"Sometimes history takes things
into its own hands."
—Thurgood Marshall

: A THESIS ON REALITY

     He'd been staring at the computer screen for several hours now. His eyes were burning from reading the exceedingly tiny onscreen text and he could feel a migraine pounding at the back wall in his mind, threatening to bring it down. Sebastián let out a low groan, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his seat. Even with his eyes closed, the text was swimming rapidly in his mind's eye.

Illusions of the mind, when unchecked, are
extremely deceiving but they are still rooted
within reality. These illusions can be reined
back with a dose of what's real and what's
not using the serum created by Dr. Corbin
Glennis: 'R072'.

     However, one must note that these illusions
     are not fantasy. Fantasy has no basis in
     reality and, therefore, is unrestricted. When
     the mind is found deeply immersed within
     fantasy, one may question whether or not the
     subject in question realizes how fictitious
     their thoughts and actions are.

     And, to add onto the subject, one may also
     seek to prove reality to the subject. This can
     prove detrimental to the subject's mental and,
     oftentimes, emotional health. This is strongly
     not recommended.

Sebastián blindly reached for his coffee cup, hand fumbling across the edge of his desk. When his hand finally found it, the weight in his palm told him it had long been empty. "Shit," Sebastián murmured to himself.

He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes, sitting up straighter again. Glancing across his desk to Joe's, he remembered his partner had left awhile ago to go to lunch with Barry. Now that he was thinking of it, Sebastián noticed they'd been gone much longer than necessary and he briefly wondered if they were okay or just busy with something.

Sebastián's phone buzzed on his desk. "Oh, speak of the devil."

┌─────────────────────────┐
*New Message Received!
From: Joe
Want me to bring you something from
          Big Belly Burger?
└─────────────────────────┘

     He smiled. "At least you've got the forethought to think of me," Sebastián muttered. He typed back a quick reply as his fingers raced across the screen, reminded of what Joe had told him when they first exchanged numbers.

     'If I text you,' he'd said. 'You better reply right quick or you ain't getting anything outta me.'

┌─────────────────────────┐
J O E

Sure, surprise me.

I'll pay you back when you
guys get back to CCPD.

Fries or onion rings?

Onion rings all the
way, Joe.

You owe me $9.87

Sounds lovely, thanks
partner.

└─────────────────────────┘

Sebastián leaned forward in his seat, grabbing his wallet from his back pocket. He gets the money owed to Joe and sets it aside on his desk which is slowly, but surely, piling high with notes and files related to the Gonzales mirror case. He'd been working ever since leaving Barry's lab upstairs: reading countless essays and informational papers on the work of Jason Bureka and Ralph Gonzales.

Two friends destined for greatness, bound together by their own hopes and desires; strengths and weaknesses; thoughts and opinions. Working together, their work nearly made complete sense even to the dumber part of the population. Sebastián was surprised it hadn't already taken the world by storm yet. This work — everything he was reading — could greatly benefit current mental health researchers and doctors who were trying to make the world a better place.

Jason Bureka had even written about something he called the "Mirror Effect" wherein a mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception:

     When you mirror your enemies, doing
     exactly as they do, they cannot figure out
     your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and
     humiliates them, making them overreact.
     By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you
     seduce them with the illusion that you share
     their values; by holding up a mirror to their
     actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can
     resist the power of the Mirror Effect.

     Sebastián couldn't claim to understand the thesis perfectly but he did realize that this was something big. He filed that under I for Important and shoved it in the back of his mind for later. After a few more moments which Sebastián used to debate on continuing his research, his phone began to ring. He fumbled blindly for his phone, then accepted the call.

     "Hello?" He answered without looking at the caller ID, running his free hand through his hair absentmindedly.

     "Hey dad," Holden's voice made him sit straighter in his seat. He was at attention now. Holden had been alone all day, hopefully unpacking their remaining boxes.

     "You doing okay at home alone?" Sebastián asked quietly.

