"It's the same stuff," Caitlin concluded with a scrunched up nose. She, along with the the other three usual visitors of STAR Labs were staring at a computer screen on the wall holding the results of a scan Barry had brought in for them.

"Remnants of...play-doh? I still don't understand," Cisco leaned forwards on the desk, squinting his eyes at the clear results on the screen. "This is my gumbo girl? I mean...this is what she produces?"

Barry was the only one standing near the screen on the wall. He had his arms crossed and a very thoughtful expression on his face. "Her name is Plasticine, and her powers are...gruesome." He thought back to the moment in which he saw the woman practically asphyxiate Carlton by forcing her 'purple gumbo' down his throat. "I ran the same test a while ago for a different case. I thought it looked familiar so I compared it to this new one I took from the scene of Carlton's murder and it's an exact match. It was her. Plasticine."

"That's not the name I would've chosen," Cisco mumbled.

"She was there when I tried rescuing Belén, and she was very serious when she threatened me to stop being a 'hero'."

"It's natural for a metahuman to feel intimidated by another whose becoming a well known lifesaver," Wells tried to be reasonable.

"She wasn't like the others, though," Barry turned back to the three. "This one was put together. She didn't look like a crazy one I fight every now and then. She came with a plan that day, I just haven't figured out what it was."

Cisco pulled up the information he'd gathered on Plasticine over time. "There's been plenty of sightings of this woman around the city but no real pattern - well, she appears for a couple of robberies then disappears. She also doesn't tend to leave behind injured nor dead." Caitlin scoffed and threw him a sharp look that told him he should reconsider that detail. "Alright, well, she used to."

"Well, whatever her tactics are, we need to find her and put her away before she does hurt someone," Wells said, eyeing Barry's strangely pensive stance. "Something else on your mind, Mr. Allen?"

"...yeah," Barry nodded, tone suddenly quiet. "When I had to go back to the crime scene of Plasticine & Carlton to take evidence, I saw these...cut up vines sprawled around."

"Probably from the mess you all made when you were fighting," Cisco said obviously.

"I would think so too, except there was no plants nearby. The room wasn't even properly furnished. I took samples and it was weird because the results were parts of an Azalea flower."

"Azalea?" went Cisco and Caitlin, both of their minds quickly recalling the person that most loved the flower.

"When I got there, as the Streak, Bells was standing in a defense stance against Carlton…" Barry continued, but his suspicion had been pretty much voiced out already, "...I didn't think about it in that moment...but…"

"Are you trying to say that...you think...you think Belén's...a...metahuman…?" Cisco practically gaped at him, the disbelief written on his face. He had never once thought about since he met Belén. She was just so...normal. It couldn't be.

"It could be a possibility…"

"No!" Cisco shook his head. "I think we would have noticed! The hospital would've noticed when she was last brought in."

"Not if someone covered it up," Caitlin interjected, thinking it crazy to even be talking about this but then again what wasn't crazy nowadays?

"Nina," Barry quickly pointed. "It would have to be Nina! She took care of Bells from the moment she was hit by the Particle Accelerator explosion, and this recent kidnapping. If Bells does have these abilities then Nina is in on it."

"Do you think that's why...Belén has been having these weak moments, then?" Caitlin suddenly asked, making everyone think back to these moments of 'dizziness' and weakness that they'd witnessed Belén have. Each time she would just discard it as student's burnout, sleepless nights, or lack of sleep.

"If she does possess abilities they could have very well come with side-effects like Barry," Wells joined in. "But if they have continued on without the proper help they could be turning more severe for her."

"Wait a minute," Cisco finally spoke above everyone else, still refusing to accept Barry's theory, "We're not even sure this is a thing - that Bells actually has powers."

"Then we need to confirm it," Barry declared.

"How?"

"Blood test?" Caitlin found herself suggesting. "If in theory she does possess these nature abilities then it would surely leave a mark in her blood." Cisco gave her a disbelieving look. "I'm only saying," she raised her hands in defense.

"The hospital would have her most recent tests," Barry theorized and glanced at Wells. "Dr. Wells, what do you say? Can we do it?"

Wells smiled, in his mind the only thing that buzzed was the fact they were nearing another milestone in the time line he already knew of. "I told you from the beginning, Barry, no one was ever holding you back from telling Belén. Though I do caution in telling her what you plan to do. Most people don't like being scanned without their knowledge."

Barry nodded, no doubt in his mind this would cause trouble later for him. But right now he only cared about discovering the truth. If Belén really was suffering from side affects of her metahuman abilities she needed to get the adequate help from STAR Labs.

~ 0 ~

"And things are just getting more and more annoying," Iris huffed loudly like a child would when their parent refused to buy them a toy. Belén just smiled as they turned for the corridor in which her professor's office was located. "I mean, you'd think being twenty five would give me a little more of adult behavior with my dad but he just refuses to talk to me ever since I told him about Eddie and I."

"Em, Iris, I think your dad is more upset by the fact you kept your relationship a secret from him."

Iris stopped and forced Belén to do so just a couple steps ahead of her. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"I would be, but…"

"Belén!"

"It's like…" Belén tried coming up with a comparison, "...when I was a high school junior, I had this boyfriend and he was the total bad boy-"

"Bells," Iris smirked at her, making Belén laugh, embarrassed.

"It was a phase," she waved Iris off and continued with her story, "Anyways, my Dad warned me to stay away from him. So when he found out and I tried making my argument he gave me the cold shoulder for an entire month. He wasn't mad that I dated the guy, he was mad that I did it behind his back."

"I get the comparison, but I just can't get over the fact you dated a bad boy," Iris laughed, "I didn't know you had it in you…"

"Iris, it was just a phase," Belén looked away, completely blushing.

"Oh, I know, without a doubt," Iris said matter of factly. "Your type is more of the nerdy kind, hence you dating my Chemistry buddy-"

"He was hot," Belén shrugged.

"He was a dork," Iris rolled her eyes.

"Leave George alone."

"Oh, you know I love the guy, but it doesn't change what he was. Oh, and then there was the math genius from our Statistics class."

"Okay that one was because of you, remember? You set us up on a blind date!"

"I remember," Iris smirked with utter pride at her Cupid game turning out to be a complete success. "And let's not forget you almost dating Cisco, aka a STAR Lab genius. What is it with you?"

"I figured if I'm stupid I might as well date someone smart," Belén joked then knocked on her professor's office door. "Give my kids a chance, you know..." she laughed to herself.

"Well...thinking about dating anyone else right now?" Iris discreetly asked, pretending to inspect something on her index nail.

"Not sure," Belén answered with unusual quietness. "I mean, with Cisco I had to say no in the end because-"

"Because you guys were just friends, yeah - I know the story," Iris reminded.

"Yeah, but apart from that I think I'm just a little traumitized from what happened with Carlton."

"And since that was before he kidnapped you..." Iris didn't even want to imagine how Belén felt thinking about her latest experiences.

"Now that he did kidnap me...let's just say it's little more complicated thinking about dating someone," Belén released a sigh. "I'm properly scared."

"Miss Palayta," a bright ginger-haired man finally opened up to her, "Here for your final?"

Belén was nervous to receive her final grade for Biology - her last class required to graduate - and gave a meek 'yes' to her professor. "I'll be just a minute," she told Iris then followed her professor inside.

Iris went over to some waiting chairs they kept nearby and pulled her cellphone to pass the time. As of late, nearly all her notifications were of the Streak that people happened to see. She couldn't help be drawn to the mysterious sights in the city. First it was the burning man, then the weather dudes, not to mention the guy that apparently turned into gas? There were only two recurring masked people - the Streak and the purple woman who occasionally robbed people. It was just one big mystery that no one was taking serious for some reason. That's why she was taking it upon herself to doc and report these mysterious people for the world to be in the know.

"Iris!" Belén squealed and came rushing out of the office, probably uncaring of the childish manner she was carrying herself with. "I passed! I actually passed!"

"You did?" Iris blinked, then felt guilty for it. Belén was too engrossed with the news to take notice of it. She waved her final exam in Iris' face, nearly smothering her with it.

"I did! Annah-Belén Palayta - that's me," Belén pointed to herself, "passed Biology with a freaking B!"

Iris laughed and pulled her friend down the hallway. She took the exam into her hands and looked at nearly all the correct answers marked. "Wow, you actually understood them...and no guessing?"

