"The truth is incontrovertible. Malice
may attack it, ignorance may deride it,
but in the end, there it is."
—Winston Churchill

: S.T.A.R. LABS

This is where Barry went in his free time, and where Cisco Ramon used to work. Sebastián stared up at the huge building that composed of S.T.A.R. Labs, feeling as insignificant as an ant next to the cold walls of steel and concrete. He craned his neck to look as high as he could at the top but failed to see it. Without another thought, Sebastián set aside his inhibitions and strode confidently towards the double glass doors, pushing one open with ease. He was surprised they weren't locked but even more shocked to see how abandoned the building really was.

He remembered reading online that S.T.A.R. Labs was shut down after the particle accelerator explosion but he hadn't known how massive the building was or how many people could have worked there before its failure.

It had been a building full of promise, many articles dated before the explosion had speculated about this very fact. The CEO, Harrison Wells, was in all rights a certified genius of his own stature and had predicted great things to come out of his time running the laboratories. That very same CEO was the man responsible for murdering Nora Allen; the woman, Sebastián had learned during his research, that was Barry's mother.

     Reading that had been tough.

     He felt for Barry, he really did. When Holden's own parents had been murdered in cold blood by the Scythe Wielder — Sebastián couldn't just turn around and leave the little boy. He'd been the beat cop to find his murdered parents and going into the system wasn't an option Sebastián liked for Holden. So, he'd adopted him. He took him in and gave him the best life he could.

     Raising a little boy into a teenager and, eventually, a man was no easy task. Sebastián had pulled longer nights at work, more forty-eight hour shifts and always extra jobs to pay the bills and expenses required for a growing boy. Being responsible for someone else's health and happiness wasn't easy to get used to, especially given the fact that Sebastián was an only-child growing up and didn't have to share or care about anyone except himself.

     And that's how it had been for years. Even when he was dating Raphael, Sebastián was only watching out for his own well-being. Raphael had simply promised to keep him protected during the high school years, and you do what you have to do to survive in a place like Greenville. Sebastián could talk all day about how wonderful that little town could be but it came with a hell of a lot of bad too. Evil, one might say.

     Needless to say, no alarms started when Sebastián cautiously entered the quiet building that was S.T.A.R. Labs. Nobody came to confront him, but he'd seen three or four cars parked outside in the vastly empty lot so whoever was here had to be in the building somewhere, it was only a matter of actually finding them now.

     "Hello?" Sebastián called out.

     No answer.

     He made his way over to a pristine elevator, curiously wandering inside to look at the buttons directing which floors were which. Sebastián pressed one of the buttons without a second glance and pulled out his phone to check for any text messages from Joe on the way up.

     As expected, there were none.

     Joe was still missing. Barry was still missing. Their time had to be running out. From experience, Sebastián knew that people like Jason don't keep their victims or enemies alive for long. They torture, they maim, and then they kill in the most painful way possible that lives up to their fantasies. And that's just the way sick people worked. No matter how much you tried to change people like that, it would never work because there are some things and some people who cannot be fixed.

     It was a sad fact of the world he'd taken a long time to learn. And as much as it bugs you, you can't do anything about it.

     The elevator opened at the second floor. Curious, Sebastián stepped out as the doors closed behind him. He'd come out into a clean and bright waiting area which led directly into a darkened hallway that curved with the lights out of Sebastián's line of sight. Nobody was around here either.

     "Hello?" Sebastián tried again, louder this time. "C.C.P.D. here! Call out if you're in the building."

     He waited for an answer. And waited.

     Just as Sebastián was about to give up and turn around, he heard quiet footsteps slowly getting louder as the owner of those feet rounded the corner of the hallway. "Hello?" A familiar voice called back while simultaneously revealing the bearer of the voice to be the one and only Cisco Ramon, whom he hadn't seen since the discovery of Ralph Gonzales in the mirror at his mother's house. "Sebastián? What are you doin' here?"

