⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥

CHAPTER THREE
earths . . . as in more than one

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

"PLEASE, JUST LET me explain," Jay insisted. "I mean you no harm."

Barry stared at him harshly, and although he knew she could definitely hold up her own, he couldn't stop himself from slightly stepping in front of Juliet. "How do you know her name? Or mine?"

"I know all your names. Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, Detective Joe West—"

Joe lifted his gun higher, and Jay raised his hands in surrender. "Enough. That part about explaining needs to happen right about now."

"This world is in danger," Jay stated.

Juliet took notice how he said this.

"What other worlds are there?" Cisco asked.

"When you created the singularity above Central City, you also created a breach between my world and yours."

"I'm sorry, a — a breach?" Iris questioned.

"Yes, a portal connecting our two Earths," Jay explained.

Two? Juliet shared a look with Barry for a second, and both of them had confusion written all over their faces.

"And what precisely is your concern?" Professor Stein urged.

"A few days ago, you found a dead man named Al Rothstein at the nuclear plant," Jay answered before his gaze settled on Barry. "But then a different Al Rothstein tried to kill you."

Cisco looked at the two heroes. "Atom Smasher."

"That man was from my world. If he got through the breach, I suspect there'll be more to follow."

"Um, so, I've got a question," Juliet admitted, pointing at Jay. "Can you tell us exactly how you know all of this?"

"Where I came from, I was a speedster like Barry, working with a Metahuman like you, who just so happens to be your doppelganger," Jay replied, and Juliet blinked. "They called me the Flash, and they called her Witch."

Juliet raised her eyebrow. "Witch?"

It was hard to wrap her mind around. Another Earth, another her.

Jay nodded. "Before I arrived on your Earth, were in a fight with a man named Zoom."

Juliet moved herself closer to Barry so that the front of her right shoulder was pressing up to the back of his left one, and he looked down at her. "The nuclear plant."

"We've heard that name before," Barry told Jay. "Atom Smasher, he said Zoom sent him here to kill me. Who is this guy?"

"He's a speedster, like you and me," Jay responded. "And fast. Maybe the fastest of all. But evil. He is an unstoppable demon with the face of death. We were engaged in our fiercest battle ever, racing throughout my city. But I wasn't fast enough to stop him, and Witch hadn't been powerful enough, either. He had attacked her mid-teleport and left her bleeding on the sidewalk below. Zoom had us beaten. He was about to kill me when suddenly there was a blinding light and the sky split open. A breach, between my world and yours, caused from the singularity. It pulled me in, and I somehow ended up in your world. Powerless. Unable to return home."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.

"I lost my speed."

"How?" Barry urged.

"Not entirely sure," Jay said.

"And Witch?" Juliet questioned. "Where is she?"

Jay looked pained. "I don't know, but she didn't come with me here."

"So, you've been in Central City for six months," Joe began. "Why haven't you come to see us before?"

He took a step forwards. "I'm in a foreign world here, Detective. I didn't know who you all were, with the exception of Juliet, because she's like Witch. Took me that long to piece it all together."

"So that's how you know our names," Iris voiced. "You've been following us."

"Look, I know how this sounds. The existence of another Earth, Barry, another Flash, Juliet, another you, it all came as an unexpected shock to me, too. I just wish there was something I could do to convince you."

"There is," Barry revealed. "We're gonna . . . do some tests on you. See if you're telling us the truth." He then put his hands on the railing of the computer desk and leaned closer to Jay. "'Cause if you're not, this Zoom, he's not gonna be your only enemy."

(Juliet is looking . . . respectfully.)

Caitlin and Jay went into the medbay so she could run all the tests on Jay. The rest of them stayed in the cortex. Juliet leaned against the computer desk, her arms crossed across her chest as she stared down at the ground in thought. All of the new information seemed to be overloading her brain.

"Is any of this possible?" Iris inquired. "A breach to another Earth? It's not, right?"

"The contrary," Professor Stein answered. "Just recently, the many-different-worlds theory proposed interaction with parallel universes was plausible. Now, if what Mr. Garrick's saying is true, that theory's been proven sooner than we all thought."

"It doesn't add up," Barry protested.

"I'm gonna be honest here, I don't understand what the hell any of you are talking about," Joe admitted.

"So, Jay is saying he's from, like, a mirror-world," Cisco stated. "Or a parallel universe that's very, very similar to ours."

