Everyone secretly thinks they’ve figured out what their life is gonna be like, but what no one ever considers is that life has its own plans for you, whether you like them or not. And so you’re left with a choice. You can either embrace the change and move forward, or fight it, and be left behind.

-Barry Allen

Stein was in the medical bed seizing and with blue fire on his head. Caitlin was on the tablet keeping track of his vitals while Barry and Mushroom held him down since Cisco told them too. Lea handed a device to Cisco and he grabbed it, putting it on Stein’s chest. Lea typed on the computer and activated the device. The fire went out and Stein stopped seizing. Mushroom and Barry let go after a second.

“Dios Mio. Thank god.” Cisco sighed.

“He’s getting worse.” Barry stated.

“Look, we did what we could to re-engineer Dr. Well’s original stabilizer to quell the reaction.” Leah says.

“But we don’t know what he used as a power source.” Cisco continued. “Best I could find was the one from his wheelchair.”

“And how long will that last?” Caitlin asks as her, Leah and Cisco walked out. Mushroom and Barry soon following behind.

“Well, that’s the problem is we had already used up most of its energy trying to dampen the metas’ powers during our little rogue air trip with Weather Wizard and company.” Cisco answers.

“Still mad that I was put in there to keep an eye that didn’t matter.” Mushroom says.

“We only got a few days tops.” Cisco finished.

“So he’s stuck in bed?” Lea asked.

“Yeah, when he wakes up, I’m gonna transfer the stabilizer to this,  give him a power cane, get him moving.” Cisco stated.

“At least until we can figure out a way to save him.” Lea pointed out.

“I think I might know how to do that.” Caitlin says.

The group went to a monitar the showed what the dark matter did to Stein.

“When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the dark matter that collided with Professor Stein fused with the Firestorm matrix and altered the normal molecular processes that occurs within his body. Those highly-reactive molecules needed something to bond with in order to stabilize.” Caitlin explains.

“And that’s where Ronnie came in.” Cisco says.

“Yes, and now that Ronnie is no longer a part of Professor Stein-”

“Those molecules don’t have anything to bond to.” Barry says.

“And the longer he goes without merging-”

“The more unstable he becomes.” Lea says finishing Caitlin’s sentence.

Mushroom stood there looking a bit confused. Barry looks at them.

“I’ll tell you in simpler terms later.” He says and Mushroom nods.

“All right, so, what do we do?” Cisco asked.

“We find another… participant.” Caitlyn stated.

“So, you guys are going to make a Tinder app for potential meta-humans? ‘Cause merging with Stein and randomly bursting into flames is a whole lotta swipe lefts coming your way.” Mushroom joked.

“Even if we could find someone willing, Stein can’t just merge with whoever he wants.” Barry says.

“No, he can’t. But I have done some research, and I found two potential candidates that might be compatible with him.” Caitlin says and walks over to the desk with the 3 computers. “They both were affected by dark matter. And they were both admitted to the hospital showing symptoms of gene rearrangement mutation.”

“And they both have the same blood type as Professor Stein and Ronnie.” Lea notes as she looks at the monitors.

“That’s nice. The explosion made backups.” Mushroom jokes causing Barry to smack the back of their head. “Ow! Ok, I deserved that.”

“This is more than organ donation. We need more than tissue typing to see if their bodies are compatible.” Lea stated, “If I can isolate the genetic locus of these two candidates and cross-reference it with the mutation in Professor Stein, I might be able to find a match and save his life.”

Barry used his speed to get blood samples from both of the candidates without even asking them. Catilyn and Cisco stayed at S.T.A.R Labs to see if they can find a match while Barry and Lea went back to the precinct. Lea went to grab a file for Barry when Patty stopped her half way down the stairs. “Hey. I was just looking for you. I would’ve called, but I don’t have your number yet, so.” Patty said.

“It’s ok, Patty. What is it?” Lea asked.

“I just wanted to show you this.” Patty said, handing Lea a bag of teeth. “There were just found in an alley off of Eastwood Avenue.”

“Are these shark teeth?” Lea asked.

“And I have an eyewitness that says he saw a shark walking on land- -a man-shark.” Patty stated.

“Man-shark really?”

“Yeah.”

“Sounds like a bad movie.”

“Or a awesome movie.”

Lea looked back at the bag of teeth. She looks back at Patty.

“Are you for real? You think there’s actually a man-shark?” Lea asks to make sure.

