"All right, guys, say hello to our bus meta of the week, one who is unfortunately our last, Edwin Gauss." I introduce, gesturing to what was on the screen, "As we know, there's not much on him. No college history, no known addresses. Just a couple of backpacking photos on an old message board."

We were all at the cortex that day, after Harry had come up with a way to stop Devoe with some sort of tuning fork that had abilities like Izzy Bowen's, so we could catch Devoe off guard. A pocket dimension has opened, us all thinking it was Devoe, but surprisingly, it was our last bus meta.

I was dressed in a navy blue satin blouse, which was tucked into skinny black dress pants, my badge and holster attached to my belt, my hair straight, black heeled ankle boots on my feet.

"Old? Flip phones are old." Cisco corrects me, "This site is from the age of dial up. Try prehistoric."

"No digital fingerprint." Joe spoke, "Everything this guy owns is strapped to his back. He was off-grid before he was even a meta."

"That, and his powers are the reason we couldn't find him." I cross my arms, looking at everyone.

"And why there were 12 heat signatures on the bus, including the driver." Caitlin continues for me.

"Cisco, the way he appeared and disappeared-" Barry began.

Cisco cuts him off, "Pocket dimension."

"What? Like the Devoe kind?" Ralph questions.

"No, like the Edwin Gauss kind." Cisco pulls something up onto the screen, "You see, pocket dimensions, like the one you see here, are unique to their users. Just like Devoe can only enter or exit his, Gauss too is limited to his own pocket dimension."

"So why does Devoe need him?" Iris asks out of curiosity.

"Well, Devoe uses his chair to create pocket dimensions." I press my palms together, "If he has Edwin Gauss's powers, he won't need it anymore."

"Then we need to catch Gauss first." Joe nods.

"And we will." Harry walks in, holding his thinking cap, "Little late. Just tweaking the cap. Now, listen, locating this meta is not a task that we have to accomplish. Why is that, Harry? I'll tell you why. It's because we already have."

Harry sets the cap down and types away, pulling something up on the screen for us to see, "Yeah, this is the map that we constructed: Of all the pocket dimension activity throughout Central City."

"Right, but that's when we thought all the pocket dimensions belonged to Devoe." Caitlin spoke up, "Now we don't know whether they belong to him or to Gauss."

"And figuring out those distinctions, I'm sorry, but that's too big even for your britches, Harry." Cisco says.

"My britches are plenty big, okay? I fill my britches. Watch this, okay?" Harry types, "By simply tracking the two lanes of identifiers, cross-referencing the, uh, fluctuation migration patterns and the temporal displacement in the energy app, and I give you Edwin Gauss's pocket dimension activity."

Our eyes fall onto the screen, only a few red points on the map now, Harry softly speaking, "Ahhh, Harry. Harry is amazing."

"Yeah, okay, let's just split up and search each one for Edwin Gauss." I point, "Barry, you go with Ralph and Caitlin, Iris, tag along with Joe and Cisco, Harry-"

"I'll go with you." Harry nods.

I shook my head, "You hold down fort."

"Okay, I'll tweak the cap." Harry nods, grabbing his cap, leaving the room.

"Zee-" Barry catches my attention, "Tag along with us."

"All right."

-

"Guys- where are we?" Barry asks, as we walked through the forest, to the location, my eyes scanning the place.

"Looks like some sort of hippie commune." Caitlin mutters, my phone buzzing in my pocket.

I grab my phone, looking at the lit up screen, a text message from Cisco on the lock-screen.

cisco: I've figured out what's going on with your powers and why your eyes changed color. You and Barry need to meet me in my workshop after this.

I shove my phone back into my jacket pocket, my breathing visible in the air.

"Yeah, smells like one too." Ralph mutters, "Guys, I think I figured out Devoe's plan. He means to suffocate us with BO and incense."

"Okay, well, this is the last pocket dimension hotspot on our list, so just-" Barry pops a bubble that was in front of him, "Do you see Gauss anywhere?"

"Uh, unwashed flower child, have you seen this man?" Ralph stops and holds a picture in front of some man.

"Nope." He says, "I've seen the soul that belongs to this man. The dude's aura is a trip."

"Wait, so, you know Edwin Gauss?" I questioned for clarification.

"Sure do." He nods, "Round here, we call him the folded man."

"Folded man?" Barry questions the name.

"He's everywhere and nowhere but mostly, he's around here." He tells us, "Time for the reflection hike, everyone! Don't forget to leash your spirit animals!"

The man leaves us alone, everyone else following him, Ralph speaking up, "Literally already smells better."

"Okay, let's just search for Gauss." Barry puts his hands in his pockets, "Uh, stay in touch over the comms."

