Come Back To You » SuperFlash {4} √

con man

STAR Labs
Cortex

HR was showing his resume to the whole team, as they gave him unimpressed looks. "You were named Entrepreneur of the Decade by Tech Magazine?" Cisco asked.

"That's right," HR said.

"Is any of that true?" Mon asked.

"All of it," HR said.

"How? You can barely turn on a computer," Cisco said.

"There are two parts to every idea. There are the inception and the execution. I provide the former," HR explained.

"So you come up with the ideas?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, I don't know how to implement them. I'm the idea man," HR said.

"So you didn't actually solve the cryptogram that we sent you?" Caitlin asked.

"No, that was my partner at S.T.A.R. Labs on my Earth. I'm the face of the company. I'm more of the inspiration behind the company. Then I was exposed. Well, people thought that I was something that I...I guess I wasn't. Anyway, it... it kind of all fell apart for me. But then I got your message. My partner brought me your message. I realized he's bringing me an opportunity to come to this Earth to write this book," HR explained.

"So many planets in the multiverse and we happen to pick the one Wells who's not a scientist," Cisco said.

"You're right. I wasn't completely honest with you...with all of you. I feel bad about that. I regret that. But let me ask you a question. Has there been none amongst you that has ever shaded the truth for what you believe to be the greater good?" HR asked.

"It sounds to me like you're a con man," Mon said.

"Mm-hmm," Iris hummed.

"Was I a con man when I showed San Francisco here how to track the beast using car alarms? Was I a con man when I showed him how to fashion a rope using carbon fiber?" HR asked.

"I came up with those ideas!" Cisco exclaimed.

"You were prompted by my suggestions. That is how ideas work! People, you need a muse! I can be your muse," HR said.

"What about stopping all the metas on your Earth?" Kara asked.

"More of an advisory role for me, but I was there. I remembered how we...you don't think that's something? Let me present you with a scenario. You're confronted with something, a threat that you've never seen before. You don't know how to stop it. Who does? That's valuable to you. Let me prove my worth to you. If I fail, I will pfft right back to my Earth, but if I succeed, I will have succeeded not just in redeeming myself but also...will have done some good with my life," HR explained.

"You know, you're lucky we're pretty big on redemption and doing good here, so I think you can...I don't know...stay for a few weeks, try to prove yourself, but if not, fyoo, back to your Earth," Cisco said.

"Thank you," HR said.

STAR Labs
Speed Lab

Caitlin was sitting by herself when Cisco walked in and sat with her. "Where you been?" Cisco asked.

"I actually went to visit my mother," Caitlin said.

"Your mother?" Cisco asked.

"Mm-hmm," Caitlin hummed.

"Oh, boy. Why?" Cisco asked.

"To see if we could work through some of our issues. And I think we might actually be on the road to recovery," Caitlin said.

"When it comes to family, you got to do whatever it takes, 'cause one day, you might not be able to do that anymore. Glad you're back," Cisco said.

"This is home," Caitlin said with a smile.

CCPD: Barry and Julian's Lab

When Barry walked in later that night, Julian was in the corner, thinking to himself. So Barry just grabbed a box and started to pack his things. "I nearly killed a kid tonight," Julian said and Barry looked at him. "The monster we were chasing, it turns out it was just a hologram, operated by a 15-year-old boy. Flash and Supergirl came to save the day. And he saved me from doing something-"

"I heard," Barry said.

"You know what's sad? That kid, he's just acting 'cause he's scared, you know? He wants everyone to be terrified and to run away from the monster so he can feel powerful. I know what that's like," Julian explained.

"How do you mean?" Barry asked.

"I come from a pretty wealthy family," Julian said before he laughed. "Back in England. It's a long line of generations of old money, tradition...nonsense, really. And I was the heir. I was their firstborn son. I was supposed to inherit the lot. But I was the odd duck...Who would rather go in the garden and collect samples of insects...Rather than learn how to tie a Windsor knot or which fork to use first at dinner. Yeah. No, I wanted more. You know? I came here to do the one thing that they couldn't stop me from doing. Becoming a scientist...becoming a great scientist. And then just as I got to the top of my field, poof, the world changes overnight. Meta-humans. I don't know a single thing about meta-humans. I don't know how they talk. I don't know how they walk. I certainly don't know the first thing about stopping them, so...rendered useless. I suppose that's the monster that I'm running from now, just feeling powerless."

"Yeah, I feel the same way some days, Julian. I lost my mom when I was a kid. Lost my dad recently. It's a scary world. People die. Trusts are betrayed. Things change. But change can be a good thing, you know? It can bring new experiences, new opportunities, people. You can treat 'em like a potential enemy or like a new friend. Just trust that everything's gonna be okay," Barry explained.

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Julian said and Barry started to pack again, but Julian chuckled. "You can stop. You can stay. I was really wrong about The Flash, and Supergirl, so I could be wrong about you too. Good night, mate."

Julian started to walk out but Barry sighed. "Julian?" Barry asked and Julian looked back at him. "You want to get a drink?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that," Julian said.

"All right. Let's do it," Barry said before the two started to walk out of the lab.

Next Update: February 3, 2021