-Chapter Twenty-Five-
"What We're Doing Here isn't Crap"
Caitlin let out a frustrated sigh the next day as her fist barely pushed the punching bag that rocked back and forth just slightly in front of her. "This just isn't working," she said, placing her hands on her hips before moving to remove the tape wrapped around her hands.
"I can see from over here—"
"You aren't even looking," Caitlin complained, putting a hand to her chest as she waited to catch her breath. Turning towards Averey, who was sitting in the corner of the training room with her laptop, she frowned.
"Ok, smart ass. It's a figure of speech," Averey replied, finally looking up from her computer, giving Caitlin a smirk. "And I can see from over here you're not even trying that hard."
Caitlin tucked her hair behind her ears before planting her hands on her hips. Averey had kept her word and started Caitlin in on training and teaching her how to defend herself. STAR Labs was one of the safest places she had ever been in her life, but things were different outside the walls of her home away from home.
Not only did she have to worry about the usual acts of crime that could be found in Central City, but there were people out there that could do extraordinary things. The scariest part of it all was that there was no guarantee that those people wouldn't act out in fear of suddenly waking up with the world around them changed.
She was one of three people that were doing everything they could to understand these changes and how to help people. All they had ever wanted to do with their scientific discoveries and projects was help not only the inhabitants of Central City, but the whole world. Then that had all changed. Central City was different now; if she had to learn to keep herself safe to keep continuing her work, then so be it. But there was a reason why she wasn't ever picked first for dodge ball when she was in school.
"You ok?" Caitlin asked, spotting the frown on the ocular metahuman's face as she put her attention back on her computer. "You've been off since you got back." Averey's eyebrows lifted, but she didn't say anything for a moment. "I may not have your abilities, but I can tell something is bothering you. We like to share things around here."
Averey chuckled before saying, "Like you were quick to tell everyone, and Dr. Wells, about you finding Ronnie, yeah?" she asked.
Caitlin felt herself wince just slightly. Averey had a point, but that didn't stop the comment from hurting. She knew she hadn't always been the most open person ever since Ronnie's death, but she had thought she was getting better with it. How were any of them supposed to make any advances with helping the Metahumans if theories and worries weren't explained with the group? And she did eventually explain to everyone what was going on.
"I'm just e-mailing my mum, she said that she was proud of me," Averey replied. She placed her hand on the lid of her computer and shut it. After setting aside her computer, she got to her feet and started stretching her arms across from her.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Caitlin commented.
"Don't really feel like I deserve it considering after that, she explained that she was proud and felt like she did a good job raising me because I had never gotten pregnant, did drugs, or gone to jail," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Caitlin tried hard not to make a face but she couldn't stop her facial muscles from contorting into a grimace. "Yeah, I know."
"You never told your mom?" Caitlin asked.
"Even when I'm 45, I'll still be afraid of my mum and making her mad," Averey commented, stepping over to the punching bag Caitlin had abandoned. Her face cleared of the look of amusement on her face before she moved into a fighting stance and started to kick and punch the punching bag. With each hit that landed on the apparatus, a loud smack filled the air before it jostled left and right. "Times like these," Averey explained between breaths of air and hits on the back, "I wish I didn't bloody cut contact with her. I didn't want her to know, that I was in trouble. Which, I know, was really stupid!" She emphasized the word with a sharp smack. "And I'm mad at myself for it, and for trusting the wrong people."
Caitlin held out her hands, stopping the punching bag from swinging into her from Averey's final punch. Breathing heavily, she adjusted the strap to her sports bra before wiping at the sheen that coated her forehead. "Which begs the question: is there anyone or anything you're mad at?" Averey asked. "Let it out here."
Standing in the middle of STAR Labs, not that far away from the damaged particle accelerator, one name slammed into the front of her head. Ronnie. She wasn't exactly angry at him; he acted very bravely and she knew that no one would be here if it wasn't for him, but the selfish side of her was angry that he didn't return that night. She was angry that he decided it was his job to go into the particle accelerator without thinking about her and leaving her all alone.
Caitlin felt her fingers curl (making sure not to tuck her thumb underneath) before she struck out her hand, and connected with the plastic material in a sharp punch. With each hit she landed on the bag, she thought of all the instances that made her angry. Ronnie. Smack. Central City's stubbornness to accept STAR Labs's help (although, she understood why). Smack. The failure of STAR Labs. Smack. Her dad's death. Smack. Smack. Smack. Smacksmacksmack.
"Now we're getting somewhere." Caitlin let out a weak laugh as she placed her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She felt Averey put a hand on her shoulder and push before she was standing. "You're a bio person; you should know you get more air into your lungs when you stand straight."
Gritting her teeth, Caitlin gave a brief nod of her head. As if she didn't know that. Being a woman in her field, she got patronizing comments left and right until she showed just how knowledgeable she was in the area. It didn't stop her from being annoyed every time she experienced it, even with the teasing smile on the Australian's face.
