E001 Influence

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"No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."

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"Hello, boys. You lost or something?" Barry Allen, local speedster was dressed in a new prototype costume facing 4 thieves in a restricted level of Mercury Labs.

In the past year of being an active hero of Central City, people were barely starting to take notice of his existence. There were even several blogs beginning to pop up that were "connecting" the dots and had begun to record his achievements.

In a couple of months, he'd be graduating high school and adding a whole new can of worms to his life to deal with. But with the help of Caitlin, his track reputation, and his internship at CCPD he'd be able to take a couple of college classes for free.

"Who the hell are you?" the thieves all turned to face him, it appeared as though the man with the Australian accent was the leader.

Just because his existence had recently been outed didn't mean that everyone knew about him. Which was quite disappointing, evident by his face falling.

"What? Haven't you heard of me? The Streak?"- the Streak was what the bloggers began calling him, and he kinda liked the ring of it- "Fastest man alive? No? Like, come on! I'm all over the inter…"

A boomerang flew by, interrupting his rant, and crashed into a potted plant behind him.

"Seriously?" Barry looked from the wooden toy to the Australian man, "You're throwing wooden toys at a man faster than the speed of sound?" Barry ran a bit around the hallway to prove his point. "It's like bringing a knife to a gun fight." he chuckled. "Though statistically speaking, a man with a knife would stand more of a chance since gunshots mostly miss their targets even at close range," the kid clucked his tongue in disappointment.

"Would you shut up mate?! An' bugger off while yer at it! We got no time for children in Knickers," the Australian got a laugh from his companions with the last part.

Barry looked at his costume. It consisted of similar articles of clothing that he originally wore during the start of his superhero career. A bright red hoodie with a scarf and black goggles to conceal his face. And some red pants. His suit was decorated with yellow trails resembling the lightning that often presented itself when he ran. Caitlin manufactured them to be durable and frictionless. But that didn't mean that there were invulnerable to damage he often got in the field from scuffles with other Metas.

His choice of name for other people with powers like him differed from the one the media used. They still continued with the term Enhanced. Barry actually got the name Metahuman from his friend, Cisco.

"I have no clue what Knickers are, Mate, but I'm pretty sure that was an insult."

Yellow electricity trailed Barry as he quickly disarmed the men and pulled a little prank of revenge on their leader.

"Oh wow!" Barry chuckled. "My little Pony Underwear? I finally found another brony in this city."

"No one messes with Captain Boomerang DickHead!" the man tried to run towards the speedster only to get tangled up with his lowered pants and faceplant to the floor.

This scene raised some stifled laughter from his friends.

"That's why you're supposed to pull your pants up after you use the toilet. Everyone knows that." Barry attempted a joke.

Outside the sirens of policemen began to wail. A groan escaped Barry as he tied up the criminals. He wasn't on the best of terms with CCPD because of an accident that landed one of their cops in the hospital. And as a result, a task force was formed to bring the Scarlet Speedster to "Justice". Worst of all is that it was led by Joe. Barry and his adoptive father often butted heads over discussions involving whether the Streak was a hero or a menace. That and the fact that Joe still quite hadn't left his drinking habits behind.

For the past few months, the Streak and the Taskforce played a game of cat and mouse. Every time he showed up to save the day, the Taskforce wasn't too far behind. They actually almost found his identity once.

After facing off against a Meta Mercenary who called himself Azrael, the Taskforce managed to collect a blood sample from the site. The blood was given to Barry's mentor, Julian Albert, to analyze. Luckily, since Barry was interning and helping Julian out, he was able to switch it to a different vial. The investigation on that part led to a dead end since the owner of that blood showed no powers and lived in a different state.

"Well, looks like my job here is done."

Barry carried all four of them out and dropped them off at the entrance of the building just as the cops arrived.

"Hey guys, I was just helping you guys out on apprehending these criminals." He raised his hands for them to see he meant no harm.

"Streak! Put your hands up in the air and keep them up!" Joe announced from his cruiser.

"Seriously?" the Streak scoffed at the request, "I've already got them…"

He dodged the bullet that fired in his direction. Having enough he quickly left the scene leaving the annoyed cops to wallow in their sorrows once more.

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THEME SONG (The Nights, Avicii)

-=-=Barry POV=-=-

"Hey, Caitlin. I'm going to Big Belly Burger, want something?" I asked my partner in crime, Caitlin.

I'm a speedster so I burn calories faster than your normal human. Know what that means? It means that I have to be constantly replenishing my strength by eating. Caitlin designed some calorie bars for me but it wasn't as good as actually eating food. Those bars were bland, and even though Caitlin was currently working on a way to give them some flavour, I doubt I'd ever come close to even liking those things. So I only ate them when absolutely necessary.

-No. I'm fine. I'm just going close up shop so that I can focus my time tomorrow on finding my dad.-

I never liked her dad. Harrison Wells was the one who put me into a coma a few years ago. But that didn't mean that I'd ever wish something bad to happen to him.

