You & I | The Flash FanFiction| BOOK 2

Chapter 5

Everyone glanced at each other, unsure of what to say. Ronnie, or a guy who looked exactly like him, was standing in front of the team with a shy smile. 

"How did you get here?" Cisco asked. 

"I'm sure it had everything to do with your amazing, top-notch security system," Harry's voice dripped in sarcasm and Cisco gave him an annoyed look. 

Caitlin stepped forward, "more importantly, who are you? And where are you from? Why are you-"

"Caitlin," Barry touched her shoulder gently and she shook her head, tears already in her eyes. She sat down next to Savitar who put his arm over her and rubbed her shoulder in comfort. 

Ronnie's eyes followed Caitlin and he frowned, "my name is Ronald Raymond and I'm from earth-98."

"Earth-98?" Iris asked. 

"Yes. It's a long story." 

"We have time," Barry suggested. 

"But a short version would be appreciated," Savitar said and Harry nodded. 

Ronald looked around, uncomfortable. "Well, the people on my earth are extremely powerful. We have extraordinary powers that most are born with, but when you have such power, there's always the possibility of slipping into the darkness. That's why it was extremely lucky if one was born without these powers.

"I was the protector of my city, along side my brother, a job we both took very seriously. But then came Crystal Frost. A woman with cryogenic powers, the total opposite of us," he smiled fondly. 

Everyone glanced at Caitlin who was focused of his story. 

"She was determined to kill us," he laughed, "and after an endless amount of fights that neither of us won, I fell in love with her, but so did my brother Matthew. We then left the decision to her and she chose me."

"Vampire Diaries, much?" Cisco said. 

"I talked to him and I really tried to make sure he was happy, and at first he was supportive, we even fought together as a group, but when he found out Crystal was pregnant, he became enraged. Maybe he thought he still had a chance, I don't know. I tried everything to get him back, but it was no use, Matthew warned us to leave the city," he said solemnly. 

"Did you?" Iris asked, "is that how you go here?"

"Of course not! I loved Crystal but I also loved the city and its people, my people. I never thought I had to choose between the two and I guess Matthew knew that too in some way. He said by staying, I had already made my choice." 

Caitlin shook her head in pity, knowing how hard it was to make that same choice with her Ronnie. 

"The city was in flames within days thanks to my brother and when Crystal gave birth, we found out our baby didn't have any powers, that's when we decided to flee," he looked down in guilt. 

"We knew we couldn't go anywhere on our earth, he would've found us. I worked with a good friend to built a interdimensional portal, a theory we've been working on. We didn't have any test subjects but we didn't have time for any either.

"I went in first and looked back to see Crystal, holding Jack, our child. I held out my hand for her but she fell to the side right in front of me, blood everywhere. I tried to go back but my friend, Derek, pushed me in. The last thing I saw was Matthew's face," he finished teary eyed. 

"And your son?" Harry asked. 

"I don't know. I'm just hoping my brother still has some sort of humanity in him and he kept my son alive. I fell into the portal and landed in this city. I saw you," he pointed to Barry and Savitar, "I came here to see if you could help me." 

"But your brother," Savitar interrupted, "he's here, right? The guy you were fighting earlier?" 

"Yes, which would mean Derek has been kidnapped or maybe he's dead," he gulped. "I-" he dropped to the floor and Caitlin rushed over. 

"Ronnie-Ronald?" She waved a hand in front of him, "get him to the medical bay right now," she ordered and Barry did as told. 

Caitlin ripped open Ronald's shirt and found a deep cut that seemed to have been bleeding for quite some time. 

"Oh my God," Caitlin whispered as she got to work. 

While the doctor was stitching, the rest of team was talking in the cortex. 

"So, do we actually believe him?" Savitar asked. 

"Why wouldn't we?" Barry asked. 

Savitar shrugged, "sorry I don't trust everyone that walks through the doors."

"Even if we do believe him," Iris said, "are we going to help him?" 

"Of course we are," Barry, Cisco and Caitlin, who had just walked out, said simultaneously. 

"You guys do realize this isn't your Ronnie, right?" Savitar asked. 

"He's right," Iris added, "I mean, I know how much you guys have been hurting since you think that you had some sort of part in Ronnie's death, but-"

"This isn't about that Iris," Caitlin said.

"This man just lost his wife, child and brother," Cisco added, "we have to help him." 

"You three know how easy it is to come up with a sob story," Harry said, "remember Zoom?"

"Our job is to help people," Barry said, frustrated at the team, "no matter what. This man comes here asking it for it. We can't just turn our back on him."

"What if he's lying?" Iris asked, suspicious. 

"Then, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Caitlin said, "we've had advantages that no one could ever have. Iris, just last year when Savitar was about to kill you, Barry travelled to the future to figure out what events will occur before, he literally changed the timeline so you could survive. No one else could even think of doing that. You should have been dead."

Iris nodded softly. 

Caitlin went on, "Harry. When your daughter was in danger, you left your earth and asked us for help. We didn't need to help you. We could've just believed that, since you weren't from our earth, since you had the face of our greatest enemy, you were a bad person. Your daughter and your earth would have died.

"And Savitar," she said, "you definitely shouldn't be here. You're a time remnant, no normal human would no what that means. You were given a second chance because we believed in you." 

She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, but all of us would've been dead by now if it weren't for each other. You guys kept your faith in me when I turned into Killer Frost and I'm just trying to repay the favour for someone else. 

"We all have reasons for not trusting others, but if we didn't trust everyone we met, we wouldn't be here, together, right now." 

Savitar's eyes fell to the ground. She was right, as she always was, but for some reason, he still couldn't trust the man in the medical bay. Sharing a glance with Iris and Harry, he realized they didn't either.

Could they just ignore their feelings for the sake of their friends?

Before anyone could utter a word, a noise from the medical bay distracted them and they ran toward the room. 

"Ronnie?" Caitlin asked, quick by his side.

Ronaldo fluttered his eyes opened and smiled, "I like to be called Ron." 

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QOTC: Would you go back in time to save a loved one?
My Answer: ... no.