Chapter 2: Things You Can't Outrun, Eddie Prefers Someone With A Y-Chromosome
Answers to readers' reviews:
karate kid remix: Thanks, I was once a Klaine fan but I don't like it anymore. And speaking of sassy and bitchy Santana, I don't think I have yet included some confronts between Sebastian and Santana, but I surely make Anders bitch her back a lot. I will see what I can do. And for now, please enjoy the chapter. ;)
misuky7: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)
A.N.: Ok, folks. Here comes another chapter. Also, the New Directions and Warblers are having some screen time too. Enjoy. ;)
Warning: Some violence will be involved. Like my other stories, Dalton Academy Warblers will be the protagonists (As they're my favourite.) while there will be a little of bit New Directions bashing in it. And, this story is NOT for Finn-lovers, Blaine-lovers and Mercedes-lovers, Klaine-lovers should avoid this too. Kurt-lovers… you should probably not read this either.
Slash, though nothing graphical. Don't like, don't read. Flames are strictly prohibited.
Disclaimer: Everything is AU, some characters might be OOC. English is not my mother tongue so please forgive me if there are any grammatical mistakes. I own nothing other than the OCs like Anders, Jeremy, Tyler (If I said the inspiration is NOT from Vampire Diaries, will you guys believe me?) and some amendments on the plot. The rest of the characters belong to their respective owner. Chris and most of the Warblers belong to Eraman, Tory and Kynan belong to Love of Gleek.
Barry was sitting in the table, waiting Anders and Hunter who had excused themselves to a bathroom break. He checked his phone, re-reading the messages that his wonderful boyfriend Eddie Thawne sent him, smiling like an idiot until a voice rang behind him.
"Seb? Is that you?"
Oh no, really?! At this very moment?!
"Yes? How may I help you?" Barry sighed, turning to face one of the people he didn't want to see, ever: Blaine Anderson.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I can see you here!" Blaine said in an over-cheery voice. "So what are you doing here? I am free for the rest of the day! Why don't we-"
"Anderson!" Barry put up his hand to cut the dwarf off. "First of all, I can't believe I will see you here too. As for what I'm doing here is none of your business. And I don't care if you are free for the rest of your life, I-"
"Ah… So you're playing hard to get now?" Blaine said with a flirty smile, leaning into Barry's personal space. "After all the flirting you gave me…"
"I didn't flirt with you!" Barry said impatiently. "I don't know when or why you had that thought but I have told you many times I didn't feel that way to you!"
"Oh come on! Don't be proud." Blaine leaned further in.
"Sir, personal space." Barry moved away but Blaine just didn't know how to quit.
"You know you want this. It's what you are." Blaine whispered.
"Excuse me?! Who do you think I am?! Some random guy for your sexual relieve?!" Barry snapped, standing up and gaining the attention of some customers in the coffee shop. And behind him, someone spoke up which made Barry relaxed a little bit.
"What's happening here?" Hunter demanded as he came up next to Barry, him on one side, Anders on the other side, like two bodyguards.
"Well, we're having a really nice chat and were planning a date for tonight until you two started cockblocking us." Blaine sneered, his smile and over-cheery tone disappeared.
"It's not cockblocking if he didn't feel to you that way." Anders piped up, crossing his arms. "Besides, why would you out of all people go on a date? You have been taken, if my memory serves me right."
"Oh you mean Kurt? We got into a fight and we broke up. But anyway Sebby, don't mind these two idiots. Let's-"
"Blaine Anderson, these two idiots are. My. Friends." Barry snapped. "While I suggest you watch your stinky mouth, I will tell you one last time: you…"
He pointed at the dwarf.
"Are not my type. And I have a boyfriend and I'm happy to be with him."
"A boyfriend that only lived in your imagination. Why deceive yourself with this hallucination when you have someone like me?" Blaine teased, leaning in again but Barry moved out of his way.
"First thing first, my boyfriend is not imaginary, and I do not have hallucination. The one who have hallucination is you. Now back off!" Barry said and started walk to the door but Blaine grabbed onto his arm and tried to get a kiss but Anders pinched hard onto Blaine's elbow. Blaine cried in pain and the trio took the chance to leave the coffee shop. They didn't say anything until they reached a park nearby.
"I'm sorry, I should have known this." Anders apologized. "I should have stayed with you until Hunter came back so I-"
"Stop that." Barry said quietly as he sat down on a bench, his hands on his face. "It's no one's fault. If something's going to happen, it will happen anyway."
"Maybe we should get back to Dalton." Hunter said but Barry dismissed the idea.
"No, we're going on as we planned, window-shopping in a mall and then have dinner at BreadstiX."
"But the NDs may-"
"Then so be it." Barry said as he walked towards their car, Hunter and Anders following him.
"I have just remembered something." Barry said quietly. "It doesn't matter who you are, every one of us is running, whether we are running from or to someone or something. It's the meaning of being alive. And no matter how fast you are, there's always something or someone you can't outrun. There's something, they will manage to catch up to you anyway… Like the Mist."
"The Mist? Is it another metahuman you fought?" Anders asked as they started to drive to the Lima Plaza and Barry was lost to his memories again.
"Regular movie scale, that was a seven or an eight." Barry said as he and Iris walked out of the cinema, Iris was still having a cup of popcorn in her arms. "Zombie movie scale, it was like… a four, tops."
"There's a zombie movie scale?" Iris asked curiously and immediately Barry started babbling in excitement.
"Did you know that zombies exist in nature? There's a species of fungi that infects ants, causing the ants to attack plants that can release spores which in turn infect new hosts."
He paused for a moment when he noticed what he was saying.
"I'm going full nerd again, aren't I?" He sheepishly asked.
"Yep." Iris nodded her head.
"Yeah." Barry replied, blushing a bit.
"It's okay though. You are still the cutest nerd that I know." Iris said, throwing a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
"Anyways, I'm a lot more interested in the amazing as of late." She said and Barry frowned. Keeping his secret identity from Iris was getting more difficult, especially when she got very intrigued by it.
"You mean 'The Streak' thing?" Barry asked, frowning.
"He's out there. People are talking about him."
"How do you even know he's a he? Maybe it's a she."
"It's a man, okay? You know I am really intuitive about this kind of stuff. Someone even posted a picture after being yanked from a car accident. It's a red blur leaving the scene." Iris took out her phone and showed it to Barry.
"Here, what do you see?" She asked, expecting the said photo was on, but instead, all Barry could see was a handsome blonde, Eddie Thawne, on the screen, calling.
"I see Eddie's calling." Barry said flatly and Iris started at her phone, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Oh, I should probably get this." She whispered. "My room's ceiling was dripping water and he offered me to crash at his place tonight, and he's supposed to leave a key for me somewhere."
"Hey, Ed. What's up?" She turned to answer the phone. Barry just shook his head before his phone rang too.
"Hello?" Barry sighed dramatically.
"Code 237 on Waid Boulevard." Cisco said in the phone.
"Public indecency?" He asked.
"Wait, I think I meant a 239." Cisco wasn't answering his question.
"Dog leash violation?" Barry asked again and he could hear Caitlin sighed on the other end.
"Bad man with a gun in a getaway car. Go!" Caitlin snapped and Barry jolted into action.
"All hail Caitlin Snow!" Hunter threw his arms into the air. Barry and Anders laughed.
"The Queen of Giving Straight Forward Answers." Anders mocked and the group laughed.
"But dude, why would Cisco keep on beating around the bush?" Hunter asked.
"As I said, human mind is-"
"I get it!" Hunter squeaked. "Alright dude, I'm sure that you take down those thugs easily, right?"
"Yeah. And I got back to Iris before she finished the call." Barry chuckled.
"Key's in the mailbox. I'll see you later, bye." Iris finished the call as Barry got back just in time, pretending nothing happened.
