The Uncontrollable and The Impossible

by Death By Verbicide

A brilliant new scientist with a mysterious past joins STAR Labs. However, her life takes a dark turn after she begins to investigate further into the secrets of Central City, Harrison Wells, STAR Labs, and the friendly but distant Barry Allen - and discovers the truth about her past. Things get worse when she learns that the Reverse Flash wants her, and the Flash, dead.

21. The Influx Chamber

Major thank-you to my beta - PoeFryeKenway, and lots and lots of love to those of you who offered to help out! (ArtChaser, BlueBonfire - I'm looking right at you two ;D )

This story would be nothing without them, and without all of you who read and review! I greatly appreciate it! :)

---

[Barry's POV]

I took Artemis up on her little offer to move in with her, and I didn't regret it.

Living together went amazingly, and we adjusted to each other's company quickly, almost as if it was natural. Artemis bought more than enough food to last me through the week, knowing I'd never eat my required amount in public. I brought all of my things in and we shared her room together; she didn't seem to mind having me around at all, and I in turn tried to make sure I was lifting my own weight around, though, really, we were both meticulous neat freaks, so household chores never did seem to be an issue. In the mornings, we'd see each other off to work, meet up for lunch every once in a while, mess around at the Lab when I'd come in, go home and cuddle, occasionally turning things up as far as my abilities (or lack thereof) would allow.

We'd rant to each other nonstop about science, laughed at inside jokes, spent a generous amount of time hugging and making out, and playfully argued over who got the TV remote. I threatened to tickle her if she ever got stubborn about something, and she really wasn't able to fight back, which kind of worked out. We cooked for each other, spoiled each other in every way we could, and almost every second we were together was spent smiling

Iris was a tad concerned we were moving too fast, as she had dated Eddie for over a year now and still didn't move in together, whereas Artemis and I had jumped the gun almost immediately. We told her we were happy, and didn't see why we had to wait if we personally didn't have any objections.

Eddie told us we were lucky to have each other, but we were insane. We agreed with him.

Joe assured the two of us he didn't mind me leaving home, so long as we visited from time to time, and we told him that he had better visit us as well, or we'd lose our heads and would make sure he lost his too.

At the Lab, Cisco thought it was adorable, and that we became more adorable; Caitlin gave us her approving smile, and Dr. Wells groaned and complained that we'd only annoy him more with our "senseless doozy-eyed immaturity."

Ultimately, it was obvious to anyone that Artemis and I had the happiest co-habitational, abstinent relationship in history.

Save for the tiny face that I was a superhero, that is.

If I returned from a mission with so much as a bruise or a gash, she worried.

If I ever winced while bandaged, she'd drop everything to make sure I was okay and that I wasn't hurting anywhere.

And, oh boy, when I returned from a battle actually hammered or with mangled, broken limbs, she wouldn't rest for a millisecond until I was fully healed.

Knowing that she worried about me, even if it was unnecessary at times, gnawed at me from the insides, and sometimes it made me feel like a burden to her, and I worried if it was affecting her feelings for me - that she saw me as weak.

"Barry, that will never be true," she stated softly, sitting at the other end of the couch while carefully redoing the brace over my severely torn calf muscle. I took her hand when she finished setting the splint, and she looked up at me with sad brown eyes.

"It's just - I will always fully support your decisions, and I'll always admire the things you do. But... I don't want to see you killed," she murmured, holding the back of my hand against her cheek, "I don't want to be standing on the sidelines knowing that you might face something you can't go up against."

"You're worried I'll lose," I answered, defeat settling through me, "You don't believe in me..."

And for a split second - I was able to understand why she'd think that way. I was fast, but I'd lost track of how many times I'd come back to the Lab needing Caitlin to stitch me up.

Sometimes, it required two or three shots at taking down certain metas, and given my reputation as a superhero, I was always expected to show up to take them down - meaning my enemies were always prepared to fight me when I'd arrive.

I, on the other hand, was facing new surprises, armed with nothing more than good reflexes, a handy ability to heal, a red friction-proof suit and voices guiding me through a satellite comm system.

If it wasn't for the Team, I'd have been poisoned the first time I went up against a meta, back during the days of Clyde Mardon.

The public was being lied to. They didn't believe in a superhero. They believed in a group of scientists dedicated to secretly backing an amateur metahuman with a strong desire to keep people safe.

"Earth to Barry?" Artemis called out, wearing a tiny smile, "Quit sulking."

"Huh? What - oh, I wasn't sulking..."

"Yes, you were. You accused me of thinking you were a loser, and then you did that thing where you quietly stare off into nothing, feeling sorry about yourself," she chided, moving up to sit closer to me. She hugged me tightly around my shoulders, and my insides thawed, warmed by the gesture.

She cupped my face in her hands, and brought me closer so I was looking her in the eyes.

"Look here. Nobody likes crazy, murderous metahumans. I agree with you that if we have the ability to stop them, and keep people safe, then we should. You've taken up that mantle upon yourself, and in doing so, you've saved this city from so much carnage and chaos. It's because of you that the rest of us even stand a fighting chance. And - be honest with me - Barry, how can you doubt yourself, knowing you can run at Mach 3?"

I cracked a guilty smile, and she slowly stroked my cheek.

"I'm never going to stop you from running out and saving the day. I'm proud of the things you've done, and I can't tell you how glad I feel that I'm able to support and be with someone who has the drive to do the things you do. I love the Flash," she stated, before kissing the crest of my forehead.

Something heavy and sad settled in her eyes. "But I love Barry Allen more. And how am I supposed to love Barry Allen, if the Flash gets him killed?"

"You're being overdramatic," I mumbled with a lazy grin, "I'm not gonna die. I've survived getting hit by lightning, and I fight metahumans every other day, and always win. The universe wants me to live."

"Oh, I'm the one being overdramatic?" she retorted sassily, arching an eyebrow. She began counting things off on her fingers, "Let's see, metahuman #1 at 10, metahuman #2 right after, dodging bullets by noon the next day, escaping a mob gang shoot-out after lunch in Keystone, criminal biker gang back in Central City before dinner - we certainly can't forget the Central City criminal biker gang, you know - followed by the mysterious break-in at the jewelry store, then the shooting in Englewood, and last but not least, the drug heist-"

I groaned out of annoyance, and her smile grew brighter in response.

"You said the universe wants you to live?" She joked, "Sure sounds to me like it's trying to drive you cray."

"You're trying to drive me cray," I muttered automatically, pulling her forward for a much-needed kiss. She giggled, and after we broke apart, she grabbed the remote and switched the TV on, snuggling up behind me, my head against her stomach.

"If I wanted to drive you insane, I'd force you to watch CSI: Miami, knowing very well you won't be able to move for the next hour or so, until you heal."

It didn't take an expert CSI to figure out she was making me watch the silly show to distract me from my injury.

I whined anyway.

"Artemis, no, I hate that show-"

"Too bad," she remarked, pulling me in against her chest, "You willingly put yourself in danger over a guy who ran off with a couple diamonds. This is your punishment."

And I groaned again, pointing out every single error of the forensics in the overly dramatized crime show, growing more and more exasperated as the CSIs and detectives on screen magically solved cases with senseless evidence whereas Joe, Eddie, myself and others in the real world saw a grittier and more grueling reality.

"Oh, for the love of god - how on earth do you find fully-intact fingerprints off of a mirror without the use of a physical developing liquid?!" I complained, "Forensics is all about the use of reagents! You can't just eye a crime scene and immediately find out everything you need! This is nonsense!"

Artemis couldn't stop chuckling over how offended I was getting, and kept telling me I was adorable when I was angry.

Truthfully, knowing that I could make her laugh and smile like that was everything I needed. The two of us belonged together.

I wound an arm around her neck, and pulled her in for a gentle kiss.

I'd be okay...

We'd be okay...

A metahuman who could suck energy out of living things proved us wrong.

A middle aged Lancy Perkins, soon dubbed Thermothief by Cisco, had been on an intense murder spree for a good week or so. The particle accelerator mangled her internal organ systems, leaving her unable to physically sustain herself with food or water, but coincidentally, gave her the power to suck the body heat right out of plants, animals, people simply by placing her hands on them - thus granting her the energy she needed to live.

She'd then kidnap her victims and "feed" on them, until they withered away and died, leaving them as nothing more than cold, colorless, dried up husks of skin and bones.

A good year or so of kidnapping pets and young children from time to time allowed her to hone in on her powers, and work them telepathically, making her almost unstoppable.

They had warned me against going in without a plan, had begged me not to be foolish, that I was asking for my funeral. I got overconfident, told them I'd be too fast for her to focus her abilities on me, that she needed to be stopped before she hurt anyone else.

But of course, the second I found her hideout and got within fifty feet of her - of the woman with dry, gray skin, frizzy black hair that grew in long clumps, rumpled dark clothing and the hollow, soulless eyes of a serial killer - I felt weak.

Instantly, worried voices began to protest in my comm systems as the woman in front of me smiled victoriously. All energy left me, taking a fluid, white form as it evaporated out and off of me, and flew towards her, revitalizing her. I fell to my knees, frozen in place, as my soul tangibly left my body.

"Well, now, Flash," Thermothief crooned, closing her eyes and inhaling, "I haven't felt warmth like this since the Tri-City heat wave, back in '09."

Dr. Wells shouted something I couldn't make out. Voices that belonged to Artemis and Cisco yelled responses. Caitlin's voice asked a hurried question. Joe was there too.

I needed to say something. I needed help. I needed to think of something and get myself out of this mess.

I couldn't.

I couldn't do anything, other than fall forward, onto my knees, my arms frozen at my sides.

I couldn't feel anything except for cold. I couldn't hear anything anymore. No more voices in the comms. Nothing, but hard, triumphant feminine laughter.

Time no longer existed.

Nothing existed, other than the murderous cold, swirling around inside me, consuming every inch of my body.

"Hey, Mother Gothel!" A familiar male voice shouted from somewhere in the warehouse.

Eyes barely open, all I managed to make out was Perkins' hazy form swiveling her head around frantically.

"Who's there?!" She shrieked, becoming riddled with panic.

"Now, Cisco!"

Thermothief tensed, as a fat white, powerful beam hit her, and Cisco emerged from behind a structure, relentlessly firing a metagun at her, the force taking her out almost immediately.

Another figure emerged, and ran forward, striking Lancy Perkins in the back of her head with a heavy iron crowbar. Crowbar and villain both falling to the ground, Cisco darted forward to bind, gag and blindfold a paralyzed metahuman, and Artemis ran towards me, covered me with something that felt like a very warm heat blanket, before holding my torso up almost too easily.

"Cisco!" She shouted, panicking, and I felt the presence of two bodies materialize on either side of me, hoisting me up and taking me somewhere, presumably a car, where a violent fatigue demanded me to fall asleep. Or maybe fall unconscious. I couldn't tell which.

When I came to, I was lying down on a surface I recognized to be the bed in STAR Labs' medical bay, blinding lights burning down into my eyes. An oxygen mask was clamped over my mouth, facilitating oxygen into my dried lungs.

Voices were yelling around me.

"She's denatured and damaged too many of his proteins! I - I don't know if he'll be able to heal from that-"

"Don't give me that shit," Artemis growled, her tone threatening, "You're going to find a way to save him."

"I'm trying," Caitlin shouted back, "You need to lower your tone! I'm doing the best I can!"

"Guys, his heart rate isn't-" Cisco tried to warn.

"He's almost clean out of hemoglobin. The oxygen delivery isn't working fast enough," Dr. Wells interjected, panicking, "His systems are not built to handle anemia - we cannot have an iron-deficient speedster."

"Bring him to my lab," Artemis ordered.

"What?!"

"My lab. Now. I know what to do."

