"Should I pack the blue skirt set, or actually wear a different color for once?" Tala asked Cisco as she held open the closet doors. She peered in with an annoyed expression, looking for an outfit for the rebranding ceremony and one for the party that night that Palmer Technologies was holding.
"Or you could wear this," Cisco said, causing Tala to turn. He was holding a garment bag and a shoebox. Tala arched her eyebrow in an unasked question. "Between Caitlin and Cynthia giving you so much packing advice, I was able to pick you out a dress for the party. It isn't your usual color, but I think you will look amazing in it."
Tala smiled before leaping for the bag and box. She may have been an assassin, soldier, metahuman vigilante, but she was still a girl that got excited over gifts. She unzipped the bag and gasped, seeing a purple dress with a silver corseted top. It had a low scooped back, and looked as though it would cling to her like a second skin. She reached out to open the shoebox, and felt her mouth fall open in surprise. She had been eyeing them every time she went shopping, loving the way they look without really having a need to buy them. They were silver platform heels, completely covered in sequins that were laid out in an ombre from white to dark silver, with a small white strap around her ankle.
"I saw you looking at them last time we were at the mall. And since you insist on paying all of us, I might as well use my money, since the League is still paying for everything here. Are they ever going to stop doing that?" Cisco asked, tossing another shirt in the suitcase. Tala shrugged, not really wanting to tell him that she had taken over paying the bills when she woke up. The league was only going to provide for him while she was in the coma. She walked over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you, for the dress and the shoes. I love them." She hung the garment bag up on the door before looking into the closet again. "I think I will wear the simple, tried and true, black skirt, white top, for the rebranding ceremony. Can't go wrong with that. Alright, let's head to Star Labs, I don't want to think about this until we have to leave. Cody and Kyle already have lodging and the jet is ready, we just need to get there." Tala shook her head and straightened her tank top under her leather jacket. She held her hand out for Cisco to take before heading to where Cody was waiting with the car.
"After I drop you two off at Star Labs, I'm coming back to the house to take your things to the jet. Is everything in your rooms?" Cody asked as he pulled out of the driveway.
"Everything is in Cisco's room. The black suitcase laying on the bed, the two shoe boxes next to it, and the two garment bags hanging on the closet doors." Tala rattled off, thinking about it.
"I'll probably bring my weapons bag and suit, just because I feel better keeping it close, but I'll bring that from the labs directly to the jet. Are you and Kyle ready to go?" Tala asked, pulling up their itinerary for the trip.
"Kyle is excited. He has family in Starling he's hoping to visit." Cody said, glancing back in the rearview mirror.
"You two can sightsee and visit, as long as you're both there for the ceremony and the party. Outside of those, have fun. You know I can take care of myself." Cody laughed at that, nodding.
Tala perched herself on a chair, two monitors in front of her. One was for what needed to be done there in Central City, the other for what she needed to do in Starling. She rolled her eyes and signed the document in front of her, passing it to Cisco to sign. She smiled when an alarm went off.
"Finally, a distraction!" She said, moving to stand behind Cisco, wondering what was going on.
"Barry, there's a bank robbery in progress at Cunningham and Sampere." Cisco told the speedster.
"I got it." Barry said. Caitlin walked into the cortex from her office.
"Wait, that's where I bank," She said, concerned.
"Once super thieves showed up, I went mattress." Cisco said. Tala snorted.
"Koneko, you have an offshore account, in a bank that doesn't have a physical location." Tala said, rolling her eyes.
"How is that possible?" Caitlin asked.
"It's all virtually done. Can't be hacked either, Felicity and I tried. She was paid very nicely to make sure it didn't have any exploitable loopholes. Her and about seven other hackers were told to try and keep the other seven out. Since no one was trying to get in, there are eight different styles of code and firewalls someone has to break without getting noticed before they can look at anyone's account." Cisco looked at her, impressed.
"That's scary secure." Caitlin said. "Hey, what should I wear to the thing?"
"At this point, anything. Just make sure Cody gets your bags so he can toss them on the jet. Cisco bought me a new dress for the party. Oh! And I got us these!" Tala reached for her purse, pulling out a long jewelry box. She opened it to reveal two sets of earrings and two sets of cufflinks. "Harrison said he couldn't make it to Starling, so it'll just be us four. They're matching for the team." Cisco looked at the miniature Flash emblems, remade in silver and mother of pearl.
"These are so cool!" He said, picking one up to look at it.
"They're mini GPS devices, just in case things go bad. And they match Cisco's emblem for the suit, so we show a united, and subtle front." Tala smiled as she put them back in her purse, just as Barry rushed in, clutching an empty container of fries from Big Belly Burger. "Dude, where's mine?"
"That wasn't even mine, I stole Captain Singh's." Barry said, grinning, making Cisco and Tala start laughing. "Hey, so at the bank this morning, I think the people there got whammied. They were all trying to kill each other, and didn't snap out of it until just after I got there."
"Anger, hate, aggression." Harrison said as he wheeled himself in from Cait's lab.
