Barry
I stared at the towering circular objects surrounding the nearly invisible singularity. Even though I couldn't see it with the naked eye, it was one of the most intimidating things that I had ever seen in my life. I had no idea what lay on the other side of the inter-dimensional gateway, and my ignorance towards the singularity was crippling. I'd been staring at it for the past ten minutes as Cisco and Jay went over the condition of the singularity. Oliver was on the phone with Felicity and Laurel to assure them that he would make it home safe, something that I had already done. Joe was standing with Caitlin and Harry as they attempted to inform him about what we were about to do. It wasn't the easiest thing to comprehend if you hadn't been dealing with it from the very beginning, and I felt bad that we'd left Joe out of the majority of the timeline of the singularities. He knew the very bare minimum because he was usually too busy with work to figure out what we already knew. I promised him that I would sit down with him one day and work through all of it with him, but that was something that was going to have to wait until I brought Ashton home.
Oliver's sigh rang in my ears as I heard him walk closer to me. "Felicity says good luck." He stated with a soft smile. I nodded in acknowledgement, my eyes not moving from the previously theoretical gateway in front of me. "We're going to bring her home, Barry."
"I'm just worried about what's already happened to her." I admitted. "God only knows what Zoom's done to her by now, and I can't stand the thought of her being in pain because of him."
He nodded in agreement. "I know that it's daunting to think of her in pain, but she's a strong girl. She's been through more than you can comprehend, and you have to believe that she's okay. She might not be in the best shape of her life, but she's going to get through it come hell or high water because that's just who she is."
I smiled slightly, knowing that she would probably crack a joke or make a pun right about now to keep everything lighthearted. "I know."
Oliver tilted his head to the side slightly as he looked at me. "What's with that smile?"
I shook my head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
He looked like he was about to ask something else when Jay spoke up. "Okay, Barry, if you're ready, now's a good time to go."
I nodded as Cisco and Harry came up to where Oliver and I were standing. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I chuckled lightly, trying to hide the nagging worry in the back of my head.
Cisco smiled as he patted my shoulder. "Cheer up, man. We're about to travel to another universe. How many people can say they've done that?"
"Me." Jay and Harry said in unison, shocking themselves more than anyone else.
Cisco's face dropped slightly. "Thanks, guys."
Jay chuckled before looking at me. "Remember to keep up your speed while you're traveling through the singularity. You're going to see things in there, but you have to keep yourself from getting distracted."
I nodded. "I will."
Harry looked back at Caitlin and Jay. "If we're not back within 48-hours, make sure that you close this."
"But what about--" Caitlin started, but he cut her off.
"Zoom will most likely have us if we're not back by then, and we can't risk letting him back here. You have to close it."
Caitlin nodded reluctantly, and Joe patted my shoulder. "Make sure that you make it home, son."
I nodded and hugged him tightly before turning back to the taunting gateway in front of me. I took a deep breath before taking hold of Cisco and Oliver. Cisco grabbed Harry before I ran through the singularity, feeling like I had walked into an episode of Dr. Who. It was a strange experience to see the surges in time that I was seeing, but I kept my focus on what lie in front of me. I focused on making sure that I kept up my speed so that I could find Ashton sooner. I had to make sure that she was okay, and the thought of finding her was the only thing keeping me completely focused on what I was about to do instead of what was appearing around me. It felt like mere seconds before I felt solid ground beneath my feet again, and I looked around to see that we were in what looked like the basement of S.T.A.R. Labs. It looked different, though. It was painted different colors, but it was constructed more or less the same way.
Cisco laughed lightly as he looked around. "So this is Earth-2." He stated.
"Don't get too used to it." Harry said, stepping off of the platform we were on and heading towards the door. "We've got work to do."
We all began to follow him, not really knowing where we were going despite knowing the layout like the back of our hands. "Come on, Harry." Cisco pleaded. "When are we ever going to have an opportunity like this again?"
"We have priorities, Cisco." Oliver spoke sternly. "We need to find Ashton and Jesse before anything happens to them."
Cisco looked at me with hopeful eyes. "Barry?"
I swallowed hard, feeling myself being torn in two different directions. "Maybe we can admire being here while we try to find Ashton." I offered. "I mean, I want to explore and learn as much as I can about this place while we're here, but we need to focus on doing what we came here to do."