Barely holding onto my consciousness, I felt myself being moved. I was being transported elsewhere, though I didn't remember how or why. I heard several things rattle, as if objects were being cleared off and thrown hastily onto the floor, and I was placed onto a harder surface - probably a desk or a table.

Footsteps scurried around, running.

"What are you doing?" Wells's voice asked.

"I've got unaltered samples of his blood with me; I can transmutate copies of it with the original ecfranite so Caitlin can run a blood transfusion with it."

The two women muttered to each other as they worked together.

Blood was pounding in my head, like a bomb begging to go off.

"Hurry! He's flatlining!" Joe shouted.

"Keep him revived, then!"

Wells, Cisco and Joe worked ruthlessly to keep me warm, and Caitlin and Artemis yelled orders at each other, determined to work together to save me.

I felt needles and tubes get stabbed into my arm, and heard more arguing and demanding, until the numbing pressure from within became so forceful, so intense that I lost control over my own conscience and blacked out again.

###

I heard the voices before I saw them.

"If Artemis hadn't been able to conjure the fresh samples of oxygenated blood on time, we don't know what we'd have done," Dr. Wells stated, "He'll heal."

Joe sighed.

"What'd you do with the woman? Perkins?"

"Unfortunately, she's in one of the accelerator chambers," Artemis's voice described, "She feeds off of warmth and living energy. The best we could do now is hook her up to a plasma-induced light source for heat...but it won't last."

"So... she'll just... die?" Caitlin asked quietly.

"Yeah."

A moment of silence passed. Everyone froze, once they heard her answer.

"And... you're okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Artemis scoffed, "She's killed 16 children and 8 adults, and countless dogs, cats, and other innocent animals. She fed on them like some kind of heat-thirsty vampire. If Cisco and I had arrived one second later, I don't even want to think about what would've happened to Barry. After everything she's done, she deserves her death. In fact, we're showing her mercy by letting her live out her days peacefully in the proton cavities."

"Artemis... if this is a matter of avenging Barry," Dr. Wells began, "It's-"

"It's not about revenge. Barry's fine. He wouldn't want that, anyway," Artemis's voice scorned, "This is a matter of stopping a murderer, who needs to kill in order to survive. I'm doing what needs to be done to keep others safe."

"Really?" Joe asked, "Are you sure this isn't about revenge, Artemis?"

"Joe-"

"I've been a detective for many a year. I'm hardwired to be able to tell when people are lying," he interrupted solemnly, "I've also been carrying a gun around with me since I began on the force. Trust me - I understand what it means to shoot, to kill, to keep others safe, but... The trigger should be your last resort, the farthest thing on your mind. You're doing good work here. Don't let it become a bloodbath."

"And Artemis, killing a killer doesn't make the world safer," Dr. Wells stressed.

"I appreciate the wisdom, but I don't need it," she answered, "I don't want to kill this woman, but keeping her alive is means letting others die. This is a special case."

"We know," Dr. Wells assured, "It's just..."

"You don't seem particularly concerned that you're about to let someone die..."

"Call it what you want," Artemis muttered, "I'm not going to let her hurt people anymo-"

"What happened to your arm?" Caitlin asked quietly.

"Huh?"

"Your arm," Cisco repeated, "You're hiding something."

"Oh, this? It's nothing. Just a... small burn. I just - I just... hurt myself while cooking-"

"Lift your sleeve," Dr. Wells ordered calmly..

At this point, I willed myself to open my eyes. I was lying on the bed in Caitlin's lab. A catheter was hooked into my bicep, and two large pouches of blood was hanging from a stand. A blood transfusion.

Wells and Joe had their backs to me, and were facing Artemis, Cisco and Caitlin. Sure enough, Artemis's arms were crossed, her arms hidden in the sleeves of an oversized jacket. Caitlin quickly noticed me, but the spotlight was on Artemis now, not me.

"Did you miss the part where I said I've been trained to detect lies?" Joe asked softly, frowning.

"Artemis... What happened to your arm?" Caitlin pressed again, putting her hand on Artemis's shoulder.

"Van Kleiss," Dr. Wells asserted, his tone unforgiving, "Lift. Your sleeve."

She scowled, before she sighed. She carefully rolled up the sleeve of her jacket, revealing a forearm covered almost entirely in thick white, red and black burns, horribly webbed over delicate skin.

"I was looking for Ronnie... And I found him."

Caitlin widened her eyes.

"When?"

"Earlier today. I... I had an idea about how I could help him."

Joe exhaled deeply and looked away, only to find me watching the conversation with unblinking eyes. Artemis tensed upon seeing me, and immediately fixed her sleeve back.

"Not so fast," Caitlin scolded, taking Artemis by the good arm, "That needs to be treated. And we need to talk."

She grabbed a few bottles of salve and a large roll of bandages from her counter with one hand, leading Artemis away with the other, ignoring the latter's protests.

Wells and Cisco immediately noticed I was awake, and persisted on looking after me, which was more or less unnecessary at this point. The blood transfusion was almost complete, and the weariness wasn't there in my bones anymore. On any other day, I'd have convinced them I was fine and they'd have let me be, but this wasn't one of those days. Caitlin and Artemis returned after a long while, her arm newly bandaged.

Caitlin joined Wells and Cisco in padding and prodding me, and Artemis stood next to Joe, a scowl set upon her mouth.

After an hour or so of Caitlin's fussing (and Wells's and Cisco's attempts to help her), the three of them finally left, leaving me alone with Joe and Artemis for the first time all evening.

I slowly rose from the bed. Artemis glared at me.

No doubt she was pissed at me. I'd gone in after a very dangerous metahuman by myself, not bothering to make a plan. If it hadn't been for her and Cisco, I'd probably be a cold, lifeless shell of a former human being.

Then again, she was just as stupid. She purposely went looking for Ronnie. She was lucky the only thing that got burned was her arm.

I refused to make eye contact with her.

Joe cleared his throat, sensing the tension in the air. "You two clearly have a lot to say to each other... But... Today's been a rough day for you both. Try to get some rest, and call me if you need anything. And... stop with the stupid metahuman shit. I am not looking forward to collecting any more bodies for a homicide case."

Artemis and I both muttered/murmured hasty apologies.

"And, kid, what on earth is that giant thing you're building in your lab?" He inquired.

"What thing?" Artemis responded softly.

"That - that giant machine you covered with the white tarp. In your lab. What is it?"

She stared at the floor. "You'll find out, soon enough."

"Oh... okay then?" Joe conceded, before he left as well.

Minutes passed, and Artemis and I stood frozen where we were, unable to make sense of our own disappointment.

Her scowl softened, and I noticed that tears had been brimming her eyes.

"We should go home..." she whispered, turning away.

"Okay," I answered numbly.

Silently, we recovered our belongings from the Lab, and she drove us home. We quietly entered the apartment complex, trudged up the four flights of stairs to her apartment. No one spoke a word.

There was a heaviness in my chest, and in the air between us. Not from our physical fatigue, or exhaustion, or pain.

From mental stress.

She had been silently crying the entire time.

I wasn't able to look away from the white bandages peeking out from underneath her jacket's sleeve.

She quietly shut the door behind us, did her best to ignore whatever storm of emotions raged under her skin.

She couldn't tune it out much longer. There was nothing either of us could focus on now, other than our costly mistakes today.

"Say it."

"What?" She murmured.

"You've got something on your mind. Holding it in is pointless."

"Barry-"

I frowned, and went to the kitchen to get some water. She quietly followed in after me, hugging her forearm.

"You still don't get it, do you?" I asked, handing her a glass.

"I never asked for this," she answered softly, taking the tiniest sip, "I never asked for any of this..."

"Never asked for what?" I questioned, crossing my arms, "Never asked Ronnie Raymond to give you a second degree burn? Or never asked Caitlin to bandage it up?"

She sniffled. "Yeah, like you're any better. You could've fucking died. How many times are you going to give me a heart attack like that?"

"You know there's no avoiding that," I muttered.

"Oh, there's plenty avoiding that. For one, you can stop acting like it's your duty, and your duty alone," she countered, "Two, how about you think of a plan before you go in?"

"I had to do this alone. Nobody else was to be endangered..."

"Yeah, but then you took the fall. You were the one who was endangered. If Cisco and I hadn't jumped in, you'd have been dead, and we'd have found ourselves with an unstoppable meta. So what's the point, then?" She asked, "Do we just let metahumans continue to do this to you? To us? Are you going to keep going in and risking your life? You can't keep letting this stuff happen to you."

"Look, you're not supposed to be putting yourself in harm's way, either. You and Cisco weren't supposed to go in after me-"

"Don't give me that nonsense. You're the Flash. You have enemies. You're going to engage in things that'll get you hurt," she seethed, "If you think I'm going to sit back and watch you get mauled to death, then you're very very wrong about me."

I pressed my eyes shut and sighed deeply, leaned against the counter.

"Artemis, don't be foolish," I grumbled, "You can't afford to think that way."

"I don't think you have the right to tell me how to think anymore," she declared, scowling. She crossed her arms and stood next to me.

I looked over at her. She had her hood drawn halfway over her head, but that didn't stop the messy black curls from pouring down her shoulders. A stubborn, silent anger raged in her eyes behind her glasses, and she was wearing the slightest pout.

"As stupid as you may be, you're pretty hot when you're trying to intimidate me."

"Don't change the topic," she ordered defiantly.

"I'm serious."

"So am I," she snapped.

"Fine," I scoffed, "How's your arm, then?"

"Never been better," she answered sarcastically, "How's your entire body?"

"Pretty decent, considering I was a dead body a couple hours ago. Then my crazy girlfriend saved my life by wiring me up with fake blood."

She reluctantly cracked a tiny smile. A finger finally wiped away at her eyes, and she titled, leaning against my side. I put my arm over her and rubbed her back.

"Look, you idiot. Don't do stuff like that. You don't have to fight every battle," she mumbled, her voice muffled in my shirt, "It's like Joe said. No more dead bodies. Please. You can't let this happen to you all the time. You have so much to live for."

I kissed the top of her head, and she hugged me closer. Her tears pressed against my shoulder.

"Artemis... I know what I have to live for. I know exactly what I'm doing," I murmured, stroking her cheek, "You'll just have to trust me."

Tears persistently glittered behind her glasses. I fished out a tissue from a nearby Kleenex box, and carefully patted her eyes with it, before locking her tightly in my arms.

She looked up at me with uncertainty, and I instinctively lowered my head to give her a deep, reassuring kiss.

When we broke away a good five or so seconds later, she loosely hooked her arms around me and buried her face in the curve of my neck.

"Well, then..." I murmured, delicately stroking her hair, "Now was supposed to be the part where we go to our room and cuddle and kiss each other till we fall asleep, but we can just stand out here and do nothing instead, if that's what you preferred."

She squeaked something in protest, pulling away almost instantly, and blushed deeply as I scooped her up.

I intercepted her mouth again with mine, carrying her to our bedroom.

"You and I are hopeless," she whispered later, touching her nose to mine as we lay next to each other.

"We'll figure something out," I promised, entwining our fingers together. She tipped her jaw forward, meeting me for one last forgiving kiss as she gingerly nipped our lips together, before tucking my head underneath her chin.

"You need a break," she whispered. I sighed as I wrapped my arms around her stomach.

She was right, I thought.

Even the Flash deserved a break from time to time.

###

That night, I was momentarily awoken by the sound of her wincing in pain, before she readjusted herself, careful with her bandaged arm.

"Artemis - are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she promised, affirming her words with a kiss to my nose, "Go back to sleep."

I mumbled something insensible and pulled her in against me, unaware of the fact that she had purposely woken up.