"A Jedi craves not these things." Cisco said, imitating Yoda. Tala snorted, reaching across Barry to high five him. "No one else is feeling that quote?" Tala shrugged.
"Everyone in the bank went like total savage for like five minutes. And then they were fine again." Barry said, looking confused.
"Anger can be a powerful emotion." Harrison started, turning to face Barry. "If this metahuman can engender irrational feelings of anger in his victims, he can do a lot of damage."
Tala opened a new metafile, and started writing what they knew. She added a few questions she had. Why anger? Was it only anger he could create, or could he replicate any emotion? What happened to him at the time of the explosion that made this his power? Tala shrugged to herself on her last question and turned back to the conversation.
"Detective West helped me get a copy of the CAT scans the hospital did on everyone in the bank. Take a look." Caitlin plugged in the USB memory stick and pulled open the files. Tala pulled a copy from their server and dropped them into the metafile, under victims.
"The emotion centers of the brains are still showing signs of being overwhelmed." Tala said, looking at them from her tablet.
"Particularly the area that controls executive function. That's the part that stops people from doing whatever random and potentially destructive things that pop into their head." Caitlin explained.
"So how does the meta do it?" Barry asked, turning to face Caitlin.
"That's the half-a-million dollar question," Cait said, smiling ruefully at the speedster. Barry's phone buzzed, making Tala look up, hoping to get to punch something.
"Hey if you guys figure it out, just give me a call, okay?"
"Is the Flash off to another rooftop rendezvous with Iris?" Tala asked, looking at him.
"No." Tala and Caitlin pinned him with a stare. "Yeah, but she probably just wants to ask me, you know, him, about metahuman stuff for her blog."
"Do you want some advice?" Caitlin said, after sharing a look with Tala. "Don't get involved, as the Flash, or yourself. You don't want to be the one to blame for their breakup."
"I hear you." He said, zooming out.
"You know, I don't think he does. That boy is dense as my brother sometimes." Tala commented, passing another document over for Cisco to sign. After he passed it back, their computer systems went off. "Oh, the police tracker in the cash, it's got a signal! Cisco, call Barry."
"Barry, you there? Police got a ping from the tracer in the stolen cash." Cisco said into the comms. "SWAT team is closing in on the 1600 block of Pass."
"Now stop ruining Iris's love life and go." Caitlin said. Tala snorted. She leaned over to Cisco and whispered to him in Spanish.
"If I didn't know better, I would swear she is jealous!" Cisco looked at Tala before cracking up, making Tala laugh too. She forced herself to sober up when she saw Barry's GPS near the SWAT team. "I should be there. But no, he had to go visit Iris," Tala pouted, back in English.
Tala watched as Barry's GPS tracker went back to Jitters, and huffed.
"I think he's done with the bad guy for the night, he's back to ruining Iris's relationship." Tala switched over to her company email, reading through a few different things. Cisco and Caitlin went to work on some project - Tala thought it was something to do with Barry's inability to get drunk. She sighed and laid her head down on the keyboard, yawning. She sat up when Barry sped back in. She blinked a few times, realizing she'd fallen asleep.
"I think, my shirt's on fire!" Tala looked down at her shirt in confusion before looking at Barry, and Felicity. Felicity pulled her shirt off, throwing it to the floor. Cisco and Caitlin walked in, startled and bemused. Cisco was staring at the topless Felicity. "I'm glad I decided not to go braless!" She said.
"I'm not." Tala said from behind her, making the blonde turn. Tala grinned and stood, walking over to her team, tugging on Felicity's ponytail as she passed.
"You guys remember Felicity." Barry said, turning to face Cisco and Caitlin. Felicity was holding her bag up to cover herself.
"I'll always remember this." Cisco said, making Tala giggle. She stole the other half of his redvine as Caitlin gave Felicity the Star Labs sweater hanging on the chair next to the door. Felicity pulled it on gratefully.
"Hi, Felicity. It's so good to see you again. What brings you to Central City? Not Barry." Caitlin asked, looking between the two of them, wondering if Barry ran all the way to Starling to get Felicity.
"No, not Barry. This? Not happening." Felicity rambled. "We looked down that road and said 'No thank you.'"
"Glasses, she meant did Barry run all the way to Starling to get you." Tala said, leaning against Cisco.
"Oh, no. I was already in town. I'm here because of this." Felicity pulled a boomerang out of her bag, making Cisco and Tala gasp in excitement.
"Awesome! What are the wings made out of?" Cisco asked, pulling it out of the bag.
"Is it a composite plastic? I don't think metal unless aerated would fly too well." Tala chipped it, reaching over to touch the wing. "Definitely reinforced with Carbon Fiber." She said, feeling it.
"That's weird, it almost feels like its-"
"Vibrating?" Felicity finished. Tala bounced on her toes.
"I need to run so many tests!" She cheered, following Cisco and Felicity to the connected work lab.
"And we need to run them now!" Cisco said, grinning at her. The trio went and started analyzing the boomerang.
"It's ridiculously well balanced!" Tala said, balancing it by its edge on her finger. "Have you seen how the perp throws them? I almost want to throw it like one of my stars."
