"He's just upset you guys put yourself in danger," Cisco says, trying to lighten the mood of the room, but to no avail. All I can think about is how the more I want to help, the more I want to gain Wells' respect, the more trouble I seem to cause and the less Wells' seems to think of me.
Barry and I sit next to each other on the treadmill, wallowing in our reprimand. Cisco and Caitlyn evacuated the room not long after Wells.
"I wasn't trying to show off," I mutter. (Alright, maybe I was just a tad. Barry's power is so cool, so helpful. I want to show I can be useful too.)
"I didn't think I was being reckless. I just do what I always do."
"Running to confront a murderer with barely an indication about their powers, let alone how to stop them? Seems a little reckless to me," I tease with a light shove. He shrugs.
"It's never been a problem before."
"If I go ask Caitlyn and Cisco about that, will they say the same thing?"
"Probably not," he concedes. "Hey, how are you feeling? When I got back, everyone was so busy trying to figure out what happened to my powers, I didn't get any details on how you were doing."
"I'm alright, I think. I had a seizure, apparently."
"What? Are you alright?" he asks sincerely.
"For now. I guess there's nothing to do about it but rest." I explain what had happened - my sudden divination about the danger he was in and my collapse and black out.
"I'm really glad you're okay. I didn't realize - no wonder Wells is so upset with both of us having close calls." I nod, but privately I'm certain that Barry is overestimating my role in Wells' concern. "I'm going to go talk to him - apologize for not being more careful. But, you said this is temporary?" I nod, doing my best not avoid triggering my power in anyway so as not to tax myself.
"That's the feeling I had, yeah." He takes a deep breath.
"Thank god." He moves off with significantly more cheer than he had when he arrived. Feeling a slight headache, I head back to the cot and take a serious nap.
When I wake up, I'm feeling very well rested.
"Oh, hey there, Barry," I notice him as I exit the cortex. He starts, moving his eyes from his suit to me. He looks forlorn.
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
"Better, yourself?" He just shrugs. He opens his mouth to say more, but Cisco walks in.
"Farooq Gibran," Cisco says.
"Who?" Barry asks. The meta who stole Barry's speed, my brain tells me without prompt. Sure enough, that's who. As Cisco explains what happened to Farooq the night of the explosion, I feel my knees going weak. I reach out, clutching to Barry for support.
"He's here," I interrupt. "He wants to hurt Wells." Not five seconds later, a computer beeps, pulling up a stream from a security camera.
"Dr. Harrison Wells," he calls. "I need to see you!"
"Maybe he just came here for help, like how you did, Mika," Caitlyn says nervously. We watch as he continues to shout.
"I dunno, Mika said that he wanted to hurt Dr. Wells…" Cisco says. Farooq then opens an electrical box, pulling apart the wires and making the lights in the lab flicker before the power shuts off entirely. We hear a loud boom.
"He's inside, Barry predicts.
"We need to find Wells," I answer. "What are we going to do?" I should be afraid, but I don't feel that worried. Could it be that my subconscious knows I won't be in any danger?
"Let me call Joe. Maybe the cops can help - cause a distraction at least or scare him off." We wait in silence and the dark while Barry tries to reach Joe or, alternatively, Iris to reach Joe. "Shit, neither of them of picking up. I'll try the Captain." As Barry talks to the captain, his face grows white.
"What's wrong?" Caitlyn asks.
"Joe and Iris are being held hostage. I could really use my powers right about now. Do we have any ideas of how to get them back.
"I have a theory," Wells says, finally joining us. I breathe a sigh of relief to have him with us. Now that we're all together, it doesn't seem possible that anything could go wrong. Wells and Cisco work out the logistics of possibly electrocuting Barry to jumpstart his powers.
"Well, will you do it, Barry?" Wells asks. Barry looks down then at me.
"I don't know. What do you think, Mika?"
"Do not ask her that," Wells asks, his voice suddenly low and taunt. "She had a seizure the last time she used her gift, and that's the last thing we need right now." I nod.
"I'm sorry, Barry, I don't want to try to get anything. Right now, I'm not getting anything. It usually activates if something dangerous is happening, so that might mean the electrocution would be safe...but that's a big might." He nods.
"I'm going to talk to him."
"No," Wells immediately orders, launching into a diatribe about how dangerous this man is. For the first time, I realize that Wells is scared.
