Chapter 9: Sixteen Candles

Francine West opened the door, and smiled.

"Mom." Iris beamed at her. Beside Iris, a man who was clearly not Eddie looked curiously at her. This must be Barry.

"Iris. Welcome home." she greeted her daughter.

"Iris!" Wally West happily exclaimed from the dining table at the sight of his older sister. He got up and grabbed her into a large hug, which she elatedly returned. After the hug ended, Wally caught sight of Barry, and glowered.

"Who's your shadow?" he asked her. Barry raised an eyebrow at the odd label, but didn't comment.

Iris beamed once again. "Wally, this is my best friend, Barry Allen. Barry, this is my little brother, Wally." she gestured to each man. Barry held out his hand, which Wally seized. Tightly.

"The one who came from the dead, huh." Wally eyed him suspiciously.

Internally, Barry snorted. The over-protective brother type. He was definitely Joe's son. "Yup," he stated, popping the 'p' with his lips. "And you must be Iris' baby brother."

"Not a baby." Wally muttered.

Barry smiled lightly. "I hope not. Iris has a habit of kidnapping babies." Beside him, Iris squeaked.

Wally looked at him contemplatively. "What do you mean that?" he asked.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Barry answered casually. "When we were seven she saw this cute little baby in a stroller. Pinchable cheeks, big, wide doe eyes, an adorable giggle – the whole enchilada. He was so lovable that she just couldn't stop playing with him. So, she wrote a note telling his parents that she was borrowing him for the next couple of days, tied it to the stroller, and walked off with him. Of course, the parents panicked, Joe got an earful, and Iris started bawling like a baby herself when she got no dessert for dinner that night. So, it's only fitting she tried it again the next day. And the day after that. And the day after –" Iris, thoroughly embarrassed, slapped her hand over Barry's mouth as Wally doubled over, laughing.

"Barry!" she squawked.

"What?" Barry asked her, seemingly genuinely perplexed, though she could see the mirth in his eyes. "He's your little brother, Iris. He needs blackmail material. I'm just doing my sacred duty as a fellow bro and giving it to him."

Iris hmphed, giving him a small push. "Jerk." she stated, with no heat to it.

"But you love me anyway." Barry teased back. Iris pouted, then smiled at him.

Once his laughter subsided, Wally looked at Barry with a far friendlier expression. "You're not bad, Barry, not bad at all. So, what are you two doing here?" he asked, looking towards his sister.

Iris grimaced.

"And this…" Iris opened her arms outwards, giving a small spin. "…is my room."

"I can tell." Barry hummed, looking at the familiar posters of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and N*Sync. "It's not all that different from your room back home. Your tastes are just a little more…mature."

"But of course." Iris stated pompously.

"That was not a compliment." Barry elaborated. Iris scoffed and playfully punched him in the arm. "And now you're abusing me. Your violent tendencies are starting to scare me, Iris. Are you sure you don't need some anger management classes? I think one of my old shrinks might know someone." He asked with a completely straight face, only to burst out laughing when she scowled at him.

"Ha Ha, Bare. One more word out of your mouth and I won't take you to see the new Iron Man movie in May." Iris threatened.

Barry gasped. "How could you, Iris? I already missed the Avengers – you're going to make me miss Iron Man too?" he whined pitifully at her.

Iris sniffed imperiously. "Then stop picking on me." She demanded, though the small grin she cracked betrayed her real feelings.

"Fine, fine." Barry conceded. His eyes turned to slits when he noticed something in the corner of the room. "Why do you have a punching bag?"

"Boxing classes were a part of the curriculum at the Police Academy." His best friend answered smoothly, obviously dodging a straight answer. It might have worked, except Barry was explicitly a trained liar.

Barry smiled blandly at her. "Except you told me you moved out of your Mom's house when you finished college." Iris stiffened at the reminder. "So, tell me Iris – why do you have a punching bag in your room? If I remember correctly, you stopped your boxing lessons when we were thirteen."

Iris shifted her shoulder, and avoided Barry's eyes. "I had a lot of issues to work out during college." she mumbled.

Barry opened his mouth to ask for clarification on these 'issues', only to stop when Iris and he heard a loud scream from upstairs. They exchanged glances, and immediately ran back up to the living room.

Well, Tony was taller. And bigger. And more muscular.

Still a moron, though.

"Iris." Tony moved forward in what he assumed was a suave manner. Wally could be seen protecting his mother in the living room. Both him and Francine were clearly urging for Iris and Barry to run. "You weren't your dad's house. How come?"

"He and I aren't on the best of terms these days. Now, why are you here, Tony? You know that no matter what happens, it won't end well for you." Iris retorted, reaching for her gun, which was holstered to her side. Barry, behind her, quietly moved to the side, clearly ready to get away should the confrontation get out of hand.

Tony ignored her, looking at Barry quizzically. "And who's this guy, huh? This the boyfriend you were talking about? He doesn't look like much." Tony continued to eye Barry up and down. Something about this guy was familiar…

"Wow, Tony. Glad to know how unremarkable I am, considering your favorite pastime for three years was ridiculing me over my incarcerated father." Barry drawled sarcastically, though there was a hard glint in his eye.

