"This is actually really cool," Belén laughed in delight as she opened her arms and looked down at her new super-suit. Cisco had finally finished with her suit and was letting her try it out.
There was a dark pink, corset-like design around her middle but faded into green as it reached high up her neck. The short sleeves, were a combination of pink and green swirled together. Her pants, which were connected to the middle were faded from pink to green as well. Green boots finished it off at the bottom.
Cisco was standing in front of Belén, making sure there were no flaws with the suit. He smacked her hand to get it away from the comm. he built into it. Though she went 'ow!' with an incredibly offended expression, he continued without acknowledging it. "Told you I would get it in the end."
"Uh, no," Belén gave him a pointed look. "You were still stuck on the idea of a skirt up until last week when I threatened to throw away your candy stash. Caitlin can back me up on that." She moved her head around Cisco to see what Caitlin had to say. The brunette was working on the computers and merely gave a thumb's up in the air.
"I can't believe you threatened me like that," Cisco muttered under his breath. "All I wanted to do was make you pretty-"
"Don't make me laugh, Cisco," Belén smacked him on the chest, making the guy stumble back a bit. "Even when we went on that date you accidentally complimented my legs."
Caitlin's eyes shot up from the computer with that comment. "You what now?"
"In my defense I was nervous and it just came out!" Cisco raised his hands in defense.
"Hm, and throughout all that you still didn't get a second date?" Caitlin used sarcasm which only irritated Cisco more. "Hard to believe why."
Belén covered her mouth to laugh. "Sorry Cisco, I love yah but there's no second date."
"Who's not getting a second date?" Barry walked in, taking in the teasing faces of Belén and Caitlin and Cisco's upset one.
"Cisco," Belén pointed but left it at that. She thought it might be weird for Barry to know that two of his friends nearly dated while he was in a coma. Caitlin had sure reacted that way, and even Iris when they learned. It was better to leave that in the past.
"Hey, you got your suit," Barry noticed and came over.
"Yup," Belén gave a sway of her figure and smiled. "Cisco just finished it, what do you think?"
"I'm accepting all sorts of compliments," Cisco raised a finger.
Belén playfully pushed him aside. "Ah, I'm accepting compliments. I am the one taking it out and showing it off."
Cisco mimicked her and dodged her playful punch. "Barry? How does it look? Tell me I'm a genius!"
"Cisco, I'm going to poison you," Belén crossed her arms. "And I've been working on that, alright?"
"Okay," Caitlin got up from her seat the desk. She carried a tablet with her and joined Barry's side. "So I've hooked up the suit to the system so we can monitor you whenever you're out in the field. I've also made sure to put in a specific feature to monitor your power levels."
"Why do you need to do that?" Belén raised an eyebrow.
"Well..." Caitlin bit her lip, suddenly looking nervous as her eyes flickered to the side. "I didn't want to mention it before because it really might not be nothing-"
"If it was nothing you wouldn't be like that," Barry pointed out.
Caitlin sighed. "I'm really just being cautious," she insisted. "I've noticed some spikes in your vitals sometimes when you're training."
"Spikes...?" Belén tried to follow as best as she could.
"As in, sometimes, your levels concerning the chemicals in your DNA that are part Azalea sometimes start going up and down for no given reason," Caitlin explained in the best way that wouldn't sound troubling, because really she didn't know what that meant yet. "I think it has to do with your emotions. When your training you're obviously feeling lots of things from frustration, exhilaration, tiredness..."
At this point Belén hoped she was hiding her own nervousness good enough to pass off as confusion instead. She had finally understood and had even made the hypothesis of what Caitlin was talking about. Her emotions. Emotions is what usually triggered...that side of her powers. It especially became hard to push them away when she trained. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this before. Of course someone monitoring her would come to notice how everything in her body would randomly shift because of that side.
"I'm sure it's nothing," Caitlin re-stated and smiled hoping to make Belén feel better about it. If only she knew.
"You don't have a mask," Barry pointed out after he stared at Belén for a good minute or so. He'd come to the conclusion she looked pretty and that made his face feel warm.
"Well, it does, technically," Cisco spoke before Belén could. "It's just a combination of Bells' powers and the suit's ability to stay stable."
For show, Belén created her mask of vines around her eyes with small Azaleas to decorate. "Last time I used it, it disappeared because I was knocked out-"
"You were shot," Cisco reminded.
"Thank you for that reminder, Cisco," Belén shook her head and continued. "Cisco's made it so that even if I'm knocked out, the suit's gonna make my mask stay for me. I'm all set to go!"
"And you even have a name already," Caitlin reminded, something Cisco immediately huffed at. "Oh, Cisco, you're just mad you didn't come up with it. Iris did."
And it had been a surprise to find Iris writing about the mysterious metahumans on her blog again. She focused on the new one, the one she named 'the Azalea' who had helped save her from Tony. It was definitely something to process for Belén because Iris had basically introduced her to Central City.
"You're damn right I'm mad!" Cisco crossed his arms.
Belén laughed and passed a hand through her hair. "Well, before Cisco gets mad, can we get to the part where you tell me what I'm supposed to do with the suit now?"
"Practice of course," Caitlin pointed.
"And Barry's going to help us," added Cisco.
"Wait a minute," Belén marched up to him, both she and Barry looking reluctant with the idea, "you want me to practice on Barry? Like...like me actually trying to...to hit him?"
"You want me to hit her?" Barry asked right afterwards. That wasn't sounded very good...
"They're not exactly orders from us," Caitlin came to Cisco's aid.
"What's that supposed to mean?" went both metahumans.
"It means-" Dr. Wells made an appearance in time, "-that I proposed the idea."
"Why would you want us to fight each other?" Belén asked in a gentle way that made it sound like she were being asked to do the most horrible thing in the world. "I like Barry, and he likes me."
"The idea is to test each other's skills," Wells explained, putting his hands together, "More specifically yours. We've tested Barry enough to know where he stands but there are still many things we've yet to learn about you."
"Dr. Wells, I'm not...I'm not really comfortable with...with this idea," Belén ran a hand through her hair.
"Think of it as a way to get Barry back for anything annoying he's done," Caitlin offered an alternative that earned herself a glare from Barry. It had only been a suggestion after all.
Belén covered her laughter behind a hand.
~ 0 ~
"Belén, hit back!"
"I can't!"
"Belén just do it!"
"But you're my friend!"
Barry groaned in frustration as he once again sped off to catch her in another part of the track area. Belén was surprisingly fast when she disbanded into her vines, but the moment she reformed he was at her side trying to 'fight her'...if she only tried to fight back.
"Belén!" he shouted after he had swung a fist and she merely ducked to avoid it. He wasn't very happy with the idea of fighting against her but he knew it was logical to test out their skills, but it didn't make him feel any good when all she did was avoid being hit.
"I'm sorry!" she cried.
"Don't apologize and swing!"
"But Barry it's not-"
"DO IT!"
"But-"
"BELÉN JUST DO IT!"
There was a crack in the air and Barry stumbled back highly disoriented from the harsh blow of the punch he finally received. Belén gasped, still with her balled fist beside her.
"Oh my God, Barry, I am so sorry," she tried reaching for him but the earpiece on her suddenly rang with Cisco's voice.
"If you try to make him feel better I will spoil the Walking Dead for you."
"Oh c'mon!"
Barry chuckled as he rubbed the side of his jaw. "You're good at this," he remarked.
"Arrow," was all Belén needed to say to make a good explanation. "He was very clear about me not relying on my powers all the time so he taught me how to properly fight."
"Well, do it again."
"But I - eek!" Belén squeaked and disbanded into vines when she saw Barry attempting to punch her then. Without thinking much on it, she banded together and kicked him on the back. "...that was kinda fun…" she admitted quietly.
Barry whirled around, giving her a sharp look. "Glad to see you're over it then."
Belén's response came in the form of her deadly poison trick. The pink poison was blown from her puckered lips and quickly had the air around them covered . Belén was very careful to make the poison very light so as to not cause any real damage - she herself wasn't quite used to it. It was probably her most difficult ability up to date because she needed to learn to control the amount and toxicity she emitted.
