In a Flash

By: Rhuben

Summary-[Set after "The Flash is Born] "A picture is worth a thousand words, but it doesn't tell the whole story." [Set after "The Flash is Born] "A picture is worth a thousand words, but it doesn't tell the whole story." Barry has kept his sights on finding the man who killed his mom. All Averey wanted to do was find her biological father. When Barry comes across a new Metahuman with telescopic vision and a photographic memory, everything about the life he knew gets thrown out of focus. The smallest move, the smallest decision can change the resolution of your life from in focus to blurry all in a flash. SEASON ONE / SEQUEL NOW UP: Out of Focus"

Cisco/OC, SnowStorm, KillerVibe, WestThawne

-Chapter One-

"You Know Someone Who Was Affected By the Accident"

Jitters was the last thing Averey Moore needed.

And yet here she was, pressing the rubber soled heels of her white and black Nike hi-tops into the concrete from where she stood outside the coffee shop; Central City Jitters. With her face covered by the hood of her black thin sweatshirt—despite the sun being out there was still a chill in the air—sunglasses shielding the streak of sunlight shimmering through the gaps between the buildings, and alternating between gripping the strap to her bag and rocking back and forth on her heels, she couldn't blame anyone for thinking she looked like some sort of creeper.

Everyone in Central City had to be on edge at this point. Who wouldn't be? What with all the…enhanced people roaming around the city disguised as your average man or woman; who was to know who was normal and who was one second away from causing chaos? Having first arrived in the beautiful city around five months before, a newspaper article or radio report about the strange goings on made her want to turn around and head straight home. But the longer she stayed, the more she just got used to it; much like a lot of things in America—especially portion sizes of food.

Lifting her hands to reach behind her neck, Averey pulled her pig tails forward around the sides of her neck to provide extra protection against the cool air. It was time to move. She grasped the door handle and pulled hard, blinking in surprise, stumbling back just slightly at how easily the giant door swung open, allowing the aroma of coffee and cinnamon buns to crash over her like a wave.

"Far out," she muttered as she caught her balance. She lifted a hand to check that her sunglasses were still secure on her face before letting out a breath of air, stepping into the building.

"Welcome to Jitters," a blonde girl said, hurrying over to Averey the minute the door swung shut behind her. The girl reached her free hand up to brush her hair from her face, her other hand clasped around the handle of a coffee pot. A black apron covered her waist, complimenting her curves. "Are you ok? I saw you stumble."

"Yeah, I'm alright…" Averey replied, with a simple nod of her head. She quickly glanced down at the oval pinned to the blonde's blouse. "Tracey. Cheers." She lifted her hands and pulled down her hood before sliding her sunglasses up into her hair. A frown tugged at the corners of Averey's lips when a dull ache pressed at the tops of her eyes. Just ignore it, Ave, this won't take long. "How ya going? I'm looking for Iris West?"

"She's right over there," Tracey replied with a smile. With a quick flick of her head, she pointed Averey in the right direction. Averey shifted her gaze, lifting her hand to block out the few rays of sun that was pointing at her before gently rubbing at the top of her eyes. Tracey frowned. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Oh, yes, I'm just a bit knackered," Averey replied with a hint of a smile. "Thanks." She adjusted her bag on her back, making her way across the dark linoleum flooring to the African American woman who was clearing a table, humming to herself. "Iris?"

"Yes?" Iris asked, blinking her warm brown eyes in question as her lips parted into a smile. She straightened, drawing herself up to her full height. "Can I help you?"

"Hey." Averey thrust out her hand and gave Iris's hand a shake. "I'm Averey. Averey—"

"Averey Moore, right." Iris's smile widened as she responded with a strong handshake of her own. "Hey. Hi." She closed her eyes for a brief moment before batting the air with her hand. "Sorry. I go on break in a minute, if you could…" She waved her hand in the air. "Find a seat."

Averey quickly scanned the room. There were plenty of free tables lining the windows, stretching out across the carpet, in the direct sunlight. That wouldn't do. Windows. Windows everywhere; one after another, after another. What was with this place and windows? Just the thought of it made her feel lightheaded. She let out a breath of air and leaned forward just slightly to place her palm on top of the table nearest her, steadying herself.

