"This is exactly what Devoe wanted." Barry spoke, "I mean, we all played right into his plan, especially me."

We were all stood at Star Labs the next day, as I was the only one seated, holding back tears, staring at my ring as everyone discussed.

"Why would Devoe want to orchestrate all of this?" Iris questions.

"I don't know, but we know that this started when I was still in the Speed Force." Barry said, his hand on his hip.

"But why target Dominic?" Joe asks.

"Dominic's power must have allowed Devoe to inhabit his body." Harry sighs, "We should've been on top of this earlier."

"What about the other metas on the bus?" Caitlin crosses her arms, "Why create them?"

Harry sighs, "Part of a larger plan?"

"How are you even here right now, Allen?" Ralph questions, due to the ankle bracelet he wore. "Aren't you on house arrest?"

"Yeah, well- he's at Joe's, actually. Either that or the courthouse." Cisco shrugs, "I managed to hack into the ankle monitor GPS."

"That's not the only thing Cisco hacked." Iris spoke up, "When you came out of the Speed Force, you were talking gibberish at CCPD. You said something about not wanting to kill anyone."

"I digitally scrubbed a video." Cisco types away on his computer next to me, pulling up the footage, "Last thing we want is somebody hearing something we don't want them to hear."

"Your Honor, I'm innocent. I didn't do this. I didn't kill anyone." Barry's voice comes through the video, Cisco pausing it.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't remember saying any of that." Barry shrugs.

"We should look at everything else he said when he first came out of the Speed Force." Harry said, "Might give us a clue."

"That's a good idea." Joe nods.

"Okay, guys, but remember, I mean, considering all the evidence they have against me, this trial is not even gonna last very long." Barry reminds us all, causing small tears to form in my eyes.

"Okay, but with Cecile taking a leave of absence to represent you, you got the best lawyer in town." Caitlin assures.

"I mean, even if they did find you guilty, it's not like any prison can hold you." Cisco scoffs, a small grin on his lips.

"Well, I'm not gonna run. I won't be a fugitive." Barry puts his hands in his pockets, "If I'm convicted, I have to go to prison."

"Don't-" I blurt out, looking up at him, this being the first time I've spoken since we've gotten here, everyone's attention landing on me, my voice weak, my eyes having a small tint of red behind them, but I held the tears back with everything in me, "Don't say that."

Cisco places his hand on my back, rubbing it, as I sigh, placing my head in my hands.

"We're not gonna let that happen." Joe says, keeping his eyes on me.

"Let's get to work." Harry nods, as, everyone leaving the room, Barry staying.

"Zee?" Barry's voice fills my ears as his footsteps follow, walking over to me, "How you doing?"

I lift my head, looking at him, "I'm going to lose you. Again."

"Zee-" Barry starts, as I stood up, stopping him.

"I'm going to lose you." I blink my tears away, "I'm going to lose you."

"We have been through so much." Barry said softly, grabbing my hands, "We'll get through this too."

I sigh, "I know the Speed Force gave you a new outlook on life, but I don't know if being positive is enough right now."

"I'm just trying to be strong for the team and for you." Barry tells me, weakly smiling down at me.

"It's like history is repeating itself." I sigh, pulling away from him, "We should get to the courthouse."

"Yeah." Barry quietly says, slowly following me out.

-

"Zee-" Iris West's voice caught my attention as I paced outside the courtroom, only minutes until Barry's trial. "Are you okay?"

"I'm- fine." I sigh, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear, lying straight through my teeth. I was dressed in skinny black dress pants, a satin burgundy blouse that was tucked into the pants, black heeled ankle boots on my feet. I played with my necklace, my straight hair falling from behind my ears, as I continued to pace. Barry, Joe, Caitlin and Cisco stood a few feet away from us, having their own small conversation.

"Zee- you're not okay." Iris spoke, grabbing my arm, stopping me from pacing, "You can talk about this, it'll help you. You don't have to be strong for us-"

"Do I look okay?" I unintentionally crack, anger washing over me, my voice slightly raising, her eyes slightly widening at my tone, tears filling my eyes, "I'm going to lose my husband, Iris."

Barry had stopped paying attention to the conversation he was having, his eyes glued to me.

"That's why you can talk about this." Iris tried to be there for me and comfort me, "I'm here for you."

"You want me to talk, Iris? Fine, I'll talk." I pull my arm from her, completely lashing out, catching Caitlin, Cisco and Joe's attention also, tears slipping my eyes, my eyes pinned to Iris, "Devoe has this all pinned on Barry. No matter how many times you- or Joe- or Harry- or Cisco- even Caitlin- no matter how many times you guys are trying to convince me that this will all end okay- both Barry and I know this won't end our way. Do you know how many years Barry could go to prison for- for first degree murder? 25 years. 25 years- and if the Judge thinks he's a threat- it could be for life. My husband is about to be sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit- just like his father. My home- is a crime scene. The knife we got as a wedding gift has been used to frame Barry. I'm going to lose Barry. I'm gonna lose him. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do without him. So you know what- no, Iris. Talking about this- isn't going to help me. It's just going to hurt worse."

