Disclaimer: I do not own DC Comics or the CW TV shows Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl or any other characters or elements pertaining to the mentioned franchises.
The CCPD was chasing a yellow Humvee as Joe, Patty and Eddie were trying to clear the street, until Joe spotted a young boy, wearing headphones going across, not noticing he was about get run down.
"Son! Out of the way! Out of the way!" Joe yelled.
The boy froze in fear until Barry sped him to safety. Eddie, Patty and the cops opened fire at the Humvee but Eddie stared as the bullets sparked off the driver's face.
"What the hell?" Eddie demanded, staring in disbelief.
"Eddie, get back!" Patty tackled him to the ground before the Humvee would run him down as it drove through the cruiser blockade.
Barry sped in front of the Humvee as the driver stopped. "Step out of the vehicle."
"If you say so." The driver said as he went out and picked the door like if it was nothing.
"Uh-oh." Barry muttered.
Barry dodged, when the thief threw the door at him, as the door were embedded to the fence. Barry punched the thief in the face but it suddenly turned into metal as Barry's bones broke upon hitting him and he screamed in pain, clutching his wrist. The thief clenched his fist as it turned into metal and knocked Barry back as he groaned in pain. The thief neared him, smirking.
"Looks like you were born to take a beating." The thief said. Barry's eyes narrowed, as the sentence sounded familiar to him. He dodged and sped away before the thief would crush him with his fist as the thief smashed his fist into the pavement.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
Wells, Caitlin and Cisco entered the Cortex and saw Barry unconscious on the floor.
"Barry?" Cisco said as they neared him.
"Barry, are you OK?" Caitlin asked as Barry groaned.
A few moments later, Barry was on the stretcher as Caitlin was putting an orthosis on his broken hand. "Thirteen fractures. That's a new record. And that's just in your hand. You also have a concussion, three cracked ribs and a bruised spleen. Even with your powers, you'll need a few hours to heal."
Barry nodded.
"What exactly did you hit?" Wells inquired.
"A man. A big, bad man." Barry said. "His skin changed when I hit him. Like it turned to metal."
"Interesting. A man of steel." Wells mused, his arms crossed.
"So, you went after a metahuman alone?" Cisco demanded. "Dude, why didn't you call us?"
"I didn't know what he was." Barry explained, trying to get up but again he groaned in pain. "Patty called that they needed help with a carjacker. Didn't know I was getting myself in over my head."
They nodded in understanding.
"You're lucky he didn't knock out your teeth. Those puppies don't grow back." Cisco said.
"Strange thing is I feel like I knew him." Barry said, trying to remember where he had heard the words before. 'Looks like you were born to take a beating.'
"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked.
"He said something that was familiar." Barry said as Wells turned to him with piqued interest. "But he's gonna hurt someone. So how do I fight a guy that's made of steel?"
"We will find a way. Tonight, you heal." Wells ordered.
"Yeah." Barry nodded as he laid down on the stretcher.
The next day, CCPD
"Is your arm OK, Barry?" Patty asked as she picked his hand.
"It healed overnight. I'm fine." Barry said as she sighed in relief, while they approached Joe's desk as he was reviewing the interrogation video of Barry after his mother was murdered.
"There was lightning in my house. Yellow and red lightning. There was a man in yellow. Then I was on the street. I don't know how I got there. Please, you have to believe me."
Joe put down his headphones and closed the laptop upon noticing Barry and Patty.
"Hey." Barry said.
"What happened to you last night?" Joe asked.
"Turns out our perp is able to turn into steel. He broke Barry's hand." Patty said as Joe got up.
"So he is metahuman." Joe realized.
"Yeah." Barry nodded.
"That particle accelerator is the gift that keeps on giving." Joe noted.
"Is there any good meta in this town, asides from you and Bette?" Patty whispered.
"I ask myself the same thing everyday." Barry said.
"You OK?" Joe asked.
"Relatively." Barry nodded. "Any idea who he is?"
"We haven't ID'd him yet." Patty said.
"Eddie's taking point while I run down a lead." Joe said.
"We're gonna have to work with him for now." Patty said.
"What, why?" Barry asked, confused.
"Because he saw something impossible that he's got questions about. Questions that I can't answer." Joe said, picking his case and jacket as he got up.
"In other words, make up some science-y stuff to throw him off." Barry said.
"Exactly." Joe nodded as he left.
"He stole the Humvee and evaded capture." Singh said, handing the detectives the files before Barry entered his office with Patty. "So pleased you could join us, Mr. Allen. Rough night?"