Barry sped out of the poisoned area and thought for a minute on how to fight his opponent. He may not have the wind power but he did have speed that could mirror it in some way. He dashed around the poison and repeatedly ran in the circle. Belén gasped when she saw her fatal attack being turned into nothing. Barry laughed at her shock and sped right for her. He tackled her to the ground with his hands clasping round her wrists.
"Gotcha!" he triumphantly declared.
The victory moment lasted but a second or so. The two became highly aware of their unusual closeness and suddenly they couldn't focus on anything but that. Underneath Belén's mask, her face was a bright pink and she was desperately trying to suppress her embarrassed smile. She never realized how strong he was til then with his hands firmly grasping her wrists, no chance of escape.
"Guys, what's going on?" Caitlin's voice came through both of their comms. It was enough to pull both metahumans back to the present.
"N-nothing," Barry was the one to answer, his face now matching the color of his suit as he pulled himself off Belén. Had he really gotten distracted...with her face? Well, I was technically looking at her eyes, he thought. They were such a dark shade of brown and he only just noted it now? But if he was admitting things to himself, there was also her nose...and her lips…
Woah, Barry froze for a moment. Those were some new thoughts.
"C'mon, Barry!" Belén grabbed him by the arm and headed for the direction of the others.
The moment they returned to the others, they were checked for any injuries and questioned to no end over their 'match'.
"Belén, I feel we should look more into this poison ability," Dr. Wells was telling the young metahuman, she nodding her head. "I don't think you're using it to your full potential."
"Well, I guess not," Belén admitted, glancing at Barry, "I didn't want to actually poison Barry."
"Thanks," the man in red playfully rolled his eyes.
"But I'm also afraid that I'll end up poisoning myself," Belén continued. "It's a trick I don't like using a lot, to be honest, because it's hard to control."
"You shouldn't push away your powers, Belén," Wells gave her a pointed look. "We can help you harness it and use it in a way that it won't hurt you."
Belén made sure to seem like she appreciated the thought and would definitely be taking it up. Inside she was scolding herself because it was exactly the opposite of what she was doing. That side of her powers was definitely one she wanted to keep away. It was ugly; it was a side she didn't want to merge with.
Barry's cellphone going off brought her out of her thoughts, especially when he sped to the end of the table to pick it up.
"You really couldn't have walked to answer that?" she looked at the rest who were shaking their heads, disapproving of his action too.
"Please don't let his showing off and laziness rub off on you," Caitlin put an arm on the Belén's arm, and for a split second Belén didn't know if it had been a joke or not.
"There was a homicide, I have to go," Barry announced as soon as he ended the call.
"We weren't exactly done…" Cisco looked over to Dr. Wells who agreed with a nod of his head.
"I have to go," Barry reiterated, apologetically smiling at Belén. "Think we can postpone this match?"
"Sure," Belén waved him off. On that note, the speedy metahuman took off. "He was a bit too out of it anyways," she commented after she was sure he wouldn't be coming back.
"He's known for not taking things seriously sometimes," Dr. Wells sighed, though he didn't look very surprised of the observation Belén made.
"I suppose having speed can get to your head, though," Belén didn't want to get Barry in trouble and tried coming up with valid reasons instead. "If I could move as fast as he could I would be all over the city getting things done."
"But you sorta can," Caitlin made the mistake of saying, she didn't know what Belén was trying to do. "We measured that yesterday, remember? You're not as fast as Barry but when you disband into vines you can go at a pretty decent speed."
"Thank you, Caitlin," Belén said back rather sourly.
"Belén," Dr. Wells spoke again, this time in his authoritative tone, "I had this conversation with Barry earlier in the day and I don't believe I hadn't with you yet. Barry and us-" he gestured to himself, Caitlin and Cisco, "-have an agreement. We help him with his heroics and in exchange he allows us - or rather he's supposed - to let us research and develop his abilities."
"That sounds like something Barry would do," Belén smiled proudly.
"Well, yes, if he ever decides to buckle down and take it seriously," Wells pointed out. "The same deal we have with him, I would like to extend with you."
"I would love to help in anyway I can," Belén gestured to herself, "But...what exactly can I do to help people? I'm plant girl…"
"Hey, you're the Azalea now," Cisco pointed at her seriously.
"You can do plenty to help," Wells assured her. "You have a split DNA now, and believe it or not plants do have desirable traits for humans."
"If you think I can help, I'm signed up," Belén raised a hand to 'volunteer'. "And I will take it as serious as I can."
That last sentence relieved Wells a little. He thanked the sharp differences between her and Barry, at least with her there wouldn't be so much nagging.
"Hey, you know what would be really cool?" Cisco suddenly asked, looking far too excited. "If you got Nina to come in and practice with you guys."
Belén's eyebrows raised, but in the end the idea didn't seem so good. "Sorry, Cisco, but Nina doesn't like using her powers. The only reason she left with me to Star City was to learn how to control them too, but…" she shook her head, "...she doesn't have plans to further develop them."
"A waste, really," Wells remarked. Belén gave him an apologetic smile. "Three metahumans would be grand."
"What are her powers again?" Caitlin dared to ask, her curiosity not as discreet as she thought it was.
"I think that's something she should tell, not me," Belén mimed zipping her mouth, for there was nothing coming out of them anymore concerning her friend's metahuman abilities.
~ 0 ~
"Don't you think we should delete that last paragraph?" Noah squinted his eyes at the computer screen, even though he was practically sitting in front of it.
Belén had been originally sitting in that spot - considering it was her desk - but little by little Noah had overtaken it, without realizing it. She couldn't take it anymore and just laughed. "Why don't you just wear glasses already?"
"Huh?" Noah glanced at her with a flushed look. "You know I wear glasses?"
"You're struggling so hard it's easy to tell," Belén shrugged.
"I look like an idiot with them, trust me."
"Mm, not as much as you do right now...trust me."
Noah playfully rolled his eyes and got up from the chair to go get his glasses. In the meantime, Belén took another look at their article. Hearing her phone buzzing against the white marble desk, she picked it up but didn't bother checking the ID.
"Hello?" she asked whilst moving onto the second paragraph of the article.
"Bells!" Cisco's loud call made her flinch, but not lose focus on her article. She was quite used to it by now, getting calls midway through her workdays.
"What is it now, Cisco? And please tell me it's not just to inform me of Barry's new record of whatever stupid dare you made him do."
"Metahuman attack for sure," Cisco said earnestly, adding even, "And Barry was pretty sure it was the metahuman responsible for the homicide earlier."
Belén turned her chair to the side, away from her desk, and spoke hushedly. "Cisco, I can't leave like this again. Barry knows it."
"I know, which is why he went on his own."
"I'm sorry, but I'm just getting back on the bosses' good side," Belén discreetly looked around, hoping no one would pay attention to her.
They were used to the loud Belén Palayta and since she'd returned from Star City they had taken notice of the drastic change in her persona - she didn't want to give them another reason to question her.
"Besides, if Barry thought for a second it was more than he could handle he would also call me for help," Belén said, although she wasn't very sure if she believed that. Barry was very selective with the outings she joined him in as 'vigilantes'. She noticed she had so far handled low level stuff - petty theft, road trouble, low fires, etc. He, on the other hand, took on the metahumans...the real bad ones.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cisco gave in with a light sigh.
"Keep me posted though," Belén said, missing Noah returning to her. "Even if Barry hates it - because I know he does it on purpose - I need to know exactly what happens with him out there." She clicked and ended the call. She gasped after turning on her chair and seeing Noah already back in his own chair - he wore thick rimmed black glasses now. "How long have you been there?"
"Enough to know you're one of those clingy girlfriends," Noah replied with a wide, cheeky smile that did have Belén flustering.
"G-girlfriend? Wh-what...what a-are you talking about?" Belén tried focusing back on the computer screen with the article she was working on.
"That Barry guy - it's not the first time I hear you talking about him on the phone, and not to mention something about being 'protected' and whatnot."
Belén arched an eyebrow, sideways glancing at him. "What are you? Eavesdropping on my conversations now? You know, that's not very nice."
"Neither was you ditching me twice," Noah countered smoothly, not at all looking angry for that. "Was it because of him too?"
