Julian Albert whistled as he walked through the precinct in the morning, a fat manila file under his arm and a fresh coffee in his free hand.

He greeted all the detectives with smiles, kind nods and polite "hellos" - much to their surprise - and hummed a pleasant childhood tune as he jogged up the stairs two-at-a-time to the forensics lab upstairs.

Really, he had no idea why he was so happy.

All he knew was that he felt as if he'd been freed from a terrible burden, and that he'd gotten the best sleep of his life last night.

Almost as if it was the first night he'd slept in weeks.

His smile melted when he noticed Barry, weary-eyed and looking extremely tired, as he flipped through folders. "Hello, Barry," Julian greeted curtly, nodding as he replaced his smile.

Barry arched an eyebrow as he turned to face his labmate. "Oh... Morning, Julian," he mumbled, before he dropped his attention back onto the files.

"Everything alright, mate?" Julian questioned cautiously, taking the last sip of his coffee before setting the mug down, rubbing his hands together as he produced a pair of latex gloves from the drawer, "You seem a bit stressed..."

"Hm? Oh-" Barry responded hesitantly, faking a single awkward laugh before his expression turned grim again, "No, I've just been having a little trouble getting sleep..."

###

Iris, still at her father's, had allowed herself to take the day off. Really, she needed it. The stress knew no end with her.

Wally had been missing for how many days, now?

Two weeks.

Almost two weeks.

Fifteen days, and as she looked at the clock, four hours, thirty six minutes.

An invisible demon by the name of Savitar had gotten to Barry, and Alchemy had her brother cast inside an odd crystal column, in the sewers.

Barry forbade Iris from going down there, regardless of whether she was alone or not, lest Savitar or Alchemy take her away too - but she did so, anyway.

Her brother was trapped - and only recently, Iris had descended down to the sewers to find the chrysalis pillar shattered to bits, with Wally nowhere to be found.

But that was two weeks ago.

She alerted everyone of Wally's disappearance.

Scott Evans from the CCPN made sure that there were pictures of Wally printed in every paper, with captions reading "Have you seen me?". His connections at the CCPN Broadcasting Network publicized Wally's disappearance on TV as well, the police and her father were constantly on the case and the team at STAR searched endlessly as well, without giving in to hopelessness.

This was no mere metahuman kidnapping.

It had been, originally, sort of - but Wally had broken free, Iris was sure of it.

Where had he gone? Was he scared? Was he alone? Was he hungry? What did Alchemy want with him?

###

Back at his apartment, Cisco felt overwhelmed by the sickening combination of weariness and guilt, as he reluctantly sat at his dinner table, breakfast untouched before him.

He hadn't shaved in a few days, his hair was messily tied back, he refused to eat and he was unable to sleep.

He couldn't vibe Wally.

He'd vibed other earths. He'd foreseen futures before they happened. He had allowed his mind to reach into the Speed Force itself to bring Barry back from the dead, he'd even seen and felt himself be murdered by Eobard by envisioning the old timeline, he'd faced off against metahumans of every kind - but he couldn't vibe Wally.

What was wrong with him?

It's like - when he needed his powers most, they wouldn't work. Like it was some rude prank.

No matter how hard he tried, his powers couldn't locate him, and neither could his inventions, and the stress was snowballing into the most phenomenal headache Cisco ever had.

Or... maybe his powers were working just fine, which would mean that Wally couldn't be found...

Cisco immediately shoved that thought as far back into his mind as he could.

That wasn't the kind of thinking that would bring his friend back.

"Hey-" Caitlin murmured as she entered through the front door, her soft voice snapping Cisco back to reality. She brought with her a large brown bag filled with groceries and food, and her hair was neatly tied back and she was dressed in a pretty pale blue dress, ready for work. She offered a smile and placed a tender hand on Cisco's shoulder as she approached.

The shadows under her bleak blue eyes weren't fooling anyone, though.

"Morning," Cisco mumbled, his finger tracing the handle of his now-cold coffee mug.

Caitlin put on a smile as she sat beside him, producing containers of toasted bagels and flavored spreads from the bag. "Thought we'd eat breakfast together... We're all always so exhausted and scared all the time now. That doesn't mean we can't offer each other comfort."

Cisco sighed, and rubbed the corners of his eyes. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry, Cait."

"Cisco, that's not possible," Caitlin countered gently, placing a creamed bagel on plate before him, "Don't think I'm not noticing you skipping meals. You're worried about finding Wally, but you still need to look after yourself. You don't understand how much this team needs you."