"Tala! Doctor Wells wants to see you and Barry." Caitlin said, pulling her away from her friends with a pout. She walked in to find Barry already there talking with Joe.
"I know he's wanted for murder in twelve different cases dating back three years." Joe said. He looked at Tala and nodded in greeting.
"Actually, only about five of those were his. SCPD just grouped them all into one file after I moved out here. My brother doesn't kill people anymore - he changed when he and I lost a close friend during the undertaking." Tala said shortly, trying not to growl.
"I know there's been at least two major terrorist attacks in Starling since he went active." Harrison said.
"One of which was committed by my father, and was planned five years before it happened, so you cannot lay that at my brother's feet. As for Slade Wilson's Mirakuru soldiers, Slade had a personal vendetta against Oliver Queen for, as I understand it, something that happened to him on Lian Yu. Had Ollie settled down here in Central City after returning from being a castaway, Starling still would've been hit by the earthquake, and Slade would've attacked here. You cannot blame the Arrow for those." Tala growled, angry at these people attacking her family's honor.
"He's a hero!" Barry said, placing a hand on Tala's shoulder.
"You're a hero Barry. What that man does is carry out a dark reckoning for his city. It is a brutal, violent vision of justice, one we do not share. You truly think he is a hero, fine. But he is not one you should look up to. And you, Tala, your brother died in the Undertaking, you have no brother, and should not continue considering this murderer as one." Tala snarled at Harrison, moving to attack him, her armor appearing around her. Barry grabbed her arm, pulling her backwards, against his chest. Tala heard glass shattering and ran into the cortex, pulling out her sword and a dagger. She entered the room to find Caitlin screaming, being chased by the boomerang. Tala threw her dagger, hitting the deadly weapon and pinned it to the wall. Cisco and Felicity came out of their lab, looking sheepish. Cisco pointed to the boomerang.
"That's my bad. That's on me." Tala coughed, trying not to laugh, pulling her hood down. She sheathed her sword.
"I want that Arrow out of my city, tonight." Joe said to Barry, and Tala tensed.
"What about me Detective? Are you going to run me out too?" Tala shouted across the cortex, glaring at him. She stormed out of the building, not bothering to change out of her suit. She went to her house, walking, despite the distance. Cisco managed to beat her there.
"What was that about? Yelling at Joe then vanishing? I've been calling you for the past hour!" Cisco yelled as she entered the front door. Tala growled and flicked a knife out, throwing it point first into the dining table, startling Cisco into silence. Cody and Kyle just looked at her.
"Joe wants my brother, the Arrow out of Central City. He and Harrison made it very clear what they think of who I used to be. I stopped killing for you, Cisco. So you wouldn't see me as a murderer. The only life I've taken since moving here was Mardon's, and Joe shot him twice anyway. I am a killer, trained to be one and will probably end up as Ra's Al Ghul before I die. If they're so quick to kick him out of town, how fast will they run me out with pitchforks and a noose the next time I take a life?" Cisco walked around the table and pulled her into his arms.
"Your brother is not a bad person. Joe and Harrison are just uncomfortable not knowing who the Arrow is. And they will not run you out of town. Barry, Cait and I would not let that happen, no matter what you did. Do you understand?" Cisco asked, and Tala felt her temper ebb away, enough for her to push her suit back to her trunk in Star Labs.
"Thank you, Koneko. Cody, Kyle, we have a metahuman issue, then we will be heading over there. Once this super rageaholic is dealt with, we will leave for Starling. Why don't you two go home, Cody, take the week until we need to leave, I'll call you, yeah? Between the Flash and the Arrow, there are too many masks to drag civilians into this hot mess." Tala said, sinking into the chair next to her. Cody and Kyle smiled and nodded, leaving after patting Tala on the back. She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Let's get some sleep. Ollie wants to meet me at Jitters in the morning, and I'm going to need coffee before I go get coffee."
Cisco laughed, taking her hand and leading her upstairs. Tala quickly stripped, pulling on a shirt of Cisco's before collapsing on the bed.
"Only you could need that much coffee in a day. Get some sleep. Your brother is family, we won't let anyone get rid of him." Cisco said as he ran his fingers through her hair, absently noting it was getting longer. Cynthia would probably touch up the roots on the blue portion, as well as refresh the color, which was starting to fade. Tala fell asleep quickly, drifting away in Morpheus's grasp. Cisco gently pressed a kiss to her forehead before following her off to sleep.
Tala groaned as she pulled on her fingerless gloves. Cisco laughed at her reluctance to go before pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"I'll have your thermos refilled and waiting for you at Star Labs when you get there. Now go have coffee with your brother." Tala handed him her empty thermos, watching as he went back into the house, still wearing sleep pants. She kicked her bike to life and sped out of the driveway, racing to Jitters. She hopped the curb as she parked, knocking down her kickstand and pulling her helmet off, letting her hair fall around her shoulders. She opened the door to the coffee shop and called out a greeting to Iris and the cute blonde barista behind the register.
