I was sitting at home in my loft, playing electric guitar to 'Until We Go Down' by Ruelle. "And I feel it running through my veins / And I need that fire just to know that I'm awake / Erase darkness till the break of day / And I need that fire just to know that I'm awake / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh / Until we go down / Until we go down / Until we go down / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh / Until we go down / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh." I sang the note higher this time around. "Until we go down / Until we go down / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh / Until we go down / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh / Until we go down / Ooh ooh, ooh ooh ooh."

I continued to play the guitar solo, which was slow yet trance like.

My phone rang before I could finish the song. I sighed, taking it out, seeing it was Iris calling, answering. "Hey, Iris. What's up?"

I heard gunshots on the other line.

"I need your help, now!"

"Were those gunshots?"

"Yeah. I'm at Baldwin Tower. I can't find a way out."

I instantly grabbed my suit, using fire to fly out. "Uh, window. Is there a window?"

"Yeah. Up ahead." I could hear more gunshots on the way there. "Okay, I'm by the window. Why?"

"Okay, great." I saw the windows up ahead, shooting fire at the glass to shatter them, flying inside, grabbing Iris, flying out of the tower toward the ground below, putting her down. "Okay. You good?"

"Yeah," Iris answered. "That was fast."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Wait, uh, how many guys are up there?"

"Uh, two," Iris answered. "They both have guns."

"Okay," I told her, using fire to fly up to the tower. When they tried to shoot me, I literally turned into fire so they wouldn't have anything to shoot at, punching them both unconscious, using fire to fly out, landing next to Iris on the ground below. "All right, now they're taking little naps till the CCPD wakes them. So, what exactly were you thinking?"

"I got a hot lead on a real estate scam," Iris explained. "I mean, these guys have been illegally evicting people, breaking up families."

"Okay, look, no story is worth your life," I told her.

Iris chuckled. "Thank you for coming."

I smirked. "Yeah."

"I can't wait to write about this," Iris told me. 

I smiled, using fire to fly away.

~

The next morning, the team, Quinn and Jay were at STAR Labs, in the basement, looking at the breach.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Barry asked.

"I still can't believe what I'm looking at," Jay told us.

"52 breaches in Central City, and the biggest one just happens to be in our basement," I told them.

"We need a name for it," Cisco told us.

"It's not a pet, Cisco," Caitlin told him.

Stein walked closer. "No, it's a wormhole."

"Professor Stein, what are you doing?" Caitlin asked worriedly. "Your blood pressure is 147 over 82. You could pass out again."

"Oh, it's merely a few points above the 140 average for someone my age," Stein told her. "Besides, I have some ideas I would like to contribute to this discussion, Dr. Snow."

"And I want to hear them," Quinn told us. "This isn't just a wormhole." She looked at Jay. "It's our way home."

Jay nodded. "Back to Earth 2."

"You really think that we can use this as some kind of bridge from your world to ours?" Barry asked.

"Zoom and Phoenix use the breaches," Jay told us. "Why can't we?"

"We don't know how," Cisco answered. "Everything I put through just bounces back."

"If they're using these breaches to transport people from Earth 2, maybe it takes zooming or flying," I told them.

Barry smirked, zooming out of the room to get a head start.

Cisco narrowed his eyes. "He's not gonna...."

I nodded. "Yeah, he is."

Barry zoomed back into the room, toward the breach. When he made contact, he was bounced back across the room, falling to the floor. "Maybe I'm not fast enough."

I helped Barry stand.

"I don't believe your speed is the entirety of the issue, Barry," Stein told him. "It might be the breach's stability. Or lack thereof."

"He's right," Jay told us. "We need to think of the breach as a door. And on Earth 2, there's another door. In between, we have a hallway, but the hallway is constantly shifting, twisting, collapsing upon itself."

Quinn nodded. "And the doors keep moving with it."

"So, we stabilize the door, we stabilize the hallway," Cisco told us.