     Sebastián took a few steps closer to the tech specialist. Cisco was shorter than him, his dark hair unbound as it hung freely towards his shoulders. He had on a cat shirt and an unbuttoned red shirt to accentuate the contrast of what he was wearing. Dark brown eyes searched Sebastián's face as the detective examined Cisco's body language.

     Tense shoulders. Face pinched tight — concern, worry? Eyes squinted, lips pouting. Fumbling of the hands for something to do; nervous, worried, preoccupied. Something was going on and Cisco wasn't doing a good job at keeping his emotions out of his tone but he certainly had no idea how to regulate the natural ticks his body gave off.

     "Looking for Barry," Sebastián answered smoothly. He'd played this role many times before throughout the course of his career in law enforcement. Act cool and suddenly doors begin to open for you. "And Joe. Someone at the precinct told me that Barry comes here a lot because the place was left in his care, and they told me that I could find you here, too. I need some help, man."

     Cisco processed this, then nodded once; dismissively. "Okay. Well, I don't know how I'm gonna be much help. You're a detective and I'm just a cool guy with some cool gadgets."

     "Exactly," Sebastián stepped closer to Cisco so he didn't have to call across the waiting area. "You can help me! I'm new to the city and I don't know it as well as you or anyone else."

     "Hmm..." Cisco feigned thinking about the option to help the detective. He crossed his arms and put his forefinger on his chin, tapping it there meditatively a few times, his eyes roaming across the ceiling in a calculated sweep. He made Sebastián wait and the waiting is what killed him. He wanted nothing less than Cisco to instantly agree and help him however he could without complaint but if he must wait? He would wait.

And finally:

"Walk with me. I can't help unless you fill me in on everything."

     Sebastián sighed quietly, the only distinction to the scientist that he'd been anxious while awaiting Cisco's answer. He followed behind his new partner as the quirky man led him carefully through the maze of the twisting hallways. When they passed a certain room, Cisco ushered Sebastián quickly past so he couldn't see the inside of it.

The action was suspicious but Sebastián didn't say a word. Whatever Cisco and Barry did in this building was their business, clearly. He wouldn't be the one to poke his nose where it didn't belong. If they ever wanted to tell him what was in that room, Sebastián had full faith that they would when the time became right.

"Start talkin', my man."

     "Joe and I picked up the Gonzales case, remember?"

     "With the lady's son stuck in the mirror," Cisco continued as they reached a room filled with tons of shiny things and technology Sebastián could never hope to understand. He turned to Sebastián. "Yeah, I remember. I also gave everything I found to Joe — he did fill you in, right?"

     The question came out as limp. It was clear by the way he said it that Cisco knew whatever information he'd given to Joe would never make it to Sebastián's ears. They'd planned to leave him in the dark.

     His muscles itched for action, irritable at this newfound piece of knowledge. His jaw tightened and Sebastián chose to instead look away from Cisco's prodding eyes towards the tools in the room, the computers, anything. "No," he answered tightly. "Look, that doesn't matter. I'm not on the case anymore. The point is that Joe and I were supposed to talk to this landlord in relation to the case because he was having a meeting with one man we really needed to talk to, Jason —"

     "— Bureka, yeah. He told me." Cisco shrugged. "What about it?"

     "Joe took Barry with him after I was removed from the case. They left Saturday night and haven't been back to the precinct since." Sebastián leveled his gaze directly at the scientist, who was listening with rapt attention. "Joe hasn't been answering my calls or texts and it feels wrong, Cisco. I can tell something went wrong. I even went to the landlord, Carmine Ortega, and he told me... things."

     Cisco frowned deeply, the action in turn pulling down his eyebrows and forcing him to sidle closer to the detective. "What kind of 'things'?"

     Sebastián seized the moment. "Jason is a meta-human. He - He controls people and makes them do things they don't want to do, and Joe's undercover cruiser was left at Ortega's house. Jason must've taken them — you have to believe me! Nobody else is taking this seriously, man. Everyone in the precinct is acting like it's nothing. I don't know what to do against a meta-human or where to begin. I... I just got here."

