Hey. Once I had seen episode 14, I had to write this one shot. It was kind of hard, since they didn't go into detail about their personalities, so I did my best with what I knew. Thanks for reading! Oh, and sorry about the Philadelphia/Pittsburg mix up. I fixed it!
Do you want me to make a second chapter?
DISCLAIMER- I DO NOT OWN THE FLASH NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS!
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High above the sleeping city of Pittsburg, there was a burst of light. The flames were akin to those of a rocket, although there were two jets, not three. Few noticed it, and those who did took no notice to it. The source of the fire was a man. Or two men, depending on how you want to look at it.
'Land here. Morning is not far off.' A voice rang in his head. He would have loved to argue, but he saw sense in the old man's instructions. Flying for eight hours straight had taken a toll on both of them, and the sun's light would only cause more dilema than was necessary. Finding an abandoned parking lot a few blocks from the nearest store, he ceased the jets of fire and sank to the ground, breathing heavily. He pulled a device from his pocket and placed it on his shirt. A second later, flames engulfed him and he felt his mind and body separate. He jumped away, the night quiet once more.
He turned to see a short man with white hair gesturing for him to hurry. "Come on, Ronald. We haven't got all day!" Ronnie suppressed a sigh and followed him, placing his hands in his pockets and kicking over a small grey pebble. Both were extremely tired, their fraying tempers and aggravation bouncing back and forth across their connection. It only fueled Stein's worry, so the two walked in silence, traversing the streets in the dark.
By dawn, they had reached the lab of Peter Henderson. He was young, only 34, but was revered for his work in dealing with nuclear physics, including fission and fusion. Both Stein and Ronnie hoped that he could help them with their shared abilities.
The building was small, low to the ground and very long, shaped like an L. The whitewash walls and smooth glass doors reminded Ronnie of a greenhouse, but it was devoid of any green life. He glanced it warily before wandering after the older man. Stein stopped at the door, pushing a button to grant access to the lab.
Beep. 'Hello. Who is this?'
"This is Martin Stein, requesting permission to speak with Peter Henderson."
'He's down the hall and to the left.'
Ronnie asked after a moment, "How'd you get in so quickly?" Stein only shook his and and replied, "I have connections. Peter was an old student of mine, and we've kept in touch over the years."
The door opened with a click. Ronnie pulled it open, briskly walking down the long corridor. When he reached a brown door with chicken wire in the window, he stopped, waiting for the professor to catch up. He paused, gazing at the brass plaque that hung to the right of the shiny silver door handle. He sniffed. A smell of hand sanitizer and shoe polish along with a hint of cough drop punctuated the air. Fighting the urge to sneeze, he waited silently to the side as Stein rapped his knuckles on the dappled oak door.
A second later, a man clad in a clean white lab coat flung open the door. He had short brown hair and wide blue eyes.
He gasped, stopping in his tracks. "Martin, I thought you were dead. Where did you-"
"Not now Peter. Is there somewhere we could go where there are no prying eyes or ears?" Stein interrupted, cutting the younger scientist off. "Yes, yes. Come." Stein then quickly said, "Wait. I have brought someone with me." Ronnie awkwardly step sided into the view of Peter, giving a nervous grin. The scientist stared at him for a moment.
"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Peter Henson." He held his hand out, a kind smile upon his face. Ronnie returned his grin and shook his outstretched hand. "Ronnie Raymond." he replied. Peter frowned for a second. "Hmm, I recognize that name from somewhere. Well, follow me, my lab is in here." the man said. Stein gave a faint smile, used to Peter's mind jumping from one topic to another in a split second. He was not diagnosed with ADHD for nothing.
They walked into a large room with various equipment spread around, a table in the corner. Peter pulled up two more chairs to his desk and sat down. It wasn't as roomy as S.T.A.R. Labs, but it had a nice clean feel to it.
"So." he began. "What brings you to Pittsburg? Last time I heard, you were missing for over a year." They nodded, glancing at each other nervously. Through their connection, they knew that the other had no idea how to begin. How do you explain having the ability to merge with another person and harness nuclear energy within your body?
Stein folded his hands and furrowed his brow. "Well, our situation is… quite the predicament." Ronnie snorted, leaning back in his chair. "That's one way to put it."
Peter tilted his head. "And what might that predicament be?" he questioned. Taking a breathe, Ronnie began, "You know the explosion that happened at S.T.A.R. Labs a year ago. It, uh, changed both of us." Peter nodded. "Does this have anything to do with why you are here?" Stein nodded back. "Well, I specialize in radioactivity and nuclear science, so is it radon poisoning, or a cancer caused by it…?"
Ronnie replied pointedly, "I wish." Peter sat back, folding his arms and giving him a peculiar expression. "Our situation is a little more complicated." Stein clicked his fingernails and continued.
"I am slightly bored with beating around the bush, so I am going to cut to the chase." he said briskly. "Ronald and I share a connection. Mental, physical, emotional. It works both ways."