"You know I went to Hudson University," Caitlin explained, reaching up to pull the elastic band that secured her hair in a ponytail out. Grimacing at the slight prickles of pain as she used her fingers to spread out her hair, "I was handpicked for the program I was in. Professor Olsen, and the head of the department, Professor Bishop, had said they saw a lot of potential from me from my interview."
Caitlin crossed the training room to grab her water bottle and took a long drink from it. Averey clapped her hands together once and held them out towards Caitlin. Caitlin tossed the water bottle to her (after making sure the top was secure) and swallowed her mouthful of water. "Everyone in the program was excellent in their fields; we were constantly told that."
"The professors didn't want anyone's egos to get in the way of possible scientific discoveries, so they pushed us as hard as they could to not only see if we had limits, but to reach those limits. Many had mental break downs just trying to keep up their GPAs up and to meet deadlines for research papers and theses. I worked hard to graduate from the program, and because of that accomplishment, Dr. Wells came to me and offered me a spot to work with him."
"Even now, he's one of the few people who still support my studies and what I choose to do with them. I decided to become a bio-engineer after seeing how MS was affecting my dad. I knew that science could be the one thing that I could do to stop people from going through what I went through. He wasn't able to see what I was able to accomplish, but I was doing it all for him. We both shared this attribute where we like to do everything we can to help people."
"I knew that working at STAR Labs was one of the better choices I could have made in my life, apart from deciding to study science. I knew this because what we do here was all about helping people. I put up with disparaging comments and taking on big workloads when I lead projects because others didn't think I was fit for the position. I think I've proven that I know what I'm doing by this point."
Averey stared at her for a moment, blinking. "When you were taken by Snart and Rory," she commented, pointing the water bottle in Caitlin's direction, "Dr. Wells was really worried."
"Cisco and I have been working with him for a long time," Caitlin replied, an annoyed edge to her tone. Hadn't Averey had been listening at all? Caitlin started unwrapping her hands, sliding her finger tips over her wrist, where rope burns had previously nearly been etched into her skin. Faint markings stood in their place now. "We both know he's a private person, but—"
"No, I mean, like…scary worried," Averey explained. "He looked like he'd rip someone's head off for you. Sounded that way, too."
Caitlin felt herself still for a moment. Dr. Wells was a hard person to fully understand. Even when STAR Labs was thriving, Dr. Wells set his focus on the projects and research they were working on. In all that time, the only person Caitlin ever saw Dr. Wells show some sort of emotion and caring towards was Hartley Rathaway. Then again, he had promised that he'd help return Ronnie to his original state. That was the most sincere and open, maybe even the most human, she had ever really seen him. And back at his house; Joe was a detective, maybe he was seeing something she wasn't…
Caitlin shook her head. Stop it, Cait. He's your boss and nothing more. "Science is about nurturing guidance, and sacrifice," she insisted and Averey let out a short laugh.
"I don't think Wells fully understands the nurturing part," she commented, dryly. "I call 'em like I seem 'em."
"Maybe you're seeing things wrong."
"Maybe." Crossing her arms over her chest, Averey bowed her head for a moment before looking up at Caitlin, rocking back and forth just slightly on her heels. "But, you're right. You are sacrificing a lot to help. All three of you. You're doing more for me than I could've ever asked for and you're not asking for anything in return. I won't ever forget it."
"Of course you won't forget," Caitlin said with a roll of her eyes. She paused, a thought occurring to her. "You've been keeping track of everything you can remember, right?" Averey nodded her head. "Have there been any gaps in your memory lately?"
Averey shook her head. "Why?"
"Bivolo," Caitlin replied. "I'll admit, I've been slacking on finding out how to reverse the effects of being whammied, what with everything that's been going on lately, but the only other time I remember people having gaps in their memories was after they were being whammied."
"But, Barry's remembered everything he's said and done while being whammied," Averey replied.
"Barry has many things to be angry about," Caitlin said, crossing her arms over her chest, "but nothing has pushed him to the point of rage like the people in that bank." Not yet, anyway. Caitlin had seen Barry ticked off, but didn't know if she wanted to see what he was like when he flew off the handles. "Plus, his abilities aren't linked to his vision, but his feet. Both you and Bivolo's does."
"If your banks here are every bit as slow as they are back home, I don't really blame them." Averey gave her a confused look. "But, why do you think it's Bivolo?"
"Because we didn't start tracking metahumans until Barry was brought in to be monitored," Caitlin admitted. "We did notice some strange occurrences here and there, but didn't know that it was something like this. We didn't know it was people with powers. There could be side-effects that we don't know about. I mean, if Barry runs too fast, he could set himself on fire with the friction." Or someone else.