     Holden only took a few seconds to answer while he leaned back in his chair again. "Yeah," the pause told him his son was nodding. "I'm just taking a break from unpacking stuff. Those movers offered to help me out for awhile but I... I felt really uncomfortable without you home so I told them it was okay."

     Sebastián frowned. "You were uncomfortable?"

     "They were just — it's just, ugh — nevermind."

     "No, no, no. Tell me, bud. What is it?"

     Holden sighed. "Guys just make me super uncomfortable. I always feel like something's gonna happen, Dad, it's so tiring to be this tense all the time."

     Rubbing a hand over his jaw, Sebastián used the few seconds he had to think. How could he make Holden feel better? How could he help his child? "Why do they make you uncomfortable, Hol? They're just a couple'a guys doing their job."

     "It's not just with them, it's-it's nearly all the guys I interact with," Holden clarified uneasily.

     "And why do you think that is? Because of..." Sebastián's throat quickly dried as if he were in the Sahara Desert. He didn't know if he should drop the name but it was a valid question that should be answered. What if Holden needed more counseling over the subject? Sebastián had to know. "David?"

     The other end of the call became deathly silent.

     "Hol—"

     "I don't know," Holden sighed again. His breath was unsteady. "Maybe? Anytime I think about what happened to me, Dad — it all comes back to me at once and I sort of freeze up. I-I don't know what to do."

Sebastián glanced up as Joe entered the hub, making a direct beeline to his desk. In his hands, he carried a brown paper bag that bore the heavenly Big Belly Burger logo. Sebastián turned in his seat, back facing Joe as he approached. He lowered his voice to give them more privacy. "Do you want to find a counselor here in Central City?"

"Dad—"

"No, Holden, it's a serious question. I don't think you're crazy or something, but I do think we should consider getting you someone to talk to and share your problems with."

"I have someone! I have you, and—"

Joe set the bag down on Sebastián's desk, remaining silent when he caught sight of the phone at his ear. He rose an eyebrow and sat on the edge of his desk, arms crossed over his chest patiently.

"Someone that's not me," Sebastián pressed. He caught Joe's eye and quickly looked away. "Someone who is there to only listen to you and help you... a professional."

Holden's argument fell from his lips into silence. Sebastián could hear the defeat in his voice, and it wasn't a proud feeling that followed after. He immediately regretted pushing the subject. "Okay, I get it. I'll see a 'professional' if you want me to, Dad. Can we just talk about it later? I still have to unpack stuff."

Sebastián found himself struck with silence, then he let out a soft sigh. He felt like he'd let his son down and made him think that his own father thought so little of him. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, don't work too hard at it, okay? I'll help later when I'm home."

"Okay."

The line immediately went silent. Sebastián tried to ignore the disappointment rising in his chest. If that had been a test, he was sure he'd just failed it. When he turned around to see Joe's knowing stare, Sebastián couldn't hold his gaze. He grabbed the money on his desk and held a hand out for Joe to take it, waiting patiently.

"Thanks, Joe."

"Yeah," Joe took the money, surprisingly quiet as he pocketed it. "No problem."

It was silent as Sebastián turned back to his computer and began reading again. Joe's voice cut through the uncomfortable silence warring between them like a butter knife. "You know," he was saying. "I've gone through the teenage years of kids. Dealt with a hormonal girl and, when his time came, a hormonal boy who was dealing with some tough stuff. Sometimes—"

Joe paused as Sebastián looked over to him.

"Sometimes we may not know what to say to them, or even how to help. If you want to talk about it, I'm here, Sebastián. I'm sure I could find some way to help you or your son."

Sebastián's face remained passive until a small, subtle smile began to cross his lips. He nodded. "Thank you," he was surprised to hear how relieved he sounded. A heavy breath escaped him — one he didn't know he'd been holding. "Maybe I'll talk to you about it later, if that's okay?"

