Chapter 30: Grodd, the Monkey God

Barry hummed merrily himself as the elevator descended towards the main lobby. He was meeting with Caitlin and Cisco, about to set up a trap they had devised in the sanctity of Cisco's apartment in order to get Wells to incriminate himself as the Man in the Yellow Suit – or the "Reverse-Flash," according to the article they had found in the secret room.

When the elevator stopped, he exited and trotted down the hallway, only to stop when he heard a scream. Speeding the rest of the way, he blinked. The Cortex, normally meticulously arranged due to the neuroses of the three genius scientists, was completely trashed. Papers and items were strewn everywhere, smashed and shattered, knocked down, thrown about, etc. In front of the mess were Caitlin and Cisco, staring at the sight in horror and each close to a breakdown.

"What happened?" Caitlin shrieked.

Cisco said nothing, only staring mournfully at the destroyed computers.

Barry paid neither of them mind, instead looking at the walls, many of which were cracked, pieces broken off. Where the walls were metal or reinforced as such, there were imprints of fists, impacts of extreme force. He narrowed his eyes – whoever this had super-strength, which suggested a metahuman, but the size of the imprints…and the cracks, they all made larger openings…

His eyes widened. "Guys, where's Wells?"

The scientists broke out of their horrified reverie to look at him in shock. Barry didn't wait, grabbing them both and running towards the secret room. They blinked when they saw the door wide open, entering quickly to see the suit long gone. Turning to Gideon's stand, Caitlin and Cisco gasped in disbelief at the panel of projected feeds of their apartments and other places they regularly frequented. Barry only sighed.

"Figures."

"You knew he was watching us?"

"I suspected. And I only thought he was watching me and my family. I had no reason to believe he'd be watching you as well – and Eddie, apparently…" Barry looked at one particular screen, where an exhausted Eddie was passed out on his bed. "I'm just glad…" that he didn't bug the Foundry. Or Oliver's and Kara's places.

"Glad for what?" Cisco prodded him.

Barry turned his head and smiled sharply at him. Cisco clamped up immediately.

Caitlin looked at him suspiciously. "What made you suspect him?"

Barry snorted. "Caitlin, I suspected him from the very moment he approached me at Jitters that day. It's why I never did or stored anything important at home. Or here for that matter."

"Wait, so you have another superhero cave?" Cisco cut in, looking vaguely offended.

"Of course I do, Cisco. You should know me by now. I'm paranoid as hell and I just told you I suspected Wells straight from the beginning. It only figures I'd have another hideout besides here." Barry said logically, still observing all the screens. He frowned at one particular feed, which showed Iris doing some paperwork at the precinct.

"Okay, that is not cool man. You're holding out on us!"

"I was and before you try to guilt trip me, know that I'm not going to fall for it. It was a necessary precaution and I don't regret it in the least."

"Guys…"

"You immoral, inconsiderate bastard! Do we mean nothing to you?"

"Guys…"

"If you two meant nothing to me, I wouldn't have told you I was the Streak. I haven't even told Joe and Iris that."

"Guys…"

"Please, you only told us that because you knew he already knew and…"

"GUYS!"

Barry and Cisco broke off their argument to look at the fuming Caitlin. "What?" They asked in unison. She jabbed her thumb towards the entrance to the room, where a loud crash could be heard. Both of them blinked. Barry's face turned serious, and he gestured to Caitlin and Cisco to keep quiet, walking silently and slowly towards the door. He peeked his head outwards, and looked around slowly. Left, right, up…

He blinked.

The gorilla roared.

As the animal dropped to the ground, Barry stumbled backwards, catching himself before he made a very unflattering fall on his ass. The animal roared once more, and everyone in the room flinched. Barry sped to the other side of the room, dodging the large, hairy arm reaching through opening trying to grab him. He looked at Caitlin and Cisco, who were shaking slightly in fear.

"You two wouldn't happen to know who the giant gorilla is?" Barry asked, slightly wincing at the loud noises the beast was making as it started pounding on the walls. Whatever this room was made of, it had reinforced the walls enough to handle the amount of force in the blows, but he didn't want to test how long they could last against a meta-enhanced animal.

"Grodd." Caitlin whispered, lip trembling.

Barry blinked. "What's a Grodd?"

