Getting back in the swing of things. Here's the newest chapter. I'm having so much fun. Are you guys having fun? I want to thank everyone who's supported me throughout the series, even the people who have criticized me because I think it's helped me develop as a writer. My co-authors Brightburn1985 and Bartholomew Henry Allen
Disclaimer: I don't own The Flash
It took some time, but the team finally managed to convince Barry to confront Jay about this new meta, if nothing else, simply because they had no other option when dealing with a man who doesn't exist in a sense.
"This man," Barry held up a picture of Slick to the glass of Jay's container. "Do you know him?"
"You need my help?" Jay asked him.
"Answer the question," Barry said with a no-nonsense tone. "If you ever want to get out of here, you'll answer my questions,"
"His name is Eddie Slick. On my Earth, he was a metahuman with the ability to convert his cells into particles that resemble sand." Jay told him. "Let me guess, you met him,"
"That's none of your business." Barry dismissed him.
"I told you this would happen Barry. Zoom is going to keep sending these people here until he can prove that he is the fastest speedster on any Earth," Jay said to him.
"I don't need to hear this," Barry began to back away.
"I can teach you how to stop him," Jay called out to Barry before it was too late.
Barry paused for a second. If Jay could tell him how to detain someone as troublesome as Slick, maybe Jay would be worth keeping around.
"And how would I stop someone who can slip through my fingers?" Barry asked.
"The same way I was never able to," Jay said. "With lightning. Time to learn something new kid,"
"Thanks for the advice. I'll take it under consideration," Barry looked at him with contempt before turning his back on him.
"Hold on, I just told you how to stop this guy, don't I deserve a little thanks?" Jay asked.
"What you just told me was to kill that man. If my lightning were to hit him, his body would be reduced to glass. That would kill him," Barry said.
"It's the only way Barry," Jay said.
"There's always another way," Barry glared at him. Typing on the screen beside him, Barry closed the Pipeline and returned Jay back to his hole.
"He does make a point," Iris said.
"You're actually agreeing with him?" Barry questioned Iris.
"I mean, it makes sense when you think about it. Physical attacks don't work on him, we're going to have to attack him with something else, and your lightning is our best bet," Iris said.
"If I do, I could kill him. Our first option should never be to kill our opponents. Our priority is to save lives, and that includes criminals. It is not our decision on who lives or dies," Barry argued.
"This man set a building on fire. He almost killed you Barry," Iris reminded him.
"And that means it's okay to kill him?" Caitlin asked her. Killing others was the one thing that would get Barry and Caitlin on the same side. They may argue about a lot of topics, but they always had their morals. "If this were anyone else, he would be sentenced to a few years of prison, not the death penalty."
"We just need to find a way to stop him that doesn't involve his death. We stopped a metahuman who could turn into gas in our first month of working together. I'm sure we can figure out a way to stop one who can turn into sand," Barry pointed out.
"That was when our metas were still fairly inexperienced with their powers. Tiring them out isn't going to work as much. We don't even know how long Sand Stream has had his powers," Cisco said.
Everyone just turned to look at him in confusion at the new name.
"What? Not good?" Cisco asked.
"Jay said his name was Sand Demon," Caitlin mentioned offhandedly.
"Seriously? I think we need to establish with him that I am the one who comes up with the names here, but I'm gonna let that one slide because they're from the same Earth and I actually really like that one. I'm not mad about that," Cisco smirked to himself as he repeated the name in his head multiple times. It was pretty cool.
"Well first we need to find this guy," Barry reminded them all. "Any luck on a location?"
"Well, I talked to some of my underground contacts and I think they found something," Caitlin said.
"Wait, you have underground contacts?" Barry asked.
"Of course I do. Moonlighting as a vigilante, it helps to have some eyes in the shadows. These guys don't take too kindly to new metas imposing on their positions, so they always keep an eye out for any up and coming meta criminals," Caitlin said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, a guy matching Slick's description was seen walking out of this building," Caitlin used the computer to pull up an image of an abandoned greenhouse.
"That would make sense. His body seems to need moisture in order for his powers to work correctly. What better place than a greenhouse?" Barry said.
"So what are we doing?" Caitlin asked.