"Eddie says hi." She said as she turned around.
"Nice of him." Barry said with a higher pitch and handed a cup of popcorn to her. "You wanna grab a bite? I'm feeling a little famished."
"After the Mongolian barbecue we had before the movie and the extra-large popcorn you had at the movie?" Iris looked sceptical. "How are you not fat?"
"I've been jogging." Barry managed.
"Oh, okay." Iris laughed and the two continued their walk. They walked past a restaurant. Little they knew that the next day, it would turn into the scene for the first victims of another metahuman attack.
The next day, Barry got to his workplace when he overheard the cops talking about how the perp ended up in their back seat last night during their chase. Smiling faintly, he quickly walked past them.
"Wasn't even him last night. It was me." He whispered to Joe who chuckled.
"I figured." Joe said. "I just didn't realize you were helping people for the glory."
"It's not like I want a museum built in my name. Keeping what I can do a secret from Iris and everyone, it's harder than I thought." Barry confessed and Joe hummed in agreement.
"I know, but it is safer that way. Besides, me and you got work to do." Joe said and showed Barry a box full of paper works when they were back at his lab.
"The evidence from my mom's case." Barry said in astonishment.
"I had it brought up from storage."
"I've been through this box a thousand times." Barry said and had a hidden question in it: "Why bring it out now?"
"Before, your story about what really happened that night, the lightning storm, the man in the middle of it, I thought that was a kid trying to protect his father from prison." Joe replied. "But now that I know it's true, we're gonna go through every scrap of evidence until we find something that helps us."
"It took the jury 52 minutes to come back with a verdict of guilty." Barry added.
"They moved too fast, which is why we got to take our time." Joe said but before they could start, Eddie came in.
"We got multiple homicides. Do you know the Darbinyan crime family?" Eddie said.
At the crime scene, everyone was doing their job, taking pictures for record, collecting evidence, in Barry's case.
"Signs of histotoxic hypoxia. The cells in their bodies were unable to utilize oxygen. It's consistent with exposure to poison gas." Barry reported to Joe.
"What kind of poison?" Joe asked.
"I'll need to take a lung sample, see if I can narrow it down."
"The only other exit was bolted from the inside. They were trapped." Eddie said as he checked the place thoroughly. "I was thinking someone pumped gas in from the outside, but witnesses say the street was empty."
"So it was from the inside." Joe deduced. "That means there should be a canister or a container left behind. The gas just didn't come in by itself."
But then, something dawned on Barry.
"Unless it had a mind of its own." He said and both Joe and Eddie looked at him. While Eddie looked confused, Joe did catch what Barry meant.
"Eddie, would you mind canvassing again? Somebody had to have seen something suspicious." Joe sent the blonde away with a believable excuse. When they were sure no one was near, Joe turned to Barry.
"Okay, explain."
"The boss collapsed by the table; This guy made it 10 feet away; That guy had a chance to move off and fire three shots into the window trying to break the glass." Barry pointed out. "But they all started in the same spot, which means they should have all been affected by the gas at the same time, but instead, it's as if-"
"They were attacked one by one." Joe finished for him.
"My gut feeling, if we're gonna solve this one, you and me are gonna need… Backup." Joe said and Barry nodded in agreement.
"Oh dear, imagining that scenario made my hair stood on the end." Anders shuddered.
"Why?" Barry asked.
"Simple, imagine a guy summoning a poison gas, he could wipe out everything if he wanted! All he needed to do is a simple move!" The Asian replied.
"Well, but my team didn't share your view, instead, they acted the opposite way." Barry said and Anders flailed his arms in the air.
"They are nuts!" He groaned.
"Fascinating." Dr. Wells said as he looked at the screen. "A meta-human that can manipulate poison gas."
"Is it just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?" Cisco questioned.
"And how is he able to formulate the connection? Is it physiological or psychological?" Caitlin added.
"This individual can create a mental nexus using gaseous substances." Wells deduced.
"You mean connect with gases on a molecular level?" Cisco asked with a smile on his face.
"Yes." Wells replied.
"That is ridiculously cool." Cisco thrilled.
"They get really excited about this stuff." Barry timidly told Joe who simply shook his head.
"The only thing I'm excited about is putting criminals behind bars, except Iron Heights isn't exactly equipped to handle meta-humans." Joe began.
"Then I guess it's fortunate the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us." Wells said without moving his sights away from the screen. Joe, on the other hand, didn't seem to like the idea.
"Well, unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them." Joe told the team.
"A meta-human prison… Sweet." Cisco whispered.
"Until we figure a way to remove their powers." Wells said, still focusing on the screen.
"There is one place here that might hold them." Cisco suggested and Caitlin turned to look at him with an unbelieving expression.
"You can't be serious." She snapped but then she thought her tone was a bit too harsh and Barry was looking at her with a questioning look.
"I mean, we haven't been down there since it's cordoned off." She added.
"Cisco is right. It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison." Wells said.
"What could?" Barry asked and finally, Wells looked up from the screen.
"The particle accelerator." He said simply and the room got quiet, Caitlin just looked away as the memory started crashing back like an unstoppable flood: The initiation of the particle accelerator; everybody was cheering; Dr. Wells opened a bottle of champagne; she and her fiancé Ronnie Raymond discussing and agreeing on their honeymoon destination, everyone was happy, full of joy… until everything went wrong: gravity disappeared, the liquids floated out of their apparatus momently. Then, the alarm started blaring; the lights went off; the building started shaking and the ominous bang of distant explosion. She was so lost to her thoughts that she didn't even notice Wells was calling on her, asking if she would go down to the ruins of accelerator with them.
"Actually Dr. Wells, I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas." Barry stepped in and Caitlin looked so relieved she almost wanted to cry.
"If that's okay with you?" He asked.
"Let's go." She whispered and the group separated.
"Welcome to the CCPD." Barry introduced Caitlin as they walked into the office.
"So this is your day job." Caitlin said with a small smile and uttered a word "Delightful." as an obviously high gangster was getting pushed out of the office.
"Lab rat, I need prints off this gun pronto." A female officer shoved a piece of evidence into Barry's arms.
"Allen! Where the hell is the fibre analysis on the Orloff case?" Singh snapped as he walked into the office.
"Upstairs. It's all finished. I can just run up and bring it down." Barry said as he started to sweat.
"With you, that could be three days from now. I'll go with you." Singh said as he followed Barry, Caitlin, on the other hand, looked like she was trying hard not to laugh.
"Who are you?" Singh asked.
"Dr. Caitlin Snow, Barry's personal physician." She introduced herself politely.
"The fibre analysis for the Orloff case, like you asked for, sir." Barry handed his employer the report he needed, but Caitlin noticed that he only finished that in seconds.
"Clean up your lab. It's a mess." Singh said before he turned.
"Did he always pick on you?" Caitlin asked as she walked in, closing the door so Barry could start tidying up.
"Not if I always have flaws for him to notice." Barry said.
Meanwhile, Joe was reviewing the tapes of Henry Allen's statements, searching for any signs of new evidence. When the tape was finished, he put in another one and then he noticed something on a nearby book shelf. He took it out and immediately, he felt his blood pressure started shooting up in a straight line…
In his hand, was a photo, normally it wouldn't cause him this reaction, but when you saw the two people in the photo were actually your daughter and your working partner, kissing, yes, kissing ON. THE. LIPS, well, you couldn't really blame Joe for having such reaction. What's worse, Iris came down stairs just at this moment.
"Hey, dad… Uh… What's happening? You look like you're going to pop a coronary…" Iris said as Joe slowly turned to look at her and an imaginary black cloud was starting to gather around the older man.
"Iris…" He began. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"
Iris looked both confused and slightly nervous.
"Wait… He didn't find out the slash stories I've been secretly collecting, did he?" She thought.
