First of all, thank you for all the follows and reviews. Since the people that have an account and i can private message them, i've already done so. It's about time i answer to the guest reviews i've been missing
to Guest : You have to remember that Bette is still a side character. I only include her when there is something specific that she is needed for or if i want some actual character development for her. Including her just for the purpose of being there, i dunno feels a bit ... forced, if you know what i mean
to Lily : its still in process. depending on how much time and how my other projects let me write, 1-3 chapters a week.
to Artemis : I am sorry, you will have to remain with that doubt in my mind for now. I would be lying if i said i don't know who she is, but ... as a certain blonde with a tardis covered diary says ... SPOILERS :P
Hope you enjoy the new chapters.
Caitlin and Barry were at the labs, they were trying to ascertain if what they had talked about the last few weeks was viable. The broker that Barry contacted had already begun covertly buying shares and he received a mail that there were no more shares to buy at the moment. Barry, under the cover of the STAR brand, had acquired almost 78% of Palmer Tech at quite a low price. Something that was possible because Ray was gone and the Vice President, which they had found out in the meantime that the position was filled by Felicity, had not been made aware that the board was trying to sell the company for grabs to make some money. Barry had an idea and called his broker almost immediately. Caitlin still had no idea why, but she trusted him. After he had finished with his call, they called Iris in as well to talk to her about STAR.
"Hey, you two. What's the rush?" she asked entering the cortex.
"Good morning. We'd actually like your opinion on something" Barry started. Iris was a bit confused, he had never asked her any sort of opinions about anything ever since they had their run in back at the west residence. If anything, he was more cold than usual, however she was still thankful to him for saving her relationship with Eddie, so she decided to see what was going on.
"We want to reopen STAR. But right now, everything is stuck in the limbo of a PR disaster, because of what Wells did. Do you have any ideas on how we might rectify that?" Caitlin continued.
"Well, now the media opinion of STAR is pretty much in the dumps. I think we can fix that over time, but aren't there other issues to fix beside that?" Iris asked
"We do have a lot of bans from the oversight boards higher up. We have been classified a Level 4 hazardous location and we don't have a license to do research anymore. But we might know someone in the government who can help. If she's willing" Barry responded and both women looked at him with an inquiring look. "Oh, you know, Cait. Lyla?"
"Oh. I keep forgetting that we know someone in the higher up chains of the government. She might be able indeed to put in a good word. We'll have to talk to her about that" She absentmindedly responded looking over some capital figures for Palmer Tech
"So that leaves the PR nightmare. Think you can handle it?" Barry asked Iris.
"I don't see why not. All we need to do is distance Wells from the STAR brand and tell them that they have new management. After that, all you do here will probably speak for itself" she said putting it simply
"Good. You`re hired then" Caitlin smiled
"Huh?" Iris looked crooked at her not understanding what she meant
"What's not clear about that? STAR will need a media person. Someone who knows the trade and is not an awkward scientist or a nerdy CSI. So … you`re it" the doctor replied
"But, I already have a job. I'm a reporter" Iris responded
"Being the PR person for STAR is not a full time job. It's more something related to what we put out Image fixing and press stories. The odd press conference now and again. You don't have to resign as a reporter, besides, now that you`re part of the team, you`re here after work just like Barry is" Caitlin retorted
"So, you`re offering a part time job?"
"Pretty much. If you think you`re up to it that is" Barry replied.
"Oh boy. This will be interesting, having Barry as my boss" she muttered
"How do you think I feel actually dating my boss" Caitlin smirked.
"I'll do it. I know I can fix the Labs' image. And why not, maybe other people will like to come work here as well" She smiled.
"Like I said earlier. Good. You`re hired" Caitlin extended a hand which Iris shook "I'll call the others and tell them to come here to talk"
Later that day everyone managed to come to the labs after their respective work days. Cisco was already there. Bette was with him like always. The two had grown close after the bee incident, even if Cisco sometimes said stupid things, she did like the man. Something about his demeanor and his smile that captured her eyes, Barry and Caitlin already knew that they were dating on the side as well. Stein and Clarissa were present. Iris and Eddie showed up as well as Joe.
"What's up?" the detective asked seeing everyone gathered
"We were thinking last night and we decided to reopen STAR" Barry said bluntly.
"Bar, STAR is everyone's black sheep right now after the particle accelerator explosion. How are you going to fix that?" Joe asked
"That is a Job for our new PR and Media relations person" Caitlin smiled pointing at Iris.
"That is wonderful news" Professor Stein told the group
"Which brings us to you, Professor. Since you have been gone for a while, I do suspect you have been let go from your old job. Which is why I suggest you talk to our Executive Director and she can arrange for a place for you here. Your own lab with funding for whatever you think would help the people of this city. Clarissa can join you as well" Barry told him
"And, who am I supposed to be talking to? I would want to come back to my own lab and have a proper job" Stein asked.
