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 :)
Cisco's POV
"Seriously?! Another gorgeous but highly skilled and deadly woman terrorising the city? This would be awesome if they weren't criminals." I exclaimed once I'd heard the news. Another woman causing mayhem throughout the city, using people to carry out her robberies and then discarding them, leaving them with no memory of what they did. All that her victims were left with was the memory of a beautiful woman, a woman they claimed that they couldn't resist doing anything for.
"Really Cisco...? That's what you're taking away from this?" Caitlin rolled her eyes, displeased at the details I'd chosen to focus on. I shrugged in response, suppressing a grin of excitement at our new mission. "Plus, you say 'another' like we know what Manea looks like. You don't know what's under that hood."
"Trust me, she's got the face of an angel behind that mask, I can just tell." At that, both Caitlin and Barry turned away from me to continue discussing the new issue that faced us, though I didn't miss the ghost of a smirk that crossed Barry's lips before he looked away.
"So, I have a theory..." Caitlin began to explain. I raised my eyebrows in anticipation of what she was about to say, her expression betraying her uncertainty about her idea. "All of her victims have been men, who can't remember anything about what they've done apart from a beautiful woman who they had an uncontrollable urge to bend to the wishes of... does that sound familiar at all?"
"So what, you think she's like, controlling their minds or something?" Barry asked, not catching on with what she was suggesting. Luckily, I could see exactly where she was going with this, and the perfect supervillain name had already come to me.
"Siren," I announced with a grin, pleased with myself at the idea. "Luring in men and making them do her bidding just like a Siren, it's the perfect name."
"So you think she can only affect men?" Barry interjected with another question directed at Caitlin.
"It's possible," She began, her mind visibly going over the details in her head as she spoke, "Though it's also possible that she just prefers to use men."
"Either way, we're gonna have to be careful with this one, maybe I can make some sort of device that stops her power from working on us, or just stops it altogether... I'll get on it" I announced, leaving the room to begin creating my device in the hopes it might make things go a little smoother when we inevitably went after her.
Zarah's POV
I grinned as I scanned the newspaper headline, taking a sip from my morning coffee as I settled into the soft sofa cushions before delving into the article. It amused and pleased me greatly to see a powerful woman making men do her bidding and gaining from it, a sense of pride for all strong females washing over me as I focused on the details. Six very successful robberies in the last two weeks, she sure wasn't holding back. I considered for a moment how handy it would be for me if I was a meta-human with this kind of ability, a sly smile gracing my features as I imagined it. My thoughts quickly turned to Cisco, Barry and Caitlin, who were no doubt at this point devising a plan to take her down. I wonder what name Cisco would come up for this one. I'd bet all I have that he'll go with 'Siren', it was the obvious choice but very fitting. Cisco and I had texted back and forth for the last few days, and while everything seemed normal I couldn't fight the anxious voice in my head that told me he knew something was up. Though he hadn't mentioned anything since, besides asking if I was okay after I'd embarrassingly bled all over my dress on our date, something told me he wasn't as oblivious to my lies as he made out. Moving on from my boy troubles, I'd reminded myself that it was far from being the most important issue in my life right now. Due to my extracurricular activities and my almost death, I'd been lacking when it came to the real reason I was even in Central City in the first place. I still hadn't managed to retrieve my notebook, meaning I hadn't gotten around to crossing any more names off the list, much to the displeasure of my employer. I knew the next name, I'd memorised almost all of them, so it wasn't really the lack of a list that was stopping me. I just wasn't on my A-game right now with my wound still healing, meaning I'd probably struggle to carry out the hit with as much care and efficiency that I'd usually strive for. Although none of that mattered to my employer, who had insisted I speed up my efforts if I wanted our deal to stand, a threat that certainly didn't fall on deaf ears and prompted me to quickly devise my plan for my next victim. Luckily, before everything had happened I'd already started my research on the unfortunate Mr Adam Hunt, already having the information I needed to construct my plan, meaning it took me no more than a few hours before I was ready to go, darkness just beginning to shroud the city. I re-bandaged my wound just in case, the once raw stitched up cut now close to being healed, the shooting pains gradually decreasing to a dull ache over the last few days. I began to prepare myself, falling into my usual routine as though I'd never taken a break, covering my face with my mask and pulling my hood over my hair, taking a moment to compose myself before leaving out of my back window and descending the fire escape.
Caitlin's POV
It had been radio silence for far too long for my liking, my anxiety rising more every second I didn't hear anything back from either of the boys. I'd heard nothing from Iris either, who'd insisted on going along just in case, considering the whole 'controlling men' situation. The fact that she also hadn't replied was definitely cause for concern, meaning I'd occupied myself by pacing back and forth in the lab, praying that things hadn't gone terribly wrong. A crackle came through the coms followed by the frantic voice or Iris.
"Caitlin, everything has gone terribly wrong," she informed me, repeating my earlier thoughts right back at me, causing a sinking feeling in my chest.
