Frozen Flashpoint

Chapter 16: Settling the Future with the Past

Summary: Barry checks in on his team, going from one member to another, and a wholesome family moment ensues.

Barry approached Harry as the man was packing his things. When the older man noticed Barry, he raised an eyebrow and asked in his usual even tone, "Can I help you, Allen?"

Barry considered his next words carefully. "I wanted to talk to you about DeVoe for a moment. Look, I know you take a lot of pride in your intellect, and mostly, it's well justified."

Harry gave Barry a curt nod of agreement but didn't speak further, so Barry continued, "The problem is that sometimes, because of that, you have a tendency to underestimate the cleverness of our opponents."

Harry scoffed at the comment, causing Barry to frown. "Look, Harry, this time our enemy is different. He's not your usual 'more attacks than plans' type, like Zoom was. DeVoe is someone who fights with his mind too, and I can tell you from my experience with Thawne that these enemies are the most dangerous."

Harry let out a mocking sigh. "Allen, DeVoe surprised us last time, but this time we're ready, and I doubt there's any plan he could make that I won't be able to counter."

Barry shook his head. "That's what I'm talking about, Harry. We can't have you thinking like that. We only need to be caught off guard once for DeVoe to win."

Harry snorted. "You worry too much, Allen. There's no way DeVoe will be able to do that much damage."

Barry scowled at the man. He really didn't want to play this card... "So, Jessie's life is acceptable damage to you?"

Harry froze and turned to glare at Barry before hissing, "What did you say?!"

Barry was unmoved. He shrugged and pointed out, "In the future, Jessie died because DeVoe outsmarted us once with an ambush. One you didn't see coming and didn't caution Jessie against."

Harry's expression lost all anger and shifted to horror. Barry let out a sigh and spoke gently, "Look, I'm not trying to blame you or anything, just pointing out that underestimating him because of your pride could cost all of us a lot. So think about it, and if you want to talk, you only need to call me."

With that, he left the man to do a little soul searching. He hated that he had to use the future timeline and imply it was Harry's fault that his daughter died, but if the man didn't get over himself soon, it might just happen in this timeline. Better to be scared by the thought than to experience the loss.

He then noticed Jessie and Wally standing together and went to speak with them. When they noticed him, both smiled and said at the same time, "Hi, Barry."

Barry smiled back at them and asked, "How's the new apartment, you two?"

Jessie beamed at him and spoke excitedly, "It's awesome!" She then frowned a bit. "My dad is crashing with us a lot, which is annoying."

Barry chuckled. Despite Harry's protests last week, Wally and Jessie had moved in together to an apartment in the same building as Cisco. The main reason was that Wally wanted out of Joe's house, and Jessie grew tired of staying in STAR Labs now that they had decided to stay on Earth-1.

Wally laughed a little awkwardly before changing the subject. "Anyway, we have you to thank for being able to afford it. You didn't have to pay for us to be around here."

Barry shook his head with a smile. "Nonsense. You work here just as much as anyone else, and both of you definitely qualify for jobs here. Though you're still not paid the same as Caitlin and Cisco—they have experience to account for."

Both of them nodded at Barry with looks full of gratitude. Barry chuckled and said, "It's my job as the boss to take care of the employees. Anyway, enjoy yourselves."