caitlin who just gave him a look, as if to say might as well. He then looked back at Amunet, who smiled, standing right in front of him now, "Come on."
"I'm doing it," he muttered, pulling back his cowl, while Supergirl stared at him annoyed.
Once it was pulled back, he stared straight at Amunet annoyed while she continued to smile, "Hello, handsome," she said.
"Hello," he grumbled.
"To think I had The Flash in my grasp," Amunet muttered, stepping off to the side, "What a pretty penny I could have gotten for that sale."
Supergirl then looked at Barry as he stepped towards her, "Why do you always tell the bad guys your identity?" She asked as everyone else looked at her. Including Amunet, "Is is that hard to keep a secret?" She then noticed Amunet eyeing her curiously, "Oh, you're still not finding out my name."
"Bugger," Amunet muttered.
"Amunet," Caitlin sternly said, stepping towards her.
"Yes?" Amunet said, looking at her.
"Focus," Caitlin said.
"Ah! Okay. So..." Amunet then cleared her throat, "I am more dictator than team player. But on the other hand...Professor DeVoe stupefying the planet would be bad for business. So I'll do it," and everyone looked at each other, nodding in relief as Caitlin smiled, "Unfortunately, there is a but."
"Of course there is," Mon muttered to himself as everyone looked back at her.
"You see, in life, I have found that bigger isn't always better," Amunet said before laughing. But then her face dropped as she lifted up her bag of shrapnel, "But in this case—"
"You need more shards to take out something the size of a satellite," Barry said and Amunet pointed at him, "So where'd you get those?"
Amunet hesitated for a moment before continuing to walk around the console, Mon-El moving his chair around, watching her, "From the plane I was on the night the particle accelerator exploded. They were in the cargo bay en route to a military facility," she explained.
"Which conveniently never made it to its final destination," Supergirl said and Amunet turned to her, smirking. "You see, normally, I would just pop down to my storage locker to grab my big job stash, but last week, a naughty boy — or girl or non-binary gendered individual — snuck in and robbed the place," Amunet explained.
"Yeah, well, we should check out your storage unit. There might still be some clues," Barry said before he glanced over at Supergirl, "I think I have an old CSI kit back at the apartment," he then zoomed off.
"Great. You guys are so good," Amunet said before she began to walk away. Supergirl and Mon-El watched confused as Caitlin quickly caught up with her.
"Um, hello, hi," Supergirl said and Amunet looked at her, "Where are you going?"
"To the kitchen...for a spot of tea?" Amunet said.
"Why don't I take you?" Caitlin said and Amunet laughed pointedly at Supergirl and Mon-El before following Caitlin into the Med Lab.
Mon-El slowly turned in his chair, facing a blanked out Supergirl, who just forced an awkward smile, "This is our life now," she whispered.
When Amunet and Caitlin entered the Med Lab, Caitlin very quickly and quietly closed the door behind them, "You prepare food in here?" Amunet questioned as Caitlin pressed a button on the side of the door. This button prevented from any alien super hearing to be able to eavesdrop, "It's not very sanitary."
"I wanted to talk to you alone," Caitlin said, turning to Amunet, who began walking around the room curiously, "I didn't just bring you here to help us stop DeVoe."
"An ulterior motive. How furtive and apropos," Amunet said, messing with some glass tubes, before looking back at Caitlin, "After all, why go through all the hassle of procuring me when Killer Frost could quite easily just ice blast those satellites down?"
"Killer Frost is gone. I haven't been able to get her to appear ever since DeVoe used one of his powers on her," Caitlin explained and Amunet stared at her taken back, "Remember last year when I came to you because Killer Frost was taking over? You fixed me."
"Mm," Amunet hummed, stepping towards Caitlin, "My transmodular genetic splicer."
"I need to use that splicer again," Caitlin said.
"Oh, Caity," Amunet muttered, walking around her, and towards the med bed, looking at more things in the lab, "One of the reasons why I was so willing to help you and your friends with your Professor situation is because, well, quite literally it also benefits me. But giving you my splicer, not as beneficial."
"What if I make you a deal?" Caitlin asked, and from this, Amunet quickly turned back towards her, "You give me the splicer. Killer Frost and I will do you one favor."
"Oh, that is a tempting offer," Amunet smiled, "But unfortunately, my splicer was stashed right alongside my additional shards."