Tony blinked, and looked a little harder at Barry. Then he blanched. "Allen!? Last I heard, you drowned in the Atlantic Ocean or something."

"Yeah, well, I was actually stranded on an island in the middle of the North China Sea, which is in the Pacific Ocean, thank you very much." Barry sassed back.

The metal-man blinked once more, not expecting such back-talk from who was once his favorite bullying victim. Then he laughed. Loudly. "Oh, this is rich! It's like everything is falling into my lap these days. Not only do I have these sweet new powers, but now I got the girl and my old punching bag back!" his laughter subsided, and he gave them both vicious grin. "The two of you are coming with me."

"Or what?" Iris asked, her gun now out. She fired once, twice, only to lower her firearm when she saw the bullets spark right off her aggressor's chest. Tony smirked at her dumbfounded look.

"Or," he jabbed his thumb to Wally and Francine. "These two get their heads caved in. And neither of you want that, do you?" Barry and Iris exchanged glances. Barry slowly nodded his head, and Iris sighed.

"Fine." she spat. "Just leave my family alone."

The doors burst open with a loud SLAM! Barry and Iris stumbled in, ripping their arms out of Tony's grip. They looked around at the building. For Iris, it was still so very recognizable – she spent four years of her life here, after all. For Barry, however, it was more like a distant memory. He never once expected he would ever have to return here, and some part of him, once upon a time, had wished that wasn't the case.

"Our old high school?" Iris asked, honestly perplexed.

Tony flexed his muscles and nodded. "Yeah. The best years of my life were spent here."

"And then you graduated, right? Oh, wait you didn't." Barry interjected. "Trying for that GED, then? Hey, maybe we can study together! I'm going for mine too. Of course, the only reason I didn't graduate was because I was stuck on a deserted island for ten years, not because I couldn't tell where the right end of my pencil was."

Tony glared at him, growling. "I see that living on that patch of rock has made you mouthier these days, Allen."

Barry scoffed. "Well, what do you expect, Tony? You just make it so easy. High school dropout, now petty thug, gets a shiny new toy and decides he wants to relive his glory days, going as far as to kidnap both the girl he liked and the kid he used to stuff into lockers and use them as hostages when the police start bearing down on him. Honestly, it's effing hilarious. Would make a great comedy – maybe we can call up Adam Sandler and he can take a go at it! How about that, Tony? That's one way to get your name –"

CLANG! The locker in front of Barry caved in, leaving a huge dent in place. Barry shut up immediately at the sight, and Iris gave him a pointed look for provoking their captor.

"Allen. Shut. Up." When Barry wisely remained silent, Tony leered at him victoriously. "Good. Now, as for why you're both here. You," he pointed at Iris, "are going to being writing about me, on your old blog."

The former castaway forgot his vow of his silence momentarily in favor of giving his best friend a questioning look. "Blog?" he mouthed at her. She didn't respond, blatantly avoiding eye contact with him. Iris didn't have a blog back then – he would know. They shared everything together. Iris had never shown interest in any writing beyond school essays when they were kids…Barry's eyes widened.

Iris didn't have a blog then…but he did, for his forays into the impossible. He looked once more at his best friend, his eyes demanding an answer, but she refused to look back.

"I shut that blog down years ago. I'm not opening it back up again – especially not for a criminal." Iris instead said, staring determinedly at Tony. He leered at her once more, blatantly checking her out.

"And there she is: the Ice Bitch. I've got to say, Iris, that look has only gotten hotter over the years." Tony commented.

"Ice Bitch?" Barry couldn't help but ask.

Tony glared at him once more, then smirked. "Oh yeah. It was the school's nickname for Iris here after everyone thought you bit the bullet, Allen. Never smiled, never hung out with the other girls, always shut the boys down when they tried to ask her out – the Ice Bitch. Of course, she was also the most gorgeous girl here, which meant every other girl hated her while every boy – including moi – wanted to get in her pants. If anything, it only made her more popular."

The assassin gazed incredulously at his best friend once more. Iris continued to avoid his eyes, instead glaring at Tony. "I'm not opening it back up again, Tony. There's no point anyway; you'll be going to jail soon." she refuted his demand.

Tony's malicious smile returned. "I figured you would say something like that. Here's the thing Iris: either you agree to start writing about me, or…" with a sudden movement, he grabbed Barry by the front of his shirt. Barry involuntarily stepped forward, trying to rip away from his former bully's grip. "…this guy returns to his former job as my punching bag." he threatened, lifting a fist near Barry's head for further emphasis.

Iris whipped out her gun once more, pointing it straight at Tony's head. "Let. Him. Go." she grounded out, absolutely furious.

"Say the magic words." he sing-songed, giving Barry a shake for good measure. Barry continued to visibly struggle, trying to tear Tony's hand away.

"TONY!" Iris yelled at him, refusing to stand down. "LET HIM GO, NOW!" She would not, could not, lose Barry again. She didn't think she would be able to handle it.

Tony smirked and opened his mouth to taunt her once more –

WHOOSH!

"Mind if I cut in?"

Everyone stared.

