Chapter 58: Fractures
"A lot happened on that island. A lot that you didn't say." Iris said, almost accusingly at Barry. She couldn't - wouldn't - cry, but her voice was coarse, catching in her throat with every other word.
Barry would love nothing more than to wipe the betrayal and pain off her face, but he knew nothing he could say would make that happen. So, he settled for the truth - or as much of it that he could give. "You never asked."
"And would you have told me anything if I did?"
The speedster paused, and shook his head.
Iris fisted her hands into her lap. "I thought so."
They were seated on the steps leading to the infirmary. Iris had no desire to be here any longer than she had to, but the weight of what she had learned anchored her. She didn't want to move, so lost and distraught. Barry, knowing it was his fault, simply guided her to the closest place where they could just sit and talk.
"Oliver and Kara… they're Green Arrow and Supergirl, aren't they?"
Barry chuckled. "Yeah. I guess that's much of a leap to make."
Iris ignored his comment, and pressed on. "Who else knows?"
"Caitlin and Cisco." Barry automatically replied. "Dr. Wells knew too, but only because I couldn't hide it from him. Let's just say he had some insider information. There are others, others I can't mention them and they aren't really important in the long run anyway."
"So, all these people knew before me. Your best friend."
Barry sighed. "Iris-"
"Why didn't you tell me, Barry?" Her voice was barely above a whisper now. "Why? We were best friends, we told each other everything. And when you came back, nothing had really changed between us, not truly, not completely. Except, everything had, and I hadn't realized it. And nothing right now reminds me of it more than that suit."
"I wanted to tell you." Barry admitted. "I wanted to tell you so many times. But that knowledge, Iris, is dangerous. Knowing I'm the Flash is one thing, but with you - I know you would've wanted to know everything; every single moment that led to this point. All the things that I couldn't say to you, because it could kill you."
Iris blinked at that, and she grit her teeth. "What do you mean? Weren't you only on the island, Barry?"
Barry looked away.
"You weren't, were you? Eddie said the Flash probably had special forces training - and Green Arrow - Oliver…"
Barry still didn't answer, closing his eyes, as if hoping Iris would stop even though he knew she wouldn't.
"Answer me, Barry." Iris demanded, the anger coursing through her.
Barry finally looked back at her, expression steely. "Where I went, Iris - where we all went - you're better off not knowing."
"That's no excuse."
"It is an excuse." Barry insisted, now angry himself. "If I tell you where I went, I'll have to tell you everything. Every single excruciatingly sordid detail, and regardless of whatever you choose to do afterwards, whether we try to patch up our friendship or you choose to cut me out of your life for good, whether you choose to keep this information to yourself or shout it out for the entire world to hear, the people who took me in will kill you. Even if you spend the rest of your life with your mouth shut, even if you surgically remove your vocal cords and amputate your hands off, they will kill you, because the very fact you know they exist makes you a liability. A loose end they need to tie up - permanently."
He was heaving now. Iris was wide-eyed, almost afraid, and it hurt to see, but if it kept her alive, then it was worth it.
"What happened to you, Barry?" Iris all but begged, trying to understand the man in front of her. The words of Dr. Lamb, said over a year ago, were echoing in her mind, and finally, finally, did she realize that the Barry she lost wasn't the one who came back.
"I went to hell, Iris." Barry bluntly replied, and the bitterness in his tone was by its lonesome now, making it all starker to hear.
"I went to hell, and I'm not sure I ever came back."
"Mr. Merlyn, your eleven o'clock is here." His secretary called in.
Tommy, looking over some documents on his computer, held the handset with his head and shoulder as he made a few adjustments to one line. "Send them in."
A click indicated the call was done, and Tommy set the handset back down into its place on his office phone. He looked away from the computer to straighten himself out for the face-to-face meeting, and waited for his appointment to come in. He blinked when the door opened and he saw who it was.
"Ollie?"
"Tommy." Oliver smiled. Tommy laughed and stood, exchanging a hug with his best friend over his desk.