"Uh, just a little beat, sir." Barry said.
"As I was saying, our perp yanked three ATMs after he boosted the vehicle. ATM security cameras caught him on video. We got a hit in the database. Tony Woodward. History of violence, petty theft, assault, going way back to juvie." Singh said and Barry stiffened upon hearing the name, something which Patty noticed as Barry looked at the photos closely and paled. "Dropped off the radar 10 months ago. Looks like he's back."
Barry stared in shock, realizing it was his childhood bully.
"What is it? You know him?" Patty asked. "Barry." Barry came to as he turned to her.
"What?"
"You know this guy?" Patty whispered as Barry was about to open his mouth before Eddie approached them.
"Hey, Allen." Eddie asked.
"What is it, Eddie?" Barry asked.
"Do you have a minute?" Eddie asked as they followed him outside the office. "Listen, I saw something last night I just can't get my head around."
"Uh-huh." Barry nodded.
"I fired a dozen rounds at our car thief and it was like they sparked off of him." Eddie said, his face full of confusion.
"He might have been wearing a body armor or something." Patty shrugged.
"On his face?" Eddie raised his brows, skeptical.
"Um…" Barry tried to come up with something as Iris approached them.
"Hey. Barry. Patty." Iris turned to Eddie. "Hi, babe, I saw the news. Are you OK?"
"I'm fine. Which you'd know if you checked your messages. I tried you three times." Eddie said.
"We're gonna see if we can find a lead on this Woodward guy." Patty said as Barry nodded as they went out.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
Joe went out from the elevator, facing Wells. "Dr. Wells."
"I guess you heard about Barry's incident last night. If you're looking for him, I think he's at the station." Wells said.
"I actually came here to see you." Joe said as Wells looked intrigued. "I need your help solving an old case of mine."
"What case is that?" Wells asked, his arms crossed.
"The murder of Barry's mother." Joe said, piquing Wells' interest.
"Your childhood nemesis is now an unstoppable metahuman. That is seriously messed up." Cisco mused.
"I had a childhood nemesis." Caitlin said, drinking her coffee. "Lexi La Roche. She used to put gum in my hair."
"Jake Puckett. If I didn't let him copy my homework, he'd give me a swirly." Cisco muttered.
"I didn't exactly have a childhood nemesis, unlike you, guys, but I sometimes was behind my classmates back in college. They liked to make fun of me." Patty noted.
"Now that we've established that we're all uber-nerds, what are we gonna do about Tony?" Barry demanded.
"Glad you asked." Cisco chuckled as he showed them a metal mannequin. "We're gonna train you, man. Karate Kid style. Behold." Barry and Patty stared. "I call him Girder."
"For the record, not my idea." Caitlin said.
"Fighting is physics. It's not about strength, it's not about size, it's about energy and power. Channel your speed the right way, you can totally take this bad boy down." Cisco said as Barry nodded, while Patty crossed her arms and Cisco picked up a remot. "Now, obviously, your Girder is a moving target. So..." He pulled a lever as the mannequin moved, while Barry just stared.
"I have ice and bandages standing by." Caitlin asked.
"Cisco, how is this going to help Barry beat a guy, who turns his skin into metal?" Patty questioned.
"Trial and error, Patty. Trial and error." Cisco said as Barry engaged the mannequin. Cisco moved the levers as the mannequin moved, while Barry attempted to pummel it. He dodged its punches until it hit him in the back and chest as Barry groaned, while falling down, clutching the spots where he had been hit.
"Barry! Are you OK?" Patty asked, kneeling towards him.
"I'm pretty sure I just dislocated my shoulder." Barry groaned.
They went back into the Cortex as Caitlin and Patty were trying to readjust his arm. "OK, I'm not gonna lie. This is gonna be quick but extremely painful." Caitlin said before Barry's phone rang.
"Oh, speaking of pain." Barry muttered before answering the call. "Eddie, hey."
"Allen, we found the stolen Humvee in the alley at Fremont and Lawrence." Eddie said. "Need you and Patty down here to do your thing."
"Great, I'll see you in a sec." Barry said, trying to suppress his groan as he hung up and laid down. "OK, let's do this."
"Sorry, Barry. This may hurt a lot." Patty said as she and Caitlin yanked Barry's arm as he screamed, while the bones in his arm cracked.
Later, Central City
"Do you really have to do him a chauffer, Spivot?" Eddie asked as Barry and Patty went out from her car and neared the crime scene, where was the stolen Humvee.
"I ask myself that a lot." Patty said.