"Er, d'you mind if I sit away from the sun?" she asked, picking and choosing her words carefully. And any and all windows in existence? She gave a short laugh and lifted her hand to scratch the back of her head. "I brought my portfolio with me and…the glare." She'll buy that. Right?

"Right, right," Iris replied.

Thank God.

Iris's eyebrows lifted before she dropped her hand to her side, a soft slapping sound splitting the air when the palm of her hand hit her side. "No problem. Just sit wherever you like and I'll be with you in a minute." She then clapped her hands together, briefly closing her eyes. "Oh! Could I get you coffee or anything?"

Averey's nose wrinkled as she gave a brief shake of her head. "Nah, I don't quite like coffee. Do you happen to serve tea?" she asked, lifting her hand to scratch at her eyebrow. "Black tea with a little milk?" Because that doesn't sound like coffee at all.

Iris seemed to think the same way. The twinkle of amusement that appeared in her eye for a split second didn't go unnoticed by Averey. Nothing went unnoticed by her. "I can do that," Iris replied with a nod of her head. "Have a seat and welcome to Jitters."

Averey gave a smile of thanks. Chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes squinting just slightly as she looked around the room. Then she spotted it; a dark corner just by the front door. Sweet, sweet salvation! She would've clicked her heels, but she didn't want to draw any attention to herself. Or rather, any more attention.

Averey slid her hands into her pants pockets before making her way over to a seat in the corner. Nice and shady, just the way she liked it. She carefully set her backpack to the floor before unzipping it. Reaching inside, she carefully slid her hand down the front of a folder and removed it from her bag, setting it down onto the table. She smoothed her hands over the closed manila folder before folding them on top, kicking up her leg to cross it over her knee.

"Ow!" The flat top of her foot struck the chair next to her, sending it flying backwards. "Ow!" Her continued motion of crossing her leg caused her knee to collide into the bottom of the table. She practically lunged out of her chair to grab the leg of the chair that toppled backwards, heading towards the floor. "Aw, bollocks."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Iris said as Averey set the chair back in its place. Iris held a steaming mug of tea in her hand which she carefully set down on the table before removing a couple of napkins from her apron, placing it on the table as well. "We're not exactly twinkle toes around here." She sat across from Averey and crossed one leg over the other. "So, I'm glad you were able to make it."

"Ah, no worries," Averey replied, waving her hand in the air. She folded her arms on top of her belongings. "I've been looking for an excuse to come in. I've been meaning to take a gander at Jitters for a while now and I hear d you have some ace cinnamon buns."

"How long have you been in Central City?" Iris asked with a good-natured laugh that put Averey at ease.

"About..nine, ten months I reckon?" Averey said as more of a question, her face scrunching up just slightly as she thought. She ducked her head for a moment, letting out a quiet laugh. "I know, that sounds terrible, being here so long and not stopping by. But, your blog's something I've kept up with lately and wanted to meet the person behind it."

There was no one else that compiled all sightings of "The Streak" or "The Flash" and their own thoughts and opinions into a cohesive and concise blog like her own. No one else was as invested as she was to conduct research on him. Or her. Whoever it was.

Going to Jitters under the guise of asking to feature the coffee shop in her blog was the easiest way for her to meet Iris. It was the only way for her to get close to Iris without jumping the gun and immediately start pumping her for any and all information she had about the…thing that has made her scared of the dark for so long. As long as there was someone out there that believed in the impossible, someone who could believe her story, she'd try to get as many answers as she could.

"Really?" Iris asked, her eyebrows lifting.

"One of the top five sites I visit every daily," Averey replied with a slight tilt of her head and shrug of her shoulders. "I mean, if you combine all e-mail sites together." She lifted her hands and locked her fingers together. "I spend a lot of time on Reddit; did you know your blog posts get shared there, too?"

"I…no." Iris's look of shock turned into a smile as she let out a laugh of disbelief. "Wow. Do you know what this means?"A peaceful yet excited smile blossomed on her face. "More people are believing in him." She settled back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "And this all just started from a class assignment."

"Impressive," Averey commented, her eyebrows lifting. She reached for her mug of tea and wrapped her hands around it, her palms and fingertips instantly warming up. As she lifted the mug to her lips, Iris waved her hand in the air before stating, "but you didn't come here just to talk about my blog."

