"Hi, you must be Wally," Joanie said, extending her hand with a friendly smile. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer than usual.
"Yeah, nice to meet you," Wally replied, shaking her hand.
"And you must be Iris and Barry. Mom's told me a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you all," Joanie added, turning her attention to the couple.
"Nice to meet you too," Barry and Iris said in unison, their smiles mirroring her enthusiasm.
Joe and Cecile exchanged happy looks, clearly pleased with how well everyone was getting along. It felt like things were already falling into place better than they had hoped.
Not long after, Joe decided to grab Cecile and Joanie's orders. Barry, Iris, and Wally had arrived earlier and were already sipping their drinks.
"French roast for Cecile," Joe announced, setting the cup in front of her.
"And no-dairy green tea for Joanie."
"Thank you," both Cecile and Joanie said at the same time, their voices overlapping.
Joe just shrugged with a smile, happy to see everyone settling in so easily.
"You're not much of a coffee drinker, Joanie?" Joe asked curiously as he settled into his seat, sipping his own coffee.
"Well, I used to be," Joanie replied, "but ever since I learned hot roasted coffee beans contain cancer-causing levels of acrylamide..."
Her statement caused almost everyone to pause, glancing down at their drinks with second thoughts.
A brief silence followed, growing awkward. Joe clearly wasn't a fan of the mood shift and gave Barry a pointed look. Reluctantly, Barry stepped in to break the tension.
"Uh, Joanie, Cecile mentioned you're at Coast U? What are you studying?" Barry asked with an encouraging smile.
"I'm undecided," Joanie responded curtly.
"Are you leaning towards anything?" Iris chimed in, her tone warm and curious.
"Not really," Joanie replied, giving a small nod after a moment's thought.
"Coast U's a pretty big change, right? Do you ever miss Central City?" Wally asked, trying to join the conversation.
"Actually, I like it better there," Joanie admitted with a soft smile, her gaze dropping for a moment. "But... there's something I miss about Central City."
"And what's that?" Joe asked, smiling warmly.
"You're going to regret asking," Cecile said with a tired smile, already bracing herself.
"The Phantom," Joanie replied shortly, her answer causing Wally's smile to falter into an awkward expression.
"I should've put more thought into that name," Wally thought with a sigh. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. At least it's better than Kid Flash.
"She's a little obsessed," Cecile muttered, rolling her eyes with an amused shake of her head.
"The Phantom? That's the one thing you miss about Central City?" Barry asked, his tone laced with disbelief as he let out a scoff.
"I know the name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue," Joanie admitted with a shrug, "but I'm sure he's definitely cute under that mask." Her voice dipped on the word cute, but it was loud enough for everyone to catch.
"Is that the only thing you like about him?" Iris asked teasingly, her wide smile darting between Barry and Wally.
Joanie hesitated for a moment before responding, "I mean, he's also calculating. He doesn't waste time with criminals. He gets straight to the point—no questions asked."
"Oh, is that so?" Iris said, her expression turning thoughtful.
"And he's also a hero," Joanie added quickly.
"Oh, please," Cecile interjected with a playful tone. "From what I hear, The Flash is the one actually saving people."
"Sounds like Cecile's Team Flash," Barry said with a grin, emphasizing the term as he leaned back smugly.
Joanie raised an eyebrow but didn't get a chance to respond before Iris spoke up. "Uh, Joanie, my dad would never brag about this, but… he knows The Phantom."
Joe's eyes widened at Iris's sudden reveal. "Iris!" he said, giving her a pointed look.
"You do?" Joanie asked, turning her full attention to Joe, her curiosity piqued.
"Mmm," Joe mumbled, reluctantly nodding as he shot Iris a warning glance.
Joanie leaned forward, crossing her arms with a serious expression. "So, is my mom right?" she asked. "Who's the real hero—the Phantom or The Flash?"
Joe, caught in the spotlight, let out a small sigh. He took a moment before answering carefully, "Mmh… they both are. They both do great things for Central City."
"Okay," Joanie pressed, clearly unsatisfied. "But if you had to choose?"