"Grodd is a gorilla that was used for experiments for General Wade Eiling. He was a test subject in the development of telepathy and other mental abilities for American soldiers. After seeing the inhumane treatment Eiling was putting him through, Wells shut the project down, and put Grodd under our care." Cisco answered him, backing away from the walls as the pounding got louder.

"After the Particle Accelerator Explosion, I went down to check on him, only to find his cage destroyed and him long gone." Caitlin finished, hand on her forehead. "Do you think…"

Father. Enemy. Everyone froze as an unfamiliar voice invaded their minds, words stilted but no less hostile. Flash.

"He wants me." Barry noted, face taking on a determined expression.

Caitlin shook her head vigorously. "Barry, even with your powers, Grodd's strength…"

"Don't worry." Barry took a small, circular device out of his pocket, and pressed the button on it. "I don't plan on going solo."

Kara frowned at the computer, where a distress signal, illustrated by Barry's name, was flashing on the screen.

She turned to Oliver, who was also looking at the screen in concern. "You want to come?"

Oliver shook his head. "No. If Barry needs help, then it's likely something out of my weight class. Besides, I have a lunch date with Al Sa-Her today."

The Kryptonian clicked her teeth as she walked towards the model that had her suit on display. "Can you handle him on your own?"

He snorted. "Kara, please – that's an insult if I've heard one."

"Remember, Oliver. Pride goeth before the fall." She warned him.

"And if I were proud, I would take your words to heart. But I'm not proud, Kara. Just self-assured. You of all people should know that." Oliver reminded her back as he took off.

And there goes the van. Barry noted as he jumped to the side, watching as Grodd's fist smashed into the metal surface, imprinting ridges into the S.T.A.R. Labs logo. Well, it's not coming out of my pocket at least.

After they had confirmed Grodd's identity, Caitlin had taken the initiative and tried to calm Grodd down at first. It seemed to have been working, but unfortunately Grodd's loyalty to his 'father' – Wells, of course – was stronger than his soft spot for Caitlin. And by virtue of that was his apparent hatred of 'the Flash' aka Barry. Grodd had gone after him, and Barry had drawn him out to the parking garage before any more damage could be done to the rest of the building.

The battle so far had mostly consisted of him running around, dodging Grodd whenever he got too near, careful to avoid anything integral to the structure. He would've tried attacking, but Grodd's skin was too thick for his knives to pierce without a strong, hard thrust – and with the gorilla as powerful and mobile as he was, that was not a currently achievable feat. Nor was the lightning throw for similar reasons. A frustrating game of cat and mouse, and while Barry had less trouble scurrying away here than he did with Wells, he certainly wasn't going to able to do damage any time soon. Hopefully, however, he wouldn't have to. If the beacon worked…

Whoosh.

Barry smirked.

Finally.

Changing tactics, Barry sped right towards Grodd, momentarily confusing the beast. Grodd shook it off, however, and roared to the heavens. He too charged, towards Barry, fists cocked and ready to give double clubbing blows. He jumped upwards, arms slung back, ready to pound his opponent into the pavement.

Barry gave him no quarter, however. Just as Grodd was on him, he dropped down into a baseball slide, skidding beneath the beast. Grodd turned his head to watch him and twisted his body so he could continue his pursuit, only for his face to meet a brutal punch to the cheek. The force of the blow crashed him into one of the walls of the garage, and he laid there, keening in pain. Barry watched him, smirking, and turned his head to exchange looks with the Girl in Blue.

The fight had continued much in the same vein. Whereas a continued battle with Barry was a stalemate that would've only been settled with attrition, a battle with Barry and the Girl in Blue was one that would and did end decidedly not in Grodd's favor.

While Grodd laid on the garage floor, almost comatose, the duo exchanged one last look, nodding in unison. Barry reached down and removed the knives beneath the heels of his shoe, as the Girl in Blue reached behind her back to remove the sword hidden beneath her cloak. The hilt in her hand, the blade beside her leg, they moved towards the beast, all intent on slaying him.

"WAIT!"

They stopped, turning to the garage's connecting door, where a breathless Caitlin and Cisco were standing. Both had been sequestered away into an untouched room at the Labs by Barry, told to stay there until he personally came to get them out. Obviously, they had not listened to his orders.