"I've got an idea. I'm going to use Jay's suggestion and use my lightning to stop him." Barry said.
"I thought you agreed with me that we shouldn't kill these guys right off the bat?" Caitlin said, taken aback at what Barry said.
"I still do. I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to restrain him," Barry said with a look in his eyes.
Rushing off, Barry grabbed his new suit and ran towards the greenhouse Caitlin indicated.
Once he got there, he started looking around. Whether Sand Demon was here or not, there should be something that should tell him whether the sand meta was here at some point.
Turning towards his left, Barry felt a punch to the back of his head. He really needed to stop letting his back down.
"Well I guess I should thank you Flash. You've saved me the trouble of finding you myself," Slick said.
"You're coming with me. You're going to answer some questions of mine," Barry demanded.
"And how do you reckon we do this? You can't touch me Flash, but I certainly can." Slick smirked as he used both of his fists to try to hit Barry.
Deciding to put his new idea to the test, Barry started to vibrate his body. Instantly, lightning began running all along his body, creating a type of armour made of electricity.
The two sand fists tried to strike him from two different angles. One from his left and the other from the right, but both shattered to glass as soon as they made contact with Barry's body.
Screaming in pain, Slick reeled his hands back to their original state. Looking at them, it seemed as if his hands had been cracked open. They were bleeding. He almost forgot the sensation of what it felt like to be hurt.
Glaring at him, Slick still held his hands close to his chest for some form of comfort. "How?" he demanded to know.
"The lightning around my body acted as a shield. When your sand hands made contact with the electricity, it instantly turned them to glass, and the force behind them caused them to shatter. Guess you're not as invulnerable as you thought," Barry explained it to him.
"So I guess we've reached a stalemate. You still can't touch me, and now I can't touch you," Slick said, his smirk still on his face. This Flash wouldn't be able to hold this trick up for long. He would tire, and that would be his moment to strike.
"Think again," Barry said, his vocal cords vibrating while keeping his lightning shield up. His voice now seemed extremely threatening, and the yellow lightning behind his eyes made it seem like they were glowing. All in all, he seemed like a red and yellow version of Zoom, compared to the usual blue and black colouring of the speedster.
Barry raced forward and stretched a hand out, grabbing Slick's arm. The lightning around Barry continued to surround him, and upon contact, turned Slick's entire arm to glass. It was only for a brief moment, so only the arm was converted, but it still had the desired effect. Slick couldn't move it anymore. And without any force to break it, it was just dead weight on his shoulder. Maybe he'd be able to reform it after some time, but there just wasn't enough of it right now.
"I'm going to offer you right now the chance to give up and come with me quietly," Barry gave the offer once again. Now that Slick has been aware of what he can do, maybe he'd be more willing to go down without too much of a fight. And as a show of good faith, he powered down his lightning shield.
As an answer, Slick used his other arm to punch Barry in the chest. "Go to hell," he said.
Catching his wind back, Barry stood up and began to vibrate his whole body again, coating himself with the lightning. Racing up to him, Barry instantly stopped right in front of Slick. Not knowing what he was doing, only knowing he needed to get The Flash away from him, lest he be turned to glass, he used his sole arm to try to knock him away again. It may turn into glass and break, but hopefully the force would push him back and he'd try to make a run for it.
Barry wasn't letting any of that happen. As soon as he saw his plan work when Slick reared his hand back in preparation of a punch, Barry shot off once again, appearing directly behind Slick. Now it's time to use their blind spot to his advantage.
Barry raised his hand and touched Slick's back, just long enough to turn his body from the shoulders and below into glass, leaving just his head unharmed.
No longer able to move his body, Slick relented. He'd been beaten. He could admit that. Now he was at the mercy of this Flash. At least until his powers gave his body back. At least this speedster was more merciful than the one back home.
"Who sent you?" Barry asked while in his Flash suit.
Team Flash and Barry stood in front of Slick's cell, staring at the meta in confusion.
Slick just refused to move. Not that there was much he could move. His entire body from the shoulders and below was transformed into a hardened state that made it impossible to move. He may very well be paralyzed.
"Who's this Zoom you mentioned?" Barry asked.
Again, Slick remained silent. It was like they weren't even there.
