This chapter is for TrueLoveExists02. You never fail to give feedback on a chapter, and I always look forward to your reviews in particular because they're always so thoughtful and reflective on the story. You notice things and think about things that are below the surface of the story, and your reviews always make me think. Thank you so much for your support, and thank you to everyone else who reviews. It's what makes the time and effort I put into writing these stories fun and rewarding for me.
Nowhere to Hide
Hours later, they all were sitting silently around Barry's bedside at STAR Labs. He hadn't been the Flash for months now, yet he still seemed to find himself in the medical bed just as much as he did before. They were all startled when a voice suddenly boomed out from the cortex.
"Joe!" Henry yelled, storming into the cortex.
Joe stood up instantly. Oh God. He had forgotten about Henry. Joe quickly left the med bay to meet Henry in the cortex.
"Henry," he said, "I'm sorry, I forgot to call you back. Things have been a little—"
"What's going on?" Henry demanded angrily, "Central City is going to hell and metahumans are being subjugated, and you don't think to call me?!"
"Henry, I—"
"Where's Barry?" Henry demanded, "Is my son okay?"
"Sort of," Joe answered quietly, "He's been going through a lot, Henry."
Joe sighed.
"Barry's in the med bay right now. He's passed out and still hasn't woken up yet. Come with me. I'll explain everything to you."
Cisco knew he had a horrible feeling. He had sensed that something was wrong, and he had been right. Barry had hurt himself. Cisco's blood ran cold when he vibed the image of Barry passed out on the floor, covered in blood. He called Caitlin instantly, but his warning was somewhat useless considering she knew already and they were currently monitoring him at STAR Labs, waiting for him to wake up.
He had been closely watching Barry using his vibing ability ever since he heard about Barry's assault. He had felt terrible when he found out that Barry had been laying in that alley for nearly twenty minutes before anyone got to him. He should have vibed him. He should have seen that Barry was in trouble and then alerted the police so they could have gotten to him quicker. Better yet, he should have vibed it before it even happened. Barry may not be the feet anymore, but Cisco was still the eyes and ears. He was supposed to be watching out for them.
Cisco still had trouble when it came to vibing the future, though. He was still learning how to use his powers. Most of the time he saw things after they occurred or while they were occurring, but seldom did he ever see them before they happened, as much as he tried. He had been trying to vibe the future constantly, but most of the time, he came up blank.
He hated this. This was the most useful he could be. He could watch. He couldn't do anything to help them, but he could watch. Some help that was.
Cisco wasn't still staying at his parent's house anymore. Not only was his brother, Dante, driving him crazy, but he felt like he could be more useful in other ways. He might not be able to go into Central City right now, but other people could. Right now, Team Flash needed all the help they could get. Team Arrow was busy fighting Darhk, but there was someone else who might be able to help them. Harry.
They hadn't seen or heard from Harry ever since they came back from Earth Two. Jesse had run away, and he had gone off to search for her. Cisco was just glad the breech to Earth Two was closed now. At least they didn't have to worry about Zoom for the time being, even if it meant feeling guilty knowing Zoom was probably destroying his own earth right now while they were fighting their own war here.
Cisco had been trying for weeks to find Harry, in the hopes that maybe he could go into Central City and help out any way he could. He kind of owed it to Barry, after all. He had tried to steal Barry's speed from him and nearly made him sick in the process. And then Barry had turned around and saved the guy's daughter. The least Harry could do was be there for Barry now and offer his help with everything that was going on.
Cisco hadn't been able to find him, though, and he was worried that maybe he was just wasting his time when he could be doing something else to help Barry.
He felt extremely guilty. He had let Barry push him out of Central City for his own safety, while Barry stayed behind to fight. He had been the hero, and Cisco just felt like the coward who had ran away. He hadn't wanted to leave, but Barry hadn't given him much of a choice. He shouldn't have listened to Barry. He should have strapped on a suit of his own and fought alongside him, not allow himself to be pushed away by Barry's bigheaded heroic antics. Why did Barry have to be so damn noble anyways? Why couldn't Barry have just gotten his ass out of Central City while he still could?
Cisco sighed.
Because he was a hero. That's why.
"I can't believe you kept this from me," Henry said bitterly, running his fingers through his son's hair, a pained expression on his face.
"Barry begged us not to call you," Joe said, "Things have been escalating here, getting worse and worse. He didn't want you to get caught up in all of it. He made me promise not to call you."
Henry looked away from Barry to glare at Joe.
"If the situation were reversed," he said darkly, "If all of this was happening to your son without your knowledge and I didn't tell you because he asked me not to, is that an excuse you would have accepted?"
