Regaining consciousness brought…warmth? It was the end of November, the outdoors were not –
Wait, who's voice was that?
"And you found this girl out there?"
"Yea, she was just lying on the sidewalk. I almost thought she was dead from how cold she was."
"From the amount of frostbite that was on her body, it's a miracle she's still alive."
Keeping her eyes closed, Avery inhaled slowly, breathing in as many scents as she could without raising alarm that she was awake. She was inside a building of some sort. A hospital, maybe? There was an assortment of medicinal smells. She was laying on a bed that had one too many pillows. Something was sticking to her nose. A breathing tube?
Definitely a hospital.
She considered opening her eyes, but then the voices started talking again.
"But here's what I can't explain. The frostbite is gone, like her body regenerated the damaged cells."
"What, like how Barry does?"
"Yea, exactly like Barry."
"You think she's a meta?"
Avery's heart skipped a beat.
A meta? What does that mean?
"It's possible."
"Well, obviously, I mean look at her hair. Normal teenage girls do not have grayish misty-ish colored hair like that."
The voices fell silent for a moment.
"Really, Cisco? You think she's a meta because of her hair?"
"Unless you guys have any better ideas, yes, I'm calling it because of the hair."
If she had known the owner of the voice, Avery probably would've let out a snort of laughter. As it was, not knowing where she was or who was around her was making her skin crawl.
"Guys…her vitals just peaked."
Avery's muscles tensed, her blood beginning to flow faster. Whatever these people were planning to do with her, she did not intend to stick around for it.
"I think she can hear us."
Better move fast.
With a shriek, Avery shoved herself up from the bed, tearing every tube from her skin. A pole tipped over, shattering the lightbulb on the mattress. Pulling her feet back and propelling into an upright position, she observed her surroundings in seconds. Five people surrounded the bed, two of which were definitely father and daughter based on the smell of their blood. One woman was wearing a white lab coat, one guy was in street clothes, and one guy was in some strange red suit.
As soon as the lightbulb had shattered, Avery sprang from the edge of the bed with a roar, transforming mid-air into wolf form. All five of the strangers jumped back.
"What the hell?!" the older gentleman yelled.
Avery landed abrasively on the slick floors, her paws sliding around. Her back end slammed into a rolling chair, shoving it onto a shelving unit and causing it to topple over and shatter on the floor. Despite all the yelling that ensued, Avery only had eyes for the door. With an angry snarl, she bolted, running through the door into a larger room that had a widespread computer monitor in the middle. She spotted a hallway, and immediately charged for it. Using the doorframe for leverage, Avery leapt from the frame to the nearby wall and down the curved hallway towards what she hoped was the exit. When she saw the elevator, a flutter of hope rose in her chest.
A way out of here!
Suddenly, a streak of red zipped past her, and Avery skid to a stop, realizing that the one in the strange red suit from the other room was now standing in front of her.
How did he beat me here?
Baring her teeth, Avery snarled at him, taking a step forward and snapping her jaws together.
"Hey, hey, hey! Hold on! We're not trying to hurt you!" he said in a rushed manner, holding his hands out in front of himself.
Avery's eyes narrowed, the snarl never ceasing. The guy in front of her let out an exasperated sigh.
"Ok, you don't believe me, I get it, but just listen to me for a second," he said. The young man paused a moment, seemingly studying Avery for her reaction. When he spoke again, it was in a softer tone. "You wake up in some weird room in a place you don't recognize and the people there are talking about you. You're scared, I get it."
Avery wasn't sure she wanted to believe this stranger, but his calming voice did help soothe some of the fear in her veins. He looked a few years older than her, his brown hair being parted to the right side. The suit he was wearing had a lightning symbol on the chest.
Who is this guy?
A shout from down the hallway rekindled the fear in her system.
"Barry!"
Avery whirled around, the fur on her hackles rising. She snarled a fierce warning at the newcomer, the older African American gentleman who had sworn at her earlier. In his hands, he held a gun – pointed right at her. Avery's eyes widened.
"Joe, no!"
A gunshot rang out, but before she could even lift a paw off the floor, Barry was standing in front of her with the bullet in his hand. For a brief instance, Avery recalled that red streak had appeared in her peripheral vision again.
That was Barry? He's a speedster?
"What the hell was that for?"
"That girl just turned into a wolf and attacked us, Barry."
"She's scared, Joe, look at her. You would be too if you woke up somewhere you didn't recognize with people you didn't know."
They both turned around to look at her. Barry gave her a sympathetic nod whereas Joe still seemed wary. Avery didn't know what to think at this point, but she knew one thing was for sure. Someone needed to give her answers. Now.
Closing her eyes, Avery willed herself to shift back to human form. When she opened them again, she wasn't surprised to see Joe's expression had shifted to one of guilt. She pushed herself up off the ground, standing upright, and for a moment, nobody said a word.
"Exactly how old are you?" Joe asked hesitantly, tucking his gun into its holster.