Deciding enough was enough, Barry left. They obviously weren't going to get any answers out of him. And he wasn't exactly trained in the art of interrogation. He usually left that to Joe.
Returning to the Cortex, Barry began to take off his suit. "Yeah, he's not talking. Whoever this Zoom guy is, he's enough to keep him quiet about everything,"
"Is he going to be okay?" Iris asked.
"Tests show that, even with his glass body, Slick's cells are healing themselves. Soon, he'll get his original body back and be able to move," Caitlin informed her.
"And will that cell be able to hold him afterwards?" Iris questioned. Once Slick would regain control of his body, what was stopping him from escaping?
"That cell once held a metahuman who could turn his body into gas. He's not going anywhere," Cisco dismissed her concerns.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" Caitlin asked the group.
"We can't get Slick to talk. Unless we want to try other methods to get him to talk, he's going to be rotting in the Pipeline for the rest of his life," Barry said.
"You want to torture him?" Caitlin asked.
"Not torture specifically. Just other ways to get him to talk that we haven't tried yet," Barry rolled his eyes. After all this time, Caitlin still thought the worst of him. As if torture were the first option he would go with.
"Well I don't know about you guys, but after everything we've been through, I could use some good old-fashioned coffee. Who's with me?" Cisco asked, getting out of his chair.
"Yeah sure. I could use a good stretch," Barry agreed.
"I'm gonna stay here. Keep talking with Jay. Hopefully we can find some way to get to Earth-2." Caitlin denied.
"I don't like this," Barry said.
"Why? Because I'm talking with a guy I might like?" Caitlin suggested.
"No, because I don't trust that man. If I come back to find out he's been let out of his cell, there will be hell to pay," Barry made sure to get his point across.
"He won't leave his cell, not unless I need him to," Caitlin said. "While you're there can you get me a-"
"A medium vanilla latte with no milk," Barry said.
"No, that's my Monday order. Today I get-"
"A large cappuccino, no foam. Right," Barry corrected himself, as both he and Cisco made their way out of STAR Labs.
Cisco decided not to question this. Barry and Caitlin spent so much time together, they were practically connected at the hip. If they didn't learn something about the other, it would be surprising. Still, he never expected them to know each other's coffee order on which specific day. Even he didn't know that.
Iris was not as restrained. "He knows your coffee order?"
"What about it?" Caitlin asked, not seeing anything wrong with the situation.
"How can you not see the way you are around each other?" Iris questioned.
"We fight, we argue. At the end of the day, we're considered friends before repeating our routine the following day. What else is there to see?" Caitlin pointed out.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn? Why can't you see the two of you clearly care for each other that goes beyond simple friendship?" Iris yelled at Caitlin.
"Iris, listen to what I am saying. Barry and I will never be together. There is less than a snowball's chance in hell that I would ever consider being romantically involved with that man, despite what others say," Caitlin said slowly to make sure she made her point.
"Everyone knows you two are meant to be together. But it is so frustrating to see you two skirt around the issue because of your personal problems that are completely irrelevant," Iris tried to get Caitlin to see her viewpoint.
"I don't know what to tell you anymore Iris, but I'm not interested in Barry. End of conversation." Caitlin boldly stated.
"So what's going on between you and Caitlin?" Cisco asked.
"What are you talking about? If anything I think we've been behaving pretty well with each other," Barry asked, slightly confused as they were waiting in line at Jitters.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. When did you guys finally start to act mature around each other? I mean, you've even memorized her coffee order," Cisco pointed out.
"We can act mature whenever we want. There's just things we need to get out in the open with each other. A lot of things," Barry started trailing off as he delved deep in thought.
"At least wait until we get back to STAR," Cisco rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.
Barry's phone began to ring, which made Barry take it out of his pocket to see who it was. "Oh, this is actually really important. I need to take this. You know our orders?"
"Yeah, you want a Flash, while Caitlin wants a cappuccino," Cisco told him their orders.
"Without foam," Barry reminded him.
"Of course. How could I forget?" Cisco said sarcastically, but Barry didn't seem to notice.
"Hello? Mr. Morty, yes this is Barry Allen. I understand sir, and I agree that it is a pressing concern…" Barry answered the phone before walking away to a more secluded area of the building so he could have the conversation in more privacy.