"What are you doing here? You don't need to make an appointment to meet with me, you know that."
Oliver shook his head. "I actually do have some business to discuss with you - just some things about a couple of investments between QC and Merlyn Global."
"And they sent you for that." Tommy asked, confused. "You're not a part of the family company."
"While that is true, I do own a significant portion of the shares, gifted to me by my parents when I was a kid. I've been managing them along with a couple other investments ever since I got back from the island."
At Tommy's incredulous look, Oliver shrugged. "Investors are all well and good, but it'd look bad if Kara and I hadn't fronted the majority of the money for the mall, you know."
"Right." Tommy nodded. "And the other reason you're here?"
"To invite you to have dinner with me and Laurel." At Tommy's scoff, Oliver pleaded his case. "Come on, Tommy, we haven't eaten out together in ages. Laurel and I miss you."
"And I miss you guys too, but I prefer not to be glared by the public." Tommy crossed his arms, stubborn.
Oliver sighed. "Tommy, those glares aren't going away for a while, but they will appear less frequently the more the public gets used to seeing you around again."
Tommy stayed silent, not convinced.
"Tommy, there are always going to people who are going to hate you for what Malcolm did." Oliver said calmly, careful to make sure his friend wasn't offended by his words. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. But not everyone will, once you show that you aren't like him. You're a good person Tommy, and the more people see that, the more they'll come to accept it. However, they aren't going to see that if you coop yourself up in your house and office like a recluse. So please, go out with Laurel and I tonight."
The young billionaire looked at him for a long moment, then let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine, but only if I can bring Isabel with me."
Oliver frowned. "Isabel? Why?"
"She's new to the city and her presence will soften the glares directed at me, hopefully." Tommy said, then smiled slightly. "Plus, she's a friend."
Oliver looked reluctant, but squashed it down. "Alright. She can come. I'm sure Laurel won't mind."
"Alright, now jab." Nyssa directed. Laurel, tonfa in hand, complied, striking the dummy with force.
"Again." Thwack!
"Again." Thwack!
The exercises continued. After she was sure Laurel had perfected a movement and struck the dummy enough times with the correct form, they moved on to another and then another. While they wouldn't be quite ready to use in a fight yet, they would be instinctive enough for Laurel to start connecting them together in combinations.
This routine went on for at least an hour, until Nyssa finally called for a break. Laurel drew in a deep breath, setting down her weapons onto a nearby table and grabbing her water bottle. She took small sips to help her body gradually cool down. No need to faint from over-exhaustion in the summer heat.
Suddenly, a phone started ringing. Nyssa grabbed hers first, checking it quickly and shaking her head at her student. Laurel, realizing it was hers, set down her water bottle and rifle through her bag for her phone, quickly accepting the call.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Laurel."
"Ollie!" Laurel brightened immediately. Nyssa perked up at the name, but quickly schooled her expression into something more neutral.
"What are you doing? You sound a little out of a breath."
"Nothing big, just working out a bit." Laurel said, and she technically wasn't lying. "Hey, did you meet with Tommy?"
"Yes. Our meeting just finished. He said yes."
"Thank God, staying home like that all the time cannot be healthy."
"Agreed. Though he has one condition."
"What is it?"
"He wants to bring Isabel with him."
"Isabel?" Laurel asked, a little surprised and a bit apprehensive. It wasn't that she disliked Isabel - she didn't know the other woman nearly enough to have an opinion. However, something felt… off around her.
"Yeah. Is that a problem? 'Cause I told Tommy it wasn't…"
"No, no! I was just surprised, that's all. Tell Tommy she's welcome to come, okay?"
"Alright. See you tonight."
"You too, Ollie." Laurel smiled as the call ended. She let out a sigh of fondness as she set her phone down.
"What is the name of the main character of Bleach?" Kara enunciated slowly. She blinked at the word 'Bleach'. "What kind of person names a TV show Bleach?"