"15," Avery replied curtly.
"Oh my god," he muttered quietly, seemingly absorbed by shock. Judging by his appearance, Avery guessed he was a cop. She'd never met a cop who had willingly fired a gun at a teenager before, but he probably hadn't met a shapeshifter before either.
Barry approached Avery, slowly reaching out his hand.
"We just want to help."
Avery hesitated, but nodded and followed Barry back into the room with the monitoring computer. The other three people, the younger man and the two women, were standing on the far side of the room in a heated discussion. Avery failed to catch any of their words though, since they all silenced as soon as she walked in.
"You guys ok?" Joe asked.
The woman wearing the lab coat nodded. "We're fine."
The young man next to her was bouncing on his heels, his eyes glued to Avery. "Are you kidding? That was totally awesome!" He rushed up to her like an excited puppy, the words just flying off his tongue. "You're a shapeshifter, and that's totally cool, but if its ok with you, could I maybe run some tests to see how your powers work and maybe figure out how you got them?"
"Cisco, relax," Barry reprimanded, an amused grin on his lips. "We still have to fill her in on what's going on."
"That would be nice," Avery muttered, casting Cisco a confused glance.
He bowed his head in agreement, backing away from her, though the excitement never left his face. Barry guided Avery to the center of the room to join the circle of people. The young woman in the lab coat spoke first.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Avery York. Who are you guys?"
Barry responded first, motioning around the room to each person as he formally introduced them. "We are Team Flash. You're in Star Labs in Central City. I'm Barry. This is Joe, Cisco, and Caitlin."
"It's nice to meet you, Avery," Caitlin said, giving her a warm smile.
Being able to put names with faces made Avery feel a little bit better, but she still had so many questions. She glanced up at Barry.
"So you're a speedster," she said, more as a statement than a question.
The others looked around the room in surprise.
"You've met one before?" Joe asked, a tinge of strain in his voice.
Avery glanced down, shuffling her feet uncomfortably. A brief memory of Speedy flashed in her mind, but she quickly shut it out. Lingering in the past would only cause her to break down, and she barely even knew these people yet. "I've worked with one before, but it's been a few years."
"Where did you find another speedster?" Cisco asked, his face scrunched in confusion.
"Jump City."
"Jump – you came all the way from Jump City?" Joe's stunned expression spoke volumes. "That's more than 600 miles away. How did you get here?"
Avery shrugged. "I…don't know. The last thing I remember was walking along a lake."
"That's where Barry found you," Caitlin pointed out, and Avery nodded.
Cisco shifted his weight, crossing his arms across his chest. "I probably shouldn't be asking this just yet, but why did you leave?" The question stuck in his throat when she lifted her gaze to meet his. The searing pain in her eyes was…intense.
The silence was shattered by Barry, who gently placed a hand on Avery's shoulder. "We'll worry about that later, Cisco."
Caitlin stepped forward, meeting Avery's gaze. "I would imagine someone who's been sleeping for the last 12 hours is a bit hungry." Her suggestion was a way to leave the room, and Avery eagerly took advantage of it. Caitlin smiled, reaching out her hand. "Come on. I'll show you where we can find some food."
Avery nodded, and followed her out of the room. As soon as the two girls were gone, the remaining three huddled together.
"What do you guys think?" Joe asked.
"Besides the fact that she is a shapeshifter, which, by the way, is totally awesome?" Cisco said with a grin. It quickly faded though as he recalled the expression on her face. "I don't really know."
"How is that girl only 15 years old and she's out here by herself? She must have parents or a family who are looking for her, right?" Joe asked, not quite expecting an answer.
"There's a lot we don't know about her, but I don't think she's a threat. I think she's running from something," Barry stated.
"Well, there's one way to find out." Cisco approached the computer, sliding into one of the chairs. "Avery…York…" he muttered, his fingers tapping the screen. When no results were found, he frowned. "That's weird. I'm not finding anything in the system."
"Can you look at the Jump City database?" Barry suggested.
"Gimme just a second..." After a minute, Cisco shook his head. "Still nothing."
"That's impossible. We've got a meta here with no record of being human at one point?" Joe asked incredulously.
"Not that I can find, and I'm pretty dang good at finding information," Cisco bragged.
"Unless the name she gave us isn't her real name and she's lying to us," Joe suggested, but he seemed reluctant.
"I doubt it," Barry noted, echoing Joe's hesitation. "But if we want to learn anything else about her, we need to get her to trust us first."
There was a collective nod of agreement. A beep from Joe's pocket caused him to pull out his phone.
"I gotta get to CCPD. We'll talk more about this later," he said.
"Alright. I'll catch up with you guys later," Barry said, waving as the two walked out.
He and Cisco stood together in silence for a few moments, until Cisco started chuckling to himself.
"What's so funny?" Barry asked, raising a brow.
"There is never a boring day for Team Flash," Cisco stated with a grin.
Barry snorted with amusement. "You said it."