"W-we really should get back to this article - Linda needs it by tonight," Belén cleared her throat and tried, for the life of her, to reread and finally proofread that last sentence of the second paragraph. "Nice glasses by the way," she added a moment after.
Noah desisted and got back to work with her. But, and Belén knew it would only cause further questions, when it came to lunch and he asked her if they could pick up something together, Cisco called again and this time with worse news.
Needless to say, when Belén anxiously apologized for her decline to the lunch invitation, fuel was added to Noah's teasing.
~ 0 ~
Barry was on the treadmill by the time Belén reached STAR Labs, and at the sight of him going...far too slow on it...she became appalled.
"Oh, what did they do to you?" she put a hand to her head, despairingly looking back at the others observing the same thing she was.
"He runs slow even for a normal person," Cisco just had to comment from behind the glass window. Belén elbowed him on the ribs for his comment on behalf of Barry.
"You can't just lose your powers, okay?" Caitlin was in the same appalled state as Belén, her arms flailing over her head. "Your DNA was transformed by the particle accelerator blast. There's no way to untransform DNA."
Barry stopped running and turned to them, looking worse for wear. "Yeah, tell that to the uber driver who charged me 65 bucks to take me here. I had to tell her I was coming from a cosplay party."
"What exactly was this metahuman anyways?" Belén inquired, now more than ever interested in this new foe. They all walked into the training room to talk better.
"We thought at first this metahuman electrocuted people," Wells sighed as he looked to Barry, "but he siphons it instead...thereby removing your power, Barry."
"Alright," Barry processed that and sat down on the edge of the treadmill, "but do we think this is temporary or…?"
"We have to run tests," Wells said, not that it made Barry feel any better.
"Yeah," he mumbled, pushing himself up, "I've got to warn Joe."
"Barry, we will find a way to restore your speed. I promise you that," Wells firmly made the swear but Barry was too down (not to mention terrified inside) to have a gleam of hope.
"What happened out there?" Belén whispered once Barry had left the room. "How come no one told me this metahuman just so happened to have electrical powers?" her eyes landed on Cisco then. "That was something I needed to know."
"How was I supposed to know he would suck all of Barry's power?" Cisco raised his hands in surrender. Did she look mad?
"This is the kind of stuff I needed to know about," Belén looked over at Caitlin, knowing she had to have been nearby at that time.
"And next time you will," Caitlin tried to make things better in her own way.
"There shouldn't have to be a 'next time' for this to be a thing," Belén shook her head, now turning to the last person, Dr. Wells. "I will do anything for any research you may want, but I need to be included in all this metahuman stuff. I'm not smart like anyone in this building, but I need to be informed to the fullest extent of everything metahuman-wise."
Wells nodded, his hands folding together. "That's fair, completely fair."
"Thank you," Belén lightly smiled and headed out. "I should go catch up with Barry. I don't think he's realized he doesn't have a car nor speed - at the moment - and Uber is just completely overpriced."
She caught up with Barry on the street, and after a couple of words she offered to take him back to the station.
"C'mon, you really want to waste money on the bus? Or another Uber? I won't bite, I promise," Belén laughed at her own joke. "C'mon?"
"Aren't you supposed to be getting back to work?" Barry curiously eyed her, now more cautious not to intrude on her personal life.
"I'm on lunch," Belén shrugged. "C'mon!"
Barry saw no other way than hers and finally gave in. Getting there, they found both Joe and Iris there. Needing some time to explain to Joe the problem, Belén mentioned to Iris she hadn't ate yet and the two went for a quick bite. When they returned, they barely got the last of the conversation between Barry and Joe...to which Iris still manage to hear and question about.
"Who's dangerous?" she curiously looked between the two men.
"No one, just some thief," Barry quickly made up, seeing Belén's apologetic face behind Iris.
"Well, criminals better watch out," Iris smirked. "Cops in Central City are the best there are, and if you can't protect this city, dad, I know The Flash and the Azalea will."
"What if he can't?" Barry's voice turned nervous, as was expected by those in the loop. "What if he's gone?"
Iris, though confused, smiled. "Then I guess the Azalea can take over for the day. But why would he be gone?"
"Yeah, or maybe he's just done, or maybe it's like whatever he could do before, he can't do anymore and…"
"Huh?" Iris was no longer following in the least.
Joe cleared his throat and the look he gave Belén practically begged her to get Barry out of the place.
"Barry, can we...can you help me out with an article of mine, please?" she asked, but the sharp look in her eyes told Barry there was no article and that this was an intervention.
"Y-yeah, let's go," he shot up from his chair and followed her out.
"I thought I was supposed to be the motor-mouth around here," Belén was shaking her head as they walked down the staircase together.
"It just...it just comes out," Barry sighed.
"Is exactly what I say all the time," Belén gestured. She considered the small smile across his face as a win and reached for the elevator button.
The moment she did, the elevator doors opened on up to reveal two officers with an older man (an apparent convict judging by handcuffs and the clothes). Belén shifted under the intense gaze of the man as the officers dragged him out of the elevator. Something about his cold beedy eyes didn't sit well with her.
Barry noticed and gently pulled her into the elevator. As they did, though, the older man called to them, or rather Barry. "That's a quality time piece, young man," he nodded to Barry's wrist watch.
"Oh, uh thanks…"
"They took mine, all of them."
"I guess you shouldn't have done whatever it is you did," Barry awkwardly said and pressed the closing-doors button.
"And you choose to work with these creepy guys?" Belén asked seconds after the elevator started down.
"First of all, I work with the evidence and occasional dead-" Barry began but Belén interjected.
"Because that sounds better," she playfully rolled her eyes at him.
"It's a bit more interesting than that, I promise."
"I honestly doubt it."
"You'd be surprised. I mean, if you start off with the basics you'd find it's not even that complicated and who knows, you might…"
Barry had trailed off seeing Belén just smiling politely at him. He'd learned that smile really meant she wasn't following because…
"You're not interested, are you?" he asked meekly, flushed he'd entered that rambling stage Iris always talks about.
"Tell you what," she pointed a finger at him while her other hand grabbed his wrist with his watch on, "when the little hand points at seven and the big hand on twelve-" she let go of his wrist "-I will be oh-so-interested. That's when I get off work."
"You're just trying to distract me with funny," Barry looked to the side, and for a minute Belén's smile faded until he finished with, "And it's kind of working - thanks."
"Yay!" Belén laughed. "So I'll see you and the others then, because I assume you probably won't be leaving STAR labs till you have conclusive results."
"You would assume right."
Belén then sobered, and she reached to touch his arm. "I'm sure everything will work out fine. You've got the best people on the job for it: Dr. Wells, Caitlin and Cisco."
Barry wished so much that she was right, because if it turned out he really did lose his speed forever he honestly didn't know how he would ever get over it.
~ 0 ~
"So you think we can finally hand over the article?" Noah leaned back on his chair and looked at Belén.
"Yeah," she briefly looked at the screen before checking her phone again, hoping (for the tenth time or so) that there would be news over Barry's situation.
"I hope it'll be published though," Noah went on and prepared the article to print.
"Me too…" she checked again.
"I mean, it would be a completely foul thing to do to us, don't you think?"
"Definitely," checking again.
Noah gave her a look, not that she noticed as she was still staring at her phone screen. Then, he pulled off his glasses and surprised her by placing them on her.
"What are…?" she lifted them up.
"Oh, I just thought since you kept staring at your phone you might be the one who needs glasses," he sat back down and folded his hands, the sarcastic smile not failing to show.
"I'm sorry," she pulled the glasses off and put them on the desk beside her. "I have a friend, and...he's going through a hard time."
"I hope it works out, then," Noah earnestly wished. "But, um, if I were you, I would learn to separate work and personal life. I don't mind it, honestly, but others," he motioned to the room full of workers, "might not be as lenient."
"I know," Belén nodded, finally putting her phone away. "I'm just...so full of problems since I came back. It never seems to stop."
"Maybe you change crowds, then," Noah said, and it surprised Belén greatly. "I mean...if these people you have a relation to are nothing but problems, or causing problems, you shouldn't spend time with them."
