Barry Allen: Age = 11
It has been 14 hours since Henry Allen was wrongfully accused of murdering his lovely wife, Nora Allen. In the 14 hours since, Bartholomew Allen has practically screamed himself horse, calling for his fathers innocence. The man in the lightning killed his mom, not Henry. However, no one believed it.
'It was grief', they said. Policemen couldn't help but feel bad for the poor boy who watched his father kill his mother. 'His mind must have made up a story to preserve his sanity', they said, as if Barry couldn't hear them.
Frankly, Barry was still in denial. He didn't want to believe that his mother was dead, he couldn't. Who would help him when he got bullied? Who would get him his glass of water when he was in bed? Who would take care of him when he was sick? Who would love him?
In these last 14 hours, all of Barry's questions were answered. Despite being in pain and misery, he was a genius. Therefore he knew the answer was this: No one.
Detective Joe West was the only man Barry trusted, he was also the man that was the most hell-bent on making sure that Henry Allen never saw the outside of a prison cell. But he was Barry's only hope. His daughter, Iris, was Barry's best friend, so surely Joe would help him.
And he did. He argued, he fought, he wanted to adopt Barry as his own, but Joe was the lead detective of the case against his father. 'It would be unethical', they said. So Joe relented, and was determined to speed up the process even faster, so that Barry could have an actual home. Barry should have hated this man, the person who arrested his father, but he knew that if Joe didn't, another detective that didn't care about Barry at all would. Joe, at least, was willing to give him a home.
And so it was Joe West that dropped him off at Central City Orphanage. A group home for young boys and girls who don't have anywhere else to turn to, located on the opposite side of Barry's old home.
"While you are here, Barry, you can't go to your normal school." Joe told him.
"Why not?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.
"The orphanage is too far. Instead, you will go to Central Academy, it's a good school, only a five minute walk from here." Joe explained.
"Joe… When... When can I leave this place?" Barry asked.
Joe answered with a heart-broken look on his face, "I will try to get you as soon as I can, ok? Stay strong until then."
"Until then". Barry said, nodding his head in affirmative.
Month 1:
Barry hated everything about this place. He hated the orphanage, the food, the caretakers, the people, hell, he even hated the school. Everyone heard about 'poor Barry Allen', whose father killed his mother. The bullies in particular were particularly vicious, but Barry ignored them all with a grace he didn't know he possessed. He was completely apathetic to the world around him.
For the first two weeks, between dealing with the fact that his mother was really dead, the fact his father was imprisoned, and the added nuisance of his foster siblings, it took every thing within him to keep his sanity intact.
By the end of the 2 weeks, Barry finally snapped.
One of his foster siblings was an older kid named Alex; a 13 year old middle schooler with a bad attitude, who's been part of the orphanage his entire life. It was during a regular breakfast, when things finally went to hell.
"So Allen, I heard you're going to visit your dad next weekend. Are you sure you're going to be safe with the murderer?" Alex teased.
Now, for the last two weeks, every time someone would tease him, Barry wouldn't respond at all. This time, he spoke.
"At least I have a father. Now tell me, where's yours? Were they so ashamed of you that they had no choice but to leave your ugly mug at an orphanage? I always did imagine you to be quite the hideous little baby." Barry sneered.
"Barry Allen!" The caretaker, a woman known as Sister Meredith, cried.
"What's this? Barry Allen actually can speak?" Alex mocked.
"Yes, I can. I just usually choose to not speak to you, since conversing with you tends to significantly reduce my IQ. I can feel it plummeting at this very moment. Oh dear, whatever shall I do?"
"Bartholomew! Stop this instant!" Sister Meredith cried. Funny, how she only noticed it when Barry did something wrong.
"What did you say about me Allen?" Alex said menacingly.
"Oh? Should I speak slower? Allow me to say once more. You- are- an- idiot." Barry mocked.
"Barry! Go to your room! Right this instant!" Sister Meredith commanded.