"I reckon not, but it's not every day you meet a fellow blogger. Well, I guess with tumblr you would," Averey replied with the shrug of her shoulders after she swallowed. The hot beverage slid down her chest and into her stomach as she let out a satisfied "Ahhh."

"Good?" Iris asked, nodding her head towards the mug.

"Amazing," Averey replied, licking her lips as she set her mug down onto the table. She then lifted her arm and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I wanted to talk about Jitters to feature it in my blog. See if it's ok to take a couple pictures around here."

She set her hands down on top of her manila folder, pushing it towards Iris. "I brought some so you can take a gander at some of my work," she explained before reaching her hands up to slide her fingers through her pigtails. "I didn't want to just show up out of the blue."

"Oh, you're a photographer, too?" Iris asked, as she picked up the folder, flipping it open.

"Freelance," Averey replied, lifting one side of her mouth into a half smile. "I blog for the fun of it, but I'm currently between photography jobs." She took another long sip of her tea. "Wouldn't have been able to come out here without some of those jobs. "

"I can see why," Iris replied before letting out a low whistle as she started to flip through the images. "These are amazing."

"Edges. Hold it by the edges, please," Averey said, tensing every muscle in her body to stop herself from taking the pictures back. Scratch that, from snatching them back from her friend. Her fingers twitched and she grabbed her mug to distract herself. "Sorry. It's just that I can see fingerprints from a mile away." And even further than that.

Iris lifted her hands into the air, a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry," she apologized. "I really love this one. It's Central City, isn't it?" She carefully held an 8x10 up between the pads of her fingers before turning it around to face Averey who smiled.

"Yeah, I took it right when I got in to town," she replied as she looked at the image. She was surprised how clearly it had turned out with how much it was raining. Standing on the hillside overlooking the city, she was able to snap a picture of the speeding cars with blurred red taillights, the dim gloom of the rain over the city, and the glow of the lights as they welcomed her to town. "I think it's my favorite out of all of the ones here."

Photography was something Averey had always been interested in. She had an eye for it, and an eye for detail as her mom had explained to her (and over and over again) when she gave Averey her first real camera. When other kids wanted to be firefighters, police officers, or teachers, she was running around taking pictures of anything and everything. Her finger tips were apparent in her first roll of film, or at least they would've been if she hadn't been so curious enough to see what the inside of a camera was like and exposed the film…on numerous occasions.

After receiving her first Polaroid, her camera sophistication and artistry in photos came to life. Averey progressed to disposable cameras, before migrating to digital cameras with handfuls of memory cards, ending on her beloved Nikon camera. Her picture quality slowly grew from fingers to blurred images, to partial captures, to what's brought some (sort of) fame to her name. At least to a small online community.

She had a fast shutter finger so maybe she could capture this "streak" on film. That'd really bring a flood of hits to not only her blog, but Iris's if she passed along the sighting. And it would finally have people believing in her. That she really did see something in the dark that night.

"You know…" Iris trailed off turning the picture back towards her. Suddenly looking downcast, her eyebrows lowered, scrunching together just slightly. "I think…this was the night of the particle accelerator accident."

Averey's camera slipped out of her fingers—the strap digging into her neck—as she gripped the metal railing after it shuddered violently against her stomach. "Far out," she whispered, rubbing the pads of her finger over the sore area of her neck. She lifted her head, and shortly after her camera, when a pillar of light shot into the air.

"That was supposed to be such a wonderful night, too," Iris said quietly. She briefly closed her eyes before putting a smile to her face as if trying to wipe the thought from her memory.

"You know somebody who was affected by the accident," Averey said as more of a question then a statement, the words rolling off her tongue before she could stop herself. Iris opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. Averey made a face, her nose wrinkling. There you go again, Ave. "You don't have to tell me, I'm sorry I brought it up." Her hand flew out to grasp her cool tea and collided her knuckles into the smooth, ceramic side, knocking it off the table. "Oh!"

The black liquid splashed onto the linoleum splattering in all directions. The mug went tumbling after it, only to be stopped by the quick hand of the young man that appeared beside their table. Averey jumped to her feet, pulling her feet away from the splash zone. "Nice catch."

"Thanks." The young man put the mug down onto the table before shaking the droplets of excess tea from his hand before wiping it on his jeans. Averey quickly reached for the pile of napkins on the table and all but shoved a couple into his hands before taking the rest and dropping them over top of the spill.