Joe returned an easy smile. "Anytime is good for me. Just say the word and I'm there."

Sebastián leaned back in his seat again, feeling more confident about his decision to get Holden help from a psychiatrist. He was ready to work now. "Hey, um, I actually don't understand some of this thesis, it's going over my head now that we're getting into it. Are you understanding anything?"

"Nah," Joe shook his head, glancing over at his own computer. The heavy air passed into something more dynamic for them. "Not making a lick of sense to me. I guess we could hand it over to Barry if you—"

"Yeah!" Sebastián immediately began to nod his agreement. "That's a good idea. A great idea, actually. He's an intellectual so it would probably be a smart to see what he can come up with so we can use it to our advantage when we talk to Bureka."

Joe slowly turned his eyes to look over at Sebastián. He rose an eyebrow again, head tilting at an angle. "... okay. I can go run it up to him really quick. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay," Sebastián smiled and turned back to the computer. He clicked out of the thesis and turned to his food while his partner walked upstairs, a flash drive containing Bureka and Gonzales's thesis in-hand. The smell of onion rings wafted into his nose and he immediately began to salivate.

"God, onion rings are my favorite."

────────

     "Oh, hey, Joe! Wha—" Barry paused upon noticing Joe entering his lab, frowning as he saw the look on his face. "What's... wrong?"

     Joe paused in front of Barry's desk, extending an arm over to hand him the blue flash drive that contained the paper he couldn't even begin to understand. "Nothing... just — Sebastián was really, oddly enthusiastic when I suggested getting you to read this thesis."

     Barry's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

     "Exactly what I said," Joe shrugged. "I think you made a really, scarily good impression on him, Barr."

     A laugh escaped Barry. He shook his head and reached out to take the flash drive. "I'm sure it wasn't that great," he mumbled under his breath, looking down at the thesis in his hand as he leaned over to plug it into his desktop computer. "What's the thesis over?"

"Oh, I don't know. 'A Thesis on Reality' or something like that. It's all just words to me."

"Hmm..." Barry hummed quietly, glancing over the title and first paragraph of the thesis. He looked over his shoulder and was about to turn back around to speed-read the paper when—

     Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

     It was his phone. He hurriedly pulled it out, believing someone had pressed their distress alarm when he only saw that Cisco had messaged him — several times. Barry opened the messages, reading quickly in case something was wrong.

┌─────────────────────────┐
*New Messages Received!
From: Cisco
Got a location for Ray Gunne.

Also got a name for Gunne. Wanna
hear iiiiiiittttttttttt?

nO? TOO LATE-

B.B. GUNNE!

└─────────────────────────┘

     A smile quickly spread across his face. Barry found himself laughing quietly, his heart rate slowing as his anxiety for one of his best friends passed. Lately, he found that his friends and loved ones were having to use their distress alarms more than ever before. DeVoe and all of the metas on their plate had been distracting them far too much. He typed back a quick message to let Cisco know he'd be on his way to S.T.A.R. Labs — in a flash.

"You gotta go?" Joe asked, taking notice of Cisco's picture.

"Uh yeah," Barry nodded. "Yeah. Cisco found out where Ray Gunne is hiding out. We're gonna go there and have a chat with him about his use of firearms."

Joe made a face. "Okay. Just get to reading that thesis when you get a chance, okay? Sebastián's been looking over it and some other papers for hours now, I'm sure he's ready for a break."

"Sure, okay." Barry smiled a little, turning his gaze away from Joe to hide his lopsided grin. He reached down to grab his jacket, slipping into it quickly. Then he grabbed the flash drive from his computer and stuffed it in one of his pockets, not making note of any particular place where he'd stashed the flash drive. He'd remember give it to Cisco or Caitlin and they could look over it together, then Barry would relay their findings to the detectives.