"Yeah, I will leash my inner animal and head south." I nod at them.

"I'll leash my inner-penguin and come along." Caitlin comes by my side.

"Be careful." Barry told us, before I nod at him, Caitlin and I searching for Gauss, making conversation every now and then.

Eventually, Caitlin and I had spotted Guass, chasing right after him, Caitlin speaking into the comms as we ran, "Guys, I got eyes on Gauss! He's fast for a non-speedster!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gauss puts his hands up in surrender when he falls to the ground after Barry ran and stopped him, us all standing over him, "Easy, narcs. Hey- I give up."

"We're not cops." Barry tells him from beside me, "But you are in danger. We're here to protect you."

"Oh, righteous." Gauss nods, "Is that why you're- why you brought your ninja buddy?"

"What?" Barry questions, confusion falling over all of us.

All of a sudden, a sharp pain pierces right through where my chest and shoulder met, a gasp leaving my mouth, a arm wrapping around me, pulling me off the sword, throwing my body forwards, everything now moving in slow motion.

Barry's eyes are wide as he runs, circling around the Samuroid destroying it, running over to me, catching me bridal style.

I let out a grunt, breathing uneven, my hand going to where the pain was, that hand being covered in my own blood, Barry's eyes wide as ever as he stared, "God- ow-"

"Zee-" Ralph calls out my name after Barry caught me, Caitlin's eyes slightly wide, the head of the Samuroid falling to the ground.

"Meet us at Star Labs." Barry told them, running me to Star Labs.

-

"Are you sure you're okay?" Barry asks me again, his hand on my back, while Caitlin checked me up one last time after the wound was completely healed.

"Yeah, I mean, the wound started healing before I even woke up." I shrug, "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"From the scans- she's completely healed." Caitlin puts down what she was pressing against my skin, as I got up, readjusting the plain long sleeve shirt I had changed into, it being tucked into my pants already.

"Hey, uh, shouldn't you rest?" Ralph asks me.

"No-" I shook my head, looking at him, fixing my sleeve, "I'm fine. Caitlin just said I was fully healed."

"I'm gonna go help Cisco with that pocket dimension predictor." Caitlin nods at us, leaving the room.

"Well, it could've been worse." I shrug, looking between Barry and Ralph.

"Yeah, all things considered, we got pretty lucky." Barry nods, putting his hands in his pockets as we stood in a triangle.

"Lucky? Are you two serious?" Ralph stares at us in disbelief, "Am I the only one who's paying any attention here?"

"Ralph, we completed the mission." I place my hands on my lips, "I'm okay, and Edwin agreed to stay in the Pipeline. It all worked out."

Barry backs me up, "Edwin will be safe in there."

"Safe?" Ralph repeats, "Because Devoe's never successfully attacked metas in a maximum security facility before. Oh, wait, he did exactly that."

"Watch it, Ralph." Barry warns.

"I have been watching." Ralph continued, "Watching Devoe ahead of us at every turn, watching Zee get skewered, watching the metas drop like flies, one by one, because we can't save them. And why? Because we won't make the tough call and end DeVoe when we get the chance."

"Look, I'm not doing this again." Barry began.

"Again?" I repeat, "You've had this conversation before?"

Ralph and Barry go silent, causing me to scoff and speak up, "Okay, Ralph, I get where you're coming from, but that is not the tough call, that is the wrong one. In the years we've been doing this- we have never stooped that low to eliminate the villain. We have always found another way."

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Star Labs agree." Ralph scoffs, "I swear if I was running this team-"

"But you're not." Barry snaps, jumping to my defense, "Zee is, and she's making the right calls here-"

"Okay, all right." I put a hand on Barry's chest, holding him back, putting my hand forward at Ralph, looking between them, "That's enough. First of all," I point at Barry, "I am not the only Team Leader here." I look between them again, "Second of all, we don't have time for this- conversation especially. We need to focus and stick to the only rational plan we have right now. Find Devoe, hit him with the scepter, and put him in the Pipeline. No one has to die, no one will die."

"Huh same plan again." Ralph scoffs, leaving Barry and I alone.

I sigh, "We have to go down to Cisco's workshop."

"Why?" Barry questions, confusion falling over him.

"He's figured out what's up with my powers." I told him, as he gives me a sly nod, us making our way down there.

-

Turns out, my powers were advancing, majorly. With the new tricks I had discovered and limits I have been pushing with my powers, it was only becoming stronger. Which resulted in the eye color change.

Sooner or later, Ralph has tried to use Edwin to lead him to Devoe, to take him out once and for all, all on his own, Barry stopping him and knocking him out before he could.

