Chapter 136 – Home, Sort Of
The swirling light of the portal exploded into white static before gently fading out behind them.
The familiar hum of STAR Labs greeted them, sterile and comforting all at once. Barry took a long breath of real air. Patty blinked quickly, her arms still shaking from the trauma of her time trapped in the Mirrorverse.
Cisco was the first to look up from the monitor. His eyes widened instantly.
"Holy—" He jumped up. "Barry?! Patty?!"
Nora came skidding down the hallway, speed-blurred and panicked. "Dad?! MOM?!"
Patty barely had time to react before Nora slammed into her with a hug hard enough to knock them both off balance.
"Oh my God, oh my God, you're okay," Nora gasped, clutching her mother tight. "I thought you were gone—Dad kept saying you were alive but—"
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Patty whispered, voice trembling. "We're okay."
Barry placed a hand on Nora's shoulder and nodded. "She's safe now. We're both back."
Caitlin and Wells followed next, staring in disbelief as the family reunion unfolded. But then Caitlin's eyes flicked toward the figure just stepping through the portal behind them.
"Wait…" she said slowly.
Eva McCulloch emerged into the light, clinging tightly to Dante's arm like a lifeline. Her nails dug so deep into his skin, they were close to piercing it—but Dante didn't flinch. He just stood there, cigarette in his mouth, watching everyone's reaction with his usual indifferent smirk.
The contrast was surreal.
Dante, with his fiery red hair, glowing eyes, and smoke curling up from his lips, stood calmly in the middle of the chaos with a borderline-feral woman latched to him like a second skin.
Cisco blinked. "Um… is anyone gonna talk about the woman trying to fuse her soul to Dante's arm?"
Wells narrowed his eyes, voice cautious. "Is that—"
"Eva McCulloch," Barry said, stepping in.
Caitlin's head snapped toward him. "That's impossible. She vanished—"
"Six years ago, I know," Barry said, nodding. "She was trapped in the Mirrorverse all this time."
"She's… not doing well," Patty added quietly.
That much was obvious.
Eva's eyes were twitching as she took in the bright lights and bustling sound of STAR Labs. She flinched at every beep, every footstep, every flicker of light. Her grip on Dante only tightened.
She stared at Wells like she was trying to remember what humans looked like. Then at Caitlin. Then Cisco.
None of them moved.
Finally, Eva spoke in her broken, haunting voice.
"Too loud. This place too loud. Talking. Screaming. Screaming in the mirrors."
Her voice echoed down the hallway.
Caitlin took a cautious step forward. "Eva… it's okay. You're safe now."
Eva didn't respond. She looked up at Dante.
"Safe?" she asked him directly, ignoring everyone else.
Dante took a slow drag of his cigarette. "You're with me, love. That's the safest place you'll ever be."
She nodded once and leaned her head into his shoulder like a child clinging to a parent.
Cisco whispered to Barry, "Dude, what the hell did you two go through in there?"
Barry rubbed his face. "Too much. It was empty. Silent. But it messes with your mind. We saw everyone. Mirror versions. I thought I lost her."
He looked at Patty, who was now sitting in a chair with Nora beside her, still crying quietly.
Caitlin gently placed a blanket around Patty's shoulders, her doctor instincts kicking in. "You're safe. We've got you now. I'll run some tests to make sure nothing's wrong, but—"
"No tests," Patty whispered. "Please. I just need air."
Caitlin nodded. "Okay. No tests. Just rest."
Across the room, Eva hadn't let go of Dante. Not for a second.
Her grip was now visibly red around his arm. Her fingernails dug so deep, she was drawing tiny lines of blood.
Still, Dante didn't say a word. He just exhaled smoke and looked down at her, amused.
Wells finally spoke again, eyes narrowed in analytical curiosity. "She's bonded to you."
Dante shrugged. "What can I say? I'm charming."
"No, it's more than that," Wells murmured. "After six years of isolation, trauma, and mental decay, you became her anchor. You reached her, Dante."
"Not the first time I've driven someone crazy enough to love me," Dante quipped.
Cisco winced. "That's… actually fair."
Eva suddenly looked at Wells.
Her voice cut through the room like glass. "You left me there."
Wells blinked. "What?"
"You built the machine," she hissed, face twitching. "You and your precious particles. You tore the world. You broke the glass. You put me in the dark. You didn't look for me."
The tension in the room shifted.
Caitlin stepped forward. "Eva, he wasn't the one who—"
Eva screamed suddenly, a high, horrible noise that echoed through the room.
Lights flickered.
Monitors buzzed.
Dante stepped in fast, turning her to face him, both hands on her cheeks.
"Eva," he said sharply.
Her breath caught.
He smiled.
"Love, look at me. Not them. Me. You're out now. Don't waste your freedom on hate. You're not trapped anymore."
She stared at him. Breathing hard.
The room slowly quieted again.
Everyone just stared as Eva closed her eyes and leaned into him.
Dante glanced around the room. "So… she's staying with me."
"Dante—" Caitlin began.
"Nope," he interrupted. "No labs. No tests. No cages."
He looked at Eva.
"She's mine."
Cisco held up his hands. "Fine, man. Just… maybe take her somewhere without sharp objects."
Eva smiled eerily. "I like knives."
Dante beamed. "See? She's perfect."
Barry shook his head, finally laughing under his breath. "This day keeps getting weirder."
Wells looked from Eva to Dante and sighed. "It's always the quiet ones."
Patty finally stood and walked over to Dante.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For bringing me back. For finding me."
Dante gave her a nod. "You're family. I'd walk through a hundred mirrors for you."
Eva tugged his arm. "I hate mirrors."
He looked down at her. "You and me both, sweetheart."
As they all stood there, trying to process what had just happened, one thing was clear:
They may have escaped the Mirrorverse, but its shadow had followed them back.
And it was clinging tightly to Dante Hart.
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