Cisco sighed. While he was glad his friend was making the best out of a situation he hated with the fake-Wells giving Barry complete control over STAR Labs, it seemed Barry was now busy at all times of the day. Guess those are just the responsibilities of being CEO of a company.
Just as he was about to order, Cisco felt a tap on his shoulder. "Hi Cisco," a voice whispered into his ear. A voice that was very familiar to him.
Turning around, Cisco was met face to face with someone he wished to never meet again. Lisa Snart standing there in her tight leather pants in all her glory.
Cisco mentally slapped himself. This was not the time or the person to be having these thoughts. She was a criminal. A very dangerous, hot criminal. Cisco continued to berate himself. He needs to stop having these thoughts about a wanted criminal.
"Lisa Snart. What are you doing here?" Cisco tried to play it cool, but he could hear his voice slightly crack from his nervousness. "You have a lot of nerve showing yourself. You know, with one touch of my phone I could have The Flash here in an instant," Cisco's eyes trailed to where he last saw Barry to see him still speaking into his phone.
"Go ahead," Lisa said, daring him to call upon the superhero.
"Okay, yeah I'll just go ahead and do that," Cisco began to type in his combination and was about to send the message when he caught the look in her eyes. She was staring at his movements with a look of anticipation and a little bit of hope.
Cisco soon realized she wanted him to call The Flash. "You want me to make this call don't you?" Cisco asked.
"I need his help," Lisa said. "My brother has been kidnapped,"
Cisco decided to bring the case to the team. They weren't sure what to make of it. For one thing, the Snart siblings were criminals. Then again they were people, and their morals wouldn't allow them in good conscience to allow something like this go unpunished.
They managed to track Leonard Snart through the use of the cold gun he was still in possession of, which led them straight to Snart. Both of them.
Leonard was working with his father, but a conversation with Lisa revealed that their father had gotten arrested when they were young, and they hadn't seen him since. Their relationship with their father was less than stellar, so there was no way that Leonard would willingly work with him, unless there was a catch.
A confrontation with the two of them again had gotten the gang to believe Lewis Snart had planted a bomb on someone. It would have to be someone he actually cared about. It couldn't be himself. Leonard had shown he would be willing to dig it out with his bare hands if he had to.
That led them to believe the bomb was within his sister, Lisa. Who was currently in STAR Labs at the moment.
They tried several ways to get the bomb out, but it was proving to be difficult. Scans showed there was something foreign in her neck. With a single push of a button, Lewis would be able to blow her head off, and who knew how large the blast would be.
Despite not achieving a high school degree, Lewis knew how to ensure his son's cooperation. Even if he didn't press it, the bomb would detonate if it came into contact with air or magnetism. That left very few options to do. The idea of Barry phasing his hand into her neck to pull it out was thrown around, but Cisco wasn't having any of it. He didn't want to do anything that could risk Lisa getting hurt.
In the end, Cisco was able to fashion a gun that would be able to suck the bomb out of her skin in an instant. The only problem was, it needed to utilize pressured air, which may cause the bomb to activate. Barry needed to go undercover to make sure nothing serious happened on the heist Lewis hired his son for. Leonard may be willing to stop dropping bodies, but Lewis wasn't part of the deal.
As soon as Cisco got the bomb out of Lisa, Barry would inform Leonard, so he would know his father didn't have any pull over him any longer. And Leonard made it perfectly clear he knew that when he shot his father as soon as the news was delivered.
Despite everything that happened to the family, Barry had to take Leonard in. But in that moment, Barry saw something that few people ever did. He saw that Snart was a good person in spite of everything he'd done. He just had a terrible upbringing. All things considered, the two of them weren't that different. They may even be able to call themselves friends someday.
Barry is currently at CCPD, more specifically, across Patty's desk. He's currently working out the courage to ask her out on a date as he watched her work.
"Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna ask her out?" Joe asked the speedster, who was surprised by his statement.
"I thought you wanted me to be with Caitlin?" Barry asked, confused.
"I still do but in the end of the day, it's your decision on who you end up with." Joe gave Barry a small smile, giving the speedster enough courage to ask the blonde detective out on a date.
