Barry Allen Flash in 2 worlds, Marvel

Star Labs, 2017

Night

"You're what now?" Ralph asked, sure he had misheard Allen.

"My wife," Allen repeated, already knowing from the look on Iris' face this wasn't going to go over well as he took Wanda's hand and everyone noticed the ring on her finger which was a match for the one Iris was wearing. "Like I said, I was trapped on Earth-66 for a year with no way back. I had two choices: spend the rest of my life mourning what I'd lost or move on with my life, make the best of the situation I'd been dealt."

"So you forgot about us," Iris said, her voice cold.

"No, I never forgot about any of you," Allen said in a matching tone as he glared her. "I thought of you guys every day, but I couldn't wait for a day that could never come. I moved on with my life…and I fell in love."

And that was clear for all to see. The way Allen looked at Wanda left little doubt of the way he felt about her. Seeing this, Iris' temper flared even more as the perceived betrayal hurt even more.

"So what, you just left me for her once you got back?" Iris demanded, her eyes filling with angry tears. "How could you do that?"

"I don't owe you any explanations; I already dealt with this with my Iris. The two of us made peace years ago. I don't owe you anything," Allen said bluntly as Joe and Cisco stared, never expecting those words to come out of Barry's mouth, even if it wasn't their Barry.

Iris stared, anger and disbelief on her face. Before another word could be spoken, Caitlin stepped forward.

"Enough, both of you," she snapped. "This isn't about you two; this is about helping Barry, our Barry."

"She's right, as usual," Allen said with a calming breath as Iris opened her mouth to speak. "Strange is the best Neurosurgeon on Earth-66, I think he could help."

"First, would someone please explain what's going on?" Strange demanded impatiently, annoyed by the drama.

"How much time you got?" Cisco asked sarcastically.

Down in the pipeline, in one of the cells, Barry groaned as he came to. Standing up, he winced as he felt pain shoot through his back.

"What hit me? And why am I in the pipeline?" Barry wondered.

In the cortex, Strange was looking at Barry's x-ray, a hand to his face as he had a thoughtful look.

"So, what do you think? Is it possible for me to phase it out of him without leaving permanent damage?" Allen asked.

"It's the safest option to remove it," Strange said after a moment. "My hands aren't what they used to be. And even if they were, the slightest miscalculation could paralyze Barry from the neck down. The safest option is for our Barry to remove the device by phasing it out."

"Okay, now that we have a game plan, who's gonna tell Barry?" Ralph asked.

The Playground, 2019

Late afternoon

Steve led Cisco down the hall. After Strange and Wanda left to go get Barry, Steve had asked Cisco to come with him, claiming he needed Cisco's help with an electrical problem. But given the confused looks Caitlin, Sam, Natasha and Bucky had shot their leader, Cisco had doubts about that.

"There is no electrical problem, is there?" Cisco asked and Steve stopped.

"No, I just needed an excuse to talk to you alone," Steve said with a sheepish smile. "If this hadn't happened, I would have made my way to Earth-1 in order to talk to you and Barry anyway."

"What's up man?" Cisco asked, worried it was something serious.

"You and Barry are the closest thing Caitlin has to family. I wanted to ask for your blessing," Steve explained as he pulled something out of his pocket.

Cisco at the ring Steve had just pulled. It was an old fashion ring, but none the less beautiful.

"Are you sure?" Cisco asked, finding his vice after a moment. "I mean, you and Caitlin just got back together a month ago. I don't doubt that you love her but…"

"I knew the moment I left," Steve said, confusing Cisco. "The moment I left Eath-1 after Savitar, the moment I was apart from her…I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. To be her husband, be the father of her children. But I would never be as selfish as to ask her to leave her life on Earth-1 to be with me. She's given up so much to be with me…I want everyone to know how much I love her."

"You really do love her, don't you?" Cisco noted after a moment and Steve smiled sheepishly.

"I've never felt the way I feel about her about anyone before," Steve admitted and Cisco nodded.

"All I want is for Caitlin to be happy; she deserves it after everything she's been through. So yeah…I give you my blessing. If you'll promise me one thing," Cisco said.

"Name it," Steve said immediately.

"Treat her right and make her happy," Cisco said with an unusual serous look and Steve nodded.

"I'll do my best," Steve promised.

Star Labs, 2017

Night

Wanda was at the longue, staring out at the city. It had been a long time since she had been here during the night, once Cisco had turned Star Labs back into a business it had no longer been a hangout for Team Flash. It was nice to be back.

Feeling someone walk up next to her, she glanced over to see Joe.

"Mr. West," she greeted politely, feeling off referring to Joe that way.

"Please, call me Joe," Joe said and Wanda nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Wait, you knew?" Wanda asked surprised and Joe chuckled.

"He may be from a different timeline, but I raised him. It wasn't hard to figure out," Joe told her.

"And you weren't…mad?" Wanda asked wearily.

"No, how could I be? He moved on with his life when he thought he'd lost everything. I can't be angry with him for that," Joe assured her and the knot in Wanda's stomach loosened. "So, you and Barry have a daughter?"

"Freya," Wanda said with a smile before pulling out a picture and handing it to him. "We took that a few months."

"She's beautiful," Joe said after a moment, a hint of regret as he stared at the granddaughter he'd never be able to meet.

Unseen to them, Iris stared at the scene; a feeling of betrayal hitting her at her father's perceived disloyalty as he dared to make nice with the woman who had stolen Barry from her, even in a different timeline. Bottling the rage she felt, she turned and stormed off.

Down in the pipeline, Barry looked up as the metal shelling of the cell lifted. He got to his feet as he saw Allen and Caitlin standing on the other side of the cell.

"So which Barry are we talking to?" Allen asked, only confusing Barry.

"What?" Barry asked.

"Barry, what's the last thing you remember?" Caitlin asked gently and he closed his eyes as he tried to remember.

"Um, we were talking about the tracer you planted on Devoe and then there was this pain in my head. Then…I don't remember. What happened?" Barry asked, realizing something must have happened.

"When Devoe had you captured, he planted something in the base of your skull. It allowed him to control you," Caitlin said gently and Barry paled.

"What did I do?" Barry asked thickly.

"Nothing too bad," Allen quickly assured him and Barry sighed in relief. "But that thing is too dangerous to leave in your head. So I'm gonna phase my hand though and get it out."

"It's the safest option we could come up with," Caitlin said as Barry was silent for a few moments.

"Get this thing out of me," Barry said with such conviction that, for the first time, Allen could see the similarities between them.

"Gladly," Allen promised.