⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
trapped

⊱ ──────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ──────── ⊰

JULIET FOLLOWED AFTER Barry into the treadmill room, watching as he buttoned his shirt back up after getting out of his suit. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile, placing her hand on his back and rubbing it comfortingly. Barry gave her a sort-of strained smile back and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head — something that had become so normal, but still managed to make her weak to her knees.

"Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells stated, and she looked back to see him coming into the room. Juliet's eyes slightly narrowed at him and she felt the familiar itching of energy at her fingertips, but she ignored it. "Tonight, at the fire, I saw hesitation. I saw you doubting yourself. Why is that?"

"I don't know," Barry answered, starting to pull on his jacket, which made Juliet drop her hand from his back. "Uh, I guess I was afraid I couldn't save everyone, even with J there."

He then reached down, taking Juliet's hand in his. She immediately laced their fingers together, and the two headed over to the door.

"Right," Dr. Wells agreed. But if there is anything that I have learned in our time together, Barry, it is that the only thing standing in the way of you achieving every goal that you set for yourself is you." His eyes slid over to Juliet, and she felt a shiver go up her spine. "The same goes for you, Ms. St. James. There is no limit to how strong you two will get or how fast you will go or how powerful you will become. Everything that you need, you already have."

Juliet fucking hated how much she took those words to her heart. She shouldn't, considering he was a lying evil speedster from the future, but . . . shit, those were really good words of inspiration.

"Thank you, Dr. Wells," Barry replied. The two headed back over to the door, but Barry paused for a second. "You know, we couldn't have done any of this without you."

"I feel the same way about you both," Dr. Wells revealed.

Juliet slightly tugged on Barry's hand, urging her to come along with her. The two walked down the hallway, and Juliet could tell from how tense he was, and how tense she was, that him being so nice to them when he was actually a horrible person was making them all kinds of confused.

They went back to Joe's house. Juliet sat on the couch, her knees tucked up to her chest, her gaze set on the coffee table in front of her. Barry sat on top of one of the tables in the living room while Joe stood in the dining room, leaning against the chair as he listened to them.

"It's so strange," Barry admitted. "I mean, I — I look at him now, and I know that he killed my mom and he sent my dad to jail, but, I mean, sometimes he's just so kind, in the moment, I actually like him."

"Same," Juliet voiced. She then looked up at Joe. "But you didn't. Never did, actually."

"No," Joe confirmed.

"No," Barry repeated softly. "Well, at least now we know how to trap him. I mean, in Cisco's dream, he confessed to everything. If we can just recreate those conditions, he'll do it again."

"Man, Barr. Taking down bad guys, pulling confessions. I'm the cop. I'm the one that's supposed to be doing this."

"Look, if we're gonna get him to confess, it has to be with someone that he truly trusts, someone that he'll genuinely let his guard down with. He thinks of Cisco as a son."

"Well, then we need to do a better job protecting him than I did protecting you and Jules," Joe said.

Juliet's eyebrows knit in confusion, and she slightly straightened up. "What do you mean?"

"Juliet, Barry, this is all because of me."

Barry shook his head while Juliet frowned. "No."

"I never should've let Wells take you two from that hospital. None of this would've ever happened," Joe insisted.

Barry rounded around the couch, placing his hands on Juliet's shoulders. "If you hadn't let him take us, we would be dead, for sure."

"But even then, I knew something wasn't right. Everything in my gut was telling me not to trust him, but I did, because I was so desperate to see you two okay. Hell, I even convinced Juliet's parents to let it happen."

"This isn't your fault, Joe," Juliet protested. "It really isn't. Every bad thing that has happened to us was because of him. And because of it, he's going to pay for it."

ϟ ···················· ϟ ···················· ϟ

HER EYES WERE trained on the contraption in front of her — the force field trap that they had come up with during Christmas, the very same one that Dr. Wells messed with by putting a hologram in. Juliet watched the hologram of the Reverse Flash in the very center of the force field, slight anger rising up in her veins.