In my absent-minded, sleepy state, I had failed to notice that I had pulled her in by the knees, not her torso, and in doing so, had stopped her from leaving.

She responded by placing my head in her lap, soothingly caressing my hair in a slow, soothing and deliberate effort to put me back to sleep.

It was working.

Sooner or later, my body was once again cherishing the softness of the bed, my head comfortably resting on her thighs. My brain became devoid of thoughts and emotions, and my breathing became even, deep and slow.

She bent down, placing a single, sad kiss at my temple.

"I'm sorry, Barry. I do trust you, but I love you too much to let you keep doing this to yourself. I can't put up with this anymore. I'm taking matters into my own hands from here on out."

###

I jarred awake.

I was alone in bed.

Panicking, I jumped out of bed and called her name, before speeding around the dark apartment.

She wasn't anywhere to be found.

Neither were her car keys.

She had left, and when I called her phone, it rang in the bedroom.

That's odd.

She never forgot her phone.

She left it behind on purpose.

Or worse-

I charged out of the apartment into the night, not stopping until I was in Cisco's place, in his room.

He was innocent hugging his pillow, suckling his thumb like a baby.

"Dude! Cisco! Get up!" I hissed, shaking his shoulder, "Hey! Cisco!"

He murmured something about not wanting to go to school.

Groaning, I darted out of his room, returning with a cup of water that was emptied over his head.

He shrieked, and shot straight up, screaming.

"Calm down! It's just me!" I urged.

He widened bloodshot eyes at me in disbelief, hair plastered to his face.

"Barry?! Bro. What the hell?!" He grumbled drowsily.

"It's Artemis. She's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" He asked.

"If I knew, would I be here?"

"No, like, kidnapped gone, or-"

"I have no idea! Cisco, I'm scared."

Realization settled in his eyes, and he frantically leapt out of bed, grabbing his laptop.

"Flipping hell, Artemarry's reaching the wrong kinda heights together," he muttered, typing quickly into the screen.

"She didn't take her phone," I explained, sitting down beside him, "But I think she took her car."

"Thanks for the intel..." He answered, "I can trace her if she's in the city."

"What - you placed a tracking device in her Civic?"

"No, you quirk," he flared, hacking into the CCPD's traffic database, "I can follow her along in the traffic cams."

Cisco typed and zoomed in on one of the frames, following the little gray Civic along in the cameras, and on the map, until it stopped.

"Jeez, bro. You gotta keep an eye on your girl or she'll... wind up at the Central City Grand Hotel alone in the middle of the night?" He gasped, paling, "She's cheating on you! God, I thought she was better than this! Meeting up with people at hotels - I can't even right now, I'm so sorry. I was going to name your kids, and everything, and she doesn't even have her head in the game and-"

She left to meet up with someone behind my back.

I had known she was frustrated with me but... but I had never thought she'd seek compensation for the lack of satisfaction on my part from someone else.

My chest filled with a heavy, disappointed anger, before I noticed something odd. Instead of entering the hotel, Artemis cut her path straight away from the entrance, and ducked into the alley beside it.

"You weirdo, she's not cheating on me," I answered, cool relief washing through me, "She didn't even enter the damn hotel. See? She does love me."

"So... where'd she go, then?" Cisco responded.

Oh.

"Right."

I grabbed Cisco by the shoulders, and whisked him out of his apartment.

###

"Your girlfriend seriously needs to appreciate the gift of sleep," Cisco muttered, as we scoured the alley she had ducked into. The night was still cool, crisp and dark, and Cisco and I were hunting down the alley behind the hotel with flashlights - sorry, 'Flash' lights.

"Honestly, Barry, don't the two of you ever-"

"Quiet!" I hissed, plastering my hand over his mouth.

Did I hear voices, speaking to each other somewhere back here?

Cisco pulled my hand away. "Hey. You don't get to wake me up at 4 in the morning, force me to play Skyfall with you and your little sneak of a girlfriend, then tell me to shut up."

"Look, we don't know where she is," I pleaded, shining the light into the dark, "And I have no idea what she's up to, either. What reason would she have to be out at this hour?"

"If it helps, this isn't the first time she's snuck out behind your back," Cisco offered.

I nearly tripped.

"What?!"

"Yeah. She goes back to the lab almost every night. She's busy working on-"

"You tell me this now?!"

"Uhh, yeah... Sorry, dude."

"Wait, how do you even know this?!" I ordered.

"Because. I stay up at the Lab too. Doing work, enhancing tech, repairs and maintenance with your suit, that kinda thing. She knows I know. She asked me not to tell you because you'd worry."

I dropped the flashlight in shock.

"How...long has she been doing this?" I asked, unsure of how to react.

"Since she found out you were the Flash? So, two, three months? She's busy building some giant machine thing that's supposed to make your life easier. Please don't tell her I told you."

"I've... I've been living with her for almost a month now, and you're telling me she's been leaving me every night?"

Cisco paused.

"Well, yeah. I mean, guess it just goes to show you're not giving her much reason to stay the whole night?"

I felt heat rise in my cheeks. I picked up the flashlight and turned around immediately so he wouldn't see my embarrassment.

"I am not talking about this with you," I muttered, walking down the alley.

"You know your relationship better than I do," he replied, following behind me, "What are you doing wrong?"

"I don't know... She... gets really sensitive when I'm injured..."

"That's not what I meant. What are you doing wrong?"

"I - nothing! We're both really happy, and-"

"Oh my lord. Do you actually finish off too fast?"

"Cisco!"

"I'm serious. Girls hate that stuff."

"How would you know?" I grumbled, "You're just as much of a virgin as I am."

"Virgin?" He repeated in disbelief, "You mean you and Artemis haven't-"

"No."

"Well, see, that's your problem! Why aren't you-"

"Because I can't."

"You can't?!"

"No. I... The speed makes things... awkward," I answered hurriedly, grimacing, "We are ending this conversation now. I am not discussing this with you."

"Does Caitlin know? She might be able to figure something out..."

"Cisco, can we focus on finding my girlfriend before we discus-"

Suddenly, a loud cry was heard, coming from the end of the alley. Forgetting everything I had gone through only hours earlier with Lancy Perkins, I ran towards it.

There was a male voice, crying behind a wooden door. A hand grabbed my wrist before I could kick it open. Cisco put his finger to his mouth, signaling for silence, and put his ear to the door. I followed suit. The voice continued its pained wails.

"-rtemis, he can't just die," a meek voice pleaded.

"Die?!" I whispered.

Cisco wore a look of betrayal on his face.

"Shut up, and let me do my work," Artemis muttered inside.

"No, how can you be so cold-hearted and inconsiderate about killing the greatest fighter in existence?" the voice sobbed, "I thought you loved him! He's so funny, and his hair - and he's literally so handso-"

"Get over it. It's not that big of a deal. If he has to die, then who cares? It's not important at the current moment, you fool."

"Barry..." Cisco murmured anxiously, tugging at my sleeve.

"I care! His life is going to end! So many people love him, and he's so young too!" the other voice begged, "He - he didn't even have any kids yet! Why must the world be so cruel?! Oh, this is horrible! I can't live, knowing you don't care about this, about him!"

"Wait... I recognize that voice," I suddenly murmured.

"You're ignoring the fact that your girlfriend wants to kill you?"

"The entire city is going to crumble without him, Artemis! My OTP - gone! Just gone! How am I supposed to live, knowing he's a goner?! Who will protect the people, and stand for their freedom?"

"Andrew Marcus Thompson, I swear to god, it's just a stupid TV show!" Artemis snarled, "Jet is just a side character! You know Kataang is endgame, anyway."

"A-ha!" I shouted at Cisco's face, gently shoving him before I threw the door open, barging inside, "I knew you weren't going to kill me!"

Artemis froze, and looked up at me from the desk she was working at. A pair of safety goggles were strapped over her glasses, and the sleeves of her lab coat were rolled up, unveiling her bandaged forearm. Small inventions and devices were sprawled across the floor, along with millions of papers and pencils. The desk was lined with test tubes filled with various liquids, and catalyst reactors, microscopes, induction chambers and many tablet monitors.

Across the room, Andrew Thompson was lying across a new-looking couch, sniffling as he watched something on an iPad.

"Hi, Barry," he wept.

"Hi... Barry...?" Artemis murmured, slitting her eyes at me.

"Hey, Artemis."

"Someone tell me what the hell is going on," Cisco stated in exasperation, stepping into the basement behind me.

"I'm on Book Two of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Long Feng just killed Jet, and he told Katara he'd be okay, but Toph sensed that he was lying," Andrew explained, wiping away at his translucent tears, "And now, him and the rest of the Freedom Fighters are going to die in Lake Laogai, and Zuko's being forced to choose his own destiny, and Appa, and Iroh - and ugh, the feels, man."

"Avatar. That's some tough stuff right there, pal," Cisco cajoled, "Do you watch Game of Thrones?"

"I just finished Season Two, actually, yeah."

"I... might have given Andrew our Netflix password," Artemis conceded uncomfortably, removing her goggles, "Hope that's okay with you."

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Clearly me giving him our Netflix info is the least of your concerns at the moment," she murmured nervously, "I can explain."

"Wait - are you the Smoke Ghost?" Cisco asked, studying the other metahuman in the room.

Andrew pulled his attention away from the screen in his hands and checked out his newest acquaintance. "The name's Andrew, actually. Are you Cisco?"

"I am Cisco," Cisco blazoned proudly, grinning, "Wow, you're a lot less The Grudge, and a lot more Casper, The Friendly Ghost. I thought you'd be some creepy kidnapper."

"Yeah, I earned a bit of a rep, I guess," Andrew begrudged, "But dude. I didn't mean to kidnap Artemis. I honestly just needed her help. I'm just a kid. A kid with no life, too much tech, and a borrowed Netflix, hiding out in an abandoned hotel basement. Oh, and with creepy superpowers."

"That's actually my life story, more or less," Cisco agreed, nodding, "Minus the superpowers. And the kidnapping part. Barry would strangle me if I did anything like that. What the heck - Artemis would strangle me if I did anything. I... actually have no reason to kidnap Artemis. I don't know why I keep repeating that."

"So, you know all about Artemis and Barry?" Andrew asked, gesturing towards me and Artemis, the two of us awkwardly watching them.

"Oh, I invented Artemis and Barry."

Artemis cleared her throat, anxiously biting her lower lip. "Barry, what are you doing here? You need to be resting. You're not well."

"Right back at you. Care to tell me why you're sneaking around at night behind my back?"

"I was worried about you, and Andrew-"

"Don't worry about me. I'm worried about Barry chewing your head off," Andrew responded, sitting up, "I told you sneaking out at night wasn't a good idea. Barry - please don't kill me. This was her idea. I had nothing at all to do with it."

Artemis threw him a dirty glower that read You're not helping.

Cisco walked over and sat down beside him. "This is going to be something worth watching. They're adorable when they argue. Got any popcorn, or something, by any chance? I wanna get comfortable."

"Yeah, I do, actually..."

I ignored them, and sighed, looking at my guilty girlfriend. "Artemis, what is all this?"

"I needed a test subject to transmutate metahuman DNA back into its human form," she admitted, "Andrew volunteered."

"Excuse me?"

"For our metahuman crisis. I can't sit back watching all these metahumans hurt innocent people. Hurt you. I'm so close to finding a solution," she explained, hope in her voice, "And - and I felt bad, leaving Andrew alone. So I spotted him a couple of things, so he'd be more comfortable."

Sure enough, there was an old TV set in the room, along with a shelf of books. A Wi-Fi adapter was hooked up in the wall, as was one of the hotel's coffee machines.

Yeah, the hotel basement was a much better hideout than that room in the slums...