He closed his eyes, and felt Caitlin's cool thin fingers cover his hand. "Cisco..." She called again, "Please eat."

"How are we going to find Wally?" He finally asked, his voice breaking at the end, "Caitlin... He's been taken. I can feel it. We can't go much longer without him - everyone's slowly losing it. We need him back."

Caitlin bit her lower lip, but tugged Cisco in for a hug, rubbing his shoulders as slow tears watered from his eyes.

They sat together in silence, one being comforted by the other, until Caitlin extended a hand to reach for the bagel, and carefully brought it to Cisco's mouth. He smiled in embarrassment, but let her feed him.

"I was thinking... What if we implemented a city-wide infrared satellite?" She offered, appreciating the reluctant grin tipping on the ends of Cisco's mouth, "Remember when Wally was hit by the miniature radioactive shockwave, when Harry vaporized Barry?"

"-He has his own electromagnetic signature," Cisco interjected, eyes lighting up in realization, "Meaning his body actually radiates its own unique heat signature, unlike another - like what Barry, Jesse, and Evil Wells had-"

Caitlin smiled and nodded curtly. "Which we can actually track down-"

"Via infrared tracing!" Cisco finished excitedly, shoving the remaining bagel in his mouth.

Caitlin laughed a little. "Not to mention we can also use the husk Wally left behind, and go over it with Barry to find whatever traces of DNA Wally left behind. That way, if Savitar or Alchemy did turn Wally into a metahuman like they did with the others, we can still use his modified metahuman DNA to help us find him - not that I actually think Wally will, you know, be turned into a meta."

"Caitlin, oh my god, that's a great idea!" Cisco blurted, swallowing the rest of his coffee in one gulp, dusting off his hands before he rose, "We have to get to STAR right away! Re-calibrating the satellite is going to take-"

"First, breakfast," Caitlin ordered flatly pulling Cisco back down to the table by his wrist and pulling out fruit and breakfast soup from the grocery bag.

Cisco rolled his eyes at her, but smiled again as Caitlin poured him a glass of OJ.

###

Back at the precinct, Joe was doing his best to stay clear-headed through yet another nightmarish ordeal of his life, but it wasn't working.

He hadn't even known Wally for an entire year.

Eight months.

That was it.

Wally arrived at his doorstep Christmas evening, nervous but okay, tall and lean, with no idea what kind of family he was about to become a part of.

He was the spitting image of his grandfather.

Joe hadn't been able to cope with the loss of his father, at the age of 49 at the hands of a cruel heart attack.

Then Wally arrived - with his grandfather's warm brown eyes, with his grandfather's goofy smile, the same smile crinkles at the corners of his eyes - heck, even Wally's thin, long-fingered hands reminded Joe of his father's.

It was the universe's way of thanking Joe, of returning someone he had secretly lost right back to him.

And Wally always made Joe laugh. The way he scrambled around in the kitchen each morning, hungry and hunting for anything to eat, until Joe woke up and arrived downstairs in his pajamas, and fed his son. The way Wally's eyes would light up as he discussed school, and engineering projects, even if Joe couldn't understand them. How relaxed Wally was when he was with his father, and how happy Joe felt knowing Wally trusted and loved his father in return.

How Wally's presence always calmed Joe's nerves...

Joe loved that kid with every ounce of his being. He had Iris, and he had Barry, but having Wally allowed Joe to be the father to a son of his own -

And Wally's disappearance nearly broke him.

He waited by the hour for good news regarding Wally.

It never came.

He sat at his desk, tense and distraught, hardly able to focus on the case before him, sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Detectives were supposed to find evidence, and solve cases.

Joe was one of the best detectives this station had, but for the first time in his life, he felt like he had failed.

Singh entered the hall, alongside Lieutenant Briggs. Both gestured for Joe to come forward. Frowning, Joe did, but both spoke in hushed tones.

"West, there's been an incident at Southside and Water Lane," Briggs explained, crossing his arms worriedly, "Near the Rathaway Complex."

"What, like a robbery?" Joe questioned, scowling, "Hostages? What kind of incident?"

Singh and Briggs looked at each other in worry, before they faced Joe. "A metahuman incident," they murmured in awkward unison.

"Speedsters, specifically."

"A mile away from Alchemy's tunnel."

Joe felt his palms go sweaty. "What, should we call the SWAT team? After what happened two weeks ago with Alchemy-"

"There's - there's no actual crime," Singh explained cautiously, "But bypassers have reported seeing strange, un-human activities there. The reports have been coming in consistently for the past few hours, of two young metahumans, seemingly aged around 20 and 23, both men, respectively."