"It's not their fault," Belén ran a hand through her hair. "None of it is. There's just...so many things that we can do, and only us, and…" she took a deep breath, "...for some reason, bad things just seem to happen to us. And my problems began before - my brother disappeared, and now he's probably dead, and somehow I'm the only one from my family that can't accept it. My God, why's things so difficult?" She blinked rapidly like she'd made a realization. "And why am I dumping this all on you?"
Noah chuckled. "Don't worry about me. I don't really have friends yet and you trusting me like this is actually really nice."
Belén smiled his way. "You don't have family around?" She suddenly realized that while she knew of Noah she didn't really know about Noah. He was just her co-worker.
"I had my Mom but she died months ago."
"I'm so sorry," Belén said quietly. She could still see traces of pain on his face and so she thought to move on the subject. "What about friends? Oh, do you have a girlfriend?"
"I've got a few but...I'm not really an sociable person. I like to focus on my work."
Belén straightened up in her chair. "Do you know what, one of these days I'm gonna have you meet my friends. I think you'd like them."
"Just tell me where and when," Noah shrugged, smiling now.
There was a strange flickering of lights in the room, making the workers momentarily stop their current tasks. While everyone looked about confused, Belén narrowed her eyes. The stupid electric metahuman was probably on the move again.
"Noah, as a friend," she began slowly, her hand reaching for her purse underneath the desk.
Noah smiled, as if he knew already where it was heading.
"...do you think you could cover for me?"
"Sure thing," he nodded. "We were done anyways. I'll get the article in, don't worry."
"Oh, you're the best," Belén sighed in relief at the easy getaway she would have. She gave him a quick hug then hurried off.
~ 0 ~
While Belén had good intentions, it apparently didn't settle well with some of those in STAR Labs, and by that it meant Cisco.
"What the hell were you thinking?"Cisco was actually tapping his foot at her. They were out in the corridor, along with Caitlin.
"I was thinking that since the lights were going out in my building I'd check it out," Belén threw her hands in the air, mildly irritated such extremities were being taken. It was really only Cisco that had a problem with her going off on her own to try and find this metahuman. Dr. Wells hadn't even showed up yet to give an opinion, and Barry was still sulking at his own problems. Caitlin just seemed to be disappointed in her actions, but not mad like Cisco.
"That was incredibly stupid!"
"No, Cisco, it was just a failed plan," Belén corrected him. "How many times has Barry done the same thing? And how many of those times did you back him up?"
"That's not relevant here," Cisco shook his head.
"Yes, it kinda is."
"Look," Caitlin cut in, looking between the two, "I think Cisco is just really worried because of what happened with Barry."
"Yeah, but my powers have nothing to do with that metahuman's. I'm plant girl, there's nothing for him to suck off," Belén shrugged. "And in any case, I didn't find him. He must be sucking out energy somewhere else."
"Can you please just not do this again?" Cisco softly asked her. "At least tell us so we can monitor and help you."
"That I can do," Belén reached out to hug him. "See, there was no point in yelling at me."
Cisco pulled away from her, narrowing his eyes at her. "Oh don't think I've let this go."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Belén chuckled and looked around, her voice suddenly dropping low. "Where is he?"
Cisco and Caitlin traded in looks. Belén sighed. She whipped out her phone to check the time. It was thirty minutes to seven.
"Screw it, I'm staying," she declared to her friends. "And I'm gonna go see how he's doing."
"Try to ramble a lot," Cisco quickly suggested, "He thinks it's cute so...try it!"
Belén rolled her eyes, though she still blushed a bright pink. "We're never letting that go, are we?" Judging by Cisco's wide smile, she took that as a clear 'no'. She raised her hands and walked past them without another word.
When Belén walked into the cortex room, she wasn't very surprised to find Barry staring at his suit hung up on the mannequin. "Hey…" she softly made her appearance known.
"You shouldn't have gone out like that on your own," he started with, his back to her still.
"Please don't scold me too, Cisco took care of that. Besides, I was just trying to help."
"I don't want you looking out for this guy on your own. What he did to me, he might not be able to do to you, but it doesn't mean he won't kill you. He's scared, and fear makes people do stupid things."
"I get it, I had this lecture before with Oliver, trust me," Belén walked up beside him and crossed her arms. "Now, can we please let it go? I didn't leave work early to talk about me. How are you doing?"
Barry sighed, his eyes glued to the red suit in front of him. "Do you think I'll ever wear it again, Bells?"
"I really wish so," she tried to be optimistic for him.
"I didn't have my speed for very long, but now that it's gone, it feels like part of me is gone too."
"But that's just the thing, Barry, whether you have your speed or not, you're still you." Belén fiddled with her thumbs then, feeling her warm up as she spoke her next words. "When I first met you, you were only Barry and I thought he was pretty great."
"But I'm not," Barry turned to her, teary-eyed, though there was a hint of a smile from her words. "I'm not the best version of me, Bells. I love being The Flash. I love everything about it: The feeling of running hundreds of miles per hour, wind and power just rushing past my face, being able to help people. I'm not sure I can live without it."
Trying to view this from his perspective, Belén gave a small nod. It must be horrible not knowing whether or not you would get to have your powers - that truly do become a part of your very essence - back. She supposed while she thought of him as grand even without his powers, her words were of no real comfort to what he truly desired.
"I wish there was something I could do," she said earnestly, never having felt so useless than that moment.
Barry smiled at her, without a doubt knowing if there was something she could do she wouldn't hesitate to do it. She had only proven it earlier when she went in search of the electric metahuman on her own.
"Guys," Cisco strode into the room with Caitlin, both looking a little happier than the situation allowed.
"We found the metahuman that attacked you," Caitlin announced. "Farooq Gibran."
"Who?" Barry asked, he and Belén walking over to see for themselves.
Cisco showed them the very man Barry had dealt with earlier on the computers. "The powers vampire who jacked your speed. I hacked into the surveillance footage from the Petersburg substation. Once I got his face, it was easy to find a match. He climbed an electrical tower the night of the accelerator explosion."
"Well, there's no surprise where his powers came from," Belén remarked. "Not to mention his strength."
At that moment, an alarm went off. Caitlin was the first to search through the computers for the problem and gasped at what she found. "This cannot be happening," she put a hand to her head. The others crowded around her and saw none other than Farooq himself through a surveillance video. He was apparently right outside the building. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. This is not happening."
Farooq had seen the cameras and was now directly speaking to them. "Dr. Harrison Wells, I need to see you! Come on, I know you're inside. Open the door. I just want to talk, Dr. Wells. Wells! Let me in!"
"We're clearly not letting him in, right?" Belén concerningly looked at the others. "Where's Dr. Wells?"
"I-I don't know...probably in another room," Cisco was gawking at the screen.
Farooq didn't seem to like waiting. The camera allowed the group to see him march up to the power box nearby and rip out its wires. The lights in the room flickered radically as Farooq siphoned the electricity from the power box. Unfortunately, he siphoned much more than just STAR Labs' electricity - there was an entire city blackout.
~ 0 ~
With no light, Farooq was able to enter the building, but to make his way to the cortex would take a lot more time. In the meantime, the others tried reading more on him whilst trying to contact others who should be on the lookout for chaos…
"It's a total blackout," Belén said to Caitlin after hanging up on a call between her father and herself. "Dad says there's been some sort of accident at Mercury labs because of it."
"If Farooq can do this imagine what he's going to do to us when he finds us," Cisco's eyes went wide just at the thought.
"Let's try not to think about that," Dr. Wells said, but he didn't look very optimistic about things either.
"Guys," Barry made way for them, looking far more terrified than before, "Joe and Iris are in trouble. I need my powers back now."
"What's wrong?" Belén dreaded to ask.
"Long story short, there's a hostage situation at the precinct. I need my powers back now."
"I have a theory," Wells raised a finger, making everyone look at him, "It's untested," he forewarned.
"I'm willing to roll the dice."
"Okay, you've lost your speed, yes, but nothing has changed inside you on a subatomic level. In other words, your cells are still primed. They just need a jumpstart."
"Okay, how do we do that? How do we jumpstart me?"
"We need to replicate the initial jolt to your system."
Cisco had made the mental calculation quick and concerningly pointed out, "But that would mean a peak current of at least 20,000 kilo-amps."