Joe sighed heavily, seeing things from Henry's perspective now.
"No," he said softly, "I wouldn't have accepted that. I…I'm sorry, Henry."
Henry didn't say anything as he looked back to Barry again, looking at his son's sleeping face. He had dark shadows under his eyes, no doubt from stress and the fact that he had been recovering from a broken nose. His son had been shot by cops, held captive and tortured in some sick MRA facility, and assaulted and stabbed by a bunch of prejudice metahunters, and through all of that, none of them had called him. Henry didn't think he'd ever forgive that.
And now, here his son laid, recovering from having desperately tried to perform surgery on himself in the bathroom, all in the attempt to remove the very thing that was taking away his freedom. These people, these MRA monsters, had led his son to do this. He had been driven to this by everything that had happened to him. Henry's eyes filled with tears as he watched his son sleep.
"He must be so scared," he said brokenly, "He must be terrified."
"He is," Joe said sadly, "We all are. Henry…there's nothing we can do. We can't stop this from happening. If they try to take Barry away from us…I don't think we're going to be able to stop it."
"Well, we have to," Henry said seriously, "We're not going to let them take him from us. I'm not going to let that happen."
Joe rested his hand on Henry's shoulder, a sad look on his face. He knew exactly how Henry felt. He would protect Barry with his life if he had to, but in the end, he knew it wouldn't be enough. He knew they were helpless to stop this, and deep down, Henry knew that, too.
Caitlin could tell Barry was starting to come to. She had noticed the change in his breathing pattern, and his head shifted slightly as he slowly brought himself back to consciousness. She took his hand in her own as she watched his face, waiting for his eyes to open. When they did, Barry blinked several times, his face screwing up in confusion as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened.
In an instant, Barry's eyes widened, and he quickly reached up with his free hand to feel the back of his neck, his fingers landing on the bandage that Caitlin had applied there. He felt the bandage for a moment, and then his eyes found hers.
"Did you…?" he started to ask.
Caitlin shook her head sadly at him.
"No, Barry," she said in a small voice, "I didn't get it out. There was too much damage already from your attempt to remove it."
Caitlin didn't think she'd ever seen a more devastated expression occupy Barry's face. His eyes filled with tears as he took a deep, shaky breath. Caitlin watched him silently, allowing him his moment of devastation as he processed the fact that he had failed in his attempt to remove his microchip. It was a quiet moment or two later before Barry spoke again.
"How mad at me are you?" he choked, tears in his eyes.
Caitlin shook her head, a sad expression on her face.
"What you did was so stupid, Barry," she said sadly, "But I'm not mad at you for it. I'm not mad at you for trying. I wish you hadn't done it, but I can't be mad at you for what you did."
Barry's lip trembled as he looked up at her with watery eyes.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
She rested her hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile.
"If you ever try anything like that again, though," she said, "I will kill you, Barry Allen."
Barry managed a weak laugh at that, but it sounded more like a sob.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I just…I couldn't let them control me. I…Caitlin, I'm afraid they're going to take me away."
Caitlin nodded understandingly at him, her own eyes becoming watery.
"I know, Barry," she said sadly, "I know you're scared. I'm scared too. You're not alone, though. We're still here for you. We're all still in this together."
For how long, though? Barry thought miserably. The metahuman residence zone was nearly complete, and it was only a matter of time before he would find himself standing alone, on the other side of a sixty-foot-high wall, separated from his family and everyone he loved and cared about. He could deal with having his rights and his freedoms taken away, but Barry couldn't bear the idea of being alone and cut off from everyone he loved.
It was the worst thing the MRA had done so far.
Barry was shocked when his father entered the medical bay shortly after he had woken up. Apparently, they had all been standing in the cortex, discussing what they were going to do. They couldn't disable or remove the microchip. They couldn't smuggle Barry out of the city without getting caught or the device in his neck frying his brain. They couldn't hide him anywhere, considering he had a tracker on him. The only thing they could think to do was to fight, and to fight would mean sure death.
Joe considered asking Singh for his help. Would the department stand by Barry? Would they protect him and stop him from being taken? Most of them would certainly want to, but Joe couldn't see how any outcome in that scenario could possibly be in their favor. It's not like if he had the support of the CCPD, the MRA would just back off and leave Barry alone. No. Fighting would only lead to more bloodshed.
He knew the Arrow would race over in a heartbeat to help them if they asked him to, but the same as with the CCPD, Joe didn't see how that could possibly end well. The MRA was too powerful. They had too many people and unlimited resources at their disposal. They couldn't be fought off with sheer force. This was a political fight, not a physical one. Although, things certainly had gotten physical. Metahumans were fighting with the MRA in the streets. It had gotten to the point where people were afraid to leave their homes.