"Strong and sweet, on it Tala!" The blonde girl called, blushing as the Merlyn heiress winked at her.
"Sister, it's been too long." Oliver said, standing up from where he was sitting with Felicity. Tala grinned and took two steps before jumping on him, hugging him.
"Ollie! I've missed you so much." Oliver hugged her back, getting his balance back from her surprise attack. "How's Thea?"
"Surprised she got a mention in your latest press conference, and annoyed she was invited to the rebranding." He said, leading her to their table.
"Yeah, well she needs to be there as a Merlyn, and you lot need to be there as my family. Lyla and Dig are coming; I want you two there too. Mostly to prevent me from punching Ray Palmer. He's always rubbed me the wrong way. He's great, I just don't like him." The blonde girl brought Tala her coffee and a doughnut on a napkin, with her number on it. Tala raised an eyebrow, before looking at the girl's blushing cheeks and winking at her.
"Charming the baristas again Tala?" Felicity laughed, sipping her brew.
"She started two days ago, and I complimented her on her choice of earrings, which were blue. She's been blushing like that since yesterday." Tala turned as Barry walked in from the back entrance. Tala smiled at him, raising her doughnut in greeting.
"The bad guy you're after, who robbed the bank, his name is Roy G Bivolo." Ollie said, throwing manners out the window.
"Uh, thanks. How did you find that out?" Barry asked, nervous. "The guy's still alive, right?" Tala groaned.
"Ollie doesn't kill anymore, arguably making me the most dangerous person in this city." Tala said, stuffing the last of her doughnut into her mouth, making her look like the least dangerous person in the city.
"Right. I thought you didn't wanna help?" Barry asked.
"I'm not. It's just a name." Oliver said. Iris walked over with Felicity and Oliver's coffees. Tala raised an eyebrow at Iris's behavior.
"One nonfat latte extra sugar for Felicity, and one coffee black, for Oliver. I brewed you a fresh pot." Iris gushed, making Tala stare at the girl like she had an extra head.
"Thank you." Oliver said, noticing the heart eyes that Iris appeared to have grown.
"Yeah," Iris sighed, "Barry, can I talk to you for a moment." She grabbed him and lead him away. Felicity was staring at Oliver over her latte.
"Felicity, this is me noticing you staring." Ollie said, looking at her. Tala tried not to laugh, knowing exactly how this conversation was going to go.
"We need to help Barry with his case." Felicity said. Tala nodded, knowing she was right so far. Now here was when Ollie would say that Barry doesn't either need or want his help. "Why don't you wanna help?"
"Because Barry doesn't really want my help, he just thinks he does." Oliver said, making Tala right again.
"Harrison Wells and Barry's cop foster dad both said you were dangerous, and he stood up for you. And prevented Tala from killing them both." Felicity pointed out.
"You're going to hawk me until I say yes, aren't you?" Ollie said, looking at the blonde.
"I'm a hawker." Felicity smiled.
"Hey, maybe you can help train him to be a better fighter. Nothing I've done has gotten through to him completely." Tala piped up, drinking the last dregs of her coffee. The blonde barista was at Tala's elbow with a fresh cup before she set the empty one down. Tala blinked, very surprised at how quick she was. "Thanks love. I appreciate it."
Oliver stood and walked over to Barry, leaving the girls to talk.
"How are you and Cisco?" Felicity asked, "Any change since I was last here?" Tala shrugged, sipping at the coffee in her hand.
"We both ended up hitting on the same redhead. I won her affection, and then she died, nearly blowing up half the city. Cisco has prevented me from killing people, and I got electrocuted so badly I stuttered for three days. He took care of me when I couldn't stand."
"So complicated, but happily so?" The computer hacker asked, laughing. Tala nodded, smiling fondly.
"I've got to get to the Labs, grab Cisco and head to the office, we leave in three days for that stupid ceremony, and I'm already done with it. I never knew how dad could do it. It's nearly impossible to survive all the paperwork. I hate paperwork. Oh, that reminds me, I got you guys something for the ceremony." Tala reached into her purse and pulled out another jewelry case, revealing three sets of cufflinks and a set of earrings. They were all shaped like silver and blue arrowheads.
"Yours, not Oliver's?" Felicity asked.
"It's my ceremony! Besides, blue is infinitely better than green. I'll leave these with you, alright? I've gotta run."
Tala grabbed her coffee and threw back the rest of it, pulling on her helmet as she left. Iris turned to Caity, the blonde who kept staring after her.
"Girl, you are smitten." Caity turned toward Iris, a blush appearing on her cheeks. Iris laughed. "It's okay, maybe she'll call you."
Tala went to Star Labs, calling Cisco on her comms as she did. He met her out front, hopping on her bike behind her. He groaned as they pulled into the Merlyn building's garage, not excited for the slew of meetings the board had promised them.
Tala walked into Star Labs in sweatpants and a hoodie. Caitlin arched her eyebrows at her, prompting Cisco to explain.
