"Dad, stop!" Nora's voice echoed through the tension-filled air as she materialized between her father and the mysterious figure in the yellow suit. The speedster's sudden appearance halted Barry's advance, his brows furrowing as he observed the scene before him.
"Nora, get out of the way," Barry's voice was laden with concern, his eyes never leaving the battered figure that leaned against the wall, struggling to maintain his stance. Confusion danced in his eyes as he tried to piece together the puzzle laid out before him. "Do you have any idea who that is?"
Nora's determination was unwavering as she locked eyes with her father, her stance unwavering. "I do," she replied with a sense of conviction, a spark of intensity in her gaze. She took a measured step back, creating a physical distance between herself and Barry while narrowing her focus on the yellow-suited speedster. "You don't," she added, her voice holding a hint of sombre realization.
Turning her attention towards the figure in yellow, Nora's expression softened. "Y/n, what are you doing here?" she questioned softly, her voice laced with both relief and curiosity. Her fingers deftly reached for the black mouthpiece of his suit, her actions careful and deliberate as she began to assist him. "How did you even get here?"
A rueful chuckle escaped Y/n's lips as he leaned against the wall, his body still trembling from the exertion of his journey. "I ran," he replied, his words carrying a hint of exhaustion and a touch of humour. His gaze met Nora's, a mixture of emotions swirling within his eyes. "How'd you get here?" Y/n's voice dripped with playful sarcasm, his lips curling into a faint smile.
"I called an Uber," Nora quipped, her fingers working skillfully to remove the mask that concealed Y/n's identity. As the mask was lifted, revealing his face to her parents, Nora's gaze shifted towards Barry and Iris. "Mom, Dad, this is Y/n," she introduced her tone a delicate blend of affection and reassurance.
Barry's brows remained furrowed, his expression a blend of astonishment and caution. He studied Y/n's face, his mind working to process the unexpected turn of events. His voice held a hint of scepticism as he spoke, his eyes never leaving Y/n's gaze. "Y/n? Do we know you?"
Iris, standing beside Barry, watched the scene unfold with a mix of curiosity and concern. Her eyes flickered between Y/n and Nora, her maternal instincts on high alert. "Nora, who is this?" she inquired gently, her voice carrying a touch of unease.
Nora's grip on Y/n's arm tightened slightly, her touch conveying both reassurance and determination. She shifted her focus towards her parents, her gaze unwavering as she began to explain Y/n's presence. "Y/n is... well, he's complicated, Dad. But right now, he needs our help," she conveyed, her words carrying the weight of trust and vulnerability. "Caitlin, could you please help me here? You are a doctor after all," Nora's eyes turned towards the woman who had been standing beside Cisco.
Caitlin nodded in agreement, her professionalism kicking in without hesitation. "She's got a point," Caitlin responded, her tone decisive. Swiftly, she moved to a nearby bed, removing boxes from it to clear the space. She stepped aside just in time for Nora to use her speed to transport Y/n over to the bed, assisting him in lying down. "Can you hear me?" Caitlin inquired as she leaned over the yellow-clad speedster, her penlight in hand.
"I'd be able to hear you a few decibels lower, Aunty Katy," Y/n quipped, a hint of humour tingeing his words as he followed the movement of the penlight.
"Aunty Katy?" Nora's laughter bubbled up as she looked at Y/n, a playful glint in her eyes. "How come I didn't know you knew Caitlin?" she teased, poking Y/n's cheek as if interrogating him.
"I don't know what's going on," Caitlin interjected, her tone earnest as she directed her attention towards Nora. "But can you stop interfering with him while I'm checking up on him?" She directed a brief glare at the speedster, who responded with a sheepish smile before ambling away. "Okay, do you know where you are?"
"Nope," Y/n groaned lightly, blinking a few times in response to the bright penlight.
"Do you know how you got here?" Caitlin continued her examination, her focus intent as she jotted down notes on a pad.
"I ran," Y/n reiterated his earlier explanation, attempting to sit up only for Caitlin to firmly push him back down, her expression stern as she silently conveyed the need for compliance. "I needed to clear my head, so I ran. Before I knew it, I was in this bright orangeish-red space that seemed to stretch on forever. And then, when that disappeared, I was here," Y/n elaborated, his gaze fixed on Caitlin as he recounted the surreal experience.
Caitlin listened attentively, her pen gliding across the pad as she transcribed Y/n's words. "Where are you from?" she continued, her inquiries methodical and focused.