Now, Barry sat alone with Ralph in the room Ralph laid on his medical bed, finally walking up, the both of them talking.

I stood by the door, watching them talk, my attention too caught in their conversation.

"I know what killing Devoe would do to you." Barry went on, "You would be throwing away everything you've done: to become a better man, to become a hero. You gotta realize that."

"You are a moron." Ralph shook his head at him, staring at Barry in disbelief, seated up on his bed.

"Ralph-" Barry started.

Ralph cut him off, "I am not afraid of Devoe and what he might do to me. I am afraid of what he might do to you."

Barry went dead silent, Ralph continuing, "-and Zee and Iris and Caitlin and Cisco, Joe, Harry, Cecile. Devoe has taken out everyone who's gotten in his way, and Team Flash they will always be in his way."

"The way Devoe just caught us off guard and cut through Zee today-" Ralph shook his head, looking down, "Without her healing abilities- who knows what would've happened to her with all that blood loss. One by one- he's going to cut through everyone. Team Flash will always be in his way."

"This was never about protecting yourself." Barry realizes, as I leant against the door frame, looking at him also.

"I know that killing Devoe would mean throwing away everything I've done to become a hero But aside from my mom, this team is the only family that I have ever had, and I would throw myself into a furnace to keep them safe." Ralph said with all seriousness, hurt and fear threaded in his shaky tone, "Devoe cannot have them. They are mine."

Tears stung in my eyes as Barry spoke, "What about what we want? You may not care about losing who you've become, but we do. We like hero Ralph."

"Please don't take him away from us." Barry got up, saying softly.

Before I could stop myself, I had walked right in, wrapping my arms around Ralph tightly, holding back the present tears in my eyes.

Ralph hesitantly hugs back, holding onto me, as I rubbed his back in comfort, empathy threaded in my actions.

I step away, nervously smiling weakly, my eyes still watery, looking down, clearing my throat, "I couldn't stop myself."

Barry reaches for my hand, slowly grabbing it, intertwining our fingers, slowly leaving the room with me, leaving Ralph Dibny alone.

We walk into the cortex, being greeted by everyone else, a sigh falling from my lips, crossing my arms.

"Well, Ralph was misguided, but he had a half-good idea." Barry spoke first, standing next to me once we came to a stop.

"Which half?" Cisco questions.

"We use Edwin Gauss's powers to create a pocket dimension to DeVoe's lair." I answer, looking between them all.

Cisco sighs, "Yep, that's the half I was afraid of."

"It doesn't get more dangerous than this, so if we go, everybody needs to sign off." Barry tells us, looking between everyone.

"Look, you two have led this team through every danger there is, so if you think this will stop DeVoe from claiming any more lives, then-" Joe exhales, "Let's go get that bastard."

"I mean, damn, Joe, when you put it all John McClane like that, of course I'm in." Cisco comes by his side.

"I'm in." Iris nods, Harry repeating her words.

"I don't even need to ask Killer Frost what she votes." Caitlin remarks, "We're in too."

"All right." I exhale, looking up at them, "Tonight, we take on The Thinker."

-

"Open it." Barry told Edwin, Caitlin and Cisco next to him, all three of them in their suits, identities concealed.

"You got it, mega-fast dude." Edwin nods, doing as told.

"Open it again in 15 minutes." Barry instructs, "If we don't come out with Devoe in cuffs, close it. Don't open it again."

I look at Barry, "I could still come."

"No-" Barry shook his head, "You stay here. Okay? I love you."

"I love you." I nod, the two of us sharing a short kiss, before Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin disappear into the pocket dimension portal.

Suddenly, the entire place turned purple, every technical thing we had owned in this building being screwed with, us being completely locked in the Speed Lab.

"What's happening?" Iris and Joe instantly ask in unison, Harry and I going to the monitors.

"Someone's taken over our systems and sealed us in." Harry said, trying to get back into the system.

"A second pocket dimension opened in Star Labs at the exact same time as ours." I told them.

"It's Devoe." Harry exhales, "He used that first opening to conceal his own entrance. That's why our sensors didn't register."

"This is all a part of his plan: the Samuroid attack, us getting Edwin, using him to attack Devoe's lair." I put it all together, "He wanted us divided."

"Where did Edwin go?" Joe questions.

"He's back locked in his cell, and we got DeVoe's pocket dimension energy coming from the Cortex." Harry answers.

"That must be where his chair is." Iris says, "I mean, if we can get to it, we can use it to get our team back."

"First, we gotta get ourselves out of here." Joe nods, "Harry, can you unhack his code?"

