A/N: Right! So this story started based off of a Tumblr post/conversation and the urge to write this was just too strong to avoid it. The idea was that if Eddie, rather than Joe, had been the first to learn about Barry's powers, how would everything have changed? Naturally, a lot. It's a slow start, but I promise it will get better. Just have to lay down the track. Please read, review and enjoy!

-BG

PS I hope you enjoy this, Hedgi!

Barely two hours out of being in a nine-month coma, Barry was still dealing with the insanity that had become his life. After what happened to him at Jitters, he'd barely had a moment to process what the strange phenomenon could have been when Iris dragged him into the police precinct and he was immediately set upon by almost every employee on the pay roll. Part of him felt almost claustrophobic by the time they got up to the main bullpen, the need to escape and get away from it all almost suffocating. The anxiety instantly vanished though as he saw the joy and relief on Joe's face and his foster father made his way over, enveloping Barry in a tight hug. Barry returned it without question, all too glad for the hug.

"You scared the Hell out of us, kid," said Joe as he released Barry, grinning widely.

"Yep, that was quite the nap you took there, Baby Face, and you still look twelve," said Officer Vukuvich as he passed, giving Barry a good natured smile which Barry returned, chuckling.

"You look okay," said Joe, putting a hand on Barry's shoulder, "Are you really?"

Barry hesitated for the scarcest of seconds. "Yeah." Joe gave him a knowing look and seemed to be about to question him further when they were interrupted.

"Detective West." Barry turned to see the dispatch officer approaching. "We've got a 5.15 in progress at Gold City Bank, two dead. Storm's really picking up on the South Side. I'd grab your rain gear."

"I'm sorry, Barry. I've gotta run." Joe headed for his desk, grabbing his jacket.

"Do you need my help?" asked Barry, part of him eager to get back to something normal happening in his life once again.

"No, you take it easy. There'll be plenty for you to do once you settle in." Joe turned his head briefly. "Let's go, partner." Joe turned briefly to Iris, giving her arm a reassuring pat before heading for the door.

"Hey, Allen. Glad to see you."

Barry was almost relieved to see Eddie Thawne who was donning his jacket with a genuinely pleased smile. He smiled back at the former Keystone cop, feeling better about the man than he had after their first interaction. Eddie, in comparison to the others, was giving Barry his space, something he needed very much. "Thanks, Eddie."

Eddie turned, looking toward Iris. "Hey, Iris."

"Detective, you should go. My dad doesn't like to be kept waiting," replied Iris, her tone brisk and almost bitter. Barry glanced sideways toward his best friend, wondering why she was acting that way toward Eddie.

Surprisingly, Eddie seemed to let it roll off his shoulders, taking it in stride. He headed in the same direction Joe had disappeared, giving Barry a friendly slap on the arm on his way past. "Glad you're back."

Barry relished the feeling of normalcy that lingered in Joe and Eddie's wake, trying to clutch to the last sense of the old Barry that had chased after the impossible, but never quite reached it. Sadly, the normalcy didn't last for long.

The next few hours were a blur for Eddie as he ran across the bullpen, taking statement from witness after witness. He and Joe had arrived at the Gold City Bank just a few minutes after a massive storm had finished soaking the South Side, a storm which everyone had said came out of nowhere. Two people had died from their injuries sustained when the bank's stain glass roof had inexplicably blown in during the robbery. Somehow, from what the various videos taken by witnesses had revealed, the storm had somehow entered the building via the stained-glass roof and wreaked havoc throughout the bank, creating enough of a distraction that the robber had gotten away free and clear with almost 200 grand.

The more Eddie read the witness statements and reviewed the video footage, the more and more it looked like one of the strange incidents that Barry Allen would discuss on his blog. Iris had turned him onto it after the two had begun dating with the idea that, while Barry was in the coma, Eddie could at least gain a better understanding of his girlfriend's foster brother. Originally, he had pictured Barry as a rather shy, mad scientist kind of character, but looking at the evidence on this case, he wasn't so sure he might consider Barry a 'mad' scientist, but rather an open-minded scientist. Hell, if this was one of Barry's 'wide world of weird' cases, Eddie was almost certain that the CSI would want in on this. First of all, he'd have to find him though. Maybe Iris would know where he was.

Eddie slung on his jacket, his mind formulating a plan as he copied a few of the video files to a flash drive to give Barry. Technically, it wasn't illegal since Barry was one of them, but it wasn't exactly legal either since the CSI still was on medical leave.

"Hey, Joe." Eddie caught his partner's attention as he slipped the USB into his pocket. "I'm going to do a coffee run. Can I get you anything?"

