Barry's conscious, but drugged. The area where the piece of armor is wedged in has been numbed so at least it doesn't hurt quite as badly, but it still looks pretty awful. Iris is holding his hand, and Joe is right next to her. Caitlin is fretting over his vitals. He's really glad to have her back.
"Cisco?" Barry manages, though his speech is a little slurred. Then he blinks at the woman following in after him. "Who...?"
"I'm him," Paca interrupts him, gesturing to her male counterpart. Then, before anyone can protest, she waves a hand, adding, "It's... not important." It's so jarring to see her best friend look at her with zero recognition, but she's more concerned with the fact that a piece of Savitar's armor is lodged into his side.
"Talk to me," she says to anyone who'll answer her. "Why can't we remove the armor?"
Cisco exchanges a glance with Joe--'the hell, boy?' and 'I'll explain later' they seem to say with their eyes--as Caitlin goes into all the medical jargon explanations, which boils down to 'if we remove it, he may not make it', AKA the least acceptable answer ever.
"Ideas...?" Cisco rolls his lips together and turns toward Paca hopefully.
Paca makes her way over to the monitors displaying Barry's vitals. She puts her hands on her hips and thinks for a second, just trying to get the lay of the land here.
"If we pull it out, it'll snag on the tissue and only injure him more. Phasing's a good idea, but we need something that'll stop, or maybe just slow the bleeding until Barry's healing factor kicks in."
She glances at Caitlin, wondering if this Earth's Caitlin has the same metahuman frost powers that her Caitlin does. With the same complicated baggage to go along with it. Maybe that's not the best route to go down. Instead she turns to her doppelganger. "Any ideas?"
He glances at Caitlin when Paca does and shakes his head the slightest bit at his best friend. Nope. He won't ask her to do that. But....
"Actually, I made another model of the cold gun." If anyone decides to get him dirty looks for that, he has an explanation. "Look, most of the speedsters we tend to deal with are evil, I'd rather not take any more unnecessary chances next time."
"Use it," Barry murmurs, giving them full permission and ignoring any protests. He's not going to judge Cisco for what he's done, because he's right. They need a weapon like that in their arsenal. And maybe it will be too much for him, but maybe it will be the thing they need to save him. It's worth the risk, isn't it?
He tries to fight back a pained groan, but he can't help it. If they don't do something soon, he doesn't know how much longer he can hold on.
The cold gun could work. Maybe with some slight modifications to lessen the intensity. She nods to her other self. "Get it." Already in her head, she's running through the schematics of her cold gun, seeing what could be changed, what could be dialed back.
She moves over to stand next to Barry where he lies, reaching to take his hand. Logically, she knows this Barry has no idea who she is, but it's hard to see her best friend lying there in so much pain and do nothing.
"We're gonna get you through this. Okay? Trust me. Trust us."
Cisco nods and disappears long enough to get the gun. When he returns, it's all fast-acting movement and rapid words flying from what probably sounds like every direction from Barry's point of view-- Cisco, Caitlin, and Paca all huddled around the bed, going to work to get this fixed because the alternative isn't even on the table.
When Cisco returns, when they all get to work, he's trying not to cry out in pain. But whatever they're doing is working, and the wound is stabilizing as the bleeding is frozen, and he manages to phase it out with his own hand, slowly vibrating the armor out of his body.
He passes out shortly after, allowing them time to thaw and clean out the wound, and bandage him up. He won't be out for long, though.
As soon as Cisco returns with the gun, Paca releases Barry's hand and gets to work. It takes some doing, but they make it work and the shrapnel is removed safely. Paca passes the bloody shard of metal off to Cisco as Caitlin works to close Barry's wound.
After it's over, and Barry lies passed out on the bed, Paca sits on a stool, watching him silently. He looks exactly like her Barry. The Caitlin of this Earth looks exactly like her Caitlin. The Joe looks like her Joe. Everyone looks the same except her male doppelganger. Now that the crisis is averted, it gives her a lot to ponder, but mostly she's sitting with her hand on her chin, watching over her alternate universe best friend to make sure he'll be alright.
When the procedure is done and Barry no longer has foreign objects sticking out of his body, Cisco relaxes marginally. The worst is over and the rest will be taken care of by his speedster healing, but that doesn't make the edge of panic and worry settle completely just yet.
He's posted up in a chair next to Barry's bed, listening to the faint beeps and buzzes of the room as he watches his best friend, waiting for any ounce of response from him. The pain probably knocked him out, he'll be awake any second now.
In the meantime...
He glances over at this wholly different sort of doppelganger on the other side of the bed, watching Barry just as intently and he can't help the small twitch of a smile that it brings. She really is him, in all the ways that count, there's really no denying it. "Thanks," he offers quietly, not sure what else to say.
It takes Barry a few minutes to wake up, but when he does, it's with a pained groan. He blinks his eyes open reluctantly, and glances down at himself. He's okay. Relatively speaking. Still healing, but he'll get there.
"Hey," he mumbles, glancing over at Cisco and Paca. "'m okay. Thank you."
"Of course," she tells her counterpart. Because of course she would help Barry. There's no question. She would go to the ends of the Earth-- any Earth-- to help save her best friend.
But then Barry wakes up, and she's off her stool and across the room to his side in a second, pulling over the monitor displaying his vitals.
"Healing up pretty well, Mr. Allen." She looks down at him with a sympathetic smile. "You scared the shit out of us there."
He smiles a little at the ease of her reply-- like this was the obvious choice, the only choice, as easy as breathing and something she wouldn't ever have to think twice about.
