Author's Note:

Some things to note:

- This is a crossover! However it does not take place during the same timeline as the Elseworlds crossover so it doesn't have any spoilers for that.

- I am currently working through Season 4 of Supergirl, but I don't know anything about Arrow, so I'm sorry for any inaccuracies. (Legends won't be in this fic because I don't know the characters or the personalities for their season 4)

This is set in the same early-season-5-but-not-after-or-during-a-specific-episode time slot that Flux and Suppress have been it :)

- I had to alter the news article slightly to serve the purposes of this story I'm SOWWYYY but it had to be done.

Caitlin was sound asleep when the sound of speed-lightning had her jerking to a sitting position. Her hands clutched the blankets to her chest, heart rate pounding in her throat. Her first thought was Zoom. Her first thought when she heard speed lighting, even after all these years, was always Zoom.

There was a figure hovering near the end of her bed. Caitlin's hand began to slowly reach toward the phone on her nightstand. Was this a nightmare? It had to be a nightmare. Zoom was dead, she knew that. She knew that.

"Mom?" a tentative voice asked, breaking the silence.

Caitlin fell back against her pillows, letting out a long breath of relief, skin buzzing with adrenaline. "Nora," she replied, reaching over to turn on the lamp. "It's five AM, what are you doing here?"

She turned on her lamp and the yellow light had her squinting for a second before her vision cleared. Nora was in a STAR Labs sweatshirt and sweatpants, looking a little sheepish but mostly just worried.

"Hi," she said. "I know it's late; I'm sorry. I just really needed to show you something. Something really, really bad happened."

Caitlin was immediately more alert. She slung her legs from under her covers, shivering as her bare feet hit the floor, and hurried to get her clogs and a robe on. "What happened?" she demanded as she moved, already heading to the door. "Are you okay? Is Barry okay?"

"Oh, everyone's fine, I promise," Nora assured her. "But I really need to show you something like right now."

Mind buzzing with all of the worst possibilities, Caitlin let Nora grab her and run her to STAR Labs. She was surprised when they slowed down, not in the Cortex, but outside the Time Vault.

"Nora?" she asked, confused, as Nora unlocked the door and dragged her inside. "What's going o-"

"Just look," Nora said, gulping.

The holograph table near towards the front of the small room had been activated. There was a blown up version of a newspaper article, one with a headline that Caitlin knew very well:

"FLASH MISSING, VANISHES IN CRISIS," the headline read.

"Nora, I know about this already," Caitlin told her slowly. "We've known about this for ages."

"Just read it," Nora said, her voice shaking.

Caitlin looked at her dubiously, but stepped closer and began to read the article.

'After an extreme battle with the Reverse-Flash, our city's very own Scarlet Speedster disappeared in an explosion of light. According to witnesses, the Flash, with the help of Star City's Green Arrow and the otherworldly hero Supergirl, began fighting the Reverse-Flash around midnight last night. The sky took on a deep crimson color as the ensuing battle created the most destruction this city has seen since The Flash first arrived in Central City...'

Caitlin's gaze trailed away from the article, to the bi-line. In her hurry to see exactly what had changed, she had skipped over it.

"By Iris West," she read aloud. "Well, it doesn't say West-Allen anymore. Is that what you wanted to show me?"

Nora shook her head. "Look lower on the bi-line," she whispered. "Read the date."

"By Iris West," Caitlin repeated. "Thursday, April 25... 2018."

She stumbled a step back, blood draining from her face. "Oh my gosh," she whispered. "That's next week."

Author's Note: AHH I know it's cruel to have such a short chapter BUUUUT that's such a good ending omg :D :D :D Think of it as a prologue. More coming soon!