"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I
can adjust my sails to always reach my destination."
—Jimmy Dean

: THE CURIOUS CASE OF
THE MAN IN THE MIRROR

     It was Saturday. As much as Sebastián wanted to stay in bed and chew over his dream about a figure in red zipping around him as he tried to ask it how many tacos he ate every day, he knew he had to get up at some point before his alarm went off and gave him a headache.

     Stretching his arms high above his head, Sebastián let out a silent yawn that shook his foundations. He ran a hand through his hair and blinked his brown eyes until his vision was clear again. He looked across his bedroom, spying the open door to the bathroom.

     Sebastián glanced over at his alarm clock now. It was five in the morning, a whole hour later than when he normally rose from the dead.

     He shifted into a sitting position before realizing he was still in last night's clothes, a habit he'd often hated. "Great," Sebastián muttered to himself. "Ugh, I need to take a shower." He kicked the beige duvet off of his legs, sliding out of bed on silent feet.

     Holden wouldn't be awake yet. He usually woke up at six or six-thirty to get ready for school. Due to it being the weekend, though, and the excitement of the move, Sebastián was sure the teenager wouldn't be up until ten. He knew he'd have to get ready for the day quietly; he didn't want to disturb the boy's sleep.

     Sebastián padded across the room quietly, gathering the clothes he'd be wearing for work. He knew he had to dress nicely since it was the first day, so last night Sebastián luckily had enough forethought to set out a suit for work. It was grey, and he had a white dress shirt next to it. Draped over the hanger was a black tie.

Simple, pleasing to look at. Easy.

He grabbed the suit and made way for his shower, yawning once more as he turned on the hot water. His thoughts from last night were slowly coming back to him. He remembered the blog — The Daily Anonymous — he remembered reading about meta-humans, some explosion, and the Flash.

"It doesn't make sense," Sebastián muttered to himself, undressing in the privacy of the bathroom. "About how that explosion could've caused so much to happen. What the hell is a particle accelerator anyways?"

He made a mental note to research it later. Or, Sebastián paused as a small smile came to his face, he supposed he could ask Joe's son sometime. He could introduce himself to his partner's son and possibly get to know him while getting information he needed to understand what happened in Central City.

Sebastián stepped under the hot water, relishing in the rhythm of the water pounding against his back and shoulders. He closed his eyes.

Bliss.

A sigh escaped his lips. His mind finally cleared of all questions, thoughts, and plans for the day. Sebastián opened his eyes and began to wash.

When he'd first woken, he hadn't noticed how quiet the house was until he finally got in the shower. It felt like Sebastián was the only person in the whole world even though he knew Holden was just down the hall from him, sleeping soundly. It was a nice feeling, though, to be alone for once. These days he never really got any time to himself.

Which wasn't a bad thing. Sebastián loved Holden as if he were his own, and he made sure the teenager knew it.

Sebastián stepped carefully out of the shower after briefly washing his hair. He wrapped a towel around his waist, noticing that the bathroom floor was cold underfoot but the mirror was steamed over. He reached out a hand and wiped it across the surface, feeling the condensed water collect under his palm. The mirror was cold. Sebastián stared back at his reflection, watching his own dark brown eyes flicker up to his eternally-messy hair as it fell into his face.

He reached up and pushed his hair back.

Sebastián wasted no time in getting dressed. He was tracking the progress of the moving truck and knew it would be coming any minute now. He ran back to the mirror, mussing with his hair until it looked relatively acceptable.

A series of knocks sounded downstairs at the front door. Sebastián turned off the light in the bathroom and jogged down the stairs quickly. "Coming!" He quipped in a quiet voice.

Sebastián opened the door and was standing face to face with the mover he'd just met with last week, Daniel Reyes. He was a short, stocky man with jet black hair buzzed across his head. They shared a mutual smile.

Daniel glanced down at the clipboard in his hands. "Mr. Belmonte, nice to see you again," he looked back up. "Jared and I will move everything into your home for you and then we'll be on our way."

"Sounds good." Sebastián nodded, moving to open the door wide for them. "I've got to head to work in just a few minutes, and my son is upstairs sleeping, could you guys close the door on your way out?"

