WRITER'S NOTE: I apologize for the long wait. I was very busy the last few days and so I didn't have much time to write. I hope to have the next chapter up within a few days (key word is HOPE).
Anyways, enjoy! (:
Kiera hesitated as she looked at her Telegirl suit that Caitlin was holding out in front of her. "I'd get frostbite if I just wore that out here," she finally said.
"I designed it similar to The Flash's. It's made of reinforced tri-polymer, which can protect you from intense heat or cold, so this weather is nothing," Cisco said as he flicked his wrist, dismissing the idea.
"Okay…" Kiera said slowly, still hesitant. Caitlin led her to the van so she could change.
A few minutes later, Kiera stepped out of the van in the light blue, light grey and silver suit. Her injuries were almost completely healed, thanks to Barry's blood, so she had been able to get into her suit on her own this time. She couldn't help but smile as she looked down at the suit Cisco had designed for her. She'd never get used to the feeling of being powerful and ready to take on the world whenever she put the suit on.
Caitlin handed Kiera the headpiece, so they monitor her brain activity during the training exercises, and mask. Kiera pushed her hair off her shoulders before putting the circlet-like device on her head and the mask over her eyes.
"Let's start off with something small again," Caitlin said as she let Kiera to a table a few feet from the tent. Sitting on the folding table were items of all shapes and sizes- from pencils to bottles of water.
"Telekinesis?" Kiera guessed. Caitlin nodded and Kiera planted herself in front of the table.
"Whenever you're ready try to lift one item off the table," Caitlin said as she walked back to the tent where she could monitor Kiera's vitals.
Kiera took a deep breath and closed her eyes, imagining one of the empty bottles floating in the air. After visualizing it over and over, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that the bottle was floating two feet above the table. She smiled and raised her hand. The bottle obeyed and continued to rise. Kiera rotated her hand in a circle and the bottle began to spin slowly. She lowered the bottle with her mind, so it went back to floating a couple feet above the table. She kept one hand in the direction of the bottle and slowly raised her other hand as she visualized the other bottles floating.
The three scientists unknowingly leaned forward in their chairs as they watched her attempt to focus on two different tasks at once. They watched as Kiera made the lone bottle spin while the others slowly started to rise. A smile appeared on her face as it started to work.
Can you focus on my voice at the same time? Barry asked mentally.
The Telepathic connection Barry tapped into startled Kiera, she'd been was so focused on the task that she'd forgotten they were there. The bottles fell on the table, sending other objects flying as Kiera lost focus. She gasped and stepped away from the table.
Barry stood up and frowned. "I'm sorry. I thought it might work."
"It's okay." Kiera sighed, disappointed in herself.
"You just need practice. You'll figure out how to do both," he added, feeling her disappointment.
Kiera looked up at him and nodded, not fully convinced. Cisco stood up and placed a bucket of water on the now nearly empty table, thinking maybe it was time to move onto something slightly different.
"Try picking up just a small amount of water out of the rest," Cisco said.
"Is that even possible?" Kiera asked as she stared into the bucket of clear water.
"Try it and find out," he gave her a reassuring smile and sat back down.
Kiera nodded and glanced over at Barry, wondering if he was going to try to speak with her again. Without asking her mentally, she saw him ask her with his eyes. Kiera nodded, silently telling him she wanted to try again.
She closed her eyes again and slowly lifted a hand as she imagined a droplet of water floating above the bucket. She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw made her smile. A small form of water, about the size and shape of a marble, hovered over the still water. She looked from the water to Barry, continuing to focus on the water. It took her a minute to figure out how to concentrate on holding the water up and focus on Barry's mind at the same time.
She finally nodded to him and he tried again. I had a great time last night. He said mentally and grinned.
A smile formed on Kiera's face. You already know I did too. She looked down at the water and saw it was still hovering. She had done it. She had used her Telekinetic and Telepathic abilities at the same time.
Next, they had Kiera stand behind a pile of scrap metal.
"We set up a paintball gun," Cisco said as he nodded past the pile to show that there was a gun set up about 100 yards from Kiera and the pile. "The paintball gun will act as a regular gun. Try to defend yourself by making a wall." He nodded toward the pile that stood a few feet from them.