"And then we can jump through it," Barry told us.

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "Exactly. It would serve as a kind of cannon."

"All right, no more tests today," Stein told us. "All of you are leaving now, as am I. Cherish the gift of youth as I will go cherish my much needed nap. Clarissa's already on her way to pick me up."

~

At Jitters, I carried a tray of coffee toward a table where Iris, Barry, Cisco and Caitlin were sitting. "The Flash."

Barry gave me a confused look. "What?"

"The drinks that they're serving today," I answered, smirking, handing out the drinks. "They're called 'The Flash'. A brewed coffee with an extra shot of espresso to keep you running all day." I sat down next to Caitlin, across from Barry, pointing toward the menu above the counter. "And, there's chips with extra spicy salsa they're calling Pyra. First, we have a day named after us. Now Barry gets a drink, and I get a snack."

"Well, all the things you two do, rebuilding this place, protecting people, everyone's appreciative, right?" Iris asked.

"Mm-hmm," Cisco answered. "I'll drink to that."

We clinked our glasses, drinking.

"Hey, you guys think Professor Stein is okay, right?" Caitlin asked. "I mean, Clarissa would call if there was anything wrong."

Iris nodded. "Yeah."

"All right," Caitlin told us. "I'm just gonna call and check in. I'll be back."

Caitlin stood, walking away.

"Uh, I don't see that call going well," Barry told us. 

Cisco imitated Stein. "Young lady, these repeated intrusions are interrupting what should be a speedy recov--" He bumped into a girl behind him. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Lisa Snart turned to face us. "Oh, don't apologize. You can bump into me any day, Cisco."

Cisco scoffed. "Lisa Snart. You here to double-cross us again, or are you and your big bro holding up coffee shops now?"

"I need your help," Lisa told us.

"In your dreams, Sister Cold," Cisco told her.

"My brother's been kidnapped," Lisa told us.

We exchanged a look.

~

In STAR Labs, we all stood in the Cortex.

I looked at Lisa. "All right, so, you really want us to just believe that Captain Cold was kidnapped?"

"I saw it happen," Lisa told us. 

I nodded skeptically. "Mm-hmm."

"Last night, Lenny, me and Mick were knocking over the cashier's cage at Central City Racetrack," Lisa explained.

"Does it physically pain your family not to rob people?" Caitlin asked.

"I never finished the job," Lisa told us. "After Mick torched through the side entrance, I looked back for Lenny, and saw him getting thrown into the back of a van."

"And why didn't you and Mick follow?" Barry asked.

"I would have," Lisa told us. "Someone hit me from behind and knocked me out. When I came to, Lenny was gone, and Mick already made off with the cash."

"How do we know this isn't some kind of a trap?" I asked.

"If Lenny wanted the Flash and Pyra dead, he would have let Mardon, Simmons and Bivolo take that honor, remember?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, I remember," I answered.

"Good," Lisa told us. She raised her eyebrows at me. "Then you'll also recall that you owe Lenny a favor for saving your life. Time to make good on that debt, Pyra."

"I do not like her," Caitlin told us. 

"Yeah, but she makes a point," Cisco told us. Caitlin gave him a look. "What? We should at least hear her out. Right?"

"Even if we wanted to help, how are we supposed to find him?" Barry asked.

"Not a problem," Cisco told us. "See, when I rebuilt the cold gun, I didn't have time to place a tracker on it, so I devised a method of locating it by borrowing some military technology. See, the gun works the same as thermal imaging, only instead of infrared heat signatures, it's looking for ultraviolet cold signatures. Whoa, look at that. The gun's UV thermal reading was last picked up at 5th and Hoyt eight minutes ago."

I looked at Lisa. "All right. Let's see if you're a liar."

"Vera, keep an eye on her while she's here," Barry told me. "I'll check this out."

I nodded.

Barry zoomed out, leaving.

~

I listened to what was happening with Barry and Snart through the suit.

"Snart," Barry told him.