Iris stays silent, and just pulls me into a hug, ignoring my lashing out, pulling me into a hug, holding onto me tight, rubbing my back.

My hands shake as I clutched onto her tightly, squeezing my eyes shut, sniffling quietly, more tears falling.

My eyes open, and land on Barry, all of their eyes glued on me. I pull away from Iris, squeezing her arms lightly as a thanking gesture before turning, walking into the nearest bathroom, locking myself in a stall, leaning back against it, letting out a sob.

I pulled on my hair lightly, breathing heavily, trying to calm myself down. It took a few minutes, but I had calmed down, wiping my tears away. I splashed cold water on my face, drying it before walking out, my eyes landing on Iris West, who was waiting right outside for me.

I gave her a weak smile, as she returns it with a comforting smile, grabbing my hand, walking into the courtroom with me, sitting down by Caitlin, Joe and Cisco.

"Your Honor, ladies and gentleman of the jury, If you don't understand what it is I'm about to tell you today, you need to do something. I need you to believe in the impossible." The man serving against Barry spoke, "As children, we're taught that the police are there to protect us, to serve. We're told that our tax dollars go toward training them to be the champions of the city. But for some of us, it still seems impossible that a police investigator, one of Central City's finest, could betray that trust. And even worse, under the guise of upholding the law to commit the most heinous act that one person can carry out against another. But that is exactly what Barry Allen did."

"Now, the prosecution will prove beyond any doubt that he stood among us a wolf in sheep's clothing.
But here's the thing." The man went on, "Barry Allen wears a mask, used his connection to the law, his experience as a police investigator, especially as a crime scene technician, to stalk a beloved professor and husband and murder Clifford Devoe in cold blood."

"Ladies and gentleman, the document in my hand, it's a court-issued restraining order." He held up a blue documents, "It's issued to Marlize Devoe, the wife of the victim, on behalf of her husband against a Mr. Bartholomew Henry Allen. Now if you'd like a better look, I have a bigger copy. And if you'll allow me to call out what's written underneath "reason for order issue," harassment. The defendant was seen just days earlier, illegally breaking and entering into the victim's house, searching through the victim's effects."

"A man obsessed." He continues, "Barry Allen's skin cells were found under the nails of the victim. Now imagine that, if you can, Mr. Devoe, a man in a wheelchair, desperately trying to defend himself as Mr. Allen sought to overpower him. And finally, this is the knife that was used to kill Clifford Devoe." He held up the knife in a clear bag, "If it looks new, that's because it is.It was a wedding gift to Mr. Allen. Now let's just let that sink in for a moment. This was supposed to commemorate the most joyous moment in a couple's lives. But instead Mr. Allen used it to forever separate a couple from one another. He used a wedding gift as a murder weapon. That is a special kind of evil."

Tears glistened in my eyes as I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a sigh, starting to tune the man out, more stress falling over me.

"Cisco-" Joe's voice catches my attention, whispering, his phone buzzing, "There's a meta attack downtown. We got to go."

I look at Iris, as she squeezes my hand, nodding towards me, whispering, "I'll stay here with Barry. Go."

I nod, getting up, following Caitlin, Cisco and Joe out.

-

"When you're done, could I get some coverage of the work stations? Detective, would you get a statement please?" Captain Singh tells other workers before coming over to us, nodding towards Cisco, "Mr. Ramon."

"Captain." Cisco nods back.

"What happened here?" I quietly ask, looking around.

"Well, vintage Central City. Meaning another weird one. No data breach, nothing stolen. Everyone just collapsed. I have officers at the hospital interviewing people now, but so far, no one knows anything." Captain Singh tells us.

"Dark matter city." Cisco said, his device beating rapidly, "Yeah, we're definitely dealing with a meta here."

"You want to see what kind of perimeter we're dealing with?" Joe asks.

Cisco snaps his fingers, walking away, "You read my mind."

"Hey, Joe, Zee, you guys sure you're okay to run this case?" Captain Singh asks, "Because I totally understand if you need a little more time-"

I stay silent, as Joe speaks for the both of us, "We're fine, really. We may have to go over to the courthouse later."

"I'm actually heading over there myself." Captain Singh clears his throat, "The prosecution called me to testify."

"Oh my god-" I exhale, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I'm sorry, Zee." He apologized, "You know how much I care about Barry, but I have to tell them what I know."

"She gets it, you got to do what you got to do." Joe nods, "She's just stressed because her and Barry recently got married and all."