"Are you insane?" Caitlin gaped. "That's more electricity than they give to people in the electric chair."
And while Belén didn't understand many of the words just said, she understood Caitlin's perfectly. "We can't do that!"
"Caitlin, Belén," Wells eyed both women, "with Farooq in the building, we're all looking at a death sentence here."
"The spare generator's offline. If we reboot it, we could get a charge that big," Cisco reluctantly shared the idea.
"We need something that can transmit the load from the generator to Barry's body without shorting out," Wells began looking around for such a thing.
"The treadmill," Cisco pointed to the side room. "My baby could take the charge."
"Again," Belén meekly waved a hand, "this sounds way too dangerous. We can't do this…"
"Well, it's all really up to Mr. Allen," Wells gestured to Barry - however he was already heading out the room. "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna talk to him!" Barry determinedly answered.
"No. No!"
With an irritated sigh, Barry turned back. "Okay, you didn't see him at the substation. He needed to feed. I got super speed out of the particle accelerator blast, but his best friends died. He woke up with a disease."
"That's no excuse for murdering someone," Belén pursed her lips together. "Wasn't this the same guy responsible for that charred corpse you worked on earlier?"
"Yes, but-"
"And I really hate to remind you but you don't exactly have the power to so valiantly face him at the moment."
Everyone else agreed with her and gave Barry the simultaneous nod.
"He may just need help like I did!" Barry exclaimed, then tried calming his frustration down. "I don't need my powers to offer him that. I have to try."
There were no more words of disagreement as he headed out. They devised a quick little plan as they went to find the metahuman in case things went south - because things would be going south. Farooq was coming down a lower corridor looking for them, his hands still bright as electricity cackled through them. As Barry came out the rest hid behind on either side of a threshold behind.
The moment Farooq saw him, he moved to act.
"Hey!" Barry raised his hands into a non-threatening gesture. "Woah, woah, easy...I'm not gonna hurt you."
"You can't hurt me," Farooq still had his hands extended towards him, but hadn't moved an inch. "Where is Harrison Wells?"
"Look, I know what happened to you. The night of the accelerator explosion, it changed you. It changed me too."
If it hadn't been for the bright electricity, Barry would've seen the realization strike Farooq's face. "You were the one in the red suit. I fed from you. I have to keep feeding."
"All right, I know this has to be terrifying. That's why I want to help you, okay?"
"The night of the explosion, when the light hit me, it stopped my heart. Jake and Darya... they were your friends. I woke up, and they were beside me, dead. They tried to give me CPR. They were touching me, and I electrocuted them."
"This is not your fault."
"I know. Wells did this to me…"
"Farooq, you need to listen to me-"
Farooq had finished talking and finally used his powers. He blasted Barry backwards, through the threshold. He took only two steps towards them when Cisco activated a door and sealed their part of the corridor off.
"Not sure how long that will hold," he felt the need to admit to the others.
Belén had gone to help Barry sit up, but was probably more scared of the other metahuman at the moment. "Do you see how stupid this was?" she angrily told him. "You could've been killed!"
"We need to get him to the treadmill," Dr. Well looked over to Caitlin and Cisco urgently. "Bring the generator online as fast as you can."
"Bells, let's go," Barry too had gotten over his noble act. After being fried nearly twice, perhaps the best thing to do was just put the metahuman away in the pipeline along with the rest of the rogues.
"But I still don't think-" Belén was yanked forwards. Apparently, it no longer mattered if she was for this radical choice or not.
"I don't even know how to work anything!" she grumbled as a last resort when they re-entered the cortex room.
"Qutie simple actually, you only need to pull down a lever," Barry tried his best to make things just a little bit less grave, but Belén could see he was still limping and quietly grunting from the blast of electricity he received.
"You're not healing fast anymore," she remarked, and gently led him to the treadmill.
"Guess now you're the one that heals fast…"
"Somehow, that doesn't make me happy," she sighed. "J-just hold on...I-I can maybe find something…"
She moved for one of the tables but Barry grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. "You need to leave this place," his sudden command left Belén motionless for a minute, "And you need to go to the precinct and help Joe and Iris."
"Two wrong things with that," Belén shook her head. "One, I don't think I can sneak fast enough past Farooq. I don't know how fast I can go before I get shot down. Secondly, I will not leave you alone. Third - I know there wasn't a third but I just thought about this one right now - I'm properly scared of this guy," she swallowed hard, "I've helped Oliver with some of his guys but they're different, you know? They shoot you, you die. But metahumans, they can do all sorts of stuff before you actually die. I'd rather not find-"
Throughout the entire time, Barry had been trying to interject but Belén, being who she was, had rambled on and on and on, leaving him no choice but to go old school and clap a hand over her mouth.
"If you're not gonna go, someone has to. We can't waste time," he said urgently. "What if-" Behind his hand, he heard her gasp...right around the same time electricity crackled behind them. They exchanged a look of equal fear.
Farooq was making slow and careful rounds in the cortex, his eyes keen for any movements. He eventually came by the treadmill room, where there was no more sight of the other two metahumans.
"Did you know the human body generates electricity?" Farooq called out, knowing that even if he couldn't see them they could still hear him. "The average person gives off 342 watts, and I can smell it coming from you."
In the cramped closet room, Belén and Barry had taken refuge. Through the small glass near the door handle they could barely get a glimpse of the man still searching for them. Belén gulped the closer he got, never feeling so ashamed of herself for being so scared. Barry too was in a similar state, the sense of powerlessness finally taking a toll on him. If he had his speed at the moment he would have easily been able to move Belén somewhere safe and stick Farooq in the pipeline. In all those thoughts, his hand snaked around Belén's, and when she realized it she gave him a warm smile. Farooq had made a turn around the treadmill when a strange noise coming from the corridor caught his attention. Forgetting the two hidden inside, he went out to take down whatever was practically calling to him. A full minute passed by before Barry decided they could come out from hiding.
"Turn on the treadmill," he ordered Belén, not giving her a chance to decline as he rushed for the treadmill.
"But you're still hurt…" she still tried to say something despite him already motioning her to hurry up.
"We don't have time!"
"Then make time because this is literally life or death!"
"BELÉN!" Barry's sudden loud call made her flinch on spot. A bit guilty because of it, he spoke quieter the next time, but nonetheless earnestly. "We don't have a choice."
"I have fought, Barry, but I have never killed," Belén's eyes were wide in alarm, and utmost fear. "And I would never want to start with you."
"If you don't do this then we can all die," Barry reminded her.
Her hand wouldn't budge though, she remained frozen, considering. I am so weak, she thought to herself.
"Belén," Barry called again, this time giving her a look she couldn't avoid, "just do it. For me?"
Belén glanced back at the controls, making a face. "Eugh, Barry Allen, for such a genius you have very ridiculous ideas!" She shut her eyes and pulled down the lever.
Barry had his hands clamped around the metal bars of the treadmill, which acted as the receiver of the electric jolt. With his screams, Belén had to re-open her eyes and see the trouble she (believed to have) caused. It appeared to be too much and the last jolt sent Barry with a blast against the wall.
"My God, are you okay?" Belén ran towards him, dropping to her knees beside him. "Did you feel anything?" She helped him sit upright, and when he held one of his hands up she was ecstatic to see it buzzing in a speedy manner.
But then it stopped, just like that. It was back to normal.
"It didn't work," Barry exasperatedly said, but Belén detected a much more sorrowful emotion deep in his tone.
"Barry...I'm so sorry…" Belén really couldn't come up with anything better than that. She felt awful for him.
Barry didn't seem to want to focus on it much more. He pulled himself up and helped her up next. Grabbing her arms tightly, he spoke to her urgently. "Bells, you need to leave this place."
Although it wasn't the first time he ordered her, Belén's eyes still widened in confusion. "Wh-what?"
"You need to at least attempt to leave!" Barry continued on, dragging her to the cortex room. "Joe and Iris need the Flash or the Azalea. There's no need to drag you down with me-"
"No one is dragging me down," Belén yanked her arm from his grip, forcing him to stop and turn to her. "If there was a remote chance for me to escape, maybe under these circumstances I would attempt to do it...but I just can't. I'm not fast enough to escape from being electrified!" She felt frustrated and then she felt that creepy sensation on her hands. With one quick glance down she saw the familiar green blotches on her arm, indicating that side of her powers wanted to come out.