"Yes, sir," Daniel smiled and turned to go back to the moving truck. Jared was opening the back of it, stepping in the truck to begin moving the rest of Sebastián's furniture and tightly-sealed boxes. Sebastián turned away from the door, heading upstairs to leave a written note for Holden in front of his door. It explained that the movers had come early and he'd like Holden to start unpacking boxes until he got home.

────────

As soon as Sebastián managed to find his way back to his desk, Joe approached breathlessly and beckoned him to follow. "C'mon partner, we got a call to respond to."

"Already?" Sebastián asked in surprise, following behind Joe quickly. "What's it about?"

Joe didn't even bother to look over his shoulder as they stepped inside the elevator to take them down to the first floor. "Got a call from Helena Gonzales, a sixty-year-old woman; divorced, lives alone, her son Ralph died the night of the particle accelerator explosion."

"And what did Miss Helena see that's worth investigating?" Sebastián inquired curiously as they stepped out of C.C.P.D. into the bright sunlight of the early morning. Joe led the way to his own car, stepping into the drivers seat.

"Her son."

Sebastián closed the car door and turned to look at Joe. "You're kidding." He said seriously, a look of disbelief taking over his sharp features.

Joe shook his head, connecting eyes with his partner's. "No way in hell I could imagine something like this. She swears up and down she saw her son in the mirror behind her."

"Well," Sebastián began as Joe started driving. "I don't know what kind of weird stuff happens in Central City but this has got to have some kind of logical explanation. Maybe she's suffering from grief?"

     "Or," Joe's voice was ominous. "Maybe she really did see her son."

     Sebastián scoffed, opening his mouth to speak before Joe interrupted him. He couldn't possibly be serious with this line of thinking, right? "Joe—"

     "No, listen!" Sebastián closed his mouth, promptly falling silent. "I've seen a helluva lot weirder crap going on in Central City. An old lady seeing her son in the mirror behind her? This is the most relaxed case I've dealt with since the particle accelerator explosion." Joe glanced over at Sebastián now. His tone softened. "I know you just got here, Sebastián, and I get it — you don't understand the things these people can do yet, but that's only because you haven't seen it for yourself. You will," Joe nodded, "I can promise you that. Until then, maybe just take my ideas into consideration. Yeah?"

     Sebastián nodded silently, turning his thoughts over in his mind. He hadn't meant to come off as rude or dismissive, it just seemed... impossible. Anyone who had enough common sense would think that, it wasn't just Sebastián.

     He'd never seen the impossible happen. He'd never imagined anything like what his partner is suggesting. Sebastián knew that the people of Central City believed they were dealing with 'meta-humans' and an impossibly fast man calling himself 'the Flash' but seeing is believing and, so far, Sebastián had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

     He couldn't just blindly take Joe's word. Sebastián knew he should trust his partner but until Joe proved he was correct, Sebastián was going to think of the logical explanation for this occurrence.

     They were still driving in silence when Sebastián's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, glancing down at the screen to read the email he'd just received.

┌─────────────────────────┐
     *New Email Received!
Title: Holden's First Day
     From: Rick Blackstone
          Mr. Belmonte,

I am just emailing to remind you that
your son's first official day at Central
City High begins on Monday.

He will receive his updated schedule,
as per your request, and a student from
our Student Council (Cecile Meyers)
will be available to him as a resource
throughout the day.

Should Holden need to reach out to
staff at any time during the day, we are
present in all hallways and he should
feel free to approach us at any time.

If you have any questions, please send
an email or call through the school's
landline. Thank you.

—Rick Blackstone, Principal of C.C.H.S.
└─────────────────────────┘

"That from your kid?"

     Sebastián looked over at Joe. He shook his head and turned off the screen. "No," he answered quietly. "It's the Central City High School principal. Emailed to tell me when Holden's first day there is."

     Joe nodded. "My kids went there."

     "Did they," Sebastián paused, trying to think of what he wanted to say without sounding like an idiot. "Did they, uh, ever have much of a problem with being bullied?"

     "My son—" Joe started, sighing as he pulled the car close to the curb of Helena Gonzales' house. He turned in the seat to face Sebastián. "He got beat on a lot by some kid. He either ran away or-or sat there and took it."

     "Why?" Sebastián frowned, tilting his head to the side.

     "He was... going through a tough time." Joe explained. His eyes showed his vulnerability on the subject as if it put him through great pain to relive the memory, something Sebastián understood all too well. "His mother had just been killed."