Joe crinkled his brows, heart beating in fear. "You think it could be my son?"

"One of them's a speedster, nonetheless," Briggs added quietly, nodding, "We need two or three men to go and canvas what's happening, maybe have STAR Labs alert the Flash if these metahumans pose a threat."

"We, um, we know what this could mean for you," Singh stated reluctantly, putting a hand on Joe's shoulder and nodding encouragingly, "This could be your big break. But don't put yourself in danger. Call the squad if you need backup."

Joe nodded, and hope rose in his chest.

If this was Alchemy's work, his team at STAR Labs could have another case to use to find Wally.

Two other officers readied their radios, batons and handguns - and Joe prayed they wouldn't have to use the latter two instruments. They got into their car, and wove through the town in the police car, Joe jittery with hope but also fear about approaching the Rathaway Complex, not knowing what he'd find.

Wally.

Joe was glad Singh and Briggs had privately given him this case.

If there was any chance at finding Wally, Joe wanted to take it.

But as soon as they were within two streets of the famous Rathaway Complex, they stopped.

At a distance, beyond the skyscrapers and corporate buildings - a small gray storm brewed, golden streaks of lightning spewing up from the ground up to the sky. Tension mixed with fear, but also with natural curiosity, as the static in the air rose with the ascending friction, the booming, scratchy sound of sparks against concrete.

One of the other cops opened to window to see through the dusty storm better.

"What's going on here?!" He shouted, hardly audible through the intense cacophony.

"Can't tell!" The other cop responded, before pulling out her radio and shutting the window again, "We have to call backup!"

"I'll alert the SWAT team!"

"No!" Joe yelled, leaning forward as he studied the new heroic golden flashes blazing back and forth at the base of the storm that looked oddly human, "We have to get closer!"

And so they did, the small car fighting against the strong winds being generated by the small but furious tornado. Joe watched in fear as the car inched closer and closer. He had seen Barry generate hurricanes like that, when trying to avoid or get away from metahuman threats.

But Barry was back the station...

"That's - that's close enough," Joe advised when it was clear driving was fruitless, and the other officer looked back at him in confusion.

"West, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I - I have to get out there-" and before she or the other officer could argue, Joe was out, trying his best to run closer.

Zoom.

Earth 3's Jay Garrick.

Alchemy.

Savitar.

Barry.

His mind raced and turned with both fright and also with shreds of optimism, as he pushed himself closer to the lot beside the complex.

Amidst the storm's barreling whir and the lightning's shrieks, he heard a voice shouting proudly.

There - about 200 feet away from him at storm's eye, dressed in a black sports jacket flapping in the eye of the storm, with dark jeans and leather boots, both arms open, his dark brown hair tousling around wildly as the speedster circled around him.

Was that - was that Hartley?

Hartley Rathaway - heir to the Rathaway fortune, was he calling out to and encouraging the metahuman around him?

"Faster!" He bellowed, and Joe saw a snicker form on Hartley's face, "You call that running?! How are you going to get your life together if you can't even keep your laces tied? You tripping, or something? Come on!"

The speedster careened tighter, as if angered, or more determined.

Joe managed to catch sight of a taut grimace on a familiar, young face - and he nearly fell back in gripping shock.

"Wally! Wally, it's me!" He shouted, hoping he would hear him - that his son would hear him.

Why was Wally running? What was wrong - what had happened to his son, to his precious beloved boy?

"Wally, I need you to hear me!" Joe begged, and Hartley finally noticed the approaching cop, fighting against the harsh winds within the hurricane. His eyes opened wide in surprise. No - no, this wasn't supposed to happen.

"Det - Detective West!" Hartley screamed back, frantic and terrified now, "You have to step back! Please!"

"Need my son!" Joe hollered, each footstep heavier than the last as Joe forced his legs to lead him to his son.

Barry - call Barry, Joe finally remembered. But his phone was sucked out of his hands before he was even able to remove it from his pocket.

The gun, the baton - they were gone too, not that Joe had needed them before.

Completely disarmed now, Joe noticed in fear the hard scowl pressed onto his son's face as he ran, the lightning flickering like fire behind warm brown irises.

"Detective West!" Hartley implored loudly, as the storm grew smaller and more intense, watching Joe protect his face with his arms, "Detective, that's not your son! That's - It's a monster! You need to step back! Please leave!"

But before anything could happen, the speedster who had hardly looked at him shot forward and knocked Joe to the ground, rendering him unconscious, the speedster's cold hands purposely curled around his father's neck.

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- DBV