"Please. Don't." Caitlin begged, staring pleadingly at Barry.

Rather than make some dark, sarcastic remark, he only stared stonily back at her. The lack of emotion on his face was startling – it was only then that Caitlin realized that the man she was looking at was not the Barry Allen she had come to know, but rather the Streak. The violent vigilante that had been terrorizing Central City's criminal element for the last several months. The killer that had terrified both her and Cisco when he dropped the limp, unconscious body of Tony Woodward on the Cortex's floor long ago.

But the Streak had still spared Tony Woodward all the same. And she knew she could convince him to do the same for Grodd.

"He's a victim too, Barry. Please."

Barry looked at her contemplatively, still stony-eyed. He then looked once more at the Girl in Blue, silently communicating with her. Then, with a sigh, he re-sheathed the knives into his footwear, as the Girl in Blue did the same with her sword. The female vigilante moved forwards, picking up the gorilla and carrying him in the air, one of her arms supporting him.

Cisco frowned. "Where are you taking him? There's no way the Pipeline can hold him."

"Then maybe it's a good thing he's not going to the Pipeline." Barry responded as the Girl in Blue took off.

Cisco and Caitlin watched in awe, finally realizing that this really was the famous urban legend that had been seen all about Starling City. "And how do you know her?" Cisco continued, pointing at the departing women.

Barry smirked. "I'll tell you when she gets back."

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Uncle Malcolm?" Oliver asked curiously as the waiter took off to place their orders with the kitchen.

I want to tell you you're my son, for one. Malcolm thought to himself as he opened his mouth to speak. "It's about your business, Oliver."

Oliver quirked an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"The location, mainly. I suggest you consider building it somewhere else – somewhere other than the Glades."

"Uncle Malcolm, one of the reasons Kara and I are building this place is to the benefit as much of the underprivileged of Starling City as possible. And you know as well as I do that most of those people reside within the Glades."

Malcolm sighed. "I understand that, Oliver, and while I sympathize with your reasoning, the Glades are not safe. You open yourself to the risk of robbery and assault if you build your business there. If the people there are truly willing and determined to take advantage of what you're offering, then they'll be willing to venture out of the Glades for it."

Oliver shook his head. "Uncle Malcolm, you of all people should know that one of the reasons why the Glades are in the current state that they're in is because the city isn't as accessible to the residents there as it is to other neighborhoods. It's why Aunt Rebecca built her clinic within the Glades, remember?" Malcolm winced at the reminder. "That's another issue I plan to pursue. If you look at Starling City's history, the decline of that neighborhood, and by extension other parts of the city, directly correlates with the closing of the city's subway system. Without a decent transit system, the situation won't change. But in order to do that, I need to gain the trust of the people there, and by extension, some influence in City Hall. And there's no better way than to have my business within the Glades, and to make sure it succeeds."

"I still don't like the idea of your business there, Oliver. I love you like a son, and the last thing I want is for someone to take advantage of your generosity to harm you. You and Kara." Malcolm confessed. Like Rebecca. He added silently.

Oliver's face softened. "I know, Uncle Malcolm. But you shouldn't worry. I'll have a lot of extremely well-paid security safeguarding the place. Kara and I will be fine."

As he watched Malcolm's car drive away, Oliver watched, hand in the air as it departed from view. Once it was a safe distance away, his face hardened.

Whatever Al Sa-Her's plans are…they have to do with the Glades.

I LIVE! Sorry for the late update, but college is getting in the way and I had this sitting on my hard drive for the last two weeks half-finished. But I will finish this fic, and I will never abandon it. Arc II should be done by the end of February if I work hard enough on it.

I've also been distracted by other things. The Royal Rumble for one, and if you're a wrestling fan like me I highly recommend you watch both this year's Royal Rumble PPV and NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia. Both were wonderful shows, and the former had the first ever women's Royal Rumble. And for the record, everyone, it was great! Not as good as the men's Rumble this year, but still pretty good. It felt like a love letter to the last two decades of women's wrestling in WWE, and while not all of it was good, it still felt nice to see.

As for this chapter – yes Grodd, and we'll be seeing more of him in other arcs. Next chapter we get more action and Oliver continues his surveillance on Malcolm.