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The moment Barry Allen appeared from the future, long before he entered S.T.A.R. Labs, attempting to pass himself off as his present day self, Caitlin was aware of his presence. How could she not be? Even to her purposely muted senses, he glowed like a beacon, niggling at her like a splinter in her skin, crying to be plucked out.But still, she kept her composure, even when every long-buried instinct shrieked at her to leap at him, to eradicate the wrongness of him. She let him leave the Cortex with Dr. Wells but tightened her focus, knowing one of them would be coming.And he did. She was working in her office -- paperwork never stopped even when a new crisis was in progress -- when she felt his approach.She turned calmly as the Time Wraith drifted into the room, his head moving to and fro, scanning through the walls."There's better prey here," he said, though to others his voice would be just a high-pitched shriek."Barry Allen is yours," she returned. "He's who you're here for."He scented the air. Oh, she knew all-too-well what he was detecting, the intoxicating lure, like a perfectly ripe peach begging to be devoured, to be sucked dry of the succulent juices hidden within. Over the past 15 years, she had learned to block it out. Mostly."No," she said more sternly. "That one is mine."The Wraith snarled, smoke billowing off his body in a display of strength.She tsked, shaking her head slightly. When she showed him her true face, the Wraith fled."Dr. Wells, may I have a word?"He paused as he made his way in his motorized chair down the corridor from the Cortex. "Caitlin, if this can wait, I have something I--""It can't."He sighed, looking up at his executive assistant. His only assistant now, of course. Once upon a time, Caitlin had kept his professional and personal lives humming along like the finest of intricate machines. After the particle accelerator explosion, when S.T.A.R. Labs stood in literal ruins and all the others had left him, only Cisco and Caitlin remained. She no longer managed his social calendar -- he had none -- and she no longer had a staff to oversee -- she was his entire non-scientific staff now -- but he was well-aware that she remained indispensable in keeping his life on track.If his plan succeeded, when it succeeded, he would owe a considerable portion of that to her steady hand in his life, even when she had no idea what she was helping him to accomplish.He gestured in the general direction of his office. "Very well, I can spare you a few minutes if you really--"To his surprise, she took a few steps back and put her hand precisely on a portion of the wall she shouldn't have known was there. "I actually was hoping for a bit more discretion?"She was giving him her best professional smile. He'd seen her use it to reduce otherwise unflappable persons into quivering messes. But then she softened it with a "Please."His brain made several superspeeded calculations, adjustments and predictions. "Of course," he said, hedging his bet as to what she really did or didn't know. It could be coincidence but no one knew the intricacies of his fake life better than she did, it was possible she knew about the Time Vault, too.But then she flattened her hand a little more and the hidden door revealed itself. She stepped through, leaving him perilously close to gawking.Only someone with the Speed Force in their blood could open that door.She entered the Time Vault, hearing his chair following behind her. Once the door closed, she turned, folding her hands together sedately in front of herself. Most people would subconsciously take that as non-threatening but she knew him far better than that. He was waiting, torn by curiosity and self-preservation.He no doubt expected to be fast enough to counter any threat she might make. She smiled at the thought, masking it as another simple, non-threatening expression.He sighed. "So, who are you, then?""Caitlin Snow, the same one you hired six years ago, who's been faithfully at your side, your right hand, your trustworthy asset. I'm going to ask you to keep all of that in mind for the rest of this conversation, though I know that probably still won't ease your concerns. After all, you certainly know how to play a long con better than anyone I know."He crossed his arms, taking that all in. She loved watching him think things through. She'd always been able to see the lightning in his eyes even when no one else could."Let me rephrase, then," he said. "What are you?""I'm your guardian angel. Haven't you ever wondered why the Time Wraiths have never come for you in all of these years?"That rocked him back in his chair slightly but then his expression turned haughty. "So you are a speedster, then, if you know about them. From the future or from a different Earth?""Neither. You've made massive changes to the timeline, Eobard. Do you truly think that you've done that unnoticed?"Hearing his real name made him flinch but something passed over his face, a longing. She imagined he would have that same look if she would've reached over and stroked her fingers through his hair."You caught my attention when you killed Nora Allen," she went on. "Losing your speed actually spared you then, did you know? The Speed Force has exacting rules that even it won't bend."Until it decides to. But she didn't mention that part."But then you killed Harrison Wells and Tess Morgan," she went on. "Two major timeline changes in such a short time? Of course the Time Wraiths would come for you. You were still speedster enough to pay the price for your actions."His proud expression didn't change but she sensed something unusual lurking beneath it: uncertainty. "Clearly, they didn't," he said, each word slightly clipped.She gave him a beauteous smile. "They did, but you were already claimed. They couldn't take you, no matter how much they might have wanted to."His fingers tightened slightly on the arms of his chair. "And why is that?""Professional courtesy," she said and let her human shape melt away.