"Me, Dr. Stein" Caitlin smiled "But I doubt you'll need to do much talking. I'm having the employment papers drawn up tomorrow. For you at least. Clarissa?" She asked looking at Stein's wife.
"Yes. I would like that. Sharing a lab with Martin would be something beneficial for the two of us" She replied
"Good, then I'll make two sets" Caitlin answered.
"Which comes to our next problem. People have been barging in this laboratory way too easily over the last few months. We need security upgrades and maybe a private task force of people that we can trust to protect the premises. I suggest our new Security Chief talk to her Executive Director and get that sorted" Barry smirked at Bette.
"Wait, what? Me?" She glanced at Barry who nodded. "But, I already have a job at CCPD. Or is this something part time as well" She asked.
"You`re the security chief. Which means you don't have to be on the premises all the time. It would be preferable, but you can also retain your job at the CCPD if you so wish. You will have to work that out with Mr. Executive Director over there" he grinned at Cisco whose jaw fell immediately.
"What? It made perfect sense you'd be the second one" Caitlin smiled at him
"We would like this place secure. People will start to come in, mostly scientists that will probably work here. There will be areas that will be forbidden to them, like the Cortex for obvious reasons and the Pipeline. Also we need to upgrade our security and entry protocols so that we don't get unwanted guests. And who better to do that than an ex war vet who has seen combat and knows the importance of Intelligence gathering and information limitation" Barry told Bette.
"Oh, I'm definitely in" Her face lit up and she smiled "This is going to be something else"
"Ok, Mr. Executive Director Cisco Ramon, when we finish here go take care of her employment papers and talk about how that arrangement is going to function" Caitlin smirked
"Joe, Eddie. You two will be our liaisons to the CCPD. I'm not going to stop working there as a CSI either. But I would like to see if the police would be ok with us housing the more dangerous metahumans in the pipeline before being taken to Iron Heights. And the ones which are not affected by the power suppressors, or can get out of them will be housed here permanently. Of course this contract would have to be secret. It would be best if our scientists don't know they're working over a prison holding people with superpowers" Barry continued
"I don't know if Singh will go for that, Barry" Joe stated bluntly to which he got his reply
"Yes he will. He doesn't want to endanger the people in the precinct by keeping super powered metas around. He will jump into the idea of Offloading them somewhere else after the trial" Caitlin replied. Joe and Eddie agreed without much thought. They were happy to be helpful anyway they could to the team, which at this point had become more like their extended family.
"Ok then. Since we're here. I thought I should tell you that we now own controlling interest in Palmer Tech. Their stock is at an all-time low and it made absolute sense for us to make our move. Which means we will be getting a new cyber security expert pretty soon" Barry smiled.
"Oh yea. Felicity is going to be part of the team. Awesome" Cisco smiled toward Barry "Good call man. I might be good at hacking, but nowhere near that girl"
"Cisco, you`re the most familiar with the structure of the lab, right?" Barry asked
"Yes, I saw the building plans and I have worked with them when I created the 3d model that led us to find the Time vault. Why?" the engineer replied
"I want you to take care of the repairs that the building needs, also I would like to add a speed lab to the building somewhere as well as a training room. Somewhere where we could spar without thinking that we're going to bring the house down. Both of those of course need to be underground. Probably somewhere around the Pipeline. You think you`re up for making something like that?" the speedster inquired
"Hell yea. Of course. I have a few ideas of what the speed lab should contain, besides sensors and other stuff. It's going to be AWESOME" the engineer's eyes sparkled for a moment and Barry knew he made the right choice to leave that to him.
As they talked Joe and Eddie saw a dark figure in the hallway. It was approaching the, so both of them pulled out their sidearm and pointed them at the stranger.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Eddie asked the dark figure which did not move.
"The man asked you a question" Joe said "Either step into the light, or the next time you make a move you end up with a bullet in your head. Your choice" the figure seemed to understand the predicament he was in so he came forward into the light where they could see him
"It's Jay Garrick. Or Zoom. Or whoever he is" Barry said blocking his face from giving away that he knew the man's identity. Caitlin looked at him and nodded.
"My name is Jay Garrick. And your world is in danger" The person finally talked.
"What other worlds are there?" Cisco asked with a surprised look on his face.
"When you created the singularity here you also created a breach. Between my world and yours" He explained.
"I'm sorry, a breach. What does that mean?" Iris asked.
"Yes, a portal you can call it. Connecting our two earths" Jay added.
"What precisely is your concern? How is our world in danger?" Stein asked holding Clarissa.
"A few days ago, you found a man, Al Rothstein, dead. A few hours later, the same man tried to kill you. That man was from my world. If he managed to get through the breach, then expect more to follow" Jay's voice seemed distressed.
"Ok, so … Jay, how exactly do you know all this?" Barry asked him
"In my world. I used to be a speedster like you. They used to call me The Flash. Before I arrived to your world, I was in a fight with a man named Zoom" He continued.