"Trying, but it's too complex." Harry exclaims, "If I had my quantum decryption keys, I could do it, but they're stuck in Cisco's workshop."

"But we're not stuck in here." I walk over to the door, my eyes turning to their white, red color, my hands heating up as flames erupted in them, using my abilities to blast the door but it was no use, "Damn, Cisco really thought of everything, didn't he?"

"I got it." Iris stops me, pulling off an earring, tossing it at the door, it exploding, "It's a little worst-case scenario that I had Cisco whip up."

I nod, as we all made our way down the hall, Joe stopping us, due to the Samuroid that stood clear by the elevator, "Get back. Harry, go get your equipment-"

"I'll go and hack the computers." Harry nods, turning, heading the other way.

"Zee, get to that chair." Joe instructs.

"But- you guys can't beat him on your own-" I began.

Iris cuts me off, "We got this. Go."

I nod, turning, heading for the cortex as quickly as possible, feeling a pinch right in my neck, causing me to halt and let out a gasp, Marlize Devoe injecting a clear serum into me, "This should dampen your powers for as long as I need."

I fell to my knees, Marlize moving away from me, heading behind her husbands empty chair, then reappearing with a sword in her hand once I got back to my feet.

"Ah, Mrs. Allen," Marlize Devoe chuckles, holding the sword loosely, "I was hoping we'd meet again."

"Likewise, Marlize." I click my tongue, grabbing a gun Cisco had created from under the console, turning it on, mocking her accent, "I do indeed tend to keep my word. And I'm almost positive that I told you- I would slap that smug look right off your face. Today's my lucky day."

"Ah, there's that passion from our chat in the courthouse." She chuckles again, "But I do remember warning you that it could easily be destroyed."

"And I remember you asking me what I was willing to do for my husband." I recall, aiming the gun right at her, "How about I demonstrate?"

She smirks at me, readying her sword, electricity crackling on it. I start blasting at her with the gun, walking closer to her, her blocking my every attempt to stop her, knocking the gun out my hands, swinging the sword at me.

I duck, grunts leaving both of our mouths as I knock her off her feet, grabbing my gun quickly, her being back on her feet before I could do anything else.

My leg swings up, kicking her back as she grabs my shoulder, shoving me back into the wall, her arm reaching back, ready to slice through me, but I stop her by blasting her with the gun, sending her flying back.

"Man-" I let out a heavy breath, "You are one hard bitch to beat."

She chuckles softly, hopping back onto her feet, catching me off guard, her sword hovering above the flesh of my neck. "Drop the gun."

I elbow her, turning around, pressing the gun against her chest, as she held the sword to my back, the blade against my skin, "Drop the gun, Mrs. Allen."

I exhale, dropping the gun, a hard look on my face, as she spoke, moving her blade and pointing it towards me as we neared Devoe's chair, "Perhaps you are willing to do what it takes."

"But it seems my love is stronger than yours." She mutters coldly, her pointy blade directed right between my chest and stomach.

I blink long and hard, before grabbing the blade with my bare hand, slicing it right through me, a shriek leaving my mouth in pain, catching Marlize completely off guard. I pull away from the sword, the pain where the sword pierced through me increasing as I felt blood ooze through my shirt.

Marlize gawked at me with wide eyes, my hands grabbing onto her, slamming her against Devoe's chair, knocking her into it, weakening her, pressing the button on the chair, my eyes landing on her, "Well, then you haven't got to know Barry and I."

"Where is he?" Cisco immediately asks when Marlize and the chair disappear, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco coming through the pocket dimension portal.

I fell to my knees when they came through, my hand on my wound, gasping quietly in pain.

Barry's soft voice fills my ears as he fell right next to me to my comfort, "Zee?"

"I'm okay." I shook my head, swallowing, "I'm fine- Devoe's here- we need to find Devoe." I pause, starting to try and get up, realization falling over me, the pain being too much for me as I let out a grunt, "God- Joe and Iris are fighting the Samuroid-"

Barry caught me, one hand on my stomach, one on my back as he held me up on the ground.

Joe and Iris walk in, Joe holding the head of the Samuroid, a sword through it, "Actually, now it's just Devoe."

"Zee?" Iris' eyes widen at my blood oozing wound.

"I'm okay, we just need to get Devoe." I try to get up again, Barry stopping me.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere until you're healed-" Barry shook his head.

"About that-" I clear my throat, "I can't heal right now-"

"Why not?" Cisco questions.

"Because Marlize caught me very off guard and injected me with some power dampening serum she made-" I admit, "But, I'm fine- it'll wear off. We need to get Devoe, he's all that matters."

"Zee-" Barry stares at me, worry filled in his eyes.

