A/N: Another Flash/Laura story (I love them too damn much to let it go). Hope things aren't as confusing as the last; it was a rushed one so forgive me of any mistakes!
"I was wondering, X...maybe you and I could go and grab something to eat later? I hear the lights are up by the boardwalk tonight."
Laura stiffened at the invite, easily recognizing the offer. "Gee, Jules..." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "You do know Flash and I live together...right?"
"Yeah, yeah...of course." He looked down. "Good ol' Flashy...I just...I thought it'd be a good idea for you and I to catch up on a few things."
"Really? Because it sounds like a date offer to me."
"Jesus, Kinney, not every boy wants to take you out." He joked, looking away. "I'll take that as a no. What, he's holding you hostage?"
"Julian." She said firmly as they came up to the stairs. "That's not funny."
"Alright, alright." He held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever you say, boss."
She sighed, unlocking the front door. "Look, we're having some problems, alright? I'd prefer if I stay here and fix it before I go off and party."
The two mutants stepped inside and she locked the door behind her.
"It's a lovely offer, but unfortunately, I'm gonna decline. Things just aren't right."
"What's not right?" Flash stood by the stairs, arms crossed. She hadn't even heard him walk in.
Laura smiled. "Nothing. Julian offered to take me out but we have stuff to take care of first." She moved forward, pressing a light greeting kiss to his cheek.
Julian glared at Flash. He thought he was better, that he was superior to the male mutant, just because he got the girl. Nothing but contempt and disgust passed between the men, the tension so thick Laura swore she could cut it in half.
"Do you want something to drink?" She asked, breaking their mini battle up.
Julian shook his head. "Nah, I'm alright. I'll just grab my keys and go, I've got somewhere to be later."
"In a rush, Keller?" Flash asked darkly, eyeing him.
"Not particularly." Julian answered harmlessly. "Why?"
Flash glared, as if he were trying to tear his soul out. "Why don't you stay with us for dinner? Laura clearly wants you to."
Laura glanced up in alarm.
"No, that's okay." Julian shook his head. "Tonight's not a good night for us. Maybe another time."
"Shame. What, off to meet another girl?"
"Flash." Laura hissed, pinching his arm.
Julian inhaled heavily. "I'm sorry, what's that supposed to mean, Thompson?"
"You couldn't stop at mine, could you?" Flash growled. "How many girls you got waiting back at your place, twelve?"
"Stop." Laura warned.
"You like to laugh at others, don't you?" Julian asked. "But you're gonna laugh at me when you've failed to keep a wife and several girlfriends? Or maybe it was because when it fell apart you couldn't go crying to daddy?" Julian pouted, pretending to wipe tears away.
Laura stared up at him, sliding her hand across her throat to signal to him to stop. Daddy issues were not to be made fun of, especially in an attempt to wound Flash.
"What, and that's funny to you, right?" Flash snarled, his eyes crackling.
Laura looked to Julian and then to Flash. Where had his sudden ferociousness come from?
By the look of it, Julian seemed to realize the mistake he made, though his pride wouldn't let him back down.
"Flash, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." Laura interjected, already feeling the heat build within the blonde.
"Yeah man, not at all." Julian agreed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Just relax."
"You want me to relax?" The flames jumped even higher and Flash clenched his fists, his tone raising.
"Yes!" Laura exclaimed, stepping forward. "Calm down, he didn't mean it."
"Just like he didn't mean it when he told Sophia it would work out between them, right?" The blonde snarled, blue eyes churning.
"Flash!" Laura exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Now you've crossed the line, asshole." Julian growled his own fists curling.
"Julian, no." Laura warned, holding her hand out. Why was she spending sundown in her house trying to break up a fight between two thick-headed men who had a record for losing tempers easily? Suddenly Julian's offer to go to dinner sounded nice.
"Yeah?" Flash taunted, pushing Julian. "That crossing the line too?"
"I really don't wanna do this, man." Hellion hissed, trying to keep it together.