"That's alright," Iris said to her, holding her pictures to her chest. She gave a small grin. "It's part of my job. I'll clean it up."

"Oh, it's no problem, mate," Averey insisted, wiping the tea soaked napkins on the floor, trying to soak up as much as possible before straightening, setting them into the now empty cup. Grabbing her bag up off of the floor—and spotting some wet marks from where the tea had splashed onto it—she reached inside and grabbed her wallet. Flipping it open with fumbling finger she managed to work out a couple of bills, setting them down onto the table. "That should cover it, yeah?"

There was a moment of silence. Averey peered closely at Iris as she reached out to take the money. "Oh!" Averey lifted her hand and smacked herself in the forehead. "Sorry, I forgot the tip." She opened her wallet again and set down some more money. "I'm still getting used to that. We don't tip where I'm from."

"That's quite alright, I'm sure this will cover it," Iris said as she slid the money into the pocket of her apron. "But, I've been meaning to ask are you from England or…?"

"Actually, I'm—"

"Australia," the young man said, cutting Averey off. "A lot of people get the accents mixed up; same with New Zealand, although there are a lot of differences. Well, the New Zealand and Australian accents are more similar except the New Zealand accent has shortened vowels." He paused for a moment, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "I've found when a lot of people try and mimic the English accent from London they tend to either be very cockney or very posh."

Averey pointed a finger over at the man. "Riiight," she said, holding out the word. She blinked rapidly, recovering from the barrage of words that blindsided her. "What he said."

He cleared his throat, lifting his thumb to scratch at the side of his jaw. "Or they could be like me and not know when to stop talking," he said more to himself as he started to rock back and forth on his heels. He reached up to adjust the top button of his shirt. Iris rolled her eyes, a smile of amusement parting her red lips. She turned towards the boy and put her hand on hips.

"This loquacious fellow is a good friend of mine. Barry Allen," Iris said before she crossed her arms over her face. She then turned to face him, her dark tresses flipping around her shoulder as she gave him a pointed look. "And he's late…again." Barry pulled the corner of his lips down into a cringe. "Maybe I should get you a watch for your birthday. Set it a few minutes fast?"

Barry briefly glanced towards the ceiling before holding his hand out towards her. "Hi, I'm Barry." He gave her a warm smile as she slid her smaller hand into his. "Like she just said." His palm was soft, yet rough with the calluses on the bridge of his hand.

"Averey Moore, how ya going?" Averey asked, giving Barry a smile. She then turned back towards Iris, starting to pack up her things. "Thank you for meeting with me today. I should have the piece up by the end of the week."

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you two," Barry said, his eyes widening slightly as he looked back and forth between the two girls.

"It's ok, I need to get down to the library anyway," Averey replied, waving her hand in the air. She lifted her backpack off the floor and set it in her chair, throwing her wallet in.

"The pleasure was all mine," Iris replied, offering her hand towards Averey for another handshake. "Thank you." She turned towards Barry and clasped her hands together. "Just give me a few minutes to clock out and get my things?"

"Take your time," Barry replied with a nod of his head and a smile. Iris gave him a knowing smile and he let out a "Ha, ha" as he caught on to the irony.

"By the way, are you hiring here?" Averey asked, catching Iris's attention. She gave a sheepish grin. "Got to bring in rent money somehow, yeah?"

"I'll have to check with Tracey," Iris replied, slowly nodding her head, "but the least I can do is get you an application to turn in so we can keep you on file. Is that ok?"

"Perfect." Averey gave Iris a smile of thanks before the woman headed to the counter. She stopped after a couple of steps before hurrying back, giving an embarrassed smile as she handed Averey her pictures. She slid the folder into her backpack and zipped it up, giving Barry a quick smile which he returned as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Iris returned moments later, saving Barry and Averey from their silence, with a pen and an application and a mop. As Iris cleaned the floor of drying tea, Averey quickly filled it out, finishing with a flourish of her name. "Thanks. I'll let you two go," she said as she set down the pen over the completed application, "but it was nice meeting you. And you, Barry."

"You too," Barry said, lifting his hand in a short wave.

"Nice meeting you,," Iris said with a smile as she leaned her weight on the pole of the mop in her hands. "I'm looking forward to your write up. Maybe I could get a few tips from you? From one blogger to another."