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It felt good, like a luxurious stretch after sitting cramped in one position for too long. Caitlin's human facade dissolved into smoke and her real form unfolded. She still had to make adjustments, otherwise the room couldn't have contained her, though she allowed her wings to momentarily phase through the ceiling into unoccupied space above them as they unfurled before tucking them sedately against her back. Eobard had leapt to his feet, his eyes gone red, and she could feel the energy gathered beneath his skin as he stared at her. It was disconcerting to see him struck by sheer terror but every predator unconsciously knew they could suddenly become prey. There was always a bigger monster hiding in the darkness. "There's no need to run," she assured him, remembering to use her human voice. "Though go ahead, if it will make you feel better. But you'll reveal yourself to the others if you do."The idea of spoiling his meticulous plan, so many careful years in the making, cut through the instinctual reaction. He slowly, stiffly, made himself sit back down into the mechanical chair that was part of his camouflage but he couldn't quite force the red to leave his eyes. "You're a Time Wraith," he said, the words catching in his throat a little, as if it had gone dry."I am," she said with a smile before she remembered how many sharp teeth her true form had. Her hair swirled around her head, caught by the invisible waves of power billowing from her. Smoke formed long draping shapes like a dress around her body with sleeves extending down her arms past her fingertips. If she hadn't made the choice to put her feet on the floor, she would've been hovering several inches over it. As it was, she also made the effort to form legs, ankles and bare feet to be seen through her ever-shifting "skirt."That was all sheer vanity, with no real purpose, but she liked the aesthetic. "Not just any Time Wraith," he went on, struggling to regain his usual composure."No," she agreed. "I'm quite old, one of the first, as a matter of fact. That grants me certain… dispensations my younger brethren don't have.""Such as?""The young ones have little control: when they catch their quarry, they must consume it, fulfill their purpose to bring balance back to the timeline." For a moment, her fingers lengthened into claws and she felt the hunger as sharply as she had the day she had been drawn to him, Nora Allen dead at his feet and the timeline irrevocably altered. His eyes brightened crimson again. "But you…?" he trailed off, and she sensed her brief display had him once again on the verge of bolting, barely restraining his panic."I've never hurt you, Eobard, and I never will. I've protected you more times than you'll ever know. In the early years, other Wraiths challenged me despite my claim and I handled them all without you ever realizing they'd been there."Speed was still revving under his skin. Understandable. Time Wraiths were the bogeymen who came out of the dark to devour wayward time travelers. He had every reason to fear them; she merely had to show him he had no reason to fear her.She changed tactics."Barry Allen wants something from this time, that's the only reason he would come here," she said. "Whatever it is, help him get it so he'll go. The other Wraith will follow him away. That's the simplest solution and things can get back to normal.""If you're stronger, then why don't you just destroy the other Wraith?"She smiled, close-mouthed, knowing he was testing the waters, trying to get a feel for exactly how powerful she was. "As I said, professional courtesy. He has the claim on this Barry Allen. If I interfere with that, I'll be required to take him myself."He gave her a Would that be so bad? gesture. "Barry would be queued behind you. I can't take another without taking you first. If I tried to preempt the proper order, then I would be in violation myself and would be destroyed."He looked at her thoughtfully. "And who could destroy an 'older Time Wraith with such special dispensation' as yourself?""The Speed Force. I'm its creation. All it need do is withdraw its energy from me and I'll cease to exist."At that, she pulled herself back, collapsing down into the small, human frame of Caitlin Snow once more. "Whatever Barry Allen wants, make sure that he gets it, as quickly as possible," she reiterated. "It's best for all of us."He studied her for a moment, then gave a curt nod.She gestured at the hidden door. "After you, Dr. Wells.""Oh, no, ladies first, I insist," he returned.He didn't want her at his back, as if he was fast enough to outrun her if he could see her. That was… cute. She smiled.After "his" Barry Allen recklessly engaged with the Time Wraith pursuing his future self and returned to the Cortex, Eobard took a few covert, steadying breaths as he watched Caitlin interacting with the others on the team. She's good, he admitted. Her slightly wide-eyed expression, the way she nodded a little too quickly at something that Cisco said, it was all extremely genuine. He had to acknowledge if only to himself that, if she hadn't chosen to reveal her true identity, he still would've been completely fooled.He had such pride in his own ability to hide in plain sight, to blend in invisibly over all the many years, that it stung to realize she had done the exact same thing to him."Don't worry, Cait," Barry said solicitously. "We'll figure out a way to stop that thing before anymore show up."He reached over and hugged her and Eobard had never before in his life wanted to murder him as much as he did right at that very moment.As if she sensed the flare of his jealousy, she looked at him past Barry's arm, her face turned away so that neither of the other two men could see, and she winked at him. His expression remained impeccably schooled but, mentally, he shook his head.He didn't get the chance to speak privately with her before the end of the day, so had to be content with making his usual brief goodbyes to her alongside of Barry and Cisco."See you tomorrow, Dr. Wells," she'd said in the half-professional, half-personal tone she'd perfected and he'd thought that was it for the day.But, after he'd locked his front door and abandoned the no longer needed mechanical chair in the entry way, he paused."Ah," he said. "No wonder I sometimes feel like I'm being watched.""It's not watching you so much as watching over you."Caitlin's voice hung in the air for a moment before dark gray smoke appeared, quickly coalescing into her human form.He crossed his arms over his chest. "How often do you do this?""I give you your privacy, Eobard, don't worry. But when other Wraiths have been drawn to this time and this place, I stay near so that none of them get any untold ideas should they pick up your scent."Something about the way she said that sparked his intuition. "And they're near now, because of Barry and that other Time Wraith having been here?"She inclined her head. "You're safe. You'll never even know if one decides to challenge me.""And what if… I'd like to know?"As she realized what he was saying, a wry smile curved her mouth. "You'd like to see me fight another Wraith?""I'd like to see you fight another Wraith," he affirmed.She tsked fondly at him. "As you will. There's one circling, I'll let him think I've left an area unprotected. If he chooses to try and sneak through, then his fate is on him."He ejected his Reverse Flash suit from his ring, donning it in a heartbeat. "Not that I doubt your skill," he said, spreading his hands in a placating gesture when she raised an eyebrow at him.She chuckled and made a motion as if wiping away part of an equation on a whiteboard. In seconds, he heard the unmistakable screech of a Time Wraith and abruptly wondered if his curiosity had finally reached the point where it was going to get him killed.