"What about this?" Flash shoved him, making him stumble into the table behind him. The lamp slid off and crashed to the ground, along with several old photo frames and a glass candle holder.
"Flash, stop it!" Laura exclaimed, grabbing his arm. "What the hell is the matter with you?! Lay off!"
Before he could answer, Julian shot forward, sucker punching the blonde. Like lightning, Flash recovered, rushing forward into Julian, kneeing him several times in the stomach. Julian shoved him back, punching him across the face again. He pushed him against the door, slugging him once more.
"Julian, stop it!" Laura tried again, trying to separate the boys. Yeah, dinner sounded great right about now.
Flash growled, moving to place Julian in a headlock.
"Stop it, both of you!" Laura managed to pry Julian off of him, holding her hand out. She turned to Flash, now, eyes blazing. "What the hell, Flash?"
Still in the heat of the moment, Flash grabbed Laura's upper left arm tightly, dragging her close. Before any of them could think, he brought his hand down hard across her face.
Laura spun forcefully to the side, her head slamming against the corner of the counter. She collapsed, her body limp.
Julian punched him hard across the face again. "What the hell is the matter with you?" He growled, blocking a kick. "That's your girlfriend!"
Flash never answered, but tackled him, breaking the glass in the door, the two men falling outside.
i.i.i
Quartermaine stepped through the door cautiously, gun raised. He had gotten Julian's rushed call, though the mutant hadn't exactly specified the problem.
"Thompson?" He called, looking around. "Kinney? You in here?"
Nothing.
He covered the hallways and made his way to the living room. There, he noticed, a small table by one of the chairs had been jolted, the items that had once been on top of it now on the floor. Still keeping his gun raised, he turned to the entrance of the kitchen.
Laura rested against the floor by the island, several heavy streaks of blood under her body. Her dark hair was sprawled out and it covered her face, like she had been thrown. Where the hell was Flash?
"Laura?" Clay moved to squat beside her, brushing her hair out of her face. "Laura, can you hear me?"
Her eyelids stayed closed, never moving or twitching. She was out cold.
He noticed a cut on the side of her head, the wound bleeding heavily. How long had she been like this? Who had taken her out so easily with only one messy table as scant evidence? It was barely enough to conclude a fight had taken place.
Quickly, Clay pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, pressing it to the injury. He made sure she wasn't harmed any further and pulled her up into his arms, carrying her to the couch. When he had set her down with a pillow under her head and the cloth pressed to the wound, he was quick to dial Flash. The line rang several times before going to voicemail.
"Hey, man," Clay breathed, already recording the message. "I don't know where you are or where you've been, but you better come back quick; Laura's hurt badly, I don't know how or by who. It looks like she hit her head against a counter or something...whatever, just get here as soon as you can, okay? Her powers aren't sealing it up at all. Quartermaine out."
i.i.i
Laura woke to a harsh pounding in her head, the lights too bright. She groaned, reaching up to confirm it was her couch that she was laying against and pulled herself up.
"Take it easy, chika." A hand rested on her arm and her ears warmed to the voice easily.
"How did you get in here?" Laura groaned, rubbing her head.
"Clay let me in."
Laura looked up. "How the hell did Clay get in?"
"Don't know if you noticed or not, but there's a hole in the back door."
The detail brought back a rush of memories and the pain disappeared with the arrival of surprise. Flash had gone off the end and all she could really remember was the bright white light at the end of his backhand. What had happened to Julian? Her friend was powerful, no doubt, but Flash was a little more than deadly when he really needed to be.
"Where's Julian?" Laura asked, standing up.
"He's here, relax. Take it easy, you hit the counter hard." Jubilee grabbed her arm, holding her tight.
"More like the counter hit me..." Laura grumbled, pulling away. She moved out of the room, past the fallen table, and into the kitchen. The blood stayed on the tile surfaces, slowly drying now. It had been late day when the incident had happened, now she guessed it was past nine. How long had Flash been out there on his own?