"Every second you and I are here is another second Joe or Iris could be hurt," Barry ran his hands through his hair, utterly frustrated with himself.
Belén quickly put her hands behind her back and quietly took quick breaths in and out to get rid of the green blotches. This is the last thing I need right now, she thought.
"Wait!" Barry dropped his hands and suddenly pointed at Belén. For a moment, she thought he might have noticed. "What about Nina? You and I may be stuck here but Nina Clarke is more than free to help!" Barry exclaimed, inwardly cursing himself for not having thought of this earlier.
"What are you talking about, Barry?"
"Nina, your friend-" Barry gestured to her, "-is another metahuman, and a good one! Give her a call," he grabbed her hand (giving Belén a small panic attack but she saw the green was gone from her skin) and yanked her for the desk. He started looking for any cellphone as he continued explaining. "Tell her what's going on here and about the precinct! Tell her she needs to go to Joe and Iris and save them."
"Barry, you don't understand," Belén stopped his hands from ransacking the desk, "Nina doesn't use her powers. She's only used them so that she could learn how to keep them under control-"
"But the point is she has powers and she can use them to help, right?"
"Well-"
"Belén, could she help?"
Belén was no good under his intense stare. She gave a small nod of her head.
"Good," Barry managed to find Caitlin's phone and held it out for Belén. "Please call her."
~ 0 ~
"No, Nina, you've got to listen to me please," Belén pleaded for about the tenth time (Barry counted). "This is much more than just your preferences, okay?"
Barry staggered first into the machinery room where Cisco and Caitlin were. Belén would've helped if she'd noticed it, but thankfully there were others to do that for now.
"You're winded," Caitlin greeted him with and plopped him down on a chair. "That's not good. I need to take your blood. But first tell me what happened-"
"Nina, please!"
And then tell us what she's doing," Caitlin jerked a thumb to the ombre-blonde who remained by the threshold.
"Many bad things happened," Barry swallowed hard. "First of all, the jolt, yeah, it didn't work."
"What?" Cisco scowled.
"And then, we found Tony Woodward out in the corridors and was killed by Farooq."
"But-"
"And throughout this whole time, Belén has been trying to get Nina to go and help Joe and Iris at the precinct."
"Anything else?" Cisco raised his eyebrows, exchanging looks with Caitlin.
"If we get lucky, the answer might be no!"
Belén was going crazy in her task, one hand running through her hair. "Nina, for God's sake, are you listening to yourself?"
"Belén, the question is, are you hearing yourself?" Nina snapped back in a contrasting polite tone. "You are asking me to go and play hero against some lunatic convict!"
"Nina this is more than just 'playing hero' alright? And if you don't get off your lazy ass and something happens at the precinct I know you will never forgive yourself."
"...I don't know how to fight, Belén."
"Yes, you do," Belén sighed frustratingly. "This is what Ol - I mean, the Arrow, taught us remember? You came to Starling City with me to gain control of your powers, right? To learn how to keep them from other people seeing them?"
"Of course."
"And you learned to do all that, but now it's time to learn another thing: when people are in trouble, you have to help them. This isn't about playing hero, this is about people who can't defend themselves needing our help. I respect your opinions on metahumans and powers, but this is a moment where it should be put aside for the bigger picture. People need your help, Nina, and you have a duty tonight. Please, answer it."
Belén hung up and turned to the others, who were staring at her rather impressively. "What?" she coughed, feeling her face warm up.
"You make fantastic speeches, Bells," Cisco walked over and proudly patted her cheeks, making her laugh.
"Not the time, Cisco," she swatted his hands away and put down the cellphone. "I just really hope she listens to me. It can't all be bad tonight right?"
"Suppose…"
"Did you tell them about Tony and the pipeline?" she asked Barry, concerned. "If he got out then the others could too, no?"
"That's really not possible," Cisco shook his head. "The pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage. Someone had to have let him go."
Wells appeared in the room, clearly stating, "I did. I released him."
Barry blinked at him, surprised etched across his face much like the others. "Why?"
"To divert our intruder's attention while we worked to restore your speed."
Barry gaped. "You used him as a distraction?"
Wells remained, surprisingly to the others, at ease with the decision he'd made. "An unnecessary one, as it turns out. It seems the plan has failed."
"I... I have his blood on me," Barry gestured to his sweater which did indeed have remnants of Tony's blood. "How could you do that?"
"You're showing a lot of sentiment for a man who tormented you as a child."
"Tony might have been a bully then and now, but he didn't deserve to die."
"Does Caitlin, Belén, Cisco, me or you?" Wells countered, gesturing to each of the named. "I had a choice to make, him or us. I chose us without a second thought."
Barry was growing more and more frustrated, and angry, with him. "Well, all your talk about miracle cures and scientific breakthroughs, but you don't care about people at all."
"Well, maybe you care too much, Barry. I know being a hero is important to you, and I respect your ideals. I just don't have the luxury of sharing them."
"I forgot. Your game's chess. We're all just pawns to you, right?" Barry made a gesture of everyone else in the room. "So what's your move, doctor? Which one of us gets sacrificed next?"
Wells listened as electricity cackled from a distance. "We have to get out of the facility."
"We just left him on D level," Belén said quietly, "Can even make to the main entrance anymore?"
"There is the garage with the mobile lab van," Cisco reminded the others.
Wells stared directly at Barry then. "It's my move, Mr. Allen, and I say we make a run for it."
Caitlin, who'd been looking over Barry's blood pressure results, suddenly gasped and hurried to Barry. "Oh, my God. Barry, look. Your cells, they're rapidly regenerating."
Barry looked at the screen and scowled. "But I still don't have my speed."
"It must be mental, not physical," Caitlin theorized.
Cisco teasingly laughed. "Oh, you have the yips."
"The whats?" Barry gave him a look.
"You know. When a second baseman all of a sudden can't throw to first or a golfer tries to putt and they get all embarrassed and upset, and then that makes the yips worse, and it's a hot mess, and then they feel like even more of a failure-"
Belén whacked Cisco's arm, shooting him a disapproving look. "I think that was more than unhelpful." She sighed and turned to Barry. "You are caving into your worst fears by allowing this one time of powerlessness to swallow you up. Don't let it."
There was barely a moment for Barry to process her words of encouragement when another loud boom rocked them. There was just no time to waste. As Wells said, they made a run for it. As soon as they got into the garage, Cisco pointed Barry towards the only white van in the area. Barry got there first and clambered into the van, finding the keys just as Cisco said.
But the lights flickered and the van failed to turn on.
"He's here," Dr. Wells said with a shuddering breath after numerous failed attempts to move his electrical chair as well.
And, on cue, Farooq made himself known by stepping into the place. Both his hands were glowing white with electricity ready to fire at whoever crossed his way. Barry quickly rushed out from the van and went to his friends, but of course there were no more ideas in his head.
"You need to stop all this," Belén suddenly spoke. She felt her heart beating wildly but she knew that at the moment, she was the only one with a slim chance of helping. "If it's true your powers are...are hurting you...then let these people help you," she gestured to her friends. "They're scientists, they know how."
"Preaching about 'help'?" Farooq almost sneered at her. "Look where we are right now?" he raised his hands.
"Hey, that's on you!" Belén snapped. She started walking forwards, ignoring the pleads of her friends to stay put. "How you use your powers is on you, not the rest of us."
"Stop talking!" Farooq shot his electricity at her but she jumped to the side and rolled on the ground.
"Fine!" she snapped and threw a tendril of vine forwards. It grasped his ankle and, when pulled, smacked him to the ground.
Just as she pushed herself up to her knees, Farooq attacked again and this time was able to blast her further to the side. Belén shook her head as she tried to overcome the strange, and painful, leftover shocks. She could hear the others calling her to stop, and she was sure one of them was, no doubt, thinking about coming over to help her.
"Belén, just stop!" Barry shouted frantically, but the ombre-blonde did no such thing.