"No guessing!"

"Bells, this is it: it's the apocalypse," Iris said, dead serious. "That's it. We're all doomed now."

"Shut up!" Belén snatched her exam back, laughing again. "This just proves that Barry is actually good at teaching - oh! Barry! I need to go see him!" she turned to Iris. "I have to show him this!"

"He's probably at the station - there was another crime scene today," Iris explained, but Belén had only heard the first part.

"C'mon!" She hurried away.

~ 0 ~

As Iris suspected, Barry was in the station taking care of a recent robbery's evidence left behind. He jumped in his stool when he heard the loud call of his name.

"Bells?" He barely had gotten up when Belén and Iris showed up.

"Barry, Belén has something to tell you," Iris said in an amused tone, not even caring that her voice had been downplayed by Belén's loud one.

"I passed!" the ombre-blonde woman excitedly went across the room. "I passed my Biology's final exam!"

"Wow, that's great!" Barry laughed and got up to meet her.

"I got an actual B!"

It took a minute for it to sink in Barry's mind that his tutoring had actually helped someone, and for someone who had gone from a very low grade to a...a B!

"You got...you got...an actual..B?"

"Mhm!" Belén nodded her head, once again putting her exam in front of her so that someone else would see. She was barely containing her laugh, her feet even struggling to remain still and not bop up and down.

"You passed!" Barry exclaimed, seeming as if this was the first time he'd heard. "Congratulations!"

Belén finally laughed again and threw her arms around his neck for a hug. "I know!" In the moment, Barry had gave her a small spin.

Iris raised her eyebrows, bemused and surprised at the same time. God, she should have entered that bet with Caitlin, Cisco and Wells.

"This is completely fantastic, Bells," Barry set her back on her feet and pulled away. "I'm so happy for you, honest."

"I'm going to be graduating now," Belén said happily. "I'm going to walk the stage and get my diploma - finally! And you're coming," she suddenly warned, glancing back at Iris with the same warning finger, "And so are you."

"We're there," Iris assured her friend, and abruptly came up with her own idea. "Hey, why don't we have dinner today? In celebration?"

"Oh, we can invite Caitlin and Cisco," Barry added, Belén already nodding in agreement.

"I would love that!"

"I'll set it up," Iris offered up, laughing. She hadn't seen Belén so happy in such a long time, and sure wanted it to stay this way.

"I gotta go," Belén started backtracking from Barry. "I promised my Dad I would only go to the campus for my grade. I'll talk to him about dinner though," she looked to Iris. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"I'll text you," Iris pointed.

"Okay!" Belén squealed again. "I think I'll pass by Rayan's altar at the park and thank him."

The last comment faded both Iris' and Barry's smiles. But Belén didn't seem to notice as she rushed off.

"Do you think she's honestly stopped looking for Rayan?" Iris turned to Barry, the happy atmosphere leaving along with Belén.

"Well…" Barry sat back down at his computer desk.

Even with Belén's house arrest, their meetings between civilian and the Streak hadn't stopped. But things were not the same anymore. Belén looked overly scared whenever he touched the subject of her brother. He hammered her what was wrong, who was threatening her, but she refused to say. At one point, she declared she was no longer going to investigate. She had 'accepted' the fact Rayan was dead and she needed to move on.

That day, Barry had been so confused and concerned that he had actually appeared in her backyard (though he had checked for her father's whereabouts first). There he insisted to know why she was all of a sudden giving up on the case.


"I just don't get it, you asked for help," Barry was saying to a distressed Belén, as the Streak of course.

"Technically, you came to me!" Belén exclaimed, near tears.

"Bells! This isn't a joke!" Barry couldn't help get angry when she refused to open up.

"You're right, it's not," Belén sniffed, her gaze falling for a minute. "None of this is, and that's why it's got to stop. Stop helping me and just go back to saving others. Please."

"You can't expect me to just leave this place when you're practically begging me not to help with those eyes full of fear." Barry walked towards her, but even then Belén was scared enough to backtrack the steps he took.

"If you don't stop - if I don't stop...then they're gonna go after my friends and family," Belén finally confessed, her lip quivering. Barry froze. "This woman, in purple, she-she threatened me. She said my brother was dead and that if I continued to look into his case my friends and family would be hurt. You see? I can't...I can't let anything happen to them."

"This woman - was she dressed in purple?" Barry went about it gently.

"Mhm," Belén nodded her head, wiping her face of loose tears. "Please, don't ask me to continue when I don't want to. Because I really don't...I'm scared."

And Barry could very well confirm that from his spot.


Had Belén really stopped looking for her brother? Barry was sure anymore. What he was sure of was her deep fear of anyone getting hurt because of her. That probably deferred her searches for some time.

"Possibly," he finally responded to Iris' question.

"I think we should keep a close eye on her," Iris didn't fail to warn. She walked up to the desk and set her bag down.

"Speaking of keeping a close eye on someone...Iris, is there something you want to tell me?" Barry raised an eyebrow, making Iris wonder what she'd done wrong (again). She was tired of having to come up with explanations for her actions. "Like what, Barry? There's many things going on in my life at the moment-"

"Your new blog," Barry gave her a look. He'd come to the unpleasant surprise of Iris' new blog thanks to Eddie, who wasn't so keen on the idea of his girlfriend keeping up a blog of the Streak.

"Oh, you're against it too?" Iris deeply exhaled.

"Eddie told me about it and honestly I don't think it's such a good idea…"

"But why not?" Iris challenged him. "I mean, the Streak is out there and people want to know. Plus, there's plenty of other people with these...these powers, that I think people should know more about."

"Take it from someone who's been investigating the impossible since they were 11. Blogging about this is only gonna bring the crazies to your front door."

Iris rolled her eyes. "My blog is anonymous."

"All right, well, anonymous or not, it's not safe," Barry reiterated. He wished Iris could be more like Belén who kept quiet on the secrets of the city, mostly because she was shy but it was still a good trait. "You never know what kind of weirdos are out there trolling on the internet."

"I can vouch for that," a different voice, unknown to Iris, spoke up from the doorway of the lab. Iris turned around, and Barry stood up seeing the familiar blonde woman with glasses. "The internet is full of weirdos and nerd rage... Lots and lots of nerd rage," the blonde went on with a wide smile.

"Uh...Barry?" Iris felt it was the only thing she could say, considering the familiar looks being exchanged between the two.

"Hi," the blonde walked up to the two, extending a hand to Iris. "Felicity Smoak."

Iris shook her hand, politely replying back with her own name. "Iris West."

"Barry Allen," Barry awkwardly inputted his own name, chuckling afterwards. "But you both already knew that. Felicity is…"

"The girl that you met in Starling City, the computerer, right?" Iris recalled vaguely the details of that secret trip Barry had taken long ago. "You two worked on one of Barry's unexplainable cases."

Felicity nodded. "Which, long story short, was definitely explainable." She backtracked a couple of steps till she stood just under the canopy. "So the lightning came through here?"

"Uh, yeah," Barry nodded. As Felicity continued to talk, mostly with Iris, Barry would continuously send discreet looks towards his computer...which was running a blood scan of Belén.

~ 0 ~

Unfortunately, Barry hadn't been able to finish the blood scan because he had taken Felicity out to the sightings (on good account of Iris). He liked having Felicity around, she was probably the only woman who understood his 'nerd talks' as Iris put it...but at the moment there were more pressing matters than catching up. He just didn't want to be rude.

"Barry?" Felicity's voice cut into his thoughts. The blonde woman had stopped walking and turned to him after realizing she wasn't exactly being heard.

"Sorry," Barry shook his head and focused on where he was now.

They were strolling through the city park, which was packed as was usual. Barry felt guilty for having to ask Felicity to repeat herself because he wasn't listening.

Felicity laughed at him, crossing her arms. "What's with you, Barry Allen? The quiet, pensive guy is definitely not the guy I met in Starling."

"Sorry, Felicity," Barry sheepishly smiled. "Lot's happened since then…"

"Mhm," Felicity nodded, suspiciously looking at him.

"What are you really doing here? I mean, it's good to see you, but do you and Oliver need something, or…"

"No, no, I came because I heard you were out of the coma and I figured that you would've called…" She raised an eyebrow then, a playful scolding look taking over her features. "...but you didn't."