Bowing slightly, Barry retorted, "Whatever you say, your highness." And with that, Barry grabbed an apple from the table, and went back to his room.
And with that, the famous snark Sebastian Smythe was famous for, was born.
Month 2:
Ever since that fateful day in the kitchen, Barry has turned into what essentially will be known in the future as Smythe Mode.
Barry was dealing with a lot of horrid emotion because of his mothers death, so to take his mind off of it, Barry dealt with it the best way he knew how: Using cunning and intelligence.
The orphanage was a hierarchy, the meaner you were, the higher up you were in the food chain. By the second month, Barry held the entire residents of foster children in the palm of his hand. It was all for self-preservation.
"Carry my bags." Barry would order one of the children as they walked to school.
"Bring me my lunch." Barry would command his foster brothers, as he was too busy doing whatever in his room.
"Lower your gaze, after all, I am your superior." Barry would snark when one of his 'siblings' began to get cocky.
One of his foster brothers, a boy his age named Terry, didn't like this. He tried to stand up for himself. Barry felt his position was threatened, and did what any Slytherin loving snake would do: he attacked.
The next day, Terry was bald, his head covered in permanent marker. Pictures of him in the shower were printed out, and posted all over the school. Every hallway, every class, every locker had a picture of him. The schools website even contained the picture on its home page. The best part: No one could prove it was Barry. But that day at the orphanage, all it took was one look at Barry's smug face, and they knew. No one tried to undermine Barry again.
Month 3:
By the time the third month rolled around, the caretakers had begun to notice the shift. Barry Allen commanded everything that went down, and for some reason, the other kids obeyed.
At first, they tried to talk with him. Sister Abigail was great with children, so she called Barry into her office for a chat.
"The children here seem to respect you." She mentioned.
"So they do." He would calmly and casually respond.
"It is a nice shift from when you first came here." She noticed.
"It certainly is different."
"Would you happen to know what caused the shift?"
"How am I supposed to understand their thoughts?"
"Perhaps you are aware of something you did that changed their thoughts of you."
"What are you insinuating?"
"Nothing. I merely want to understand."
"Well, perhaps you should stick to your job of making sure we are fed, and stop trying to understand the thought patterns of pre-pubescent children. Now if you excuse me, I will take my leave."
Needless to say, talking didn't have much of an effect.
Next, they tried to reason with him. Sister Abigail once more called Barry into her office.
"You are taking advantage of these children." She said.
"Am I?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You are well aware of what you are doing. You should stop, you are a kind hearted boy Barry, this isn't like you."
"With all due respect, you do not know me."
"I do. And I know you are not a bully."
"You are right. I'm not. So if I can go, it would be much appreciated."
"Your mother wouldn't want this."
"My mother is dead. So don't presume to know what she does, or doesn't want." Barry stated with unconcealed anger, before throwing open the door, and marching out of the room.
Next, they threatened him.
Sister Meredith sat him down at the kitchen counter.
"You will stop this Mr. Allen, or I will have to resort to desperate measures." She stated, her mouth straight in anger.
"Stop what sister?" Barry inquired.
"You are well aware of what you are doing."
"Am I?"
"You, Mr. Allen, are a bully, and have been forcing the other children in the orphanage to do your bidding. I will not stand for this intolerance any longer!" She cried.
Barry crossed his legs, "So, tell me, did any child come to you specifically and say that I was bullying them?"
Sister Meredith faltered for a second, "Well, no, not exactly."
"And had anyone even shown any signs or symptoms that correlate with bullying?"
"Well.. No… but—"
"So basically, you have no proof."
"I do not need proof! I-"
"Yes. Yes you do. Well, this was a colossal waste of my time, inform me when you get some proof." With a final smirk, Barry jumped out of his chair, and walked away.
Next, they attempted to get the children to speak out against him. But all it took was a reminder of the Terry incident, and every child snapped their mouth shut. They wouldn't betray their leader.
