Star Labs, 2017
Late afternoon
Barry, Cisco, Iris, and Caitlin were talking quietly when Allen and Joe returned. They stopped as they saw the pair, studying Allen. While they expected to see him devastated, they were unnerved, Barry especially, by the emotionless look on his face. It was a look that would belong on the face of Oliver Queen, but none of them could reconcile it being on the face of Barry Allen.
"You okay?" Caitlin asked gently and Allen smiled weakly.
"No, but I will be," Allen said with a sigh. "Contacting the Legends is off the table for now, but I still have a wife and daughter to get back to."
"We have a daughter?" Iris asked happily and Barry looked shocked as Allen looked uncomfortable.
"Yeah," Allen said lowly.
He'd like to correct her, to tell her about Wanda. But, given she and Barry had just gotten married, Allen didn't think she'd take it any better than his Iris had when he told her it was over between them. And he just wasn't in the mood for that kind of crap right now.
"It's clearly been a long day for you, why don't we all head home and get some rest," Barry offered. "That way, we can approach this with fresh minds in the morning. You can stay with us."
"I'm not sure that's a very good idea," Allen said immediately, fighting the temptation to look over at Iris. "You two just got married; you probably want some time to yourselves."
"You can stay with me and Cecile for now," Joe offered immediately, seeing how uncomfortable Allen was.
"Thanks Joe," Allen said relieved. "I'd like that."
"Well, now that that's settled, I suggest we all head home. I am personally beat," Cisco said and Allen smiled slightly.
It seemed, no matter what timeline, Cisco Ramon would never change.
West House
Night
Joe opened the door to his house and led Allen inside. Allen looked around, noting it really hadn't changed much. A few pictures here and there that hadn't been there, but otherwise, it was the same house he'd grown up in.
"Is it different in your timeline?" Joe asked as he noticed Allen looking around.
"No, it's pretty much the same," Allen said as Cecile came into the living room.
"So, this is our guest from another timeline?" Cecile asked as she eyed Allen and Joe nodded. "So what do I call you?"
"Allen's fine. It's good to see you Cecile," Allen said with a warm smile.
"Well, are you hungry? I just made dinner," Cecile said.
"Thank you, but I think I'm just gonna lay down. It's…been a long day," Allen said tiredly.
"Of course," Cecile said in understanding.
"Your room is, well, exactly as you left it," Joe said and Allen smiled weakly.
Allen made his way up the stairs and walked into the bed room he had had for most of his life. It was as Joe said; it looked exactly as it had when he had moved out for the last time. Allen sat down on the bed and sighed. Pulling out his wallet, he pulled out a photo.
It was of Wanda holding Freya, taken a few months before, a few weeks before Thanos. Allen stared at his family with longing, hoping they were alright.
Earth-66, The Playground, 2019
Mid afternoon
Caitlin was knocked on her back, again, in the training room. Groaning, she glared up at the smirking Natasha.
"Why is this even necessary? I have superpowers, remember?" Caitlin grumbled as she pulled herself to her feet.
"Killer Frost has superpowers, Caitlin Snow doesn't. At times, you'll need to rely on your skills rather than her powers. Besides, Steve might get mad if something happened to his girl," Natasha said with a smirk and Caitlin flushed.
Before the conversation could continue, a breach suddenly appeared a few feet from them. The pair jumped, Natasha grabbing a pistol and Caitlin's hair turned white as they prepared for a fight. However, they relaxed as Cisco, Wanda, and Clint emerged from the breach.
"A welcoming committee. I can feel the love," Clint said dryly as Natasha lowered her gun at seeing her oldest friend.
"Well, when you pop out of a breach, you're not gonna be met with hugs and kisses," Frost said sarcastically and Clint shrugged.
"Fair enough," Clint allowed before turning to Natasha. "Good to see you Nat."
"You to Hawkeye. But what are you doing here, not that it's not good to see?" Natasha said and the trio exchanged unsettling glances.
"Something's happened, hasn't it?" Caitlin said as she retook control from Frost.
"Yeah Cait, something's happened. Is anyone else here? I'd like to only tell this story once," Cisco said.
In the living room, Sam and Bucky were playing a video came as Steve watched, amused by the banter between the two. Then Natasha and Caitlin returned the room and Steve got to his feet in shock at seeing Clint, Cisco, and Wanda. Sam and Bucky stopped their game at seeing their friends as well.
"We have a problem," Natasha said. "Barry needs our help."
West house, 2017
Morning
The next morning, Joe and Cecile were met with an intoxicating aroma as they made their way down the stairs. Exchanging a confused glance, they made their way to the kitchen to see Allen setting various platers of food on the table.
"What's all this? Cecile asked as they made their way into the kitchen.
"Well, I wanted to thank you for letting me crash here last night, so I made you breakfast. We've got pancakes, waffles, French toast, and bacon," Allen said as he gestured to all the food on the tables.
"Gee Bar, you didn't have to do this," Joe said as he and Cecile sat down.
"I wanted to. Besides, I remember how my wife was when she was pregnant," Allen said with a pointed look at Cecile.
"Your wife, it's not Iris, is it?" Joe asked suddenly and Allen froze. "You never refer to her by name and you get uncomfortable whenever someone brings her up. You're different than my Barry, but I still raised you. It wasn't hard to figure out."
"No, it's not iris," Allen finally admitted. "My wife was a member of The Avengers. When I was trapped on her earth, we grew close. I never thought I'd see Iris again, so I moved on…with her. When Cisco finally found me, she was part of the group that came with me. And, when the rest of them returned home, she stayed with me on Earth-1."
"What's her name?" Joe asked after a moment.
"Wanda, her name is Wanda," Allen said with so much reverence that Joe didn't doubt how Allen felt about her. "Listen, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Iris about this."
"Why not?" Cecile asked as both she and Joe looked confused.
"Because all my focus needs to be on finding a way back to my own timeline. When my Iris found about me and Wanda, she didn't take it well. Since she and Barry are married, I'm not sure how Iris will react. Either way, I don't have time for it. So please, don't say anything," Allen pleaded as he looked back and forth between them.
"Sure Bar. But, eventually, she's going to find out," Joe warned him and Allen sighed.
"I know…but the more time I have to focus on getting home, the better," Allen said with conviction.
The Playground, 2019
Afternoon
"So this Mxyzptlk snapped his fingers and Barry was gone?" Steve asked and Cisco nodded.
"He just vanished," Wanda said and they could see how worried she was.
"It's gonna be okay kid, we're gonna get him back," Clint assured her.
"I don't wanna say this, but are we sure Barry's still alive?" Sam asked hesitantly, throwing his hands up when everyone glared at him. "I don't want him to be, but come on, you said it yourself that Barry's Speed Force Signature isn't anywhere in the multiverse."
"He's not dead. I'd know if he was," Wanda said in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Besides, it didn't seem like Mxyzptlk wanted to kill Barry. It was like he was…toying with us," Cisco said with a thoughtful look on his face.
"What can we do to help," Bucky offered.
"We didn't actually come here for your help. We came here for Strange," Cisco said.
"Cisco figured since Mxyzptlk seems to possess some kind of magic, that Strange might be able to help us," Clint said.
At that moment, there was a hissing sound as an orange portal opened up a few feet away. Everyone whirled towards it as Strange stepped out.
"Avengers, we have something we need to discuss," Strange said his face set in a grim frown.