Barry winced at her hard tone, scratching his head. "Right-"

"And when you did-" Felicity hadn't been quite finished which again made him wince again, "-I was a little bit disappointed it was because you wanted me hack into some girl's cellphone."

"Riiiight…" Barry awkwardly put his best smile forth.

"Right," Felicity mimicked his tone before playfully whacking him on the arm. "That was not cool, Barry Allen! There I was worrying over you in your coma and only getting a forceful call from you months later!"

"It was for a very good cause!" Barry promised her.

"Like what, exactly?" Felicity leaned on her hip, arms once again crossed. "One of your vigilante missions needed higher help?"

"Yeah, actually, it did - wait," Barry froze and stared at the blonde a long while. "You...you...know…"

Felicity rolled her eyes and once again whacked him. "Of course I know. First of all, I heard you and Oliver talking on that rooftop in Starling City that night. And then you kinda get confirmation after being mysteriously asked to help hack into a cell phone."

"I'm sorry-"

"I want to see it," Felicity blurted with excitement...until she realized how they may have come out. "And by 'it' I mean your speed, in case you thought I was talking about something else, which I... which I was not. Okay."

Barry chuckled. "Okay," he assured, "you see that building?" he nodded over to a random tall building across the park.

"Uh-huh," Felicity nodded and turned to face in its direction.

"Keep your eyes on it." Barry smiled and sped off, leaving his usual wind behind. Felicity watched in amazement as the orangey red flash went around the top of the building. Before she knew it, Barry had come back and was holding his cellphone.

"You took a picture of me?" Felicity gaped and snatched the phone from him. "From the top of that building?"

"Yeah. Don't instagram that!"

"Unbelievable," Felicity looked up from the phone and laughed, until she saw the ground. "Uh, your shoes are smoking."

Barry quickly looked at his sneakers which were indeed smoking from the run. "That... that's fine. It's... it happens sometimes." He stomped to kill the smoke and then exhaled deeply. "It's why I have a friction-proof suit."

"Where did you get that?" Felicity curiously wondered.

"I'll show you," Barry took her hand and together they walked off towards STAR Labs.

Barry could have never realized he had been watched the entire time.

Feeling an overwhelming anger flourish inside, Belén crumpled her final exam in her hands. She had come to the park to see her brother's altar at the fountain but boy-oh-boy look at what she had gotten instead.

Barry Allen...running at light speed…

Almost growling, Belén stormed away.

~ 0 ~

Barry had taken Felicity to STAR Labs for her to see what really went on in the city. It was safe to say she was impressed.

"And this is where my team monitors the police bands for criminal activity. We can track anything that's happening in the city. Check this out. We've got our own satellite."

Felicity slyly smiled. "I know. You forget I've hacked into it from time to time."

Caitlin and Cisco came to greet the new visitor, who wasn't so new thanks to a wild adventure they had before meeting Barry.

"It is, of course, so wonderful to see you again, Felicity," Caitlin nervously smiled, "I'm just wondering how much of our operation she needs to know about."

"I'm really good at keeping secrets," Felicity winked, meaning to stay secretive but apparently Barry had other ideas.

"Yeah, Felicity works with The Arrow."

"Sweet!" Cisco beamed in delight, while Caitlin expressed her surprise in silence.

"And you apparently are not," Felicity shot Barry a disapproving look for his loose tongue.

"Now it's all making sense. You know who The Arrow is," Cisco said to Felicity before realizing something else. "Wait, do you-" he pointed at Barry, "-know who The Arrow is?"

"Uh... Let's just say that my team has a similar set up," Felicity gestured to the lab room, "but with... More pointy objects."

"Welcome, Ms. Smoak," Dr. Wells surprised her with his mere presence.

"Dr. Wells?" She pointed at him as if he weren't real. "The Dr. Wells?"

"Please, call me Harrison, Felicity."

"Oh, you know who I am?"

Wells smiled as he came into the room, listing Felicity's accomplishments by memory. "Ranked second in the national informative technology competition at age 19, graduated M.I.T. With masters degree in cyber security and computer sciences. I know who you are. I keep an eye out for promising talent in scientific fields. It's what brought me Cisco, Caitlin, and I foresaw great things from you."

"Speaking of great things, want to see something cool?" Barry smirked towards Felicity, who couldn't help wonder what he had in mind.

Time later, the team had set up for one of Barry's practice runs on the treadmill. While the STAR Labs monitored him, Felicity watched from the side.

"How fast can he run?" she asked the others.

"He hasn't reached his top speed yet, theoretically speaking," Dr. Wells replied.

"So is he really okay?"

"His heart rate is within normal range for him," Caitlin added as a comfort, but Felicity wasn't taking it.

"No, I mean, the lightning bolt changed him. Do any of you really know how much?"

"We know a fair amount," Cisco tried to sound sure but of course there couldn't be a 100% assurance they knew all of Barry's altered genes and what the consequences would be.

"If everything about him is sped up, is he going to age faster? What would happen if he ran too fast? I mean, would he just be running, and then, poof, he's dust in a red costume?

"Everything we do here at S.T.A.R. Labs is to protect Barry Allen," Dr. Wells said. "Trust us, Felicity, he is in very good hands here."

"Want to see how fast I can run backwards?" Barry called from the other room, but almost instantly he crashed into the boxes set up against the wall for such accidents.

"Don't worry," Caitlin sheepishly smiled at Felicity who had become severely concerned, "He heals quickly too."

Felicity bit the nail of her index finger, baffled by such normality this entire thing was being taken with. Then again, where she worked the things were just as abnormal so maybe she shouldn't be so concerned.

When Barry had recovered from the small accident - and stocked the boxes back in their spots - they returned to the cortex.

"This entire place is amazing," Felicity chuckled. "I've always heard talks about it but I never thought I would see it from the inside."

"Same," Barry laughed alongside her.

"Same," went a third voice, and one that left everyone except Felicity frozen in their spots. Belén was taking a look at the room from the threshold, acting as if it were the first time she stepped foot in there. "You know," she bitterly laughed to herself, forcing her tears to stay inside, "I blame myself for being so...stupid!"

Felicity slowly observed the reactions in each of the people in the room. She didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on but she knew it wouldn't be ending good judging by the faces she saw.

"Bells," Barry made a step towards her but she ragingly pointed at him.

"You stay where you are!" she warned. "You-you liar!"

"No, I was-"

"Be quiet!" Belén exclaimed, her eyes flickering to Caitlin and Cisco. "Now it makes sense, the both of you were lying to me the entire time. This is why you guys always looked so nervous when I walked in...the faces of guilt."

"Don't blame them," Barry finally got to cut in. "They were just following my decision. I asked them not to say anything so if there's anyone to be mad at it's me."

Belén crossed her arms, nodding her head. "Fine," she spat. "It goes without saying, though, dinner's cancelled."

"No - Belén!" Barry went after her, leaving a tensed atmosphere behind.

"Uhh…?" Felicity turned to the remaining three. "Who...was that?"

"Reason Barry called you before," Cisco deeply sighed.

"That's hacked girl?" Felicity jerked a thumb towards the spot where Belén had been. "I gave her a name," she shrugged after getting strange looks.

"She wasn't supposed to know," Caitlin briefly explained, thinking Barry would eventually get to it on his own.

"Though perhaps becoming her secret helper wasn't one of Barry's brightest ideas," Dr. Wells added with an unsurprised sigh. It wasn't like he foreseen the two ever learning about their true identities.

Oh, wait...

~ 0 ~

Belén flexed her hands as she waited for the elevator to come up. "Not now, don't you dare..." she checked her hands and saw spots of emerald green. "Go away!"

"B-Bells! Belén!" Barry called and she immediately crossed her arms to hide her hands from him.

"Should of used your lightning speed to catch up with me!" she angrily turned on him. "Oh wait, you were too busy keeping it a secret from me, right!"

"Look, Bells, I'm sorry-"

"No, you're not! You're only sorry you got caught!"

"That's not true!"

"Oh please! If I hadn't caught you today at the park then you would've never put yourself in front of me to tell me the truth!"

Barry stayed quiet for a minute, staring hard at her. She was wrong, she was absolutely wrong. He would've - eventually - told her. Sure it wouldn't have been soon but he would've told her one day when he felt confident enough.