Barry walked confidently towards Patty's desk, fully intent on asking her out for dinner. Patty noticed him approaching and offered him a big smile like she always does. "Hey Barry. Is there something I can do for you?" she asked.
At the last second, Barry's nerves reappeared, leaving him a stuttering mess. "W-well, I-I wanted to ask if…"
Patty just continued to smile, waiting for him to finish his request. "Yes?"
"I w-wanted to know if y-you could offer me some advice," Barry backed out at the last second.
"Oh," Patty said, slightly disappointed but she didn't let it show. "Tell me what's the matter and I'll see what I can do,"
"There's this guy that I don't trust," Barry said, wanting some insight on what to do about Jay. "See, the guy kinda just showed up one day with no explanation and I just can't seem to get along with him,"
"And what do your friends think about him?" Patty asked.
"They all think I should give him a chance, but the thing is, I went through a similar thing about a year ago and the guy turned out to be my mom's murderer," Barry told her.
Patty gasped. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I'd heard about how Harrison Wells killed your mother but I didn't know you were close to him in anyway,"
"Don't be sorry, you didn't know," Barry dismissed her concerns. "Yeah I knew him. In fact, he took care of me when I was in my coma and we ended up friends after I woke up,"
"Still, it must have been tough when you learned who he really was," Patty said.
"It was. It took a lot of time for me to finally accept it, which is why I don't know if I can trust this person. In so many ways, he reminds me of Wells when we first met," Barry said.
"Well in my opinion, I think you should give this guy a chance to prove himself. Some people are just bad Barry, but you shouldn't let that decide all the new people you're going to meet because then you'll never be able to experience all the good things in life," Patty said to him.
Barry contemplated her words for a second before nodding his head in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I can't keep dwelling on the past, I should give him a chance. At least one,"
Patty nodded her head and gave another smile in reassurance. "If you ever need anything, just talk to me and I'll do my best to help you,"
Barry smiled at her. She really made him feel so happy. Like everything was going to be okay. "Thanks Patty. I really appreciate everything you've done for me,"
Barry stared at the Pipeline door for a few moments as it began to open. The door opened to reveal Jay in his cell.
"What's the matter? Is it feeding time already?" Jay asked, sarcastically.
Barry just pressed a few buttons on the pad beside him. Soon the cell opened. Jay had a look of surprise on his face as he cautiously began to step out of the cell.
"I'm going to give you one chance to prove yourself. But if you step out of line even once, you are going back in this cell with the key thrown away," Barry said without any emotion in his voice.
"What's the occasion?" Jay asked, wanting to know what changed the speedster's mind.
"That's none of your concern. Either take it or leave it," Barry stated his offer.
"Guess this means you need to trust me," Jay said.
"Only for so long," Barry said. "You can start by trying to stabilize the breach here in STAR Labs,"
"Well I'd love to, but first I'd like a shower and maybe something to eat. You guys got a Big Belly Burger?" Jay asked.
Barry led him to a bathroom where Jay got situated before running off to a Big Belly Burger to get Jay a decent meal. If he was going to expect Jay to be trustful, then he had to give him the benefit of the doubt. And that meant getting him a meal every now and then, especially after keeping him locked up.
After a week of working on the breach, Jay finally managed to get it stabilized enough to allow anyone to travel through should they desire it. At first they were only able to make it so they could see it. But the breach was continuously collapsing on itself, which made it impossible for anyone, save an extremely fast speedster, to travel through them.
It just proved Zoom to be even faster, the fact that he could travel through a breach in the moments where everything stayed still. On top of that, he was carrying someone with him that he wanted to try to kill Barry.
Throughout the week, Barry and Jay talked whilst working on The Speed Cannon as Jay called it. They talked about anything they could, but the topic they always seemed to come back to was their shared responsibility of being their city's hero.
While they had the same powers and official superhero title, they had different nicknames for their alter egos. "I hear they call you the Scarlet Speedster here?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, what about you?" Barry inquired.
"Crimson Comet," Jay told him. "And Caitlin calls you Fleet Feet?"
"Unfortunately," Barry sighed.
"What is it with people and alliterations?" Jay joked about their nicknames.
