Note: This story takes place after season 3 of The Flash and season 5 of Arrow. Please read at your own risk and remember that you've been warned! :) Further explanation will be down below at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 1: Genesis
Sixty-three degrees was an average but comfortable temperature in Central City. The sky was a few shades short of that perfect blue due to the grayish clouds crawling over the city, but the afternoon daylight still fought its way through. It was a decent compromise between harsh sunlight and gloomy darkness, but if Madison could have it her way, there'd be a little more vitamin D in her life. It would definitely lift her spirits and make the world seem a little less…
"Shitty."
Huffing a sigh, the young woman shook her head and kept scrolling through her phone, looking for a more positive headline. Reading about corrupted politics and the latest inhumane acts put her in a sour mood, resulting in time spent uttering curse words and muttering about how terrible people could be. Some would say that she was purposely exposing herself to awful things as some masochistic form of finding an excuse to be negative and bitter… but really, Madison was looking for ways to remind herself that not everything was sunshine and rainbows.
So, yeah. They'd pretty much be right.
The sound of water splashing made her glance up from her place in the patio chair. Her sister Stephanie was coming up for air in the pool. After taking a moment to remove the swim goggles, she swam her way over to the edge and held onto the small ladder. "So… how'd I do?"
Madison glanced at the timer on her phone and rose her eyebrows, impressed. "Thirty-eight minutes! That's twelve more minutes than last time."
Stephanie's eyes lit up and a grin crossed her face. "Seriously? Thirty-eight minutes? Dude!"
As she proceeded to climb out of the pool, she continued, "That's so fucking cool! Thirty-eight minutes!" She grabbed her towel from the other chair and Madison sat back to look at her.
"So did you come up because you were starting to not be able to breathe anymore?"
Her sister gave a look of uncertainty, rubbing the towel over her dark red hair. "Kind of, not really. I mean, my chest was starting to feel a little uncomfortable but…" She gave a shrug. "I mostly came up just 'cause I was bored."
The two women laughed and Madison shook her head. "Well, I can see why. Like, what are you supposed to do for almost forty minutes underwater? Read a book?"
"I'm lucky I love water," Stephanie said, sitting down and looking over at the pool. "Because then I don't mind just swimming around and having fun in it. I can't imagine what it'd be like if I couldn't swim or hated water..." She shuddered at the thought.
"I don't know..." Madison mused. Waving a hand towards her sister, she added, "I think the fact that you have abilities at all would've made you excited."
That's what it had been like for her, at least. When she'd found out what she was capable of doing, the emotions had been a whirlwind of disbelief, terror, and excitement… and she had felt that way for weeks. Every night was spent wondering about the possibilities (good and bad) and every morning she was reminded that normal was not a thing for her anymore. Luckily, she had Stephanie, who'd also discovered her strange affinity to the element of water just days before Madison's experience.
It had been very rocky at first with a lot of unanswered questions and fights about what they should or shouldn't do. Were they going to keep quiet or find someone to help? Would they bother figuring out how to live with it and use their powers or were they going to pretend it never happened? Deep down, the sisters knew that these unusual things they could do had to be a result of the particle accelerator incident… the one that had caused enough trouble to affect the future of Central City forever.
Though it took a lot of time and patience, the two of them struggled with their newfound abilities together, learning to control them and eventually figuring out the extents to which they could reach. No one else in their lives knew that they had been affected… and they wanted to keep it that way. Neither woman wanted to be seen as one of the meta-humans that used their abilities to do wrong. If anything, they were itching to be able to do something right.
"True," Stephanie affirmed, snapping Madison from her thoughts. "As long as I wasn't mutating or doing some weird shit… then yeah, I could've been happy with something else."
Madison snorted but knew that she agreed with her sister. A few of the metas that they'd seen on the news definitely had some skin-crawling abilities and she had to thank her lucky stars that the two of them hadn't woken up with one. If that had been the case, then she definitely would've wanted to find a way to lose her powers.
"Alright, well, I don't know about you, but breathing underwater for thirty-eight minutes made me super hungry." Stephanie stood up and stretched, letting out a yawn.
"All I did was sit here for that long and it made me hungry," Madison responded with an eye roll, earning a laugh from her. "But I'm down for pizza if you are."
"Always."