"Shorty here is great," Andrew added, both him and Cisco munching on Cheesies, "She visits, makes sure I'm okay, tells me about her day, injects poisonous electrostatic isotopes into my arms and neck from time to time. She's the best."

"You call her Shorty?" Cisco scoffed, "You have nothing else to occupy your mind with, and Shorty's the best you can come up with?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" I asked, rubbing my neck, "Why do all of this behind my back?"

"Because," she answered, focusing her attention onto the device in her hands, "You're overprotective and worrisome. If you knew, you wouldn't let me spend all this time. I'm on a tight schedule here, Barry."

"I have every right to be overprotective and worrisome. You left in the middle of the night, without your phone, not telling me anything."

Cisco and Andrew snickered and whispered to each other, wearing cheesy grins.

"Don't mind us."

"Carry on."

"I'm naming your first daughter Francesca, by the way," Cisco answered, winking.

Artemis arched an eyebrow up at me, ignoring them. "Yeah, we literally had this same exact argument a few hours ago, and I'm going to tell you the same exact answer you told me."

"And what would that be?"

"That I know exactly what I'm doing, and you'll have to trust me," she asserted, "You said we'd figure this out. That's what I'm doing. In fact, that's what I've been doing for more than a month now."

I sighed and joined Cisco and Andrew at the couch, plopping down in between them.

"She's a mystery, isn't she?" Andrew crooned, offering me a Cheesie.

"No. She's a stubborn little nerd who's determined to make my life hell."

"Andrew," Artemis commanded, "Get over here. I perfected the spectral magnitudes in these voltaics. I don't have all night."

"Cheerful one, aren't you?" he answered dryly, as he went over to her.

"Hey, if we're done here, can I, like, crash?" Cisco asked, yawning, "Barry here woke me up and forced me to come with him, and I don't mean to be disrespectful, but some of us actually need beauty sleep..."

Artemis tossed him her car keys. "My car's in the adjacent lot. Go home. We'll see you at work. Sorry for waking you."

Cisco winked at me, before facing Artemis and Andrew. "Well, Mr. Thompson..."

"Mr. Ramon..."

"It's nice to meet a fellow Artemarry shipper who also is a fan of the Targaryens."

"It is indeed."

"Are you two flirting?" Artemis interjected, wearing a sweet smirk.

"What-"

"No!"

"Of course not! Jeez!"

"We're just-"

"You know what? Bye!" And Cisco left.

I took his departure as an opportunity to lie down on the couch, which I had to myself now.

"Barry, you should leave too," Artemis suggested, still seated at the desk with Andrew, "I'll be here a while."

"Not going anywhere till you do," I mumbled, covering my eyes with my arm.

"Oh... Alright then..."

I heard a slapping sound, and out of the corner of my eye, saw Artemis giving me a cheesy, admiring smile, and Andrew rubbing his arm.

"Dude, why'd you hit me? You just put a shot in there!"

"Just - shush," she whispered, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

"What?"

"Just look at him. God, he's so cute! I still flip out over the fact that I exist on the same planet as him."

"Wow, then you're clearly not ready to learn that you two live together," Andrew retorted, before he smiled warmly, "You really are dedicated to him, if you give up sleep every night for this science stuff."

"A few hours of sleep are nothing in comparison to his life," she responded quietly, "I won't stop until I find my answers."

"We're getting close. You've almost got it figured out."

"But seriously. Look at his jawline - it's so perfect. And his hair and his face and his arms and literally everything - someone needs to go back in time and thank his parents for creating him."

"Artemis, you do know I can hear you, right?" I remarked, lifting my arm from my face, unable to repress a smile.

Andrew chuckled at the flushed, red embarrassment on her face.

###

So, that was the first and last time I got to see her working with Andrew Thompson.

One day, after I was finished with my work at the CCPD, I headed over to STAR Labs as usual, only to find the entire Cortex empty.

There was nobody there.

Funny.

Then, behind me, Cisco ran in, dressed in a khaki-colored suit with a navy tie, his hair tied back in a neat ponytail.

"Bro," was all I was capable of saying, bewildered by his unusual getup.

"Bro," he responded, raising an eyebrow.

"What's with the suit?"

"What do you mean 'what's with the suit?' Artemis is revealing her super cool new thing to the city government today. Didn't you get the memo?" He asked, running into his workshop to retrieve a box full of weird gizmos, "We were wondering where you were."

Say what?

I vaguely remembered Singh and Eddie discussing something about visiting STAR Labs today, but didn't pay much attention to it. Joe had been muttering to himself about picking up his suit from the dry cleaner's, and Iris had texted me asking about it as well.

We hadn't had many operations this week. Wells and Artemis were busy discussing particle interaction parabolas, and everyone had seemed a bit busier than usual, but I had assumed it was just the typical Team Flash nerd zone. I didn't work at the lab. How was I supposed to know we had been planning a reveal?

"Go home, get dressed in something nice, then meet us in the indoor convention hall," Cisco advised, "There are a lot of people coming in today."

"We have an indoor convention hall?" I asked, surprised.

"Uhh, yeah?!" Cisco answered, walking towards the entrance hall, "It's that one gigantic room by the outdoor convention hall? Where Wells revealed the particle accelerator? Is this your first time here, or something?"

I made a whelping sound, and left - at normal speed.

Sure enough, I had missed the dozens of cars - exotic and expensive ones - packed in our usually empty parking lot. Hordes of people - dressed in business clothes - were pouring into the side entrance of the Lab, and sky lights were shining into the dark clouds above.

Once I was sure I was out of sight, I raced home and changed into the suit I had worn to the capital conference a few weeks ago, and returned, blending in with the crowd. The people had mixed feelings about being here, I learned.

"Don't know why we're here. The last time STAR Labs had a reveal, it completely backfired. We can't trust them. We're asking for another explosion."

"-rticle accelerator exploded. This is supposed to 'fix' that, or something."

"How do you fix nuclear fallout?"

"-at's the new scientist's name?" Another person asked, "Caitlin Snow?"

"No, she's the other one. This one's named Audrey, or something. Graduated from MIT this past June. Heard she's the next Elon Musk."

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw a short blonde woman in a purple dress, her shiny hair tied back in a curly ponytail, and eyes shining warmly behind her glasses.

"Hi Barry!" She quipped, holding her arms open for a hug.

"Felicity!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around her shorter frame, "Hey! I, uhh, had no idea you'd be here?"

"Hey, Barry!" Ray Palmer chirped, grinning as he appeared beside her, "We were wondering when you'd show up!"

"Um... Is Oliver here too?" I asked awkwardly, "What are you both here for?"

Their smiles froze, and they looked at each other nervously.

"Oliver is..." Ray attempted.

"Occupied," Felicity answered a little too quickly, "He sends his best regards, and apologizes for not being here."

"Ray! Felicity!" Caitlin called out behind me, weaving through the mass of people in a black dress, "It's so good to see you!"

Caitlin greeted them both with hugs before facing me, disappointed, "Barry, where were you?"

I shrugged. "Could someone please tell me what's going on?"

"Artemis has found a solution to our metahuman problem," Dr. Wells declared, wheeling in to join us, wearing a white - white!? - dress shirt with a gray tie, "I've invited several potential investors and politicians to come see. We need as much support as we can get, and Artemis's new invention is very promising, you'll see."

Cisco returned to us as well, completing the circle. "Does anyone actually have any idea where our little Molly Hooper is, by the way? I lost her, like, an hour ago."

"I introduced her to the mayor about half an hour or so ago?" Wells responded with a half-shrug.

"There's Artemis!" Caitlin quipped, pointing away from us.

Sure enough, Artemis could be seen, wearing a neat, sleeveless green dress, red heels, and her hair rolled back in an elegant bun, smiling as she spoke with Dr. Tina McGee and a few other rich-looking people whom I guessed were scientists or politicians.

Caitlin made her way over to them, apologized to the older figures, and led Artemis back to us.

"Artemis, these are a few of our friends from Starling City," Caitlin described, smiling, "Dr. Raymond Palmer, CEO of Palmer Technologies, and Felicity Smoak, one of the greatest computer scientists of this century. Guys, this is Artemis. She's our newest physicist."

"Hi!" Artemis replied, holding out her hand to shake theirs, "It's great to meet you both!"

Felicity grinned at her. "Barry, you never told us your girlfriend was-"

"Artemis! There you are!" Iris interjected, appearing before us with her recorder and camera in hand, "Bridges told me he'd murder me if I didn't get any of this. So, smile. Everyone."

"Oh, uhh, okay," and the seven of us stood in line, smiling awkwardly as Iris snapped a picture of us, before Eddie and another woman called her over and she too had to leave.

"Artemis, what on earth is happening here?" I asked, laughing, "Why did I not know about any of this?"

She gave me a sheepish smile. "What do you mean? You know I've been working day and night for this. Dr. Wells wanted to see to it that everyone was there when my hard work paid off."

"Verily, it will," Wells responded. Caitlin then led Ray and Felicity away to show them something, and Artemis left with Wells to go greet more people - a man, woman and a small toddler who had entered, looking very confused.

"Elaine! Kyle! So nice of you both to join us!" Artemis acknowledged, before giving the child a high five, "It's good to see you too, Theodore!"

"They... don't look like investors," I murmured to Cisco, noticing how ordinary they looked, despite their well-dressed appearances. The family seemed pretty perplexed by why they'd have to be here, but were warmed by Artemis's greeting.

"Yeah, well, keep an eye on them," Cisco answered, winking, "Van Kleiss has something special for them in store."

Cisco and I continued to mill around by ourselves within the large bustle of reporters, businessmen, socialites, government officials, and scientists.

There couldn't have been more than two hundred people here, whereas the particle accelerator had reeled in thousands. Cisco then told me Wells had planned for this to be a private event, hence the smaller and much more elite audience.

Captain Singh and his husband, Rob, caught up with us, and the four of us made small talk, until I noticed a quiet, pale-complexioned man, dressed in a crisp Armani suit, rolling his eyes as Ray Palmer excitedly spoke to him. Black hair, neatly slicked to the side, and that air of subtle aloofness, of wealth, of power, and that unimpressed look on his face...

"Oh my god," Cisco whispered, widening his eyes as he tugged at my sleeve anxiously, "Is that-"

"Yeah. Come on, I'll introduce you to him," I answered, turning towards Ray and the other quiet man.

Cisco squealed and followed in behind me, and I could tell he was getting giddy. This man was his idol.

"Hey, Bruce," I hailed, smiling politely as I held out my hand, interrupting their conversation.

"Barry," he answered plainly, giving a single shake before letting go.

"This is my friend, Cisco," I stated, "He's-"

"One of your biggest fans, Mr. Wayne," Cisco stammered, enthusiastically grasping Bruce's hand with both of his, "I - I mean - Your majesty. Your highness. Your Wayne-liness. Sir."

"Francisco Ramon," he replied coolly, giving Cisco's hands a firm shake before letting go, "You're doing some clean, efficient work here. Keep it up."

Cisco dropped his jaw.

"Anyway, Bruce and I were just discussing what it would mean if the two of us became business partners," Ray interjected, "Wayne Industries and Palmer Tech have a lot more in common than outwardly seems."

Wayne and Palmer had a lot in common?

They both may be billionaires, they both may be superheroes, but that was as far as their similarities went.

Ray was more of the adorable, cheerful tech geek, who happened to be gifted with a nerdy charm.

Bruce, on the other hand, was quiet, poised and gave off an aura of intelligence and determined resilience. Women went wild for him, and his wealth.

Bruce and Ray were like night and day.

"Ray, this is hardly the place to discuss such matters," Bruce replied, "I don't make open-handed agreements, when it comes to business. Or other work, for that matter."

"Yes, but-"

"Ray! There you are!" Felicity chided, making her way out of the crowd and to him, grabbing him by the elbow, "Dr. Wells is looking for you! Hi, Bruce!"

