Parallel

Chapter V: Death Doesn't Discriminate

Just a heads up, this chapter is a lot longer than most of the others so far.

Also I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for your reviews/comments. It means a lot to me, and feedback is much appreciated and welcome! :D
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"Earth-1," the words echoed around in Cisco's head for a moment, his mind trying to process what he had just heard.

"What, why?" He questioned, scrunching his nose.

"Because that's were Zoom is," Jay revealed, a growing urgency in his voice.

All eyes seemed to snap to the speedster, faces ranging from surprise to curiosity.

"I overheard Zoom talking to one of his Lieutenants," he explained, his tone low. "He's been taking hundreds of meta's from this Earth, and moving them to the other one."

Cisco suddenly felt his blood run cold, a pit forming in his stomach.

"Why would he do that?" Barry inquired, perplexed.

"He's after the Flash...the other Flash," Jay warned, "I'm not sure why, but he's taken special interest in him."

Cisco barely registered what exchanges followed, his focus having shifted elsewhere. He should've been watching, he should've been keeping a closer eye on the situation.

"Hey," a voice snapped Cisco back into reality.

"You alright?" Caitlin inquired, a worried look on her features.

"Yeah," Cisco nodded absently, "yeah, I'm fine...I just...I need to check on something."

Cisco quickly stepped away, grabbing his vibe-glasses as he went. He then made his way to the other side of the room, just out of earshot of the others. The breacher moved to put on his glasses, hesitating at the last second.

"Please, please, please," Cisco whispered shakily. "Please tell me he didn't," he prayed as he put on the goggles.

Cisco took a fortifying breath before immersing himself in the vibe. A billion different energy signatures flickered to life behind his eyes. A billion different universes and a billion different timelines. But he knew how to tune them all out and find what he was looking for. He focused on one energy signature in particular. One person, one name.

Dante.

The name reverberated through his mind as he began his search. He began to weave around and through billions of frequencies and energies, never stopping on one for too long. When Cisco didn't find what he was looking for, he broadened his field. He reached and reached until he passed the borders of dimensions, and after that he reached some more.

Eventually, he did find it, that glowing frequency he had come to know all too well. But it wasn't as it always had been. It wasn't bright and burning, like a destructive star. It was faint and weak, like ripples spreading through water, or impressions in the sand. That in itself was enough to set off alarms in Cisco's mind, a sense of dread and worry overtaking him. But he braced himself nonetheless, and tapped into the frequency, a thousand memories washing over him in a moment's time. Some he knew because he had lived then too, others were not his own.

He remembered their dilapidated apartment that could barely be considered a home, and he remembered their parents death. He remembered the stealing, the cons, and all the other less-than-honest things they had done to survive. To be able to go to bed with food in their stomachs, and later, a roof over their heads.

He remembered the day he left it all behind and went away to college. Dante continued his life of crime, even after Cisco returned and got a job. After that came the particle accelerator, and everything went to hell. Thus began the reign of Reverb and Rupture. Cisco skipped over that, it wasn't a part of his life he was proud of. Truthfully, he wasn't proud of most of it, but he had tried to get out. He had tried to make something of himself, but he had ended up getting pulled right back in.