An hour and a half later, there was a single slice of bacon and pepperoni pizza sitting between them, waiting to be devoured. But the two were stuffed and had absolutely no room left for another bite. This was what happened when they visited one of their favorite restaurants and didn't think about pacing themselves. When it came to junk food, there was no such thing as boundaries.
"Ugh…" Madison sat back in her chair and rubbed a hand across her stomach. "Remind me to not eat for a few days."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everything we just ate will last us a while," Stephanie muttered before reaching to take a sip of her water.
Madison was definitely tempted to unbutton her jeans. Her shirt was long enough and no one would notice. Just as she reached to do it, the waitress that had been serving them walked up with a smile so she quickly brought her hands back up to the table.
"Everything okay here? Does anyone want the last piece or should I take—"
"Take it, please," Madison insisted just as Stephanie blurted, "Oh no, we're good."
As the girl took the lonely slice of pizza away, Madison sighed and slumped down in her seat. Her poor stomach was slaving away trying to digest all that greasy cheese and soon enough she was going to need a hard nap. Maybe eventually she'd start watching her diet and eat healthier… Key word: eventually, she thought.
Glancing around the restaurant, Madison took a minute to observe her surroundings. It was moderately busy for a Thursday night despite the fact that most people were getting off from their day jobs now. A couple in a small booth several yards away was laughing, and a small family with children were just now ordering their food. No one sat in the booth behind Stephanie and the waitress was still at her register near the kitchen, busy chatting with one of the busboys.
So maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a little fun.
After scanning the clutter on their table, running her gaze over the greasy plates, crumpled napkins, and used forks and knives, Madison finally settled on the straw in her sister's glass of water. At her silent will and command, it twitched once… and then a second time.
Stephanie, who was texting away on her phone, didn't notice. So Madison did it again, but this time she moved the straw an inch to the side, causing the ice to clink inside the glass.
"Maddie."
Her sister's eyes were drawn to the straw, thumbs frozen in mid-text. "What are you doing?" she asked in a low voice, looking up at Madison with wide eyes.
Madison shrugged and smiled a little. "Nothin'."
The straw moved a fourth time, spinning in place for a few seconds and then stopping.
"Stop it!" Stephanie whispered, reaching to hold it between her fingers. "Someone might see."
The brunette looked around and said, "Eh. No one's looking."
Tilting her head to the side and giving her a scolding look, Stephanie put her phone down and said, "We've already talked about this: no shenanigans in public."
"Oh, come on. We haven't always followed that rule." Madison crossed her arms and raised a brow. "I know you're tempted. It's not just me."
"Uh, yeah, it is."
"No, it's not."
Stephanie just shook her head. "I'd rather not have someone point a finger and scream, 'Meta-human!'" Her eyes darted around, probably looking to see if anyone had heard her.
Madison had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "I'm not saying you have to walk on water, Steph. Seriously, we've done the smallest of things before..."
A few moments of silence passed while the two stared at each other. Then Stephanie let out a sigh and picked up her phone, not saying a word. Madison was about to leave her alone and give up when water began dripping out of the straw. Glancing at her sister, she saw that the woman was grinning just the slightest bit while pretending to be occupied with something on her screen.
Before she could say something, Madison watched as a few drops of water began inching up the inside of the glass towards the rim. She resisted a smile, putting a hand up to her mouth. Although their little acts were small, the thrill of doing them was huge. Using their abilities while trying to remain discreet in public was risky, which was why they didn't do it often... but that was what made it much more exciting.
The two were at it for another minute or so until Madison noticed that one of the kids in the family nearby was staring. He was probably about eight years old, holding a crayon in his hand... but his eyes were nowhere near the coloring menu on the table.
Immediately the straw in the glass stopped moving and Madison tore her gaze from the boy's. Stephanie, noticing her sister's change in behavior, looked around and saw what had made her anxious so suddenly. The water droplets slid back down and she grabbed the glass to drink from it. Under her breath, she said, "He's a kid. He won't understand."
Madison said nothing but she hoped Stephanie was right. This was the first time they'd ever had anyone catch their antics, and even if it was a child... there was still a likelihood that they could be exposed.
She let out a breath of relief when their waitress came back with the check. "Keep the change," she told her while slapping down the bills.
"Thank you!" Stephanie slid out of the booth, quickly grabbing for her purse.
