Cisco looked at the computer. "It seems Central City is safe once more. Which means we can kick back, relax and-"
"Monitor Barry and Sophie on the treadmill," interrupted Caitlin.
"Exactly what I was going to say," said Cisco, looking slightly peeved.
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "I think we can go a little faster than 12 miles per hour."
Cisco led them through to an adjoining room with a huge treadmill in. "This baby has been Cisco'd. Trust me , it can handle your speed."
Sophie grinned and stepped onto it. "Ladies first." Within seconds she was surrounded by purple lightning. Barry was next, yellow lightning surrounded him too.
"Sophie is definitely faster," said Dr Wells. "Probably due to the fact that she has less body mass."
"Or she just wants to annoy me," muttered Barry.
Sophie winked at him, and they both activated their superspeed.
"Oh honey," smirked Sophie. "If I wanted to annoy you there are a million other ways I could do it."
Barry rolled his eyes. They stopped using their speed and carried on as if nothing had happened.
"That's not to say," continued Dr Wells, "that you both can't get a lot faster."
"Sounds interesting," said Joe as he entered.
"Detective West," greeted Dr Wells.
"Is it ok if I speak to Barry and Sophie for a minute?"
"Of course." Dr Wells, Caitlin and Cisco left the room.
Joe sat down on one of the chairs and clasped his hands in front of him. "So, you two wanna tell me what's been going on?"
Sophie sat on the desk, but Joe motioned for her to get off and she rolled her eyes. "We were struck by lightning."
"Yeah, I know that part," sighed Joe.
"We have superspeed, caused by the Particle Accelerator Explosion," explained Barry, zapping around the lab to show Joe his yellow lightning. Sophie did the same, but poked Joe's arm and tried to look innocent.
Joe said nothing, just stared into space. "Running with lightning," he eventually muttered. "Maybe you really did see something that night your mom was murdered."
Sophie and Barry shared a look.
The moment was broken by Joe's phone ringing. "Hey Eddie… ok, I'll be there in ten minutes." He hung up. "I have to go, just don't tell Iris about any of this."
"But-" protested Sophie.
"No. I don't want to put her in any more danger."
…..
Sophie waited until Jitters was closed and only Iris was left before she entered, sending napkins flying everywhere.
Iris spun around. "Flash?"
Sophie stepped out of the shadows, disguising her voice. "Close, I'm Dash."
"You saved me from that man with the gun. I…thank you!"
Sophie smiled. "Just doing my duty."
"Can I interview you for my blog?" She pulled out her phone.
Sophie was momentarily thrown. She, Sophie Sarah Allen, was cool enough to be interviewed?
"How can you do what you do? Who are you?"
"No."
"Oh come on, you gotta give me something!"
Sophie held up a hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Iris…"
Iris gasped. "You know my name?"
"I know you're more than capable of looking after yourself, which is why I decided to tell you this." Sophie raised her hands to her domino mask, when suddenly she was outside on the street.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" demanded Barry.
"She deserves to know!" protested Sophie. "It's the only way she'll be able to look after herself in this crazy, messed up world we woke up in."
Barry looked her in the eye. "You were going to disobey Joe."
Sophie opened her mouth, but her words died on her tongue.
Barry took her arm. "Let's go back to S.T.A.R. labs, and just this once I won't tell Joe. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, you'll have some serious explaining to do."
…..
"Come on," laughed Sophie. "It's just like normal running, but not."
"Great description there," smirked Barry.
Sophie grinned and led him back inside to where she had a powerpoint presentation on one of the computers. "Here is 'Dash's guide on how to be a superhero'."
Barry scrolled through the slides, reading each one at superspeed. "When did you make this?"
"Last night. Now, pretend I'm a bad guy and come at me."
To Dr Wells, it looked like purple and yellow lightning were having a fight on the aeroplane runway outside, but he knew it was much more than that.
"No!" said Sophie. "You want to disarm me first, then I can't hurt you."
Barry sighed and tried again, wrestling the imaginary gun off his sister.
"Better. Now tag!"
Before Barry had even registered what had happened Sophie was halfway across the airfield. He chased her throughout all of Central City, but she made it back to the lab before he could catch her.
"I think that's enough training for today," panted Sophie.
"I'd better get back to the station or Joe will give my job to somebody else," said Barry, and he vanished to change into his regular clothes.
"How are you feeling?" Dr Wells asked Sophie.
"I…"
…..
"If you wanted my attention there were easier ways you could have gone about it," said Dr Wells, smirking slightly.
Sophie sat up groggily. "What?"
"You fainted directly into my arms."
Her head was pounding, and the room may or may not have been spinning. "No kidding." She lay back down on the hospital bed and fell asleep.
Dr Wells dug his phone out of his pocket. "Hello, Caitlin? Yes, you're needed here in S.T.A.R. labs, Sophie has fainted."
…..
When Sophie next woke up the lab was full of people. Joe was sat next to her bed, shaking her awake.
"What's with all the people? Something cool happen while I was out?" she asked, still half asleep.
Joe shook his head. "Barry's out fighting a metahuman, and Caitlin and Dr Wells are trying to find out why you fainted."
"Then why are there people?"
"Umm…"
A tall young man walked over to her. "Hi, I'm Oliver Queen."
AN - thanks for the comments! Also, the cover image is a picture of Sophie that I drew. Let me know what you think!