“Yeah, I mean, I- I know it sounds really wack-o, but, I mean, nothing seems impossible now that we have meta-humans, right? And I thought it would be fun, you know, for us to work together again. On a case.” Patty smiles.

“I’d love to work on anything with you. It’s just… meta-humans aren’t really my thing. But I can run a test, see where the teeth came from.” Lea stated.

“That would be amazing. Thanks” Patty said as she walked away.

Barry suddenly came over to Leah’s side, “Flirting with Joe’s partner?” He said, making Lea jump.

“Yeesh. We really need to put a bell on you. And for the record, Patty and I are just friends. End of conversation.” Lea stated.

Barry chuckled. Both of their phones rang with a message about Professor Stein. They both looked at each other before leaving CCPD.

S.T.A.R labs cortex

Lea and Barry arrived at S.T.A.R labs where the others were. Stein was up and walking with a cane Cisco made to help keep him stable. Caitlin walks over to one of the laptops and brings up the two people compatible with Stein.

“Well, hopefully you won’t need it for much longer. There was no agglutination in the blood samples, and cross-matching was negative for both. And it appears that the dark matter from the Particle Accelerator explosion mutated their genes in a very similar way it did to yours. I think they’re both potential matches.” Caitlin explains.

“So who do we go with?” Barry asks.

“Well, my first choice is Henry Hewitt.” Caitlin said, gesturing to the first candidate. “He graduated summa cum laude from Hudson University with a double major in Applied Physics and Bioengineering.”

“A Hudson boy, I like him already.” Stein stated.

“Meh. Seems too good to be true.” Mushroom argued. “What about the other guy? Jefferson Jackson?”

“High school quarterback, 4.0 student. He’s got the physical attributes. And it looks like more of his alleles match than Hewitt’s.” Barry stated.

“Looks like he’s a match.” Mushroom claimed.

“On paper, perhaps, but Hewitt is a scientist. Clearly, he’s trying to make something of his life.” Caitlin argued.

“Sorry, Cait but I’m gonna have to go with Barry on this one. Jefferson may be the best choice.” Lea stated.

“I think we should meet with both of them before we make a decision.” Barry suggests.

“That’s an excellent idea.” Stein agrees.

“I’ll see if I can get Hewitt here.” Caitlin says.

“All right. In the meantime, we’ll go meet with Jefferson Jackson.” Barry says.

“And we will try to find something else to help keep you stable.” Cisco says as Lea walks over.

“And I guess I’ll do what I always do and follow my brother like a lost puppy.” Mushroom says. Barry chuckles.

Mechanic Shop

Barry, Stein, and Mushroom walked into the mechanic shop that Jefferson worked at. Loud music was blasting throughout the shop. Stein figured that Jefferson had a strong technical aptitude as a positive. Until he saw the allergy pills on the table and disliked the music. The sound of a tool clattering got their attention to see Jefferson working on a car. “Jefferson Jackson, right?” Barry asked, holding out his hand.

“People call me Jax.” Jax said, shaking Barry’s hand.

“My name’s Barry Allen, this is my sister Mushroom Allen, and this is Martin Stein.” Barry said.

“Mushroom? You’re non-binary, correct?” Jax asked them.

“How did you know?” Mushroom asked.

“A couple of my old teammates came out as non-binary or genderfluid. I support the LGBTQ+ community.” Jax answered. Mushroom smiles. “What can I do for you three?”

“We’re with the Department of Safety. It’s a small, newly formed agency.” Barry says.

“Very new. We probably don’t even have a website yet. Do we?” Stein asks.

“Definitely not.” Mushroom says.

“You need to see our licenses? I mean, we’re all up to code here.” Jax says.

“No. No, nothing like that. We are compiling data on people who were affected by the Particle Accelerator explosion two years ago.” Barry says.

“Look, man, I lost enough time in my life ‘cause of that stupid thing going wrong. Now, you don’t got a car I can fix, I can't help you.”

“If you would consider coming back to S.T.A.R labs with us, I believe we can help you.” Stein says.

“Help me, how?”

“Well, we know what the Particle Accelerator did.” Barry says,

“Look, I already told you, I don’t talk about that night.”

“Can I ask why that is?” Mushroom asks.

“Because that’s when everything changed. Look, I got hit hard. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Busted up leg, torn ACL. The look on my mom’s face. I knew any dreams I had of playing pro-ball were over.” Jax explains.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Barry says.

“Yeah, well… look, I gotta get back to work.” Jax said..

“We’ll give you some time to think about it.” Mushroom said as they handed Jax a piece of paper with their number. “Call us if you change your mind.”