"Multiverse would be a more apt description," Professor Stein cut in."

Joe blinked. "No, not helping."

Cisco shook his head. "Bless your heart."

Professor Stein then took the clear whiteboard they had in the cortex and rolled it outwards. "Okay, let's see if this helps." He picked up the yellow marker resting on it. "This is our Earth." He drew a circle on the board. "Let's call it Earth-One." He wrote E-1 in the center. "And this second Earth, let's call it Earth-Two." He drew another circle and wrote E-2 in the center. "This is where Jay claims to be from." He then started to draw multiple smaller circles around the two bigger ones. "And these other Earths, three four, five, to infinity, all of them, are nearly identical to ours. And they all exist at the same time, giving us endless alternatives to what we have here. For example, uh, the Joe West on Earth-Two, your doppelganger, he might not be a Detective. He could be a Nobel Prize winning physicist. And — and you, the Barry Allen here—" he pointed at the Earth-One circle "—is the Flash, but over there—" he pointed to the Earth-Two circle "—he could be an electrician."

Juliet let out a small laugh and looked up at him. "I'm a superhero on Earth-Two, and you're an electrician. Ha."

Barry smiled a little at her and pushed her head away playfully. "Quiet, you."

"So, I'm assuming that the people on all these other Earths, work to make money to pay bills and such," Joe said.

"I would imagine," Professor Stein replied.

"So we got that in common. I'm heading back to the station. Call me when this makes a little bit more sense. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this whole idea of time travel."

Professor Stein took a step forwards as Joe left the cortex. "There is, uh, one problem that remains. If Mr. Garrick is telling the truth, there is a breach somewhere in Central City that we need to find and close for good."

"Yeah, but how do we find it?" Cisco asked. "We don't even know what to look for."

"Well, I — I suggest we put our heads together and come up with a solution. Not literally, of course. Those days are over."

He then left the cortex, and Cisco followed after him. Juliet slightly leaned against Barry's side, who instantly put an arm around her and ran his hand up and down her back. Comfort for her or comfort for him — neither of them were really sure.

"What'd you find?" Iris questioned to Caitlin, who was walking out of the medbay.

"Well, Jay's heart rate is extraordinarily low," Caitlin announced. "And he does have regenerative capabilities. Other than that, I'm not seeing any evidence of the Speed Force in his system."

"We don't even have proof that he's a speedster, much less from another Earth?" Barry inquired.

"Not necessarily."

"What does that mean?"

Caitlin's voice lowered. "Well, Jay doesn't know this, but while I was testing his heart rate, blood pressure, and motor responses, I also measured his autonomic reactions while we were talking."

Juliet's mouth slightly dropped open in shock. "Caitlin, oh my God, you gave him a lie detector test?"

"And he passed it."

Barry stared at the back of Jay's figure, who was still sitting on the bed. "What if he's not a good guy, and he just wants to find our weaknesses? Keep running tests. See what else you can find out."

Caitlin continued to run her tests, but she just came up with the same results every time. That's how Juliet found herself standing down in the pipeline, watching as Barry shut Jay in a cell.

"I hope you understand why we have to do this," Barry told him.

"I get it, kid," Jay responded. "You're doing what you think you have to. But you'll all realize soon enough that this, the tests, it's unnecessary. I want to help you and Juliet, Barry, not harm you."

"Believe it or not, we've heard that one before," Juliet voiced.

"If what you told me about Zoom is true, that he sent Rothstein here to kill you, Barry, instead of locking me up in here, you better start listening. Because if Zoom is involved, you are gonna need a lot more than just me at your side to stay alive.

"Barry, JJ, there's a fire at the waterfront," Cisco's voice echoed from above. "Fire department's en route."

"I'm on my way," Barry answered. He looked down at Juliet. "I'll handle it."

"You sure?" Juliet inquired.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll call you if I need you." He leaned down and kissed her quickly. "Be right back. I love you."

"I love you more."

Jay nodded to Barry. "Be careful."

Barry then sped off in a flash of yellow lightning. Juliet stayed put in the pipeline for a second, looking at Jay in curiosity.

"You know, Witch had a boyfriend on my Earth. Julie always seemed so lovestruck by him."

"Julie?" Juliet repeated. "Were you and her close?"

Jay nodded. "She was my best friend. We became superheroes together after the Particle Accelerator exploded and finally got up the courage to reveal our identities to each other. I'm just . . . I'm so worried for her."