"I'm sorry, but I don't really understand…"
"This!" He snapped, shoving the photo on Iris's face. When Iris realised what her dad was talking about, a shade of red started appearing on her cheeks.
"Uh… Dad, I can explain." Iris said in embarrassment.
"You better or I'll-" Joe was cut off by the banging at the door and both turned.
"We're not done talking about this." Joe said as Iris went to get the door. She opened it and revealed… the other main character in the photo, Eddie.
"Oh god…" Iris groaned. "This is one disaster on top of another…"
"YOU!" Joe started storming towards them.
"Wha… What?! Joe? I thought you were at the morgue…" Eddie stuttered in surprise and fear as the imaginary black cloud around Joe intensified dramatically as he marched towards them. Luckily, Iris decided to jump in between the two.
"Dad! Calm down! Don't be over-reactive!" Iris started babbling. "I will explain everything to you, but I assure you we're not doing anything funny. Eddie is here because I invited him, I want to thank him for letting me stay at his place when my room's ceiling was dripping water. That's all. I'm going to thank him with a cup of coffee. See you soon."
With that, Iris dragged a stunned Eddie out of the door and fled along the street. They ran until they reached a small park.
"Ok… Why… Why did your dad want to rip my head off with his hands?" Eddie asked, panting.
"Oh… Ripping your head off with his hands is a mercy, he wanted to shred you to threads with his bare hands when you're still wild awake." Iris replied, panting as well.
"Why would he want to do that?"
"He found it… The photo… of us… kissing…" Iris said and Eddie's eyes widened and his face paled.
"Oh god…" He groaned as he slumped down on a bench. "Why didn't you explain-"
"-That it was just a photo Mary took when we played 'Spin-the-bottle' during that time I took you to her party?" Iris snapped. "I was just going to do that but then you showed up! What a perfect timing you have, mister!"
"Oh no… Kill me now…" Eddie groaned, hiding his face in his arms. How could he face Joe again when the two met in their workplace?!
"This has got to stop. I came here, wanting to invite you and Barry to hit the café, now my work partner is going to shoot me whenever I look at you in the wrong way! This is so not what I was planning on." Eddie groaned, lifting his head above his hands.
"I know, trust me, I know." Iris said, patting on her friend's shoulder.
"We have to tell him the truth." Eddie said and Iris looked at him as if he had gone crazy.
"At this moment? Are you serious?!" Iris snapped.
"No! I mean when he calmed down a bit, then we can tell him that I'm not attracted to you, or to any woman at all! I prefer someone with a Y-chromosome!" Eddie cried.
Iris just shook her head.
"You will only piss him off more! Either he thinks you are lying by pretending to be gay, or if he believes it, you were toying with my feelings or he assumes that you were using me to take advantages. For any cases above, you will only experience a more painful death by my dad!"
Eddie groaned before he got a text from Singh, stating that he was needed.
Turns out, not only Caitlin had flashbacks of the explosion, Cisco did too when he and Dr. Wells went down to the accelerator. When the machine started to malfunction, Dr. Wells told the engineering team to shut it down but Cisco pointed out that they had do it manually. Being the lead engineer, Ronnie got down to the system together with Cisco but the latter was told to stay back and locked the door if he didn't come back within 2 minutes. Cisco still remembered how he looked at his watch as the time finally ran out, but his friends still hadn't come back and how he was forced to close and lock the door; forcing to sentence his friend to death. It still haunted him, even it was nine months ago.
"Can I ask you something that you don't have to answer?" Barry asked as he and Caitlin were waiting the analysis to complete.
"My least favourite kind of question, shoot." She replied, having a feeling what was on his mind.
"Ronnie… What was he like? You just never talk about him that much." Barry asked, preparing for a backlash but Caitlin didn't seem to get offended.
"We met when we were working on the particle accelerator. He was the structural engineer." She began. "He liked to joke that he was basically a very high-priced plumber. We were very different. You might have noticed I can be a bit… guarded."
"But Ronnie knew how to make me laugh." Caitlin said with a small sad smile on her face. "He used to say we were like fire and ice. He wasn't supposed to be there that night. He was just there for me. If he hadn't-"
She was cut off when the computer beeped and the report printed out.
"This says that there was no residue of gas in the tissue, poisonous or otherwise." Caitlin said.
"It must have evaporated. We'll need to get a fresh sample." Barry said but Caitlin noticed something.
"Wait, this can't be right. This says that there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue."
"How did someone else's DNA get inside the victim's lungs?" Barry asked and Caitlin looked at him with a frown.
"There's no DNA match in the database." Barry said after he checked the DNA database.
"I don't understand. Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person's DNA inside the victim?
"What if the meta-human we're looking for doesn't control gas? What if he becomes it?" Barry asked and both knew they had got the answer.
"All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the Central City shopping mall." Almost instantly, the radio in Barry's lab turned on and Barry got to his feet, Caitlin following him behind.
"Barry, don't! We don't know enough about what we're facing yet. It's not safe!" She tried to object but like Wells said, when Barry had his mind set on something, no one could talk him out of it.
"Caitlin, I have to go." Barry said before he flashed away. Caitlin, on the other hand, thought maybe it was time to prepare patching Barry up soon.
"She's right on the part where she was guarded." Hunter pointed out as they finished the walk at Lima Plaza and were now on the way to BreadstiX.
"As an engineer, being guarded and cautious are advantages since they could make sure the flaws were removed before the subject was published." Anders reasoned.
"But as a crime-fighter, they might be hindrance." Barry said and Anders looked at him sharply.
"It's better safe than sorry. You didn't know who you're dealing with and what he was capable to do. Rushing in with such little preparations can cause more harm than good." Anders countered.
"Barry, I patched into the mall's security system. According to witnesses, the gas attack was in the main elevator in the north wing." Cisco informed as Barry rushed to the shopping mall.
"Which one is the north wing?" Barry asked.
"The one with The Big Belly Burger." Wells piped up.
"I eat." He added, probably after receiving a look from Cisco. Barry shook his head and got to the scene. The victim of the attack this time, was a woman. Obviously, she was beyond help. Looking up, he noticed a trail of gas disappearing into the back corridor. Without thinking and in frustration of failing to save another person, he chased behind him. The gas collected itself and materialized into a bald man with a look similar to Voldemort.
"Why did you kill that woman?" He demanded.
"She deserved to die." The metahuman said with obvious craziness. "Now go run away, I still have one more name on my list. Don't make me add you to it."
Sneering, Barry lunged but all the punches he threw at him were like hitting air itself. The man simply melted into gas before materializing again. And before he knew what happened, the gas crept into his system and he collapsed onto the floor, grasping his throat and gasping.
"Barry." He heard Dr. Wells called and realized that his team might be his last hope. "Barry, can you hear me?"
"His vitals are weak, but he's alive, Dr. Wells." He heard Cisco assured him.
"I'm sure he's fine."
And then, he crashed into them, still gasping coarsely.
"I… can't… breathe…" He gasped and the two men jumped into action.
"He needs oxygen. Get the crash cart!" Wells ordered and Cisco hurried away.
"Barry! Barry!" They heard Caitlin called as they tried to steady him.
"Cut me open. The poison's still in me." Barry rasped.
"He brought us a sample." Wells said.
"Caitlin, we need to do a pulmonary biopsy, extract an active portion of that gas." He ordered and Caitlin nodded.
"I can't give you any anaesthetic. Your metabolism will burn right through it." She warned and Barry nodded.
"I heal quick, remember?"
"Cisco, give me the syringe." She ordered and turned back to the gasping human. "This is gonna hurt a lot."
"It's a small needle. You probably won't even feel it." Cisco piped up with a syringe and a… man, that needle was long…
"You're definitely going to feel it." Caitlin snapped, taking the syringe and before anyone could say a thing, Barry cried out in pain as the needle punched through his skin and flesh and then, everything turned black.