"Sounds cool." Averey zipped up her backpack before lifting it off the chair. As she swung it to pull onto her back, the strap caught the post of her chair, pulling it over. Before it hit the ground, Barry lunged forward and grabbed it before it hit the floor, straightening it. Averey put a hand to her burning cheek as she blushed. "Sorry. I know I'm saying that a lot, I'm a bit clumsy."

With another apology, she pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, lifted her hood and stepped out into the balmy day. She got to the corner of the street before pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. Quickly drawing her pattern to unlock her phone, she brought up the search engine and quickly typed in Central City Library. After waiting for the page to load, she found the address of the library.

"Everything ok?" Averey looked up to see Barry and Iris standing next to her.

"Uh, sorry, again, but…I don't know which direction the library is from here," Averey said with a sheepish smile.

"It's over in this direction," Barry said, indicating to their left. Iris lifted her hands to brush the long hair blowing in the wind, back behind her ears before lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Yeah, it's about…six blocks from here?" Iris asked as more of a question.

Averey shifted her gaze into the direction that Barry indicated. She narrowed her eyes just slightly as she spotted a sign at the far corner of the block—at least 600 feet away. She blinked once, and as if hearing the whirring sound of a camera lens, the sign came into focus until she could read it as clear as if it sat two feet in front of her face.

"Four blocks," she aloud, blinking a second time to restore her vision. She turned back towards Barry and Iris. "Thanks. Have a nice day." Grasping the straps to her backpack, she headed down the street, making her way to the public library. She came upon the large brick building and made her way inside, looking for a secluded (or dark whichever came first) corner to sit in.

Once she was settled into her chair, she removed her laptop computer from her backpack and set it down onto her computer. After a quick boot up, she brought up Google. Her fingers hovered over the black keys before she set her hands into her lap, staring at her blinking cursor. Letting out a sigh through her nose, she reached into her backpack for her wallet and her pictures. She flipped open the front of the manila folder looking at her picture of Central City again before opening her wallet, reaching behind her driver's license.

A small picture of herself, her mom, and her dad smiling happily as they stood along the railing of a bridge overlooking a beautiful river slid out, stuck to the pads of her fingers. The colors were fading, there were slight tears in the sides, and a corner was ripped off. She flipped it over and saw the loopy scribble of her mom's handwriting spelling out, "Central City '93."

"What is this city hiding?" she whispered to herself before setting it down onto the table. She then typed Central City Particle Accelerator Accident into Google and tapped her pinky into the ENTER key. As the webpage loaded she came face to face with a flood of links and opened the first one.

A news article opened with an image of a handsome man with dark rimmed glasses, smiling proudly towards the camera. Averey quickly skimmed the article phrases such as "unstable", "many injured", and "career ruining event popped out at her. Opening a second link, a picture of the same handsome man appeared on screen, without the smile and in a wheel chair. A humming sound rumbled in Averey's throat as she slumped back in her seat. She chewed on her thumb nail, shifting her gaze back over to her pictures.

If only she could remember what happened the night of the accident. If there was anyone who had the answers she was looking for, the way she saw it, it looked like it was going to be Iris West or this Harrison Wells character.

My name is Averey Moore and up until now I had a pretty normal life. At least that I could remember of it. There is a chunk of my life I can't remember no matter how hard I try.

What I do know: I have a mum and a dad who are pretty awesome. In fact, they're awesome enough to support me in traveling all the way to Central City for who knows how long. The thing is, I never exactly told them why I was going. They think I'm moved for my travel blog, but I want to find my biological father.

Don't get me wrong, my dad's great but I always felt like I only knew half of who I am, and the other half was whatever I just so happened to pick up from watching him as I grew up.

This all started with a picture. Only this one didn't explain the whole story. There was no way it could possibly tell its story in a thousand words. At least it's more than what my mum's told me: nothing.

What I don't know: the chunk of my life surrounding the first four months I've lived in Central City, right after the particle accelerator accident.

What I want to know: how a simple picture can change your life in a flash.

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'm excited to be writing this story. If you couldn't tell in the story picture, Averey's face claim is Ellen Page. Thanks for taking the time to check out this story.

Also: Check out my sisters' stories. Flash Fire is also on this account, and Mark of Sage you can find on Crystal Manning's page. Happy reading.