"What do we got?" Barry asked.
"The rig Tony Woodward boosted last night. No sign of the stolen ATMs, probably got those where he's holed up." Eddie said. "Though he's gonna have a hell of time breaking them open."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Barry said as he opened his case and Patty sat next to him.
"You really enjoy this CSI stuff, do you, Patty?" Eddie noted.
"Yeah." Patty chuckled as Eddie then glanced at them both.
"How long has this been going on?" Eddie asked as Barry and Patty stopped.
"Well…"
"I…"
"Look, Eddie, we're trying to keep our lives separate, I mean, professionals at work and… you know how it is." Patty said.
"I get that. And don't worry, if Singh's gonna have complaints, I never told him about you." Eddie assured them as they examined the crime scene. "So, what do you think?"
"Judging by the mud and kegs, I'd say he got hammered, stole a big-ass truck and went joy-riding." Barry said.
"The kegs might be stolen too." Patty said. "Rusty Iron Ale is a microbrew from…"
"…Keystone. I know it. Let's check it out." Eddie said.
They drove to the brewing factory as Eddie showed the workers his badge. "Gentlemen. CCPD. Any chance some of your merchandise was stolen last night?"
The workers shook their heads. "No. I don't think so."
"Have you seen this man?" Patty asked, showing them a photo of Tony. One of them shook his head, while the other one turned around nervously, something which they noticed.
"You know Tony, don't you?" Barry asked.
"Hey." Eddie said as the man turned around. The man ran off as they started to chase him. "Allen, come on!"
Barry ran into a side alley to get ahead as the man was shocked to see him in front of him as he punched Barry before Eddie tackled him to the ground. Barry leaned onto the wall, clutching his face, groaning.
"Barry, are you OK?" Patty asked, nearing him.
"Oh, never better." Barry groaned.
"Get up." Eddie said, picking the man up.
"Unh. I didn't do nothing, man." The man said as Eddie grabbed him by his jacket.
"Then why did you run?" Patty demanded.
"Look, it was an accident." The man cried out.
"What was?" Eddie demanded.
"Tony falling, OK?" The man said. "But I swear to God, we didn't kill him."
"Go on." Patty said, crossing her arms.
"About ten months ago, Keystone Ironworks." The man said. "Boss was handing out pink slips. Tony gets his and he just snapped. He started beating the crap out of the guy. We pulled him off. Then the lights went out, some kind of power surge and Tony went over the railing right into a vat of molten scrap. Just gone."
Barry and Patty looked at each other, all the pieces falling into place.
"Lucky for you, he's still alive." Eddie said, cuffing the man, who looked shocked.
"What?" The man demanded.
"How did you get in front of us?" Eddie asked Barry.
"Shortcut." Barry said as Eddie dragged the man away, while Patty chuckled.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
Barry was glaring at the mannequin, seething as Patty held him by his shoulder.
"Barry… I don't even know what to say. I know it has to be hard to face an old bully but…"
"Barry. Check it out." Cisco called out as they turned to him. "The gravel you pulled from Tony's ride contains 76.8% hematite, consistent with the mines at Keystone Ironworks."
"It was shut down ten months ago." Patty said.
"It's the perfect hideout." Barry nodded.
"Barry? Do you mind telling me about this?" Caitlin asked as she showed Barry the tablet with Iris's blog on the browser and the newest post on it. "I HAVE INFO ABOUT SOMEONE YOU'ER LOOKING FOR. HE WAS HERE. YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME." She read as they all shot Barry looks as he looked awkward. "Now who could she be talking to?"
Later, CC Jitters
Barry, dressed in his suit, sped into the café, facing Iris.
"I guess you got my message." Iris said.
"Are you OK?" Barry asked, vibrating his voice.
"Cop's daughter. I can handle myself." Iris said.
"Not with this guy." Barry shook his head.
"I knew him when we were kids." Iris said. "He didn't want to hurt me. He wanted to impress me. But he is fixated on you and not in a good way."
"Do you know where he went?" Barry asked.
"Said he had a place in West Keystone." Iris explained. "Bragged about how big it was, but I have no idea where.
"I do." Barry said, about to leave.
"Wait. There's something else." Iris said, causing for him to stop. "His hand, it transformed. Like an iron fist." She noticed how Barry lowered his head. "He's like you, isn't he?"
"Yes." Barry nodded. "And writing about me is what brought him to you."
"I know but maybe I can talk to him—"
"No. He's too dangerous. You need to stop. For your own sake." Barry said before he sped off as protective detail assigned by Eddie approached the café.