"After sitting through about nine hours of meetings yesterday, she woke up this morning, stabbed my alarm clock, and threw a star at the dress pants she had laid out last night. She told me that if I forced her to wear real clothes that she'd get her brother to put an arrow in me. Even though she was joking, I wasn't going to risk it. She gets to wear sweats." Tala dropped into a chair and stared blankly ahead, sipping at her coffee.
"Is that her first cup? She still looks asleep." Caitlin commented. Cisco shook his head and held up four fingers. "Wow, that must've been some set of meetings."
"I'm going back to working on that boomerang. Tala, you wanted to look at it?" Cisco asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and blinked. "Boomerang?"
"Sokka? Oh, yeah. I wanna see it. It's light weight and I want to modify some of my stars to be that light." Tala said, shaking her head, sending her hair everywhere. She brushed it out of her eyes and followed Cisco into the lab. He started running tests on it while Tala flicked it up into the air, letting it fall before catching it. She had a sketchpad in front of her, making notes on a new design for her throwing stars. She balanced the boomerang back on the stand, where Cisco hooked up a few wires, letting the computer check it over. Tala shook her head and walked into the cortex, feeling slightly more awake.
"Have you ever heard of color psychology?" Caitlin asked Felicity as Tala walked into the room. Behind her, she heard Cisco tell the weapon to stay before he walked away from it.
"The theory that changes in the color spectrum can affect emotion." Felicity defined.
"So like seeing more of a specific color can make people happy? I think I heard somewhere that seeing lots of green can make people less depressed and happier. So, what's my brother's reasoning for having a stick up his ass?" Felicity laughed, covering her face with her hands.
"I was thinking that if Bivolo uses color to induce temporary psychosis, maybe we can use light and color to reverse it." Caitlin said, looking between the Starling City girls.
"So, drag the victims to a rave?" Tala asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Miss Smoak." Harrison said, wheeling past the entrance to the cortex. Tala shot him a filthy look. "A word if you please." Tala grabbed the blonde's wrist before she left, giving her a warning look. Felicity nodded before chasing after Doctor Wells. Tala waited for her to return.
"You knew he was going to shoot me?" Barry hissed at Felicity.
"Woah, it is practically impossible to tell when he is making a joke." She defended herself.
"He tried to do the same to me. Testing me, making sure I was aware of my surroundings. I passed the test, and landed a cut on him. He wasn't pleased, but was very proud." Tala chirped.
"Hey, we just got a ping from the facial recognition software on Bivolo, a.k.a. Prism." Cisco said, looking at the monitors next to Tala. She pulled for her suit and grinned as she stretched.
"New suit?" Felicity asked, looking at it. Tala grinned and pulled up her hood, placing her mask on.
"Since when do we have facial recognition software?" Caitlin asked, surprised.
"Happy Hanukkah." Felicity said, smiling.
"Where can we find him?" Barry asked, stepping forward.
"Traffic cameras caught him entering a residence at 168 Jarvis." Cisco said. Tala leaned over and kissed his cheek, her blue lips leaving a stain again.
"We should let the Arrow know." Felicity said as Barry walked over to his suit.
"I can handle this solo, I've done it before." Barry protested. Tala arched her eyebrow. Barry really must not have liked getting shot.
"Barry, I really think you need to-"
"Felicity, I don't need his help. Tala and I can do this." Tala wiggled her fingers, making blue tendrils float around her.
Barry zipped over to his suit and changed, grabbing Tala as he left. They entered the apartment building, and Tala automatically gripped two throwing stars, seriously regretting not having grabbed another bow when she left Starling City. Barry started looking around the first floor while she went upstairs, pushing her powers to cover her eyes, just to make sure she couldn't get whammied. She was short tempered enough right now. Tala didn't want to tempt fate and kill Harrison, or hurt Joe. Tala heard a commotion downstairs and ran, jumping over the banister. She entered the room and saw Bivolo being held by Barry. She threw her stars, grabbing two more. One sunk into his thigh, making him shout in pain. She saw Prism's eyes glow red at Barry and chucked a flash bang at his feet. She grabbed Barry and guided him out of the building.
"Come on, Sarie. Get us back to the Labs, yeah? I need to make sure my little brother didn't get Whammied." Tala laughed, wrapping her arm around his waist. Barry laughed and picked her up, speeding them back to Star Labs. Tala pushed out of her suit and rolled her neck, reaching for the coffee Cisco was holding out for her. Barry sat down and let Cait run a few tests.
"There are no signs of macular damage. Your retina and cornea seem unaffected." She said, looking over to Barry.
"I told you, I'm fine." Barry said. Tala walked over, clapping a hand on his shoulder.
"I know. But I wanted to make sure. Humor your big sister." She laughed, grinning at him. Tala truly appreciated Barry standing up for her family in Starling City.
"Tala said Bivolo whammied you, no desire to go all MMA on us?" Felicity asked, looking nervous.
"No. Yeah, I mean something weird happened with his eyes for a second, but Tala got him with a star and threw a flash bang. That did more damage to me than Bivolo did." Barry explained, smiling at Tala. "She's always got my back."
"Weird thing?" Cait asked, looking at the two Metahumans.
