Chapter 26: The Flame That Split in Two
They returned to S.T.A.R. Labs under dim skies, the smell of smoke and scorched air still lingering around them.
Ronnie—his flames now calm—walked between Caitlin and Barry. Dante trailed behind, hands in his pockets, his gaze on the floor.
Inside the Cortex, Wells and Cisco were already moving, prepping equipment, analyzing residual firestorm energy and Dante's Void Force readings simultaneously. The lab was buzzing again—not with fear or panic, but with hope.
Ronnie and Martin had survived. They were alive. But now, they had a choice to make.
Cisco spun in his chair, looking up at Ronnie. "We've been working on this since the beginning .This device—it can separate you and Stein without hurting either of you."
Wells nodded, folding his hands behind his back. "Theoretically, it should work now more than ever. Your molecular bond is stabilized thanks to Dante… however he did it."
Martin, speaking through Ronnie's body, chimed in. "Let's give it a try, shall we?"
Caitlin, eyes brimming, took Ronnie's hand. "Are you sure?"
He smiled. "I'm sure. I want to be me again. Not half of someone."
Dante didn't respond. He just leaned against the far wall, lighting a cigarette. His eyes never left Caitlin's hand wrapped in Ronnie's.
---
The device looked simple enough—two tall pylons surrounding a containment chamber in the middle of the Cortex. It buzzed with restrained energy, glowing with fire-red light and flickers of cold blue.
Barry stood beside Cisco at the console.
"You ready?" Cisco asked.
Ronnie nodded, stepping into the containment ring.
The room tensed.
Caitlin stood near Dante now, unknowingly beside him. He said nothing. Just blew smoke upward.
Wells gave a nod.
"Begin."
The machine roared to life.
Energy surged from both pylons, locking Ronnie in a sphere of blinding light. It surrounded him, pressed into him, digging deep into the very molecules of his body.
Then—
Fwoooosh.
A burst of flame.
A shimmering tremble in the air.
And out of the center of that swirling fire walked two men.
One staggered forward, a hand reaching instinctively toward Caitlin.
"Ronnie…" she whispered.
The other man—a little bit shorter, older, and visibly weaker—breathed in sharply.
"Martin," Cisco said, stunned.
Caitlin ran.
She wrapped her arms around Ronnie, burying her face in his chest.
He caught her, arms closing around her instantly.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I thought I lost you again."
"Not this time," he whispered.
Everyone watched the moment unfold. Barry smiled. Cisco sat back, exhausted but satisfied. Even Wells allowed himself a flicker of approval.
And Dante…
He just watched.
His expression unreadable.
The cigarette in his fingers burned to the filter, and he dropped it silently to the floor, crushing it with his boot.
Without a word, he turned and walked out of the Cortex.
No one stopped him.
No one noticed.
Except Wells, who glanced up just as the doors hissed shut behind him.
---
The next few days passed like a quiet sunrise.
Normalcy returned to S.T.A.R. Labs.
Ronnie was… Ronnie. Laughing again, walking with Caitlin through the halls like no time had passed between them. The two were inseparable—holding hands, stealing glances, catching up on lost years with an intensity only people who nearly died understand.
Martin, despite his age and exhaustion, beamed like a man reborn. He caught the first flight back to Pittsburgh, to the small, warm home where his wife was waiting. When she opened the door and saw him standing there, she fainted in his arms, laughing and crying all at once.
The lab quieted.
Even Barry felt it—peace settling over them like a fragile blanket.
But not everyone stayed.
Dante didn't come back for two days.
When he finally walked through the main entrance, it was without drama.
He entered quietly, checked the systems, didn't speak much.
Cisco tried to get him to talk, cracking jokes—Dante just nodded.
Barry asked if he wanted to run some combat drills—Dante declined.
He only spoke once, when Caitlin passed him in the hallway, holding Ronnie's hand.
"Glad he's back," he said softly.
She smiled at him. "You saved him."
Dante didn't answer. He looked at her, just for a moment, then nodded and walked the other way.
---
Wells watched from the monitor room, his hands clasped behind his back, eyes focused not on Caitlin or Ronnie—but on Dante.
There was something strange about the boy.
He was powerful. Untraceable. Missing from the timeline, from the past and the future. He had no right existing.
And yet…
He did exist.
And worse, he was starting to change things.
Save lives.
Alter outcomes.
Create bonds.
Wells narrowed his eyes, whispering under his breath.
"You weren't supposed to be here."
---
That night, Dante sat on the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs, legs dangling over the edge, the city lights twinkling far below him.
Another cigarette lit the dark, the smoke curling up into the stars.
Behind him, Barry approached.
"Cisco's looking for you. Says we've got a new reading on another metahuman."
Dante didn't turn. "You go."
"You sure?"
He nodded. "They don't need me for that."
Barry paused. "You alright?"
A long silence.
Then Dante replied, "You ever do the right thing… and end up with nothing?"
Barry didn't answer. He sat down beside him.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "A lot more than once."
Dante glanced at him. "I saw her cry. Happy tears. Holding him like… like nothing else mattered."
Barry nodded.
Dante exhaled slowly. "I wanted her to look at me like that."
"She did," Barry said. "Just not the way you wanted."
The two of them sat in silence for a while—two heroes, two men out of time, two people quietly breaking inside.
Then Dante crushed the cigarette and stood.
"I'll be around," he muttered.
Barry looked up. "Where are you going?"
Dante's voice was quiet. "To find something worth bleeding for."
And without another word, he vanished into the shadows, leaving behind only ash and silence.
---
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