"You alright?"
Laura turned to find Julian, thankfully in one piece. He had several raw scratches and cuts, but for the most part, he was okay.
She breathed out in relief. "The real question is, are you okay?"
He shrugged. "I'm fine. I'm sorry; I kinda started this."
Laura shook her head. "It's not you. I don't know what's wrong with him, but something's spiraling out of control."
"Clay seems to know." Julian gestured to the blonde agent who stood on the other side of the counter, flipping through several papers.
"Clay." Laura addressed, moving the stand by him. "Thanks for the save."
"Of course." He glanced up to make sure the cut was gone. "Julian called when the fight got outside, said to find you."
"What the hell happened?" Jubilee asked, standing across from Laura. "He attacked Julian, why?"
"I said something that pissed him off." Julian admitted lowly. "But in my defense, he did start it. I was trying to leave but he didn't let me."
"Sounded like he wanted you to stay." Clay mumbled lowly. "Flash knows your personality, it doesn't take much to piss you off."
Suddenly a small idea formed in the back of Laura's head. Flash had started acting out a few weeks back when he tried fitting more things into his daily schedule. She remembered the meds he took in the mornings and right before bed; was he trying to ween himself off of the meds? That didn't make sense, Flash knew the drugs were crucial to keep himself in check. There could only be one clear answer to her question, and even then it barely made sense to her.
"It's Venom." Laura concluded, crossing her arms. "Flash is hotheaded, yes, but never like this. He has boundaries and he knows what lines to keep from crossing."
"Studies from Project Rebirth state that he needed a certain drug to keep the Symbiote under control." Clay looked up, hands on the files. "Is it possible it's a lack of the medicine?"
Laura sighed. "I don't know; maybe? I haven't seen him take any in a while, he might've cut the dosage back to once a day instead of twice."
"Do you remember the last time he took it?" Jubilee asked, looking over.
Laura had to think on it before hissing lowly. "No...maybe one or two nights back? I don't think I payed a lot of attention to it."
"Whatever the hell it is, we have to find him." Julian crossed his arms. "He's loose in the public, he could seriously hurt some people. The last thing we need is a story about a war hero gone bad."
"We'll need a plan to catch him." Clay started. "I don't fancy bringing him in with a fight, but I don't think sedatives will work nicely either."
"Jules and I can take him." Jubilee said firmly. "A few fireworks to surprise him and a little work to knock him out cold. Not a problem."
Laura shook her head. "It's not simple, it's not like knocking out a guard. It's friggin' Flash Thompson, he can take an ax to the shoulder without grunting, you can't just hit him in the back of the head and hope for the best."
"So what do you suggest?" Julian threw his hands up. "You can't take him down head-on and you can't sneak up on him."
"Exactly." Laura paused, making sure her plan was solid. "You wanna take him down, you do both; you've gotta play him."
i.i.i
How can he have let this happen? It was simple, he was getting better; how had he suddenly crashed like this? He had let it get too far, he knew Venom would erupt in such a violent way; why didn't he stop it? Maybe he had wanted it to happen. And even if that were true, he knew that wasn't the real outburst; it was just beginning.
What about Laura? Flash rubbed his face, his hands burying in his hair. He had hit her so hard, she spun; he still cringed at the sound her body made against the counter before Julian chased him down. Surely she was terrified of him; how could someone she trust so much suddenly turn on her like that?
Several footsteps splashing through puddles made him jump and he stood, backing away into the shadows even further. The abandoned tunnel he had taken refuge under was good for hiding and picking up sounds from several yards away; it was enough time to get out of sight.
"There's nothing here!" Was that Clay's voice he had heard? What the hell was he doing here?
"Check under the the tunnel." Julian. That was definitely Julian, he was sure of it. "He can be slick." Was he running a search party? Was he so mad about what had happened with Laura, he was out to get him?
"We need to hurry up." Clay breathed, their voices getting louder. "She can't stay like that forever."
