Absolute Zero

Impasse

"Let me out of here!" He shouts in his normal voice, straining it to the point where it breaks. His voice is still muffled by the thick glass of the cell he is trapped inside of. His family and friends stand in front of the glass cell, shaking their heads and refusing to look at Barry.

His fist slams so hard against the glass that they can hear the crack as his knuckles break and shatter at the amount of force and anger put behind the punch. This causes Iris to jump, but she continues to stare at her feet. She can't look at Barry. She hates seeing him like this, an animal in a cage.

Even if she could muster the strength to gaze into his hazel eyes, she knew they wouldn't be Barry's. His eyes would be clouded with darkness and they would flicker with blue lightning.

"As much as we want to, we can't son." Joe says from beside her.

Iris' eyes flick up quick enough to see Barry throw himself against the glass. A low growl tears from his throat and it echoes in Iris' ears. She can't stand seeing him break.

"Get. Me. The. Fuck. Out. Of. Here." Barry sneers, letting each word drip slowly from his chapped, bleeding lips. He clenches his red gloved hands into fists against the glass as he stares at his friends and family.

Caitlin is in a state of shock as she looks at Barry. The man standing inside the containment cell isn't Barry Allen at all.

He's decked out in his full Flash suit, cowl lowered so that they all can see his gaunt face. His chestnut hair is matted with sweat and sticking up in all different directions. His jaw is clenched for he's obviously gritting his teeth. His wild hazel eyes flash with evil. Whatever Zoom did to him over on Earth two was bad.

Cisco wants to understand what happened to his friend, but Barry isn't about to give him any hints. It hurts Cisco to see his friend, Central City's hero, locked up like this. The Flash was supposed to protect their city, not be a threat to it. Their Barry Allen was long gone and Cisco wasn't sure if there was any way to bring him back.

Barry takes a break from ramming himself into the glass to raise his hands and run them through his dishiveled hair, a nervous habit he had always had. A spark of hope surges through Iris. For those two seconds, Barry just looked like normal Barry when he was stressed out, but then Iris meets eyes with him and the feeling vanishes. His cold stare sends chills running down her spine.

Barry shakes his head at her and presses his forehead against the glass.

"Please." He croaks, shattering Iris' heart and everyone else's too.

"Barry, you need to stay in there until I know you're not a danger to anyone. I have to be sure. I'm sorry, my son." Joe chokes out, his voice sounding exhausted.

"I'm not a threat. I'm okay. Please just get me out of here." Barry begs, clenching and unclenching his fists against the glass again and again, no doubt holding in the anger.

"I have to go." Caitlin says abruptly, unable to handle Barry's begging. If it were up to her, she would let him out. She swipes her hand up to her right eye, catching a tear there before she turns her back on Barry and everyone else standing in front of him. She exits out of the pipeline and Cisco follows, hoping to comfort her.

That leaves Iris, Joe, and Harrison Wells staring at Barry.

"Wells, please. Lemme outta here. Let me go home." Barry rasps with his broken voice, strained from shouting so loud before. His voice cracks on the word home.

"I can't and I'm not going to. No amount of begging from you will make me change my mind." Wells replies sharply, finality ringing in his tone.

He gestures for Iris and Joe to leave.