"Nice to know that at least two of you have your head on straight." Harry commented, entering a room that looked like it was an office and a personal lab.
"Well, excuse me for being curious." Cisco defended, putting his bag down on a free table.
"Just focus on activating Ashton's tracker."
Cisco rolled his eyes and pulled out his tablet, tapping on a few buttons as he tried to turn her tracker on. I looked curiously around Harry's office, seeing pictures of him and Jesse on his desk and on the wall. He looked happier than I had ever seen him in the pictures, and my empathy took hold of me as I looked at them. I could only imagine how hard it must have been for him to lose his daughter like this. "Uh," Cisco spoke, taking my attention away from the pictures on the wall, "we have a problem."
"What is it?" Oliver asked.
"I still can't get a read on Ashton's tracker." He explained, furrowing his brow as he stared down at the tablet in his hands.
"Did you account for the difference in frequencies?" Harry asked.
Cisco shook his head, looking as if he should have known that. "No."
I chuckled. "It's okay, Cisco. It's all part of the process of finding her."
"I'd be able to work better if I had a little time to explore and clear my head." He hinted, looking pointedly at Harry.
Harry sighed in response. "Fine. Five minutes."
Cisco did a small fist pump in achievement and grabbed me before practically bolting out of the lab. "Why are you taking me with you?" I asked as we weaved in and out of the lab.
"Because you need a break." He stated simply, casually taking pictures of everything that he passed on our way out of the building. "You've spent the better part of the night worrying relentlessly about where Ashton is and if she's okay, and, while it is completely justified, you need to stop beating yourself up about this and acknowledge the fact that we are literally in another universe."
I chuckled as we exited the building. "I am excited about this, but we really do have more important things to tend to, Cisco."
"I know, but just look around." He instructed, and I looked at the vast city in front of us. It looked a lot like home did, but it felt like something else. It felt like the 1950's era but with much more advanced technology than even our generation could fathom. It was sparkling and shimmering in the sunlight, and I could feel some of my anxiety and worry melt away at the sight. "Look at the world that we have at our fingertips."
"For the next 48-hours." I corrected.
He rolled his eyes before hitting my shoulder, making me laugh. "Don't ruin this for me."
"I'm just stating facts, man." I laughed, glad that he had helped relax me a little bit.
"I'm a man of science, so I know facts." He shared, pulling his phone out and taking pictures of the skyline in front of us. "You're just trying to be a Debbie Downer at this point."
"I will be more optimistic when we have Ashton home safe."
"And we will." He told me honestly, putting his phone down as he looked at me. "Just give me an hour or so to figure out the frequency difference and to activate the tracker. Once we have that, you and Oliver can go in guns a'blaze and be the heroes that you are."
I smiled slightly at him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "You're more of a hero than you realize, Cisco. Without you, we would have much less of a chance of finding her and Jesse."
"I know, right?" I laughed again, glad that he was the comic relief that Ashton couldn't be at the moment. "Come on, our five minutes of freedom is up."
Ashton
My body shook violently as I lay in a curled up ball on the floor of my cage. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop the cold chill from spreading through my body. I had gone through the painful process of testing out Cisco's ring in an attempt to cover my wound, but the faux leather only aggravated the pain further. Granted, I wasn't as cold as I was before, but I was fairly certain that I was developing a fever from the obvious infection I was suffering from now. I had felt it spreading for the past few hours, and it was just now getting to the point where it was beginning to get incredibly serious. I was worried that if I didn't do something soon, the infection was going to reach my heart and cease all blood flow around my body. I'd heard about how people died from things like that--seeing as how I had almost died from it once--and I was scared that I was going to have to go through that amount of pain. I was already suffering enough; I didn't exactly relish the idea of enduring any more at this point.
As I lay on the floor, I thought about what was going on back home to keep my mind off of the pain ripping through my body. Oliver was probably still working on his mayoral campaign. Ever since I saw it on the news that he was running, I thought that it was a little strange that he of all people was running for mayor of Star City, but, seeing how much he had changed in the past few years, I knew that he was definitely responsible enough to account for millions of people. Elena was probably slaving away in her lab like she always was, but it was going to pay off as soon as she found the cure that she had been working towards for so long. Stella and Joe were most likely trying to figure out a case, trying to work through the motive behind the crime or trying to track down the person or people that they knew were guilty. Cisco, Caitlin, and Jay were most likely doing something in S.T.A.R. Labs that would work towards taking Zoom down for good. They could come up with the most inventive things, and it was obvious to me that they would inevitably be the lynchpin in any plan against him. The only person that I couldn't guess at what they were doing was Barry.