She hadn't forgotten the embarrassment and amusement she felt when she and Cisco had walked in on a, uh, moment with Barry and Felicity. They made sure to keep a fire extinguisher on hand in the chance Barry's clothes had caught on fire again during their tests. They also kept STAR Labs wearable merchandise available because of this as well.
"It's at least worth checking out," Caitlin insisted.
"You're the scientist," Averey replied with a shrug.
That's right, I am. Before Caitlin could say anything else, Cisco's voice came over the speakers telling the two women to come to the Cortex immediately. Caitlin made a note to bring up this topic of conversation with Cisco and Dr. Wells later as the girls gathered their belongings before hurrying into the Cortex. Barry met them there and handed over the matter he had found at Iron Heights. After analyzing the DNA from it, they found that the metahuman they were looking for was Shawna Baez.
"I have never seen anything like this," Caitlin said, shaking her head as she watched the cells on the computer screen in front of her, rapidly vibrate. "I mean, not since Barry came around." She pressed a couple of buttons on the keyboard in front of her and the cells changed to a picture of an African-American woman with curly hair twisted up onto the top of her head. "Somehow, this Shawna Baez can jump from place to place along with anyone that she is in contact with."
"But then why would she break out members of the Royal Flush Gang?" Cisco asked. "That makes no sense."
"She has some connection with Clay Parker according to my dad," Barry explained, turning away from the monitors mounted on the walls. "Some of the inmates say he was one of the last people to leave Iron Heights given the time frame of the break out. The ones that would talk, anyway."
"How is your dad?" Caitlin asked him. Barry seemed to be thrown off by the question for a moment before he gave her a small smile and said, "Fine, thanks." Averey snorted but otherwise didn't say anything. Caitlin lowered her eyebrows and scrutinized him.
The second Barry had come to STAR Labs to deliver his findings for the organic matter that was left behind in STAR Labs, she could tell that something was different with him. Even more, he and Averey had barely acknowledged each other since he had arrived and there was just some sort of tension in the Cortex she hadn't felt since Barry had awoken from his coma.
"Dad mentioned that Clay Parker has some sort of debt hanging over his head so we shouldn't expect him to move far," Barry continued his explanation. "Maybe that debt has something to do with that Gang."
"I'll keep an eye out on the banks in Central City for any signs of unusual activity," Cisco suggested, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "In the meantime, I'll try and see what in Clay Parker's past can help us out."
"Or we could draw her out," Averey suggested. She was sitting on the edge of the curved computer table, playing with the frayed ends of her shoelace. "If they're looking for money, let's put some out there for her."
"If she still has ties to his gang, or whoever is holding the debt over Clay Parker's head, they probably already have a means of getting the money they need," Caitlin replied with a slight shake of her head. "Banks, stores, armored trucks."
"Fits the M.O. of the Royal Flush Gang," Dr. Wells commented. "We should be prepared either way."
His last words were drowned out as a series of beeps filled the room. A red push-pin looking icon popped up on the Caitlin's computer screen with the words "Rathaway Industries" floating above it.
"I only know one person who would target Rathaway Industries," Dr. Wells commented, speaking up. Caitlin looked over at the older man and saw his face was void of any emotion. "Seems like Hartley Rathaway wants to make a statement."
"Oh, no, that is so unlike him," Cisco said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as Barry rushed into his suit. A second set of sirens stared blaring. "We've got a robbery in progress on the outskirts of town. I'll see if I can access any security footage from that area."
After a few quick keystrokes, the picture on the monitors changed and a live feed of Shawna Baez carrying two bags in her hands appeared on screen. She "jumped" back and forth from the stopped Black Hawk Security Group truck to a spot off screen. She moved at different angles, but each one made sure to keep her face concealed.
"It's like she's playing Peek-a-boo," Caitlin surmised as she watched the girl. Giving Cisco an amused smile she said, "Seems like you're rubbing off on me, Mr. Ramon."
"Calm down, Snow, that was only one name," Cisco replied, returning her smile. "Admittedly, a good one."
"One minute she's there, the next she's not," Dr. Wells commented, gazing up at the screen with wonder.
Caitlin spun around in her chair to face Barry. "You've got to move fast. She could just disappear at any moment. And if Hartley is going after people he's not too fond with—"
"Anyone could be next," Barry agreed.
"You go take care of Hartley," Averey said, crossing the Cortex to where her suit was housed. She grabbed her veyesor and hung it around her neck. "If he could do what he did to Dr. Wells's house, he could do more damage out on the streets. Who knows how many people are still in the building. Peekaboo's mine."
Caitlin heard Barry mutter something and Averey let out a huff of annoyance. "You know what, Barry?" she asked, jumping off of the table, "I don't care! I don't care that you're mad; I did the right thing. Now I'm going to do it again by stepping up and doing this on my own." A muscle twitched in her tightly clenched jaw as she and Barry glared at each other. "Plus, I'm not too keen of Hartley shooting glass into my eyeballs."