"Zoom? We've heard that name before. Atom Smasher said that he was sent by Zoom to kill the Flash. Who is this guy?" Caitlin stated bluntly
"He's a speedster, like us. And he's fast. Very fast. Maybe the fastest of us all, but evil. He is an unstoppable demon with the face of death. We were engaged in probably what was our fiercest fight ever. We were racing across my city. But I wasn't fast enough, Zoom managed to beat me and steal my speed. But when he was about to kill me, the singularity opened above and he left me to die. The breach drew me into it and the energies gave me enough strength to regenerate and I ended up in your world. But my speed is still gone" the man stated bluntly.
"So why did it take you 6 months to come to us?" Joe asked
"This is not my world, detective. I had no idea where I was and it took me quite a while to piece together who you all were and where I could come for help" he replied
"So that's how you know our names then. You`ve been following us" Iris spoke with a bit of disgust on her face.
"I know how this must all sound to you. I had nowhere else to go. Because I lost my speed I cannot go back through the breach. So, I came to you" Jay sat down on a chair.
"Come with me, Jay. I want to give you a once over to know you`re all right" Barry motioned for him to go into the med bay.
"Cait, make sure all the monitoring equipment is running. I want to measure his autonomic responses. I'll ask him a few questions and I want to make sure if he's lying or not" Barry told her.
"All right. You want to ask him something that you know he'll answer with the truth to establish a baseline. Then ask him whatever you want" he got his reply as he was connecting the leads to Jay
"So, you fell through the breach to our world?" Barry asked him
"Yes, or more accurately I was sucked in and deposited here" The man answered. "Got it. You can start" he heard Caitlin gave him the ok
"So tell me, Mr. Garrick. How long have you been the Flash on your world?"
"About two years now. I was in my lab, trying to purify heavy water without any residual radiation. There was a blinding light, I went into a coma and woke up being able to run faster than sound" Jay answered. "The autonomic responses are off, Barry. He's either lying or he's responding with a prefabricated story that contains some truth, but some lies as well. It's safe to say however that he is not telling you everything" Caitlin added in his mind
"So you said you lost your speed?" Barry asked.
"Yes, I don't know why now. It did happen before in one of my battles with Zoom. But a scientist called Harrison Wells managed to give it back to me. He created a drug called Velocity. While its effects were not permanent, it managed to give me enough speed so I could reconnect with the Speed Force" the answer came
"So you have a Harrison Wells on your earth too, huh?" Barry said distraught "What about this Zoom character. Do you have any idea who he is?"
"No, if I would have then he might be already gone" Jay answered "He's lying" Cait told him.
"So you were a scientist in your world?" Barry pressed on
"Yes, but I didn't work in a place as nice as this one" he said "He's lying" Caitlin added once again to him mentally
"So what happened with that Velocity drug? Did your Harrison manage to make it work?" Barry asked
"No, sadly the effects were temporary and it had another side effect which made it useless. It caused cell degradation if used too much. Nothing happened to me because I had my speed and my cells were regenerating constantly, but to a normal human … it would probably mean death and not a very pleasant one" Jay muttered
"Excuse me for a bit. Lie down and let the instruments take some more readings. You seem to be fine for now, but I would like to make sure so that you don't die on us suddenly, all right?" Barry told him and he nodded while he moved back to the Cortex.
"So can this actually be true?" Eddie asked. "How many earths can there be?"
"An infinite number of them. There was this theory called the Multiverse theory which handled exactly this sort of scenario" Professor Stein started to talk and explained to the group what the theory was about. Caitlin and Barry however were not paying attention.
"So he's definitely lying about something. I think what you saw in your flashes is true. You asked him if he knew who Zoom was and he lied when he said no. So that either means he knows him or he is him" Caitlin mentally spoke to him
"Yeah. I only found enhanced regeneration and that's about it. There is no trace of the Speed Force in his cells. But the lie detector test proved he's hiding something" Barry acknowledged
"We should keep an eye on him and make sure we tell the others to not give out important information about us if they talk to him. He could be Zoom himself just coming here for a laugh" Caitlin managed to say before Stein finished his explanation
"Barry, there's a fire at the industrial plant" Joe told the two. They went inside and managed to put out the fire not before being attacked by a man that could turn himself into what looked like sand. In the commotion he managed to slip away. The two came back to test the residue that they had on their suit.
"This looks like sand" Barry said after a few hours.
"It's not sand, those are human cells that modified themselves to resemble sand. We're dealing with another metahuman" Caitlin agreed
"His name is Sand Demon. He's from my earth too. I fought him a couple of times and manage to trap him. Zoom must have let him go to come here and try to kill you. He has a specific mode of attack. He either creates a distraction, then attacks you or he is the distraction while he creates an attack somewhere else" Jay said coming into the cortex from the medical bay.
"So … how are we supposed to beat something that can literally go through my fingers?" Barry asked.
"Simple. You are going to do something I never could. Throw lightning at him" The other flash spoke simply "You run and create a trail of lightning behind you when you do so. If you run around him, you can channel that lightning with your hand into the target. Go and practice a few times, you should get it, you`re a speedster" Jay said with a grin on his face.