He recently disappeared a month back. No trace of him. Just gone. We've spent every moment since, when I wasn't saving the day in Central City, looking for him. So far it seemed as though the ground just opened up and swallowed him. The last time we saw him was when he left for an interview he never arrived to. It must've been then when whoever kidnapped him took the opportunity.

"Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow then, Luv." I added with a snicker.

-Goodnight Barry. And get some sleep this time- The connection ended with brief static.

I arrived at the fast-food restaurant and zipped into the restroom without anyone noticing. Inside I began to take off my costume and return to my civilian clothes. I turned my hoodie inside out bringing the Red and Green sweater I always wear into view and hiding the jagged lightning bolts inside. My pants were fine, no one would bat an eye at the sight of a young man in red sweats. I quickly folded the scarf covering my face and hid it in my pockets and lowered my goggles. With my costume now gone, I was ready to leave the restroom.

After meta-humans began to show up, I had to start carrying my costume around with me. I usually kept it on me in a backpack but when I could I'd wear it. Though not every day. That would just be gross and suspicious. So far I've only encountered a handful of metas, 11 to be exact. And five of them were in a makeshift prison on the far side of the particle accelerator. I didn't like how we had to enlist the help of Dr Wells for that, but it was better than having to kill every meta I came across.

I was still haunted by those metas that I accidentally killed when I first started being a hero. They were the reason why I rarely slept.

After a few dozen burgers, lots of fries, and weird stares, I was finally ready to call it a day. Kind of. I planned to sneak into the precinct, which should be closed by now since it was around midnight, and keep working on my mother's case. I had to find her killer, he already caught me off guard last year. Haven't seen him since. But I know he's still out there.

I looked up in pain, wheezing, and saw a terrifying figure looming over me. It had a monstrous mask that opened up at the mouth revealing jagged, sharp teeth. A dark blue covered the entire body as black lightning crackled through the air around it. And eyes that glowed red seemed to radiate anger and hatred.

"HELLO SPEEDSTER. THE NAME IS PSYIONIC AND THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE." it cackled.

The wall behind me trapped me in his presence. I tried to get up but my leg burned with pain. I felt claws sink into my skin. Terror gripped me. This was something different. This was a speedster, it had to be my mom's killer.

"Why did you do it?" I croaked.

I was raised in the air, my feet dangling. The claws sunk deeper into me in order to keep me from falling to the ground.

"Do what?"

"Why did you kill her?"

Before anything else could happen, a cold blast of air-launched the demon into the air. Darkness began to cloud my vision, but not before I could catch a brief glimpse of white hair from my mysterious saviour.

I have no idea how that speedster managed to change their appearance and their lightning, but it doesn't matter. What matters is getting justice for my father. So he can finally rest in peace.

As I exited Big Belly Burger, I was about to run back to the lab but a familiar face stopped me in my tracks. Iris. It'd been a long time since I'd seen her. According to Cisco and Joe, we actually dated for a while. That was something that I couldn't believe. Before Caitlin, Iris was the girl I loved. Even though she was a few years older than me. 3 years in fact. I was 18 and she was 21.

Like most people now, she graduated early from high school and scored her Masters in Journalism at age 19. Joe used to tell us stories about how in his day doing all that would usually take years, and that not many people even had the chance to do all this.

"Barry! Hi, long time," Iris greeted me with enthusiasm.

She closed in the distance between us with a hug, which I very gladly returned.

What everyone told me about our relationship after the break up seemed unbelievable judging by how amiable Iris was acting with me. The years actually treated her well. She was very beautiful. Her hair had been cut shorter than the way she used to wear it. When we were kids her hair used to be so long, now it barely reached past her shoulders. Her lips looked so smooth and soft. I found myself trying to imagine how they must've felt on mine when we were together.

"Barry. You okay?" I looked away guilty about my thoughts.

"Uh. Yeah. I didn't know you were back in town," I lied.

I did know that she had been back in Central City for a while. In fact, I knew a lot about her life away from home. Including the fact that she was secretly dating her father's semi-new partner, Eddie, and that she had altered her name and now went by Iris Russell.

"Yeah, I've been back for about a month now. Though I have visited the City several times before." After a brief pause, she began on a delicate subject, "I heard that you lost your memory when you struck by lightning several years ago."

"Yeah, I forgot everything from the year before that and random snippets of my life. Including how my father died."

"I'm so sorry about that Barry. How's Jace?" her face showed concern over our sister.

I hadn't visited Jace in the hospital in a while. The guilt just grew unbearable recently. It's been 2 years, nearly 3 now. And she still hasn't woken up. The longer she lasts in the coma, the more it's possible that she will never wake up. Meanwhile, here I am, awake. I went through the same thing she did, but I came out with superpowers. How is that fair?

"She's okay. She hasn't woken up though. I don't think she'll ever wake up. The doctors have already offered us the choice to disconnect her, but Joe doesn't want to do that. I think, he thinks that if he does, it means that he'll be admitting failure to my parents."

