From his home in Iowa, a man had long watched the news reports from around the country. He had witnessed the rise of meta-humans and aliens making their presence on Earth known. Some used their powers to protect humanity while others still only sought to cause harm. But the reports he frequently followed the most were those of Central City. It was there that the particle accelerator explosion caused the most meta-human activity. Star Labs had been the center point and with his own genius level intellect he found a way to hack their systems.

He had watched the Flash save countless lives and for a time even admired the hero for his efforts. But then one day he discovered the secret the hero kept hidden. He discovered the Flash's identity and the face behind the mask. It was the same face he looked at in the mirror every morning. Anger began to consume this man as he realized that he could have had another life. Finally he confronted the people he thought were his parents and discovered the difficult truth.

"Malcolm...you have to understand..."

"Understand what, Mom? That I have a twin out there that I never knew about? Barry Allen has the life I should. Is that why I can't access the power of the Blue Flame like the rest of you? Am I just a joke?"

"Malcolm...you're not a joke. The truth is that I lost my baby in childbirth. The Doctor that delivered him...he was drunk at the time and sought to cover up my child's death. He brought you to us and claimed that the other woman's second child was stillborn. We adopted you..."

"So you've been lying to me all my life!"

"Malcolm..."

His adoptive mother spoke but her attempts at a continued explanation fell on deaf ears. He had been used by his family to con innocent people all while his twin brother grew up happy. Barry Allen had known their true parents, lived with them and become a hero because of a fluke accident that turned him into the Flash. Furious, Malcolm decided to confront the Doctor that had caused all of this.

"Doctor Gilmore!"

"Malcolm...it's been years since you came to see me. You look well."

"Save it Doctor. I want the truth. My mother told me I was adopted. That you gave me to her because you were too drunk to save her child. You took me from my real family!"

"Malcolm..."

"Why me? Why not my brother! My adoptive family constantly taunts me for being inferior! It's because I'm not a real Thawne! Tell me it's not true!"

"It's true...all of it. I..."

Malcolm was even more furious than when he entered Doctor Gilmore's office. His anger exploded as he began fighting the man who could only barely defend himself. Before he realized it, Malcolm had attacked Gilmore so violently that the older man was down on the floor of his office, taking shallow breaths. Knowing what he done, Malcolm fled the office and soon his hometown for fear of getting caught. It wasn't long before he was traveling the world and getting in to trouble with the law. Eventually he made his way back to the States, meeting with his adoptive Grandmother.

"Hugo and the rest of our family have only tapped into the basics of what our powers with the Blue Flame can do. The power can be used to steal whatever your heart desires. I can teach you how to use the power for its true purpose."

Over the months of training Malcolm learned to place all of his anger and hatred at his brother into a talisman that he took to wearing on the chest of a uniform he made and dubbed himself Cobalt Blue. But before he could go to Central City and enact his revenge, he had to make a change. Not wanting to be mistaken for Barry, he dyed his hair blonde and donned a pair of blue contact lenses. Upon his arrival, he took a job as a janitor that worked in the C.C.P.D. offices. There he studied his brother and learned so much more than he ever thought he would.

Malcolm learned of Barry's job as a C.S.I. and his marriage to a reporter from National City. He learned of his distant cousin Eddie's death during a battle between the Flash and the Reverse Flash, and how Zoom had killed his real father Henry. This gave him even more reasons to hate Barry. As his fury increased he used it to amplify his powers. It would only be a matter of time before he confronted his brother and took what he thought was rightfully his.

It had been a few weeks since Barry and Kara had split up at the D.E.O. after her body and powers had been affected by the Sand Demon and Barry couldn't help but still be worried about her. He knew she loved him and what she went through required time for her to heal and come to grips with. But it still didn't alleviate his concern for his wife, even though they weren't physically far apart, the emotional miles between them seemed insurmountable. They had talked on the phone and her powers were slowly returning, but she was still hesitant to be near him should she once again lose control.

"Kara..."

"Barry, I know we're getting closer to our move in date at the new apartment, and I miss you. But please understand that my mother is still running tests on the black sand and until we have more answers, it isn't safe for me to be around you."

"I do understand Kara. And I miss you too. I'm trying to be strong for you, but..."

"It's difficult, I know. I promise that when this is all figured out, we'll be living together in our new loft. I've been packing up my apartment with Alex and Winn's help and I'm sure you've been doing the same. Just be patient."