"Central City," Y/n responded, observing Caitlin's reaction for a flicker of recognition.
"How old are you?"
"28."
"What year are you from?"
"2049."
"What's your name?"
"Y/n Alexander Thawne."
A brief silence followed as Caitlin continued to write, her expression pensive as she absorbed the information. The room seemed to hold its breath, the weight of the questions hanging in the air like a veil of uncertainty.
As the silence lingered, a voice broke through the tension. "Caitlin, are you almost finished here?" Cisco's voice carried a note of impatience as he peeked into the room, his eyes flickering between Y/n and Caitlin.
"Yeah, just a moment," Caitlin responded her gaze briefly shifting towards Cisco before returning to Y/n. She gestured for him to wait, and Cisco obediently withdrew, leaving the room. "Any relation to Eobard Thawne?"
Y/n felt his throat go dry, a question that always marked the turning point of everyone's thoughts about him. But this was Caitlin, his Aunty Katy... "He is my father," Y/n watched as a familiar look filled her eyes as she stared at him. Another awkward silence filled the room.
Nora entered the room with a light-hearted demeanour, her presence injecting a sense of levity into the situation. "Hey, Doc, is the patient looking good?" she playfully inquired, her smile bright as she regarded Y/n.
Caitlin swiftly rose from her seat, her professional demeanour once again taking over. She glanced at the man lying in the bed, her assessment thorough. "Um," she began, her tone contemplative, "Yeah, I think he just needs to stay hydrated and have a lot of vitamin C." Caitlin's attention shifted towards Nora, and for a fleeting moment, a subtle expression crossed her face before she turned and swiftly exited the room, leaving a trail of curiosity in her wake.
Nora quickly zipped out of the room and in a moment was back with a glass of water in one hand and an orange in the other. "Nora, you didn't have to do that," Y/n sat up as she handed him the orange and placed the glass next to his bed.
"I might as well do something good, If you'll excuse me I need to go talk to my parents about something I may have messed up with," Nora left before Y/n could even question her about it.
It didn't take long for Y/n to get bored sitting there and thinking to himself, so with a lot of effort, he zoomed out of bed and out of the room. Stopping in the doorway of the centre, grabbing onto the wall for balance. "No, no, no, stop," Y/n watched as a sixth person joined their group, rolling a massive whiteboard into the room.
"Loud," Cisco complained as he looked at Ralph.
"Okay so, this needs to be our priority," Ralph motioned at the giant circle with Nora written in it. "Now I realize that you all are way ahead of me in this time travel business," He spoke as everyone tried to hide their laughs. "But guys, I think I just discovered something," He spoke with so much excitement in his voice. "So if Nora can time travel that means she can create new timelines," He began explaining as he drew a second circle on the board. "New timelines means that parallel timelines can exist,"
Barry and Iris seemed bored by his explanation, Cisco seemed to be having one massive hangover and Caitlin looked proud and amused at the same time.
"So guys, I think that a whole nother universe could exist," He finished his statement with such pride in himself. "I know, I know, it sounds crazy but think about it," He continued as everyone just watched him carry on. "There could be an earth where we're all bad guys," Even Barry seemed to think about that one. "Or another earth where theirs no world hunger," Another circle on the board. "A world where they never made that last Indiana Jones movie,"
Okay, that one seemed a little personal.
"Think about the possibilities," He smiled to himself. "It's like some kind of many-verse," He turned to face everyone with his discovery. "And everyone knows about the many-verse," Even Y/n didn't like how defeated the guy sounded.
"Multiverse," Iris spoke up. "And so do you, Ralph," She told him with a serious tone.
"Breacher, Gypse, Harry," Caitlin began listening off some names. "What did you think we meant when we said Harry was from Earth-2?" She asked as silence filled the room.
"That he was from Earth also," Y/n had to side with Ralph on that one. His sudden appearance caused a few people to jump but Ralph was the first to speak up.
"Thank you, so I'm not the only one who would have easily misunderstood that," He looked at the man in yellow before shifting his gaze back at Caitlin. "Who are you?" Ralph turned to Y/n again.
"Y/n," He waved before crossing his arms again. "From the future,"
"Oh, okay," He muttered before looking at Caitlin. "There's two now?" Everyone in the room went silent again. "You guys need to make like a welcome card or something," He groaned before turning back to Y/n. "Are you also an Allen or something, what's with that suit?"
