And you, you can be mean
And I, I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact
Yes we're lovers, and that is that
Though nothing will keep us together
We could steal time, just for one day
We can be heroes, for ever and ever
What d'you say?
Heroes by David Bowie
4. City of Heroes (X-Over)
Central City, Missouri
"You know Hayley's gonna be pissed when she wakes up," Sam said as they drove over the bridge, crossing the Missouri River.
"Well, we're about to find out," Dean said with a smirk, glancing back to Hayley asleep on the backseat of the Impala. "Hey, Speedy," he said, whistling. "Wake up. We're here."
She opened her eyes slowly, rising back to life again with a big yawn. "You guys found a case?"
"Nope," Dean said, grinning and Sam threw him a look. He had told his older brother several times that this was a bad idea.
"Great. So another bar then, huh?" She raised her eyebrows at him, leaning forward before she looked out the window suspiciously. "Wait…I know this building!"
"Welcome home, Speedy," Dean replied, chuckling and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"You brought me home, Winchester?! You are so dead!" She yelled.
"Told you," Sam muttered under his breath and Dean rolled his eyes.
"And you knew about this?!" Hayley yelled, looking at Sam now.
"Hey, don't look at me. It was all their idea," Sam replied.
"Their idea?" Hayley asked, lifting a brow.
"Yeah, Iris called. Said she had good news for you and wants to celebrate," Dean said, smirking.
"And you fell for that? God, you're gullible," Hayley replied, rolling her eyes.
"Oh c'mon. Since I knew you wouldn't go alone, we're coming with. Besides, we all could use a little break," Dean said and heard a deep sigh coming from behind him.
"Fine," she gave in. "As long as we're not going to the..." She looked out the window when the Impala came to a halt in front of one of her most favorite places. "…bar."
"Dean!"
"What? I didn't pick the location," Dean replied defensively. "Talk to your sister about it."
"Oh, I will!" Hayley exclaimed determinedly and jumped out of the car.
"Told you," Sam said, looking at his brother.
"Yeah, you said that," Dean retorted annoyed.
"Just sayin' it again," Sam said with a grin before the brothers joined Hayley.
The three entered the bar. Hayley immediately recognized Iris amongst the crowd. She was dancing happily with Eddie until Iris' eyes finally found hers. She let go of Eddie and raced over to her sister, falling into a deep and long overdue embrace.
"You know, I'd be so angry at you that you tricked me to come here if I weren't so happy to see you," Hayley said, still holding on to her sister, barely being able to breathe.
"Well, tricking you was really the only way to get here," Iris replied.
"Hey, you came!" Cisco exclaimed and the girls let go of each other and looked over to him. He was standing next to Caitlin, who was smirking at him.
"Told you," Caitlin said to him and he threw her a look. "Pay up." She held out her hand and Cisco gave her a $50 bill.
"You bet against me?" Hayley asked him and he looked at her guiltily.
"Hey, you can be pretty stubborn. And you're fast. So chances were pretty good for me, okay?" Cisco defended himself.
"I always knew you'd come," Caitlin replied, smiling happily.
"I want in on the next pool," Dean chimed in.
"Hey!" Hayley protested, slapping his arm.
"Yeah, me too," Sam said and Hayley looked at him in shock.
"Oh, not you too, Sam. Now I'm really disappointed," Hayley said jokingly and the brothers sniggered.
"Iris, now that you dragged your sister here, mind telling us what we're all doing here?" Joe asked as he joined the group with a beer in hand.
"Well…you are now officially talking to Central City Picture News' newest reporter," Iris announced with a big grin.
"What! That's great!" Hayley said excitedly, hugging her again.
"That's great. I'm proud of you, baby girl," Joe said with a smile.
"Aw, thanks Dad. So…I thought we could all toast tonight to me, serving no more coffee," Iris said with a happy smile and everyone nodded in agreement.
"I'll go get the shots," Cisco announced before he hopped off to the bar.
"Hey Iris, can we talk for a second?" Hayley asked, giving her sister a look. It was the same look they'd been giving each other since they were children. It was code for devising a secret plan. In their childhood, it usually meant coming up with a plan to get more chocolate or a boy to like you. Nowadays it usually involved the sisters getting into trouble.
"Yeah, sure," Iris said and they walked across the room, getting some distance between them and their friends. "What's up?"
"Okay, so, last few weeks I've been looking into my Mom's case," Hayley confessed and Iris' eyes widened.
"What? Does Dad know?" Iris asked.
"No," Hayley said, shaking her head. "And his not gonna."
"Is this still about Dad not believing you when we were children? You know he changed his mind ever since you got your powers," Iris said.
"Yeah, I know, but still. Sometimes I still feel like people don't believe the man in yellow really exists," Hayley said.
"Well, I always believed you. You're the reason I started blogging about supernatural events in this city in the first place," Iris said.
"Which is exactly why I need you and your reporting skills. I hacked into the CCPD's database to get a look at my Mom's case, but everything is gone. All that's left are some untraceable corrupted files. And when I tried to check the hard copies, they were all gone as well," Hayley informed her sister.
"That's definitely weird. You think the man in yellow took them?" Iris asked.
"I don't know. Probably. Who else would have a reason to?" Hayley replied.
"Yeah," Iris agreed with a nod. "So what do you need?"
"Just see if you can find anything in the archives of CCPN about that night. Maybe I missed something," Hayley said.
"Yeah, sure. Anything else?"
"No…just be careful, Iris," she reminded her sister. She looked around the bar and let out a frustrated sigh. "You know, of all the places you could've picked to celebrate…did it have to be the bar?"
"You and Mike still not talking, huh?" Iris asked and Hayley shook her head. "Well, you should know that I at least made sure he's not wor-," Iris said before she caught a glimpse of Mike behind the bar. "-king…huh, guess he must've found out you were coming and switched shifts."
"Well, didn't you do a darn job of saving your sister from awkward encounters," Hayley mumbled and Iris threw her a look.
"You could also be a grown-up and go talk to him," Iris teased her and Hayley rolled her eyes.
"You know, I thought you outgrew the relationship meddling in third grade," Hayley replied and Iris giggled.
"Tell you what – I stop getting involved when you get your ass over there and go talk to him," Iris said, smirking. Iris held out a shot for her to drink. She sighed deeply, downing the shot before she gathered up enough courage to walk over to the bar.
"Hey," she said carefully. Mike came up from the bar, a surprised look on his face for a second before he cleared his throat.
"Hey," he said, looking at her while he fumbled around with some glasses. "Didn't expect you showing up anytime soon."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about running out on you last time," Hayley said, looking up at him.
"Or taking my calls for the last four weeks," Mike muttered.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that too," she said and he nodded. "So, what you been up to? You know what you're gonna do yet with your…," she said, trying to think of a word to describe being a meta-human in a public space.
"Abilities?" He offered with a smile.
"Yeah."
"No, not really planning on doing anything," Mike replied with a shrug.