"You are cruel," Belén continued on with her accusations. "You must have laughed at me many times after our meetings. Oh, I was a good entertainer I suppose."

"It was never a game, Bells," Barry said quietly. "Me helping you with your brother's case was something important to me too."

"By lying?" Belén arched an eyebrow. "You lied straight to my face! You knew how important this Streak was to me and you let me…" she paused, now feeling completely embarrassed, "...talk about him like you weren't him. Your ego must have soared." Her voice lowered and signaled to what level her rage had reached. "I'm done with you."

"Belén!" Barry called but the elevator dinged open and she walked right in, still hiding her hands.

"Don't you dare follow me or I swear to God I will punch you in the face!"

Odds were, he would be punched. Barry remained right where he was and upheld her stare until the elevator closed and she was gone.

Belén had surprisingly gotten fast into her car, although perhaps most of her hastiness arised from the uncontrollable feeling she felt inside. As soon as she got into her car, she breathed rapidly in and out, balling her fists, forcing the feeling to stay inside.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down," she repeated to herself with eyes screwed shut, her face began to sport blotches of green as well, but with her focus it would shift between it and her normal skin.

~ 0 ~

"I just can't believe it!" Belén was now stomping back and forth in Nina's apartment. "He lied to me this entire time! He had me meeting him like an idiot that I am! Can you believe that, Nina!?"

The older woman was calmly sitting on her couch, reading the day's newspaper while occasionally taking a sip of her coffee. She had let Belén vent for the last hour or so, figuring it was best if there was to be some sort of resolution afterwards.

"It's all very surprising, Belén," Nina said but her tone didn't exactly portray much interest.

"Nina," Belén huffed and faced her friend, her hands on her hips, "Did you listen to anything that I just said?"

"I got the jist," Nina shrugged, glancing sideways, "Barry Allen is the Streak you have been meeting so secretly with."

"And you say it like that? All calm?"

Nina shrugged and went back to reading the newspaper.

"I don't like being lied to! And that's exactly what Barry did - what everyone did to me! They lied!"

"Bells, if Barry decided not to tell you then you can't go and blame the others for not spilling a secret that wasn't theirs to tell in the first place."

Belén puffed and looked away, hating the fact Nina was right on that one.

"And-" Nina tilted her head, "-are you forgetting the fact you are hiding your powers from him too?"

"There is a strict different, Nina."

"Let me hear it."

Belén angrily returned her gaze to the woman. "When I discovered my powers I thought that I was alone. Barry, Caitlin and Cisco were all normal to me. They were people who wouldn't understand what I had become. I was scared - I am scared - but Barry knew the entire time of these people with powers like us. If he had come to me, as Barry and not the Streak, and told me about his powers then I would have had the courage to confide in him as well. That is the difference."

Nina sighed and shifted on the couch to fully face Belén. "That's...understandable."

"Hell yes."

"But it doesn't the change the fact you're still hiding it from him now."

"Nina!"

"If you're going to be angry with someone who's in the same situation as you are you need to see it how it is."

"I don't know how you're taking this so calmly," Belén rubbed her temples, already feeling a headache beginning to form. "You realize you could've gotten help as well, right?"

Nina raised her eyebrows and lightly sighed. "You forget I don't use my powers. I don't want them."

"But don't you see?" Belén walked up to her. "If Barry told me, then I-"

"You could have said nothing," Nina sternly told her. "Because that would've been Barry's secret, and you - being his friend - would not have said anything to me about it. See? You just saw what it's like being Caitlin and Cisco. You don't tell other people's secret. So cross them off from your hit list."

Belén was left standing in the living room to think as Nina got up to head into her kitchen with her empty coffee cup.

~ 0 ~

When Barry and Felicity walked into Jitters, Iris was already half expecting them - or more specifically Barry. She walked up to them with that raised head action that told Barry she was probably in the loop of what occurred earlier. He just wondered how much in the loop she was.

"Hey, you two," Iris greeted politely for Felicity's sake. For Barry, there was no escaping the icy look she was sending. "Has Barry been showing you some of the sights in Central City?" she asked of Felicity.

Felicity smiled. "Yes, I have seen some pretty amazing things." She decided to leave out the little drama moment she witnessed.

"Really...hm…" Iris nodded her head, her gaze still locked with Barry's.

Felicity could feel the tension that was rising and wanted to be no part of it. "You know what, I'm gonna go call work, check in, make sure everything's okay. I'll be back in a second."

Iris smiled gracefully as the blonde left, and the moment she was gone she promptly smacked Barry on the arm.

"Ow!" went the metahuman, his hand flinging to his rub his injured arm.

"You want to explain to me why Belén cancelled dinner tonight?" Iris got straight to the point, finally expressing her true irritation with him. "And don't you dare lie to me and say you don't know! She sounded very upset and more so when I mentioned your name! What did you do, Barry Allen?"

"Nothing," Barry raised his hands. It was clear Belén hadn't told Iris of the reason why she was upset with him - and for that he was eternally thankful - so Barry would need to come up with a plausible reason.

"I have a tray, and I'm not afraid to use it," Iris backed up to the counter where there was indeed a circular tray sitting there. "I had plans and she cancelled them based on some stupid excuse."

"Which was…?"

"That's not the important thing here," Iris snapped and ignored the low 'sorry' from Barry. "I'm confused. Earlier you two looked better than ever and now she doesn't even want to see you? What's going on?"

"...stuff," Barry found himself able to say.

"Stuff?" Iris raised an eyebrow, her glare turning dangerous.

"Yes."

"That's what you're sticking with? Stuff?"

"...yes?"

Iris deeply breathed in, raising her hands in defeat as she went behind the counter. Barry came to stand to the side and watched her intently.

"What are you doing?" he curiously asked.

"Since you're being a child and Bells is being obscure, I'm going to settle this myself." Iris had grabbed her cellphone from her bag and waved it at him as a final warning.

"Iris, please…" Barry sighed. He understood Iris was just trying to help - in her own Iris way - but this was not exactly helping.

"Bup," Iris pointed a finger at him as she waited for the line she called for to be answered. With a huff, Barry walked off. He met Felicity who'd come out of the bathroom then.

"So, how bad was it?" She looked towards the counter as they walked out of the place, seeing Iris was busily speaking with someone.

"She scolded me, like badly," Barry sighed.

"This girl is really important then," Felicity smiled to herself, "For everyone to be this upset, I mean…"

"Mhm…"

They were now walking down the street, no destination for the moment.

"And that was the girl that made you finally remember I existed?"

"Felicity...I...I'm sorry," Barry thought this was turning into another round of scolds so he decided to skip to the last part where he said his apologies and hoped everything would get better.

"I'm over that, honestly," Felicity assured him, "She's pretty, I can see the urgency to find her. Because, that's why you were trying to hack into her phone right? Not to see her pictures or anything…"

"No," Barry crinkled his nose, "No. Belén was having a stalker problem and the cellphone was important to find him- which we did, by the way."

"Ah," Felicity nodded with understanding, "I see. Well, I'm glad I was of service. And I guess I'll have to thank Belén myself for you calling."

Barry understood her implication just by her look and had to stop it before she actually went ahead and did something. "No, Felicity, this isn't your problem. I messed up and I have to fix it."

"I could help. I mean, I'm no expert but I do have some experience in discovering people's secret identities as vigilantes. Maybe I could talk to her..."

"No, I get the feeling I'll be seeing her later today anyways."

"Why do you said that?"

"Two words," Barry raised two fingers, "Iris West."

~ 0 ~

Things at STAR Labs had only gotten worse after Belén's appearance. Cisco had discovered that something was missing from the building, a very important something that could lead to disastrous consequences. Having no choice, he came clean to Dr. Wells. Now he, Wells and Caitlin had moved to one of the storage rooms where his missing 'something' had originally been placed in. The shelf was left open and had an empty compartment in the middle.

"How long has it been missing?" Wells demanded in a very low, yet eerily dark, tone.

"I don't know," Cisco replied feebly.

Caitlin stood inside the room, off to the side with her hands behind her back. She honestly could not remember a time where she felt this much tension in one room - and that was saying something after all that had happened as of late.

"I'm gonna ask you again, Cisco," Wells warned. "But when I do, I expect a more specific answer than 'I don't know'. Now, how long has this weapon been gone?"