Heart thumping in her chest, Madison could've sworn she felt the boy's eyes on her back as they walked towards the exit, but there was nothing they could do about it now. Her sister walked silently beside her to the car and it seemed like neither of them wanted to say anything until they'd safely shut their doors.
"So... yeah. We're never doing that again," Stephanie spoke up from the driver's seat. Her eyes were kept ahead of her as she drove out of the parking lot, but her grip on the wheel was tight.
"Yeah," was all Madison could say.
They drove the rest of the way to her apartment in silence. Normally when something bothered them, they would rant about it and go on and on… but this time, it was different. There had only been a few other moments when they had no words to express what they were thinking or feeling and didn't want to talk about it anyway. Madison knew that when she got home she was going to have to find a way to distract herself and keep the anxiety at bay. If she didn't, the panic and "what if" scenarios were going to keep her up at night.
Then it'd be a repeat of the weeks that came after her powers were revealed, and that was the last thing she wanted to relive.
When the car came to a stop in front of the apartment building, the two of them sat silently for a few moments. The sky was darkening already, and within a few hours it'd be a bluish black canvas above the city, signaling that the day was coming to an end. It also meant that the worst of Central City would be out and no one would be able to keep from constantly looking over their shoulder… meta-humans and regular people alike.
Taking a deep breath, Madison reached for the door handle but a hand grabbed her elbow.
"Hey," Stephanie said calmly. "We're going to be fine, okay?" She held her gaze steady, making the brunette look away briefly.
With a thin smile on her face, Madison met her eyes again and answered, "I know."
As much as she wanted to believe it and brush off what had happened in the restaurant, she knew it would take time for the paranoia to settle. Even as she waved goodbye and watched Stephanie drive away, there was no denying the uneasy feeling in her gut, something she hadn't felt in a really long time.
There was a voice in the back of her mind saying their secrets were too big to keep… And after a year of living (almost) comfortably with her powers, it was this one slip-up that had managed to shatter any sense of security and comfort she had been able to find.
Forcing the negative thoughts away, Madison headed up the stairs and into her apartment, determined to find the perfect distraction. At the moment, an ideal one would've been just shy of six feet tall with ruffled, brownish blond hair and sarcastic eyes, an obnoxious personality but unusual obsession with TV dramas—
"Finally!"
The exact guy she'd been thinking about was sitting on the couch in the living room, looking over at her with mock frustration. Chuckling, Madison kicked off her converse and tossed her keys onto the hallway table. "Miss me much?"
"I guess," Grayson replied, standing up and approaching her with a grin. "But I was actually looking forward to some leftovers." He dodged the slap aimed at his arm and laughed.
Rolling her eyes, Madison chose to ignore the comment and went over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Well, that's too bad 'cause Steph and I devoured the whole thing."
"You did not."
"We so did and I have the proof to show it," she responded slyly, pulling up her shirt to reveal the loose button on her jeans. Man, it'd been a relief to do that on the way home.
Grayson pursed his lips and then shrugged. "Alright. I forgive you this time."
She snorted and headed towards the bedroom, letting him follow her to ask about her day. Grayson was her boyfriend of two years, though at times it felt like it'd been longer. They'd met during a trip that she and Stephanie had taken to Star City after they both graduated and instantly clicked. At the time, he'd been in the process of moving to Central City, which presented the perfect opportunity for Madison to offer to be his tour guide. Not even a few months later, she ended up deciding not to renew the lease at her own apartment and instead took her belongings to Grayson's.
Now here they were, years later and in as serious a relationship as anyone could get without the marriage certificate and rings to match. But at twenty-six years old, Madison couldn't help wishing those things would soon be in her future.
"Yeah I definitely ate too much," she huffed, frowning at her bare stomach in the mirror. Then she yanked on one of Grayson's shirts, grateful that it was loose and wouldn't constrict all that food.
From his sprawled position on the bed, Grayson chuckled and shook his head. "What time are you off tomorrow?"
"Since I got stuck with the early shift, I'm off at three." Madison cringed at the idea of getting up before six in the morning. She swore her boss knew how much she was not a morning person and purposely scheduled her to open. A few days on the job and she was already partially convinced he didn't like her.
Tugging her jeans off, she said, "Why do you ask?"
He sat up and looked at her, running a hand through his hair. "I was just thinking we could grab something to eat. I just have something to do around noon but I can come get you after you're done?"