"So you're just gonna keep being a bartender, pretending like nothing ever happened?" Hayley asked, frowning.
"Well, you know. I like this job. I like booze. Seems like a perfect fit," he replied with a smile and she shook her head at him.
"Yeah, I guess. Maybe you're right. I mean you being you and all," Hayley replied, already regretting it.
"Yeah, 'cause I'm just a simple bartender, right Hales? I mean what am I gonna do," Mike snapped.
"No, that's not what I meant. It's not about what you do. Just the way you are," she replied, biting down on her lip hard. Why couldn't she just shut up for one second?
"Oh well then…I'm gonna go over there now," Mike replied hurt and walked to the other side of the bar, far away from her, turning his attention back to his other customers.
"I'm such an asshole," she sighed, letting her head drop on the bar.
"Yup," Dean said as he sat down next to her, placing his beer bottle in front of him.
"Oh, great. How much did you hear of that?" Hayley asked with a frown.
"Enough to know that you are kind of a bitch," Dean replied with a chuckle and she slapped his arm.
"Well, thank you!" She protested. "But I guess I deserved that," she finally admitted.
"Yeah, you did," Dean replied, sniggering before he took another sip from his beer.
She grabbed the drink in front of her and chugged it down before she placed the empty glass back on the bar with a frustrated sigh. "I hate that this stuff has no effect on me. It's like I'm twenty-four years old and my drinking days are already over."
Dean took out a little vile from his leather jacket and handed it to her. It was a little bottle of the alcohol Hayley had once synthetized for herself. She looked at it curiously before she realized what it was and drank it all.
"God, I needed this. Thank you," she said, a little happier than before and he smiled at her.
"You're welcome. Besides you're a lot nicer when you're drunk," Dean teased her and she threw him a look.
It was past midnight when the friends finally stumbled out of the bar and onto the streets of Central City. They stopped in their tracks when they suddenly heard a loud blast, coming from a few blocks down.
They looked up at one of the skyscrapers. There was an explosion in one of the higher levels of the building and a window cleaner on a suspended platform was screaming for help on the outside of the scraper. One of the ropes had cut loose and his life was literally hanging on by one single thread.
"Guys, look! There's a window washer on the 14th floor. He's gonna fall!" Hayley exclaimed, pointing at the man.
"Well, don't try and catch him. You don't have super strength," Cisco warned her and she rolled her eyes. No, she didn't and the one person who actually had super strength, had no interest of doing anything about it.
"Okay, uhm…is there like a bed store near here? Maybe I could get a bunch of mattresses and stack them?" Hayley suggested and her friends threw her a look.
"This isn't a roadrunner cartoon, Speedy," Dean replied, shaking his head.
"How fast do I need to go to run up the side of a building?" Hayley asked. They were running out of time if they didn't come up with an idea fast.
"That's your plan?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Well, theoretically it'd be doable," Cisco chimed in. "So that's like 50 meters, right? 32.56…," Cisco said, doing the math in his head.
"Dude, hurry!" Hayley urged him, glancing back up at the poor window cleaner.
"Just run really fast and you'll be fine," Caitlin told her. "But you need to maintain your velocity on the way down, or…"
"Or what?" Sam asked, looking at Caitlin.
"Splat," she replied simply.
"Great," Hayley said with a sigh before she sped away.
Her velocity was enough to make it up the building, although she was glad she wasn't scared of heights. She grabbed the window washer just in time before the last rope broke. The platform the man just had been on crashed to the ground. She tried to keep her speed stable on her way down like Caitlin had told her to before she placed the man safely back on the ground and raced back over to her friends.
"Huh. That was kinda cool," Sam said, looking at her stunned.
"Thanks," Hayley replied with a happy grin.
The next morning Sam, Dean and Hayley decided to get their caffeine in take from CC Jitters before checking out the crime scene from last night. The boys were dressed in suits and ties, having their fake FBI badges at the ready while Hayley wore her usual work attire – a black pencil skirt and a white blouse, simple black heels, her hair up in a bun and her black-framed glasses bouncing on her nose.
"I slept like a baby on that couch. How's that thing more comfortable than a motel room mattress?" Dean asked, still raving about Hayley's sofa as they walked out of Jitters.
"Yeah, you said that…about a million times now, Dean," Sam replied with a snigger, shaking his head at his brother.
"Yeah, don't get me started on having an actual kitchen," Dean replied.
"Just next time, maybe not wake us up at 6AM because you suddenly decided to make breakfast," Hayley chimed in with a smile and Sam chuckled. It had been odd seeing Dean Winchester standing in a kitchen and actually cook.
"Are you complaining about fresh pancakes and bacon?" Dean asked, lifting a brow at her and she giggled.
"No. As long as you're enjoying yourself, Winchester," Hayley replied with a smile.
"Don't try nothing," a man suddenly said. He was standing in front of them, gun raised in one hand. He looked like a drug addict and was obviously trying to rob them. "Wallet. Now," the man ordered the three, fumbling around with his gun.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Dean mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"Oh, this is awesome," Hayley said, an excited grin on her face and the brothers threw her a confused look. "Hold on, okay? I'm just gonna…I'm gonna set this down," she said with a laugh, placing her coffee cup carefully on the ground. "I mean, this is crazy. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people in Central City, and out of everyone you could have picked to rob, you pick us," Hayley said, looking at the brothers, who carried a smile now as well.
"What, are you sick? Money, now," the man ordered them confused.
"I just…you're really gonna be kicking yourself, man," Hayley warned him with a grin. "I mean, if there was an Olympics for bad luck, you didn't just medal, pal. You Michael Phelps-ed."
"I'll count to three. Then I'm gonna shoot you. One…," the man threatened.
"Yeah," Hayley replied simply with a big grin, not moving an inch and Dean shook his head at her. However, he decided to refrain from interfering. He could let her have at least one little robber.
"Two," the man continued his countdown, cocking his gun. Hayley kept grinning before she disappeared into lightning swishing around the man.
Suddenly, the man was dressed down to his underwear, the gun was gone and a police officer was standing right next to him.
"What the-," the man stuttered out, looking down on himself confused and then back up to the three, who he had just tried to rob before his eyes found the police officer right next to him. The police officer cleared her throat, shaking her head at the robber.
"I think you've been looking for this guy," Hayley whispered to her and handed the cop a APB report.
"Thanks, Allen," the officer replied, getting her handcuffs ready.
"Hayley, what you got?" Joe asked when he found his daughter knee-deep into a new crime scene.
The building mostly consisted of offices and it was odd that the bomber had just destroyed this one particular floor. The floors were littered with broken office furniture, almost burnt beyond recognition and the air still smelled like smoke that burned in her nose.
"Bombers typically have their own unique signatures. Crimped wires, fragmentation. The level of sophistication is telling once I've analyzed it. You show me a bomb, I can usually find a clue in it," Hayley replied, wrinkling her forehead as she looked at different samples on the floor.
"Sounds like there's a but coming," Dean said, looking at her.
