The first thing that would usually go through a normal person's mind was: Run. Somehow this didn't apply to Yasmeen who just sighed wearily before flopping down on the bed. She just sat there for a few minutes before kicking off her boots and folding her feet beneath her.
"Uhh ... I have no idea who you are?"
"I am to be your teacher. You may call me Shade." The man responded.
"My teacher? How'd you find me?"
"That is not of much concern. Follow me." He said abruptly before swinging the door open and marching out. Curiosity gets the better of Yasmeen and she pulled her shoes on and followed him down the carpeted corridor. He walked briskly to the terracotta coloured door which leads to a flight of stairs which leads to the hotel roof. By the time Yasmeen made it to the door he is nowhere to be seen but she climbed the stairs anyway.
The night air smells metallic and there is a cool breeze as she makes it to the top. She closed the door and walks to one of the many benches that are placed around, uncertain of what she should do. She decides to sit and then suddenly out of the shadows the man appears again.
"When they said you were unaware of your abilities I had simply thought it meant that you didn't know how to use them," Shade mutters, "Not that you have no idea what they are in the first place."
"They?" Yasmeen asks quizzically.
The man sighed and puts his cane down on the bench beside Yasmeen. The cane is pure black and seems to be made of liquid as Yasmeen puts a tentative hand forward to touch it. Just before her fingers can skim the surface it dissolves and she pulls her hand back but just as quickly it reappears as though it had never moved. She looks questioningly at the man who then picks up the cane and fades into the shadows.
"Hello?" She calls. The man appears behind her.
"Run." He commands as he tapped her shoulder with the cane. A feeling that is utterly painful, like being stabbed with a frozen stalactite, passes through her body and she jerks back involuntarily.
"Run." He says again and this time she breaks into a sprint and reaches the other end of the roof. Shade then twists the top of the cane and a black vapour leeches from the mouth of the skull and engulfs Yasmeen. She automatically closed her mouth and held her breath but the black vapour settles around her and on her skin in a glittery form. Yasmeen lifts her arms out in front of her to inspect them.
"That will help you to have a firmer grip on the shadows you run through."
"Are you like me?" She questions.
"Very much so young lady. Do not pay heed to what the jewel thief had told you." Shade says and his eyes flash murderously. Yasmeen's curiosity is bubbling up but she pushes it down and tries to focus on the training advice that Shade is giving her. Four hours later she is truly drained of all energy but has certainly got a grip on her new abilities. Shade notices how tired she is and tells her that they will continue with these lessons another night and then melts into the shadows leaving Yasmeen standing alone on the roof with only the wind whistling past her.
At eleven the next morning Yasmeen is trying hard to pay attention to Cisco as he rambles on about some new laser beam that can turn any object into a puddle of goo within seconds. She had decided not to tell anyone about Shade or the fact that there was someone else out there that had abilities like her and it seemed as though he had them for quite some time. Caitlin was out doing some research at a facility in Starling City so Cisco had phoned Yasmeen to ask if she minded helping in the lab today. Not wanting to be rude she had agreed to help but now was slightly regretting it. Cisco waved a hand in front of her face.
"Yeah?" She said suddenly pulling to attention once again.
"I asked where you wanna go for lunch today. Are you okay? You seem really distracted today."
"I'm fine, just a bit worried about how life is going to be when I have to go back home." Yasmeen admits.
"You'll do fine; I promise that we'll find something useful that'll help you before you have to leave." Cisco sounds very sure and Yasmeen smiles gratefully. Just then a gust of wind hits them and Barry stands there holding a folder.
"You guys aren't going to believe what I've found this is really important." He says as he opens the folder about halfway and comes over to show them. The page that he opened to has an enormous title that reads 'Shadow travel found to be possible'. The page looks really ancient and Yasmeen notices a date on the upper right hand corner.
"1784?!" She exclaims in disbelief.
"Do you think it's somehow possible that this guy is still alive?" Barry asks as he points to the picture below the article which shows a group of men in their late thirties all wearing white lab coats and smiling widely. The man that he's pointing to has a very familiar look in his eyes and with a start Yasmeen realizes that it's Shade, the only one not wearing a lab coat but instead is holding the cane that she had seen the night before.
"That is highly unlikely. Unless ... he found a way to stop ageing." Cisco answers.
"Even if he was still alive how would we find him?" Yasmeen asks cautiously. "And I mean he'd be well over 200 years old. Are we honestly thinking that he's alive?"
"She's probably right." Cisco tells Barry, who sighs with disappointment and frustration. A warning buzzer goes off and they all turn to the computer screens. It flashes red and Barry is in his suit and zooming off before Cisco and Yasmeen can even properly register what they're seeing on the screen. A man has hostages shackled up in the centre of a burning room and has a dangerous look plastered on his face. He had deliberately chosen the room with the most cameras so that they would see all of this. He wears a dark hooded jacket and when he turns to face the camera Yasmeen feels her heart leap into her throat. It's the Arrow and he looks like he's out for blood.