"Lightning plus sand" Barry continued
"Equals glass" Caitlin finished smiling at him.
The two went out and started training to be able to throw lightning, but the two came up with another way. Instead of running around to produce lightning, they would vibrate their hands, kind of like when they were using the defibrillator. It took them a while to find the correct frequency to produce static electricity out of the air that would not fizzle out after a couple of seconds, but with that they could produce lightning only out of their hands which they could then throw. It was a simpler process and it took significantly less time than running around the target. The two speedsters were happy with the results. After a few hours they were able to throw lightning consistently. Targeting however proved to be a challenge, but one they would overcome in time.
Cisco and Dr. Stein were in the basement lab coming up with a way to find all the breaches while Bette was watching Jay. The doctor postulated that if Jay was right, the exotic matter from the other universe would come over to theirs. This sort of leak could be detected by modifying the STAR labs satellite with an Electrophotography program, but the rendering would take a few hours. Stein went to another lab to grab something required for their endeavor. Cisco suddenly had a headache and a vision of a police officer that was held by Sand Demon somewhere in a warehouse. Barry and Caitlin came down to see how the two were doing and saw Cisco wincing. Joe had called them earlier to tell them that he needed their help. Sand demon wanted the Flash and he kidnapped someone.
"I think I know where Sand Demon is hiding" Cisco managed to speak holding his head with both his hands.
"How would you know that? Joe literally called us a few minutes ago" Barry asked
"Visions" Caitlin stated bluntly "How long have you had them, Cisco?" Cisco looked at her with wide eyes, not understanding how she would know something like that, he decided that he would try to keep his powers secret and yet here was Caitlin asking him about them.
"Ever since that time I remembered dying, and then again at Flash and Frost Day, when Rothstein attacked us, and now. Caitlin is right. I get visions, sometimes when I touch something, I feel a vibe and then I get images of stuff that happened or happens. I saw Zoom send Rothstein to kill you" Cisco said while Barry ran back up and brought him some pain meds and a glass of water. "Thanks, Barry"
"That is incredible, Cisco. You have no idea how much we can find out with this power. We should help you manage it. Just like you helped us" Barry smiled to his friend
"But I don't want to. Don't need to be studied or put under a microscope" the engineer almost shouted.
"We have to Cisco. Besides, it's going to be Barry and me. It's not like you didn't have us under a microscope. We need at least to know if you`re ok. Then we can give a try on you getting a handle on your powers. Remember, we're here for you and if you can't let your best friends use you for a lab rat, then who can you trust" Caitlin gave him a bright smile
"You`re right. There's really no point being afraid of what would happen with you two big brains around. These powers are pretty awesome. Oh, I'm going to need a codename now, aren't I?" He smiled. He felt comfortable with the two around and he knew that the tests they would run were for his benefit. They would never hurt him or rat him out to anyone.
"How about … Vibe" Barry smiled "You did say you get vibes before a vision so ... why not "
"Vibe, I like it. Oh, that's trippy. It's the same codename we saw on that paper. The one where I took the white emblem idea to put on your suit" The engineer realized.
"Don't think about it. Vibe it is. Welcome to the super powers squad" Caitlin smiled and gave him a hug. "So where is Sand Demon?" Cisco pointed at a warehouse and the two speeded out.
The battle was short, Caitlin managed to surprise the metahuman with a well-placed ice blast to the chest with forced him to reform as he was attacking them. Barry vibrated both his hands and threw two bolts at them which immediately turned him into glass. The impact of the electricity pushed him back and he fell to the ground shattering. They took the officer, which turned out to be someone that Joe knew, a Patty Spivot, someone that had approached him before to become part of their metahuman task force, back to the precinct as soon as they finished.
As they ran back to the Cortex Cisco and Stein were there talking with Jay, Bette as instructed was always around keeping an eye on the supposed speedster from another world.
"We have a problem, Guys. The breach detection system is up and ... it seems that our opening of that singularity did not result in just one breach being opened" Cisco said with a bit of worry on his face.
"How many?" Caitlin asked instantly
"52 of them, Dr. Snow. All around the city. With the largest one being right here, in our basement" Stein responded. "The exotic matter is not something that we should be worried about yet, but there are enough for this Zoom to send metahumans to our Earth in droves if necessary"
"We need to find a way to close them" Barry added and Stein nodded.
"Since now I'm an official employee of STAR, I'm going to pick a place for my lab and start working on the problem immediately. By the way, thank you again" Stein added as he tried to leave. Barry motioned him to stay.
"I already have a place to stay in the city. Here's my cell, if you need me for anything I'll be around" Jay told the crew as he was heading out "This whole metahuman business is making me hungry. Dr. Snow? Would you like to join me for a bite?" he asked
"No, thank you. Me and my dorky boyfriend over here have something else planned for this evening as well as most of tomorrow" She smiled
"Was he … just flirting with you?" Barry gave her a quizzical look
"Yeah, I know right. Like he'd be my type. He might be a scientist, looking good, with a bit of charm, but he could also be a homicidal maniac and I already have someone else I love" She answered. After Jay left there were only Bette, Cisco and Stein left in the cortex.
"I need you all to be careful with Jay. He does not appear to be who he says" Barry told the group
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Allen?" Martin asked.
"Professor Stein, if you are going to work here it would be high time that you start calling me Barry, don't you think?" He smiled
"Then I insist you call me Martin as well. But you still didn't answer my question" the professor replied
"When I was getting his vitals, I asked Caitlin to turn on all the sensors. Including the ones that were measuring autonomic responses" Barry said
"Wait, you gave him a lie detector test?" Bette was surprised at how Barry was suspicious. It was not in his nature.
"Yes, I did. Call it ... precaution, after Eobard managed to fool everyone for years. Then a new speedster without speed comes here out of the blue after stalking us for months? Yeah. Of course I gave him a lie detector test" the speedster replied
"Which he failed" Caitlin added prompting a surprised look from the rest "Barry asked him some targeted questions. Like if he knew who Zoom was and other things. He failed precisely those questions. While that does not mean he IS Zoom, it means he is still lying and that should tell us to be careful with him"
"I see now why you told me to keep an eye on him" Bette realized.
"We'll leave what you do with him and if you think he might need surveillance up to you, Bette. We trust you know what to do with someone that might be a threat but doesn't need to know" Caitlin smiled.
"You two said that you had plans for tonight and tomorrow? Are you going to be away?" Bette asked, being tasked with Security meant she had to at least know if the two would be in the labs or not.
"Yes, we're going to Star City. We have a meeting with the board of directors of Palmer Tech tomorrow to … introduce ourselves" Barry smiled
"Why do I need to go? Just made up the plan thing so I didn't have to go out with Jay" Caitlin was surprised.
"Of course you need to go. Would be weird if only one of the actual owners of Palmer Tech showed up for a board meeting" Barry responded. The response prompted a shocked look from Caitlin
"What do you mean, just one?"
"I told you, I needed to be covert in the way we bought the shares. I didn't want to make it look like a hostile takeover, which of course isn't because we aren't direct competitors. So … I had my broker buy the shares on behalf of 3 entities. STAR Labs, Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow" He grinned "Congrats, you are no longer a gold-digger. You own half of our shares in Palmer Tech, partner" The look of surprise on Caitlin's face was staggering. Her face was almost shaking and a muscle in her cheek stared to twitch. She started to bite her lower lip unconsciously, while Barry was making his little speech and gave his explanation. She didn't process the gold digger comment till way later.
"Hey! I thought you said I wasn't one. What gives?" She gave him a smile.
"Call it a late birthday present" Barry replied. He wanted to say something more, but Caitlin lips stopped him. She kissed him hard holding him close. The others in the cortex grinned and Cisco, as his usual self, whistled at them.
"You bought her a multi-million dollar company? I guess rich people do think differently" Cisco managed to utter after he whistled realizing the amount of money involved.
"Yeah, so much for Barry Allen mild mannered broke CSI" Bette joked prompting a smile from Stein. The two separated from their kiss.
"So yea. We need to go to Star. Which means you guys are in charge while we're gone. Try not to wreck the place" Barry joked "Also make sure Jay doesn't start to look around the lab. Cisco, I know I gave you a lot to do with the whole rebuilding thing, but do you think you have time to do one more thing for me?"
"Sure. Name it" The engineer replied
"Remember those nanites we used on Eobard? I want at least 10 more batches of them. Now that we own most of Palmer Tech, I'll have them send you Ray's designs. Call it … a precaution" Barry explained
"I got you covered. I'll start work as soon as you send me the designs. I already know how the need to be reprogrammed, Felicity showed me and I have already done it one on one of the batches that helped us against the Reverse Flash" Cisco gave him a large smile.
"Good. If all goes well, we should be back by tomorrow afternoon. Since we aren't taking any sort of public transportation and our top speed has increased after the black hole incident, it's easier that way" Barry added.
"Besides, we always enjoy a good run together" Caitlin replied
The two speedsters went back home. They realized that there was no reason for them to leave that night toward Star City as long as they could run there. The evening and night passed rather fast, as the next day, early in the morning, the two changed into their suits and ran to Star City. They did enjoy a good run, especially if they were both there.
Felicity was not happy, she was pacing and fidgeting in her office with a look of disdain on her face like someone had died or even worse. She had a list to fire at least 3 dozen people because of the "downsizing" of Palmer Tech. As much as she wanted to keep them, the board of directors told her that the company needed to remain relevant and of course, pull in a profit. If she wouldn't start firing people, then they would, by giving them instant pink slips. Felicity thought that the be extremely rude and inconsiderate considering most of them had worked there for quite a long time, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. Out of the blue however she received a call from Barry.
"Hey Felicity, want to go out for a coffee or something?"
"I would, but …" she trailed off "Things aren't going well here. I have to fire a lot of people until the end of the week and I thought it would be a good idea to do until the board meeting later"
"You are going to stand us up for coffee because you have to fire people?" She heard Caitlin on the phone as well "How very corporate of you, Ms. Smoak"
"Okay, okay. I guess I can fire them later. Come pick me up" She closed her phone and in the span of a couple of seconds she was sitting in the back of an alley near a coffee shop, with Barry next to her. They went inside and sat down at the table Caitlin was waiting at.
"So, what brings you two to Star City?" Felicity asked the two. She was surprised to see them.
"We were … taking a bit of time off. After Eobard, we decided to dedicate more time to ourselves" Caitlin replied
"Also we heard that you became Vice President of Palmer Tech. That's a long way to go from being Oliver Queen's personal internet search assistant" Barry teased her knowing how she became to be part of the Arrow team in the first place. She had told him the first time they met after he found out Oliver's secret.
"Hey. Those days are still there. You know why" she smiled though. She thought he had forgotten.
"So, what's with the firing people? Or it's something you can't discuss" Caitlin asked.
"It's fine. It's not like you two are corporate spies or anything. After Ray disappeared, we do think he's dead to be truthful, the company started down spiraling. With the head of Palmer Tech out of the picture, these money grubbing bastards saw that the ship was sinking and forced us to do downsizing. One of my employees, a brilliant man, he created an algorithm to pay people more based on the value they bring to the company and the board used it to have me to fire people. The irony is that one of the people getting canned is actually the same guy that invented the whole damn thing" Felicity said with silent hatred in her eyes.
"They're firing people that are brilliant, but their research takes time? Wow. Those people are idiots" Caitlin said surprised.
"The best things that have been invented took time to develop. So you`re saying that if you don't bring money to the company in an allotted period of time, you`re classified as zero value and fired?" Barry asked Felicity
"Yes. That's exactly it. Curtis has something in the works that might revolutionize the power cell industry and these idiots want to fire him" She said with a raised voice
"Felicity, this is us you`re talking to. There's more to your anger than meets the eye isn't it?" Barry asked
"Me and Oliver … we started dating. We decided to leave Star and lead a normal life outside the city. However, due to my inquisitive nature, I continued to help the people in Star City. That in itself was just me being a jerk. I wanted to enjoy my free time with Oliver, but I also could not leave this city unattended. After a little bit, the problems that arose were a little too bad to not involve myself back into them, Oliver saw that and we came back to help, even though he was really reluctant about it. But now, in part because of my meddling, Diggle doesn't talk to him. Thea had a rough time while Ollie was gone too, she was murdered by the Demon and we had to use the pit on her to bring her back, however that process gave her a rage issue and I have to fire people for a living. Good people that don't deserve the greed this board is putting on them. But I intend to change their mind. I'm going to hold a presentation at the board meeting today with Curtis's idea. Hopefully that will change their minds" Felicity dropped everything she had on her head onto her friends.
"Well, congrats. That took you a long time" Barry smirked at his blonde friend.
"Yea, a very long time" the doctor agreed. The speedster had told her everything
"Hey, do you not keep any sort of secrets from her?" Felicity tried to sound offended to the fact that Caitlin knew about her fawning over the Arrow.
"Felicity, she can literally read my mind. What secrets would I keep from her? Besides, why would I even want to? She's the woman I love for crying out loud. I'm not Oliver" Barry made his point across rather well
"Yea, you don't keep secrets from me. Except when you`re buying me half of Palmer Tech" Caitlin smiled.
"Yeah. Except then. But surprises are secrets just at the start" Barry snickered
"Don't worry Felicity. Things will get better I'm sure. When is the board meeting?" Caitlin asked
"In 10 minutes. Mind flashing me back to my office? I need to get ready" the answer came. Barry took her outside and flashed her to her office with Caitlin following them.
"Good luck on your presentation" The speedster couple told her.
"Thanks for dropping by guys. Are you staying more? Maybe meet up with Oliver later?" she asked.
"Yes, we're staying a bit more. Let us know when you finished what you have to do. We can talk more then" Caitlin answered. The two jumped out and stopped near the Palmer Tech building.
"By what Felicity told us, I don't think we can use the good people approach. If the board of directors is composed of such greedy moneygrubbers, I think it's time we change our approach a bit. What do you say?" Barry asked her
"I concur with that. We should present ourselves as the power players and shove them out completely. Think you can act as the bad cop in this scenario?" the doctor asked him with a smile on her face
"I will try. If we leave those types of leeches in the company we just bought, we might just lose it the moment we turn our backs. They have to go" the speedster replied
"All right then, let's go get some different clothes, these won't do. We have to act like rich powerful people" she completed his thoughts. The two smiled and went straight to the first expensive clothing store that they could find.
Felicity was pacing outside the conference room where the board of directors was gathered. Curtis joined her and they entered.
"Ms. Smoak. Glad to see you could join us" Someone said
"Why was this meeting called? Is this because of the magic downsizing algorithm that made me start firing my people?" Felicity hissed at them
"No. Ms. Smoak. This board of directors decided that the company was not profitable anymore. So we started to sell shares. As of yesterday, we are no longer a controlling interest in the company. So the massive firing of the people on the list you received will be the decision of the next owners" The man said.
"What? Why wasn't I informed of this? You sold the company without the Vice President's knowledge? You might be the board of directors but nothing gives you that right. I should have been notified immediately" She said with obvious anger in her voice.
"That doesn't matter now. This meeting was called so we could meet the new owners and see what they have in store for this company. Of course since now more than 80 percent is controlled by them, this board of directors will more than likely be disbanded and only a representative of the other 20% will be retained" Another man commented. Felicity was livid. Ray left her the company to take care of and now it was being sold from right underneath her feet. She felt dizzy and powerless. He had to lean on Curtis to get her bearings.
"So, where are the new owners? Are they late on their first day?" Felicity managed to speak.
"No, here they are now" someone pointed toward the corridor. Two figures, a man wearing a black suit, black tie with a red shirt and black shoes and a woman wearing a beautiful long black dress with heels which held his arm were walking toward the meeting room. When the couple came in, Felicity froze in place. Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow, her friends, they looked different, more formal and had a demeanor that she had only seen in a few people. Very rich and very powerful people. Before she could say anything she saw Barry wink and made a sign for her not to speak.
"Good day to you all" Caitlin greeted the people in the room. "My name is Caitlin Snow and this is Barry Allen"
"Good day, Ms. Snow" They greeted back.
"As you probably know by now, the majority of Palmer Tech was bought off by us. This morning, our broker announced us that there were no more shares to be bought from the company. The market was dry when it came specifically to them" She said calmly, however her voice seemed to have a bit of a displeased tone
"Yes, there is a small percentage that this board decided to keep" one man replied.
"Last I checked, for a board of directors to have a function it would need more than 30 percent, as you know since we now own 80%, it is my opinion and understanding that this board no longer has a function. With this said, it means that this will probably be the last meeting which will be held in this formula" Barry stated coldly
"But, the people that hold these shares have to have a voice in the leadership of this company" a woman managed to speak out.
"The people that still hold shares in this company are all in this room. Early this morning when we found out that the company was no longer selling, I instructed my broker to find who owned stocks and buy them out. As of this point" Barry looked at his phone with a message on it "We now own 98 percent of Palmer Technologies. So let me reiterate. I'm sure this is the last meeting which will be held in this formula" The looks on the faces of all the people at the table was priceless.
"You cannot do that. Buying separately shares from people that are not on the market is not legal. We can have you prosecuted for that" one of the men stood up
"Oh? And selling shares on the market without your vice president knowing is legal? Yes, we know about that, it doesn't matter how much you tried to hide it. Sir, who would come out on top between us I wonder? I'm pretty sure I would just get a reprimand, while you would be charged with theft, if Ms. Smoak decides to sue, which I am pretty sure she does at this moment. So, please do tell me again how you can have me prosecuted for what I did, knowing that I will get a fine and you can get a prison sentence" Barry was extremely calm, but the way he was controlling the situation was showing. His voice had a steel cold tone of a man that had been in this kind of predicament before and had always come out on top. Except she knew for a fact that he had not, which was baffling her. The man backed down almost immediately hearing those words being said by of one of the new owners and considering his options "Ah, good I see you have decided to see what is good for you" Barry told the man who had threatened him.
"None of you control more than 50 percent. So who will be director?" one man tried to deflect the obvious discussion about the fraud
"What you fail to understand is the fact that we are not a separate entity. Mr. Allen and I are partners. Which means, both of us will be in charge" Caitlin told them
"I would really like if you would not change the subject so readily. We are still talking about that, I shall call it fraud, in selling stocks without having the VP sign off on that. Having just two percent of a company does not entitle you to … well... anything. But I'll make you an offer. You will receive twice of what your stock in this company is worth, if you decide to sell right now. If you do not, well maybe then I will ask Ms. Smoak for a favor to sue you. I'm pretty sure with a good lawyer that I know, most of this board will be in prison by the end of next week on charges of theft and market manipulation, not to mention tax evasion" Barry told them giving them an ice stare "You wouldn't mind if I ask you for that tiny favor, would you, Ms. Smoak?" he turned to the blonde.
"Not at all, Mr. Allen, in fact I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even consider it a favor to you, but a favor to myself and this company, considering what has happened" the blonde said with a stern voice. Felicity had never seen this side of her friend. Barry was cold and calculated, his voice at times even giving her shivers, Caitlin had a stunning professionalism and courtesy when talking to the people in the room. He seemed to be ruthless, she was the exact opposite, a warming presence that inspired trust and comfort. The room was starting to get noisy as the people discussed amongst themselves what to do. Felicity and Curtis were still standing in a corner of the room near a whiteboard looking at the couple that entered absolutely demolishing the greedy bastards that tried to sell the company from under her. The smirk on her face was visible at the final treatment these people were getting.
"Do you know those two, Ms. Smoak?" Curtis managed to whisper.
"Yes, they are good friends of mine. This company is safe and I'm pretty sure there will be no more downsizing as well" she responded to him as the sound in the room came to a standstill.
"Fine. We'll sell you the rest" they agreed.
"Wonderful. Thank you for your cooperation. You are all dismissed. Ms. Smoak, do you have their bank account data and their respective share numbers somewhere in your database?" Barry asked keeping the professional tone.
"Yes, Mr. Allen. I can have them for you in a few minutes" she found herself replying almost automatically to him. His demeanor and the way he gave off an air of controlling the room prompted her to give him a professional answer, like she was answering a superior.
"There is absolutely no need for that" He turned to the people in the room "You will receive the payment for your individual shares by the end of the day. Ms. Smoak will personally take care of it" Barry stated coldly and he saw Felicity nodding "Now, if you don't mind leaving the premises, we would like to be left alone. We have company business to discuss, company of which as of now you are no longer a part of" Barry smiled as the persons started to leave one by one, until they were finally alone. He plopped in a chair and sighed heavily
"Wow. That took a lot out of me. Cait, next time you can be bad cop, ok? This is exhausting" his goofy smile returned as he looked toward Felicity "Sit you two. Sorry we had to keep you standing this whole time"
"Ok, ok. I'll be the bad cop next time, I had no idea that playing a powerful douchebag took so much out of you" Caitlin smiled and sat in his lap kissing his cheek. Felicity while giving professional answers her mind was still confused and the shocked look returned on her face as the couple in front of her returned to the people that she knew and was friends with.
"How? What did … did that just happen? What just happened?" she looked at the two and babbled the couple being visibly amused at her reaction "Where did you have the money to buy us out?" she finally managed to articulate a sentence.
"After Harrison Wells died, he left me his possessions. I now own STAR Labs and an assortment of different companies which contain but are not limited to, companies that make money off the Flash, Frost and Arrow merchandize" Barry started but he looked weird at Curtis. Felicity understood.
"Curtis, you can go back to work. I assume the downsizing is cancelled?" Felicity asked the two
"You assume correctly" Caitlin confirmed. Felicity waved Curtis off as he was heading back to his lab with a large smile on his face. Felicity's eyes were still asking for an explanation.
"Basically, all the enterprises the Reverse Flash owned are still bringing in a lot of money. Besides all the properties and the money that was still in his accounts. I'm surprised Oliver hasn't told you anything about it, I'm sure he knows" Barry continued
"But … how much was it?" Felicity was curious
"All of the income I get from the labs and everything in between sum up to about 72 million" Felicity choked and Barry left her to recover before adding "per month" something that made her choke yet again.
"The assets he had plus the money he had saved up in accounts that were not directly tied to his name came to about 2.780 million. But considering Barry just spent 700 of those on buying Palmer Tech, let's call it a round 2 billion" Caitlin continued with the explanations. Barry was amused as Felicity's face turned into a "Say what now?" expression.
"But, they said that the new owners will be visiting. As in plural. Didn't Barry just buy out the company?" Felicity asked.
"Well, no … He bought me half of it … as a delayed birthday present" Caitlin still couldn't believe those words were coming out of her mouth. Barry bought her half of a multimillion dollar corporation, as a delayed birthday present. This was her life now.
"I heard guys buying yachts for their girlfriends but this is just …Whoa" Felicity was still stunned by all that. Barry was a billionaire and he bought Caitlin, half of Palmer Tech, which was valued at 700 million, as a present. "So... this was the real reason you came to Star City, wasn't it?"
"Well yes and no. We still missed you and the gang. But we had to come and do this anyway. We're going to call it STAR West, so it keeps the brand alive. But even if this continues to bleed off money, we can offset with a bit of the income we get from STAR Labs. That way, what you told us this morning won't happen. Let people discover wonderful things, work and research and … we saved you from firing them as well" Caitlin explained the plan they had for the newly acquired company
"At first, we just wanted to come and introduce ourselves, talk it out see what can be done. But after what you told us this morning, about the greed of those people, we decided that a more … forward approach was needed. Therefore we dressed as formal as we could and that's why you saw that good cop, bad cop routine" Barry added.
"Which was seriously awesome! Barry I had no idea you could look and act so menacing. I guess I should start calling you Boss then?" Felicity smirked at him
"Nope. If you ever call me anything else than Barry, I'm going to fire you. Ms. Smoak" Barry told her with the same professional tone that he used on the board members. Immediately cracking and starting to laugh. Felicity joined him.
"You can't, you need my approval" Caitlin joked.
"Oh I think I can get that quite easily" He leaned in and kissed the beautiful woman that was fidgeting in his lap.
"Yes, yes you can" She muttered as they were kissing.