"Yeah, I haven't found any sign of an oxidizing agent. It's as if the floor just blew itself up," Hayley informed them.
"Yeah, but things don't just blow up," Sam mused.
"Security guard said our bomber was a woman, red hair," Eddie said as he entered the office.
"Must've cut the security camera's feed," Joe added.
"There's no footage, but there might be something else. Some kind of small charge blasted the doorknob off," Hayley said.
"Any idea what's missing?" Dean asked.
"My guess is one of these files," Hayley replied as she got up from the floor and gestured over to about twenty filing cabinets in the room.
"It's gonna take days to figure out which one," Eddie replied with a sigh.
"Yeah, uhm, let's let Dr. Allen do her thing," Dean said, accompanying Eddie out of the room while Hayley speed searched the files.
"What's going on?" Sam asked Joe as he noticed the crime scene suddenly filling up with men in military uniforms.
"I have no idea. But they came in here like they own the place. Been talking to Captain Singh for the last half hour," Eddie informed him.
"This can't be good," Dean mumbled as the Captain walked over to them with another man in a military outfit. His uniform was dark blue and looked more neat with a tie, indicating a higher rank than the others.
"General Eiling, this is detective West," Singh introduced them.
"Detective," the general greeted Joe with a nod.
"What's this all about?" Joe asked.
"The army's taking over the bombing investigation," Singh announced.
"I'll need everything you have. Physical evidence, photographs, witness interviews, and all your personal notes," General Eiling replied.
"I've been on the job nearly 20 years and never heard of the army investigating anything civilian," Joe said.
"Well, it's not civilian. She's one of ours," Eiling said and the brothers shared a look.
"We'll send over everything we got," Joe replied warily.
"Very kind of you," the General said with a smile. "I think we'll take it now, though." Joe stared at him for a moment. The last thing he needed with a meta-human daughter and two fake FBI agents around was for the military to come snooping in.
"Give them what they want, Joe," Singh ordered him.
"You heard him, Joe. Give me what I want," Eiling said and Joe obliged with a nod before he and the boys walked back over to Hayley.
"Hey, what's going on?" Hayley asked, looking curiously at the General and then to two military men standing right next to them.
"General Eiling is relieving us from the bombing case. Give these men everything that's relevant," Joe informed her, giving her a look and she understood the cue.
"Sure thing, yeah," Hayley said with a nod, handing the box with evidence over to one of the soldiers. Before they walked away with it, she snatched the file back that she had found earlier in one of the cabinets.
"You three and a few civilians from S.T.A.R. Labs might want to check into that," Joe said, looking at them.
"I think we might," Hayley replied, sharing a look with the brothers.
"Thanks for coming to Central City," Joe said as he walked over to his desk at the police precinct.
"Yeah, wasn't easy draggin' her here," Dean replied and Joe chuckled. He hated lying to her, even more so after she had told him the truth. He was just glad Iris had delivered the perfect excuse for them to take a trip. "But I haven't really found anything yet."
"Yeah, me neither. Which is why I thought we might go back where it all started – the old Allen house," Joe said.
"Well, it happened over a decade ago and police couldn't find anything back then. Sure we find anything there?" Dean asked, raising his brows.
"Back then police didn't know what they were looking for…I didn't know what I was looking for. But knowing what I know now, it might be worth a try," Joe replied and Dean nodded. "Only problem is, the best CSI here is Hayley and we can't trust anybody else with this."
"Well, I think I might know someone," Dean replied with a smile.
"I heard about your Dad. I'm sorry," Caitlin said softly as she walked over to Sam in the cortex of S.T.A.R. labs while Hayley and Cisco were eagerly working on finding their bomber.
"Yeah, thanks. Hayley told me about your fiancé. I'm sorry too," Sam said.
"Thank you," Caitlin replied with a sad smile. "I guess that explosion changed everyone's lives."
"Yeah, but seems like at least one good thing came out of it," Sam said with a smile, looking over at Hayley and Caitlin nodded in agreement.
"A VA file number is all the info you have on the bomber?" Cisco asked, furrowing his brows as he sat in front of the computer, Hayley standing behind him.
"C.C.P.D's been ordered off the case," Hayley replied.
"Well, who has the power to do that?" Cisco asked.
"The army. Some General. His name was Eiling, I think," she said.
"General Wade Eiling," Dr. Wells said as he joined them in the cortex.
"You know him?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I know him," Wells replied. "About ten years ago, General Wade Eiling contracted S.T.A.R. labs to develop enhanced gene therapies for soldiers. I was interested in the potential medical benefits for civilians. General Eiling really wanted to develop mind reading capabilities for interrogation purposes. I stopped the study when I saw his techniques up close, but our split was less than amicable."
"He took all the evidence I collected on the bombing. Everything but the folder," Hayley said.
Well…Lucky for us, the VA finally joined the new millennium and digitized their records. A lot of redacted info. But our girl's name is Bette Sans Souci, an EOD specialist for the army," Cisco said.
"EOD?" Sam asked, looking at Hayley.
"Bombs," she replied.
"Is there an address?" He asked Cisco.
"Hold on. Here, we go. One person in case of emergency. Cameron Scott. Inglewood," Cisco informed them.
"Hey, where we you?" Hayley asked as she and Sam picked up Dean on their way to Inglewood.
"Uh, left my gun at your apartment this morning," Dean replied, showing her the gun before he tucked it back into his jeans and she nodded, still a little suspicious. He started to disappear a lot whenever they were here. "So, we're looking for this red-headed woman, right?" He asked, clearing his throat.
"Yeah. Sergeant Bette Sans Souci. She was a bombing specialist in the army," Hayley replied.
"Great. How hard could it be to find a simple woman?" Dean asked, frowning as they walked down the streets.
"You mean a simple woman who inexplicably causes bombings all over the city?" Hayley asked, lifting an eyebrow at him with a smile. By now, it seemed more likely they were dealing with just another crazy meta-human.
"You guys hear that?" Sam asked, suddenly stopping and trying to hear something and the other two followed suit.
"What is that?" Hayley asked.
"I don't know. I think it's coming from there," Sam said and the three started running towards the noise.
They turned a few corners before they ended up at a dead-end street. They watched as a taller guy beat up a smaller one in a suit with unbelievable strength, holding him way up high in the air. He stopped when he noticed the three behind them and turned around.
"Mike?" Hayley said as she recognized the taller one. She frowned, her expression getting angrier each second.
"Uh, okay, before you say anything, you should know that this gentleman here-," Mike tried to explain with a nervous chuckle and gestured down to the man he had just beaten up. "Stand up, Al," he ordered the man in the suit and the man got up with a groan.
"Hi, there," the man said, waving at her, seemingly intimidated.
"Al here has a bad habit of not paying back his debts promptly," Mike said.
"I do," Al replied, nodding heavily.
"And, if his bookie wants to pay me to help him improve his habits, I mean, who am I to say no, right?" Mike said, smiling at her, although he knew his chances were high that his charms would fail him this time. "I mean, who's the victim here, really?"