"We can do that." The thought of a date with Grayson after work made her actually look forward to brewing coffee in the morning for grouchy customers.
"Hey," Madison heard him say and she turned from the dresser to see that he'd gotten up from the bed and was now standing close to her.
She was about to say "Hey yourself" but was interrupted by him grabbing her around the waist for a kiss. Her hands immediately went behind his neck, holding him firmly so he wouldn't budge.
Pulling back after a moment, Grayson ran his gaze over her face and the corner of his mouth lifted with the crooked grin she'd always loved. "I love you, Maddie."
There was no stopping the smile on her face that matched his. "I love you, too, loser."
With a chuckle, he gave her another short kiss before turning to go back into the living room. "Now hurry that ass up. I wanna get a few episodes in tonight."
Madison let out a snort. "Of course you do."
By the time the two of them had watched three episodes of Grayson's favorite drama, she hadn't thought about the dinner with Stephanie at all. But once her phone vibrated with a text message from her sister asking if she was okay, Madison remembered the boy that had stared at them in the restaurant and her stomach dropped a little.
Before responding, she looked over at the man laying next to her in bed, who was laughing at a video compilation of cats doing funny things on his phone. The sound of his snickers made her smile and she realized that his presence really did serve as a perfect distraction... and that was one of the reasons she loved him. Without being asked, Grayson had somehow managed to take her mind off the risk the sisters had posed tonight, and that was without even knowing that she needed it.
Keeping him in the dark was a whole separate issue that Madison was going to have to deal with another time. For now, she could focus on being with her goofball of a boyfriend and preparing for a six a.m. shift, which she was not looking forward to.
With a sigh, she looked back down at her phone and began to type. We'll be okay, just like you said.
"Two caramel macchiatos and one red eye!"
Madison popped the lid onto the drink before gently pushing it into the cardboard carrier where the other two waited. The man waiting just a few feet away stepped forward to take the order and nodded his thanks.
It was the first rush during her shift at CC Jitters, the coffee shop she'd been hired at earlier in the week, and Madison was definitely feeling the pressure. The air was too warm and that was either due to the constant brewing of coffee or the kitchen behind her that was spitting out hot breakfast plates for customers. Either way, she was sweating a little in her t-shirt and her hair was tied back in a sloppy braid.
"Hi," she greeted the woman waiting at the register, wiping her hands hastily on the apron around her waist. "What can I get for you?"
"What do you have that's simple?" The woman narrowed her dark eyes at the menu behind Madison. Everything about her seemed too put together; her grayish-black hair was in a perfect bun and there wasn't a spot of lint anywhere on her navy blue pantsuit.
The brunette raised her brows and responded, "Well, I mean, we have hot chocolate and chai tea, unless you're wanting a coffee-"
"Of course I want coffee!" she scoffed with an eye roll. "You're a coffee shop, aren't you?"
Madison bit the inside of her cheek and forced a smile. "Right..."
What I would give to say more to you.
"Well, I can do a cappuccino, which is part espresso, foamed milk, and steamed milk," she continued, counting on her fingers as she spoke. "Mochas are essentially the same thing but with chocolate. Then there's the Flash, which is actually pretty unique because it's named after-"
"I know who he is," the customer interrupted with a stare.
Madison pressed her lips together and nodded. "It's brewed coffee with a shot of espresso."
Although she'd expected it, she hated customers like this. It was only in the morning that she interacted with snarky people here, but luckily most of the ones that came through her line were too sleepy or still waking up to make much of a fuss. Of course, you could find those few that had a sense of entitlement anywhere: in coffee shops, retail stores, the grocery line, in an over-ironed pantsuit...
Seven a.m. didn't look good on most people, and it didn't help that Madison wasn't a morning person either.
"Fine, I'll try that," the woman finally said, reaching up to fix her hair. "But make it two shots. No more, no less."
Without a word, Madison proceeded to make the drink, running a list of profanities through her mind. Part of her wanted to purposely screw with it somehow but another part of her figured the woman would be the type to know if it tasted off in any way. If anything, she was just going to have to make it as perfect as possible so that there would be no complaints about it.
That and maybe she'll remove whatever silver spoon is up her ass.
