Rocky Raymond //Book Five// - COMPLETED

Chapter 9 - All Doll'd Up

MacKenzie's POV

Cisco wakes up in the medbay

Caitlin and I sit on one side of him

"While you were unconscious, I scanned your wounds." Caitlin says, pulling up the scans. "There are still trace amounts of aluminum-beryllium alloy fused within your hands. It's remnants from Cicada's dagger."

"See, this is this is what I need. I just need rest." Cisco says

"No, Cisco, rest is not going to fix this, okay?" Caitlin says. "Every time you vibe or breach, the dark matter is going to affect your central nervous system, causing you more and more pain. Wait... which you must have been experiencing all day today. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you're my friend and you needed my help." Cisco says

"Okay, but I would never ask you to hurt yourself." Caitlin says. "Every time you vibe you are going to have more and more seizures."

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Cisco asks, sitting up. He's silent for a moment. "I remember when these powers were a curse. Seeing Thawne kill me over and over. Knowing that darkness. I didn't want that. I didn't want to be a hero. These powers were a part of me. I had to learn that. And when I did, they showed me everything. I could vibe every clue. I could breach us wherever we needed to go. I could bring my value to the team. If I can't take the pain, that means Cicada wins."

"No. Hey. Listen, I get it, okay?" Caitlin says. "When DeVoe took away Killer Frost, I was destroyed. But you know what? I'm still here. And so are you. Because you are Cisco Ramon."

"Genius engineer, prodigy hacker..." I tell him

"And the mechanic who built a cold gun that could stop a speedster." Caitlin adds. "And you're my friend. You're my friend who went out there and hurt himself today. Just to help me try and find my dad. And that wasn't vibe. That was Cisco, and that's the guy I need."

"That cold gun was pretty amazing." Cisco says, wiping away a tear

"It was stolen almost immediately." Caitlin says

"Oh, immediately." Cisco mocks

"But yeah, it was pretty great." Caitlin tells him

***

I'm walking through the hallways, on my way to the lounge to get my backpack so Caitlin and I can go home

I stop, hearing voices in the lounge

"I don't know what to do about Mack or Nora, Barry." Iris says softly

"Yeah. Well, look. About Nora, I mean, you know I'm on your side with this." Barry says. "If you dampen her powers in the future, it's because you care about her. You're doing it to keep her safe."

"Just because I can protect Nora... doesn't mean that I'm a good mom." Iris says

"This isn't like what happened with Francine." Barry says

"Isn't it?" Iris asks. "She left me and my dad kept it a secret all to protect me. And when she came back, I pushed her away. I barely had a chance to know her before she... I lost my chance to connect with my mom and Now when I get older, Nora is going to push me away too."

"That's not gonna happen." Barry says

"Well, it sure seems to be going in that direction." Iris says. "I mean, Mack already pushed us away."

"Then choose a different route." Barry says. "Make a different choice when you raise Nora. If you don't want to be that person, don't be that person. For Mack, right now, we need to live in the present, connect with her now, show her we love her."