"Fine! Go ahead," Barry replied. "We'll just do things here like we used to." Barry had ended his sentence there, but Caitlin was sure that if he had continued, he would've added "Without you" at the end.
"Fine," Averey replied. She roughly started to take her suit off the mannequin, ignoring Cisco's request to "be careful with the suit." Caitlin looked over at Dr. Wells, silently asking him for help and found him watching the two metahumans with a smile. Almost like he was actually enjoying watching the two of them fight. "And I'll take my sweet ass time doing it what with my short legs and all." Shaking her head back and forth, she grabbed her boots and muttered, "I need to find a faster way to do this crap."
"Barry, you can't be in two places at one time," Dr. Wells finally spoke up, removing his glasses. "Averey is here to help. We wouldn't want to rob her of this opportunity now would we?" His lips parted into an odd smile. "I think this is the better opportunity for us all."
"All right then. Caitlin, I need you in my ear," Averey said as she gathered her suit into her arms.
"Well, that's a funny way to say my name," Cisco joked with a half smile. He turned around in his seat and faced the metahumans. "Be careful, ok." He lifted both his fingers and pointed at them with a V shape. "That goes for the both of you."
"Yeah, no sweat," Barry reassured him. "I'll run you down there, Averey, but hurry."
"All right, all right." Averey hurried out of the Cortex, looking for an empty room to change into her suit.
"Dr. Snow, you don't look very confident in your abilities to lead Ms. Moore," Dr. Wells addressed, breaking the silence in the room.
"No, I'm fine," Caitlin said, pushing a smile to her face as she regarded her boss—and ignored the feeling like she was falling that settled in the pit of her stomach. "But, I did want to discuss with you, the possibility of Bivolo being the reason for Averey's memory gaps. Apart from the particle accelerator, I mean."
Dr. Well's eyebrows lifted into a curious gaze before he set his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose in one smooth motion. "That's an interesting idea, Dr. Snow, and one we should keep up on," he said as he folded his hand in his lap. "I've been meaning to take a visit down to speak with the metahumans, anyway. In the meantime, I'm going to take another look at this organic matter Shawna was so kind to leave behind."
"Thank you, Dr. Wells." Caitlin said, getting to her feet. "I'll make sure Averey's ready." That was part of the reason why she was looking for the ocular metahuman. She nearly collided with Averey as she rounded the corner. Bent over, hopping on one foot, she was trying to slide her foot into her boot, the other hanging from her mouth. Taking the boot out of the Australian's mouth Caitlin blurted out, "First off, what we're doing here isn't crap."
"I know that." A confused look briefly crossed Averey's face. Straightening until she was standing at her full height, Averey looked up at Caitlin with her green eyes. "I insulted you," she stated after a beat of silence.
"I—well, yes," Caitlin admitted. Clearly, there was something that the shorter woman could see in her face despite trying her best to keep her face neutral. It was startling at times to have someone be so blunt and straightforward about things.
"I'm sorry. That wasn't what I meant when I said that."
"It's not just that," Caitlin said with a shake of her head. "I also didn't appreciate being called 'smart ass', either." She watched as Averey's eyes widened just slightly.
"Oh, I wasn't being serious," she explained. She gathered her shoulder-length hair in her hands behind her head, twisting it up into a high ponytail. "It's just how I talk to my friends, like a joke. I don't mean it. We all do it."
"That's not how we do it here," Caitlin said. She spoke slowly, gauging Averey's reaction. She silently blinked, eyebrows angling towards each other just slightly. "I know you meant well, but it could really cause you to rub people the wrong way."
"Oh." Averey held her hand out for her boot and Caitlin passed it over to her. Caitlin stepped forward and helped the Australian keep her balance as she put on her other boot.
"I don't mean to hurt your feelings or anything," Caitlin quickly explained. "You just…"
"Hurt yours?" Caitlin nodded. "Ah, no worries," Averey said, her nose wrinkling as she stomped her foot on the ground, forcing her foot into her boot. "I shouldn't have said that, especially after you told me about why you chose to study science. I stuffed up."
Caitlin let out a breath of air. She felt proud of herself for saying something. She took her job at STAR Labs very seriously. Ignoring all the mean comments and put downs were something she worked hard on over the years, but there is always that one time where she'll let it affect her.
She was mad at Averey for what she had said after Caitlin had opened up to her and wanted to set her straight if they were going to be working together both in STAR Labs and outside of it. It would make things easier if they could reach some common ground and try to be friends.
"Come on, we better hurry," Caitlin said, nodding her head in the direction of the Cortex.