His cheeks became warm when he thought about one detective in particular: Sebastián — it was something about him. Was it the way he talked? Or how he had this look in his eyes that told you he already knew something about yourself that you hadn't figured out? Barry admired the way Sebastián's eyes took everything in around him. He liked that they depicted more emotion than his face ever would. Unfortunately, he was new too, and that meant foreign which, in turn, meant that he couldn't be completely trusted.

Not yet.

They still had to see what he was made of: leather or steel? Going off of his first impression, Barry figured it was probably the latter of the two. He wanted to trust the detective completely but he'd made that mistake too many times before. After initially running into the man, Barry had thought of him from time to time. They weren't serious thoughts or anything, just little things like wondering what he would think if he knew just how dangerous metas can be. What would it be like to be friends, to know each other and care about each other the way that friends do?

He sighed and turned to look at Joe. Barry often found that his thoughts were so weird. Honestly, where had that even come from? He'd just met the guy and here Barry was already thinking about him.

"You good?" Joe glanced Barry up and down, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "You just sighed very dramatically."

"What? Yeah I'm good, I'm great, actually. It's all good in the hood."

Joe stepped closer to Barry now. He squinted his eyes a little as he examined his son's face with the practiced eye of a detective. "You're blushing. Why are you blushing? Are you feelin' okay, Barr?"

     The heat in Barry's cheeks only worsened. He turned his eyes to the ground, to the wall — anywhere but Joe's seemingly all-knowing face. "Haha okay, first: I'm not blushing. Second: I feel great, thank you very much for asking."

     "No problem," Joe murmured, stepping back again. He tilted his head a little, eyes remaining on Barry's face. The feeling of being examined made Barry's skin crawl, especially given that, by now, Joe could read him like an open book. "But nah. I think you're definitely blushing. Since when did you do that?"

     "I'm not blushi—!"

     "Yo Joe!" Sebastián's voice made them both jump as he jogged into the room, breathless. His eyes shone with something similar to excitement. "Helena Gonzales called again. She says her son's back, and he's not leaving this time."

     Joe and Sebastián exchanged a glance. Barry watched as they hurriedly left his lab together, catching sight of the quick wink thrown over Sebastián's shoulder at him. Wait, at him? He blinked a few times, entirely sure he'd just imagined it. Maybe he was tired. Did he feel tired?

     Barry tried to brush it off and decided it was time to go to S.T.A.R. Labs to focus on what needed to get done, and soon. He glanced around the hallway outside of his lab, then reached with his mind and accessed the speedforce deep within him. It roared with excitement in response to his call, ready to fuel him.

He ran.

The lightning crackled around him, wrapping loving tendrils of golden light around his limbs. The air was heavy around him, thick with electricity and power that couldn't even hope to be contained; power he controlled. Underneath his feet, he could feel the ground hard below. Every footstep brought him closer to where he needed to be. His brain was on fire: receivers firing off information faster than the normal human brain could ever hope to manage, receptors working on overtime to compensate for the change in speed.

Everything became a beautiful blur of color around him. The edges of his vision traveled too fast, but if he looked around and examined his surroundings, he'd be able to see the world in slow motion.

     He could see the droplets of coffee falling into a cup. He could see the air bubbles travel to the bottom of a tipped water bottle as a woman took a drink. He could see the loving look a husband gave his wife as she talked with their small child seated between them. Everyone was at a near-standstill and he ran among them, unseen.

     Barry loved the feeling of running. The oxygen rushed into his lungs, pushing him harder and faster. The electricity was as familiar to him as the blood running through his veins. He'd always been a runner and being the Flash gave him a runner's high he could never get over. The feeling of adrenaline and vast amounts of energy at his beck and call — it was indescribable how powerful he felt.

     As usual, when Barry reached S.T.A.R. Labs, any stray papers in the room that weren't weighted down flew everywhere to announce his arrival.

     "Hey guys!"

     Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow, Barry's best and closest friends, turned away from their conversation to notice Barry's arrival. Caitlin gave a friendly wave, relaxing in her chair. Barry noticed that her hair was brown; it was truly Caitlin with them, not Killer Frost. Cisco leaned a hip against the desk next to him, drawing Barry's eye, crossing his arms over his chest. There was an unreadable look on his face.

