DISCLAIMER: I only own Zarah Wilson/Manea and her character development. The story does not follow any story or character plotline laid out in The Flash TV show and therefore the story and character development will not correlate with those stories and plotlines. Please leave a review if you've liked (or disliked) the story so far, and if you want me to carry on writing :)
The room remained silent for a moment, everyone considering how to handle the current situation as I moved to lean casually against the door frame. I sighed as the silence stretched on, all eyes on me as I took a few more steps into the room, keeping my head turned away from them in order to shield my identity.
"You've all gone awfully quiet," I mused as I strolled over to a nearby table, picking up an unidentified piece of technology and turning it in my hands, "I was starting to enjoy your theories."
"Please don't touch that." A member of my company finally spoke, gesturing towards the technology in my hand. I smiled at the familiar voice, gently placing the item down and turning slightly towards the group.
"Why would you come here? You must know that we'd be looking for you, you've walked straight into our hands." Barry posed the question that everyone was thinking, earning a grin from myself.
"Darling I could walk in here handcuffed and you still wouldn't have me 'in your hands'." My comment earned a quiet chuckle from Cisco as I pulled myself up to sit on the table, swinging my legs playfully.
"So, what are you doing here?" This time it was Caitlin who was questioning my motives, keeping her distance from me as she moved, placing her desk between the two of us.
"I want the same thing as you," I stated simply, twisting a wet strand of hair through my fingers, watching the large drips of rain splash onto the floor. "I want to find out what brainless oaf is murdering people and plastering my name all over the scene."
"I knew it wasn't you, I totally called it." Cisco announced proudly to the room, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin.
"It doesn't matter if it was her or not, she's still a murderer, and she still needs to be stopped." Caitlin exclaimed, wiping Cisco's grin from his face.
"She is also still sitting right here, but thank you for your input Doctor Snow." I rolled my eyes, hopping down from the table, chuckling as my movement prompted Caitlin to shuffle a few steps back. "Yes, I am a murderer. Yes, I have done a lot of awful things and killed a lot of people, but, for reasons you will never understand, I don't have much choice. Now, are we going to find out who - else - is killing people or are we going to stand around and discuss our morality all day?" Silence fell once again as the room considered what to do next, silent discussion passing wordlessly through each person's eyes as I waited patiently.
"You're awesome." A quiet muttering came from Cisco along with a barely restrained grin.
"Shut up Cisco," Barry rolled his eyes, running his hands through his hair with a sigh before continuing, "Okay, so what do you know?"
Our discussion into the mystery killer lasted for much longer than I would have liked, the entire time spent with me remaining at a far enough distance from the group to keep my face shielded. As much as I was willing to work alongside them to uncover this idiot, I wasn't willing to lose my cover for it. My lack of identity had served me well for the majority of my life, and I wasn't about to lose that. It was my security, a faceless identity that I'd grown comfortable with. Another slightly more selfish and stupid part of me considered that perhaps I was hiding it so that I could cling to my chances of a relationship with Cisco, the giddy girl-with-a-huge-crush side of me thinking forward to our potential coffee date. The thought brought a hint of a smile to my face, only returning to my usual placid expression when my name was called.
"Sorry, completely zoned out there, what were you saying?" I mumbled, composing myself as I pushed my emotions deep down to a place inside me that they had been held captive for many years. Barry continued on to describe the information they had so far on the mystery killer, with Caitlin chiming in with lab and DNA results every now and then. I quickly zoned out once again, leaving them to discuss the finer details of our plan while I leaned comfortably against the desk on the far side of the room, silently considering my own plans regarding the matter.
"Do you ever take it off?" A question posed from beside me pulled me from my thoughts again, I turned my head slightly away from my company as Cisco mimicked my position, leaning against the desk beside me.
"Take what off?" I replied, angling my head in a position where I could easily converse whilst still keeping my face hidden.
"The hood," He confirmed, before continuing his questioning, "Is it just like, a secret identity thing, or do you have like, a badass scar on your face that you cover up?"