One vine failed after the other, and to be frank her energy wasn't getting any better. Being repeatedly hit with electricity ended up taking a toll on people. On the last hit, Belén felt herself get lost for a moment. But in that moment, she started attacking quicker, fiercer, like she was no longer there. Tendrils of vines acted like lassos snapping around Farooq, forcing the man to throw himself to the sides in order to avoid being hit. Belén wouldn't know it, and neither would her friends because they were behind, but stronger, patches of green began forming on her face and hands. She sucked in a deep breath then released the biggest exhale her lungs could muster, and in the process her pink poison began filling the air. This time, however, she didn't make calculations of how much toxicity it would take to cause minimal damages. What came out, came out.
"She's going to poison us all!" Cisco cried out.
But right then, Farooq threw one last shock of electricity that threw Belén against the van, unknowingly knocking her out of that moment.
Belén took a sharp, deep breath with widened eyes. Any traces of green was out of her skin but there was a throbbing all over her body. "I can't..." she struggled to say, "...it...it hurts." She saw the mist of poison she had created and used her last energy to bring it back into her own system, an ability she hadn't quite learned to use yet but...there was a first time for everything.
With no more opponents left, Farooq turned to the next closest victims. He walked towards them, intending on finishing them off so that he could finally get to his real target.
"Oh, my God!" Caitlin gasped in pure terror. "Oh, my God. No, please!"
"Hey! You're here for me!" Wells shouted from another part of the room, his chair having been stuck from earlier.
Farooq froze and turned in his direction. "Finally you show your face."
"Well, I wasn't exactly eager to be killed…"
"Neither were my friends."
"I know. I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People?" Farooq scoffed. "You don't even know their names."
Wells arched an eyebrow, as if accepting the challenge. "Jake Davenport. Darya Kim. Ralph Dibny, Al Rothstein, Grant Emerson, Will Everett, Bea Da Costa, Ronnie Raymond. I know the names of every person who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something that I have to live with every day, but these people…" he gestured to the others in the room, who were keenly watching anxiously, "These people have done nothing wrong. You want to punish me? Fine, let's do that, but let these people live."
"You died that night too," Farooq declared, and his hands glowed with the largest quantity of electricity he'd produced over the course of the night. "You just didn't know it till today."
Barry couldn't take anymore people getting hurt, much less getting killed. He felt the familiar energy build up inside. "No!" Without thinking much on it, he bolted from his spot and sped towards Dr. Wells, getting him out of the way just in time.
~ 0 ~
Knowing his helicopter had been delivered, William Tockman grabbed himself a hostage for extra insurance - unfortunately poor Iris - and headed for the upper levels of the precinct.
"Quickly. Time and tide wait for no man," Tockman yanked Iris down the hallway.
A blast of wind shattered the windows and forced the two back.
"This has gone far enough!" A woman in a white leather jacket with matching white pants had flown through one of the shattered windows. Her black hair hung loose, covering the parts her matching white mask didn't.
"Who are you?" Tockman demanded, whipping out a gun from behind.
She thrusted a hand forwards and a powerful wind knocked the gun to the side. She exchanged eyes with Iris, who had also pulled out a gun.
"No need, I've got it handled," she assured Iris. Giving Tockman barely a second to breathe, she had rushed up and pushed him against the wall hard then punched him across the face, letting him fall to the floor unconsciously. She stepped back and glanced at Iris, who was staring with wide eyes. "I hope you're alright," she smiled awkwardly, feeling way out of her comfort zone. "And please, don't think the Flash or the Azalea purposely left you alone. They're caught up in another problem."
"Who are you?" Iris stepped forwards, but the black-haired woman rose from the floor and backed away.
"Absolutely no one," she smiled and neared the window, still levitating. "Now, I'd get back downstairs and get a pair of handcuffs before this guy wakes up. Though I doubt with the punch I gave him he'll wake up soon. Practice did make perfect."
She flew out the window and Iris wasted no time in running for the window to see the woman fly through the dark night.
"Three of them!" Iris said to herself in what was becoming an excited tone.
~ 0 ~
Barry had nabbed his super-suit and intended on finally putting an end to this horrible night. With his speed, he was able to dodge some of Farooq's electric blows. Farooq managed to siphone some of Barry's speed again, but just for a couple of seconds before Barry escaped. Farooq, now angrier, shot another bolt and re-captured Barry. Not letting go, he siphoned as much from Barry as possible.
A strong orange hue took over Barry's figure, that soon spread across to reach Farooq. Both men fell to their knees, growing weaker, but somehow Farooq had the worst and eventually was forced to draw back.
However, once he did, he swayed and fell to the floor dead.
~ 0 ~
In a new prison pod, the group had brought in Farooq's corpse (now in a black bag) for it to remain till further notice. Caitlin was bent over zipping it up.
"We could have called him "Blackout." Cisco excitedly said from the other side.
"I'm just not sure what happened," Barry said, "Why didn't he just siphon all my powers like before?"
Caitlin had finished with the bag and stepped out, allowing Cisco to shut the pod up. She grabbed the tablet Cisco was holding for her and walked over to Barry. "Because you finally stopped thinking about your powers and just connected to them. Look, this is a sample of your blood from just after you were struck by lightning. Now your cells are generating more energy than ever before. It was more energy than the meta could safely handle. It's almost like he choked on you."
"But what does that mean?"
"It means you've kicked it up a notch," Dr. Wells replied with half a smirk.
Barry turned in his direction, guiltily beginning his apology. "Dr. Wells. What I said about how you don't care about people, I…"
"No, look, Barry. There is a reason that my biography describes me as arrogant, prickly, brusque...'at times contemptuous'. I read it twice. You were right. I don't care much for people, Barry. I find them misinformed, shortsighted…"
"So why do you do what you do? Why get up in the morning?"
"Because I believe in a better future, one that I very much want to see, one that you are a part of. I might not much care for people, Barry, but I care about you."
Contently, the group returned to the cortex - though didn't notice Dr. Wells discreetly leave shortly afterwards.
"It's a bit big," Belén came out, wearing a blue STAR Labs sweater, from a side room after Caitlin had given her the 'okay' to get up. Now that her head was clearer, Belén realized that there was a brief hole in her mind. There was a moment she couldn't remember but, because her friends scolded her about apparently fighting Farooq she put the pieces together. The other side had come over her and controlled her for a moment? That was definitely new. It was something that could never happen again. She would just need to learn how to get better and pushing them away until, hopefully, they would just stay away forever.
"Well, next time think twice before going up against an electrical metahuman," Caitlin walked by with Belén's tattered blouse in hand. Belén was picking at the sweater on her, missing the amusing stares she was getting from the others.
"And for almost poisoning us," Cisco meant it as a joke but Belén immediately stopped with her sweater and looked up with an alarmed face. "Bells, don't worry, we know you're still learning that trick," Cisco laughed it off casually. To him, it was no big deal.
"I just need to get the hang of things better," she said, plastering on a small smile for them. "But that can't really happen until I actually get to go out and deal with metahumans. I hope you know that I know you've been purposely keeping me on low-leveled crimes. I thought that maybe with Iris' surprise blog entry about me, you'd give me the chance to show the city that I can help people too."
"We know you can help," Caitlin reassured.
"Then how about you show it from now on," Belén countered. unable to hold back some of her bitterness. She moved over to the main desk and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Goodnight guys," she gave them a wave and started to leave. She wasn't surprised when Barry came after her, calling her name out.
"I'm tired Barry, like emotionally and physically, and I still have to visit the hospital...so can we do this another time?"
"Hospital?" Barry became momentarily distracted.
Belén stopped walking and looked at him curiously. "You haven't seen your phone yet? Iris sent me a text - Eddie's at the hospital. He was shot. Plus, I think it's right I see Nina after, um…"
"Yeah," Barry agrreed, nodding himself. "I want to see her too...can I?"
Belén raised an eyebrow, her fingers lightly tapping on the strap of her bag. "I mean...I guess...but don't think this means I'm forgetting everything I just said to you guys."
"Right," Barry quickly nodded. "Do you want a lift?"
Belén had a to suppress an amused smile as she pointed out to him, "I brought my car, remember? I think I'll drive."
"Right...but you were electrocuted too and Cait said you should take it easy-"
"Well, so were you!"
"But I heal slightly quicker!"