Joe gave him a grateful nod. "Yeah, I could go for some coffee. You know how I usually take it, right?"

"Dark roast with a splash of half and half and a three sugars," recited Eddie, pleased that he remembered how Joe usually took his coffee.

"If you're heading to Jitters, just tell Iris it's for me," said Joe, "If she's not on shift, it's a double cap, one sugar and no foam." Eddie gave him a look. "I only have three packets of sugar when I have to drink the swill we make here."

Eddie chuckled. Joe was not wrong about that. You'd think they would have invested in better coffee already for cops. "You got it. Be back soon."

"Ok, partner." Joe sent another nod Eddie's way before hurrying off to go brief Captain Singh again.

Eddie headed out of the precinct, his mind racing the whole drive as he tried to think what he would say to Joe later after he consulted Barry about the case and if it did prove to be evidence of one of Barry's fantastical cases. He had no doubt that the senior detective would not be pleased with Eddie's initiative.

All thoughts of a conflict with Joe shot out the window after he arrived to Jitter's and Barry happened upon Eddie and Iris kissing. The look on Barry's face hadn't just been one of betrayal, but also heartbreak. Whatever it was, the moment he saw the look, Eddie changed his mind about discussing the case with Barry. He'd have to do it sometime after the CSI had time to collect himself and Iris had had time to talk their relationship over with her foster brother. Hopefully, Iris could smooth things over sooner rather than later though. Something told Eddie that his hunch about the strange nature of this case was only the tip of the iceberg and he and Joe were going to need all the help they could get before the case was over.

Barry stalked away from his foster father, trying to figure out whom he was angrier with: Joe or Dr. Wells.

All Barry had tried to do was warn Joe that Clyde Mardon was alive and that he was extremely dangerous. Sadly, Joe continued to be entirely oblivious and adamantly against the truth about the world around them and the strange things that were happening. It had only taken one word about the supernatural today to set Joe off, making the detective far crosser with Barry than he had been in a long time. It had been both embarrassing and shameful for Joe to yell at him in such a public setting and with so many of his coworkers around, not to mention Iris. If he had hurt Joe's feelings by just walking away, he didn't mind. Joe's words had hurt him and he wanted his foster father to know just how badly they had hurt.

Then there was Dr. Wells.

Dr. Wells had lied to him. Clearly, more people had been affected by the particle accelerator than STAR Labs cared to admit and Dr. Wells and his team were doing nothing to repair the damage and the chaos their machine had wrought. In fact, it seemed almost like they were purposely making sure that no one ever found out about the existence of people like Barry and Clyde Mardon.

Another wave of fury raced through Barry and he clenched his fists even tighter at his sides. He had another good shouting match in him and he was saving it up for Harrison Wells.

Barry briefly heard Eddie talking to Joe about a sketch of the bank robber from their other case today and the resemblance between the sketch and Clyde Mardon, but chose to take off running for STAR Labs rather than turn back around to see what he knew would be a confused and ashamed look on Joe's face. He needed to let out all this frustration before he even tried talking to Joe again and Harrison Wells was looking like an all too welcome target right about now.

"I'm not saying Mardon is alive," said Joe, glancing at his partner who shot him a look of disbelief. Eddie was a good cop, but sometimes Joe missed the mutual skepticism that Chyre used to share with him. He knew Eddie had read Barry's blog and obviously believed that this was exactly like one of Barry's so called 'wide world of weird' cases as Eddie had so eloquently put it. Joe sighed and continued. "But if he was, this was the last place him and his brother hid out." He pulled out his weapon clicking off the safety.

"Let's go then," said Eddie, drawing his weapon and flanking Joe as they entered the barn doors. In the center of the room there was a man sitting on a stool, his back to them. A lamp hung dimly over the man, creating an eerie air about the place that chilled Joe to the core. The thought struck him that he hadn't been to the farm since the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Since the night Chyre died.

"Mardon?" Joe said, trying to hide the hesitation that crept into his voice. It couldn't be… "On your feet. Hands on your head."

"You got me." Mardon chuckled and stood slowly, his head turned ever so slight so Joe could properly see the profile of his face despite the darkness

The sound of Mardon's oh so familiar voice sent a shiver up Joe's spine, not to mention the sight of the man's face. It was him. It actually was Clyde Mardon. Barry had been right. If Barry had been right about this, what else had he been right about? He was going to need to give Barry one Hell of an apology when this was over with.

Joe glanced at Eddie who gave him an affirming nod. Eddie kept his weapon trained at Mardon while Joe holstered his own, reaching for his cuffs.