Hayley let out a deep breath before she looked back at the little man. "Run along, Al."
"Yes, ma'am," Al replied and ran away, almost being faster than her.
"Are you kidding me?" Hayley asked him as soon as the man was out of sight, taking a few steps closer to him. "This is how you're using your powers? As muscle for hire?"
"Powers? What powers?" Dean asked confused, looking back and forth between the two and then at his brother, who just shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a living," Mike replied defensively, but Hayley just scoffed. "A temporary living," he corrected himself.
"You're supposed to help people. You can't use your powers for money," she argued.
"Why? Don't you?" He asked, raising a brow at her.
"No!" She exclaimed upset, shaking her head at him.
"Well, that's a missed opportunity, because…," Mike tried to argue but she interrupted him.
"This goes against everything we stand for," Hayley threw in.
"Uhm, everything you stand for," he corrected her and she narrowed her eyes at him angrily. "Look, I never said I wanted to save the world. Things cost money, and if I can make a few bucks using my powers, why shouldn't I?" Mike argued.
"Fine, I get it," Hayley retorted.
"What?" Mike asked, taking the bait.
"You are so selfish," Hayley threw at him.
"Oh, okay," Mike scoffed, turning to walk away from her. How could it be that they always ended up right here? No matter what they were fighting about in the past, they always seemed to come back to this particular point.
"I don't know what else I should have expected from a…," Hayley started to say but stopped. She knew she would regret it later on.
"From what?" Mike asked, spinning back around to face her. "From a bartender?"
"I didn't say that," Hayley replied defensively.
"Yeah, but you were going to," Mike snapped. "Okay, I may be a meta-human like you, but I don't have this…this innate desire to go leaping into trouble. But that doesn't make me a bad person, all right?" He argued.
"Kinda does," Hayley countered, crossing her arms defiantly.
"No, it doesn't. You're no saint either, Hayley," Mike threw back at her.
"Excuse me?" Hayley frowned at him.
"Yeah, you run around, rescuing people, like you're just pure of heart. But that is crap. I know you. I know you just love to run away when things get tough," Mike said.
"You lied to me for over a year!" She yelled at him.
"Yeah, 'cause I knew how'd you react!" He yelled back at her. "I don't wanna do what you do."
"Why not? You could help people, make a difference," Hayley argued.
"Yeah, but we both know I'm not a hero," Mike replied.
"No. No, you're not. I really thought you could be, but guess I was wrong," Hayley said before she turned her back on him.
"What? You're just gonna run away again? Because that's what you do best," Mike retorted. She looked back at him, shaking her head before she raced away.
"Hayley, wait! I didn't mean to-," Mike tried to say but she was already too far gone. "I hate when she does that," he muttered under his breath. "God, I need a drink." Mike then left, going into the opposite direction of where Hayley had disappeared to.
"What the hell just happened?" Dean asked, looking at Sam.
"I think we just witnessed a fight between Hayley and her apparently meta-human ex-boyfriend…or current one. Not really sure about that one," Sam replied.
"Yeah, tell me about it. They're like ten seasons of Ross and Rachel wrapped into one day," Dean said.
"You really need to stop watching late night re-runs of 90s shows," Sam said with a chuckle and Dean threw him a look. "So, should we go find her?"
"Yeah, you go see if she went after that woman. I'll go check S.T.A.R. labs, see if she's there," Dean suggested and his little brother nodded in agreement.
Dean met up with Joe at the old Allen house. They decided to bring Cisco in to help with Hayley's mother's case. Of course, they refrained from telling him about their main suspect. But Cisco was the only other person they could think of, who would do as good of a CSI job as Hayley.
"Hey," Cisco greeted them as he walked up the front porch of the house.
"Hey, man. Thanks for meeting us," Dean said.
"Sure," Cisco replied with a nod. "What exactly are we doing here?"
"That's Hayley's old house," Joe replied.
"Where her mother was murdered?" Cisco asked, raising his brows at them.
"We have a theory about who might have been involved in Hayley's mother's death," Dean replied carefully.
"I thought us three could reexamine the crime scene, you could apply your technical expertise and help me prove who really did it," Joe added.
"For sure, we should get Dr. Wells and Caitlin in on this," Cisco suggested.
"No, we should keep this between us for the time being. If too many people know, Hayley will find out, and I don't want to involve her until we know something definitive," Joe replied and Cisco nodded.
Dean then knocked on the front door and a few moments later, a woman in her mid-fifties, dressed in nothing but a black nightgown and showing too much cleavage, opened it with a smile when she saw the three man.
"Hello, ma'am. I'm Detective West. This is FBI agent Hetfield and Cisco Ramon," Joe introduced them a little stunned at the woman's outfit.
"Oh, please, it's Sherry…like the drink," the woman replied with a chuckle, clearly flirting with him and the boys next to him held back a laugh. "What can I do for you, Detective?" She asked, flirty.
"I don't know if you were aware, but there was a homicide in this residence approximately thirteen years ago," Joe said.
"Oh, I know," she replied, nodding sadly.
"We've reopened the investigation. Do you mind if we come in and take another look around?" Joe asked.
"Oh, not at all," she replied, gesturing them inside.
"Thank you. Do you live alone?" Joe asked her and she smirked at him.
"Yes, I'm divorced," she replied and the boys gave Joe a look.
Hayley decided to keep looking for the bomber woman. She had forgotten about the brothers for a second after the fight she had with Mike, but she wouldn't dare to go back now and risk another run-in.
She finally saw a red-headed woman running down a small street and raced after her before she came to a stop right in front of the woman.
"Bette Sans Souci? I need you to come with me," Hayley said, grabbing the woman's arm.
"Don't touch me," the woman said, shaking off her hand. But it was too late and the woman accidently touched her suit. She looked shocked at Hayley and as the speedster looked down, she noticed her suit was suddenly glowing purple. "Get whatever you're wearing off of you. Hurry."
She hesitated for a moment before she ran to the end of the street, changing out of her suit as fast as possible. She managed to get out of it and race to safety before it exploded. The pieces of the suit went up in flames and its ashes rained down on her as she watched the whole scene unfold in nothing but her underwear.
"Holy crap," she muttered.
Cisco was still scanning the house, looking for any evidence of what might have happened that night.
"So what do we know so far?" Dean asked Joe as they stood idly by and let Cisco do his thing.
"Not much. Just what Hayley and Henry told us. And I've been thinking – there must have been two speedsters there that night," Joe mused.
"Two?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, the man in yellow murdered Hayley's mother. But how did she get out of the house and ended up a few blocks away that fast? No, there must have been two of them," Joe replied.
"Well, in the video she did talk about yellow and red lightning. So might be possible. But why?" Dean asked.
"Well, that's what we have to figure out," Joe said.
"I'm not picking up anything. Not even with The Super Light," Cisco said.
"Super Light?" Dean asked, lifting a brow.