"See? I told you." Anders said.
"I didn't think much, I was getting frustrated and it happened." Barry defended himself as they pulled up at the carpark.
"But still, I think Anders is right, you need to get more cautious." Hunter said.
"Please! Can someone help?!"
The group turned and saw a young girl hanging on a branch of a tall tree, her parents calling down below, looking extremely worried.
"Wow… I wonder how she ended up there…" Hunter said before turning to his friends. "Aren't you going to do something?"
"Why don't you go do something?" Anders asked.
"Huh? Why me?"
"You're the only who can fly." Anders pointed out. "Now, be a good superhero and help that little girl."
Looking a bit embarrassed, Hunter went hiding in a dark corner and changed into his Green Lantern uniform. Flying into the air, he approached the crying little girl. He managed to catch her when she slipped. The terrified soul clung onto his uniform with her dear life. Murmuring comforting words, Hunter descended onto the ground and let the little child go. Immediately, she rushed to her parents who hugged her tightly. The family now turned to look at him.
"Thank you, I don't know how I can repay you this debt." The mother said sincerely.
"It's nothing. No need for the repaying. You guys being safe are enough." Hunter said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Are you an angel?" The girl in her mother's arms asked innocently.
"Lilian!" The mother scolded but Hunter just laughed.
"It's ok, miss." He said as he knelt in front of the little girl. "Why would you think I'm an angel?"
"You can fly! You save me! Angels can fly and save people so you have to be an angel." The little girl, Lilian said innocently.
"You have good imagination." He rubbed the little girl's hair with fondness and tenderness. "It's good. Imagination brings dreams to come true."
The little girl giggled and her parents smiled lovingly at their daughter before they thanked Hunter again.
"You are a hero, young man. Remember this and we and the city need you." The father said sincerely. Hunter smiled before flying off. Changing back to his civilian clothes, he went to meet his friends.
"Happy?" Hunter asked.
"Very." Barry and Anders smiled as the trio started walking to the restaurant.
When Barry finally came back to the living world, his team was gathering around him.
"The Streak lives…" Cisco joked.
"You'd be dead if your lung cells didn't regenerate so quickly." Caitlin said.
"My chest feels like that one time I had a cigarette." Barry said and Caitlin glared at him with a disapproving look.
"Yeah, teen me lived for danger." Barry admitted timidly.
"This isn't funny. You could've-"
"I didn't." Barry cut Caitlin off and she sighed in exasperation.
"Now that we have a sample, we'll get to work analysing it, figure out the makeup of the poison, maybe get a clue as to his human identity." Wells said, focusing on his computer screen.
"Or at least a way to stop him from turning into a mist." Cisco added and it dawned on him.
"The Mist. Okay, that's his name. End of discussion."
"I have to get to the station." Barry said, getting off the bed, still looking a bit wobbling on his feet.
"You should be resting." Wells said without looking up.
"I have to talk to Joe." Barry said weakly.
Later that night, Barry found Joe in his lab.
"I had him, the meta-human." He reported. "We were wrong. He's not controlling airborne toxins, he can literally transform himself into poison gas."
"That's new." Joe said as he too had something to report. "The victim was a judge. We're going through some of her old cases to see if there's a connection."
"It's too late." Barry whispered and Joe looked at him. "I should have been faster."
"Focus on the job. Don't think about that right now." Joe put down the file he was holding and said.
"You don't want to know what I'm thinking about." The younger man sighed. "My dad has spent 14 years in a 6x8-foot cell for a crime he didn't commit. I couldn't save my mom, but I can save him."
"Didn't I promise you that we would get your father out of prison together?" Joe asked.
"I don't need your help, Joe." Barry said in a low voice. "I could be in and out of there with him before anyone even sees me."
"Okay." Joe sat down patiently. He was not surprised that Barry had that thought. Who didn't have desperate thoughts during desperate times? And he was glad that Barry decided to talk to him instead of doing something that he might regret.
"You break him out of there. Then what?" He asked. "He's on the run for the rest of his life. And something tells me he's not as fast as you are."
"You don't know what it's like there."
"You think I don't understand what you're feeling? I have been a cop for almost as long as you've been alive." Joe said. "So you should know: putting on that suit does not make everybody safe. For every person you save, there's gonna be somebody you can't."
"And the hardest thing you're gonna have to face is not some monster out there with powers." Joe said firmly. "It is gonna be that feeling of uselessness when you can't do anything. Or the guilt that weighs on you when you make a mistake."
"Some things, Barry, you can't fight. Some things you just have to live with." The detective said before leaving, leaving Barry deep in thought.
"You know, I'm so glad that you didn't do that." Anders said as they reached BreadstiX.
"Yeah, me too." Barry said with a smile.
"And Joe was right on one thing: You're too hard on yourself." Hunter piped up. "No one is perfect, and not everything has a happy ending. What really important, is that you have tried your best. You learnt from your failures, but don't let the failures rule over you."
"Thanks." Barry said.
"They're all here." Anders said, looking through the window, and they saw all the New Directions and Warblers were here too.
"I know, and I'll take it like nothing." Barry said. "We have done nothing wrong. They started the fight, remember, not us."
"I know." Anders said before whispering something in Cantonese. "先撩者賤. (Meaning: The one who initiated the fight or argument is the lowest.)"
The three got into the restaurant and immediately, they could feel the glares from the NDs and the looks some Warblers concentrating on them. Anders also noticed someone was staring at him but he didn't pay much attention. His focus was on Barry, if those morons were stupid enough to start a fight, he was not going to let them get away easily. As for Barry, he ignored them as usual and the group picked a more remote table and ordered their food and drinks. They overheard some conversations from nearby tables.
"Do you hear that? The Green Lantern is out again." A girl told her boyfriend in excitement.
"Really?" Her boyfriend replied.
"I saw him saved a little girl from falling off a tree." A woman told her friends.
"How do you know it's a he?" Another woman asked.
"He spoke in a male voice, silly." Her friend replied.
"Why would Green Lantern be here? Shouldn't he be in a place called, Shore City?" A man questioned.
Hunter chuckled on that, Hal would be so pissed off if he heard that.
"It's Coast City, and I think this is a new one. There are several Green Lanterns in Coast City, remember? Maybe this one decided to settle here."
"That'll be so cool, not to mention his partner, Musician-"
Anders growled, Barry faked a cough and Hunter covered his mouth, trying hard not to laugh.
"Is awesome too. Having a superhero in our city makes us feel safe, now we have two."
"I think I need to clarify my alias the next time we're on mission. It's "Euterpan", not "Musician", damn it." Anders hissed.
"I can see my job of hiding is doing quite well. They didn't notice me." Barry whispered.
"Are you guys ready to order?" A beautiful waitress approached them.
"What's the special tonight?" Anders asked with a charming smile.
"Tonight is grilled lobster. It comes with French toast, mushroom cream soup and ice-cream." The waitress smiled back.
"Cool, I love lobsters. I will have one and ice-cream will be vanilla-flavoured. These two will have a mega-size pepperoni pizza and spaghetti with minced meat and cheese. Two lemon-tea and one chocolate, please?" Anders ordered politely.
"Ok. My name is Christine and I'll be responsible for your orders tonight. Feel free to call me if you need anything."
"Thank you." The trio thanked.
"And what happened next? With you and the crazed metahuman." Anders asked in a low voice so no one heard them.
"That metahuman was not the next thing that bothered me." Barry said.
"Yes, I'm writing this down." Eddie spoke to the phone as Iris came in. "Red streak at the mall during the gas attack. Thank you for calling."
"Did they get a good look at the Streak's face?" Iris asked with barely contained excitement.