"Do you think Zoom killed her after you got sucked into the singularity?"

"I don't know, and that's what pains me the most. There's no telling if she's dead or alive."

Barry then suddenly came back into the pipeline, honestly looking a little freaked out. "We have to go."

Juliet blinked up at him. "What?"

"Now." He put his arms around her waist. "Come on."

So, apparently, Barry had managed to stop the fire. However, another person had showed up, one that could actually turn himself into sand. The two of them were on the site of the fire the next day — the police were involved, obviously, but also because it seemed like arson. They looked around the site for any evidence that could be used, but so far, they had come up with nothing.

"Barr, Jules," Joe began.

"Hey," Barry greeted.

"What are we dealing with here?"

"Pfft. Well, definitely a Metahuman. Had a pretty solid look at him between punches. And he was, like, made of sand."

Joe raised his eyebrows. "Sand?"

"Mm-hmm," Barry hummed in response.

"Okay."

"The problem is, the walls in this place are way too porous to pull any prints," Juliet revealed. "Neither of us can get any off of the boat, either, but look over here." She started to walk, pointing out things as they went. "Gasoline burns are literally everywhere, and the water didn't go off because the sprinklers weren't working. Which only means one thing." She turned back to face Joe. "Arson."

"Excuse me, Barry Allen, Juliet St. James?" a girl's voice then came.

Juliet looked over. Approaching them was a woman, dressed in a police uniform. She was pretty, but Juliet was sure that she had never seen her before.

"Yeah," Barry answered.

She smiled. "Hi."

Joe looked at the woman. "Two days in a row, Officer. What a coincidence."

"Or kismet, if you believe in destiny or fate."

Juliet got a small smile on her face, and she glanced up at Barry for a second, who was also grinning. Fate and destiny. Juliet forced herself to look away from her boyfriend, her heart racing and her face feeling warm.

The woman extended her hand out to them. "I'm Patty. Patty Spivot."

Juliet shook her hand first. "Juliet."

Barry shook her hand as well. "Hey."

"I'm really excited to meet the both of you," Patty admitted. "I'm a huge fan."

"Excuse me?"

"Your forensic reports. I — I read them sometimes. Who am I kidding? All the time, especially Barry's. I've actually read all of his."

Barry let out a small laugh. "Wow, I don't think that I've read them all."

"They're always so detailed," Patty continued, and Juliet raised an amused eyebrow. "You know, they really paint a picture like you were somehow actually there when somebody was being brutally murdered."

Juliet raised up a hand to cover her mouth, trying her best to not show she was laughing. This was just too good.

"Well, you know Barry," Juliet stated, lowering her hand once she managed to get a little control over herself. "Part time CSI, part time murderer. That's his secret."

Barry poked her side, making Juliet dive away from him. "That's enough from you." He looked back at Patty. "She's kidding."

Patty's eyes flickered between the two of them, her smile slightly faltering. "Uh, anyhow, I — I found, uh, something. Well, I think I found something. It's just a theory, but I would like to show you."

Juliet nodded. "Lead the way."

Patty led them to another room, one they hadn't been in yet. "So, this right here is the point of origin of the fire. And look." She pointed to some wires that were cut very cleanly. "I don't know a sandblaster on the market that can make a cut that precise, so I think a Metahuman may have done this."

Juliet and Barry shared a look for a moment.

"Here." Patty extended a vial out to Barry, and he took it. "Took a sample for you. Uh, there's also some fingerprints on the back of the pipe."

"You should have gone into CSI work," Barry told her.

"I love the science, but out here's where all the action is," Patty said. She looked at Joe. "Isn't that right, Detective West?"

"Mm," Joe replied. He walked up to her and lowered his voice. "The answer's still no, Officer, S . . ."

"Spivot."

"Spivot," Joe confirmed before walking away entirely.

"Something going on?" Juliet asked.

"I'm trying to join the anti-Metahuman task force," Patty admitted. "But you heard him. Hey, he's kinda like your dad, right? So, do you have any advice on how I can crack his no-code?"

She chuckled. "Good luck."

Barry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've been trying to pick that lock since I was eleven. So, if you figure it out, how about you let us know?"

Patty grinned widely. "Deal. It was really nice to meet you, Barry. You too, Juliet."

Juliet smiled back at her. "Bye." She waited for Patty to leave before she started to laugh again. "Oh my God."

