"Are you sure about this?"

Merry nodded firmly. "I've gone this far. I'm going to get into those labs."

"Alright. Then watch your head," was the light response.

Matthew Myrrh drew his 9mm Glock and fired twice at his niece standing before him. He was a superb shot. The two bullets hit the wall of the alleyway behind her, missing each side of her face by mere inches and burying themselves deep into the brickwork. Merry opened her eyes and took a breath. Though she had complete faith in her uncle's marksmanship, it was quite another thing to stare down the barrel of a gun without reaction.

"Why'd you close your eyes?" Matt asked, lowering the gun slightly. "What if something had gone wrong? You could have stopped those bullets if you'd wanted to, but not with your eyes closed."

"It's called having a little faith," said Merry, untroubled by the idea.

"A little faith won't do anything for you if you're dead."

"It's nice to know you have as much confidence as I do."

This kind of banter was usual between the two of them. 'Uncle Matty', as he'd been when she was a kid, was Merry's favourite person in the whole world and it had been just the two of them in it together for a long time now. Merry was finally in a place where she could start trying to avenge some of the reasoning behind their situation. It was one of the few things that kept her moving forwards.

"Heads up..." Matt had time to warn her before two police officers suddenly charged onto the scene, guns raised.

"Drop your weapon and raise your hands in the air!" the first cop - an African American - ordered, instantly training his gun on Matt, whose own firearm was still pointed at Merry.

Matt released the gun with one hand and half raised his free hand into the air in an attempt at a peaceful gesture. "I can't..."

"We will be forced to shoot you," the first cop warned.

"Okay, okay... My name's Matthew Myrrh." Matt spoke calmly, trying not to spook either of them. "I only shot in self defence. This is going to sound crazy, but there's somebody else around here somewhere - a man named Bernie Lowman. Only you can't see him..."

The two cops glanced at each other. "That... doesn't actually sound too crazy..." said the first cop. "So where is he now?"

"Well, I don't know, do I?" Matt couldn't stop a slip of sarcasm.

The second cop - a handsome man with neat stubble and dirty blonde hair - looked uncertainly to his partner. "Should we call for back-up?"

The first cop seemed to deliberate for a few moments before addressing Matt again. "Is anyone in danger from this man?"

"Yes," Matt replied impatiently. "This mad man's after my niece!"

On cue, Merry made to step forward. "Matt, maybe you should put your gun down and..."

"Don't move, Merry!" Matt ordered. "We don't know where he is or what he might do. Just stay put!"

The African American looked between the two civilians before his gaze rested on Merry. "Do as he says," he decided. "I'll call for back-up." He pulled out a cell phone, but the person he rang wasn't another cop. "This is Detective Joe West. Requesting back-up on Third behind the old Ostreicher building. Unidentified subject; may be armed and dangerous."

The response from the other end of the line sounded confused. "Err, Joe? Are you sure you've called the right number?"

But Joe resolutely recited the words again before hanging up. "I repeat: unidentified subject; may be armed and dangerous."

Merry shot Matt an uncertain look. From what they knew of Joe West, they'd been hoping he'd call in a different kind of back-up. They didn't really need anymore cops involved. He stared back at her, unable to convey the message without saying anything. But luckily for the two of them, they had their own unique way of being able to send each other hints.

A window from the storey above them suddenly shattered, sending a cascade of glass showering down over Merry. She shrieked and instinctively threw her arms up to shield herself from the worst of it. Matt whirled around to where the destruction had come from and fired another bullet into the vicinity of the fire escape closest to the broken window.

"Stop!"

"Hold your fire!"

Matt glared at the sound of the cops' protests, still not lowering his gun. "He's after my niece! What do you want me to do? Wait for your so called back-up?"

That was exactly what Joe wanted him to do. How were they supposed to fight against an invisible foe? They weren't equipped for this. But his 'back-up' certainly was. Joe just had to rely on the tech team's smarts behind said back-up to get his location quick enough from his phone. Once that critical information was available, then he knew that speed wouldn't be a problem.

Another window burst into pieces on the opposite side of the alley, narrowly missing Joe's partner, who shielded his eyes in the same way that Merry had. Things were getting dangerous. Joe knew how difficult S.T.A.R. Labs' so-called meta humans could be to fight, but it was even harder when you couldn't tell where your perp was.

"Come on, Barry, come on," he muttered under his breath, his eyes never resting as he constantly searched the area for any clue as to the location of their foe.

