108

"This is exactly what Devoe wanted." Barry spoke, "I mean, we all played right into his plan, especially me."

We were all stood at Star Labs the next day, as I was the only one seated, holding back tears, staring at my ring as everyone discussed.

"Why would Devoe want to orchestrate all of this?" Iris questions.

"I don't know, but we know that this started when I was still in the Speed Force." Barry said, his hand on his hip.

"But why target Dominic?" Joe asks.

"Dominic's power must have allowed Devoe to inhabit his body." Harry sighs, "We should've been on top of this earlier."

"What about the other metas on the bus?" Caitlin crosses her arms, "Why create them?"

Harry sighs, "Part of a larger plan?"

"How are you even here right now, Allen?" Ralph questions, due to the ankle bracelet he wore. "Aren't you on house arrest?"

"Yeah, well- he's at Joe's, actually. Either that or the courthouse." Cisco shrugs, "I managed to hack into the ankle monitor GPS."

"That's not the only thing Cisco hacked." Iris spoke up, "When you came out of the Speed Force, you were talking gibberish at CCPD. You said something about not wanting to kill anyone."

"I digitally scrubbed a video." Cisco types away on his computer next to me, pulling up the footage, "Last thing we want is somebody hearing something we don't want them to hear."

"." Barry's voice comes through the video, Cisco pausing it.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't remember saying any of that." Barry shrugs.

"We should look at everything else he said when he first came out of the Speed Force." Harry said, "Might give us a clue."

"That's a good idea." Joe nods.

"Okay, guys, but remember, I mean, considering all the evidence they have against me, this trial is not even gonna last very long." Barry reminds us all, causing small tears to form in my eyes.

"Okay, but with Cecile taking a leave of absence to represent you, you got the best lawyer in town." Caitlin assures.

"I mean, even if they did find you guilty, it's not like any prison can hold you." Cisco scoffs, a small grin on his lips.

"Well, I'm not gonna run. I won't be a fugitive." Barry puts his hands in his pockets, "If I'm convicted, I have to go to prison."

"Don't-" I blurt out, looking up at him, this being the first time I've spoken since we've gotten here, everyone's attention landing on me, my voice weak, my eyes having a small tint of red behind them, but I held the tears back with everything in me, "Don't say that."

Cisco places his hand on my back, rubbing it, as I sigh, placing my head in my hands.

"We're not gonna let that happen." Joe says, keeping his eyes on me.

"Let's get to work." Harry nods, as, everyone leaving the room, Barry staying.

"Zee?" Barry's voice fills my ears as his footsteps follow, walking over to me, "How you doing?"

I lift my head, looking at him, "I'm going to lose you. Again."

"Zee-" Barry starts, as I stood up, stopping him.

"I'm going to lose you." I blink my tears away, "I'm going to lose you."

"We have been through so much." Barry said softly, grabbing my hands, "We'll get through this too."

I sigh, "I know the Speed Force gave you a new outlook on life, but I don't know if being positive is enough right now."

"I'm just trying to be strong for the team and for you." Barry tells me, weakly smiling down at me.

"It's like history is repeating itself." I sigh, pulling away from him, "We should get to the courthouse."

"Yeah." Barry quietly says, slowly following me out.

-

"Zee-" Iris West's voice caught my attention as I paced outside the courtroom, only minutes until Barry's trial. "Are you okay?"

"I'm- fine." I sigh, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear, lying straight through my teeth. I was dressed in skinny black dress pants, a satin burgundy blouse that was tucked into the pants, black heeled ankle boots on my feet. I played with my necklace, my straight hair falling from behind my ears, as I continued to pace. Barry, Joe, Caitlin and Cisco stood a few feet away from us, having their own small conversation.

"Zee- you're not okay." Iris spoke, grabbing my arm, stopping me from pacing, "You can talk about this, it'll help you. You don't have to be strong for us-"

"?" I unintentionally crack, anger washing over me, my voice slightly raising, her eyes slightly widening at my tone, tears filling my eyes, "I'm going to lose my , Iris."

Barry had stopped paying attention to the conversation he was having, his eyes glued to me.

"That's why you can talk about this." Iris tried to be there for me and comfort me, "I'm here for you."

"You want me to talk, Iris? Fine, I'll talk." I pull my arm from her, completely lashing out, catching Caitlin, Cisco and Joe's attention also, tears slipping my eyes, my eyes pinned to Iris, "Devoe has this all pinned on Barry. No matter how many times you- or Joe- or Harry- or Cisco- even Caitlin- no matter how many times you guys are trying to convince me that this will all end okay- both Barry and I know this won't end our way. Do you know how many years Barry could go to prison for- for first degree murder? 25 years. 25 years- and if the Judge thinks he's a threat- it could be for life. My husband is about to be sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit- just like his father. My home- is a . The knife we got as a has been used to frame Barry. . I'm gonna lose him. I don't know what the hell I'm going to do without him. So you know what- no, Iris. Talking about this- isn't going to help me. It's just going to hurt worse."

Iris stays silent, and just pulls me into a hug, ignoring my lashing out, pulling me into a hug, holding onto me tight, rubbing my back.

My hands shake as I clutched onto her tightly, squeezing my eyes shut, sniffling quietly, more tears falling.

My eyes open, and land on Barry, all of their eyes glued on me. I pull away from Iris, squeezing her arms lightly as a thanking gesture before turning, walking into the nearest bathroom, locking myself in a stall, leaning back against it, letting out a sob.

I pulled on my hair lightly, breathing heavily, trying to calm myself down. It took a few minutes, but I had calmed down, wiping my tears away. I splashed cold water on my face, drying it before walking out, my eyes landing on Iris West, who was waiting right outside for me.

I gave her a weak smile, as she returns it with a comforting smile, grabbing my hand, walking into the courtroom with me, sitting down by Caitlin, Joe and Cisco.

"Your Honor, ladies and gentleman of the jury, If you don't understand what it is I'm about to tell you today, you need to do something. I need you to believe in the impossible." The man serving against Barry spoke, "As children, we're taught that the police are there to protect us, to serve. We're told that our tax dollars go toward training them to be the champions of the city. But for some of us, it still seems impossible that a police investigator, one of Central City's finest, could betray that trust. And even worse, under the guise of upholding the law to commit the most heinous act that one person can carry out against another. But that is exactly what Barry Allen did."