"You know what-" I pull up my shirt, revealing my cleavage, my bloody black bra, the blood stained on my stomach, "Frost-"

Caitlin, or at least, Killer Frost blasts my wound with her powers, containing it and freezing it for the time being until I could start healing again.

I pull the shirt down, forcing myself up, along with Barry, "We need to find Devoe, right now."

"Breach us to him." Killer Frost looks at Cisco, "I'm ready to get blood on this jacket."

"That blow back in the lair knocked down my breaching." Cisco told her.

"I'll find him." Barry pats my back lightly, running off.

"Ralph!" Barry's voice sounds, my head snapping towards the monitor, where footage from the Speed Lab was shown. Edwin, Devoe taking over his body, stood over Ralph, his hand on his head, Barry on the ground, being held by nothingness, defeated.

"Ms. Betty never understood the full magnitude of her powers." Devoe began, "You're currently the same gravimetric weight as a cement truck, Mr.
Allen. That should hold you long enough to bear witness."

"Ralph! Just fight it, all right? Fight it! I'll save you." Barry pleads, all of our attention on the monitor now.

"You already did, Barry." Those were Ralph's last words, before Devoe took him over, Edwin's body falling.

"No!" Barry practically screams, huffing in defeat.

"Ralph?" I softly whisper to myself, staring at the screen.

"Stand back." Cisco tells us, trying his hardest to open a breach, getting Caitlin and I through. Barry phases through the floor, running back in, grabbing the fork, jumping to hit it against the ground, but Devoe had used the same power against him, sending him flying back.

Cisco moves, trying his best to vibe blast him, even after finding the blood in his ears, being sent back also.

Killer Frost forms an ice dagger into her hand, ready to stab Devoe, Devoe simply touching her, turning her back into Caitlin Snow, "Melt."

He lifts her up with his abilities, sending her flying also, knocking her out, his eyes landing on me.

He uses his abilities to lift me up, and bring me over to him, melting the ice that kept my wound contained, the pain and blood erupting suddenly, causing me to let out a shriek of pain.

"Devoe!" Barry's loud shout came from behind, "Don't lay a finger on her-"

"I won't have to, Mr. Allen." Devoe turns me so I'm facing Barry, the pain growing stronger, "All the training, all the lessons you taught Mr. Dibny to help him reach his full potential, this body will be the greatest gift of all."

Devoe smirks, watching me as my eyes start to close, my consciousness slowly leaving me, "Thank you, Mr. Allen. You were an excellent teacher."

Devoe drops me, disappearing into his pocket dimension portal, Barry running, catching me, everything around me slowly fading black, Barry's voice distant, everything eventually going silent.

-

"We were supposed to save them." Iris says quietly, as they stood in the cortex.

"We tried." Joe continues for her, sighing.

I got up from my medical bed, slipping on Barry's Star Labs sweatshirt, fixing my jeans, putting my hand on the bandage that rested above my wound, forcing myself up, walking into the cortex, "We failed."

"Zee-" Barry comes by my side, "You should be resting-"

"I'm okay-" I nod at him lightly, reassuring him no matter his doubts, "It's already healing."

Barry lightly nods, stepping away from me, Iris speaking, "I know this isn't the ending we were expecting, so If anyone wants to talk-"

My head snaps to the side once Barry runs off when Iris says this, a sigh leaving my lips.

"Should I track him down?" Joe asks me.

"No-" I shook my head, looking up at him, "I think I know where he's going."

I step out of Star Labs, using my abilities to lift up off the ground, utilizing my flight abilities to go to Ralph Dibny's office, landing on my feet right outside the door. The door was side open, my head peaking through it, my eyes landing on Barry Allen, slowly packing away Ralph's things.

"Hey-" I softly call out, walking in, my eyes scanning over him.

"Hey-" He sighs, "Why aren't you at the Labs?"

I shrug lightly, "I came to talk to someone in need of my expert conversational abilities."

"Is that person me?" Barry looks at me, placing files into a cardboard box.

"Actually- yeah." I step into the room, "I'm here for you. Do you wanna talk?"

"Yeah, well, without Ralph being around to dodge rain, it's only a matter of time before the landlord closes this place up." Barry continued to put things away, "I know there's some things in here Ralph wouldn't want anybody finding."

"You know you could just whoosh around and you could pack up a lot faster." I suggest, staring at him.

"Yeah, I know." Barry answers shortly.

"Barry." I softly say, "I'm here if you need me."

"Zee, I know that you're here for me and that I can talk to you, and I love you for that," Barry went on, "But right now, I just need to pack up. That's all."

"Okay." I simply nod, my voice quiet, heading towards the door, "I'll see you at home."