The Girl in Blue.

Tony let go of Barry immediately. Barry scrambled back, grabbing purchase with one of the lockers. He hid his smile, wiping his mouth with his forearm. Iris lowered her gun slowly, genuinely stunned.

"Tony Woodward…" the marvel sang. "A little birdie told me that you've been a very bad boy." She put her hands on her hips, jutting her chin forward. He blanched, before standing straight, clenching his fists.

"I'm not scared of you!" Tony shouted at her, obviously scared but trying to save face.

The Girl in Blue tilted her head. "You don't sound like it. Or look like it, either."

Tony screamed, changing into his steel form and charging at her. She yawned, and once he was close enough, gave him an idle backhand. The criminal was sent flying, bursting through several walls before landing right outside the building. His powers deactivated as he succumbed to the pain.

Iris gaped. Barry went to stand behind her, schooling his expression into something that vaguely resembled surprise. Internally, however, he was just amused, noting how playful his friend was being. Guess Kara felt like showing off for once. Must be because of what city she's in. After all, in Starling, she showed far more restraint. Then again, most of the criminals in Starling were baseline human, not metas like himself and Tony.

The Girl in Blue sighed as she looked at the wreckage. "I thought he would last longer." she complained. Then she shrugged, "Ta-ta, everyone. I'll be taking him for now." Waving at Iris and Barry, she disappeared in a blur. Barry and Iris jogged towards where Tony's body was supposed to be, and stared. He was gone.

"Well, that was something." Barry understated. Iris, exhausted, only holstered her gun and groaned.

"The Girl in Blue?" Eddie asked.

Iris hummed. "Yup." Beside her, Barry was nodding along. All around them were police cars and various other officials, inspecting the damage done to the school.

Joe looked dubious. "Doesn't she usually hang around Starling, though?"

Barry shrugged. "Maybe she's looking to branch out?" he suggested.

"The Streak, the Girl in Blue – something tells me it won't be long until either the former shows up in Starling or the Hood shows up here." Iris mused.

Eddie glanced at her. "What makes you say that?"

Iris shifted her shoulders. "I don't know. Something, however, is telling me that they're all connected. How is the real question." she answered. No one noticed Barry smiling at that.

SPLASH!

Tony woke up, coughing and choking, his face wet. He sat up, and froze.

The Girl in Blue.

"Where'd you take me?" he demanded. She tilted her head.

"Somewhere." She stated unhelpfully. "You can leave whenever you want, though."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?" Tony might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could tell there was something fishy about this entire situation.

The Girl in Blue didn't answer. Instead, she took out a syringe, and in one smooth motion, stabbed it into the metahuman's arm. Tony winced.

"What did you do to me!?" he yelled once the pain subsided.

She tilted her head to the other side. "Just a little something to nullify your powers for the next twenty-four hours. And as for the catch – well, all you have to do is beat this guy in a fight." She pointed. Tony turned his head, and froze once more.

The Streak.

"Don't worry," she continued to speak as Tony eyed the other urban legend, "It'll be a fair fight. He'll refrain from using his powers as well."

Tony clicked his tongue. "Fine. Just don't complain to me when your friend is squealing in pain on the floor." He got up, and charged.

The Streak dodged his assault, ducking underneath Tony's first punch, and the punch after that. He continued to evade every blow Tony threw with ease, moving like the wind.

"Stay still, you freak!"

And then he pounced.

The Streak ducked under another punch, and then slammed his own fist into Tony's abdomen. And then another. And another and another and another until Tony doubled over, trying to soothe his abused midsection. His opponent took advantage of that moment of weakness, grabbing Tony's head and kneeing him in the face. Hard.

Tony stood, woozy and hurt, blood bleeding from the nose. The Streak grabbed him by the shirt, winding up his right hand, and socked him right in the face, knocking him out. He let go, allowing Tony to fall back into blissful unconsciousness.

The Girl in Blue walked forward, staring at the body and shaking her head. Then she looked up at the Streak.

"Feel better?"

The Streak's eyes narrowed. "Not as much as I thought I would be."

WHOOSH!

Cisco and Caitlin halted their actions, staring in horror at the Streak, who was now carrying a large man on his shoulders. He dropped the man to the floor, and then looked directly at Dr. Wells.

The scientist gave a short nod. "Mr. Allen." he greeted, shocking both of his employees once more.

Barry took off his face mask and removed the head of his suit, revealing his mouth and hair.

He grinned.

"Who sent you here?" Ra's al Ghul inquired his newest recruit.

Helena Bertinelli bowed her head. "Al Sah-him and Saraab." Gasps were heard.

From beside her father, Nyssa al Ghul smirked.

I honestly wasn't planning on using Tony, but then I realized the fact that he went to school with Iris when Barry was gone would make a good introduction for Iris' past and for moving forward Iris and Barry's relationship. Iris took Barry's death hard, harder than Laurel did with Oliver, because she lacked a decent support system. Laurel still had her family, Tommy, and the Queens. Iris only really had Henry, since she cut out her father because she blamed him for Barry's death. So, becoming an ice queen isn't too far of a stretch, when you've lost your closest friend so tragically.