She stole Ray away from us, leaving me with one of the coolest secret superheroes in existence, and his dumb-founded fanboy.

"Must be nice, having a Felicity," Bruce murmured.

"Having a Felicity, as in having a girlfriend, or having an inside person who knows computers?" I teased.

"Alfred and I both have sufficient knowledge of programming," Bruce replied, "But it'd be nice to have an actual girlfriend."

"Weren't you with Selina?"

"I locked her up."

"You did what now?"

"She attempted a crude burglary," Bruce replied nonchalantly, "I put her behind bars."

"Oh," I responded, awkwardly rubbing my neck, "You... certainly have a way with women?"

"Did Caitlin invite you?" Cisco squeaked, finally speaking up, "I didn't invite you... Not that I don't want you here. I just had no idea you'd be coming, Mr. Wayne."

"Bruce will suffice," he mused, giving Cisco the tiniest hint of a kind smile, before he faced me, "And nobody invited me. I'm crashing your little party, so to speak. Barry, there was something I needed to discuss with you. Urgently."

Cisco and I both looked to each other with newfound fear, and followed Bruce out of the convention hall into the empty Cortex, powering on the computers at the main desk as if he had done so before.

"What's with this set-up?" He scorned quietly, "Everything's out in the open. There's no stealth or secrecy here. Anyone can just barge in here and uncover all of your work. You don't even have a proper security system."

Cisco turned red.

"Satellite-based adapters. A Musa 43 operating system? A 7.6 Saturn processor?" Bruce continued, "The bats in my underground cave know better systemic organization than this."

"I - the satellite adapters are the best in their class..." Cisco replied weakly.

"This is the most basic and unrefined vigilante base I have ever seen," Bruce stated firmly, glancing up at the far wall in the Cortex, "Let me guess: Barry keeps his suit in that broom closet over there?"

"It's a shielded display case, to be exact, Mr. Wayne, sir..." Cisco answered timidly.

"Ground-breaking."

Without making eye contact, Bruce fished out a business card and handed it to Cisco, other hand typing at the keyboard. "Call me when you have time. You're in severe need of an upgrade. I know the lab isn't making much money nowadays, but I can't let you continue to embarrass yourselves like this. Now, back to business-"

I moved over and stood beside Bruce, peering down at the computer screen. He had pulled up a news report on a terrible prison bust.

"Barry. Three months ago, the Falcone family allied with the Joker in orchestrating a major break-out at Arkham Asylum, freeing hundreds of prisoners in the process," Bruce described, "I've been successful in incarcerating a good majority of the escapees, but a few have sought haven in other cities outside my reach. Metropolis. Starling. Jump. Kandor. But I never expected one to make as far as Central."

He clicked on the screen, and pulled up a criminal file on a man with a deck of cards tattooed over his neck, a hard scowl, and the hollow, emotionless eyes of a criminal.

"This man. Felipe Garzonas. He may not have any powers or unique abilities, but he's just as horrible as any metahuman you've met," Bruce explained, "Garzonas been charged for several cases of third-degree rape, molestation and assault. He's hiding here in Central City. I've already asked Gordon to notify your chief of police about him, and establish a city-wide curfew until he's apprehended."

"Singh and I know about him," I stuttered, nervously wringing my hands, "We've already got a case on him. He - I think he's working with a metahuman. Mark Mardon."

"He must be. There's no way he'd be able to hide all the way out here on his own," Bruce answered grimly, downloading files about Garzonas onto our computer, "Barry, you should know that his targets are mostly women, usually in their twenties. And he's known to attack strictly at night. Iris? Caitlin? Artemis? You want to make sure they aren't wandering around after dark, especially on their own. Garzonas is a vicious, merciless monster, and even I haven't been able to figure out his attack patterns."

Chills immediately flew down my spine. Cisco threw me a worried glance.

It didn't take a telepathic connection to know that we both had the same thought on our minds.

Bruce Wayne, the world's greatest detective by far, hadn't been able to analyze this man's plans.

What hope did we have?

What's more - my idiotic sneak of a girlfriend was meandering around town all alone at night.

Yeah, that wasn't going to go on for much longer, not on my watch.

"I can't be in two cities at once, so this one falls on your shoulders. But when you catch him, bring him to me," Bruce advised darkly, "He has a special punishment awaiting him in Gotham."

There was a deadliness brimming his voice, but it was common fact that the Prince of Gotham never murdered. Garzonas wouldn't be lucky enough to be punished with just death, after everything he had done.

"We should go back now," Cisco suggested, his voice small, "We'll miss the reveal."

Bruce and I nodded and we shut off the Cortex systems. The three of us silently made our way back to the convention hall, still packed with people.

We found Artemis and Dr. Wells almost immediately. Artemis seemed slightly anxious about something, and Wells was quietly laughing it off, chiding her. He smiled when he saw the three of us.

"Last-minute stage fright, when she has nothing to fear, other than fear itself," Wells chuckled, before nodding at our newcomer, "Mr. Bruce Wayne. Pleasure to see you."

Artemis's gaze changed when she heard his name.

"Dr. Wells," Bruce acknowledged politely, shaking Wells' hand.

"Mr. Wayne, I'd like you to meet STAR Labs' newest physicist," Wells stated, gesturing towards an expressionless Artemis, "This is Artemis. She's one of the greatest up-and-coming scientists of this day and age."

Bruce offered a gentlemanly smile as he extended his hand once again, "Bruce Wayne. I've heard good things about you, Ms. Van Kleiss."

"Trust me. You haven't heard anything yet," Cisco riposted, nudging my elbow with his.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Wayne," Artemis responded courteously.

I immediately felt uncomfortable. Bruce and Artemis had... a little too much in common, personality-wise. Both were sharp, ruthless geniuses with demanding personalities.

Someone give Artemis a multi-billion dollar company and a passion for flying rodents, and she'd probably be just as hardcore as he was.

Hell, she was hardcore enough on her own, with the sweet cheeky persona veiling the mastermind that she truly was.

"Artemis, whenever you're ready," Wells advised, "We're all waiting for you."

She took a deep breath and smiled at me. I reached over to squeeze her hand.

"You'll do great," I offered encouragingly, "At... whatever it is you're about to do."

"Yeah, just make sure there's no nuclear explosions, or that you don't release a radioactive shockwave, or that anyone dies," Cisco teased, "We certainly don't want history to repeat itself."

Dr. Wells and I gave him unimpressed looks.

Artemis placed a quick kiss at my cheek and squeezed my hand one last time before letting go, and disappeared in the mass of people waiting in front of the giant structure, covered with a white blanket, placed in the back of the hall.

"We better go in there," Dr. Wells remarked, and he and Cisco followed after her. Bruce and I walked behind them.

"Fun fact," Bruce announced as we succeeded them, "Artemis used to work for me."

I rolled my eyes. "You both are full of surprises today, aren't you?"

"It was at one of Wayne Enterprises' subsidiary companies. The Wayne Biotech Foundation, in Boston. She had landed an exclusive engineering internship with us during her first year at MIT," Bruce stated, as we took our place at the back of the crowd, "She actually devised and invented the spiral processing turbines Wayne Biotech now uses to synthesize inorganic matter through inter-spectral applications, at the mere age of 18."

"And...?"

Bruce gave me an odd look.

I chuckled. "Look, I'd say I'm impressed, but I'm used to Artemis being a wicked genius. This is nothing new for me."

"Then you shouldn't be surprised when you learn the head engineers at WBF kicked her out and took credit for her work, allowing her inventions became the catalyst for their success."

"Okay - that's just cold."

"I hadn't known about it until I ran a background check on her before coming here. Sure enough, the designs for the spiral turbine engines are all over her engineering projects, dating well before she began working with Wayne Biotech," Bruce stated, "The way she greeted me proves she still holds a grudge against Wayne Industries."

"Excuse me?"

Bruce tipped an eyebrow up. "Most women throw themselves at my feet upon meeting me. Your girlfriend exhibited no such interest."

"If she 'exhibited' interest, Bruce, I doubt she'd be calling herself my girlfriend. She was being professional about it," I retorted, "What did you want her to do? Swoon?"

"Constriction in the pupils. Locked jaw. Tense handshake. Overall, strained politeness, with dissent hidden in her body language," Bruce listed off, "Any kindness in her gesture was clearly forced. I'm here to apologize to her, on behalf of my company. I don't leave my debts unpaid."

He then pulled out a rectangular slip of paper and handed it to me.

A check - made out to Artemis Van Kleiss, c/o STAR Labs - signed for $3,879,000.000.

I blinked.

"That was the final amount of revenue we made because of her inventions," Bruce described, "It's only fair that she gets paid what she deserves."

"Bruce, I don't think you can-"

"Think of it this way: If she had stayed at Wayne Biotech and had never gotten fired, she never would have had reason to move away from Boston after graduating, and the two of you never would've met," Bruce stated, "You owe me one. Catch Garzonas for me, and I'll consider it even."

I was about to respond, before his watch lit up on his wrist with a small beep!

He looked it over, before nodding at me. "I'm due in Gotham. We'll see each other again soon. I'd wish you luck, but you're in good hands here."

"Alright, well, thanks, Bruce," I accosted. He gave a polite nod, before turning away to leave.

He was certainly a dramatic one, I thought, turning my focus back to Artemis. She smiled and her voice was clear and poised as she spoke of her parents' original vankleissium, which she had synthesized into its raw nucleic form, ultimately leading to her discovery of the particle she had named the hyper electron. To the side, a large screen presented charts and diagrams as visual aids.

"What sets the hyper electron apart from any other subatomic particle this world has seen," Artemis raved, "Is the fact that it moves almost a hundred times faster than the regular electron. This small difference enables it to bond with itself, meaning it can create and imitate any substance known to mankind. Ultimately, the hyper electron has no limitations in the world of science. Physical, chemical, biological, technological - this particle has the ability to reinvent our future as we know it."

People murmured amongst themselves in disbelief.

"My main goal today is to show you how it can reverse the negative effects of the particle accelerator and make this city whole again," she continued, silencing the massive crowd once again, "Dr. Harrison Wells' particle accelerator was designed to be one of the most powerful man-made inventions of this century, and had promised to change the fields of medicine and technology as we had known them. Due to powers outside of his control, this didn't go as planned, and the accelerator malfunctioned when powered on. A horrible shockwave was released into the city and affected several human beings biologically, turning them into what the Department of Homeland Security now refers to as 'metahumans'."

She paused for a second, before clearing her throat. "The discovery of the hyper electron has enabled me to change these metahumans back into their human forms by altering their entire genetic composition, and completely undoing the physical damage done by the radioactive fallout."

"What?" Someone gasped.

"Even - even you can't do that!" Another voice protested quietly.

"This is impossible. You're lying."

The crown broke into confusion, asserting their own superiority over her.

She smiled calmly, and walked over to the giant structure hidden under the blanket.

Caitlin and Cisco had told me she had been building it for several weeks on end in her lab, and she had been testing its effects on metahuman blood samples collected from the Pipeline, and on Andrew.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you," she announced, before pulling the blanket down, revealing a gigantic... microwave? "-The genome influx chamber. Measuring 10 feet tall with an 8 by 8 base, it's a shielded chamber, paneled with radioactive hyper electrons on the inside. It's designed to erase the effects of the nuclear fallout and repair the genome, successfully reverting any metahuman back to their human form, to what they were before the particle accelerator gave them powers."

"Radioactive?" Someone accused angrily, "You created a nuclear bomb! We're looking at another explosion waiting to happen! You'll only make the metahumans more powerful!"

"Yeah, STAR Labs has done nothing but create trouble for Central City!"

