After Cisco finished running the tests, he went through the results again, checking Caitlin's brain activity, blood chemistry, temperature regulation, and metahuman readings. Nothing gave him a clear answer.
He finally stepped away from the computer.
"So, no solution?" Barry asked, looking at Caitlin.
She was still secured to the chair while Daniel stood nearby, keeping an eye on her. Caitlin, meanwhile, hadn't taken her eyes off Daniel, watching him with the look of someone who was very interested in the energy inside him.
"Does this mean she'll stay like this?" Barry asked.
Cisco shook his head.
"I don't have a good answer."
"So, no good news?" Daniel asked.
"No."
Daniel sighed.
"Great."
He looked toward Caitlin before continuing.
"Cisco, did I mention that Caitlin isn't the only one affected by this strange phenomenon? I've already seen another case where someone's personality suddenly flipped almost completely. Caitlin is the second."
Cisco looked up.
"Another case?"
Daniel nodded.
"And I think it might be connected to the hallucinations I was having."
"Start from the beginning," Cisco said.
Daniel explained everything that had happened after the singularity appeared, including the strange visions he experienced while the rupture was collapsing, the different versions of people and events he had seen, and the way the hallucinations suddenly disappeared afterward.
Cisco listened without interrupting.
When Daniel finished, Cisco walked over to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.
"Okay. I think I've got the gist."
He drew a rough diagram of the particle accelerator, then added the singularity and a line representing the rupture.
"When Barry and Reverse-Flash were running at extreme speeds, they created the conditions for a breach through the Speed Force. Reverse-Flash wanted to use that breach to get back to the future, but the experiment also created the singularity."
Barry nodded.
"Right."
"And Daniel helped close it," Cisco continued. "But when the rupture collapsed, some kind of energy hit him. That's when he started seeing those visions."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
Cisco tapped the marker against the board.
"What if those weren't hallucinations?"
Barry frowned.
"What else could they have been?"
"Memories."
The room went quiet.
Cisco continued drawing.
"What if the energy carried information from somewhere else? Memories, experiences, even pieces of another person's personality."
"Daniel was the one directly exposed to it, but because his body could handle the energy, it didn't affect him the way it might affect an ordinary person."
Daniel looked at Caitlin.
"So when the energy disappeared from my brain..."
"It didn't actually disappear," Cisco said. "It moved."
He drew several lines branching away from the original diagram.
"It could have piggybacked onto other people, spreading through whatever connection the energy created."
Barry looked at Caitlin.
"And that's why she's different."
"Exactly."
Cisco pointed toward her.
"If the energy carried memories or personality patterns from other universes, those memories could be interacting with the people they're entering. The result could be a personality shift."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Meaning Caitlin isn't simply acting strangely."
"Right. Something from another universe may be influencing her."
Cisco looked between Barry and Daniel.
"And if that's true, then the personality changes aren't random. They're coming from someone else's memories and behavior."
Barry looked at Caitlin again.
"So the Caitlin we know is still there?"
"That's what I'm hoping."
Daniel stared at her for a moment.
Everything suddenly made more sense.
The strange behavior, the obsession, and the sudden change in Caitlin's powers and instincts suddenly started making sense.
"Wow, you boys actually got it," Caitlin said, looking between them. "But what's the point of trying to separate the other me from me? We're already fused, so there isn't anything you can just pull out."
Cisco stared at her.
"So you're really from another universe? That means the multiverse is actually real."
"Yes," Caitlin said. "My universe was there one day, and then the sky turned red. Everything went whoosh, and it was gone. I didn't even understand what was happening. The next thing I knew, I was here."
Daniel looked at her carefully.
"So are you Caitlin, or are you something like a second personality?"
"No. I'm one person. I'm still Caitlin, but whatever happened to me caused some changes in my behavior. Some of the memories and instincts are different, but I'm still me."
Cisco nodded slowly.
"So... basically a multiversal personality remix."
"Stop whining, Cisco."
Cisco immediately shut his mouth.
Caitlin looked at the three of them.
"Forget the old me. You're going to have to adjust to the current me."
Cisco glanced at Barry.
"So we release you, and you promise not to suck the heat out of us while we figure out what's happening?"
"No."
Barry and Cisco exchanged a relieved look for a moment, thinking that at least she was refusing clearly.
Then Caitlin looked toward Daniel.
"I'll only take it from him. Why bother with you two when I can get a full meal from him?"
Daniel stared at her.
"Yeah, you're definitely staying in the chair."
*****
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