"Not you too…" He groaned. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"We need to talk." Iris said.
"I thought about what you said and you're right. We will tell my dad the truth, together." Iris said, taking Eddie's hands with hers.
"Now?" Eddie asked, looking a bit nervous.
"Yes, now." Iris said firmly. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."
The group moved to Barry's lab as they knew if Joe was not by his desk, he would be in Barry's lab. But they couldn't find Joe at Barry's lab either.
"Hey, Barry. Where's dad?" Iris asked as Barry was preparing to leave.
"Huh? I don't know. He didn't tell me where he was going." Barry said as he left and Eddie couldn't help himself but to notice how adorable Barry was when he said that "Huh". He gazed at the leaving figure for a while until Iris elbowed him in the ribs gently. Eddie snapped away from his gaze and started to blush.
"Hey, back from La-La Land?" Iris teased. She did notice Eddie's reaction.
"What? Uh…"
"See someone you like?" Iris teased again, giggling when Eddie's face blushed even harder.
"You're delusional!" Eddie denied. Iris didn't press on the issue, her mind, however, started to work out what really happened between Barry and Eddie and if her hypothesis was correct…
"Wow, that will be hot." Iris giggled in her mind.
Barry found Caitlin sitting by the particle accelerator, even her face was away from him, he knew she was sad and worried.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you leaving like that." Barry apologized.
"It's okay." Caitlin assured him. "I get it. You had to go. It's just… that's the last thing that Ronnie said to me that night."
"My mother died 14 years ago." Barry confessed. "I used to think that the further away I got from it, the less it would hurt."
"But some days, the pain… it's worse than the day that it happened." He continued. "Some things you can't fight."
"For so long, I've been terrified of going into that hole." Caitlin said, shaking her head, trying to keep her emotion at bay.
"What if I went with you?" Barry suggested and Caitlin nodded. Maybe she could finally face the demon haunting her heart for so long. As they reached the accelerator, she began to tell him what happened that night. How she and Cisco tried to get Ronnie out of the system; Ronnie told them he adjusted the machine so the explosion would go upward instead of horizontally; the last yet unfinished sentence Ronnie tried to tell Caitlin before the sound of explosion took over and took away everything.
"So Cisco was there…" Barry said quietly as they approached the door which separated an originally happy couple.
"Yeah." Caitlin whispered.
"And he locked the door…"
"Yeah, but that guilt was weighing down on him too." Caitlin added. "Cisco may always look joyful and playful, but I could see the guilt and sadness in his eyes, it was still there. He and Ronnie were good friends and he clearly knew what he did would tear a happily engaged couple apart."
She took a deep breath.
"I blamed him initially, but when I calmed down, I realised I couldn't. Cisco didn't want to see this happen either, and knowing Ronnie, he would definitely sacrifice himself. I told Cisco that, but it didn't really help… and I still missed Ronnie." She said. "He saved so many lives that day, and no one will ever know what he did."
"I do." Barry said quietly, walking up next to her. "He was a hero."
"I didn't want him to be a hero…" Caitlin whispered. "I wanted him to be my husband. To kiss me awake on every morning… and hold me when I sleep at night…"
Barry gently hugged her, letting her silently sob out all the emotions bottling up in her heart for so long.
"Barry, Caitlin, you down there? You got to come look at this." Cisco's voice rang in the speaker and the two got back to the lab.
"Check this out." Cisco called, standing in front of a screen showing a molecular structure of a chemical compound.
"It's a 3D molecular model of the gas we retrieved from your lungs." He informed.
"We have identified the toxin." Wells piped up. "Hydrogen cyanide. What's interesting is what's mixed in with the cyanide: A sedative."
"Of course." Barry whispered before turning to Caitlin. "The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed."
"Why?" Wells asked.
"That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide."
"There was someone executed: Kyle Nimbus." Caitlin reported as she brought up the file.
"That's him." Barry recognized the man he once fought with.
"He was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified. Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death." Caitlin read out the file.
"He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed." Wells concluded.
"Records indicate the execution was completed." Cisco added.
"That's why there wasn't a match. The DNA database only has records of the living." Barry said before he remembered something.
"He said there was one more person on his list. Check the arrest record. Who caught him? That could be his next attack." He said.
"Barry, the lead detective…" Caitlin said and Barry's eyes widened, because the lead detective, the next victim, was his foster father, Joe.
"Oh dear…" Anders whispered, grasping tight on the glass cup without noticing.
"That man reminds so much of those insane terrorists who always seek revenges." Hunter whispered.
"Please tell me you made it this time… Tell me that you managed to stop that crazy Voldemort from finishing his killing spree…" Anders whispered. Their dinner had been relatively quiet, nothing happened. The NDs were smart enough not to pick a fight and Blaine didn't try to hit on Barry again. The group thought it would go on like that until someone called from the table where the NDs and Warblers occupied.
"Anders?" The said individual turned to face several familiar faces.
"Hi, Mike. Hi, Tina." Anders greeted casually.
"You two know him?" Someone from the NDs, a short Jewish girl asked. What was her name again? Rachel? Yeah, Rachel Berry.
"Yeah, we went to the same elementary school and went to Asian Camp with Wes and Chris." The tall athletic Chinese, Mike Chang said.
"I don't really know that you're in the Warblers too." Tina Cohen-Chang, a Korean with Goth style make-up said.
"Is he new?" A very tall man from NDs asked. "I don't think we have ever met him."
"Oh actually, I have been in the Warblers for more than a month." Anders said coldly.
"Then why we have never met you?" The tall man asked again. "Wes only told us that there's someone named Anders Fung who never has the time to meet us and I initially he is just an imaginary guy. But why are you spending all your time with these-"
"Say anything bad and I will punch you in the face, Mr…"
"Hudson, Finn Hudson."
"Mr. Hudson. And yes, I am the imaginary Anders Fung because I have never showed up. What a smart person you are. The reason why I didn't come to meet you is your meeting time always clashes with my CO practice." Anders explained in mocked politeness.
"What is a CO?" A short blonde man asked, Sam Evans, as Anders remembered.
"It's the short form of Chinese Orchestra." An Asian Warbler, Chris Montgomery, the younger brother of Wes Montgomery and Mike Chang said.
"Oh, you mean those lame, weak, always sorrowful music scores?" Finn said and Anders spun his head.
"Excuse me but what do you mean lame, weak, always sorrowful?" Anders snapped, glaring at Finn.
"It's weak. Chinese music is lame and sorrowful, otherwise why would all these beggars pleading for money with those musical instruments? I have seen it on the streets very often." Finn asked with a sense of arrogance, earning a few nods from his friends.
"Yeah, and all jocks are either meatheads or bullies or both while the cheerleaders are all easy whores or spoiled brats or both, because I have seen so many jocks are meatheads and bullies and so many cheerleaders are whores and spoiled brats." Anders snapped. Many of the NDs looked like they were going to jump up to punch him but Hunter and Barry clearly knew Anders would win easily.
"Don't give me that look. If that jerk face didn't offend me on the first hand, nothing like this will happen so to cut it short, you bring it upon yourself." Anders said before turning back to his drink.
"Guys, don't fight." Blaine said and the trio rolled their eyes. Of course Blaine would be pretending to be the peace-keeper. "But seriously Seb, what are you guys doing here?"
"We're having dinner here, Captain Obvious." Hunter snapped.
"And what happened after dinner?" Blaine was trying to hint something more again. The trio sighed, when would the dwarf understand the meaning of "no" and "I'm taken"?
"We're going to Scandals. But I don't see why it concerns you." Barry said in his "Sebastian Smythe" mask.
"Scandals?" A Latino Warbler, Jeremy piped up. "That's the gay bar in West Lima."
