hand. He didn't know why he just let Zolomon live. He should have ended him there. He should have at least locked him away. But he didn't. All Y/N knew was that he had to get out of that damn warehouse. It felt so... wrong.

Y/N looked down at his hand. A small bit of lightning crackled around it. For a moment, it turned from its usual orange color to a blood red. Y/N stopped. Walking into an alleyway, he threw off his helmet and goggles. The young man took deep breaths. He was worried. 

Y/N tried to clear his mind. He thought about his family, about Caitlin, and about Judy. He tried to focus on what he had and the good times that came with it. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart.

Y/N took a deep, shallow breath. He looked down at his hand again and generated a small bit of lightning from it. It turned from a deep red back to his usual orange. Y/N sighed. He crouched down and put his head between his knees. He thought back on what he'd just done. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel like him. In his anger, he was losing himself.  

Y/N found himself back in his secluded lab. He was holding onto a few bandages, wrapping them around the gash on his arm. He sat down on a table, patching himself up and reeling from the fight he'd just endured. Caitlin entered the room and walked over to him with a huff. She had a sour look on her face. She walked right on over to Y/N and stared daggers into him.

Y/N: Cait-

Caitlin brought up her hand and slapped him across the face. Y/N winced at how tender his cheek was now, turning a bright red from how hard the slap was.

Caitlin: What the hell did you think you were doing?! Going out there alone without telling any of us?!

Y/N: Cait, I-

Caitlin: Zip it. There is no excuse you can come up with that will explain how reckless and irresponsible that was. I know you said you wanted to tackle Zoom alone, and I can respect that. But when you go out there without even telling us what you're going to do or where you're going, you're putting much more than just yourself on the line.

Y/N looked up at her, his face showing both shame and a begrudging sigh.

Caitlin: You think you were the only one who lost someone that night? I lost a sister. We all lost someone we held dear and close to us. Now, you can go out there and punch the bad guy till your heart's content, but when you do, you tell us first. Because if you go out there and something happens to you that we don't know about... I told you once that you would never get rid of me and I plan on holding true to that promise. So, the next time you plan on being reckless, you give us a heads up before running out in those golden boots of yours or the next thing you run on will be the therapy mat. 

Cait tugged down on one of Y/N's bandages, closing it over the wound but making it painful in the process. Y/N bit his lip and sunk his head. The brunette woman simply turned her own head and walked out of the room.

Barry stood by the doorway, turning and allowing Caitlin to pass. He looked over at Y/N, seeing him in his dour state. Y/N simply shook his head and got up off the table. He walked over to one of the whiteboards and began to write on it. He rubbed his sore shoulder while he worked. Barry walked into the room and spoke to his brother.

Barry: She has a point, you know?

Y/N stopped writing and put his head down.

Y/N: I know. 

Barry: You can't do this alone, Y/N.

Y/N: I know, but that won't stop me from trying.

Barry: You need to let us in, man. 

Y/N: I'm fine.

Barry: Why won't you let us help?

Y/N spun around to face his foster brother.

Y/N: Why? Why?! Because every time this freak has shown up, someone I love dies! Because the last time he was here, he broke into my house and plunged his hand through the heart of the woman I love! Everyone else is safer the further away from me they are!

Barry looked at Y/N. He had never seen him this emotional before. Y/N sighed and calmed down. He fiddled with the marker cap in his hand while he spoke in a softer tone.

Y/N: Do you remember when your mom used to make us sandwiches after school?

Barry was a bit caught off guard by the sudden question, but rolled with it.

Barry: Yes.

Y/N: She used to add a bit too much jelly. It'd run off the sides and we'd be licking our plates clean trying to sample it.

Barry smiled a bit at the memory.

Barry: She'd give us veggie sticks as a side that were always freshly chopped but would sometimes waste away in the fridge for a week when we forgot about them.

Y/N: Yeah, but she always made sure we were well fed. So much so my own parents used to brag that she was stealing their job of spoiling me.

Both men chuckled lightly at the fond memory. Y/N's face changed, now showing a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Y/N: We both knew your mom well, Barry. The night Hunter took her from us as well as my parents... I know he said he didn't mean to, that my folks were an inconvenience, but their blood is still on his hands. And all of it left a hole in me. Growing up with you and with Joe, I thought all of it had been put behind me. I had filled that hole. I could focus on my life and the people I love and just move on. Then last year...

Y/N's throat tightened. He looked up at Barry. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes.