     "Barry," Cisco frowned with suspicion. "Why are you blushing?"

     A groan escaped Barry's lips. He leaned his head back and rubbed his hands over his face wearily. "Why does everyone think I'm blushing? I only thought about him once, okay? I'm not blushing. I'm just embarrassed that I even thought about him."

     Cisco and Caitlin exchanged a dramatic look.

     Caitlin rose a hand to cover the lower half of her face, trying to keep from laughing. She failed miserably. "Well, your cheeks are really red. Are you feeling okay?"

     "I'm great, thanks for asking."

     "If you say so," Cisco shrugged and tucked a stray piece of wavy black hair behind his ear. "And 'him'? Who is this mystery man and when do I get to meet him?"

     Barry walked forward, leaning his elbows against the cool metal railing in the cortex. It grounded his mind. "It's no one," he said nonchalantly with a shrug. "Just someone from work."

     "Oh..." Caitlin nodded knowingly. "Well, in that case, then you shouldn't have to worry about telling us all about him if he's 'no one'. What's his name?"

     Barry leveled his gaze at them. It was clear he didn't plan on spilling the tea on the man who currently occupied the back of his mind. It wasn't that he didn't want to — Barry would've liked to but... his friends were very obvious about this kind of stuff. If he told them, and someone asked them, they'd spill the beans in no time. It was endearing but, sometimes, tiresome.

     "C'mon, Barr!" Cisco quipped encouragingly. He made a fist and held it in the air as if he'd just made some grand discovery and was shouting excelsior! to the heavens. "Who's this mystery man?"

     Barry sighed. "Sebastián Belmonte." He shrugged a little and walked away from the railing to the back of the cortex to turn his eyes to his red Flash suit on the mannequin. He could feel their eyes burning curious holes in the back of his head. "He's Joe's new partner. He nearly ran me over yesterday at C.C.P.D., that's how we met."

     Caitlin frowned. "Joe got a new partner?"

     "Guess so," Barry shrugged. "Elijah left without saying a word to me or to Joe. Singh assigned Sebastián because he's our newest transfer. Probably didn't have anyone to switch around with Joe."

     "Hmm..." Cisco hummed quietly, approaching one of the computers in the cortex. He took a seat and began typing on the computer. "Let's do a little Google search and see what comes up with this guy's name. I bet he's got something we can use."

     "What?" Barry and Caitlin asked simultaneously. They exchanged a brief glance and came closer to Cisco as he started to type. Barry wasn't sure how he felt about it, and Caitlin didn't like the idea of mistrusting someone they hadn't even met yet. "Cisco, man, don't do that—" Barry started.

     "Nah, it's all good!" Cisco interrupted. "I'mma just see what pops up; do a little looking around and see who we're getting involved with, okay? We can't be too careful with our historical track record."

     Barry watched helplessly as Cisco typed into the Google search bar: Sebastián Belmonte.

     Caitlin leaned closer to the screen, beckoned by her own sickening curiosity, as Barry came around to watch over Cisco's shoulder. He didn't like the idea of invading another person's private life, but it did seem like the logical decision to at least check Sebastián out. Team Flash had been tricked many times before by those who call themselves 'friends'. It was a good choice. They scanned the first few titles of results:

     HERO GREENVILLE DETECTIVE
     SOLVES THE CASE OF THE CROPPE
     MURDERS!

     BELMONTE PURSUES LEGAL ACTION
     AGAINST GREENVILLE HIGH'S
     STAFFING, HE BLAMES THEM FOR
     THE MENTAL ABUSE OF OTHER
     STUDENTS ON HIS SON AND THEIR
     LACK OF ACTION AGAINST
     BULLYING.

     THE FULL STORY OF DETECTIVE
     BELMONTE'S WORK REGARDING
     THE GREENVILLE STRANGLER.