The push for segregated communities was now stronger than ever, and as Henry walked into the med bay to see his son, he wondered just how much time with him he'd have left with him. They were going to do everything in their power to stop this, but if they couldn't...their time with Barry could be limited.
"Dad," Barry said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
Henry tried not to let the hurt show on his face.
"How could you keep this from me, Barry?" he asked quietly, "How could you not tell me everything that's been going on?"
Barry sighed and looked down at the covers that were on top of him, ignoring the throbbing pain in his neck. His father's disappointment was worse than any physical pain.
"I wanted to keep you safe," Barry said quietly.
"Barry, you may be a superhero," Henry said seriously, "But I'm the father here. I should be keeping you safe, not the other way around. My safety aside, you should have let me be here for you."
Tears formed in Barry's eyes as he looked up at him.
"I know, dad," he choked, "I'm sorry. I was scared. You have no idea how bad things have been here. I didn't want to worry about anyone else getting hurt because of this. That's why I asked Cisco to leave, and that's why I kept you in the dark. I couldn't stand it if someone else got hurt. I…I was scared, dad. I am scared."
Henry's eyes softened then. He took a deep breath and made his way over to the bed to grab his son's hand.
"I know, Slugger," he said, "I know you're scared. I know you had good intentions. Just…please promise me that you'll never keep something like this from me again. If my son's in danger, I want to know."
Barry nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"I promise," he said quietly.
Henry gave his son's hand a gentle squeeze.
"How are you feeling?" he asked him then, "Any side effects?"
Barry sighed and looked down at his free hand. He held it up then to show his father. It was twitching.
"Caitlin said it might go away, might not," he told his father quietly, "She said it could have been a lot worse, though."
"She's right," his dad said seriously, "I know you're not a medical doctor, son, like your old man, but I would think even you would know how dangerous it is to mess with anything involving your spine. What were you thinking?"
"I decided it was worth the risk," Barry said softly, "The alternative…I don't know what's going to happen to me now. I don't know what the MRA has planned."
Henry put a gentle hand on Barry's shoulder.
"It's okay to be scared, son," he said brokenly, "I'm scared. I can't even imagine how you must be feeling with all of this, how hard this must be for you."
Barry looked up towards the ceiling, fresh tears welling in his eyes.
"I wish I had never been struck by that lightning," he said, his voice cracking, "I wish none of this had ever happened. I wish I could just be Barry Allen again, not meta number 227."
Henry swallowed back the lump that had formed in his throat. He never thought he would ever see the day where he'd hear Barry say he wished he had never become the Flash. It was such a fundamental part of who Barry was now, something that Henry had never seen as a very healthy thing, to be honest, but now he found his heart breaking to hear Barry renouncing that side of him, to hear him regretting ever getting his powers.
He hated these people for doing this to his son.
They all kept a close watch on Barry after that. He assured them he wasn't going to try anything reckless like that again, but they knew Barry was scared, and a scared man could be driven to do some pretty desperate things, including lying to his family. They wanted to believe him that he wasn't going to try something like that again, but they knew they couldn't fully take his word for it all the same. There was always someone with Barry, even after he went home from STAR Labs. They stayed with him and kept a close watch on him.
Barry didn't mind the company, though. He didn't really want to be alone with his thoughts right now, with his fears. He didn't know how much time he would get to spend with any of them, so he made each moment count while they were still together. As promised by the MRA, the construction for their new metahuman zone was completed by the end of the month. Still, they had expected a little more notice before the MRA came knocking at their door.
It was a Thursday night, late, around ten o'clock when Wally came bursting through the door, entering the house with a panicked look on his face.
"They're rounding people up," he told them frantically, "All throughout the city, they're collecting metahumans."
Joe and Iris both paled and looked over at Barry, who was sitting on the couch, his hands now clenched into fists, knuckles white. They could see the fear on his face and felt themselves be consumed by it as well.
"Come, Barry," Joe said urgently, grabbing Barry's hand and moving towards the door to the basement, "We have to hide you."
"Joe," Barry said hopelessly, "It doesn't pay to hide. They're going to find me. They'll probably be here soon."
"We have to try," Joe said brokenly, opening the door to the basement, "Please, Bar. Come on."
Barry sighed and looked at Joe with tears in his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. He knew it was hopeless, but he would go along with it anyways. Really, they all knew there was nothing they could do, though. There was nothing anyone could do.