"The night of the storm, after S.T.A.R. Labs blew, after our plane went down and I woke up on the ground alive, when I saw what I can do. I understood." Joe watched Mardon carefully as the man continued to ramble on. "I am God."

"Shut the Hell up." Joe took a step toward Mardon, Eddie following his lead, as the bank robber and murderer stepped slightly left and away from the stool, his hands raised, but his back still to them.

"Turn around," ordered Eddie.

Mardon kept his back to him, his hands moving ever so slightly. Joe could have sworn it was a trick of the lighting, but it looked like wisps of some sort of cloud building in Mardon's hands.

In the split second it took for Joe to register this, Mardon was moving, throwing whatever the stuff was backwards at the two police officers. Joe hit the wall hard, his head taking the brunt of the impact and filling his vision with stars. He tried to open his eyes, the world both blurry and dim around the edges. He sensed rather than felt Eddie race to his side, checking his pulse before his world suddenly went pitch black and he succumbed to the darkness.

"Joe!" Gasped out Eddie, still winded from the force at which he had been slammed into the bales of hay. He scrambled to recover his weapon, racing to Joe's side in time to see his partner slip unconscious. Eddie checked his pulse, finding it steady, but faint. He needed medical attention. That was if they got out of this alive.

"Do you think that your guns can stop God?" Mardon looked drunk with power as he turned to face the two cops.

Eddie's hand instinctively reached for the Saint Michael's medallion around his neck. His mother had given it to him the day he graduated from the Academy and he almost never took it off. Somehow, the feeling of the cold silver in his fingers steeled his resolve and brought a retort to Eddie's lips, a retort that Eddie was pretty sure Joe would have said if their positons had been reversed.

"Why the Hell would God need to rob banks?" snapped Eddie, leveling his weapon at Mardon.

A stunned expression made its way across Mardon's face for the briefest of seconds before shifting into a look of understanding. "You're right. I've been thinking too small." The wind began to pick up suddenly, beginning to swirl around Mardon. Before Eddie's eyes, a tornado started to form around Mardon, the force of the winds beginning to tear apart the barn around them.

Eddie's instincts kicked in in seconds. He needed to get Joe out of here and to safety. He holstered his weapon, throwing one of Joe's arms around his shoulders and dragging his partner out of the barn as the tornado began to strengthen, whipping debris across the farmyard as Eddie managed to get Joe out and lean him up against the side of the car. Meanwhile, Mardon had begun to walk out of the barn, the tornado all around him. Eddie glared after the tornado, all too aware that there wasn't a thing he could do to stop Mardon.

Suddenly, Eddie spotted a chunk of roof headed their way. There was no way Eddie could get both himself and Joe clear before it struck them. Maybe he could at least protect Joe from getting hit again, but-

Just as the roof section was within a yard or so of hitting them, a burst of red slammed into it, knocking it way from Joe and Eddie. Eddie stared, his eyes locked on the section of roof where it had landed and was now being tossed to the side by what looked like someone in a red suit and a gas mask. The figure ripped the gas mask off their face, tapping the side of their head as if listening to some sort of earpiece. Eddie staggered to his feet, taking a step closer to the strange figure. Before he could take another step, however, the figure shot him a brief glance and was off, racing toward the tornado in a streak of golden lightning. Oddly enough, the slight bit of the figure's face that had been visible seemed oddly familiar.

Suddenly the figure in crimson was thrown backwards, tumbling a few yards from Mardon and his tornado which were still on course for the city. The figure sat up and paused, the indistinct sound of a man's voice reaching Eddie's ears as the figure once again seemed to listen to his earpiece. The figure knelt there, frozen for a good minute, before he once again disappeared in a streak of lightning, going far faster than he had been before. Eddie stared, watching in wonder as the man seemed to run faster and faster, the tornado's shape starting to visibly change. There was a loud scream from Mardon and then a sudden boom, which send Eddie diving back behind the car for cover as the tornado collapsed with an incredible explosion of air.

Eddie made his way carefully to his feet, surveying the scene. The tornado was gone and the man in red was picking himself off the ground, his mask removed. It was as Eddie stepped out from around the car to get a better look at their savior's face that he spotted Mardon also picking himself up off the ground, aiming his weapon toward the man in red. Eddie immediately drew his gun and raced forward. It was now or never.

"Hey." Barry whirled around at the sound of Mardon's voice, shocked to see the man standing behind him. The other metahuman held a revolver in his hand, probably the same one that had been used to kill Chyre nine months ago. "I didn't think there was anyone else like me."

"I'm not like you," said Barry, still too out of breath to snap at the bloodthirsty criminal much less try to run away, "You're a murderer." Mardon sent Barry a look of acknowledgement, raising his gun to finish Barry off before the CSI could flee.