"I'm trying, I really am. Anyway, how's J'onn doing? Has he woken up yet?"

Kara knew Barry changed the subject so that neither of them would continue to dwell on their separation. She was thankful for the deviation of topic and spoke to answer his question.

"He has, he woke up a few days ago. He seems to have recovered from what Brainiac did to him and M'Gann is ecstatic that she has her uncle back. Clark came back from the Arctic too. He was able to discover a lot about the Worldkillers from the Book of Rao. Now he's working on finding Brainiac."

"Good. I..."

Barry paused as Cisco tapped him on the shoulder. He hated to cut his conversation with Kara short, but Star Labs sensors had picked up a potential new meta-human. This was a possible threat and Barry knew he needed to deal with the situation before it escalated.

"Kara I'm sorry...I've got to go..."

"What is it?"

"A new meta-human. With the Psycho-Pirate showing up a few weeks ago and everything going on..."

"Barry; I understand. You're a hero. Go...do what you need to. But be safe for me. Love you."

"Love you too."

Kara disconnected the line and felt a few tears fall from her eyes. She knows that her worries are irrational as Barry has been the Flash now for three years. She just wishes she could be out there with him. But he has Wally to help so she calms herself and gets back to packing.

"All right Wally, ready to see how these last few weeks of training have gone since Jesse helped you before I came back?"

"More than ready; Barry. Let's go."

Both speedsters took off with lightning trails flickering in their wake. They reached the site of the attack where the new meta-human was casting blue flame at innocents all around him.

"You ever seen this guy before Flash?"

"Never have before, Kid. Let's find out what he wants."

Barry and Wally calmly walked over to where their new enemy was still using his powers on the populace. He was unaware of their presence yet and only turned to see them when Barry spoke to get his attention.

"HEY! You must be new to Central City. Because if you'd been here before, then you'd know that the Flash protects these people."

Wally briefly rolled his eyes at Barry's comment, but followed the plan and didn't speak. He was still in training and couldn't let his desire to prove himself make him cocky. He didn't expect the sinister voice coming from under the villain's hood.

"Oh I know all about you Flash. But I wasn't aware that you'd taken on a sidekick. No matter, this time you've met your match."

"Have I now? Well if I've met my match then why don't you tell me who you are? Our fight will be much more fair if I know your name since you know mine."

"My name is Cobalt Blue. And you're the reason I became a super-villain."

Barry just shook his head and started running around Cobalt Blue in an effort to end this fight quickly. He didn't expect that this was exactly what his enemy wanted and started using his blue flame to steal Barry's speed. Barry immediately began slowing down as he felt his power diminishing. Wally had held back as was part of the plan but chose to run in and assist as he watched Barry moving slower. As he added his own powers to that of his foster brother, the two speedsters began reversing what the villain was attempting to do.

With his powers feeding back in on themselves, his mask began to burn away as he was engulfed by his own blue flame. For a brief moment, Wally thought he recognized the face behind the mask before the blue flame exploded, throwing him and Barry back. Both speedsters struggled to their feet, with Barry breathing heavily.

"Flash...you okay?"

"Not sure. Zoom tried to steal my speed, Godspeed nearly took my life trying the same thing, if not for Supergirl, he would have killed me. But this...Cobalt Blue doesn't seem to be a speedster. It shouldn't be possible for him to steal my speed."

"Well come on, let's get back to Star Labs. Maybe they can figure out what was happening."

"You go ahead Wally. I've got to get to C.C.P.D. See if I can find something on him in our files."

Barry and Wally split up to go their separate ways thinking Cobalt Blue had been defeated. In truth he had stolen just enough of Barry's speed to hide himself while using the blue flame to let them think that they had won. He heard his brother say that he was heading back to C.C.P.D. and ran off to get there first. Barry had stopped at his apartment beforehand to change clothes so he could head into work. Upon arriving at his lab, he saw his chair leaning back and a pair of feet propped up on his desk.

"Excuse me...you're in my office and I'd like to know what you're doing here. Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah...you can give me the life that should rightfully be mine. Everything you've got doesn't really belong to you, Barry. I should be living this life, be the one married to that pretty little reporter from National City."

Barry's eyes sparked in anger with lightning. Quickly moving around his desk he went to grab this guy that was taunting him and stopped dead in his tracks at his own face staring back at him.