"Well, technically it's a multi-spectrum, violet laser-enhanced scanner that detects molecular schisms in the 600 mega-volt range, but I figured Super Light was easier to say," Cisco replied.
"Right, but what does it tell you?" Dean asked and Cisco sighed.
"Nothing we didn't already know about that night," Cisco said.
"Okay, keep looking," Joe told him and the boys went back to work.
"Ahem." Sherry suddenly stood in the doorframe. She had changed into a black dress, showing just as much skin as before and cleared her throat. "Uh, can I get you boys something to drink? Water? Soda? Wine?" She offered them politely, her eyes not leaving Joe.
"Uh, we're fine. Thank you," Joe replied, a little taken aback.
"Well, if you change your mind, I've been told my strawberry daiquiris are sinful," she said with a smirk before she disappeared again. Joe sighed and turned around to look at the boys.
"We will not judge you," Cisco said and Dean shook his head in agreement, both of them holding in a laugh and Joe sighed.
"Okay, Hayley's mother's body was found here, knife beside her, blood spatter on the wall belonged to Nora," Joe said, showing them the crime scene in details, or as good as he remembered it.
"Joe, I think…I just think maybe Dean's right and it's been too long, and everything's different," Cisco said.
"Except that mirror," Joe said and gestured to a little commode with a build-in mirror on the other side of the living room. "Sherry must have bought it at the estate sale."
The three went over to the dresser and pushed it away from the wall as Cisco inspected the backside of it.
"Oh, my God. Silver nitrate," Cisco suddenly said, his voice a little more excited than before.
"The compound used in photography," Joe realized.
"It was often used to back vintage mirrors. If there were two speedsters there that night, the sparks from their movement would have generated enough flashes to actually expose images onto the silver nitrate," Cisco explained.
"You saying what I think you're saying?" Dean asked.
"This mirror might contain photographs of what actually happened that night," Cisco informed them excitedly. "I need to get back to S.T.A.R. labs and grab a few things."
"Okay, then let's do that and we come back here tomorrow," Joe announced.
Dean and Cisco had just arrived at S.T.A.R. labs, as had Sam, when suddenly lightning rushed into the cortex.
Hayley was barefoot, only wearing sweatpants and pulled a S.T.A.R. labs hoodie over her head. Her friends shot her confused looks while she was still busy getting ashes out of her hair.
"What the hell happened to you?" Dean asked her sternly and she rolled her eyes.
"Uh…don't ask," she said, shrugging.
"I'm gonna ask," Cisco chimed in, looking firmly at her. "Where's my suit?"
"It's…gone," Hayley replied.
"What do you mean, it's gone?" Sam asked, looking at her.
"What did you do with my suit?" Cisco asked.
"It blew up, dude," Hayley replied simply, still a little in shock apparently. "I managed to get out of it before it went…kaboom," she explained.
"My suit went kaboom?" Cisco repeated upset and Hayley nodded.
"Fun fact about Bette Sans Souci – she's not carrying bombs. She touched the emblem on the suit and turned it into a bomb. She's a meta-human," Hayley informed the team. "I'm just glad I didn't decide to go braless today," she joked and the boys sniggered.
"With the ability to cause spontaneous combustion upon tactile contact," Wells said as he came into the cortex.
"She blew up my suit," Cisco said, still not believing it entirely.
"You have, like, three more," Caitlin said to him and he looked at her.
"Okay, I have two. And I loved that one," he replied.
"All right, what else do we know about her?" Dean asked.
"Oh, I don't know. She's pure evil," Cisco replied as he sat down at the computer, typing frantically. "We're gonna find this girl and send her butt into the pipeline. No one blows my tech to smithereens and gets away with it…," he threatened before Bette Sans Souci's picture popped up on the screen.
"Unless she looks like that," Dean added, looking at the screen and Cisco nodded heavily in agreement.
"No, she can't be evil," Cisco said, suddenly changing his mind about the suit killer.
"I don't think she meant to hurt me," Hayley agreed.
"Well, her being a meta-human explains General Eiling's interest in her," Sam added.
"And why he stole the case from us. He didn't want anyone to know what she could do," Joe chimed in as he joined the team in the cortex.
"Detective," Dr. Wells greeted him with a smile.
"Doctor," Joe acknowledged him with a nod. "So…human bomb. Must be Tuesday in Central City," he deadpanned.
"Yes, and General Eiling's not one to give up a potential asset without a fight," Wells said.
"We have to find her before he does," Hayley said determinedly, sharing a look with the brothers behind her.
It was late at night when the three decided to go back to Hayley's apartment and get some food in them and maybe, just maybe, a tiny bit of sleep.
"So what should I cook?" Dean asked as soon as they entered the apartment, going straight for the fridge and Sam and Hayley chuckled. "I make a mean mac and cheese."
"No, he doesn't," Sam said and Hayley giggled.
"Well, you're forgetting something…we're in Central City, which means…," Hayley said and Dean closed the fridge, looking at her, eyes wide.
"Big Belly Burger," Dean said, realizing, almost drooling on the floor.
Hayley then disappeared and came back seconds later with eight bags full of Big Belly Burger. She placed them at the kitchen counter and Dean grabbed a bag immediately. Sam and Hayley shook their heads at him with a chuckle.
They were half way through their meal when Hayley's laptop started beeping. "Oh, not now," she said with a frown, looking at the screen.
"What is it?" Sam asked.
"I've managed to piggyback onto General Eiling's own surveillance. According to what they're saying, the lovely Ms. Sans Souci was just spotted in Inglewood," Hayley informed the brother and they shared a look.
"That's the same neighborhood as Dr. Harold Hadley's office," Sam added.
"The military surgeon who performed several procedures on her?" Dean asked.
"Yeah," Sam replied, nodding.
"That's why she was looking for the folder," Dean said.
"We've gotta get to her before Eiling does," Hayley said and they looked at her with a nod, Dean dropping his burger back onto his plate in the process. Of course, they couldn't just finish one single meal.
The Impala came to a screeching halt right in front of Hadley's office.
"We're too late. Military's got the building already surrounded," Sam said, looking out the window.
"I still can get in there. Just wait in the car," Hayley said and the brothers gave her a look. "I can handle myself. Don't worry," she assured them and they nodded before she whooshed away.
Bette was still alive when she got into Hadley's office. They were in the middle of a heated conversation just as little green laser dots shined threw the windows. A shot was fired just as fast and Hayley grabbed Bette racing her to safety, hiding behind a column.
"You okay?" Hayley asked and Bette nodded. "Look, I can get you out of here. I can help you understand what happened to you."
"How?" Bette asked confused.
"Because it happened to me too," Hayley replied. "Please." And Bette nodded again.
"As the detonation dispersed throughout Central City. A number of people were exposed to a wave of unquantifiable energy. One of those people…was you," Dr. Wells explained as they had arrived back at S.T.A.R. labs, bringing Bette with them.
"You were in Central City a year ago?" Sam asked her and she nodded while Caitlin handed her a pair of gloves to cover her hands with.
