This chapter is really important.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(General P.O.V)
Caitlin walked in. The brightly lit hallway felt welcoming to her and she theorized that the painting was specially selected to provide a calming effect. Her steps were measured and muffled. She quickly closed the 20 meter distance and arrived Infront of a door. The door opened to reveal a staircase. She took in a deep breath and began walking downwards. The metal frame of the stairs felt cold to her touch which elicited a comfortable feeling from her. She'd never been overly bothered by the cold.
The stairs didn't go down too far. She stepped off the last step and found herself before another door. She sighed in a little frustration. Before she could push the door open, a thin flare of green light shot out of the door panel on the side of the wall and scanned her. Caitlin flinched and backed away but otherwise stayed on the floor. A couple of seconds passed and with an audible hiss the door opened to reveal a wide room with monitors and other devices.
She had her mouth open as she stepped in. Was this Jin's real base of operations? What she didn't know was that, with Jin's foray into creation of a stable pocket dimension, although he hadn't succeeded, that didn't mean he hadn't achieved anything. The spatial glove was one thing, the other was warping away his lab into this secondary base. It wasn't that Jin had 2 similar labs, rather the lab that had disappeared when Barry and Cisco had tried to investigate Jin's hideout had turned up here.
The huge monitor display hanging Infront of her lit up suddenly. A long script of code appeared before coalescing into a huge head.
"Caitlin Snow. Welcome and please make yourself comfortable."
A smooth british voice came from the monitor. Caitlin gathered herself after a brief surprise.
"Who are you and where's Jin?"
"I am in basic terms, an interactive software designed to run operations in the stead of my master. My designation is AL. On your second question, master Jin is currently indisposed."
Indisposed? Caitlin wasn't surprised at that. Having already expected the same but she couldn't believe that Jin had created a virtual intelligence. AL probably also didn't have information on when Jin would be back. That made her worry. The irony wasn't lost on her. The truth was that apart from the lab, Jin and her had interacted only a few times but she'd known that they'd had a connection. One born out of loss. She had been dealing with losing Ronnie and although Jin hadn't shared, he had also been hurting deep down. That's why she still didn't want to give up on him.
"I have questions."
AL was silent for a while before a video clip started playing on the huge screens.
"A pre-recorded message by master Jin, in the case of you coming here."
Caitlin nodded as she started watching the clip. Jin appeared in the very same room with a series of gadgets and tools scattered haphazardly on the working table. His face seemed impassive and concentrated.
"It's time, Master Jin."
"Oh? Yes…but I still can't…"
Jin sighed and rubbed his tired eyes before looking at the camera.
"Hey Cait. I know you have a lot of questions and that docket of information I sent you only added more instead of answering everything. I had to bring you here, somewhere safe and secure before we could talk."
He paused getting this pensive look on his face.
"Is it possible to map out my brainwaves and upload a real time interactive pseudo-consciousness? It would be more effective because the program would have access to all my memories hence answer her anything she asks in real time…"
"Master Jin, you're doing it again."
"Oh sorry about that Alfred…I mean AL…, sigh, "I need to stop using it all the time."
Caitlin watched the whole thing silently, her doctor's brain could recognize someone who hadn't been getting enough rest. Not to mention, the tension on his shoulders meant he had been stressing about something. Jin closed his eyes and when he opened them…he changed. His demeanor became more like…the Jin she knew? She almost felt like laughing. She even didn't know that much about him in the first place. How could she judge who he really was? Caitlin wasn't blind to her faults, which had worked to curb the arrogance of being so intelligent in her early years. So she knew she was usually led to doing things by her emotions. Which was why she was here when the smart thing was to stay far away from Drakon. So she felt a little sad to see Jin looking like that.
She almost missed it when Jin started talking again.
"Cait, you have to understand something. No matter the lies and deception, nothing about our interactions was fake. You have been so good to me at a time in my life where if I had missed that, I would probably be worse than I already am. So thank you. Thank you for grounding me. Ok, let's get to it then. First, yes Wells is actually Eobard Thawne, a maniacal time traveling speedster from the future."
Caitlin had a bitter taste in her mouth at the confirmation. It wasn't reason to trust his words blindly though. Jin looked like he had known that she would have needed proof.
"A couple of miles off Starling city at the place where Wells got into an accident and lost his wife, Tess Morgan and the use of his legs. That's where you get your proof from. Add that to the fact he has been spying on you and it should be sufficient proof to convince you to look into it."
And it was. Caitlin tried hard. She really tried to not listen to his words but she soon found herself asking how she was going to investigate the scene, tell the others and take down Thawne.
"I know it's difficult to connect a man who has been a mentor, a teacher and a friend to you to a cold blooded killer with a sinister plot but if he's allowed to go on with his plans, everyone in the city will be hurt Cait."
Jin gently said as the video continued to play. Caitlin pushed the illogical feelings of betrayal and weakly sat down on one of the seats around to gather herself.
"I understand you might have some questions about me. Specifically my powers and who I really am. I'm...sorry but I can't answer those questions fully. Just Know that my meta-gene allows me to acquire more than one ability after fulfilling a few conditions."
Caitlin wasn't sure if such a meta-gene actually existed. It was feasible but mostly because meta-humans were a very new thing. No one had explored or done a detailed study of the same before. So she couldn't rule anything out. If only she had done a deeper scan into Jin's body. His physiology was different from other metas she had studied and it had left her with a lot of questions.
"Anyway, moving on, there was a device I sent over to you with the package. That device is incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands Cait."
At this point Jin, wrung his hands and a worried look appeared on his face. Caitlin put her hand in her pocket and withdrew a chain with a coin sized metallic object. Circuit like lines ran on the inside the hole in the middle of the metal. The whole thing looked incomplete.
"It started out as just an idea. Something to offer you protection in case things went the way they did. With me either far away or dead. But then, I got a bit carried away and now you have in your hands something that can turn a normal person into a meta."
Caitlin gasped, quickly catching on to the implications. A mad man could use this if it ever landed in his hands to create a meta human army. Scratch that, anyone, even the government would jump at the chance to have super soldiers at their beck and call. Why would Jin create...
"I know what you're going to ask me and there isn't a simple answer for that. Most involves your history that I'm not sure you're ready to explore nor if I'm the right person to tell it to you. In as basic terms as I can put it, you're a meta Caitlin. One not created through conventional means but incredibly powerful nonetheless. The reason why you haven't exhibited any powers before this is because your meta-gene is dormant. That's how the device started out. I created something that would act as a catalyst to awaken your meta-gene. Nothing more. But then the nanites had so much more potential and things just spiralled from there. Now, with it's missing piece, it bombards a normal person with an infusion of potent dark matter and through the stabilizing function of the nanites facilitates the forming of an artificial meta gene hence granting anyone any power."
Anyone any power?
"That's why I had to separate it into 2 pieces."
The recording went silent, giving her time to let it all sink in. She almost didn't catch his next words too lost in her thoughts.
"The missing piece is with the other person who hates Wells probably more than I do. You definitely know him. His name is Hartley Rathaway."
"Hartley? But Wells was his biggest inspiration...why would he hate him?"
For the first time in a few minutes of just listening, Caitlin spoke out loud.
The recording continued with Jin dropping another big bomb on her.
"The last thing I wanted to talk to you about is a project called F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. It's something that is connected deeply with someone important to you. Ronnie is alive Caitlin and I am going to help you find him."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
We're moving back to the Arrow-verse for some time. J
A few more chapters before Jin leaves for another universe. I'm excited for what's coming next.