Y/N: I can't lose anyone else, Barry. I just can't. I don't think I could carry on knowing that another one of my friends was slain because of their connection to me. And it makes me so scared that I...

He broke down now, tears falling across his cheeks. Barry brought out his hands and embraced his brother in a hug. He held onto him, allowing Y/N to let out all his emotions. 

Barry: It's okay. It's okay. 

Back in the cortex chamber, Judy had placed down the vial of red liquid she'd obtained on the table counter. She, Cisco, and Dr. Wells all observed it. Cisco made a sour face looking at the unnatural color and particulates floating around in the liquid.

Cisco: That's just creepy. It's like some Hammer type shit right there.

Judy: I was gonna say more Roger Corman. 

Wells: Zolomon has moved locations. His lab at the warehouse was destroyed. He's back to square one, but he'll no doubt try to rebuild.

Judy: My guess is he's trying to cook up some way of making himself faster. This concoction here may be a solution to that or be a part of his research connected to it. Maybe even that tachyon device he had was being used to try and amp up his speed more quickly.

Cisco: Do we have anymore of the Velocity-9 in storage?

Wells: No. The last batch was destroyed after Zolomon's last visit. The only way he'd be able to enhance his speed is by either extracting it naturally from other speedsters or by creating another version of the Velocity serum. But this looks different. Judging by the look of it, he seems to be trying to study negative tachyons and their properties.

Judy: My question is why didn't he just kill Dad? I mean, he had two opportunities to plunge a vibrating hand through his chest and didn't. Same with me. It's as if he's letting us live for some reason.

Cisco: Maybe he's hoping to use you as a speed farm? Generate more from a living host? Or maybe he just can't.

Harrison thought for a moment. His eyes widened as he came to a conclusion.

Wells: Or maybe he needs you alive as an anchoring point.

The other two looked at him with raised brows. 

Cisco: What?

Wells: Zoom is only here because he followed Judy back from the future, correct? So, by killing either Y/N or Dr. Snow, he'd be terminating Judy's birth early. 

Judy: So there'd be no me of the future for him to come back in the first place. It's a time paradox.

Wells: Precisely.

Cisco: Cool. Well that protects you guys. The rest of us are still on the chopping block, though.

As they were talking, Caitlin entered the room. Everyone straightened up, seeing the scowl on her face. She had a lowered brow as she approached the trio.

Cisco: Oh, boy. Someone's angry.

Caitlin approached Judy and looked at her.

Caitlin: What do you think you were doing going out there? You could have been spotted by Zolomon.

Judy: Mom, please, I'm fine. He didn't see me. I played it like a pro.

Caitlin: But you didn't know that going in there. There was still a chance he could have seen you.

Judy: Mom, it's fine. I wasn't seen. That's the end of it.

Caitlin followed her as Judy tried to walk away. She pointed her finger at her, setting the young teen straight.

Caitlin: You are just like Y/N. You take too many risks. You need to watch yourself, 'cause if you're not careful, one day those risks will catch up to you.

Judy: Mom, listen, I-

Caitlin: No, you listen, young lady. I don't know how things play out on your team in the future, but while you're here, you listen to us and you do what we say. And you do not take risks. Not with what we're facing. You need to actually put that brain of yours into practice, not just in the lab. Do I make myself clear?

Judy straightened up and looked up at her mother. She spoke in a meek, but respectful voice.

Judy: Yes, ma'am.

Caitlin: Good. Now, care to explain why you went out there in the first place?

Judy motioned over to the vial and explained her reasoning.

Judy: I noticed the equipment he had around the warehouse. It's too sophisticated for him to have made himself. My guess is it was stolen from Mercury Labs.

Cisco: So he's the one who set the fire.

Judy: Right. I also had the feeling that, at some point, especially after Dad discovered his location, Zoom would have to move hideouts. With the equipment he needs, that'd put him back at Mercury Labs.

Caitlin: Good thinking. But which lab? Mercury has dozens around the city, maybe as many as S.T.A.R. Labs thanks to their recent endorsement from the hospital programs.

Judy: That's also why I decided to grab this. I figured we could not only study it ourselves, but use it to pinpoint Zoom's approximate location. We just need to look deeper.

She turned her head and looked over at the long black haired scientist in the room. Everyone else followed her gaze and looked at Cisco. Ramon's eyes went wide. He gulped, thinking he knew what she was implying.

Cisco: Oh, boy.