"Barry," Snart told him.

"Are you okay?" Barry asked.

"Peachy," Snart told him.

"Okay," Barry told him. "Uh, I'm supposed to be here to rescue you."

"That's not necessary," Snart told him. "You can speed along now."

"Look, Snart, if these guys are making you do this--" Barry started.

"No one makes me do anything," Snart told him.

"Then why does your sister think you've been kidnapped?" Barry asked.

I heard a ray of energy and Barry groaning in pain.

"What's taking so long?" a man asked.

"I got held up," Snart answered.

"Always the excuse with you," the man told him. "Look at that. I didn't think you had it in you, son."

"Thanks, Dad," Snart told him.

"Come on," Father Snart told him. "We're behind schedule."

"You know what they say," Snart told them. "'Live fast, die young'."

"Barry, talk to me," I told him. "What's going on?"

"Vera, Snart hit me with his cold gun," Barry told me.

I turned to give Lisa a look.

Lisa hadn't heard anything, confused.

I put my mask on, using fire to fly out to meet up with Barry, seeing that he was almost frozen with ice. "Next time we're facing off with the Snarts, no going off alone."

"And what happens the next time you gotta go off to talk to him in a bar?" Barry asked.

I frowned slightly. "Was that jealousy?"

Barry gasped in pain. "Well, Snart does seem to have a little obsession going on with you."

I tilted my head. "Barry."

"Deal, deal," Barry told me. "Just bring the heat." I put my hands on the ice surrounding Barry, using heat to burn it away, but not using fire so I didn't burn Barry. He nearly fell when all of the ice melted away. I kept him standing. "Snart's gone. And Lisa has a lot of explaining to do."

I nodded.

~

We got back to STAR Labs, in the Cortex with Caitlin, Cisco and Lisa.

I looked at Lisa. "So, your brother was not kidnapped. He was pulling a job with your father."

"What?" Lisa asked. "No, Lenny would never do that."

"Oh, just like he would never try and kill Flyra with his cold gun," Caitlin told her sarcastically.

"Are you sure it was my dad?" Lisa asked.

Cisco pulled up Father Snart's information.

Barry pointed at it. "That's him."

"Lewis Snart," I told them. "Convicted of larceny, armed robbery, aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon."

"You have to believe me," Lisa told us. "Lenny would never work with him. He's a bad guy."

"You and your entire family are criminals," Caitlin told her. "Why should we trust anything you say?"

Lisa pulled her jacket aside to show us a scar on her neck. "I didn't get this scar being a criminal. I got it being a daughter."

Lisa hid the scar again, walking out, leaving.

"Let me go," Cisco told us. "I got this."

Cisco walked out, leaving.

~

I walked into a bar where Snart was, sitting across from him at a table.

"I knew that if Flash came looking for me, it wouldn't be long until Pyra would be," Snart told me. "Hello, Vera. I can only assume that you were able to save Barry." I put my elbow on the table, resting my chin on my fist. "Pass me the salt."

I lowered my arm to the table to slide the salt over to him. "Don't spill. It's bad luck." Snart put the salt shaker on its side on the table to purposefully spill salt. "Why are you working with Lewis, Leonard? Lisa told us you hate him."

Snart shrugged. "Things are complicated with family. But you wouldn't know much about that, would you?"

"Tell me what's going on," I told him. "Let me help you."

"Don't waste you time trying to save people who don't want to be saved," Snart told me. 

"Yeah, well, maybe it's not just about you, all right?" I asked. "I'm betting whatever you two are up to, innocent people are gonna get hurt."

"Mm, don't worry," Snart told me. "I remember our deal. You and Barry leave me alone, I make sure no one dies."

"You're a criminal, Snart," I told him. "But you live by a code. It sounds to me like Lewis doesn't. Like he won't care if people die. That's why we can't leave this alone."

Snart nodded. "Then everyone will know who the Flash and Pyra are under your masks."