"A day, maybe two. One of the janitors didn't show up for work this morning. He was probably the one who took it. I didn't think that…"

"You didn't think, because if you had, you would have discussed with me first your desire to build something that could, in theory, hurt anyone, and in particular, Barry Allen."

"I'm sorry. If you just let me explain…"

"You know how I feel about weapons, Cisco. They do not belong in S.T.A.R. Labs. Now, you are gonna figure out a way to locate this gun, and you are gonna do it right now."

Caitlin cleared her throat and spoke after Dr. Wells had left them. "This thing you built, what can it do?"

Cisco shuddered a breath. "Bad stuff."

~ 0 ~

Jitters was hosting a trivial afternoon event that of course Iris was attending - there was a chance for free coffee! But, most importantly, it served as the perfect setting for some information and talking...by force, of course.

Because she was sure that if this wasn't an event, Belén would have never showed up.

Sitting at a table was Iris herself with Eddie beside her. Barry, who'd been lured in a similar manner (without yet knowing it) sat across them, looking rather bored. He had left Felicity in her hotel room because of this very important thing that Iris had said to him over the phone. Though, Felicity already had a good idea that was a lie but Barry was the last to figure it out.

"I can't believe you got us to come to this thing," Eddie, seemingly mortified, huffed and shook his head.

"Oh, shush!" Iris laughed and nudged him. "It's for a good cause."

"Free coffee is not a good cause, Iris," Barry gave her a look.

Iris rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you both to be a little more cheerful?" She gestured to the very much lively environment they were in, hoping they would catch on it was all about the smiles and laughs.

"I don't understand why I'm here," Barry raised a hand. "I don't feel like being a third wheel."

Before Iris opened her mouth to explain, she saw Belén walking in. "That's why you're here," she pointed to Belén who immediately saw the three at the table.

"Oh, you didn't," Barry slapped a hand over his face.

"I told you I would deal with this," Iris smugly said and motioned to Belén she was being waited on.

Belén stopped by the side of the table and exchanged a hard look with Barry. "I'm here because someone said they wanted to talk - Iris." The hard look was shifted towards Iris who did not falter against it like Barry had.

"Yes, sit down," Iris gestured to the spot beside Barry.

"No." Belén said smoothly, pretending to flick something off her blouse.

"Annah-Belén don't you dare leave this place because you know I will find you," Iris warned and once again pointed for her to sit down.

Belén pursed her lips as she slid into her chair. "What do you want?" her thick voice demanded.

"Well, this couldn't be more awkward," Eddie mumbled under his breath.

"What is going on with you two?" Iris asked of her and Barry, watching how they uncomfortably looked away from each other.

"Ask Barry," Belén muttered.

"Bells," Barry sighed.

"I no longer use that nickname."

"Oh c'mon! Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic-"

"Excuse me?" Belén finally turned to Barry, and it was with such a glower that even Iris backed off for a minute. "You're calling me overdramatic now? Seriously? I'mthe one with the problem?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Barry tried to mend his poor choice of words fast but even his speed was not enough to combat Belén.

"You messed up big time, Barry Allen, and I will not so easily forget it. I'm not that one that lied so don't come at me for reacting the way that I am because youbrought it on yourself. And do you know what-"

"Hey," Iris finally cut in, looking completely baffled by the exchange among the two.

Belén flushed momentarily and straightened herself up. "I'm sorry," she directed that apology towards Iris and Eddie. "I'm only staying for you two...and cos I actually do want that free coffee…" she added with a small smile.

~ 0 ~

Nina was coming into work at the hospital when one of her co-workers, a slightly younger man named Will, stopped her midway down a hall.

"Nina, I was taking care of some things with the blood testing room and I noticed a patient's sample was missing."

"Yeah, who?" Nina crossed her arms. She didn't recall ordering a recent blood test from any of their patients that day. Then again, there were some newbie nurses who still hadn't gotten with the process.

"Your friend's, the one that got kidnapped, remember? Talks kinda fast?"

Nina furrowed her brow, almost like she wasn't believing it. "What? I...I didn't take the blood. It should still be there. I was meant to get back to her for some results..."

"Well it's not there," Will promised her.

"No," Nina walked past him, sprinting towards the room. Will had to be wrong because she had personally made sure nothing of Belén's was touched nor examined. It was key for her metahuman identity to stay a secret. That was why she hadn't even ran the test yet.

She rushed into the room and went directly looking for Belén's most recent drawn blood. Will was right, she discovered glumly. It was gone. Now, she deduced there and then that no one from the hospital had taken it because the first thing they would've done after seeing what was truly within the blood was to come out and say Belén was one of 'those' people as they now addressed them in the building. Or, in worst case scenario, they would've contacted Belén to blackmail her.

It then struck her what most likely happened.

Making way for her office, she came across Will and assured him (with a lie of course) that it was just a mistake and that everything was where it should be.

Nina then came into her office and locked the door. She made a beeline for her desk and pulled out her cellphone. Her fingers had never dialed so fast the way she was now. But this was important as well as a complete invasion of privacy.

"Hello?"

"I swear to God if Belén doesn't punch you I will," was her first statement and Nina was nowhere near guilty for her unprofessional attitude.

"Nina? I guess Bells told you-" but Barry couldn't finish his words when Nina cut in again.

"I don't care if you're the stupid streak everyone's talking about, you do not go into someone's personal records and steal their blood samples! You got that?"

There was a slight commotion from the other line but eventually it died down and Barry spoke again. "I know it was wrong but I had to know."

"You mean the same way Belén should've known about you? Because let's be honest, I tell Bells that it's not as bad as it seems but it is kind of a slap on the face to discover someone close to you was the vigilante of the city, not to mention the one she's been having secret meetings with."

"You think I don't feel bad enough? Of course I do," Barry was now sounding actually mad. "But it was a tough decision and I made it thinking it was the right one."

"But this last one you made - of her blood sample - was completely wrong. If you even glimpse at those results then you will have crossed a terrible line with Belén. That's her secret - whether there is one or not - to tell. You have no right to invade her privacy like that. I don't know what the Streak is like, but I like to think that 'Barry' is not that kind of man."

Nina didn't let him say anything back before she hung up. She was growling with anger at such a childish move. She guessed that being nearly thirty made her just a little bit more mature than these twentiers. But c'mon, this was just getting ridiculous!

~ 0 ~

Barry was just coming back into Jitters after hanging up (or being hung up) with Nina, when Eddie rushed right past him out the doors. Confused, he made way for the table but Belén met him halfway.

"There's an ongoing police fight apparently," she informed him. "Something about a 'Snart'?" She could immediately see the familiarity of the name based off Barry's expression. "Figured. I may be incredibly angry with you but I won't say anything to Iris. I'll cover for you, go," she shooed him and turned back for their table.

"Wait," Barry grabbed her by the arm, "what do you plan on saying?"

Belén raised her eyebrows as she considered possible options. "Bad stomach ache...really bad diarrhea."

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable with that excuse," Barry made a face, shaking his head.

Belén instantly smiled and removed his hand from her. "I think I'll go with that one, then."

Barry groaned, but let it be. He deserved that much.

~ 0 ~

After a catastrophic fight against Snart - which resulted in a man frozen to death - Barry sat on the edge of a bed with his STAR Labs sweater slightly raised on the side of his injury. Snart had somehow acquired a deadly cold gun that practically ate through his suit. Caitlin had examined the now black and purple bruise and was pulling up results on a screen for the others to see.

"It's still numb," Barry complained and pushed his sweater down.

Caitlin walked over to thr screen on the wall. "It's presenting itself like third degree frostbite."

Felicity was busy reading from her tablet but did remark over the situation. "I thought he had hyper healing."

"It's been slowed," Caitlin clarified then shot Barry a sharp look. "If your cells weren't regenerating at the rate they are, your blood vessels would have frozen solid and the nerve damage would have been permanent. You're lucky to be alive, Barry."

Barry was not interested in miracles. "Snart wasn't another meta-human. He has some kind of gun. It froze things, slowed me down... Enough that I wasn't in time to save someone. "

"According to his record, Snart didn't even bother to finish high school, so how did he build a handheld high tech snow machine?" Felicity asked the winning question.

"S.T.A.R. Labs built the cold gun," Wells answered, his tone still etched with annoyance.

"Dr. Wells and Caitlin had nothing to do with this. I built the gun," Cisco declared, ready to accept the consequences.