"Yeah, they seemed to glow red," Tala said, dropping her empty cup on the desk. "Like the dude was wearing those corny color contacts. But only for a second. Your theory on the color psychology thing was right Thalaj. I'll tell Cisco and have him start helping me create something to unwhammy people."
"Look, obviously his powers don't work on me." Barry said, leaving the medical lab and going toward the cortex.
"It was stupid for you to go out there alone. You take too many risks!" Caitlin said, going into full Mama Bear mode. "As fast as you are, that's going to catch up with you."
"Caitlin, I wasn't alone. Tala was there and had my back the entire time! The only reason Bivolo almost got the drop on me was because I knocked his glasses off his face. Tala was there protecting me, while all of you sat here. I am not Ronnie, you've gotta stop treating me like I am." Barry protested.
"You're right, you're not." Caitlin said before walking away. Tala felt bad for her, but also felt that Barry was right. They both took risks that the rest of the team didn't. They couldn't afford to be babied, when they were the only ones out there fighting the Metahumans. Felicity was giving Barry a hard look.
"What?" Barry asked her, annoyed.
"You are such a lovable dummy." She said, crossing her arms and giving him the same look she gave Ollie when he was being stupid. Barry's phone buzzed.
"It's Oliver. He wants to have another session." Barry said, reading the text out.
"Want me to come, Sarie?" Tala asked, looking at him. Barry turned to her and the hard look on his face softened into a smile.
"No, I think it'll be alright. You stay here and finish things up for your ceremony. I'm all packed by the way, I just need to pick up a tux." Barry looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Don't worry about it, Sarie. I'll have Cynthia get you one. I'll use your measurements from your suit. Go, tell my brother I said hi." Tala said, smiling as Barry left.
"Why does he smile at you, but it's all coldness to us?" Felicity asked, looking at Tala who shrugged.
"I don't try and prevent him from doing the stupid shit. I let him make his own mistakes, like Ra's and Nyssa let me make mine. Like my dad let me get cut with his sword instead of not letting it cut me. Ollie only learned from his mistakes when they hurt him. You only learn not to touch the fire once you get burned." Tala said, walking away to find Cisco.
She found him in his lab, looking at his hand. He'd taken the gauze off of it, looking at the cut from the boomerang.
"Let me clean that for you Koneko. Before you get it infected." She said fondly, startling him.
"There you are. I didn't hear you come in." Cisco said, turning and smiling. Tala took his hand and the first aid kit out of the drawer. She pushed at her power, creating a bowl and filling it with water from a sink. "You're getting better control with your powers."
"It helps that I have a reason to want to control it better." Tala said as she dipped the clean cloth into the warm water and started removing the old medicine and the blood around it. She quickly cleaned it up, leaving it just looking like it was already healed before applying a small amount of disinfectant to it, making Cisco hiss in pain. "Sorry, I know it stings."
"As long as it heals before the ceremony. Don't want Cynthia to kill me for not looking perfect." Cisco chuckled as Tala rewrapped his hand, leaving it feeling better than it had earlier.
"I think you always look perfect." She held his hand as they walked up to the cortex. Felicity was just ending a call.
"That was the Arrow, he said Barry was acting strangely." Felicity said just as Tala's phone rang.
"Joe?" She questioned as she answered it. Surprised the detective was calling her.
"Tala, Barry was just at the precinct, he lost it at Singh, before losing it at me, then storming out after he saw Eddie and Iris. What is going on with him?" Joe asked, sounding worried. "Then his eyes flashed red." Tala hit the heel of her hand against her forehead.
"He got whammied. Prism must've gotten him before I could stop him. That explains why he yelled at Cait and my brother. He's lashing out at people, but I'd bet my company he's trying to fight its effects, making it worse. He needs found before he kills Eddie." Tala ended the call and looked at her team, her face set in a grim expression. She pulled for her armor, and turned toward Cisco.
"Find him." Tala said as Joe walked in. She nodded to him.
"Considering his abilities, how do we even stop him?" Joe asked, passing a cup of coffee to her. She took it and smiled accepting the peace offering.
"A cold gun would come in real handy right about now." Cisco said, winking at Tala, who hid her smile behind the coffee cup.
"None of us, except maybe Tala, could stop Barry. Fortunately, Felicity and Tala know someone who can. I think you better call back Oliver Queen." Tala spit her sip of coffee out, staring at Harrison in shock. She exchanged a look with Felicity who shook her head. "We're going to need the Arrow's help." Tala nodded to her slowly, Felicity hit redial.
Ollie and Dig met Tala at the front entrance, where she hugged them both tightly. She led them up to the cortex. She gave them a brief tour, showing them the main points, like her and Cisco's lab, her gym, and finally, the Cortex. Cisco skipped into the room.
"Oh, see, I knew the Arrow was Oliver Queen, well, I had it narrowed down to a list of a hundred fifty people, but he was definitely on that list!" Tala laughed as he winked at her.
"Koneko, you already knew. You don't have to pretend that you didn't." Tala said, wrapping him in a hug from behind. Diggle shot Cisco a disapproving look.