     Sebastián could see Joe was holding something back, but he didn't push the subject. "That's horrible," he shook his head. "Were you married?"

     Joe shook his head. "No, no — not to his mother. I fostered him after she died and his father went to prison." A smile came across his lips. "Though I was married, once. What about you? You ever tied on the extra baggage?"

     "Hah," Sebastián laughed. The sound was harsh to his own ears. He looked down and studied his hands in silence. "No, never been married. Never even had a girlfriend, really."

     Joe was silent for a moment, then he spoke quietly. "... boyfriend?"

The silence was vast.

     Sebastián glanced over at Joe, expecting to see his eyes sharp with judgement or an expression of disgust or distaste. The older detective had no such look. His eyes remained passive and his face was open, clear of emotion. After a moment of consideration, Sebastián nodded. "Yeah," he replied softly. "Does that bother you?"

     "Not at all." Joe replied instantly, sending his partner a reassuring smile. "You're just a normal guy and, honestly? It doesn't matter to me what your preferences are, it doesn't affect how you do your job and it won't change my opinion of you."

     It was Sebastián's turn to smile now. He looked away from Joe, opening the car door now to step out into the sunlight. "Alright, it's getting too sappy in here," he joked. "Let's go talk to Helena."

Joe promptly followed after Sebastián, standing back a few feet while he knocked on the door. They only waited a few moments while Helena rushed to the door. The duo was met with a wrinkled, grey-haired woman whose hands shook when she spoke.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello ma'am." Sebastián greeted her in a friendly and professional voice. "I'm Detective Belmonte and this is my partner," he pointed over his shoulder at Joe, "Detective West. We came because you called about... seeing someone in the mirror?"

Joe shifted behind him.

Helena didn't move for a few seconds, she stood still until recognition bloomed across her features like a flower in the spring. "Oh!" She cried out. "Yes! My son, Ralph, he was in the mirror. I saw him behind me!"

     "But ma'am," Sebastián remained patient. "Your son died the night of the particle accelerator explosion. How do you think you saw him?"

     Helena moved away from the door, leading the detectives into her house. Joe closed the door behind them silently, following behind Sebastián. "I don't know how," she was saying. "But my Ralphie — I would know him anywhere! A mother knows when her son is her son! This wasn't anyone else, Detective Belmonte."

     They entered the sitting room. Sebastián glanced over their surroundings to see a luxurious grey couch adjacent to a matching loveseat that Helena perched herself on the edge of. Atop the glass coffee table that sat between the couches was a silver platter where a kettle of tea rested. She gestured to the teacups beside it as Sebastián sat on the couch. Joe hovered above him on the arm, observing Sebastián's ability to interact with the citizens of Central City. "Would you like some tea, Detectives?"

Sebastián kindly shook his head in response. Behind him, Joe did the same. "No thank you, ma'am," Joe echoed his partner, crossing his arms over his chest.

Helena just smiled back at them, folding her wrinkled and arthritic hands in her lap.

Sebastián took a deep breath. What was he supposed to say now? He didn't believe the woman, at least, not yet. "Which... which mirror was this in?" He could practically hear his heart beating in his throat.

"My bathroom mirror. I was brushing my teeth before bed and Ralphie came up behind me — I nearly choked on my toothpaste!"

Glancing back at Joe, Sebastián looked for any signs of instruction. When he saw the blankness in Joe's stare, he stood from the couch and turned back to Helena. The ball was in his court. "Could you please show us the bathroom mirror, ma'am?"

Helena's face brightened. She rose slowly from the loveseat, her hands shaking as she led the way out of the sitting room and deeper into the house. "It's right down at the end of the hall, gentlemen. I'm telling you that Ralphie was in the mirror! He was!"

"We believe you, Ms. Gonzales," Joe murmured quietly, eyes flickering back and forth to take in the appearance of Helena's home, following Sebastián in the claustrophobic, narrow hallway. They could only fit one person at a time and, with Helena taking the rear, Sebastián was forced to lead.

I'm not so sure I believe her, Sebastián thought to himself. Though, this hallway is creepy as fuck. There's no denying that.

The bathroom was quaint with its classic black and white checkered tiles, though the brightness had long faded within the room. The wallpaper lining the borders of the room was fraying as if time was reaching its long claws in resentment to peel back the paper. To the right lay a small bathtub, a grey shower curtain separating the tiny space from the rest of the world. The mirror called to Sebastián from its place above the sink.