Barry got up from the bed, confused. "You did? Why?"

"Because speed and cold are opposites. Temperature is measured by how quickly the atoms of something are oscillating. The faster they are, the hotter it is, and when then are cold, they're slower on the atomic level. When there's no movement at all, it's called…"

"Absolute zero," both young men finished.

"Yeah," Cisco nodded. "I designed a compact cryo engine to achieve absolute zero. I built it to stop you. I didn't know who you were then, Barry. I mean, what if you turned out to be some psycho, like Mardon or Nimbus?"

The anger was quick to rise and seeing as Barry already had what seemed like millions of problems he exploded into shouts. "But I didn't! Did I!?"

"We built the entire structure you're standing in to do good, and it blew up. In the wake of that, you can understand why Cisco would want to be prepared for the worst." Caitlin had stepped up beside Cisco for his defense.

Barry discarded her and glared at Cisco. "I can understand that, but what I can't understand is why you didn't tell me what you did. I mean, after all we've been through, I thought you trusted me. I thought we were friends."

"We are, Barry," Cisco tried to say but Barry wasn't listening.

"I mean, if you would have just told me, I could have been prepared. But instead, someone died tonight."

"And I have to live with that."

"No, Cisco. We all do," Barry corrected in a low mutter and walked away.

~ 0 ~

Belén laid on the couch with her laptop in front of her, watching a livestream of the recent news. It was of course all about the Streak who saved most civilians from a man with a gun that apparently shot ice.

"Belén, are you alright?" her father's voice had startled her.

She unplugged her earphones and raised her head to find her father towering over her from behind the couch. "What?"

David was staring at her with a suspicious, yet concerned, look. "You've got that sad look on your face. The one where your lips do the thing," he motioned to his own lips that were mimicking a pursed action.

"I'm fine, Dad," Belén sighed, swinging her legs to the side in order to sit properly.

"For a woman who's about to graduate now you don't seem to be very happy," David remarked. "Is it about your dancing? Cos you know you could go back to it now..."

Belén placed her opened laptop on the coffee table and shrugged. "It's not about that. Actually, it's nothing. Please, can we not continue?"

David smiled to himself. "As long as you say you're alright," he mumbled and headed for the stairs.

When the door knocked, Belén half expected her father to come open. But, after a couple of knocks Belén went herself to open up. She was definitely not expecting to find a blonde woman with glasses standing on the other side.

"Hi, I, uh...don't suppose you would know me right?" Felicity shyly waved a hand. "We didn't really get introductions when you, um...came to STAR Labs…"

It only took a minute took recognize Felicity as the woman from the park Barry had been talking to. Of course she was in STAR Labs afterwards.

"Right," was Belén's first answer. She discreetly looked past Felicity to see if anyone else was with her.

"I'm here alone!" Felicity exclaimed, her smile broadening. "In case you were, uh, wondering…" Belén wasn't sure what this woman wanted, nor intended, and it showed in her face. "I just came to talk," Felicity clarified, her hand gripping her bag's strap.

"If you're here on behalf of Barry, I don't want to hear it."

"He doesn't even know I'm here, I promise," Felicity's hand shot up in a neutral gesture. "But I do know something about discovering people's secrt identity."

"Is this going to be like a support group now?"

"No! Well…" Felicity looked to the side, "...kind of - I don't know!"

"What was your name again?"

"Felicity Smoak," Felicity extended a hand for the ombre-blonde, "Nice to meet you."

Belén, under no circumstances, was impolite. She shook Felicity's hand and introduced herself. "Belén Palayta." She glanced back into the foyer and saw her father was nowhere in sight. "Do you want to, uh…?"

At the gesture Felicity nodded. "Yes! Thank you." She stepped inside and walked after Belén into the living room.

"Listen, I'm sorry you had to witness my little scene at STAR Labs. I don't usually make those."

"It's understandable." Felicity noticed the opened laptop left behind with the news video paused at the scene of the most recent crime. "You saw?" She made a gesture towards the laptop.

"Hm?" Belén forgot about her laptop and sighed. "Yeah. I'm a journalist intern and my boss asked me to watch for an article…"

"Ooh," Felicity nodded. "Well, I guess you should know that Barry was there…"

"I do."

"...and he was injured…"

"Is he okay!?"

Felicity tried her hardest not to smirk. "He's fine. Heals quickly, did you know that?"

"No," Belén crossed her arms. "I don't know anything about him, as it turns out."

"Sure you do," Felicity shrugged lightly. "You know that he would never, intentionally, mean to hurt you, or anyone, actually."

"This isn't about getting my feelings hurt! This is the fact that I wasn't trusted enough by someone I considered a close friend."

"As long as it's not getting your feelings hurt," Felicity mumbled, but was clearly heard by Belén.

"Why does everyone keep doing that!?" Belén fell back onto the couch chair with a plop. "I'm angry!"

"Completely understandable," Felicity assured and walked around to sit on the long couch beside her. "You know, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret."

"That'll be a first," Belén sarcastically waved a hand.

"I work with the Arrow."

Belén's eyes widened.

"And, I found out who he was in quite a bad circumstance."

Belén leaned towards Felicity. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. It was such a unique day. I was a little pissed that he didn't tell me before, but…"

"How is it that you aren't mad at him anymore?" Belén inquired. "Did you not know him enough to be mad?"

"Let's just say our relationship prior to that day was interesting…but, over time we kind of fell into a good synced place. Plus, I understood why he would keep his secret a secret." Felicity then grew serious. "People who find out the secret are put into constant danger. Sometimes, keeping them in the dark is the only way to keep them safe."

Belén looked away, her hands clumping together. "Doesn't mean it's what should be done."

"You were already kidnapped once," Felicity said and instantly had Belén's suspicious eyes on her. "During that time Barry called me asking for help. I hacked into your phone's for that stalker problem?"

"Well," Belén crossed her arms, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Do you see how being already in danger by just being you can discourage Barry from telling you his secret?"

"I...guess…" Belén rolled her eyes, deeply exhaling, "But it doesn't mean I am less angry about it."

"Listen, I'm not here to convince you to forgive Barry. I just thought that you should at least try to understand Barry's side."

"Hm," Belén crossed her arms. "I will when he understands me."

Felicity stared long and hard at Belén, thinking that those words had a significant meaning behind. "What do you mean?" the moment she asked the question Belén shook her head and got up.

"No! Absolutely not!"

From her experiences, Felicity knew well when someone was lying to. Still, she knew her place and since she didn't know Belén all that well - in fact she hardly knew the woman - she did not press further. "You're upset, Belén, and honestly I think you are reacting like anyone else would be in your place. But I really advice you to talk to Barry. And if you need anything from me I'm willing to listen too."

Belén's eyes slowly met Felicity's, and her anger subsided at least for that moment. "Thank you, Felicity."

Felicity nodded and headed for the doors, Belén sticking to her polite habits followed. "Oh," she had barely stepped out to the front porch when she remembered and turned around, "Barry and the others hit a sort of stump earlier. Cisco built this cold gun that would have stopped Barry had he turned out to be a bad metahuman-"

"M-metahuman?" Belén raised an eyebrow.

"People with their powers," Felicity quickly explained and continued with her main point. "Barry's pretty hurt by that and seeing as he wants to talk to no one I would say you are most capable of handling that."

"Sure, if you want me to punch him in the face."

Felicity laughed. "You don't look like you could hurt a fly. You'll be fine."

"I don't know…"

"Think about it," Felicity gave her one last smile before walking off.

~ 0 ~

In an attempt to 'make things better', Barry had forced himself onto the treadmill. His idea was: run more and he'd become faster. In any other occasion the thought would have had more logic put it into it (like an actual plan) but his mind was clouded with all the problems of the day.

He most certainly was not expecting one of those problems to show up.

"Barry?" Belén's voice caught him off guard and thus slipped backwards and crashed into the stacked up boxes again. "Barry!" the ombre-blonde woman ran to where the metahuman had landed. "Oh my God, are you okay?" she pushed some boxes out of the way.

Barry was less than concerned about his current state. "I'm fine, what are you doing here?"

Belén cleared her throat and stood back up, awkwardly crossing her arms. "I heard what happened today at the, um...theater. I also heard about the gun - Cisco just finished explaining." Barry stood up and grimly moved past her. Belén turned around, not following yet. "It doesn't feel good being kept in the dark about something, is it?"