She? The only female his brain could think of was Laura.
"We know she can't stay like that forever. If we find Flash, we can help them both. Laura doesn't like being sedated, she'll riot."
Flash tensed. What had happened to her?
"Thompson?" Clay called, shining a flashlight. "C'mon out man, we can fix this!"
"He's not gonna answer." Julian hissed. "He's too centered."
Centered? The last thing Flash was was centered, and his pride had gone away with the last incident.
"He ran away like a child yesterday when he came to, I almost didn't believe it was Flash." The mutant continued, shaking his head. "Whatever the hell is wrong with him, it needs to be fixed. If Laura dies because of this, I'll keep him alive just to make him suffer; he doesn't deserve her."
Flash breathed out shakily, shutting his eyes tight. Everything warned him against it, but if Laura was seriously in danger, he needed to step up.
"What's wrong with Laura?" Flash asked, never moving from his spot.
The two men silenced.
"She's different." Julian spoke up at last. "Whatever you did to her the other day, you changed her. She's sick and it's probably because of that alien-venom thing on you."
"She here?" Flash asked, his heart pounding.
"No." Clay breathed. "She's at Base Twelve getting the medical treatment she needs. If you'd come with us, we can help her-and you too."
It almost made him snap. "I don't need help!" Flash growled, his voice changing.
"Fine! Even if you don't need help, she does. You'll let her die over your selfishness?" Julian asked, his voice growing harsh. "You heard me, Thompson, you don't deserve her, yet she keeps crawling back to you. This is your fault, so you better get your ass out here and fix it."
With a hiss, Flash stepped out of his hiding place, advancing on Julian. "You think I meant for this to happen, you think I want to hurt her? You don't even know the half of it, Keller, so butt out!"
The two men glanced between one another, exchanging a secretive glance. Something was up, and it wasn't about Flash's previous statement.
Julian pulled a small gun from his jacket, firing. Flash growled, Venom sliding onto his skin and covering him in seconds. He deflected the projectiles, rushing forward to fight both men.
A burst of sound forced its way past Venom's control and into Flash's ears, causing him to freeze up. The pain increased and he could feel Venom screaming in anguish; the Symbiote never really worked well with sonic waves.
Flash growled, trying to cover his ears but it was useless. Pain rushed in, threatening to shatter his eardrums and forced him to the floor.
"Enough!"
At the command, the sound stopped, though his ears rang loudly. Julian and Clay moved to stand over him, and for the first time, Flash noticed a third person. Jubilee stood next to Julian, large brown eyes staring down at him.
Julian said something, looking to a fourth person out of Flash's view. He could hear nothing, except for the constant, overbearing ringing in his ears.
A sharp prick in the side of his neck made him gasp, though he was too exhausted to turn his head to look at the assailant. Very quickly, the edges of his vision started to blur, until he floated into nothingness.
i.i.i
The first thing he saw were two jade irises looking down at him, and for a moment, he thought he had died and gone to Heaven. How could something so beautiful and so light exist on a low planet such as this one?
Gradually, the white light surrounding the eyes dissipated, leaving behind an even more beautiful face to fill in the space around them. Dark hair framed her face and even if he wasn't behind the Pearly Gates, at least he had a sliver of it here in Hell.
She reached forward to brush her fingers through his blonde strands, a soft smile lighting up her features. "Hi." She breathed just above a whisper.
Flash groaned lightly, blinking hard. "Where are we...?"
"You're home." She breathed lightly. "Do you want water?"
The previous days suddenly crashed down on him like a ton of bricks and he started to pull away from her touch. "No, don't touch me...I'll hurt you."
"You won't." She pulled her hand back, letting it rest on his own.
Then it dawned on him again. She was here and she looked fine to him; had it worked, whatever their friends were working on? Had they saved her?
"You're okay." He narrowed his eyes. "It worked?"
Laura tilted her head slightly. "What worked?"