Sebastián stepped into the area, Joe squeezing in next to him. They stared at the mirror. The mirror stared back, its hollowness calling to them. Sebastián looked over at Joe. "What are you thinking?"

Joe didn't answer, he stepped forward and squinted his eyes at the bottom edge of the mirror. Puzzled, Sebastián watched as Joe wrapped the edge of his jacket sleeve around his thumb and proceeded to wipe the bottom of the mirror off.

"Look."

Sebastián leaned forward, squinting his eyes at the spot Joe had just been examining. His partner leaned back and Sebastián reached out to touch the mirror. "That's not possible," he said in disbelief. Wanting to do it himself to be sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Sebastián copied Joe's actions and wiped the place he'd just touched with his forefinger. "How is that happening?"

Joe remained silent. Sebastián looked back at him, his eyes wide. "Joe? Joe, how is this even possible?"

"I told you, partner — meta-humans." Joe turned and glanced over his shoulder at Helena. The elderly woman was waiting at the end of the hallway, patiently staring back at Joe in case they needed to ask her more questions. Joe looked back to Sebastián now. "C'mon, let's talk to Helena some more and see what we can get."

Sebastián turned away from the mirror uncertainly, falling silent as they filed out of the bathroom. Even when he sat down on the couch, he couldn't muster the courage to speak so Joe took the lead after noticing his partner's discomfort.

"Uh, Ms. Gonzales, do you remember where your son used to live, or areas he used to hang around frequently?"

Helena's eyes wandered towards the ceiling as she tried to wrack her memory and recall the information Joe was asking for. After a few moments, she opened her mouth to speak. "Well I remember he used to live with a friend. Other than that, I don't know where my son was going most days besides work."

Joe nodded and leaned forward past Sebastián. "Do you remember the name of his friend?"

"Oh, yes!" Helena's bright smile was enthusiastic, her voice airy. "His name is Jason Bureka. They were best friends in high school. After they graduated, they got an apartment together. They were working on some experiment with mirrors and the ability to tell the difference between reality and the reflections of reality — it was all very thorough work, Detective West, you should read their thesis sometime! It was interesting to read, even for me."

Sebastián looked up at Joe now, staring like a wolf with his head lowered. A mutual message passed between them. Joe nodded to Helena, standing again. "Thank you, Ms. Gonzales. You've been a big help. We're going to go back to C.C.P.D. and do some research to figure out how to help your son."

Helena sighed with relief, closing her eyes as she pressed a hand against her chest. "Thank God," she breathed. "Thank you, Detectives. Please help Ralphie. He came to his mother for help, I intend to get him help."

"And he will get it," Joe said sincerely. He turned to Sebastián, moving his face close to his ear. "Go get a picture of the handprint."

Sebastián nodded and made his way to the bathroom while Helena escorted Joe to the front door. He pulled out his phone and went to the edge of the mirror where he and Joe had both seen the handprint on the other side of the mirror; the handprint that couldn't be wiped away.

────────

"Joe, please just-just level with me, okay?" Sebastián had pulled Joe aside into one of the empty interrogation rooms. He was pacing back and forth along the length of the wall, rubbing his hands together uncomfortably. "What... exactly are we dealing with here? I know I'm new; I know that Central City is used to this kind of stuff by now but I have to — I have to know what's going on here, okay?"

Joe stood stock still. Patience emanated from his very being, his shoulders were relaxed and his stance was calming. He stood with his hands deep in his pockets, those sad eyes of his watching Sebastián's every movement. "Sebastián," he spoke slowly, enunciating every syllable, and calmly. This caught the attention of his partner now. "I know this is a lot to deal with, okay? I understand, I went through the same thing after what happened with S.T.A.R. Labs. It's a hell of an adjustment."

Sebastián nodded. His pacing ceased as he turned to look at Joe now.

"But I need your head in the game, yeah?" Joe stepped closer to Sebastián, reaching a gentle hand out to touch his shoulder. The gesture reminded Sebastián of something a father would do to comfort his son; something he had never experienced but had seen many times around him. "I promise that, after this case, we can talk about all of this... craziness... in Central City, but we have to figure out what's going on to prevent anybody getting hurt."