Barry slipped on a pair of shoes because it just seemed like a good idea, and then Joe led Barry down the stairs, Iris and Wally following behind them, hearts racing as they rushed to the basement. They couldn't believe this was happening. It was actually happening. It wasn't just a threatening what-if now. Barry was really about to be taken.
"Here," Joe said in a panicked voice, leading Barry over to the far side of the basement.
Barry watched as he tore open a segment of the wall paneling. There was a space there that was just large enough to fit a person with a small frame like himself. Barry stared at it in shock. Joe had prepared for this.
"Get inside, Bar," Joe said, his voice cracking in panic and sorrow.
They all knew it was pointless, but Barry would go along with it. He would try for them, even though he knew there was no chance he'd be able to hide from the MRA.
"Wait," Iris squeaked, grabbing Barry's shoulder and spinning him around to pull him into a tight hug.
A sob escaped her throat as she squeezed him, not wanting to let go of him.
"I love you, Barry. We love you."
Barry pulled away with tears in his eyes, giving her a broken, watery smile.
"I love you, too," he said, feeling as if his throat was going to tear in two.
He turned to Joe then.
"Joe," he said seriously, "When they come. When—if they find me, don't try to fight them."
Joe shook his head in anguish, covering his mouth with his hand.
"Barry," he choked.
"Promise me," Barry said firmly, "Promise me you won't fight back—that you'll just let them take me. It doesn't pay to fight."
Joe let out a shaky breath and lowered his hand.
"Okay, Bar," he said softly.
Barry wiped a tear from his face before moving into the space Joe had prepared. It was crammed, and he was only just barely able fit in it, but he managed to make it work. Joe looked brokenly at Barry for a moment before moving the wall segment back into place, hiding him from sight. It really was hard to detect that there was anything there. The paneling fit into place perfectly, and it blended in with the rest of the wall. If it weren't for the tracker in Barry, Joe almost would have thought it could work. He placed a hand on the wall there for a moment, tears falling from his eyes.
"Be strong, Barry," he choked before lowering his hand.
It wasn't long after that before there was a pounding on their front door. Joe opened it shakily, his heart racing.
A whole group of MRA officers stood outside the door.
"Sir," the leading officer said, "Our sensors indicate you have a registered metahuman on the premises. Mind if we come in?"
"Yes," Joe said, his voice shaking with anger, "I do mind. You're not coming in here."
The soldiers ignored him, though, and forced their way through the doorway past Joe, crowding into the living room. Iris and Wally took a step back towards the kitchen in fear.
"Hey!" Joe yelled angrily.
They ignored him, though.
"Meta number 0227 is here somewhere," the man who was in charge said, looking down at his small handheld device that he was using to track metas, "You three take the upstairs. You three, the basement. The rest stay and search the main level."
As the rest of the men moved to search the house, Joe came forward in anger. Before he could reach the leading officer, he found himself being stopped by a few of the other soldiers, who each took a hold of one of his arms to subdue him.
"Dad!" Iris yelled in fear.
"Iris, go outside!" Joe said firmly, looking at her and Wally, "Both of you! Get out of here!"
"What about Barry?" she asked, tears in her eyes.
"There's nothing you can do," Joe said painfully, "Just go."
Iris nodded tearfully, and they both quickly exited the house. Joe tugged uselessly against the two men who were holding him in place.
"You can't do this!" he yelled at the leading officer, who was supervising the search of the residence, "You can't just take him from us! You can't just tear our family apart!"
"If you don't stop fighting, I'll have to bring you in under military obstruction charges," the military officer said, "Do you really want your kids to lose two family members tonight?"
Joe stopped fighting the two soldiers holding him as his face fell, remembering what he had promised to Barry. That he wouldn't fight back. That was a lot easier said than done. His eyes filled with tears as he watched the officers search the ground level of the house.
Barry's heart was racing as he heard the MRA officers coming down the basement steps, their boots thumping loudly and echoing in his ears. He tried to control his breathing so as not to make too much noise, but he felt like he was suffocating in the small, dark space. He listened to them searching the basement, talking to each other as they consulted their tracking devices. They were going to find him. There was no way they were not going to find him.
Barry felt like his heart was going to explode out his chest as he heard them getting closer. If they didn't hear his breathing, he felt like they were sure to hear his heart beating. To him, it seemed like it was the loudest sound in the world, blood pumping in his ears, filling the silence between the MRA officers communicating with each other. Barry could hear them knocking on the walls, searching every inch of the house. It was clear to him then. He wasn't the first metahuman who had tried to hide.
They were going to find him.