Two shots range through the air, scaring the crap out of Barry even as he saw Mardon's body jerk twice before falling to the ground, lifeless. Barry whirled around to see Eddie racing over, his weapon still drawn.

"Barry?" Caitlin's voice came through the earpiece and Barry breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's over," gasped out Barry, practically sensing the relief of the three scientists on the other end of the line, "I'm okay."

Eddie froze as he approached Barry, his eyes widening in recognition as he lowered his weapon. "Barry?"

Barry nodded, sinking to his knees in exhaustion. Eddie hurried over to steady him, the cop's expression a mixture of shock and amazement. It was over. They had won.

Eddie looked at the carnage wrought by the tornado Clyde Mardon had created, part of his mind still scrambling to understand what had happened. In the last 24 hours, he had seen Clyde Mardon come back from the dead, the same man try to kill both him and Joe and then Mardon suddenly conjure up a tornado out of thin air. It was the arrival of a super speed empowered Barry Allen, however, that had saved Joe, the city, and Eddie himself from Mardon. In the end, Eddie had had to shoot Mardon in order to save Barry, but it was a decision that Eddie did not regret in the slightest.

The sound of a familiar voice caught Eddie's attention and he turned, spotting Barry being let under the crime scene tape. Barry's eyes immediately locked onto his and the seemingly ordinary CSI strolled over, leaning up against the squad car with Eddie.
"You have questions," said Barry quietly. Eddie nodded. "What do you want to know?"

Eddie hesitated, wondering what of the billion questions he had that he should ask first. "…how? How can you run so fast?"

"The particle accelerator. The explosion powered the lightning that struck me and it changed me." Barry took a deep breath. "…thanks for saving me."

"Anytime." Eddie glanced at the ambulance where Joe was still being treated by the paramedics. They'd treated his head trauma but they wanted keep Joe under observation for a little while to make sure he didn't have a concussion. In any case, it was just a relief knowing that Joe was going to be ok. "I don't know what the Hell I'm going to put in my report though with everything that happened. Joe wouldn't be able to corroborate it anyway."

"Probably best you don't mention any of it," said Barry with a grimace, "I've met enough shrinks to know that no one would believe you."

Eddie nodded. "So…it's all real. Everything that happened on the night your mother died." Barry gave a start and looked at Eddie curiously. "Iris told me about it. About the lightning man in a yellow suit. She said he was the one who killed your mom, not your dad like everyone else thought."

"And you believe me?" said Barry, his voice almost too soft for Eddie to hear. In an instant, Eddie realized that for the first time in a long time, someone believe Barry. Someone knew that he hadn't been making up a story the night his mother had died. Someone else knew that the impossible was out there and Barry wasn't chasing rumors and myths. Someone else knew that Henry Allen was innocent.

Eddie smiled, patting Barry's arm reassuringly. "Honestly, after everything I saw today, I'd have to be a fool not to. So yeah. I believe you," said Eddie, "And I think it's time someone took another look at your mother's case."

Barry's eyes widened ever so slightly, a glimmer of hope appearing. "You do?"

Eddie nodded. "I'll requisition the case files as soon as I can and we can get started building a case to free your dad. I don't know exactly how we'll do it and if anything we do can work, but I'm sure as Hell going to try."

Barry swallowed, Eddie's words clearly having a strong effect on him. "Thank you."

"Like I said before, anytime. We'll figure it out." Eddie's attention turned itself back to the scene around them. "Maybe after all this insanity is over."

"Do you think…do you think I should tell Joe?" asked Barry after a long pause.

Eddie hesitated. This really wasn't his place, but after what had happened earlier? What had happened when Barry had tried to convince Joe that Clyde Mardon had been alive and that he could control the weather? Talking to Joe about what Barry could do didn't seem like the best call. Still…

"Barry, I think that's something only you can decided. I know you can prove it to Joe, but with the way he took your conversation earlier…" Barry flinched ever so slightly at this and Eddie backtracked. "Honestly, Barry, telling Joe is up to you. Besides, I think there's one person you need to loop in on this little secret of yours and it isn't Joe."

A dawning look crossed Barry's face. "Iris. Shit. Does she know about Joe?"

"Yeah. She's on her way to the hospital to meet the ambulance when it arrives." Eddie glanced at the ambulance as the doors shut and it took off. "And there goes my ride."

"You can't take the car?" said Barry, gesturing to the sedan Eddie and Joe had arrived in last night.

Eddie snorted. "It's part of the crime scene right now. I'm not allowed to even touch it."

Barry smirked. "Want me to give you a lift?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "You drove here?"