"Hey." Averey grabbed her arm. "We can do this. You can do this; I can see the uncertainty on your face." She stopped Caitlin from walking and placed her hands on the taller woman's shoulders, shaking her just slightly. "You want to make your dad proud, yeah?"
"Yeah," Caitlin agreed and Averey gave a short small before lifting her fist.
"So do I."
Caitlin felt her shoulders drop as the muscles in her body relaxed. She curled her slender fingers into a fist and bumped Averey's.
Taking her seat in the Cortex, Caitlin shook her hair out of her face, mentally preparing herself as Barry ran Averey out to the location of Peekaboo. She could hear Cisco directing Barry on his side of the room and did her best to block him out and focus on whatever help she could give Averey. Accessing the live feed from Averey's veyesor, she could see everything that the ocular metahuman was seeing.
"Ugh," Caitlin wrapped one arm around her stomach as she watched the shaky camera as Averey fought against Shawna. "It's like those movies you made me watch, Cisco. I'm never watching those again."
"The Blair Witch Project Is an acquired taste," Cisco protested, his eyes glued to the computer screen in front of him. "And it helps if you've got wits of steel."
After a quick roll of her eyes, Caitlin put her focus back onto the task at hand. Using the link between STAR Labs and Averey's head set, she was able to talk her through her confrontation with Peekaboo. "She can't do much if Shawna keeps jumping around her," Caitlin said, watching as, from Averey's point of view, the scene in front of her, shifted back and forth as the Australian girl tried to keep the jumping metahuman in her line of vision.
"She can't get away with Clay Parker and the bags all at one time," Dr. Wells explained, hunched over another monitor. "Her abilities encompass her physical form, she'll get tired eventually."
"Then, she can just drive away," Caitlin replied spotting not only the armored truck but a silver sports car. That's it. Slapping the palm of her hand down onto the button nearest her, she leaned closer to the microphone set up on the desk. "Averey, use your boomerang to pop the tires on the cars. That'll buy you some time."
"Cheers, Cait. I'm on it."
Caitlin heard Averey's sharp exhale of air, a series of pops, and the loud hiss of air escaping the tires. Then the fight between the two women was brought up close and personal. Caitlin could only watch as Averey fought against Shawna as best as she could. Height was an advantage for the shorter woman, but Shawna could teleport faster than Averey could move. In cases of endurance, Averey would probably be tired out faster than Shawna.
Damn it. Caitlin punched her thigh with her fist. Running her hands over her face, she let out a deep breath of air. Think, Caitlin, think. You've been through tougher situations before and you managed to work through it. Think!
"Well, would you look at that," Dr. Wells commented. Caitlin lifted her face from her hands, regarding the older scientist. "I seem to have found Shawna's weakness." He turned around in his seat and gave Caitlin a smile. "Light seems to be a big indicator of where Shawna can teleport."
"But, it was night time when she broke into Iron Heights," Caitlin said, confused. "I don't understand."
"Ah, but there are only a few instances in which you can achieve total darkness," Dr. Wells replied with a twinkle in his eye. "Even now, there is one way to achieve that; you have to take away Shawna's field of vision."
"And Averey had said she had momentarily made Mick Rory go blind," Caitlin said, catching on to his thought process. When she and Cisco were kidnapped by Snart and Mick, she had noticed that Snart was doing all the grunt work while Rory stumbled around. At least, until he had gotten his eyesight back. "That's perfect! Ave; I need you to make Peekboo go blind. I know you can do this."
Suddenly, Hartley's taunting voice filled the room. Caitlin stilled, feeling every muscle in her body tensing. Turning in her seat, she spotted Cisco's shifted demeanor. Hartley had never gotten along with Caitlin, but he always seemed to go out of his way to extend his rivalry with Cisco for reasons she could never understand. If it wasn't how Cisco was dressed, it was how he wore his hair, or how he didn't seem to be taking things seriously, and on, and on, and on.
Not only was Dr. Wells there to back Cisco up, but so was she and Ronnie. Ronnie and Cisco had bonded like brothers pretty quickly; Ronnie showed Cisco around STAR Labs, and would always check in with him to see how he was keeping up with the fast-paced workload, and gave advice on how to gain respect from the other older workers while leading his own project. And Hartley always seemed to know how to knock Cisco down a peg or four just by opening his mouth. She hated seeing how defeated Cisco was after a run in with "The Chosen One."
It clearly still had an effect on her, as she was spending so much time listening to Hartley and whatever secret Dr. Wells had that he was alluding to, he didn't realize Averey was in trouble, or that she couldn't even hear her anymore. Not until she heard what sounded like a gunshot that jumpstarted her. Scrambling to turn back to face her abandoned monitor, she quickly found herself with a view of the sky. A view that wasn't moving.
"Ave?" Silence. "Averey?" Caitlin shifted a worried look over towards Dr. Wells and Cisco at the silence. "Averey, are you ok?" Still nothing.