"Precisely, Jeremy." Barry smirked, causing the Latino to blush. Jeremy's boyfriend, Tyler, just shook his head in fondness as he put his arm around Jeremy's waist.
"That sounds very sweet." Blaine said in a cheerful voice. "Can I join you guys?"
"Anderson, if I remember correctly, you guys are rehearsing the joint-school musical which you guys 'kindly and politely' rejected Sebastian to join." Hunter pointed out flatly. "Besides, don't you and your boyfriend have some daily routines you need to go through before going to bed, right, Kurt?"
He eyed at Kurt and Blaine sharply.
"Yes." Kurt said with a forced smile. "We do a rigorous skin sloughing regimen over the phone together."
"But love, our parts are not scheduled tonight. We can spend some time there and have fun." Blaine pleaded.
"Love, they're having a threesome. Don't disturb them." Kurt mocked.
"That's disgusting!" Anders snapped. "I don't swing that way! Hunter didn't feel that way to Bas either!"
"And then why would you go to a gay bar with them?" Kurt asked with a fake smile.
"I agree to be their wingman tonight, Mr. Oblivious." Anders replied with a fake smile too. Kurt turned to look at Rachel who looked through the papers.
"Yeah, your part and Blaine's part are on tomorrow." She said.
"Well, in that case, we're in." Kurt said, looking at Barry with a challenging stare.
"What?" Blaine asked.
"Yeah, we have a lot of time tonight. We're in. Let's do it." Kurt said with a fake smile.
"Great…" Blaine didn't sound too happy and the trio knew why, because if Kurt was there, then Blaine couldn't hit on Barry.
"Great…" Barry mocked as Blaine whispered something to Kurt.
"Don't worry. He's harmless."
"So, are we going now?" Kurt asked.
"As you wish, mister." Barry whispered as they went to their respective cars.
"That is annoying!" Hunter complained loudly during their drive. "That hobbit just didn't know when to quit!"
"Don't call him a hobbit or dwarf. It's an insult to these two names." Anders said disdainfully. "I'd rather called him a leech."
"Calm down, you two. At least we didn't make a scene back there." Barry soothed.
"Yeah, why don't you try to calm us down distracting us with your story? It wasn't finished yet."
"Well, I tried to call Eddie as Joe's not answering his phone." Barry began.
Come on… Come on… Pick up! Barry thought frantically as he paced in the lab.
"Hello?"
"Eddie." Barry sighed in relief.
"Barry, what's up?"
"Do you know where Joe went? He's not picking up his cell. It's really important I speak to him. I need to know where he went." He asked.
"I'm not sure if it is right or not, but Captain Singh told me that he went to Iron Heights to see your dad."
"Thanks" Barry said before cutting off the call.
"Barry." Caitlin handed an injector to him. "I reverse-engineered an antidote to the toxin, I hope you won't need it."
Barry nodded, got on his suit and rushed to Iron Heights within a blink of the eye.
"Please… Please… Please don't let it be too late…" Barry silently prayed as he rushed along the streets. "I have already failed to save my mom, I can't lose Joe either. I can't let Iris endure the same pain I experienced. I can't let him hurt my dad either…"
Powered by this determination, he ran even faster.
"Barry, I pulled up the specs on Iron Heights Prison. It's maximum security, but I think I can talk you through breaking in there."
"Don't bother. I've been figuring out how to break into that place since I was 11." Barry replied.
When he arrived, it seemed he was too late. A guard was dead on the floor, Joe was spamming violently and the culprit was nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to waste more time, he injected the antidote to Joe. Then, he realised that there was someone looking at him too, his dad! Immediately, he vibrated his head quickly so his look was blurred. Turning back to Joe, Barry was relieved to see that the detective was going to be fine.
"Go get him…" He said weakly and Barry broke into action. He stopped Nimbus before he could escape.
"So you've come to finish what the gas chamber couldn't?" The crazed metahuman said in a crazed manner.
"You're going somewhere you can't hurt anyone ever again." Barry hissed and Nimbus turned itself into a giant hissing green toxic cloud. Barry was ready to fight.
"He used the antidote on Joe. The plan needs some changes." Caitlin told the rest of the team quietly before speaking loudly to the microphone. "You need to stay away from him, Barry. Do not breathe him in."
"I'm not sure how that helps me, guys." Barry replied as he dodged the gas again.
"You can't fight him, Barry. Just keep him coming at you. That should sap his strength." Caitlin reasoned.
"Gas is the least stable form of matter. This meta-human will not be able to stay in his mist form for long. His particles will need to reform." Wells added and Barry dodged the gas again. And this lethal cat-and-the-mouse game carried on for more than 20 minutes before Nimbus finally got his powers exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
"Barry?" Caitlin called in the headset.
"We win." Barry said smugly, looking down on the unconscious form of Nimbus. "I'm taking him to your place now. I need to check on Joe."
"Will do."
When Barry got back to Iron Heights in his civilian clothes, the guards had the prison surrounded. In distance, the sound of police's sirens could be heard.
"Sir, you can't go in!" One of the guards blocked him.
"My foster dad is in there! I need to see if he's fine!" Barry faked shouting, of course Joe would be fine, he injected the antidote to him.
"Barry?" Someone called his name and he turned, seeing Eddie coming towards him.
"Eddie."
"How's Joe?" The blonde asked.
"I don't know. These guys wouldn't let me in!" Barry cried just as the paramedics carried Joe out of the prison. Immediately, Barry dashed towards the man.
"Sir! I have to go with him!" Barry called as the crash cart reached the ambulance.
"Who are you to him?" The paramedic asked.
"I'm his foster son." Barry said and got into the vehicle after gaining the permission of the paramedics. He watched as the medical staff worked on Joe; telling him that he would be fine; transferring him to a ward until Barry fell asleep while waiting.
When Barry woke up again, Joe was already awake and watching him with a smile.
"It's been a while since I watched you sleep." Joe said tiredly.
"Rescuing you is exhausting." Barry said and both man chuckled.
"I really miss the ability to be able to ground you." Joe said.
"Sorry I went and grew up." Barry joked before turning serious again.
"I could have got my dad out of Iron Heights tonight."
"I know."
"But you were right. That's not the way." Barry added and Joe looked at him with obvious proudness. The two smiled at each other before Iris came crashing in.
"Daddy." Iris dived in to hug her dad.
"Baby, I'm fine. Don't worry." Joe assured his daughter.
"I'll let you guys talk. Say hi to Eddie for me." Barry whispered as he left.
"Dad, I have something that we need to tell you." Iris said after spending some time asking him questions. "Your partner wants to come too, but-"
"Eddie?" Joe said with a slight frown.
"Yeah, but he was caught up in the witness protection program so he could only come later." Iris explained. "But the thing is-"
"The thing is you two are dating." Joe cut Iris off and Iris stared at him agape. No, no, no, this was not the truth!
"Dad-" She started but Joe carried on, ignoring her.
"I know. I'm a detective, remember?"
"But-"
"And both of you are lousy liars."
"But-"
"But I should remind you, Iris, this is going to be complicated. And you know I don't like complicated."
"I know, but"-
"Do you like him?"
"Yes, but-"
"So if you really like him, then I will do my damnedest not to shoot him."
"But dad-"
"That is all I ask. Oh, and tell him, I'm mad. If the doctor hadn't got my gun confiscated, we'd be having an entirely different conversation."
"Dad!" Iris cried in frustration just as the nurse popped her head inside the ward.
"OK, guys. The visiting hour is over, the doctor will check on him soon." She informed and Iris growled in frustration.
"Well, let's just pray the next Eddie came visit me, I still hadn't got my gun back." Joe raised his eyebrow.
"I'll see you later." She kissed her dad goodbye before leaving the room. As she got out of the elevator, she ran into Eddie.
"Oh, sorry. Eddie, I didn't see you there." Iris apologized.