I shook my head. "I don't care. Barry doesn't, either. We will take you down anyway. Both of you."

Snart smirked. "We'll see about that. Thanks for dinner."

Snart stood, walking away, leaving.

The waitress laid the check down next to me.

I sighed, closing my eyes. 

~

A man had been found in a warehouse dead, with his head blown off the next morning.

Barry and I were waiting for Joe and Patty.

"Don't worry," Barry told them. "We waited for you this time."

"Okay, we may have done a quick preliminary assessment," I told them. "Something is definitely weird."

I lifted up the sheet to show them.

"Oh," Joe told us.

"Decapitation," Patty told us.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Yikes," Patty told us.

"We're still recovering parts of the head, so the ID is taking a little longer than normal," Barry told them.

Patty looked down, gasping, groaning. "Uh, sorry. I thought I stepped on an ear. I didn't. If I did, I would be hearing things."

Joe turned away. "Oh, hell, no."

Barry smiled.

I smirked. "Now, here's why an explosive and fire engineer is here." I lifted the sheet again. "The head wasn't sliced off with any weapon. Perforation around the neck is too jagged. The head was blown off."

"Like a metahuman who can explode heads, right?" Patty asked.

"Not necessarily," I answered. "Traces of thermite."

"Bomb residue?" Barry asked.

"Mm-hmm," I answered.

"But then why wasn't the rest of the body blown apart?" Patty asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

Joe turned back to us after speaking with an officer. "The victim is David Rutenberg, security systems expert, and guess who's on his list of known associates."

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Lewis Snart," Joe answered.

Barry and I exchanged a look, knowing that we should have known this.

"Lewis Snart?" Patty repeated. "Isn't he related to Leonard Snart, AKA Captain Cold?"

"Please don't call him that," Joe told her.

"Okay," Patty told us.

I looked at Patty. "Uh, one second."

Patty nodded. "Sure."

I led Barry and Joe aside. "I think this guy was part of Snart's crew."

"So, what, Snart put a bomb in him to keep him in line?" Joe asked.

"No, Snart wouldn't do that," I answered. "But his father would."

"So Lewis is killing people, and Snart's still working with him?" Joe asked. "What happened with the deal you three had?"

"Maybe he doesn't have a choice," I told them.

"So you think Lewis put a bomb in his own son to force him to pull off a heist?" Barry asked. "Snart still wouldn't do it. He'd dig the bomb out of his own head if he had to."

"So, it has to be something else that Snart cares about," I told them. "And the only thing Snart cares about is his sister."

~

Barry and I were back in STAR Labs with Cisco, Caitlin and Lisa.

I used a device on Lisa to make sure our theory was real.

The readings appeared on the screen behind Lisa.

Cisco sighed. "Oh, boy."

"What is it?" Lisa asked.

"Lisa, there are traces of thermite on your skin," Caitlin answered.

"Thermite?" Lisa repeated. "Like an explosive?"

"Not like an explosive," I answered. "It's a bomb. When you were knocked out, your dad must have injected you with it."

Lisa took this in, panicking silently.

~

I was still using the device to pick up readings from the bomb inside of Lisa. "The microbomb casing must be made of some kind of a ferromagnetic material."

"Once you hold it steady with the magnet, I can surgically excise it," Caitlin told us.

Cisco held a magnet toward Lisa.

"Put the magnet down," I told him. Cisco held up his hands innocently. "This is a really concentrated bomb. It's gonna combust if it's exposed to magnetic friction and an oxidant."

"What's she talking about?" Lisa asked.

"Air," Barry answered. "The bomb will explode if it comes into contact with air."

"Don't worry, Lisa," Cisco told her. "We're gonna find another way to get it out. Scientific minds, can we confer, please?"

Caitlin, Barry, Cisco and I pulled aside to talk alone.

"What if Flash speed extracts it?" Caitlin asked.

I shook my head. "Nope. It's too risky. I'm gonna find a way to get it out. I just need a little time."