     LITTLE BOY'S PARENTS MURDERED
     BY THE SCYTHE WIELDER—ADOPTED
     BY LOCAL GREENVILLE DETECTIVE!

     AN INTERVIEW WITH SEBASTIÁN
     BELMONTE.

     FROM CHICAGO TO GREENVILLE:
     LOCAL COP FINISHES STINT IN THE
     BIG CITY.

     "Wow," Caitlin breathed, the first to voice the biggest thing they were all thinking. "There's... a lot here. He must've been really popular in Greenville."

     "Pursues legal action?" Barry questioned aloud. "Little boy's parents murdered? I had no idea about any of this. He really doesn't let anything like a chip on his shoulder show."

     "Well, that tells us he's good at hiding stuff."

     Barry glanced at Cisco, a shadow of doubt crossing his face. "I'm not sure about that, man. He didn't mention it, but it's not like he'd hide it. I mean, it's public knowledge back where he's from. We haven't exactly gotten a real chance to talk anyways, I'm sure he'll mention it sooner or later. It all comes with trust."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cisco nodded, reluctance lining his features. "I trust your instincts, so if you feel good about him — I do too."

Barry grinned, then turned away from the computers to change the subject. "So... are you ready to go see Ray Gunne now? We don't wanna miss him before he finds a new hideout."

Caitlin wheeled her chair away from Cisco and his computer, going to her own computer across the cortex. She was ready to hold down the fort while they were in the field. Cisco stood and stretched his arms high above his head. He liked the sickeningly satisfying sound of his vertebrae popping when his back stretched.

"Let's do it. Suit up."

────────

"Detectives! Ralphie — he's back! He's back in the bathroom mirror. Go look! You'll see I'm not crazy!"

     Sebastián jogged up to Helena Gonzales's doorstep, breathless. Joe followed close behind on his heels. They quickly examined the shaken elderly woman to make sure she was safe and unharmed, then charged into the house. Sebastián quickly remembered where the bathroom was and took the lead down the impossibly narrow hallway.

     The bathroom door was closed, bathing the hallway in shadow and darkness. The cracks of the door revealed yellow light, beckoning the duo closer. Sebastián clicked the safety off on his handgun (which Joe had so lovingly lent him until he could get his C.C.P.D.-issued firearm) and kept the nose pointed to the ground, leading with his right shoulder. He leaned against the doorframe and turned back to look at Joe.

     Ready? Sebastián mouthed silently.

     Joe nodded, raising his own gun to point it at the bathroom door. Sebastián released one hand from the gun, reaching a tentative hand out to the door handle. He gripped it. The cool metal seeping into his palm as he counted down from three.

1... the bathroom was eerily silent. Sebastián's thoughts were running at a thousand miles a minute. What could possibly be behind the door? It couldn't really be Helena's son... right?

2... Joe shifted his weight, eyes trained dead ahead at the bathroom. He looked ready to face anything. Sebastián was suddenly very glad they were partners.

3... Sebastián took a deep breath, turned the handle, and slammed the door open as fast as he could. He let Joe take the lead into the tiny bathroom, then he promptly followed.

The bathroom looked the same as before. It was empty except for the mirror — a man was in the mirror. It looked like Helena Gonzales wasn't lying. How... how is this even possible? Sebastián thought to himself, lowering his gun slowly. This can't be real.

"Holy shit," Joe breathed. "It's Ralph Gonzales."

"I-I... don't understand!" Sebastián protested, shaking his head profusely. He met eyes with the confused man in the mirror, Ralph. "This isn't real — I'm dreaming."

     "No," Joe turned and looked at Sebastián, fumbling to put his gun back in its holster. He reached out and grabbed his partner's shoulders, forcing Sebastián to look at him. "No, you are not dreaming, Sebastián. This is real. He — Ralph — is real. Look at him."