"Beautiful reception by the way-" Captain Singh comments, "Up until it got destroyed-"

"Okay- I'm gonna head back." I sigh, walking away from them.

-

"Mrs. Devoe, when did you first meet Mr. Allen?" Mr. Slater asks Marlize, as she was testifying against Barry.

"Um, Mr. Allen showed up at my house almost two months ago claiming to be investigating one of Clifford's former colleagues. We reassured him that we didn't have information to help him." Marlize sniffles, tears in her eyes, "But Mr. Allen persisted and continued to harass my husband."

"And what prompted the restraining order?" Mr. Slater questioned.

"My husband has had advancing ALS." Marlize looks up, "I was alone with Kevin most of the time. But something about Mr. Allen's aggressive manner just made me feel unsafe, so we went to the authorities. And we thought the complaint would dissuade Mr. Allen. But it didn't."

Ralph and Joe walk in, Ralph handing Cecile a yellow folder, "Psst."

Cecile takes it, then Joe and Ralph sat down with Iris and I, Iris squeezing my hand to comfort me.

"Could you please describe for the court the last time that you saw your husband?" Mr. Slater questions.

She exhales, "It was Christmas. And Clifford wanted to confront Mr. Allen. He had hoped that in the holiday spirit, he could convince him to let us be." Her voice cracks, "And I begged Clifford not to go. But even with his disability, Clifford insisted that it was his job as my husband to protect us, to protect me. He didn't want to live in fear, so he left-" Marlize starts to sob, "And I wish I could have stopped him and stepped in and told him not to do this. But I let him go."

"No further questions, Your Honor." Mr. Slater finishes.

"Your Honor, I would like to enter Exhibit F into evidence." Cecile Horton got up, holding up the yellow folder, walking to the Judge.

"Objection, Your Honor." Mr. Slater followed right after her, "Why wasn't this entered into discovery?"

"Oh, I've only recently received this new evidence." Cecile says determinedly, "May we approach?"

"Your Honor, there are protocols that need to be observed-" Mr. Slater starts.

"This is my courtroom, Mr. Slater. I'll run it any way I see fit." The Judge looks at the photos, then hands them back to Cecile, "I'll allow it."

"These photographs were taken earlier today." Cecile walks over to Marlize, placing a photo in front of her, "Mrs. Devoe. Could you tell me please who is the man that you're kissing in that photograph? It is most certainly not your husband, correct?"

"His name is Dominic Lanse." Marlize began.

"And how long have you known Mr. Lanse?" Cecile questions.

"A few months." Marlize simply answers.

"So it appears to me that perhaps your marriage was not quite as perfect as you've portrayed. Maybe you were ready for a life without your husband." Cecile shrugs lightly, keeping her determined expression on, "So you ran into the arms of another man, another man you convinced to kill your husband."

"Clifford and I met Dominic Lanse at an ALS charity gala months ago. He was there to honor his father, who had recently passed away with the disease. Clifford noticed the bond that Dominic and I shared, long before I did." Marlize sniffles, "My husband was happy that I found someone to talk to, and he urged me to turn to Dominic for the needs and comforts he could no longer fulfill." She sobs, "My husband wanted me to be happy. Clifford didn't see my relationship with Dominic as a tool to pull us apart but to bring us together. And it did. My heart will always belong to Clifford."

"No further questions, Your Honor." Cecile walks back over to Barry, sitting down.

"You're excused." The Judge hit his gavel against the table, everyone breaking out into conversation. Marlize grabs her coat, sniffling, putting it on, leaving the courtroom.

I got up, Iris grabbing my arm, her eyes slightly wide, "Zee, what're you doing-"

I pull my hand from her, following Marlize Devoe right out, "Marlize."

She gasps, keeping her back turned towards me, "Mrs. Allen, I don't think it's appropriate for the two of us to be seen talking."

"Cut the act." I snipped, crossing my arms, "No one's watching you."

"If you insist." Her tone changes, as she turns, facing me, keeping a straight, pleased expression on her face.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, "What are you gaining from this? What is wrong with you?"

"It's not about what's wrong with me. It's what's wrong with the world. There are problems bigger than your husband." Marlize spoke, her expression smug.

"One day, I'm going to slap that smug look right off your face." I told her, standing face to face with her, "You may have us in a corner now- but we will find some way to end whatever you two are planning."

"Such passion." Marlize exhales, "I had that too when Clifford and I first got married. But passion fades, and what remains, if you are fortunate enough like Clifford and I, is something deeper than ardor that cannot be destroyed."

"Then why are you so hell-bent on destroying our lives?" I question.

"I am doing what I have to do for my husband, Mrs. Allen." Marlize exclaims, "The question you should truly be asking is, what are you willing to do for yours?"