"What happened?! Get back here now, all of you!" I struggled to contain the panic in my voice, just wanting everyone back here safe.
"That's not going to be possible, she's got both of them. They wouldn't listen to a word I said and then they just went with her." She explained, a sad edge to her tone.
"Just get back to the lab now, we'll work something out, we'll get them back." I calmed myself, receiving a quiet response from Iris before the coms fell silent once again.
It didn't have to wait long before Iris ran through the doors, throwing her earpiece down in a mixture of anger and exasperation.
"What the hell do we do now?! We can't fight her she's too good, and they can't fight her because they're both utterly smitten and bowing down to her every command." She continued to rant whilst I tried to formulate a plan, finally settling on the only option I could think of, much to my displeasure.
"I have an idea..." I suggested, chewing my lip as I considered whether it was a good idea, or a terrible one, "But it's probably a really stupid one."
"Tell me more..." She urged, keen to accept any plan we could think of.
"I know someone who can help, but we need to find her. I think I know how we can do that, but it's a long shot and she might just kill us."
"Are you suggesting who I think?" Iris looked surprised at my willingness to trust the assassin who, whilst giving us no reason to fear her, had also given us no reason to trust her. Finally, Iris seemed to give in, realising our options were limited and sighing as she dropped into the chair behind her. "Okay fine, how do we find her?"
"The day she disappeared from here after she was hurt, we were cleaning up the lab and Cisco was stripping the sheets and a book fell onto the floor. He picked it up thinking I hadn't seen and has kept it with him ever since," I continued to talk as I made my way to his desk, heading straight for the top drawer and pulling it open to reveal the small black notebook, "I saw him putting it in this drawer so I snooped when he was out, I think this list of names is her list of targets. It's a long shot, but I think if we find her next target, we might find her."
"That's one hell of a long shot," Iris frowned, taking the book from me and flicking through the pages before landing on a name, "But I suppose it's our only shot right now so, Adam Hunt, it's your lucky night." We shared a look before heading for the computer to begin our search for Mr Hunt.
Zarah's POV
I pulled myself silently up onto the fire escape, attempting to regain my line of sight on my target, who had moved away from the window of the bar he frequented at this time each week. I settled onto the metal railings, allowing the cool evening breeze to wash over me, distracting me from the dull ache that spread across my stomach where I'd aggravated my wound climbing around on fire escapes. Perhaps it was too soon to get back to work, but I didn't have much of a choice at this point. I stayed in this position for a while, listening to the quiet hum of traffic and the voices of the patrons in the bar below me, waiting patiently for Adam Hunt to leave the bar and give me my chance. It wasn't long before he returned to his seat, reclaiming his jacket and bidding a drunken farewell to his friends before turning and stumbling towards the door. This was my shot. I climbed expertly down from my perch, my footsteps silent as I followed closely behind my target as he made his way down the street. If I was correct, he should turn left down the next alley, a time saving shortcut to his apartment. As I'd predicted, he soon turned left, tumbling into the wall and fighting to regain his footing as he slipped on a discarded wrapper, wet from the earlier rain. I picked up my pace, gaining on him and preparing to finish the job when a hand grabbed my arm, yanking me to the side and away from my victim. My instincts kicked in as I pulled my dagger from its strap, twisting out of the mystery grabbers' grip and pinning them against the wall, my dagger held close to their throat as I prepared to question them. I quickly lowered my defences, re-sheathing my dagger and taking a step back when I found the familiar face of Caitlin Snow staring back at me in horror.
"You should never sneak up on an assassin Dr Snow, that's how you get yourself killed." I explained, a dark edge to my words that rendered her silent. She struggled to speak, stumbling over her words as she attempted to regain her composure, eventually giving up which meant the explanations were down to her partner.
"We need your help." Iris quickly explained, confident as she held her ground before me.
"And I would help you... why?" I asked, growing more irritated by the second as I realised that I'd missed my chance with Adam Hunt tonight, something my boss wouldn't be happy about.
"Because we saved your life," Caitlin finally found her words, adding her quiet input to the conversation.
"And I saved your friend's life, which makes us even, and means that I owe you nothing." I explained calmly, turning to leave as I decided I was done talking.
"Barry and Cisco are in trouble." Iris called out after me, halting me in my tracks. Dammit, I knew that boy would be my downfall. The thought of Cisco being in trouble bothered me much more than I would allow myself to accept, though my denial didn't stop that sinking feeling in my chest upon hearing Iris' words. I had no obligation to help them, we were even now and I could very easily just continue on my way, focusing on getting my job done so I could move on with my life. However, a part of me knew this wasn't an option as Caitlin and Iris waited anxiously for my response. I paused for a moment, considering my options before realising that I was most definitely going to regret my decision either way. I sighed, turning back to face them as they watched me in anticipation.
"How can I help?"