"So, Wells set up a fake showdown with a fake opponent who was never really there?" Eddie asked, who they had just explained everything to.

"He figured if we saw both of them together it would prove that he wasn't the Man in Yellow," Barry responded.

"This all just keeps getting crazier and crazier."

Caitlin then came out of the elevator. "I just talked to Dr. Wells. He's attending a lecture downtown, won't be back until five."

"All right, Cisco, you know when he gets here you need to be working on the trap so he sees you set off the hologram," Barry reminded him.

"Hold on, isn't that, in your dream, when everything went all . . ." Joe trailed off.

"Kali Ma," Cisco finished. "Temple of Doom. Yeah, that definitely happened. But this time, I'm ready for him." He walked up into the trap. "I originally designed the force field to keep a speedster from getting out. But I've reversed it. Now, it won't let one in."

He pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed it. The force field instantly set up around the whole trap. Cisco look straight at Barry and gestured for him to come at him with his finger.

"Back up," Barry said.

Juliet and the others all backed away to give Barry some space. She watched as Barry's yellow lightning ran straight at the trap, but he was instantly blown back, slamming into a metal cart. Juliet's eyes widened in shock before she let out a laugh, quickly covering it with her hand.

"Barry, are you okay?" Caitlin questioned.

He rolled over on the ground onto his back. "Ah. It works."

Juliet smiled down at him. She extended her hand out, and he used it to pull himself up, playfully glaring at her at how small laughs were still spilling past her lips. He ducked his head down, letting his forehead fall against the top of her head. Juliet laughed again and ran her hand up and down his side over the fabric of his shirt.

"Okay, as long as I'm inside, Wells won't be able to get near me," Cisco voiced.

"And I will be in the cortex watching and recording everything that happens," Caitlin added.

"As soon as we get our confession to free Henry, Barry and I will move in," Juliet replied, and Barry picked his head up.

"So what do I do?" Eddie inquired.

"Wells also threatened Iris and Noelle, so if something goes wrong here, we need you to keep an eye on Iris until Wells is neutralized," Joe instructed, and Juliet's heart clenched at the mention of her little sister being in danger.

"I'll always keep Iris safe, Joe," Eddie promised before walking away.

Juliet and Barry glanced at each other before looking at Joe.

Joe noticed them. "What?"

"Come on," Juliet urged. The three went out into the hallway, but Juliet looked up at Joe worryingly. "What about Noelle? I mean, I know she has a roommate out in National City, but I don't think either of them are really equipped to handle an evil speedster."

"I asked Noelle to go stay with your parents for a couple of days," Joe reassured her. "She'll be safe there."

Juliet nodded, but she wasn't fully convinced. "Okay. Um, anyways . . . Eddie told Barry and I how you shut down his proposal."

"That was supposed to be between him and me."

"And I agree, but he just came to us because we're both extremely close with Iris." Juliet put her hands in the pocket of her jacket. "It's really not the time, but Joe . . . why? Why'd you say no?"

"Because if Eddie proposes to Iris, she's gonna get caught up in the moment and the romance, and she's gonna say yes," Joe admitted.

Juliet blinked. "That's, like, the whole point."

"Because one day she's gonna wake up and realize she married the wrong guy. But she'll stay anyway because she made a promise. I don't want that kind of life for her. Or him."

Iris West-Thawne.

"Eddie isn't the wrong guy," Juliet insisted, trying to tell Joe that they were meant to be without really telling him what they saw on that newspaper. "You might not believe me right now, but he isn't. Eddie makes Iris so incredibly happy and she would marry him in a heartbeat. Maybe just . . . think about it. Please." Her phone then buzzed, and Juliet pulled it out, seeing it was a text from Iris. She looked up at Barry. "Nine-one-one text. Come on."

Juliet extended her hand out to Barry, and he took it. She immediately teleported them to the CCPD in a secluded area in the hallway. The two walked down the hallway and into their lab, where Iris was waiting.