Before he can say anything else to her, Barry stirs awake and he turns his attention there instead. "Hey, there, Risky Business. How you feelin'?" He's glad his voice sounds more casual than he feels. Paca said it as succinctly as he could have, really.
Honestly, he's glad they're trying to be casual about this, because it brings a sense of normalcy back that he needs right now. He laughs at Cisco's comment, and winces as his muscles protest. He reaches for Paca's hand, giving them both a small smile.
"Better than I was. And I wouldn't be, if it wasn't for both of you. Speaking of, I didn't get your name. I know you're him, but...are you both Ciscos?" he asks, curious.
Paca winces in sympathy when Barry does, but then he takes her and and she squeezes his, to reassure him that she's there and it's gonna be okay. When he asks for her name, she glances up at her doppelganger. They'd been in such a rush, they never really did the whole names thing, did they?
"Cisco? That's what you're going with?" And then, to Barry. "Call me Paca. Short for Francisca Ramon."
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Date: 2017-05-02 10:44 pm (UTC)"Cisco?" Barry manages, though his speech is a little slurred. Then he blinks at the woman following in after him. "Who...?"
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Date: 2017-05-08 06:22 pm (UTC)"Talk to me," she says to anyone who'll answer her. "Why can't we remove the armor?"
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Date: 2017-05-12 04:04 am (UTC)"Ideas...?" Cisco rolls his lips together and turns toward Paca hopefully.
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Date: 2017-05-12 09:40 am (UTC)"Tech. Maybe...I don't...phase it out? Freeze the area... Something. I can't..."
He doesn't know if what he's saying makes any sense, but if anyone can figure it out, it's his best friend. Any version.
"Trust you." It's definitely directed at Paca and Cisco.
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Date: 2017-06-11 08:33 pm (UTC)"If we pull it out, it'll snag on the tissue and only injure him more. Phasing's a good idea, but we need something that'll stop, or maybe just slow the bleeding until Barry's healing factor kicks in."
She glances at Caitlin, wondering if this Earth's Caitlin has the same metahuman frost powers that her Caitlin does. With the same complicated baggage to go along with it. Maybe that's not the best route to go down. Instead she turns to her doppelganger. "Any ideas?"
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Date: 2017-06-12 01:59 am (UTC)"Actually, I made another model of the cold gun." If anyone decides to get him dirty looks for that, he has an explanation. "Look, most of the speedsters we tend to deal with are evil, I'd rather not take any more unnecessary chances next time."
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Date: 2017-06-24 02:56 pm (UTC)He tries to fight back a pained groan, but he can't help it. If they don't do something soon, he doesn't know how much longer he can hold on.
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Date: 2017-07-28 11:07 am (UTC)She moves over to stand next to Barry where he lies, reaching to take his hand. Logically, she knows this Barry has no idea who she is, but it's hard to see her best friend lying there in so much pain and do nothing.
"We're gonna get you through this. Okay? Trust me. Trust us."
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Date: 2017-08-05 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-08-06 09:58 pm (UTC)When Cisco returns, when they all get to work, he's trying not to cry out in pain. But whatever they're doing is working, and the wound is stabilizing as the bleeding is frozen, and he manages to phase it out with his own hand, slowly vibrating the armor out of his body.
He passes out shortly after, allowing them time to thaw and clean out the wound, and bandage him up. He won't be out for long, though.
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Date: 2017-09-03 05:14 pm (UTC)After it's over, and Barry lies passed out on the bed, Paca sits on a stool, watching him silently. He looks exactly like her Barry. The Caitlin of this Earth looks exactly like her Caitlin. The Joe looks like her Joe. Everyone looks the same except her male doppelganger. Now that the crisis is averted, it gives her a lot to ponder, but mostly she's sitting with her hand on her chin, watching over her alternate universe best friend to make sure he'll be alright.
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Date: 2017-09-10 06:08 pm (UTC)He's posted up in a chair next to Barry's bed, listening to the faint beeps and buzzes of the room as he watches his best friend, waiting for any ounce of response from him. The pain probably knocked him out, he'll be awake any second now.
In the meantime...
He glances over at this wholly different sort of doppelganger on the other side of the bed, watching Barry just as intently and he can't help the small twitch of a smile that it brings. She really is him, in all the ways that count, there's really no denying it. "Thanks," he offers quietly, not sure what else to say.
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Date: 2017-09-10 06:16 pm (UTC)"Hey," he mumbles, glancing over at Cisco and Paca. "'m okay. Thank you."
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Date: 2017-09-10 06:22 pm (UTC)But then Barry wakes up, and she's off her stool and across the room to his side in a second, pulling over the monitor displaying his vitals.
"Healing up pretty well, Mr. Allen." She looks down at him with a sympathetic smile. "You scared the shit out of us there."
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Date: 2017-09-10 07:53 pm (UTC)Before he can say anything else to her, Barry stirs awake and he turns his attention there instead. "Hey, there, Risky Business. How you feelin'?" He's glad his voice sounds more casual than he feels. Paca said it as succinctly as he could have, really.
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Date: 2017-09-17 01:48 pm (UTC)"Better than I was. And I wouldn't be, if it wasn't for both of you. Speaking of, I didn't get your name. I know you're him, but...are you both Ciscos?" he asks, curious.
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Date: 2017-09-17 03:43 pm (UTC)"Cisco? That's what you're going with?" And then, to Barry. "Call me Paca. Short for Francisca Ramon."