Greetings, this story takes place almost immediately after last week's episode Fast Lane. Obviously, spoilers. It is also my way of remembering a great artist, so if you aren't a David Bowie fan, you might not want to read this story. That said, please enjoy. No beta, so all mistakes are my own. Sorry! Comments and reviews welcomed. Not my properties and I make no monies from this. - CT
Harry woke with a start, vague memories of Cisco coming into the workroom floating up. Obviously, he had fallen asleep while working on trying to figure out a way to restore the speed he had stolen from Barry. Groaning, Harry sat back in the chair and stretched, flinching as he moved his arm causing his wounds from Zoom to pull. Glaring at the boards where he had been working, he ran a hand over his face, and then through his hair. Eyes going wide, he jumped to his feet and raced to the bathroom, glaring at what he saw in the mirror.
"Ramon," Harry bellowed as he exited the bathroom and strode towards the cortex. Obviously it was some sort of joke. Revenge for what Harry did to Barry. "Ramon," Harry snarled again as he entered the cortex. Barry was there with the engineer, both talking softly over pictures.
"Oh good, you're awake," Cisco said, looking up from his conversation with Barry.
"Hair looks good Harry," Barry added, studying the look with a critical eye.
"Ramon, what the hell did you do to my hair?" Harry demanded, ignoring the speedster. Though he did wonder what Barry was doing with the makeup he was applying to his face.
"Oh, it's just for your costume for tonight," Cisco said. "I think I did a pretty good job. Caitlin should have our contacts ready in a minute or two. What do you think?" Throwing his hands out, Cisco spun, showing off his costume.
"You look like a clown from the 1970s. Red hair doesn't suit you. What costume?" Harry continued to glare, while Barry got his phone out.
"For tonight," Cisco said with a shrug. He paused to check himself out in a mirror. "I think I look good." He adjusted the massive shoulder pads a little.
"Ramon, kindly explain why you felt a need to shave the sides and back of my head and dye what remaining hair you left me gray!" Harry could barely contain his anger.
"It's tribute night at Karaoke tonight," Barry explained. "Cisco? I can't tell, did I get this right?" Barry motioned at the red lightening bolt going across his face. Pausing from working on his own costume, Cisco came over to study Barry's face.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Harry felt like a kid throwing a temper tantrum, but he wanted an answer, and everybody was ignoring him. He fought a blush of shame as he realized he'd actually stamped his foot in frustration.
"Tonight," Cisco began. "We are all going out to the karaoke bar, where it is tribute night."
"I don't do karaoke," Harry instantly replied.
"Think of it as penance," Barry suggested, pulling a red wig on and standing to face Harry. "Now, coat off." Without waiting, the speedster removed Harry's black coat. "I'm going to be Aladdin Sane," Barry continued, pausing to study five neatly stitched holes on the left shoulder of the jacket.
"And I'm going as Ziggy Stardust," Cisco continued, pointing at the gold circle painted onto his forehead.
"That supposed to mean something to me?" Harry demanded.
"Are you telling me that Earth 2 didn't have David Bowie?" Cisco said, eyes wide in shock.
"This is my Earth 2," Harry countered. "Our David Bowie isn't dead."
"How do you know? He just died here," Barry shot back, still studying the carefully patched jacket. Pressing his lips firmly together, Harry simply glared. Seeing what Barry was looking at, the scientist grabbed his jacket from the speedster and draped it over the back of a chair.
"Fine, what the hell does all that have to do with my new hairdo?" The older man asked waving at his now gray hair.
"Blackstar," Cisco said, offering him a picture. "I even have the book for you to carry." Taking the picture, Harry glowered down at it. "Clothes are over there." Grabbing Harry's left arm, Cisco missed the man's flinch as the excited engineer dragged the older man over to a table where a shabby gray-white dress shirt, and equally shabby black sport coat waited.
"You expect me to dress up as a dead man and go with you to some karaoke bar?" Harry summarized.
"Yep," Barry agreed.
"So, Cisco cut and dyed my hair for it?" Harry felt anger bubbling just below the surface. "While you both get to wear wigs." Harry gave the wigs a significant look.
"Contacts are done," Caitlin said, entering the room. "Remember, the left iris is the one with the anisocoria." She barely slowed down as she pressed a container into Harry's chest and moved on to genty hand Barry and Cisco theirs.
"You mean the blown pupil that didn't get any smaller," Cisco supplied as he took his contacts and went to put them in. Sighing, Harry put the contact case down next to the clothes and dropped into the chair. Frowning at the older man, Barry thought back to the neatly repaired jacket and made a decision.
"Take off your shirt," Barry ordered, coming to stand next to Harry, studying the other man intently. Wanting his hands free, the speedster carefully put his contacts down to the left of Harry's so they wouldn't get mixed up.
"What?" Harry looked up, trying to suppress a shiver. He was starting to feel mildly feverish.
"So you can get into the rest of your costume. No point letting your hair go to waste," Barry argued. Sighing, Harry gave in, knowing that there was going to be no way to hide his injuries. Moving carefully, he managed to get his right arm out of the sleeve easily enough. Watching him with arms crossed, Barry's eyes narrowed as he saw Harry's struggle.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Barry asked as he stepped forwards to help the other man. While they had only let Harry out of the cell a day ago, Barry had easily forgiven him. A gasp of pain slipped past the older man's lips as Barry finished getting the shirt removed. "What the hell?" Barry stared at the bandages on Harry's shoulder and the livid bruise that covered the majority of the skin there. Blood had seeped through some of the bandages so the speedster started to carefully peel them away. "Hey Caitlin," Barry called out, frowning at the wounds.