"In your ransacked storage unit," Caitlin said as Amunet walked up to her with a frown, "Okay, wherever we find your shards, we should also find the splicer."
"Ding, ding, ding."
"So do we have a deal?" Caitlin asked.
"I'll even tie a little bow on it," Amunet said before she held out her hand and Caitlin shook it.
———
Down in the Speed Lab, Cisco and Harry sat in chairs, in front of the Council of Harrisons, who also sat around in chairs. Sonny Wells was chomping down a sandwich as the others watched him, "Ladies and gentlemen, hang on to your wings and keys," Sonny Wells said, "Here we go. Harry, turn to him, the guy who must be Cisco. Express yourself."
"Yes, it is best you commence with the the I feel statements," HP Wells said.
"Mm."
"Wow, like I feel a yearnin or I feel aroused," H. Lothario Wells said.
"Okay, how— How is this gonna make me smarter than DeVoe?" Harry asked.
"Ey! Again with DeVoe. Why you so hung up on this mamalooch?" Sonny Wells asked.
"I think that DeVoe, for you, this is a guy that has well...he's like a leech upon you, sucking and sucking and sucking and sucking and sucking," HP Wells said as Harry stared at him confused, and almost disturbed, "And all you are left with is...doubt."
"I like that. Nature, red in tooth and claw," H. Lothario Wells said, "You know, they say to understand a man's actions, you got to understand his heart."
"Oh, okay, question," Cisco raised his hand, and they all looked at him, "How do you understand the heart of a deranged maniac?"
"That guy who must be Cisco makes a good point here," H. Lothario Wells said, "Let's all close our eyes and take a moment and imagine that we are all sociopaths — trying to conquer the world," and they all closed their eyes, and held out their hands to the their sides, almost like they were meditating in yoga. Except for Harry, who just stared at them oddly, "Ah, yes."
"What is—" Harry scoffed, looking over at Cisco, and his face dropped to find that Cisco had also closed his eyes and held out his hand to his side. He rolled his eyes, not believing they were really doing this.
"Oh, mais, Harry," Harry looked over at HP Wells to see one of his eyes were open, eyeing him, "Go on, allez. Put yourself in DeVoe's shoes."
"Close your eyes, Harry," Sonny Wells said.
Harry huffed loudly before he reluctantly closed his eyes, holding out his hands to his sides.
"Now what do you see? What do you smell? How do you feel?" H. Lothario Wells asked.
"Dumb," Harry said, pointing at him, while his eyes remained closed. He then opened his eyes, saying again, "Dumb — This is not making me any smarter."
Cisco opened his eyes, slowly looking at Harry annoyed as HP Wells said, "But aren't you smarter, Harry? You must channel your aggression into love."
"I feel like you're mocking me," Harry said.
"Oh!" Sonny Wells exclaimed happily, "An I Feel statement! Winner. Winner," all the Wells stood up from their seat as Harry and Cisco looked up at them, "Alright, alright, alright, progress! On that note—"
"Wait, wait, we're not done here, are we?" Cisco asked.
"Yeah, we're done," Sonny Wells said.
"Yeah, we're done," H. Lothario Wells said.
"Oui, oui, c'est fini," HP Wells said.
"No, no, no!" Harry said, standing from his seat, "Nothing's fini."
"Now, Harry," H. Lothario Wells said before chuckling, "You know what they say about all work and no play. Leaves no time for making whoopee," he then winked before his hologram dissolved into nothing.
"And there he goes," Harry muttered before looking at HP Wells, "Look, HP, come on, we're not done — we haven't done anything."
"Non, non, mon frère, désolé," HP Wells said, "Parting, such sweet sorrow, but I must bid you adieu. Harry from Earth-2, adieu," and then his hologram dissolved into nothing.
Harry stared utterly confused before looking at Sonny Wells, "Ey, Harry, everything you need, you got it right in there," he said before pointing to his own heart, "Remember, you're unbelievable," and then his hologram dissolved into nothing.
Harry sighed, as Cisco continued to sit in his seat, "Ramon, remind me again, what's—what's another word for huge?"
"Colossal," Cisco reluctantly said.
"Colossal. Great, thank you," Harry said, "This...was a colossal waste of time!" He then turned to leave, kicking a trash can on his way out as Cisco sat there, a dull and annoyed expression on his face.