"If you try to talk to him, he will attack you," I say.
"I have to try," he insists. "He might just need help like we did."
"Barry, I'm not playing around. I know this is going to happen," I exclaim. "I can't just let you go and get hurt because you're too stubborn to listen to someone else," I snap.
"When you're at 100% accuracy, then you can tell me what to do," he retorts. My jaw drops open, shocked by his callous and pointed words. The rest of the room is stunned silent while he storms out to attempt to reason with a killer. Silently, we follow, hoping to provide backup if need be. We listen as Barry tries to reason with Farooq. I know through it all it isn't going to work, so I am standing closest to the switch that lowers the emergency blast door.
When Farooq accuses Wells of being culpable for his friends' deaths, Wells reacts with something between a flinch and a scoff. The somewhat accusatory glances of Caitlyn and Cisco don't help Wells' emotional state, I'm sure. Instinctually, I put my hand on his shoulder to try to soothe him. He looks back at me with a small appreciatory smile.
The second Barry goes flying back from Farooq's electricity blast, I slam down the lever to bring the door down.
"Caitlyn, Mika, get Barry to the treadmill." We both immediately move, not waiting for further instructions. It's a long walk to the cortex from here, and Barry isn't looking in great shape.
Caitlyn and I are working to set up the treadmill to receive the electrical charge when I stop them.
"He's coming, we need to hide - now."
"In the supply closet," Caitlyn says, and we rush into another door - though this leads to a dead end. I close my eyes, willing Cisco to hurry up with the generator. We can see the outline of Farooq at the door - hear him as he hones in on us. But then the lights flick on, and he leaves to investigate.
"Now," I whisper. We rush out of the closet, ready to transmit the charge to Barry. He gets on the treadmill, ready for the charge.
"Turn on the treadmill," Barry says.
"I can't. This could kill you. I can't lose someone I care about in this building again!" she cries.
"We don't have any time," Barry insists.
"You won't lose him," I promise her. "Ready?" Barry nods. I flip the switch, praying to whatever higher power is out there that this is one of the times I am right. The shock sends Barry flying into the wall - Caitlyn and I rush over.
"Are you alright?" she asks, pressing her hands over him to look for injuries. We watch as his hand vibrates at superspeed on and off.
Yet, he declares, "It didn't work." I shake my head, uncomprehending. It should have worked. Psychological keeps ringing in my head, but I just shake it and try to focus on the moment.
"We need to get out of here before Farooq comes back. We need to be able to stay mobile - if he corners us, we're toast." They both nod. As we head out of the Cortex, we hear what sounds like an explosion. Hurrying down the hallway, we see a man thrown against the wall.
"Tony?" Barry exclaims, rushing over to him.
"Metahuman?" I whisper to Caitlyn.
"Yeah, he was dangerous, so we trapped him in the particle accelerator track. How did he get out?" she asks, mostly to herself. Wells echos in my head, the answer to an asked question. I shake my head - that can't be right. As we watch, the man, Tony, collapses, dead. Seconds later, Farooq appears, and Caitlyn drags Barry away as we run. I don't know where we are going, but Caitlyn and Barry do, so I follow them. Miraculously, we meet up with Cisco in the generator room. In the quiet, Caitlyn immediately begins to draw a sample of Barry's blood while they explain what happened.
"The pipeline was designed to withstand a power outage - someone must have let him out," Cisco says. Again, my head rings Wells Wells Wells.
"I did," Wells says behind us. We all look up, shocked. As Dr. Wells explains himself, I feel a sinking sensation in my stomach. It's both disappointment that he would be so callous and an undeniable primal urge to have him inside me.
"You used him as a distraction? I have his blood on me," Barry exclaims.
"I had a choice to make - him or us. I chose us without a second thought," Wells says, his voice low and raspy. Whatever female instinctual desire this is triggering, it's powerful. I have to clench my hands to distract myself from how badly I want Wells in this moment. For some reason, the idea of Wells using me as a pawn doesn't seem so bad.
"Look, we need to move. We can't just sit here fighting," I say, trying to break the tension. And distract myself from this yearning I'm feeling for Wells.
"Barry, your cells, they're rapidly regenerating," Cailtyn announces, providing a much-needed distraction.