"Hope you enjoy the rest of the show." She wickedly smiles, before turning, walking away, leaving me in the hall.

I turn, heading right back into the courtroom, the doors squeaking as I braced myself for the decision I was about to make, "Your Honor. There's something you need to know right now that will alter the outcome of this case."

The crowd gasps as Iris looks at me, her eyes wider than ever, "Zee, don't-"

"Mrs. Allen, I have no idea what you think you're doing." The Judge gapes at me.

"I'm explaining what my husband won't." I take a deep breath, looking at Barry who also stared at me with fear in his eyes, as I mouthed to him, "I'm sorry."

"Zee-" Iris stood up, staring to walk over to me.

I clear my throat, looking at the Judge, "Your Honor, Barry Allen is The Fla-"

I am cut off when Barry runs to me, grabbing onto my forearms, electricity slowly moving around us, everyone else around us completely frozen.

My eyes land on Barry, as he was looking around, already answering the question in my mind, "We're moving so quickly that everyone else is still."

"How can you do this with me?" I exhale.

"I actually don't know." Barry answers.

"Wait- no-" I try to pull away, "What are you doing, I need to-"

"Zee, you can't do what you're about to do." Barry held onto my forearms tight.

I turn my face away, as he grabs my chin, tilting my head up so I looked at him, "Zee, hey. I already decided not to tell anyone else who I am."

"Barry." I stare at him, "Iris told me what Cecile said about what ways we can take this- telling the jury you're the Flash- that could explain everything. I know- I'm out of line giving up your identity but- Barry. You've saved this city countlessly. They can't convict you if they knew."

Barry grabs my face, "I'm trying to protect you, okay?"

"I'm not the one who needs protecting right now, Barry." I held his wrists, looking directly at him, "You're the one facing prison. I'm trying to protect you."

"If everyone knew my secret, we would never stop running." Barry tells me.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." I told him, "I can't do any of this without you. Do you not remember the last time you left me? This time- it could be for years- for life, Barry."

"It wouldn't just be us running." Barry told me, "Everyone that has stood by us the last four years would have a target on their back. If criminals knew my name, they'd know my weakness."

My voice cracks, tears filling my eyes, "Barry, I don't wanna lose you again."

"I love you, so much." Barry pulls me close by my face, "But- you can't do this. I know- what you're feeling. I watched you lash out on Iris earlier- listen to me. I know how that feels. My dad. He went through this too. I'm going to be okay- and I will be home to you. I will come home. I just need you to be strong for me? Okay?"

"Barry-" A sob leaves my lips, the tears slipping my eyes, "Please."

"All the evidence points towards me." Barry keeps eye contact with me, wiping my tears away, "You can't tell them, okay?"

I sniffle, tilting my head down, "Okay."

Barry brings his lips to mine, the both of us savoring the kiss, before he moves back to where he sat, everything back in motion, my eyes slightly wide at the sudden change.

Iris West was next to me, one hand on my back, the other grabbing onto my forearm, the Judge looking right at me, "Yes, Mrs. Allen?"

"Um-" I stammer, "Your Honor, Barry Allen has been framed. I mean- the only reason his fingerprints were all over the knife was because he had grabbed onto it the morning before Clifford Devoe's murder. And I just thought you all should know that."

"Thank you for your time." I stammer once more, Iris pulling me back to where we sat, Barry looking back at me, giving me a soft smile.

-

Barry was found guilty by the jury. He had left before finding out himself, due to Flash business, and now here we were, back in the courtroom for sentencing. I wiped away the dry tears from my cheeks, sniffling, holding the new surfacing ones back, Iris holding my hand, bracing me for the sentence Barry could get.

"Your Honor, I'm innocent." Barry stood, "I didn't do this, I didn't kill anyone. And I know that one day, the truth will come out. Thank you."

"Rise for sentencing." The Judge said, as Cecile, the jury's, a woman, and Mr. Slater stood up, "In my 30 years behind this bench, I have seen my share of criminals. But I confess this defendant stands apart."

"The defendant was in a position of authority." He went on, "Our city trusted him to bring the guilty to justice. He used that trust to take an innocent and vulnerable life."

Tears filled my eyes as he continues, "Never have I seen a defendant more unmoved. Never have I seen such inhumanity. Such a lack of regard for human life."

The Judge pulls up the folder, "The court hereby orders that Bartholomew Henry Allen should be incarcerated for the rest of his natural life, without the possibility of parole and that Mr. Allen be immediately remanded to Iron Heights Penitentiary. And may God have mercy on your soul."

A loud sob leaves my lips, the tears rolling down my cheeks as Iris instantly pulls me into her, holding me, as I watched Barry Allen get pulled away by two guards, handcuffs on his wrists.

authors note:

yooo, if you're reading this chapter, comment or vote or whatever you wanna do, I wanna see how many people are caught up