"Oh...what's the matter Barry? Does the truth hurt? Are you finally realizing that you don't deserve what you've had handed to you?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh that's right, you don't know. Because while you lived a life of privilege, I was given to a family who taunted me. A family who treated me like I was nothing but a tool. You should have lived that life. Because if I'd been in your shoes...had the powers you have...well...I wouldn't have let our father die!"

Barry screamed in rage at the man reminding him of the pain he endured after Zoom vibrated a hand through his father's chest. That one moment caused him to go back in time and try to change everything that had happened. Doing so caused him to nearly lose his powers until he had to let Thawne kill his mother all over again.

Malcolm just smiled theatrically at Barry's emotions. He knew all about his brother and was enjoying causing him this torment. Barry started throwing super-speed punches not even caring if someone walked in on him using his powers but he had to stop as each fist thrown was dodged just as quickly.

"You are so pathetic Barry. You don't really think you can beat me do you? You had your chance to stop me, and now..."

"Who are you?"

"I was talking and you very rudely interrupted me. But since you asked so nicely...I'm your twin brother. My name is Malcolm Thawne. And as I was saying...now I'm going to take everything you have. Your friends...your family...your career...your wife...but I think I'll start with something easier. I'm going to take your life first."

Malcolm still had some of the residual power he had stolen from Barry and used it to vibrate his hand. He was just about to put his fist through Barry's heart when Joe walked in to talk with Barry and witnessed these events. Reacting on instinct the veteran cop pulled his gun and fired, but the shot missed. Now outnumbered, Malcolm shifted his fist towards a different target and punched Barry in the face, knocking him unconscious. He then ran off, but not without one final taunt.

"Next time Barry!"

Barry was out like a light as Joe moved around the desk to help him. He hadn't heard any of the dialogue between his foster son and the man who punched him, but he did catch the resemblance in their physical features. Thinking this was another doppelganger; he did his best to wake Barry up, but had no luck.

"Barry...come on son...come on!"

Joe shook Barry's shoulders but still didn't get any reaction. Thankfully Barry still had a pulse so he wasn't in severe danger. Just as Joe was about to call Kara and then Caitlin, Captain Singh walked in needing to talk to them both.

"Joe you're already here, good. I need you and Allen to...; what the hell is going on?"

"David, Barry was just attacked. He's going to need medical attention."

"Did you see the guy?"

"Yeah...but barely...he..."

"He can't have gotten far. I'll get the building locked down and every officer searching..."

"Won't do any good. He ran off at super-speed. He's got powers like the Flash."

"Then we'll need you to describe him so we can circulate his picture. He attacked one of our own. He won't get away with it."

"I'll do that David, but I need to get Barry to a hospital. I've also got to call Kara. She needs to be at her husband's side, needs to know what happened."

"I'll take care of calling her. You just get Allen the help he needs. He does have her number in here somewhere?"

"He has the number for Cat Co. Media where she works in his computer. Her cell number is private, only family."

"I get that. Go on...I'll make sure she gets word."

Joe slung Barry over his shoulder and carried him towards the elevator, placing a call to Caitlin on the way. He heard Captain Singh dialing the number for Cat Co. and speaking to someone as the doors closed.

"Cat Co. Media...how may I direct your call?"

"My name is Captain David Singh; C.C.P.D. I'm calling for Kara Allen."

"One moment please."

Singh tapped his foot as he waited on hold, he and Barry haven't always gotten along but seeing one of his men hurt by a potential meta-human had him on edge. Finally the voice of the receptionist came back on the line.

"I'm sorry Sir; we don't have a Kara Allen..."

"Danvers then! I'm calling about her husband."

At her desk; Kara had heard the voice scream over the phone and stepped over to Eve's desk. She had officially taken Barry's last name but still went by Danvers for her career.

"I'll take the call Eve. Thanks. This is Kara Allen...can I help you?"

"Mrs. Allen...you may not remember me but I was at your wedding. My name is Captain David Singh..."

"With C.C.P.D. Yes, I remember. What can I do for you Captain Singh?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your husband was just attacked in his office. According to Detective West, it was a meta-human...Barry..."

Kara dropped the phone as soon as she heard the words. Fear ran through her veins as she tried to process that Barry had just been attacked. If his assailant was a meta-human, this one was potentially more dangerous than any they'd faced together before and she was dazed until Eve handed her the phone back.

"Mrs. Allen? Did you hear what I just said?"