"I-I understand." Sebastián let out a low breath. He told himself to calm down, and his heartbeat slowed.

"You got that picture of the handprint?" Joe stepped back, walking to the door of the interrogation room. He opened it and allowed Sebastián to exit first.

"Yeah," Sebastián nodded quickly, pulling out his phone as they walked into the hub. "Yeah it's right here. What are we going to do with it?"

"You're a detective, aren't you?" Joe sassed. "What do you normally do?"

Sebastián faltered, looking into his mind for the answer that was staring him in the face. "We give it to forensics," he replied. "See if they can get a fingerprint to match it to a suspect, or victim. Anything that tells us more about the situation is helpful, so while forensics looks at the handprint, we can investigate the other angle of his thesis with his friend, Jason." Sebastián looked at Joe, uncertain if he had missed anything.

Joe smiled now. He started walking to the stairs, knowing Sebastián would follow. "Let's go to forensics then," he suggested. "You can finally meet my son."

"Oh," Sebastián smiled now, raking a hand through his hair quickly to make it more presentable. "Sounds great. What did you say his name was—?"

Sebastián's words dried in his throat when they turned into the familiar forensics lab. Sitting at the far end, loading micro-centrifuge tubes into the brand new centrifuge, was the very man Sebastián had almost run over the day prior. Upon hearing the familiar voice of his father, Barry Allen looked up from his work, smiling brightly at Joe. When he turned to look at Sebastián, his smile faltered.

     "Sebastián?"

     "Barry?"

     Barry rose from his seat, walking halfway to meet the two detectives. He shoved his hands deep in his back pockets, awkwardly staring at Sebastián until a small smile returned to his lips.

     Sebastián returned the greeting, but Joe stepped forward. His face was an unread map of confusion. "Hold up," he glanced between his partner and his son. "You guys already know each other?"

     Barry's smile never faltered. He nodded and Sebastián stepped in to explain. "Yeah, he's the guy from yesterday that I—"

     "—Steamrolled—"

     "—Nearly steamrolled, thank you very much, Mr. Allen." Sebastián corrected Barry, shaking his head. His hands found their way to his hips as he stood and looked to Joe.

     If Joe was shocked to hear it, he did an amazing job of hiding it from his partner, though Barry could see right through him. "Oh," he shuffled his stance a little. "Well that saves us some time with introductions."

     "Sorry," Barry interjected, stepping closer to Sebastián. "I knew you were the transfer from Greenville, but are you Joe's partner now?"

     Sebastián looked back and forth from father to son, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Yeah. Yeah, that's me, Joe's partner. Why?"

     "Well I didn't know that Elijah quit..." Barry took his hands from his pockets, wrapping them around his chest now as he rocked back on his heels. "Um—" Barry noticed Sebastián's look of confusion. "Elijah Scott was Joe's partner before you."

     "Oh..." Sebastián understood now. He understood why Joe hadn't realized who Sebastián was. His old partner, this Elijah Scott, whoever he was, had resigned without telling his partner which left Captain Singh to deal with the replacement. "Oh, I'm... sorry? That's tough."

     Joe nodded, more to himself, and looked away. He motioned to Sebastián. "Tell him about the handprint."

     Sebastián stepped away from Joe now, cautiously, as he approached Barry. He pulled up the picture of the reverse-handprint on his phone, giving it to the only real CSI in the room. "So we got a call today," he explained as Barry took a seat with the phone. "From an old woman who claims she saw her son in the mirror behind her. We went to talk to her awhile ago and... found that handprint on the other side of the mirror. It couldn't be removed."

     Barry remained silent. His intense examination of the picture gave Sebastián a chance to properly notice his rather striking features. Barry's green eyes moved to take in the smallest details of the picture, bringing it closer to his face. His dark brown hair, where it had once been ruffled by Sebastián's inattention to his surroundings, was neatly brushed back now and looked as soft as a cat's pelt. The smooth jawline, sloping cheekbones, his pale skin — he was gorgeous.

     Sebastián meant that thought, too. He wasn't trying to think of Barry in any crude way, but it was a mere fact that the man holding his phone right now was a very handsome male of the human species.

     Barry pulled the phone away from his face now, returning it back to Sebastián. He rubbed a hand on his arm slowly. "It definitely looks like something a meta would leave behind," he answered their unspoken question, eyes flickering between the two before resting on Sebastián. "But I'll run the image of one of the fingerprints through IAFIS for you to confirm an identity."