"It's OK, Iris. Is Joe fine?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah, but you can't visit him now. The visiting hour is over."
"What?!" Eddie gasped and checked his watch. "Damn it… And did you tell him? What did he say?"
"Fail." Iris emphasised and Eddie dropped his mouth.
"What? How?!"
"I wanted to tell him the truth but dad just carried on, saying how complicated it would be and he would try his best not to shoot you." Iris face-palmed. "Oh, and he reminded me to tell you that he's mad, and the next time you came visit him, prayed that he still hadn't got his gun back or the conversation would be entirely different."
Poor Eddie looked like he was going to cry. Why did such a simple task of truth telling become so complicated?!
"By the way, Barry said hi." Iris changed the subject as they went to the canteen.
"That's very sweet of him." Eddie said before something dawned on him.
"What?"
"The night Joe was attacked… Barry called me, asking if I know where Joe was." Eddie explained. "Getting worried, I went to call Joe but then the report of toxic gas attack came. When I arrived, Barry was already there. But that should be impossible."
"Well, maybe The Streak helped him." Iris said with a smile and Eddie nodded.
"Maybe he had something to do with that…" He whispered and was determined to learn more about the truth of The Streak.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin, Wells and Cisco watched as Nimbus angrily pounced on the cell door containing him, yelling and changing into his gas form all the time.
"Will it hold?" Caitlin asked in worry.
"The barrier is powered by an 8.3 Tesla superconducting electromagnet, which is about 100,000 times the strength of earth's magnetic field." Cisco explained with confidence. "In other words, yes."
"He's mad." Wells said quietly and pushed some buttons on the screen, closing the door of the particle accelerator, now served as a prison for evil metahumans. "Well, good night."
"So we're just supposed to get used to working above a makeshift prison housing evil people with superpowers." Caitlin began.
"You'd be surprised what you can get used to." Wells said before rolling away.
"Caitlin." Cisco called. "Could I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure. What's up?" She asked, though looking at his face, she had a feeling what was on his mind.
"It's about the night that Ronnie died. I-"
"Look, Cisco, I'm okay." Caitlin said with a smile. "I thought coming down here would undo me, but thinking about what Ronnie did to protect us… It just made me love him more."
The two looked at each other before they smiled, the guilt on their shoulders finally started to lessen.
"Come on. I need ice cream or a drink. Let's see which one we hit first." She said and the two left.
"Joe's gonna be okay." Barry told his father at Iron Heights.
"You know, lately I've been thinking about mom… A lot." He confessed. "I miss her."
Henry just smiled warmly.
"Did I ever tell you about the time you learned to walk?" He began.
"A couple times." Barry chuckled.
"Everyone was walking before you." Henry said as he remembered the memory he cherished so much till now.
"All the little babies running around the neighbourhood, not you." He said and laughed a little bit. "But your mom was never worried. She just said, 'he'll walk when he has someplace to go.' and sure enough, the first time you took a few steps, you moved so quick, you didn't just walk, you started-"
"To run." Barry finished. Henry's smile grew.
"And you ran to your mom, Barry." He said. "Right into her arms. You had someplace to go."
Barry smiled. He nodded as tears poured down his cheeks.
In S.T.A.R. Labs, Wells was looking at Barry's suit as he remembered what happened during the explosion of particle accelerator.
"Dr. Wells." Cisco called in the headset. "Dr. Wells, Ronnie did it. He vented the system… S.T.A.R. Labs should hold."
"Good man. I'm on my way down." Wells replied and he went to his secret room. He pressed on the monitor and revealed a footage of surveillance video of Barry Allen, closing the skyfall before the lightning struck him. As the younger man flew past the room and smashed into the racks containing all kinds of chemicals, Wells smiled.
"See you soon, Barry." He whispered and left the room.
"That's good. Both your biological dad and foster dad loves you so much." Hunter said with a smile.
"I know… And I could bring the Mist down." Barry said with a smile.
"You're a miracle, Barry Allen." Anders piped up.
"Thanks." He said thankfully. "You know what? I thought being the fastest man alive would make my life easier, that I could outrun anything. Turns out, no one can outrun pain. Life is tragic. But it's also precious, and sweet, and extraordinary. And the only way I know to honour my mom's life… is to keep running."
"She would be so proud of you, Barry." Hunter said as they pulled up in front of Scandals.
"Well, I'm not sure if she would be proud of me for going here…" He said and his friends laughed.
"Smooth, dude, real smooth."
"Guys! Thanks for inviting us." Blaine said as he and Kurt got out of their own car.
"Don't bother." Anders whispered, Hunter and Barry groaned as they entered the club.
"Wow…" Blaine said as he eyed around the place. They got to the bar, ordered their drinks and Barry went dancing on the dance floor. Blaine eyed him in a lustful way, making Anders and Hunter wanted to vomit in disgust. The leech then turned his attention to the group.
"Come on guys, let's hit the dance floor." He said, grabbing Kurt's hand but the paler boy didn't seem to like the idea.
"You guys go." He said.
"You sure?" Hunter asked with mocked politeness.
"Sure." Kurt mocked as Blaine untied his bowtie and headed to the dance floor, circling Barry on the dance floor. Shaking his head, Hunter joined them so he could block Blaine away from Barry.
"You didn't drink. Are you the designated driver?" Kurt asked Anders.
"I don't like alcohol. I once tried to take a sip of some red wine during a family dinner but after the first sip I quickly decided that alcohol and I do not mix. So yes, usually I am the designated driver, but to be honest, they didn't like drinking a lot too." Anders said politely yet coldly.
"You're serious? Sebastian Smythe doesn't drink a lot? You have got to be kidding me, how else did he get laid without getting people and himself drunk?" Kurt said.
"Sebastian does NOT sleep around." Anders snapped.
"Are you sure you're talking about the same Sebastian Smythe? `Because that's not what I know about him. He's a big whore."
"Oh, you poor, sweet thing." Anders said with heavy sarcasm. "Of course you didn't know a thing of Bas, not one thing, because you didn't even bother to listen or talk to him. Like the bunch of moron friends of yours, you just kept on antagonizing him because of all the illusions that Blaine Anderson had. Trust me, Mr. Oblivious, that Anderson guy is not what he seemed to be."
Kurt glared at Anders with an anger glint in his eyes. He was going to retort but he didn't have the chance.
"Who's not what he seemed to be?" Barry asked as he came back with Hunter, obviously he was trying to get away from Blaine.
"You know who I'm talking about." Anders said coldly and Blaine came towards them.
"Guys, I need to use the little boy's room, but you know… since this is my first time, would you kindly lead the way for me, Seb?" Blaine looked at Barry with this sickening puppy eyes. Anders shook his head and jumped in.
"Actually, I will lead you the way because I need to use the washroom too." Anders said and dragged a surprised and annoyed Blaine away forcefully.
"So this is the first time both of you here?" Barry asked.
"Look, I'm not sure who you think you are, but stay away from Blaine. He already has a boyfriend." Kurt said plainly and Hunter groaned in annoyance.
"For fuck sake, not this shit again!" He snapped and Kurt turned to glare at him. "Bas knows clearly that you and Blaine is an item and he does not try to take him away. It's Blaine who always tries to hit on Bas."
"Blaine wouldn't do that." Kurt declared. "He loves me."
"Whatever you think, I, for one, am not sure about that." Hunter snorted without looking at Kurt. "But I'm pretty much sure that Bas does not hit on your so called 'perfect' boyfriend."
"And how did you know?" Kurt mocked.
"Oh sweetie, I know him better than you. And I trust him; both Anders and I do, even when all of the New Directions and the Warblers turned their backs on him." Hunter said proudly, his head held high and Barry looked deeply moved.
"Just stay away from Blaine." Kurt growled.