Later, Central City
Barry was speeding through the city as Caitlin and Cisco were worried.
"Barry, talk to us. What are you doing?" Caitlin demanded before she turned to Cisco.
"Dude, don't run angry. We don't know how to defeat him yet." Cisco said.
Barry entered the steel factory, scouring around before he saw the broken vat, realizing it was the one in which Tony fell, when the particle accelerator had exploded. Barry followed the footprints on the ground until he saw the bottles of beer on the crates.
"This is definitely the place." Barry called out. He turned around as Tony punched him in the face.
"You're trespassing, freak." Tony snarled, throwing Barry to a shelf. "There's nowhere left to run." He threw down a shelf as it crashed on Barry, knocking him out.
Patty, Cisco and Caitlin entered Tony's hideout, looking for Barry.
"Barry?" Caitlin called out.
"Barry, where are you?" Cisco called out.
"Hey." Patty neared the shelf as she and Caitlin gasped upon seeing Barry unconscious and beaten up. "Oh, my God. Barry. Please, are you OK? Say something."
Patty and Cisco pulled Barry out as he groaned in pain, while Patty hugged him tightly.
"Never do that again. You scared the hell out of me." Patty panted out, freaked out.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
"What were you thinking? What were you thinking?" Wells demanded as Caitlin was treating Barry's injuries. "I told you that we would figure out a way to deal with him."
"I'll heal." Barry grumbled, rubbing his forehead.
"You can't heal when you're dead. He could have killed you." Wells snapped.
"I know, all right? I know!" Barry snapped back as he got up. "In the past 36 hours, I've had my ass handed to me twice by the guy that tortured me as a kid. I couldn't stop him then and I can't stop him now! Even with my powers, I'm still powerless against him!" He yelled in frustration.
"Not necessarily." Wells said. "Cisco." Cisco approached the computer. "Any material, if struck at a high enough velocity can be compromised."
"We ran an analysis on the metal in Tony's footprint." Cisco said. "Based on its density and atomic structure, if you impact it at just the right angle at just the right speed, you could do some serious damage."
"How fast would Barry need to run?" Patty asked as Cisco started typing and calculating.
"Factoring in the metal's tensile strength, estimated dermal thickness, atmospheric pressure, air temp, you'd have to hit him at approximately... Mach 1.1." Cisco said as Barry scoffed.
"You want Barry to hit something at 800 miles an hour?" Caitlin demanded.
"837, actually." Cisco corrected.
"That's more than the speed of sound." Patty said as both her and Barry gave him incredulous look. "He's never run that fast before. Have you?" She turned to Barry.
"I know." Cisco nodded. "He would create a sonic boom, which, as I said before, would be awesome."
"It's not like Barry can run that fast." Patty argued.
"Yet." Wells said.
"I can't believe we're actually entertaining this idea. I mean, he'd need a straight shot from miles away." Caitlin said.
"Yeah, 5.3 miles, theoretically." Cisco said.
"Do it right, you'll take him down." Wells said.
"And if he misses or does it wrong?" Patty pointed out.
"He'll shatter every bone in his body." Caitlin said, giving Barry a concerned look as Barry seemed uncertain.
Later, CCPD
Barry was training with Patty and Eddie self-defense as he punched into the mats Eddie had, while Patty held Barry's arms. "Clench your fists and watch your thumb or you'll break it."
"Thawne, Allen, Spivot." An officer said upon entering as they turned to him. "The unit watching Joe's daughter, they've been attacked. Iris is missing."
Eddie picked his jacket and was about to leave.
"Go, all right? We'll call Joe." Barry said as Eddie ran off, while Patty picked up her phone and Barry approached his laptop, calling S.T.A.R. Labs. "Guys, you there?"
"Yeah, man. What's up?" Cisco said.
"Tony took Iris. I need you to do whatever you can to help me find her. Satellites, security cameras, hack them all." Barry ordered.
"We're on it." Cisco said as Joe entered Barry's lab and saw the looks on Barry's and Patty's faces.
"Eddie, anything yet?" Joe asked.
"We have roadblocks on every major artery. Units are searching." Eddie said.
"We will find Iris, Joe." Singh assured him as he went out.
"You don't think he'll hurt her, do you?" Joe asked.
"Joe, worrying right now is not gonna help." Patty said.
"Sir. Sir. We got a fire alarm call at Carmichael Elementary." One of the officers told Singh.
"Dispatch the fire department. We'll send backup." Singh said.