     Sebastián nodded.

     "Alright," Joe reached out and patted Barry on the shoulder. "Thanks, Barr. See you for lunch?"

     Barry smiled brightly at Joe, head bobbing up and down in confirmation. "Yep. See ya." He called out, turning to Sebastián now. "Could you maybe stay for a few minutes? I have to upload the picture you took into IAFIS."

     Sebastián paused, nodding quickly. "Yeah," he responded quietly. Sebastián pulled out his phone again, handing it to Barry as he pulled a USB cord from a desk drawer. "Sure."

     Taking his phone, Barry plugged it in directly to the C.C.P.D. lab computer, which had a direct link to the IAFIS — Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System — network. He quickly found the picture and transferred a copy into the network. After the program started working through the database, Barry promptly returned Sebastián's phone to him.

     "There you go, Mr. Belmonte," Barry smiled cheekily. "I'll let you or Joe know when it's done."

     Sebastián pocketed his phone again. "Thank you, Mr. Allen," he responded in kind. "Hey, uh," Sebastián searched for the right words, "could I maybe ask you a few questions before I go?"

     Barry rose his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "Wha—um, right now? You wanna ask me a few questions right now?"

     An amused smile crossed Sebastián's face. He nodded. "Yeah, if that's alright. I don't want to waste your time, I know you're busy but there's... certain things I just don't understand."

     Barry crossed the lab, beckoning Sebastián to follow him as they sat down by his desk. Behind Barry, IAFIS was running through hundreds of fingerprints every few seconds, continuing its program in the background. "What don't you understand?"

     "Um... this-this whole 'meta-human' business I guess." Sebastián sighed, feeling stupid as he looked down to the ground. He knew how it must have looked to the CSI in front of him but he didn't particularly care at the moment, he just wanted it all to make sense. "What's a meta-human, exactly? I read something about them but I still can't grasp it."

     Sebastián slowly rose his eyes to look at Barry. The former was re-positioning himself in his seat, avoiding Sebastián's gaze awkwardly. Barry cleared his throat.

     "Well, I know how it must sound to someone who's never seen one before," Barry stated. "But a meta-human is someone with special abilities. They can do things."

     "Like what?"

     Barry shifted again. "Like... control the weather," he started counting on his fingers. "Freeze someone with a single touch, see the possible future, morph parts of their body into metal."

     Sebastián sat up straighter now. "... and run really fast?"

     Barry's eyes widened, he rubbed his hands together now until his knuckles turned white. "I'm sorry — what?" He sounded disgruntled.

     "Well..." Sebastián rubbed a hand against the back of his neck awkwardly. He could feel the embarrassment rising to his cheeks. "I read that Central City's had one meta-human above all others: the Flash. Is he—" Sebastián leaned closer to Barry, an intensity lighting his eyes. "Is he actually a real thing?"

     Barry held Sebastián's gaze for a few undisturbed moments. Then, without warning, he  laughed very loudly. Barry moved a hand to cover his mouth, but his eyes still laughed back at Sebastián.

     "What's so funny?" Sebastián asked, pink tinting his cheeks.

     "Nothing," Barry dismissed. "It's nothing, I swear. It's just—" he laughed again. "The Flash is real, okay? I've seen him with my own eyes."

     "What was he like?" Sebastián questioned, brow furrowing down.

     Barry suddenly floundered. "Uh — well, he's-he's just a normal guy, right? Besides, I didn't even talk to him or anything, he was too busy fighting other meta-humans."

     Sebastián nodded after a moment, accepting the answer. He could see that Barry was holding back. With what? He couldn't tell, but he knew when to not push boundaries. "Thank you," Sebastián smiled down at Barry as he stood. "You've been a big help, Mr. Allen."

     Barry quickly rose to walk Sebastián to the exit of his lab. He smiled in return, bright green eyes sparkling with amusement. "You're welcome, Mr. Belmonte, I'm glad I could help you better understand the physicality of Central City and all of our—"

     "—Extremely weird—"

     "—Meta-humans." Barry paused and processed that they'd just said the same thing. He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, that," he added as an afterthought.

     Sebastián rubbed his hands together, smiled, and departed from Barry's lab. "See you around, Allen."

     "You too, Belmonte."