"Like that will help when Blaine is the one who comes to us intentionally." Hunter snapped. "But of course, you won't believe it. You're too clouded by your prejudice that you can't even see the truth! In that case, you guys only have yourselves to blame."
Anders and Blaine came back, while Anders looked very angry, Blaine was stumbling, a clear sign that the alcohol was affecting him.
"Hey, babe." He whispered to Barry but Kurt thought he was talking to him. In the meantime, Barry's phone buzzed.
"I think we need to get you home." Kurt said forcefully. "Say goodbye to Sebastian, Hunter and…"
"Anders." The Asian said with a fake smile. "You really have a good memory."
"Bye, Sebby. Bye guys." Blaine garbled with this stupid happy look.
"Bye Blaine. Bye Kurt." Barry, Hunter and Anders said impassively.
"Bye you three." Kurt forced out a smile and dragged him out of the bar.
"That leech is fucking annoying!" Anders snapped. "Ugh, alas, and I thought he is annoying enough when he's sober, but when he's drunk, it's twenty times worse!"
"Barry, what's wrong?" Hunter asked in concern and Anders stopped his rant after he noticed how dead serious Barry was looking.
"Barry? You okay?" Anders asked in worry and Barry read the message thoroughly again before turning to his friends.
"Well… Do you think yourselves are ready to face some of the enemies of the Flash?" Barry asked quietly.
The group looked at each other before deciding this needed to be discussed in a more private place.
"So let me get this straight…" Anders said as they drove. "The Rathaway Coporation* organized this major jewellery and gem fair in East Westerville Convention Centre, the main focus of this exhibition is this Glacial Heart, the largest Sapphire in the world. While everyone is excited to the event, you got a message from your team that some of your enemies are setting their eyes on the gem too?"
"Correct." Barry said as they drove past the way to Dalton, earning a confused look from Hunter.
"Wait Anders, you drove past the way."
"We're not going back to Dalton tonight." The driver said.
"We're going to Barry's house tonight." Anders finished with his teeth grinding and Hunter turned to look at Barry sharply.
"A house? You never told me you have a house!" Hunter demanded and Barry blushed.
"Uh… You didn't ask?" Barry joked. "And anyway, it is not mine in the first hand, it's-"
"A gift from your billionaire friend, Oliver Queen." Anders said flatly, Hunter just stared at the blushing metahuman.
"No way… Please tell me he's joking…" Hunter asked slowly and when Barry didn't give him any response, his eyes just grew wider. "Are you freaking kidding me?! Oliver Queen bought you a house as a gift?!"
"It's originally one of his properties." Barry explained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "After I came to investigate the metahuman showing up in here, that's Anders, by the way, I decided to stay here longer because he needs help and support, but back then, his power is not very stable so it's impossible for him to move. Moving the team to here is out of the question too, since the metahumans would have spreading chaos all over Central City if we did. When Oliver heard about what happened, he gave the key and the house ownership to me. The basement has been converted to a training ground and a communication spot to both Starling and Central City. You can call it a base for us, if you like."
"Us?" Hunter asked and both Anders and Barry looked at him oddly.
"You are in our team, why is it not another base of yours?"
"Oh… OK." Hunter said, still a bit shocked.
"Stop your wild imagination." Anders teased. "The house is not as fancy as you think. It's not like placing the entire Hogwarts in the city. It's quite small, actually, even smaller than Wayne Manor, Queen Mansion, Stark Mansion and Xavier Mansion."
"Shut up! You're not making it any better! Those that you just named are all freaking huge!" Hunter face-palmed. Barry and Anders just laughed as they reached the house. A three-storey high modern-designed house with a classic garden, setting each other off perfectly: The perfect definition of everyone's dream house.
"I just hate you so much sometimes." Hunter said as he slumped down in the car's seat.
"To be honest, I was quite disappointed when Barry first showed me the place. I thought it would be larger." Anders piped up and Hunter looked at him with gaping mouth.
"It seems you have been to a lot of houses like this…" Barry said flatly.
"Well, with my heritage, it is quite a go." Anders replied quietly.
"Your heritage?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah, I will tell you about that in the future, I swear. Now, I just don't feel right to do so. That's also the reason why I didn't tell the rest of the Warblers, even to the Montgomery-Chang Brothers and Tina. Because if I did, then everyone would not look at me the way they used to be. Trust me, me having three dads and one mum is not the main blow." Anders said and the two nodded in understanding. The car stopped and Barry showed Hunter around the house while Anders parked the car.
"This swimming pool rocks." Hunter said as he looked out at the backyard with the perfect view to the swimming pool from his new room. They all lived on the top floor, with Barry using the main bedroom, obviously. Meanwhile, he and Anders would take the two guest rooms. "I love swimming, and this one will surely make me want to stay in it forever."
"It has temperature control, so you could practically swim in the whole year, regardless of the seasons." Barry added.
"Guys, we have something more important at hand." Anders said as he got into the room.
"Yeah. That's more important than the pool, for now…" Hunter said and the trio walked along the corridor with many drawings hanging on the wall. They stopped in front of one of them, the one with arranged in a way similar to Tai Chi (太極) as a whole with four colours: bluish green, red, white and black. The patterns might look abstract, but if someone observed it with care, they would see four animals: A dragon in green; a bird in red; a tiger in white and a turtle with fangs in black.
Barry pressed the four animals on the paint. The first was the dragon; then the bird, then the tiger and finally the tortoise**. At first, nothing happened. Then slowly, the whole paint moved backward and revealed the staircase leading to the basement. Lights turned on automatically and the group got inside the hole. The painting slowly moved back to its original place once they were all inside.
"Let me guess, this is the secret pathway to reach our base." Hunter whispered as they walked down the dimly lit stairs.
"You're right. There're two other exits in the room. One leads out to the garage, the other one leads out to woodland around the house." Barry said as he opened the door. The room was dark and quiet.
"I will show you how to open the two secret doors later, but now, we need some information about the coming event."
"And I think I can help you with that." A new voice rang in the dark, causing the three men to jump. The lights turned on and the interior of the room was shown. On one side, it was a training area with various training gears and equipment. On the other side, it was filled with computers and some medical stuff, and in front of the computers, sat a young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair with a pair of glasses.
"Glad to see you, Barry." The woman smirked and Barry let out a breath.
"Gosh, don't scare me like that, Felicity."
"Alright, alright." Felicity Smoak laughed before turning to Hunter and Anders. She froze when she saw Hunter.
"Co… Cooper?"
TBC…
A.N.: Iris is becoming a fangirl… XD That would be so hilarious. And poor Iris, poor Eddie and poor Joe, they were all trapped in something that caused them tremendous headache. And Felicity! Here she comes! Guys, give her a big hand. And maybe I can include some more Thallen moments in the next chapter. Stay tuned. ;)
*I'm not sure if the company of Rathaway is really like what I named, I couldn't see the letters clearly in the show anyway. :P
** Some notes about the four creatures I mentioned in the painting: These four creatures are the sacred beasts in Taoism, China's own religion. The dragon in green represents Azure Dragon (青龍), the bird in red is Vermillion Bird (朱雀), the tiger and tortoise are obviously White Tiger (白虎) and black tortoise (玄武) respectively, why does the black tortoise have fangs? Well, to begin with, the black tortoise is actually made up of two animals: A tortoise and a snake, so calling it "black tortoise" is only half-correct. Either way, I just combined the two and give the tortoise the snake's fangs. The sequence that Barry pressed to unlock the secret door is according to seasons. Azure Dragon represents Spring, Vermillion Bird is Summer, White Tiger is Autumn and finally, Genbu is Winter. Easy? ;) I'm not sure if Oliver Queen knew what it means, but I just amplified the fact that he knew Chinese, so he also knew some Chinese cultural things. -_-|||
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