"I'm sorry Captain Singh. I'll be there as soon as possible. Where is Barry now?"

"Joe is taking him to the hospital to get medical attention. Don't worry Mrs. Allen; we're going to find the guy that did this."

Kara hung up the phone before running towards the elevator. She brushed past Cat who was just returning from lunch with her son and didn't even stop to speak as Cat grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Kara...where do you think you're going? Did you finish that article you were writing on the so called Sand Demon?"

"It's almost done Ms. Grant, but I have to go. Barry was just attacked and he needs me. I have to get to Central City right away."

Cat quickly let go of Kara's arm and told her to go. She was worried for Kara, but instantly knew that whoever had attacked Barry was in for a world of pain once Supergirl got a hold of him. Kara still hadn't gotten her full powers back yet, but her flight was coming back the quickest. She knew Joe wouldn't be taking Barry to a normal hospital but to Star Labs and after changing into her uniform, flew to Barry's apartment where she could get some clothes and proceed to Star.

Upon arrival, she knew which room Barry would be in and made a mad dash down the hallway. She was fearful of what state she would find him in, but slightly relaxed when she heard his voice, and those of Joe and Caitlin.

"Really guys, I'm fine. Stop worrying."

"You were just attacked in your office by someone who looks just like you minus the blonde hair, Barry. How are you fine with that?"

"Okay, I'm really not Joe, at least not emotionally anyway. But..."

"So who was he?"

Kara spoke up from the doorway causing the trio to glance her way. Fear and worry turned into slight anger because she realized the implications of someone knowing Barry's true identity under the Flash mask and attacking him at his job.

"Kara...I'm glad you're here."

"I got here as fast as I could, even if my flight powers aren't as strong as they could be right now. The question still stands Barry, who was he?"

"I think he might have been a doppelganger. We have dealt with them before."

"He wasn't a doppelganger Joe. He was...and I can't believe I'm about to say this because it's probably the most normal thing that's ever happened to me, but he's my long lost twin brother."

"I'm sorry Barry...did you say twin brother?"

"Yes I did Caitlin. I didn't even know I had a brother, let alone a twin."

Kara was silent as she listened to all this going on. She really didn't know what to say and was still at a loss for words when Joe spoke up once again.

"I knew. But only because Henry confided in me. He and Nora were devastated when he told me that one of their kids was stillborn. If that wasn't true, we need to find out where he's been all these years. And what his beef is with you, Barry."

"He wants what I have. Thinks my life should have been his. He's the meta-human...not sure he actually is a Meta though...that Wally and I went to fight."

"What's his name?"

"Malcolm Thawne."

That name caused tremors to run down both Caitlin and Joe's spines. The Thawne's aside from Eddie have been after Barry for years. The question at hand is why he has come back now.

"I'll find out everything I can about him Barry. We're not going to let him get away with this."

"Thanks Joe...could you and Caitlin...?"

"Of course. Get some rest. We'll be back soon."

Joe and Caitlin left the room with Kara still standing in the doorway. She wanted to cross the distance to Barry, but still had slight concern over her state of mind. She waited with her arms crossed over her chest until the tension became stifling and Barry motioned for her to come and sit beside him.

"Kara, I'm going to be okay. And you know I trust that you won't hurt me."

Those words of reassurance were all Kara needed to hear as she moved over the short distance separating her from Barry. He expected her to pull up a chair but was surprised when she climbed into the bed, resting her head on his chest as he curled an arm around her waist.

"Barry...why does it always seem like you get hurt when I'm not here with you?"

"Rotten Allen luck."

Kara adopted a small nervous smile and wanted to chastise Barry for his ill-timed joke, but she couldn't. She was just glad he was okay and they were together right now considering the alternative.

"So what did this Thawne do to you?"

"Stole some of my speed. If Joe hadn't shown up, well..."

"So he's your twin brother?"

"Yes, I have to say it makes the vision of us having twin kids from the Speed Force a lot more realistic."

Kara laughed and punched Barry lightly on the chest as he still can find a way to cheer her up even in situations like this. She's sure he already knows, but it's one of the reasons she first fell in love with him.

Unbeknownst to the couple, Malcolm was already planning his next attack on Barry, while Alura discovered the origin of the black sand that had infected Kara. And through it all the Worldkillers were planning their conquest of Earth as Brainiac ran his own final tests on the black kryptonite in his possession. The time would soon come that the prophecy would be fulfilled.