"Dr. Kurtz, while your enthusiasm is certainly appreciated, I assure you that nothing is able to escape my chamber," Artemis promised, her smile unfazed by the wild accusations, "The chamber's panels are built from palladium glass - the most durable substance in history. It's inescapable. Any reactions that occur in the chamber will be contained in its own walls."

"How do we know if it will work?" A woman interjected.

Artemis's smile glinted victoriously. "I'm glad you asked, Dr. McGee. Are there any metahumans here with us today, willing to volunteer themselves for a small experiment?"

My stomach flipped.

Artemis's gaze cut straight through the crowd, tunneling on me with a kind smile. "Now, now, don't be shy. I promise you it'll work. There is zero chance of failure."

My heartbeat pumped hot blood through my chest. I took a step back.

Artemis, what in god's name are you-

"I'll do it," another voice announced, in the middle of the crowd.

Artemis's smile grew brighter and she winked at me triumphantly. She had been joking with me.

The crowd parted in surprise, before people cried out in fear.

A tall horrifying ghost had appeared in their midst.

Andrew...

The people shrieked as they tried to get as far away from him as possible. Others stood rooted in their spots, frozen in terror.

"CCPD! Put your hands up!" David shouted, pointing a gun right at Andrew. Joe and Eddie flanked either side of him.

"You have the right to remain silent! Surrender! There are innocent people here!"

"Officers, lower your weapons," Artemis ordered, stepping forward to pull Eddie's arm down, "He means no harm. He's with me."

"Van Kleiss, you just admitted to harboring a wanted murderer!" David asserted, "You have no say in this."

"Let me cure him."

"Thompson. Put your hands where we can see them."

"David-"

Andrew shuddered, but got down on his knees, placing his hands behind his head. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. I promise."

"Captain," Dr. Wells urged, "Give her a chance. This will work."

"David, you've seen what the hyper electron is capable of," Artemis stated, "Let me cure him. I have the power to make this city safe again. Just let me show you."

Joe studied her, before furtively glancing over at me. I gave him a quick nod.

"Captain, I think it's worth a shot," Joe urged, lowering his pistol. David and Eddie threw him disbelieving glares, locking their guns stubbornly.

"Please!" A woman cried, trying to run out to us. A man grasped her arm, holding her back. It was the couple from earlier - Elaine and Kyle. Their toddler son, Theodore, stood behind his father's legs, worry in his eyes.

"Mommy," Theodore murmured, his voice growing urgent, "Mommy, Daddy, that's Andrew!"

"It can't be..." the father mumbled, unable to recognize the hazy phantom-ish figure standing before him.

Andrew slowly focused his attention onto the family.

"M-mom? Dad?" He gasped.

"Please. Don't shoot. That's my son. I haven't seen him in months. Please don't shoot him," she begged, tears flowing down her face, "Please - I've already lost him once."

"Officers," Dr. Wells ordered sternly, taking off his glasses, "You don't want that family to watch see their son murdered. Let Artemis help him. She knows what she's doing."

I swore to god I was ready to show David his own cell down in the Pipeline if he remained stubborn.

Luckily, he consented, putting his gun away. Eddie reluctantly followed in his example.

In the crowd, Iris wore a frozen look of worry as she watched the scenario, taking note of it all for the paper. Some of the scientists pulled back into the hall, watching curiously. Caitlin, Cisco, Felicity and Ray were there as well.

Artemis pulled Andrew forward by the hand.

"You - you invited my family..." he stuttered.

"Of course. You deserve a reunion, didn't you?"

He gulped. "Can I - can I at least say goodbye to them?"

"No."

"No?!"

She smiled, and pulled the chamber's heavy palladium door open. "You're not going to die. We both know this will work."

"But if it doesn't..."

A tiny set of feet darted forward, and Theodore threw his small, chubby arms around his brother's waist, unafraid. He looked up at Andrew with hot tears swelling in his eyes.

"Andy, where were you?!" He murmured, his voice breaking, "I missed you all the time..."

"Andrew... we... we thought you died, after the accelerator exploded," Kyle explained softly, carefully approaching his ghosted son, "What... what happened to you?"

"Dad... I was hit by the fallout," he answered quietly, "I became a meta, and I was dangerous. I couldn't control my own abilities. I didn't want to hurt any of you..."

"You should've asked for help, son," his father responded, cautiously embracing Andrew, "We had no idea what happened to you... We thought we'd never see you again."

"I did ask for help," Andrew replied, giving Artemis a knowing smile, "She can cure me."

"You know how to help him?" Elaine asked.

"It'll take no more than fifteen seconds," Artemis assured with a promising smile, "Granted - it'll be the longest, most painful fifteen seconds of his life, but I can make him human again."

"Do it," Kyle urged, "Please. You've been away from us for too long."

The audience gathered around and watched Andrew give his family one last hug, before he stepped inside the influx chamber, ready for all of his DNA to be permanently transmutated into its original state.

Photographers and reporters moved to the front of the crowd, journalists reporting the event to their cameramen, the suspense tangibly building in the hall.

Artemis shut and locked Andrew into the strange machine, and grabbed a tablet monitor.

"At this point, I'm releasing the synthesized electrons from their panels," she dictated, tapping the screen, "They're going to fluctuate within the chamber, until they're able to find the subject inside, which in this case, is Thompson."

With that, the chamber began to make a low whirring sound, and filled with an opaque white smoke on the inside - until Andrew could no longer be seen.

Caitlin, Dr. Wells, Joe and Iris appeared by my side.

"In a matter of moments, the electrons will find and transmutate all of his genetic structure, undoing the damage caused by the accelerator last year. The reaction will not hurt him."

As if to prove her wrong, a tormented, pained scream was heard from within the chamber, cutting through the silence.

"What are you doing to him?!" Elaine shrieked.

"Andrew!"

"You're torturing him!"

The police produced their guns again, but didn't know who to point them at.

"Stay back!" Cisco ordered, "She said she knows what she's doing! He'll be okay!"

Artemis studied the tablet in her hand, ignoring the throttle of questions and accusations being thrown at her.

"It's done!" She announced, running forward and pressing a series of buttons on the control panel of the chamber, "The reaction's complete!"

A seeping sound signified that the door had been unlocked, and Artemis wrenched it open, letting a scentless smoke fill and pass through the hall, slowly dissolving.

Pin drop silence filled the hall as a tall silhouette slump against the chamber's doorway, his hand holding his forehead.

The entire room held its breath and watched, hearts pounding. Once the smoke cleared, we took sight of a tall, emaciated boy, with deep shadows under his eyes, grimy auburn hair, and dirty, soiled clothes.

The boy groaned, and rubbed his forehead before opening his eyes, and gasping at the sight of his own hands - now in color instead of a translucent gray.

"I'm - I'm normal," he amazed, his voice a different, more human pitch.

The cameras began flashing like crazy.

The audience applauded, and the Thompsons shot forward to smother their long lost son in inescapable hugs.

That was just the beginning.

Caitlin - and several other curious doctor and scientist figures - studied every ounce of Andrew under microscopes and blood tests, and proved that Artemis's machine worked. There was no remnant of the metahuman gene in his body.

He was human, and he was going to stay that way for the rest of his life.

At Artemis's and Andrew's request, a certain devilishly handsome CSI was able to go back to the furnace factory in the South, and find evidence proving Andrew did not kill his lead scientists, and with the help of their family's lawyer, we were able to clear Andrew's name, declaring him innocent of murder. He was welcomed back to CCU's engineering school in the upcoming fall, and his parents and younger brother refused to let him out of their sight, and spent every second fussing and caring for the son they had lost.

He couldn't stop thanking us. We had given him his happiness and peace of mind back, after all.

Once word got out about what happened, the Lab began encountering all kinds of metahumans: young and old, rich and poor, and each with a uniquely odd set of abilities. An 8-year old girl with actual dolphin flippers for arms. A 67 year old man with a body comprised entirely of ice. Sisters, who had fused together into Siamese twins. A 28-year old man with scaly skin, and the ability to shoot poison from his fingertips.

These were just a handful in the face of an entire population.

One by one, they all cautiously entered the Cortex, and shyly asked if the scientist from the news could cure them too.

And Artemis did, with a kind smile on her face, asking for nothing in return. She never turned anyone down, and her big heart was responsible for reuniting families and loved ones, enabling people to return to their old, homely lives, granting them comfort and ease again.

Pretty soon, the numbers swelled, and metahumans began pouring in hundreds per day, thousands per week, and the Lab was busier than ever - but with true and open reason.

At the hands of the scientists, politicians, and philanthropist socialites who saw what Artemis's invention was doing for the city, investments, donations, and revenue boomed. Backed by billions once again, STAR Labs had earned back its reputation as an international science hot-spot, and the team was able to support itself in ways it never could have, before.

With the help of Dr. Wells' attorneys and editors, Artemis was able to place a patent on the hyper electron, dubbing it her creation and hers alone, and also managed to crank out a book or two, based on her research notes. Wells and Cisco named her work "Van Kleiss's Laws of Particle Interactions" - which I honestly thought was the most wonderful thing ever.

With the more than sufficient funds, Cisco and Caitlin were able to pursue projects they had never been able to before. Cisco built an amazing set of drones that could steer themselves through heat-sensing technology - worth millions of dollars, no less - and Caitlin took the happy opportunity as a change to go back and finish her bioengineering postdoctoral. Our Cortex systems were completely revamped - almost impossible to break into, with unbelievably new state-of-the-art technology, and the team continued their science and engineering research, as was that Lab's original goal, and continued opening thousands of doors - for both the people of Central City, and for science.

That wasn't all of it.

Artemis and Cisco worked together to redesigning my suit with a very expensive duranium alloy, making it stronger and more lightweight than ever before, and also promising my safety.

"To put it this way, you're just not going to be able to die in this new suit," Cisco gushed, showcasing me the new, darker red, metallic suit, with the more durable texture.

"The duranium backing will be able to absorb more than 20 times the shock your other suits could!" Artemis promised, kissing my cheek, "It's death-proof!"

Now, when the Flash caught new villains and threats, he'd take them straight to Artemis's genome influx chamber, where they'd lose all of their powers, no longer a threat, before the not-metahumans would be sent off to Iron Heights at the hands of Joe, Singh and Briggs.

Officials estimated that, by the end of four weeks, atleast 90% of Central City's metahuman population had been cleansed, and were walking the streets in their original, human states, reunited with their former lives. The city was seeing a new dawn of safety, prosperity and happiness.

"The two of you keep this up, and you'll put a cop like me out of a job," Joe chuckled, putting his arms around us both in warm hugs.

With the help of the scientists at Palmer Tech (Hi, Felicity...), we were able to develop a neural triggering device that, when put to the minds of any organism - say, a metahuman who just so happened to have been living in our Pipeline for the past 4 to 6 months or so - we were able to "clip out" their memories of being at STAR Labs or knowing my secret identity, and after they'd been ridden of their powers, they too would be handed off to Iron Heights.

"I... I got no idea where I was for the past 5 months," Shawna Baez confessed to the officials at Iron Heights, shaking her head, "All I remember is I was fighting the Flash. Then I was in the weird chamber thing, and lost my powers. And now I'm here. That's it."

"I don't remember where I was, either," Rajeet stated, "All I remember is the Flash taking me somewhere."

"I'm - I'm on the same boat, sir," Kyle Nimbus murmured.

Which ultimately meant we were able to clean out our particle accelerator, once we sent all of the metahumans to prison, meaning we were able to shut the particle accelerator down completely, and save a ton on our electricity bill.

Well, almost all of the metahumans...

Hartley Rathaway had been found dead in his chamber, his body decayed and beginning to rot.

After conducting an autopsy, I found that he had been dead for at least a few months, and had died of natural internal causes.

