MacKenzie's POV
"Cisco." Barry says, breaking the individual conversations between everyone. "Get the breach room ready."
"Okay, for what?" Cisco asks.
"I'm gonna save Wally." Barry says.
"How exactly are you going to do that?" Julian asks.
"I'm going back into the Speed Force." Barry says.
"I'm just trying to wrap my mind around you going into the Speed Force again. Savitar said he was there for years. You said it was like being in space." Joe says.
"I know." Barry says.
"So what are you gonna do? You gonna run in there and run around till you find him?" Joe asks. "It's endless."
"I know." Barry says. "And this is the only way to save Wally."
"Yeah, yeah, I just we need a plan." Joe says. "I don't wanna lose both my sons."
"Look, gang, I don't understand the Speed Force, but there are plenty of people in this room who do." HR says.
"Am I correct in assuming there's a point coming?" Cisco asks.
"My point is why can't you use your knowledge to fashion some kind of safety precaution for young BA right here, so that, while he's in the Speed Force, he doesn't get lost." HR says.
"Oh, so you're saying I can just whip up some kind of inter-dimensional tether to just anchor him to the Universe?" Cisco asks.
"Yeah." HR says.
"That's exactly what I can do." Cisco says.
"Yeah!" HR says. "Now we're cooking with helium."
"Yes, and I can I can add a biological component that will measure his vitals when he's in the Speed Force." Julian says.
"That's a great idea." Caitlin says.
"Thank you, Caitlin." HR says.
"Because if we can monitor Barry's vitals, we'll know if they fluctuate, and we can pull him out." Caitlin says.
"You mean pull us out." Jesse says. "Yeah, if you're going in there to save Wally, so am I."
"Jesse, you're gonna stay here." HR says. "Because if your father finds out you're lost in some negative world, the first person to get a broken schnoz is me."
"There's a negative world?" Cisco asks.
"Yeah, negative world." HR says.
"Really? They have Super Mario on Earth-19?" Cisco asks.
"Oh, yeah, challenge me." HR says.
"You're going down." I say with a smile.
"Barry, you need my help." Jesse tells him, walking over to him. "Your shoulder is still broken."
"It's okay. It's almost healed." Barry says.
"No, look, I can do this." Jesse says.
"I know, but I need you to stay here." Barry says. "Keep the city safe while I'm gone. And this is something I have to do alone, okay?"
"Fine." Jesse says.
"Thank you." Barry says.
"Okay, let's go to work." Cisco says.
"Mack..." HR says, bowing down and I look at Cisco who is just as confused as I am. "Your chariot awaits." He says, turning around.
I smile and jump on his back.
"Thanks." I say.
"To the work room!" HR exclaims.
"To the work room." I say.
HR starts running down the hall, zig-zagging everywhere as I laugh.
***
"I think that's gonna do it." Cisco says as he finishes up the gadget.
"We should be able to use this to keep track of Barry's vitals." Caitlin says.
"He'll play astronaut, and we'll play Houston." Cisco says.
"Right, but how exactly are you gonna track his location when he's in the Speed Force?" Julian asks.
"Well, this is just a simple modification from what we used to get Barry out last time." I tell him, making sure Cisco wired the gadget correctly.
"Yes, and you don't have to keep checking, Mack, I am good at tech." Cisco says.
"Just making sure." I say.
"So, Julian, it's like the electrode halo." Cisco says. Julian is confused.
"Julian wasn't part of the team last time." Caitlin says.
"Not yet." Julian says.
"Oh, right." Cisco says. "You know that thing we used to talk to Savitar?"
"Yes." Julian says.
"Meet the electrode halo. So basically these two are linked electromagnetically via Goldtooth." Cisco says.
"Goldtooth?" Julian asks.
"Yeah, it's kind of the Cisco Ramon inter-dimensional equivalent of Bluetooth." Cisco says. "Kind of proud of it. Anyway, it gives us all the relevant locus information no matter what corner of the multiverse Barry's stuck in."
"And, if Barry needs our help, it'll stimulate Cisco's prefrontal cortex." Caitlin says.
"And I'll open a breach and send him back in." Cisco says.
"Good Lord, multiverses, breaches, halos, easy bloody peasy." Julian says.
"By George, I think he's got it." Cisco says.
"Cisco, you about ready?" Barry asks over the speakers. Cisco looks at me and I nod.
"Born ready." Cisco says.
***
"Okay. Here's winging it." Cisco says in the breach room as Cisco puts the gadget on Barry.
"Winging it? Wait, what do you mean?" Joe asks.
"Well, I mean, I don't really have a map of the Speed Force, so when I vibe Barry into it..." Cisco starts,
"You have no idea where I'm gonna land." Barry finishes.
"But the good news is, if he gets stuck on the wrong side of the tracks, now we can fish him out." Cisco says.
Barry, Joe, and Iris talk as I get Cisco's goggles ready.
"Are we ready?" Barry asks.
"Good to go." I say.