"Just like you did at the first bank robbery," Barry added.
"What if I can't make it fast enough. Won't the paintballs hurt?" Kiera asked as she looked down at the clear plastic cover she wore over her Telegirl suit. She'd never been in a paintball fight before and had no idea what it would be like.
Cisco smiled proudly as he talked about his suit, "You'll barely feel a thing. The suit can take it."
Caitlin stepped forward and handed Kiera an earpiece. "If you want to stop, all you have to do is say so."
You can do it. You've done it before, Barry said mentally.
Kiera gave them a nervous smile. "I'll try."
The three scientists walked back to the tent to watch.
"Whenever you're ready," Caitlin said into the microphone.
Kiera took a deep breath and turned towards the pile. "Ready." She slowly raised her arms and put her palms out as she focused on the pile before her. The objects started to move and Cisco pressed a button on the remote in his hand. The paintball gun shot out its first ball and Kiera's heart rate went up. She tried to quickly form the wall, but she wasn't fast enough.
The paintball exploded on her chest in a splash of yellow. She gritted her teeth expecting pain, but none came, only a slight tap. Kiera took another deep breath and raised her arms again, trying to form the wall before another paintball could hit her. She closed her eyes and imagined the wall forming over and over in her mind. After a few seconds she slowly opened her eyes and saw the wall was forming before her.
Purple paint splattered on her hip. She took another deep breath and tried to imagine the pieces of metal moving faster to form the barricade. They started to obey and thirty seconds later the metal wall was standing between Kiera and the paintball gun. She smiled, again succeeding.
"Well done, Kiera. This time try to go even faster. In a fight you won't have much time at all to defend yourself," Caitlin said.
Kiera nodded over towards the scientists who sat a ways away on her right. She lowered her hands and the wall crumbled, returning to a pile. She focused on the metal and raised her hands faster this time. She imagined the wall in front of her and the metal scraps began to move. This time they flew threw the air, trying to form what she imagined.
Barry leaned forward in his chair as he watched. Something felt wrong. He couldn't figure out what it was until he saw a piece of metal hit another piece and propel towards Kiera in slow motion. Before he could think he was running towards the scene in a blur of yellow.
The next thing Kiera knew, she was laying on her back looking up at Barry. She lifted her head and looked around. She was lying on the concrete, about fifty feet from the pile of metal and the tent.
"What just happened?" She asked as she looked up at Barry again. His blue eyes looked down at her, making sure she was okay. Their eyes met and they stayed still for a minute.
"What? Oh," he muttered as he realized they were still on the floor. He carefully stood up and helped her up. "I saw a piece of metal fly towards you."
"Oh, uh, well thanks," she whispered, still processing what happened. Barry nodded his head and brought her back to the pile. The pieces of metal were scattered around, having fallen when Kiera's concentration broke. "Well that didn't go as planned," she said as she looked around.
"I guess we'll have to work on that," Cisco said as he walked over to them.
Kiera sighed, realizing she still had a lot of work to do if she was going to have complete control over her abilities. She had made it look so easy at the bank, but now that she wanted to repeat what she did it didn't work.
"Let's try something else," Cisco added as he held up a small round gadget. "This might be easier to control." They all looked at the object he held in his hand.
"What is it?" Kiera asked, curious.
"A collapsible shield prototype that I've been working on. Ever since we found The Reverse Flash's ring-" he stopped, realizing she had no idea what he was talking about. "Right. All you have to do is press this button-" he returned his focus to the shield. Cisco pointed to a small black button on one side of the device, then he pressed it and in the blink of an eye the gadget expanded until he was holding a clear shield that measured about four feet long. "-and you're ready."
Kiera's mouth opened slightly as she looked at the beautifully made shield. It was simple, only a large slightly curved clear oval with a silver trim, but it was still beautiful. "You made this? For me?" Kiera asked as she slowly ran her hand over the smooth surface of the shield.
Cisco nodded. "It's made to withstand almost anything."
Kiera noticed how Cisco was holding it. "There's no handle. How do I hold it?"
"Telekinesis. You can move this with your mind while in battle to keep your enemy out of arms length or defect a bullet at any angle."