"I don't know," Barry chuckles. It was pretty funny once you thought about it. "Listen Jay, I'm really thankful I took a chance on you. You're alright,"
"Well thanks Barry. I'd like to think I am. And as soon as I get this Speed Cannon working and managed to get back home, I'm going to try to keep working to help my city,"
"That's really heroic, what you're doing," Barry said.
"All in a hero's work. Doesn't matter whether I'm still in the game or not. A hero is a hero no matter what," Jay said.
"Words to live by," Barry agreed. "Listen, once you finish here, why don't I take you out? Do something fun for once?"
"I don't think I've gotten the chance to explore Central City's nightlife yet," Jay mentioned.
"Well I know this great karaoke bar. What do you say we get a drink later?" Barry offered.
"I think I'll have to take you up on that offer," Jay smiled.
Once the Speed Cannon was successful and everything indicated that it would be safe to enter, the two men did what they agreed upon. They went out to enjoy themselves a little. They went to a bar to get a celebratory drink. The next day, they spent the time just enjoying themselves. Went for a walk around Central City, getting to know each other better. Barry was really opening up to Jay now.
The problem was Caitlin wanted to tag along with them. Everywhere they went, Caitlin decided to follow. She went with them to the bar, walked around Central City all day with them. Barry knew she was infatuated with Jay, but the fact that she could stand his presence as long as Jay was with them really irritated him for some reason.
Jay didn't even seem to mind. As a matter of fact, he seemed to enjoy Caitlin's company more. It made Barry feel like a third wheel. Despite the good times he was spending with Jay, with Caitlin along for the ride, Barry sometimes felt it would have been better if he was at work, waiting for the courage to ask Patty out.
As soon as he and Caitlin got a moment alone, he decided to confront her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"What? I can't spend the day with my fellow teammates?" Caitlin asked.
"If it's me, then yeah," Barry said. "You can't stand to be near me for more than an hour and the fact that we have been hanging out together for most of the day is cause for concern,"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Caitlin said.
"Look, if you want to ask Jay out, go right ahead. I'm not stopping you, but if you're going to do it, just do it already, stop making this awkward for the three of us," Barry told her.
"Look who's talking," Caitlin quipped. "You have been talking our ears off about Patty back at the labs and you still haven't done anything about it. I'm pretty sure you've been avoiding spending time with her by spending time with Jay,"
"That's not-I'm not…" Barry tried to say but couldn't.
She had a point. Barry had been away from CCPD, preferring to do his work at STAR instead. He said it was easier for him since he had to operate STAR from there so it was better to bring all his work there as well. But everybody knew the truth. He was using it as an excuse to avoid Patty because he just honestly didn't know what to say to her, yet didn't know when to stop and he was scared he would say something and wouldn't be able to take it back.
"I'm working on it, Ms Frosty. Also, what is going on between me and Patty doesn't concern you." Barry barked back.
"Then whatever is happening between me and Jay doesn't concern you either, Fleet Feet."
"Yes, it does."
"And how is that?" The ice meta asked.
"Your relationship can affect the team, and when the team is in concern, that makes it my concern." Barry reasoned but Caitlin feels ĺike he isn't telling her everything.
"What really is the problem here?" She confronted him, her arms crossed while she glared at him.
"Weren't you listening?! I just told you!" Barry yelled, he was getting frustrated from their argument.
"Oh, I heard it just fine but I know that you aren't telling me everything." She sassed, further irritating the speedster.
"Nothing else is the matter. There is an issue I'm not comfortable with and I'm addressing it. That's all there is," Barry argued.
"There's something else you're not telling me Barry, and if you won't say what it is, then we have no issues about me hanging out with Jay at all," Caitlin said, icily as she went back to where Jay was.
"Nothing is wrong," Barry mumbled to himself as he watched Caitlin continue to converse with Jay. He didn't if he believed himself.
Everyone okay? So I've come up with another way to take down Sand Demon where he survives. You guys think it's feasible? Anyway, he's just going to be stuck in the Pipeline for the rest of his life. If I can think of a way to prevent an unnecessary death, I'll take it.
Barry is starting to warm up to Jay, but it's not going to be easy with Caitlin mooning over Jay. Not like Barry has much room to talk with Patty on his mind. I'll be sad once both are gone, but then we can get to the actual feelings between these two.
Stay safe everyone and I'll see you next week.