"I don't...i don't think I could choose,"
Just then, Barry's phone rang. "Sorry, it's work. I'll be right back," he apologized, stepping away to take the call.
"Hey, Caitlin, what's up?" Barry asked as he answered.
Meanwhile, Wally's eyes shifted to the entrance, noticing a man walking in with purpose. It was his target Clive Yorkin.
At the same moment, Barry received information on Clive Yorkin. A picture of the man appeared on his phone screen just as a voice called out from across the room.
"Detective Joe West!"
Joe stood abruptly, startled as he turned to face the man now staring him down.
"Long time no see," Yorkin said, a sinister smirk curling across his face.
"Do I know you?" Joe asked, his hand subtly moving toward his holster. The tension in the air was thick, rising like steam.
"You don't remember me?" Yorkin retorted, his tone dripping with bitterness. "You and your cronies had a lot of fun ruining my life. Not gonna let you do that this time around."
"I think you've got the wrong guy," Joe replied sternly, keeping his composure.
"No, no," Yorkin sneered, shaking his head. "You're the Joe West, all right. You look a little too full of life now, though. Don't worry—I can fix that."
As he spoke, Yorkin reached out, his hand gliding over the coffee table. In an instant, it disintegrated into ashes, vanishing completely.
Panic erupted among the customers, their terrified screams filling the café. But before the chaos could spread further, a blur of blue lightning zipped through the room, evacuating everyone in a split second.
It was Wally's clone, standing tall and ready. Yorkin, however, remained unfazed, his confidence unshaken by the sudden appearance of the Phantom. His sense of invincibility was clear, his posture almost mocking. The clones stood silently, waiting for further instructions.
Yorkin stepped forward, clearly testing the waters. Joe's voice rang out, sharp and warning, "One more step, and you're gonna get shot."
Yorkin didn't hesitate. "Didn't work then, won't work now," he replied, taking another confident step.
In a flash, Joe pulled the trigger. But before the bullet could even reach its target, it turned to dust.
Wally and his clones exchanged a knowing glance, their expressions darkening. It was exactly as Wally had suspected. Yorkin's power was clear—it was matter erasure, a possibly lesser form of existence erasure.
Unlike the latter, matter erasure couldn't touch energy-based entities or attacks, which was exactly what Wally's clone was: pure, Cosmic-level energy, Speed Force energy.
Now, Wally understood why speedster blood was the counter to Yorkin's abilities. While Yorkin could disintegrate matter, a speedster could heal from even antimatter-inflicted wounds.
The difference was massive. Speedster blood and cells were conduits for the Speed Force, a force Yorkin's power couldn't touch.
Gathering his thoughts, Wally mentally directed his clone.
"Uh-uh, speedster, you can't touch me," Yorkin taunted, his grin wide and malicious. But the clone didn't listen. Without hesitation, it charged forward.
In the blink of an eye, the clone was already upon him, unfazed by danger. The clone phased partially through Yorkin, its energy rippling through his body before it dispersed in a burst of speed.
Yorkin staggered back, gasping. His body buckled as an overwhelming wave of positive energy invaded him. He collapsed shortly after. His clothes smoldered as the intense energy overwhelmed him, his chest rising slowly—he was still alive, barely.
Another clone immediately replaced the first, securing Yorkin with specialized meta-dampening cuffs, rendering him powerless.
This meta was on a level that warranted immediate containment by ARGUS. Wally didn't hesitate—he contacted Lyla directly.
The family gathering was clearly over. Joe's expression hardened as he grabbed his phone and immediately called CCPD. Within moments, the scene was cordoned off.
Specialized agents arrived swiftly, securing the area and ensuring no one could get too close. Yorkin, now subdued in the meta-dampening cuffs, was taken into police custody.
But before anyone could question what came next, the agents moved with precision. Yorkin was swiftly transferred out of the CCPD's hands and into the custody of ARGUS, heading straight for a high-security facility designed to hold metas of his caliber. The gathering, had come to a swift, unsettling end.