Kiera looked hesitant. She glanced over at the discarded metal spread out on the airstrip. What if she couldn't control it? What if she couldn't make it move fast enough to defend herself? It could turn into a disaster.
"And if you press the button again-" Cisco demonstrated by pushing the small black button that was now on the inside of the shield's top border. The shield turned back into the small silver device. "-it will turn back. Then you can put it in your suit's pocket." He handed it to her. "Try it."
Kiera took it slowly and pressed the button again, activating the shield. She held the shield out and focused on making it float above her hand. Her new gadget obeyed and Cisco, Caitlin and Barry stood back so she could get a feel for it.
Kiera held out her palm towards the floating shield as she imagined it spinning around her and a few seconds later it did just that. At her command the shield started to move through the air, slicing through the air.
After a few minutes, she brought it back to her and pressed the button. It turned back into the silver device in her hand.
"What to test it out against the gun?" Barry asked as he nodded towards the paintball gun that was still set up across the airstrip.
Kiera looked over at the gun and then at shield device. "I guess I could try." She nodded and walked towards a small clearing among the scraps of metal. She looked back at the scientists, who were back under the tent and nodded again, signaling she was ready. Cisco pressed a button a remote and the paintball gun started to work again. Kiera quickly pressed the button on her shield and it opened up in her hand. She used her Telekinesis to make the shield float in front of her. The gun shot out a paintball and Kiera tried to move the shield to defend herself. She misjudged and the paintball coated her abdomen in red paint. She clenched her jaw and tried again. This time she was successful. Her shield took the hit and it was splattered in green paint. She continued to defend herself successfully until Cisco turned off the gun.
"Let's try something more challenging," Cisco said with a grin. He picked up a joystick remote control and pressed a button. A drone flew out of the back of the van and hovered in front of the tent.
"What are you doing?" Barry asked as he watched the drone nervously. He remembered his own training sessions where Cisco used a drone to fire lasers at him as he ran.
"Relax, dude! I rigged it to shoot paintballs," Cisco said. "Ready, Keira?"
Kiera watched the drone, nervously. "Ready," she and took a deep breath as turned to face the drone. She focused on the shield, making it move in front of her.
The drone beeped and a paintball flew out, which Kiera easily deflected with the shield. The drone moved through the air and spit out another paintball. Kiera turned again to face it as she moved the shield to block the attack. With every shot, Cisco made the drone move faster around Kiera. She got hit a few times, but managed to defend herself most of the time.
After about fifteen minutes, Cisco made the drone land on a table. Kiera pressed the button on the shield and carried it back to the tent. Caitlin handed her a bottle of water, which she drank quickly.
"Great job," Barry said with a smile. "You're improving." Kiera returned the smile as she set the empty bottle down and took a seat in an empty chair, exhausted. "I think it's time to take a break," he added, feeling her exhaustion.
"It is time for lunch," Caitlin said as she looked at her computer.
Barry sped off to get them lunch from Big Belly Burger. After they finished eating, Kiera returned to training. She tried to use her Telekinesis to slowly move the scraps of metal back into a pile and then try to form a wall again, but this time she went slower. She repeated the exercise over and over until she got it down, then she started to go faster and faster every time. After a couple hours, she was finally able to form a wall in under thirty seconds.
After a short break, Barry had an idea for an exercise. "We learned that this mental connection can help us see through each other's eyes. I think we should practice using that ability. I learned how to do use it against Nightsense, but Kiera, you haven't tried it yet."
"We can try," Kiera said after she finished drinking another bottle of water. Barry stood up and Kiera grabbed her scarf to use as a blindfold before she followed.
They walked out from under the tent stopped once they were about twenty feet from it. Kiera turned her back to Barry and put the scarf over her mask, motioning for his help. He took the ends of her scarf and tied it around her head, making sure it wasn't too loose that it wouldn't fall down, but also that it wasn't too tight.
I'll be a little ways away. You can do this, Barry said mentally and ran back to stand in front of the tent.