Sebastián turned to face Ralph. They met eyes again. Ralph looked nearly as panicked as Sebastián felt. Could he hear them?

"He's real, Sebastián. He's real and he needs our help." Joe said quietly, keeping his voice low and soothing. "So let's help him."

Sebastián took another deep breath and nodded. "Okay," he nodded and glanced back at Joe again. "He's... real. Let's help him."

     Joe give Sebastián's shoulder a comforting pat, then he turned to look at Ralph in the mirror. He rose his voice to project it in the bathroom. "Hey! Are you Ralph Gonzales? Can you hear us?"

     The figure on the other side nodded. He reached out a hand and touched the glass. They could read his lips as he spoke. Help me... please! He made obscure hand motions. I don't know how I got in here.

     "Okay," Joe sighed and rubbed a hand over the top of his head. He glanced back at Sebastián, seeing his partner standing completely still. "Okay. Let me make a couple of calls and get some people down here, okay?"

     Who? Ralph asked, brow furrowing.

     "Yeah, Joe," Sebastián pitched in. "Who're you going to call that can possibly help with-with... this?"

     "Uh, it's just a friend. You'll see." Joe stepped out of the bathroom, hand straying to grab his phone from his jacket pocket. "I'll be right back. Just... just stay with Ralph."

     "Okay... okay..." Sebastián turned back to Ralph. They were alone now. Albeit, Ralph was on the other side of a mirror, but still. The thought counted. Sebastián ran a hand through his messy hair, heaving a deep sigh to calm his nerves. He could feel himself shake with every breath as he forced himself to look in the mirror. "Ralph, is it?"

     Ralph nodded.

     The bathroom was quiet except for the sound of Sebastián's breathing. "Don't worry, okay? I'm sure my partner and I will find a way to get you out of there in no time."

Ralph leaned his forehead against the mirror now. He looked tired and, frankly, Sebastián didn't blame him. If he were suddenly stuck in a mirror, he was sure he'd feel the same way as Ralph did in that moment.

Sebastián examined the man from his position near the door of the bathroom. He was tall — taller than Sebastián, that was for sure — and his hair was as black as a raven's feathers. He resembled someone Sebastián had seen long ago, but he couldn't place where Ralph seemed so familiar. It lingered in the back of his mind to be answered later.

     "Ralph," he called quietly. The man pulled back his head and looked at Sebastián. "Do you think your friend Jason Bureka knows how you got in there?"

     Ralph looked away, deep in thought. He shrugged helplessly and shook his head. I don't know.

     Joe came back from the hallway now, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He briefly glanced at Ralph. "My people are on their way, they'll be here in a few minutes to start examining the mirror."

     "What are they gonna examine it for?"

     "I dunno," Joe shrugged. "A way out? Traces of dark matter? Maybe it works like a door, maybe Ralph can even open it."

     The words must've sparked an idea in Ralph because they watched as he perked up, black hair sticking up in all directions, and began touching the mirror all over. He was looking for a way out or some sort of way to 'open' the door to the real world. They watched him but made no comment on their thoughts.

     It seemed hopeless. How long had Ralph been in the mirror and he still wasn't out?

     Sebastián sighed and left the bathroom quietly, tucking his hands deeply in his pockets. He walked to the front door and opened it for himself. Helena was stationed at the end of the hallway, watching the bathroom from her position so as to not disturb Joe or Ralph inside. Her hands were clasped together as she wrung them worriedly, face hopeful.

     She barely noticed as Sebastián walked past.

     He closed the door quietly behind him, taking deep breaths to help clear his mind. How is this even happening? He questioned. I think coming to Central City was a bad idea... or maybe it was the perfect idea? This meta-human business, Sebastián bit his lower lip, looking out over the street in front of Helena's home. It's unusual, and I don't understand it just yet but it's exciting.

     Sebastián rocked back on his heels a few times. He breathed in and out, controlling his rapid heartbeat before turning and entering the house once more.