"Well, we need to keep track of Lewis until you figure out how to disarm the bomb," Barry told me.

"I wish we knew what he was gonna steal next," Caitlin told us. "And when."

Barry got an idea. "Maybe I can get them to tell me." We looked at him in confusion. "Their tech guy is dead, so I'm betting they're gonna need a new one. I'm saying I'm gonna infiltrate Lewis' crew."

"You're gonna pretend to be a criminal?" Caitlin asked.

Barry shrugged. "How hard can it be?"

~

Barry went to pose as a criminal and pretend to help Lewis and Snart so he could take them down.

Quinn was with Caitlin, Cisco, Lisa and me in the Cortex.

I looked at Quinn. "So, you sure you can teach me to extract a bomb out of her without any weapon?"

"I wouldn't say no weapon," Quinn told me. "You are the weapon. And, yes, I'm sure. I've done this before."

"And who are you?" Lisa asked.

"Don't worry about it," Quinn told her.

"Can I at least ask what you two plan on doing to me?" Lisa asked.

Quinn looked at me. "Okay, you know that you can retract fire, absorb it into you, and a bomb is just an explosive fire. You can retract the bomb without any tools other than you. By using fire."

I nodded. "Right, but if I use too much, it'll make the bomb explode."

"That's why you're not gonna use too much," Quinn told me. "All right, remember what I told you." I sighed, holding two fingers toward Lisa's neck, only two inches worth of fire, like candlelight, flickering from my fingers toward her. "That's it. Length's fine. Just a little bit more strength, and you can pull it right into you. But you have to do this very slowly, or..."

I nodded barely, sighing cautiously. "I know."

Lisa stayed completely still.

~

I was still retracting the bomb with flickering candlelight from fingertips, like it was drawing in the explosive like a magnet.

Cisco looked at Lisa. "How do you feel?"

"Like we should have put down some plastic," Lisa told us.

Cisco chuckled. "It's not funny."

"Yeah, but I like it when you smile," Lisa told him.

Quinn was watching over my shoulder, a few feet back. "She's almost got it."

There was beeping.

Caitlin gasped, answering the phone. "It's Barry."

"Vera, how's it going with Lisa?" Barry asked.

"Uh, kind of in the middle of it right now," I answered.

"All right, we need that bomb out. The heist is going down right now."

~

  I was still retracting the bomb with flickering candlelight from fingertips, like it was drawing in the explosive like a magnet.  

We could hear Barry, Lewis and Snart through the phone because of his suit.

"Time's up," Snart told them.

"Let's get out of here," Lewis told him.

"Only place you're going is back to Iron Heights, Lewis," Barry told him.

"Ah, you wanna bet?" Lewis asked.

"Do I wanna bet?" Barry asked.

"Do not bet," I answered. "Give me a minute."

"Tell me this," Barry told them. "What kind of man puts a bomb in his own daughter?"

"A very rich man," Lewis told them. "Shoot him, son. Kill him or you'll never see your sister alive."

Nothing left was coming out of Lisa's neck now.

"It should be safe," Quinn told me.

I grabbed the device I used earlier, using it on Lisa's neck again, looking at the screen.

There was no readings anymore.

We smiled.

"Barry, Vera got the bomb out," Cisco told him. 

"Lisa's safe," Barry told them.

We heard the cold ray gun go off.

Lewis sounded strained, in pain. "You're working with them? I thought you hated them."

"Not as much as I hate you," Snart told him.

"Lisa was safe," Barry told him. "Why did you do that?"

"He broke my sister's heart," Snart answered. "Only fair I break his."

~

Snart was in prison at Iron Heights.

We were talking through phones and the glass at a table.

"Last time I was in Iron Heights, I was saving Barry's dad," I told him.

"I was visiting mine," Snart told me.

"And yet you killed him," I told him.

"He deserved it," Snart told me. I scoffed softly, shaking my head. "Is that funny to you?"