Once the drink was made and payment was taken, Madison handed over the warm cup and watched as her coffee-making skills were evaluated. The woman stared off into the distance, thinking hard about the taste, and then after a few long moments... she walked away without a word.
"You're welcome," Madison muttered to herself.
"Early mornings bring out the worst in people."
Her next customer was one she'd already seen every time she opened the shop. That meant his face was one she'd be seeing regularly, but if Madison was going to be honest, she wouldn't mind that at all.
He was several inches taller than her and slim with an athletic build. Wavy brown hair stood up boyishly from his head, but it wasn't that ridiculous "faux hawk" thing that guys still had going on nowadays. Even at this ungodly hour his eyes were bright and smiling, which was something refreshing, especially after the woman she'd had to deal with.
He couldn't have been much older than Madison, but by the looks of his maroon sweater, wrinkle-free button up, and casual slacks, this guy either had a much better paying job than where she was at now or he simply had what Steph might've called an "adorkable" sense of fashion.
"I can't blame them," Madison replied with a shrug. "If I had it my way, I wouldn't roll out of bed before ten."
A grin spread across his face and he shook his head. "I'm with you there on that one. It should be illegal to be up this early."
She laughed and said, "Tell me about it. Is that why you're always here?"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Madison questioned it. Why did she have to tell him that she'd noticed how often he was here? That was kind of weird.
But then again, it was normal for people to notice things like that, right? Cashiers knew when their store had regulars.
Before she could get too caught up in her thoughts, the dark-haired stranger spoke up. "Yeah, it is," he responded with a sheepish smile. "This is my favorite place to go to, even if I'm not getting coffee in the morning."
Well, he didn't seem put off by her observation. Cool.
"That's good to hear!" Madison grinned. "So what is it for you today? Do you want a Flash with two shots, too?"
"Oh, no, definitely not," he groaned and rolled his eyes. "Believe me, it's a great drink, but when it came out, it's all I had for a while."
She chuckled and joked, "Getting tired of the Flash, huh? It's okay, I won't tell him."
"Hopefully he doesn't mind if I get a black coffee," he responded with a grin.
This guy was definitely turning out to be one of the more pleasant customers she'd ever dealt with. Even after the sour interaction with the previous one, this conversation had managed to erase any bitter "I hate people" thoughts that Madison had been having. And when it came to her mindset, that was an impressive thing to do.
A minute later, she slid the drink towards him and he took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Madison."
"No problem, uh...?" Her voice trailed off, realizing she didn't know what to call him.
He flashed another smile before raising his cup and saying, "Barry."
"Barry," Madison finished with a nod.
She couldn't help but keep her gaze on him as she started to rinse out one of the blenders, watching as he met a pretty, dark-skinned girl who was waiting for him. Barry said something, making the girl laugh and place her hands on his face to kiss him. The ring on her finger flashed in the morning sunlight that was peeking through the blinds and immediately Madison's thoughts went to Grayson.
This morning, while she'd been getting ready, he had gone out of his way to cook her a full breakfast complete with eggs, toast, coffee, the works... The gesture had made her feel incredibly spoiled and almost guilty, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. Grayson had always been thoughtful, sometimes so much that Madison wondered how it was possible that someone could be so selfless. Yet she'd never complained about it; it was this kind of treatment from him that made her feel better when she was feeling down. Without him, there was a good chance she'd be a Negative Nancy for the rest of her life and Stephanie would probably want to get rid of her.
She was more positive than ever that she would never fall for anyone else. It was just a matter of time until her ring finger would reflect that.
"Um, excuse me?" A man who was balding stood at the register with an annoyed expression. "I've been waiting here for, like, half an hour."
And with that, Madison was pulled away from the thoughts of wedding announcements and being Mrs. Grayson Delaney, and back into her reality that was angry customers and wishful thinking.
This sure was the life.
Note: For the sake of this story, we're assuming that Barry never had to go into the speed force, but everything else that happened with HR, Savitar, etc. still stands.
As for Arrow, season 5 left off with us wondering what happened to the team on Lian Yu. All of that also still stands: Malcolm Merlyn and William's mother died, and everyone else (all of Team Arrow) survived and made it out okay. Thea is in a coma.
Everything will be further explained later on as we progress through this fic, although the endings of these tv shows aren't particularly super important in what I'm writing. But for now, that's all you need to know. Hope you enjoy!