"Oh for goodness sake!" Belén dropped the keys onto Barry's hand and just let it all go for the sake of time. "But you're giving me my car tomorrow morning. And you can't be late!"
"Deal."
~ 0 ~
Unable to find Nina first, Belén and Barry stopped by Eddie's hospital room. Iris and Joe were there looking after him, and frankly waiting for either to show up.
"Hey, Allen," Eddie greeted, his gigglish voice alerting the two newcomers he wasn't quite there at the moment.
"Hey, Eddie," Barry greeted awkwardly, unused to this side of Eddie.
"We brought you some flowers," Belén tried to just go with the flow and presented the small bouquet of flowers they'd gotten for him on the way.
"That's so nice, Belén," Eddie gaped with a mouth wide open, making her quietly laugh.
Iris was looking at her two friends with slight bemusement, one that neither caught. "Where were you two all night?"
Barry exchanged quick looks with Belén, both racking for the simplest of excuses.
"Home," Barry went first, "trying to eat all the ice cream before it melted."
"Yeah, and I was with my dad at home," Belén inputted her own excuse. "Such chaos when a scientist loses power!"
Iris' eyebrows shot up like she were surprised. "Oh, really?"
"Yup," went the other two cheerfully, having no idea what was running through her head at the moment.
"Hm," Iris glanced at Eddie who was still chuckling at his flowers. "Um, Bells, you think you can come with me to get some coffee? It's been a really long day and I want to stay with Eddie for the night."
"Sure thing," Belén nodded, letting Iris walk by first. She gave Barry and Joe an understanding look then followed Iris out.
The women walked silently down the hallway till they got to the coffee machine. Iris pulled a coin from her pocket and dropped it inside, placing a cup in afterwards.
"Have you seen Nina around by any chance?" Belén was looking around for the woman in question.
"No," Iris said, her voice slightly off, "But…I did see your father in another room earlier."
"What!?" Belén blinked, momentarily terrified something happened with him. She realized she hadn't even texted her father that she was coming to the hospital first before going back home.
"Aha!" Iris whirled around, triumphantly pointing at her friend. "Gotcha!"
"Wha-"
"Your dad's been here all night with one of his co-workers because of some accident the blackout caused in Mercury Labs! Which means-" Iris walked up to Belén, "-you lied about being at home with him!"
Crap, Belén was repeating the word over and over in her head whilst Iris continued.
"You and Barry walked in together, at the same time, and since you're coincidentally wearing the same sweater that Barry just so happens to love so much I think it's pretty clear where you're coming from…" the wide smirk across Iris' lips had Belén sputtering and with a completely red face.
"I-it's - no! N-not a-at all, n-no! No! I-Iris how c-could you...no!" Belén fiercely shook her head, one hand going up to her temple. "That's not a-at all what h-happened! Iris!" By this point, Iris had begun to laugh. "It's not funny! You are completely delirious if you think that is what happened!"
"I'm just pointing out what I see! And what I see-"
"What you see is a very completely different sweater," Belén snapped, mortified in embarrassment. "You know they make more than just one right?"
"Then where'd you get that one from?" Iris pointed at the sweater, just barely able to contain her next laugh. "Because if Cisco had given you one, he would've done it months ago and you would have worn it then. Plus, you still lied and I'm more than betting Barry lied too! Just come out and say it, huh?" she gave Belén a nudge. "You and Barry were tog-"
"NO!" Belén sounded like she was pleading, her face now fading red to pinkness. "Iris, honestly, that's not it at all!"
"Uh, what's going on?" Nina's voice broke through their conversation. She was walking towards them, eyes flickering in confusion from one to another.
"Oh nothing," Iris smirked at Belén as she went back for her coffee.
"Nothing," Belén agreed with a mutter. "Nina, can we talk for a moment, please?"
"Sure…" Nina was still trying to figure out what they weren't telling her.
"I'll be at Eddie's room," Iris waved to both and left, but not before giving Belén one more suggestive nudge.
"Okay, what happened?" Nina was now demanding, but the trace of amusement on her face had Belén more on the defensive side.
"Absolutely nothing!" she hissed.
Nina had herself a laugh. "No need to be mean, Bells. Just because you were attacked doesn't mean you get to be rude to others."
Belén took a long breath and slowly calmed down. "I just wanted to thank you - actually, Barry and I wanted to thank you for, uh, what you did…" she had lowered her voice in case anyone walked by.
Nina fiddled with her fingers. "I didn't do it to be thanked. You were right, it was much bigger than me just outright saying 'no'. Plus, between you and me, it was kinda fun…"
The two giggled at the idea. Nina was so uptight sometimes, Belén could scarcely imagine her being hero for a night.
"Plus, I figured since I am a doctor I had a responsibility," Nina added.
"Well, you know now that Cisco is going to want you to come in for some measurements cos you're gonna get a suit."
"No way!" Nina shook her head but she was close to laughing again. "I just used the outfit Felicity helped out with but...me wearing an actual super suit?"
"And you can have a cape!" Belén gasped as the ideas came to her. "Oh! That would be so cool! I wish I could fly, honestly."
"I wish I could poison people at hand," Nina countered with. Belén soon got to remembering her incident earlier, nearly poisoning people she cared about because she wasn't in control.
"Hey!" Barry showed up from down the hallway. "Nina!" he looked ecstatic to see the older woman.
"Hello, Barry," Nina greeted him politely.
"Nina, I just want to thank you for tonight," Barry began, but Nina chuckled.
"Don't bother, Belén already covered it up."
"But still, thank you. Joe and Iris are like my family, and you saved them. Thank you."
Nina nodded in acknowledgement. "Don't worry about it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a patient to go see to."
"It's not Eddie is it? Because he is still laughing it up at sunflowers…"
"No, not until later," Nina chuckled and went on her way.
"Is he really laughing still?" Belén curiously asked him afterwards.
"Oh yeah," Barry nodded, unusually serious then. "Bells, about earlier, um...I sort of asked the others not to let you...take on metas just yet."
"You called the shots again," Belén said, crossing her arms. "Barry, I don't want to do that again. You making the decisions for me? That's not going to work."
"I know, I'm sorry. I just worry," Barry confessed. "I don't like knowing that you're gonna get hurt out there-"
"Because knowing you're gonna get hurt is so much better," Belén sarcastically went. "It's a 50/50 partnership here. I'd like my 50 now."
"40," Barry said jokingly, even narrowing his eyes to bargain with her.
"50!"
"39?"
"50!"
"45!"
"Barry, c'mon!" Belén whacked him on the arm, her bag's strap half-falling down her arm. "Have you seen what women can do out there? Nina kicked ass today, and she was just starting. Did you see what the Canary could do in her days? I don't need protecting, okay?"
"Maybe...just a little?" Barry made a gesture with his fingers, and although Belén wanted to be completely serious she laughed. "Like, the necessary? You know, having each other's back?"
"Fine," Belén gave in, "but only because that sounds fair."
Barry made a victory punch in the air and made her laugh again. Afterwards, he finished his success with a hug.
Mistake number…?
Iris had returned for sugar for her coffee and stopped immediately at the sight of her friends hugging. With a smirk, she stepped back around the corner, poking her head to see them again.
Oh, those two were definitely going out, she thought.
Author's Note:
I loved this episode, honestly. And the chapter too (but I'm biased since I'm the author sooo...). So, we got to see Belén and her new suit which definitely involved no skirts just like she wanted xD. Plus, we even got a glimpse of Nina's powers! But most importantly, we also saw that side of Belén's powers coming out to play for the first time. Yikes! At least in the end she got her 50/50 partnership which is a big win in that day so yay!
P.s have you guys seen the Crisis on Earth-X crossover stills? Killer Frost coming out to fight? Supergirl (Overgirl) evil? Reverse Flash back? Captain Cold too? This girl right here is dying *heart eyes*
For the Review:
Thank you so much! I'm glad to know you're liking it so far! Axel is hilarious to write because he's like four so he doesn't know any better. Yikes, that moment for Belén will not be pretty for her, obviously, so...yikes .-.
Next chapter is the Flarrow crossover and that episode was so good for me that I can't wait for you guys to read it! As always, thank you all for reading! Leave a comment or a thought if you'd like! :)