"It's not the same thing!" Barry responded back with a surprisingly loud shout, startling her for a second. "Cisco built a gun that could have killed me! But instead, it's the reason why a poor man had to die today! I watched him die, Belén. If Cisco would've trusted me-"

"Of course he didn't trust you in the beginning," Belén cut in. "You were a stranger!"

"And then? After everything, he still didn't trust me enough to tell me about this?"

"Still think it's not the same thing between us?" Belén asked, now wearing a smirk on her face.

"Bells-"

"That's not a nickname you can use anymore," Belén cut him off and walked up to him. "I'm crossed with you but I'm here to make a point. I don't know what kind of thing goes around here," she gestured to the empty room, "but I'm sure there was enough trust between all of you to know that none of you would hurt the other - at least not on purpose. If that Snart guy is still out there, don't let him get away with his crime. That's not what the Streak does."

With one last look, Belén turned and started walking away.

Barry watched her leave until the need to patch things up overwhelmed him. If he wanted to fix things, he needed to start with the most basic thing: honesty. "Bells," he called softly, and when Belén glanced back with her narrowed look he sighed and added, "Sorry. Belén, um...I may have, uh...well, see I intended on, um...I didn't mean to...to be...well…"

"Will this sentence be put together by dawn?" Belén inquired with a light sarcasm in her tone. "Barry, what is it?"

Barry took a deep breath in and let it all out, hoping for the best. "I stole one of your blood samples from the hospital to examine it and see if you were a metahuman - um, if you had powers…"

"You did what?" Belén completely turned back for him.

"I'm sorry!"

"Barry, how could you do that?" Instead of being angry, Belén felt more offended, and completely invaded on her personal life.

Barry could tell the feelings from her soft tone. "I thought...you know what, it doesn't even matter what I thought because it wasn't right."

"Well, at least something works right in that brain of yours," Belén put a hand on her temple.

"I didn't look, though - I haven't looked at the results yet. They're still on my computer."

"And will you look at them?"

"No, I swear to you I won't. Whether it's true or not, no one has the right to know unless you want them to know."

Belén felt a little relief hearing that, but it still didn't make her feel better. "I'm glad you think that way. Why would you tell me this, though? Could have easily seen the results or not and I would've never heard a thing."

"Nina knows," Barry went with that honesty thing again, "And before she got a chance to tell you, I needed to. Because if you're going to shout again then it should be at me...because I deserve it."

"Oh, you deserve it," Belén agreed with a nod but surprised him by turning and continuing on her way out.

"Wait, what...that's...that's it?" Barry called after her. She stopped by the threshold and laughed. "I'm...confused…"

"Good," Belén smirked and took her leave.

~ 0 ~

"Hi there, I figured out a way to track Captain Cold," Cisco came into the cortex room with a tablet in hand. Everyone had regathered there in an attempt to put heads together for a solution.

"You gotta stop naming these guys," Caitlin playfully rolled her eyes.

"Barry, listen to him," Wells glanced at the silent metahuman still refusing to utter a word to them.

"The cold gun is powered by an engine control unit, a microcomputer that regulates air-to-fuel ratios so the sub-cooled fluid in the chambers don't overflow and...

"Explode," Barry mumbled.

Cisco moved up to the desk as he continued to explain. "This E.C.U. was receiving updates wirelessly from my tablet. If I boost the signal using Central City's network and send a false update, we'll get a ping back, and then…"

"We can locate Snart," Wells concluded, and motioned Cisco to get on it.

"How long will it take?" Caitlin asked.

Cisco had turned one of the computers on, moving to plug in his tablet. "First I have to hack into the City's network, so I don't know, 30 minutes, maybe?"

Felicity walked over to a small table where her laptop was currently charging. "I can do it in less than one. When it comes to hacking, I'm the fastest woman alive." She cracked her knuckles and experienced an 'epic fail' as she often heard. "Ow! That was not as badass as I pictured.." She typed away on the keyboard for about a minute. "All right, I'm in."

Cisco gaped. "Are you kidding?"

Felicity just smirked as she typed again. "All right, I'm sending the updates."

"We're connected," Cisco announced after a moment. "Network is triangulating the location. We got him. He's heading west on Nelson toward the train station."

"If he's leaving, it appears Mr. Snart may have gotten what he came for," Wells looked up to where Barry had been, but the metahuman had already gone for his suit.

"When we put our minds to it, dude, nothing can stop us," Cisco chuckled and saw Barry coming back...and switching off their only communication. "Oh, you turned your ear piece off. How are we gonna talk to each other?"

"I don't feel like talking right now," Barry muttered and sped off.

~ 0 ~

Belén was returning home when her phone rang. As she unlocked the door and stepped inside, she pulled out her phone and saw an unidentified number.

"Hello…?" she slowly said. She dropped her keys on the table whilst passing by the foyer, though she stopped when she saw a small piece of paper with her name on it.

"Belén!?" Felicity's voice chirped from the other line. "Hi! Felicity again - well, you probably guessed that by my voice but-"

"How did you get my number?" Belén made a face.

"Same way I figured out where you lived - hacking! It's what I do, but listen...there's something you may want to help us do."

"Oh yeah?" Belén raised an eyebrow. "Care to make a wager? I talked to Barry, like you thought I should, I'm not going back there again."

"Oh, but I think you will," Felicity said confidently, much to Belén's annoyance. She went ahead and explained the situation they found themselves in, and their current plan, and when the choice remained solely on Belén they hung up.

As she considered the idea, Belén finally took a read from the paper left behind by her father apparently.

I have to work late again, sweetheart. If you need anything Mrs. Andrews was more than happy to help.
- Dad.

Belén smiled lightly. She knew that her father was still a bit suspicious and that was why he resorted to their closest neighbor for help. Mrs. Andrews, who lived just across the street, was a widow who was always there for them, even more so after Belén's parents' divorced. Still, Belén doubted Mrs. Andrews would be helpful in this situation she was stuck in. Right now, Belén had to focus on what Felicity told her over the phone. She knew that she should just stay home and let Barry figure it out. I mean, that's how he'd been doing it before her, no?

But she kept glancing up at the staircase...until eventually...

"Barry Allen, why do I keep doing things I would never do for anyone?" she let the note drop and dashed for the stairs.

~ 0 ~

Snart was just conveniently standing in one of the train compartments when Barry sped in. There were dozens of passengers intently watching them, probably fearing for their lives. Snart was a bit famous after all...as well as 'the Streak'.

"There's nowhere to run," Barry smirked, not yet realizing Snart's plan. The criminal never revealed himself so easily without a proper plan.

Snart turned around to finally face the metahuman. "I didn't see you before. Your mom know you're out past your bedtime?"

"If you wanted to get away you should've taken something faster than a train."

Snart smirked under his blue jacket hoodie he was now dawning. "That's if I wanted to get away. I've seen your weakness at the armored car, then at the theater. See, while you're busy saving everybody, I'll be saving myself. Good luck with that."

Using the cold gun, he created a hole on the floor that would inevitably cause the train to lose control. He escaped rather easily - just as he planned - and landed on dirty grass. Meanwhile, Barry set himself out to save the passengers that would be crushed by the shaking train. When he knew that there was no one else left, he finally escaped himself and dropped to the ground. His head rang with the loud noise of the train, and he was just a bit dizzy from the tumbles. Still, he knew it would be alright.

And then Snart found him...and froze him to the ground.

Barry felt the incredible sting of the cold gun and looked up to find Snart still aiming the gun at him.

"Pretty fast, kid, but not fast enough," Snart said with a smirk. "Thank you."

"For what?" Barry asked in the midst of one of his pain hisses.

"You forced me to up my game, not only with this gun, but with how I think about the job. It's been educational."

"Drop it," Cisco appeared behind Snart, a couple feet away, holding part of a machine in his arms. Caitlin and Felicity were just beside him, carrying the second part, and a little heavier, of the device. "This is a prototype cold gun, four times the size, four times the power."

Snart cast an unworried glance over his shoulder. "I was wondering who you were talking to," he commented to Barry.

Cisco held the whirring gun closer. "Hey, unless you want a taste of your own medicine, I'd back the hell up, Captain Cold."

"Or what?" Snart called on the bluff and there was a shot just beside him...but it hadn't come from Cisco's 'gun'.