Barry looked down at her. "What are you laughing about?"

"You, my love, are so incredibly oblivious." She rolled her eyes fondly when she noticed the confused look on his face. "Barry, come on. She obviously has a crush on you."

"No she doesn't," Barry argued. "No way."

"Yes, she does," Juliet insisted. "The smiles, the blushing cheeks, reading your forensic reports more than mine . . . she's so smitten. Trust me, it takes one to know one."

"You're saying you're smitten for me?"

She blinked. "That's what you got out of that?"

"What I got out of that is that apparently this new girl likes me, but I don't really know what I'm supposed to do with that information," Barry continued. "Not when I have the girl I'm destined to be with forever standing next to me. Nobody really compares."

Her face felt warm. "Shut up."

After finishing up at the crime scene, they went back to S.T.A.R. Labs. Juliet stood with Barry, Caitlin, and Iris as Cisco inspected the vial of sand through a magnifying glass.

"Found it at the crime scene," Barry stated. "I mean, it's gotta be from the Metahuman that attacked me."

"Huh," Cisco commented, pushing the magnifying glass away. "What is this stuff? Sand?"

"It's not sand," Jay interrupted, and Juliet looked to see him standing in the doorway of the cortex. "It's human cells whose myosin II protein have migrated to the cell's periphery."

Caitlin turned back to all of them. "Jay's a fellow science nerd."

"Those cells have the ability to rearrange and harden, giving them the appearance of sand."

"And how do you know this?" Barry questioned.

"They belong to a Metahuman Witch and I have fought before named Sand Demon," Jay answered.

Cisco stood up. "I know you're new here, so I'm just gonna break it down for you. The whole naming the bad guys thing, that's my jam. But you know what? I'm gonna let you have that one 'cause I actually kinda like it. I'm not mad at that one." He then saw what Jay was wearing. "Is that Barry's sweatshirt?"

"Oh, uh, sorry," Iris replied. "It was all we could find, so . . ."

"I was gonna say, 'cause it looks a lot smaller on you, right?"

Juliet literally smacked her hand to her forehead.

Cisco tapped on the vial. "I gotta do this thing."

"So, who is this Sand Demon?" Iris inquired.

"I don't know his name, but I know how to stop him," Jay announced.

"You know what?" Barry began. "I think we'll be fine on our own."

"We will?" Juliet asked, but cleared her throat after Barry swiftly elbowed her side. "Yes, we will."

"Look, Barry, I don't know what else I can do to prove to you I'm on our side," Jay voiced in frustration. "I've been poked, prodded. I even subjected myself to a full body scan."

"I was being thorough," Caitlin insisted.

"Sand Demon's from my world. Let me teach you how to stop him."

Barry shook his head. "Yeah, I don't need you to teach me anything, Jay."

"Zoom sent Rothstein here to kill you," Jay said. "He must have sent Sand Demon here to do the same thing. Don't you get it? Anyone close to the Flash, all of you, especially Julie, are in a lot of danger."

"Please don't call me that," Juliet muttered.

Barry stepped up towards Jay, obviously angry now. "All right. If you're so good, you would have caught him already, with or without the help of Witch. Let's get Jay back to his cell."

Juliet watched as he walked off to the side. She knew why Barry was being so hesitant and so angry with Jay. And trust her, she felt it, too. But everything Jay was saying . . . she doesn't know how, and she doesn't know why, but she found herself believing him. Maybe it was just her and her blind optimism. It seemed like the roles were reversed — Barry being less trusting, and Juliet being more trusting. Usually, it was the other way around.

She understood, though. Barry had been put in way more pain than she had. There was no blaming him in this situation at all.

There was then a call from Joe, telling Juliet and Barry that he had found their Meta. His name was Eddie Slick, and Patty had actually caught him before Joe had. Barry and Juliet stood side-by-side, more like Juliet leaning comfortably into him like she usually did, while Patty stood near them. They were watching Joe question Slick through the window.

"So, Joe told us what you did," Barry told Patty. "I'm impressed."

Patty chuckled a bit. "No, all I did was, you know, run the other print from the electrical pipe, then track Slick down from there."

Juliet nodded in impressment. "You'd make a really great CSI."

Barry shook his head. "Because it takes one to know one?"

"I'm actually done listening to you." She focused back on Patty. "Are you any closer on cracking Joe's no-code? Because if you have any tips, please tell us."