Downtown Central City
Down in parts of the abandoned railroad tracks, a small train chart stood, with Supergirl, The Flash, Caitlin, and Amunet walking up to it, "Here we are," Amunet said. "This is where you kept your stash?" Caitlin asked as The Flash examined the the doorway of the cart.
"Well, I got something," he said, and Supergirl, who was holding his CSI case, placed it down in the opened cart. She opened up the case before Caitlin stepped up, grabbing the item they needed, "Some kind of substance on the lock pin. Looks like they applied it to break the door open."
"Young man," Amunet said, walking up towards them with an impressed look, "David Caruso's got nothing on you."
Caitlin handed The Flash a swapper, "Thanks," he said to her.
Amunet then giggled a bit as The Flash turned to the doorway again, mocking her laugh under his breath. Supergirl covered her mouth, attempting to not laugh at her husband.
The Flash swapped a little bit of the substance on the door before turning to Caitlin, who had glass tube in her hand, with a liquid inside. She placed the swap inside the substance for a moment before taking it out, and closing the lid on the tube, "What is it?" Amunet asked, "Acid? Cyanide? Oh, oh! Is it anthrax?"
Caitlin then shook the tube, and the substance inside turned into a darkened golden color, before huffing, realizing who broke into Amunet's stash, "Hematoxic venom."
Supergirl and The Flash watched as Amunet's face slowly dropped into deep, deep anger, "Oh, that grotty, manky, plug-ugly prat dare betray me?" She asked, stepping away from everyone.
"I take it she knows who did this," Flash muttered.
"Yep, and so do you," Caitlin said before looking at the two to find confused expressions, "Norvock."
Supergirl stared at her stunned as Amunet continued on, "And I guarantee that snake for brains will suffer."
STAR Labs
The next day, Amunet aggressively set down her bag of shards in the cortex as Caitlin stood nearby, Kara sat behind the console, Mon-El stood behind her, and Joe stood in front of her. Amunet turned around, facing everyone as she paced, "If Norvock thinks he can steal from me and get away with it, he has got another thing coming," she said.
"I can't believe this is happening," Caitlin muttered.
"Satellite's not picking up any of your alnico metal anywhere in the city," Kara said, slightly adjusting her glasses.
Amunet did know who Supergirl's human identify looked like, but she still did not know her name. So Kara felt comfortable in her day-time clothes around the crime lord.
But said crime lord snapped her direction towards Kara, who was already looking at her, "Norvock may be a moron, but he's not stupid enough to keep the stash out in the open," she said and Kara rolled her eyes.
Right then, The Flash zoomed in, with his cowl off, walking up next to Joe, "Hey, did you find anything?" Joe asked.
"Nope," Barry muttered, "Norvock and the boxers weren't at the ring anymore."
"Of course not!" Amunet snapped, "Because you and your gang of heroes tipped him off that something was up."
Barry laughed pointedly as Caitlin rushed up towards Kara, "Have you expanded the satellite beyond Central City?" She asked.
"Yeah," Kara said, keeping her eyes on the computer before her.
"What about trying facial recognition?" Caitlin asked and Kara slowly looked at her.
"Yes, of course—"
"And what about a geological scan of the metal signature like last time or having Cisco run another algorithm to check the electromagnetic fields in the city?" Caitlin asked and Kara stared at her taken back, almost annoyed.
"Yes, Caitlin. I've done all of that. I've run all the tests," Kara told her, not sure why Caitlin was this way.
"Are you sure?" Caitlin asked and Kara raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, Caitlin," Mon suddenly spoke up, "I just watched her do all of that."
"Bit testy without Frost," Amunet said and Caitlin shot her a look.
"We're doing everything we can, alright?" Barry said and Caitlin looked at him, "We're gonna find Norvock and the shards."
Caitlin sighed before she turned to leave the cortex, rubbing her temple stressed, as they all watched her concerned. Except for Joe. And Amunet.
"Caitlin," Joe said and Caitlin turned around, looking at him, "Is this about her stolen shards...or her tech?"
Caitlin huffed, staring at Joe slightly annoyed as Barry, Kara, and Mon-El turned back at her, confused, "What?" Barry asked.
"What tech?" Mon asked.
"What's he talking about?" Kara asked.