"Hey," Barry greeted.

"Hi," Iris replied.

"What's going on?"

"Look, Barry, Jules, I know it's not a good time. I mean, lately, it never seems to be a good time, but I need you two to listen to me right now. Like — like, really listen to me."

Juliet leaned against Barry's desk, squeezing his hand gently for a moment. "We're listening."

"Okay, I mean I know this is gonna sound really crazy at first, but . . ." Iris began before pushing a red folder into Barry's chest. "Everything strange that's been going on in Central City, it all goes back to that night. The night that the Particle Accelerator exploded. I have gone through every bit of information that I've collected since I started my blog, every tip, every rumor, every strange sighting. Nothing predates the explosion."

Barry let go of Juliet's hand to open the folder. Juliet peered over his shoulder to see a bunch of papers inside, everything from photographs to news articles.

"Whatever was released into the atmosphere that night, I think it changed people. Caused them to have powers. And I think that S.T.A.R. Labs knew about it. I think the Burning Man worked there, and I think that's how the Flash and Scarlet got their powers too."

Juliet glanced up at Barry for a quick moment, panic rising up in her chest. Iris was truly too smart for her own good sometimes. They couldn't confirm this theory, even though it was correct.

"Uh . . ." Barry trailed off.

"So what do you think?" Iris asked.

"I . . . I don't know. I mean, it's — it's interesting. Yeah, it's interesting. It's — there's — there's just a big hole in your theory. Um, you know . . . J and I were affected by whatever was released by the explosion, and we don't have any powers."

"Obviously. Look, I mean, I know that it's — it's really mind-blowing. I mean, I haven't even talked to Eddie about it yet, but—"

"Eddie," Juliet cut in, smiling at Iris brightly. "Hey, let's talk about Eddie. You and I haven't had a girl chat in a while, so, uh . . . you two okay?"

Iris immediately looked confused. "Um, yeah. We're fine. Why?"

West-Thawne. West-Thawne. West-Thawne.

"No reason, just checking in," Juliet responded casually. "How about you let Barry and I read over everything, and then we can talk about it later, yeah? Promise." Juliet then grabbed the folder and Barry's hand — again — and started to walk out of the lab. "We'll let you know when we're done."

Juliet never thought that she would be caught up in such a lie that would make her try to prove that a man who she once saw as a hero was actually an evil speedster from the future, but here she was. Sounds fucking crazy, doesn't it?

The plan was commencing. Caitlin had said to them, from the cortex, that Dr. Wells was coming. Juliet, Barry, and Joe hid behind some canisters in the bunker, peering through them to watch everything unfold. Cisco stood in front of the trap, staring at the hologram of the Reverse Flash.

Suddenly, the elevator door opened. Juliet peered through two of the canisters, and her heart immediately sunk while her veins filled with anger. Dr. Wells was out of his wheelchair, standing, walking, towards Cisco with his glasses off.

"Hello, Cisco," Dr. Wells greeted. Cisco turned towards him, and Dr. Wells clapped. "You've been busy." He chuckled. "You really are incredibly clever, Cisco. I've always said it."

Cisco had a pained expression on his face. "You're him. The Reverse Flash. Joe was right this whole time, wasn't he?"

"Good ol' Joe." He closed Cisco's computer on the table. "Joe West had his doubts all along. Even from that first night in the hospital, Joe knew something wasn't right. Cops, as inconvenient now as they will be in a hundred years."

"Come on, Cisco," Barry muttered. "We need a confession."

"You killed Barry's mother," Cisco stated. "I wanna know why."

"It was never my intention to kill Nora," Dr. Wells revealed, raising his hand up into the air. "But from my perspective, she was already dead. It just happened sooner than it was supposed to."

Joe shook his head. "No. That's not an admission."

Cisco stumbled backwards. He fell onto the trap, scooting back farther into it.

"Oops," Dr. Wells commented.

Cisco scrambled to his feet, pulling the remote from his pocket. "You're not gonna get away with this."