"You heard a gunshot, too, right?" Cisco asked quietly.
"What gunshot?" Barry's voice came through to the Cortex. "Cisco, what's going on?"
"Barry, just get Hartley in as quick as you can and then go check on Averey," Cisco replied.
Caitlin's breath caught in her throat as a moment later, a familiar face appeared on her screen. With long, dirty hair, a haggard Ronnie Raymond stared back at her with glowing white eyes.
Barry couldn't believe what he was seeing; F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M or Ronnie Raymond, or whatever name he was going by, not only was lying on a bed in the medical bay of STAR Labs, but he was also looking at his face on the TV screens hanging on the walls.
"Can we change the channel or something?" Cisco asked, making a face. "This is really starting to creep me out."
After getting the directions from Cisco to bring Hartley in as quickly as possible, he was met with a flaming man with a bullet hole in his shoulder, a passed out woman, and three grim faced scientists. Peekaboo had managed to get away, but from what he could understand through Cisco's rushed explanation, Ronnie had saved Averey after her eyewear had been knocked off. Unfortunately, it was one of the clearest, most sunny days Central City had experienced in a while. Barry deduced that the sun had to have knocked Averey out in a matter of moments.
"So, that's Ronnie," Barry said after he quickly changed out of his suit, nodding towards the shirtless man. His gaze was fixated on the wall, but his eyes didn't really seem to focus on anything. Arms in his lap, Ronnie hunched forward, almost as if his own upper body weight was too much to carry for himself. Maybe it was; he looked down right exhausted. "He's seen better days."
"Yeah," Cisco agreed, turning off the TVs in the Cortex. His mouth formed a thin line as he tapped the TV remote in his hand. "Only, he's insisting that he's not Ronnie Raymond."
"What?" Barry asked, giving his friend a confused look. "What do you mean?" Cisco shrugged.
"I can identify him, Caitlin can identify him, and Dr. Wells even checked his finger prints to the staff logs here," Cisco explained. He shrugged his shoulders. "But, he's still insisting that he's not who we know he is."
"You think the accident might've done something?" he asked. "Amnesia?"
"It's like what we said when Averey first arrived; true amnesia is very rare," Cisco said with a sigh. He brushed his hair behind his ear and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment. "He brought her straight here, and asked for us to help him."
Now that was strange. If it was really amnesia, Ronnie wouldn't recognize who anyone was, or what STAR Labs even was. This was the second time that Ronnie had stepped in and tried to help anyone who was affiliated with STAR Labs. Whatever it was that made him not remember who he was, there was still a part of Ronnie that held ties to the scientific building. While that gave him some comfort, Ronnie wasn't really the one he was worried about. It was Caitlin.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he felt his leg shift forward to head in the scientist's direction, but forced himself to stop and ask Cisco, "Averey?"
"Apart from some bruising from Peekaboo, she's fine," Cisco replied. "She's awake; Dr. Wells is looking her over now." Barry made a humming sound as he nodded. "Soooo, what was that fight about between you guys?"
"Just a disagreement," Barry replied.
"Oooh, that girl is going to get it," Averey said, clutching a bag of ice to her head as she stormed into the Cortex. "She's going to need all the money she stole to fix her face." She furiously pushed her glasses up her nose as she dropped into an empty chair.
"How's that headache treating you?" Cisco asked with a short laugh.
"Like the worst hangover in my life and the flu mixed together," Averey replied, lowering the bag. "I'm not in any rush to go back to partying." She lifted a hand and started rubbing at the side of her face where Barry noticed a red mark and smudges of dirt. "She threw dirt in my face and sucker punched me with a stupid baton. I think it left a mark." Letting out a heavy sigh, she set her gaze on Barry. "I just wasn't fast enough for her."
Merely glancing over at her, Barry crossed the Cortex and took the short flight of stairs up into the medical bay, stopping just short of the door frame. "How is he?" he asked, keeping his eyes on Caitlin. "…And how are you?"
"Busy," Caitlin replied, briefly looking up at the speed metahuman."And he'll live." Her face was an emotionless mask; jaw tight as she pressed a wad of gauze to Ronnie's shoulder with blood covered latex gloves. "I keep getting shards of the bullet stuck further into his shoulder."
"It's not a bad wound?" Barry asked.
Caitlin let out an odd laugh. "They don't call him the 'Burning Man' for nothing, I suppose," she commented. "Do you know how to sew?"
"Not well," Barry replied. When he and Iris were kids, they had really gotten into the "Floor is Lava" game and was trying to make it all the way around the house. He had thought it was a good idea to use the curtains to cross the living room.
Years later, he wasn't sure if Joe had ever noticed the uneven hang of the curtains (although he was pretty sure Joe had, he was on the police force after all) as one section was pulled upwards as he and Iris did their best to A: not sew their fingers to the material, and B: close the hole. Joe had never brought it up all these years later and Barry wasn't going to talk about it until he did.