"Amunet has splicer technology that she used to split Killer Frost last year," Caitlin reluctantly said as Barry, Kara, and Mon-El glanced over at Amunet, who gave them an awkward smile, before looking back at Caitlin, "I was hoping to use it again to get Killer Frost to come out, but it was hidden with her stash in the storage container."
"Why wouldn't you tell us that?" Barry asked.
"Because I made Amunet a deal," Caitlin said and Kara stared at her tensed, with her eyebrows furrowed up, "If she helped me, Killer Frost would do another job for her."
"Well, that splicer tech isn't your only hope," Joe said.
"Yes, it is, Joe," Caitlin sternly said, shooting him a look, "I have tried everything that I can think of to get Killer Frost to appear, and that was my lost shot. So now she's gone for good," she then walked off as everyone watched her in concern. Even Amunet.
———
In Cisco's Workshop, Harry was packing up his things, aggressively, when Cisco slowly and awkwardly walked in, and Harry saw him, "Those weirdos with their feelings. I'm done talking about my feelings," he said before he grabbed something, and turned towards Cisco — which he flinched away.
Harry looked at him oddly, turning away, "What's your problem?" He asked.
"No, it just looked like you were gonna— What is this? What are you doing?" Cisco asked.
"I am cleaning up my work station because I'm not gonna need it anymore since I'm not getting my intelligence back," Harry explained.
"You don't know that," Cisco said and Harry looked back at him.
"I don't know that?" He questioned, "Oh, I don't know that? Ramon, what's done is done. You spent all this time bringing this council together when your time should have been used helping the team. I wasted your valuable time, and for that...I apologize," but from that, Cisco narrowed his eyes at him, slightly leaning forward, utterly confused. Which Harry took note of, "What are you— What?" He then looked down at his clothes, "Spill some soup on me?"
"No, no, no," Cisco said and Harry looked at him again, "It's just, that was...that was very real. That was, like, a very—very genuine apology."
"Well, I meant it," Harry said.
"Well, I can tell," Cisco said, "There's no snark. You're not throwing anything."
"You're right. I'm not. Hmm," Harry said.
"The council might not have helped your intelligence, but I think they might have shown you a little...empathy?" Cisco said.
"You know, DA Cecile Horton said there's other ways to be intelligence," Harry said.
"Open your heart..."
"Open your mind," Cisco said.
"Open your mind," Harry said.
The both of them impersonating HP Wells.
"It's been so long since I've been concerned for other people's feelings, though, you know?" Harry said, thinking to himself as Cisco watched him, "You know what? Maybe it is time I consider someone else's feelings."
Cisco softly chuckled, a smile on him, "Well, I feel—"
"DeVoe," Harry said and Cisco smile dropped.
"DeVoe," he said, pointing at Harry in agreement.
"Maybe the council had a point. The best way for me to understand DeVoe...put myself in his shoes," Harry said and Cisco nodded.
"Yeah."
"Is that what you were gonna say?" Harry asked, looking at Cisco.
"No, I was gonna say DeVoe," Cisco said.
"Okay."
"That makes sense."
"It does."
"Yeah."
Cisco then awkwardly walked out of the room, scratching the back of his head.
———
Later on, Barry walked into the cortex, in regular clothes, while Kara remained behind the console, "Hey, anything on Norvock?" He asked and Kara looked back at him.
"No...but I do have an update on DeVoe," Kara said before standing up from her seat, picking up the a stack of stapled papers, "It's my finished article for K&I."
She huffed a smile as Barry took it from her, quickly skimming through it as she watched him nervously, "Barry...I'm just as anxious as you are about DeVoe, but I really think that we need to arm the citizens with information, not shield them from it..."
"Kara," Barry muttered, pulling his eyes away from the papers and onto her, "I'm just— I'm trying to do what's best for the city and the team—"
"And I'm not?" Kara questioned.
"That's not what I'm saying," Barry said as Kara walked around the console, and up to him.
"Telling the truth is what's best," she said, "If we give them all of the facts to consider, they will do the right thing."
"How can you be sure about that?" Barry asked and Kara crinkled her eyebrows at him in surprise.
"Barry..." she licked her lips, trying to come up with how to calmly talk to him, "I can't deny that we've had a touch year with DeVoe...but his entire goal is to take information away from people so he can control them. If we don't publish this article, we are no better than him. The people need this information...that is the whole point of journalism...to get the people the truth."