"One, it's not a TV show, it's a manga/anime. Two, Tite Kubo. Three, the answer is Ichigo Kurosaki." Kal huffed, clearly incensed by Kara's unintended insult.
"Correct." J'onn announced lazily. "Again."
Kal cheered and used his heat vision to mark the standing board, adding another mark under his name. The current scores saw Kara with five, J'onn with seven, and Kal with twenty.
"How are you beating us both at this?" Kara asked her charge, ready to tear out her hair at the wide discrepancies between the scores. Of course, being in last place didn't help.
Kal shrugged. "I'm a thirteen-year-old with a ton of free time and unlimited access to the internet. Plus, my best friend is intent on teaching me as much pop culture as she can because she thinks my ignorance is a travesty. Pick whichever one makes you feel better."
Kara blinked at his explanation and groaned. "I knew Oliver shouldn't have left you with Barry for so long."
"He's our brother, Kara." Kal pointed out.
"Yes, and I love our brother, but that does not mean I want you to pick up his less admirable personality traits. One Barry is more than enough for the world."
Ring!
"Phone." J'onn claimed, disinterestedly. He was more concerned with the cookies he was currently consuming more than anything else.
Kara sighed once more, standing up and picking up her phone from where it had been charging on the kitchen counter. She checked the caller ID and resisted the urge to groan, instead taking the call with as much reluctance as she could muster.
"What do you want, Amanda?"
"You and J'onn need to get to the Starling A.R.G.U.S. base now."
"I'm going to hate government bases for the rest of my natural lifespan." J'onn claimed as he and Supergirl finally touched down in front of Starling City's A.R.G.U.S. base.
"And how long would that be for a Martian?" Supergirl asked curiously as the guards let them inside.
"Far too long."
"Miss Danvers. Mr. Jones."
The two aliens cut off the conversation to see Amanda Waller with her arms crossed. The usual smirk she had on her face was not present, which was the second major indication that something was wrong.
The first, of course, was Amanda outright ordering them to come here in the first place. Kara was almost tempted to disobey for her presumption, but common sense won out in the end. Amanda knew where she stood with them, and if she was willing to disregard it for whatever reason, that reason had to be a good one.
"Come with me." She turned around, not bothering to see whether or not they complied, because she knew they would. Supergirl and J'onn followed her, both confused and apprehensive.
"J'onn, you remember Agent Smith, correct?"
"More than I wished." J'onn admitted.
"Well, when I… questioned him, I appropriated some of his operations. One of them was this."
They finally arrived at their destination: a steel door. Amanda entered the passcode onto a keypad mounted next to the door, and it slid open. The three entered inside, but Supergirl and J'onn stopped when they saw what was in the center of the room.
There was a tall installation of a glowing red elliptical orb. It was held together by some form of brown metal, and connected by wires to a circular console that was surrounding it in every direction. Supergirl had never seen anything like that before. J'onn, however…
"Is that…?"
"Yes." Amanda answered for him. "Agent Smith was their primary contact for this planet. Just today, we picked up a transmission from one of their vessels, and after entering it into the translation program he and his techs developed, we learnt it was a message that was being sent to all their major vessels."
Her voice sounded haunted - nothing like the Amanda Supergirl had come to despise and loathe over the last year. The director of A.R.G.U.S. turned to the two aliens, and breathed.
"In one year, the Dominators will try to invade… and conquer Earth."
And there's your final major villain(s) for Arc IV: The Dominators. The order in which they will be confronted for Arc IV I will keep under wraps, but I will say it won't be in the order they were introduced.
If you're wondering why Iris is taking this badly, think of it this way: learning Barry is the Flash is far more earth-shattering than it was canon. The Flash is a far darker character here, and completely unlike the Barry Iris thought she knew. Iris thought she knew Barry better than anyone else - now, she thinks that she doesn't know him at all. While she'll eventually realize that the Barry she knew isn't completely gone, it will be a while before she and Barry will reconcile. I won't say how or when, but it will be something momentous.
Next chapter, Starling City with the dinner between the Arrow trio and Isabel Rochev.
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