"I'll show you how to do a couple," Caitlin explained, "You can just do them faster than I can." Her lips pressed tightly together and there was an odd sucking sound before she let out a breath of air. "Gotcha." A clattering sound hit the air as she dropped a black mass into a plastic cup speckled with other dark fragments and a small amount of blood. "He must've been shot before he showcased his powers otherwise that kind of heat would've melted the bullet. I just need to make sure all the fragments are out otherwise it could get infected."
"Caitlin," Barry said to her, "how are you? Really?"
Barry watched as Caitlin blinked back tears as she gazed down at the long haired man. He turned his head slightly, as if wanting to look at her, but decided against it and set his gaze on his lap once again. "I don't know," she replied. "I mean, I always wanted Ronnie back but…this man is not my fiancé."
"How many times do I have to tell you young folk that my name is not Ronnie?" the man snapped through clenched teeth. "Stop calling me that." He moved to jump to his feet, but instead contorted in pain, letting out a loud groan as Caitlin pulled the pair of tweezers in her hand out from the bullet hole in his back. "Son of a…" He swallowed. "I apologize; I will not be vulgar in the presence of a young woman."
"Considering Caitlin is the one nursing you back to health, I wouldn't snap at her, either," Barry commented. He had learned that the hard way. He could heal himself quickly, but that didn't mean that he needed to have his joints shoved back into their sockets every now and then. After a fight against "So you say you're not Ronnie Raymond. Who are you?" He tilted his head to the side. "Or rather, who do you think you are?"
"Someone who can't get the help I need from this place," Ronnie replied.
"If that was the case, then why did you come here?" Barry asked. "Why did you bring Averey here to STAR Labs?"
Ronnie's head started rolling on his neck. His fingers twitched in his lap and he jerked and twitched on the table he was sitting on. "The other voice," he hissed. "It wanted to help her." He tilted his head towards Caitlin. "It needed her. It needed her to help. It knew he could come here. Come home." The muscles in his neck jutted out as he tightly grasped onto the sides of the table. "I need to go home. I need Clarissa."
Barry jerked his head over in Caitlin's direction and the two of them exchanged wide eyed looks. "Who's Clarissa?" they asked in unison.
"She didn't want to see me," Ronnie whispered, his lips twitching. "Sh-she was scared of me. I-I-I wasn't the man she had married. I need to change back." His eyes started to glow. "I have to change back!"
"Ok, just calm down," Caitlin said, putting her hand up defensively. Barry felt his muscles tense, readying himself to pull Caitlin to safety at the first sign of danger.
"We'll figure this out," Barry promised. "We can get Dr. Wells and we can all sit down and discus this."
"No one here, young man, was part of the project," Ronnie insisted, shifting his harsh gaze over towards Barry. "You are not capable of understanding this. None of you know. This is complicated science that was created way before either of you could even begin to wrap your minds around such theories."
"Jason Rousch knows," Caitlin said, interrupting him looking as stung as Barry felt. "He told me he helped you with the projects. He works at Mercury Labs now. He can help."
"Ah, Mercury Labs." Ronnie's lips parted into an odd smile. "They were quick to cast me aside. They're as much to blame as STAR Labs for my condition."
"Wait, I don't understand," Barry said, taking a couple of slow steps forward. "How does Mercury Labs factor into this?"
"They refused my work and look what happened," Ronnie replied. He rocked back and forth, letting out a wheezing laugh. "Fraud. Data Breach. They could've been on the map. But, no." His laughter got a little louder. "STAR Labs was the only one who was interested in my work."
"What work?" Barry asked.
"My work," Ronnie repeated. He looked Barry up and down in distaste, his upper lip curling just slightly. "My hard work that they just took away from me." He slapped his hands down on the sides of the table and his head and hands burst into flames. Caitlin let out a startled scream and Barry rushed forward and grasped Caitlin around the waist before pulling her out of the way, back to where Cisco and Averey were standing in the Cortex.
The temperature in the room skyrocketed. Sweat beaded on Barry's skin and flooded his arm pits. Caitlin put a hand over Averey's eyes, turning her head away. The four young adults groaned at the rise in temperature.
"I beg that you respect me and do not ask me to calm down," Ronnie hissed as he stepped menacingly towards the group.
"A dios mio," Cisco whispered, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. "Calm down, dude." He grabbed Averey's bag of ice and threw one of the few remaining whole pieces of ice at the flaming metahuman. It melted an evaporated into a small wisp of steam before even connecting with Ronnie's body. "Well. If we had the Cold Gun we could—"
"NO!" Barry and Averey shouted in unison.
"Ronnie, you're hurt," Caitlin said in a shaky voice. Barry placed his hand over hers as her fingernails painfully pressed into his arm. "Let us help you."