"I'm sorry Barry. I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner even though I knew," she apologized.

Soon we found ourselves walking together and talking. It actually felt great. I hadn't noticed how much I needed to talk to someone. Of course I had Cisco, Miranda, and Caitlin, but I talked to them all the time and it could get a bit boring at times. I needed someone new to talk to. I knew that now.

We didn't spend the whole time talking about my sorrows though. We found a way to stray into her and what she'd been doing these past few years.

"After we broke up, I began to take those College classes you used to nag me about when we were a thing. I started out here, in Central City, before moving to Metropolis to continue my studies. But that was after the PA explosion that put you two in your comas," she swallowed.

I could understand her hesitation at continuing after mentioning the accident.

"That accident actually created something new in this world," I chuckled, I was referring to myself but for all she knew, I could be talking about those crazy metas that were running around the city.

"Oh yeah. I heard about that on the news. But I've had my fair share of weird in Metropolis too. You should see those symbols burned into the sides of buildings by some speedster hero called the Blur." Speedster?

That must be where he went. But why would he antagonize me just to skip town and go somewhere else to start vandalizing?

"We got one in Central City too. Except he's our hero," I boasted.

"Oh. I've noticed," her laugh pained me. I realized how much I missed it.

The house just wasn't the same with just me and Joe around. It felt too empty. Which is why both of us rarely stayed in the house anymore. It was just full of painful memories. I thought back to the times when I recently woke from my coma. I tried hard to stay away from the house by staying at school, hanging out with Caitlin or my friends at school, and even working overtime at the Precinct. The times I was home I'd find Joe drunk on the sofa, or sleeping in the Kitchen where my sisters would always be cooking.

That was back when Joe's guilt was severe. Now, his drinking was still a problem, but he was able to go to work. And he focused his guilt into anger at all the Metas that roamed Central City. He was furious at the thought that those people were abusing the powers that they received from the accident that took his daughter from him. Why should they benefit from something that did something so terrible to his family? The problem was that he lumped all of us Metas together though. Everyone including the Streak.

"That's actually why I came back. I heard about the Streak and I thought that if I could start interviewing him and record all his successes, it could give me the exposure I needed. Plus I want to learn everything I can about him. I worked with Cadmus labs last year and I got to learn about a lot of Powered people. I wonder if he's like them at all or if he's something else," her smile revealed her teeth, something that she rarely did.

"Well, you're the first West that is actually showing a positive interest in this guy." I chuckled.

"Let me guess. My dad thinks he's a menace? Is it because of the whole, vigilantes think are above the law thing?"

"Actually he hates Metas in general. Because of the whole Jace thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Heh."

-=Tannhauser Industries=-Caitlin POV-=

This wasn't the first time that I come to visit my biological mother. I've come several times before to confront her on why she set me up for adoption. Why she abandoned me, like so many other people in my life. She was also currently helping me find a way to get rid of my powers, for good. I've run out of options. Even before my dad disappeared, he still didn't know what to do about my abilities. So she was my only option left.

My mother's assistant was waiting for me at the front of the building. He put his palm on my back as I entered to lead me to my mother's office. I didn't like him. Something about him felt off. I don't know if it was the way his smile unnerved me, or how he always seemed to be in deep thought with his expression slightly sinister. Whatever it was I tried to ignore it.

But I still didn't like how he always felt the need for close contact. It was only something that I let my Dad and Barry do. And Ronnie, once upon a time.

"Hello, mother." she sat in her white office typing away at the computer to the side of her desk.

She raised a finger to signal me to wait. Meanwhile, Nigel just walked behind her to stand. His eyes never came off of me, they just stayed glued to me.

"Mom. It's getting worse," I couldn't wait any longer.

My powers have begun to get out of hand. The power dampener I used to wear no longer worked, ever since I fully used my powers to throw that Speedster off Barry.

I shuddered at the memory of Barry's broken body. He managed to heal, but that encounter with the meta nearly killed him.

I've also started blacking out more than I used to. The horror at waking up to the sight of bodies frozen with all their heat stolen was too much. I wanted out of this nightmare. I wanted to get rid of my powers before someone close to me ended up hurt.

"I'm on the phone, honey. I'll be with you in just a minute." she ignored my fear.

"Mom it's getting worse," the air around me grew cold as I raised a hand and ice came shooting out.

Neither Nigel nor my mother batted an eye as the icicles narrowly missed them and embedded themselves behind them.

A/N: Hello guys! So a new season is starting! Isn't that exciting? I also feel a lot more confident in my skills so that's a plus. I'll be able to write my story with not only excitement but confidence. I'm sorry if this feels a bit rushed but I just had my first part of the SBAC today and I wanted to get this new story out today because, well, it's Friday. So again like always. Make sure to follow and favourite to be alerted when a new chapter comes out. And post a review to either give me some ideas or critique my writing so that I can see how I'll be able to improve my writing. Until next time!