Dr. Wells stepped up onto the trap. "I'm not gonna get away with it?"

Cisco pressed on the remote, and the force field surrounded him. Juliet slightly straightened up, the energy she felt in her hand basically begging to be released.

Dr. Wells started to laugh. "Oh, you're smart. You're smart, Cisco." He then stepped straight into the trap, right past the force field, and Juliet's eyes widened. "But you're not that smart."

He raised his hand higher, advancing on Cisco. Joe then got out from behind the canister and pulled out his gun, firing multiple shots at Dr. Wells.

"No!" Barry shouted.

He sped forwards in a flash of yellow lightning to stop the bullets. However, he got blown back from the force field, and the bullet went straight into Dr. Wells' heart. Juliet ran out from behind the canisters, her chest heaving up and down as she got up into the trap, tucking her hair behind her ears in panic as she looked down at Dr. Wells. No, no no no—

"He didn't confess," Barry protested.

Caitlin, who had apparently run down from the cortex, walked up into the trap. "Cisco, are you okay?"

Cisco's eyes were trained on Dr. Wells. "Yeah, I'm never ever gonna sleep ever again, but, yeah, I'm okay."

Caitlin knelt down and checked his pulse. "He's dead."

"He didn't confess," Barry repeated in a broken voice, and Juliet could see the tears in his eyes. She reached down, placing his hand on the back of his neck. "Joe, this was it. My dad's gonna be in prison forever."

"Barry, I'm sorry," Joe told him.

"Hey, uh . . ." Cisco began. "Woah." Dr. Wells' body morphed away, going into the blank canvas of Hannibal Bates. Juliet suddenly lost all of her breath inside of her, her eyes widening even more, if that was possible. "What the hell?"

"I told you this before," Dr. Wells' voice echoed from all around them. Barry stood back up from his crouched position, and Juliet clutched onto his arm. "I am always one step ahead . . . Flash. Allow me to reintroduce to you Mr. Hannibal Bates and his incredible ability to transform into any person he touches. I knew that ability would come in handy. I did not expect it to come in handy this soon."

"You used him!" Barry shouted angrily, and Juliet followed after him as he started to move around the room, still holding onto his arm as her jaw clenched in anger. "Like you used all of us!"

"Well, he served a purpose. Didn't take much convincing. Just the simple promise of his freedom."

"You ruined my life! All of our lives!"

"We stood by you after everything that happened," Caitlin added.

"I can see how this must be difficult for you to understand, but trust me, your lives now are so much better because of what I have done for you," Dr. Wells stated.

"You don't have to hide anymore," Joe called. "We know you're not Harrison Wells. Just tell us who you are."

"A confession will get you nowhere. You've seen who I am. You know what I can do."

"You want to kill me, go ahead," Barry voiced, and Juliet glanced over at him, hurt flashing across her features. "I'm not gonna fight you. But just tell the police what you did. Get my dad out of prison."

"I don't want to kill you, Barry," Dr. Wells replied. "I need you, and I need Juliet. And . . . I also did not anticipate, as difficult as the past fifteen years have been for me, how much I would come to love working with you two. With all of you. And yet, that does not change what needs to happen."

"Then face us now," Juliet argued, tears pricking at the back of her eyes. "You're hiding away like a coward."

"Oh, we will face each other again. I promise you. Soon. Very, very soon."

"He's in the Time Vault!" Cisco yelled.

Juliet felt Barry take her waist in his arms and speed them away. As soon as it started, it was over. He landed them in the doorway of the Time Vault. She continued holding onto his arm as they walked in. Dr. Wells wasn't there. The yellow suit of the Reverse Flash was gone, the display no longer lit up. His wheelchair was there, too, in front of it.

But that wasn't it.

Up at the other side of the room, where that news article had been and where Gideon had talked to them, was a collage of videos. Videos of everyone — Juliet, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Joe, Eddie, Iris, Noelle. He had been watching them.

What a creep.