Ronnie silently twisted, reaching his right arm across his chest and pressed his hand to his shoulder blade. Barry groaned as the smell of burning flesh reached his nostrils. Ronnie sank to his knees, letting out a scream of pain, chest heaving. As he dropped to his hands and knees, Barry spotted a bright red lining around the bullet wound, now cauterized.
"There is no help here," Ronnie replied in a low tone. "I used to think there was." With a loud roaring sound followed by a rush of wind and heat, Ronnie levitated through the air before hurtling himself out of STAR Labs.
For a moment, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, and Averey didn't make a sound apart from their shaky breaths. "W-we need to, um, tell Dr. Wells what happened," Barry said, licking his lips, finding them dry.
"Yes, yes, that's best," Caitlin agreed. Cisco hurried forward and started calling for the head scientist. With shaky hands, she pushed her hair back from her face.
"What a day, huh?" Barry asked, massaging his arm. Caitlin's eyes fell shut for a moment before she let out a quiet laugh.
"It's never a dull moment here," she said, her voice quivering. Her smile disappeared as she pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes. "Excuse me."
"Yeah, of course," Barry said with a nod of his head. Sighing, Barry scratched at the back of his head and addressed Cisco. "I couldn't even begin to imagine what she's feeling."
"All she's wanted was for Ronnie to come back," Cisco explained. "I mean, they never even found his body—now we know why." His hand hit his leg with a soft slap. "I mean, how would you feel if your mom suddenly came back from the dead? Or...not dead. I guess." Cisco blinked rapidly before shaking his head. "I mean, sure, that's a fourteen year difference between the two of you but you get my point."
"Yeah," Barry quietly replied.
How would he feel? When he had seen her in the graveyard, or his subconscious, or however it was that he saw her, he was filled with relief and happiness all at the same time. He had spent days, weeks even after her funeral begging for some way to have her come back. But to actually have that happen? It was something that could only ever happen in dreams. Maybe Caitlin's dream was coming true. Everyone deserved that.
"Barry!" Cisco snapped his fingers in Barry's face. "You ok? You kind of spaced out."
"Just thinking," Barry replied. "I've always wanted to have my mom back, but I never thought what it'd be like if it actually happened." He chewed on his bottom lip just slightly before looking over at Averey who silently stared back him. "Must be hard."
"Everyone always wishes to have back something they lost, Mr. Allen," Dr. Wells explained as he rolled his way into the Cortex. Just like Ronnie moments before, he had his head down. "Could you go retrieve Dr. Snow, please? We have a lot we need to discuss."
"What's going on?" Averey asked.
Dr. Wells lifted his head and gave a peculiar smile. "I assume you're all curious to what secret Hartley was not so subtly trying to get you to take notice of." He tapped his long fingers on the hand rests of his electric wheelchair. Barry gave a brief nod of his head. Hartley's smug smile outside of Rathway Industries, as if he knew more about Dr. Wells than anyone else, unnerved him. It also made him curious. What was it that Dr. Wells could be hiding? "Truth will out as they say. But first, we're going to need to pay Dr. McGee and Mercury Labs a visit."
"For what?" Barry asked. Ronnie, or whoever it was, had mentioned that Mercury Labs had something to do with his work, but he couldn't piece together what it was that he was trying to say.
"Well," Dr. Wells explained, "I may not have many at this point in time, but I'm not one to sit by and not help a friend in a time of need. "
A/N: I was going to show Iris on her first day at Central City Picture News, but I think it would have slowed down this chapter a bit, so that'll be pushed to the next one.
I also went back and forth for a while about how I was going to incorporate "The Nuclear Man" and "Fallout" episodes and whether or not I was going to even start Firestorm'sarc before the time traveling episode. As you can see, I decided to add it—as I think it fit well with Caitlin's drive to want to help people. I hope you all enjoy the way I decide to resolve it.
Moving forward, you'll really be getting into the nine months of Averey's life she doesn't remember and her ties to the Royal Flush Gang and why they're intent on bringing her into the group. This also brings Mercury Labs forward much more as well.
Thanks for reading.
Ethan: Yes, I'm definitely going to show Barry talking to Averey about being related. I hope you like how I decided to show it in not just one instance, but two. I had that thought of Barry looking through pictures and came to the conclusion that he probably would've been too sad to have done it and then as life went on, his focus shifted away from it and instead focused on how to find his mom's killer.
Kellie: Haha, even I had a "finally" reaction as I was writing that part out. Hope you enjoy how that affects everything moving forward.
Babyj: I didn't even notice until you mentioned it that I did show all of Barry's relationsihps within this chapter. I was mainly focusing on the West family, so I'm glad you were able to get that out of this chapter. Also, the closer I get to the time traveling episode, the closer we get to the crossover, Flashpoint. We're nearly there!