Cellular
TITLE: Cellular
AUTHOR: Parisindy
DISCLAIMER: The Fanfiction based on the TV show 'The Flash' was made purely for fun and entertainment, no infringement was intended.
NOTES: This story takes place during the season 2 final episode 'The Race of His Life.' It's just a little add on to a scene I enjoyed. Thanks to Eljay for being my Beta reader.
'And I can't talk you out of it?'
'Not this time.'
'Then I'm sorry too' replied Joe, resigned.
It sounded briefly like the few times Barry had gotten in trouble as a teen, when Joe had grounded him, but he wasn't a kid anymore.
Barry turned his back on Joe. He would kill Zoom. He had to…. Before he could finish his thought something slammed in to his back with a solid thud. He staggered letting out a small squawk of surprise and then a hiss as the chemicals flushed in to his system instantly. He tried to reach back, looking with shock at a giant tranquilizer that stuck out of his back. It was big enough to bring down a whole heard of elephants. He staggered again, his brain instantly confused. What? Had Wells shot him? Joe? He tried, to rationalize, tried to make sense of… but the drugs clogged his brain. The wall seemed to melt as his arms grew weak and his legs gave way. No! This couldn't be happening! His vision tunneled as everything turned grey. Joe leaned in looking determined but sad. Then everything just faded away.
As big as that tranquilizer was it wasn't going to last long. His system neutralized it from his blood stream at the speed of light. Still, it took a bit longer then he would have liked for the world to solidify and regain its colour once more.
He started to push himself up slowly; his heart beat rapidly, even for him. The faces of his friends came in to focus. He was in a cell, the one they used for the bad guys! Everyone was staring at him. It felt very much like an intervention. The ones you see on late night TV where the parents want to get their child to quit smoking pot.
'What are you doing?' His voice slurred slightly. 'Why did you put me in here?'
Joe was the first to speak up, voice soft and kind. He only sounded like that when something bad happened. Joe knew Barry was hurting, he had seen it before. Like when his Mom died, and now his Dad. Barry could see the compassion in his eyes. But compassion wasn't going to stop Zoom.
'Because, you are too angry right now. You can't race him like that. Whatever your plan you-you'll lose' Joe stuttered.
It was so unlike Joe to stutter to seem unsure that Barry couldn't help but meet his foster father's eyes. The man genuinely looked scared. Not for himself but for Barry, and Barry understood that fear. It was crisp and sharp, like a cold razor blade, and he has felt it all too often. He couldn't lose anymore. Was Joe next? Or Iris? He had already lost so much, too much. His stomach clenched involuntarily, that's how he knew he would beat Zoom in the race, because he simply could not loose anymore. There was no other option. Barry looked at his friends, as he struggled to his feet.
'Keeping me in here is going to get everyone killed; I'm the only one that can stop him, you know that.' His frustration was leaking through.
Wells looked at him directly and firmly as always. 'You race zoom on his terms, you'll lose.'
Wells had been the one who had shot him! He growled and couldn't help shouting as adrenaline pushed out the last effects of the drug and his temper reappeared with full force. 'This is not your decision to make!'
Joe cut him off, trying to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. 'It is this time, we all made it together.'
Barry stopped for a moment then, blinking, and the shock of it almost worse than the tranquilizer. 'What? All of you?' His eyes quickly flashed to Iris and then to Cisco.
Cisco, stuttered nervously. 'Bro, I went back and forth. I was a good 60-40 at first.'
'Ramon.' A simple word from Wells stopped his mouth from running on.
Cisco just nodded then, resigned. 'Yeah, yeah we all made it together.'
'Come on.' Barry turned in his cell. That was it then, his friends had lost complete faith in him. He understood they were scared, he understood that he wasn't being rational or hell not even that sane at the moment. But when did they lose his faith in him.
'Allen.' Wells called trying to get his attention, Barry's mind was reeling but he turned to face him. 'Allen, this is for your own good.' Then Wells paused for a split second before hitting the controls to close the door. Wells had his game face on he turned and walked away.
Barry started to panic then, they weren't going to leave him in here were they? The blast door started to close, and he rushed forward to the glass beating it with his fist.
'Don't do this, guys, Iris, Cisco? Come on! YOU HAVE TO LET ME STOP HIM!'
And then they were gone. Barry sobbed leaning on the glass for support. He started punching the glass, harder and harder until he could feel blood run down the sleeve of his suit. 'GAHHHH!' He screamed, all the emotions he had been suppressing flowing out all at once. He wanted to kick, hit punch, and destroy! But in the small padded cell there was just nothing to vent his anger on. He beat on the glass until exhaustion kicked in, and to be honest like everything else with him it kicked in pretty fast. It really had been the week from hell.
He slumped against the wall, drained.
After his Dad died, and he chased Zoom all over the city, he had come to Starlabs. He really had no idea what else to do. He knew he wasn't thinking straight. His friends had been there, comforting and supportive. But Barry just felt numb, numb and angry. He felt like a light switch, he was either on or off. When he was on, he was Angry exploding with electricity and energy, or off, empty, numb and exhausted.
They were wrong in this, keeping him trapped in here, they were all just going to get killed. He started to gasp for air. Panic and helplessness kicked in. Not being able to do anything, idleness never sat well with Barry. And now with Zoom threatening everything it was even worse. What had he meant when he said he was 'Almost there, almost ready.' For what exactly?
He banged his head lightly on the wall behind him. He needed out and he needed a plan.
What was happening? What if Zoomed killed everyone while he was locked up in here? He felt small suddenly, like all the things he had done so far in his life and amounted to nothing. His mind defaulted to science mode, and apparently he was feeling a bit poetic as well and the quote, 'You are but a single cell in the body of the world,' popped in to his head. A cell in a cell… there was some irony to that.
But even in bleakest of times Barry wasn't a complete defeatist. He had to be able to do something to fix this. There had to be something he could do.
His Brain and his body were at war with themselves. Anger and hurt would spike and scramble his thoughts, before emotional and physical exhausted would fog his thoughts. But he fought both like they were Zoom himself and a plan started to form in his head, it wasn't a good plan, it most certainly wasn't a wise plan or even a smart plan. But he finally had a plan, and that was enough to give him focus, to make him able to function again. Time passed slowly. He was angry, he was hurting but he was ready to go.
Then Wally opened the door.