"Whenever you're ready I'll fly the drone back out. Try to move the shield around yourself to defect the attacks," Cisco said into the microphone that wirelessly connected to Kiera's earpiece. She nodded her head at his instructions and then focused on Barry's mind. She imagined looking through his eyes and after a few seconds she could see. She saw herself standing several feet away wearing a paint splattered plastic poncho over her Telegirl suit. She had her hand dig out her compacted shield. Kiera pushed the button and threw it in the air as gadget turned into the clear shield. Looking through Barry's eyes, she used her Telekinesis to make the shield hover in front of her body.
"Ready," she said to Cisco.
The drone buzzed to life and flew past Barry as it made it's way to Kiera's body. She moved the shield to block the first shot. The paintball splattered in dark shade of blue on her arm. Kiera had misjudged where she needed the shield to be. This was harder than she thought it would be.
She moved the shield again, trying to defend against the drone's attacks. But as minute after minute passed, her protective plastic cover became more and more colorful.
Try again. You're getting a hang of it, Barry said mentally.
Kiera sighed in disbelief, but then Barry's encouraging words made her want to try harder. She spun the shield around her as the drone fired another shot. The paintball grazed the corner of her shield, but then hit her leg.
Kiera's body was aching from the repeated hits. She felt like giving up. She wasn't able to get a hang of this shared senses trick as quickly as Barry had.
Keep trying, Barry said again.
This is useless. I can't do it, Keira replied.
You can and you will. Keep trying.
Kiera sighed again and watched the scene in front of Barry. The drone flew around her body, ready to fire another shot. She didn't want to fail in front of Barry. She made the shield move through the air and it floated between her and the drone.
It seemed like hours passed while she waited for the next paintball, she realized that was because of Barry's ability to see in slow motion. After the drone finally spit out a paintball, it took Kiera a few seconds to realize what happened. She looked for the new splatter of paint on her body, but couldn't see any. She then noticed a neon green splotch on her shield; it was not there a few seconds ago. She had finally succeeded in defending herself while watching through Barry's eyes.
See? I told you, Barry said mentally as he grinned.
Kiera saw herself smile. "Keep 'em coming, Cisco!" she said out loud and moved the shield to follow the drone's movements.
Paintball after paintball splattered against the shield as the drone buzzed around her body. She pulled off the scarf and focused on returning her sight to her own eyes. She tried to make the change as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. The distraction caused the shield to drop to the floor and a paintball hit her chest. She sighed and bent over to pick up the fallen shield.
"I think that's enough for today," Barry said as he looked back at Cisco. The mechanical engineer nodded in response and flew the drone back to the table. Barry looked back at Kiera, who was staring down at paint-coated shield in her hand. Cisco and Caitlin started to pack up as Barry walked over to Kiera.
"You did good, Kiera," he whispered as he reached her.
"But not good enough. If they were real bullets I'd be dead many times over," she mumbled, not looking up.
"That's why we train." Barry placed his hand on her shoulder. "Considering you just found you were a Meta-human two weeks ago and you've already helped take down two villains, I'd say you're doing very well," he added and smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
Kiera slowly looked up at him and a small smile formed on her face. They stared into each other's eyes for a couple minutes, not saying anything, but still understanding what each other wanted to say.
Barry broke the silence. "Let's go help clean up."
Kiera nodded and they headed back the tent.
Cisco helped her clean off the shield and then she used her Telekinesis to move the scraps of metal back into a pile. The four of them packed the van and piled into it. After a few minutes, they were back at S.T.A.R. Labs and before Kiera could change out of her Telegirl suit, an alarm sounded. Cisco ran to the lab's computer to see what it was.
"There's a shooting at The William Parks Law Firm on Terrace Street! Reports from inside say there are two shooters."
Barry changed into his Flash suit at super speed and stood at the doorway. He looked back at Kiera. "This would be good practice for Telegirl," he said and grinned. "You coming?"
Kiera put her mask back on, checked to make sure her new shield was in her suit's pocket and then nodded. She ran to Barry and he gently took a hold of her before running out of the lab and towards the crime scene.