Thankfully, his faith was well-founded. A blur of red suddenly appeared in the alleyway at an impossible speed, braking so hard that it created a cloud of smoke. Once stationary, they could see that the blur was in fact a man. A man in a red suit with tiny lightning bolts on either side of his mask and emblazoned across his chest. Known for a short time by the public as the Streak and now as the Flash - the mysterious, inhumanly fast saviour of Central City.

Though to Joe, he was Barry Allen. The nerdy, young forensic scientist who was best friends with his daughter and who he'd raised practically as his son for the last fourteen years. A boy who just happened to have been struck by lightning.

And then to Merry and Matt, he was something else entirely. He was a way in.

Barry assessed the situation in all of a nanosecond. Joe and his partner, Eddie, had both discharged their weapons. Never a good sign. A girl with short, blonde hair who couldn't have been any older than him was standing slightly away from them, tiny bloody scratches decorating her arms and face. Victim. Facing her was a man with untidy hair of a similar colour and a dark lick of stubble across his chin. He also bore a gun and it was aimed in the direction of the girl. Bad guy.

Merry had no chance of being quick enough to react as he charged towards Matt. Thankfully, all he did was zoom past, snatching the gun from his hands. Even though Matt had been prepared for it to happen, it was still weird having something in your hands one moment and then it being gone the next. Barry grinded to a halt and turned to face Matt again, establishing whether he would still be a threat unarmed. It was in that short moment that Merry hit him.

Barry felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer. The force from the impact threw him off his feet and literally head over heels until he rolled to a stop several metres away. He staggered quickly to his feet, unsure what had just happened. It was extremely difficult to catch him off guard - after all, he could move quicker than most people could even think. The truth was that nobody had been close enough to have hit him. It was almost like he'd been hit by, well... nothing.

Joe and Eddie seemed as confused by the blow as he was. But the two civilians, that was a different matter. The man looked as calm as anything. The girl, however, looked scared. She was holding both hands out in front of her - almost like she'd just attempted to push something out of her way. For someone smart like Barry, it wasn't difficult to put the twos together. Meta human, his mind screamed.

"Did you just do that?" he asked the girl incredulously, using his power to vibrate his vocal chords at a high speed to disguise his voice.

"I... I'm sorry!" she stammered. "But he's my uncle - you were going to hurt him! He was just protecting me!"

Barry looked towards Joe for confirmation, who nodded reassuringly. So the man wasn't a threat? Barry didn't understand. Why had Joe called him here so urgently if there was no danger? As soon as he'd received the bizarre call, he'd gotten Cisco to ping Joe's phone and triangulate the location from where the call had been made, assuming it must have been code. But the only meta human here didn't seem to be a threat either. Had Joe called him in just because she was a meta human?

"Our perp's invisible," Matt said helpfully, registering Barry's silence. He was pleased. Joe had made the call they'd been hoping for after all. "So I'd watch your step, because you won't see him coming."

Invisible? So there was a second meta human in the area. That explained everything. Joe hadn't called just because there was a meta human around - he'd called because he was apparently in the middle of some meta human fight. Barry was sure that Cisco would have been losing it right about now if he'd known what was going on. A meta human who could turn invisible? How was he supposed to fight someone who he couldn't see?

But apparently, he didn't have to worry about the fighting part. Eddie suddenly staggered as if he'd been pushed aside, then a trashcan at the far end of the alleyway was sent careering out of the way, spilling rubbish everywhere. It looked like their invisible foe had decided to make a break for it. For once, since Barry had gotten his powers, he'd taken too long.

"I wouldn't worry now, mate," Matt added cheerfully. "Looks like he thought better of you and took off."

Barry glanced between the two civilians and the two cops. The latter looked just as confused as he felt. Eddie in particular. "What just happened?" he asked uncertainly, lowering his gun and rubbing his shoulder where he'd been shoved.

Barry hesitated. He was desperate to know more about what he'd just ran into. Joe might have been in the know about meta humans, but Eddie wasn't. They couldn't talk here. They needed to be somewhere private. He looked to the girl and said one word, "Sorry."

Before Merry could even process what he'd said, she found herself suddenly airborne - aloft in the red-suited man's arms and travelling at what felt like mach one speed. There was no time for her to react. All she managed was a short gasp and then, abruptly, they were stationary again. The man set her down and her feet shakily touched grass. As Merry looked around, she realised they were now standing in the middle of an open field. Where exactly, she had no idea. She was aware of one thing though: they were alone.

"My uncle!" she protested. "You can't leave him there - what if that thing comes back!"

Barry felt torn. He hadn't liked that the guy was armed when he clearly wasn't a cop, but the girl seemed distressed about him. Plus she'd claimed that he had only been protecting her. It was enough to cement his decision. At least he was in possession of the guy's gun now, either way.