"Back up right now or I won't miss the next time," Belén came up to them, holding an actual gun in her hands. Everyone stared at her in shock, but no one more than Barry. He wore a mixture of surprise and utter horror, and if he wasn't stuck to the ground he would've snatched the gun right out of her hands.

"Your hands are shaking," Snart observed the ombre-blonde curiously. "You've never killed anyone."

"My mom's a cop, so I assure you I know my way around a perfect aim. Before you shoot that thing at me I'd at least be able to give you one shot through the chest - easy."

Belén wasn't quite sure if that was her saying all that stuff. She was doing her best not to accidentally shoot or worse, drop the gun. It was moments like these where she wished she had better control of her powers, or of herself for that matter, to be able to hurt at least a fly.

Snart lowered his cold gun after deciding it wasn't worth killing so many people in one go. Like he always said, there's no need for extra heat. With a final glance at Barry, he bid goodbye. "You win, kid. I'll see you around."

"Hey, leave the diamond!" Cisco called after him.

"Don't push your luck."

When Snart was gone, Cisco let out a small laugh while Caitlin and Felicity powered down the machine. "Couldn't shoot him if I wanted to. This is actually the S.T.A.R. Labs vacuum cleaner with a lot of L.E.D's. Let's get you warm."

He helped Barry get up since the ice was beginning to melt. At the same time, Caitlin turned to Belén - looking like that scolding mom.

"Belén…?"

"I didn't know you could use a gun," Felicity eyed the woman curiously.

"Mom's a cop," Belén reiterated with a small sigh as she finally lowered the gun. "Of course there would be a registered gun at my house. Though if my Dad finds out I took it for this, I'll be promptly be dead by tomorrow morning."

"Bells - Belén," Barry had to correct himself again, "Thank you."

Belén didn't know what to do nor say a that moment. She just shrugged and put the gun back into her bag. "Felicity called, explained, so I came. But that's it."

"Belén?" Cisco sadly called to her, but Belén looked at all of them and felt...so out of place. There was a whole new side of them and she didn't know where she could fit in anymore. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and her head was spinning. Pursing her lips, she meekly spoke again. "I have to go…"

It couldn't be possible she felt like this after one confrontation, she thought as she hurried away.

~ 0 ~

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you to the train station?" Barry asked Felicity for the tenth time as they waited outside of her hotel for her cab to come by. Felicity had decided it was time to get back to Starling and had picked up a ticket from the train station earlier.

"I'm fine," she assured with a light laugh. "But...are you?"

Barry nodded, more or less feeling better than earlier. He felt more at ease with Cisco and the others - except for one ombre-blonde. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Good," Felicity smiled and put a hand on his arm. "Just remember, it's a wonky little team but you guys are good for each other."

"Wonky?" Barry raised an eyebrow, unable to keep himself from laughing.

"Shut up!"

"I'll miss you," Barry said truhfully as he sobered. "You are a great friend and helper, have I mentioned?"

"That's what I'm here for - I mean, that is why you remembered me right?" Felicity gave him a little nudge on the side. "Damn, I didn't get to thank Belén after all." The mere mention of the possible metahuman put Barry into a glum state. Felicity sighed and turned to him. "It's gonna take some time but...she'll come around," she promised, but Barry shook his head. "Look, people who don't care about a friend don't show up with a gun to protect them. Listen to me, alright? It'll be fine."

Barry gave in with a small nod, not too convinced but he was going to hope for the best as he made his attempts to win Belén's friendship back.

~ 0 ~

Belén sat on her bed with a blank expression. Her mind was being unhelpful by replaying her stupid act of boldness against Snart and she cursed herself for being so...weak. Her hands were trembling then as Snart pointed it out and she only wondered what would've occurred if Snart had called her out on her bluff. Sure she knew how to shoot, but she'd never actually needed to. What would've happened if she needed to do it tonight and she couldn't? Barry would have died, then Cisco, Caitlin, Felicity...and finally herself.

She raised her right hand and narrowed her eyes in focus as she tried to call upon her abilities. She mildly succeeded in turning it into a bright green but anything else was out of the question.

"I can't be like this anymore," she told herself.

She took a rash decision then and jumped out of her bed to make it happen.

~ 0 ~

Felicity was patiently sitting inside her train, too focused reading off her tablet to notice the other passengers that were filling up the compartment. Someone came to take the seat directly across her.

"Felicity?" the voice of the person momentarily made Felicity wonder if she was dreaming.

She lowered her tablet from her face and blinked rapidly, even more so confused. "Belén?"

The ombre-blonde sat across Felicity, changed into a more comfortable set of clothes for the departure. Her black coat covered most of it though. "I need your help."

"M-mine?" Felicity pointed at herself.

"Yes," Belén nodded and sighed. "You said you worked with the Arrow, no?"

"Yeah…"

"And we concluded that Barry and him know each other?"

"Aha…"

"I need to see him. And I need his help."

Felicity had to replay the words spoken to her just to see if she'd heard right. She rested her cheek on her palm, elbow on the armrest. "Wh-why are you saying this? Does anyone know you're here?"

It was then that she noticed Belén had come with a carry-on bag and was placed on the seat beside.

"Oh my God, you're so serious," Felicity blinked.

"I am more than serious about this Felicity. I have no control of myself - emotionally and physically. In this city, that spells death."

"Belén-"

'Let me finish," Belén raised a hand and indeed went on calmly. "My brother is in this city - I know he is - but I can't continue looking for him if I can't protect myself, my family and friends. Today proved that I'm not ready for any battle. And before you say anything about going to Barry, know that I can't and that I don't want to. I can't...be around him right now. I don't...I don't know how to be around him. You were right before, he did hurt my feelings. Whether it was intentional or not, I don't care. I can't be near him for sometime. My mom's a cop, and she lives in Starling too. If my friend, Laurel, can't have me with her then I'll just have to stay with my Mom. But I need to see the Arrow."

"You know Laurel?" Felicity quirked an eyebrow. "As in Laurel Lance?"

"Yeah, we were good friends. Why?"

Felicity knew that Barry would later come for her because she was deciding to help Belén in this completely crazy idea, but...she couldn't just leave Belén on her own. "The Arrow? He knows Laurel, and Laurel knows him. So, I guess, he might be more willing to meet with you. But, I just gotta ask, why do you want to see him?"

"Because I need to learn how to hurt a fly," Belén said, and Felicity immediately understood her implication. "And…" Belén leaned forwards on her chair, holding her palms up, "...I need to learn how to control this."

Felicity gasped as Belén's palms turned emerald green. But just as it had come, it vanished.

"I'm a metahuman, but I'm not strong. I'm clueless. Please, Felicity, help me."


Author's Note:

I'm so sorry for taking forever to update this story! Hopefully no one's lost interest lmao.

Anyways, I always wondered during this actual episode when Barry sped away from Felicity in the park to take a picture of her on top of a building...if anyone actually saw him do it? I mean, you just have a random guy speeding and leaving strong wind behind, so...yeah. I'm pretty sure someone would have seen it in a public park, and for this story I made it so that Belén saw him. Yikes! And so now...what do we think about that little ending? :o

For the Reviews:

Oh hey! Well glad I got you hooked onto another story xD. Welcome! Oh my god that was hilarious, I love Oliver & Barry scenes because they're so different so they just clash all the time xD. Aaaaah Felicity my girl! I stopped watching Arrow after season 4 but I might get back to it. Felicity&Oliver are like a huge pairing for the CW so that your instincts are right! Well I don't watch teen wolf so I hope this Kira is a good character xD. Yes! I've always loved plant-based powers so I decided those should be for Belén's! And even more ironic, I did know about Danielle's role and since I loved her there it motivated me even more to have those plant powers here. Aw, well if you want to watch those they're on netflix or you can try 'watch it series online' and that one's free.

Aww, thank you so much! Well, we got the one where Belén finds out about Barry...now we wait for him to know lol. Ooooh when Belén finds out about her siblings? I've written that and it breaks my heart with one of them because it spirals into something more...*sniffles*.


So that's pretty much it! Thank you guys for reading and hope to hear your thoughts about the chapter! Also, I just started school this week so that will, unfortunately, affect my updating at times. I'll be announcing this for each story I update so sorry in advance if some of you read other stories of mine!