S.T.A.R labs cortex

Barry, Mushroom and Stein walked back into the cortex where Cailtin, Lea and Cisco were with Henry Hewitt. Caitlin introduced Henry to the three. Henry ignored Mushroom and Barry as he shook Stein’s hand. Henry was going on about how he had read all of Steins papers back at Hudson especially on transmutation. While Stein was liking the compliments that Henry was giving him, Mushroom kept giving him death glares. “Isn’t he great?” Caitlin asked.

“He’s got an ego the size of Texas.” Cisco commented, “But yeah, he’s all right.”

Mushroom scoffed. “Please, no one is that perfect. He’s a kiss up.”

“Where’s Jefferson?” Leah asked.

“We just need a little more time.” Barry said.

“That the one thing we don’t have anymore.” Lea stated, “Cisco couldn’t find another power source for the cane and that thing is running out.”

“Okay. Then let’s do the merge. Hewitt’s in.” Caitlin says.

“What do you mean? You told him the details of the Firestorm Matrix?” Barry asks.

“Absolutely. Becoming Firestorm is a huge life change. He needs to know what he’s getting himself into.” Caitlin answers.

The other look at Stein and Henry who are talking about science and saying the Hudson song together. Mushroom tilts their head.

“Look at that, that’s so cute. We’ll have two Professor Steins if this works.” Cisco smiles.

“I am starting to feel dumb because of this.” Mushroom mumbles. Lea rubs their back.

“It’ll work.” Caitlin says.

“Debetable.” Mushroom mutters.

Cisco explained the process of the Firestorm matrix to Hewitt before he put the splicer on him. But when he and Stein tried to merge, nothing happened. Cisco took the splicer off Hewitt who was disappointed. “Next time, try to get your act together before you get someone’s hopes up.” Hewitt said before he walked out.

The next day

The next day Jax had called Mushroom about what they talked about. Mushroom took him to S.T.A.R labs where the others were. He took a look around the cortex in wonder before asking if they had some sort of technology to fix his knee.

“Actually, Jax, this isn’t about fixing your knee.” Barry said.

“What are you talking about?” Jax asks.

“When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the energy wave that collided with you is known as dark matter.” Stein explains.

“And, it didn’t just hurt your knee.” Caitlin continues.

“It changed the molecular structure of your body.”

“Whoa, hold on, Gray. So, you’re saying I’m like one of those meta-humans I keep hearing about on the news?” Jax asks.

“Yes, I am. Please, call me Professor.”

“We think you have potential capabilities.” Barry stated.

“What kind of capabilities?”

“The same as Professor Stein: the ability for your body to process fission and fusion.” Lea stated.

“And you can harness excess energy and turn it into these massive nuclear blasts. And you can fly. There’s also that” Cisco added

“So you’re saying you can do all this?” Jax asks.

“Only during times of convergence with a willing partner.” Stein says.

“Convergence? You and me?”

“Yes.”

“No. This is crazy.” Jax laughs as he goes to leave.

“Jax, this is your chance to right the wrong that was done to you.” Barry says.

“Yeah. Sorry, you got the wrong guy. I don’t want nothing to do with this.”

“Wait a second. We are giving you the chance to be a superhero, and you’re going to say no that quickly?” Caitlin asks.

“Yeah. Not my kind of thing.”

“If the man isn’t willing to participate…” Stein started to say but he got cut off by Caitlin.

“Look, I saw your test scores, Jax. Your grades were good enough to get into college, but you didn’t go. Why? Is this the type of guy you are? One setback and you fold?” Caitlin spoke.

“Enough, Caitlin!” Mushroom shouted.

Jax did not want to stick around anymore so he left.

“Maybe, this just wasn’t meant to be.” Stein says before leaving.

“Caitlin, what do you- I mean, Jax could be our last chance at saving Professor Stein.” Barry says.

“He said ‘no’ to being a superhero. Who does that? I mean, you didn’t say no when you had the chance. Neither did Mushroom or Leah. Cisco would you?” Caitlin asks, looking over to Cisco.

“Chance to have superpowers? Sign me up.” He answers.

“Look, we're asking Jax to change his entire life. To sacrifice what he does have. I mean, that’s not a decision that can be made lightly. It took me a long time to figure out this whole hero thing.” Barry says.

“Exactly. Which is why we need someone who wants to do this.” Caitlin says before leaving.

“Where are you going?” Barry and Mushroom ask simultaneously.