"I had just returned from Afghanistan. I was there defusing roadside bombs and…," Bette started to explain as she pulled the gloves over her hands, closing them tightly. "…shrapnel ripped through me. I was flown back state side. Spent months at the base recuperating and next thing I know, I became the thing that almost killed me. And Eiling's favorite, new lab rat," Bette told them.
"The dark matter must have combined with the bomb particulate inside your body," Caitlin said.
"I thought Eiling did this to me," Bette said, looking at them.
"Eiling is not smart enough to create someone like you. Clever enough to see your value," Wells replied with a smile and Dean shot him a look. Maybe Wells felt the same way about Hayley. His own father had certainly been clever enough to see her value.
"Do you know of any others who were changed?" Bette asked.
"There've been a few," Caitlin replied awkwardly.
"But no one that looks like you," Cisco said and Dean chortled next to him while Hayley face palmed, chuckling a little herself. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate. Please don't leave," Cisco apologized, realizing he had just said something out loud.
"I know how to perform a lobotomy," Caitlin deadpanned and Sam sniggered next to her.
"Her cellular structure's unlike anything I've ever seen," Wells said as he looked at Bette's blood samples at the screen in front of him.
"Her nitrogen levels are off the charts," Caitlin added before she left and joined Bette in the next room, conducting more tests on her.
"Do you think we can help her?" Hayley asked, looking at Wells hopefully.
"To answer that question, we have to understand how she works, and to understand that, first we have to study her in action," Wells replied.
"You want her to blow stuff up," Cisco said, realizing. "Yes, now we're talking," he exclaimed, excitedly banging his elbow on the table.
"Not in here. She's too unstable," Wells replied.
"I know," Cisco said defensively.
"I know you know," Wells said with a smile.
"So this is your life now, huh? Testing people like me?" Bette asked, looking at Caitlin.
"Stopping people like you," Caitlin corrected her. There weren't a lot of nice meta-humans out there. That much she knew by now. "It's not what I thought I'd be doing," she said, dialing back her tone a little. And it was true – she was a trained neurosurgeon and was supposed to be a bio-engineer for S.T.A.R. labs before the explosion. And most importantly, she was supposed to be married right now to the man she loved. "Actually, aside from Hayley, you're the first meta-human that we've tested."
"Meta-human?" Bette asked, looking at her confused.
"It's just a term," Caitlin replied with a kind smile. She carefully pulled up Bette's sleeve and looked at her shocked when she noticed the bleeding gash on her upper arm. "Oh my God, what happened? Why didn't you say that you were shot?"
"It just graze," Bette replied with a shrug. She had been a soldier in Afghanistan after all.
"There's something in there," Caitlin noted as she grabbed a pair of tweezers and pulled a small electronic device out of her wound. The rest of the team looked at it curiously, their interest in the women's conversation suddenly peaking.
"A tracker," Bette said, eyes wide as she looked at Caitlin.
In the same moment, the alarms went off and the feed of the security cameras popped up on the computer screen. It showed General Eiling entering the building with a couple of lackeys in tow.
"Lock down the pipeline. Get Bette and Hayley out of here. I'll take care of Eiling," Wells ordered them, looking specifically at Dean, Sam and Hayley.
"Me and Sam stay here. We can help you with this," Dean said determinedly. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of Eiling and Wells alone. He couldn't trust either of their intentions.
"I don't think this would be the best approach, Mr. Winchester. Seeing as you and your brother pose as fake FBI agents," Wells replied with a smile.
"He's right, Dean. Might be the fastest way to blow our cover," Sam agreed and Dean frowned.
"Fine."
While Wells took care of Eiling, the team soon found themselves at the test field again. It was on the outskirts of the city and the badlands, and the only place where the team could conduct tests on meta-humans without being seen by civilians. It was also the place, where over a year ago Hayley had first tested out her powers, more or less successful.
Cisco handed Bette a Frisbee and she threw it up in the air. As it had reached its highest point, it exploded.
"427 kPa's. Her Trauzl rating is around 45," Cisco said, looking at his screen. "That's the same as any plastique. Plastique. Ha…first try!" He said thrilled as he had just found the perfect name for another meta-human.
"Didn't really think this one through, did you?" Dean asked, lifting his brow at him as he held up a boomerang that was scattered among other throw-able things and Cisco shrugged at him with a snigger.
"Downrange, insurgents started booby trapping cars. The rest of my tour, I was terrified to touch another vehicle," Bette said as she walked a feet away with Hayley. "Now, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life terrified to touch another human being." Hayley looked at her sadly. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like having powers like that, not being able to touch the ones you love without killing them.
"Have they tried to help you?" Bette looked at her hopeful.
"Yeah, they've helped me learn how to use my powers…not reverse them," Hayley replied honestly.
"If they could reverse it so you weren't a meta-human, would you?" Bette asked. No one had ever actually asked her that question, but it was a question she had thought a lot about. Being normal had its perks, but all the evil in this world wouldn't just disappear if she didn't have them.
"A friend told me I was given my speed for a reason…that I was maybe chosen," she said, glancing over at Dean with a smile. "I don't know if I believe that, but I always wanted to help people. Now I can," Hayley replied with a smile.
While the others returned to the lab, Cisco and Dean had managed to sneak away. It hadn't been easy to come up with a believable excuse and it was getting harder every single time they met up with Joe in secret, working on Hayley's mother's case. Especially with Cisco on board now, they had just added another person that they had to cover for.
It was already dawning outside when the three of them came back to the Allen house and Joe closed the front door behind them with a sigh.
"I sent Sherry to the movies," Joe informed them, obviously a little exhausted by the woman's antics.
"Trust me, the best show in town is going to be in here tonight," Cisco said, beaming at them and Dean noticed that scientists had a habit of getting excited over tragic things, Hayley being the same way.
"So you're telling me you can get actual photographs from this thing?" Dean asked him, gesturing at the mirror and the beamer Cisco had set up earlier.
"The science is solid. It works exactly like an old film camera. I developed the mirror backing, and fortunately for us, the lightning went off about ten times that night," Cisco explained.
"Multiple exposures," Joe realized.
"Now you're getting it. I went ahead and enhanced them digitally and, just for kicks, decided to extrapolate a 3-D hologram from the original 2-D," Cisco said, a proud smile on his face.
"Cisco," Joe hurried him warningly.
"Lights. Camera. Action," Cisco said with a nod, turning off the lights and switching on the beamer.
Hayley's mother appeared in the middle of the living room, screaming for help while a blur of yellow and red surrounded her and looking more closely, Dean could almost see a face in the yellow blur.
"Wow," Dean mumbled, watching the clip show mesmerized. It almost felt like he had been there that night and it made him think of Hayley, who had actually been there, watching this whole scene unfold when she was only just eleven years old.
"Can you play it again? Slower?" Joe asked, looking at Cisco and he played it again, frame by frame.
"There, there. You see that?" Joe asked, gesturing at the two speedsters in the hologram.