Month 4:
By the time the fourth month approached, Barry was forced to see a child psychologist every week. This was due to two main reasons: 1) He still believed that his father was innocent, and that his mother was killed by a man in lightning. 2) His caretakers at the orphanage have filed one too many complaints about him.
He was taken to a psychologist named Dr. Harkins. He was a leading child psychologist, well known for his cases, and well respected. Barry instantly despised the arrogant man.
"Tell me Barry, once more, what happened that night?" Dr. Harkins asked.
"Well, lets see… First, I ate some ramen. It was stale by the way, completely unacceptable. Then I watched a movie, I forgot the name, it was pretty good though. I ate some Pocky, have you ever eaten Pocky? It's amazing! One of my favorites, really. Someday, I'm going to go to Japan, and buy hundreds of boxes of that stuff! Then, I planned world domination along with my vampire boyfriend as we made love to the sound of ice tea being stirred." Barry narrated.
"Allen, take this seriously! I meant, what happened the night your mother was murdered." The Doctor explained.
Holding back what was obviously a fake sob, Barry cried, "You monster! How dare you remind me of that tragedy! What kind of Child Psychologist are you!" Somehow, making real tears appear, he jumped out of seat and ran out the door, straight into Joe West's arms, crying to him about the 'traumatizing experience' he just had in the doctor's office.
The second time Barry went to see the Doctor, Harkins made sure to stay far away from the topic of Barry's parents, for the sake of his future career. He did not want an angry Joe West yelling in his office once more.
"The caretakers tell me you have been causing quite the stir amongst the other children." He says.
Shrugging, Barry replied, "The caretakers say many things. I wouldn't take what they say to heart, however, those women are notorious gossips."
"So you say. Do their insinuations hold any truth?"
"You said it yourself, that's all they are: insinuations. You really aren't that good of a psychologist, are you?" Barry guessed.
"And what makes you say that?"
"Well, for one, you believe those cranky ladies. Do you take everything people say at face value?"
"No-"
"You know, that says a lot about your personality."
"I'll have you know, I-"
"And there you go, talking about yourself again. It's always 'me, me, me' with you, isn't it? Aren't I the patient?"
"Now wait a minute-"
"You have the awful habit of interrupting me. I bet you like to hear the sound of your own voice, huh? Have you ever been checked for Narcissistic Personality Disorder?"
"Excuse me?"
"There we go! Again with the 'me'! You know, I happen to know a psychologist. Not a real one, mind you, but Sister Abigail at the orphanage certainly thinks she's one. She much better than you anyways."
The third, and final time they met, Dr. Harkins decided to stick to safer grounds.
"How was your day?" He asked, hoping for a normal answer.
"Well, after the blood sacrifice, everything seemed to go uphill. I mean, sheesh! I love harems! Especially all male ones! I'm so glad my vampire boyfriend and I decided to have an open relationship! This makes my life so much more interesting! Now don't get me wrong, he's great and all, but Yaoi harems are so much more exciting! And there's that thing this one guy does with his tongue-" Barry started.
Standing up, Dr. Harkins started yelling, finally loosing his cool, "THAT IS IT! WHERE DID YOU LEARN SUCH AWFUL WORDS?! HAREM!? TOUNGUES?! YOU YOUNG MAN, ARE SICK!"
Joe West chose that moment to come barging in, "What happened, I heard yelling!"
Looking up at the detective with tear filled eyes, Barry cried, "That man is a pervert! And what's a harem?"
Dr. Harkins was never employed with children ever again.
By the end of Barry's four-month stay, everyone was thankful that he was gone. With a smile on his face, Barry made his way into the West home, hugging Iris, and dropping his bags. He then proceeded to bury that aspect of his personality deep down, where it wouldn't be disturbed. That is, until a fateful day in a café in Paris, when Sebastian Smythe was introduced to the world.