He was returned to his family, who broke down crying over the death of their only son.

Meanwhile, Artemis was becoming somewhat of a celebrity after she publicized her discovery of a new electron. She was invited as a guest speaker to countries all over the globe, welcomed as a guest lecturer to universities all across the planet, and she always always brought us, or at least one of us, with her, meaning we all got some sort of a vacation together.

Caitlin accompanied her to Oxford, England, and the two had a blast together.

Cisco and Wells went with her to Stanford, in California, where they met several other great scientists, and completely geeked out in the Silicon Valley - Cisco snagging a selfie with the real Elon Musk.

Dr. Wells flipped out with excitement when Artemis received an invitation to Yale, his alma mater, where the original particle accelerator had been built before he had chosen to build his own. He dug up his vintage light blue Yale Bulldogs baseball cap, and the two of them went alone - and didn't kill each other, shocking us all. Rather, Dr. Wells was becoming increasingly fond of Artemis, and his new love for her was heartwarming. He truly was beginning to appreciate her, and supported her desire to use science to make lives easier.

It almost felt as if he was accepting her as his daughter, or something along those lines.

And, yeah, of course I went with her when she was invited to the Sorbonne for some annual science convention or something. Who could resist a week in Paris, alone with their significant other, right?

When Artemis received a letter from Cambridge, MA, cordially inviting her to an annual conjoined MIT/Harvard Alumni Banquet, and give a small speech about her hyper electron, Dr. Wells gave a small, pointed smile.

"Artemis, you're not going to want to miss this," he advised knowingly.

And she never would have. There was a new, fresh kind of air around her, a loving smile that never left her face, as she excitedly showed us around her expensive, urban and new-age/hippy-esque hometown. She eagerly showed us her parents' lab facilities. And her huge childhood brownstone home. She left two huge bouquets of roses at her parents' graves, and sent her best wishes to them, before she showed us the best spots in town to get ice cream, and pizza, and her favorite park, by the Hudson River. She snuck into classes at MIT, greeting previous professors with loving hugs, and introduced us to her old friends, still finishing up their fourth year in contrast to her graduating a year early, almost all of whom broke into a fit of excitement at seeing her again.

"Artemis! What the hell are you doing here?!" One of her friends squealed, before taking her small frame into a bone-crushing hug, "We missed you so much! You never call, or text anymore - which clearly signifies you've been busy, probably ruling over your own mini-kingdom, or something!"

"Yeah, how is it, in that metahuman-infested creep town?!" Another asked jokingly, before Artemis grimaced and slapped him in scolding.

"See? I knew you were going to go onto taking over the world!" Other asserted, before picking up her up in hugs, "Creating your own new electron? You take 'making your parents proud' to a whole new dimension!"

Artemis smiled as she introduced the four of us to everyone she encountered, never growing tired of the repetition. "Guys, this is the great Dr. Harrison Donovan Wells, whom you all have already heard of - seriously, I would not have come this far without his guidance and support. That's Caitlin, the greatest person in history to ever graduate medical school and my best friend; Cheeky Dork #1 is Cisco, with fantastic taste in movies, even more fantastic hair, and an incomparably skilled hand at anything engineering-related, and is also my best friend, and Cheeky Dork #2 is my boyfriend, Barry, who had to be the most incredible person to have ever been born."

"Wow, it's great to meet all of you," they all would answer, before whispering something to her on the sly about how they couldn't believe she was actually dating someone, which made her giggle and blush.

It was easy to say the four of us felt a slight bit out of place here.

She had an established life here - friends, her home, her parents' lab, her entire family history was rooted in Cambridge - and she had given up all of it to move to Central City. But one glance at her perfect smile, and we knew she was happy with her decision to leave home.

Later on, at the alumni banquet - where, at the age of 21, she was clearly the youngest invitee - she continued to introduce us to several of her old professors from MIT, and other professors and scientists from Harvard, who had been close friends of her parents, and were practically family to her.

But something gnawed away at her, and her smiles seemed forced. She was missing someone, and glanced around the hall with a sad look in her eyes.

"Artemis, were you expecting to meet someone?" Dr. Wells asked gently.

"Yeah, its... It's nothing. I was just hoping my stepdad would be here," she mumbled, "Lin was an alumni of Harvard Law, and he never missed the annual banquet. I haven't seen him in years, and I haven't been able to contact him, so I was praying I'd run into him and his family here. They really would've loved you all..."

Her expression shifted back into a smile, and she stepped forward, tapping an elderly blonde woman in a dark blue dress on the shoulder. The other woman turned around, and broke into a look of surprise.

"Why, Artemis, it's so nice to see you!"

"It's great to see you too, Professor Yates!"

Cisco frowned, as the two walked away, grinning as they spoke to one another, and Dr. Wells was ensnared in a conversation with an old colleague of his, who recognized him.

"Someone has to break it to her that her foster fam kinda disappeared," Cisco whispered.

"She can't just go on thinking they abandoned her," Caitlin added.

My heart broke at the sight of Artemis's hopeful smile as she greeted a tall, skinny man with black hair, before that same smile melted away into an embarrassed frown.

"Oh - I'm so sorry, I had mistaken you for someone else," she explained, putting her smile back on. The older man offered an encouraging grin and introduced himself anyway, shaking her hand.

"We can't. She'll be crushed," I found myself answering, "I... don't think she's ready to find that out. We're not telling her anything, until we know for sure what happened to him."

"This is going to get to her sooner or later. She's going to try and find out on her own, one of these days... What will we do then?"

"We keep her busy, so she doesn't get that far. And besides," I responded, with a shrug, "If Lin is purposely ignoring her, he doesn't deserve to see her."

"Woah there," Cisco answered, shocked, "That's Territorial Boyfriend Syndrome right there..."

"No, it's not-"

"Barry, the man changed her life when he took her in," Caitlin described, "He did for her what Joe did for you. Of course, she'd miss him. I just have no idea how someone can raise such an incredibly gifted child, without ever wanting to see her again."

Dr. Wells and Artemis were together now, and were laughing at something an elderly bearded man, dressed in a tan-colored suit, had said to them. They bid the third man goodbye, before Artemis pushed Dr. Wells' wheelchair back to us.

It was honestly kind of sweet. Dr. Wells never let anyone push his chair, always let his hands cramp after using the joystick for several hours on end. But his feelings towards Artemis completely reversed after she built that genome influx chamber, and again, it resembled the precious bond that could only be shared between father and daughter.

She had wondered if she could undo Dr. Wells' paralysis using the hyper-electron and the influx chamber. He had frantically warned against it, and had told all of us that he didn't deserve to walk again, after all the lives he had barraged.

"Dr. Wells, that's nonsense," I had told him.

"Yeah, you weren't responsible for the particle accelerator exploding," Cisco cajoled, "You're not the one to blame for the fallout. The man in yellow is."

"Dr. Wells... Please. You don't deserve this," Caitlin had added.

"My machine is saving thousands of lives," Artemis pressed, "It would mean the world to me if it could help you too... You deserve it. Without your help, I never would've been able to come this far."

Dr. Wells had smiled coldly, and took off his glasses, chewing for a second on the tip of the temples before replacing them. "Artemis... I can't tell you how much that means to me, that you're willing to do that after all the trouble I put you through, and how I mistreated you. But at this point, I don't see my disability as a setback. Rather, I see it as a sign of God's mercy - that this is the only punishment I received, after letting lives be lost at my hands. I won't be able to let it go, if you treat this. Once your electron is able to work as a necromancer, and can undo the deaths I am at fault for, then I will gladly give up my wheelchair for a pair of working legs."

Odd. At one point, he had been indifferent towards death, saying he believed that our lives - mine, especially - were more important than the rest of the city. Guess accepting Artemis was changing his point of view over multiple matters as well.

Strangely enough, Artemis never once asked me if I wanted to get rid of my powers. She actually forced me to stay away from the genome influx chamber - "Metahuman Microwave!", Cisco had renamed it - because of the potential effects of the hyper electron and my own overly-positively charged blood. It just made me love her more - knowing she knew me well enough to not ask me to give up my speed.

"You kidding?" She retorted, throwing her arms over my shoulders, "This city would fall to its knees without you. And besides, you love running. I'll be damned before I ask you to even come close to the chamber."

Dr. Wells, Caitlin, Cisco and I were now seated at a table in the banquet's dining hall, watching Artemis step up to the podium, thank the MC, and take her turn to speak. I was beginning to suspect that there was some kind of magic about her, and in her voice and smile as she spoke. Her composed confidence and charismatic intelligence were magnetic, and she had to have been the most amazing thing to ever grace history with her presence. She was beautiful, in every sense of the word.

I was the one lucky to be on the same planet as her, not the other way around.

Caitlin tapped my arm, breaking me from my trance. "Earth to Barry? You have the most adorable, lovestruck look on your face..."

"I usually only joke about this to annoy you both, but the two of you really are perfect for each other," Cisco murmured admiringly.

I blushed deeply, and the trio grinned knowingly at me, before turning their attention back to Artemis, who was wrapping up her talk on the electron making energy renewable, and reinventing the fields of medicine and technology.

I caught Dr. Wells watching me out of the corner of his eye, studying me with a cryptic, almost hateful glare, before he too turned away to Artemis.

Funny. I must've imagined that.

Artemis concluded her speech with a polite "Thank you" and the audience clapped heartily. The MC caught her before she could leave the stage though.

"Oh, Ms. Van Kleiss, we have a bit of a surprise for you," he answered with a smile, as two Harvard faculty members arrived, holding something flat and square in their hands, "It's not everyday we discover a new building block of nature, and redefine science as we know it. What you have done is remarkable in ways words just can't describe, and is truly destined to change history - as well as the future."

One of the faculty members smiled as the MC handed him the mic. "On behalf of Harvard University and the John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, I, Dean Castor O'Connell, would personally like to award your very own honorary doctorate in applied physics. Your work will be the catalyst has and will change the fate of science, engineering and research, and is undeniably-"

His words were drowned out by the roaring round of applause that erupted from the hall, and almost every audience member rose for a standing ovation. Artemis was speechless, and a single tear crept down her cheek as she stared at the new degree in her hands in disbelief.

We celebrated heartily when we got home. Because of Artemis, the streets were safer, and the Lab had completely turned around from the sad, worn down dump it had become after the accelerator exploded. We were all unbelievably proud of her.

Now, having an established reputation, she either spent her time busy, working at the Lab or in the city, traveling to one foreign conference or another, or with me, in the new home we had bought together in Central City's posh Englewood district.

She came home at almost midnight, and collapsed beside me on the couch with a heavy, exhausted sigh, as I watched my old copy of Fantastic Four, at a scene where Susan Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, was saving the day.

"Wow," I remarked, placing Artemis's head in my lap, playing with her hair, "I wish my girlfriend was a hero…"

I leaned down, and gently kissed her forehead, wrapping my arms around her torso in a loving hug.

"Oh wait… she is…."

###

After a rather arduous day at work, I headed over to STAR Labs, as I always did, and once again found the Lab eerily empty.

It didn't take long for me to find Caitlin and Cisco, peering into Artemis's lab, wearing kittenish smiles as they eavesdropped on the conversation inside.

"What's going o-"

Cisco immediately put his hand to my mouth, and a finger to his lips.

"They're bonding," Caitlin whispered, and opened the door to the lab just a few centimeters. Inside, several of Artemis's inventions were scattered across her work tables. Guns, lightsabers, new little gizmos I hadn't been introduced to yet. Artemis was dressed in an old NASA t-shirt and worn out black jeans, and had her feet kicked up onto the table as she took notes on something from an open laptop. She was laughing at something Dr. Wells had said.