Patty's eyes lit up in recognition as she heard the name. "Wait, Carmichael Elementary, isn't that…"
"…the school you and Iris went to." Joe finished, turning to Barry.
"And Tony." Barry nodded.
"Go." Joe ordered.
Barry was about to leave, when Patty held his hand. "Barry. Please. Be careful."
Barry nodded as she kissed him on his cheek.
Later, Carmichael Elementary
"I'm not going out without a fight." Tony told Iris, once she had told him that the police was coming for him before they felt a gust of wind.
"Good, because you just found one." Barry said as Tony turned around.
"You just won't stay dead." Tony sneered, grabbing Iris. "Come to save your little fangirl?"
"This is between us. Let her go." Barry said as Tony let Iris go.
"Oh, I could. But I'd rather make her watch while I break every bone in your body." Tony growled, turning his body into steel as Barry slid in between his legs, dodging his punch and nearing Iris.
"Wait here." Barry said.
"OK." Iris nodded.
Barry again dodged Tony's punch and kicked him in the butt as Tony staggered. "Too slow, Tin Man." Barry taunted. Barry again dodged his punches as Tony roared in rage. "I've known guys like you. Peaked in high school, never got over it. All these powers, and look at you. Bully then, bully now."
Barry picked a flagpole and hit Tony in the face but Tony was unfazed as he grabbed it. Tony knocked Barry against the lockers and then against a wall as Iris gasped.
"No!" Iris exclaimed as Barry fell down. Tony steeled up as Barry remembered Joe's advice.
"If you do come up against somebody you know you can't beat, be smart. It's OK to run the other way."
Barry sped out from the school as Iris stared and Tony snorted. "There goes your hero."
S.T.A.R. Labs
"He made it out. Barely." Cisco said before they noticed that Barry stopped running.
"Why did he stop?" Caitlin wondered.
"He's miles away. 5.3 miles away." Cisco said as his and Caitlin's eyes widened, realizing what was Barry going to do as they saw Barry rush back in high speed.
Caitlin shot up from her seat. "Barry, wait—"
"No way. He's gonna do it. Go, man, go!" Cisco cheered.
Central City
Barry ran faster than ever before as the car windows shattered and alarms blared due to how fast he was running.
Carmichael Elementary
Tony heard thunder as he turned around before Barry burst in through the door and punched Tony in the face, managing to knock him down despite that Tony had steeled up.
S.T.A.R. Labs
"Supersonic punch, baby! Whoo!" Cisco cheered as Caitlin stared.
Carmichael Elementary
Barry was on the floor, groaning as Tony got up before Iris punched him in the face, knocking him out.
"Nice cross." Barry said.
"I think I broke my hand." Iris groaned, clutching her hand.
"Me too." Barry groaned.
Later, S.T.A.R. Labs
Tony was in a cell in the Pipeline before he came to and got up, banging at the door.
"Hey! What is this? Where the hell am I?" Tony demanded.
"Somewhere you'll never hurt anyone ever again." Barry said, his face hidden in the shadow.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Tony demanded.
Barry stepped into the light, revealing his face to Tony. "You know who I am."
"Allen?" Tony stared in disbelief.
"The thing that happened to you, Tony, it happened to me too." Barry said. "But it didn't just give us abilities. It made us more of who we are. You got strong. I got fast. Fast enough to beat you. You used your gift to hurt people. Not anymore."
Barry was about to leave as Tony glared, banging at the glass, while the door to the Pipeline closed.
"Allen. Allen. Allen, don't walk away from me, Allen! Hey! Come back here! Allen! Allen!"
Barry raised his hands and made a victory gesture, glad that he had finally beaten his childhood bully.
"Finally beating a childhood bully. That must have felt amazing." Patty said.
"You have no idea." Barry said.
"Almost as good as proving me wrong about the supersonic punch?" Caitlin asked dryly.
"Actually, that part hurt. Like, a lot." Barry said before turning to them. "But I couldn't have done it without you, guys."
"I guess that's one ghost of the past buried." Patty teased as she held Barry's hand.
"I've been thinking about a new name. Not 'The Blur' or 'The Streak'. It's something I've been wondering about and Iris suggested it to me too tonight." Barry said.
"What do you want to be called?" Patty asked.
"The Flash." Barry said.
West House
Joe was investigating the murder of Barry's mother until red and yellow blur entered the house as the lights flickered and when they turned on, the evidence had disappeared and Joe stared in horror to see Iris's photo pinned to the wall above the fireplace with a knife, into the wall carved "STOP OR ELSE"
So, what do you guys think?
Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this and want for me to continue.