"I just...this is...I think it's too risky," Barry said.
"Too risky?" Kara questioned, "The people need to know, Barry. Why is that hard to understand?" But he just stared down at her hesitantly, "I want us to be on the same page, but this...you trying to shield me from giving the people information...it's honestly becoming very irritating," she then took the papers from his hands, and began to storm out of the cortex.
"Kara—"
"Have a little faith," Kara turned back to him, finding a soft look on his face, "The Flash is a beacon of hope that the people have always put their faith in. Maybe now it's time for The Flash to put his faith in the people..." she then walked out and Barry stood there, thinking to himself.
———
That night, Amunet walked the halls of the facility, looking for Caitlin, when she came across her sitting alone in the pipeline, "Ah," she gasped, "There you are..." she then stepped into the pipeline, while Caitlin stared at her annoyed, "I couldn't help but notice your anger and hostility. Thought your color was blue, not red."
"Yes, I'm angry," Caitlin said, "I've been angry for weeks and still no Killer Frost. And now Norvock's ruined everything."
"Oh, Caity," Amunet mumbled, "I hate to see you so torn up like this. So I'm gonna tell you something that will cheer you up," she cleared her throat before sitting down near Caitlin, "That splicer...did not cure you," and Caitlin just stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded.
"What?" She asked.
"Well, you—you had come to me so broken," Amunet said before she slid over to Caitlin a bit, "...so needy. And so I put that piece of tech on your head, and, poof, nothing! It did not work on you."
"So you decided to lie to me rather than tell me that?" Caitlin asked.
"Mm! But just because the splicer didn't technically work, doesn't mean that the results were not the same," Amunet said.
"How? That doesn't make any sense," Caitlin said.
"You're the doctor. You tell me," Amunet said, before smiling when she saw Caitlin's face gloss over in realization.
"It's a placebo," she muttered.
"You see?" Amunet said, "It's been inside you the entire time. Caity, your power is unlike anything I have ever seen before, and no science kit or placebo is going to explain why you—" she suddenly stopped, a realization glossing over her as well, "Hmm. A placebo..." she got up from seat as Caitlin watched her, "A fake."
"What are you talking about?" Caitlin asked and Amunet dramatically turned back.
"I know exactly where Norvock is," she said.
———
Caitlin and Amunet stormed into the cortex, where they found Kara, Joe, Mon-El, and Barry, "We know where Norvock is," Caitlin said and the four looked back at the two.
"Just when I thought I'd considered every option for where Norvock might be skulking, I remembered whenever the fuzz used to be onto one of our deals, I would plant a rumor that it was going down at a false location," Amunet explained, her and Caitlin standing in front of the console, as Barry kept glancing over at Kara, who had her full attention on Caitlin and Amunet.
"Ah, a fake-out to keep 'the fuzz' off your tracks," Joe said.
"Precisely," Amunet said with a smile.
"So that's where the we think Norvock is...in the abandoned Reynolds Substation," Caitlin said.
"Underground," Barry spoke up, and Kara glanced over at him, who had his full attention on Caitlin and Amunet, "That's why the shards weren't registering on the satellite."
"Alright...why don't the five of us go get your shards?" Mon said, gesturing to himself, Kara, Barry, Joe, and Amunet, "Then we'll be armed and ready to take out DeVoe's satellites."
"I'm coming too," Caitlin spoke up, and they looked at her, "I'll get the cold gun."
"Okay, I'll stay behind and be on comms," Kara said before she slumped down behind the console, and Barry watched her with a frown.
"Oh, goody, a group foray," Amunet said, beginning to walk out with everyone else, "Dibs on cashing in Norvock's chips."
"Does that mean—" Kara started before swinging her chair around to face Amunet, "No, no, no — no killing."
"That was not a stipulation when I agreed to join this crew," Amunet said and Kara stared at her dead annoyed.
"Okay, Amunet, look," Barry said and she looked at him, "I know how you usually work, but I can handle this fast and without casualties."
"Okay," Amunet reluctantly said, "Tis a bit time-consuming to remove blood from metal," she then chuckled as she left the cortex. The others followed but Barry stayed behind for a moment, staring at Kara, who stared at him softly.
"I love you."
She softly smiled, "I love you, too."
He smiled as well before walking out and Kara turned towards the computers.