Iris nervously tapped the table. She tried and failed to get her sentence out twice before Sophie broke the silence.
"Whatever it is you want to say, say it."
They were in the West house, the one they had both grown up in, and it was just them. When Sophie had gotten the phone call from Iris saying she needed to speak to her, Sophie's stomach had practically hit the ground and she could only think one thing. What if Iris figured out I'm Dash? She watched Iris pace the room a few more times, before she couldn't stand it anymore. Sophie stood up and took both of Iris's hands in hers. "Talk to me," she whispered.
"The girl with superspeed running around the city saving people." Iris looked Sophie in the eye. "Is it you?"
"Yes." Somehow the word left Sophie's lips without her consent.
Time seemed to slow down as Iris put her hands in her back jean pockets and paced the room. Maybe time had slowed down, maybe Sophie was using her superspeed again. Or maybe, no matter how hard she tried or how fast she ran, she would never outrun her problems.
When Iris turned to face Sophie again there were tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried to. I wanted to! But there was so much stuff I was still figuring out."
Iris nodded. "Yeah. Teenage years suck." She tearfully laughed, but most of the old Iris was back. "Just, one more question." She chewed her thumbnail. "The other speedster, the one in red, is it Barry?"
Sophie nodded. "How did you guess?"
"I figured it had to be something to do with the lightning. When the two of you run, it sort of follows you. Have you thought about a possible connection to the night Mrs Allen was murdered?"
"I try not to think about that night too much, but yes. I have thought about it, but there's so much we don't understand. The scientists at S.T.A.R. labs are helping us."
"I wondered why you two were spending so much time there." Iris sat on the sofa and Sophie sat next to her. "So tell me," asked Iris eagerly. "What's it like having superpowers?"
Sophie smiled. "I've been wanting to tell you since we first discovered it! There's no feeling like it…" she described her feet pounding the concrete and the lightning flowing through her veins. "But Barry can probably describe it better than me."
"No," Iris protested quickly. "Don't…don't tell anybody else that I know. You know how Dad is, he'll think he's protecting me. So let's keep it quiet for now, ok?"
Sophie wasn't quite convinced. "Umm…ok."
…..
Harrison Wells checked around to make sure nobody else was present before placing his hand on one of the panels and watching as it silently slid away. He stepped in and they shut behind him, the automatic lights flickered on and he took off his glasses, sliding them into his jacket pocket. He stood up from his wheelchair and walked forwards, placing his right hand on a panel that activated the screen.
"Good day Dr Wells," greeted a synthetic voice.
"One can always hope, Gideon. I trust everything is still intact?"
The cover of a newspaper the Central City Citizen dated April 25th 2024 appeared on the screen, the headlining article 'Speedsters missing, vanish in crisis' followed by a blurry picture of Dash and the Flash. "It's not long now," he whispered.
….
Sophie dumped her bag on the table and looked around, but the lab was deserted. She headed out of the main room to one of the adjoining corridors, looking for a sign of life. "Dr Wells?" she called, her voice echoing around her. She was just about to give up when she turned around, and gasped in shock.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," apologised Dr Wells, after he silently materialised behind her in his wheelchair.
"It's ok." Sophie leant against the wall and tossed her hair. "I just wanted to talk to you about something, but it doesn't matter."
"You can tell me if something's bothering you," said Dr Wells gently.
Sophie closed her eyes for a second. "Rough evening, that's all."
"Well, if you ever need to talk, remember I'm always here." He led the way to the main lab. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"
Sophie rubbed her temples. "I was home, but then things got complicated. Can I spend the night at yours?"
"Of course. Do you want me to call Joe?"
Sophie held up a hand. "I'll do it. You're not exactly his favourite person."
…..
They arrived at the lab early the next morning, Sophie feeling more relaxed.
"I think I just needed some time away from everything," she explained to Caitlin and Cisco, when they asked why she arrived with Dr Wells. Eventually she let them get on with the science and started playing a game on her phone.
"Hey guys." Barry strolled nonchalantly into S.T.A.R. labs. "I might as well live here, considering the amount of time I spend here. More than at my own house and the CCPD combined."
Sophie looked up from her phone and smiled. Dr Wells emerged from an adjoining room, followed by Cisco and Caitlin who were both armed with tablets.
"Check the math. Your dispersal models don't correlate," said Caitlin, indicating to something on her screen.
"Uh, they do if you factor in the seasonal fluctuations in reproduction cycles," protested Cisco.
"What exactly are we debating?" asked Dr Wells, turning around with a baffled and amused expression on his face.
"The average number of bugs Barry swallows in a day of running," said Cisco, embarrassed.
"I look forward to seeing you accept your Nobel," said Dr Wells, leaving.
"Guys, eww," laughed Barry, trying not to look too disgusted. His phone rang, making him jump. "Sorry. Iris, hi. Ok, will do. Thanks, bye."
The three scientists tried very hard not to look awkwardly at Barry. Eventually he took pity on them and broke the silence. "Apparently there's a massive fireworks display going on outside. Want to check it out?"
Sophie shrugged, and pocketed her phone. "I'm in. Anybody else coming?"
"Sounds fun," said Cisco. "Caitlin?"
"Come on, Dr Snow." Dr Wells headed towards the door. Caitlin huffed and followed the rest of them.
AN - as always thanks for the comments, follows and favourites. There is another metahuman coming next chapter so stay tuned.