"Are you kidding me?" Patty replied. "He's like the permission Sphinx. Or like a magic eight ball with just one answer. Or, like, you know, the Bridgekeeper protecting the Holy Grail."

Joe then looked through the window. He locked eyes with Barry and Juliet and gestured for them to follow him. Joe left the room, and Barry and Juliet followed him all the way downstairs to the elevator lobby.

"Okay, so, Slick wasn't in Central City the night the Particle Accelerator exploded," Joe explained.

"He's lying," Barry protested.

"He's a dirt bag, and an arsonist, but he's not lying about this. He's not a Meta, Barry."

"Slick is the guy who jumped me."

"Do you think it's possible that the Slick in there has a—" Joe began.

"A doppelganger?" Juliet finished. "Not sure."

Leaving it at that, Juliet teleported both her and Barry back to S.T.A.R. Labs. When they walked into the cortex, Cisco and Caitlin were watching the news. It was showing the video of Oliver Queen, who had said he was now calling himself the Green Arrow, and how Starling City was now Star City.

(It was safe to say Juliet never knew what was going on over there.)

"Yo," Barry greeted.

Juliet then smiled and pointed at the screen. "Hey, it's Ollie."

"Yo," Cisco responded. "The sample you gave us? Not sand. Definitely human cells."

"Yeah, I know," Barry let out. "It's not him, I get it."

"I hate to say it, but I think this Earth-Two theory is starting to make sense."

"For real?"

Iris looked at him. "What, you think Jay is lying about the Sand Demon?"

"I don't know," Barry said. "That's my point. But — but I'm not gonna just believe some guy that walks in here and says a few things that sot of check out."

"Sort of?" Cisco repeated incredulously. "He was — he was right about Zoom."

"We don't even know anything about Zoom. What is Zoom? Is Zoom even real? Right now, that's just, you know, a story around a campfire." He then turned to Professor Stein. "I mean, have — have you discovered a breach yet?"

"Not yet, but we know how to now," Professor Stein responded.

He turned back to Caitlin. "Have you found one thing to suggest that Jay is a speedster? Is the Speed Force even in his system?"

Caitlin paused for a second. "It doesn't appear to be, no."

"See? We are scientists." Barry pointed at Iris. "You are a journalist. We test, we prove, we report. That's what we do. Except right now, nobody here wants to do any of that except me."

Juliet sighed. "All right." She reached out and grabbed his hand. "You. Me. Hallway. Now."

She started to drag him out of the cortex. Barry apparently didn't have the strength in him to fight back against her, so he let her lead him all the way to the elevator lobby. Once they were there, Juliet let go of his hand. She crossed her arms and turned to face him.

"I don't know about you, but Barry Allen doesn't seem to be a lot like Barry Allen lately," Juliet admitted. "Sure, a hell of a lot's changed. But where did my Barry Allen go? All of the sudden, you've just decided to not trust people." She sighed. "Look, I know why you don't like Jay. And it's because he reminds you of Thawne. Wells. Whoever he was."

Barry shook his head. "I trusted that man."

"So did I. I trusted him just as much as you did."

"Then why are you so quick to trust Jay? Because he makes my sweatshirt look small? Or because he calls you Julie? Come on, Jules."

Juliet stared at him in shock. "Okay, hold on, woah. Nope. You never call me Jules. Try again."

Barry rubbed a hand against his face tiredly. "Juliet."

"You're at like a level twenty, I'm going to need you to take it down to a level five." She watched as Barry took a deep breath. "Jay and my supposed doppelganger being best friends on Earth-Two has nothing to do with this. The point I'm trying to make is that everyone is not Harrison Wells. You and I, especially you, managed to defeat him because you put trust in everyone around you. Barry, we have a team. But if only one of us believes in them, it becomes unbalanced. If you don't believe in them, it's only going to be a matter of time before they don't believe in you."

His eyes studied her face. "There's something else. What are you holding back?"

Juliet sighed. "Because of what Rothstein said. He said Zoom was going to kill you, and his story checks out with Jay." She looked down at the ground for a moment. "I just . . . I don't want to lose you."

Barry shook his head. "You're not going to lose me. I promise."

"Good." She then extended her hand out to him. "Now, are you going to listen to me and try to hear Jay out, or are you going to keep beating down this lonely path?"

And, without a moment's hesitation, Barry took her hand.

〖   ϟ   〗

the storyline of earth-two juliet has me SO excited stop