"It must be psychological, not physical," Wells says. That's 2 for 2 on the head echos, I note.
"Oh, you have the yips," Cisco explains, in no way helping.
"Look, we need to move," I say, leading the way. We can deal with Barry's issues after we're out safely. As soon as we make it to the garage, some instinct stops me in my tracks, but I push through it. This is the only way out, and I don't want to be separated from the others. Barry runs to the truck, but just as it starts, the engine dies. In fact, all the electricity in the area gets knocked out - even Wells' chair won't move.
Then Farooq shows up, shooting a blast at the truck Barry's in. Caitlyn rushes over, exposing herself to an attack from Farooq. I run after her, trying to stop her before it's too late, but then we're both exposed.
"Barry, are you hurt?" she asks.
"Guys," I say, voice small, as Farooq approaches, electricity crackling all down his body. I can't swallow, I can't breathe. I don't bother tapping into my gift to know if this is the end - that answer is obvious.
"Hey!" Wells calls from across the room. "You're here for me. Leave them alone."
"Finally you show your face," Farooq says, turning from us.
"No," I gasp quietly before I can stop myself, wishing there was something I could do to prevent this.
"I wasn't exactly eager to be killed."
"Neither were my friends," he answers.
"I know. I hurt a lot of people that night."
"People? You don't even know their names!" To my surprise, Wells lists off at least a dozen names.
"I know the names of everyone who died that night. I know they all mattered, and the fact that the world is now deprived of their potential is something I have to live with every day. But these people," he says, glancing at us. "These people have done nothing wrong. So you want to punish me? Fine, let's do that. But leave them alone." I have to stifle a sob. No! Wells has to be okay - he has to be. I feel that he must be, but that doesn't seem possible right now.
"You died that night too," Farooq says as he zaps Wells with a jolt of electricity, and he goes skidding to the floor. "You just didn't know it until now." I want to scream, but in a heartbeat, Barry is gone, and Wells is in Barry's place between Caitlyn and I. I gasp, clutching on to his arm out of relief and fear.
In another heartbeat, Barry is back as the Flash, standing before Farooq and dodging his blasts. Then, one connects, and blue and yellow energy floats between the two men, connecting them. They drop to their knees. I watch with trepidation, helpless to intervene. If Barry loses his speed again… A few seconds later, the light fades, and Farooq collapses, dead.
"Iris," Barry breathes before disappearing.
"Barry had better not just left us to deal with Farooq," Cisco announces.
"I think he's dead," I explain, my voice sounding surprisingly small. As I turn to look at my companions, I realize that I'm still grasped on to Wells' arm. "Sorry," I say, immediately pulling my arm away. I rush to bring Wells' chair over as something to do, though my knees feel like jelly. I let Caitlyn and Cisco help Wells into his chair - I felt that was an intimate act that Wells and I were not close enough for yet. Instead, I inspect Farooq - looking for a pulse or any sign of breathing.
"He's definitely dead?" Cisco asks. I shrug.
"Probably?" Cautiously, Caitlyn kneels down to feel for a pulse. I walk back over to Wells, who, besides his wispy black hair being slightly more tousled than usual, looks fine.
"Are you alright?" I ask him in an undertone while the others inspect Farooq's body. He holds up a hand, and I see that it is trembling slightly. I want to help him, to comfort him, but I don't know how.
"I'm a little shaken up, but I am unharmed," he answers. "Thanks to Mr. Allen."
"Is this how most fights go?" I ask. I didn't realize just how dangerous their work was.
"Not at all," he says. "At least, not on our end of things." He clears his throat and raises his voice to carry across the garage. "We need to do something with Tony and Farooq's bodies."
"I can pick up some body bags" Cisco says. "And we can just put them in the cells in the pipeline."
"Won't they still smell?"
"No, the pipeline air will be filtered and vented outside," Cisco explains.
"Cisco, Caitlyn, can you help move them? I'd like Mika to rest," Wells says. They both nod, more complacent than I would be to do such a task. I guess Wells did just save their lives, and they're feeling indebted.
Me, I head to the showers, trying to wash off the tension and stress of the day. Half the things I saw today would have seemed impossible only a couple weeks ago. And now they're just...business as usual, I guess? As I redress, I kept starting at every shadow or sudden breeze. It's going to be a long, long night.