"It was all a set-up," Barry said quietly. "We thought we set a trap for him, but he set a trap for us."

Juliet's eyes then set on two of the videos, and her heart dropped all the way to her stomach. One of them was of Iris at the Central City Picture News, talking to Mason Bridge. And another was of Noelle in her apartment at National City, laughing on her couch with her roommate.

"Noelle," Juliet breathed out, her voice shaking. "Iris." She looked up at her boyfriend. "Barry—"

He put his arms around her again. "Come on."

Barry sped them into the cortex, where Cisco, Caitlin, and Joe had moved to after the whole thing. Juliet untangled herself from Barry and walked right up to the mannequin that had her suit.

"We have to find Iris and Noelle," Barry insisted.

"Why?" Joe questioned.

"Wells has been watching all of us," Juliet answered in a panicked voice. "There's surveillance footage set up everywhere. Our homes, Barry and I's lab at the CCPD, Central City Picture News." Her eyes filled with tears. "Noelle's apartment in National City."

"Cisco, call us when you have a location," Barry insisted.

Juliet looked up at him. "I have—"

"I know." Barry kissed her quickly. "Go."

She nodded and immediately teleported into her suit. Juliet then teleported to her parents' house, landing on the familiar street underneath a porch light. She looked through the big window, and immediately, relief set throughout her body. Both of her parents were sitting on the couch on either side of Noelle, their laughing faces illuminated by the TV screen.

They were okay. But Iris potentially couldn't be.

Juliet lifted up her hand, red energy traveling between her fingers. She imagined a force field around the house, one that would protect her house from speed, like what Cisco had built. Before her very eyes, she watched as red energy started to surround her house, almost encasing it in a bubble. Once her entire house was surrounded, she lowered her hand, and the red faded away, turning invisible.

She had no idea if it would work, but she had a feeling it would. Juliet then teleported away from her parents and little sister, back into the cortex.

"Noelle and mom and dad are fine," Juliet reported. "I surrounded the house with energy, they should be fine. Where's 'Ris?"

"At the bridge!" Cisco exclaimed. "Go!"

Juliet's eyes widened and she immediately teleproted away. She landed on the bridge, only to see the red lightning of the Reverse Flash speed away with Eddie in his arms. Iris was there on her knees in agony from her boyfriend being swept away from someone who ruined Barry's life. Barry then sped in next to her, and Juliet locked eyes with him, saying that she would deal with Iris. He gave her a small nod, and lightning flickered in his eyes before he chased after the Reverse Flash.

"Iris," Juliet let out, sinking to her knees next to her. She blurred her face and vibrated her vocal cords, just like she always did. Iris scooted away from her. "Hey, it's me, it's okay."

"He took him," Iris stated. "The Man in the Yellow, he took Eddie."

"I know, Flash just ran after him. Him and I are going to do everything in our power to find him, okay? I promise."

"What is happening?" Iris inquired.

Juliet took Iris' forearms in her hands and helped her stand up. "Listen to me. Go home and don't say anything to anyone. I promise that Flash and I will bring him back, all right? I swear."

"Wait, Scarlet—" Iris started to say when Scarlet's figure started to materialize away.

However, right when Scarlet teleported, one of her fingerless gloves slipped down, revealing a ring that had been covered by the leather of her glove, one that nobody had seen ever before on the superhero until now. Right on her finger was a silver band with the Sagittarius symbol on it, one that was the very same as the one Iris always wore, but just with a Cancer symbol. Iris stared at the spot where Scarlet once stood, her eyes widening in realization and her heart sinking all the way to her stomach.

Christmas.

Matching rings.

Twin fire signs.

Juliet.

〖 ϟ 〗

I love how barry always wears converse he's just like me fr

anyways . . .

thank you guys SO SO SO much for letting this book get to 100k reads! state of grace is officially part of the 100k club on my account which is a club I never even knew would be a thing! and when writing this story I never thought it would grow as much as it did! so once again THANK YOU! y'all have all of my love! mwah <3

gif by zcndayas!