"Stay put," he told Merry, before running back to fetch Matt.

Merry felt like he'd barely been gone two seconds and then he was back again, Matt at his side. Matt didn't look like he'd handled the super speedy travel as well as she had. His face was pale and his expression decidedly blank. Merry rushed over to him. "Matt!"

Matt caught her arm unsteadily, attempting to be careful of the many scratches littering her skin. "Merry! Are you alright?"

Merry hastily dismissed his concern. "I'm fine."

Matt turned back to Barry. "Thank you," he told him sincerely. "We were in a real quandary until you showed up."

"I really don't think I did anything to help," Barry admitted, not bothering to disguise his voice anymore. That had been more for Eddie's benefit. These civilians didn't know him.

"He must have just felt outnumbered."

"So what exactly happened?" Barry questioned. "Who was he? And who are you?"

"My name's Matthew Myrrh," Matt introduced himself. "I'm a bounty hunter. And this is my niece, Merry. Our invisible man is called Bernie Lowman. He caught onto us a few cities back. Learnt about Merry's abilities and has been trying to get hold of her ever since."

"What for?"

"To convert her over to his way of thinking," Matt explained. "He thinks having powers gives him the right to rob banks and such. Apparently, now he wants an accomplice."

"But I don't even know that much about my powers yet," Merry added. "I definitely don't want to use them for bad though."

Barry was fascinated. This girl was exactly the kind of meta human they'd been looking for. So far, they'd only come across one meta human who hadn't turned against the rest of society - a girl named Bette San Souci, who'd had the ability to turn anything she touched into bombs. But good or not, her power had been highly dangerous and it had ended up costing Bette her own life. Merry, however... Her powers too seemed like they could be dangerous, but they also appeared to be much more easily controlled.

"So... you have powers too?" Merry continued.

Barry nodded. "I'm a meta human. Just like you."

"Meta human?" Merry repeated curiously.

"That's what we call them... Well, us," said Barry.

"We?"

Barry grinned. "Let's just say I know some people who'll be able to explain it a lot better than me."

"Wait, does that mean they might know where my powers came from?" Merry asked, suddenly excited. "Or yours? Or Bernie Lowman's? Can I meet them?"

"Sure. I'll take you to them right now," Barry beamed, just as excited. It was so refreshing to come across another good meta human.

"Don't suppose we could take the bus this time, eh, mate?" Matt suggested uneasily.

Barry grinned again. "Sorry, I don't have my bus pass with me."

XXX

Barry transferred both of them to the front of a cordoned off building which, judging by the surroundings, appeared to be right on the outskirts of town. He took Matt first this time, giving him the extra few seconds to compose himself whilst he brought Merry over too. Merry stared up at the rather plain building, feeling her stomach twist in anticipation. She knew exactly what this place was.

"You not got a lower setting there, lad?" Matt asked ruefully, slapping his cheeks to try and distract himself from the nausea.

Barry laughed. "Sorry, one speed only."

They both followed the scarlet speedster inside, who conceded to walking at a normal pace. He led them through to a wide, open room that was lined with computers and large screens. Two others were already inside - a boy sitting at one of the computers and a girl stood inspecting one of the charts on the wall. Merry judged them to be in their early twenties. They both looked surprised to have visitors.

The girl was so surprised that she hastily tore down the entire chart that she'd been looking at and quickly folded it into four. "Oh! We weren't expecting you to bring company..."

"It's okay, Caitlin," Barry reassured her. "This is Merry - she's a meta human."

All eyes turned to Merry, who put on her best uncomfortable look and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Um, hi."

"Finally, another girl meta human!" exclaimed the guy, grinning widely.

Merry wasn't quite sure what to make of that. She shot Barry a questioning look, who laughed. "That's Cisco. He's part of the team here."

"He doesn't get out much," the girl added.

"Excuse me. I get out plenty."

"And that's Caitlin," said Barry, indicating the girl. "She also works here."

Merry looked between the two employees, then back to Barry. "These are the people you were telling me about?"

Barry nodded. Caitlin, however, still looked confused. "But you haven't said anything to us about her..."

"She's part of why Joe called me," Barry explained. "She was being followed by another meta human. One who can turn invisible."

"Awesome!" Cisco exclaimed. "He could be the Phantom! Oh, yeah, nailed it first try!"

Merry raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Phantom?"

"Oh, here we give all the meta humans cool codenames," said Cisco, nodding to himself. "It makes it more fun."

"And the rest of us pretend it doesn't happen," concluded Caitlin, rolling her eyes.

Merry was quite amused by the idea. She kept her eyes on Cisco. "So what would you call me?"