Peter looked up, surprised. "Well, that is quite the predicament. If you will follow me…" He led them to a slightly smaller room with medical equipment in it. He motioned for them to sit down, then set up a scanner like the one at S.T.A.R. Labs and turned it on. Frowning, he said, "That's weird. This says that both of your temperatures are at one hundred point six."
"Caitlin told us the same. But she said it might be part of our… problem."
Peter fished a pen out of his lab coat and prompted, "Explain what you mean, give me examples of this connection."
Ronnie scratched his head. "We can feel each other's pain, sort of pick up on each other's thoughts." Peter grabbed a clipboard and started to write. To Ronnie, it looked like chicken scratch, but it apparently made sense to him. "I'll need a more specific example than that." the scientist said.
Suddenly, Stein spoke up, his words directed at Ronnie. "Do you still have the cuts?" he asked. Ronnie replied, "Yeah, they haven't had time to heal yet." He unzipped his jacket and held his left forearm out, Stein doing the same. Peter jumped over and peered at the wound. While Ronnie's was scabbed over, Stein's were just raised as if there were metal rods placed under his skin. Although it had started to heal, the word where was still embedded in his arm. The two were in the exact same spot. Peter stared at it, glancing back and forth between the two cuts.
"What happened?" he whispered. Stein sighed. "I was kidnapped by General Eiling. He was interested in my work. Ronald here helped to locate where I was and helped to rescue me. You can't let anyone know that we are here." He nodded, deciding to drop the subject.
Still writing on his clipboard, Peter asked, "Any other examples?"
Ronnie said, "I felt it when he was using morse code to tell me where he was, I felt his pain-"
"And even though I despise it, I have acquired Ronald's strange obsession with pizza." Stein grumbled. Ronnie stood up, glaring at the older man. "Okay, one, it is not an obsession, and two, my name is Ronnie. You know I prefer the name Ronnie." Stein picked up on his agitation and followed his suit.
"I prefer to call people by their real name." he retorted. That's when Ronnie blew. "You were stuck inside my head for over a year! It was a year that I lost! You know why I like being called Ronnie!" Stein stood face to face with him, yelling, "And it is thanks to me that we stayed alive! I was the reason you didn't get killed a thousand times!"
At this point, Peter was beginning to become nervous. He shoved himself between the two arguing men. "Woah, woah. Break it up." They glared at each other, but Ronnie picked up something from Stein. Guilt. But before he could ask him about it, Peter spoke.
"Hey. Calm down. I am a scientist, not a therapist." He paused. "Wait. Ronnie Raymond. Weren't you on the casualty list for the Particle Accelerator explosion?"
Ronnie sighed through his nose, his expression sinking. "I'm supposed to be dead. We both are." He gestured to Stein, a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Peter peered at him. "Also, one particular sentence intrigued me. What do you mean, 'stuck inside my head'?"
Stein sat back down. "And that is the real reason we are here. I don't quite have the words to explain it." Shrugging, Ronnie suggested, "Why don't we show him?"
Stein snorted. "For once, I actually agree with you." He turned to Peter. "Do you have a place where nothing will catch on fire?" Peter stared at his former teacher, then replied, "Yes… but why?" Ronnie smirked. "You"ll see."
Peter took them to a small testing room that was fireproof, waterproof, and acid proof, among other things. Before going in, Ronnie pulled the tacky-whatsit from his pocket and was about to place it on his shirt when Peter stopped him. "What is that?" he asked, pointing to it. "A nuclear fission slash fusion device, to put it simply." "That thing could kill us! If- If it were to malfunction or be misused, we would be dead!" He said worriedly. "No, if it would we would have known already." Ronnie assured him, walking toward the tiny metal doorway.
Entering the small chamber, the two stared at each other. "Ready?" Ronnie asked. "Ready." Placing the device on his shirt, it expanded and turned on. They stepped toward each other, clasping hands while a fiery mist shrouded them. After a few seconds, the two were synched, flames erupting from their hands. Their eyes were glowing white hot, heat flaring from where they stood. Peter took a step back. "What are you?" he asked, amazed and frightened at the same time.
"We are Firestorm." They said, extinguishing the flames. "Can- Can you separate?" he asked. They nodded. Pressing the device again, light surrounded the two as they became distinct persons again. They jumped from the center point, both gasping.
"I don't know if I will ever get used to that." Ronnie complained. "Me neither." Stein replied.
Peter was flabbergasted. "What just happened?"
"It's a long story." Stein answered. He sat back into a chair, holding his head, groaning. At the same time, Ronnie swayed on his feet, almost falling over. "Are you okay?" Peter asked. Ronnie nodded. "Yeah, Cait warned us about effects, one of which is hypoglycemia. Do you have any pizza?"
Peter smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do."
"Good." Stein said. "We can talk more about the subject over dinner." As they walked out the door and to the nearest fridge, Peter grinned at the two bickering men. What a crazy world he has gotten into.