Here's the second. Hope you like them, please please review.
I own nothing except Alyssa, so don't touch her or sue me.
Chapter 14: Reset:
"Well there goes my excuse for not visiting my family." Cisco muttered, leaving an angry Weather Wizard in the cell behind him.
Barry had made a record capture and that was great even if he was acting a bit odd. But now Cisco had to face his family who, as he told Caitlin, always reminded him that he could do no right, and on top of that he had argued with Hartley yesterday and Felicity had left so he didn't have anyone to talk to. Barry had his own problems, Caitlin didn't know about the Rathaway twins yet and Alyssa, she was dealing with her own problems. He wouldn't want to add to them.
Alyssa was eating cookie dough ice cream while detailing the virus she had given Eiling's computers when she had pulled Hartley from the general's grip. Needless to say Hartley was impressed. Alyssa could hack anything with a battery even if she was terrible at making things, and her viruses were a thing to be feared. She had also sent one to S.T.A.R. Labs, which when Cisco had found out had given her cause to do a great deal of apologizing.
"Alyssa, what's that ship everyone's always saying is a piece of junk, the something-Falcon?"
"The Millennium Falcon? Why?"
He shook his head. "Just a thought." She smiled.
"Come on. Lets go find you a laptop shall we?"
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"Well for that you'd have to actually get up in the morning." Cisco retorted.
He found himself wishing Hartley was there if only because the other was better at cutting remarks and he'd love to know what Hartley would have to say to Dante. It would be amusing for sure. And besides Caitlin was engaged and had started wearing her ring again after they'd found Ronnie and while not huge it was certainly visible! So Dante could stop flirting with his friend!
"Come on. Why you so serious mija?"
The old nickname sent a flare through Cisco and he left before he could do something he would really regret. He sympathized with Hartley and Alyssa, really he did. Their family seemed about as accepting as his. At least his parents hadn't thrown him out, though at this point he wasn't sure he would care if they did. A pang went through him and he pushed it aside.
He found himself in a bar, the one he usually went to when he needed a drink. Barry showed up later, apparently he had broken up with Linda. Cisco wondered if Barry's someone special (almost certainly Iris) would be as happy as Barry thought before a pretty structural engineer showed up and the speedster left.
Briefly Cisco thought that her wig was really terrible and wondered if it had been another dare from her friends and then she was kissing him and it was nice but it felt, wrong.
He pulled away. "Sorry, you seem really nice and all but I got to go." And he left.
He was trying to figure out why kissing her had felt wrong, not like he'd had trouble kissing girls before, when he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. His last thought was that it wasn't Alyssa playing a prank, she had no darts.
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"I know I would do anything for my family. Question is, would you?"
Well the answer was yes. Which brought him to this point, sitting tied to a table opposite his brother who had just confessed to telling the girl Cisco had had a crush on that he wanted to be a monk. Hell no.
"So not only did you break my heart but you also broke hers?" If he was any less moral, he would shoot his brother with the cold gun right about now. If he had it that is. Being able to hit him would do just fine.
His brother's next words might have been enough to push away the anger if Dante hadn't blindly attacked Heat Wave. At least have more of a plan before you, not quietly, run up behind a pyromaniac!
Then the thief was coming at him and Cisco swung on instinct, only just missing and now he really couldn't be angry with his brother because he was too worried about being used as charcoal.
Someone pulled Heat Wave away and Cisco risked a look up, than blinked in surprise. A familiar face half obscured with sunglasses showed behind Mick Rory's, one arm wrapped around his chest, the other hand holding a syringe imbedded in his neck.
He saw yellow behind her shades and gulped, she was very angry. "Why do I get the feeling you're completely off your leash?"
Alyssa let the thief fall to the floor, the syringe slipping back into her sleeve. "I love that you think a person who can keep me on a leash exists." She glanced up; the Snart siblings had just entered. Her lips curved into a smile that scared Cisco more than her eyes. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it over Cisco. "There's a pocket knife and keys in one pocket. Get going."
"But what about-"
"Don't argue, just go." Removing her jacket had revealed the armbands Cisco had watched Hartley refine. He wondered if any were more than sedatives and their antidotes.
"That's not an option." Captain Cold drawled slowly, hands on his gun.
Alyssa stopped swiftly and pulled a regular gun from the downed thief's belt, pointing it at Snart. "Want to bet?"
Snart's words chilled Cisco as he pulled his brother out the door. "Your hands are steady. You've killed before."
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Alyssa winced but didn't lower the gun until she heard the door close behind Cisco. "He deserved it."
"What did he do?" Alyssa's smile turned colder.
"Lisa Snart. I remember you. Tell me; are you still afraid of the dark?"