"You have a way to stop Barry's rage fest?" Johnnie asked, glaring at Cisco first, then Harrison.
"I have an idea about how to do that, Joe I'm going to need your help." Harrison said, glancing back at Joe.
"We need to find him before he hurts someone. Tala, who would he be most likely to go after?" Joe asked, looking at the blue vigilante.
"Eddie would be my guess. Even happy Barry doesn't like him all too much. Feelings for Iris and all that." Tala said, resting her chin on Cisco's shoulder.
"I've got him. Facial recognition picked him up on a traffic camera downtown." Tala darted over to look over Felicity's shoulder.
"That's Eddie he's standing over." Tala sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She raced downstairs with Oliver, who tossed her a spare bow, grinning when she made a face about it being green. They mounted their bikes, hoods and masks up and on and sped to get to where Barry was. Tala saw him first, drawing Ollie's bow and shooting him with an Arrow that wrapped him in wires, she passed the bow to Oliver, who had more strength and could hold him better. The Arrow yelled for Iris and Eddie to run.
"You need to calm down, Sarie!" Tala said, her voice distorter on. Barry seemed to sag in the wires, as if she had gotten through to him. "You almost hurt someone you consider a friend. I may let you make your own mistakes, but Iris would never have forgiven you." Tala said, looking at him with a sad smile on her blue lips.
"You need to hold on." Tala's eyes went wide as she realized what he was about to do. Barry took off running, dragging Oliver with him. She looked up to the skies for divine intervention. She chased after them, pulling a tranq arrow out and gripping it tightly.
"I just hope they turn Barry back before he kills Oliver." Tala heard Caitlin say over comms.
"Me, I'd be more worried about what Oliver will do to Barry." Johnnie said.
"Barry has superpowers. Oliver has a bow and arrow." Caitlin scoffed.
"Do you have any idea how many people Oliver has killed with that bow and arrow?" Johnnie asked, making Tala roll her eyes as Oliver stood and shook his head at her. She dropped the tranq back into her quiver and threw a star at him, catching him in the thigh.
"Recurve bows can travel up to three hundred feet per second, so two hundred miles an hour. Barry can run three times that fast." Cisco said.
"Koneko, it's a little hard to fight with you sounding so adorable in my ear. Turn off your microphone!" Tala hissed, grinning slightly. Despite having to fight against her younger brother, she was happy to be working with Ollie again.
"Sorry, didn't realize it was on. Don't die! Love you!" Cisco hit the microphone button, not noticing that Caitlin, Johnnie and Felicity were staring at him. Tala stood there, staring ahead in shock. She mouthed the word Love, before blinking as Oliver shot two arrows behind Barry.
"You missed." Barry boasted, making Tala roll her eyes.
"No." Oliver said, and Tala hit the detonation button on her bow, sending Barry flying forward. Tala moved and pulled Ollie to his feet. They ran around to be behind Barry when he got up, drawing their tranq arrows together. As the speedster stood up, they shot him, each nailing a shoulder.
"Two thousand milligrams of horse tranquilizer." Oliver said, stepping forward.
"Should be hitting you any time now. Ollie, I hate this bow. You shoot right handed. I don't." Tala huffed, glaring at the bow, and rolling her right shoulder, unaccustomed to using it to pull the bowstring back. Barry fell down to one knee, the tranqs doing their jobs. "Also, the team is betting on Arrow vs Flash, I don't even rate a mention." Tala pushed her hands forward, moving to wrap Barry in her powers so he couldn't escape. Barry stood and side stepped the blue tendrils, pulling the two arrows out of his back. He started vibrating, pushing the drugs out of his system. Tala groaned, rolling her eyes. Barry started running in a circle around the two archers, pulling fire from the dumpster. Tala and Oliver fired grappling arrow into the nearby building, pulling themselves up, out of the whirlwind.
Tala reached for the top, getting ready to pull herself up, when Barry was suddenly up there.
"We're not done!" Barry ripped Oliver's arrow out of the building, making him fall.
"Ollie!" Tala screamed as she hit the release on hers and dove after him. She caught him a beat after he fired a second arrow. The two archers landed on the ground, glaring at Barry, who was standing a few feet away.
"Is that all you got?" Barry asked. He charged at them and Tala and Oliver went back to back, trying to land Barry on the ground long enough for Joe and Harrison to get there and fix the speedster.
"Next time, I say we stick to Mirakuru asshats instead of my friends, yeah?" Tala shouted as she swiped Barry's feet out from under him, standing to throw a knife at him as he dodged. Barry moved to face Oliver, who got a good hit in with his bow. Barry stepped back, blinking. Barry moved forward, shoving Tala out of his way as he started raining down punches on the Arrow. Tala rolled along the asphalt, groaning when she felt a bruise blossom on her knee. Tala pulled herself up as Barry knocked Oliver to the ground. She pressed a button on her bow, sending two arrows flying from behind Barry. He turned and caught them.
"Fool me once." Tala and Oliver flicked their smaller arrows at Barry's legs, hamstringing him. Barry fell to the ground on one knee, giving them time to stand and shake the fog from their minds.