There were honestly millions of things that he could be doing while I lay shivering in Death's shadow. He could be working away in the lab, marking shoe prints or fingerprints like I did every waking moment of my day. He could be running DNA tests or fiber analysis in order to help all of the detectives in the station so that he could take down criminals the way the judicial system deams correct. Or, the more obvious reality, he could be running around Central City in an attempt to save as many people as he could. The majority of his time was spent being The Flash, and it was amazing how he managed to do so much while being just one single person. He was one of the most selfless people I'd ever met, and it was one of the reasons I felt about him the way I did. But, sadly, the one thing I couldn't envision him doing is working towards finding me. I wasn't sure if it was due to the fever infecting my brain or my own self-deprecation that kept my hope at bay. I wanted more than anything to think of him being my knight in shining armor for once, but I just couldn't let myself see that, even in my weakened state.
"Ashton." Jesse's voice was soft, but it was still audible enough for me to hear. "You need to fight to stay awake, Ashton. It'll be harder to help you if you lose consciousness."
I chuckled painfully. "Now who's being optimistic?" I joked darkly, knowing that I was most likely going to die in here. It was no longer a matter of keeping hope but of finally facing the reality of my situation. I knew the line between optimism and denial, and I wasn't going to be the one to deny how dire my situation was.
She chuckled lightly. "God, you sound like my dad."
"Well, your father and I share one thing: we both know reality when we see it." I grunted, wincing at the wave of agony running through me.
"So, is that it?" She asked, sounding sad. I forced my eyes open to see a downtrodden expression on her face and disappointment in her eyes. "Are you going to let him win? Are you going to let him break you?"
"Actually, it's more like I'm letting nature defeat me at the lack of modern medicine." She rolled her eyes slightly, turning away from me and walking to the other side of her cell. "Jesse, believe me. There is nothing I want more than to remain hopeful, but I know what's coming. It's bad, and I don't think that there's anything that we can do but wait for the inevitable."
"But what about your friends?" She pointed out, turning to face me again. "They must be coming for you."
I shook my head slightly before resting it back on the floor. "They have other things to tend to. If they are coming, it's probably to get you and to put Zoom down once and for all."
"What about you?"
I shrugged, hating myself for the movement immediately following. "I guess I'll just be a little surprise if I'm still alive by then."
"Ashton, you can't think like that." She pleaded. "The one thing that will keep you alive in a situation like this is hope. Even if you fake it, it helps you stay alive, so you have to at least pretend like there's still hope for you."
I nodded slightly. "I guess that there can't be any harm in pretending."
She chuckled before sitting down on the floor. "If you don't mind, I'm going to keep you talking so that I make sure that you're conscious and so that it can take your mind off of your current condition."
"I can get behind that." I said, actually liking the idea of being distracted from the constant pain I had been in for who only knows how long.
"So, what's your favorite kind of music?"
"Pop-punk." I answered on reflex.
She chuckled. "That was a quick answer."
I smiled slightly. "I've been answering that question for a while now."
"Well, what's your favorite band or artist?"
"This band called All Time Low or this girl named Halsey."
"Halsey?" She asked curiously.
"Her name's actually Ashley Frangipane, but Halsey is her stage name."
She arched her eyebrows. "Ashley Frangipane?" I nodded. "That's our vice president."
"Excuse me?"
"Yeah. She's the Vice President."
"Who's the president?" I asked hesitantly, not sure I could handle the answer.
"Zendaya Coleman." She answered casually.
If I had had the ability, I would have shot straight up and looked at her, but, instead, I arched both of my eyebrows in shock and disbelief. They had one of the strongest women in the world as their president, and we had an asshole with a bad combover trying to run the country. "You have no idea how lucky your Earth is." I stated.
She smiled. "We are pretty lucky. She's pushed overall equality the entire time she's been in office, and it's amazing what she's done for us."