The Flash and Telegirl arrived a few seconds later. They only had a second to take in everything. The lobby of the law firm building was filled with screams and gunfire as innocent men and woman hid behind desks, chairs and pillars trying to get away from the two armed men. The shooters wore ski masks, bulletproof vests, black pants, boots and had extra guns strapped to their backs. Kiera noticed that one of the men was slightly taller and more muscular than the other.
You can do this, Kiera, Barry said mentally.
By myself? Kiera asked, as she looked at Barry, terror in her eyes.
I'll be here if you need me, but this is good practice. Barry nodded.
Kiera took a deep breath and looked back at the scene. She focused on the men's assault rifles and flicked her hand to the right. The guns flew out of their hands and hit a wall to their left. The two men looked over at the two heroes, stunned before they reached for their spare guns and aimed them at them. Kiera took out her shield and pressed the button. She used her telekinesis to make the shield float just above the ground in front of her, ready to shield them. The Flash stepped behind her as bullets started flying towards them. Through the clear shield they saw the shooters fire at them. Kiera flicked her hand and their guns went flying again.
Before Kiera could react, the larger man whipped out a knife from his pocket and grabbed the closest person hiding behind a desk. He put the knife to the terrified woman's neck and tears rolled down her face. Kiera knew she wouldn't be able to send the knife flying without risking it slicing through the woman's neck.
"Try that again and she dies!" the man shouted.
Telegirl glanced back at The Flash and then back at the men. Get them of here. I'll deal with the shooters, Kiera mentally told Barry as she tried to figure out what to do.
Barry nodded under his mask and in a streak of yellow lightning he started to take the men and women from the building. Kiera pressed the button on her shield and slid the silver device back into her pocket. She reached out her hands towards the two shooters and 'Brain Blasted' them. Having to focus on two minds at once made the effect weak, but it was enough to make them both cringe and the larger man let go of the woman. The Flash grabbed the woman and took her outside to the others, before the man could react.
"Don't even think about it!" Kiera said as the men looked back up and tried to run towards her. She 'Brain Blasted" them again, causing the shooters to crumble to the floor and hold their pounding heads.
The police have arrived. Time to go, Barry said to Kiera as he returned.
"Don't even think about getting back up!" she shouted at them as The Flash returned to her side. The men groaned in response.
Barry and Kiera heard the building's front doors swing open. They turned and saw armed police walk in, ready to take down the shooters. They lowered their guns when they saw The Flash and Telegirl standing before them.
"They're all yours, officers!" The Flash said as he nodded towards the two shooters that were lying on the floor. He then picked up Telegirl and ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs.
A few seconds later, Kiera and Barry stood in front of the large desk where Cisco and Caitlin sat. Barry pushed his mask off and grinned widely.
"That was epic!" Cisco said as he high-fived him.
"Telegirl did most of the work," Barry responded as he smiled at her.
She smiled and pulled off her mask. "The shield helped a lot. Thank you, Cisco," she said as she sat in a nearby chair and took off the brain activity circlet off her head. Cisco's puffed up his chest and grinned proudly in response.
The two heroes changed out of their suits and Kiera realized how late it was. She said good night and headed home. After the taxi dropped her off, she headed up to her apartment and took a long hot shower to soothe her aching body. After the shower she got in bed and fell asleep quickly.
The next day she took Barry's advice and went back to grocery store where she used to work. After half an hour of basically begging the boss to let her have a second chance, he finally gave in. He threatened to fire her if she disappeared again without telling him. Kiera promised it wouldn't happen again and changed into the store's uniform.
The day went by slowly for Kiera. She packed bag after bag at the checkout counters and then a few hours after lunch, Kiera was walking past the front entrance when something caught her eye. She looked out the glass doors and saw a slightly overweight man ripping a purse from an old woman's arm before taking off down the sidewalk. Without thinking Kiera ran towards the sliding doors to chase after the thief.
The boss happened to see her and shouted after her, "Where do you think you're going?! Get back here or you're fired!"
Kiera didn't stop; instead she turned and ran after the fleeing thief. She realized she couldn't use her powers out in the open or everyone would know who she was, so she ducked into an alley and pulls off her uniform pants and shirt to reveal her Telegirl suit underneath. Luckily while Kiera was getting dressed that morning she had the idea of wearing it under her clothing, just in case something happened.