"Well I don't sleep in it if that's what you're asking," I laughed at his questions, relaxing slightly in his company, "and no I don't have a badass scar on my face. It's my security."
"We won't tell anyone who you are, we keep Barry's secret pretty well. Things would be a lot easier if you didn't have to stand on the opposite side of the room." His voice took a gentler tone as he spoke.
"It's not that. I fully believe that you would keep my secret, you seem trustworthy," He perked up at my words, pleased at my trust in him, be it a small amount. "I can't have anyone knowing who I am, it isn't safe."
"Not safe for you or for them?" He queried curiously.
"Both." I replied, a dark edge to my tone as I considered his question.
"Why did you save me?" The conversation took a U-turn at his new question, moving on suddenly from where it had been going before.
"I wasn't going to leave you to bleed out in an alleyway." I answered simply, a pang of sadness hitting me as I realised his reasoning for the question.
"You're an assassin, that doesn't usually constitute saving people." His answer was what I'd expected, the usual assumption that my career signified an inability to care or to help.
"I do what I do for reasons I can't help you understand, but my ability to kill doesn't mean I'm unable to care. I'm a murderer but I'm not a monster." I responded quietly, a stony edge to my tone as well as a hint of sadness, trying more to convince myself than to convince him.
"For the record, I don't think you're a monster," He replied, placing a hand over mine where it rested on the table. "Thank you... for saving my life." I responded with a small nod, allowing his hand to remain on mine before our conversation was cut short as Barry and Caitlin's planning came to an end. He quickly removed his hand from mine as he re-joined the others and I released a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding.
After unnecessarily going over the plan once more, I adjusted my hood and reluctantly allowed Barry to take me in his arms. He'd reasoned that it would make more sense for him to carry me to where we needed to go, so that he didn't have to wait for me to get there in my own time. I'd attempted to argue this point for a while before giving in, willing to let him take me there however remaining unhappy about the arrangement. I ensured he wouldn't see my face as I squirmed uncomfortably in his arms, more than ready to get to where we needed to go so he could put me down. It took only a few moments to reach the location, the unfamiliar speed and the wind whipping past leaving me slightly unsteady on my feet for a few moments after Barry placed me down. I took a moment to gather myself and get my bearings in the large warehouse before retrieving my daggers from my coat and falling into a defensive stance. A quiet crackle sounded in my ear before the clear voice of Cisco Ramon flowed through the earpiece.
"Okay so, the trail of breadcrumbs we left should lead Mr Scratch right to your location any time now, so keep your guard up." I snorted a laugh at the name of the deadly killer we were hunting.
"Mr Scratch? That's what you're going with?" I questioned dubiously with a chuckle.
"It's cool. Now stop making fun of me and concentrate unless you want to die." I rolled my eyes at his dramatic response before returning to my previous state, listening and watching my surroundings carefully.
"I'm going to get a better viewpoint." I whispered in Barry's direction before running stealthily towards a raised walkway and leaping forward, pulling myself silently and quickly up over the metal railings. I stalked across the walkway, gaining a much better view of the entire warehouse from this height, hoping that being hidden might give me the element of surprise when our guest finally joined us. The metal handles of my daggers were cold in my hands, my usual gloves forgotten for tonight. I continued on my path along the walkway, scanning the ground below me for any movement. The heavy footsteps of Barry Allen caught my attention as they echoed off the tall walls. I rolled my eyes as he came into view, trying and failing to hide stealthily behind a large crate.
"Would you like to walk a little bit louder, I don't think the entirety of Central City heard you coming. Also, you may want to hide behind a slightly larger crate." I whispered in annoyance through our coms.
"Sorry." He apologised quietly, shuffling away from his currently hiding spot and finding a crate that accommodated his height a bit better. My attention was quickly pulled away from my useless excuse of a partner for the night and towards another set of footsteps from the other side of the warehouse. I crouched down, peering through the railings of the walkway to get a better view of our guest.
"He's here." I muttered, alerting my partner to the presence of our target. I gripped my blades tighter in my hands as I moved silently towards somewhere that gave me a clear path to my target. "Distract him, I've got this." I added quickly.
"Remember we're catching him, not killing him." I rolled my eyes at Barry's comment before replying.
"Got it."
Once I'd moved into a better position with a clear path to the newly named Mr Scratch, I readied myself for my chance. A blur of red rushed past, momentarily distracting the target and giving me the opportunity I needed. Without hesitation, I launched myself from the walkway and down towards the ground below me, landing on top of my target with a thud before rolling away and back onto my feet. He regained his composure much faster than I'd expected, throwing himself towards me with his arms outstretched. I narrowly avoided him as I ducked beneath his arms, managing to land a cut on his leg as I passed. I heard him hiss in pain as he turned back towards me, sharp talon like claws on the ends of his fingers caught my eye as I steadied myself.
"He has claws." I informed whoever was listening.
"He has what?!" Came the confused response of Cisco.
"Claws! He has claws on his hands!" I exclaimed, once again narrowly avoiding the sharp nails that threatened to pierce my skin. I lashed out with my blade once again, catching what I thought was his hand before he was thrown to the side by the Flash, the both of them tumbling onto the ground together. I paused as they continued their scuffle, the end of a large claw lay on the ground at my feet, a thick green liquid pooling out of the open space within it. A sudden realisation hit me as I turned my attention back to the pair fighting beside me. They had both returned to a standing position with Barry looking slightly worse for wear as he swayed on his feet.
"Don't let him scratch you!" I yelled as I threw myself between my delirious partner and the man leaping towards him. Shoving Barry aside I suffered the full brunt of our target's force, a sharp pain radiating from my stomach as I sunk my own blade into his body. I barely registered his blood pooling onto the ground as my entire body began to burn. The sensation spread quickly through my veins, paralysing my limbs in pain. The burning sensation was accompanied by the familiar sting of the deep wound across my stomach, leaving me unable to move from my position on the ground. I'd never felt pain like this, despite all the injuries I'd suffered throughout the years. My head was spinning as I barely registered a voice calling out to me, the words sounding distant and muffled as if I was underwater. Regardless of my injuries, I was able to notice that my hood had fallen away from my face, forcing my body through the pain to reach up and pull in back over my face. I managed to bat away a hand that attempted to remove it, mumbling out an incoherent sentence before I was scooped up from the ground.
Barry's POV
My head was spinning, the tiny scratch on my arm burning as my body fought to defend me from the poison. My vision was slowly coming back into focus as I was thrown to the ground by the assassin, out of the path of the poisonous meta-human. I quickly pulled myself to my feet, becoming aware of the fatal wound that Mr Scratch had suffered at Manea's hand.
"He's dead," I informed Cisco through the earpiece before turning my attention to my partner. I turned towards her just as she pulled her hood back over her face, fighting to protect her identity despite the obvious pain she was suffering. I moved quickly towards, her noticing the large wound across her stomach, her blood flowing from the cut whilst a dark shadow spread through her veins. Knowing what a tiny scratch with this poison had felt like on me, with my healing abilities, meant I could only imagine the pain she was in right now. I attempted to remove her hood from her face to check if she was alright only to be batted away. Respecting her need for anonymity and realising there were more important issues at hand, I left her hood over her face, opting to scoop her into my arms and get her back to S.T.A.R. Labs as quickly as possible.
Yes, I am finally back. It has been a long time but Uni and life got in the way and I apologise for my slight hiatus. As you can probably tell, we've had a slight change of name with our leading lady becoming Zarah Wilson. I promise I will get more chapters up as I'm all finished with uni now so I have all the time in the world! Thank you so far for all reviews I've received but please keep reviewing! I want to know everything you have to say about the story or the characters or the plot (mostly the plot also if u have any plot ideas throw them my way it would be much appreciated...) Much Love. Hilly