"No," I answered. "What's funny is I finally figured out your secret."

"And what secret would that be?" Snart asked. 

"You'd do anything to protect your sister," I answered. "You're welcome for me saving her, by the way."

Snart smirked in amusement. "You owed me for saving your life." I shrugged slightly. "And I know your secret, too. Better hope I don't talk in my sleep."

"You won't," I told him. "Today just proved what I've always known. There's good in you, Snart. And you don't have to admit it to me, but there's a part of you that knows you don't have to let your past define you. A part of you that really wants to be more than just a criminal."

"So I should be a hero like you, Vera?" Snart asked. "What exactly does that pay again?"

I smirked. "It's just a matter of time. Something you'll have a lot of in here."

"Not as much as you think," Snart told me. "Be seeing you."

Snart hung up, standing.

The security took him back to his cell.

I shook my head barely, hanging up.

~

The team, Quinn and Jay met up in the basement of STAR Labs, looking at the now-stabilized breach.

"Ta-da," Quinn told us. "The breach between our world and yours."

"Wow," Cisco told us. "Look at that." He looked at Jay and Quinn. "You actually built the thing."

"Mr. Garrick, Miss Tate, I am quite impressed of what you've accomplished during my recent illness," Stein told them. 

"Have you tested it out yet?" Caitlin asked.

"Not yet," Jay answered. "Wanna do the honors?"

Cisco smiled, grabbing a can of soda.

"No, no, no, no," Stein told us, picking up a container. "Now that I'm back to optimal health, please allow me." He threw the container through the breach, shocking us all. "Excelsior."

Barry looked at Jay and Quinn. "How did you guys stabilize it?"

"CFL Quark Matter," Jay answered. 

"Ah, negative energy density with positive surface pressure," Quinn told us. "With Jay's physicist skills and hands of a surgeon."

Quinn held up one of her hands for emphasis.

I smirked in amusement. "You were a surgeon?"

"And will be again, when we can go home," Quinn answered.

"You guys a geniuses," I told them. "You created CFL Quark Matter?"

"It's something we perfected on our Earth," Jay told us. "I'll show you sometime."

"You mean sometime in the next few minutes?" Stein asked.

Jay and Quinn both seemed to realize.

"Oh," Quinn told us. "I guess this is it, isn't it? Time for us to go back home."

"Right now?" Caitlin asked. "I mean, we still need your help with the breechers."

"Our first priority is Zoom and Phoenix," Jay told us. "We need to find out what he's up to. How they stole our powers."

"But you can do that here," Cisco told them. "And, you know, if you go back, then we can't get in touch with you when we need your help with Zoom, Phoenix or whatever else."

"It would be nice to be able to pick your brains ever once in a while," I told them. "Get some more speedster and blaze tips."

Jay chuckled.

Quinn smiled. "Okay. Once we take care of the big bad guys, we're going home."

"That's fair," Barry told them.

"Good," Jay told us. "Because I could use a shower, shave and some sunlight." We all chuckled. "We'll, uh, see you later."

Jay and Quinn walked out, leaving.

"So, Professor Stein, how are you feeling?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, uh, it appears that a little rest heals all maladies," Stein told us. "I--I couldn't feel--"

Stein's eyes went completely white.

"Professor?" Caitlin asked, stepping closer.

I pulled her back. "No, no, no, no, get back. Come here."

Barry pulled Cisco away.

I pulled Caitlin away.

Stein's head and hands caught on fire. The fire turned to blue. It faded into nothing. Stein fainted, falling unconscious.

We ran to his side worriedly.

"Professor Stein?" Caitlin asked. "Professor Stein, can you hear me? Professor Stein."

"What happened to him?" Barry asked. "He went up like Firestorm, but the flame, why was it blue?"

"I don't know," I told them.

"This isn't good," Cisco told us. "We need to stabilize him fast."

We had to take care of Stein before something really bad happened to him.

We didn't know what was happening.