"To infinity and beyond." Cisco says as he vibes Barry.
Barry's now in the speedforce.
***
"Why would you order a single espresso? It's gotta be at least a double espresso." HR tells Cisco as the three of us talk in the work room. "I can go triple. Doesn't affect me at all."
"Frightening." Cisco says.
"I can have a quadruple, a sextuple." HR says. "What about you, Mack, you want some espresso?" He asks, handing me a cup.
"She's not allowed." Cisco says monotoned, not looking up from what he's working on.
"Why?" HR asks.
"I'm quote-unquote 'already too hyper as it is'." I tell him.
"That's ridiculous." HR says.
"Well, Caitlin doesn't want her bouncing off the wall and we have to follow Caitlin's rules." Cisco says.
"Boring." HR says. Then, he looks behind me. "Oh, there you are." I turn around and see Jesse walk in. "I'm gonna get us all coffees 'cause we got a lot of work to do, you know? A lot of a lot of stuff to do. It doesn't affect me though. It doesn't affect me at all!"
"Okay." Cisco responds. "He scares me."
"Yeah." Jesse says. "I was wondering, do you think you could use this to track Savitar's location?" She asks, holding up the piece of metal that got stuck in Barry's shoulder.
"That's not a bad idea." Cisco says. "You know, I couldn't before because he was in the Speed Force, but, now that he's out of it, feeling footloose and fancy-free, I'm sure.. I'm sorry, you know what? That was insensitive of me."
"It's fine." Jesse says.
"Okay, so let's say I find Savitar, right now." Cisco says. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"I'm gonna go after him." Jesse says.
"Jesse, are you out of your mind?" Cisco asks.
"No, okay? I can't just sit here waiting." Jesse says.
"You can, and you will." Cisco says. "We all will. And, soon enough, Barry's gonna get Wally out of the Speed Force."
"You don't know that, okay? We don't know anything." Jesse says. "The only thing we actually know is that Savitar is out there, and, if we can, we have to find him and send him right back where he came from."
"You're staying here." Cisco says, walking out and I follow him.
***
"Perhaps some sort of new metal akin to a Luttinger liquid?" Julian asks, examining the piece of metal a little later. "What do you think?"
"Man, I don't know what this is. All I know, it just came off the armor of some Hindu speed god, so..." Cisco says.
"It's like the box the philosopher's stone came in." Caitlin says. "It simultaneously exists and doesn't exist."
"Like Schroeder's cat. Remember Schroeder? Guy with the cat in the box both dead and alive at the same time, dun, dun, dun, which, by the way, seems like cruelty for animals half the time." HR says.
"Okay, I think you're thinking of Schrodinger, maybe?" Cisco asks.
"Schroding--no." HR says.
"Yeah, 'cause Schroeder's the guys from Peanuts." Cisco says.
"I don't think so." HR says.
"Yeah, the one with the piano." I say.
"Yeah." Cisco says.
"The-- Charlie Brown has the piano on my Earth. That's the whole gag 'cause he can't play the piano. He's terrible." HR says.
"No." Cisco says.
"Oh, my God, who cares about cats or pianos - or the freaking Peanuts?" Jesse says, annoyed and frustrated.
"It's not The Peanuts." HR says. "It's just "Peanuts."
"You have been studying this thing for hours. Can we or can we not use it to track Savitar?" Jesse asks.
"Okay, alright, wind it in." Cisco says.
"As far as we can tell, the shard is made of near-frictionless material that's in a constant state of flux." Caitlin says.
"So while it's utterly motionless on the outside--" HR starts.
"It's constantly moving on the inside." Caitlin finishes.
"Yes, it's as if it's being affected by some sort of external source, much like the tides are affected by the phases of the moon." Julian says.
"Okay, okay, then it has to be Savitar. I mean, this was part of his armor. Maybe it's trying to reconnect with its other pieces." Jesse says.
"That's it." Cisco says. "It's just like The Iron Giant. If this is true, then this shard could lead us right to him."
"That's an idea." Julian says.
"Okay, all right, so what are we waiting for?" Jesse asks, about to grab the shard when HR stops her.
"Hold your roll, Jesse Quick. This hesitation that you feel, on behalf of the group, is our realization that this go for broke attitude is the very attitude that got Wallace in his predicament in the first place." HR says. "Am I right?"
"I can't believe I'm uttering the words, but I actually agree with H.R." Julian says.
"Ditto." Cisco says.
"Thanks, boys." HR says.
"A lone speedster it's just no match for Savitar." Julian says.
"Yeah, but--" Jesse tries.
"Jesse, we're gonna find him." Caitlin says.
"When?" Jesse asks.
"When the real Flash gets back." HR says.
My eyes widen. "Wowch."
"That came out wrong, um.." HR says.
"Wow." Jesse says, leaving.
"Put my foot in it." HR says and then he runs out. "Jesse, Jesse!"
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Next chapter up NEXT WEDNESDAY
-MC