"We didn't want to disturb them, but dear lord - this is so sweet to watch," Cisco murmured, "It's really so nice to see them not hating or yelling at each other, for once."

"You nitwit," Dr. Wells chuckled, his dimples showing as he smiled. He harmlessly tossed a crumpled paper ball at Artemis, "Don't make fun of my hair."

"Oh, Harry, don't be ridiculous," she intoned, ignoring the ball that hit her head as she continued working, "You are in dire need of a haircut. Your hair is the worst thing I have honestly ever seen - it's nothing more than a mess of black tangles, sitting on top of your head, and makes you look old and sad."

"A mess of black tangles?" Dr. Wells teased, eyes shining with a smile, "Van Kleiss, have you ever looked in a mirror?"

"And seriously. Were you born wearing a black sweater?" Artemis joked, typing something into the laptop before scratching notes onto an adjacent notebook, "Because that is all I have ever seen you wear. Trust me. You need a new look."

"Tess bought me this sweater, actually," he answered softly, rubbing the sweater's hem with his fingers, smiling at it longingly, "It was her last gift to me, before she died."

"Way to kill the mood, Wells," she retorted, before handing him a coffee mug, "Green tea?"

He seemed slightly startled, but took it from her, skeptically sniffing the contents of the mug. "What's this made of?"

"Cyanide, bleach and rat poison, with just a hint of liquid nitrogen."

"Huh..." he murmured, before taking a sip. He smiled. "This is exactly how I make my tea."

"You add three teaspoons of cyanide too?"

"Is this a Japanese matcha blend?" He inquired, unfazed by her sick joke, "It tastes just like the brand I use."

"You buy yours from the tiny grocery store on Treehill? The one brand whose name you can't pronounce, that nobody buys? I thought I was the only one who liked it."

"Yes, and I always over-boil, then put two teabags in instead of one-"

"And skip the sugar?"

"Exactly," Dr. Wells complimented, taking another sip.

Artemis studied him with a blank look in her eyes. "That is... a very strange thing to have in common with me, sir..."

He shrugged. "Great minds think alike."

"Great minds don't share identical taste buds."

He ignored her comment.

"Sir, that actually is a very strange and precise thing for us to have in common," she mumbled, "Have you been watching me, or something?"

He smiled back at her, untroubled by her accusation. "You know - your parents would've been extremely proud of you, and everything you've accomplished."

She looked at him expectantly.

"We're all very proud of you, actually," Wells continued, dropping eye contact, "Especially me. I hired you into this lab, hoping you'd turn it around, and you've done exactly that."

"Oh my god," Caitlin murmured, "He's expressing emotions. Someone call 911. He mustn't be feeling well."

Cisco snickered.

"I truly do owe you apologies, for our rough relationship in the beginning," he stated shyly, "I hadn't known how you'd react to finding out we worked with a speedster, and had my doubts about you. Never have I been so wrong about someone... In many ways, you've shown me what it's like to be a father."

Artemis looked up at him with a crooked smirk. "I mean - I don't blame you for disliking me at first, sir."

"You don't?"

"No," she conceded, snorting a quick laugh, "If I was a Yale grad, I too would immediately pick on the Harvard kid. College rivalries are tough, dude."

He rolled his eyes, and groaned. "You weren't a Harvard grad when you were hired, Van Kleiss. You never even formally attended the school-"

"It's alright, Harrison," she answered, patting his shoulder, "Whatever helps a silly bulldog sleep better at night."

"At least my school has an alma mater," he responded, "Harvard is just a color."

"And now's the part where I remind you that MIT is my alma mater, not Harvard. But it doesn't matter, because beavers are way cooler than bulldogs anyway."

"You're impossible. Beavers are hideous, and bulldogs are much cuter anyway."

"Beavers are smarter, though."

"No, they're not!"

"Oh, yes, they are!"

The two then broke into a completely childish debate, giving equally immature arguments. Dr. Wells groaned and hit his palm to his forehead, and Artemis put her hand to her stomach, chuckling.

"Hopeless. Completely hopeless," Cisco denounced, shaking his head.

"At least he's not trying to fire her?" I answered, "But yes. Hopeless."

"So what exactly are you working on?" Wells asked, snatching her notebook away from her, reading through the scribbles.

"Just some epsilon tolerance. I'm trying to find the variable that best value that'll fit in this little logarithm Caitlin and I cooked up," Artemis answered, "We were experimenting with the hyper electron in the hopes that we could achieve a medical breakthrough together. Speaking of Caitlin, where is she?"

"She's right outside the lab, listening to everything we're saying, as if we're putting on some kind of show. Cisco's with her, and Barry must've returned from the police station by now as well."

Caitlin turned bright red at the sound of those words, and shyly opened the door, unveiling us.

Artemis smirked, and crossed her arms. Dr. Wells wore an expression that matched.

As Artemis opened her mouth to say something, she was interrupted by the thud of heavy footsteps entering the Lab.

"Oh - Artemis, a metahuman must have entered, asking to use your chamber," Cisco deduced, before turning to me, "Barry, that means you leave."

"Got it."

I turned to zip away, but a cruel, stony hand caught my neck and immediately hoisted me up into the air, cutting off my air supply. Caitlin gasped, and Artemis dropped her laptop in fear.

"Hello there, Flash."

I was looking down at a tall, buff 50-something year old man with a hard, square jaw, an ugly scar at his temple, and silvery hair, dressed entirely in camo military uniforms. A small squadron of six men flanked him, each soldier holding a long, black firearm.

"Eiling," Dr. Wells barked, "Let him go."

"Harrison Wells," Eiling crooned coldly, "It's good to see you too."

Barely able to breathe, I saw Artemis step forward.

"Drop him," she ordered seriously, "Now."

I feebly tried to kick away at him, tried to pry his rough fingers off of me. He gave me a bemused smile before facing Artemis again.

"Dr. Van Kleiss," Eiling replied, tightening his hold on me, "I'm Wade Eiling, general of the US Armed Military Force. I came to congratulate you on your new success. You've done a good job, cleaning up the streets of Central City, reducing the metahuman population. It seems you forgot one, though..."

"Didn't you hear me?" Artemis seethed, "I told you to drop him."

"Or what?" Eiling murmured, his fingers hardening against my neck.

I heard a series of crisp metallic clicks. Before I knew it, Artemis was holding one of her metaguns, had it pointed right at Eiling with both hands. In turn, his men had their shotguns aimed right for her, three men on either side of us in a semicircle.

"A Mexican standoff. Cute," Artemis muttered, clocking her own gun, "You're under the false impression I'm going to back down. Gentlemen, you're going to want to lower those weapons, or General Jarhead here is going to have his brains blown out."

I was beginning to feel dizzy. Spots appeared in my line of vision as I tried to watch.

"Two can play at that game," Eiling responded, pulling out a pistol with his free hand, aiming it at Wells.

"See, but you just exposed yourself," Artemis answered, taking a few extra steps forward until she had the gun pointed firmly into Eiling's throat, "And I will shoot. Drop him, and lower your gun. Defy me, and your next movements will be your last. Your choice, General."

He scowled, and exhaled, before opening both fists, dropping both me and his pistol to the ground. I rubbed my neck and took a deep, desperate gulp of air, before jolting around the room, dropping seven destroyed shotguns to the ground, leaving Eiling and his men completely unarmed.

Dr. Wells's face was frozen in fear, and Caitlin and Cisco were both colorless.

Artemis clocked her gun again, pushed it deeper into the skin of Eiling's neck. "Why are you here?"

"I told you. I came to congratulate you-"

"You congratulated me. Now leave."

"Ask Harrison Wells. He only became who he is today because of me. Without my help, he never would have come this far."

"Artemis, don't listen to him," Wells answered, his voice a raspy whisper, "I made a mistake in the past, allying with him. Eiling uses science as a means to torture and abuse others. His methods are cruel, and he only wants to make the military more powerful, at the hands of-"

"Quiet," Eiling barked, before facing Artemis again, "Your work has the power to change lives. Your research can be used in thousands of ways to make this country safer, and you're using it for nothing other than cleaning out a contaminated DNA strand. I have a proposal for you."

"I'm not taking proposals from a man who just pointed a gun at my handicapped boss, and attempted to strangulate an innocent man."

"You're making a grave mistake here-"

"Your parents made a grave mistake as well."

"Hand your research over to the US government," Eiling continued, "The military has promising opportunities for everyone. You'll be awarded in ways you could never imagine, and your work will help protect American citizens."

She made a sound that was between a snort and a laugh, jabbing the gun yet deeper into his throat.

"Protect citizens? General, what would you know about protecting others? Upon entering my lab, you threatened two innocent men, one of whom is disabled from the waist down," she quipped, taunting him, "Forgive me, but I don't find you a very trustworthy man."

"You question my honor?"

"I deny its existence."

Eiling looked around, frowning before he set his eyes on me. He gestured towards me with his chin. "You're not doing anyone any favors by protecting him. He's dangerous. His body holds answers to several question regarding biological enhancement and permanent strength."

"He's dangerous?" Artemis scoffed, "He's saved thousands of lives. This city owes him everything."

"He isn't even human."

"Oh, that's one I haven't heard before," she chuckled, twisting the holt of the gun against his neck, "He is the very definition of human. He wakes up every morning to go to work. He washes his vegetables twice before cooking dinner. He binge-watches House of Cards on Netflix, and sometimes eats Nutella straight from the jar when he thinks no one's looking. He takes care of the people he loves, and is willing to sacrifice everything and anything to keep them safe. I find it both horrifying and pitiful that you think of him as nothing more than a potential test subject."

Eiling grimaced. "You're being foolish, keeping the hyper electron to yourself. You're on the wrong side."

"Pardon me, Wade?" Wells called out, "But she's the one holding the trigger. You're on the wrong side."

A harsh smile glinted on Artemis's face. "You and your men are going to leave my lab now, and if you even think of-"

"Watch your tongue," Eiling warned, "You're nothing more than an amateur scientist. I'm a seasoned veteran, and one of the highest ranking military generals in history. I've seen and done things that will leave you shaking in fear. You don't want to make an enemy of me."

Artemis blinked. "Anyway, as I was saying, you and your men will leave now, and if you show your faces here again, or try to hurt any of these people, I promise I will annihilate you. Now, get out."

Eiling scowled, and slowly turned around, leaving. His men skittishly followed suit.

"Place a lock on her," he ordered, as they exited the hallway, "One way or another, we will get what we want from her..."

The second they left the premises, we all collapsed in collective sighs, and Cisco ran forward to throw his arms loosely around Artemis.

"Jeez, you had me ready to pee myself back there," he gushed, "You had six guns pointed right at you. Six. Guns."

Dr. Wells wiped a thin sheen of sweat away from his forehead, and tried his best at a shaky smile. "That was very cleverly executed. Thank you for not letting me get shot."

Caitlin smiled as she came up to me, and put her cool fingers at my neck, where Eiling had been crushing my windpipe.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," I assured, before I joined Artemis and Cisco in a group hug, pulling Caitlin in with us.

"I'm awe-struck," Caitlin murmured, "You singlehandedly scared off one of the evilest military generals, who had Barry choking half to death and a pistol pointed at Wells. For a second, I almost believed you were going to shoot him."

Artemis gave us a sheepish smile, and glanced down at the huge gun she was holding. "Believe me. I wanted to. But even if I did, it couldn't have done anything to him. This is actually just a water gun I painted black as a concept model."

She then pointed the muzzle of the up, and surprised Cisco and me by squirting us right in our faces, and we laughed as we protested. Caitlin smiled and threw her arms around Artemis's neck and shoulders in an embrace.

Even Dr. Wells couldn't suppress a proud grin, eyes twinkling fondly at her.

"Artemis, you will never cease to astound me, now, will you?"