“To get Hewitt back. We have to try again.”

The other three watch as Caitlin leaves the cortex.

C.C.P.D at night

Lea went back to CCPD to do a final check on the DNA from the teeth that Patty had given her. Patty came by for the results; the results were human. “Definitely not a man-shark. Not even a land shark man.” Lea stated.

“Well, thanks for testing it for me.” Patty said.

“So what now?” Leah asked.

“I don’t know, probably file it under never gonna happen.” Patty said.

“Anything else?” Lea asked.

“Um, no not really. I just have another case.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“No, no, no, no, Detective said definitely not.”

“Ok then.”

“Actually, I have to go, but thank you so much for testing this, and I’ll see you.” Patty said as she began to walk away.

S.T.A.R labs cortex

The next day everyone was at S.T.A.R labs. Henry Hewitt had activated his abilities from when him and Stein tried to merge together. “This could be catastrophic. If his powers are anything like mine, he requires a grounding mechanism to stabilize his volatility. Otherwise-” Stein starts.

“Yeah. He’s gonna pop his top.” Cisco finishes.

“And he’s got a long history of violence, according to his police record.” Mushroom says reading off the monitor.

“Police record?” Barry asks.

“I didn’t find a police record.” Caitlin says as she walks over to check.

“Yeah of course not. It was sealed. But guess what? Mushroom was able to find it.” Cisco says with a smile.

“I sometimes forget you know how to do that.” Barry says.

“He has one count battery, two counts aggravated assault and the cherry on the top, court ordered anger management therapy.” Mushroom says.

“He seemed like such a nice guy. He even knew your Hudson nerd song!” Caitlin says as she gestures to Stein.

Stein started to gasp and loose a bit of balance. His stability was getting worse and the cane was running out of power. Cisco went to help Stein to one of the medical beds for him to lay down on. Caitlyn felt guilty for all of this, it was her fault that Hewitt was like this now. And Jax will never come back after what she had said to him. She thought that Jax didn’t have what it takes. “This isn’t because you didn’t believe in him.” Barry said, “Sometimes, great possibilities are right in front of us, and we don’t see them, because we choose not to. I think that we need to be open to exploring something new.”

“Wise words Yoda.” Lea commented. “Blame Cisco. He’s been making me watch Star Wars.”

Mechanic shop

Caitlyn and Mushroom headed back to the mechanic shop so Caitlyn could talk to Jax. Mushroom was there to make sure the two didn’t fight. They stayed back as Caitlyn walked into the shop. Jax walked out from back and sighed seeing Caitlyn.

“Let me guess. You don’t got car troubles.” Jax said.

“I came to apologize.” Caitlyn said as she walked over. “I’m sorry for what I said.”

“It’s fine. Apology accepted”

“Look, we could really use your help to save Professor Stein.”

“That desperate, huh?” Jax laughs as he puts on his jacket.

“Yes.” Caitlyn looked behind Jax at Mushroom for some help. They motioned for her to keep talking. “My husband, Ronnie, he used to be Professor Stein’s other half. He actually helped to build the Particle Accelerator, and when it exploded, he was affected by it, too. Ironically, that’s how he got the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of. And he died saving this city.”

“Wait, he was the guy the flew into the black hole? That was him?” Jax asked.

“He was a hero. You can be one too.” Caitlyn stated.

“I never wanted to be a hero. What I wanted was to go to college, but we couldn’t afford it. Football was my way in, until that got taken from me.”

“We know.” Mushroom said, “We know the Particle Accelerator took something from you. But it also gave you something in return, something even more spectacular, the opportunity to be part of something bigger, to be part of a team that’s working to protect people from losing what you lost. God, I sound like my Barry.”

“What Mushroom is saying is, we believe you were meant to be a hero.” Caitlyn finished saying.

The lights in the room started flickering. Hewitt came out of the shadows. Mushroom immediately walked in front of Jax and Caitlyn.

“I’ve been looking for you, Dr. Snow.” Hewitt said.

“Hey, look man, we’re…” Jax starts but was cut off by Hewitt shooting some sort of energy at him.

Jax flew into a pile of tires. Hewitt starting absorbing the energy from the lights. Mushroom and Caitlyn started backing up.

“You did this to me! But it’s not what you promised!” Hewitt yelled.

Jax grabbed something and threw it at Hewiit’s head knocking him down. Caitlyn ran to the car as Mushroom helped Jax up. She pushes him towards the car and he gets in. Mushroom holds their breath and phases into the car’s backseat. Jax looked at them with wide eyes as Caitlyn started driving to S.T.A.R labs.