"Yes?" Caitlin looked up at her name, having been trying to ignore Harry as best as she could.
"I think you need to have a look at these," Barry called out. "How did you get these?" He turned a serious gaze on his patient, and Harry sighed, knowing there was no way to avoid the conversation now.
"Zoom," Harry uttered the name as if that was all the answer they needed.
"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked, coming to stand next to Barry, frowning down at the man seated before them.
"I think these are infected," Barry told her as he revealed the angry, red, oozing wounds.
"I cleaned them out, but they keep re-opening," Harry piped up, feeling very much like a child being tended to by his parents.
Slipping into doctor mode, Caitlin leaned forwards and study the wounds. "Has your movement been impaired?" She asked the questions as she poked and prodded at the injuries.
"Not very much," Harry answered. "Hurts sometimes and I can feel them pull when I move." Cisco came over then, dressed in the entirety of his costume. Colourful stripes and a plunging neckline made it difficult for Harry to stay angry.
"What's everyone looking at?" Cisco asked, coming over and going pale at the sight of the infected holes. "Oh man, I think I might be sick."
"I'll need to clean these out again, rebandage them, and then you'll need a shot of antibiotics," Caitlin explained. As she went to get supplies, Barry's phone beeped.
"Oh, hey, Cisco, can I skype with Iris? The hospital wanted to keep her one more night but she wouldn't let me cancel on this," Barry informed his friend.
"How did this happen?" Caitlin asked softly while Cisco helped Barry.
"Zoom had a point to prove," Harry explained.
"Why didn't you have me look at it when you told us the truth?" The young doctor was struggling to contain her anger. Nobody seemed to get under her skin like Harry and she didn't know why.
"Because Joe was busy throwing me into the pipeline," Harry supplied.
"You could have told us when we let you out," Caitlin pointed out as she took an antiseptic to the injuries.
"I didn't see the point. I'd treated them the best I could. Why bother you?" He was watching her face, trying to understand what she was feeling.
"Bother me? You're injured. I'm a doctor. It is my job to patch people up. What about the infection?"
"I didn't want you to think I was offering excuses for what I did. As for the infection, I didn't think you'd care." He said it bluntly, and Caitlin's hand flew before she really knew what she was doing.
The slap echoed around the cortex, catching the attention of Barry, Cisco, and even Iris over skype. For a moment Harry just sat, head turned towards his right shoulder. There was a bright red handprint visible on his left cheek. Slowly, Harry stretched his jaw and let his head come back to face forwards. "I need to get the antibiotic," Caitlin said after a moment of painful silence. Harry just nodded.
"Barry, is everything okay?" Iris asked softly. She wasn't certain what was going on, but she could feel the tension in the room over the phone.
"Yeah. We'll be okay. It's part of the reason I wanted us to go out tonight," Barry supplied. "I trust Harry, but I think he could use some cheering up. It'll be a day or two before we can get to Earth two. Are you sure you don't want me there?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Go out, have a good time," Iris ordered. "Sorry I'm missing it. I'm sending Dad home for a good night sleep in a little bit. Looking forwards to having some time to myself." Iris managed a smile, her eyes going wide as Barry turned enough to let her see Harry's shoulder. Zoom had done a number on the older man, and Iris wondered if her dad knew about what Harry had been through.
"Okay. I have to finish getting dressed," Barry said, moving around to continue pulling on his costume.
"Wait, I need pictures," Iris demanded. "I know Cisco is Ziggy Stardust, you're Aladdin Sane, Caitlin is the Thin White Duke, but who is Harry?"
"Oh, David Bowie in the music video for Blackstar," Barry supplied. "Cisco buzzed the back and sides of his head and dyed his hair gray. See." Barry went over to Harry. "Say hello!"
"Ms. West," Harry said, cocking his head to one side for a nod. He flinched as Caitlin jabbed him with a needle to deliver the antibiotics.
"Nice hair, Dr. Wells," Iris said, grinning at the eye roll he responded with. "Have fun tonight."
"Night, Iris," Barry called out.
"Night, Barr," Iris replied. The call ended leaving the quartet to finish getting ready for their evening out.
"No alcohol for you tonight," Caitlin informed her patient. "You should have this shoulder immobilized for at least 24 hours. I'll get you a sling."
"Aw, Caitlin," Cisco began, shifting uncomfortably in his tight pants. "That'll ruin his costume. Harry, here, I have the blindfold." He offered the other man a flesh coloured rag with two small buttons sewn onto it.
"Fine, no sling while we're out. Once we're done, you need to sling it," Caitlin relented. "I will know if you don't," she added. "I'll check these again in forty-eight hours." She pulled her vest straight, and smoothed the sleeves of her white dress shirt. Turning away from her patient, she picked up a vial and carried it over to Barry. "New formula. Pretty sure it will get you drunk for a little bit."
"Awesome," Barry said, taking the vial. "Hope you have a few." Smiling, Caitlin handed him a box. Opening it, the speedster grinned at the twenty vials contained within. "Harry, you're designated driver!" With a whoop, the speedster headed out the door, laughing as Cisco literally dragged Harry along by the right arm.