It took Kiera only a few seconds to turn into Telegirl. She put on her mask as she ran out of the alley and continued down the sidewalk in the direction the man had gone.
She caught sight of the thief and ran faster. The man was already out of breath he darted through the crowd of people walking down the sidewalk. Kiera apologized as she pushed her way through the crowd, trying to catch up with the thief.
The man looked back and noticed she was catching him. He quickly turned a corner, hoping to lose her. A few seconds later Telegirl rounded the corner and looked for the thief; she finally saw him crossing the street and ran after him.
"Stop!" She screamed as he made it to the other side of the street.
He stops and looks back at her. "Why? What will you do to me? Make a ceiling collapse on me?" He shouts at her, referencing to her fight with Nightsense that ended when she made the police office's ceiling fall on the villain.
"If you don't stop running I just might!" She shouted over the traffic. She ran out into the street and a loud honk made her look to her left. A large semi truck was speeding toward her and didn't have time to stop. Kiera's heart skipped a beat and she held out her hand, stopping the truck in its tracks with her Telekinesis. Kiera looked back at the thief who was standing on the other side of the road, his mouth open in astonishment. Their eyes met and the man took off down the sidewalk, trying to get away.
Telegirl ran after him, quickly gaining ground. She saw a box nearby and used her Telekinetic abilities to make it slide out in front of the man. The thief groaned as he tripped over the box and fell on the sidewalk.
Telegirl ran up to the man as he tried to get up. "That's what you get for trying to steal an old woman's purse!" she said as she reached him. The man, still trying to catch his breath from the run, tried to get up, but Telegirl pushed him down, so he was now lying on his stomach on the sidewalk.
Kiera heard clapping and looked up as she kneeled down beside the thief and pinned his hands behind his back. For the first time, she notices a crowd was gathering around her. Most wer clapping while a few others held their phones up and recorded the scene.
"Can someone please call the cops?" she asked and looked down at the thief's hands. "May I borrow your jacket, sir?" She asked a middle-aged man who was carrying a windbreaker on his arm. The man nodded and handed her his jacket. Telegirl used the jacket to tie the thief's arms tightly behind his back. She picked up the fallen purse and then pulled him up to his feet, letting the bystanders take a few pictures while they waited for the police.
Once the police finally arrived, she handed the thief and the purse over to them. The growing crowd cheers and Telegirl ran off back to her job. Kiera ducked back into the alley and put her discarded uniform back on. She tucked her mask away and walked into the grocery store. She winced when she saw her boss standing before her with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes glaring at her.
"Where did you go, Ms. Taylor?" he asked as he stepped forward.
"I uh," Kiera knew she couldn't tell him the truth of what just happened. "I uh tried to catch a thief, but he got away," she mumbled.
"Tried to catch a thief? You?" he looked at her in disbelief and almost laughed at the thought of her- a skinny young woman, whom he figured never even ran before- trying to catch a thief. He cleared his throat and glared at her again. "That's not your job! I told you if you disappeared again, I'd fire you! Did you think about that before you tried to become a hero?"
Kiera's heart sank and she shook her head. She knew what was coming. "I'm fired, I know," she mumbled under breath.
"That's right, Ms. Taylor! You're fired!" He said louder than realized there were paying customers around. He cleared his throat again and lowered his voice. "You couldn't even get through one more day!"
Kiera sighed and walked to the back of the store and changed out of her uniform before leaving. She was walking down the sidewalk she had ran down a few moments before when her phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and looked at the screen.
"Hello?" she said as she answered the phone.
"Kiera? Have you talked to Barry today?" Caitlin's voice asked.
"Barry? No, why?"
"He's not answering his cell. Detective Joe says he's not at the precinct or at their house. Nobody's seen or heard from him today. And his suit is gone."
"Is that normal?" Kiera asked, even though she could guess the answer from Caitlin's nervous voice.
"No."
"I'll be right there. We'll find him, Caitlin," Kiera said and ended the call.
WRITER'S NOTE: Also I have to give credit to my good friend highlander348. She helped me a lot on this chapter. (: Thank you so much!
As always please review. It means so much to me that you guys have been reviewing. This story wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys!