Chapter Three: Damn The Man


Same day, but at night.


"Wait, you guys kissed, rather passionately, I may add, and then he sets up a date and leaves? Just like that?" Felicity Smoak and Thea were getting coffee, and Thea had finally broken, and shared the kiss with her.

Thea nodded. "And now, I'm both hot and cold. I can't figure it out. He was just there, shirtless, and I-"

"He was shirtless? You didn't share this part! Was he hot? Was he ripped?" Thea gave Felicity a sidelong look.

"You're with Oliver..."

"That doesn't make me blind, or not a flesh-and-blood female." Felicity sounded a little exasperated. "Besides, it's not as if I'm going to share a hot and sweaty kiss with him, or have probably very good sex with him. Speedsters are good at that sort of thing..."

Thea sighed. Then gave Felicity a look under her brow. "You and Barry never...that is, did you and Barry...?"

"What? Oh, that? Oh, no. No! No, we only kissed. And then decided we were better friends..."

Thea nodded, and went back to trying not to think of Edward. But it was hard when the taste of him was seared on her lips, his scent clogging her nose. So when Diggle contacted them, and told them about something going down in a warehouse a few blocks from them, Thea welcomed the distraction. "I'll be back," she told Felicity.


Thea was looking around. There was someone here, but she couldn't figure out where...or maybe there was more than one...she readied her bow.

Not a moment too late, as guys dressed in black dropped down around her. "Oh. Come on, black?" Shaking her head, she attacked. Boom, smack, swipe, shoot, kick, duck, slide under the legs, yank the legs out from under the person.

In moments, the guys were all around her on the floor, either unconscious or getting there. Shaking her head again, Thea tapped the comms. "Guys, I've taken care of-" Suddenly, eighty more popped out. Shit. "I'ma need backup..."


Back in the Arrowcave, Felicity was at a draw. Oliver was clear across town, and Diggle was with him. So, she did the only thing she could. She pulled out her phone, and sent a text.


Edward was just cleaning a plate for dinner tomorrow when the text came through. Before he could think, he was already moving, a blur of red lightning. And he didn't notice that the very cuffs he was not to take off fell to the floor as he left.


As they started coming closer, she readied her bow, but she wasn't too sure of her chances. No one noticed that the liquid inside some gas cans had started to slowly rise into the air. The air became charged, and with a demonic flash of red, they were all unconscious, and the Reverse Flash was standing over the last guy, his head turned down, his dark yellow and black suit still crackling with red Speed Force lighting. With a splash, the gas in the can tell back down.

Thea jolted at the sound, and suddenly Edward was standing in front of her, his cowl down, a trace of the red lighting of his speed still in his eyes. She jolted again, and tripped backwards. He grabbed her. "Hey, hey...what's...?" Then he saw that her eyes were unnaturally expanded. She was in shock. Of course, she had just watched him take down eighty men in less than an eighth of a second.

He flashed her back to the Arrowcave. "She's in shock."

Felicity shot to her feet even as Thea waves her off. "I'm fine. I just...wasn't expecting, you know?"

Oliver entered just then, and all he saw was Edward holding Thea.

"What happened? Is she hurt? Where is he?"

Edward shook his head. "Shock. I ran in to save her."

Oliver then noticed that Edward was in his suit. But further, his cuff was missing. "Where is your cuff?"

Edward looked down at his hand, and with a whoosh, was gone. He came back with what looked like a melted piece of metal. "I think I accidentally destroyed it."

Felicity looked flabbergasted. "How? It's impossible to destroy it, Barry can't even do that."

Oliver shook his head. "Something Cisco said...he isn't from this earth. Perhaps his speed, since we know he's faster, perhaps it did that?"

Both Felicity and Diggle both turned to Oliver. "Did you just say something smart, like nerdy?" Felicity asked.

Oliver shrugged even as Edward nodded. "It would make sense..."

"So what you're saying is we need a new one."

"Yeah, but first, let's focus on Thea."


A/N: So, this will now be considered a three-shot type thing. I'm done with it for now. I might come back later though...so keep a look out.