"Not exactly," said Barry. He ruffled his hair absentmindedly and Eddie couldn't help but chuckle. The kid had superpowers, but was still so awkward with people. It was almost endearingly innocent considering all the horrible things in this world that Eddie had seen. "What?"

"Nothing," said Eddie, "And yes, I could use a lift. I just wonder how you're going to run with me all the way to-" Eddie felt he feet leave the ground as his legs were swept out from underneath him and the world blurred before coming to an abrupt stop as Barry set the detective back down. Eddie wobbled for a moment, his senses still reeling from the sudden speed. "…well that's one way to do it. Maybe a little more warning next time."

"Yeah… Sorry," replied Barry.

Eddie merely waved the CSI off, looking up to see that they were standing just outside of the hospital and Iris was coming their way. "…are you going to tell her?"

"Can you imagine what would happen if I didn't?" replied Barry, grimacing.

"She'd be beyond pissed," said Eddie with an amused smile, "I've learned never to get on her bad side."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?" asked Barry.

Eddie smirked. "Thankfully, no. While you were in the coma, I went to visit her at Jitters and she was dealing with a new employee who tried to skim from the cashbox. Needless to say, the employee was fired and Iris showed me what it means to truly fear someone's wrath."

"Amen to that," muttered Barry.

Iris was suddenly there next to them. "Hey! I thought I wouldn't be seeing you for another half an hour," she said to Eddie, giving him a peck on the lips before turning to Barry, "And you said you were heading out to go meet Eddie at the crime scene. How are you both here before me?"

"We took a…short cut," said Eddie, earning a grin from Barry, "Care to show her, Barry?"

"Show me what-?" Barry was gone and back in the blink of an eye, a steaming hot cup of coffee in one hand and a slightly wind battered daisy in the other, presenting both to Iris. Her eyes widened and she stared wordlessly at her foster brother.

"Pretty cool, right?" said Eddie.

"Oh my God, Barry!" Iris hugged Barry who looked both confused and alarmed. Iris eventually let go of him, her eyes filled with concern. "What…what happened? How can you do that?"

"The particle accelerator," said Barry, "It charged the lightning that struck me and changed my DNA."

"So…so you have…"

Superspeed," said Eddie, beyond amused over Iris' reaction.

Iris turned to Eddie. "How'd you know about this?"

Eddie gave a noncommittal shrug. "He saved Joe and I from Clyde Mardon."

"Who could control the weather," added Barry.

"And he created a tornado to try and destroy the city," continued Eddie.

"Until I stopped him by unraveling it and Eddie shot him to save me," finished Barry.

Iris glanced between Eddie and Barry, clearly still trying to understand what was going on. Then the dawning look came to Iris' face and Eddie wondered if they really should have said anything at all to Iris about what had happened.

Eddie suddenly felt a hard smack on the back of his head, letting out a yell that was echoed by Barry who had apparently been given the same treatment. Eddie took a step back from Iris who still had both of her hands raised from smacking them, rubbing his head and looking to Barry to see the CSI also rubbing his head.

"Are you both insane?! You could have been killed!" snapped Iris.

"Iris, I'm a cop. I was just doing my job and without Barry's help, Joe and I wouldn't still be here," said Eddie calmly, "Barry had our backs and I had Barry's. We're all fine and Joe's going to be up and going again before you know it." Eddie took a tentative step toward Iris, gently grabbing her shoulders. "We're ok. I promise. And I mean, isn't it better that we were honest with you about all this?"

Iris pierced her lips, clearly thinking on his words. "…fine. Just don't scare me like that again. Both of you. The two of you and my dad are the most important people in my whole life and I can't lose you. Any of you."

Eddie nodded. "We won't." Barry gave a nod of agreement, but Eddie noticed that Barry's fingers had somehow crossed behind his back. Well if that was how Barry was going to play it… Eddie crossed his own fingers behind his back. "Or at least we'll do the best we can not to.."

Iris seemed to relax ever so slightly, gently taking the coffee and the daisy from Barry. "So...you have superspeed. Like the man who killed your mother."

Barry nodded. "And now we have proof that superspeed is possible. The next step is for us to find a way to prove that there was someone with powers like mine there that night and what they killed my mom."

"I'm going to requisition the files on Mrs. Allen's murder," added Eddie, "Relook into the case. Then we can see what we can do about getting Barry's dad out of prison."

Iris nodded in agreement. "So how do you plan on doing all this?"

"We're not completely sure yet. I do know a few friends that can help us though," said Barry carefully, "So…you in?"

Iris merely gave Barry a sad smile, kissing him on the cheek. "I'm in."

Eddie grinned. This was going to be fun.