Episode 35 - Flash Fanfiction - Game On!

Chapter 1

Barry raced into the cortex in the early morning with Caitlin and immediately got to work on Cisco's computer. He had received an emergency text from Joe that morning claiming that Iris was missing. Her bed hadn't been slept in, there were no signs of forced entry and the only clue was that her phone had been wiped and a messaged had been left on the black screen in green writing. 'Game On!'

"Whoever took her must be doing it for revenge. But, why?" Joe asked as he raced into the cortex with the phone in hand and handed it over to Barry. There was what looked like a portable charger still attached to it.

"I've notified the others." Caitlin said, "They should be..." before she could finish her sentence a breach appeared in the middle of the cortex and Astrid and Cisco arrived in pajamas and coffee cups in their hands.

"Seriously, it's only five-fifteen in the morning... I just moved into Astrid's house... our house... last night and we don't even get a sleep in! We gave you guys a sleep in... hell, we gave you a day! Yeah that was before the official moving day, but still..." Cisco complained.

"Cisco, I'm guessing it's an emergency..." Astrid said, sleepily as she drank the last of her coffee, rested the cup on the table and stared at the group. "I've had one coffee... please, tell me it's an emergency, or we're breaching home, right now!"

"It's an emergency." Barry said, "Iris is missing." Cisco and Astrid stared at him unblinkingly.

"Are you sure that she didn't just go out late with friends or something?" Cisco asked.

Joe handed him the phone, "we need your input on this, Cisco."

Cisco drank the last of his coffee and studied the phone and the device that was connected to it.

"Game On?" he read. He unplugged the device from the phone and studied it. "Whoa... what is this thing?" he raced over to his workstation, where he pulled the back off and began studying the tool.

"That was all that was left..." Joe said. "Iris wouldn't go anywhere without her phone, especially at night." The group ran over to Cisco who stared up at them with his answer. "You guys... I built this thing..." he stammered.

"You built it, Cisco?" Caitlin asked.

He stood beside them and held up the device with a magnifying glass to show them what he had seen. There was a small microscopic chip built into it.

"That chip there, it's my signature chip... only it's tiny!" Cisco exclaimed excitedly.

"But that's impossible, Cisco..." Barry argued, "That looks like... like nanotech..."

"But you've never even worked with nanotech..." Caitlin said, confused. "and why would they plant this device after taking Iris?"

"Yeah... I've never actually built this thing before either... not yet, anyway... but this... the whole structure, the craftsmanship... I know it... It's my own handiwork... and my work is pretty hard to replicate."

"Could it be a doppelganger?" Joe asked them.

"I mean, that's possible... but this is somewhat on a futuristic level. Like we're talking decades into the future... But why would they just leave it there?"

"The message said 'Game on!' Maybe they're toying with us..." Astrid said, "Whoever it was knew that Iris and Joe are aware of who we all are. They knew that Joe would report this to STAR Labs before CCPD... They knew that Cisco would identify the tech as his own... We're talking about someone who knows us on a personal level."

"...then a time traveler would be the perfect suspect." Harry's voice chimed startling them as they turned to see him standing in the doorway. "A time traveler who you would trust with your deepest and darkest secrets..."

"I should have known... you're an evil DR Wells, aren't you?" Cisco snapped at him. "But how did you know my signature chip?"

"Ramon, don't be stupid. You all know time travelers... They've been in and out of here more times than you can count."

"He's talking about Sara Lance and the legends." Caitlin said.

"Yeah... but why would they want to hurt us?" Barry asked.

"...and why would they come after Iris?" Joe asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to call them and find out!" Astrid snapped as she ran into her office to get in contact with the Waverider.

"I'll do the coffee run..." Barry replied, "It looks like we're all going to need one."

"Gideon. Can you put me through to the Waverider?" Astrid directed of the AI with her tablet in her hands as she sat in her office.

"Putting you through to Miss Lance right away, Miss Sutherland," Gideon replied, and as she did, Sara's face appeared on the tablet.

"Sutherland... it's been a while... Last I saw you, you were sixteen, right?" Sara asked with an overconfident smile.

"Haha, funny! That was only a few months ago... I remember everything... You also owe me a dance." Astrid replied. Just as Barry, Caitlin and Cisco entered her office.

"Yeah... You know I'll keep my word... Did you want to speak to Leonard and Mick? You know the whole rogue thing? I can go get them..."

"No... Probably not a good idea... I'm calling for a reason. Iris is missing..." Astrid said.

Sara stared at her with a confused expression on her face, "Iris...? Is that someone I should know? Or is this something I should know about? Why do you need my help?"

"We think that we might be dealing with a time traveler. They've left a clue... some sort of device that Cisco must have built in the future... it scrambled her phone and left a message on the screen."

"A message?"

"The message said 'Game on', it's like someone is toying with us."

Sara stared at Astrid with a serious expression across her face.

"Lance... I know that face... you know something. What's going on?"

"Look, I have to go..." Sara said abruptly.

"Sara! No! don't go!" Astrid demanded. But the link was severed. "Gideon... reconnect the line!" Astrid said.

"I'm sorry, miss Sutherland, but the link has been severed from the Waverider's end." Gideon replied.

"I figured!" Astrid sighed.

"Did anyone else get the hint that Sara was hiding something?" Barry asked, "Like she was concerned about telling us?"

"Yeah... But we know Sara... If it's big enough to have a major impact o our time, she won't say..." Caitlin asked.

"We don't need Sara!" Cisco said, "hey, Gideon... You pilot the Waverider, don't you?"

"That is somewhat correct, Mr Ramon. The Waverider has a platform built into it and is linked in to my software." Gideon answered, just as Harry and Joe entered the office.

Cisco smiled. "Can you tell us what Sara Lance is hiding from us? Any relation to the words 'Game on'?"

"I am sorry, Mr Ramon... you do not have authority to retrieve that information from me."

"What? No, of course, I do. Does Astrid have authority? What about Barry? I mean, he created you, didn't he?"

"Mr Allen, as my creator has full authority to access that information." Gideon answered.

"Close enough! Ask her, Barry!" Cisco replied.

"Okay Gideon. Where does the reference 'Game On' come from? Is it something that we should know? How does it relate to Sara Lance?"

"Game On was a regular saying that Mr Ramon adopted in the year 2032. It is possible that Miss Lance and the rest of the legends assisted the team at this time."

"Well, that's vague." Astrid said. "Maybe we are dealing with another doppelganger, but from the future... Or maybe, you actually go evil..." she said, staring at her fiancé.

"Another Eobard Thawne but of Cisco? Great!" Barry groaned.