"Huh. Next frame," Dean said, looking more closely at the two blurs before he walked over to the opposite site of the room, standing in front of a wall that showed holographic blood spatter. "You said they renovated this place?"
"Yeah, this wallpaper's new," Joe said and Dean pulled of a little of the paper, revealing the real blood spatter underneath it.
"Oh, man. Is that blood?" Cisco asked as he walked over to them.
"We had a husband who was holding the same weapon that killed his wife. We weren't looking for any other suspects," Joe said, looking shocked.
"That blood belongs to one of the two speedsters that was here that night. Maybe the one that killed Hayley's Mom," Dean said, looking at them.
"I'll get a sample kit," Cisco said and they nodded at him.
"Hey, what's wrong? Did Eiling find out you're here?" Dean asked Bette as he entered the med bay of S.T.A.R. labs. The redhead looked depressed and stared sadly down at her feet while the team sat miserably scattered around her. He had given Cisco a half hour head start to avoid any awkward questions.
"No. Caitlin was about to give me the not-so-good news," Bette replied and Dean glanced back up at Caitlin.
"The shrapnel in your body has merged with you on a cellular level," Caitlin explained, a sad undertone in her voice.
"And the technology required to unsplice your DNA…it hasn't been invented yet," Dr. Wells added.
"Can't you guys just invent it?" Dean asked and Wells looked at him with a small smile.
"I'm afraid that's not possible yet, Mr. Winchester," Wells said and for a moment, Dean felt disappointed. He had hoped a little that the team would be able to reverse Bette's powers and maybe even reverse his brother's.
"Bette. It's okay," Hayley said, comfortingly placing a hand around her shoulder.
"Roger that. I just need a minute. Don't worry," Bette said, tears filling her eyes as she jumped off the metal table she had been sitting on. "Pretty sure I can cry without blowing stuff up," she said and disappeared.
"What now?" Sam asked and Hayley looked at him.
"She joins us. Becomes a part of the team," Hayley suggested determinedly.
"Hayles, you have an amazing ability to help people," Sam said.
"Yeah, and she makes things explode," Dean added.
"She's the first meta-human not hell-bent on destroying this city," Hayley argued. Well, technically Mike wasn't hell-bent on destroying Central City either. The problem was that he wasn't hell-bent on doing anything.
"It's too dangerous," Wells agreed with the brothers.
"Well, she's not going in the pipeline," Hayley said, looking up at the brothers.
"I'm not suggesting she go in the pipeline," Dean said and Hayley looked at him shocked. "What?"
"We're not killing her either," Hayley told him indignantly.
"Well, what else do you wanna do with her? She can't go anywhere, she can't stay here…," Dean pointed out and Hayley interrupted him.
"Why not?"
"If she were to remain at S.T.A.R. Labs, it would put all of us at risk," Dr. Wells cut in.
"From who? Eiling?" Hayley asked, looking at him now.
"Eiling is a dangerous man, Dr. Allen. We do not want him as an enemy," Wells cautioned her and she let out a frustrated breath.
"After the lighting bolt, what if you hadn't found me?" She asked suddenly, looking at them. "It could've been me…hunted, on the run, cut off from everyone I know and care about. You guys saved me," she said and the brothers realized Hayley had been connected to the three of them more than they had known.
"And I want to save her just as bad as you do, Hayley. We all do," Caitlin replied, smiling warmly at her and she nodded.
"Where's Bette?" Hayley asked, noticing the redhead's absence after a while. She had been gone for a long time.
"She left," Dr. Wells informed them as he came back into the cortex after having checked the other rooms.
"What do you mean? Where did she go?" Sam asked.
"I don't know," he replied.
"Well, where the hell could she be?" Dean asked and Hayley jumped in front of him, pushing him out of the way before she sat down at the computer, typing away.
"I got back on the military feed. Looks like they've gone to the waterfront to rendezvous with Bette," Hayley said, looking at the screen.
"She's turning herself in," Sam said.
"She's not turning herself in," Dean said and the three shared a look.
"Let's go," Hayley said and the brothers nodded.
When the Impala came to a stop at the waterfront, the three could already make out the big military jeeps, parked only a few feet away from them. They got out of the car quietly, sneaking up closer, and hid behind a couple of bushes.
"All over the world, people are plotting to destroy our country. To end our lives. Brave American soldiers are gonna die in that fight, but they don't have to. Because of you, we could have victory," General Eiling said as he took a few steps closer to Bette.
"All I've ever wanted was to make the world a safer place. And it will be when you're not in it," Bette said, throwing a few silver balls in Eiling's direction that she had held it her hands. There were several little explosions, throwing Eiling and his soldiers to the ground.
Hayley raced to Bette, coming to a halt in front of her. She was wearing her suit, hood up and masked, to make sure Eiling would never be able to find her.
"What are you doing here?" Bette asked, looking at her panicked.
"Being a soldier doesn't mean you're a murderer. Don't become one now," Hayley pleaded with her. She knew Bette was a good person and she would defend that opinion until her last breath.
She heard a shot was fired, but it was too late. The bullet hit Bette in the stomach and she fell to the ground. She looked back at the direction of where the shot came from and saw Eiling, lying on the ground and gun in hand.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see him," Hayley said as she knelt down beside her, the brothers running out from their hiding space and joining her.
"Don't be. It's not your fault," Bette said. "I'm glad you stopped me."
"I'm gonna get you back to S.T.A.R. labs," Hayley promised her, taking her hand in hers and she could feel her eyes tearing up.
"Hayley, Dr. Wells. He…he…," she stammered out before she closed her eyes for good. Hayley looked confused at her, not knowing what Bette had wanted to tell her and when she glanced up at the brothers, Dean just shrugged at her.
"Guys, we have a problem," Hayley said, activating her speakers.
"Is Bette okay?" Cisco asked.
"No…Eiling killed her," Hayley said sadly. "She's glowing."
"She's gonna detonate," Sam said, realizing, and Dean threw him a shocked look.
"Oh my God, a mass that size, the explosion, it would be…," Cisco said.
"Devastating," Caitlin finished worriedly for him.
"Hayley, you have to get her away from the city," Cisco told her.
"But there's no time," Sam argued, looking at the city's skyline behind him.
"Can I run on water?" Hayley suddenly asked and the brothers shot her a look.
"What?" Dean asked doubtfully.
"I built up enough speed to run up a building," she argued before she turned her attention back to her speakers. "How fast do I need to go to run on water?"
"Assuming your weight…400 pounds of force per step for vertical suspension. Accounting for fluid drag. Approximately 650 miles an hour," Cisco said.
"You have to outrun the blast or you'll die too," Dean added concerned and she nodded at him before she grabbed Bette in her arms.
It was easier than she had expected. Maybe because running had always been the easiest part for her. The harder part being able to stop and take a breath.
She could feel the water soaking her boots as she raced across the Missouri river. She dropped Bette at the 600 mile marker, making a U-turn back to the shoreline of Central City.