"I still believe in you, Barry." Oliver panted. Tala looked over at her friend, hoping he would be back to normal soon. Barry's eyes flashed red and he stalked forward, throwing a punch, which Oliver caught. Tala punched him across the face, stunning him enough for Oliver to spin him around and hold him in place while Joe and Harrison sped into the alley in a van. Tala closed her eyes as the LED lights flashed. Oliver let go of Barry as the lights died, and the speedster stumbled, groaning.
"Barry?" Oliver asked as Tala called him Sarie. Barry turned around to face them, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, this is going to be a special kind of hangover." Barry panted. Tala laughed, moving to hug him tightly. Oliver helped Barry limp over to their bikes, where Tala was going to drive him back to the lab so his hamstring could heal.
"Oliver, I'm so sorry." Barry said, looking at the green vigilante. "Tala, you too."
"You didn't actually try and kill me. It was like, everyone else was pissing you off, except me - which was weird." Tala shrugged.
"We still need to take care of that Metahuman. You got anything left in the tank?" Oliver asked.
"If not, there's three of us." Barry laughed. Tala pulled out one of Cisco's protein bars, tossing it to Barry.
"Or this." Barry ate it quickly and they headed off after Bivolo. He wasn't hard to catch. He was quickly thrown in the pipeline, where he started making threats, his eyes glowing red. Tala scoffed at him, tapping the glass with her fingernail.
"Not gonna happen buddy. Cool your jets."
"Blah Blah blah, no prison can hold me. Heard it all before, pal. Adios Prism." Cisco said, closing the pipeline vault door behind him.
"I liked Rainbow Raider." Caitlin cheered, smiling at Tala over Cisco's head. Tala quickly changed it in the metafile, not letting Cisco see it.
"Okay, you don't get to pick the names." Cisco said, looking at her like she was insane.
"I have a prison like this. Mine's on a nearly inhospitable island in the North China Sea, but this works too." Oliver said, smiling softly. Tala laughed, high fiving him. Tala really enjoyed working with her family like this. Her and Oliver had worked together for long enough to know how the other fought. Her and Barry were getting there. Tala wondered if she could convince Ollie to come out to Central City more often to help her train Barry to fight better.
Tala entered the Cortex as Oliver finished speaking.
"What Oliver means, is that he enjoyed working with you all. And he hopes to do it again some time!" Felicity said, stepping forward and placing her hand on Ollie's shoulder. Tala snickered.
"I'm guessing he was talking about how important his secret identity is? Ollie, I can list at least fifteen people who know who you are. These people work with me and Barry everyday, doing a slightly more insane version of what you do. They won't sell you out, any more than they'd sell me out." Tala said, draping herself over Cisco's shoulders. Oliver smiled at her as Tala sent a loving look at the mechanical engineer. Cisco didn't see it, smiling over at Barry. Felicity walked over to Cait to ask her about some DNA from Sara's murder. Cisco held her hand as her smile faded slightly. Tala wondered if Sara was happy wherever she was. Harrison wheeled over to Oliver, shaking his hand.
"I met your father once, at a Charity event. One of the things we spoke of was you. I think he would be proud of the man you are today." Tala frowned into Cisco's hair before standing fully.
"I'm going to walk them out, meet me in the garage, Koneko?" Cisco nodded, smiling at her before turning to Caitlin. Barry had long since left for Jitters. Tala walked over to Oliver, throwing her arm around his waist.
"There is something off about Doctor Wells." He said in Russian, lowering his voice. "Have you noticed anything?"
"He isn't paralyzed. I've got him on video walking, video from last week. He's obsessed with making the Flash faster, for some reason. When the detective was investigating the murder of Barry's mother, he suspected the Doctor. Suddenly the speedster who murdered her appeared, taking the case files and threatening his daughter. I suspect Wells."
Oliver looked at Tala, surprise on his face. She tapped her ear twice, telling him she had eyes and ears on him.
"Are you guys sure you don't wanna fly back to Starling? There's plenty of room on the jet." Tala offered, looking at her family.
"We drove, so we have cars here that need to get back to Starling. Plus my bike." Ollie said, pulling Tala into a tight hug. "Can I call on you to have my back when you're there?"
She smiled at him, hugging him back.
"All three of you, only need to call and I will be there. For anything you need, no matter the cost. You're my family." Tala reached over and cupped Felicity's cheek, before moving to hug Johnnie. "I'm gonna bring Cisco over at some point for dinner with you and Lyla. I miss baby Sara."
Tala waved as they loaded into their car, and Oliver hopped on his bike. They headed into town. Tala turned and walked back into the building, summoning the elevator to get to the garage. Cisco was standing there holding her helmet and her weapons bag. She grinned as she fastened it to the bike, before pulling on her helmet. She handed Cisco his, one she had Cody get for him. Decorated in burgundy and yellow, he gaped at it in open-mouthed shock. He smiled, pulling it on. Tala climbed on, letting Cisco get on behind her. She kicked the bike to life as Cisco wrapped his arms around her waist, before speeding towards the airport.