Collateral Damage (snowbarry)

Into the Fray

"It's just a...really big tornado." Cisco states.

"What?" Caitlin turns to him.

"The first guy Barry took down, he had to unravel a tornado. This should be the same principle." Cisco explains.

"Should be?" Joe asks.

Cisco shrugs at him and looks back up at the blackhole. "What choice do we have?"

"None." Barry interjects. "But this is upside down. How do I unravel it without ground to run on?"

"The debris." Stein cuts it. "You can run along the debris. Just be sure to know your next step before you leap."

"Right...so running along debris in an upside down tornado, that's much bigger." He scoffs. He looks back up to the sky. "And scarier."

Barry turns when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He sees Caitlin standing next to him, staring up at the sky. She turns to look at him and, as much fear as there was in her eyes, there was also a level of confidence that calmed him down.

"We can find another way to fix this if you don't want to do this, but...I believe in you." She says as quietly as she can, but still loud enough that he can hear her over the incredibly strong wind.

He looks back up then at her. He pulls her face to his and kisses her, feeling her rub her hands up and down his arms to calm him down. He pulls back enough to press his forehead against hers.

"I can do this." He says quietly, just to her.

"I know." She responds, just as softly. He pulls her in for a hug and looks at Cisco and Joe behind her who are nodding, both with worried but supportive looks on their faces.

"Godspeed, Mr. Allen." Stein says as Barry pulls away from Caitlin.

Caitlin takes a step back and puts her arm around Cisco who is shaking. Barry takes a final look back at the five of them before taking off up the side of S.T.A.R. Labs and into the blackhole. They all watch as yellow lightning bounces from car part to lamp post inside the vortex, picking up speed and eventually spinning in a continuous circle around the inside.

"It's not slowing down." Cisco yells above the wind after a few minutes.

"Even if he matches the speed, we have no way of knowing how deep it is. It could take hours to unravel." Stein informs the group.

"Barry can't run that long." Joe says, looking at Stein.

"There may be another way." Stein says, turning to Ronnie. "Once more into the fray?"

Ronnie looks at him and nods. "Whenever you're ready, Professor." He says, holding his hand up.

Stein reaches for his hand and the others watch as the two merge, forming Firestorm. They turn to the others and Stein's voice starts speaking. "If we separate inside the hole, the fallout from the transmutation may be enough to close it."

"How will you get back down?" Caitlin asks. "Without being merged, you'll have no way of getting down safely."

"There are sometimes risks, Dr. Snow, that one must take when considering the safety of the greater population."

Caitlin walks up and hugs him. "Enough poetry, Professor. Just...try to get back safely. Both of you. If you can remerge before you land, you may be able to stop the fall."

"We'll do our best, Cait." Ronnie says, putting his hand on the side of her face and smiling. She smiles weakly back. He removes his hand and Firestorm takes off up into the sky.