Bette's body exploded, leaving behind a gigantic mushroom cloud, causing the water to form a massive wave, aiming for the waterfront.
Hayley managed to outrun it until she crashed with it on the beach, soaking wet and disappointed. She got back up on her feet, looking back at the explosion on the horizon. She couldn't save her.
"Nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The military was simply conducting an underwater weapons test. There is no need for panic or alarm. Central City is safe. I guarantee you," General Eiling said, giving a TV interview on the screen in the cortex. The explosion had been massive enough for people to notice and start asking questions.
"He murdered Bette right in front of me," Hayley said as she turned off the screen, not wanting to look at this man any longer. "And there's nothing we can do to him."
"Powerful men have a way of avoiding consequences," Wells said with a nod.
"You gonna be okay?" Sam asked, walking over to Hayley. He smiled at her softly. He knew this had been hard for her. He knew she had hoped to find an alley in Bette, just like he always hoped he would find one in another psychic. They both had people in their lives that cared for them, but having powers still could make you feel lonely.
"Yeah," she said, not very convincingly.
"You can walk on water. Puts you in pretty interesting company," Sam said with a smile and she managed to smile back at him a little.
"I think I need a drink to that," she said and the brothers chuckled, deciding it was finally time to hit the bar next.
"Thirsty?" Mike asked with a smile as Iris walked over to him at the bar. Iris had never really liked him to begin with – like father, like daughter. And judging by her angry facial expression Hayley had told her sister about their fight.
"Not particularly," Iris replied and he shrugged.
"Well, I am," Mike replied, downing a self-poured shot. The good thing about being a bartender had always been the drinking during work. I've just found that drinking is the fastest way to get drunk, so…"
"You know this city could really need another hero," Iris said, looking at him.
"So Hayley told you about my powers," Mike said and Iris nodded.
"She's my sister. She tells me everything," Iris said.
"Well, she told me she had powers before she told you," Mike said and bit his tongue immediately. That certainly wasn't the best way to get back into Iris' good grace.
"Yeah, but we already know you're an idiot," Iris retorted, referring to Mike's own long kept secret.
"I'm sorry disappoint you, but fighting meta-humans isn't on my résumé," Mike joked and Iris threw him a stern look.
"Oh that's right, but according to Hayley, beating people up for money is though, right?" Iris said, furrowing her brows at him and he sighed annoyed.
"Hey, Iris? Why don't you two go believe in somebody else? Thanks," Mike snapped at her, earning him a glare.
"I don't believe in you. I've known you and watched you two for way too long now. But she believes in you and for some reason, she has decided that she needs you in her life. You can't just wish everything back to how it was. Hayley isn't the only one who's always running. Guess she was wrong about you," Iris said, turning her back on him and joining her friends in a booth.
He noticed too late that Hayley had entered the bar, walking straight up to him, looking confused after Iris and then back up at him. "What was that about?"
"Oh, you know…I'm out of fruity drinks and Iris just loves those things," Mike said and Hayley rolled her eyes, not noticing his lie.
"Thank God," she sighed before she grabbed behind the bar, getting herself a bottle of whiskey. She didn't bother to get herself a glass.
"Bad day?" He asked and she looked miserably up at him, nodding slightly. "What happened?"
"I made friends with a human bomb who I promised I could help, and then, I couldn't," she sat, uncapping the whiskey and taking a big gulp.
"I'm sorry," Mike said. He didn't like her seeing this upset.
"For what? You didn't do anything," Hayley said, wiping away a tear.
"Which is exactly what I'm sorry for," he told her and she smiled a little.
"You know, sometimes I just wish there was someone else like me…," she said, avoiding to look at him.
"…who understands what you're going through," Mike finished for her. "Yeah, I get that," he said with a chuckle.
"I'm sorry too. For being such an ass to you. I know finding out you have powers can be sorta overwhelming. I guess I just thought we were close enough to tell each other everything," Hayley said and he looked at her.
"We are," he assured her, looking at her sternly. "You know maybe we should talk about this," he suggested after a moment of silence between them and Hayley nodded.
"Yeah, just not tonight. Not really in the mood," she said and his happy face dropped again. "But you know, I always need my morning caffeine intake at Jitters," she added with a smile and he smiled widely back at her.
"I'll be there," he promised.
Mike closed the bar like usual after the last few drunks had left the place. He cleaned up, swiped the floors and threw out the remaining trash bins in the small alleyway behind the bar, where he had once fought two demons with Hayley and he chuckled at the thought of it.
Central City was full of crazy, but maybe he moved here for a reason and was finally accepting his fate. He had become part of the craziness surrounding this city and instead of fighting it, he would embrace it.
Suddenly a dark van parked at the end, a few men in military uniform stormed out and toward him. He was getting ready for a fight. He knew a few men couldn't hurt him, but before he could even get close, he felt a sting in his neck. He pulled out a tranquilizer dart, looking at it for a brief moment before everything went dark and dizzy.
She knew she was at Jitters way too early. A sign of her nervousness. But she was determined to do this. She wanted to talk to him. She had been barely able to keep her eyes closed, tossing and turning in her bed until Dean had threatened to shoot her if she didn't stop.
But two hours later and eight coffees later, there was still no sight of Mike anywhere. She let out a frustrated breath. She there would be a good chance that he'd back out from it. The old Mike certainly had. However, something told her that wasn't the case. He had seemed happy about the chance to finally talk, almost excited even and she was determined to not let their friendship go to waste that easy.
She tried him a couple of times on his phone, getting sent to voicemail straight away, before she decided to look for him at the bar.
The bar was closed, not unusual for ten o'clock in the morning, but the doors weren't locked.
"Mike?" She called out into the dark room. "Hey, dude, we were supposed to meat for coffee, remember? Hello, anybody here?" But there was no answer.
She wandered behind the bar, looking for clues about his whereabouts. "Your bike is parked right outside. I know you're still here."
She suddenly noticed the backdoor was open, leading to the alley outside. She immediately ran outside and noticed something shimmering on the ground as the morning sun beamed on it.
"That's weird," she muttered, picking up the small, shiny object.
Mike's keys, she realized and she knew that something bad had happened.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note:
Another day, another chapter... ;)
As you probably noticed I used material from both Supergirl and Flash here. Plastique aka Bette was featured in Flash 1x05 and I used some of the dialogue Mon-El and Kara had in Supergirl for Mike/Hayley and changed them a bit because I thought they were hilarious and also necessary for the overall storyline (now and later on...)
Part 2 will follow soon and hopefully you won't have to wait as long to find out if Mike's okay :) (it may take a little longer to write as I injured my right hand at work yesterday, silly me. Or it could also be here pretty fast because I'm not allowed to work for a few days :D)
I loved writing the Joe, Cisco and Dean scenes in this chapter. The three definitely have great chemistry and I like that Cisco and Dean are becoming friends. They do have some similarities and I can't wait to explore this friendship even more. Same goes for Caitlin and Sam.
So as always - I love you guys tons and thank you so much for your continued support! :)