"Firstly, I'm not an Allen," Y/n took a deep breath to try to calm his nerves down. "Secondly, this is a slightly modified version of my father's suit, only clothes I had to test my top speed,"
Ralph nodded which was soon followed by a completely silent room as everyone seemed to click on what Y/n had just said. "Who's suit?" Barry asked as he stepped out from behind the table.
"Dad," Nora tried to intervene as she watched her father take a step closer towards Y/n.
"Sorry for being rude, I haven't introduced myself," Y/n shook his head as he walked closer to Barry with his hand extended. "I'm Y/n Thawne," He spoke nonchalantly as he let Barry grab him and slam him against the wall.
"What are you doing here?" Barry growled as he dug his forearm into Y/n's chest. "Come to get revenge for your father or something?" Barry added as he glared at the Thawne.
"Dad stop it!" Nora yelled as she grabbed her father's shoulder.
"What, no," Y/n spoke, seemingly ignoring everything that was happening. "I ran, emotions got a little haywire and I ended up running into some speed force portal or something, Honestly I don't know," He groaned as he shrugged his shoulders, Nora still trying to pull her father away while everyone stood watching the scene unfold.
"LIAR!"
"I mean..." In a blink of an eye, Y/n had phased right through Barry and dashed across the room. "Why ask me anything if you are just going to assume I'm lying, that seems very-" Y/n was cut off with his world vibrating as his vision became blurring.
"Y/N!" Nora yelled as she ran up to the Thawne who had dropped down to one knee, clenching one side of his head. "Caitlin!" She turned to the doctor in the room who seemed just as worried as she ran over to them.
"Grab him some orange juice, quickly," She told Nora who took off in a blur of purple lightning before zipping back with said juice. "Give it here," She yanked it from the speedster, opening it and tilting Y/n's head back so he could drink. "What did I tell you?!" She yelled as she took the bottle away from him, watching as he sat down and rested his head against the wall. "Hydrate and have Vitamin C, not Disobey and go see how much trouble you can get yourself in,"
Y/n knew it was wrong but yet he couldn't stop the laugh that escaped his lips. "Same old Aunty Katy," He mumbled, mostly to himself.
"Caitlin, what are you doing?!" Barry yelled as he approached them.
"Barry Allen, I swear if you lay a hand on him," She turned and glared at the crimson speedster.
"This is Eobard's son!" Barry yelled as he pointed at Y/n.
"And that's your daughter," Caitlin counter as he motioned towards Nora who stood beside her. "And she seems to trust Y/n," She watched Barry look at Nora. "He clearly knows me which means that future me trust's him, so you are telling me that you don't trust your own daughter or me?"
"Can everyone stop yelling before I breach the lot of you out of here," Cisco muttered as he looked at the group."How about we focus on finding Gridlock, sound good?"
Barry couldn't find any other way of getting through this so he simply nodded. "I'll go to the CCPD, see what I can dig up," He looked at Iris who simply nodded.
"I'll stay with Nora," Iris muttered as the two began whispering on one side.
"Let's just make sure-" Barry began but was cut off.
"I know, I know," Irish mumbled as she looked at Barry, Nora pretended to find Ralph's drawing very interesting. "Protect the timeline." She added as she watched Barry leave with the rest.
"You better not make me regret trusting you," Caitlin whispered as she helped Y/n to his feet. "You are going to take it easy, drink a lot of orange juice and have some rest,"
"I will do so," Y/n agreed as he walked with Caitlin back to his bed. "And thanks for trusting me," He smiled as he laid down and watched Caitlin give him one last smile before leaving with the rest.
Just as Y/n closed his eyes to relax he heard movement. "Hey, how's the average human doing?" Nora joked as she stood by the door.
"I've been better," Y/n smiled as he looked at the speedster.
"Me and my mother are going out for coffee, You going to be okay here by yourself?" She asked as she watched the yellow-suited speedster let out a chuckle.
"As long as I listen to Caitlin this time," Y/n shook his head as he laid there. "Enjoy yourself out there, alright," Y/n gave Nora a thumbs up as he smiled.
"I'll do so," Nora returned his smile before pushing off the frame. "I'll bring you back something," She told him before turning around and walking towards her mother, who had been watching them the whole time.
"Oh yeah, Nora," Y/n called out as he watched the girl stop and turn around. "Don't fuck up the timeline," He chuckled as her expression dropped into a death glare.
"Forget it, I'm not bringing you anything back," Nora shook her head before turning around and leaving.
"OH COME ONE, I'M JOKING!" He yelled after her but to no avail. Y/n smiled to himself as he stared at the ceiling. "This was oddly fun..."