"You know, if your city wasn't basically being held hostage by a psychotic speedster, this would be a pretty awesome place to live."
"You make it sound like your Earth is terrible."
"We have our issues." I chuckled. "It's beginning to get out of hand, but I try to stay out of all of the discussions. I don't want to start confrontations in the middle of events for my mother's sake."
"What was it like growing up that wealthy?"
I smiled slightly, resting my head back on the floor. "Other than who I grew up with, it was pretty nice. Granted, there were the obvious complications that anyone with money would have to deal with, but I had so many resources at my disposal. I was never bored because I was able to learn whatever I wanted whenever I wanted."
"Did you have a favorite subject to study?"
"I always enjoyed languages more than anything else."
"How many do you know?"
"Eleven including English."
"You know eleven languages?" She asked, sounding surprised.
I nodded. "I only knew six before I graduated college, but I studied in Asia for a few years. I learned the remaining when I was traveling there."
"What took you to Asia?"
"A friend of mine had gotten lost in a shipwreck, and, after I had gotten the news, I needed to get away for awhile to deal with my grief. I studied with an old monk in Tibet, and he taught me the standard Tibetan language, Mandarin, Mongolian, and Korean."
"How did he know all of those?"
"He learned Tibetan through his studies. He grew up in a small village in China, and his father was Mongolian while his mother was Korean. From what he told me, it was a very diverse household, and they were both very supportive of him going off to study as a monk."
She chuckled lightly. "How have you managed to learn so much in such a short lifetime?"
I arched my eyebrow with a smirk. "I could say the same about you. Your dad told me about how intelligent you are in the science field."
"Science is only useful for tactical situations. Learning the things you have help in real-life situations."
"So can science." I opened my eyes again and positioned myself to where I could look at her more easily. "Do you know how much I wish that I could figure out the algorithms that your father is able to come up with to track meta-humans? My knowledge of science doesn't stem far past being able to determine time of death based on a blow fly's life cycle and marking unique points on fingerprints."
"That's an interesting way to determine death." She stated.
"It's actually a longer process than it sounds. You have to account for so many different variables, and I go to great lengths to do everything I can to avoid anything involving entomology."
She laughed lightly, but it soon disappeared when there was a sudden blue flash of light. I rolled my eyes, putting my head back on the floor in defeat. I didn't want to face this asshole right now. I was already suffering enough; I really didn't need to have him taunt me and worsen my condition. I heard Jesse's chain rattle, signalling that she stood up. "Hey," She said, addressing Zoom, "you can't leave her here like this. If she doesn't get some kind of medical treatment soon, she's going to die from an infection."
"He doesn't care, Jesse." I called out, really not caring what he did at this point. I knew that whatever I said was going to put me further in the doghouse, so I might as well have done it with some dignity. "He wants to watch me suffer, so there's no use in trying to appeal to his humanity. He doesn't have any."
There was a moment of silence before I felt his cold talons on my chin, pulling my head up to where I was looking at him. "I may have no humanity," He spoke in a dark tone, "but I do need you alive to lure The Flash here."
I laughed shortly. "You're insane if you think that he's going to risk his friends' safety to save me."
The slits in his mask turned upwards in a smiling fashion. "That's where you're wrong."
Before I could comprehend what he meant, I felt his hands wrap around my sides, surprisingly missing the large gash in my side. Within a second, I was being placed on the floor of Jesse's cell. I let out a small gasp, feeling yet another wave of pain rip through me as soon as I hit the floor. Jesse fell to her knees beside me, her hand carefully unzipping my suit to examine the wound. "She needs hydrogen peroxide or something of the sort." Jesse said as I flinched away from the thought of the burning sensation that came from that chemical compound.
It was another second before the familiar dark bottle was in Jesse's hand and Zoom was gone. "Jesse, I swear to whatever higher power you believe in." I threatened, cautiously moving away from her to no avail.
"Ashton, I know it's going to hurt, but if we don't do this, the infection is going to get so much worse."
"I'll take the worse. I'll take the death." I pleaded.
She shook her head, uncapping the bottle. "Not gonna happen."
**
yo, so sorry that i didn't update yesterday. i left school early to drive to atlanta for a concert, and i spent my entire night jamming out to two really awesome bands, so i kind of spaced.