Flash blinked hard again; the sedatives were definitely strong. "Julian said you were sick." He breathed, trying to focus on her. "Said I caused it and they needed to get me back to cure you."
Laura pressed her lips together, moving to brush her fingers over his chest. "It wasn't true." She whispered. "We needed to force you out of hiding to take you down; you're not exactly an easy target. We agreed that something happening to me would make it easier to lure you out; and it worked."
Flash grunted lightly. He reached up shakily, grabbing her hand. "You need to stay away from me." He warned. "I don't want to hurt you."
Laura snorted. "The damage is done, it's alright."
Flash stared at her, trying to break through her gaze. Was she angry with him? Or was she simply trying to ease his anxiety so he wouldn't burst again?
"Laura..." He started. "I'm...God, I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted to lay a hand on you..."
Both hands grasped his own large one, silencing him. Slowly, she brought his hand up, letting it rest against her right temple. "I'm okay." She breathed, letting her eyes fall shut. "I'm okay."
He let his fingers move, letting them feel her uninjured skin until they moved down to caress her cheek. Just simply touching her sent a number of mind blowing chills down his spine; how could one tiny person have such incredible power over him?
"We, uh, we put you back on the medicine." Laura broke the silence, bringing them both back to the situation. She gently touched the needles taped to his arm and he looked to find several medicine bags on a stand beside the bed.
"Hank was here earlier." She continued. "He said to stay on the meds and not to change the dosage for a while."
Flash nodded. "I thought if I could just...get off of the meds, I'd be strong enough to control it."
"You don't need to be." Laura shook her head. "Venom's no joke, Flash. If the meds work, don't try to change the job. We'll work on it, I promise."
The room had started to spin again and he blinked hard in an attempt to still it. "Yeah...sure."
Laura read him easily. "We'll talk about it later; get some rest. You've been on a high for a while."
His eyelashes were fluttering now. "Will you be here when I get up?"
Laura could feel the uncertainty and confusion raging within him. She smiled softly and leaned forward, placing the lightest kiss against his pink lips. "I'll always be here." She whispered, brushing a hand through his hair again. "Don't worry about it."
i.i.i
"You alright?" Jubilee asked, watching the afflicted couple through the slight space in the door.
Julian crossed his arms, sighing. "Yeah." He breathed, watching her. "Yeah, I will."
"You worried he'll take everything you said seriously?"
He snorted. "Hardly. She'll eventually tell him it was a plot to get him out of hiding and he'll figure out it was all said in the spirit of hunting."
"But you weren't exactly acting either. When Sophia didn't work you went to Laura because you thought she would take you back."
Julian laughed softly, scratching his nose. "Yeah, I did. But Flash stayed in the picture, blazing in guns and glory and Laura just was...too far away."
"In the tunnel earlier." Jubilee watched as Laura adjusted Flash's pillow. "You meant it then?"
Julian was silent for a long time. His eyes were glued on his former teammate, the one that got away, as she pressed a kiss to the man he absolutely despised. She wasn't thinking about Julian anymore; she was thinking about Flash, the one who could actually give her something.
Julian glanced down. "No." He said at last. "I didn't mean it. They're like two damn puzzle pieces; I lied when I told him he didn't deserve her because if there's any two people who deserve each other the most, it's gotta be them." He glanced up at the firework, meeting her gaze. "If she's happy then I'm happy."
Jubilee smiled sadly, reaching out to hold his hand. "Let's grab a drink, celebrate your new epiphany."
He started forward, laughing. "Epiphany?"
"Epiphany." She repeated. "We'll celebrate the realization that Laura's not the last woman on the planet; you're not an ugly guy, Jules, you could get anyone you wanted."
He smiled softly. "Yeah; I guess I could. I was just so wrapped up in the idea that...it was supposed to be her." Julian shook his head. "Next time; there will always be a next time."
Jubilee grinned, pushing out the front door and into the brisk New York night. "I can drink to that."