Cisco sat back in his chair. "That depends. What can you do?"

Merry couldn't resist a smirk. "I can do a lot of things..."

Cisco's grin widened, but Caitlin seemed a little alarmed by the turn the conversation seemed to be taking. She hurriedly cut in before Cisco could make one of his usually cringing responses. "So what exactly happened to this other meta human?"

"He took off," Matt chimed in. "I'm guessing he wasn't a fan of the competition when he saw your boy here..."

"Barry," Barry added helpfully.

"Dude. You kinda suck with the whole secret identity thing," Cisco commented.

"What? They're clearly on the same side as us," Barry pointed out. "We need all the good meta humans we can get."

"You keep saying meta humans..." said Merry. "But what exactly do you mean by that? Who came up with it? Does it just mean someone with powers? How did you even get your powers in the first place? How did I get them?"

"That's why I brought you here," Barry smiled. "Cisco and Caitlin were the ones who helped me to understand more about superpowers and meta humans. They know a lot more about it than me."

"Though there is someone who knows even more than we do," Caitlin added.

"And that would be me," came a new voice.

Merry and Matt both turned to see that somebody else had entered the room - a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. Merry knew instantly who it was and it took every ounce of self control to contain her emotions and keep her expression perfectly blank. If she wanted this to work, then she couldn't afford to give anything away. To everyone else, this would be the first time she'd even heard anything of the Dr. Wells.

"My name's Harrison Wells," he introduced when Merry said nothing, simply giving him a perfectly controlled curious expression. "I run S.T.A.R. Labs and I believe that I can tell you everything you want to know about meta humans."

"Then please tell me everything," Merry practically begged. "I need to know everything."

Dr. Wells nodded knowingly, his gaze then sliding over to Matt. "And are you a meta human too?"

Matt shook his head. "No, I'm just your everyday bounty hunter."

"Then I wouldn't go as far as to say that this information is classified, but there are very few people who know about what we do here."

"Say no more, mate. I'll wait outside if you like," Matt offered, catching on quickly.

"What? But he's with me," Merry protested. "He's my uncle. He's not going to say anything to anyone."

Matt put his hands on both of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Merry, how long have you wanted to understand where your powers came from? Now you finally have someone willing to give you that information. I can wait outside for twenty minutes. It's no big deal."

Merry made a show of biting her lip before eventually conceding. "Alright."

"Atta girl."

"I appreciate the cooperation," Dr. Wells told Matt gratefully. "Barry, why don't you show him out?"

"Regular speed though, thank you," Matt insisted, pointing a finger at Barry. Barry just laughed and agreed to lead him outside. The others could distantly hear Matt ask, "Can I have my gun back, by the way?"

"So... Merry, was it?" Dr. Wells enquired. "I can tell you everything I know about the origins of most meta humans that we've come across so far, but in order to fully understand the extent of your abilities, we will likely need to run some experiments and put you through testing. How do you feel about that?"

Merry was nodding before he'd even finished the question. "I don't mind - I'll do anything. I just want to know..."

"Well, then in that case, we welcome you to S.T.A.R. Labs," Dr. Wells smiled. "Hopefully, we can help you find the answers to all of your questions. Now, do you remember where you were when you first discovered your powers?"

A little over half an hour later, Merry was leaving S.T.A.R. Labs. Though she moved confidently, her legs were shaking and her heart was pounding. She'd finally done it. They'd come so far since leaving the UK and after so many years, she'd finally found her way into S.T.A.R. Labs. Of course, her battle wasn't over just yet. Now she had to weave her way in even deeper. And to do that, she needed to gain the trust of everybody else involved.

The girl, Caitlin, had seemed a little wary of her. But they were of similar age and Merry was sure that she could win her over in time. Barry, their fellow meta human, seemed friendly and fairly eager to please. He'd certainly been quick enough to trust them with his real name. Merry didn't think she'd have any trouble from him. The obviously geeky Cisco - plain as day from the long, untidy hair and the Super Mario Bros. t-shirt - hadn't stopped staring at her the entire time she'd been inside. She didn't think he'd noticed anything other than the fact that she was female. She reckoned she could have him wrapped around her little finger in no time. Boys were always so much easier to influence.

Apart from Dr. Wells, of course. But then Merry had already learnt years ago that he was the big cheese. He was the one she'd really have to work at to gain his trust. Because he was also the one she wanted to destroy. She'd waited this long. She was certain she could do it.

Matt was waiting outside for her, smoking a cigarette. He blew out a long trail of smoke and glanced over when he noticed her presence. "Well?"

Merry smiled. It wasn't necessarily a friendly smile. "I'm in."