S. T. A. R. Labs

When Caitlyn, Mushroom, and Jax arrived at the lab, Stein’s cane had ran out of power thirty minutes ago. His temperature was rising fast and was going into rapid oxidation. Seeing Stein like this, Jax agreed to merge with him. Lea warned Jax that once he merged with Stein, there was no going back. Jax was willing to do it. Leah went over to Stein to wake him up but he was pretty loopy. Cisco put the device on Jax as Barry and Leah helped Stein up and into the cortex for the merge.

“You came back, Jefferson… Thank you…” Stein says tiredly.

“Well, like my coach always said, ‘Out of yourself and into the team.’ So, how’s this work?”Jax asks.

“Okay. All you’re gonna do is touch him.” Cisco answers.

“And then what happens?”

“You become Firestorm.” Caitlin answers.

Caitlyn and Barry backed up after making sure Stein could stand. The second the two touched, the merge happened and now Jax was Firestorm. Stein was still there but in Jax’s head so only he could hear him, like a copilot. The alarm went off as Cisco checked the monitors, Hewitt’s re-charging at Central City High School’s football stadium. The same place where Jax got hurt. Mushroom turned into Ghost and Barry put on his suit. The 3 all left.

Central City High School football stadium

At the football stadium Hewitt was re-charging which was making it dangerous for the football players. Flash speeds two football plays into the stadium to safety. Ghost who was floating behind him and holding onto his shoulders landed and told Cisco to turn the power to the stadium off. Cisco was able to turn the stadium’s power off which stopped Hewitt from re-charging. But somehow he still had energy burning off him.

“Hewitt! You need to stop! This is not who you are!” Flash shouted.

However, the second Firestorm landed in the stadium, Hewitt was extremely pissed off. “Stein? You chose him over me? That’s who I’m supposed to be!” Hewitt shouted as more energy burned off him, “I deserve the Firestorm Matrix!”

“Hot tempered much?” Ghost teased.

Hewitt blasted energy at Firestorm making him fly back before he got his control back and landed. The Flash ran over.

“You ok?” Flash asked.

“I was a quarterback. I know how to take a hit.” Firestorm answered.

Ghost floated over.

“Cutting the power didn’t work.” Ghost said into her earpiece.

“It’s like the more we anger him, the stronger he gets!” The Flash says into his earpiece.

“That’s it. It’s like one of those, uh, controlled fusion devices um…” Caitlyn trails off on her end trying to find the word.

“The Hulk?” Leah asks.

“A tokamak?” Cisco says.

“Yes, exactly Cisco! And the more powerful they become, the more unstable they become! Guys, make him angry and he’ll blow his fuse.” Caitlyn says.

“We’re pulling an amazing spider-man two?” Ghost asks.

“You up for a little game of ‘catch me if you can’?” The Flash smiles.

“Let’s go for it.” Firestorm answers.

The three of them split up circling Hewitt throwing insults at him. He kept missing Flash and Ghost with his energy blasts. “Losing your game, Sparkles?” Ghost teased.

“Man, no wonder you didn’t make the cut if that’s how you fight.” Firestorm stated.

Now that hit the right nerve in Hewitt; he lost focus which gave Firestorm the chance to punch Hewitt, knocking him out cold. The Flash ran over as Firestorm and Ghost landed on the ground.

“Not bad for your first go at this.” Flash smiles.

“Well, I had a great coach to help me through it. Isn’t that right Grey?” Firestorm said. Stein said something to Jax the other two couldn’t hear.

“Welcome aboard, Firestorm.” Flash and Ghost say at the same time.

They locked Hewitt in the pipeline for safety. Stein had a friend who was going to help him and Jax train together in Pittsburgh which meant he was leaving Central City. Before leaving, he told Cisco that even though he was scared of his new ability, it was still very special and he should tell the others about his ability soon. Things aren’t always what they seem.  Our fears can play tricks on us, making us afraid to change course,  afraid to move on, but usually, hidden behind out fears are second chances waiting to be seized. Second chances at life, at glory, at family, and at love.

Lea was walking over to the police station, ready to tell Patty how she felt about her. If Jax can take a leap of faith and become Firestorm then she could take the leap and tell Patty that she had fallen for her. But faith had other plans. A giant man shark grabbed Lea, choking her. Suddenly someone blasted the man shark from behind stunning him. Lea looked up to see that her so called savior was, Harrison Wells.