Lisa's breath caught in her throat. "Alyssa Rathaway." She whispered. Her brother recognized the name. Lisa had gone in undercover as a patient, to see if there was any hope of kidnapping or robbing either of the Rathaway twins. Len had never found out what had happened during that meeting, but Lisa had told him that there was no point in stealing from them and started seeing the therapist regularly.
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Lisa Snart walked into the therapist's office. She had done some research on their target though details of her work were hard to find. What she had found was that Alyssa Rathaway, age twenty-seven, dealt with fears. So she had gone in as a patient though she had not lied entirely, for as long as she could remember Lisa had been terribly afraid of the dark.
"Hey, I'm Alyssa Rathaway." The mark was pretty, with curly hair and brown eyes and a strip of green across her wrist. She shook Lisa's hand and gestured to the large, comfortable chair.
"Would it be possible for you to give me a minute, I was finishing an email to my brother, it will only take a second."
"That's fine." Lisa said, sitting down. The doctor typed something into her computer, eyebrows raised. "What shall I call you?"
"Dr. or Miss. Rathaway is most common, you can call me Alyssa if you want though." She said, taking a seat opposite Lisa.
"What's your brother like?" Lisa hedged. Alyssa didn't seem to find anything odd about the comment though, she leaned comfortably back in her seat.
"Brilliant scientifically, but not the best when it comes to social situations." Her smile was fond. "What about your brother Lisa?"
Lisa froze. Her alias was Mary Smith, who had no siblings. "I don't know what you-"
"Lisa Snart, younger sister of Leonard Snart, bad home life, arrested once when caught stealing diamonds but I would guess you've stolen much more than that." She smiled. "I had rich parents, Lisa; I know someone might come to me for reasons other then money."
"Had?"
She shrugged. "They found out my brother and I were homosexual. They disowned us." A grin. "I posted porn all over their website. It was hilarious." Lisa would have smiled had she not been so worried.
"So, why are you here?"
"Why do you think?"
"You could be planning to rob us; I can tell you now you'll regret it. There's not much to steal anyway, and I would do my best to ensure you got caught. I've done it once." The look in her eyes made Lisa believe it.
"If what you say is true and you are afraid of the dark, I will help you. It's what I do." Lisa hesitated, than nodded. She hated being afraid of the dark, hated how weak it could make her. Alyssa nodded with a smile.
"Good. Now to start I have to say that nothing you tell me goes out of this room without your permission, unless I have serious concerns about your welfare or of any illegal activity. So don't plan on killing yourself, and don't talk about any ongoing heists." Lisa smiled.
"You can talk to my brother about this if you ever need to." Alyssa nodded in understanding.
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That had been a little before the accelerator explosion and soon afterwards Alyssa left. Lisa had looked into it but the therapist had covered her tracks well, she could find nothing aside from what Alyssa had told her employers. She had spoken to Lisa as well, but the thief had refused to see another therapist.
Alyssa stepped over Mick Rory and stood facing the Snarts directly, the table in between them. "Honestly I'm hoping Cisco will be my brother-in-law soon." She said casually. "Like you I care a great deal for my family. I would do anything to keep them safe and you just kidnapped him."
She kept her glasses on, she was too angry and if they were removed it would be extremely difficult to conduct a serious conversation. Len and Lisa were both becoming anxious, the effects of her ability touching them. But they had been thieves for long, and it didn't show. Visibly.
"But let's make a deal."
Lisa blinked. She had not been expecting that.
"I'll let you keep your guns, let you keep stealing, though don't expect any help with the cops." Len snorted. "But if you ever come near my family or anybody at S.T.A.R. Labs again, I will kill you myself. And if you test me, I will let the whole criminal underworld know that you are afraid of the dark, Lisa."
The two seemed to consider this. On the one hand, she might know who the Flash was and Len would very much like to know as well. On the other, despite her casual voice and stance, he had the distinct feeling that it was Alyssa Rathaway who had the upper hand here. And the anxiety he felt was starting to worry him. He glanced at his sister, who nodded once.
"A question before we decide." He said still trying to sound in control. "What did you do to Mick?"
"Sedative. I studied those as well as therapy in college. He should be awake it no more than two hours." She replied. Len nodded.
"Then we have a deal."
Alyssa smiled but before she could leave Lisa spoke. "What's with the glasses?"
The resulting laugh sent shivers down their spines. "I was debating on whether or not to do this, but since you asked." And she removed her glasses.
Yellow orbs circling stark black pupils sent waves of fear through them. Lisa's vision went dark and she screamed. Len felt frozen, hearing his sister's screams but not being able to do anything, so much like his childhood, like living a nightmare.
Alyssa sighed, elated, relieved and saddened all at the same time and left. It was a long walk back to Joe's.