     He held his breath, suspended in the moment. Cisco, of all people, had to believe him. Didn't he? If the kid could believe in meta-humans and the realities that science brought the human race, then it was surely believable that Jason Bureka had kidnapped a Central City detective and crime scene analyst.

     Once again, it was the waiting that killed Sebastián inside.

     "Okay..." Cisco's mind was racing. It was hard to tell what he was thinking at the exact moment but from the widening around the corners of his brown eyes, it was clear to the detective that he understood the urgency of the situation. The realization must have hit him like a freight train. "Okay, we need to jump on this."

     "Yeah."

     "We need to jump on this like now, like right now."

     "Yeah," Sebastián was nodding. He could feel his shoulders release their tension as a new feeling entered him; it was hope. "We do. I know Jason took them but I have no idea how we should track a meta-human. Is it any different than a normal perp?"

     Cisco only spared Sebastián a quick glance as he rushed to the computers beside them. "Sometimes it's different," he shrugged as if he were talking to a child. "Sometimes it's not. You're a detective, what have you tried already? We can do what you haven't."

     He started typing away.

     "Well I've been alone in this so far." Sebastián could feel the gears turning in place for him as he shoved aside the realization that this was happening right now and went to stand behind Cisco Ramon, the only man willing to help him find Barry and Joe. "Haven't got to try much. I found out their last known location for sure; Carmine Ortega's, I've called and texted Joe; no answer," he continued to list off the routes they could no longer go down, "I haven't got Barry's number or I'd have tried that too. There isn't much else I could do on my own. I'm not that, uh, technologically inclined as you seem to be."

     "Hmm."

     "I also have no idea where Jason's been hiding out these past few months — which doesn't help us but I just thought I'd throw that out there." Sebastián said defensively, not even sure of why he felt the need to defend himself in front of the superiorly intelligent man. "I'm not completely incompetent."

     Cisco chuckled a little while he apparently found Sebastián's remark amusing. "Just not able to work the tech," he guessed correctly and continued furiously typing away on the keyboards in front of him. New information appeared on the screen almost as quickly as he could skim over it in order to bring yet more words and articles to their attention. It was arduous work from Sebastián's perspective.

And yet, Cisco must have been a magician with those computer monitors at his fingertips.

"Jason Michael Bureka," Cisco started with an air of finality. "He's been absent from all his cards, stopped working at the research center after the particle accelerator went kaboom, and yeah — he's got no current place of address anywhere. It's like he went off the grid or something. I'll try using facial recognition software and running it through the city's security and traffic cameras. Warning, though," the tech specialist turned to look at Sebastián. "It'll probably take awhile. Like, a long while. You might want to get comfortable."

     Sebastián sighed wearily and nodded in acceptance. He found a chair across the room and sat in it, crossing his muscular arms over his chest to wait the time out. He hadn't been sitting for more than a few minutes when someone got on the speaker system installed throughout S.T.A.R. Labs. Her voice was very feminine and had a sharpness to it as if she were upset about something. Nevertheless, Cisco turned to leave in a matter of seconds.

     "Cisco, we need you in the cortex. Now."

     The two shared a look. Cisco checked over the computer to make sure the facial recognition program was still running while excusing himself from Sebastián's presence. "I, uh, have some work to get to," he was saying, "you just make yourself at home. Ah — don't touch the computer, please! It's delicate. I'll be back in a jiffy."

     And with that, the detective was left alone.

────────

Cisco's arrival in the cortex was awaited by the remainder of Team Flash, none of whom looked particularly happy to see him. After losing Barry and Joe to the Mesmer, they'd been working around the clock to find them but with no luck as of late. Their misfortune was beginning to show. Caitlin looked as cold and as murderous as Killer Frost, Iris was fuming with anger and about to explode, and Harry was, well, he was Harry. He never looked very pleased. The only member of the team who didn't seem as bothered by what the others were clearly about to rave on about was Ralph.

     Good old Ralph. He sent Cisco a dopey lopsided smile when the man entered the cortex, trying to ease the mounting pressure in the room. Alas, it was to no avail.

Caitlin wasted no time in throwing around her icy voice. It hissed through the air between them all, sending shivers of apprehension down the spines of any sensible person. "Cisco! What's Sebastián doing here? Why haven't you made him leave yet?"

"Chill out!" Cisco defended, instantly grimacing inwardly at the poor choice of words when he saw Caitlin's demeanor become tighter. "Sorry... but I couldn't exactly just turn him away, he's looking for Joe and Barry. He knows what went down Saturday night, guys, he's not stupid! He just wants to help."

"Exactly!" Iris jumped on the word with a definiteness that made Cisco flinch. "He's not stupid, Cisco. He's a detective and he'll find out what's going on here. He'll find out that Barry's the Flash and then what's he gonna do? Did you even stop and bother to think about that? This isn't just our operation on the line here, it's Barry's life too."

Cisco deflated. He had thought of that, but was relying on sheer willpower that he could keep the transfer detective busy long enough that he wouldn't be able to figure out Barry's secret. He opened his mouth to say as much when Iris interrupted him. It was clear she didn't actually want an answer to her previous question.

     "You need to make him leave," her dark eyes burned into Cisco's before she turned to examine the analysis running on the computers in the cortex. "Now. Tell him you can't help him, tell him it's not working; make something up if you have to but we will find Barry and my dad, Cisco, not him. We'll do it as a team, just like we've always done."

     Looking to Harry and Ralph for their confirmation on this decision, Cisco's mouth fell open in an expression that could simply be defined as surprise.

     "Guys?"

     Harry kept his arms crossed over his chest. "It'll be easier if the detective's gone, Ramon. If Barry ever wants to bring him into the fold, then that's his choice but we can't make that for him." Cisco could tell by the way he was talking that Harry was trying to remain neutral in this situation, it was evident in the tone of his voice that he didn't think this conversation was even necessary. The team should be focused on finding their leader, not this. "Until then, our main focus is Barry and Joe."

     Cisco turned his gaze to Ralph next.

     Ralph glanced apprehensively at the others. He wasn't normally one to throw around his opinions or to speak out when he disagreed because he didn't like to be involved in situations similar to this one but, seeing Cisco's pleading face, he felt required to say something to appease everyone present. Ralph watched them for a moment; Caitlin, who watched on expectantly, and Iris, whose back was turned to them as she typed on the computer's keyboard ferociously, and Harry, who was turning away to walk across the cortex for his own space. It was quiet among the five save for Iris' rapid-fire clicking of the keys being tapped on the keyboard while she worked.

     "Um," Ralph cleared his throat quietly, coughing a little at the unused scratchiness of it. "They're — They're right, Cisco. We gotta get the others back before we focus on anything else."

     Off to the side, Caitlin nodded with contempt. "Mm-hm!" She hummed, crossing her arms loosely.

     Cisco stared at Iris' back, hoping she would turn around and talk to him again. He hoped she could feel his eyes boring into her and know that he strongly disagreed with the collective decision of the team. Without another word to say to any of them, he turned away and promptly left the cortex with his mind racing and searching for possible excuses he could feed Sebastián.

     And this wasn't something he normally had to think about. It terrified Cisco how quickly his mind turned to which lie would be the most convincing to a police detective. If he could lie so easily to this man then what had he become? What would stop him from becoming worse? He tried not to think about it.

     The guy seemed nice, he seemed genuine and Cisco felt more than a little guilty for what he was being forced to do. He agreed on the aspect that, yes, Sebastián couldn't find out about Barry's secret unless Barry told him directly and he also agreed that, yes, they had to find their leader and Joe but he dissented on how to do it. Sebastián's skills as a detective were useful, even against a bitter meta-human like Jason Bureka. Cisco couldn't readily deny his usefulness just because everyone was telling him to.

     Maybe somehow he could send the detective down the right path, lead him to figuring out on his own where to find Jason? Even then, it would be risky for a normal man like him against a superpowered idiot with a grudge. Cisco suddenly wasn't so sure about letting Sebastián go looking for the meta-human by himself.

     If something happened to him, it would be Cisco's fault.

     Iris was definitely right. More so than she probably knew — Sebastián Belmonte was a normal Central City detective, he had no chance of standing against the Mesmer. He had zero chance of survival and when the scientist returned to the recently abandoned room where he'd left Sebastián, the perfect lie waiting anxiously to drop from his lips, Cisco knew that he had to find the detective.

Given that the alert was popping up on the computer screen, still flashing red to signal that its work was done, he knew exactly where Sebastián was going: right into the line of fire.

────────

This has to be the right address, Sebastián reasoned with himself as he glanced over one shoulder. Criminals go batshit crazy for abandoned buildings like this.

     The warehouse address that Cisco's computer had spat out at the detective's feet was nothing out of the ordinary. It had belonged to a subsidiary of Lion Incorporated long before the company's unfortunate collapse more than ten years prior and the age of the metal and cement were beginning to show. The cracks that lined the floor, the rust, the broken glass windows which had shattered everywhere, and even the trademark graffiti that had been painted onto the side of the building ages after city officials had stopped caring.

     It was dark and shadowy inside, result of the electrical wiring being eaten long ago by rats or stolen by thieves looking to make easy money in wires or copper pipes that ran throughout the entire building. The darkness swirled around Sebastián's vision and threatened to consume him while he stepped carefully over the glass-ridden ground, trying to maintain his cover behind some metal cargo containers which had been abandoned long ago.

He held his department-issued firearm at the ready, right shoulder raised with his cheek pressed against it as he looked down the rear iron sights.

Where could Jason be hiding? The warehouse is huge but I can't hear anything —

The sound of coughing far off to the right caught Sebastián's attention, causing the detective to react by turning quickly and to unwittingly step on broken glass. It crunched under his boot quietly. Eager to determine who was the culprit of the coughing, he rounded the corner of another large red container and came face to face with none other than Joe West himself. He was tied up with a coil of thick rope around his midsection, the binds digging tightly into him while he struggled to get free.

They made eye contact. Sebastián slowly lowered the gun, his heartbeat catching in his throat. He'd been right all along. Joe had been in trouble, he had been taken by a meta-human and not a single person in the department had believed him.

Relief flooded through Sebastián's features as he instantly relaxed and shoved the gun back into its holster, pushing aside the thoughts he'd been having only a few moments before. He made way to walk over to Joe when his old partner spoke in a dangerously low voice.

"Don't come any closer."

Sebastián stopped and tilted his head. "What? Joe, what're you talking about?"

He took another step closer to Joe and could suddenly see the fresh blood under the new light this close perspective brought him; dripping down from a particularly nasty looking head wound just above the father's left eyebrow. Joe's face was bruised too and he had a black eye, shiny with dark red blood that looked older and coagulated with broken capillaries under the skin which made it appear darker.

Knowing what little he knew about Joe, he could only conclude that Joe hadn't gone without a fight and Jason got his hands dirty for once. Sebastián grimaced at the sight, bending over to reach down by his right boot. Strapped on and covered by the simple jeans he was wearing was a tactical sheath where Sebastián kept a knife for situations like these. He spoke, voice muffled, as he retrieved the tool.

"I knew you'd be here," Sebastián was saying. "Nobody believed me when I said you were missing, and now who's laughing? Don't worry, Joe, I'll get you ou—"

"Now that's not a very smart idea."

Joe stiffened in the seat he was tied to, dark eyes glancing at a figure approaching behind Sebastián, the masculine voice was cold and low; a signal of danger and a promise of injury to those who succeeded in making Jason Bureka very angry.

     Sebastián whirled around, knife coming with him as it fit perfectly into his palm. The combat knife shone in the dim light of the warehouse, sharp edge glittering as if daring Jason to approach. His mind began to race with so many things he'd like to say, questions that needed to be asked but the only thing that could come out was, "You made a very big mistake pal."

     Jason stepped closer. He was wearing a simple black suit with an overcoat that fell down to his heels, swishing every time he walked. Polished black dress shoes made soft noises on the floor which marked his progress throughout the warehouse, but it didn't take away from the intimidating countenance that this man was putting on display. If anything could be said on the matter, it was the exact opposite. It heightened his clear authority of power over every person in a room.

     This man was a meta-human but just by looking at him, in business attire, Sebastián nearly forgot that he was far more dangerous than some average street criminal.

     "What mistake would that be, Mr. Belmonte?"

     Sebastián swallowed thickly, his throat dry as he forced words to come from his throat. "You took my partner," he drew the knife close to his chest while keeping it ready for action should the need arise.

     "Former partner," Jason corrected him, a devious smirk twisting the corners of his lips upward. "Don't look so surprised, Sebby, I know a lot of things that happen in Central City. I even know a lot of things about the people you keep in your company. Aren't you curious to know if there's a dangerous meta-human in your midst?"

     The question had barely registered in Sebastián's mind when Joe spoke out as fast as he could, like he was afraid he wouldn't be heard.

     "Don't play these mind games, Bureka! You have no rig—" Joe suddenly started choking while he was still bound to the chair.

     Sebastián looked over his shoulder and rushed to Joe's aid, trying to determine why he was choking. He glanced to Jason with despair in his eyes, half-ready to beg the man to help when Sebastián could only conclude that it was Jason who had silenced the detective.

     Jason had put his right hand out in front of him, fingers spread wide as if he were Darth Vader using the force to choke Joe. "This is what happens," he was spitting the words out like venom, a vein in his forehead threatening to pop under the pressure. "When you interrupt me! Shut up and learn your place, Joseph."

     Joe finally stopped choking, gasping for breath as he lowered his head to take a moment for recovery. The air was much colder now, nipping at Sebastián's bare arms as he stepped in front of Joe protectively. They may have been having trouble in their partnership lately, and maybe Joe had been the one to get him reassigned, but Sebastián wouldn't just stand here and let him take the brunt of Jason's rage. It was becoming clearer by the minute how deeply angry and embittered the former scientist was and the thought of what he could do next terrified Sebastián to no end.

     "Jason," Sebastián spoke softly. "Why are we here, man? What do you think you're accomplishing?"

     The Mesmer examined his fingernails now. "We're here because Joseph and his little meta-human friend cornered me. A cat backed into a corner only has one way out, you understand? — he must claw and scratch and bite to get free and that's no different to what I'm doing."

     "You're hurting people who haven't done anything to you; you've threatened Carmine Ortega and his family, you're hurting Joe when he and I only wanted to talk to you," Sebastián pointed these things out rapidly, heart beginning to pound in his chest. Adrenaline finally kicked in when Jason lowered his fingernails and took a step closer. The detective was the only thing standing between Jason and Joe now. "Don't you see how different it is, Jason? Just because you're a meta-human... it doesn't mean you have to be bad or use your powers for bad things."

     Jason tilted his head, leaning closer to Sebastián until their faces were only a few inches apart. They breathed the same air and if the man in front of him hadn't been evil and they were in a completely different situation, Sebastián would think he was handsome but that inclination of a thought was completely demolished by the words coming out of his mouth.

     "Who says I'm using them for bad things?"

     Sebastián frowned, eyes hardening like chunks of ice. "What the fuck are you talking about? Threatening people and hurting innocent people is bad, if you can't see that then you're more far gone than I thought!"

     Jason's eyes flickered down to Sebastián's lips for a moment before the smirk on his face grew wider. "You know, you're kind of hot when you're angry like this, Sebastián. Good old Raphael never really appreciated you, did he?"

     At the mention of Sebastián's ex-boyfriend back in Greenville, he stiffened and looked away from Jason. If he knew about Sebastián's past then what else did he really know? Was there any truth to his words? Worse yet, could he know about Holden? Was Sebastián putting his son in danger just by dancing around with Jason like this instead of doing his job? His mind swirled with unanswered questions, things that would have to wait for another day.

     "Jason," Sebastián turned to look at him again. "You need to stop this. You're coming into custody with me and we're going to take a little ride downtown to the prec—"

     "We're not going anywhere!" Jason glowered, eyes sparking with a flare of anger. He stepped back from the detective, scornful gaze passing over the now-silent Joe before settling on Sebastián again. "I thought that you'd like to play this game," he sounded genuinely hurt by what was happening. "Aren't you curious about the things I could tell you? There's so much going on behind the scenes at CCPD, I highly doubt you'll ever find out the full truth, Sebby. They want you in the dark."

     Sebastián glanced back at Joe, darkness shrouding his eyes. He knew he was being kept in the dark about quite a few things going on behind the scenes of the C.C.P.D. but it certainly wasn't in his place to question those things. He was new and, while curiosity plagued him like an illness, he found himself remaining un-tempted by Jason's offer of knowledge.

     "No," he shook his head. "I don't want to know."

     "Why not?" Jason's expression dissolved into a tiny frown. He asked the question like a child demanding to know why they couldn't do something.

     "Trust is earned," Sebastián explained. "Not given. If I'm in the dark, it's because I haven't earned the right to be in the light. Everything comes in time, Jason, we can't rush things. You need to stand down and come with me." His voice hardened. "Now."

     A shadow passed over Jason's face, anger stiffening his stance as he raised his right arm slowly. "Well that's quite a shame, Detective Belmonte. Joe's been keeping secrets from you, Barry's been keeping secrets from you, and even dear Captain Singh! Oh, and that strapping young man Cisco, too! Isn't it frustrating to not be trusted by everyone around you while you have to place blind faith in them? Doesn't that make you mad?"

     Sensing that this conversation was about to be over, Sebastián dropped his combat knife onto the floor and listened as it clattered noisily as he pushed aside the emotions clenching around his heart and focused on what had to be done. He reached for the issued firearm he kept on his person, drawing the gun slowly. "The only thing that makes me mad," Sebastián spat out, "is that you still don't seem to understand that this will only end with you leaving here in handcuffs."

     Sebastián raised the firearm, blocking out all other noises and possible distractions as he locked Jason down his iron sights. The meta-human in front of him simply sighed heavily, as if it burdened him to even use his powers, and before Sebastián knew what was happening, his limbs were moving without his control.

     The detective watched as his own hands turned to point the gun at Joe still secured tightly to the chair. Everything inside of Sebastián was screaming at him, begging to find some way to regain control over his own body but no matter how much he struggled, the gun was still pointed at Joe. His hand began to shake, just a little bit, before Jason walked up behind him and reasserted his control over Sebastián. The tables were turned now.

     His hand steadied.

     "Sebastián!" Joe shouted, concern lining his voice. His eyes were so wide Sebastián could swear they would pop out of his skull if Jason didn't make him pull the trigger first. "You have got to fight his control! He's using you to get to his agenda, you need to fight!"

     And he tried to fight. Sebastián tried so hard until tears pricked the back of his eyes, threatening to spill over when the realization hit him that he couldn't do anything to stop what was going to happen. He was standing about five feet away from Joe, with Jason clicking his tongue sternly. He glanced at Sebastián, face alight with joy.

     "He's such a liar," Jason snorted and pretended to yawn like he was bored. "Time to shut up, you." He stepped back from Sebastián and while his left hand maintained control over Sebastián, his right clenched into a fist while pointed at Joe and the senior detective promptly stopped talking. "That's much better."

     "Jason — please don't make me do this." Sebastián fought to get the words out. He stared into Joe's eyes because that was the only thing he could do and tried to convey the emotions he was feeling to his former partner right in that moment. He hoped to whatever gods were out there that Joe could see how much he hated being in this position. "I don't want to do this."

     Jason glanced at Sebastián. "You misspoke, my dear Sebastián, I think you meant to say, 'Jason — please make me do this already.' It's alright. I have that effect on people sometimes. And," he sounded very pleased with himself. "Well, if you insist!"

     Sebastián's finger pulled the trigger.

────────

A/N. Can we just appreciate our new bombass cover? Jon Seda's lookin' like a fine man, mhm. It's apart of the cover theme @/tonyxstarks made for me! I'm not tagging because they're probably sick of me saying thank you but I'm so grateful, lmao.

On another note... that end of the chapter though. 🤐😈